"Yui!"
"Yui-chan!"
The moment Hachiman and Asuna logged into the inn room where they'd last signed out, Yui appeared, twirling in a shimmer of light. They called out to her in rapid succession.
"Yui, were you lonely? You okay?" Hachiman asked.
"Sorry for always leaving you alone, Yui-chan," Asuna added.
Yui tilted her head, puzzled by their intensity. "Papa? Mama? I'm tied to Papa's account, so from the time we said goodbye last until now, it's only been a moment for me."
Despite her words, Hachiman and Asuna stayed close, taking turns ruffling her hair. Yui, though curious about their behavior, decided to bask in their affection. After a while, seemingly content, she spoke up hesitantly.
"Um, Papa, Mama, is there something you wanted to talk about?"
Yui had clearly picked up on their unusual demeanor. Hachiman, his expression unreadable, responded.
"Yeah, Yui, there's some stuff we need to explain."
"Go ahead, Papa. I'm ready," Yui said, her face tightening with a hint of nerves.
Hachiman began relaying what Argo had told them. "Yui, the thing is… Aincrad's about to appear in this world."
"Really?!" Yui exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Yup. Turns out Rect had all of Aincrad's data intact. But here's the kicker—they're bringing in The Seed's Cardinal System too, and… there's another MHCP in there, just like you."
"Oh…" Yui said, quickly grasping the implications. "So, you and Mama are worried I might disappear because of it."
Hachiman nodded. "Sharp as ever, Yui. So, what's the deal? Would you really get overwritten?"
"Probably," Yui said, her tone matter-of-fact. "My current state is pretty unstable, so it's likely. But if we cut off all my Cardinal System-derived abilities, like enemy detection, I can exist independently."
"Seriously?" Hachiman asked, stunned.
"Yup!" Yui said, her face practically glowing with pride.
Hachiman and Asuna exchanged shocked glances but pressed on with Argo's explanation.
"Now for the good news," Hachiman said. "Argo's got a plan…"
He detailed Argo's solution, and Yui's eyes sparkled as she beamed at them. "That's amazing! I definitely want that!"
"You sure? You'll be sealed away for a while. Won't that be lonely?" Hachiman asked.
"Yeah, we'll have to say goodbye for a bit," Asuna added.
"Papa, Mama, like Argo-san said, it'll just be a moment for me, so I'm fine," Yui said. "But thank you for caring so much about me!"
With that, she launched herself at their faces, nuzzling their cheeks alternately. Hachiman and Asuna, filled with love but tinged with sadness, held her close.
"It's gonna be tough not seeing you for a while," Hachiman admitted.
"Me too…" Asuna echoed.
"Papa, Mama…" Yui said, clinging to them even more.
Then, brightening, she added, "It's okay, really! You two go enjoy Aincrad to the fullest. When we meet again, it'll be in our secret base, all smiles! Promise me, Papa, Mama!"
"You got it, it's a deal!" Hachiman said.
"I'll make it happen as fast as I can, Yui-chan!" Asuna vowed.
"Okay!" Yui chirped.
Encouraged by Yui's optimism, Hachiman and Asuna said their bittersweet farewell, bringing us to the present.
"You two must've been worried sick. Sorry for making you wait," Argo said over the phone. "We've finally got a plan to bring Yui-chan and Kizmel back."
"It's done?" Hachiman asked.
"Yup, just in time for Floor 22's rollout," Argo confirmed.
Asuna's eyes welled up. "Thank you, Argo-san, really."
"No big deal, A-chan. It's part of my job," Argo said. "What about you guys? Ready to hit Floor 22 ASAP?"
"Got it covered," Hachiman said. "We've already drawn up a Floor 21 strategy and shared it with everyone."
Argo sounded incredulous. "You remembered all that?"
"Crowdsourcing, baby," Hachiman said. "We pooled every veteran's knowledge and nailed down the details."
"What about funds for the house?" Argo asked.
Hachiman, who'd prepared for this day exhaustively, grinned. "We analyzed the original purchase price against the market back then, surveyed ALO's economy, and saved up double the amount."
"Lizbeth must've worked her ass off," Argo said, assuming Lizbeth, the group's only money-making skill expert, had gone all out.
"Actually, not quite," Hachiman said. "Think about it. Kirito and I burned through our funds taking down Sugou, but there's one person from SAO with untouched wealth."
"A rich SAO player… Egil?" Argo guessed. "No, wait, he spent most of his money training mid-level players…"
"Ahem, cough cough," Asuna interjected dramatically.
"Oh!" Argo exclaimed, catching on.
"Yup," Hachiman said. "She's not subtle about it."
"Didn't seem like she was living large back then, so it was a blind spot," Argo admitted.
"That's right! The secret rich girl was me!" Asuna declared, raising her hand proudly, though Argo couldn't see it.
"Figures," Argo said. "A-chan could totally bank that much."
"In SAO, I only spent on house gear and clothes," Asuna explained. "Once we moved to the secret base, I barely touched my funds. Lizbeth handled weapons, and the guild covered armor."
"Makes sense," Argo said, satisfied. She moved to the next issue. "Floor 21's boss is gonna be tough. You got the manpower? Me and the boss probably can't join that day."
"No problem," Hachiman said confidently. "First, we bribed Eugene with the chance to fight Kirito. That got Kagemune on board too."
"You sacrificed Kirito, huh?" Argo said.
"Then, we had Leafa and Yukino pull the puppy-dog eyes to get Sakuya and Alicia to help."
"Those two don't cry easily, so that must've hit hard," Argo chuckled.
"Finally, we power-leveled Chrisheight into a beast."
"Poor Chrysheight…" Argo said.
"Nah, Chrysheight was totally into it," Asuna corrected. "Probably needed to blow off steam from work."
When Aincrad's integration began, Chrysheight—Chrysheight being Kikuoka's character—had approached Hachiman's group, claiming he wanted to join for "information gathering." After discussion, the team welcomed him, and now Chrysheight was a full-fledged member of Team Hachiman.
"So, we're set," Hachiman said. "Everything's locked and loaded."
"Alright, Haa-bo, A-chan, leave the rest to us. You handle your end," Argo said. "I love Yui-chan too, you know."
"Thanks for the call, Argo," Hachiman said.
"We'll go all out!" Asuna added.
With that, Hachiman and Asuna rallied their team, finalized preparations, and awaited the big day with anticipation.
-----------------------------
The battle isn't over... and the truth has yet to be revealed. Read the next chapter now on Patreon! [patreon.com/Greyhounds]