Heyo! I'm Ember, nice to meet you xx I'm a young writer, so please don't be too hard on me, I'm still learning ^^ If you find any mistakes please let me know, or if you have any recommendations! I've never tried writing on this platform before, but hopefully it'll be okay :)))
I know, you're going to read this story and want to fight on the front lines in an imaginary, computer programmed world too. But trust me, it's not worth it. Being stuck in a video game with a bunch of strangers wasn't exactly on my to-do list. However, I'm not upset with Kayaba Akihiko. Do you think I would have lived to tell the tale of the life-threatening, terrifyingly amazing Sword Art Online if I had held a grudge the entire time? I didn't think so.
It all started around the beginning of November 2022. Usually, I'm not one for video games, but I couldn't help myself when my brother brought home his first ever VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online. Now you may be thinking, C'mon, Atsumi, you didn't really steal your brother's game. You're not that kind of person. You're completely wrong. When something fascinates me, it would surprise you how focused I am until I get my way. So, maybe I am that kind of person. Don't judge me.
It wasn't "the right thing" to do, but I was very cautious, and I waited until everyone was asleep. I know, cliche, but how else would you have done it? My douche of a brother wasn't ever the type of person to share things, so it's not like I had another choice. I crawled (yes, crawled) out of my own room so that I didn't get into my dad's view. His room was right across the hall from mine, which didn't really help the situation. It wouldn't have really mattered, but he didn't think lightly of sneaking around at night. No amount of excuses would be enough. I got to the other side of the house, which is kind of where my brother sleeps. To give you a better picture, my brother has the biggest room in the house, which is at the end of a hallway. Before the hallway is the kitchen, and before the kitchen is (you guessed it) the hallway that my room is located in. I slipped through the doorway, holding my breath as to not wake him up. I would be on litter-box duty for the next week if he found out I was creeping around his room. I moved past my sleeping, drooling, snoring brother (gross, I know), and lifted up the top to the wooden chest by his bed. I couldn't see in the dark, but the VR headset was pretty hard to miss. The slick, black-tinted glass shined when I held it, even though there wasn't any light around for it to reflect. It vibrated in my hand, and three glowing buttons popped up at the top. Before I could admire the piece of technology in my hands, I swear I heard my brother shift in his bed. So, like any normal person would do, I ran for my life back through the kitchen, then finally within the comfort of my own room. I probably left the top to his storage chest open, but that didn't matter. Soon I would be transported to the detailed, lively world of SAO without a worry. Just me kicking back on the beach and watching the sunset that was really just a bunch of 1's and 0's. Everything would be a-okay; at least, that's what I thought.