Sword Art Online: Akira's Arrows

Aincrad Arc

Chapter 11: Yui's Heart

Kirito

"Nothing… only our footprints," Akira said, standing up and rubbing the dirt between his hands. My friend sighed and turned back to me and Asuna. "I can see the old footprints too, even tiny ones that could be Yui's but… it's odd."

"What's odd?" Asuna asked.

Akira sighed and looked at Yui who was riding on my back. Thankfully, she was sleeping, Akira's black cloak still tied around her shoulders. After he saw she was still sleeping, Akira took a step closer to us, whispering.

"Her tracks… their origin is well… right here," He told us, having us follow him to a specific spot a few steps away. "Right here. Now you're certain this is where you found her?"

I nodded, adjusting my daughter on my back. "Yeah… I'm sure. It was here I told Asuna that ghost story."

"You know how scared I get of stuff like that, I can't believe you did that still!" Asuna said, a very cute pouting look on her face. Akira and I had time to chuckle, before Asuna turned back to him. "What do you mean, this is their origin Akira-kun?"

Akira knelt down, and while I didn't see anything happen, I knew he was activating his perception and investigation skill as he ran his hand across the ground.

"I mean, her tracks start right here, in this spot," Akira said, standing up and walking a few feet with us following before he stopped. "They start there and stop here, and there's an outline of where her arms and legs are on the ground. Then, footprints that look just like your two, are around it, so this is the exact spot you both found her."

My mouth felt dry, as I heard Yui's tiny breathing… my arms started tingling, what could possibly have happened to her?

"Wait, Akira-kun," Asuna said, just as shaken looking as me. "You… you're saying she just… appeared? Spawned like an NPC?"

"You're right about the just appearing part, but she's definitely not an NPC," Akira said with a sigh, one hand on his hip, his other plucking his bowstring as it was slung around his neck and back. He looked worried. "She'd have an HP bar if she was an NPC, or a tag. She could have teleported with a teleport crystal maybe… but we won't know unless she tells us."

"And… she still doesn't remember anything," I finished for him, looking up at the small child I'd come to love. "I can't think of anything like this ever happening… can either of you?"

Asuna shook her head. She still only wore her sweater and skirt, an incredibly pretty outfit, but now that she had her rapier at her hip, she was significantly scarier. Akira was dressed similar to me, with a black sweater and comfy pants. He had the Black Bow of Fate slung across his shoulder, the quiver with his arrows across his back. I was surprised he hadn't asked for his cloak back yet, but Yui seemed to love the thing, so he said he wouldn't mind letting her keep it. Akira had said he liked to have his cloak on to conceal where his arrows were coming from.

I didn't think it really mattered, considering the fact I knew he could draw arrows like a gun shot bullets.

"I can't think of anything, it's like you said Akira-kun, unless she used a teleport crystal, or is a part of a quest, she couldn't have just appeared," Asuna said, leaning over and stroking the smiling, sleeping girls' hair. "I… I'm out of ideas."

"We still have the Town of Beginnings, don't give up yet," Akira said, smiling as he pulled up his friends list in front of us. "I'll send a message to Argo and ask her if she's heard anything about a girl disappearing or strange appearances like this. I'll send one to Mito too, she can check the guilds records for anything if she's not on a raid."

"Thanks Akira-kun, you really do know how to put people at ease," Asuna said with a sigh, and I nodded in agreement.

That was one thing I always admired about Akira. He had times where he lost it, like when he first went to fight Laughing Coffin by himself when I had first met him, or during the raid when he insisted on fighting Zaza himself. I'd seen him at his highest and his lowest, but I knew exactly who the real Akira was.

He was a complete goofball, he was confident yet vulnerable, knew how and when to take control of a situation, and just knew how to connect with people. To be honest, I was always a bit jealous.

Of course, he had always said the same thing about me.

"I try my best," Akira said, smiling at first, before sighing and holding his chin between his fingers. "But… I'll be honest with you both, I hope this isn't a part of well… something bigger."

I adjusted Yui again and met his eyes. "Something bigger, what do you mean?"

Asuna looked worried next to me, as Akira turned to us.

"Do you both remember the boss raids for Floor 25, and Floor 50?" He said carefully. "I wasn't fighting with the Assault Team yet, but I read all about them."

I met Asuna's eyes, and I felt a chill run up my back. From the look in her eyes, I could tell Asuna remembered as well.

She slowly nodded, her arms crossed and hugging herself. "Yeah… on Floor 25, the ALA was almost completely wiped out, even more people died."

"And Floor 50…" I said, shuddering at the thought, it had been me who took down the boss on that floor, but not before how horrible it was. "I remember, that's still the floor we lost the most people on. Wait… Akira, you don't think that… well…"

"Yeah… I think something's going to happen not that we're on Floor 75," He said, and I realized I had read his mind like I normally could do.

It wasn't lost on me the pattern Aincrad held. With each quarter of the floating castle we cleared, naturally like most games it became harder and harder, but with the Assault Teams numbers dwindling, and the new recruits not ready for boss raids yet… we were losing more and more time.

"So… you both had the same feeling?" Asuna said from between us, a worried look on her face, before she turned back to Akira. "Akira-kun, what's been the word from the front?"

Akira fiddled with his bowstring again and sighed. "I was going to tell you both last night but… well I didn't wanna ruin the good mood…" He grabbed onto his bow and met our eyes. "A week ago, a day or two after you both left, Mito and I sent the first scouting team into the dungeon on Floor 75. And well… even as of last night, we still haven't heard back from them."

"What?!" Asuna said, her eyes widening. "A scouting mission is never supposed to take that long!"

"I know," Akira said, opening his friends list again. "Heathcliff told me before I came to visit you guys, I could have a few days off… but to be on standby. Before that fiasco last night, Mito and I were planning on going in after them. I… just hope she hasn't gone herself."

I looked and saw the worried look come to Asuna's face as well. That was in addition to Akira, who looked like he almost regretted coming down to see us now, I knew he had to have some kind of feelings for Mito, romantic or otherwise. I didn't know Mito as well as Asuna and Akira did, but she still had helped save me. I felt Yui's breath on my neck as she slept, and looked at my best-friend, and my wife, and realized it was my turn now to be the calming voice.

"Don't worry about her, Mito's smart, she knows how to stay out of danger," I told them both, gesturing with my head back to Yui. "Let's go to the Town of Beginnings, and see if Yui can remember anything, after that we'll worry about the front lines."

I was worried for a second, I'd been too forward, but after a moment, Asuna and Akira both smiled and nodded.

Akira went to his inventory and pulled out a teleport crystal. "Got it, always go one problem at a time before you get overwhelmed my mom always said. Let's move out."

He held out his hand and Asuna grabbed it, before smiling her beautiful smile over at me. Still, it made my chest warm seeing it, I really loved this girl, with everything I had. I couldn't help but wonder if this is how Akira had always felt with Kya.

But… despite the confidence in my words, I felt my stomach churn as I grabbed Asuna's hand.

Akira was right. Something was going to happen soon; I didn't know what it was… but I just felt it in my gut.

"Okay, let's go!" He said, just as I felt Yui stir on my back. Akira nodded at us and held up the teleport crystal. "Teleport, Floor 1, The Town of Beginnings!"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"You know Asuna, Mito told me this was where you got your first rapier," Akira said, walking out in front of us, he turned and tried to hold back a laugh. "She also told me, you almost sent yourself over a cliff with your first sword skill."

I burst out a laugh, and so did the now awake Yui on my back, and an adorably flustered look came to Asuna.

"I did not!" She argued back, her face red. "She's lying, I just well… kind of… tripped over a tree root."

That only made us all laugh more.

We walked a few more steps, and looking up I could hardly believe how small the Town of Beginnings seemed now. I had only been fourteen, an awkward solo player. We walked past one alleyway… and I shivered, it had been where I left Klein and his friends to fend for themselves, unable to overcome the fright I had of parties, and connecting with other people. To that day, if Klein and his guild were to die, I'd blame myself. I should have gone with him that day… it was one of my biggest regrets.

We reached the square, walking past the teleport gate again, and I sucked in the air.

"Man… it's been forever since I've been back here," I said, as we stopped in the square.

Akira nodded. "I said the same thing last night… honestly, I'm waiting for the sky to turn red again."

That day, the day we were trapped. I still had nightmares about it.

Asuna shuddered. "The same for me… this place gives me the creeps. Yui-chan," she said, shaking off her fright and looking at our daughter on my back. "Do any of these buildings look familiar?"

Akira, myself and Asuna all smiled at her. Yui had final woken up, her outfit changed to a pink sweater and dark blue skirt, of course with Akira's black cloak still wrapped around her as well.

The way she spoke, the sadness I heard from her, it broke my heart.

"I… I don't know…" She said, sighing as she buried her head into my back. "I'm sorry…"

"Hey, don't get so down about it," I reassured her, smiling as I looked to Asuna and Akira. "The Town of Beginnings is huge, I'm sure we'll find somewhere you remember."

Yui seemed unsure, and it looked like Asuna was about to say something, when Akira walked up, and patted the girls head, which made Yui finally smile again.

"Your dad's right kiddo," Akira assured her, a smile on his face. He reached and tightened his cloak around the girls' shoulders. "Just keep my cloak on alright, it's how I got to be as brave as your parents."

"R…really?" Yui said, looking at the black cape around her shoulders.

"You bet," Akira said, smiling and crossing his arms. "It helps you be brave, and so long as you're wearing it, nothing bad can happen to you! Right Kirito, Asuna?"

"He's right!" Asuna said, her cute smile returning. "Keep it close Yui-chan, and we'll find where you came from in no time."

I looked at Yui as she looked curiously at me and nodded. "They're right! Akira got really strong once he got that cape. Pull it tight, and what do you say we check out the central market first?"

Yui's smile returned as she nodded. "Okay!"

"The next Black Archer," Akira said with a laugh next to me, before walking out in front of us. "I'll take point. After last night, the ALA is bound to be on high alert, but I'll make sure they don't give us any problems."

He had pulled the bow off his shoulders, and now held it up over his shoulders, resting both his hands on it as he walked in front of us. Asuna and I nodded, before following him towards the central market. He stayed a good distance ahead of us, and I saw him scanning corners and the rooftops for anyone who could be trying to spy on us. It was a common thing you saw in most MMOs that I'd played, higher level players would camp out near the starting town and try to con or rob lower-level players.

Of course, SAO was different, but you still had orange guilds who liked to pray on the lower floors. Their activity had gone down, since Laughing Coffin had been beaten, the most dangerous guild in the game being gone, meant they were targets now. Still, it seemed like me, Akira didn't like taking any chances. I looked and saw the katana at his belt, The Sword of Taki's was at the ready, and something just seemed… different about Akira from the night before.

And apparently Asuna noticed too, as we passed through the market.

"Hey… Kirito-kun, does… Akira-kun seemed different today?" She asked me, as we watched out friend scanning alleyways ahead of us.

I scoffed a laugh. "You noticed too huh? Makes sense, you have known him longer."

Asuna nodded, her eyes on Akira's back. "Yeah… he just seems well… more on edge than usual."

"Maybe he's just worried about Mito?" I suggested, as Asuna shook her head.

"I supposed that's part of it… but still, look at him," She said, as Akira walked practically on his toes, scanning every person or NPC that walked by.

I chewed at my lip. "Asuna… you never did tell me, what was he well… like when you first met him?"

Asuna was silent for a moment before sighing. "Well… a lot different then he is now. I'm proud of him for it actually. It used to be, after Kya and Aki died, he'd do his best to not form relationships with people. He had me, and he talked to Liz, that was it really but then well…"

"He almost got killed investigating Laughing Coffin," I remembered, shivering at the thought. "Asuna do you… do you remember well… seeing Kya and Aki after that?"

Asuna looked down at her hands. "I do… I… think that was what changed him, and… me too to be honest. I will, keep the promise I made to Kya-chan, and Aki, it doesn't matter if they were real or not."

She had told me about that before. The last words Asuna had said to Akira's little sister, were her promising to keep Akira safe for her… and then I remembered seeing the red-headed spirit that day in the graveyard.

You'll look after him for us, won't you? Asuna-chan, Kirito-kun?

I would, we made a promise last night after all.

"We will, don't worry," I assured her, smiling and looking back to Akira. "It's hard for us but… I can't imagine what it's like for him."

"Big brother will be okay!" Yui suddenly said from my back. I turned and she was smiling, looking between Asuna and me. "Don't worry Mommy, Daddy, big brother is just doing what big brothers do! He wants to keep us safe, because we're a family."

"Yui-chan…" Asuna said, her voice suddenly small, as I felt my chest grow warmer.

I chuckled and smiled at them. "You're right Yui, we are, and nothing is going to change that right Asuna?"

Asuna looked watery eyed for a minute but nodded. "Right… now come on, let's catch up and-."

"LEAVE THESE CHILDREN ALONE!" A voice screamed from one of the hallways, and right away Asuna's hand shot to her rapier, and my head spun around.

Akira had skidded to a stop, he held The Black Bow of Fate in his left hand, his right hand already holding out the Sword of Takis. He looked over at us with wide eyes and gestured for the street.

"Asuna! Kirito! You go from the ground, I'll go up!" He yelled, before rushing to one of the NPC stalls and leaping onto it, before I saw him using the enhanced body the game gave him to move up towards a lower roof overlooking the alley.

"Right!" Asuna yelled, turning to me. "Kirito-kun!"

"Coming!" I yelled, looking up at Yui. "Hold on Yui!"

Asuna ran ahead of me, her rapier in one hand, and I sped up behind her. She moved faster, and from above, I saw the shadow of Akira running across the roof. Yui gripped onto my neck, as we ran and eventually turned the corner, to find the sight of five armored ALA members in our path, backs to us, and in front of them, was a woman in a regular sweater and skirt, glasses and freckles, standing in front of the soldiers, as they had a group of scared, terrified kids trapped behind them."

"Look, it's that daycare bitch!" One of the ALA players laughed. "Ha, we've been waiting for you."

"Leave them alone and let them go right now!" The woman yelled back, looking terrified but standing in front of the horrified children.

I looked up, and saw Akira's shadow stop and take a knee on the roof, the Black Bow of Fate sliding off his shoulder.

"Ha, you make it sound like we're doing something illegal, we're just teaching them a lesson," The man in the lead of the soldiers said. "We're showing them how things work around here, making sure they pay their fair share. It's all part of the armies job ma'am."

"Ha, he's right, everyone around here has to pay their fair share of taxes to the army, it's just how things work," Another said, before the entire group started to laugh.

"Miss Sasha! Please, help!" One of the kids yelled.

Sasha's fist balled, as she looked up at the ALA man. "You thugs! We shouldn't owe you in the ALA anything after one of your own was caught kidnapping the kids!"

That seemed to set the man off. After the night before, in Argo's article that morning, I had read how the ALA was in seriously hot water with the other guilds and people in the Town of Beginnings after one of their soldiers-the one Akira had to kill- was found to be helping in the kidnappings.

The one in the lead placed a hand on his sword. "You don't know what you're talking about you mouthy bitch. Now, I think I'll make you and the kids pay back all your back taxes. Drop everything you have right now, all your equipment, including your armor, now!"

Sasha took a few steps back, looking at the kids, and went for a knife on her hip. "No way… you better let me through now, or else!"

"Ha… I was hoping you'd say that," The man seethed, pulling the sword out from his waist, and taking a single step forward with it pointed out. "Now, why don't you- GAHHH!"

Just as Asuna and I reached Sasha, a black arrow zipped through the air and smashed right into the hilt of the players sword. It just barely missed impaling itself into his hand, but I knew Akira had hit exactly what he was aiming for. All the ALA players turned around, and looked up, as like some kind of superhero, Akira knelt down on the side of the building, his bow drawn back again.

"That's a warning shot, I won't miss again!" He shouted down, just as Asuna and I got close enough to jump he yelled again. "Kirito! Asuna!"

Sasha yelped as she saw Asuna and I next to her, with the help of the system we both leapt up over the heads of the frazzled ALA soldiers. They didn't rush for swords yet, but when we landed, they turned and glared at us, before they seemed to realize we weren't just some random civilians. Even with Yui hiding on my back, wrapping herself tight in Akira's cloak, they didn't seem wiling to take a step closer.

Asuna looked angrier then us both, but first, she turned and put on that beautifully calming smile of hers at the group of three younger children.

"You're all going to be okay now," She said sweetly. "Go on, pick up all your gear."

"Akira!" I yelled, looking up at him, and just as Asuna turned, I saw his shadow leap down from the building.

Landing with one hand on the ground, The Black Bow of Fate in his hands, Akira came up between Asuna and I with another arrow ready in seconds, making the ALA take steps back.

"Wh…what the, woah, woah, woah this is army business what the hell are you both doing here?!" One of the soldiers yelled, and before I could yell anything back, the one that had been in command stepped forward.

"Hold on, I got this," Their commander said, stalking forward. "You must be new in town, because we're with the Liberation Army and you do not mess with us!"

He had picked up his sword, and tried to raise it towards us again but the minute it went up into the air, this time an black arrows zipped through the sky and impaled itself right into the commanders hand. It wasn't enough to make his HP hit zero, and since we were in a town it didn't go down at all, but it didn't mean the man hadn't felt the pain of it, because he wreathed as he fell to his knee.

"How long are the Knights going to have to clean up the ALA's messes?!" Akira yelled, Asuna and I standing next to him, his eyes narrowed at the man. "First me and my comrades have to deal with the defection in your ranks last night, now I come and see this?!"

I saw Asuna's hand reach for her rapier, and after the man ripped the arrows out of his hand, I saw his eyes dart towards Akira, who was already pulling out another arrow. It seemed that after a moment, he realized who Akira was.

"That bow… you're The Black Archer!" He yelled, taking a few steps back, his teeth gritted.

"That Black Archer?!" "He saved us last night!" "I can't believe he's saving us again!" The kids behind us said, and I made it a mental note to make fun of Akira for becoming as well known as me and Asuna soon.

Akira however, had a dangerous look to his eyes that I hadn't seen since the Laughing Coffin raid as he looked down the ALA.

"That's right, I'm Akira," He said, looking past the soldiers. "Hey Sasha, you okay?"

"Akira!" Sasha yelled, a relieved look on her face. "They were trying to rob the kids of everything they had!"

"No player is forced to hand over anything to anyone, those have just been the rules since the beginning," Asuna hissed next to me, and it was then, that I saw her walk past Akira with her rapier in one hand.

Next to me, Akira lowered his bow, a sly look on his face as the commander of the ALA seemed to recover. He looked down at Asuna, who had a dangerous glint to her eyes, that the commander wrongly egged on.

"Ha, and what do you think you're going to do?" He said, as Asuna held up her sheathed rapier.

Akira scoffed next to me. "I'd be way more scared of her then me or Kirito, that's for certain."

"You can say that again," I said next to him, fixing Yui on my back.

I swore I could see Asuna smirk, as like her nickname would tell you, in a flash she pulled her rapier from its sheath, already glowing pink with her word skill. It shot forward up and broke the commander's helmet, sending him flying backwards towards his men who all jumped back with their mouths agape. The commander tried to scramble up, but Asuna activated another sword skill and smashed it into his back, sending him flying again.

Finally, she spoke. "Don't worry, we're in a safe zone, so your HP won't hit zero. But… that doesn't mean getting knocked down over and over again won't hurt!"

"Wait! NO, NO!" The commander tried to yell, turning his back to Asuna, who unleashed another sword skill and sent him flying past his men, looking up at them as he sat up. "Well, what are you all waiting for?! GET HER!"

That certainly wasn't a good idea for any of the men. Asuna stood with her rapier pointed out, ready to unleash even more of the skill that had made her Vice Commander One. The group of five grown men, five soldiers dressed head to toe, looked at Asuna for a minute, before they all turned and ran.

"Bastards…" Akira muttered under his breath next to me, before slinging The Black Bow of Fate onto his shoulder.

Asuna let out a calming breath once the soldiers had run and slid her rapier back into its sheath. I couldn't help but smile, it was one of the things I loved most about her. Fierce and protective, but also kind and compassionate to go along with how beautiful she was. Next to me, I looked and saw Akira smirking my way.

"Shut up," I told him, as he tried to hold back a laugh.

He held up his hands. "I didn't say anything, nothing at all."

The smirk on his face said plenty, even Yui giggled behind me, which made Akira join in laughing. He messed up Yui's hair with a smile, before looking at me again.

"Don't worry Kirito, I was the same way with Kya," He assured me, as the kids rushed past us, up to Asuna, who was already being thanked by Sasha.

"That was so awesome!" "Can you show me how to do that?!" "You were so cool!"

They all surrounded her, and after looking surprised for a minute, Asuna laughed, looking at Akira and be above the kids. It was probably the most beautiful thing I'd seen in a long time. Next to me, Akira smiled with his arms crossed, and looked over at me.

"People will never learn huh?" He said, sighing before looking up at the sky. "I just hope… hold on Kirito, I got a message."

I nodded, and watched as he stepped away from me, and went to open his messages. As he did, Asuna laughed nervously, I knew despite her leading the Knights, she didn't really enjoy being the center of attention. It was why she'd enjoyed the last two weeks we spent together so much. Akira was looking over his message, and that was when I felt Yui fidgeting on my back, I looked and saw the girl looking around wide eyed.

Thinking she was nervous, I smiled at her. "You see that Yui? Your mom is wicked strong huh? She's… huh? Yui?"

Yui wasn't paying attention anymore, her eyes were drawn upwards, towards the sky. Seeing that, it sent a chill up my spine. Looking up at the sky during the day, in the Town of Beginnings, it never brought back any good memories.

"There… there hearts…" Yui said, her arm reaching up towards the sky.

"Yui? What is it?" I asked her, as the girl's face twisted, her eyes started watering, as she almost fell off my back from reaching so high.

"Huh? What is it Yui?!" Asuna said, having seen her.

Before I could say anything, Akira sounded panicked next to us.

"Asuna! Kirito! We have a problem," He said, rushing back over to us. "It's Mito! She went into the-."

"E…everyone… everyone's hearts!" Yui said, sounding more panicked, as her arm slowly lowered back to her side, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Yui!" Akira said, rushing to my side, followed by Asuna.

"Yui-chan, what is it?" Asuna said, coming up on my other side. "Do you remember something?!"

Around us, the air suddenly began to feel thick. It was like trying to suck ice cream through a straw, I almost coughed from lack of air to my lungs, as seeing Yui shrink back up into my back started welling up the panic inside of me, and apparently it was the same way for Akira and Asuna next to me.

Yui dug her head into my back, gripping onto Akira's cloak for her life. "I… I was never here…in this place. I… I was always alone… always alone in… in the dark… I… ARGHH!"

"YUI!" "YUI!" "YUI!"

We all shouted at once, as a noise like static from a television screeched in our ears. I almost jumped, and I heard Yui scream over the sound. She fell backwards, Asuna's hands clamped over her ears, the screeching static almost bringing her to her knees. Akira stumbled for a minute, but he was the only one to move quick enough. He darted over behind me and caught Yui just before she could fall to the ground, just as the static noise stopped.

"YUI!" Asuna yelled, falling to her knees next to Akira, who had Yui held on his lap, the black cloak he gave her hugged around her.

Yui's eyes fluttered open, just as I heard what sounded dangerously like the sound that came when a player died explode around me. My knees shook, as I looked down and saw Yui's scared, watery eyes look at all three of us.

"B…big brother, Mommy… Daddy, I… I'm scared," She said, tears coming down now, as Asuna reached forward and hugged her as she cried, taking her from Akira's lap.

Akira shook as he rose, looking over at me. "Kirito… did… did you hear…"

"Yeah… I did," I told him, my voice shaking as the sound played over and over again in my head.

"I… I'm so scared… please…" Yui said, clinging onto Asuna, as my wife looked up at both of us.

"K…Kirito, Akira-kun… what… what was that?" She asked, her voice shaking.

Of all the things I didn't have an answer for… this one hurt me the most.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Akira-kun… what was the message you got? Before Yui fell yesterday," Asuna asked Akira, as the three of us all stood, looking out the window and waiting for Sasha to bring lunch.

Yui was sitting and flipping through one of the old books I had in my inventory at the dinner table, as the dozens of other children in the orphanage ate eagerly at the long tables. It still amazed me how such a thing could be set up in a place like Aincrad. Seeing a sight like this, made me even angrier, the Nerve Gear really should have had an age limit. Dozens of kids were ripped from their families and forced to watch their HP bars for more then two years now.

I pushed my anger aside, and looked at Akira, who seemed genuinely concerned, leaning against the window and fiddling with the string of The Black Bow of Fate. He finally sighed and looked down at us both.

"I got a message back from… Mito at the front," He said, a shaky sigh coming next. "The scout team for floor 75s dungeon… it still hasn't come back."

My heart felt like it dropped to my feet. Every day that I heard the party didn't come back now, I worried more and more about what kind of creature would be awaiting us at the end of 75s dungeon. I was sure that Heathcliff would call us back for it. Normally it wouldn't even be a problem for me.

But now… with all I had to lose, it was different.

Asuna tried for a reassuring smile. "Don't worry to much Akira-kun. You never know, maybe the dungeons now are getting more complex, or they decided to map more than assigned. I'm sure Misumi will tell us the minute they get back."

Akira shook his head, his eyes falling to his shaking hand. "It's Mito that I'm worried about… she… she told me in her message she was going into the dungeon with a group herself. I told her she's crazy, we were supposed to be the ones to go, I wanted to watch her back."

The pieces fell together in my head, of course I was worried about anyone, and so was Akira, but now that it was Mito…

I met Asuna's eyes, and we had a silent agreement.

"Misumi is strong Akira-kun," Asuna said, her confident smile returning. "I'm sure she can handle herself."

"It's not that, I know she can it's… just… well…" He sighed again, clenching his fist. "I can't lose someone else again, especially now, I don't know what I'd do."

"If there's anyone who can find that party, it's Mito," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder and smiling when he looked at me. "Besides, I'm sure she has teleport crystals, and she's with a group. You need this time of Akira, and I'm sure she said it too."

"That's true…" He said, bringing up his message window and showing it to me and Asuna. "Check what she said in the PS."

Asuna and I squinted and looked at what the message said. It was exactly what Akira said at first, her telling him about the front, and how she was going into the dungeon, but then I saw the PS at the end.

P.S. I know you're probably going to worry about me, since that's the kind of person you are, but I promise I'll be okay don't even think about leaving your vacation early! A vacation is supposed to be relaxing, so go relax you big idiot!

Asuna giggled after reading it. "Hehe, I was right, Misumi definitely likes you Akira-kun."

"Yeah, that and she's right," I said, looking back up at him. "Let's see if we can figure out what happened to Yui, then we can all relax together until we get called back."

"It's ready! Thank you all for waiting," The voice of Sasha came, and the three of us turned around to see Yui wide-eyed at the tea, bread, and other cakes and food Sasha had brought. Truly being my daughter, she wasted absolutely no time in stocking up with plenty of food.

"Thank god, I'm starving," Akira said, as the three of us sat down at the table around the daycare caretaker. "Thanks Sasha, we really appreciate it."

"After what you did for us two days ago Akira, and what you and your friends did today you're more then welcome," She said with a kind smile as she sat. "I wish I could give more to be honest with you all."

"Please, don't worry at all," Asuna said, sitting down across from me and tucking in her chair. "We're happy to help."

I nodded, and heard the kids start to get louder in the dining room next to us. The sheer number of kids amazed me still, as I looked at the tea set out in front of me.

"Wow… I still can't believe how many there are," I said, turning back as everyone started digging into the food.

Akira was already stuffing his face with bread, washing it down with tea, Asuna was of course glaring at him for his poor table manners. The two began to have a stare off, which would have made me laugh any other time, but all that had happened in the square came flashing back into my mind.

I looked at Yui, smiling as she bit into some bread, could she really not be like the other kids that we saw here?

Sasha smiled and poured everyone more tea "I know right, it's pretty much like this every day."

"Ha, I remember… I almost dropped Aki off here, after more floors got opened up," Akira said, wiping his mouth and looking at Sasha. "We actually met way before this."

Sasha smiled and nodded. "I do remember that she had to little blonde pigtails and threw an absolute fit when you and Kya tried to leave."

"Ha… yeah, I won't forget that" Akira said, a smile coming to his face. "We're sorry to impose on you again Sasha, we just really needed some help with Yui."

Asuna nodded in agreement. "Mhm, Akira-kun is right. We… had no idea what to do."

"Of course, that's what I've been doing for two years, and won't stop doing until this nightmare ends for us," She said, looking over at Yui who happily swung her legs as she ate. "By the way, how's Yui feeling after yesterday?"

The static sound played back in my ears, and I shuddered for a minute, but managed to return my smile when I looked over at her.

"She was a little shaken up," I started, "but she had a good night's sleep and seems to be feeling better now."

Sasha nodded. "I see… and has anything like this ever happened before?"

Asuna's face fell. "No… you see, we… well we found her on floor 22, wondering the forest… the poor thing… she… she's lost her memory."

Akira's face fell too for a minute, before she looked at Sasha. "You told me last night, that all the kids who were taken by Bluebeard are accounted for now right? No chance you may recognize her, or heard rumors about somebody who went missing?"

"Oh no… I'm sorry," Sasha said with a sigh. "Akira's right I'm afraid…. We haven't heard anything else about any other missing kids."

"That's what I was afraid of…" Akira said with a sigh, looking over at Yui and managing to smile.

Yui smiled back and held out her bread. "Here big brother, for you!"

Akira looked teary eyed for a minute, before messing up her hair. "Ha… thanks kiddo."

Asuna smiled and did the same to the girl's hair. "It's okay… we were just hoping that perhaps somebody in the Town of Beginnings might know who she is or be able to jog her memory."

The sorrow on Sasha's face was clearly visible as she shook her head. "I'm sorry… I can't say that I've ever seen her before. When the game first started… all of the children experienced terrible psychological trauma… I couldn't just sit by, so I opened up this church for them to come and stay, until hopefully the game is cleared. I walk through the town every day to check for more and… I've never seen her."

Hearing the story, I couldn't help but feel even guiltier then I already did.

Here's someone else… who chose to help others, put them before themselves… and then there's me, who ran off to play solo, I thought, my hand clenching.

"Well… back to square one," Asuna said, her eyes falling to the table again.

Akira in his chair sighed, before standing up and walking over to his bow. "Don't worry, we're not out of ideas yet. There's still Argo, and I'll go take another look around-."

He was cut off by a knock at the door, and by instinct, Asuna, Akira and I all turned and reached for weapons that in me, and Asuna's case weren't there. Akira gripped the end of the Black Bow of Fate which had been slung over his shoulder. Sasha's eyes widened, and she seemed to think exactly what all of us were thinking. Carefully, Akira nodded to me and took quiet steps towards the door, I followed behind him, Yui having gotten up to cling onto my arm.

A few of the kids all looked up at us, but by the time we got to the door, they had returned their attention to their meal. With everyone at the door, it was Akira who pushed it open, the morning sun streaming into my eyes, as only a lone soldier dressed in army colors stood in our path.

"The army again?" Akira muttered, crossing his arms at the woman. "Can we help you?"

She had long white hair, and proper posture, and a worried air around her that I could feel. She looked at each of us, before bowing again.

"I'm sorry, for bothering you all today, my names Yulier," She said, looking back up at us.

I felt Yui grab onto my arm, Akira's black cloak falling just above her knees.

"And like Akira-kun said," Asuna went on, her glare trained on the woman, "you're with the army. I hope you're not here to get us back for what happened earlier."

To my own, and everyone else's surprise, Yulier scoffed.

"Oh, god no, I should actually be thanking you for teaching them a lesson, they've forgotten the purpose of the army," She said, before her face tensed up and she shakily sighed, before bowing again. "I'm actually here… to ask you all for help, please."

Asuna looked at the woman stunned, I had time to look over and meet Akira's eyes… that had been the last thing we were expecting.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Akira

My eyes glew bright green, coming to life as my perception skill activated, and all was revealed to me. I ran my hand along the tracks I saw, and what Yulier had told us back at the orphanage finally started adding up in my mind, it seemed she had been telling the truth after all. Not that I hadn't trusted her after hearing her speak so passionately about saving this, Thinker person, but still, you couldn't be too careful in Aincrad.

And I had walked into far too many traps in my time here. I wouldn't let us fall into another one, especially with Yui there with us now.

I still can't believe she's wearing my cloak… not that I mind, I said, as the tiny girl clung to Asuna while we walked.

It had been nice to wear only my casual clothes for a few days, but I couldn't deny how nice it felt being back in my Black Archer armor. I simply felt more powerful with it on, felt better about being able to keep everyone safe. I stood, and looked back behind me, seeing Asuna's Knights of the Blood armor back on, I couldn't help but think of Mito back on the front lines, exploring that dungeon.

She promised she'd be fine; besides, I have to keep an eye on these lovebirds now, I told myself, rubbing the dirt off my gloves.

"Well?" Yulier asked, seeming as anxious as she had been entering the dungeon.

I nodded and looked to Kirito and Asuna. "There's two sets of tracks, one set only has to be an hour or so older then the other going inwards… but there's another going back the way we came. Looks like you were telling the truth Yulier."

The woman's eyes widened. "Those tracks back out… they must be Kibou's. I was right… he must have trapped Thinker down here."

"Is he still on your friends list, down this dungeon?" Asuna asked the woman, holding her arms over Yui's shoulders.

Yulier nodded and pulled up her map. "This is the place Kibou wanted to meet up with him, it has to be the one, his marker is still here, but no messages will get through to him."

Kirito rolled his eyes. "Even at the first boss raid, that guy was a piece of work… Akira, want me to come take point with you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, let's get moving. Asuna, watch our tail?"

"Of course, Yui you stay close," Asuna ordered the young girl.

Yui smiled and nodded. "Okay Mommy!"

I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. Yui appeared to be the same age Aki had been when we first moved to Japan. I had missed the childlike innocence; it was nice to have around after the months on end of gloom.

"So… what do you make of this?" Kirito asked me, his Elucidator in one hand, Dark Repulsor still on his back. "She is telling the truth, but what do you expect to be down here?"

It was small, but simply walking down through the dungeon next to Kirito dressed in his traditional Black Swordsman outfit, weapons at the ready as we went on a quest was almost therapeutic, like this was how the game was really meant to be played, what it was meant to be like.

I hoped one day, I'd simply get to play other games with Kirito as well, without the lingering threat of death in the real world, and perhaps we'd get ice cream afterwards, like regular friends did.

I sighed, holding The Black Bow of Fate over my shoulders. "Well, we can't really be sure. I only really started playing games when I moved in with Kya, but isn't there normally high-level areas in starting zones for MMOs? Ones for people to come back too?"

Kirito nodded. "You're right, or special quests like the one you completed two days ago trigger on lower levels after you get high enough, it gives you a reason to come back. This dungeon is probably one of them, we should expect enemies near our level."

"Great…" I groaned, yawning after I did. "You really know your games, don't you? I shouldn't be surprised, you told me you've been obsessed for years."

My friend laughed. "Ha, you could say that. And you know a lot for someone who doesn't have many years of experience."

That made me laugh. "Ha, oh trust me, it was mostly Kya who taught me all this stuff. Even before SAO, she was always the one making me play games with her, and Aki always wanted to join. What… about you? Did your sister ever play with you?"

Kirito seemed to tense up. I didn't talk to him about the real world often, only small stories here and there. It was funny, I knew his sisters name, but I still didn't even know his real name. I didn't want to ask, partly because I didn't know if I'd ever be able to call him anything other than Kirito, and because I knew he didn't particularly like talking about the real world when it came to himself.

After his shoulders relaxed, he shook his head. "Not really. I… never even asked her to try with me. She hated games like this really, and probably does even more after what happened."

"Can't say I blame her…" I said, looking forward at the darkness ahead, as a question came to my mind. "Do you think well… if we get out of here, if you'll ever be able to put it on again? A Nerve Gear, or any other kind of VR rig?"

I remember when I had first gotten my Nerve Gear, Kya had practically begged her dad to get the three of us one. I didn't know what Mr. Tanaka did, or what tech company he worked for, but he managed it with little problem, despite him not really liking Aki or me that much. That first day, before we saw the logout button was gone, rushing through fields, killing mobs, spending time with Kya and Aki in a completely different world of swords and bows… it had been like a dream come true, especially for little Aki, who was even more obsessed with fantasy worlds then I was.

Until of course, Kayaba had to ruin it.

"I… I don't really know to be honest," Kirito said with a sigh, looking over at me. "I've always loved VR worlds, but to be honest… this experience, it's made me miss the real world all that more, and… the people in it."

I found myself smiling. "Don't worry, you'll get to talk to your sister again, we'll make sure of it. Then the both of us can try Asuna's cooking in the real world."

That got a smile out of him. "Ha, I would love that… but first she's going to cook what we got after killing those mobs earlier."

I shuddered. "I have to side with Asuna on this one, those were disgusting."

A group of what could only be described as killer mutant frogs had attacked us earlier, and Kirito was still insistent Asuna cook up the raw meat that had dropped from them. Normally, I liked to take Kirito's side on things because I knew how stubborn Asuna could be when she put her mind to something, however in this case, I had to agree.

Kirito rolled his eyes. "Come on it's perfectly good! We can't let-."

"Stop," I said, holding out my arm to stop him from walking further, as I felt the digital hands on my arms stand up, as in the distance, down a wide dark corridor, I could see what we had been trying to find. I narrowed my eyes. "Something isn't right… something feels wrong."

"Akira-kun?" Asuna said, coming up from behind us with Yui and Yulier. "What is it? Do you see something? Wait… isn't that a safe zone?"

I looked up and saw what Asuna was talking about, a wall of white light normally indicated safe zones in dungeons, and I was sure it was one of them… but still, why did this seem so wrong to me? My perception skill didn't see anything out of the ordinary, the corridor was still dark, only the light of the safe zone illuminating the hallway. The perception skill always let you see any enemies, traps, footprints, anything at all that was at max five levels above your current one.

My level was 98, Kirito and Asuna were both a couple higher, if anything was there, we should have seen it.

But still… what in the hell is going on? I thought, as next to me, Kirito's eyes glew as well.

"I don't see anything, Akira?" He asked me, turning off his eyes.

I shook my head, turning mine on for one last check. "No… nothing. Only the safe zone and… yeah, look there, someone's in it!"

"It must be Thinker!" Yulier said, the relief flooding through her voice.

Before I could say anything, Yulier was running past us. Asuna went to catch her but stopped next to Kirito and me. I saw the smile on her face, and I knew exactly what she was thinking. It relieved me to see something like this as well. Whenever I could help someone in Aincrad, especially to not go through what I had gone through… it felt good. Kirito and Asuna smiled next to me, before I saw Asuna help Yui up onto her back, my cloak falling down her back.

After Yui was secured, we took off running after Yulier, and when I looked up ahead, I wanted to keep smiling. It was obvious the two of them were together, and it was supposed to be a joyous reunion… but still.

"Why isn't there anything here…" I said as we ran, making Asuna look over at me while we jogged.

"Huh? What do you mean?" She asked, as we got closer to the safe zone.

I shook my head, a chill running up my back. The Black Bow of Fate was in my left hand, ready to fire at a moment's notice, and with each step, I could feel my hands starting to tingle.

Kirito spoke for me. "Akira's right… getting to a safe zone…."

"Is normally never this easy…" I said, turning on my eyes again, and looking over at Yulier who was a good distance ahead of us. "Hey! Yulier, hold up!"

"Thinker!" Yulier yelled, either not hearing me or choosing to ignore me.

My eyes darted past her to the safe zone, where I saw the outline of Thinker waving his arms, and finally heard him yell.

"Yulier! NO! STAY BACK! THE HALLWAYS IS RIGGED! ALL OF YOU GET BACK!"

That finally put the pieces together, I was so focused on speeding up to get to Yulier, it was Kirito who finally saw what was coming. He grabbed onto my shoulder and turned me towards the massive HP Bar I saw pop up on my screen.

"AKIRA! ARROWS!" He yelled, pulling out his second sword and sprinting ahead of me. "ASUNA! GET YUI TO THE SAFE ZONE!"

The Fatal Scythe. That was the name above the health bar. After the previous week I'd grown a new appreciation for scythes thanks to Mito, but this one, it was as big as about twenty of me and moved so fast that I could barely see it. Thankfully however, Kirito had pointed me in the right direction, and I saw it just as it came down to try and cut Yulier out of existence.

"METEOR SHOT!" I yelled, pulling out an arrow and letting it fly… however, when it hit the target, my stomach fell to my feet. "No way… it… it didn't even scratch it!"

It was like in other games when you accidently wondered into an area too high level for you, and your attacks only took of a small chip of the enemies HP bars. Except this time, I didn't even see the HP bar move.

I also realized that the HP bar had question marks over it… not even my perception skill could recognize or identify it.

"KIRITO!" I yelled after him, just as the scythe came down towards Yulier.

I had to close my eyes, but when I opened them again, I heard a loud clang. Kirito's Elucidator had just knocked the scythe blade aside as he tackled Yulier to the ground. I saw the massive reaper pull back for another blow, but this time I recovered in time to be ready. I pulled out four arrows and loaded them back into the string of the Black Bow of Fate.

"MULTI-SHOT, ICE VOLLEY!" I yelled, letting the arrows fly as I rushed towards Kirito.

This time the arrows hit home and had an effect. It didn't do much damage, but ice spewed from them, and stopped the scythe from coming down, just as the reaper screeched so loud that I almost fell over. Just as it broke the ice, Kirito had gotten back up to his feet, and the black cloaked reaper flew back over my head, and as it did, like was normal in a boss raid, the corridor exploded with light. Bright blue light started shining in the sky, and when the entire corridor was awash with light, Kirito had gotten to my side, and the two of us looked down the boss, who's HP bar we couldn't even see.

It screeched out again, waving its scythe so close that we both had to jump back, and when I landed, my knees buckled, my chest ready to explode as pins and needles ran up my arms. I looked up into the eyes beneath the hood of the cloak of The Fatal Scythe and I could only think one thing.

Another trap… another trap I didn't see.

But as my arms trembled, next to me, I saw Kirito not wavering. He looked over at me, both his swords clutched in hand.

"Akira, I'll draw its attention, you blast it with everything you have!" He said, his eyes darting back to the boss. "You see it too, right? We can't even identify it."

Behind me, I could hear Asuna instructing Yulier to keep Yui in the safe zone… and that made the grip I had on The Black Bow of Fate tighten. I mentally slapped myself, what was I so afraid for? I had my friends with me, and there was no chance I wouldn't let them get out of here alive, I had promised them that.

My eyes glew green and went back to the boss screeching above us. "Yeah, we can't even tell anything besides the name. This has to be something we'd see on Floor 90 or above."

"Yeah… looks like we were right, this has to be a late game dungeon," Kirito said, his hands going white from his grip around his two swords. "Akira, we only have to distract it long enough to buy Asuna time to get Yui out of here, then you go, then I'll follow."

"You're crazy," I said, taking a step closer to him, an arrow at the ready. "There's absolutely no chance that I leave you here alone."

"Akira!" Kirito said, looking over at me. "Please, I need you to-."

"Akira-kun's right!" Asuna's voice came from behind us, and before I knew it, she was standing next to Kirito with her rapier at the ready. "There's no chance we're leaving each other alone, we just promised we'd stick together, didn't we?"

And that was all I needed.

Despite not being able to detect the boss's level, I heard it before Kirito could start arguing. I spun back around, shouldering the Black Bow of Fate while I did, and sliding out The Sword of Takemikazuchi while I did. I saw the glint of the scythe as the monster screeched and took a stand right in front of Asuna and Kirito both.

"LOOK OUT!" I screamed, raising the supposed most powerful sword in the game up just as the scythe came swinging down. For a minute, I thought I was done for, but at the last second, I saw three other swords come in front of my body, and while the scythe hitting them made my entire body scream, it didn't kill me… my friends had saved me.

"GAHHHHHH!" I felt my insides crunch as I got sent flying in one direction, Asuna and Kirito in the other. When I smashed against the barrier of the boss arena, I felt it shimmering behind me, and a jolt of electricity run up my back.

I crumbled to the ground, The Sword of Takis dropping from my hand, my vision going blurry, all the while I looked at my HP bar being zapped of more than half its points in one blow.

N..no… not… not like this… no…. It was as if my head was in a fog, hazy and dizzy. I blinked, and black spots danced in my vision. From the ground, I groaned as I pushed myself to all fours, and looked up to see Asuna and Kirito in a similar situation. In the top left corner of my FOV, I saw their HP bars had dropped by more than half as well.

My friends were about to die… and so was I.

The Fatal Scythe roared again, and my body felt like it was stuck in quicksand. My stamina was a mess, but I knew that I had to move. Kirito and Asuna were in worse shape than I was, and I heard distant screaming, probably from Yulier, Thinker and Yui.

Yui… Kirito… Asuna…I told myself, pushing myself shakily to my feet.

"KIRITO!" Asuna's voice yelled, and that shot my head up, to see the boss closing in on Kirito who still hadn't been able to get up yet, both swords just out of his reach.

I saw something then, saw it flash in my mind.

Me, sitting at the kitchen table with tea in my hands, reading an old history textbook. Kya was making something that smelled amazing… and next to us Aki as drawing a new character for the manga she'd wanted to draw since she was just a little girl.

"Look, Akira, Kya! It's all done!" Aki said, holding up her sketch book with pride.

Kya and I huddled around to look, and Kya was the first to laugh.

"Ha, well look at that, it kind of looks like you Akira," She said.

I scratched my chin and chuckled nervously. "Ha… it kind of does, what character is he Aki, what's his name?"

Aki scoffed; she was always had a bit of a smart mouth. "His names Akira of course, he's the main character! He's supposed to look like you big brother! I'm going to draw the other main character to look like you next Kya!"

"Aw, well that's awfully sweet of you," Kya had told her, smiling that beautiful smile, messing up my sister's hair.

Me on the other hand, I got flustered. "Ha… you don't have to do that Aki, I'm no hero."

"Of course you are!" She told me, her big smile ever present. "You're my hero big brother! You see, in the story, Akira's powers only activate when he's helping others, that's why he's so powerful! Because just like you big brother, he's always helping everyone he can, no matter what!"

I hadn't said anything, only getting redder. It was Kya, who laughed and said. "That certainly sounds on brand, what are his power Aki?"

Aki scratched her temple with her eraser, deep in thought. "Mhm… I don't know, haha I'll probably make him use a bow, since you and Akira are always at archery lessons! His catch phrase will be, 'never underestimate an archer!', he'll be a hero for everyone, but especially his friends! Just like you big brother!"

"Be…be a hero, come on!" I told myself, each limb of my body screaming as I stood, and slid The Black Bow of Fate off my shoulder, pulling three arrows out from behind me.

The boss screeched again, and then, I saw him rear back his scythe, Asuna scrambling to get up, just before the scythe could end Kirito's life.

My digital body was at its limit… but I couldn't and wouldn't let that stop me.

He'll be a hero for everyone, but especially his friends… I didn't know if I ever was going to be that character Aki drew that day.

But I was going to try my damndest to be.

"COME ON! BE THE HERO SHE WANTED!" I found myself screaming, my legs finally moved with agony each step, but I pulled back the string on my bow. "TRI-ATTACK!"

The three arrows grew bright, one blue with ice, one orange with fire, and one swirled with wind. Just before the scythe could come down for Kirito, I let the arrows fly, and they found home right in the scythe hand of the boss, like I had expected, it didn't do much damage, but the fire caused a burn, the ice stopped the attack, and the wind sent it stumbling while it floated in the sky.

"ASUNA! KIRITO MOVE GO!" I yelled, as the boss broke free and turned to me.

I heard them yell my name, but I stayed focused on the scythe. It came down for me, but I rolled to the side and scrambled back up to my feet. Once the weapon had been stuck in the ground, I took the few seconds the boss was immobile, and leapt upwards. I saw my HP zapping from the pain, but I landed on its arm and rushed up its body, climbing a boss was a common strategy, but I had to be careful, because the moment I started running it flung its arm back up.

It flung me up, and the minute I was in the air I saw the massive scythe raise to cut me in half, but before I could do anything, I heard Asuna and Kirito scream again, but this time it wasn't for me.

"YUI! YUI NO STOP!"

After that I heard the distinct sound of a teleport crystal, but when I turned back around the scythe was coming through the air, I tried to fall and get out of the way, but before I knew it, the boss screeched as its scythe smashed into a barrier, sending it reeling back.

And… it had been Yui. My cloak hung off her back, and she was floating in front of me with her hand up, a magic looking barrier having stopped the scythe from killing me.

Yui's eyes were narrowed at the boss. "Don't touch… my brother."

"Y…Yui…" I said, screaming once the pain started returning to my head, and I plummeted back towards the ground.

I heard the boss screech again, and saw the roof of the dungeon and Yui get further away. All I could see was the little girl who'd just saved my life with my cloak on in the air, facing down the most powerful boss that had been activated in Aincrad so far.

"AKIRA!" A voice below me shouted, and when my senses started returning, I pegged it as Kirito's.

I yelled again, but just before I hit the ground, Kirito stood below me with Asuna. They both yelled for me, and before I could crash into the ground, they caught me. They both tried to stand me up, but my legs buckled, and they helped me fall back to the ground.

"HEAL!" Asuna yelled next to me, as a crystal broke, and I saw my HP bar shoot back up.

I blinked to try and fix my vision, and finally saw them both looking down at me. "Th…thanks for the save."

Kirito nodded, a horrified look on his face. "You're alright, what… what's-."

"YUI!" Asuna yelled again, and all three of us turned to look back up again.

I looked again, and saw her. When I did, I tried to scramble up. "YUI STOP!"

"YUI!" Kirito yelled with me, but Yui didn't turn around, only held her hand up.

"Daddy… Mommy… Big Brother… it's okay," She said, as the boss came down with its scythe through the air again towards her.

NO, IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN!

I tried to run forward, but my knees gave out and I fell forward, just as the scythe hit Yui again.

But it didn't do anything.

Everything in my body stopped at once, Kirito and Asuna stopped next to me.

Asuna was the first one to speak. "I…Immortal object?!"

Above Yui's head was the purple 'immortal object' tag, saved for things in the game that couldn't be destroyed no matter how much you hurt it.

And finally, I realized what we had been trying to figure out this entire time, the secret we'd been trying to figure out, that Asuna and Kirito had been trying to figure out from the moment Yui had appeared.

"Stay away…" Yui said, her voice reverberating through the hall as she held out her hand.

Like a real superhero, straight from the stories, flames appeared in Yui's hand. A ball of white light appeared around her, and her outfit had gone back to the same white dress she wore with no shoes the first time I'd seen her.

But still… she had on my cloak.

In her hands, from the flames a massive sword appeared, that was so bright the boss shot backwards, but Yui gave chase, swinging the massive sword above her head as if it weighed nothing in her hands. Kirito, Asuna and I sat there on the ground, our mouths agape as the little girl reared back the flaming sword, and dashed forward, swinging it down onto the monster.

And with one final scream, flames engulfed The Fatal Scythe, and with a colorful explosion, all the lights in the corridor went back out, and Yui floated to the ground.

My cloak fell just above her feet, and despite what she had just done, when she turned… she still had that adorable smile on her face, the one that reminded me so much of everything that I lost, and everything that I loved.

"Y…Yui…" Asuna said, as her and Kirito helped me up to my feet.

Yui smiled yes… but I saw tears welling up in her eyes.

"Daddy… Mommy… Big Brother," She said, the smile coming again despite the tears as she looked at the three of us. "It's okay… I remember everything now."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"An AI… a mental health assistance program…." I said, the disbelief dripping from my mouth as I spoke. "I… I can't believe it, but you… you're you Yui! How… how…."

"Akira's right," Kirito cut in for me, as my train of thought crashed. "You're a normal girl, you talk, act and are a normal girl!"

"Yui…" Asuna said, tears already coming down her face.

The light from the safe zone was almost blinding, as Yui sat on the small risen counter, my black cloak still wrapped tight around her shoulders. Her tiny hands were balled on her knees, as she couldn't even look back up at us. I never thought hearing her say my name would have made my heart sink like it had. I looked at the little girl I'd already come to love, to want to protect with everything I had, and I found myself unable to express the same emotions she was able too.

I could only stand in-between Kirito and Asuna, my hands clenched into fists at my side.

"I was designed to put players at ease with me, that was why I was given the ability to emulate complex emotions… and seem… real," Yui said, still unable to look up at any of us, but I could see tears coming down her face now. "But… the truth… is that nothing about me is real… not even my tears. I… I'm sorry… Asuna… Kirito… Akira…"

"Yui… I… I…" I started… but again, whatever it was that controlled the words that came from my mouth failed me, as if my entire brain was beginning to short circuit.

I couldn't finish again, as all I could do was shake like a leaf. I even had to reach out and grab Kirito's shoulder, desperate for anything to steady myself. He didn't mind, because i felt him shaking as well when I did.

"Yui…" Asuna said, trying to reach out for her… but Yui trembled. "But… but what about your amnesia. Can that even happen to an AI?"

Yui spoke, and every word made the shaking worse. "Two years ago… on the day of the official launch. For reason's I never understood, the Cardinal program banned me from interacting with any of the players. I wasn't allowed to assist them… I could do nothing but monitor their mental states. Everything… everything was… was horrible."

"Aki…." I finally managed to say… Yui's words bringing back the memories from that day, that day that everything had changed. "She… she cried for a week, even longer… every night she… she would wake up screaming, trying to swipe away the HP bar in her vision…."

Yui looked at me, her years welling now. "So many had similar stories… normally I would have gone to those players but… but I wasn't permitted any contact with them. Errors… errors began piling up inside of me over the two years and… I fell apart."

"Kayaba… you… you monster…" I spat, my hands falling to my side again. I grabbed onto the Black Bow of Fate around my shoulders… and I finally cried. "Kya… Aki… and… and you to, Yui… what… what else is he-."

A cool touch stopped me. I looked down and realized that Yui's tiny hands had grabbed my trembling one… and like a deflating balloon, I felt the tension begin to leave my body. Her big, dark eyes looked up at me, then over to Kirito and Asuna, her smile returning despite her tears.

"But... but one day...I saw three players… their mental parameters vastly different from everyone else that I had seen," She said, looking between us all still. "There… there was joy… laughter… peace… and… and something more… love… love and… and real… true friendship."

True… friendship. I looked at Asuna who was knelt down next to the little girl, to Kirito who was shaking next to me… and I asked myself, if I had ever been this way with anyone before. Kya and Aki were different, Aki was my little sister, so it was only natural that I loved her like I did. And Kya… Kya was the love of my life before she died.

But outside of them? Had I ever really experienced true friendship? Friends like I had next to me now, that were no different then family in my eyes?

It was something else that amazed me, considering all Aincrad had taken from me.

"I… I wondered through the playing field, when hoping to find you," Yui said, her tiny voice quivering. "I wanted… I wanted to be as close to you as possible."

Asuna's voice wavered. "That… that's why you were in the forest."

"Yes… that's why. I… I wanted to meet you three for the longest time," Yui said, her very real tears falling to the white ground. "That… that's strange, isn't it? I should be incapable of feelings such as this. I… I'm not a human, I'm a program after all."

"Yui… that's what you're feeling… real human emotions," Asuna said, as I looked and saw her tears start again.

Yui looked down again, shaking her head. "I… I don't know, I'm confused. Nothing makes sense and… and I don't know what happened to me."

So… so much like Aki. I could remember this happening before. After our mother died, the days Aki spent crying, the days she asked why it had to be her, why it had to be us. She hadn't understood what was going on, and that had terrified her. The most terrifying thing in that moment… was that I hadn't had any answers for her, I couldn't answer her questions about why she was feeling the way she felt… because I had them myself.

That was how Yui was feeling now… and just like it had with Aki, it broke me.

Luckily this time however… I had my friends with me.

"You aren't just some program anymore… the system can't control you anymore, you can do whatever you want!" Kirito said, the teary smile having come to his face as he bent over and smiled at his child. "Go on… tell us what you want."

I hadn't been able to move like Asuna and Kirito did then. All I could do was stand there, all of my failures at the forefront of my mind. I had failed Aki… and Kya, despite me doing everything I could… what was to stop the same thing from happening again with Kirito, Asuna… and now Yui too?

"What… what I want…" The little girl said, crying still, and after a minute she held her hands up, looking at not just her two parents… but me too. "I want to stay with you, I want to stay with you forever… Mommy… Daddy… Big Brother Akira!"

I shivered, and a sob followed soon after. I'd heard those words before, the minute that Floor 2 had been opened after the first boss raid.

'I… I want to stay with you and Kya! I don't want to stay down here, I don't want to ever leave you both alone again, Kya, Big Brother!'

"Yui…" Asuna said, before sobbing herself and tossing her arms around the tiny girl. "Of course, of course you can. We'll all be together, forever… Yui…"

"She's right, we'll stay together, remember, you're our child," Kirito said, hugging around both of them… before he looked back at me. "Come on Akira, don't keep the girl waiting."

Yui, through her tears, looked through Asuna and Kirito at me. "Big Brother…?"

I stood there, my hands clenched, and tears falling down my face. A part of me didn't know how to respond, I never expected to feel as loved as I did in that moment, in a place that had taken everything from me… but Aincrad had surprised me again.

"Ha… you… you think I'm gonna leave braiding her hair to just Asuna, you dummy?" I told Kirito, sniffling as I wiped my tears with my sleeve. "I would never do that to the poor girl… no… my sister will always have to notch hair, how's that sound Yui?"

"That's good to hear," Asuna said, her voice muffled as I joined in their hug. "We'll always be together, a family…"

I stood between them all, and wrapped both arms around Asuna and Kirito, before messing up Yui's hair… but the minute I did, I heard a voice ringing inside my head.

"Big Brother… please… please look after Mommy and Daddy… until the end."

It was Yui… but I didn't see the girls lips move, and before I could say anything, she did move them… saying something else.

"It… it's too late." Her words hit me like one of my arrows.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Asuna said, as the three of us all pulled back and looked at her.

Yui's sad eyes met mine, just mine for only a few seconds… but I understood what she was saying. She was pleading with me to do what she had just asked in my head.

My mouth fell open and froze, stiff as a board my lips were unable to form any words.

Yui finally looked away, and down at the black stone she sat on. "Look… this is actually a console the GM can use to gain emergency access to the system."

Down on the black stone, bright blue lines pulled up in the shape of a keyboard. I had never been on for electronics like I knew Kirito was… but I seemed to put the pieces of what Yui was saying together before he or Asuna did… and I fell to my knees.

"Akira!" Asuna said, leaning down next to me, as my glossy, teary eyes looked down at the ground.

Kirito knelt next to me as well… and after that my lips were finally able to move.

"She… she's going to be deleted by the system…." I said, each word like a separate dagger plunged into my chest. "For violating directive and interacting with us."

"What?!" Asuna said, her head shooting up. "Yui?!"

Yui nodded, her eyes meeting ours. "Big Brother is right… I used this terminal to delete the monster in the corridor. And now… the system is running a check on my program… it thinks I'm a foreign object now… and will delete me."

"What?! But there has to be a way around it!" Kirito said, rushing forward. "I can try and use to console to-."

"You should have let it get me…" I said, the words slipping out and cutting Kirito off. "Yui… you… you should have let it have me, you… you all could have escaped!"

I felt all three pairs of eyes turned to me… and I fell to all fours on the ground with tears in my eyes.

"It's happening again…" I said, my fists trying to punch through the ground as I sat there with tears streaming down my face. "First… first Kya and Aki and… and now… why is it always everyone else when… when it should finally be me?! I-."

I stopped, because I saw a shadow appear above me, and felt something fall over my shoulders.

"It helps you be brave," Yui's tiny voice said, her smile coming back as I looked up at her with my wet face. After I met her eyes, she tilted her head and smiled again. "So long as you wear it… nothing bad can happen to you."

"Y…Yui…" I said through wet eyes, my voice cracking, as I reached and hugged the tiny girl. "I'll look after them… I'll do what you said… I promise."

"Thank you… Big Brother Akira," She said, looking up at Kirito and Asuna as well. "Mommy… Daddy… thank you… thank you all. This… this is goodbye."

I squeezed her harder, and that was when I heard Asuna sob and fall down next to me to hold onto the girl as well.

"NO! No Yui… Yui I don't want that! Stay, stay with us, we're all a family," She said, her sobs growing louder with mine.

Kirito fell to his knees… grabbing the girls hand. "Yui… Yui don't go, you can't!"

I hadn't looked up, only shutting my eyes and holding her for as long as I could… but Yui didn't sound scared, she sounded braver then I had ever been.

"You all... all three of you have a way of making people smile," She said, sounding almost content, despite our sobbing. "Please… Daddy… Mommy… Big Brother, continue on my work, make people smile and share your happiness with all of them… please."

"But I can't, I can't anymore, I won't, I can't be happy without you anymore please!" Asuna said, sobbing louder then I was now… and that was when Yui held her tiny hand up to her… she hadn't stopped smiling.

"Please… smile… Mommy," Her tiny voice said… before it became silent.

And then I fell back to the ground again… Yui having disappeared out of my arms.

"I… I'll do it… I'll do it Yui… I'll look after them both," I said, looking at my black cloak falling back over my shoulders. My hands balled into fists on the floor, and I felt blood rush to both of my eyes, like something igniting inside me. "Not just them… but all of them… I'll look after all of them."

I was going to continue Yui's work like she said… I'd put the people's minds at ease, and to do that, I would end this world. To stop Asuna from crying next to me, to let Kirito go and make things right with his sister… I'd end it.

And I was going to survive it and meet up with all of them in the real world.

But for now… all I could do was look over at Asuna crying on the floor and put an arm around her.

"Asuna…" I said to her, not knowing what else to say. I pulled her into a hug as we were on the ground… but all she could do was sob.

"Yui… no… no…" She cried, and the new steely resolve I felt slowly started to crumble.

"Asuna… come on," I said, trying to help her off the ground. "We… we should-."

"Dammit… DAMMIT! Cardinal!" Kirito yelled, cutting me off, making both Asuna and I look up at him. Never had I seen such a look on Kirito's face as he looked up at the ceiling. "NO! KAYABA! You bastard, I'll show you sometimes things don't always go the way you plan!"

I didn't have time to say anything, and neither did Asuna. Kirito rushed to the terminal and started going to work on the keyboard. Asuna and I looked up and never in my life had I seen anyone's fingers move so fast.

"Kirito… what… what are you doing?" Asuna managed to say, as above the terminal a screen with different colors, grids and numbers appeared. I couldn't make any sense of it, but apparently it was nothing to Kirito, as he didn't waver even once as he typed.

Kirito didn't even look back as he spoke. "If I'm fast enough, I can use the GM's account to access the system!"

"My god… you weren't lying when you said you were a wiz," I said, sniffling and helping Asuna back to her feet while rubbing my eyes as Kirito typed away. "Kirito, what are you even trying to-."

I was cut off, by the bright light of the screen Kirito was looking at flashing bright before an explosion sent him flying backwards away from the terminal.

"Kirito!" Asuna said, as we both rushed and knelt down next to him. She grabbed onto his arm as he groaned and sat up. "Kirito, are you okay, what… huh? What… what is this?"

"Is that… Kirito is that an item?" I said, looking at the tiny tear shaped crystal that he held up and handed to Asuna.

Kirito groaned, his swords clanging as he sat up. "The system… it… was about to reject Yui's admin privileges. Akira's right, the only thing I could do was take her program and turn it into a game object."

My eyes widened. "You… you can do that? So… so that little tear it… it's…"

Kirito nodded, looking at Asuna now. "Yeah… that object… it's Yui's heart. I also made it so that when the game does end, her program is stored to the internal memory on my Nerve Gear… recreating her won't be easy… but we'll find a way."

Asuna stiffened, sobbing again. For a moment, she just looked between us, before her eyes fell to Kirito, and like I expected… she hugged him and sobbed. Kirito met my eyes for a moment, and I even had to the nerve to wink at him, which made him go red for a minute before I turned to Asuna.

I would join them in a moment… but all I could focus on was what Kirito had said.

"So… there's another reason to clear this game…" I said, pulling The Black Bow of Fate off my back, my hands squeezing around it so hard my knuckles went white. "Good… look out Ruby Palace… because The Black Archer is going to be shooting down your door really soon."

And with the two people I saw smiling at me now… I knew I was going to do it, and I was going to survive it… but first, there were a few things I knew I'd been putting off for a while that I was going to need to do.

But one way or another… I was going to end that world, so that I could get my new family back.

Next Time, Episode 12: Archer: After their mission down to the dungeon of Floor 1, Asuna, Kirito and Akira take some time to reflect and enjoy the rest of their time off… Akira however, grows restless. Now determined more then ever to clear the game, and after a harrowing report comes in from Mito and the frontlines, he rushes to prepare for what he knows will be his most terrifying battle yet. He doesn't know it yet, but soon, he and his new family are going to be put to the ultimate test, in their goal to reach the Ruby Palace.

AN: Welcome back everyone! First I want to say a massive WELCOME to all the new followers I've gained in the last few chapters, if you are reading this you have no idea how thankful I am, I how much I truly hope you enjoy what I've been writing. This story was born from my love of SAO, and I have been so excited to share it all with you readers.

In this chapter, it goes pretty much the same way as it does in the anime, but still, who doesn't tear up a bit at this episode xD As I've said in previous ANs, Aincrad believe it or not is probably what I was least excited to write, not that I wasn't excited or giving it my all, it's just compared to the other arcs to come, the least bit is changed/added in my outline for this series. This arc is all about establishing Akira's character, his trauma, and most importantly his relationship with Kirito, Asuna and the rest of the SAO gang.

Next chapter is the penultimate chapter, and I am SO SO excited for it! After that we moe onto Fairy Dance, and then GUN GALE, where as I've announced before Akira will meet his soulmate, and ship for this series, Sinon-Shino Asada. I am so excited for that.

In Aincrad I've loved adding quirks and bits of personality to Akira, like how he's always making anime references, or how he is painfully aware he's basically an anime protagonist himself.

Also side note, I hope a bunch of you like the Fate series because the references are gonna keep coming xD I mean Akira, is BASICALLY Emiya without all the swords hahaha. Just wait until you meet the Arfysis in the Fatal Bullet arc xD

That's it for this AN! Next chapter is going to hit some emotional beats and cool action before we get to the final chapter. I believe we'll have the first bit of the Skull Reaper Floor 75 fight in the next one, before we get to the big showdown in the finale! I hope to see you all there!