Yui's Heart

November 1st, 2024 - 1st Floor: Town of Beginnings

We were in a church that has been turned into an orphanage and we were invited by Sasha to come in

And wow there is a lot of children inside

Kirito: "This is... amazing..."

Hikari: "You can say that again."

Asuna: "Yeah..." Sasha chuckles

Sasha: "It's like this every day." She then gets onto the subject

Sasha: "Is Yui-chan okay?"

Kirito: "We made sure she got a good night's sleep, so she's recovered." Yui was just eating her meal after she woke up

Sasha: "Has this ever happened before?"

Hikari: "It's the first time we've seen it so we don't know."

Asuna: "She was wandering around in a forest on the 22nd Floor. It seems... she's lost her memories."

Sasha: "My..."

Asuna: "that's why we came here-" Yui gave her bread and smiled at her

Asuna: "We figured there might be someone here that knows her."

Kirito: "Anybody, in particular, come to mind?"

Hikari: "More specifically any siblings or parents?" Sasha thinks for a second but shakes her head

Sasha: "Sadly, I don't think she ever lived in the Starting Town."

Sasha: "When the game began, most of the children were traumatized. I couldn't leave them to fend for themselves, so I brought them to this church. I walk around town every day looking for children in need, but I've never seen anybody who looks like Yui-chan."

Asuna: "I see." We were disappointed since we're back into square one but then we heard a knock on the door

We then opened the door and see Yulier

Yulier: "Pleased to meet you. I'm Yulier." The instant I saw her clothing my eyes started changing

Hikari: 'Calm down Calm down I know she's good.' I took deep breaths which Yui seems to notice but didn't question

Asuna: "You're from the Army, right? Have you come to rebuke us for our actions yesterday?"

Yulier: "Not at all. Far from it. In fact, it's the opposite. I actually wish to thank you for a job well done." The pair was kind of confused why she said that but they continued listening

Yulier: "I've come today to ask for your assistance."

Asuna: "Assistance?"

We decided to listen to her request and Yui was leaning on my arm since she was feeling sleepy again

Yulier: "Originally, we- No, our guild leader, Thinker, never intended to create the oppressive organization that we are today. He only wanted to provide information and food to all those who needed it."

Kirito: "But then, the Army grew too large."

Yulier: "Yes. In the midst of internal struggles, a man called Kibaou rose to power." The two of them flinched but I was ticked off when I heard his name

Yulier: "Kibaou's faction grew in power, monopolized efficient hunting grounds, and even went as far as to extort people under the pretense of tax collection."

Hikari: 'Freaking bastard.' Yui then hugs my arm to which I regain my composure and continued listening not before giving Yui a glass of milk for her to drink

Yulier: "However, an increasing number of people disapproved of Kibaou's neglect toward clearing the game, leading him to dispatch his highest-leveled players to the front lines."

Asuna: "Kovatz-san..."

Hikari: "So it was him that made them suddenly go to the front lines."

Yulier: "That terrible outcome caused Kibaou to be heavily reprimanded. It even reached the point where we'd have been able to exile him from the guild, but... in an act of separation, Kibaou lured Thinker into a trap."

Yulier: "Thinker was deserted, deep inside a dungeon." We were surprised by this

Kirito: "What about teleport crystals?!" She shook her head

Asuna: "Did he go empty-handed?!"

Yulier: "He was too trusting. He agreed to Kibaou's request to converse unarmed..."

Hikari: "I'm speechless..." How the hell would anybody agree to that?

Yulier: "It happened three days ago."

Asuna: "Three days ago? So where's Thinker-san now?"

Yulier: "He's deep inside a rather high-level dungeon, and it seems he's unable to escape... As his aide, I'm to blame for everything that's happened. However, it's impossible for me to save him at my level, and due to Kibaou's influence, I can't count on the Army either."

Yulier: "That's why, when I heard that Hikari-san and two other players of untold power appeared in town, I immediately went to seek their assistance."

Hikari: "Wait you know me?"

Yulier: "Yes I heard that Kibaou was talking about you and... I want to sincerely apologize for the troubles we caused and I know my apology won't be enough but I hope you can accept it."

Kirito: "What trouble?" I sighed and Asuna and Kirito were looking at me expecting an answer

Hikari: "If you really want to know... Asuna remember when I went out to gather more items?" She nodded

Asuna: "What about it?" I closed my eyes and tell them the story

Hikari: "On the 20th Floor when I was finished gathering the items I needed. One of the Army Members called out to me begging to help his teammates. I agreed and what's supposed to be a rescue mission turned out to be an ambush set up to kill me." Yulier was bowing her head in guilt and the others except Yui was shocked by this

Asuna: "T-They tried to kill you?!"

Hikari: "Yep. They even said it was Kibaou who told them to do it because they still think I'm an ex-beta tester."

Kirito: "But what happened?"

Hikari: "Apparently they were stupid enough to lead me to an area filled with monsters and they got killed because of it. I couldn't save them because of the number of monsters that were around me but the fact is clear that Kibaou tried to kill me." Kirito and Asuna were still shocked by what I said

Hikari: 'Seems like they bought it.' Of course, I wouldn't tell them I killed them all and not only that but Laughing Coffin was involved as well

I didn't notice but Yui was looking at me with a sad face and she hugged me in the arm and I pet her head

Yulier: "Kirito-san, Asuna-san, and Hikari-san I know we have a bad history with each other but, will you three please accompany me to rescue Thinker?" She stands up and bows

Asuna: "If it's something we're capable of, we'd like to help you. Still, we need to confirm your story first. And not only that but you've got our friend involved before as well."

Yulier: "I'm aware that I'm being unreasonable. But when I wonder how he's doing, I... feel like I'm going to lose my mind." The pair looks down to think again but

Yui: "It's okay, Mama. She's not lying."

Asuna: "Y-Yui-chan, you can tell?"

Yui: "Yeah. I dunno how to explain it... but I can." She gives a bright smile to Asuna then Kirito chuckles

Kirito: "I'd rather regret trusting her than regret doubting her. Let's go it'll work out somehow, right?" He gives a goofy smile

Asuna: "Then how about you Hikari? What's would you do?" I looked at Yui who still hugging me by the arm she gives me the cutest smile I've ever seen and I sighed

Hikari: "I hate the Army that's for a fact..." Yulier gets a bit sad but

Hikari: "But... I know you're a good person and I'm sure Thinker is as well." She looks up at me

Hikari: "So I guess I'll help you out. Besides like Kirito said it'll work out somehow. Right, Kirito"

Kirito: "You bet." And we chuckled to each other

Asuna: "You two are as optimistic as ever. We'll do what we can to help you." Yulier bows again

Yulier: "I cannot thank you enough." She wipes her tears

Asuna: "I can sympathize with your feeling of wanting to save someone dear to you."

Kirito: "Wait here until we're back, okay?" He says while rubbing her head

Yui: "No, I'm going too!"

Sasha: "Yui-chan, let's wait for them here together."

Yui: "No!"

Kirito: "Wow, so this is the so-called "rebellious phase", huh?"

Asuna: "Don't be silly! Yui-chan, the place we're headed to is dangerous." She then gets up and hugs Kirito

Yui: "I'm going too!" Kirito and Asuna looks at me while I just shrugged

Hikari: "There's three of us so I'm sure it's going to be fine."

1st Floor: Town of Beginnings Black Iron Castle

Asuna: "I never imagined a dungeon like this would be beneath the Starting Town..."

Kirito: "This wasn't around during the beta test. How careless."

Hikari: "It's like a secret dungeon." I said while Yui was humming and playing with my long hair since I was carrying her on my shoulders

Hikari: 'Kirito said if she wants him to carry her but she insisted that I carry her. I guess I am fulfilling the role of a big sister.'

Yulier: "It's probably an area that wasn't accessible until certain floors higher up were cleared. Kibaou was planning to monopolize this dungeon."

Kirito: "There is a lot to be gained with a personal hunting ground."

Yulier: "Nevertheless, strong monsters from the 60th Floor spawn here, so it seems he wasn't able to hunt much."

Hikari: "That's a shame."

~Few more minutes later~

Yulier: "This is the entrance."

Hikari: 'Huh a dark stairway that leads deeper underground totally nothing suspicious.' Yui who was still on my shoulders stared at it in awe

Yui: "I'm not scared."

Yulier: "Eh?"

Asuna: "It's fine. She's much stronger than she looks."

Hikari: "She's brave since she got to the 22nd Floor without any scratch right Kirito?"

Kirito: "Mhm I'm sure she'll grow up to be a fine swordsman." Yui nods and we all chuckled

Yulier: "Then let's continue." We walked down the stairs

We found a lot of Scavenger Toad and Kirito decided to just kill them all and Yui was amazed at how strong her Papa is while still sitting on my shoulders

Yulier: "I-I apologize for not being any help."

Asuna: "It's fine. He's more than willing to do all the fighting."

Hikari: "Yeah and he'll pretty much do anything to get an item." Yulier then tracks Thinkers location

Asuna: "We've come pretty far. Are we close?"

Yulier: "Thinker has not moved from this position. I have a reason to believe that he's in a safe area. IF we get there, we can use our teleport crystals."

Kirito: "Man, that was a nice mob!"

Yulier: "Sorry about that."

Kirito: "Well, I do it because I want to and I get drops too."

Hikari: "See?"

Asuna: "Oh, did something good drop?"

Kirito: "Yep!" He then takes out the item and it was...

Scavenge Toad Meat

Asuna: "Wh-What is that?" She seems pretty disgusted by it

Kirito: "Scavenge Toad Meat."

Asuna: "What, from the frogs earlier?!"

Kirito: "They do say the stranger it is, the better it tastes."

Hikari: "Who told you that?"

Kirito: "Me. Anyway can you cook it for me later?" He hands it out to Asuna

Asuna: "Not in a million years!" She grabs it and throws it away and it shattered

Kirito: "Wh-What are you doing?!"

Asuna: "Hmph!"

Kirito: "Dammit! If that's how you wanna play... How's this?!" He shows a bunch of more Scavenge Toad Meat and Asuna just instantly gets disgusted by it

Asuna: "No! No! No! No! No!" She keeps throwing it away

Kirito: "A-Asuna! M-My precious meat!"

Yui: "Onee-chan why is Mama throwing it away?" Yui who peeks her head above my view

Hikari: "Oh this sometimes happens when Asuna sees foods that look disgusting." I then pat her head

Hikari: 'But I tried it and it was delicious I don't see any reason why would she throw it."

Asuna: "Toss it already!"

Kirito: "I'm telling you, they're delicious!" And while Asuna put it in his mouth Yulier was chuckling at the pair and I and Yui notices it

Yui: "You laughed!"

Yulier: "Huh?" The pair stopped what they were doing

Yui: "That's the first time I've seen you laugh!"

Hikari: "Now that she mentions it she's right." Yulier then smiles at Yui and she smiled back being really happy

Hikari: "Now then would you two quit it?" I say to the two

Yui: "Let's go!" She points in the direction and I started walking with Yui on my shoulders and Kirito catches up to me

Kirito: "Pst I still have a few more Scavenge Toad Meat how about you cook it for me?"

Hikari: "I-"

Asuna: "Oh no she isn't right Hikari? And you Mister you better throw it all away right now!"

Kirito: "But Asuna!" I just continued walking and Yui continues playing with my hair

~After a while later~

After a while of walking, we can see a white room ahead with Yui sleeping on my head

Asuna: "It's a safe area." Kirito then inspect the room

Kirito: "There's a player inside it."

Hikari: "It might be Thinker who's inside." I said while Yui was just waking up

Once I said Thinkers names Yulier instantly calls out to him

Yulier: "Thinker!" She then runs up to the room

Kirito: "Hey, wait!" We then walk a little bit faster to catch up to her

Thinker: "Yulier!"

Yulier: "Thinker!" The four of us smiled at each other for an upcoming reunion but

Thinker: "Don't come this way! That passage is-"

Kirito: "What?" We all then saw the name "The Fatal Scythe"

Asuna: "Stop!" She couldn't hear us but kept running

Asuna: "Yuriel-san, come back!"

Hikari: "Go to her now Kirito!" He nods and rushes toward Yulier

Just then a scythe came down to her but Kirito pushed her away just in time

I put Yui down to the ground

Asuna: "Please take refuge in the safe area with Yui."

Yuriel: "O-Okay"

Yui: "Mama... Onee-chan..." Yui was taken by Yulier to take to the safe room

Hikari: "Don't worry Yui your Mama and Sister will be alright." I smiled and I and Asuna rush toward to help Kirito

Hikari: 'Oh my god... It's like a freaking Grim Reaper.'

Kirito: "Asuna, Hikari. Take Yui and the others and escape using the teleport crystals."

Kirito: "Even with my Identification skill, I can't read its data."

Hikari: 'It's true I can't either I would if I was in a higher level.' No matter how many times I identify it, it just shows "Unknown"

Kirito: "It seems like a monster that belongs on the 90th Floor. I'll buy you guys time, so hurry!"

Asuna: "Ki-Kirito-kun, not without y-"

Kirito: "I'll catch up! Hurry" We then look at Yui who just have concern for us

Yui: "Mama... Onee-chan..."

...

...

...

Both of us look at each other and smiled

Asuna: "Yulier! Take care of Yui! Please escape with her!"

Kirito: "Asuna!"

Hikari: "Yeah not happening pal there's no way you can solo this."

Yulier: "We couldn't-"

Asuna: "Hurry!" They both nod and we both run to help Kirito

Hikari: 'This is going to be a pain.'

The boss then swung its giant scythe and we triple guarded it but

*CLASH*

Asuna&Hikari&Kirito: "AGGGGHHH!" We were sent flying into the air and landed to the ground

Hikari: 'Ouch... That took half of my HP..." The three of us tried to get up but failed

Hikari: 'I can't get up...'

The Boss then starts to come close to Kirito

Asuna: "Kirito-kun!"

Yulier: "Yui-chan! Stop! It's dangerous!" Yui was coming out while the two were teleporting

Thinker: "Come ba-" They were now teleported to the Starting Town and Yui walked right in front of the boss

Kirito: "You idiot! Get out of here already!"

Asuna: "Yui-chan!" The boss was going to ready another attack

Yui: "It's okay, Papa, Mama, Onee-chan." The Boss started to attack her

Asuna: "Yui-chan!" She closed her eyes

But...

Once the Scythe got in contact with Yui it didn't do anything but was knocked back instead

Hikari: "Immortal Object." I smirked

Yui then starts floating up and forms a long red sword with flames on it in her hands while also reverting to her white dress

She then attacks the boss but it was trying to block it and failed it sliced right through and it hit the boss head

It then forms a ball shape flame and gets smaller and smaller till it disappeared

We then go up on our feet and walk toward Yui

Asuna: "Yui-chan..."

Kirito&Hikari: "Yui..."

Yui: "Papa, Mama, Onee-chan. My memories are back."

We then went inside the safe room for Yui to explain herself

Asuna: "Yui-chan, do you remember everything from before?"

Yui: "Yes. Kirito-san, Hikari-san, Asuna-san." We were surprised that she said our names perfectly

Yui: "The world called Sword Art Online is controlled by one massive system. Its name is Cardinal. This system, which was designed to function without human maintenance, controls the balance of SAO under its own judgement. Everything from the AIs of monsters and NPCs to the drop rates of items and currency is controlled by programs managed by Cardinal. Even the mental health care of players."

Yui: "Mental Health Counseling Program - Prototype #1. Code Name: Yui. That's what I am" Our eyes widen

Asuna: "A program? So you're an AI?" She nods

Yui: "In order for me to effectively interact with players, I was given the ability to emulate emotions. Nothing about me is genuine. Even these tears." She tried to cry but it just disappears

Yui: "I'm sorry, Asuna-san."

Asuna: "Yui-chan... But you lost your memories... Can that happen to an AI?"

Yui: "Two years ago, on the day of the game's official launch, for some reason, the Cardinal ordered me to not interact with the players in any way. Unable to do anything else, I only continued monitoring the mental health of players."

Yui: "The situation was simply terrible. The players were overwhelmed by negative emotions like fear, despair, and rage. Some were even driven to insanity. Normally, I would've gone to help those players immediately. But I was forbidden from interacting with them. I steadily accumulated errors until I broke down."

Yui: "Then one day, I noticed three players with mental parameters that greatly differed from the others. Joy... Tranquility... But that wasn't all."

Hikari: 'She's talking about us but... I didn't have the same emotions as those two I mean I... When I was in that mode of mine I... I loved killing...' Then it suddenly it clicked

Hikari: 'Whenever I lost my cool Yui was there comforting me... She knew I wasn't doing alright...' I sighed

Hikari: 'No wonder why she was really clingy with me.'

Yui: "I wanted to get a little closer to you three, so I wandered in the fields."

Asuna: "So that's why you were in the woods on the 22nd Floor?"

Yui: "Yes. Kirito-san, Asuna-san, Hikari-san, I always wanted to meet the three of you it's strange, isn't it? I shouldn't even be able to think that. I'm nothing more than a program." At this point, she was crying non-stop but it kept disappearing

Asuna: "Yui-chan... You're just like a human, aren't you?" She shakes her head

Yui: "I don't know. I'm not sure what happened to me." Kirito walks forward

Kirito: "Yui, you're no longer a program under the control of the system. So you should be able to tell us what you want."

Hikari: "He's right you know? Why would you go out of your way to meet us? So let me ask you a question Yui." She looks at me

Hikari: "What do you really want?"

...

...

...

Yui: "I..." She puts her hands out

...

...

...

Yui: "I..."

...

...

...

Yui: "I want to always be with you. Papa, Mama, Onee-chan!" She said while crying

Asuna then runs up to Yui and hugs her

Asuna: "Always... We'll always be together, Yui-chan!" Kirito joins in

Kirito: "Yeah, you're our child."

I just smiled at the two and Yui opens her eyes and looks at me and I just gave a smile and thumbs up she smiled but it faded away

Yui: "It's... too late."

Kirito: "Too late?"

Hikari: "For what?"

Yui: "This is a console that allows GMs emergency access to the system." She then activated it

Yui: "I used this to eliminate that monster. But as a result, it started running a check on my program. And since I disobeyed an order from Cardinal, I'm now considered a foreign object. I'll soon be deleted by it."

Hikari: "Seriously?"

Asuna: "No way..."

Kirito: "Can't anything be done?" But she ignored it

Yui: "Papa, Mama, Onee-chan, thank you. This is goodbye." Asuna started tearing up and hugged her

Asuna: "No! I can't accept that! This is only the beginning! We can live happily, enjoying our days together!" Yui started glowing

Kirito: "Yui, don't go!" He held her hand

Hikari: "Yui..."

Yui: "When they're together with you, everyone can smile. Please... Continue to save everyone in my stead... and share your happiness with them."

Asuna: "No! No! If you're not with me, I won't be able to smile again!" Yui then touches her cheek

Yui: "Mama, smile." I then see a tear from her drop to the ground and she fades away

Asuna then kneels down and cries

Hikari: "Kirito there has to be something."

Kirito: "I know but..." He then widens his eyes he knows what to do

Kirito: "Cardinal- No, Kayaba!" He then goes to the Console

Kirito: "Don't think things will always go your way!"

Asuna: "Kirito-kun, what are you..."

Kirito: "Right now, I might be able to use this GM account to bypass the system!"

Hikari: "Then stop talking and do it!" He continued to code before there was a timer of three seconds

3...

2...

1...

0...

We were blinded by a white light and Kirito was knocked back

Asuna: "Kirito-kun!"

Hikari: "Hey you alright?" Kirito then reaches out his hand and gives something to Asuna which was a tear shaped item

Asuna: "What's this?"

Kirito: "Before Yui's admin authority was disabled, I freed her main program and converted it into an object."

Hikari: 'Wait that fast? I'm sorry what?' I was in disbelief he did it all in such a really short time I then shook my head

Hikari: "Then that means... Asuna is holding..."

Kirito: "That's right. It's Yui's Heart she's holding." Asuna widened her eyes and she teared up

22nd Floor: Coral

I was going fishing so I tagged along with Kirito and Asuna since were walking on the same path

Asuna: "Hey, Kirito-kun."

Kirito: "Hm?"

Asuna: "If the game gets cleared and this world disappears, what would happen to Yui-chan?"

Hikari: "I'm assuming he stored it somewhere right Kirito?"

Kirito: "Yeah, Yui's data is set to store itself in my NerveGear's local memory. It'll probably be tough getting it to render properly outside of this world, but I'm sure it'll work out."

Hikari: "I can help you Kirito I got a little experience from coding back in the real world."

Kirito: "That would mean a lot Hikari."

Hikari: "Hey I am the Big Sister after all." We chuckled

Asuna: "I see... So we'll be able to see Yui again someday. Our... first child."

Kirito: "Yeah, definitely."

We continued walking but I stopped when I heard somebody

Yui: "Good luck Onee-chan."

I smiled

Asuna: "What's holding you?" She ask me and I chuckled

Hikari: "Oh nothing Asuna anyway let's keep going."