Sword Art Online: Akira's Arrows

Aincrad Arc

Chapter 10: The Girl in Morning Dew

Akira

"Oh man, floor 22, as pretty as a painting," I complimented as I walked, hands behind me head, enjoying the fresh breezy air hitting my digital skin. "The weather settings are perfect down here. Sun, flowers, trees, and no idiot commanders yapping in my ear trying to figure me out psychologically."

A small part of me felt sorry for Mito, I had initially invited her along, I knew Asuna and Kirito wouldn't have minded, but my purple-haired comrade insisted she'd stay and watch the front for us while we relaxed.

After losing a hand, I think you could use a day or two off, she had told me before I left that morning. She was right of course, but I would have felt bad for anyone that had to deal with the role-players on the council. The bright, vibrant looking forests of Floor 22 were calming, soothing, and most importantly quiet. I had almost forgotten what silence was like, staying in whatever the largest city was on the highest open floor did that to me. And in the last week and a half, I hadn't had Asuna's couch to sleep on.

Or had Asuna's cooking, don't know what the bigger loss is, I thought with my stomach grumbling, as I walked down the wooden path with my hands in my pockets, my casual clothes equipped with only my bow around my shoulder and arrows across my back under my cloak incase anything attacked.

It was nice and refreshing yes, but I couldn't get the thought out of the back of my head, the one thing that had been worrying me since I left.

The scouting team still hasn't reported back… I hope everything's okay.

I was worried yes, since I had sent the team out, but Mito had told me to worry about relaxing, that was the point of a vacation.

Still, I hadn't been on one since my mother took Aki and I to Disney when I was around eight years old.

So, I was determined to try and enjoy myself. I put all thoughts of the front lines from my mind, especially when I continued down the path and eventually came to the scenic cabin that my two best friends had bought for themselves. It wasn't overly large but had to be one of the downright cutest player homes I'd seen. I surmised it was definitely Asuna who had picked it out as opposed to Kirito.

"Not bad Lightning Flash, not bad at all," I said, walking up the steps. "I wonder if the lake's just outback, I haven't been fishing in ages."

Back when Aki and I had been on the streets, we liked to go out and fish. Of course, it technically had been illegal for us to do so, since we didn't have any fishing licenses, but nobody had ever caught us. Plenty of nights we had eaten what we caught.

Everything seemed to remind me of her nowadays, and of the real world.

"Asuna! Kirito!" I yelled out, knocking on the door as I did. "It's me, your third wheels returned, do me and favor and don't respond if you're up to something I don't want to see."

No answer came at first, which actually scared me, I had been joking of course, not expecting Asuna, let alone Kirito to be up to anything more then what I'd seen them do a few days ago. My eyes widened, wondering if I should peek into the living room window or not, but that was when I heard the door begin to unlock.

"Oh, thank god, don't scare me like that," I said as the door swung open. "What were you two… Oh… um… hello… small child."

Below me wasn't Kirito or Asuna, but a tiny girl, she couldn't have been any older then 8 or so. She didn't have an NPC tag above her head, or anything at all really. She had long black hair and a white dress on with no shoes, her large dark eyes looked up at me with wide-eyed curiosity. I was normally good with kids, but after expecting Kirito or Asuna, I was a bit floored.

Finally, she smiled and nodded. "Hello!"

I scoffed and knelt down. "Um… yes, hi. What uh… what are you doing out here?"

"I live here," She said, meeting my gaze as I was eye level with her now.

I slowly nodded, even more confused now. "O…kay. Um, how did you get all the way out here, are you parents here?"

"Mhm, mommy and daddy live here with me," She said with a smile.

"Right… sorry for bothering you then," I said, standing up with a shake of my head, going to the screenshots Asuna had been sending me the last week. "Did I get the wrong house? Wrong floor?" I looked back down at the kid. "Hey kid, what's your name?"

"I'm Yui," She said at first with a smile. "What's your name?"

"This has to be it… if it's not I'm really losing my sense of direction," I told myself, taking a step off the deck to look at the house and screenshot side by side. "No, this is definitely it. Did they really sell the place already?"

The little girl Yui looked at me confused as I sighed. I hadn't heard or saw any other players yet, but seeing a little girl alone like that, with a 'mommy and daddy', started setting off alarm bells in my brain. After the previous night and meeting most of those children that I'd saved, I learned that there weren't any parents and children, some other brothers and sisters like it had been with me and Aki, but no parents and their children.

And SAO had no child having, pregnancy mechanic that I knew of. Of course, if you looked deep enough into the settings there was a way to go about the act of making one, but it shouldn't have been possible to make a child, and if it was, it'd have an NPC tag.

No, Yui was real, I just didn't know how.

I knelt down in front of the girl again. "Aren't you a little young to have a Nerve Gear kid? Oh well, why don't you go and get your mom and dad, I'm Akira maybe they can tell me what happened to my friends who are supposed-."

"You're my big brother Akira!" She said suddenly, the smile growing on her face. "Mommy and Daddy said you'd be coming this morning!"

It was like I'd been hit by a paralysis poison. "B…Big brother?"

It'd been over a year since I'd been called that, I had forgotten what it sounded like. My body shook, as out of nowhere Yui just threw her arms around my neck and hugged me. I felt bad for a moment for not hugging her back, but it was like my arms were cinderblocks, I couldn't move.

"Yui-chan!" A voice came from the door, and the little girl turned, one arm still around me as she looked at the person in the door, I let out a breath when she spoke again. "What is it who's-. Akira-kun!"

"Look mommy!" Yui said, finally detaching herself from my neck and hugging around Asuna's waist. "Big brother Akira came just like you said!"

That got me moving.

"Mommy?! Asuna what-. What in the heck…" I stammered, looking up and finally seeing Asuna in the doorway.

She wore a cute yellow sweater with a green skirt, and smiled at the little girl who's arms were wrapped around her waist, before smiling at me next.

"I missed you Akira-kun," She said breathlessly, before smiling again. "I'm sorry, I tried to answer the door first, Kirito-kun is taking a nap, you know how he gets."

"I… I… it's good to see you too," I said, shocked by her calm tone, I looked down at Yui who was still smiling at me. "I'm more concerned with this! Asuna, you and Kirito have only been married a week and a half! I… I didn't know SAO had a system like this, did you two really well, you know-."

"NO!" Asuna stopped me, her face going completely beat red. "No, no, no, no it's not like that I promise!"

"Kids are only made one way Asuna!" I yelled back; my eyes glued to the small child hugging around her arms. "And she is an exact copy of Kirito. You two certainly act quick, I'm surprised she doesn't at least have the orange hair-. OW!"

"Shut up!" She cried with her red face after slapping me across mine. "Don't talk about this in front of Yui!"

Okay, I probably deserve that, I thought, taking in a deep breath to calm myself.

Finally I sighed, and looked at them both. "Sorry, I… this was just the last thing I expected. Asuna, what… who is this kid?"

"I told you, my names Yui," The little girl said, happily stepping towards me again, and hugging around my waist. "Mommy and daddy showed me the picture of you and said that you're my big brother Akira!"

"Big… brother…" I said, the words sounding foreign, like sandpaper shavings being dropped into my ears.

I looked up at Asuna, and after a moment, she seemed to understand what I was feeling, she was always good at that, my best-friend.

"I'm sorry Akira-kun…" She said, coming over to hug me too. "Come on, let's go inside and have some lunch, Kirito-kun and I will tell you what happened."

"Yay, lunch time!" Yui said, happily bounding back into the house.

Asuna pulled back out of our hug and smiled at me. "You know… she does look like Kirito, doesn't she?"

"Ye…yeah…" I said, looking at the girl running into the house, as the words played over and over again in my head.

Big brother….

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"I see…." I said, sipping the cup of tea Asuna had set out for all of us. "So, just nothing at all? No signs or anything at all around where you found her? She was just… wondering in the woods?"

"Yeah…" Kirito said from next to Asuna, as he looked at Yui napping in the chair. "We were going to check the Town of Beginnings in a day or two, but we wanted ask you what you thought first."

"And from what we read, you were just as the orphanage last night when you saved those kids with Misumi and Argo," Asuna said, her teacup in her lap.

I sighed and placed my own cup back onto the table. "Yeah… I'm sorry, but Sasha didn't say anything about another missing kid. She said they were all accounted for when we brought them all back from Bluebeards cave."

Asuna sighed, looking into the contents of her teacup. "I was afraid of that. What are we going to do now?"

She was looking at Kirito, who in his normal Kirito-like way held his chin between his fingers deep in thought.

He looked up at me. "Do you think you could still see any tracks or anything at all in the forest where we found her? Maybe figure out where she came from?"

"I can try," I said, looking over at the tiny girl smiling as she napped. "I'll bring her with me, maybe something can jog her memories. After that, I don't see the harm in going to see Sasha again, or maybe the Town of Beginnings will bring something back to her like you thought."

Asuna sighed again, but a smile came back to her face. "Thanks Akira-kun, you really do know how to put minds at ease, don't you?"

"It's one of my many, many talents I'd like to say," I told them, finishing the tea and smiling at the both of them. "You can pay me back with more tea, and that lunch you mentioned, I'm sorry but NPC food has nothing on yours, you're a lucky bastard Kirito."

"That I am," Kirito said with a smile, and Asuna rolled her eyes.

"Do you both think with anything other then your stomachs?" She said, but I could see the smile starting to form as she got up and dusted off her skirt. "I'll go get everything ready, we can go about all that business tomorrow, how's that sound?"

"After a week of listening to nothing but Heathcliff's speeches, and eating cold soup from the inn at Grandzam? That sounds wonderful," I said, leaning back on the couch and enjoying the cool breeze coming in through their window.

Kirito smiled and nodded. "He's right, I think while you do, I'm going to attempt another fishing trip."

That made me scoff. "Ha, after the pictures Asuna showed me, there's not a chance I'm letting you go alone. What I saw was fishing malpractice."

Asuna laughed, and Kirito just rolled his eyes at her. "Is there anything you aren't good at?"

"A lot of things, but fishing is one thing I happen to be great at," I said, standing up and dusting off my own pants. "Come on Kirito my friend, get ready for a masterclass."

"Great…" My friend groaned, standing up with me.

Asuna giggled again and smiled at us. "Okay, it won't take much more than any hour, make sure you both get your shoes off before coming back in!"

"Yes mother," I said with an eye roll, which made Kirito laugh and Asuna try to set me on fire with her eyes.

She walked into the kitchen, and I couldn't help but laugh with Kirito next to me. It was amazing to me how, even though they were married now, it was like nothing had ever changed between the three of us. Despite what I said, I hadn't had a terrible time in the last week with Mito, trying to train other players, helping them learn how to survive the game, and work towards the goal of leaving and beating it. It was what I wanted to do after all, save everyone.

But being there with the two of them now? For the first time in over a year, I really felt like I was at home.

"Ha… so how has it been?" I asked Kirito, after Asuna had walked into the kitchen, the both of us standing in front of the window in the living room, looking out over the gorgeous scenery of floor 22.

Kirito for the first time since I'd known him, didn't seem nervous, or flustered talking about things such as this. He knew exactly what I was asking. He had changed as well, he wasn't the same awkward, nervous kid I had met, this world had changed him, just like it had changed me.

It was odd, considering how much Aincrad, this fantasy, floating castle in the sky, had taken from me… how grateful I was for it as well.

"It… it's amazing, I can't even really describe it," He told me, as that nervous look returned, and he laughed nervously. "You… just feel connected to your person, like you can read each other's minds, it… it's almost like Asuna and me have-."

"Been together your whole lives, and you can't imagine what your life is without them anymore?" I finished for him, looking down at my hand.

"Yeah… how'd you know?" Kirito said, a smile coming to his face.

"Because Kirito my friend… I've been there," I told him, seeing the two wedding bands on my right hand. My chest started heaving, and I had top grab onto my wrist to stop it from shaking, between this, and being called 'big brother', I was having a hell of a day.

Kirito's eyes widened. "I… I'm sorry Akira, I… I forgot about-."

"Ha don't worry about it," I said, smiling over at him. "Man, I just wish the two of you could have met Kya properly. Asuna only met her for a short bit, it would've been nice to go on double dates I think."

"I bet it would have," Kirito said, his eyes falling to the ground. "But… to be honest, I… I'm still really worried, scared even."

"So am I, I've been scared since the moment I saw there wasn't a logout button," I told him, leaning forward on the windowsill now.

Kirito nodded. "I… I've met people here, met… met someone I love here. Akira… can I ask you… do you regret it?"

I turned and met his eyes. "Regret… what?"

He chewed at his lip and turned away from me. "You know… falling in love with your girlfriend like you did? I… I mean when she died you… you have to have… dammit I'm sorry, I shouldn't even be asking this, I… I'm just scared-."

"Of ending up like me?" I joked.

His eyes widened. "No! Not that at all, I… I'm just scared of losing everything, of losing what I just gained, I don't know what I'd do if your or Asuna-."

"Grief is the price we pay for loving people Kirito," I told him, my hands digging into my arms after I crossed them, looking back out the window. "That was something Kya used to tell me. When we love someone, really love them, it always ends in grief somehow… but you know? It's worth it, it's worth every single second."

Kirito's shakily sighed. "That makes sense… I… I just hate that it's a possibility."

I sighed myself, my arms shaking as I looked back over at Yui stirring but still smiling on the chair. I thought about Asuna cooking in th kitchen.

And the worst part, was thinking about how a year ago, I had been in the exact same situation, just with different people.

But like I told Kirito… it was worth it, I thought as I finally looked at him again.

"Do I regret what happened to Kya and Aki? Yes, I regret it every day, I think about what I could have done different every single day," I told him, shaking my head. "But… but do I regret falling in love with Kya? Never. Not loving her would have been worse then the pain I'm feeling now."

"Akira…" He said, but I didn't stop, I felt months of pent-up words spilling from my like a leaky faucet.

I felt my eye start to sting, but to my own surprise, I felt the corners of my lip go up.

"I'm still not okay now, I see them die almost every night," I told him, turning to him, and to his surprise, smiling. "I won't be okay tomorrow, or the next day, hell, I don't even think I'll be okay when we get out of here, especially when we get out of here if I survive. But… but the knowledge, that even though they're gone, I got the chance to love and spend time with both of them? It is worth, everything I'm going through. I… I just… I just wish I could have-."

"They know big brother," The tiny voice said behind me. "They know how much they both meant to you."

"Yui…" Kirito said, when we both turned around.

The tiny girl had woken up while Kirito and I had been talking. She stood right in front of me, her big dark eyes looking up, a smile on her face that painfully reminded me of the ones Aki used to have. It may have been a trick of the light, but I could almost swear I saw, her, saw my little sister standing in front of her, her blonde pigtails and excited green eyes that matched mine.

But it went away in a second, and I saw Yui again… but that didn't make me upset. How had she done that? Her words hit me like a truck, if that truck had been full of a special potion that alleviate my worries. Her white dress frilled out around her shins, and she titled her head with a close eyed smile. When she did, this time tears did come down my cheeks. I felt Kirito looking at me, but I didn't mind.

I knelt, and when I did, Yui took a step closer.

"Mommy and Daddy, both told me how much you mean to them," She said, not looking away from me, and not letting her smile slip for a minute. "If you meant as much to your sister and girlfriend, as you do to Mommy and Daddy, then they definitely knew how much you loved them, and loved you, just like Mommy and Daddy do!"

I tried to say something, anything after that, but I couldn't find the words. Things like that happened sometimes, you couldn't find the words to say.

So, I just smiled, and looked amazed at the little girl in front of me. How could an eight-year-old have such an intelligent, calming presence? And it may have been because she called my two best-friends Mommy and Daddy, but why did I already find myself ready to do anything to protect her?

"Ha… thanks… thanks kid," I said, patting the top of her head, and looking over at Kirito, who looked a little teary eyed at us. "Ha, and I love you too, you big softie."

That got him flustered, which made both Yui, and me laugh.

I turned to the girl and smiled. "Hey, Yui, wanna come try and fish with me and your dad? I bet I can teach you a lot more then he could about it."

"Jerk…" Kirito muttered, looking embarrassed again.

Yui giggle and looked up at me. "I wanna come! I wanna do the same things you and Daddy can do, big brother!"

"Ha, well later I'll convince your mother to let me put a tiny bow in your hands, that's what I'm really good at," I told her with another head pat. "As for fishing, your dad and I can handle that, come on kiddo."

"Yay, lets go!" She said, and before I could stand, she leapt up on my back.

"Yui!" Kirito said, but before he could stop her Yui's arms grabbed around my neck, but little did Kirito know this had been happening to me for years before I came into SAO.

"Alright then, let's get moving," I told her, holding under the tiny girls' legs and letting her ride on my back before looking a Kirito. "Show us to the lake Kirito."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Okay, now tie the hook right here," Kirito told Yui, kneeling down next to her while being careful, she didn't poke herself with the hook. "After that, bring it all the way over your head!"

"Like this?" Yui said, her tiny arms holding her tiny fishing rod over her head.

"Yup!" Kirito said with an almost giddy smile. "Then throw it forward like this, but don't let go of the pole! Just let go of the line and watch it go all the way into the water!"

Yui bit her tongue between her teeth, and did exactly as Kirito said, before doing exactly as Kirito had said. I watched from a small distance away with my own line already in the water, making sure he was actually showing his daughter the right way to cast the line.

I had decided to let Kirito had a father moment, by first teaching him how to properly cast a line, before he showed that exact same technique to Yui.

And like I had expected, Yui's line perfectly went out into the water, then both her and Kirito got excited.

"YES!" "YES!" They both yelled at the same time, making me snort a laugh.

"Alright, thanks Daddy!" Yui said, smiling as she sat down on the dock. "So… what now?"

"Ah, now you sit and wait," Kirito said, picking up his own pole next to mine. "The minute you feel something tugging on your line, tell me or Akira."

"Alright!" Yui said excitedly, sitting down with a giggle and looking over the rippling waves.

Kirito smiled, but then sighed, whispering to me. "Thanks for teaching me that…"

"No problem," I whispered back, before snorting a laugh. "How were you casting it before that was so wrong?"

"Believe me, you don't wanna know," He said, plopping down onto the dock next to me.

I managed a laugh and looked out over the water at my line. It bobbed on the rippling water, and I felt calmly at ease. I looked over and saw Yui happily dangling her feet over the water as she sat on the edge of the dock. Kirito sat and did the same, and I joined him soon after, sighing as my butt fell onto the dock. A small distance away, my bow was laying next to the quiver of arrows, I only had on my black cloak still, and I pulled it over my shoulders after feeling the wind chill.

"So, 'Black Archer loses hand but saves dozens'," Kirito said, looking back over at me with a goofy smile. "I gotta admit that's one of Argo's least outlandish titles for an article."

I scoffed but managed a smile. "Yeah, it is. It's not misleading though, like the thing said, I couldn't shoot for almost the entire fight, I almost felt lost."

"You weren't able to use your bow in Sword Art Online?" He said sarcastically. "That must have been so hard for you Akira."

"Jerk," I said reaching down and splashing the water up at him. "For your information, you and Asuna are the reason I'm alive, if not for what I learned from you, I'd never have survived."

"That was a neat trick with the pillars, I read about that," He complimented. "Who knew you could be so creative!"

"Hey now, a lot of people do," I told him with a sigh. "But in the end, if not for Silica, Argo and Mito, I would have died too."

"So… um… what's the deal with you and Mito?" Kirito asked, looking over at me nervously. "It seems you two are well… closer, to say the least."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you trying to ask me Kirito?"

"Well just if you two are well… um… a thing?"

"A thing?"

"Yes, a thing! Are you both well… you know!"

"Know what?"

"Stop messing with me, you know what I'm talking about!" He finally said, and I couldn't help myself before bursting out in a laugh.

My best-friend was a dense anime protagonist truly.

"Hahaha, I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it," I said, looking out over the water, a sudden chill rushing up my back. "As for me and Mito well… it's the same deal with me and Argo, remember I told you about that? I… I like Mito, I do, she's amazing I… I just can't…."

"I get it…" He said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, it's just well… you always helped me, well, with Asuna and everything else really, I wanna do the same for you."

I laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. "Haha, thanks man. It… does mean a lot, but you and Asuna well… you've already done more for me then you'll ever realize."

Kirito didn't say anything, it was something I realized he was good at. Just by smiling at me then, I knew what he was trying to say, what he was trying to articulate.

"And… it's the same in reverse," He nodded, yawning and looking out over his line. "So, why don't you tell me what happened? We both know how Argo likes to exaggerate."

I nodded but before I said anything I felt the slightest tug on my line. My eyes darted out over the water, and with a quick tug of my line a moderately nice sized fish sprang up on the end of my line, and I grabbed the net next to me.

"Haha, wow big brother, that was amazing!" Yui said with a massive smile.

Kirito looked at me perplexed. "How… the hell did you…"

I smirked at him, as I dumped the fish into our bucket, which right away emptied, the fish going to our inventory.

"Ha, well of course I can tell you Kirito, and by the time I'm done, maybe you'll finally have had a bite!" I said, pointing to his line.

Yui laughed, Kirito didn't.

After the laughing finished, for the next twenty minutes or so, I explained what happened to Kirito. He was a good listener like always, nodding and going wide eyed at certain parts. I mentioned how I hadn't yet told Silica he was married to Asuna now, and he stiffened, which was absolutely hilarious. I still didn't think my 'list' as Argo put it, would ever reach his, but it still amazed me how amazed he got when he heard these people all had feelings for him.

By the time I had finished, the sun was starting to set now, and Kirito still didn't have a bite on his hook.

"Dammit…" He said sadly, before looking at me. "But… Akira, you realize how amazing that story is? You, Mito, Argo, Silica, you saved dozens of people who could have been hurt."

Telling the story again, my tongue had gone dry. I pulled my line back in, and looked down at my smooth digital hands, and I noticed they had a slight quiver to them.

"Yeah, I… I guess so," I said with a sigh, going and putting the pole back into my inventory, and standing back up on the dock.

Kirito and I had spent so much time together since we'd met. I like to think the both of us had just the right amount of differences and similarities needed to be such good friends. We were both determined, ready to protect people, and were always willing to lend a hand, and protected people we loved with everything we had.

On the other hand, he was awkward, a bit clumsy, and overall, a big goof ball. I was a goofball as well of course, but after so many years of having to be outgoing and willing to do anything to survive the streets of Tokyo I was much more expressive and had to be reigned in at times. We balanced each other out perfectly.

Which is why, Kirito knew exactly what was wrong.

"You're thinking about the player you had to kill… the one who took Bluebeard's offer," Kirito told me, pulling his line out of the water as well.

"Do… do you think that he ever would have considered it Kirito?" I asked him, meeting my friends' eyes. "Before SAO, even a year ago, you think Rayudu ever would have considered doing what he did?"

Kirito's eyes fell. "I don't know, and we won't figure it out. But… but in the end Akira, you did what you had to do, he wasn't going to stop."

"I know, I know, I… I don't regret having to do it I… I just…" I started, looking out at the sunset again. "I just hate that I well… I couldn't even know his real name. I… I took a life Kirito, I… I've been responsible for five people dying in the real world."

I didn't expect him to say anything encouraging about that, he did what I expected.

He looked down, and his hands were shaking as well. "I know… it's the same for me. You've been thinking about it… we didn't even know who they were, if they'd done stuff like this in the real world."

"And… it's just easier to think it's how they were there," I said, walking to the edge of the dock and looking down at my reflection in the crystal-like water.

I almost laughed, I still looked exactly the same as when I full dived into SAO two years ago. My blonde hair was still as messy as it normally was, my green eyes hadn't changed, my nose, ears, mouth, everything looked exactly the same. I had been fourteen when I full dived.

What did I look like now in the hospital bed, had I changed much?

"Hey Kirito…" I said, not looking away from my reflection. "How… old are you now? Do you even know?"

Kirito scoffed, a sad smile coming to his face as he joined me. "Ha… I think sixteen now? What about you?"

"Same here…" I said to him. "My birthday… it's February 5th."

"October 7th… looks like you're the old one," He said as we both looked at our reflections.

"Has Asuna told you how old she is?" I asked him. "I'd hate being the old one."

Kirito shook his head. "No, she hasn't, I think she's afraid to tell us because she doesn't want to be the old one… it's crazy how we've aged… but haven't changed."

"Yeah…." I said, hearing distant words echo in my ears. "But this… this is our reality now, our reality is what we make it. And… and the reality is… if… if we hadn't-."

"If we hadn't stopped them… more would have been hurt," Kirito said, holding onto his arm to stop it from shaking.

I nodded, thanks Kya… your words save me again.

Shakily I sighed and nodded. "Yeah… because this is our reality, at least for now. We can deal with the consequences later."

Kirito nodded, and finally we looked up from our reflections. "And… you'll always have me, even when we leave this game."

"Ha… thanks Kirito," I said, as our hands reached out, and we did our handshake,

"Daddy!" Yui said, making us both shoot back around to the little girl.

And when I saw her, her large dark eyes were full of life, and while she looked like Kirito, her smile reminded me of Asuna.

"Yeah, what is it, Yui?" Kirito said, walking and kneeling down next to her.

She smiled and held her pole with one hand and pointed to her hair with the other. "Do you think that you can make my hair look like Mommy's?"

I laughed, because Kirito looked at the girl's hair like it was a vat of acid.

Asuna's hair was always braided in a pretty, yet elaborate way up the back. Mito had told me her and Asuna braided each other's hair like that all the time, and even I could admit how adorable it was hearing Yui want to look like her mother.

Kirito to his credit gulped and laughed as confidently as he could. "Ha… yeah, yeah sure, of course!"

I nodded with a roll of my eyes, before going to all of the fishing supplies, the net, poles, and bait we'd had brought out. One by one I put the items back into my inventory screen, before looking at the time on the clock in my HUD. It was past seven o'clock, and I knew Asuna had to be finished cooking by now.

My stomach had been rumbling for hours, and it had been days since I had anything Asuna-made, so after all the gear was away, I turned back to Kirito and Yui.

"Okay, Asuna should be…" I said, before my mouth fell open at what I saw. "Kirito, what the heck are you doing to that poor girl's hair?"

Kirito had two clumps of Yui's hair and was seemingly doing nothing but tying it in knots. Yui was obvious at first, she'd pulled her line back in and was now simply looking at Kirito awkwardly, the poor girl probably had no idea the mess her father was causing the top of her head.

Kirito laughed awkwardly and looked at me. "Ha what… what's it look like I'm doing!? I've seen Asuna style her hair dozens of times, if I can build a gaming computer, I can… I can do this… right?"

"Um… Daddy, I don't think that's how Mommy actually does it," Yui said, wincing as Kirito tried to tie her hair, but yanked it just a little too hard.

"Gahhh! I'm sorry Yui!" Kirito said frantically, untangling the poor girl's hair. "Um… here, let me try it this-."

"Okay, okay, that's enough, move over," I said, plopping down on the ground and shooing Kirito away from the poor girl's head. "Honestly, I can't watch this anymore, poor Yui's going to look like a caveman soon."

"I don't wanna look like a cave person!" Yui said, her eyes going wide.

Kirito sighed. "I'm sorry Yui…" he turned to me. "You really know how to do this?"

"I had a little sister before…" I said, my chest starting to throb as I gently took hold of Yui's strands of black hair. "Before we moved in with Kya, somebody had to braid her hair. Now… Asuna's braid's a bit complicated, but I think I should be able to do it."

And like a car that had been turned on for the first time in years, my hands still knew exactly what to do. Gently I straightened out the girl's hair, and took it carefully between my fingers, before picturing Asuna's braid in my head, and after I did, my hands were on autopilot, gently twirling and braiding Yui's hair.

Ha… you'd be proud of me Mom, I finally got it down, after all these years, I said, as Asuna's hairstyle started to take shape in Yui's hair.

"Wow… there really isn't anything you can't do, huh?" Kirito complimented from next to me.

I scoffed as I went on. "Trust me… there's plenty I can't do."

"Haha, thanks big brother," Yui said, kicked her legs over the side of the dock excitedly. "It's no wonder Mommy and Daddy love you like they do."

I looked at Kirito, and we both ended up blushing.

"Ha… thanks kiddo," I said, finishing off one strand of her hair. "Stay still now, this won't take much longer."

Kirito next to me smiled. "Okay, while you finish that off, I'm gonna run back to the cabin, and check on Asuna and dinner, I'll be right back, you'll be okay right Yui?"

"I'll be okay!" Yui said with an excited laugh. "Hehe, big brother Akira is here, that's how I know I'm safe!"

My hands stopped moving for only a second. It wasn't Yui's fault, but her words cut through me worse then any sword could.

Kirito must have put it together as well, because he looked down at me. My arms went numb, but I met his eyes and shook my head.

"Ha… you heard her, go on, we'll follow in a bit," I told him, as Yui looked up at him with me.

Kirito looked and managed a smile, before nodding and turning towards the cabin. The lake hadn't been far from Kirito and Asuna's cabin at all, and after all it was Kirito, I knew he'd be fine.

As he got smaller and closer to the distant light of his new home with Asuna, I kept working at Yui's hair. I looked down at my work, hearing the girls' words play over and over in my head. More and more her hair started to look like how I always saw Asuna have hers, and while I was proud of myself for that… there was so much more that I had to be ashamed off.

Some hero I turned out to be for you Aki… and now… I thought, looking down at the tiny girl in front of me. I still didn't have any idea where she'd come from, neither did Kirito or Asuna.

But… all I had to know, was that she was important to them, and that made her important to me.

"Hey… big brother Akira?" She said, turning and looking up at me just as I finished and pulled the braids into the right place.

I finished, and met her dark eyes, as she turned around to sit cross legged like I was in front of me. For a moment, we just sat there. Around us, the wind was starting to pick up, beautifully colored autumn leaves fell between us, and that was when I saw Yui shiver.

The moment attacked my brain like a virus. Me and Aki, sitting like this in a park, alone, cold, only a tent, a few sleeping backs, and weak fire going, our food gone, the both of us much thinner then we should have been.

Yet… in that memory, just like Yui was now, despite being cold… Aki still had been smiling.

I'm here with you Akira, so long as I'm with my big brother I'm not alone, and I know I'm safe, she had said.

"Um… big brother?" Yui said, snapping me out of my trance.

"Huh?" I said, blinking away a tear, and then seeing Yui shiver, I pulled my black cloak off my shoulder and tossing it around her, pulling it as tight as I could. "Yeah? What is it Yui?"

The sun wasn't down yet, but it was still getting cold. The little girl smiled and snuggled into the cloak, pulling it tight and smiling at me.

"How did you get to be so good at hair?" She asked, giggling as she looked over the dock quickly at her reflection. "You made me look just like Mommy does!"

I couldn't believe that was her question, but still, seeing her enthusiasm, I couldn't help but laugh, and smile.

"Ha, well I knew your Mommy well, even before your Daddy did, seen her hair plenty of times," I told her as she turned back around to me. "But other than that… well, I used to tie hair together like that for my little sister all the time. Her… her name was-."

"Aki!" Yui said, clearly very happy with herself. "I heard you talking about her with Daddy earlier!"

"Ha… you weren't sleeping, were you?" I asked with a sly smile.

She looked sheepish for a minute. "Well… maybe not."

"Hahaha, the old fake sleep trick, Aki used to do that too," I told her, reaching over and patting her head to mess up her hair. "Don't worry, it's not a big deal. But… yeah, that was her name, Aki."

Yui smiled and met my eyes. "And you used to do her hair like you just did mine!"

"All the time yeah…" I said, oddly enough, finding myself smiling. "It took me a bit, but I figured it out. She was always very strict about how she needed her hair to look, it had to be perfect before she started her day."

"Was her hair the same color as yours?" Yui asked, looking at me inquisitively.

Again… I smiled. "Yeah, same hair color, same eye color too," I pointed to my green eyes. "People used to saw we were almost twins, even though I was older then her by four years."

Yui smiled. "What other kinds of things did you do with her? Did you play together a lot?"

"Oh man, when we were little, all the time," I told her, leaning back on my hands and looking up at the setting sun, and the distant darkness that was coming in. "She was my best-friend. We used to love reading together a lot."

"I read with Daddy! Every morning when he does," She said proudly.

"Ha… that sounds like fun," I said. "Aki, she used to love drawing too, she always used to carry a notebook around to draw new pictures in when the inspiration came. She was amazing at it."

"Do you draw good too?"

That gave me one of the hardest, most genuine laughs since I'd been in Aincrad.

"HAHA, oh man, absolutely not, I can only draw shapes," I said, laughing so hard my gut hurt. "Hahaha, this one time, we were home, and I accidently spilled our tea over the kitchen table, and Aki's drawing notebook happened to be there."

Like a projection in my mind, I saw that day what felt like so, so long ago come back to me. Kya's kitchen, the tea spilling, Aki crying, Kya trying to comfort her and distract her that entire day while I went out.

"Her notebook was drenched; all her drawings were smudge and ruined!" I said, surprised at how my cheeks hurt from smiling.

"What did you do?!" Yui said, sounding genuinely interested and shocked.

I smiled, and leaned forward, meeting the young girls' eyes. "Well, Aki cried, and… and I always hated seeing her cry. So, Kya took her out for the day, while I went to the comic store and bought her a new drawing notebook. But I knew what she really hated was losing all her drawings. So… I… well, I tried to re-draw all her drawings from the old, ruined notebook into the new one."

Yui giggled, falling back and kicking her feet. "Haha, but you said you were horrible at drawing big brother!"

"Yeah… I learned the hard way that day," I said, my eyes starting to sting, but the smile… the smile never left me. "When… when Aki came back and saw the new notebook, I was worried she'd hate it, be angry, or even more upset! But… but she just laughed at how bad my drawings were…"

Yui giggled more and leaned forward. "But did she forgive you?!"

I nodded, remembering my sisters face. "Ha… she was never mad at me. She kept the new notebook; told me she was going to teach me how to draw the right way. She… she said that was why I was here hero… I always tried to make things right, even if I had to do something I was horrible at… like drawing."

That notebook became Aki's manga drawing book. I could see it now, her flipping through all the pages with her character designs, her going on for hours about what characters had what powers, who was who's arch nemesis… and how one day she'd put them all in her own manga.

I knew she'd never be able to do it now… but the image in my head of Aki flipping through that notebook… it made me smile again, and when I did Yui clapped.

"Haha yay! You're smiling!" She said, scooting closer and smiling herself as she looked at me with those big eyes. "You're smiling big brother! You must have really loved your little sister, if she makes you smile this much!"

I stuttered for a minute, trying to form words… but realizing my cheeks really did hurt. Hurt from smiling and laughing like I just did.

Yui was right… it was more then I had in a very, very long time.

And I… I never even told Kirito and Asuna that story… or… or even….

Or even talked about Aki this much at all since she died.

My eyes fell down to the smiling little girl in front of me… and it happened again, for a minute, it was as if Yui looked just like Aki, the same big smile, blonde pigtails, excited green eyes…it disappeared after a minute, and it was the same adorable Yui again… but I knew what I had saw.

"Yui…" I said, finally letting some tears fall from my cheeks. I let out a small laugh and reached over to rub her head again. "Thanks… thank you… Yui."

"Huh?" Yui said, sill clutching my cloak around her shoulder. "Big brother Akira… you… you're crying again, are… are you-."

"I'm fine! Ha… I… I didn't realize how much talking about her… would really make me happy," I said, wiping the tears from my eyes and smiling. I stood up from the ground and reached my hands down for Yui to grab. "Ha, you know what else Aki loved to do?"

Yui's eyes went wide, and she smiled as she pulled herself up, my cloak falling down past her feet.

"What?!" She said excitedly. "What is. AHH! Haha, yay!"

"She loved riding on my shoulders, come on climb up!" I told her, as I picked her off the ground under her arms, and let her wrap her legs around my back. "I bet you can see your Mommy and Daddy from up there!"

"Haha, I wanna see if I can!" She said, climbing up my back, and finally her legs fell around my shoulders, my cloak falling down her back and my neck. When she got to the top, I heard her gasp and then saw her tiny finger. "Look! Look Daddy's coming back, let's go see him!"

I couldn't see Kirito coming back from the cabin, but I didn't doubt her. My chest, it felt as warm as it ever had… in the real or virtual world then.

"Alright!" I told her, pushing her up further. "Come on, hold on tight!"

She laughed when I sped towards the cabin… and it was one of the best things I'd ever heard.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"May I introduce, the next Black Archer of Aincrad," I whispered, as Asuna and I closed the door to the room with the two beds, where Yui had fallen asleep in one. "I believe one day she shall surpass even my own talent and take my title as best archer of the floating castle."

Asuna giggled even though she rolled her eyes. "Haha… she didn't want to take that thing off, not for one second."

Yui had eaten dinner and had tea with us afterwards the entire time wrapped up in my black cloak. I hadn't been worried about getting it back, they were simple enough to get, and the smile Yui had the whole time had bene worth it.

"And that was a really nice braiding job you did," Asuna complimented, as we got to the living room where Kirito was waiting. "It looked exactly like mine; Mito will be very impressed."

My face got red for a minute. "What? Why would you bring that up?"

Asuna giggled again. "Haha, no reason, you two just seem to have grown awfully close, that's all I'm saying!"

"She's right!" Kirito said, as we both joined him on the couch.

Asuna nodded eagerly. "Its not like she doesn't feel the same! It's crazy, I don't think I've ever seen Misumi like a boy like this, and I've known her way before SAO."

"Not you too…" I said with an eye roll, as my two best friends laughed before I plopped down onto the couch in between them.

The three of us had moved the couch around to face the now crackling fire. It still amazed me to that day, how real the fires felt, how real the cold was. It didn't matter how many hours or days I spent in that world, it was the real one to us now, and we all had to accept that. Kayaba was a lot of things, but at least he had the decency to make the fires warm and make the tea warm as well. Kirito and Asuna looked at me amused, as I went and poured myself another glass of the tea Asuna had made after dinner.

Outside night had come, and the only light now was the light from the fire, and the dim light from the lights in the house which Asuna had turned down. To my right, I saw Kirito had picked up a new cup of tea too, a clamed look on his face, the fire illuminating his dark eyes, the smile on his face growing by the second. On my left, the firelight contrasted beautifully with Asuna's fiery orange hair and eyes, as a peaceful look came to her face as she leaned back.

I hadn't felt this calm in months.

"Oh come on Akira-kun!" Asuna said, her pretty smile trained on me. "Misumi's beautiful! Don't you like her?"

"Asuna…" Kirito said sheepishly.

I shook my head. "No, it's okay Kirito," I said before sighing. "You're right. Mito's beautiful, she's strong, she's compassionate, and a lot more of a goof then we think actually."

"Hehe, I could have told you that!" Asuna said smiling still.

I couldn't help but smile, sipping my tea, my eyes falling to the flames in front of us. "She's brilliant, and I've told her that. It… it's just well…."

Kirito's head fell, and an apologetic look appeared on Asuna's face.

"Akira-kun… I didn't know her for long, but I think Kya-chan, would have wanted you to move on eventually," She said, even putting an arm around my shoulder while she smiled. "I think she'd be happy if you found someone, were happy with others."

Still I smiled, but in my chest it was like the logs burning in the fire. It was slow, agonizing, and I felt small crackles and flares of smoke. I shakily sighed, and squeezed Asuna's arm.

"I… I know she would, that's not the problem," I said, looking now at the tea swirling around in my cup as I held it with both hands. "It… it's just… well… I don't want to let another person down. And well… I also don't know if I'm leaving this place alive. I'll do anything to get the both of you, and Mito out of here. I… I wouldn't want to be with someone, and then die on them."

"Akira!" Kirito said, looking over at me. "You… you need to stop this dying talk!"

"He's right Akira-kun," Asuna said, her voice small as she held her hands on her lap, and looked over at me, her eyes quivering. "You… you and Kirito-kun are a lot alike. But you… you need to stop talking about dying. We know you're willing to die for us but that doesn't mean we want you too!"

I held up my one hand and laughed sheepishly. "Haha… don't get me wrong, I'm not going to go out of my way to sacrifice myself, to die. It… it's just if… if I were to let what happened a year ago happen again… with… with the both of you well…"

It was the reason I had been so scared initially to take any form of command role with the Knights. It was why I had been so content to follow Asuna's orders, and why I deal with Heathcliff's in the guild. Even more then the both of them dying, one thing always stuck in my head about what had happened to Kya and Aki that day.

I led them there… I didn't see the trap coming, and I should have, I thought, looking at the both of them, my eyes quivering.

If I were to let Kirito die, before he got to go home and talk to his sister, to make things right with his sister, like I never did, I couldn't forgive myself.

Asuna, if she didn't get home to see Kirito in the real world, to get back to the family she had told me all about… I'd be devastated.

"The… that bottom line of all this," I said, tears coming now as I couldn't look at either of them, "you both… have someone, have people waiting for you in the real world. Kirito… Sugu is waiting by your hospital bed. Asuna… your brother, your father… all the people you told me about… I don't have anyone left in the real world. The only place I have people… the only place the people I love are at… is here, in Aincrad. So… if you two surviving means I have to die well… I'm wiling to take that chance."

Kya's parents wouldn't mind if I didn't wake up too. Mrs. Tanaka had always been kind, but I was sure her husband wouldn't have minded if my brain had been fried. Did I want to make it back to the real world now? Did I want to try and meet up with Kirito, Asuna, Mito, Argo, Silica, Liz, everyone I'd met here in Aincrad back in the real world to see what they were like?

Of course, I did, but them getting back, were the first priority.

I'll be there hero… like I couldn't do for you Aki, Kya.

I was smiling, but crying now, my arms shaking.

"I… I'll be the hero Aki always thought I was," I told them both, still not looking at either of them. "And the man Kya thought I was, for you two and everyone else. I don't want to die, but… but if I do, at least I didn't have anyone waiting-."

"We'd be waiting, I'd be waiting."

That stopped the tears, they stayed welled up in my eyes as I took in what I had heard Kirito said. I looked over, and saw him not only smiling, but smirking as well.

"K…Kirito…" I said through a shaky breath.

He smiled and shook his head. "You always gotta be dramatic, don't you? If you don't think you're the first-person Asuna and I want to see after we take the Nerve Gear off, then honestly, I'm offended you think so little of us."

"…Really?" I said, genuinely not believing what I had heard.

I felt something wrap around my arm, and turned to see Asuna had hugged it, her head leaning down against my shoulder.

"Of course, you big dummy," She said, squeezing my arm, then looking up at me, and over at Kirito as well. "The two of you… you're the first things I want to see. Kirito-kun… I love you; I feel like… I came to Aincrad just to meet you."

"Asuna…" Kirito said, his face even redder with the firelight.

Asuna teared up as well, and then she looked at me. "And… Akira-kun. You… you became my best-friend when I needed it most. You always believed in me, right from the moment you woke up in Liz's bed, you… you told me when you thought I was wrong, you were honest, real… and you have no idea how much it saved me."

"Ha… you were the one who saved me if I remember right… Lightning Flash," I said, reaching and wiping the tears from my eyes. "I was being stubborn that day."

"Like you normally are," She said, letting the tears fall, but smiling. "Akira-kun… you don't need to try and do it… you already are one my heroes."

"Yeah… mine too," Kirito said, his sheepishly smile still there, as he laughed nervously. "Ha… I don't know what kind of person I'd be today, if I hadn't met you. I remember… you'd drag me leveling, risked your life for me… you showed me how to me more open, and vulnerable with other people Akira… you already are the hero Aki wanted."

"You… you two…" I said, my hands shaking as I wiped my face again. "Ha… you… you really both love watching me cry, don't you?"

My friends, this whole time I had been an idiot. There I had been, so worried about them and what life would be like for them back in the real world… but I hadn't considered how I factored into their lives now.

It made sense in the end… because they were all I wanted in the real world. Aincrad had taken my life away, taken the two people I loved most in the world… but if not for it, I wouldn't have met the two people who saved me. And… since Aincrad was our reality now, since VR was our reality now… why couldn't it also follow us to the real world?

Maybe that's what Kayaba wanted… for his world, his creation to be more then just a game… and I hate to say it… but he accomplished that, if that was his goal.

Because, this horrible 'virtual' world, had just given me so, so much that was real. If Kayaba's goal had been to break us, to break our spirits… he had done the opposite.

Asuna smiled through her teary eyes. "It's nice seeing you like this… I won't forget how… how closed off, how you were when we first met."

"It's thanks to you… Asuna," I said, smiling at her, before turning and scoffing a laugh, throwing an arm around Kirito's neck. "And you too… you big softie."

"Ha… I don't think you can call me the softy," He said, wiping at his eyes.

"Well, we're both crying, so we can be soft together," I told him, shakily sighing, as I returned my hands to my lap and squeezed them. "I'm sorry to put all of this on you tonight. I… it's just the idea of losing you both, in either world I… I can't imagine it. I… I just-."

"Well, let's promise now then," Asuna said, her smile growing, as with a close eyed, tilted head smile, she turned looked at Kirito and I. "Let's promise now, to always stick together, the three of us. No matter what world we're in."

My chest suddenly grew warm, and I smiled again. "So I get to be your third wheel forever, huh?"

"You bet!" Kirito said, this time putting an arm around my neck as he smiled. "That is until someone breaks through that thick skull of yours."

"Oh, you do not want to talk about being thick headed Kirito," I said with an eye roll, but I couldn't help smiling.

Asuna giggled at us. "Hehe… I wouldn't want anyone else… so? What do you both say?"

Kirito smiled at her, and reached over my lap to grab her hand. "I already promised to stay with your forever… Asuna… I love you…. I promise, so, what do you say Akira?"

I looked at their hands joined together right in front of me. To one side, I saw my best-friend the black swordsman, the once quiet, emotionally detached and cut off solo player, known as the devil of the front lines, the beater who had cheated in the early game.

One of my best-friends.

On the other side of me, was Asuna Lightning Flash. The girl every man in Aincrad had coveted and admired. As beautiful as anyone, the kindest, most compassionate soul that I had ever encountered in my entire life. The girl who'd promised my little sister she'd look after her big brother… and a year later was still doing it. The person I owed everything too, who had been the reason I didn't jump into the clouds of Aincrad.

My best-friend.

The reasons I had to go back to the real world. The people who were waiting for me.

The last thing I would do, was disappoint them.

I nodded, and with warm hands, I reached and held my hand over them both. "Yeah… yeah, I like that. Aincrad, the real world… or anywhere, let's stick together, the three of us."

Next time, Episode 11: Yui's Heart: After learning from Kirito and Asuna where they found Yui, Akira doesn't hesitate in agreeing to help them find out her origins. Our trio's quest for answers brings them and Yui back to The Town of Beginnings, where a must more dangerous plot is going on. In Aincrad, one wrong move can mean death, and to figure out the truth about Yui, Akira, Asuna and Kirito are going to have to watch their step.

A/N: Link Start! Hello everyone and welcome back to Akira's Arrows! This is a very important day, for all those who didn't know today is the day Sword Art Online Light Novel 24 Unital Ring released in America, and you know I was at the book store first thing to get my copy! I have to say, Alicization blew me away, but reading the Untial Ring arc so far… oh boy, I think this is going to be the peak of Sword Art Online, I fully believe that.

Reki Kawahara has said he had material for another ten years of sword art, and with it still being so so popular in Japan we're in for some great content! It's also a tight slap to all the SAO haters out there which is always nice ; )

BUT back to the story, we have a slow actionless chapter here, and in all my stories I often enjoy writing chapters like this. One's were we can just have moments of character development and bonding, ones we can laugh at, cry at and say 'aww how cute'. That was this chapter for me, especially with Yui now in the picture.

Of course we say goodbye to her until Fairy Dance next chapter, and just like with Kirito and Asuna, this is going to shake Akira to his core again. While this was an actionless chapter, it was also a turning point for Akira, where he finally is ready to buckle down and not only end Aincrad, but get home in the process, to accomplish his goal of being a hero!

As I've stated before, Aincrad will be pretty much the same with of course the new characters and scenes added in, but Fairy Dance is where things really start getting shaken up with tons of new additions scenes, and outcomes! I will tell you all now, however, that doesn't mean the end of Aincrad won't go a bit different then expected!

Of course we also inch closer to Phantom Bullet! Where Akira finally meets Sinon, his destined love xD In addition to Phantom Bullet, I'm also going to be writing small stories where Akira is involved in 'Gun Gale Online Alternative' where he meets LLEN, Fuka and Pito, while taking part in squad jam! After that, I'm also going to be writing the story of Fatal Bullet, which is in my opinion the BEST SAO video game, I'll change a few things up to make it work with the timeline, but expect plenty of Kureha and Zeliska!

OKAY but we're getting ahead of ourselves… we have THREE chapter of Aincrad left! Next chapter will be the finale with Yui and the floor 1 dungeon. After that will be a calm before the storm chapter, before the big finale of Aincrad! I hope you're all ready!

Honestly, this is just a passion project born out of my love for SAO and how it helped me through some of the toughest times of my life, I just hope you all enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing!