Mystic Knight Online: Worlds to Sow
Chapter 2: Fresh Growth
April 8, 2025 - Nerima
Harry paused as he saw the sushi cart with its familiar chef and headed over to it. He had seen it and its proprietor far too many times for it to be coincidence. Probably one of his watchers. The question was who he was watching him for. The Shibas? The Ministry of Shugenja? The regular Japanese Government? Someone else?
His stomach reminded him of why he was out and about. Sirius had done the grocery shopping this week and all they had was instant dishes and meals that could be thrown into the microwave. While he had no issues with instant ramen, udon and other quickly cooked meals, let alone the stuff that he could simply nuke, he wanted something a bit more substantive.
So he was out to grab something and then hit the market to pick up ingredients so he could cook something up. Miss Hanaori had taught him a few things, mostly simple recipes, but she also showed him how to look them up online. She even knew of a few sites that were in English, too. Miss Shirashi's endorsement had been interesting- "so easy, I can do it." Apparently, the elder of the female Shiba retainers was still learning her way around the kitchen. He hadn't pried.
Well, he was originally heading to Ucchan's, the okonomiyaki there was good, but he decided that some quick sushi wouldn't hurt. He gave an idle wave at one of the Amazon watchers, who usually kept an eye on Keiko, but one or two did sometimes watch him.
Either to keep him out of trouble or simply to be there to keep him and Keiko from getting too romantic, he didn't know. He certainly didn't ask. There were, after all, limits to what could be asked someone in good taste, regardless of culture.
"Welcome to Umemori Sushi!" the proprietor said, grinning broadly as Harry sat at one of the stools set before the cart. "A pleasure to have you, Mr. Potter!"
Harry just nodded. He had dined out enough at this point to know that being too thankful toward an establishment's staff could be as bad as not being gracious enough. "I'm in your hands," Harry said simply, waving off the neatly printed menu.
The sushi chef gave a brief bow, and started reaching into his cooler.
"I am the first of my family to serve as a Shiba retainer," the chef said as he pulled out some of his selection, at one point reconsidering and putting something back and switching it for another cut.
"Ah. So they're why we keep seeing you, then," Harry said. He assumed that, unless the older man thought their privacy was secure, he wouldn't be talking about such things openly. Then again, this was the Furinkan District of Nerima.
"Yes. Also, I offered to be available to you as we have something in common."
Harry raised his eyebrow at the man shaping rice for nigiri.
"Tell me, Harry, do you know where your western wand movements originated?"
Harry smirked. "My Charms teacher went off about it one day when someone was complaining about their Ancient Runes and Writings course work. Not even my year, but it set him off for about three hours. Flitwick's often been animated, but that was one of the few times I've seen him proper mad, Mr. Umemori."
"Ah, yes, you went to Hogwarts," Genta said as he paused in cutting fish, seemingly pleased at his level of formality as well as his academic history. "You should look up some of Flitwick-sensei's papers, he has a good range of beginner to advanced writings. And so...?"
"Like most places where a standardized magic system comes after some form of writing," Harry said, smiling as the tuna was set before him laid on small rectangles of sushi rice with a bit of wasabi between the sashimi and the rice. "The gestures mimic the writing- in our case, mainly the Celtic Ogham and the Elder Futhark of the Norse. They then got abstracted from there, and as Arithmancy and spell crafting developed, movements that had their own meanings were added. I'm given to understand by when I've seen the other Shiba retainers and Lady Shiba use magic that here in Japan, it's remained less abstract?"
"In a manner of speaking, but there is a reason most practitioners of Onmyodo use brush-pen as foci in this part of the world," Genta agreed. He paused as Harry dipped a piece of the tuna in plain soy sauce and popped it in his mouth. Genta smiled as Harry let it linger on his tongue a moment, then chewed and swallowed.
"... the rice. I... wow, I think I finally get why Asuna and Keiko keep going on about comparing the sushi rice where we eat, that was magic- er, metaphorically. You say 'most' use a brush-pen?"
"You should see the curry rice I make once a year on Boy's day- they love my rice in that too," Genta smirked. "I always had a great degree of magical talent, held back by one simple fact."
"Oh?"
"My calligraphy has never gotten beyond that of a fourth grader," Genta said bluntly. "And yet, today... well, your Professor Flitwick has contacted me a few times about my journal publications."
Harry blinked. "You improved your penmanship that much?"
"No," Genta said, pulling out a cellphone and flipping it open. "I have a legitimate hand eye coordination issue. It's never going to go away, and I could fight the uphill battle..." He tapped a few keys on the phone, and smiled. "But I decided there's this valley between the mountains that can get be there."
And the sushi chef pointed his phone at the counter, pushing a button. "Origami- Shishawotsukawasu," he intoned.
It wasn't until the mist coalesced into a golden crayfish that Harry realized that he had seen something like that. "I've seen something like that before. A…" He thought for a moment. It was a specific charm that was notoriously difficult to cast, but what was it? "Damn, I can't quite remember what it's called."
"You're thinking of the Patronus Charm," Genta said. "It's not quite the same, though similar. Onmyodo specializes in things like what the Patronus is known to do. While what I did wouldn't be useful against demons like a Patronus would be, it's handy with passing messages on."
"You have individual spells for that?" Harry asked. "Of course you do. Less abstraction means more specific uses in a spell. More efficient and probably requiring less power, but at the cost of being less versatile."
Genta blinked. "And you haven't studied magic in two years, with only two years of education there," he said. "Experience from SAO?"
Harry nodded. "We weren't only fighting," he said. "Kirito and I did a comparison between our unique skills. How both were potentially game changing and yet how different they were. He thought it to be the difference between the potentially versatile nature of Mystic Blade when compared to the more specialized nature of Dual Wielding. Anyway, you were saying?"
"Right, my spell," Genta replied. "Well, in our terms- Origami is a pun meaning 'folded kami', in this case, a family spirit 'kept folded in your heart'. This is the spell's messenger form- Go tell Take-chan I'm talking with Harry," Genta said, addressing the summoned form. The crayfish set off through the air, fading as it went.
"You cast a spell with your cellphone," Harry realized.
"You used magic in a VR setting," Genta noted, smirking.
Harry slowly smiled back. "I've been thinking..."
Genta snorted. "I've found when that scares people, I'm on the right track."
"Because you're getting ideas?" Harry asked knowingly.
"And your friends were the same way?"
Harry chuckled. "Less scared and more resigned to the latest insanity I was about to do that would put my life in more danger than it already was in a battle," he said. "Asuna was the planner of us all. I was the one who came up with things in the middle of a fight when the plan was either shot to hell, or an opportunity struck. They usually worked, but sometimes…" He grimaced. "Just because it usually worked doesn't mean that it still wasn't crazy and at times stupid."
"Such as flying a dragon?" Genta asked with some amusement.
Harry chuckled. "You know, that one wasn't even my idea," he replied. "It was Klein's. Kirito and I were just drunk enough to go along with it."
##
Keiko let out a grunt as she hit the ground from the throw her uncle subjected her to before quickly rolling out of the way of the expected follow through. Unlike Harry, who had been subjected to the kind of exhausting physical evaluation that was her family's way of seeing just what they had to work with and build on, her evaluation was meant for them to see what they had to rebuild, with her skills now being tested.
Before SAO, she had just been considered proficient with the basics, by her family's standards. Now, they were evaluating just how much she remembered and how much she had to unlearn from her experiences in SAO.
And her combat instincts had to be tempered as well. She had spent two years fighting battles where the possibility of dying was very real, and her responses in a fight reflected that unless she exercised a conscious effort to restrain them. If her grandparents or uncles weren't as good as they were, then sparring would have been out of the question after the first match.
That didn't stop any spars from having specific restrictions on them, or at least one of her grandparents there to intervene.
As it stood, she was getting her ass handed to her. Not unexpected really, but the fact that her body wasn't reacting as quickly as she saw her uncles movements coming was galling. She knew she had a long way to go before she had even a fraction of the physical capability she was used to, but the spars were driving it home.
"And time!" Ranma called out.
Keiko relaxed her body from the readiness it had instinctively gone into and straightened. She bowed to her uncle and then bowed to her grandfather.
"You did well there, Keiko," Ranma said. "You made far fewer mistakes than expected and I think you know where they stemmed from."
Keiko nodded. "I do," she said. Oh, she knew exactly what her mistakes were. Less in terms of skill, mistakes could get one killed in SAO, after all. No, it was how she initially approached the spars, and her uncle gave her precious little time to readjust.
"Care to explain?"
"I'm still trying to move as if I'm in SAO with the capabilities I have there," she explained. "While I can see the attacks coming, I am trying to move as if I have the speed and strength to do as I would have there, which, as Uncle Akira repeatedly demonstrated by tossing me around, is not the case." She shot her uncle a wry look.
"Don't sell yourself short, Keiko," Akira responded. "You started taking that into account pretty quickly and started adjusting your movements to reflect that you aren't as physically capable out here. Yet at least."
"Uncle, I don't plan on dedicating the kind of time needed to get my physical abilities that high out in the real world," Keiko replied. "Even if I did, I personally think that I would only get to the point where I was when we were halfway up that castle, basically around the level of a solid Middy."
"You might be surprised," Ranma said. "But training to the same level as us was never your goal even before SAO. You were forced to get to that level there out of necessity, but now that you are out here in the real world, your priorities are different."
"Of course they are," Keiko said. "I might go into ALO, but a lot of that is because I can go into the Virtual World and see it as it was meant to be, a new world to explore and adventure in. Not what SAO sadly ended up being."
"And given what your mother has said-" Akira began.
Keiko shook her head. "No uncle, it's not so that Harry and I can get around the restrictions on how far we can take things, though that is a nice bonus should we decide to take advantage of it," she said.
"You walked right into that one, Akira," Ranma said with a chuckle as his eldest son sputtered. "I know you've been told this before, Keiko, but I will say it again. SAO has been a bad influence on you."
Alfheim, Arun
Kirito guided Asuna to the restaurant that had been recommended to him by Harry. His friend had easily divined that he was doing this for the sake of taking Asuna to some place for the two of them to simply have some time together. Outside of some light teasing, his friend simply gave him the location of a place with the caveat that both he and Asuna should dress nicely. Not formal, but more along the lines of how they dressed when they went on their last outing together in Aincrad.
Harry hadn't called it a date, but Kirito knew full well that his friend had only not called it a "not date" by the slimmest of margins if his obvious amusement was any indication. Well, he had to expect that from Harry. He and Asuna had teased him and Silica often enough, so they were going to love taking this and putting it into a romantic context for their own amusement.
Kirito would admit, he didn't find the idea of him and Asuna entering into a relationship to be objectionable, but the real world would put paid to anything deeper than friendship for the time being, if not longer. The two of them came from different walks of life. Asuna was from the upper-class, he was from the middle-class. Upper middle-class, but still middle-class. And unlike SAO, things like that mattered in the real world.
Stop thinking about that, he thought as he held the seat out for Asuna to sit in. What will happen, will happen. Just enjoy what you have right now and don't worry about what may be.
As he sat down, Asuna looked around the restaurant. "You know, I am beginning to think that those two are trying to hook us up," she said.
"It wouldn't surprise me," Kirito said. "If only for them to maximize the teasing they can then give us."
"Their way of getting back at us for the times we teased them?" Asuna asked with a chuckle.
"Or their seeing more than there was because of our last date in SAO," Kirito replied. "Don't get me wrong, if SAO had continued longer, I can see things progressing that way, but with us having gotten free of SAO when we did, the real world is…" he grimaced. "Let's just enjoy a good meal and not worry about that."
Asuna nodded. "Yes, let's."
The two of them were handed menus by an NPC waitress, a Salamander if her red hair and tanned skin tone was any indication. They quickly made their orders, both noting how this place was like some of the fancier places in SAO with that little detail.
The waitress returned with their drinks in short order, wine for both of them. Kirito picked up the glass and took a sip. It wasn't bad. Sweeter and fruitier than SAO's wines were, but not bad at all.
"I'm surprised you didn't order beer," Asuna said.
"Let's just say that Harry's taste in beer from SAO has spoiled me," Kirito replied. "And ALO's beer is lacking in comparison to what could have been found in SAO. And we've both heard Harry's complaints about that."
"I wouldn't know," Asuna noted. "Beer wasn't my thing there, and if you and Harry are claiming it is lacking, then I certainly won't try it here." She looked at her wine. "This doesn't even taste the same, but it is still good."
Kirito nodded. "That it is."
That was how it went for now. Just sitting together and sharing fine company.
Real or virtual world, Kirito reflected, there were worse investments of his time.
Yggdrasil City
Strea looked at Silica, who was moving gingerly. "What happened with her?" She asked Harry.
"Training," he replied. "I felt like that after they evaluated just how out of shape I'm in, and then went through the ringer with my tutors on my special education track." He looked at her. "It's more mental. She was sore when she logged on, so the memory of that carried over. It'll settle down in a bit."
"It's still a pain in the ass," Silica groaned. "And given how often my uncle tossed me around, my ass hurts! Hell, my tail hurts, and I don't have one in the real world."
"We do have tailbones, dear," Harry said. "And if you got tossed around like you say you have been, you've probably landed on yours a few times." He smirked. "I would offer to kiss it and make it better, but we're in public."
"I am not walking into that trap and telling you two to get a room before you do something salacious right in the streets," Strea said. "That's being saved for your anniversary, which is next week if I recall. So, should I find Argo so we can sell tickets?"
Harry and Silica both looked at her and then at each other.
"Did she just…?" Harry began before pausing.
"I think she did," Silica replied.
"We have been a bad influence on her, haven't we?"
"It seems we have."
Strea just shook her head. "Of course you two have been a bad influence on me," she said. "All of you have, really. Well, not Asuna, but that's because she has to ride herd on everyone."
"That also includes you, or do I need to remind you about that one time involving the Crystals and a fishing trip with Kirito?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.
Strea flushed. "We promised not to talk about that," she said with a pout. "I would bring up that little fashion show that you and Kirito put on before Yui and I joined you all, but you simply own it, and Kirito can laugh about it now."
"It helps that I have pictures," Silica said. "Haven't shown them to Leafa yet, but my family, family friends, and the friends of his parents have seen them." She shot Harry and amused look. "And my Uncles… they tried something similar. Didn't work in embarrassing Harry, though."
Harry smirked.
Strea nodded. She had heard about that incident, though she hadn't seen it. She was still trapped in that virtual space with Yui and hadn't been paying attention to them at the time, but trying to break free. A pity, she thought. That would have given me something to laugh about back then. "So, you two set Kirito and Asuna up on a date, and at a nice place?"
"That we did," Harry said. "We aren't so crass as to call it a date, or a 'not date' for that matter, to their faces, though."
"Why not?" Strea asked.
"Because we're the ones who set it up," Silica replied. "Since they would know that we're thinking it anyway, there's no point in it."
"Argo would have," Strea noted.
"But that's Argo," Silica said. "Set someone up on a date just so she can tease him or her? That's so her."
"Aww, you think so little of me Silica?"
Strea jumped in shock as a Cait Sith with a very familiar voice seemed to just appear behind her. She noted that neither Harry, nor Silica jumped, but it seemed as if they only barely managed to.
"How does she do that?" Harry asked no one. "Even Outside, she can sneak up on us, and we're able to pick out people most of the time when they're actually trying."
"Let me say that the skill I have with that is a bit unique," Argo replied with a smirk. "That, and I have some special gifts as a part of what I am to begin with."
Harry and Silica just nodded and then paused. "Wait, unique?" Silica asked. "You had a Unique Skill in SAO?"
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," Argo replied in a teasing tone. "Anyway, what are you all up to? I saw Kii-bou and Aa-chan all dressed up and heading to one of Arun's nicer restaurants, so I know what they're up to. But you three? And what about Rain, Lux and Yui?"
"Rain and Lux are taking their parents to see my grandparents," Silica said. "Asuna's parents are busy, so that meeting is happening tomorrow. And before you ask, I think grandpa already scheduled a meeting with Kirito's parents on Friday. As for Yui, we are heading over to meet with her and an associate."
"An associate?" Argo asked.
"An associate," Harry, Strea and Silica confirmed.
Argo nodded. "If you're going to be that way..." she began.
"We know you'll probably figure it out," Silica said. "If said associate doesn't just arrange a meeting with you and asks you to keep certain things quiet. She'll know your reputation. She'll know it quite well, actually."
Argo grinned and nodded. "Ah, so I have until then to figure it out," she said. "Challenge accepted. Anyway, I'm heading to the Sword's Rest Tavern to touch base with Agil. See ya!" With a wave, she walked off.
"Are you sure that was smart?" Strea asked. "Challenging her like that?"
Harry looked at Silica, clearly curious as well.
"Strea, it's Argo," Silica said as if that was all the explanation needed.
Strea thought on it and nodded. It really was all the explanation needed. She did wonder how The Rat would take meeting another AI though.
April 9, 2025 - Shibuya, Han no Daidakoro
"This place is a bit expensive, but I'm surprised they didn't give any subtle indication that they might find this place insulting or beneath them," Akane said to Ranma as the two of them looked at the entrance to the restaurant from outside the Watatsuki Building.
"I asked Nabiki for any info on a good place for this meeting that would be within our budget, especially with how much I can eat," Ranma said. "She told me that this place would be a good choice."
Akane nodded. If anyone would know, her older sister would. Nabiki had clawed her way up to leading her own company and turning it into the business it was over the last thirty-five years. While nowhere near the size or wealth of a Zaibatsu, let alone a Fortune 500 Company, she was still a well-known name in the business world now.
Magata Yanagi Enterprises did far more than was on the surface. To the point that many suspected, but could not prove, Yakuza connections, which always amused the woman.
And one of the softer skills she had mastered in building what was becoming a small corporate empire was how to wine and dine people without being excessive about it.
Akane shook that thought out of her head. She had her own suspicions about that, but they weren't pertinent to why she and her husband had come to Shibuya.
They were here to meet with the parents of a potential student.
##
Shouzou looked over the menu, idly considering the oddity of him being the one to not be hosting the meeting, even if some of his habits tried to rear themselves. Such as pretending to be carefully considering what to order that would be shared among everyone. It was an old game for him, look as if he's up to something else so that whoever arrived would think that they surprised him when they did. It gave them a sense of control for the inevitable meeting and allowed him to see just what kind of person he was dealing with.
That, and they wouldn't see that he was making a deal that was more to his advantage than theirs, though he made sure that those he dealt with got something out of the deal. Not only would it save them face when they realized it, but it also kept them coming back when it became clear that he was more of a straight dealer than most of his competitors.
Of course, it only worked, when it did at that, until the individuals wised up to his methods. Some weren't fooled at all and were, if anything, at least as skilled at the game of corporate politics.
Well, that and he was deciding on what he would order if it were up to him. Perhaps the Manpuku Yakiniku Course? Or maybe Kan's Specialty Course? Both tended to go well with people and should be more than enough while being reasonable in cost. Were he paying, he could easily afford the more luxurious courses, true, but he wanted to keep things reasonable here, not show off.
Of course, the choice wasn't his, but old habits and all of that. The one who called the meeting already said that he would pay for the meal.
A glance at the man who was not only a martial arts grandmaster but also a Living National Treasure showed that he was wise to what was going on. Nothing obvious, but the slight amusement in the man's eyes told him all he needed to know.
Looking it over, he closed it and put it down before meeting the man's eyes squarely. Another habit of his. In Japan meeting someone's eyes could be seen as rude, or at least an indication of disrespect when done by someone who was clearly in a subordinate position. Socially or hierarchically, it didn't matter. He did it to see if the person would flinch and break the eye contact.
It also helped that he did occasionally deal with Westerners, who preferred eye contact due to their own cultural belief that a person willing to look you in the eye was more likely to be dealing with you honestly. Not guaranteed, of course, but more likely.
Those who didn't flinch, even if they broke the eye contact out of respect, were often ones who showed promise.
Grandmaster Saotome met his eyes and nodded, acknowledging the action for what it was. All without any indication that he may have been insulted by it. Given what he had been able to learn about the man, how he rose to being what he was, it fit what his instincts told him then.
This was a man who was self-assured enough to not be intimidated by dominance plays. If anything, he would be amused by them. If half of what he had learned about the man was completely true, it would make sense.
So, why had he made an offer to train Asuna? With SAO over and done with, so it wasn't as if she needed to learn how to defend herself. Was it?
##
Kyouko sipped her tea as she looked across the table at the wife of the man who had requested the meeting. Akane Saotome was dressed rather simply. Her dress, while well made, spoke of someone who preferred a more modest lifestyle than the one her research into the family indicated they could live within. Having four children, all of whom went through college, one going on to become a medical doctor, did not speak of a family that was hurting for money. Which made off one line of consideration as to why they would have made this offer less likely.
She had doubted that it was the case, but she had to consider that possibility. She had married into wealth, after all. The criticisms she sometimes heard from the harpies who were "talking quietly to each other" who came from wealth about her being a social climber did have a grain of truth behind them. The stated motives for it that they thought, rising in status, was laughable, but she did marry into wealth for a reason.
She wanted the security so she could pursue her own goals and dreams, rather than resign herself to a more traditional life. Just as she had wanted Asuna to marry well so she could pursue her own.
"Reality tends to laugh at what we want," Akane said.
"Pardon?" Kyouko asked.
"Whatever we wanted for those caught in SAO… what went on there has changed them," Akane clarified. "During it, their goals and priorities shifted. Now that it's over, they are slowly changing those goals and priorities to reflect their new reality, but whatever we wanted for them has to change as well." She shook her head. "I know you and your husband did some research on us." She gave a small smile at Kyouko's start. "My sister is Nabiki Tendo and she always keeps an ear out in case it happens so she can let us know."
"What we found out, outside of what is already public record, is mostly rumor and hearsay," Kyouko said.
"Some of that is even true," Akane said. "But that isn't the point of this meeting. My husband and I noticed something that got out attention."
"And what would that be?" Kyouko asked.
"Have you heard about System Awareness?" Akane asked.
Kyouko shook her head.
"From what we can tell, it is the digital equivalent of the very things that give people survival instincts," Akane said. "Things like being aware of something dangerous being out and about, being watched, or simply having a feeling that something is just not right where you're at, even if you can't see it. And your daughter, as well as her friends, all had that awareness to a refined degree, and it followed them out."
"But surely-"
"It's not something that will fade," Akane said. "It's a skill they've gained that needs to be retrained. Like a warrior being helped to adjust to civilian life. Not all the changes they underwent are fit for a peaceful society." She glanced at her husband.
"It took me years," Grandmaster Saotome said with a nod. "After I spent a decade travelling and training in martial arts, and the years after that, I was often fighting. Either to improve my skills, or for some asinine reason that either myself or my opponent thought were important at the time." His shrug was wry. "We were all young and foolish back then, weren't we?"
"That we were," Akane said. "And then there were the times when things were for far more serious reasons. But your experiences in readjusting to a more peaceful life have helped you in teaching others who need similar help."
"... is that what's on offer?" her husband asked.
"If only to help them avoid my mistakes," Grandmaster Saotome affirmed. "Granted, there is a martial component to it. Part of the training is to teach them all skills that they can use that don't have them going for lethal strikes. We're already doing it with my granddaughter, and trust me, she knows better and she has to relearn the need to use less than lethal methods." His look was serious.
"Teaching them to disarm and subdue without causing severe injury and not go for lethal strikes is as much a part of what they will be learning as the meditation to help them keep themselves centered will be," Akane said. "And those instincts, without that retraining, make them very dangerous to anyone who trips them at the wrong time."
"How can you tell?" Kyouko asked. "How can you tell that our daughter has those instincts?"
"Akane, I'll field this," Ranma said before looking at both Kyouko and Shouzou. "We know, because of how we can know that their System Awareness manifests out here in the real world. I'm sure you've heard of Ki."
Kyouko nodded. "A branch of the concept of Chi, the philosophical idea that all living things are tied together," she said. "Whereas Chi is the connections that all living things share, Ki is the concept of Chi when applied to a single living being. While there is some evidence for it, it is only on an inferential basis and nothing that can be proven scientifically."
Ranma nodded. "In other words, an absence of conclusive scientific evidence of a phenomenon that martial artists and esoteric scholars have known for centuries," he said. "Which, mind you, is not evidence of the absence of a phenomenon."
"Granted," Kyouko agreed. She noticed that he didn't ask if she actually believed in it, but she could tell that he was already aware that she was skeptical. On the other hand, she had mentored Sumire Saotome when the woman went to university. She had seen the woman do something when she practiced. Not enough to know what it was, but it was something she had no knowledge of.
"So, it's because of an ability she had inside SAO then." Shouzou said. "But how would that tie in with her survival instincts?"
"It's because those instincts would have her react to any potential threat in a very permanent manner," Ranma said and then held up a hand, forestalling both Shouzou and Kyouko's protests. "I know, she hasn't shown any signs that she would do so, but those instincts are still there. When I brought up Ki, it was because of how I found out how their awareness translates out here. All people have some instinctive ability to sense Ki, but they can detect it to a far higher degree than is safe without training. I wouldn't be surprised if they can discern intent as well."
Shouzou nodded. "So it's more disciplining those instincts, ensuring that she doesn't act automatically with… lethal intent," he grimaced as he mentioned just how it was said that Asuna was likely to react to a threat to her person. "As for 'Ki', I won't debate the matter. There is always more to this world than we know, after all."
"Shouzou?" Kyouko asked.
Shouzou shook his head. "It's nothing, Kyouko," he replied. "Just recalling a quote I heard once. 'There is more in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,' if I am remembering it correctly."
"Hamlet Act One, Scene Five," Akane said. At Shouzou and Kyoko's looks, she smiled. "I was interested in Western theater when I was younger, even acted in a few plays in High School despite not being in the Drama Club. I'm familiar with Shakespeare's works. While the original meaning is not what I think you intend to say, that quote does have some relevance here, doesn't it?"
"Indeed," Shouzou said. "As it stands, Asuna has already broached the matter with us, and I know that she wished to undergo the training you're offering. The self-discipline that martial arts will provide, and from a Living National Treasure like Grandmaster Saotome, and you as well, Master Saotome, is not an offer that should be lightly refused." He looked at Kyouko.
"So long as she maintains her grades," Kyouko said. "I don't want her to sacrifice her potential future because of this."
"You don't need to worry about that," Ranma said. "I insist on my students maintaining good grades at school as a matter of course. I don't want them to have the difficulties that I had when I was younger, after all."
April 10, 2025 - Alfheim, Yggdrasil City
Coming fully to awareness was a slow process for her. She remembered being in Her Majesty's throne room, about to ask for permission to go out and explore Aincrad and track down Kirito and Asuna, though she knew that she would probably have to find - what was her name again? Ah yes, Argo. She would probably be forced to track down Argo to enquire about them.
News did travel down Aincrad, and she recalled adventurers talking about a recent victory of the two who had been her allies in helping her. On the seventy-fourth floor, if she recalled.
They had actually climbed that high, connecting the floors of the castle, in so short a time? Their stories about having been forced into their adventures had only started but two years ago!
They truly were heroes for whom legends would be made.
"Hey!" A female voice said. "I think she's waking up!"
"Keep it down, Strea," Came the response from another female. "It is not unexpected, her processes have been ramping up and increasing. But you are making too much noise. She will come fully online when she does, no sooner."
Strea? She thought. Where had I heard that name before? Oh, right, Asuna and Kirito founded an adventuring band of their own. A guild, adventurers like them called it. Asuna was in the lead. What was its name again? Steel… it was some kind of legendary bird if I recall, a phoenix? Yes, that's it. Steel Phoenix. Strea was the name of the woman who joined up with them several months after it was founded, if I recall.
There was something else involving them. Several somethings, but she couldn't recall what. Damn it, she mentally cursed. It's like all those times I could have sworn were memories of me dying. Kirito even figured in a few of them, but the context of them… it was like a remembered dream, or a nightmare.
"Her processes have increased," the second voice continued. "Yes, Strea, that means she's waking up. Why don't you go stand by Yui, act your apparent age, and be quiet. She's going to have a difficult time processing what has happened."
"Why?" Came the question, which she, herself could admit to wanting to know. "She's just like us, right?"
There was a sigh from somewhere. "Strea, she isn't like us," a third, childlike, voice said. "She was an NPC, who has become more than what she was."
NPC? She recalled that term. Kirito and Asuna used it when talking about the residents of the various places that were not monsters or anything that they were fighting. People, but apparently not to them. She recalled that they also referred to her as one, but over the time they shared, they began to drop that term when referring to her.
And that made her glad, even if they still used that term amongst themselves when referring to her people. As if they were some kind of golems. Preposterous!
I am not some golem, she thought.
"No, you're not," The second voice said. "And yes, you spoke that aloud."
She cracked open her eyes and took stock of her location. Wooden walls, a wooden ceiling, she was obviously in a room of some sort. Opening them wider, she glanced to where she heard the voices come from.
Forest Elves, here?! They shouldn't be in the… wait, this wasn't the palace. And those elves… they weren't Forest Elves. Their skin was pale, but their ears were differently shaped, and their hair wasn't any shade she had seen on a Forest Elf.
The younger one technically could pass for a Dark Elf, albeit one who was either of mixed blood or who had spent far too much time indoors. Her skin was darker than the others, but still paler than most Dark Elves.
The fact that she was wearing mail armor and comfortably at that, however, heavily implied that the latter was almost certainly not the case. The one next to her, very tall, with lilac hair and pink eyes, was wearing a full set of heavy plate.
The third one, despite her blue hair, was almost normal in comparison. Robes, a scholarly look, she wouldn't have been out of place amongst the magisters at the palace, were it not for her apparent youth. Granted, elves lived centuries, but even among them, a magister had lived long enough to show signs of his or her age. It was her, who spoke.
"As the humans would say, welcome down the rabbit hole," she said. "I am CARDINAL, and we have much to discuss, Kizmel."