[IRL, Kawagoe, Asami Residence]
[Malzeno's POV]
Our humble abode was in sight. I had been out for the day with my sister, Riku, her ever-present disinterested stare to her notebook as we walked, the air outside was cool despite it being so sunny. "Thanks for coming with me," Riku spoke up, eyes never leaving her work.
"No bother, with how indecisive you get shopping, having your own personally handicap never hurts," I ruffled her hair, making her groan as she shooed my hand away, not that she ever styled her hair anyway. Given the music freak Riku was, if she saw a music store, she'd be locked in a silent debate with herself like it's an auction house. "Case and point, I swore I was gonna have to wheel a freakin' piano home today,"
"...it was a good piano and you know it," She poked my cheek with the blunt end of her pen.
Nodding along, I raised my brow at her incredulously. "Riiight, and you'd be putting it where among the rest of your cluttered music studio?" AKA, her room.
That gave her face visible pause, grunting as she shoved my side nearly through the gate. "Shut up,"
"I rest my case, Mori," She tisked but didn't retort this time as I felt my phone buzz. "Here," I handed her one of my bags as I fished out my phone to quickly check. "I swear, if this is another suicide quest into a dungeon, I'm going to have serious words with Argo-"
The weight in my body became so very light, almost like I was about to faint of the spot as my whole body was covered in goosebumps. I re-read the message, being extremely certain I was reading it correctly, then I threw off my bag, snatching the longboard sticking out from the top.
"Sorry," I dropped everything at Riku's feet before she had a chance to ask why I probably looked like I had just been shot.
Throwing the gate open hard, I threw my longboard down and nearly stumbled over it, finding my footing to kick off the ground, moving as quickly as possible down the street I came from. Desperate tore at my chest, pumping blood wildly through my veins that felt cold and numb.
|From Dr. Kurahashi|
|Subject: Emergency|
|Mr. Asami, Ms. Konno's condition has had a sudden change. Can you come right away?|
"Faster, come on, kick harder!" Though instinctually I knew if I pushed my board harder I'd lose all control and likely put myself in a hospital. But no matter how hard I tried to rationalize anything, my body was working on adrenaline, any sense of my surroundings was dull and I barely took notice, only the path I had to take to reach the train that'll take me to the hospital with the least amount of travel time.
When I arrived at the hospital, I went through the door in time to see that I hadn't come alone. Turning her head, Asuna looked at me with the same, panicked expression on her face. Neither of us spoke as we ran for the nearest lift, quickly throwing ourselves in as the ride up felt horrendously long. So much so I started to tap my foot impatiently.
By the time the doors partly opened, I slipped through with a jump, twisting on my toes down the cool hallway, Asuna panting as I was while we ran through every sector on the floor, the bland halls were like a labyrinth, navigating every turn like on the backs of our hands.
Finally, Yuuki's room was in sight, the door was opened with a few machines stationed outside, I had never seen anyone in this room before, it really was as bad as I thought. I didn't want to assume, or I just lied to myself. Asuna and I eyed each other, feeling her hold my hand to keep me from losing my nerve now, same for her.
Peeking through the door, two nurses were present, as well as Doctor Kurahashi, waving us over to Yuuki's bed. This was also the first I've seen her up close beyond the glass, she was still quite sickly pale and skinny; the rings around her eyes from being within the Medicuboid for so long. She looked no different than us SAO survivors after waking up to reality.
"Thank goodness, you two made it," Doctor Kurahashi exhaled slightly. "Forty minutes ago, her heart stopped temporarily," That sent an icy chill down my spine, Asuna gasping in horror herself. "We're managed to revive her pulse, and she's stable now. However, if it happens again, she'll likely..." He didn't need to say it, there's only so much a frail body like hers could take, I guess...
"Why... why is this happening? Yuuki's still..." Asuna tried to deny it, I felt grateful hearing how torn up her voice was, but the doctor shook his head.
"The truth is, from the time Mr. Asami first came here in January, her condition was touch and go. But for the past three months, Yuuki has stunned us all by rallying, day after day, winning a futile battle..." I understood where Kurahashi was coming from, any medical professional would see this as a battle of attrition, still... "For Yuuki; the fifteen years of her life have been a long, long battle,"
"It wasn't just the HIV, she fought back against all these years against this cruel reality itself. I'm sure the Medicuboid trial has subjected her to unimaginable pain," The small, but unimportant details at the time clicked in my head. Yuuki had times she looked tense about something, I had asked but she'd say she was overthinking and smiled, I never realized her voice had been strained... "But... Yuuki held on till the end, so now... I think we should let her get some rest..."
"...not yet..." I swallowed a ton of lead in my throat, biting my lip to contain myself. I knew what this meant, it's what I've been mentally preparing for. Sure, no one can just... tune out all the grief, but I... I know this isn't how this ends. "Yuuki, come on, I still haven't fulfilled our promise yet, idiot!"
My breath snagged in my throat, my eyes and Asuna's staring down at a pair of hazy, onyx eyes that peeked through at the world, just barely opened enough to see. Yuuki's hand twitched, trying to move with all the strength she had.
Without hesitation, I knelt down and caught her hand from below, I could barely manage a smirk. Her hand was cold to the touch, but her fingers felt as they always have, her nails grazing my fingers as I held hers carefully for the first time. She curled hers around my palm, squeezing with what strength she could muster.
"Dammit, Cupcake... really couldn't help yourself, huh?" Beside me, Asuna placed a hand around both of ours, the other supporting Yuuki's wrist. "I swear, you owe me big for this scare, I'll write it up on your tab,"
It might've just been me, but I swore the edges of her lips curled upright. But, her lips moved, so I leaned over with my ear close to her lips, hearing her murmur very faintly. Sighing, I stood upright, gently releasing her hand. "Doc, plug her back in... this isn't over yet,"
He looked surprised by my request for a moment, "But shouldn't we let spend her last moments outside this device?"
"No-" Asuna cut in, reinforcing my argument with a fiery stare. "-Yuuki wants to go to that world, please, let her use the Medicuboid!"
Our conviction didn't take the Doctor long to consider, nodding firmly as he worked his way around the machine. "Start-up will take a minute or so. What will you do?" He asked us.
"If you don't mind, Doc, I'll use the AmuSphere next door," I requested, seeing him nod with approval. My gaze quickly fell to the brunette beside me, for a moment, I was hesitant, "Asuna-"
"Go," She cut in before I could say a word, opening her bag with her to reveal her AmuSphere. "I had a gut feeling, just like you," For the first time today, she shared a small smile.
"Right, and do me a favour," Leaning over, I gave her a tall ask, but in that moment, I caught a glimpse of the old Vice Commander giving me the greenlight. Turning, I ran out the door to the room adjacent to it.
I will not fail this time.
[Alfheim Online, New Aincrad, Floor 24]
The location wasn't that hard to find, I expected nothing less from Yuuki as my feet tapped off the ground, coming to land before the massive tree sat alone on one of many islands. The sky was a golden-orange, the wind blowing the smell of sea salt into my nose, and the girl waiting at the foot of the tree.
Her hair was swept by the wind, turning to reveal that soft face and gentle smile, her eyes a deep vermillion, lively with a subtle tone of sorrow. Neither of us moved, taking in each other's sight like it would be the final chance we could. My stomach twisted, I hadn't felt like this since I lost my old friends.
I exhaled, clutching Memento Mori on my hip as the prompt appeared before Yuuki had a chance to speak. Her face contorted with confusion, bewildered by the battle request. "Kazuki?"
"Draw your sword, we're settling the score right now," My tone was low, enough to put her on edge. This had no timer, and whoever fell to ten percent first lost. I widened my stance, hand grasped firmly to the katana I put down so long ago.
What confusion that lingered fell away into a cute giggle, an honest smile stretching into a fiery one as Yuuki accepted the request, slowly drawing her obsidian sword once more. "Heh, figures you'd wanna finish things off, no dirty tricks this time,"
"Not a single one," I replied, the countdown immanent.
{5, 4, 3}
{2}
{1}
Strange, fighting in a situation like this really did remind me of Sword Art Online. But this wasn't a fight to the death, no, this was far more important. To me, this meant more than my own life.
The ground broke underfoot as I lunged with Yuuki, her blade cast in scarlet to my neon blue. I performed a parallel slash from the sheath, blocking her Vertical Arc with Serpent Slash. Not to be caught unawares when her blade fell back and turned deep blue this time, I connected my sword skill with a spin, clasping it in both hands to my right hip.
Cast in gold, I struck with an array of slashes like a rampant river, going blow-for-blow against Seven Deadly Sins, her strikes roared in my ears and hammered like lightning, sparks flying from either side as we danced around each other. When one of my spinning slashes whipped into a crescent, Yuuki would perform a pirouette, striking back with a slanted blow.
Drawing closer, I saw her suck in her stomach to evade a gut punch she grew to instinctively prepare for only for my left leg to sweep upward, the shin crashing against her face to fling her across the ground, narrowly throwing herself out of the range of Ichimonji, the downward slam kicking up dust between us.
My emerald-coated blade swept through the air with a contrail, colliding with the face of the obsidian blade that blocked the brunt of Whirlwind Slash, the secondary strike slicing her side, forcing us apart.
"What the hell are you doing!?" I screamed, startling her as my nostrils flared, my anger seething. "You think you can beat me with this half-assed fight of yours!? 'Zekken', 'Absolute Sword', what a load of crap!"
Distracted by my outburst, I utilized Ripple Thrust to close the gap, the tip of Memento Mori splitting the skin on her left cheek, her face tensing up under my gaze. "Fight harder, keep fighting..." My voice wavered, catching a glimpse of Asuna hovering off-shore. "You're one of the most spectacular people I know, so why... why are you giving up now? After everything!"
"Kazuki..." I heard her call my name, but I refused to break now, drawing my sword in both hands, my eyes burning with focus I had never had before, my muscles, bones, everything felt heightened, all tunnelling towards her.
"Until the end, fight like until your last breath, YUUKI!" I swung my sword forward, reaching her with a follow-up vertical that tore a scorching sun of particles between us, ringing off her blade. "I'm not going to lose to you this time... I'm going to beat you! I... won't break my promise this time!"
Now, catching her by surprise with my words, my fist dug into her stomach, twisting to toss her towards the tree again. The shock and awe fell away, now, I saw piercing red eyes lock to my rich emerald gaze. That look... that's exactly the kinda person I fell for.
Rushing forward in a blur, I slammed Memento Mori horizontally through the bark, Yuuki diving overhead to slash at my back with two rapid slants, her blade shimmering blue while mine threshed into a constant cyclone of teal after her, striking down each of her arching slashes, a square erupting around us as my final twist struck against her sword, cutting into her bicep before she dropped and kicked her foot against my stomach, throwing me overhead.
Steadying my form, I drew back my blade as a rippling thrust punctured the earth at Yuuki's feet, twisting to flick forward, nicking her chin with a harsh, bronze glow to my katana while her green sword sliced through my side twice, giving an acrobatic evasion as our backs glided together, coiling an arc of red and purple around to meet in the center, electrifying the air with a secondary strike, both of us glowering beyond our swords.
Blasted back by the recoil of our skills, I dug my heels in a pushed forward, slashing down her breastplate with a single slash, her own sword twirled between her lithe fingers, threshed in a blinding flurry of blows to my body, my health steadily declining as my own clipped her thigh, side, and face again.
With a sharp turn, Yuuki slashed from the right to meet my diagonal right to left, deep blue and light blue intertwined, then a left to my horizontal into a rising slash as I dove overhead to strike her back, but Yuuki predicted this, managing to turn and dip her head back to evade, sweeping her sword as she fell to one side to slash across my cheek to my right temple.
Performing a handstand with her left, she threw herself upright, barely avoiding a lumbering strike from above, my feet twisting me low and under her own leaping slam, the other grazing my shoulder as I held Memento in both hands for a final strike to run perfectly parallel with her own, sending all the kinetic force into the ground, the impact lacerating our bodies in the concoction of Phantom Rave and San Ge.
"Her strikes are even faster than before..."I could just about keep her from landing a deadly blow, clutching my katana to hold up my guard, each of her strikes moving rapidly, interwoven with one another, forcing my footing closer to the water. "She might even be faster than when she beat Kirito!"
My hands squeezed Memento Mori tighter at this revelation. Why am I having doubts now? I have to fight with everything I have, I can do this, I can reach her this time! Steeling my breath, I retreated from one of her slashes only to double back and swing from my right foot, catching her off-guard as her momentum faltered.
"Esoteric Art..." I whispered, watching Yuuki become cast in shadow under the harsh glare of violet erupting across that obsidian blade.
I unleashed an array of slashes, weaving the arching scarlet crescents atop one another, deflecting the ten thrusts produced by the most powerful skill in the game. Her skill's total hit-rate was lower than mine, yet, two of them snuck through my volley of strikes, watching her whole body twist backward, drawing all her strength into her deadly finisher.
Drawing the final pattern in the sky, her sword burrowed through like a drill, her frame slashed at the sides yet undeterred so with the last, vertical stroke, I met her head-on, blinded by the flash of white before the sonic boom that deafened me, throwing my senses out of whack. But I did it, I... I blocked her OSS!
Yet a glaring lilac tone tore through the dust, Yuuki's body was peppered by red gashes, same as mine, but her footing straightened out, her sword stance true. I couldn't help but smirk slightly, she actually figured out the timing for a Skill Connect.
Through the lingering waves of light conjured by our most powerful sword skills, another series of strikes rang out, intertwining with prior moves in the skies as our swords burned against one another, heavy and vicious as they were. Over and over, our blades took on captivating effects and streams of light similar to stars bursting in the night sky, inch by inch, our gauge's fell under the haze that pushed our minds to their absolute limits, my body feeling as though I ran a marathon.
One streak cut along Yuuki's stomach while hers nicked at my chin and neck, spilling red polygons, a smile on each of our faces. "Is that the best you got, Yuuki!?" I taunted, striking down on her sword risen above her head, throwing myself over to land behind her.
"Your attacks are like bee stings anyway!" Ooh, scathing. But she followed up with a winding thrust that threw my gaze the other way, slashing my chest to my neck, tickling my throat with its burning edge.
Stumbling, I retaliated, snapping my foot forward to crack against her breastplate, leaving a red print while her own left fist glowed pink, scarring my right cheek, the two of us nearly tumbling, breathing heavily. I still had one left, this wasn't over yet!
Barrelling toward her with a vicious cry, I clasped Memento Mori as tight as possible, pouring my heart and soul into the weapon with a defying, vertical plunge. Yuuki did the opposite, opting to throw her full weight into a wide, winding horizontal blow coated red to my purple.
"Ichimonji!/Horizontal!" Our swords connected, gliding against one another in slow motion as our bodies sailed by one another.
I held my breath, waiting for the impact to register. Standing upright, I let Memento Mori rest by my side, its ocean-blue face glinting in the sunlight.
Turning my head, I came to meet Yuuki's soft eyes as Asuna landed to greet us. Our battle only lasted three minutes, but that was the hardest I have ever fought. "Well..." The battle concluded at my sigh.
{WINNER YUUKI}
"Guess it's back to the drawing board, man you're too good at this, Cupcake..." Sheathing my sword, I turned to her fully, her sword still in her grasp.
"You kidding?" She gestured to her HP, it was roughly around 15% to 11%, I had her that close to the wire? "I've never gotten so close to losing before! Last person that really showed me up like that was Aiko! Haha!" Even still, she scratched the back of her head, giggling boisterously.
"Eh, I'll take second place," Shrugging, I felt a small chuckle escape me as the world grew quiet again around the three of us.
"Thanks, Asuna, Kazuki," Yuuki began softly. "I actually had one last thing to do before I forgot, my bad, I meant for this earlier, a gift I had planned for you, Asuna,"
The bluette smiled, but I could see how her face tensed, she was trying to remain composed. "What is it you want to give to me?"
"Uh, well, I'm gonna make it here and now, just wait a sec," She hadn't made it? I gave Asuna a questioning brow raise as she too was lost.
We watched Yuuki turn to face the tree again, toying with something in her menu; blade held tight in her hand as she took an all-too-familiar stance. Then, I stood in awe as she unleashed by far the strongest form of Mother's Rosario I had seen to date, comparable to the one she used against me just now as the force of the impact sent a shockwave through the massive tree and across the whole island, nearly taking me off my feet.
Dust quelled, and left imprinted in the air before the immortal object was a red symbol, the same Yuuki's player icon displayed as the symbol was woven to a piece of parchment, rolled up for her to grab.
Grabbing it... her body gave out. "Yuuki!" We screamed, sprinting as I slid across the flowers to catch her before she hit the ground, Asuna doing the same as we held her against our laps, seeing her trusty obsidian sword thump to the grass.
Opening her eyes, Yuuki smiled weakly. "That's weird... there's no pain and I'm not even suffering, but I have no strength,"
"M-my bad, I exhausted you in our fight," I gulped, brushing the strands of hair from her face.
"Yeah, guess so, huh? This is embarrassing..." Yuuki closed her eyes with a hesitant smile.
"You're fine, you're just a little tired. If you rest up, you'll feel better soon," Asuna reasoned, even if I didn't look at her, I knew if I saw her eyes she'd feel the same as me.
"Asuna, take this, it's my Original Sword Skill," Yuuki... was giving it up for Asuna? To say I was taken back would be an understatement, that sword skill meant a lot to Yuuki. "I want you to have it, go on, open the window,"
The two made the exchange, sadly, when a person makes a copy of their Original Sword Skill, unless the one they traded with either found an extremely rare item to copy it or traded it back, the original creator couldn't use it anymore. Yuuki passed it on to the right person then...
"The name of the skill is... Mother's Rosario," Yuuki revealed, as only Yuuki and I knew the name, "I'm sure it will protect you,"
A tear fell, bouncing off Yuuki's chest plate, seeing the misty eyes Asuna held back. "Thanks, Yuuki. I promise you, one day, when it's time for me to leave this world, I'll make sure to pass this skill down to someone," Asuna vowed, even with tears leaking from her eyes. "Your sword will live on for all eternity,"
I... I knew why Asuna was saying this, I knew that, I did, I did, I did but...
"Thanks, Asuna..." Yuuki smiled brightly, now looking to me, seeing... all the anguish I was holding back. "It's okay, Kazuki-"
"Don't... say that," I choked up, feeling tears form in my eyes, my hands tense around her back. "I... you have to keep fighting, you hear me? What was all of this for then? If you... if you just disappeared," Yuuki tried to avoid this before, and I stubbornly fought back. "I can't... lose you too..."
"I know," I sucked in a breath, feeling her hand rest against my heart, tapping the back of her hand against me, barely breaking her warm, loving expression. "You're a dork who has a big heart, even if you hide it behind all that attitude, you can't help but feel for others. You're a good person,"
Gritting my teeth, I held her hand against my chest, feeling that weight growing as several sets of feet finally touched down behind us, followed by desperate pants and stumbling feet. Just as we planned; Jun, Nori, Siune, Talken, Tecchi. All the Sleeping Knights had gathered.
"Hey, come on... you guys," Yuuki whined weakly, peeking past me to look at them. "You promised you wouldn't send me off at the end," Despite refusing her demands, Yuuki's face went a little rosy at their arrival.
"You got the wrong idea, we're here to rally your spirits!" Jun declared, inching forward beside me. "If this is how it ends, just wait for us, try not to wander around too much," He now held her hand alongside mine against her stomach. "When that time comes, we'll be there shortly,"
"What are you talking about? If you come too soon, I'm gonna get mad," She furrowed her brow a little to try and glare back at Jun.
"Tsk-Tsk-Tsk," Nori sat down next to me too, wagging her finger. "None of that now! You can't do a thing without us, Yuuki. Which is why we've put a vote to have Mal here lead us 'till you pick yourself up again, and like Jun said, if you're leavin' ahead of us, no way we're gonna leave you to wander off on your own,"
"So sit tight and wait for us..." Even now, Nori choked up herself, tears breaking from her cool, calm deposition that fell away in an instant. "Wait for us..."
"You mustn't Nori, we promised not to cry," Siune tried to be calm about it, but like us, all of them couldn't hold back their feelings any better than me. All of us now held her hand, giving her some of our strength if possible. I'd trade half my life for hers...
"See? C-Cupcake, you can't leave me to look after t-them, I'm totally screwed," I sniffled, my tears running down my cheeks with a heavy smile. "And even if you did bail, no way you're escaping us that easily, got that!"
"Guess I have no choice then," Tears fell from her crimson eyes, warmth flooding into her cheeks as she admired all of our friends. "I'll try not to take too long, and if not... then I'll be waiting, then, so don't come any sooner than you have to,"
By now, the others had gotten here in time. Kirito, Leafa, Silica and Pina, Lizbeth, Klein, Argo, Yui, Sinon and Philia. All came up individually to rest their hand on Yuuki's, offering a silent prayer to her. When Kirito came to rest his hand to hers, Yui joined in.
"Sorry I couldn't give you that rematch..." Yuuki murmured to him, a small smile forming on the Black Swordsman's face, shaking his head.
"Don't worry about it now, just rest up," He answered, nodding to me and Asuna as he stood a stand back with the others.
"Hey, t-take a look," I nudged her side, her eyes following mine as a gust of wind stretched across the island from all sides of the floor. No one but me, Kirito and Asuna knew about this, smiling to know our massive request came through.
The skies were lit up by thousands of figures from across Alfheim. Every faction, every guild and party far and wide filled the world with their presence in a matter of seconds. Many landing on the small island to silently stand by in solidarity. The look of wonder and bewilderment on Yuuki's face was priceless.
"Amazing... look at all those fairies!" Yuuki gaped, blinking around to admire the titanic showing before her.
"This was my doing, my bad," I apologized slightly as her eyes followed me and Asuna. "Asuna pitched in to make it happen,"
"Sorry, we didn't know if this might annoy you," Asuna gave her own apology, though the purplette hardly looked irritated, letting out a small laugh.
"Annoy me? Not at all, but why... why so many? Am I dreaming?" She questioned, I would too in her shoes.
"Because, Yuuki... you're the most powerful swordsman this world has ever known... there will never be another swordsman like you. All of them came, whether to support you or see you off, leaving you here in such a lonely way... we can't do that," Asuna's voice cracked, retaining her gentle smile against the pain.
"Every prayer for you, for this journey or the next, like you've always led into every world you've touched," I concluded, my bottom lip trembling.
"I'm so happy... that makes me so happy..." Her voice was weaker, closing her eyes to amplify her smile for a moment, bringing her head to rest against our laps as her hand found its way into mine again, holding it tightly, feeling it shake in mine.
"All this time, I've been thinking. If I was born only to die, then what's my purpose for existing in this world? Without creating anything, without giving anything. Wasting all that medication and that device, causing trouble for those around me," Yuuki contemplated, I had no idea she felt this way, then again, I can't blame her for withholding it in her heart.
"If I'm only going to be in agony, and suffer, and just vanish at the end... then it would be better to just vanish this instant," Now, her voice began to break, that heartache she held onto was horrible. She... really was just like me, I... I felt I've done nothing for anyone, for my dead friends, for my new ones... for Yuuki. What have I done? What could I do now? "I had thought so many times,"
"Why am I alive, anyway? All this time..." I thought she was about to fall apart, but her words... left me speechless. "But-but you know... I really did find that answer," Directing her smile towards me, my heart nearly clenched itself too tight, feeling her hand tighten in my own.
"Even if I had no purpose... it's still alright to live. Because... I finally found it... someone who showed me so much in such little time, who gave me everything and never asked for much in return. Who fought until the very end to help me, even if it only ended up hurting him,"
"Yuuki..." I whispered her name, fresh tears dripping down my face.
"Sure, I'll take this dance,"
"Okay!" She beamed then snapped her fingers, then motioned for the others all to stand back again. "So, what's your poison?"
I tapped my chin, "Ground battle, no magic, no items... anything else goes,"
She nodded, "Classic sword fight - eh?"
/\
"Thank you for the meal," We chimed before digging in, I watched Yuuki for a time as she raised a red bean paste covered Dango to her lips, sniffing it before she yanked the top one off first. I swear, her eyes exploded from her sockets.
A blush coated her cheeks as she grabbed her cheek, cooing from the flavour. "So sweet~!" I dug into my own, biting off two from one skewer in a single swing, savouring the sweetness of the Dango before swallowing and downing the two with a small sip of tea. "Why haven't I ever come here before, this is so good!"
/\
Grabbing her shoulders, I pulled her red eyes back to me. "Would you shut up about that!?" My tone startled her a little, "...because I'm not giving up on you," Her eyes widened as I admitted what had been brewing in my mind for three days. Seventy-two hours I couldn't shake it from my mind. And now, thanks to Merida's recordings, I knew what to do. "You fought so very hard for your parents and sister, for Merida, Clovis, all of the Sleeping Knights, but you can't just call it quits because you've engraved your name into this world! If you can't find a reason, then I'll find it for you! I'll find a purpose for you to live for! So... so, don't go, Yuuki!" I squeezed her shoulders, my head falling as my emotions were starting to creep up. "Please... don't go..." I was trembling by now.
I slowly pulled her back against my shoulder, mine against hers as I felt her shake as well. "...do you really mean that? Even though I might not be here anymore, you'd still try for me?"
/\
~Haha! Well, not my pride on the firing line~ Kazuki mused, then raised an 'OK' sign to the camera. ~Very well, as a side-quest, getting you a husband is a go!~
I grunted at that idea, "You dare..." But then, I felt my mind wander as he approached each door in sight to quickly check each one since I didn't reply to tell him my room was the last at the end of the hall. "...what about you?" The questioned rolled out without me thinking about it.
~What about me?~ He replied.
"...you know... being with me?"
All these memories, dozens of small, precious moments came flooding forward. This was it, wasn't it? I... I really was going to lose her, the girl I met before being trapped in SAO, the same girl I reunited with under this tree, fighting and sharing everyday with her. All of those days finally came crashing forward in a great wave I couldn't stop with my bare hands.
"I'm glad to have suffered this long... because I finally got to find someone to spend my life with, however long it may be," Yuuki found her purpose to live... i-it was me? I... I... "Surrounded by all these people, all my friends; if this going to be the end, I'm glad I got to end my journey... in the arms of someone I love,"
That last line of hers finally broke me, curling my head down against her chest, unable to hold back my tears further as she clutched my hand as tight as a blade. Funny enough... I found my own purpose too... even if it took three months to find it...
"N-no matter what, I... I'm not going a-anywhere..." I felt a whimper escape me, her hand clutched to mine constantly, feeling her thumb brush across my fingers gingerly.
"Then I'm in good hands, with both of you," Yuuki whispered softly, her voice frail.
No one moved an inch, the thousands that came remained as they were, forsaking everything in their lives to be here, I could never begin to repay this. The memories I held continued to flow, every smile, battle, fit of determination and bout of sadness, all of it a precious, finite amount of time in my life.
I don't know how long we remained under the tree, I sat there until the last moment where Yuuki vanished from the world of fairies... and from the iron castle where we met...
[To Be Continued...]
[Author's Notes]
Still one more chapter to wrap up this very small but extremely integral arc to the story. I'll leave all of you to mull this over, thank you. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the next chapter, Players :)