Sword Art Online: Faithful Hymn

Chapter 2: Two Bruised Souls

Dear Mr. Tetsuhiro,

My name is Sasaki Shoji, and I used to be a friend of your daughter, Yuuna. Ever since the SAO Incident and since your daughter's death, I have lived in despair due to the loss of your daughter. Like I said, back in SAO, we used to be very close and your daughter's unexpected death has lead me to not live my life properly anymore. It's been difficult for me to socialize with other people, especially with anyone regarding the SAO Incident since they remind me too much of your daughter. That is the reason why I am contacting you 2 years after the death game had been cleared. I can't start to imagine how hard it must have been for you to accept her death, and therefore I am so sorry for your loss. I would like to meet up with you in person, so that we can both reflect on the events from back then, as well as to get to know each other better. I strongly believe that is what Yuuna would have wanted for the both of us. I'd be very happy if you would respond to me as soon as possible, although you're welcome to take your time if you need a moment to catch your breath after seeing this message.

Kind regards,

Sasaki Shoji

'Send'

Just like that, Shoji sent his email to Yuuna's father: Shigemura Tetsuhiro. It has been 30 minutes since Shoji woke up from yet another nightmare regarding the SAO Incident. This time it was not truly about Yuuna however. It was from another event back in Aincrad that feared him.

There has been a moment where Shoji was part of the Assault Team: A team including strong players that help to clear various Floors, including its bosses.

One day while clearing Floor 28, Shoji and a couple of other well-known Assault Team members were attempting to kill the Boss on this floor, called: Waheela the Black Wolf. Like its name says, it was a big black wolf, with teeth as sharp as a survivor's pocket knife.

Shoji once got tucked into a corner of the battlefield, while Waheela the Black Wolf was ready to crush his head with its big and sharp teeth. It was only for the most infamous player of SAO that Shoji got to live another day, since the black-clad solo-player pierced the beast's heart with his one-handed sword while the boss was distracted.

1 hour later

While being bored out of his mind, Shoji eagerly awaits for a reply of Yuuna's father. He does not really expect him to respond this soon though, since he likely receives a lot of spam mail from people who adore him or other businessmen.

However, Shoji's laptop suddenly made a sound that implies that he has got a new message via his e-mail. When he quickly runs towards his laptop, he sees that he has indeed received a new message, although it was just an advertisement of a bar he had visited a few days ago. While he removes that message, another message pops up.

Sender: Shigemura Tetsuhiro.

Dear Sasaki Shoji,

Thank you so much for reaching out to me. I fully understand why it took you so long to contact another person regarding the SAO Incident, so please, don't apologize.

And yes, my daughter's death has haunted me ever since I received the news. It still haunts me to this very day. So for that reason, I would love to meet up and have a moment to talk about it. Shall we meet up at Kamura HQ at 2 PM? Again, thanks a lot for reaching out to me, and I hope I will see you today at HQ.

Kind regards,

Shigemura Tetsuhiro

Now that an appointment has finally been set, Shoji eagerly awaits for his arrival at Kamura HQ. The HQ should be located in the heart of Tokyo, not that far from his home. Since it is February 16th, 09:36 right now, Shoji still has time to spare before he goes to HQ to meet up with Yuuna's father. Since he is free today, he is bored once again. For that reason, he turns on his TV and starts to watch yet another movie.

4 hours later

Shoji now prepares to depart for the HQ where he will meet up with Yuuna's father. He turns off the TV, turns off his light to darken his medium-sized room a bit and he goes downstairs. From there, he eats a sandwich real quick and after that he goes out of his house, grabbing his bicycle in order to hit the road.

Once he arrives at the destined location, Shoji can see a huge building in front of him. The building itself is surrounded by a bunch of trees, that give color and scent to the area itself. It also is quite busy across the entire area. It may not be smart for the boy to stay outside for too long, since it's almost 2 PM. So for that reason, Shoji runs indoors, into Kamura HQ.

Now that he finally is inside, he has no clear idea of where to go. Since the e-mail he received from Yuuna's father did not tell him where he had to go to meet up with him, he's stuck with the main hall. It might just be best for Shoji to announce his arrival at the front desk. Maybe Tetsuhiro has told several staff members that a boy from around Yuna's age, 17 years old, would arrive at the building in order for a meeting with him. This was exactly what Shoji thought, and thus he heads for the reception. Just when he wanted to announce that he has arrived, someone shouted Shoji's surname in the distance.

'Mister Sasaki, it's a pleasure to meet you!', the man said loudly.

Shoji has a great feeling that the man approaching him, is in fact mister Shigemura. In order to be certain of this, he quickly looks at his name that imprinted on his badge stuck on his suit. It indeed seemed to be mister Shigemura.

'Mister Shigemura, it also is a pleasure to meet you sir!', Shoji said.

'Please, follow me to my office. We can talk further there.', Tetsuhiro tells him.

While being curious and at the same time a little sad, Shoji follows Yuuna's father who guides him to his office. It indeed is a big building, Kamura HQ. The company nowadays is famous for its big announcement: The Augma. It is supposed to be the newest version of Reality Technology. Instead of bringing you to a VR World, the VR World comes to you. Some people consider the Augma to be the predecessor of the NerveGear and the AmuSphere, but in reality it's completely the opposite.

Shoji and Tetsuhiro then enter the one and only elevator of the entire building. He has no idea where it would bring him, but he was certain that it could lead to his salvation. He then feels the pressure of the elevator hit him through his entire body.

He was fully certain now. It goes up. Shoji is able to see himself, rising up from his despairing past. All he needed was something that could push him. After one and a half years of trouble, he could feel his willpower ascending deep within the void.

Whatever demons would prevent him from doing anything, he can refuse to obey to them. Shoji is becoming his own man, a man who is willing to do anything to bring his love back to the living world.