11:58 p.m. July 31, 2022
A young, short girl sat in a dark room with her hair messily thrown into a bun, shaking her leg in anticipation. She had her head resting on her right hand, seated on the edge of her high backed, wheeled chair, constantly refreshing the web page she was on to be sure she would get a spot. One thousand people would get the chance to beta test Sword Art Online. Millions of people were eagerly trying just as hard as she was to obtain one of those spots. Reading over the sites promotional ads for the hundredth time, she refreshed the page once more. During this time, her clock flipped to 12:00 a.m., and the site changed. A form popped up and the girl launched forward, closing the little distance she had created from leaning forward in her rolling chair, no longer bouncing her leg. Her body was filled with tension as she quickly filled out the form. She checked all of her information over for possible errors, quickly mashing the send button.
The site showed a pop up, 'Thank you for your submission! We greatly appreciate your help with testing out the Beta version of Sword Art Online. You will receive an email with confirmation or rejection. IF you are accepted, more details will follow!'
The girl sighed as the tension in her body released. She at least got her submission in, and now she just had to play the waiting game.
"Saku! Are you awake? I had a nightmare!" A soft, sleepy voice called from outside her bedroom door. She slid her chair across the wooden floor, cracking her door open. Her 5 year old sister stood in yellow, bunny printed footie pajamas, with a blanket in one hand and the other wiping at a stray tear. Sakura sighed and opened the door further for her sister to climb into her lap. She closed her door to a crack, slid her chair back to the computer to put it in sleep mode, then picked up her sister and laid her down in her bed. Sakura hung her pink, cotton robe on the back of her computer chair and proceeded to crawl into bed next to her baby sister. She quickly fell asleep, not realizing how tired she truly was, and dreamt of the possibilities of SAO.
3:45 p.m. August 06, 2022
Sakura burst through the front door, quickly kicking off her shoes and setting them in their proper place. Sliding through the entry hallway, she made a beeline for the kitchen. Just as she expected, her little sister was sitting in her chair at the table. Kicking her short legs in anticipation, the young girl hopped up in excitement, "Saku! Your package here!" She nearly screamed at her sister.
"Mei, calm down!," was all Sakura could utter as she snatched the large box from Mei. As she began ripping into the cardboard box, the girls' mother walked into the kitchen with her strawberry blonde hair pulled up into a messy bun. She was clothed in cotton, orange shorts that had obvious bleach stains and an oversized dingy white tee.
"Oh Sakura, you're home. Could you.. Mei please calm down." She sighed and wiped a trail of sweat from her brow. She returned her attention to her older daughter, "Would you mind helping me before dinner? You may play your game after dinner."
Sakura's excitement faltered for a moment, but it returned as she gladly pulled her own hair up into a ponytail. "Of course mom! You need the bathroom window opened again?" Even though her mother was healthy, she had problems with the old windows of their house.
"Oh would you dear? Your father would do it, but he's been working such long hours lately. I get my cleaning tasks done before he ever gets home nowadays." Her mother sighed in relief. "It gets so hot in there and I just don't have the strength to lift it open," she chuckled to herself.
Mei squealed and hopped off the floor. "I help too!" She screamed as she skittered off to the bathroom. Sakura shook her head at her younger sister and made her way around Mei's dangerous maze of toys, and to the bathroom.
Her mother was right, the bathroom did get hot and congested of cleaning fumes. Sakura grunted as she unhooked the old twist lock on the window and shoved up with all of her might. The window didn't even budge. Sakura glared at it as Mei continued saying she was helping. With a deep inhale, Sakura shoved her entire 152 centimeter body up and thankfully the window went with her. All three girls sighed as fresh air broke into the fumes and heat in the bathroom.
Her mom kissed Sakura's head, "Thank you darling, now shoo while I finish in here. Go pull out something for dinner and be sure to set the table by 5 o'clock." Sakura nodded in understanding and Mei nodded to follow her sister.
Once the girls made their way out of the bathroom, Sakura dashed back to the kitchen. She pulled out some ground pork, filled up the sink with lukewarm water, then placed the frozen block into the par filled sink. Then, she turned toward the slightly opened box that was calling her name.
"Saku! I wanna see! What's in there? Is it cool?" Mei continued to whine as Sakura carefully proceeded opening the box so she didn't damage anything. Sakura sighed once the box was opened and leaned to look inside. A dark grey helmet sat nestled snugly in the box with a game case slid in beside it. Sakura slid the NerveGear out of the box, set it on the table, and pulled out the booklet that was laying in the bottom of the box. It had NerveGear printed on the front, it was a "how to" guide. She flipped through it, reading through the information she felt was important. On the back page Sakura saw that someone had hand written a note, it read:
"Congratulations on being accepted to participate in the beta test of Sword Art Online. You are on the first step of making this a worldwide phenomenon. I personally look forward to hearing any and all feedback from you. Feel free to contact us so we can fix anything you may find. Once again, Congratulations.
-Kayaba Akihiko"
Sakura nearly screamed in delight, she had looked up to Kayaba for so long. Now she had a personal message from him. Even though she knew it went out to all of the beta testers, she couldn't help but feel special.
Mei looked at her sister due to the half choked sound that made its way out of her. "What's wrong Saku?," she said tilting her head in confusion.
Instead of answering her sister, Sakura screamed in excitement, "MOM! Akihiko Kayaba sent a personal message with the NerveGear!" She dashed to the bathroom and shoved the thin booklet at her mother.
Her mother put down the rag she was wiping their mirror with and sat down on the closed toilet before taking the booklet from Sakura. She read over the paragraph before replying, "Well dear, this is wonderful. I am extremely happy for you." She gave a smile in her usual polite way, though it showed some wear from cleaning all day.
Sakura continued to beam as she took the booklet from her mother's outstretched hand and properly made her way back to the kitchen. As she began packing it all back into the box to be taken to her room, her mother appeared from the bathroom and began washing her hands to prepare dinner. Mei hopped onto a stool to "help" as she did every night and Sakura retreated with the box to her room.
Sakura pulled out the NerveGear once more and laid it on her bed. She quickly pulled out the disk case and cords to begin any downloads that may be necessary once she put the game in her computer. Once she was finished hooking everything together, Sakura inserted the disk and let the game boot. A screen immediately popped up, prompting her to put on the NerveGear. Groaning she looked at the time, 4:45 p.m., giving her only 15 minutes to do anything.
After spending a few moments contemplating, Sakura got up from her chair and put the NerveGear on. A screen popped up simply stating that she had to audibly say, "Link start," in order to begin the game.
Sakura was giddy and her voice wavered, "L-link START!"
She felt herself get sucked away and then there she was, in a vast area, with a white floor. She remembered the pamphlet saying something about a calibration test that would have to be done before starting the game. A notification popped up in front of her. She raised her left hand and tapped the area. The notification opened in a jingle showing a message that read:
"This is the calibration mode, please follow each step carefully before moving onto the next item on the list."
Sakura tapped the blue button to continue to the next step.
"Please select your gender."
Sakura tapped the pink female silhouette.
"Please select your height."
She tapped the box, bringing a drop down menu, so she could input her natural height.
"Please take five steps to the left, turn around, and then five steps to the right."
Sakura followed the instructions.
"Jump in place five times."
Sakura once again followed the prompt. She also ran a small distance, crouched, stretched, made multiple facial expressions and head movements, and patted her body with cupped hands. When she got to her feminine parts she hesitated, 'Do I really need to do this?' She questioned herself, then proceeded through trying to finish that part quickly. Once calibration was completed she was free to begin creating her , not sure how long the calibration had taken her, she logged off in order to go set the table for dinner.
Sakura pulled the NerveGear off and gently set it in her chair and dashed out of the room. In the kitchen she found her father had just gotten home, and the clock safely read, 5:02 p.m. Sakura sighed, at least she didn't mess up and miss her task. Her mother was nearly done with dinner, she had made pork patties braised in a mushroom gravy, sautéed mixed vegetables, and steamed jasmine rice. Sakura sniffed the air, enjoying the scents that flowed around. She grabbed utensils for everyone, laying napkins down before placing the chopsticks on the table. She adjusted each cushion before sitting down at the table and crossing her legs. Mei sat in her usual seat beside Sakura and their father sat across from them.
Sakura realized that she had forgotten drinks for everyone and quickly hopped up. She retrieved the teapot from the stove and some cups from the cabinet. She carefully made her way back to the table, setting the cups down softly. She then began to pour the tea out, starting with her father, then mother, Mei, and lastly herself. Once finished, she set the pot on a trivet on the table for everyone to refill their cups as needed.
Sakura's mother laid out plates in order as well, except she served herself last. The family gave thanks for their meal, then began to eat. Her mom softly tells her father about her day in between bites, him occasionally smiling to encourage her. Sakura's father was a chief doctor at Osaka Central Hospital and liked to keep his work away from home. He didn't think his daughters needed to hear about all the bad things that he dealt with.
Once her mother was done with her day's events, Sakura's father looked at her, "How was school?" He lifted his rice bowl and began eating some of it.
"School was the same as always. I aced my test that I had and got all of my homework done before coming home. I knew my game would be here today!" Sakura tried to remain calm, but her parents knew how exciting this was for her.
"Yes, your mother said something of the sort during my break this morning. Have you gotten very far?" He wasn't really that interested, but he knew talking about it made her happy, so he obliged.
"Actually, I just got the calibration done. Once I have free time tonight, I plan to create my avatar!" Sakura set her rice bowl down, seeing as she had finished it.
"Make sure you help your mother clear the table and help Mei to bed, then your night can be free." He smiled. She usually had to help her mother clean the dishes, straighten up the house, and help Mei to bed.
"Really? You mean it?!" Sakura looked back and forth between her parents, who simply nodded to her. "Thank you so much!" Her excitement got a little out of hand once again.
Soon, the entire family was done eating and they spent a few more minutes relaxing and talking about their day. The girls' mother was the first to rise, as she gathered everyone's plates and bowls. Sakura got up next to gather cups, utensils, and the teapot. She neatly stacked the items in the sink and got a towel to wipe the table down. Then she held her hand out to Mei, who sleepily took it, and bowed to her parents.
Mei rubbed at her eyes with her free hand and stumbled along beside Sakura. In the bathroom Sakura sat Mei on the closed toilet and began to wipe her face and hands to rid them of food. She nicely and quickly brushed her sister's mid-back length hair and braided it into pigtails. Mei didn't utter a peep, as she was used to it by now, seeing as the girls set up a bedtime routine. Once her hair was done, Mei hopped off the toilet and climbed onto the stool in front of the sink. Sakura pulled down their toothbrushes and squeezed some toothpaste onto them after running them under the water for a moment. The girls brushed their teeth in silence, Mei yawning a few times. Mei spit out her toothpaste and handed her brush to Sakura, who repeated her gesture, rinsed the brushes and put them away. She wiped Mei's mouth free of any residual paste, the last part of their routine was to have Mei actually use the toilet. Who chose to finally begin to protest, "Saku I don't have to potty," Mei whined.
"Mei, I tell you every night, and I'll tell you tonight. Big girls go potty before bed. I do it, mommy does it, even daddy does it." She lifted Mei onto the toilet. Mei crouched forward so she didn't loose her balance and looked curiously at Sakura.
"So daddy is a big girl?" She asked not quite understanding her sister. "Of course! We're all big girls." Sakura gestured grandly, making Mei giggle.
Once she was done, she wiped and hopped off the toilet allowing Sakura to pull her pull-up up.
Sakura grabbed her sister's hand and guided her to her bedroom, changed her into a nightgown and laid her down. "I love you darling! Don't let the bed bugs bite," She sent little pinches down her sisters side then kissed her and covered her up to her chin with blankets. Sakura quietly left Mei's room, closed the door to a crack and ran back to the kitchen. She said goodnight to her parents, thanked them once again, and then was off to her room.
Sakura re-read the instruction booklet once more to see what her next step was. It explained that once the calibration was done, she would need to lay in a comfortable area to begin the game. She would have to go onto the beta tester's forum and see how other people did theirs. So, Sakura changed into a tank top with matching underwear, slid on her pink cotton robe, and sat down on her bed. She pulled her legs up and twisted her body, leaning over and grabbing the NerveGear helmet. She slid it comfortably onto her head and laid down.
"Link Start!" Speaking confidently, Sakura was pulled into the digital world.
When everything was pulled into focus she was in a simple room that had rough wooden floors and walls, with no windows or doors. The room had a floor length mirror leaned up against the wall and a plain wardrobe with one door slightly ajar.
Sakura looked down at herself seeing more tanned skin than her usual, a simplistic pair of white underwear, and a white sports bra. She felt hair caress her shoulders, which she grabbed and looked at, noticing the bronze coloration. When she walked up to the mirror, she saw the base design for the female avatar.
Sakura grimaced at the plain body, swiping her hand from shoulder height downward, she brought up her menu and chose to start designing her head first. Once done, she moved onto the body of her avatar, seeming to breeze straight through. Her final character, was much paler than the original base model, quite a bit shorter, but the body design stayed roughly the same. She was clothed in simple, black capris, a flowy light blue blouse, black leather boots and gloves, and a long black hooded cloak.
She allowed the game to take her through a tutorial phase when a table materialized into the room with miscellaneous items gathered on it. Once done with the tutorial, Sakura was prompted to input a username.
She input; RAEZE, then tapped to use the teleport crystal to; TOWN OF BEGINNINGS- PLAZA.
3:45 p.m. August 06, 2022
A tall, lanky male shuffled around a local grocery store, carrying crates from a small box-truck into the store. He appeared to have something important on his mind, causing him to ignore people more than he normally would. However, he continued to dutifully unload product. An older woman appeared in the opening of the store's double sliding doors.
"Tamaki? Have you gotten the invoice yet? I need to see if we remembered to order something," she called, smiling wearily at her son.
Tamaki turned from inside the back of the truck and dusted his hands off on his white waist apron. Walking toward to front of the truck he bent down, bracing a hand on the floor of the truck and hopped out. Stretching to full height, he grabbed the clipboard that was strapped on the inside wall of the truck, in easy reaching distance from the ground, and handed it to her. "Since I did the order this week, I might be able to tell you without you having to search for it."
"Well, I don't remember telling you to order some self-rising flour. See, Mrs. Uta has been calling since we opened this morning to see if we had any." She thumbed through the paperwork.
"I'm pretty sure I've already taken that into the store. Hold up a sec mom!" Tamaki dashed into the store.
Tamaki's mom set the clipboard down on the tail end of the truck and sat down on a large crate, giving her feet a short break. A slight breeze blew through the area, lifting some of the stray hairs falling from her bun and cooling the sweat on the back of her neck, causing the woman to sigh.
When Tamaki returned, he was carrying a flat of self-rising flour, "Mrs. Uta is so impatient. But yes, we have them. Would you like me to deliver a few to her?" He chuckled, Tamaki saw how constantly tired his mom was beginning to look. He added in the last sentence to take some of the burden.
"Let me call her and let her know we do have it in. Then she will probably request that we deliver it to her." She blew out a deeper sigh.
A young female cashier ran out the doors toward the pair. "Mrs. Oikawa, Mrs. Uta is on the phone again. She seems very agitated this time." The girl looked from Mrs. Oikawa to Tamaki, unsure of what she should do.
Mrs. Oikawa stood up and nodded, "I'll take care of it Su, thank you." She headed into the store and picked up a phone by one of the registers. "Thank you for calling Oikawa General Store, Oikawa Yuniko speaking. How may I help you?"
As Yuniko dealt with the ever persistent Mrs. Uta, Tamaki took a moment to check the emails on his phone. With a sigh that could rival that of his mother's, Tamaki returned his phone to his pocket, then returned to his job of unloading the weekly stock truck.
The driver popped around the back of the truck, munching on a tuna salad sandwich topped with very crunchy lettuce, to see how he was faring. Tamaki had just finished wiping a sweat trail from his forehead so he could freely see and signed the paperwork agreeing that they had received all product and all in proper condition.
"Thanks Oikawa! See you next week!" The driver spoke through a mouth half full of food. Tamaki was normally very friendly with his truck guy, however, today wasn't faring the best news. He nodded and waved shortly in slight irritation with the guy's socially improper behavior.
8:00 a.m. November 01, 2022
A consistent beeping was droning from a lit up screen. The male dropped his hand out of his bed and groped around for the cell. Groaning as he turned the light toward his face, Tamaki shut off the alarm. He tapped around the screen then frowned at his phone for a moment longer. He didn't bother to hide his irritation as he padded to the bathroom after tossing the phone onto his bed.
He brushed his shoulder length hair and pulled it into a low ponytail, then proceeded to return to his room. He shrugged on a plain grey t-shirt and yanked on a pair of black sweats. He opened his door to head downstairs and allowed a long breath to escape his lips. He knew he couldn't let his mom see how upset he was, with the breath, he left his issues at the top of the stairs.
Bouncing down the steps, he could hear his mother working her way around the kitchen.
"Morning mom," he smiled and kissed her on top of her head.
"Oh Tama, good morning sweetheart." She hugged her tall son with a large smile on her face. "Did you sleep well?" she questioned upon sitting at the table after placing the food.
"Yeah! Probably the best I've had," Tamaki smiled, picking at the food she had placed in front of him after he sat down.
"That's wonderful darling. I think I need to adjust the temperature a little lower, I just keep sweating at night," Mrs. Oikawa laughed nonchalantly.
Tamaki nodded, "I totally understand. It's been pretty warm for this time of year,"
After a few minutes of silence, the pair heard a timid knock at their door. Both jumped up and spoke at the same time. Tamaki, telling his mother that he had no problem getting the door. Then his mother, insisting that he finish his breakfast and let her get it. He naturally listened and sat back down.
Tamaki ate as quietly as possible, but he still failed to hear who was at the door, however, not from lack of trying. He sighed, giving up and finished his breakfast. He raised from his chair and placed his dishes in the sink and proceeded to rinse them. When he turned around, he saw his mother re-entering the kitchen.
"I'm sorry I took so long. Did you get plenty to eat son?" She questioned as she sat back down to finish her own meal.
"Yes ma'am. Thank you," He offered her a small bow and headed toward the stairs.
"Tamaki?" Mrs. Oikawa called from the kitchen, causing her son to retrace his steps.
"Yes ma'am?" He raised his eyebrows in question, leaning in the entryway.
"Would you please go to the store and gather a few items for Mrs. Uta? She has called again with another list of items she needs delivered."
Tamaki grumbled slightly, "That woman is so infuriating! Why must she treat us like her own personal delivery system?" His sudden outburst wasn't a shock to her because she just smiled softly.
"I know darling. Once you're done, please take the day off. You've earned it!"
Nodding, he padded to the door, slid on some shoes and a sweater, and headed out for the store.
9:00 a.m. November 01, 2022
Tamaki reached up to the store's sliding doors and turned a knob to allow them to automatically open when sensing movement. Just then, his mother could be seen exiting her office in the back to head to the front of the store to do just as he had just done.
"Store is open mom!" He called to her, causing her to look up from her binder of paperwork.
She smiled brightly and then waved him off telling him to go home. He shook his head but smiled, hed just go home and wallow. Maybe see if he had enough in savings to order the game he so desperately wanted. 'It's probably all been sold out by now. There are so many others who are so easily able to wait for weeks for it.'
He made his way home, kicked off his shoes at the door and swung off the sweater that he had donned earlier. He ran upstairs hoping, if he had done his math correctly on the way home, that he actually did have enough for this game. Since he was home alone, he yanked off his t-shirt and upon entering his room, he threw it onto his bed. He went straight to his computer chair, logged onto his pc, then froze.
Tamaki realized that when he threw his shirt, it had landed on something on his bed. He slowly revolved in his chair to peek at his bed, where a large box was now situated. A gasp erupted from him as he toppled the chair in his rush to get to the box. He couldn't believe his eyes, there was a NerveGear sitting on his bed.
Tamaki scrambled off his bed and reached for his phone, he sent off a text to his mother.
Did you get me a NerveGear? There's one here on my bed!
He sat anxiously bouncing his leg awaiting a response, in his haste he sent another text out.
Holy crap MOM! THERE'S A NERVEGEAR ON MY BED!
After he hit send, a response made his phone ding and light up.
Haha, Have a wonderful day off. I can't wait to hear about your game. :)
His excitement hit the brim after her response, he knew he would get to calibrate the NerveGear, set up his avatar, and run through the tutorials so he was ready for the launch that would happen in five days.
THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU! The official launch doesn't start until Nov. 6, but I can get everything set up and ready to go!
Tamaki got the gear hooked up to his computer and the proper things installed. He laid down and slid the helmet on. "Link Start!"