Chapter 2
She checked the watch on her left wrist as she exited the C10 exit of Chiyoda Line's Otemachi Station.
There was more than five minutes left before the agreed time of 3:00 pm. As Yuuki Asuna was about to lower her wrist, her eyes paused casually at the small calendar window in the watch's dial.
Sunday, December 7th, 2025.
It may not be a special anniversary, but within Asuna's chest, the seed of a certain strong emotion had sprouted. As she began to walk along Eitai Street[9], she looked up, facing the main gates of the Imperial Palace and murmured without letting her voice out.
—Soon, it will have been one year...
Left unspoken were the words, "since my return to the real world."
After the floating castle of steel (SAO), to the bird cage in the treetops (ALO), she was subsequently rescued and returned to the real world in mid-January of this year. The fantasy world was gradually becoming a memory, but even so, she still occasionally felt strange about herself living like this in the real world.
The wide walkway paved with stone, the roadside trees shaking in the cold air and pedestrians walking with their faces buried beneath the collars of their coats or mufflers. Walking slowly in the midst flow of the crowd, was Asuna herself.
Everything around her was not digitally coded 3D objects, but real minerals, plants and creatures.
But how do we interpret what «real» is? If it's just made with atoms and molecules, then it would be the same as virtual polygons. Because those polygons' real identity are electrons contained in a server memory element. That is not much of a difference in elementary particles.
Saying that, the only problem probably comes from reversibility. The objects that exist in the real world, whether biological or non-living; if they were destroyed, it was impossible to recover them to the original state. But in the virtual world, then it is easy to regenerate the original object without a single byte of bad information.
...No.
That's not it. In that world – in Aincrad, what you lost and what you could not recover really existed. The two years spent in that floating castle, what Asuna touched, felt, obtained and lost were without a doubt all «real».
If that was the case.
"....The differences between the real world and the virtual world... what are they....?"
She unconsciously whispered, and to her question -.
"Just the quantity of information."
Came an answer from beside her, its unexpectedness caused Asuna to jump.
"Wa, waa!?"
She hurriedly looked for the source of that voice and noticing a boy's face, blinking in surprise.
Slightly long front hair. A very thin profile, but it made him look sharp. Dressed in a black shirt with a black jacket over it and faded black jeans.
His appearance is very similar to the avatar he used, the fact that there wasn't a sword hilt on his back felt very unnatural. Asuna took deep breaths to dissolve the sweet ache of longing arising from deep within her heart; she opened her lips and said.
"...I was surprised because you appeared so suddenly, did you use a transfer crystal?"
After hearing this, the boy— Kirigaya Kazuto revealed a bitter smile.
"It's not suddenly. Is this not the agreed time and place?"
"Eh...."
After being asked, Asuna looked around again.
The soft afternoon sunlight bathed the pedestrian street, and with the light flashing from the water surface. A little bit in front, a bridge connected with a large solemnly guarded door. Indeed, it was in front of the Imperial Palace, where she had arranged to meet with Kazuto. It seemed she was walking while thinking, and had reached the destination.
Asuna gave a shy smile and shrugged her shoulders.
"Ahaha, it seems like I was on autopilot. Umm... anyway, good day Kirito-kun."
"That's dangerous, the real world doesn't have navigation function. ...Hello Asuna."
After greeting each other, Kazuto's black eyes suddenly narrowed, staring at Asuna.
"Wh... what? What happened to you suddenly?"
Wondering if something strange happened, Asuna put her hands in front of her and asked. Then Kazuto hurriedly shook his head, and stammered:
"Ah, no, that is... Umm... I think this dress fits you well, it reminds me of..."
"Eh....?"
She unintentionally looked down at her form, it took two seconds for her to fully understand what he had said to her.
Today she was wearing a winter coat made of white tweed. Below that a knitted ivory and red checkered argyle skirt.
In short, all of the colors were associated with the no longer existing guild, «Knights of the Blood». Thinking back, in Aincrad almost every day, she was dressed in the red and white knight uniform. That probably awoke Kazuto's memory of those days.
Touching the left waist area with her fingers, Asuna gave a smile.
"...That's true. But I don't have a rapier... —That's right Kirito-kun too, today you are dressed entirely in black."
Hearing that, Kazuto also gave a shy smile.
"But without the two swords. ...In fact, I have been trying to avoid wearing black from top to bottom, but Suguha was washing our clothes this morning, and these are all I had left."
"That can happen if you leave your laundry lying around."
Her cuff met Kazuto's, and they held hands.
"Well, today we accidentally wore the «colors from those old days». What a coincidence."
She said while looking from a slightly higher position into Kazuto's eyes. Kazuto gave a small cough, and a monotone answer:
"Well, we have been meeting for a year like this; it was bound to happen sometime."
"Oh you, there you should have just said 'That's right'!"
Asuna gave a small pout then pulled the hand in the leather jacket.
"I say, don't just stand while talking, let's go. The day will get dark soon."
"Oh, okay."
Asuna stuck close to the nodding Kazuto, and the two headed over the bridge.
The old-style main gates against the white walls were shrouded in red sunset, casting black shadows on the bridge. Although it was Sunday, there were very few tourists due to the season.
They passed by the guards in thick coats, through the gate, and obtained a plastic admission ticket from a small office. Through the silver fence, it was hard to believe that it was the center within central Tokyo, with a vast and quiet stretch of woods.
Although it was Asuna who asked where they should go on Sunday, it was Kazuto who decided the meeting place to be «in front of the main gates».
The Imperial Palace itself was not open to the public, but within the moat, the «East Garden» in the northeast corner, was open to the general public on selected days of the week— that information, Asuna had not known until today. Of course, it was the first time she had actually stepped in there. Walking on the broad and fascinating trail, Asuna once again felt a strange feeling, she turned to the boy beside her and asked:
"...Oh yes, why did you choose the Imperial Palace for our date? Kirito-kun, are you interested in history?"
"Well, not really. The main reason was... recently, I was called around here for some stupid business..."
For one moment, his nose flared while remembering something, but soon returned to his original serene smile and continued.
"I'll tell you about that later, but don't you think that the Imperial Palace is a somewhat interesting place?"
"...Interesting? How so?"
Kazuto blinked his eyes, pointing his jacket right arm at the thick trees around.
"North-south about 2 kilometers, the east-west span 1.5 km. The north park and outer gardens combined area are approximately 2.3 million square meters, occupying twenty percent of Chivoda-ku[10]. Compared to the Vatican or Buckingham Palace, this is much larger, but it loses to the Palace of Versailles... It's not only the surface, there is not a single underground railway or tunnel below, and no type of aircraft is allowed to fly above. In short this place is a vertical wall through the center of Tokyo, a huge no entry area."
Hearing that, Asuna pictured a map of Tokyo in her head. Moving her left index finger round and round in the air, she nodded in understanding.
"That is to say, the heart of most of the trunk roads, ring lines, radial lines, is based on this point as the center...."
"That's right, Tokyo is not checker board shaped like Kyoto, it is disc-shaped, with a radial concentric circle city. And that center, not just the physical level, even information has been perfectly blocked. Like the old ALO «World Tree»... sorry. I remind you of the bad memories."
"No, I am fine."
For Asuna who had experienced long imprisonment in the old World Tree, she shook her head at Kazuto's consideration and asked:
"Prohibition on the physical level, I understand... but information, what do you mean?"
"Ah, that..."
Kazuto suddenly glanced at the surrounding trees, and with small hand movement points to several areas.
"You see, there and there, have surveillance cameras, right? That security system, it is now on a completely standalone system. This is a private closed network with not a single connection from the outside."
"Ah... Oh yea, the camera has a weird shape."
Looking at where Kazuto pointed, she saw a black sphere on top of a pole. It looks more like lighting than a camera if you don't know about it.
"The next generation security technology is being tested, I heard the rumor... —In short, this place is the center of Tokyo, but at the same time, an isolated «other world» as well... I might be exaggerating a bit."
"Ahaha, a little."
While chatting, they went by a huge stone wall, and the walkway changed to a ramp going up. After walking in silence for a while, their view opened up fully.
The other side is a huge lawn, almost hazy in its size. As it was winter, the grass had withered to a light brown, the leaves on the trees around had almost all fallen. With the arrival of spring, it would be a refreshing view.
"This is the Edo Castle ruins. In historical plays, the inner palace used for stage is supposed to be a bit north of the grass fields."
"Let's go see!"
Holding his hand again, Asuna began to pick up the pace. There were still not many people; most of them were foreign tourists. On the way, they passed a family with two cute-blonde sisters, and a husband and wife, who requested their help to take a picture. After Kazuto happily did so, the wife smiled and said, "We will take a picture of you two as well", Asuna shyly stood beside Kazuto as their picture was taken.
After receiving the image data on the mobile phone, we parted from the young sisters as we waved goodbye. After seeing the family moving further away in the orange colored light, Asuna sighed involuntarily.
"...Tired?"
With Kazuto's question, she inadvertently caught a brief glimpse from him.
"W-R-O-N-G! I want our future to also be like.... that, um... really!"
Her cheeks blushing at the line she blurted without thinking, she bolted ahead in a scurry.
"H, Hey, wait up!"
While in a short race with Kazuto chasing, they soon came to a fork in the road splitting to the north and south of the lawn. At the fork in the road was a bench, she sat down on it.
Even so she turned her face away, and Kazuto who sat next to her shyly said:
"Mm, well, that is... if she gets a younger sister, I'm sure Yui will be happy, yea."
Hearing something that was too similar to a fastball, Asuna's blood rushed to her cheeks once again, she giggled.
"Y, you're right."
"Come on, laughing now is mean of you..."
"Ahaha, sorry sorry. But really, it would be nice if Yui-chan could cross over to this side and live with us too..."
What they're referring to by Yui, was the name a young girl they both met in the former SAO server. Her true form was actually a players' self-regulation program for mental maintenance, that is, an AI. She recognized Asuna as her mother and Kazuto as her father. When Aincrad was on the verge of collapsing, her core program was saved to Kazuto's Nerve Gear and was spared from being deleted. Currently, in Kazuto's room, she was «living» inside a dedicated stationary-type machine prepared by him.
But, direct contact with Yui was only possible exclusively under a full dive environment— in other words, within ALO only. Although in the real world you could use a mobile phone and have her there, the battery capacity was not long enough and they could not «always be together»."
So, even if Asuna loved Yui like a daughter, and Yui yearned for Asuna as a mother, there was always a wall in the space between the two of them, separating them between the virtual world and the real world...
Suddenly, Kazuto held onto Asuna's left hand.
"Don't worry, one day we'll be able to live together. FullDive technology will evolve more, and AR[11] environments will become more commonly used, surely."
"Mm... Right... that's right."
"Yeah. The boundary between real and virtual will become more and more blurred in the future. Right now, there's still a difference in the amount of information making a wall though..."
After listening to Kazuto talk, Asuna deeply bowed her head, and firmly held his hand, then suddenly raised her head.
"Oh that's right, you said that earlier. The difference between the virtual world and the real world is only the amount of information. What did you mean by that?"
"That is..."
Kazuto looked away for an instant, and then looked to their hands together on the bench.
"For example, within ALO, holding hands like this, it is different from the real world right?"
After being told, Asuna focused her senses on her left hand.
The elastic of the palms in contact. The warmth that drove away the cold winter air. Thus far, the ALO fairy avatar could feel the same thing. However, the skin to skin attraction, the friction of their palm lines, and the weak pulse due to their blood flow, is something that even the most advanced FullDive virtual technology could not fully reproduce.
"Yeah... that's right. The real hand can feel a lot more... I see, this is «more information», right?"
"Yes. But afterwards Amusphere will continue to evolve, what happens when the feeling of skin and the throbbing can be reproduced? Only through contact, are you able to distinguish between a real and an avatar hand?"
"I can."
Asuna's immediate answer, was beyond Kazuto's expectation, so he blinked. Looking at his face, Asuna went on to add:
"If it was Kirito-kun's hand, that is. If it was someone else, then probably not."
At that moment, Kazuto's hand temperature and pulse increased. Upon noticing this, Asuna laughed and continued:
"Not just touch, but sight, sound, taste and smell all have more information in the real world now. So... even if the current Amusphere has AR function..."
"Yes. After looking or touching, you will know whether it's real or not."
AR function means to use the Amusphere while awake, combining real sight and sound with digital information. If that was possible, then it could replace computers and mobile phones. In your view, you could have a virtual desktop where you could browse the net or type mail, do street navigation, have information tags on people or things, the use would only be limited by imagination.
Currently, RECTO started working with large information producers to develop that machine, but due to physical activity leading to the pulse focus being shifted, the need for high-capacity battery, and other problems, it had not reached a practical level.
"...Unfortunately, with the current headgear type, there is argument that constant AR is not possible. However, one day there will be a breakthrough in technology, if we are able receive large capacity five senses data in the real world... Or if, without a bed and electrical plug, we can full dive anytime."
Asuna nodded to Kazuto's words, and continued where he left off.
"We will cross the barriers of the world, and be together with Yui always. ...That day will surely come."
"Yes, for sure."
Their words, without a doubt, were almost the same as what they said while thinking of the separated Yui in the twenty-second floor in Aincrad. Noticing that, Asuna felt a warm feeling spreading through her body and rested her head on Kazuto's right shoulder.
That reunion promise, was delivered in a few months.
That's why for sure; their words now would soon become a reality.
The short winter day made the sun seem like it was falling behind the trees to the west. The sky was dyed red; the returning birds were flying in groups.
Hundreds of years ago, the people who lived in the city on that huge lawn probably looked at the same sunset. And then hundreds of years in the future, in a different world changed by time, someone will look at this same red sky...
"...Ah..."
Asuna's chest suddenly tightened with a homesick feeling and she gently sighed. She glanced at Kazuto beside her. When she met his eyes, she smiled.
"Somehow, I understand. The reason why you brought me here."
"Eh... you do?"
"Yes. —If the world exists in the «time» axis and the «space» area, then Tokyo... that is to say that the center of our real world is without a doubt this place. Then... currently the center axis of the virtual worlds that are expanding due to «The Seed» is, the no longer existing, that «castle». That's why this sunset color, is so nostalgic..."
At Asuna's words, Kazuto blinked several times before he opened his mouth wide.
"I see... that might be. I did not really consider that aspect. But... after listening to Asuna's words, I am able to understand one thing."
"Eh, what is it?"
"Aincrad's shape. It might be that laminated conical structure is a symbol of the «time axis and space area»."
Asuna thought for a moment and then nodded slowly.
"Yes... that might be true. But if that were so, the world that Leader created, with a sophisticated schedule, will converge and perish. That is, if someone or other didn't make it suffer a huge explosion in the middle of it."
"S, sorry... Miss sub-leader."
They both softly laughed at the same time. After a few seconds, Kazuto took a deep breath, and still holding hands with Asuna, he stood up from the bench.
"Now then, it's about time we head home; this place closes at five."
"Mm, next time let's bring Lisbeth and Lyfa-chan as well. Eating lunch on the lawn will be a very happy occasion, surely."
"Sure, when it's spring. Of course."
Pulling on Kazuto's hand, Asuna stood up as well, and she looked to the sky and the sunset one more time.
I want to go home, she thought. However, Miyasaka in Setagaya-ku, where the Yuuki residence was located in the real world, was not the home she thought of. Their «forest home» on the twenty-second floor of Aincrad, though it existed only for a short time, was the home she was referring to.
Although that little log house was erased, along with the collapse of the floating castle— now to Asuna, a single warm place existed in her heart. Prior to its realization, above ALfheim's World Tree, the rented house in «Yggdrasil City» had become Asuna, Kirito and Yui's home.
Walking toward the north Hirakawa gate exit, Asuna asked Kirito:
"Hey, can you login tonight? I want to tell Yui all about today."
"Yeah, sure. Around 10pm should be fine."
He smiled and nodded, and suddenly began to express a very difficult expression.
"Huh, did you have something to do?"
"No, that's not it. Tonight should be okay though... That is, Asuna, I..."
Kazuto, who rarely stammered when he spoke, mumbled "Uhh— umm— err" for a few seconds, but what he said next would scare Asuna:
"...I, very soon, might transfer ALO's «Kirito» to another game..."
"...Eh, eeeh!?"
Birds erupted from the tree nearby in response to Asuna's sudden exclamation of surprise.
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