Kyoto, Japan, just after Koharu and Tia's battle…
After Momiji got comfortable, we continued watching anime together while she caught me up with the current situation at RoboTelligence. When I last checked in, Project ALICE and RATH were under government oversight, but Momiji told me the project is slowly coming under RoboTelligence's control. The company, for the time being, has been given authorization to continue with the project the company aims for, a commercialized true AI like Alice. The current director of RATH, Dr. Rinko, has been cooperative with Jaymes' mother in the matter. However, Dr. Rinko has been given full authority on the project as long as it aligns with RoboTelligence's aim.
As for STL dives, nothing has been decided yet. I do want to dive in and see the world Kazuto, Asuna, and I developed for two centuries again. Still, deep down, I want to see Eydis again and visit Medina's grave properly, not as the former emperor but as the guy she knew before for six months before my entrapment. But before I do that, I want to speak with my fluctlight, which should have remained after my awakening. If anyone should know anything about me, it should be the other me: the Jaymes that became the Crimson Emperor of the Dark Territory.
Right now, it's close to midnight. Momiji sleeps soundly on my left side as we share the couch. Being childhood friends, sleeping together is not weird to us, though we were kids back then. Yet that didn't stop us in GGO over the last year, and maybe a few times when we lived together and stayed up late watching movies. As for me, I hold her with my left arm while reading a light novel on my phone and listening to some music.
For some reason, I feel more at peace with Momiji right beside me than I have the entire week. I hadn't realized how apprehensive I've been until now. And no, it's not the comfort of a beautiful girl laying at my side. Well...for some reason, that's not the feeling of comfort. Spending two hundred years in the Underworld must've matured me, and it lingered onward. It's the only reason I can explain why the first girl I've ever held romantic feelings for and who I was a hair away from starting a relationship with invokes little feelings within me.
And unfortunately, she's one of two victims of the maturity of the Crimson Emperor. I am sure that, if Koharu were not present in my life, I would have listened to Shino's demand to give her a shot. No, I'm sure of it. She's was--no, is--the closest person I have to what I once had with Koharu, and then more. Shino might be two years my junior (and yet, at the same time, she's (and Suguha) my education senior, weirdly, as this is her third year and us SAO Survivors' second year, but she's much more mature than I am. And I feel I thought about her a lot in the initial years of those two centuries, yet those probable feelings that slowly surfaced since January are gone.
And if you're wondering why Rika is not forgotten...for some reason, it's the same feeling I have that I (or the Crimson Emperor side of me that remains in me) for Medina. It's not regret, I think, but a sensation I cannot pin down. I guess it boils down to the one thing that separates them from her and Rika from Koharu too. After all, how can I forget the person who, still to this day, remains as important to me as Kazuto and Asuna?
And right now, said person is calling me in the dead of night. I let my phone vibrate three times, not to answer as if I was anticipating a phone call from her or am eager to answer, but while I can't remove my feelings for Rika, I haven't been able to really be around her. Ever since the Ordinal Scale incident, it's been difficult for me to speak to her, and not because we broke up. If anything, those two hundred years did not resolve my guilt of hurting her. My display of affection to her, holding her until she disappeared, was in the moment. The bridge between us is still uncrossable, at least from my end.
But if she's calling me in the middle of the night, I do believe she isn't calling for fun. I may be dating Koharu now, but I still care deeply for Rika Shinozaki. "...Hey."
"Hey… I didn't wake you, did I?"
"No. I'm quite restless right now. Reading the latest book in that series you got me started on… You okay?"
"Yes… I just got a text from Asuna. Koharu's in trouble, and they're searching for her. Some of us who logged off earlier are going to help look, so I thought you should know."
My eyes follow the white tiles that compose the floor to my backpack, where my neglected Amusphere resides. I haven't used it all week, and I'm not worried about Koharu. This isn't Sword Art Online or the Underworld, and it's not she'll die on me again. Ko can take care of herself... Okay, I am a little worried. What the hell could she have done to get lost in the first place?
"Give me a few minutes. I'll link up to your avatar's location when I make it to AInground."
"Okay."
"...See you in a bit, Rika." I don't know if she heard that last part. The line disconnected a second after I said her name. Sighing, I roll off the couch and grab the pillow my head rested on. Dropping it on the floor near my backpack, I take out the Amusphere, hook it to the nearby outlet, and lay down on the floor. I place the headset in its proper place and turn it on. Before I say the boot-up words, I look over to Momiji.
In another timeline, I bet it would have been her dropping with Asuna down from the dark skies of the Dark Territory as Lunaria, saving me, Ronie Arabel, Tiese Schrinten, and Human Guardian soldiers from PoH and his Dark Knights that surrounded us. Later on, she'd join Asuna and our friends in fighting the red soldiers and fighting PoH independently. It would be her that I'd wait to see again after two hundred simulated years, and it would be her I'd see when I woke up a month later. Maybe she wouldn't be working for my father and could stay in our home. It'd be her who proves that the childhood friend does indeed have a chance of winning.
There has to be an alternate timeline in which there is no Lunaria, and I'd be shocked to see a flying archer in blue drop down as Alice and I mourn the death of Commander Bercouli. And after we convince Alice to hurry and fly away to the south, I'd be alone with her. She would scold me as always, and I'd shrug off her worries while being grateful for them. And amid our usual banter, Subtilizer will come, we would fight him as it happened, and she'd say those words to me again, a desperate plea to be seen not as my friend, my partner, and my rival, but as a woman. Maybe I'd answer the same, perhaps I'd answer differently, maybe my answer wouldn't come until I see her when I come home.
There has to be a timeline where I didn't lose Koharu two years ago, a timeline where Rika and I didn't break up because I decided not to be a hero, and a timeline I chose Medina Orthinanos over Eydis Synthesis Ten.
I wonder if such timelines exist and how the Joshua there is faring in each of them.
Sighing, I close my eyes and clear my head of such thoughts, and focus on joining my ex-girlfriend to search for my current one...this should be entertaining. "Link Start…"
xxxxxxxx
Northazard Tundra
My worry for Koharu may be low, but Tia is a different matter.
When I caught up to Lisbeth, she stood alone, her usual SA:O attire covered with a pink coat to keep her warm in this blasted cold. Before I got a word out to her, I began shivering, to which she gifted me a coat of my own. Grateful, I equip it to my avatar and sigh in warm relief.
Afterward, she explained to me what had happened prior to now. Apparently, Alice, Asuna, Ko, Strea, Premiere, and Kirito caught up to Tia after half the party logged off (Premiere apparently collapsed again), but it was a trap set by other players. Kirito and company let Tia go, and it became a race to catch up to her again. While Kirito, Asuna, and Alice tried talking other players out of hunting Tia, Koharu and the AIs continued chasing Tia, catching up to her on the bridge Liz and I walk across from now. Koharu and Tia engaged in a fight, and then they fell off the bridge.
So far, Koharu has communicated with her party, saying she and Tia are fine. But to reiterate, my worry is not Koharu, but Tia now. Koharu dies, so what? She'd respawn. Tia won't be that lucky, as NPC death is permanent in SA:O. And as strong as the NPC might be, there's only so much she can do alone. If Ko is with her, there's a chance Tia might work with her temporarily. Still, two people alone and lost is dangerous in this game.
Silently, Liz and I climb down the slopes. If Koharu fell down, our best chance to find her is down on lower land. I just hope Koharu isn't becoming more reckless; that's my job...or was my job. I don't even know anymore. Shaking that off, I listen to the shrill wind and the crunch of the snow underneath my feet. Lisbeth is two steps behind me, silent as ever, the occasional gasp escaping her mouth. As I would've expected, she hates the cold as much as I do.
To be honest, I'm surprised she's willing to help search for Koharu--hell, I'm amazed she was the one who notified me. If it were me, I wouldn't have done the same. I know she hasn't taken Koharu's return very well--she told me as much--and I'm still shocked she had Koharu tell me the exact words Philia told her two years ago. I don't even know what to say about that. I honestly don't know what to do without feeling some...guilt?
But I know I can't ignore her plight right now. I turn around, holding the left side of my coat out. "Come."
Lisbeth stops and eyes the open space, then turns away. "No, I'm fine."
"No, you're not. You've never been fine in cold areas."
"...I shouldn't--"
"Both of us being stubborn has never been helpful. But… If you say--"
"Wait." She looks back and eyes my coat again. With a huff, she walks over and shuffles herself on the left half of my coat. I take my sword, sheath and all, into my right hand to hold and place my shield in inventory. Once Liz and I are comfortable, we continue onward again silently.
This isn't very pleasant. Is this how it's going to be for...as long as we know each other? We can't separate from our friends, so we'll inevitably encounter each other every day, whether at school or online. Once we go to university or wherever life takes us, sure, we'll have some space in real life, but our virtual life will still be connected. And even when that starts to fade out, he's sure that they'll still encounter each other more often than not. I don't want this uncomfortable distance to linger between us, even if I wasn't dating Koharu. I don't even remember our last conversation, except that I promised her we'd get to the forty-seventh floor of New Aincrad and return to her shop. She sucked up her pride to call me about this. I should suck up mine.
"...How's school?"
"Same old, same old. However, the material is a headache. And you better not say anything. You and Asuna have said it enough."
"Hm, who said I would have said 'just study,' again? Anyway…when I get back, we can study together, see what you don't know. Which is..."
She smirks. "All of it."
"Of course."
"Thanks. I'll drag Keiko along too. She's always complaining that 'Joshua never wants to hang around me anymore, why is that' and then she blames…" Rika clamps her mouth shut and bites her lip, but I already know what is left out.
"I'll make it up to her. She shouldn't have to suffer because of what I did."
Rika doesn't contest it, but her body language suggests she disagrees with what I said. She clings tighter to the jacket as we begin walking up a slope. "How's your dad?"
"He'll live, but he's being an ass sleeping at such a critical time for the company. Project ALICE is his dream, and he's got Mom, Momiji, and Grandpa busting their ass to keep it under our thumb." I chuckle a bit, and eventually, Liz joins in. "Yeah, he's fine. Actually, Momiji is with me today. She was pissed at me--"
"As usual."
"--for not visiting her at work or at all, so she came herself. As if I wouldn't have thought to visit." Lisbeth snorts in a very unladylike manner, which is not saying much for Lisbeth's normal behavior. As a reflex, I slightly elbow her, which leads to her elbowing me back harder. Getting back at her, I attempt to trip her by sweeping her legs. Yelping, she falls, but at the same time, she grabs unto my tunic, bringing me down with her. Instinctively, I hold onto her as we roll down a steep slope. We roll for a good minute until we come to an eventual stop.
When we do stop, the sensation of pain allowed by the system hurts for a second, but my health doesn't take any effect. Sighing, I look away from my health and turn my head out the snow, looking up to...Lisbeth's very pink face...and our noses are literally millimeters apart.
I should be moving away, and at the same time, I don't want to. I'm drawn to those bright blue eyes, messy pink hair, and that same color, somewhat embarrassed face. My hands are still on her back, placed on familiar curves and patterns of her body. And that's just her backside--do I need to express the favorable contact of our chests?
An image flashes in my head, that of a redhead girl, a balcony, and the two of us close together under the light of the moon. The image vanishes, and Lisbeth is straddling me. She's looking to our right, pointing. "Hey, that's a cave entrance."
Koharu! We are here for Koharu, you dumbass!
I raise myself and (doing my best to ignore my head heading towards her breasts) I glance at the cave. "Koharu and Tia fell into a cavern, right? This might be it." Sliding out from under Liz, I stand up, dust the snow off of me, and swipe my right hand to call up my system menu. Before pressing the message tab, I glance at Lisbeth. She's shivering slightly, so I close my menu, take my jacket off, and drap it around her. She jumps, and I see it in her eyes that she's going to retaliate, so I make a face to shut her down. After a silent battle of faces, she lets it go and tightens the coat around her while I construct a message to Kirito and everyone that helping search for Koharu that we found her possible location.
And the entire time, I believe I figured out my internal dilemma about the girl to my right.
After talking with Koharu and logging off, I take the Amusphere off my head and stare at the ceiling. Once Koharu and Tia came out of the cave, I couldn't bring myself to look at her, not after what occurred with Lisbeth. When I did speak, I "attacked" her to prove we didn't need to worry too much; while I turned the subject on Asuna, I said it more for myself. I hope she didn't take our private conversation too harshly, though I do agree with her. We do need to talk, but what does she have to speak to me about?
"The last time we talked, she started crying. I'm not sure I can handle making her cry in two weeks' time. And I'm not sure I can handle Rika either… What should I do?"
"You remind me of me at your age, that's for sure."
"Yeah, well, you were a… Huh?" I quickly stand up and look at the patient's bed. Dark eyes look back at me with a humorous glint, paired with a slight smirk of the face of the Japanese man that is my father. You'd think I'd be excited to see he's awake, which I am, but his comment spoiled it. Instead, I cross my arms and pitch a smile back at him. "Nice to know Mom was right about you being a womanizer."
"Mhm. And it has been passed down to my son. What are you, a romantic comedy protagonist."
"No, no, Kazuto's the protagonist. I'm the original character some dude made up."
Dad laughs and looks to his right, seeing Momiji sound asleep. "Oh, Momiji came too. No doubt because you've neglected her. Yes, I'm well aware of that, don't make that face." He adjusts himself to a more seated position and looks at me again, his face brow falling along with his smile. "So… I know we haven't really talked since… Hell, I don't even know the last we talked like this. Before you began Project ALICE, right?"
"Maybe."
"I see. Well… I'm sure you have a burning question, and the answer is yes, I knew Koharu was in Kikuoka's care. As a matter of fact, that's the reason he asked me long ago if RoboTelligence would assist with the project and that you should be involved. But like all government secrets, I couldn't tell you. Sorry."
I take a seat on the bed and look to the window. Somehow, it's a relief to hear Dad knew, even if he couldn't tell me. "That's fine. An SAO player surviving the killing wave would be too much news, especially for someone who didn't come out okay immediately."
"Yeah. So, based on your current situation, you're torn between two women. Never had that situation before?"
"I did, back in the Underworld, but the solution was... more straightforward. Medina would die. Eydis wouldn't. If I had to forget what'd happen in those 200 years, I don't think I could forgive myself if I ever returned and remembered nothing about my life with her. Eydis, on the other hand, is still there. Yet, every so often, I still feel guilt and regret, and I don't know why I do. Is it because my reasoning was more so logic than emotions? Did I care for Medina more than I did for Eydis? Did I do something that broke our bond? Or did I regret not convincing Medina to freeze her Life and never age again? And there are...other regrets present too. Like… I feel like I had someone close to me on a personal level, but not romantic at all. Like a master to an apprentice...a brother to a sister...and so much more. The only one who knows is the soul of the Crimson Emperor himself.
"But here, in reality, I can't make that simple decision. Ko and RIka are integral factors in my life. And I've lived two lives since that day. One, as Jaymes, the Crimson Warrior, Lucky Red, Emperor of the Dark Territory. The other, Joshua Hardin, a high schooler at nineteen years old, heir to a tech company. Whatever I do can't be forgotten with a memory wipe. Right now, I'm dating Ko, but just now, I was with Lisbeth and… I don't know what to do."
My dad's smile returns. "You may be younger than me, but you've lived five times my age. Despite being mentally older, you come to your old man for girl advice."
I glare at him. "I got my problems from you."
He shrugs. "And look at me now." He clears his throat and looks at me now with a fatherly demeanor. One I hadn't seen since in more than four years now, back during my "anti-heir-to-Robotelligence" days. "When I was your age, your grandfather's company has already gained prominence. We had money and prestige to our name, and...well, I lived off of that. In a sense, I was the opposite of you. Girls flocked to me, and I didn't care about feelings and such."
"You sound like you were a handful."
"You get your smarts from me too, you know. I wasn't that bad, I think, or at least I maintained a balance enough for Dad to overlook most of it. That said, while I possessed all of those things, there was one dream I wanted to accomplish when I took my place in the company, and that was artificial intelligence. True artificial intelligence, that is. Not the programmed AI we had for two decades now, but organically developed intelligence that sci-fi movies fear. That was my dream entering college, and to accomplish it, I had to tone down my childish ways from high school. So I went to university in America to gain a fresh start, and there, I met the woman who challenged me to be better. That woman became my rival first, then my friend and competitor, and then my wife and your mother. And now, I bet she's working herself rugged as she always has. You think I'm bad? When your mom would study too hard, she would be so h--AHEM, you don't need to know that. The fact of the matter is, I chose the woman that led me on the path I desired. It's as easy a choice as that."
I try my best not to throw up at the thought of my parents as studious horndogs and think about something said to me on the day I woke up on the Ocean Turtle. "Kazuto said that once, that Koharu would be my best choice then."
"And he's right. But who was he speaking to? Joshua...or Jaymes? To me, it is Jaymes who loves Koharu, but Joshua who loves Rika. So the real question is...who are you? Are you the hero of SAO, GGO, and the Underworld, or are you my son and heir? What path in life do you desire? Answer that...and you'll have your answer."
"But what if I choose wrong?"
"There are no wrong choices in life. Just better choices, so make sure you choose the best choice."
I narrow my eyes and sigh. "You sound like a damn test question."
"And now you sound like your mother… Now go home this weekend. I have no idea why you're here, missing school just to watch me sleep. Is that a weird thing you picked up in the Underworld?"
I grimace and hop off the bed. "Maybe I got it from you too, Dad."