I adjusted the chin strap on the NerveGear as Kimiko and another nurse checked the IVs, catheters, and probes attached to me.
"Kikuoka is going to have a cow if he finds ou-"
"Kikuoka", the doctor said sharply, "is not in charge of medical care at this facility!"
Fair enough.
{BREAK}
"You came for me", Sachi whispered, her arms clinging around my neck.
"Of course I did, Sweetheart," I replied, hugging her tighter.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because that's what Dads do."
{BREAK}
We approached the solo player cautiously. She looked to be about Sachi's age or a little older, and she was wielding a two-handed sword that was nearly as big as she was.
"Sal-u-tations!" she chirped, drawing out the syllables. She sheathed the giant sword on her back and gave a polite bow. "My name is Strea! It is a pleasure to meet you!"
"Uh, likewise," I said, slightly taken back. This girl was much more cheerful than any solo player we had met so far, and if I was honest, it was a little unnerving. "I'm Cooper, and this is Sachi. We were going to assist you with that monster, but it, uh, looks like you have it under control."
"Of course!" she said, again much to cheerfully. "I'm always combat ready!"
{BREAK}
"They called themselves 'Phantom Lord', and said we were trespassing on their territory", Liz said quietly.
"Is there anything else you can tell me?" I asked her.
She glanced back at the sleeping forms of the other girls, took a deep breath, and steadied herself. "Yes. But you're not going to like it..."
{BREAK}
"You intrigue me, Mr. Cooper," Heathcliff said, mildly. "Tell me, if you had to make the choice between your daughter and the entirety of the population of Aincrad, which would you choose?"
"Why?" my daughter's eyes were brimming with tears as she addressed the dark-haired teenager. "Does our friendship mean that little to you?"
"Sachi, I..."
"No, Kirito", she cut him off, "No more lies. I... I don't want to talk to you right now."
I watched her walk back to her room and shut the door.
"Give her some time", I said, putting my hand on his shoulder.
Kirito turned to face me. "Mr. Cooper, I..."
It was my turn to cut him off. "I'll let this one slide, son, but understand this: if you ever make my little girl cry again..." I left the implication hanging.
He swallowed hard and, if possible, his face went even paler. Then he nodded slowly. "Yes, sir."
{BREAK}
"You built the world's most advanced AI just to give it the job of killing thousands of people? Why?"
"You could ask Kikuoka the same question", Kyaba said.
I just stared at him
"You're an American", he said dryly, "Surely you've seen Terminator."
{BREAK}
"KYABAAAA!"
I saw the man's back stiffen as his attention was momentarily divided. It wasn't much, but as Kirito's final hit landed, I saw that it had been enough...
Dun Dun Dun! Cliffhanger! You can blame Mataras for that. He got me hooked on cliffhangers and now I can't stop, no matter how many Cliffhangers Anonymous meetings I go to.Anyway, a quick thanks to Dr. Vigil Vergil Productions for pointing out the absence of paragraph breaks. I'm having to write this all on an iPad, email it to myself, upload it in the Fanfiction mobile app on my phone, and then go back to the iPad to actually post the new document. So yeah, I'm having a lot of format issues. Hopefully the {BREAK} isn't too distracting.Till next time! Happy reading!