Sword Art Online; Sheik's Story

The Climb Begins

Today, I, Sheik, also known as Asuka Miyano, am going to pay a quick visit to Sinon, who is still trapped in her NerveGear by Rekt Progress's owner, Sugou what's-his-face. I have no interest in learning the name of a creep like him. As I step off of a bus, I spot Kazu-kun and Sugu-Chan at the gate of the hospital Sinon was being kept at.

"Oh, Asuka." Kazu-kun spots me as well, and I wave.

"Hey Asu-Chan!" Sugu gives me a smile as we all step into her hospital room. "So you knew Sinon too, Asu-Chan?"

"Yeah. She was a good friend. And I don't say that about just anyone." I smile. "Anyway, let me introduce you guys. Sugu-Chan, this is Sinon, but her real name is Asada Shino, the Silent Sniper of the Knights of the Blood Oath. She was in a league of her own when it came to her accuracy with the bow and arrow. Sinon, this is Suguha Kirigaya. She's Kazuto's little sister." I say.

"Uh, h-hello Sinon... It's nice to finally meet you." Suguha says with a soft smile.

We make some small talk, even knowing Sinon can't hear or respond, and Sugu-Chan was doing some small tasks, like refilling the flower vase's water. She seemed a little down, but I didn't want to ask why so I don't seem inconsiderate. And she didn't seem to want to talk about it either. Well, it's okay. She's not a gamer, so I don't think she'd understand what we've been through together in SAO.

~~~

Logging back into ALO now, I spot Leafa just logging in as well. She seemed distraught about something.

"Hey Leafa. Is everything okay? What's wrong?" I asked her.

"No... Nothing is okay..." She sniffles and looks up at me with tears in her eyes. "I just...got my heart broken...!" She cries.

I was silent. I had no idea what I should say in this sort of situation. "W-Well..."

"I-I know I shouldn't drag my real problems into this...but...it just hurts so much...!"

Once again, I had no words of comfort. So instead, I sit next to her on the bed. "Then...if it helps...I'll listen to your woes." I say nervously. What am I getting myself into...?! I don't have time for this...! But...a friend wouldn't just leave their friends when they're hurting...right?

A whole hour. That's how long Leafa spent crying on my shoulder. She didn't say any words. Didn't tell me what happened. But maybe that was for the best. Just to be here for her. To let her cry as much as she needed. That was enough for her.

Once she calmed down, she wipes the rest of her tears and regains her composure once more. "Thank you, Sheik... That really helped..." She smiled as she stood.

"Of course." I smile and stand as well. I poke the patchwork pocket on my cloak. "Yui. You ready to go?" I asked.

Yui floats out of my pocket, stretches, and yawns. "Good morning, mommy." She smiles.

"Wait, Yui, do you sleep?" Leafa asked.

"Well, not really. But whenever mommy logs out, I enter a state of hibernation to calibrate all the data I've collected. So in a sense, you could say I do." Yui explains. "Did you know that mommy yawns for 10 seconds when he's REALLY sleepy?"

"Keep the weird trivia to yourself, please. We have a tree to climb." I say and we exit the inn together, walking closer and closer to the base of the World Tree.

"Say, why can't we fly up the outside of the tree again?" I asked.

"Our flight time limit. Normal players wouldn't even make it halfway up the trunk without running out of time and dying of fall damage." Leafa says.