This is my first SAO fan fic and there would be certain features of the game that i have changed. Pls enjoy :)

Disclaimer: SAO does not belong to me *sobs* if it did Shino would be the main character *sobs*

P.S: For those who have read the story, I have improved upon the parts where Shino and laughing coffin meets, pls feel free to check it out.

More Asuna would come out in future chapters, the next chapter would focus mostly of her, so don't worry :)

also if you spot any spelling mistake of names pls let me know :*( cause i suck at names and often spell them wrongly. Pardon my grammar too I will try to improve.

Prologue

Sword Art Online Beta: Floor Three

Cold as ice

That was the girl's initial thought as she pulled back the string. Her breaths steady as she took aim at the callous disturbing faces of the Undead Kobolds. There were many of them, scattered round the dungeon floor. Their rat like features, coupled with human like faces and rotting green skin made the whole situation surreal. Some wore light armour while other adorn heavy ones, complete with heavy helmets. The girl took it another deep breath and let the string loose, an arrow flew silently and swiftly through the crowd in front of her. It glowed a bright green before hitting a light armoured kobold right in the eye. It screamed, withered and fell to the ground before exploding in a series of blue polygons. One down, the girl thought, a few hundred more to go.

She did a somersault as a heavy armoured enemy swung down a mace. Activating sneak, the girl hid behind a few pillars and watched silently as the undead swung and attacked the spot she had been standing before. Sweat slid down her pale features, her cold azure blue eyes scanning the enemies surrounding her. This was bad, this was stupid, she chided herself. She sighed and tucked the bow she was carrying behind her. It was a simple brown oak wood bow that she had gotten from a quest two levels before. Since reaching level 10, the girl was one of the few players who have actually explored the dungeons of Floor Three.

A beeping sound came from her skill bar and the girl did a silent curse. Her sneak skill was almost out of MP and very soon she would have to face the hundreds of undead out there again. A moment of weakness came over her as she remembered the arrow striking the eye of her earlier victim, a voice silently taunting her in her head. However, that weakness passed and she once again equipped her bow tightening her hands around it.

No, she thought to herself, she was no longer the weak girl she was in reality. In this game, in this world, she was Sinon, the cold hearted archer. She would not be reduced to the weakling she was. She had to grow stronger.

Even if she died killing these monsters, she had to prove to herself that she was strong. No, this was not a game. She stood up, exposing her hiding place, the undead howled sensing her presence once again. A heavy armour kobold leapt into the air, mace in his hand ready to swing it down.

Sinon glared at it, quickly she crouched, arrow appearing on her bow and she pulled it taunt. The kobold snarled, its teeth showing, sharp and long, glinting in the little light of the dungeon. The mace swinging down.

Cold as ice…remember Sinon…remember…

Sinon eyes turned deadly, a smirk on her lips. "Come at me you fuckers," she whispered and she let the arrow go. It went flying deadly silently, striking through the tiny slit in the heavy armoured kobold's helmet, it hit dead centre and the kobold screamed. Screams echoed throughout the dungeon and soon it disappeared. There was silence then a hundred pairs of red eyes turned to their fallen comrade then to her. Sinon clutched tighter to her bow, that mad smirk never leaving her lips, her eyes cold. A wind swirled through the dungeon whipping past the blue hair of the petite girl. Her azure blue eyes sparkling with excitement and something lethal.

"Murderer," tiny voices whispered into her ears, "You are enjoying this aren't you."

Sinon couldn't help but give a small painful chuckle as she watched the kobolds rushing towards her. She raised her arrow, the fading sound of gun shots ringing in her ears, the smell of sulphur lingering in the air. "Die." She whispered.

The sound of arrow hitting metal, the smell of blood pouring from the corpses of her victims, the roar of the undead kobolds all lingered in the air of the emptied dungeon. A bow fell on the ground with a thud along with a girl covered in bruises and scratches that were glowing red. A mad smirk on her lips the girl let out a painful roar as the last of the kobold fell to the ground disappearing into tiny blue polygons.

It was over…she had done it. A beeping sound signalled the countdown to the end. The girl closed her eyes, the smirk leaving her lips. Just a few more months, a few more months and she would be back. A white light begun to engulf her and Sinon closed her eyes.

Opening her disoriented eyes again she found herself staring at a plain bland ceiling. The sound of the air conditioner woke her up and she slowly got up. Pulling the Nearvegear off, before standing up. She grimaced as sweat fell from her forehead before pulling her two shivering hands around herself.

She was back…and in this reality that she would rather escape from. Looking up she found herself staring into the mirror. She barely recognize the brown chestnut eyes glancing back at her, coupled with the short hair, adorn with a couple of short pigtails that were tied with simple white ribbons. Asada Shino turned away from her reflection, a cruel sad smile flittered on her lips.

This was her reality, the game had done nothing to change her…she had to try harder. Just two more months, two more months and she would be back. She had to get stronger. Stronger, faster…

"Murderer."

Shino shivered before collapsing in bed, curling into a ball.

Sword Art online…that was her only hope.

Somewhere in Tokyo

A young teenage boy took out the Nervegear her had been wearing a big excited smile on his lips. The end of beta and soon the start of the most anticipated game in this history of mankind. He could still feel his heart beating and he clutched his hand into a fist. The imaginary feel of his black sword still lingering in his hands.

Placing the Nervegear gently on his bed, he stood up and walked over to his laptop switching it on. The forums were raging with reviews each brimming with praise about the game and Kazuto Kirigaya couldn't help but smile. Scrolling down the forums he found likeminded individuals who were posting up tips, approvals and information about sword art online. Kazuto began to scroll through the comments, catching a few names he recognized.

/userTinaHeart: The game was simply awesome! Did you see the graphics, I swear it was like I was in another world!

"You're damm right," Kazuto muttered before scrolling through similar comments before pausing at one. Something had caught his interest and he couldn't help but stare at the blurred picture in front of him.

It was a picture of a dark dungeon and surrounding a blurred blue haired figure were hundreds of undead kobolds from floor three. They were rare monsters and Kazuto had went by them before. With the help of some beta players they had managed to take down the kobolds residing them and earned themselves about ten thousand gold. Few beta players had known of this dungeon room, mostly walking past it because it was well hidden. Kazuto too would not have found it if he did not have a little Rat for his friend.

He looked at the user who had posted the forum and his eyes widened.

/userAngel123: Let's hope we have more skilled players like this when the real game starts.

The photo was badly taken, the player in the picture was blurred out, and even with enhanced pixels one couldn't really see if it was a male or female. Yet Kazuto could make out the wooden bow that the player was holding. He or she were leaping in mid-air, bow facing downwards, surrounded by hundreds of kobolds.

/userToHeart: You have got to be kidding me, they took down the entire dungeon!

/userAngel123: Yep you better believe it, yours truly was about to help but was too low level to go in there. I thought the player was done for but he managed to take out all of them in a matter of 50 minutes.

/userl3lade: Nah you're lying, this picture is so photo shopped

/userAngel123: I'm not, the player had blue hair and ice cold eyes, he or she carried a bow and from what I could tell was fairly skilful.

Scanning through the comment, Kazuto couldn't help but feel his hands itching. To think that a player matching his skills could exists in that world, Kazuto smirked. Well fair archer, the next time they met Kazuto was going to challenge him to a duel.

He stared at the pictures for a few more moments and then to the Nervegear. The call of sword art online was giving him pre game jitters. Two more months huh…he couldn't wait.

Real World, Real

One month has passed since Sword Art Online beta closed. Kazuto yawned and found himself begging to start the game soon. The boredom of everyday life was getting to him and the constant reminder of where he stayed was making him more depressed.

He heard a knock on the door and he flinched when he heard his sister's voice coming from the other end.

"Onii-chan," his sister Suguha shouted, "Mom says it's time for breakfast get your butt down now!"

"Yeah," Kazuto muttered and he heard his sister sigh at the other end. Kazuto waited until his sister left and he wringed his hands together sighing deeply. It had been hard to face his family since he found out about his adoption. Once he found out it was as if something in him snapped, everything that he knew, everything that he loved was lost and he soon found himself facing a dead end.

Reality seemed pointless and practicing Kendo was becoming harder with the constant reminder of what he was.

He was never Kirigaya Kazuto instead he had been somebody's else. Suguha had never been his little sister, instead she had been his cousin. It had been hard to look into his mother's eyes since that day and Kazuto preferred the confines of his room to the outside world that was reality. He sighed when he heard his mother/aunt shouting for him and he stood up. He caught himself in the mirror, a pair of black solemn eyes peered back at him, a slightly girly face and short black hair. A pained smile on his lips he turned away. Tucking his wallet into his school uniform and taking his leather bag he made his way down. Taking in a deep breath, he calmed himself before walking silently towards his "family". Just the thought of it sent a jolt of pain through his chest.

"There you are Kazuto!" his mother chided and Kazuto couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of hatred waffling into his heart.

The stares and whispered giggles greeted her as she walked pass the school gates. Asada Shino sunk further into the white scarf she had wrapped around her face. It was too cold for winter and the winds were not helping either. Wearing spectacles and her brown school uniform, Shino wrapped her school bag protectively around her chest, her eyes peering at the ground, trying to ignore the gossip and cruel stares around her.

Her face felt hot and she felt vulnerable open in this place called school. She thought she could escape it, the horror that was back in her home town but the reality was crushing. It would follow her anywhere, the stain of her sin. Shino closed her eyes and clenched her fist that were holding her bag in place. No, she cannot break down right now, she was in school and any sign of weakness would be detrimental. She had to move on, this was her life, she had experienced this before, just ignore it. She was about to move on when she felt something kicking her forward. Shino gave a tiny yelp and she fell forward, her spectacles landing on the floor, her bag tumbling out of her arms, her knees contacting hard gravelled ground. She winced as her palms scratched the surface of the rough cold floor and she felt the warm blood leaking slowly from the wounds. She looked up and found the faces of three girls smiling at her.

"Hello Asada-san," one of them greeted her. She would have been pretty if it weren't for the cruel smirk plastered on her lips. Endou-san, Shino should have known. The orange haired beauty picked Shino up roughly and with the help of her two minions, their names lost to Shino, they pulled her into the corridor. Around her, students were staring, their eyes turned away, some giggling some going into school.

Help was not to come and Shiho braced herself for what to come.

They shove her into a small alley behind the school and Shiho landed roughly on the ground. She winced as her ankle twisted in an odd angle and felt two hands slapping her hard across her face. Then she was pulled up again and Shiho couldn't help but whimper at the hard cold gaze that were Endou's eyes.

"You knew what we wanted didn't you," the girl whispered, "We asked for 20,000 Yen yesterday and you had to gall to go home without meeting us here! Pay up you fool!"

Her minions nodded in agreement and Shiho looked away. "No," she whispered silently and gasped in pain as something rammed hard into her stomach. Endou released her and she fell to the ground. A foot connected to her chest and she felt something crack, she cough and felt blood coming out from her broken lips.

"20,000 yen Asada-san or I'll get my big brother to come…you know what would happen don't you," Endou whispered and Shiho shivered. The older boy's face emerging from her memories. His hands red hot, clutching her throat, a black gun in his hands pointing and jammed into her forehead. The pain of the memory was too much for Shiho to bear and she screamed. Her screamed was stopped when Endou and her minions kicked her. "Shut up you fool, what if the teachers heard!"

Something foul and sour came spilling out from Shiho's mouth and Endou and her minions shrieked standing back as Shiho vomited onto the ground. "Hey Endou, I think that's enough," one of her minions whispered looking at the girl wearily. Endou seemed to pause a cruel look in her eye. "Murderers deserve no pity, I'm simply giving her the justice she deserves!" Endou exclaimed and her minion nodded. The girl then turned back to Shiho who was shivering terribly.

"Hmpf!" Endou shouted, "Don't think we've let this go, 20,000 this afternoon or you'll meet my brother, again!" Kicking Shiho one last time, one of Endou's minions took Shiho's bag and dump the contents on the floor. Shiho watched helplessly as her books and pens landed on the ground. The hand phone her grandparents bought for her spilling out. There was a crack as Endou stepped on it. They left Shiho by the alley laughing while walking away.

Anger swirled in Shiho and for a moment there was an instinct to kill the girl who was walking away but she stopped herself. The familiarity of the feeling bearing certain likeness to the one she had 5 years before. She shivered before slowly getting up. Still trembling she picked up her books and pens before inspecting her cracked phone. It was no use she had to buy a new one…again. She then leaned into the wall of the back alley trying to calm herself. She winced as she stood up, her ribs hurting more than usual, her ankle throbbing. The pain was excruciating but it was welcomed for the turmoil inside of Shino was more painful.

She was weak…that she knew. The power that Endou had over her was terrifying. Shiho gritted her teeth and with a yell punched the wall behind her continuously. She did not stop, the physical pain was easier to handle then the one that was inside her. The frustration, the hatred slowly building up. With one final thump she punched the wall and felt blood burst from her cracked fist. It was black and blue and Shino knew it would hurt terribly later but she did not care.

"I'm weak," she whispered. It was not enough, not enough at all. She had to get stronger. This fear this unnecessary hatred, this anger. She had to become stronger, she must. Shino picked her bag off the floor and tied the scarf around her face again. Slowly, she limped her way out of the alley and paused for a moment looking at the hell that was high school.

Her cracked glasses, bruised face, smarting ribs, sprained ankle and bleeding fists ignored by the people who were around her. Slowly she limp her way into school grounds, cursing the excuses she needed to tell the nurse at the sick bay again. This was going to be a long day.

"Kazuto, Kazuto have you played the beta of sword art online," Takashi Genta exclaimed and Kazuto nodded fondly at his friend who was talking about the new game with excitement in his eyes. Takashi Genta could be a pain sometimes but Kazuto liked the company of this gamer boy, his enthusiasm and talkative friendly nature made life in school a little bit easier. "Yep," Kazuto replied, "Going to be a swordsman again, the feel of the blade cutting flesh was surreal."

"I know right, I tried being a tank and let me tell you it was awesome."

"A tank?" Kazuto asked and Takashi nodded, "It takes a little getting used to the weight of the armour but man was it good, the clash of sword and mace hitting my shield every time sends shivers up my spine."

Kazuto chuckled as Takashi mimicked his character. "Well I'm guessing I'll be seeing you during the grand opening then," Kazuto said and Takashi gave him a dubious look.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world…anyway haven't you heard of the player that defeated the kobolds."

Kazuto's interest peaked and he nodded and Takashi smiled. "Turns out, the rumoured player was a girl…"

"A girl," Kazuto gasped and Takashi folded his arms. "Yes a girl and she has you know those…"

"Those?"

Takashi swirled his hands around him in a cup like fashion. "Those damm boobs man."

Kazuto blushed and quickly smacked his friends head when he found the girls in the class giving them disgusted looks. "Hey watch it!" he snapped and Takashi chuckled. "You got to admit it, you are interested."

Kazuto frowned and turned away from his friend. "Well of course I am…Those things were hard, but to fight all one hundred of them alone…this player must be really skilled."
"You bet'cha," Takashi replied, "Which is why there is this whole search going on about the identity of this player."

Kazuto raised his eye brows. Well this was new information. "And how are they going to find this player?"

Takashi shrugged, "Nobody knows…" the boy trailed off apparently distracted by something and Kazuto turned to see what had distracted his friend. Limping slightly into the classroom was the infamous transfer student that had the school talking for months. She was late, two periods late and her appearance silenced the noisy classroom. The girls turned away from her and Asada Shino who was covered in bandages settled into the seat near the windows. Kazuto watched as the girl turned away from the class, determined to stare out of the window.

"She's hurt…" Takashi whispered to Kazuto, "Again."

Kazuto frowned, guilty about the way the transfer student was being treated. Things had been rough for her around school, though because of her cold unfriendly demur, many people who have tried to help have backed away, silenced by her glare. Takashi had tried thrice to get the girl to open up but even the friendliest guy in school could not get her to speak. His thoughts and attention were interrupted by the teacher who walked into class. Well…the issue about Shino…wasn't really his problem anyway…And he turned away from the girl who was seated two rows away from him.

Lessons went on as usual and boredom soon distracted Kazuto from the injured girl. School went on and Kazuto found himself daydreaming about Aincrad. Soon the bell rang and Kazuto was snapped out of day dreams. He looked up and found Takashi headed towards him, lunch box in his hand.

"Come on Kazuto time to meet the lovely Suguha~" Takashi replied. Kazuto snorted. Despite the distance he had with his cousin/sister, he still cared for her and if this jerk of a friend were too flirt with her he would take him down. "No, you will eat lunch with me in this room." Kazuto snapped and Takashi moaned in disappointment. "Oh come on Kazuto, just once I mean she has those huge knock-" Before Takashi could finish Kazuto had slammed a fist into his nose and he stumbled back with a cry.

"Ok, ok I give, I give up!" Takashi said surrendering. "Man you and your kendo strength."

"Hmpf, you better stay away from my sister or I would batter your head into the ground." Kazuto snapped and Takashi gave a faint chuckle. "So despite all that you still care for her huh," Takashi muttered and Kazuto turned away from his friend, a hot blush settling on his cheeks.

"Well enough of that let's eat."

Kazuto sighed and pulled out two pieces of bread that he had gotten earlier out of his bag. "What a boring lunch," Takashi commented and Kazuto took the opportunity to steal a piece of egg roll from his friend's lunchbox.

"Hey!"

Just as Takashi was about to wrestle the egg back from Kazuto, the doors to the classroom slid open and Kazuto watched as three girls walked into the classroom. There was a tense silence in the air and Kazuto noticed that the girls in the class were unusually silent. "Endou-san?" Takashi whispered. They walked deliberately slow and the noise in the classroom died down when they approached the transfer student who was munching down on a small handmade lunch box.

There was a tense silence when Endou slammed her hands down on the girls table. Then Kazuto watched in horror as Endou pushed the girl's lunch onto the ground. He saw one of the girls slap Shino in the face and the cold lifeless eyes that Shino had. His heart pounded and just as one of the girl's lifted her hands to hit the girl again Kazuto stood up. His chair making a loud shrieking noise.

The attention was then turned to him as he strode over to the girls and with one final push separated Endou and her minions from the transfer student.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, his voice dangerously close to shouting. Endou stared at him in shock. "Kirigaya-san…" Endou whispered, "What…what are you doing? Do you know who she-"

She was cut off by Kazuto who pushed her back. Endou shrieked and her minions caught her. "Leave before I call the teacher," he threatened and the girls glared at him. "You better, his serious," Takashi called out to them. The girls gave one last look at Kazuto before sauntering out of the classroom, Endou kicking a chair along the way.

As they left, the tense silence in the room was broken and some boys whistled at Kazuto antics. The girls started whispering furiously among themselves and Takashi bounded towards Kazuto and the transfer student. "Hey man what's gotten into you, I thought you did not like the spotlight."

Kazuto turned and found the transfer student, Asada Shino staring at him. There was something about her that intrigued him that he could not lie to himself. Since day one the girl's cold, silent demur had been bothering him and no matter how hard he tried to ignore her he would find himself looking at her in some ways.

The pain in her eyes were obvious it was as if she was screaming for somebody to help her and yet she held it all in and Kazuto couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and glance at the girl, "Erm…are you ok?"

Takashi had picked up the lunchbox from the floor and placed it on Asada-san's table. "Sorry about your lunch," he said, "I'll get the janitor to clean it later."

The girl glanced at the both of them and she nodded. "Thanks," she mumbled. Takashi smiled, "Don't worry about it, in any case I'll leave the two of you to it."

Cursing Takashi, Kazuto felt a surge of panic in the pits of his stomach. Leave him alone with this girl…couldn't he stayed a little while longer. What was he going to do? He was bad talking to girls, he couldn't even communicate with his little sister god dammit. Why the fuck did he help her! He thought to himself.

The transfer student seemed to have sensed his panic and she stood up.

"Thanks for what you did, but it was unnecessary," she said, her voice cold and Kazuto froze.

"Unnecessary?"

"Yes," she whispered and before he could ask why she walked away leaving Kazuto in the dust.

Tea, hot warm tea slid down Shino's throat and she gave a satisfied sigh. Now this…this was bearable at least. Sitting in a café with her close friend Shinkawa Kyoji, Shino allowed herself to enjoy the café atmosphere for a little longer.

"So how was your day Asada-san?"

Shino gave a tiny smile, "It was fine," she said and Kyoji gave her a frown. "But you are hurt, Endou and her jerks didn't do anything to you did they?"

The memory from this morning resurfaced and Shino forced herself to smile. She did not want her best friend to worry so she shook her head. "Nope, I fell, it was quite bad."

Kyoji gasped. "Oh man Asada-san you got to be more careful."

Shino force a chuckle and took another sip from her cup. 'Ok enough about me, how about you Shinkawa-kun, did you create the guild that you wanted?"

The boy worried glance was replaced with a triumphant expression and he nodded. "Of course, my brother and I gathered a few players, if you like you can join when the game restart again."

Shino chuckled. Shinkawa proceeded to introduce the various guild members to Shino and she listened with slight interest. Hanging out with Shinkawa-kun was comforting if not fun at times and as she listened she felt the worries and hurt from the day disappear a bit. One month more and she could join her friend in a different world, away from this reality, away from the real world. One month more and she could meet her other self again. She smiled and sipped her tea.

Link Start

It was here, finally it was here. Kazuto could not help but smile as he sat on his bed more than ready to log into the game that was Sword Art Online. He had been waiting for this for two months and now that it was here his heart was beating faster than ever. He promptly placed the Nervegear on his head and laid on his bed. With anticipation he switched the system on and closed his eyes.

"Link start," he whispered barely containing the excitement in his voice. There was a bright light and before he knew it he was in the world he knew too well. Hooting in enthusiasm Kazuto or rather Kirito found himself in Starter Town. The city was adorn with cobbled roads and the familiar oil lamps. There were Victorian looking houses lining the streets and a clock tower that was the town square. Immediately he was greeted with a flurry of activity, the bustling market streets, the various food stores and the sound of NPC sellers and players bargaining and selling goods. It would seem he had arrived early.

"I'm back," he whispered and he grinned wide before taking a slow jog towards the weapon smith store. Buying himself a few starter potions and a sword that was a little bit heavy but suited for his level, Kirito bounded out of the city. The air that greeted him was fresh and the green pastures of starters' field was a pleasant sight to behold. The sky was blue, the clouds huge and fluffy, the grass rustled under his feet and the sight of boar mobs were seen grazing the fields. Tiny white and yellow flowers added to the beauty of the already scenic place and Kirito truly felt that he had arrived home.

Just as he was about to move on a something touched him and he whirled around in surprised. He turned and found himself staring at a man with red unruly hair and a rather handsome looking face. Though Kirito doubt that that was the man's real face, there were character customizations placed in the game and Kirito too did abuse the system a little bit. He had made himself taller, manlier than he was in real life and suffice to say he was rather proud of his character's looks.

"Care to help Klein here," the man whispered and Kirito feeling a little generous today decided in doing just that.

Sinon was back, with a starting dagger and throwing knives in her inventory, she made a determined bee line towards the fields which were crawling with wild boars. Levelling up was her first priority and she had no intention of leaving the game until she reached level 10. Taking in the sights of the green pastures, Sinon allowed herself to smile a little. The fields were as beautiful as she first remembered them to be and when she found the wild boars that she was looking for she wasted no time in killing them.

During beta, Sinon would have no trouble taking these creatures down but now because she had to start from scratch it took her three strikes to kill it. The familiar sensation of knives hitting flesh and of dagger slicing meat was enough to make her smirk. Yes, this was what she wanted, to feel strong, invincible. She watched satisfied as the boar disappeared into a series of blue polygon and the various drops entered her inventory. A few hours and two levels higher than before, Sinon found herself in starter forest. She had promised to meet Shinkawa earlier today and had been waiting for him for about two hours. She frowned when she realized that the boy was late and could only sigh as she rested on a tree. She was exhausted, after non-stop killing boars, it had taken a toll on her. Just as she was about to take a little nap a sharp scream echoed throughout the woods.

Alarmed Sinon turned and started towards the source of the scream. Emerging from the bushes and thick trees she found herself in a clearing and gathered in front of her were a group of players. They were dressed in black and wore starter's hoods over their faces. Each of them were armed with daggers and throwing knives some were armed with swords. Sinon looked at the ground and found a woman probably in her mid thirties shivering in horror. They had surrounded her and Sinon was shocked. Their knives were pointed at the woman and they were laughing.

"Hand over the loot you just got, you got a unique one didn't you?" one of them spoke and Sinon's eyes widened. She recognized the voice very well and she spoke.

"S…Shinkawa-kun?" she whispered. There was a deep welling silence and the members of the group realizing that they were not alone turned to face her.

"Sinon?" one of the members asked and he removed his hood. Sinon found herself glancing at Shinkawa-kun's face, he was a little taller than usual and he had changed his hair colour to red but it was most definitely Shinkawa Kyoji.

"What…what are you doing?" Sinon asked.

"Hey, hey Kyoji you know this hottie?" one of the group members asked the boy and the boy blushed.

"Brother! That is rude, Sinon I thought you were supposed to wait for me by the forest."

Unable to recover from the shock Sinon stuttered. "I did but then I heard a scream so I…"

Shinkawa sighed, "Well this is the guild mates I was talking about. We planned to make a PK guild, my brother started it, the laughing coffins it's called."

Sinon felt a shiver go up her spine. A PK guild…well she suppose some people were into that kind of stuff. But seeing Shinkawa with a group of people like them made Sinon more than a little disappointed. One of the men standing behind Shinkawa walked towards the stumbling woman who was shivering slightly under their gazes and Sinon watched horrified as the man raised his sword.

"W...wait!" Sinon splutterred and the man paused, he turned and Sinon found herself staring at a pair of blood red eyes.

"Sinon? You disapprove of this?" Shinkawa asked, walking towards her and Sinon found herself shrinking back a little. Sure there was nothing wrong with PK'ing players in this world, in fact it was part of the game mechanics but something about the woman reminded Sinon of somebody back in her home town. The woman on the ground had black long hair and her face though matured had a sort of calm beauty to it. Though pretty, the woman's face was now twisted up in horror, she was clutching something golden in her hand and Sinon could see why Shinkawa and his merry band of PK'ing group members wanted to kill the woman.

"You don't need to kill her don't you," Sinon said and then turned to the woman. "Give them your stuff and you can get out of here." The woman splutterred and gapped which did more than enough to irritate Sinon. Sinon walked towards the spluttering long haired woman and leaned in. "Hey did you hear me, give them your stuff!"

The woman's terrified gaze made Sinon shrink back. She looked too much like her...that woman...that woman with those accusing eyes. Her mother.

"But...but this is mine..." the woman forced the words out. Before Sinon knew what was happening, a small dagger was lodge into her shoulder. Sharp pain coarse through Sinon's body and she heard Shinkawa cry out, running towards her. The woman...the woman had stabbed her and was beginning to run away.

There was a roar and before Sinon could stop them, the PK'ing guild had stepped forward, the man with the haunting red eyes taking action first stabbing the woman in the chest. There was a gurgled silence and the woman turned, her face etched in horror and Sinon was immediately transported back to the post office, her hands covered in blood, her mother looking at her with a horrified expression.

Sinon collapsed to her knees as the woman disapeared into a million blue polygon. There was a triumphant cheer throughout the group but all Sinon could remember was the woman and her horrified gaze. Somebody pulled the dagger out of her shoulder and she became aware of Shinkawa's gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up and was surprised to see a smile on his face.

They had just murdered a player in game...sure, the woman would probably respawn in the city...but how could they rejoice like that. Weren't they afraid...they were murderers now, in this game...murderers. Weren't they afraid of such a stigma. "Wasn't that fun Sinon?" Shinkawa asked and Sinon shrunk back from his touch. His words hurt her somehow and she chided herself from being so sensitive. It's just a game Sinon, she reminded herself, people did this all the time.

"Sinon?" he asked, his smile vanishing replaced with a frown.

"Erm...well, sorry...Shinkawa-kun I've got something else to do...so...I'll take a leave-"

"Wait a minute," a cold, calculated and cunning voice greeted Sinon and she turned to find the man with the red eyes staring at her. "Don't you want in?" he asked.

Sinon paused for a moment, she noticed the hopeful smile on Shinkawa's face and the sword the man was holding. He was menacing somehow and Sinon decided that he was somebody she did not want to deal with.

She stood up and face Shinkawa, "Im sorry Shinkawa-kun, I play solo and I would like to level up now, maybe I'll meet you again some other time," she said.

Shinkawa was clearly disappointed but he forced a smile. "Sure, Sinon, I know."

Sinon nodded and was preparing to leave when something hard and rough grabbed her and pulled. She yelped and heard Shinkawa gasp.

"Brother! I mean Xaxa what are you doing!?"

"Come on Shinkawa-kun do you think I was letting this hottie slip away?"

Sinon turned, annoyance in her eyes. The man with the red eyes...no Shinkawa's brother, Xaxa was smirking and his guild members were chuckling menacingly at his suggestion. "Come on join us for a little while, we would need some of those..." he glance down at her boobs and Sinon couldn't help but feel a little bit expose. Her starting gear which composed of a tight brown singlet and sandy shorts and Sinon could feel him molesting her with his eyes. Sinon forced her arm out of his grip and snapped at him, "No, I would leave now."

The man Xaxa chuckled inching forward before Sinon knew what was happening he was launching towards her, pinning her to the tree, sword placed on her throat. Sinon breath hitched and Shinkawa was protesting against the hooting guild members. "Brother! What are you doing! PK'ing is fine but this, this is just wrong!"

"Oh little brother...come off it, you think I haven't seen you looking at this girl...she's that girl right...that girl you keep telling me about...what was her name...oh yes Asada-"

Before who could complete his sentence, Sinon had slapped him hard on the face.

"Let me go," she seethes, anger over taking her. How dare he...this was a game but this was taking it too far.

The man glared at her and he pressed the sword further into her throat.

"Brother!"

"Shut up Kyoji!" Xaxa shouted and terror gripped Sinon as he started to touch her face, his hands sliding slowly towards her chest. "You know your beautiful..." he whispered and Sinon was suddenly transported back into the post office. Xaxa red eyes slowly transforming to that of a face, a face she had tried desperately not to remember. The voices of Shinkawa's protest and the hoots of the other guild members faded into the distance. The man's face becoming more prominent. Something red was leaking from his forehead. A hole...a lethal hole, gushing red blood.

There was a thump and Sinon looked down, in her hands was the starter dagger that she had been carrying around all day. Wait...how did that get here. She looked up and found herself staring at Xaxa's shocked face. "What...what...-" Xaxa whispered and there was a deep silence. Sinon found the dagger she was holding stuck in Xaxa's chest and her eyes widened in horror.

The man fell back and the guild members stopped hooting, as their friend and probably leader vanished into a million blue polygons. There was silence and then Shinkawa's hands was on Sinon's shoulders.

'Are you alright?" He asked. Sinon nodded and them stood up slowly, the shock slowly wearing off.

Sinon realizing what she had done, looked at her HP bar. She cursed, it was orange now. Fuck that...how was she going to get supplies now. She probably had to wait a few hours. She stood up and gave an apologetic look to Shinkawa.

"Sorry Shinkawa-kun, I kinda...stabber your brother."

Shinkawa chuckled and wave his guild members off. They were gazing at Sinon with a mixture of fear and animosity. "It's ok, he'll probably be back in starter's town anyway...but I think you better leave, his going to be pissed off when his back."

Sinon gave him a weak smile before nodding.

"Thanks Shinkawa..."

"No problems, we'll meet again later...after things have calmed down a bit."

Sinon nodded and stuffed the dagger back in its sheathe.

"See you around Shinkawa."

"Yep Sinon."

With that, Shinkawa and his guild mates begun to clear the small forest clearing, when they have all left, Sinon sunk to her knees, giving out a loud sigh. "A PK'ing guild huh..." she muttered. Maybe she could-

"Murderer."

Sinon stiffened. No...she could not possibly join that. No, not again. She will not be called that again. Making her decision, Sinon begun to make her way back to starter's field.

Weren't games like this supposed to have a log out button? The girl name Yuuki Asuna thought as she looked at the menu. Since arrival she had been amazed and stunned by everything that she had seen. She had explored the starter town a few times and had even managed to talk to a few NPC's, surprised at how life like those things were. Everything about sword art online was exactly what her brother had told her.

The older man had been gushing about the game ever since he tried out the beta. Now that Asuna was online and playing it she could see what the hype was about. She could feel, she could taste, she could hear, everything in this game seemed like she had been transported to another world.

Kayaba…the creator of this game was a genius. Just as she was enjoying the life like feels of the city she bumped into a tall teenage boy who was accompanied by a red haired man. She was about to apologize when the boy turned, smiling at her.

"You're new here too?"

Asuna stared at the two boys wearily. Sure she had blue hair and bright green eyes now, but the fact that she was a girl and talking to strange guys was not her forte she chose to ignore them. Before they could introduce themselves Asuna had begun walking in another direction and she paid no heed to the disappointment in the two men's eyes.

She didn't come here to make friends, she was just here to see what the hype was about. She couldn't play this anyway. She had exams to study for, people to meet, companies to impress. Asuna Yuuki was a teenage woman on her way up and she had no time to waste on games such as this.

Now that she had tried this and deemed it to be worth the hype, her brother would stop petering her to try it. As she opened her menu to log out she was stunned to see that there was none. She had been in this game for 5 hours and if she delayed anymore her mother was going to be mad. She had piano lessons today. Panicking she caught the only girl player she could find. The girl like her character had blue hair and ice cold eyes. For some reason, the girl was crouching and was irritated by the sight of Asuna.

"Erm…sorry," she whispered. The girl shooed her away and as a guard passed by the girl heaved a sigh of relief. Asuna curious with the girl's weird behaviour greeted the girl again.

"Erm…hello…"

The girl glared at her.

"What?" she snapped and Asuna was taken aback by the ice cold glare the girl gave her. Feeling intimidated Asuna gulped before continuing on. "Why are you sneaking like that?"

The girl sighed. "You're new here aren't you?" she asked and Asuna nodded. "Look at my health bar its orange…I'm a criminal for now." The girl replied. Asuna's eyes widened. "If I get caught by the guards I would be thrown into jail for a few days."

"So why were you crouching?" Asuna asked.

The girl sighed, "Noob," she muttered before explaining, "It's a sneaking skill…I need to hide from the guards you see."

Feeling a little bit wary about the girl Asuna then remembered the initial purpose of talking to her. "I can't log out…is there any other way?"

The girl stared at her in disbelief and Asuna was starting to feel like a giant idiot.

"Don't tell me you don't know something as simple as a log out button," the girl mocked and Asuna could feel a little bit of prickling anger inside her. "Well I'm new here so enlighten me," she snapped. The girl glanced at her before opening up her menu. She then frowned.

"It was supposed to be here," she muttered.

"Ha! You don't know either," Asuna exclaimed. The girl turned, her glare silencing Asuna. "Must be a bug or something, Kayaba would-"she was cut off before she could say anything. There was a bright flash and Asuna shrieked. Feeling disorientated she opened her eyes and found herself standing in the middle of a large crowd. There were people everywhere and Asuna found herself staring at a red sky filled with large "WARNING" letters. Confused she turned around and found the blue haired girl staring at the sky, the same confusion plastered on her face.

"What is going on!?" some people exclaimed and fear gripped her heart when a large red hooded figure appeared in the sky. Like a dream it spoke, its voice menacing and cruel.

"Welcome to the world Aincrad. Welcome to the world I have created. The log out button will cease to exist and you are now stuck in this world. This is now your reality."

A few murmurs broke out from the silenced crowd then loud screams of protest.

"Silence!" the figured boomed before continuing, " If you die in this game you would die in real life, if your HP reaches zero an electricity shockwaves would be emitted into your Nervegear and you will die."

This time Asuna could only stare in shock. What…what did he say?

"Of course removing the Nervegear itself would result in the same results. 235 people have already died because families did not believe." Blue screen appeared on the red sky and true enough there were thousands of news reports and faces of the deceased. The girl beside Asuna gave a strange strangled cry and Asuna couldn't help but notice that the girl was shaking terribly.

"The only way out is to defeat and clear the game. And now as a parting gift please inspect the object in your inventory."

Something appeared in her hands and Asuna was surprised to see a hand mirror. She was engulf in a bright light and the next thing she saw was herself. Her orange chestnut hair and bright brown eyes. Horrified she dropped the mirror and looked at the figure in the sky.

"Welcome to Sword Art Online."

And then there were screams.

No…it could not be…Kirito and Klein could only stare at the figure in horror. No…this was not happening. Kirito gripped the mirror in anger and flung it into the sky. "Kayaba!" he screamed. How could he…how could this man do something like this. The man he idolized the man he worshiped. What had he done!

"What is happening?" Klein whispered. Kirito found himself staring at a shorter man with wilder red hair and a green bandanna. "Klein…" he muttered and the man turned to look at him. The man was still in shock. "Kirito…" he whispered.

This was bad, this was very bad. They had to do something. Grabbing Klein's hand he started running out of starter's village. Clear the game, Kayaba had said, they needed to clear it. Therefore levelling up was the only way. "Klein we need to go now."

But the older man regaining his senses pulled back.

"Wait, wait Kirito, I need to meet my friends their back here and we promised to meet."

Kirito grimaced. He can't have people pulling him down. Getting a head start was the only way. Sensing his dilemma the older man could only smile. "It's ok Kirito thanks for everything, I would get by just fine."

Before Kirito could say anything a friend request pop up on his window. Kirito stared at it for a moment and he turned to Klein who gave him a sad smile.

"Thanks buddy for everything, I'll survive don't worry, you taught me all I need to know. You stay safe ok."

He was alone…again.

Kirito nodded and he bade Klein good bye. Before moving on, his strides getting wider, soon he broke into a run. He had to go…this was the only way. Pulling out his sword he made his way into the forest.

"Murderer, murderer, murderer!"

The voices were threatening to consume her. Asada Shino/Sinon was clutching the mirror, her weak self-looking back at her. Gone was the deadly archer from before, now all that was left was the murderer from real life.

"Xaxa." She muttered painfully. The revelation of what she had done and the fate of the woman now clear to her. She let out a painful sob, her feelings starting to overwhelm her. No…not again, not this again, she couldn't…no! Shinkawa...how...she killed him...she killed his brother.

With a strangled sob, Shino collapsed on the ground clutching her hands and wrapping them into fist. She pounded the ground hard and only realized her hands were bleeding when the girl she met before pulled her up.

The girl's features once with green eyes and blue hair had changed drastically. Sinon now found herself looking at a beautiful girl with long orange chestnut hair and brown eyes. "Hey, what's wrong!" the girl asked, horrified by the injury that Sinon had done to herself. Those eyes were warm, caring, something that Sinon had never seen before. For a moment, Shino had wanted to collapse to die, to kill herself but seeing those eyes made her realize what her purpose in the game was for. The name XaXa left a pounding pain in her chest but she calmed down. She rubbed her eyes and stood up. She felt something hot in her chest. A burning hatred, a hatred so deep it threatened to overwhelm her.

"It's nothing," she whispered harshly to the girl, pushing her away. She turned and glared at her and a mad glint made the girl take a step back. "Don't touch me." She whispered. The burning hot hatred coarse through her veins and she started to walk out of the crowd, pushing and snarling at anyone who came close or who blocked her way.

The woman…Xaxa…that man…all…all of them killed…by her.

"Murderer!"

Pushing a panicking man aside and kicking him in the chest, Sinon continued her way out of town. She would erase it…all traces of herself…this hatred…this hatred.

"Asada Shino," she whispered the name her voice filled with venom, closing her eyes. That weakling, that piece of shit, that murderer. She was going to erase it all. And she knew exactly how to do it.

When she opened her eyes gone was the look of innocence, of hope. Asada Shino was no more.