Welcome to Chapter Sixteen! This time around, Suguha and Kazuto talk about stuff, there's sone family stuff for the Hardins, and the SAO Beta chronicles continue.

As promised, I present last chapter's easter egg and referrence list to you.

For Red vs Blue referrences, the "YOU SONS OF BITCHES!" line is used by Simmons during the PSA "Diversity" when Sarge guns him down with a turret after the latter deems him a target.

In the RWBY department, "Ninjas of Love" is presumably a risqué novel, although only two scenes allude to this. 1) During the main series Volume 1 episode "The Badge and the Burden," when Blake picks the book up to place it in a bookshelf, she blushes heavily and looks around her shoulder as though she was holding stolen goods. 2) In RWBY Chibi Volume 1, Ruby finds the book and reads it, blushing heavily as she did so. When Blake asks for the book back, Ruby calls it "filth" and hits her with it, promising to return the book later.

Kali Belladonna is Blake's mother, and the scar over Jaymes' left eye in the beta alludes to Weiss, our resident Ice Queen (although I did that little easter egg on accident.)

Finally, this plays out a bit different from canon, so Diavel's the one leading the scouting run here (mainly because I was having trouble thinking of someone else to do it.)

Kirigaya Residence, Kawagoe

Japan, Real World

August 4, 2022

Kazuto Kirigaya

Kazuto sat on his bed, watching Suguha get comfortable on the end of it. He wasn't sure why she wanted to talk to him, but he was going to hear her out.

"Okay, Sugu, what is it?" he asked.

"Well, it's about why you're acting so nice now."

"Huh? Aren't you glad?"

"I am, but-- god, why am I talking about this?!"

"Well, to answer your question, Ian kinda got me to open up." Kazuto answered.

"He did, huh?" Suguha grinned. "I knew that I met a good guy!"

"Huh. Anyways, I'm sorry for not being nice to you for as long as I have."

"You're fine." Suguha was always the forgiving type.

"I guess so. How's Ian been at your practice?"

"He's getting better every day! He used to have a bunch of trouble when I did something to mislead him, and now he's able to see through them!"

Suguha started mimicking kendo moves on the boy's bef, and he could only chuckle at the display.

"That's great." Kazuto said. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. He said stuff about not getting whacked in the back of the head by a third party during practice."

"Oh..." Kazuto nervously chuckled. "Yeah..."

"Anyways, dinner's getting started right now." Suguha said, looking at her brother. "So, do you want to help?"

That was a good question. Was he ready for that yet?

"Sure, but I have no idea how to cook." he replied.

"Great! I'll teach you what I know!"

"Alright, I'll be there."

Joshua Hardin

Hardin Residence, Tokyo Outskirts

Joshua removed his NerveGear from his head, completely exhilarated after the experience he just had. He was definitely going to recommend Sword Art Online to Possum, because that was just amazing. It felt so realistic and it was so exciting to fight. He kind of wished that there was a way to disable Sword Skills in the case of a player wanting to use real skills.

"Joshua! It's dinnertime!" his mother called from downstairs.

"Okay, coming!" he yelled, getting off of his bed to go downstairs.

Okay, you think Dad's gonna ask about the SAO Beta's A.I. quality? he thought to himself.

What do you think? Yes, he is. He's the CEO of a robotics and A.I. company. another voice answered.

The heir walked downstairs, smirking at the thought of his father asking how advanced the A.I. was in his game.

When he reached the dining room, he saw his parents sitting at the end of a long dining table, which was that long in the case of guests, and Mr. Eji setting plates laden with food down.

"Ah, Mr. Hardin!" the caretaker said, indicating a chair to Suzaki's left.

Joshua approached the table and sat down in the chair Mr. Eji indicated.

"If you'll excuse us, Mr. Eji." Suzaki said. The caretaker bowed and left.

Joshua's smile hadn't left his face, and given how sullen he looked at the table most of the time, his parents definitely noticed.

"You look awfully chipper." his mother said. "Anything good happen?"

"Good fortune. I got the beta." Joshua said, smirking. "Oh, I was also thinking about a certain question that Dad would ask."

"Hmm?"

"About the game's A.I. quality. For research, you know."

His parents chuckled a little.

"What's so funny about that? He's the CEO to a robotics and A.I. company, so that stuff could come in handy." the heir protested.

"I understand." Suzaki said.

Joshua picked up a fork and targeted the steak with it, taking a piece off and eating it. Mr. Eji always did know the family's preferences, and the current dinner was no exception. Medium-rare steak with sautéed vegetables and well-cooked white rice was what was served and Joshua didn't disapprove.

"Mmmm. This is good." he said after swallowing.

"Mr. Eji has never let us down before." Natalie said.

"No, he hasn't."

But I wish I could try my hand at cooking, though. Joshua added in his head.

They all continued to eat dinner, with nothing said except the usual; how the RoboTelligence CEO's day was at work, plans for the future, etc. etc.

After dinner, Joshua decided to hit the sack early, in the case of another lesson in the business environment. As his parents excused him, he went upstairs, threw his shirt and pants off, put on a t-shirt and shorts, and climbed into bed, sleep finding him very quickly.

Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya

Kirigaya Residence, Kawagoe

August 5, 2022

Kirito: So, what's the plan for today?

JaymesTheFirst: I dunno. The forums are lit up with rumors about the first floor boss.

Kirito: Right. Do you think the other beta testers found it?

JaymesTheFirst: Yeah, they did. They're pulling LFGs to get a scouting team together so they can I.D. the boss.

ItsaPOSSUM: Hey, guys.

Kirito: Oh, look. ItsaPOSSUM.

ItsaPOSSUM: Yep. How was your first day on the beta?

JaymesTheFirst: I'm just gonna say that it's worth buying the NerveGear for.

Kirito: Yeah, it is.

ItsaPOSSUM: What were you two talking about before I came in?

Kirito: We're talking about the first boss in the game.

Jaymes: Yeah, they're pulling LFGs to get a scouting team together.

ItsaPOSSUM: Okay. I'm sure gonna be lonely this month.

JaymesTheFirst: You'll make do. You did go raid without me.

ItsaPOSSUM: You really care about raiding in D2 that much? It hasn't been the same since the first game.

JaymesTheFirst: What was it like to raid in tge first game?

ItsaPOSSUM: For one, it was a lot simpler. No revive tokens, not too many convoluted mechanics, the ability to solo them...

JaymesTheFirst: Hold up. Did you say solo raids? As in bet them by yourself?

ItsaPOSSUM: Yup. Crota's End was the easiest to do it on.

Kirito: Let me guess, our drill sergeant did it solo?

ItsaPOSSUM: Yep.

Jaymes: Of course she did.

ItsaPOSSUM: Anyways, I gotta go. You two go ahead and beat that floor boss.

Kirito: Okay.

JaymesTheFirst: Bye-bye.

Tolbana, Floor 1

Sword Art Online

Everyone sat on the steps around the stage-like area of the meeting zone for SAO's first scouting party, and Kirito and Jaymes were no exception.

The two beta testers sat beside each other at the middle set of seats, waiting for the meeting to start.

"Hey, Kirito."

"What?"

"You think we'll get picked for the scouting party?" Jaymes asked.

"We're the best players in the game right now. They'd be stupid to not pick us."

"Yeah."

As the volunteers spoke amongst each other, a player in blue and yellow clothes with a steel breastplate walked into the arena. They couldn't see his eye color, but his blue hair could be seen very easily.

"Hello, everyone! My name's Diavel, and I'm here to organize this scouting party!" the man yelled, silencing the crowd.

"Alrighty." Jaymes said quietly.

"Anyways, let's get down to business!" Diavel continued. "Yesterday, a group of players found the door to the first boss room, but without knowing what was waiting for them, they left the area."

The murmuring continued, and Kirito readjusted in his seat.

"I'll be leading the expedition, as I feel that it's my responsibility to keep you all safe." Diavel said.

"But it's just a game!" a player said.

"I know, but it's just a conscious thing. Anyways, I'll be picking the members of the scouting party now, so..."

Diavel began to list names, with each player called out coming down to the center with the blue-haired player. Kirito and Jaymes paid a lot of attention to the names listed, but with drowsiness coming in from the montonuos name-calling, they barely noticed the call of "Kirito and Jaymes!" from Diavel.

"Hey, we got picked." Jaymes said, pulling Kirito along with him as he went down to join his fellow scouts.

Diavel approached the black-haired swordsman and put his hands on his shoulders.

"You have a lot of potential, Kirito. Don't let me down." he told him.

After picking a few more people, Diavel put his parchment back and looked at the crowd.

"Alright, that's all for today! For those who weren't picked for the scouting run, you'll get your chance! Meeting adjourned!"

Later...

Kirito stood in the Town Square with Jaymes, inspecting their weapons. They had to be in top condition for the next day's excursion.

"So, you think we should share the news?" Jaymes asked, running a hand over his shield.

"Sure." Kirito replied, sheathing his Anneal Blade. "He could use the knowledge for the alpha."

"Yeah."

Looking at the clock again, Kirito saw that it was 6:00 P.M. again, and that it was time to log out.

"I've got to go." Kirito said. "It's 6 o'clock."

"Okay. I'll be off as well." the darker skinned boy said, pulling his inventory up to go to the options.

"Bye, Jaymes." Kirito pulled the options up and pressed the Log Out button, phasing out of the world for the time being.

Hey, guys. Yesterday, I resumed Red vs Blue: Reach after watching the YouTuber HiddenXperia play Cursed Halo and getting ideas off of the experience.

Also, I'm sorry if you haven't seen much of Ian in the story, but he wasn't meant to be a beta tester. I need to separate him from his male friends in some manner. I'll try to put him back in the spotlight as soon as I can, but last chapter, this chapter, and the next chapter are Kirito and Jaymes-centric. See you next time.