Chapter 9
The moment Asuna saw this large hospital, she had a premonition that Yuuki had some serious disease. Despite this, once she heard the name of the illness from the doctor clearly, she still felt unable to breathe. Through the glass, Asuna looked at Yuuki as she lay on the bed, and felt completely frozen.
She was wondering whether it was true. Yuuki, who was stronger than anyone, more energetic than anyone when doing anything, was actually lying in the middle of several machines. Whether it was out of reason or emotions, Asuna flat out refused to accept this fact.
?—I'm such a big idiot. Not knowing anything and not trying to understand her. As the girl screamed this in her heart, the tears Yuuki shed before she disappeared meant…
"But AIDS isn't as scary as society thinks nowadays."
On seeing Asuna, who was rooted to the spot, Doctor Kurahashi said in a steady voice.
"Even when they're infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, if they can be treated early, it's possible to contain the AIDS virus for about 10, 20 years. Through medication and thorough health management, it is possible to live like one before infection now."
Kii. A slight sound was heard. The consultation doctor was sitting on the chair in front of the console. He then said,
"…However, it's an undeniable fact that the chances of Newborns being able to survive for 5 years after being afflicted with HIV would be a lot lower than adults. Yuuki-kun's mother once wanted to bring everyone down with her when she knew that the whole family was infected. However, her mother was a Christian since young, and through religion and the help of her father, she broke through the initial crisis, and then chose to continue fighting the disease."
"Continue…fighting…"
"Yes. From the moment Yuuki was born, she was forced to fight the virus to survive. Once she broke through the most critical moment, the petite her was able to grow up safely and even enter primary school. For a kid—it's tough to take in a large amount of drugs regularly. Besides, Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors are drugs with powerful side effects. However, Yuuki-kun still believed that she would one day be healed and continued to work hard. She was hardworking, and it looked like she had top grades throughout her years in school. She had lots of friends, and I once saw many images of her at that time. She continued to have such a dazzling smile…"
Asuna heard the doctor pause and sigh for a short while,
"—The school didn't know that Yuuki-kun was a HIV carrier. Actually, this is to be expected. Health check-ups carried out by the school or an enterprise are not supposed to include HIV checks in blood. However…just as she went into 4th grade, for some reason, a group of parents of students that were of the same age found out that Yuuki-kun was a carrier. The rumors immediately started to spread…The law stipulated that they shouldn't discriminate against carriers just because they were infected with HIV. However, the sad thing is that not all the people in society are kind…in the beginning, there were people who protested against her coming to school to study, or pranks like calls and letters and so on. Her parents tried their best, but in the end, they had to move, and Yuuki-kun was forced to transfer to another school."
"…"
Asuna could no longer react. She could only straighten her back and listen to the doctor's words.
"And though Yuuki-kun worked hard to go to the new school every day…the cruel thing was that…at this moment, it started. The indicator to show the weakening of the immunization system, the lymph cells CD4 started to decrease drastically. In other words…the AIDS virus had started to take effect. I've always felt that the harmful words of the parents and teachers in her previous school was the reason why she became ill."
The young doctor attempted to continue keeping his voice calm, but the somewhat rushed sound of breathing revealed his true emotions.
"—As the Immune System weakened, she was easily infected by viruses and bacteria that she could normally resist. This situation is called 'Opportunistic Infection'. Yuuki-kun was infected by something called a Pneumocystis Pneumonia and ended up hospitalized here, and that was about 3.5 years ago. Yuuki-kun continued to be positive. She would always have a smile on her face every day, saying 'I will never lose to the disease'. She never grumbled even during the painful checkups. However…"
Having paused here, the doctor seemed like he started to move.
"Whether it's in the hospital or the patient, there're lots of bacteria and viruses. Once the AIDS virus activates, we can only continue to treat the symptoms that came with the 'Opportunistic Infection'. After the pneumonia, Yuuki-kun was infected with throat candida—At this moment, society was rocked by the Nerve Gear incident, and there was a huge commotion. At that time, there was even a discussion to seal off the FullDive Technology completely. However, the country and some manufacturers finished their research on Nerve Gear in medical treatment…the first experimental Medicuboid was completed at this moment. Also, they moved the machine over to this hospital to start the clinical trials. But even though it was an experiment, the original machine was that scary Nerve Gear, and nobody knew what would happen to the brain if we increased the density output of the electronic pulses over a long period. So in these circumstances, it was really difficult to find any volunteers that were willing to help with the experiment. Once I knew about this…I proposed something to Yuuki-kun and her family…"
Asuna continued to wait for the doctor to continue as she looked at Yuuki on the bed and the white cube-shaped object that seemed to swallow her head.
The center of her head was numb due to cold, but Asuna's confused consciousness was blankly thinking to prevent herself from facing this reality.
From the looks of the early development, Medicuboid probably wasn't a continuation of AmuSphere, but an extension of the Nerve Gear. Asuna was used to the AmuSphere, but she could imagine that pure feeling of the virtual world created from the Nerve Gear. The AmuSphere was a machine that had three, four times the number of safety precautions added since the SAO incident, but the virtual world that was created really couldn't be compared to the first generation in terms of quality.
The Medicuboid was installed with many times the number of pulse generated components compared to the Nerve Gear, and could completely eliminate the feeling of the body, and even had a CPU that had a processing speed that was far superior to the AmuSphere—in other words, was the overwhelming ability Yuuki displayed in Alfheim because of the outstanding specs of this machine?
Asuna had this idea for a moment, but she immediately rejected the notion. Yuuki's amazing sword skills have exceeded the level which a machine's specs could display. In regards to the talent in battle, Yuuki's ability was enough to match Kirito's, and maybe even beat him.
As far as Asuna knew, the reason Kirito became so strong was because he spent much more time fighting on the frontlines than anyone in those two years where they were imprisoned in SAO. If that's the case, how long had Yuuki been in that world created by the Medicuboid—
"As you can see here, the Medicuboid is a delicate machine."
Doctor Kurahashi, who was silent for a while, started talking again,
"As you can see here, the trial machine of the Medicuboid is one that needs a lot of careful maintenance. In other words, it had to be in a place where the air was free of dust, bacteria and viruses. Once the patient is willing to enter the sterile room, it could drastically reduce the risk of infection. It was because of this that I suggested Yuuki-kun and her family to accept this experiment."
"…"
"However, even now, I would still wonder whether this was the best thing for Yuuki-kun. When treating AIDS, the «QOL»—Quality of Life is something noted to be really important. The doctor has to consider about how to improve and maximize the patient's lifestyle while undergoing treatment. From that sense, the volunteer who accepted this experiment would not be considered good when considering her quality of life. She couldn't leave the sterile room, and couldn't interact with anyone. My proposal really bothered Yuuki-kun and her parents. However, it was probably because of the expectations to this unknown virtual world that made Yuuki-kun decide on this…she agreed to take part in this experiment and entered this room. After that, Yuuki-kun continued to remain in this Medicuboid all this time."
"All this time…you mean…?"
"Just as I said. Yuuki-kun almost never returned to the real world. Or rather, she couldn't. During a hospice treatment, we would use morphine to ease the patient's pain. For Yuuki-kun, we used the Medicuboid's sense removal function to replace morphine…she has been in all sorts of virtual worlds travelling, other than a few hours a day where data was collected. Of course, I talked to her in that world."
"In other words…she dived in for 24 hours a day…? How long has that been…?"
"About three years."
On hearing the doctor's simple answer, Asuna immediately couldn't say anything.
Before today, Asuna thought that amongst all the users of AmuSphere in the whole world, the ones with the most dive experience should be the old SAO players, including her. But now she knew that she was wrong. This skinny girl lying in front of her was the purest virtual traveler in the world. This was the reason Yuuki became so strong.
—You became a resident of this world already? Kirito once asked Yuuki this. He must have felt that Yuuki was similar to him in some aspects during their short battle.
Asuna realized that a form of belief started to spread inside her. It was like she was standing in front of a swordsman who far surpassed her, offering a beloved sword to this swordsman. She had such a feeling as she closed her eyes, and then lowered her head.
After a moment of silence, Asuna looked back at Doctor Kurahashi,
"Thank you for letting me see Yuuki—she should be alright if she continues to remain here, right? She can continue to journey through that world, right…?"
However, the doctor didn't answer Asuna's question directly. He sat on the chair in front of the control panel, had his hands placed together on his knees, and then stared at Asuna with a steady expression.
"—Even if she's in a sterile room, it's impossible to remove the bacteria and viruses that were in her body. With the weakening of the immune system, they will continue to multiply. Right now, Yuuki-kun's infected by Cytomegalovirus and Non-tuberculous Mycobacteria, and she has almost lost all her vision. The encephalitis caused by the HIV is worsening, and I think she probably won't be able to move her body on her own."
"…"
"She was infected with HIV for 15 years…her AIDS acted up for 3.5 years. Right now, Yuuki-kun's condition is in a terminal state. She clearly knows about this. I suppose you should know the reason Yuuki-kun disappeared right before your eyes."
"How could it…how could it be…"
Asuna widened her eyes and shook her head slightly. However, she couldn't ignore what she just heard with her ears.
Yuuki would always hesitate over whether she should be with Asuna. The reason she did so was because she really cared for Asuna. She did this to prevent Asuna from feeling hurt on the day she had to leave. No, it's not just her. It was because Shiune and the other Sleeping Knights understood the truth that they would have the attitude of a mysterious group.
However, Asuna never noticed it, and never tried to think about it. She merely continued to inflict more pain on Yuuki. On remembering the tears Yuuki shed before she logged out of the Black Iron Palace, Asuna felt an aching in her heart.
At this moment, Asuna thought of something, and she immediately looked at the doctor.
"Then…doctor, does Yuuki have an elder sister…?"
On asking this, the doctor immediately frowned as if he was shocked by this sudden statement, and hesitated for a while, before slowly nodding his head.
"—It's not about Yuuki-kun herself, so I didn't mention it…yes, she has a twin elder sister. It was the caesarian section at the beginning that caused this tragedy."
The doctor seemed to be searching through his memories as he said,
"Her sister's name was Aiko, and she too stayed in this hospital. Both twin sisters weren't similar…the elder sister would always smile in the past, silently protecting the energetic and lively Yuuki-kun. Oh yes…her appearance would resemble you somewhat…"
Why past tense? Asuna muttered deep inside her heart and stared at the doctor. And the doctor seemed to hear the voice in her heart as he added,
"Yuuki-kun's parents…died 2 years ago, and her sister died a year ago."
What she thought she should understand lost all significance.
In that world, Asuna saw many instances of countless people dying, and she herself edged on the borders of death. Thus, she felt that she understood the meaning of life and death. She knew that she couldn't change this fact that happened in front of her even if she struggled.
She only knew Yuuki for a few days, but after knowing of her past and her current situation, Asuna still couldn't accept such a heavy fact, and could only lean her body on the thick glass in front of her. The meaning of the term 'reality' and the significance it had seemed to corrode and blurred, even disappearing completely in the end. Asuna lowered her head and placed her forehead on the icy cold surface.
I've already fought hard, so what's so bad about being insistent with such a little happiness? Asuna always had this thought, which was why she was scared of change, didn't dare to argue with others, and could only find all sorts of excuses for her cowardice and silence.
However, Yuuki was fighting ever since she was born. She continued to wrestle against this cruel reality that tried to take everything away from her. Even after knowing that the end was near for her, she was still able to show such a dazzling smile.
Asuna closed her eyes hard and shouted to Yuuki, who was traveling in a certain distant world, from deep within her heart.
—Let me see you again. Just once.
This time, once they meet, both of them must continue to talk for a long time. Yuuki once said that some things have to be done through forceful means for the other party to understand. If she couldn't shake away her weak side and all her baggage to talk with Yuuki, there was no need for both sides to talk.
Asuna finally felt a warm liquid coming out of her eyes. She placed her right hand on the glass and exerted force into her fingers, looking like she was searching for a certain kind of touch on that slippery surface.
At this moment, a gentle voice came from somewhere.
?Don't cry, Asuna.?
Asuna quickly raised her head, shocked. She shook aside the water droplets on her eyelashes and opened her eyes, staring at Yuuki who was lying on the bed. The petite profile was no different from before, still lying there. The machine that covered Yuuki's face didn't change at all. However, Asuna noticed a blue light blinking on a monitor panel opposite the glass. The words behind the screen were different from before, showing the words [user talking].
?
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