Its past midnight and I haven't moved an inch from my spot. I haven't even bothered to change out of my clothes yet. It's dark all around me, even the moon is covered by the storm clouds coming ahead. When I was younger I had a nightlight to protect me from the night, but now, I feel like I'm welcoming the darkness that surrounds me. I find it… Comforting. But no amount of darkness can hide the words spoken about me today.

"So? She has no friends!"

"Didn't you see her today? Talk about pathetic!"

I try so hard to deny what people say about me but in the end, I find myself agreeing. I am pathetic and I have no friends. When others talk to me at school, it's usually just a simple question of what the answer is or what did the teacher say because they weren't listening. I always hear girls say that I must be so lucky to have guys fawn over me. But honestly, other than the men my mother has me meet, no other guys have ever spoken to me. Perhaps I intimidate them. Perhaps they think the same way those girls think about me.

"Acting all high and mighty all the time…"

"She's getting what she deserves…"

Do I really act that way? This isn't what I wanted. When I was a kid I wanted to join all the kids on the play structure, not stand by the sidelines as I listened to my mother lecture me about all of the germs being shared by the kids and how filthy the park looked. When all the kids at school had hot dogs and cake, I was only allowed to eat what Sada had prepared for me because my mother didn't agree with the nutritional value of the food given out and told me it was rude to not eat what someone had made for me. When I was invited to my first and only sleepover, my mother refused because she didn't trust the girls or the supervising parents.

I am the way I am because of my mother. But even so, I'm still not the way she wants me to be. What's my purpose if I can't fulfill my own mother's expectations? Why do I exist if no one really needs me? Or wants me? Where do I belong? Because I know for sure it's not here. Would anyone notice if I was gone?

"Apparently they stripped down the game and started from scratch so there's no way players can die in real life if they die in the game. "

I wonder…

Slowly I push myself off the bed and tiptoe towards my bedroom door quietly unlocking it. The door creaks open and I sneak out into the dark and empty hallway. Surely, my mother and father are asleep so I don't have to worry about running into them, but after I take one more glance around the hall for good measure I rush to my brother's room at the end of the hall. Luckily he is out of town so I can be at ease going through his room without getting caught.

Due to his job, he is always overseas and is rarely at home so his room always feels cold and barren. His bed is neatly made and looks as though no one has ever slept in it, his closet is full of clothes but I wonder if they still fit him, and across from his bed is his desk where the NerveGear sits untouched. If it weren't for Sada, I'm sure it would have collected dust by now.

Feeling as though I'm being watched I creep up to his desk and gently lift the helmet with one hand and the long pad attached to it by a cord, which I assume is where the game cartridge is inserted, with the other. Acting like a thief, I bolt back to my room and switch both locks.

From what I've read it is recommended for the player to find a comfortable positon to station the body, commonly being a bed. Remembering that I'm still in my school uniform I change out of it and into a baggy shirt and shorts. I believe that this is the first time the NerveGear has ever been used because as soon as I place it over my head, it instructs me to pat my body. My guess is to decipher my height and build. After following a series of instructions and questions, I lie in bed to get settled, but my heart is pounding.

If this works, then this could be the end…

"Link start" I command and almost instantaneously an array of bright neon colours flash by my eyes and there's a high pitched ringing in my ears. My vision is blinded by a shining light that I need to close my eyes, and then a thought occurs to me.

Are my eyes actually open?

Is my body really in a coma-like state?

The next thing I know, a female voice is speaking out to me.

"Welcome, player, to Aincrad, you will begin your journey on Floor 1, the Town of Beginnings."

The Town of Beginnings… How ironic…

For a moment I'm surrounded by blackness and everything around me feels empty. I pull my hand back and reach out to nothing where there should have been the cushion of my bed. I was laying down when I started but now I feel I'm standing up right. The pace of my heart elevates and my breathing becomes heavy.

"What's going on? Where am I?" I shout in a panic as I wave my arms in the air and then I hear laughter… Then chatter… Music…

Then I realize…

My eyes are still closed.

Hesitantly, I open my eyes and at first everything is a bit of a blur, almost pixelated, then I focus on a certain area and it becomes clear. Almost like zooming into a photo with a camera and waiting for it to load.

Is this a dream? Did I fall asleep? Are my eyes actually open in real life?

From what I've read the NerveGear has high density microwave transceivers that block every transmission from the brain to the body and vice versa. This will allow the player to be completely immobile in the real world, but feel real in the virtual world. So I don't have to close my eyes to imagine what I'm seeing. I don't need to use my eyes or ears to see and hear, the electronic signals sent by the transceivers are being sent to the brain.

I look all over and I see a shop with smoke escaping from the opening and it drifts to me. I can smell burning coal and fire. Amazed, I take a step back and I find that I've walked into a puddle. Amazed, I bend down and touch the water, it's cold and I can feel the water slowly drip down my hand. This may be just a world full of data, but it feels completely real! This must be what a FullDive is.

This will take some getting used to.

However… I don't plan on getting too used to it for long.

Around me are several players wandering, either they are just starting like me or already on to their next journey. As I watch other players I notice their clothing. Some of them are wearing solid colored clothes with capes, breastplates and leather boots, while others are dressed in full metal armor and helmets. Not modern day clothing at all. I take a moment to exam myself and I see that I'm wearing a dark red leather tunic with a light weight copper breastplate and a matching red skirt with brown leather boots.

For just a moment, I'm amused, red is my favorite color. I continue to scan my surroundings until I notice at the top left corner of my vision I see a green bar with my name on it. I take a closer look to see it's my HP and it's full.

"If they died in the game they died in real life…" I mumble to myself and I begin to wander off.

I notice that because it's still night time in the real world it is also night in the game. But it doesn't seem to matter how late it is, there are still a lot of players awake at this time. Everywhere I go I see a group of people or just a single player walking alone. I wonder for a second if they're alone like me, but I find it highly unlikely.

After what feels like forever, I finally reach an end of the town and see a great stone wall with a giant opening leading to a dark and vast field. Without thinking twice, I make a run for it.

It's surprising how realistic the virtual reality world is. Even as I run, I can feel the wind blowing through my hair, I can feel the cold night air wrapping around my skin. I can even feel the tears running down my cheeks. Just like in the real world I can run for long distances but this time I barely feel out of breath and my legs don't give out as quickly.

"She has no friends…"

I push myself to run faster but the voices keep following me.

"I think it's sad…"

My heart begins to ache and I let out a sob.

"You continue to act like this you will be alone forever…"

My mother's last words of the night sting me deep and without watching my footing, I trip and tumble to the ground. I thought that in the virtual world I wouldn't be able to feel pain, but somehow I feel every hit in my body and I'm about to bruise.

"I don't want to be alone anymore!" I cry out loud as I hit the ground with my fists like a child. "I don't want to be alone!" I let out a tearful scream, so loud I feel as if my body in the real world is shouting it. If I were to cry out like this in front of my mother, she would berate me for acting so spoiled. She would tell me to grow up and act my age. But she's not here to scold me anymore, no one is.

No one is here to stop me.

I look ahead and I no longer see a path or the continuation of the grassy land. I only see the night sky and dark clouds. I've finally made it to the edge of Floor 1. The girl said that they found a way for players to use the old game still and not worry about dying in real life. So there's a possibility that this won't work.

But if it does…

Suddenly, from behind I hear a round of snorts and the sound of thumps hitting the ground. I picture the girls at my school and my throat constricts. I can't take it anymore of their laughter and ridicule.

"Go away!" I bawl out as I turn to face them but only to see a sounder of blue boars surrounding me, preparing to charge.

My heart stops for a moment. I can't believe I forgot that there are monsters here, and I didn't buy a weapon to protect myself. Even if I had one, I don't know how to use it! Never have I felt so lost and out of control. Fearfully, I take a step back and as soon as I hear one of them squeal I feel a violent force strike me from my left, knocking me to my side. I shriek in pain as the left my body instantly goes numb. I check my HP gauge on the top left and it's already half empty, no longer green but yellow. I gape at the blue boars in terror. That was only one hit! Another boar charges for me, swiftly tucking its sharp tusks under me then tosses me up the air. I try to land on my feet but as soon as I do, another assaults me, aiming right for my stomach and I fall on my back, nearing the edge. I hear a rapid beeping noise and when I glance at my HP bar, it's now flashing red and closing in on 0.

This is it…

I can hear a boar huff as its hooves stamp into the ground.

I guess this is good bye…

I shut my eyes as I listen to the boar squeal at me like a battle cry. It's not exactly the way I want to go, but is there really a preferred way to die?

"Aaahh!"

A deep male voice roars from about a couple meters away from me and suddenly I see a string of crystal-like polygons floating to the sky. I adjust my head to get a better view and I see a black figure fight off the blue boars with a long black sword. It takes the figure just one hit for each boar and the area around us is just a plethora of splintered crystal lights. Soon after the figure turns to me and I get a closer view of a black cloaked boy dashing towards me. Just like the color of his clothes, his hair and his eyes are obsidian and mysterious, he doesn't look at all like the other players. If I were to place him with the rest of the players I've seen, he'd stand out, almost like he doesn't belong.

"Here!" He offers as the blue shiny crystal he pulled out from his pocket shatters and my HP bar fills up within a second.

What feels like excruciating pain one minute vanishes within the next. It's as though nothing had ever happened to me, in a way, I feel refreshed. The bruises that I had not too long ago disappear and my body no longer feels sore. Wordlessly, I look at him. Confused. I didn't notice him before when I ran. Did he follow me? For just a couple more minutes, he observes me then sighs in relief, helping me sit back up.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Trying to fight them off like that! Where's your weapon?" He sounds young, at least not much older than me.

As he keeps his focus on me, waiting for an answer, I shrug back at him. "I don't have one."

"What?" He looks incredulous at the thought then scans around. "What are you even doing here then? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"What does it matter?" I snap at him, suddenly feeling annoyed by his incessant questioning. "It's not like you can actually die in here anyway."

The black swordsman's face slightly falls, it's like he's trying to read me. "Whether you're here or IRL, you should never want to die."

"What do you care?" I stare at him coldly with a scoff. "We're all going to die anyway eventually, what's the harm in speeding up the process? Besides, it's not like anyone would care if I was gone!"

"That's not true," the boy smiles lightly at me as he crouches to be at my level, "I'd care."

Stunned, I stare at the boy with wide eyes, looking perplexed.

"Yeah," he continues then scratches the back of his head sheepishly, "I mean, if all you did was just jump off a cliff, even after I chased you down all this way and saved you, then talk about a wasted effort!"

Like a pop of a bubble, my momentary gratitude for him disappears and I shove him away. "I didn't ask you to save me! Who the hell are you? Why did you even follow me?"

Just as he was about to answer a bright light flashes and another sounder of blue boars appear.

"Do you really not have weapon?" the boy inquires with a raised eyebrow and I lift both of my empty hands. "Give me one moment, this will only take a sec'."

I watch him saunter up to the boars with one hand wielding that same long black sword and just as he had done not too long ago, he wipes the area clean of the monsters in no longer than a minute. Nonchalantly, he makes his way back to me.

"If you're looking for a thank you, you should look somewhere else." I snarl with crossed arms, "I told you, I didn't ask you to save me."

"It looks like they're just going to come back if we stay here, you can thank me later when we make it back to the Town of Beginnings," the boy ignores my remark and I watch him open up a menu with his left hand.

"I told you, I didn't ask-

"Here, you can use this for the time being. I picked it up from the boar I just fought," he doesn't bother letting me finish and as he's talking a menu pops up before me, "We might have to fight on the way back too, it's night so the monsters here get pretty tough and the number of them becomes pretty overwhelming. I'm giving you some items to help you level up. Can you fight?"

Before I answer that I don't know how to fight, I look at the menu and I see numerous of items that would look typical for an RPG, most of them made of hide from the boars he had just slain and then a one handed weapon, a plain rapier. Hesitantly, I accept it.

"That's fine; I'll teach you on the way back. It shouldn't take too long." Before he starts off he looks at me and grins, "my name is Kirito, yours?"

I realize that no matter how hard I try, I don't think that Kirito will leave me alone. He seems quite insistent I make it back alive. "My name is Asuna. Asuna Yuuki."

"Ah! Wow… Um," Kirito fidgets and he scratches his cheek with a chuckle. "You really are new here! I meant what your gamer name is. Most players don't use their actual names."

"Really?" My face quickly heats up and I shake my head with embarrassment. "I-I didn't know!"

"That's alright, just don't give out your last name next time!" Kirito laughs and he nods his head to the side, "Well, Asuna, looks like we're partners!"

It's a pretty short chapter but I felt that it was appropriate to end it here! On to chapter 3!