Okay, that's it. After this, no more distractions, I AM going to take advantage of these short vacations to finish the next chapter of Requiem Universus, I swear!

…well, my existential crisis aside, here we are once again with another chapter of my weirdest story yet! Once again, it's more centered in character development than anything else, and there is little to no weird alien action for Kazuto's part, but that will be fixed next chapter…a bit too much, maybe, so relax while we can.

And man, when I saw some of you recommending names for the little crow I got all excited and touched for your enthusiasm...until I remembered something that will more than likely make you all groan in despair and that I was gonna do anyway to keep the plot consistent: The ona naming Miss Crow had to be KAZUTO. And as you know how this inhuman and childish boy is...yeah XP

Also, a character many have been waiting for is introduced this chapter, so look forward to it!

PS: I fixed a small mistake last chapter with Yuuna's age upon finally finding with the right one, btw, in the part where Sugu says how much younger than her she is. Not that much, but I still thought I should let you know to the ones that haven't seen it yet O,O (And yes, that officially makes her the oldest girl of this fic's main cast, over a year older than Asuna) Also, for those interested, I found an official design of her character in both SAO and IRL at her current age (16) and put the image on my profile if you want to go take a look :3

Disclaimer: SAO and its characters don't belong to me, but to Kawahara Reki. If they did, I would make 'There is But One Ultimate Way' the official canon epilogue of the series so as to everyone could be happy.


Lusus Naturae (ˈLuːsʊs Næˈtʊəriː)

A freak, mutant, or monster. Also called: Lusus.

[Latin: 'Freak of Nature']


Chapter 3: Carpe Diem

September 1st, 2022. Tokyo, Japan. Argus Main Building, 18:30…

Kayaba Akihiko had to suppress an annoyed sigh upon seeing who was waiting for him in the waiting room. When he had been told he had an unexpected guest, he had almost assumed it was his peculiar 'friend', but really, when had he ever come in through normal means? And so, he had headed towards the waiting room, only to find…

"Kayaba." greeted the bespectacled man while standing up, though it was impossible for him to fully hide the distaste in his voice. "It's…good to see you again."

"Well, forgive me if I don't fully believe you, Sugou." replied the creator of Sword Art Online while eyeing the man before him. "May I ask to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Sugou Nobuyuki visibly snorted while slightly pulling his suit's tie, looking to the side with a mix of annoyance and resignation.

"My boss sent me to see if I could make you reconsider your offer of not lowering the price for the Cardinal System's patents."

"…and he sent YOU for that?"

"Someone told him we knew each other from back at the University and then from Shigemura's institute, and I couldn't exactly just tell him I didn't want to see you." grumbled the man before shaking his head and regard his 'acquaintance' and 'rival'. "So, are you going to reconsider it?"

"Tell Mr. Yuuki that I'm flattered, but that the price and stipulations have been confirmed and set by the whole of Argus, and that I won't be changing them no matter how much you offer." calmly replied the lab coat-wearing man while turning around, ignoring Sugou's deep scowl. "Have a good day."

"C'mon now Kayaba, we both know that you have more than enough influence to strike a deal with Argus' board of directors if you wanted to, especially with your most recent successes." pressed the bespectacled man with a stubborn tone while walking after his not-friend. "Think of it as an opportunity for RECT and Argus to work together in the future! Besides, having good ties with the future CEO of such a company can a great boon for you, you know?"

"Oh? I wasn't aware Yuuki Shouzou was going to step down from his position…" idly commented Kayaba while heading towards his lab, wondering if there was any chance of his 'guest' to just give up and stop following him. "And why are you so sure he will name YOU his successor?"

"Everyone needs to step down at some point, Kayaba, and old man Yuuki has been in charge for a long time. Besides, I'm the most obvious choice, as I'm not only the company's research institute but also his daughter's fiancé."

"…you mean, the daughter that's like, 10 years younger than you?" questioned the father of Virtual Reality while looking at his former coworker with disbelief, idly reaching to put the code needed to enter his lab.

"Heh, age is not a problem, Asuna is a beautiful young woman raised by the highest standards, and I'm sure she will be a great wi…"

"Hey, I also know someone named Asuna!"

"KYAAAAA!" screamed Sugou like a lunatic upon the sight of a smiling teenager with jet-black hair standing at the other side of the door, with a small black bird sitting on his shoulder while lazily pecking at its feathers.

"Hi, Kirito." greeted Kayaba without showing any surprise, walking past the suddenly pouting boy and heading towards his main computer, not even shocked at finding it turned on. "Long time no see."

"You could at least act surprised, Kayaba-san…" complained Kazuto while shaking his head, the bird on his shoulder cawing in agreement.

"Wha-what the hell?! Who is this kid?! How did he even get in?!" demanded the bespectacled man while pointing at the nonchalant boy, who looked back at him curiously. "And…is that a crow in his shoulder?!"

"How rude, her name is Kage-chan." informed Kazuto while scratching the crow's head, which cawed happily in answer. "And she's my family's pet and spirit animal."

"It can't be a spirit animal if it's alive, Kirito." plainly answered Kayaba while typing something on his computer.

"Of course she can! I asked her if she could and she accepted!"

"…for some reason, that doesn't even surprise me…"

"Hello?! Is anyone going to answer my questions?!"

"Oh, yes, I'm Kirito, Kayaba-san's secretary! A pleasure to meet you!" greeted the boy while finally turning towards the outraged Sugou, grabbing his hand and shaking it up and down with surprising strength. "Also, wouldn't you happen to be talking about Yuuki Asuna?"

"Eh? Ho-how do you know Asuna…?" questioned the bespectacled man with narrowed eyes…while nursing his pained hand from the teen's overly enthusiastic handshake.

"Well, she saved my life some years ago when I fell from the sky into her pool and almost drowned, then helped me realize I was being an idiot for worrying my family…" responded Kazuto without missing a beat, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "I felt tempted to call her a couple times after that to say thanks again, but I thought she had probably already forgotten about me and my sister always say she probably was very busy doing things people in high society does, so I didn't…are you really going to marry her?"

"Ye-yes, I am…" muttered the man while blinking in confusion, as he had never been told anything about his fiancé saving the life of a boy that fell in their pool and that was something he assumed at the very least her mother would have informed him of.

"Woah, you're very lucky, then! Asuna is a very caring girl, and very pretty too!" congratulated the boy while his crow jumped from his right shoulder to the other. "Even if your face is a little creepy, I'm sure she will still be a great wife for you!"

"Heh, yes, indeed, she will…wait, what was that about my face?!" all but screamed Sugou upon realizing what Kazuto had said.

"See? When you scream like that it looks even creepier!" pointed out the smiling boy while Kayaba tried and failed to suppress amused chuckles.

"Yo-you insolent brat!" snarled the bespectacled man before glaring towards the once again neutral-faced creator of SAO, though the trembling of his lips didn't go unnoticed by the shaking Sugou. "And you, Kayaba! I don't know what you're playing at by letting kids in your lab, but if this is how you're running things then you can bet RECT will surpass you even without your damn Cardinal System!"

"…technically, I will be 15 in 3 months, so I'm no longer a kid by biological standards." helpfully corrected Kazuto, ignoring the man's twitching look as he added 'I think' under his breath, making 'Kage-chan' shake her head.

"That's great to know, Sugou. Now, if you could please go away? I have to finish this early, I have a date later." casually dismissed Kayaba while bringing up several files on his computer.

"Oh! It's with Rinko-san?" excitedly asked the black-haired teen to the bespectacled man's shock, even as the creator of SAO nodded with a soft smile. "That's great! Congratulations, Kayaba-san!"

"Wa-wait, you're dating Rinko?! As in, Koujiro Rinko from college?!" half-shouted Sugou, seemingly unable to believe it.

"As a matter of fact, yes, that Rinko." confirmed Kayaba without showing any outward reaction, still calmly typing away on his computer. "Why so surprised, though, Sugou? Yeah, she rejected all your advances in college, but now you have a fiancé and a happy future, so it shouldn't bother you…right?"

Instead of answering verbally, the bespectacled man growled in annoyance and, after giving one last glare towards the curious-looking Kazuto, stomped out of the lab, not looking back even once.

"…you know, I don't think he is as happy as he, as you pointed out, should be." commented the black-haired boy with confusion, the crow on his shoulder cawing in agreement.

"Sugou Nobuyuki is…a very complicated person. Not the friendliest of men, too competitive and greedy for his own good, and someone who would go very far to get what he wants." informed the father of Virtual Reality before giving the now frowning Kazuto a sideways glance. "You should try and stay away from him, by the way. He wouldn't react as positively as I did to your…quirkiness."

"You may be right, but…" looking towards the door once again, the uncharacteristic frown in the teen's face only seemed to deepen. "Asuna-san is going to marry with such a person…?"

"It's more than likely something arranged by her parents, I doubt the girl has any said in that."

"What?! Arranged marriages in this age?! That's…stupid!"

"You will find I totally agree, as a fan of progress, but people with enough money or power still seems fixed in the old ways…" stopping working for a moment, Kayaba turned to look towards his strange friend once again. "So, is there any special reason you and this…Kage of yours came to visit me?"

"It had been a long time, and I also never thanked you for inviting me to SAO's Beta." quickly answered Kazuto, though the man could see there was still some indignation on his face at the previous news. "Also, her whole name is Kage-chan, not just Kage."

For a moment, Kayaba Akihiko deadpanned towards the inhuman boy, before remembering that this was the same boy who had used to the first two syllables from his surname and the last one from his name as a 'secret identity' when introducing to him.

"…Kazuto, do the world a favor and let whoever YOU marry name your kids."

"Hey, that's mean!" complained the black-haired boy while glaring towards the lab coat-wearing man. "Also, I don't think I would ever find anyone to really marry, because I…well, you know…"

Oh, yeah. With all the silly talk and how used he was to his weirdness, he had almost forgotten the tiny detail that the teen before him was actually some abomination that seemed to come from some madman's worst nightmares. Immediately, combined with the previous line of thought, that sent another haunting thought to his head: Could the boy reproduce? Did his body even allow for that? And if so, how…?

Yes, okay, better to kill any thought related to that right now. Especially because Kayaba had noticed more than once the not-so-subtle glances Yuuna, who he had started to see like some sort of niece at some point, sent towards the boy, and to even think that her…oh, yeah, he really didn't need those images on his head, at all. Killing, erasing and Cardinal-blocking that line of thought…now!

"A-anyway…did you want to know if anything from the Beta would be carried over to your account?" questioned the older man with a nervous smile, making Kazuto blink and look at him with childish curiosity. "You must have been wondering that, right, given how the game is coming out in 5 days?"

"Really? Will something carry on? I would have expected everything to be reset in the official launch…"

"Well, that was the original plan, before…you know." trailing off, Kayaba saw no malice nor blame in the boy's face at the reminder of what he almost did as he caressed his crow's head, staring at him with a calm smile. "So I decided some small bonus should be given to the Testers as a reward for their help…you're not keeping your levels, of course. It wouldn't be funny if one Player could solo the first 3 Bosses or so by himself, would it?"

"You say that as if you hadn't changed anything in the Bosses from the Beta, which you most certainly have." scoffed the actual Tester before looking excitedly towards the man. "So? What are we getting?!"

"Ah, ah, that would be telling, right? No one likes getting Spoilers."

"Oh, man, that was just plain teasing for no reason!" complained Kazuto before shaking his head, once again smiling softly as he gazed at the man. "Seriously, though…it was good to see you, Kayaba-san. I'm glad you're doing okay. Good luck with your date!"

"Thanks, Kirito. For everything." sincerely answered the man before turning around once again.

"Also…I looked through your files again. Don't worry, I'm sure you will manage to get all the necessary upgrades to the Nerve Gear's software out in time before anyone able and willing to pay for Cardinal's patents to use it for unsavory purposes shows up." came the black-haired boy's from behind him, making Kayaba blink. "You're awesome like that."

"Caw!" seemingly agreed Kage-chan.

When the gray-haired man turned around, however, there was no trace left of either the young teen or his pet crow. Smiling softly at the empty room, Kayaba Akihiko returned to his work, compiling the latest information to make sure the Mental Health Counseling Programs ran smoothly…and subtly adding a line of Code to make them look out for the player known as Kirito.

Call him paranoid, but he actually wanted to make sure the inhuman boy didn't have any psychological problems…besides his seemingly unending childishness, that is.

And if it indirectly maintained Yuuna as nothing more than friends with him…well, he was sure the girl's father would thank him for that…

One didn't need to be a genius to notice Dr. Shigemura had been more than suspicious of how much his daughter liked to spend time with Kazuto, after all…


"Be fruitful and multiply." – God (Perfectly summarizing mankind's most basic desires).


It was finally November 6th, and Sword Art Online's Official Servers were just a couple hours from starting to work. Across the country, the first batch of 10000 copies of the games had vanished from shelves within less than 24 hours from its launch the day before, and requests to Argus for more had already flooded everywhere.

However, for Kirigaya Kazuto, none of that mattered, as he was currently looking in surprise towards his smiling sister presenting him with a bright new Nerve Gear and a copy of SAO.

"Woah…Sugu, I can't believe it! You're actually going to play with me!" cheered the black-haired boy before hugging the girl, making her laugh with a small blush.

"We-well, you said so many great things about this game that I just knew I had to try it out!" replied Suguha with her own smile as her adopted brother let go of her. "I even canceled my kendo training for today to play with you!"

"…is that okay?" asked Kazuto with a suddenly worried tone. "I know how important kendo is for you; I wouldn't want you to miss it just because of m…"

"Onii-chan, idiot." was all that the girl said before mock-hitting him in the chest. "Kendo is important to me, yes…but you…uhm, I mean, I can perfectly stop practicing for one day without problem to spend some time with you, don't underestimate your little sister!"

"A-ah, forgive me for that, Sugu!" apologized the boy while sticking out his tongue, getting a giggle out of Suguha as answer.

"Caw!" commented a certain crow from her place on the table.

"Gah! Oh, Kage-chan…please, stop doing that." muttered the young kendoka while eyeing their pet-crow, still not used to her tendency to pop up out of nowhere. "I still can't believe mom let you 'kept' her…"

"Well, it's not as if she has anything to complain about. I mean, she doesn't even live in the house, and her nest is in our roof!"

"Same nest that wasn't there the day before?" added Suguha with a small smirk, making her brother blush and look away while mumbling. "Now c'mon, I have no idea of how to set this thing up and I need you to help me do it!"

And so, Kazuto spend the next hour helping his little sister calibrate her Nerve Gear, explaining the basics to start off in SAO and tell her where he and Yuuna (Who had also gotten the game) were planning to meet up. Her smile seemed to widen when he talked about how surprised the sing-loving girl was going to be when he showed up with her, which made him happy too, at how well those two got along.

That done, the boy smiled at her, told him to wait for the exact minute to Log In with him and headed bad to his room excitedly, lying down and putting on his Nerve Gear.

Somehow, he just knew this was going to be an amazing day.

"Link Start!"

Minutes later, the swordsman Kirito was standing once again on the plaza in the middle of the Town of Beginnings. Almost giddy with excitement, the Beta Tester couldn't help but jump in place and shout happily, ignoring the looks many other, also just Logged In, players gave him.

"I'm back, Aincrad! This is going to be the…!"

"KYA!"

"UAH!"

With the sound of two bodies hitting the ground, Kirito's high-speed celebration ended, both he and the girl of long orange hair smashing into each other and the ground.

"Ooouch…wait, eh? It…doesn't hurt?" wondered the fallen girl with utter confusion.

"Well, yes, SAO doesn't actually let you feel pain, you know? That wouldn't be fun at all, never mind all the legal issues there would be because of it…" answered the boy while standing up and helping her to her feet, the girl suddenly scowling at him, though confused when he saw his honestly embarrassed and apologetic expression. "Sorry about that, by the way. I was just so excited about coming back here that I didn't see where I was going…"

"We-well, be more careful next time, okay?" half-heartedly reprimanded him the orange-haired girl, unable to truly get angry with him for some reason. "A-also, what do you mean by 'coming back here'? Wasn't today supposed to be this game's first day out or something?"

"Oh, yeah, but only for the Official Servers. I was a Beta Tester, so I got to be here in Aincrad a couple months back." explained Kirito while sticking out his tongue, making the girl look at him in surprise at his revelation and carefreeness. "Ah, I'm Kirito, by the way."

"Asuna…that's my name, I mean."

"Really? Man, what a coincidence, I know an Asuna in real life too!"

"You…do?"

"Yeah, but she lives in this awesome mansion and it's a very strict but caring and determined girl…she even saved my life once!" described the swordsman with a nostalgic smile, making the girl's mouth drop in shock as she STARED harder at him. "Not the type that would be playing a game like this, I gue…"

"Kazuto-kun?!" all but screamed Asuna, making the boy freeze and look at her in utter surprise. "Is…is that really you?"

"A-Asuna-san…you used your real name as your avatar's name…? No, wait, forget about that, it's you!" all but shouted Kirito before hugging the life out of the girl and spinning her around, making her squeak and blush in embarrassment as people looked around in confusion. "I can't believe it, just 5 days ago I was thinking about you!"

"Ka-Kazuto-kun, sto…wait, you were? Really?" asked the surprised player, clearly not having expected to hear that.

"Yes, I did! For…reasons…" muttered the swordsman with a small frown at remembering Sugou Nobuyuki, before his grin returned as he finally let go of the flustered girl. "Also, you shouldn't go around saying real names in the virtual world, you know? It's considered impolite! Why did you name your avatar the same as yourself?"

"I…this is my first time trying a game like this and I didn't know what they meant when demanding a 'Nickname' at creating the account, so I went for the easy thing and put my name…" admitted Asuna while looking away, half-expecting the boy to mock her or something.

"Oh…well, no biggie, we all make mistakes when trying out something new." happily understood the black-haired boy, making the girl look back at him again in surprise. "I see you tried to make your avatar resemble your real self a bit, but it didn't go well…your chestnut hair is way prettier than this standard orange!"

"Yo-you are just saying that to make me forget about crashing on me, the-there is no way you can remember it properly after so many years…" muttered Asuna while glaring at him, though with little actual anger behind her words.

"No, I'm being honest." countered Kirito while tilting his head, the half-forgotten quirk she only got to see a couple times that day years ago somehow making the girl realize the serious honesty in his words. "I have a very good memory for anything that's important to me…and you saved my life. There is no way I could ever forget you, Asuna-san. If anything, I'm more surprised by the fact that you remember me…"

The girl, for her part, was now trying very hard to not look at the boy, telling herself she didn't mean anything special with those words, or the bay in which his eyes bore into hers when he said them with that extremely emotional tone, all the while her quickly beating virtual heart seemed to not give a fuck about her thoughts.

Truth to be though, she hadn't really forgotten about him even once since the day they met. How angry/worried her mother had been later that day when she arrived home and her brother told her the news was deeply engraved on her mind, as well as how she argued hotly against her when she seemed to consider suing the boy's family for 'putting her daughter' in danger, to the utter shock of her mother and brother. That was the first time she ever opposed anything her mother said. For the young girl, however, there was something much more important to care for than that.

She had saved a life. Actually prevented someone from dying. And being only 13 years old at the time, this had affected her quite deeply. She started thinking more about the world in general, not only in her own future and grades as her mother always told her. She became curious about many things, spend some hours looking information about the world, about people living in it, how the lives of others, that weren't as fortunate in life as she was, were…

Her mother clearly didn't approve, but Asuna did not care. With the memory of that shaking boy soaked from head to toe as he helped him outta the pool in her heart, for the first time, she had decided she wanted to try a new path. One she had chosen herself.

That of trying to make the world a better place for others, helping out in ways other people couldn't…

And now, just because she had gotten curious about the game many had been talking about in her private all-girls High School and on the news for months, both Nerve Gear and game abandoned because her brother(Their actual owner) had to go on a business trip at the last moment, she had met him again.

Could this be…Fate?

"Onii-chaaaaan! Where are you?!" suddenly came a slightly annoyed shout from the fountain near the plaza, attracting several stares and making Kirito blink, before he paled in horror.

"O-oh no! Sugu! I forgot I had to reunite with her!" gasped the boy in fear before running towards the voice's source, making Asuna look after him in confusion

Sugu…as in, his little sister? She could barely recall the young girl, who had all but fused to her brother's arm in worried fear when he walked out of her house…and that sent her a lot of strange looks for some reason. Nodding to herself, the girl followed after the swordsman, seeing him profusely apologizing to a beautiful girl of blonde hair in a ponytail and green eyes…and a figure that couldn't be real in any way if she recalled how the girl actually was IRL right. Luckily, this was only the virtual world and nothing like that could actually happen for real.

"…really sorry!"

"How could you just forget about me like that?! And after I canceled my practice just to spend time playing with you…Onii-chan…you're so mean! Idiot!"

"I-I didn't forget, Su…uhm, 'Leafa', I swear, it's just that I ran into an old friend I wasn't expecting to see again all of a sudden and…!"

"Wait, a friend you weren't expecting to see again? Who are you talking abo…?"

"Hey there. It has been a long time, Sugu…no, sorry, not used to this virtual world thing yet, it's…Leafa-san here, right?" greeted Asuna with a small smile, making the blonde girl look at her approaching form in shock, before her eyes narrowed in thought.

"Wait…long time…you know my name…know Onii-chan…A-Asuna-san?!" half-shouted Leafa while taking a step back.

Out of all the people she thought they could coincidentally find in that virtual world, the girl that had saved the life of her adopted brother (Something that made her both eternally grateful and wary of her the first and only time they met before) wasn't one of them. She had honestly expected to never see the rich girl again.

"Yeah, it's me…uhm, there is no problem, I guess, as my…Avatar? is also called that."

"…you named your avatar the same as yourself?" asked the blonde girl in disbelief, even her who never played any games knowing that you simply didn't do that out of common sense.

"We all make mistakes, Leafa, don't be too hard on her." laughed it off Kirito while scratching his head, making Leafa sigh in answer and Asuna to look at him gratefully. "Okay then, we are only missing one person before…!"

"Guess who?" came a familiar singing voice from behind the boy, making him jump around in surprise and squeak, a girl of long white-silver hair and red eyes grinning at him before making a victory sign. "Heheh, take that, Kirito! I totally caught you off guard!"

"Yu-Yuuna-chan, don't do that!" complained the swordsman while Asuna resisted the urge to laugh and Leafa rolled her eyes. "It's not funny!"

It wasn't his fault that he had half-forgotten that his inhumanly sharp senses didn't exactly work within the virtual world. The boy was just too used to be able to know and hear when anyone tried to sneak up on him or simply recognize someone he knew well enough by their 'presence' within a building, so to speak, like he was used to with Sugu, his mother, and Yuuna.

"Onii-chan, didn't you just said it was impolite to call someone else by their real names?" commented his adoptive sister with a small smile.

"A-ah, that's right! So-sorry about…!"

"Nah, don't worry, Kirito." waved it off the white-haired girl before grinning and pointing to herself "After all, my name within this world is Yuna, so it wasn't that big of a mistake!"

A second of silence passed.

"…you also called yourself the same that in reality?" questioned Asuna with a curious look.

"Wha…? No! It's YUNA, not Yuuna!" complained the girl with a small pout. "A-and who are you anyway?!"

"That's basically the same thing…" deadpanned Leafa while shaking her head.

"And this is Asuna-san! She saved me from drowning when I was 12 and I fell into her home's pool by mistake!" cheerfully revealed Kirito, making the orange-haired girl look at him with wide eyes while Yuna's mouth opened in shock.

"Wha-what?! You never told me you almost drowned before meeting me!"

"Heheh, uhm, it's not exactly something that comes up in a conversation, don't you think…?"

"Yeah, Yuna-san, Onii-chan is right. It's not as if he has to tell you everything about himself, you know?"

"We-well, he still tells me everything that matters about himself because I'm his best friend, you kno…? Wait, why are you smirking, Su…Leafa?! And why are you looking away, Kirito?! What aren't you two telling me?!"

Staring towards the 3bickering 'friends', Asuna couldn't help but feel a smile tugging at her lips.

It seemed that entering that game had been more than worth it in many ways.


"You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family…or the friends of your family." – Unknown (Guy probably screwed up a lot in his personal life).


A couple hours had passed since the dissonant group had met up in the plaza of the Town of Beginnings, and now one could find them out in the fields a couple of kilometers from the city, the wolves and board mobs from the surroundings being slaughtered by them.

"Good work, everyone, you're doing awesome!" cheered Kirito as he saw Yuuna swing her sword in a slightly clumsy 'Vertical', while a somewhat puzzled-looking Leafa beheaded the wolf before her with a scimitar.

"Still can't get used to this…" muttered the blonde girl while looking over her weapon, before looking back towards her smiling brother. "Are you sure I will be able to use a katana later by using this?"

"Yep! To unlock the Katana Extra Skill, you will need a high enough level with Curved Sword Skills!" confirmed the black-haired boy before turning towards his friend. "How are you holding up, Yuna-chan?"

"Hmm…more or less okay, but I don't think fighting is my strongest point in this game." commented the white-haired girl while lowering her own blade, staring with a smile towards the setting sun. "Everything is beautiful and amazing here, so I'm sure everyone has something they're especially good at what they put effort into, and…"

"Waaah!" loudly shouted the last member of the group, making the three of them turn around in time to see orange hair flapping in the air as Asuna became something akin to a shooting start, brutalizing the wolf she was fighting against via rapier-impalement and making it explode into polygons. "…hey, you know, this is actually pretty fun! Cathartic, even!"

"…and then there is miss prodigy here who somehow seems to be a natural with a blade." gloomily muttered Yuna with a small frown.

"Yuna has a point there, Asuna-san, you're really good with that rapier." commented Leafa while crossing her arms. "Are you sure you have never done fencing or something like that before?"

"Nope, the most I have done is a bit of tennis during school!" confessed the orange-haired girl while lowering her weapon. "But if I imagine the monsters are my next super-annoying exam, it becomes relaxingly easy to do this!"

"Heh, everyone has their way of doing this, I guess." joked Kirito before picking up a rock from the ground and calmly tossing it behind him, the Throwing Skill activating and killing the wolf trying to sneak up on the group, making the girls look at him with slight awe, his own ability with the game clearly surpassing theirs in all ways. "Hmm…it's almost 17:00, so it means it's finally time for me to meet with Argo-sensei again! Man, it has been so long without seeing her face to face…we should get going!"

"Argo-sensei?" curiously asked Asuna while looking at the other two girls, who were suddenly exchanging uneasy looks. "Who is that?"

"It's…a friend of Onii-chan that he met while playing the game's Beta." explained Leafa as they followed after the boy. "She's the one that taught him how to play and apparently also his game-partner of sorts during the month he played…"

"He also stupidly asked her to marry him." huffed Yuna with an annoyed look, causing Asuna to trip over her own feet, barely stopping her fall with her hands only to look at the two girls with wide shock.

"He asked her what?!"

"Yeah, we reacted pretty much the same way…turns out, though, Onii-chan only did so because that function in this game gives you an advantage by sharing Inventory with the person you're 'married' to." clarified the blonde swordswoman while scowling at the memory, even as Asuna shot her, then the retreating Kirito, a look filled with disbelief. "As you can guess, he didn't explain himself properly and the situation with the poor girl became…a bit awkward for several days. At least he had the decency to apologize the very next day, but…"

"He took an entire day in realizing what he had done?! How old is he again?!"

"He turns 15 in January." informed the white-haired songstress while shaking her head, giving the humming boy a slightly exasperated look. "But to be honest, I think he has hardly matured since I met him…then again, there is also something charming in that childishness of his, but…"

"Onii-chan is…just very enthusiastic, that's all, he's still quite aware of what he does." waved it off Leafa with a nervous laugh, not really wanting to dwell in that maybe the 'slowness' of her adopted brother had something to do with his 'peculiar' nature (Not that she had any intention of explaining that to the two girls anyway). "But…just to be sure, let's make sure he doesn't make the poor girl feel bad again, okay?"

Surprisingly, Asuna found herself easily agreeing with the two girls on that. It was strange…she had 'friends' in her school, sure, but they barely talked much during classes, and mostly about their studies and similar things. She didn't exactly hang out with them outside school either.

However, with both Leafa and Yuna she had felt some strange…kinship. As if she could just 'connect' easily with both girls, talk with them and relax around them.

After all, they…treated her like any other normal girl. Even the blonde swordswoman, who had seen how she lived in real life, hadn't treated her any special because of her money or her family. And for someone like her, who wanted to understand people better to help them out, it was a very nice and comforting feeling.

Such thoughts followed her all the way back to the Town of Beginnings, then through some streets she hadn't gone through earlier, until a nice-looking street with what seemed like a couple of Aincrad-styled cafés and restaurants…wait, what?

"…hey, Kirito." muttered Yuna while looking around, a strange suspicious starting to creep in her mind. "Did this Argo friend of yours told you why you wouldn't just meet right away and instead several hours after the game began?"

"Nope! But then again, Argo-sensei did things I didn't understand all the time, so it didn't bother me."

"…and she cited you around HERE?" continued Leafa as they kept walking past the extremely relaxed shops, for a world where monsters roamed free for people to fight them to death.

"Yep! In that restaurant precisely!" clarified the boy while pointing to a fancy-looking building at the end of the street, which looked more like the spot one would choose for a nice and romantic meal than to meet up with a friend.

All three girls stopped, STARING at the back of the boy as he kept blissfully unaware and still heading towards the building.

"…is any of you going to tell him or should I do…? Eh? Wa-wait, what are you doing?!" half-shouted Asuna upon seeing the other two girls' eyes narrowing as they quickened to catch up with the boy, the orange-haired girl fast behind. "D-do you know that she most likely invited him here because…?"

"Yes." both of them answered in unison, not even slowing down.

"A-and that she probably thought he would come alone to…?"

"Yes." replied the duo once again, even as they finally entered the restaurant behind their merry 'guide'.

"…okay, just making sure." muttered Asuna with a sigh while Kirito looked around, his eyes widening upon spotting someone near one of the windows.

"Hey! Argo-sensei!"

"Ah, Kii-bou!" came a happy voice while the girl stood up, making the boy blink in surprise at seeing her clearly. "Lo-long time no see, eh?"

The reason behind the swordsman's surprise was because the girl, despite looking the same as in the Beta, was lacking her usual cloak, something he knew she could (And as far as she knew, would) buy right away from any of the cheap NPC stores around the Town of Beginnings. Also, she had her hair unusually orderly, with even a small mouse(Rat?)-shaped ornament. Not to mention the fact that she had changed her basic equipment for some more 'casual' clothes, those that weren't difficult to get if one knew their way around the quite sizeable town, but that didn't really have much use except looking nice, given that their Stats sucked, and it had been the girl herself who told Kirito how impractical it was to not just stay in your usual equipment within any city.

Of course, the idea (Fact) that maybe she had been looking forward to seeing him in 'person' again quite a bit more than he had flown right over the boy's head.

"Woah…Argo-sensei, is there a special reason why you look like that?" asked the swordsman while tilting his head in that way anyone that knew him enough could immediately identify as his. "Don't take it wrong, you look really pretty, but I'm not sure…"

"Geeze, still the same Kii-bou in person as you are through e-mail, eh?" chuckled the information broker even as she felt her cheeks tint red because of his words. "But well, I just thought we could use some time to relax a bit and tell each other how our first day back in Aincrad has bee…"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" loudly commented Yuna while jumping before Kirito and quickly grabbing Argo's hands, shaking them up and down. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Argo-san!"

"Wha…?"

"Yes, indeed!" added Leafa while stopping at her brother's side, all smiles and rainbows like her white-haired 'friend'. "Onii-chan has told us a lot about you!"

"Eh…?"

"Uhm…good afternoon?" offered Asuna while walking to the blonde girl's side while sweatdropping.

The info-broker, for her part, could only STARE at the three cheerful and beautiful (At least avatar-wise) girls that accompanied the socially inept boy she had known long enough to know incapable of relating with other normal people without thoroughly unnerving them enough to make them want to excuse themselves and get the hell away after just 2 minutes. While he had lots of people who talked of him with awe on the Beta, the main reason she was his only 'friend' was because no one else seemed able to stand his overly friendly and naïve attitude…

And now, this.

"…e-ehm…Kii-bou? Who are these people…?" questioned Argo with a slightly twitching eyebrow, which ruined her attempt to try and pretend to smile politely for anyone except the aforementioned boy.

"Ah, yeah, I wanted to surprise you! See, this is Leafa; she's my little sister (Remember I told you about her?). That one there is Yuna, my long-time friend. The former surprised me this morning telling me she was going to play with me and the latter already had plans for it, so I thought it would be cool if we all met up together!" happily explained Kirito before putting a hand on Asuna's shoulder, making her squeak. "And this here is Asuna-san, someone I knew years ago but casually happen to meet again earlier, so she also came along!"

"Oh…that's…that's great!" 'cheerfully' assured the girl of the whiskers (She had bothered to paint a replacement of her own ones quite quickly, it seemed) before pointing to the table she had been sitting in. "W-we may be a bit cramped because I wasn't expecting you to show up with so many people, but if it's not a problem…"

"Hmm, any problem, girls?"

"Nope!"

"You can also eat inside this game, right? I wonder what virtual food tastes like…"

"…sorry for intruding…"

And so, several minutes later, the strange group was now sitting on a table with an assortment of simple food before them, some meats and cheese together with vegetables and even two simple cakes. The new-to-the-game girls seemed quite interesting in experimenting what the food tasted like and comparing it to the real thing, while Kirito was happily recounting everything they had done today to his in-game-teacher.

The fact that he was sitting between Leafa and Yuna while talking to Argo at the other side of the table (With Asuna sitting at her side and frowning slightly as she chewed on a piece of cake) didn't seem to bother him in the slightest, but it was clear that the whiskered girl didn't share the feeling, if the slightly annoyed look in her eyes was anything to go by.

"…and then Asuna-san went by like a bullet and turned the wolf into virtual mincemeat with her rapier!"

"He-hey, stop exaggerating that, Ka…Kirito-kun, I was just doing it as I could…" complained the aforementioned girl after swallowing what she was eating, her frown somehow deepened as she did so. "…hmm, this could use a bit more of vanilla…"

"Sounds like you had a lot of fun with your friends and sister, Kii-bou…it's great to see your enthusiasm is still the same as ever." sighed Argo while giving him an honest smile. "Also, did you figure out what the deal with the Beta Gift is?"

"Beta Gift?" asked three voices at the same time, the girls stopping paying attention to their food to look towards the two Testers in confusion.

"You mean this thing?" questioned Kirito while opening his menu and materializing what seemed like…a simple round mirror with a silvery edge. "Mirror of Truth…I have a vague idea, especially after looking at the Description of the Item with detail…"

"Really? You got something out of that?" frowning, the usually hooded girl looked at her own menu, reading again what was written in there.

'For those who Accept their True Selves, the Words of Truth will take off the Masks. (Warning, Non-Transferable Item. Effects can only be shared with those in your Friend List)'

"Yep, it's actually quite easy to deduce. But first, let me add you back to my Friend List…" doing the action with a quick movement of his hands, the boy then looked down at his mirror and, under the curious glances of the girls, spoke. "I'm Myself in Both Worlds."

For a moment, nothing happened. Then…the mirror shone with unnatural light, several gasps filling the table when Kirito changed.

Within the blink of an eye, the black-haired boy (Noticeably shorter than before) stared up with a face that was just slightly feminine, way more suited for his childish and specially wide smile as he looked at his reflection, then at his hands and finally at his friends with his real face, that of Kirigaya Kazuto.

"Wha…?!"

"Holy…! Kirito, you look like you do in reality!"

"Onii-chan, how did you do that?!"

"Wo-woah…you haven't changed that much in these years…ah, I mean…!"

"Heheh, not a problem, Asuna-san. And well, I was right…and man, for some reason it feels way more relaxing to look like myself in here." grinning, Kirito looked towards the still dumbfounded Argo, who kept staring at him in disbelief. "Hi there, Argo-sensei! This is the real me…hope you're not disappointed."

"Uh…eh…what?" muttered the stunned girl before quickly shaking her head, waving off any ideas about it being unfair for a boy to look so cute or the relief she felt at he actually being a teenager and not a 10 years old like she sometimes had feared. "N-no, not at all, Kii-bou, I was just surprised! Tho-though, if you suspected what that thing did then you shouldn't have just used it before me…"

"Why not? You're a friend, so I don't mind you knowing how I really look like. Besides, it seems the effects of this Mirror are only shareable with those in your Friend List, and I think they can be adjusted too…" commented the black-haired boy with a carefree smile, before operating his menu a bit and then nodding to himself. "Yep, I was right…hey, I wonder if you can also share the effects with someone in your Friend List? Yuna, Leafa, want to try it?"

"E-eh?!" half-shouted the blonde girl in surprise.

"Hmm…sure, why not? I'm not ashamed of how I look at all!" nodded the white-haired one while taking the mirror, only to send a slightly pitiful look towards the swordswoman at her best friend's other side as she did so. "Though I could understand you still wanting to look like an adult at least within this world, Suguha-chan…"

"Why, you…! Give me that mirror when you're done!"

"…hey, Argo-san, are you going to use your mirror?"

"Ahm…ye-yeah, I think so, it's only fair…why are you asking, Asuna-san?"

"…can I use it too?"

A couple of minutes later, it was a group of curious/awkward normal teenagers who was sitting around the table, looking at themselves and each other with evident wonder, Kirito especially taking his time to look at the girl with brown eyes and curly auburn hair that was feeling quite nervous under his stare.

"So-something wrong, Kii-bou?" questioned Argo while scratching her whisker-painted cheeks. "Ma-maybe I'm not as cool as my avatar…?"

"Hmm? No, not really, you still look cool and also quite cute like that." easily accepted the black-haired boy with his usual smile, making the girl look away with a small blush while the ones sitting at his sides sent him exasperated looks, Asuna just eating another cake while still looking at herself in the mirror. "It's just that I always imagined you older with how smart you are…"

"Yo-you thought I was older?" muttered the auburn-haired girl while wondering if she should take that as a compliment, but when taking into account she had thought he was a kid more than once…"

"And your look great with your hair longer, Asuna-san, it really suits you!" complimented Kirito to the eating girl, who blinked and looked at him in surprise. "Also, I was right about your natural color being prettier than the in-game one!"

"A-ah, tha-thanks, Kirito-kun…" replied the now chestnut-haired girl while idly playing with her hair. "Yo-you also look better like your real self…a-and you two too, Yuna-san, Leafa-san!"

"Huh, I still don't get how we can look like this inside the game…" commented the black-haired girl with a confused look before looking back at her brother. "Can we turn it off?"

"Yeah, it seems the Mirror has an option for that." explained the boy while putting a hand under his chin. "As for how, well, the Nerve Gear does ask for a scan of the body when you're calibrating it, remember? That's most likely how it got a nigh-perfect representation of our current bodies…"

"Man, to think Kayaba-jii would think of doing something like this…" commented Yuna while playing with the braid her brown hair had, before giving out an amused grin. "He certainly thinks a lot of interesting things!"

"Well, you know Kayaba-san, he has a lot of imagination…"

"…wait…why are you two talking as if you knew Kayaba Akihiko personally?" questioned Argo with a raised eyebrow, receiving a small laugh and a smile from the two teens in question. "Uh?"

"That's because we kind of do…" muttered the singer while looking away.

"As Yuna-chan said! She's the daughter of Kayaba-san's mentor and I'm his secretary!" happily revealed Kirito.

Argo stared at them open-mouthed, her hand moving from one to the other while trying to find her voice.

"…hey, Leafa-chan? Who is Kayaba?"

"The creator of the Nerve Gear and this game, Asuna-san."

"Oh…woah, then it's quite a big deal that they know him, right?"

"Ju-jus 'a big deal'?! Are you kidding?! Kii-bou! How is that you never told me that?!"

"Uhm…it never came up in any conversation?"

"…are you serious?!"

"Hah, that's how Onii-chan always is…"

"There is just no changing poor Kirito…"

And as the table descended into a mess of bickering, laughs, and conversation…Kirito couldn't help but smile even more widely on the inside.

This was certainly a peace that he could her used to enjoy forever…

At the same time, though, in the outer fields of the Town of Beginnings, a shocked pig-tailed girl stared in awe as a wolf was impaled to the ground with a spear.

"Woah…you're amazing, Sinon-san…"

"Thanks, Silica, but this is nothing." commented the girl of the spear while looking ahead with a determined look. "If I wish to find that alien boy, I will need to sharpen my skills even more."

"…alien boy?"

"Ah…damn, I shouldn't have said that aloud…just forget that you…"

"I…I once met a boy that could do incredible things. Things a normal person shouldn't be able to. He saved my cat when it got trapped in a very tall tree." Sinon's neck head towards the younger girl so fast that it seemed a miracle her neck didn't snap. "Mom and dad thought I was just making it up, and I never saw any of them again, but…do you think it may be related to who are looking for?"

"Was his hair black and he was smiling all the while for no reason?" upon receiving a nod, the spear-user almost shot to Silica's side, making the dagger-user squeak. "I can't believe it…someone else that has seen what he can do is right before my eyes! Playing this game was really…wait…did you say 'them'?"

"Yeah…he was with his little sister. Their names were Suguha-san and Kazuto-san…"

"…a sister? And…Kazuto…so that's your name, uh…?"

"…Sinon-san, your smile is scaring me…"

The most unlikely of friendships was also born that day…


"Not even Death can stop Fate." – Unknown (No kidding, 'She' tried once. It didn't end well for her…at all).


Somewhere in the deepest part of outer space, a very specific Emergency Warning was received by a certain Tryum Research Ship.

Shocked at its contents, the 6-eyed and 6-legged alien that had received the message ran through the ship's corridors as fast as his limbs carried him, heading towards the main Investigation Research Lab.

Arriving at the massive bio-mechanical doors, he waited for them to open with worried impatience before rushing in, ignoring the stares of the many workers inside as he headed straight for the two working near the center of the massive lab.

"High Researcher Ubom! High Researcher Grotek!"

"Eh? What's wrong, messenger?" asked Ubom with a curious tone, turning around to face the smaller Tryum.

"Yeah, we were in the middle of an important experiment." added Grotek while looking back at what seemed like a bull-sized hairless rat with 4 eyes hanging above a tank of what seemed strangely like acid, the nervous creature seeming scared shitless.

"O-one of your very own personal Alert Signals just arrived…" gulped the messenger with a nervous tone, both Researchers suddenly giving him their full attention.

After all, they only put those in any systems that were in charge of monitoring old experiment of theirs or projects in which they had worked one way or another, to inform them of an unexpected development or a goal reached in their absence. And for the young worker before them to look so worried…

"What exactly did the warning say? And where did it come from?"

"It's…from an Emergency Portable Console of Earth's Auxiliary Research Lab, sir." informed the alien while passing them a small terminal, both older Tryum exchanging looks at the name of the half-forgotten facility. "And…it's a Level Omega-Type Warning."

"Earth…wait, wasn't that where that idiot Waryum was sent with…?"

"Grotek…look at this, you won't believe it…"

"Hmm? What could you possibly…? What in Fate's name?!" Grotek's shout was so loud that every single Tryum within the lab turned to look at them, curiosity in their eyes at seeing the trembling look in one of their bosses. "…X-K0940…rewrote other living being's DNA…? But that…"

"Makes no sense." finished Ubom while pacing back and forth, clearly confused and excited. "All which that thing ever did was to laze around and eat all the time. No matter how many testing missions we did, no matter how many Programmed Protocols we tried to cram on its mind, it just did that over and over while X-K0941 did all the work…just…eat…"

"Just eat…" muttered the other Tryum High Researcher as his eye slowly widened. "…why did we never bother to think what it did with all that it ate?"

"You think…it was storing both biomass and DNA from everything it consumed? But, if that was truth, then…that would mean…"

"That while X-K0941 was the fiercest and strongest… X-K0940 was the true biological jackpot! If it can rewrite other living form's DNA's with its own…then it could be used to make a fucking army of those things! Inferior versions, yeah, but quality would end up not mattering over quantity!"

"…say…it can't normally reproduce, right?" asked a suddenly uneasy messenger, making both Researchers blink and exchange a look.

"…we don't think so?"

"I mean, we never really stopped to think about it as it was not a priority, and after all attempts at cloning with both of them failed, we kind of stopped looking into it and just took 41 home while sending it…or 'him' as Waryum started calling it…away…"

"A-and its sibling is the only other in its species, so really, there is no risk of that, at all…yeah."

"Then…are you sure it can't reproduce with any other life form, right?" insisted the young Tryum, who had read the records on both the appetite of the 'failure' and the brutality of the 'guardian dog'.

Several seconds of silence ensued.

"…Grotek, sent an Omega-Level warning home and demand for backup, we need to save a low-level planet from a possible Extinction Threat."

"At once, partner…oh, and I think I will contact Roiker Prison while I'm at it…"

"Eh? Why?"

"We want to try and recover him alive, right? Well… X-K0941 was always aggressively protective of its 'brother'. If there is any living being in this Universe that can find him and subdue it without permanent damage, it's 'her'."

"…and you think doing that is wise?"

"Oh, relax, we will have her under a Programmed Protocol and strict surveillance, it will be just like the old days during the Test Missions. Besides, what could possibly go wrong?"

On Its Throne above Everything, [FATE] felt the strangely human need of laughing. It promptly dismissed it, resuming Its eternal watch.

At that moment, back on Tryum-Delta, on the 'pit' outside Roiker Prison, now sealed with twice as many force fields as before…several yellow-red opened, staring silently towards the night sky.

Melancholic sounds that everyone else interpreted just as 'terrifying' escaped from the prison's guard dog, just like every single night since it had been brought there…


Akihabara was a big place, quite noisy and easy to get lost in. However, it was also well-known for most Japanese that there were little things you wouldn't find in this place, so it was perfect to search for everything from a casual gift to something you never wanted your family or friends to know you bought.

And it was through there that Kirigaya Kazuto was calmly walked through this day of April, the now 15 years old boy looking happily towards the bag he was carrying.

It had been almost 8 months since he started playing Sword Art Online, and he had been having the time of his life. He, Sugu, Yuuna and Shiori (Argo-sensei's real name, as he had learned some time ago) played together almost all the time, with Asuna actively joining them a month or so of irregular Logins after their first day (She said something about needing to convince her parents to let her play and her brother accepting letting her use his Nerve Gear all the time as he was rarely home). The Front Line had gone beyond Floor 10 a couple months ago and his excitement only grew now that they were in territory that not even the Beta Testers knew about. In fact, they were planning to tackle the 15th Floor Boss somewhere later that week. Now, however, he had more important things to worry about.

There were only two weeks before Suguha's birthday, the girl's fourteenth one, so the teen had taken advantage of it being a weekend to come to Tokyo and get his little sister a gift. He still remembered she still felt a bit annoyed after seeing Yuuna, Asuna, and Shiori's gifts for his last birthday, but he wasn't lying in saying that the birthday cake she had baked especially for him had been the best thing ever.

Sadly, he couldn't exactly afford something like a nano-carbon fiber shinai (Which he knew the girl would love to have) with the money he had saved, so he had decided to go through every shop he could find in the massive place that was known as Japan's otaku central to see if he could find something that Sugu liked. Given that he had known the girl since even before she could speak, there was probably no person better suited for such a task.

And so, now he was getting ready to head back home, the overly-decorated bag at his side firmly held as he walked through the crowded streets filled with all kind of things to buy and see when his stomach growled loudly, making him grimace and stop to rub it.

With the hurry he had for getting out of his home first thing in the morning without being noticed, he had only eaten half as much breakfast as he usually did (Essentially what any standard adult man would consider a full breakfast and a half), and it was already lunch time. He was feeling quite hungry.

Just as he was considering if he should maybe try and find somewhere to eat in the many shops of the area (He had enough spare yen for it, if he didn't go for anything too expensive), a playful voice suddenly spoke from somewhere behind him.

"Heh, hungry, boy? Want to come and eat some delicious ramen in our amazing restaurant?"

Turning around, Kazuto came face to face with a pretty brown-haired girl with a big smile, a pair of white hairpins keeping her bangs out of her face while her dark pink eyes stared at him with amusement, and she had some cute freckles spread just under each of them. She was also wearing what seemed a Japanese Maid costume in black, but with some strange figures and symbols that made one think of outer space, like stars and moons. In her hands, extended towards him, was a small leaflet detailing the menu of the small restaurant just behind them 'Delicious Nebula'.

"Ehm…how do you know…?"

"Your stomach is growling like a hungry beast, dear." replied the waitress with a small smile, the boy blushing as the aforementioned part of his body growled once again. "See? So, what do you say about coming inside and eating something? …please, do it. This may be just a part-time job, but I still can't get over the fact that some guy in a costume manages to attract more clients than a pretty girl like me…"

"Oh, so you're just working here part-time…" commented Kazuto while grabbing the menu, seeing that he had enough for a couple servings of what was titled as 'Space Ramen'. "Hmm…I may actually buy something! Thanks a lot, uhm…"

"It's Rika, boy, and don't mention it, I was just doing my…oh, great, here comes my 'partner' to do his round." muttered the suddenly annoyed Rika before putting on a fake smile and wave towards someone behind the blinking teenager, who suddenly saw a quite large shadow covering him. "Good evening, Waryum-kun! You're a bit early today…"

"You know what they say about the early birds and the worms, Shinozaki-san." answered the 'strange' voice of the newcomer, his Japanese sounding heavily accented even as Kazuto turned around, wondering why his senses suddenly seemed to have gone into overdrive. "Oh, and what's this? Made a new friend?"

Finally, the inhuman boy's eyes settled on the tall figure, his heart literally stopping as he came face to face with the six red eyes that haunted his most ancient and half-forgotten nightmares, always staring at him from beyond the red water that hurt him, this time coming from the strange 6-legged creature standing before him.

Waryum, 3rd-Rate Tryum Researcher, stared at Kirigaya Kazuto, also known as Experiment X-K0940.

The terrified boy stared back.

And so, the hands of Fate started falling down…


Author's Notes: And that's a wrap for now! Woah, cliffhanger!

And yes, everyone's favorite character, Sugou Nobuyuki is here, rejoice!…ahahah, okay, no, it was obviously Lisbeth whose introduction I was referring to before the chapter started, sorry about that XD Apologize to those who were wondering where she was, but again, I couldn't really think of a way of fitting her in the story before SAO started that didn't seem forced, so I was carefully planning for it, and I decided that, why not have her work part-time where the unluckiest alien researcher of this story was also working? Liz seems like the type that would have done so at this time if she hadn't been trapped in SAO :P Also, Sinon and Silica have met and formed the Alien-Hunting Alliance (Not really XP). Expect to see more of what they have been up to during these months next time.

Finally, if someone was a bit confused about the scene of the aliens, this was mentioned near the end of last chapter, but the message took some time (A LOT) in arriving at them all the way to where they were, so this scene you saw in this chapter was not only a more detailed account of that (And of their great intelligence) but also happened barely a few days before the last scene of Kazuto buying things in Akihabara. Also, hope you liked the idea of recycling the canon mirror Kayaba used to make everyone look like their real selves as a shameless plot device to let most of those we're used to looking like their real selves in SAO. Having to describe new avatars to everyone from scratch would have been too much, even if you all probably could easily remember Kirito's one with just rewatching the anime's first episode (And Yuuna's one, Yuna, was, as you may be deducing, the same one as the Yuna of Ordinal Scale, because I'm too lazy to imagine something more creative. Also, I indicated before the chapter an image of how she looks in SAO now, so yeah…).

Okay, I think that's all for now! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to what comes next…

Until next time, this is Saint, signing off!