TialisArt

She takes a trembling step forward before tumbling into a heap on the grass. She cries out uncertainly before looking over her shoulder at the trio of boys standing nearby, snickering at her.

                “What’s up with you? Can’t walk?” Asked one of the boys, a tall fellow with flaming orange hair and holding a broadsword. She grimaces before attempting to push herself to her feet. Once again, she falls to her knees.

                “Maybe she’s retarded,” chuckles one of the other boys. He was of average height with large muscles, holding a sword that seemed too small and fiddly for him. The third boy was the typical spikey haired blonde boy dressed in leathers. He shrugs nonchalantly.

                “Let’s just kill her and take whatever she’s got,” he mutters, raising his blade pointedly. He slowly drew near, menacing her with his sword point. “Are you even worth killing?”

                She glares up at them, tears of anger gathering at the corners of her eyes. Just typical. Of course they’d kill her. And she couldn’t even stand to defend herself. They surround her, chuckling darkly until a new voice iss heard behind them.

                “What are you doing?”

                The boys turn in surprise. She looks past them to see a slim boy dressed in black, with dark hair. He has a quiet look about him, but a strange light in his eyes that made him seem more alive than anything else in this world. The orange haired boy steps towards him.

                “What’s it to you?” He snarls, raising his sword. The dark haired boy gazes steadily back at him, unafraid.

                “I hate players like you. You take advantage of new players and kill them for your own sport, even though you’d never do something like that in reality,” he says at last, unsheathing his blade. Before the orange haired boy can respond, the stranger cuts through him. He shatters into tiny shimmering polygons, the sign of death. The other two boys blink, looking at each other for a moment.

                “Alright, we’ll just kill him and then deal with the girl,” the blonde boy says at last, slipping into a battle stance. The other boy nods and follows suit. But the dark haired boy whizzes past them, his blade flashing a bright blue. For a moment, the boys stare in shock before they too explode in a mass of glittering polygons. The wind slowly blows them away as the stranger straightens up and sheaths his blade. He looks over at her.

                “Why didn’t you stand up?” He asks, fixing her with his cool gaze. She blinks, turning her head back to face away from him, lowering her hands to her lap.

                “I…Can’t walk,” she admits at last, lowering her head. She hears him draw closer.

                “What do you mean, you can’t walk?” He asks, sounding confused. She snaps her head around, glaring fiercely up at him.

                “I mean that I can’t walk! In reality, I’m disabled. I don’t know how to walk!” She snaps, sounding upset and frustrated. He stares at her in surprise. She turns away, lowering her head in shame.

                “Here.” She looks up as his gloved hand appears before her. She looks up to see him look down at her, a serious expression on his face.

                “Eh…What?” She asks, puzzled. He frowns slightly, his eyes darting to the side for a brief moment before returning to look at her.

                “I’ll teach you how to move at least,” he nods, still holding out his hand. She presses her lips in a thin line uncertainly before finally reaching out her hand to take his.

                “My name is Juuri,” she says at last, offering a gentle smile.

                “My name’s Kirito.”

                Juuri sat quietly in her wheelchair, gazing out of the window with a lonely look in her eyes. She held a book in her hands, but it sat forgotten in her lap. A gentle breeze tugged at her pale blonde hair, ruffling it this way and that. Silently, she pursed her lips.

                I’m going to be late, she thought sadly, looking up at the clock. She quietly put the book aside on the table beneath the window and placing her hand on the pad that controlled her wheelchair. Slowly, she rolled over to her bed and gazed down at it. Behind her, the door suddenly banged open.

                Startled, she looked over her shoulder at her big brother, who stood gasping in her doorway. She blinked, tilting her head.

                “Big brother…?” She asks, tensing. He raised a hand, a silent gesture asking for a moment as he attempted to catch his breath. Finally, he raised a small thin box in his other hand with a grin.

                “I got it,” he said cheerfully. Juuri stared at him for a moment before a genuine, warm smile appeared on her face. He crossed the room to carefully plug in the headset that had been sitting on the bedside table before setting it up to play the game he’d brought. She watched him eagerly, her fingers twitching. Finally, he came over to her and carefully lifted her from the wheelchair to settle her on her bed. He helped her put the headset on and flipped the visor over her eyes before she lay back

                “Now remember, dinner is at seven. You’ve got about three solid hours before you have to log out, alright?” He instructed with a serious tone in his voice. She smiled up at him.

                “Thank you, big brother Yahiro,” she answered with a cheerful note in her voice. Yahiro smiled encouragingly back at her.

                “Go kick arse, Juuri,” he murmured before stepping back as she closed her eyes.

                “Link, start!” Everything went white, and her room seemed to fall away from her as she entered the game.

                She slowly opened her eyes as she shimmered back into being. She looked around with wonder, recognizing her location. She tottered forward to the fountain and looked into the water. A slim, athletic girl with chin length blood red hair gazed back at her, dressed and ready for battle. She smiled, raising her hands before her. She flexed her fingers, nodding in satisfaction.

                “Alright, I’m back!” Came a quiet but excited voice from behind her. She looked around to see a slim boy dressed in black, with dark hair. He too was looking around, though he did not look behind him, which amused her somewhat.

                “You’re late,” she announced, taking a quick peek at the clocktower to make sure she was right. The boy looked around in surprise, his eyes falling on her. He offered a wry smirk.

                “I waited until my sister had left,” he explained, resting a hand on the short blade at his side. Juuri rolled her eyes mockingly before twitching her nose.

                “Never mind, you’re here now,” she answered, pushing away from the fountain. “We should get going while there’s still plenty of trash out there.” He nodded before turning to begin running at top speed towards the market. Chuckling happily, she darted after him. The two of them sprinted down the middle of the market stalls, listening in to various snatches of conversation.

                Turning left down an alleyway, they heard a sudden loud voice from behind them.

                “Hey, wait!”

                Kirito paused, blinking as Juuri flew right past him before she too slowed to a stop. Simultaneously, they turned to look at a scruffy looking young man with a bandana tied around his head.

                “Erm…Yes?” Kirito asked uncertainly. The man seemed to regard them with awe.

                “You two move like you’ve been here before,” he managed to gasp out. “You were in the beta test, right?” Kirito rubbed the back of his head and nodded.

                “Y-Yeah,” he muttered, with Juuri tilting her head in interest. The man grinned.

                “Today’s my first day,” he exclaimed, clapping a hand on Kirito’s shoulder. “Show me the basics, okay?!”

                “…Uh…”

                The man stepped back and bowed deeply, his hands clasped before him in typical Japanese fashion.  “I’m begging you!” He cried out, sounding desperate. “I’m Klein, nice to meet you!” Kirito glanced over his shoulder at Juuri for a moment, who simply shrugged her shoulders. He turned back to Klein.

                “I’m Kirito,” he answered at last. “And this is Juuri.” He gestured behind him towards the red haired young woman, who smiled as her named was mentioned. She raised a hand to wiggle her fingers in greeting. Klein looked up.

                “So, will you teach me?” He asked, hope in his voice. Kirito shrugged.

                “Yeah, sure. Why not?” He muttered, looking apologetically at Juuri, who nodded encouragingly. Klein’s face lit up with happiness.

                “Great! So, where are we headed?” He asked, straightening up.

                “The plains outside the city,” Kirito explained, turning to begin walking after Juuri. “It’s the easiest area in the game.”

    “Oh, okay then!” Klein exclaimed in a loud voice, rushing past him excitedly. “Let’s go!” He walked ahead, leaving Juuri and Kirito to look at each other with equally bemused expressions.

    The boar charged at Klein, knocking him off his feet. It trotted off as he curled up on the floor, groaning. “R-Right in the crotch…!” He gasped.  Kirito rolled his eyes and raised an eyebrow patronizingly.

    “Give me a break,” he said at last. “You don’t feel any pain, right?” Klein paused, blinking.

    “Oh yeah…” He mumbled before sitting up. “Just a habit I guess.” He laughed sheepishly, ruffling the back of his head in embarrassment.

    “I told you,” Kirito reminded him patiently. “What’s important is the motion input.” He bent down to pick up a pebble from the ground and straightened up as Juuri hopped down from the rock she had been perched on. Silently, she drew the double edged spear from her back.

    “Sure, I get that,” Klein answered uncertainly. “But he keeps moving around…”

    “If you do the motion input right, and activate a sword skill…” With these words, Kirito drew his arm back as the pebble began to glow a bright shade of pink, and hurled it towards the boar. The pebble struck it square in the flank, and it squealed in pain and annoyance. “…The system will ensure the techniques hits,” he finished with a faint smile as Juuri sprinted past him. She bounded up onto another rock, using it as leverage to push herself further up into the air. With a single twirl, she brought her now glowing spear down to slash at the boar’s side, cutting it down below half its health points. It squealed again and began to charge at Kirito.

    “How should I put it?” Kirito murmured quietly as he sidestepped the boar and blocked its second attack with the flat of his blade. “Add a slight pause, and when you feel the skill begin to activate…Let it explode.”

    “Explode…” Klein muttered before his expression changed to one of understanding. With a swift movement, he settled into an attacking stance and raised his scimitar, which began to glow with a bright blue light. Kirito nodded and – with a fierce attack – pushed the boar back and gave it a sharp kick in the side, directing it towards Klein. It charged straight at him with reckless abandon, clearly driven to a violent rage. Klein dashed forward to meet it and slashed sideways with his glowing blade, leaving a deep furrow in the boar’s side.

    It slowed to a totter, before exploding into pale blue glittering polygons. A small white box appeared before Klein, informing him of his success and rewards from defeating the boar. “Alright!” Klein yelled out triumphantly, leaping into the air excitedly. He held out a hand to Kirito.

    “Congrats,” Kirito said with a smirk, high fiving him before whirling his sword around to sheath it in one swift movement. “However…That boar’s about as weak as slimes in other games.”

    “Seriously?” Klein asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “I thought it was a mid level boss or something.”

    “Of course not,” Kirito answered as he and Juuri turned to look at the hill rising behind them. Boars began appearing here and there in flashes of light. “Pretty exciting, isn’t it?” He continued, glancing at Klein, who was busy testing another sword skill.

    “Yeah!” Klein crowed enthusiastically. His expression took on a more thoughtful tone. “There are lots of skills right? Like blacksmithing and stuff.” As he spoke, he practiced swinging his blade, determined to get the hang of it.

    “Yeah,” Kirito nodded in agreement. “I’ve heard there are an unlimited number of skills. However…”

    “…There’s no magic,” Juuri finished his sentence in a quiet voice, returning her spear to her back.

    Klein smirked. “An RPG without magic,” he murmured, activating another sword skill. “That’s a pretty bold decision.” He let out a wordless yell of triumph as he thrust his blade forward, sending forth a flash of red lightening.

    “Isn’t it fun to move your body as you fight?” Kirito asked, resting his hands on his hips as he smiled.

    “You’re right!” Klein exclaimed happily, turning to regard him and Juuri excitedly.

    “Alright, let’s head to the next one.”

    “Yeah, let’s keep going!” Klein responded eagerly, turning his attention to the next boar.

    It wasn’t until the sun’s dying rays bathed the fields of Aincrad in a soft, golden light that the trio had called a break to their levelling. Far up in the sky, several creatures of a dragon-like nature flew by seemingly without a care in the world. Klein regarded their surroundings and let out a soft sigh.

    “I still can’t believe it, no matter how many times I see it…” He murmured with admiration in his voice. “That we’re in a game…Whoever made it is a genius. It’s really amazing…” He grinned cheerfully. “Seriously, I’m glad I was born in this time.”

    “You make a big deal out of everything,” Kirito smirked. Juuri raised a hand to her mouth and stifled a quiet chuckle, though she secretly agreed with Klein.

    “It’s my first full dive!” Klein protested, turning his attention to Kirito with an indignant look on his face.

    “Then…Is this your first time playing a game with NerveGear?” Juuri asked him with interest, tilting her head to one side as she watched him with dark brown eyes. As she spoke, Kirito gazed steadily out across the water below them, lost in its beauty.

    “I rushed out and bought the hardware so I could play SAO,” Klein nodded, looking up at Juuri. “I was really lucky to get one of the ten thousand copies.” His eyes took on a slightly jealous look. “But you guys were ten times luckier, getting into the beta test! Only a thousand people got to do it!”

    Kirito turned his attention back to the other two, rubbing the back of his head. “I guess so,” he answered at last, while Juuri looked away with a slight frown.

    “How far did you get in the beta?” Klein asked eagerly, leaning forward as he watched Kirito.

    “Over a couple of months, only to floor eight,” Kirito admitted before a determined gleam entered his eyes. “This time, it’ll only take a month.”

    “You’re really into this,” Klein answered with an admiring smile.

    Kirito slowly nodded and drew his blade. “To be honest, during the beta test…SAO was all I thought about, day and night. In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go.” A touch of passion entered his voice as he spoke, and Juuri turned to smile at him knowingly. “It’s a virtual world, but I still feel more alive here than I do in the real one.” He smiled faintly, sheathing his sword. He turned back to look at Klein. “Now then…Want to hunt some more?”

    “Of course! I’d love to!” Klein exclaimed happily. Then he paused and sheepishly put his hands on his stomach. “But I’m really hungry…I’m logging out.”

    “Eating food here only makes you think you’re not hungry,” Juuri murmured, tucking a lock of dark red hair behind her ear.

    “I already ordered a hot pizza and ginger ale for five thirty!” Klein answered cheerfully, giving a thumbs up.

    Kirito smiled. “You’re prepared,” he nodded, glancing at Juuri, who was beginning to feel the pangs of hunger herself. It was soon time for her to log out and have dinner as well. Her older brother would be beside himself waiting for her to return to reality.

    “Yup. Well, once I’ve eaten, I’ll be back,” came Klein’s voice, snapping the young woman out of her thoughts.

    “I see,” Kirito answered, not noticing her spacing out.

    “Hey. After this, I’m meeting up with some other people I know from another game,” Klein said, glancing between the two. “Wanna friend them too?” Kirito’s face fell, and Juuri glanced at him out of the corner of her eye before looking away. Klein blinked, briefly a touch crestfallen before waving his hand dismissively. “Ah. Of course, if you don’t want to, that’s okay. I’ll introduce you another time.”

    “Yeah…Sorry, thanks,” Kirito nodded. Juuri rolled her eyes briefly with a slight smile, folding her arms beneath her bust.

    “Hey, that’s my line,” Klein grinned, clapping Kirito on the shoulder. “I’ll repay you sometime…Mentally.” He stepped back and held out his hand. “Thanks so much, guys. I’ll see you around.”

    “If there’s anything you want to know, just tell me or send one of us a message,” Kirito answered, shaking his hand. Klein turned to shake Juuri’s hand before turning away.

    “Yeah, I’ll do that,” he promised. Kirito and Juuri waved before turning away. They hadn’t gone much further than a few steps when his startled cry stopped them in their tracks. “Huh? There’s no button to log out.”

    Kirito rolled his eyes. “Look closer.”

    “No, it’s not there.”

    “At the bottom of the main menu…” Kirito muttered, as he and Juuri raised their hands simultaneously to open their menus. Juuri made a small noise of surprise, looking up to see Kirito narrow his eyes. Klein was right. There was no log out button.

    “See? Not there,” the older man pointed out.

    “No…It isn’t,” Kirito agreed, still looking troubled. Juuri suddenly felt stirrings of unease in her stomach, flicking through all the options of her menu. Still nothing.

    “Well, it’s the first day out of beta, there’re bound to be some bugs,” Klein said at last, sounding more jovial than he looked. “I bet the server people are freaking out.”

    “In a minute, you will be too,” Juuri pointed out as she noticed the time. Kirito nodded in agreement.

    “It’s five twenty-five,” he murmured. A look of panic appeared on Klein’s face.

    “My teriyaki mayo pizza and ginger ale!” He cried out, clutching his head fearfully.

    Juuri wrinkled her nose distastefully. “That…Sounds gross,” she muttered, turning away. Kirito let out a quiet sigh of exasperation.

    “Just hurry and contact the game master,” he instructed impatiently.

    “I tried, but nothing’s happening…” Klein quickly calmed down with a puzzled look in his eyes. His comment did nothing to lessen Juuri’s unease as she looked up at the sky with a frown. Behind her, Kirito and Klein continued to converse.

    “Is there any other way to log out?” Klein asked with concern.

    Kirito grew thoughtful for a moment. Juuri slowly shook her head as he looked up at Klein. “No. If a player wants to log out, they have to go through the menu,” he confirmed, briefly sparing Juuri’s back a glance.

    “That’s nuts,” Klein snapped. “There’s gotta be some way!” He began leaping crazily into the air. “Return! Log out! Escape!” He yelled as he jumped, with Kirito looking on. Juuri turned her head to look at the pair of them over her shoulder with a worried look in her eyes.

    “I told you,” Kirito said grimly, still frowning. “There wasn’t an emergency log out button in the manual either.” Klein paused his strange antics and frowned.

    “You’re kidding, right…?” He said softly, a hint of fear creeping into his expression. Then he brightened up slightly and raised his hands to his head as if trying to pull something off his head. “I know! I’ll just rip the NerveGear off my head!”

    “You can’t,” Juuri said at last in an ominous voice. “We can’t move our real bodies…The NerveGear intercepts anything we tell our bodies to do here.” She raised her arm as if to emphasize her point.

    “Seriously…?” Klein asked, sounding worried. “So we have to wait for them to fix the bug?”

    “Or for someone in the real world to remove the NerveGear from us,” Kirito pointed out, glancing at a boar as it ambled past without a care in the world. Juuri grimaced. Just a few moments ago, everything was going great. Now it felt like her unease was threatening to engulf her.

    “But I live alone,” Klein muttered, glancing between them. “What about you two?”

    “My older brother’s waiting for me,” Juuri said at last, seeing no point in lying. “My father is working late, but my mother might be around.”

    “I have a mom and a sister, so I think they’ll notice by dinner time…” Kirito agreed. Klein lurched forward, grabbing him by the arms.

    “H-How old’s your sister?” He burst out with a weird grin. Kirito looked confused.

    “She’s on a sports team, and she hates games,” he pointed out uncertainly. “She has nothing to do with people like us.”

    “That doesn’t ma-“ Klein managed to gasp out as Kirito reacted by swiftly kneeing him in the crotch. Klein reached down between his legs with a wince before evidently remembering that he could not feel pain in this world. “Right, it doesn’t hurt,” he reminded himself.

    “More importantly…Don’t you find this weird?” Kirito asked, ignoring Klein’s reaction to his brief attack. Klein shrugged nonchalantly.

    “It isn’t just a bug,” Kirito replied, almost heatedly. “If we can’t log out, that’ll pose a serious problem for the game’s future.”

    “Come to think of it, you’re right…” Klein trailed off thoughtfully, glancing at the ground as he frowned.

    “If they wanted to, they could just shut down the server and log everyone out,” Juuri murmured. “But there isn’t even an announcement-“ She paused as a distant bell began to toll. All three of them glanced around before freezing. The world began to blur around them. A forced teleport! She thought before their surroundings vanished to be replaced by the town square where they had first logged in. As they looked around, more and more people were being teleported in with surprised voices.

    “What’s going on?” Asked a teenage girl as she clutched at the arm of a slighter older male, who shook his head.

    “I don’t know,” he answered with a frown.

    “A forced teleport?” Kirito murmured, repeating Juuri’s thought from a few moments ago.

    “Up there!” Someone called out, and everyone looked up as red hexagons began to appear across the sky until they filled it up, looking like an ominous net. Then a thick liquid began to ooze out between the cracks of the hexagons like blood, slowly flowing downwards until it began to take the form of a huge, towering cloaked figure with a dark space for a face.

    “What…Is that?” Klein muttered to himself.

    “A game master?” Came a voice from the crowd.

    “Why doesn’t he have a face?”

    “Is this an event?”

    “I’m scared!” The girl from earlier cried out.

    “It’s fine, it’s just part of the opening ceremony,” her male companion answered reassuringly. Juuri slowly shook her head as she stared up at the figure with widened eyes.

    “Attentions players,” the figure announced at last, in a loud and calm voice. “Welcome to my world.”

    “…My world…?” Kirito echoed questioningly as Juuri began to tremble fearfully. No…She thought in horror.

    “My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world,” the figure continued.

    “…Is that really him?”

    “He must have spent a lot of time on this.”

    “I’m sure you’ve already noticed, but the logout button is missing from the main menu.” The figure drew his right hand down, opening his menu and pointing to the empty space where the log out button had been. “But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat; this is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online.”

    “A-A feature…?” Klein repeated incredulously, staring up at the figure calling himself Kayaba Akihiko. Juuri stayed silent, gazing up at Kayaba with horror.

    “You cannot log out of SAO yourselves, and no-one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the  transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life.” Voices began to be raised. Some in anger, others in fear.

    “What?”

    “Come on already!”

    “Let’s go!” The man with the young girl exclaimed, taking her by the hand and heading towards the edge of the plaza. He reached out to find there was something blocking his way. An invisible barrier, perhaps. “Hey, I can’t get out!” He yelled out in anger.

    “What’s he talking about…?” Klein muttered, rubbing his face out of frustration. “He’s gotta be nuts…Right, Kirito?” He glanced at the dark haired boy expectantly.

    Kirito grew quiet before frowning. “He’s right,” he said at last. “The transmitters work just like microwaves. If the safety were disabled…” He looked back at Klein. “It could fry a brain.”

    “Then if we cut the power…?”

    Kirito offered a grim smile. “No, the NerveGear has an internal battery.”

    “But this is crazy!” Klein protested, shaking his head fearfully. “What’s going on?!” Juuri was rooted to the spot, still speechless. The figure drew everyone’s attention.

    “Unfortunately, several players’ friends and families have ignored this warning, and have attempted to remove the NerveGear,” he continued ominously. “As a result, two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever. Both from Aincrad and the real world.” There was no emotion in his voice. It was as if he was talking about something boring, like simple calculations.

    “Two hundred and thirteen…?” Kirito repeated, his eyes widening in shock.

    “I don’t believe it…I don’t believe it!” Klein yelled angrily, clearly stunned by this shocking revelation.

    “As you can see…” The figure continued to speak as several thin screens floated around him, depicting news anchors all around the world. “News organisations are reporting all of this, including the deaths. Thus, you can assume the danger of someone removing the NerveGear is minimal. I hope you will relax and clear the game…”

    Big brother…Mother…Father…Juuri thought, hugging her arms around herself. “But I want you to remember this clearly,” the figure interrupted her stunned thoughts. “There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your health points drop to zero, your avatar will be forever lost. And simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brain.” The screens around him snapped shut as he finished speaking. All around Juuri, gasps began to be heard, as well as more raised voices.

    “There is only one means of escape,” Kayaba began again. “To complete the game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, Floor one. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the floor boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on floor one hundred, and you will clear the game.”

    “Clear?”

    “What’s he talking about?”

    “Y-You’re just making that up!”

    “Clear all one hundred floors…?” Klein muttered. “That’s impossible…” He glanced at Kirito, clearly remembering what he’d said earlier. “The beta testers never made it anywhere near that high!” He yelled up at Kayaba in anger.

    “Finally,” Kayaba continued as if no-one had spoke, “I’ve added a present from me to your storage. Please see for yourselves.” Juuri raised her hand and drew open her menu, quickly switching to her storage. An item was indeed there, and she hovered her finger over it to read what it said.

    “Mirror…” She murmured, clicking on it. A small hand mirror appeared in her hand. Hesitantly, she peered into it. At first, nothing happened. But then she noticed her reflection was completely different from her avatar’s face. But before she could comment, the mirror began to glow brightly with a pale blue light, which spread to her. She closed her eyes in surprise, as the world around her faded to white before fading back into view. She was in the same spot, but everyone had changed.

    “You guys okay?” Came Klein’s voice from behind her.

    “Y-Yeah…” Answered Kirito’s voice, before both cried out in surprise. Juuri whirled around to find a younger looking dark haired boy, perhaps a little younger than her. Beside him was an older man with stubble. She blinked in surprise before looking around wildly, searching for her friends.

    “Who are you?” The boy asked.

    “…Who are you?!” The man responded. The boy looked around wildly.

    “Where’s Juuri?” He demanded, not bothering to answer the older man’s question. Juuri was about to answer, surprised that he knew her name, when others began exclaiming around her.

    “You’re a guy?!”

    “You were lying about being seventeen?!”

    “You must be…Kirito?” The man said at last, looking hard at the boy, who nodded in shock.

    “You must be Klein then?” He enquired. The man – now identified as Klein – nodded and looked around.

    “But where’s Juuri?” He asked in concern. Kirito looked around uncertainly. Juuri stepped forward.

    “I’m here!” She called out, grabbing their attention. Both looked at her and blinked, before staring. She drew back slightly, intimidated by the hard stares. “W-What is it…?” She asked hesitantly before raising the mirror to look at herself. Staring back at her with a matching expression of shock was a young woman of about seventeen, with a side fringe sweeping off to the right. The rest of her hair tumbled over her shoulders and past her hips in a waterfall of pale blonde, framing a pale and heart-shaped face. Her lips were of a slightly pouted shape, coloured a pale seashell pink. Her nose was relatively small and slightly pointed, and her eyes were a large almond shape, with long thick black eyelashes framing them. The irises were of a deep blue, with flecks of varying shades of blue.

    It was undeniably her.

    In shock, she dropped the mirror. It shattered on the ground in a shower of glittering polygons, which faded from view after a moment. “How…?” Klein gasped, echoing Juuri’s own thoughts.

    “That scan…” Kirito murmured, still staring at Juuri as if trying to remember something. “The NerveGear covers your entire head with a high-density signalling device. So it can see what your face looks like. But our height and weight?”

    “When we first used the NerveGear, it had us calibrate it, right? You had to touch your body all over,” Klein reminded him with a frown.

    “O-Oh…Right. That must be where it got the data.”

    “But…But…Why?” Klein managed at last. “Why do all this anyway?”

    “I’m sure he’ll tell us,” Kirito answered, pointing up at Kayaba accusingly. All three of them looked up towards the cowled figure.

    “Right now, you are probably wondering…Why? Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online, do all this?” Kayaba began again, his deep voice echoing around the town square. “My goal has already been achieved.”

    “No…” Juuri whispered, unaware of the tiny tears that gathered at the corners of her eyes. Kirito glanced sideways at her for a moment before returning his gaze to the developer of Sword Art Online.

    “I created Sword Art Online for one reason. To create this world and intervene in it. And it is now complete.” The figure’s hood turned slightly from side to side, as though making sure everyone was listening. That certainly was not a problem. “This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. Good luck, players.” With these last few words, Kayaba shimmered into millions of red, glittering polygons and faded away. Even after he disappeared, deathly silence reigned throughout the town square, each player too shocked for words. Juuri bowed her head, trembling slightly.

    Somewhere nearby, a mirror shattered against the floor.

    “NO!” Came the scream of a terrified young girl. This set off the crowd, who erupted into horrified shrieks and screams.

    “Let us out!”

    “You can’t do this to us!”

    “SOMEONE HELP ME!”

    The force field around the town square dropped. Even in the confusion, Kirito tapped both Klein and Juuri sharply, indicating that they follow him out. They both swiftly followed him, puzzlement on Klein’s expression, while Juuri’s was filled with a mixture of sadness, anger and betrayal.

    “Listen to me,” Kirito said at last as they paused in a dark alleyway. “I’m heading to the next village, right now.” Klein and Juuri glanced at each other before returning their attention to the dark haired boy. “If what he said is true…” Kirito flicked open his menu. “…The only way to survive in this world is to become as strong as possible. The resources within a virtual MMORPG – in other words, the money and experience we can earn – are limited. The fields surrounding the Town of Beginnings will soon be hunted clean.” Kirito pointed at his map.

    Juuri slowly nodded, understanding appearing on her face while Klein continued to look puzzled. “To do this efficiently, we should head to the next village now,” Kirito continued, closing his map. “I know all of the paths and dangerous areas. Even at level one,  we can easily get there safely.”

    Klein raised a hand uncertainly. “But…But you know, I spent a whole night in line with my friends from the other game,” he said at last. “They’re out in the plaza. I can’t just leave them.”

    Kirito fell silent for a moment, looking uncomfortable and worried. Klein shook his head.

    “Sorry. I can hardly ask you for anything else, can I?” He added with a faint grin. “So don’t worry about it. Go to the next village, both of you. I used to run a guild in my last game, I can use what you taught me to get by.” He nodded encouragingly. Kirito continued to be silent for another moment before looking at Juuri.

    “Are you coming?” He asked. Juuri paused. This is really it, she thought sadly. We’ve been betrayed by the one we admired most, and now we’re desperately trying not to fall apart. Finally, she nodded, determination glinting in her expression.

    “I am, let’s go,” she answered, a few quick steps taking her to his side.

    “Ah, Kirito, Juuri!”

    The two of them half turned to look at Klein. He ruffled the back of his head sheepishly. “I ah…You look good. You’re both very cute,” he muttered at last in embarrassment. Juuri and Kirito looked at each other before smiling. Kirito glanced back at Klein.

    “And that scruffy look suits you much better!” He answered with a grin. Juuri nodded before the two of them took off.

    “D-Don’t die! Get stronger!” Klein yelled after them as they disappeared into the darkness.

    The pair continued running along the wide pathway. We can do this…Juuri thought as she ran beside Kirito. We can survive. We’ll get stronger. We’ll survive…! A boar walked onto the path ahead of them and turned to face them, getting ready to charge.

    Juuri pulled her spear from her back as Kirito pulled his blade from his sheath, neither of them pausing in their stride as they struck out with their weapons, leaving deep furrows in the boar’s sides. They never stopped running as it burst into glimmering polygons, with twin expressions of determination.

    We’ll survive! We’ll beat this world!



Thanks for reading! I've been a huge fan of SAO since it was first released, and the concept of Juuri began forming from about Arc two, where I imagined a young woman who'd been betrayed and fights to find out the reason, and to save her friends. This is purely fan fiction, however. While I will be following as closely to the original story as possible where other characters are concerned, this will be the rewrite for SAO from the viewpoint of an entirely new character. I plan to do all four arcs in this way, though I in no way claim any credit for SAO itself. I'll release one chapter at a time, probably once a week, depending on how inspired I feel when I settle down to write.