Kazuto
Kazuto Kirigaya sat at the dining table, flipping through the pages of the latest "Gamers Notice" magazine. An image shot of Kayaba Akihiko plastered over the front page, along with the bolded headline "Sword Art Online Imminent". He had already read most if not all of the articles featured in it, but he figured reading it all over a third time wouldn't hurt anyone. After all, it did feature a rare interview with Kayaba.
"Do not think of Aincrad as a game, but as an entire world of itself."
His favorite line to quote when asked about SAO.
He was still halfway reading when he heard the front door clicked open, then his mother's tired voice echoed from the entrance corridor.
"I'm home."
Kazuto let out a sound of acknowledgement before returning to his magazine. Usually, his mother would have returned home much later in the night, but there were still times when she came home earlier.
Midori Kirigaya soon entered the living room, still carrying her work bag. Her eyes were rimmed with dark circles, the color of her face simply drained. She forced a weakly smile before dumping her bag onto the couch and walked towards the dining table.
"Kazuto, why do you always read that same magazine?"
"I have nothing else to do," the dark haired boy replied nonchalantly, still absorbed in his reading, but he raised his head when Midori sat down across him, instantly noticing her sickly complexion. "Why did you go to work if you were sick?"
Midori giggled a little. "Oh, you noticed?"
Kazuto inclined his head. "You should take care of yourself more." He got up from his seat and walked over to the kitchen's door. He disappeared through it for a moment before reappearing with a glass of water in his hand, and handing it over to his mother.
She thanked him with a smile, watching him as he sat down and picked up his magazine again. She continued to watch him flip over to another page, his eyes showing much interest on simple gaming articles. If only he was this focused when it came to reading his textbooks…
But Midori couldn't blame him, after all it was her old hobby of video gaming that got him hooked onto the gaming industry. Yet Kazuto seemed to have taken further steps than she did; what started as an interest soon turned into a passion for him. Anything even remotely connected to gaming fascinated him to no ends. She giggled.
Kazuto raised an eyebrow at the sound of his mother's laugh. He hesitated to ask her what's funny, but then decided against it. Knowing his mother, it probably was just a passing thought that amused her.
The two sat in silence at the dining table, Kazuto reading and Midori occasionally taking sips from her cup, only interrupted spontaneously by Midori's coughs, or Kazuto flipping pages. From a distance, it was as if the both of them were having some quiet time to themselves. A couple minutes passed before Midori finally broke the silence.
"Where's Suguha?" she asked, half-knowing the answer already.
"She said she was staying back for some further Kendo practice." Kazuto answered.
"Ah," she said before taking another sip of water.
Midori placed down her cup, emptied of its contents. The water had done little help, for her throat still felt dry as if the water had simply vanished without properly hydrating her. She rubbed her eyebrows where an ache throbbed heavily from behind, the gentle pressure applied by her fingers providing the slightest of relief. One would say that she certainly was not currently in the best of health.
Normally, she would have retired to her room to rest. But it was as if something was holding - or rather, forcing - her back; to stay seated at this dining table.
Or maybe it was because her legs felt too weak to move.
Whatever the reason, she felt a strong urge to talk to Kazuto as if it would be the last time she would speak to him for a long time.
She looked at Kazuto intently. The dark haired boy sat mostly with a blank expression, his black bangs partially covering his forehead. His skin was fair and looked delicate; feministic features despite being a boy. No matter how Midori saw it, Kazuto has grown to look so much like his mother; his real mother, Midori's sister.
Yet his eyes betrayed that illusion, he had sharp and focused eyes. Perhaps he got them from his father, but Midori couldn't be sure as she only saw the man once, at her sister's wedding.
After that, never again…
Of course, she had told Kazuto of the accident when he'd found out about his true identity. An inquisitive boy, he has always been. She found that out from the day she adopted him. But Midori had always considers him as her son, and nothing can change that fact. So she decided to speak to him.
"How was your day?" she asked, her voice croaking a little due to the dryness of her throat.
"Okay," he responded.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing."
Midori frowned slightly at the nonchalant responses before attempting another topic. "You know, Kantaro is coming back next week to watch Suguha's tournament."
Kazuto looked up from his magazine. His mother's words surprised him. It had been a year since his adopted-father had returned home, he was rarely home and that was due to working abroad in Jakarta, Indonesia. While he did made fairly frequent visits home in the past, the company had restricted his travels home recently because of an upcoming major project.
"Suguha didn't tell me that," he said.
A weak smile formed across Midori's sickly face, happy that she got a reaction, but a little curious as to why Kantaro didn't inform him earlier. "She doesn't know, Kazuto." She leaned against the edge of the table, drawing her face closer to Kazuto's. "Don't tell her. It's a surprise."
Kazuto nodded.
Midori moved away from the table's edge, letting out a dry cough. "Why don't you go with Suguha to her practice tomorrow? She'll be happy if you do."
Kazuto frowned. His eyes falling away from Midori's, and back onto his magazine. A glamorous poster of a floating castle covered across the two pages in the middle of the magazine. He received this issue on November 3rd; two days ago, or rather three days before…
He bit his lips.
"I can't. I'm busy tomorrow."
It was Midori's turn to frown. "Why?" she asked in a soft voice. She didn't want to force him, and neither would Suguha either. Nevertheless, she tried to convey her desire in her voice.
"I will go some other day," he said, avoiding his mother's gaze.
"Why not tomorrow?" Midori tried to press him, but her voice strained against the back of her throat.
"I'm not free tomorrow."
"What're you doing?"
Kazuto inhaled. "I just can't go."
"Please, Suguha will appreciate it."
"It's just practice. She wouldn't care if I came or not," Kazuto said firmly, almost shouting, but not to the point of insolence. He didn't want to continue this conversation, a part of him wanted to get up and leave, but he stay seated out of respect for his mother.
"No, she does care."
Kazuto's fingers tightened. He felt a tinge of frustration or rather mere annoyance build within him.
"Please Kazuto," Midori pleaded. Her voice was getting hoarse and one could tell that she was holding back a fit of coughs.
He didn't say a word, frozen without any movement.
She stared into Kazuto's impassive face. For a moment she thought that he was going to respond, saying "fine' or a "yes"; anything that would have correspond to an agreement to her request. But he didn't respond. Not even a simple nod like he always does. He stayed quiet, and still.
He did nothing.
Midori sighed and got up from her chair, this time nothing holding her back. She walked across the room, picked up her work bag, then headed for the staircase leading to the bedrooms.
"I-I will go another day," Kazuto called out from behind her. She stopped and paused, before inclining her head. Without another word, she went up the stairs.
Kazuto watched as his mother disappeared onto the second floor of their house. He knew that she was disappointed, and he hated disappointing her, not after all that she has done for him. It always felt like a stab in the back to him; a hard done to himself. He couldn't understand why Midori and Kantaro do the things they did for him, even though he wasn't their real son, but nevertheless treated him as if he was theirs'. That is why he hated disappointing them.
But still, he couldn't go to Suguha's practice, at least not tomorrow.
He let out a loud sigh, as if he believed that it would release all his cooped up thoughts, and troubles. It did little to calm him. He tried letting out another.
Better.
Kazuto shook his head and closed his magazine.
His eyes fell onto Kayaba's sharp, slim face. Kayaba had those eyes, the ones that hides a myriad of emotions, yet displays none. One can interpret them in many ways, but Kazuto interpret them as eyes that show the person will fulfill his promises.
"An entire world of itself."
That's the promise Kayaba is going to fulfill. A world where people can escape the limits of reality, it's more beautiful than anything, and more wonderful than anything.
Of course, the fact remains that he is simply thinking too much on this. Regardless, Suguha's kendo can wait till after tomorrow. It can wait till…
The day after Aincrad.
A/N:
Kazuto is OOC. But this is just my interpretation of him before the SAO incident. Although, I didn't really put much thought into this fic because I was being the lazy dick I am, this was written as an excuse to do something instead of sitting around staring at a caterpillar in my garden. Also my writing may be awkward to read because I'm coming off a one month hiatus where I spent my time just shitting myself. This is just a warm up before I get back to work on my other fanfic "A Perception of Reality", check it out if you want.
Also, on a side note, I was going through editing this chapter, trying to see any areas to be improved can be added, then Agent 94 told me that Log Horizon season 2 came out, so I screwed editing. So if you spot an area of potential improvement or grammar mistake, do tell me.
But anyway, I like to thank the brilliant minds of the people in SAO Fandom Nexus for giving me this idea for this one shot.
Also, even though this is a one shot, I may write something for the other characters before their days in SAO when inspiration does hit me. Or if you want, you can just tell me about your ideas in a review or PM and I will see if I will use your idea (Of course credit will be given to you for your idea).
Well, that's the end of this story, be sure to review the story or PM me if you would like. See ya.