Prologue: Before the Testing

March 11, 2022. 1.32 pm

Kazuto PoV

Kazuto was stuck in another pre-algebra exam which he had to attend for highshigh school exam. Unlike most of the other students, he was mentored by Tetsuhiro Shigemura, who was the father of one of his few friends, Yuuna, and along with Eiji Nochizawa, the three of them spent all of their free time listening to Yuuna singing or on the net. For Kazuto, he always had a way for computers, from his aunt/adopted mother, Midori, being an editor for an computer info magazine, to building his own at six, and finally being inspired by Shigemura himself and his former student, Akihiko Kayaba.

And so, just over an half hour of the two hour exam, Kazato is skimming over his exam, to see if he missed even a small point that he may have missed. Seeing none, he chose to wait for the two hours to pass, thinking about the nervegear and the possible effects that could happen for online gamers like himself, Eiji and Yunna to some extent. With her father being on the board of directors for Argus, Yuuna managed to get the three of them into the beta testing of the first game for the nervegear, Sword Art Online, which will only have a thousand testers which runs through all of August.

Content, Kazuto got up from his chair and headed to the front of the school and waited for his only two friends. When he saw Yuuna, a girl with light brown hair and brown eyes, she instantly ran over to him and stopped. "So, how was it, Kazuto. Boring, I assume?"

He chuckled, and that was when Eiji approached. "Hope you two aren't talking about me."

Hearing that both Kazuto and Yuuna laughed at this, Kazuto spoke up. "Nah man. It's just that the pre-algebra exam took me an half hour to finish. Other than that, nothing much."

As they walked from the school gate, they started heading to the closest cafe where they usually hang out when they didn't choose to play the most recent MMO that came out. It took them ten minute from school to arrive, and when they did, they saw the familiar sign with two dice and the "Dicey Cafe" on the door. They entered and saw the very familiar bartender standing there.

"Well, it's good to see my three best part-time customers back here again. So the usual setup." We nodded and sat down at the corner table as usual. They started to talk about Eiji and Yuuna having to start high school in the new school year, and that Yunna had chosen an all-girl school, partly chosen by her father with Yunna's musical talents, and Eiji had chosen a school five minutes from our current one.

"Oh I almost forgot, Kazuto," Yuuna interrupted. "Have you had a chance to listen to my latest song that I sent you yet."

He just smiled shyly. "I did, and don't be mad but, Sugu somehow managed to sneak up on me and listened to it too."

As they heard this, they looked at each other and back at Kazuto and laughed. As they started to settle down, Andrew, the bartender, came over with three cups of tea. As there weren't any other customers yet, we asked Andrew how he met his wife, and he replied with, "I met my wife in a MMO. We tried to get into the beta for Sword Art Online, but we were unlucky."

When we heard that, Eiji's eyebrow lifted. "Really, our favorite barkeep is one of us, Kazuto." And with that we fist bumped. "Don't worry, we'll tell you how the beta is like when we finish in September. Then I'll probably leave a review, maybe a few pages"

All four of us laughed at what Eiji had said, with Andrew just mumbling "lucky bastards."

After another hour, the three of us had gotten up and started going home. Eiji had separated from us at the cafe, while Yuuna and I headed to our neighborhood, and Yuuna started humming the tune of her latest song. She had confided in me and Eiji, that she had always wanted to be a pop singer, but she was scared to tell her father about her interest in anything but classical, although she did enjoy it but she didn't want to focus on it.

As we neared the intersection which we usually separated from our respected houses, my phone rang and when I saw Eiji's name in the caller ID, I showed it to Yunna and answered.

"Eiji, it hasn't been twenty minutes since we talked, plus your on speaker since Yuuna's here," only now noticing that he was sobbing.

"It's my parents Kazuto, they're…they're dead, I called the police but I don't know what to do," he replied. When we heard that, Yunna gasped, covering her own mouth while starting to cry, and I was standing there, shocked. "The police said they wanted to ask questions tomorrow, but I can't stay at my place if I can."

"Of course," I cut him off, knowing what he wanted to ask. "I'm guessing you already told them where you're staying."

"Yeah, I did, but it was either yours or Yuuna's," he said.

With that, we ended the call and ran over to Eiji's place to help console him. We were just sitting there where I told Yuuna to take care of Eiji while I called Sugu what happened and to get the spare room ready.

March 11, 2022. 5.14pm

Kirigaya household

Sugu PoV

It was just another day after both school and kendo training, and typically Kazuto would already be home in his room, even if he were with his two friends from school, he wouldn't have gone far. Since mom typically worked late, Kazuto and I would alternate the cooking each day, which lucky for him, was my night to cook dinner. I was about to start dinner when I heard my phone ringing, and surprisingly it was Kazuto himself.

"Hi Kazuto," I said when I answered the phone, "I thought you'd be home already. I guess something happened if you're calling."

"Yeah, Eiji will be using the spare room tonight," he replied, only now hearing the solemn tone of his voice. "He just found his parents dead, shot and his place robbed of almost everything."

"How is Eiji holding up, with what happened, Kazuto?" I asked.

"Not well, well who would. Yuuna is with him right now, but we just wanted to give you a heads up. And don't worry about it, I'll tell her myself if she asks."

"Ok Kazuto, and tell your friend that I'm just about to start dinner," and I ended the call after that and started to cook dinner.

March 12, 2022. 10:16 am

Kirigaya household

No PoV

This should have been a normal Saturday morning for the shut-in Kazuto and Suguha training for kendo, but sitting around the kitchen table was Kazuto, Yunna and Eiji talking with an Inspector to find out why Eiji's parents were robbed, and with every murder case, which had to include his location of the better part of yesterday afternoon, which they knew he didn't do, but had to do it officially. When both Midori, and Tetsuhiro found out that Eijis' parents were dead, they were shocked, knowing that their children were close, especially when Kazuto was skipped ahead a year, and he really had no friends before Eiji and Yuuna.

For the rest of the day, the Kirigaya family, along with Eiji, were discussing where Eiji wanted to live. Midori knew that Kazuto and Eiji were close friends, knowing that Kazuto most likely wanted to remain at his friend's side, suspecting that he had told Eiji and Yunna why he drifted apart away from us and more so to the internet.

Over the next few months, Eiji had officially moved into the Kirigaya household, and that the people who murder his parents had been caught and charged. Now that it's the last week of school in July, the three friends were waiting for the release of the beta testing of Sword Art Online on the First of August, that next monday.

A/N. This is my first story, plus I'm doing this since why not. Plus I plan to mainly focus on the show and not the novels, plus there will be changes since I'm thinking with this being KiritoxYuna and AsunaxEiji. Kirito will still have the dual blades and Yuna's extra skill chant will be one of the ten unique skills as well. But I don't know what to give Eiji yet. Kirito is still 14 and was skipped ahead a year, but Eiji and Yuuna are both 15 not 16 in canon