Integral Factor: Ordinal Scale

A Talk About The Past, Part Two

Koharu had fully awoken at some point during the extensive retelling of her first meeting with Asuna, and she started getting emotional about it. Asuna was her dearest friend, and the fact it began in such a silly way (including Kirito and Jaymes' very lives being threatened by a naked Asuna, thanks to Argo messing around) ensured it was firmly planted in Koharu's memories as one the good times in SAO. She sniffed and wiped her eyelids of moisture as she asked, "Why are you making me relive that day?"

"Because I can't remember any of it!" Asuna bellowed, tears running down her face. That admission threw Koharu off guard again.

"Wh...What?"

"I don't remember the day we met, Koharu. I don't remember that first bath together. I don't remember why we formed a party in the first place. I don't remember what we did after beating Illfang or the seventy-four floors that came afterward. The times we shared as a party, the KoB, how we beat the game... Regarding the strategy we used against the Strict Hermit, Jaymes said that I created it, and I agreed then, but I can't remember now that I made it up. None of those two years together are in my memories anymore..."

Koharu was too stunned to speak. Asuna...forgot Sword Art Online? Six hours ago, her memory was perfect per her example, yet now all of it was gone, as if something reformatted her memory like a hard drive. That... That sounded like science fiction.

However, the fact that Kirito remained silent said otherwise. Kirito was a horrible liar, and Asuna hated lying unless it was necessary. They wouldn't wake her up at the worst time to play a mean prank on her. But she wished they were.

"...What do you remember?"

"Before SAO, everything up until I logged into the game. After that, I wake up in ALO in the cage, and the rest is as I remember it before. You three and Leafa come to my rescue, we all play ALO together, Kirito deals with the Death Gun incident followed by Jaymes' plight in GGO the same night, then Yuuki, SA:O, and everything else up to now." Tears gathering in her eyes, Asuna hung her head in despair again. "But the crucial part of my relationship with you, Kirito, Jaymes, Lisbeth, even Silica, Klein, and Agil...it's gone..."

xxxxxx

Twelve hours later

"All right, I'll tell Koharu the news. You stick with Asuna and try to comfort her, 'kay?..... Yeah, I'll tell her that... See you later, buddy." Seated with Koharu in her apartment's living room, Joshua ended the call with Kazuto.

After Asuna spilled the beans, Kirito suggested that they seek out Dr. Kurahashi, the man who was behind the care of Yuuki Konno and a researcher on the Medicuboid, a Full-Dive device for medical treatment. Asuna agreed before apologizing for waking them up and going offline. Kirito was about to follow, but Koharu stopped him to talk about the strange "ghost" sightings of who she now believed to be Yuna, whom she knew from SAO. Kirito was shocked to learn someone else had met her and identified her, but not as YUNA the AR idol.

Before they departed, Koharu suggested Kirito take Asuna on a trip down memory lane on the floors that were 1:1 between Old and New Aincrad. With only slightly more than thirty levels accessible, most of them unfamiliar to SAO veterans, it wasn't much, but it was the first thing Koharu could think of.

Twelve hours later, Koharu had practiced her song to the point that she almost grew tired of it, but she had to keep her mind occupied until now. She can say she's getting better and better at committing the sheet music to memory.

Closing the piano fallboard over the keys, she turned to Joshua as he sat on the couch. He sighed as if he worked strenuously moments before. He didn't seem worried or anything but bore an intrigued expression. "Limited memory scan... Awesome."