book two: trapped || sword art online

Chapter 1

Published: 4/12/2016; Tuesday; 11:40pm; Unedited

I know, I know, I'm MAGICAL. Kidding, I've had this chapter ready since chapter 4 on book one >.> Yes, everything was planned from the beginning... u.u

Chapter 1

When he had awoken, Kirito had immediately gotten up to go find Asuna, not caring for anything else. Of course, he was stopped, and sent back to his room. His aunt and 'sister' soon came in, relieved beyond belief, Suguha sobbing with happiness.

But as soon as he was released, he went to find Asuna, and wasn't disappointed. While she was still going through her therapy, he would visit her, laughing, joking, caring, loving. He would go to Agil's little store downtown and talk, and keeping up with the news. Three hundred players had yet to wake up and were still unconscious. Paranoid doctors kept the helmets on, not wanting to risk their lives.

Then after a three weeks, Asuna being out of therapy by now, he remembered.

Ume said they would be in contact immediately, seeing as she and Asuna's family knew each other. But there has been no news of her yet, and Kirito had a twisting feeling in his stomach that he couldn't ignore.

"Asuna," he said seriously, seeing as they had met up once again on a date at a café, "Have you heard about Ume?"

"Ume-san...no, I haven't, actually..." Asuna muttered, suspicious as well of the girl's whereabouts. "I know where her family's hospital is, maybe she's still in therapy."

"Would it be okay to check on her? We haven't seen her in a month..."

"Sure, let's buy her some cake while we're here!"

He chuckled, "Good idea."

As they made it to the hospital, they bumped into a woman dressed in a coat and everything a typical doctor would where.

"Ah, I'm sory-- oh, Asuna-chan, long time no see," she greeted, surprised, "what are you doing here?"

"Ah, Narashi-san!" Asuna exclaimed, smiling gently. While she disliked Ume, though not as much anymore, her mother and father were one of the nicest people you could ever meet. "This is Kirigaya Kazuto-kun, my boyfriend, we were close with Ume-san in the SAO and were wondering where she was, we even brought her some cake! Is she still in therapy?"

At the mention of her daughters name, the woman, Ume's mother, became solemn. She sent a sad smile to the two friends of her daughter and gestured for them to follow and began leading them to Ume's room.

Kirito's gut feeling from earlier got worse, as if telling him to be prepared for the worst.

They made it to a door with a plate next to it on the wall, room 521. Under the number was the name of the patient: Narashi Ume. She opened the door, and let them in while she came in after to close the door as well.

The steady beeping of Ume's heart on the monitor was constant, showing life, but her face was almost as white as her hair, which seemed longer than it already was in the game. It flowed off the edges of the bed, hanging loosely and near the floor, no braids like how she always had them framing her face.

What framed her face instead was her Nervegear helmet, her unconscious form lifeless and un-moving. Her mouth slightly open, chapped lips from lack of moisture, her feature peaceful and soft without a care in the world.

With horrifying realization, it was clear that Ume was a part of the three hundred players that had not woken up yet.

"Sh-she's..." Asuna stuttered, eyes wide, loosing her grip on the bag of pastries they had bought.

"Still not back, yes," Narashi-san finished, shaking her head. "But I know she'll be back, my Ume is stubborn and relentless. She'll wake up, I know it."

With that, she told them that visiting hours close at eleven, unless they planned on staying the night which she gave permission for them, she left the room to continue her duties as vice CEO.

The sat next to each other on the side of the bed, silent as they stared at Ume's pale face.

Asuna gently picked up her hand, it felt and looked so frail, like it could break without trying. She gripped the hand, and let her tears fall.

Never had she seen Ume so vulnerable and weak except for the time at her wedding in the game. The pained and devastated look she gave, crying silently, when they were officially married, Asuna knew Ume liked Kirito, but she didn't know how much. Yet, she supported them, and helped them through it, especially when Yui came into the picture.

Asuna also knew that Kirito had feelings for Ume, but probably didn't realize them since they're together and committed. But, she felt like it was unfair for Ume, because she sacrificed herself to save Asuna from doing something stupid. She took the blow, but it went through her and nicked Asuna.

Now, she was here, lifeless and unawkening for who knows how long.

She cried hard, letting her sniffs, groans, and near-screams be heard by Kirito, and anyone in the vicinity, without care. A hand settled on top of her and Ume's hand while an arm wrapped around her waist, hugging her in comfort as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

From then on, they visited Ume every week, as much as they could during the week, sometimes bringing along a new person and even a whole group to her room when they found out that Asuna and Kirito had found Ume.

A week passed and Ume still showed no signs of waking, when Kirito got an email from Agil telling him to look at the photo.

What he saw made him sit up in his chair, eyes wide. 'That's...!'