Suguha in ALO

Realization Dawned

"Sugu... Sugu!" yelled a distant voice, arousing her rather suddenly. She woke up with a start, her hand flying instinctively to the handle of her sword, but felt her extended elbow collide with something soft in the process. Hearing a grunt behind her, she turned to see Shinichi (or Recon, as he was referred to in-game), rolling on the ground, clutching his stomach.

She cringed sympathetically. "Sorry, Shi- I mean, Recon. Were you calling me?" she asked, rubbing her legs and looking at the sun descending through the sky. Geez, it got late fast... How long was I asleep? Then she remembered her daydream, and her cheeks immediately blazed with embarrassment at her own subconscious desires.

"Urng," Recon groaned, standing slowly upright, "Yeah, it took me half the day to catch up to you, and when I finally found you, you were asleep on that log." He caught a glimpse of her reddened face and furrowed his brow in confusion. "Um, Sugu? Arrrre you okay?"

"Yes! Yes, I'm totally fine, nothing's wrong! Just thinking and stuff, that's all. So where are we going to stop for the night, hu?" She hoped the quick barrage of words ending in an essential question would throw him off, but inwardly she huddled into a little ball of girlish embarrassment. Stupid...

"Oh, uh, yeah! I mean, yes, there's a small neutral village near here. It's close to the borders of Cait Sith territory, but we shouldn't have any problems. The Sylphs and the Cait Sith have been open to peaceful negotiations and trade for quite some time." Recon's wings sparkled into existence behind him, his lime green hair matching well with his attire and eyes, which were also a pleasant shade of green. "Well, you ready to go, Suguha?"

Leafa rolled her eyes, clearing her face of color, and gave him her classic punch to the shoulder. "I told you, call me Leafa in here." She giggled slightly and rose into the air on her own magical wings, Recon trailing behind her and rubbing his shoulder. Recon pointed and they both swerved off in the direction of the town.

Leafa sighed wistfully, the wonder of flight only putting off her thoughts of Kazuto for a short while. She couldn't forget her reason for being here in the first place.

They flew for almost twenty minutes, the light of the evening fading into night, when Leafa exclaimed, "There! I see lights!" Off in the distance was a twinkling of pleasant yellow lights, some dancing in and out of view, others bright and stationary. She couldn't wait and flew even faster, unable to hear Recon's pleas over the sound of her own excitement. She landed softly in front of the gates and looked up, then gasped.

It was beautiful. The gates were made of two birch trees grown together at the top into an archway, ivy vines circling around them with little white flowers peeping here and there. Beyond it, the trees were a kind Leafa couldn't identify, and they were massive! Their trunks were bigger around than houses, but instead of tapering as they went up, they became even thicker nearer to the top. Their trunks were smooth with no branches, and split outward at the top like a peeled banana into gigantic branches that created a thick canopy that hid the night sky. Pink and dark purple flowers sprinkled the entire ceiling of pure green leaves like substitute stars, occasionally falling from their perches like huge colored snowflakes.

And everything was glittering with light. The quaint one-story wooden shops, street vendors, and the only two inns were all alight with warm yellow and green lanterns. It was almost as if day didn't end. Leafa stepped through the gate in wonder, staring with pure awe as people with cat ears and tails walked in by her through the gate, laughing and chatting gayly with each other. As she looked around, she saw not only them, but Sylphs as well, and even a few shady Spriggans standing in the shadows of corner buildings.

Wow... thought Leafa, This world... How have I not been here before? How did I never see this? This world... it's more than I ever imagined. It's beautiful, it's exciting, it's adventure! This is... She stopped, hanging her head in the middle of the road. But... it's not real. This isn't real, it's just a virtual world. The real one is out there... She hugged herself as a chill ran through her, images of the bleak greyness of her world IRL flashed through her head.

"It's not just a game." Her eyes went wide. Kazuto...?

"It's not just a game. This world is just as real as the other one, if you can only see it. Feelings, emotions, experiences; all can be made in here just like out there. People to people; places to places. The only difference between this world and the real one... is how YOU determine them!"

Leafa caught her breath. She stood there for a few moments, frozen, then furrowed her brow. Yes. That's what it is. This world... it's just as real as my world back home! And even more than that, this can be my world now. This can be where I make experiences and feel things and have adventures. It's not like I could have many in that world anyway.

She looked up at the leafy ceiling above her and whispered with a smile, "Now I understand you... Kazuto. I get it now." She took a deep breath and set her jaw, looking forward at the town. She heard the little yells of Recon behind her and grinned, her mind now firmly set in this amazing new world. She giggled, then jumped in the air with a laugh of exhilaration.

"This is my world now. Alfheim Online, you're mine!"