Ex-Laughing Coffin

Dancing in the Rain

It has been a month since the release of all surviving SAO players. Most have woken up but some remain in the sleep like state. Life has been hell with reporters constantly drowning me with interviews. I collapsed onto my couch exhausted after I had had to fun from the reporters after school.
"Can you make me a iced tea please?" I asked our chef.
"Yes miss Akane." He responded quickly getting to work. I sat there paging through newspapers and magazine all with titles related the SAO incident. I sighed tossing them across the coffee table.
"Here is your tea miss." The chef said.
"Thank you." I responded smiling taking it gingerly from his hands. I sipped on the tea quietly starring at the phone. I have spent the last month trying to find Sheila's parents so I could talk to them and visit her grave. I had some connections running checks on the data base to connect her game name to her real name and location. I was still waiting for the call. After a few minutes of glaring down at the phone willing it to ring I gave up and went upstairs to deal with homework and business. With dad's company in shambles, I was trying to gain connections to ensure my financial safety and allow dad's assistant to be released from custody and become my guardian. I groaned and the amount of papers spilling from my desk and all the tabs open on my computers.
"Come on." I encouraged myself. "You can do this." And went to work on the plethora of paperwork. Life is such a never ending storm I can't seem to escape.

I woke up at three in the morning to the phone ringing. I was groggy and so I just turned over pulling my pillow over my head. Then I sat bolt upright; it could be information about Sheila. I rushed downstairs almost falling down the stairs in the process and snatched the phone off the table.
"Hello?" I asked hopeful. "Who is this?"
"Hi. This is Martin. You asked us to search for someone with the game tag Sheila in Sword Art Online. We have reached the family and I was told to inform you right away." Martin explained.
"Yes. Thank you. Can I please have there number and address?" I said barley containing the joy in my voice.
"Yes of course." Martin responded. I scribbled down the address and number before telling him goodnight. I skipped back upstairs stared at the clock, 5:00. Knowing there was no way I could fall asleep after this much stimulation. I decided to change into more casual clothes throwing on black jeans, a blue flowery blouse, and blue flats. I looked in the mirror and decided to put my hair in a braid. I then ran downstairs and out the door grabbing a bag for my random paperwork and books. I decided to sit out in a nearby park reading a book waiting for the sunrise to start. It was practically silent except for the occasional birds chirping and the very rare car. It was an hour later before the sunrise had started and day life had started. I snapped my book shut and walked into the city watching shops and restaurants start to open up and receive customers. I stopped at a cafe to grab a tea and a croissant for the way home. I walked up to the gate and typed in the code letting the gate swing open. I ended up going around back and knocking on the back door for quicker access to the living room. My maid opened the door and welcomed me home be off returning to her job. I grabbed Sheila's family phone number and picked up the phone punching in the number. One ring...two ring...
"Hello?" A male voice said on the other end. "Who is this?"
"Hi. My name is Akane. I know you do not know me but I knew your daughter from SAO and was close to her. I was wondering if I could meet up with you and your family and talk to you about her?" I asked shaking.
"I'm sorry but during this time we are very private-" The man started.
"I know this is personal," I interrupted. "But she was part of my in game family and I was there when she died and I would like to meet with you personally to apologize. Please..."
The man sighed. "What days are you available? We are home all week."
A smile spread across my face.

I stood in front of Sheila's family house my hand raised above the door. I took a deep breath and knocked filled with excitement and dread. The door creaked open revealing a woman with short brown hair.
"Hello. You must be Akane, please come in." She smiled waving me in. I bowed and stepped in slipping off my shoes. The house was quite small but homey. The kitchen was medium sized and clean connected to the living room that only contained a coffee table with a couch and a chair surrounding it. The dining room was off to the side and had four chairs surrounding the circular table. The stairs were in the corner leading to the next floor.
"Beautiful home." I complimented. The woman smiled and waved me to the table were sandwiches were set out with a pitcher. The woman called upstairs and a man and a boy came downstairs and sat down at the table.
"This is my wife and son May and Zen. My name is Quinn." He said shaking my hand.
"Nice to meet you." I nodded. "Let's cut to the chase. Your daughter, Sheila, was a good friend of mine in the game and though she was meant to monitor me she was like my sister. Now that she is gone and we can't meet in person I wanted to meet you to learn about her real life. Hopefully I can explain what her in game life was like to you."
Quinn smiled. "Her real name was Sierra. She had got the money for the game herself by helping out at our bakery. Her brother Zen was trying to save up but was not quite old enough to work so he didn't get enough til recently but after Sierra died he didn't buy the gear."
"In the game She- sorry, Sierra was part of the Knights of the Blood Oath. They fought on the front lines trying to get us out. She was assigned to monitor me to make sure I did not hurt anyone. It was my fault she died. The Knights were storming a Laughing Coffin, a group that hunted players for fun, and taking over the base. I was an ex-second in command of the group but quit when the real game started. They hated me because of this and went out of their way to punish me. Sierra was close to me and targeted her using her as way to hurt me. They killed her." I bowed my head and felt their eyes burning holes into my head but the gaze softened.
"What was she watching you for?" Zen piped in. "What did you do?"
I frowned. "I will tell you but I want you to know I had no knowledge of my father's plan nor did I support it. I was being monitored because I used to be in Laughing Coffin and because Kayaba, the maker of SAO, was my father." I let that sink in.
Quinn's face hardened and May gripped her wrist. Zen looked on with pity.
"That's another reason why I wanted to apologize, my father killed your daughter." I held my breath waiting for someone to speak.
"Was she happy?" May asked. "Did she enjoy her time in the game with everyone?"
I gave her a small smile. "She was very happy. Sierra loved her time in SAO."
"That is all I need to know." May smiled.

It was a week ago that I met with Sheila's parents. When I left they had given me the location of her grave and we have kept in contact. I had finally decided to visit Sheila's grave after putting it off worrying I would reopen wounds. Now I finally stood in front of the cemetery gates looking at the sea of grave stones just like in SAO. I walked towards her grave carrying red roses just like I had placed on her grave in SAO. I sat in front of her grave curling my legs beneath me re arranging my black dress around my legs.
"Hello again." I laughed lightly. "It's been a while. I have been dealing with the backlash of the game. I am Kayaba's daughter after all. I now have to take charge. Besides that, I met with your family. They miss you but they seem to be managing the bakery and are becoming more popular. Anyway, I am sorry I got you killed. I apologize in place of my father and as myself for letting you die during the raid. I apologize for everything." I sat like this for a while trying not to cry as I stared at her grave. What seemed like hours later I finally stood up again leaving the flowers in front of the grave as I walked away I looked back towards her grave. Just for a second I thought her. She was sitting on her grave swinging her legs in her SAO Kinghts uniform smiling at me and waving her bright red hair blowing in the wind. Then she was gone. I waved back hoping she could still see me and walked out of the grave yard thinking off the inscription on Sheila's grave: "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's learning to dance in the rain..." I laughed out loud letting go of all my pain. Now, I am truly dancing in the rain...

Fiñ

(A/N: That was the end :) This is the first story I have ever completed so I hope it wasn't too horrible. Please leave your comments if you enjoyed this book and give me feedback. :) Bye the way the Dancing in the Rain quote is not by me. Just to clear that up. I don't know who it is by. Anyway, thank you so much for reading till the end. Stay tuned for my next books. Thanks!