Writers Note: As I said before, I took my other SAO fanfiction down and have already begun to write a new one. I hope you all come to like this one as much as the old one, although this time I took a completely different route with the story.
Chapter 1: The Start of a New World
Most people shun killing, as if it's the work of the devil himself. They dispise the act of killing, and they block out the thought of it. But deep down, everyone is a killer. We all have that anger deep down inside, were just afraid to let it out.. Me? I let that anger out long ago, when I was 9 years old actually.. You don't believe me? Ask my dad, he guided me through it all. That day I unleashed a power inside me, that I never knew I even had. Killing is normal in my family, we run an Assassin Organization. We are killers, and thieves. I was born into this way of life, but if I wasn't, it would have been my first choice. The Assassin life, is the life for me.
I'm Skye Torosame, born and raised by Assassins. I am the second highest ranked Assassin in my families organization, my father outranks me by a landslide. I also have a brother, my mother died on a mission 3 years ago, turns out the victim was the captain of a police force. He shot her in the head, I never understood why mother didn't just shoot him first, it was her job to kill him. We all mourned, and then we moved on with our lives. We are killers, we watch people die daily, we even have to kill the people we get close to. My mothers death was sad, yes, but everyone dies eventually. My brother is 2 years older than me, but hes a much lower rank. He doesn't enjoy our lives as much as I do, hes more into videogames and sports. My father is the head of it all, his grandfather was the founder of our organization. My dad eventually took the position as head of the organization. Although we are an underground facility, we get a lot more jobs then one would expect. We have a complicated way of attracting business but it works and it keeps our organization a secret.
I've never had many friends, I have no need for them. The people I'm closest to are the employees that I see nearly everyday. I have made many close friends in the past, but they were only victims that required a built friendship. I don't know why people request this, but they pay more when you befriend them first. There was one girl who I actually really liked, her and I would do our nails and tell our deepest darkest secrets together, and all that other girly-type stuff. She was really interesting, and caring. I was a bit mad at myself for becoming attached to her, but it surely didn't get in the way of her death. After that I never let myself get emotionally attached to a victim.
" Skye, I have a job for you, you will be leaving tonight. " My dad spoke from the other side of the door, hesitating to enter. I felt like he was sometimes intimidated of me, being a teenage girl. What does he think I do in my room anyways?
" You may come in, dad. " The door then slowly opened, and a cool breeze seeped in. Chills ran down my spine and my body shivered, but the cold wasn't really a problem to me. " Where is it and what am I supposed to do?"
" It's an extremely different job, from what you're used to.. " He looked down at the floor, he looked a bit upset. His hands were in his pockets, and he slouched. This was unusual for him, hes usually the most formal and upright man I know, and he never hesitated to tell me about my job. " You will be gone for a very long time, it could be months, it could be years. You will have no contact with me, or anyone else you know.. "
What kind of job is this? I've never had a job where there is no contact with my dad, even when I'm halfway accross the world my communication gear worked like a charm, what the hell is he talking about? " What do you mean..? What kind of job is this? "
" I'll try to explain it the best I can, but it's a bit difficult.. " He hesitated, " Have you heard of the new game Sword Art Online? It's to be released tomorrow afternoon.. "
" Yeah..? " A videogame? What does this crap have to do with my job.
" Turns out the game is made to be a deathtrap, once they start playing the game they're locked in for life. The only way out is for someone to beat the game. "He paused and looked at me, I was intrigued. What an amazing idea. " Some of the developers want to have some fun with it, they are forming a group of Assassins to come into the game and kill. When a player dies in the game, they die in real life. They're paying a lot of money, and you body will be looked after by trusted doctors for the entire time you're in the game. " I was now excited, I get to take my job to a whole new level with this.
" I'm in, I won't let you down father. " I smiled at him, I was surprised he asked me to carry out this job because of the amount of time it will take and the lack of communication.
" We will have a goodbye-party for you tonight before you leave.. " And with that he left, I then turned on my laptop and looked up the game. There weren't many tips or hints for the game, just screenshots and the basic " how to " guide. I then remembered that my brother was a beta tester for this game, I shut my laptop hopped off my bed and scurried to Shauns room.
I knocked. " Skye..? " My brother yelled from inside.
" Yeah can I come in? "
" Please do. " I walked into the room and shut the door behind me, he was playing a browser game on his computer. " I heard about your job, I'm a bit jealous that you got it. "
" Yeah, I'm excited.. "
" You came to ask me for tips right? " Typical Shaun, he liked to act like he knew everything. Half of the time he was just assuming things and they turned out to be true.
" Yeah! You were a Beta tester right! " I sat down on his bed and watched him play, he was doing a million things at once as he played.
" Yep, but I'm contemplating whether I should tell you now, or later.. " He spoke hesitantly,
" What difference does it make? "
" I could tell you now, but I think it would be easier to tell you tomorrow.. "
" Shaun, I'm leaving tonight.. "
" I know, but were both going to be in the same place tomorrow so why not wait? " So that's what he meant, he wanted to go into the game too, not to kill, but just to play the game.
" Dad won't like that Shaun.. "
" I'm 18, dad can't tell me what to do. I have a friend who will take care of me while I'm playing. "
" So you're leaving? " It might be a good thing that I'll be able to communicate with Shaun atleast.
" Yeah, tonight. Just like you. "
" Could you still tell me so important tips now? "
" I guess so.. " He let out a sigh and proceeded to tell me everything he knew about the game, after he was finally finished the good-bye party was about to begin.
Every employee of the organization attended, a lot of people told me how much they liked me and that they will miss me. Some taunted me saying " When you get back I'll have outranked you already! " and most of the females cried and hugged me. Shaun stood around like a statue, nobody knew he was leaving too, so nobody paid much attention to him. After the party I said goodbye to my father, and the limo driver escorted me inside and drove off to the airport. Once I reached the airport I said goodbye to the driver, i've known him since I was a little girl. I then proceeded inside the airport where the pilot of my families jet awaited.
" Nice to see you again Skye, " He turned and started to walk to the back of the airport, where the jet was waiting.
" Yes, it's been quite a while since I had such a distant job. Where am I going anyways? "
" Japan, it's where the game was made so thats obviously where the developers live. They have a very nice mansion too, this job is different than usual right? "
" Yes, I will have no contact with anyone from the outside and once I start I can't quit. It may take years to complete, too. "
" Well I wish you goodluck, and I look forward to flying you home when the job is completed. "
The pilot was a good friend of my dads, we always had nice conversations when I used the private jet. The flight lasted for hours, I slept through most of it. I was the only passenger on the jet this time, usually there is atleast one other Assassin with me. When I arrived at the airport in Tokyo, Japan there was a driver holding a sign with my name. I was afraid he didn't speak english so I walked up and smiled. He nodded and gestured for me to come with him. I followed him to the limo and we drove off. About an hour and a half later we finally arrived at a mansion far away from the city. It was hidden behind trees and wildlife, there were barely any other houses or people nearby. The driver opened my door and escorted me out, he then tipped his hat to me and got back into the drivers seat and drove off. I waved goodbye as he went.
I then turned towards the mansion, it was a bit smaller than my mansion, but it's not like it mattered anyways. I walked up the front steps and rung the doorbell, a hansome butler opened the door and greeted me.
" You must be Skye, come in, everyone else has already arrived. " I walked inside and he shut the door behind me. I stopped and waited for him to lead the way and he stepped in front of me. We walked through the endless hallway saying nothing. " Were lucky to have you aboard, you are the best out of all the assassins we have hired for this job.. "
" Oh, thank you. My father taught me everything I know. " He walked slowly, it was a bit irritating. I wanted to get there fast paced but I couldn't be rude and budge in front of him.
" It's my pleasure, I'm sure the other assassins are intimidated to have you working with them. "
" Aha, well surely I'm not that great. "
" Oh, but you are. " He then stopped in front of a room at the very end of the hallway. " After you, " He gestured me to go into the room and I opened the door. Inside there were several beds and computers set up on the right side of the room. The beds looked extremely comfy, to the left side of the room there was a bunch of doctors equipment. In the middle of the room some people sat around in a circle, talking amongst eachother. " Sir, Skye Torosame has arrived. " The butler announced my arrival and the room grew quiet, the people who were talking suddenly stopped and looked at me, saying nothing.
The oldest looking person then opened his mouth to finally speak. " It's an honor to have you, Skye! "
" Th-thank you. It's an honor to be here, sir. " I replied awkwardly, everyone was still staring.
The butler then smiled at me, and whispered. " See, I told you they were intimidated. " He then raised his voice " I must go check on the maids house work, good bye everyone. "
" Goodbye.. " I spoke softly, and then looked up to the other people. There five of them standing there, a chubby one with dark hair, two tall guys, one had black hair and yellow eyes and the other had brown hair and green eyes. A young looking boy with blonde hair and brown eyes. There was also a pair of twins, they both had White hair and Blue eyes. The older looking man had glasses and short brown hair, he looked very dirty, his hygeine must be atrocious.
" Skye, please come sit down. There are matters we need to discuss. " The old guy said.
I nodded and sat down in between the group of people, still nobody really spoke.
" Now that were all here I can get to the important stuff. Since I am a developer of the game I rigged it so that when I log in I will already own a guild house and all our necessary items. When we spawn in the Town Of Beginnings we will all go to our guild together. Are there any questions so far? "
The chubby one then raised his hand and spoke. " Kain, I'd just like to know what you need me for, my father is an Assassin but I'm not. "
" Chase, I have not only hired Assassins for this. You are a merchant right? Which means you are very important to us. You can create distractions, stock our gear, and help make more money for us. As for you Soren, you're a scout which means you will find us business, information, and locations of victims. "
" Sounds good to me! " The blonde boy said, he must be Soren.
The chubby one, Chase didn't say anything back. Kain then started talking again. " We have no business yet and we wont get any for a while, so when we get settled in I want you all to just train your skills as much as you can. The higher level you are, the better. We will start playing in 2 hours, do what you want untill then. " He then left the room and the rest of us stayed quiet.
" So, what are all of your names..? " I asked politely.
Soren then perked up and looked at me, " I'm Soren! I'm from an assassin organization in France but I haven't killed yet, I'm better at scouting! And we all know who you are, you're the best of the best! " My face turned red, maybe they really were intimidated by me.. They probably didn't like me then. " This is Chase, " He pointed at the chubby guy who gave me an awkward smile. " This is Kou and Gou, " he then pointed to the twins, Gou, the boy, gave me a dirty look and the girl, Kou smiled shyly. " This is Ryan, " He pointed to the tall guy with green eyes, who just stared back at me. " And this is.. "
" None of your concern. " The tall one with black hair interrupted. " None of us like you, so theres no reason for you to know our names. " He said rudely.
" Hey! Speak for yourself dummy, I like her! " Soren then yelled back at the guy.
" Whatever, kid. " He spoke and then walked to the door and dissapeared behind it.
" What a meanie! " Soren then yelled, which echoed through the room .
" It's fine, nobody has to like me.. Were not friends, were co workers. I understand why they dislike me, so don't worry about it Soren. " I spoke softly, and then left the room behind the other guy. I really didn't care that he disliked me but he didn't have to be so rude. I roamed through the hallway for a while, exploring the mansion. It was filled with maids cleaning every inch of the house over and over again, there were also several other butlers I met throughout the house. Although I didn't run into the one from before.
I wandered curiously around the mansion, making friends every corner I turn. I soon found myself in the kitchen, where cooks were rushing to prepare a meal. They ran around the kitchen like ants, scurrying to one side to stir a pot of who knows what, and then running back to the other to chop some vegetables. Some were also pounding meat, and mixing seasonigs, tossing salad, baking a cake. They're were only about 7 of them, and they were all doing atleast 2 things each. I felt a little bad that they had so much work to do, they were so busy they hardly even noticed me. To my left there were hats and aprons hung on a rack, I threw on an apron and placed the hat on my head, I couldn't reach the back of my apron so I left it untied. " You guys look like you could use some help! " They all stopped for a second and just stared, and then went back to cooking. The head-chef then spoke to me while chopping vegetables.
" You are a guest, we are serving you. Guest's must be treated proper in this house, we don't want you leaving unhappy. Therefor you can't help. "
I crossed my arms and gave a childishly angry look. " If I can't help, then I'm not leaving happy. Or maybe I could tell Kain that you're not treating his guest very nicely.. "
He laughed at my method for getting my way, and tied my apron. " Well in that case, your help is greatly appreciated. " He smiled and grabbed my wrist, he proceeded to direct me through the huge kitchen and I found myself by the meats. " Can you cook meat? "
" I can cook anything, meat is easy peasy! " I laughed and started beating the meat with him. It was T-bone steak, and it looked very juicy. After I beat all the meat I tossed them in the bowl of seasoning one by one making sure they all had just the right amount on them. They were then grilled on the stove-top barbeque. The chef then said I could see where else help is needed and that he can handle the meat the rest of the way. I helped one cook finish chopping his onions, which led to my eyes burning and tears pouring down my face. I just laughed along with the cooks as I wiped my eyes. I helped finish off the salad and corn, too. Finally everything was finished.
Just then, the butler walked in through the main doors as I was taking off my hat to place back on the rack. " Skye? What are you doing in here? " He looked confused at me and gave the cooks a dirty look.
" I really wanted to help, but they wouldn't let me. I had to force them into it. " I laughed and his dirty look turned into a warm smile.
" So is dinner ready then? "
" Everything should be done in a few minutes, I'm about to go wash up. " I spun around aimlessly trying to untie my apron like a dog chasing his own tail. The butler laughed at how silly I looked and put his hand on my shoulders to stop me, he then untied the apron for me. " Thank you. " I bowed my head down a little, and smiled. " Oh! I forgot to get your name earlier, would you be so kind to tell me what it is? "
" Oh yes, I am Balthier. How rude of me not to introduce myself earlier.. " He gave me a full boy bow as I hung my apron on the rack.
" I don't mind, we just forgot to give formal introductions, thats all. " I smiled and headed for the door. " We probably wont see eachother again tonight, so I guess this is a hello and goodbye. " I creaked the door open and waited for a reply before darting off.
" Yes, goodluck with your job, Skye. " I then ran out the door to the nearest bathroom where I washed my hands and face, I took my hair out of a pony tail and brushed down the hairs that were sticking out with my fingers. I pulled some pieces of hair to the front of my body, and proceeded to the dining room. I knew where the dining room was because the cooks told me it was right beside the kitchen. I entered through the main doors and everyone was already sitting down. Soren smiled at me and patted at a seat beside him and I pleasantly took my seat there.
" Sorry I'm late, everyone. " I whispered, and awaited with my hands on my lap.
" Don't worry about it! We only got here a couple minutes ago so you weren't very far behind us. " Soren replied, and gave me a cute boyish smile.
" Everywhere you go you just have to be the best, don't you. " I heard an angry voice from the other side of the table, it was the dark haired man. He truly didn't like me, it seemed like he was just here to be a dick.
" What do you mean..? " I asked with a lowered voice.
" I saw you in the kitchen, cooking, making friends, you try too hard to make people like you. " He kept his eyes closed and the look on his face was scoul, his fist clenched on top of the table.
" I.. " That was all I could say, I wasn't sure how to reply to that. Kain gave me a troubled look and then glared at the guy.
" Gabriel, learn some manners. You are all here on a job, part of this job is to get along. " The sound of his voice was intimidating.
" I don't see why you had to pick her, we don't need her. We are FINE without her! " He yelled back at Kain, which resulted in Kains fist pounding at the table. I kept quiet with my head down.
" You idiot, she is the most important person on this job, each and every one of you know for a fact shes the second ranked Assassin in the world. You should be honored to be in her pressance and I expect you to be respectful. She is your mentor. " Gabriel, the dark haired guy, kept quiet. He clearly had no snarky come back this time, and he didn't look happy because of it.
" Please, treat me equally. Were all humans, no need to rank people for this job. Besides, we all start off as level 1 right? So right now nobody is better than the other. " After I said this the kitchen doors flung open and Balthier pushed out the cart of food. He set it all up on the table and everyone helped themselves. The men ate like savage animals, while Kou and I kept our manners and lady-like appearance.
" Girls try too hard to be proper. " Gou laughed as he wolfed down on a corn cob.
" You guys eat disgustingly, you could learn a thing or two from us. " Kou's quiet voice replied.
Thats basically all that was said the entire time, once everyone was finished we all went back into the room from before. A team of doctors and nurses awaited us there. We were each greeted by different people, I was greeted by a blonde woman doctor, and a brunette nurse with glasses.
" Oh my you are adorable! " The doctor proclaimed, and the nurse nodded. " We are going to be watching over you while you're in the game, we wont let any harm come to your body! " She smiled and I shook both their hands.
" Thanks! I trust that you will. " I smiled and they directed to me to the bed at the far end. I layed down with my arms at my side, it was more comfy than I had imagined.
" On the count of three you must start the link, alright? " The doctor said, as she positioned the NerveGear helmet on my head, I gave a thumbs up. Everyone else was doing the same, we were all going in at the same time then. " Now there is no need to customize your characters look because you will just end up looking like the real you anyways alright? " I nodded, and she walked away from my bed. The doctors started counting down from 10, I was a bit nervous, but also excited.
" 3.. 2... 1.. Start it up! " And then all together we yelled " Link Start" A burst of white flashed before my eyes, and then a series of colours spiraled towards me. Not long after I was brought to the character customization screen, I was standing in it, actually. My body was nothing but an empty doll at the time, the " Skip " button floated in front of my face, I placed my hand on it and my avatar was randomized. A pop up then appeared in front of my face, above it read " Please choose a username " and there was a box to type in and a keyboard below. I decided to just use my name, Skye, and then clicked finish.
I dissolved away and then re appeared in the " Town Of Beginnings " where people were panicking and scurrying around like idiots. I opened up my items menu and pulled out my mirror which made my avatar look like my real self, and then I looked around for the others. First I found Soren and then Kou, we stuck together and then found Kain, Chase, Gabriel and Ryan together.
" Alright guys, lets go to our guild now. " All together we walked calmly through the chaos, as we walked I briefly searched around for my brother, but didn't see him anywhere. This was the start of something new for the both of us..