The aftermath of the battle between us and Mutasina's army went as easy as it could go. In summary, we had a feast, tripled our numbers with the addition of the other ALO players, and had a huge feast to celebrate.

But I logged out soon after we gained Holgar, Dikkos, and Tsuburo's support, so I don't know how we're accommodating them. The stress of the last two nights had caught up to me, and I was happy we won and survived. So happy that I roll out of bed, exit my room, and head downstairs to the kitchen. Taking a can of root beer out of the refrigerator, I pop open the can and take a cool, refreshing sip. "Haaaa... Damn."

There's one thing that still bothers me - Mutasina and the Virtual Study Society. I had my blade right there on their leader, and she got away. Part of me wishes I slayed Magis before chasing after Mutasina now, but what's done is done. For now, I fully expect another bout with the Virtual Study Society. Something tells me we'll see them soon enough. I'm happy enough that we're freed of the Noose of the Accursed.

Mutasina's face is etched in my mind now. That chilling calmness is just like Shikimi Kamura, but now that I say that, I have no clue if they're one and the same. I mean, they look very similar, but so did that double. For all I know, if Kamura is in Unital Ring, she could be either girl. Or neither - she's never given me the impression she plays video games of any kind, but that is the same assumption I made of Asuna when I met her at a dinner between our families months before our unknowing reunion in Sword Art Online. I made the same assumption about Suguha before finding out she's the identity behind Leafa, who guided Kirito and me to the World Tree.

Now comes the next step, whatever that is, but we no longer have to worry about attackers.

Turning to the exit to the backyard, I notice the other occupant of my home isn't in her room but is present in the backyard. I grab another soda and walk to the sliding door that separates the house from the area. I continue to the poolside where she sits, leggings rolled up to let her feet wade in the cold water. Whether she hears my approach or not, she doesn't jump at the presence of the cold can against her skin not covered by her black tank top.

"...You okay, Momiji? I'm sorry you had to experience that." I recall the time we were under the Noose's control (around two minutes, Rei later told me) and the face of Kureha for most of it. I'd never seen her so frightened before. She wasn't scared when we fell into Death Gun's NerveGear trap, not knowing hers was a tampered Amusphere in disguise or Itsuki was responsible. There, all she knew was that she could die at any moment if her health reached zero. To this day, I've never seen her express more fear of anything other than stepping out of her sister's shadow.

"No... No, I'm fine. I mean...probably not going to sleep well, but...I'll live."

I nod and sit beside her, turning my head to the crescent moon and the dark sheet of the night around it. "That's good."

"...Thank you. For holding my hand, thank you."

"You're welcome... But I couldn't have done it without you being there with me. So thanks for being by my side." I reach around her shoulders, passively bringing her closer to me. She falls in place like a fitting puzzle piece, her head naturally entering the crook between my head and shoulders. Silence also comes naturally to us, for the only noise is our synced breathing, gulping of the drinks, the movements of the pool water, the chirping insects, and the distant sounds of Tokyo.

"...In two days, you'll see Sylvie again."

"..."

"I was impressed by her skill, but considering her parents, I guess that's not shocking. She takes so much after you, quite frankly. Mean-spirited, easily offended, paternal issues, and the expectations of an inheritance as the sole child."

"...You can try to spare my feelings, Momiji."

I can't hear it, but she's laughing by the way she shakes against my body. "I'm just saying it's ironic. But I'm sure she has your good qualities too. You're kind in your own way. Protective, overprotective at the worst, and sometimes that leads you to do things unbecoming of you. You don't stand for any injustices, even if it lands you in hot water or cleaning out the animal pens. Loyal to a faulty degree that even I can understand why Rika was somewhat uncomfortable with you upholding Koharu's promise."

"Every one of those traits had something negative attached."

"Take it as you will. What I'm trying to say is... Maybe she's more like you than you think. And because of that, maybe...you should make sure she doesn't become you. Whatever trouble we encounter over there will put her in danger eventually; we're drawn to it, so it's your job to safeguard her from herself. From the same mistakes you made, understand?"

Become me... I know what Momiji is implying. The parts of me that I wish I could change; no matter how I justify it, I killed five people in SAO, one of them being Koharu's killer, who I tortured to death. A deep pit of anger surrounded those events too, and I still bear that anger two years later. Neither time, counseling, nor redemption has quelled that rage. If I cannot solve that for myself, how do I prevent another "me" from going through the same? "How do I do that, though?"

"You get to know her, dummy." That sounds like Kotone's advice to get to know Sylvie as a person, not as my child. Hearing it twice makes me feel like an idiot. I don't know how to go about that, and I can't ask my family as they don't know about this. I don't want to give my father any hints that Sylvie exists...yet.

"How? She seems to hate me."

"Give her time," Momiji says as she leans up to face me. "I guarantee she doesn't hate you or anything. You just learned of her existence. It's understandable why you're apprehensive. But for her, all she's ever known is that her father is a legend, and for that legend to appear before her is confusing. But the fact that she wields the sword you gave her, inherited your skills, and wears a hairpin you made says she doesn't hate you. She knows the Crimson Emperor, but she will need to know you. But if any issues come, guess what?"

"What?"

She smiles and pokes me on the forehead. "I'll be there. Maybe she'll be more receptive to talking to me than you. But I know you'll need direction, so I'll guide you." With that, Momiji hops to her feet, pets my head, and heads back for the house. I bet she's looking forward to our next meeting with Sylvie. She will probably embarrass me with stories of the past and stuff. If it helps bridge the gap between us, so be it.

But I really wonder how she feels. I had already let my intrusive thoughts slip that I never considered having a family with any girl other than Momiji. For obvious reasons, that idea was nulled with Koharu for years; I never thought that far in the future with Rika, and we mocked Kazuto and Asuna about Yui. And from what I recall, I never planned on this with Eydis.

I'm sure what I said yesterday stoked trouble for myself. I know Momiji's feelings for me are respectfully caged in her soul, and I know I've done the same for the first girl I've loved and loved the longest. Though, once again, if I'm honest, if she wanted to enter Koharu and Lisbeth's hidden war, Momiji would win without much of a fight. Whether she'd want to hear it or not, whether I should have kept that to my dying day, I probably meant what I said.

"So the real question is...who are you? Are you the hero of SAO, GGO, and the Underworld, or are you my son and heir? What path in life do you desire? Answer that...and you'll have your answer... There are no wrong choices in life. Just better choices, so make sure you choose the best choice."

Forgetting my personal reasons, my father's advice consistently echoes whenever I put myself in this frame of mind; I thought he was telling me to look deep into what futures Rika or Koharu could lead me on, but now that I think about that conversation, Momiji was in the hospital room, sleeping, when he said those words a couple of weeks ago. And right before that, in the midst of my troubles between Rika and Koharu, I recall a feeling of peace while she slept on my shoulder. Did I misinterpret my own feelings and my father's words?

And speaking of Eydis...how long will I have to avoid her, to avoid that truth in my heart?

As I shake those thoughts off, I hear Momiji call my name from the sliding door. "Oh, and Joshua?"

"Hm?"

"Can you help me with some training with an axe and shield tomorrow?"

The next night, Kureha

"Yaahhhhh!"

"Urgh..." A young woman in pink and white battle armor collapses on the ground, axe rolling out her right hand along the grassy forest floor. Partially stunned by the debilitating attack she just took, she quickly holds her left hand up to protect herself from the steel sword coming upon her. She holds the sword back with the shield, but her experience in close-quarters combat with weapons compared to her opponent is apparent.

"Yield?"

"Never. I can get out of this position."

"Yes, I know. You'd probably kick me between the legs and scurry away if we were fighting at our fullest. But we're not using anything but our weapons. GGO's combat tactics won't work against those with metal armor from ALO and SA:O."

"Grrh... Fine." The girl stares at the brown-skinned boy in black and red armor above her, and teeth bared in frustration. He retracts the sword, completely lowering his defenses. The girl's snarl immediately turns to a grin as she swings her left arm, smacking the boy's face with her shield.

"Wahh!" He topples down to the ground, grimacing as he holds his face. The girl remains on her back, laughing at her sneak attack until her companion joins her.

The boy is my childhood friend, Jaymes, and the girl is me, Kureha. We're in the Great Zelletalio Forest, northeast of our base of operations, Ruis na Rig.

The previous night, we fought with our friends against an army of nearly one hundred, conscripted by a witch named Mutasina and her Virtual Study Society by a powerful magic, the Noose of the Accursed. We won, but the VSS escaped. Mutasina's army joined us in the end, and Ruis na Rig quickly developed into a functional base for our forces in one day. By this weekend, we may be strong enough to advance to the northeast, towards the center of Unital Ring.

And the land revealed by the heavenly light.

But Jaymes and I have other things on our minds now that Mutasina has been defeated. The mysterious intrusion of the Underworld is a familial priority for him, as his family's company RoboTelligence has a stake in it, as well as a personal responsibility for the two of us.

This brings me to tonight. While we could be helping Kirito and the others with Ruis na Rig, I intercepted that last night after the battle by asking him to help me train with melee combat. He accepted without asking why I felt it necessary to learn to fight as such. For all he knows, he may think it's because our ability to fight with ranged combat is heavily limited by lacking ammo resources and firepower.

It's been months since I've asked him to assist me in this manner. Months ago, I wielded a sword in Sword Art: Origins and saved Jaymes, Kirito, and Asuna from Tia and another player named Genesis. I know I can wield a sword or the like alone, but today's different - I switched to a single-handed ax last night and added an accompanying shield.

It's not a rare combination, but not as common as the sword and shield. Jaymes knew and beat a guy named Morte, who used this combination in SAO. Normally I would have mimicked him instead of choosing the ax or asking someone like Lisbeth for help. But there's a reason I've asked Jaymes for help this time.

I'm actually using these skills for the Underworld, where there are no guns. Like Jaymes, I have a high-level account created just for me, and during that creation, I could have substituted a gun for a bow, but that weapon is too slow for my liking. I wanted to differentiate myself from Jaymes just a bit, but I didn't want to mimic the other pink-haired girl I knew, so I chose a one-handed axe.

Two - this is stubborn on my end - this is the most amount of time I've spent with Jaymes since he left with Kirito for the Ocean Turtle this past summer. I didn't meet him until the final seconds of my time in the Underworld. Between then and when he returned home, I got a job offer from his father to work as his aide and with Alice Synthesis Thirty. I moved back to Kyoto to begin work and wouldn't see Jaymes again until his father and grandfather got into a car accident a month ago, and he came to Kyoto to visit.

By that time, I knew his troubles with the returned Koharu plus his family, so for the time we were together, I took his mind off of all of it before falling asleep. Afterward, I wouldn't get to spend ample time with him until this past weekend, when Unital Ring began.

And tomorrow morning, I'm going to bear witness again to one of the consequences of his 200-year stay in the Underworld; his daughter, Princess Sylvie of the Dark Territory. But it's not her that bothers me. I learned she's another version of Jaymes behavior-wise for the hour we were with her Wednesday afternoon.

I was unbothered when he confided that information to me after he learned it too. It was a shock, sure, but I wouldn't say it was unthinkable. He spent nearly two centuries with one woman, someone he loved. It would be weirder if he didn't have offspring.

What bothered me was what he said later that night, which might have been a simple slip of his mind.

"To think you didn't want to tell us about it. A thousand curses on you, your family, and your future family. Except for your mom, she loves me like a daughter."

"Hmph... To think, at one point in my life, you could have been just that to her."

"...What?"

And there lies the crux of my own personal dilemma.

Seven years ago, I left behind the first and only boy I ever liked. Four years ago, I learned he had moved to Japan, but for two years, I never got to see him for several excusable reasons. Last year, I met him again through Gun Gale Online and for months watched as he easily superseded me in skill and ability. And just as easily we both fell into a deadly trap, in which he confessed why he couldn't see me and why he was so skilled; GGO wasn't his first VRMMO, for he lived and survived Sword Art Online, and his skills transferred over from Alfheim Online.

Eventually, I'd learn his legend, how he survived several losses, including Koharu, and how he avenged her. I learned of and met his friends from SAO, including the girl he was dating, Rika. At that time, my feelings for him were kept under lock and key due to my incessant jealousy over his rapid progress, but I tried as soon as he was free.

Then I recessed just as quickly because I didn't want to contest his heart with Rika. I recessed further once I learned Koharu was alive. Months later, that exact thing is happening, with an unknown daughter in the mix, and since the other night, I feel myself being drawn into the very fight I wanted to avoid.

Yet the path of the childhood friend is a dark one.

"You've been quiet for a long while, Momiji," Jaymes says, his form seated on the ground, his face pointed to the dark sky. "What's on your mind?"

She rises to her waist and scoots over to connect our backs. I cannot tell him about the thoughts in my head and heart, for that'll trouble him further. "It's...well... It's nothing."

"Liar. You're hiding your face from me."

"...The past and the future. What if things that occurred in the past were different? How it would have changed things up to today... Is there anything you regret in the past, Joshua?"

Jaymes shifts slightly. "Well...there's a couple of things, but I think choosing one invalidates the others. But there are two that are free and don't warp the future as severely. I regret being a cowardly son to my parents and equally friend to you."

"To... To me?"

"Yeah. I was afraid to see you when I moved here, remember? I wish I could have changed that, and we did better keeping in touch. And you know my troubles as a son... I guess I can never correct those things, make amends and not repeat those mistakes. That's why I've enjoyed our time together, Momiji, why I work diligently with Project ALICE, and why I try to find the right answer for myself and those two. All that I will become in the future, I think the coming days will answer the questions Kayaba gave me: Who is the Integral Factor? How can I find him? What is his purpose?"

She leans back against Jaymes, trying to hold in her laugh but failing to do so. "I didn't mean to turn this into a serious conversation. Yet... I have two regrets myself. We share the regret of not finding the other before last year. If I knew you were in SAO, I would have been waiting for you to wake up. I'd been the first person to say 'Welcome back' and cry like a baby. The second regret is...well, I'll tell you another day."

"Hmmm... Anyway, allow me to apologize for what I said the other day. I know what it sounds like..."

"But what could have been is long past," Kureha interrupts. "You're forgiven. It does us well not to dwell on what could've been." She sighs and leans up, noticing that they have two new arrivals approaching. It's Rei and Lievre , their Arfa-Sys companions. "But answer me honestly...if things had been different...would you have searched for me in Sword Art Online?"

"Yes, if I knew you were playing the game, I would, but... How would I even find you?"

"How do you think I recognized you when you entered GGO? Because you've used the same username since we were kids, and you rarely change your appearance. All I'd need to do is send you a message, right?" While leaving him to think on that, Kureha gets up as the two other girls arrive, picking up her axe and holstering it. "Rei, Lievre, how is everything back at Ruis na Rig?"

"It's full of people," Lievre answers with attitude. "It's crowded and loud...and annoying."

Rei shakes her head. "I have to agree, except with it being annoying. It's not like being in the Glocken, though."

"I see... Anyway, there's something I wanted to talk to you two about. As you are aware, your masters won't be here tomorrow, and neither will Zeliska, Kirito, Asuna, and Alice. That leaves the leadership of our group out in the open, though there's one person who can fulfill it." Kureha hones in on Lievre. "Since people's feelings don't matter to you, you'll have to set her straight."

"You mean that Koharu chick..." Lievre pauses and folds her arms, her eyes darting between Kureha and Jaymes. When her eyes cease to wander, she sighs and faces her master. "I understand but answer me this, Kureha. Why her?"

"Because the others highly respect her. For all except two, she has saved their lives numerous times in addition to being one of the members of the Assault Team. She has all their respect due to her strength, and she's the strongest person in our group. Last, it's understood that the leadership role after Kirito, Jaymes, and Asuna is Koharu. If Ruis na Rig is to survive tomorrow, she has to lead."

"..." Lievre looks even more conflicted...or is that another emotion Kureha cannot read? What is Lievre trying to process? Once more, she looks at Jaymes, this time with a harsher-than-normal glare. "I understand that. So it doesn't matter how I say it as long as I convince her and the other girls to keep going without you guys, huh? Is that okay with you, Captain?"

He doesn't look happy, yet he shrugs at Lievre's inquiry. "Not really, but do as you please, Lievre. However, you got one thing wrong, Momiji. The chain of leadership here in Unital Ring is Kirito and I, then you and Asuna, then Alice and Koharu."

"I see."

"Hmph. Well, don't blame me if you're little girlfriend starts crying. But know this, Jaymes: I'll never accept her as someone of equal standing to you. Not her, not anyone else other than Kureha."

"Lievre..."

"Shut it, Rei. You know it to be true as well." After shutting Rei down, Lievre stands close to Jaymes, pointing a single finger in his face. "So if any harm comes to my master while you two are in the Underworld... If you don't protect her with your worthless, insignificant life, I'll end Koharu's time here in Unital Ring myself. Got it?"

Kureha can't believe the words coming out of Lievre's mouth, but before she can reprimand her, Jaymes raises up his finger and coils it around Lievre's. A silent promise has been reached, intertwining Kureha and Koharu's virtual lives. A deal that Kureha cannot support. A deal that Jaymes accepted too readily. Kureha glances at Rei, who drops her head and whines.

"You know me, Lievre. I'll always protect Kureha. But don't you discount the strength of Koharu or any my friends. All of them are strong in their own right. Just watch."

In Kureha's mind, it was a deal that didn't need to be made. Knowing Jaymes, he'd protect her at any cost to himself. Lievre herself knows that.

They didn't know that it's a deal that both Kureha and Jaymes did not expect to be tested.