Bridge
"Ordinal Scale, activate," the three of us said together. The usual flash of light enveloped us, blinding me for a split second before it faded away. We were all clad in our Ordinal Scale equipment, ready for battle. Above us, Din and Yui hovered in the air, talking quietly together.
Just in time, too. The clock hit nine and the world rippled as it was replaced by AR. The stage this time reminded me of an old, desolate ship graveyard - where only the ribs and remains of ships were left. The floor was stone but patterned like it was individual chunks of wood, and in the distance I could see the remnants of a massive ship. The sky was clouded, with sunlight just barely filtering through. The 'TDM stg'. A circle appeared up near a large, almost organic wreck with chains stretching out in the sky, and a pillar of fire rose. A shape appeared, and...
My eyes widened. "That's Dire Tusk," Kirito exclaimed. "The boss from Floor 18!" Instead of the next boss in the pattern, we were facing down a massive green creature with a red beard that looked like the upper body and head of a muscular orc mixed with the lower body, arms, and tail of a raptor. A metal collar was around its neck, and I knew that there would be a chain leading to the wall behind him. "What happened to Floor 13's boss?"
"I just checked!" Yui said. "And a total of ten bosses have appeared at different locations across the city!"
"They're pulling out all the stops tonight," Sinon murmured. It felt weird to think of her as Sinon, while she still had Shino's hair color.
"The admins shuffled the locations around," Din reported. "Even though this lines up with a dungeon on Floor 13, Dire Tusk spawned."
I grimaced. "I hate when they change the rules."
Kirito was going to say something when a player nearby said, "Crap, that's Dire Tusk, alright." I flinched and looked over; I didn't recognize the player, but if he recognized the boss, then that meant he was from Aincrad. "C'mon, let's go." He and his friends ran forward. Kirito twitched as if he was going to chase after them, but Sinon rested a hand on his shoulder. He glanced at her, and relaxed.
Up at the front, the timer started - but Yuna didn't appear to this fight. Maybe she was at one of the others? I don't know. But either way, it didn't matter because Dire Tusk didn't wait for us to figure out what was going on.
With a roar and the clank of chains, Dire Tusk leaned forward and started charging, each step of its lizard-like legs smashing a hole in the floor. Players dove out of the way, too afraid of the charge to counter it. After several stops, the boss jerked to a halt as its chain pulled taut, nearly strangling it. Sure enough, the boss's choker chain was embedded in the wall, keeping it from having free roam. Dire Tusk screeched, flailing its arms at a player that had fallen back.
Sinon took aim and fired, a green projectile streaking forward. It smashed into Dire Tusk's shoulder and knocked it backwards; with the force of the blow, Dire Tusk actually spun in place as it crashed to the ground. This thing's legs were small compared to its body, so it was easy to knock down.
"It's going to be winding up for a punish," I said. Dire Tusk might have been chained at the beginning, but that was only until the first health bar was depleted; since this game didn't have multiple health bars to the bosses, it would be roughly at a fifth of its health. The other players didn't know that, and rushed in.
"Then let's light 'em up!" Sinon replied without missing a beat, her sniper rifle barking again as she shot Dire Tusk. More ranged specialists joined the fight, their machine guns and rifles chattering away.
With the combination of gunfire, Sinon's sniper rifle picking out weak points, and the players slashing just outside of Dire Tusk's range, it didn't take long to reach the turning point. Dire Tusk turned tail and retreated, running back to where its chain was embedded in the wall. Despite getting shot, the bullets peppering its unprotected back, Dire Tusk didn't turn to us. Here we go...
"Awesome!" some swordsman cheered, running in with his friend as Dire Tusk tugged on the chain in the wall. "He's like a sitting duck!"
Shit. "No, get away!" Kirito shouted as he and I rushed forward to intercept their charge.
With a roar, Dire Tusk's huge shoulders bulged and it turned. The chain finally broke out of the wall, revealing what it was hiding - a massive, red-bladed axe head attached to the chain, hidden in the concrete. Dire Tusk whipped the chain forward and launched the axe head forward on a direct course, straight for the pair of players that were charging it. One jumped out of the way and Kirito shoulder-checked the other one to the side, knocking both of them down; my eyes widened and I screeched to a halt, nearly toppling over as the chain whipped by my face. The axe smashed into the ground and ripped through it, gouging a path through the wooden lower floor and even through the stone stairs. I saw Sinon jump and roll to the side, and I let out a hiss of relief.
Dire Tusk pulled back on the chain and the axe head returned to it. As the smoke from the attack cleared, I could see that it hadn't been without casualties; the player that had recognized Dire Tusk had taken a hit almost directly to the torso. "Oh crap!" Kirito shouted, lurching to his feet.
Before he could move, Dire Tusk caught the axe and turned its head, pinning Kirito with its red eyes. He froze, staring at the boss, and then dove to the side as Dire Tusk smashed at him with the axe. It crashed into the ground, and Dire Tusk yanked it back out to strike at Kirito again. I took the chance as Kirito parried the blow, sparks flying, to move in and start some bladework, my dagger biting into the boss's unprotected stomach and legs. The blows weren't deep, and my dagger wasn't long enough to properly sever a limb, but it still did damage, leaving the red marks behind. Grimacing, I shifted hands and flexed my left fist; the scrapes and injuries from earlier protested. It was moving slowly, and clenching a fist hurt, but I could survive.
Dire Tusk screeched after a particularly nasty slice - it cut near the base of the tail, one of the boss's weak points - and whirled on me. I grinned fiercely, not intimidated in the slightest as it started to rear back to smash that heavy axe into my face instead; the boss was right-handed and I was left, so I was always at an advantage in movement. All I had to do was lunge to the side and spin with the momentum, clearing myself out of the danger zone and setting up for a perfect punch. My knuckles impacted with the boss's knee, backward jointed just like a raptor, and it buckled. Kirito stepped in and slashed upwards, cutting into the boss's arm.
As we jumped back, gaining distance, the players that had already been defeated cheered from the sidelines, urging us to kick the boss's ass and 'finish him off!'. I spared them a glance, but no more than that; I could barely see, thanks to the cloud of dust and smoke that rose up from each of Dire Tusk's attacks. Dire Tusk roared and raised its left hand, the extraneous chain wrapping around its wrist. My eyes narrowed and I crouched slightly; the ranged attacks would stop, but the boss itself would gain mobility.
Sure enough, Dire Tusk's first attack was a jump high in the air so that it could slam its axe down on a tank covering himself with a tower shield nearby. The boss cleared a lot of ground, more than the victim expected, and slammed its axe down - just in front of him, making a crater and forcing the armored man back.
With a growling shout, Kirito rushed in. His sword clashed against the boss's axe and then flicked back to the right to block Dire Tusk's punch, then again to the left to counter Dire Tusk's axe attack. Kirito growled and swiped at the boss with his blade, but it jumped back away from the edge.
"Pace yourself!" Sinon shouted. I glanced over to see where she was going, to see her running along the edge of the wooden section, carrying her rifle. Kirito didn't seem to give her any reply, he just bulled forward again, fighting like a mad dog.
He charged straight into a heavy down smash from Dire Tusk that crashed into the ground, a shockwave fanning out in a cone behind Kirito. I winced but didn't miss the opening, digging my dagger into the boss's ribs. About where the kidney would be, if the boss were a human scaled to size.
Dire Tusk let out a roar and the dust cleared just enough that I could see Kirito was okay, glaring up at the boss. His eyes were filled with desperate rage and I gritted my teeth; I recognized that look, back from when we were trying to rescue Asuna from the World Tree. It was the face he made when he made the first suicidal attempt against the Guardians.
The chain around Dire Tusk's hand began to unwrap and I realized I needed to move. I immediately started hurrying backwards, keeping my eyes on the boss while I backpedaled. The chain around the boss's wrist started to unwrap and lash around, until it smashed into the nearby ground, nearly killing two players. A tornado of wind and metal links started expanding as the Dire Tusk unleashed its near-death move. Occasionally, individual links lashed out and smashed a section of the ground before bouncing back into the whirlwind. I moved around until I could see Kirito; he'd been unable to get away from the attack in time and was blocking the attack desperately, holding the flat of the blade in front of him. Links kept bouncing off of the blade, orange sparks flying out.
I couldn't remember exactly how we handled the boss in Aincrad, but it didn't matter; we had options in Ordinal Scale that didn't exist back then. "Sinon!" I shouted.
The bark of a rifle answered me. Sinon's powerful shot rocketed forward, splitting the dust around where she'd been standing, and smashed into Dire Tusk's chain. The links shattered, flying everywhere and leaving the boss with just a few links attached to its axe. Naturally, the near-death move ended, Kirito still alive. He fell to one knee from the effort as Dire Tusk reeled from Sinon's blast.
Slowly, he got to his feet and started running forward, moving unsteadily at first. After a second, though, he found his balance and started sprinting at the boss. Another of Sinon's rifle shots glanced off of the Dire Tusk's collar, and I clicked my tongue in irritation. Even as I closed in to assist Kirito, Dire Tusk planted one foot on the ground - cracking the wooden floor - and swung its axe at him.
Sinon's rifle barked again, this time hitting exactly where she wanted it to - the beast's eye. It lurched to the side and the boss's axe cracked the ground right next to Kirito. He was unharmed from the strike. With a shout, Kirito burst from the smoke and dug his sword into Dire Tusk's right arm, dragging the blade forward as he ran. The strike ran along Dire Tusk's entire body until it swung free, scoring a slash across the leg. Kirito fell forward with the sudden loss of resistance and tumbled into a sitting position. Dire Tusk froze, motionless, and abruptly expanded -
- before it exploded in a spray of light and multi-colored glittering lights that rushed outwards with a deep basso rumble. The confetti paused, hanging in the air in a perfect half-sphere, before it all rushed back in to the center. It imploded on itself and a small little puff of confetti sprinkled down, disappearing before they touched the ground. Panting, I glanced at the clock: only thirty seconds left.
As the stage faded away, revealing the real world again, Kirito stood up and sheathed his sword on his back. "He didn't show up tonight," he muttered.
"Probably because I smashed his nose in, like I said earlier," I said as I approached him. "By the way, Kirito." He looked over at me, just as I grabbed his shoulder firmly, just barely not tight enough to hurt. "You need to calm down," I told him. "I know you're upset. I love Asuna too. But you won't help her if you charge recklessly into danger and get yourself killed like you would have been if Sinon hadn't pulled your ass out of the fire. Got it?"
Kirito's eyes widened for a second, before he sighed and grinned at me. The desperation in his eyes was still there, but it was small. "Sorry, Rythin. Guess I got caught up in things, huh?"
"A little bit," I nodded as I let go.
I heard footsteps behind me, and I turned to see Sinon approaching the two of us, rifle in hand. "Nice one," she said with a smile.
"Yeah," Kirito said. "Thanks to you."
"Take me out for cake and we'll call it even," Sinon said. I blinked, and then grinned faintly.
Kirito glanced to the side, checking his rewards. "How about a coupon for a free beef bowl instead?" Oh, you dense idiot. Though, to be fair, I'm pretty sure he's playing dense on purpose. Either that or he just has eyes for Asuna.
Sinon's eyes went flat with exasperation. "Do I look like I want a beef bowl?" she asked. "Nick offered to buy me ice cream, cheapskate."
I rolled my eyes. "I think I was voluntold to buy you ice cream, sweetheart." Sinon huffed playfully, pretending to be irritated.
"Yuna?" Kirito suddenly breathed. He was staring off into the distance, and I blinked at him before turning to see what he was looking at. It was... that girl, from before, the one with red eyes and wearing a hoodie that covered her face. She turned to look at Kirito...
...and her hood fell back, exposing her face. She looked exactly like Yuna.
"Hey, wait!" Kirito exclaimed, breaking into a sprint. Beside me, Sinon blinked in surprise, and I swore under my breath before chasing after him.
I caught up with Kazuto just as he stopped in the middle of the street. Judging by how he wasn't shouting at anyone, and there wasn't the world's best Yuna cosplayer ghost in sight, I made the excellent deduction that she'd disappeared again. "Lost her, huh," I noted neutrally as I stopped next to him.
"Yeah," he muttered. "Who is she, and why does she look like..."
From above, Yui and Din swooped down to hover around head-height. "I'm sorry, Daddy," Yui said. "We were following a clue, but we got blocked by a firewall. During the battle just now, I found out that a mysterious program activated, right when an SAO Survivor took on critical damage from the boss."
I looked over at movement in the corner of my eye, but it was Shino, walking towards the two of us. "Son of a..." Kazuto muttered, before he turned and headed down the steps. I blinked in surprise as he slammed his fist into the glass pane of the vending machine in front of him. "Rrgh!" he grunted. Yeah, that's probably got to hurt. Shino stopped next to me, watching Kazuto silently. He glanced over. "Hey, wanna drink?"
Shino shook her head silently, and he sighed. While he opened up an Augma reward and selected his free drink, I glanced at Din and Yui. "What did Kazuto have you looking for, Yui?"
"Any clue that could inform us what was going on," she replied promptly. "I got blocked, though."
Kazuto knelt down and reached for the coffee from the vending machine, before he froze. I tilted my head curiously, and was about to say something when he stood up abruptly. "Of course!" he said. "Yui, that girl in the hoodie. Do you know which direction she pointed each time we saw her?"
"Yes! I have the coordinates."
My eyes lit up. "Oh, I get it," I said. "Triangulation, so we can see where she was pointing. Good idea."
Kazuto nodded at me, before turning to Yui. "Okay," he said. "Bring up a map of Tokyo and show me where they all lead."
Shino and I joined him by the vending machine, and an orange light rippled before expanding outwards, revealing a map of the city with roads, rivers, and train lines all drawn in. There were a few other common locations marked, like major shopping centers and the spawn areas of the bosses we'd faced over the last few days. "This is familiar," I murmured to Shino. "Now all we need to do is try to figure out which one is Death Gun."
"Don't even joke about that," she muttered, swatting my arm. She was still grinning, though, so I took it as a victory nonetheless.
After the compass ring appeared around the map, pointing which direction was north, three red circles appeared one by one. A line extended out from each - that would be the direction the ghost was pointing when we saw her. Three circles, then... So Kazuto ran into her once between the first time we saw her and now? Interesting. I wonder why she keeps appearing in front of him.
The three lines intersected - which, I mean, we could technically have done this with only two lines as long as Kazuto encountered her in two different locations, but... - and Shino breathed, "They criss-cross!" The center of the intersection expanded, filling the entire circle with a close view of the area. Every building was faithfully recreated with orange wireframe. "In Okayama!"
The red circle of the three lines' intersection shrank until it was hovering over a small cluster of buildings. They were all connected, and there was a small area without any buildings just to the... southwest. "You know what that building is, Yui?"
"That's where the Toto Institute of Technology is!" Yui replied.
I blinked, tilting my head as I thought. I'd heard that name recently, but where... "Why does she want me to look there?" Kazuto wondered out loud.
"I'll see if there's any link between Eiji and the institute," Din said. "Give me a second..." A series of pictures rose in a column around us, but I didn't really see them. My tongue flicked out over my lips and I let my eyes unfocus, playing back the most recent events -
"The Augma!" I said abruptly, making both Shino and Kazuto jump a little. "The inventor, Shigemura, he has a lecture there. Kazuto, you showed it to me a few days ago, that's where I recognize the name from."
"Shigemura..." Kazuto said, before raising a picture closer. "This is him, right?"
Yui floated over to look. I did the same, without the floating part. "Yes, that's Professor Tetsuhiro Shigemura. Like Uncle said, he designed the Augma."
"He did, huh..." Kazuto murmured.
Shino wormed her way between me and Kazuto. "And look who it is," she said, pointing at the picture. It was a picture of Shigemura and several of his students, all posing for a group picture; I wasn't sure the purpose. But that didn't matter - what Shino had pointed to was a little bit more interesting. Namely, the appearance of Eiji in one of the photos. The photo of him looked identical to how he looked now, so it had to have been taken after Aincrad...
I looked at Kazuto. "Something tells me," I said, "that we're going to need to have a conversation with the professor."
...
I killed the engine on my bike and rested on one leg, balancing the weight carefully as my passenger climbed off. "Thanks for the ice cream," Shino said, smiling at me like she hadn't just put my wallet on a strict no-cash diet.
I gave Shino a flat stare, and then took off my helmet so that she could actually see me giving her a flat stare. "You ate way too much."
"You shouldn't say that to a girl," she replied, unfazed. I guess she's developed a resistance to my glares. "What would Kana think?"
"That you ate too much," I grumbled.
Shino grinned, laughing a little bit, before she paused and rested a hand on my arm. "Nick, you should talk to Kana tomorrow," she said. I hesitated, not quite sure where she was going with this. "Tell her what happened, okay? I know it'll help."
I couldn't help it, I let out a little chuckle of my own. "Look at you, worrying about me," I said. "I thought I was the one that was supposed to protect you, huh?"
Shino smiled, toying with one of the pigtails framing her face. "It's a little sister's job to keep an eye out for her big brother, isn't it?"
She waved to me as I pulled away, her words ringing in my head. I should talk to Kana? Well... I guess I should take her advice. It seems like once again, she's helped me out...
Man, I owe her a lot, huh. Maybe the ice cream was just a step on paying her back.
I headed home, but instead of getting changed I wrote a quick note to my parent and left it on the table before grabbing my overnight bag and tossing in a change of clothes and everything I'd need to spend the night at Kana's house. It was something routine by this point, and Kana and I had floated the idea of just leaving a few changes of clothing at each other's house for events like this, but we hadn't actually gotten around to setting that up yet.
Plus, I don't really want to think about what Kana would do if she could dress me up at her house and mine.
Kana was already waiting for me at the front door when I arrived at her house - I'd messaged her when I was about five minutes away, since I was walking instead of taking my bike. "Hey, Nick," she said. "How did the fight go?"
I shook my head as I entered and took off my shoes. "You already know, huh?"
"Shino told me."
I sighed and shook my head at Kana's easy response. "Then why ask me, catling?"
"Nya hah hah," Kana laughed. "Because I like hearing my boyfriend brag, obviously." I shook my head again, my lips twitching. Kana snickered at my expression for a few seconds, before lightly wrapping her arms around me. I was standing in the hall, so her face was pressing into the middle of my back. "It's rare for you to come over on your own," she murmured into my back.
I didn't reply for a while, luxuriating in the familiar sensation of her arms and her warmth. This. This was real. I'd remember this, even if my memories of SAO were taken from me by Eiji and Ordinal Scale. I'd remember how much I love her, I'd remember how much I love all of my family and friends. Everything that's important, is still here with me in the real world. "I guess," I said finally, "I wanted to sleep with you tonight."
Kana stilled against my back, before she giggled. "I don't think you meant that the way it sounded," she said.
How it sounded? All I said was that I wanted to - oh. Oh. "Yeah, no, that came out wrong," I said, feeling my cheeks get hot. "I talked with Shino earlier, and she told me to talk to you about some stuff."
"Shino's a smart girl, you should listen to her more often."
We migrated up to Kana's room, stopping just long enough to say hello to Kana's dad and let him know that I'd be staying the night. I sat on her bed and she sat in front of me, happily resting against my chest while I told her about the events of the day so far. Even when I talked about Eiji, how I chased him down and risked losing memories just to have a chance at saving Asuna, she didn't complain or scold me. She just sighed and leaned back, making sure that we stayed in contact the whole time.
In the end, after I was finished, Kana sat silently in my arms, and I rested my head on her shoulder without saying a word. "I'm glad you're okay," she said finally. "But that was really, really stupid of you."
"I know."
Her hands crept up and clutched at my own, placing her small, cool hands on top of mine. "We're going on a date tomorrow afternoon," she said. There wasn't any room to argue. "And it's going to be so much fun that there's no way either of us could ever forget it."
I realized, with a sudden rush, that my own close brush with Eiji had blinded me from seeing it: Kana was just as terrified of losing her memories of Aincrad as Kazuto and Asuna were. "Yeah," I murmured. "Sure. As soon as I get back from my thing with Kazuto, we'll go out for the rest of the day."
Even if I wasn't already going to track down Eiji and beat him within an inch of his life for daring to hurt Asuna, I would do it to stop him from hurting Kana.
"Based on the evidence, the most glaring flaw of the Full Dive VR device is the Full Dive function itself."
The classroom was packed full of students, every one of them listening intently to the lecturer. There had to be at least a hundred people. Each one wore an Augma, and every Augma displayed the same three screens in front of the students; something that, judging by the way it scrolled and the text-heavy nature of the document, was a transcript of the lecture, as well as two other panels for use in asking questions and making comments.
Up at the front of the lecture hall of Toto Institute of Technology, a man stood at the head of the podium. He, too, was wearing an Augma, and the holographic projections behind him were courtesy of that. One looked like a still from an Augma commercial - the guy dressed in full mountaineering costume indoors, for whatever reason. Wouldn't he get hot? - and the rest were all various splash screens and advertising images. There were also a few images showing side-by-side comparisons of the AR and VR devices.
"When a person has to sever their physical senses to play a VR game," Professor Shigemura said, his voice ringing out through the hall thanks to the aid of the mic on the desk, "that person is taking on incalculable risks to their health. True," he said, "Full Dive tech has been applied to activities other than gaming, such as communication, browsing, digital production. But none of those activities require all of one's senses. Sight, sound, and limited tactile information are enough. So, instead of using a dangerous Full Dive device," he said, "one should use an AR device, which has been proven to be safe and stable."
I snorted quietly, folding my arms. Uh huh. Sure. And I'm sure you're not biased at all, Mr. I created the Augma.
Kazuto and I were sitting in on the lecture for a chance to speak with Shigemura once he was finished lecturing. Normally, we wouldn't be allowed in - it was a college, after all, and we weren't students - but thanks to Kazuto calling in a favor from Kikuoka, we were able to listen.
Shigemura checked his watch, and then looked up. I shifted in my seat, a little glad that the lecture was almost over. "Are there any questions on what we've covered so far?" he asked. Next to me, Kazuto raised his hand; he was wearing an orange shirt, which kinda stood out. I glanced down at my own, perfectly normal grey shirt. Okay, fine, so maybe I don't have Kazuto's natural attractiveness, but that's not important. "Yes, you there," Shigemura said, pointing at him.
Kazuto stood up, attracting the attention of the nearby students. "Professor," he began. "Would you say that AR devices have certain risks that VR devices don't? And if so, what are your thoughts on that?"
"Yes, well, are you talking about traffic accidents, while wearing an AR device?" Shigemura replied.
"No," Kazuto replied. "I'm talking about risks like permanently altering and damaging the user's perception of reality. Full Dive tech just makes a virtual world seem like reality. But AR tech alters reality itself. Don't you think that's dangerous?"
A current of discussion broke out among the students in the class, and I subtly tried to duck my head. Damn it, Kazuto, why didn't we just go up and talk to the guy before the lecture started like I wanted? This would be so much easier... "I'll answer that question next time," Shigemura replied finally. "Class dismissed."
As soon as he said those words the conversations that had been whispered rose in volume to full force. Up front, the lights turned on and the screens behind Professor Shigemura disappeared. I glanced at Kazuto as I stood up with the rest of the students, watching him carefully. His arms were on the desk and he was leaning forward, staring at Shigemura. "C'mon," I said to him. "We have an appointment with him, you can bring up your grudges then."
Kazuto shook himself and his stance softened. "Yeah, you're right," he said.
The two of us made our way through the crowd of rapidly fleeing college students, going with the flow more than anything. I glanced back just before I left the lecture hall; down at the podium, Shigemura was fielding questions from other students that weren't asked thanks to Kazuto's little bomb. Once we were out in the hall, Kazuto and I started searching for Shigemura's office. "E606," I murmured, staring at the nearby signs. "I think it's that way, then?"
Through trial, error, and the occasional double-back, we finally found the office. The door was closed, but it only took a few minutes for Shigemura to reach us. Introductions were exchanged, naturally, and he ushered us inside his office. It was larger than I expected, and a little neater. All of Shigemura's books were stored on a bookshelf along the left side of the wall, standing next to a set of filing cabinets and boxes of papers on another set of shelves. By the door there was a whiteboard with math equations scribbled on it, and a box of robot parts sitting next to the wall. On the right side of the room, there were a few cabinets and drawers, with a sink and some bottles.
Shigemura's desk was sitting in the back of the room, right by the large window. There weren't many papers sitting on the desk, just a laptop and what looked like a framed picture. In the center of the room, there was a couch on one side of a coffee table, and two chairs on the other. Shigemura gestured for us to sit down on the couch, and we did so; he took a seat on one of the chairs, facing us.
"I'll cut to the chase," Kazuto said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a copy of the picture we'd seen last night. He laid it on the table in front of us. "Do you know someone called Eiji? He's the second-ranked player in Ordinal Scale."
Shigemura glanced at the picture. "No," he said. He almost sounded confused, like he wasn't sure where Kazuto was going with this.
"He was in your class, though," I said. Din had looked up the information available online to the public. "And in your lab."
"I've had many students over the years," Shigemura sighed.
I licked my lips and breathed out through my nose. "Okay," Kazuto said, "let's try a different question. Did you know that the Augma is causing SAO Survivors to lose their memories?" Shigemura blinked. "Did you know that the Augma has a feature users don't know about? A feature that scans their brain while they're wearing it?"
Shigemura, instead of answering, just sighed. From here, I could see how old he was; his face was thin, and there were a few streaks of white along his temples. The rest of his hair was still black, but starting to go grey. "I didn't know I was going to be interrogated," he replied. "Kikuoka told me you two just wanted to audit my class."
"If the Augma does have a dangerous feature built in," Kazuto said, "it won't be long before it's found out."
I tilted my head. "And the problem with that is," I said, "once it's discovered, it won't take long for the Augma to be banned, just like the NerveGear. How ironic. The teacher, ending up exactly like one of his old students. Just like Akihiko Kayaba."
Shigemura didn't react to the knowledge Kazuto and I held, which was admittedly a little bit of a disappointment. It was our trump card, to see if he knew anything about the Augma's hidden function. The information was buried somewhat, but that wasn't a barrier to Din and Yui - they managed to dig up everything about the old Shigemura labs students. There were three of them in total: Akihiko Kayaba, the most infamous of the three; that sack of dogshit Nobuyuki Sugou; and then some guy that fell off the map named Takeru Higa.
Tsk. A shame that it hadn't rattled his composure. We could have learned something either way, if it had. Oh well.
After a second, he closed his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about," he sighed. Then he opened his eyes and looked at us. "But let's say the Augma has this brain scanning function you described. Why is it bad if someone forgets about SAO? In the words of Nietzsche, 'Blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better even of their blunders.' So now ask yourselves, do you think those Survivors want to remember their horrifying past?"
I exploded from my seat, snarling. A copper taste tickled the back of my throat. "That's my sister that lost her memory, you -"
I was a heartbeat away from flipping the coffee table, damn how heavy it was, and flat-out threatening Shigemura until he told us everything we wanted to know when Kazuto's hand closed around my wrist. I jolted in surprise, choking off my furious shout before I got myself in hot water. His eyes were wide and shaken, and I realized that even with his reflexes, he wouldn't have had time to catch me after I moved. He must have been moving to grab my wrist before I exploded up.
Shigemura blinked at my anger before he collected himself and stood up. "If you two wish to speak further," he said, "make another appointment. I'm very busy, though," he said, "so there's no guarantee I'll be able to see you."
I licked my lips, hot blood coursing through my body as the viper hissed in my ear, but I managed to quiet it down. Kazuto let go of my wrist as he collected his coat and the picture on the table, before he rose to his feet. The two of us bowed our heads politely to Shigemura before we took our leave.
Kazuto stopped just in front of the door, glancing to the side. "I didn't know you built robots too, Professor," he said almost calmly. I glanced at the box of scrap metal then over at Shigemura, who was standing in front of his desk. "Thanks for your time," he said, opening the door.
We headed outside and around a building, standing out of the way of the worst of the traffic. I glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "You saw the picture too?" Kazuto nodded silently and pulled out his phone, already dialing the number for Kikuoka. The picture in question was the single framed photo on Professor Shigemura's desk. It was a young girl, maybe about Silica's age or a few years younger; she was wearing a simple white sweater over a blue shirt and a blue skirt, a pink treble clef over the left breast area of the sweater. She was smiling at the camera, her hands folded behind her back. Probably his daughter, all things considered.
What had drawn my interest, and why Kazuto's phone was ringing until the agent picked up, was the simple fact that the girl was almost identical to the Ordinal Scale idol, Yuna. Aside from brown eyes instead of red and brown hair instead of silver, she was the same. Even the braid of hair tracing her face was the same.
Eventually, the agent picked up his phone, and we made our request. He asked for five minutes, which we granted; five minutes on the dot later, Kazuto's phone rang again. "That's right," Kikuoka said after the niceties were done. "Professor Shigemura has a daughter. Or rather, had." I winced. "She died two years ago." I winced again, harder.
"Yuuna...?" Kazuto murmured, looking at the picture of the girl on his phone. Sure enough, it was the same girl as in the photo.
"I'm sure you've put two and two together already," Kikuoka said, "but I might as well confirm it for you. The cause of death was the NerveGear. She was a victim of SAO."
"Why would he do this?" Kazuto asked while he stared at his phone. "The hell's he trying to prove?"
"Well, maybe he honestly thinks he's doing good by making the SAO Survivors forget," Kikuoka offered.
I snarled. "Then ask permission, rather than try to beg forgiveness. And it doesn't answer what he's doing, working with Eiji." I didn't know it for certain, but I was fairly sure. Even if Shigemura had denied knowing Eiji, the boy was able to summon a boss on demand and outside of schedule, all to take my memories. He had some sort of connection with Shigemura, I knew he had to.
Kazuto frowned. "I can't prove it yet," he said, "but I'm sure that the Augma's dangerous. I need your help," he said. "Please, Mr. Kikuoka, shut down the service!"
"The Ministry of Economy is tied up with this, so we have to be careful with how we proceed," Kikuoka replied. I was tempted to ask how the Ministry of Defense would approach the situation, but all but literally bit my tongue. I still had no confirmation he was actually a part of that branch, and I didn't want to reveal my suspicions until I knew. "I am looking into everything you've told me," he continued. "But I can't move without proof."
"A bunch of the Ordinal Scale players are SAO Survivors," Kazuto said. "And if they fight any of the bosses from Old Aincrad, you're going to have a lot more people losing their memories."
I shook my head. "That's not enough proof for you? A rash of suspicious memory loss, all with the common thread of playing Ordinal Scale? You had less than that when you called us in for Death Gun."
"Yes, I know," Kikuoka sighed. "I'm doing the best I can. I'll check the hospital about Klein and his friends, confirm their symptoms with the doctors. But I'm more concerned about their broken bones than their memories." I exhaled sharply. "You two should take your own advice," Kikuoka told us. "Don't fight any more bosses. Your memories are important to me, too, don't forget that."
I grimaced. Yes, how could we forget that he needed to pick our brain about all of this? Kazuto stared at the phone silently, before saying goodbye and hanging up. He pulled his headphones out of his ears and tucked his phone back in his pocket, before we headed out to the parking lot where we'd parked our bikes. I'd ended up with time to head home and get a shower before Kazuto and I met up, since the lecture didn't take place until just after noon. As a result, we both drove to Toto Institute of Technology individually. I waved goodbye as I started my bike; he waved back absently, holding his phone up to his ear.
...
"I'm here," I said as I made my way to where Kana was waiting by the fountain. "Sorry I'm a little late, traffic wasn't awful but I took a wrong turn."
Kana giggled. "It's fine, it's fine," she said. "I just got here a few minutes ago, I didn't mind taking the chance to relax."
I smiled back at her. She looked lovely in her black shirt and golden skirt; the skirt had a little bow on the side that looked nice. Her sandals were black to match her shirt, and she had clearly taken the time to dress up even more than usual. "Now I feel a little underdressed," I said, picking at my shirt. I was wearing a light jacket on top of it, since I was riding my bike, but still.
"Don't worry about it," Kana assured me as she took my hand in hers and laced her fingers through mine. We started walking through the mall. "I just wanted to look nice today, that's all."
"Well, you succeeded."
She laughed. "Nya hah hah. You can't tell the difference, and we both know it."
I huffed quietly. "I can tell when you've put in effort, catling," I replied. "Seriously, you look beautiful."
"Thanks, Nick."
On our normal dates, Kana and I had some goal in mind, even if that goal was a single store that we didn't bother going to visit until right before we went home for the night. Occasionally, we visited the store first and then wandered the town for a while, if we really wanted to go there first. Shopping in the mall was a rarity, just because Kana knew I didn't like clothes-shopping - so it was saved for when she wanted to tease me and make me squirm. Essentially, no matter what it was, we had at least one destination set in stone when Kana and I went out.
This time, though, neither of us had any place we'd planned on visiting. The date was set late last night and neither of us had really expected to be going anywhere today. As a result, this date was even more about simply being together and sharing each other's joy. Kana's hand was warm in mine, and our bodies bumped into each other like we were seeking the contact without being aware of it.
"Ooh, look over there," Kana would say, and we'd go wander into a little knick-knack store for a while. We'd take a look and Kana would grin, raising a little porcelain figure and showing it to me.
"What's that store?" I would ask, and we'd detour across the street to check out the strangely-named place I'd noticed. Sometimes, it'd be an interesting find, and Kana and I would spend fifteen minutes just browsing the wares without buying anything; sometimes, it'd be... not exactly what either of us expected and we'd flee after one look, our cheeks burning in embarrassment. Seriously, some of those should come with a content warning.
We didn't just wander through the city, looking for interesting stores and anything that caught our interest. The two of us were just wandering around for the day, and that included walks out in the recreational parks. We avoided Yoyogi, since we were just there two days ago - twice, in my case - but there were plenty of other greenery to visit, even without leaving the city. The peaceful walks were soothing, especially because there weren't any other people at this time of day. Just the two of us, walking through a peaceful park. Not particularly my cup of tea, but it was still enough just seeing the happy smile on Kana's face.
It was starting to get late, and Kana and I were starting to look for a place to eat dinner - on dates like these, we tried to try new restaurants that we hadn't tried before. Even if it wasn't very good, it was still a new experience that we shared together. Suddenly I saw a store, and gently tugged on Kana's arm. "What's up, Nick?" she asked. "See something good?"
"Actually, something else," I said with a small grin. "I forgot I wanted to stop by here, so mind if we drop by?"
Kana took a look at the store and turned to grin at me. "Usually the guy's a little subtler about taking a girl to a jewelry shop," she said. "I'm almost hurt you weren't trying to sneak around. I was looking forward to trying to figure out when you got my ring."
I blinked at her for a second, and then grinned sheepishly. "Uh... Um..."
"...You're not getting my ring," Kana said after a second, her cheeks slowly going red.
"...No."
"Whoops."
I stared at her, before the two of us broke into laughter. "Sorry, catling," I said. "I didn't even think about how this would look. All I wanted to do is get my ring size figured out, since I'll need it sooner or later." Kana grinned at me.
After that stop - made a little bit more awkward by how the jewelry store clerk also assumed I was here to pick out a ring for Kana, which meant that I had to explain again that no, this was for me, and then Kana decided to get in on the fun and confuse the poor clerk by getting her ring size as well - we went out and actually found something to eat; it was a small ramen shop that was more a hole-in-the-wall sort of location, which was exactly what the two of us wanted.
All in all... It was just a day out, the two of us taking more interest in each other than where we were going or looking. Both of us knew that we were doing it on purpose: hitting all of the romantic tropes of our date, even more than usual; walking together and always, always being in contact; and even the lighthearted teasing. It was all to form memories, memories that would stay with us even if our memories from Aincrad were lost. That was why I was letting Kana take the lead in deciding where we went, and why she was choosing places that we would both love.
Gods... I love my girlfriend.
I was absolutely, bone-deep terrified, and there was nothing I could do about it.
I fell in love with Nick... a little after our first year in SAO. Even if I was paid enough to sell the info, I couldn't pinpoint exactly why, I think. It was just a slow, gradual process that ended with me realizing that I was in love with the Tactician. And minus a few hiccups, it actually worked out pretty well; he confessed, I confessed, he acted like an idiot for a few months, and then we started going out. There have been some rough patches, and as much as I love him Nick isn't the nicest person, but all things considered, I wouldn't change anything.
And now, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if, like Asuna, I lost my memories of Aincrad. I fell in love with Nick there. If I couldn't remember why I fell in love with him, would it change how I feel?
I didn't know. I couldn't say for certain either way, and that uncertainty was what terrified me.
That was why Nick and I went out today, honestly. Neither of us wanted to admit it, in case saying it out loud made it real, but we were doing our best to make memories today. Even if we lost our memories of our time in SAO, this would... hopefully make up for it. I was doing my best to hide my nervousness, but I'm not sure if Nick noticed or not.
I knew he was nervous, even if he wasn't showing any of it. Case in point, the songs we were singing at karaoke right now, to fill some time after dinner; the songs he'd chosen to sing by himself were all his comfort songs, the ones that I knew he liked to sing. They were safe and familiar, and he knew the lyrics well enough to goof around in the booth with little gestures and things.
Even if it's passed 12am midnight, you're still my beloved 24 Hour Cinderella~
Nick sang the last few notes and then did exaggerated motions for the last, "Hey! Hey! Hey!" I giggled at the ridiculous sight of him kneeling on the floor, arms spread wide, and he grinned at me, catching his breath quickly. "Something funny, catling?"
I grinned. "Nah. Just wondering how you can like music that old."
"Oh come on," he protested, knowing full well I was just teasing him. "Classical is even older! That song's only from the 80's, y'know."
"Nya hah hah!" I laughed brightly, smirking at him. "You're too easy."
He sighed. "Give me a break, Kana..."
"No way, this is way too much fun."
He took a seat, putting the mic down on the table. Instead of reaching for the mic myself and selecting the next song, I watched as my boyfriend dug his phone out of his pocket. I'd seen him flinch and pat it earlier, while he was singing the song, and I was pretty sure I knew what was going to come next.
Sure enough, Nick grimaced at the text message and sighed, before looking up at me. "Sorry, catling," he began.
I shook my head. "Kazuto, right?" He gave me a resigned shrug in return. "Figured... Oh well. We can call it a day here, right?"
"If you don't mind," he said. "I can always tell Kazuto -"
Reaching out, I rested a hand on his cheek. Like always, he was warm. His eyes closed and he tilted his head, putting just the smallest amount of pressure on my hand. "Nah, it's fine," I said. "Besides, I wanted to go home and get changed before heading out with the girls."
He blinked, halfway through picking up after us. "Wait, what? You never said anything about going out with everyone after this."
"Because you never asked. Besides, I'd have charged ya, so it's cool, right?"
He regarded me, and then shook his head. "Never change, catling," he said, and my heart skipped a beat. "Never change."
I snickered. "Wasn't planning on it."
On the bike ride home, I just hugged Nick tight and pressed myself to his back while I tried to memorize the feeling. His surprisingly muscular back, his warmth, how my heart soared when I hugged him... I didn't want to lose any of these precious memories. After we arrived, I got off the bike and pressed a quick kiss to Nick's cheek. "Be safe," I ordered him. "You're not allowed to get hurt, got it?"
"Understood, ma'am," he said with a soft smile. "Have fun with everyone."
He drove away as I waved goodbye. Once he turned the corner, the sound of his bike starting to fade in the distance, I turned and headed inside to get changed into something more casual. After I said hello to my mom and dad, I went up to my room. Before I got changed or anything, I grabbed a note and scribbled some information down, sticking it on my monitor so that I didn't forget later. Something had come to me while out with Nick, and I didn't want it to escape while I was out singing with the girls.
I flipped through my closet and selected a nice-looking skirt and blouse combo. It wasn't as dressy as what I'd worn with Nick, but it still looked good on me once I tossed on some leggings too. My hair stubbornly refused to cooperate, and I gave up after a few seconds of running a brush through the brown curls. It was naturally wild - and there was always this one tuft of hair on the top that stubbornly stuck straight up. Nick swore that it was cute, though, so... Oh well. I pulled on some knee-high boots and headed out again, saying bye to my parents. They'd probably be asleep by the time I got home - Keiko had been the one to organize this karaoke meetup, and she'd informed me that we were going to be practicing for tomorrow's concert, so I figured we'd be in there for a long while.
Stopping to pick up a bottle of water along the way to let my throat recover meant that I was the last to arrive; everyone else was already waiting. Asuna smiled at me as I approached them. "Kana, there you are." I grinned at her, glad that she seemed to be holding up okay.
"Sorry I'm late, stopped to get a drink," I said, holding up the empty plastic bottle. Lucky me, getting to be surrounded by pretty girls for the rest of the night! Asuna was wearing a loose top, green sleeves with a black middle that had a little design on the chest - red cats, and a pawprint - to go with her skirt and tights, with a purse slung over her shoulder. Rika had a cute orange dress that left the top of her arms bare, a thin belt wrapped around her waist, and Keiko was wearing a dress that looked a little bit like a school uniform. Shino had on a black blouse with a lavender-colored overcoat, tied in a bow around her waist.
Hey, I might be Nick's girlfriend, but I can still enjoy the eye candy that's presented to me. I just have to look without touching.
"About time," Keiko huffed, all but bouncing in place. I grinned at her enthusiasm; out of all of us, she was looking forward to Yuna's concert the most, with the possible exception of Suguha. I hadn't really watched the two girls all that closely, though, so I couldn't make a statement one way or another. "Let's go, let's go! We have to be ready for tomorrow!"
With the young girl leading the way, we all headed to the karaoke place that we'd booked ahead of time. It felt a little bit different from going with Nick; instead of just the two of us walking side by side, five of us were walking in a small pack, and we didn't all spread out in a straight line. Keiko and Rika stuck by Asuna's side, up front, while Shino and I hung a small bit behind them. I think the quiet, glasses-wearing girl still feels a little like an outsider into our group, even if my boyfriend's efforts have been thawing the ice a little bit.
So, it fell to me to bug her. "Hey, Shinononon," I said, grinning at her minor huff of irritation at the silly nickname, "I heard you're the one responsible for patching up Nick yesterday."
"Oh, he talked to you like he said he would, then?" she asked, smiling faintly.
I grinned. "Yeah, he did. We went out this afternoon and spent the day together. Thanks for everything."
"It's nothing," she demurred. "I'm just glad he has someone like you looking out for him."
With a bright laugh, I threw my arms around her shoulder in a hug. ...I just remembered I'm four years older than her, and she's still a little bit taller than me. Sometimes I hate being short. "Nya hah hah! Sounds to me like you were the one looking after him yesterday, not me."
Shino bore with the hug for a second, until I let go. "So, where did you two go?"
"That'd be telling~," I said with a grin. "And you know the rules, I don't tell -"
"Unless we pay you, I know," she sighed, shaking her head. "You're such a mercenary."
"An info broker's life is a hard one," I said. My grin was unflappable.
When we finally reached the karaoke place Keiko didn't waste any time rushing to our booth, tugging Asuna along for the ride. By the time Rika, Shino and I sat down on the other couch in the room, she'd already set up a playlist of songs we were going to be singing - all of them from Yuna's singles, of course. We ordered some drinks and started up the first song, ready to sing our hearts out!
...
Just before the beginning of the third song, Rika blinked and glanced at her tablet. After a second, she tapped me and Shino on the shoulder and nodded towards the door. I peered over her shoulder, tilting my head to read the screen, and realized that it was Suguha, requesting a video call. I thought that kendo camp of hers didn't have internet?
The three of us stepped outside, Shino bringing her drink with her and sipping at it through the straw placidly and answered the call. Suguha's face appeared on the screen, and I took in her surroundings automatically. It looked like she was in some kind of room, but not like the dojo the Kirigaya siblings had in their house. Maybe a common room of some hotel, or wherever they were staying?
After greetings finished, Suguha asked the question we all knew was coming. "How's Asuna?" She must have gotten the information from Kazuto or Nick, and called as soon as she did.
"She's doing okay," Rika said while she held up the tablet so that we could all see the image. It sucked that there were three of us, so we couldn't use headphones, but it didn't matter much, the only people here to listen were the staff. Sure, it was dangerous to dismiss any listener - it's how I got so much of my information, people talking out loud when they thought they were alone - but I didn't think they'd be interested in this. "But... You wanna know the truth? I think Silica blames herself for what happened."
Suguha frowned. "I didn't even know... If only I could have gone to one of those battles..."
Rika hummed. "Klein got himself hurt at one and ended up in the hospital," she said. "It's probably better you stayed away.
Shino looked up at Rika, letting the straw fall from her mouth. The ice in her glass clinked. "You said it," she said. "Kirito told everyone not to fight the bosses in OS because it's so dangerous, and then he goes and tries to fight one by himself. I sorta helped him on the last one, though," she added. There was almost a note of smugness, and I grinned. Ooh, point to Shino!
Of course, I couldn't let her get away with that. "Right, that was the one yesterday, where you and Nick helped out Kazuto," I said. The slight upturn of her lips fell back to neutral, and I shrugged. No taking all the credit when Nick did some of the work, sorry. Even if I like you, that won't fly.
"Hmmmm..." Suguha grumbled, eyebrows twitching. "Th-Then you know what?" she said. "I'm gonna make him a video to teach him some kendo moves. Then he'll cruise through those battles, no sweat!"
"Mm-hm!" Rika nodded. "Violence bringing siblings together."
I snickered. "Guess it solves all problems, huh?"
The door to the soundproof karaoke room opened abruptly, loud pop music spilling into the hall, and Keiko poked her head out. "Come on!" she snapped at Rika. The brunette flinched in surprise at her bark. "We're singing the next song together! We're here to practice, remember? The concert's tomorrow! Take the mic and get in here!" She grabbed Rika's wrist, plopped a microphone in her open hand, and then tugged her inside the room. Rika just barely had time to hand the tablet off to me before our miniature drill sergeant yanked her inside and onto the couch next to Asuna.
I glanced inside to see Asuna smiling and Keiko with a determined scowl on her face. It's weird to see Keiko taking charge like this, and even more so to see Rika just going along with it. Looks like the three of them are singing Break Beat Bark next. Ooh, I like that one.
"I don't know if this is cheering her up," Shino sighed, leaning against the wall and sipping at her drink. I held up the tablet to show Suguha what was happening.
Suguha studied the scene in front of her, and then smiled. "What do you mean? Looks like Asuna's having fun."
"If you say so..."
A barked order came from the speaker of the tablet, and I watched Suguha's face twitch in dismay. "Oh, crap, gotta go," she said. "Say hi to Kazuto for me!"
"Will do," I replied, waving a little bit before the feed went dark. "Well... I'll do it tomorrow," I said. "Or maybe get Nick to pass it on."
Shino smiled, the ice in her glass rattling around as she finished the drink. "We should get back to singing, or Silica will be after us next."
"Yeah. She kinda scares me a little when she gets like this, actually."
The rest of the karaoke night was pretty fun - after going through each of the songs together, we started doing individual songs and duets. 'For practice,' Keiko informed us, and there wasn't really a way to decline. Keiko and Asuna ended up doing a pretty good version of Ubiquitous dB, and I was surprised that Rika and Shino pulled off Break Beat Bark as well as they did. Their personalities clashed a lot of the time. As for me, I was able to claim prior practice with Nick, and so got to avoid singing too much.
I couldn't help but wonder if Keiko was practicing too much for the concert the next day. It'd really suck if her throat was sore and she couldn't sing. I think I'll bring a few lozenges just in case.
Surprise Kana viewpoint! Neat!
It always feels longer when I'm writing the fight scenes. Maybe because they're denser? I mean, it's a fifth of the chapter, but only three pages long. I think it came out pretty well; I'm playing around with my narrative description since that's a thing I've gotten yelled at for in the past, which means that you might have noticed the battlefields being described a little bit more in detail.
After that, just more fun times with Nick and Shino, and Nick and Kana. Look up the song he's singing with Kana (24 Hour Cinderella), and then know:
Yakuza 0 is a good game.
After that, Kana and the girls at the karaoke parlor. I'm trying my best to make her and Nick's internal thoughts a little bit different, what with the things they notice and how they think. Writing Nightblade Progressive (name to be determined) has helped with that a lot, but it's still very much a work in progress. (also yes, I'm writing nightblade progressive, surprise surprise that you all knew was coming)
Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or left a review.
