The Captive Swordsman

Chapter 6— A New World

..

Original Title: Sword Art Online(ソードアート・オンライン)

Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki

written by: wrathie

Author's Notes: Thank you for your support and faves, I really am flattered for your support! Please do support my other SAO fic, Shield and Swords too!

Thank you, bowpurity for the beta as always!

..

Asuna felt extremely nervous as she turned on the Nervegear after wearing it. She knew that it was not the device that was at fault, but it still made her nervous when handling it. This was the device that had trapped her for two years in the virtual game, Sword Art Online after all. There was no chance that the device would trap her within it in the game now, this much was stressed upon her return, but she still was a little hesitant.

'This is for Kirito-kun.'

Asuna told herself, and upon saying that, she felt her own fear be suppressed even as she took a deep breath, and subsequently loaded the game.

'Link... Start!'

..

'Welcome, to Alfheim Online.'

It was a lifetime ago that Asuna had last seen the log-in, as well as character select menu, and she gave a brief sigh of relief as her surroundings changed around her. She was standing in a small room by herself, even as screens started lighting themselves in front of her eyes.

Then, a keyboard materialized itself in front of her, inviting her to use it even as the AI voice continued.

'Existing character data is still available. Would you like to use that data?'

'Eh? Existing character data?'

Asuna gave a confused look as the screen waited for her confirmation. Shown in the list was an unknown character name.

'Titania...?'

Frowning, Asuna wasn't sure what to make of the situation, it was a character that was registered under her? Within her Nervegear itself? She knew that that Sugou was already up to something, and especially since she actually knew something was up, she was very suspicious of this development. Was it a parting gift from Sugou? If there was, then there's no reason for her to choose that avatar at all.

'No.'

Asuna selected the 'No' option before the screen prompted her to select a name. There was only one name that she was going to choose, and one name only.

'Asuna. And the race... I remember that Suguha-chan told me to select Sylph... so I could meet up with her.'

Asuna smiled as she saw the avatar for Sylph appear, it was modelled after quite a standard image of an Elf, and she nodded in acknowledgement as the screen turned black, with the AI stating that they would be transporting her to the hometown of the Sylph.

'Best of luck.'

..

Within moments, Asuna found herself standing in the middle of the hometown of the Sylph, Sylvian. The random character generation had left her with long hair, similar to how her hair length was, but with it being light green in color instead. Still, she reasoned that she had lucked out, for she reckoned that a trip to the salon would make her look like how she was in SAO. She was still used to having her own Avatar look like herself in SAO, and she pouted in front of the mirror that she found before she decided to send Suguha, or Leafa, a message in game.

They had decided to meet up in game before starting their own investigation to the secret dungeon that was located near the roots of Yggdrasil itself. Suguha had been adamant in helping, and after knowing that she was playing Alfheim Online, Asuna couldn't say no, she could use the help as well anyway.

'Well for the moment let's look at the status menu...'

Asuna told herself as she started wandering around the place, before deciding to sit down in a secluded space before trying to open the menu. It turned out that the menu was activated on the left instead of the right hand, causing Asuna to briefly panic before she accidentally opened the window.

'Ahh... that's so embarrassing.'

Even as she feel her cheeks blush from that simple mistake, Asuna scrolled down the menu before she remembered something important about this entire mission.

'You are about to Log out, are you sure?'

'Whew... so that's fine at least.'

Asuna gave herself a small smile even as she started the messaging function, punching in Suguha's ID name, before sending her a message to say that she was online. They had agreed to meet around 8pm, and like the world outside, it was night in the game as well.

'Mm... what about my status...'

Asuna mumbled to herself before clicking on her status, and getting a shock as the parameters for her character was high, too high for her to be considered a low levelled player and she found herself at a loss to what to do.

'Is this supposed to be a bug?'

Asuna asked herself even as she scrolled down the status, before stopping at a particular skill.

'Maxed... cooking? This is...'

The exact stats she had in SAO! That revelation was enough to cause her to stand up in shock as she looked around her. This was definitely not SAO, the area did not fit with any level that had been unlocked in SAO so far, so why...

'Why would I have the same stats I did in SAO?'

Asuna asked herself thoughtfully, but her thoughts was interrupted when a window popped up.

'Leafa would like to be your friend. Register as a friend?'

'Ah, so she's here too. Maybe she could give me an advise or two about this and the game...'

Asuna told herself before accepting the request, and speaking in game with Suguha on how to meet up with her.

..

'I'm sorry for the wait!'

Asuna said apologetically even as she finally entered the inn that Suguha/Leafa mentioned as the meeting place. It wasn't quite hard to locate her, as there were only a few girls with blonde hair like she had said she would be in the Inn, but Suguha herself had difficult recognizing her instead till she noticed the name of the character.

'Asuna... san?'

Suguha asked her timidly before she nodded her head.

'That's me, Su-... I mean, Leafa-chan.'

Asuna rubbed her head apologetically even as she smiled at Leafa, and her companion as well.

'I-It's alright, I... I didn't expect you to use your character name as Asuna again... b-but anyway, where are my manners. This is my friend, Recon! Recon, this is the friend that I was telling you about, she's Asuna-san.'

Leafa smiled as she introduced the smaller boy sitting beside her. For some reason he was staring at her closely as well, Asuna recognized that look, it was something that she was used to seeing. But then again...

'Hello, I'm Asuna, you must be Recon. It's nice to meet you.'

Asuna gave him a smile even as she sat down beside Leafa, the younger girl giving her plenty of space to do so. Asuna noted that like in real life, Leafa's... weapons as a woman were still bigger than hers, and that was enough to cause her to sigh a little before she realized what she was doing.

'Asuna-san? Is there something wrong?'

'A-Ah, it's nothing... and you shouldn't call me Asuna-san, you can call me Asuna, or Asuna-chan, Leafa-chan~'

Asuna smiled at her, but the two's conversation was interrupted when Recon suddenly spoke up again.

'A-Ahhh... Ah, I-I'm Recon, it-it's nice to meet you... A-Asuna-san!'

Recon suddenly ran up to her, and clutched her hands while introducing herself. The sudden act was enough to cause Asuna to freeze for a moment even as Leafa leaned over her to slap Recon on the head.

'Seriously! What was that about, Recon! G-Gomen, Asuna-san, it's all Recon's fault.'

Leafa gave Recon a glare even as the boy went back to his seat, his face as red as a cherry. Asuna on the other hand, decided to do put an end to all of it by calmly stating that she was married.

'I'm married to someone, Recon-san, gomen. But then... Recon-san, you like Leafa-chan desho?'

Asuna gave a mischievous giggle even as Leafa turned on her immediately, Recon on the other hand had the grace to at least hide his face even as Leafa told her to knock it off.

'B-Besides, I don't see Recon in that way, he's just a friend to me. Oh, I know him in real life too.'

Leafa smiled even as she slapped Recon on the back of his back, not even noticing, or perhaps simply ignoring the crestfallen look that Recon had.

'Asuna-san?'

But Asuna wasn't listening, instead, she found herself remembering the connection between two married players.

'Leafa-chan, could you come with me for a moment! I need to speak to you in private, please!'

Asuna pulled Leafa out of her seat before she answered, and then as the two of them walked together, she asked her if there was a way to find a private room so that she could check something out.

'Well, we could... but, why, Asuna-san?'

'There's... something that I need to show you, that I... I am not comfortable with showing anyone else.'

Asuna bit her lip as she shot Leafa an apologetic look. After hearing her request, Leafa gave a sigh before nodding her head.

'Okay, give me a second.'

Leafa turned back, no doubt to speak with Recon about this even as Asuna clutched her own chest, both in excitement as well as in trepidation. Please, let this work!

..

'So, what's going on, Asuna-san?'

'Leafa-chan, I told you to call me Asuna! Or Asuna-chan!'

Asuna pouted even as Leafa sighed while shaking her head.

'You're older than me, Asuna-san...'

'But age is nothing in the game, isn't it, Leafa-chan?'

'U-Ugh...'

Leafa found herself weakening under the excited expression that Asuna had on her face, and after a while she surrendered.

'T-Then... Asuna...-san...'

'Leafa-chan...'

Asuna groaned weakly, it was going to be a work in progress after all. But there were other more important things now as well.

'What's.. going on, was Recon bothering you? If he is, I'll speak to him about it.'

Leafa asked curiously even as she crossed her arms, looking at Asuna sitting down on the bed in the room she had rented for her.

'Leafa-chan, look at this.'

'Hmm...?'

Leafa leaned closer to have a look at Asuna's stats, and when she did, her eyebrows shot up in surprise at the levels of the skills that Asuna had.

'M-Mastered One-handed Rapier?! W-What is it with those stats of yours? A-And mastered cooking?'

Leafa was seeing stars even as Asuna explained that it was her stats in SAO as well.

'I tried it out earlier too, I was able to dash here quite quickly... but I got lost, so that's why I was late... And, well, I can't fly, I don't know how yet.'

Asuna admitted gloomily even as Leafa recovered herself, and coughed to get Asuna's attention again.

'Flying or not, those skill levels is very impressive, Asuna-sa-... I mean, Asuna, looks like we don't need to level you up then.'

Leafa gave Asuna a smile even as the older girl continued.

'Leafa... Kirito-kun and I, were married in game... and that means that, I have all his possessions as well... ...Keep this a secret between us, okay?'

Asuna spoke even as she used one of the items in her inventory, a small tear shaped like object that Leafa had not seen before.

'What is that? U-Waa!'

When Asuna selected and used the item, the entire room was covered by a bright light emitted by the item itself. Leafa had difficulty looking at the light, but for Asuna, she already saw what she wanted to see.

'Y-Yui-chan?'

Asuna called out to the young girl that was re-forming in front of her eyes, her voice was soft at the start, almost unbelieving, but then she cried out louder than ever when she was sure that it was her daughter, her Yui, hers and Kirito-kun's daughter. She had faith in Kirito-kun, and if he said that Yui would be able to reunite with them, she would believe him, and Yui, their family would be reunited again.

'Y-Yui! Yui-chan!'

Asuna cried out louder then ever, and this time Yui responded by opening her eyes and looking down at her while floating in mid-air.

'Y-Yui-chan! It's Mama, do you remember me? It's me... it's Mama!'

'M-Mama?!'

Leafa was lost for words as she stared at the two of them, first at the floating girl, then at Asuna, but she was unable to speak before Yui nodded, tears forming in her eyes before she tackled Asuna, burying her face into Asuna's stomach as Asuna caught her.

'Mama! Mama! We-We meet again, Mama!'

'Y-Yui-chan, Yui!... Yui-chan... I-I'm so glad, I'm so glad... Yui, my Yui-chan!'

The two of them continued to hug each other, cry in each other's arms, looking so happy that even Leafa was unable to get a word in. She was only able to look on with a growing smile at their interaction.

..

'A-Ahem. Leafa-chan, this is Yui, she is my daughter with Kirito-kun. Yui-chan, this is Leafa-chan, she is Papa's younger sister.'

Leafa couldn't help to stop a strangled cry at the thought of her brother having a child with Asuna, but that thought was unable to fully materialize into question as Yui smiled up at Leafa happily.

'I'm Yui, Leafa... T-That makes Leafa, Aunt Leafa right?'

She was an Aunt? At this age? To such an adorable girl?

Leaf felt faint and she had to sit down to keep herself steady even as Yui turned back to look at Asuna with a sad expression.

'Mama, Aunt Leafa doesn't like me...'

'N-Nonsense, Leafa-chan has a lot of things to think about right now.'

Asuna knew that she had dropped too many bombshells today for even Leafa, who had only a few hours ago, learned about a conspiracy that trapped her brother in a game that she played for months as well. Now she discovered that she had a niece, and that her brother had apparently conceived a daughter with her? A daughter that looked to be around 4 years of age? Anyone would be shocked silly by all those revelations.

'But Yui-chan, I'm so glad that you're alright...'

'Mm! Papa saved me inside his Nervegear, but since Mama is married to Papa, Mama can access his items too. So, Mama could meet with Yui!'

Yui explained even as Leafa finally managed to gather her thoughts together again.

'I-I'm an aunt... an aunt?! Onii-chan... what were you thinking... Don't you know we were so worried?! And during that time you and Asuna-san...'

Somehow, Asuna felt threatened as an aura of killing intent overwhelmed Leafa, and she felt extremely nervous when Leafa placed her hand on her sword in a practised drawing position.

'Asuna-san, did Onii-chan and you plan to have Yui-chan?'

'P-Plan to have?'

'Then... it was an accident?! Onii-chan...'

Asuna turned redder than ever as Suguha looked ready to kill, she was just glad the target wasn't her. Still, the situation was getting more dangerous than ever and if this continued...

'Papa and Mama found Yui! And Yui, is Papa and Mama's daughter! Aunt Leafa... won't hurt Papa for saving Yui... neh?'

Yui's words, innocently phrased, caused the two women to pause even as Yui sniffled in Asuna's arms at the display of violence. The sight of Yui crying was enough to cause Leafa to wave her hands desperately in front of her to try and stop Yui from crying.

A part of her told her that if she made the girl cry, she would never forgive herself.

'A-Ah, Yui-chan... It's not like that! Y-You know, I-I... I was just worried for Asuna-san, Onii-chan, y-you know, sometimes he can be a little dense.. ahaha~'

Leafa tried her best to smile and explain her anger but she froze when Yui asked her if she could stop being mad at Kirito.

'T-Then, Aunt Leafa won't be mad at Papa? Papa he... Yui really likes Papa! And Mama! They saved Yui, so... Please, Aunt Leafa! Don't be mad at Papa and Mama!'

'A-Ahhh...'

Faced with the weapon that was Yui's cuteness, Leafa had no choice but to promise Yui that, even if Asuna did find that scene both endearing as well as disturbing.

..

'So we were right, ALO does have the exact same source code as SAO... Is that why my player information was transferred over as well?'

Asuna asked even as Yui nodded her head. Yui had taken the form of a navigation pixie, an item that could be won in a raffle within the game itself to hide herself within the game. Even if Yui was able to access some of the data that remained, she wasn't given any administrative rights this time, which was a pity.

'Mama, you should probably delete all the items... They are incompatible with ALO. If the game does a check on Mama, they might say that you are a hacker!'

Yui raised her hands to emphasis how important this was, and Asuna agreed.

'It's just that... some of the items would belong to Kirito-kun... he'll get mad at me for deleting his spare armour...'

Asuna gave a very long sigh when she found out that Kirito actually kept at least three different spare sets of the same black cloak that he always wore.

'He always did say that those clothes were his private collection... Yui-chan, if Papa gets mad at me, you'll help me right?'

Asuna gave Yui a hopeful smile, and she smiled when Yui nodded her head in agreement.

'Mmmm! Yui will help Mama explain to Papa!'

'Then it's fine... but I will definitely miss my Flaurent... Lizbeth is going to be so mad at me...'

Asuna mentioned with a wry smile, but she still did as she was told, deleting the entire shared inventory before turning back to Yui.

'What about my stats then, Yui-chan? I might be high levelled, but when I look at my MP...'

ALO was a game with magic, and even if Asuna found that to be a novel experience, it was also true that with her pathetic MP level, it would be hard for her to do any spell-casting.

'All of Mama's skills are compatible with ALO, but Mama's MP and HP stats are not converted in the same way, so Mama has to be careful! Mama's death penalty would be very high if Mama dies in the game.'

Yui reminded Asuna, but this only caused Asuna to giggle before shaking her hand at Yui.

'Yui, I agree with Agil-san in this... A game that one can die in, is too easy.'

Yui blinked in surprise, but then nodded in understanding. The only one who didn't understand why Asuna's smile was bigger than ever was Leafa, who asked her what she meant by that.

'I have no intention of dying, neither in Aincard, or in ALO...'

..

'So first of all, we should get you some equipment, Asuna-san...'

It took about an hour till the two of them was able to get things sorted out. To start their investigation, they had to go to Yggdrasil which was quite a distance away. But since they were strapped for time, they would have to travel to the next town, Sylvian, which would allow them the best and shortest way to Yggdrasil proper.

Still, despite Asuna's higher than normal stats, it was still important for her to get some proper equipment for the mission. Added on the fact was that besides her high stats, Asuna was still a newbie in the game, and couldn't even fly yet.

'What kind of weapon would you like, Asuna-san? I use a one-handed sword, it works with my kendo.'

Leafa grinned even as Asuna thought to herself, but there really was only two weapons that she was familiar with anyway.

'I would like to use a rapier, and I'm good with a spear too... so either one is fine.'

'A rapier huh... Well, we should try that shop. Does Asuna has any money to afford it? I can loan you some...'

'No, it's fine. My credits transferred over too.'

Asuna gave Leafa a smile even as they entered the armoury, only to exit it soon after she purchased a few items.

'… Well, I guess they'll do.'

'Ahaha, gomen, Sylphs don't really have many weapon makers... the Dwarfs are the ones make weapons. But since this is Sylph territory, and the hometown, we rarely see them having shops here.'

Leafa clapped her hands in apology while Asuna grumbled about the lack of craftmanship in the shop. But it was to be expected from an NPC after all, and Asuna sighed while saying that it'll do.

'Well, now that I got some equipment, let's do some training!'

Asuna smiled at Leafa even as she followed her lead, the both of them chatting while walking towards the exit of the small town.

It was the start of a new adventure, one that would end with her saving Kirito-kun, she was sure of it!

..

'I... I didn't know flying was this hard.'

Asuna grumbled as she tried to balance herself in the air with the controller. She had thought flying would be easy, but apparently it needed a lot of hand eye coordination, something that was impossible while holding a controller with one hand, and trying to keep a hand on her sword in the other.

'Ahaha, it does get some used to, isn't it? But don't worry, you're doing much better than what Recon did in his first time.'

Leafa tried to encourage Asuna even as she helped her up from yet another landing.

'Well, at least I was able to keep flying for 5 minutes this time. I keep thinking that this is my rapier...'

Asuna grumbled at that, pouting too as she sat down to rest.

'Well, there's a trick to it, why don't you try flying without your controller, like how we do it?'

Leafa suggested even as Asuna tilted her head slightly in confusion.

'Isn't it supposed to be harder this way?'

'Well, yes, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't try. You know, sometimes not every method works for everyone.'

Leafa raised her hand to try and calm Asuna down before the older girl sighed and nodded.

'Well, so let's give it a shot anyway...'

Yui, on the otherhand, had wisely chosen to stay with Leafa throughout the whole process, even as Asuna tried her best to learn how to fly as quickly as possible.

Besides her two new weapons, she had picked out some armor too. Nothing too fancy, just a simply white frock, covered by a white coat that made her look similar to Kirito-kun's own clothes.

She had always been embarrassed at how flashy her clothes were in the guild, but knowing the cost of each uniform was enough for her to accept them without complaint. That said, wearing white, while Kirito wore black made her feel connected to him somehow.

'Go, Mama! Fighto!'

With Yui cheering her on, Asuna knew she couldn't fail, and she followed Leafa's instructions before taking off, struggling at the start, but then slowly, she understood what was needed, what was the secret behind it all.

'R-Right! I-I think I got it this time!'

It took a while, but it definitely improved how long she could stay, well, in the air, for after the first ten minutes, Asuna was able to keep herself hovering in the air, a feat in itself considering how she could barely fly straight with the controller in her hand.

'That's it! Great job, Asuna-san!'

Leafa cheered even as she took to the air too, smiling at her even as she thread air beside her.

'Well, now that we finally got you flying... wait... do you know how to land?'

'Land?'

Asuna asked in confusion just as she looked down to the floor below her.

'E-Eh... Land...'

Asuna paled even as Leafa ran a hand down her face in exasperation.

'Well, let's work on it then...'

Author's Notes: If there's any part that you find is unconvincing so far, please feel free to highlight it and I'll see what I can do to fix it!

My beta has been pulling his hair about it too!