"You're still alive? You really are strong…"-Saitama, the Strongest Hero.
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December 24th, 2025. New Aincrad, Alfheim. Floor 22, 23:45…
The night was cold as snow once again fell upon the land of fairies. This time, however, it happened to all of Alfheim, not just the usual places where it snowed.
On a certain log house, on the 22nd Floor of a certain Floating Castle, this excited a young-looking AI, even as she happily ran around the living room, a Santa Claus cap on her head. Everyone watching her couldn't help but smile as they saw her happy smile and heard her harmonious voice.
"Christmas, Christmas, yay!" happily shouted Yui while stopping in front of a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, stars shining in her eyes.
"Man, she's really excited about this, isn't she?" commented a smiling Argo while looking at the virtual little girl with soft eyes.
"Well, what did you expect?" asked Keita with an amused look. "This is the first 'official' Christmas for her and Strea to spend with everyone, after all…"
The ex-guild leader's words rang true, was what everyone thought. After all, between Asuna and the boys (Sans Kirito) still recovering from the ALO incident and they preparing to save their data inside Kazuto's computer in case the game of fairies was closed for good, last year's Christmas hasn't been something the virtual sisters or the group of friends had been really able to enjoy together.
"Not to mention, we have a lot more friends this year…" added Sachi while looking around the living room.
She and the other two that had just talked were sitting near the calm fire of the chimney, at the farthest side of the room, while the rest of the United Heroes Association (Sans Strea, who had gone out a while ago for mysterious reasons) and the Sleeping Knights were finishing setting the table and chatting animatedly.
Asuna and Leafa had put special effort into preparing the food for that day, given that they knew Yuuki and several of her friends had been unable to have a proper 'Christmas meal' in quite some time. Therefore, and after asking for permission, they had all agreed to be there together for a while before going out to celebrate with their families (Or just eat by themselves in Suguha and Kazuto's case, since their mother wouldn't be home till the morning).
It was only natural, thus, that Yui seemed so excited by it. And her sister had seemed the same before going to who knows where…
"Hey, has anyone seen Strea?" asked Kirito while finishing putting down another chair, tilting his head in confusion.
"Well, she said something about going to bring more Christmas decorations…" muttered Asuna while putting a finger under her chin. "Though to be honest, I don't see what…"
"Merry Christmas!" shouted the aforementioned Gnome while merrily entering the house, a sac at her back…and wearing while could only be called a 'sexy Santa outfit'.
Every single person in the room froze, all of them staring and gaping openly at the smiling virtual girl. Furious blushes were appearing on the faces of almost every female, while the males of the two guilds were trying to do their best to not stare like idiots.
"What the…?!" shouted an outraged Leafa while pointing at her. "Strea-san, why are you wearing that?!"
"…because is Christmas?" answered Strea while looking at the Sylph as if she had just said something very obvious.
"But it's freezing outside!"
"I don't think that's actually the problem, Sinon-nya…"
"Heh…we-well, we can always count on Strea to make things livelier, uh…?"
"Sachi, saying that with your face burning right isn't really fooling anyone…."
"Aww, don't worry, Phili-chi! I brought costumes like mine for everyone, so I also have one your size!"
"WHAT?!"
"Did…you really bring…for everyone…? OUCH! What was that for?!"
"You were drooling like an idiot, Keita!"
"Ohh, it looks like fun! Does one usually wear this for Christmas? Can I wear one too?"
"Yuuki-chan, NO! Strea-san, stop corrupting her!"
"Ahahah, Asuna, you act way too much like a worried mother…!"
Looking around at the madness breaking loose, Kirito couldn't help but smile.
And some minutes later, after everyone calmed down (And no one but Strea actually wore those 'costumes', to the males' silent disappointment), when they sat down to eat and wish Merry Christmas to everyone, the caped boy couldn't help but think how stupid he had been, to have once thought that it was better to go through life alone.
Truly, there was no better thing than having people at your side, to share your dreams with…
The clock was already nearing 1 on the morning of December 25th when, one for one, everyone started to excuse themselves, for one reason or another, leaving the house emptier and more silent. When this started happening, the curious gamer noticed someone missing that hadn't say goodbye and, curious, went up to the second floor.
He found the Imp looking silently out of the small balcony there, towards the falling snow.
"Hey, Yuuki." called the Spriggan while walking to her side, making the girl blink and look at him. "I was wondering where you have gone to…everything okay?"
"Kirito…yeah, I'm good. It was a great party, I got to remind to thank Asuna and everyone again sometime soon…" looking in silence back at the snowing night, a tad of sadness appeared on the swordswoman's face. "It's just that…this is the first Christmas I truly spent without Aiko-nee."
"…Yuuki." softly whispered Kirito while looking at her.
"Ah…don't worry. I know I have to move on, and I promised her I would still be happy, but…a part of me really wished that she could have been there, eating with us…and…"
Whatever else Yuuki wanted to say was cut short, when a pair of strong arms that she was growing unusually used to (And that thought made her inwardly blush) closed softly around her, pressing her shocked face against a firm but warm chest.
"It's okay, Yuuki. Don't worry, I'm here with you. We're all…and will always be."
As he said those words, the caped boy thought about the things that had happened since the tournament, when Kikuoka had told him that he had managed to get his hands on the Deep-Scan Machine, and all the implications that came with that.
Once again, he had asked for Yui and Strea's help, and they had investigated all that they could after he got Kikuoka to let him know the specifications of the machine. Finally, they had managed to come up with an idea that allowed them to actually move it into the hospital where the girl was.
Officially, it was a similar machine to the Medicuboid, with slightly different features, that was being tested to see if it was compatible with the basic FullDive treatment. Of course, the only reason for which this 'lie' had been possible was that it seemed TRUE.
When you looked them down and analyzed the way in which they were built, both machines seemed to be the same one. The only difference was that the Medicuboid included compatibility with all kind of medical equipment and direct virtual interaction with the patient, not to mention that the level of energy and mental-scanning that it used was much lower, but apart from that, when it came down to the way in which both machines worked, the Deep-Scan Machine was essentially a copy of it…or maybe the opposite.
Kazuto knew what the implications of that were, and he was sure Kikuoka did so too, or at least heavily suspected it. Even so, he did not care, his decision already made. Thanks to the ruse, the hospital's staff had been fooled and the machine transported to the same floor in which Yuuki's room was.
The only 'problem' had been with the girl's doctor, Kurahashi Kaito, the only one who had been suspicious of the whole thing and had tried to stop any idea of testing the machine before it was thoroughly examined.
It had only been thanks to Yuuki talking to him that he had changed his opinion on the matter. The gamer didn't know what the hospitalized girl had told to the man that had taken care of her for so long he was like a second father to her, but she had managed to make him stop his efforts to deny the Deep-Scan Machine's use.
When he had gone with Asuna to visit the sick girl to the hospital half a month ago, though, he had seen the man smiling silently at her.
"…thanks.." softly whispered the Imp before looking up at him, bringing the caped boy out of his recollections, a smile on her face…and blinking in surprise, even as she tilted her face to the side. "Hey, Kirito…"
"Yes?" asked the Spriggan with a soft smile, curious at the girl's sudden tone.
"I…have only watched pictures and read about it, but…is that mistletoe?"
The caped gamer blinked. Then, ever so slowly, he turned his head towards the upper frame of the balcony's door.
There, hanging innocently from a red tie, was the aforementioned plant, commonly hung as a Christmas tradition…in the west. No one ever really put it as a decoration in Japan that much, and he was sure most of his friends wouldn't have even entertained the idea of putting one, so the only reason why it would be there was…
"Goddammit, Strea!" cursed Kirito while letting go of the curious girl, facepalming a bit too hard. "Ugh…don't worry about it, okay, Yuuki? Is not even a popular tradition around he…"
His words suddenly died on his throat when, standing on her tips for an instant, Yuuki softly kissed him.
Their lips were connected by little more than a second before the blushing Imp girl backed away and, giving him a shy smile, opened her menu.
"Merry Christmas, Kirito." she simply said before Logging Out, never stopping to smile.
The Spriggan was standing there like an idiot, staring dumbly at the spot where she had vanished, for all of 10 seconds, before arriving at a simple conclusion.
"…Asuna will kill me if she ever finds out." he certainly stated while suppressing a shiver.
Shaking his head before tearing off the mistletoe (Better safe than sorry) and accepting it as just another crazy thing that made his life so 'interesting' nowadays, Kirito headed downstairs, ready to ask if anyone was still there and tell Leafa that they should already be Logging Out to…
"Hey there, Sensei. Merry Christmas."
"Me-Merry Chri-Christmas, Onii-chan!"
The caped boy blinked. Then, he shook his head and looked again. Finally, he slammed his head against the wall at his side, making the two girls blink in confusion even as he turned to look their blushing forms again.
No, he apparently wasn't imagining it. Asuna and Leafa were REALLY standing there, both of them wearing their own fitting versions of the same 'Sexy Santa outfit' that Strea was wearing earlier, staring at him with bright but clearly embarrassed smiles.
There was no one else left in the log house but the three of them, by the way.
"…eh?" eloquently expressed the gamer at the sight, barely managing to stop his eyes from wandering all over the two beautiful fairies.
"I-it was Strea's idea…she said yo-you probably would like it…" muttered the blonde Sylph while looking away, keenly conscious of Kirito's eyes over her.
"Think of it as a Christmas present from your beautiful girlfriends, Kirito-kun!" happily added the smiling Undine, though the fiery blush on her face made it clear she was making a conscious effort to not squeak in embarrassment. "S-so…do you like it?"
There was an infinitesimal pause that, for some reason, seemed to last an eternity for the teens…after which the caped boy answered without hesitation.
"Of course I do. I love it. You two look gorgeous in that."
Shocked, the two girls looked towards their boyfriend in shock. Clearly, none of them had expected him to be so direct and sincere with his answer.
Of course, they couldn't have known that the Spriggan was 'channeling his inner Saitama', as he put it, almost as much as he had against Death Gun, so as to not say anything 'stupid'.
He was, after all, a perfectly hormonal male teenager, who was suddenly confronted by the sight of the two girls he loved, and that were perfectly okay with 'sharing' him, dressed in extremely revealing outfits and smiling brightly at him. He was making a conscious effort to not just STARE like an idiot and lost himself in the sight in front of him, thanking the Gamer Gods for his unholy luck.
Yeah, he loved them dearly at all, but DAMMIT, didn't they know how much they tested his resolve when they did something like that?! If he didn't concentrate, this was in serious danger of ending like one of his many dreams, where he would just rush forward, swept both of them off their feet and…!
The Spriggan was brought out of his hormones-fueled fantasies when he felt a pair of slender arms settle around his neck. He had enough time to blink before Asuna trapped his lips in a soft kiss, which she slowly deepened, much to his shock and that of his adoptive sister, if the sudden 'Awawawa?!' that came from the background was anything to go back.
Without needing much more motivation, he found himself kissing the Dual Wielder back.
When they separated, both had a slightly dreamy look on their eyes, their cheeks equally tinted in crimson. Then, the Undine turned around and tended a hand towards the frozen and blushing Leafa.
"Come here, Sugu-chan. Your Onii-chan also needs to give you some love, right?"
Almost as if in a trance from hearing the words, the blonde Sylph walked towards them. When she reached their side, she opened her more hesitantly for a moment, then looked down, as if suddenly too embarrassed to say what she wanted.
This time, however, the black-haired boy was smart enough to know what to do and, with an encouraging push of Asuna, reached forward and made the katana-user look at him, green eyes reflecting surprise and longing from an instant before he trapped her lips with his.
Leafa started kissing back almost instantly, making the Undine at their side whistle softly at the passion behind the blonde Sylph's action, almost as if she never wanted to let go of the gamer.
Once the kiss ended, a look of pure happiness and bliss on the kendoka's red face, she buried her face on Kirito's chest, sighing contently.
"Hey…want to meet up later in the evening, after you eat and celebrate with your mother?" asked the Dual Wielder to the two Kirigayas, who blinked and looked at her in surprise. "It's Christmas, after all, so 'couples' should spend some time together, right?"
"…I think I would like that." bashfully accepted Leafa while smiling at Asuna. "A lot."
"Do you even need to ask?" was all that the caped Spriggan said before, gathering his courage for a moment, pulling the other girl towards him too, now hugging both of them.
After some minutes just enjoying each other's presence, the three of them bid their goodbyes and Logged Out, smiles still on their faces.
Both Asuna and Kirito's avatars vanished in an instant…but Leafa's only fell backward, eyes closed and unmoving.
It was a couple of seconds later that she stood up again, the Sylph trembling and with a burning face as she opened her eyes, a look of jealous rage on them.
They weren't green anymore, though, but a steel-silver hue instead.
And a familiar katana had appeared on her hands, without her even equipping it…
"Kuh…that damn idiot! He doesn't deserve Master…doesn't deserve her love, not when he's also looking at other girls that aren't her!" growled 'Leafa' with annoyance as she stood up, her expression and tone of voice completely at odds with the costume she was still wearing. "I will show Master…that I'm much better than him…that I can protect her much better than him…"
Whispering those words, the Sylph raised her strangely-decorated katana, the inscription on its side shining before a silver glow surrounded it.
"…and I will do it with this power…that I have been hiding from even her. This power that should be hers…I will use it to show Master that she can always rely on me…"
Those words said, 'Leafa' stabbed the shining katana on the ground.
Strange symbols of energy appeared around her, shining as they seemed to crawl into the air with glorious power…
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January 26th, 2026. Kyoto, Kansai. Yuuki Family Home, 12:30…
"Well, here we are!" brightly smiled Asuna as she turned around to look at her friends, the Bidirectional Communication Probe on her shoulder. "Feel as if you're on your own home, everyone!"
For their part, the girls from the United Heroes Association (Kotone, Shino, Suguha, Shiori, Saori, Rika, and Keiko) gaped in awe at the imposing visage of the house, which seemed like the traditional Japanese home that lords of old used to have. From the 'camera' on the chestnut-haired girl's shoulder, the awed voices of Yuuki, Strea, and Yui also reflected the shock everyone was feeling.
"Woah! This is amazing, Asuna!" excitedly shouted the hospitalized girl while looking around. "Is this place really yours?!"
"Well, it's property of my family, yeah, but it's not really all that much…" nervously waved it off the girl while scratching her head.
"Not all that much, she says…" whispered Shiori while looking around. "Aa-chan really does find this kinds of things normal, uh…"
"Leave it to Asuna, the super-rich, to surprise us like this…" sweatdropped Rika in response, her own eyes also looking around the beautiful home in awe. "When she said this about coming to Kyoto to show Yuuki the sights I was certainly surprised, but…"
"Wah, everyone, look!" came Saori's excited voice as she looked at a massive pond in the middle of the garden. "There are tons of fishes in here! And all of bright colors!"
"Really?" asked Kotone with curiosity, walking closer to the spear-user. "Are there any goldfishes in there?"
"Sakura trees…" muttered Keiko while looking in awe towards the cherry blossoms filling one side of the garden. "They're beautiful…"
"Surprisingly…I think I could just stand watching them all day…" added Shino while looking in wonder at the beautiful pink petals of the trees.
"Heh, I also love just watching them." commented Asuna while stopping at the younger girls' side, looking on with a nostalgic smile. "I think I'm going to enjoy this visit to Kyoto much more than the last one…"
"…the real world has a lot of gorgeous and fantastic places, uh?" muttered Yui from where she was sitting, she and Strea besides Yuuki on the Medicuboid's personal virtual space, all the holo-screens configured to show what the Probe was showing. "No matter how amazing the virtual world is, they're always things that amaze you in there too…"
"As always, your words are full of wisdom, Yui-nee." nodded the other AI while looking at the awed girl sitting between them. "Don't you think so too, Yuuki?"
"Yes…you are right." whispered her while smiling brightly, her eyes never leaving the beautiful visages of the gardens even as Asuna led everyone else inside. The sights were, in a way, much more beautiful than the similar ones she, Aiko and Merida had seen when playing Asuka Empire. "You're totally right…"
Back on Kyoto, just as she was about to go inside, the chestnut-haired girl noticed the only one who had been mostly silent of her friends still standing near the main gate, looking up to the sky and seemingly deep in thought.
"Sugu-chan?" called Asuna to the young kendoka, who blinked and looked down at her. "Are you all right?"
"Ye-yeah, sorry about spacing out like that, Asuna…" apologized Suguha while scratching the back of her head in what the UHA called the 'Standard Kirito Reaction #1'. "It's a beautiful place, it's just that…I was wondering what Onii-chan and the others must be doing right now…"
Smiling in understanding, the rapier-user walked to the side of the other girl and held her hand. Since Christmas, the relationship between her, Kazuto and the young kendoka had deepened noticeably. They were much less awkward with each other and way more open with small shows of affection, like hugs or quick kisses in the cheeks, and some slightly more daring ones when they were alone. Of course, they had all become closer emotionally too, so Asuna was able to notice how the younger girl usually seemed a bit more hesitant and much more attached to the idiotic hero they loved than her, probably because of her inner fears about if their 'peculiar' relationship would last. The chestnut-haired girl knew that she deeply wished it did for a long time…and she had found herself doing the same too.
But that was why none of the boys had been invited over on this trip. It was important that Suguha saw that just for not seeing Kazuto a few days it didn't mean their relationship would be damaged. And that they could depend on each other too.
Besides, it never hurt to have some girls-only time. And she was sure the caped boy thought the same about himself, Keita and the rest.
"I'm sure they're as busy as us right now, Sugu-chan. Boys always find something to do with their free time, after all." grinning, the rapier-user dragged her friend and fellow girlfriend towards the house, where more awed exclamations coming from the rest of their friends could be heard. "Now, let's go before they break something important that I can't convince my mother broke by itself, okay?"
A smile quickly appeared on her own face, Suguha nodded and sprinted after her friend. Asuna was right. Now, it was their time to enjoy each other's company while they showed Yuuki-chan around.
The chestnut-haired girl was probably right, though. Kazuto and the rest were probably also enjoying their 'boys-time' too…
Meanwhile, on New Aincrad's 22nd Floor…
"…so…does any of you want to do something?" asked Ducker while he and the rest munched some cookies, his gaze looking around at the silent boys of the UHA as they sat on the log house's living room.
"Uhm…we have nothing to do until Winter vacation end, so…we could, I don't know…go out to eat something together later?" ventured Sasamaru when the awkward silence stretched a bit too much.
"Yeah, that…sounds like a plan." muttered Tetsuo while gulping down another cookie.
"…man, anyone else finds it kind of sad that we literally seem to have no motivation to do anything when the girls aren't around?" questioned Keita while everyone sweatdropped.
"We could always…I don't know…try and investigate what became of that egg we gave that King of the Ocean guy in that Quest about the undersea temple?" proposed Kirito while scratching the back of his head. "I always got kind of curious about it, and I have a couple of ideas about what could have happened…"
"Well…I guess anything its better than sitting here doing nothing but munching on cookies…" sighed the dagger-user of the group while pulling on his beanie.
"Speaking of which…where did you get these cookies, Ducker?" asked the Leprechaun while looking down at the one he was about to eat, making everyone blink. "They're extremely good, and I know for a fact that your Cooking Skill sucks, plus I don't remember seeing any Shop that sells these…
"Oh, these? They were over there on the table, together with a note that had Yui-chan's name on it!" cheerfully replied the Imp while waving it off, even as an ominous feeling suddenly filled the room. "She's such a sweetheart, leaving something like this for us while they're all away…"
"…wait a minute…" whispered the caped Spriggan even as his eyes widened, the boy shooting towards the living room's table at super speed, grabbing the note and opening it.
As he read its contents, his face slowly paled more and more.
"…Kirito?" asked the Gnome of the group while gulping, he and the others clearly starting t have a bad feeling about the whole thing.
For all answer, their fearless leader turned the note around, letting everyone see what was written on it.
'Hey, Papa, everyone, I'm leaving these cookies over here so that you can give some to our shy neighbor, okay :D? He seems to enjoy them, but he's so shy he only comes to get them when we leave them out at Tonky's side and no one is looking, so be sure to drop this there for him! Also, I think he like chatting with Tonky, because sometimes we heard him making some soft noises when no one but us is around…'
There were several seconds of silence before Sasamaru voiced the question that was disturbing everyone's minds.
"…we have a neighbor?
On cue, Tonky started to make some soft noises, as if the flying elephant-jellyfish was whispering to someone…or something.
Two seconds later, someone knocked on the door, once. Then, after a terrifyingly long pause, they did it again.
"…who wants to jump out of the second's floor window and fly away as fast as we can?" asked Keita while everyone stood up.
It was a true test of his bravery that Kirito, despite having been easily able to get out of there long before they could even blink, was the last one in going up the stairs, never giving his back to the door.
The males of the United Heroes Association certainly wouldn't be spending any time on the guild house until the girls came back.
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January 13th, 2026. Kyoto, Kansai. Yuuki Family Home, 22:30…
"Aaah…this is life." contently sighed a smiling Shinozaki Rika as her naked body sank into the hot water. Around her, the rest of the females present in the beautiful open hot springs of the Yuuki's house nodded in agreement, also enjoying the relaxing feeling.
It had certainly been a beautiful and enjoyable trip for everyone involved. They spent the first day mostly settling in and familiarizing themselves with the house and the surrounding area, to make sure nothing bad happened and no one got lost.
Yesterday, they went out and did what everyone went to Kyoto for: enjoying the sights.
The temples, shrines, palaces, gardens…It was almost magical, but in the real world. They make sure to take lots of pictures and, thanks to Yui and Strea, have access faster than anyone to info about the place they were visiting.
Most of them had never thought they would see the magnificent old capital outside of pictures. Until meeting them, Yuuki had been SURE she would never do so. Strea and Yui were perhaps even more fascinated by it all than her, making more questions than the ill girl despite actually having the ability to quickly access said information by themselves. She couldn't remember having had more fun ever before. The group of friends was very much inclined to agree, happy for her and themselves.
They went back home that day content and happy, then spent talking to each other about the places they had visited till late at night, almost as if was a pajama party (And Strea had somehow whipped out pajamas for herself, Yui and Yuuki to wear while they chatted, God knows from where). In the morning of the current day, they went out again after a fulfilling breakfast to continue touring through the city, making sure of choosing important and famous spots, because they knew that, sadly, it would be impossible to actually visit every single place of interest in Kyoto before they had to return.
Even so, they decided to stop for a while at midday and eat out in one of the traditional restaurants around, that Asuna recommended them because her brother once told her it was pretty good. After enjoying their meal, they had once again gone out and continued their sightseeing until it was late. Exhausted, they had finally decided to go back home, content but still sad that they would be returning home the next day in the morning. Not to mention that the last term of the current school year would begin soon after they returned…
And that was the reason why Asuna had called everyone there, both to relax…and to fulfill an almost-forgotten promise.
"It seems that it was a lifetime ago, uh?" commented Shiori after several seconds of content silence, looking up towards the night sky. "When we were back there in Aincrad and made a promise to get together like this again…"
"And here we are, finally. With new friends that we couldn't have expected at that time…" muttered Saori while looking at Suguha and Shino, who were looking at everyone's far-away looks with a mix of respect and awe. "But that just makes it all better, right?"
"It certainly does." said Asuna while giving the young kendoka, at the side of which she was sitting, an encouraging smile, which she returned almost without hesitation. Then, she turned to look at the small device that was just at the pool's edge, inside a special and transparent plastic container. "Sorry about it not being exactly as we promised, Yui-chan, Strea, but…"
"It's okay, Asuna! This is way more than we could have ever hoped for!" came the older-looking AI's cheerful voice from the Probe. "You don't know how happy I feel right now!"
"Besides, in a way, it's almost as if we were really there with you all!" added Yui with an excited tone, even as she turned to look at the other girl at her side. "Are you enjoying it too, Yuuki-san?"
"Uhm, yeah, but…how did you manage to get this thing here again?" questioned the hospitalized girl while looking around at the mid-sized 'Jacuzzi' where she and the girl girls were currently in, also enjoying the nice feeling of hot virtual water. "Don't get me wrong, it's nice and all, but I'm sure I would have noticed if the Medicuboid had a function like this in here…"
"Oh, we added it before the trip while you slept, don't worry about it!"
"Eh?! Won't we get in trouble for that?!"
"Leave them be." sighed Shino while shaking her head, the girl's hand moving slightly over her face before remembering she currently wasn't wearing her glasses. "Despite having known them for the shortest, I already know that once they do anything they will not only get away with it, but it will most likely end up being surprisingly positive."
"And as the one who has known them the longest, I can pretty much say you're 100% right, Sinon." came Kotone's resigned words while she looked towards the camera, taking the happy laughs coming from the Probe in stride.
"Those two doing unreasonable stuff and us considering it normal it's certainly something we all have come to accept, though. And you're right, this is almost exactly like we promised…" while saying this, Rika unconsciously looked towards the door that led to the changing rooms, a nostalgic smile appearing on her face. "We're only missing Kirito watching out so that no one gets inside behind that door."
Her words made almost every girl blink in surprise before blushing softly at the memory, Suguha and Shino just looking at everyone with utter surprise, seeming ready to ask…
"You really got Kirito to guard you all while taking a bath on the hot springs?!" Yuuki's surprised voice came from the Probe even as she leaned closer to the screen inside the virtual Jacuzzi, eyes shining. "Woah, I haven't heard that story!"
"Me neither…" whispered Suguha while blushing, suddenly having the strange need to cover her body.
"I'm not sure if I want to hear it, to be honest…" commented Shino while looking away, her words being betrayed by a curious blush spreading through her face.
"Aww, why not? It's a great story, and even more, it's a story with Papa on it!" cheerfully said Yui while splashing some water while standing up. "That just makes it even better!"
"Yui-chan, do-don't get dragged into Liz-san mood!" half-shouted Keiko with an extremely embarrassed look. "That won't lead to anything good!"
"Hey, I resent that, Silica! I'm a perfect role model, it's not my fault you're jealous of me because I'm more mature…"
"….THAT'S IT! I WON'T TAKE MORE OF THIS FROM YOU, LIZ-SAAAAAN!"
"What the…?! AHHH!"
"Holy…! Hey, girls, don't try to kill each other!"
"Isn't it more like Silica is trying to choke Liz?!"
"I'M NOT A LITTLE GIIIIRRRLLL!"
"Crap, somebody do something, Silica has gone berserk!"
"He-hey, calm down, we can't wreck a home that's not ours!"
"…heheh, with you guys one can always have fun, uh?"
"Yep, right on the mark, Yuuki-chan! Now, about that story on the hot springs…"
"Ah, no fair Strea-neee, I wanted to be the one telling it!"
"…hey, Asuna." muttered Suguha while looking at the madness unfolding around them. "…do you think it would be selfish of me…to wish for things to always stay like his?"
The chestnut-haired girl seemed to consider that for a moment before smiling.
"Maybe, Sugu-chan. But then again, what's the problem with that?" grinning, the Dual Wielder stared once again to the stars. "As Sensei would say…we just got to punch our way to make sure it happens, right?"
At that…Suguha's face blossomed into a beautiful smile.
In the middle of the utter chaos storm in which the hot springs had become (With Strea and Yui cheerfully ignoring everything to tell Yuuki the story of their first time in one), Shiori deadpanned at everyone before sighing and looking to the sky.
"I wonder what Kii-bou and the guys are up to right now…"
And meanwhile, somewhere above the eternal cloud that covers Yggdrasil's top…
"Uaaaaahhh!" screamed Ducker as he, well, ducked to the side, his wings' edges burning slightly from the massive stream of fire that almost engulfed him whole. "DRAGON!"
"Yes, we know, we can see it!" shouted Tetsuo as he spun in mid-air and barely ducked under a giant claw.
"A GIANT DRAGON!"
"For Heaven's sake, Ducker, calm down or all of this will have been for nothing!" came Sasamaru's panicking voice as he tried to cast a spell, only to be forced to stop midway and duck under a spike-covered tail. "Fuck!"
"How am I supposed to calm down when there is a giant dragon trying to eat us?!" shouted the dagger-user before turning towards the Leprechaun of the group. "Keita, man, let go of that damn twig, it's not worth whatever massive Death Penalty getting eaten by that thing is going to get us!"
"What are you saying?! Have you seen the magic-boosting stats of this thing?!" asked back the ex-guild leader while waving the 'Yggdrasil Branch', the wand-type item that they had obtained by pure dumb luck and that was the reason the enraged guardian beast was trying to destroy them. "Like hell we're letting go of it!"
"But no one in our guild actively uses magic!" retorted the despairing Ducker while the dragon roared once again at them.
"Let it go, Ducker, Keita obviously is trying to use that thing as a lifeline to convince himself that this wasn't a complete waste of time besides finding there is a floating palace above the World Tree, at which we can't actually get to because the NPC-Boss guarding it nicely asked us to leave and gave us more ambiguous lore about something that may happen when Aincrad's 100th Floor is reached!" cried Tetsuo as they once again dodged for dear life, a cloud filled with deadly lighting under them and a giant fire-breathing monster behind. "Gah…! Why did we left Kirito behind Swilvane's Lord House again?!"
"In hindsight, agreeing behind his back to leave him to have dinner with Sakuya-san in exchange for the info about this place wasn't exactly out best idea, all things considered…" weakly muttered Sasamaru while another wave of fire almost fried them.
"And now he's the one eating in the fancy place with the older and sexy woman who clearly has it for him while we're getting chased by a fucking dragon…" deadpanned Ducker for a moment before cursing to the heavens. "Why is his fucking luck so good when he doesn't even try?!"
That seemed to be the cue for the giant dragon to snap down and eat the cursing dagger-user whole. The rest of the boys panicked and flew faster.
"Aaaagh! We should at least have brought Tonky with us!"
"Yeah, because we're all SO eager to get back to Floor 22…"
"Kiritoooo! This is the last time we try to trick you behind your back, so please, appear from nowhere and save us like you do all the time!"
In answer, the dragon snapped down again and devoured Tetsuo whole. Exchanging a despairing look, both Keita and Sasamaru decided to say 'Fuck it' and let themselves fall down into the massive eternal cloud.
Surprisingly, Keita managed to survive.
At that moment, just walking outside Swilvane, a blinking Kirito wondered why he suddenly stopped feeling the need to get back at Keita and the others for literally abandoning him in Sakuya's place. It wasn't that having dinner with the Sylph Lady was unpleasant, not really, but he honestly had wanted to discover what became of that egg they gave Leviathan and what was hidden beyond the eternal cloud covering Yggdrasil's top. Sure, he could go by himself to check it out at any moment now, but it just wouldn't be the same to go do it alone…
Stopping his train of thought and his feet, the caped Spriggan silently looked up at the tall trees of the forest that covered Sylph territory, taking a moment to appreciate the fine detail of that virtual world.
Then, he turned his head to the side and spoke.
"Come out already and stop following me like a stalker."
"…I knew it was too much of a coincidence that you would suddenly decide to walk at a normal pace instead of at super speed." started the lab coat-wearing figure…just before a supersonic punch flew throw the air and STOPPED barely an inch from his face, the shockwave shaking and uprooting several of the nearby trees (Which promptly collapsed into polygons) and giving him a new and spiky hairstyle. "…okay, I'm very glad of being made of data right now. Otherwise, I think that would have probably made me piss my pants…"
"What the hell do you want, Kayaba?" growled the gamer while staring at the virtual ghost with a heavy scowl, even as he tried to reorder his lab coat.
"What do you think I have a specific reason? Can't I just come by to talk about the old times, Kirito-kun?"
"The next punch isn't going to stop halfway, you know…"
"…sigh, okay, you got me." muttered the ex-paladin before staring at Kirito with hard and serious eyes. "It's about the Deep-Scan Machine, Kirito-kun. And how you're planning to use it on Konno Yuuki."
"…I should have known you would show up to talk about THAT sooner or later." sighed the caped boy while lowering his fist, turning around to give his back to man. "Nevertheless, my words will be the same as if you came for any other reason: Fuck off, Kayaba."
"This is no joking matter, Kirito." the tone in the Kayaba's voice and the lack of the '-kun' suffix in his name were a clear indication for the Spriggan about how serious he was being. "When I used that machine on myself, I was fully ready and aware of all the consequences that would come with it, and I had taken all the steps necessary for everyone to think that it had FAILED. It was supposed to be either destroyed or forgotten in the darkness wherever the government took it…and now you have brought it out to the light again."
"Are YOU trying to give me moral lessons, Kayaba?" asked Kirito with a disbelief-filled tone, staring back at the virtual ghost. "Because I don't think you fully realize how sickly hilarious that is…"
"…yes, I am, in fact, aware of how hypocrite my words may sound, but that does not make them any less true." sighed the man in the lab coat before looking again towards the caped boy with hard eyes. "You're not stupid, Kirito-kun. Despite having all that 'power' you have always had quite a sharp mind to go with it, so you must know all the ways in which this can go wrong, not only for Konno-san but for everyone involved. And if the process does work with her, then you know people would want to use the machine for less noble purposes than yours, and also…"
"…why did you do that for Rinko?"
"…what?" questioned the wide-eyed Kayaba at the sudden interruption, staring at the teenager in front of him in shock.
"The fake bomb. The one you surgically put inside her to fool the authorities into thinking she had helped you under pressure and not by her free will." clarified Kirito while fully facing the man in the lab coat. "Why did you do it?"
"I…she didn't deserve to be also judged because of what I had…why does that have to with anything?!" finally shouted the virtual ghost, clearly not used to losing his cool like that.
"I just wanted to make sure…if you were the real Kayaba Akihiko or not." clarified the Spriggan while looking to the sky, shocking the man as he released a chuckle. "Even 'Heathcliff' could sometimes get caught off guard by an unexpected comment, usually something someone from my guild would say at a meeting to plan for the next Floor Boss…that humanity cannot be faked, one way or another. Even if you yourself don't think or are not sure that you're, well, 'yourself' or just a copy made of data…I can tell that you, indeed, are Kayaba Akihiko."
"…so, you have already taken a decision, uh?" summarized Kayaba while looking at the boy's eyes.
A familiar inner fire was burning in them.
"I'm going to save her, Kayaba. That's what I have decided, and nothing will stop me now that I have a chance to do so. Because that's what Kirigaya Kazuto wants to do…what a Hero would do." giving the virtual ghost a last look, the gamer crouched down, his cape billowing behind him as he readied himself. "And don't worry…I know what I'm doing. See you…later, I guess."
And with those final words, Kirito shot towards the heavens, deciding it would be best to at least head to Aincrad before Logging Out.
All alone in the Sylph forest, Kayaba Akihiko sighed one last time before smiling softly. It seemed like, once again, he would have to believe that the boy would do the right thing and take care of everything.
Giving how he did it with the Seed and against Death Gun, he was willing to believe he would be up to the task.
His face growing serious once again, though, he turned around and started to vanish, back into the virtual sea. Now that he had decided to entrust this matter to the young Hero, he needed to look into something that could potentially be way more disastrous.
It was time for the 'father' to find his runaway 'daughter'…
Back at Kyoto, everyone in the house was already in bed and getting ready to sleep, or already sleeping in some cases. In one particular room, Asuna stared at Suguha's sleeping form for a moment before sitting on her own bed, yawning for a moment before smiling towards the Bidirectional Communication Probe on the small table at her side.
"Goodnight, Yuuki."
"Goodnight!" answered the young girl with a bright smile while staring at the chestnut-haired girl on the screen, sitting at the edge of a noticeably big bed, Strea and Yui already sleeping (With the former smothering the latter on her bosom). "…hey, Asuna?"
"Yes?" asked the Dual Wielder with a raised eyebrow.
"…this has been something great. Thanks…for this trip, for being my friend…for everything." softly whispered Yuuki while looking to her feet.
There was a short and slightly sad silence as the chestnut-haired girl stared at the small camera, almost imagining the other girl not looking at her as she said that.
Both of them knew, after all, that she was saying it almost as a 'Goodbye'. In case anything went wrong and she really…had her days counted.
After all, they had needed to open her sealed room for a bit over an hour to install the Deep-Scan Machine over the Medicuboid, just a couple of days before the trip. Of course, Dr. Kurahashi had overseen everything and took all the precautions needed to minimize any possible damage or risk of infection to the girl's weak body…but it still wasn't a guarantee, even after the process was over and they resealed the room.
Konno Yuuki could still live for a year or more…or maybe die before next month.
Fate had just been that cruel with her.
"…let's come back here again next year, okay?" suddenly spoke Asuna with a warm tone, making Yuuki's eyes shot back to the screen, seeing the older girl smiling almost motherly at her. "And let's bring Sensei and the others! Hell, we can even bring Siune-san and the rest of the Sleeping Knights to also watch through the Probe if they want, I'm sure that by then Sensei, Keita-kun and Sachi will have upgraded it a lot!"
"Asuna…" for a moment, the sick girl could feel tears swelling in her eyes, before she furiously rubbed them and smiled brightly. "Yes…I would like that. A lot."
"Then it's a promise…Yuuki."
With those words spoken, the Dual Wielder turned off the lights and entered her bed, happy.
It truly was the perfect ending for a perfect trip with friends…
"…pssst, Asuna?"
"Uh…?" whispered the half-asleep girl, her eyes still closed "Is there something more, Yuu…?"
"I-I kind of…stole a kiss from Kirito during Christmas."
Asuna's eyes shot wide open.
In her 'sleep', Strea's left hand softly pumped into a victorious fist.
Phase 3 was going smoothly indeed…
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January 14th, 2026. Kawagoe, Saitama. Dicey Café, 17:30…
"Aaah…to think that we have to get back to school tomorrow…" complained Rika while shaking her head, almost letting it fall over the table. "This break was way too short…"
"Yeah, yeah, complain as if you didn't just return from a 3 days trip to Kyoto, look how sad for you we are." grumbled Takuya while annoyingly biting on a croissant as if it had particularly offended him, the dagger-user clearly not in the best of moods. "What were you doing in your free time anyway, besides going around enjoying the views?"
"We were having pillow wars in only our underwear every night." calmly stated Shiori while sipping on her coffee, making many of the group choke on their drinks and the males to stare at her with shock while the images clearly shot through their minds, their faces reflecting it all. "…isn't that what boys always think girls do when alone?"
"Wha-what the hell, Argo?! What kind of people do you think we a…?!" suddenly falling silent at seeing the trolling smile on the info broker's face, Kazuto groaned and facepalmed. "Goddammit…"
"You have to give her a point, the looks on your faces were priceless." grinned Kotone while calmly patting Saori on the back, the girl having been one of the spit-takes victims. "Feeling better…?"
"Ho-how could she…even joke that…?! Uh…guess we should already be used to her doing things like that when we less expect it…"
"A-as if we would do something as sha-shameless as that!" half-shouted a blushing Keiko, making several of the present females deadpan at her, as if she hadn't been the one to start a pseudo-war in the hot springs yesterday. "…a-and, uhm, wha-what were you all doing while we were in Kyoto?!"
"…we went and got a rare magic-casting item." emotionlessly declared Toshiyuki while closing his hand, the ex-guild leader almost seeming able to see the twig-like weapon on his hand.
"Really? How did you get it?" asked an honestly curious Shino after finishing cleaning the mess her drink had made on the table at Shiori's comment.
"…we prefer not to talk about it." somberly muttered Takuya. At his sides, Kenji and Yonaga silently agreed, nodding with clearly resigned looks, making the gathered girls blink.
"And, uhm…how has Tonky been doing these days?" questioned Suguha to try and change the mysteriously awkward topic…and blinked in surprise when the boys shuddered as one. "Ehm…did I say something bad?"
"He's…right, probably. We haven't gotten the time to check out the log house because of…reasons." vaguely explained Toshi while staring emptily at his coffee. The girls blinked.
Cleaning some glasses nearby, Andrew just sighed in resignation before walking away, the bald man having long since given up in trying to understand anything that happened between the 'heroic group'.
"Let's leave it at that for now…" commented the gamer in a low voice, before turning towards the strangely silent Asuna in front of him. "So…what did you want to tell me, Asuna?"
"Oh yeah, I was curious about that too." added Suguha while looking at the chestnut-haired girl, the young kendoka sitting just at the side of her friend, even as the rest of the group sank into a silent attempt for the girls to convince the rest of the boys to tell them exactly what had happened while they were away. "You suddenly went all serious this morning before we departed, telling me you wanted both of us to talk with Onii-chan about something…"
"…Sensei, to tell you the truth…" taking a deep breath before giving an awkward glance to the confused katana-user at her side, the Dual Wielder finally stared towards their boyfriend with serious eyes. "Yuuki-chan is in love with you."
Time seemed to stop even as Suguha GAPED towards Asuna and Kazuto just froze, his mind coming to a screeching halt while several metaphorical 'Error!' messages appeared on it.
The rest of the guild continued with their talking, cheerfully unaware of what the three of them were saying.
"…wha…what?" finally came from the black-haired boy's lips.
"Yuuki-chan?! With Onii-chan?! But…how, when…?!" finally calming down and taking several deep breaths, also thanking all that was hoy that she didn't SCREAM that, the young kendoka finally seemed to take a moment to think about her own questions. "No…wait, it makes perfect sense…ugh, dammit Onii-chan!"
"Wa-wait, what?! Ho-how does it even make sense?! I mean, Yuuki…! It doesn't…!"
"Kirito-kun, please, THINK about it." exasperatedly said the Dual Wielder while resisting the urge to facepalm. "First you made an impossibly big impression on her with your 'fight', then you barged into her life for no apparent reason and took it upon yourself to 'save her', and later when she got depressed and sad you decided to help her by literally fighting to the point she 'evolved' and managed to actually fight you at a level that only the likes of Kayaba have managed before…"
"Really, Onii-chan, what's with you always doing things like that when a girl is involved without realizing…" Suguha while putting her hands on her face.
"Ho-hold on a moment, Sugu, now you're exaggerating." tried to interject Kazuto with a nervous smile. "I mean, you're saying that as if every girl I know was in love with me or something like that!"
The most awkward silence that the gamer had experienced in his short life ensued. Confused, he blinked and looked from one of his girlfriends to the other, suddenly noticing the uneasiness filling their faces as they seemed unable to say anything. Eyes widening, the black-haired boy opened his mouth and quickly closed it, his mind going into overdrive. Suddenly, every single interaction he had had with his female friends was being projected before his eyes, their faces, expressions, reactions, and words from every time since he met each of them and how he himself had acted with them. His eyes widened again, threatening to fall off his face as a mix of dawning realization and horror appeared on them.
On the back of his mind, that small part of his brain that had always screamed at him to stop thinking in those situations smiled, having finally failed on his 'mission', and punches itself out of existence, leaving only a nearly-catatonic Kirigaya Kazuto frozen in place, mouth and eyes open to their limits.
"…okay, I…sometimes thought it would be kind of funny to see him react if he ever found out, but…"
"A-Asuna-san…I think he's not breathing…? Onii-chan?!"
"…oh God…" the boy with the power to punch everything into oblivion suddenly felt incredibly small, keenly aware of every single one of their female friends sitting nearby, even as he tried to contain his sudden need of running away (Which wouldn't have done much given as he currently lacked super speed). "I…I feel…so stupid, right now…"
"He-hey, Sensei, calm down, don't have a mental breakdown here!" nervously whispered Asuna while grabbing one of his tightly closed hands, Suguha doing the same with the other, while her eyes darted everywhere to make sure no one else realized that their 'leader' seemed about to suffer a heart attack. This was being awkward enough without getting everyone else involved.
"Sh-she's right, Onii-chan! Ju-just take some deep breaths and calm down…" tried to soothe him the young kendoka, making the gamer nod dumbly and do exactly that. "Guh, Asuna! Why did you even had to bring that up?!"
"Be-because, well…you see, Yuuki-chan has had a rough life, s-so I thought that, maybe…"
Before whatever the clearly nervous Dual Wielder could be said (And that would have probably finished cracked the currently damaged mentality of their boyfriend), however, the atmosphere of the bar was suddenly broken by everyone's phones starting to ring at the same time, freezing the whole group of friends and making them look in confusion at the devices.
"Wha…?"
"How is…?"
"Yui-chan?" answered Shiori, the first one to overcome the shock and actually answering. "What's wro…?"
"Yuuki-san! Her condition suddenly worsened!" the fear-filled words coming from the phone's speakers felt like a bucket of cold water over everyone's souls, even as a pale Asuna suddenly stood up. "The doctors are here, but…I don't think she's going to…"
The chestnut-haired girl was already running out of the café before the worried AI could say more. After a second of hesitation and exchanging a quick glance with Suguha, Kazuto ran after her.
Everyone else quickly answered their own phones too as they stood up…
0000000000000
"YUUKI!" shouted the Dual Wielder while entering the now open sealed room, barely aware of how Dr. Kurahashi and a couple of nurses were at the girl's side as she rushed to her side, looking how her sick body seemed to have troubles breathing, her eyes closed as if in pain. "Doctor?! What…?!"
"…I'm sorry…" whispered the man while looking down, even as the nurses silently left the room, both of them looking devastated. "It suddenly happened and we tried to do something, but…there is nothing that can be done."
"No…Yuuki…" muttered Asuna while grasping the girl's weak hand. "She…we promised…"
"…put her in the Medicuboid." came a surprisingly serious voice from the doorstep, making the chestnut-haired girl and the doctor to turn around to see Kazuto's grim face staring at them. "Please, Kurahashi-san. And…turn on the 'other' machine."
There was a tense silence while the Dual Wielder realized that there wasn't any trace left of the earlier 'shock' in the boy standing there, having been totally replaced by grim determination. Her 'Sensei' had apparently pushed all distracting thought away in favor of concentrating on this.
Finally, the bespectacled man nodded before doing so, the soft hum of the Medicuboid slowly starting to be drowned by the rising crescendo of the Deep-Scan Machine.
"…I don't trust you to the level of something like this, Kirigaya-san…but I trust Yuuki." softly said the man as he turned towards them and walked into the hallway, both teens following after Asuna hesitantly let go of the dying girl, the door closing sealed behind them. "I don't know what that machine does because she said it was better for me to not know, and that it should only be used when there was no other option left…which I consider this situation to be." closing his eyes, Kurahashi Kaito suddenly looked much older, his tired gaze sweeping over the silent SAO Survivors. "I have known that girl since she was little more than five years old. I watched her parents die…then her sister. So…if there is anything that can be done for her, something that even I using all my knowledge in medicine and helping her with the Medicuboid can…then please, do so. There are AmuSpheres on the adjacent room."
"…thanks for your confidence, Kurahashi-san." answered the black-haired boy with a nod, before grabbing his girlfriend's hand and guiding her to the aforementioned room.
"…Kirito-kun, the others…?"
"Strea and Yui told them to head back home and meet with us in ALO." explained the gamer while pointing at his phone, even as both of them entered the room and headed towards the AmuSpheres. "They probably knew we wouldn't have been able to be all here at the same time otherwise…"
"…this…this will work, right?" came the girl's voice in a pitifully small tone. "Yuuki-chan is…going to make it, right, Sensei?"
For a moment, the gamer looked at her with hesitation. All the ways in which this could go wrong or fail threatened to spill from his mouth, words about how he couldn't promise her that, how he had no true way of controlling whatever was about to happen…
But with just one look at her eyes, he knew exactly what he truly wanted to say.
"Yes, Asuna. She will."
A moment later, the Dual Wielder nodded at him and both put on the headgears, sitting down on the prepared beds and muttering the magic words that allowed one to jump from one world to the next.
"Link Start!"
When Asuna the Undine appeared on the log house of Floor 22, annoyed for the minute or so she had lost introducing her Login data into the hospital's AmuSphere, she shot towards the door and took flight the moment she was out, heading towards where she knew Yuuki would be.
She was too busy to notice the tall and slender figure in a suit leaning against the elephant-jellyfish called Tonky. Both of them stared after the flying girl before looking at each other and shrugging, the slender being retiring back to the forest now that it knew the owners of the house were back.
Meanwhile, in front of the tree of Floor 24…Kirito blurred into existence with a burst of speed, staring at the back of the Imp girl that was silently looking towards the tree's upper branches.
"…Yuuki."
"…oh. Hey there…Kirito…" softly greeted the Holy Swordswoman while turning around, a smile on her face despite the clearly weak and pained tone her voice had. "I was wondering if you would…come…"
"Hey!" shouted the Spriggan while running forward and catching her falling body, idly noticing how someone came flying and landed with brutal force near them. "Hang in there!"
"YUUKI!" rushing forward, the Dual Wielder knelt down at her Sensei's side, grabbing hold of her friend and looking at her with desperate eyes. "Yuuki-chan, I'm here! We're both here, stay with us!"
"Asu…na…" muttered Yuuki while looking at her, a smile blossoming on her face as she struggled for standing up. "Heh…it's funny…before, it was hurting a lot, but now I just don't feel anything…though I still feel…so tired…"
"It's okay, Yuuki…" whispered the caped Spriggan while biting his lips, feeling utterly powerless, despite all that he had done, as he stared at the Imp's state.
Several shouts caught the three's attention in that moment, making them turn around in time to see the Sleeping Knights coming, closely followed by the United Heroes Association, worried and disheveled looks on their faces as they rushed towards their leader and friend.
"Yuuki…" came Siune's voice as everyone stopped near her. "We…we're here."
"Ye-yeah, we…we came to see you, Yuuki." Nori's voice seemed about to break as tears spilled down her face, Talken and Jun actually holding her when she seemed about to fall down crying. "Be-because that's what friends do, right?"
"We're with you, Yuuki…as you have always been with us. From the beginning…" solemnly declared Tecchi while looking down, closing his fists as he slowly cried.
"Guys…thanks." smiled the Holy Swordswoman while looking at them. "You're the best friends…no, family that I could have ever asked for…"
"He-hey, don't say that now…" sobbed Jun while trying to keep smiling at her. "Yo-you will just make us feel em-embarrassed, you kno-know…?"
"Yuuki…we…we are all proud…of having met you. You are…always have been…" taking off his glasses because the tears were making them useless, Talken seemed unable to finish his declaration.
"It's okay, Talken…I'm happy of hearing you say that…" slowly, Yuuki's gaze moved from them to the also silently crying members of the UHA, who were hanging back a bit as they stared at the scene. "And you all…thank you, too. Especially you, girls…I really enjoyed that trip to Kyoto…"
"Yuuki…" started to say the caped boy, but fell silent at seeing the girl unsheathing Excaliber and raising it over her head, surprising everyone. "Wha…?"
"Would you please…look after this for a moment? It's yours, after all…not mine." explained the Imp before turning around and impaling the Ultimate Holy Sword on one of the biggest roots of the tree, the golden blade seemingly reflecting the light of the setting sun. "…there. Not as poetic as if…it had been a big stone, but… I guess this will do…"
"N-no!" shouted Asuna while standing up, grabbing the girl's hand. "Tha-that blade is yours, Yuuki! We all agreed to it, so please…!" her words died on her mouth when the Imp suddenly hugged her tightly, though lacking all the strength she knew the one called Zekken could usually muster. "Yu-Yuuki…?"
"Thanks for everything…Asuna. You will always be…like a second sister to me…" slowly letting go of her, the Holy Swordswoman turned to the silent Spriggan, who was staring at her with a grim look. "Hey…cheer up, Hero. I can't ever…thank you enough, either…for everything…"
"…you're going to be okay." muttered Kirito while raising a closed fist, tears spilling down his face, much to the confusion of the Sleeping Knights, who were looking from their dying friend and leader to the other two players. "I…I promise."
"…that's…more than enough…for me." finished Yuuki before closing her eyes and, moving her hand in a strange pattern, letting a black window with red numbers and data appear at her side.
She stared for a moment to the virtual interface Strea and Yui had done their best to prepare as a 'remote control' between the Medicuboid and the Deep-Scan Machine. Then, for what she felt may be the last time, one way or another, she looked towards the most important people she still had in her life.
The smile on her face widened as she pushed the button. After a few seconds, her body shook and, to everyone's horror, her Avatar exploded into a burst of polygons, a message of 'Disconnected' replacing the girl's body.
On the Yokohama North General Hospital, the energy levels of an entire floor suddenly skyrocketed as the energy running through the Deep-Scan Machine surpassed all the safety levels, the humming becoming deafening for an instant before something 'exploded' and everything fell silent, the spike of electricity cutting off the energy from the entire building for a few seconds before the generators started themselves again. Less than 10 seconds later, Kurahashi Kaito burst into the room where his longest patient had been, staring with fear and tears towards the bed, a small trail of smoke coming from the now useless machine that was under the Medicuboid.
Lying on her bed with was seemed like a small on her face, Konno Yuuki's corpse stood in eternal silence.
Back in front of the Tree in Floor 24, Excaliber suddenly started to shine…
0000000000000
Dark. Absolutely dark.
Everything was black, blacker than a starless night. Darkness was the first fear every human being ever had as a child because it was on their primal instincts to fear the unknown.
But for her…black didn't call childhood fears to mind first.
It called the image of a boy with a white cape, smiling at her and promising everything would be okay…
Yuuki's awareness returned from a moment to the next, in a painful and almost nauseating way.
She couldn't hear, couldn't talk, couldn't move, couldn't breathe and all that she could see was absolute darkness. For a moment, her mind sank into utter terror and despair, everything only worsening when she realized she couldn't even tell where her 'mind' actually started because she was sure there was no organ called brain supporting it anymore…
And all of a sudden, it stopped, when a small, almost nonexistent, spark appeared at the edge of her vision. A minuscule speck of golden light, which seemed to shine far away on the horizon, so far that it would have seemed impossible to reach for anyone else.
Yuuki, however, was finally able to talk when she saw it.
"Ex…caliber…?"
Startled at being able to hear her own voice, or at least what she thought was her voice, the girl (Or was she just a mind now?) became aware of her senses once more, using sheer willpower to 'keep them together' in a coherent way.
Slowly, painfully, she 'turned around' and centered her awareness, the whole of whatever she was now, on the small point of golden light.
She still couldn't move. She didn't have wings or legs here, not even a concept of 'direction'. There was no way for her to move through the darkness that each second seemed to threaten to swallow her more…
"Then don't move, Yuu. You don't need to do something so simple, after all."
"Aiko…nee…"
Right…she was right…she did not need to 'move'…
"You have to go back, don't you, Yuu? You still have…so many things to enjoy…so many promises to keep…so much happiness to give…"
…for she was Zekken. She was the Absolute Holy Sword. Konno Yuuki wouldn't let something as simple as 'nothingness' stop her…not when she had a reason to return.
Return to everything she held her…return to everything she loved.
"Say it, my imouto…"
In the eternal darkness…the one who was [Worthy] ordered.
"Shine, Blade of Sacred Bonds…"
Excaliber opened, everyone's eyes widening in absolute shock as they became unable to properly look at the incarnated concept in which the sword had become…except for the surprised boy of the cape, who took a hesitant step towards it even as the light which exploded made everyone try to cover their eyes…
In the eternal darkness, a figure made of pure golden light emerged, Yuuki taking a deep 'breath' now that she had something to call a 'body' once again, even if it was the concept of 'The Worth of Everyone's Bonds' made into ethereal light-flesh.
Nothing could 'move' in that darkness. And so, the Absolute Holy Sword did not.
She just simply CUT her way forward, tearing through the fragile 'reality' of that non-place, tearing away the darkness and heading straight for the ever-distant light of her blade.
Every instant, she felt the darkness trying to claim her. Every instant, she felt senseless whispers telling her to surrender. Every instant, she felt as of something Superior was ordering her to stop, that her road and destiny had ended and that she could move forward no more.
She ignored it all and cut forward, the bond that tied her with Excaliber and that was subsequently tied with those who had freed the blade from its icy prison allowing her light-encased consciousness to stay firm.
Yuuki cut through the nothingness that should have ended her existence faster than anything imaginable. She could already see the blinding light swallowing her 'vision', feel the warm edge of the holy blade just ahead, waiting for her to return…
And she 'crashed', stopped against an unseen 'wall'. Shocked, the Absolute Holy Sword hammered her conceptual body against it, but the 'barrier' stood stoically, unshakable and unbreakable.
This was no simple 'wall', after all. This was the limit between that which existed and that which didn't. Everything could cross from the other side to the darkness…but nothing was allowed to return once that had happened.
Despairingly, Yuuki realized that she would have been unable to cut through it even if she had her conceptual blade on hand.
The darkness grew darker. The nothingness became deeper. Suddenly, she could feel it tearing apart at the light that she had for 'flesh' now, seeking to devour the remaining awareness that identified herself as Konno Yuuki.
It was her Fate, after all. Nothing could stop it. She was to vanish into oblivion, and it could not be changed.
Grasping one last time at the barrier of eternity with hands made of pure light, the Absolute Holy Sword never stopped trying to get past it, never gave up the hope of accomplishing the impossible.
Because she really wanted to go back. Go back to him…to them…and be happy with everyone.
She…wanted to live.
And when it seemed that her wordless plea would go unanswered…the Eternal Barrier shook.
If Yuuki hadn't been so sure of how crazy it sounded, she would have sworn she felt the absolute darkness around her froze and GAP when the wall that represented the unbreakable and inviolable limit of everything that Was and Wasn't BROKE in a million pieces, like cheap glass.
In absolute wonder, the Absolute Holy Sword stared at that which had broken through the golden light and caused this.
A closed fist, covered by a white glove…
Then, it opened, reached forward and closed around the light-flesh of her 'hand', pulling her through the quickly restoring barrier, even as the unreality around her screamed in indignation…
"…well, this is more than surprising. I guess I will have to leave my little sister in your care…but make sure to never make her cry, okay? Because I swear, inexistent fragment of memory or not, I WILL come to haunt you if you do…get it…?"
Blinking in the middle of the burning light that prevented him from actually seeing anything, Kirito wondered if he had finally gone insane when the faint words reached his mind before faintly vanishing from his perception, but decided to ignore such thoughts in favor of guiding the hand he was gripping back towards the hilt of the conceptual sword before him.
As if seeing a golden angel descending upon the mortal realm, the shocked members of the United Heroes Association and the Sleeping Knights watched in awe as the light-form of the Absolute Holy Sword appeared, the caped Spriggan guiding her hand back to the hilt of her conceptual blade.
With but a move (cut) of her aural hand, Excaliber came free of the root where it had been embedded…and it 'closed'.
The rushing sound of materializing polygons seemed to overcome the golden figure as it vanished…and Yuuki the Imp landed on her own feet with a gasp, taking several quick breaths as she used the now normal-looking holy blade as a crutch.
Slowly, and vaguely aware of the muted silence filling the small island of the imposing tree behind her, the girl raised her gaze and locked it with the wide-eyed one of the gamer, who seemed to still be wondering if she was truly there.
"…did you just punch the barrier between Life and Death just to get me back?" asked the one called Zekken with a bright smile, shattering the silent spell that had apparently taken over the frozen teen.
"Uh…eh…what?" muttered a blinking Kirito. "N-no, c'mon, that's just…crazy. I just…felt that I had to reach for you so I, uhm…did…and…"
Honest and innocently pure happiness in the form of laughter interrupted the boy's rambling words, even as Yuuki jumped and trapped him in a mighty hug, tears running down her eyes.
That seemed to be the cue for everyone else to react.
"Yu…YUUKI!" shouted Asuna while happy tears rolled down her eyes, flying towards the Imp girl just as she let go of the shocked Spriggan and turned to receive her with open arms.
"Asuna, Asuna…! I'm here…I'm here!" cried the Holy Swordswoman while everyone rushed forward.
"I can't believe…!"
"Yuuki-chan…!"
"Yay! It worked, it worked…!"
"But how…?! Why…?!"
"Who cares, Siune?! Yuuki-chan is back…she's still with us!"
"Got to hand it to you, girl…I almost lost my whiskers in worry for a minute back there…"
"We did it! We did it…!"
"We…welcome home, Yuuki-san, sniff…."
As he watched the scene developing in front of him, faintly aware of the tears running down his own eyes, Kirito…no, Kirigaya Kazuto smiled. He suddenly understood how Saitama felt when Licenseless Rider thanked him for what he had done to stop the Sea King.
Because as he walked forward to welcome a friend they had almost lost…the caped boy felt like a real Hero.
On Its Throne Above Everything, [FATE]'s hand closed with a metaphysical equivalent to 'Rage'.
Destiny had been broken, and the lines of the future had been altered.
Now…Chaos would rule everything…until Order was restored.
By force, if necessary…
NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW!
"Hiii, everyone! This is Yui, extremely happy and ready to give the next chapter's preview! Let's do it! Next time on 'One Punch-Gamer': Interlude 'Hopeful Justice'. A curtain rises as things come to an end. With smiles on their faces, the Heroes are ready to hold hands together and look towards the future…but a shadow that has rejected the path of humanity looms over them…Uh? That sounds kind of bad…but no matter! Papa did it, we saved Yuuki-san! Hmm…should I start calling her Yuuki-mama, though? Maybe I should wait till we-"
END OF THE PREVIEW!
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Woah, man, going back through this chapter sure brought back good memories...hope you enjoyed it, that's the end of the Mother's Rosario for this story! Now, the 'last arc', which is completely original, starts.
But before that, enjoy today's Omake too if you follow them! (Today it was small enough to fit here XD)
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Omake: One Punch-Servant 4
On his last moments, Matou Zouken couldn't help but wonder how it was possible for him to have ended up being so totally and utterly screwed.
Things seemed to have been going well, after whatever that thing he had felt through his familiars had vanished from his perception again. Even so, the old Magus had never been tenser than the hours that went from that day to the next one, waiting for Sakura to return home, and as such letting him once again have his soul in a 'safe' place. The annoying part was how much it had taken, because, even if his 'granddaughter' hadn't really been affected much by Rider's Blood Fort Andromeda, the shock of suddenly being reconnected with her Servant when the idiot of Shinji (Who was currently in a coma with several broken bones, not that anyone cared) lost the Book of False Attendant. As such, she hadn't woken up till late that morning, and the staff of the hospital had only let the girl go 'home' when the evening was about to end and the night to once again take place.
Zouken hadn't realized something was wrong until he felt Sakura entering the house. That had been when he noticed that, much to his confusion, Rider didn't seem to be anywhere near her.
That was when the connection with all the Crest Worms he had on the house proper suddenly 'vanished', as if something had cut it off. With growing panic, he was aware of how every single Bounded Field that had protected the Matou Manor for generations was broken from the inside out. And finally, he felt how the purple-haired girl upstairs collapsed forward, as if she had suddenly fallen unconscious.
Someone stopped her fall, though. Someone that just HADN'T been there a second ago.
And it was that someone who was calmly walking down the stairs of the basement at that moment, humming a happy tune about rainbows and stars, all the while carrying the 'sleeping' form of his granddaughter on her arms.
His worms retreated in fright from the girl as she cheerfully arrived at the basement's floor, allowing the old Magus to finally have a proper look at her.
Red-pink eyes and lavender hair, not to mention her wide an almost unnatural smile. Also, she was wearing an 'armor' that couldn't really be called that, mostly purple and bronze in color, covering her body less than a normal bikini would, not to mention the unnecessarily long and apparently unpractical parts of cloth that went around her arms and waist, and which seemed to float together in a way that defied gravity. Completing the 'costume' there was some sort of elegant necklace with a red gem rested and what seemed like two metallic 'horns' of bronze metal coming out of the sides of her head, which were either part of the same headdress or went over her ears, but it was impossible to tell as they disappeared inside her hair.
On her back, there was a massive and ominous blade of a dark magenta color, which seemed to be oozing some sort of unnatural 'darkness' all around, and that was probably the cause why his familiars were going mad with terror.
The most 'terrifying' thing about the Pseudo-Servant (Because Zouken was now sure that was what she was), though, wasn't her sinister-looking Noble Phantasm, no. It was that she wasn't even looking at the repulsive worms or at the old Magus standing in the middle of them.
Her soft smile never left Sakura's face, even as she kept humming and caressed her cheek.
"Okaa-san…? Nee-san…?…Ojii-san…?" muttered the girl while squirming in the Pseudo-Servant's arms, as if lost in a long-forgotten memory.
"Shh, it's okay, little Sakura. It's only a nightmare." whispered the red-eyed girl while smiling even more. "When you wake up, everything will be better."
Seemingly content with those words, the Matou girl stopped squirming and smiled peacefully, even as the darkness coming from the massive sword softly caressed her body. Then, the Pseudo-Servant turned her gaze towards Matou Zouken.
The old Magus had been alive for centuries. He had long-since overcome the concept of simple 'fear', and his current and disgusting existence made it so that not even Servants scared him nowadays, confident he could survive the incarnated Heroic Spirits if he was careful enough.
And yet, the moment the now emotionless face of the red-eyes girl settle over his rotting body, he felt as if he was just a pathetic and common worm, faced by a massive Predator about to crush him without care.
All the warmth that had been previously present on the girl's face was now gone, replaced by something Hollow that threatened to swallow everything around…
"Stop right there, Servant, or I will kill the girl in your arms." snarled Zouken while gripping his cane tightly, hoping to stall the abomination in front of him by using her apparent interest on Sakura's life.
That was the wrong thing to say, for darkness immediately seemed to explode angrily from the blade on the Pseudo-Servant's back, engulfing her form whole and also covering the young girl's prone body.
Suddenly, the old Magus found his fake body shake, the Crest Worms that formed it convulsing as he found himself unable to 'breathe'.
Every single worm inside Sakura, from the smallest to the one that held his soul at her heart's side, was suddenly frozen and 'choking', something unnatural looming over them like tendrils of demonic cold.
"…in life, they called me Demon Empress, you know? Everyone always thought it was a joke that had to do with my looks and blade…but only my friends knew…" muttered the girl with an emotionless voice, taking a step forward. "That it was because how I act against things I hate…"
It was as unnatural as Zouken's existence, just worse, and in a different way. After all, the girl in front of him hated the Magus existence with all her being, not because of the horrible things he had done to the poor teenager in her arms (Though that also added to her rage), but because of what he had done to himself.
He had thrown away his humanity for a stupid and selfish goal, turning into an abomination that lived like rot and ruining more lives to seek eternal life.
She herself, despite finally discovering she had a 'soul', had never been human, and even if everyone she loved had accepted her for what she and her sister were, it never changed the fact that she would wish to have been born like them countless times.
The monster in front of her had lost his respect for his own humanity long ago, treating it like something useless. He was truly nothing more than a worm.
And the Darkness inside her, that which sometimes overrode her ever-happy and cheerful nature, when she was angry or something threatened what she loved, wanted to crush said worm.
The old Magus felt the Prana in the air skyrocket and looked in terror towards the 'Demon Empress', raising a hand towards her.
"N-no, wait, you…!"
"Devour, Gram." ordered the Pseudo-Servant with a voice that seemed to call forth the Night itself.
The sword on her back 'opened'…
And suddenly, there was no girl or Servant in front of the rotten man anymore. There was just an abomination that was everywhere and nowhere. There was just [Darkness], staring down at him with ruby eyes that seemed like a curse meant to end all that lived. He thought, for a moment, that he saw claws longer than swords and countless limbs that seemed to twist in every direction before the [Darkness] became so absolute he was unable to see half the basement.
Adopting this 'form' wasn't difficult at all for the one who was called Demon Empress. As someone who had never been human, becoming something truly inhuman was child's play, not damaging her psyche in the slightest.
The old Magus knew there was no escape, for suddenly every single shadow, every single dark corner of his domain, was coming alive, eating his Crest Worms and everything else on its way, the [Darkness] answering to the call of its mistress, even as, one by one, he felt every single worm inside Sakura start disappearing, no harm coming to the girl even as everything else around them simply 'ceased to exist'. Devoured forever by the [Darkness].
For a single, soul-terrifying moment, Matou Zouken, the once one called Makiri Zolgen, screamed like a horrified child trapped in a never-ending nightmare, even as the [Darkness] stopped playing and engulfed everything.
He still was alive for 5 of the most horrible and excruciating seconds before it grew bored and also devoured the worm that contained his soul. The last founder of the Grail War 'alive' ceased to be.
Just outside the Matou Manor, Emiya Shirou cringed when heard a scream that shook his very soul. Nervous, he glanced at the silent and cross-armed form of his Servant, Savior staring unflinchingly and without emotion towards the dark house.
When he had told the young Master they needed to hurry there, because Sakura was in trouble, the Magus had all but rushed out of his home, only remembering halfway that it would be faster if he let the Hero carry him there.
Even so, when they had arrived, Savior had told him to wait and, reluctantly, he had done so. He also wondered why he felt no need of rushing to rescue whoever had screamed a moment ago.
When he saw something that seemed like black ethereal 'flames' erupt from the house's top, however, he was already ready to ignore the caped Servant's warning and rush inside…when the main door opened and a beautiful girl stepped outside. Shirou may have taken more notice of her scandalous way of dressing if it wasn't for the fact that she was carrying an unconscious Sakura in her arms.
The moment she saw them, the tired and sad look on her eyes was replaced with a bright smile, the girl almost skipping towards the shocked red-head Magus and literally forcing the unconscious Matou girl on his arms. She seemed to smile softly when this happened.
"There! I did my best, but she may still be pretty shocked when she wakes up, so she's going to need a lot of support, especially yours, okay? I suggest that, for her sake, you spent as much time as you can at her side, from some years to the rest of your life."
After happily speaking her 'innocent' declaration, the Pseudo-Servant let the blinking Master behind and walked towards Savior, even as the Magus realized that he actually knew who she was.
He had also seen her in the dreams of his Servant's past (Which he had seen more of last night), the always happy and upbeat girl that was in truth an Artificial Intelligence (A concept that still boggled the mind of the young Emiya). And the blade she carried on her back was the Demonic Sword Gram, which she had obtained after a certain 'incident' when the caped Hero went to the world ruled by fairies…
"…was it really so bad you had to go 'Devouring Darkness Blade'?" asked the Servant of the Cape with a small grimace, even as he looked towards the 'burning' Matou house.
"Well, you saw part of it through the link of the, what was it called, Noble Phantasm, right?" shrugged the girl while smiling at him. "It was mostly for her sake, though. I'm pretty sure any of us could have ended that bastard, but very few would have been able to without also killing the poor girl. Now, she has a chance to live happily too…"
"…you're right." muttered Savior while closing his eyes, grimacing slightly at the memories that ran through the link, muddled as they were by the girl's 'power', about what had happened to Matou Sakura and what 'Matou Zouken' had been.
There was a time when he would have needed to, as he used to say, 'call upon his inner Saitama', almost to the limit to not throw up horrified at the implications. But that had been long ago.
Before the madness of the Underworld. Before [FATE].
Then, without any apparent warning, the Pseudo-Servant's body started to…'vanish', her flesh turning transparent as she blinked and particles of Prana started to float away from her body.
"He-hey, what's wrong?!" asked a worried Shirou while walking near them. "What is…?!"
"Oops…looks like my time is up." sighed the red-eyed girl with disappointment, a hand over her right cheek. "Kind of unfair, even Silica-chan still has a bit left as long as she doesn't call Pina again…that's what I get for going all out in this body." smiling again at the silent Servant of the Cape, the girl brightly gave him a thumbs-up. "Well, before going, may I as well tell you what I found out, fast! So, there is something dark under the church of the obviously evil priest, at least two of these 'Servants' are holed up in that temple above the mountain and there is something sinisterly evil and powerful under it. This whole Holy Grail War thing seems to be very screwed in some dark sense…"
"…the story of our lives, uh? Things can never be simple." sighed the Hero before staring straight on the girl's eyes, softly grabbing her hands. "See you later, Strea."
For all answer, the vanishing Pseudo-Servant leaned forward and kissed him. The young Magus became aware he probably shouldn't be staring when his Servant kissed back, even as he looked to the side, wide-eyed.
"…I love you." whispered her while leaning on his chest. "Hopefully we can spend some time just relaxing next time we're summoned…"
"You say that as if we didn't do that when we aren't in the mortal plane." chuckled Savior while hugging her softly. "…love you too, Strea."
Shocked, Shirou stared at the smile that blossomed on the girl's face at those words. As if her whole existence had been given meaning just by hearing them.
It was identical to the one he had seen in Kiritsugu's face that day, just with shine and vibrant eyes instead of the empty ones of his father.
The Caped Servant's face turned into a similar one for a second before the physical form of the heroine once known as Demon Empress collapsed into Prana, her spirit returning to the Throne, Fate's Grudge as always making everything that had happened ever-present.
The Hero never stopped smiling as he looked to the sky, though, which just filled his awed Master with wonder.
What had happened to the boy that had almost seemed about to suffer an aneurysm when the red-eyed girl first told him she loved him, even as he struggled to cope with the feelings he had for his disciple/best friend and his adoptive sister/cousin? How had he become someone able to smile like that with simple words and a gesture?
Would he find the answer if he kept watching his past? Or should he just go and ask him himself right then…?
"…Savior…"
"Let's get going, Shirou." interrupted the Servant of the Cape while looking at his Master, his now normal and calm smile back on his face. "We need to get your 'friend' somewhere to rest, explain to Rin why we ran out without telling her AND discuss everything Strea just told me."
Blinking, the young Emiya looked back down, as if just remembering he was carrying Sakura on his arms (And was it his imagination or was she leaning closer to him than before?), and instantly sweatdropped.
Oh yeah, he wasn't looking forward to explaining any of this to Tohsaka. At least things couldn't get any weirde…
"You can come out now, by the way." suddenly called Savior while looking to the side. "I saw Strea talking to you before through our link."
The Servant Rider appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the street, making Shirou tense. Surprisingly, though, she just lowered her head as if in respect towards them.
"Thanks for helping my true Master. As I promised Demon Empress, I won't try and fight you or achieve the Grail. Besides knowing that it's hopeless at this point, I only want to protect Sakura." proclaimed the purple-haired woman before staring back at them with her blindfolded gaze.
Nodding dumbly, the young Magus pointed forward.
"O-okay, just…follow us, I guess."
Silently accepting his words, the gorgon vanished into her spirit form, hovering over the unconscious Matou girl.
Chuckling at the scene, Savior just walked forward, starting to head back to the Emiya Home without a care in the world. Behind him, Shirou gulped.
He REALLY didn't want to deal with explaining all of this to Rin…