Chapter 15: Explanation (Part 2)

A/N:

I am still recovering from my emergency appendectomy last week. In addition to my wearing a home heart monitor, my blood sugar levels went crazy and I am on insulin now.

Thank you so much for your support and prayers during my recovery in your PMs and in your reviews. Words fail me in how much I appreciate it.

I need to make an important decision at this point: Do I put this story on indefinite hiatus until I'm healthy again, or do I take advantage of the fact that I'm homebound and not working and use that opportunity to finish the story now, even though the pain meds are still making me loopy?

Before I went to the hospital I had already finished the entire outline of this story, with much of the key dialog and the last chapter fully written out. (I always write the final chapter first, then I work backwards to hit it.)

My short term memory is shot but my long term memory is still working okay. The full story is firmly ensconced in my head with lots of little details not yet written down. I worry that if I go on hiatus I will lose all those details and never get them back. Therefore, after much thought and prayer, I have decided to press on and finish the remainder of this story now.

Again, thank you so much for your kind words and support during my recovery. I feel so blessed.

-HuuskerDu

P.S. For your enjoyment, below are three deleted scenes from the original and darker version of this story. The first scene shows Midori figuring out that Sachi is holding major secrets (this is dark Sachi).

Hey, did you ever notice how Sachi with longer hair looks almost exactly like Yui? I used that coincidence in the original story as a plot point. The second scene below sets up the ALO arc so that Sachi replaces Yui on Kirito's shoulder.

I think Yui is really cute, but I had disliked how Reki Kawahara had exploited her as a deus-ex-machina device to pump out key information without taking the effort to have the characters find it out on their own, and how she was used as a magic wand to shove the plot around. (It's lazy writing.) By swapping Sachi for Yui I could get rid of that plot hack while also finding a niche for Sachi.

The third deleted scene is a humorous take on Kikuoka interviewing Kuradeel.

(Sachi recovering in the hospital after dying in ALO)

Midori: "It is so good to see you back among the living again. How are you feeling?"

"I feel just fine."

"That's excellent." Then Midori looked at her daughter. "Sugu, could you please wait outside for a moment?" The request caught Suguha by surprise.

Suguha stood up, and as she did so she gave Sachi a questioning look. Sachi's face became impassive. Suguha silently left the room and closed the door behind her.

Midori was now alone with the girl who had been unconscious in the hospital for three days.

Sachi raised her head from the pillows. As she sat up she gave a small sigh. "Let me guess. You went to visit my mother."

Midori did not sit. "Yes."

Sachi was silent for a moment. "I see."

It was clear that Midori did not intend to stay. "I'm going to talk to Suguha next." She turned to leave.

Sachi leaned out of her bed and implored her to wait. "No, please don't. If you do that you'll just upset her. She already blames herself for what happened."

Midori hesitated as she reached for the door. Sachi lowered her voice. "Look, can we just keep this between ourselves? For her sake?"

Midori turned to face the girl. "Dear.."

"You and I are both good at keeping secrets."

It was because Sachi knew that although Midori Kirigaya was a senior editor for a top IT magazine on the topic of computer and data security, not everything she knew was publishable. Some of items that she had gleaned in her research on computer security were still considered closely held secrets in the industry, including some rather disconcerting new theoretical attack methodologies that were quietly being discussed among the white hats.

The white hats had unofficially asked her to keep one particularly nettlesome new attack method completely confidential, at least until they could come up with a viable countermeasure to defend against it. She agreed.

Midori's heart sank. I thought I knew her. She's been with us for over a year and a half, but she is still a mystery to me. Child, you are certainly good at hiding your secrets.

"Please?"

Midori said softly, "No, I'm sorry." She left the room.

Sachi closed her eyes. There was nothing else she could do.

Kirito, you need me.

I have to stay by your side.

Please wake up before it's too late.

Suguha unpacked the second AmuSphere halo and showed it to her. "It's really fun." ALO is a fantasy world with magic, no levels, and with several races that you can play: Sylph, Spriggan, Cait Sith, Gnome, Undin, Pixy, Salamander, ..."

"Pixy? You mean like little Buttercup in Peter Pan with her magic wand and everything?"

"Uh, yeah, pretty much. It's a new race that was recently added to the game. Why are you so interested in that one?"

Sachi looked down. "I don't know. I guess I'd like to be a Pixy..."

"Eh, I wouldn't recommend it. Pixies are boring. I don't know why they added it. They are tiny, only a few inches high in their default form, and are mainly good only for recon, spying, info gathering, and stuff like that, with a few defensive spells, not much else. In combat they are worthless. They're neutral so they can join any other race. But naw, forget that one."

Sachi brought her head up."Oh well.."

"Honestly, the other races are a lot more interesting. I'm a Sylph, and they are pretty cool."

Sachi looked down again. "That's too bad..."

"Why do you want to be a Pixy so much?"

"Well, you see, I know Buttercup had wings..."

"Oh pshaw. Honey, we *all* have wings!"

Sachi was fascinated. "Really?"

She peered at the halo.

October 24, 2024.

Seijiou Kikuoka rubbed his eyeglasses in the interview room. He was feeling tired and it was getting late.

He was interviewing the last VRDP of the day, a 26 year old man named Katsu Yojijukugo.

The man's craggy face and yellow teeth revealed his years of heavy smoking, making him look older than his actual age. His hair was long and stringy, and he wore a hipster pony tail in the back.

The case officer pushed up the glasses on his face, then he reviewed his notes. "All right. Let's recap what you told me, Mr. Yojijukugo. You say you were the top ranking member of the strongest guild, called Knights of the Blood Oath?"

He man sat up proudly in his chair. "Yes sir. I was the best and the strongest player in our esteemed guild."

"I see."

"Although I do now confess that I was not technically the actual leader..."

"Well, I'm glad you corrected yourself on that little detail." Kikuoka had told him that he already knew that the real leader of the KoBO was named Heathcliff.

The man continued to weave his tall tale. "That was only because of the duplicitous treachery surrounding me. There was evil in our guild, and I was gainsaid with vicious libels whispered by my traitorous teammates, and then.."

Kikuoka interrupted him. "You mean vicious slanders."

The interruption put Kuradeel off from his stride. "Eh?"

"Libel is written, slander is spoken."

Kuradeel tried to get his momentum going again. "Oh, well, of course. Yes. Their vicious traitorous slanders. It prevented me from taking my rightful place as the leader the most esteemed guild in SAO."

"I see. And you said the worst slanders came from a member of the KoBO named, let me check my notes, 'Kirito', is that right?"

Kuradeel pounded his fist on the desk. "That is correct! Kirito, a most vile and cowardly player killer! The worst in SAO!"

"And you say that he had assassinated you? In cold blood?"

"Sadly yes, a most repulsive villain."

"With poison."

"Yes, I was poisoned, a coward's weapon."

"In the back."

"Yes."

"In the back? Really?"

"Well.. what I meant was that I was stabbed in the back first. Then I was poisoned. Afterward."

Kikuoka pretended to make a notation in the file. "I see. Well, thank you for clearing that detail up."

"Of course."

Kuradeel leaned forward in the interview chair. "Sir, may I ask again how my wife is fairing? You had said that she has not awakened yet."

"Uh, no. And as I said she is in a secure private ward at an undisclosed location. You will need to ask her family's permission to visit her. After I notify them about you."

Kuradeel made an ugly toothy grin with his yellowed teeth. "Ah yes. I will need to explain about our in-game marriage. Of course they have her in a secure private ward for her protection."

"Yes."

"Quite wise."

"Very."

"Well one cannot be too careful these days. A vile rascal could easily do unspeakable things to her lovely sleeping body completely unawares. You will of course give me their contact information."

Kikuoka had reached his limit with Kuradeel's horse[bleep]. He removed his glasses and closed the folder in front of him that he had been pretending to write in.

"It's late, I'm tired, and I've had enough of this."

"Excuse me?"

He pressed his mic. "Nurse, is the last interviewee still available?"

Kuradeel heard a speaker crackle. "Yes sir, he's still outside."

"Could you please send him back in?"

Kuradeell stood up. "What is the meaning of this?"

Kikuoka stood up as well. "I just interviewed a colleague of yours in the KoBO. Died on the same floor and the same day. A remarkable coincidence, don't you think? Strange you didn't mention him. Anyway, he told me that he is a good friend of yours.

"Would you like to meet him?"

"Uh, wait..."

A large and powerful man with an orange beard and heavy black eyebrows strode into the room.

"Kuradeel, please allow me to introduce you to your colleague, Godfree. I understand that you two are well acquainted."

The man roared, "Kuradeel!"

Kikuoka was happy that he was finally able to use his martial arts skills that afternoon. It was a pleasant and relaxing way to end his working day.