***
Hey Familia of the Closet! What did you think of the last chapter? Was it emotional enough? Well, this chapter will explain what happened. I love you all so much! <3
-Seijirou
***
(Kazuto)
I stood up and left the room, taking out my phone. I went to the group chat and hit the video call button. It dialed for about 5 seconds before the whole gang joined at the same time.
Tsuboi: Hey bro!
Rika: Hey!
Keiko: What's up, Kazuto?
Andrew: Hey man!
Me: Hey guys. Uh, I'm just gonna get to the point. Sugu and Asada are in the ICU.
All of their faces showed signs of fear, surprise, or anger.
Tsuboi: What?! How?!
Me: Sakura made an appearance.
I'm gonna conceal the fact that she's laying lifeless on Asada's bedroom floor.
Rika, Keiko, Tsuboi, and Andrew: Oh my god... What hospital?
I looked around the hall for a name or logo. I saw a sign at the end of the hallway.
Me: Shichiwaru General.
They all nodded and hung up. I walked back to the waiting room and sat back in the chair I was previously sitting in. It was about 15 minutes later and no one was there yet. Suddenly, something happened. A doctor walked into the room.
"Mr. Kazuto Kirigaya?" He asked. I nearly jumped out of the seat, startling the old man next to me. I subtly walked over to the doctor. "Are you Mr. Kirigaya?" I nodded.
"Yes." I spoke softly.
"Well, Suguha is stable. Asada, however, is still in surgery. The blade she was stabbed with nicked her Liver. There was some internal bleeding, but we got her a new liver prepared. Um, her external abdominal wound can be patched up easily. But since the nick was so small, we're worried it might have hit something else. So I have someone examining her other organs in that area. She should be out of surgery in 5 hours." He explained. I stood silently, taking in all the information. The doctor bowed then walked back to the surgery room. I walked back to my seat and sat down. The old man turned to me.
"Hey kid, everything'll be just fine. My wife is in there right now having her third kidney transplant." He grinned. I looked at him in astonishment. How can he be so calm and collective in a time like this?
"Thank you." I said. I laid back in my chair and closed my eyes. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and saw a familiar dark-skinned hand. I looked up to see Andrew, Tsuboi, Rika, and Keiko standing there. The old man stood up and moved a couple seats so the gang could sit. Tsuboi and Andrew sat on either side of me. Where Rika sat next to Tsuboi, and Keiko next to Andrew. "Thanks for coming."
"No problem, bro." Tsuboi spoke up. I felt more comfortable now that the gang had joined me. I laid back, and closed my eyes. And this time, I was able to get some sleep.
***
I slowly opened my eyes, examining where I was. Still in the hospital. I looked around, everyone was still there. I grinned. Suddenly, something I never expected to happen... happened. A strawberry blonde girl ran into the room with a tall, black-haired man in tow.
"I got here as fast as I could." Asuna said.
"Asuna! You made it!" Rika said. I looked at Rika, she somehow knew I was and flipped me off. I stood up and walked over to Asuna and the man.
"Hey, Kazuto." She smiled sweetly. I looked at the man, he grunted, then looked in the other direction. I held out my arms, gesturing for a hug. She accepted, returned the long forgotten embrace. I backed away and approached the man.
"You must be Enki, right?" I asked. He nodded. I held out my hand, gesturing for a handshake. He hesitated, but took it. "I'm Kazuto, Kazuto Kirigaya. It's great to finally meet you."
"Yeah." He muttered. Must not be that much of a talker.
"Enki, this is Keiko, Andrew, Tsuboi, and Rika." Asuna pointed to each person. "Everyone, this is Enki Fumeiyona." They all waved. Asuna took the seat next to Keiko, and Enki next to her. I looked at the clock, it has been 4 hours since the doctor talked to me. Just one hour left. I decided to fall back to sleep, but this time, it was a little harder. Asuna was within 5 ft of me, even though she wasn't supposed to. And Enki, he seems a little more tamed now than he is over the phone. I shook all of that out of my head, and forced myself into a state of sleep.
***
There was movement around me, causing me to jolt awake. I looked around, nothing had changed. Everyone was in the same place. I looked at the clock, just 5 minutes until the surgery was over. Tsuboi got up and headed to the vending machine. Andrew stood up to stretch. Rika stood up and went to the vending machine as well, Keiko followed. It was just Asuna, Enki, and I left. I stayed where I was as to avoid any confrontation. Just then, two nurses each pushing a wheelchair entered the room. One was Suguha, and the other was an elder woman. I got up and walked over to Sugu, but something was off. She was crying. I knelt down in front of her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked. She looked at me pitifully.
"Everything went well, they got the new liver in, they patched up the wound. But just as they were about to let her wake up, her heart suddenly stopped. They took me out of the room as they started the defibrillation. I don't know what happened, they won't tell me." She cried loud enough that the gang could hear. Tears began streaming down my face. Why now? He said everything would be fine. This makes no sense. I stood up and pushed Sugu over to the rest of the gang. I sat back in the chair I was previously in. I put my face in my hands. I could tell someone was approaching me, but I didn't look. They sat next to me and placed their hand on my back, rubbing it softly.
"I'm so so sorry." Asuna whispered. "Suguha told me about you guys. And honestly, out of everyone you could've chosen, I'm glad you chose her." I looked at her. Her eyes, they looked so sincere. I pulled her into a hug without a second notice. She was surprised, but hugged me back.
"I just want this nightmare to end. Like, I don't understand. Is this the end of the beginning, or the beginning of the end?" I began to cry. Asuna stroked the back of my head.
"Everything will be just fine, okay? There's nothing to worry about." She reassured me. I nodded slowly. I found more comfort in her saying it than from the old man. She backed away and flashed me a warm smile. I looked over and saw that Enki was gone. I decided not to say anything about it.
"Thank you." I said. She nodded. I somehow felt relieved that Asuna was with me. I leaned back and closed my eyes.
***
"Kazuto! Kazuto! Wake up!" Asuna shook me awake. I jolted upwards and looked to her.
"What?" I asked.
"The doctor just came in and called your name." She pointed to the same man as before looking at me. I stood up and walked to him.
"Yes?" I asked cautiously. He had an adrenalized grin.
"Asada is stable. Her heart had stopped shortly after surgery. But with defibrillation, she came back. She's in a room now if you'd like to go see her." He explained. I began to cry while nodding. He led me to a room near the back of the building. The door was closed.
"Thank you so much, doctor." I said as he slowly opened the door. I looked inside, there was a shadow of a bed behind a curtain. The doctor slowly pulled back the curtain, revealing Asada laying in the bed. I walked to her bedside and grabbed her hand. As soon as I made contact, her fingers started twitching, and her eyes fluttered open.
"Amazing." The doctor stated. "We've made contact plenty of times, and she stayed in her unconscious state." I looked at him, then back at Asada. Her eyes were on me, tears coming down her face. I wiped them away with my thumb.
"Hey, how're you doing?" I asked, stroking her cheek. She opened her mouth attempting to speak, but the breathing tube down her throat prevented her from doing so. Instead, she nodded to show that she was fine. I turned to the doctor. "How long does she have to stay here?"
"Seeing as her wound is healing rather quickly, and her internal wounds were not severe. Even though we had to do a transplant, I'd say about 2 weeks." He answered. I nodded and looked back to Asada. I pulled the chair from the corner and sat in it, still holding her hand. Asuna walked into the room with the rest of the gang in tow, including Enki. They all surrounded Asada. More tears streamed down her face. I stood up and approached the doctor.
"I have another question. How long until the tube comes out?" I asked.
"Well, her vitals aren't back to normal yet. But as I said, she's healing fast. Should be about a week before she begins breathing on her own." He explained. I nodded, then looked to Asada. Even though the gang was surrounding her, her eyes were focusing on me. I smiled and subtly blew her a kiss. She began blushing deeply. Everyone noticed and immediately looked to me with disappointed faces. I stuck my tongue out and turned back to the doctor.
"Thank you," I said, then walked back to the chair, sitting in it. The doctor left the gang and I to Asada.
***
1 Week Later
***
"Give me a reason why I shouldn't drive this through your goddamn chest?" I growled deeply, showing that I was not afraid to get a little blood on my sword.
"Because, we were meant for each other." She claimed. My face grew angrier. I applied a slight amount of pressure. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to feel it.
"No. We. Are. Not. I love Asada, and only Asada." I spoke. Asada slowly turned her head towards me. I grinned. Suguha ran into the room. Sakura threw her knife aiming to hit Suguha in the leg. I lunged, attempting to slash the knife away but missed. The knife plunged into her leg, making her wail in pain. I slowly turned back towards Sakura with tears coming down my face.
"Kazy-Sama?" Sakura spoke softly.
"You make a joke of SAO. You hurt my love. And now my sister. This nightmare ends now." I said. I thrusted my sword through Sakura's chest. She reached to push herself off the blade. Reminds me of when I was saving Asuna in ALO. She struggled for a little longer then fell lifelessly onto my blade. I pulled it out and sheathed it.
"Ka... zu... to..." Asada stuttered. I knelt next to her and brushed her hair aside. "Kazu... to..." She continued to call my name. "Kazuto... Kazuto... Kazuto..."
"Kazuto!" A familiar voice had awoken me from my slumber. I jolted upwards and examined the room. I was in a hospital room. I looked at my hands. They were holding somebody else's hand, yet their's were pale. I looked up to see Asada grinned at me. I began to cry, hugging her immediately. "Ouch!" I quickly backed away.
"Sorry." I said guiltily. She giggled and pulled me in for a kiss. I had the most shit-eating grin on my face. She giggled at that too. I placed my lips to her's, just short of aggressively. She could tell I missed this, so she made it more intimate. We kissed for about 10 minutes, only acknowledging each other's embrace. Once she backed away, we stared into each other's eyes. Just then, the doctor walked into the room and smiled at me.
"Good morning." He said. I nodded and returned a smile. "So, how are you feeling, Ms. Shino?"
"Better." She answered.
"Well, let's hope so. Your wound is healing at an extraordinary rate. Insomuch that you should be ready to leave by tomorrow morning." He explained. Mine and Asada's eyes grew wide, and jaws dropped.
"You're serious?" Asada asked. The doctor nodded.
"Wow." I muttered.
"Do you two want a moment to process things before your departure?" He asked.
"Yes, that would be great." Asada answered almost immediately. The doctor bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him. I looked to Asada who had a blush on her face. I placed my index finger under her chin and tilted her head towards me. I leaned in and place a soft kiss on her lips. They were so warm and soft, not chapped at all. I smiled. She backed away and placed her forehead to mine. "Hey, Kazuto?"
"What?" I asked.
"I love you."
***
Hey Familia of the Closet! How are all of you?! I hope you are doing well in this time of terror. But aside from that, I hope you enjoyed. How is Asada healing so fast? Why did Enki come along with Asuna? What is going to come of Kazuto, seeing as he killed Sakura? Anyways, thank you guys so much for reading. I love you all so so much! <3
-Seijirou
***