November 22, 2022
12:56 p. m.
It was almost one in the afternoon by the time Shizuka came sprinting through the door of her house, holding a large plastic bag in each hand that contained two Nerve Gear sets and two copies of the new game Sword Art Online. After she closed the door behind her and kicked off her shoes the 15-year-old immediately ran up the stairs to her right, her violet colored eyes gleaming with excitement.
Once at the top of the stairs she paused just outside the first bedroom door to her left to see her 13-year-old brother playing one of his horror video games on his computer. The windows were covered so the only light source was coming from the large computer screen on the wooden desk. By the looks of it he was completely focused on the game. Shizuka couldn't help but smirk. 'He's terrified of horror games, yet Katsu plays them all the time. And of course he didn't hear me come in with those headphones.' Now would've been the perfect time to sneak up on him and scare the crap out of her little brother, but she was in a good mood and merely switched the light on. The younger sibling nearly fell out of his chair when his room lit up, then took a moment to pause the game and remove his headphones. He leaned back and tilted his head as far as he could backwards to see his older sister. Katsu had black hair just like Shizuka, except it was short and scruffy unlike her long, wavy hair. His dark blue eyes were widened from being surprised, and then he pouted at her.
"Did you have to scare me like that? I was in the middle of a game," Katsu whined. Shizuka made her way through his room, which was somewhat clean besides a couple of candy wrappers and game magazines lying around. She stood in front of the windows and pulled the curtains aside, letting some natural light in. It wasn't much, considering the sky was completely overcast.
"Trust me, I could've scared you a lot worse if I wanted to, but I'm in a good mood. I got a little surprise," she said casually. "By the way, are mom and dad home yet?" Her brother tilted his head forward and turned in his seat to face her, blinking curiously.
"No, they won't be back 'til around supper time. What did you get?" he asked. Shizuka whirled around on her heel and held up the bags.
"You know that new game that just came out today?"
Katsu's face went into complete awe, his mouth gaping, then slowly muttered, "You didn't… seriously…?"
The sister's smile grew bigger and handed one of the bags to her brother. He grabbed it and practically tore away at the plastic to see a brand new Nerve Gear set and a copy of SAO. Gasping, he jumped up from his chair while holding the precious objects, completely ecstatic.
"No way! How did you get this? You would've had to wait in line for days to get a copy! This is so awesome! How much did it cost you?"
Shizuka laughed. She knew how obsessed her little brother was about SAO and would talk all about what he read from his magazines. Being the awesome, big sister she was, the older sibling bought the games and Nerve Gears for each of them. "I had to reserve us two copies while the game was being beta-tested, and believe me, it wasn't cheap so you owe me. But thankfully I didn't have to wait in line at all with this," she held up a printed copy of an order form, showing that she had pre-ordered said items. Without another word Katsu tackled his sister into a hug, thanking her over and over excitedly. Afterwards Shizuka placed her hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him away.
"Alright, alright. You can get started now with your avatar for SAO, I need to steal one of your magazines 'cause I don't know much about the controls, 'kay? Plus I haven't eaten lunch yet," the older of the two said and knelt down to a cluttered pile of magazines, sifting through them to find the latest one. A magazine suddenly appeared right in front of her face.
"Here, this is the latest copy I have. It explains some stuff beginners like us will need to know," Katsu explained. Shizuka grabbed the magazine and stood up to head out. Right before she walked out of the room, she asked, "Oh, I almost forgot one thing. What's gonna be your user name in SAO?"
Katsu tilted his head to one side and thought for a moment. "I was actually thinking of just using my first name. I know not many people do that but I don't see much harm in it," he concluded. His sister wasn't as certain as he was but let it slide.
"Okay, but don't give out your last name, we don't need any stalkers. My user name will be Kiraka. I'll see you in Aincrad in a little while," She waved at him while strolling out of his bedroom. Katsu happily thanked her again and started setting up the Nerve Gear. Walking a little further down the hallway to the right she entered her own room. It was hard to see much of the light purple walls as they were covered in posters and a couple drawings pinned up, and her floor was a light grey carpet. Despite having a lot of stuff in her room it was kept clean and organized, so she knew where everything was. Shizuka placed the bag on the purple sheets of her bed, then headed downstairs to the kitchen. She passed through the living room, picked up the TV remote off one of the chairs and pressed the power button while still walking towards the kitchen. It was too quiet and wanted a little sound while she ate lunch and read. Right now on the TV screen was showing the news about SAO and how the 10,000 copies released were instantly sold out.
Shizuka heated up last night's leftover soup and snatched an apple from the fridge. Settling down on the couch in front of the television she opened up the game magazine and flipped through the pages until she found information on Aincrad. Occasionally she would take a bite out of her apple or drink a spoonful of soup from the bowl on her lap. Over time she finished her soup and her apple, and now that Shizuka was full, warm, and content, she began to nod off a little.
She tried to stay awake and focus on reading, but eventually drifted off with a smile on her face, thinking about how happy her little brother was. She would see him in a little bit in SAO. But first, a quick nap…
The teen was rudely woken from her nap by the sound of her phone ringing in her pocket. Shizuka flinched at the sound and rubbed her eyes before stretching for a few seconds. The living room was darker than it was before, with the TV giving off a dim light. 'How long was I asleep?' She reached for her phone and checked who was calling. It was her mom.
She accepted the call and put the phone up to her ear and spoke. "Hello?"
"Shizuka? Oh thank goodness you picked up! I was so worried," her mom was sobbing and she leaned forward a little, eyes narrowed.
"Mom? What's wrong?" That's when she noticed the TV screen was showing live feed of people panicking and crying but the volume was too low to make out words. Something bad obviously happened, but what exactly?
Her mom quickly asked, "I know you went out to get that new game today, did your brother put on the Nerve Gear already?"
Now she was more confused. She checked the clock on the wall. It was about 5:20 in the afternoon. Katsu must be wondering where she was. 'Crap.' "Uh, yeah, he put it on a few hours ago," Shizuka paused as her mom's sobbing increased, "Mom, what's going on? Why are you crying?"
The sound of her mom's weeping faded and this time her dad asked, "Have you seen the news yet Shizuka?"
"Um, I'm watching it right now. Here, I'm turning up the volume." Shizuka increased the volume and her eyes widened at what she heard. The female narrator in the background was explaining the situation.
"So far, over two hundred deaths have occurred due to people trying to remove the Nerve Gear off of the user in the past few hours. If a friend or family member is currently using the Nerve Gear, do not remove it under any circumstances as the Nerve Gear will electrocute the user and kill them." The lady continued that a few others have been electrocuted while the Nerve Gear was left untouched, but the reason behind it was yet to be found out.
Shizuka gasped. She couldn't believe it. It wasn't real. 'Over two hundred deaths? Just by removing a damn headset? Why would someone create the Nerve Gear like that?' Her thoughts instantly went to the person upstairs. 'Katsu.'
Her dad continued on the phone in a stern voice. "Your mom and I are on our way home. Don't you dare try putting on the Nerve Gear, okay?" But she wasn't listening. In a flash she stood up and ran upstairs, dropping her phone and sending the bowl on her lap falling to the floor. The bowl shattered upon impact, but she didn't care. Her little brother was possibly dead and it would be all her fault! She's the one that bought the damn things!
Shizuka practically flew into Katsu's bedroom. The light was still on and she could she see her brother lying on the black sheets of his bed. She watched for a few moments and noticed he was taking in slow, deep breaths. The older sibling nearly cried in relief. 'Thank goodness he's still alive.'
She began pacing around in the bedroom, thinking deeply. He could logout of the game himself, right? So there shouldn't be anything to worry about as long as she didn't try to take off his Nerve Gear. But then she thought back to what the lady on TV said. A few other players have died even when the Nerve Gear was left untouched. Was it because they tried to logout? Possibly. 'Or maybe… if they died in the game, then they died in real life too.' Her body froze, and her blood felt like ice. That had to be it. She didn't know how, but she knew she was right. Her brother was stuck in a death game, and it was her fault. Shizuka loved her younger brother, and it was her job to look after him.
'DAMNIT! He's trapped in a death game and it's my fault! I have to do something! Anything!' She continued pacing the room. Shizuka was warned not to put on the Nerve Gear, but her little brother could be in trouble right now! Would unplugging it work? No, the game magazine said it had an internal battery in it, so that wouldn't do any good. She had to decide: help her brother or do nothing.
The teenage girl could hear a car coming up to the house. Her parents would take away her Nerve Gear set and she wouldn't be able to do anything to help Katsu. Each precious second was ticking by. It felt like she was inside a time bomb ready to go off any moment.
'It's now or never.'
Rushing to her bedroom, she took out the Nerve Gear and game from the bag. Heart pounding, she put the game in and strapped on the Nerve Gear. By the time she was laying on her bed she could hear her parents running up the stairs. Her entire body felt like ice now and her heart was thudding faster than ever.
Shizuka closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Time stopped.
"LINK START!"
'Sorry mom and dad. I'm on my way Katsu!'
