Disclaimer: See chapter 1
The Pale Wraith and the Black Swordsman
By Storm Wolf77415 and Centurious the Azure
A Slice of Life, A Moment in Time
(October 9th, 2022)
It had been a few days since the party. Life had returned to normal for everyone. Asuna walked out of school, taking in the fall sunshine. While it was still warm, the signs winter was fast approaching were all around her.
"Hey Asuna!" A voice called out. She turned to see one of her classmates approaching her. A pair of long legs accentuated by the black panty hose she wore with her school uniform. Long black hair hung freely down her back, framing her deep chocolate brown eyes. "Want to walk home together?" the girl asked, pushing a few dark strands of hair out of her gorgeous face.
"Sure, Kimiko. I've got a ton of homework to do." Asuna smiled a little. She had known Hattori Kimiko since kindergarten, her father; Hattori Sanzo had worked for RECT for years. They even went to the same cram school together. There were times when she couldn't help but be jealous of the other girl's killer good looks. Kimiko had aspirations to become a model, having already done a few photo shoots.
In truth, Kimiko was one of the few people she could genuinely call a friend. Kyoko pushed her children hard to excel everything they did. Many of the other girls were jealous of Asuna's good grades, and only became friends so they could try and backstab her during exam time. Thus taking the top spot for themselves. The two girls walked down the narrow street, dead leaves tumbled down the sidewalk.
"So how was that party the other day? I heard your mom went all out on it." Kimiko asked. Asuna blushed slightly as she thought back to that night and the intriguing young man who helped her break out of her shell. The image of Kyoko's face when "Psychosocial Baby" began playing was priceless. Asuna couldn't help but giggle a little. Kimiko arched a delicate eyebrow. "Ooh, did something happen? Come on, girl, I want details!"
Asuna blushed. "Well…I did meet a rather nice boy during the party." That elicited a squeal from Kimiko that nearly ruptured her eardrum. The other girl promptly latched onto her arm.
"You met a boy? Okay, now you have to tell me! What is he like? Is he cute?" Kimiko continued uttering one question after another, rapid fire.
"Okay, enough, Kimiko!" Asuna whined, "Think you could let go of me while you're at it? I'm starting to lose feeling in my arm!" Kimiko let go, giving an apologetic smile. The youngest Yuuki gave her an annoyed glare. "Yes, I did meet a boy during that party. He was the son of my dad's new business partner. I guess he was kind of cute." Asuna remembered Yukimasa's goofy grin. "He had a nice smile, in a weird sort of way."
Asuna recounted the story of how they had decided to liven
up the festivities. Kimiko laughed uproariously. She had never been a big fan of Kyoko, but had been polite if for the sake of her father. "Wow, it sounds like he's definitely a keeper then! Don't let go of him, Asuna!"
The Yuuki heiress rolled her eyes in annoyance. "It's not like I'm going to see him, again. Kimiko. It was a one off deal. He's probably not anywhere near here. I may never see him again."
The girls looked to where a bicycle rolled up. The rider pulled his helmet off, revealing none other than Yukimasa Sanada himself. "Hey, Asuna! Fancy meeting you here!" He replied in his usual cheery tone. He gave a roguish grin, "And I see you have a friend with you as well. Nice to meet you, hon. I'm Yukimasa Sanada, and who would you be?"
"My name is Hattori Kimiko, I go to school with Asuna." Kimiko flipped her long ebony locks over her shoulder while flashing one of her best model smiles.
"She knows how to pick her company. It's nice to meet you, Miss Hattori." Yukimasa redirected his attention to Asuna. "I'm guessing you're wondering how I found you, huh? My dad told me you lived around here. So I thought I'd drop in and say hi. Perhaps if you're not too busy, you and I could catch some dinner and maybe a movie afterwards?""
"B-but, I have cram school in another couple hours!" Asuna said, only to be pushed toward him by Kimiko.
"Oh come on and live a little, hon. I'll just tell our teacher you felt a little ill and went home early." Kimiko leaned in close. "He's a total dish, take this opportunity while you have a chance. I know I would."
Asuna shyly walked up to him, her cheeks turning slightly red. "So…where would you like to go? I know a nice Italian place not too far from here."
Yukimasa grinned, pushing his bike. "I can do Italian. How about we walk there together?" He gave Kimiko a slight nod. "Evening to you, Miss Hattori."
"You two have fun!" Kimiko gave a playful smile and waved, watching as the two of them walked off together, Yukimasa pushing his bike. "I think they make a cute couple."
(October 18th, 2022 AD, RECT Tower, 39th Floor)
The corporate headquarters of RECT was a truly stunning sight to behold. A forty-story high structure made of steel, concrete, and glass that stood proud against the Tokyo skyline. As one of the company's highest-ranking executives, Kouichirou naturally got one of the best offices. Behind his desk was a line of full size windows looked out on an endless line of skyscrapers.
It was especially stunning at twilight, as the sunset, the colors of dusk reflected off all of the buildings, making it resemble something of a kaleidoscope. At that moment, the elder Yuuki sibling was sitting at his desk, going through paperwork. He had signed his name to what seemed like the billionth form, when a thought occurred to him. "Why am I doing this? I have people who can take care of all this for me!" He suddenly wrote a note, effectively dumping all of his paperwork onto the multiple secretaries.
He stood up to look out the window. "Ah…I love being the boss." It was then the door opened, admitting his wife. Ayami was his right hand woman, running the entire department in a manner that would make the crudest drill sergeants cringe. She came up, putting her arms around him. "Hello, my lover, are all our little peons behaving themselves?"
"For now, I rarely need to crack the whip on them to be honest. But I have a reputation to keep up, and sometimes you need to grease the wheels." Ayami smirked, handing him a file. "The itinerary for your trip to Rome next month… It's the same old bullshit, sit in a billion different meetings and learn nothing!" She sighed, going to look out the window. "I swear, your mother sees you nothing as a tool to make more money for this company."
Kouichirou sighed, dropping the file on his desk, going to join his wife. "I don't do this solely for Mom. It's for all the people who work for us." He put his arm around Ayami's waist. "They work hard to support their families and help create something to share with the world. My job is to take care of them, Ayami. One day, my dad will step down and I have to be ready to take over. That's why I do this."
"Even though it comes at the expense of your own life?" She gave him a sharp glare. "It seems like you're always traveling. I feel like I barely see you half the time. And what about Asuna? Don't tell me you approve of the way Kyoko has been trying to pawn her off to Sugou like some cheap door prize?" Kouichirou had no words for Ayami, who just sighed, resting her head against his shoulder. Neither said any more, instead just preferring the silent company.
(Kirigaya Residence, October 24th, 2022)
On the surface, the house is relatively unassuming, but inside, is a young man who would soon become an unexpected legend. Kirigaya Kazuto sat at the dinner table, eating his lunch. On the surface he didn't appear to be much. Tall and lanky, with a mop of short, messy black hair, framed his lean looking face, containing thoughtful gray eyes.
He was currently reading an online gaming magazine profiling Kayaba Akihiko, Manager of the 3rd Development Branch of Argus Technologies, and the upcoming release of a landmark in gaming history. The first ever Full-Dive Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online roleplaying game, Sword Art Online, and the system it would play on, the Nerve Gear.
A helmet covered the entire head with a visor coming down over the user's eyes, The Nerve Gear containing a series of high-density microwave transceivers that sent signals to all five senses of the user, hence the term "Full-Dive." It was equipped with a next-generation diamond semiconductor central processing unit.
Kazuto was completely lost in the article. An avid gamer and computer programmer himself, he had seen the potential in virtual technology, and what future applications it could have. "The possibilities are just endless!" He said to himself. "Kayaya is an absolute genius."
"Hey, Kazuto. Do you have a minute?" Kirigaya Suguha,
Kazuto's little sister asked. Sugu, as she was called by those close to her, would be considered cute by many. Her chin length dark hair was held back by four stainless steel barrettes, framing a pair of bluish-gray eyes that held a playful air about them. But the defined muscles on her arms and legs betrayed her childish looks.
Kazuto froze up, suddenly finding the grain of the dining room table to be the most interesting thing in the world. "Uh, you're going to have to excuse me, Sugu. But I have some homework I need to catch up on. I'll talk to you later." With that, he quickly scrambled up to the steps, but Suguha tried to grab onto his arm.
"Wait just a second, now Kazuto! You can't take five minutes to talk to your own sister?" He jerked his arm, sending her back a little. Kazuto gave an apologetic expression to her, opening his mouth before a minute before running up to his bedroom. She put her hands on her hips. Her face became sad, eyes beginning to water. "Why is it that he always gets so cold when I'm around? Doesn't he care about me anymore?"
In the darkened confines of his room, Kazuto crashed on his bed. "Forgive me, Sugu." He clenched his fist. "I'm not really your brother. I don't know how to view you in that light. It makes me wish Mom hadn't said a word to me." It was a sad truth that he had learned five years ago, when he was just ten.
His aunt, Kirigaya Midori, had been an editor for a computer software magazine, and so encouraged her nephew/adoptive son's natural love for computers. But no one expected him to demonstrate such natural talent, building a computer from spare parts during elementary school. Despite the love he got from both Midori and her husband, Minetaka, Kazuto always suspected something was off.
So finally, he hacked into the Japanese National Registry itself, finding a copy of his birth certificate, showing that he had been adopted. His relationship with Suguha, once so close, deteriorated. Kazuto sighed, looking up at his ceiling. "I guess it's going to be one of those nights then." He sighed, resigned to not sleeping.
(Argus Industries, October 28th, 2022)
Yukimasa entered the rather innocuous skyscraper that served as the headquarters for Argus Industries' 3rd Technological branch. He had been called in for a meeting with the director. He made his way through the endless rows of cubicles. "Like a rat in a maze." He muttered, before finally reaching his destination.
Mishima Kenji's cubicle was a mess, as was common for him. Kenji was a young man with tanned skin. He was a big man in a little leather chair leaning over his keyboard like he was too big for this cubicle all together. He was a few years older than Yukimasa, but he was still one of the most talented programmers he'd ever known. That talent had gotten him a job with Argus even though he'd only started college recently. His rig occupied almost all of his desk space. Triple monitor set up, a high tower containing a quadruple core CPU. It almost made the entire cubical seem like it was bursting at the scenes with the addition of Yukimasa.
"Hey, Masa!" Kenji waved, looking up at him with his gleaming dark brown eyes. He was a man of Western features blended with mildly Asian ones accented by low cut head of mildly curly black hair. Yukimasa was sure he was part Nigerian. Although, he could hardly tell with all the outlandish claims his friend often made about being African royalty. Yukimasa was just glad he didn't ask for five hundred dollars in return for the investment in their friendship. He cracked a small grin, sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed. "Glad you decided to come and visit us humble peons. I was starting to get bored staring at this screen."
He eyed the lines of code on the monitors. "What are you working on, anyway?"
Kenji grinned sheepishly. "The first new patch, I'm almost done with it. The big man has been really riding my ass about getting it done on time. Kayaba wants to meet the release date, no ifs, ands, or buts. He promised everyone Sword Art Online would come out on November 6th, and that's what's going to happen. So I'm really working my ass off." He sighed, slumping a little in his chair. "But enough about me, how are you?"
Yukimasa shrugged, "Oh, I'm good…I met a girl a few weeks ago at a party."
Kenji immediately sat bolt upright. "You met a girl? Hell man, you move quick! Considering you just dumped the last one?" He snickered a little. "Yurika would pitch a hella bad fit if she knew!"
The younger boy just shrugged. "Yurika was hardly my ideal lady, Ken. Yeah, she was hot, and had that fiery attitude I like." Yukimasa sighed, thinking of the first girlfriend he had when arriving in Japan. Hamashiro Yurika had been a striking creature, long, midnight black hair with a prominent white streak running through her bangs, fierce violet-colored eyes, and a mouth constantly pulled in a smug grin. "At the same time, she was so petty and shallow. That's not the type of woman I'd want to get into a long term relationship, much less marry."
He smiled, thinking about Asuna. He fondly recalled her beautiful smile when they sat on that balcony overlooking the skyline at night. She seemed to light up the city much more than any beacon could. "This girl is different Kenji. She's very gentle and kind, one of those sheltered types. But, if you look real close, there's a great inner strength inside. It just needed someone to pull it out of her."
Kenji grinned. "Does this girl of yours have a name?" He asked curiously.
"Asuna…Yuuki Asuna." Kenji's entire body locked up, nearly causing his chair to fall over, if Yukimasa hadn't grabbed onto the arm. "Sheesh, Kenji! You trying to hurt yourself?" He quipped. Kenji burst out laughing. "I fail to see what's so funny."
"Yuuki Asuna? As in, Yuuki Shouzou's daughter?" Kenji bent over, clutching his sides. Yukimasa failed to see what was so funny. He frowned a little bit.
"Well yeah, the party was set up by her family to welcome us to Japan in the first place." Yukimasa explained conversationally, his frown becoming a small smile. It had been a nice change from the misery he felt over his bad break up with his ex. "This creepy dude with a hair-sniffing fetish was harassing her, so I decided to step in. The two of us started dancing, we went out to the café at the hotel. We chatted for a while until Dad and I had to leave. Not to mention I saw her just a couple of days ago. We went out to dinner, it was really nice."
Kenji just shook his head in bemusement. It sounded a little too good to be true. "Only you could pull off a stunt like that!" He snorted, eying him dubiously. "Well, I guess you're going to have to introduce me to her then. Just to prove to me that you're really dating a Yuuki."
"I think that can be arranged. I'm going to be vindicated." Yukimasa smugly said. It was then they heard someone clearing their throat. Both men turned to see a tall, lanky man with short dark hair and steel gray eyes wearing a long white, labcoat over a simple white button-up shirt and dark pants leaning up against the cubicle wall. They both stood up a little straighter.
"I trust I'm not interrupting anything?" Kayaba Akihiko drawled.
"No sir, just catching up with an old friend!" Kenji barked. "The patch is almost done, and should be ready by tonight. I'll send it you the minute it's complete!"
Kayaba chuckled. Kenji had virtually been his right hand man since the whole endeavor started. "That's good, Mishima. I figured you would be ready." He directed his metallic gaze to Yukimasa, giving a warm smile. "I'm glad you're here as well. Come with me to my office. There are a few things I want to talk to you."
"Sure thing, big man." Yukimasa put his hands in his pockets, following him to a corner of the room, past all the cubicles to the office Kayaba kept as head of the development team. It was fairly modest, or would have been if not for the massive amount of papers and drawings that practically wallpapered the room. A very expensive computer sat on the right side of the desk.
"Have a seat." Kayaba motioned to the one of the chairs kept in front of his desk. "I'm glad you came around. It's always nice to get a visit from one of my favorite people in the world." He gazed at a picture on his bulletin board. "I still remember the day you drew that. I've kept it all these years. It's been a long road, but soon we will reach the end of the line."
"Yeah, just a few more short days." Yukimasa smiled fondly, recalling how he labored over the drawing. "The Black Steel Castle Aincrad, floating high in the sky. I still remember when you told me about your idea six years ago, and I drew that picture for you. Sword Art Online, your dream…our dream is about to become a reality."
Kayaba leaned back in his chair. "How long has it been since I fantasized about that castle in the sky? Even now I wonder if Aincrad really does exist in some distant corner of the universe. I know I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did without your inspiration, Yukimasa." He smirked a little. "Perhaps you would be willing to share a drink with me? I think that it's more than fitting for what've done thus far." He pulled out a bottom of bourbon and a pair of shot glasses.
"I'll be happy to, but don't give me too much." Yukimasa poured a small bit of the dark brown liquor into one of the glasses. "The last thing I want to do is to come home piss ass drunk. Mom would never let me hear the end of it."
Kayaba smirked, pouring his own glass. "Ah, speaking of which. Hitomi told me you managed to befriend a certain young woman. Kudos to you."
Yukimasa groaned. "Mom told you about that?"
"But of course, she is my sister, after all. I don't think I ever heard her so happy. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's waiting for grandchildren." Kayaba delicately sipped at his drink. "Needless to say, I'm proud of you. Miss Yuuki is a striking young woman, and I think she's perfect for you." He leveled a knowing gaze at him. "Love is a very precious thing, it will sustain you in the future."
"Uh, yeah, whatever you say, Uncle Aki." Yukimasa said blandly. He held up his glass. "To Sword Art Online…and the future."
"To the future." Kayaba echoed. Their glasses clinked together. Yukimasa downed the small shot simultaneously with his uncle. The liquor burnt on the way down. He hadn't drunk it since the time he broke into his dad's liquor cabinet years ago. This time, he had a reason to be less guilty about it. It was one of those moments where he felt he was truly equals with the man he admired most. That, he thought, was the start of his perceived bright future.
(Yuuki Manor, November 6th, 2022)
Asuna was in her bedroom, lying on the bed. It was a dreary, cloudy day. It appeared the heavens could open up and begin pouring down rain at any moment. She thought the weather fit her mood perfectly, having just got into an argument with her mother about her grades, and how she needed to start thinking about college. "Can she just let up about it? I'm only 15. Do I really need to be focused on college right now?"
There was a knock at the door, "What is it now…" Asuna's words died on her tongue when she saw Kouichirou and Ayami standing at the door. She gasped.
"Hey, little sis! Surprised to see me?" He grinned, giving her a gentle hug before walking into his sister's room, taking a seat on the bed.
"Kouichirou, what you doing here?" Asuna couldn't believe her eyes. "I thought you had that business trip to go on."
Ayami sat down next to her sister in law. "It got cancelled at the last minute. As such, we got ourselves some unexpected free time." The older woman put an arm around her shoulders. "So we decided to spend it with you."
"Yeah, I got an earful from Mom just now." He scoffed. "Not my fault the trip got cancelled." Kouichirou patted her on the head. "Someone told me that I've put too much focus on my job as of late, and I needed to fix it." He looked to Ayami as he said those last words. "So…here I am. We got a treat as well, Asuna." Kouichirou reached into his bag, pulling out a strange looking helmet. "Tell me…how would you like to play a game?"
Asuna regarded the strange device in her brother's hands. "What kind of game?" She asked nervously.
"Oh trust me, it's unlike anything you've ever encountered before, Asuna." Kouichirou held it up, revealing the stylized 'Nerve Gear' printed on the front. "And I guarantee you probably never will again!"
Author's Notes: Oh if they only knew how! Yeah, this was a short chapter, but it's mostly just to set up for what's to come. Next time…onwards to Aincrad!