The Breaking Point - Kirisuna

Faith Pt.2: Papa

Yui's POV:

I woke up from my cyber nap to a shake on my shoulder.

'Alert, Contact' displayed across my eyes, bringing me to look around the office I was in.

Mommy sat across me in deep slumber, outside the window behind her showed it was 11 at night.

"Common, Yui. Let's go home."

"Daddy! You're okay!" I accidentally yelled. Daddy put a finger to his lips to remind me not to wake our favorite sleeping lady. I looked to her to see that she hadn't budged from the noise.

"Im fine. Found out it wasn't an issue in our system, it was rip-off dive gear giving people a virus. All I had to do was go to everyone and administer a kill code so they could be kicked off the server. It'll be in the news tomorrow morning."

"That's amazing." I hugged my fathers waist in pride. He returned the gesture naturally.

"How is Asuna?"

"Mmm... mommy was very worried. She hasn't eaten in two days. We haven't left the room either. She was crying earlier, then fell asleep." I reported.

"She what??? Uh uh, we're getting out of here asap."

Daddy walked over to Mommy. He huddled next to her to begin pulling her dead-weight body over his shoulders.

He held out his hand to me. I held on as he guided our way back to the van, out of this dull building I couldn't wait to get out of. My battery was low so hopefully I make it home sooner rather than later. I was dispensing my energy carefully over the course of these three days, not expecting to be here this long.

Funny. This was unlike Asuna. Any crisis that has ever arisen, she makes sure that she is taking care of her body and her responsibilities. It was second nature for me to decode emotions to try to understand why we didn't move for 3 days, but this was more complex. For her to not even use the ladies room or freshen up? Something was out of place...

Was it the PTSD from SAO? Time sickness from the Underworld? Or the abandonment she still felt from the Star King's death, which she refused to talk about with even me any time the doppelgänger was mentioned. I always notice the scowl hidden beneath her "everything is fine" expression.

I was concerned about Mama's mental health. She was emotionally hoarding her grief or her stress and I don't have the knowledge on how to help. I've never been able to help anyone until now. By the look on Papa's face, I wasn't the only one who felt this way.

Kirito carefully strapped Asuna into her seat belt after I helped myself. A hand raised to brush her sparse bangs back into place.

The entire ride home, I stared at Kirito in the rear view mirror. Watching his eyes be drawn to Asuna as if he needed to make sure she wouldn't disappear.

I got out the car on my own to open the front door for Papa, seeing he had his hands full with carrying Mama to bed.

Mommy was being tucked into bed with her clothes still on. Being the gentleman he was, Kirito was never going to take off Asuna's clothes without permission.

"Oh right! Let's get you charged.". Daddy grabbed an extension cord which allowed me to stay plugged in and lay next to Mommy in bed.

"Thank you. Goodnight Daddy, Mommy" I kissed Mommy on the cheek and snuggled into her.

"Sweet dreams, Yui". Dad gave me a half- hearted smile. Was he okay?

I watched him go to the master bathroom connected to the room. I could just barely see his reflection in the mirror which was spliced visually by the cracked door.

Daddy's lips began to quake. He gripped his mouth and began silently sobbing. He tried his hardest to muffle his cry. This went on for about 30 minutes.

He seemed okay on the outside. Deep down I knew that while he was trapped in ALO, he was scared. The guilt of people being trapped in the same game scared him. The thought of never seeing us again, scared him.

I think that's the reason he wouldn't let Mommy in. On the other hand, Mommy seemed mad he kept her away. They were both hurting tremendously.

What kind of daughter am I? I'm supposed to keep them happy. I'm supposed to help my parents whenever they need support.

What kind of AI was I? Programmed to assist and monitor mental health, but in all reality , I knew nothing about the depth of human emotions.

I hopped off the bed and unplugged myself. Walking up to the bathroom door I could still hear Daddy crying. I pushed it open and let myself in anyways, shutting the door behind me to shield Mommy from the scene.

"Papa?". When I came in, he faced the wall. He clearly didn't want me to see his distress.

"What's wrong, Yui?" His voices cracked. His sleeves were drenched with tears he wiped away rapidly.

"Kazuto. You did the right thing."

"Huh?" He whipped his head around to my usage of his name, one I used every blue moon.

"I know how hard it was for you to make such a dire, quick decision. I get that you wanted to protect me and Asuna. You did your job. You did the right thing. Even if Asuna is mad, know that you did the right thing."

Daddy kneeled to my level and brought me into his arms.

"I know... I know it was the right thing to do, but why doesn't it feel like it? Why do I feel this sort of... shame?". Stuffy sniffles were stifled behind my field of vision.

"I know you feel bad about Asuna neglecting herself, that the past few days have been a scary repetition of history. But you have to come to terms with the fact that you didn't have a choice and that this incident was NOT your fault. Do you understand that? You are not a killer with the intent to kill. You didn't kill your friends. Not Sachi, Not Eugeo. You did not trap these people in ALO. You've always done what you had to do to protect others. In every game you've been on the defense. It's about time you forgave yourself. Without you, Asuna and I would not be here. Our friends now would not be here. Hundreds of people, even from today, would not be here.".

I hugged Daddy tighter, hoping he can feel the love and the honesty through me. I hope he can feel that no one is blaming him for the things he's had to do. That in time, Mommy will understand too, but he has to tell her how he truly feels.

"I have the greatest daughter on the planet. I love you more than you could imagine. Seriously. What would I do without you, Yui?". Relief befell upon me knowing that I could give my father some peace of mind.

"I love you too, Papa."

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A/N: We needed a Yui chapter. Yui is such a hard character to write from the perspective of. She's a super intelligent AI but there are things and behaviors she doesn't understand. She's like... a grown up child so I tried my best to keep her child-like tendencies without taking away her intellect.

Hope you guys enjoyed this father- daughter chapter. Part 3 coming soon!