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 7: Those Who Were Left Behind
Jan 31, 2023. 8 am, Tokyo General Hospital.
It had been three months since ten thousand players were trapped inside the VMMORPG known as "Sword Art Online", causing an incident that affected the lives of millions of Japanese as friends, families, and lovers were separated from each other.
Azusa Nakano was one such affected person, having lost four of her best friends in one fell swoop.
"Yui-senpai..." She muttered as she stared out the window of the hospital they were visiting. The raven-haired pigtailed girl could not believe that her four friends, her bandmates in Hokago Tea Time, had fallen into such a serious coma.
"What could have happened?" The diminutive rhythm guitarist pondered as she stared through the glass at the streets below "Why did they suddenly get stuck in that game? What was Akihiko Kayaba thinking?"
She was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a light, friendly tap on her shoulder. She turned to see four familiar faces; Ui Hirasawa, Jun Suzuki and Ui's boyfriend Satoshi Tainaka.
"Hey, Azusa-chan." The gentle brunette gave her the warm smile that became a trademark of her family "Here to visit the others as well?"
"Uh huh." Azusa nodded slowly, glad to have the company of her friends "I suppose you guys are as well?"
"But of course!" Jun said in her usual boisterous fashion. "Mio-sempai needs our support after all!"
"Howabout the rest of them, huh?" Satoshi rolled his eyes as he lightly bobbed the pigtailed brunette on the head.
"Yeah, them too..." She winced as she rubbed the part she got hit on. This display caused Azusa and Ui to laugh heartily, grateful for their company.
"Shall we go, then?" Azusa chuckled as she began walking "We wouldn't want to keep our friends and family waiting."
"Yes!" Ui nodded vigorously as she and the other two followed their friend. "How are Mugi's parents, by the way? I'm sure that they've been trying to find a way to wake their daughter up."
"That they have." Azusa sighed sadly, looking down at the floor as they walked "They hired the best people when it comes to neurology and VR technology, but they haven't made much process."
"I see..." The younger Hirasawa sister nodded, her expression somber. Mugi's family was not the only one to have suffered from this tragedy; Her own parents rushed back home as soon as they found out what happened to her their eldest daughter, both of them in tears upon seeing her sleeping form. The Tainakas and the Akiyamas were no different, as both families wept together at their respective losses.
"How are you faring, Satoshi-kun?" Ui asked as she walked alongside her boyfriend
"I'm fine. My parents and I are doing their best to cope...but it just isn't the same without nee-chan." Satoshi sighed, his expression a solemn smile "Back then, I always thought that she was a little obnoxious; her teasing, her hyperactive attitude, the fact that her drumming can be noisy...everything about her was simply annoying to me."
He paused to take a deep breath, closing his eyes to deal with the turmoil of emotions he was experiencing within before continuing "Now that she's gone..." He wiped away a small tear that trickled down his cheek "I only begin to realize how much I miss those 'annoying' traits of hers."
Ui smiled warmly and gently wrapped an arm around his, providing him comfort the only way she could. "I understand Satoshi-kun. I feel the same way. I miss onee-chan, quirks and all. Let's take comfort that wherever they are, they're most likely taking care of each other. So we cannot give up hope, okay?"
Satoshi Tainaka saw her reassuring smile, marveling at how warm and gentle it was, before returning one of his own. This caused the younger Hirasawa lean close to him as they walked, causing Azusa to chuckle.
"I wonder how Yui-senpai and Ritsu-senpai will react once they find that their siblings got together." The petite guitarist mused with a grin "At any rate, Ui's right; we can't give up hope." Her expression turned into a determined glare, her hazel brown eyes alight with intensity. "Nodoka-senpai and Sawa-sensei are doing their best to help, so we should do the same!"
"Azusa-chan, look out!"
Jun's warning came too late, as the pig-tailed tsundere who was caught up in her own thoughts bumped into another person. Due to the person being much taller than she was, Azusa found herself landing on her behind.
"Ow..." she winced as her rear made contact with the ground.
"G-gomenasai!" The person, a female, apologized in a voice that was as light and squeaky as hers as she offered her hand "I-I didn't see you there."
"It's no problem, no one sees Azunyan coming anyways!" Jun teased with her usual toothy grin.
"Oh, haha." The raven-haired guitarist rolled her eyes at the pig-tailed brunette before looking up at the girl she bumped earlier.
Judging from the school uniform, Azusa can tell that the girl was in junior high. On her way out, upon further inspection. Her hair, which was a rich jet black bob-cut, had a hairpin holding it up at the left side. Her big round eyes were a dark shade of green, which seemed to go well with her round cheeks and creamy complexion. She had a slender, yet firm body that suggested that she did intense physical training on a regular basis. Her chest was adorned with round, firm breasts that made Azusa quite conscious about hers.
"Are you alright?" the girl asked in a high pitched voice that sounded vaguely like Azusa's as she offered her hand to help her up.
"Ah, yes. Thank you." Azusa said shakily as she took the other girl's hand, who proceeded to pull her light, petite frame with little to no effort at all "Sorry about earlier..."
"Oh, it's no problem. It'll take more than that to hurt me." The girl smile broadly at the newcomer "Here to visit someone trapped in SAO as well?"
"SomeONES actually." Ui blinked in surprise as she joined in on the conversation. "How did you know?"
"I'm visiting someone here as well. My older brother actually." the girl said with a nod "Besides, this hospital is crowded with SAO victims, so it was easy to figure it out."
"I see. I should've guessed that." Azusa chuckled nervously, silently cursing herself for forgetting that important piece of information.
"It's no problem." The bob-haired girl giggled softly as she offered her hand in a sign of friendship "The name's Suguha. Suguha Kirigaya."
"Pleased to meet you." The petite guitarist smiled softly as she took her new friend's hand in her own "My name is Azusa Nakano." She then motioned a hand to her friends, who waved gleefully at her "These are my friends Ui Hirasawa, Jun Suzuki and Satoshi Tainaka."
"It's so nice to meet you!" Ui approached Suguha and clasped her hands eagerly, the enthusiasm in her eyes radiating with the light of the sun itself "I happening to be visiting my older sister as well! Were you close with him?"
"...You can say that." Suguha chuckled nervously as she found that she could not escape Ui's grip. A small, sad smile crept into her face as she thought of her dearly beloved brother.
"We were once, but it all changed when Oniichan started getting into online games." the bob-haired girl thought deeply about her sibling, who became quite distant to her for a while now.
Azusa, the most perceptive of the group, saw the girl's sadness. Even though she wanted to ask more about it, she felt it wasn't her place to interfere.
"That doesn't mean I can't put a smile on her face." She thought in the same way her beloved sempai would've done. With that thought guiding her, she raised her and and patted Sugu on the back.
"What room is your brother?"
"Room 206." Suguha answered, though she still does not get why the pig-tailed girl asked. Ui, Jun and Satoshi looked at her strangely as well.
"What a coincidence! Our friends happen to be in the same floor. Room 204, in fact." Azusa gave the girl a grin that, Ui observed, reminded her of the bubbly guitarist she called her 'sempai' "How about we go with you? It'll certainly do you some good if you had company, right?"
Sugu was unable to find anything to say, floored by the girl's kindness. She turned to the others, who offered the same warm smile Azusa was wearing on her face.
"Thank you." Suguha returned the smile with a wide grin of her own "I'd be happy to introduce you to Oniichan!"
"Sounds like a plan!" Azusa said as the group walked towards the elevator. Little did the Azusa and the gang realize that that they were linked with Suguha thanks to the relationships shared by the ones who sleep.
"Come on, there has to be a way!"
"I know that you're worried about them, Nodoka-chan." Sawako Yamanaka, Sakuragaoka's Light Music Club and mentor to HTT, said with a tinge of concern in her voice "But it won't help everyone if you burn yourself out like that."
Despite wanting to state the contrary, Nodoka Manabe knew that her old sensei had a point. They've been at it for months now, looking for a way to save their friends and, if they can, take Akihiko Kayaba down.
"Damn you, Kayaba! I'll find a way to beat you yet!" the meganekko thought as she put down the book she was reading about VR Technology. She had not had a good night's rest in months, evident by the weary look in her eyes and the gaunt expression she usually wore.
Ever since Yui and her friends got trapped in the death game known as Sword Art Online on that fateful October, the ex-Student Council President has been relentlessly hitting the books and scouring the internet for any information regarding the SAO Incident and VR Technology. To say that she has been furiously looking for a way to safely disable the Nerve Gear and free their friends from their virtual imprisonment would be an understatement. Once Sawako heard the news and was informed of Nodoka's fight to free them, she willingly offered to help in anyway she could.
"For that, I'm thankful." Nodoka smiled as she sat with her mentor in a quaint bar called the Dicey Cafe, each of them enjoying a cold glass of iced coffee while they looked through their notes to see what they learned.
"Any luck on your end, Sawako-sensei?" Nodoka asked as she looked up to face her former homeroom advisor, who also bore a tired expression on her face.
"Afraid not." The ex-Death Devil member sighed wearily "Ever since the beginning of the SAO Incident, the police have not been able to locate Kayaba. They searched his home, his office, nothing! It's as if he vanished into thin air!"
"We all know that it's not possible." Nodoka shook her head as she took a sip of her drink, skeptical at the circumstances if his disappearance "Isn't the government supposed to be able to track him down using his credit card or something?"
"Possibly, but for some reason they can't." Sawako said as she shrugged. "They've been waiting for him to slip up on that end, but for some reason he hasn't used his credit card or anything."
"How about tracing his emails?"
"They've tried that, but whatever mail he sends out is heavily encrypted." Sawako added with a hint of frustration on her features "And whatever gets decoded are red herrings sent from various locations."
"It seems that he has thought of everything, hasn't he?" Nodoka said in dismay "Next thing you know, he's playing puppet-master to our friends inside the game..."
"I hope not. That would be just strange." Both females turned to see a statuesque woman around the same age as Sawako serve them a plate of sandwiches for each of them. The woman had long jet black hair she tied in a ponytail, eyes and skin as brown as rich chocolate and a broad grin that suggested a friendly spirit.
"Consider this on the house." The girl said in a voice that, while spoken in Japanese, had a certain Louisiana vibe to it.
"You don't have to, Mrs. Gills." Nodoka smiled warmly at the barmaid, honored by her hospitality.
"For the last time, it's Andrea." The woman rolled her eyes as she set the food on the table "And I already told you, it's no bother at all. You've been regulars every week for the past few months, so I figured you two are due to some perks. 'Sides."
That smile Andrea Gills bore remained, though her brown orbs now reflected a hint of sadness in them "I know what you're trying to do. I think it's admirable trying to figure out a way to free those poor souls in the game. I can't just stand by and do nothing, so I figured that providing you two a place to talk would be my way of helpin' out, y'know?"
Nodoka saw that sadness and, after a moment of contemplation, decided to ask "Uhm, if you don't mind me asking..."
"Ask away, sugar." The motherly woman said in straight English with a smile.
"By any chance, is there anyone you know who's trapped in SAO? Someone you care for?"
For a moment, it was as if a hammer struck Andrea in the heart with a loud thud. Nodoka and Sawako feared that they may have hit a nerve with the latter about to stammer an apology before being stopped by the barmaid.
"No, it's fine." The olive skinned woman let out a sigh, as if to let out all her inner anxieties, before she spoke "It's just that...I'm not original owner of the Dicey Cafe. I'm just standing in for my dear husband Andrew, who's always working his ass off every night keeping this place in shape."
Sawako let out an audible gulp as her eyes grew wide, understanding what the other woman was trying to say "Don't tell me..."
"Yup." Andrea said with a sad smile "My husband was among the first who tried out SAO. He was gonna see if the game lived up to the hype, so that I'd join him later." the woman then let out a small laugh before continuing "He and I are gamers, you see. We even enjoy the old stuff when we can."
"I see..." Nodoka said quietly, fearing that she may have awaken some sad memories in their host "I apologize if I had caused distress. It must hard to know that he's in there, trapped in that game."
"That it is, Nodoka-chan." Andrea chuckled, cheering up slightly "But it's all good. I miss him and all, but..."
She walked a few steps back towards the bar before turning to the two and spreading her arms to indicate the bar.
"This place...it's special to both him and me. It's the first place we called home since we started staying here." Andrea Gills said with a smile "That's why, even as he sleeps, I still take care of the Dicey Cafe. So that he'll have something to come home to, something to keep his spirits up as he tells me about everything that happened in there."
At that moment, Sawako saw a fire in her eyes, much like the one she had whenever she rocked on the stage with Death Devil "That's why I'm going to help you guys in any way I can. I know for a fact that you're working on a way to bring your friends home, and I have faith that you'll succeed. That's why the Dicey Cafe is open to you both at anytime."
This declaration floored both meganekkos, finding themselves at a loss of words at such determination. This somehow encouraged Nodoka, who's determination began to waver. Here was a woman, whose husband was trapped in the same game her friends were, somehow blessed with the patience of an elephant, hopeful that her beloved will come home to her.
"That's why I can't lose hope." Nodoka thought as the fire that had been almost extinguished flared to life once more. "Yui, Ritsu, Mio, Mugi...We never hung out much, but I consider all you all my friends. I promise, when you come back, I'll make up for lost time. But for now...just hang in there. I'll bring you home no matter what!"
Sawako saw the zeal in her eyes and smiled fondly, as seeing Nodoka Manabe, the always stoic Student Council President, this fired up was a rare sight. In fact, it just shows how much Yui and her friends meant to her and how much those four had touched her life, as well as countless others.
"Thank you, Andrea-san." The youngest girl present smiled warmly at the barmaid "You've given me some hope there."
"It's all good." The stand-in owner of the Dicey Cafe grinned as she handed them more food "Now, eat up! You need something in your stomach to power your brain, y'know?"
"So this is your Onii-chan?"
"That's right." Suguha nodded as she and Ui stood over the sleeping Kazuto Kirigaya. His face was obstructed by the Nerve Gear he wore, but the younger Hirasawa saw that he had jet black hair, about the same shade as Mio's. Furthermore, he looked as if he was in a peaceful sleep rather than in a coma, just like her sister and her friends.
"He looks so peaceful there, wouldn't you say?" The brunette said with a smile
"I suppose..." Suguha said quietly, not cluing the other girl how much it hurt seeing her brother like this. She wanted to know why she was being distant to her, why he suddenly became so cold to her.
"And now I'll never know..." She thought as she gazed at her sleeping brother, fighting to hold her tears in "Oniichan no baka..."
"Ah, Sugu-chan! You're here so early! And you brought a friend!"
Both girls turned around to see a woman in her early forties. She had hair as black as her children's, which was conveniently tied up in a bun. She wore a crisp dark green business suit and had a very motherly air about her. Looking back, Ui could've sworn that she resembled Sugu if she were younger.
"Okaa-san! You're early!"
"The manager was kind enough to let me off work early." The elder woman, who went by the name of Midori Kirigaya, smiled gracefully at her daughter, ruffling her hair before turning to the new arrival "Oh, hello there! My name is Midori Kirigaya, Suguha's mother. And who might you be?"
"My name is Ui Hirasawa." The brunette bowed politely "I just met your daughter when on my way to visiting my sister."
"Oh?" Midori asked the young girl "So you came alone?"
"Actually, my friends came with me" Ui explained with the smile that seemed to run in the Hirasawa family "But we couldn't all fit here, so they waited outside while I came in alone."
"So that explains those rambunctious girls and that young man I saw earlier in the hallway." Midori giggled as she mentioned them
"What were they doing?" Ui kept her smile, though she was worried that those four may have done something weird again.
"Don't worry, nothing too drastic. The girl with brown pigtails was pulling on the boy's cheeks about something, while the short girl tried to break up the fight."
"Oh, I see!" This prompted both Ui and Suguha to laugh as the mental image of Jun pulling Satoshi's cheeks with Azusa trying to stop the fight was hilarious.
"So your sister is trapped in the same game Kazu-kun is..." Midori said thoughtfully
"Hai." Ui affirmed her statement with a "She was with her friends in the game when it happened..."
"It must've been hard for you, losing your sister like that." The older woman said sympathetically.
"Well, I haven't lost her. She's just asleep, like Kazuto-san." Ui's lips curled into a small smile as she turned to Suguha, then to her sleeping brother before continuing "And yes, it was hard for me to see Onee-san like this. However," a small blush manifested on her face, making her cheeks more rosy than it was earlier "My friends have been helpful on that end. Especially Satoshi-kun, who I care for dearly."
The young brunette felt her chest grow warm when she said his name. She had been silently eyeing him for years now, watching the boy grow into a dependable, caring man from afar. She had wanted to express her feelings, to just say what she wanted to say for years now but found that she couldn't. Was it due to shyness? Her timid nature? Or perhaps that she feared she was a few years too old for him? She really couldn't say. All that she knew that she admired the boy dearly.
Her friends saw this and, without their knowledge, set up a blind date for the two. The results of that date were...mixed to say the least, but she nonetheless enjoyed his company immensely. They had several more dates, but it was only at the months after the SAO Incident that they grew closer, finding themselves in each other's arms for comfort and the boy finally confessing his feelings for her one stormy night. The memory of it all caused the younger Hirasawa's cheeks to turn rosy.
"I see." Midori Kirigaya chuckled at how the youth lovingly mentioned the boy's name "It's nice to see love blossom in these uncertain times, isn't that right Sugu-chan?"
Suguha, who had been listening the entire time, had been staring at her sleeping brother the entire time. As she looked at him, she felt that warm feeling Ui felt when she was thinking about Satoshi. She immediately shook it off, dismissing it as missing her brother at first, before turning to her mother with a smile.
"Y-yes! Yes it is." Sugu said with a smile that hid her uncertainty too well.
"Man, what a day!"
Jun yawned, stretching her arms as she walked with her friends.
"What do you mean, what a day?" Satoshi asked her with a raised eyebrow while Ui held onto his arm tenderly "All you did was pull my cheeks for cryin' out loud!"
"Satoshi-kun's got a point you know!" Azusa sighed as she scolded the brunette while wagging her finger at her.
"Fine, fine, let's all pick on Jun today." She said melodramatically, doing the pose one uses while emoting "It's not easy being the comic relief here!"
"Sure you're quite comic, but I'm not so sure about the relief part" Satoshi retorted, causing Ui to laugh.
"Now, now guys." The younger Hirasawa said with a placating smile "Get along now."
Deciding to let Ui play peacemaker, Azusa then turned to smile at Suguha, who was encouraged by their mother to hang out with Ui and her friends.
"It'll be good for you, Sugu-chan." She had said, though she was having a hard time seeing how.
"At any rate, we still have to meet up with Nodoka-senpai and Sawako-sensei, to see what they've learned." Azusa mused aloud "They're at this place called the Dicey Cafe..."
"I know of that place." Ui piped up at the mention of the shop "I've heard that the sandwiches there are to die for!" She then added with a melancholic smile "Onee-chan would've loved them..."
Silence immediately blanketed the group. Suguha could see that each of them were thinking of the friends they've lost to that game. Their expressions told the girl that they missed them dearly.
"Yeah, she would've." Azusa was the first to speak, her squeaky voice breaking the others out of their reverie "Knowing Yui-senpai, she'd eat them all in the blink of an eye, then lounge about afterwards."
"That's true!" Satoshi chortled "Somehow, I can say the same of nee-chan too!"
"Yeah, they'd have another one of their tea parties, like they always do." Jun added with grin.
"That's why we have to keep hoping huh?" Ui said with her usual tender smile "Hope and pray that they come home soon."
"Yeah," Azusa summed up what everyone was thinking "That's why we can't give up! I know for a fact that Yui-senpai and the others would not want us to see us sad because of them."
"Too true!" Satoshi affirmed, his grin widening with enthusiasm "If onee-chan knew I let myself get depressed over what happened, she'd whip me good!"
"I can't say the same for my onee-chan, but she'd feel the same way I suppose." Ui then turned to Suguha "I'm sure your onii-chan wouldn't want to see you sad because of him too, right?"
For the entire time, Suguha had been watching the four in bewilderment, wondering how they were coping with the loss they experienced. It was when she heard them talking to other that she understood: These four still had their friendship. They were drawing strength from each other, especially now with the unfortunate tragedy that befell them.
This entire time, the bob-haired kendo practitioner had felt lonely; she often felt that she had no one to talk to, no one to gush out how she felt in the entire situation. No, she had to remain strong for her family, so she bottled up all she felt and went on with her life as if nothing was amiss. Her mother saw this, and encouraged her to hang out with these four. Granted, it'll take some time for her to build a bond with them the way they did with each other, she found herself wanting to become part of this bond. She wanted this friendship. She wanted someone to talk to about her feelings, the confusing feelings she had for her brother.
"Suguha-san, are you crying?"
The girl had not noticed her eyes moisten as she lost herself in her thoughts. She saw that Ui had placed a hand on her shoulder, looking at her with the same comforting gaze she has known to give people. She looked to Azusa, Satoshi and Jun; all of them were giving her warm smiles that suggested that if she were to cry now, they would not judge her.
And that's exactly what Suguha Kirigaya did. She crashed on Ui's shoulder, pouring her heart and tears out as the younger Hirasawa let go of Satoshi's arm to wrap the girl in a tender embrace.
"It's okay, Sugu-chan..." She whispered in her ear "You're among friends now. Just let it out..."
It was a full minute before Suguha finished sobbing. Once she saw that the girl was done, Ui let go and gave the girl space to breathe.
"Th-thank you." Suguha gave them an earnest smile "Before this, I...I never had friends I can talk to about the Incident. For a long time, I had to remain strong for my family. Now...now I don't feel so alone..."
"You're never alone, Suguha-san." Azusa said with a smile, placing a hand on the taller girl's shoulder "If you need anyone to talk to, anyone at all, come to any of us, okay?" As if to agree with the pig-tailed guitarist, the other three nodded their affirmation, ensuring Suguha that they were there should she need a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on.
"Sure!" The bob-haired girl spoke with a smile, a radiant smile she had not given in a long time.
"Good." Jun spoke with a grin "Now that that's settled, let's go to the Dicey Cafe and eat!"
"Of course you want to go." Azusa deadpanned.
"Food's always on your mind, isn't it?" Satoshi joined in, earning him a violent tug on his cheeks from the pig-tailed brunette.
"OWOWOWOW!"
"SAY THAT AGAIN, I DARE YOU!"
Ui and Suguha laughed hard as all of them walked towards the said cafe. Sure, the future was uncertain; who knows when their loved ones would return, if at all? However, the sadness that bore heavy on Suguha Kirigaya's heart lessened significantly. She made new friends, friends who she knew would stand by her no matter what. That...that would be more than enough.
END CHAPTER 7
A/N: Your eyes do not deceive you! After 3+ months of silence, K-Online returns with a new chapter!
For those who are still following this fic, sorry for the REALLY long wait. A combination of real life, adhd, and writer's block kept me from updating this project like I should be doing. No worries, though; I'm not abandoning this fic anytime soon, as I would like to see how this will all end!
As the title suggests, this chapter deals with the lives of those who remain in the real world. As this portion focused on the real world, not the online realm of SAO, slice-of-life moments were littered about. Since I'm not that good at writing slice-of-life, forgive me if the moments seem out of place.
Well, that'll be all from me for now, I suppose. Keep and eye on this fic, Clarent Blood Arthur, and a new crossover fic I should have up by the end of the month, so stay tuned!
With that in mind, I shall end this now! Until the next chapter, dear readers!
Next time on K-Online: Rise of the Blood Oath!