(A/N: Author's Note)

Bleh. Wrote this chapter in pretty much one sitting (with a break to play a game of CSGO). Hope you all enjoy it!

P.S. I combined the omake with Chapter 2, since it kinda fit at the end. I also changed the dates in Chapter 2 from Year 2020 to 2021, since I realized that Kazuto's birthday was in October, thus making it impossible for him to be 12 years old at the time.

P.P.S. Over 1k views within the first week! Feelsgoodman. The reviews, follows, and favorites are keeping me motivated to write more, thanks a lot!

Disclaimer: If I owned Sword Art Online, Kirito would actually have to struggle instead of some lame-ass Deus-Ex-Machina crap.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Past events

Speaker Announcement


Year 2022 – June 14th

The now thirteen-year old boy sat on a couch in the middle of the small house's living room. The air conditioning was on at full blast, chasing away the heat that came with summertime in Kawagoe City. He stared intently at the television in front of him, watching what seemed to be a kendo match. One of the contestants wielded two shinai, while the other seemed to be a much older woman.

The quality of the recording was extremely terrible; it was shaking everywhere as if it was recorded from a phone. There were a lot of girls' voices in the video, and the clacks of bamboo sword on sword rang over the din. However, it was still possible to tell what was going on in the match.

Kazuto paused the recording, noticing something. Suguha's sensei had shifted her footing, leading his past-self to think that she was favoring her left side.

'There's no way that she could become a sensei if she had a weakness like that. I wonder why she did that,' he thought, while examining the footage further.

Suddenly, the answer struck him like a lightning bolt. 'She played me! She purposely threw the match, choreographing my every move so that she lost!'

Kazuto sighed, feeling a little better now. His seemingly overwhelming victory over the sensei was bothering him for a while. There was no way that the sensei of the 'legendary kendo club' could lose to a young kendo practitioner like him, prodigy or otherwise.

The middle-schooler continued to watch the low-quality footage, analyzing each movement that he made, as well as his opponent's.

'My footwork when blocking could be better, if I'm not careful I could easily trip and fall. That swing was kind of sloppy from me. Ooh nice technique and form, I need to learn more from this sensei.' Kazuto's analysis abruptly ended when the shoddy recording stopped.

'I need to watch more of my own footage. Sometimes the best teacher is yourself; learn from your own mistakes.'

He proceeded to find some videos of previous years' kendo tournaments that he participated in, and watched some more. A particular match soon caught his interest; the finals of the last international tournament.

His opponent was a well-built teenager who looked like he was fifteen years old, when he was actually thirteen. He had slightly long brown hair, and stood a couple inches taller than Kazuto. His face was set in determination, his eyes promising utter defeat to anyone who stood in his path to being the champion.

'I remember this match. What was his name… Coper? I think that was it.' The teenager watched as his past-self parried a rather fierce blow following up with a viper-like 'men' (head) strike before they backed up, resetting the field.

'Yeah, this guy was fast and strong but I could easily beat him in the mental game. I can see why he made it to the finals, but he isn't strong nor quick enough in the mental aspect,' Kazuto remembered, as he watched himself proceed to stomp the opposition in a devastating victory. His opponent looked distraught, anger showing in his face before storming off as the crowd cheered for the new champion.

'I hope I face him again in the finals of this upcoming international tournament. I'm sure I can beat him again,' Kazuto thought rather haughtily, already imagining his opponent's face of defeat. 'This tournament should be easy enough, especially now that I'm near the top of the age-bracket.'


Year 2022 – July 1st

A moderately plump, well-dressed man stepped up to the podium, and spoke in a rather annoying nasally voice.

Welcome, everyone, to the World Kendo Championship (WKC)! We have quite the lineup of young talents for you this year! The age brackets that are competing this year are: Ages 10-14, Ages 15-18, and Ages 19-22! Without further ado, here are the countries that are participating!

As each country was called, the respective members walked out towards the center of the massive expanse of laminated oak floor. The tournament was held in an indoor arena, named Nihon Budokan, located in the heart of Tokyo. The venue looked to be made mainly of concrete. It was three stories tall, with each story being larger in terms of width than the previous.

The spectators sat in seats that were elevated above the floor of the dojo, surrounding the participants from all angles. There were two floors of seats for them.

The onlookers erupted into cheers after every country was called out to the center of the floor. Soon, all the competitors were all gathered in the center of the stadium. The athletes bowed in unison to the crowd, before dispersing again.

Kazuto smiled as he walked towards the waiting area; the similarities between the opening ceremonies of the WKC and the Olympics never ceased to amaze him.


Kazuto dispatched his latest opponent in ill-concealed contempt. 'These guys are all extremely bad. How did they even make it to internationals? Even my cousin could beat these newbies,' he thought in disgust, his face contorted into a sneer at the triviality of his competition.

The tournament was a walk in the park for the teenager this year; it seemed as if anyone who gave him trouble in years before all miraculously disappeared. He usually analyzed matches when he wasn't in a fight himself, but the boy was so thoroughly disappointed in the matches this year that he just sat back with his eyes closed and played music through his earbuds.

As the day wore on, the number of matches going on throughout the dojo floor gradually diminished as the tournaments reached the end of the knockout stages. After what felt like an eternity of rather boring fights and waiting, Kazuto finally made it to the finals of the tournament.

Kazuto's eyes widened, and then snorted in amusement when he looked across the floor to see who his next opponent was. It was Coper again, just like two years ago.

Coper hadn't really changed in appearance in the two years that had passed. He was still taller than Kazuto and had the same hairstyle. The only difference was that he seemed a little more well-built, and his eyes were more calculating than before.

'Oh please. If he's like the last time I fought him, this should be the easiest fight of my life,' the former champion thought arrogantly, fed up with the lack of competition on what was supposed to be the most competitive stage in the world. 'I guess that the first place prize is mine!'

The announcer stepped up to the podium to speak again, with the same nasally whine.

And for the final match of the day, ladies and gentlemen, we have the returning champion Kazuto of Japan, versus the two-year straight finalist, Coper of Germany! Give it up for them!

The crowd erupted into cheers, and Kazuto strode onto the arena from the left. Coper strode in from the right, his face set in determination, extremely reminiscent of his facial expression of previous years. His eyes looked as if they were on fire, staring down Kazuto, who just looked back at him passively with an air of confidence.

The stare-down was ended abruptly when Kazuto looked towards the sound of his name being called. He spotted his cousin jumping up and down, waving a sign with his face on it. The black-haired teenager chuckled and waved at Suguha before turning his attention to the referees who approached the field.

The competitors and referees lined up and faced the front of the dojo, bowing in unison before setting up.

Kazuto and Coper resumed their staring contest as the referees signified the beginning of the match; the crowd calming down to silence, allowing the competitors to have full concentration.

The shorter boy eyed his opponent's movements carefully, noting that the other boy's actions were more sure and calculated than the previous years'. The two continued to circle, waiting for the other to make a move, trying not to make the first mistake.

'I should be able to win easily, regardless if he has improved or not,' Kazuto thought as he finally got tired of the inaction, before opting to dart forward with lightning speed, going for the 'do' (chest) strike. A mistake.

Coper grinned slightly, as if he anticipated that Kazuto would make the first move. He stepped to the side, deflecting the blow so that it veered slightly, and snapped his shinai to the shorter boy's head.

The younger boy, not expecting the quick counterattack, was slow to bring up his second shinai. The referees both brought their white flags up, signaling a point to Coper.

Kazuto looked at the older boy in disbelief as they slid back to their starting positions. He had not expected such stiff competition from Coper of all people. Coper smirked at him, making Kazuto lose his cool.

The young prodigy leapt forward with a roar of anger, launching into an impressive barrage of hazardous swings, alternating between his two shinai. He had all but forgotten his own thoughts on angry people; the fact that they become extremely predictable. Coper's smirk grew wider, as he easily deflected every blow, reading Kazuto's movements as if he was reading a book. A very violent book, that is.

After blocking a 'tsuki' (throat) strike, Coper flicked his shinai around, twisting the shinai in Kazuto's right hand out of his grasp and into the air. Then he brought his bamboo sword to meet the heavy left-handed strike, and in the same motion brought it back down onto Kazuto's head.

The referees both waved their white flag again, signifying the second and final point of the game as the crowd erupted into cheers. Kazuto had lost.

And the returning champion has been defeated! Coper has become the new victor of the World Kendo Championship!

The younger teenager fell to his knees, staring at the ground uncomprehendingly. 'What the hell happened? I was so sure I was going to win!' he thought despairingly, mentally berating himself until someone tapped his shoulder.

Coper offered his hand to Kazuto, with a winning smile. The 'young prodigy' glared at him darkly, before standing up himself and making his way towards the awards platform, head hung in disappointment. The older boy stood there, staring at the back of Kazuto's head as the boy made his way towards the platform, before shaking his head and walking there himself.


The German national anthem played after a rather old-looking man (a sensei?) hung a gold medal over Coper's neck and he stepped onto his well-deserved place on the first-place platform. Kazuto soon followed after; receiving his silver medal and stepping onto the second-place platform. An American had gotten third place, receiving his respective bronze medal for his efforts.

The announcer spoke again, in his usual annoying voice.

In addition to the medals and prize money, the finalists will also receive a beta-key to the highly anticipated game: Sword Art Online! The creator of the game sends his regards and congratulations for being skilled swordsmen in real life!

A well-dressed gentleman walked up to the platform and handed Coper and Kazuto a piece of paper. The black-haired teenager quickly skimmed over the paper. The plain-looking paper contained instructions on how to redeem their beta-key as well as a voucher for a free NerveGear. He exchanged a glance with Coper before bowing to the man in thanks.

The crowd applauded the three medalists as the award ceremony came to a conclusion. Kazuto then walked out of the spacious dojo, lost in thought. 'NerveGear? I remember reading an article on that computer magazine that Oba-san gives me.' Kazuto's mood lifted a little while he thought about the possibilities that NerveGear presented.

He didn't even realize that he was in the middle of a crowd of people outside of Nihon Budokan until someone jumped on his back, giggling.

"Onii-chan! Good job today! You were amazing out there!" she cheered. Midori stood off to the side, smiling at the two.

"Good job, Kazuto."

"Thanks, I guess... I should have won. I lost my cool but I'll win next time!" Kazuto proclaimed, determination clouding his expression before it brightened considerably. "The prizes this year are really awesome! I mean, free NerveGear and a beta-test key for the new VRMMO that's coming out? That's amazing!"

Suguha frowned a little from her spot on Kazuto's back. "Don't play it too much, Onii-chan still has to spend time with me!" she pouted.

Her cousin laughed. "Of course, Sugu. I'd never just let you be alone! Of course, you could also try the game; I'm sure that you would be really good at it since you also do kendo!"

Her brow furrowed a little in thought. Then she smiled cutely, saying, "I'll try playing it if Onii-chan likes it so much!"

"Yosh! I'll definitely get two copies of the game when it's released so that you can play too!" Kazuto said excitedly, very much liking the idea of his cousin seeing 'his' world.

"Alright you two. Let's go home now, I'll cook up a special meal to celebrate!" Midori said, amused by her children's antics.

The boy perked up at the mention of food, immediately racing off to the car, his cousin laughing from her perch on his back all the while. The mother shook her head as she ran after them, shouting at Kazuto to be safe with his precious cargo.


Year 2022 – August 1st

Kazuto could hardly contain his excitement. It was finally August; the day that Sword Art Online's beta test began. He quickly glanced to the right, at the clock on his nightstand. 1:55 PM it read. Five more minutes until the servers came online!

The teenager stood up from his bed and quickly ran across the hall to his cousin's room. "Sugu! The servers are going up in five minutes! Is everything ready?"

He opened the door to the sight of Suguha examining the NerveGear cautiously, as if it could hurt her.

"I think I get how to use it. This technology just doesn't seem very safe to me… I mean think about it, it basically doesn't let you move while you're in game! There's so many things that could go wrong with that!" she exclaimed nervously.

"The thing's been through lots of tests and regulations. There's no way it could harm someone, relax!" Kazuto brushed off her concerns without a thought. He looked at the clock on Suguha's wall. "Oh crap, it's 2:00! Get your NerveGear on, I'll meet you in game!"

Suguha nodded before putting the dull-gray helmet on as Kazuto closed her door and ran back to his room.

After Kazuto had received a beta key for being a finalist in the World Kendo Championship, he persuaded Suguha to apply to become a beta-tester herself. She complied, albeit reluctantly, and surprisingly she got it. Out of a hundred thousand applicants, only one-thousand had been accepted. Kazuto was lucky to have gotten a beta-test key without even having to apply.

After hearing a muffled "Link Start!" from the room across from his, Kazuto quickly laid on his bed and slipped the NerveGear on. It fit snugly, and was rather comfortable for being made of plastic. A very expensive piece of plastic.

"Link Start!"

Bright colors flashed across his field of view, and on the sides of the display a few tests for his senses popped up. Touch – 100%! Hearing – 100%! Vision – 100%! Smell – 100%! Taste – 100%!

An option for language popped up, and the teenager chose Japanese naturally. The login screen came up, and his NerveGear automatically filled it in since the data was already stored on it. Afterwards, he was prompted to choose his username.

'Ugh, I hate choosing usernames… Maybe I'll just make it a play on my real name,' he thought, before choosing 'Kirito' (as in Kirigaya Kazuto) as his alias.

Soon, he was brought to a character customization screen. 'Hmm… How should I make myself look like? I think that I want to be a little taller. And look more masculine.'

The now self-conscious boy scrolled through all the options that he could change on his appearance. He finally decided on a different hairstyle than what he had in real life, and made his facial features look more manly. He also made himself a couple inches taller.

After finalizing his character, he was met with a «Welcome to Sword Art Online!» and spawned into the «Town of Beginnings». Kazuto looked around in awe. The game could really replicate almost everything that you see in real life!

He ran around the small square that he spawned in, marveling at the detail that was put into the virtual world.

The square had a fountain in the middle, with tons of players milling about. They probably were also taking in the sights; it was a lot to take in after all. The courtyard had a path across from the spawn point, leading to the actual town. Kazuto could see some people (presumably NPCs) on the sides of the road, as well as some shops.

The young teenager started looking around the courtyard for Suguha; she probably hadn't left the starting area without him, right? Soon enough, he spotted her slightly turned, with her back to him, sitting on the ledge of the fountain, playing with the water. The boy walked up to her and put his hands over her eyes.

"Guess who?"

"Onii-chan?"

"Correct!" he laughed, as she spun around to face him.

She hadn't changed her character at all, choosing to look like how she did in reality. That fact probably helped Kazuto find her easily.

Suguha gave her cousin a once-over before laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asked, somewhat peevishly.

"Haha… you look so MANLY! Like a stereotypical hero!" she snorted between laughs, barely able to breathe.

Kazuto sighed, face-palming. If he had known she would react like this, he wouldn't have changed his appearance.

Suguha continued to giggle, going back to full-blown laughter when she looked at him again.

"Har har har very funny. Now, let's go and try out the combat system!" Kazuto attempted to open his menu with his right hand, failing the first time. His attempts made him look extremely weird, waving his hand up and down. Suguha laughed even harder at this. After a couple tries, he finally got it to open. He studiously looked over all the information given, ignoring his still-giggling cousin.

Kirito

Level 1

HP: 100/100

Skills: One-handed Sword Lv.1

His character had nothing equipped. Kazuto wanted to change that immediately, dragging the breathless girl behind him to the NPC vendors that he had spotted down the road earlier.

The black-haired boy proceeded to buy some beginner's equipment from the salesman: «Basic Cloth Armor», «Basic Leather Pants», and two rather plain looking «Steel Sword». Suguha ended up buying the same things – bar one sword since she only used one in kendo – that he did, since she had no idea what was good.

The two headed out of town, eager to try out the combat system for the first time. They soon found themselves in a beautiful landscape of green rolling hills, with floating islands in the sky. While gaping at the view and walking aimlessly, the pair barely even realized that they found some monsters by the name «Frenzy Boar».

Kazuto pulled out his swords and got into his familiar 'ready' stance, the one that he always used before fighting in his kendo matches. Suguha did so as well. The two stood there, swords raised, watching the boar for any sudden movements, any opening to attack. After a solid minute, they heard some ill-concealed laughter coming from some bushes to their right.

"Who's there?" Kazuto exclaimed worriedly, hoping that it wasn't someone who wanted to rob them of their rather shabby equipment.

A brown-haired head popped out of the bush, with a bright grin plastered on her face. It was a girl. Her eyes were watering, and she seemed to be trying to cover her mouth to contain her laughter.

She proceeded to stand up and step completely out of the bush. She was of a rather small stature. Her eyes were filled with barely restrained mirth, along with a high degree of intelligence. Her brown hair was in a bob-cut, framing her face nicely.

She finally burst out in laughter, as Kazuto and Suguha stared at her incredulously.

"Y-you g-guys just st-stared at the boar, as if you were gonna kill it by just looking at it!" she forced out between laughs.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Kazuto asked, feeling rather insulted.

"You gotta get into range and attack it! It's not gonna aggro on you if you just stare at it from a distance!"

"W-what?" the boy stuttered. "Won't I be at a disadvantage? In kendo if you attack first you'll usually be at a disadvantage…"

The brunette looked at the two, smacking her hand to her forehead. "Oh, that's why you guys didn't do anything. I should have noticed the way you two were holding your swords… definitely kendo students. Well, come my padawans, I have much to teach you about this game," she cackled, rubbing her hands together.

Kazuto and Suguha gulped nervously, not liking her tone of voice near the end of her speech.

"By the way, what's your name?" Suguha questioned.

"I'm Argo. I know the most out of anyone in the game about anything and everything!" she declared proudly, with a mischievous glint in her eyes.


The prologue is wrapping up! Should I write more about the beta-test or just start in on the main story now? Leave me a review and let me know!