101 Chapter 101 - Eyes Everywhere
The Assault Team weren't the only ones horrified by the losses suffered in the 10th floor boss raid. And, while Drifter and later Agil spoke, all of SAO heard them. And realized that death, which was always around the corner for them, might actually be much closer than they thought.
To many, the six deaths against Kagachi the Samurai Lord were another indication that they had to stay away from the frontlines. Hide. Let others fight and die and save them.
But to some, the battle only stoked their fire. Griselda vowed to push her guild harder, so maybe next time they could be there. They could make a difference. Akari decided Fuumaningum had a bigger role to play than just being shadows.
It was those who didn't have an option, whether to run or fight, that the results of the battle hit the hardest. Namely, several hundred million people around the world who watched the broadcast. But most of all, the families of the Assault Team.
Drifter's parents were in tears, and they didn't stop flowing even after the battle was over. It was simply too much to take in all at once.
Kana and Genji hugged each other tightly. Their son was alive. So we're his friends. But not all of them. Maybe the man called Namate wasn't a close friend of his. Maybe others saw him start speaking to the Assault Team and thought him callous. But Kana and Genji knew their son. They saw him. And he was hurting.
To them, it was obvious on his every move. The way he nodded to Agil and knocked heads with Wolv and Shigio, who were still stunned. How he made the rounds around his guildmates with Kirito, talking to each of them. Never stopping, until he reached the Songstress Yuna and crouched next to her, wrapping the girl in a hug as she buried her head on his neck.
Drifter didn't cry. None of them did. Not one in the Assault Team she'd even a single tear. People were dead. More would die. They would still fight.
It was twenty minutes later that the Assault Team finally started moving, sluggishly climbing the stairs that had appeared after Kagachi fell. The Reavers were herding Agil's party with them. The Legend Braves and Fuurinkazan followed behind, the last to leave the boss room. No one particularly cared who unlocked the teleporter.
Kana and Genji hadn't moved from their positions on the sofa the entire time. They stared at their son hungrily, unsure of when they would see him again, and in what condition. They didn't bother turning off the TV. The broadcast would end on its own once the last player left the room.
"Kana. Kana!"
Drifter's mother was shaken awake from her grief-induced stupor by her husband. Genji was staring at the television. She knew that all there was after the broadcasts ended was a black screen, but she still looked, thinking that maybe someone still remained in the boss room.
"Ha!"
What Kana saw wasn't the Japanese-style courtyard, but a list of names. Two dozen of them, in alphabetical order. Many were crossed by a black line.
"Wh- What is this?"
Genji didn't answer. He let go of his wife - almost pushed her off, really - and scrambled to get the TV remote. Then, he started scrolling down the list - and it was a long one - until he found the one he was looking for.
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Suguha watched the raid on her phone during lunch break. She had used an excuse to get away from her friends, and went outside when the first player died. She didn't want her classmates to see her cry.
She never made it back to her afternoon classes, also having found Kayaba's latest update to the SAO broadcast feature. Suguha had found her brother's name almost immediately, and clicked on it. Her phone went blank for a moment before showing Kirito slowly climbing the stairs to the next floor.
"Ah!"
Stifling a cry that was somewhere between a choking sob and laughter of relief, Suguha kept her eyes trained on her brother.
She could watch her brother now! Any time she wanted! Suguha had never loved and hated Akihiko Kayaba more than she did at this moment.
If only the circumstances were better. Kirito's head was hanging down, and he was walking completely silent. All of them were. Suguha quickly switched perspectives, confirming she could watch any player she wanted. She could even zoom in or out and spin the camera to look around.
For now, all she wanted was to see her brother's face.
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Somewhere in Kyoto, an old man was sitting on his heels while wearing an old-style tunic. Around him was a diverse and odd collection of tools. Multiple anvils, hammers, pliers, casting molds, and even three different-sized furnaces.
One of the furnaces was still smoldering, and a lump of misshapen metal rested on one of the anvils, having long since cooled down. The old man had abandoned his work, something he had not done once in decades prior, but already happened exactly 10 times since the end of last year.
Despite his advanced age, the hands holding the phone were steady, and his gaze focused on a girl within it with eagle-like precision. She may have dyed her hair pink, but he would never not recognize his dear granddaughter.
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In a small but stylish cafe, tucked away in an alleyway, a tall foreign woman was methodically cleaning glasses with a rag while watching the screen in the corner.
That particular beer glass she was cleaning had already been on her hands for fifteen minutes, but she had completely forgotten about it. Her eyes were focused on Agil as he took his first steps onto the 11th floor.
"Andrew..."
Trish - short for Trisha - didn't know Wolv or Shigio or any of the others walking with her husband through the rocky plateau. She didn't know Namate either. They were all people Agil - whose real name was Andrew Mills - had met inside Sword Art Online. But her heart ached for Namate and for the pain and guilt she knew her husband was feeling right now.
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Yuuki Shouzou was at home, watching his daughter walk towards a village in the distance with the rest of her guild and frontliners. He had left the office and gone home as soon as the raid ended and he discovered the new feature Kayaba had added - again without RECT Inc's engineers having a clue of when or how he did it.
Asuna's mother, his wife, was in her room. She didn't show any interest in watching their daughter do something 'barbaric' like fighting with a sword any more than it was necessary - she did watch all the floor boss raids, however.
Maybe it was for the better his wife wasn't watching right now. Asuna was uncomfortably close to one of the other famous players in her guild, the black-haired boy named Kirito. Black Swordsman Kirito, as he was coming to be called by the media due to his attire and choice of weapons - always black one-handed long swords.
It wasn't as if they were talking hand-in-hand and whispering sweet nothings to each other - especially not after the battle they just experienced. In fact, Asuna had her rapier in hand, and if the way she twitched whenever the grass rustled was any indication, was very prepared to use it. But Shouzou had enough experience that he could tell the glances and whispers the pair exchanged meant something more than just friendliness.
Pensive, Yuuki Shouzou watched his daughter put a hand on Kirito's arm and say something. He could have listened in, as no doubt countless people were doing right now, but he had the sound muted. Anything of importance he would learn later.
Maybe it was time for the CEO of RECT Inc. and new owner of Sword Art Online to pay the families of the frontliners a visit. And to the families of Reaver's Requiem, as a concerned parent of a guild member. Kirito's family could be the first.
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The curtains were closed, and the only source of light in the room came from the computer. The two screens illuminated a skinny boy whose eyes kept jumping from one screen to the other, each showing different SAO players.
The screen to the left showed a cyan-haired girl, who hung her bow on the back of her chair as she sat down with the rest of her guild and friends.
The Assault Team had split up after reaching the main town of the 11th floor. Someone went to activate the portal, but most found inns and restaurants to sit down and lick their wounds. Reaver's Requiem was no different, though their main focus was on Agil's group, and making sure their thoughts didn't wander in bad - worse - directions.
"Asada, I'm glad you are okay."
The soft whisper was filled with relief. Shirakawa Kyouji was Asada Shino's - Sinon's real name - closest - and only - friend. Until SAO, at least. He could see now that she had made many new friends in the death game. He doubted many of their acquaintances had recognized her - her appearance, behavior, personality, and the way she carried herself were all a world apart from how she usually was at school. He knew most of that was because of the other Reavers. A small part of Kyouji felt a pang of jealousy, but he was happy for her.
His gaze then turned to the right screen, which showed another player, this time a man. He was alone in a dark forest grove somewhere, and his face was covered by a skull mask, showing only his red eyes.
Yet, Kyouji was certain the player was his brother. He didn't know what the mask or the weird tattoo on his wrist, visible when he flexed the needle-thin sword in his hand, were about, but for now, he was glad he could watch the two most important people in his life.
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Amidst the hundreds of thousands of people currently watching the SAO players, there was another couple. It had taken them a while to find the one they were looking for, mainly because they didn't know what name their daughter was using. They had spotted her a few times during floor boss raids - and didn't that almost give them a heart attack - but she was always in the back and out of sight.
Now they had found her, however, and the couple held each other's hands tightly as they watched Argo burst out of the teleporter, check her menu - which was invisible even to those in the real world - and take off running.
It took their daughter five minutes of running around like a headless chicken to find the inn the Reavers were at, despite not having been to this city, or floor, before - not that her parents knew that.
When she did find them, Hosaka Carina Tomo - that was Argo the Rat's real name - didn't throw herself at Agil to comfort him or hug the Reavers, despite some of them looking like they could use one. She just walked over, pausing along the way to squeeze Wolv's and Shigio's arms gently.
To Agil, Argo gave the briefest of hugs, barely a touch, and tapped him on the head. The giant man returned a tiny smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"We are gonna win."
"Yes."
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"God fucking dammit! Why are we being blindsided again?!"
Kikouka Seijirou was in a conflicting mood. On one hand, he was glad they could now watch any player they wanted whenever they wanted. That way, they would have much more information about what was going on inside Sword Art Online and the well-being of the players.
On the other hand, his team once again had no clue of what Kayaba had planned. And now he had his superiors, and worse, the media, breathing down his neck and asking for a statement.
The office of the SAO case task force was busier than an anthill, and Seijirou knew that, while yelling at his subordinates helped him vent his frustration, it didn't actually help in any practical way.
"Nagouka, I want that press statement ready in thirty! It doesn't need to be fancy, just take the heat off us! Aiko, Chi, choose whoever you want and start canvassing through the players! I want to match names with faces! Everyone else, I want 24/7 surveillance on players of interest! Kirito, Kibaou, Lind, Shivata, Asuna, Morte, Drifter, Orlando, Agil, anyone who we know about from the previous broadcasts!"
"We are going to need more eyes, sir."
"Send the request up the chain, they will agree."
"Yes, sir!"
Seeing that they had things more or less in hand, Seijirou turned his gaze to one of the walls, where two dozen screens were being set up. Many of the players shown he knew and had just mentioned. Kibaou, Lind, Kirito, Asuna, Drifter. Some showed random players in different states and locations. Most seemed to be inside cities and villages of some sort. Three of the screens were black. Seijirou pointed at them.
"What's up with that?"
"The two to the right are from players we believe to be inside private zones, sir. Probably rooms in an inn. There's a warning.
Seijirou nodded. It was somewhat hard to read since the text was grey on a black background, but there was a message in the middle of the screens.
[ Transmission currently unavailable. ]
"Confirmed! I just watched a player check into a hotel room, and the screen went black with the same message."
"Keep an eye on that player, see if the transmission comes back once they come out."
"Got it, sir."
"And what about the leftmost screen, Mokirawa?"
This time, there was a brief hesitation from his subordinate. Seijirou frowned and stepped closer to the screen.
[ Player offline. ]
"That's Morte, sir. His name was crossed. He's dead."
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Genji and Kana didn't know how much time they spent watching their son. They simply sat on the sofa, transfixed even if all Drifter was doing was eat and talk with the others. They were all downcast and subdued by the losses they suffered, but Kana and Genji were smiling amidst the tears. They couldn't help it. For the first time in months, they could see their son without it being a life-and-death battle.
When Kirito stood up, Drifter and the others also did. The Legend Braves and Fuurinkazan had left already, after having managed to extract a promise from Agil, Wolv, and Shigio to go drinking sometime - not today.
The big man and his friends bid good night and left for their shops on the lower floors. Drifter patted them on the shoulder one last time before letting them leave wordlessly. Agil and the others didn't need a babysitter, just time alone to come to terms with Namate's death.
"Up bright and early tomorrow, people. If Drifter is right - and everything indicates that's the case - things will get a lot tougher from here on. Progress will be slower, so we'll need to put more hours into clearing."
For once, nobody complained when Kirito told them to work harder. There were wordless nods, and the swordsman gently tugged Asuna's hand as everyone went to their rooms.
Drifter was among the last to climb the stairs to the second floor, and his parents watched as he stopped in the doorway to his room. The spearman rested his forehead against his arm and the wall.
"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
Kana sobbed and started crying again when she saw Drifter punch the doorframe to an [ Immortal Object ] message in mindless anger.
Suddenly, another person came into frame, and hugged Drifter from behind. Yuna rested her head against his back, holding him tightly.
"It's not our fault."
"Yun' is right, Drif. This is all on Kayaba's head. Namate's death is on him."
A third player, Nautilus, appeared. Drifter looked at his girlfriend and his closest friend. Steeling himself, he nodded.
"Namate won't be the last. But we'll make sure it wasn't in vain. Wherever he is, he is going to see us free one day."
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One last thing. In his office, a man watched Kirito and Asuna walk hand-in-hand, then the girl kiss the boy on the cheek before they each went to their rooms, and threw his phone at the wall.
