Disclaimer: I don't own K-On or SAO. The world would be in trouble if I did...
KingofBeasts Productions Presents:
K-Online: A Sword Art Online and K-On Crossover
Chapter 6: U&I
December 31, 2022. 5th Floor: Lothos. 8 am
It was a new day in Aincrad, a day that would mark the end of the year.
Still, it was pretty unusual to see Yui up and at 'em at this time of day. Yet, here she was, sitting on a bench near the town square dutifully tuning her [Sunburst Guitar], a rare item she won (with help) from a quest, like she would with Gitah. What undoubtedly drew her to this item was that it resembled her old guitar; right from the bright orange body to the mahogany colored fingerboard. Even the twang every time she tugged the strings sounded very much like Gibson Les Paul she left behind.
"Yosh!" the brunette said determinedly as she made one final tune-up to her instrument. She was, at last, ready to play. After a moment of deliberation, she began strumming an instrumental version of "Love is a Stapler". The music produced was clean and, much like the one who was playing, upbeat and vibrant. Every strum seemed to have a refreshing effect on those few who were up early to stop and listen.
Her reason for being up this early to play? She was there during Mio's performance back at the 2nd Floor. Back then, she was feeling as hopeless as the people gathered in that restaurant were, nearly giving up on finishing the game after her 'mentor' had left her. When she caught sight of Mio entering the restaurant, she wanted to be sure that it was really her friend and ended up following her. The appearance of Taiga/Ritsu and their playing of "Don't Say Lazy" was enough affirmation that her guess was correct.
Hearing their song, and watching her old friends have fun playing it, gave Yui not only a measure of hope, but something to look forward to; when they finally escape Sword Art Online, she'll have a lot of stories to tell her friends. Of the food she ate, of the victories they've won, and of the friends they've made.
'Everyone, wait for us.' the guitarist thought as she continued to playing "Gitah II", nicknamed in honor of her original instrument 'We'll be home soon!'
"Bravo! Encore!" A deep voice that spoke the words in English caught Yui's attention as she stopped in mid-song. She looked up from her guitar to see a big, dark-skinned, bearlike man with bald head and a beard on his chin.
'A foreigner!' Yui got flustered, unsure whether the man understood Japanese or not. "U-hm...Z-zank yu beri matz, sir!" In the end, she decided to try and speak English, which sounded quite broken.
"Now, now..." The man spoke in Japanese as he patted Yui's head "Don't strain yourself just so you can talk to little ol' me. By the way, that's some slick playing you did there."
"Arigatou, ojisan!" The brunette grinned up at him "My name is Yui! May I know yours?"
"Name's Agil." the big man grinned as he approached the younger girl. "Is this seat taken?"
"Nope!" Yui grinned as she patted the empty spot next to her. The big man sighed as he took a seat beside the guitarist.
"How long have you been playing?" Agil asked "Surely, you must have been playing for a while to have gotten this good."
"Oh, just about four years." was the reply of the peppy brunette.
"Pretty impressive." Agil chuckled, the giant making a deep rumbling noise as he did so. "Sure, it's not the one of the best I've heard..."
'Way to break my confidence, Agil-san.' Yui thought as she sat there listening to the older man.
"However," Agil continued, giving the girl a sincere grin "You play with a lot more heart than most musicians today. That, and skill, will get you far in the music world, kid. Trust me on that."
Yui's hazel brown eyes widened in wonder. Hearing such praise made her quite happy. "Th-thank you, Agil-san!" She grinned, her smile quite huge "I'll keep getting better at this, you'll see! Me and my band are aiming for Budokan, after all!"
"Budokan, huh?" Agil smiled fondly, remembering the good shows he watched back then "I'll be looking forward to it then."
Yui nodded, the young girl perking up in glee. She wanted to talk more when both of them received notifications from the inbox.
"It's Mio-chan!" She exclaimed in delight. She flicked her finger to navigate through her menu and, sure enough, she found Mio's message.
Mio: Yui, where are you? It's time to fight the boss, again. We'll be waiting by the town gate, so hurry up!
"I have to go, oji-san!" Yui jovially declared as she jumped off the bench "I'm going to join my friends in the boss fight today."
"Then let me come with you." Agil grinned as he stood up as well "I just happen to be headed there myself."
"You're a front liner too?" Yui's eyes began to sparkle in awe "Sugoi!"
"You got that right!" The giant of a man chuckled, enjoying the peppy brunette's company "Howabout I tell you of my adventures while we walk?"
"Sure!"
"Did you message Yui yet?'
"I already did, Taiga. She should be here by now." Mio sighed. While showing up late was typical Yui, now was not exactly the best time. Not with the 5th Floor Boss Fight about to begin.
"I'm sure Yui-san will show up." Asuna reassured the girl with a smile "She may not look it, but I can tell that she's serious about clearing this game."
Mio could only nod at her statement. Yui's single-mindedness was legendary; when she wants something, she will be willing to go through absolute hell just to get her hands on it.
The fact that her friend had been wandering alone for a month and that she reunited with her and Taiga told the raven haired swordsman only one thing: Yui wanted to finish this game just as much as they did. All for one simple reason: She wanted to go home to the people she loved.
That served to reassure Mio somewhat as the three continued to wait for the plucky brunette to appear.
"Yoohoo!" All three turned to see Yui emerge from the town gate with another individual in tow. Mio's eyes softened in recognition, a smile showing up on her face once she saw her other friend.
"Hello, Agil-san!" The blackette bowed politely "We haven't seen you since the 1st Floor."
"'Sup?" Taiga waved with a cheerful grin while Asuna nodded in recognition.
"Oh, you know Agil-san?" Yui asked in astonishment, a little surprise that they recognize the giant oji-san she just met.
"You know, I'm not that old, kid." Agil chuckled "And yes, I do know them. Fought alongside them during the first floor."
"Man, those were good times." Taiga chuckled, resting her new [Orc King's Mace] which was a massive weapon almost as tall as Mio, on her shoulders "You were there, Mio and Asuna too, not to mention that idiot Kibaou was there too..."
"So porcupine-san fought too." Yui said thoughtfully, rubbing her hand on her chin "I can't believe his guild in the front-lines now..."
"Yeah. As if hearing his Anti-Beater diatribe wasn't bad enough. Now he's got an Army backing him." Taiga muttered, her hatred for the guy burning inside.
"Now, now, Taiga-san." Asuna giggled as she patted her friend's shoulder "At least we're getting the floors cleared in a good pace."
"That's right." Agil agreed "Like it or not, he calls the shots with his guild at the head of the Boss fight meetings."
"I know, I know." grumbled Taiga, crossing her arms in annoyance "It doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Oh, cheer up, Ricchan!" Yui exclaimed as she glomped her friend from behind. "Let's eat all the cake we want after this so that you won't feel bad, okay?"
Taiga chuckled for a moment, remember full well how Yui can make everything painful go away with just one hug.
"Fine." The brunette bruiser said with a smile, causing Mio to giggle.
"Now," Agil piped up, his deep voice reverberating "Shall we head for the meeting?"
"Right!" All four girls affirmed as they headed for the foot of the 5th Floor tower, where the meeting was being held.
At the foot of the Boss Tower.
"She's been asking for you, Ki-bou."
Kirito turned to see the tiny, whiskered information broker simply known as Argo the Rat, with a questioning look on his face. "What are you talking about, Argo?" He questioned.
"Your little kohai." The Rat explained "The one who hung with you for a few weeks before you blew her off."
"I only did it to protect her. You know that." Kirito said earnestly, though his heart broke when he remembered those pleading brown eyes begging him not leave that day.
"It's been a month since you actually talked to her, Ki-bou." Argo sighed "She's proven that she could take care of herself during the last few boss fights she participated in. Yet you keep using that disappearing act after the boss dies just before she realizes you are there."
"Your point?" Kirito frowned, a little annoyed by the informant's prodding.
"Why do you avoid talking to her?"
To this day, Kirito didn't know why. She already told her that being associated with him would mean nothing but trouble, but the girl didn't care at all. She was one of the few who saw good in him when so many shunned him due to his "Beater" status, and he was really thankful for that.
"That's exactly why I left her." Kirito thought to himself "I don't want that girl to get caught up in my troubles."
"If you aren't gonna answer, I might as well scoot. My place isn't in the front lines anyway." Argo sighed after getting silence from him. "Just a word of advice, Ki-Bou: You'll be facing her sooner or later, so do it sooner."
"Yeah, yeah." Kirito shrugged in annoyance as he watched "The Rat" scurry away. She did have a very solid point, though; He knew he was going to have to face her, sooner or later.
"Why does it have to be so hard to do the right thing?" Kirito sighed as he walked towards the meeting area, where dozens of high-leveled players have gathered to plan their tactics.
As he got closer, he saw the familiar shapes of a black-haired swordswoman, a brunette fencer, a light brown haired girl with a mace and armor, and a giant of a man with an axe more imposing than the one he used during the first floor.
"Well, if it isn't our favorite loner!" Taiga chuckled as he approached them "You're just in time for the meeting!"
"Hey guys." The Black Swordsman smiled, greeting the group cheerfully "What are you guys doing out here? The meeting's going to start soon."
"We're just waiting for a friend." Asuna smiled at him warmly "She left to get something to eat."
"That's so typical of her." Mio shook her head while laughing "Always putting her stomach first."
"So, how have you been?" Agil asked as he clapped the boy's shoulder.
"Oh, you know. Farming and grinding, the usual life of a solo-player like me." Kirito shrugged then turned to the three girls "How's your alliance with each other doing?"
"It's been going great." Mio said cheerfully "We even got a new member in the process. Speaking of which," She turned when she heard the sound of footsteps "Here she comes now."
"Sorry, I'm late!" The newcomer said in her squeaky voice "There was this shop with really good noodles and-"
She stopped in mid-sentence when she saw the Black Swordsman. Likewise, Kirito's eyes widened when he saw the peppy brunette, acting as if he saw a ghost.
It was a few moments that felt like an eternity, but the eventually the inevitable happened.
"KUROI-SENPAI!" Yui practically broke into a run and glomped Kirito then and there.
Varying responses happened afterward; Agil was smirking down at him, Taiga and Mio were looking at the two with shocked expressions, and Asuna...Well, let's just say a green monster within her gut manifested itself that day.
"Wait a minute!" Taiga finally spoke, pointing a finger at both of them "You two already know each other?!"
"Uhuh!" Yui nodded enthusiastically "I ran into this guy one month after I entered the game. He taught me everything I know!"
"That explains how you fight so well." Mio said thoughtfully "No wonder your fighting style seemed so familiar..."
Asuna, snapping herself out of it, heard what Yui had said and smiled; Her heart content that for a few weeks, the Black Swordsman wasn't going at it alone. "That also explains why you have an [Anneal Blade]." she added.
Kirito, in the mean time, felt conflicted. Of course, he was happy to see his number one student, but he also felt this awkwardness. He still felt bad about leaving her, and wondered if she would forgive him for that. Had he known Yui as long as Mio and Taiga have, he'd have realized that Yui wouldn't hold it against him and accept him no matter what had happened.
Still, he didn't want to talk about the time he left her. Not yet anyway.
"It's good to see you too, Yui." The black-haired boy smiled as he patted the guitarist's head gently., causing her to giggle.
Unknown to Kirito, Asuna had sensed something off with the Black Swordsman. She noticed that there was a certain sadness in his eyes whenever he looked at Yui, as if he did something to hurt her and he couldn't forgive himself. She let it slide for now, as it was not the proper time to ponder on such things.
"Now that we have that out of the way." She spoke in a commanding/motherly tone "I suggest that we head for the meeting now."
"Yeah, the sooner we finish, the sooner I can keep myself from caving Kibaou's face in." muttered Taiga as the group made their way towards the meeting place.
Just outside the 5th Floor Boss Room within the Dungeon.
"I really hate that man."
To Taiga, these were definitely true words; out of the five who are currently in charge of handling the mobs, she hated Kibaou the most.
"Hey it could be worse," Asuna attempted to comfort the disgruntled drummer "He could've kicked us out of the raid all together. Thanks to Mio's argument, he knew how valuable we are in a raid."
"He wanted me out at least." Yui piped up, twirling her sword around in her hand "He's still sore at me kicking his butt a few weeks back."
"You beat Kibaou in a duel?" Kirito and Agil turned their heads to the brunette in shock.
"Yes, and everyone had a front row seat." Mio chuckled, having been satisfied with being the opposing voice to Kibaou and The Aincrad Liberation Corps.
"That's pretty impressive." Kirito smiled at his student "Well done."
Those words caused Yui's face to glow, her grin widening in pride when her senpai praised her.
"Mio, you're looking very satisfied with yourself." Taiga mused "Could it be that your hidden dark side is finally manifesting?"
"BAKA!" Mio gave a swift chop on Taiga's head "I'm just happy that I've been putting Kibaou in his place the past few boss meetings."
"Oh, so your evil side IS manifesting!" Asuna joked around, joining in on the teasing.
"Well her hair is dark, and she looks the part as well." Kirito put a hand on his chin, playing along as well.
"N-Not you guys too!" Mio wailed, uncomfortable with the fact that they were ganging up on her, causing everyone to laugh at the poor girl's expense.
The joking stopped quickly once the gates opened, though. Nodding towards one another, the five of them along with the rest of the raid group proceeded cautiously, expecting the boss to show up sooner or later.
Soon enough, the boss known as [Mishra, the Alpha Wolf] made it's presence known at the other end of the hall. It was werewolf as big as Illfang, with red eyes, black fur and a feral snarl. It also had claws and fangs that could easily tear it's prey to shreds, it's weapon of choice against the players.
The beast gave one mighty howl and, soon enough, it's mobs appeared. They were identified as [Dire Fangs] and their appearance was that of a miniaturized Mishra, except with brown fur. Needless to say, though four appear at a time, they were stronger than regular mobs and had to be dealt with as soon as possible.
Without needing any provocation, both sides charged and battle was joined once more.
The strategy employed was similar to the one they used against Illfang; While the main groups focused on Mishra and would constantly switch to keep themselves fresh, the remaining groups would deal with the mobs.
The group made out of Kirito, Agil and the girls were doing pretty well. With Taiga and Agil, they had a solid defense that could take a huge amount of damage while Kirito, Mio, Yui and Asuna were counted on to deal as much damage as possible.
"Yui, Switch!" Kirito called to the brunette after his Sword Skill nailed a [Dire Fang], who responded by crashing into the beast with her favorite Sword Skill [Sonic Nail], killing the beast instantly.
"Nice, Yui!" Taiga gave a thumbs up before clocking one mob in the head with her mace, creating an opening both Mio and Asuna took advantage of.
"YAAAAH!" They both yelled out as rapier and saber worked in tandem to run through the wolf, taking it out of the game as well.
"Good job!" Both girls gave each other a high-five while Agil nodded in approval, noticing that they were working well together as a team.
"MOE THRUST!" Taiga joked as she watch the combo attack, only to get a thump on the head from both Mio and Asuna. "Ow, my health..."
It was after the mobs had been cleared they noticed that things were going sourly for the main group; Though Mishra's health had been drained to the point that it had one bar left, it's attack speed and movement speed increased as a result.
"Of all the times the guide book was on the money, and that pig-headed buffoon doesn't read it." Taiga groaned, shaking her head.
"Shall we save his bacon?" Agil asked the rest, who gave him a wordless affirmation as they walked towards Mishra, facing him fearlessly while other players were beginning to flee.
"LET'S GO!" All five yelled simultaneously as they began their assault.
Agil was the first to strike, charging up his axe and swung it with enough force at it's leg to cause the beast to howl in pain. Before it could even respond, Kirito and Asuna charged up Sword Skills and struck Mishra on his arms at the same time, bringing him down to half his last bar.
Taiga and Yui followed it with powerful strikes to the chest, brining the lifebar down to it's last inch. "MIO, NOW!"
From behind the two jumped Mio, her sword charged in a bright yellow light, as she held it over her head with both hands as she went for the deathblow.
"TAKE THIS!" The blackette brought down her saber with enough force to actually bifurcate the beast. She landed gracefully as her hair trailed behind her. She stood up and, after sheathing her sword, Mishra burst into millions of tiny pixels.
After that, there was a moment of silence. Then said silence was broken by Taiga's boisterous cheering.
"ALL HAIL THE DANGEROUS QUEEN!"
Mio blushed furiously, both at the nickname and after realizing that she stood out again. What's worse is that all the other players (sans Kibaou and the Army) started chanting too.
"Dangerous Queen! Dangerous Queen! Dangerous Queen!"
"Wow, looks like you're popular now, Mio." Asuna turned to the blackette, only to find that she was crouched on the floor rocking herself back and forth.
"I stood out again..." The girl moped.
"That girl doesn't like attention, does she?" Agil asked Taiga, who simply shook her head.
Yui was joining in on the cheering when she noticed Kirito slipping out of the celebrations. She felt sad watching him leave, and that he didn't want to hang out after so long.
"Go to him."
Yui turned to see Asuna, who had her usual warm smile on her face. "I noticed that he was bothered with something earlier, and I think it involves you somehow. So go talk to him. We'll just tend to our 'Dangerous Queen' for a moment, okay?"
Yui looked at Asuna with a smile that matched hers. She had a feeling that something was bugging Kirito as well, but she didn't know whether to talk to him or not. The fact that Asuna noticed it as well just gave her the much needed nudge to confront him about it.
"Thanks, Asu-chan." The brunette nodded at the chestnut haired fencer "Looks like you and Kiri-kun are perfect for each other after all."
"Wh-what did that mean?!" Asuna questioned, her face a crimson red, but Yui had already made her way out the door.
"OI, YUI!"
7:00 PM. A hill overlooking the town, 6th Floor.
"Man, am I a coward."
Kirito sat on the grass hill, giving him a good view of the town as the black night engulfed the day sky. He had planned to talk to Yui after the boss fight and apologize for leaving her like that, but found himself to afraid to do so. So, in his usual fashion, he turned tail and snuck out of the Boss Room while everyone was praising Mio.
"Thank goodness for that distraction." He muttered.
Still, it didn't make it any easier. Argo had been right; he has to face his kohai sooner or later, or the guilt will eat him alive. In his mind, it was too late for him and Klein, but he had a good chance to fix things with Yui. He was just too scared.
"Hey, Kuroi-Senpai."
The Black Swordsman turned to see the person in question, looking like her usual cheerful self, as she smiled down at him.
"Mind if I sit here?" Yui asked, to which the swordsman nodded.
She immediately took her seat beside him and for a while, silence ensued. Kirito didn't know what to say. He wanted to say sorry to her, but didn't know how to.
"You know," Yui said, finally breaking the silence "If you're still hurt about you leaving me behind, I don't hold it against you."
"You knew?" Kirito asked, surprised that she drew the correct conclusion.
"I just guessed." Yui stated "Asu-chan just filled in the blanks for me. She was worried about you, you know."
"Oh, I see..." The boy smiled.
"Yeah, she was." Yui giggled "You've had your reasons for leaving. Granted, I was really hurt at that time, but I realized that it was the best for me too. I couldn't keep depending on you all the time."
"I'm glad you see it that way." Kirito sighed, feeling as if one of the many burdens on his shoulder was lifted.
"I wanna know, though." The brunette guitarist turned to Kirito "Why did you help me back then, anyway?"
Kirito began to blush slightly, but just took a deep breath and said it anyway "Because you remind me of my younger sister."
He waited for the laughter, but it never came. Instead, there was a soft smile on Yui's face. "It's funny. I have a younger sister too."
She looked up into the night sky with a dreamy look in her eye "It's nights like these when I think about her. How she takes good care of me, how she loves me, how she's always by my side...I'm wiling to bet that she's worried sick about me right now."
"You care a lot about your sister, huh?" Kirito smiled, though inwardly, he was saddened by the fact that he was distant with his own sister before he got trapped in S.A.O.
"I do, I even wrote a song for her." Yui smiled as she took the [Sunburst Guitar] out of her inventory "Wanna hear it?"
"Sure, by all means." Kirito smiled. After a few minutes of tuning up, she took a deep breath, then began to play the song she wrote for her little sister.
U&I Acoustic Version
Composer & Performer: Yui Hiirasawa
If you're not around I can't do anything
I long for the taste of your cooking
So when you get back home
I'm gonna glomp you with a great big smile
If you're not around I can't take it anymore
I long for the sound of your voice
Just being able to see you smile that would mean everything to me
Simply being by my side you've always given me the courage
I wanna be with you forever and a day
I wanna tell you that this is how I feel
Whether under the sun or under the rain
You were always there when I needed you
Whenever I close my eyes I could see your smile shining brightly
Yui played a few solo bars, allowing her guitar to do the singing for her. Kirito found the melody soothing. The lyrics, while laced with tons of food references, was a song to her sister at it's core. She wanted her around always, and was sorry for all the times she took her for granted.
"Just like with Sugu." He thought himself just as Yui ended her solo which set her up for another chorus.
Will they go straight to your heart?
I'm not so sure of myself right now but
Don't laugh, okay? Please listen to me
'Cause I'm gonna put all my feelings into this song
I would like to give you every ounce of my gratitude
And send it to you through this song
This is a feeling I will never, ever forget
Dedicated to You
As Yui finished her song, Kirito found that tears were flowing from his eyes. He immediately regretted not spending as much time with Sugu as he should have. He promised to himself then and there that once he escaped this game, he'll make up for the time he lost with his sister.
"Thank you, Yui." He told her as he wiped the tears from his eyes "I really needed that."
"No problem at all, Kiri-kun." Yui giggled as she stored her guitar in her inventory.
"Your sister's lucky to have you, you know."
At that, Yui gave him a soft smile and looked at the night sky "Thanks for saying that, Kiri-kun. I wonder though, did she hear my song?"
Tokyo General Hospital.
Ui Hiirasawa woke up with a start. She looked around to see her sister Yui still in a comatose state. When she touched her cheek, she found that it was wet. She didn't realize that tears were trickling from her eyes as she slept.
"Ui-chan!" Her boyfriend, Satoshi Tainaka, walked in to see the demure girl in tears "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Satoshi-kun." She wiped her tears, then turned to her sister's sleeping form with a smile "It's just that...I thought I heard Onee-chan singing to me."
End Chapter 6
A/N: FINALLY, IT IS DONE! Sorry I took so long with this chapter, but it's finally up! It took a while putting this up, but it feels so freaking rewarding to know that I've finally put it up!
Anyway, first order of business: If you want to hear what the acoustic version of U&I would sound like, go to this link (remove the spaces): watch ?v = 1pIzRZ6dBN0. I suggest you listen to it while reading the part where Yui performs it. It gets you in the mood.
Lastly, we have a message from HTT's Yui over here. Yui, if you don't mind.
Yui: Hai! *Turns to Readers* If you're a fan of Fate/Stay Night, Fate Zero or Fate Apocrypha, go read "Clarent Blood Arthur", written by the same guy who wrote our fic. Everyone, let's support Ilya-chan and Mor-chan in their new fic!
Ilya: (From a distance) THANK YOUUUU!
*Ahem*. And on that note, we leave you with the next chapter prompt. Yui, take it away!
Yui: Hai! Next time on K-Online!: Those Who Were Left Behind.