Alright guys, you can berate me all you want. I kept you guys waiting for long. But just like Hirano, I'm also a college student, and pursuing my dream of becoming a computer scientist. And things can get a little rough on my way there, especially during this semester as I kind of took a little more than I could chew. I'd probably still do good for the whole courses anyway, but it took a huge toll on my time and physicality right now. But it's gonna be over in a week anyway, so I was hoping for that.

To Turtle Emperor: Thank you for showing interests to my story. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as much as the last ten ones. For your question, I can't really spoil anything about the general plot of the story right now, but I will just leave you with this to keep in mind; is that I take stories quite seriously. Even fanfictions are also stories, and Life Expectancy, from the title itself, is (or I'll try to make it) a story about life itself. Not just about life, but also 'life'. So the fate of the characters will fit the narratives. So will Yuuki end up passing away just like in canon, or will she survive in this story, we won't know until I reveal it. But whatever the outcome maybe, you can always enjoy the bond built between her and my OC. For your other question of why doesn't my OC interact with other main characters, I'd just say that they are mostly unnecessary to the plot for them to have any major role. The story's mostly about the prequel to the Sleeping Knights and Hirano himself (in which Mother's Rosario feels like a standalone story in SAO), so I don't see any roles these guys can play in the story, maybe except for Asuna later on. I'd still have them appear as cameos whenever I see fit like Argo, but since I want the story to have a natural flow and realistic feel to it, they'd probably have to sit out for now.

To everybody else, I'll keep on writing for whatever free times I have, and I honestly cannot thank you guys enough for your support right now.

Disclaimer: The SAO universe and its characters are borrowed contents, and credits should be given where its due.

Chapter 11: Nariko

April 24, 2025

Today is a special day.

Yet it didn't occur to me that it was until I finished my university class. I just finished the tedious four-hour lecture about the history of architecture in 16th century Europe. A lot of information to remember and, quite frankly, did not resonate with me that much as I had expected. I generally enjoyed learning different things aside from just drawing. The more knowledge I absorb for whatever time I still had left, the more inspiration I would have for future works, and it was just plain interesting to discover new things anyway. Just wonder why many people couldn't uphold the same mentality. However, this one was perhaps a little too alien to relate, so that I could understand it well. But I had grinded through it. Not having anything to do right now, I was intending to ask a few guys out to a cafe, or maybe heading home and continue with the ALO adventure. I'd love to have Yuuki as a partner.

Suddenly, as I was walking out to the courtyard, I noticed, standing next to the university main gate, three figures. Three feminine silhouettes, standing nearly as tall as the others. And they looked extremely familiar…

"Mother? Yuina?"

I didn't need to get close to recognize two out of three of the shadows. One stood side by side with the stone plaque near the school's entrance. The light wind combed through her straight waist-length brown hair, with a large red bow tie at the back of her head. As I moved closer, her roundish face contrasted with a pair of deep olive-colored eyes. It was as if she was a woman in a child's clothing and physique.

"Big brother."

The girl gave one simple greeting. Silent and grim. Her eyes continued endlessly

She was my little sister, Yuina Amari. She's still a middle schooler, senior year, yet she almost likely to have already secured an enrollment ticket to a gifted school. Like how I was told by others, she was also a person of great potential. But unlike me, who was specialized in something that sometimes society didn't give a fuck, Yuina's was a thing people craved for. Companies craved for, government craved for - medicine. Everybody wanted her. So she held a brighter future than me. I was happy with that, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling to compare myself to that.

"Hirano…"

And right next to her was my mother. A traditional woman of elegance and diligence, yet scars of life had already been paved on her cheeks and forehead. She was wearing a brown kimono while her hair was tied up in a bun hanging behind her nape. And upon hearing such voice from the person whom had given birth to me, and had raised me up, had given me the joy of life up until I fell down that stair at my apartment, the voice that was about to lose me, made it uneasy for me. She didn't really want to say anything much, and so did I. We both didn't want to unnecessarily and involuntarily hurt each other at this point.

The third person in the group though was a stranger. A little taller than I am, and perhaps as tall as me if I was standing straight, she was peculiarly strange in her style. No, she wasn't wearing a Naruto costume or anything. But rather her clothes didn't seem to fit the weather. Long-sleeved shirt aside, she also had another layer of jacket outside, whilst the sun was beginning to turn on the stove, attempting to fry us alive for the next three or four months or so. I know I am not that far from my own description of her, but she was way beyond that.

Though that aside, the girl did look particularly beautiful in her own way. She looked older than me but wasn't enough to strike me as a married woman. She probably was in her mid-twenties, the time of young adults. Her deep blue hair was tied up neatly into a bun behind her, with the exception of two locks in front of her cheeks that extended to her chin level, framing her delicate face and highlighted her light colored eyes. Upon noticing my gaze, she smiled brightly, seemingly having known me before.

"Do you remember your request for a nurse a few weeks ago, brother?" Yuina asked.

"Yeah." I replied, my hands still holding the walking sticks tightly. So this lady is…

"There we have it. Brother, meet Nariko-san." My little sister then turned to the dark-blue haired lady. "Nariko-san, this is my brother."

Simultaneously, I looked over to Nariko, with a smile her way. She was quite a polite person herself since she took the greeting with a bow and respectful addressing. Though as she spoke, it wasn't as I stereotypically imagine.

"Good afternoon, Hirano-sama." Her voice was somewhat humming. It was clear yet deep. And she appeared to have been reading through my profile already, or that my family already informed her. Hence she knew my name

"Good afternoon." I returned her greeting. "You don't need to be so formal."

Not especially since I was a little too young to be called sama by someone mature-looking like her.

"So Hirano-kun then?" She inquired.

"That'll be perfect. You can cross out the procedure."

She smiled brightly again. Her tone changed drastically, from a more deeper and rather stressed to a more natural lighter one.

"Alright. I am Nariko. Nariko Minase. But if you insist on informality, you may call me Nariko."

First name basis already? But I barely knew her.

"I don't mind. But are you ok with it actually? Being called by your first name?" I inquired.

"That's no problem!" She replied, all of a sudden, in English instead of Japanese. And it was rather a perfect American accent, something I rarely see a normal Japanese capable of doing. "I usually don't like formality between friends anyway, but the occupation forced me otherwise. I'm glad to be of care to someone who shared my viewpoints."

"Uhh…yeah." I nodded a little awkwardly. I did not really endorse it, but she was officially my nurse for the next few last years of my life now. She would basically and practically be my mom in that period of time. So getting close to her would be inevitable.

"It's a pleasure to meet you then, Nariko." I rustily held out my hand. She took it gently, yet whole-heartedly.

"Let's take care of each other, shall we?" She smiled. Relief and happiness were what ran through my head at that moment. Getting a nurse was somewhat a gamble to me of some sort. If you ended up with a person who was nice, as my impression of Nariko right now, your entire time would her would be a bliss. But if you were paired with someone less than that, then it would just be an add-up to the mountain of problems that you were dealing with. I was relieved because she seemed like the former one.

"Anyway. How about you Yuina and mother? Are you staying with us today or what?"

"Hmm." Yuina brushed her hair a bit. "No, I still have class early on tomorrow, so I'll have to leave in the evening. Though if mother wants to stay…"

We both looked over to our mother, who simply shook her head.

"I won't bother you long…I and your sister would just have a look over at your place. If that's alright with you."

Like a mother's care for her son.

"Of course I'm alright. I mean why would I refuse?"

Perhaps it was a blessing that Yuina and mother suddenly paid me a visit, with Nariko being introduced - I didn't have to walk home anymore. A taxi ride to go. In just fifteen minutes, we were already in front of my apartment's door, with Nariko helping me up the stairs. Good grace. I didn't have to spend the entire hour climbing that mountain anymore.

"Here we are." I said as I reached for the light. "Although you should've known this by now."

This wasn't their first time here. And they were the ones who picked this house with me, so they knew this place well.

"I'm pretty surprised, brother." Yuina said. "Even after all of that, your room is still clean and tidy as if you didn't even touch a finger on it."

"Doesn't look like a boy's room to me." Nariko said jokingly.

"Forgive my neat freak nature ok?" I replied. "But also because I had a friend over yesterday. It was a hangout, but along the way, she helped clean my room also."

"A girl, eh?" Nariko's voice suddenly grew lower, as if she was an inspector interrogating a prisoner. "My, to even clean the room of a boy too. I'd like to meet this friend of yours."

Christ, what's up with people nowadays.

"Stop it, Nariko." I grimaced a bit. "She's a nurse in training. And she's just a nice girl that's all."

"Oh really?" She seemed disappointed. Honestly, this was not the image of Nariko that I initially had.

"Back in his middle school days, my brother loved to bring his classmates home with him." My little sister suddenly said, a little jokingly. "Especially girls. The habit continued on even after he moved to Hokkaido."

That moment, my heart sank. Yuina! They aren't necessary information!

"Ho ho…" Nariko's eyes slit like two straight lines, looking at me with suspicion. "Is there anything you haven't told us yet, Hirano-kun?"

"Cut me some slack Nariko." I replied, grumpily.

"Not on your life Hirano-kun. Not on your life." She replied, snarkily so. It seemed to me that I began regretting omitting the formality of the relationship between patient and nurses now.

But as Nariko was eyeing me like I was a criminal, something else caught her attention, as she stared over my shoulders. She looked quite attracted to it.

"I haven't seen that thing before. It looks beautiful." She commented.

I turned around. She was looking at my desk. Was she referring to my painting?

"This?" I asked

"Yeah. Where did you get it?"

"I didn't buy it. I made it."

Though that wasn't the soaring white birds like last time though, rather something more unusual. This one focused around a man walking as if he is the Flash, as the world seemed to zip behind him. It wasn't just a nice but bizarre picture of an absurdly fast walking man, but that is up to your interpretation.

"You made it?" Nariko's eyes broadened her two hands on her hips. "Oh yeah you're studying art, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I'm in the second year now." I said. Shouldn't she know that already though?

"Sorry I didn't think this is student's level." Nariko said.

That was…an honestly pleasant surprise.

"Do you mean it?" I asked honestly.

"Yeah, I do." She nodded firmly. "Believe me I was one of you guys. I can recognize a good art when I see one."

"Wait, wait. You were an artist?"

"Well...not an artist like you, but an 'artist'"

Was she? Nariko Minase. Had I heard that name before?

Hmmm…

"Wait, are you THAT Nariko?" I lifted my head up.

"Bingo!" Again, that English. Wow, this really was her. She had always struck me with her brilliantly nailed English pronunciation in her work.

"I can't believe someone still remembers me." She said, her eyes suddenly stretched, a smile on her lips, yet it was totally different than before.

"I'm not entirely a fan anyway. But back then it was quite an atmosphere in my class. So the name sticks with me. Wow, I couldn't imagine that you'd be my carer one day."

"That's every man's wet dream back then you know." Nariko's lips suddenly widened unusually. Her eyes seemed to deform into a half-moon. "You better be grateful…"

"...I am…"

Truly regretful…

"But that's the past now." She said with a long exhale, staring into the distance. "Ok, it's four fifteen, I should be preparing dinner for all of you. Where is your kitchen, Hirano-kun."

I pointed at the corner of the room.

"Okie dokie! You guys want to stay with us for dinner or what?"

Yuina looked over to her mother, seemingly asking for her opinion. Without even the need to converse anything though, she said.

"It's alright Nariko. I have an early morning class tomorrow, so we'd better get going soon."

"Oh, that's too bad then." Nariko stopped in her track, walking out to join the rest of us.

"Everything's alright for you right, mother?" I asked. She nodded lightly.

"I'm relieved about you for now." She said, in an awkward combination of low and high-pitched tone. "But anytime you want to…"

She stopped at that point. But I already knew the rest. To come back home. To return to my mother's embrace but not as an accomplished man as I wanted it to be.

"I will tell you. Is that alright with you?"

It's not alright with me though. But there was no right choice.

My mother only nodded, as Yuina accompanied her to the door.

"You're doing alright in school, right?" I didn't have much opportunity to ask her during her visit, so I shot her the quick question.

"Yeah. It's not as hard as my friends said would be." She turned around, her long brunette hair lashed with the momentum. "But then again, I'm not the one to speak about difficulty."

"As expected of my little sister." I replied. "Alright, the two of you take care."

Her eyes suddenly drooped, but nevertheless, she held her head straight, as she looked me directly into the eyes.

"Goodbye, big brother."

My mother followed suit.

"Take care of yourself too Hirano-kun…"

"Take care…"

With that said, they both left.

And they both left me with a hollow within.

"Man I wish I have such a supportive family like yours." Nariko remarked. "The last time I checked in with my family about my job, I got into a full-frontal battle of who gets to shout the loudest."

"My family didn't always agree with my direction too. But at least they still respected my decision."

Just like they did. Sometimes I do hope that they'd be a little more selfish.

"That's way better than mine already. Anyway, let's get in shall we? You don't want to be a statue for birds to stand on." She said as she walked inside, heading straight for the kitchen. "We'll have a lot of bondings to do from now on. So I'll start then. What do you do in your free time? Paint? Read books? Listen to music?"

"Uhh…" I wasn't expecting to be bombarded with questions like that. "I play virtual MMO games."

"Games?" Nariko rhetorically questioned. "Well, that is something boy-like of you."

"Do you then, Nariko?"

"I don't like games. I like listening to pop music though. Bands like Muse. Those things can get me hyped for a whole day long"

Oh my god, you don't say she is another Satsuki?

"That is indeed something girly." I returned fire at her. I know it is stereotypical and that there are many boys who love these things, but she was doing the exact same thing anyway.

"Yeah, because I am girly. A well-refined woman in her prime that is!" She boasted, a little loudly per say. "Like I said, you better be grateful for what fate brought you, otherwise it won't end well for you."

"Oh I bet it won't occur that way." I said snarkily. "They won't allow it."

Talking about games…

"Hey, do you mind if I dive into the game for a little bit?"

"Aww, you don't wanna talk to me or what?"

Seriously, stop putting me in a position like this alright?

"I do, but I have someone in there waiting for me right now."

"Ohhhh." Her tone changed like two polars of the Earth. "Is it a girl?"

I knew it.

"Multiple. A group to say. It's not a date like your wild imagination goes."

"A playboy I see." She said

My God…Ok I gave up. I had no choice but to play around this woman then.

"How long would you be in there though?" But then came a genuine question.

"I'll get out at dinnertime. At seven if you will."

"Three hours, huh? Sure. But if you don't come out on time, I'll unplug your visor for you."

"Ok I know." I rolled my eyes a bit. Even if she did, I wouldn't die like the NerveGear did.

I held onto the table and chair where I was sitting on, holding onto it tightly as I slowly straighten myself. Without letting go, I crept my way to my bedside. Once near the bedside already, my hand finally let loose as I fell onto the mattress. Grabbing onto my Amusphere, I struggled, like always, to put the set over my head. But once I did, I wasted no time to say that iconic keyword, so that my consciousness could be stripped away from this world.

Sleeping Knight's Clubhouse

I arrived at the clubhouse probably at not a right time. Before I even entered the house, loud voices from all parties could be heard from the outside pretty clearly. It didn't seem like they were fighting though. It was probably just a heated discussion. When I paid attention to it, I could figure out a bit of what they were saying. Something about a dinner party, a sword, a hairband, and…teddy bear?

"What the hell are they talking about?"

What am I even listening to?

Without any further impoliteness, I reached for the doorknob and opened the door, pretending to act normally.

"Hello guys." I greeted them with a wave. "What are you guys up to?"

"Ah, Hirano-san!" Jun quickly returned me the wave of greeting before it turned into a 'come here' one. "I…no, we need your help!"

"Uhh, sure. But what is it about?" I asked.

"It's Yuuki's birthday present." He said. "It's next month from now, and it's high time we decide what to buy for her."

"Oh." My eyes piqued in surprise and interest. "How old is she now?"

"She will be fifteen." Siune replied.

"Oh…wait…" All of a sudden my eyes turned flat. Didn't she say she is fifteen while we were having flight training with Satsuki? It was indeed only more than a month before her birthday, so saying she's fifteen instead of fourteen may not harm that much. But that wasn't really a reason to say it though.

"Anyway, Talken and I think it would be good that we can win her a sword for her so that she can use." Jun had his hand placed on his chest as he bent forward and said.

"I think!" Nori suddenly poked her finger in. "As girl, I think buying her an ornament is always better. Girls love those kind of things."

"Well, not necessarily Yuuki!" Jun replied, perhaps a little loud. Uh huhh…

"Wait, Hirano-san, don't say this to Yuuki please!" He soon realized his mistake, as he saw me bending my head back like a chicken while grinning like a madman. I'm definitely gonna tell her that.

"I still think we can buy her a teddy bear." Siune said. "It's nice and simple."

"Wait." I waved my hand. "She likes those things?"

"Oi, Siune-san!" Nori grabbed Siune's shoulder. "How can you let out that info so easily?"

"Come on, Nori. Hirano-san's not anyone strange or a weirdo." Jun went in to defend me. Honestly, I did feel somewhat good when people say I'm not strange.

But Yuuki liked a teddy bear…that's girlish I guess. I knew a few girls back in middle and high school that loved these sorts of things. It should be normal to me. Now that I mentioned it, I had gotten so used to seeing her jumping around up and down as if she was carrying an infinite battery that I forgot from time to time that she was just a normal teenage girl.

"I think we should just go for simple and traditional dinner party." Tecchi added his own argument. "It's the memories that count you said so."

"But we'll have to have that in the game instead." Jun replied, seemingly dominating over his friend Talken.

"So?" I asked, both rhetorically and curiously.

"We want to have that in real life instead." He said. "We don't have much opportunity for this at all."

"But Jun…" Talken finally had the opportunity to speak. But he instead leaned closer onto Jun as they whispered something I couldn't hear from my location.

"So it can't be helped for me I guess…" He said, his tone obviously taking a dive, as his eyes staring at the dark brown wooden floor. So the suggestion was odded out I guess? I really wondered what they were whispering that caused such a mood change, but I couldn't eavesdrop or anything. I was the oldest one here, along with Siune. I should act accordingly to my role.

"If you guys want to do stuff in real life, but couldn't really meet up I presume." As they seemed to be undecided, I voiced what they wanted to hear. "Then you can buy her things online and deliver it to where she lives?"

"Oh…" Jun placed his hand on his chin. "Oh hey that's a great idea!"

"While the gifts are delivered, you can do whatever quest we have to get the item. It's two birds with one stone. No three birds with one stone."

"It's actually four." Tecchi joined in. "If we can't meet up, then we'd just have to settle with eating in the clubhouse instead."

"Like last time, right?" Jun said. "It was fun then. Not to mention Hirano-san can join us too."

Oh right. I hadn't considered the fact that I lived in a different city than them, a few hundred miles away. I could still afford a trip back and forth though. It'd probably take like two days for me using the shinkansen, but considering my condition right now, it was a little difficult to move around. Nariko would have to tend to me too. So an online meet-up would be ideal. That was settled then.

"But do you know where to buy these stuff?"

The moment the question was voiced, a ghost seemed to manifest itself in this room. A wind crept inside, fluttering our soft digitalized hair.

"You don't know these things?" I asked with a pair of eyes equivalent of size to a baseball.

"Ahaha. We're not that outgoing." Nori laughed.

"Some of you don't look what you said." I remarked truthfully. Well, it was not at all non-existent these otakus who never actually see the sunlight once in their lifetime. Not that I was generalizing these guys, but anti-social behaviors are very common now that the digitalized world allowed you to still connect even without moving a leg. Some of those kids in class didn't even have an individual in real life whom he or she could call a friend.

"In that case, we can order that online." I suggested. "I know probably just the place for what all you guys need."

"Really? That's so great!" Nori squealed in excitement and relief. "You're such a big help, Hirano-san. We won't know what to do without you."

"Eh, no worries." I simply replied. I usually did this to my friends as well. It was nice doing this from time to time. It wouldn't really affect me that much. It's just a teddy bear and a hairband. How expensive could those two be?

I didn't really need to order this now though. It wasn't really a rare item or anything. A week or two before it would do, including the shipping time from both cities.

"Anyway, where is Yuuki anyway?"

I assumed this was for a surprise party, so she wasn't present. But she was a twenty-four over twenty-four FullDive player too, so she may very likely be just around here, chilling around somewhere.

"Oh, she's at the common training arena now. Probably dueling someone given her personality." Nori replied.

Taking advantage of her status now, eh?

She had been gaining a lot of popularity since that wolf quest. And funnily enough, no one actually knew me for shit, even as her popularity rose. Don't get me wrong though, I was rooting for her, but I should have gotten more credits than I deserve, thanks to that stupid cat.

I said goodbyes to the Sleeping Knights as I flew off for the training arena. It was relatively new, being added in probably a few months before the huge revised version of ALO. And it was at the very center, a neutral multi-racial territory. Huge tournaments and stuff were said to be hosted there in the future, to provide players with some sort of entertainment, now that the whole Alf race thing was gone.

"A teddy bear huh?"

It was cute actually…

Much of the mundane activities in this story is actually written from my own perspective as an international student studying in Canada. Anyway, I'd see you in the next chapter, where I'd shoutout to some of the canon content and explore deeper into Yuuki's life up to this point. See you then and have a nice day.