Chapter 1- Leafa, Suguha, Saori

"Leafa-chan!"

"Recon?"

Recon rushed up to Leafa's side. His green hair bounced as he ran and his green eyes were wide. He had spotted the blonde Sylph standing nearby the base of the World Tree in Alfheim once again.

"What's wrong, Leafa-chan?" asked Recon.

"Nothing… I'm fine," said Leafa avoiding eye contact,

"I thought you were in SAO with Kirito?"

Leafa let out a little sigh,

"I decided to give him some alone time with Asuna." she smiled sadly,

"Why are you here of all places? You're not trying to take on World Tree are you?" Recon panicked with a pleading expression,

"No… just thinking about something. Trying to raid World Tree would be pointless considering it isn't actually made to be beaten." she told him,

"What were you thinking about?" he asked in curiosity,

"Don't get nosey. I was just thinking about…. Never mind." she said turning slightly red at the cheeks and casting her gaze to the floor.

Leafa fidgeted with the green clothing at her finger tips,

"Leafa-chan… could you teach me how to fly without the controller?" asked Recon,

Leafa didn't say anything she just grabbed him by the shoulders and wheeled him round so his back was to her. She placed her hand in the centre of his upper back between his shoulder blades. Her touch was soft, also not warm, but not cold.

"Imagine you have extra muscles here. Move them as if you were trying to flutter wings, which essentially, are your goal." she explained,

"Come on Recon!" she grumbled,

"I can't! I'm trying!" he retorted,

"Well try harder!" she barked,

Recon didn't mind her tsundere personality. In fact he liked her for her every aspect, although he just wished she'd return his feelings.

"There you go!" she smiled as Recon's wings began fluttering successfully,

"GAHH!" yelped Recon as Leafa pushed him off the top stair with a quick kick to the lower back,

After almost falling and tripping down them, Recon fluttered his wings and took flight. The freedom of not having to use a controller was nice, he'd be more free to fight now he didn't need the flight assist. Leafa pushed off the ground and with a boost caught up to Recon.

"Where are we heading?" Leafa asked as they flew,

"Wherever you want to go," he replied,

"Who knows!" she smiled back taking off with a boost.

"Geez that girl," Recon sighed.

Suguha removed her AmuSphere and sat up. She was still looking for way to get over Kazuto. She couldn't keep liking him the way she did. For one he was pretty much her brother, or cousin at the least, and then Shinichi was just there…. Recon. She didn't want to take advantage of a good friend simply because she needed a way to get over Kirito… Kazuto. Life was beginning to get slightly chaotic in her head when she was bombarded with thoughts that muddled between reality and virtuality. So with so much going on in her head, how could she be sure that she actually had feelings for Shinichi?

Suguha sighed, this was over her head. She knew what she needed, a break from all this confusion, an escape. She got up and dressed herself appropriately for going out. She wore a plain a green v neck t-shirt and a tight black skirt with a pair of black boots. She slung her shoulder bag over her shoulder and left her bedroom. When she entered the living room she found herself pen and paper and wrote a note to Kazuto. The note explained she'd be back later and she was just going shopping for a couple of hours. It wasn't often Suguha would go shopping, she'd rather spend her time studying, gaming or practicing kendo. But she didn't feel like any other that, and so she caught a taxi to town centre. She looked through several clothes shops, though nothing interested her much. When she walked past a lingerie shop, inappropriate thoughts somehow found their way to her head and she dismissed them quickly by rushing away. She sat alone in the food court nibbling on a toasted sandwich when she spotted a gaming store with a sale on. After finishing her meal she investigated the store, browsing through the newly released and most popular VRMMO games. Nothing really caught her eye except one, 'Carnival Online.' Suguha flipped over the case and read the game description.

'By the makers of Alfheim and Sword Art, we bring to you, Carnival Online. Welcome to the land of Carnia where you can explore the extents of the world, unlock features, skills, and levels. Challenge the ultimate Carnival game bosses to conquer Carnia and unlock exclusive features and limited admin access.' Suguha's eyes moved to the price sticker. She could afford it, and it might just be exactly what she needs to get away. Suguha purchased the game and headed home, she was eager to try it out. She wouldn't have to put up with anyone else if she didn't want to, even if she did know others playing the game. No one would have to find out.

When she got home she immediately began setting up her AmuSphere with Carnival Online, and then minutes later,

"Link: Start!"

Suguha was now a room similar to the one she was in when she created her ALO avatar.

"Welcome to Carnival Online." said an expressionless mechanical voice.

"Please choose your in-game-name, avatar and weapon."

Suguha typed in her in-game-name as Leafa but quickly back-spaced it before she finished, she wanted her Carnival avatar to be completely different to her ALO. Suguha eventually decided on a name and began typing it in.

"Sa-o-ri." she sounded out.

Suguha already liked this game, she was able to completely customise her avatar and weapon. Her avatar had long purple hair that just flowed past her shoulder blades and she had bright blue eyes. She wore a black long coat, a purple top that was better described as a bikini and black short shorts, she also wore a pair of knee high black boots similar to the ones she'd just worn to town centre. Normally she would have called a girl who dressed like this a skank. But today Suguha didn't care, for this game she was going to be someone else. She set her avatar's age at 17, it made her taller and more mature. For a customised weapon Suguha couldn't decide which one to have, she could have whatever she wanted! She eventually decided on a heavy sword, the length of her kendo one and it was black like Kirito's in SAO. The blade was the thin and sharp and it gleamed in the light. It was perfect!

Moments later, Saori found herself in what she assumed to be the equivalent to the town of beginnings, but in Carnia. Her questions were answered when she looked up at a huge sign over the entrance of the town labelled, 'City of Carousel.' Saori walked through the archway under the entrance sign and realised how much Carousel was like Aarun. She walked down the artificially lit streets with no destination in mind. It was evening in Carnia… and there were a lot of men hanging about the streets. Saori wondered, does it count as rape if you're in a game? One man approached her from her right side. He grabbed her arm and whispered seductively in her ear.

"Hey honey, you're a real little hottie. Say, come back to my inn room and we'll have some fun?"

The stranger nibbled on her ear and a hand crept up the inside of her thigh.

"Ekk. You're disgusting." she growled as she punched him swiftly in the gut.

"Fine then, I challenge you to a dual!" he growled back,

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow,

"If I win, I get to have my way with you. If you lose I'll let you pass freely." he challenged,

"So I can't just decline and pass freely in any case?" she asked,

"Well if not having my way with you, I could drag you out of the safe zone and PK you easily." he smirked,

"I accept." she answered his previous request.

"Let's do this girlie!" He said groggily.

The man licked his lips and Saori glared in disgust. The man waved his hand downward in front of him and requested the dual formerly through his menu. He also summoned a silver sword with a blue hilt from his inventory. Saori accepted the dual request from 'Mamoru'. She needn't summon her sword because like Kirito she kept it in a sheath slung across her back and over her shoulder. Mamoru made the first move, dashing toward her with his sword ready to strike. Saori didn't move a lot except to block his attack with her sword, for she was simply observing his capabilities. She didn't yet understand a lot about Carnival, but it was set out similar to ALO and SAO. Every player could see another players HP bar, IGN (in-game-name) and cursor. Surprisingly Mamoru was a green player, but unsurprisingly his HP value wasn't awfully high. Saori beat him quickly and easily.

"Tch. Amateur, you're all talk." she spat.

Suguha didn't have to be nice, after all, at the moment, she was Saori, a 17 year old bad ass.