Sword Art Online; Sheik's Story

Looking for Answers

The very next morning, we got ourselves ready to start searching for Yui's parents. We had arrived in the Town of Beginnings moments after breakfast. "This is the Town of Beginnings. Is it ringing any bells, Yui?" Kirito asked the small girl on his shoulders.

She looks around, curious as to where we were. Her expression was that of a foreigner, confused and lost. She shakes her slowly.

"Nothing yet, huh? Well, let's walk around some more and see is anything catches your eye." Kirito says as we walk around town.

We've walked the whole town, seeing sights, talking to players and NPCs, and much more. Around noontime, we hear commotion coming from an alleyway. We look down the alley, and see a woman with a bunch of children, being held up by four men in armor. "I told you, I can't pay you! I need the money for the children!" She woman pleads.

"You dare halt the progression of advancement?! We need funds for weapons and equipment, and you wish to stop us?!" One of the armored men asked her.

"I never said that! I only want to feed the children at my orphanage!" The woman argues.

"I didn't think it took this many people to mug a woman these days." I say as I approach.

"Who are you?!" One man asked me.

"I'm not the one that's important. I suggest you leave her alone, if you know what's good for you." I threaten them.

"What can you do? Nag us to death?" One of the men laughed.

"If you really want to know, why don't we take this out of town?" I say, twirling my dagger around my finger. "If not, I could always challenge you to a duel to the death."

The men grunt, and march off. The reason is unknown to me, as they seemed to not take me seriously. But whatever. "Thank you so much, young lady. If you hadn't shown up, who knows what they could've done." The woman says as Kirito approaches us as well.

"It's not a problem. But I'm not a girl." I tell her. She seemed confused by this, and finally got the picture. "It's okay. It always happen."

"What did those guys want?" Kirito asked.

"Money. They were members of the Aincrad Liberation Army, demanding funds from us players who stay down here. They say it's for progression purposes, but I need as much Col as I can get to keep the children fed." The woman explained to us.

"Thugs. I'll need to kill them later." I mutter.

"No killing." Kirito reminds me, making me pout. "Anyway, we're looking for this lost girl's parents. Her name is Yui. We found her in the forest of floor 22." He told the orphanage woman.

"Yui? I've never heard of that name in my orphanage." She replied.

"I see. Hey, can we stop by this orphanage? Yui needs something to eat." Kirito says.

"Of course you may. We will be happy to have you." The woman says, and leads us.

As we start to leave the alley, Yui suddenly freezes up, and falls backward. I'm quick to spot this, and move in fast to catch her. As soon as I made contact with her, I suddenly hear this loud ringing sound. I'm not the only one to hear it, as Kirito, the woman we helped, and the other children all fall to their knees, covering their ears. It stops almost as quickly as it started, and Yui loses consciousness.

"What the hell...was that...?" Kirito asked.

"I don't know... I say, as I look at Yui's sleeping face.

We soon arrive at the orphanage, Yui wakes up, as if nothing happened. We asked her what that was, and if she remembered anything. But she didn't know, and she didn't remember anything. I sigh defeatedly, and give her some food to eat.

While we talked to the orphanage owner, a knock was heard, and was answered. A founding member of the Aincrad Liberation Army. Her name was Yuriel. "I need your help with something." She said to us.