Chapter 2: Flying Home

"So why exactly are you going to America?" Shino asked firing her pistol

Kazuto and Shino were currently at the local gun range. It had become a common activity for the two of them for quite a while. Shino enjoyed firing guns even outside of GGO, and Kazuto found it to be quite a stress relief.

"It has to do with something from my childhood. It's about my dad" Kazuto said simply as he started to aim at the target in front of him.

Shino withdrew the gun she was holding and turned to look at him. A puzzled look on her face.

"Huh, your dad. You never really told me about him, honestly you never really told me about your real parents"

Shino was well aware of the fact that Kazuto was the cousin of Suguha, and that he was raised by her parents. But she never really asked about his real parents. She thought it must have been a touchy subject that he didn't want to bring up.

"Yeah, my dad was a CIA agent. Raised me when I was younger in Alaska after mom died, he was a bit tough on me. Apparently he went through some really bad stuff, but I was never allowed to know all the details. He still cared about me though".

Kazuto knew what the next question was going to be, so he prepared himself for it.

"So what happened to him"

Kazuto decided to fire a couple more shots before answering the question. After emptying the magazine, he sighed and turned to look at Shino.

"He unfortunately died on a mission when I was ten. Apparently some crazy psycho surprised him and that was it. After his death, I moved to Japan to live with Suguha."

Shino stared right into his eyes, moving forward she touched the side of his face as a motion of sympathy.

"I'm so sorry, thats horrible" she said whispering

Kazuto slowly moved his hand onto hers. A small smile formed on his face, he always appreciated Shinos ability to understand others' trauma.

"Thanks Shino, it was a long time ago. It's just a memory more than anything" Kazuto knew that he wasn't being fully honest with Shino. Why else would he be doing what he's about to do if it didn't still bother him.

Shino could tell that Kazuto wasn't being fully honest with her, but she understood that he needed to deal with this in his own way. She removed her hand from his face.

"But that still doesn't explain why your going to America"

With Shinos question, Kazuto reached into one of his pants pockets, and pulled something out.

"It's because of this" he said as he showed the pendant in his hand

Shino was immediately in awe at the beauty of the heart shaped pendant

"It came in the mall a couple days ago, I have no idea where it's from. But it triggered some PTSD inside of me that I have never felt before. Thoughts of my dads death kept appearing".

Kazuto put the pendant back in his pocket, he didn't even like to look at it.

"They never were able to catch the guy who killed my dad. I'm meeting with one of my dads old CIA friends in America. I'm hoping he knows about the pendant". Kazuto said with a grim expression

"Oh well, I hope you find the answers you're looking for, and you know I'm always here if you need help".

Kazuto smiled at her. Appreciating her thoughtfulness.

"Thanks Shino, now let's get back to target practice".

Kazuto quickly reloaded his pistol and aimed at the target, he fired a shot and hit right in the center of the head.

"Wow, your shot is getting really good"

"Thanks, it's all that training I've been doing"

After the multiple real world attacks that nearly killed Kazuto. The agency that he worked for told him he needed to get official government training if he wanted to continue working. As such, Kazuto spent the last couple months under some of Japan's best military trainers. His skills from Virtual Reality gave him a good head start with agility and reflexes. But he still had a lot to learn in hand to hand combat, and firearms.

Even though Kazuto preferred to use swords, he understood the importance of knowing how to fire guns. After a few months, he became a well trained fighter and gun wielder, many were surprised by his shooting skills.

"Maybe it's because of dad and woods making me shoot when I was younger". Kazuto thought to himself as he continued firing.

Time Skip

As Kazuto looked through the window of his Taxi, many thoughts were running through his mind.

His plane ride was thankfully fine, and he made sure to say goodbye to Suguha and Shino before leaving. Even though Suguha wasn't fully comfortable with her brother being so far away, she understood why he needed to do this. Kazuto thought about reaching out to his virtual friends, letting them know he was going to be away. But he ultimately decided against it, only saying goodbye to Yui in VR.

He had packed a small duffel bag and his Amusphere. He thought it would be nice for Yui to meet her Great Uncle Woods. He also had with him a six pack of America Beer, something he made sure to buy when he landed in America, he knew how much Woods loved beer.

Soon they arrived at The Vault. A retirement complex for old war Veterans, Frank wanted to live on his own for as long as he could. But his old age and paralysis lead to him eventually having to cave and live at The Vault. Stepping out of the Taxi, Kazuto thanked the driver and made his way inside. When he entered, he walked up to the receptionist and asked to visit Frank Woods. After an identification check, he was guided down the hall. As Kazuto walked, he could hear familiar yelling coming down the hall.

"What do you mean I have a visitor, who the fuck wants to see me".

Kazuto followed the voice as he eventually came to a room with an open door. In it, was a nurse and an old wheelchair bound man with a cigarette in his mouth. Woods turned to look at who was at the door and almost dropped the cigarette in surprise. Kazuto simply grinned at him.

"Hey Woods, I brought beer".