Chapter 40

"Rika Sakurai? That's your name, isn't it?" Jayce looked up at the girl who straddled his body, tears dropping down from her eyes onto his chest.

"A punctured lung, collapsed eye socket, severe trauma to my thyroid, third degree burns along the entirety of my right arm with superficial burns covering fifty percent more, and countless lacerations and bruises. That's what he did to me." She sniffled keeping her head lowered so that he couldn't see her face.

"Jemza…I mean…Rika, how did you survive?"

"They found me quick enough and managed to stabilize me. Three of the younger kids died in the smoke as the church burned. Just one more punishment for me to endure. If I had just kept my mouth shut it never would have happened." Jemza cried dipping down so her head rested on his chest.

"What? No! It wasn't your fault! Himeko knew that too right?" Jayce grabbed her shoulders and she shook her head quickly.

"She died in the hospital from her wounds. Shinji killed her too. They found him the next day and arrested him and his friends. You know what they did when they got caught? They laughed. They killed four people in total and laughed about it."

"You did the right thing Jemza. You stood up to them. I'm so sorry that happened to you." Jayce wrapped his arms around her back, but she pushed herself up so she once more hovered over his body.

"I'm blind in one eye. The sun hurts so much that I have to wear an eye patch to cover it. My right arm is covered in burns. The damage to my thyroid caused my hair to go from black to white over the next three years and I still have two horrible scars where the knife stabbed me. The smoke caused irreparable damage to my lungs that I need oxygen from time to time. My jaw was broken in three places and does this funny little clicking noise when I open and close my mouth now.

The Nerve Gear…aside from my white hair it didn't pick any of that up. This is what I should look like. No scars, no burns, and with both my eyes intact. Whether it's my fault or not my actions caused the death of my best friend and three others. I did the right thing and people died because of it. My home burned to the ground and it was the last real home I had. I stole the Nerve Gear because I'm homeless. It was the last chance for happiness.

I played a few games at the church when I was younger and loved them. SAO seemed like the perfect escape from the real world. I could never afford one so I stole it. I was ready to be arrested and go to jail. That didn't matter so long as I could see this world for a few minutes. Like I told you before, no one would care if I died in here. There's no one left out there for me." Jemza's tears continued to fall, her white hair covering her face and spilling down onto Jayce's chest.

"I see…" Jayce found it hard to respond properly after she explained everything about herself. Somehow, it seemed his own past didn't seem as painful when compared to hers.

"You can see it now right? How ugly I am." Jemza leaned her face up so he could see her. The lower lip shook slightly as she fought to hold back most of her emotions. Jayce thought for a second before reaching up and touching her cheeks with both hands.

"Did you find him?" Jayce asked the question and her face scrunched up in confusion.

"Find him? Who are you talking about?" Jayce rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks cleaning the tears away.

"Your prince charming." Her eyes filled with tears once more as he spoke and her lip quivered violently. She collapsed atop him burying her face into his chest and screamed her pain into his body.

"Yes! Yes, I found him!" This wasn't the first time she had cried like this, but her screams were ones that had been held in for years. Much like he had blamed himself for Katie and his mother's death, she had done the same for Himeko and the children who died in the fire. The difference was she had been reminded everyday through her scars of that horrible night.

"We're not going to die here. Not tomorrow or the day after that. I won't let you die, I promise. It's going to be a long time that we're stuck here. Years by my best estimation, but I know we're going to make it. In this short amount of time look at how far we've come." Jemza took an unsteady breath and nodded once.

"I know, and that's what scares me. I don't want to leave. I want to stay here, with you." The way she had talked up until now made so much more sense to Jayce now. Jemza's real life was the real prison and SAO was a release. Despite the dangers, it paled in comparison to what she suffered through every day outside the game.

"Just think of all the free medical care your body is getting right now back in the real world." She snorted while laughing in response still keeping her face pressed against him.

"God, Jayce don't make me laugh."

"It's Jason actually. My name I mean. Jason Conrad. I'm from Illinois in the United States. Came to Japan for the past year as a contractor to assist with a network infrastructure deployment in Tokyo. I would have been going back home in January. I'll be twenty four this February." Jemza lifted her head and stared into his eyes for a few moments.

"Jason? Sounds just like your avatar name. Not very clever at all."

"Yeah, thanks." Jayce rolled his eyes sarcastically making her laugh again.

"I'm Rika Sakurai, from Saitama prefecture. I turned twenty three in October. I knew you weren't from Japan. America huh? I wish I could visit there someday. It seems like such a beautiful country."

"It is, but so is Japan. Where I'm from it gets so hot in the summer, but frigidly cold in the winter. I'm from a town an hour or so north of Chicago. Do you know this city?" Jemza shifted resting her cheek on his chest and placed her palms beside her face.

"I've heard of that city. It is big like Tokyo right?"

"Not that big, but yes. New York is probably closer to Tokyo population wise."

"Ah, I also know of New York. The Big Apple of the United States." Jayce chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, that's right. I've never been there, but it's much larger than Chicago. You will have to see it for yourself." Jemza closed her eyes and smiled.

"I wish that someday I could." A hint of sadness crept into her voice once more and Jayce rested his hand on the back of her head.

"So…come see it. Once this is over I mean." Her hands closed against the leather of his breastplate before opening once more, her fingers tracing the edges.

"How would I do that exactly? Perhaps in America the homeless can still afford fancy vacations and airplane tickets?" Jayce laughed and placed his hand on top of hers.

"No, but maybe you'll come back with me and we can see it together, if you aren't too busy of course?" Her breathing increased in pace once more and she spread her fingers letting his slide in between each of hers.

"Why? Didn't you understand everything I just told you? I am not beautiful like I am here. I would be nothing but a burden."

"Because your arm was burned, you are forced to wear an eye patch and have a few scars? Do you really think that makes you ugly? We live in a cruel world where people judge others based on their physical appearance. I understand this, but that doesn't mean you are excluded from being happy. You would be surprised how many people out there would never treat you poorly if you gave them a chance."

"I can't walk very fast or be outside for too long. It hurts my eyes and I lose my breath easily because of my lungs." Her hand closed again keeping his fingers tied around hers.

"Then we walk slowly and visit the museums and aquarium that Chicago has. Your eyes would be safe in there."

"I have nothing to give you. I will never have anything I can give to you. I was born with nothing, so how could I ever hope to feel like I was worth the trouble?" She swallowed and took a breath after she spoke.

"I think first you need to find a way to realize you were never trouble to begin with. Your financial and social status doesn't decide your worth as a person. Some of the wealthiest people in the world tend to be the biggest jerks. If being rich means losing your humanity then is that really something you should be envious of? Find a way to understand that if you take something that is freely given it doesn't always mean you need to return the favor." He felt her hand tighten around his as she took another deep breath.

"You…have gotten very good at sweet talking me."

"Think so? Is it working?"

"Yes, it's working."

"Then you no longer need to be afraid of leaving here. You have a home to go back to and someone who cares if you live or die. A whole new country to experience too." Jemza twisted forward and pushed slid her body up so she could kiss him.

"Why is it that you are offering me everything I could ever dream of, but I'm so scared? What if I'm not good enough? I would be alone again, in a country I don't know." Jayce held her face firm and stared into her eyes.

"We have a long time together here. Give me that time to prove to you that I won't go anywhere. I'll earn your trust and by the time this is over you won't have to worry about something like that ever again." She nodded and pushed forward pressing her lips against his. Her hands fumbled around on his armor while his did the same on hers. They broke apart for a moment staring at each other in confusion.

"I can't seem to remove anything…" Jemza said and Jayce nodded with a laugh.

"I think the game is setup so players can't remove each other's equipment. It makes sense or else you could just go stealing things off of people's bodies."

"Ah, I guess that does make sense then. So um…I suppose…" Jemza's face turned red and she looked away for a moment. After a few seconds her mouth tightened and she swiped her menu open. With a few taps her armor disappeared as well as the dagger on her belt. She hesitated for a second before closing her eyes and tapping once more. The black shirt, leggings, and skirt vanished leaving her lying atop him in just her underwear.

"Oh…wow…" Her eyes opened wider as Jayce turned her over onto her back and kissed her mouth once more. Her breath caught in her throat as he left her lips and kissed down her neck along her collarbone. She fought against the embarrassment of being so exposed to him trying to focus more on how happy she felt after revealing everything to him.

"Jayce…what do I do?" His hands ran down her sides passing over each rib while tracing his mouth between her chest to her stomach. He looked up at her and pushed himself up towards her face once more.

"You don't have to do anything Jemza. Don't do anything unless it's what you want." They stared at each other for a long while until she finally responded.

"For tonight, will you call me Rika? Jemza is who I wish I could be, and I'm still a little scared that you love Jemza more than Rika. So, just for tonight would you call me by my real name. That way I know it's the real me you're looking at." She lifted her arms and wrapped them around the back of his neck.

"Yeah, alright…Rika." She pulled him down and kissed him deeply pushing her tongue into his mouth. Within moments her legs wrapped around his waist pressing her body against his as hard as she could.

"Take yours off too. I can't do it." She giggled as she spoke between breaths and Jayce had to use his peripheral vision to open the menu and navigate to his inventory. She refused to release his mouth which made it hard to do, but eventually he located the proper command sequence and his armor, weapon, and clothes vanished from his body. The mood overcame Jemza's embarrassment enough as she fumbled through her menu once more and removed the last of her clothing without hesitation.

"You're beautiful Rika. All of you." The last of his clothing was gone after another few seconds of frenzied menu navigation and she dug her nails into his back.

"Anywhere you want. Touch me, kiss me anywhere." She breathed into his ear rocking her body and using one of her legs to tighten around his lower back. Both of their hearts raced madly as she ran her tongue along his ear. Jayce's hand slid down over her chest making her gasp. He brought it down to her thigh pulling her leg higher up against his body.

"I love you." He touched his forehead against hers trying to keep his breathing normalized. In response she ran her hands down his back and pulled him slowly against her. Her mouth opened wide and her eyes closed.

"Ah! I love you!" Her hands raced up his back to his neck and she pulled with all her strength lifting her body off the bed. Her hips moved against his rapidly as her tongue found his once more. Both her legs locked around him as he ran his hands down her body making her quiver.

"Rika…" Jayce pulled away from her mouth staring down at her as she reached up and held his face.

"Don't stop…don't stop…" One of her hands fell to his hip pulling him harder. They both tensed and he brought his mouth to hers as she cried out in pleasure muffling her voice. She shuddered against him for a few moments until the only sound was their ragged breathing and heartbeats. For a few minutes they stared at each other in silence waiting for their bodies to calm.

"Heh…" They both smiled at the same time as nervous laughter escaped them both simultaneously.

"I really like this game." Jemza was the first to speak and Jayce couldn't deny her sentiment. He nodded and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Me too." She giggled in response and pulled him back towards her kissing him again.

"Good…" He tried to pull back but found her arms stronger than he thought keeping him pinned against her.

"Rika…what…" Her tongue traced his lips and she leaned back staring up at him.

"Round two Alchemist."