My name is Kazuto Kirigaya, and I was born on October 7th, 2008…as

far as I know.

This year is supposedly my eighteenth on this planet, and yet I don't

feel entirely connected to that fact. Perhaps that's because I have

absolutely no memory of my birth parents, who died when I was still

a baby.

My birth father's name was Yukito Narusaka. My birth mother's

name was Aoi Narusaka. If it hadn't been for the car accident that

took their lives and gravely injured me, I would have grown up with

the name Kazuto Narusaka. Maybe my online nickname would have

been Naruto instead of Kirito—but I can't be sure of that.

For one thing, my interest in computers came from Midori, the

mother who raised me, and my addiction to online games was in no

small part a result of my loss of self-identity after learning I was a

foster child. Perhaps Kazuto Narusaka would have grown up without

any interest in computer games at all and never gotten stuck in the

SAO Incident. At this point, such conjecture is pointless.

At any rate, ever since I peered at my national ID information when I

was ten and learned the truth, I had a hard time feeling a true

connection to my birthday. When I was in my second year of middle

school, at my most rebellious stage, I refused to celebrate it at home

and ended up making my adoptive sister, Suguha, cry.

Now, of course, I regret being so foolish, and last year's birthday was

quite a big celebration, given that the previous two had happened in

Aincrad. But even then, I could not fully accept the reality that I was

born on October 7th. Most likely, that feeling would last until I knew

everything there was to know about my birth parents.

Page | 16

And now my birthday was coming around again, in just ten days.

When I turned eighteen, I would be allowed to get a driver's license

and exercise my right to vote. Suguha was apparently making

arrangements for a party; I was under strict instruction to return

home immediately after school that day, and I was looking forward

to it. But at this point in time, I had no leeway to think about my own

birthday.

Because one week before that, on September 30th, just three days

from today, was Asuna's birthday.

"Papa, have you decided on what you'll be giving Mama for her

birthday?" asked the little fairy sitting on the rim of my mug.

I was leaning against the back of my mesh desk chair. "I haven't. I'm

still thinking about it…"

The little fairy sounded less like a child and more like an older sister

when she scolded, "Whether you're going to buy it at the store or

order it online, it's not going to be in time if you don't decide soon. I

wouldn't recommend the tightrope schedule you opted for last year,

when you had to use your lunch break on the big day to pick it up!"

"I'd rather avoid that feeling of terror, too, but it's just really hard!

Asuna never talks about how she wants this or that…Yui, do you

think you could find a way to ask her what she wants?"

Yui, the artificial intelligence we met in SAO and had adopted as our

daughter, was not having it. "You can't cheat like that! Mama will

love anything you get for her, as long as you choose it yourself!"

"Yeah, I know that's true as a general rule, but…," I said, trailing off.

For her birthday last year, after much hemming and hawing, I finally

settled on a red scarf for Asuna. I had decided on that because Asuna

had a ninety-minute commute to school, which I thought would be

very harsh on her in the middle of the winter. She did indeed wear it

Page | 17

all through November to February, but the truth was, Asuna had

enough scarves that she could tie them all up and play a giant game

of jump rope with them. Surely some of them had better protection

against the cold, too…but I only realized that after the worst of the

winter was over.

So this year, I wanted to get away from practical items, but that was

getting into territory a VRMMO addict like me knew little about. It

was easy to find web pages like "recommended accessory brands,

separated by age range," but making my decision based on that felt

wrong.

"Hmmmm…"

I stretched and reached for the mug Yui was sitting on. The little pixie

flitted off and landed instead on a flat-screen display that I wasn't

using much anymore. I downed the rest of my lukewarm cappuccino.

Before this, I wasn't able to communicate with Yui in the real world without the AVIC (Audiovisual Interactive Communication) probe

that I had built at school. But thanks to a wearable multi-device

called the Augma that hit the market this April, that problem was a

thing of the past. Based on the information coming from my visual

sensor, Yui could map out the 3D objects on my desk, like cups and

monitors, in real time and make herself appear in my view in a

physically accurate manner, without clipping through objects or

surfaces. She claimed she preferred the AVIC probe, because she

could control its camera of her own volition, but that on its own

wouldn't let me hear Yui's voice. I ought to be thankful to the Augma

for making it possible to see my beloved little daughter in the real

world at all.

It was with this thought in mind that I extended my hand, letting Yui

flap her tiny wings until she landed on my fingertip. I didn't feel any

weight, of course, because she wasn't a physical object, but the

Page | 18

warmth and texture of her pale-pink dress was so convincing that it

was almost like I was seeing it in a virtual world. Now that she was

much closer, I brushed Yui's head with my left hand and looked at

the bed on the other side of my room.

Atop the blanket, which I'd aired out just earlier in the day, rested

my headgear-type VR interface, the AmuSphere. After a year and a

half of heavy use, its exterior was getting worn out, and the design

that seemed so cool and fresh when I first saw it looked clunky next

to the Augma—but I still preferred the full-dive experience over

augmented reality or mixed reality.

"Say, Yui. I'm going to pick out Asuna's present on my own," I said,

looking back at the fairy on my hand. "But before that, I can do a

little research, right? I plan to buy it in person rather than ordering it,

so I have a bit more time to work with."

Based solely on the nonverbal cue of the glance I gave toward the

AmuSphere, the AI showed considerable perception in anticipating

my intentions. Yui shrugged and said, "Well, I suppose I can't stop

you. I'll be waiting for you in there!"

She jumped off my finger, bounced and rotated in the air, and then

vanished into a little spray of light. I stood up from my chair and took

the Augma off my left ear. The virtual desktop vanished at once,

revealing a wider view of the room. In a moment, I turned to the

west-facing window.

It was Sunday, September 27th. The fall equinox had passed just four

days ago, but it already felt like the sunset was happening much

earlier. It was only four o'clock, but the carpet of spotty cirrocumulus

clouds above was already golden.

Page | 19

Much closer to the ground, flocks of birds were flying back to their

nests for the night, and as I watched them, I thought I caught a

glimpse of a white tower splitting the sunset in two.

The vision caused me to blink quickly several times.

I pressed a hand to my heart to shake off the sudden swell of

emotion and then walked over to my bed. There, I put on the

AmuSphere and went to lie down with my head on a folded blanket.

Closing my eyes, I whispered the magic words:

"…Link Start."

And then rainbow light surrounded my mind, transporting me to a

far-off fairyland.