Sorry everyone for taking so long to get a chapter out. I know that when I like something, I don't want to wait forever for the next chapter is out. I admire all of those people who manage to update constantly even with an incredibly busy schedule. I'm not at that point yet, but college will be starting soon and by the end of the month I will be working a lot to prepare.

That wasn't the only reason for the lack of an update. I am not that happy with what I have so far, and I was seriously deliberating whether I should just stop and start over, or if I should continue and fix it at the end? Or if I should just fix it now and keep going. Frankly, I hate having to read something over and over, and when I don't like how something is written that is just what I end up doing. So I know I'll have to do it.

But, I am still very surprised that I made it to over 60 followers. I mean, it's just the best to know that people are interested in what you have written.

I'm kind of freaking out about how the original timeline went, and I am trying to keep as much to it as possible, but I think I made some mistakes earlier on, so I might have to edit it . Ugh.

Thanks to everyone who subscribed, reviewed or favorited! 3:

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Kanrei – That really made me glad that you enjoyed the chapter!

I do not own SAO, and all credit is due to Reki Kawahara.

Asuna POV

Asuna sat in the car, hands gripping nervously at the expensive leather seats. She couldn't contain her strange combination of excitement and anxiety controlled. She was doing her best, but she could definitely see that her mother was suspicious. It was weird, that she would be this excited to see anyone, even if they were good friends from a game, even a death game.

Glancing up at her mother's face from where she had been staring at her hands steadfastly in an attempt to ignore her mother's attentive stare. She wasn't fooling anyone. Her mother could tell, and judging by the slightly concerned and disapproving stare that she was attracting, her mother thought that she was up to something that she wouldn't approve of, even if she didn't know what. After all, she could tell from her Asuna's nervousness.

Taking a breath, she calmed her shaking hands. It was quickly followed by a dejected sigh. She hadn't wanted her mother to come. She had tried to worm her way out of it, but she just couldn't get her to stay home. Or to go to work. While she would normally be touched by the fact that her previously cold mother wanted to spend time with her, at the moment it was a bit of an inconvenience. Frankly, the day she met Kirito's mother (or rather his aunt, but she might as well have been his mother), she had tried to get her to take her right then. But-

One Month Earlier

"No."

"Huh?"

"I might have said that whoever it was would be able to visit my son, but you have to worry about yourself as well."

Asuna shot her a disgruntled and confused look. Midori sighed and waved a hand in her direction; "Look at yourself. You can barely stand. How far have you gotten in rehabilitation?"

"…Only… a week or so…" she mumbled while pushing her fingertips together abashedly. Midori-san looked a little surprised at this.

"Shouldn't you have had at least two weeks already?

Asuna stared resolutely at the floor and said quietly, "I only woke up a week ago. But I wanted to make sure everyone was alright…"

At this, the dark haired woman's eyes softened, and bending slightly forward she put a hand to Asuna's shoulder. Legs trembling she tried to keep standing at even this light pressure.

"Asuna-san, you have to take care of yourself first. I am sure that everyone else inside would agree with me. You should've waited until you were healthier. You can't do what you set out to accomplish unless you are the best you can be. And if what the doctors are saying is true," she looked sadder at this,

"Kazuto won't be going anywhere for a while. Besides," here she throws out a lopsided smile, "if your mother is anything like me, she won't take kindly to the fact that her daughter is out gallivanting around shady parts of town when she should be resting and gaining strength."

Asuna braced herself against a nearby wall, and looked the woman opposite her straight in the eyes, gaze hard. "I have to see him. I need to know that he is still alive. I'm terribly afraid that he'll die and then I won't be able to see him anymore. I promised him… I promised him that we would see each other in real life. I won't break that promise. I promised…" at this point she was aware tears were starting to fall, her in an alley way, in front of someone that she wanted to impress. Her hands scrabbled desperately at her eyes, trying to catch the tears before they fell. She must look a mess.

Suddenly a hand had come out of nowhere and grabbed her arm. Obsidian eyes stared back at her, and she was suddenly engulfed in a hug. Surprised, Asuna could only stand there stiffly, but when the hug showed no sign of abating, she tentatively wrapped her arms around the other woman. The hug was nice. It was soft, and it was warm. As soon as it started, it was over and Midori-san backed up. She found herself wishing that it could continue.

"Better?" And at Asuna's sound of confirmation, she went on briskly, in contrasting nature to her actions a minute before; "Alright. Here is what is going to happen. As soon as your doctor says it's alright, that's when you are allowed to come see my son. You need your parents' permission. Understand?"

Tears drying she made sure to nod her head to show that she understood.

"Do you understand?"

"Y-yes."

"Good. I know that if I didn't set guidelines, you'd be calling me the next day. Since you're one of Kazuto's precious friends, he wouldn't want you to push yourself too hard and hurt yourself." She paused, and giggled a bit. "Ha-ha, but he would've been doing the same thing if he could. He's way too stubborn. "she said fondly.

"Now go home. It's getting late. You wouldn't want your family to be worried about you, would you?"

Asuna looked at the floor, a slight blush staining her cheeks.

Turning away, she called out, "Sugu! C'mon, let's go home."

Asuna started, she had completely forgot that the girl was here, and after hurriedly glancing around she spotted her sitting against a nearby wall, passed out. With no sympathy Midori-san walked up to her and drug her to feet.

"Munya?" came from Suguha-san as she was dragged along behind.

-Present day-

"Ojou-sama, Yuuki-dono, we're here."

Asuna peeked nervously out the window at the hospital.

Alfheim

In the dark shadows of the dungeon, pained breath clouded in the air, and shadowy eyes blinked open. They were murky, unfocused as tendrils of gold snaked in around the edges. Sharp stabs of pain came staked him in the heart, the back, everywhere.

He couldn't focus on anything, every time he came close it just faded away into the background. Some parts of the room were too dark to see, and others were incredibly clear, as if a spot light was being shined only on specific parts of the room. He could taste the mildewed air on the back of his tongue. He could hear the echoes of water droplets making contact with puddles spread out around the room. He could feel the chill seeping through his skin to the bones.

Ignoring the pain, he reached for something that was just out of the edge of his vision. He could just see it, something coming off his back. Something that matched the unusual weight that wasn't there before. He couldn't reach it, and he would manage to sit up and grab at it, only to drunkenly fall over. He couldn't help it, and he let out an uncharacteristic giggle.

It didn't bother him that much though. Everything felt kind of dull and far away. A flash of color in the otherwise monotonous room caught his eye. Something was up with his arm, something… different.

On the back of his hand, trailing from the tips of his fingers and trailing up his arms gold streaked. A dull gold, shining metallically in the darkness as if by its own luminescence. He held it close to his face, before pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. As if he was trying to squish them into his skull, to help make the world make sense. What happened?

Behind him, the door opened and

"Well, how are we doing today?" came a gurgly voice.

It was the last thing he heard before he heard the sounds of chains being unlocked and he found himself unable to move.

The Present

Now here she was. Sitting at the bedside of the boy she loved. She had strove to ignore the eyes of the two women on her. One a contemplative and slightly amused black, and the other a strict and unyielding hazel.

Midori Kirigaya POV.

She sat there, watching as the brunette softly stroked her son's cheek. How she brushed his hair out of his eyes, gently and with so much care. She talked to him, telling about people Midori didn't know, or about places she never has or will see. She noticed the way her eyes shined, and how they glimmered with unshed tears.

It was obvious that she cared deeply for Kazuto. More than she could ever say.

She turned her gaze to the woman beside her, dressed in business attire. She too was watching her daughter. Her gaze cool stone. She was obviously seeing the affection her daughter directed towards Kazuto.

The woman opposite finally turned and met her gaze. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she raised her hand to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Yuuki, Kyouko." Her voice was as cool as her stone eyes.

So it was going to be like that, huh?

"It is nice to meet you too, Kyouko-san" She spoke coldly as well. Ahaa~ she could see a twitch at the eye. It seems she resented the informality. Oh, this might be fun.

"Well, yes. It seems that your son was a friend of my daughter."

A friend, huh? Definitely more than that.

"It seems so. It's nice that they made such nice friends, isn't it?"

Kyouko (she was definitely going to call her that in her head) seemed frustrated. "..Yes. But I don't want my daughter to associate with people who played that… that... game." The way she said the word game made it clear what she thought of the whole thing.

She continued, unaware of or ignoring Midori's growing irritation. "I want my daughter to get past this. I want her to focus on her education, on marriage."

She glanced at the unconscious Kazuto, "Marriage with someone who would….be better for my daughter." she finished.

Oh no she didn't. "What are you implying?"

For a second, she looked a little chagrinned but then she followed up that wonderful sentence with another. "I want my daughter to marry someone with affluence, with a future. I want her to have everything she could ever have in life… and I don't think your son could do that for her. I have to nip this in the bud." She turned to stare intently at her daughter, who hadn't moved from the start of the conversation. "As it is, she's already half-way in love with the boy."

Midori full-out glared at her. "You don't think my son is good enough for your daughter?! What if I think your daughter isn't good enough for my son. He is determined, intelligent, caring. He already has more than what you have shown yourself capable of."

Kyouko-chan stared at her a second, seemingly impressed by this outburst, but determined not to show it. Then suddenly she sighed and said two words; "I'm sorry."

This surprised her, and she wore it on her face. She didn't think that Kyouko-chan would be the type to apologize first. Or even at all for that matter.

"I didn't intend to insult your son. I just don't want him for my daughter. I'm sure he is a nice enough young man. I don't want my daughter to make any mistakes. I don't want my daughter to fight to be happy. I had to fight with all of my power, just to get to where I am today. I want her to never struggle. I want her to find happiness that I never could. And I don't think your son can give her that."

She said this and the most heartbreaking expression flashed across her normally stone cold face. But Midori blinked and it was gone, leaving her to wonder if it was ever there in the first place. Midori looked straight into her eyes, "I'm not saying that I think that your daughter is a match for my son. And I already know what you think. But for one second, forget about all of that. Look at her. Really look." She turned and looked back at her son. And his … lover? Girlfriend? She didn't know. "And tell me if that is only half-way in love."

Edited a bit. I think I have an addiction to Line Breaks.

Okay. I was going to keep going. And I feel really bad about not updating in so long, but it was really hard to write most of this. I didn't even get to the part I wanted to today. It shouldn't take forever though, maybe I will even get a start on it tomorrow. But just know, that this chapter took several days to get right. (Weird, I know, because it's not very long.)

Okay, explanation time.

The reason its one month later after the last conversation between them is because in the actual timeline, ALO doesn't actually start until about two months after SAO ended. And to me, that makes sense. Their bodies are practically unable to move due the atrophy of their muscles. It would take a while just to get their basic physical capabilities back. I am kind of steamed about how close I made the meet up and Asuna's awakening date, as it is really hard to imagine that she is back to normal in such a short period of time.

My timeline is a little messed up, and at some point (as addressed in the very first part) I am going to have to fix it. So if you, or anyone else, notice that some things have been changed, it is because I got mad and changed some things up. I may even re-edit some of the chapters because overall, half the time I am mad at what I put out.

Overall though, thanks for reading! I REALLY APPRECIATE THE INTEREST! I LOVE YOU GUYS.

Review.

Later,

~ A Muffin with a Mission