I don't own anything except my OC.
Morning came, light shining into our bedroom.
I yawned stretching my arms. Today was the day that we would go into the Town of Beginnings, searching for Yui's guardians.
Kirito started to wake up as well.
"We should leave once we've had breakfast" I told him.
...
"...I thought you already got used to my cooking but... WHAT'S WITH THAT SOUR LOOK?!"
Yui started laughing, seems she woke up due to the noise.
"Oh yeah, take your gear with you just in case" Kirito advised.
"We should keep our guard up"
"Okay"
We stepped out from the teleporter. Kirito was carrying Yui on his back, so she didn't have to walk so much.
"It's been ages since I've been here" Kirito murmured.
"Same here, I've hardly come since I have no business here"
A bell rang in the distance. Images I really didn't want to see appeared and flashed through my mind, that event on the first day was a day I don't think I'll ever forget. Shaking it off I asked Yui if she remembered any buildings or stuff.
She looked around. "I don't know"
"Well, the Town of Beginnings is dauntingly big" Kirito laughed.
"Let's check the central market first"
Even if it was the central market, not many people roamed the streets.
"Hey Kirito, correct me if I'm wrong but, currently there should be about 6000 surviving players left. At least 30% should be on this floor including the Front right?"
"About that yeah" He said thinking.
"...Isn't it a little, quiet here?" I said with an uneasy feeling.
"You're right" He muttered.
"Give me back my children!" A woman's scream was heard.
"Oh, here comes their caretaker!" "Yo, you've kept us waiting!"
Both of us ran hurriedly towards the noise.
"Give me back my children!" The woman repeated.
As we got there the woman was preparing to attack 5-6 men in armour. They were the Front.
Children were behind them with their equipment off, most likely by the threat of the bigger men.
Kirito and I were quick enough to get past them and over to the children.
"Put your gear back on kids, we'll take care of this" I said.
"O-Okay!" One of the boys nodded.
"Wait.. Wait a minute. Who the hell are you guys?" "Are you interfering with the duties of the Front?!"
They all had same armour and their eyes were covered. I couldn't tell these guys apart at all! But one stepped forward.
"I don't remember seeing you around these parts. But surely you know what happens when you oppose the Liberation Front?" He drew his sword.
Seeing that Kirito was occupied with Yui, I stepped forward.
Pressing a few buttons on my window, my favourite sword appeared in my hand.
"Hey~ Oppose you~? What are you going to do about it? My sword's strong you know? Do you know how much it'll hurt if I use full strength on you? Of course, you won't die since we're in the inner areas~ You'll get a mild knock-back effect though~ But who knows if I can make it worse than mild~?"
I swung my sword down aiming for the ground. It was strong enough for the pavement to break and create a small hole.
The man fell to his knees, and then turned trying to flee.
"No~ Inner-area fights are fun~ Don't run~!"
I slashed him across his back causing him to fall.
"Y-You guys, don't just stand there! Do something!"
His allies got ready to pull out their own swords.
I rested my sword onto my shoulder, showing a creepy smile towards them.
"C'mon~ Let me beat the crap out of you guys~!"
They got scared out of their wits and all ran away, tails in between their legs.
My sword disappeared and I let out a sigh.
I looked around me.
"Why are you guys edging away from me?! I was acting! Acting!"
Everyone laughed.
The three kids, two boys one girl, came up to me.
"That was amazing Onee-chan!"
"Yeah, you were so cool!"
"I've never seen something like that!"
"""Thank-you Onee-chan!"""
The lady came up to me "Really, thank-you so much" She bowed.
"A-Ah well, it was nothing. I'm glad I could help" I bowed back.
"Well? Isn't Saki strong?" Kirito asked Yui.
Yui didn't reply, instead she slowly looked up, her arm reaching for the sky.
"Everyone... Everyone's hearts are.."
"Yui?" Kirito asked worriedly.
"Yui...?"
I walked over to them. "Everyone's... Everyone's..."
"Yui? What's wrong?!" Kirito asked again.
"Did something happen, Yui?"
"I...I... I.. wasn't here" Her grip on Kirito tightened and she looked as if she was in pain.
"I was all alone.. in a dark place!" After that sentence, she screamed. There were loud static sounds and it felt like the game was being distorted a little.
Falling off Kirito's shoulders, I ran quickly to catch her.
Yui was shaking. "Saki, I'm scared!"
I patted her head affectionately "I'm here so everything will be alright"
"What... was that" Kirito wondered to himself.
Then, Yui fainted and we decided to go back home for the day.
The lady we helped was kind enough to let us visit the church, where she took care of all the younger children.
We were sitting together eating now. The food tasted okay, not as good as Asuna's but of course way better than mine.
The children were all cheerful and lively, I couldn't help but smile.
"It's like this everyday" Sasha said, I learnt that that was the lady's name.
"Is Yui-chan feeling better?" She asked.
"She's fine, as you can see, thanks to a good night's sleep" Kirito answered for the both of us.
Yui was munching happily on some bread.
"Has anything like this ever happened before?"
"We're not even sure, we found her lost in the woods on the 22nd Floor and have been trying to find her guardians" I sighed. "We've had no luck"
"And it seems as if she's lost her memories as well" Kirito continued.
"So we came to the Town of Beginnings to search" I concluded.
Yui turned to face me, holding out her bread for me with the one of the cutest smiles.
"Thank-you, Yui" I said softly.
"We figured someone might have recognised her, would you happen to know anything?" Kirito inquired.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think she's from the Town of Beginnings" She apologized. "Most of the children were traumatized when this game began, I couldn't leave them alone, so I gave them a home at this church."
"I go around town everyday looking for children in need, but I've never seen anyone like Yui-chan"
"I see"
Knocking was heard and we went to see who it was.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Yulier" She bowed.
Yulier was a tall lady, with long hair tied up in a ponytail and sparkling blue eyes. She was pretty.
"You're a member of the Front, aren't you? Is this about the incident yesterday?" I asked coldly.
"It is, but it's not what you think. I'm actually very grateful and want to thank you"
"I came here to ask both of you for help"
This kind of perked my interest.
I seriously wanted to laugh as I watched Yui try not to fall asleep. But that would be rude to Yulier who was currently explaining her situation.
"Originally, we- No, our guild leader, Thinker, never intended to create the oppressive organization that we are today. We only aimed to share information and food equally among as many players as possible."
"But the Front became too big" Kirito said while I drank my tea.
"Yes, a man named Kibaou rose to prominence as a result of continued infighting"
Wait... Kibaou? Where have I heard that name before... 1st Floor. That's right, he's the annoying person who hates beta-readers.
"Kibaou's faction consolidated their authority, monopolized good hunting grounds, and even started extorting people under the pretext of collecting taxes." "However, many began voicing their discontent at Kibaou's lack of interest in clearing the game, so he sent our highest-level subordinates to the front lines."
Ah, so he was a bad guy after all. That means it was Kibaou's fault we met those other members and they died fighting Gleam Eyes...?
"Kibaou caught a lot of flak for the resulting disaster, it's gotten to the point where we're close to exiling him from the guild"
If he's done so much damage, I don't think they have much of a choice.
"But Kibaou, finding himself cornered, panicked and lured Thinker into a trap. Thinker was left to die in the depths of a dungeon"
My eyes widened a little. I don't even know who this Thinker is but, punching Kibaou seemed like a really good idea right now.
"Without teleportation crystals?" Kirito asked, his voice still having a hint of shock.
Yulier shook her head.
"He went unarmed?!" His voice got louder.
"Thinker was too kind, he trusted Kibaou when he was asked to go unarmed. That was three days ago"
"Three days ago" I repeated. "Where Thinker-san now?"
"He's deep inside a very high-level dungeon. It looks like he's trapped there." She tilted her head down in shame. "As the second-in-command, this should be my responsibility. But my level is far too low to clear the dungeon, and I couldn't get help from the Front due to Kibaou's influence"
"That's when I heard two incredibly powerful players had come to this town, so I came to request your resistance" She raised her head with pleading eyes.
"Of course we'll help you~!" Is what I'd like to say but... A really high-level dungeon? There's only one here in this area, and it's boss is seriously strong. With my level, even I don't think I can defeat it.
Should I tell them? Ah, but would it change their minds on rescuing Thinker? No no no, Kirito won't back out just because of this. But then again, I don't like picking fights I can't handle!
By the time I snapped out of it, we were already in the dungeon. I even had my white-red knight uniform on?! Turning around quickly I spotted Kirito with Yui on his shoulders.
"...Since when did you let her come?!" I pointed my index finger accusingly at Kirito.
"Weren't you listening at all Saki? Yui determined that Yulier-san wasn't lying and then went into a rebellious stage wanting to come with us" Kirito replied.
R-Rebellious stage.. Yui?
Kirito laughed. "So even you space out sometimes huh"
I was spacing out thinking about something very important thank you very much! In the end, I didn't tell them.
"But I've never seen this in the beta, what a miss" Kirito said disappointedly.
"It's probably a dungeon that opens up when higher Floors have been cleared"
Correct~
"Kibaou was planning on keeping it all to himself"
"He'd earn a lot from having his personal hunting ground" Kirito said.
Another reason to hate Kibaou~
"However, the monsters here are just as strong as those on the 60th Floor, so he wasn't able to do much hunting"
I smirked.
"This is the entrance" Yulier said gesturing to the stairs leading down further into the dungeon.
"I'm not scared" Yui said noticing the look Yulier gave her.
"Yeah, she's a brave girl" I patted Yui on the head.
"She'll be a fine swordswoman someday" Kirito nodded and they laughed, but Yulier didn't even crack a smile.
"Well, let's proceed"
After walking for a while, we encountered some enemies that looked like disgusting frogs, there were so many too. Kirito offered to take them all on by himself, he was actually using both his swords today.
Yui was looking on with excitement and awe.
"S-Sorry for leaving all the work to him" Yulier apologized. "It's fine, he's probably enjoying it since it's been some time" I replied.
"We're pretty deep inside already, are we close?" I asked.
"Thinker hasn't moved from that position. I think he's in a safe area" Yulier said checking his whereabouts. "If we can get there, we should be able to use teleportation crystals"
"Man, that felt good~" Kirito declared stretching his arms.
"Sorry" Yulier apologized again.
"Don't be, I like this. Plus I got a bunch of items" He smiled.
"Like what?" I asked.
A piece of meat appeared in his hand. Not delicious meat, some raw meat that looked like a frog's leg.
"Scavenge Toad Meat"
Did I just see it move?!
"T-Throw them all away!" I shouted.
"The stranger it is, the better it tastes, right?" Kirito reasoned.
"Ah no, that doesn't apply at all no my cooking" I said deadpanned.
"So are you going to throw that away?"
"No"
...
In a second my sword was out and it sliced through the meat shattering it's durability. Barely missing Kirito's hand.
"Wh-What's wrong with you?! Damn it! In that case... How about these?" He brought out a bunch of them.
I glared at him. "Are you picking a fight? You're picking a fight, aren't you? I said, there's no way I'm cooking something that looks so disgusting!"
I'm not doing this because I'm a very picky eater but, I swear I could vomit at the sight of this frog meat. So he wouldn't get damaged by my attacks, he threw them all in the air as I swung my sword thousands of times.
"No!No!No!" I squealed as I stepped on one by accident.
"S-Saki?! My precious food!"
"You're an idiot! Perver-"
"Why am I being called a pervert right now?! And like I said, they're going to be delicious!"
"Fine! Then here!" I stuffed one into his mouth.
"You finally laughed!" Yui's voice was heard even in this commotion.
...?
"Onee-chan, you laughed for the first time!" She said happily.
Yulier was shocked at first but smiled afterwards.
W-We're not some comedy duo... I took Yui's hand, "Come on, let's go"
"I'll take care of those other pieces of meat in our inventory later" I said darkly towards Kirito.
"O-Of course"
Along the way, Yui got sleepy and so I carried her on my back. Eventually, we found the safe area.
"There's a player inside" Kirito confirmed.
"Thinker!" Yulier ran ahead.
"W-Wait! Yulier-san! It's dangerous!" I shouted after her, my voice echoed throughout the area.
"Dangerous?" Kirito asked.
"Yes, around here, there should be a high-level boss" I said worriedly.
"Yulier!" A different person shouted out waving his arms. "Get back! That passage-"
"Crap! Yulier-san! Come back!" I yelled.
As if on cue, me and Kirito saw a name on the side 'The Fatal Scythe' and it's scythe come down onto Yulier. Fortunately, Kirito was able to push her out of the way in time.
As soon as it's weapon hit the ground, the walls changed colours, it had nice mixtures of blue and it kinda felt like we were in space. Truly beauti-This is not the time for that!
"You could've told me that earlier Saki!"
"My bad! Really sorry!" I apologized.
"Yulier-san, take Yui-chan and head for the safe area" I ordered.
"O-Okay"
I made sure they were safely in before I came to stand beside Kirito. Since the boss was out of the shadows, I could clearly see it's appearance. It certainly looked like a Grim Reaper.
"Saki, use teleportation crystals to escape with Yui and the others right now. Even my skill isn't revealing any data, it's probably as strong as a 90th-Floor boss" He said as the boss slowly raised it's scythe again.
"I'll buy you all time, so get out of here now!"
"Hah? Don't go acting like a big hero now, if you're fighting then I'll fight with you"
Turning to face the others, I shouted "Take care of Yui-chan and teleport out of here!"
"W-We can't ju-" "Hurry up!" I cut in.
Thinker nodded.
As The Fatal Scythe quickly made it's next attack, I came up behind Kirito to help him block it. We had three swords blocking it, heavy and strong swords. But we still got knocked back flying.
I was further back, so kinda safe for the time being but Kirito, the boss was close enough to end him in one more move. Our HP had dropped half-way already.
I saw him try to get up but he failed to do so. I tried myself, and managed to get into a sitting position, although that was my limit. My whole body ached.
"Yui-chan no! Come back!" I heard Yulier can Thinker shouting before they teleported.
Then I saw Yui walk out stopping right in front of The Fatal Scythe.
"You idiot! Hurry up and run!" Kirito ordered.
"Don't worry, Papa, Saki"
The boss was quick to attack.
"Yui!"
It was as if there was a barrier around her and the boss was knocked back.
"Immortal object..." I muttered as those words appeared above Yui.
She started floating and flames engulfed her, until her clothes changed also leaving her with a long red sword. Yui easily lifted it and swung it down destroying the boss. Our surroundings changed back to the way it was before, all dark.
"Yui..."
"Papa, Saki. I remember everything now"
We all walked quietly towards the safe-area.
"So you've remembered everything?" Kirito started the conversation.
"Yes"
"Kirito-san, Saki-san" The way she addressed us changed...
"This world, Sword Art Online, is controlled by a single large system. That system is called Cardinal, it was designed to operate without the need for human maintenance. It controls the balance of SAO at its own discretion" "From the AIs of monsters and NPCs to the drop rates of items and currency, everything in determined by the programs controlled by Cardinal. Including the mental health care of players"
"Mental Health Counselling Program, prototype 1, Code name 'Yui' That's what I am."
"I've been interacting with a program... and I didn't notice?" I whispered.
"Saki!"
"I was given the ability to emulate human emotions so players wouldn't feel strange around me. Everything about me is fake, even these tears. Sorry, Saki-san"
"Yui.. Why did you lose your memories?" I asked slowly.
"Two years ago, when the service officially began, Cardinal inexplicably ordered me not to interact with any players. I was unable to do anything except monitor the players' mental states. They couldn't have been any worse"
"Since everyone was filled with negative emotions like fear, despair and all that.." I muttered.
"I couldn't approach them and so, errors gradually accumulated within me leading me to break down."
"But one day, I noticed two players with mental parameters very different from the others. Joy, tranquillity, but that wasn't all" Yui smiled.
"I wandered into the field, hoping to get even just a little closer to you"
"And so, we found you on the 22nd Floor woods" Kirito said.
"Kirito-san, Saki-san, I've always wanted to meet you both. Isn't it strange?" More tears came. "I'm not even supposed to think this way, I'm just a program"
"You're no longer just a program controlled by the system. You should be-able to tell us what you want. What do you want?" Kirito asked softly.
"I... I..." She held out both arms "I want to stay with you forever, Papa, Saki!"
I went up to her and patted her on the head. "Yeah, we'll be together forever" "Because you're our little girl" Kirito hugged us all.
"But... It's too late now. This console gives GMs emergency access to the system" She touched it with her hand and it lit up.
"I used this to erase that monster but at the same time, it's running a check on my program. Since I went against Cardinal's orders, the system now considers me a foreign object. I'll soon be erased as well"
"What?"
"Can't we do something about it?" Kirito asked.
"Papa, Saki, thank-you. Please continue to help everyone and share your happiness with them in my stead"
She started glowing.
"Yui..." I could create her again, but it wouldn't be the Yui we know. She wouldn't have the memories of us together, it wouldn't be the same.
"Mama, smile!" With that she was gone.
Don't do that... Don't call me Mama right at the end! It'll just make me miss you more!
"Cardinal-no, Kayaba Akihiko! Don't think that things will always go your way!" Kirito started typing on the console.
"Kirito"
"I'm thinking I can use this GM account to hack into the system, and get Yui... What's with this ?! I thought we could still access it, the security's too fast" He angrily yelled.
"Move" I gently pushed him out of the way.
It's been quite a while since I've seen this messy sight of codes. As I cracked them I thought, did I really spend so much time with my father doing this? Programming?
I was done, but was forced back since the console shut down. Kirito managed to catch me before I fell though. Inside my clenched fist, was Yui's heart, it look like a tear-drop.
We said our goodbyes to Thinker, Yulier and Sasha and left, walking back home.
Yui's heart was on a necklace, which I wore and treasured.
"Do you think you could recreate Yui-chan in the real world?" Kirito asked me.
"Even if I can't, I'll just create a whole new game just so we can meet her again" I replied confidently.
"We'll definitely meet again, Yui-chan"
"Yeah, Mama" I turned around but saw no-one there.
"Oi Saki! Hurry up!" Kirito shouted.
"Got it~" I replied with a smile on my face.
Thank-you for reading this story.
For not updating for a while, I have an excuse. From Monday-Thursday, I can't touch my laptop. Thank my wonderful parents.
Typing on my phone is out of the question and every weekend I catch up on Anime...
So let's hope we meet again.