Sword Art Online: Double Adventure

Episode: Strea - Chapter 4: Runaway Glitch

~ Kirigaya House | Following Morning | 11:29 a.m. ~

The Kirigaya family searched all over the city for Strea throughout the night, looking around every corner and turn of the city. But, even with the aide of their friends, Strea was not found. The next day came upon the city as we find Kazuto on the phone with a police officer, reporting Strea's mysterious disappearance since last night. Nearby, Asuna and Yui sat patiently.

"Yes. She's about three feet tall, has short lavender hair and answers to the name Strea. Yes. Yes. She ran away last night. We went all over town looking for her but couldn't find her." he explained. Yui looked nervously at Asuna. She then thought back to the chaos that unfolded last night, remembering the look she saw in Strea's glitchy eyes. Asuna happened to see Yui's own worried look.

"Don't worry Yui. We'll go look for Strea again right after your father is off the phone. I promise….we'll find her." Asuna said, stroking the poor girl's hair. Yui started to sniffle, wiping her eyes.

"Mommy….what is wrong with Strea?" she asked. Asuna fell silent.

"I wish I knew Yui. I wish I knew." she muttered. Looking back to Kazuto, he just finished the phone call and set it down.

"All right. I gave Strea's description to the police. They'll let us know if they find her. You were still going to go looking again, were you?" he asked. Asuna nodded.

"What about you Kazuto?" she asked.

"I'm going to see Kikouka and trty and get some answers out of him. I NEED to know if they know anything about Strea and that glitch." he said, grabbing a hold of his jacket "I swear, if he was keeping anything from me, I'm gonna FORCE him to talk!" Asuna rose from her seat and approached Kazuto, quietly looking towards him before leaning against his chest. Looking down at her, Kazuto slowly wrapped his arms around Asuna.

"Don't worry. If I find her, I'll let you know. We WILL bring Strea home." he muttered softly. Asuna sniffled quietly, embraced in Kazuto's arms, as Yuna was watching from nearby. Yui was silently watching as well.

"Okay." she muttered.

~ Later… ~

We later join Kazuto at meeting Kikuoka at a nearby cafe, the same one they previously met at before. Kazuto was seating patiently at a table, holding his jacket in his lap and tapping his foot, until he noticed Kikuoka approaching.

"H-Hey Kirito. Nice seeing you again. Don't know what the big hurry was that you wanted to meet with me." he said. As Kikuoka took his seat, a waitress came over to the table. After taking their orders, she then walked off, leaving the two men alone.

"You know EXACTLY what this is about Kikuoka….its about Strea, that "program" you sent my way." Kazuto said, leaning over the table's edge. Kikuoka seemed a bit surprised.

"What? You mean what I mailed you? Look. If something happened, I apologize for any damage it might've caused." he said. Kazuto's eyes narrowed.

"Listen. I have a strange feeling you were keeping something from me when I read your note. Yesterday, we had Strea's AI program transferred into an android frame, same as Yui, but what YOU apparently left out is that there is a major GLITCH surging through Strea." he said. Kikuoka remained silent.

"What are you getting at? You think I'd keep something from my buddy? I told you everything I knew in the letter. We were looking over Kayaba's claimed items again and happened to come across her program kept away in a memory chip." he explained. Kazuto slammed his hand against the table.

"Yeah right. If I learned anything from spending time with you, you ALWAYS have an ulterior motive. Admit it. You KNEW Strea had a glitch and, thinking I could SOMEHOW fix this, sent her to me! Would've been nice if you told me that sooner. Because, last night, she attacked me and Yui!" he exclaimed. Kikuoka gasped.

"S-She did what?!" he asked "L-Look Kirito! I had no clue! I…" But his words were cut short when he got a hateful look from Kazuto's eyes. Dropping his worried expression, he sighed and looked away.

"Fine. You're right. Before we sent Strea's AI your way, we….ran a few tests with her. We wanted to make sure she wasn't too dangerous or anything like that." he continued. Kazuto huffed and crossed his arms.

"The tests were going fine….at first. We did the same as you, inserted her core program into a test android. But then, when we were looking in on her, she…suddenly began acting strange. Her eyes turned bright blue and, without thinking, she would destroy anything she touched. She was too dangerous to keep around the office." he continued. Kazuto sighed.

"So, explain to me WHY you kept that part from me in your letter?" Kazuto asked "I'm dying to know." Kikuoka sighed.

"We….We were worried that our tests might've caused something to her programming. We were doing some deep tinkering into her code and feared we might've caused some serious damage. That was about…a couple years back….shortly after the whole GGO incident I asked you to be involved in." he said "Anyway….against my superior's orders, I went through Kayaba's things recently and sent Strea's core program to you in that envelope. I thought that…if anyone could help her, it would be the one who helped her "sister" in Aincrad." Kazuto glared annoyingly at Kikuoka.

"Okay. So, what basically happened is you wanted ME to clean up your mess? Well, thanks to you NOT telling me….she's now loose somewhere in Tokyo, probably afraid and looking for help." Kazuto said. He noticed Kikuoka glancing away.

"That….or she's looking for her next toy to destroy." he muttered under his breath. Kazuto groaned, regaining his attention.

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean anything like that! I swear! It's just…I don't know the full details about how the glitch affects her other than that. Unless she gets herself under control, she'll most likely just go on an emotional rampage. I don't know HOW to fix her. But believe me. We TRIED!" he stuttered. Kazuto sighed. Without another word, he picked up his coat and suddenly decided to leave. Kikuoka watched in surprise as Kazuto was heading for the exit.

"I don't know what you did to her….and maybe I don't want to know….but I do know THIS. My newest daughter needs my help. So, thanks….for finally coming clean." he said. Kikuoka remained silent as Kazuto then left.

~ Somewhere in the City…. ~

Meanwhile, back on the city streets, we find Strea stumbling along by herself, her clothes partially torn and her lavender hair in shambles. She was sniffling to herself as she walked. It seemed since last night, Strea was involved in one incident after another.

"Why….Why can't I control this?" she thought, looking at her dirt covered hands. She could faintly remember all the destruction she caused throughout the night, such as smashing several cars while under the control of the glitch. She rubbed her eyes and began to cry.

"M….Mister Kayaba….where are you? I….I need you." she sniffled. Just then, she felt herself freeze up as her eyes began growing their blue shade.

"N-No! Not again!" Strea cried. But she couldn't help it as the glitch took her over. She then became emotionless again as she looked across the street at a pair of men harassing a nearby woman. She marched towards them, stiff as a robot, across the street.

"Hey…come on doll. All we're asking you is if you wanna have tea with us. That's all." one of the men asked. The other chuckled.

"Yeah. We're not up to anything "weird" or anything." the other said. The woman tried to walk away, but found her wrist suddenly grabbed.

"Come on. Don't go ditching us." he said. Just then, the man felt someone nearby and glanced over his shoulder, seeing Strea standing motionless.

"Huh? Hey. What you looking at kid?" the man asked. His partner approached Strea and crouched down to her level.

"Hey. Whoa. Get a load of them eyes." he said. He then knocked against Strea's head, hoping to see a reaction when, suddenly, Strea grabbed onto his wrist.

"W-What the…?!" he gasped. Without another word, Strea effortlessly chucked the man overhead and he went bouncing across the ground.

"H-Huh?! What did that kid…?!" the other gasped. Suddenly, Strea grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him down to her level, causing him to stumble to the ground. As the woman made a break for it, his eyes turned to Strea.

"What the hell you little brat?! What do you think you're doing?!" he asked. His partner came over as he pushed himself to his feet.

"You little twerp! You think you can just do this to us and get away with it?! Oh ho! You're gonna get it!" he growled. The two men then grabbed ahold of Strea's shoulders. But quickly as she was grabbed, Strea grabbed one of their hands and took hold of it tightly.

"H-Hey! Let go of my arm!" the man groaned. Suddenly, Strea began twisting his wrist viciously. The man howled in pain.

"GAAAAHHHHH! L-Let go! PLEASE LET ME GO!" he wailed. As Strea let him go, she then grabbed the other man's arm and, quickly turning around, flipped him over her shoulder and against the ground. He groaned in pain the moment his back hit the ground.

"W-What ARE you?!" he yelled. Strea then glared down at him, clenching her fist.

~ Meanwhile… | Outside the Cafe ~

Returning to Kazuto in the parking lot, he was about to hop on his bike before he came to a stop. He could tell Kikuoka was behind him and sighed.

"What do you want? I'm done talking to you." Kazuto said. Kikuoka approached Kazuto.

"Look Kirito. I'm sorry for not telling you….but…there's no way I'm going to let you go looking for her by yourself. Let me help. I got you involved in this after all." he said, putting his hand on Kazuto's shoulder. Looking back at him, Kazuto sighed.

"All right. Fine." he said. Just then, the cell phone in Kikuoka's pocket began to ring, catching their attention.

"H-Hello?" he asked, answering the call. But soon as he answered, his eyes turned to utter shock.

"W-What?! You're watching the news right now? W-What do you mean some little five year old is attacking people down by the park?!" he replied. Kazuto gasped.

"S-Strea!" he thought. Without another thought, he jumped on his bike and revved the engine. He left Kikouka on the phone before suddenly racing off and out down the street. Kazuto's eyes remained focused on the road.

"Strea! Hold on! I'm coming!" he thought. Back at the park, a couple of police officers had Strea surrounded, keeping at a good distance as to not get too close. A gathering of people surrounded the barricade they set up.

"All right. What kind of super powered munchkin are we dealing with here?" one of the officers asked. His partner looked at Strea's glowing blue eyes.

"I don't think this is human sir. It appears…mechanical. My guess is somebody thought it was funny to let loose some kind of mindless robot and have it attack people." he replied. Just then, Strea started to approach a nearby police car. The officers merely watched as she stopped right in front of it.

"Hey there. What ya doing there kid?" an officer asked. Without warning, Strea rose her hand and punctured straight through the hood of the car.

"W-What the?! She….She punched a hole through the car!" he gasped. Ripping her hand out, clutching onto a few cables from within, she smashed her hand through one of the head lights. The crowd and gathering of police officers gasped.

"D-Damn you! Men! Contain this…this THING now! Before anyone gets hurt!" the chief exclaimed. In the crowd, Kazuto had just arrived and stopped his bike before rushing towards the crowd. Some officers spotted him and tried to stop him from getting closer, but Kazuto slipped through their defense and continued towards Strea. His eyes remained locked on her.

"Strea! STREA!" Kazuto shouted.

"W-What the?! What's that guy doing?!" the chief shouted. He watched as Kazuto rushed by and threw his arms around Strea. Stopping to catch his breath, Kazuto put both hands on her shoulders and faced her directly, starting to shake her.

"Strea! C'mon! Wake up! I KNOW you're in there! Fight it! FIGHT IT!" he shouted. Suddenly, a officer rushed Kazuto from behind, grabbing him under the arms.

"Sir! Back off! That thing's dangerous!" he shouted, pulling him away. Kazuto groaned as he tried to break free.

"S-She's not a THING! She's….She's my daughter! Let me go….RIGHT NOW!" Kazuto exclaimed. He broke away from the officer and rushed back to Strea.

"Strea! Wake up! Please! Wake up!" he shouted as more officers hurried to restrain him. Inside her head, Strea's consciousness was surrounded by darkness.

"S-Someone….help me. Help me….please." she sniffled. Just then, Strea gasped as Kazuto's voice echoed in her head.

"Strea! STREA!"

"D-Daddy?" she muttered. Trying to fight back the glitch, she regained her vision and turned to him, seeing Kazuto restrained by several officers. She gasped.

"Daddy! DADDY!" Strea cried. All chaos suddenly stopped as Kazuto locked eyes with Strea. The police were utterly stunned.

"Did…Did it just….talk?" one asked. Sensing the chance, Kazuto broke away from the officers and rushed to Strea, dropping to his knees and hugged her tightly. Strea remained motionless, her eyes quivering from fear. She began to sniffle, almost on the break of tears, as Kazuto's arms enveloped her.

"D-Daddy….." she sniffled. Kazuto gently patted her back.

"Strea….it's okay. I'm here. Your dad's here. Don't worry…..everything's fine." he muttered. Strea closed her eyes tightly as she hugged Kazuto back, clutching the back of his coat with her hands. As she started to cry, the officers slowly approached. The captain put his hand on Kazuto's shoulder, gaining his attention.

"Hey pal…I don't know what's going on here….but….I'm gonna have to ask you to come with us….you and the kid." he said. Strea continued sniffling as Kazuto nodded.

"Okay." he muttered.

TO BE CONTINUED…