24 Chapter 24 - The Children of Aincrad

The moon, or what passed by it in SAO, was high in the sky when a figure sneakily left the suburbs of Urbus, and entered the wilderness, their cloak billowing behind them. Under the effects of << Hiding >>, and aided by the darkness, the person was virtually invisible as they ran through the savanna, expertly avoiding groups of mobs.

Forty-five minutes later, the hooded figure reached their destination: one of the sparse clusters of trees on the 2nd floor. Pushing their way through knee-high grass and underbrush, they found a hidden clearing.

Scattered rocks populated the clearing, some the size of coconuts and watermelons, others as big as a person. In the center of the open space sat a particularly gigantic rock, easily the size of a car, and as tall as it was wide. On top of said boulder, a skeletal old man lay on his side, one arm supporting his chin.

"Hohoho... What do we have here? Came to learn my secrets, have you, little warrior?"

The cloaked person stopped in front of the old man, and looked at the system prompt that appeared in front of them. Pushing their hood back, the person grinned.

---------------------------

On day thirty of their imprisonment in Aincrad, a full month after they were kidnapped by Akihiko Kayaba, Drifter was jolted awake from his nightmare-filled slumber.

Panting, the spearman sat up. He ran his hand over his face and hair, and groaned. Checking the time on his menu, Drifter saw that it was still early in the morning, or maybe late in the night, depending on how you considered it. With a sigh, he plopped back into the bed.

Drifter was no stranger to nightmares. Few of the SAO players were. Watching people, friends die in front of you did that. Of course, Drifter's nights were worse than most. The silhouette of the player he doomed to death was a regular visitor in his dreams.

After a few fruitless minutes of rolling around trying to fall back asleep, Drifter gave up and opened his menu. There wasn't much to distract himself with there, but he could always go over his status over and over again until he bored himself back to sleep.

It was during his mindless swiping of fingers that he randomly opened his friend list, and saw the green dot next to one of the names, showing the player was also awake.

'Huh?'

Raising an eyebrow, Drifter considered sending a message for a moment, but in the end decided not to. It was probably just another poor soul plagued by nightmares.

-------------------------

"Awww..."

Stretching, Drifter woke up again. After almost half an hour, he had finally drifted - hah! - to the dreamland last night. At least this time it was at a more reasonable hour, the sun rays already starting to filter in through the partially opened curtains.

As it was his routine, he went to the attached bathroom, and washed his face. It was more of a ritual than anything, since he didn't actually need to clean up - Kayaba hadn't coded goo and boogers into the game. To be honest, it didn't really feel like he was rinsing himself, since the feeling of running water on skin appeared to be one of the few things even the Cardinal System struggled to replicate, but it wasn't that far off. Though he had heard from verified sources - namely Yuna and Asuna - that a hot bath was to die for. The idea sounded appealing after a busy day grinding, so he might try it tonight.

Walking down the stairs, he idly scrolled through his menu, equipping his armor and weapon. He supposed it might be considered bad table manners to dine fully armored, but no one really cared about that.

"Good morning, Drifter!"

"Hi."

"G'day, Yun', Sinon. How are you?"

Greeting the two girls, Drifter sat down on the table with them, and ordered breakfast. There was no tangible benefit to paying more for a better meal in SAO, no boosts or buffs, but if you could afford it, it was much better than eating plain old bread.

"Say, Yun', what got you outta bed so early? I know Sinon's an early riser, but you aren't."

The songstress stuck her tongue out in response to Drifter's teasing, before manipulating her menu to take something out of her inventory. With a flash, a musical instrument appeared in her hands, but it wasn't her usual flute. It was a small harp.

"Sinon gained this as a reward from a quest, and gave it to me. I wanted to try it out before going out to level. And you, mister, just volunteered to come with me."

"Did I?"

This time the spearman raised both eyebrows, but at Yuna's pointed glare, he gave in. Putting his hands over his head in surrender, Drifter pouted at Sinon, who was smirking at his fate, and got up to follow his friend.

Waving goodbye to the other girl, who promised to let the others know they would be back in an hour, Yuna led Drifter through the streets of Urbus.

The city was a lot fuller now, two days after the 2nd floor opened. At the start, most players on the 1st floor had been cautious, and even a little afraid, of teleporting to the floor above, but word soon spread that it was a safe zone, and many came to, if not stay, at least have a look around.

On one hand, Drifter was glad this was the case. It meant more and more players were willing to adventure out of their comfort zones, and possibly fight. Gods knew they needed all the able hands they could get on the frontlines. The downside, however, was the staring.

He didn't think he would ever get used to having people sneaking glances at him wherever he walked, or just outright pointing and whispering. Unfortunately, that was exactly what was happening to him, and everyone else who took part in the 1st floor boss-raid. Their party had it worse than most, considering Kirito was in it.

Doing his best to ignore the stares, Drifter followed Yuna while the songstress idly hummed a tune. He didn't bother to ask where they were going, simply enjoying the moment of calmness. They didn't get many of those.

When they reached the teleporter, and Yuna unhesitantly stepped towards it, he finally allowed his curiosity to surface. He had thought they were going to one of Urbus' plazas, so Yuna could play, but it seemed their destination was somewhere else. And, for now, there was only one place the teleporter could take them.

"So, Yuna, why are we in the Town of Beginnings?"

Running his gaze over the city, Drifter couldn't help but ask his partner. It felt like a lifetime since he last came here. The songstress grinned at him, and pulled him by the arm while she explained.

"Argo mentioned something to me the other day. Did you know there're a bunch of kids in SAO too?"

"What?! But NerveGears can only be used by those above fourteen... And of course children always find a way to break the rules. Dammit. Poor guys..."

Yuna didn't need to point out to Drifter that regulations weren't always enforced as they should be. It was obvious some children would manage to get their hands on SAO, in some way or the other. He kicked himself in his mind for not realizing that sooner, but no one could fault him when he had been so preoccupied trying to ensure his own survival.

He suddenly started when he felt Yuna's hand on his arm, running up and down it in soothing motions. Drifter turned to the songstress, and saw her characteristic warmth-filled smile.

"There's someone looking after them. But they aren't allowed to leave the safe zone, and can only do the same repeatable quests every day. I figured they must be very bored by now, and that I could play some music for them. Take their minds off everything just for a little bit, y'know?"

Not for the first time, Drifter wondered how could someone so pure be stuck in SAO. It simply wasn't fair. He bumped Yuna with his shoulder, to shake her off the slight melancholy he heard creeping in her voice.

"I think it's a great idea, Yun'. And I think that's why Argo told you about them, 'cause she knew you would come."

"She is a huge softie, isn't she?"

"Hahaha... That she is. C'mon, lead the way."

The songstress giggled, and, pulling him by the wrist, guided Drifter to a part of the Town of Beginnings that was generally known as Old Town. Following Argo's instructions, they reached an old church. The front door was open, and three children, no older than eight, were playing on the steps leading to it. Drifter's heart clenched when he saw them, and he could tell Yuna felt the same by the way her grip on his arm tightened.

When the children noticed them, they stopped playing and looked at the pair curiously. Before Drifter could even wave a 'hello', Yuna had already stepped forward, and he could swear her eyes were heart-shaped.

"Hi! How are you? My name's Yuna. Is Miss Sasha in? I wished to talk to her, if that's possible."

"Err..."

"Hahahaha!"

Drifter burst out laughing when the kids retreated under Yuna's rapid-fire questions. He only laughed harder when the songstress glared at him.

"Give them room to breathe, Yun'. You're gonna end up scaring them."

"I'm not scary!"

Wisely deciding it was best not to argue that particular point, Drifter chuckled and winked at the children. Yuna's huff and pout were almost too much for him to handle. That girl was dangerous.

"Woah... You are The Songstress, aren't ya?! Awww!"

Suddenly, one of the children, a little girl with twin ponytails, pointed a finger at Yuna, in awe. Drifter's friend spluttered, and he raised an eyebrow. Though he sometimes thought of her like that, it was the first time he heard someone else use that particular nickname.

"Err... I guess I am?"

"Woah! I heard you playing flute once! Your songs are so beautiful!"

"And you were in the boss-raid! We watched it with Miss Sasha!"

"And you are that guy with the spear! You fought the boss too! Wah, you were both so brave!"

Suddenly swarmed by the three kids, who had their little eyes sparkling with adoration, both Drifter and Yuna didn't know how to react. They tried their best to answer all the questions the little ones were throwing at them, until they were saved by a third party.

"Manners, children! What do you think you are doing?"

Attracted by the commotion, a young woman, with shoulder-length brown hair and spectacles was looking at them from the church's entrance, hands on her hips. The three kids flinched, and ran up to the lady, muttering apologies.

"I'm sorry, the children can be quite excitable. And it's not every day we get two of the frontliners visiting us."

"Frontliners?"

"Hm... Yes? Sorry, shouldn't I call you that?"

The woman, Sasha, cocked her head, her spectacles sliding down and hanging at the tip of her nose. Drifter waved off her concerns.

"It's not like we mind, I'm just not sure why you would call us that."

"Hum? I believe pretty much everyone in the Town of Beginnings calls you that. Well, not just you. It started as a nickname for those players who went to Tolbana and dove into the labyrinth daily. That's essentially the frontlines of SAO, is it not?"

"Err... You can look at it like that, yeah."

"Then, after the boss-raid of the 1st floor, the nickname caught on. It refers to any player who is at the forefront of the game, fighting to clear it. Of course, as part of the group who fought Illfang, you are even more recognizable as frontliners."

"I-I see."

Yuna sounded as uncertain as Drifter was feeling. That... That was a lot of pressure Sasha had unknowingly thrown on their shoulders. They already knew that other players looked up to them because of the boss battle, but it was only now that they realized how much.

"Well, don't just stay there. Come in and have a seat. I don't think the children would forgive me if I didn't let them bugger you some more."

Sasha grinned to show that she was joking, and guided the pair into the church. As they walked, she gave them the tour.

"Most buildings in the Town of Beginnings are unavailable to players, but this one is an exception. I think Kayaba, as much of a, you know, as he is, knew there would be some children stuck in SAO too. The church has almost everything I need to take care of them, though I still need to earn some cor to support food expenses. The kids insist on helping with that."

"How many of them are there?"

"Just half a dozen, thankfully. I don't if I could control any more than that. I'm already being driven up the wall as it is. It's hard for them, being stuck in the town with nothing to do."

When she heard that, Yuna sneaked a glance at Drifter, who nodded encouragingly.

"About that... I was hoping I could do something to help. Play some music, and play with them."

"Really?! That would be wonderful!"

Beaming, Sasha wrapped Yuna into a hug, which the songstress awkwardly returned.

"Yeah. I won't be able to stay much, or come every day, but once or twice a week shouldn't be a problem."

"No, no, that's more than enough! You still have your responsibilities on the frontlines."

The woman - maybe Drifter should call her a teacher? Or caretaker? - quickly waved her hands, saying that it wasn't necessary. By now, the spearman knew Yuns well enough to know that she had already made up her mind.

"It will count as a welcome break for us too, Sasha. And I can teach them one or two things too, if you don't mind."

Drifter couldn't decide who was smiling more brightly after he finished his sentence: Miss Sasha, the children, or Yuna.