Chapter 25: Mother's Rosario

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January 16th, 2026

I didn't know what I was feeling, or why I was feeling it.

That irritated me.

It'd been just under a week since Yuuki started attending school with us and I made up with Asuna. Of course, one of those was a little tiny bit more important than the other. At least, to me. Yuuki was, to all appearances - and according to Asuna, at least - fitting in with the others. Apparently, she was a hit with all her classmates and everyone loved her. Yeah, of course they did. The students here know what it's like to be forced to attend school under different circumstances due to random issues, so I doubt anyone pressed the issue about why she was coming to a school designed solely for Aincrad survivors while riding on Asuna's shoulder.

She was fitting right in with our friend group too; since she went everywhere Asuna went - or maybe it was the other way around, since I've seen her order Asuna around occasionally - she got introduced to everyone as a matter of course. I was never there for any of this in person, but through secondhand stories courtesy of Kazuto and Asuna, I knew that she fit right in. She was a bit shy around Kirito at first, for some reason, but eventually they got to talking about swords and boom! Instant friendship.

As for why I didn't know any of this in person, well...

I may have been able to patch things up with Asuna, but that was solely a matter of pure luck. I managed to log in and catch her when she was in an emotionally vulnerable state; I doubt that if I'd apologized to her at any other point in time it would have flown over so easily. I got lucky, plain and simple. Unfortunately, that wouldn't happen when it came to Kana. The woman I loved was far too strong to ever have problems like that, and it's not like I could justify taking advantage of something like that. Yes I wanted to make up with her, but I didn't want it to be at the expense of her happiness, even temporarily.

This was it, though, wasn't it? How they left. Everyone left, sooner or later. When I'd been a child, after the third time my new friend left me, I'd asked my parent about it. 'Why do all my friends leave? Is it my fault?' No matter what I did, no matter how careful I was, my friends left me. It was as inevitable as entropy. The only way for me to not lose someone was to withdraw from them, keep them from getting close. And it was too late for that here; Kana, Kazuto, and all the others had already snuck through my guard. So the universe was finally snapping back to status quo and it was worse than usual because they'd been so important to me. It always happened. The more important they were, the harsher the split and more devastating the fallout.

I sighed moodily and ate another bite of my sandwich before shaking my head and scribbling down the next answer to my homework. I'd missed quite a few classes due to my upset stomach and frequent trips to the nurse's office, and there was only so much I could get away with. Hence why I was busy doing make-up work for the teachers whose classes I had missed; at least that way I could show them I was more than willing to do the work, just not when my insides were very stridently demanding to be on my outsides. I still felt like shit that I was reacting to Kana that way... But then again, I was always running from everything, so why should this be any different? Gods...

"Ah, Mr. Weyr, I see you're catching up on work you've missed," one of my teachers said.

I glanced up; my math teacher was standing in the doorway. I glanced around me and blinked as I realized I was the only person in the room. "Yes, sir," I said politely. "My stomach has been acting up lately - it might be because of a bug I caught. I thought it was only a twenty-four hour cold, but my stomach seems to be very volatile as of late."

He nodded understandingly. "Well, you seem to have things well in hand, young man, and so long as your grades don't slip I have no problem with you missing my class because of illness."

"Thank you, sir." My grades couldn't slip; it was part of my deal with Asuna. I'd help tutor her on her coursework, and in turn she'd keep her grades up and get to stay in school with us. Not that it really mattered, in the end, since I was graduating soon anyway... "My grades won't suffer, I can ensure that." The notes on the classes I missed were always sitting in my desk before lunch and when the day ended, along with the homework that had been passed out. I really was grateful for Kana's help, I really was, I just couldn't express how grateful until I apologized to her.

He gave me a smile. "I have faith in you. Carry on." Hm. Faith? In something like me? Worthless.

Doing my homework in class wasn't the only reason I was eating lunch in the classroom. It was easier to avoid the others this way; say what I might, it was still a little awkward to have both me and Kana sitting at the same table, so if one person was already sitting, the second had to find somewhere else to sit. Given the choice between Kana and someone as worthless as me, I couldn't make her leave our friends, so by default it fell to me to vacate the premises. I didn't really mind all that much, I guess... But it still stung whenever I saw everyone laughing together, especially at something Yuuki had said.

That's when I got that strange burning in my chest, like half of me wanted one thing but half of me wanted another. I don't know what it was, that's not the way it felt, but I don't know how to describe it properly.

It wasn't any better in Alfheim, really. I'd taken to crashing at Kirito and Asuna's log cabin - since my apartment in-game was fairly obviously a bad place to be at the moment - and that's where I found myself when waking up. Stretching, I yawned and cracked my back, sighing with relief. Sometimes my me in this world got stiff from falling asleep on the couch and it always felt nice when my spine popped back into alignment. "Asuna, you here?" I called out. We had to go over a few things in English, if I'm recalling last study session accurately. I told her it was okay for us to study in here, so long as we studied straight for at least a half-hour; still, though, I preferred doing my work in the real world. Though the two worlds were the same, technically, I felt like doing homework in Alfheim - unless I was really, really lazy and procrastinated all of it - was sullying it, somehow.

Or maybe I'm just weird like that. Probably that, yeah.

I wandered outside and blinked; I wasn't expecting a bunch of grills set up on their lawn. Huh. Wonder what's going on.

"Hey, Rythin!" Klein called out, giving me a wave when I looked his way. "Glad you could make it!"

I have no idea what's going on. "Like I'd miss it, right?" We both laughed. He and Agil were over chatting about something, and so after I gave the tall black man a wave I made my escape - though it was more 'continue wandering around' than 'escape'. There was a keg set up over to the side, and I grabbed a mug out of habit, though I didn't fill it up immediately. All in all it looked like they were getting ready for a... party...

Fuck. Asuna did mention something about that, I think. Maybe. I don't remember. My memory was a bit blurry these days.

Soon, other people began flying in; the two factions we were closely tied to, the Cait Sith and the Sylph, showed up together. It was amusingly tense for a few seconds when Eugene arrived as well and Sakuya spent a few minutes glaring daggers at the Salamander general, but they broke it up fast enough. Chrysheight showed up as well, which was a bit of a surprise, as well as Recon. Everyone from our friend group at school started trickling in as they got access to Alfheim; I was resting on the roof for most of this, so I got the best view as to when people were showing up. Argo slipped in, almost unnoticed by the others, but I saw her. She glanced my way once, and I looked away. I didn't want to see hate in her eyes.

While the others were all chatting happily, I sunned on the roof, staring at the sky - and as a result I was the first to see the eight fairies flying toward us. Sighing, I rolled to my side and poked my head over the edge of the roof. "They're here," I called out before hopping off the roof, falling and landing with a debatable amount of grace. I landed on my feet, though, and that was the important part.

Asuna and the Sleeping Knights arrived, and I had a brief moment of awkward tension when I caught sight of Yuuki; she was giggling at something Asuna had just said. That strange feeling showed up again, like I desired something so very badly but couldn't do a thing to take what I wanted. It's strange. "Here it is," Asuna called, hefting a large bag in her hand. "I've got everything!"

About fifteen minutes later, the barbecue was sizzling and it smelled fantastic. "Um, okay everyone!" Asuna called to get our attention. "A toast! To this gathering of friends, new and old!" She raised her mug. "To us!"

"To us!" everyone else chorused. I just raised my mug silently before sipping at the juice inside.

The barbeque was very lively, which made my previous vantage point far more peaceful than it really should have been. As soon as I grabbed a plate of food, I snuck back onto the roof and watched from above. Eugene approached Yuuki and was chatting with her about something or other, and reached out to place a gauntleted hand on her shoulder; immediately, Alicia and Sakuya swooped in, the Sylph lord lifting Eugene's hand as the Cait Sith lord quickly escorted Yuuki back away from the Salamander general and toward the safety of Asuna. While Sakuya scolded Eugene, waving a finger at him, Yuuki and Asuna laughed.

Over to the side, I could see Jun, Nori, and Siune thanking Klein and Kirito for their assistance with the guild - or, at least, that's what I assumed, given Jun's salute of respect. I figured that I didn't need to intrude, so I just stayed up on my spot and munched on another slice of veggies. By the corner of the house, I could see Leafa and Tecchi chatting away, and as Leafa laughed happily about something he said I noticed an aura of despair coming from the side of the house. I padded over to the side and peeked over to see Recon staring at the two, biting at his... shirt? Huh. Well, whatever. Agil and Chrysheight grinned as they brought more food over to Talken, who was eating with a single-mindedness that put mine to shame; as they laughed, Nori wandered over and started teasing the poor boy. It was all so very amusing.

Silica and Jun looked like they were talking about something, and I was just wondering what - the Salamander boy looked like he might have a small crush on the Cait Sith girl - when I heard someone land on the roof behind me. "Hey, Rythin," Sinon said, and I sighed as my shoulders relaxed. "Don't be so disappointed, huh?" she joked, nudging me with an elbow.

"Sinon, why would I ever be disappointed to see your lovely face," I said in a deadpan, reaching out to pat her shoulder. "Why, this is one of the most wonderful things that has happened all day."

"Again," she sighed with a grin, "you're a perfect example of why I don't like guys. Always thinking with their lower heads. And with you it's even worse, since you only have half a brain between the two."

I laughed despite myself. "You do realize that I'm asexual and as such all but literally hard-wired not to think that way, right?"

She stopped and stared at me. "You're joking."

I folded my arms behind my head and leaned back to rest on the roof, a smirk on my lips. "Nope. I'm sorry to break your heart and shatter your hopes and dreams, but... Hundred percent asexual. Don't give a fuck, figuratively and literally."

"...Then all those times you -"

"Yyyyyyep."

"...And when I -" Her face was a little red by this point.

"Uh-huh."

"...But don't you..." She trailed off, staring into the distance and blinking on occasion. "Huh."

I grinned. "See? Aren't you grateful I told you before you managed to embarrass yourself further?" I loved teasing Sinon like this, since she always reacted so well. And because she fired back just as much, making this fun. I could have sworn I'd told her before… Didn't she say something about me not being taken in by a pretty face earlier? Ah, no matter. She probably just thought I was being faithful to – being faithful.

"I was wondering why the other girls laughed every time I complained about you flirting," she mumbled thoughtfully. "I guess that explains it." I grinned again, though it slipped away quickly. "So anyways, what're you doing up here? Aren't you usually with Argo at times like this?"

My tail lashed, though only once before I got myself back under control. "Eh," I said with a dismissive wave of the hand, "parties aren't really my thing. Too loud."

"You got that right," she sighed. "The roof is pretty peaceful, isn't it?"

"Mm." I stretched out, feeling my tail tip twitching idly. "Sometimes it's nice to just relax and get away from it all. Is this what it's like to set up a sniping spot and then just wait?"

"Hm…" Sinon stretched out next to me, arms under her head. "Sorta, I guess. A lot more relaxing, since being in a sniper's nest means you have to be watching through the scope the whole time. So, even if there was sun, which was rare in GGO, I never really noticed it."

"Cool." Bored, I picked up a small pebble that had found its way to the roof and tossed it to Sinon; she caught it in one hand and glanced at me curiously. Grinning, I grabbed another one and nodded at her before aiming and tossing the pebble at the people milling below. A surprised yelp that sounded like it came from Klein was my reward. Beside me, Sinon glanced at me before smirking and taking aim. When she threw her own projectile, it earned two yelps, another from Klein and then one from Kirito. I grinned and gave her a look. "Impressive."

"Child's play." But she was grinning. She was enjoying herself.

We basked in the sun, alternating lying limp on the roof and taking potshots at Kirito and Klein, until people started grouping up. "Hey, cats on the hot tin roof!" Kirito called, and the two of us looked at him. That was actually a pretty good reference, I suppose. Maybe a bit archaic and a surprise coming from him, but still classy. "We're going to fight the boss on Floor 28! You guys coming?"

I shrugged and glanced at Sinon. "Up for it?"

"Why not," she shrugged back.

The two of us jumped off the roof, landing lithely. Sinon opted for the smooth landing, flowing like the cat she resembled, while I landed heavily, cracking one of the pavement stones beneath my feet. I straightened up to see Sinon watching me with a raised eyebrow; she glanced at the stone beneath my feet then back at me, and I just gave her a grin. It'd be fixed by the time we got back - environment damage wasn't permanent. She snorted and rolled her eyes before turning away, but I saw her tail twitch with amusement. Grinning cheerfully, I followed the rest of the pack to town and the warp gate. The others were all chatting happily amongst themselves, and I did a quick head count. My stomach lurched for a second before settling, and I clenched my fists. Argo wasn't there, and I don't know where she went... Gods damn it all. Then again, she usually didn't do boss fights, so... I guess it's not that surprising.

Screaming, the others all raced through the 28th Floor's Labyrinth; Jun and Yuuki in particular were fired up, and had volunteered to take point and murder anything in our way. That, of course, meant that we had nothing to do but run, and that got old after a while. "You're going down!" Klein, Kirito, and Yui all shouted as they followed in the path that the two front-liners had cleared for us. It was times like this that I was super glad I had chosen a speed-type build, since I didn't have to put forth too much effort to keep up with the rest of the pack. If I had, well, I'd probably have dropped out of the race and just waited patiently. Or not, the promise of violence is a wonderful lure.

The 28th Floor's boss was some weird crab-crawfish thingy. I don't even know what it was called, since it died so fucking quickly to all of us hitting it with our best shots. I didn't even have to try, really, just use my Martial Arts skills to keep it and its giant fuckoff claws distracted while the others carved it up in no time. "Anyone for crab legs?" I asked idly as it burst into polygons and everyone celebrated. "I'm pretty sure some of the villages on the 4th Floor have some."

---

Time passed, as time was wont to do, and things, well, happened. Yuuki kept learning, using Asuna as proxy, and from what I could tell she loved every second of it. We had a neat little competition in February to figure out who among us was the fastest flyer; the 29th Floor had a bunch of rocks floating in neat little formations, so Leafa had the great idea to set up a race course through them. Kirito and Klein didn't participate so they were the ones to set up the racetrack, and the rest of us flew. I was able to keep up with the fast flyers - thanks, speed build - but I wasn't able to surpass the people who flew like it was second nature to them, namely Leafa, Nori, and Yuuki, and so came in fourth during the overall competition. I laughed slightly as I saw Silica pouting, slumped over as she flew toward the goal, and Sinon and I comforted her with gentle pats on the back.

Some jerk was snickering at her expression. …I totally wasn't the one snickering.

...Even I don't believe that one, and the easiest person to lie to is yourself.

Kazuto and Yuuki were getting along fantastically, something Asuna had no problem ranting about when we were supposed to be studying. "And they just get into some conversation about technology and stuff, and I have no idea what they're saying half the time, and I'm pretty sure they don't even realize I exist," she finished saying to me one day. "What do you think, Nick?"

"I think," I said, giving her a serious look, and she blinked attentively. "...I think you should figure out the equation for this parabola." Her shoulders slumped and she glared at me half-heartedly. "Asuna, you should know by now that I'm most definitely not the person to go to for relationship advice." Ain't that the truth.

She sighed and leaned against me, poking at her calculator. "Yeah, I just wanted someone to rant to. You're good at that, Nick."

"Thanks, I think." Then I frowned suddenly. "Y'know, I just realized something."

"What's that?"

"I'm playing the role of sassy gay best friend right now," I said. I hummed in thought. "How strange. Particularly because I'm neither gay nor your best friend." That spot went to Rika.

…The best friend spot. Jury's still out on the other one, but given that she's holding the torch for Kazuto, I wasn't holding my breath.

Asuna smiled. "Well, hurry up and be sassy then, bestie."

I chuckled. "Girl, you know I'm never not sassy."

At least her home life was improving? At least, that's what she was telling me, at any rate. Her mother had checked in on us while we were studying at Asuna's house one weekend, and Mother Dearest didn't seem to have any complaints. She even offered to pay me a small pittance as a tutor, though I turned it down. I was helping Asuna, and after all she'd done for me I couldn't possibly accept payment for it. Her success was all I needed. Regardless, Asuna's grades were pulling up - though whether that was because of me, her other tutor, or her new attitude toward the real world I couldn't say. Probably because she was actually focusing now.

The Sleeping Knights and Asuna managed to clear another boss, making me feel that weird desire feeling in my stomach again. My fists clenched and I stalked away from the Monument of Swordsmen angrily. I hated feeling things I couldn't name, let alone control. If I could just figure that stupid emotion out...

And then came the Alfheim Duel Tournament.

---

February 15th, 2026

I strode into the arena, feeling sand crunch under my feet. A round of cheers came from the players packed into the coliseum battleground, but I didn't bother looking around; my attention was solely on my opponent. This was the semi-finals, and all I had to do was win one more match and then I'd be able to go up against Kirito; his win was all but determined, since he was, well, Kirito. I had faith in my friend. The only thing standing in my way was the slender figure walking toward me; her skirt flapped in the dusty breeze, and her long purple hair blew across her face. Her long sword was still sheathed on her hip, but I knew the second our duel countdown began it would be out and pointed at my heart.

"So, Yuuki," I said as we nodded respectfully to each other, "ready to fight for real?"

"Ready to lose again?" she taunted.

My eyes glittered. "By all means, continue to be confident," I purred. "This time I'm focused."

She laughed, her eyes hard but happy. "Good to hear it. I wanna fight ya at your best!" Believe me. It's coming. No holding back this time.

The duel countdown timer began - an extra-long two minute timer, so that people could plan strategies I guess - and I unsheathed my Moonblade. If I could nick her, that would instantly put me at an advantage because every instant she wasn't dealing damage the gap between us would grow bigger. I scanned the arena for any - "Hey!" Yuuki called, and I glanced at her curiously. "We gonna do a pre-fight boast?"

I blinked at her. Even the haze of Future Step didn't make her outfit any less purple. "What."

"Y'know, like tryin' to intimidate the other person," she said, gesturing with her free hand.

I shrugged. Not like I had any better idea. "Sure, why not."

"Yess!" she cheered. "You're the first guy to say yes! Sweet!" What have I done. "Listen up!" she shouted, pointing her sword at me. "You say you can beat me? I'm Yuuki, the Absolute Sword! And there's ABSOLUTELY no way you're gonna win!" Cheers filled the air.

Oh, so that's all I have to do? "Heh," I chuckled, my teeth bared in a good-natured snarl. "My name is Rythin the Tactician and my Future Step skill foresees your defeat!" More cheering. Yuuki gave me a thumbs up and a quick grin, and despite myself I returned the grin. Being able to boast like that was kinda entertaining.

The duel rang, the match began, and I immediately put my plan into action.

By running away.

Once I had a good bit of distance between me and Yuuki, I raised a hand. Seeing that, Yuuki immediately closed in - but it was too late. I'd already finished the chant and snapped, the sound ringing out. Instantly, a cloud of darkness exploded outwards, and I shifted to the side. I could kinda see in the dark - thanks to my skill and my special Cait Sith eyes - and I put that to good use. It helped that Yuuki activated a simple Sword Skill, thrusting straight forward; I had already ghosted to the side by that point, so all it accomplished was giving away her location. Smiling grimly, I ghosted behind where the line had ended and drew back my knife. I just needed to slit her throat and the game would be -

With a crunch, Yuuki slammed her head back into my face. I don't know what happened, but maybe she caught a glimpse of the Moonblade as it went for her throat. Either way, she managed to avoid getting hit and surprised me with the pain. Staggering back, I jumped away automatically and avoided her follow-up strike as she tried to cut me in half. Shaking my head to clear out the dizziness, I grinned tightly as the smoke cleared, revealing Yuuki grinning widely. This was actually fun!

My blood was pounding, but I ignored it. I wanted a cool head for this, even if it was just to enjoy every last second of the fight. Circling Yuuki warily, I kept low to the ground; because of Future Step, I was able to avoid whenever Yuuki closed rapidly. I was never able to react fast enough to counter her charge, but for all her talent in close-combat she wasn't a survivor of Aincrad. She hadn't learned that sometimes it was better to use regular attacks and not Sword Skills. She was still using the beginner skills, too, and the motion to dodge those was ingrained in my body. As I dodged and tumbled, I would lash out with my feet or fists or Moonblade just to try to hit her, but she was always reacting a heartbeat before I could hit her and parrying my blows with a sweep of her blade, sending a shower of sparks flying.

Irritating. But fun!

After another failed attempt at a kick to her ribs I backed up, keeping my eyes trained on her. With a shout, she lunged forward and thrust - but I had already jumped high into the air, warned by the red line. She slammed into the pile of boxes behind me and they went tumbling everywhere, creating a small little corridor for us to fight in if we wanted to. Still, time to worry about that later. I fell with a silent snarl, exhaling as I flipped in midair and slammed my heel down. I only struck dirt as Yuuki lunged away, but I had the initiative and I wasn't going to waste it. Using the momentum from my fall I pushed forward, passing through the dust cloud, and struck with quick slashes of the Moonblade. I never managed to connect with the poisoned blade, her longsword would just seem to appear in my way, but the first few times my Dragontalons caught her off guard and opened a few wounds along her sword arm. By the time she managed to get her feet under her and push me back, I had evened our health levels.

She got back into the fighting stance she'd started in, and I grinned - before jumping backwards again, landing lightly on top of one of the boxes that she'd knocked down earlier. Step one: Know thyself. Step two: Know thy battlefield. I chanted the Smokescreen spell again and snapped, Yuuki lunging for me; instead of trying to circle for the backstab, I just went straight for the chest this time. Still, she managed to predict that, disappointingly, and spun with a slash that opened up a gash on my left arm. I hissed in pain and withdrew as an overhead cleave struck the ground where I had been only a second ago.

I grinned, resetting my guard as Yuuki used a powerful horizontal slash to blow the smoke away. She was grinning too, beaming from ear to ear. "This is more like it!" she crowed, panting slightly. "I knew you could put up a fight!"

I just laughed. "Not yet!" We circled each other, testing for weaknesses in guard or footing. Our opening gambits had been made, and I had the measure of my opponent by now. Time to start pulling strings to see what moves. I feinted to the left and shifted to a crushing uppercut with my other hand at the last second; Yuuki fell for the feint, confirming my suspicions, but was able to jump away in time to turn her near-disembowelment to just a light scratch on her armor. Still, if she'd been a heartbeat slower, that would have done some major damage.

Her lips twitched slightly as she rushed me, longsword flashing out as she twisted and spun. I gritted my teeth and dodged what I could, taking the damage from the rest but mitigating it by redirecting most of the force by blocking. She was faster than me and had better reach, but she wasn't the only one with reach! One particular strike was powerful, so powerful I was send skidding backwards; when she followed up the strike I braced myself and held my dagger with both hands to block better. Her sword crashed down and I grunted with exertion, but held my ground – and then Yuuki was the one being sent flying as I snapped my leg out and nailed her in the gut with a sidekick.

Our dance of steel continued, both of us twisting and shifting around each other. We fought to our own tempos; my beat was heavy and primal while hers was light and airy. I struck, she parried; she struck, I wheeled out of the way before spinning on my heel and kicking. Fights were usually over quickly, but this one had shifted to the second movement; they were fighting for dominance, but neither of us would fall to the other's rhythm!

I deliberately took a slash to the chest because it was an attack that had a long recovery time and flicked my right hand out. Two stone knives shot into the dirt in either side of her, spearing through her body and getting a cry of shock from her. I grinned - she was trapped! I dashed forward, sliding low to stab her in the chest, only to be booted away by a strong kick to the chest.

I grunted but recovered in midair, throwing a pair of Fire knives as I summoned my wings to carry me in a graceful arc. They streaked towards the stationary Yuuki, but she managed to surprise me by literally shattering the two spikes that were already holding her in place, tearing them apart. It did damage, but less than having two new holes in her body would have; the two knives I threw sailed past her as she twisted and ducked and struck the ground, exploding a little ways behind her.

I landed on the ground lightly and was immediately on the defensive as Yuuki pressured me with slashes and stabs. It was only Future Step that kept me from getting cut nearly in half, especially when she was in amazing form like right now. We were drawing the best out of each other and I loved it! This was a fight I hadn't had in a long, long time. I ducked under her last swing and jumped back to avoid the follow-up thrust, and looked around wildly as I realized I was in the box alley. Yuuki giggled and lunged toward me - and I slipped to the side before sending a heavy punch straight towards her chest. She wasn't expecting it and I made contact, though she was able to convert her slide back to an acrobatic cartwheel.

The second her feet hit the ground, I grinned wildly and snapped my fingers. Instantly, a red rune appeared from the ground and I laughed as the explosion rang out, sending a pillar of fire into the air. That time-delay spell was wonderful! Yuuki emerged from the side of the smoke, only lightly singed; she'd managed to somehow get out of the way with those instant reflexes of hers. The circle was just too small by itself and with nothing keeping them there. But step three of fighting was know thy enemy - and by this point I'd figured she'd fall for the feint and then dodge left.

She looked around wildly to find me, but all she had to do was look to the side; before she could react, even with her insane speeds, I had closed inside her threaten range to extreme close-quarters. She had just enough time for her eyes to widen before I slammed my foot down and unleashed a heavy punch with all my weight behind it, sending her flying across the arena. She slammed into the nearby wall, falling to the ground flat on her stomach, and I straightened up to the cheers of the audience.

I felt frustration, something I was far too used to: even after all that, even after the triple blind, she still managed to barely sway back and dodge the edge of the Moonblade. But even though I hadn't landed the poison, I'd sent her flying. Tied up again, Yuuki. We both had to be low at this point.

The orchestra of the battle had reached the finale.

"Man," she called out as she pushed herself up and stumbled forward, a little dazed. I was approaching quickly, but I wouldn't get there before she caught her breath. "You shoulda fought like this the first time, Rythin! I knew something was different about you!"

I just grunted and drew more knives, these ones fire and ice. With a quick swing I launched them both at her; she cartwheeled past the first and slid under the second, the explosion and frost appearing on the wall behind her. I shifted past her, my back to the wall now, and she grinned. Sliding in front of me, she set her feet and beamed at me. I grinned back reluctantly; I was having so much fun like this, I don't know why. "Here goes!" she shouted before drawing back her weapon. It glowed with a purple light and I blanched; I knew this pattern.

Her Original Sword Skill.

I'd seen it before, but this was the first time facing it in person. I swore and shifted backwards one step, all I could spare before she unleashed it on me. I got my arm up to block the first stab, but it was powerful and knocked my guard away, leaving me wide open to the rest in the first series. Each blow pushed me back and I gritted my teeth with each hit. I just needed to worry about the last one, that was the killer! Her first five stabs finished, Yuuki unleashed the next set and again I managed to block the first before getting struck by the rest. I staggered backwards as she drew back for the killing thrust and began to bring my hands up to guard when my back slammed into something hard and unyielding. Shit! I twitched, hesitating for a heartbeat as I whipped my head to the side and realized a second too late that she'd slammed me into the wall, and that was enough for her to stab me before my guard got into position.

The weapon ripped through my stomach and slammed into the wall behind me. Still, I refused to lose to her... I grabbed onto the blade and held tightly. She was fully extended, out of my range, but I could close in. I'd done it before. Hissing at the uncomfortable feeling, I pushed myself down her blade until the crossguard was pressing at my stomach and reared back to slash her throat open. I swung -

-and my blade failed to connect as my body burst into flames an instant before I carved her throat open. I'd normally be irritated I died, but this was just so much fun... I wanted to hate Yuuki, like I had before, but I was having - gasp of shock - a good time fighting her. Gods damn it all.

In the end, it was Yuuki who fought Kirito; their match was insanely close. At the end, Kirito closed in on her, only for her to use that Original Sword Skill again to counter his own OSS in an insane flurry of blows and then knock him flying. Kirito righted himself in midair by summoning his wings and streaking toward her; Yuuki seemed so shocked she wasn't even able to react as his sword drove toward her heart - and then the timer buzzed, the time having run out. Yuuki won the match and the title of Alfheim's Strongest Fighter by dint of having more health left when time ran out. Gods damn it all... Stupid timers. At least my battle ended. Yuuki celebrated with her guild while Kirito sheathed his sword and grinned at her.

For my part, I sighed, shook my head at Kirito's steadfast refusal to use two swords unless it mattered, and then went and collected what I'd won from my bet. Hey, I might be Kirito's best friend, but profit was profit.

The rest of February followed a similar pattern - go to school, end up in the nurse's office before the end of the day, and then after assuring her it was nothing too serious, just a case of food poisoning that made my stomach act up, go home where I'd finish my homework and then either help Asuna study or log into Alfheim. Din seemed to be staying with Kana, which was something I was grateful for; I didn't want to explain to the kid how I'd managed to screw everything up so badly. Still, my girlfriend and I were avoiding each other successfully, and the days passed routinely.

Then the girls went out to Kyoto for three days and two nights. I was surprisingly lonely; even when we weren't speaking to each other, I was still aware of Kana's presence, like a warm fire that was maybe just a little tiny bit too hot. Even if it burned me if I got too close, I could still bask in its warmth from a distance. And Asuna and Sugu and the other girls helped too... And then they all just disappeared for three days.

I felt like I was freezing.

---

March 12th, 2026

I lied back and stretched out indolently. Visiting Kyoto was a lot of fun, since it was so beautiful there... It was me and the other girls minus Shino on our trip that lasted a few days. We visited temples, wandered through the soothing bamboo forests, tried out all the local cuisine - where Asuna and Yuuki chatted nonstop through their meals, much to our combined dismay and amusement. This was supposed to be a vacation, after all, so there wasn't really any point to getting irritated about it.

My phone vibrated and I pulled it out, irrational hope rising in my chest. Had Nick finally contacted - no. That hope died to ashes when I saw the message, and I shook my head before taking a deep breath. It wasn't Yuuki's fault he and I had gotten into a fight, no matter how much the irrational part of me wanted to blame her. "Hey, Yuuki," I said after the screen connected.

"Hi Kana," she said, grinning at me. A week or so after Yuuki joined our friend group, Nick must have hooked her into the virtual world that Yui and Din lived in when they weren't in ALO; no matter the cause, Yuuki was able to talk to us just like Yui and Din did. The little kids could also use the camera that rode on Asuna's shoulder almost constantly, though most of the time they let Yuuki pilot it around. "Can we, um... talk a little bit?"

I shrugged. "Sure, I guess." Rolling over, I propped myself up. I was alone in the inn room we'd rented; Asuna and the other girls were out taking a bath, and I was just relaxing in bed, reading a book. "What did you want to talk about?"

"It's about Nick," she said solemnly. I swallowed and sat up, giving her my full attention. "You're going out with him, right?"

"I am," I said, proud that my voice only shook a little bit. "What about Nick?"

Yuuki fidgeted awkwardly before finally sighing and looking at me. "You were there with Asuna when I warned her about Kazuto, right? How he was living in the virtual world, just like me?" I nodded. "I think it's kinda the same thing with him."

I frowned. "What do you mean? I know Nick plays ALO a lot, but…"

"That's not... aghh," Yuuki groaned, throwing her head back and staring at the sky. "I dunno how to explain it. Just be careful with him, 'kay?"

I sighed and stared off into the distance. "Yeah... be careful, huh? Sure..."

"What's wrong?"

I wrapped my arms around my legs. "Nick and I had a huge fight two months ago, y'know?"

"Sorry..."

"Not your fault," I told her. "I just need to talk ta someone about it, and ya happen to be here." My accent was starting to break through... I really was upset about it. "Asuna and the others are bein' super nice about not saying anything, but it's like..." I hid my face in my legs. "I feel like it's my fault because I didn't say anything. I knew he was acting weird, I just didn't bring it up to him." I'd resolved to use my information as a weapon, but then I just turn around and do nothing when Nick was in pain. "I just want to make up with him, but I'm not sure if I've screwed everything up beyond repair... I don't want to be alone again..." I whispered. I wanted to Nick to rely on me, let me take half of the burdens he carried. I could support him the same way he supported me! I wasn't some doll that he needed to protect and shelter...

"Why don't you just tell him all that stuff, then?" Yuuki asked me, and I realized I'd been ranting out loud. As I blushed, embarrassed that she'd heard me, Yuuki continued, "Sure, I think he's a jerk, but that doesn't mean that everyone else doesn't like him. And after fighting him in that tournament, I can kinda understand him a little, I guess. I'm pretty sure all ya need to do is talk to him and you'll sort everything out!"

Despite everything, I laughed. "You're absurdly optimistic, ya know?" I sniffled quietly and wiped at my eyes; I wasn't crying, but they were burning suspiciously.

"That's me!" Yuuki chirped, giving me a huge grin. "Right, I really just wanted to give ya the warning 'bout Nick. Keep an eye on him, okay?"

"I will," I said, smiling as I heard Yui and Din in the background. Yuuki glanced off-screen for a second and shouted something unintelligible. "Go on, play with the kids. I wanted to finish my book anyway."

"Gotcha. See ya, Kana!" With a wave, Yuuki ran off-screen, and I sighed as I was presented with a plain grassy background with cheerful shouting in the background. Honestly, that girl kept forgetting to close the connection. With a press of the button, I closed the connection and flopped back down on my bed. My pajamas were comfortable enough, so I didn't mind just getting comfortable in the blankets and turning to the page I was at. I was a little more composed than I had been before; Yuuki's words had put some part of me at ease that I hadn't been aware had been worried.

At the same time, what she told me was a little worrying. So Nick was living in the virtual world? I kinda get what she was saying, maybe. He always seemed a little bit more alive when he was in there, like this world wasn't really real to him. I wonder... what drew him to that alternate world? If he asked me that question, I could give him the answer; ALO and its like were gems of undiscovered information. I could learn and put the pieces together little by little and explore to my heart's content. There would always be new places to go, and new things to see. And just knowing that sparked a fire in me, a fire that pushed me towards fulfilling my dreams. It was corny, I know, but it was why I wanted to be an author, so that I could share new worlds with others.

But Nick... He wanted to be a game programmer, if I remember right, and that didn't really have anything to do with playing ALO. He didn't seem to be having any sort of enjoyment out of playing the game normally unless he was with us, and there wasn't anything that caught his interest like my research or Suguha's flying. From what I can tell, the only thing he got a kick out of was fighting! And he took those martial arts classes, and you'd think he'd get plenty of fighting there... Ah, it's not like it really matters in the long run, so long as I'm there to have his back when he needs me. It's just that, if I could figure out what he wanted, I could help him get it.

I was broken from my thoughts by the girls returning to the room and put my book away with a sigh, knowing there was no way I was getting any reading done anymore. They were all wonderful people, and I was glad I'd been invited along - this was a great chance to get closer to the others, and I'd taken full advantage of the time together to get to know Suguha and Keiko and Rika better - but, well, those three were loud. I couldn't really focus on my book, especially since they always bugged me until I joined in on the girl talk.

But hey. Girl talk was fun!

---

March 22nd, 2026

I sighed, letting my head fall on the desk. The other students had already cleared out for the day, leaving me alone in the room. Hells, the only reason I was still here was because I decided to finish up my work at school as per routine. One of the teachers had taken it upon themselves to issue me an emergency psych evaluation due to my frequent and all but scheduled trips to the nurse's office. That had been… fun, to say the least. I could fool them, though, just by putting on a different mask. At least the trips to the nurse had dropped in frequency to once a week, though I kept feeling terrible the rest of the time. It was less that I'd gotten used to having Kana behind me but so far away and more that I'd gotten used to feeling like my stomach was about to mount a charge on my esophagus.

I cracked my knuckles and sighed again, letting the sound draw out of me. I hated this feeling... My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out, raising an eyebrow when I saw that Yui was asking for a chat. "Hey, kiddo, what's up?" I mumbled, propping my phone up on the desk as I stood up, stretching until my spine popped. "You doing okay?" I hadn't been talking to her much recently, since she was always with Kazuto and Asuna, and those two were always with Yuuki. These chats were the most interaction I'd had with her for the past… month, I think.

"Actually, I was going to ask a favor, Uncle," she said sheepishly, and I went still. "Would you mind adding -"

"I know what you're doing, Yui," I ground out. "And I don't appreciate it." Ever since I'd connected Yuuki to the world Din and Yui used, Yui had been coming up with tiny little things for me to fix. Nothing really important, mind, but fixes here and there that would improve quality of life, or functionality, or things that they could do. In other words, busy work that would make me feel like I was doing something useful. I'd figured it out a few days ago after she asked if I could include some weather simulation. "I know you're a Mental Health Care program and I know that you're trying to make me feel better. But the manipulation doesn't work if person you're trying to manipulate is aware of what you're doing." I turned and stared at her. Hard. "I want you to stop."

"Uncle, I-I wasn't..." Her voice trembled and cracked. "I'm sorry!" She turned and ran off-screen.

I sighed, staring at the screen of my phone. Then my eyes narrowed. "It's rude to eavesdrop, you know," I said idly, and there was a brief sound of shock before Yuuki walked into view, looking a little sheepish.

"Sorry, Nick, didn't mean to listen in," she said, before giving me a very firm glare. "She's crying, y'know."

I gritted my teeth as I snarled under my breath. "I know! Damn it, don't you think I feel like shit already?" I didn't need her to tell me that I fucked up. Fuck. Fucking fucking fuck.

"You're a jackass, y'know that, Nick? I mean," Yuuki said, waving a hand, "you've got all these great friends and all you can do is snap when they try to help -"

That was it. That was the last straw that broke through the thin restraint on my anger. "Shut the hell up, Yuuki! Don't fucking preach at me!" I snapped, my voice rising with every word until I was shouting. "What the fuck do you know? You're everyone's favorite little darling, the poor sweetheart who's going to DIE in a few weeks. We can't be mean to you, because only an absolute MONSTER would be mean to a girl who's dying. Well guess what?" I spat. "I'm a monster. So shut the fuck up and don't try to make me feel like shit when I already DO!"

"What the hell, Nick?" Yuuki asked, eyes wide. "That was like, ten kinds of not -"

"I thought I told you to shut the hell up!" For a second, there was silence only broken by my harsh panting.

"No." My eyes widened and I snarled. Who was SHE to tell me no? "No, you need to hear this, Nick!" Yuuki pointed at me, her eyes hard. "You are surrounded by all these wonderful people. They're fantastic! Asuna, Kirito, Argo, everyone! I wish I could stay with everyone forever, but I can't. Because of something that wasn't my fault, I'm being dragged away from them before I want to leave!"

"I don't care!" I shouted. "They're choosing you over me! I get it, I really do. Nobody would want to be friends with a monster when they could be friends with someone like them, humans want human friends!" I laughed bitterly, covering my eyes with my hands as I slumped back into my seat. Deep down, Kazuto thinks I'm a monster, so does Asuna... I'm sure the others do, too, especially after how I blew up at Kana for, well, a stupid reason. "It shouldn't hurt this much to realize they've figured out what I am and decided to stay away... but it does. It hurts so, so much.

"Before Aincrad, I had nothing. I had no friends, nobody that I was close to. Nothing! But I didn't care, because I had no idea how lonely I was. I'd isolated myself on purpose. And then I met Kazuto and Asuna and Kana and everyone else, and they broke through my shell and I suddenly had friends. I had family. And now? Now that they're gone and I'm alone again? I know how soul-crushingly lonely I am, and it hurts." I have no idea why I'm telling all this to her. Maybe because she's dying. "But what do you care? You've got everything I want. You've got them, you've got happiness... I wish we were in each other's places," I snarled in an exhausted voice.

Yuuki gasped as I was preparing to continue ranting. "I'm dying, you insensitive asshole!" she interrupted me.

"I want to!" I exploded, slamming my hand on my desk.

Dead silence followed that little bombshell.

"Okay? In Aincrad, there were times when I wanted to die and the only thing that kept me alive was my sheer stubbornness and refusal to be beaten. Now, I don't even have that. The only reason I don't kill myself right now is because I couldn't do that to everyone. I couldn't leave them feeling guilty - and I know they would. Kana would blame herself, Yui would blame herself, Kazuto would blame himself, they'd all say 'We should have seen it. The signs were there.' and I can't let them self-flagellate like that."

I raised my other hand, grasping idly at the ceiling. I still couldn't see anything. "But if I were in your position... They wouldn't feel guilty. My own illness would have killed me, not myself. Hells, I'm terrified of death, actually. What happens? Does 'me' just vanish? The consciousness of Nick, of Rythin, just... goes poof, like it never existed. But maybe that's for the best. What good do I do the world right now, anyway?"

"Nick!"

"Stop saying my name! I HATE HEARING IT!" I screamed. Yuuki didn't reply. "Do you know? I'm a horrible, horrible monster. I'm broken." I chuffed a small chuckle. It didn't sound very much like a laugh. "Kana did it right, y'know? She fell in love with me after getting to know me, after learning what I was like. Asuna too. But me? I fell in love with Kana because she was there. Because I'd broken and she stayed by my side for all of one night. It's unhealthy, really, but I need her to feel whole." I knew it was a twisted, sick love, but it was love all the same. Still, she deserved better. "I want her to be happy, I really do, but that's only because it makes me happy to see her happy. My only reason for trying to make other people happy is because I want to be happy myself. How selfish of me, isn't it. I'm a monster, plain and simple. Gods, how I wish I could just fade away bit by bit. Do you KNOW how much I hate and despise myself?" I roared.

I let my arms fall as all that hate and rage just drained away, leaving me feeling empty. It wasn't the first time I'd felt empty like that, and my feelings would come back in time. For the meantime, I wanted to go outside – my throat was burning with the taste of bile. Normally, ranting like this would let me get rid of the venom building up inside me, but this time… Just more bile. "I really am jealous of you, Yuuki."

Heh. That was it. That's what I'd been feeling, why I'd felt like my chest was burning every time I saw her laugh with the others.

"You've got everything I wanted, and you don't even know." For all I know, I'm talking to myself. I haven't looked at my phone for a while. "I don't know how you do it, being so cheerful even when you've got a clock running down fast, but gods I wish I could be like you. You're dying, gods damn it, and yet you're far, far happier than I'll probably ever be... You're far stronger than I am, Yuuki. Asuna needs you for just a little longer, more than she's ever needed me. The others, too. Please, for as long as you have left, be their friend." I stood up, pocketing my phone. I glanced at the screen, but it was just showing the waving grass background of the world. At some point, she'd left the connection - or maybe she heard me anyway. Who knows. Who cares.

I stepped out of the room and made my way upstairs; it was quiet and empty, though I could hear a few people running around on the first floor. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, which was good... I guess. Not like it mattered to me. I opened the door leading to the roof and smiled; it was empty. Good. I wanted to be alone for a while. It would be easier that way. For a few seconds, I just stood there on the roof and breathed, staring at the blue sky and letting it swallow me. It's so strange, how staring at the completely empty sky makes you feel dizzy. Like I'm just some small part of something that's been going on before I was born and will continue on even after I die.

I hate that feeling. It makes me feel small and insignificant.

I much preferred watching people from above. Seeing them scurry about like ants… It made me feel a little better.

Eventually, I made my way over to the railing and leaned against it, my feet on the lower metal bars. I stared out over the fields where there were a few people practicing some sport, not that I could tell from here. My eyesight was good with glasses, but not that good. Maybe if I were a Cait Sith in this world too, but... No matter. They weren't important to me. It made me feel just a little bit better, being able to look down on other people as if they were ants, but it was just a stopgap measure. I needed to find some way of making up with Kana before the gap between us widened even further. I'd been avoiding her - no way of making it sound any better than that - because I was, well, scared. What if I messaged her and she never replied? Being cut loose like that, I couldn't take it. It would be the worst thing to do to me.

At least, somewhere along the line, I'd managed to figure out what I did wrong that made her so mad at me. If only I'd been able to sit down and say, 'Kana, could you help me?' then everything could have been avoided. Gods damn it all. I wouldn't be in this situation right now if I could have just realized that right after the fight. But I couldn't help it; if I relied on her, she'd get tired of me soon enough, and then cut me loose when she didn't want to deal with my shit anymore, or when she realized 'Hey, it's actively hurting my own mental health to talk with Nick'.

And I didn't want to bother any of the others; they were all doing something more important than listen to my problems. I had to handle my problems by myself or I'd just be a burden to the others. And gods know I have nothing to offer any of them, so I can't be a burden. Because that would just let them know I needed them more than they needed me. Again, leading to, 'Later Nick, you're on your own.' If this were Alfheim, I could give orders and they would follow, but here I had to ask for help and that would be making myself a burden. I knew they'd tell me I was being stupid if I brought it up, but there was no way I could keep my mind from playing tricks on me. And if I had to choose between release now at the cost of losing them and suffering now while keeping them as my friends for a little longer, I'd choose pain every time. I had to hold on to them for as long as possible before they left.

That pointless and useless terror that filled me when I started to text one of them... I hated feeling that way, but I did. I knew that I should talk to one of my friends, I knew that was the smart thing to do… But even if I knew what I wanted to say, even if it was something innocuous, I'd pick up my phone and then see the scene in my mind. They'd look at their phone and then a look of disgust would pass over their face. I could even see that moment, the way their lip would curl and their eyebrows would furrow. 'Oh, it's Nick… What does he want now?' they'd ask themselves, letting out a sigh of impatience. And every time, the fear that I was a burden, that I was just someone that they needed to help and help and help – that fear kept me from talking to them. And I got more and more isolated, which fed into that fear which fed the isolation which fed the fear… The only way to escape was to put my phone down and say nothing. To just suffer in silence. To run away from the battle. I know it's just paranoia and my fear of abandonment acting in concert, but... there's nothing I can do except run.

I sighed, flopping over the railing so that my arms dangled in the air. I hated it, feeling like a coward. Like I was running away. It was like there was a… an invisible shell around me. I could see, hear, and talk to everyone, but I was all alone in my bubble of isolation. I reached out, spreading my palm out. I could feel the smooth, unbreakable shell surrounding me… How could I break through it to the others? I wanted to be outside, out with the others where they were happy and warm and full of emotion. But there was nothing I could do. Not by myself. I needed to talk to Kana, apologize to her for trying to do everything myself, but at the same time I was scared of screwing it up even further. If something went wrong, I'd -

The door to the roof slammed open and I jerked upright, grabbing on to the railing. What the hells? "Nick!" I whipped my head over to stare at the intruder and about a half-second later was roughly tackled by someone with brown hair. When my vision stopped spinning, I realized Rika was straddling me, holding me by my shirt front, and I was lying on my back staring straight into her eyes. "What the hell were you about to do?!"

"I-"

"No! You have to promise! Right now!" Was she... Was she crying? Yeah. Yeah she was. Tears were streaming down her face and dripping onto my shirt. "You're not allowed to die! Ever! Promise me!"

"I promise, I promise!" I yelped. "What the hells, Rika? What's going on?"

Rika sniffled and buried her face in my chest, still holding my shirt. "God, Nick, Yuuki told me what you said, and I was the only one still at school, and... and... and..." She choked off a sob. "And then I come up here and you're about to jump and I just-"

"Wait, Rika, what are -"

"God, Nick, we've been worried about you," Rika sobbed, looking up at me. "You've been so distant recently, and then Yuuki tells me you were saying something about wanting to DIE. We care about you, you idiot, don't you get that?" I could feel her shaking. "We all love you. Maybe not the same way we love Kazuto, but we still love you, damn it! You're our big brother! I don't want to lose someone else!"

Stunned, I stared at her as tears fell from her cheeks. "Rika, I…" Then I shook myself; now wasn't the time to be surprised or speechless. I reached up and took her shoulders. "Hey, hey, Rika. Calm down, take a deep breath." She closed her eyes and followed my orders, taking a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "There. Feel better?"

"Mm."

"Okay, good." I smiled at her. "Now, I think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding going on here. Yeah, I said that to Yuuki and kinda meant it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to kill myself." I couldn't drag them down with me. They couldn't be affected by my disappearance.

"You weren't going to jump?" she asked, her voice quiet.

My entire train of thought derailed. "Wait, what? You thought I was going to jump from the roof?" She nodded. "I, uh. That's a first." I gently pushed at her shoulders until she scrambled off me, letting me sit up. "First off, no. I wasn't going to jump. I was just staring off into the distance while figuring out what to do about everything. Second..." I reached out and gave her a hug, resting my chin on her shoulder. "Thank you for worrying about me. It means more than you know."

"Nick, you idiot," Rika mumbled, hugging me back. "Makin' me cry like this..."

I grinned. "I'm sorry. You look much prettier when you're smiling."

"Like you can tell the difference anyway, jerk."

"True," I laughed and pulled away; she was grinning, so that was progress. "It's okay, Rika. I'll be coming back soon. There's just one thing I need to take care of first, okay?"

She grinned and punched my shoulder. "That's for making me worry. And for leaving us alone." She waved her fist. "If you make us wait too much longer, I'm hittin' you again."

I laughed and rubbed at the spot where she hit. "Yeah, yeah, got it..." I hoisted myself up, wincing as my back protested. I hit the ground hard. "You gonna be okay here, or do you need me to stick around?"

Rika wiped her eyes and shook her head at me. "I'm not helpless. Get outta here, Nick." Laughing, I waved as I walked inside. The second the door closed behind me, I thunked my head against the wall.

You useless idiot. Scaring them even when you're trying not to drag them down with you. Still… some small animal part of me was pleased they were worried about me. Just knowing that could let me keep pushing forward.

...Now for the hard part.

---

March 29th, 2026

I wasn't stupid, all evidence to the contrary aside; I knew we were closing in on the end of March.

So when Asuna called me in a panic, telling me that she'd just gotten news from the doctor, I wasn't surprised. Resigned, yes, but not surprised. I told her to let the others know and to leave contacting the people in Alfheim to me; after she ended the call, telling me she was going to visit Yuuki at the hospital, I cracked my neck and popped my knuckles. Time to call in a few favors.

After logging in and setting a course towards the town on the 22nd Floor, I opened up as many messages as I needed. To each of the races I had contact with - Sylphs, Cait Sith, Spriggans, Undines, Imps, and Salamanders - I sent a message of varying politeness basically telling them to come to Yuuki's favorite island on the 24th Floor and pay their respects and that I was calling in any favors necessary. Eugene's message was a bit more profane than the others, as well as a magnitude more terse, but the guy respected shows of strength and I was flexing my muscles a little bit. Alicia I was nothing but polite to, since I kinda liked the Cait Sith lord. Plus she always gave me access to the Cait Sith sunning beds and snack bars when I was working for her.

For the races I didn't have direct contact with, I called in extra favors among the major guilds; while simultaneously telling the leaders that had hired me to do some merc work to join in the procession, I told them to get in contact with the leaders of the three guilds I didn't know and tell them about the whole paying respects for Yuuki thing. That done, I smiled grimly and resumed paying attention to my surroundings. I was on the 24th Floor already, and flying toward Yuuki's island. Nodding, I increased my speed as I rocketed towards the island. The tree quickly rose through the mists and setting sun, and I angled my trajectory so that I could land among the branches of the huge trees.

I had expected it to be empty as a grave - pun relatively intended - and it was; the setting sun reflected off the water and provided the tree with a stunning backdrop. I landed among the tree branches and got comfortable, draping myself across one of the larger branches, one foot dangling. The flowers on the island had bloomed, covering the grassy banks with splashes of color. I had expected that.

I hadn't expected Yuuki to show up, eyes steely.

She stared at the tree trunk, waiting patiently. I think she knew I was there? Her eyes glanced up toward me, at any rate. I wasn't sure what she was doing, but whatever her goal was, it didn't involve me. So I didn't involve myself, but just sat back and watched out of the corner of my eye.

A few seconds later, a blue streak flew toward the island and I shifted uneasily. Asuna was here; that meant that the others would arrive momentarily. The blue glow from her wings faded as she landed lightly and stood there, watching Yuuki. Slowly, the Imp turned around and smiled at Asuna, her hair waving in the wind. "Thanks Asuna," she whispered as my sister smiled softly and walked toward her. I had to pay attention to hear her words. "I'm glad I got to see you again, 'cause I got something for ya. I can't believe I almost forgot about it."

"Really?" Asuna asked. "What is it you wanted to give me?"

"Oh, um, I still gotta make it," Yuuki whispered sheepishly. "Hang on a sec." She opened her menu and hit a few buttons before turning back to face the tree trunk. She gripped her rapier and I frowned. She was moving so stiffly... Not like how she'd been earlier this month when she fought me. This felt wrong. She shouldn't be moving like she's in pain... Yuuki's exhausted herself. She drew her sword and closed her eyes, motionless as a warm breeze swept across the lake. Suddenly she snapped open her eyes and stepped forward, screaming a war cry as she smashed the point of her sword against the tree time after time. Seven, eight, nine, ten... She drew her sword back and thrust forward for the eleventh strike with all her strength. A beam of light shot out from behind the tree and a loud explosion rocked the entire island. I shielded my eyes and waited patiently for the dust to die down.

When I stopped feeling the aftershocks of her insane strength, I opened my eyes to see her standing there, motionless. As I watched, the symbol of an Original Sword Skill appeared and pressed itself on a scroll of paper. Yuuki reached out and took the scroll - and then toppled to the side. She'd used up the last of her energy to recreate her Sword Skill so that she could pass it down to Asuna. "Yuuki!" Asuna shouted, racing toward her. Yuuki's blade fell to the ground with a clink, and I gritted my teeth; before Yuuki could hit the ground, however, Asuna had caught her in her arms and was kneeling.

Silently, I hopped down off my perch and picked up Yuuki's sword, examining it before wiping it off on my jacket. Without a word, I knelt by her side and placed the blade by her side. I stood up, fully aware that she was watching me, and gave Yuuki a nod before stepping back, sitting down against the tree trunk. "That's weird," Yuuki whispered, looking up at Asuna. "I feel so weak all of a sudden." She smiled. "I'm not in any pain or anything though."

"It's okay," Asuna told her gently. "You're just a little tired, is all. You'll feel better if you rest."

"Yeah...maybe..." Yuuki breathed slowly. "Listen, Asuna... take this. It's my Original Sword Skill." She started to lift her hand, but Asuna immediately drew away.

"No, Yuuki, I... I couldn't."

"Oh come on," Yuuki breathed. "I want you to have it... Open the window." Slowly, Asuna nodded and opened her status window. A few taps later, and a screen appeared in front of Yuuki; the Imp pressed the scroll against the pane and let go, and the scroll entered the window with a shimmer of light. A small message appeared, letting us know that it had been accepted. "Mm..." Yuuki mumbled, shifting back in relief. "I gave it a cool name. 'Mother's Rosario'. I-It'll keep you safe... when you need it."

A few tears dripped down onto her breastplate, and I clenched my fist. Times like these, I was supposed to cry, gods damn it all. I should be able to cry. Someone was dying in front of me, someone important to my family, and I should be sad... "Thank you... Yuuki," Asuna said through her tears. "I promise... I'll take good care of it. And, someday... when I leave this world, I'll make sure to pass it on to someone before I go." A day which will far, FAR in the future. "Your sword will live on... until the end of time."

"Thank you..." Yuuki breathed, her voice tight with exhaustion.

Yuuki smiled up at her, and I shifted, feeling horrible. I should be feeling sad, but I just felt nothing... Damn it all to hell. I hate my fucked up emotional responses. Sounds of fairies approaching made me look over, and I saw the other members of the Sleeping Knights rushing toward Yuuki heedlessly. They crouched, kneeling in a ring around her. "Oh, guys, come on," she said weakly. "We talked about this. You promised... no goodbyes..."

"Nah, you got it wrong," Jun said. "We're all here to cheer you up!" He reached out and grabbed her hand. "When you get to the other side, wait for us. Okay? We won't take too long, promise."

"What are you talking about?" Yuuki asked him, tilting her head. "If you get there too soon, I'll be pissed."

Nori approached and clicked her tongue twice, wagging a finger in admonishment. "You know the deal! You're hopeless without us! So, don't even try to argue. Just sit tight and..." Her bravado broke down, tears spilling from under closed eyes. "...wait... for us..." she sobbed.

"Please, Nori, don't cry," Siune said as Nori sobbed, her shoulders heaving. "We promised... we'd be strong..." Her voice was breaking too, and tears streamed down her face. Her stoic mask crumpled as her grief proved too much, and she reached out to place her hand on Yuuki's as well. The other Knights joined her, their own faces twisted by grief and tears.

Yuuki looked at all of them sobbing with a fond smile on her face. "I give up," she breathed. "You win. I'll wait for ya. But... take your time, ya got it?"

Siune and Nori placed their hands on the top of the pile. "Uh-huh," the Sleeping Knights got out.

I breathed out slowly, my breath shuddering. I hated it, I hated it, I hated it. I wanted to feel upset. I wanted to cry. I wanted to feel fucking GRIEF that someone so close to my friends - and me - was dying in front of me. With a rush of wind, the rest of our friends streaked toward the island and lined up; one by one, they approached Yuuki and placed their hand on hers, paying their respects to the legend that she was. Leafa, Kirito... Each of them gave honor to the dying Yuuki and then kneeled behind the Sleeping Knights. All except for Argo, who took a seat next to me.

A gust of wind sprung up suddenly, and everyone looked toward the town; a stream of green lights rose from the warp gate, twisting in the sky. It was joined by a stream of gold and a stream of black, those two coming from the outside of Aincrad, and I nodded. Sakuya and her Sylphs, Alicia Rue and the Cait Sith, Pallas and the Imps... Beside the Sylphs the Salamanders flew in formation, and the Pookas and the Leprechauns and Undines... "Woah..." Yuuki breathed. "Look at all those fairies..." The races of Alfheim flew together, clouding the sky as they all gathered above us.

"I'm sorry," Asuna whispered. "I had Rythin let them know... I hope you're not mad at us."

"Are you kidding?" Yuuki breathed. "Why would I be mad? There's so... many of them. It's like a dream," she whispered as player after player landed and kneeled in the dirt. "Wh-why are they here...?"

"Because of you," I rasped out, surprised by how hoarse my voice sounded. "They're here to pay respects to you, Yuuki. As the strongest swordswoman this world's ever seen, a once-in-a-lifetime miracle... There will never be anyone like you ever again, so we can't let you go without saying goodbye."

"It wouldn't be right..." Asuna breathed. "We're all praying for you... that your next journey will be to a place as wonderful as this..." Her voice broke near the end, to a whisper so quiet I could barely hear her.

I was struck by a sudden urge, one that I hadn't felt for a long, long time, and I pulled out the harp I always carried in my inventory. Slowly, I started strumming it... Aimlessly at first, but as I selected a song my fingers grew more assured and proficient. The haunting notes of the farewell song I'd chosen floated out among all of the assembled players, and I leaned my head back against the tree before glancing at Yuuki. She was looking at me, a small smile on her face, before she closed her eyes and sighed happily.

"...I'm happy," she breathed. "I'm so happy. Hah... you know, this whole time I thought, 'If I was born to die, what the heck was the point of me ever being born? I never made anything... or gave anything to anyone... All I did was waste drugs and hog that machine... and cause trouble for everyone. If all I get to do is suffer... and disappear in the end... it'd be better to just disappear right now.' I used to always think... 'Why am I alive? Why'd I stick around for... this long...?' But... y'know what? After all this time... I think I know why now... I might not have done much... but I'm glad I got to live. Because after everything, these last few moments, they're the best ever..." Her breath shuddered. "I'm surrounded by all my friends. And I got to end my journey... in the arms of someone I love."

Asuna grasped Yuuki's hand as tears rolled down her cheek. "Yuuki," she whispered, "I promise. I will see you again someday... in some other place... in some other world! I don't know how, but I will find you... And then, we can sit and talk, and you can tell me where you've been..."

A strangled sob broke through the music I was playing, and my vision blurred as my eyes started burning. My throat felt like it was two sizes too large, and I had no idea what was happening. I blinked, trying to see if that would fix the problem, and hot liquid spilled down my cheeks. I closed my mouth, gritted my teeth, but nothing would stop the tears from streaming. So... this was it... I'd forgotten what it felt like to cry over someone else... For someone else's loss... Even if I couldn't tell if I wept for Yuuki or because the world was taking something from me yet again, I wept. Silently, Argo drew next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder, and I rested my cheek on her head as I quietly sobbed. The shell had… cracked. It wasn't broken, but it was cracked. Thank you, Yuuki. For your final gift. To me, to the world.

Thank you...

---

April 4th, 2026

The funeral was the next Saturday - the first Saturday of April. The day and location had been posted on the ALO forums, and it became an impromptu holiday for everyone that had been at Yuuki's goodbye. The line to pay respects stretched out of the chapel and into the streets; I saw Kazuto and Sugu, as well as Keiko, Rika, and Shino all in line to say farewell. I'd arrived earlier than most, acting as Asuna's ride, and she'd taken the chance to say goodbye before anyone could see her cry.

There were hundreds of people at the funeral, some in school uniforms and some in mourner's black. I'd chosen to wear my black dress shirt and tie to say goodbye; if the school didn't like my way of showing respect to a fallen hero, they could kiss my ass. Yuuki meant a hell of a lot more than their rules ever would.

Kana was somewhere in the crowd as well, though I hadn't been able to see her. Things were healing between us; after sharing grief together at Yuuki's death, that terror when I picked up the phone to call her was gone. The day after Yuuki died, I called her. We talked for a while, but we still hadn't gotten around to speaking about what happened - both of us danced around the subject, since it was a bit too raw for us to talk about. Still, I was able to make it through class without needing to vomit.

"Nick!" I looked over to see Kazuto waving me over with the Doctor... Kurahashi, I think his name was. I approached to say hello. "Good to see you," he said. "This is -"

"Yuuki's doctor, I'm aware," I said. "Hello again, sir."

"Ah, you're the young man who came to talk to Yuuki in January, aren't you?" he said. "Good to see you. It was a terrible loss."

"It was," I said quietly. "But she taught us a lot, sir. We were all grateful to know her."

"Nick," Kazuto said, "I was just talking with him about the Medicuboid. Apparently that communications pod that we cobbled together is pretty neat, 'cause he's trying to steal the idea!"

The doctor laughed. "You're the other half of the mastermind behind that wonderful device? I should have known. Was that why you were there with some story about writing a paper on the Medicuboid?"

Erk. Something on my face must have shown my surprise at getting caught, because Kurahashi chuckled. "Please, you're not the first person to lie to me. One of the first to do it so well, but when you've been around as many kids as I have, it's pretty simple to know when they're lying to you." He chuckled. "A word of advice? Make sure you don't reveal any knowledge you aren't told. You already knew Yuuki was using the Medicuboid when you arrived, and that's what tipped me off."

"If you knew, why didn't you stop me?" I asked him. I wanted to know.

"Because you were there for a reason," he said. "I could see it in your eyes. Besides, Yuuki didn't seem to mind your visit too much. After you left, that was the most spirited I'd seen her in a while!"

"Eh-heh-heh..." I chuckled uneasily. I could imagine just how 'spirited' Yuuki had been, and how she'd expressed that 'spirit'. "Anyway, that aside, I was the one who wrote most of the networking code for the pod. Kazuto did the hardware and stuff like that, and I handled the part that let Yuuki connect to it." It was kinda like a beacon of sorts, something that let Yuuki's Medicuboid send her brain waves there instead of somewhere like Alfheim. After Yui asked, I'd set it up so it was both that and a sort of signal router that sent the signal to the world that they used. That way, she could connect to Yui and Din's world without a problem and have some more people to play with.

"It's a wonderful piece of work," Kurahashi said, "but your friend here is stretching the truth a little bit. I'm not trying to steal it, merely…" Still talking to Kazuto, he started wandering off, probably toward where Asuna was - I think she was sitting on a bench over by the cherry tree - and I followed bemusedly.

We came upon Asuna and another woman laughing. "Hey," Kazuto said. "I... hope we're not interrupting anything?"

Asuna and the woman stood up. I took a closer look at her, something familiar pricking at me, and I blinked rapidly when I figured it out. That was Siune! But... shouldn't all the Sleeping Knights be in hospitals or something? Whatever, I'll ask Asuna for the details later. "No," my sister said. "But... wait, do you know Kirito and Nick, Doctor?"

"Sort of," the doctor said.

Kazuto grinned. "He's trying to steal the idea about that communications pod me and Nick whipped up."

Kurahashi laughed. "No, he's lying. I'm interested in its possibilities in full-dive medical tech. So, we've been e-mailing back and forth."

Kazuto nudged me in the ribs - that happened to be sore from Sugu's love and affection the day before. Fuck but that girl hits hard with her stick, though I'm pretty sure half of that was because she'd been worried about me. "I would have given him yours too, but you were kinda, uh, weird these past few months."

"I said I was sorry!" I hissed at him.

"That's great, all of you," Asuna said warmly. "Oh! What about the Medicuboid? Are you going to phase it out or were the trials successfully?"

Kurahashi smiled. "Glad you asked. They were extremely successful, and now we have enough data to proceed to the next phase. Soon, patients all over the country will have - er, I am so sorry about that, I can't believe I didn't say this first!" He turned to the woman. "Miss An, congratulations on your recovery. I know Yuuki would be thrilled with that news too."

The woman - Miss An, apparently, though I'll keep calling her Siune - smiled as she shook his hand. "Thank you for saying so. And congratulations on the trials! It's good to know what you learned from Yuuki will be used to help others... That makes me happy."

"Me too," Kurahashi said. "Yuuki was the first person to test the Medicuboid, and her name will always be remembered. If she were here," he continued, "she'd get an award for all her help. Along with the benefactor who made it all possible."

"Knowing Yuuki," Siune said as she wiped her eyes, "she wouldn't be too thrilled at getting an award. She'd say, 'What's the point of having it if I can't eat it?'"

The others chuckled. Then Asuna tilted her head curiously. "Um, er, Doctor? You just mentioned the Medicuboid has some kind of benefactor? I thought you said the government was paying for it."

He blinked. "Oh, well, yes, they are. But the initial designs were given to us for free from someone else. If I remember that correctly, I think her name was Doctor Rinko Koujiro."

Grk. I froze, an awkward half-smile on my face. Beside me, Kazuto stiffened, sucking in a breath from shock. The two females didn't seem to recognize that name, but I did. Oh, I did. "Wh-what's wrong, Kirito?!" Asuna gasped when she saw what happened. "Nick? Are you two okay?"

"I... I know her," Kazuto stammered. I shook myself and forced myself to breathe. Passing out wouldn't help anybody.

Though with a doctor literally steps away, I probably wouldn't have any lasting damage. …Well, more lasting damage.

"How?!"

"I met her once," Kazuto said. "...Yeah, in fact, she was taking care of Heathcliff's body while he was diving! She was his head researcher... She helped him develop FullDive technology. You see? The Medicuboid's design... You know who invented it?"

"No way..." Asuna breathed. "It was Kayaba?!"

A sudden breeze sprung up and sent the cherry blossoms everywhere. "Doctor," I said as calmly as I could, "Would you do me a favor? Get me in contact with her."

"I'll see what I can do," he promised.

Good. Saves me the trouble of hunting her down myself. I needed something from her.

---

Holy crap. We did it. We made it through Season 2. WHOO.

Alright, as usual, thoughts on the chapter, thoughts on the project, then thanks, so let's get started, shall we?

First off, this chapter is the last chapter and wraps up most everything. There are some plot threads that needed more development, some that had development that was subtle unless you knew what you were looking for, and some that were pretty okay. Nick's emotional break at Yuuki's death was one of the more important scenes; he thinks he's broken on the inside, but maybe not as much as he thinks. I'm never sure how much of it is a defense mechanism for him to avoid admitting that he feels, how much of it is genuine emotional detachment, and how much of it is just straight-up lying to himself, but he couldn't lie this time.

Nick's rant at Yuuki was, um… let's just let it go. We're just gonna not read too deep into that part of the story, hm? Got it? Good. As for Nick and Kana, they finally made up from their fight, which is good. Hooray for bonding over shared tragedies.

Nick's main fear is still that the people he's close to are going to disappear on him. And, deep down he believes that it's his fault that they leave. Story time: Nick's backstory (well, that part at least) is… fairly accurate to my own. I was quiet as a kid and didn't like talking to strangers, but somehow while I was in… kindergarten, I think, I met my first best friend. He then moved away after three years. Then, I made a new best friend in third grade. He moved after two years. Then I made a new best friend in fifth grade. He moved at the end of the summer, go figure. Then, after withdrawing and not really making friends with anyone over all of middle school, I met my best friend in high school – she was a year behind me, but that was just because my birthday is just before the cutoff while hers is after (she's way smarter than me. Go figure, right?). Then I got in a huge fight with her my senior year over something she said (and she was right, by the way. I was just a brat and didn't want to believe her) and fucked that relationship up. Then I managed to (partially) patch up my relationship with her, only to IMMEDIATELY destroy it again through my own selfishness and stupidity. AND THEN (because we're not done yet) I got close to someone else my second semester of freshman year of college, only to learn that over summer break she got amnesia and forgot all about me and everyone else.

It's like my life is a fucking Monty Python sketch. My ability to make friends isn't dead, it's just pinin' for the fjords.

---

Okay then, time to talk about the series as a whole. I like Caliber and Mother's Rosario, same amount as I like Phantom Bullet – that is to say, I like it a whole bunch, but not so much as the Aincrad arc of season one. Season one was literally the first anime I ever watched (excepting Pokemon, but I was too young to understand that I was watching anime. It doesn't count. Because I said so) so it's always gonna hold a special place in my heart as the trigger that sent me into depravity. That being said, I really like season two as well.

Okay, let me just drag out my soapbox here…

---

TALKING POINT 0: PREEMPTIVE STRIKE

Yes, there will be a Nightblade IV. No, I'm not answering any questions related to it or whether or not I'm adapting the Alicization novels.

Don't expect it for at least a year. Maybe two.

(I'm going to get at least twenty private messages whining about Nightblade IV and/or the Alicization arc before that year is up. GO ON. FUCKING PROVE ME WRONG.)

I'm also aware of the SAO movie, Ordinal Scale. Don't tell me about it, I KNOW. I'm also not answering any questions about whether or not I'll be adapting it.

---

TALKING POINT 1: Nick and Kana's Fight

They had a fight. It was inevitable, really. They genuinely adore each other, but Nick's just so damaged that he has difficulty expressing himself. Couple that with his intense desire to keep his loved ones safe and a habit of drawing into his shell, and Kana's passive nature when it comes to the information she wields, well, bad things happened.

It was important for their character development that they had the fight. Nothing's so unbelievable as a couple that never fights; if you don't fight, you're not expressing yourself. Suborning one's desires and emotions for the sake of the partner is a dating no-no (as far as I'm aware. I'm talking out my ass for this talking point, so feel free to completely ignore me if I'm wrong) which was exactly what Nick was doing. Not that he's not good at it, of course. It's still unhealthy (like half of what he does, natch) and the toll it was taking on him finally made him snap. A combination of short tempers all around, a few poorly-chosen words, and that was all it took to spark the fire.

Kana wasn't blameless in this either, of course, since she was one of the ones with a short temper; it also didn't help that she's still being passive with the information she has. She noticed Nick was having issues a while back, but she didn't say anything because she always just collected and never acted. She also didn't communicate that she wanted him to stop coddling her and so, well, everything went poorly. The point here is communication is key – it's less about what they fought about, and more that they fought because they couldn't talk about these things with each other.

---

TALKING POINT 2: Nick and Yuuki

Theirs is a strange relationship. He said some stuff that he didn't even mean to be insulting – he was asking her how she was so skilled when it was literally impossible (as far as he was aware) to be that good. She interpreted it as a personal attack similar to one of the ones the kids at her old school used. She reacted appropriately and he was a jackass in return, so that kinda sparked enmity between the two.

That changed when Rythin helped the Sleeping Knights out at the boss fight entrance. He wasn't being a jerk, and he started respecting Yuuki instead of blindly hating her when he saw her fight. As for her part, she'd asked Asuna about him (off-screen, naturally) and Asuna'd explained a little bit of Rythin's personality. After that, it was more uneasy camaraderie than actual friendship, mainly because Rythin was jealous of how close she was with Asuna.

Their fight at the tournament was when they connected; because their fighting styles were similarly acrobatic, it was like fighting a slightly different mirror. Rythin relied on battlefield manipulation and traps, while Yuuki preferred the straightforward high-power approach; regardless, they both had fun fighting. That was when the last of the actual hate died. Of course, Nick was still jealous of her because he felt like she was taking his friends away from him (not helped by the way he was avoiding them) and that kinda broke through during his rant.

Nick's whole rant at Yuuki was something that was necessary; he'd been bottling up so much stuff that he was going to explode one way or another, and since he wouldn't let himself explode at his friends she was the next available target. Sometimes, all you need to get something off your chest is someone who isn't a friend. He wasn't right for doing this, of course, and he was a total asshole about it, but it was important for his character. As for Yuuki's reason for instigating, she liked him well enough to give him the scolding about alienating the people that cared about him, after all - even if she was insensitive and a bit rude about it. Give her a break, she's a kid and pretty much never had a real social life.

---

TALKING POINT 3: Musical Accompaniment (Vocal songs referenced and appropriate background music)

Chapter 1, when he pounced Leafa: bastardization of The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers. :3

Chapter 4, when fighting the semifinals: unravel (OP to Tokyo Ghoul. English adaptation by Ky0umi)

Chapter 6, when running through a war zone: On the Edge of the Forest by Mercedes Lackey

Chapter 9, when teasing Kirito and Sinon: That old children playground song. You know the one.

Chapter 10, when talking to Sinon about strength: Ignite (OP to SAO Season 2, Phantom Bullet arc. English adaptation by AmaLee. Seriously, go listen to her stuff. It's great.)

Chapter 11, when fighting Death Gun: Megalovania from the Undertale Soundtrack. It's one of the few songs that can consistently send me into a bloodlust.

Chapter 17, when on the date: Dating Start! from the Undertale Soundtrack. Why? Because why not.

Chapter 17, when Kana and Nick are off-screen in her house: He, Or She? from the SAO Season 2 soundtrack. Heh.

Chapter 25, when playing the funeral song: Something soft and melodic. Maybe the song that plays during that scene in the show?

In general, when Nick/Rythin loses control during battle and starts going into a rage: Blu-bird, from the NieR soundtrack (guess which song can send me into a bloodlust!) and/or Alive from the Jekyll & Hyde musical.

In general, when it's not any of the other specific ones: Anything you like, really – suggested listening is something from the appropriate segment of the SAO soundtrack.

---

Alright, I think that's everything I wanted to say. So off to the thanks!

…Or, that's what I'd normally say. However, holy SHIT that's a lot of people that favorited, followed, or reviewed. I would give all of you thanks by name since I really am grateful for your time and attention, there's just far too many of you! So please, don't take it personally when I just give out a blanket thanks:

To everyone that favorited, followed, and/or reviewed: Thank you for sticking around through this story! It meant a lot to have people read this thing. I never thought Nightblade would be popular, let alone have enough people reading it that I'd adapt season two. I started out doing this thing as a whim because I wanted to novelize SAO season one but needed an impartial viewpoint. …Fuck, everything spiraled out of control from there, didn't it. I sat down, wrote the first chapter, and then promptly lost control of my life.

That being said, there IS one person I'd like to thank individually: Tesseract, thank you for everything. Tesseract kindly let me use them in the story; even though I didn't exactly ask permission until after the fact, the only angry text message I got was because I made the wrong literary reference in regards to A Wrinkle In Time rather than because I included them without warning. Tesseract, there's no way I would have been able to complete this story without you, so thanks for everything you've done for me. I don't know if you're still reading this, but I'd like to hope so.

(And remember, readers, the TvTropes page always needs updating!)

---

Two weeks after the funeral, we all headed over to the park to have a picnic. It was a great day out, and the others wanted some way to celebrate. The cherry blossoms had all but disappeared, but there was still plenty of pink to be seen. It was a lovely spring day and I had no problem going outside. I needed some sunlight anyway.

Agil had graciously donated the food and drink; he brought a bunch of bags over to the picnic mat that Sugu had set up. "Need any help unpackin' all this stuff?" he rumbled.

Sugu grinned. "Sure! But only if you're not busy."

Off to the side, Klein was showing Rika and Keiko a picture on his phone. "Seriously, ain't she cute!?"

"Ehhhh..." the girls said, smiling awkwardly. Either Klein was bragging about his internet girlfriend or a new pet he'd adopted. It was... probably the second one. Please, gods, let it be the second one. I don't want Klein to reproduce. He's a bro, according to Kazuto, but... no. Just no. Besides, I'm pretty sure he's still 'dating' Skuld, and I don't want to even think about the mechanics involved with that.

"I got you a little gift!" Sugu said to Shino, handing her a bag.

"No way! You shouldn't have!"

Everyone was busy preparing for the party or chatting with each other, and I watched as I sat on the lawn, staring off into space. Unsurprisingly, Kazuto and Asuna were sitting off to the side, Asuna with that communications probe so that Yui could hang out with us, but there was one person that hadn't arrived yet.

Or, I amended that thought as I heard grass crunching under foot, she'd chosen to come sit by me first. "Hey, catling," I said without looking as Kana took a seat next to me. "Hey, Din."

"Hi Dad!" my son chirped. He was riding on a second probe that Kazuto had made at some point during the past two months, this one perched on Kana's shoulder.

"Hey." Kana and I sat in silence for a while. "I'm sorry," she murmured finally.

"What for?"

"For not saying something when I knew you were in pain. I just…" She swallowed and shook her head. "It won't happen again. I promise. I... I... There was something I could do, but I was too used to just holding information, and not using it myself. But from now on, I'm going to use it to help you. Promise."

I nodded and closed my eyes, just breathing for a while. "I'm sorry too, Kana. For… for not asking for help when I needed it. For withdrawing." It'd been three weeks since we patched things, but the wounds had been too raw to talk about what had happened. Now, though, they weren't as painful.

She shifted at that; if I had to guess, she was smiling just a little bit. Eventually, Kana turned to me and asked, "Nick? Why didn't you ask me for help?" As I thought about her simple question, I stared at Kana, her eyes shining and skin glowing in the sunlight, and silently sought comfort from her. As I leaned against her shoulder, the one without the probe, she gently coaxed me down until I was lying with my head on her lap. I glanced up at her, curious, and she smiled softly. "Just keeping you where I can keep an eye on you."

I smiled at her, but it slipped away quickly and I sighed instead. "I wish I could say I don't know, beautiful," I admitted as she ran her fingers through my hair. It was very distracting - welcome, but distracting. "But the truth is, I do. It's... hard to admit, but I'm incapable of learning my lesson the first time. Hells, I don't think I learned it the second or third time either."

"And what lesson would that be?"

I glanced up at her to see her smiling slightly. "You're dragging this one out of me, aren't you?"

"Are you saying you don't think you've earned a little karmic suffering?"

"I guess you're right." I closed my eyes and took the chance to organize my thoughts. "Well, I can tell you why it happened. I was already in a bad state from nearly losing Kazuto before Christmas. That should have blown over quickly enough, but then add that I got sick right after I..." I looked away. "...Right after I thought I'd failed you and let you down, my mind got locked in the bad state. Then, Asuna dropped the bombshell on me that she was going to transfer out, and was it really a surprise that I started getting paranoid about my loved ones leaving me? Handling things myself so I don't force people away is second nature to me by now, and I guess I just..." I shrugged helplessly. "I... I mean, I..." I don't know what I'm trying to say. Every word I'd lined up was out of reach. I knew that if I was ever in this situation again, gods forbid, the words would come, but for now…

Kana's fingers gently brushed my cheek to tilt my head back toward her, and I flushed at her light touch. Huh, I didn't even realize I could blush.

"You're a silly cat, you know that?" Despite myself, I chuckled. "Nick, why don't you just tell me these things?" she asked softly. "I love you. Part of that means no matter what I'll support you. And I'm stronger than you seem to think, Nick... You can lean on me, I won't break."

"I don't want to put any burden on you," I said, starting to push myself up with one hand. "Doing that would just drive -"

Kana chose a very efficient method of making me shut up - that being to lean over and kiss me. Part of me noted that this was a very unfair debating tactic of hers, while another part just sat back and enjoyed her way of showing me how much she cared. Yet another tiny part noted with a slight bit of amused amazement exactly how flexible she was. That yoga was doing wonders. "I'll do that any time you start thinking we'll get mad if you ask any of us for help," she murmured when we finally broke for breath.

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

Kana smirked. "Can't it be both?" She leaned back and sighed, turning her face up to the sun. "It's a nice day out today, isn't it?"

"Yeah." I reached up and gently traced her jaw with the tip of my finger, smiling when a light blush rose in her cheeks. I think it's less where I touched and more that I touched at all. "Such a great view."

"Now, now," she said. "Not while others are watching." I smiled and let my hand drop, but just snuggled closer to get comfortable. "Hey, Nick? Are we good for that college in America?" I could hear her heartbeat.

"Yep," I said. "Got the message from Kikuoka a few months ago. We're starting late August, so long as nothing catastrophic happens over summer break. Problem is, the deal was that if he got us in, I worked that summer job for him, so..."

Kana sighed. "So you won't be around as much during the summer," she finished for me.

"Yeah." I smiled at her. "Look at it this way, beautiful. Any moment I can spare I'll spend with you, 'kay?"

She laughed. "I'm keeping you to that promise, Nick. We have dates to go on." I shuddered, though I'm not sure how much of that was the mischievous smirk she sported and how much of it was self-preservation instincts at work. "But no matter what, I promise you I won't leave, Nick," she said, her smile softer. "I've got your back, forever and ever."

"Forever and ever, catling. Forever and ever."

Din coughed. "You're taking me along to America, right?" …I'm actually impressed. Even after she bent in half, the camera stayed on Kana's shoulder.

"Actually," I said in a thoughtful deadpan, "I figured you'd want to stay here with your girlfriend."

"Yui's not my -!"

"Nick, be nice," Kana said. Still, I thought it interesting that he automatically assumed that I was talking about Yui. Interesting and funny. "You know as well as I do that he's far too young to be thinking of such things." Din huffed a sigh, evidently glad that she was backing him up. "That comes after they turn thirteen, after all." I honestly don't know when it starts. I'd use myself for reference, but that wouldn't work since, uh, I'm not really the most normal person when it comes to that kind of stuff.

"Moooom!" Din wailed.

I laughed and sat up. "It's okay, Din, we'll take you with us. Besides, the server will reach around the globe. You'll be able to play with Yui whenever you want. Only problem will be that we're in a different time zone, which'll make meeting up in-game a little hard."

"We'll figure something out," Kana said. "But for now -"

"Hey! Love birds! Quit making out!" I blinked and looked at Kana, then both of us looked at Rika. She was shouting at Kazuto and Asuna, though by the knowing smirk she was directing those words at us too. "We wanna take a picture!" The others all started shouting for the two couples to come over.

I sighed. "So much for peace and quiet." I stood and offered my hand to Kana; she accepted it, and I helped her stand. Fuck yeah for martial arts training. "Let's get over there before our friends get arrested for disturbing the peace." Kana just giggled and tugged at my hand, walking by my side as I gently leaned against her.

I could do that, for a while.