Chapter 12

She felt something on the right shoulder of her uniform, and looked down to

see a single, pale pink petal stuck to the fabric.

Asuna carefully reached over and plucked it off, cupping it in her palm to get a

look. The beautiful, elliptical petal was pristine in appearance, trembling in

place as though it had something to say, until the breeze finally lifted it off her

hand to join the countless spots of white dancing in the air. She returned her

hands to her knees and looked up at the hazy spring sky again.

It was three o'clock on the first Saturday of April. The memorial service for

Yuuki, who had passed a week earlier, had just let out. The Catholic church in

the hilly region of the Hodogaya ward of Yokohama was surrounded by rows of

cherry blossom trees, which were letting their flowers drop in an apparent

send-off. But the actual service was anything but reserved. Including the aunt

who served as chief mourner, there were only four relatives of Yuuki's in

attendance, but the number of friends in their teens or twenties numbered

easily more than a hundred. Naturally, they were almost all ALO players. After

three whole years in the hospital, her relatives must have assumed that Yuuki

had no real friends close enough to pay their respects anymore, and they were

stunned by the convoy that arrived.

After the service, the procession stuck around in the large courtyard of the

church in little groups, reminiscing about the Absolute Sword. For some reason,

Asuna didn't feel like joining in. Instead, she found a bench around the back of

the chapel in the shade and looked up at the sky by herself.

It was very hard for her to accept that Yuuki no longer existed in this world—

not cheering through the probe on her shoulder or smiling ravenously at

Asuna's home cooking in the forest cabin, but gone to a far-off realm, never to

return. Her tears had run dry at last, but every now and then she imagined she

heard Yuuki's voice in a crowd, the corner of a café, or on the breeze in Alfheim,

and it never failed to make her heart skip a beat.

She was getting into the habit of thinking about life nowadays.

How many decades ago had it been that the world was shaken by the

assertion that life was nothing more than the carrier of genetic code, a mission

to reproduce one's own information and leave it behind to thrive? From that

perspective, the HIV virus that had tortured Yuuki for all those years was a

terrific example of pure life. But the virus within her, which had run rampant

and successfully reproduced over and over, only succeeded in taking the life of

Yuuki, its host, causing itself to die as well.

Depending on your point of view, mankind had been doing the same thing for

millennia. At times, we took many lives in the search for personal gain, and our

countries sacrificed other countries for the sake of safety. Even now, as she

looked up, fighter jets taking off from Atsugi Base for some destination or

another were leaving exhaust trails in the hazy spring sky. Would the time come

that mankind destroyed the very world we lived in, just like a virus? Or would

we fall prey to a different type of intelligent life in the competition for

survival…?

Some of Yuuki's final words still echoed in Asuna's ears: I can't create

anything or provide anything. In that sense, she did indeed leave the mortal

plane without leaving her own genes behind.

But, Asuna thought as she touched her uniform ribbon, inside her heart,

thanks to the briefest of encounters, Yuuki had succeeded in etching her

existence in a deep and unforgettable way. The gallant figure of the Absolute

Sword, standing brave and tall against impossible odds without backing down—

Yuuki's very soul—was alive and breathing. It was true of all hundred-plus

youngsters here today. Even if time slowly broke down the memories bit by bit,

crystallizing what remained, it meant that something was staying behind.

That meant that life wasn't just a genetic code written in four nucleobases,

but also contained memories, mentality, and the soul. Not in the vague

conceptual sense of a meme or imitation. One day in the future, when there

would exist a medium that could accurately, easily record the mind itself,

perhaps that would be the one big key to protect against the obliteration of the

imperfect human species…

Until that day comes, I will continue to spread Yuuki's heart in whatever ways I

can. And when I have children, I'll pass on the story—the story of the sparkling,

miraculous girl who fought between the borders of the real world and the

virtual, Asuna thought to herself. She slowly opened her eyes again.

She noticed a figure coming around the front corner of the building toward

her and hastily rubbed at her eyes to wipe away the tears.

It was a woman. For a moment, Asuna thought she recognized her, but the

facial features were unfamiliar. She was tall, wearing a simple black one-piece

with a shawl. She had straight black hair that fell to her shoulders, with a thin

silver necklace hanging over her chest the only accessory. She seemed to be in

her early twenties.

The woman walked straight toward Asuna, then stopped a little ways away to

bow. Asuna quickly stood and returned the courtesy. When she looked up, she

was caught off guard by the blinding white of the woman's skin. The bloodless

look of that skin reminded Asuna of how she herself had looked when she woke

up from her long, long sleep. And now that she got a better look, the neck and

wrists were thin enough to break with a simple brush of the hand.

The woman stared at her for a while, and then her beautiful, date-shaped

eyes softened. A gentle smile appeared on her lips.

"You must be Asuna. You look just the same as over there, so I recognized you

at once," she said, and Asuna realized who it was immediately, based on the

clammy tone of voice.

"Oh…are you…Siune?"

"Yes, that's right. My actual name is Si-Eun Ahn. It's nice to meet you…and

been a while."

"It's n-nice to meet you, too! I'm Asuna Yuuki. I suppose it's been a week,

hasn't it?"

Their greetings were somewhat contradictory, a phenomenon that made

them giggle when they realized it. Asuna motioned to the bench and joined Si-

Eun.

At that point, Asuna belatedly realized something. The Sleeping Knights were

supposed to be patients fighting incurable diseases, and at the terminal care

stage of treatment. Was it safe for her to be walking around outside and alone

like this?

Si-Eun perceptively sensed Asuna's concern and nodded very slightly. "It is all

right. They finally gave me permission to venture outside this month. My

brother is here attending to me, but I asked him to wait around the front."

"Then…you mean…your body is already…?"

"That's right…I have acute lymphoblastic leukemia…I contracted it about

three years ago. Chemotherapy knocked it into remission…meaning that the

cancerous white blood cells disappeared from my body, but it returned last

year…After the recurrence, they said a bone marrow transplant was my only

effective treatment. But no one in my family had the right HLA match for me…

They couldn't find a donor at the bone marrow bank, either. I made my peace

with this a long time ago and decided to live what time I have left to the fullest,

but…"

Si-Eun paused, looking up at the cherry trees over her head. A tiny whirlwind

sent up a spout of pink petals that flurried like snow.

"If a marrow transplant can't be attempted after recurrence, they can seek

remission through a combination of drugs in what's called salvage therapy.

They use new drugs, test drugs—anything they can come up with—so the side

effects are severe…It was so painful that I wanted to give up many times. I

wanted to tell the doctors that if there was no hope, I wanted to switch to a

treatment that would make my remaining time easier…"

When the storm of cherry petals brushed at Si-Eun's hair, Asuna realized that

it was a wig.

"But…whenever I saw Yuuki, I remembered not to give in. She was fighting

the same suffering for fifteen years, so what was an older woman doing crying

about a measly three? At least, that's what I told myself. Then, my medications

started waning off in February…and the doctor said that my numbers were

getting better, but I could tell that it was my time. They must have switched me

from salvage therapy to QOL. That was scary, of course…but also a relief. I had

heard about Yuuki's condition…so I knew that I could go anywhere with her.

That no matter where we went, she would keep me safe…It's really quite silly of

me to be so dependent on a girl much younger than me—"

"No…I understand that feeling," Asuna interjected.

Si-Eun smiled and continued. "And yet…a week ago, the day after we said

good-bye to Yuuki, the doctor came to my hospital room…and said that I was in

full remission, meaning all of my cancerous white blood cells were gone, and I

could leave the hospital. I wondered what he meant. Was it just a temporary

leave so I could spend time with my family? I was still confused when I was

discharged from the hospital the next day. It was only yesterday that I

considered that maybe my illness was cured. It seems that one of the test drugs

worked wonders…"

Si-Eun paused and scrunched up her face into what looked like a combination

of smiling and crying. "It just doesn't feel real yet. When your lost time is just

handed back to you, you don't know what to do. Plus…there's Yuuki…"

Her voice trembled, just barely. Asuna felt a lump in her throat when she

noticed there were little tears hanging in the corners of Si-Eun's eyes.

"Is it right for me to stay behind like this…when Yuuki is waiting up ahead…?

Yuuki, and Ran, and Clovis, and Merida…We all made that promise together,

and yet…here I am…"

She seemed to have run out of words. Si-Eun dropped her head, shoulders

trembling.

Ran was probably Yuuki's older sister, the original leader of the guild. Which

meant the other two unfamiliar names were Sleeping Knights who had already

passed away. The fact that they came together by sharing the cruelest of fates

seemed to bind them even tighter than family or lovers. Asuna wondered what

she could possibly say about something like this, but she couldn't just stay

silent.

She reached out with her left hand and engulfed Si-Eun's right as it gripped

the edge of the bench. Through her palm, she could feel the thin, bony fingers

and their undeniable warmth.

"Si-Eun, I've been thinking lately…that life is a tool to transport and relate the

heart. For a long, long time, I was scared. I was scared to tell people my feelings

and scared to learn theirs. But Yuuki taught me that you can't think that way.

That nothing will come about unless you reach out to touch another. I want to

tell many people about the strength Yuuki gave me. For as long as I'm alive, I

want to carry Yuuki's heart with me, wherever I go. And…when I see her once

again, I want to return all of the heart I've received," Asuna said, carefully,

haltingly finding the words as she went. She didn't feel like she'd said even half

of what she wanted to, but Si-Eun let her head dip in understanding from its

downturned position, and she moved her other hand on top of Asuna's.

When Si-Eun raised her head, her beautiful black eyes were wet with tears,

but there was a clear smile on her lips.

"Thank you…Asuna," she whispered, then suddenly held out her arms and

circled them around Asuna's back. Asuna embraced her fragile body in return.

The words continued at her ear.

"We're all so grateful to you, Asuna. After her sister, Ran, died, Yuuki took her

place in cheering us onward and upward. We got so dependent on that…

Whenever it was tough or we felt ready to break, we all clung to Yuuki to share

in some of her strength. However—and you'll think this is an obvious thing to

say—I was worried about her. I wondered who was keeping her heart upright.

She was always smiling and never let anyone see the pain…but there were so

many things resting on that back of hers that it made me afraid her poor heart

would collapse under the weight…And that's when you appeared. When you

were around, Yuuki was full of so much natural enjoyment and life, it was like

watching a little bird that just remembered how to fly again. And she flew

higher and higher…until she went to a place…where we can't reach her…"

Si-Eun stopped there for a while. On the screen within her heart, Asuna saw

Yuuki for an instant in the shape of a bird, flitting through the foreign skies of an

unfamiliar world.

They let go, and Si-Eun smiled bashfully, using a fingertip to brush away her

tears. She took a deep breath and clearly, forcefully resumed. "To tell the truth,

it's not just me. Jun has…a very tricky form of cancer, but the drug he just

started using is working miracles on him, shrinking the tumors. We were talking

about it, saying that Yuuki was telling us it wasn't our time to join her yet. It

seems like the full reunion of the Sleeping Knights won't be for quite a while."

"…Of course it won't. And you're supposed to be accepting me as an official

member next time."

Asuna and Si-Eun shared a look, then a chuckle. Then they looked upward into

the pale pink sky. A gentle breeze blew past, rustling their hair. Asuna thought

of Yuuki, clutching their shoulders before she beat her wings and flew off into

the sky, and closed her eyes.

How many minutes passed? The serene silence was broken by the sound of

approaching footsteps. Asuna looked over to see a boy wearing the same color

uniform as hers—Kazuto Kirigaya—and Dr. Kurahashi, who was in black

mourning garb.

Asuna and Si-Eun stood up together and bowed in greeting. When his own

bow was finished, Kazuto said to Asuna, "So this is where you were. Are we

intruding?"

"No, it's fine. But…did you always know Dr. Kurahashi, Kirito?"

"Well…only recently. We've been exchanging e-mails about that

communication probe."

"That's right," Dr. Kurahashi continued. "That camera really caught my

interest. He's been helping me brainstorm how it might be used for medical fulldive purposes."

"Oh, I see. Actually, speaking of which," Asuna said, remembering something,

"what will happen to the Medicuboid tests? Is someone else going to take over

the monitor…?"

The doctor's cheeks softened in a grin, and he said, "Actually, no, we got

more than enough data from the test. The next step is working with the

manufacturers to turn it into an actual, viable product. Perhaps Miss Ahn and

others like her will be able to use their own Medicuboids soon…"

He said this last part in Si-Eun's direction, then looked shocked when he

realized what he was doing. "Oh, pardon me. I really should have said this first:

Congratulations on leaving the hospital, Miss Ahn. I'm certain that Yuuki is…very

happy about it all…"

Si-Eun took his outstretched hand and shook it. Next, she shook hands with

Kazuto, whom she already knew well from the game.

"Thank you. I don't think I'll be allowed to use the Medicuboid anymore…but

the thought of Yuuki's data helping others who are fighting disease is…a

wonderful thing," she said.

The doctor's head bobbed up and down eagerly. "Yes, indeed. Yuuki's name

will remain in history as the first person to test that machine. Along with the

external provider of the initial design…she deserves some kind of prestigious

award…"

"I don't think that Yuuki would be very excited about something like that.

She'd complain that you can't eat it," Si-Eun said.

Everyone laughed. When the pleasant sound subsided, Asuna realized that

something Dr. Kurahashi said was still sticking with her. She asked him,

"Doctor…you mentioned an…external provider? Wasn't it the medical appliance

manufacturer who designed it?"

"Ahh…w-well," the doctor stammered, his eyes narrowing as he consulted his

memory, "the actual creation of the prototype itself was done by the

manufacturer, of course. But the base design of the ultra-high-density signal

nodes, which is the very heart of the device, was provided pro bono by an

outside source. It was a woman…a researcher at a major university overseas.

She was Japanese, though. Let's see, her name was…"

The name Dr. Kurahashi mentioned was totally unfamiliar to Asuna. Si-Eun

had no reaction, either, but when she glanced over at Kazuto and saw the

expression on his face, Asuna's breath caught in her throat.

His gaze was blank, the look of one who couldn't believe what he was seeing.

His bloodless lips twitched twice, three times.

"Wh-what's wrong, Kirito?!" she asked, but he did not answer.

Eventually, in a hoarse, cracking voice, he said, "I…I know her."

"Huh…?"

"I've…met her before…"

Kazuto looked into Asuna's eyes. The dark pupils were breaking through the

barrier of space-time and staring into a far-off world.

"She's the one who…took care of Heathcliff's body while he was in-dive. She

was part of the same research team and studied full-dive capabilities with him…

So that means the true provider of the Medicuboid's basic design was…"

"…"

Asuna couldn't find the words, either.

It meant that, just like the Seed Nexus, the Medicuboid was the offshoot of

the seeds planted by that enigmatic figure.

Si-Eun and Dr. Kurahashi looked at them in confusion but received no answer.

All Asuna could do was follow the path of the cherry blossom petals as they fell

before her eyes.

Suddenly, she sensed a great flow in the world.

This place we call "reality" was just one individual face.

There was a greater construct made up of many, many worlds, as countless as

flower petals.

And a tremendous force that enveloped, shook, and trailed through all the

worlds was slowly coming into shape…

Asuna clutched her sides with both hands. A bracing gust of wind picked up

the falling petals, carrying them high into the distant sky.