Hello, everyone! This is a new chapter! Chapter 4! I hope everyone will enjoy this new chapter! Without further ado, let's start!

Normal POV

The next morning, Eiji was using his Augma to project a scenery while Yuna observed the jar in her hands while he hummed his tune and read his book.

" Hey, Eiji. Why isn't Aichi here yet?"

" He can't come."

" Why? We promised to hang out, right?"

" He's... resting in the hospital."

" Hospital?! Is it because of last time?! Is he still sick?!"

" Calm down, Yuna. Well, it's something like that. I don't think he might be able to make it for your concert. I'm sure he wanted to see it quite badly too."

" Too bad... I was looking forward to seeing him too..."

" Don't worry. Once he recovers, we can hang out again."

" I hope so. I still want to find out more about him."

" Me too."

He took out his deck case as he took out the deck and fanned it out.

" Vanguard, huh..."

" That's the deck you bought when you met him, right?"

" Yeah. It's interesting but not like Ordinal Scale."

" I guess so... I sure wish I could play it too."

" I'm sure you will soon, it's just a matter of time."

" Hey, Eiji. Can we go see Aichi today?"

" Hm... Why not? Maybe tonight."

" Yeah!"

Meanwhile, Kai had woken up and had called the doctor when he saw that Aichi had woken up before him as the doctor came out soon after.

" His condition is stabilised and we took out the equipments I told you about yesterday. And we replaced the breathing mask with the breathing tube so he won't have trouble having to eat but the IV drips have to stay for now. Just make sure he gets plenty of rest, eats his medicine and don't let him stay awake for too long."

" Yes, thank you very much."

" You're welcome. You can head inside to see him."

" Yes."

Kai went into the ward as he saw Aichi sitting up on the bed and smiling at him.

" Kai-kun..."

" Aichi!"

Kai ran over and hugged him gently as he looked over Aichi.

" I'm glad you feel better now."

" Yeah... I'm just a little tired, that's all..."

" You just keep resting. Leave everything to me."

" Yeah, I know... My SAO memories are already disappearing again... Kai-kun, please help Eiji-kun for me..."

" Yeah, I will. Just wait here for me. I'll come back after finishing a few bosses tonight. I'll ask someone to take care of you while I'm at it."

" Thank you..."

" No problem."

Kai took out his phone and dialled a number as Ren answered the call.

" Ren. The system for Augma might've changed a little. Yesterday, the AR idol Yuna wasn't around when another survivor lost his memories. Look it up for me."

" Interesting. I'll have to ask Chris-kun for help on this. How's Aichi-kun?"

" He's awake but his memories of SAO are fading. Is Leon in Japan? Could you ask him and the twins to take care of Aichi for me?"

" Is that so? So, you're that against me to take care of Aichi-kun. Well, I can't be sure whether he's here but I'll try to contact him and I'll tell you later."

" Yeah."

Kai hung the call up as he patted Aichi's head.

" It's alright. Just have your rest."

" Yeah... I love you..."

" Me too."

They kissed a little before releasing the kiss as there was a knock on the door and a nurse delivered Aichi's lunch and medicine. The nurse exited the ward as Kai carefully fed Aichi his lunch bit by bit before letting him swallow his medicine and lying back down on the bed.

" I'll go get my own lunch after you sleep. So rest and don't worry about me."

" I want to hold your hand until I sleep..."

" Are you a child?" Kai teased

" D-Don't be mean...!" Aichi pouted

Kai chuckled as he held firmly onto Aichi's hand while Aichi turned to him and got a little closer to the warmth coming from Kai's hand as he smiled.

" So warm..."

Soon, he drifted into a peaceful sleep as Kai made sure he was fast asleep before adjusting Aichi to make sure the breathing and IV tubes weren't disrupted before standing up to head to buy his own lunch to bring back to the ward to eat. He kissed Aichi's cheek.

" Sleep tight."

Kai left the ward after that as he was waiting for his food at the hospital cafeteria when his phone rang.

" Hello, Ren?"

" I managed to contact them. You can tell them about the situation later."

" Why didn't you say anything?"

" It's more fun to keep it a secret~!"

" This is not funny, Ren. I want you to explain to them immediately."

" Yes... Kai's such a spoilsport..."

" Shut up."

Kai hung the call up before Ren could say anything more as he sighed. He soon got his lunch as he headed back to the ward as he quietly ate while keeping watch on Aichi. An hour later, Leon, Jillian and Sharlene entered quietly as Kai signalled them to the extra seats.

" We heard of the situation. We'll provide as much help as we can."

" Thanks. I'm going to get rid of the SAO bosses spawning at random with Kirigaya tonight so that we can prevent lesser casualties."

" Why can't you just put it up online about the danger?"

" Kirigaya tried it this morning and many didn't believe him. We don't have much of a choice."

" I see."

Kai got a message from Kazuto through his Augma as he read it.

' I've got a few spots confirmed for the spawns. I'll come fetch you at 8 to go to the first one.'

Kai replied as Kazuto soon messaged again.

' How's Aichi?'

' Feeling better. What about Yuuki?'

' Not really well. I tried to help her remember but she had difficulty.'

' I see. Well, see you tonight.'

' Yeah.'

The screen for the message turned off as he spotted Leon and the others looking at him with confused and curious eyes.

" Oh, it's Augma's feature. I was messaging Kirigaya. I have Aichi's here if you want to try it. He wouldn't mind."

Kai took out Aichi's Augma from the drawer as he handed it to Leon while the three inspected it. Leon wore it as he was a little surprised by the screens showing.

" Is it really alright to wear this...? Sendou has many unread messages..."

" Let me see. Here, use mine."

They exchanged the Augmas as Kai checked Aichi's messages, which he had long suspected was Naoki and the others, as he replied them.

" It's nothing. They're all from Ishida and the others."

" Oh."

" Well, they were worried and I did forget to tell them that Aichi was awake, so..."

" It's fine."

" Have you guys had lunch?"

" Yeah. We had some lunch nearby before coming over."

" I see. Then I'll leave Aichi to you tonight."

" Yeah."

After a few more hours, Kai got ready to leave after making sure Aichi had taken his dinner as he patted his head.

" I'll be going now. If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, just tell Leon and the others, alright?"

" Yeah... You be careful too, Kai-kun..."

" Yeah."

Kai wore his Augma as he walked out of the ward and headed downstairs to see Kazuto waiting for him on his motorbike.

" Hey."

" You're early."

" I did message you but I guess you didn't see. The boss spawn areas today are a little further so we should start as early as possible."

" I see. I just wore my Augma, so I didn't know. Then let's go."

" Yeah, get on."

He threw a helmet to Kai as he caught it and wore it. He got on the motorbike and Kirito drove off. Meanwhile, Aichi was busy catching up with Leon and the others when Leon sighed.

" Are you trying to stay awake until Kai comes back?"

" Huh?"

" Kai told you to rest. So you should listen to him."

" I know but..."

" Just rest. He'll come back safe and sound so don't worry."

" Yeah..."

They helped Aichi lie back down on the bed as he slowly fell asleep when the door opened and Eiji entered and looked at Leon and the others while blinking.

" You are?"

" Eiji Nochizawa."

" Sendou's friend?"

" Yeah. I'm just coming for a short visit."

" ... Then sit down."

Eiji nodded as he sat down and looked over to Aichi.

" How long have you known him?"

" About a few weeks."

" We've never really heard him talking about you but maybe we missed it in a conversation. So where did you meet him?"

" Somewhere out of this city. Well, it's a little complicated."

" You use those Augma things too?"

" Yeah. It's quite interesting."

They went silent after that as it lasted for an hour with frequent questions from Leon before Eiji left.

" Why did you let him stay here, Leon-sama?! Ren Suzugamori said that Aichi Sendou's in this state because of him!"

" Yeah! You could've let us handle him!"

" It's no use. He has something around his neck and I'm afraid that's something we don't want to encounter. So stay calm. Since he did no harm to Sendou this time, just leave it be."

" Leon-sama... We got it..."

Leon nodded as he continued to stare at the door before going back to taking care of Aichi. At the hospital entrance, Eiji took out his phone to contact someone before hanging up the call.

" Eiji?"

" It's nothing."

" Who were those three just now anyway? They were rude to keep asking questions when we're just visiting Aichi."

" It's fine, Yuna. It's just a matter of time before we get rid of them too. I won't let anyone interfere with the three of us reuniting again."

He left the hospital after that.

An hour later, Kai and Kazuto were now fighting the last of the bosses spawning at the wolf sent out spikes and it hit Kazuto.

" Kirigaya!"

As his HP continued to drop, he heaved a sigh of relief when it stopped just a few inches before zero as the spikes retracted and they dealt the last hits to the wolf and it exploded in fireworks.

" We did it..."

" Yeah..."

They suddenly heard clapping as they turned to see Eiji.

" Good job. Seems like you've finally got a grasp of Ordinal Scale, Black Swordsman."

" You!"

" Kirigaya!"

Kazuto charged at Eiji as he was thrown back by Eiji and he hit the ground after seeing a device around his neck.

" Kirigaya!"

Kai ran towards Kazuto to make sure he was alright. Eiji looked around and made sure that the commotion made people leave the area as he took something else out. Kazuto saw it as his eyes widened.

" Kai, look out!"

Before Kai could turn, he was stabbed on his back by a short knife as his eyes widened.

" Kai!"

" Thanks for taking care of Aichi all this time. I'll take over from here so you can stand down now, forever."

" Damn you!"

" Then, I'll see you tomorrow. I can't wait, Black Swordsman."

Eiji went off after that as Kazuto quickly called the ambulance while trying to stop the bleeding and Kai was quickly brought to the hospital. And by catching the wrong timing, Aichi had been awake after a nightmare as he caught wind of what had happened.

" Why did this happen...?"

" I'm sorry. I couldn't react fast enough and Eiji Nochizawa..."

" Eiji-kun did that...? What did the doctor say...?"

" He lost quite a lot of blood and his brain was deprived of both oxygen and blood after his heart stopped for a bit. The stab wound was deep and it almost reach his heart... There's no telling what would happen within this few hours..."

Aichi slowly looked down at his lap as he clenched his fist after remembering his nightmare.

" I... Was afraid this would happen... I always had nightmares that would come true sometimes... So I had been hoping that this nightmare that I had just now wouldn't come true..."

" I'm really sorry..."

" It's fine. Can I be left alone for a bit?"

" But..."

" Please."

" Alright..."

Kazuto exited the room with Leon and the others as Aichi clenched his fist on the blanket. He opened the drawer beside his bed as he took out his Augma and used the messaging app to contact Eiji.

' So you would go this far...? Just for that promise...?'

' Yes. It's all because of these survivors that this happened.'

' But Kai-kun's innocent...'

' He and his friends are trying to steal you away from us.'

' Steal? You call that 'steal'? Those are my friends and he is the person I love. How many more victims do you want to create before you're satisfied?'

' As long as we're back together again, I don't care what happens.'

' ... We might be the same, for the wrong reasons.'

' What do you mean?'

' If you want to continue to hurt my friends and endanger other survivors, I won't go back. My memories from that time has already long faded so I don't see the reason why to reunite now.'

' I will return those memories, I promise. Then we won't have to bother about others anymore.'

' I'll tell you one thing about me that I've never said before. I don't care what happens to me. As long as my friends, Kai-kun, can have a future...'

' What are you getting at?'

' If you will continue to steal people's future, then... I don't mind dying right now. I would also die in the stead for Yuna if I can turn back time. But I can't. Now that Kai-kun's in this state, all I want is for him to live. I don't mind giving my life to him.'

' Don't do anything reckless! You're in no condition to do anything!'

' Would Yuna like this too? What you've done is enough... I won't see you anymore but I can meet Yuna there. I'm sure Kai-kun will try to follow but I want you to change at least before this happens. If you'd just realized what wrong you're doing, then this wouldn't have happened... Goodbye.'

He took off his Augma before Eiji could reply as he started to stand up while removing his IV drip. He slowly staggered towards the door as he opened it. Leon and the others weren't around as he went to the ward Kazuto said Kai was in as he opened it but saw no nurse and entered it. He shut and locked the door before heading over to the closed curtains.

" Kai-kun..."

He opened the curtain and walked over to the unconscious Kai on the bed as he slipped a little before getting support from a nearby chair as he held Kai's hand.

" Don't worry, Kai-kun... You'll keep on living... I won't let you go yet..."

His Psyqualia flared as he held his head in pain while still gripping onto Kai's hand. A glow transferred from him and Kai as Kai slowly opened his eyes.

" Kai-kun..."

" Aichi...?"

With the sudden spurt of energy flowing into him, Kai's eyes widened upon realizing what was happening as Aichi collapsed into his arms after the glow disappeared. Kai removed all the equipments on him as he tried to shake Aichi awake.

" Aichi! Aichi!"

Aichi's eyes opened slightly as he smiled upon seeing Kai.

" Kai... kun..."

" Hold on! I'll get help soon!"

He pressed the emergency button as he continued to try to keep Aichi awake.

" Don't sleep! Keep looking at me! Why did you do that?!"

" It's... my... fault... that... you... ended... up... like... this..."

" No! It's not!"

" You... still... have... our... promise..."

" I'll fulfill it! I'll definitely stop him so don't sleep on me!"

He heard the doorknob rustling as the doctors tried to enter the room that was locked before by Aichi.

" After... the... promise... Don't... come... after... me... yet..."

" I won't if you don't go yet!"

" I'm... sorry... I... left... such... a... huge... burden... on... you..."

" No! It's not a burden! And I haven't even give you my present! You've got to live if you want it! I just want to see your smile again!"

" Thank... you... Kai... kun..."

" Aichi!"

Just as Aichi's eyes closed, the door was burst opened as the doctors swarmed in and saw what happened as Kazuto and Leon and the others just stood frozen.

" This can't be happening... I can't believe he used Psyqualia to..." Leon exclaimed

" How did it come to this...?"

" He was always this reckless but this...!"

" It's all because of Eiji Nochizawa...! First Asuna and now this...!"

As Aichi was taken to a surgery room, Kai clenched his fist while his eyes filled with anger.

" Eiji Nochizawa! I won't ever forgive you!" Kai thought

Behind the curtains, Yuna appeared for a few moments and watched the scene while holding an orb before disappearing.

And that's the end of this chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter (Without tearing up for some reason like the author herself did T.T) and I'll see everyone in the next chapter!