Chapter 4
As though falling into a bottomless pit, she was assaulted by the
sensation that she was rapidly falling.
The world abruptly turned 90 degrees and she suddenly felt a
pressure against her back. Right afterwards, her five senses
reconnected with a crash, causing Asuna's entire body to stiffen.
Her eyelids twitched a couple of times as she laboriously opened
her eyes which were blurred by tears, and she saw the ceiling of her
room.
Finally, she felt the soft feeling of her familiar bed coming from
behind her back. Repeatedly breathing shallowly a couple of times, the
confusion in her nervous system gradually went away.
What in the world happened? Was there a momentary power
failure, or did her AmuSphere malfunction — She thought about this,
and finally took a deep breath. Asuna felt that it was rather strange that
there was the scent of a perfume which she doesn't use in the air, she
held herself up with her arm and immediately opened her mouth
dumbfounded.
Her mother stood at her bedside with a terrible expression, her
right hand holding a light gray wire. This was the power cord that
should've been connected to the DC port of the AmuSphere which
Asuna wore on her head. The reason she disconnected abnormally was
because Kyouko unplugged the machine's power source.
Understanding this, Asuna didn't hold back her flustered voice.
"What... What are you doing, mom!"
However, Kyouko frowned deeply and silently looked at the north
wall. Asuna followed her line of sight and noticed the hands of the
embedded clock, it was around five minutes past 6:30.
Asuna can't help but bite her lips, and Kyouko finally opened her
mouth.
"Mother has already said so when you were late for dinner a
month ago. The next time you play this game until you're late, I'll cut
off the power source."
Facing the overly cold tone which seemed to be flaunting her
victory, Asuna almost reflexively shouted back. However, she lowered
her head and desperately swallowed the impulse, and said with a quiet,
quivering voice.
"... Forgetting the time is my mistake. However, you didn't have to
cut off the power source. If you shake my body and shout in my ear, I'll
receive an alarm inside..."
"When I did this in the past, didn't it take another five minutes
before you to opened your eyes?"
"That's... Moving away, saying goodbye, various things like that..."
"What goodbye? You're placing partings in that kind of
incomprehensible game over actual promises? Don't you feel sorry for
the housekeeper if the food she painstakingly prepared goes cold?"
— The other person is real even if it's inside a game, moreover,
isn't mother the one who makes a phone call before going to university
and completely wastes the food — many similar retorts flashed across
her mind. However, Asuna once again lowered her head and deeply
breathed out her trembling breath. What came out of her mouth was
just a short sentence.
"... Sorry. I'll pay attention next time."
"There won't be a next time. Didn't I already tell you, the next
time you're negligent because of that thing, I'll confisicate it. Besides..."
Kyouko curled her lips slightly, and glanced at the AmuSphere
which was still on Asuna's head.
"Mother really doesn't understand you. Didn't you already waste
two valuable years because of that strange machine? Don't you feel
disgusted just looking at it?"
"This... is different from Nerve Gear."
Muttering this, she removed the two metal rings from her head.
Reflecting on the SAO event, AmuSphere was filled to the brim with
safeguards, but she immediately felt that it was useless to explain.
Moreover, even if the hardware was different, it's true that Asuna fell
into a vegetative state for two years due to a VRMMO. During that time,
Kyouko was also very worried and was once even prepared for Asuna's
death. She had to understand, understand why her mother hated the
machine.
Asuna kept quiet, Kyouko let out a large sigh and turned towards
the door.
"Let's eat. Change your clothes and come down right away."
"... I'm not going to eat today."
Even though she felt sorry for the housekeeper Akiyo who
prepared dinner, she really didn't want to eat face-to-face with her
mother.
"Do what you want."
Lightly shaking her head, Kyouko walked out of the room. Once
the door closed with a click, Asuna stretched her hand towards the
control panel and changed the mode to rapid ventilation in an attempt
to drive away the remaining fragance of her mother's strong cologne,
but it continued to linger annoyingly for a long time.
The excitement from meeting «Absolute Sword» Yuuki, her
fascinating companions and the foreboding of a new adventure
vanished like a snowball exposed to sunlight. Asuna stood up, opened
her wardrobe, pulled out a pair of faded jeans with a hole around the
knee and stretched her leg into it. She put on a rather thick cotton
hoodie, and wore a white down overcoat over it. These were one of the
few clothes which weren't chosen by her mother.
Quickly tidying her hair, she grabbed her purse and mobile and
quickly walked out of her room. As she walked down the stairs, put on
her shoes in the foyer and was about to open the heavy door, a sharp
voice came from the panel set in the wall to her side.
『Asuna! Where are you going at this kind of time?!』
However, Asuna didn't reply, she turned the handle before her
mother can lock the door remotely. The instant she opened the door,
metal bars flew out from both sides, but Asuna just managed to leap
outside first. The damp, ice-cold night air hit her face.
Quickly crossing the road, she exited the courtyard from the door
next to the main gate and finally let out a large breath. The air she
breathed out turned white and floated before her eyes before gradually
thinning and disappearing. She pulled up her overcoat's zipper, put her
hands in her pocket and rushed towards the Miyanosaka station of the
Tokyu Setagaya Line.
She wasn't running away from home, although she ran outside as
though to lash at her mother, Asuna understood that she was being
nothing but childish and rebellious. This anxiety further increased the
powerlessness she felt in her heart.
Arriving at a residential area with large, contiguous houses,
Asuna stopped in front of a small children's park which stood alone.
Sitting on a reverse U-shaped metal pipe at the entrance, she took out
her mobile from her pocket.
She slided her finger across the screen, and called out Kirito —
Kazuto's page from her phone book. Asuna put her finger on the call
button, but closed her eyes and lowered her head in the end.
She wanted to call Kazuto and tell him: Bring an extra helmet and
come pick me up on your motorcycle. Sitting on the back seat of the
small, noisy yet fast motorcycle, tightly holding Kazuto's waist, and
speeding straight forward towards anywhere in the new year's empty
highways. If it's like that, the confusion in her mind would surely
disappear right away, like when she's flying full speed in Alfheim.
However, if she saw Kazuto now, she'd definitely be unable to
hold back her emotions and would weep while telling him everything.
About how she must transfer schools. About how she might not be able
to go on ALO again. The cold reality which had thrust Asuna in a set
direction since she was young, and herself who couldn't do anything
against it — in other words, she'd tell him everything about her
weakness which she had hidden up till now.
Asuna removed her finger from the mobile's button, and quietly
pressed the sleep button. After grasping it tightly once, she returned it
to her pocket.
She wanted to be strong. A strong will which won't waver for
even a moment. The strength to not rely on her fosterers and head
towards the direction she hoped for.
But at the same time, a voice cried out that she wanted to be weak.
She wanted to be able to not mask herself, and be a weakling which can
cry when she wanted to cry. A weakling which can ask others to hug
her, protect her, help her.
Snowflakes began to fall. They hit her face, immediately melted
and streamed down. Asuna lifted her face, and silently watched the
scattered white dots falling in the pale dusk.