:: Author's Note ::
And so it begins at last! Arc two of my SAO fanfiction series! Woohoo! Well okay, admittedly this is more like Arc One. As the previous arc was basically just one giantly long prolog that got way out of hand.
Sorry this took so long everyone. I actually haven't been working on a lot of writing projects lately because I've been working towards a special project. It's been a bit costly, which means more hours at work, which of course means less time I get to do fun projects like this.
But I've almost completed my project, and my schedule is beginning to open up again. So hopefully you can expect to see more chapters soon.
One more thing, to those of you who are new to this series, you'll want to read SAO: Advent of the Steel Mind before diving into this one. As there is a lot I've added to the lore of the game and several changes I've made to the characters, all of which are explained in detail in the previous arc.
With all that out of the way, I'm happy to at last present chapter one! Hope you all enjoy!
:: End Note ::
"Latent in every man is a venom of amazing bitterness, a black resentment; something that curses and loathes life, a feeling of being trapped, of having trusted and been fooled, of being helpless prey to impotent rage, blind surrender, the victim of a savage, ruthless power that gives and takes away, enlists a man, drops him, promises and betrays, and -crowning injury- inflicts on him the humiliation of feeling sorry for himself."
-Paul Valery
Tokyo Japan.
The Kirigaya Residence
Ten minutes after the official launch of SAO.
It was quiet in the Kirigaya household. That was Midori's first thought. She wasn't used to this, sitting in her home without anything to do. Considering Suguha had finished with the last of the chores without her even realizing, Midori Kirigaya found herself with something she wasn't used to having an abundance of.
Free time.
As strange as it was to be alone with her thoughts like this, the truth was she was still reeling from the letter her son had given to her before logging into that game of his roughly ten minutes ago. Then there was the little wrinkle of the check she now held in her hands. Honestly, the amount wasn't what bothered her nearly as much as it did trying to figure out where in the world her son had made this much money. He claimed he found work as an amateur programmer working for Argus Entertainment, but she hadn't considered just how well they might be paying him. Certainly nothing like this.
It just drove home how little she truly seemed to know her son. And as Midori stared down at the slip of paper in her hands once more, a deep sigh escaped her lips. What on earth was she supposed to do with this? Furthermore, why didn't her son ever tell her he was this wealthy? So many questions she had racing through her mind, yet all of them felt trivial compared to the other emotions running through her being at that moment.
"Maybe I should check on him again," she muttered to herself before standing up and making her way to her bedroom. There she stored the check in her personal safe, deciding that for the time being, the best choice would be to save it until she could have a talk with her son. Once the check was securely in her safe, Midori walked over to the room adjacent to hers, sliding the door open before stepping in.
Midori smiled sweetly down at the boy laying peacefully on his bed, his NerveGear helmet still strapped to his head. Even ten minutes later, she couldn't get over that letter he'd written to her. Just thinking about it put her at risk of welling up all over again. God, there was so much she needed to tell him, but as long as he was strapped into that thing, she couldn't. It was driving her nuts, truth be told. But then again, it was always like this with the NerveGear helmet.
"Kazuto…" she spoke his name gently before placing a hand on his shoulder. "Where are you right now? Hmm?"
But of course, he didn't respond.
"Off slaying some mythical beast?" She chuckled playfully at her own words. "Or rescuing a princess in a tower?"
Only silence.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, a hint of frustration in her voice. "If I had at least known you were doing so well financially I might have felt a little better about…"
As her voice trailed off, she sighed in a depressed tone. Midori couldn't be upset with him. Especially not after everything he'd just told her through that letter. The only one she was really frustrated with was herself. Even for as far as they had come, she still felt like she barely understood this boy. His words to her, and that check were proof of that. More than anything, she just wished there was a way she could better understand the world he lived in.
A thought occurred to her at that moment. Midori turned her gaze back towards Kazuto's computer desk. How many times had she come in here to clean his room? And never once did she consider checking his computer or just taking a look at what it was he was working on. The uniqueness of her son's mind aside, Midori had never actually bothered to see for herself what it was Kazuto was doing in his room all day.
Curiosity getting the better of her, Midori took a seat at Kazuto's desk. The first thing she noticed was the clutter. For as clean as Kazuto kept his room, the same could not be said for his desk.
"Goodness, Kazuto," she quietly commented in exasperation before straightening up stacks of papers and organizing things a little better. Her hand stopped on a copy of Technics Magazine. This was the computer information magazine she worked as an editor for. She'd worked for them for years, yet never once had she ever actually sat down and read one of these things for herself. All those articles she would proofread and check for grammatical errors on a daily basis all seemed to blur together now that she thought about it.
Not having anything better to do, Midori flipped open the magazine and began skimming through various articles. It still blew her mind how Kazuto could understand a word of what was being said in this magazine, let alone back when he was twelve years old. All this programmer jargon, articles on coding, it all went completely over her head. All the same, she continued reading.
Until she eventually stopped on one article in particular. One featuring a tall man with short brown hair, wearing glasses and a lab coat. She recognized the name almost immediately, given her son talked about him almost nonstop over the past two months.
"Kayaba…"
She began reading up on the man who had seemingly consumed her son's life in the past couple of years, curious as to just what made this man in particular so incredible. To be fair, this Dr. Kayaba character really did seem to live an incredible life if this article was to be believed. Not only that, it made her smile knowing her son's biggest hero was born with the same condition he had.
"Ouch!"
Midori pulled her hand away, having inadvertently cut her finger on the page. She stared down at the tip of her bleeding index finger for a moment before placing it in her mouth and turning her attention to the computer next. Normally, she would never consider messing with her son's browsers, but her curiosity having finally gotten the better of her, she decided a simple peak wouldn't be too much of a bother, surely.
The first thing she noted upon switching on his monitor was the little icon letting her know his NerveGear was running. At that very moment, her son was enjoying the virtual adventure that was Sword Art Online, the world's first and only VRMMORPG. Not wishing to disturb him, Midori decided to leave that alone for now and focus on the one thing she actually recognized on her son's monitor. The icon for his message inbox.
She checked his emails first, noting her son got an abnormally high amount of messages from Argus Entertainment. The more she read, the more she realized just how deep Kazuto's connection to this company truly ran. What he was doing for Argus went beyond simple programming work. If these correspondences were to be believed, her son helped build SAO from the ground up. His contributions to the project went as far back as the early alpha build of the game, whatever that was supposed to mean.
Digging further, she began snooping into his private messages. Kazuto had been exchanging dozens of chat messages with someone who went by the screenname CardinalDirector23. Given the nature of the correspondences, she had to assume this was her son's boss, the source of his income.
Upon reading through some of the chat messages, she gasped in surprise, placing a hand up to her gaping mouth. It was Kayaba! The man who Kazuto had been sending messages to this whole time was Dr. Akihiko Kayaba! This revelation completely threw her for a loop. Just how little had she been paying attention to her own son? To think all this time he was working for the project director of SAO himself. Kayaba wasn't just his idol, he was his boss! No, it was more than that. If these messages were to be believed, the two of them appeared to be friends.
This was starting to scare her. Given everything she'd just learned, it was clear there was even more that Kazuto had neglected to mention about this game and his work in general than he initially let on. But just how deep did this go, exactly? Digging further, Midori opened up the most recent conversation between Dr. Kayabe and her son. She scrolled through the logs, finally stopping on the final message saved in his inbox, a deathly chill running down her spine.
"Forgive me," she read aloud.
For some reason, those words made her exceptionally nervous. Why was Dr. Kayaba apologizing to her son? Furthermore, why did this whole conversation read like a confession? Midori gazed down at the small cut on her finger. She'd never been a particularly superstitious woman. But her instincts as a mother were still fairly sharp.
And for whatever reason, right now her instincts were telling her that Kazuto was in danger.
Midori exited out of the messenger tab, where her attention turned back to the small icon on Kazuto's desk. The game was still running, but there was a small button below the icon with the word disconnect written in bold letters. She bit the tip of her thumb nervously before glancing over at her son still laying blissfully ignorant on his bed. The last time she disconnected him from his game, he had a serious meltdown and refused to talk to her for the rest of the day. She really didn't want to disturb him, but at the same time, Midori couldn't shake this feeling in her gut.
With the mouse in hand, she hovered the cursor over the disconnect button.
She nearly jumped out of her seat, however, upon hearing the front doorbell. Realizing someone was at the door, Midori set the issue aside and left her son in peace before quickly making her way back downstairs to see who it was. She briskly walked up to the front door and slid it open, whereupon she was greeted by a tall well-built man with short dark brown hair.
"Morning, Mrs. Kirigaya," the man standing in her doorway greeted with a charming grin and a wave.
"Oh…" Midori's heart skipped and her cheeks flushed upon seeing who it was. "...Mr. Shinozaki. I wasn't expecting a visit."
He chuckled at her apologetically. "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."
She smiled at him assuredly and shook her head. "No, not at all. Please, come in."
"Thank you," he offered graciously before heading inside. Midori watched as he made his way down the hall, immediately heading for the living room. The moment he rounded the corner, she darted over to the nearby mirror hanging in the hallway and began fussing with her hair.
"Everything alright?" he called back to her.
She jumped in surprise. "Y...yes! Just fine."
Midori quickly made her way into the living room where her guest had already made himself comfortable. Despite being in his mid-forties much like her, Midori could have sworn Mr. Shinozaki was younger than that when they first met, given how well he'd kept himself in shape. She couldn't help but wonder what his secret was. Being a single dad with a teenage daughter couldn't have possibly left much time to go to the gym.
"Can I get you some coffee?" she asked politely. "I just put a pot on, if you're interested."
He nodded. "Sure, I'd love some."
She left for the kitchen, returning with two cups of coffee in hand, one of which she offered to him graciously before taking a seat next to her guest, sipping on her own coffee as they conversed. Kojima Shinozaki was one of the writers for Technics Magazine. The two of them had done a lot of work together given she was the one responsible for editing most of his drafts. Though lately, Mr. Shinozaki had been coming over to her house to review the edits she made in person.
"Oh! Before I forget." Midori set her coffee down and picked up a stack of papers sitting on the desk before offering them to him. "Here are the revisions for the latest print."
"Yeah, I was just looking at those," he admitted before doing a once over of the papers. With a slight smirk he set them aside and relaxed back on the couch, his attention fully on her. "Though I have to be honest, I was a little distracted by the beautiful woman making me coffee."
She rolled her eyes at him, her cheeks burning despite herself. "You and the corny lines, I swear."
He chuckled before gripping Midori by the waist and pulling her in for a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and relaxed into his touch as the two shared a tender moment. The truth was, Kojima coming over to her house to review the edits in person was really just an excuse to hide the fact that the two had been seeing each other without the office, their children, or any of their friends and family knowing. Considering Mrs. Kirigaya was still, technically speaking, a married woman, the two had decided some time ago it was probably for the best if they kept the rather intimate nature of their relationship secret for the time being.
Upon finally pulling away from his lips, Midori breathed a small sigh of relief. "Christ, I needed that."
"Long day?" he guessed in a slightly playful voice.
She nodded vehemently. "You can say that again." Midori placed a hand on his peck and rested her forehead against his, shutting her eyes in relaxation. "I'm actually really glad you're here, Koji. My heads in...kind of a weird place right now."
"Your son?" he guessed.
Midori sighed glumly. "I know you must get tired of hearing me talk about Kazuto…"
He shrugged. "Maybe a little. But if it means getting you upstairs faster I'm willing to grin and bear it."
She scoffed at him indignantly, trying to hide the angry smile forming on her face as she swatted him on the shoulder. "You ass."
Kojima snickered at her despite himself before relaxing a bit more and wrapping his arm around her shoulder comfortingly. "You know you can always talk to me about anything, Midori. Especially your son. I'm always willing to listen."
She fully relaxed into him, cuddling up in Kojima's arms while getting nice and comfy on the couch. "You have no earthly idea just how much that means to me." Her smile faltered for a moment as her gaze shifted over towards the kitchen. "Kazuto...wrote me a letter today."
He quirked a brow in intrigue. "Oh? What's it say?"
Midori placed a hand up to her heart, her eyes starting to well up again. "Honestly, I can't even talk about it without breaking down."
Kojima frowned at her in concern. "He didn't hurt you too bad, did he?"
She shook her head assuredly before wiping her eyes dry. "No, quite the opposite actually. It was one of the sweetest things he's ever done for me." Midori laughed. "Honestly, I'm glad you decided to show up now and not ten minutes ago. I was a complete wreck."
"Hey, it sounds to me like the kid is finally growing up a little," he insisted encouragingly while gently stroking her arm with his thumb.
Midori bit her lower lip nervously before sitting up and looking at him, her gaze a bit more serious now. "The thing is...that's not all he did."
He narrowed his eyes at her curiously and sat up straight. "Something else?"
She nodded, still unsure whether or not she should tell him this. In the month and a half that they'd been seeing each other, Midori had been very selective about what she told Kojima regarding her son. He knew about Kazuto's condition but beyond that, she hadn't really gone into great detail about him. Not necessarily out of any inherent distrust for the man, but simply because she didn't wish to burden Kojima with too much all at once while the two of them were still 'testing the waters' so to speak.
But he'd proven to be nothing if not trustworthy with her private life, and Midori really wanted to get this off her chest with someone. With her mind made up, she decided to just come out and say it.
"My son wrote me a check for thirty-five million yen."
At that, his mouth slowly fell open in surprise. Kojima took a moment to fully process what she just said.
"So...like…a real one?"
"I double-checked, it's authentic," she assured. "Linked to a real business account set up by Argus Entertainment. My son has been making hundreds of thousands of yen without me knowing about it for over a year now."
"Wait, as in Argus Entertainment, the video game company?"
She nodded. "Kazuto claims he's been working as an amateur programmer for the company for a while, but I never considered he'd been making quite that much."
He shook his head vehemently. "Even full time programmers with a degree don't make that kind of money. Are you sure this is legitimate, Midori?"
She remained silent, a worried frown still plastered on her face.
"You don't think your boy is in any sort of trouble, do you?" Kojima asked a little more insistently this time.
Midori sighed reluctantly and turned her gaze back to him sincerely. "Can I trust this will stay between us?"
"Do you even have to ask at this point?" he responded without an ounce of hesitation before taking her hand in both of his . "Midori, whatever it is your son has gotten into, I wanna help. Talk to me."
She finally smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you, Koji." Midori took a breath to steady her nerves before continuing. "What can you tell me about Sword Art Online?"
Kojima leaned back in his seat and gazed up at the ceiling, blowing an exasperated breath through pursed lips. "Not much, unfortunately. We covered the launch pretty extensively in the last few articles, but I never got assigned to any of those stories." He frowned suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Rika is pretty obsessed with it though."
That one took Midori by surprise. "Your daughter plays too?"
He nodded, that worried look in his eyes still present. "It's all she's been able to talk about since it was announced. Honestly, I worry about her being plugged up into that NerveGear helmet of hers."
"From everything I've been told, it's supposed to be perfectly safe," Midori tried to sound reassuring.
"Yeah, I read a few of the articles we published on the subject when they came out," he admitted while leaning forward in his seat, his elbows resting on his knees. "They all basically said the same thing, but…"
A nervous quiver formed in her heart. "You think they may not be?"
For a moment, he didn't say anything, as if considering his next words carefully. Finally, with a weary sigh, he sat up straight and looked at her. "Alright listen, you didn't get this from me, okay?"
She nodded in understanding.
"About a week ago, we got a call from a guy named Ari Moshe requesting we run a story regarding the NerveGear as well as the launch day of the game."
Her eyes grew wide upon hearing that name. "Wait...as in Dr. Ari Moshe? The original inventor of FullDive technology?"
He quirked a brow in surprise at her. "You know the name?"
"Kazuto's therapist told me about him," she admitted. "But what on earth did he want with our magazine?"
"He was looking for publishers willing to feature his story decrying the use of NerveGear technology as unsafe and unethical," he explained. "Apparently Dr. Moshe had evidence that Argus Entertainment was downplaying the inherent risks of their VR helmet."
She placed a hand over her racing heart before swallowing the nervous lump that had formed in her throat. "So...what evidence did he have?"
He sighed wearily. "Well, we never actually saw any evidence. But he claimed the neural interface that NerveGear uses is far more invasive and dangerous than its project director is letting on. Something to do with the high-density microwave transceivers."
"Are those the 'brain probes' my son was talking about?"
Kojima nodded. "I'm no engineer, so I can't even begin to go into detail about how exactly it works. I only really know what it does. The transceivers in the helmet are capable of accessing the user's brain, allowing it to send fake signals to the five senses whilst also simultaneously blocking every movement command from the brain to the body, preventing the player from moving while in the game to avoid injuries." He frowned nervously again while continuing. "The thing is...this Dr. Moshe guy...he was claiming those transceivers were not nearly as safe as Argus was leading people to believe. That if they're programmed a certain way, the system can be overloaded and…"
"And what?"
"Look...I really don't want to scare you needlessly, Midori," he insisted with clear concern in his voice. "This guy clearly had a vendetta. We can't even say for certain if what he was telling us was true or not."
"Please just tell me," she implored. "Whatever it is, Koji, I'll feel a lot better if I know the truth."
He took a moment to gather his thoughts before taking a deep breath and continuing.
"He claimed that under the right circumstances, the system could overload, emitting extremely high levels of microwave radiation."
"How high exactly?" She was almost afraid to ask.
He sighed reluctantly. "Enough to be fatal."
The moment the word fatal escaped his lips, Midori's skin turned pale. Her gaze immediately shot towards the staircase whereupon she stood up off the couch.
"My son is plugged into that thing right now!" she insisted, clear panic in her voice.
Kojima immediately stood up and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Midori, hold on, let's not lose our heads here."
She gave him a frantic look. "But, Koji…"
"We can't even confirm if what he was saying is true or not," Kojima insisted. "Think about it, there are over two-hundred thousand registered NerveGear users in Japan. In the two years it's been on the market, there's never been any reports of an accident or fatal malfunction."
She turned her head back up towards Kazuto's room. "Are you sure it's safe?"
"My daughter is playing right now too," he admitted with a smile, his voice driving home the sincerity of his words. "If I seriously thought she was in any immediate danger, do you think I would be here right now?"
After taking a moment to let his words sink in, Midori finally relaxed before sitting back down. "Sorry...this whole situation with Kazuto just has me in a bit of a state."
"This is why I didn't want to say anything," he insisted while kissing her cheek. "You're stressed enough already without me scaring you needlessly."
"But what about your daughter?" she asked, suddenly shifting gears. "Are you really comfortable leaving her in that thing?"
He frowned at that. "Honestly, no. But Rika will be eighteen in a month. She's old enough to make informed decisions about these sorts of things and everything I've read assures the NerveGear is perfectly safe. It was just this one doctor who seemed to have an issue with the technology."
Midori considered everything she just heard, a discontent look in her eyes.
"I'm sorry I don't have more answers for you," Kojima spoke apologetically.
She smiled at him and shook her head assuredly. "It's really not your fault." Another weary sigh escaped her lips. "Today has just been a lot to take in."
He nodded in understanding. "Not much I can do about that, unfortunately." A playful grin crossed his lips as he pulled her in close. "Although...I can think of a few ways to help you unwind."
She gasped in arousal as Kojima began peppering her neck with kisses, subconsciously tilting her head back and gripping him by the back of his head.
"W…wait, wait, wait." She finally sobered up enough to tap him on the shoulder.
"What's wrong?"
She smiled at him in embarrassment before gesturing towards the doorway. "What about my son?"
He chuckled at her before kissing along her jaw, causing her to quietly moan. "You worried he'll interrupt?"
Midori chuckled softly at his prickly beard. "Well no. But I really feel like I should be keeping an eye on him."
"I tell you what…" As he spoke, Kojima kissed along the bottom of her chin, eliciting a series of pleased groans from her diaphragm. "...give me twenty minutes to take care of you. And then I'll be out of your hair. Sound good?"
She bit her lower lip in thought while he continued to kiss her. Midori's cheeks were flushed as she glanced up towards the stairwell, weighing her options.
"Fine. You've got twenty minutes."
She ended up giving him thirty. God help her, Midori simply could not say no to this man. It wasn't just that Kojima was in great shape for a man his age and always made sure to take care of her needs whenever they made love. The truth was, after years of living as a single mother, raising two children by herself, one of whom was on the autistic spectrum, Midori had grown to miss human connection more than just about anything. Sensual touch, physical intimacy, that feeling of closeness with another human being, there were certain things a toy simply couldn't reproduce.
Yet for every moment of bliss, there always came the post-coital guilt that followed. It wasn't fair making him sneak around behind his daughter's back like this. Especially considering she knew in her heart this man was ready for something more than just sex. After losing his wife to cancer six years ago, Kojima Shinozaki was left with a void in his heart longing to be filled, much as hers was.
That didn't change the fact she was nowhere near ready to pile on the additional burden of an extra-marital affair and potentially messy divorce on top of her already substantial list of problems. So as Midori lay on her bed, cuddled up in Kojima's arms, all she could really think about was how she was using this man.
"You know, I can't recall the last time I met a woman who could get this mopey after sex," he teased her good spiritedly while stroking her arm.
Midori sighed woefully and sat up on her side. "Does it ever bother you that I can't be more open about us?"
He shrugged, his smile diminishing somewhat. "It's not as if I don't understand why you feel the need to do it this way. You've got enough on your plate as it is. I get that."
She turned her head away, shame in her eyes. "Still…"
"Midori…" He gently turned her gaze back to him. "...you really think I drove almost an hour and a half out of my way in Tokyo traffic just for a quickie?"
Kojima kissed her sweetly, causing her heart to skip.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't care," he insisted while caressing her cheek.
She smiled at him affectionately, placing her hand over his. "You're way too patient with me, you know that?"
That silly grin of his returned as he slowly leaned over her. "Well if I'm honest, it doesn't hurt that you're extremely pretty."
Midori audibly giggled at that, her cheeks flaring red as Kojima proceeded to kiss her again. The two were in the midst of sharing a tender moment when suddenly the phone began to ring.
"That's probably my daughter," she insisted while pulling away from him and covering herself with the comforter. Kojima relaxed back on the bed while she picked up the phone and brought it to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Mom! Mom, are you there?!"
A wave of dread washed over Midori upon hearing her daughter's panic stricken voice. "Suguha? What's wrong, sweetie?"
"Mom, listen to me! This is extremely important!" Suguha was talking at a mile a minute, breathing so fast it sounded like she might pass out at any moment. "Is Kazuto with you right now?!"
"N...no, he's in his room playing his video game," she admitted nervously. "Why?"
"Oh God, I'm too late!" Her daughter began sobbing through the transceiver.
"Suguha, you're scaring me," Midori insisted, her hands starting to shake as she held the phone up to her ear. "What's going on? Did something happen to your brother?"
"There's no time!" she insisted in a shaky voice. "Listen, whatever you do, do not unplug Kazuto's helmet! Don't disconnect him from the game, don't even touch it!"
"What is going on?" she insisted, panic starting to form in her voice as well. "Suguha, please talk to me."
"Turn on the news! It's happening everywhere!"
"The news? What do you…"
The line disconnected. Midori stared down at her phone in complete disbelief of what she just heard.
"Is everything okay?" Kojima asked worriedly, by this point having sat up next to her.
For the longest time, she didn't say a word.
"Midori?"
Seemingly ignoring him, Midori proceeded to jump up off the bed and quickly throw on a robe before scampering out of the room and heading downstairs.
"Midori, wait!" Kojima struggled to get back into his pants, inadvertently tripping over his own two feet in the process.
She quickly darted down the stairs and into the living room before grabbing the TV remote off the coffee table and switching on the news. Her heart immediately stopped dead in her chest upon seeing the words Emergency Alert Broadcast written in bold letters on her screen.
"...still don't quite know exactly what the cause of these incidents are, but for the time being authorities are urging citizens to remain calm. If you or someone you know owns an Argus Entertainment NerveGear VR Helmet do not put it on. I'll say that again, if you own a NerveGear helmet, please, do not attempt to operate it. Though it would appear the only rigs affected by this dangerous bug appear to be the ones directly connected to Sword Art Online, we cannot verify if the other helmets are safe."
As Midori listened to the news anchor, she slowly sank back into the couch, her blood running cold as the whole world went silent around her. Kojima, having finally managed to get dressed, hurried downstairs to find her white as a ghost.
"Midori, what on Earth is going on? Why are you…"
Upon seeing the completely vacant look in her eyes, Kojima finally turned his attention to the television.
"For more information on the crisis in development, we now go live to an emergency address by the Chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Superintendent General Hiroto Matama."
"What the hell is this?" he asked with palpable dread in his voice.
Midori was in no state to respond. So instead, they both watched in silence as the screen cut to the Superintendent General, dressed in his police uniform, standing on a large wooden podium with multiple microphones connected to the surface.
"The investigation into these fatalities related to VR NerveGear helmets is still ongoing," the Chief of Police declared in a strict, authoritative voice. "However, for the time being, our top priority is the safety and wellbeing of those citizens still affected by the bug. We won't know more until these victims and their families have been declared safe. That's our top concern, that's our only concern."
"What can you tell us about the incident?" one reporter asked.
"We have yet to confirm as to the mechanism by which these deaths have occurred, but our leading theory suggests the cause of death is hemorrhages and arterial occlusions in the brain as result of direct exposure to high levels of microwave radiation. But again, this is only a theory. All we know for certain is that attempting to remove the helmets or disconnect them from the game appears to be what's triggering these fatalities," he declared while staring directly into the camera with severe intensity. "I cannot stress that enough. To any citizens whose loved ones may be trapped in their NerveGear right now, I implore you do not attempt to remove their helmets or turn off the device. Do not tamper with it. Do not touch it. Do not attempt to move their bodies in any way. We still do not yet know exactly what is triggering these incidents and until we know more, please, for the sake of your loved ones, do not go near them. This is a matter of life and death."
"I'm calling my daughter," Kojima insisted while pulling out his phone and leaving the room. Midori, meanwhile, continued to quietly watch the television, too numb to respond.
"What's the current death toll stand at?" another reporter asked. "And what is being done to help those still alive and their families?"
At that, the Chief of Police shook his head gravely. "We don't have an exact number yet, but it's already too many. Which is why it's absolutely vital that the surviving victims remain undisturbed until we have a better grip on the situation. We're working with the Governor, and with the National Diet to secure those affected and provide aid to their families, but I won't lie to you all. This is a very delicate situation we are in right now. There are close to ten thousand Japanese citizens still trapped in their NerveGear helmets, and until we know for certain what is going on, we have to treat this as if it were a hostage situation."
"She's not answering," Kojima insisted while pacing back and forth frantically with his cell phone up to his ear. "Dammit, Rika, pick up!"
"Is this a hostage situation we are dealing with?" was naturally their next question.
"I cannot confirm or deny that," he insisted vehemently. "I'm only trying to impress upon those affected by this crisis the urgency of the situation at hand." With his next words he spoke directly into the camera again. "If your loved one is trapped in a NerveGear helmet they should be treated as if a gun is being pointed at their head. Do not attempt to intervene yourself. Wait for emergency services to arrive and let us deal with the situation."
"Is there seriously nothing we can do to help keep our loved ones safe other than sit and wait, Superintendent General?"
He placed a single finger in the air. "There is one thing you can do to help increase the victim's odds of survival. Disable all electronics currently connected to your home's wifi network. All cell phones, laptops, any personal device that might be connected to the internet and taking up bandwidth should be turned off. However, do not touch the router! Keep your internet connection as secure as humanly possible. As far as we know, it's the only thing keeping them alive."
Kojima and Midori both stared at the TV in a state of complete shock. The voices slowly faded into white noise as their entire world came crashing down around their heads. Panic began to overwhelm Midori, at which point she stood up and made her way towards the stairs.
"Wait, where are you going?" Kojima asked, finally managing to snap back to his senses.
"I need to check on my son."
He quickly got in front of her. "Midori, hold on. Did you not hear what they just said?"
"I just need to see him," she insisted, sounding like a woman possessed while trying to push past.
Kojima held her in place. "I'm not gonna let you do that."
"Let go of me, Koji," she insisted, trying to force her way through.
"Midori, no," he responded, that same terrified look in his eyes
"Let go of me!" she shouted, now actively fighting him.
Kojima stood his ground even as she beat her fists against his chest. "Midori, please stop."
"I just need to see him! Please, just let me see my son!" Tears began to stream down her face.
He shook his head over and over again, his own eyes welling up as well. "I can't. I can't."
"Kazuto!"
Midori collapsed onto her knees as all the strength left her body. Kojima dropped down alongside her, holding Midori tight as she quietly sobbed on his chest.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he kept saying over and over again, doing his best to maintain his composure despite the fear in his voice.
"There's so much…" she wept. "...so much I have to tell him…"
Kojima hugged her tightly to him, his body trembling. "I know…"
Despair overwhelmed them as they sat in the middle of the Kirigaya residence, the sounds of sirens growing louder in the distance.
Sword Art Online
Aincrad: Floor 1, Day One of the Death Game
Within the span of a single second, two things happened that had changed Asuna Yuuki's life forever. The first was that she finally mustered the courage to accept these feelings she'd developed for Kirito over the past two months and kissed him while watching the sun set over the horizon in their party's camp.
The second was that she, along with every other player connected to their NerveGear rigs, had become unwittingly trapped in a death game disguised as the world's first ever VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online.
It all started with a kiss. And not the sort of kiss she'd ever imagine giving a boy like Kirito either. This wasn't a friendly peck on the cheek, but a full-on, eyes closed, starting with tight lips but eventually morphing into something far more passionate that lasted for a good thirty-second lifetime sort of kiss. They were close. Almost too close. Asuna was pressed up against him so tightly she could feel his heart beating against her chest. Or maybe that was her heart she was feeling in that moment.
Either way, that kiss was the last clear memory she had before everything devolved into a hazy blur of terror and uncertainty. Maybe it was silly of her to fixate on such a small moment in time with the possibility of death now looming over their heads like an ominous shroud, but ever since everything went to hell, that kiss had been the only thing that seemed real to her. While everything else felt more like a surreal nightmare.
If she lost that memory...there was a chance she could lose everything. Honestly, Asuna couldn't even begin to understand why exactly her life had taken this dramatic turn. Up until the moment of that kiss she was the happiest she'd been in years, enjoying the full experience of Sword Art Online with her friends.
In fact, the past two months had seen some of the brightest moments in her life she could remember in a long time. Ever since Asuna's father declared his intentions to set her up with an arranged marriage, she'd felt completely trapped, floating through life as opposed to truly living it. Sure she made good grades in school, and maybe she had friends as well, but none of that truly mattered because Asuna wasn't living the way she truly desired to.
But that all changed when she met a boy by the name of Kazuto Kirigaya.
Kazuto...he truly was something else. Never in her life had Asuna met a boy like this before. As an autistic savant, Kazuto possessed a mind that was wholly unique. It was intimidating, almost, just how giftedly intelligent he was despite also being socially stunted. Not only that, but the boy possessed a heart of absolute gold. And just from the few brief interactions she had with him that fateful day, Asuna knew he was more than could be seen on the surface.
But it wasn't until he invited her to play the Beta of Sword Art Online with him that she would come to realize just how correct that statement was. Upon dawning the NerveGear for the first time and entering the world of SAO for herself, Asuna began on an adventure that would change her life in ways she never thought possible. During which time she saw firsthand just how truly remarkable Kazuto was.
Or as the world of SAO knew him, Kirito. Aka the Black Swordsman, future King of Aincrad.
With Kirito at her side, Asuna began her journey in this fantastical new world of virtual reality. Where she met the Beta Testers whom all became dearest friends, and discovered things about herself that she had never known before. In many ways, those three days she spent in the Beta of SAO changed her for the better. Asuna was no longer just a wealthy teenager with an arranged marriage and a trust fund. She was something else. She was the Lightning Flash of Aincrad. A neophyte fencer and member of the Knights of the Black Oath, the guild sworn to see Kirito ascend to the top of Castle Aincrad's one hundred floors and become its first king.
She owed that boy a lot. And Asuna's admiration for Kirito grew and grew, at some point over the course of the two months they'd gotten to know each other, it turned into deep affection.
And from there...it evolved into something else entirely.
There was something about him. Beyond just the intellect, or the candid spirit, or the heart of gold. Beyond all of that there was something about Kirito that drew Asuna in and refused to let her look away from him in spite of how much these feelings scared her.
And they really did scare her. Asuna couldn't lie to herself about that. For all his wonderful qualities, the fact remained that Kirito was not like other boys his age. Being on the autistic spectrum, he often struggled with expressing how he felt or what he was thinking. He was prone to becoming extremely anxious in social situations, and often came off as blunt, rude, or inconsiderate of others at times where he didn't mean to. Never in her life did Asuna imagine developing genuine feelings for a boy like this.
And yet here she was, kissing the boy who'd become so dear to her over the course of the last two months. It wasn't as if she didn't have options either, as Diavel had clearly expressed interest in Asuna as well. Yet in the end, when she thought about who she truly wanted to embark on this adventure with, her mind always drifted back to Kirito. It was a conscious choice. Not one born out of desperation or guilt. But of a deep sense of longing she couldn't even begin to understand. More than anything, that was probably what scared her the most.
And yet when she finally took that plunge and kissed him, Asuna knew almost immediately that she'd made the right choice. She wasn't sure if it was possible to smile and kiss the boy you really like all at once, but if it was then that's what she was doing. Her eyes were closed in that moment, but for those thirty seconds, Asuna could see a whole future of them together.
It was at the thirty-first second when everything came to a screeching halt.
When Kirito's buddy first came running up to them, panicking that the logout button was gone and they were trapped in the game, she almost didn't believe him. Asuna had only known Klein for about a day game time, and she wasn't completely convinced that this whole thing wasn't just an elaborate prank. But before she could start going off on him, Klein showed her the empty space in the menu where the logout button used to be.
Upon opening the menu and finding the logout button gone for her as well, a deathly chill ran up Asuna's spine.
"It's really gone…" she mumbled nervously while staring at the now empty icon. "...the logout button is missing."
Kirito, who was sitting beside her, opened his menu and checked for the logout button. Sure enough, just like with the others, it was nowhere to be found.
"What the hell are we gonna do?" Klein asked insistently. "I've got a chicken and teriyaki pizza coming in like ten minutes!"
Asuna rolled her eyes at that. "Look, relax, Dude. Ten minutes out there is like several hours in here. You've got plenty of time."
"Still! What the hell are we supposed to do if we can't logout of the game?"
She took a breath to calm her nerves before smiling assuredly. "Obviously it's just a bug. A glitch in the coding, or something."
At that, Klein seemed to relax. "Yeah you're probably right. I mean, it's the first day of official launch. There's bound to be some problems that…"
"It's not a bug."
They both turned their attention towards Kirito, who was staring down at the empty space with a look of genuine concern in his eyes. Something that, for whatever reason, unnerved Asuna greatly. This wasn't like when he was overwhelmed by a crowd, or was about to have a meltdown, Kirito looked genuinely worried about something.
"Well then...what is it, Kirito?" Asuna asked nervously.
He shook his head. "I...I don't know. But it's not a bug. The only way the logout button could be removed is if someone did it manually."
A deathly silence fell over the camp as they considered this harrowing piece of information.
"Is there any way we could contact someone?" Asuna asked next. "Maybe...message a system administrator or something?"
Kirito nodded. "I'm doing it right now."
From his menu, Kirito selected options before scrolling down to troubleshooting, then finally technical support. Whereupon his eyes grew wide with disbelief, only further adding to Asuna's already palpable sense of dread.
"But...but that's not…" Kirito stood up from his seat, seemingly incapable of comprehending what he was seeing. "He told me I could contact him whenever I needed to! This shouldn't be…"
"Kirito, what's wrong?" Asuna asked worriedly.
"The GM function has been disabled," he responded in disbelief. "I can't get in touch with Dr. Kayaba."
"Can you try getting in touch with one of the other admins?" Klein asked hopefully.
"This doesn't make sense," Kirito muttered to himself, seemingly ignoring his friend. "Why would he disable my GM function? He told me we'd stay in touch. He promised."
Klien gave him a weird look. "Kirito?"
"Did I say something wrong?" He began tapping his fingers against his thumb, one of Kirito's ticks that alerted Asuna that he was getting agitated. "We're supposed to be friends, he wouldn't just stop talking to me for no reason…"
"Hey, Kirito," Asuna spoke in a gentle voice while placing a hand on his shoulder. "Klein asked you a question. Is there any way we can…"
"There is no other admins!" he shouted before jerking away from her. "The Game Master is the only one with direct communication to the outside. Everything else is run by the Cardinal System."
"Hey, what's the matter, Bro?" Klein asked, confused as to why Kirito was acting like this. "She was just…"
Asuna placed a hand up to stop him. "It's okay. Let me handle this." She then directed her attention back to Kirito, who was fidgeting nervously in place, his breaths quickening the more anxious he became.
"Kirito, look at me." She gently placed her hands on his cheeks, directing his gaze back to her eyes. Slowly but surely, he began to calm down. "We don't know for sure if Dr. Kayaba is responsible for this or not."
"But he's the Game Master," Kirito insisted, still looking slightly anxious. "Kayaba is the only one with access to these system functions. Why would he disable them?"
Asuna shook her head. "I don't know. But until we have more answers, we shouldn't just jump to conclusions. Okay?" She offered him another reassuring smile. "I'm right here. Whatever Kayaba is doing, that's not gonna change."
Upon hearing her words, Kirito finally seemed to calm down before nodding in understanding. "Okay. We should go back and check on the others."
Asuna, Klein, and Kirito ran back to rejoin the rest of their party. Which consisted of the members of Klein's MMO guild Fuurinkazan, Dale, Harry, and Kuunimitz. They were all brand new players who were lucky enough to be friends with Kirito before SAO had been fully developed. Being the sweetheart he was, Kirito offered to fund their NerveGear adventure by offering them each one of his advanced copies of Sword Art Online, while his final copy was gifted to Asuna.
In addition, two Beta Testers, Merida and Gatrie, were there with them as well. Merida was quickly becoming one of Asuna's closest friends inside of SAO besides Kirito alongside her affable giant of a husband Gatrie. Suffering with a terminal illness that made it difficult for her to walk, Merida was using SAO to build a new life for herself alongside her husband. Though their marital antics could on occasion be a bit obtuse, the fencer adored them both all the same.
They'd all managed to bump into one another at launch and decided to form a party, ready to begin their new adventure in Sword Art Online. A minute ago, these were all happy smiling faces she'd been staring at. Now? They all looked worried, much as she was.
"I don't get it," the tall handsome heavy plate user Gatrie spoke up, scratching his clean cut dirty blonde hair in perplexment. "We never had this sort of problem come up in Beta. What gives?"
"Is there any other way to log out of this thing?" Klein's buddy Harry asked nervously.
The emerald haired beauty Merida shook her head. "Not as far as we know. Whenever a player needed to log out in Beta, they'd always use the button on the main menu."
Upon seeing the rest of their party, Gatrie turned towards Kirito and waved. "Hey, Ki! Look man, do you have any clue what's going on here? There's not another way to log out of SAO, is there?"
Kirito frowned and shook his head. "No, there isn't. The log out button is the only way to do it."
"I'm telling you, that can't be right!" Harry insisted, sounding a little freaked out. "There's gotta be some console command or emergency logout system somewhere."
"Dude, what did you expect? It's nervegear," his buddy Kuunimitz insisted. "We can't Alt-F4 this shit."
"Okay, guys, this isn't helping," Merida insisted calmly before turning to their party leader. "Kirito, is there any way you can get in touch with the GM? We've already tried and no one's picking up."
Kirito withdrew in on himself again. "No…I can't get in touch with Dr. Kayaba either."
She frowned at him in concern before walking up to Asuna and whispering. "How is he doing?"
"Calm for the most part," Asuna assured. "But a little shaken up."
"Okay, so if the log out button isn't working anymore, can we just rip the nervegear off?" Dale offered.
"Dude, did you even bother to read the tech manual for your rig?" Kuunimitz asked in frustration. "We can't move our real world bodies while we're playing, genius. That's not how it works."
"Well okay then, asshole, do you have any bright ideas?" he shot back angrily.
"Why is everyone yelling…?" Kirito asked, his body trembling apprehensively.
Asuna took him by the hand. "It's okay." She then shot a death glare at the bickering group of friends. "Both of you knock it off. Merida is right. This isn't going to help anyone."
"So then…what do we do?" Klein asked nervously.
They all stood in complete silence, nothing but the sound of crickets chirping in the distance. For the first time since starting their aventure, no one, not even Kirito, had an answer.
"I guess we just have to wait until someone comes around to fixing whatever the problem is," Asuna surmised.
"But when the heck will that be?" Gatrie pondered. "Time moves slower in here. For every hour we wait, it'll feel like ten. There's no telling how long we might be trapped."
"There's always the possibility someone will come along and take off our rigs," Merida offered. "I'm still technically in my hospital bed. If the nurses notice a change in my vitals, they'll unplug me from the nervegear."
"I live alone," Klein admitted worriedly. "There's no telling when someone will come looking for me."
Gatrie nodded apprehensively. "Same here."
Asuna considered all this for a moment. She and Kirito would both likely be okay. Her parents would notice she was still up in her room eventually. Or failing that, one of the housekeepers would let them know. And Mrs. Kirigaya would be checking up on her son very soon, she was sure of it. Someone would eventually log them both out.
After a moment of thought, Gatrie finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled again. "Well, okay then. I mean, worst case scenario we just gotta wait it out right?"
"I guess so, babe," Merida admitted with a shrug.
"It's not like we're in any real danger or anything," he offered the group in a positive voice. "Yeah, being stuck in here is annoying as hell, but it's still just a game."
"Don't you think this is kinda weird though?" Dale asked while looking around. "I mean, if people can't log out, it's gonna cause some serious issues for the game, right?"
"Maybe," Gatrie admitted. "But I mean, it's the first day of official launch, there was bound to be some bugs we hadn't accounted for."
The whole party seemed to finally relax. All except for Kirito. Upon seeing the worried, nervous, look on his face, Asuna placed her hand on his cheek comfortingly.
"What's the matter?"
"It doesn't make sense," he insisted, something clearly racing through his mind. "I saw the programming myself. The Cardinal System's algorithm is flawless. This shouldn't be happening."
A nervous pit began to form in her stomach again. Before she could respond, however, Asuna heard something off in the distance that brought all conversations to a screeching halt.
In the Town of Beginnings, a bell was beginning to chime. Not like any bell Asuna had ever heard before either. This one had a low, ominous, drone to it. The sort of bell which foretold the coming of ill omens.
"What…is that?" Merida asked, a twinge of fear in her voice.
"It's not the event bell, is it?" Gatrie asked.
Kirito slowly shook his head. "No, I've…I've never heard this bell before."
A chill ran down Asuna's spine as they stood in silence. Suddenly, a blue flash of light enveloped their bodies and teleported them all away.