Chapter 19

Three days later, Nishida sent me a morning notice that he was

ready to catch the Big One. Apparently he went around to rally up

all of his fishing buddies, and we'd have an audience of about

thirty for the attempt.

"Yikes. What do you want to do, Asuna…?"

"Hmm…"

Frankly speaking, his arrangement wasn't exactly welcome. I'd

chosen this place specifically to avoid intel dealers and Asuna's

crazed fans, so appearing in front of a small crowd was the last

thing I wanted.

"How about this?"

She tied up her long chestnut hair and wrapped her long scarf

up high around her face. After a bit of menu manipulation, she

was covered in a big, frumpy overcoat as well.

"Ooh, nice. You look like a tired old farmer's wife."

"…Was that meant to be a compliment?"

"Of course. I'll probably be fine as long as I don't bring my

equipment."

Asuna and I left the house before lunch, lugging a picnic basket. We could have just left the stuff in our inventory and materialized it when we got there, but this seemed to make for a better

disguise.

It was a warm day for the season. After a lengthy walk through

the towering pine trees of the forest, the glistening lake surface

could be seen through the branches. There was already a crowd at

the shore. As I approached, feeling nervous, I soon recognized the

squat figure and distinctive laugh of one of the men.

"Wa-ha-ha! Nice, clear day!"

"Nice to see you, Mr. Nishida."

Asuna and I bowed. The crowd, a gathering with a wide range

of ages, was Nishida's fishing guild. We hesitantly greeted the

group, but fortunately no one seemed to recognize Asuna.

What surprised me was how proactive the old man was; he

must have been an excellent boss. They'd apparently been doing

an impromptu fishing competition before we got there, and the

group was in an excited mood.

"Well then, I think it's time for today's main event!" Nishida

announced in a loud voice, a long fishing pole in one hand. I

gazed at the large rod and its thick line, following it until I realized, with a start, what was hanging on the end.

It was a lizard. An extremely large one, about the size of an

adult's forearm. Venomous-looking red and black patterns

crossed its hide, and its wet surface suggested freshness.

"Eugh…"

Asuna was late to notice the creature and stumbled back several steps, a grimace on her face. If this was the bait, there could

be only one thing to catch.

But before I could even interject a comment, Nishida turned to

the lake and held the fishing rod high. He swung it forward with

an audible whoosh, his form impeccable, and the lizard flew

through the air to land out in the lake with an admirable splash.

Fishing in SAO involved virtually no waiting. Once you'd cast

your line into the water, it was only a number of seconds until

you either had a bite or the bait was lost. We held our breaths and

watched the water.

Eventually the line twitched a few times. Nishida didn't budge

an inch.

"I-I think it's coming, Mr. Nishida!"

"Nope, not yet!"

The normally pleasant old man was staring intensely at the

line, his eyes burning behind the glasses. He took in every minute

vibration at the end of his rod.

The end suddenly bowed much harder.

"Now!"

Nishida bent backward sharply, pulling the rod with his entire

body. Even from the side, it was clear the line was absolutely taut,

a loud twang for all to hear.

"I've got a bite! It's all up to you now!"

He handed me the rod, and I gave it a hesitant yank. It didn't

budge. I might as well have been pulling on solid ground. Just as

I began wondering if this was an actual bite and turned to look at

Nishida—

The line tugged downward with incredible force.

"Whoa!"

I dug both feet in hurriedly and pulled the rod back up. The

physical force feedback the game ordinarily used was far weaker

than what I was feeling now.

"I-is it safe to pull with all I've got?" I asked Nishida, concerned for the durability of the rod and line.

"They're the finest you can buy! Let 'er rip!"

His face was red with excitement. I re-gripped the handle and

pulled with all my strength. The rod contorted into an upsidedown U shape.

After a level-up, players are given the choice to spend their

points on either strength or agility. An ax warrior like Agil might

choose strength every time, while Asuna would get better use out

of her rapier with more agility. I split my points down the middle

as an orthodox swordsman, but when it came to personal preference, I leaned on the side of agility.

Despite the lack of focus on strength, my level was apparently

high enough to give me the advantage in this particular test. I dug

my feet in and slowly backed up, steadily pulling the unseen

quarry closer and closer to the surface.

"Oh! I saw it!"

Asuna jumped up and pointed over the water. I was well clear

of the shoreline and leaning backward, so I was in no position to

take a closer look. The other onlookers murmured and rushed to

the water's edge, peering down into the water, which grew exponentially deeper away from the shore. I finally gave in to my curiosity and summoned all my strength to yank the rod upward.

"…?"

Suddenly, all the figures crowding around the water in front of

me flinched. They all began to back up.

"What does it look li—"

Before I could finish, they all turned around and ran, full

speed. Asuna passed me on the left, Nishida on the right, their

faces pale. When I turned back to call to them, the weight suddenly lifted from my hands, and I fell backward onto my rear end.

Damn, the line snapped, I thought. I tossed the pole aside and

leaped to my feet to run to the water. The next moment, I saw the

surface of the lake bulging upward, an enormous silver circle.

"Wha—?"

I stood there, eyes and mouth gaping, until I heard Asuna's

voice calling out from a distance.

"Kirito, watch ouuut!"

I turned and saw that Asuna, Nishida, and all the others had

retreated to the bank above the shore a considerable length away.

I heard an enormous splash behind me and finally realized the

gravity of the situation. An unpleasant foreboding itching at my

skin, I turned around to the water again.

The fish was standing.

To be more accurate, the creature appeared to be more like a

reptilian coelacanth, somewhere on the evolutionary link between

fish and crocodile. Little waterfalls spilled over its scales, and six

massive legs crushed the grass on the shoreline as it peered down

at me.

Peered down. The full height of the thing was well over six

feet. Its mouth was located just taller than my head, and it

seemed made for swallowing cows whole. A familiar lizard leg

poked out of the corner.

There was a basketball-size eye on either side of the ancient

fish's head, and they looked into mine. A yellow cursor automatically appeared over the beast.

Nishida had said that the Big One in this lake was a monster

"in its own right."

There were no rights about it—this was a monster, through

and through.

I took several steps backward, my smile twitching. Then I spun

around and took off like a rabbit. The beast let out an earthshaking roar, then barreled after me. I was practically flying through

the air, every last point of my agility in use, and in a few seconds I

had reached the others and was ready to argue.

"Th-th-that's not fair! You can't run off without me!"

"I don't think this is the right time for the blame game, Kirito!"

I turned back to see the giant fish charging after us, its movement clumsy but fast enough.

"It's running over the land…Does it have lungs?"

"Kirito, this is no time for idle contemplation! We gotta

scram!"

Now Nishida was the one yelping in panic. Most of the crowd

had frozen stock-still, several of them collapsed on the ground.

"Do you have your weapons?" Asuna asked close to my ear.

She had a point—it would be incredibly difficult to lead all these

people to safety.

"Sorry, I don't…"

"Oh, fine, then."

Asuna shook her head, then turned to the giant legged fish,

which was nearly upon us. She opened her window with familiar

ease.

As Nishida and the other fishermen watched helplessly, Asuna

ripped off her thick scarf and overcoat, her glimmering chestnut

hair rippling in the breeze. Underneath the coat were a long green

skirt and a plain hemp shirt, but her silver rapier sheath sparkled

in the sun. Asuna drew her sword, proudly facing the oncoming

monster.

Next to me, Nishida finally realized what she was planning to

do, and he grabbed my arm.

"Kirito! Your wife is in terrible danger!"

"It's fine; let her handle this."

"Have you lost your senses? If you won't help her, I will."

He snatched a fishing rod from one of his friends and was

preparing to rush to her aid when I hurriedly stepped in to stop

the elderly man.

The giant fish maintained its speed and opened its gaping

mouth to reveal countless fangs. As it bore down on Asuna, she

turned to her side and thrust with her right hand like a fencer.

The inside of the giant fish's mouth flashed with an explosive

shock wave. The monster flew high up into the air, but Asuna's

feet had barely budged.

The sight of the monster itself was certainly intimidating, but

my expectation was that its actual level was not very high. They

wouldn't place a truly deadly monster down on such a low floor,

and as part of an event dependent solely on your Fishing skill, no

less. If nothing else, SAO maintained a proper difficulty curve.

Asuna's single blow had devastated the fish monster's HP bar.

When it fell to earth with a deafening crash, she followed up with

a speedy combination that lived up to her moniker.

Nishida and the other fishermen could only stare in amazement as Asuna unleashed attack after deadly attack, her footwork

almost a dance. But were they impressed by her strength or her

beauty? Probably both.

Asuna continued to dazzle the onlookers with her utter power

until she noticed the creature's HP bar was in the red. Now she

leaped gracefully backward and darted as she landed. She

plunged directly into the creature, her entire body blazing like a

comet—the top-level rapier skill, Flashing Penetrator.

The comet burst through the fish from mouth to tail with a

sonic boom, and as Asuna finally came to a stop well past the end

of the monster, it separated into a mass of glowing pieces. A split

second later, an ear-wrenching explosion sent waves across the

lake.

Asuna returned the rapier to its sheath with a ting, then began

walking back toward us. Nishida and company were still frozen,

mouths agape.

"Hey, nice job."

"It's no fair leaving the heavy work up to me. You owe me a

nice dinner or something."

"Uh, we share funds now, remember?"

"Oh…right."

We continued teasing each other until Nishida finally regained

his senses, blinking rapidly.

"Well…that was a surprise…Your wife is, ah, quite powerful.

Do you mind if I ask her level…?"

Asuna and I faced each other. This conversation could lead

down a dangerous path.

"F-forget about that. Look, we got an item from the fish!"

Asuna manipulated the window, and a shining silver fishing

rod appeared. Given that it came from a unique boss monster, it

was bound to be a rare prize not available for purchase elsewhere.

"Oh? What's this?"

Nishida took it, his eyes sparkling. All the others around him

murmured in amazement. Just when I thought we might have

distracted them…

"A-are you…Miss Asuna from the Knights of the Blood?"

A younger fellow came forward a few steps and stared closely

at Asuna. Recognition flooded his features.

"Yes, I knew it! I've got a picture of you!"

"Uh…"

Asuna gave him an uncomfortable smile and backed away.

Now the murmuring in the crowd doubled in volume.

"This is fantastic! I never thought I'd get to see you fight in

person…C-can I have an autogra—"

He stopped suddenly, looking back and forth between Asuna

and me. Then he murmured, his face stoic, "Y-you're…married…"

Now it was my turn to give him a stiff smile. We stood there

awkwardly while the man gave a wail of grief. Nishida simply

blinked uncomprehendingly.

That was how, after two weeks of blissful peace, our secret honeymoon ended. I suppose that ultimately, I should consider myself

lucky to have participated in such a silly event.

That night, a message arrived from Heathcliff, calling members to a planning meeting for the boss monster of the seventyfifth floor.

Next morning, I sat slumped over on the side of the bed as Asuna,

already dressed, clicked her boots on the floor and chided me.

"C'mon, no moping around!"

"But it's only been two weeks," I groaned childishly. Despite

my foul mood, I couldn't deny that Asuna looked very smart in

her familiar white-and-red knight's uniform again.

Given the circumstances that led to our leave of absence from

the guild, we certainly could have refused the summons. But the

line at the end of the message—which said, We have already suffered casualties—weighed heavily on our consciences.

"I think we should at least hear him out. C'mon, it's time!"

She patted my back, and I finally got to my feet and opened

my equipment screen. Since I was on temporary leave from the

guild, I put on my familiar old black leather coat and minimal

armor, topping it off with my two swords crossed over my back.

The fresh and unfamiliar weight seemed like my punishment for

leaving them to rot in my inventory for so long. I drew them out

of their scabbards and slid them back to make them feel better.

The sound was crisp in the cozy room.

"I always thought you looked better like that."

Asuna hopped to grab my arm, grinning. I craned my neck

around to gaze a silent farewell at our new house.

"…Let's get this over with and come back home."

"Yeah!"

We nodded to each other, opened the door, and stepped out

into the cold morning air, heavy with hints of winter.

The familiar sight of Nishida and his fishing rod greeted us at

the twenty-second-floor teleport-gate square. We'd told him

when we were leaving, but no one else.

He'd said he wanted to talk, so the three of us sat down on a

bench to the side of the square. Nishida gazed up at the bottom of

the floor above as he began to speak.

"I'll be honest…I've been keepin' everyone who's on the upper

floors, fighting to beat this game, out of sight and out of mind. It

might as well have been happenin' in a different world altogether.

Perhaps I gave up on ever getting out of here."

We listened in silence.

"As you know, in the electronics business, things evolve a mile

a minute. I've been a tinkerer since I was just a boy, so I managed

to keep up until now, but two years away from the business is too

long. If getting home means I'll just be a useless bump on a log

feelin' sorry for myself, maybe I'm better off staying here and enjoying a good fish, I figured…"

He trailed off, a small smile on his lined face. I didn't know

what to say to him. There was no way I could imagine what a man

in his position had lost, being trapped in Sword Art Online.

"Me, too," Asuna mumbled. "I thought the same thing until

about six months ago. I cried myself to sleep every night. Every

day, my family, my friends, my school, my entire reality seemed

to break down a little bit more. I felt like I was going crazy. When

I slept, all my dreams were of the real world…I did nothing but

work on my skills, trying to beat the game as quickly as I possibly

could."

Surprised, I turned to look at her. I would never have guessed

that based on my first meeting with her. Of course, I was never

known for being particularly observant of others…

Asuna shot a glance at me, then smiled.

"But one day about half a year ago, I teleported to the front

line to tackle the latest labyrinth, and I saw someone napping on

the grass in the square. He seemed to be pretty high-level, which

made me angry. I told him, 'If you're just going to waste your

time around here, could you please assist us in clearing the

labyrinth instead?' "

She put a hand to her mouth and giggled.

"So he says, 'This is the day with the best weather settings in

the best season of Aincrad. It'd be a waste to spend it in a dungeon.' Then he points to the grass next to him and says, 'C'mon,

relax a little.' I mean, how rude can you get?"

She stifled another giggle, then looked to the horizon.

"But that brought me to my senses. This guy is just living his

life here, I thought. He isn't losing another day in the real world;

he's gaining another day in this world. I never realized anyone

saw it that way. So I sent my guildmates ahead, and I lay down in

the grass next to him. The next thing I knew, the breeze was so

nice, and the air so warm and comfortable, I dozed right off. No

bad dreams—it was probably the deepest sleep I'd had since coming here. When I woke up, it was evening, but he was still there

with me, looking exasperated. That was him."

Asuna squeezed my hand. Though I didn't say it, I was incredibly confused. It sounded like a familiar enough story, but…

"…Sorry, Asuna, I don't think I meant it to be that profound. I

think I just wanted to take a nap."

"I realize that! You don't have to spell it out."

She pouted for a moment, then turned back to Nishida, who

was smiling as he listened to us.

"Ever since that day, I would think about him as I got into bed.

And I stopped having the nightmares. I figured out where he

lived, and I'd tried to make time when I could go see him…Eventually, I began looking forward to each new morning. When I realized I was in love with him, I was filled with such joy. I wanted

to treasure that feeling. For the first time, I felt glad that I was

here…"

Asuna looked down, rubbed her eyes with her white gloves,

then took a deep breath.

"To me, Kirito is the reason that I've spent two years here, the

proof that I've lived, and the hope for tomorrow. I put on the

NerveGear that day just to find him. Mr. Nishida, it might not be

my place to say this, but I think you must have found something

here as well. This might be a virtual world, where everything we

see is just artificial data, but our hearts are real. Which means

that everything we've experienced and gained here is real, too."

Nishida blinked and nodded his head vigorously. I could see

his eyes flashing behind his glasses. I had to blink the heat out of

my eyes, myself.

It was me. I was the one who was saved. There was no meaning to my life, whether in the real world or trapped in this world,

until I met her.

"Indeed…indeed," Nishida murmured, looking up at the sky.

"Just listening to your story was a valuable experience for me,

Asuna. Same goes for catching the Big One back there. It's not

worth giving up on life. It's not worth it."

He gave one big nod and stood.

"Well, I've taken enough of your time. You've taught me what I

needed to know—that as long as folks like you are fighting above,

it's only a matter of time until we make it back to the real world. I

can't do anything for you, but…give it everything you've got.

Everything."

He clasped my hand and shook it vigorously.

"We'll be back. You'll visit us, won't you?"

I made a fishing motion and he gave a big nod, his face crinkling. We shook hands once again, then headed for the teleport

gate. Asuna and I walked into the shimmering heat mirage, faced

each other, and spoke together.

"Teleport: Grandzam!"

The blue light expanded and eventually blotted out Nishida,

eternally waving.