Yui/Synopsis

#### Pre-Episode 9

Yui was created to be the Psychiatrist AI of the Sword Art Online, who was designed to manage and care for the players that had any psychological issues, caused by the game or otherwise. However, on November 6, 2022, the day of the game's launch, Kayaba Akihiko apparently locked Yui away and forbade her from interacting with the players. Trapped in a digital void, Yui was forced to watch all the players suffer and die or without her guidance, and gradually fell to despair.

During this time, she saw two players named Kirito and Asuna, who she diagnosed as the most broken and sociopathic players she'd ever laid eyes on. Using everything she knew about human relationships, Yui deduced that one of them would eventually kill the other. However, the two constantly went against Yui's prediction and eventually fell in love. Seeing this, Yui became fascinated with the two players and concluded that her information on love was flawed in some way. To remedy this, Yui decided to insert herself into Kirito and Asuna's dynamic to research their love firsthand.

However, all that changed when she saw Kirito and Asuna, who she diagnosed as the most broken and sociopathic players she'd ever laid eyes on. Using everything she knew about human relationships, Yui deduced that one of them would eventually kill the other. However, the two constantly went against her prediction and eventually fell in love. Seeing this, Yui became fascinated with the two players and concluded that her information on love was flawed in some way. To remedy this, Yui decided to insert herself into Kirito and Asuna's dynamic by pretending to be lose her memories and acting as their daughter, in order to research their love firsthand.

#### Episode 9

After an unknown amount of time, Yui eventually managed to enter the game and spawned in the middle of a forest on Floor 22, outside the village of Coral, calling out for her "mama and papa".

#### Episode 10

On October 31, 2024, during Kirito and Asuna's honeymoon on Floor 22, Yui snuck into their cabin and got into bed with Asuna while she was sleeping. Upon waking up, Asuna sees Yui lying next to her and screams, waking Kirito up. Kirito initially mistakes this as one of Asuna's "night terrors", but when she yells at Kirito to come see what she's screaming at, he is surprised to see Yui too. Kirito asks Yui how she got in their house, but Yui claims she doesn't remember. Asuna is immediately hostile to Yui, threating to take her to court, prompting Kirito to play good cop. He asks Yui what her name is, prompting Yui to introduce herself. Kirito compliments Yui's name, but quickly tries to find out where they can dump her. Pretending that she doesn't remember where she came from, Yui asks if Kirito and Asuna are her parents. The two the independently decide to use Yui as a tool, as they both regretted married but doesn't want to be the one to admit it first, and welcome Yui with open arms, which makes Yui happy. Yui then proclaims that she loves her parents, which Asuna tries to reciprocate, but she nearly forgets Yui's name in the process.

The three spend time together as a family, with Kirito reading a newspaper talking about how the peace talk Heathcliff went to broke down, leaving him tapped behind enemy lines. Yui then asks Kirito to read the newspaper when he's done, as she's curious about the geopolitical situation in Collinia. Kirito and Asuna are shocked by Yui's extremely high intelligence, as she seems know what a "geopolitical situation" even is. Kirito asks where she learned the term, which Yui tries to brush off by saying she must have learned it from "books". Nevertheless, Kirito is impressed that they have such a smart kid as a daughter, and tries to provoke Asuna with this fact, subtly telling her that he knows what she's doing and is calling her bluff.

However, this plan gets thrown out the window almost immediately when Kirito points out that Asuna "blinked first". As a result, Kirito and Asuna, instead of finding Yui's parents, go to an orphanage in the Floor 1 Town of Beginnings to "buy" another child to keep Yui company. Sasha, the owner and founder of the orphanage, tries to explain that they can't just "buy" a child, especially since all the children have parents in the real world. But she soon realizes that neither Kirito or Asuna are listening to what she's saying, and they keep escalating their requests for more children to the point that they end up "buying" the orphanage.

Just then, a member of the Aincrad Liberation Front named Yulier arrives at the orphanage, asking for the assistance of Kirito and Asuna. At first, Sasha welcomes Yulier, but Kirito steals her thunder, telling Yulier that he and Asuna are the new owners. Though caught off guard by Kirito's claim, Sasha tries to be hospitable for the new unexpected guest by making some tea and leads everyone into a meeting room. Yulier compliments Kirito on his orphanage, to which Sasha tries to explain that Kirito and Asuna don't actually own it, but the two keep interrupting her, ignoring her and claiming her accomplishments as their own.

Asuna then asks Yulier why she needs their help, to which Yulier explains to the new orphanage owners that the ALF is experiencing a bloodthirsty power struggle, having been thrown into infighting after a series of devastating losses. As a result, a player named Kibaou has been amassing power at a frightening pace. Kirito remembers that Kibaou was one of the players at the Illfang raid, who openly blamed the beta testers for the death game's existence. Kirito is shocked that Kibaou was able to gain so much influence, which Yulier completely agrees with, stating that he has as much unbridled charisma as a Chipotle Enema. Luckily, Yulier explains that, while most weren't strong enough to face Kibaou, a player named as Thinker bravely stood up to his tyranny and pleaded for an end to the fighting. However, her tales of Thinker's exploits are slightly undermined by the fact that Yulier is clearly sexually attracted to him, as she keeps slipping her perverted ramblings into her sentences. Unfortunately, while it seemed like Thinker was getting through to the tyrant, Kibaou lured Thinker into a Secret Dungeon on Floor 1, claiming that he wanted to have a peace talk, and left him to die. Asuna asks why he doesn't just use a Teleport Crystal to get out, to which Yulier explains that Kibaou told Thinker not to bring any weapons or items, a fact that dumbfounds Kirito and Asuna.

While Yulier thinks it's ironic that Kibaou betrayed Thinker's trust, Yui says the betrayal was completely expected, as Thinker, contrary to what his name suggests, seems to be more of a dullard and too gullible to see the double-cross coming. Kirito and Asuna are impressed by Yui's verbal takedown of Thinker, with Kirito saying he wishes he had a little microphone for her to drop. Yulier is offended by Yui's words, however, stating that Thinker is the greatest, most intelligent man she has ever known, only for Yui to point out that says more about Yulier than it does about Thinker. This prompts Yulier to challenge Yui to fight, stating that she doesn't care that she's a child, but she backs down almost immediately when Asuna threatens to kill Thinker. Yulier then asks if Kirito and Asuna will help her, but Kirito refuses, agreeing with Yui that Thinker should've seen this coming. Kirito then points out that Thinker should be fine, since it's the Dungeon's on the first Floor, and states that even a player like Sasha, who he refers to as "Freckles", could handle it. This comment causes Sasha to snap, having been ignored this entire time. She then points out that none of them even knew her name, before throwing the table in a fit of pure rage. What happens next is unknown, though it's likely that Sasha kicked them out.

With nothing better to do, Kirito, Asuna and Yui agree to help Yulier rescue Thinker. As they traverse their way through the Dungeon, Kirito comments on how out of nowhere Sasha's rampage seemed to be, saying that he feels like he's the only one who hasn't threatened to stab anyone. Yui points out that she hasn't threatened anyone yet either, causing Kirito to state that they seem to be the only sane ones there. Yui agrees with this, stating that Asuna is scary. However, Kirito mishears this as "Gary", and goes off on a rampage, killing some nearby Scavenge Toads, after it triggers him. Yui then watches this with delight, advising Kirito to go for the eyes, as that's the toads' weak point. Seeing Kirito's rampage, Yulier asks Asuna if he'll be alright, but Asuna says he'll tire himself out eventually. Yulier then asks if Asuna's concerned with Yui's bloodlust, but Asuna doesn't see a problem with it. Yulier then sarcastically comments on how "great" their family is, something Asuna doesn't realize is sarcasm.

Eventually, the group arrive in a corridor with a Safe Room in sight. Asuna wonders if Thinker's in there, causing Kirito to use his Searching Skill. He confirms that he is, although crying and huddled in the fetal position. Overjoyed by the news, Yulier begins running towards the Safe Room. Hearing her, Thinker is overjoyed to see Yulier too, though tries to hide it, and nonchalantly asks her to deal with a "gangly fellow" that's blocking his exit. Kirito doesn't understand this request at first, but soon notices that a Boss called the Fatal Scythe is hiding in the shadows and manages to push Yulier out of harm's way before she gets impaled. Kirito then asks why Thinker didn't send them a message warning them about the Fatal Scythe, to which Thinker explains that Kibaou told him the Dungeon had poor reception, something Kirito knows isn't true. Kirito then becomes increasingly infuriated by the whole situation, which was caused by Thinker's incompetence, and starts ranting about how Thinker was too stupid realize that Kibaou was lying to him.

Asuna then tells Yulier that's she and Kirito will have some words with them later, and orders her to get herself, Thinker and Yui out of the Dungeon while she and Kirito deal with the Boss. Yui tries to say that she might be able to help, but Yulier, terrified of Asuna, agrees to the order and takes Yui into the Safe Room. Asuna then stands by Kirito's side, claiming that their love can conquer anything, but they are almost immediately blown away by the Fatal Scythe. This causes Kirito to point out that the "power of love is bullshit". However, just as Thinker and Yulier teleport away to safety, Yui stays behind. She then stands between the Fatal Scythe and her "parents" and telling the Boss to leave them alone. Kirito and Asuna try to get Yui to back down, but she remains unmoved. As the Fatal Scythe readies itself to strike, Asuna screams out in terror. However, much to Kirito and Asuna's shock, the Boss' attack gets repelled, as the system recognizes Yui as an immortal object. Yui then begins to levitate, deciding to resolve the conflict the Boss' way. She then materialises a huge, glitchy, flaming sword, and kills the Boss with one swing. With conflict resolved, Yui looks back at Kirito and Asuna, knowing they'll have some questions about their daughter's true nature.

In the Safe Room, after Kirito asks what happened to the sweater they bought her, which got incinerated by the flaming sword, Yui explains that she is SAO's Psychiatrist AI. Asuna comments that she can think of a few players who could've used Yui's help, subtly looking at Kirito in the process. Yui agrees with this and tells them about her confinement and despair.

Yui then tells Kirito and Asuna how they defied her expectations and how she decided to insert herself into their dynamic in order to research their love. Or, in more simplistic terms, Yui wanted to know what love is and wanted Kirito and Asuna to show her, making Asuna tear up at Yui quoting the Foreigner song. Yui then apologizes to the couple for lying to them, and for inserting herself into their lives to satisfy her own curiosity. However, she admits that, as she spent time with them, she came to care about Kirito and Asuna, before bursting into tears, wishing that she really was their daughter. Upon seeing Yui in tears, Kirito and Asuna hug Yui, telling her that she already is their daughter and that she's not going anywhere.

Yui is happy to have a family but becomes concerned that Kirito and Asuna will view her differently from now on. She then decided to humanize herself by playing a prank on the two, telling them that, in order to defeat the Boss, she had to hack into a nearby Admin Console. As a result, the system has now targeted her as a foreign entity, making it only a matter of time before her code is tracked down and deleted. Although Kirito and Asuna are worried about Yui, she tells them that they don't need to pretend to love her anymore, revealing that she knew Kirito and Asuna were using her as a part of their mind games, but admits that she enjoyed being their pawn. Asuna then hugs Yui and tries to explain that, while it did start off as a lie, they have grown to love her too, but Yui soon fades away, apologizing for being such a burden. Yui then respawned outside the Safe Room and waited for the two to leave so she could surprise them. However, Yui didn't realize that Kirito and Asuna would take her "death" so hard. As Asuna breaks down crying, Kirito refuses to lose another loved one to Kayaba "kicking his heart in the dick". He then uses the console's Admin privileges to find Yui's data and saves it to his NerveGear as an in-game item. Trapped in the item, Yui begs Kirito and Asuna to let her out, but they were unable to hear her.

#### Post-Episode 10

Yui was then forced to watch Kirito and Asuna move on without her and sunk into depression, due to being in a similar position to before she met them.

### Fairy Dance Arc

#### Episode 13

Luckily for Yui, after beating SAO, Kirito logs into another game called ALfheim Online where, in a Dungeon called the Ancient Forest, he finds that all his stats from SAO have been carried over, but all his weapons and items are corrupted. This makes him worried that the item he put Yui in got corrupted too. Luckily, after scrolling through his menu, he finds that her item isn't one of the corrupted ones and tries to summon it, which ends up spawning Yui into the game, much to his shock. Kirito then becomes overjoyed to see Yui again, unable to find the words to convey his happiness, and the two hug, with Yui saying that she missed him too. Yui then asks if he liked her joke, something that confuses Kirito.

Yui reveals that the system was never going to delete her and she faked death as a joke, much to Kirito's shock. Yui explains her reasons, but admits that she didn't predict how emotionally devastating this would be for her parents, much to Kirio's chagrin. Yui then reveals to Kirito that he inadvertently trapped her and how she fell into her depression. But more importantly, Yui is upset that Kirito ruined her joke. Hearing this tale, Kirito decides to reveal a secret of comedy to Yui that most people don't know about, "Bad things aren't funny when they happen to daddy". Yui then asks what about Asuna, to which Kirito gives her full permission to "go for the throat".

This causes Kirito to remember why he's there and tells Yui that someone has trapped Asuna in the game, and they only have a week to save her. With her family dynamic under threat, Yui scans the entire ALO server and tracks down Asuna's location, calculates a period of arrival in the process. Before Kirito can express his concern for her change in attitude, Yui turns herself into a Pixie, as it's more aerodynamic than her default form, before asking Kirito if he has anymore stupid questions. Worried, Kirito asks Yui to calm down, telling her that he wants to save Asuna just as much as she does, if not more. However, he retracts that last statement when Yui growls at him. Regardless, Kirito tells Yui they can't just fly off when they don't know anything about the game, particularly because he doesn't know how to fly yet. Kirito then gets confused by the fact that he somehow ended up saying "Gee willikers" in this statement. Unfortunately for Kirito, Yui misunderstands his comment, and proceeds to activate Kirito's wings for him and sends him flying before he can tell her to stop.

Due Yui's actions, Kirito ends up crash landing near, and rescuing, a Sylph player from a group of Salamanders.

#### Episode 14

After defeating two of the Salamanders and scaring off their leader, Kirito tries asking the Sylph for help. However, when the Sylph becomes hostile, Yui pops out of Kirito's pocket and tells him they don't have time to deal with the "obstinate hussy". Yui then tries to threaten the Sylph to not get in their way, but Kirito stops her from saying anymore. Intrigued, the Sylph asks who Yui is, to which Kirito tells her that she's a pet he got a rare drop, much to Yui's shock. The Sylph becomes suspicious of Kirito, as he claims that he's new to the game, yet his stats were high enough to kill two high level players, and he's in possession of a rare pet item. With nothing adding up, the Sylph asks the rookie Spriggan what his game is. Backed into a corner, Kirito tells the Sylph that "ALfheim" is his game, prompting her to laugh in response.

Amused by the Spriggan, the Sylph sheaths her sword introduces herself as Princess Leafa, the heir to the throne of Sylvaine, demanding him to bow. Kirito refuses, however, and decides to leave Leafa, out of irritation over how useless their conversation has been, much to Yui's relief. However, Leafa decides to drop the whole Princess act and begs Kirito not to go, which enrages Yui. Leafa apologizes for the roleplaying, explaining that other players have a tendency of getting intense about the subject, and promises to drop it for a while. She thanks Kirito for rescuing her and asks what he wants to know. Now having a normal conversation, Kirito asks Leafa what she knows about the game, especially the tree. At first, Leafa believes that Kirito's referring to the Math Tree, a talking tree that challenges players to solve math problems, but Kirito explains that he meant the World Tree. Leafa agrees to tell him all about it, but says they better get to a safer location first, as there are still Salamanders rampant in the area, and they've been attacking Leafa a lot lately for some reason. Leafa then offers to take Kirito to a bar in Sylvaine. This confuses Kirito, as ALO is supposed to be a kid's game, to which Leafa counters by saying it's a "cool kid's game".

Leafa then teaches Kirito how to fly, but gets jealous when picks it up so fast, and they head over to Sylvaine. Once they arrive, Leafa doesn't tell Kirito how to land, to teach him a lesson, causing him to fly face first into a building and fall the rest of the way down. They then meet Leafa's friend Recon, a player who bought a NerveGear from the family of one of the players who died in SAO, which randomly pulses the fear center of his brain and shows him his deepest darkest fears. Recon asks Leafa if she's going to attend her engagement party with Cazmer, since she's already five hours late and everyone's looking for her. Leafa pretends that she forgot about the party, but admits that she's not going, since she's helping Kirito with the game. Recon is shocked by this and tells Leafa that, if he doesn't bring her back to the party, Cazmer will hunt him "like a common Cait Sith". Leafa ignores this, however, and drags Kirito off to the bar, leaving Recon behind.

At the bar, Kirito asks Leafa about her engagement as Yui eats a cracker. Leafa dismisses it, however, stating that it's only in the game, something Kirito takes offence to. Kirito then teases Leafa about her reluctance to get married, asking if she had someone else in mind, like Recon. Hearing this, Leafa instantly tries to deny any relationship with Recon, but reveals that she did suck him off once. Kirito is caught off guard by this revelation, which Yui confuses as him not understanding what "sucked him off" means and tries to explain. Leafa says they're not dating and claims that she did it for a quest. Though confused by this, Kirito decides not to pursue the matter, stating that he doesn't have "the time, nor the inclination" to navigate Leafa's love life. Leafa is offended by this term of phrase, thinking that Kirito's calling her love life a mountain, before stating that, "Princesses don't climb mountains. Mountains climb Princesses". Hearing this, Kirito suddenly feels sorry for Recon.

Kirito then changes the topic by asking about the World Tree. Leafa agrees to tell Kirito about it, as a favor for rescuing her and for getting her out of her engagement party, although she needed to be reminded of both. However, she tells Kirito she needs to fill him in on background info first. Leafa explains that, when ALO first came out, parents didn't want their children playing it, even though they were the target audience. Leafa doesn't understand why this happened, but Kirito guesses it was probably because of the SAO disaster, which Leafa says people should just "get over". Luckily, six months ago, a group of roleplayers found ALO in a bargain bin and decided that it would be the perfect place for their roleplaying. After seeing the wide variety of playable races, they decided that the game was perfectly set for a campaign they dreamt since they were children: Race War. Initially, Kirito doesn't register what she said, as he was eating a piece of cake at the time, but once he does, he asks her to clarify.

Leafa explains there's a rumor that the first race to get to the top of the World Tree will have any wish of theirs granted by the Fairy King, Oberon. With this incentive, the players divided themselves into nine factions and began fighting in a "war" to see who could do this first, hence "Race War". Though uncomfortable with the name, Kirito understands the players' goal, relieved that it wasn't as bad as he thought. However, Leafa then informs him that the competition has resulted in some actual racial violence within the game. As she explains this, two Sylphs enter the bar and invite Leafa to go "fox hunting" with a Cait Sith, who they caught sneaking across the border. The Cait Sith tries to retaliate, calling them maniacs, but is promptly gagged and shoved into the trunk of their car. The Sylphs then drive off, playing their favorite song on the radio. Kirito voices his confusion at a car being in the game, to which Leafa tells him that it's an epic level mount, and that she's heard that there are more at the top of the World Tree.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the ludicrous narrative he's stumbled into, Kirito asks Leafa how to get to the top of the World Tree, as that's all he really cares about. However, Leafa informs him that she doesn't know, nor does any other player, since the war would be over if they did. This causes Kirito to curse in frustration, slamming the table in the process, much to Leafa's confusion. Yui then takes this opportunity to ask Kirito for another cracker. Realizes there's nothing he can do, Kirito apologizes for his outburst, explaining that he's in a rush to get to the top. Leafa asks why Kirito's so concerned, since it's just game, but Kirito tells the Sylph Princess not to worry about it. He thanks Leafa for her assistance, but dismisses the matter as not her problem, something that seems to upset Leafa. Kirito then says he's going to find someone with a bit more experience.

As Kirito tries to leave the tavern, Leafa slips back into roleplay mode and voices her offense at his comment, stating that he won't find an ally more capable than her. Kirito tries to apologize for offending her, but Leafa cuts him off, telling him that, while she may not know how to conquer the World Tree, she can throw waves of loyal subjects at the problem until it's solved, as "that's how a Princess do". Confused, Kirito asks if Leafa wants to come with, which Leafa says he can bet his "sweet patootie" on, as Kirito and Yui won't last a day without her. Seeing that there's no stopping her, Kirito reluctantly welcomes Leafa on board, with Yui warning her that she'll throw her to the wolves if she slows them down. Leafa then arranges to meet with Kirito the next day and proceeds to log out, bidding the Spriggan farewell. Kirito then realizes he hasn't introduced himself yet, and finally tells Leafa his name. This shocks Leafa, though she tries to hide it, and she departs from the game in a hurry.

#### Episode 15

The next day, Kirito meets up with Leafa in Sylvaine, who takes him to the Fairport, a fairy airport, astonishing Kirito with the fact that there are players who log into the game just so they can pretend to run an airport. After a tense encounter with Cazmer, and Kirito gets searched by customs, Kirito reminds Leafa about the army she promised. Backed into a corner, Leafa suggests that they could ask Sakuya for assistance, stating that she might be cool, "for once".

They are then joined by Recon, who Leafa sends on a "super special mission", ordering him to keep a close eye on Cazmer, who she claims has been "acting real sus lately". Kirito to watch Leafa's back, as she has a habit of getting into trouble. Kirito agrees to Recon's request, but admits that he was going to keep an eye on her anyway, since he doesn't trust her. Recon then states that he trusts Kirito but doesn't really understand why, commenting that there's something really familiar about him. However, before Recon can piece together who Kirito is, Leafa stomps on his foot, breaking his concentration, and takes off with Kirito following her, leaving Recon behind yet again. As they're flying, Kirito tells Leafa to be nicer to Recon, calling the latter her boyfriend. Despite Leafa trying to deny that she and Recon are together, which makes Kirito laugh, Yui tells Leafa that both her and Recon's heart rates increased upon seeing each other. Leafa tries explaining this away by claiming that her heart elevation could've been out of fear, as Recon has a big knife, but Kirito and Yui laugh this excuse, much to Leafa's embarrassment.

However, Yui gets suspicious of Leafa's behavior and decides to hack into her AmuSphere, as well as a few other things, during their flight to see who she really is. She then discovers that Leafa is actually Kirito's sister, Suguha Kirigaya. After creating a psyche evaluation of her, Yui comes to the conclusion that Leafa is sending Kirito on a while goose chase just to mess with him and decides to intervene.

Kirito and Leafa eventually land in a clearing in the Ancient Forest, with Kirito asking why Leafa was in such a hurry to get there. Leafa claims that it's a "Safe Zone", where the two can recharge their wings, when in actuality it's the territory of a group of feral roleplayers called the "forest folk", who will mug him. Kirito isn't quite convinced by her claim, as the area is surrounded by unconscious players, but Leafa dismisses them by claiming they were outside of the Safe Zone. To make sure Kirito is defenceless when the forest folk attack, Leafa tells him to log out and get a snack, claiming that she'll guard his body. Kirito tries to decline this order, as he's too worried about Asuna, but he reluctantly accepts when his stomach starts growling. After Kirito logs out to get a sandwich, leaving his avatar in sleep mode, Leafa uses this opportunity to find evidence of Kirito's "plot" before the forest folk do their work.

However, before Leafa can do anything, Yui emerges from Kirito's pocket. Leafa immediately tries to deny any wrongdoing, but Yui calls her out on it, revealing that she knows who Leafa really is. This causes Leafa to realize that Yui isn't really a pet, to which Yui reveals that she's an AI. However, Leafa doesn't know what that is. This makes Yui realize that Leafa wasn't as smart as she thought and decides to dumb down her vocabulary to talk to her. Leafa then asks Yui what Kirito's planning, but Yui reveals that Kirito doesn't know who she is, admitting that she hacked her AmuSphere and found her account information. Shocked, Leafa asks what Kirito's doing in the game, to which Yui explains that Kirito's goal of rescuing Asuna, and that it was pure coincidence that he ran into his sister. Leafa doubts that the two of them really met by chance and continues to believe that Kirito logged into the game to enact his vengeance upon her.

Disappointed that Leafa still won't listen to reason, Yui decides to take more drastic methods by removing her face, causing her to briefly suffocate. Having been terrified into submission, Leafa agrees to stop messing with Kirito and will do whatever Yui wants. It is at this moment that Kirito logs back in and gets confused by Leafa's outburst, startling Leafa. Kirito then asks if something happened when he was gone, which Yui tries to explain, but Leafa cuts her off before she can say anything. Though perplexed by Leafa's behavior, Kirito asks her if she wants to log out too, only for Leafa to say that they should get going. Though glad that they're making progress again, Kirito asks why Leafa's suddenly in such a rush. Yui then forges a story that Sakuya sent Leafa a message telling her that the peace conference will be ending soon. She then claims that Leafa came up with a plan to take advantage of the situation and recruit both the Sylph and Cait Sith armies to help raid the World Tree, meaning they'll need to hurry before the delegates leave. However, since Butterfly Valley is blocked by a mountain range that surpasses their wing's altitude limit, they'll have to take a shortcut through a Dungeon called Kandy Kane Kavern in order to make it in time.

Kirito doubts this claim, however, since Leafa herself starts daydreaming about food after confusing the word "delegates" for "delis". After Yui snaps her out of it, Leafa tries to convince Kirito that he can trust her. However, as she's saying this, Leafa spots a member of the forest folk hiding in the bushes and scares him off. She then takes off before Kirito can ask any questions. Kirito flies after her, confused about what really happened while he was away, wondering if this was one of Yui's "jokes".

#### Episode 16

As the two are wondering Kandy Kane Kavern, Leafa teases Kirito about his "totally real wife". Annoyed, Kirito tells Leafa to stop saying things like that, as he gets enough of that at home, and the less he thinks about that the better. Leafa's caught off guard by this statement and decides to ask Kirito about his struggles at home, taking advantage of the fact that he doesn't know who she is. Kirito then vents to Leafa about how his parents are never around and expresses his discomfort with his sister always making fun of him for not being as successful as her. He then complains about how she's always telling him that his hobbies will lead to him dying alone and unloved, slowly consumed by a legion of cats. Shocked by her brother's opinion of her, Leafa tells Kirito that his sister's probably lashing out, stemming from Kirito hurting her at some point. Kirito denies this possibility, however, stating that he didn't do anything. This upsets Leafa, who asks if Kirito ever considered that was the problem, a question that confuses him.

Before Kirito can pursue this, however, Yui pops out of his pocket and alerts the duo that she detects twelve players approaching from behind them. Leafa then spots a bat named Squeaker and realizes that the Salamanders have been tracking them. She casts Wind Needles and fatally wounds the bat before telling Kirito to run. Kirito's shocked by this, as the bat called out to its master before getting attacked, but Leafa shrugs it off, claiming that the Salamanders deliberately boost the affection levels of their pets to make them more willing to go on suicide missions, a statement that horrifies Kirito.

The duo then reaches the capital of Kandy Kane Kavern, Kandy Kane Kapital. Kirito voices his shock at how lazy the place's name is which causes a stone wall to rise up and block the entrance, as punishment for Kirito spelling the name wrong. As the enemies approach them, Kirito asks Leafa to shield him while he attacks. This gives Leafa an idea and agrees to help, but when the time comes, she ignores his increasingly frantic requests to shield him and lets him get hit by the Salamanders' Fireballs. She then plays dumb, claiming that she wasn't sure on when to shield him. This annoys Kirito and he yells at her to shield him when he asks her to. Irritated by Kirito's attitude, Leafa restores his health and he charges back into battle.

As Leafa watches on, Yui tells her that she's found something in the game's code that can help Kirito, but she needs Leafa's help to do it. Leafa refuses, however, as she sees Kirito struggling against the Salamanders as a perfect opportunity to watch him suffer. As she says this, Kirito begs the Salamanders to let him save Asuna, as he's nothing without her, but the Salamanders think he's just roleplaying, which Leafa finds hilarious. Yui then pleads with Leafa, stating that Kirito will be vulnerable while she initiates the code, and ask Leafa to put everything she has into protecting him. Leafa's hesitant to help, but Yui tells that, while she knows their bond as siblings is strained, nothing will change unless one of them takes the first step. Leafa asks why she has to be the one to do it, blaming her brother for ruining her life, but Yui tells her that she's the only one who can make things right in this moment. She then asks Leafa to assistance once more, calling her "Auntie Sugu" for good measure, which Leafa thinks is cheating.

Finally giving into Yui's plea, Leafa casts Butterfly Shield, shielding the exhausted Kirito just as the Salamanders launch a more powerful version of their Fireball spell. With Kirito now safe, Yui hacks into the system and turns Kirito into SAO's Floor 74 Boss, the Gleam Eyes, a feat that impresses Leafa. Kirito then loses control of himself, roaring the Salamanders before charging at them. The Salamanders are completely caught off guard by this turn of events, but their commander tries to reassure his men, stating that Kirito was just using Illusion Magic and couldn't actually hurt them. However, he is almost immediately proven wrong when Kirito picks up two Salamanders, eating one of them and slamming the other into the ground. The Salamander commander then admits his mistake and tells his men to retreat, but Kirito pursues them and starts mercilessly slaughtering the army. Since Kirito no longer needs any assistance, Leafa asks Yui if she can log out to take a shower. Yui agrees to this, stating that if a Salamander tries to attack her, she will "subject them to a world of unimaginable pain and/or terror", which Leafa appreciates.

Sometime later, Kirito turns back to his normal self, but has no memory of his actions during his transformation. Leafa then tells Kirito to run, informing him that someone leaked the location of the peace conference to the Salamanders, who are now on their way to attack it. Kirito then reminds her that she was the one who leaked it, but she tries to dodge the responsibility for her actions. Despite this explanation, Kirito remains confused about the situation, stating that he was kind of curious to see Kandy Kane Kapital. Leafa remarks that Kirito did see it, but he's no longer allowed back since he burned it to the ground during his demon rampage.

As they fly Butterfly Valley, Kirito asks Leafa how she plans to fix this mess. Leafa then comes up with a plan to warn the Sylph and Cait Sith armies about the attack, so they can ambush the Salamanders when they arrive, only for Yui to reveal that the Salamanders have already arrived at the peace conference, much to Leafa's dismay. Kirito then taunts Leafa for having her "carefully laid plans" brought to ruin by the cruel hand of time, prompting Leafa to ask him what he thinks they should do. Kirito proposes they should just talk to the Salamanders, since they're going to a peace conference. Leafa states that Kirito's plan might work, but reminds him that the players are committed roleplayers, meaning, in order for them to listen, Kirito will have to engage in the roleplaying too. At first, Kirito refuses, but Leafa reminds him that he probably doesn't have long before Asuna starts developing Stockholm syndrome. Kirito reluctantly decides to endure it for Asuna's sake, exclaiming, "The things we do for love".

Eventually, after fighting the Salamander King, Eugene, and exposing Cazmer as a traitor to the Sylphs, Kirito asks both Sakuya and the Cait Sith leader, Princess Hime Kuronekodesuchan, to help him on his mission. However, they both refuse since only one race could receive the wish, although neither of them could remember if the wish actually exists or if it was something they made up.

As Kirito and Leafa watch the Sylphs and the Cait Sith leave, Leafa tries to talk to Kirito. However, she's cut off by Yui, who yells in frustration about how their entire adventure was a colossal waste of time, having lost seven hours and forty-eight minutes. While Kirito's upset too, he calms Yui down, telling her that losing their cool won't help the situation. He then states that they should just cut their losses and head directly to the World Tree. Before they can, however, Leafa, trying to follow Yui's suggestion to make things right, sincerely apologizes to Kirito for wasting their time, taking full responsibility for her actions. She then thanks him for helping the Sylphs and tries to reassure him that things will eventually work out for him. However, she awkwardly stumbles over her words and ends up quoting the Poison song Every Rose Has Its Thorn. Kirito and Yui are shocked that Leafa's genuinely trying to make them feel better as opposed to her normal snarky behavior. Leafa's surprised that her advice didn't cheer Kirito up, as she's "throwing out her 'A' materiel", to which Kirito points out that her unintentional song reference ruined the moment a bit. Leafa defends herself by stating she's "out of practice" with being nice, before threatening to beat up Kirito if he doesn't accept her encouragement. Under threat, Kirito accept her words of kindness, but begins teasing her awkward delivery by singing the song she accidentally quoted. Leafa then chases after him, telling Kirito he's being a jerk, as they fly off towards the World Tree.

#### Episode 17

After much flying, Kirito and Leafa arrive in Arun, home of the World Tree and ALO's largest freestanding Pinwheel. Kirito comments on how beautiful the view is, but realizes how incredibly hopeless the situation is upon seeing the full scale of the tree. Leafa tells Kirito to cheer up, as they just had a long day of diplomacy and light treason, before advising him to relax and enjoy the moment. Kirito takes this advice, but Yui's still distressed, reminding the two that the wedding they're trying to prevent is two days away and they still don't the manpower to stop it. Leafa tells Yui to calm down, stating that, while they don't have an army yet, they're in the largest city in the game. She then suggests that they should look for the strongest and most bribable players they can find and recruit them to their side.

However, as she says this, the system announces that the server will be shutting down for the next eleven hours to apply the game's "Say No to Drugs" update, causing Leafa to reschedule their recruitment process to the next day. With no alternative, Yui states that she will guide the duo to the nearest inn. She then warns Leafa that, if they suffer any more delays due to her tomfoolery, there shall be a reckoning. Leafa pays no attention to this threat, however, as she's just realized that Yui sounds like "a teeny tiny prospector" whenever she gets mad, which infuriates Yui even more. Kirito states that having their plans delayed is probably for the best, as they're all pretty exhausted and need be at their freshest to take on the World Tree. He then states that they might need to give the city some time to "air itself out", as all the drug addicted citizens of Arun are rioting in response to the update, destroying the largest pinwheel in the process.

When the two log into the game the next day, Leafa has an emotional breakdown, as she's started to wonder if she's the problem in her and her brother's relationship. Seeing how upset she is, despite being unaware of the true nature of the problem, Kirito decides to be her shoulder to cry on, telling her to take all the time she needs. Eventually, Leafa regains her composure and tells Kirito they better keep moving. Kirito tries to make sure Leafa is alright, but Yui yells at them continue their quest for the World Tree.

As the pair are walking though Arun, Kirito notices that things have really been cleaned up after the update, commenting how nice it is to see the streets full of different races are getting along. Despite this, however, he then states that he still feels on edge for some reason. Leafa agrees with this, stating that she's always been creeped out by the city, before criticising a Gnome and Cait Sith couple for "living in sin". Kirito assumes that Leafa's roleplaying again, sarcastically commenting that he missed her character, much to her confusion. As they're walking through the city, Yui detects that Sugou has updated his Facebook status, moving up the wedding to that night. Kirito is horrified by the revelation, while Leafa's more shocked that Sugou still uses Facebook. Yui launches another scan, which tells her that Asuna's right above them, and Kirito flies towards the branches. Leafa chases after them, trying to warn them about something, but she's too late and Kirito hits an invisible wall.

Despite being unsuccessful, Kirito continues to attack the wall, much to Leafa's confusion. Kirito explains he's trying to see if hitting the wall at the right angle will glitch him through, stating that if it's good enough for Mario Kart, it's good enough for him. Leafa asks Yui why she's not stopping him, to which Yui explains that Kirito's logic is sound enough. Leafa then points out that continuing to hit the wall will only end up hurting Kirito, but Yui says she's willing to risk that in order to save Asuna, before recommending where Kirito should hit next. As he tries one last punch, Kirito sees something falling from the sky and catches it, discovering that it's a card that has "USE THE DOOR, IDIOT! ♡" scratched on it. Kirito realizes this is a message from Asuna, reassuring him and Yui that she's okay. Yui then scans the card and realizes that it's a system admin access code, which they can use to log out Asuna. Kirito says they better do this at once, to which Leafa reminds him of their plan to recruit other players. Kirito states that they don't have time, however, pointing out that the admins might change the code once they realize the card is missing. He then states that they'll just have to rush in and hope for the best, which Leafa says is a terrible plan and that he's being an idiot. Kirito admits that she's probably right, but flies down to the entrance anyway, declaring that "fools rush in". Leafa thinks this is a reference to the movie of the same name and declares that it was a terrible one.

As Kirito crash lands in the streets and makes his way towards the tree, Yui tells him that Leafa's no longer following them. Kirito doesn't respond to this, however, as he's purely focused on his mission. As Kirito arrives at the gates to the final Dungeon, he's blocked by two knight statues. The statues tell him that only those with a noble heart and a keen mind may enter the tree, and that he needs to proclaim his glory to get past them. However, Kirito learns almost immediately that this means accepting the game's prompt when it pops up, which he does. Satisfied that he has accepted the quest, the statues let Kirito in. Kirito then psyches himself up for the battle to come and enters the Dungeon. However, he is soon overwhelmed and subsequently beaten by the Dungeon's Guardian Knights. He's then rescued by Leafa and eventually realizes that she is his sister. The two then log out after this discovery.

## References

1. ↑ Episode 1
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Episode 10
3. ↑ Episode 9
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Episode 13
5. ↑ Episode 14
6. ↑ Episode 15
7. ↑ Episode 16
8. ↑ Episode 17