Japanese

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(This is just for this chapter until all the English gets out of the way.)

Chapter XIII: Waking to Reality

A bright light filled my vision. I groaned and shielded my eyes. A plastic visor met my hands intead of my face. I began laughing hoarsely with pure joy. I stripped the helmet off my head painfully. My arms were not responding like they did in game. They felt like limp noodles. I wiped my unusually long hair out of my eyes to take in the room. A man in a black suit was leaning up against the door frame watching me carefully. We stared at each for a while before the man began walking towards me.

"Hello Ryan Kennedy." the man in the black suit took a seat on the edge of my hospital bed, "I'm from the CIA and I'd like to discuss a few things with you."

"The CIA?" I croaked, my unused vocal cords having a hard time forming any kind of sentence, "I haven't done a-anything wrong have I?"

The man looked a little off-put, "In English please? I'm only partially fluent in Japanese."

"A-ah." I switched over to english. It felt weird speaking English after speaking Japanese for years in a virtual world. I was just glad I remembered how to be honest, "Right, I'll ask again. I haven't done anything wrong have I?"

"Well you have done something wrong, but that's not what I'm here to talk about. We're looking past that. I'm here to offer you a job."

"A job...?" I was skeptical, "the CIA doesn't hire sixteen year olds."

"You happen to be... special." the man leaned forward on clasped hands, "You are after all the only American citizen to have experienced Sword Art Online. I'm going to just come out and say it. We want you to head over to Japan and enter the most popular VRMMO right now. There's been reports of suspicious activity, and we'd rather not have some sort of cyberterrorism threat on our hands. We don't need another SAO."

"Er... is it really legal to send me over there on government work?"

"We already have permission from the Japanese government," the man laughed a bit, "I don't remember you being so outgoing and inquisitive in your file."

"A lot changes in two years." I replied tiredly, "A whole damn lot. You know what I've done? I've watched someone come back from the dead. I don't think many other people can claim that."

"..." the man just stared at me, "Right... back to the matter at hand. You'll be going through two months of rehab just to get you back on your feet before we ship you off to Japan."

"And my parents are okay with this?"

"Your parents have already been persuaded and have given us the go ahead to proceed. And before you ask, all we did was ask nicely." the man had a wry grin on his face, "Your mother was very stubborn about the situation, while your father saw the entire thing as some sort of learning situation for you."

I snorted and let out a laugh which felt funny in my unused throat, "T-That sounds like them."

"You don't seem terribly sad to be shipped off to Japan so rapidly."

"Nahhh." I closed my eyes, feeling truly relaxed and at peace for the first time in two years, "There was someone I promised I'd come and visit there anyways.

"Well you won't have time for a social visit." the man said sternly, "We want you out of rehab and over in Japan ASAP. Once you're there we want you investigating as much as you can without endangering your health. Here."

The man tossed a passport onto my chest, "Hold onto this. We'll keep in contact. Your parents are coming in now."

The man in black walked smoothly out the door and let in my anxious parents. My mom practically crushed me in a hug, tears rolling down her cheeks. My dad just had a massive grin on his face as he watched the two of us.

"Look like all the video games turned out to be useful after all," He remarked, "The last battle you and your friends had was actually broadcasted on live television."

"Oh wait!" I slapped my forehead, "Dad can I borrow your cellphone real fast!?"

"S-sure." He handed it over to be as my mom finally released her choke hold on me. I quickly went through my NerveGear's interface and found Kirito's number he gave me. I dialed it and waited patiently. I hoped dearly Asuna had made it out alive somehow.

"Hello?" a young female japanese girl answered, "Kazuto Kirigaya's phone. This is his sister"

"Kirito has a sister? Huh. Ah y-yeah, Is Kazuto there?"I asked

"Who is this?" She replied suspiciously.

I heard Kirito's voice, "Just give me the phone Sugu. It's probably a friend."

"But Oni-chan it sounds like an American."

"All the more reason to hand it over." I heard some shuffling, "Hello?"

"It's me." I sighed in relief, "I called to... ask about Asuna."

"Well..." I could hear Kirito sighing deeply, "The good news is she's alive."

A wave of relief went through my body, "The bad news?"

"She won't wake up." Kirito responded sadly, "The doctors don't know what's wrong."

My heart thudded in my chest. Somehow deep down I knew whatever was wrong with Asuna had to do with the mission the FBI was assigning me to. I sighed deeply before replying.

"Listen Kirito." I said, "I'm gonna be in Japan in a few weeks."

"Really!?" Kirito practically shouted, "How'd you get permission to come over so fast?"

"My parents are pretty reasonable." I lied, "Anyways, once I get over there I'll help you figure this out together."

"If you've got time in between visits to Lisbeth," Kirito teased, "I'll see you soon then."

"Yeah." I replied, "I'll talk to you then. Call me if anything comes up."

"Got it. Bye." I heard Kirito hang up, and I handed my dad his phone back.

"Who was that?" He asked curiously, "Somebody from the game?"

"A friend I made in there." I leaned back into the pillows, "I had to ask him about on of our other friends we thought died."

"Thought?"

"She's alive." I felt some tears forming in my eyes, "Comatose, but alive."

"That's good." My dad patted me on the shoulder before taking a seat, "It's never good to lose a friend. We've got some catching up to do young man. Especially before you head off without us."

"R-right." I nodded

"So." My dad's face morphed into a massive, familiar grin, "Meet any cute girls in game? I heard the game made it so your features were all the same as the real world."

I felt my face turn bright red before I muttered quietly, "A-actually yeah."

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow and my mom giggled, "Anything to share."

"N-nothing like that!" I waved my hands in front of my face, "We were just going out is all. We only ever got to kissing! S-sheesh"

"Kissing?" My mother raised an eyebrow, "This girl must be something special to get you to actually pursue her."

"W-well" I scratched the back of my head, "That's a pretty long story actually. I used to be terrified of her to be honest."

"Oh this I want to hear." My dad leaned back in his chair and wrapped an arm around my mom's shoulder, "Please go on."

I nodded and began to relate all the events of the last few months. I did leave out some of the nastier details like when I was getting burned by spider acid, but most of the story was intact.

"Aww..." My mom practically had stars in her eyes by the end of it, "I must visit you while you're in Japan to see her. She sounds like such a nice girl."

"Yeah." I replied, "Sucks that she lives in Japan."

"Long distance relationships are tough," My dad nodded, "But you're going over there soon anyways for that government mission. Besides, I heard rumors of some rehab school for the players of the game you were in. You all did miss a lot of school. I would hate for you to have to go to freshman year of highschool with people two years younger than you."

"You'd be okay with me living in Japan until my twenties?" I raised an eyebrow

"We'd probably learn Japanese and get temporary visas to live with you." My dad raised an eyebrow, "Really I've always wanted to travel to another country. Besides, my company offered me a job over there a while back. It might even still be available."

I forced my screaming body to lean up and give my dad the tightest hug I could. He chuckled and returned the embrace.

"Thanks dad."

Rehab came and went. I was in decent form by the end of the two months. While my muscles had atrophied, my mind had been moving my limbs for the entirety of the last two years. As a result once my muscles began cooperating I was able to move like a normal person again. The agent assigned to me was surprised at my quick recovery and complimented me on it.

I yawned tiredly.

"For what reason did this flight have to be at three in the morning?" I thought sourly, "Oh right. Timezones. I'm just glad this is a private goverment jet so I can sleep in peace"

My flight would have me landing in Japan at roughly ten A.M. their time. I shoved my fleece hat further down on my head and zipped up my fleece jacket all the way to the top. For some reason the plane felt even colder than the outside air, even after it had taken off. I smiled down at the smart phone my dad had decided to give me as a sending off gift. My reason for smiling was the email Lisbeth had sent. She had felt the need to send me a message about some delicious cheescake she had found in a local bakery, wishing she could share it with me.

"If only she knew." I softly laughed to myself, "That I'm only about twelve hours out from her."

My phone beeped again.

"Another message?" I peered down at the dimly lit screen, "From Kirito?"

It read: "You're getting here tomorrow right? I've got something I could really use some help with regarding Asuna. I'd ask Agil or Klein, but they're both busy working and I don't want to bother them. I hope you brought your NerveGear."

I sent a message back to him confirming that I was indeed arriving the next day.

"Aw screw it." I shook my head, "I'll just call him and explain the situation."

"Hello?" Kirito answered, sounding a bit tired, "You didn't have to call me back Aurain, a text back would've been fine."

"Is this about ALO?" I got to the point quickly, "The reason you were asking about my NerveGear?"

"Y-yeah." Kirito sounded surprised, "Do you know about it?"

"Mhmm." I hummed in response, "That's actually the reason I'm coming over to Japan in the first place. I'd explain more, but I'm not sure I'm allowed to."

"Or you'll have to kill me? Kirito teased, and I could here the grin in his voice, "Don't worry about it. What matters is that you're coming to help Asuna. I know you wouldn't harm either of us."

"Thanks Kirito." I sighed and leaned back in the chair.

"Oh one last thing before you go." Kirito hurriedly replied, "It'd probably be best if you called me Kazuto around my family. And honestly, if we're going to get to know each other in real life, it's probably better in general if we call each other by our real names."

"Alright Kazuto." I chuckled, "See ya."

"See you soon Ryan."

I hung up my mobile and closed my eyes. I was hoping for some shuteye before I got to Japan. Jetlag was gonna suck.

So I am going to explain what exactly happened at the end of the game. Don't worry =P. I just decided to be mean and leave it up to your imaginations for now. It will be told relatively soon, but I'm trying out some inventive storytelling. Mixing it up a little. Oh and one last thing. Thank you mister solitary reviewer. Much love. (also this is the last chapter to vote on that poll.)

-Forscythe