Solo (A Sword Art Online Fanfic) ✔

Chapter Twenty Six

I was in a hospital.

It was the first thing I was able to make sense of.

As I took in my surroundings, my heart rate sped up, causing one of the machines I was hooked up to to go off loudly. I jumped, feeling off.

I pulled the cursed game gear off my head, weakly throwing it across the room. It landed with a loud crash. I felt sluggish and slow.

I looked down at myself and grimmaced. I was dangerously skinny, my muscle having been depleted naturally after so long of no movement. My hair was longer and the red gleam was dull. My hands started shaking.

My heart rate sped up more, the machine racing along with it. A nurse broke into the room, coming to a halt when she saw me awake and sitting up. Her jaw dropped, her face stunned.

"The game is cleared."

My voice was weak and scratchy, but she clearly heard what I said. She dropped the clipboard she was holding and raced out, calling for the doctors.

Soon, the whole hospital was chaos. The survivors all woke up and there wasn't enough people to go around helping them. Family members and friends were arriving, crowding the hallways and rooms, eager to see their loved ones. Policemen had been called in, and they were walking around doing their best to collect all the stories of the survivors.

I watched the chaos, amused by it. The only calm ones in the whole building were the survivors. I guess facing a Skull Reaper or a Wolf Lord has desensitized us from giant messes.

The whole country seemed to be a giant mess.

With survivors everywhere waking up all at once, the world was in an uproar, trying to find out what happened in Sword Art Online.

"The game Sword Art Online has finally released its hold on its prisoners. The victims of this tragedy have woken up! Friends and families everywhere reunite with their loved ones. However, the question still stands: What now? It's been two years since the launch of the game. This means two years robbed from the lives of these victims. The world wa-"

"Can you shut that off?"

My mom turned to face me, jumping as if she still couldn't believe I was awake. She stared at me, her hand fumbling for the remote.
Finally she had it in her grasp, and she turned to shut off the news.

Two years...

My brother sat in the hard plastic chair in the corner, a grumpy expression on his face. He seemed to do his best to avoid looking at me. My mother, however, couldn't seem to take her eyes off me.

They had both changed a lot during my 2 year absence. Mom had a couple gray hairs and she seem so tired, nothing like the spritely woman I left behind. And my brother had grown older. His hair was longer and he was taller than me now.

"How do you feel, Harumi?"

I paused. How did I feel? I searched my mind for a good enough word to describe the emotions I was feeling, but I only came up with one: sad.

I was sad.

I wanted Rikimaru to be holding my hand right now, and Katsu to be making jokes. I wanted Kuro and Gurē smothering me on the bed, and Kirito to be brooding in the corner.

I wanted the people I loved most to be here.

I mean, I loved my family, but I haven't talked to them in two years. I didn't know them anymore.

"I'm fine." I answered instead.

We all sat in silence, until mom stood up. She made an excuse about needing coffee and both of them left the room, leaving me alone.

I sighed, reaching for the remote, flipping on the news again.

"It appears that some of the survivors of Sword Art Online are not waking up. We are unsure of why this is happening, but we are looking into it. Until then, I ask the friends and family members of these special cases to have patience."

The news reporter continued to drone on, but my ears had started ringing. I couldn't believe this. The game had been cleared, so why were there players still not waking up?

I could feel my heart kicking into over time once again. The players weren't in Sword Art Online. This much was obvious. So, what was happening with the players?

Then it hit me.

Some of my friends could be the ones not waking up.

I gasped, throwing myself into action. I disconnected myself from all the machines, but left my IV in. I swung my feet off the side of my bed, hesitating.

I wasn't sure if my legs would hold me after so long of inactivity, but I was desperate to learn about my friends.

I slowly lowered myself to the floor. My legs wobbled, but if I supported myself on the IV stand, I could handle it.

I wished I had Kuro here instead.

I slowly made my way down the hospital hallways, keeping one hand on the wall and the other on the IV stand. People stared at me as I walked by, but nobody hindered my progress.

Finally I reached the lobby. I sighed with relief, moving to the front desk. I leaned against it, grabbing the attention of the receptionist.

"What are you doing outside of your room?" She demanded taking in my IV and hospital gown.

I ignored her question, getting straight to the point.

"Adachi Katsunori."

"What?"

"Is there a patient here under that name?"

She sighed, tapping away on her computer. After a couple of seconds she looked up at me.

"Room 213."

My heart fluttered. Katsu could be in this hospital. I wanted to race to Room 213 right now, but I had a another name to go through.

"Komogata Rikimaru?" I asked, leaning forward.

She shot me a dirty look, but turned back to her computer with a sigh. The wait was a little longer this time.

"No, I'm sorry."

My heart clenched with worry. I gave her my thanks, and stumbled away. I walked a couple of feet before my legs gave out. I collapsed to the floor in a crash.

As people raced to help me, I went limp. My friends were missing, maybe not even awake.

The game was supposed to be cleared, but in some ways, we were still in the middle of it.