Why did Hikigaya save the anime girls in Sword Story?

Yukino, Yui, Komachi, and Iroha were chatting in ALO.

This was their temporary base within the neutral city of Arne. As the gateway to ALO's ultimate goal, the "roots of the World Tree," this vast, layered metropolis had remained unconquered by any race to this day—after all, the Guardians' attacks were simply too ferocious.

As an independent team not affiliated with any faction, the four of them have gained some fame here. Incidentally, their IDs are "Yukino (ユキノ)", "Yuyu (ユイユイ)", "Komachi (コマチ)", and "Iroha (イロハ)".

While the naming was laughably blunt, it was understandable for a new player. However, only Group 2 Mio 鴰澪鴰亿鏾澪巴亻尔雪乃 was given the title "Absolute Zero" by the system. The helpless expression she displayed upon being called that for the first time convinced the other three to never mention the title again.

"Yujie, how is Miura-senpai now?"

"She said she can buy an AmuSphere after working for another two months! She's working so hard now!"

"I really look forward to Yiqi leaving its mark on san2⒉韭二"

"I didn't expect that Miura-senpai would actually do what he said~"

"It's a bit of a surprise indeed. Everyone should give Hikigaya-kun a warm welcome when he comes online."

"understand!"

"By the way, through Yui's connections, the Elf Lord Sakuya-san has sent me a request."

"Actually, I also conveyed it through Leafa!"

What Xue No mentioned was the escort work for the signing ceremony of the alliance between the elves and the cat demons in two months.

As an elf, Yujie often transfers such commissions through her good friend Leafa, while Yukino is a water elf, and Komachi and Iroha are cat elves.

"We, the cat demon clan, have no problem! As long as Senior Yukino agrees!"

"If it's OK with Yukino-senpai, I'm OK with it too!"

"Then take it."

"Good~"

"Thanks, Yukino-chan!"

"After all, Miss Sakuya and the Cat Demon Lord Alisa have a friendly relationship, so there's no reason to refuse."

"Elissa-sama is also fair to Yukino-senpai and Yui-senpai of other races. Of course, we will help them when they are in trouble."

"Yes, I received a lot of care from them at the beginning."

Yukino mistakenly chose the Water Spirit Tribe, resulting in her birthplace being far away from the other three. When she was attacked by a Fire Spirit on her way to the Elf Territory, it was Sakuya and Alisa who saved her. This bond has fostered a close relationship between them.

"But what is the relationship between those two and my brother?"

When the topic came to an end, Komachi suddenly asked a question after remembering the photo.

"The other man seems to be one of the top three players on the ranking list."

"Oh yeah, we mentioned the top three before. The woman next to him is his girlfriend, right?"

"possible"

"But seeing my brother full of energy, Komachi is already very satisfied!"

"If we conquer the 75th floor now, assuming five days per floor, we'll be able to reunite with Hikigaya-kun in four months."

"...Can my brother's body hold out until then?"

"Ms. Haruno and our hospital are doing their best to maintain the situation. Please trust him. Don't worry, Komachi. Hikigaya-kun will definitely come back."

"Ok!"

Yukino gently caressed the top of Komachi's head. This sisterly interaction aroused Yui and Iroha's competitive spirit, and they also began to rub Komachi's head.

"Wow, what are you doing all of a sudden?!"

"Woo~ I always feel like you two are like sisters."

"Komachi's real sister is here~"

"Ha... Anyway, the decision is in my brother's hands. No matter how much you try to please him, it's useless."

"Komachi has turned evil!"

"Thinking about it carefully, my brother, being the harem king, is really infuriating..."

"Just...how many girls are waiting for him to come back?"

"Komachi is both happy and distressed right now. I don't know who to support!"

"Pray for his safety first."

"it is good"

After answering, Komachi looked up at the sky and murmured softly:

"How high is the 75th floor?"

"If each floor is 100 meters, that's 7500 meters."

"Then the 100th floor is 10,000 meters high! You'll be short of oxygen!"

"It's already in the stratosphere..."

“That’s probably the concept.”

"How high can we fly together, the four of us?"

“Maybe I can get a little closer to small businesses.”

"Since I have nothing to do today, why not give it a try?"

"Perhaps we can reach the top of the World Tree without completing the ultimate mission."

“It would be nice to take some aerial photos first!”

The four of them, suddenly inspired, began to prepare. They casually came to the outskirts and casually formed a stacked formation consisting of Yumu, Yukino, Iroha, and Komachi.

"I've gotten serious without realizing it. If you're going to fly, just fly with all your might!"

"Yeah! Maybe I can get closer to my brother!"

"Komachi, take this first."

"Is it a paid photography prop? It's much clearer than a normal screenshot."

“If you do something, do it to the best of your ability”

"Got it! Komachi will definitely take amazing photos!"

"Maybe there's an Aincrad floating in the sky."

“It would be awesome if it really existed!”

“Although the probability is zero, dreaming is free.”

"That's right, Yukino-senpai!"

"Then everyone, give it your all."

"Oh!"

Yujie flapped her wings with all her strength at the bottom, Yukino and Iroha provided support in turn, and the four of them soared into the sky like a rocket.

"Sorry Yukino-chan, I can't hold on any longer."

"Go down and rest. Let me take over."

With Yujie falling away from the group, the remaining three continued to climb, and when Yukino also reached her limit, Iroha took over.

"Iroha-senpai, it's up to you!"

"Charge towards the seniors!"

Komachi, who was the last to take the baton, tried her best and just as she was about to touch the trunk of the World Tree, she discovered that there was a birdcage-like object floating above her.

"I can't reach it... Wait! Is there someone in the birdcage? Looking over here? At least take a picture!"

As Komachi was frantically pressing the shutter button, an emergency maintenance notice suddenly popped up on the system.

"What are you doing?"

"Were they frightened by our actions? The operator's reaction was too quick..."

"If Leafa were here, maybe we could actually run into her!"

"Let's check after maintenance is finished. ②氿7e六（九）S?疑/山堤Lu, I'll go back to the base and log off first."

"it is good!"

After logging off, Komachi was having dinner alone when she suddenly received a call from Haruno:

"Komachi! Come to the hospital! Hikigaya-kun...Hikigaya-kun is awake!"

Komachi threw down her chopsticks and rushed out. When she rushed into the hospital at the end of visiting hours, Haruno, who had been waiting for a long time, grabbed her and ran to the ward. The moment she opened the door——

SAO : Chapter 84 Hachiman's Awakening

Asuna opened her eyes in the open air—but this was not the hospital bed she had expected, but a birdcage-like place where she was obviously imprisoned.

"Hey...where is this...are we still in SAO?"

All around them was sky, sky, sky, and a giant tree. The birdcage Asuna was in seemed to be hanging from that tree.

"Hachiman-kun! Kirito-kun! ...Mr. Kayaba?"

Despite her inner turmoil, Asuna took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

(Hachiman-kun always said that we should stay calm at all times, and even more so at times like this. Let's start by observing our surroundings...)

She first tried to observe her surroundings, peering down from the birdcage. The ground was too far away to see clearly, clearly high in the air. Then she checked her body.

(This is a virtual body, does this mean this is some other game? It shouldn't be SAO... After all, there's no place this high on any floor.)

He speculated that he might have been transferred here directly from SAO, and might even have been made a prisoner.

(If I were truly imprisoned by someone, they might notice my awakening. Now all I can do is wait...)

Her judgment was quickly confirmed. From the passageway leading to the giant tree, a figure dressed in ornate attire sped towards them. Asuna vaguely felt that they resembled ancient Greek or Roman clothing.

"I landed and rushed here as soon as I received the report. I didn't expect it to be here."

(Login...it's a game world after all.)

"Who are you? Where is this?"

"Oh? We've met many times. Can't you recognize him in this look?"

Asuna searched her memory but had no clue, after all, the other party might not restore his true appearance.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember anything about this place."

As she turned around and looked around, Asuna noticed a moving black dot below her. She stared at it curiously, causing the man to look down as well.

"T-That's a player? How could they possibly fly up here?! The ALO system isn't set up to reach such a high altitude!"

"Is that... a person with wings? A player?"

"That kind of action... is it being filmed? Damn it! Don't look down, back off!"

Realizing that the situation was unfavorable to the man, Asuna waved and shouted to the player desperately.

"I'm here! Find me!"

"stop!"

The man rushed to the front of the birdcage and used the authority release skill to unfold a layer of obscuring film. Asuna still waved her hands vigorously to try to attract attention, but eventually the figure fell down due to exhaustion.

"Damn it! Why would trouble happen at this time..."

The man opened a window-like interface to contact somewhere.

"We're taking emergency maintenance measures now. We'll talk later, Miss Asuna."

"who are you?"

"There's no point in hiding it. I'm your father's subordinate, Su Xiang."

"Sougou...Mr.? Does father know about this? What is ALO?"

"There are many questions, but emergency treatment takes priority right now."

Sugo vanished hastily. Perhaps due to the maintenance, Asuna's consciousness rapidly faded.