Fatal Bullet (Various x Female Reader)

The Road to the Ruby Palace (Chapter Twenty-Two)

        Somehow, Kirito had managed to convince me to go to this educational meeting about the Augma with him. It was different seeing him so serious. I think the last time I saw him with such a serious face like this was- I gasped in pain, grasping my head. Kirito stops watching the professor to look at me in concern.

"Are you okay?" He whispers to me. I smiled at him and nodded.

"Y-yeah... I'll be fine. Why are we here anyways?" I asked him.

"Would you believe me if I told you that diva told me to come here?" My eyes widened in surprise.

"You mean you've seen her too?" Kirito looks at me in surprise.

"You've met her before?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, a couple times. She claims she can give me back my memories if I go to her concert. I don't know why, but I believe her for some reason." My attention is drawn back to the professor who is asking for questions now. Kirito notices his chance and raises his hand.

"All right, you there." Kirito stands from beside me.

"I believe AR machines come with dangers that don't exist in full-dive machines. What are your thoughts on that?" Kirito asked. I see now, Kirito must have wanted me to come to prove that the memory-wipe function of the Augma is very much so real. The professor doesn't think much about the question.

"Do you mean traffic accidents while wearing the device?" Kirito shook his head.

"No. I mean the information added by the machine could potentially invade the user's perception of reality. Full-dive technology transforms a virtual world into reality. But doesn't AR technology make the real world virtual?" Kirito's question was a good one and one that the professor wasn't willing to answer at the podium.

"I'll answer that question next time. That's it for today." With that, the lecture was over. I followed beside Kirito to Professor Shigemura's office. When we reached it, we both sat down. I inspected the place, spotting various mechanical parts. It almost seems as though the Augma could have been something the professor had been working on for quite some time.

"I'll get straight to the point." Kirito began. While Kirito convinced me to come with him, I have no idea what his actual purpose was in bringing me along with him besides possibly bringing my case up with the professor. Kirito laid a photo down on the coffee table in front of us.

"Do you know someone name Eiji, who's ranked number two in Ordinal Scale?" I looked over at the professor's desk. A picture had been pointed somewhat in our direction. I could see the person's face somewhat from my spot beside Kirito. Her braided brown hair and friendly hazel eyes smiled at me from the picture. Wait, I've seen her before. Suddenly, pieces click in place. Even though I'm unable to remember my times with her in SAO, I know I met her there. It was a gut feeling I had. I interrupted the boys' talk for a moment. I have to know.

"Um, Professor? Who is that girl in that picture over there? I feel like I've known her, or well seen her before at least." The professor follows my gaze to the girl in the photo.

"That was my daughter. Yuna." My eyes widen. Yuna? The pain comes back. I wince, but try not to show my discomfort.

"She was an SAO player, wasn't she?" The professor stiffens at the mention of it, proving my point.

"I had an incident involving Ordinal Scale, and after I saved my friends from being attacked by the boss, I seemingly lost all my memories of Sword Art Online. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" I asked him, surprising Kirito by taking the initiative on this meeting. The professor looked straight at my face.