I don't own anything
Chapter 11:
"I see what happened" Heathcliff said. "I shall explain it to the other guild members"
He was talking about our marriage.
"We'd also like to request a leave of absence from the guild" Kirito spoke.
"The reason?"
"We have doubts about the current state of this guild" I answered.
He gave a small sigh, "Understood"
Kirito smiled at me.
"However, I'm sure you two will soon return to battle" Heathcilff said with a mysterious smile. Creepy...
As we left HQ I told Kirito that I had one last thing to do.
"Do you want to meet up later then?" He asked me.
"No, I want you to come with me..."
I had messaged Lizbeth and Asuna, to meet up since I had something important to tell them. Together with Kirito, we made our way towards Lizbeth's shop. They were both already waiting there for me.
We greeted each-other as usual.
"So what did you want to tell us Saki?" Asuna asked.
I've been preparing for this moment ever since Kirito found out my secret, and it was time that my best friends knew about it as well. But, I'm still scared about how they'll react. I still want to have fun with them like before, how will this moment impact on the future? I just want us to act normally after.
"Saki? Come on~ I closed the shop just for you you know!" Liz said smiling.
Here goes nothing.
"You guys have been so nice and helpful to me since we've met. Asuna, Liz, I've been keeping a secret from you and, I know this is selfish but after I tell you, I still want to be your friend!"
I didn't give them any time to respond and just blurted out:
"I'm the reason that you have been through hard times in SAO!"
""What...?""
They were both in confusion.
"My real name is Kayaba Rin, so in other words I'm the daughter of Kayaba Akihiko. But, I've also programmed many of the enemies, floors and items found in Sword Art Online."
"I want to express my apologies for deceiving you guys and creating this wretched game!"
"But even so, I still want to be friends with you. I know it's selfish but I can't help feeling that way, you guys are the first real friends I've ever made"
"I'm sorry!"
I bowed deeply.
"No wait, I should get on my knees..." I muttered.
Before I could though, someone ruffled my hair. I turned my head to see Kirito, I forgot he was even there.
"Well, since you can see that she will go that far, how about letting her off?" Kirito said.
"We don't need you to tell us that!" Liz replied.
"Stand up straight, Saki!" Asuna ordered.
I did as told.
"Of course, some like this can't damage our friendship in any way. I understand why you might have kept it a secret but... I can't say I'm not hurt"
"Did you not believe in our friendship enough?"
"T-That's not it!"
"I thought you were going to tell us something, but this was quite unexpected" Liz continued.
They pulled me into a hug.
"You're a precious friend to us as well Saki" Asuna said softly.
"So, it's obvious we still want to stay friends" Liz smiled.
"Thank you, Asuna, Liz"
"But, well... can we at least hit you once~?"
"Judging by the look on your faces I'm pretty sure it's not going to be just one hit!"
I'm really grateful, because you guys taught me how nice friendship could be.
After that, I had told them of my marriage with Kirito and then we left for our new temporary home on the 22nd Floor. Asuna even gave me a basket of different sauces to add on to my terrible cooking so that it would lessen the 'impact'.
"It's really tranquil and pleasant here..." I said relaxing.
Standing on the balcony, I looked at the beautiful scenery: A huge glittering lake, the green forest, and the wide-open blue sky.
There was a silver ring on my left hand now, it wasn't flashy but that didn't matter to me at all.
We weren't wearing our uniforms any-more, but more comfortable clothes. I wore a blue sweater with black shorts, while Kirito wore a black long-sleeved T-shirt and black pants.
"Don't get too close to the edge though, or you'll fall"
"I'm not a kid"
A light breeze came through.
"We bought a nice house" I said. Somehow, this home felt warm and cosy.
"But we're totally broke"
"Well you're the one who didn't want to sell my other house"
"That would've been a waste!"
"Asuna's house is just next door, I usually just live with her."
"But then I wouldn't be-able to stay the night with you any-more~"
"Wha- A-Are you thinking perverted thoughts?!"
He laughed at my reaction, but then strengthened his arm around my waist suddenly.
"Is something wrong Kirito?"
"Ne Saki... Our relationship, is it limited to just this world? Is it going to disappear once we return to the other world?"
I turned to look at Kirito.
"This game has changed my life, I've met such kind people, and I fell in love"
"Whether I'm in a game or the real world, I'm sure that I'll still love you because these feelings aren't fake." I smiled a little.
"Yeah, my feelings aren't just in-game either" He hugged me tight.
I woke up in the same bed as Kirito...
Why the hell does he have to come over to my bed when there's two in the room?! He's done it several times now.
His face looked so peaceful though.
It's been about ten days since we've arrived. Going into the village, talking, walking around, looking at the scenery, we passed the days like that.
I started poking Kirito's cheek, remembering how he has done it to me multiple times before.
"Good morning" He said groggily.
"What are we doing today" I asked.
"You know, you've had plenty of fun yesterday, the day, before and so on"
"We've got limited time!" I pouted.
"Ah, there's one place that could be exciting" He smirked.
We were walking down a wooden bridge, it was there so people don't have to walk on the grass and rocks.
I hesitated at first but then slowly tried holding hands with Kirito.
"Saki?"
"Th-This is what couple do right? So.."
He squeezed my hand as a response.
"You seem different from the first time we met..."
"How so?"
"Well, it's like you were emotionless back then but now, your eyes are softer"
"I-Is that something bad...?"
"Nope~ You're way cuter now~"
Don't say embarrassing stuff like that so easily!
We passed some fishermen who kindly waved at us and I shyly waved back together with Kirito.
We entered a forest soon after when he started talking again.
"I heard this rumour yesterday in the village. Apparently, they show up here, deep in these woods"
"What does?" I asked curiously.
"Ghosts" He grinned.
"I don't believe in ghosts, or zombies, or whatever form the dead comes back in. So please save your efforts to scare me another time Kirito"
He continued on anyway, and a fog appeared as if on cue.
"The vengeful spirits of hunted monsters wander out in the field every night"
"Well that's at night!"
"We're almost there"
I guess I started to play along.
"Where would that be?"
"About a week ago, a woodcraft player came here to collect some wood. He got so absorbed in his work that it got dark before he knew it. Then, behind a nearby tree, he caught a glimpse of something white. A moster? Or something else? The white shade walked slowly through the clump of trees"
I looked around at my surroundings, the big trees covered the area blocking out the sun making it seem dark. Then, behind a nearby tree, I caught a glimpse of something white walking slowly through the clump of trees. Nothing unusual really, no way was Kirito's story real.
...Wait, What?! Something white walking slowly?!
"You're crushing my hand Saki! I thought you weren't scared of this stuff!"
"I'm not but it's a completely different matter when you see the real thing in front of your eyes!" I said panicking.
"What real thing?" He asked as I loosened my grip.
Slowly I pointed to where the figure in the distance stood.
His eyes widened.
"You've gotta be kidding me"
The 'ghost' turned our way.
What should I do?! Get my sword out? Will it even work against a ghost?
But suddenly, it just collapsed.
"That's not a ghost!" Kirito ran towards it with me following suit.
I sighed, I got scared of a little girl.
"Is she a player?" I asked.
"This is really weird"
"Weird?"
"She has no player indicator"
I looked and saw that he was right.
"Do you think it's a bug?" Kirito asked me.
"I don't want to but, it probably is..."
Although, I feel really bad. A little girl like her being trapped in SAO.
"Let's take her home, we should at least get some answers when she wakes up"
We made it back safely and the girl was now resting on Kirito's bed, while we were sitting on mine watching her.
"We know one thing for sure, the fact that we were able to take her home means she's not an NPC"
"Right, you would've gotten a harassment warning the instant you tried to carry her if she was an NPC"
He voiced out another reason.
"Plus, it wasn't the starting event of some quest. If it was, our quest logs would've been updated. Which means she's a player who got lost in the woods"
"That makes the most sense to me" I said.
"She should have a parent or guardian here"
"You think she logged on with her family?" I asked.
"Probably yeah"
The sun came down completely and she still didn't wake up. I was kind of worried even though I knew she was still alive, since her body was still there, her brain would still be exchanging signals with her NerveGear.
Kirito was already asleep, and this time I at least knew that he was in my bed before going to sleep.
I stood up and came over to the little girl's bed and stared at her, noticing the pained expression she had. Was she actually with her family? Or did she come here by herself? That would be such a lonely thing for a small girl like her.
I climbed into the bed next to her, hugging her.
And just maybe, I saw her smile.
Thank you for reading this story.