A/N: Thank you all for reviewing and liking/following my story. It makes me really happy that people actually like how I portrayed Suguha. I was going for a little bit more mature, since that's how she sounded to me when I hear that she continued Kendo just so her grandfather would stop beating Kazuto because he quit. Sure she is in that faze when you fall in love with every cute guy you see, whether that is a complete stranger, an idol or your brother/cousin. She's quite sensitive, or at least I think she is and knows how to be upbeat to encourage others to be the same. She's a lot more complicated than some people portray her to be. Or at least I think she is.
On with the story.
P.S. I changed the timeline a little to fit the flow of the story.
Chapter 5
What is in a name
Suguha sighed and turned to stare at her wall. Something had bothered her ever since meeting Kirito, ever since meeting the man in the tree even. It was like she had been watching a series on TV and finally meeting the actors in real life, but not being able to remember where she had seen them before. Maybe it was because she had always been taught how to observe people carefully. She had to because she needed to know when her opponent would strike. When she would be able to strike. This had been the exact same feeling.
Talking to Kirito at the inn had been familiar, almost like talking to Recon. While she hadn't talked to Nagata a lot in the real world, talking to Recon in ALfheim felt exactly the same. But she hadn't known Kirito until today, so maybe he too was someone she had met in the real world. It didn't explain why she had recognised the man in the tree though. Surely no-one she knew personally was stuck in a virtual world as a tree?
There had been such sadness in his eyes, such a powerful underlying emotion which she hadn't recognised. It had been so much more than just loneliness.
Just thinking about him made Suguha want to log back in again and spend the rest of the night in his company, just to let the man know that he was not alone. That she wasn't going to abandon him. She would have done it too if she hadn't fallen asleep. That night she dreamt of resting against a tree, staring up at the stars. Kirito was there and his little private pixie called Yui. Another girl was there, probably the girl Kirito had spoken about who he had wanted to find. She appeared as a faceless being, clad in white, an inner light shining too brightly for her to really focus on any of her features.
Someone squeezed her hand and looking to her left Kazuto was sitting next to her, clearly sleeping peacefully while leaning against her. Recon was twisting around them, practicing with his sword and reciting a strange English sounding poem which Suguha was sure she had heard once before.
The fairy-land buys not the child of me.
His mother was a votaress of my order;
And, in the spiced Indian air, by night,
Full often hath she gossiped by my side;
And sat with me on Neptune's yellow sands,
Marking the embarked trades on the flood;
When we have laughed to see the sails conceive,
And grow big-bellied with the wanton wind;
Which she, with pretty and with swimming gait,
Following, - her womb then rich with my young squire, - would imitate;
And sail upon the land,
To fetch me trifles, and return again,
As from a voyage, rich with merchandise.
But she, being mortal, of that boy did die;
And for her sake I do rear up her boy;
And for her sake I will not part with him.*
No it wasn't something she could understand well. Especially when the poem was so odd she could hardly understand the meaning let alone know where she had heard it before.
Someone squeezed her hand again and this time she looked to her right. There was a young man sitting there, resting his back against the tree. His green eyes were cast upwards towards the heavens but he seemed to be holding her hand in a manner she didn't understand. His raven black hair was messy and leaves were scattered through it. It was then that she realised he seemed to be sitting inside the tree, rather than against it.
He turned to look at her with green eyes which reminded her of the Sylph's eyes in ALfheim Online. His smile was lonely and sad. "What is my name?" Suguha startled awake, his green eyes hunting in her memory.
…AOL…
Early morning
The forest was silent much like it had been the first time they had stumbled upon the tree. This time Suguha was alone, striding through with one purpose in mind. She would get to know the man, making up her mind about him and his strange ways. If only she could find him again. She was sure the tree had been around here somewhere. There, the clearing and there was the field of white budded flowers which only seemed to bloom in the night-time. The river which seemed to overflow with lilies, running wild a bit further down. Here it seemed calm enough to let the flowers grow roots and bloom, attracting odd creatures known to the virtual world. It was this spot which reminded Suguha most of the real world.
Something creaked with ancient life and the few birds which had nested themselves in its leaves and branches chirped and took flight. Suguha chuckled and spotted some of the more volatile creatures fly overhead, a pair of rabbits scurrying away through the undergrowth. Life returned to the place reminding her that she wasn't alone in this world even if there were no players around. The virtual world continued on even if the real world was logged off. "This place seems so odd with no-one is around," she muttered, frowning at her surroundings.
"There's always someone around to listen to the world," a familiar voice sounded from her right and the trees moved to reveal a familiar looking tree. The man frowned at a pair of squirrel like creatures which were moving through his branches. "Watch it you two. Couldn't have nested in another tree. No, they had to use mine." He huffed and rolled his eyes. He seemed remarkably more human and upbeat today. It suited him. "So what are you here for, little lady?"
Suguha smiled and, like in her dream, took a seat underneath the tree. Something stirred deep inside of her as she rested her back against the rough bark and a warmth spread through her she had only ever experienced when with family. This warmth seemed different. Protective and loving which was more tentative than absolute. "I thought you could do with a bit of company," she admitted rather bashfully, smiling up at him. "I was a little bit bored and I didn't feel like practicing Kendo. It's quite early in the morning you see."
"Is it now?" the man muttered, seemingly reminiscing. "Tell me."
And so Suguha did. She told him about the city she lived in. How everything always seemed to be made the same way. Squire boxes styled in the newest trend, but still looking like they did when she was younger. How some traditions seemed to be losing out on new world technologies. Martial arts were still important within some families, but hardly any of her classmates took them serious nowadays. Gaming, technology, everything had to be high-tech. Until two years ago, she confessed to be interested in it as well, but when her cousin got stuck in SAO. "My perspective on gaming technology changed a lot."
"And yet you're here, playing this game?" the man in the tree remarked softly.
Suguha nodded, drawing her knees to her chest and resting her arms on top of them. "I wanted to know what it was like," she muttered, her eyes following a few pixies which skittered on top of the water. "I wanted to know why my cousin was so drawn to these worlds. It all seemed so far away at the time and it frightened me a little. Every time I walked past the electronic stores and saw the games on display, proudly proclaiming the newest technologies, I saw Kazuto lying on the hospital bed, frail and thin with that stupid helmet stuck to his head. My mother wanted to cut his hair when it started to show from under it, but we couldn't remove the helmet of course. Not without killing him. It's why she stuck to washing him every day, even if the nurses at the hospital were assigned for such tasks."
The man chuckled and Suguha shot him a questioning glance. "She reminds me of someone I used to know."
He's alive then. But he said 'used to know', so maybe he's not so much alive anymore? Is that even possible? She didn't know a lot about technology, only some theories they discussed at school, but the fact that they were able to play a game inside their minds with the help of the NerveGear… Her brother and thousands of others had been stuck inside the gaming world for two years after all. Was it possible to be more than just alive inside this world, rather than living in the real world? Suguha resisted the urge to pull her hair out in frustration. She was confusing herself with thinking about things that she didn't understand in the first place. Better to focus on the here and now. Maybe when, or rather if, Recon found out his name the man would be willing to share what had happened to him. For now she would continue to speak about her world in an effort to get to know the man who fascinated her so.
"My mother felt guilty for a very long time," Suguha continued softly, pretending that the man's rude interruption hadn't meant anything to her. She could see it in his eyes though, just as she looked down again, that he seemed troubled by revealing even that much about himself yet grateful that she didn't ask about it. "She didn't say as much but she reacted the same way when she told me about Kazuto not really being my brother. I can always tell when she's worried or feels guilty about something. The same worry lines appear on her face and she holds herself in a different way."
"You must be very observant then," the man said softly.
"I have to be," Suguha said decisively. "I have to know how to observe my opponent when I am fighting. When he will strike and where, so I can block and retaliate in an instant. One thoughtless moment and I could lose."
The branches up above twitched, drawing her attention for a moment but instead she was captured by a pair of otherworldly green eyes. They sparkled in the dark hours of the early morning making them look like fairies dancing in the moonlight. They suited his face which was pale like the moon itself but covered thoroughly by leaves and bark to give it it's privacy, hiding its fine features. She wondered what he really looked like, without those leaves to hide most of his face. Probably as handsome as a real fairy.
She smiled softly, recognising the pain in his features as something which could be healed. It was similar to the one her cousin had been wearing a few days ago when he had learned something about Asuna. She still hadn't figured out what it had been, but he seemed to have cheered up a bit at least since then. Thinking of Kazuto reminded Suguha of the time she took up Kendo seriously. When her grandfather had still been alive. Her eyes darkened and her smile fell at the memory.
"What is it?" the man said.
"It seems so strange to think back to a time I thought would never end," Suguha said softly. "To the times my father used to be away all the time and mum was also busy with getting her life back together. My grandfather took to raising us, teaching us family traditions and Kendo. He rode Kazuto pretty harshly, because he was the only child by aunt left behind and also the only male grandchild he would ever have. But every time I think back on it I just want to scream about how unfair it was to Kazuto. He didn't want to learn Kendo, he never wanted to. He was much more interested in other things."
And at that point she grew annoyed. She wasn't sure why but she just wanted to scream at the world around them. She sprang to her feet and turned to face the tree/man/whatever he would and will become. He looked at her with startled green eyes, the question about her behaviour evident in his eyes, and his mouth opened to form a startled reply. He seemed alive!
"He should have been allowed to make up his own mind! Grandfather didn't have the right…" she trailed off. Grandfather had the right to train Kazuto however he wanted to. It was his right as a grandfather and a Master at the art. It was just too cruel the way he beat Kazuto when her cousin refused to continue practicing Kendo. She had tried to tell her mother what was happening in the dojo but there was no honour in such things, so she solved it herself. She guided her grandfather away from her cousin and took up Kendo, learning to like it and grow competitive the longer she continued to practice.
Suguha raised her eyes (when had she cast them to the forest floor?) to look at the man who had taken on an expression of compassion and understanding. "You really are a kind spirit little lady," he said softly and Suguha blushed.
"You just… you can't…"
The man chuckled and smiled kindly. His eyes danced with fairy lights and the leaves of his tree seemed to rustle in the non-existent wind. It brought forth feelings she hadn't felt before and as in a trance she reached out her hand to rest on the side of his face. It wasn't smooth as she had expected, but then again having a face largely made out of tree-bark hardly made for smooth skin. The closer she came to him, the more details she noticed. His green eyes had dark spots in them and his nose was slightly crooked as if it had healed wrong. There were dark bags under his eyes and the soft skin which was as white as the light of the moon above seemed faintly scarred. The longer she stared, the more features appeared. Dark hair peeked from underneath the bark and ears appeared on either side like they would with a regular human. They weren't pointy like the fairy players in the game but rounded and slightly uneven. She didn't dare look at his mouth. Instead she took a deep breath. It smelled like a rainy, summer's day, fresh grass and rough bark. But also something more, something earthy and sweet. Something comforting and warm.
"Natsu," she whispered. "You are like summer itself."
He smiled serenely at her and there was something in his eyes she had no name for. Something she had never seen before. Locked inside the trance caused by that smile, that look, she hardly registered the softness of his lips on her forehead. "Thank you."
The moment was gone before she even realised and yet her heart had been given wings. She wanted to say something to him, something of great importance. Something more than just a lame name representing summer. But he had closed his eyes as if to sleep and his face seemed to drawn back into the tree. "Wait," she whispered, half despaired half mesmerised. "I have to… I don't… I still want to talk to you Natsu. I wish to tell you more about my life. And I want to know about yours. I want to know all about you Natsu. About what made you so sad and alone and why you are stuck here, asleep to the world. I want to know where you are in the real world so I can help you, safe you… please…" she finished in a whisper as her voice had been steadily growing louder. But the longer she talked the more Suguha realised that the man, Natsu, could no longer hear her.
On impulse, something she had been driven to a lot these past few weeks since her cousin came back, she hugged the tree man close. It didn't feel like hugging a human. It felt like hugging a tree. This made her feel even worse about the entire situation and for the first time in a long time she felt tears rise up. She wanted to cry right there and then. To sob her little heart out because Natsu was unable to. She felt helpless, powerless, useless.
The tears didn't come.
…RL, hospital…
That same day
It felt private. Maybe a little too private for her to impose on. Suguha had wanted to meet her though, the girl her cousin was so infatuated with. The one he had cried out for in his dreams and even in his waking moments. She pitied him for it, but couldn't possibly relate to his feelings. She couldn't possibly begin to understand. It made her wonder though about the man in the tree. Natsu. Was it like this? Like Asuna lying on a bed in a hospital, wired to monitors like her cousin had been only a few months ago, oblivious to the world around her because she was somewhere else entirely. Because the beautiful girl lying on the bed in front of her, the one her cousin was holding onto so dearly, was still stuck in an alternate reality. She was far beyond the reach of anyone.
"You really love her, don't you Onii-chan?" Suguha whispered softly. There was no point for Kazuto to reply, she could already see it in how he held himself. Suguha was unfamiliar with love, she only knew how to love her family, but with her developing feelings for Natsu, in whichever way her feelings seemed to be going, she could understand the concept.
Kazuto seemed to break out of his stupor. "I'm sorry, Sugu," he whispered, giving her a watery smile. She could already see the strength returning to him, seemingly making himself strong for his little sister like he had forgotten she had already seen his breakdown over her before. "This must be a little boring for you. I told you a little bit about her didn't I? Asuna is one of the few who are still locked inside the system but she was also one of the leading party when we were battling in Aincrad. She earned the name 'Lightning Flash Asuna'. She could rival my own speed and she was beautiful in her skills."
Suguha blushed. He seemed so at ease when he reminisced about her it was almost painful to watch. "Asuna was the one who helped me defeat Heathcliff." It was clear she had been a lot more to him, but Suguha didn't want to hear the extent of their relationship. She didn't think she could survive the embarrassment.
"What about the others?" she asked, trying to steer the subject away from the beautiful girl that was Yuuki Asuna. "Do you know anything about what happened to them?"
Kazuto shook his head, gave Asuna's hand one final squeeze before standing. "I've met with others who have survived and regained conscious, but I do not know anything about those who have yet to wake. I feel guilty at times, focusing all my attention on Asuna while there are others who are still sleeping in much the same way. She is the only one I was close to who still needs to wake."
And they were back to Asuna again. Suguha sighed softly and smiled at her cousin. "You weren't the one to lock her into that world," she stated, getting a startled look out of Kazuto at her forceful tone. "You had no control on how many people would be unable to log-out. I know you Kazuto and you would never have left anyone behind if it had been your choice. You would have rather sacrificed yourself than let anyone spend any longer in that world."
"But I still failed!" he cried, his voice breaking with emotion. "I wasn't fast enough to safe Asuna! I wasn't fast enough to safe the ones who died along the way! If I had shared my inside information as a Beta-tester, I could have…"
Suguha lounged herself forward and for a moment she felt the urge to slap her cousin across the face to snap him out of his self-loathing. There was a look of fear and surprise on his face when Kazuto saw her advance on him with a speed he wasn't used to in this reality. While they had sparred in the dojo before and Suguha had witnessed his speed first hand, he was obviously not expecting her to be this fast outside the dojo. His venerable state caught her a little off guard but also made her realise that she didn't want to hit him. Her arms circled around his shoulders and she pressed his head against her shoulder. It was like that night almost a week ago. At least Kazuto was warm this time and not bordering breaking down completely.
"It's alright," Suguha said softly when he finally relaxed into her hold. Her heart fluttered when his warm breath tickled her neck and she could feel her face flush when he pressed her closer to him. "It'll be alright somehow. You will find a way, you always do. You're smart Kazuto, smarter than anyone out there holding Asuna-san and the others. Smarter than those who held you all for two long years."
Kazuto shook his head, which was merely twisting his face away from her face making his soft hair tickle her nose. She had to fight a sneeze and turned her face away a little before resting her cheek against the back of his head. Her heart had already resumed its normal pace but her body was warmed with affection for her cousin. They remained standing like this for a few minutes before he finally released her, lifting his forehead from her shoulder with a tired sigh. "Kayaba was brilliant," Kazuto whispered with a strange look in his eyes. "So brilliant yet so cold and estranged from the world. I spoke to him for all but a few moments. I just couldn't understand him and yet… and yet I could. Because I too had estranged myself from the world. From the people around me."
With a slight smile Suguha sought his grey eyes. "Unless you're going to tell me you're off to build another NerveGear, I don't want to hear about it. You're you, Kazuto and you're not like Kayaba at all."
Her cousin merely shook his head again in a sad way but remained silent. Kazuto looked back at Asuna before looking Suguha dead in the eye. He smiled quickly. "Let's go, shall we Sugu?"
"Are you sure?"
He nodded and after a quick goodbye to the still silent and sleeping Asuna, the two set off again to the hallway. "Do you know where any of the others are staying?" Suguha asked, frowning a little. "The others still stuck inside the system I mean?"
They nearly walked into a lady who suddenly stopped in front of them but thanks to their reflexes both were able to avoid the collision. "Excuse us," Kazuto muttered before turning to his cousin. "Most of them are spread all over the country. Some are nearby, but I only asked about Asuna specifically. I couldn't -"
"I'm sorry." It was the woman they had nearly bumped into. She was pretty, Suguha noticed, in a mid-twenties but still young kind of way. There were worry lines scattered across her young features, making her look older yet still young. There was a forgotten pencil stuck in the tight bun her auburn hair made. Her dark eyes were sharp yet a little glassy behind her spectacles and at some point Suguha noticed that the woman was wearing a lab coat. "Are you Kirigaya Kazuto?"
Kazuto blinked, clearly startled and his mouth opened in reply yet no sound came out. "I didn't want to impose but I couldn't help but overhear the conversation you were having with your companion."
Suguha blushed. "Kirigaya Suguha," she introduced herself softly and the woman smiled kindly before focusing on Kazuto again. She didn't mind. It was clear that Kazuto had become quite a bit of a legend in certain circles even in the first days of his waking. It was the news first and later a few magazines. Especially in the first week Kazuto had kept getting invitations to interview sessions from even the companies involved in the NerveGear and SAO project.
They moved through the hospital, the voices of the female scientist and her cousin echoing through the empty halls. "He spoke of you just before he left," Reiko said with a sad smile which was half hidden by the shadows across her face. "Akihiko-san praised you as the one who defeated him at his own game. He called you a 'very skilled intellectual with a great eye for detail'. While he was a man of few words, his praise was always something to be proud of."
"I'm not sure if I would want to accept his praise," Kazuto said uncertainly. Reiko shot him a smile but remained silent as they made their way through the closed off facilities. "May I ask why you have taken us here?"
"Akihiko had a great many secrets in his life," the female scientist said, slowing her pace until stopping completely in front of a nondescript door at the end of a seemingly endless white hallway. "Some were silly and very human. He had ran over his neighbour's cat once, killing it instantly, but instead of admitting to it he buried it in the backyard. No one ever found out. There was also the incident with the sugar at the lab cafeteria, but that was all because he couldn't admit to being at fault in that instance."
She smiled in fond memory and raised her hand to rest it on the card decoder. "There were a lot of serious secrets as well. Some he shared with me while others… others he entrusted to only one man. I'm sure you met him, Kirigaya-san," Reiko said, looking over her shoulder with a sad smile before unlocking the door. "It was the reason why Aincrad became so beautiful and why Cardinal turned out to be more protective than most."
The room reminded Suguha of a normal bedroom, western styled with odd banners and pictures displayed on the walls. They were no doubt placed to hide the ugly wires and tubes which ran all around the room, all to one giant machine-like bed. The cocoon shape was wired to six sets of monitors, all glistening in the sunbeams which were streaming in through the large bay windows. A comfortable looking sofa was nestled in a corner and chairs were placed by the windows together with a small table. A small kitchenette was squeezed into the corner opposite the door which could only lead to the bathroom. The place could have been a one-person apartment if it hadn't been for the missing bed.
"I remember when he came to us," Reiko said, gesturing for the two cousins to come closer to the pod. Suguha walked up half-frightened and half-curious. Who could possibly live here, in this tiny section of the hospital? "He was frightened, angry and betrayed. Akihiko and I could identify ourselves so well in him it almost hurt. But unlike us, this youngster had been through a terrifying war and had been cast aside at the end of it. He barely spoke about it, but I know that was why he was so accepting of the project called Aincrad. He dreamed of the same world we wished to create. Such a reckless fool he was."
Reiko smiled sadly at the man lying in the cocoon. His face was obscured by an oxygen mask and numerous wired stickers were placed on his scalp and forehead. Suguha startled when she saw the eyeballs move underneath closed eyelids which appeared black and crusted, the skin raw and definitely dried. She looked up at the older woman and saw her smile encouragingly. "His brain still functions normally, above average at times causing the monitors to flicker like mad like shockwaves echoing from his body to the equipment. It frightened me the first time it happened. Akihiko had to change all the monitors after the second time because a few wires had burned through. We were afraid that we were going to lose him, but our little greenling continued to perform normally and remained quite stuck in the system we placed him."
"But why?" Suguha asked, feeling oddly protective of the young man lying in the cocoon. His body looked fragile, brittle even, and seemed to call out to her. Asking for her help in his need for freedom. Because it was clear from Reiko's story that he had wanted to be free before being placed in the system. "Why did you lock him away in that system? Wasn't he-"
"Do you think we wanted this?" Reiko asked harshly, her face frosted and her body drawn to her true height. "It wasn't like we locked Harry in there because we wanted to get rid of him. We were devastated, especially Akihiko, when it turned out we couldn't free him from the system. Cardinal rebelled against us, created wall after wall whenever we came too close to rescuing him from the system. Two years we fought our hardest. Our fingers bled and our eyes wept, but Cardinal was just too strong for us. When the Game finally launched I became concerned. What if it wasn't good enough? What about the lives we risked? By the time that fateful day happened everything was beyond our control. The managers were high on sales, the system was corrupt and we knew that this was our only shot at getting Harry out of there for good. We had become obsessed."
Suguha felt odd. Here was a woman who had given everything, her career and livelihood, to safe a man's life at the cost of thousands of others. Including her cousin who she loved with a passion and possibly Natsu as well. Suguha looked at her cousin who had been silent, staring down at the person who had apparently been the cause for two years of drama and pain. His face was oddly blank, but for a small frown between his eyes. His hands were hovering on the edges of the pod seemingly indecisive about whether he should lean on it or not. When he finally did, his fingers brushed against sensitive buttons. The pod opened with a soft whizzing sound and a strange smell hit Suguha's sensitive nose. It was very human, clean like he had just been scrubbed, mixed together with a warm earthy smell she had come to associate with AOL.
"I'm sorry," Kazuto said quickly, frowning over the keyboard which had appeared in a projection like manner as if looking for a way to undo it all.
Reiko chuckled and the angry, frosty look melted away. "It's alright. Harry always did prefer the outdoors."
Kazuto's frown deepened as he stared at the face of the young man. "What is it Onii-chan?" Suguha said softly. The fact that he seemed so troubled by this man was frustrating. He had enough on his plate with the rehabilitation and the worrying about Asuna. She wondered if it was becoming too much for her cousin.
"You said he already spend two years in there Koujiro-san," he said softly, glancing up for a moment to see the female scientist nod before he glanced down again. "No wonder he seemed so sad all the time." He smiled slightly. "I first thought he was a AI or a customised NPC. But he seemed too clever to be an NPC, especially when I heard how Harry used to behave around Klein and the others. It was why I was convinced that he was an AI. There was always that quirkiness that made him human, but the restrictions he had on him. I witnessed them from time to time. When he would try to give us information about a place or a hard to get object he would freeze at times and issue a system warning."
Kazuto sighed and rubbed his face, a tired smile on his face. He looked over at Suguha, who couldn't help but stare slightly pityingly. "I swear I didn't know and it wasn't like he didn't tell anyone he was actually trapped like the rest of us. And then we met Yui and I was so sure… If he ever wakes, man will he get a lot of apologies." He chuckled, the sound a little bitter around the edges. "Will he even be sane enough when he wakes?"
"Only time will tell I'm afraid," Reiko said softly, touching the young man's hand for just a moment before withdrawing.
They were all silent for a moment, each too preoccupied with their own thoughts to actually form a coherent sentence. It was then that Suguha decided that she had enough of standing around. She straightened out of her strained pose caused from bending over the pod for too long. "I'll make some tea if that's alright," she said, her voice seemingly strong as it echoed through the silent room in between the beeping of the monitors.
It seemed to snap the other two back to the present as well because they both straightened and shifted their weight. Reiko nodded to her before Suguha turned towards the kitchenette just as the older woman turned to open the large bay windows. By the time the water was boiling, Kazuto seemed to have found some resolve and turned to look at Reiko with some renewed vigour. "Do you know where he is stuck? Is he still stuck in Cardinal?"
Reiko frowned minutely before nodding. "All signs point in that direction yes."
"Then I'll find him," Kazuto said with steeled determination. He shot Suguha an apologetic glance. "I re-entered the gaming world through the NerveGear a few days ago. We found that Asuna might be stuck in the AOL universe." Suguha's heartbeat skipped and increased its speed. What did he know about AOL? "Have you heard of it? It seems to be using the Cardinal system, though Yui said it appeared outdated."
Reiko frowned and narrowed her eyes in thought. "I had heard that Nobuyuki took over some of the data, but I didn't know he had rebuilt the system and created a new game from it."
Kazuto smirked a little before it became clouded with a troubled look. "I became Kirito again."
Suguha almost dropped the teapot.
…AOL…
The day after
The truth was slightly terrifying, but half of her had expected it. Suguha had yet to tell Kazuto that she knew him as Kirito, because she just didn't know how to breach the subject. Something about the fire Kirito showed reminded her of the cousin she adored, the brother she had admired. And he was a long cry from the Kazuto who cried by Asuna's bedside.
And then there was the young man called Harry. She had listened to his story told by Reiko, Kayaba's assistant. The man who had caused so much pain and misery to so many lives all because… all because of Harry. The young assistant who he had wanted to safe. Much like how Kazuto wanted to save Asuna at the moment. But did that justify locking away thousands of minds inside a gaming world, letting them fend for themselves while he watched?
It is why she fled here, to where Natsu was. These conflicting emotions she had never experienced before. It wasn't just love she was confused about, or her feelings for Natsu, but also how she felt about being inside a system created by the man who had locked her brother away. And, of course, about same brother who had entered the system to safe the girl he loved and possibly rescue the others also still trapped inside. Suguha groaned and took to the skies. She could have waited for Kirito, they were going to meet tonight, but she had wanted to see Natsu…
Wait. She paused mid-flight, lowering to the neutral clearing below. "Natsu," she whispered. The young man in the cocoon flashed before her eyes. His body trapped inside, hooked up to wires and monitors, his face covered by a mask and his eyes shut to the rest of the world. "They should be green. As green as the brightest of emeralds and yet alive with vibrant energy of the green leaves in early summer. Warm and beautiful." She had to show Kirito. Maybe he knew about Natsu. Maybe Natsu had also been in SAO and was he trapped inside AOL because he had been one of the SAO survivors like Asuna.
As she rushed back to where Kirito was waiting for her, she wondered how she was going to handle this. Should she tell him straight that she knew he was Kazuto, her cousin, and that she wanted to have him take a look at Natsu because she thought he was someone trapped inside the system like Asuna. But was it wrong to rely on him for something like that? Was it wrong for her to ask about it when Kazuto was already trying to save his Asuna? Even so, she was going to ask. She had to try and help Natsu.
She entered the Inn Kirito had left from just as he reappeared, all smiles of delight and traces of human exhaustion on his Spriggan face. It sobered when he noticed that Suguha was looked a lot less cheerful than usual. "What is it?" he asked as he greeted Yui with a rub to her small head.
Suguha smiled minutely before bowing her head a little. She was nervous about how to approach this. Biting her lower lip, she knew that she could not keep this a secret. Not if she wanted to help both her cousin and Natsu, but… "There's something I have to tell you before we leave," she said, making up her mind. "Not here though. We'll talk as we walk."
Kirito frowned, nodded and followed her out. "I know," she said turning towards the flight tower. "I realised at the hospital who you were when we were speaking to Koujiro-san. But I realised another possibility. There are more people here, more players from SAO trapped-"
"Wait, wait," Kirito cried and Leafa looked around at him. "You're – you're Sugu? What are you doing here? I mean not here, here. Well, I do mean here. I just…"
Suguha couldn't help it she laughed at the stuttering, muttering of her cousin. She couldn't believe that he was reduced to such a state just because he couldn't believe that she was here. Well, she hadn't believed it herself at first of course but it was still a funny sight to see. It lifted her spirits, made her heart a lot less heavy. "You really are odd Onii-chan." Suguha shook her head. "Kirito-kun."
The Spriggan nodded and they resumed their walking. "Why did you come here? I didn't think you would like to go to the gaming world."
"I didn't," Leafa confessed with a sincere smile. "Not at first. But I wanted to know. I wanted to know about the world you love so much. What attracted you to putting on the NerveGear and getting lost inside the virtual worlds. It is why I started playing AOL and soon I discovered… this world has a freedom you can't get anywhere else."
Kirito nodded and smiled. "Do you hate me for wanting to come here again?" Suguha shook her head with an equal smile. The Spriggan seemed more than a little relieved about this. "But what were you saying? That the others from SAO are here as well?"
"Yes," Suguha said with a hesitant smile. "And I think I might have found one, but I -"
"Alright," Kazuto said, straightening his pose as they entered the flight tower. "Then we'll go and see him before we go to the World Tree. I'm guessing it's on the way?"
"Let's get you equipped for battle and then we'll go to the tower," Suguha said, pointing out the tower which Kirito had flown into the day before. "We use the tower as a good start for long distance flights. It gives you extra altitude."
Kirito nodded and they had a good time shopping for additional equipment. He had some odd habits, picking out a long sword which looked both heavy and impractical. It might explain some of the habits Kazuto had been showing in the dojo, equipping his sword on his back for example. A place where he had wanted to store his practice sword when they had finished their training match. He also chose for more practical and stylish clothing, making Suguha wonder just how much money Kazuto already had since he only recently started playing AOL. She didn't pry though. That would be rude.
Sigurd, the grumpy leader of her former party, caught up with them as they entered the tower, ready to begin their journey. It was nice to see Kirito so protective of her, to so such honour to a party member. He really was her brother after all. "Is it really alright that I spoke to him like that?" Kirito asked hesitantly as Sigurd and his two henchmen disappeared back where they came from.
Suguha sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "It can't be helped."
"But abandoning your territory…"
She forced her cousin towards the stairs which led to the upper levels. Though she had been on the upper levels before, she couldn't help but stand there in silence while they both enjoyed the view. It was truly breath taking. It surprised her every time how close they were to the sky. Like merely stretching out your arms so you could touch the clouds. When Kazuto expressed the same awed feelings she smiled. "Everything does feel small from up here, doesn't it?" she said with a light heart. "It really is a good day to leave this place behind."
"But I feel kind of bad for making you leave on bad terms," Kirito said, a worried frown sneaking its way between his eyebrows.
Suguha shrugged and turned to look at him. "There really wasn't any other way I could have left." They stood in silence for a while, enjoying the breeze and the warmth of the sun. The smell of summer lingered in the air and her mind returned to Natsu.
"So what's a renegade?" Kirito asked, sounding a little worried.
"A player who abandons their territory is a renegade," Leafa explained only feeling a little awkward about having to explain about something concerning AOL life. "And other players look down on them." She looked around at her cousin with a smile. "Don't worry about me though. I really don't understand why they want to tie each other down like that. We all have been given wings after all…"
It was then that Yui appeared again. She still wasn't sure about what to make of the little AI. She was so life-like, so human… "Humans are complicated," Yui said softly, perching herself on Kirito's shoulder. "I can't understand the psychology that causes the desire to seek others to manifest in such odd ways."
"Seek others?" Leafa asked feeling a little caught off guard.
"This is what I would do," Yui said and she kissed Kirito on his cheek. He looked a little flustered by it. "It's simple and unmistakable." The little Pixie seemed incredibly pleased with herself.
"That's a great AI," Leafa said with a slight stutter. "Are all Private Pixies like that?"
Kirito closed his eyes in a resigned kind of way. "She's a little more special than that… I'll tell you about her later."
Suguha felt oddly amused as she watched her cousin's interaction with his creation but didn't question it further. Recon caught up with them just then, crying out for all the world to hear. "Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" he cried, pouting a little and seemingly out of breath. She felt a little guilty for leaving Recon behind, he had been her partner up until now after all, but this was something Kazuto and her had to do together. Adding Recon to the mission would just complicate matters further.
"Sorry, I forgot," Suguha said with a sheepish smile.
"You're so mean Leafa-chan," Recon wailed. He released a heavy sigh before straightening. "They said you were leaving the party, is it true?"
"It was kind of a spur of the moment thing," she confessed but feeling oddly proud about it. "What are you going to do now?"
"What else can I do," Recon stated, drawing his dagger and holding it up high. "My sword belongs to Leafa alone."
"I don't really need it though."
Recon sagged with disappointment. She guessed he had already expected the response but the younger Sylph was still visibly disappointed. "Well, I want to go with you," he said stubbornly but at that moment a thoughtful look appeared on his face. "There is something… I have to check something out before I can join you though. So I'll stay with Sigurd's party for now. Kirito," he added looking over at the Spriggan. "Leafa has the habit of flying into trouble so I'd be careful if I were you."
"Thanks for the warning," Kazuto accepted with a smile.
"And just so we're clear," Recon continued, straightening fully seemingly threateningly. "She's my -"
Eyes wide, Suguha quickly stood on his toes to shut him up and twisted away gracefully. "Let me know if something happens. We'll be in neutral territory for a while. Bye then." And she took off, her face burning in embarrassment.
Her cousin caught up with her after a while, a knowing smile on his face. "Friend of yours from the real world?"
"I guess," Suguha muttered, feeling a little guilty about her behaviour towards Recon. She shook the guilt away and twisted around with a smile. "Race you." And she took off.
…
The forest area seemed a lot more active today. Maybe it was because they were with the two of them, making it harder to slip past the monster crowded areas. It was when they reached the first barrier that Leafa knew they were close to Natsu. "Do you still want to meet him? The man who I think might have been in SAO? He's close by, but our flight time should be just about finished as well. We could stop to replenish first if you want."
Kazuto shook his head, taking on a determent look as they landed. "Let's see this man first." It felt odd to guide her brother through the woods Natsu was trapped in, but than they were on a journey to safe Asuna who was trapped in this world, possibly at the top of the World Tree. Weirder things happened after all. It wasn't until they reached the clearing with the lilies when Yui showed herself once more. She appeared confused at first before she transformed in size, becoming around the size of a regular eight-year-old. Her white dress swerved playfully around her and her blank hair reached until around mid-back. It was odd that she seemed so life-like in that moment and Suguha could understand why anyone could mistake her for a regular child.
"Yui!" Kazuto cried out in surprise and they watched the AI as she scanned the area around them. "This way," and Yui made her way deeper into the forest than Leafa remembered Natsu being. She blinked but followed after Kazuto who had already started after Yui.
"Brought more than just your little friend this time, little lady?" a familiar voice asked from her right and the trees moved out of the way revealing Natsu staring out into the world. His green eyes were cold as green glass again and he seemed troubled. "What is it this ti-"
"Harry-san!"
"Oni-sama!"
The two startled cries mixed to draw two startled pairs of green eyes. Kirito looked gobsmacked, his mouth opening and closing without any sound leaving him but a few strange croaks. Yui was staring up at the tree in open admiration. Her eyes were sparkling, her face flushed and she looked ready to jump up and hug the tree. "Yui!" Natsu cried in surprise, the cold and depressed look replaced by a slightly more alive spark in his eyes. "Well, look at you. What are you doing in this system?"
"Cardinal locked me away when SAO began," Yui explained, taking Kirito's hand and dragging him closer to the tree. The branches up above moved a little and a pained looked flashed across Natsu's face before in was swallowed by acceptance. "I couldn't monitor the humans like I was meant to, so I tumbled out of the systems hold but I lost my main data of what I was meant to do. Mama and papa saved me and took care of me until I remembered why I was created. I was about to be swallowed up and disintegrated by Cardinal when papa transfigured my data so I became an item connected to his NerveGear. I still have a lot of functions, but I'm linked to papa so I lost a lot of abilities as well."
"I'm guessing Kirito-kun is your papa then, little Yui?" Natsu asked with a soft smile which turned slightly amused when Kazuto finally stopped stammering and settled for a light blush on either cheek. "You have been busy since your marriage. It seems you've mislaid your wife though, or has the mighty Lightning Flash run off when she realised you were just too stubborn to make much sense in real life?"
Kazuto's blush disappeared and his face came close to what it had been that faithful – "Wait, marriage?" Suguha blurted out. "You never told me you married Asuna!"
"I don't think we had the time to discuss something like that," her cousin said in a very reminiscing kind of voice. "But wait – big brother? I didn't know – I mean, I just found out you were part of the team who created Cardinal. How did I -"
"Have to stop you there Kirito-kun, before you start throwing things at me," Natsu said with slight smile. He seemed a little bitter and his eyes had lost their spark again, seemingly not very happy about being reminded that he had been part of the team to have created this place. "I'm guessing you're not stuck in this place or your states wouldn't be as high as they are at the moment."
"You can still access the system?" Kirito asked, clearly surprised by that little bit of information.
Natsu pushed his lips together, making his nose crinkle slightly. Suguha felt the need to show that she cared, but resisted. She felt a little awkward with her brother standing there and the little AI who was circling the tree with a curious expression. "No, not completely," Natsu muttered. He was frowning ever so slightly, making him seem more tired than usual. "I can see the system. I can even see everyone's stats. I just can't see beyond this damn shield and it's driving me insane. I'm so tired, Kirito-kun. So tired."
"Wait Natsu," Suguha cried as she noticed that he was about to close his eyes and withdraw again. "Wait! If you close your eyes, you'll be locked away again. But we don't want you to go yet. I don't want you to go. Please Natsu! Harry," she finished in a whisper when it was clear that he would get taken away again.
There was a moment of silence after her half-confession when she suddenly heard a long sigh. "You really have quite a beautiful spirit little lady," Natsu whispered and Leafa looked up with startled green eyes. He seemed to have freed his upper body from the tree and even though his arms were still stuck inside the thick branches. To her shock, and embarrassment, his chest was quite… naked. There was an odd scar where his skin met the bark of the tree. It seemed raw, red and painful, but she couldn't decide if it was because he was stuck in the tree or if it was something to do with his real body.
Yui gasped in surprise and Kirito looked on with big, surprised eyes. Suguha didn't noticed them as watched Natsu close the space between them as far as he could. He stopped mere inches away from her, but it was close enough to make her blush. "Your eyes are like storm clouds, beautiful swirling with a much brighter spectrum of colours which burst into life when the light catches them. You darling little lady, I would have you by my side for all eternity if I was not an old cynic man trapped inside a computer program."
Suguha frowned in confusion. "You're not that old," she muttered and, as if in a trance, she stepped forward just to feel those soft lips brush against her forehead once more. Her senses were filled with the fresh scent of wet grass after a summer rainstorm and an earthy warmth which seemed to swallow her up.
Seeking others hmm…
A/N: The end of another chapter. Before people are going to complain that this love thing between Suguha and Harry seems weird, wait till you read the last chapter. It wouldn't be a quirky love story if it wasn't for my brain making it work.
The next one will be the last one and in Harry's P.O.V. I know I will probably take way too long to post it, like I seem to do with all of my stories, but I'm asking for your patience once more. At least I hope this chapter cleared up any underlying hints I posted throughout the story. It seems I was a little too deep under the covers :P
*From William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Act 2, scene 2, Titania to Oberon.