Yami was walking back to the Anteiku he wanted to say a kind of goodbye to everyone before leaving. The clearing of SAO will probably take over two years, at least in the anime it did. Although he could have taken them with him through his soul-world, they didn't have a strong enough relationship yet. He also didn't want to take them away from the world for over two years.
{I have a question, Daddy.}
Yami stumbled. This was the first time that his mind was thrown in enough disarray to make him trip. He barely managed to avoid falling and just stood in the middle of the sidewalk trying to comprehend the way Eve just addressed him.
"Eve... what did you say just now?"
Eve herself was also startled by the intense reaction Yami had. She just wanted to test something.
{I have read it somewhere... I thought that men liked to be called that by their lovers. Did it surprise you that much?}
"What you just gave me wasn't a surprise, it was a CRITICAL HIT! And I don't know how to react to it..."
He managed to regain a bit of his composure and started walking again since he was standing in the way of people. He also noticed that he talked aloud just now and shut his mouth. A few passerby were already looking at him with strange gazes.
{Do you hate it?}
(That's not it... But I can't deal with it as long as you can't take physical form, it is just too strong stimulation... It is almost an attack, a very very strong one! Okay, I need to get this out of my head before I start jumping at a screen...)
He breathed slowly and then remembered why she even spoke up.
(What did you want to know?)
{As you want to get stronger as your dutiful wife I have searched for ways to help you increase your strength. And one of the things I noticed was that you didn't use the clone technique. Why?}
Yami was already near his destination but as he heard this valid question he stopped. He could talk aloud because nobody was around.
"This is one of the things why I call myself dumb. The reason why I'm not using this technique is just too dumb even for myself and still, I'm aversed from using it. I'm afraid of it..."
He had a self-mocking smile on his face as he touched his head with his right hand.
"First, the technique in itself isn't a good strategy for me. Why didn't all the other great ninja use this technique if it was so great? Because Naruto was special. I don't have the stamina to sustain them as easily as Naruto. If I were to use a clone that one would not only get half my "chakra" but half of my overall strength, meaning that my stats would also be divided. This was established by God this way because he didn't like the idea of my just overwhelming the enemy because there were several of me. It is just boring, a technique that is so powerful that it can break a story, just like the Boosted-gear or the Divine-Dividing. But the real reason why I'm not using it for something like training is another thing..."
Yami's self-mocking smile intensified as if he was dissatisfied by himself.
"I'm afraid. Afraid of myself. I don't know how this technique would work for me, after all I'm special... Every time I think of the scenario of summoning a clone of myself I don't see it from the side of the summoner but the summoned me, the clone. I know myself and I know what would happen, we would try to kill each other..."
{Why? Why would you try to kill yourself? That doesn't make sense.}
"You see, I'm a selfish asshole who is very possessive and not very good with trust... If I was summoned by the "original me" as a clone, I wouldn't want to just be a clone to be used... I would just be used for something and then my life would end. I don't know what would happen to the clones after they are absorbed again and thus neither do my clones. I would want all the Waifus all for myself, I don't want to share my lovers with anyone, not even myself. The same applies to my clones, they would also not stand being a tool while the "real" Yami is having fun with the Waifus that I love and want... Only because the other person is the same as you doesn't mean that you will be getting along... Especially if the clone also had a second system and thus a second "Eve", a second you. How would you feel about that?"
