Memories of SAO

Memories of Meeting

Three years ago, I couldn't say with certainty we'd make it this far.

If anyone back on the first floor said to me, "Jaymes, you and your partner will make it to the ninety-ninth floor of Aincrad," I would have agreed with them in spirit, but not truly believing it. If those words were uttered every floor up until the sixty-first, I might've believed it heartily, and as the higher we scaled, the greater my belief. All I wanted was for my partner Koharu for live, even if it meant I couldn't.

After the sixty-first floor, I made it my sole mission to escape this world with Koharu, and now we're so close. Tomorrow morning, we'll take on the boss rush across the floating islands of the ninety-ninth floor. There's no quests, no towns, nothing but a series of reskinned bosses from the past between us and the Ruby Palace.

I'll admit, I'm more than nervous. I'm scared I'll die, or that Koharu will die, or that Kirito, Asuna, or any of my close friends will die. But if we live, I'm more nervous that our vicotry will be the last time I see any of them. Besides Koharu and Asuna, who used their real first names as their usernames, I don't know any of their names. I may forget their likeness. That scares me more than dying because the bonds I've forged, be it the love between me and Koharu or the friendship of the couple whose home we come upon in the lakeside forest of the twenty-second floor.

The only thing calming me is the warm hand interlocked in mine. For ninety-nine floors Koharu's been my rock, whether she knows it or not. When I met her in the SAO beta, she was a newbie player to video games, and she asked me to play the official release with her. Back then, I was a solo player who stayed in the background of the beta and kept to myself as I did in the real world, yet I wasn't bugged when the black-haired, green-eyed girl poised me this question. My answer was surprising to myself, but it set in stone the adventures we'll have together. Through those adventures, I watched Koharu mature and grow into a fine young, strong woman, worthy of her place as the second strongest woman in the game; there's not a shade of the weak, pitiful girl I met in the beta left. I've matured myself as well, but the fruits of that won't bloom until I return home.

As we silently walk hand in hand to the wooden cabin in a clearing of the woods, a figure completely covered in black notices us and steps down from the porch. He greets Koharu first, then gestures to the cabin behind him, saying that Asuna might need her help inside. Koharu nods and makes her way towards the cabin. With us guys alone, the boy holds his right hand out in greeting, saying, "Thanks for coming."

"Thanks for inviting us," I saw as I clasp the other guy's hand and shake it. "Are you sure we're not intruding, Kirito? Tonight's...probably the last one you'll have."

He shakes his head and ushers us towards the front door. "Of course you aren't. I've been too busy lately these days to meet with you, anyway. I want to chat a bit."

"So do I." I follow Kirito up on the porch but we don't go inside. Instead, we remain there, the Black Swordsman leaning against the railing while I fall back against the exterior log wall. "Tonight's the calm before the storm, huh?"

"Yeah. To think, three years later, we're finally here. If I told my younger self that I'd make it and the entire story behind it, he'd find it unbelievable."

"Which part of it is most unbelievable?"

"Hmm... That I'd find love here with Asuna, I guess. And...a child in Yui. I can't imagine making it this without Asuna." Kirito chuckles to himself as he turns around, holding his weight with his hands holding the railing. "What about you?"

"I guess I can say the same with Koharu. There actually was a girl who I liked back in the real world. We grew up together, she was my only friend, but then she moved away. Koharu's not my imagined type, yet she's everything to me."