Sword Art Online - Legends of Aincrad

Chapter 15 - Family

Well, writing this chapter nearly left me in tears... I have the feeling that it will do the same for some of you. Also, this is now the new longest chapter I have ever written, and I hope you guys enjoy it!

(Opening theme)

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Foor 1: Town of Beginnings/ Day care

"Is this place always so busy?" Kirito asked, as he looked around at the noisy room. They were in a cathedral on floor one, where twenty or thirty kids were attacking their lunches happily. He, Shoto, Asuna, Yui, and Sasha, that the trio had rescued the previous day, were in a corner table and watching all the kids. Shoto was in the middle of telling the kids about all the times the 'evil' banana peels tried to take him out, much to their amusement.

"Yes, sad to say," Sasha said.  "I actually used to be a front-liner myself, up to about floor twenty. But since I lived down here, I just found it harder and harder to leave each day as I saw how distraught the kids were. So, I decided to rent out this church and turn it into an orphanage of sorts."

"That's so awful," Asuna said looking around. "At least they seem to be okay now."

"Yeah, it was pretty hard for a lot of them, especially since all of these kids are the ones that logged in without their parents," Sasha said sadly. "But we manage to get by well enough, and they're safe here. And speaking of safe...How is Yui doing" She looked down at Yui, who was munching absentmindedly on a roll. 

Kirito turned to Sasha with a smile and said, "Well, she seems fine to me. But have you seen her around before? We came down here looking for her parent or guardian after we found her wandering in the forest of floor twenty-two. She's lost her memory, so she can't tell us what happened to her."

Sasha shook her head in a negative gesture. "No, I haven't seen her before, not ever," she answered. "I go wandering the streets every day looking for any kids that might need my help, but I've never see her. In fact, it's been a few months since I found anybody new- I think that these might be all the kids under the age of twelve in SAO."

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a loud knock at the door. Shoto's eyes narrowed as he approached the door with his sword in hand. Sasha came up behind him as the kids all went quiet. When he opened the door, there was a woman with long silver hair standing outside, dressed in the casual Army uniform.

"Who are you?" Shoto glowered as he recognized the uniform and guild symbol displayed above her health points bar. "If you're here about your bully boys from yesterday, I suggest you get lost. These people have it hard enough as it is without your stupid lackey's running around, playing-"

"Actually, I came to thank you for what you did yesterday," the woman said, surprising Shoto and silencing him instantly. "You did the right thing by putting those men in their place. My name is Yuriel, and I'm actually the Vice Commander of the Aincrad Liberation Army."

"Oh...okay?" Shoto said, scratching his head.

"You're Shoto of the Assualt Team, right?" the woman asked. "Are your other two friends here with you? I need to talk to them about something very important."

Shoto looked back into the room, where Kirito and Asuna met his gaze form the table. "One of the heads of the Army wants to talk to you guys," he said. "She says it's important, and she's not armed for trouble."

Kirito nodded, all business. "Let her in," he said. "Unless you have any objections, Miss Sasha?" When the teacher stated that it was fine, Shoto sheathed his sword and stepped aside to admit Yuriel.