The Girl in the morning dew

Asuna's alarm was set to go off at 7:50 every morning.

Why such an oddly specific time? Because Kirito's alarm went

off at exactly 8:00. She liked to wake up ten minutes early and, in

the comfort of the bed, lay gazing at the man sleeping next to her.

On this morning, too, after Asuna woke to the soft melody of

woodwinds, she carefully rolled over and, her chin in her hands,

considered Kirito's sleeping face.

She'd fallen in love half a year ago. They'd become adventuring

partners two weeks ago. And they'd gotten married and moved

into these woods on the twenty-second floor just six days ago. She

loved him more than anyone in the world, but the truth was that

Kirito still harbored many mysteries to her. This could even be

said to include his sleeping face: the more she stared, the harder

it was to tell his actual age.

Due to his off-kilter, aloof nature, she typically thought of him

as being older than she was. But when he was fast asleep, like

now, there was a youthful innocence to his face that made him

appear like a little boy.

She knew she could just ask him how old he was. It might be

taboo here to talk about real life, but they were husband and wife.

Forget ages—they ought to be trading real names and addresses,

things that would help them meet again once this nightmare was

over.

But Asuna was having trouble broaching the topic.

She was afraid that the instant she talked about real life, their

married life—this wonderful dream—would become virtual, fake.

This everyday life in the woods was her only reality—the thing she

cared about most. Even if they never escaped this world and her

body was doomed to waste away without her, she would have no

regrets as long as they met the end together.

Which is why I want the dream to last a little longer…Asuna

reached out and traced Kirito's cheek. He really does look so

young when he's sleeping.

She had no doubts about his strength at this point. He'd been

stockpiling an astronomical amount of experience since the beta

test, earned massive stats through countless battles, and had the

will and judgment to use them expertly. He'd lost in his duel

against Heathcliff, the leader of the Knights of the Blood, but Kirito was still the strongest player in the game, Asuna knew. No

matter how dreadful the challenge, she'd never been worried in

battle at his side.

But gazing down at him sleeping beside her, she couldn't help

but associate him with a fragile, naive younger brother. She had

to protect him from harm.

She sighed softly, leaned over, and circled her arms around his

body.

"I love you, Kirito…let's be together forever," she whispered.

He stirred and slowly opened his eyes. Their glances met at a

close distance.

"Whoa!" Asuna leaped backward. She caught her balance

kneeling on the covers, face bright red. "G-good morning, Kirito.

Did you…hear that…?"

"Morning. Hear what?" he replied, stifling a yawn and waving

to her.

"N-nothing, nothing!"

After their breakfast of eggs, black bread, salad, and coffee, it

took only two seconds to clear off the table. Asuna clapped her

hands together.

"Okay! Where are we going to hang out today?"

"Jeez." Kirito grimaced. "There's gotta be a better way to say

that."

"But every day's so much fun!"

Asuna wasn't lying in the least.

Though it was painful to recall, until she'd fallen in love with

Kirito, the first year and a half of being a prisoner inside SAO had

left her heart frozen cold.

She'd cut down on her sleeping time to raise her skills and

level. Once she'd reached the rank of sub-leader of the Knights of

the Blood, she'd attacked the game's labyrinths at a pace that

caused complaints from her guildmates. Her only purpose was

beating the game and escaping. Everything else was meaningless

to her.

In a way, Asuna had to curse her poor fortune that she hadn't

met Kirito sooner. Ever since their first encounter, her days had

been filled with more color and pleasant surprises than she'd ever

experienced in real life. Only with him did she feel like her experiences here were actually worth remembering.

Which meant that every second they spent together was like a

delicate jewel to Asuna. She wanted to visit every place she could,

speak with him on every subject there was.

Asuna pouted, hands on her hips. "So you don't want to go out

and have fun?"

Kirito grinned in response and pulled up his map. He set it to

visible mode to show Asuna. The map showed the series of forests

and lakes that made up the floor.

"This is the spot." He pointed to a stretch of woods slightly removed from their home.

Because the entirety of Aincrad was egg-shaped and the

twenty-second floor was closer to the bottom, it was relatively

spacious, a good eight kilometers in diameter. There was a massive lake in the middle of the floor, the southern shore of which

seated the village of Coral, the floor's main settlement. The

labyrinth was on the northern shore. Everything else was covered

in beautiful conifer forests. Asuna and Kirito's home was close to

the perimeter, nearly at the southern tip of the floor, and Kirito

had singled out a location perhaps a mile and a half to the northeast.

"Yesterday, I heard a rumor in the village…about the depths of

the forests here…and what might be lurking there."

"Huh?" Asuna responded to Kirito's enigmatic leer, confused.

"What's there?"

"A ghost."

After a moment of silence, she hesitantly pressed him for more

details.

"Meaning…like, astral-type monsters? Wraiths and banshees,

that sort of thing?"

"No, no, the real thing. The ghost of a player…a human being.

A little girl."

"Uh…"

Her faced ticked uncontrollably. She was more susceptible to

ghost stories than the average person, she knew. The ancient cas-

tle labyrinths on the very spooky horror-themed sixty-fifth and

sixty-sixth floors were so bad, she'd had to find excuses not to

participate in their conquest.

"B-but this is a game; it's all digital. There can't possibly be

ghosts here!" She forced herself to smile desperately.

"Are you sure about that?" Kirito knew about Asuna's fear of

ghosts and gleefully piled on more pressure. "What if it's the

vengeful spirit of a player who died and now haunts her still-active NerveGear? And logs in late at night to haunt the fields…"

"Stop!!"

"Ha-ha-ha, sorry. That one crossed the line. Look, I don't really think there'll be a ghost there, but if we're going to explore,

why not pick a spot that might have something neat to find?"

"Aww…" Asuna pouted, looking out the window.

The weather was good for the season—rapidly approaching

winter. The warm sunlight was lighting up the grass in the yard.

The physical nature of Aincrad meant that you never saw the sun

directly except for early morning and sundown, but the game's

lighting system ensured that everything was uniformly lit during

the day. And at current, it might be the time of day that was least

likely to feature any ghosts.

Asuna jutted her chin at her husband defiantly.

"Fine, let's go, then. But only to prove there's no such thing as

ghosts."

"That settles it. And if we don't find it today, we'll have to go at

night next time."

"Not on your life! And if you're going to be this mean, I won't

fix you a lunch."

"Ugh! Forget what I just said, then."

She gave him one last glare, then smiled.

"C'mon, let's get ready. If you cut the bread, I'll cook the fish."

It was nine o'clock once they'd finished packing their fish

burgers in their lunchboxes and headed out the door. Out on the

front lawn, Asuna turned back to Kirito and said, "Let me ride

piggyback."

"P-piggyback?" he yelped, stunned.

"Well, it's no fun always seeing things from the same elevation. It should be easy with your strength stat, right?"

"W-well, that's true, but…you're too old for this…"

"Age has nothing to do with it! Come on, it's not like anyone's

going to see."

"Fine, fine! All right, then…"

He crouched down, shaking his head and presenting his back

to Asuna. She rolled up her skirt and straddled his head, one leg

on each shoulder.

"There we go. And if you try to turn around and look, I'll slap

you."

"That seems a bit unfair, doesn't it?"

Kirito stood up easily as he grumbled, and she found her eye

level delightfully higher than usual.

"Wow! Look, you can already see the lake from here!"

"I can't see it!"

"Okay, I'll give you a ride a little later."

"…"

Asuna placed her hands on his slumped head and commanded, "Forward march! Set course north-northeast!"

As Kirito started trekking away, Asuna laughed wholeheartedly from atop his shoulders, keenly aware of how much this time

with him meant to her. Without a doubt, she was more alive now

than she'd ever been before in her seventeen years of life.

When they had walked down the path—technically, when Kirito

had walked—for a dozen or so minutes, they reached one of the

many lakes on the twenty-second floor. There were a number of

fishermen players with lines cast into the water already, perhaps

due to the gentle weather. The path ran over the hills that surrounded the lake, and although there was still some distance to

the shore on the left-hand side, the fishers noticed the pair and

began waving. They all seemed to be smiling, some of them even

laughing at the sight.

"You said no one was going to see us!"

"Ha-ha, I guess they did. Go on, Kirito, wave back."

"Absolutely not."

Kirito grumbled, but he didn't attempt to set her down. She

could tell that he was secretly enjoying the fun.

Eventually the path made its way down a hill and deep into the

forest; they made their way through massive pine trees that resembled Japanese cedars. The rustling of the needles, babbling of

the brook, and twittering birdsong played beautiful accompaniment to the calming sight of a thick forest in late autumn.

Asuna cast a glance at the branches of the trees, which were

much closer to her than usual.

"These trees sure are big. Do you think they're climbable?"

"Hmm," Kirito pondered. "I don't think the system limits you

from climbing them…Wanna try?"

"No, we'll save that for the theme of our next adventure.

Speaking of climbing—"

She straightened up as best she could from his shoulders and

looked to the outer perimeter of Aincrad, through the trees

ahead.

"There are those things like support pillars around the outer

edge, going all the way up to the ceiling of this floor. What do you

suppose happens if you climb all the way?"

"I've done that before."

"What?!" She leaned over to look at Kirito's face from above.

"Why didn't you invite me along?"

"That was before we were as close as we are now."

"Oh, come on. You were avoiding me the whole time!"

"Uh…was I?"

"Yes, you were! I asked you out over and over, and you

wouldn't even go out for tea."

"Th-that's because…Well, more to the point," Kirito said, trying to steer the conversation away from its current dubious

course. "It basically didn't work. It wasn't that hard to climb,

since the rock had all kinds of notches and handholds, but about

eighty yards up I got yelled at by a system error saying, this is an

off-limits zone!"

"Ha-ha-ha! See, you're not supposed to cheat."

"It's not funny. It startled me so much, I lost my grip and fell

off…"

"Wait, what? That fall would be fatal."

"Yeah, I thought I was going to die. If I'd been just three seconds later in getting my teleport crystal, I'd be on the list of the

fallen."

"Jeez, that's so dangerous. Don't ever try that again."

"You're the one who brought up the idea!"

The forest was getting deeper as they chattered on. It seemed

as though the birdsong was growing scattered, and even the light

through the branches was weaker than before.

Asuna took another look at the surroundings and asked, "So…

where's the place we're supposed to be heading?"

"Let's see," Kirito said, checking their location on the map.

"Ah, we're almost there. Just a few more minutes."

"All right…So what exactly did the stories say?"

Asuna didn't really want to find out, but not knowing also

made her uneasy.

"Apparently, about a week ago, a wood-crafting player came

around this area to collect some timber. The wood from this forest is supposed to be pretty nice, and he was so focused on his

task that he lost track of time. When he turned around to go

home, he saw something white flit into the shadows of a nearby

tree."

"…"

This was already too much for Asuna, but Kirito didn't stop.

"He panicked, thinking it was a monster at first, but he was

wrong. He said it looked like a human being, a small girl. White

clothes and long black hair. She was just slowly walking away into

the woods. So he focused on her, thinking she must be a player

rather than a monster."

"…"

"But there was no cursor."

"Eek…!"

A tiny, involuntary shriek caught in her throat.

" 'That can't be right,' he thought, foolishly approaching the

girl. Then he called out to her. The girl stopped where she was…

then slowly turned around to face him, and…"

"S-s-st-st-stop…"

"That's when the woodcrafter realized, under the light of the

moon…that he could see the tree through her white clothes."

"—!!"

Asuna trapped a silent scream and clenched Kirito's hair.

"That's when he took off running, knowing it was all over if

she completely turned around. Once he was close enough to see

the lights of the town, he thought he was safe. And when he

turned back to look…"

"—?!"

"There was nobody there. The end."

"…You…stupid…jerk!!"

Asuna jumped off his shoulders and prepared to punch him

solidly in the back. But suddenly, something white caught the

corner of her eye, far off in the dark conifer forest.

With unbearable foreboding, Asuna trained her vision on the

thing. While not at Kirito's level, her Search skill was quite advanced. The skill's effect automatically kicked in, rendering the

area of her focus in much sharper detail.

The white something appeared to be flowing in the breeze. It

wasn't a plant. It wasn't a rock. It was cloth. In fact, it was a simple one-piece dress. There were two thin lines extending downward from the hem—legs.

It was a little girl. A young girl in a white dress, just like the

one in Kirito's story, watching them in silence.

Asuna's consciousness was in danger of slipping away. She

opened her mouth and managed to croak out a few words, barely

louder than a breath.

"K-Kirito…there."

He followed her gaze, then froze just as solid as she was.

"Y-you've gotta be kidding me…"

The girl did not move. She stood where she was, perhaps a

hundred feet away, staring at them. If she starts to walk toward

us, I'm going to faint, Asuna felt certain.

The girl's body swayed. She fell to the ground in a strangely inorganic way, like an animatronic figure that had just run out of

power. They heard a quiet thump as she landed.

"Wait a second." Kirito narrowed his eyes "That's not a ghost!"

He dashed off toward the girl.

"W-wait, Kirito!" Asuna shouted as he left her behind, but he

continued dashing toward the fallen girl. "Oh, honestly!"

Asuna had no choice but to stand and follow. Her heart was

still racing, but on the other hand, she'd never heard of ghosts

fainting before. It simply had to be a player.

A couple seconds later, Asuna reached the foot of the pine tree

where Kirito was holding the tiny girl. She was still knocked out:

Her long-lashed eyes were closed, her arms hanging limply at her

sides. Asuna took a cautious glance at the girl's dress, but it

wasn't see-through.

"D-do you think she's all right?"

"I think…so," Kirito mumbled, peering into the girl's face.

"Then again, nobody actually breathes or has a heartbeat

here…"

Most basic human biological processes are omitted from

SAO's simulation. You can actively breathe in and feel the sensation of air down your windpipe, but player avatars themselves do

not engage in automatic respiration. When in a state of tension or

excitement, you can feel your heart pounding, but it's impossible

to actually pick up the pulse of another body.

"She hasn't disintegrated…which means she must be alive. But

this is very strange…" He trailed off, uncertain.

"Strange how?"

"She can't be a ghost, because I can touch her. Yet there's no

targeting cursor…"

"Oh…"

Asuna trained her gaze on the girl's body again. Any kind of

living, moving object in SAO, whether player, monster, or even

NPC, would always have its own color cursor, but this girl did not.

She had never seen this phenomenon before.

"Maybe it's some kind of bug?"

"That's my guess. In a normal game, I'd call a GM about this,

but there's obviously no GM here…Plus, it's not just the lack of a

cursor. She's too young to be a player."

He was right. The body cradled in Kirito's arms was too tiny.

She couldn't have yet been ten. The NerveGear had a cautionary

age restriction, meaning that children under the age of thirteen

could not use it.

Asuna felt the girl's forehead. It was chilly and smooth.

"But how did such a little girl get inside Sword Art Online?"

she asked, biting her lip in concern. "We can't just leave her here.

I'm sure we'll find out more when she wakes up. Let's take her

home with us."

"Yeah, good call."

Kirito stood up, still holding the girl. Asuna took another look

at their surroundings, but the only thing of note was a dried-out

old stump, and nothing that would suggest a reason for the girl to

be there.

Even after they'd hurried out of the forest and back home, the girl

did not wake. They placed her on Asuna's bed and pulled up the

covers, then sat on Kirito's bed nearby and watched her.

After a length of silence, Kirito finally spoke in a soft voice.

"Well, the fact that we were able to carry her into our home

means she's not an NPC."

"Yeah…that's true."

The system controlled NPCs, and players couldn't move them

out of a certain fixed range of coordinates. If you tried to hold or

grab them for more than a few seconds, a harassment warning

would pop up, and you'd be buffeted away by an unpleasant

shock.

Kirito continued his train of thought.

"And it's not an event that kicks off a quest. If that were the

case, it would have updated our quest logs the moment we

touched her. Which means the most likely explanation is that she

is indeed a player and just happened to be lost in those woods."

He cast another glance at the bed.

"If she didn't have any crystals or know how to teleport, I

think she would have stayed in the Town of Beginnings from the

moment she logged in, rather than wandering out in the wilderness. I don't know why she'd have come all the way out here, but

maybe someone in the Town of Beginnings knows who she is…

Maybe we'll even find her parent or guardian there."

"I agree with that. I just can't imagine such a small child being

able to log in on her own. She must have come here with her family…I just hope they're safe."

Before she voiced her last thought, she turned to Kirito and

locked eyes with him.

"She will wake up, won't she?"

"Yeah. The fact that she hasn't disappeared yet means there

are still signals going to and from her NerveGear. She must be

closer to a state of sleep. So she'll wake up eventually…I believe."

He nodded firmly, a clear note of optimism in his voice.

Asuna got off the bed and knelt next to the sleeping girl. She

reached out and rubbed the tiny head.

She was a very beautiful girl. She almost looked more like a

fairy than a human. Her skin was a pale and delicate white, like

alabaster. Her long black hair shone in the light, and her clear,

vaguely foreign face seemed as though it would be bewitching,

once she opened her eyes and smiled.

Kirito crouched down next to Asuna. He hesitantly reached

out to brush the girl's hair.

"She can't be, what…more than ten? Eight, maybe?"

"That's what I'm guessing…She's easily the youngest player

I've ever seen in the game."

"Definitely. I met a beast-tamer who was really young, but

even she was at least thirteen or so."

Asuna abruptly spun around to Kirito, the information unfamiliar.

"I didn't realize you had such a cute young friend."

"Yeah, sometimes we trade messages…b-but that's not my

point! There's nothing between us!"

"I wouldn't be so sure. You're awfully dense." She turned away

in a huff.

Sensing that things were turning against him in a hurry, Kirito

hastily stood up and said, "Oh, look at the time. We should eat

lunch!"

"You're still going to tell me all about her later." Asuna glared

at him, then grinned, deciding to let him off the hook for now.

"C'mon, let's eat. I'll put on some tea."

As the late fall afternoon lazily passed and the red light from the

outer perimeter vanished into darkness, the little girl kept sleeping soundly.

Asuna was closing the curtains and lighting the wall lamps

when Kirito returned from the village. He shook his head without

a word to show that he'd found no clues about the girl.

It was hard for them to enjoy a cheerful dinner given the situation, so they shared a brief meal of simple soup and bread, at

which point Kirito opened up the newspapers he'd bought earlier.

The "newspapers" were not like the large sheaves of paper sold

in the real world, but rather a single sheet of parchment the size

of a magazine. The surface of the sheet was a screen, like a system

window, its information fully scrollable as though it were a website.

The contents of the paper were just a wholesale copy of a

player-run strategy site, complete with not just news but a simple

manual, FAQ, lists of items and equipment, and so on. Among

those lists was a wanted persons classified section, and that was

what Kirito and Asuna were examining. Perhaps someone was

searching for this girl. But…

"…Nothing…"

"Nothing."

After many minutes of searching, they gave up and slumped

their shoulders. At this point, they had no choice but to wait for

the girl to wake and tell them her story directly.

Normally, they spent their night hours on idle entertainment—

chatting, simple games, even going on a nighttime stroll—but it

was hard to get into the mood on this particular evening.

"Should we just go to bed?"

"Yeah." Kirito sighed.

They turned out the living room lights and headed into the

bedroom. The little girl was using one of the beds, so they'd have

to snuggle together in the other one—which they ended up doing

every night anyway, as a matter of fact. They changed quickly into

their nightclothes.

With the lamp extinguished, they slipped into bed.

Kirito had many odd skills, one of which was his ability to fall

asleep instantly. When Asuna turned to her side to say something, his breath was already slow and steady with sleep.

"Sheesh," she muttered, then turned in the other direction, toward the girl's bed. In the pale blue darkness, the little blackhaired girl was still fast asleep. Asuna had been avoiding thinking

about the girl's past, but staring at her in the darkness like this,

she inevitably began to ponder.

It was one thing if she'd been together with some kind of

guardian, perhaps a parent or older sibling. But if she'd come to

this world all alone and spent the last two years in fear and solitude, it would be a horrifying ordeal for an eight- or nine-year-old

child. It was hard to imagine she could stay mentally healthy.

And what if…? Asuna imagined the worst. What if she'd been

wandering around that forest and fallen into a coma because of

some deep scarring to her mind? Aincrad had no psychological

therapists, nor system managers to aid a person in need. It would

be at least another six months until the game might be beaten,

and it would take more than Kirito and Asuna's hard work to

make that happen. In fact, one of the reasons they were taking

this hiatus from the front line was that their levels were so much

higher than the rest of the game population, it made it difficult to

form a balanced party.

And no matter how deep the girl's suffering was, Asuna could

not save her from it. That thought sent an unbearable pain

through her heart. Before she knew it, she had left the bed and

moved to the little girl's side.

Asuna brushed the girl's hair for a moment, then pulled back

the covers and slipped in next to her. She hugged the tiny body

close. The girl did not move, but Asuna felt as though she saw her

expression ease.

"Good night. I hope you wake up tomorrow," she whispered.

2

A gentle melody flowed through Asuna's mind as she dozed in the

white light of morning. It was her wake-up alarm, a soft oboe

tune. She let herself drift through the familiar melody in the

weightlessness of sleep. In time, light strings joined the song,

clarinets echoed the primary melody, and a faint humming came

in…

Humming?

It wasn't her singing along. Asuna opened her eyes.

The black-haired girl in her arms, eyes still closed, was humming along to the sound of Asuna's wake-up alarm.

She wasn't missing a beat. But that was impossible. Asuna had

set her alarm to be audible to no one but herself, so it shouldn't

be possible for anyone to hear the song playing inside her head.

But there was something more important than that at the moment.

"K-Kirito! Kirito, wake up!" Asuna called out to her husband,

still sleeping in the other bed. Eventually, she heard him rise,

murmuring sleepily.

"Morning…What's up?"

"Come quick!"

The floorboards creaked. Kirito craned over Asuna to peer into

the bed. His eyes went wide.

"She's singing…?"

"Y-yeah."

Asuna gently rocked the girl in her arms. "Wake up, sweetie…

Open your eyes."

The girl's lips stopped moving. Her long eyelashes fluttered,

then her eyes slowly came to be fully open.

Wet black pupils trained directly on Asuna's at close range.

After several blinks, the girl's pale lips began to open.

"Ah…uh…"

Her voice was fragile and pristine, like the ringing of delicate

silverware. Asuna helped her up to a sitting position.

"Thank goodness you're awake! Do you know what happened

to you?"

The girl clammed up for several seconds, then shook her head.

"I see…What's your name? Can you say it?"

"Na…me…My…name…" She tilted her head and a lock of that

shining black hair fell over her cheek. "Yu…i. Yui. That's…my

name."

"Yui! That's a nice name. I'm Asuna, and this is Kirito."

Asuna turned her head to indicate her partner, and Yui's eyes

followed her lead. She flipped back and forth between Asuna and

Kirito, who was leaning over to get a closer look.

"A…una. Ki…to."

Her lips moved hesitantly, struggling with the sounds. Asuna

felt last night's anxiety return. The girl looked about eight years

old, and based on the amount of time since she must have logged

in, she would actually be closer to ten now. But the halting way

she was speaking was more akin to a toddler learning how to talk.

"Yui, why were you all alone on the twenty-second floor? Is

your daddy or mommy around?"

Yui cast her eyes down and said nothing. After a moment of silence, she shook her head.

"I don't…know. I don't…know anything…"

They carried her over to one of the chairs at the table and handed

her a warm cup of sweetened milk, which she took in both hands

and started to sip. Asuna pulled Kirito off to the side to confer,

checking on Yui out of the corner of her eye.

"What do you think we should do, Kirito?"

He bit his lip, glaring as he thought, then eventually hung his

head.

"Looks like she's lost her memory. But more worrying is the

way she's acting. She might have suffered some brain damage…"

"Yeah…I was thinking the same thing."

"Dammit!" His face twisted, as though on the verge of tears.

"I've seen a lot of awful things in this world…but this has to be the

worst. It's so cruel…"

When she saw his eyes moistened, Asuna felt something rise

into her chest. She put her arms around him.

"It'll be okay, Kirito. I'm sure we can do something to help

her."

"…Yeah. Yeah, you're right…"

He looked up, placed his hands on her shoulders, then approached the table. Asuna followed him. Kirito rattled the other

chair next to Yui and sat down.

"Hey, Yui, honey. Is it okay to call you Yui?" he asked brightly.

She looked up from her cup and nodded.

"Good. Then you can call me Kirito."

"Ki…to."

"It's Kirito. Ki-ri-to."

"…"

Yui scrunched up her face in silent concentration.

"…Kiito."

He grinned and patted her on the head.

"I guess it's a bit too hard to say. You can call me anything you

like. Whatever's easiest for you."

Yui sat in heavy thought. Asuna picked up her empty cup, refilled it with more milk, and placed it back on the table, but Yui

still hadn't moved.

In time, she slowly raised her head to look at Kirito, and spoke

hesitantly.

"…Papa."

She turned to Asuna.

"Auna is…mama."

Asuna shivered unconsciously. It wasn't clear if Yui had confused them for her real parents or was simply seeking those roles

from the closest thing she could find in Aincrad, but Asuna wasn't

thinking about that. She desperately tried to hold back the emotions that were bursting upward through her.

"That's right…it's Mama, Yui-chan," she said, beaming.

Yui finally showed off the first smile of her own. Those expressionless eyes finally flashed beneath her even bangs, and for an

instant, she was like a doll that had come to life.

"Mama!"

Asuna's heart throbbed when she saw the little hand extended

toward her.

"Uhk…"

She barely stifled the sob that threatened to rip from her

throat, but she did manage to keep her smile. Asuna lifted Yui

from the chair and clutched the girl to her breast, feeling a tear of

many mixed emotions welling up and falling down her cheek.

After another mug of hot milk and a little bread roll, Yui was apparently tired again. Her head began to sway wearily back and

forth.

Asuna watched Yui from across the table, wiping her eyes. She

turned to Kirito.

"I…I…"

She couldn't put her feelings into words.

"I'm sorry. I just…don't know what to do…"

Kirito gazed at her with sympathy for a time. Eventually, he

said, "You want to stay here and take care of her until she regains

her memory, right? I know how you feel—I feel the same way. But

it's a real dilemma…It just means it'll be that much longer before

we can return to advancing the game, which is that much longer

before she's freed from this prison."

"Yeah…that's a good point."

Asuna's level was one thing, but Kirito was, without exaggeration, one of the most powerful forces advancing the game. As a

solo player, he had contributed more labyrinth mapping than several major guilds combined. Their honeymoon was only meant to

last a few weeks, but Asuna couldn't shake a feeling of guilt that

she was monopolizing Kirito for such a long time.

"We should start by doing what we can," Kirito said, watching

Yui as she began to snooze. "We'll go to the Town of Beginnings

to see if her parents or siblings are around. She's obviously pretty

unique within the game, so if anyone knows her, we should be

able to find them."

"…"

His idea was sensible. But Asuna realized with a start that she

did not want to leave this little girl. She'd dreamed of this life

alone with Kirito for so long, but somehow, she had no resistance

to growing that number to three. It was almost as though Yui was

their daughter. When Asuna thought about what that meant, she

turned red all the way to her ears.

"…? What's wrong?"

"N-nothing!!" She shook her head furiously. "A-anyway, we

should visit the Town of Beginnings when Yui wakes up. We can

take out a notice in the classified section of the newspaper, too."

Asuna spoke rapidly, clearing the table while pointedly avoiding looking at Kirito. Yui was now solidly asleep in her chair, but

in comparison to last night, her sleeping face somehow seemed to

be at peace.

They moved Yui to the bed, where she slept for the rest of the

morning. Asuna began to worry that she might have fallen into

another comatose state, but the little girl woke again just as lunch

was being prepared.

Asuna baked a fruit pie—not one of her standard dishes—just

for Yui, but she seemed more interested in the mustard-slathered

sandwich that Kirito was chowing down.

"Are you sure, Yui? It's really spicy."

"Uhh! I want the same thing as Papa."

"Well, if you're ready for it, go ahead. It's important to experience new things."

Kirito handed Yui a sandwich, and she opened her tiny mouth

as wide as possible to take a huge bite. They watched her closely.

Yui chewed, a look of stern concentration on her face, then swallowed and smiled.

"Yummy."

"You've got guts!" Kirito laughed and rubbed her head. "We'll

have to go with an ultra-spicy entree for dinner tonight."

"Let's not get carried away! That's not on the menu."

But if they found Yui's guardian in the Town of Beginnings,

they'd be alone again when they returned. Asuna felt loneliness

brush her heart once more.

Yui had helped finish the rest of the sandwiches and was happily sipping milk tea when Asuna asked her, "Want to take a trip

outside this afternoon, Yui?"

"Trip?"

She looked confused. Kirito considered how best to explain it.

"We're going to look for your friends, Yui."

"What is…friends?"

Kirito and Asuna looked at each other. Many things about

Yui's "condition" were a mystery. It wasn't so much that her mental age had somehow regressed, but that her memory had vanished in places.

In order to fix that, the best solution would be to find her true

guardian, someone who could watch over her, Asuna told herself.

"A friend is someone who will help you, Yui. C'mon, let's get

ready."

Yui looked skeptical, but she nodded and stood obediently.

The white, puffy-sleeved dress she wore was made of sheer

material, nowhere near proper for the early winter weather outside. Being cold wouldn't cause you to catch the flu or take damage—though there were no guarantees if you went streaking

through the snow—but it was certainly unpleasant.

Asuna scrolled through her inventory and pulled out items of

thick clothing, then found a sweater that suited the little girl.

Suddenly, she stopped still.

In order to put on equipment and clothing, you needed to attach it on the mannequin in your status menu. SAO had difficulty

modeling soft objects like cloth and liquids, so clothes were

treated less like distinct objects to be interacted with, and more

like an extension of the player's body.

Kirito picked up on Asuna's hesitation and asked Yui directly.

"Can you open your window, Yui?"

As they suspected, she only looked at them, uncomprehending.

"Okay, just trace your finger down in the air. Like this." Kirito

swung his finger, and a rectangular purple window appeared beneath his hand. Yui clumsily mimicked his action, but nothing

happened.

"That's what I was afraid of. The system must be bugged

somehow. And what a horribly fatal bug to have, not being able to

check your status. You can't do anything."

Kirito bit his lip. Yui had been waving her right index finger to

no avail, so she tried it with her left hand. A glowing purple window popped up immediately.

"There!"

Yui giggled in delight, while Asuna and Kirito shared a

shocked look over her head. What was going on?

"Can I take a look, Yui?"

Asuna crouched over to look at her window, but the status

screen was only visible to the player herself by default, so there

was nothing but a blank purple slate there.

"Here, let me see your hand." Asuna took Yui's little hand and

moved her pointer finger over the spot where she thought she remembered the visibility mode checkbox would be.

Her aim was true, as familiar-looking information abruptly

sprang onto the window with a beep. Despite the situation, it was

incredibly rude to sneak a peek at another person's status screen,

so Asuna did her best to avoid looking at anything but Yui's item

list.

"Wh-what is this?!" she exclaimed in surprise as her eyes

moved over the window.

The top screen of a player's menu in SAO is divided into three

basic areas. At the top is the player's name in the English alphabet and two thin bars representing HP and EXP. The right half of

the screen below that is the mannequin displaying the player's

equipment. The left half of the screen is a list of command buttons. The icons can be customized from countless sample designs,

but the basic layout is unchangeable.

But for some reason, the top of Yui's menu just featured the

eerie name "Yui-MHCP001," with no indicators for HP, EXP, or

even level. There was an equipment mannequin but only two buttons on the left side: ITEMS and OPTIONS.

Kirito noticed Asuna freeze and came over to see for himself,

then held his breath. Yui seemed to have no idea of the significance of her menu, and she stared up at the two quizzically.

"Could this be…another system bug?" Asuna wondered, but

Kirito grunted deep in his throat.

"I don't know…This looks less like a bug than it does something that was designed to be this way. Damn! I don't think I've

ever been this frustrated that there are no GMs around."

"I've never even thought about wanting a GM, since SAO

barely even has any lag, much less major bugs. I guess there's no

use wracking our brains over this…"

Asuna gave up and moved Yui's finger to touch the ITEMS button. She placed the sweater on the surface of the window and it

glowed for a second before vanishing into the inventory list. Once

it showed up there, Asuna dragged the name onto the equipment

figure in the window.

With a chime, Yui's body flashed for an instant, and she was

suddenly wearing a light pink sweater.

"Wow!"

Her face shone. She held out her arms and examined herself.

Asuna then added a skirt in the same color, black tights, and red

shoes, before returning Yui's original one-piece to the window.

Yui was giddy over her new outfit, rubbing her cheek on the

soft fabric of the sweater and pulling on her skirt hem.

"Well, shall we go?"

"Papa, carry me."

She held up her hands, and Kirito picked her up with one arm

around her side, smiling shyly. He looked to his wife.

"Asuna, make sure you're prepared with your regular equipment in case anything happens. We'll be staying in town, but it is

the Army's territory."

"Yeah…we can't be too careful."

Asuna nodded and quickly checked her own inventory, then

stood up with Kirito and proceeded to the door. She really did

hope that they found whomever was responsible for the girl, but

she was also dreading saying good-bye to her for some reason.

They had only found her a day ago, but somehow, in that short

time, the girl had monopolized all the tender parts of Asuna's

heart.

It was several months since their last visit to the Town of Beginnings on the first floor of Aincrad.

Asuna stepped out of the teleport gate and stopped, staring

around with a conflicted heart at the massive square and its

buildings.

This was the biggest city in Aincrad, of course, and it had more

resources necessary to adventuring than any other place in the

game. Prices were cheap and lodging was abundant, which made

this the most efficient location for a hometown.

But as far as Asuna knew, none of her high-level acquaintances still hung around the Town of Beginnings. The Army's

presence was one reason for that, but the biggest had to be the

memory of that moment—when everyone stood in this square,

looking up at that stretch of ceiling.

It had all started on a whim.

Asuna Yuuki had been born to a businessman and a scholar,

and she grew up with their hopes firmly imprinted on her mind

for as long as she could remember. Both her parents were resolute and hard on themselves, and though they were kind to

Asuna, she was terrified of how they would react if she disappointed them in any way.

It must have been the same for her brother. Asuna and her

older brother went to the private school their parents selected,

never got into trouble, and maintained top grades. After her

brother left home for college, Asuna dedicated her entire life to

fulfilling her family's hopes. She trained in multiple subjects and

only spent time with friends her parents accepted. In time, however, Asuna began to feel as though her world was tiny and compressed. It seemed like everything was funneled into one tiny

path: the high school her parents chose, the college her parents

chose, the marriage partner her parents chose. She grew terrified

that she would be stuffed inside an incredibly small and tough

shell, never to escape that prison.

Her brother came home and got a job at her father's company.

He used his connections to procure a NerveGear and a copy of

SAO, his eyes sparkling as he waxed rhapsodic about the world's

first VRMMO. Asuna had never so much as touched a video game

before, but his descriptions of a mysterious new world sparked

something within her.

Of course, if he had simply stashed it away in his room for his

own use, she would have forgotten all about the NerveGear. But

the timing was poor; he would be overseas for work on the release

day of Sword Art Online, so on a sudden whim, Asuna asked to

borrow the game for the day. All she wanted to do was see a different world from the one she lived in…

And everything changed.

She could still keenly remember the excitement when she'd

gone from Asuna the student to Asuna the adventurer, descending into an unfamiliar town full of unfamiliar people.

But soon after, when the empty god looming over their heads

announced that it had become an inescapable game of death, the

first thing Asuna thought of was her unfinished math homework.

I have to get back and finish that, or my teacher will scold me

tomorrow. It would be an unacceptable blemish on Asuna's life.

The true severity of her situation went far beyond that, of course.

One week, two weeks—the days passed mercilessly without

any salvation from outside. Asuna holed up in an inn room in the

Town of Beginnings, curled up on her bed, wracked with panic. At

times she screamed and beat on the walls. It was the winter of her

third and final year of middle school. There would be tests soon,

and then a new term. Falling off the course now meant the end of

her life as she knew it.

Asuna's everyday life was plunged into madness, until she

came to one deep, dark certainty:

Her parents would not be worried about the well-being of their

daughter; they would be terribly disappointed that she had failed

her exams, all over a stupid video game. Her friends would

lament her plight, then pity her for her failure, and eventually use

her as the butt of a joke.

When these dark emotions had reached their saturation point,

Asuna finally came to a firm decision and left her room. She

wouldn't wait for rescue. She would escape on her own. She

would be the hero who conquered the crisis. It was the only way

she could repair the bonds that tied together the people around

her.

Asuna arranged her equipment, memorized the entire help

manual, and headed into the wilderness. She only slept for two or

three hours a day, dedicating the rest of that time to leveling up.

She applied all of her intelligence and willpower to the task, and

it did not take long until she was among the top players in the

game. This was the birth of Asuna the Flash, the mad warrior.

Now, two years later, Asuna was seventeen, and she thought back

on her old self with acute discomfort: not just her despondent

state right after being trapped in the game, but the painfully compressed life she had led before that. The memories brought a

heap of self-pity with them.

She didn't know what "living" really meant. She was sacrificing

her present life for some future she thought she was meant to

have. To her, "now" was nothing but a step toward that proper future, and once each moment had passed, it turned into nothingness.

The lesson she'd learned from observing SAO was simple: It

was pointless to have one without the others.

Those who only strove for the future drove themselves mad

advancing through the game, the way she once did. Those who

clung to the past hid in their inns on the first floor. Those who

only lived in the present sought cheap thrills, sometimes turning

to crime.

But even in this world, there were some people who could

enjoy the present, remember the past, and work toward an eventual escape. It was a black-haired swordsman who'd taught her

that, a year earlier. Once she realized she wanted to live like him,

Asuna's life took on real color.

Now she was equipped to break that tough shell the real world

held. She felt like she was ready to live for herself—as long as she

was by his side…

Asuna leaned closer to Kirito, who she was certain felt his own

variety of conflicting emotions at the sight of the city. When she

looked up at the baleful stone lid above them again, the pain was

only a shadow of what it once was.

Asuna shook her head to clear away the painful cobwebs, then

looked to Yui, who was still cradled in Kirito's arms.

"Yui, do you recognize any of these buildings?"

"Umm…"

Yui concentrated on the stone buildings lining the open

square, then shook her head.

"I don't know…"

"Well, the Town of Beginnings is a gigantic city," Kirito offered

reassuringly, patting her head. "If we keep walking around,

maybe she'll remember something. Let's check out the central

market for now."

"Good idea."

They nodded together and headed for the main avenue running south.

As they walked, Asuna took a critical look around the square.

She was surprised to see how few people there were.

The teleport gate plaza in the Town of Beginnings was enormous, big enough to hold all ten thousand players when the

servers opened two years ago. It was a perfect circle of countless

fitted paving stones with a large clock tower looming over the

center and the rippling blue teleport gate beneath it. Surrounding

the tower was a series of narrow, concentric flowerbeds lined with

the occasional quaint white bench. It was the perfect place for

players to enjoy a brief afternoon respite on such a lovely day, but

all the people visible from here were heading to the gate or the

plaza's exits, and virtually none were stopping or sitting on the

benches.

The teleport squares of the larger towns near the top of Aincrad were always a bustle of player activity. Between the chatters,

the party recruiters, the simple street stalls, and the loiterers, it

was sometimes difficult to even make your way out into the city.

"Hey, Kirito."

"Hmm?" He turned to look at her.

"How many players do you suppose are here now?"

"Good question…there are about six thousand survivors, and

about thirty percent of them are in the Town of Beginnings, including the Army. So maybe just a bit less than two thousand?"

"Don't you think it seems awfully quiet around here for that?"

"Now that you mention it…Maybe they're all in the market?"

But even after they headed down the street from the plaza toward the market area, where shops and stalls lined the path, the

town was relatively empty. The energetic cries of the NPC shopkeepers echoed forlornly off the stone walls.

Asuna spotted a man seated beneath a large tree in the middle

of the avenue and called out to him.

"Um, excuse me."

He was staring at the branches above with an oddly serious

look, and snapped, irritated, from his spot, rather than turn to

look at her.

"What do you want?"

"Um…is there any kind of center around here for finding or

advertising lost persons?"

The man finally turned his gaze to Asuna. He stared her full in

the face, his eyes glinting.

"What are you, an outsider?"

"Y-yes. We're looking for this girl's guardian." She pointed

back at Yui, who was dozing lightly in Kirito's arms.

The man wore a simple cloth tunic that made it difficult to discern his class. His eyes went wider when he saw Yui, but they

were soon trained on the overhead branches once again.

"Lost kid? Don't see many of those. There's a buncha kids

gathered at the church next to the river in sector E-7. Try there."

"Th-thank you."

Asuna bowed briefly, surprised to have actually gleaned some

helpful information from the encounter. Suddenly she felt emboldened to ask another question.

"Um…what exactly are you doing? And why is the city so

empty?"

He put on a grimace, but his tone of voice suggested that he

didn't mind answering.

"Company secret, you might say. But since you're outsiders…

why not? See that high branch up there?"

Asuna followed his pointing finger. The branches of the large

tree were exploding with autumn leaves, but upon closer examination, there were small golden fruits growing here and there.

"The decorative trees in town are indestructible objects, of

course, so even if you climb up there, you can't pick the fruit—or a

single leaf, for that matter." He continued. "A few times a day,

one of those fruits falls off. It rots and disappears within a few

minutes, but if you pick it up before then, you can sell it to the

NPCs for a decent chunk. Tastes good, too."

"Oooh."

Asuna had mastered her Cooking skill, so the topic of food ingredients piqued her interest. "How much do they sell for?"

"Promise you won't tell anyone…? Five col a pop."

"…"

Asuna was stunned into silence by the pleased look on his face.

She could not believe how meager an amount it was, completely

at odds with the amount of work it took to watch this tree all day

long.

"Um…that doesn't seem worth it…I mean, just a single worm

out in the wilderness will get you thirty col."

Now the man's eyes really went wide. He looked at Asuna as if

she had to be insane.

"What, are you serious? If I go out there to fight monsters, I

could die!"

"…"

Asuna had no response. He was right: Fighting monsters could

get you killed. But from her current perspective, he might as well

be arguing that one should never walk on the sidewalk, out of the

danger of being hit by a car. It was allowing fear to control your

life.

Was she just numb to the danger of dying within SAO, or was

it that the man was overly fearful? At the moment, Asuna couldn't

be sure. Perhaps there wasn't a "correct" answer between the two

of them. However, his logic was probably the prevailing opinion

here in the Town of Beginnings.

He continued, oblivious to Asuna's inner confliction. "What

was the other question again? Why isn't anyone here? They're

still here; they're just hanging out in their inn rooms. You might

run into the Army's tax collectors during the day, after all."

"T-tax…? What is that?"

"It's a stick-up with a fancy name. Watch out; they won't hesitate to go after outsiders. Wait, one's about to fall! I'm done talking here…"

He clammed up, concentrating furiously. Asuna bowed in

thanks, then realized that Kirito hadn't said a word during the entire conversation.

She turned around to find him focused sharply on the yellow

fruit, his eyes narrowed as though preparing for battle. He was

clearly ready to snatch the fruit before it fell to the ground.

"Stop that!"

"B-but I'm curious."

Asuna snatched him by the back of his collar and dragged him

away.

"Aww…but they look so tasty," he wailed. This time she yanked

on his ear to force his gaze away.

"Focus! Where's sector E-7? He said there were a bunch of

young players hanging out at the church there, so let's go check

that out."

"…All riiight."

Asuna took Yui, now fully conked out, and matched Kirito's

pace as he walked off, checking his map. Yui was the size of a tenyear-old, so in the real world, Asuna's arms would give out within

a few minutes, but thanks to her strength stat, carrying the girl

was like carrying a feather pillow.

They continued southeast down the wide, empty streets for

more than ten minutes until they reached a spacious garden-like

area. Colorful, leafy trees whistled mournfully in the chilly breeze

of early winter.

"According to the map, this is E-7…so where's this church?"

"Is that it over there?"

Asuna tilted her head to indicate a tall spire on the other side

of the copse of trees on the right-hand side of the path. A metallic

ankh made from a circled cross shone above the blue-gray tiles of

the roof. It was definitely a church. There was at least one in

every town, and the altar inside offered a few special perks, such

as undoing monster-inflicted curses or blessing weapons to do

extra damage to the undead. Magic was nearly nonexistent in

Sword Art Online, so churches were the most mysterious and supernatural places in the game. With enough regular offerings,

some churches allowed you the use of a room, acting as de facto

hotels.

"Wait a minute," Asuna called out to Kirito as he started off toward the church.

"Huh? What's up?"

"Umm…I just…want to be sure. If we do find Yui's guardian

here, are we…leaving her behind?"

"…"

Kirito's black eyes were soft with concern. He approached and

enfolded both Asuna and the sleeping Yui in his arms.

"I don't want to say good-bye to her, either. When she was

with us, it was almost like…that little house in the woods was a

real home. I felt it, too…But it's not as though we'll never see her

again. If Yui gets her memory back, I'm sure she'll come visit us."

"Hmm…I suppose so."

Asuna nodded briefly, rubbed her cheek on Yui, then steeled

herself for what had to be done.

The church was small in comparison to the scale of the city itself. It was two floors and had only one steeple. There were multiple churches in the Town of Beginnings, and the one nearest to

the teleport square was nearly the size of a small castle manor.

Asuna pushed open one of the large double doors with a free

hand. It was a public facility, so it wasn't locked. The interior of

the church was dim, with only the light of the candles at the altar

ahead weakly glimmering off the stone floor. At first glance, there

was no one else inside.

Asuna leaned over the entryway and called out: "Is anyone

here?"

Her voice echoed and trailed away, but no one answered.

"I guess it's empty…"

But Kirito disagreed, his voice low. "No, there are people here.

Three in the right room, four in the left. A couple upstairs, too."

"How high do you have to get your Search skill before it can

detect the number of people behind walls?"

"Once you reach about nine eighty. It's useful; you should get

there."

"No way—it's so boring to raise, I'd go crazy…Anyways, why do

you suppose they're hiding?"

Asuna cautiously stepped into the church. The building was

dead quiet, but she felt like she could hear people holding their

breath.

"Um, excuse me! We're searching for someone!" she called

out, louder this time. The door on the right opened a crack, and a

frail female voice emerged.

"You aren't…from the Army?"

"No, I'm not. I came down from a higher floor."

Asuna and Kirito didn't even have their swords on, much less

any battle armor. Army members wore their uniform of heavy

armor at all times, so a simple glance would prove to these people

that they were unrelated.

Eventually, the door opened all the way, and a single female

player reluctantly appeared.

She had short, dark blue hair, and the green eyes behind her

large black-framed glasses were wide with fear. She wore a simple

navy dress and she clutched a tiny dagger in her hand, still

sheathed.

"You're really…not the Army's tax collectors…?"

Asuna smiled and nodded to reassure the woman.

"That's right. We just came here today from up above, because

we're looking for someone. We have nothing to do with the

Army."

"From above? Does that mean you're real warriors?"

A high-pitched, boyish voice echoed from behind the woman.

The door swung wide and several people came rushing out. The

door to the left of the altar opened, and more figures emerged.

Asuna and Kirito silently watched, taken aback, as the group

of young players, no more than boys and girls, rushed to line up

on either side of the bespectacled woman. They appeared to be

between the ages of twelve and fourteen and were clearly fascinated by the sight of these new visitors.

"What did I tell you? Stay hidden in the back rooms!" cried the

woman, who seemed to be around twenty years old. She tried to

push the kids away, but not a single one of them paid any heed to

her command.

Almost immediately, one of the first children to appear—a boy

with short, spiky hair—voiced his disappointment with the visitors.

"What the heck? You don't even have any swords. Did you really come from above? Don't you have a sword?" He directed the

end of his challenge at Kirito.

"W-well, yes, I do, but…" Kirito answered hesitantly, and the

children's faces lit up again. "Show us, show us," they demanded.

"Hey! Don't be rude to people you've never met before—I'm

sorry, they're not used to visitors like this…"

The woman bowed so apologetically that Asuna had to rush to

reassure her. "No, it's all right. You've got a few weapons stashed

in your inventory, right, Kirito? Why don't you show them?"

"Um, okay." He nodded and opened his window, fingers flashing. About ten different weapons materialized in turn, piling up

on the pew next to him. These were weapons that he'd looted

from monsters recently and simply hadn't taken the time to sell

for cash yet.

Kirito produced all the extra items in their inventory that

weren't pieces of equipment already in use, then allowed the excited children to come closer and see. They picked up swords and

maces, exclaiming over the weight and cool factor of each. It was

a sight to make any protective parent faint, but in the safe zone of

the town, they couldn't hurt themselves with the blades.

"I'm really sorry about this," the woman said with clear concern, but the delight of the children brought a smile to her face.

"Please, come this way. I'll prepare some tea…"

She led Asuna and Kirito into the small room on the right side

of the chapel and served them each a hot, relaxing cup of tea.

"Now, you said you were searching for someone?" the bespectacled woman inquired, seated in the chair across from them.

"Ah, yes. Um…first of all, I'm Asuna, and this is Kirito."

"Oh! I'm so sorry; I didn't introduce myself. My name is

Sasha." They bowed to each other.

"And this is Yui," Asuna continued, stroking Yui's hair as she

slept in her lap. "We found her lost on the twenty-second floor.

She seems to be…missing her memory…"

"Oh dear." Sasha's deep green eyes went wide behind her

glasses.

"She had no equipment or items aside from the clothes she

was wearing, and it was hard to imagine that she was living on an

upper floor, so we decided to come to the Town of Beginnings to

search for her parents or guardian—anyone who might know her.

We received word that there were many children living here in

this church, so here we are."

"Ah, I see…"

Sasha's glance dropped to the table, her hands cradling her

teacup.

"There are around twenty children living in this church, from

elementary-to middle-school age. I think it's basically all of the

children in this town at the moment. When the game started…"

Her voice was thin, but she spoke firmly.

"Nearly all of the children their age panicked and suffered real

mental trauma from the experience. Some of them did venture

out of the town to tackle the game, but I think they were an exception to the rule."

Asuna had been in her final year of middle school when it happened, and she'd experienced what Sasha was describing. She

knew that in the days of solitude locked inside her inn room,

she'd been dangerously close to a total mental collapse.

"It's only natural. They're still at an age where they want to

rely on their parents' protection, but then they're told they can't

get out and might never return to the real world. These children

fell into a state of despondency. Some of them even…severed

their connections."

Sasha's mouth twisted sharply.

"For the first month after the game started, I was out in the

world, leveling up to help beat the game…but one day, I spotted

one of these kids on a street corner in town. I just couldn't leave

him to fend for himself, so I brought him to live in my rented inn

room with me. Once I'd started that, I couldn't stop thinking

about other children in his situation, so I went around the city

trying to round up all the kids I could find. Next thing I knew, I

was doing this right here. Seeing people like you, who are fighting

for all of us up above…I feel ashamed that I dropped out of our

quest."

"No…no!"

Asuna shook her head, desperately searching for the right

words, but they caught in her throat. Luckily, Kirito finished the

thought for her.

"That's not true at all. You're fighting in your own way,

Sasha…and much more bravely than I am."

"Thank you. But I'm not doing it out of a feeling of duty. It's

quite fun to live with the children." Sasha grinned, then looked at

the sleeping Yui with concern.

"Anyway, for the last two years, we've taken a single area of

the city each day and looked around every single building there,

checking for needy children. I'm certain I would have noticed

such a tiny girl. I'm sorry to disappoint you…but I don't think she

was living here."

"I see," Asuna murmured, then squeezed Yui again. She pulled

herself together to look into Sasha's face. "Um, I don't mean to

pry, but how are you making enough money to survive each day?"

"Ah. Well, I'm not the only one. There are some older kids who

are working to protect this place, and they're at a high-enough

level to be absolutely safe in the fields outside of town. They make

sure that we have enough money to eat. It's just not a very extravagant amount."

"That's splendid, though. Based on what we heard earlier, it

sounds like people around here consider hunting monsters in the

wilderness to be outright suicide," Kirito said.

Sasha nodded. "I believe virtually everyone remaining in the

Town of Beginnings feels that way. I can't blame them—it's absolutely true that the risk of death is out there. But in comparison, we're actually earning more than the average player in this

city."

She had a point. Permanently renting out the private rooms in

this church would likely cost a hundred col per day, well in excess

of what that fruit hunter could raise.

"But that just means they've singled us out now…"

"Who has?"

Sasha's gentle eyes turned steely hard. She was about to explain when—

"Miss! Miss Sasha! Come quick!"

The door to the room slammed open, and several children

piled inside.

"Hey! Show our guests some respect!"

"This is more important than that!" the feisty red-haired boy

from before shouted, tears in his eyes. "Gin and the others have

been rounded up by the Army!"

"Where?!"

Sasha bolted to her feet, instantly taking charge.

"In the empty lot behind the item shop in sector E-5. About

ten soldiers have the alleyway blocked off. Only Cotta managed to

get away."

"All right, I'm coming. I'm sorry about this," Sasha apologized,

turning to Asuna and Kirito, "but I've got to help save the children. We'll continue this later, if that's all right…"

"We're going with you, Miss Sasha!" the redhead cried, the

other children soon joining in. He raced over to Kirito to plead

his case. "Hey mister, let us use your weapons! If we show up

with those, the Army will run away!"

"Absolutely not!" Sasha barked. "You will wait right here!"

Kirito had been watching the scene unfold in silence, but now

he raised his hand to calm the children. He was typically aloof

and distant, but at times like these, he always exhibited a sudden

presence. The children quieted down.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," he began calmly, "but those

weapons are too powerful for you to equip them. We'll help rescue your friends. Believe it or not, this lady with me is incredibly

powerful."

He shot a quick glance to Asuna, who nodded in assent. She

stood up and turned to Sasha.

"Please let us help you with this. The more people, the better."

"Thank you. That's very generous of you."

Sasha bowed deeply, then pushed her glasses back up the

bridge of her nose.

"We'd better get running, then!"

Sasha burst out of the church doors and took off at a sprint, her

dagger swaying at her hip. Kirito and Asuna, still clutching Yui,

followed behind her. Asuna looked back to see that a gaggle of

children was pursuing in the rear, but it didn't seem like Sasha

would waste any energy keeping them in the church.

They wove through the trees into the E-6 sector and then

down an alley. Sasha was taking them on a shortcut that would

offer the most direct route. They raced past NPC shops and

through backyards, until a group of figures blocking a narrow

alley came into sight. There were at least ten of them, all wearing

equipment colored gray-green and black—the uniform of the

Army.

Sasha plunged into the alley before finally skidding to a halt.

The Army players noticed her approach and turned around,

wicked leers upon their faces.

"Well, well, here comes the nanny."

"Give me back the children," she commanded, her voice steely.

"You make it sound like we've kidnapped them. Don't worry,

you'll have them back—after we've taught them a lesson about

how society works."

"That's right. Citizens have a duty to pay their taxes."

The men laughed, their voices cruelly high-pitched. Sasha's

clenched fists began to tremble.

"Gin! Cain! Mina! Are you there?!" she called out over the

men, and a frightened girl's voice came back immediately.

"Help! Please, help us!"

"Forget about the money! Give it all to them right now!"

"But…we can't," wailed a boy this time.

"Kee-hee!" One of the men blocking the alleyway giggled involuntarily. "You've been lagging on your tax payments, I'm afraid…

This is going to cost more than just money."

"That's right. We'll need an equipment tribute. Drop your

armor and weapons…everything you've got."

As the men cackled gleefully, Asuna understood what was hap-

pening behind them in the alley. These armed "tax collectors"

were demanding that the trapped children remove everything

they owned, right down to their clothes. A bloodthirsty rage

swelled inside of her.

Sasha had arrived at the same conclusion, and she tore into

the men as though she might start throwing fists.

"Move it…Get out of the way! Or else I'll…"

"Or else you'll what, Nanny? You gonna pay the tax for 'em?"

The gloating men showed no signs of moving.

Within the town zone, a program known as the anti-crime

code was in effect at all times, which meant that it was impossible

to harm another player or force him to move against his will. The

flipside of this code was that malicious players could not be dispersed, either. The result was that certain tactics existed for

player harassment—there was the "block" formation being employed here, which trapped players in a tight space, or the "box,"

in which the victims were completely surrounded on all sides.

But this only applied to movement on the ground. Asuna

turned to her partner and said, "Ready, Kirito?"

"Yeah."

They nodded to each other and easily leaped into the air. Their

agility and strength stats fed directly into the jump height, sending them soaring well over the astonished faces of Sasha and the

soldiers and into the blocked-off empty lot.

"Wha—?!" Several of the men leaped backward in shock.

Trapped in a corner of the alley were two boys and one girl in

their early teens, huddled together. They'd already removed their

equipment and were dressed only in their simple undergarments.

Asuna bit her lip, then approached the children and gave them a

reassuring smile.

"It's all right now. Put your equipment back on."

The wide-eyed kids nodded and rushed to pick up their armor,

fiddling with their menus.

"Hey…no, no, no!" bellowed one of the soldiers, who had finally returned to his senses. "Who do you think you are? You're

interfering with Army business!"

"I'll handle this," said a man in heavier-looking armor as he

strode forward. He appeared to be their leader.

"I don't recognize you people. Do you understand what it

means to defy the Aincrad Liberation Force? We can continue

this conversation at our headquarters, if you like."

His narrow eyes glinted dangerously. He drew a large

broadsword from his waist, then approached lazily, slapping the

flat of the blade against his palm. The face of the sword caught

the light of the low west sun; his armor shone dully, with the

unique glow of metal that had never been damaged or repaired.

"Or do you want to take this 'outside,' where we can settle it

for real? Huh?"

Asuna's teeth ground audibly at that last comment. She'd

thought that settling the matter quietly was best, but from the

moment she saw the frightened children, her rage had passed its

limit.

"Kirito, can you take Yui?"

She handed the sleeping girl to him, and he tossed back her

rapier. She caught it, slid it out of its scabbard, and strode over to

the leader.

"Uh…uh…?"

The man's face was a blank mask of incomprehension, his

mouth half agape. Asuna unleashed a thrust at full power into his

dumbfounded mug.

Purple lights. An explosive shock wave. The man's ugly face

jerked backward, and he fell onto his rear end, eyes wide with

shock.

"If you want a fight, we don't have to take it outside the city."

Asuna closed the distance and her right arm flashed again. Another burst, another explosion. The leader's body shot backward.

"Don't worry, you're not losing any HP. But that just means I

can keep doing this as long as I want."

Asuna continued her steady pace. The leader looked up at her,

lips trembling. He finally understood what she was doing.

Within the bounds of the city's anti-crime zone, an invisible

wall protected every player from weapon attacks and other damage. But that rule had one other consequence to it: Without damage, an attacker would never be identified by the system as a

criminal player.

There was a form of training called "zoned battle" that took

advantage of this rule. But as the attacker's stats and skills increased, the color and sound of the code's nullifying effect intensified, until sword skills could even knock back the target a little

bit. To those unfamiliar with it, the shock was hard to ignore,

even if it carried no HP damage.

"A-ah…s-stop…" he wailed each time he was dashed to the

ground. "D-don't just watch…Stop her!!"

The other soldiers came to their senses and drew their

weapons. They came from both sides of the alley, realizing that

something was going terribly wrong.

They formed a semicircle around Asuna, whose eyes were

flashing the way they did in the days when she'd been as driven

and focused as a berserker. She leaped without a word, attacking

the group head-on.

The alley was suddenly full of sound, the roar of explosions

and screams.