New chapter, yay!
Normally, I'd say something or crack a joke about the terrible upload rate but y'all should be used to it at this point so no further need.
I will say though that, despite the not-so-great amount of progress I've made recently, I have ideas for future events and arcs in place so it's just a matter of getting there. That and I've also decided that I don't have the mental capacity to make this story as long as I originally wanted so even though I said I wouldn't skip any floors at the start, I'm afraid I won't fully be able to back that promise up because I really don't want to still be writing this in 10-20 years time, ya get me?
Anywho, I've made this a/n too long, onto the chapter!
I DO NOT OWN Sword Art Online!
"H-How the hell do you know who I am?" Kazuto asked in deep confusion.
"How could I not? Your avatar was all over the news when you beat that death game," She said, and despite the words themselves sounding like flattery, she was sounding a lot angrier than anything else. Kazuto mentally cursed Kikuoka since he asked him to keep him anonymous after waking up from the game.
"You make that sound like a bad thing," Kazuto replied, starting to get a little annoyed at the stranger's aggression.
"So tell me, if you were the one who cleared SAO then why didn't my brother wake up!?" She grilled in a rather raised voice. Now Kazuto understood the aggression. She obviously held some sort of grudge towards him for not getting her brother out of the game, unlike most of the players.
"Okay, I understand your pain, but I wasn't the one who logged everyone out so your blaming is misplaced. If you want someone to blame, Kayaba is your guy," Kazuto stated, though it didn't seem like Tamaki was wavering.
"Kayaba is dead, who else am I suppose to blame!" She shouted, now with teary eyes. "My brother's been gone for almost four years! How could you understand what that's like?"
"I don't, but you're not the only one!" Kazuto yelled, causing her to jump back and silence. "My own sister was without me for all those two years as well, and there'll be thousands of families out there who went through the same experience," Luckily, she remained silent after his words but was obviously still very upset. "Look, I'm really sorry that happened to your brother, but I wasn't the one who kept him from logging out," He said as he calmed himself down. Tamaki rubbed her eyes before speaking again.
"But why? Why did it have to be my brother? Why couldn't it have been someone else?" She mumbled between her sniffles. "Mom and Dad are basically broken. It's hard to imagine that I'm never going to see him smile again," She said as she put her head into her hands. When he heard that, Kazuto smiled.
"What are you talking about? Your brother's fine," He revealed with a giggle. Suddenly, Tamaki looked up at him with wide eyes.
"W…What do you mean?" She asked curiously. Kazuto sat down in a nearby chair before starting.
"Ok let me explain. Your brother's been stuck in the game since it started way back when, right?" He asked. Tamaki just nodded in reply.
"So basically, a couple of months ago, my friends and I became involved in a…mission from the government to help them learn how to use the Medicuboid so that hospitals could start treating terminal illnesses. The problem with that is that the creator of the Medicuboid was also the creator of SAO, Akihiko Kayaba. So, since he killed himself IRL, they can't really just ask him willy-nilly, meaning that, since we know Kayaba was the hundredth floor boss of SAO, we might be able to talk to him if we beat the game again," The more Kazuto explained, the more shocked Tamaki became. "So because I was the one who cleared the original game, the government came to me to man a restart of the game and fight to the hundredth floor to get the information out of Kayaba," At this point, Tamaki briefly interrupted him.
"T-That's great and all, but what does Tobi have to do with it?" She asked nervously.
"Your brother is still logged into the game. When I dived back in, I found him still there and have been playing with him this whole time," Kazuto revealed. Hearing this, Tamaki immediately put her hand to her mouth and barely held back tears. "Tamaki, that means that if I clear the game again, I can ask Kayaba to log your brother out specifically," After a few tears, Tamaki suddenly questioned something.
"W-Wait, why doesn't he l-log out himself if he's still playing?" She managed to ask through her emotions. Kazuto then explained to her the whole reason he was never logged out and how he had been stuck in the abyss of cyberspace all this time. After he had finally finished explaining everything. Tamaki slowly crept over to Tobio's side and wept onto his arm. It was then when Kazuto finally walked far enough forward to see Toran's IRL body, and it did not look pretty.
His body was completely pale white and twice as skinny as Kazuto had been when he had been released from SAO. Fortunately, he was slowly but surely breathing.
Then came the odd part. The NerveGear was obviously still on his head but countless wires were connected to his device and all of them plugged into a large device that was just beyond his pillow. Judging from the way the device was floating off the ground and connected to the roof rather than the floor, he could safely assume that it was the same device that he saw Yuuki had connected to her back then, the Medicuboid. The exact device that he was trying to fight his way to the top of Aincrad to get the blueprints for.
He assumed they were using the Medicuboid to keep Tobio alive and had somehow managed to connect it to his NerveGear without setting off the brain-frying radiation waves. After a short while, Tamaki rose up and dried the rest of her watery eyes before staring at Kazuto.
"Kirito, may I please join you in helping with the Medicuboid thing so I can see my brother again?" She asked though it sounded more like a statement.
"Okay first of all, please don't call me by my avatar name IRL. Not even my sister is allowed to do that," Kazuto stated, causing Tamaki to mumble an apology while looking away. "Secondly-" Was all he said before he was interrupted from behind.
"I see no problems with that," Aki suddenly blurted out from directly behind Kazuto, causing him to jump out of his skin in fright. Somehow she had found her way back in the room without either of them noticing. "Anyone's allowed to join the SAO restart as long as they have an AmuSphere and the Alfheim Online game. Though, no one else was supposed to know about the involvement of the government," Aki said with a sadistic smile while painfully pinching and pulling Kazuto by the cheek. Meanwhile, Tamaki's eyes were sparkling with happiness.
"I would be honored to help such a cause, especially if I can see my brother again," She said as she stood up.
"Shorry Aki, I just ashumed it was ok shince she's his nuclear famiry now preashe let go of my cheek," Kazuto pleaded as Aki finally let go and he fell on the ground in pain while she further explained how to take part in the SAO restart from her own home and about swearing a vow of secrecy regarding the details of the government's involvement. After Kazuto had healed enough to stand back up, he stared once again at Tobio, the friend that he knew as Toran. "Don't worry buddy, we'll get you out of there soon," He thought to himself as Aki put her hand on his shoulder.
"I know you'll want to help him as soon as possible, but just remember that it's not a drag race. He will wait for you Kazuto," She reassured him as he put his own hand on hers and mentally thanked her.
Sometime after that, Tamaki farewelled the two of them and they set off back down to the hospital entrance to head back to Tokyo.
On their way down the elevator, Kazuto found that his eyelids were seemingly trying to close themselves, most probably due to tiredness considering it was half past midnight. Suddenly, he found himself voicing a question that he hadn't actually intended to say aloud.
"Is it alright if I sleep properly tonight?" He asked after yawning.
"Tired, are ya?" Aki asked though it seemed like more of some sort of teasing scheme. "Think you might be able to get sleep in my car?"
"Eh, I don't tend to feel very comfortable in cars. My inability to spread out gives me a slightly claustrophobic feeling and keeps me from sleeping," Kazuto explained. It was something that had affected him his whole life. Not that it made much of an impact on anything, he rarely went in the car with his foster parents when he was younger.
Though there was one time when they went on a family road trip to the Daisen-Oki National Park at the Chūgoku Mountains in the Tottori Prefecture which was a nine-hour drive. They had had to do a night drive since his foster dad couldn't get off work early for it so they left at six in the afternoon and arrived at around four in the morning. This was where Kazuto learned of his inability to feel comfortable in a car because while his foster mom and Suguha peacefully slept away, he stayed awake for every second of it because he just couldn't find any comfort, despite his dad's best efforts.
Though he had a flashback to that memory of his, he didn't mention it to Aki as they exited the elevator and walked towards the hospital exit.
"Well, the hospital we're stationed at is way back in Tokyo, and the same goes for your house," Aki thought allowed after thanking the staff for their hospitality and saying goodbye to Mako. "Tell you what, if you're that stubborn about it, I've got an apartment near here that I use if I'm ever working in the area. We could spend the night together there," She teased with a fake blush.
"No no, it's fine. I can stay up all night. I could help keep you awake as well," He suggested, but she wasn't having it.
"Kazuto, please. I am an especially trained nurse in the special defense force. I've been taught to stay up for days without sleep if the force needs me. You, on the other hand, you're a growing teenage boy who needs sleep in order to keep developing those muscles of yours. You are going to bed in my apartment," She demanded, and as much as Kazuto really wanted to argue his case, he knew he wouldn't win so he just sighed in defeat.
"You're sounding a lot like my mom right now," He claimed with a monotonous voice.
"I take that as a compliment, your foster mom is a very lovely lady," She cheerfully rebutted as they got into her car and took off towards her apartment. They drove for around seven minutes or so and eventually reached the outskirts of Kyoto where Aki suddenly pulled into a driveway with a gate that was opening on its own to reveal a small and slightly downtrodden apartment complex.
After entering through the gate, Kazuto turned to see the gate then closing behind them. Aki drove behind the complex and parked in a covered car park that had the word reserved painted on it.
"A bit small for an apartment complex," Kazuto noted as politely as he could.
"It's a business complex owned by the hospital, so only doctors live here," Aki explained as they walked up the front door. Aki then punched in a passcode into a little gadget next to the door before it slid open by itself. Inside was a secretary's office with an aged man sporting an almost bald head save for the sides sitting at the front.
"Ah, Mrs. Na-ahem, Miss Natsuki, I didn't expect to see you tonight. Have you been stationed at the hospital?" He asked cheerfully. Kazuto didn't say anything because he didn't want to be rude but the old man's raspy voice made it sound like he was quite the chain smoker.
"Not this time, sorry. I was just helping a friend with a patient visit," She said as she gestured toward Kazuto to introduce him. "I'm currently stationed in Tokyo, near Saitama," After she said that, the old man leaned slightly closer and fixed his glasses to get a good look at Kazuto. It was then when he realized that he had forgotten to introduce himself.
"Oh, n-nice to meet you," he greeted with a small bow. "I'm Kazuto Kirigaya," For some reason, the old man laughed a little at his greeting.
"Don't worry kid, I already know who you are," He said with a smile. Kazuto's confusion was calmed by Aki.
"You probably don't remember but Mr. Ishima here was heavily involved in the rehabilitation of the SAO survivors. He was one of the other doctors alongside me that were in charge of you," She explained, causing Kazuto to remember.
"Oh right, I remember now. Forgive me, my memory of that time is fuzzy," Kazuto apologized with another bow.
"It's quite alright Mr. Kirigaya. Now, I'm sure you'll be needing these Miss Natsuki," He said as he handed her a key that Kazuto correctly assumed was to her room. "Enjoy your sleep in," He parted with a wave as Kazuto followed Aki upstairs. The complex was only about four floors high but obviously, Aki's room had to be on the very top one.
Once they had reached the room, Aki opened the door to reveal a pretty comfy looking living area. It wasn't super fancy or wildly rich looking but more than enough for someone who's living alone to just be able to relax and chill.
The full extent of the apartment was a kitchen and lounge in the main area with two white doors on the left of the room and one door on the right. The two on the left led to the main bedroom and spare bedroom, while the right door was a bathroom. The carpet was a light grey color and the walls were all patterned with the kind of thing you would see in an old folk home.
The only really noticeably fancy thing about the apartment was the forty-two-inch flat-screen TV in the lounge area but Kazuto paid it no mind as it wasn't like he was going to be needing it anyway.
"Now then," Aki said with a stretch before removing her coat. "You want anything like a drink or you just going to go straight to sleep?"
"May as well get that sleep out of the way. I assume the spare room?" He asked, pointing to the door furthest from the kitchen bench.
"You can sleep in my bed if you want, I don't think I'll be using it anyway," Aki suggested with a wink.
"In your dreams," Kazuto said with a sigh. "Goodnight,"
"Sweet dreams Kazuto," Aki lovingly expressed before Kazuto closed the door.
"Alright then, I'm sleeping at a girls house that isn't Asuna's. That'll be a story," Kazuto murmured to himself as he flopped onto the bed. He wasn't expecting anything spectacular but he immediately noticed that it was unusually soft. He wasn't one for unnecessarily soft beds but this one seemed just right. So much so that he barely even noticed that he had fallen asleep without even getting under the covers and jumped up to the sun shining directly through his window.
"What the hell?" He questioned to himself before exiting the room to see Aki still wide awake, sitting on the sofa in the lounge with headphones on and watching something on her phone while drinking what smelled like coffee. Though it didn't take her long to notice that Kazuto was there.
"Ah, good morning sleepyhead," She smiled.
"That bed is cursed I tell you," Kazuto said seriously, though Aki just laughed.
"Y'know, I've seen some strange sleeping methods before but lying face down above the covers with your feet hanging off the side? That's a winner right there," she teased with a giggle.
"You watched me sleep?" He asked in disgust.
"Well, I was going to come and sleep with you but you were in such a weird position that there wasn't any room for me," She jokingly sighed with a fake blush. "Maybe next time then,"
Kazuto just sighed and looked away.
Before they set off, Aki made him a morning coffee, which he surprisingly really liked. Once that was finished, they checked the time which read '8:42 am' and headed downstairs. Aki returned the keys to Mr. Ishima who waved them off as they got back in her car and finally set off on the trip back to Tokyo.
This trip was fun as well, but Kazuto himself preferred night drives so it didn't quite capture the same enjoyment as the first drive. Nevertheless, he was still able to continue enjoying most of his time with her, minus all the teasing. He didn't quite know how to put it, but the best description he could think of was that she started to seem like that cool Aunt who was fun and hip in all the right ways, despite how little you saw them.
Along the way, they also stopped off at McDonald's for some brunch where Kazuto, who never really went to fast food restaurants that often, opted for a nice rich hot chocolate topped with marshmallows and two hash browns on the side while Aki just got a bagel.
Kazuto also discovered on this trip that Aki was really into old English singers like Elton John and Billy Joel. Apparently, her favorite song ever was Billy Joel's 'We Didn't Start the Fire' but she also loved 'Pinball Wizard' by Elton John. Kazuto had heard of these two but had never listened to their music. He knew English well enough to understand the gist of the songs but boy, Elton's vocals were so wild he could barely catch any of the verses, especially in that particular song.
Before long, the pair had arrived back in Tokyo and were just pulling into the hospital's underground parking lot.
"Been a few weeks since I've been IRL for this long," Kazuto noted aloud while stretching after getting out of the car. Suddenly, after locking her car, Aki momentarily froze. "You good?"
"No, I'm fine, but I just remembered I should probably tell you something," She started as she put on her lab coat and adjusted it to fit nicely. "It's not that important but Kikuoka has asked me to temporarily oversee a personal project that he's been working on. Apparently, it's about the future of full dive technology but it's barely even in the beginning stages of development so it's nothing huge. It just means I won't be taking the night shift for this mission for the next few days,"
"Oh awesome, will you be able to tell me about it?" Kazuto asked curiously. Her explanation had highly intrigued him.
"Maybe. I'll ask the big boss man if I can but no promises," She assured. After walking and through a bunch of stairs and hallways, they finally returned to the hospital room where the mission was taking place. Inside was not Dr. Kawahara, as technically the night shift was over, but Dr. Kurahashi and his day team.
As far as the beds go, Kazuto noticed that Ryotaro, Asuna, Rika, and Keiko were there, meaning that Agil was still at his cafè and both Suguha and Shino were somewhere. That also meant that the server problems had been fixed and they were able to log in and out again. When their presence was noticed, Dr. Kurahashi quickly greeted them.
"Miss Natsuki, Mr. Kirigaya, welcome back. Dr. Kawahara told me to inform you both that the technical difficulties with the server have been fixed and that we're back online. Oh and also, I'm surprised to see you here considering you only run the night shift, Miss Natsuki," He said rather quickly. Kazuto kind of wanted to tell the guy to take a deep breath.
"I had some business with Kirigaya in Kyoto overnight and we just got back, my apologies. I'm also being called up by Kikuoka for the next few days so I'll need you to find a replacement for Dr. Kawahara," She conversed with Dr. Kurahashi. Meanwhile, Kazuto left the adults to do their thing and climbed back aboard his assigned bed. He didn't immediately put his NerveGear back on and instead took a quick look at some memes on his phone for a quick laugh.
He also quickly read through his messages, one of which was from Suguha saying that she and Shino were at Agil's café so that answered that one. Thus, he finally put his phone down, adorned the deadly device, and concisely spoke the golden words.
"Link Start!"
And so, Kazuto re-enters the virtual world, but what has been happening elsewhere? Find out next time!
Real quick, wanna mention that after this chapter, I don't have any plans to heavily involve Aki anymore as I really need to start focusing on the actual Harem at some point lol.
Also, the story has officially reached 20,000+ views :D Thanks to all of you for viewing my story! Please Follow/Favorite/Review on your way out.
pls excuse all spelling and grammar errors, I'm not one for being young, scrappy, and hungry. Plus, I throw away my shot a lot.