Chapter 12

The slight touch on the right shoulder of the uniform caused

Asuna to look over; it was a light sakura petal on it.

The girl used a fingertip of her left hand to tap it. It was an oval

shaped petal without any stains on it, looking as if it wanted to indicate

something as it continued to move. It finally floated with the breeze

and disappeared amongst the many white spots dancing in the air.

Putting her hands back on her knees, Asuna looked at the blurry spring

sky again.

Right now, it's the first Saturday of April, 3pm.

It has been a week since Yuuki died, and her funeral had just

ended. The location of the funeral was a Christian church surrounded

by sakura trees in the hilly region of Hodogaya, Yokohama District, and

the petals that started falling looked like they were sending Yuuki off

—however, the funeral itself was far from the stereotype of being

'solemn'. Including the aunt, who was the mourner, there were only

four relatives who attended the funeral. However, there were more

than 100 youths who claimed to be Yuuki's friends. Of course, these

people in their teens and twenties were all players of ALO. The relative

who accepted the signatures at the counter may have thought that

Yuuki didn't have many friends because she had been hospitalized for

more than 3 years, and seemed to be thoroughly shocked by the

turnout.

Once the funeral ended, everyone was at the large front yard in

front of the church discussing the «Absolute Sword» incident, but

Asuna herself couldn't get together with the crowd for some reason,

and she quietly left to find a bench behind the shadows of the church

sanctuary as she looked up at the sky by herself.

Yuuki had left this world—the Yuuki who said hello through a

probe on the shoulder, the Yuuki who smiled when she saw Asuna's

cooking in the home of forests, had gone to a faraway place and would

never come back. Up till now, Asuna couldn't accept this fact. This girl

wasn't crying anymore, but whether it was in the midst of a noisy

crowd, a corner in a café, or in the winds of Alfheim, her heart raced

whenever she thought she heard Yuuki's voice.

During the past few days, Asuna had been thinking about what

«life» exactly meant.

All lifeforms were instruments of gene transfer that existed to

increase the chances of their own blood's continued existence in the

future. Decades ago, this saying seemed to have caused a commotion. If

it was viewed merely through this point, even people who suffered

from HIV in such an age, lack of an immune system or something

similar would only be considered a mere lifeform. However, this virus

would continue to multiply and duplicate itself until it took the life of

its host Yuuki, causing her death.

If one thought of it in another way, humans had been doing the

same thing for thousands of years. they took other people's lives for

their own gain, they sacrificed other countries to ensure their own

countries' safety. Even when she looked up at the sky, she could see a

formation of fighter jets flying from Atsugi base to an unknown place,

letting out white contrails on the other side of the spring scenery. Will

humans one day destroy the world they exist in like this virus? Or will

they be defeated by some organism with higher intelligence and be

cast away…?

The last words Yuuki left behind still echoed in Asuna's ears. She

said that she couldn't create anything in this world, and couldn't give

any help to others—Yuuki herself didn't leave any of her genes behind

as she left this world.

However, Asuna's inner thoughts were moving as she touched the

butterfly knot on her uniform. Yuuki did use this instantaneous touch

to leave a mark that couldn't be erased deep inside her heart. The soul

of the «Absolute Sword» and the heroic bearing that challenged this

great difficulty continued to live on in Asuna's heart. The youths that

were present amounted to more than 100, and they should have the

same thoughts as Asuna. Even as the memories fade with time, even as

the memories crystallize, there would be something in everyone's

hearts.

In that case, life wasn't just a transfer of information through the

4 bases. It was an instrument that could hold memories, mind and soul

that didn't have any physical bodies. In the distant future, if humans

could really create a complete medium of a spirit through memes or an

ambiguous state where the brain mimics the virus, the incomplete life

of humanity could then use this to prevent their own extinction—

Until that day comes, I must use a way I can to transfer Yuuki's soul

on. When I have children, I will continue to explain this incident to them,

I will let them know that in a gap between reality and the virtual world,

a miraculous petite girl once let out such a glow.

Asuna muttered to herself deep in her heart, and then silently

opened those eyes that she did not know she had closed.

She saw a figure coming over from a corner of the building in

front of the porch, and hurriedly used her fingers to wipe away the

tears in her eyes.

It was a lady. Asuna felt that she met her before somewhere, but

didn't have any impression on that face at all. That woman's body was

slightly tall, and she had a simple looking black one-piece dress with a

shawl covering her shoulders. She had shoulder-length black hair, and

the silver necklace in front of her chest was the only ornament on her.

She looked like she was in her twenties.

The woman headed over to Asuna and finally stopped slightly in

front of her before bowing. Asuna hurriedly got up, and once she lifted

her head, the seemingly transparent clear skin of the woman entered

her eyes. The pale white reminded Asuna of herself when she woke up

from her long slumber. Looking at it closely, one could tell that the

woman's neck which was exposed out of the shawl was as slender as a

wrist, it looked like it would break with a single touch.

The other party stared wordlessly at Asuna's face for a while, and

then, those beautiful date-shaped eyes showed a tender expression as

her lips showed a slight smile.

"Are you Asuna-san? You look just like you did in the virtual

world. I recognized you at first glance."

On hearing those calm and wise words, Asuna immediately

guessed who this woman in front of her was.

"Ah…are you, Shiune-san…?"

"Ehh, that's right. My real name's An Shi En. Nice to meet

you…and long time no see."

"Ni, nice to meet you for the first time! I'm Yuuki Asuna. We

haven't met for a week."

After the somewhat awkward greeting, both of them started

chuckling. Asuna used her left hand to indicate for Shi En to sit down

on the bench, and she sat down beside her.

At this moment, Asuna noticed something. All the Sleeping

Knights members were probably patients who were struck with

terminal illnesses and needed care at a hospice. Was it really alright for

her to come out alone like that…?

Shi En seemed to notice Asuna's concern as she nodded her head

slightly before saying,

"Don't worry. I finally got permission to go out during April. My

brother came along with me too, but I wanted him to wait for me

outside."

"…Then…your body's already…?"

"Yes…I had acute lymphoblastic leukemia… in other words, the

leukemia in my body disappeared... I had it three years ago, and I went

into remission after undergoing chemotherapy... But I fell ill again last

year…after that relapse, the doctor indicated that the only effective

treatment was a bone marrow transplant. But the white blood cell

composition of my family members didn't match mine…and the bone

bank didn't have any suitable donors for me. I was already mentally

ready and decided to make use of my remaining time…"

Shi En paused for a while and looked at the sakura flowers above.

A small little vortex breeze whipped up several flower petals and made

them dance like snowflakes.

"—Once my illness relapsed, I couldn't undergo a bone marrow

transplant, and was administered all sorts of drugs and salvage

chemotherapy to ease the pain. But because of the overuse of new and

test drugs, the side effects were really serious…it was really so tough

that I had thought of giving up a few times. I told the attending doctor

many times before that if there's no hope, just let me go through

chemotherapy so that I can go through my last moments…"

Asuna suddenly noticed that Shi En's hair that swayed with the

sakura flowers was actually a wig.

"But…whenever I met Yuuki, I just had the thought of not giving

up easily. Yuuki had been fighting with the same pain for 15 years, and

how could I, someone older than her, give up after a mere three years

of treatment? I kept telling myself this—however, the amount of

medication dropped slowly since February this year…and the doctor

told me that my condition was improving. However, I just felt in my

heart that the moment finally came. They changed my medications

from the salvaging chemotherapy type to the treatment more common

for standard living. I was really scared then…and yet felt at ease. I

knew about Yuuki's condition, so I felt…if Yuuki's with me, it doesn't

matter even if I go to another world. No matter where I go, she'll be

protecting me…it's funny, isn't it? Yuuki's younger than me, yet I rely

on her so much…"

"No…I can understand."

Asuna replied simply and nodded her head. Shi En then smiled

and nodded as she continued on,

"—In the end…a week ago, the following day after I said farewell

to Yuuki, the doctor came to my room…and said that I had recovered

completely…the leukemia has completely vanished, and I could be

discharged. I was wondering what nonsense he was spouting, whether

he was just letting me go back to meet my family and say my farewells?

I was wondering about that…and in the midst of confusion, I was really

discharged two days later. Yesterday, I even felt that I may be cured. I

heard that a certain test drug was really effective…"

Shi En paused for a while again, and her smile was twisted with a

somewhat teary expression.

"But, I just felt that something didn't feel right. This time was

given to me when I felt that it was long gone, and only served to bother

me. And…and to Yuuki, this is…"

Shi En's voice trembled a little, and when Asuna noticed the little

tears that appeared in the corners of her eyes, she couldn't help but

feel sad too.

"Yuuki was waiting, yet I'm the only one waiting. Is this really

already…I already promised Yuuki, Ran-san, Clovis and Merida

that…we'll always be together…yet I…yet I…"

Shi En couldn't talk any further as she lowered her head and her

shoulders continued to tremble.

Ran-san should be the first guild leader, which would make her

Yuuki's older sister. The other two should be Sleeping Knight members

who were already dead. The members of the Sleeping Knights may

have experienced the most devastating and painful lives in this world,

and the trials that were experienced may be more reliable than being

family or lovers in a certain sense. Asuna felt that she had no right to

say anything, but she couldn't help but do so.

She reached her left hand out and silently covered Shi En's right

hand that was placed on the bench. Shi En's fingers were thin, but

Asuna really felt a sense of warmth from the hand.

"Shi En-san. I've…been recently thinking about…life should be

something that can hold and pass a person's thoughts. For a long time,

I've been scared of expressing my thoughts to others, and I didn't dare

to look into other people's thoughts. But Yuuki told me that there was

nothing to be scared of. I want to pass this strength I learnt from Yuuki

to more people. I hope that while I'm still alive, I can pass Yuuki's

thoughts to further places, and then…when I meet Yuuki again, I hope

that I can pass her even more thoughts."

It was a little interrupted, but Asuna still tried her best to say

such words. She felt that she didn't express more than half of her

emotions, but Shi En, who lowered her head, slowly nodded her head

deeply as she put her other hand on Asuna's left hand.

Shi En lifted her face, and though those beautiful black eyes were

stained with tears, she was smiling.

"Thank you…Asuna-san."

After muttering that, Shi En reached her arms out to hug Asuna,

and Asuna hugged her thin body hard. Shi En then whispered beside

Asuna's eyes,

"We're all thankful to you, Asuna-san. Ever since Yuuki's sister,

Ran-san died, Yuuki's been trying her best to encourage and support us

in place of her sister, and we ended up over-relying on her…whether

it's pain or difficulties, Yuuki would lend her strength to support us.

You might feel that it's pointless saying this now…I was really worried

about Yuuki. I was wondering who would be Yuuki's pillar of support.

She was always smiling and never showed any signs of irritation…but I

was worried that one day, the petite her would bear too much and

crumble…at that moment—you appeared. Yuuki looked really happy

when she was with you, Asuna-san. She just looked so natural, like a

bird who finally knew how to fly. She seemed to be able to fly so high

into the skies…until we couldn't reach it…and then left us…"

After saying this, Shi En paused for a moment, and the screen

inside Asuna's heart showed an instant glimpse of Yuuki becoming a

bird and flying high in the other world.

Shi En moved her body aside and smiled in a somewhat sheepish

manner. She used her fingers to wipe away her tears, and took a deep

breath before saying in a clear voice:

"—Actually, it's not just me. Jun…was also afflicted with cancer

that was tough to treat, but recently, the drug that was given started to

work really well, and I heard that the tumor got smaller. It's like

Yuuki's telling both of us that it's too early for us. Looks like it'll be a

long time before the Sleeping Knights are finally together."

"…Yeah. Next time, you must put me as a formal member."

Asuna and Shi En exchanged looks with each other, fufu, and

started laughing. They lifted their heads and looked at the sakuracolored sky. The steady breeze blew from behind, shaking their hair.

Asuna imagined Yuuki hugging both of them on the shoulders and

flying off while flapping her wings, and then silently closed her eyes

again.

A few minutes passed just like that. Two sets of new footsteps

that approached them broke this silence. They turned their faces

behind, and saw a boy wearing the same uniform as Asuna — Kirigaya

Kazuto, and Doctor Kurahashi in black robes, walking over.

Asuna and Shi En got up and greeted the two people who

approached them. They both nodded their heads. Kazuto then said to

Asuna,

"So you're here. Did I bother you two?"

"No. But…eh? Kirito-kun, you know Doctor Kurahashi?"

"Uun…recently. Because of that message probe recently, we've

been using email to contact each other."

Doctor Kurahashi then interrupted,

"Yeah. That camera was really interesting, so I was discussing

with him over whether it was suitable for use in FullDive Technology."

"I see. Then…that means…"

Asuna suddenly thought of something, and asked the doctor,

"How's the testing with the Medicuboid? Did someone inherit that

screen…?"

On hearing that, the doctor immediately smiled and nodded his

head hard, saying,

"Ah, it's nothing. We got sufficient data for the testing. We're

proceeding with negotiations with the manufacturers for a practical

product. Maybe An-san and the rest can use Medicuboid soon…"

The last parts of these words were said to Shi En, but after talking

till here, the doctor widened his eyes and hurriedly said,

"Ahh, I'm really sorry. I should have said this right from the

beginning—congratulations on your discharge, An-san. I suppose

Yuuki… should be rather happy…"

Shi En tightly grabbed the hand the doctor had extended over and

nodded her head hard. Then, she held hands with Kazuto, whom she

befriended in the game.

"Thank you. I may not need to use the Medicuboid now…but I'm

happy…about the thoughts that I can leave a data of my memory to

bless many people fighting with illnesses."

Once Shi En said that, the doctor continued nodding.

"Yes. As the first tester of that machine, Yuuki's name will live on

forever—I really want to award this prize to her and the external

provider who came up with the initial design…"

"I suppose Yuuki didn't want the prize. She may have said that

prizes couldn't be eaten."

Shi En's words caused everyone to laugh. As the calm laughter

subsided, Asuna noticed some part of the words Doctor Kurahashi said,

and repeated it,

"Then…doctor, who did you say was the external provider of the

initial design…? Wasn't Medicuboid designed by a medical device

manufacturer?"

"Ahh…erm, about that."

The doctor seemed to be racking his own memory as he

narrowed his eyes.

"Of course, the device was manufactured by the device

manufacturer, but the so-called core of the device, the basic design of

the high-density signal component was provided for free by an

external party. I remember that person was a female…should be a

researcher in a foreign university. But she's Japanese…erm, she's

called…"

Doctor Kurahashi then said the name. Asuna never heard of it

before, and Shi En should be the same too, but the expression Kazuto

showed caused Asuna to gasp.

Kazuto seemed to have heard something unbelievable as his

expression became really hollow. His pale lips trembled a few times.

"Wha…what's with you, Kirito-kun?"

Asuna called out in a panicked manner, but Kazuto just remained

silent. After a while, his lips let out a hoarse voice.

"I…I know that person."

"Eh…?"

"And I met her before…"

Kazuto immediately looked at Asuna's eyes. His black iris looked

like they went through time and space as he looked as if he was staring

at a certain other world.

"When Heathcliff dived…that person took care of him. Both of

them researched the FullDive technology in the same lab in the

university…in other words, the real provider for Medicuboid's basic

design was…"

"…"

At this moment, Asuna couldn't talk.

Does this mean—Medicuboid and «The Seed Nexus» were both

born out of the seed that person grew?

Shi En and Doctor Kurahashi tilted their heads in a puzzled

manner, but Kazuto couldn't answer their question. He could only look

completely bewildered as he stared at the sakura petals that continued

to float by his eyes.

Suddenly, Asuna felt a large torrent of time flowing through.

This world called «reality» is basically one of the many truths.

Besides it, there were also high tectonics that formed the earth

like numerous flower petals gathering.

And right now, a large force that covered the world and continued

to move forward was slowly showing its shape—

Asuna used her arms to hug her body tightly. At this moment, a

strong gust of wind blew, causing the petals that were floating nearby

to be taken into the distant sky.