Fairy Dance 1

by Reki Kawahara

  What I wanted was Asuna’s location, naturally. After a few minutes of frantic phone calls, the man came back, clearly unnerved.

  “Asuna Yuuki is being held at a medical facility in Tokorozawa. But she hasn’t awakened like the others…In fact, there are still three hundred victims around the country who haven’t come back yet.”

  At the very beginning, simple server lag was the hypothesis, given the enormity of the process that had transpired within the game. But as the hours and days went on, no update came on the condition of Asuna and the three hundred like her.

  The public was electrified, speculating that Akihiko Kayaba’s plot still continued. But I couldn’t agree. I’d been there in that world of endless sunset as Aincrad collapsed behind us. I’d talked to him for a few brief minutes, and I recalled the lucidity in his gaze.

  Kayaba said that he would release all of the surviving players. At that late hour, he had no reason to lie about it. I took him at his word—that he was prepared to move on from that world and wipe everything clean.

  But whether through an unforeseen accident or someone else’s design, the main SAO server was not reformatted entirely. It was still an impenetrable black box, working away. In the same way, Asuna’s NerveGear still held her spirit prisoner, attached to that server. There was no way for me to know what was going on in there. If only, one more time, I could return to that world…

  Suguha would be furious if she knew, but one time I left a note, went into my room, and put my NerveGear back on. I tried loading up the Sword Art Online client, but before my eyes appeared only a simple error message: UNABLE TO CONNECT TO SERVER.

  So, as soon as my physical rehab was finished and I was able to get around again, I started visiting Asuna’s hospital room as regularly as I could.

  The time I spent with her was always painful. Knowing that someone so important to me was spirited away by something cruel and unfeeling left my soul wounded. I could feel it oozing blood. But there was nothing else I could do. As I am now, powerless and minuscule, I was helpless.

  After forty minutes of slow, measured pedaling, I turned off the major thoroughfare and onto a smaller road, which wound its way up some hills until a massive building came into view. It was a high-tech medical facility, operated by a private corporation.

  I waved at the now-familiar security guard as I passed through the front gate, then parked my bicycle in a corner of the large lot. I got my guest pass from the luxurious first-floor lobby that looked more hotel than hospital and clipped it to my shirt pocket as I strode into the elevator.

  The doors opened smoothly, just a few seconds later, on the eighteenth, and highest, floor. An empty hallway continued south. This floor was largely reserved for long-term patients, so it was rare to pass anyone in the halls. Eventually, I reached the end, and a pale green door came into view. There was a dully glowing nameplate on the wall next to the door.

  Yuuki, Asuna. Beneath the name, a single slot. I took the pass off my chest and slid it through the reader. A chime sounded, and the door automatically retracted.

  One step inside and I was surrounded by the cool scent of flowers. Despite the midwinter season, the room was positively exploding with real, fresh flowers. Farther inside the spacious room, a curtain was drawn, and I approached it slowly.

  Please let her be awake in there. I put my hand on the curtain, praying for a miracle. Silently, it parted.

  It was a state-of-the-art bed designed for full patient care. The surface was a gel material, the same as mine had been. A clean white comforter was glowing softly in the sunlight. She was underneath it, sleeping.

  The first time I’d visited this place, I was struck by the sudden thought that she might not want me to see her real-life body while she was unconscious. But that concern was completely banished from my mind when I saw how beautiful she looked.

  Her rich, lustrous chestnut hair was splayed softly across the support cushions. Her skin was so pale, you could nearly see through it, but the hospital’s gentle care kept it from having a sickly tinge. There was even a hint of rose color in her cheeks.

  She didn’t seem to have lost as much weight as I had. The slender line from her neck to collarbone was just as I remembered it in the virtual world. Light pink lips. Long eyelashes. It almost seemed like they might tremble and pop open at any moment—if not for the navy blue headgear that covered her skull.

  All three indicator lights on the NerveGear were shining blue. The occasional starlike twinkle was proof that the connection was functioning. Even now, her soul was held captive in another world.

  I took her fragile hand in both of mine. There was a slight warmth to it. It was no different from the hand I remembered—the one that clung to mine, that touched my body, that slipped around my back. My breath caught, and I desperately held back the tears.

  “Asuna…”

  The faint alarm of the bedside clock brought me back to my senses. My eyes snapped to it and I was surprised to find it was already noon.

  “I’ve got to go now, Asuna. I’ll be back soon…”

  As I stood to leave, the door opened behind me. I turned around to see two men entering the room.

  “Ahh, you’re here, Kirigaya. As always, I appreciate your concern.”

  A smile split the face of the solid middle-aged man in front. He wore a well-tailored three-piece brown suit, and the tightness of his face despite his stocky build suggested the vitality of a very successful man. Only the silver in his slicked-back hair revealed the mental toll that the last two years had taken.

  He was Shouzou Yuuki, Asuna’s father. She had mentioned once or twice that he was an entrepreneur, but even then, I couldn’t hide my shock when I learned that he was actually the CEO of the electronics manufacturer RCT.

  I gave him a polite bow and said, “Good afternoon. Sorry to have disturbed you, Mr. Yuuki.”

  “Not at all. Come any time you like. I’m sure she’s happy.”

  He approached Asuna’s bedside and tenderly stroked her hair. All was quiet for a moment, then he looked up and motioned to the other man with him.

  “You haven’t met, have you? This is Sugou, the manager of our lab.”

  My first impression was that he seemed quite nice. He was tall, clad in a dark gray suit, with frameless glasses resting on his long face. The eyes behind the thin lenses were narrow lines, which made it seem as though he were smiling all the time. He was quite young—not yet thirty, by my estimation.

  Sugou extended a hand to me and said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Nobuyuki Sugou. So you’re the hero, Kirito.”

  “…Kazuto Kirigaya. Nice to meet you.”

  I glanced at Shouzou as I shook Sugou’s hand. He inclined his head slightly as he stroked his chin.

  “Oops, sorry ’bout that. I know, stuff that happened in the SAO servers is all confidential. But it was such a dramatic tale that it’s hard not to talk about it. He’s the son of a very good friend of mine. Our families have been close for years.”

  “About that, sir.” Sugou turned to Shouzou, releasing my hand. “I was hoping we could get everything official by the end of next month.”

  “I see…and you’re sure about this? You’re still so young; there’s plenty of time to start a new life.”

  “My heart has been set on this for years. I’d like to be able to put Asuna in that dress…while she’s still so beautiful.”

  “…Indeed. It might be time to make a hard decision.”

  I listened to their conversation, unsure of what they were discussing. Shouzou looked back to me.

  “Well, it’s time I ought to be going. I’ll see you again later, Kirigaya.”

  With a brisk nod, Shouzou Yuuki turned his imposing bulk around and walked to the door. It opened and shut again. Only the man named Sugou was left.

  He slowly paced around the foot of the bed to stand on the other side, then picked up a lock of her hair and started rubbing it audibly with his fingers. Something about the gesture filled me w
ith revulsion.

  “I hear you lived together with Asuna inside the game,” he said softly, still looking at her.

  “…Yes.”

  “That makes things…complicated…between us, then.”

  He raised his head and stared into my eyes. In that instant, I understood that my first impression of this man could not have been more wrong.

  Those narrow eyes featured beady pupils that gave him a wicked glare. Both corners of his mouth curled upward into a grin that could not be described with any word other than devious. A chill ran up my spine.

  “You see, the matter I mentioned a moment ago…” He gloated. “It regards my marriage to Asuna.”

  I was struck speechless. What in the world was he talking about? The meaning of his words only slowly penetrated my skin, like freezing air. After several seconds of silence, I haltingly found my voice.

  “You can’t…possibly…”

  “True. Legally, we cannot be married because Asuna is not conscious and cannot give consent. On paper, the Yuuki family is simply taking me in as a foster son. As a matter of fact, she’s always hated me.”

  He traced a finger along Asuna’s cheek.

  “Her parents never seemed to have a clue. But I always knew that if the topic of marriage came up, there was a high likelihood she’d reject it. Which is exactly why this situation suits my ends so well. I hope she sleeps for a while yet.”

  His finger got closer and closer to her lips.

  “Stop it!”

  I grabbed his hand without thinking and pulled it away from her face. My voice was hoarse with anger.

  “Are you saying…you’re taking advantage of Asuna’s coma?”

  Sugou leered again as he snatched his hand away. “Advantage? Actually, it’s entirely within my legal right. Kirigaya, are you aware of what happened to Argus, the developers of SAO?”

  “I heard they were dissolved.”

  “Yes. In addition to the development costs, the astronomical reparations for the Incident drove them bankrupt. Maintaining the SAO server was consigned to RCT’s full-dive engineering team: my department.”

  Sugou circled around the headboard of the bed to face me. He stuck his face up close to mine, still wearing that demonic smirk.

  “Meaning that Asuna’s life is now entirely under my supervision and control. And doesn’t that entitle me to just the tiniest amount of compensation?” he whispered into my ear, and I knew.

  He was using Asuna’s helpless predicament, her very life, for his own selfish ends.

  As I stood, petrified in shock, Sugou finally shed the leer he’d been wearing and spoke icily.

  “I have no idea what kind of promises you two made while you were inside the game, but I’d appreciate it if you stopped visiting the hospital. And please keep your distance from the Yuuki family.”

  I clenched my fists, but there was nothing I could do. Several glacial seconds passed. Eventually, Sugou pulled away, his cheek dimpling as though he were about to burst into laughter.

  “We’ll have the ceremony here at the hospital next month. Tell you what: I’ll shoot you an invitation. I’ve got to be off, so get the most out of your final meeting—hero.”

  I wish I had my swords, I thought desperately. I’d run him through the heart with one and cut off his head with the other. Cognizant of my rage or not, Sugou patted me on the shoulder and left the room.

  I had no memory of the trip home. The next thing I knew, I was sitting on my bed, staring at the wall.

  My marriage to Asuna.

  Asuna’s life is now entirely under my supervision and control.

  His words echoed through my head, over and over. Each time they did, I was pierced with hatred as sharp and hot as molten metal.

  But…maybe my ego was getting the best of me.

  Sugou had been close to the Yuuki family for years and was essentially Asuna’s fiancé. He had earned Shouzou Yuuki’s trust and was in a position of great responsibility at RCT. It had been decided years ago that he would one day marry Asuna, and I was just some kid who she met in an online game. Perhaps the rage I felt, the indignation at losing Asuna, was nothing more than the frustration of a child who had been deprived of his toys.

  To us, the floating castle Aincrad was the only world that existed. That’s what we believed. The words we traded, the promises we made, all those memories were like shining jewels in my mind.

  But the harsh whetstone of reality was grinding them down to size. It chipped away at those jewels.

  I want to be with you forever, Kirito, she had said with a smile—a smile that was slowly but surely fading away.

  “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry, Asuna. I…can’t do anything…”

  This time, the tears that I’d been struggling to hold back finally fell, dripping onto my clenched fists.

  “The bath’s open, big brother,” Suguha called out to the door of Kazuto’s second-floor bedroom. There was no answer.

  He’d returned from the hospital in the evening but immediately shut himself in his room, and he did not emerge for dinner.

  Suguha put her hand on the doorknob, then hesitated. But she told herself that if he was napping untended, he might catch a cold, and so she pushed the knob.

  It swiveled and clicked, and the door inched open. It was black inside. She thought he must be sleeping, until a wave of frigid air trickled over her, and she shivered. Kazuto must have left the window open.

  Suguha snuck into the room, shaking her head. She closed the door and approached the window on the south side of the room, and she was startled to discover that Kazuto was not lying down asleep but was sitting on the edge of his bed, head slumped.

  “Oh, um…sorry, I thought you were sleeping.”

  After a few moments, Kazuto spoke, his voice ragged and weak.

  “Can I just…be alone for a while?”

  “B-but it’s so cold in here…” Suguha reached out and touched his arm. It was cold as ice. “Oh my gosh, you’re freezing! You’ll catch a chill. Come on, you need a bath.”

  It was then that Suguha noticed the nighttime lights coming through the window, shining on Kazuto’s cheeks.

  “Wh…what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” he muttered damply.

  “But…”

  Kazuto suddenly put his hands to his forehead, as if to block her uncomprehending stare. When he spoke again, it was hard and derisive.

  “I’m hopeless…I swore to myself that I wouldn’t complain in front of you.”

  In that instant, Suguha instinctively knew. Softly and hesitantly, she spoke.

  “Did something happen…with Asuna?”

  His body stiffened. It sounded like he wrung the voice out of his throat.

  “Asuna…is going…far away. Far beyond…my grasp…”

  That didn’t tell her anything specific. But the sight of him curled over, shedding tears like a child, shook Suguha deeply.

  She closed the window, drew the curtains, and turned on the heater before sitting next to him on the bed. After a moment’s hesitation, she put her arms around his chilly body. She could feel the tension drain out of him.

  Suguha whispered into his ear. “C’mon, hang in there. Don’t just give up on the one you truly love…”

  It took all of her being to find those words, and when they left her mouth and echoed in her ears, the pain threatened to rip her apart. It was the pain of something coming to life within her breast. Suguha was keenly aware of how much she truly loved him at that moment.

  I can’t keep lying to myself.

  She leaned back and softly rolled Kazuto onto the bed, then pulled the covers up. Under their warmth, she put her arm around his back again.

  As she gently rubbed his back, his racking sobs transitioned to the peaceful breath of sleep. She closed her eyes and told herself, I have to give up. I need to bury this deep, deep within me.

  Kazuto’s heart belongs to her, not me.

  A single tear of her own dripped down Sugu
ha’s cheek and landed on the sheets.

  I drifted through a sweet and pleasant warmth.

  It was the wonderful sensation of floating just before waking up. The sunlight trickling through the forest branches gently caressed my cheek.

  I leaned closer to embrace her as she slept next to me. Her breath was steady with sleep, and I opened my eyes to see…

  “Wha—?”

  I caught the yelp in my throat and leaped back a foot or two, still on my back. The next second, I sprung up to a sitting position and looked around wildly.

  It wasn’t the same old forest on the twenty-second floor of Aincrad I always dreamed about. I was in my actual room, in my actual bed…but I wasn’t alone.

  I carefully lifted the blanket, still shocked, but I put it back down just as quickly, so that I could shake my head to clear the cobwebs of sleep. I pulled the cover back again: short black hair. Vivid eyebrows.

  Suguha was fast asleep, wearing her pajamas, face buried in my pillow.

  “Wh-what the hell’s going on here…?”

  I desperately tried to remember what had happened last night. Right—I seemed to remember having a conversation with Suguha after coming home from the hospital. I’d been lost in angst, and Suguha had done her best to console me. After that, I must have fallen asleep…

  “What am I, a little kid…?”

  After a brief bout of utter mortification, I looked back at Suguha’s innocent, sleeping face. Surely she didn’t need to sleep in the same bed to comfort me…

  Thinking back, a similar thing had happened to me in Aincrad. There was the beast-tamer I met around the fortieth floor. She’d reminded me of Suguha. She’d also fallen asleep in my bed, and I had been just as confused about what to do then.

  I couldn’t help but smile. Asuna and Sugou were still weighing heavily on my mind, but the chest-rending ache had somehow melted away overnight.

  All the memories of what had happened in Aincrad were like precious jewels to me, whether happy or sad. The important thing was that they were all true memories. I couldn’t disparage them myself. I swore to Asuna that we would meet again in the real world. There must still be something I could do about this.