AN: This is going well so far! I feel great that this is going out so smoothly! I decided to take out the character thing from the prologue though, only adding the basics.

Slipping off my shoes at the doorway when I stepped inside the house, I prepared myself for the barrage of scolding and screaming that will assault my ears. When I heard nothing, though, I quietly maneuvered myself close to the family room with the couch and TV and peered around the corner for my parents. I expected them to jump out any time and say, "Ha! I knew you would try to sneak back home!" and ground me from video games from the rest of my life.

Squeezing my eyes closed like always when I wanted to defend against something even though it doesn't do shit, I waited for something to happen when I peeked around the wall leading to the family room. Feeling and hearing nothing, I opened my eyes to...an empty room. Sighing loudly and then quickly covering my mouth, I cursed in my mind my inability to stay focused in situation such as these. Taking slow almost none steps towards my room on the other side of the family room, UP the stairs and at the end of the hallway, I scanned my surroundings for anyone who might be peeping on me. Finding no one, I quickened. I was never the one that could be patient. Turning left at the end of the family room, though, I was met with my sister. My older one, I mean. Sitting on the stairs and smirking, I just stood there wondering what she would do with me. Would she blackmail me? Would she tell my parents on me? Would she do-

"Heh." is all she said. Still sitting there looking smug with her silky long hair dyed red-blue, she proceeded to yawn and stretch her arms above her as if to mock me and say, "You can't pass me and I can stay here forever!" Grumbling loudly enough for her to hear but not loud enough for my (hopefully) sleeping parents to hear, she smirked at me and stood up, leaning on the wall to her right with her right hand whilst putting her left arm bent at her waist.

Oh god. Not that pose. Though I liked it…*smack*

Smacking myself mentally I stood there stiff as the battle went on as to who broke down or left first; me or her. Standing there for many minutes, we stared each other in the eyes as we took in the other person. Finally succumbing to my desire to sleep, I slouched and feebly asked her, "May I PLEASE pass?" to which she replied, "Sure kiddo" with a slight smile. Going back upstairs to her room, I then proceeded to tiptoe up the stairs and into the bathroom, where I relieved myself of the things that had been in my body since the end of school. Knowing my parents won't wake up to this, I flushed the toilet and washed my hands at the sink outside. Then walking into my bathroom, I settled into my bed and turned off the lamp light, and before I knew it, I was asleep.

…

I woke up in a colosseum. Not knowing where I was, I sat up and looked in front of me. Surrounding me were people of all sizes looking at something in front of and above them. Following their gaze, I widened my eyes at the colossal being floating in the air in front of me. With its red and gold-trimmed cloak and the place where the head would be being just a black space, I panicked. The being then apparently spoke some words because the people around me began panicking. Transforming into other people in a rush of light, they hurriedly ran and left the ring, trampling over other people, and running away from the being that had now disappeared from the colosseum. Closing my eyes, I opened them to a ceiling, and confused, I sat up. With the rush of memories coming back, I remembered I was in my bed. Taking a long sigh, I laid back down onto the bed and looked at the digital clock on the nightstand.

3:34AM. I still had a long sleep to go before I woke up to school-

Oh right. Tomorrow was the weekend.

AN: I assumed he doesn't have school on saturdays and sundays? Correct me if I'm wrong please.

Wait, what did I dream of again?

…

…

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't retrieve the information about my dream. Shrugging one last time to release the tension in my shoulders, I eased back into the soft bed and went back to sleep almost instantly, this time with no dreams plaguing me.

…

I squinted open my eyes to the sun beaming through my window. Stretching and sitting up as per usual procedure, I looked at my clock and saw that it was only 8:00. Damn light shining into your room this early in the fall. I wish it was winter when the sun rose early and set early and when I could get a peaceful sleep without getting disturbed by the damn SUN. Sighing impatiently, I jumped back into my bed and hurriedly covered myself with the bed cover, as if to escape the glare of the poisonous sun, which it was to me at this time in the weekend. Weekends were usually my time to recuperate after a week of work; I smiled under the covers feeling lucky that I even had weekends.

I couldn't go back to sleep though. Squirming and trying to get comfortable under the covers still trying to escape the harsh glare of the sun, I stayed like that for who knows how long. Eventually, though, I felt like i couldn't sleep anymore and rose up out of the bed, squinting again at the rays of sun streaming through the cracks in my curtain after hours (I think) of hiding under the covers. Another glance at the clock on my nightstand showed that it was now only 9:12AM. Grumbling and getting out of my bed because of the lack of sleep, I trudged downstairs. Walking into the dining room that was adjacent to the family room, I walked to the table only to be met by four stares from my family members.

Not knowing what the staring was about and trying to ignore it, I walked to the cabinet and got out our case of oatmeal. Pouring some out into a flat-ish bowl, I then added some hot water from the hot water boiler on the counter and stirred the mixture. About to add some toppings from the fridge, I finally couldn't stand the staring and whirled around to them.

"Okay, what's wrong, guys!?" I said to them, like a crazed maniac wanting some answers. Which was basically me wanting some answers. Waiting for their response, I took a seat at the rectangular table in the middle of the room and stared at each of them in turn, wanting some answers. My mom and dad, in particular, were looking extremely neutral, which was odd for them and spelled trouble for me. My younger sister with her long ponytail looked innocent as always. She was too young for these things.

My older sister, on the other hand, was smirking at me. Remembering the incident the night before with her at the stairs, I cursed myself for not making her shut up and not tell my parents. Knowing what this was about now, I sat there in awkward silence eating my plain oatmeal, waiting for my parents or my older sister to speak up about the "incident" the night before about me getting home late.

After tense moments of silence and clinking of my spoon on the ceramic bowl, my mother finally spoke up to ease the tension, or maybe add more, I couldn't tell.

"So, Satoni…" my mother started. Oh god. This "So" at the beginning usually meant assumptions. And assumptions usually didn't end well for anyone in the family. I could see my dad tense up too at the word "So" at the beginning of the sentence. As we both visibly shook, my mother continued.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend!" she said, beaming at me with that sickly happy smile of hers.

My dad and I in sync both let out a sigh of relief, with me later groaning at her giving that embarrassing piece of information out for the whole family. I could feel my older sis's eyes boring into me with joy and amusement at my dodging of a very big bullet. Fine. I could trust her now. BUT not fully. I still don't trust her a little bit for the things she did earlier in my life, like telling my parents about me on something I didn't do, or exaggerating stories that actually happened. Since then, I felt that I had to make sure to exercise caution around her, or else she might double-cross me again.

Knowing that the conversation was now over and wanting to get away before the conversation proceeded any further about my personal life, I stuffed the rest of the oatmeal into my mouth and putting the bowl and spoon into the dishwasher, before quickly trudging back to my room and closing the door. After giving out another sigh of relief at my great escape of the table, I settled into my chair and after making sure that no one was coming to spy on me, opened my abnormally large second drawer on the left side of my desk. Looking at the shiny black box and the game cartridge case on top of it, I remembered the great times yesterday and let a slight smile play out on my lips as I thought of Tazumi. Our relationship really deepened in one day, it's amazing that our life played out so perfectly like yesterday.

Carefully taking the box and the case out as not to scratch the edges, I nimbly extracted the flaps from the box. Opening the box, I saw a blue-black beautiful headgear inside, complete with lights and everything. Smiling at it, I took it out with my hands, holding it and feeling the weight, before putting it on my head. Seeing as how it fit almost perfectly, I smiled and took it off. Taking the manual out, I looked at the instructions…

Step 1. Plug the «Nervegear» into a wall outlet.

Okay, that was easy. Looking into the box and finding a pure black cord reaching several meters, I plugged the «Nervegear» into the wall outlet behind my desk and looked back to the manual.

Step 2. Turn the «Nervegear» on by pressing the red button on the side.

No shit. Looking to the right-ear side of the «Nervegear», I spotted a red button that said "ON/OFF" and pressed it. The device hummed to life and the lights on the face of the «Nervegear» started flashing.

Step 3. Attach the USB cable provided into your computer, and connect it to a wireless internet.

Taking out the "again" pitch black cord with USB connectors on both ends, I plugged one end to the «Nervegear» and plugged the other into the laptop that was currently residing on the desk. Opening the laptop, I started booting it up. After a few tense minutes and a login screen, I connected the laptop to the internet. After a soft *beep* resided from the «Nervegear» showing that it was now connected to the internet, I looked back to the manual and continued the lengthy set-up procedure

Step 4. Insert cartridge, press the green button next to the red button, and wait for the game content to download. Progress will be displayed on computer.

Walking back to the desk, I opened the game cartridge and took out the DS-shaped cartridge. Pressing the button on the «Nervegear», a slot opened up and I inserted the cartridge inside, before closing it. After that, I pressed the button and looked at my computer.

"Downloading Sword Art Online. Progress: 0.0% Game Size: 876 GB"

876 gigabytes!? That's gigantic. Seeing as how my house gets 30mb/s and that I will be the only one using the internet, it is expected to take…

Opening a calculator, I did the math and the time turned out to be...8 and 1/9 hours. Well, this is gonna take a while. Leaving the «Nervegear» on my bed and my computer next to it, open but on minimal brightness as to conserve battery, I strode out of my room, closing the door behind me. Walking back downstairs and looking at my phone, I saw that it was now 10:32. Seeing that I still had time for lunch, I walked to the garage, pulled open the door, and walked in. Settling on my bike which was literally the only vehicle in the garage since it was mainly used for storage purposes, I opened the garage door with a press of the button next to the door on the wall. Biking out, I set out for the neighborhood diner a few miles away.

Pedaling at almost full speed down the street with the sky clear and the temperature warm, I savored the warmness, knowing that it would disappear by November. I wish that I could stay at home for Christmas this year, though, instead of travelling to other places. I heard that it snows really softly here and it must be great to experience the snow with the shining Christmas lights and the fun and the music and…

*smack*

As I was daydreaming I had hit a wall, slowly thankfully. Recoiling at the slight pain, I felt dazed for a second on the ground before getting my bike and continuing on. Again, my habit of daydreaming and not focusing at the right time was bad. I sighed and continued on, seeing that there were still quite a few blocks to go before I got to the home-style American diner that served burgers, fries, and stuff.

Pulling up to the US-styled diner with it's cursive sign (In English of course) and its wide open windows and bar-style seating, I got off of my bike and locked it to a railing. Walking towards the door, I threw it open and waited to be seated. A waitress soon got to me and I was guided towards one of the seats on the "bar".

Sitting down at the swivel chair and twirling around on it a few times like a little kid much to the dissent of other people around me, I then picked up the menu and started scanning through for something to eat. Of course, all the food here was Americanized or purely American, but it didn't hurt to try some new food, right?...even though I have eaten almost everything on the menu, but still, I happen to like American food a lot. It's nice, tasty, and best of all, greasy and fatty. Yum.

Flipping the pages forward and back on the laminated menu whilst enjoying the rich "French Roast" coffee I ordered from the waitress, I tried to decide on an item. Right now I was stuck on like two or three items, either the delicious cheesy panini or the cheeseburger. Or maybe the rice plate with steak and mushrooms and onions. It was a tough decision.

Closing my eyes and spinning my hand in a circle while feeling the stares of the people around me, I jabbed my finger down on a random place on the menu. Then feeling confident and tracing the distance from my hand to the closest of the three menu items, I decided on the cheeseburger, the piece of food with two buns, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and a "patty" which is a lump of flattened beef. So simple yet so delicious. Calling the waitress over with a wave of my hand, I ordered my cheeseburger by saying it in English, which sounded weird considering my accent. But I didn't care, it just sounded cooler compared to other words in Japanese. I heard that it was a combination of two English words too, but I'm not sure. I'll check it out once I get back home.

Tapping my fingers on the table again in my usual impatient repetitive manner, I looked around me in an ADHD-like state, noticing everything around me and stopping to stare at a few things, which made me look crazy or not crazy, I can't tell. Scanning the tables for interesting people, I moved my eyes over the heads that peeked over the booths near the window.

Normal guy and girl…

Girl alone…

Old guy with his (probably) daughter…

Guy with friends…

Stopping my eyes at one particular head that peeked over the booth back, I noticed the ivory-colored hair and the dual pigtails that popped out of the sides of her head. Standing up to get a better look, I pretended to go towards the window that was on the other side of the building and snuck a glance at her which seemed obvious.

What I saw instead was a face that wasn't Tazumi but of someone else. Mentally trying to stop the sweat that was pooling on my forehead and trying to remind myself that it was just a false alarm, I turned around suddenly, making a U-turn at the next table in the middle of the room, before heading back to my seat at the bar, all the while whistling uncomfortably like a little kid. Getting back to my seat, I spun it again and sat down on it, turning it back to face the counter while I daydreamed waiting for my food to come.

Where was Tazumi today? Was she in trouble? Was she grounded at home? Worse, was she kicked out of her home? No...that's not possible. That won't happen to her. Or will it happen to her?

Shivering noticeably now because of my anxiety, I tried to calm myself down by thinking about other thoughts. Sword Art Online. Friends. Video games. After a few minutes I was able to calm myself down to the point that I was able to push those thoughts to the back of my brain and mentally reminded myself to go and check on her later. I luckily still had her address on my phone because of the "Recent" feature on the map app on my phone, so I could go and see how she was going.

Hearing a *clink* that jolted me out of my thoughts, a rich aroma assaulted my nose as the smell of the cheeseburger in front of me wafted into my nose. Focusing now on the cheeseburger and the side of fries next to it as well as the traditional squish-push ketchup bottle next to it, I picked up the burger with my two hands and pushed it into my mouth, hoping that it wasn't too big for me to eat.

Feeling the bottom part of the burger brush past my chin, I sighed inside and pulled the burger out of my mouth. Staring at it intently, I proceeded to try and squish the front so that it would fit into my mouth. After many squishes and much pressure on my fingers, the burger was about half of its original thickness and I again put it into my mouth, this time the whole bit making it into my mouth instead of the original half. Enjoying the rich meat and the baked bun as well as the juicy tomato and the crisp piece of lettuce, I took my time chewing the bite before taking another one. This time, though, I couldn't control my speed of eating, and before I knew it, the last bite of the burger was in my mouth as well as the last french fry disappearing into my stomach. Patting my belly like a fat old man who just ate a giant meal, I let out my breath and sank into the shallow chair that I had been residing in for the last ten minutes. Leaving the bills for the meal which happened to be not that expensive, I trudged out the door and back to my bike, which was still locked up at the railing.

Unlocking it with a key I always kept in my pocket, I put the locking mechanism back into my deep pockets and hopped onto the bike, stopping first to find out the directions to Tazumi's house.

1.2 miles.

Starting to pedal in the direction of her house after putting the phone into my jean pocket with earphones leading out into my ears so that I could hear the directions, I again for the second or third that day started daydreaming, the loop of pedaling and stopping hardwired on my brain as I thought of other things, like how to talk to Tazumi once I got to her house. Sighing after a while when I found out that my brain was empty in this subject, I concentrated back on biking and put my brain on idle. Before I knew it, after a few turns and some sloping roads, I arrived at Tazumi's house, a modest two-story building in the suburbs of Anohakitsu.

AN: Fake city, doesn't really exist. Or does it?

Taking slow steps up to the front door of her house whilst trying to avoid tripping on the brick steps, I rang her doorbell. An unfamiliar female voice yelling, "Coming!" greeted me and within moments the door was flung open for me to see an older girl with purple-dyed hair pulled back into a ponytail. Beaming at the sight of me like she knew about yesterday, which she probably did seeing that she was most likely Tazumi's older sister, she gave the motion to come in. Sliding off my comfy sneakers outside the door and instead slipping on some indoor slippers, I heard Tazumi's sister close the door behind me before locking it with a comment to no one in particular of, "It always pays to lock your door."

Ushering me upstairs with a wave of her hand, she let me ascend the stairs first before coming up behind me like an escort, which she probably was seeing the state of me coming as a guest. With the little time we had together ascending the stairs, we exchanged numerous words like, "Yeah", "Okay", "Hi", and stuff like that. Once at the top of the stairs, I immediately headed towards the room with the colorful sign on the door saying "Tazumi's Room" with a smaller sign under it saying, "Knock before coming in". Proceeding to rap my knuckles on the door softly three times, I heard a body inside slide off a bed, I presume with a creak of the bedframe and go to the door.

The door was then thrown open wildly and in my view came Tazumi with her hair all messed up and with a mad look on her face. About to yell at whoever came in, it seems, her face brightened up when she saw me. Pulling my hand inside like always, she shut the door after saying, "Give us some private time, please" to whoever was outside in a loud voice. Sitting on the bed, she sighed and gave me a gesture that said, "Sit wherever." Choosing to sit on the bed next to her to which she stiffened a little before relaxing again, I stayed silent, waiting for her to talk to me about...whatever.

With a sigh, she flopped backwards onto her bed, still in her pink-purple pajamas, before starting to talk in a low voice.

"I got grounded for the weekend because I was out later than 10pm…" she said to the ceiling.

Smiling warmly at her, I scooted backwards to my whole body was sitting on the bed before putting my right hand on her left shoulder, to which she smiled before relaxing again as if to say, "You talk". Breathing in a deep breath, I prepared to say my story which thankfully had a happier ending than hers.

Stopping every few seconds to catch my breath, I explained my happy ending story with my parents loving that I now had a girlfriend to which she only replied, "We're a couple now?" to which I hurriedly replied, "Err...yeah." She laughed loudly after that and I smiled, laying down on the bed next to Tazumi to enjoy my time with her. Looking at each other, we both smiled before reaching out our arms and hugging each other.

Reminding her that the game started tomorrow to which she replied, "I'll make sure to see you in-game Satoni", I smiled and tried to cherish my time with her.

After brief moments of hugging, chatting and lots of saying "I love you" from both of us, we broke apart and I prepared to leave, agreeing that she would pretend that she was still mad about her grounding and meet me in-game. With a smirk and a little "hah", we gave our goodbyes and I left her room.

Walking past her sister and down the stairs, I looked towards where the family room probably was and said, "Goodbye Mr. And Ms. Kinoheya" to where I as usual received no response. Putting on my shoes, opening the front door and stepping out with one last look at the general direction Tazumi's room was at, I closed the door behind me and got back on my bike, pedaling home the happiest that I have been in a long time (minus yesterday).

Tomorrow is certainly gonna be a nice day, isn't it?

AN: Well this turned out to be much longer than I thought it would be. Oh well. Seeing as how the game is supposed to start Sunday and it is already Saturday, expect the "prologue" to complete in the next one or two chapters.