Sword Art Online - Volume 2 - Aincrad (Side Stories)

by Reki Kawahara

  “Yeah. I think so too. I don’t believe a child as young as this could even get on by herself. She should have came with her family or someone like that… I really do hope, that they’re safe though.”

  Apparently having struggled with that last line, Asuna turned and faced Kirito.

  “Hey, she should recover, right?”

  “Ah. If she’s not disappearing yet, she should still be hooked up to the NERvGear. Her condition should be close to that of sleeping. That’s why, sooner or later, she will wake up… I believe.”

  Vigorously nodding his head, Kirito’s words were tinged with hope.

  As Asuna got up, she knelt before the bed on which the girl was asleep, and reached out with her right hand. She gently caressed the girl’s head.

  She certainly was a beautiful girl. Rather than a human child, her presence could be said to be closer to be that of a fairy. Her complexion was similar to the composition of alabaster, delicate and snow white. Her long, black hair gleamed elegantly, and with her exotic-looking features, she would, without a doubt, be charming if she were to open her eyes and smile.

  Kirito got closer as well, lowering his body beside Asuna. Hesitantly reaching out his right hand, he stroked the girl’s hair.

  “She doesn’t seem to be ten… Perhaps around eight?”

  “It should be around there… She’s the youngest player I’ve ever met.”

  “That’s right. I came across a female beast tamer before, but even she was around thirteen years old.”

  Instinctively reacting to something she had never heard about, Asuna stared at Kirito.

  “Hmm, so you had a cute friend like that, huh.”

  “Ah, we just exchange mails every now and then… n- no, that’s all, there’s nothing else to it!”

  “I wonder. Kirito-kun is dull, after all.”

  And she turned away sharply.

  As though he sensed the conversation heading towards an odd direction, Kirito stood up and spoke.

  “Ah, it’s already this late. Let’s have some lunch.”

  “About that story, I’ll be sure to have you clearly explain all the details later on, okay.”

  Glaring at Kirito once again, Asuna got up as well, laughing as she decided to drop the matter for the time being.

  “Well, let’s have the packed lunch. I’ll go and make some tea.”

  The late autumn afternoon was passed away peacefully, and even as the time for the crimson light, flooding in from the sun on the outer edge, to fade away came by, the girl still did not stir from her sleep.

  As the curtains were drawn closed and the lamp on the wall lit, Kirito happened to return from his trip to the village. Silently shaking his head, he conveyed the failure on finding any leads on the girl.

  Not in the best of moods for enjoying a lively dinner, the pair opted for a simple meal of soup and bread, and Kirito began his endeavor after looking over the various types of newspaper he had bought.

  Although it is referred to as a newspaper, it is unlike those of the real world, pieces of paper bound together, but instead, simply a single piece of parchment, with the size similar to that of a magazine. It is represented in a manner like that of the system window screen and by editing it like a website, it can be used to organize and display information gathered.

  The contents too, are identical to a game walkthrough site managed by players, comprising of many topics: news, a beginner’s manual, FAQs, an item list, etc. Within those, there is also a Lost & Found / Q&A section, where the pair laid their eyes on. They thought there was a possibility of someone searching for a girl. However—

  “…None, eh…”

  “None, huh…”

  Spending tens of minutes to go through the entire newspaper, the two exchanged glances and loosened the tension in their shoulders. There was nothing more they could do than to wait for the girl to finally awaken and explain the circumstances.

  On a normal night, the two of them would stay up late having meaningless conversations, playing simple games, sometimes even taking an evening stroll, or countless other activities that they do more rarely, but neither of them were in the mood for those this night.

  “Let’s call it a day already.”

  “Hm. I guess so.”

  Asuna acknowledged Kirito’s words with a nod.

  Turning the lights in the living room off, they headed into the bedroom. As the girl was occupying one of the beds, one of them would have to sleep with the other— well, that was already the case every other night, but— and they changed into their sleep-wear in a hurry.

  The lamp in the bedroom was also doused, and the pair lay down onto the bed.

  Kirito certainly does possess several strange unique skills, but still, it seems that sleeping easily and well is included within those. When Asuna felt in the mood to talk and turned over, there was already the steady sound of breathing during sleep.

  “Geez.”

  Softly muttering her disapproval, she flipped to the other side, facing the bed on which the girl was asleep. In the pale blue darkness, the black-haired girl was still fast asleep as before. Although she had never made a conscious effort to think about the girl’s past, her thoughts gradually drifted in that direction as she continued staring.

  If she was living until now with a guardian, like her parents or siblings, that’s still fine. However, in the case that she came into this world alone, and spent these two years in fear and isolation— to a mere eight or nine years old child, those days must have been unbearable. If she was in that situation, she would probably be unable to retain her sanity.

  Could it be— Asuna leapt towards the worst possible conclusion. Maybe, the reason why she was wandering in that forest, and faded into unconsciousness, was due to some problem caused by the condition of her mind. Of course, there are no psychiatrists in Aincrad, neither were there any system administrators to seek aid from. The most optimistic prediction for clearing the game was still half a year at least, and nothing could be accomplished with merely Asuna and Kirito’s effort anyway. Due to the fact that they are both currently absent from the frontlines, the number of players at their levels would be reduced by two and creating a balanced party would be more difficult as well.

  Regardless of how deep the suffering the girl is undergoing, she does not have the ability to save her— Realizing that, Asuna was stricken with an agonizing pain within her chest. She subconsciously left the bed and moved to the side of the sleeping girl.

  Brushing the girl’s hair for a short moment, Asuna softly turned back the covers and lay down beside her. With both arms, she tightly embraced her small body. Although the girl did not move by even a single inch, her expression seemed to soften, and Asuna quietly whispered.

  “Goodnight. It would be nice, if you wake up tomorrow…”

  Part 2

  Bathed in the white morning light, a gentle tune flowed into Asuna’s drowsy consciousness. It was her wake-up alarm with the sound of an oboe playing. Enshrouded in the drifting sensation on the edge of awakening, Asuna plunged herself into the melody, somehow filled with nostalgia. Before long, the refreshing echoes of string instruments and the leading rhythm from the clarinet flowed over each other, along with a faint humming voice—

  —Humming?

  She was not the one singing. Asuna snapped her eyes open.

  Within her arms, the black-haired girl had her eyelids closed… Humming along to the melody of Asuna’s wake-up alarm.

  The girl did not miss even a single beat. However, that was impossible. As Asuna had set the alarm to be audible to only herself, there was no chance that anyone could achieve a feat like singing along to the melody within her mind.

  In any case, Asuna decided to put aside that doubt for now. Rather than that—

  “Ki- Kirito-kun, geez, Kirito-kun!!”

  Not moving an inch, she called to Kirito, sleeping in the bed behind. There were soon signs of Kirito softly murmuring as he awoke.

  “…Morn
ing. Something happened?”

  “Hurry, come over here!”

  The hushed creaking of the floorboards. Shifting his gaze over Asuna, onto the bed, Kirito widened his eyes immediately as well.

  “She’s singing…!?”

  “Y- Yeah…”

  Asuna lightly shook the girl within her hands and called out.

  “Hey, wake up… Open up, your eyes.”

  The girl stopped moving her lips. Soon, her long eyelashes weakly trembled, and slowly rose upwards.

  With misty black eyes, she peered directly into Asuna’s eyes, right before her. Blinking several times, she opened her almost colorless lips just the tiniest bit.

  “Aa… uu…”

  The girl’s voice rang out, like the delicate vibrations of silverware, a fleetingly beautiful sound. Asuna sat up, still holding onto the girl.

  “…Thank goodness, you woke up. Do you know anything about, well, what happened to you?”

  When spoken to, the girl kept her silence for several seconds, shaking her head in small, short motions.

  “I see… What’s your name? Can you say it?”

  “N… ame… M… y… name… “

  As the girl inclined her head, a strand of her glossy, black hair fell onto her cheek.

  “Yu… i. Yui. That is… name…”

  “So, Yui-chan? That’s a pretty name. I’m Asuna. And that person’s Kirito.”

  As Asuna turned, the girl who called herself Yui followed suit and shifted her vision. Looking to and fro between Asuna and Kirito, who was half bent forward, she opened her mouth.

  “A… una. Ki… to.”

  With her lips faltering, she spoke with disjointed sounds. Asuna felt her fears from the previous night returning. The girl’s outer appearance was at least of eight years old; if you were to consider the time that had passed since she logged in, her actual age should have reached around ten by now. But the girl’s shaky words, were as if they came from an infant who just about gained awareness.

  “Hey, Yui-chan. Why were you on the twenty-second floor? Are your father or mother perhaps, anywhere near here?”

  Yui moved her eyes downward and sank into silence. Keeping quiet for a moment, she shook her head back and forth.

  “I don’t… know… I don’t… know, anything…”

  Carrying her into a sitting posture on the chair for the dining table and offering some warm, sweet milk, the girl held up the cup with both hands as though she were carrying it and began drinking it slowly. Watching over her out of the corner of her eye, Asuna decided to discuss the situation with Kirito a distance apart from the girl.

  “Hey, Kirito-kun. What are your thoughts…?”

  Kirito chewed his lips with a serious expression, but soon spoke, with his face downcast.

  “She doesn’t… seem to have her memories. But, with those reactions… it’s like, her mind was, damaged or…”

  “Yeah… You think so too, huh…”

  “Dammit.”

  Kirito’s face distorted, seemingly on the verge of tears.

  “In this world… I’ve seen many horrible things… but this is… the worst. This is just too cruel…”

  Seeing his eyes turn watery, Asuna too, felt something bursting out from her chest. Wrapping her arms around Kirito, she spoke.

  “It’ll be alright, Kirito-kun. …If it’s us, there’s definitely something… we can do.”

  “…Yeah. That’s right…”

  Kirito raised his head and smiled faintly, placing his hand on Asuna’s shoulder and returned towards the dining table. Asuna followed behind him.

  Moving a chair with a clatter, Kirito sat down beside Yui and started a conversation with a bright voice.

  “Aah, Yui-chan. …Can I just, call you Yui?”

  Raising her face from the cup, Yui nodded.

  “I see. Then, Yui can just call me, Kirito.”

  “Ki… to.”

  “It’s, Kirito. Ki, ri, to.”

  “…”

  Yui put on a complex expression and kept quiet for a moment.

  “…Kiito.”

  Kirito broke into a grin and laid his hand on Yui’s head.

  “Maybe that was a bit difficult. You can just, call me with any other easier name you want.”

  Yui once again pondered for a while. She didn’t stir an inch, even when Asuna picked the cup up from the table and refilled the milk.

  Soon enough, Yui slowly raised her face and looked at Kirito, and timidly, she opened her mouth.

  “…Papa.”

  Next, she turned to Asuna and spoke.

  “Auna is… Mama.”

  Asuna trembled uncontrollably. She did not know if the girl had merely mistaken them for her actual parents, or perhaps— that her parents did not exist in this world at all and she wanted them instead, but before dealing with that suspicion, Asuna frantically tried to restrain the feelings filling her heart and struggling to break loose, and nodded with a smile.

  “That’s right… It’s Mama, Yui-chan.”

  Hearing that, Yui broke into a smile for the first time. Under her straight fringe, her previously expressionless eyes shone with a gleam, and in that instant, color seemed to return to her face with doll-like features.

  “…Mama!”

  Looking at the arms outstretched towards her, Asuna felt a violent jolting pain within her chest.

  “Uu…”

  Earnestly holding back the tears threatening to overflow, she somehow managed to preserve her smile. She carried Yui’s small frame from the chair, and as she firmly hugged her, Asuna felt a single tear, filled with a mess of different emotions, spill out and trickle down her cheek.

  Finishing off her drink of hot milk and a small bun, Yui seemed to have grown sleepy once again, with her head starting to sway to and fro while sitting on the chair.

  Looking at the girl’s status while seated on the opposite side of the table, Asuna wiped her eyes with a jerking hand and looked towards Kirito, beside her.

  “I- I…”

  Despite opening her mouth, she was unable to form the words she wanted adequately.

  “I’m sorry, I just have no idea, about what I should do…”

  Kirito gazed upon Asuna with sympathetic eyes, but soon spoke with a sigh.

  “…Until that kid regains her memories, you want to stay here and look after her, right? I understand… those feelings. I’m the same here. But still… it’s a real dilemma… If we do that, we can’t return to completing the game for a while, and with that, the time needed to break this kid free from here will be delayed as well…”

  “Yeah… that’s true, after all…”

  Putting herself aside, Asuna started thinking. Not to exaggerate, but Kirito’s presence as a clearing player towered above the rest of them, providing maps of the traversable areas in the labyrinth, with the quantity beyond even many prominent guilds, while being a solo player. Despite planning it as just a few weeks of newly-wed life, monopolizing Kirito by herself like this was enough to make her feel traces of guilt.

  “For now, let’s just do what we can.”

  Looking over at Yui, who had dozed off, Kirito continued his words.

  “Firstly, let’s head for the Starting City and see if we can find the kid’s parents or siblings. With her standing out so much as a player, I believe there’s bound to be some people who recognize her, at least.”

  “…”

  It was a natural conclusion. But Asuna noticed her feelings of not wanting to be separated from the girl, from within herself. It was the life where she could be alone with Kirito, that she had even dreamed about, but somehow, she had no objections with it becoming a group of three. It might be because she felt as if Yui would be like the child of Kirito and her… Getting to that line of thought, Asuna was startled and came to her senses, blushing to her ears.

  “…? What’s the matter?”

  “I- It’s nothing!!”

  Asuna turned to Kirito, who looked suspiciou
s, and shook her head back and forth.

  “Th- That’s right. When Yui-chan wakes up, let’s go to the Starting City. We can put something up in the Q&A corner of the newspaper on the way too.”

  Still not able to look Kirito in the face, Asuna spoke quickly while tidying up the table in a hurry. When she looked towards Yui, sound asleep on the chair, perhaps it was just her imagination, but her sleeping face seemed different from yesterday, appearing more tranquil.

  Moved to the bed, Yui slept through the entire morning, and wondering if she had went into a coma again, Asuna nervously worried, but fortunately, she woke up just as the preparations for lunch were completed.

  Despite baking a fruit pie, which she rarely ever makes, for Yui’s sake, when Yui took her place at the table, rather than the pie, she showed more interest in a sandwich, filled with plenty of mustard, that Kirito was heartily biting into, perplexing the pair.

  “Ah, Yui, this is really spicy.”

  “Uu… I want to, have the same as Papa.”

  “I see. I won’t stop you if you’ve already made up your mind. Everything is an experience.”

  Handing a sandwich over, Yui widened her petite mouth with all her might and took a bite without even a single trace of hesitation.

  The couple held their breaths as they watched over her, Yui, chewing the food with a complicated expression, finally swallowed it down her throat with a gulp and beamed cheerfully.

  “Yummy.”

  “This fellow has got quite some guts.”

  Kirito too, smiled as he rubbed Yui’s head.

  “Let’s challenge ourselves with a burning hot full course for dinner.”

  “Geez, don’t get carried away! That’s no way I’ll make something like that!”

  But if they were to find Yui’s guardians at the Starting City, the only ones returning here will be just the two of them. Thinking so, Asuna felt a tinge of loneliness running through her heart.