03x05 - Ocean Turtle

[bunniefuu]

Asuna!

Asuna! Run!

Kirito!

Operation in Progress

Sunday, June , Setagaya General Hospital

Asuna!

Suguha...

Mrs. Kirigaya...

Monday, June ,

We believe he's no longer in danger.

Is that so?

That said, since his heart was stopped
for more than five minutes,

his brain may have sustained
some kind of damage.

His mental or physical abilities,

or perhaps both,
may have suffered lasting damage.

Worst case, he might never regain consciousness.

No!

We won't know the extent of the damage
until he's had an MRI.

I'd advise you to transfer him
to a better-equipped facility.

I'll get you started on the paperwork.
This way, please.

Okay.

Asuna. Suguha.

Mr. Kikuoka?

Can you tell me
where I can find Kirito's parents?

Ocean Turtle

Monday, June ,
National Defense Medical College Hospital

Thanks for waiting!

Where's your mom?

She said to go ahead and sign in
while she parks the car.

I see.

So this is the hospital
where Kirito's being treated.

Yes. They say he was transported
by ambulance earlier today.

There's only one facility in the world
that's sufficiently equipped.

If we take him there,
Kazuto can get the treatment he needs.

We'd like to visit one of your patients.

Mr. Kazuto Kirigaya, is it? One moment, please.

Um...

I need to go check with my supervisors,
so please wait here.

Tuesday, June , Sylvain

You didn't get to see him?

Because he's being treated with specialized equipment,
they said no visitors until he's recovered.

But can they really do something like that?

I mean, you're his family!
You can't visit, let alone see him?

Something doesn't seem right.

That's right.

We thought it was strange, too,
so we did some digging.

According to the data, he's definitely a patient,

but the ambulance that transported my brother
never arrived at that hospital.

You mean Kirito's not actually there?

Didn't Mr. Kikuoka tell you anything?

His phone's been out of range,
and he hasn't returned my emails.

When I called the ministry,
they said he's been away on business since yesterday.

No matter how you look at it, that's suspicious!

That geezer has to be up to something!

Seijirou Kikuoka, huh?

I always thought he was a shady character.

I hope he's not making Kirito do something again.

That can't be! Kirito's unconscious, remember?

Unconscious? But that's really only how it looks
on the outside, right?

If they use a machine
that can access the soul itself...

The Soul Translator?

Soul Trans...

What's that?

There's a new type of dive machine
that can read human souls.

It's being developed by a company named Rath.

Rath? Isn't that the company
my brother was working for part-time?

You knew about that, Leafa?

Uh, no, nothing specific.

But I did hear that the company's in Roppongi.

Then Kirito could be somewhere in Roppongi.

Actually, there may be one thin connection to Kirito.

What is it?

I told you about it the other day, Shino-non.

You know, Kirito's... this.

Oh, you mean that heart rate monitor?

What? What is that?

It's been out of range the entire time.

But I'm having someone trace back the data
and analyze it.

Who?

Yui? How's it going?

Yes!

I will now report the results of my analysis!

I was only able to acquire three positions.

This is Setagaya General Hospital,
where Daddy was first taken.

And this is the first location I was able to pinpoint.

Aobadai -Chome, Meguro Ward.
The time was around : on June , .

I will now display his predicted route.

This is the second position.

Shirogane-dai -Chome, Minato Ward.
At around : on the same day.

Next...

Kaigan -Chome, Minato Ward,
at around : , on the same day.

Since that time,
there have been no signals from Daddy.

So he's not in Tokorozawa or Roppongi?

Yui, what's at that address?

It seems to be a warehouse located
in the harbor district.

Why would they take him there?

Minato Ward?

Tuesday, June , Near Minato Ward

It's nighttime, and there's no traffic,
so we'll be there soon.

Klein, thank you so much for driving us!

Come on, I keep telling you
there's no need to thank me!

Still, I just saw him in GGO the other day.

I really hope Kirito's okay.

Seriously, he's always getting tangled up
in one thing or another.

By the way,
didn't you say that this Rath is in Roppongi?

Shouldn't we be searching there, too?

Yes.

Sinon and the others are on their way there.

But Rath is a complete mystery.

Yui thoroughly investigated it for us,
but could only come up with its location.

There was nothing about the structure
or nature of its business.

As for the "Soul Translator,"
we couldn't find anything at all,

including any patents they applied for.

Reading and writing human souls
is an extraordinary invention,

but they haven't even applied for a patent?

The guys are thorough.

We're almost there.

Tuesday, June , Shinagawa Wharf

This is it?

But seriously...

did they really stash Kirito in a place like this?

Liz?

We did find Rath, but they have tight security
and wouldn't even talk to us.

Additionally, we had Yui check
all the security cameras around here,

but there's no sign
that Kirito was ever brought here.

Really? I see.

Yui?

Yes, Mommy.

I've checked the security cameras in this area, too.

Yesterday at : , a helicopter took off
from that clearing over there.

A helicopter?

Yes. I believe Daddy may have been on it.

Then you mean my brother's been transported
even farther away?

But... wait.

Yui.

This is the last place
that any signals were picked up, right?

Yes.

Even if Kirito really did get carried away
by helicopter,

they'd ultimately have to transport him
to some kind of facility.

I can't believe he'd be that far out of range.

Right. One possibility is that
he may have been transported overseas.

Overseas?

Under the circumstances,
that would be the most likely scenario.

If that's the case,
then there's no way for us to go after him.

Big Brother... where did you go?

Kirito.

Please, cheer up, Mommy!

Yui.

When Daddy searched for you in ALfheim,
he never gave up, not even once!

But...

This time, it's your turn to search for Daddy!

There's sure to be a connection
that will lead to Daddy.

No matter who you're up against,

I believe that nothing can ever sever
the bond you have with Daddy.

No matter what kind of danger he found himself in,
Kirito's always made it back safely.

He has to be safe now, too.

Thank you, Yui! I'm not going to give up.

That's the spirit!

If we can just find one more clue.

Assuming that Rath has something to do
with where Kirito is now,

Suguha, do you remember anything
Kirito might've mentioned?

He's been away at work,
so we haven't had much time to talk lately.

I think he said the machine at his part-time job
in Roppongi was based on the Medicuboid.

That machine must be the STL.

The Medicuboid...

I remember him telling me something once.

That the one who created the basic design
for the Medicuboid was the commander, Akihiko Kayaba,

but that someone else developed it further
for the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

She was looking after Heathcliff's physical body
while he was diving.

She was doing full-dive technology research
with him in the same lab.

I think the name he mentioned was...

Rinko... Kojiro.

Let me check.

The most likely match for that name

is currently working in research
at a university in California.

This person.

I've accessed the university database.

Looking at her career,
she's a former member of the Shigemura Lab,

at Toto Institute of Technology's
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Wasn't Shigemura the guy
who developed the Augma?

And that's also the commander's research lab.

This person might know about STL... about Rath...

America California State

Seijirou Kikuoka Requesting your participation in the project

A castle floating in the sky?

Yes. This castle is made up of numerous floors,

and on each floor you'll find a town,
a forest, and a vast plain.

After you climb up a long staircase
between each floor,

there is a palace at the very top.

And who would be there?

I don't know.

When I was very small,
I used to be able to go to that castle every night.

Every night, I'd climb up each staircase,

and get closer to the top, bit by bit.

But then at some point,
I wasn't able to go there again.

Just a silly dream.
I've almost completely forgotten about it.

Liar.

Again?

Asuna Yuuki

Asuna... Yuuki?

It's coming into view.

That's the Ocean Turtle.

Turtle... I see. It certainly looks like a turtle.

Though its face looks more like a pig.

A turtle-pig.

Did something like that
appear in Alice in Wonderland?

Rath...

Dr. Kojiro. We've been waiting for you.

And this is?

My assistant, Mayumi Reynolds.

I'm Lieutenant Nakanishi.
I've been ordered to escort you.

Now then, this way, please.

Dr. Kojiro, a visiting researcher, and her assistant,
Ms. Reynolds, will be entering Sector S .

Verifying identity.

Verified.

I'm sorry,
but could you please remove those sunglasses?

Verified.

Go ahead.

Pretty tight security.

Even though we're in the middle of the ocean.

Well, we did omit the full-body check.

But you've already gone through
about three metal and expl*sives detectors.

Welcome to Rath.

Lieutenant Colonel Kikuoka.

Why are you dressed like that?

All right, if you'll excuse me.

I've been stuck here in the middle of the ocean
for a month now.

I can't always be wearing my uniform.

I'm beyond thrilled to have you here at Rath.

My persistence in summoning you finally paid off.

Not that there's any guarantee I can be of use.

You're the last of the three people
I felt would be indispensable to this project.

And now all three of you are here.

Oh? I see.

And one of those three...
I'm guessing that would be you, Higa?

Well, of course it's me.

As a member of the Shigemura Lab,
I have to carry on the senior members' ambition.

Really... you haven't changed at all.

So? Who's this third person?

Regretfully, I can't introduce you right now.

If the opportunity rises in a few days...

Then I'll say the name instead, Mr. Kikuoka.

Asuna... why are you with Dr. Kojiro?

I received an email from her.

A machine called the Soul Translator,
based on the Medicuboid,

the medical full-dive machine
you provided the technology for,

is now being developed
by an organization called Rath.

While involved in the test runs for this machine,
Kazuto Kirigaya disappeared without a trace.

Kazuto Kirigaya...

Kazuto Kirigaya

Inside the old SAO server,
I met Kayaba's digital ghost.

It was there that I received a certain program.

Kayaba called it the World Seed.

If you feel any hatred for him,
please dispose of what he gave you.

But if there's...

If there's something besides hatred inside you...

I found your email address in the contacts list
on Kirito's computer.

Doctor, you're the only one
who can possibly lead me to Rath, to where Kirito is...

Please help me.

So now do you understand why I felt obligated
to accept your invitation, Mr. Kikuoka?

To verify your assistant's identity,

I'm sure that we ran all kinds of checks
on a photo we acquired from the university database.

Yes, I can't tell you how many times
they scrutinized my face.

But I'd already switched out the photo
in the database for my own.

After all, I have a friend who's skilled
at bypassing defenses.

By the way, the real Mayumi is probably
on some beach right now, working on her tan.

Where's Kirito?

Next time: Project Alicization.