Hello everybody my name is Trevyler and welcome to another SAO story. This one may or may not end up being a replacement for Project New Grounds. I haven't decided that at the moment. This one is an AU story which I haven't really done properly for Sword Art Online. I've done things where like Kirito ended up with different people or that Asuna died, but those always took place at some point in the original SAO world. This one is different, but I'm not quite sure how to describe the setting so I'll do my best in the story. Just to be clear, the characters histories will be twisted and certain characters may get changed almost entirely so that they fit this new plot. Just a fair warning to all you people out there who love complaining. You've been warned. Anyway let's get this story started shall we? Enjoy!


CHAPTER 1:AINCRAD

Aincrad was a peaceful country know for it's busy cities and diverse landscape. Ruled by the people and known as a free land to those who were willing to work for the good of it's people and the land itself. At least it had been.

One day a stranger arrived with a small group of soldiers offering aid and protection to Aincrad. Their leader was a mysterious man who never showed his face, but spoke with an air of authority that was ever slightly present. His second in command was a man in red armor named Heathcliff. It seemed like something so simple, so trivial...yet it's changed Aincrad for the worst.

Overtime, the leader revealed his name to be Akihiko Kayaba. He also began to gain the favor of the head of continent's council, who called itself the Cardinal System, and began to persuade her to put the safety and control of Aincrad in his hands.

That was Seven years ago. Now Kayaba was the king of Aincrad and he had pretty much militarized it along side Heathcliff, who had become the general of his army. The early time had people fearing the worst and hiding away. As time went on, the people of Aincrad learned to live again, but it wasn't the same without the freedom they had worked so hard to achieve.

Nearly two years ago, a small band of warriors decided to step up against the so called king and get their country back. They fought bravely alongside one another and inspired others to join in and aid their cause. They attacked the guards in the streets and military outposts. Their efforts came to a near halt when they lost their leader. Months went by and everything returned to normal. Hope was almost completely crushed. Then it happened, the spark of rebellion that ignited the fire once again.


A young man was out running errands for his aunt, specifically picking up some ingredients and a cake for a special birthday meal for his younger cousin, when he saw the guards beating a man in the street. The man had reddish hair and and a bred bandanna on his head as well as a light stubble. He looked a few years older than him.

The boy set his thing down in a safe place before going to help, "Hey what do you think you're doing?" a guard called.

The teen shoved into the grown man with as much force as possible, causing him to tumble over, "Leave him alone." he shouted to the guards.

The guards pointed a sword to his throat, "You would dare support the rebellion? That's treachery!" the guard spat.

The boy's eyes widened, "What?! I didn't know I swear. I was just trying to help someone." he said with his hands raised defensively.

The guard nodded to the other and the withdrew there weapons, "This is a warning. Stay out of things that do not concern you boy or you will not be so lucky next time." he said and turned his attention to the man in the bandanna.

The dark haired teen grabbed his things and made a mad dash home. Today could at least have one good thing considering the gloomy gray sky that seems to have become a permanent part of Aincrad since Kayaba took over.


He made his way inside and snuck into the kitchen to give his mother the ingredients. They were going to make a cake for her since it was hard to find the time and resources to make one. Luckily, they had actually found someone who was willing to bake it for them for a decent price. They weren't poor, they just had more important things to spend money on like regular food, water, and a roof over their heads.

His aunt smiled at him, "Thank you Kazuto. I'm sure Suguha will be delighted." she said happily and began her work.

Kazuto smiled, "You're Welcome Aunt Midori. I'll try and keep her busy in case she tries to get nosy." he said and made his way to the living room.

His timing was perfect as Suguha was just about to try and sneak a peek at what had been brought home, "So what'd you buy?" she asked innocently.

He rolled his eyes, "That routine doesn't work anymore." he stated and out his arms across the doorway to keep her out.

She grinned, "Then how about this one?" she said and attempted to rush past him.

He chuckled and caught her in his arms before throwing her over his shoulder, "Kazuto! Put me down!" she protested.

The playful smile never left his face, "Oh Sugu. If only you knew what was about to happen." he said throwing her on the couch.

Her eyes narrowed at him, "You wouldn't dare." she retorted.

The look in his eyes said challenge accepted. His hands shot out to her sides and he began tickling her sides. It sent her into a fit of giggles and she couldn't even catch her breath.

Her cousin smirked down at her, "Are you ready to give up?" he teased.

She returned the look, "Never." she said through the laughter.

His smirk became a normal smile again, "You sure?" he said.

She finally gave in, "Okay! Okay! You win!" she complied.

He stopped and moved so that he was sitting next to her instead of hovering over her. After she finally caught her breath, Suguha slumped back a bit in her seat.

Kazuto saw the glum look, "What's wrong?" he asked.

She sighed and leaned against him somewhat, "I just wish things could be different. Like how they used to be." she answered.

He pulled her into a side hug, "Don't worry Sugu. I have faith that things will be like that again someday. For now, we just have to find things that'll make us happy on our own. Even if it only lasts a moment." he told her softly.

She hugged him, "Thank you Kazuto." she said closing her eyes.

Midori smiled in the doorway as she watched the two. Even though they were cousins they might as well be siblings.

She pushed the thoughts of her older sister and brother in law away, "Alright kids. Time for dinner and a special surprise for you Sugu." she said sending the two a warm smile.

Suguha blushed a bit and Kazuto chuckled, "I hope you like it." he told her softly.

She got up and rushed to the kitchen and he smile became less shy and more excited, "You made me all this?" she said looking at the meal on the table that was quite a bit above the normal standards.

Her mother put a hand on your shoulder, "And wait until you see the surprise. You brother put in a lot of time to make sure he got this for you." she said.

As they ate dinner, the youngest Kirigaya's anticipation could be felt in the air, "Alright dear. Ready for your surprise?" she asked.

The young girl nodded and bounced slightly on the balls of her feet.

Midori took the box out of the fridge and set it on the counter, "Kazuto would you do you the honors?" she said stepping to the side a bit.

He approached the counter and gently patted his cousin's shoulder as a sign to move forward. He carefully opened the box and revealed the masterpiece.

Suguha's hand came up to her mouth as she gasped. The cake was beautifully decorated with strawberry's and assortment of colors of icing and the words Happy Birthday Suguha in the center.

She threw her arms around her older cousin, "Thank you Kazuto! You're the best!" she told him cheerfully.

She gently pressed her lips to his cheek and moved to continue admiring the cake. Kazuto rubbed his cheek and smiled at how happy something like this made her.


After dinner, Kazuto had decided to take a walk down the street. He knew after his short encounter with the guards earlier that it was probably not a great idea, but he honestly didn't care.

The streets were quiet and peaceful. Something that almost made you forget how much the city had changed. The city itself was called the Town of Beginnings and was the capital as well as first city of Aincrad. It was one of the largest cities and it was home to many political figures as well as some of the middle class residents who lived on the outer area of the city. It also contained a secondary smaller scale castle in which royalty or other high class members of society from foreign countries resided while they completed their work here.

Other than that it was notable that just outside the city was a vast area of land containing all sorts of wildlife. Most people weren't hunters, but some people did it for sport as well as to earn a living. It wasn't a place to go alone at night though as many predators surfaced as the moon rose.

The black haired teen had his hands in his pockets when someone tapped him on the shoulder and pulled him into an alley way. He panicked and looked around before he noticed the man in the bandanna from earlier. The man put a finger to his lips, signaling silence, and waved for him to follow.

Kazuto did as told and followed quietly and did his best to appear as inconspicuous as possible. They walked for a few more minutes before heading into what looked to be a bar of sorts. There were a few people inside that looked to be chatting idly while waiting for them.

There was a tall, dark skinned man behind the counter, "Hey. So is this the kid you were talking about?" he asked.

The man in the bandanna nodded, "Yeah. Kid saved my neck earlier. He actually tried to stop the guards from kicking my ass. Thanks to him I had time to make up a cover story." he said patting Kazuto on the back.

The other man held out a hand, "Name's Agil. What about you?" he asked Kazuto.

Before he could answer, the other man cut in, "Oh and by the way, to be safe, don't use your real name. You can call me Klein." he told him.

Kazuto stopped for a second, "Well then I guess you can call me...Kirito." he said shaking both there hands.

Klein smiled, "So before you meet anyone else, we need to you. Can you help us?" he asked.

Kirito thought about it. He'd promised Suguha that everything would be better one day, why not help out? Not to mention all the other people who've had there lives destroyed by Kayaba's rule.

He smiled back, "Sure thing Klein." he replied genuinely.

The red haired man chuckled, "Then you get to meet the rest of the team." he said, bringing him over to the others he saw earlier.

The group consisted of a few girls and a guy that looked to be maybe early twenties.

Klein started with a chestnut haired girl, "This is Asuna. She's our healer and a rapier wielder. Asuna this is out newest member Kirito." he introduced.

Asuna shook his hand and smiled at him a little before lowering her head. Kirito just raised an eyebrow before he was ushered to the next person by Klein.

This girl was by far the youngest out of everyone here, "This little one here is Silica. She's a beast tamer." Klein said patting her on the head.

Kirito looked at the girl that couldn't be more than 15, "You're a beast tamer?" he questioned.

She put her hands on her hips, "Hey! I'm tougher than I look." she said and swatted Klein's hand away.

The last of the girls was a girl with pink haired and eyes, "This is Lisbeth. She's our weapon supplier and blacksmith." he informed.

She gave a slight wave, "Hey...Kirito." she said, testing the name a bit.

Afterwards she turned away slightly to conceal her blush, 'He's kinda cute.' she thought to herself.

Klein led Kirito to the last member present, "And this guy is Dante. He's ex-military so he can give us pretty accurate info for missions." he said to the newest member.

The man had red hair, brown eyes, and a small scar on his left cheek. He simply nodded in acknowledgement and took a swig of his drink.

Klein turned to Kirito, "Well that's everyone. You better get home before someone gets suspicious." he suggested.

Kirito nodded and waved to his new teammates as he made his way out.

Lisbeth leaned back in her chair a little, "I think I'm going to like the new guy." she said with a smirk.

Klein clapped, "Congratulations Liz! You're finally being less of a tsundere." he said earning him a smack from the pinkette.


And that's a wrap. So yeah I made the starting city the capital. Other places from SAO will be mentioned as well as the other games. If you're favorite character hasn't shown up yet then they will in the future once I get to the main plot. This was more or less an introduction. By the way in this Aincrad has a gloomy setting as opposed to the colorful one that you see in the show. At least until things start to go right for the protagonists that is. The atmosphere of everything will go back and forth between good and bad from time to time. Usually however, I don't write dark stuff so don't expect too much of that kinda thing. Also the reason I described Dante just a bit more was because he is an OC so I have to tell you more about him rather than you being able to see him from the series. Also I didn't describe clothing yet because that'll be next chapter. One last thing, this will most likely become a Kirito/Harem story at some point down the line. Just warning ya if it's not you're thing. I've obviously hinted at two or three possible relationships already. Anyway Have a great night everyone and I'll see you next time.

~Trevyler