An alarm clock rang, disturbing the rest of a figure bundled up under his blankets. He lazily reached out a hand, slamming the clock, turning it off. He laid there for a couple more minutes before sighing and sitting up. "Geez. It's already that day, huh?" he asked himself. He stood up and stretched a little before walking over to his desk. His custom rig took up the entirety of the space on the top of the desk and then some. Wires were everywhere, three monitors lined up, while two towers rested to either side of the desk. He leaned over the desk, reaching for the NerveGear on the top shelf, pulling it down, smiling. "It's been…three months, I think." He hooked it up to the tower on the right, double checking the connections between the two towers themselves. He put the NerveGear on, laying back down on his bed, smirking to himself as the clock reached 13:00. "Link…start." After the NerveGear performed basic startup tests and the basic login, he was greeted by his beta profile.

Kensei(M)

He confirmed the profile and once more, opened his eyes to see the world of Sword Art Online. His character stood out quite a bit, with shocks of blue and green in the hair. He was only about five feet and ten inches tall, his armor the same starting armor as everyone elses. He looked down at himself, clenching and unclenching his fists, smiling. "Fuck yeah. It's good to be back."


He looked out over the pastures of the first floor, smiling. "As beautiful as the last time I saw it." His ear twitched as he heard a familiar voice. He turned around and walked up to the top of the hill. When he got to the top, he saw another beta tester who he had done a few dungeon crawls with during beta, Kirito. He was with an obviously new player with red hair, explaining skills to him. Kensei hung back, watching as the red headed man slew a boar with his skill. He decided to walk up and say hi after a bit when he saw that they were going to continue doing a little training. "Kirito!" he called out, walking down the hill. Kirito turned, spotting Kensei.

"Kensei?" he asked. Kensei smiled, holding out his hand.

"Long time no see, man," he laughed, shaking Kirito's hand enthusiastically. "Helping out a new player, eh?" He turned to the red head. "Yo. Name's Kensei. You?"

"I'm Kleine. Nice to meet you," the red head introduced himself.

"Back 'atcha. So, what brings you two out here? Teaching him the skill system?"

"Yeah. Just the basics of it," Kirito confirmed. Kensei laughed.

"Least he got it in a couple tries. My first time trying it was hell. Anyways, mind if I join you two for some training?"

"I'm fine with that."

"Me, too," Kleine added. He then eyed Kensei, looking up and down. "Um…where's your weapon at, Kensei?"

"Right here," Kensei said, holding up his hands.

"Huh?"

Kirito chuckled, remembering his own reaction to Kensei the first time they met. "Kensei is one of the few players in SAO that fights with his fists. There is a reason for his name," Kirito explained.

"Sure, blades are fun," Kensei said, cracking his knuckles. "But with just fists, I can do so much more."

"Like what?" Kleine asked.

"This," Kensei replied before grabbing Kleine's arm and twisting him around, putting him in an armbar. "I can do more than just punch and kick, after all. Grapple moves are an essential for me. Go on. Try and get out of this." Kleine struggled for about a minute before giving up.

"Alright, fair point," Kleine said as Kensei released his grip on him, rolling his shoulder. "You've got a vice grip, man." Kensei rubbed his wrist.

"Damn straight," Kensei laughed, nodding. "Hey, I know a great spot for training at these levels. And it's got an amazing view of the sunset!" After a few hours, Kleine and Kensei were sitting on the ground, Kirito standing, all watching the setting sun.

"Wow," Kleine said, in awe. "What a beautiful sight."

"Yeah. Sure wish I could find a place like this back home," Kensei said.

"Back home?"

"Yeah, in America. I moved to Japan just a few years ago, but it still isn't quite home for me."

"Well, it's been fun guys, but I've got a pizza comin' in a few," Kleine said as he stood up. "I'm gonna eat, then hop back on with my pals. Hope to see you around."

"Sure thing, Kleine," Kensei said, standing up as well, brushing off his pants.

"Um…hey, guys, can you log off?" Kleine asked, his menu in front of him.

"It should be right there in the main menu," Kirito said, bringing up his own. "Right he-"

"Kirito?" Kensei asked. He brought up his own menu, navigating to where the logout button was. But it was blank. Kensei looked up as Kleine and Kirito began to discuss the possibility of a bug, Kleine making theories of how to get out, Kirito debunking them. Kensei closed his menu and turned around, raising his right hand and making a small horizontal slash with it. A new menu showed up, one that didn't exist for other players, save for a few beta testers Kensei had worked with before. It was a menu created by a group of four hackers, five when Kensei was included. He sighed in relief to see that his hacked logout button was still there. He closed the menu, turning back around. "I'm sure Kleine's right, Kirito. It's just a bug. I'm sure it'll be patched by the end of the day. In the meantime, we're better off spamming the crap out of the GM and the developers to let them know about the problem. We can't be the only ones to know about it." Later that day, Kensei was running by himself to the next town, killing monsters along the way. The world of Sword Art Online had literally become the new reality for ten thousands players. "Akihiko's a mad man," Kensei said to himself, flipping a wolf onto its back, slamming his fist into its throat. "You die in the game, you die for real, huh?" Kensei stopped in his tracks as the words of Kayaba Akihiko finally hit him full force. He clenched his fist, his nails digging into his bare palm until blood flowed. He winched. "It…it really is true," he said. He raised his right hand, bringing up the hacked menu. He navigated to the logout button, going to hit it, but stopped. "But…what about the others…" He stood there, frozen, before closing the menu down. "No…no, I can't leave until I'm sure I can get others out of here…there must be a way…" He moved to the side of the road, bringing up his message inbox. He composed a message, copying it and then pasting it three times more, sending it to the four other hackers he had met. He told them to meet him at the next town, to beat the rush of new players who didn't know the layout of the first few floors like the beta testers did. He got back on the road and began to run once more. "Alright. I'll meet up with them and talk strategy. We'll figure this out…"


First try with a SAO fic. This was an idea I had months ago, but never really acted upon it until recently. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep up with this fic. No promises, though.