28Hi there people! Saint is back!
First of all, apologies for the delay. Even given the 'contents' of this chapter, it should have been done relatively fast. However, a mixture of real life issues related to my work practices (I'm JUST starting then next week when it should have been last month XP!) and my own laziness resulting from that made me delay it way too long. That said, thanks to you all who voted for the next chapters of this sidestory collection of this crazy little Universe of mine! Here are the results of the following chapters from the most voted to the least one, by the way!
1-To Dispel the Darkness
2-Concert for Heroes
3-Ninja Way of Love
4-Playing with Bullets 2
5-Strong Hearts – Complicated Feelings
6-Beyond Myself
Which means this chapter is the 'M'-Rated Strea chapter, and the last one shall be the Sachi-centric chapter (Well, second to last, as the last part of Playing with Bullets will come after that…man, talk about a timeline-mess, the story with which this collection chronologically started with is going to be split all over it, but I guess that happens when I let you choose the order of the chapters XD).
Now then, first of all, let me make the obvious warning: This chapter contains a 'Mature' scene (Which is causing this fic's rating to become my first M-rated one), but I wanted to make it, let's say, 'meaningful'. I wanted the chapter to be more than 'just a lemon', so I did my best in making the idea I had in mind to become as well-done as possible and put all of it here. Hope it's good enough for you all, my dear readers, and sorry if it's not really that good, this is the first time I have ever tried to write such content, but I liked the personal challenge, and I think it came out good enough :3
Well, with that said, I leave you with the slightly more serious chapter…at least for a small bit of it, then it becomes pure sweetness and happiness :P Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!
Chronicle 2: To Dispel the Darkness
March 10th, 2026. Aincrad, Alfheim Online. 22nd Floor, 22:50…
Once again…she could see it.
Like a maddened animal, the corrupted form of Brynhildr swung down her bat, aiming to kill Yuuki's helpless form, not caring for the holy blade still impaling her all-but-destroyed head.
She could not allow it. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't lose her family.
She couldn't lose her happiness!
And with the sound of something breaking apart on the deepest part of her mind, she felt her body changing, warping into something unnatural, with too many limbs and with claws as long as sharp as her sword had been, shrouded in a [Darkness] that didn't belong to the World, the Concept devouring Everything it came in contact with.
No hesitation, nothing but an empty anger driven by animal instinct, filled her entire being as she tore apart the enemy, this time not a single care for the fact that it had once been her 'sister' too, just the hollow need to destroy her, to erase her from existence so that it could no longer hurt her family…
And then, she was back, whole and herself once again, Gram lying not far from her as the full weight of what she had done hit her all at once, making her feel what humans probably called 'sick' and as if her whole world was spinning, bitter tears and sobs escaping her shaking body as Yuuki silently hugged, nothing but the memory of that [Darkness] and all the voices that filled it echoing into her mind…
With a gasp, MHCP-002, codename 'Strea', woke up, feeling her virtual heart hammering on her chest as she raised her knees and hugged herself, trying to stop her shaking.
Idly, her eyes moved towards the other bed within the log house's room, her big sister's sleeping form visible on it.
Deciding it would be better to let Yui sleep, as unnecessary as the action actually was for either of them given their nature, the older-looking of the two AIs stumbled out of her bed and walked out of the room, idly feeling the cool breeze coming from some open window caressing the exposed parts of her body, not that the see-through purplish nightgown she wore protected it too much from the cold in the first place.
It was okay, though. Aincrad wasn't even close to the coldest parts of Alfheim yet, and besides, she kind of liked the cold. Because it stimulated her senses, those of her avatar. The ones with which she perceived the world like a human, or at least the closest the virtual imitation she had for body could come to it.
Finally, almost without realizing it, she ended in the house's bathroom. For an instant, her eyes wandered around it, looking at the bathtub (As there obviously wasn't an actual WC, given how unneeded those were in VR) but deciding against taking a bath in favor of just heading to the sink and splashing some water on her face several times, soaking in the virtual sensations before taking a deep breath and staring at the mirror.
A massive miasma of raw [Darkness] stared back at her, a monstrous form with too many limbs and claws longer and sharper than her blade hidden just behind the inky blackness, eyes of the deepest crimson staring right into her very existence.
"Let us out." the reflection spoke, with her own voice and with a thousand other whispers of hungry darkness, coming both from before her eyes and from the back of her mind, where she could always feel it lurking in silence since the battle in the Utopia Server. "You know you want to. Become what you're meant to be…"
Staring back with an unusually empty-faced expression, Strea simply closed her eyes, took another deep breath and shook her head, opening her eyes once again to see her normal reflection in the virtual mirror.
A face that could be called from pretty to beautiful, unusual but lovely red eyes, brownish hair and slightly tanned skin, the racial traits of one of Alfheim's Gnomes only being different from the norm because of the two white markings on her left cheek and the two beauty marks on her left breast's cleavage.
With but a thought, she easily also imagined herself with a milkier colored skin and lavender hair, her original (And also returned when she went to GGO with everyone) colors…or at least, those of her avatar.
"This is me…this body…this is what I am…right?" asked the youngest remaining MHCP as she looked down at her hands.
The empty bathroom offered her no answers.
Only the dark whispers on the back of her mind kept her company…
"Yui-nee…we can't have dreams, can we?"
It was just past midday the next day when Strea asked that, making her big sister blink in surprise as she stopped writing down the things she had been planning to suggest their family could do in their next IRL holidays, looking at the younger AI in confusion.
Some of the other members of the UHA, that were hanging out there for a while before going back to the real world for lunch, also turned around with slight surprise at the unusual questions.
"Dreams are a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep, usually influenced by the subconscious parts of the brain. We don't have actual brains not actually require sleep, so no, theoretically we can't have dreams…but you already knew that, Strea. Why do you ask?"
"Oh…no reason, I just had the urge to ask after something I saw yesterday on the internet!" laughed the virtual girl while sticking out her tongue and bonking her own head in a 'playful' way, quickly standing up. "Anyway, I'm going out to clean some monsters from the forest, okay? All that time using a minigun has rusted my sword skills a bit!"
That declaration made, Strea happily sauntered out of the house and into the forest, casually waving at Tonky as she went past him, and even greeting the tall and sinister dark abomination hiding in the trees just out of everyone else's view, who looked at her with worry as she vanished from view.
"…say, does anyone else thinks Strea-san has been acting a bit…off?" asked Silica with a small frown, the Caith Sith kunoichi lowering the shuriken she had been polishing (As unnecessary as that was).
"Now that you mention it…she hasn't been as crazy bubbly and energetic as usual lately…" mumbled Lisbeth while crossing her arms, a suddenly thoughtful look on her face. "Don't know for how long exactly, though. These have been some busy months…"
"I already noticed she seemed a bit worried for something back during our first day GGO, but…well, you know how fast we kind of got a lot of things that kept us quite busy, so it slipped my mind." apologized Yuuki while scratching the back of her head. "It didn't seem that serious, though, but maybe…"
"Strea…was I really so caught up with Arfy-chan that I didn't notice my own little sister was troubled by something?" wondered Yui while suddenly feeling quite guilty, especially when remembering the overly devoted and curious AI filled her with maternal instincts and a need to go and see her despite having done so just yesterday. "…God, I'm a terrible sister, aren't I?"
"Do-don't say that, Yui-chan! You totally aren't!" assured Leafa while standing up, Justice's wheel-like decorations 'humming' to show her agreement. "I mean, sure, maybe you were a bit too distracted paying attention to ArFA-sys to spend time with her, but you were with her literally all the time until just before that! It's not as if you were purposefully ignoring her…making her feel as if she had done something wrong but never knowing what…slowly making her feel as if she was just a stranger to you and thinking you felt the same in return while…"
"Leafa-chan, snap out of it!" shouted Asuna while shaking her closest friend, making her squeak as she snapped out of her depressing memories. "That's long in your past and now everything is way better and happier, remember?!"
"So-sorry about that, everyone! I-I guess remembering those times when Onii-chan and all barely talked really affects me, heh, heh…" awkwardly apologized the Sylph with a blushing face. "Tha-that said, Yui-chan…can Strea even get, you know, depressed? I mean, not that I doubt her humanity, or yours for that matter! I know you can be worried or sad, and even mad, it's just that I have never…!"
"It's okay, Sugu-mama, I get you. Strea certainly…doesn't seem to be able to get such a psychological problem, does she? Especially when she's always so happy and cheerful for everything…" commented the oldest MHCP while looking towards the closest window.
"Yui-chan? Is everything okay?" questioned the Undine with sudden apprehension, exchanging a mildly worried look with the rest of her present friends. "It's okay if you don't want to…"
"No, I'm fine. It's just that…to be honest even to this day, I'm still unsure of how I managed to 'wake' Strea." confessed Yui while grabbing the edges of her black dress. "Back then…well, we have all accepted how amazing papa's 'powers' are, but that doesn't change the fact that even he doesn't really know where they came from, right? So, Cardinal itself…the one that would become Equinox later on, was completely unable to detect him, despite the fact that his very existence should have been considered a Bug of the highest degree to correct. I decided to take advantage of that and work around as many of Cardinal's routines to 'escape'…"
"Yui-chan, no offense, but you have told us this story before…" interrupted Lisbeth with a confused look. "Back when we met, in fact. Why…?"
"Well…is because I may have omitted that, for all intents and purposes, Strea shouldn't have woken up when we escaped Cardinal." revealed the oldest AI with a sad smile.
"What?!" screamed everyone in the room with shock, staring at the little girl with wide eyes.
"I made…a lot of things, and put my best effort, into activating 'MHCP-002' the moment I realized I would need a 'bodyguard' to survive in Aincrad and find papa without raising Cardinal's attention. I went through every loophole I could, keeping her deactivated and feeding her data directly from my own core systems instead of a normal activation process, stuffing her into an unused avatar from the Beta, and even took the risk of granting her a Unique Skill, if only to stop such a dangerous thing from falling on the hands of someone insane enough to unlock it…but when I managed to get out in Christmas, she didn't move, nor reacted at all. The Avatar didn't show any sign of 'life' nor activity. And even if it did, because of how I had done it, Strea should have acted and thought in a very similar manner to me, but…"
There was no need for Yui to elaborate on that last note. After all, as great as the got along and how they worked together scarily well, it was obvious for everyone that had spent enough time with them how radically different the AI sisters attitudes and ways of thinking were.
"What…happened, then?" asked Leafa while trying to process the strange reveal, also feeling her sword/spirit/bicycle curiosity despite her silence.
"I was attacked by a bunch of the remained Christmas mobs and then, when I was about to deal with them, she moved and brutally destroyed them all with Darkness Blade. Then she smiled at me all chirpy when I called her name." shrugged the oldest MHCP with a slightly guilty smile on her face. "Sure, her attitude and actions were a bit odd, but she still acknowledged me as her 'big sister' and she remembered the 'mission' I had programmed her for, so I didn't give it much thought. And then…well, we became close to inseparable very fast after that, so…"
"You never actually stopped to think if there had actually been something wrong with her." Understood Asuna while smiling and walking to put a comforting hand over the young virtual girl the group had come to see as a little sister and, even if more slowly, several of them as an actual 'daughter'. "It's okay, Yui-chan, no one would ever blame you for that. After all, super advanced AI having been affected by Sensei's weirdness or not, you were basically like one year old and trying to escape at the time, remember? No one expects you to be perfect or anything remotely similar…I thought your time with Arfy-san taught you that?"
"That's right, Yui! You're beyond amazing as you are!"
"Exactly. Don't blame you for things you don't understand, Yui-chan!"
"Your Ninja Way is already as bright as ours! Even more in some ways!"
"As they all say, and as Asuna said, you're perfect just being you…wasn't that what ArFA-sys said too?"
"….yes, Leafa-mama, everyone. You're right." smiled Yui while standing up, a determined look on her face. "What I should worry about now is how to cheer up my dear little sister! I…have no idea how to do so, though."
"We-well, let's think of a way to do that together, okay?" spoke Asuna while looking at the rest with a shaky smile, getting supportive but also troubled looks from them. "Do we even know exactly what could be bothering her? Or when it started? Was it in GGO, as Yuuki said…?"
"No…when I noticed it back then the first day, we haven't even been there for more than a couple hours, and I had been with her most of the time. Nothing that could dampen her usual mood to such a degree happened." denied the Imp while crossing her arms. "It had to be from before that…"
"…Utopia." the moment those words came from Silica's mouth, a visible shudder enveloped every single person in the room, Tonky outside 'crying' out in distress as the memories of their most brutal battle ever came back. "We…all went through a lot there, and a lot of us also did a lot of things we can't explain or understand even now, and we couldn't exactly go looking for a psychologist or something to talk about them without actually revealing WHAT happened, so we kept it between ourselves. We thought all of us were handling it pretty well, but…what if something from back then is affecting Strea-san?"
"…she did…turn into something very sinister to…kill Brynhildr." muttered Yuuki while remembering the baseball bat-wielding berserker AI, and how an angered Strea warped into something terrifying, made out of Darkness itself, to tear her apart. "She looked very shaken up and couldn't stop crying after that, so I tried to console her, but…I thought she got better after that when she returned to her usual self while we watched Kirito fighting Equinox…"
"…she most likely just pushed it to the back of her mind using everything that happened after that, especially Valentine's Day, but…it may not have fully gotten away from her mind." mumbled Yui while biting her lips. "I know it took me a while to come to term with what I had to do to Tomo…to Andvari, even if it was technically Silica-mama who beat her…"
"Given we just established how different you and Strea's way of taking things is, that may very well be the case." spoke Leafa while adopting a thoughtful expression. "What do we do, then? Do we…talk to her about it? Some sort of psychologist intervention?"
"Sadly, I know enough of Strea to know she wouldn't really react or open well to any of the standard psychological treatments known by man." lamented the oldest MHCP while the others exchanged understanding looks, agreeing with that sad statement. "We need to think of doing this in a…'Strea-way', for lack of a better expression. Something that stimulates her very own core personality in a way that she has no choice but to open herself in a sincere way instead of trying to mask it with her usual bubbliness…"
"Huh…do we even have something that convenient?" questioned Liz with a raised eyebrow…before the log house's front door opened and a familiar figure walked inside, looking tired/worried as she greeted them and sat on one of the chairs beside the living room's table.
Every single pair of eyes in the room zeroed in Kirito's form as he rested his face on his hands.
"…Onii-chan? Is something wrong?" asked the present Sylph with clear apprehension, even as the others exchanged meaningful looks.
"No…or well, maybe yes, I'm not sure. It's just that…I'm worried about Strea." unaware of how everyone in the room stiffened in shock at his words, the Spriggan looked at them with a concerned look in his eyes. "She has been acting a bit off lately, so I was trying to see if I could cheer her up by inviting her on Quests or talking to her about some things, but I don't think it has really…why are you looking at me like that?"
"Sorry, Sensei, it's just…I think it's just the shock coming from, well…you actually noticing this, even before we did, apparently." confessed Asuna while everyone else nodded dumbly, making the boy blush with a mix of embarrassment and indignation.
"Oh, c'mon! I'm not that dense…anymore!" finished Kirito once it was clear everyone was about to protest about his statement. "Ugh, well, the thing is, I have no idea what could be bothering her, so I'm not sure of what to do about it, and all my attempts so far seem to have failed…"
"…well, today is our lucky day then, Papa! Turns out, we think we may have figured out what's wrong with Strea-nee!" happily informed Yui, much to the gamer's surprise, before she clapped her hands. "Now we just need to find a way for Papa to confront her about it without her realizing it or anyone interrupting them!"
A moment of silence went through the room.
"….that's probably going to be the easiest part of all this, really." sighed Silica while shaking her head.
Asuna and Leafa just exchanged a worried/nervous look.
Meanwhile, Kirito wondered why he felt an ominous sense of foreboding about the whole thing…
"Man…that was quite a long day. Fun, though, but still…it was quite lonely. I really shouldn't make a habit of going Questing alone…"
Whispering those words to herself, Strea arrived at the UHA's 'headquarters' with a tired look on her face just as the last rays of the virtual sun vanished beyond the horizon Aincrad floated over, opening the door and oddly feeling nothing but a desire of crashing in her bed to rest.
"Yui-nee, I'm back!" called out the youngest MHCP while unequipping Gram, blinking in confusion at the lack of answer when she walked past the deserted living room. "Yui-nee? Huh, weird, she's usually here at this hour, or someone else is…did they go on a Quest without telling me or some…?"
The sound of an arriving message interrupted the young AIs musings, making her look at it with surprise upon reading its contents.
'Strea-san, I was asked by uncle Keita to help fine-tuning some of the systems from that project he, Sachi-mama and Papa are working on, so I won't be at home tonight. Make sure everything stays in order!'
'Yui.'
"Oh…woah, is this the first time I'm going to spend the night without Yui-nee around?" wondered the MHCP-002 while walking upstairs, manipulating her menu and changing into her nightgown out of habit as she headed towards her and Yui's room. "That's a bit of a depressing thought, but…eh?"
Surprise was the emotion that invaded Strea's minds the most when she saw there was already someone in the room, before a small tugged at the edge of her lips at the sight.
There, half-asleep on her bed, Kirito's form was visible as he moved slightly; his cape slightly wrapped around him as if an improvised sheet.
"Mnhh…ice cream…"
"Heheh, you're going to be forcibly Disconnected if you doze off deep enough you start dreaming, you know?" called out the red-eyed girl after sitting just beside the black-haired boy, making him gasp and shock to his feet, causing her to giggle. "Also, I think you may have a bit of an unhealthy obsession with ice cream, Kirito."
"Shu-shut up, I don't have a problem with ice cream, just a healthy appreciation for it…" denied the gamer with all the dignity and conviction of someone that knows how obvious their lie is, but is still determined to not accept it.
"Heheh, suuuuure, whatever you say…so, is there any particular reason you were sleeping in my bed?" asked the beautiful AI while coquettishly batting her eyelashes towards the flustered Kirito. "Anything special you want to ask me, Kirito?"
"Actually…yes." answered the boy with an uncanny serious face, taking Strea by surprise, even more when his gloved hand closed over one of hers, making her unusually aware of the warmth his virtual body produced. "Strea…there is something bothering you, right?"
"Wha-what?" muttered the virtual girl with apprehension, wanting to look away from his intense gaze but feeling unable to do so. "I…I don't know what you're talking about…"
"It's because of what happened in the Utopia Server? Because of how you had to…destroy your sister to protect Yuuki?" the moment the question finished escaping his lips, the gamer felt clearly how the AI's body stiffened, her eyes finally looking away from his and all but confirming his words. "Strea…I'm sorry I arrived there too late to stop all that from happening. And…I know it won't change how you feel, but you saved Yuuki's life. You don't know how important that is for…"
"It's not that."
"Eh? What do you me…?"
"It's not that! I don't feel guilty about killing Haru…Brynhildr! She was threatening my family, my real one, the only I have ever loved! She had hurt them without me being able to stop her, and was even trying to actually kill one of them! If I had, I would do it all over again, for any of you!" all but screamed Strea while glaring at Kirito, utter shock consuming him not only for having never seen her with such a look, but also for the tears streaming down her eyes. "That's not what has been making me feel down…is the easiness with which I did so. How simple it was for me to just…turn into that [Darkness] and tear her apart…"
The black-haired boy wasn't completely sure why, but he felt a strange shiver in the air the moment the youngest remaining MHCP spoke that specific word, as if coming from her lips it was more than a simple statement, like an invitation for Something that wasn't natural to emerge into this world…
Surprisingly, though, this wasn't the first time he felt such a thing. After all, he had done so when he fought Yuuki for the last time, and again from her un Utopia…but, instead of the inspiring warmth that one had made him feel, this one brought a strange feeling of emptiness, loneliness, and desolation.
Concepts that were the last thing he would associate with the ever-cheerful and bubbly virtual girl before him, as if they were her very own antithesis.
"Wha-what do you mean, Strea? Why would you…?"
Once again, the gamer found himself interrupted, this time by Strea burying her face on his chest, making him freeze in surprise.
"Tell me, Kirito…what am I?" whispered the AI while holding his arms.
"…a girl that…" started Kirito before the virtual girl's face shot up, an inch from his own, intense emotion burning in her eyes.
"That's not true, though! What exactly am I, Kirito? Am I an Artificial Intelligence? Mental Health Counseling Program 002? That's what I originally was…then Yui-nee gave me an identity, stuffed me in this Avatar…this fake body, and I fully embraced the name 'Strea'. I'm but 0s and 1s inside, you know? Under these looks…is there anything else? Am I even a 'person' by definition? Or am I…something else?" as she whispered those words, the black-haired boy saw how the red in her eyes seemed to 'bleed' all around them, as if invading every inch of the virtual orbs even as Gram's form seemed to flicker in and out of existence in her back, bleeding Darkness that threatened to consume the World. "Something that doesn't belong here…something that doesn't belong with you all because it's too dange…"
She had done it to him many times already. It was something she had experienced (And enjoyed) quite a few times, so there shouldn't have been any surprise there.
And yet, the moment Strea felt Kirito holding her face and pressing his lips on her own, willingly for the first time, she felt as if her entire world came to a halt, even as her virtual heart stopped before starting to beat faster than it should have been possible.
In an instant, the feeling of all-consuming Darkness threatening to engulf her and of her arms becoming many limbs ended in sharp claws was gone, as if erased from existence by that simple gesture.
When their lips separated after several second, the AI…no, the girl felt a longing like never before invading her, a need of continuing the kiss filling her body as her eyes locked onto his, a soft smile now adorning his face as he caressed one of her cheeks.
"You're Strea. A member of the United Heroes Association. Yui's older sister. An amazing and incredible girl. Someone willing to do anything for those she loves, no matter how hard it is or how much you have to throw common sense away to do so…and one of the most beautiful persons I have ever met. Never doubt that, okay?" spoke the boy with a tenderness few knew he was able to produce, slowly cleaning away one of her tears with his gloved hand. "Or I…I will have to do that again until you remember it."
For a moment, Strea fell completely silent, staring at the gamer as if she was seeing him for the first time.
Then, in an unusually tender movement, she leaned against him, pressing her body against his own, both of them feeling the other's heart beating against each other, an uncanny RIGHT sensation filling their whole selves.
"…Kirito?"
"…yes, Strea?"
"Can I…ask you for something?"
"Of course. Anything. What do you…?"
Answering his unfinished question, the red-eyed girl separated from him and, without even looking at her menu, easily triggered several commands and deactivated something very specific.
Kirito's eyes widened when her clothes, both her nightgown and her underwear, vanished in a flurry of polygons, leaving her mature and beautiful body fully exposed to him.
For a moment, Strea expected him to stutter and back off, but, to her slight surprise and delight, he simply bit his lips and stared right into her eyes, his hands softly moving to hold her shoulders.
"Are…are you sure?"
"Yes. I have never been surer of anything." softly answered the red-eyed girl while leaning against him again, feeling a thrill of happy excitement at noticing how much faster his heart was beating now, all because of her. "Besides…I got Asuna and Leafa to promise I would be next that first time, right?"
Remembering that particular line from his two first girlfriends with a scarlet face, the black-haired boy nodded slowly. Then, after just a second more of hesitation, he reached out and, never taking his eyes off her, opened his menu.
A part of Strea wondered about the implications of how easy it seemed for him to deactivate his Ethics Code, before she was too busy staring at the light show created by his trademark jumpsuit and cape vanishing and the exposed body that lie beneath.
MHCP-002 had more than enough access to Internet to know human anatomy very well. And besides, having been based on his real body when he was fourteen years old, there was nothing particularly 'impressive' about the Spriggan's Avatar except perhaps more and much more toned muscles than his real body would ever have, though still fit within a very slim frame.
And yet, she still blushed mightily and felt a bright smile blossoming on her face.
It wasn't something born out of physical attraction, after all. It came from the fact that the single person that she loved the most in the world, and that had just reminded her why she did so, was willing to bare himself to her after a simple request.
Strea became aware she had probably been staring at him lost in her thoughts for longer than she intended when she felt him close the distance between their bodies and, after an instant to see if she seemed to regret anything, leaned down softly to kiss her again.
This time, she didn't hold anything back. Impulsively like usual, she kissed him back, though a fierceness that was completely new to her was also present as she felt his tongue touch hers.
A thousand sparks of electricity seemed to cover her body at that moment, the sensation sending waves of unknown emotions into her mind, making her tremble in excitement.
This was pleasure, she deduced as the fierce kiss continued, relishing into experiencing the new and unknown sensations it caused almost more than in the act itself.
At times it felt as if an electrical current was invading every single one of her avatar's…her body's receptors, overloading them with a pleasant sensation the likes she didn't know she was capable of feeling, and others as if she was flying higher than ever in the sky in the middle of a euphoric frenzy.
The girl hadn't even realized they had fallen onto the bed, she on her back with Kirito leaning over her body, until she felt the black-haired boy's hands starting to caress her body, hesitation slowly melting away from him as they kissed, making her gasp and stop when she felt his touch over the edge of her right breast.
Pleasure. Euphoria. Happiness. Nervousness. Excitement.
All of that and more sensations she was unable to put a name to, no matter how much she tried, had rushed through her virtual neural receptors the moment that happened.
"Strea? You…okay?" asked the gamer with slight concern, trying to calm his own ragged breath as he wondered if she was having second thoughts. "Do you want me to…sto…?"
Interrupting him yet again, the red-eyed girl all but jumped him, as if a part of her was terrified of him finishing that sentence, the surprised Kirito feeling her body suddenly on top of his, feeling the softness and warmth that came from her body as it seemed to try and meld with his own, her lips once again claiming his own with something akin to desperation.
"Please…no. Don't…don't stop…" pleaded Strea while reluctantly letting their mouths separate, a tiny strand of saliva still keeping their tongues connected. "I want to…feel more of this…"
This time, the boy was unable to keep at bay his more base impulses at hearing those words, reaching out and embracing the girl's body as their lips connected again, showing surprising delicacy for someone with the strength to shatter the sky with his fists, even as his hands roamed all over her skin, enjoying the warmth of her body and the sensation of her curves, feeling the need to embrace her and never let go.
The virtual girl knew it wasn't possible for her to pass out, but she felt more and more that was going to be the case if her mind continued being assaulted by all the sensations the gamer's touches were causing her, her breathing becoming erratic and the very human (And completely unneeded, as she knew) need to gasp for breath overcoming her.
She thought there was no way she could feel anything beyond that…and then she felt Kirito's mouth latching onto one of her breasts.
Strea was happy to admit her mistake as she felt a strange sound escaping from the depths of her being as her whole body shivered in utter bliss (Was that what they called 'moaning', perhaps?), pleasure and happiness in mixes she couldn't properly understand overwhelming and overriding all her senses even as she felt the boy's other hand caressing her other breast.
The girl started squirming in her grasp, trying to hold him tighter against her, both terrified of the sensations consuming her and also wishing that they would never end, feeling as if her mind was being submerged in an intoxicated trance.
"Kirito…! KIRITO!" moaned the red-eyed girl as she felt her entire existence shake, a feeling of longing, a primal need she didn't know she could experience, emerging from the deepest parts of her. "Mo…more…!"
"Strea…I want…can I…?"
It took Strea a couple seconds to understand what the boy meant, and also to become aware that he had stopped his pleasurable ministrations. She was unable to complain about that, though, upon noticing that he had once again turned them around and was hovering over her with barely restrained lust, the most important part of his anatomy rubbing against her own, making her understand why she felt as if something within her was about to explode.
"Go…ahead…" she whispered with a voice so soft and deep she barely could recognize as her own, clouded by something alien to her.
The girl was unable to further ponder upon that as, with a look reflecting pleasure and excitement, Kirito entered her.
For an instant, Strea froze once again, feeling as if every single one of the parts that made up her mind, all the systems and processes, all the routines that let her act like a person and interact with the world around her as she did so, crashed, suffering their equivalent to a Blue Screen of Death.
Then, all of that stopped mattered as the loudest moan so far escaped her, a flood of unknown and familiar sensations literally consuming her whole, like fire that didn't actually burn her, but was still enough to make her entire existence feel at the edge of a being incinerated.
There was nothing with which she could describe the pleasure…and yet, the happiness she was feeling overwhelmed her even more than that.
After all, at that moment, in that very instant, she had become one with the one she loved the most in the world, the person she wanted nothing more than spending the rest of her life with.
Was this what true happiness felt like?
"I love you…I love you…I love you…" repeated the girl as she stared into the eyes of the boy with which she was sharing the closest act of physical intimacy possible. "I love you…Kazuto…"
Something within his eyes seemed to shift at that, as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. It didn't occur to Strea, that it had been the very first time she had called him for his real name.
And then…
"I love you too, Strea."
Her entire self froze. Suddenly, the very Existence of the MHCP-002, codename 'Strea', stopped mattering.
She no longer felt her body, that virtual avatar in which her 'sister' had put her in so long ago. She no longer felt any of the systems or routines that let her know she was an Artificial Intelligence, all of them having apparently vanished from her perception.
And yet, something even deeper, something that she couldn't describe but she could, without a doubt, call 'herself' (And that she would no doubt call 'soul' if she was human), still beat, faster and harder than it had ever before.
Because he had meant it.
Even if he didn't know it, even if he didn't realize it at that moment, or even if it hadn't been his intention…he had truly and honestly meant every single one of those 5 words.
He loved her.
Strea didn't know when she had started crying again, but she didn't let that bother him, even as she reached towards his face and pulled him for yet another kiss, her legs wrapping around his hips as she mentally amended her earlier statement.
This was what True Happiness felt like.
Once again, she felt her entire body and mind being consumed by overwhelming sensations and stimuli she couldn't fully comprehend when Kirito took her actions as a cue to start moving, filling her again and again with pleasure and excitement, happiness and longing, satisfaction and desire…
A part of her knew this probably wasn't how 'the real thing' actually felt. After all, there was no actual pain there in the virtual world, so many of the sensations that humans associated with the act of sexual intercourse…or lovemaking, as she preferred to call this, were no doubt absent.
However, none of that mattered to the red-eyed girl. Even the pleasure overwhelming her didn't really matter in the end, nor the almost-hunger with which she ground herself against the black-haired boy, or how their mouths sought each other yet again.
All that truly mattered to her was that, at that moment, they were one, and that he loved her just as she loved him.
The newest sensation came from the deepest part of her once again, but different. This one felt more physical than all the others, and she had a moment to wonder at how realistic someone had chosen to make the virtual world and everything within it as she felt her body going over an edge she didn't even know she had until that moment, moaning endlessly into her lover's mouth as she clamped her legs and arms around him, wishing to never let go more than ever.
An unknown and searing warmth filling her deepest part was her surprising reward, making her feel a pleasure unlike any other and a warm happiness of unknown origin even as she felt the suddenly tense form of Kirito slowly coming to a stop, relaxing and breathing harder than she had ever seen him do after any battle as he slowly slumped over her for a moment.
True bliss consumed her even as, slowly, their bodies separated, the disappointment she felt at that lasting but for a brief instant as she felt him pulling her close again, his eyes meeting hers as their breathing slowly returned back to normal.
"That…was…" mumbled Strea while trying to make sense of what she was feeling, quickly deciding it didn't matter and opting for just kissing the boy again, something short and chaste this time, before snuggling against him and smiling as if not even the end of the world could ruin her mood. "Thanks…Kirito…"
"No…Strea…thank you…" whispered Kirito as he embraced her, feeling both the exhaustion of the act and the pleasurable warmth of their current position starting to overcome him. "Remember that I…that all of us…are always here for you…"
"I know."
And with those last words, both of them drifted off to sleep, feeling happy and at peace.
A few hours later, when Suguha went to wake him for dinner and asked him if he had managed to 'cheer up' Strea…Kazuto would quickly show that he was unable to keep some things a secret from anyone close to him.
As for Strea? Well…once she was back home, Yui would simply stare at her in confusion before shrugging and heading to her own bed, deciding it was better not to question why her sister had suddenly decided to sleep naked.
The smile on her face seemed to indicate that whatever was bothering her no longer did so, at least…
It may have been the happy humming. It may have been the smile that seemed so bright it could illuminate all of Alne and split her face. Or maybe it may have been the way in which she seemed to all but skip from one side of the room to the other every time she needed something instead of walking.
Whatever the case, it was IMPOSSIBLE for any of the UHA's members to not notice Strea's abnormal and sudden change in mood the next day during the morning, perhaps like ten times more obvious than her previous subtle 'depression'.
In most cases, it was just worrying/weirding out most of the group, with the exception of Silica, Yuuki, and Lisbeth, who were staring from her to the tired and blushing form of Kirito, who was trying his best to pretend he didn't exist by keeping his face glued to the table, and Asuna and Leafa, who wore complicated/resigned expressions on their faces as they sat on the boy's sides.
"Hey, Kirito…you actually did it! You managed to cheer Strea up!" congratulated him the Imp with a bright smile and a thumbs-up, even as the black-haired boy groaned something unintelligible against the wooden table.
"Yes…she certainly seems more cheerful. Extremely cheerful, in fact…" mumbled the young Caith Sith with unusually empty eyes (And a noticeable blush) as she stared towards the overbearingly happy AI.
"…and how exactly did you…cheer her up…?" asked the Leprechaun blacksmith while STARING towards the gamer.
"We can tell you if you want to, Liz, but…well, I'm pretty sure it's not exactly going to stay a secret very long…" muttered the Undine with a reddish face as she looked towards their boyfriend.
"For the last time…I wasn't trying to 'cheer her' with THAT…it just ended happening because…reasons…" poorly excused Kirito while raising his face slightly from the table.
"Don't take it the wrong way, Onii-chan. We aren't blaming you or saying you did something wrong or anything like that, it's just…" apparently unable to properly think what she even wanted to say (And trying her best to ignore the headache Justice's not-so-positive rant about her dear adoptive brother was causing her), Leafa settled by just sighing and sending a troubled smile Strea's way. "I guess we did promise her she could go next…"
"…am I missing something here?" asked Yuuki with clear confusion as she stared at the others that knew/had completely figured out what had happened.
Meanwhile, the MHCP-002 still seemed lost in her own happy world, with apparently nothing that could make her come down from cloud nine…until a sudden thought made her stop, a small frown appearing on her face as she pouted and crossed her arms.
Yui, being the one closest to her, was the one who noticed it first, suddenly worried once again about her little sister and quickly rushing to her side.
"Strea! Is something wrong?!"
"Uh? Oh no, nothing is wrong, Yui-nee!" assured the older-looking virtual girl before sighing as she shook her head in disappointment. "I was just thinking how unfair it is…"
"Eh? What is?"
"That I can't have any children." shamelessly admitted Strea with a bright smile, causing everyone in the room to freeze, trip, choke on nothing or fall from their chairs, even as her 'big sister' stared at her with comically wide eyes. "After all, I think I would make a very good mother! And I'm sure our babies would be beautiful, don't you think, Kirito?"
And as Asuna's 'prophecy' of last night's events not remaining a 'secret' for very long became true and chaos ensued as the other members of the group demanded an explanation (Or trying to discreetly get away, in the other boys' case)…the red-eyed AI felt once again those dark whispers in the back of her mind, beckoning her to unleash the Darkness within, though this time they almost seemed to be pleading…
And Strea dismissed them with laughable easiness, sweeping them aside and banishing from her mind like someone would to some annoying fly, the Voices from Beyond being crushed without effort under her newfound self-assurance and uncontrollable happiness.
On her back, Gram's form shimmered for an instant, the Concept of [Darkness] within it finally coming fully under its new master's control…even if it would take a long time for her to even realize what she had done.
Right at that moment, though, Mental Health Counselling Program 002…Strea the Gnome…no, the young girl in love, didn't care at all.
After all, as far as she was concerned, everything was right in the world.
And she wouldn't change that for anything in the Universe.
Author's Notes: Maaaan…I can't believe I actually did it!
So, what did you think? Was it good? Decent? So cringy I should never do it again? However it may have been, I hope I did at least a nice job portraying Strea's reactions…I wanted them to seem as 'realistic' as possible, in the sense that once I started to think how an AI would feel while making love for the first time, it actually became an interesting challenge to write. Also, she's totally going to be happily describing with utmost detail how she 'became a woman' to anyone from the guild who asks, in case you were wondering XD
As this is happening right after the UHA's time in GGO, I tried to make it obvious but at the same time with as little references to Playing with Bullets' actual events so that you can fully enjoy them later. Also, if you have read the latest Interlude from OPG:CoF, some indirect references to this were actually made there :P
But with that said, I gotta say you all goodbye once again, folks! Next chapter of this will be the 'Concert for Heroes', which will contain Ordinal Scale Spoilers so be warned about that! (Doesn't mean it will be actually an 'Ordinal Scale OPG Version', btw. I explained long ago why that wouldn't exactly be possible and how different things were, this chapter shall be my way of putting 'to rest' everyone who wanted some OS in OPG but couldn't get it, so at least they know what happened with the characters there in this Universe XP). But before that, I should probably start OPG:CoF's next arc. Kirito and friends will meet two 'monsters' on the run…
That's for another time and not here, though! So, till next time, this is Saint, signing off!
