A/N: I'm back! After a few months of hiatus, I give you a brand new Kirisuna story. This will be much more dramatic and dark than some of my other stories, and will take place in an AU where SAO/VRMMO's never existed. I am going to try to make my chapters longer and more eventful as well. Angst/fluff warning, enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Lonely Dark

Splat.

Squish.

Thump.

It was a monotonous routine. One that I never got used to nor favored, but at the end of the day, still a routine.

The undead bodies collapsed to the ground, surrounded by shallow pools of crimson blood. Even though their eyes never had a light to emit, it still seemed as though a flame had been blown out like a candle. I yanked the heavy bodies out of the barbed wire fence and dragged them to the side, piling them to reinforce the walls outside of my abandoned home. Well, I wouldn't call it much of a home. It was more of a shelter from this God forsaken hell.

After discarding the bodies from the fences, I re-bolted the door with wooden planks and nails, then turned around to inspect my shelter. I'd only been camping out here for just over a day, so I hadn't taken much time to check the house's condition and the supplies it could have inside. Most of yesterday was spent fixing up the barbed fence I'd found surrounding the house to make sure I was safe throughout the night.

My shelter was smaller than what I was used to, but it was better than sleeping crammed in a broken down car like I'd done the other night. It was a dark brown ranch, almost like one you would see on a farm. I could see spots on the walls where the wood had begun to rot. It must have been tough for the owners of this place to stay warm during the winter season. I shook the thought out of my head and walked inside, praying that the people before me had left behind some valuable resources that I could use for myself.

The interior seemed somewhat cozier than my last shelter. There was a small sofa and kotatsu in the living room and a worn down fireplace. I thought about fixing it up for a little extra warmth. Fall would be approaching soon, after all. Nonetheless, I couldn't find any valuable supplies in the living room.

I checked the kitchen afterwards. There were some rotting fruits on the table, a couple of leftover pots and pans, and a ransacked pantry. It was more than what I'd usually find in abandoned homes, but still fairly useless. I checked one of the travel-sized pots for mold, then placed it in my torn up backpack. I missed the opportunity in my life to learn how to cook, and I didn't have anyone to teach me. The best I could do was boil pasta, but that was a luxury nowadays. But the pot was light, so I shoved it into the bottom of by bag. Maybe I'd need it one day.

After exploring the two bedrooms in the house, I could only find some pistol bullets and a pocketknife. What I really needed was a steady supply of food. It seemed that this family had escaped with most of the canned goods, leaving me with the rotten fruit. Bastards.

I emptied out my bag to take inventory. I had one and a half cans of spam, and one can of baked beans. Those would probably be good for a few days at the most, so I knew that I needed to restock soon. However, after searching several neighborhoods a few days ago, this was all I could find. I would probably have to leave this town soon if I wanted to restock for a full week. Maybe Setagaya would have a more bountiful supply, since that's where all the rich people lived. But for now, this house would be my shelter.

Over the past 39 days, I've learned to stop becoming attached to things. The day I was forced to leave my first home to search for more supplies was heartbreaking. I'd lived there for 16 years. My room and my computer were all I'd ever known. I never really had anyone to call a friend, so I didn't leave the house that often. I only started exercising more once this hell began. I wasn't stupid, nor oblivious. This was a zombie apocalypse, whether I was willing to accept that or not. Still, after all those video games I'd played with zombies and mutant monsters, nothing could have prepared me for this catastrophe. At least I had gotten a vague idea of human nature in this kind of situation. No matter how nice or generous someone may have seemed before, their inner selfishness and greed always comes out in one way or another at some point. It just takes the right scenario to set off their survival instincts and save only themselves.

Luckily, I didn't have to worry about cooperating with people for the time being. Going solo in this world had its advantages.

Shaking my distracting thoughts away, I spent the next hour or so fixing up the fireplace in the living room. It was tedious and somewhat frustrating, but I eventually finished up. It wasn't completely spick and span, but it would have to do for the next day or two. I left the house to go around the back and find more firewood.

I looked up to see a blanket of orange and purple colors stretched across the endless sky. The sun was going to set soon, and it would get colder and colder as the evening progressed. I found a small pile of log remnants, gathered up some loose branches, and headed back inside.

The fire crackled for only a short amount of time that night. Eventually, the burning flames died down and sank into the black coals, drained of their energy. There I lay on the sofa in the darkness, with only the slivers of moonlight that escaped through the windows barred with planks. The occasional hoot of an owl was the only sound that filled the emptiness of the room. It was relieving to not hear the groans and hisses of those undead demons. Plus, I didn't have to hear the loud snoring of my aunt and cousin anymore.

But in that moment, nothing would have pleased me more than to hear another human being shift underneath the blankets beside me.

A/N: Thanks for reading! As you can tell, this is going to be a much darker fanfic than my other stories, but I personally like this new change in writing style. I will try my best to release these weekly, but it may be difficult to stick to a consistent schedule with school and all. Anyways, please rate and review, and I'll see you next time.

-Harv