|Several Years Ago...|
The warmth of a summer afternoon peeled between the curtains of Kaito's silent room, say for the button mashing and the chatter into his mic, his eyes focused solely on the screen in front of him, empty cans and empty wrappers strewn across his desk, himself leaned back into his chair, completely tuning out the world around him.
"-you're starting on me... going to Rex," Kaito replied as the boss mechanics were running smoother this time around, having spent nearly two hours alone on this final encounter, but progress was a steady crawl to the finish line, their end goal only requiring execution. "Light Eater's spawned, watch them."
"Hey, Kaito," But of course, someone had to cut in abruptly to his left, himself sparing a glance at his older sister, Keon, her white hair tied up into a messy bun. "Dad said he needs your help,"
Annoyed, Kaito shifted one earphone off to speak, "I'm taken, where to? - and I'm kinda busy... ugh, just give me, like, ten minutes or something," Quickly dismissing the issue, now his stress grew, knowing he was on the clock yet again.
He heard Keon sigh. "Right," Then she left him alone to his raid.
After roughly fifteen minutes of nail-biting work, Kaito walked away with a skip in his step; they had cleared the contest mode for the raid, earning a great sum of rewards, and even the exotic drop for completing the higher difficulty. Making his way through the house, Kaito rounded a corner to his left, opening the door to his father's workshop, the strong scent of wood filling his nostrils instantly, like he set foot into the middle of a forest.
"Dad, sorry, was finishing up the last encounter to that raid, was really tough too-"
Whatever upbeat mood Kaito had disappeared in an instant, seeing his father's stool had toppled over, alongside the man who didn't move an inch. Kaito's expression was blank, the reality hadn't quite settled in as fast as he'd have liked, but his heart stopped dead in its tracks, making his body run colder than ice.
"...dad?"
Blinking once, Nagi couldn't see anything, but he did feel weightless, like his body had been plunged into a deep pool, slowly drifting in silence. He wasn't in pain, it didn't feel like his body was set to convulse and spasm, did that mean he really died? No, he could still feel cold, and he had a sense of self, but what did he know about dying?
Of all memories to come flooding back to him like this, the day his father passed away was always the worst. Endlessly, Nagi had wondered if he had just gotten up, forgetting for once in his life about the game in front of him, could he have given his dad more time? His illness took a nose-dive that day, but if he was there when it happened, would it have given him just that little bit longer to say goodbye to everyone else? Nagi's Mom? His sisters? Instead, it was just him, Nagi would've given half his life just to provide his dad a few precious minutes more. But life never worked that way, you can't create the perfect moment, even at your deathbed.
After that, Nagi couldn't look any of them in the eye, not his mother or Keon, it was all his fault, he hated himself for being the way he was, always complaining and being stubborn, and not once did either of his parents raise their voices at him, they never got angry or frustrated to his face, even with everything they had to deal with. And Nagi couldn't even give his dad fifteen minutes to help with his work.
How could anyone still think anything good of Nagi after that?
Yet, he put his life in their hands, time and again, someone has saved his life, even after pushing them all away to keep them safe, they wouldn't give up on him. Ever since this death game began, Nagi thought, 'this was his chance', a second chance to make it right, to atone by saving people, helping them as his father would without question, without complaint or anger. Nagi clenched his fists, a few tears creeping out of his eyes; he'd give anything to be half the person his father was...
Even as he was, so many came to save him, they screamed their support, placing themselves in an unwinnable battle just for his sake alone. They didn't care what Nagi was in his past, even if they knew the whole story, deep down, Nagi knew they'd just say, 'who cares about that', 'you're still our friend', 'make up for it then', they knew it wasn't as simple as that, but they'd still say it for his sake. Because... that's what he would say.
"I'll help ya fix every wrong made, each and every mistake until you can walk on yer own, even then, I'll still be right next to yoU," A small smile tugged at her lips, flicking his nose. "Get all that this time, HerO?"
Opening his eyes to the void, only now, there was light up above, just within reach.
"You are so talented, never I have ever been more proud of you,"
Even after all the trouble he's caused, his father still looked at him with pride. He must've known Nagi would blame himself for what happened, he was always a step ahead in everything, even at the end.
Then, she placed her hand atop Nagi's head, even as tears filled his eyes, he met her own, filled with love and compassion. "I believe... in all of you."
Shirayuki had no reason to trust a player that would bring an end to this world, but she placed all her faith in him, to believe in himself as much as she did! Reaching up toward the light, Nagi wouldn't let it end like this, not after coming so far. He made her a promise, all of them a vow etched into his heart, that he would take them back home, no matter what it takes, even if he's on the brink of death, he'll never give up!
And at his back, two different, feminine hands pushed him higher, giving him one last push.
|Sword Art Online, Floor 25, House Sun Stronghold|
|Feb. 23rd 08:25|
Another rapid slash scraped down Artorias's shield, then another into a thrust, forcing him back as his arm shook under each blow, crossing swords with Sköll, blocking the second before throwing himself back to evade a heavy foot slam, kicking up hot wind and dust in its wake. "Switch!" He rasped, Yuuki and Ran blinding the boss with a haze of sword slashes in cyan and gold, the sisters performing a pirouette, weaving into a dance that the boss couldn't predict, rending its body, yet its HP remained stagnant.
When the last of their Horizontal Squares faded, both gasped as they were stuck with an outward swing from its chest, their swords tanking the blow, but neither could keep themselves standing, the drawn-out battle and the numerous battles prior sweeping them off their feet, slamming both into a pillar each, the Sunblade advancing like a freight train.
Blocking the way, Artorias's shield took on a harsh, orange sheen, a contrail following with a solid hit on Sköll's midsection, then a backswing to parry the first slant, an uppercut to stun and disable its left slash, allowing him to vault off its own leg into a downward slam that rang against its armour, the wind billowing under Artorias who instantly raised Red Death, narrowly diverting a plunging attack away from his head into the ground behind him. Even with Falling Bash, it wasn't even stunned for a second, kicking Artorias aside to continue its charge, completely disregarding aggro skills.
"Crap, it's ignoring Hate modifiers!" Artorias relayed in time for Sachi's Sonic Charge, her spear spewing a fountain of light as it was counter by both crossing nodachi, each swung wide, disrupting her skill and leaving her wide open to be gored, or until a black blade turned an aurora of blue parried both at the exact same time, Kirito followed up a horizontal across the stomach, slashing upward to deflect another of Sköll's attacks, repeating his first strike to the second nodachi, slashing upward from the wrist to the Sunblade's shoulder, spinning clockwise then anti, Elucidator going toe-to-toe with the indomitable foe.
Pulling back to wind up the last of Nova Ascension, Mito and Daora carved down each side of Sköll, Mito's feet pressed to the neck of Soul Fang as she kicked off, dragging the length of the blade through the boss's back alongside Daora's cleave, knocking Sköll directly into the full weight of Kirito's final thrust, an cascade of blue and pink shards erupting at the tip, the Black Swordsman skidding right by the towering samurai who fell to a knee, rasping painfully.
"Hah, got him!" Daora pumped his fist, only to watch it slowly rise, its HP never budging. "How... is it still not taking damage...?"
"We broke all those spots on its armour, and there's nothing in the area to suggest a mechanic," Despite all of Mito's spontaneous planning, she couldn't figure it out, what was it they were missing. Worst of all, she couldn't tell what Argo and Klein were doing, she heard Argo scream, a genuine, terrified yell that Mito had never heard from her before. Did something happen? What about Nagi? There were just too many variables for her to work with.
"It's moving f-for them, stop it!" Yuuki coughed, managing to pry herself from the side of the pillar.
Artorias was the closest, using Vorpal Strike to make up the distance only to gasp when his own skill motion left him wide open to having a nodachi carve along his stomach, throwing him skyward for a secondary slash down his right shoulder, nearly splitting his arm from his torso when he was planted firmly into the earth, unable to move.
Turning with another hiss of steam, Sköll was briefly blinded by a blur of silver, Argo's boot smashing its mask against its face with her backflip into a spiralling flurry of claw marks across its whole body, the broker standing with her claws bleeding gold, her face twisted into a painful scowl as tears threatened to burst from her eyes.
"Want througH? Go ahead and trY!" Whatever composure she once had was gone, her cheeks flushed red with anger, bearing her teeth at the oversized samurai who acknowledged her by raising both swords overhead, dismissing the many advancing players behind it.
"Argo, move!" Kirito cried out too, he knew she could only take, at most, two to three hits directly.
"Argo!" Several more called to, but she didn't flinch-
*Ting-Boosh!*
Sparks flew by her widened eyes, there was no trail of light, just a small cluster of soft pink cherry blossom petals that countered at the last possible moment. Sköll stumbled back, shaking its wrists when it stood up fully again, as if mesmerized by the perfect parry. Finally, Argo's eyes fell to the one behind the counter, she expected such a move from Kirito, Yuuki, or even Artorias, but instead, that anger and pain dissolved into a tiny smile of relief, giving her the strength to dry her eyes.
The others looked in states of bewilderment, shock, or hope, maybe all the above. Lowering the scabbard of a katana, Nagi clasped the grip tightly, tensing the fabric as the rust and decay peeled away from the one rugged and tainted sword, flickering away in the wind like ash. The scabbard was a smooth white with the motif of a cherry blossom branch stretching across the underside of the sheath; wrapped with a red bow close to the guard with decorative white and pink beads hanging from it.
Drawing from the sheath, the putrid bloody vapour was gone, and in its place, banishing the corruption and decay was a brilliant, silver sword with a faint, lilac tint to the temper line. The guard made from gold with the inside of it forged into the insignia of a branch. The handle wrapped in bright red leather, the menuki beneath a soft white. The purified blade of Divine Sakura was a harmonious blend of sharpness and beauty forged into a single blade.
When Nagi finally looked forward, that weakened resolve had disappeared, and his eyes took on a burning, golden pigment, hands brandishing the katana forward.
In response, Sköll spun both his nodachi and struck the ground with the tips of his blades, letting out a thunderous sound, causing the sky to quickly plunge into darkness, and despite the early morning, a false, black sun appeared in the sky, the edges fiery against the backdrop. Drawing its swords, the Sunblade roared, storming toward the arisen shinobi.
Releasing a geyser of water from within Divine Sakura, Nagi closed in first, the roar of dragon behind his undulation of sword swings, instantly using Tenryu No Mai, unleashing a torrent of watery slashes that shredded through Sköll's defence, cutting into his body, and dealing damage in the process, the first, lasting impact on its body. With his sword at the peak of its climb, Nagi drew it down, cleaving down both nodachi and arms, the water erupting either side of them, but the samurai thrust its swords through regardless of the massive blow, only to be parried in a split second, leaving itself wide open to Rising Sun tearing up the same glowing gash as before, knocking it backward.
"An SSC!?" Artorias realized, his triumphant grin spreading. "Alright, get him, Nagi!"
Sköll continued to keep pace, yet, each of its strikes missed by a hair or grazed Nagi's clothing, the teen weaving between each attack, balancing on his toes to perform a pirouette between the fiery nodachi, his sword skill coiling around his whole body, becoming one with each sword skill, tracing into two wide crescents, clipping the scorching samurai's hips, pushing it back toward the open center of the arena.
"And the way he's moving..." Ran beamed, her sister shaking her shoulders.
"Just like us, hahaha!" Yuuki let out a joyful laugh.
|Buff - Boundless Light|
Skill Cooldown removed.
It wasn't entirely obvious how it had appeared, as if the questline was giving Nagi the sign to 'go all out', but he also caught the faint, ghostly scent of mint in the air of a certain spirit which only drove his spirit to greater heights, like never before. "Thank you, Isshi!"
Slamming his foot down against the right sword with Uchikesu, Nagi's left elbow buried itself into its stomach this time, Divine Sakura spinning in the air above them. Lunging off the boss, evading its sweeping slash, he clasped Divine Sakura as it released a cascade of water effects mingled with a handful of shimmering petals, instantly, the skill was recognized, colliding with both nodachi drawn to defend against the blast that shook the air, both swordsman skidding back from Meteor Fall only to instantly slash away at one another through the lingering partials and petals, swords shrieking and vibrating from the intensity behind each blow.
Nagi slammed his weapon down hard, vaulting over Sköll's shoulder with a water wheel forming, landing to deliver a chain of thrusts, whipping under the face of a lumbering slash to deliver his own, powerful cleave across the backs of its knees, causing the Sunblade to stumble and pivot in its advance, just as Nagi sheathed his blade, keeping an iron-clad hold on the handle as the whole scabbard glowed a deep lilac, like flowing petals.
Once it was within striking distance, Nagi drew Divine Sakura in a rising slash, unleashing, not a sword skill, but a wave of blooming Sakura petals that tore a massive chunk from the boss's health bar, followed directly by a second, horizontal slash from right to left, the rush of petals blown in its own torrent, the effect dissipating between the two.
|Katana (Legendary) - Divine Sakura|
"Thus kindly scatter..."
Unique Skill, Purifying Bloom - Dealing enough damage will allow the user to perform 1 to 3 attacks for bonus damage.
Nagi's face flinched, twisting Divine Sakura to narrowly push a rending blade away from his face in time, hopping back to slash, countering each unrelenting strike through the fading petals. Even as its health took on heavy damage, Sköll was a being of sheer willpower, so Nagi just had to overwhelm it with his own. Instantly drawing on a another skill, the air rippled around him, blade twisting in both hands over his right shoulder.
"That's Shirayuki's-!" Klein's smile widened, pumping his fist. "Alright!"
Ra weaved a pair of 'X' through the samurai, over each shoulder and by his hips, ending with a deadly thrust that caught against the nodachi, forcing Sköll back, the two warriors flying across the arena until the towering samurai's back slammed into the closest wall, shoving Nagi back with a sweep of both chipped swords.
Airborne, Nagi had nowhere to land so he whipped himself into a spin, utilizing Conflagration's momentum to catch himself against one of the nodachi, leading him down across each blade, Divine Sakura bouncing between them, clipping the samurai's blazing armour, wounding it further, landing, he dove into a roll, springing to his feet to block both swords, using them to twist and vault over the pair, swinging wide to clip the crest of Sköll's helm, the boss stumbling as it pivoted to Nagi's right.
With his weapon sheathed, Nagi lunged into a slant, smearing the air and boss in a cascade of petals, even if it was only enough for one charge, it still tore apart the once undefeatable foe, Nagi's heart raced, pounding in his ears, but even with this weapon and buff, his body wouldn't sustain any more combat for much longer, he needed to put this quest to an end, he... had to let go.
Backing up, his hands trembled, and that hesitation left him open, his golden eyes widened as they flickered between the piercing gold and his smooth onyx Sköll aimed to skewer him to the concrete only for both swords to part either side of Nagi, sliding against the expanded light emanating from Artorias's shield, the younger teen bearing his teeth with that usual smug expression.
"I'm hurt, you forgot all about us; long diary entry about that tonight," Artorias quipped, forcing Sköll back with a Shield Bash that didn't touch its HP, but it did put enough space between them for Daora to swing wildly, Whirlwind's AOE widening the gap for Sachi to thrust her spear through the wind, clipping a sword when Klein caught the left with Ran, Yuuki and Kirito slashing at its back when it spun to sweeping in every direction, cutting all of them in its wake. "We'll draw it out, wrap this up, Nagi!" Artorias glanced back and quickly charged headlong toward the invincible boss.
All of them were thrown and battered around, but they were holding it back long enough for Nagi to take his wide stance, drawing Divine Sakura to his right, hunching forward when his body trembled with a wave of sorrow. He could see Shirayuki playing her flute when they first met, and when she and Hotaru soothed Velkhana's wounded heart, when Shirayuki fought against Danuja, and the many bosses and shrines they purified. These wonderful memories were all he had of her, it hurt to accept, so instead, he'll strike with her strongest skill, his swan song for everything she's done for them.
"Esoteric Skill... Solaris!" Breaking the stone slabs at his feet, moving between his closest friends, Artorias's shield fell aside, himself purposefully falling to evade having his head cleaved from his shoulders, leading to Sköll becoming blinded by a pair of claws driven through the back of his skull, tearing out digital blood, missing Argo by a hair, the girl slipping out of attack range, her golden-brown eyes meeting Nagi's flickering gaze, attempting to retain the strength given to him.
"SwitcH!" She whispered, but was read loud and clear.
In a tidal wave at his back, Nagi buried Divine Sakura through the right shoulder, the cut shallow as he swung back and cleaved the left, both arms going limb, unable to hold up the weight of each blade. Drawing back, his katana was plunged through Sköll's abdomen, twisting his hold and letting out a fearsome cry, dragging its full length through its torso, flicking it out with an eruption of water akin to an eruption, swallowing the last of the Sunblade's HP whole.
It stumbled back on one foot, one blade anchored to the ground before his hold slipped away, dropping the right nodachi as he fell backward, shattering on contact with the earth.
Each of Nagi's exhales were hitched and shallow, the tension in every muscle loosening when his legs almost gave out themselves, coming to rest against Klein's forearm, saving Nagi from a pretty embarrassing fall, allowing him to lower Divine Sakura against his stomach. Trying to catch his breath, Nagi gave him, and all the others, a faint smile. "That was... easy..." That earned numerous groans and half-hearted chuckles when he eyed Klein again. "Knew... you'd... pull through,"
"Of course I would!" Then, he light jabbed Nagi's side, hearing him wince when he saw the panic fading in the older man's annoyed but relieved expression. "You freakin' gave me a heart attack with what you did, how'd you even know I still had it on me? What if I had already used it?"
"I knew... cause, you would've... told me," Nagi sucked in a breath when he was lowered to his knees to rest, the sky slowing returning to normal.
"I saw it... you... died," Artorias forced out, making their heads flick between him and Nagi. The brunette didn't look too worried though, nodding to Klein. "It was Klein that saved him,"
Kirito's own eyes nearly popped from their sockets. "The revival item I gave you..." In which Klein nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I still had it, never thought I'd use it like this though," He scratched his head. "What happened anyway?"
"The weapon was tainted; in order to wield it, you had to endure the bloodlust it had accumulated, in other words, a player needed to die to draw it and have someone revive them within that 10 second grace period, hence why it looks different now," With that explanation out, Nagi didn't lower his head, looking around apologetically. "I... I'm so sorry for... all of this,"
"But it wasn't-" But he held up his hand to stop Yuuki.
"I still neglected all of you when you were trying to help me, I shouldn't have tried to run away and bury my mistakes... and it took all of this for me to come to terms with it, or, make it on the right path to accepting it all," Nagi admitted, resting Divine Sakura between his legs to cup his hands together tightly. "I've still got a long way before I'm fully able to forgive myself for something I did, but I also don't ever want to neglect all the people who stand by me, who've believed in me this whole time."
All of them looked amongst themselves, giving thought to Nagi's apology, and to what he eluded to. "None of us are going to pry, if you want to say it, do so on your terms with whoever you want," Ran answered, smiling at the rest. "That sound fair?" They gave nods and hums unanimously. She knelt down, placing a hand on Nagi's. "We're family, not just me and Yuuki, all of us have stood by each other and will continue to do so, through everything this world throws at us,"
"We'll drag each other along, and crawl an inch further until we reach the end of Aincrad," Yuuki summarized, her hand atop her sister's too, smiling as bright as the sun above.
"So don't go frettin' over repayin' us for thiS," Argo soon crouched down, her eyes searching Nagi's, sensing right away what he was thinking, but noticing the pain he held back was gone, or at least, that emotion was considerably smaller. "Want to make it up to uS? Keep bein' you and clear this game, that sound faiR?"
"...yeah," A short laugh escaped under his breath, leaning back into Klein's arm to look at her longingly, his hands moving to hold Yuuki's and Ran's. "I can work with that," Now, he was blessed to see Argo smile let her usual self.
"Good, cause now I've got to level grind just to catch up!" Daora exploded, jabbing a finger down toward Nagi. "I want to be that level - no, even higher than that! Otherwise, every fight will be done before I get fired up, how's that supposed to be fun if all we're doing is walking everywhere doing fetch quests!?"
"I'll admit, that would get stale..." Kirito trailed off.
"Don't agree with him," Mito deadpanned, Sachi rolling her eyes with a small smile.
"Boys always like a challenge," She hummed, the purplette giving a firm nod in turn.
"I'll show you where I levelled up, promise," Nagi conceded, then, felt Klein's arm jerk his shoulders. "Huh, Klein?"
"Look, over there!" He pointed back towards the bell shrine, he and Artorias helping Nagi to stand again to properly turn and face...
"Shirayuki..." The name left Nagi's lips faintly.
Across the battered and worn down courtyard, a gentle breeze tugged through Shirayuki's white locks like silk, she eyed them in silence, giving a warm, accepting smile. Beside her, hand locked with her own, was the shorter, younger Hotaru, herself wearing a passive frown, practically her staple. Both sisters looked to one another, then to Nagi who held Divine Sakura tightly, and for a split second, a pain swelled in his chest.
This was it, the last piece to a long journey. The end of a quest that almost felt eternal.
And a final goodbye to the woman who led them here.
It stung, so did saying goodbye to his father, to carry a guilt he let eat away at him for years. Shirayuki saw through it as well as he did, and she was still proud of him. Finding the courage to speak, Nagi raised his head properly.
"We'll be okay," Nagi gave them both an equally kind smile, his eyes glossy with fresh tears. "We'll take it from here."
"Yeah," Klein placed a hand on Nagi's shoulder, equally as touched to see them one last time, using his thumb to swipe something from his eye. "Thanks for everything, from both of us - you earned your peace, hear me?" He dipped his head as Nagi raised Divine Sakura to catch the sunlight.
Twirling it once, gradually sheathing it once more with a light click to reverberate through the ruins.
Seemingly satisfied, Shirayuki gave her own bow, Hotaru joining her before the pair turned away, their hands re-joining between them, displaying the torn and complete Kanji woven into the backs of their Gi. Taking only a few steps forward, a gentle wind blew with it a bundle of petals, the sisters disappearing on the other side.
The last thing they saw was the sight of them all turning a refraction of gold as they levelled up, and a prompt that concluded the final step of their journey.
-Path of Divine Sakura - Journey's End-
Campaign Quest Complete!
[To Be Continued...]
[Author's Notes]
Since 013, on the 4th floor, the Campaign has at last been completed, which has been a massive piece to Misfits and its many overarching stories, it's sad to see Shirayuki gone, as well as her questline, but I've really enjoyed writing it and making it to the end feels like a massive achievement on my part! But alas, there are many quests and stories to continue and reveal themselves as time goes on. SAO ain't over yet!
Nagi's spirit has been rekindled as he starts down his path to forgiving himself, not alone, of course. So, I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the next chapter, Misfits!
092 - At Nightfall
Despite what was said, Nagi still wishes to repay Argo, at the very least, and she intends to take full advantage of his most generous offer...