Hello everyone.

I'm really sorry. I kept you waiting for so long. But – finally – here it is, the epilogue of To save him. I apologize in advance for any mistake, but my beta ran away.

The answer to your reviews will be at the end of the epilogue, since you waited long enough for it.

Enjoy and thanks to all of you.

Disclaimer : I don't own SAO. The original story and the characters are property of Reki Kawahara (and abec).

To save him

Epilogue

A month after Kirito's awakening

Asuna was ecstatic and worried beyond belief at the same time. It was a weird combination but she couldn't help herself. On one hand, she was overjoyed because today was THE day. The day when she was going to finally see him again. But on the other hand, she didn't really knew what to expect of him and she was afraid. After all, he shut her out for a whole month. His family and her brother could visit him but he refused to see her and no one really understood why. Sugu tried her best to convince him a few times but it was in vain.

A few days ago, the hospital released him and he returned home. That was when, much to their surprise, he asked Suguha to invite Asuna.

So here she was now, in front of the door of the Kirigaya's house, wondering if she should knock or not. A part of her was really afraid that he would reject her, saying that SAO was just a game, that he didn't love her anymore. It drove her crazy. But she wanted some answers. She needed it. She knocked twice and waited.

Suguha opened the door a short while later, with a big smile on her face.

"Thank you for coming!" she said.

"Sorry for the intrusion" answered the redhead with a small smile of her own. She went in the living room where she greeted Kazuto and Suguha's parents. It was the first time she saw their father but she didn't really have the time to introduce herself since Sugu was pulling her by her left arm in another room.

They walked through a few rooms before the younger girl stopped in front of a large and old sliding wooden door.

"He's waiting for you one the other side" she said while opening the door. She then pushed Asuna inside the room and whispered a "good luck" before closing the door.

For ten seconds – maybe fifteen – the redhead stared at the wooden panel in shock. Then she turned around to see a beautiful and well-kept dojo. Indeed, Kazuto was in there, sitting at the edge of the dojo. She could only saw his back at the moment, since he was looking at the garden, but it was him, without a doubt. He was clad in black and his short black hair were gently swaying with the wind.

With caution – since he didn't seemed to realize she was there – she walked toward him but was stopped when he talked to her for the first time in the real world.

"Sorry."

Kazuto didn't look at her while saying this so she didn't know what he meant by it. Why was he sorry? Her fears suddenly came back to her mind. Was he really ending their relationship?

"Did you mean...?" she managed to stutter before he interrupted her.

"I'm sorry for shutting you out all this time" he said, finally turning his beautiful gray eyes to her.

He smiled and, without thinking, Asuna threw herself in his open arms, tears of joy rolling along her cheeks.

They stayed like this for several minutes until the redhead realized she was in HIS arms and abruptly straightened herself.

"Sorry. I don't know what got into me" she explained while sitting next to him, her legs dangling in the gap between the dojo's floor and the ground, like his.

He nodded in understanding.

"It's my fault. I kept you waiting. But... it was impossible for me to see you back then."

She looked at him questioningly.

"I was afraid... and I was weak. I didn't want you to see me like this. Everyone else I could manage, more or less, but not you. Of course, Suguha told me what you do, what you tried to achieve for my sake. I'm really grateful for that. But at the same time, I'm happy that you didn't make it. I was such a wreck in this 'game'. A wreck who managed to remain sane thanks to my memories of you and Yui, who kept me company. I'm happy you didn't see that part of me."

Asuna was speechless... This was the reason behind his actions ?

"You shut me out for that?"

He chuckled.

"Sound a little selfish, right? But I wanted to remain strong in the eyes of the woman I love."

Kazuto looked Asuna in the eyes and took one of her hand.

"Will you forgive me?"

The girl blushed a little.

"I'll try" she said with a big smile unequivocal. "Oh, and before I forget, Yui keep saying that she miss you."

"I already know. I'll dive to see her as soon as I'll feel ready. Suguha already buy me an Amusphere."

"That's great. I'll be happy to be your guide in ALO."

"I can't wait for it then."

They looked at each other with a smile one last time before looking back at the garden. They stayed like this a long time, simply enjoying each other company, hand in hand.

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Answer to some reviews (by the way, thx for your comments) :

Lord Destroyer : Oh, Sugo couldn't fight or wound anyone? Are you sure? How did Kirito wound himself when they were fighting then (in the real world)? He did it alone? I don't think so. ;)

Delta Marauder : To be honest, I hesitate a lot about that part, but I didn't want to abandon the story afterward because I had some 'author block' so I stuck to my original idea. ;)

Also, thanks to Otaku of Anime, DoctorToothless1, kataangfan1999, LadyIwashi, Blitza, xBitterSweetDreamsx... and everyone who took some time to write me a review on this story. Thank you. If I managed to end it, it's because of you all.

XxXxX

This is the end of To save him. I hope you liked this story. Feel free to review.