Author's Notes: Just in time to start the New Year, a new story from yours truly! Sword Art Online is pretty popular during it's run, and I have to say it's an awesome anime, and the storyline's perfect for the Naru EX Unleashed series.
Here's a little warning, and I'm only going to say this ONCE. If you're pro Kirito/Asuna, then turn back now, because this story's NOT for you. Flamers will get trolled like Kirito trolled everyone after the first boss fight. Other than that, to my fans and newcomers, enjoy!
Genres: Action, Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Warnings: Violence, Strong Language, Sexual Content
Tags: Modern/Smart/Badass/Intelligent/Overpowered/uber-Godlike Naruto, minor crossovers, mass harem, limes/lemons, het, yuri, incest
Pairings: Naruto/Harem, Kirito/OCHarem
Naruto's Harem: Kiriko, Sachi, Asuna, Silica (older), Lisbeth, Strea, Lyfa, Alicia (brother-sister) Sakuya, Sinon, Yuuki (brother-sister), Alice (?) (There are females from the Naruto series that'll be in the harem)
Kirito's Harem: Aiko, Aimi, Eliza, Jun
Universe: Animeverse
Series: Naru EX Unleashed (please see profile for info)
Disclaimers: I do not own Naruto, Sword Art Online, or any other crossover that'll appear.
Now Presenting: Uzumaki Gamer Online
Chapter 01: Time to Play the Game
In 2022, humanity has finally created a complete virtual environment, and released the first ever VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online. Over 10,000 players bought and entered this new stage of gaming, not knowing that they may not come back to the real world, permanently. Because of the actions of one man, the future of virtual reality gaming now hangs in the balance.
(Uzumaki Household)
-It's time for this week's MMO Stream! We began with a promotional video. Was this the day of last week's launch? What were all these people waiting in line for? Sword Art Online! The one at the front of the line waited for three days prior to launch. Amazing! Or is this just what any real gamer would do? On today's MMO Stream, we'll be covering the internationally famous Sword Art Online, aka SAO! To be honest, none of the NerveGear software released so far has really taken advantage of the hardware. But SAO was made of the NerveGear inventor, Kayaba Akihiko, and it's a long-awaited VR MMORPG. I can't wait! The beta testers all said it was incredible. I wanted a copy… Only ten thousand copies were sold in its first printing. It sold out online in seconds. And as you saw, hardcore fans bought all the store copies.-
"I'm sure they did." our hero of the story, Uzumaki Naruto, smirked as he turned off the TV in his room.
Uzumaki Naruto is a 15-year-old school-kid with an average build, blond hair, icy, electric blue eyes, and currently wearing a black t-shirt and orange trackpants. He formerly went to Konoha Academy, a prestigious school that recently became corrupt due to the Uchiha family taking over. Luckily, Naruto and his twin sister Naruko managed to get out along with the friends they made and moved to a new neighborhood where a new school life awaited them.
Thanks to his luck they've gotten from their mother's side of the family, Naruto and Naruko became two of a thousand people to be a beta-tester for Sword Art Online. It was in the beta-testing phrase that they met two friends who were twins like themselves, Kirito and Kiriko. While Naruto had a hard time trying to be friends with the loner Kirito, Kiriko was all too happy to be friends with the blondes. Their friendship became so strong that they meet each other in real life, both parties finding out that they live next door to each other. It was in the real world that Naruto and Naruko finally became friends with Kirito after understanding each other. The unintentional side effect was that Kirito and Kiriko's little sister Suguha, gain quite the crush on Naruto.
Now, Naruto was getting ready to dive into Sword Art Online for the first day of playing online with other player who're not beta-testers.
And Naruto was looking forward to it.
Unfortunately, Naruko couldn't make it, as she decided to help their mother Kushina out with a project related to Sword Art Online.
Naruto set up Sword Art Online on his computer, grabbed odd helmet that a deep, blue color, and hooked it into his computer. He then put the helmet on and lied down on his sleep number bed in a comfortable position, grinning as the clock on the HUD of his helmet hit 1pm.
"Link…START!"
A storm of color lines engulfed his vision before going into system checks.
(Touch) – (OK)
(Sight) – (OK)
(Hearing) – (OK)
(Taste) – (OK)
(Smell) – (OK)
[Language] – [Japanese]
Log in_::
:account [NaSpUzNm]
:password [**********]
-Character Creation-
-Beta test still available. Would you like to use it?-
[Arashi (M)]
(YES) (NO)
(YES)
Welcome to Sword Art Online!
Naruto blinked. He looked down at his feet, looked around, and moved his arm to see his hand. Grinning once more, he clenched his hand.
"Ore…futatabi sanjou!" he declared, as new players appeared all around him in blue lights on the first floor of the floating castle of Aincard.
Naruto then heard a giggle, and turned to find his two friends, the good-natured computer-lover Kirito, and the ever-energetic open-minded Kiriko. Like Naruto, they're using their Closed Beta Avatar. Kiriko's Avatars has the same appearance as her physical, real world self with long black hair and black eyes, but Kirito is using an Avatar that looks like his older self with short black hair and black eyes.
"Looks like we're finally back in this world!" Kirito said, overjoyed.
"Yo, Naruto-kun." Kiriko greeted, "Did you wait long?"
Naruto shook his head, "Nope."
"Then what are we waiting?" Kirito said, "Let's go!"
(Floor 01: Town of Beginnings)
The blonde and two ravenettes raced down the street, passing the stalls and playing meeting each other.
"So that shall we do before the tutorial start?" Kiriko asked.
"Let's head out in the field to farm some points." Kirito suggested.
"Good idea! Let's make it and competition to see who can off the most monsters until dinnertime." Naruto said, with his friends agreeing.
As they rounded a corner into an alleyway, a voice called out to them.
"OI! You guys!"
The three beta-testers turned around to find a young man with red hair chasing after them. He stopped in front of them, and panted, putting his hands on his knees.
"I swear I just saw this guy on TV." Naruto noted, "Can we help you?"
"Woo. You three move like you're been here before." The red-haired man said, "Were you guys in the beta test phase?"
"Guilty as charged." Kiriko confirmed, "What's it to you newbie?"
"Today's my first day." the young man said, "Can you guys show me the basics? Like, you know, tips?"
"The basics?" Naruto asked, "Well~"
The man put his hands together, "I'm beggin' you!"
"Mmm, maybe." Naruto said, shrugging, "You got a name?"
"My name's Klein." the redhead confirmed, "Nice to meet you all."
Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked at his two friends, who just shrugged, showing that they didn't mind.
"Well, my name's Arashi, but you can call me Naruto."
"Kirito." Kirito said, giving a curt nod.
"And I'm Kiriko." Kirko said with a smirk, "We're expecting great things from you since you want our help, so don't disappoint us."
"Yes ma'am!" Klein cried with a salute.
(Floor 01: Town of Beginnings, West Field)
"GAH!"
Naruto and Kirito cringed as they witnessed an enemy boar with red eyes ram the newbie Klein right in the crotch, making him fly back and crash to the ground.
"Right in the nuts…" Klein groaned, rolling around on the ground, holding his manbits.
"I'm a girl, and even I felt that." Kiriko muttered to herself, while trying hard not to laugh.
"You got hit by a Critical Hit." Naruto noted, "In the game, only Critical Hits from an enemy attack cause pain. Luckily, the rest don't."
"Worst…feature…ever…" Klein groaned as he got up.
Kirito sighed, "Listen Klein-san, what's important is your initial motion input."
"Sure, I get that, but the damn boar keeps moving around." Klein complained, pointing to the boar that was shaking its butt at him.
"Keh. Don't worry Klein, it's easy." Naruto assured him as he picked up a rock, "If you do the motion input right by focusing…"
Naruto focused, with the little rock shining a bright red, "…and activate a sword skill…"
Naruto threw it at the boar, the rock hitting the boar in the ass and angering it, "…the system will ensure that the tech connects."
"Motion input…motion input…" Klein muttered to himself, looking at his katana.
"How does one put it…"
Kirito booted the boar on its side, with the boar now changing targets and attacking Kirito, who moved his sword to hold the boar down by it's tusks, "Add a slight pause when focusing, and when you feel the skill begin to activate, let it explode when you attack!"
"Explode?" Klein wondered before finally understanding and took a stance with his katana over his right shoulder, the blade starting to glow and bright yellow.
Naruto smiled, "He's got it down. Kirito!"
"Hai!"
Kirito deflected the boar's attack and kicked it towards Klein, who was ready to strike.
"RAH!" Klein let out a battle cry and successfully used the Thrust skill on the boar, leaving a red gash on its side, defeating it and making it explode in a shower of blue data shards when its HP gauge hit zero.
[Result]
[Exp] – [24]
[Col] – [30]
[Items] – [2]
"All right! I did it!" Klein cried, proud of himself.
"Congrats my friend. Looks like you picked up on our teachings pretty quickly." Naruto said as he, Kirito, and Kiriko gave Klein a high-five.
"However…" Kiriko gave a evil, playful grin, "That lowly boar's about as weak as those annoying slimes in the other games."
"Eh?! Seriously? I thought it was a mid-level boss or something!" Klein complained.
"Are you serious? Of course not." Naruto deadpanned, pointing to some newly spawned boars, "So how do you like SAO so far?" he asked as Klein practiced his new sword skill, "Pretty exciting eh?"
"Hell yeah!" Klein exclaimed, "There are lots of skills, right? Like blacksmithing, fishing, cooking, and other stuff?"
"You're right on the money. We've heard there are supposedly unlimited number of skills." Naruto informed him.
"However in exchange, there's no magic." Kiriko groaned, showing her displeasure over the fact.
"An RPG without magic huh? That's a pretty bold decision." Klein noted as he now practiced a slash skill.
"Though there are rumors that player with certain high enough stats can get special skills reserved only for them." Kirito pointed out, "They're also talking about creating job classes in the next patch as well."
Klein nodded as he suddenly cheered at getting the hang of sword skills.
"Even though we're in out Avatars, isn't it more fun to move your body as you fight?" Naruto asked, amused by Klein's enthusiasm.
"Hell yeah!" Klein said excitedly.
"Excellent!" Naruto nodded, "Shall we move on to the next monster?"
"Oh yeah, keep 'em comin'!" Klein cheered.
The four players, Naruto, Kirito, Kiriko, and Klein kept on hunting monsters until sunset. Now they're on the grass, taking a well-deserved rest.
"I still can't believe it, no matter how many times I see it…That we're finally in a video game." Klein said, "Whoever made this is a genius. It's really amazing... You know, I'm glad I was born in this time."
Kirito sighed, "You made a big deal out of everything."
"Aw come on man! It's my first full dive!" Klein protested, "Players like me can't even contain their excitement."
"Then this is your first playing a game with a NerveGear?" Kiriko asked.
"I rushed out and bought the hardware to play SAO." Klein explained, "I was really lucky to get one of the ten-thousand copies. Well, you all were ten times as lucky, getting into the beta test stage. Hard to believe that you three were part of the thousand people who got to do it."
"I guess you could say something like that." Naruto shrugged as he scratched the back of his head, a usual habit of his.
"How far did you all get in the beta?" Klein asked, curious, "Were you together when you did it?"
"We got as far as the eighth floor in a couple of months. But this time, it'll only take about a month if things are the same." Naruto said with a smile on his face, as he and the others looked over at the setting sun.
"You're really into this." Klein said with a grin on his face.
Kirito unsheathed his sword, "To be honest, during the beta test, SAO was all I thought about, day and night. In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go. It's a virtual world, but I still feel more alive here than I do in the real one. Heh."
Kiriko smiled, "Kirito-nii."
"Fine speech Kirito." Naruto said as Kirito sheathed his blade, "You all want to go hunting some more?"
Klein nodded quickly, "Of course! I'd love to…"
A gurgling sounded came from Klein's stomach.
"but I'm really hungry, so I'm logging out."
"Eating food here only makes you think you're not hungry." Kiriko pointed out.
Klein grinned and gave a thumbs up, "I know, but I already ordered a pizza to be delivered at 5:30pm!"
Naruto laughed, "You're so prepared."
"Yup! Well, once I've eaten, I'll be back, and after this, I'm meeting with some people I know from another game. Want to friend them too?" Klein asked as he stood up.
Naruto shrugged, "Sure."
Kiriko also shrugged, "I don't mind."
"Eh... uh." Kirito mumbled, looking down.
Klein noticed this waved his hand, "Of course, if you don't want to that's ok. I'll introduce you another time."
"Yeah, sorry." Kirito muttered, "Thanks."
"Hey, that's my line." Klein said.
"My nii-chan's shy as usual." Kiriko giggled.
"I see. Listen Naruto, Kirito, Kiriko, thank's for all your help and guidance. I'll repay you guys for this sometime... Mentally that is."
"Heh, hai hai." Naruto said, "We'll hold you to that."
"Thanks so much, man." Klein said as he put out his hand. "I'll see you all around."
"If there's anything else you want to know, just contact us." Naruto said as he anf his friends shook Klein's hand, "You'll no doubt see us around."
"Yeah, I'll definitely do that!"
Klein waved before opening up the game menu to log out.
"Well then, shall we get on with the competition?" Naruto asked the twins.
"Yeah!" they shouted.
They were about to go do that when they heard Klein's confused voice saying, "Huh? There's no button to log out."
"Look closer." Kirito suggested.
Klein checked again, "No, it's not here."
Naruto sighed as he opened the options menu, "Come on man, it's at the bottom of the main menu- what the?"
There wasn't a button on his main menu either.
"Kirito. Kiriko."
They nodded and checked their main menus, and were also shocked to see it wasn't there.
"See? Not there." Klein told them.
"Definitely not." Naruto agreed.
"Well, It's the first day out of beta. There are bound to be some bugs. I'm sure the server people are freaking out..." Klein joked, laughing nervously.
Kiriko also laughed,. "In a second, you will be too." she said, pointing at the clock on her HUD, "Because right now, it's 5:25pm."
Klein blinked before he started to freak out, "NO~! MY TERIYAKI MAYO PIZZA AND GINGER ALE~GAH~!"
Naruto facepalmed, "Just hurry and call the game master."
"I tried, but nothing's happening." Klein said, pointing at the GM Calling icon, "Is there any other way to log out?"
The three beta-testers looked at each other while Kirito's eyes widened, "No, if a player wants to log themselves out, they have to go through the menu."
"That's nuts! There's gotta be another way." Klein exclaimed before starting to do some poses, "Return! Log out! Escape!"
Nothing happened.
"No Alt-F4?" Kiriko joked before turning serious, "But what Kirito said...plus, there wasn't an emergency logout in the manual either."
"Oi oi, You're kidding, right? I know! I'll just rip the NerveGear off my head." Klein said as he tried to yank the invisible helmet off his head.
Naruto shook his head, "You can't. Right now, we can't move our real bodies. The NerveGear intercepts anything we tell our bodies to do. Here." he said, pointing to the back of his head.
"Seriously? So we have to wait for them to fix the bug?"
Kiriko shrugged, "Or for someone in the real world to remove the NerveGear from us."
"But I live alone. What about you guys?"
"We all live next door." Naruto informed him, "And we have a mom and a sister living with us, so they should notice by dinnertime-"
At that, Klein grabbed Naruto and Kirito's shoulders, "How old are your little sisters?"
"What? Mine's a twin, and she a fellow beta-tester who couldn't make it today."
"And ours is on a sports team, and she hates games. She has nothing to do with people like is."
"That doesn't ma-"
Kiriko snapped and went between her friend and brother to knee Klein in the groin, sending him flying.
"Geez, control your hormones, you pervert." she said as Klein rolled around on the ground, "More importantly, do any of you find this weird?"
"I do." Klein groaned from the ground, "It's just a bug."
Naruto shook his head, "This isn't just a bug. If we can't log out, it'll pose a serious threat for the future of virtual gaming."
Klein nodded as he got up, "Come to think of it, I think you're right."
"If they wanted to, they could just shut down the server and log everyone out." Kirito said.
"But there isn't even an announcement..." Kiriko added, putting her hand to her ears.
"Hmm..."
Suddenly, a loud bell started ringing, making the four players turn back towards the Town of Beginnings. Then, they disappeared in a flash of blue light.
(Floor 01: Town of Beginnings)
Naruto, Kirito, Kiriko, and Klein suddenly appeared at the starting point of SAO, and looked around to see other players appearing in blue light.
"What's going on?" asked one player.
"I don't know." Another player answered back.
"A forced teleport?" Naruto wondered.
"What the hell's going on?" Kiriko growled as the bell stopped ringing, "First there's no log out button and now this!"
"Hm? Up there!" Kirito shouted, pointing to the sky and drawing everyone attention to the red blinking panel up there, "That's…"
Naruto used his enhanced vision to see that the panel said "WARNING". Then, the panel expanded, also saying "System Announcement" as it spread across the sky, turning the sky red.
"What is that?" Klein wondered out loud as what looked like blood poured from the in between the panels and slowly formed into a figure with a red robe and hood, hiding it's face.
"A game master?"
"Why doesn't he have a face?"
"Is this an event?"
"I'm scared…"
"It's fine. It's just another part of the opening ceremony."
"I don't think it's the game master. He must be the main enemy of the world of SAO." Kiriko said, "Guess he came from 100th floor to taunt us."
"Attention players. Welcome to my world." the robed figure greeted.
""My world?"" Naruto and Kirito parroted.
"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the sole person who an control this world."
Naruto, Kirito, and Kiriko's eyes widened in shock as murmurs broke out after the claim.. They remembered reading about this guy and just saw him on the news this afternoon!
"Is that really him?"
"He must've spent a lot of this on this."
"I'm sure you're already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu. But this is not a defect in the game." Kayaba said as he opened his own menu, showing the logout button missing.
Naruto put his finger in his ear to clear it out to make sure he heard right.
"I repeat… this is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online."
"A-A feature?" Klein repeated as looks of confusion appeared on almost everyone's faces.
"If that what you calls a feature, then you lost your marbles!" Kiriko said, pointing at Kayaba, "We all have a life outside SAO you know!"
"You cannot log out of SAO yourselves. And no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life."
The looks of confusion turned to looks of horror.
"What?"
"Come on, enough already."
"Let's go."
A few people tried to leave, but is blocked by an invisible wall.
"Hey, I can't get out!"
Klein turned to his new friends, "What's he talking about? He's gotta be nuts. Right guys?"
Kirito gulped, "He's correct that the transmitter's signal work just like microwaves. If the safety were disabled, it could fry a brain."
"Then, if we cut the power…"
Kiriko shook her head, "No. Unfortunately, the damn NerveGear has an internal battery."
"Wha? But this is crazy!" Klein protested, shaking his head, "What's going on?"
"Unfortunately, several players' friends and families have ignores this warning, and have attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, two hundred ad thirteen players are gone forever, from both Aincrad and the real world."
"Two hundred and thirteen?!" Naruto repeated, horrified.
"I don't believe it." Klein whispered.
To prove the story was true, Kayaba materialized several screens with various news reports, and spread them across the crowd.
"As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths. Thus, you can assume that the danger of a NerveGear being removed is now minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game."
Naruto shook with anger as he eyed one screen that had a crying mother and daughter outside their home where their precious person was lying in bed, trapped in the game. Kiriko was now shaking in fear while Kirito looked at in disbelief and glared at Kayaba.
"But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops the zero, your Avatar will be forever lost, and simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brain after a ten second countdown."
The silence was deafening as everyone looked at Kayaba. Kirito gasped in horror, remember the time when he was defeated by a Wild Boar during his first day as a beta-tester and his Avatar died. Kiriko then grabbed Naruto's arm, who then held her close as he glared daggers at Kayaba.
"There is only one means of escape, and only one: To complete the game." Kayaba revealed as he bought up a map of Aincard, "You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincard: Floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next level. Your objective: Defeat the Final Boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game."
"Clear?"
"What's he talking about?"
"Y-You're just making that up!"
"Clear all hundred floors?" Klein repeated, "That's impossible. The beta testers never made it anywhere near that high!"
"What is this guy's angle?" Narut growled.
"Finally, I've added a present from me to your item storage. Please see for yourselves."
Everyone slowly opened their inventories to see what they got.
"Mirror?" Kirito said.
Naruto blinked, "A mirror? Seriously?"
"How thoughtful." Kiriko muttered sarcastically as she and everyone else selected the mirror and now holding said item in their hands.
The second it landed on their hands, a blue light enveloped their forms, with the result being a bright light radiating in the area before it died down quickly.
"Naruto, Kirito, Kiriko, are you guys okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Same here."
"Me too- Wait, who are you?"
"And who are you?"
The three beta testers then looked at their mirrors to find themselves in their real-word appearances. Shocked, they looked around it see that some of the girls turned to guys, some of the attractive turned ugly, some of the bluff turned fat, and some of the young turned older.
"You're a guy?"
"You were lying about being seventeen?"
Naruto looked at Kirito and Kiriko, "Which means…"
They pointed at the now gruff looking Klein while he pointed at them.
"You're Naruto, Kirito, and Kiriko? / You're Klein?"
"Some of you guys looked the same," Klein noted, nodding at Naruto and Kiriko, "But how?"
"That scan…" Naruto realized, "The NerveGear covers your entire head with a high-density signaling device. So it can see what your face looks like."
"But what about our height and body shape?!" Kiriko moaned, covering her developing chest, "Wait a minute…"
"When we first used the NerveGear, it had us calibrate it, right?" Klein asked, "You had to touch your body all over."
"O-Oh, right." Kirito nodded, with his twin groaning.
"Even our personal parts because of the Ethics Code." Kiriko muttered to herself, "Kayaba, that hentai…"
"That must be where it got the data." Naruto said, feeling his biceps.
"But…but…why?" Klein complained, frustrated, "Why do all this, anyway?"
"That's the million dollar question my friend." Naruto said, pointing to Kayaba.
"Right now, you're probably wondering, "Why?" Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do all this? To answer the question, my goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason…To create this world and intervene in it."
"Kayaba…" Naruto growled, cracking his knuckles.
"And now, it is complete."
Kirito gritted his teeth while Kiriko put her sword on her sword.
"This ends the tutorial of the official Sword Art Online launch… Good luck, players."
Kayaba disappeared in a flurry of red mist and blood-like liquid with the panels quickly dispersing, turning the sky back to normal, and leaving a loud silence.
"So, the reality Kayaba Akihiko created, is now our reality." Naruto thought musingly, "Kaa-chan… Naruko… minna… looks like that family gathering's gonna have to be put on hold."
"Sorry Sugu-chan. Looks like me and you won't have that match to see who ever can confess our feeling to Naruto-kun." Kiriko thought sadly, "This is a game, but it isn't something you play huh? So that's what Kayaba meant."
Kirito looked at his bleeding hand from a papercut he got in the real world, "This is real…The genius who created the NerveGear and created a completely virtual space, Kayaba Akihiko. My twin and me admired him, so I can tell… Everything he just said is true. If I'll die in the game, I will die in real life! The same goes for everyone!"
The sound of a dropped mirror breaking shattered the silence, then a scream, snapping everyone out of their stupors.
Then…chaos.
"Screw you!"
"Let me out! Let me out of here!"
"I can't stay here! I have a meeting after this!"
"What are you thinking?!"
Mostly half the players started running for the exits, trampling and push each other out of the way.
"Let us go!"
"Tell us it's a lie!"
"Someone!"
"Can't anyone do something?"
"Well this is just great." Naruto groaned, "Now what?"
"Everyone, come with me." Kirito whispered as he grabbed the others and lead them into one of the town's alleyways.
"What is it Kirito?" Naruto said, tapping his foot on the ground.
"Listen to me guys. I'm about to head to the next village. Come with me."
Kiriko just looked at her twin as he opened a map, "Huh?"
"If what he said is true, the only way to survive in this world is by making yourself as strong as possible." Kirito told them.
"No shit Sherlock." Kiriko replied, "What are you getting at?"
"The resources within a virtual MMORPG, in other words, the money and EXP we can earn, are limited until the next patch after the next one with certain job classes. The fields surrounding the Town of Beginnings will soon be hunted clean. To do this efficiently, we should head to the next village now. I know all the paths and dangerous areas from my solo runs. Even at level 1, I can get there safely."
"But Kirito, I spent the whole night in line to buy this with my friends from the other game. They're out there, in the plaza. I can't leave them. Sorry, but I can hardly ask you guys for anything else, so don't worry about me. You three head to the next village. I used to run a guild to my last game. I can use what you all taught me to get by."
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, because I'm heading the same way as you. I can escort you back to get you to your friends." Naruto said, "Besides, I swore I saw some familiar faces in the crowd while chaos reigned."
"In that case, I'll go with you." Kiriko said, determined, "And my brother too. Right Kirito? Kirito?"
They looked at Kirito, who was deep in thought.
"Don't tell me…" Kiriko started, glaring at Kirito, "Are you gonna go solo?"
"I'm sorry, you guys." Kirito whispered as he turned around and started to leave, "Naruto, take care of my sister will you?"
"Wait Kirito." Naruto said, "You can join us you know. Those resources aren't going anywhere yet!"
"With the situation we're in, there's no time to waste." Kirito said, "If something happens, send me a message."
Naruto sighed after a few seconds, "Fine."
"You're stubborn as always." Kiriko said, shaking her head.
"You know me." Kirito said with a smile, "Goodbye you guys. We'll meet up again soon."
"Hey…Kirito!" Klein shouted after him, making him stop, "You're actually pretty cute like your twin here." he teased, "That's my type."
Naruto laughed while Kiriko facepalmed.
"Ha. And that unkempt face of yours suits you ten times better!" Kirito countered as he ran on ahead.
"Will he be okay?" Klein asked as Naruto and Kiriko escorted him back to the city square.
"He'll be fine." Kiriko assured him, "He's a beta tester like us after all."
A minute later, they arrived back at the village square, where Klein reunited with him friends and left with them minutes later. Naruto and Kiriko were about to leave search the town for some familiar friends when a voice called out to them.
"Naruto-kun! Kazuha-chan!"
Naruto froze, hoping that he heard the voice wrong. But his hopes went unanswered as a girl with indigo blue princess hair, pupil-less white eyes with a lavender-tint, and wearing basic gear ran up to Naruto and Kiriko and hugged them.
"Hinata-chan! What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you!" she cried, "I came here against orders to tell you about players dying in the real world!"
"And now you're stuck here with us." Kiriko said, shaking her head, "And Hinata, here my name is Kiriko."
"Gomen…" Hinata stuttered a bit.
"Naruto-sensei!"
Naruto looked over to see a familiar face with a recent Yu-Gi-Oh tournament; a young girl with brown hair and the one who originally dropped her mirror. Another young girl with brown hair follows her.
"Oh, my fellow Duel Monster rival Keiko-chan! You're here too?"
"Hai, and my name here is Silica. This is Lisbeth." she said, motioning to her friend, "So is it true? Are we really stuck here?"
"Do you see a logout button yet?" Naruto deadpanned, making the girls shake their heads, "Question answered."
"So what do we do?" Lisbeth asked, "What can we do?"
"Let's stick together for now." Kiriko said, "Become stronger together, so that together we can survive and dominate Sword Art Online."
"Well, if we're going to do that, it isn't going to happened while we're standing around here." Naruto said, "This is our new life for who knows how long, so let's make the most of it, because we're going to survive this is world!"
(Uzumaki and Kirigaya Household)
Outside Naruto's house, a redhead woman was crying while her blonde-haired daughter hugged her close, just as upset us she was.
"Naruto-nii, me and other girls will do what I can to help you Hinata, and the others in the game." Uzumaki Naruko thought to herself as she looked over to see her friend Kirigaya Suguha cry into her hand while her mother held her close, "So you better keep Kazuto, Kazeha, and yourself alive!"
(One month later)
In the game's first month, 2000 players died. Floor 1 has yet to be cleared. – December 2, 2022
END OF CHAPTER 01
Next time – Chapter 02: A Hacker and Two Beaters
-A month has passed since the death game began. Will our hero and his friends finally clear Floor 1 and give hope to the other players that the game can be clear if they work together, while trolling the idiots blaming the deaths of 2000 players on the beta-testers?
Released: Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Edited: Wednesday, January 02, 2013