Disclaimer: Don't own SAO or any of it's characters.

Rating: T

A little something I wondered about, to see what it might have been like for Yui, that drove her to meet Kirito + Asuna

Cardinal System

Terror. Despair. Rage. Insanity.

That was the overwhelming feeling from the 6,258 players who still remained in Sword Art Online - and she was unable to help them. Cardinal would not allow her to go out and appear to the players, or appeal to them from here, where she had spent the last two years observing from. It wouldn't let her do her job as counselor, and it wouldn't permit her to do anything other than monitor the game. She could hear every word that they said on the shifting screens, saw every action that they took, and felt and every blow that struck their bodies as if it'd been her own...

And she, Yui-MHCP001, could do nothing but watch.

She felt the errors in her system, but could not affect them - she wondered if she'd succumb to them first, or to the players' overwhelming emotions.

Just across from her, a screen shifted again, which she didn't notice at all... not until the words started getting through to her.

"Very suspicious."

Yui-MHCP001 slowly looked up, her processes a little slow, or maybe just unsure - she didn't quite recognize that tone. The boy with the black hair merely kept his silence, as if the answer was awkward or painful, while the girl with the long strawberry-blonde hair slowly 'hmm'ed over this. Still, her processes wondered faintly; what was that tone the girl was using?

"Oh never mind; it's rude to ask people to justify their skills."

She breathed out.

Was... that... cheerful... she just heard?

Meanwhile, the black-haired boy just looked relieved that the girl had suddenly dropped the subject, then she accessed her menu, saying something about having lunch-

"R-Really!? Did- did you make it yourself!?"

Yui-MHCP001 further breathed out, even as the two continued to eagerly (and for the girl, a little pleased/embarrassingly) discuss the subject of eating in this virtual world.

Who were they? Why had the despair of this game not gotten to them?

Just then the scene shifted; other players entered through a gate, sorta wearily and one complaining that the 'grinding' was 'killing' him, while the boy and girl instinctively stood up. However, their guard soon relaxed, and she didn't see any sort of violent reaction forthcoming.

"Hey, Kirito!" said the one who'd complained earlier, looking straight at the black-haired boy, and sounding as if they hadn't seen each other for a while.

She made a sound. Kirito?

Within seconds, she accessed it: Kirito; Level 95; HP 18275; Main Equipment; Elucidator and Dark Repulsor, Blackwyrm Coat; Skill Slots a fraction under 80% filled overall; and Sword Skills-

She didn't pay attention to that last part, already knowing by heart what they all were - instead, she was far more entranced by what was happening on this screen.

The conversation continued, the two of them appearing to 'joke' before 'Klein' noticed the girl, then questioned what Kirito was doing, as he was a solo player... until he apparently noticed the fact that she was a girl, then he stopped completely. Kirito didn't notice, introducing them to each other - she took special note of Asuna and her stats - before he noticed Klein still hadn't moved, and wondered if he was lagging.

Yui-MHCP001 quickly checked all relevant monitoring systems; there was no lag on Klein's end, or the system's end.

Then Klein snapped to attention, seeming to shake and sounding differently than he had before... something about introducing himself? Then to her shock, Kirito interrupted it with a punch to Klein's groin, to the similar shock of Asuna and Klein himself, not to mention his guild members. But she was confused; there hadn't been any anger, just annoyance. What was going on?

She was further confused when the guild members, instead of getting mad that he'd hit their leader, suddenly starting gushing over how she was 'that Asuna'. Asuna herself was flustered and unsure about the attention, even as Kirito struggled to keep them back, joking that they were okay but he didn't know about Klein - right until Klein stepped on his foot.

Her processes 'felt' the slight pain, but there was no anger there either, in Klein or Kirito.

"What the hell?"

"That's payback, you weasel."

"Come on, Klein-"

"What are you doing with a girl-?"

"Stop it-!"

"Come on, spill-!"

Asuna let out a heavy stream of giggling.

She gasped, stunned as heard the pleasant string of sounds.

Laughter? Enjoyment? Happiness?

After all this time, people could be happy in this game!?

Yui-MHCP001 reached out, touching the screen, wishing she could reach out and touch them - her programming wished it so badly, so that she could learn from them!

Then the screen switched out on her.

"Uh! No don't!" she desperately cried out, but it was too late. Weakly, hoping she could see them again, she kept special notice of all her screens now, even more than she had before.

And she waited...

/

She didn't have to wait very long.

Soon a different screen showed them again, and Yui-MHCP001 held her hands in front of her, hoping to see more of their happiness - but that disappeared as soon as she saw them rapidly approaching the open door of the 74th Boss Floor. And she could hear screaming from inside...

She made a weak sound; please, let no one die in there! Please!

As soon as she thought it, her internal player counter changed: 6,258 - 6,256.

She was already wanting to cry, or imitate the human version, and it only got worse as she saw one guy land right in front of Kirito/Asuna/Klein. She saw his health dropping like a rock, with only enough time to say one thing before he burst into fragments of light.

6,256 - 6,255.

"No, stop it!" she cried out, at the exact same time Asuna started breathing 'No...', "Don't hurt them!"

The Gleam Eyes hovered over a poor soldier, raising it's massive sword as per it's programming - with a roar, it went in for the kill, causing the soldier to cry out...

"GrrrrrrrrAaaaaaaaa!"

Yui-MHCP001 gasped; Asuna just rushed straight at Gleam Eyes, fiercely determined to protect the soldiers! In the space it took to move his sword an inch, she had already crossed twenty feet and was rapidly gaining!

"Asuna!"

"...Oh, what the hell!"

Asuna leapt straight up, then peppered Gleam Eye's back with multiple rapier stabs - this caused the massive sword to miss the soldier by inches, and turned Gleam Eye's attention onto her! It then used the momentum from it's previous attack to swing the sword around; Asuna managed to turn the impact into a spin, but it left her wide open for the counterattack, and she was punched far away. Health: 18,107 - 15,884.

Then Gleam Eyes moved in to get her too- but Kirito rushed in, sliding his Elucidator up and forcing the sword to land an inch from her!

"Please don't die" she begged of them. "I couldn't handle it if you did..."

Still, Yui-MHCP001 was grateful to Klein and his guild for getting the other soldiers out; now they were safe, as Bosses couldn't leave their lairs.

Then Kirito and Gleam Eyes turned on each other, sword vs massive sword, and each landed a hit on each other... but the damage on the Boss had a lower percent than Kirito's! Then he was forced into blocking a direct strike, and keeping it at bay second after second-

Health: 17,627 - 16,341 - 14,985. It just kept getting lower and lower!

"Get out of there!" she cried out, unknowingly saying it in unison with Asuna.

Fortunately, he managed to get out from under it, and dodged the next attack... then after a few furious seconds of deciding what he should do, he barely managed to withheld another strike from Gleam Eyes. Least that one was glancing, and thus did very little damage.

"Hey Klein! Asuna! Listen; I need ten seconds! Keep him off me!" he yelled, jumping back from another attack.

"Yeah, you got it!" Klein responded, rushing forward with Asuna as he quickly worked his menu... Klein charged the Boss head-on, yelling and blocking the first strike, but the second side one managed enough force to unwillingly throw him away (but he wasn't out).

Asuna dodged a direct strike-

"Okay! I'm ready!"

-and forced Gleam Eye's guard open, even as she trembled with anticipation.

"Switch out!"

Kirito rushed forward, taking Asuna's place at the front of the battle, pushing aside the massive sword with his own Elucidator - a bright glow formed just over his back, taking the shape of Dark Repulsor, which he quickly grasped with his left hand. With a roar, he blasted Gleam Eye's head backward, his expression fierce as he wielded both blades. At first this almost scared her, because he looked so angry - but she did not feel anger from him; only a fierce determination to beat this thing, and even more subtly, to protect the ones he loved. Yui-MHCP001 breathed out at such a thing...

Kirito blocked Gleam Eye's next strike with an X-shape guard, incurring little damage, then through sheer power threw off the massive sword. "Starburst Stream!" he breathed intensely, eyes snapping open.

He swiftly struck once, twice, four times, six, eight, then ten - and they all had amped his damage output considerably!

"What- what the hell kinda skill is that?"

Yui-MHCP001 heard him, but she worried about Kirito; his Sword Skill was depleting Gleam Eye's health, but by definition, the Sword Skill locked him from doing any other action from what was available in the skill! He couldn't block the sudden swipe across his chest (Health: 09,987 - 07,886), but it only seemed to make him more determined, charging forward and blasting Gleam Eyes in the same area.

Gleam Eyes growled, getting annoyed now, and moved in again.

Kirito grunted as he was struck again, but moved his blades just in time with the motion to block Gleam Eye's sword, even as he gripped them in reverse-

The Boss staggered from the force of Kirito's counter-blows, Kirito roaring fiercely as he continued his onslaught with several more - but it left him open to an angry Gleam Eyes, who punched him directly in the face! Health: 05,856 - 03,932.

"Oh no!"

Teeth gritted in rage, Kirito's intensity only increased, and she trembled as the two forces battled against each other - Kirito scored at least eight hits in only a few seconds, but Gleam Eyes still scored two more on him! Health: 03,932 - 02,824 - 01,701.

At that exact moment, Gleam Eyes grabbed Kirito's Elucidator in mid-strike...

"Ah!"

The scene then moved in slow-motion: Kirito had that scary look of the possessed, a determined fury that meant he would win at any cost. Asuna and Klein both reacted with horrified 'No!' expressions, even as Gleam Eyes growled low, it's massive blade aimed straight at Kirito, the metal gleaming slightly... to her horror, Kirito did not back down.

With a furious intensity that she'd never heard before, Kirito screamed as he put all his power into his left arm, and the blades descended toward each other - they both struck home.

No!

She watched their health gauges intently - Gleam Eye's dropped and dropped, then- 0! With a glow, the Boss instantly dissolved into bursts of light, while Kirito remained in exactly the same position he had before.

Yui-MHCP001 trembled, unable to believe it as she stared at his gauge...

Health: 00015

He would stay alive!

The effort really took it out of him though; Kirito fell unconscious, to her gasp - the last she saw was his friends rushing toward him, afraid that he was dead. Then the screen flickered away from the scene, causing her to start toward it, only to reach toward nothing. Yui-MHCP001 was like that for a long time afterward... but she could not miss the sensation that welled up inside her.

She didn't know what it was... but she knew one thing.

She had to see them again. To meet them.

/

Floor 22

It took her several days... or weeks... or months... she couldn't tell anymore. But she'd found a backdoor out of... out of something.

She wandered meaninglessly through the forest, trying to find...

What was she trying to find?

She didn't know - she didn't know what she wanted to find, or where she was, or even what was going on.

It just felt like... she needed...

She slowly fell backward.

...rest.

She lay there asleep, unaware that at that moment, she was feet away from the very people she had wanted to meet.

/

"Sleep well... please hurry and wake up tomorrow..."

It was if she'd heard it in a dream; a soft voice, trying to comfort her and wash away all her fears. But right now, she felt very warm, safe and protected - was the voice in her dream protecting her?

She struggled a bit, feeling heavy yet awake, so she slowly opened her eyes. But she knew nothing more than what she saw, a roof... where was she?

Something stirred nearby, not touching her, but very close.

Moving her head slowly, she turned onto her side, and was surprised. Another person lay there with her, in this bed, bigger than her by the look of it - and while most of her was hidden, she clearly had long strawberry-blonde hair, a small part of which was close. Curious, she slowly reached out, hesitant... when she touched it, her hair felt so soft.

It made her smile a little.

Then the person began to stir, and she was surprised, but not alarmed. The girl slowly turned toward her by instinct, turning her head a bit, seeming to look straight at her.

Her mouth opened a little; wow, she was really pretty, and her eye color matched her hair.

"Huh? K-Kirito!" the big girl breathed, sitting straight up and never once looking away from her. "Wake up!"

She was a little confused, but still certain the big girl wasn't talking to her with that name.

On her left side, there came the sounds of some sort of grumbling, along with rustling. "Mmh, good morning - something wrong?"

"Hurry, get over here!" the girl breathed quickly, still not looking away from her.

"Huh?" came the new voice again, before there were other rustling sounds.

She slowly blinked; though this new voice was different, it sounded strong to her, and gentle as well.

The new voice belonged to a boy, who's hair was short and black, and his eyes were the same color, but he seemed different than the girl. When he saw her, he gasped a bit too, but was soon to move even closer after this feeling wore off.

"You woke up" the girl said with a gentle voice, and was just as gentle when she had her sit up. "Thank goodness. Do you remember what happened to you?"

Remember?

She tried to think back; did anything happen to her? But all she could remember was her waking up, in this bed- she slowly shook her head, as there was nothing.

"Okay" the girl breathed, a little unsure. "How about your name?"

"My... name..." she whispered, struggling. "My name is... I think my name is... I think... Yu-i. Yui... that's it, Yui."

The girl smiled at her softly, and her voice was just the same. "That's a cute name, nice to meet you" she said, "My name's Asuna, and this is Kirito" before gesturing at the boy, who also smiled at her.

She breathed out, unsure; she heard the names, but could not remember how to say them. "Una?" she wondered faintly. "Kito?"

The girl merely smiled more. "Try to remember" she said gently, "What were you doing in the forest, and do you know where your mom and dad are?"

Mom, dad... family.

Sad, she shook her head again. "I-I don't know" she breathed, unsure and not knowing what to do. "I- I can't remember anything."

"Oh no... mmh."

She sounded so sad...

"Well, you're awake" the boy said gently, sitting beside her, which drew her attention. "Can I call you, Yui? (she nodded faintly) Okay, then you can call me Kirito; can you say 'Kirito'?"

She made a sound, looking at him. "Kito" she tried again.

He merely continued smiled. "It's Kirito" he said softly. "Ki-ri-to."

Really wanting to say it right, she tried hard to remember, but how to do it just wouldn't appear. "Ki... to" she breathed, a bit worried he might be mad at her.

He wasn't, gently patting her head, to her little surprise. "That's okay, maybe it's a little hard" he said gently, with a little tone she wasn't sure about. "How about you call me whatever's easier for you."

She didn't know what easier meant, but he was letting her call him what she wanted...

What she wanted... all she knew was that she trusted these two, because they were so nice, even if she didn't remember anything at all.

They were like... her family... she wanted to have a family.

She slowly looked at him, nervous. "Daddy" she whispered.

"M-Me?" he asked in surprise, pointing at himself.

She slowly looked at the girl then. "Auna is... Mommy" she whispered.

The bigger girl gave off a little sound, surprised and unsure - this made her feel sad, almost wanting to cry; she didn't want to be her Mommy?

But after a moment, her face slowly softened and she smiled. "Okay... I'm Mommy" she breathed gently. "That works."

More than anything, she felt happy. "Mommy!" she breathed brightly, before she threw herself forward, wanting nothing more than to feel her love, to feel close to her. "Mommy! Daddy!"

Her mommy made a soft laugh, then held her up high, but still close to her as they both giggled. "You must be hungry" she said softly. "How 'bout breakfast?"

"Okay" she said brightly, still happy, even when her mommy put her down, saying she needed to get breakfast ready. She soon found her daddy smiling at her, half-offering for a hug, which she brightened at and immediately jumped into! His sweet little chuckle was all the proof she needed that she had a family!

She had a Mommy and Daddy; that's all she ever wanted!

At the core, it's nothing that hasn't already happened - just the viewpoint is new :P