Yoshida was extremely confused as Hazama dragged him along behind her. She had shown up at his house early in the morning and practically kidnapped him. He had plans already but... one does not really say no to Hazama when she's determined like this.

"Um, Hazama? Where are we going?"

"We're heading to the hospital. I want you to meet someone. You are logically the best choice of the group so I figured you would be a good first step. She's kinda shy around new people, which is completely ironic once you really get to know her. She's a spitfire once she's comfortable around ya."

"What?" he asked in confusion. Why would she want to introduce any of their group to someone new? People didn't particularly like them, they were labeled as the delinquent kids.

"Well, Terasaka can be a bit intimidating until you get to know him and realize he's just a big idiot and Muramatsu can be a bit much at times. Simply put, you're the most normal."

"What is this all about?" he needed her to give him a straight answer before he worried himself into an early grave.

"Listen, I met this girl at the hospital a couple of weeks ago and her tool of a dad is forcing her to attend our school next year. Due to certain circumstances, she's going to be put into 3E with us. She's worried about not knowing anybody so I told her I'd introduce her to some people. She's pretty cool and I think she'll fit in with us well. She may not look it, but you'll see."

"What were you doing at the hospital to begin with?" Yoshida asked in concern. Hazama wasn't sick was she?

Hazama shrugged, "Avoiding my parents," she answered before gaining her signature dark grin, "Before I met Hanako though, I was hanging out with people who were close to dying. What better way to be closer to death?"

Yoshida stopped for a moment as he gave her a long stare, "Sometimes you can be terrifying Hazama."

"Good." She said simply as she kept walking.

With a shrug, Yoshida started walking once again deciding to just go with it. If Hazama liked this girl, creepy death obsession aside, then he wouldn't judge.

A while later they made it to the hospital and made their way up to Hanako's floor. As they made it to her room they hung back as they heard voices coming from her door that hadn't been shut all of the way. They didn't want to interrupt, but at the same time, they couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"Your cooperation and knowledge are extremely helpful Hanako. I appreciate it, honestly. Both you and Kazuto are making my job go a lot smoother." An adult male's voice said.

"No problem, Gov. Man. I'm happy to help." Hanako answered before a short silence fell. When she spoke again her voice was saddened, "How many people haven't woken up?"

"We've now found a total of 300 people."

"And Asuna is one of them?"

"Unfortainetly, yes. I'm sorry Hanako."

Another beat of silence before Hanako choked out, "Does Kirito know?"

The man hesitated and Hazama and Yoshida shared a look. This sounded very official and something they definitely shouldn't be overhearing, what exactly was going on?

"Not yet I visited you first today. I'll be telling him later when I get to his hospital. I do have a few stops before that, however."

"Right, I'll be ready to get a call from him later then." Hanako answered sadly before making a noise of frustration, "I wish I could just go with you and give him my support in person. Stupid legs and stamina."

"I know kid, just another week and you'll be able to go and see him. I happen to know that you will be getting out a few days before him. Perhaps I could be persuaded to pick you up so you can visit him at the hospital."

Hanako laughed, "That is why you are my favorite adult Gov. Man."

"It's because of how open you've been with me and how willing to help. That is why I'm so willing to help you out as well. You would be surprised just how many people have stonewalled us."

"I get it. Not everyone wants to relive what happened. I'm sure most just want to forget it all and move on with their lives. If I hadn't changed so much during that time I probably would have been one of them. Plus, with my mother, I do feel slightly responsible. The least I can do is help you guys with information."

The guy let out a tired-sounding sigh, "It is absolutely not your fault that any of this happened Hanako. We've talked about this. Before I head out I should remind you that a guard will be stationed outside your home when you get released. He'll be waiting there for you when you get home to introduce himself and fill you in on everything. Just in case your mother decides to resurface. If she contacts you in any way please make sure to let me know immediately."

"I promise Gov. Man. Don't worry, she's dead to me. If you think of any other questions you know my number and where I live. Feel free to visit anytime, it'll give me some company." She paused for a moment before adding on almost desperately, "And please keep me as updated as you can with everything. I know you already probably tell me more than you should, but please. And could you give me a heads up for when you are about to tell Kirito about Asuna? It'll give me time to prepare to be emotional support."

"Sounds like a deal to me kid. I'll see you later, and I'll do my best to visit at least one more time before you are released. Stay out of trouble Hana."

"And you don't become a government drone," Hanako replied cheekily. It had become a joke between the two of them.

"Haha, very funny." He answered dryly.

Hazama and Yoshida took a few quick steps back to make it seem like they had just been showing up. They watched as an adult stepped out of her room. He looked like he was in his early twenties and he gave them a friendly smile as he passed by them.

Yoshida gave Hazama a hard look when the government official disappeared, "What is your new friend into Hazama?"

Hazama frowned, "Nothing bad I assure you. It's not my story to tell though. I don't want to betray her trust as I don't think she's a person who gives it out very easily." Her mind went over the conversation she had just overheard with all of the info she already knew. She felt her heart sink a little. There were people who didn't wake up from SAO? 300 people is such an even number that it raises many red flags. It was much more than a coincidence. What exactly happened to those people? It sounded like Hanako knew at least one of them too. She felt bad for her new friend.

She turned to face Yoshida with a stern look on her face, "We absolutely did not hear that conversation." She warned him. She was worried about what was going through her friend's mind as she knew she had a habit of overthinking things.

"Fine, whatever. Your friend better be something special Hazama." Yoshida sighed out as he ran his hand through his dreds.

"Oh, she is. She's got this natural charm that she doesn't even know she has. I swear she'll be a very good addition to our group. I mean, unless you're scared of a girl."

Yoshida glared at her, it was an obvious trap but one he was willing to fall for. For now at least, "Of course I'm not."

Hazama smirked at him before opening the door without even knocking, "Morning Hanako. I have brought the idiot as promised."

Hanako laughed as the boy shouted in defense, "You're earlier than you usually are Hazama. You usually show up after lunch on the weekends."

"I had to kidnap Yoshida before he started his plans for the day." She answered bluntly.

"So you did know I had plans today!" Yoshida shouted out, a bit annoyed.

"Of course I did. You always work on your bikes on Saturdays."

Hanako let out a small giggle, "I'm sorry she interrupted your plans. You don't have to stay if you don't want to." she offered him an out if he wanted it.

Yoshida gave the girl relaxing on the bed a good once over. She had straight black hair that fell just past her shoulders. Her bright forest-green eyes had an underlying sadness to them. She had freckles that stood out on her pale skin. It wasn't a natural pale, but more like she hadn't seen the sun in a long time. The thing that really caught his attention was how small she was. She was really tiny. She wasn't standing, but he would be surprised if she would even reach five feet.

"Naw, it's fine. I can work on the bikes tomorrow if I need to. The name is Yoshida, Taisei."

"Ah, nice to meet you, Yoshida. I'm Hanako."

"No last name until she trusts you." Hazama droned to him as she plopped down on the end of the bed, leaving the chair open for Yoshida.

"That's fine, doesn't bother me. So, Hanako, what do you like to do for fun?" Yoshida asked with a shrug as he sat down. May as well start getting to know her.

A genuine smile lit up on her face, "Playing games! I'm a hardcore gamer."

"Nice. I play a lot of games myself. Mostly racing and first-person shooter games. What kind do you like to play?"

"Well..."

A few hours later Hanako got a text that made a slight frown cross her face. Hazama remembered the overheard conversation from earlier and she got up with a stretch. She grabbed Yoshida and pulled him up, "We should probably get going. I'll drag him along at least one more time before you get released. I'll stick to my usual schedule. Have a good rest of your day Hanako."

"Yeah, I'll come back to visit. It was nice to meet ya. See ya later." Yoshida assured her.

"Thanks, guys. It was nice to meet you too Yoshida."

They waved goodbye and headed out. As they were leaving the hospital Yoshida spoke up, "You were right, I like her. She's cool."

Hazama smirked in victory, "Told ya."

"Are you going to introduce her to the others?"

"Before next year's school year starts, definitely. I don't know when though. She was pretty nervous meeting just you."

"Really? She didn't seem nervous."

"She has an exceptional social mask that she keeps up. She's gotten comfortable enough around me to let it slip more than a few times, so it's really easy for me to tell when she has it up." A thoughtful look crossed her face, "She had it up for most of today, but it did slip for a bit when you two were talking about games."

A thoughtful hum escaped Yoshida as they started walking toward the bus station, "Perhaps we should wait until she's fine around me before we introduce her to the other two."

"We?" Hazama asked in amusement.

"Yeah, you seem pretty determined to make her part of our group, and we look after our own." A smirk crossed his face as a thought drifted through his mind, "She's like a small kitten we're adopting."

Hazama laughed, "She does give off cat vibes doesn't she?"

Hanako re-read the text she had been staring at for the past fifteen minutes, 'Entering his hospital now.'

A frown pulled at her lips as Kirito's name popped up on her screen as her phone started ringing. Poor Kirito, "Hey Bro." she answered softly.

"Hana... Asuna, she's..." Kirito choked out.

A bubble caught in her throat, "I know Kirito, I know. I'm so sorry." She prepared herself for a long and hard conversation to try and help her brother through this.

A week later Hanako sighed as she looked out the front doors of the hospital for what seemed like the hundredth time. Her father had, not surprisingly, forgotten today was the day she was getting released from the hospital. When she had texted him about it she had gotten an automated message saying he was unavailable. Typical. Normally she wouldn't care, she was beyond used to it. The only problem she had today was that her Gov. Man was busy all day as well due to back-to-back meetings, she couldn't call him either to take her home. Normally when something like this happened she would simply call a taxi to get where she needed to go. She couldn't really do that today, however, as she wanted to try and avoid the public eye for a while longer yet. There were still a few determined reporters waiting just outside the hospital, just waiting to pounce the moment she walked out the door. The person at the front desk was letting her hide behind it at the moment. She had already checked herself out, as her dad had at least thought that far ahead to give her permission to do it herself. All she needed was a way home. She was still a bit too weak to make a run for it, and her father's house was way too far away to simply walk home. She didn't have nearly enough stamina back to even attempt that. She was the first of her group that was getting released from the hospital as well so she couldn't even call one of them for a ride home. What in the hell was she going to do?

She bit her lip as she slunk to the ground next to the front desk worker. He had offered her a chair but she had declined, wanting to stay out of view. She quickly thought through her options, not that she had many of them, before an idea formed in her mind. It was a bit of a long shot, and it was a lot to ask from someone she had met not too long ago, but it wasn't like she had many options left to her. Gov. Man wasn't going to be free until really late tonight and she was more than ready to leave this damned place.

She had never been fond of hospitals, to begin with, not since her brother had been hooked up to the machines that kept him breathing. She hadn't minded at first, but her dislike of them grew each day she was dragged along to simply look at her brother's body laying on the bed. She hated seeing him like that and that hatred had bled into hospitals themselves.

With a sigh, she grabbed her phone and scrolled through her very bare contact list until she found the one that she was looking for. When she found the correct name she hit dial and held the phone to her ear. It rang three times before the other person picked up.

"Yo, Hanako, what's up? You're not one to usually call, something wrong?" Yoshida answered. He had learned this past week that she wasn't much of a caller, she much preferred to text someone.

"I guess you could say that." Hanako paused for a second before just diving into it, "I have a huge favor to ask. Are you allowed to have passengers on your bikes?"

"Well technically I'm only fifteen so I'm not supposed to drive them outside of my property." He explained carefully.

Disappointment flooded through her, "Oh..." she said quietly. Maybe she could call Hazama and see if her parents could give her a ride? She didn't really want to get adults involved though.

"However, I am tall enough to be mistaken for a highschooler sometimes. What do you need?" she could practically hear the smirk on his face.

"My father forgot that today was my release day. I know we only met a week ago, and it's a lot to ask, but could you possibly give me a ride home?" Hanako asked quickly before she chickened out.

"What a tool." Yoshida growled out, "Yeah, I can give you a lift. It'll take me about an hour to get there." she heard shuffling on the other end, "Hey Pops I'm taking one of the bikes to give a stranded friend a ride. Yeah, yeah, I'll make sure to bring an extra helmet for her."

"Your dad is okay with this?"

"Yeah, he doesn't mind. He knows that I'll be responsible with the bike, I've been around them since I was little. Where are you right now?"

She let out a small chuckle, "I'm hiding behind the front desk right now. The guy running it is super understanding." She felt a hand land on the top of her head and pat it slightly. She gave the front desk guy a grin.

"Why are you hiding behind the desk?" Yoshida asked worriedly.

"The reporters are still out front," she answered simply. He had figured most of her story out by himself so she had filled him in on everything a few days ago.

"Right, I'll bring something along for that too." Yoshida added, "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Kay, see ya," Hanako answered as she hung up.

"Found yourself a ride?" the front desk guy asked.

"Yup, he said he'd be here in about an hour."

"Need anything?"

"I wouldn't say no to a water."

"Not a problem Kiddo."

A bit over an hour later Hanako got a text from Yoshida, 'Here.'

Hanako poked her head out from behind the counter to see Yoshida standing in the lobby with two helmets in one hand and a shopping bag in the other. She stood up and waved at him, "Hey Yoshida. Thanks for coming."

"No problem, I don't mind helping out a friend. Here I brought you something." He held the bag out to her.

She grabbed it and opened it up to see a hoodie that was going to be pretty big on her. However, it would hide her face from the crowds. Then he tossed the helmet at her and she scrambled to catch it.

"Put those both on before we head out and they should disguise you pretty well."

She gave him a small smile, "Thanks." She put the bag down and pulled out the hoodie before pulling it on. She was practically drowning in his hoodie and Yoshida let out a chuckle at the image she made and she pouted at him. She quickly put the helmet on to hide her face. Yoshida reached forward to tuck her hair up into the helmet before pulling the hood up and over her helmeted head. There was plenty of room to comfortably fit the helmet.

Yoshida wrapped his arm around her and started to herd her out of the hospital. She waved goodbye to the front desk man before they walked out of the hospital. Yoshida made a show of putting his helmet on as they walked past the reporters. To her immense relief, the nasty vultures didn't suspect a thing.

Within minutes they were to Yoshida's bike in the hospital's back parking lot, he had parked there because no reporters were hanging around the back.

"Have you ever ridden on a bike before?" Yoshida asked.

"Um... not in real life. I have driven a few in VR before, but that was a couple of years ago now." She answered hesitantly.

"Well quick tips then. Hang on tight, tilt with the bike not against it, and don't panic." Yoshida told her as he climbed onto his bike.

"Yeah, I can do that," Hanako said nervously.