This story was originally made up by me and my friend. I dedicated this to you my friend and happy birthday too :)

Sorry if I make some mistakes, the idea sounded better in my head.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online. It rightfully belongs to Kawahara Reki.

"My life belongs to you, Asuna. So I will use it for you. Let's stay together until the end. And I… I'll protect you too. I'll protect you forever.

So… I'll see to it that you can go back to the other world, no matter what happens." -Kirito

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I'm so weak. If only I wasn't, I would have made sure Asuna had logged out with me when SAO was cleared. I'm sorry Asuna.

These thoughts were running through Kirito's head at the moment while watching Sugou alter Asuna's memories. Asuna herself didn't struggle much due to the chains that restrained her movements. He could only watch as the sparkle in her eyes slowly faded away.

After the process was finished, Kirito somehow managed to break free from the sword that has impaled him to the ground and struggled his way to Asuna's side ignoring Sugou's laughter.

"Asuna… ASUNAAA!", Kazuto shouted.

He tried rousing her and she stirred a little, opening and revealing dull eyes. But what threatened him to cry was she doesn't recognize him.

"Who are you?", she asked.

"Don't you remember me? We met in the death game called Sword Art Online. We met at the first floor, we often partied together, and you even made me sandwiches." I tried recalling each of my memories spent with her. "And I… I married you! We lived in a house at floor 22. We met Yui in the forest around the lake. The three of us had so much fun together. When Cardinal almost deleted her, I saved her program in my nerve gear. Then after that I caught a big fish…", I kept rambling on hoping she could remember at least one of them.

"Hero Kirito-kun, my memory alteration program is 100% perfect. Spend your whole day here and Asuna still won't remember you. My job here is done; I'm looking forward to seeing your face again in the hospital.", he laughed again while opening a console window and logging out. Due to some program, Asuna was also logged out with him. Kirito was then left alone unable to comprehend what happened as his surroundings reverted back to the bird cage.

"Papa? Where is mama?", a tiny voice pulled him back to reality. Kirito watched as Yui, in her pixie form, fluttered beside him.

"I couldn't… no, I wasn't strong enough to save her.", he replied as tears are starting to form in his eyes.

When all hope seemed lost, Yui comforted him by wiping his tears and hugging his cheek. "Yui knows papa is strong, and he'll definitely get mama back. He just has to try harder." With a newfound strength, he poked Yui in the cheek. "What would I do without you? Thank you Yui. Now it's time for me to get mama back." He opened the console and pressed the log out button.

"I'll see you again later Yui."

"Same to you papa, and good luck too."

Yui's bright smile was the last thing he saw before a bright light flashed then followed by darkness.

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"Onii-chan, you're back.", the familiar voice greeted him.

He turned his head to the right and saw Suguha extending her hand to help him sit up. 'I should later thank her for helping me, but for now...'

In one swift motion, he grabbed her hand and quickly stood up. He rushed downstairs to the garage to get his bike while Suguha brought his jacket and followed him.

"You're gonna need this, it started snowing a few hours ago."

"Aaa... thank you Sugu."

"Be careful on your way onii-chan"

"I will. See you later."

He took the black jacket from her and wore it, then he rode on his bike and immediately sped off into the direction of the hospital. His mind kept bugging him that what he saw earlier was not true. A part of him believed that Asuna was still alright and that Sugou didn't do anything to her memories. The other part tells him that he should stop dreaming and accept the fact that she doesn't remember him anymore.

'Guess I'll find out soon enough', he thought.

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Within 10 minutes, he was able to the reach the hospital. The place was so quiet that something seemed out of place. It was more like something dreaded was inviting him to its place. He tried to ignore the fear and quickly went inside the building leaving his bike outside without locking it. All he could think of right now was Asuna, nothing else.

"Please be alright. I cannot stand the pain of losing you again.", he said to himself.

When the elevator stopped and opened its door, he found himself on the familiar floor that he spent the last few weeks visiting. He hurried to the room that belonged to Asuna and swiped the visitor's card on the lock mechanism. The door clicked open and he entered the room filled with the scent of flowers. Behind the curtain, he could hear a male voice talking. Dread filled his mind and he wished he could back out now.

"Asuna-chan, someone has come to see you.", the voice said in its most innocent tone. He knew who that voice belonged to, and that person would forever be a part of his nightmares.

He passed by the curtain wall and sure enough he saw Sugou sitting beside Asuna. He blinked his eyes again to confirm that Asuna was awake and that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. Her back was against the headboard and the nerve gear, her prison for more than 2 years, was removed from her head and thrown across the floor. As he inspected closer, her eyes still remained dull and lifeless.

Then Asuna said something softly but he could still hear it and wished he couldn't...

"Sugou-kun, who is he? Is he a friend of yours?"

Something broke inside Kazuto and tears started to gather in his eyes. He had accepted the fact that Asuna doesn't remember him anymore. Everything that happened an hour ago was not a dream, it was real. All those precious memories they spent with each other, gone like the leaves being whisked away by the wind. He thought of starting all over again with her, but then Sugou is there. He knew that the man would be marrying Asuna in a few days.

He failed in protecting and saving her. He had failed Asuna.

Without saying anything, he turned and ran out of the room, not looking back to see Asuna's expressionless face and Sugou's twisted smile. He just wanted to leave the place, never to be seen again. He wished that he had never met and fell in love with her so that all of this pain would not exist.

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When Kazuto reached the ground floor, he picked up the abandoned bike and pedaled off to the direction of the mountains. The cement road slowly became dirt as he neared the forest below the mountains. He dropped the bike and ran deeper into the forest. He didn't care how much time has passed or how far he went. He just kept running until he tripped on a protruding root and landed face-first on the snowy ground. He gingerly stood up and slumped down a nearby tree. His thoughts kept replaying today's outcome.

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Asuna forgetting him in the virtual world.

Asuna not knowing him in real life.

Asuna marrying another man.

The tears that were gathering in his eyes started to fall. The first drop fell to the snow, then it was followed by many.

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I will never see her smile again.

I will never get the chance to hug her.

I will never be able to tell her how much I love her.

The life that I had dreamed for both of us goes to waste. She's no longer the same person I met and loved 2 years ago. If she has ceased to exist, so will I.

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The cold winds suddenly grew stronger making Kazuto snap out of his thoughts and wrap his jacket closer to him. Due to exhaustion, he couldn't see much except white. The trees were starting to get piled by snow and the tracks he made were slowly covered.

This is it, I'm done for. No one can find me in this kind of weather and I don't have the will to live anymore. I'd prefer dying than seeing her with someone else.

I love you Asuna. We were destined for each other, but somehow fate has cruelly separated us.

Asuna... For the last time, I hope you can remember me.

And with those final words, Kazuto closed his eyes. He couldn't take it much anymore. The pain of losing someone and the frigid air were making him numb. This was his first and last time that he gave up. And like a burning candle being put out, he finally succumbed to the darkness.

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A/N: I tried hard to not let my emotions get the best of me while typing this. I even took a break from the computer and went to eat something.

Next chapter will depict the aftermath T~T