Chapter 2: A d=Different Path, A Different Fate

As it turned out Kazuto was an idiot.

Looking back it was easy to see how he was overthinking his worries, creating problems from nothing as a measure of self-defense to protect himself. After all one couldn't be hurt as long as they never put in any effort in the first place. Building walls around the heart to protect it, which only conversely served to keep everyone out as well. A self fulfilling prophecy that created an endless loop of regrets and emptiness.

In spite of that Kazuto had managed to tear down a small part of that wall and bravely step forth. His hand extended towards one of the few friendships he had fostered over his years of being a loner. It was perhaps the initial anonymity that had helped him attempt to become friends with Argo, the first time she had approached him. She was so bright and dazzling compared to his somber demeanor that he couldn't help but feel drawn to her, looking perhaps to obtain what he felt he lacked in that wonderful attitude of hers. Over the course of the beta their near constant interactions had led to them becoming fast friends, though if you were to ask him he would still have no idea what she saw in him. Then things had escalated near the end of the beta when she had given him her number in the real world, which was generally a taboo in the online world.

And them something amazing had happened, despite all his worries, she had responded with great joy once he finally worked up the courage to text her. In fact she had been slightly miffed with him that it took as long as it did. That he would keep such a beautiful lady waiting, her words not his(not that he disagreed with them), was an irrefutable act of poor decorum and that it was now his job to make up for his transgressions(once again her words). These apologies came in the form of promises to text her everyday, something that he quickly came to greatly enjoy. Long gone were the worries that had plagued him, he was simply glad to have someone whom he enjoyed speaking too, even if she was a bit of a tease.

"Hey Ki, I just got out of class and let me tell you today was a real ass kicker. I think your little ol' friend could do with some cheering up here. Let me know when you get home okay!"

He flipped his phone closed, shoving it into his pocket as he continued biking home. A stupidly large smile on his face, which had seemed to be almost ever present these days, as he increased his pace on his way home from school. Even the chill in the winter air couldn't touch the warmth that he carried with him these days. He looked forward to whatever Argo had planned to cheer herself up, as her plans for entertainment(good or bad), usually ended humorously in one way or another.

Arriving at his house he quickly rushed to his room, booting up his pc while he changed, and settling himself in for a long night of debauchery with his friend.

"Alright Argo I'm home."

He quickly typed his message into their dedicated IM application, fingers dancing along his keyboard with practiced ease. He had a great fondness for computers and figured he would probably end up in some related field of study in his future. Something about them just seemed to click in his mind and he devoured even more complex information with an ease that would make seasoned programmers jealous. This skill had born the application they were using to communicate, an easy way for them to talk with each other whenever either of them wished too. There were quite a few bells and whistles that had yet to be tested but, in an unspoken agreement, had yet to be used. One such feature was the integrated VOIP, which would allow them to speak to each other the same as if by phone.

An accord which apparently was to be broken today.

As the silent beeping admitted from his headset alerted him to the incoming call, he could only sweat internally with both dread and anticipation. It was probably simultaneously both the most terrifying and amazing thing that had happened to him in a very long time. He attempted to calm himself, slowly adjusting his headset, buying time to fight the nerves that threatened to overtake him. He exhaled a long last breath before hitting the answer call button.

"Hey Ki, is it working."

Oh god she sounded almost exactly like she did in SAO, while this wasn't that surprising there was a reason it threw him for such a loop.

See in SAO proper your voice could be modulated with several in game features meant to protect players who did not want to use their real voice. His IM application however did not have any such feature, which meant only one thing. Argo was a genuine girl.

"Ki, you there."

He shook his head dismissing the elation at the newfound realization, after all such a thing should hardly matter. Whether it was a he or she Argo was still his best friend and hopefully nothing would change that.

"Yeah s-sorry was just adjusting my mic, uhh what's up?"

"Well as you know my day was a royal bummer and I think it's time I finally call in your debt to me for making this poor maiden wait by the phone while she eagerly awaited your call."

He almost made to argue with her about having already done what she asked to make it up to here, but realized such a thing was a fruitless endeavor when faced with the ever greedy rat.

"Fine, fine. What do you want."

It spoke volumes of her influence that, even though technically this was their first time speaking in real life, he managed to carry such a casual conversation in face of her teasing.

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could, you know, uhh, meet up somewhere…if it's not too much trouble."

The day seemed to be one full of firsts, as Argo dropped a bombshell that he definitely had not been expecting from her.

"Hehh, if it's too much trouble don't worry about it.."

"No I'd lo-, I mean uhh yeah that'd be okay I guess. W-where did you want to meet?"

She quickly gave him an address for a cafe that wasn't too far from him. Though the speed with which she gave it gave him the feeling that this was probably planned from the start, which confused him slightly.

All well, far was it from his intentions to turn down a request from his best friend, terrible plots and schemes aside.

"Okay, I'll be there in about thirty I guess?"

"Kay Ki, I'll be in a brown sweater just wave when ya see me."

Before he could respond the line beeped signalling the end of their link, which was probably shut off from her side.

Then the gravity of what had just happened finally started to sink in. A real life meetup was something he had definitely not expected out of their friendship and put him to a loss on how to react. Just the idea of somehow screwing it up left a pit in his stomach, like a thousand little butterflies had decided they no longer wished to just fly, but escape violently from his stomach.

Deep calm breaths Kazuto, he had already promised to come so there was no backing out at this point for him. Clothes, he decided, he needed to probably dress up just a little bit for his … what even was this?

Deciding it best not to ponder that specific subject at the moment, he busied himself with getting ready. Putting on some of his more fashionable clothes, though still pretty casual wear, he left his place, grabbing his bike, and making his way towards the cafe.

The chilly November air assailed him as he pedaled his way thoughtfully, mind drifting through a myriad of possibilities of why Argo had called him out in person. It wasn't too much of a surprise that she knew this cafe had been fairly close to him. He had let drop the name of his school in one his conversations before but had thought nothing of the minor fumble. Argo had not mentioned anything about it either, though obviously in retrospect she had use the knowledge to arrange this meeting.

Though while this whole ordeal was rather terrifying, he couldn't help but a feel a certain level of excitement. He truly did relish all of their chats and the opportunity to further their friendship in person wasn't something he was opposed to at all.

It was with this final passing thought, that he had finally arrived at the cafe. The crisp cold breeze weaving a subtle symphony punctuated only by the light chatter of those brave enough to bare the elements outside. Among those figure was a girl in a light brown sweater, her auburn locks hanging loosely over hair as she blew into her cup. Her face crinkling slightly as she took a sip, whether it was too hot or just not to her taste he didn't know. One thing he did know for sure is that she was for sure the most charming thing that he had ever laid eyes on.

He realized at this point that he had been staring far too long and went to chain his bike on the rack next to the cafe, beating down all the last minute doubts in his head.

Finishing his task he came back to the girl resting her head on one hand, staring thoughtfully in the other direction, a melancholic look came over as she sighed turning her head back towards him.

Their eyes met and the sound and sight around him seemed to melt into the background. A white tinged world that held only the two of them locked in their stare lasted but a scant few seconds as the world quickly reasserted itself in between the two drawing back with it the sounds around them.

"Uhh, hey Argo." Kazuto waved sheepishly other hand on the back of his neck as he took a seat across from her.

For her part Argo, devoid of her usual teasing, just sat there silently observing the boy across from him. The silence stretched on as she continue to bore into him. He was just about to try and break the silence when she spoke first.

"So you are younger than me, huh." out of all the things she had to say the first words out of her mouth was a very strange observation. Her face unreadable as she continued to stare at him.

"I guess, wait how old are you?" Kazuto questioned back.

"Oh Ki, don't you know never to ask a woman her age," Argo's trademark grin returned to her face as she leaned over to the table bring her face to his side before whispering in his ears. "but I might be willing to sell it to you if the price is right."

Kazuto could only blush as her whispers tickled his ear, turning his whole thought process into mush as he struggled to come up with any sort of response.

Hey wait a minute, how did she know his age in the first place. Granted he know he didn't look particularly old but then again neither did she, so how was it possible for her to tell.

"Hey Argo how did you know old I was?" he asked taking a slightly firm edge to his speech that he usually donned when Argo had done something particularly egregious. Temporarily forgetting his anxiousness as a sense of familiarity surrounded the situation.

This line of questioning seemed to draw a rather embarrassed response from her as she coughed and started mumbling something to the side, head facing away from him making it even harder to hear her.

"Argo, I asked how you knew how old I was." he asked again, emphasizing each individual syllable.

"Well," she drawled out still refusing to look at him. "I may have remembered what school you said you go to, and I knew what name you used in the game. And then I may have triedlookingupyournameandfoundsomeonesimiliarwhokindalookedlikeyoufromthegameandthenfoundyouandthendidsomeresearchtofigureoutitwasyou."

"I .." how did he respond to that, he wondered.

"Annnyyways," Argo attempted to swiftly change the subject, "It's nice to finally meet you Kazuto, names Shiori, last name will cost ya. Nyehehe"

Her fingers rubbing together in the universal symbol for money, caused the poor boy to deflate. Any intention of pursuing her previous statement lost in the whimsies of Argo which, despite his attempts, always seemed to drag him along with them.

"So, what's up?" he asked falling back into the easy atmosphere that the two had fostered over the course of the beta.

"Ehh, I just wanted to spend the day with my favorite person in the world, Ki-chan." her lips popped the last two lords, casual delivering a line that caused Kazuto's whole face to turn a scarlet red.

His sputtering only seemed to great amuse Argo, or Shiori now, as she laughed mirthfully. The sound was undeniably pleasant to the young boys ears, as he shrugged off the slight jest and instead enjoyed the clear ringing of her voice.

After the fit of laughter at his expense was over the two continued to talk for awhile. Conversing on little pieces of their lives, such as school, their future aspirations and a lot of gaming.

He learned a few things that were certainly very interesting to him. Despite her earlier offer, she freely gave up her age of seventeen, a little over two years older than him as it turned out. More than that he learned she was just as smart and loquacious as she was in game, possessing a great investigate spirit and had future aspirations to become a detective. Something her parents seemed to be quite against, which had come to ahead with a heated argument at school during their career consultation day. She had quickly escaped, feeling down, she had decided to turn to him, arranging a meeting to take her mind off it.

He told her everything about himself in return in order to feed her curiosities. They discussed his proficiency in programming, which Argo found very exciting as she also loved the technical side of the world. He told her about his dreams in possibly working with AI and robotics and were he might want to go for universities. Eventually he landed on the sore subject of his family as well, telling Shiori about his learned adoption and how it had served make him feel isolated in home from mother and sister.

They commiserated together over their poor family situations and, while neither of them had any real advice for the other, the ability to simply talk about their issues served to lift the weight from their collective shoulders.

Eventually their conversation turned to the lighter side of things as they discussed their plans for the official launch of SAO.

"So I was thinking," Shiori said, taking another sip of her coffee. "We should start a guild come launch time, I know you don't like big groups but we can keep it just the two of us at least for a little while. Gotta make sure everyone knows this rat has the famous swordsman watching her back and vice-a-versa. What do you say."

It was actually quite the good proposition as it would serve to make sure no one would easily considering messing with one or the other. Argo was already know as the best information dealer in Aincrad, and he himself had worked up quite the reputation as one of if not the best in combat during the beta.

"Okay, I think it's not a bad idea. What's the name gonna be?" He asked considering what most gamers felt was the important part of forming any group, which was an awesome name and he was no different.

"Hmm, that's a tough one that. I guess we gotta ask ourselves what our goal is for the guild" Shiori brought her hand to her chin thoughtfully considering the question.

"Well if it's just gonna be the two us, and knowing you of course, I'm sure get drawn in by all sorts of trouble, once again caused by you, and eventually end up having to solve it." This was only met by a firm nod by Shiori much to his dismay.

"So how about the Watch? Sounds kind of cool and it kinda describes what we do." He suggested.

"Hmm, not bad but I don't want us to be known as people who just sit around and wait for stuff happen. We gotta let the world know that me, and to a lesser extent you, are the greatest in all of Aincrad. Everyone should bow down to me, and once again to a lesser extent you, in all of my glory." Shiori raised arms taking in the cheers of her imaginary crowd as Kazuto could do not but smile good-naturedly at his companion.

"Alright then," he paused thinking about the various games he played and books he had read, trying to draw any good group names grand enough for his friends requirements.

He recalled a series he read a long time ago that he had quite enjoyed that also contained a group that suited their purposes. "how about the Architects, we could be crafting our own grandmaster plan in the shadows of Aincrad or something. Sounds cool anyways."

"I, love it." Shiori replied rubbing her palms together no doubt already planning something nefarious. "So it's settled Ki-chan, we're The Architects, soon to be rulers of all of Aincrad, Nyehehe."

Shiroi extended her hand towards Kazuto, both shaking hands and looking forward to their future escapades.


And so the days came and went each counting down the last week till the official launch of SAO. While they hadn't met in person again since his trip to the cafe they spoke for longer hours during the night, discussing the happenings of their day and nailing down the details and plans for the game. It came as no surprise that Shiori planned to continue her role as in information broker upon release. The difference however would come in Kazuto's role as bodyguard and frontline when investigating some of the more dangerous leads. He was by no means upset with the arrangement as it was a good excuse to keep in constant company with one another.

They also planned a few things they knew they wanted to check out once the game came back up again. Amongst the list was the martial arts skill, which had him laughing when he had to come to learn the origin story of her whiskers, gathering info on all the major guilds that had been established in the beta, and looking back into the mysterious quest on the tenth floor to try and discover the meaning behind the mysterious quest reward.

Then the day of release finally arrived, he already had everything prepared for his dive back into the worlds of Aincrad. Having eaten his dinner and warned his family he wasn't to be bothered. He sent a final message to Shiori that he we logging on and dived back into SAO proper.

Various lights spread outwards as the link process started up, encasing his vision in a mass of colors before fading back into focus. He quickly selected his saved avatar from the beta before the fanfare ascended and we teleported to the town of beginnings.

His heart soared as he took in the familiar landscapes, the town of beginnings was certainly not the most impressive of floors by far but it made up for in other areas. It had a certain stereotypical fantasy charm to it, Wooden building mixed with stone monuments, npcs and players alike strolled through the city in search of their own stories, creating an air of adventure that sent the blood pumping through him. The urge to rush out and explore the world filled him as his excitement reached its peak.

He scanned the crowd trying his best to pick out his whiskered companion only to feel a tap on his shoulder from behind.

There stood Argo in much the same avatar as he'd seen during the beta, one difference however was the absence of her trademark whiskers, which must have meant those couldn't be carried over from the beta.

"Ki, you ready to go. We already have started later than I would have liked so we need to get a move on if we want to finish all the tasks I have set for us today." Her tone was all business as usual when she was working under her persona of the rat. She had impressed upon him earlier that he was the only one who received the brunt of her teasings, which he was secretly quite happy about.

"And if we finish early, then maybe we can have some fun," She waggled her eyebrows at him as he fought to keep the blush from growing on his face. Even after all their time together he still couldn't even begin to handle the storm that was Argo face to face.

"Alright, alright let's go. So where too first?" he asked, manipulating his menu with practiced ease inviting Argo to his party.

"I'd like to secure the inn at Tolbana you informed me of before anyone else, it'll be a decent base of operations since it will most likely take us awhile to get past the first floor." Argo replied scratching down various notes in a book she had probably purchased before he had arrived. "Then we'll head to Honruka village so you can get the best sword on the floor which should help us speed through the early levels and outpace most of the new people to the game. After that I figured we'd explore a bit see if any notable changes have happened since the beta."

"Alright, well what are we waiting for." Kirito responded equipping the starter weapon in his inventory, preparing for their trek through the monster infested hills right outside of the town.

A few moments later they were racing through the landscape, barely slowing down as they easily dispatched the low leveled monster that the floor had to offer. Their arrival at their destination, a small farmhouse right outside the walls of the city, was met by a lone NPC who sitting on the porch, an exclamation mark above his head.

One quick quest later which had them take care of some monster that were wandering too close to the farm, they were offered the 2nd floor of his house at a much cheaper rate then you could find at any of the nearby inns.

There were a few reasons they had gone through so much trouble just for the room, one it had a repeatable quest that offered some pretty powerful consumables for this early in the game, the other being it's position was a good centerpoint to reach other areas of interest on the first floor.

As the two prepared to leave for their next destination a flash of light enveloped each of them, temporarily disorienting them. Once the light had died down he found himself back in the town of beginnings with Argo at his side, as well as what looked to be the rest of the population on the server as well.

"Ya think it's a launch event Ki? This didn't happen in the beta." Argo said thoughtfully frowning as she scanned the area.

The question would soon be answered for the both of them as red hexagon shaped objects expanded into a dome around them. There flashing of "warning" and "System Announcement" littered the shapes with an ominous air.

These omens would soon prove true as what appeared to be blood started dripping from the dome, slowly gathering on a center point before shifting become humanoid in shape.

It stood impossibly tall in front of the players, an empty blood red cloaked that was filled with something but appeared as nothing. It's hands slowly lifted, bringing the crowd in front of it to a complete silence.

And then it spoke.

"attention players, welcome to my world."

The loud booming voice echoed across the town leaving all its inhabitants awestruck.

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko, as of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world."

Many a players face at this point would show recognition, as Kayaba was the man whom had created the groundwork for the VRMMO.

"Im sure some of you have already noticed, that the logout button is missing from the main menu."

A gasp escaped a many a mouth, as players frantically sought to confirm the news.

"But this is not a defect in the game, I repeat, it is a feature of the world of Sword art online."

Many were left confused by the announcement. A Swordsman and Rat shared a worry glance at one another.

"you cannot log out of Sword Art Online yourselves and no one on the outside

can shut down or remove the NervGear."

Minds started turning at this point, a slow and horrible dawning revelation started creeping forward in the mind of a many of player.

"should this be attempted the transmitter inside the NervGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life."

And once it had finally pervaded their minds, panic started to break loose.

"unfortunately, several player's friends and families have ignored this warning and have attempted to remove the NervGear. As a result 213 players are gone forever, both from Aincrad and the real world."

With this the panic was reduced to whimper, the thought of being next paralyzing players in fear.

Then a screen appeared behind the cloak, a clip of the news playing silently in the background of the creatures wake.

"as you can see news organizations from across the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths. Thus, you can assume the danger of a NerveGear being removed is minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game."

While their were a few sighs of relief they quickly passed as the gravity of the last part of his statement soaked in.

"But i want you to remember this clearly, there is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your hp drops to zero your avatar will be forever lost

and simultaneously the NervGear will destroy your brain."

The panic that had died out quickly reignited in the face what seemed to be certain demise. Many players openly breaking down weeping, Unable to cope with the new truths laid before them.

Still the Swordsman and Rat watched on.

"there is only one means of escape, to complete the game. You are presently on the lowest floor if Aincrad, floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the floor boss you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on floor 100, and you will clear the game."

Cries of unfairness echoed from the crowd, grief, sadness, anger, and many more emotions filled the screeching of the broken crowd.

"Finally, I've added a present from me to your item storage. Please see for yourselves"

The present as it turned out had been an item that transformed your avatar into an appearance more closely resembling ones true self. A fact that only more heavily cemented that this was their new reality. Which had perhaps been its purpose, the two would later hypothesize.

"Right now you're probably wondering why why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of SAO and the NervGear do all this."

The crowd was once again silent, hoping for a miracle of miracles. That maybe this would all be announced to as a rather poor marketing stunt, or mismanaged starting event.

"my goal has already been achieved. I created sword art online for one reason … and now it is complete."

Alas there would be no salvation this day.

"This ends the tutorial for the official sword art online launch. Good luck players"

With this final proclamation the robed figure vanished, setting the virtual landscape back to it's former appearance.

"Ki," Argo turned to face him, face alight with an anger that he never seen on his close friends face.

"Yes Argo," he replied, his voice still managing to come out steadily, despite the whirlwind of his own emotions.

Her voice next sent literal chills up his spine.

"We're going to stop him, no matter what."

And so the two players set out to change the fates of many.


And there's chapter 2 it was finished a couple of days ago but I'd been a bit too busy too upload it. I'll be alternating between this story and another Touhou project fanfic so expect a chapter every other week or so. Feel free to drop a pm or review with thoughts, suggestions or criticisms, as all are happily accepted.