"You seem to be having energy issues, Kazu-chan. Maybe we shouldn't proceed with the hormone replacement therapy yet...?"
The words of the rehabilitation nurse made Kazu worried that she might be making more trouble for herself by pushing so hard to save everyone. Having late nights in ALO to learn to properly fly and fight in the air were taking a heavy toll on her. The nurse was doing her best to help Kazu rehabilitate, but Kazu just entirely lacked the energy to do anything during the days.
"I'm...I want to say I'm fine, but I really don't have any energy...isn't there a way you can think of to help me gain stamina and energy back faster?"
The nurse gave a mischievous grin but shook her head.
"Not that would be appropriate. The fastest way within reason is to get you outside and take in some direct sunlight. Though we aren't plants, we do get significant amounts of energy from being in the sunlight, even if it's just for a little amount of time. You could really use some direct unfiltered sunlight, and I think you're about ready to go for a walk outside for a bit. How about you? Think you can shake that sleepiness?"
Kazu nodded her head and put a smile on her face. Truthfully, she wasn't sure. She wanted to say yes but she couldn't immediately tell if her body would give out on her again and make her retreat into the augmented reality land again.
"I'll try. I can't let this keep beating me. I defeated worse opponents than my own body. I just need to pull together all my strength again, and pace my use of it well. We just need to get outside right? Then I could sit at a bench until I gather up the energy again from being out in the sun."
The nurse nodded her head and gave a confident expression.
"I know you can do it. Now, do you want my help getting up or are you good for that?"
Kazu shook her head and sighed.
"That much is easy."
Kazu moved to the edge of the bed and gently brought her legs over the edge until they were dangling a good foot off of the floor. She slowly let herself down further until her toes touched the floor and then brace herself for the floor being slippery under her socked feet, but thankfully that time, she hadn't slipped so easily. Her footing was firm and she was able to stabilize herself. Grabbing hold of handles for a walker, she pulled up on the handles to unlock the breaks and her monitor rack was fixed in place by the nurse after making sure that Kazu was ready to keep going.
"Now, follow me Kazu-chan. I'll lead you to the hospital yard. I'll keep looking back, but speak up if you're feeling particularly drained of energy. We can't have the same mistake as last time or it's the wheelchair treatment."
Kazu nodded and carefully placed one foot in front of the other, following the nurse. She didn't go too fast, making sure that she didn't fall behind. After a minute of making their way outside, Kazu felt a surge of energy out of nowhere that gave her the determination and knowledge they would reach the goal of getting outside. When they were close, the nurse pushed open the doors and propped one door open while holding the other open for Kazu to fit through with the bulky setup she had. The feeling of the breeze was the first significant thing she felt. Then the dry hot sun. And then...the cold because it was winter and Kazu was still in very slim amount of clothing. The nurse walked ahead and cleared the nearest bench of snow, placing down a towel which gave off a significant amount of mist from being so warm compared to the cold air around them.
The heat from the sun, the cold of the winter and snow around them, and the heat of the blanket. There were so many feelings which both dragged her energy down, but then made them soar back to the endless amounts of energy she had in Aincrad.
It was an early winter for them, and Kazu wasn't used to having so much snow. They didn't live in the northern regions of Japan, so it was rare to get so much snow in the winter. Kazu couldn't recall being able to be in contact with snow during the winter unless her parents took her north for a vacation. There was one particular memory that came up of Kazu, Shiro and Shino riding a sled together down a steep hill and tumbling out. It was one of the most carefree times Kazu could recall having.
"You look pretty relaxed there Kazu-chan. How are you doing for energy? Feeling a bit more energetic?"
Kazu nodded her head.
"I feel like I could solo the floor 70 boss right now...sorry, I need to get my head out of that place."
She shook her head.
"It's okay to refer to it. You were incredible there, and you shouldn't just discard the accumulation of 2 years of your life. There are some people here who want the survivors of that game to forget about it and move on back to their normal lives, to become the productive citizens we normally have in our communities, but you proved to many through Ela-san's global transmission that you had been working restlessly the whole time you were in there. How else would you so thoroughly put the final boss in his place so easily? And don't discount him as just some monster. Certainly his careless actions claimed the lives of many people, but I think you appreciated him and what he gave you. He gave you a chance to grow into a person you can't normally grow into in this day and age. You grew into a capable warrior. You became incredibly strong. You were a leader, no matter how socially anxious you were of leading. You learned and exercised many skills which when you have the energy to execute on this side, could make you a unique individual. I believe in the words in your virtual log from about a year ago."
Kazu had her eyes closed, facing up away from the sun so to not burn her eyes even through her eyelids and looked in confusion when her virtual log was brought up. She stared at the nurse in her confusion and the nurse's face flushed red a little. She breathed into her hands and rubbed her sides to warm herself up since they had been outside a little while already.
"Sorry, your virtual logs were provided by an outside source named Ela-san. You were quite the amazing person inside that place. You spoke of making every moment inside that place count. You spoke of doing everything you could to develop skills in that virtual world which you could take outside. That even if it wasn't entirely real and you were working hard to get out, to bring everyone back to their families, it didn't mean to just hang back and wait for the most determined to clear everyone out. You inspired me from your virtual log, and I wasn't even there. I think that every moment should be appreciated and used to its fullest, to become a better person so that you can achieve whatever goals you set in your life. Otherwise, you might regret not making use of every moment. Even if the moment is used to rest, to relax and let yourself take in all of your experiences. You've made me want to be a better health care worker. To use every chance I get to help my patients get better to the best of my abilities. You're so wise for someone your age. I admire you."
She turned away and patted her cheeks before turning back and getting in front of Kazu.
"Anyway, we've been out here for a little longer than I intended to have you out here. We'll need to get you warmed up when we get back inside. Think you have enough energy now for some exercise?"
Kazu nodded her head and took firm hold of the arms of the walker and pulled herself to her feet. Her arms were still weak, but felt a little stronger. She needed to hear those words she had said inside of Aincrad. She couldn't believe she had lost development since getting out, but she found new determination to work as hard as she could both in real life and in ALO to bring everyone back. She needed to have her physical strength too, to prove that the survivors weren't going to all hold back the people in their lives when the rest return.
They returned to Kazu's hospital room and soon after returning, Shiro arrived.
"Good afternoon Shiro-kun. How was school today?"
Shiro smiled at the nurse and his smile grew wider when he saw Kazu walking.
"It's good to see Kazu up and walking. She finally made it outside?"
The nurse nodded her head.
"I can talk for myself...how are you doing Shiro? And yeah, I really needed that bit of fresh air and sun light. Even with all the snow outside it was really refreshing. I think I can finally make some good progress on my rehabilitation today."
Shiro's smile grew more and more wide as Kazu explained.
"Great! I brought your books for class. Are you sure you want to be doing school right away? Why not wait until everyone else wakes up and go to the school opening up for the survivors?"
Kazu shook her head.
"It would mean nothing if I couldn't prove that some of us are able to return to a normal life. Just because I'm having a rough time rehabilitating so far, doesn't mean that it will stay that way very long. I'm feeling much better after getting some fresh air so let's put me to the test!"
Kazu braced herself and let go of the arms of the walker, standing up straight, she walked around, grabbing lightly around the central pole of the monitor stand and walking into the room with a very smooth and refined movement. It took both Shiro and the nurse by surprise who had recently seen Kazu struggling to move.
"That...was incredible Kazu-chan!"
The nurse hurried into the room, tucking the walker in a corner out of the way. Kazu grinned happily toward the both of them and let go of the monitor stand, stretching her arms and balancing herself with her legs spread shoulder width apart. She began doing some of her light stretches she did daily when waking up in Aincrad, and she did so effortlessly. Was some fresh air and a pep talk using her own words from her time in Aincrad really all it took to give her the energy and ability to rehabilitate faster?
She felt more and more energetic as she went and by the time she finished the light stretches, she was ready to go into some light exercise that she could perform within the room. The nurse and Shiro stared on in wonder at her and shook their heads in disbelief.
"You seriously are incredible, Kazu-chan. You've already gained mobility beyond the other survivors if you can keep up this kind of stretching and exercising. If you keep up this kind of routine daily, I imagine in no time you'll catch up to the strength you had within Aincrad in no time. No slacking though! Now that you're eating solid foods again, you could put on some weight if you don't keep up the exercise."
The nurse smiled after spiritedly saying not to slack off. Shiro tensed up on hearing it but sighed in relief because he realized it wasn't aimed at him. Kazu went uninterrupted through a cadence of exercises which were like a well known habit. Shiro had seen it and been doing it in the mornings since, but it was really incredible to see her real body doing the same exercises only days after being trapped in the virtual space for nearly two years. Her body had degraded in that time.
The thin, frail feminine figure gave no end of surprise at the flexibility and stamina, the energy required to do all of those moments. Kazu thought for a moment that she would blink and be in an AR environment or a virtual environment or sleeping, but thankfully it was real.
Kazu stopped after about ten minutes straight doing her exercises, and she flopped on her hospital bed exhausted. A smile spread across her face.
"I haven't felt this good in months..."
"Your exercise was incredible Kazu-chan. I've recorded this into your medical log for today. I'll bring this to your nutritional advisor so that we can get you a suitable recovery diet built. You'll be back to full strength in no time."
Kazu lifted up her right arm and gave a thumbs up signal.
"Oh right, before I go take this information to the team, what do you want to do as far as your hormone replacement therapy?"
"I'll start as soon as possible."
Kazu practically breathed the words out, not having the strength in her throat to generate a full voice. Shiro and the nurse looked at each other and smiled.
"Thank you for taking care of Kazu-neechan. You've been a lot of help."
"Thank you for visiting so often. You've been helping a lot yourself. Remember to call the desk if you need urgent help with anything."
She left the room and Shiro focused his gaze on Kazu.
"Really now...you managed to pull off that exercise with your real body. You were doing that with Ela-san last night right? I was surprised that she could learn something from someone else."
Shiro sighed and got to work with arranging Kazu's change of clothes, her text books for school, her uniform, and fruit treats. He made sure that everything was ready, in there right places, and handed over her towel directly.
"Thank you for all your help lately Shiro. I really should get myself well enough to handle doing it all myself, but maybe I'll be let out soon to recuperate at my own pace."
Shiro shook his head.
"Only you could recover so fast after two years not moving your body. How energetic are you feeling after pushing yourself so much? Honestly, that much exercise you did still wears me out in no time."
Kazu sat up, took the cup of water beside her bed and downed it in one gulp.
"I'm still feeling pretty energetic, but my muscles felt so sore from pushing so hard all at once I needed to stop. That exercise is full body and it took a lot of refining in Aincrad to get it just right, to keep my senses and my flexibility up. My reaction timing and reflexes."
"Aaahhh...I need to stop being surprised at you. I already know you're unreasonably intense with everything. That's why you're still fighting so hard to get everyone else back. Why can't you leave it to Ela-san and her ability to inform the authorities to check in on ALO's company? Why do you have to save them?"
Kazu took a deep breath and faced Shiro full of vigor.
"I have to save them because they deserve to be out as soon as possible. Going through all the official hoops Ela-san would have to in order to bring down ALO's company would take too long. It could take months, a year even to make it work. Or, she could risk harming everyone by shutting down ALO's servers. Whatever direction we go, the fastest way to free everyone is directly through the game."
"Then why are you avoiding Recon?"
Shiro asked a series of questions that took Kazu off guard.
"Why are you avoiding him when he went to so much effort to gather people who want to help? Certainly he didn't end up getting very many people and some of them ended up turning around and leaving when they realized what they would be in for, but we need all the help we can get if we're taking on the challenge within the game. Remember that you didn't go all the way to the top in SAO. You stopped at floor 71. You defeated Heathcliff-san before reaching the true hardest difficulty there. Just because you're amazing, doesn't mean that ALO's challenge can be defeated with a small group of people."
Kazu blinked several times in confusion as Shiro went on and put up her hands to signal him slowing down or stopping.
"I never said no to anybody, and Recon is very persistent. Haven't you had a long conversation with him? It's pretty obvious to me that he's doing his best. I don't want to take advantage of him though. So, I'm keeping us a fair bit apart because I have someone special already. I am not letting Recon think that he can get in between that. I've been telling him that I appreciate his help, but to please calm down and think about enjoying the game as a game, instead of as an obligation, that he needs to contribute to helping get everyone out. I will appreciate his help when the time comes. But he shouldn't forget his own life and responsibilities. I'm still in between my real life and the virtual one. I need to take care of this before I get banned from going back into VR if that becomes a thing."
Shiro rubbed the sides of his head.
"I didn't realize...wait, you're not just shrugging off people who fall in love with you?"
Kazu smirked a little.
"You're special because you're basically family anyway, but for other people, I have to be careful. Suguha is my cousin and I need to make sure she doesn't get our relationship mixed up. I know she always had feelings for me. I know you've had feelings for me at least ever since we met again. I know Shino loves me too. And most of the guild members from Alt in Aincrad. I unfortunately accrued a large following of admirers who desired to be more than friends. My heart chose though. Asuna is the one for me. And she loves me back."
Shiro flopped back onto the bed beside Kazu and covered his face.
"Of course I had no chance...but to hear it so strongly said...I guess I'm not that surprised though. You and Asuna were basically the guild moms there, you were always supporting each other even when you weren't in the same place within the game. Now to hear you say it, it makes so much sense, and I suppose you're keeping Recon at a safe distance and any people he brings to you so that you don't get any more troublesome admirers who would try to slow you down on getting everyone out. Their freedom and having Asuna back is the most important thing to you right now..."
Kazu giggled softly for a second before raising a hand and making a gesture as if to press a confirm button in her augmented reality.
"Bingo. Speed is the key and having anyone along for the ride who will slow us down isn't worth adding to our team. I want to genuinely apologize to Recon about the distance and intimidating the people he convinced to meet me, but I also need to prioritize those who aren't out yet. I want to be nice, but I can't. Not when something more important than an image of myself is at stake."
Shiro turned his head to look at Kazu and she had stood up from the bed, taking her towel.
"Please don't hurt yourself while working hard to rescue everyone. Most of the people you'd be saving...you know they care about you too much to let you sacrifice any bit of your future. So please at least slow down enough that you don't hurt yourself."
Kazu nodded with a smile.
"I'm going at my pace. I'm not going at Ela-san's pace. If I were going at her pace, I might be a fair bit more broken than I am. Besides, I've got you reminding me every day to take it easy, that you're here to help me too. I'm not going to lose sight of my own health with so many reminders. But thank you Shiro. For not trying to stop me."
Kazu turned and entered the bathroom attached to her hospital room. The sound of the door locking informed Shiro that his job for the afternoon was done. He could head home, but he wanted to dive with Kazu this time. So he set himself up on the chair beside Kazu's bed and reached his thoughts into the AR device on his head. AR wasn't typically to send yourself into a virtual space, but to add virtual aspects to reality. He turned off most of the augmented reality functions most of the time, using the device only for studying or to dive into ALO to support Kazu, and to connect for his job connection with Ela.
"Oh, how was Kazu?"
Ela's unsurprised reaction to Shiro connecting into augmented reality really hit him. After having so many surprises from Kazu, it was strange to have indifference from the person supporting Kazu the most.
"Kazu-neechan was doing great. She managed to do a fair bit of her harsh physical stretches and exercises she does in the game, and she just went to have a shower. We had a talk like you suggested about Recon's form of help."
Ela hummed.
"Very good. Kazu is indeed a lot like me when I was her age. She has a very good grasp on priorities, and she is extremely observant of those around her. It wouldn't do any good if she were oblivious."
"How about...that other thing you brought up last time? Are you still considering adopting her?"
Ela nodded her head.
"If Kazu-chan accepts my suggestion that I adopt her, I will treat her like one of my own children. She would have a home here with me, and if any who consider her sibling like yourself want to join her, then I would also support you."
Shiro shook his head sighing in disbelief at her.
"Kazu's aunty already adopted her, so she isn't without family here who will take care of her. If you want to bring her into your family, please don't try to go through me. I want her to be happy, and I don't know if your suggesting her to be part of your family is out of the goodness of your heart. You're an amazing person, you truly are. But I honestly don't trust you lately. I did at first, but knowing you more is knowing you less..."
"I'm sorry if I was worrying you Shiro. I genuinely just want Kazu-chan to be happy, but she also has a lot of potential. I have no intention of imposing on her though, which is why I'll be waiting until she's good and happy with everything currently going on in her life. School, rehabilitation, and rescuing those who remain trapped."
Shiro remembered something as Ela finished her last statement.
"Didn't you say you found out what the remaining trapped were being used for?"
Ela stopped everything else to answer in that moment.
"Right! I found that there was a very illegal subsection of Argus which was looking into human experimentation. I can't go into much further detail, they seem to have increased all of their security, so now it's going to be too difficult to search them discreetly without intending to shut them down. I am not going to risk the lives of those still trapped, so don't worry. No more secretly searching them."
As she finished and their conversation did at the same time, Kazu emerged from the washroom wearing her baggy old pajamas. The pants were falling off of her so she was holding them up or constantly adjusting them, and she genuinely looked like she was about to pass out. All that energy she spent left her wiped out.
"How was the shower?"
"Heavenly."
Kazu slumped into the bed, struggled to cover herself up with the covers, and fell asleep seconds after.
