29th March 2027, Monday, 1.35 PM
Toritsu Central Hospital, Chiyoda Ward
Asuna sat on the hospital bed with her Augma donned on, her fingertips gently caressed Kazuto's worn-out cardigan. She gazed sadly at the bloodstain on the cardigan, obviously anxious about her lover's sudden disappearance. Yui was right beside her in her pixie form with her tiny hand stroking Asuna's pearly white cheek. Yui had returned to Asuna's terminal beforehand to inform her of their discovery. Asuna was crestfallen that they were stuck with no other leads on Kazuto.
"Mommy...I will do my best to find Daddy. Please don't be sad anymore..."Yui pleaded, being able to understand Asuna's pain better than anyone else. Asuna lifted her head at Yui and used both hands to cup the tiny pixie in between them, bringing Yui close to her face.
"I'm sorry, Yui-chan. I've made you worry so much. I know you are just as worried as I am about Daddy." Asuna said to her in-game daughter.
"No, it's fine. I am a mental health counselling program. It is my job to emulate emotions and help them feel better." Yui said with a voice quivering ever so slightly.
"You've been holding it in all this time, haven't you? I know you're hurting just as much too. It's okay to cry, you know? Let it all out. I'm here too, as long as we have each other." Asuna touched her cheek to Yui's tiny head. From the gesture, Yui's tears streamed down her face as the front that she had been putting up came crumbling down. Yui wailed as she nestled into Asuna's cheek. Hearing the cries of her beloved daughter, Asuna also allowed her hot tears to roll down her face.
Standing just outside of the door to Asuna's hospital room, Suguha leaned her forehead on the glass of the door, listening to the cries coming from inside. She was holding in her tears with all her might. Klein banged his fists on the wall, cursing at his lack of ability to do anything about the problem. Agil felt just the same as he leaned his back against the wall with both arms folded against his chest. The other girls sat on the bench unable to utter a single word. All they could do was to let the two inside to have their private moment. After the cries have died down for a while, Suguha took a deep breath and smacked her cheeks before knocking on the door. There was a slight pause before a voice came from inside, signal them to enter.
"Asuna-san, how are doing today?" Suguha spoke softly with a bitter smile. The rest of the gang also followed her lead and entered the room.
"I'm feeling a little better. The doctor said that I'm okay to leave tomorrow morning." Asuna her best smile but her eyes were still puffy from the crying.
"I see. That's good." Suguha replied before rubbing her arm awkwardly.
"I'm sorry for troubling you guys." Asuna spoke apologetically.
"Nah, it's fine. I took a day off from work. Told the boss I had to attend to some important personal matters for a day or two." Klein shrugged with a wink.
"I had my wife take over the shop for a while so it's fine. Besides, he's our friend. We'd do anything to help him." Agil added with a smile.
"And not to mention, it's the middle of spring break so there's no school, right?" Silica said cheerfully and looked over to Suguha, who nodded in agreement.
"You, Liz and I just recently graduated and university intakes doesn't even start until mid-April, so we're practically on a vacation right now. Though, Kirito does seem to often have his vacation forcefully taken from him." Sinon chuckled as she remembered how the boy had complained about losing more than half of his 40-days summer break because of Johnny Black's assault that comatosed him.
YOU ARE READING
A Renegade of Reality
Romance"Have you ever truly experienced the feeling of losing your sense of reality?" These words echoed mysteriously in Kirigaya Kazuto's mind one day. Little did he know, it was the onset to his suffering. Will his friends be able to save him from the wh...
