Hello hello! This is GureNeko speaking.
Soooo, its been a pretty tough 3 months since I wrote something, school was taking its toll on me. The holidays finally arrived and I decided that yeah, its time to pick up the pen (keyboard) and start writing stuff again. I have another fanfiction, Rebirth of the Absolute Sword but after spending three days scratching heads and deleting some initial drafts, nothing solid came out but instead came this idea
Its Sword Art Online : Alone in the Radiant Night
I'm working with OCs for the first time so please be kind if you want to judge them!
Read and enjoy! GureNeko, signing out! (Wooshes away)
Chapter 1 : Loss
November 6th 12:00
"Mrs Otami, I'm sorry to have to call you down from work again but there's been another incident."
Sighing, she glances to her side where her thirteen year old daughter was seated beside her. Wearing a nonchalant expression, Harumi Otami continues staring forward, seemingly listening to her homeroom teacher seated across her but having seen such an act for countless times over the years, her mother knew that her attention was directed elsewhere.
"Are there injuries this time?"
Shaking his head, the homeroom teacher looks down to the papers before him as he read out the contents of the medical reports.
"Bruises and minor concussions. Though the worst of it is a broken arm."
"Dear gods Harumi."
Both her mother and her teacher glare at her accusingly and in front of their eyes, she knew it was not advisable to continue playing her act of listening. Harumi simply shrugs and looks to the side as she says monotonously.
"They came near me."
Its the exact same reply she gave for every other problematic incident that she caused occasionally. Her mother seems unperturbed by this but her teacher wasn't the same. He lashes out angrily at Harumi, pointing his finger at her.
"Young lady, this is already the eightieth time this year! You may be a princess at home but think of your parent's reputation! They may be sponsoring the school but other parents have been complaining about you."
Same old rant, Harumi thinks quietly in her head before the teacher's voice fades away in her mind as she blocks out all unnecessary noise. Knowing that words can no longer reach her stubborn and rude daughter, Mrs Otami waves a hand at the teacher, beckoning him to stop.
"I'll deal with this Mr Narukami, she isn't listening anymore."
Muttering abit more, her teacher finally calms down as he starts to sieve through his papers before picking one out.
"Mrs Otami. Your daughter needs to learn proper etiquette soon. The principal and school council are ready to have her expelled and I'm the only one standing in between that."
"You have my thanks Mr Narukami. Please accept my sincerest apologies for you and your students for the mess that Harumi has made."
Bowing her head down, Mrs Otami hisses to her daughter beside her who takes the cue, snapping out of her dreamworld and doing the customary bow to signify that she has understood and repented. Or at least make it look like she did.
November 6th 12:50
Outside the mansion, in the garden of her home, Harumi rested under her favorite tree, a large fir tree which her younger sister had requested from her parents to use as a giant Christmas tree during winter. She rubs the reddish, numbing skin on her cheeks, a mark left by a scolding and lecture by her mother on her behavior. While she has been through the exact same sequence many times already, a slap to your face by your own mother still hurts.
"Haru-nee! What did you do this time?"
A light, high-pitched voice called out from the entrance to the garden as Harumi's younger sister, aged eleven, Kaguya runs over, her short black hair blowing lightly in the wind as she approaches Harumi. Harumi breaks out the smallest of smiles at the sight of Kaguya but her face returns to its expressionless demur as Kaguya closed in.
"Same as usual. Beat up some troublemakers."
Kaguya pouts which Harumi found to be pretty cute but it was until Kaguya flicks her finger at Harumi's forehead that she returned to reality.
"Haru-nee, Kaguya is going to get mad if you don't tell me."
Returning to another usual habit of turning away and unable to meet her younger sister's eyes, Harumi revealed her story.
"Some senior confessed to me. I flat out rejected him and his friends got violent. There was a broom in the classroom which was convenient."
Harumi didn't have to continue as Kaguya goes to punch her older sister on the shoulder lightly before sitting next to her.
"When you asked me to convince Mama for kendo lessons, you told me it was for self-defense, not for beating up lovestruck boys."
She sighs and reaches out with her hands to caress the slap mark on Harumi's face.
"Mama's going to one day be real angry you know. Papa might send you away to one of those disciplinary schools and you'll cause trouble for both of them."
It annoyed her that Kaguya was speaking like every other adult had spoken to her. She pushes Kaguya's hand away before instantly regretting the decision, not wanting to endanger her close relationship with her dear younger sister. Harumi apologises to Kaguya in a tired tone.
"Sorry. I'm just stressed out at the moment."
Kaguya did not seem to mind but what Harumi said had got her thinking for abit. Finally getting an idea of what to do, Kaguya stands up, pulling on her sister's hand to follow her.
"Haru-nee, follow me! I have a solution to your stress."
November 6th 12:58
Brought all the way to her younger sister's room, Harumi was curious about what Kaguya's idea was to relieve her 'stress'. The room was no different from what she had been seeing for a long time. A classical setting of the huge royal pink bed, posters of her favorite singers and TV shows on the walls, a full make-up set, a giant wardrobe, nothing seemed out of place until Kaguya pulled Harumi over to the bed. There were two strange metal helmets waiting on the bedside shelf that had not been there before.
"Recognise those Haru-nee? I had Isao set it up for us today in the morning!"
"Who?"
"Ah, Haru-nee, you should remember the names of those taking care of us. Isao's by the door."
Oh, Isao was one of the household servants whom served under the Otami family. Kaguya has this strange and tedious habit of remembering the names of all who served under them which Harumi found to be a bother. They're just servants, names were unnecessary in such a master servant relationship.
"Okay, he set it up but what are these?"
Harumi goes to pick of one of the helmets and finds out that there are several wires connected to it at the end. Following the trail of wires, she eventually finds it connected to computers set up near the bed.
"Haven't you read the news Haru-nee? Its the NerveGear! It lets us play games in Virtual Reality."
The name, NerveGear, sparked a memory in Harumi's uncaring brain. She would have to be a dunce or retard to not notice the huge signboards plastered around the city as her butler drove her in between her school and the mansion. It is said to be the greatest innovation in the computer industry at the moment and a major breakthrough for the gaming industry.
"I also have the new game that came out for Virtual Reality and it seems cool. Sword Art Online!"
Kaguya passes over a box to Harumi who looks at the artwork on it. Pictures of swords of several colors and size cover the front which made it seem very appealing.
"Let's play then! The game can be played after 1 o'clock."
Looking at the exquisite grandfather clock in the other side of the room, it was now 13:00, the time where the servers of Sword Art Online officially launched.
November 6th Aincrad Standard Time 13:10, 1st Floor, Town of Beginning's Plaza
It has been ten minutes since she appeared at the Town of Beginning's Plaza. Even though she had not wanted to play the game and only followed in on Kaguya's request, she had to admit, it was impressive of the amount of work put into Sword Art Online. High rise buildings made of smooth shining marble surrounded her when she first entered and looking to the skys, she could see the endless heavenly blue with few clouds, hard to see back at home in winter time. Finally after a few more minutes, someone unfamiliar approaches he.
"Haru-nee, you're so bad. Couldn't you be abit more serious in creating your character?"
'Kaguya' was no longer the person Harumi once knew. This new person stood slightly taller than Harumi whereas 'Kaguya' was slightly shorter than Harumi back in real life. Her hair was also long and of a dark bluish color. Even her face looked completely different in all aspects. A name was displayed next to Kaguya's character and it read as [Night]. Perhaps this was the power of character creation in virtual reality, Harumi thought. Her own character creation involved her switching her uncombed long hair to a short, cropped hairstyle resembling Kaguya back in the real world and her scarlet red eyes to a light grayish color. Her name was simply what she was in real life, [Harumi].
"Well then, let's go destress Haru-nee!"
November 6th Aincrad Standard Time 14:00, 1st Floor, Fields
By destressing, Harumi found out that it involved some physical work which was her type of thing. Holding a weapon which she found in her inventory in her hand [Bronze Sword] she and Kaguya made their way through the beautiful grassy landscape that was the 1st Floor of the Castle of Aincrad. Blocking their way were some wild Level 1 [Wild Boar]s but they proved to be of little danger to Harumi who with her training in kendo in real life, easily adapted to fighting in the virtual world. Kaguya on the other hand was a terrible fighter, losing half her health points to one of the Wild Boars before finally landing successful hits on it with her [Bronze Dagger].
"So, Haru-nee, how do you feel?"
Admittedly, beating up a couple of data monsters with virtual weapons felt fun, especially since your whole body was moving along instead of a typical keyboard and mouse play.
"Better. Thanks Kaguya."
"Hee hee, you owe me one then Haru-nee!"
Kaguya's light-hearted giggle was cut short as shadows fell upon them. Turning around, they saw two handsome talls males looking down on them, smiles plastered on their faces.
"Yo ladies! Sounds like you are having fun, mind if we join along?"
Kaguya who was a social butterfly, would have agreed to let them tag along and become friends but knowing her sister's trauma around males, she looks to Harumi first who sees the pleading expression on her younger sister's face. She shrugs, giving in. It was just a game so she could endure it.
"Sure, we won't mind but please don't go touchy touchy with my friend. She's scared of guys."
They laugh and join the sisters' party. They introduced themselves as Zero and Murasama, both of which were clearly not their real names but their in-game ones.
November 6th Aincrad Standard Time 17:30, 1st Floor
The four spent the next few hours proceeding to hunt the rest of the fields of the 1st Floor. The two guys, Zero and Murasama proved to also be rather terrible at the game, often messing up their attacks with flamboyant movement and constant panic whenever they took damage. They weren't at least on Kaguya's level who slowly seemed like a burden to the party, their progress being very slow as they had to wait for Kaguya to finish her battles. Eventually, the fields were flooded with other players as they entered the game, having returned home from their various duties back in the real world to dive into the virtual one.
"Wowww, Night-chan, you're really bad at this ..."
"Yeah, why did Haru-chan even join up with you in the first place ..."
They mentioned jokingly to Kaguya as she continued to fight against a Wild Boar but at Kaguya's current skill level, she seemed to do more damage to herself than the Wild Boar did to her. Ticked off by the snide comments from the guys, Harumi steps in, Bronze Sword drawn and as the boar charges to her, she sidesteps its charge and slashes at the passing bulk of virtual flesh. It exploded into emerald colored polygons, the symbol of death in Sword Art Online.
"S-Sorry everyone. I'll get better at this game ... eventually hee hee."
She scratches her head as she says so. Both guys laugh along though they don't seem as enthusiastic as when they first joined.
"Oh its about 5:30 PM now, I've got dinner to go back to."
"Same here, we'll be leaving then."
They both swiped their left hands against the air, bringing down the unique system menu that allowed them access to their character statuses, equipment, inventory and more importantly for now, their exit buttons.
"Haru-nee, we should leave too. Mama will want us to wash up before dinner."
Kaguya does the same hand action and swipes down her menu. Harumi follows suit and navigating to the system settings, she scrolls to the bottom to press the exit button. At least, if there was even one. Before she could even ask, she was engulfed in a bright blue light.
There she learnt, she had become an unwilling participant of the death game that had trapped 10,000 people, Sword Art Online.
November 6th Aincrad Standard Time 18:23, 1st Floor, Fields
What went wrong ... Harumi wondered.
It started off with them leaving the plaza where the 10,000 players were teleported to and informed that they were now a part in a game of life and death. Without the mess that was the panicking crowd that was the plaza, Harumi had a clear look at the two guys or right now, boys that accompanied them. Zero was of average height, slightly taller than Harumi with a ton of freckles on his face. Murasama was shorter with spectacles that had now appear on his face. Harumi and Kaguya had returned to what they looked like in the real world.
"Harumi, listen to us. I say we should just ditch Night and go on by ourselves."
The spectacled one, Murasama whispered to Harumi as Kaguya was distracted by the boy's friend who was engaging in useless conversation with Kaguya. Harumi snorted before moving past the boy. Figures she thought, she had expected this to come after seeing their reactions to Kaguya's abysmal fight skills. She would have to progress alone with Kaguya without the two boys. She had to finish the game and bring his sister back to the safety of the real world. She had to keep Kaguya alive.
"Oi listen to me you."
He goes forward to grab Harumi's shoulder and her brain goes haywire. She could feel herself hyper-ventilating and an irrational fear covering her heart as she shoves Murasama away from her.
"Alright then, we can do it this way."
Murasama draws his longsword and points it towards Harumi. Behind her, she hears the sound of a blade drawn as Zero also points a blade at Kaguya.
"Empty your inventory now and we ... w-we don't have to kill you!"
He slips his tongue as he spills out the harsh reality. Death her now means death for real and being skewered by the virtual metal was a one way trip to hell. Complying, Kaguya opens her inventory to drop her items but Harumi was still standing there, breathing heavily, blood going into her brain as her trauma was still acting up.
"Didn't you hear what I said?! Do it!"
Murasama steps in a little closer which provokes the deranged Harumi to draw her own sword and slash at him in response. He hurriedly leaps back, breathing from his own panic attack at nearly getting hit.
"T-That's it! You asked for it!"
He seems reluctant to act on his words first but seeing how Harumi was seemingly unfazed, pointing her own sword at him, he charges, sword raised. Harumi's combat senses, trained from years of kendo begins to work for her. From their hunting adventure earlier in the day, she knew that Murasama had the tendency to add excessive and unnecessary movement to his swings, making him open for alot of counterattacks. He swung twice with both going wide as Harumi confidently steps back before slashing back before his third strike. He drops his weapon in a gasp of pain and he falls to the ground, clutching at the huge red gash across his chest.
"O-Oh my god, it hurts! It HURTS!"
He moans and then raises his volume, which results in Zero panicking, going to grab Kaguya and positioning his sword so that the blade was at her throat.
"S-Stay away from him!"
Harumi was willing to comply, seeing that her younger sister's life was in danger but then suddenly, Murasama stands up hastily, revenge fixated on his eyes as he goes to throw a punch at Harumi, whose battle instincts and panic attack acts up again, resulting her in kicking Murasama away.
A wet bloody sound of virtual metal cutting flesh can be heard. But Harumi's sword was still in her hand and Murasama's was on the ground.
A body falls to the ground at the back, landing with a horrifyingly loud thumping sound. A painful silence elapses as everyone is too stunned to figure out what has happened.
"I-I didn't mean to ... I .. I panicked! I ..."
But his words were spoken to air as Harumi rushes over to Kaguya, who has a bright red gash on her throat Her health was decreasing and decreasing. Falling from the mid point of yellow, to the dangerous 10% of red and then, it was empty, there was no color left in the bar. In Harumi's hands Kaguya's body seems to glow in a bright sapphire blue hue.
"D-Don't cry, Haru-nee ..."
A rain of blue-green polygons rain on Harumi who crouched there with no reaction. Zero and Murasama were frozen on the spot, unable to make a move.
"W-We didn't mean ... GAHH!"
Impaled deeply into his stomach was Harumi's sword and behind it was her hand. Her head was down so Murasama was unable to see anything aside from her piano black hair but there was something menacing he couldn't see but he knew it was there. It was a killing aura.
"S-Stop, i-it hurts ... I'll die you know AHH!"
The sword in his stomach twists and turns before cutting up the rest of his upper body, the blade exiting from where his blade once was as the disfigured body plays its death animation of snow-like polygons. Zero had already fallen onto the ground, his legs giving up on him due to fear and he tries to crawl back from the red-eyed figure, dragging her sword along the ground towards him.
"P-Ple-ease n-noooo. I didn't mean it. I didn't ... GYAAA!"
There was no one else to hear his screams. They were all lost in the silent fields of the 1st Floor where there once stood four people. And now there was only one, standing in the lonely sunset of the virtual sky, taunting her with its beauty after all that had happened.
Its a rap! That's the first chapter of Alone in the Radiant Night!
Its now time for some customary author's notes!
For those that are wondering, Haru-nee is Kaguya calling Harumi as the big sister!
Harumi is 13 while Kaguya is 11!
Anything else err ... **shrugs violently**
Rate, review and if you have questions, fire away!
Pst, it ain't a Yuri story btw!