Porthaven was, as she remembered it, a beautiful town. On one side, the vast blue ocean stretched towards the sun while on the other side, valleys and mountains stretched so far she couldn't see the end of it. Porthaven also had two different types of docks. One was for ships, and the other was a series of giant garages where people made their own Mecha. It was such a long and complicated process that not many people were able to ever create a Mecha of their own. In Yurishizu's two years of playing Machaon, she'd only partially completed hers. She heard geniuses smarter than her had already completed their robots and had started 1vs1 duels for fun. The girl didn't think she'd be a good fighter, but she wanted to build a great Mecha to pilot one day.

There were hundreds of docks scattered across Porthaven, but she'd bought the dock furthest away from the village. It was the most isolated one, although several sheds like Dock 15, 9, 21, 5, 38, and 29 were still close to hers.

When she arrived at Dock Seven, a good hour had passed from the events of The Bloody Half-Century. Yurishizu raised an eyebrow when she spotted a crowd of people in front of her shed.

"Oh, Ageha-kun!" a voice addressed her. When she turned around at the call of her username, a small old man with greying hair and friendly blue eyes wobbled over to her. Yurishizu recognized him immediately—Mamoru of Dock 9 had formidable engineering skills that was almost on par with Yurishizu's. He was famous for completing over twenty small Mecha's.

"Mamoru-san," she nodded curtly. "What are all these people doing here?"

The old man sighed, rubbing his face tiredly. "They're after our Mecha. Idiots believe that they can fly them when they probably don't even know how these monsters work. You better leave your Mecha in your inventory for now—dunno when they'll try and start robbing us."

Yurishizu rolled her eyes. "It's fine, I'll just work on my Mecha with the shed door closed."

"That's what most of us are doing right now," he chuckled. "Although most of the folks here are complaining that it's not fair how we know how to make Mecha and they don't…"

Yurishizu rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I don't care. Unlike them, we actually spend some time researching and making these. I'm not going to give them out for free."

"Tell them that," he laughed. "Anyway, are you sure you don't need any help? You could've finished your Mecha a long time ago if you had a team to help you."

"I'm fine," said Yurishizu, walking towards the dock where crowds of people looked at her in disgust. "I prefer working by myself."

A man grabbed her arm just as she was about to walk away.

"A girl like you knows how to make a Mecha?" he asked. Yurishizu gave him a bored look.

"What of it?"

"Give it to me. I'll fight. I could probably pilot it better than a girl like you anyways."

Yurishizu swiped her arm back rudely and gave him a glare. "Forget it. You probably don't even know the basics of how these Mecha's work. Every life matters from here on out—ordinary civilians shouldn't try to pilot things like Mechas. Stand back and watch—we'll take it over from here."

Just as she was about to stalk away, a high pitched scream made her freeze in her tracks.

"Doesn't the person who kills her get her items? Her Mecha must be in her inventory!"

"Get her!"

Yurishizu's eyes widened. There was no ways she could outrun all these people—especially in the snow where it was so slippery.

"Wait, let's talk about this—"

"DON'T LET HER ESCAPE!"

A group of men suddenly lunged for her—Yurizuru shielded her face with her arms, eyes squeezing shut in fear. Was she really going to die today? When the mission hadn't even started? She didn't want to forget Chou… and there were still so many things in her life she had left to complete.

"ARGH!"

Her eyes opened in surprise when she saw a person with medium-length black hair in front of her, holding a sheathed sword in front of him. He looked left and right with his bright blue eyes and hit the next attacker with the hilt of his sword.

His deep voice rumbled throughout the crowd, catching everyone's attention.

"Cease your anger," he snarled. "If we want to survive this game we can't afford to go around losing people like her. As long as she's alive, she can help us make Mecha."

"I don't think she will," A voice called out in the distance.

"That's only your assumption," he cooly replied, looking left and right for another attacker.

"Don't tell me—can you make Mecha as well?" someone else said. He shook his head, snow dusting off of his black hair. It reached down to his shoulder blades which was tied loosely by a white bandage. His attire was completely black—a turtleneck tank top with baggy pants and military boots. His mouth was covered by a thick black scarf that hung loosely around his broad shoulders.

"I'm just somebody with a bit more common sense," said his muffled voice. "These people are our greatest chance of survival—fighting amongst ourselves won't do any good. I'm sure we'll find a solution, so please work together."

The crowd looked dissatisfied, but seemed to quiet down somewhat. After the stern look of the mysterious saviour's life, most people began to leave—some more hesitant than others.

Mamoru sighed in relief when the last person had left. "Well, well young man, what do we have here? Thanks for that, I'm sure it took a lot of courage."

His eyes crinkled into a kind smile. "No worries, sire. I'm glad I could help out in these difficult times."

The old man chuckled. "Now Ageha, you should come thank him too—"

He turned around, with no sight of the white-haired girl. The two looked around frantically, trying to find her.

The mysterious man found her first—she was unlocking the door to her dock at the top of a long flight of stairs.

"Oi, oi," Mamoru sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'm sorry, she's a bit shy…"

"No worries, he assured the engineer. "Well then, I must be off."

With a polite bow of his head, he grabbed the rails of the stairs and climbed his way up like a monkey, entering the dock just before Yurishizu shut the door.

"Whoa there, little miss," he said, slipping in just in time. His next words were caught in his throat however, when he saw the wide space of the dock. It was empty, save for some tools that hung on the walls neatly. They were currently standing on a high balcony, but several flights of stairs led to the ground.

He smiled. "It's very nice."

Yurishizu ignored him. With a swipe of her hand, the inventory hovered in front of her, and after clicking a few buttons, a giant Mecha materialized in the wide space in front of them, filling up the entire shed.

With a flick of her hand, she also changed her clothes into navy-blue shorts and a simple black t-shirt. Her hair was tied up into a neat bun, with the blue flower still clipped in place. A set of goggles hung loosely around her neck. She also had a brown belt on with various tools hanging off of it.

"What do you want," she said, lying down on a wide skateboard. Pushing herself under the giant robot, a metallic clang resonated the shed.

He leaned on the balcony, observing the huge robot carefully. The main body was white, save for its bright blue wings that were folded on its back. He could see that it was still missing a set of arms and legs.

Nodding in approval, he said: "A little lady like you can make Mecha, huh?"

BANG! "I'm not little."

I can see that. The man eyed her long legs sticking out. Clearing his throat, he said: "What do you think about The Bloody Half Century Event?"

The whirring noise of the wires turning within the body of the giant robot grew louder and louder by the second. A bright light flashed near Yurishizu, and she wheeled herself out, porcelain skin and white hair covered by black oil.

"Ack," she groaned, wiping her mouth. "What was your question again?"

"What do you think about Kazuo's plan?"

"It's stupid?" said Yurishizu, rolling her eyes.

"How so?"

A thin eyebrow was raised suspiciously. "Why do you even care? Who are you?"

He leaped over the fence and landed nimbly in front of Yurishizu. Standing in front of her, she realized he was very tall—around half a foot, and she was 173cm herself.

Sticking a hand out casually, he said: "Leo. I'm an assassin."

She didn't bother shaking his hand—more so because her hands were covered with oil than anything else.

"Who the hell needs assassins in this world?" Yurishizu inquired, scoffing. Leo shrugged and pulled his mask down, revealing his face. He was handsome—mysterious black eyes that danced with mirth, shaggy black hair that was tied to the back by a thin white band, and a tall, pretty nose.

"I played Senbonzakura before transferring to Machaon." He scratched his head sheepishly. "It's my younger brother's game, actually. He's out at a friends house and asked me to get the special event gift for him instead, since I was at home with my friends. They're probably wondering what's happened by now. I hope nobody removes my AutoClear."

Yurishizu rolled her eyes. "Word's probably out by now. Who knows, maybe we're being transported into hospitals."

Leo shrugged. "Well, I was a pretty good commander in Senbonzakura–and I know a bit about fighting wars as well. You'd want somebody nimble enough to run back and forth for information. What about we team up?"

The white-haired girl crossed her arms, feeling suspicious. "Why me?"

"I've been eying you for a while now."

"Oh bother, a stalker," she said sarcastically.

"And there were rumours saying that a female engineer was attempting to build a 20-meter Mecha all by herself. Or at least, that's what my younger brother told me. When I asked him why that was so interesting, he said that the engineers in Machaon weren't actual engineers, and they were building robots by the book, so somebody like you must've been a real engineer. Luckily, he told me which dock you were in, so I came to seek you for your assistance. Didn't expect you to be so young though."

"It could just be my avatar," she challenged. "I could be a 400-pound man with greying hair, spending the rest of his days in virtual reality."

Leo scoffed. "Please. My brother said he wished he could have an older sister as nice as you. Definitely did not sound like a man."

Yurishizu was surprised. "I've met your brother before?" She rarely interacted with people on Machaon, save for Mamoru and…

"Keiichi," she whispered. "Your younger brother was Keiichi?"

"You do know him," Leo smiled. "He said that you once told him he reminded you of your younger brother."

Chou… The name brought a pang to her chest. How worried he must be right now…

"I have a younger brother too," she admitted. "Keiichi looked similar to him when he was younger."

Leo waited for her to continue, but her cunning yellow eyes seemed troubled. Yurishizu was worried—Chou was responsible, but it was mostly Yurishizu that had raised the young boy. Who'd do it in her steed? Her parents undoubtedly wouldn't care. Would they have even realized that she was gone?

"So," Leo cut into her train of thought. "Will you team up with me?"

She had no interest in fighting. She didn't want to be involved in a war. She was too weak to fight in hand-to-hand combat. The man in front of her though, was obviously ready to face off against Kazuo.

"Yes," she said. "I—I will team up with you."

Leo gave her a wide grin. "Great, I'll send you a party request."

A white screen appeared in front of her. Leo has invited you to his party. Accept? Decline?

She hesitantly clicked the accept button. What does this mean? Am I really going to fight? I'm not the type of person to step up in these kinds of situations…

"Great. I'm going to go home for the time being, but I'll message you later when I have the chance. It was nice meeting you, Ageha."

She nodded curtly and gave him a small wave. Leo's eyes crinkled in to crescents as he too, raised his hand to wave goodbye.

Keiichi you twerp. Leo thought bemusedly. You didn't tell me that this engineer was a beautiful lady.

Yurishizu placed her Mecha in the inventory and turned the lights off, preparing to close the shop down for today. A 20-meter class was difficult to make—its sheer size meant that she had to be strong enough to move everything around. More than once she'd accidentally hurt herself. Although the virtual world made it easy for her to recover, she couldn't rely on how safe Machaon was anymore.

Leo… Keiichi's older brother. She was now teammates with him, ready to fight in a war that may last the next ten years of their life. If Chou didn't exist, she wouldn't have a reason to live. Was Leo also fighting for his brother, or was he fighting just because it was right?

She changed her clothes once again to a long, black hoodie and white jeans. It was snowing outside, and undoubtedly cold. Virtual reality had come a long way since Sword Art Online. Emotions felt more realistic, sight and smell became better, and families could now actually get married and have a virtual child. It was a controversial topic for a long time, but Kirigaya Kazuo had made it work. He made everything work when it came to virtual reality. But nobody expected the genius to plot something like this…

Water seeped into her black boots, freezing her toes. She hadn't bothered to buy transportation crystals—a costly mistake for her toes. Was it possible to catch a cold in Machaon? She'd have to wait to find out…

Porthaven was a disaster when she arrived. Some buildings were still on fire, garbage littered the floor, and a child was crying somewhere off in the distance. She hoped that her house wasn't broken into.

Luckily, her apartment was still intact, save for a house on the first floor. She slowly made her way up the stairs and opened the door to her house. Not bothering to take her shoes off, she sat down on her plush sofa and closed her eyes, feeling exhausted.

She needed to organize her thoughts a bit more. Her Mecha was almost complete—she'd completed putting the pieces together today, a process that took her around six hours. She still needed to work on the Mecha's legs though. She hadn't decided if she would somehow place wheels on them or even more guns if that was possible. Speaking of wars, she'd probably need to make an escape car within the Mecha in case things got ugly during the fight.

Do I even want to fight? Yurishizu frowned. Maybe I'll give that Mecha to someone so they can fight instead. But this was my first project… kind of seems like a shame to pass it on without flying myself.

Was Leo an engineer as well? Didn't really seem like it. Would he fly my Mecha if I gave it to him?

She rotated her body so that she was now lying down. I've always been the type to be alone… but for some reason, I feel a bit more lonely today…

Her yellow eyes closed as she tried to squash the emotions down. Focus, Hanamura. What do you know so far? Kirigaya Kazuo created The Bloody Half Century event which is a copycat crime of SAO that happened back in 2022. But it's not a complete copycat. There's different things about it as well. If we die within the game, we can return to the real world in exchange for our memories. Ideally, I'd give them away and just return, but I think I'll stick around for a bit longer and see what happens first.

Were there problems to the event that she'd overlooked?

Five million people. Five million lives in attempt to kill one. Ten years. How many levels did Machaon have again? 100? But for the past two years, nobody could even reach level two. What does that mean? How do we reach Kazuo?

War. Does that mean that Porthaven will have a war too? Is that what level one means?

She jumped up from the sofa. When? How? There's 5 million people here and nowhere to escape. How will we be able to protect the ones who can't fight…?

A white screen popped up in front of her. Leo has sent you a message.

"Hey." It read. "Where are you right now?"

Yurishizu raised an eyebrow. "My apartment right across the town square."

"Can you come down to Vialla Tavern?"

Vialla Tavern? Wasn't that the one near the sea? If she took the underground tunnels, she could get there pretty quickly…

"Okay."

She closed the window and prepared to go out, but another message from Leo stopped her.

"How are you getting there?"

Why does it matter? Yurishizu thought, but typed: "Using the underground road."

"Be careful."

Wasn't that a given? She rolled her eyes and closed the window again. After changing her shoes, she opened the door.

4,999,309

The number that flicked in front of her slightly startled the girl—she'd forgotten that there was now a population counter right in the centre of the plaza.

691 people had died already. In comparison to the 5 million, it was only a small number, but after a bit of thought, she realized that these were real people that have either really died or had lost their memories.

Almost 700… she sighed, and made her way down to the underground roads.

The stone walls made her footsteps echo, and the dark path in front her her was illuminated by the occasional lamp. She didn't really use the underground road much—only when the public roads were closed, so it was surprising to her when she saw the abundance of people huddled together in the normally abandoned path.

"We're going to die…"

"Mommy, I'm hungry!"

"If there's a war, does that mean we're all going to die?"

"Let's hide here for the time being—the riots up above are too dangerous to get close to."

Yurishizu's eyebrows furrowed with worry. Why did this place seem no different from the real world? Where beggars and those without hope were always huddled together on abandoned roads, scrounging for something to cling to?

She took a few more turns. Most people were crying, and a few times she saw rowdy men get into fistfights, but for the most part, nobody had touched her.

"Hey lady,"

A tall, shirtless man had grabbed her arm. Yurishizu didn't need to look at him to know that he was strong.

"Ow, that hurts—"

He smirked and drew her close. "What about teaming up with me? I can protect ya in exchange for a small fee."

The man eyed her up and down, apparently liking what he saw, which Yurishizu didn't understand. The baggy hoodie she was wearing made her look like a black bear. Maybe her white hair stood out too much…

Without waiting for a reply, he dragged her closer.

"W-wait a second!"

"She's with me."

Another hand grabbed her other shoulder, more gently than the barbarian in front of her. She recognized the dark eyes of Leo which now looked at the perpetrator with a dangerous glint. The bottom half of his face was also covered by the baggy black scarf, covering his handsome face.

"What's it to you, kid?" The man asked, clearly not intimidated. Then, Leo pulled out a gun.

"Let her go or I'll blast your head."

His eyes widened in fear. Shoving Yurishizu away rather abruptly, he ran to the end of the corridor and took a sharp turn. The girl lost her balance but was caught just in time.

"Phew," the assassin smiled. "I told ya to be careful, didn't I?"

She pushed herself away and dusted her arms off. "Um—how did you know where I was?"

"Intuition. I was getting worried when I saw him walking around."

"Oh. You have good intuition then."

Leo gave her a cheeky grin. "Was that a compliment?"

She would've given him a sneaky retort if it wasn't for the pounding headache she felt. Ha. Virtual reality really was getting more realistic, wasn't it?

Yurishizu shook her head and glanced at the flight of stairs in front of her. "That's the entrance to the Vialla, right? What'd you call me out for?"

Leo's friendly eyes suddenly vanished into more serious ones.

"We're going to decide if we want to be murderers."

No matter how many times I re-wrote the chapter I couldn't feel satisfied with it so I'm keeping it this way for now.

So this is Leo of the Night. He's not an engineer but an assassin, and he comes from the game Senbonzakura. They've teamed up for now but with Yurishizu/Ageha's antisocial attitude, who knows how long they'll last?

I've got the first ten chapters or so plotted out, but what do you guys want to see in this story? I have a lot of interesting ideas I'm definitely going to use for this story but if there's anything you'd like to see in particular, shoot me a PM!

~J

Special thanks to:
acciofandom
Sane Light Aribeth
Commando2341
OtakuAnimeLover21