Pairings: Shigehiro/Tamaki. Kirito/Asuna. Furihata/Shino.

Warnings: AU Universe. OOC. Gender swap. Minor character bashing. Implied mature scenes

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke and Sword Art Online and any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

Chapter Twenty Six: Reality

~February 21, 2025~

Asahina Satoru was so engrossed in whatever that he was reading that he almost missed hearing what the announcer on the television was saying even as he passed by the reception area of Chiyoda General. Only the words 'Sword Art Online' caught his attention, and the young doctor's attention immediately snapped to the television in a corner.

The few patients present in the reception area of the hospital also had their eyes glued to the television—as are the few nurses present.

"…A big scandal." The announcer on the television was saying, even as images of what Satoru recognised as Kayaba Akihiko and images of the game art of Sword Art Online appeared on the screen next to the announcer. Considering that one of Satoru's priority patients had been a survivor of that death game, Satoru probably know more about that game than most government officials by now. "And with the reveal of the truth behind Alfheim Online, the victims of the SAO incident that were still in comas have finally regained consciousness. Further investigations have revealed tales of horrific experiments being carried out on the victims. And with that, it seems all too likely that the advancements and research into virtual reality might be brought to a stop…"

Satoru made his way towards his office, opening the door and closing it behind him with a nudge of his foot. He raised a brow when he saw a petite and familiar figure curled up on his couch, fast asleep. The nurse that had always assisted him was seated opposite the sleeping figure, apparently working on some reports.

The nurse gave Satoru an awkward smile when she noticed his arrival, and got to her feet immediately.

"She came early for her appointment." The nurse answered the unasked question. "She near passed out on the floor. I thought it better to let her in your office."

Satoru nodded silently in response to the answer, before the nurse bowed to him politely and left the office quietly. He studied the sleeping form of Kuroko Tamaki on his couch, currently dressed in her street clothes, with a black jacket that seemed a little large for her hanging off her petite frame—probably her cousin's?

Satoru is a doctor. And also a certified psychiatrist. And he has been in this line of business for nearly a decade. He and his wife have gotten their medical degrees from the Medical Academy affiliated with the Self-Defense Forces—and hence, both have seen their fair share of soldiers who have came back traumatised after seeing things that one shouldn't see on the battlefield.

Privately however, Satoru had felt that the survivors of the SAO incident—particularly those that were part of the group that have helped to clear the game had probably came the closest to seeing death. And if there's anyone who is fucked up and needs a ton of mind healing, it is the survivors of that game.

Kuroko Tamaki isn't the only SAO survivor that is seeing him for therapy. Including her, there were at least seven others seeing him for mind healing. The same it is for his wife, Saki, and most of the other psychiatrists that Satoru had worked with and had known.

But probably due to how fucked up her life had been even before Sword Art Online, Satoru was specifically requested by Kikuoka to take her on as a patient; mainly because Satoru is the best in his field at present—having specialised in Mental Trauma.

And also because unlike most of the patients that Satoru had seen, Kuroko Tamaki is young. Still a child. So young. To the point that even though Satoru knew that he shouldn't be getting this personally invested in a patient's life, he can't help but grow fond of the girl.

Satoru looked at the file in his hands once more—the one that he had been reading since he had received it earlier that morning from Kikuoka.

The words ALO Incident Report was visible across it.

Satoru sighed. "Give them a break already. Hasn't she been through enough?" he murmured.

"…Sorry, guys." Satoru heard a slight whimper from Tamaki.

"Really… I never saw such a strong child. I wonder… If any child that Saki and I had would be as strong as you…?" Satoru murmured, heading to his chair and sinking down in it, settling himself for a long read with the report that Kikuoka had sent him.

XXXXXX

The members of the guild Phantom Blue, along with a few of their friends, all made the unanimous decision to delve straight into Alfheim Online after receiving a photo from one of their friends that is unmistakably one of their guild mates. Yuki Asuna—one of the SAO survivors that had yet to wake from her coma.

They quickly realised a few things upon entering the game.

One, the game servers of ALO is a copy of the original SAO servers. Hence, their progress, items and even guild history and skills were all carried over to ALO. They realised that extremely quickly when the tutorials that appeared for every new player didn't appear for any of them, as the game didn't register them as new players.

Two, the quest to reach the top of the World Tree most likely isn't even an official quest at all—as all that they've heard about the quest is via rumours and word of mouth in the 'real world', and not the virtual reality world.

Third, this 'official quest' is rigged in such a way that no one will be able to win. It is an unfair game from the very beginning—

XXXXXX

Satoru looked up from his reading, as there is a soft knock on his door, and his wife entered; her eyes growing soft when it landed on the asleep Tamaki.

"…Saki." Satoru smiled at his wife who smiled back. "I thought to let her sleep a bit." He gestured towards Tamaki. "From what I know, she has been through quite a lot recently." He waved the file in his hand. "I was just reading the report about the ALO incident from Kikuoka. And I honestly want to wring the neck of that guy—what's his name now? Sugou or something?"

If the guy isn't currently in the prison hospital for a stab wound (self defense on the part of Kirigaya Kazuto when the former attacked the latter with a blade), Satoru is sure that there will be an entire nation of people waiting to wring his neck themselves.

Saki sighed. "I hadn't gotten around to reading the report that Kikuoka-san sent me yet. But I had Ogiwara-kun come to see me yesterday," she told her husband. "He told me some stuff about what had happened in the game. Honestly." She muttered something beneath her breath. "Sometimes, I think of virtual reality games as the devil's game. It makes me wish sometimes that technology isn't that advanced."

"It's not all that bad, Saki." Satoru defended. "It can be used for good too."

After all, last that Satoru had heard from the last medical conference, there have been some medical advancements made using virtual reality games as a basis to treat incurable illnesses. And in virtual reality games, the terminally ill patients that couldn't move and do things that normal people could are able to do things that they normally couldn't with their own physical bodies.

Virtual reality games can be used for good. But it also has the capability to be misused as a tool of evil, like what had happened to Sword Art Online and even Alfheim Online.

"Yes, I'm aware of it." Saki sighed. "But when it comes to this bunch…" She trailed off, looking at Tamaki. "It seems to me like it's done nothing but torment them. Haven't they been through enough?"

Satoru sighed next. "I get what you mean," he said at last. "But all that we can do right now is to help them heal."

"That's all that we can do for them." Saki admitted. "The rest is up to them."

XXXXXX

Kuroko Tamaki first realised that one of the Sylphs whom they met early in their journey in Alfheim Online was her old schoolmate and former teammate in the Seirin Basketball Club when he let slip something that had only came up in one of their former conversations when she had met up with her old schoolmates.

And from what Kirigaya-kun had said, the other Sylph whom they have been acquainted with from the beginning had been his adoptive younger sister—also biologically his cousin.

It was a shock and surprise to them all; none other more than Kirigaya-kun and Kuroko.

But plans were soon set in motion for them all. Plans to storm the World Tree and to free Yuki Asuna—

Asahina Satoru looked up from the file as there were the sounds of light rustling, and he saw Kuroko Tamaki sitting up, rubbing at her eyes and blinking blearily. He smiled to himself, making a bookmark at the page that he is reading and getting up from his chair.

"…Good morning, Dr. Asahina." Tamaki murmured sleepily.

"Good morning, Tamaki." Satoru greeted, sinking himself into the couch opposite the one that Tamaki is currently occupying. "You had an eventful week, from what I heard. Do you feel like talking about it?"

Tamaki took several moments to compose herself.

Satoru then spied the black file sticking out of her bag, with the words 'Application to SAO Survivor School' visible at the top of the first document. His lips twitched.

"Yes." Tamaki said at last. "I think I like to."

A/N: It's been a long time! I think it's been nearly two years since I last updated this story! So sorry about it. In my defence, I honestly didn't have the mood to update any of my stories at all due to several issues in my personal life. And also because I am busy with my original novel (you can find one of them on my Wattpad. If you want to read it, let me know and I'll send you a link)

This chapter is more of a debrief and summary for the ALO events; as I wish to focus more on the Fatal Bullet arc, since that is where a certain organisation is making their return once more.

I hope that you like this chapter, and please read and review! Reviews give me inspiration to update!