(A/N: Hello readers, KiritoIRL back with the next chapter.

I hope you're prepared to cry in this chapter because that's exactly how I intended this chapter to be. Be sure to review or PM if I was successful. And I implore you to listen to the OST as specified in the chapter; that should definitely make it more intentional.

Oh, and I forgot to mention this as I uploaded the previous chapter:

Cheers for CalcBoy91, Perseus46 and Autistic-Grizzly for catching the reference in chapter 19. The forehead poke was indeed a reference to Uchiha Itachi from Naruto!

Now without further ado, read and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own SAO, its characters, or the OSTs. They belong to Kawahara Reki-sensei and Kajiura Yuki-sensei, respectively!)


Chapter 21: Reconnection


April 3rd, 2026, 11:30 AM - Tokyo station.

Asuna and Kouichirou got off the express train and were heading to the exit of Tokyo station.

The train ride back from Miyagi to Tokyo was mainly uneventful, but tense as well, seeing that they were returning to their home to confront their parents after an argument gone wrong.

Neither of them really knew what to expect from Asuna's upcoming confrontation, nor did they know whether Asuna would be successful in getting her point across, so their nervousness was justified.

As they were headed towards the streets, Kouichirou suddenly stopped and took a few steps back to a convenience stand, where a stash of newspapers was on display. Kouichirou's eyes had caught onto something. On the Crime section of the news headline of the day, he thought he had briefly seen a particular name.

When he approached to look at the article in detail, he growled in anger as his suspicion was confirmed.

Asuna, who had been watching her brother make those reactions, questioned him.

"Nii-san? What is it?"

"Asuna, take a look at this article; remember this name?" Kouichirou said as he turned to her, handing the newspaper to her, pointing to the name printed on the paper in question.

On the headline of the day, much to her surprise, she read the following:

Police officially press charges against the heir of Murayama Financials.

It was the very same person their parents had attempted to arrange her to meet up last Sunday.

Skimming through the article, she found out that the charges pressed against Murayama included kidnapping, sexual assault, and confinement against several women. No wonder her brother was upset; the person their parents wanted her to meet turned out to be another deranged criminal.

"Alright, that's it; I'm going home and have a word with them!" Kouichirou fumed as he quickened his pace towards the exit.

"Nii-san…! Hey, wait up!" Asuna called out to her brother as she followed him out the station.

Well, there was no going back now…

As soon as they stepped outside, Kouichirou pulled out his phone that he had turned off for the entire previous day, and dialed the phone to their mother's workplace. Though he did notice that there were a lot of missed calls and unread messages, he dismissed that fact for the moment.

When someone finally picked up the call, Kouichirou asked to put his mother on the line. Their mother's colleague, who recognized Kouichirou, sounded surprised for some reason.

"Kouichirou-kun? Wait… why are you asking for your mother here…? Didn't you know?"

"Know what? Whatever you're talking about, it doesn't matter. If she's not there, then please tell me where she is; I need to have a word with her right now" Kouichirou asked impatiently.

"So you really don't know… Listen Kouichirou-kun, your mother was taken to the hospital two days ago" The colleague informed. This information shocked the young man to the core. He froze where he stood looking horrified and he could swear that he had stopped breathing.

"Wh… what…? She was… t… taken to the hospital?!" Kouichirou reiterated. Asuna, who had been right beside him during the call, had her hands covering her mouth in horror.

"Where is she; which hospital?!" Kouichirou asked urgently. His mother's colleague disclosed the location and attempted to say more, but Kouichirou, didn't notice.

"I'm heading there now, thanks" He hastily said and hung up the phone.

"Nii-san… what was that about; mom's in the hospital?!" Asuna asked, her voice full of worry.

"Yeah… let's go… she's in the same hospital that you were at during SAO" Kouichirou informed.

After catching a taxi, the two headed to the hospital.


Neither Kouichirou or Asuna spoke a word as they made their way to the hospital. Both of them were shocked at this unexpected turn of event…

Asuna especially looked like she was unable to recover from the news.

Was it what she had said to her as she ran away? Those hateful words that she had shouted out at the peak of her anger…

It was only then that she started to remember something that she had forgotten for the whole week because of this whole fiasco; a memory of an important advice given to her by none other than the friend that she now missed so much…


Flashback: January, 2026, SAO Survivor School

Asuna excitedly walked out of the Mechatronics lab with the VR Probe again on her shoulder after Kazuto and the rest of his friends in Mechatronics class had finished their maintainence on it.

That morning, the unthinkable had happened… Her mother had actually approved of her stay in her current school; with the condition that she raise her grades. But for someone as academic as Asuna, that definitely wouldn't be a problem for her.

And it would seem that the unseeable person close to Asuna had noticed that as well.

"You look happier than usual Asuna… did something happen?" The voice from the probe asked; the camera was facing to her face.

"Yes, it's good news; very good, for the both of us!" Asuna said.

"Really? So, what is it about?" Yuuki asked, her curiosity raised.

"I was going to tell you along with everyone else later today in ALO, but I'll say it since I brought it up. Remember what I told you yesterday at the front of your house? About me and my mom? The thing was… she wanted me to transfer to a different school…" Asuna informed. Yuuki hadn't been aware of this information until now.

"Eh?! You didn't tell me anything about that!" Yuuki exclaimed, very surprised.

"I know… and I'm sorry about that, but I couldn't figure out how to tell you or anyone for that matter… that was the very thing that was troubling me yesterday… I wanted to stay in this school too, but I just didn't have enough courage to face her and dissuade her. That is until you said what you did yesterday" Asuna explained.

"Really? What I said yesterday…?" Yuuki asked.

"Yes! I took your advice and spoke my mind to her when I got back home yesterday and she allowed me to stay, as long as I keep my grades for the term, and that won't be a problem; I can bump my mark up no problem! And that means that you and I won't have to worry about going to another school!" Asuna said confidently. Yuuki was more than happy to hear this.

"Oh, that's great Asuna! I still can't believe that what I said yesterday was able to help you that much!"

"Yep! And it's all thanks to you! So, thank you Yuuki!"

"I… I'm glad… really glad…" Yuuki said but Asuna could hear her voice trailing off.

"Yuuki? Is something the matter?" She asked her friend in concern.

"Oh, it's nothing… it's just that… when you told me about your mom yesterday, it kind of reminded me of my mom and myself back in the day…" Yuuki answered.

"You and your mother?" Asuna questioned.

"Yeah… I loved my mom very much; I really did… But there was a time when it all became too much… It happened after I had to be admitted to the hospital because the virus started to take effect. It was hard to endure… and I said some things that I shouldn't have said to her…"

Asuna remained silent as Yuuki told her story, not daring to interrupt.

"I said that I hated her… that I resented her for giving birth to me… and other horrible things… I just didn't care what I was saying at the time… I just wanted the pain to stop…" Yuuki said sadly, regret clear in her voice.

"Oh… Yuuki…" Asuna moaned sympathetically. She couldn't even begin to imagine how painful it must have been for her, both physically and mentally…

"When mom left our room after hearing what I said, I felt so guilty… I didn't mean any of what I said… So I wanted to apologize to her when she came to our ward again... and onee-chan, who was right beside me when the whole thing happened, said that she would help apologize to her…. but…" Yuuki suddenly stopped her track of words.

"And, what happened?" Asuna asked.

"But mom and dad, they didn't come back the next day… or the day after… I started to get scared… that I had driven them away because of what I said to them… I probably spent the whole day crying that day, begging them to come back…" Yuuki said, her voice starting to sound like she was trying her best to stop herself from crying.

Asuna could feel her eyes start to water.

"But fortunately, they came back the next day… we had no idea where our parents had gone to for that past 3 days, but we both couldn't be happier to see them again… I apologized to them over and over again, crying my eyes out… And they said that it was alright and that they were sorry for scaring us…" Yuuki finished.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Yuuki…" Asuna said, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Eh? Ahh! Don't cry, please Asuna…!" Yuuki exclaimed, who had only then realized then that Asuna had been tearing up hearing her story. Making her new sister figure cry was definitely not her intention.

"But… but…" Asuna started to hiccup.

"I wasn't telling you that to make you cry… it's just that I was kind of reminded of that time when you told me about you and your mother yesterday for some reason. It sounded like you and your mother had your fair share of disagreements…"

"And I'm hoping that it doesn't happen, but should you get into a fight with your mom; please don't make the mistake that I made… Words that you carelessly spit out can hurt others more than you may realize… Instead, you should remember that your mom is only doing what they do because she believes that it's for the best" Yuuki advised.

"Yes, I promise I'll keep what you said in mind, Yuuki" Asuna answered.

"Good, though I hope that you won't ever get into a fight with your mom like I did; ever" Yuuki wished.

"Oh I know… thanks Yuuki" Asuna said gratefully.

Yuuki decided to change the subject from gloomy and serious to a more cheerful one.

"Come on, let's head to class! I can't wait to continue reading our book where we left off yesterday!" Yuuki exclaimed in excitement.

"Alright, then onto class!" Asuna exclaimed and headed to class, happier than she had been in the past few days.

Flashback End.


How could she have forgotten that? How could she have forgetten such an important promise she had made to Yuuki? Instead of heeding her words, she had just up and made the mistake Yuuki had asked not to make… and now her mother was in the hospital, most likely because of what she had said to her in her anger…

'She's just getting what she deserves, that's all.' The horrendous voice taunted her again.

That voice had taunted her as she had thought over her brother's words the previous evening, and she had had enough of it.

Enough.

'No, it's my fault. I didn't mean to hurt her… I should have realized sooner that she didn't mean to hurt me either… she just wasn't able to see that she was… So no, you're wrong and I won't listen to you any longer' Asuna firmly voiced her mind.

With that, the voice left her alone.

And in its place, a far more welcoming voice replaced it, although it was laced with fear and uncertainty.

"Asuna" The voice of her brother snapped her back to reality. Looking at him, he looked equally anxious and scared.

"She has to be fine… it has to be nothing serious…" He claimed, but it sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself rather than do so for her.

"It's my fault… I shouldn't have said what I said… I was just so angry that the words just came out without realizing… so it's my fault…"

"No, it's not your fault; you didn't mean for this to happen… you were just sad and angry and no one can blame you for it… Look, for all we know, it may not be as serious as we both think… so let's go there and see for ourselves. She has to be okay… she has to be…" Kouichirou said, trying to keep his voice in a reassuring tone, but was failing miserably. But she decided to go along with it.

"Yes… let's hope so…" She said and the two fell back into fearful silence once again as the taxi took them to their destination.

(A/N: Play the OST: "Like in the Glass")


Kyouko laid on her hospital bed in silence, her mind constantly thinking about the letter that her mother had written for her.

She had read the letter multiple times to make sure that she had not misread anything her mother had written.

She had no idea that what her mother had written in the letter had really happened and now wished that she had. Because if she did, then her current conflict with her beloved son and daughter may not have happened the way it had.

She wished that she hadn't been so dismissive towards her parents when she was younger; she should have realized that everything that they had told her were not empty words, but rather ones from experience.

She closed her eyes as she started to remember her parents' advices to her; ones that she thought that she had forgotten for the longest time.


Flashback: 1990s, after Kyouko's high school graduation.

Kyouko walked out of her high school alongside her parents. With her no longer being a high school student and her university life about to start, she was more excited than she normally was.

But at the same time, she was annoyed.

Her parents should have arrived earlier than they had. For some reason, they had arrived only when the principal started to call out the names of the graduates to receive their scholar, much to her annoyance. What was more, she had also noticed that they both looked spaced out, especially her father.

When they stepped out of the school grounds, Kyouko turned around and rounded at her parents. She had always been strict about time, even with herself after all.

"Alright, do you two mind explaining why exactly you were late for your own daughter's graduation?" She asked, clearly annoyed and disappointed.

Her parents looked at each other briefly.

"We already told you Kyouko, we're sorry… We didn't intend to be late… your father and I had some… business to take care of in the city, and it ended up running late…" Her mother explained, but Kyouko wasn't satisfied with that explanation.

"Come on, what could possibly be more important than attending your own daughter's graduation and subsequent enrollment into a well known university?" She asked, her tone still full of ire.

"It's… rather difficult to explain…" Her mother trailed off.

"Well, if it's like that, then I suppose that it wasn't so important after all" She said dismissively. This made her parents both frown.

"Young lady, don't you use that tone with me! Do you honestly think that we wouldn't deem your graduation and admission to the university you've always wanted to go to as important?!" Her mother raised her voice uncharacteristically, much to her surprise.

"It's hard to explain because frankly speaking, both of us are still trying to wrap our heads around what happened while you were away. We're not ready to discuss what happened just yet but one day perhaps. But on another note, we really need to have a talk about your attitude and tone of voice young lady" Her mother's tone suddenly became a scolding one.

"What are you talking about?" Kyouko asked.

"The way you speak and act sometimes; it has a way of… let's say misleading when others hear it" Her mother awkwardly phrased.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" She asked, both incredulous and confused.

As her mother was about to explain, her father, who had been silent and absent minded the whole time explained for her.

"What your mother means is that even though you probably don't mean to do so, you have a tendency to speak harshly to others and that's what she means by misleading. People won't respect you and they'll start to avoid you if you continue to speak to them like that" Her father informed.

"What's wrong with speaking what's on my mind? I say what I say because I see something that I can't stand ignoring" Kyouko claimed, unable to see her parents' point.

"You're right; there is nothing technically wrong with speaking what's on your mind. But saying those words in an aggressive tone, it can be more hurtful for the ones hearing those words than you may realize"

"But…" Kyouko was about to protest but her father wasn't finished.

"Let me finish Kyouko. It's good to voice out what you're thinking, but there are times doing so can cause pain for the people hearing it, especially if that person is someone close to you. It's a lesson that your mother and I learned well for the past few weeks…" Her father trailed off with a hint of sadness. It was at this point that Kyouko started to grow a bit concerned. What exactly had happened in the last few weeks that she was away from home?

"Okay, what exactly happened while I was away that you two are acting like this?" She asked.

Her parents looked at each other briefly before her father answered her.

"I'm sorry dear… I'm not quite yet ready to talk about it yet… perhaps another time… But let me say this to you: Words that you say without thinking can hurt others more than you think, whether you mean those words or not and even if you mean good when you say it… Knives can cut and hurt people, but words can cut even deeper than a knife can if you're not careful. Knives hurt people physically, but words can hurt people emotionally and that's even scarier because those emotional wounds are invisible to the eyes and can't be noticed until it's too late"

"What I really want to say is, be mindful of what you say to others. It's an important skill to have not just for personal life, but also for life in society. Think about it dear: when you leave school and get to work, you'll have to meet new people and work with them. And how are you going to get in good terms with them if you antagonize them with harsh words? That will make it difficult for others to trust you and make your work difficult than it has to be. Do you see what I mean?" Her father asked. Kyouko was starting to see his point.

"Hmm… Yes, I think so."

"Like your father said, it's good that you're able to speak your mind. But from now on, please try to think before you speak or act. You don't want to accidently hurt or offend the people you speak to, do you?" Her mother added in.

"No, I don't… I understand what you mean… I'll try to be more careful next time" Kyouko answered. Both her parents gave a small smile in response.

"That's our girl… Now come on, let's go and eat something; we have a reason to celebrate after all" They changed the subject to a more cheerful one.

"Yes, let's" Kyouko agreed.

With that, the three started to head to the city to look for a restaurant to order plenty of food to celebrate the occasion.

Flashback End.


(A/N: Play the OST: "Is This Love – Piano version.")

As she recalled those lost memories, she finally understood why her parents couldn't tell her what was wrong at the time; it was just too painful for them to think about, seeing that her father had lost his father because of a wrongful misunderstanding between the both of them…

Her father must also have thought that one of the reasons his father passed away was because of the hurtful things that he had said to him; that his harsh words cut through his already scarred heart. And after everything she had experienced for the past few days, she could understand how that felt; being on both the giving and the receiving end of harsh words.

She felt tears start to well up in her eyes once again… her parents were right… words really could be sharper than a knife…

When she had heard that Asuna no longer wanted anything to do with her, it tore her heart apart…

And what of the things that she had said to Asuna the day she ran away? Asuna had been carrying a wound in her mind that she didn't even know about: her unintentional dismissive behavior towards her during SAO; that she had abandoned her; that she didn't have enough faith in her to return. And the harsh words that she had spat out to Asuna… she might as well have thrust a knife into her own daughter's heart…

And now that she thought about it, her parents must have thought that a fight like this may eventually break out, judging from what her mother had written in that letter.

She couldn't be sorrier for her actions than she had ever before… and also for not heeding her parents' words properly until now.

She had never meant to push Asuna or Kouichirou away or hurt them… it was that she was the one that was afraid of being hurt… it took her this long to realize that…

'Asuna… Kouichirou… I can't tell you two how sorry I am for everything that I've said and done to you… Please… please, come back to me… to your father…'

She had never been never been as ardent as this before; at least not since SAO commenced.

But then, as she kept praying for her family to be reunited, she heard the automatic door open and someone step in, or ran in, for a better description. But as she saw the face of the intruder, she felt surprise as well as joy fill her troubled mind.

It was Asuna.

She was sincerely hoping that her eyes and ears were not deceiving her. The daughter who she had misunderstood and who had misunderstood her back; the daughter who she wanted to keep safe at all costs but failed to; the daughter that she had unintentionally hurt, was right in front of her. She was right there… her prayers were answered…

Asuna on the other hand, her whole body was going weak from sheer relief. She didn't even care anymore about her past transgressions anymore…

Before either of them could even say anything, Asuna threw herself to her mother and burst into tears.

She still resented her mother… she was still angry at her… she still hated her… and yet… she couldn't bring herself to stop caring for her.

"Y… you're okay…! I… I thought that something horrible had happened to you…!" Asuna wept in her embrace, her tears soaking into her mother's hospital gawn.

The awful fight between them and the misunderstanding between the two might never have happened…

As that went on, two others came into the room, who were Kouichirou and Shouzou.

"Asuna, you don't have to worry. Your mother is fine" Shouzou reassured her. She was surprised to see that he was there.

"Dad…? You're here too?" Asuna asked.

"… You say that as if I shouldn't be here" He said in a hurt tone. Kouichirou decided to explain.

"He was here with mother since she was hospitalized. And he happened to see us when we were at the front desk, but you took off running before you even heard him calling out to us… Man I forgot how fast you were…" Kouichirou said.

Kyouko on the other hand, couldn't believe what was happening. This wasn't a dream, now was it? Kouichirou and Asuna; her two beloved children were there again. It had only been about three days since she had seen them, but after everything that had happened, it honestly felt like an eternity had passed.

Kouichirou then slowly approached his sister and mother and sat by her side with a concerned look.

"You… you sure you're really okay?" He asked her, having trouble keeping his eyes on her.

"I am now… now that you're here again…" Kyouko answered, pulling the both of them into her arms. They both accepted it, though a bit apprehensively at first, as they both still hadn't forgiven her completely just yet.

Soon, Shouzou joined in. When was the last time they had been like this, he wondered.

Then, after the family's embrace was over, Kyouko broke the silence.

"Dear and Kouichirou? Will you two leave us alone for a moment? I think Asuna and I need to talk…" Kyouko requested, to Asuna's surprise.

The father and son also shared a look before complying.

"Do your best, Asuna" Kouichirou encouraged before stepping out of the ward with their father.

As her brother and father left the two of them alone, there followed an awkward silence in the ward.

Asuna sat where she was, not sure what to do or say in front of her mother. She desperately tried not to fidget, as that would give away the fact that she was nervous.

Then, her mother finally broke the silence.

"Don't… don't you say anything, Asuna" She said. But somehow, it sounded more like a request rather than a usual demand.

Asuna finally raised her head to look at her mother, trying not to be intimidated. As she did to look at her mother's face, she saw that she had an unreadable expression on her face as she spoke.

"You've always been like this… always making me worry, always making me afraid… Do you have any idea how worried I was all this time?" She trailed off as she made a movement that Asuna thought would be a slap to the face. Asuna closed her eyes and braced for the impact. But it did not come, at least not where she expected.

(A/N: Play the OST: "Peace, Again")

Asuna slowly opened her eyes as her brain registered that she wasn't feeling any pain. When her eyes fully opened, she saw that her mother hadn't hit her, but instead, pulled her into an embrace, much to her surprise and confusion.

When she tried to move, she felt her mother's grip on her tighten ever so slightly, as if she was afraid that she would disappear if she released her.

"Mo… mom?" Asuna questioned, now seriously confused as she tried to move again.

"Please… please, just stay still…" Her mother requested. Asuna gave in and stopped trying to move.

Asuna's eyes widened a little when she felt something wet trickling down and make contact with her hair on her side. It took her several seconds to realize in shock that they were tears; and they were not her own.

Her mother was crying.

"I… I'm just glad… that you're back… you silly girl…" She moaned, tears continuing to fall.

If Asuna had any doubts of her brother's words about her mother fearing for her throughout her life, they were gone now.

And now, instead of feeling any lingering doubts or resentment toward her mother, she felt very guilty. She had no idea that she had unknowingly had her mother worry for her constantly uptil now and she had yelled at her days ago that she hated her, not knowing or caring that he had hurt her in the process…

"I… I'm sorry… mom…" Asuna said in a barely audiable tone, but Kyouko heard it nonetheless.

"I'm sorry too… and… thank you for coming back…" Kyouko reciprocated her apology.

Asuna moved slowly, not trying to break her mother's embrace, and slowly managed to return the gesture. The two stayed still like that for an unknown amount of time.


After releasing each other and calming down, Asuna finally decided to get to the main point.

"Mom… there's somewhere that I want you go with me" She started.

"Go where? You know that I can't right now… the doctor told me that I'll have to wait a few more days to be released…" Kyouko said, but Asuna raised her hand to stop her.

"Not in the real world mom… I mean somewhere in the virtual world" Asuna answered.

Kyouko gave her a surprised look.

"The thing is, I wanted to ask you this on the day that I ran away from home but… as you know, a lot happened and I wasn't able to even ask you about it…" Asuna continued.

"Oh… I see…" Kyouko trailed off, feeling a pang of guilt.

"I have my Amusphere in my bag and there should be other Amuspheres in the hospital for patients or visitors to use. You can use mine like we did before" Asuna said.

Kyouko currently didn't have a very good idea of what her daughter wanted her to see in the virtual world again, but since it was something that her daughter had wanted to show her since days ago, she decided to accept her request.

"Alright… I'll do as you say…" She complied.

Asuna gave a relieved look. That was easier than she had expected…

Waisting no time in getting everything set up, she first used the guest bed in the ward to log into ALO using her Amusphere.

When she spawned in ALO with her Erika sub-account, she thought for a moment that she might run into Kirito and the others, but then realized that it was still Friday, which meant that they were still at school and it wouldn't be over for another three hours. She would have to send them a message later to tell them what had happened.

Deciding not to waist any more time, she logged out.

When she woke up again in her mother's ward, she went over to her mother's bed and fitted the Amusphere on her head.

"Here, wait for me there. I'll be there soon" Asuna said as she helped her mother get into a comfortable position.

Once she had dived in, Asuna left the ward to go to the room where the Amusphere for the use of visitors were at.

After getting her hands on one Amusphere device and getting into a comfortable position, she logged into the virtual world once again.


ALO, New Aincrad, Floor 22. Kirito Asuna's Player home.

Asuna opened her eyes in her more familiar Undine avatar. Looking around to find her mother in Erika's avatar, she once again found her looking at her face, or rather Erika's face using the mirror.

Asuna approached her mother to urge her to get going. As she did, her mother spoke up.

"It still feel strange… to be back in this body… but, it's not really a bad feeling…" She started.

"If you want, you can try and make a Seed account yourself. With "The Seed", you can pretty much convert your account to other virtual worlds if you please. That is, if you want to explore the VR worlds" Asuna suggested. Kyouko gave some thought into her suggestion.

"One day perhaps… one day…" She answered. It was certainly an improvement compared to before, Asuna thought. Her mother had shown disdain for the virtual world with good reason, and her response showed that she was starting to open up to its appeal; starting to open up to her mind. This might go smoothly after all…

"Now then, where did you want to take me? Is it somewhere in this house?" Kyouko asked. Asuna shook her head negative.

"No, it's not in this house. We have to go outside to the teleporter to get there" Asuna answered.

"Then… lead the way" Kyouko said and Asuna gladly obliged.

Stepping outside of the cottage, Kyouko's eyes fell on the majestic scenery just outside the cottage.

The last time she had come into this world months ago, it had been snowing, as it was January back then. But now, instead of a piling snow, a large lake with a wooden pathway lay in front of her view. The sky was almost in perpetual darkness, but in the distance, she could see the sun starting to rise, with the sun itself being mostly covered by the mountain at the moment, with only a small amount of the ray being visible.

It certainly wasn't a sight she got to see very often, given that she had spent most of her time in the city.

The walk to the destination was quite a quiet one; with nothing but occational chirping of the virtual birds, as well as the clacking of their shoes everytime they made contact with the wooden path they walked upon.

Once reaching a memorial-like rock at the end of the pathway that she assumed was the 'teleporter' that Asuna mentioned, Asuna gave simple instructions on how to operate it. After the brief instruction, they both chanted the commands and allowed the light to engulf them as they teleported to their destination: Panareze, on floor 24.

When the light from the teleporter subsided, Kyouko opened her eyes again to see that the scene had changed. She looked around to see a breathtaking view of a huge lake in front of her. With the dawn being upon them, the little bits of sunlight reflected off the previously dark water to give off a majestic view.

As she was taking the view in, Asuna said something that made her stop thinking for a second.

"We'll have to fly to get there faster"

Wait, did she just say fly?

"Fly…?" Kyouko asked quizzically.

"Mom, this is ALfheim Online; land of the fairies and fairies have wings. It's one of the reasons why ALO is one of the most popular VR games on the market: it gives the players the ability to fly" Asuna explained.

"But, you should know that I know nothing about these kind of games, and even less on how to fly" Kyouko stated.

"Oh, I know. I wasn't trying to get you to fly. I can carry you there" Asuna stated, once again stopping Kyouko's train of thought.

"I'm, I'm sorry?" Kyouko asked her daughter with a tone of incredulity.

"I can carry you there. I've flown so much in this game that it's pretty much second nature at this point. I can fly us both no problem" Asuna said confidently, but her mother still sounded unsure.

"I… I don't know…" She said hesitantly, which was quite uncharacteristic of her.

"Don't worry mom, I won't let you fall; please trust me" Asuna requested.

Kyouko looked at her daughter to see the sincerity in her eyes, so she decided to trust her on this.

"Oh, very well, let's get going then" Kyouko relented, letting her daughter take the lead.

Asuna then proceeded to teach her the bare basics on how to activate her wings, as well as giving her step-by-step instructions on how to fly by telling her to imagine that she had virtual bones and muscles on her back and to imagine flapping them. All in all, she was doing better than Asuna had expected. Of course, she definitely wouldn't be able to fly by herself, but that didn't matter now; she would now be able to guide her mother as they both flew.

"Are you ready?" Asuna asked.

"I… I suppose…" Kyouko answered hesitantly.

Before she could say anything else, she felt her feet leave the ground with a pull on her arm, to her panic.

"Uaa!" She gave an uncharacteristic yelp of fright.

"Mom, don't be scared. I told you, I won't let you fall. Just remember the virtual bones and muscles on your back. As long as you have your wings out, you can let me do the flying" Asuna answered.

After a few long seconds of bracing herself, she finally nodded affirmative to her daughter, who wasted no time in taking off into the air once again.

(A/N: Play the OST: "Last Flight")

Kyouko, who was still battling with this very unfamiliar feeling of flying, clenched her eyes shut, but still somehow managed to keep doing what Asuna had instructed her.

When she finally started to get familiar with the feeling, she slowly started to open her eyes to look at below. They were flying relatively low and directly below them was the giant lake that reflected the light of dawn off its surface.

Kyouko then looked up at the hand that was holding firmly onto her arm, and then up at its owner.

Asuna was looking like she was enjoying herself; something that she honestly hadn't seen for a long time. Was it the current feeling of the wind flowing alongside them as they flew? Was Asuna feeling that her worries were forgotten as she flew? If so, then maybe she could start to understand why she loved to spend a lot of time in this virtual world… She couldn't deny that it was a good and refreshing feeling once she got used to it.

Asuna then seemed to realize that her mother was looking up at her as she flew them both to their destination.

"So, how does it feel, mom? To be flying like this?" Asuna asked.

Of course, she knew what she was feeling. She hadn't missed the initially frightened look on her face when she had kicked off the ground to fly, as well as the scared expression slowly diminishing as the flight continued.

She supposed this would be enough punishment for her mother for giving her such a hard time for the past few days.

"It… it's both exhilarating and terrifying… but mostly exhilarating…" She answered, admittedly starting to enjoy the feeling more and more.

"Good, that's what you're supposed to feel. It feels good doesn't it?"

"Yes… it does… You look like you're having fun, Asuna"

"Yes, yes I am!" Asuna answered with a smile. At this, Kyouko couldn't help but smile too. But at the same time, she felt that her daughter's smile was somewhat forced, like she was putting up a brave face.

When their destination started to come into view, Asuna started to descend. She made sure to do so slowly and carefully so that her mother who had no idea how to land wouldn't get hurt.

When their feet finally touched the ground, Kyouko gave a sigh of both relief and disappointment. The flight felt like it had took an eternity, but at the same time it felt like it ended too soon.

Asuna took a look at where they were now, which was the outskirts of town with many small islands with bridges in between each other. Furthermore, right before the bridge that led to the islands, there was something there that wasn't there before. Beside the bridge stood a total of six statues of players, and on the ground right in front of all seven statues lay a large number of flowers, and most of the flowers lay in front of one particular statue: a girl with long purple hair with a straight-bladed sword in her hands. Kyouko heard Asuna take in a surprised breath as she saw the statues.

(A/N: Play the OST: "Heartbreaking Reality")

Asuna had completely forgotten about this… her father had mentioned that Kirito had told him that a memorial would be erected here in the honor of the Sleeping Knights, but because of the recent events, that had completely flown out of her mind until now.

"I almost forgot about this… So they really did make a memorial for the Sleeping Knights…" Asuna said quietly, entranced.

Kyouko observed the statues and looking at them, it wasn't very hard to guess which one was the famed Zekken, Yuuki. The fact that Asuna's focus was on that one statue, as well as most of the flowers laying in front of that statue was a dead giveaway.

There were writing carved on a small memorial stone, which read the following along with the Sleeping Knight's guild emblem:


In the memory of the Sleeping Knights guild.

Yuuki

Ran

Merida

Clovis

Siune

Jun

Tecchi

Talken

Nori

In real life, the members of this guild suffer from serious to terminal illnesses.

Although they knew that some of them did not have much time remaining, it did not stop them from enjoying their lives to the fullest, despite their illnesses.

The Sleeping Knights have traveled to various virtual worlds in the past but ALO would be the last world they would travel to.

Originally, there were nine members in this guild, but Ran, Clovis and Merida had already passed away before the Sleeping Knights came to ALO.

Now, with the passing of its current leader Yuuki, the Sleeping Knights have officially disbanded.

But despite their losses, the members of the Sleeping Knights still live try to live their lives to the fullest and so their memories must be honored.

May the deceased rest in peace and may the living continue to live their lives to the fullest.


When she refocused back on her daughter, she noticed that Asuna now held a crinum lily in her hand and began to lead her over to the bridge.

"Come on, follow me mom" Asuna told her, her face seemingly devoid of emotion.

Kyouko obliged and quietly followed her and crossed the bridge.

After crossing several bridges that each led to different but similar looking islands, Kyouko finally saw that the one particular island ahead had a giant tree with a field of flowers beside its root.

As they crossed the bridge and stepped foot on that island, a gentle breeze blew to them, as if it was welcoming them.

Asuna brought her mother over to the side of the great tree, and in the midst of the flower field, a purple sword was sheathed to the ground with a red bandana tied to its handle; it looked exactly the same as the sword that the purple-haired girl held. And that bandana… the statue had that same bandana on as well.

Then it dawned upon her… This must be where…

"Mom… this is the place… where I first met Yuuki… it's also where I reconciled with her and… it's also the place where I said goodbye to her…" Asuna told her with the same expression on her face, her voice also strangely stable.

With Asuna confirming her educated guess as to this being the place where Yuuki had passed on, Asuna knelt to the ground in front of the sword and she too soon copied her daughter's action. Asuna placed the flower directly in front of the sword and closed her eyes in prayer.

Although she had never met the girl, she was still her daughter's close friend. Kyouko closed her eyes too and prayed that Yuuki had found peace with her family.

When she finished her praying and paying her respect to the deceased, she opened her eyes to look at her daughter and when she did, her eyes widened in surprise and concern.

(A/N: Play the OST: "Trying to Understand", starting from 0:56 to the end.)

Tears were falling silently from her daughter's eyes down her cheeks. Then Kyouko realized: it had been days since her friend's passing, and a lot had happened between then and now, but it was apparent that the wounds from the event were still fresh.

The smile that she had put on earlier… it was just a front in an attempt to hide her still lingering sorrow in her heart.

"A… Asuna…?" Kyouko asked in concern, delicately putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

Asuna only then seemed to realize that she was crying.

"Ah… oh no, I… I promised… that I wouldn't cry… anymore…" Asuna hiccuped, desperately trying to wipe her tears away, but every time she did, new ones would take its place. Then she remembered the very thing that she had told her mother when she had first come into the virtual world.

"'In this world, you can't hide your tears; when you want to cry, you can't stifle it', isn't that right?" Kyouko reminded her daughter. She gave her mother a surprised look with her tear-filled eyes. And as she did, she felt her mother embrace her, surprising her even further.

"It's okay Asuna… You can let it all out… You've been holding it in all this time; I can tell. But there's no need for that anymore… It's okay to cry Asuna… I won't think any less of you…" Kyouko said gently, patting her back in a comforting manner, as she had done when Asuna was a child.

"Mo… ther… uu… uuuu… uwaaah~!" Asuna said as she felt lumps grow in her throat. She finally let her barriers fall.

Asuna wept in her mother's embrace, savoring the consolation that she had needed and desired for the longest time.

Time seemed to stop around them as Asuna continued to weep and Kyouko kept offering words of genuine comfort, with both of them feeling sad yet strangely satisfied.


(A/N: That's it for this chapter, hope you enjoyed.

The next chapter is the one you and I have all been waiting for: Mother's Reconciliation. Please look forward to it!

I don't know when I can get writing on the next chapter because I have a report I have to write and the next chapter will probably be fairly long.

I hate to keep doing this, but please be patient. I'll get to writing when I get some time. This story is about 90% done now, so I'm not stopping now!

Again, don't forget to leave a comment for this chapter.

Thank you all again.

Yours truly, KiritoIRL.)