Thanks for taking your time to read this. This is my first real attempt at writing anything and I hope you enjoy it. I had a lot of fun writing it and hopefully some of that transferred into the story. The whole idea for this story came from the leak of what Kazuto's parents last name was. When you make Kazuto's nickname the same way he made Kirito, well... Any and all criticisms are appreciated, enjoy!

All rights and privileges of Sword Art Online belong to Reki Kawahara.

Naruto's Adventures

Part 1- The World of Nightmares

Prologue

"Should we really go?" Aoi asked her husband nervously. The rain was pouring outside. Sheets crashed almost horizontally into the house. Buffeted by the wind, the monsoon rains were hitting hard.

"We have to, we can't sacrifice our son because of a bit of bad weather." Yukito replied stubbornly. Lying in his crib, their first born, Kazuto, was only two months old. Unease swept through the parents as Kazuto coughed again. With a fever that continued to creep higher, their only child was in danger.

Winds roaring, the house shook around them. "I'm scared," Aoi admitted. Only her husband would she trust with this information. Road conditions were deteriorating, and phone lines were down.

"I'll go start the car," Yukito told his wife. "It will be alright, I promise you. Our son will live.

"Of course." Aoi nodded, hardening her resolve. No monsoon would make her risk her child.

Opening the door with a bang, Yukito fought his way to the small car on the driveway. Climbing in was a struggle. He knew he'd have to go help his wife with their child. Turning the key in the ignition, fate shifted. Initially roaring to life, the engine puttered out. Shock battling despair, Yukito pleaded with any god that would listen as he tried again.

"Just spare my son," Yukito cried, banging his hand on the steering wheel. "Please."

Turning the key again and again, the engine showed no sign of life. There were no options for repairs, nowhere dry to put the car and attempt them himself. Trudging roughly back to the house, Aoi locked eyes with Yukito.

"The car isn't working?"

Shaking his head, Yukito wrapped his wife and child into a hug.

"We'll just have to wait, and hope." Aoi told her stricken husband. A strange feeling in her chest. Logically, she knew she should be upset as she has no way to get her child to the hospital, however, her instincts told her this was for the best. That Kazuto was strong. He would survive.

A short while later, on an all but abandoned highway, a semi-truck rolled, the result of a fierce gust of wind hitting its cross-section. Back in the warm house three people would never know that their destinies had changed that day.

Chapter 1

Thursday Oct 27th, 2022

"Jeez, Kaz, you don't need to hit us so hard" Mozuri complained loudly after Kazuto landed yet another point bringing the sparring bout to a close.

"Sorry, Moz," Kazuto replied with a smile, "I just can't wait for the district competition coming up next month! Maybe I'll get some real competition."

Mozuri snorted. "In your dreams Kaz, you blew them out the water last year, it will just be a repeat this year."

"True," their sensei interjected with pride, "the speed of your sword has even surpassed mine! With a bit of muscle, you'll be ready for the professional leagues!"

"Thanks coach! I'll see you guys later!" Kazuto started to jog out of the dojo before he noticed Mozuri racing to catch up with him. "You need something Moz?"

"Yeah dude, you remember how you won that nerve gear at that competition awhile back?"

"Oh yeah, that thing. I've never used it, what about it?"

"Well, there's this new game coming out, it's called Sword Art Online, I think it would be cool to play and it could help with our kendo skills!"

"Oh," Kazuto replied unenthusiastically, "though I'm only going to play you guys, I hope you know that."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. The other guys are busy, so it will be just me and you getting that day one release this weekend!"

"Alright, see you Sunday, you goof!" Kazuto finally admitted with a grin.

"Later Kaz!"

Kazuto couldn't help but release a sigh as his best friend Mozuri ran away happy.

Kazuto Narusaka had just turned 14 earlier this month. The day was Thursday October 27th, 2022. Last year he had won regional's for middle school kendo despite it being his first year. This year though he could go to nationals and he swore that the title would be his.

Kazuto smiled while looking to the sky, life was going great. His parents, Aoi and Yukito, had phenomenal careers, he had a doting younger cousin and great friends.

Maybe this game thing will even pan out, Kazuto thought idly. Its not like he couldn't afford it, and if it sucked he just wouldn't play it, Mozuri be damned.

Kazuto had never been a gamer. His dad had played baseball and Kazuto had learned the sport from an early age by practising with him. He had the highest batting average in the school league. With reflexes a notch above his classmates, Kazuto found it easy to locate the ball while at bat. This was only aided by his obsession with kendo; which started when he went to visit his cousin Suguha's when he was eight, and their grandfather was teaching her kendo. He promptly asked to learn as well and from then on got lessons with his grandfather on a weekly basis.

Kazuto's easy-going manner helped him make many friends on top of his athletic dominance. His one weakness was technology. Neither of his parents are big into tech or computers and prefer to take walks or just be outside in their free time. Kazuto adopted this love of the outdoors from them.

The arrival of the bus home snapped him out of his idle thoughts. "Well, this weekend should be interesting at least," Kazuto pronounced with a smile.

Sunday Oct 30th, 2022

"Is… is this a joke?" Kazuto struggled to get to Mozuri. The line was insane and all of them were excited. "How can all of these people care about this dumb game so much?!" Kazuto indignantly exclaimed earning himself the ire of the surrounding people.

"Keep your voice down dude! And don't you get it? This is the start of a new era, soon everything will be done in the virtual world, everything!"

"Why would they want to do that?" Kazuto replied with confusion. "I'm perfectly happy moving around in my own body."

Sighing, Mozuri replied, "You wouldn't be saying that if you had played anything on the nerve gear before. It's amazing, don't worry when we log in next week you will be so happy I made you buy this!"

"Wait, next week. What do you mean next week? There's that big paper due Monday next week that I got to do next Sunday!"

"Seriously, dude?" Mozuri replied with a blank look on his face. "You know you can work on stuff prior to the day before its due."

"Hey, its not easy being me. I got morning practice everyday on top of eating right and sleeping the right hours. Plus, I have to make time for you fools. When am I supposed to do homework in there?" Kazuto replied brazenly.

"You know, I wish you were even a little bit sarcastic when you said that." Mozuri shook his head before mumbling, "It's worse because its true," under his breath.

"You know me partner! My serious switch is always on!" Kazuto sang back with a laugh.

"Ugh, why did I invite such a loser to come with me?" Mozuri joked back.

"You did? Did they go to the washroom or something, because all I see are two bad ass kendo gods!" Laughter consumed the two of them as they continued to wait in line for the game that would change their lives.

Kazuto looked up at his house as he closed the gate behind him to what could only be described as a small mansion. While they didn't have a maid or anything, the shiny white exterior of the house screamed money. The door frame was hand-carved mahogany with whorls of flowers depicted. Kazuto never grew tired of gazing at the craftsmanship that brought them to life. They had only lived in this house for the past year when his parents had decided that they needed something to spend their saved money on. With only one child, no expensive hobbies, and well-paying jobs, his parents had money to burn. The evidence showed in the house. Despite its fun features, like a pool, Kazuto preferred the old house as it was closer to his school and cousin's. His parents told him he should switch schools, but he was reluctant to leave. Too many things there were important to him. Besides, he doubted the school he transferred to would appreciate seeing the top ranked baseball and kendo star suddenly show up to steal the spotlight.

Opening the door Kazuto was pulled out of his thoughts by his mother greeting him. "Oh, uh hey mom," Kazuto replied absently.

Aoi only sighed in response before adding, "I asked how your day was silly. You get lost in thought more than your father!"

"Yeah, I could have done without that habit," Kazuto replied embarrassed.

"Ah, its alright son," his father said while clapping him on his shoulder, "It makes the ladies think you're emotional! It attracts them!"

"Um, sure dad," Kazuto replied weakly.

"That's right. Your son doesn't need to pick up your womanizer ways!" Aoi admonished Yukito while shaking the wooden spoon in her hand at him.

It was obvious where Kazuto got his looks from, from his black hair and eyes to his thin build, it was obvious from one look that they were related. From his father, Kazuto inherited his mischievous nature and skill at sports.

"So, mom, what's for supper?" Kazuto happily interjected before Aoi could get full swing into lecturing his dad.

"We're having tofu with sashimi!" she happily told Kazuto in reply.

"Sounds good! I'll just put this in my room and be right down." Kazuto replied while his father sighed about supper.

"Tofu? Why do we eat so much tofu?" Yukito whined to his wife.

"Because its good for you! Now go wash your hands for supper. You could learn a great deal from your son you know?"

"Yeah, I know, but where's the fun in that?" He answered back with a smirk.

Up on the third floor Kazuto opened the door to his gigantic room and looked around. The walls were a plain, standard white with no posters on the walls. The room looked even larger with only a futon which his grandfather said was better for achieving true sleep than a bed. While taking out the game case and setting it on the desk, Kazuto realized that he needed to set up the nerve gear still.

"Ugh, this is more complicated than I thought it would be," Kazuto grumbled to himself. "And how do I get internet on this thing? It's that blue cord, right?" Technology and Kazuto were, quite obviously, not friends. Most elementary school students would have been able to complete the task, but Kazuto continued to struggle. "Whatever, I need to go eat I'll figure it out later."

"Itadakimasu," Kazuto and his parents happily prayed before beginning to eat.

"You're looking a little flustered there Kaz," Yukito intoned with an evil smile, "and it took you awhile to come down for supper. You weren't practising your swordplay, were you?" he asked innocently while applying wasabi to his sashimi.

Kazuto choked on his food in response to his father's not so subtle suggestion. "Yukito! Don't tease your son like that! And Kazuto dear, don't worry it's a perfectly natural part of growing up. Just remember to clean up after yourself!" his mother cheerfully told him.

Kazuto wanted to crawl under the table and die of embarrassment but managed to clear his throat and get out, "I was trying to set up that silly game thing Mozuri wants me to use! I wasn't um you know. Ah, I can't believe you two!"

"Why don't you just call Sachi? I'm sure she would be able to help you" Aoi replied while ignoring her son's embarrassment.

"Ah, yeah, I guess I can," Kazuto muttered unenthusiastically.

"Is something going on between you two, son?" Yukito's eyes sparkled with mischief, waiting anxiously for the chance to further tease his son.

"She's acting weird, she always used to be happy to help me with electronic stuff. But recently she seems disappointed every time, like I forgot her birthday or something, but I don't know what I'm missing!" Kazuto replied seriously, completely missing his father's tone.

Laughter was the only response he got, from both of his parents. "Hey! If you know then tell me, don't laugh!" But Kazuto's indignant statement only induced another round of laughter in his parents.

"It seems your worries about him becoming a womanizer are definitely unfounded Aoi!" Yukito cheerfully added.

"Yes, it would appear that they were," Aoi added while wiping tears from her eyes.

"Fine, be that way you two!" Kazuto angrily told his parents before standing up and going to the kitchen to wash off his dishes. "And I think I will call her!" Kazuto's last statement reached the ears of his parents from the stairs who looked at each other before erupting into another bout of laughter.

"Hey Sachi! Uh, what's up?" Kazuto tried to speak when he heard her pick up on the other side, but nerves got the best of him, causing an unnatural crack in the middle of his sentence.

Picking up on his nerves, Sachi replied enthusiastically, "Oh, hey Kazuto, is there something you wanted to ask me?" Hope palpable in her voice.

Already sweating, Kazuto knew he was in trouble, but he couldn't back out, he did need her help. "Y-yeah, there is, can you tell me how to set up this nerve thingy?"

Kazuto was wondering if he should start pleading for his life when the silence on the other end started to stretch on. Before he could, however, he heard Sachi sigh on the other end of the line, "Of course I can. But do you actually plan on using it?"

"Yup, Mozuri made me go buy a game with him. I don't know how long I'll last, but he said it might help with kendo so…" Kazuto got the feeling that he should shut up at this point, but he still couldn't figure why.

Sachi's unenthusiastic voice came back, "Oh cool. Some sports game probably. Go get your nerve gear and plug it in."

After nearly ten minutes of instructions Sachi was finally able to finish helping Kazuto both calibrate his nerve gear and connect it to the internet. At this point Kazuto knew he had to do something for her, his back was drenched in sweat due to the aura Sachi had been projecting through the phone for the past ten minutes.

"I guess that's all you need me for, so I'll be going then," the disappointment was so thick in Sachi's voice that Kazuto finally broke out of his stupor.

"Wait Sachi! How about we go get coffee after school tomorrow! You can tell me about all the things you're doing in your club. We can catch up." Kazuto's voice petered out rather pathetically near the end, but he did manage to get the whole thing out. Really, Kazuto thought to himself, why are girls so complicated? Even Sugu has been acting strange recently.

"How exactly would we be going to get coffee?" Sachi tentatively replied, snapping Kazuto out of his fretting over girls and their complexity.

Kazuto thought he had heard the question wrong due to his spacing out, "What do you mean how? Take the bus of course."

"You really are thick, aren't you?" Sachi scathingly remarked, "I meant as friends or as a…." The sentence immediately cut-off as Sachi realized what she was about to say just in time and an awkward silence filled the air as it finally dawned on Kazuto what Sachi was implying.

"Like a couple? Us? Ha! Reminds me of the plays you always made me do with you in kindergarten where we would pretend to get married…" This time it was Kazuto's turn to cut off a sentence as it finally started to dawn on him that just maybe Sachi liked him as more than a friend and that she was upset because Kazuto was once again ignoring her feelings and only using her to solve his problems.

"Oops," As this word escaped his mouth Kazuto realized that he may be at a tipping point in his relationship with Sachi with no idea of how it got here and even less clue about where he wanted it to go.

"Yeah, oops, what else is new?" Kazuto could hear the tears in Sachi's eyes as her voice broke. "I'm really behind on homework actually so I don't have time to hang out this week. Bye."

With a click the line went dead but Kazuto couldn't move from the spot where he stood. Did he like Sachi? Sure, but she was his oldest friend and to be frank their hobbies like night and day. Kazuto liked sports, Sachi liked Computers. Kazuto liked music, Sachi liked reading. As the two grew older it became harder and harder for them to actually 'do' anything together. That's when Kazuto's eyes passed over the game case that he had bought earlier in the day. "Sword Art Online, eh," Kazuto quietly mused to himself. "Sachi did seem interested that I was playing something, and it isn't a sport game like she said…" As Kazuto trailed off a smile blossomed on his face as an idea to fix the rift with Sachi sprouted in his mind.

Monday Oct 31st, 2022

"What do you mean there are no more copies!" Kazuto shrieked at Mozuri during lunch the next day.

"Exactly what I said dude. The initial release is only 10,000 copies! And half of those were digital copies and that's only if you don't count the 1000 beta testers who had first dibs! So, don't come complaining to me that you can't buy your girlfriend a present!" After he finished his rant Mozuri started to wonder how badly he had just screwed up as he saw the look in Kazuto's eye. Usually Kazuto has a very happy-go-lucky personality but sometimes when he started to get really mad you could see something else rise to the surface. If there was one thing Mozuri was sure of. It was that he didn't want to be around that monster broke loose.

"She is not my girlfriend." Kazuto informed Mozuri in a low growl. His hands gripping Mozuri's shoulders tightly.

"ight, whatever you say man, just chill." Mozuri replied quickly, more than a little scared.

Kazuto finally realizing what he was doing backed off and apologized while scratching his head. "Uh sorry man. I just really got to make this up to her, you know?"

Brushing the incident off Mozuri slapped Kazuto on the shoulder, "don't worry about it, with your good looks and talents you'd have to do something really, really stupid to drive her away." After an awkward silence from Kazuto, Mozuri sighed, "you did something really stupid, didn't you?"

"Yeah, that's a bit of an understatement, now when does the next wave of this game release?" Kazuto's relentless optimism managed to restore some hope to his voice despite the predicament that he was facing. Just hanging out with Mozuri helped Kazuto release his tension. This effect was probably a side effect of Kazuto's short attention span which tended to make him forget that he was supposed to be upset.

"As far as I know, it's a month after server launch, so December sixth I believe." Mozuri warily told Kazuto fearing another bout of anger. Instead Kazuto just sighed in defeat and looked up to the sky.

"We're just such different people though. I don't know how to make this up to her," his hope disappearing as fast as it appeared.

"I definitely think that you're on the right track," helpfully offered Mozuri, "I mean maybe you should just ask her what she plays and get that? It would also let you get accustomed to VR before the SAO servers go live."

Kazuto stopped walking and looked at Mozuri stunned. "That's… that's actually a really good idea!"

"I could live without that surprised tone you're giving me! I'm a thoughtful person!" Mozuri indignantly replied.

"You are?" This careless comment from Kazuto stung more than Mozuri let on because he knew Kazuto was being serious.

"You know what? I wish you had even used sarcasm once. But now I have to live knowing that you think I'm a brainless jock!"

"You should get your marks up if you don't want me to think that!" Kazuto replied happily, completely ignoring the injuries he continued to apply to Mozuri's ego.

"Why am I helping you again?" Mozuri grumbled at Kazuto.

"Because you would be lost without me! Now onwards! To the afternoon classes!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Mozuri continued to grumble as he followed his friend to the class they shared.

"Na-Narusaka-kun! What are you doing here!"

"Oh, hey bro, I'm just looking for Sachi. She should be here right?" Kazuto replied lazily to some student that he didn't know.

"This is the computer club room! Unauthorized access is not allowed!" The computer club president replied hoarsely, obviously feeling very put-off with Kazuto's sudden appearance. "And how dare you not address me formally!" he tacked on at the end maybe finally realizing Kazuto hadn't officially replied to him.

"That would be because I don't know your name of course!" Kazuto informed him with a grin. "Now can you point me in Sachi's direction?"

The club's president's face was now beat red at the utter lack of respect that was being shown to him. "I am a club president, Narusaka-kun! This is disgraceful!"

"Uh… Right, whatever you say Mr. President-sama!" Kazuto happily replied still oblivious to the strife he was causing in poor Konishi Akira, who was known as Keita to his friends in game. "Catch you later!" Kazuto waved at Keita while walking past him to continue his search for Sachi having decided that Keita would be no help to him.

As Kazuto's hand reached the door to open it, Keita snapped, "Ah! That's restricted territory I said!" smacking Kazuto's hand away from the door.

"Oh, should I just yell through it?"

"No, you idiot! I'll go tell her that would like an audience with her and she will decide whether to come see you or not!" Keita got out while starting to pant. Kazuto's carefree nature was starting to wear down his patience as he stepped on all the values that were supposed to be respected while at school.

"You see we don't really have rules like that in kendo or baseball, they're much more chill places. You should try to relax." Kazuto's friendly advice only served to aggravate Keita more as a vein began to bulge on his forehead before he entered the club room and slammed the door behind him. "Man needs to learn how to go with the flow. Some exercise would do him good." As Kazuto was telling his advice to the absent Keita the door opened again to reveal Sachi.

"What do you want Kazuto? I told you I was busy today." Sachi told him harshly while trying to keep a smile off her face.

Kazuto didn't try, his face splitting into a huge grin at the sight of the girl. "Hey! It's been awhile since I've seen you."

Kazuto's good mood was infectious as Sachi's face slowly morphed into an answering grin. "Hey, you. It really has been awhile hasn't it? So, what do you want?"

"What I want," Kazuto told her while pointing a finger at her, "is to know what game you're playing for the nerve gear so that I can join you of course!"

Sachi's smile disappeared as her jaw fell leaving her incapable of generating a response to the last thing she thought she would hear.

"It has been a long time since we've really gotten spend time together, and with our hobbies being so different… I thought VR might bridge the gap you know? It's a game, so you enjoy it, and its also physical activity, kind of, so I will hopefully enjoy it too! Now that you helped me set up my nerve gear it would be a shame to let it go to waste!"

In reply Sachi flung her arms around Kazuto hugged him close. "Thank you, Kaz! You'll love VR, you'll see! And my nerve gear profile is hooked up to my Facebook one so if you sync your contacts, I'll be on there as well. Can you do that on your own? And the game is called Goblin Slayer, we really do need one more for our group!"

"I should be able to, and I will go right now and pick that up! Are you playing today?" Kazuto answered with a smile.

"Yes! Probably after supper, around 6:30 or 7, I'll text you when... the game's a little expensive though. Will that be alright? Sachi hesitantly added as her enthusiasm started to wane.

Sensing this, Kazuto ruffled her hair, "Don't worry about it Sachi, anything for you. Never forget that." The intensity in Kazuto's eyes caused Sachi to blush.

"OK then, um, I'll see you later, bye!" Sachi blurted out before dashing back into the club room in an attempt to escape Kazuto's presence so she could calm her heart and get her emotions back in order.

"So, what was that all about Sachi?" Keita asked grumpily.

Sachi smiled at him and the rest of the club, "I just got us another player for our group is what happened!"

While the other members celebrated finally finding another member to bring them up to the party limit in Goblin Slayer, Keita's face took on a mask of horror, "You can't mean Narusaka-kun can you! But he's..."

"Actually, he's pretty similar to you once you stop getting stuck up over the fact he didn't know your name." Sachi interjected harshly into Keita's rant.

"Yeah dude, Ducker never calls you that either so stop stressing about it! You two will get along fine, you'll see" Tetsuo told Keita, slapping him on the back. "Now let's finish up here so we can get home!"

The rest of the club members answered with a cheer before turning back to their tasks in cleaning the club room.

"We were thinking about taking a walk after supper Kaz, you want to come?" Kazuto's father asked him at the dinner table.

"Sorry dad I can't. I apologized to Sachi and decided to play a VR game with her, so I'm doing that later."

"I see," Yukito replied thoughtfully, "Well, you will have to tell me how it is. All I hear at work is how VR will revolutionize the world and how Kayaba Akihiko is the most brilliant man to ever live."

"Your colleagues are only saying that because he's Japanese." Aoi broke in with a laugh.

"Regardless of smart Kayaba is, it would still be nice to know about VR." Yukito defended.

"True," Aoi admitted with a smile. "Though I don't know how much you'll learn about its more practical applications from your son playing games with it."

"Since when did either of you two know enough to make calls on the usefulness of technology?" Kazuto asked scathingly.

"You wound me son!" Yukito yelled out while placing his hand over his heart. "And I know plenty about what technology is useful, thank you very much. I just don't know how to use it!" Yukito finished, admitting that his short comings in technology rivals his son's.

"I suppose it's the appearance that counts," Kazuto admitted while looking at his phone which read a quarter after six. "I'm going to go get set-up, so I don't slow Sachi down. I don't want to give her another reason to be mad at me."

"You're learning son," Aoi informed him with a smile, "Now just remember to compliment her when you see her later, okay?"

After getting his hair ruffled by his mother Kazuto finally managed to escape to the upstairs and unpackage the game. "Well, here goes nothing, Link Start!" Kazuto intoned the magic phrase to enter a new world… and nothing happened. "Huh? Incorrect posture detected, what does…" After facepalming over his own stupidity, Kazuto laid down before trying again. Kazuto thanked the gods he was able to successfully connect and even managed to sync his contact list. There was a surprising number of friends who had linked nerve gear accounts.

Scrolling over the application Kazuto got an error message upon trying to boot it. "Choose a screen name, eh? Oh, right Mozuri mentioned this, it's an alias of sorts." Try as he might, names were not Kazuto's strong point. "Maybe I should just use Kazuto." He whined pitifully, "It's a good name." This gave him an idea though as he looked at his full name spelled out in his profile information section. "The beginning of my family name… with the end of my given name! Oh boy am I a genius or what." Kazuto was lucky no one was around to see this or the effect it would have had on his reputation would have been irreparable. "Though I feel like I've heard the name Naruto before? Probably just some obscure hero," it'll be fine he told himself.

Booting up the game, Naruto was intimidated by the menu before him and how the animations seemed to assault his senses. "I guess this is what they mean when they say its directly inputted to your brain." Kazuto's voice was filled with awe. The experience was surreal. A view that should have been impossible, of active volcanoes and barren ground was straight out of a fantasy world. The problem Naruto was still trying to wrap his head around was that it felt like he was there. From the heat radiating from the lava to the ash in the air, Naruto was experiencing it all as if it was real life. "This, this is impossible…" Suddenly, he agreed with his father's coworkers, anyone who could make this had transcended the limits of humanity. It shouldn't have been possible, yet it was. Naruto's eyes had just been opened to a whole new world and he was excited to have his first adventure.

"You're joking, right?" was Naruto's deadpanned reaction to hearing the objective of the game from Sachi.

"That title screen was amazing! I was so ready to admit that I was wrong to doubt virtual reality, and now you tell me that all we do is stand in a line and kill goblins that run at us? Excuse me?" Naruto's ire was clear and Sachi was more than a little startled by it.

"Eh, well you see, none of the producers can do much with the technology yet, it's too advanced for the companies you see. Even that title screen while it feels so real is just a small platform…" Sachi's voice trailed off as she tried to defend the purpose of the game. "Oh look! The others are all waiting for us! Let's join them." With a press of a button the two of them were teleported into another small stone room where the rest of the computer club members waited. "Keita, Tetsuo, Ducker, and Sasamaru meet… Naruto…" the end of Sachi's sentence drifted off into disbelief as she clearly couldn't believe what her eyes were telling her. But no matter how many times she blinked or wiped her eyes the name stubbornly refused to change from Naruto.

When the gales of laughter refused to fade Naruto finally broke in, "What the hell guys? How can it possibly be that funny?"

"Um, have you ever actually watched Naruto, Kazuto?" Sachi asked lightly, the only member not laughing.

"What do you mean watched Naruto? I mean I thought the name sounded vaguely familiar but that's about it." Kazuto replied finally starting to look a bit upset at being the laughingstock of a joke he had no clue about.

"It's a manga, that was adapted into an anime… there are even video games based on it. It's named after the main character whose name is Naruto." Sachi began to lightly tell Kazuto about the origins of the name he had chosen for himself to his growing horror.

As the laughter ended and the guys assured him that he could still change it, Kazuto interjected, "No, I think I'll keep it. I have no better names to choose from and I can forge this name anew into one that will strike fear into the hearts of my enemies!"

In reply to Kazuto's epic speech Sachi could only facepalm. "Let's get thing started, I want to go to bed at a reasonable hour tonight!" This interjection forced the rest to concentrate and snapped Ducker out of his reverie who seemed to have found a new hero in Naruto for some reason.

Sachi did not get to go to bed at a reasonable hour. With the addition of Naruto to the team they lasted until the 65th wave of enemies crushing their previous record of 39. Since each wave tended to be longer than the last one, getting this far had brought them to the cusp of 11 o'clock at night.

"Unbelievable," Sachi muttered clearly distraught at the thought of having to wake up tomorrow with less sleep than usual.

"Yeah, he really is, isn't he?" Ducker's unwanted reply forcing Sachi out of her thoughts as she prepared to log out. The rest of the boys were surrounding Naruto and basking him in praise.

"I've never seen such fast swings!"

"And with only base gear too! We could make a run at the leaderboards with you!"

"How were you able to block their hits? I didn't think that was possible!"

Even Keita had forgotten of his original hatred of Kazuto upon seeing him play, but that's probably because this is Naruto, gaming extraordinaire, not Narusaka-kun, sports prodigy and troublemaker. Ducker would probably be over there to if he wasn't scared that standing too close to his new hero would dirty him Sachi thought snarkily.

"It took me awhile to get used to it, but it really is just like moving your body! It's late though, so I got to go, see y'all!" Naruto waved to the group one last time before logging off.

"Man, he's a great addition," Keita happily crowed.

"Oh really? And I could have sworn that you didn't want to include him only earlier today." Sachi inquired loftily.

"Fret not, young Sachi," came the reply from Keita, "A true leader can admit his mistakes and boy was I wrong, he's fantastic! Now I finally understand why you like him!"

"YOU IDIOT!" Sachi's roaring reply filled the small stone room as her cheeks burned from embarrassment. "I only told you so that you would stop asking me out!"

"Wait, so you don't like him?" Keita replied confused.

"I never said that! Stupid men!" Anything else was cut off as Sachi logged out to prevent the rest of the guild from hounding her about her feelings.

After the feeling of vertigo finally wore off from logging out while standing up Sachi removed the nerve gear and stood up with a sigh. "How dare Keita say that in front of everyone?" Sachi grumbled to herself still cursing the stupidity of all men. Despite this as she looked in the mirror she was forced to admit to herself that she loved Kazuto. Just thinking back on the, he'd said to her outside the club room made her heart flutter.

"Really, he's the stupidest of them all sometimes, but he's also the sweetest." Sachi smiled to herself in the mirror as she continued to play that scene over in her head. "He said he would do anything for me, right? I wonder if would kiss…" shacking her head to dispel the thoughts of Kazuto and her, Sachi decided she needed a cold shower before bed.

Saturday Nov 5th, 2022

"So, tomorrow's the day, eh Moz?" Kazuto asked as they left kendo practice after school on Saturday. He had continued to play Goblin Slayer throughout the week with Sachi and various members of the computer club. But everyone was too busy to try to put together another serious run to challenge the record they had set on Monday.

"You're actually logging on?" Mozuri asked back with surprise in his voice. "I wasn't really sure if you would to be honest."

"Why wouldn't I?" Kazuto easily replied, "I'm going to get that report finished up tonight, and then go to my cousin's tomorrow morning for some kendo practice and a workout. After I get home I'll grab a bit to eat and be ready to go for 1 pm sharp!" Kazuto emphasized his excitement by striking his palm with his fist.

Catching Kazuto's enthusiasm Mozuri laughed back, "Easy there, mister has his whole life planned out! Just trust me though, no matter how much fun you had in your previous game, SAO will blow it out of the water, I can guarantee that!"

"I'll hold you to that! See you tomorrow Moz!"

"Later Kaz!" The pair exchanged farewells as they boarded separate buses to bring them back to their respective houses.

Sunday November 6th, 2022

Looking at the Japanese styled house, Kazuto felt a certain kind of happiness rise within him combating the exhaustion he felt due to waking up so early in the morning. The old-fashioned gate opened into a large front yard with a pond off to the side. The house was so purely Japanese that Kazuto couldn't help but smile as he gazed upon it. Ignoring the house, Kazuto approached the dojo off to side instead. Seeing Sugu already starting to warm up he smiled at his hard-working cousin, "Hey Sugu, how's it going?"

"Ah!" Having been surprised by her cousin, Suguha fell over in the middle of a stretch with a scream.

"Hey! Pay attention, you goof. You could injure yourself like that." Kazuto lightly reprimanded his embarrassed cousin.

"I wouldn't fall over if you didn't scare me like that! And don't you knock anymore?"

In response to Sugu's righteous spiel Kazuto could only laugh. "Man, you look so cute when you try to get mad."

Sugu's face turned from a glare into a pout at Kazuto's words as she realized she wouldn't get an apology from him.

"Hey, don't give me that face! I am not buying you ice cream again!"

"But cousin, without ice cream I may get hurt next time you make me fall," Sugu pouted with her best dog eyes.

Kazuto sighed in defeat at his cousin's unstoppable assault. "Once again, it would appear that you have defeated me. Do you want to go today, or sometime later?"

"It will have to be later, I have a school practice in the afternoon to prepare for the competition next weekend." Sugu told him smartly, "and you should know that! You promised to come and watch!"

"Calm down, I didn't forget I'll be there," Kazuto told her gently, "and I forgot but I too have plans this afternoon, so we should get started or we will run out of time!"

While they were warming up Sugu inquired, "So, what are you doing this afternoon then?"

"Oh, I'm actually playing a video game with some of my friends from school." Kazuto told her somewhat eager to tell his cousin how fun moving around in virtual reality was.

A shocked Sugu looked over too quickly and let out yet another scream while falling over, "You're doing what! I thought you hated those stupid things as much as I did!"

"Its not a normal game Sugu, it's a VR game. It feels like reality, its exhilarating!"

At her cousins guarantee about how fun it was, Sugu felt puzzled, "Its like doing sports? But how is that possible, you don't actually move."

"Don't ask me how its possible, I only know that it is. How about this, if you win this weekend I'll buy you ice cream and a nerve gear so that you can play with me!"

Since Kazuto was even more athletic than she was who only really practised kendo because he did, Sugu was inclined to believe him. "Fine, WHEN I win this weekend I will gratefully accept your gift," she told Kazuto happily.

"Deal," Kazuto replied with a smirk, "Then show me those skills of yours that you're going to win next weekend with."

Before leaving Kazuto ruffled his little cousins hair, "You did well Sugu, I'm sure you'll have no troubles winning this weekend!"

"But I never actually landed a strike on you!" Sugu whined back sulkily.

"I am older than you. I would be embarrassed if you were better than me already!"

"Do you actually think that's possible Kaz?" Sugu asked quietly.

"You becoming better than me? Sure, I mean anything's possible. Why do you care though? You should focus on your own growth and becoming better than the current you, you know that." Kazuto chided her.

"I-I want you to make a deal me!" Sugu cried out, face beet red. "If I beat you in a match at some point, you have to fulfill any one request I make!"

Kazuto looked at his cousin with her chest heaving and red face in bewilderment. "Um okay deal… But it's not necessary. I'd fulfill any request of yours anyways." Kazuto told her gently with a smile. "Anyways I got to scram. Love ya cuz!" Kazuto yelled over his shoulder as he waved at Suguha while leaving the house.

"Eep!" Suguha screeched, her face somehow managing to become even redder.

"Link start," With these two magic words, Kazuto's consciousness was swept away to a world of limitless possibilities. "Character creation, eh? This is new." After a little more than ten minutes Kazuto was happy with the model he had created. It contained all his best features plus some bonus height and hair that behaved. It was truly a character model worthy of carrying the name Naruto. It was much better than that auto created garbage that Goblin Slayer had given him. With a smirk Naruto exclaimed, "Sword Art online, meet Naruto. Your new master.

Author's Note: So, how was it? Horrible? Awesome? Meh? Let me know! The sharp ones out there probably noticed I changed the release date of SAO by a day. I had to make it a Sunday since there was no logical way they would have been able to line up for hours on a school day. There will be more minor edits that I'll mention when we reach them.

See y'll in chapter two where we get to kill some boars!