Cutting her hair had been...a little nerve-wracking, she had to admit. Though the change didn't bother her, not at all, but it was the reason she had done it. She had heard stories and even watched girls change themselves after a bad break-up or some drama that they had gone through.

At first she had thought it to be stupid. Why would someone change so dramatically in order to show someone that they're fine, that they're dealing with it?

Then she heard the snips, felt her hair get lighter, watched how it seemed to effect her little by little and wow that feels so much better.

That's when she learned that changing isn't to show the other person that they're fine, because she is anything but fine. Maybe one day she'll be okay, she'll be better. It's never about the other person, it's about yourself.

A weight lifted off her shoulders, figuratively and literally since long hair was heavy, and she felt alleviated. Different. Better.

So when she finally walked down those halls, even when she nearly faltered at the sight of Asuna and Kirito, she held her shoulders back and chin up.

It's not about them.

This is about me.

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Walking home was also her therapist's idea, said it would be part of the plan to reintroduce her to real life and social interactions. She had scoffed at first but as she walked with her earbuds in and took in her surroundings of even more advanced technology, of others going about their every day lives, children playing in parks on running to stores and arcades she understood why it was a good idea.

Although, maybe in the long-run they should have at least appointed someone to walk with her to avoid places that may tempt her or cause a panic attack.

She stopped walking, staring at the display window with wide and curious eyes.

Surely after what happened with SAO and AlfHeim authorities must be more cautious with the release in VRMMORPGs and keeping sharp eyes on the creators...right?

Her eyes darted from the different display screens of what the inside of the game looks like and they looked glorious. She yearned to return the virtual realities once again, but was also feared that previous events would happen once again.

She reassured herself that they wouldn't be displaying these games if there had been any problems. 

Taking a deep breath, she checked how much cash she had on her person before entering the shop, bypassing the fantasy section and made a beeline for the science fiction after seeing a particular screen.

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"I actually bought it," she whispered, staring at the small case. It was an impulse buy, almost subconscious but she definitely knew what she was doing. "What am I doing..."

"My dearest imouto!" her brother's cheerful voice called for her outside of her bedroom. She snatched the case up and shoved it under her pillow before jumping on her bed and pulling out her phone to pretend like she had been doing something. Just as she had predicted, the door burst open and her brother skipped over and leaped on to the bed to cuddle up to her. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Browsing the interwebs for news outlets," she drawled, opening a news article on...Sword Art Online.

Kazuhiko frowned, "You shouldn't be looking at that stuff, it's not good for you." Ume huffed, but closed the tab and set her phone down on her stomach. "After everything that's happened, I don't think we'd ever let you play games again."

Her breath hitched and she turned to look at him with furrowed brows, "You don't mean that."

"But I do," he sat up, his usual playful demeanor replaced by a serious one, "You could have died in SAO and then that shit that happened with that fucker-" he stopped, taking a deep breath, "what I'm trying to say is, we don't want to lose you again."

"And you won't," she insisted, pushing herself to sit up as well, facing him. "After everything that happened with both those games, games will have more security, more eyes watching the creators and inspections before release. You guys can't take what I love most away from me."

"What you love most?" Kazuhiko growled, "What about us? Your family?"

"My family that wasn't around until I got trapped in a game?" she spat, "Home alone, every day, waiting for my family to actually be around to spend time with? Dealing with bullies at school because I was younger and smarter than them? How did you expect me to cope, huh? Tell me."

"That's not fair, Ume, and you know it."

"Isn't it though?" she laughed humorlessly, "Virtual Reality was my escape, it still is. I want to go back. Want to know why? Because any other reality is better than this one."

Kazuhiko frowned, getting up from the bed, "Well, don't expect me to back you up when you decide to back your fake realities and mom and dad find out. Because I won't support you on this. Not anymore."

Ume's eyes dimmed and narrowed in silent fury, "Get out of my room."

"Gladly."

He stalked out of the room and she followed to slam the door and click the (many) locks. Fists clenched, she turned back to her bed and reached under to pull out her NerveGear.

It was still her older model, as they had redesigned it to a much more simple form and not have as much access as hers did. But she couldn't let go of it even when her family had begged for her to throw it out.

Setting everything up she inserted the game to the helmet and settled back onto her bed, she took a deep breath to relax herself once she noticed that she was shaking.

'You're okay. Nothing will happen. It's just a game.'

She closed her eyes and took one final breath.

"Link Start!"

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