Kazu stood patiently in the vestibule separating her from the hospital's visitor parking so that she wouldn't freeze while waiting for her aunt. She still felt cold however and her clothes weren't particularly warm for the cold weather. It was a very cold winter compared to what she remembered. At least in Aincrad she was able to don a cold resist potion and be fine or put on a parka she had crafted. The knee length skirt, mid calf length stockings and a sweater which screamed winter holidays. She also wore a scarf which she had been gifted a few years prior, which had purple and white which matched the rest of her outfit. The tall boots helped at least keep her feet warm as well and the bit of black helped the contrast of her outfit.
She cupped her hands in front of her mouth and blew warmth into them before rubbing them and then her shoulders. She didn't wait long before her aunt was there to pick her up. She wasn't comfortable in her hospital room so she didn't want to stay in there after she finished packing up, and she had already taken the hidden camera from Suguha and Shino's room after one more visit. She wanted to have some time alone with them.
Ryo had left a couple hours earlier, about an hour after he started visiting with her. It was refreshing to have someone else from Aincrad with her. Shiro had only been in Aincrad with them toward the end. She was eager to meet up with Agil, but she had a lot of work she needed to do both irl and within ALO. Thinking about what the near future had in store for her instead of the cold she would be facing when she walked out of the doors of the vestibule made her feel warm and comfortable. She had built a family around her while she was in Aincrad. A family of existing members of her family, and new additions.
"Mama, you have an unread message from Ela-san in your text messages."
Yui's voice broke through Kazu's thoughts and she sighed before summoning her text messages into her view. The convenience of augmented reality was like constantly being in a virtual environment, but being able to experience everything vividly.
Being able to bring up applications, games and menus for applications with a thought, interacting with them like a touch screen. It was streamlined as it could be, but it was easier to program and it was easier for users to understand. Eventually people would get used to all the shortcuts. It could evolve in little steps in the future very easily from the foundations that Ela had set into the AR experience.
[I noticed your temperature dropping significantly, be sure to warm yourself up if you can. Also, I noticed Kiin's signal moving around inside of the world tree. I'm not able to tap into his visual data for his surroundings but the basic layout of the surroundings indicates that the upper areas inside of the world tree are more akin to a laboratory or labyrinth than to a magnificent elf kingdom. At any rate, take better care for yourself. You finally get to leave the hospital today, don't risk it on being uncomfortable in the hospital.]
The message cut off and Kazu sighed. She closed it out and upon that she looked at where Yui was showing her visual data in her augmented environment. Flitting around on her cute wings, it was a sight to behold. Blending the virtual and real environments was the first major step that augmented reality could take, and the fully data existence that was Yui was able to experience at least the visual information of the real world. She could interact with Kazu, sit on her shoulder. Touch anything but without being able to move them. It was so interesting to see what she was capable of in the augmented space around her. Just how intense would augmented reality be if everyone had their own augmented realities which connected? What if people had virtual pets that could venture around?
With a deep breath, Kazu warmed her hands again and rubbed her shoulders, but then she noticed the familiar vehicle her aunt drove, and her face behind the steering wheel. It was a welcome sight. She stepped outside and her aunt stopped the car. Kazu hurried over and climbed into the front passenger seat, putting her hands in front of the warm ventilation which were blowing out warm air.
"You were fast. Did you have your visit with Shino and Suguha?"
Kazu hummed.
"I visited with them twice today. Once shortly after the call to let you know I could come home, and another time twenty minutes ago. I couldn't handle the scents of the hospital anymore so after my visit with them I came to wait in the vestibule for you. I had a few messages I had to go over with Ela-san anyways."
Her aunt gave her a big grin.
"It's so nice having someone with me in the car coming away from here. Your uncle is always so busy and you and Suguha-chan kept me company in the evenings. How are you feeling though? Warming up well?"
Kazu nodded happily with a cozy expression on her face.
"That's good. Now, don't forget to buckle up."
Kazu hurriedly buckled in and her face brightened up.
"Sorry for forgetting..."
Her aunt laughed.
"It's fine, you haven't been in a car in a couple years. Need to be careful just in case though."
Kazu remembered how she lost her parents and her mind sobered up very quickly, settling in back to the seat. She was claimed again by the comfort of the vehicle in seconds. She relaxed and closed her eyes, listening to the gentle blow of warm air inside the vehicle and her aunt's breath. The light flapping of Yui's wings. It was all soothing, and then her aunt turned on some music as she pulled the vehicle out of the parking lot. The music was a favorite playlist of original soundtracks from animations and video games. Everyone in the family was fond of such types of music. The particular playlist that was on was a calm one, but not so much it would lull someone to sleep.
"This music is beautiful mama. Is this your preferred kind of music?"
Kazu hummed along with the music as response. She thought about revealing her use of the augmented reality device and talking with Yui. It would be better sooner rather than later.
"Aunty, had I told you about Yui?"
Kazu put a hand in her thigh belt pocket to take out one of the AR devices she had been given. She was given enough for 20 people to start, and Ela hadn't said who specifically was getting one outside of Suguha, Shino and Asuna. Kazu was sure she would receive more if she was going to need more.
"I think you told me about her. Was she a friend inside SAO?"
Kazu shook her head but her aunt was vigilantly keeping her eyes facing forward.
"Yui is an AI which was programmed initially to analyze and counsel mental health discrepancies in players in there so that people wouldn't go crazy. Due to all of the panic and everything that went on in there at the beginning, she was broken. As things got easier, and I had made myself somewhat of a symbol of getting out of there, it's assumed by Ela-san and others who I've consulted that she observed my mental health data and it resulted in her taking on some of my appearance traits. Basically, she's an AI who calls me her mother now. I'd like you to meet her."
Her aunt had a variety of expressions continuing her vigilance toward her driving but when they arrived at a stop sign, she looked at Kazu head on only for Kazu to apply the AR device to her. It probably wasn't a good idea in case she had moved her foot from the brake to the accelerator, but it turned out fine when she suddenly had the device stuck to her head.
"What was that about Kazu-chan?"
Kazu took a short breath to get herself ready and began a short explanation before saying the command for the device to connect.
"I just gave you one of the AR devices which Ela-san made. I'll activate it for you when we reach the next stop. If you have the device activated, you'll be able to see Yui since she's housed in my device's augmented environment. You'll be able to hear her too and interact with her. She can't do anything physical other than effect those who are under the effect of the augmented environment. Even then at most she might sit on your lap or on top of your head."
Her aunt blinked and when Kazu said "pair" as she stopped the vehicle at the next stop, she began asking more.
"What's this about augmented reality? Is it like VR?"
Kazu began explaining more.
"Augmented reality takes virtual elements and safely imposes them on reality. Gives you information, allows you to safely connect to the internet, allows you to even access VR games in total safety. It's like the ultimate step up from smart phones. It's also what I called you on earlier. All you have to do is think about an application you know about and you'll get a small window to confirm if you'll open it, then the word yes or no. If you stick to the thinking method it can get a lot easier and you won't be vocally drawing outside attention to yourself. You can also interact with the windows with your hands or your overall physical form. There might even be AR games in the future where you'll be able to do all sorts of fantasy types of things inside of an augmented space."
Kazu felt a little strange after explaining, like she was advertising it to her aunt. She felt guilty for saying it. But it was initially to get the topic out of the way and introduce Yui to her.
"Yui, why don't you introduce yourself?"
Kazu lifted a hand in front of her, only in the peripheral of her aunt's safe frame of driving view and Yui landed there with her feet and gave a light bow.
"I'm pleased to meet you, aunty-san. Mama has told me a lot about you and how you've been so important in keeping her life together after certain unfortunate events happened in the past. I hope we get along."
A slightly uncomfortable short laugh escaped Kazu's aunty and she focused back on the road entirely, trying to ignore Yui.
"Of course! Let's get along, Yui-chan. Is there any chance you could become human sized and sit in the back seat? I've been paranoid about driving ever since the accident we should probably not talk about. I'd really appreciate not having your adorable figure so distracting in front of me."
Yui hummed in affirmative and flitted to the back seat, changed to her size in Aincrad and her favourite outfit from there which Kazu had made.
"Mama only hummed along with the sound of the music before when I asked if it was her preferred type of music. Do you know if it is, aunty-san."
"It is, Yui-chan. I'm sorry I didn't answer you right away before. I let myself get distracted by the idea of introducing you and aunty. How do you feel about this music?"
Yui hummed with it a little and nodded her head with a happy expression.
"It might be because I inherited your taste in music as well. I really like this music, mama."
Kazu chuckled softly.
"I'm not sure taste in music and the like transfers over in our case, but I'm happy you like it."
Yui giggled and sighed leaning back in her seat. She relaxed and let her contentment show on her face. When she was totally relaxed, Kazu's aunt couldn't deny the resemblance. It didn't end up taking very long for them to have arrived at the house Kazu had called home between his first and Aincrad. A home she didn't remember all too well due to being in a mindset which didn't allow her to absorb much outside of her focuses. It was a time that was blurry to her. She did recognize it well from before then however since she had been there plenty to visit with Suguha and for kendo practice in their grandfather's dojo.
Kazu had been strictly trained by their grandfather along with Suguha to be the worthy of inheriting their family dojo. The dojo wasn't in use as a place for training new samurai, mostly a training place for new kendo experts within their own family.
Kazu had seen the traditional house decorated like it currently was before, for the Christmas holiday. The red and green theme of lights which weren't on in the middle of the day, and the red white and green candy canes rising out of the snow to line the path of the walkway were particular in drawing out the festive season.
"Welcome home, Kazu-chan, Yui-chan."
Kazu followed her, and Yui walked up close beside her.
"Mama's home is very interesting. It doesn't really resemble your home in Aincrad much, but it's beautiful."
Kazu smiled and gave Yui a headpat as they entered the house. Yui was wide-eyed in further interest when they got inside. Kazu simply felt nostalgic. It felt like forever since she had been inside of the house. It had only been two years, but mentally, she hadn't been there since before she lost her parents. The hardwood floors, the pictures on the wall of the family over generations, the wall scrolls of calligraphy, the decorated katana which were sealed within their sheaths to never be drawn again. It was an honorable household which proudly fought in wars in the past, the warriors great and proud of their accomplishments. While the home was traditional, it didn't fall behind on the times. There was of course a small terminal at the door for home security, there was a wall mounted multipurpose and multi-surface cleaning device, there was the slipper rack with slippers for the family. There was something out of place however. Where Kazu was used to her slippers being, there was a box with gift wrap on it.
She slid her outdoor shoes off and put them in the other rack meant for outdoor shoes and picked up the gift wrapped box, looking to her aunty. She had in mind that her old slippers wouldn't fit her regardless the gender issue because even if she wasn't growing much, her body didn't halt growth entirely. Her feet would have grown a little along with her height. Her height didn't increase much, but it was noticeable.
"I hope you like your new slippers, Kazu-chan."
Kazu smiled to her aunty before opening the box. Inside was a pair of fluffy purple slippers with a theme like one of her previous favourite game mascots. The character theme was very cute. It was basically a purple cloud with a sleepy face. Kazu felt warm just holding the new slippers in her hands, so when she slipped her feet into them, it was a wonderful sensation. Far more comfortable and warm than her outdoor shoes were especially after being in the cold outdoors for a while.
"I love them. They're so warm and soft~."
Yui followed suit in a sense, removing her outdoor shoes and putting them into her inventory, then putting on some indoor slippers Kazu had made for her in Aincrad. It was a little surreal to witness Yui's actions since she wasn't truly physically interacting with the environment. She wouldn't be able to track dirt around. But she had learned the practices of clean living inside Aincrad through how they lived together at the cottage. Removing outdoor shoes for indoor ones was a habit Kazu had made sure everyone in the guild upheld and especially Yui. It was more in the beginning out of concern that she might be someone else's child, but then became habit because she liked to think of it as an opportunity to practice being a parent. With how smoothly it went, and how much it suited her. How much she grew comfortable with suddenly being a mother, it went more and more smoothly. It became something natural for her. It wasn't just adapting to the situation, either. Because she wasn't trying. Yui consistently became one of her top priorities out of maternal instinct kicking in. Progression out of Aincrad slowed down at times because of it. But, Yui was always so easy to take care of in the terms of a parent-child relationship, because she was calm and very mature even while in her growing stages. It was because of her being an AI at core, but it made Kazu wonder what her first human child would be like in comparison.
Her aunt gave a wide smile in response to the good response she was expecting out of her.
"Have you been paying attention to what day it is?"
Kazu was startled and decided in the moment to avoid checking what day it was overall, trying to recall. She was out of touch enough to only remember what month it was. December. It was the same month as the launch of Sword Art Online, two years later. The day of the week, what number of day couldn't come to mind though. Assuming her aunt's words to have an obvious answer, it would have to be a day other than Christmas. Because she worked that day, it couldn't have been Christmas. It wouldn't be past Christmas either because she would have been brought the Christmas celebration since their family partook in such things. She couldn't end up figuring out what the occasion was.
"I'm sorry aunty, but I forgot what day it is and what significance it has..."
She stuck out her tongue teasing.
"It's a new holiday, and I wanted to celebrate your most recent birthday for you before Christmas. It's a new holiday in the family at least. We wanted to celebrate your coming home, but you came home so soon. So, I had your new slippers prepared, but everyone else still hasn't gotten everything together."
She sighed and gave a more relaxed smile.
"But it's also a day to remind you of something you long forgot. Something that you have been mixing up for a long time, and it's something that won't change the way you perceive yourself by much."
Kazu gave an utterly confused expression. One question was answered in that the day wasn't particularly important outside of her return home, but she got a far more confusion question.
"Kazu-chan, don't you remember the surname of your birth parents?"
Kazu blinked her eyes and was about to answer but her mind just stopped. Why? She tried to push her mind to find the answer but it was like there was a barrier around it. She rubbed her forehead gently to try and ease whatever was blocking off that information to come loose, but it wouldn't budge.
"Kazu-chan, you are part of the Kirigaya family through your mother. Your father's family name was Narusaka. After what happened, myself and your uncle adopted you, but we never ended up getting your signature for the adoption papers. Today can be the day you officially become Kirigaya Kazu, and your given name would change along with your surname. It would certainly make things a little easier on your end, considering your desire to change yourself. I think maybe your formality and being so nervous about talking with myself and your uncle made you seal off the pain you experienced back then. You're a strong young woman and we are both so proud of you for all you did in that virtual world, but please let us support you however we can."
Kazu thought back and only remembered herself being a Kirigaya. Why was that? Was it because she didn't identify much with her father who expected so much from her? What was the reason she was blocking off her father's family name? Suddenly it became intensively important to her. Why was her mind blocking off something like that? Her head throbbed from the pain forming in trying to break through whatever was sealing off those memories. She slumped to her knees, giving up because the pain in her head was too much.
"A-are you okay Kazu-chan!?"
Her aunt stammered as she rushed to catch Kazu before she fell any further.
Kazu hummed in confirmation a little.
"I'm...okay. Just a headache..."
She gave a weak smile and gently pushed off from her aunt to find bearing on her feet again. She was a little wobbly, but she found her balance quickly enough.
"At any rate, let's get you to your room so you can rest. Maybe you're just tired from all the cold and the journey home today. We'll have some dinner together tonight with your uncle, and it'll be nice and calm. Are you able to help with that, Yui-chan?"
The question suddenly directer to her caught Yui off guard, but she nodded energetically.
"I can help, aunty-san!"
Yui moved to support Kazu's weight a little. It was strange since technically, Yui wasn't physically there, but Kazu's perceived surroundings allowed for Yui to make pseudo physical contact. It allowed her to give Kazu the strength she was missing in a sense, to prod her along. It would look unnatural for someone who wasn't experiencing augmented reality to see the way Kazu moved there, but it made sense when it was factored in. It might take some time before Yui could openly support her mother in public like that.
They made it in front of Kazu's room, with a nameplate on the door, it was made pretty obvious to Yui which door to take Kazu through. The purple coloured walls, the pile of plush and posters from video games and musicians made it seem like a girl's room immediately. Yui wondered if her mother simply didn't know the strength of her femininity before getting trapped within Aincrad since it took so long to accept it within her, but it was pretty obvious she was confronting it regularly outside before her time in Aincrad as well.
Yui knew exactly what her mother was unfortunately going through since her base programming was still working, the mental health counselling program. She could tell what kind of internal struggles her mother was going through and in turn it made her feel some level of mutual pain. That was what made her feel in the first place. The intensity of the emotions which drove such a strong person. The person she was proud to call her mother. Yui decided to do a little digging online for information about her mother without permission finally, and made the executive decision to relay what her mother had forgotten. If she couldn't access the information from within herself, then being fed the information again to break the information back out was a possibility which could help.
"Mama, I hope you're relaxing well. Narusaka Kazuto...is no longer who mama is. Narusaka Yukito is no longer your papa. He was incredible in his line of work and only wanted the best for you. Unfortunately, social interaction wasn't a strong suit of his which made interacting with you rough so you must have perceived him as cold and uncaring...Narusaka Aoi, your mama was also incredible at her work. She was warm and very caring and her love clearly shined through to you, and made you a wonderful person. Adoptive parents Kirigaya Minetaka, your uncle and Kirigaya Midori are the parents of your closest childhood cousin, Suguha. They have supported you since the passing of your birth parents and have been very warm and welcoming to you, however weren't able to break through your state of depression before you entered Sword Art Online..."
Kazu's eyes were covered by the back of one of her hands. She scrunched her eyes while listening to Yui's explanation of the information she couldn't access in her own mind, and the block in her mind unravelled beautifully. The pounding in her head thinned and she realized what it was she was blocking out. She was blocking out the loss of her parents. She thought she had accepted it, but thinking she was only ever affiliated with the one family name blocked her original family name out. Why was her mind like that? She didn't understand...but now she had to make up her mind on whether she accept the adoption and make her name identity a confirmation, or deny it and carry the family name of her father. It would be cruel after Midori and Minetaka took care of her for years despite her lack of communication to say no, but her mental state was also important to the situation. In the end, it didn't take much thought before she settled on accepting the adoption. She loved her family. That included her aunt and uncle who supported her so long. She could carry her parents with her into the future through her experiences, but she needed to hold on to and cherish the family she currently had, that went for inside and outside of virtual environments of any kind.
"Your mind sounds much better, mama. Much more comfy~"
Yui hugged Kazu and appeared to fall asleep. Following suit shortly after, Kazu also nodded off.
