The Gunpowder Blade

I Made A Promise

***

Hey, Familia of the Closet! I know I've said it many times already, but seriously, we're super close to the end. I've worked on this book for a rather long time. Compared to my others, at least. But anyway, here we go. Enjoy!

-Seijirou

***

(Kazuto) 

The drive was long and quiet. The rattle of the ambulance's well-used engine. The faint speech drifting from the radio. Asada's soft breaths arising from her uniquely petite frame. The car horns of impatient citizens desperately wishing to get home in time for dinner. Normal sounds. Although, through all of those sounds, nightmarish memories flooded my head, controlling me. I thought back to when I first woke up, the beam of light slowly eradicating my vision. How Kayaba had twisted my mind and bent my will. He tortured me to my very core, both in-game and in-real-life. That bastard got what he deserved, I think. What if all I gave him was an easy escape, from a true punishment? What if he wanted to die all along? Could I forgive myself for failing to achieve revenge for those who died 5 years ago?

"So, you mind telling me what you were doing in that place? I thought there were 'No Trespassing or Prosecution' signs put up everywhere on the lot." The paramedic asked. 

"The creator of Sword Art Online, Akihiko Kayaba, wasn't dead, up until a while ago. He booted up an old server and kidnapped his strongest player, yours truly. Then he used me as bait to get the rest of the gang and put us into that world. We fought our way up to the top floor and fought him, in-game. You're familiar with a certain "defect" in the system, right?" I explained, then stopped to confirm his knowledge. 

"Yeah, how players die in real life if they die in-game." He nodded. 

"Well, we killed him in-game, but somehow, he didn't die. When we woke up in that basement in the Kanto Mountains, our friend was dead. The prototype NerveGear that Kayaba had been developing before the original run of SAO was being tested on him. So we found our phones and called the police. Paramedics and Police came to get us, and the next thing I know, Asada and I wake up in that abandoned building. We were strapped to hospital beds, Kayaba had kidnapped us, again. I broke free from the restraints and fought him. Seeing as I'm here, it's clear who won." I finished. The paramedic had a shocked look on his face. 

"You know, I'm an SAO survivor." He said. I looked up and noticed tears running down his face. 

"You are?" I asked. 

"Yeah, I was a member of the Knights of the Blood Oath." He said nostalgically. "I remember you. Kirito. The Black Swordsman. The Guilded Hero." 

"Wow," I said, completely dumbfounded. "I wish I could say I remember you. Sorry." 

"Don't be. I never stood out much. I usually just stuck with my best friend, although I didn't know his real name, still don't. His username was 'Nautilus'." He looked at the ground, then up at me. He jumped at the sight, my eyes were wide with shock. 

"Did you say Nautilus?" I asked. He nodded sternly. 

"Why?" He seemed puzzled. Clearly, he didn't know Nautilus as well as he thought. And neither did I. 

"Nautilus' real name is Eiji Nochizawa. He was one of the two people responsible for the Ordinal Scale incident. And Eiji claimed that he was neglected by everyone. Except for Yunna." I explained. The paramedic had a destroyed look on his face. As if he found his family dead on the living room floor. 

"Really? Well, I mean, there were scenarios where Nautilus would get angry at me for following him, but going as far as neglected? No, no, many people paid attention to him. Because he sometimes yelled at townspeople. I didn't know where the anger came from. But I just looked the other way. He seemed so pent-up. I didn't want him to hate me too. But everyone would throw food at him when he passed through the town. All because he was an asshole. But enough about that. He was never neglected." He explained, deep in thought.