Hello and welcome to Synthesis, a story about Kirito who gets to use gaming features in real life(eventually). Two changes to canon: 1 - Kazuto/Kirito decides to apply himself to actually doing stuff, and 2 - Aiko and Yuuki aren't infected with contaminated blood so they live normal lives.
He was bored.
There was no other way to put it. Sitting in class, twirling a pencil in hand, listening to his teacher talk about Pride and Prejudice and the themes discussed within it, Kazuto Kirigaya was extremely bored.
A student asked a question, but Kazuto didn't care. He was staring at the board, under a false pretense of paying attention, but he didn't care. If anyone even looked at him, they'd recognize what he was doing, and then the teacher would call him out on it. Why couldn't they just let him strategize for his games in peace? It was the only thing he really cared about, the only thing he knew would be a constant in his life. Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end, and based on the patterns his teacher had shown, it would happen right about…
"Mr. Kirigaya, why don't you take problem five?" his teacher called out.
Now, he thought and sighed, standing up to go write on the board. For some reason, this teacher despised him, always calling him out during class and asking him to give an answer, and always frustrated when the answer he gave contained more content than what was previously learned.
Problem five: how do the locations of the people throughout the book affect the outcomes of the relationships between characters? The question was meant for him as there was no straight answer, and his teacher smiled slightly, hoping that the question was finally too much for him, as his answers were normally straight out of the textbooks.
"The locations represent the different families in the book, and as such, people tend to act differently in different locations," Kazuto began, completely bullshitting his way to get an answer. "So, it would only be obvious to know that people act differently when they are with their family and when they are with other people, as exemplified by the Bennet sisters as well as Mr Bingham and Mr Darcy through the book," now making stuff up as he had never read the book. "At her home, Elizabeth in particular is much more vocal and active in family matters, whereas at events and gatherings, she tends to be rather cold and off putting. Because of this, it is safe to say that the locations people are in change how outgoing they are towards other people, and it is because of this shaping the interactions characters have that we end up with the relationships seen in the book." (It's been over a year since I read Pride and Prejudice and then again it was for fun so chances are the information just presented is inaccurate please do not use this as a basis for anything.)
"Good answer Mr. Kirigaya, full credit as usual," the teacher grumbled, sending Kazuto back to his seat. Kazuto resumed his earlier activities, sitting at his desk and staring into space as he waited for the bell to ring. It was a boring routine, but one that worked. It kept people from interacting with him, just the way he liked it. The final bell rang and he was dismissed from class, free to go home without anyone interrupting him.
Unfortunately, contact with other people seemed like a necessary thing now, as a group of "popular girls" was waiting at the front for someone, though by the eyes locked on him and the dark expression of one of their members, it was clear that it had something to do with him. A girl pushed the one with a dark expression towards him, and Kazuto paused, forced to stop because she was now standing in front of him.
"Kazuto Kirigaya, I like you a lot, so would you please go out with me?" the girl asked, rushing out the words as if either flustered or embarrassed. He was going to say no, he wasn't interested, before he caught sight of the six or so girls behind this one, each of them looking like they were about to laugh. This solidified his decision, as he shook his head and walked forward, ignoring her. Behind him, he could hear the disappointment of the six girls and the excitement of the one he ignored, hearing them talk about how they almost tricked him.
Kazuto sighed, continuing to walk away, brushing past students who were on either side of him. It was a mean trick, but a common one, so he was used to it by now. He arrived at his house around fifteen minutes later, the quiet area a neat change from the urban zone his school was in. Taking out his key, the door opened, and he walked into the unpopulated building.
Kazuto's mom was still at work, her job as a newspaper reporter taking up a majority of her time, leaving her free only in the early mornings and late evenings. On the contrary, Kazuto had nothing going on except for school, so he was free all the time. Suguha, his younger cousin whom he thought of as his little sister, was in between the two extremes. She was very athletic, so she took part in a variety of clubs within her school, meaning she would come back in the middle of the afternoon, around 17:00.
Today was one of the rare days that she didn't have anything, so she would be coming home soon, in about ten minutes. Her school finished later than his, but it also started later, so it made some sense in that regard. Before she got home, he wanted to finish his project.
Computers were always a pastime of his. Everything you could ever want was on the computer, and everything Kazuto would ever need could be found on it. This led him to his current project: upgrading a new computer.
He was never shy about it: Kazuto knew he was incredible when it came to electronics. He had built several computers during the past few years, the first when he was just 8. Now a fine 14 years of age, his skills were good enough to upgrade some of the older computers he made, renewing their condition so that they were usable again. That brings us to his current project: upgrading the NerveGear.
The NerveGear wasn't that expensive, contrary to popular belief. Despite the extreme amount of effort put into making it, it still sold for a decently low price. The expensive part was the actual games played on it. Luckily, Kirito didn't have to worry about that, for he was lucky enough to win the Beta copy of Sword Art Online, which put a decent dent into his money, gained from selling computers and fixing various pieces of hardware.
It was on this spare NerveGear that he was experimenting with, trying to figure out a way to modify it for his personal use. It was just a fun side project, not one meant to be taken seriously. He was only breaking apart and changing the most sophisticated piece of technology commercially available, no biggie.
"I'm home!" someone called from downstairs, and Kazuto immediately knew who it was. His younger sister had just arrived home, having walked the same route as him to get here. Their schools were near each other, but detouring to the other's school would likely take about ten extra minutes of useless walking. They had all the time in the world at home, why would they need to walk together?
"Welcome home Sugu," Kazuto called back, using his nickname for the ten year old he came up with back when he was five years old and still unable to properly pronounce her name. Setting down the NerveGear, he went down to greet her. "How was your day?" he asked as he went down, checking his phone to make sure the NerveGear was still active and functioning. It was a neat calibration app, showing all the details of the NerveGear such as charge, active game, functionality, and display. Kazuto had made it to the bottom of the stairs without noting the new figure until he looked up and saw the girl standing next to his younger sister.
"Hello!" she started, stepping forward to introduce herself. "My name's Yuuki, Yuuki Konno! Nice to meet you Onii-chan!"
"Yuuki! What did I tell you about calling my Onii-chan that?" Suguha asked, looking at the girl with something akin to frustration, while Kazuto was still stuck in place, rooted by the fact someone that wasn't his sister had called him her elder brother.
"Not to?" Yuuki responded, putting a finger to her chin as if in thought. "But I want to, so that's what I'll do!" Oh, Kazuto could already feel a headache coming along from this girl and his impression of her.
"I'll go make some tea. Do either of you want a snack?" Kazuto offered, just trying to get away from the chaos he knew was brewing.
"Nope, but I think Aiko will when she gets here," Yuuki said, causing Kazuto even more confusion. He looked to his sister for help, as she decided it would be helpful to assist his mental state. His respect for her instantly shot up as she did.
"They're twins, Aiko being the older one. She's the only thing that can keep Yuuki from bouncing off the walls all the time," Suguha explained, as Kazuto nodded gratefully.
"And why isn't she here with you now?" Kazuto asked, scared of the answer. His terror was only exemplified as Suguha looked down and to the side while Yuuki started bouncing up and down, seemingly happy that they lost her twin sister.
"Konno Yuuki, how many times have I told you not to run off like that?" a very winded girl asked once she came into view. She looked very much like Yuuki, except covered in sweat and hunched over to continue breathing. "You too Suguha! You shouldn't encourage…" she trailed off once she looked up and saw Kazuto, causing her to pause her speech and stand up, despite her clear exhaustion.
"You must be Aiko," Kazuto said, and all three of the girls nodded. "Well, good to meet you, I am now going to retreat into my room and not come out until the chaos is finished."
"Wait!" Aiko cried out as Kazuto started to go upstairs, grabbing onto the sleeve of my vest. Suguha and Yuuki had already disappeared somewhere(presumably her room but Kazuto didn't want to know), so they didn't hear it, nor did they see the sacrilegious grabbing of their big brother's shirt. "Please, you have to help me. I can't control Yuuki here, it's a new experience and she's going to do absolutely everything with no regard for property. I can only reign it in somewhat, but I think she'll listen to you."
"Okay," Kazuto sighed, not really getting much but understanding the gist. "I'm not gonna do anything though, just let me grab my project before I go to Sugu's room."
"Thank you," she sighed in relief before moving, probably going to track down the balls of chaos. Suguha was at least somewhat responsible, but there was still a lot left to be desired.
Kazuto rushed to his room to grab the NerveGear he was experimenting with, taking it as well as a toolbox designed for precise technological work with him. He entered Suguha's room and sat down in the corner, content with observing the way they made a mess of the place. At least nothing was broken yet.
"Woah is that a NerveGear?" Yuuki asked, causing me to look up from my work. Kazuto nodded once, and she gasped, Sugu and Aiko coming closer. "I've been looking for one of these! What are you doing with it? How does it work? Could you lend me it? Gimme gimme gimme!" she rushed out, her hands grabbing for the device in Kazuto's lap.
"I'm working on changing and hopefully improving the NerveGear," Kazuto addressed one of her questions, his hands taking a protective stance in front of the device, protecting it from her grabs. "It works by stopping the flow of neural transmissions to your body and instead using it to convey what your avatar would be doing in the virtual world. I can't lend you it, this device isn't functioning properly and could possibly result in brain damage, paralysis, and death. You are not to touch it, nor interfere with my work." He took on a lecturing tone near the end, trying to get the importance across that no, this was not a toy, this could very well be dangerous.
"Oh, ok," Yuuki sighed quietly, before perking back up. "Well if you're able to work on this, that means that you have another one somewhere! And I'm betting it's in your room! So I'm gonna use that one!"
"Yuuki no!" Kazuto cried out, setting his work to the side and rushing out the door to follow her, sending a death glare to his sister as he did so, who was laughing at his misfortune. By the time he got to his room, Yuuki was already on the bed, ready to put the NerveGear on in order to log into a game. Kazuto was able to get there just in time before she put it on her head, grabbing the device and wrenching it from her hands. From there, he held it as high as he could, preventing her shorter frame from grabbing it.
"Aww, why'd you stop me?" Yuuki pouted, crossing her arms as Suguha and Aiko entered the room, highly amused at the scene they saw.
"Do you want the full list?" Kazuto asked, raising an eyebrow. Yuuki nodded. "Okay, first, the NerveGear is calibrated to me, which means that it uses data based on my body size and shape to interact with things in the virtual world. You being here means it messes up the specs, leading to an unenjoyable experience for the both of us. Second, you are using my stuff without my permission. That isn't right. No matter what it is, you should ask before using it. That wasn't a long list but the point still stands."
Yuuki nodded, looking down in shame. It wasn't often people got upset at her, as Aiko was the only person she interacted with regularly, so whenever someone got mad at her, it was a new experience. Seeing this, Kazuto's eyes softened, as he let out a deep breath before attempting to appease the girl in front of him.
"I'm not mad," he said, causing her to look up. "I just hope that you understand that people will get rightfully upset with you if you do something like this. Keep that in mind, okay?" Kazuto laid a hand on her shoulder, flashing a comforting smile, and put the NerveGear where it belonged, on his bedside table.
"Onii-chan," Suguha asked from behind him, prompting Kazuto to turn around and note the amused expression on her face and the starstruck face Aiko was making, amazed at someone being able to stop the endless flow of Yuuki Konno's energy. "What if you let us use the spare NerveGear when it's ready? That way, we can all experience your changes!"
"That's…" Kazuto trailed off, looking to check what everyone else was thinking. He regretted it immediately, the twins spouting identical pleading expressions, teary eyes and trembling lips placed upon their face in what appeared to be the perfect position to beg him for the opportunity. Suguha smiled at his discomfort off to the side, something Kazuto noticed and glared playfully at her for. "Acceptable," he finished, laughing slightly at how the twins jumped up and cheered in identical fashion, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of it all. "Fair warning, it will probably take a few years to get there, this is still the most advanced piece of equipment commercially available, and I'm still only 14 years old."
"That's okay, Onii-chan," Yuuki comforted, ignoring Sugu's indignant screech from behind her about how Kazuto was 'her elder brother and her elder brother alone'. "I know you can do it!"
"Yuuki!" Suguha exclaimed, crossing her arms and pouting. "How many times do I have to explain that he's my Onii-chan alone! Not yours!"
"Too many!" Yuuki responded, laughing at some unseen joke. "But I want to call him that, so I'm calling him that! Onii-chan, Onii-chan, Onii-chan, Onii-chan, Onii-chan," she chanted Suguha getting madder and madder until she lunged forward, trying to dislodge Yuuki from her position on Kazuto's back, screeching demonically all the while. Aiko joined her sister, jumping onto Kazuto's back and clinging to his frame as Suguha tried to get them off.
Kazuto could do nothing but turn around and laugh, basking in the play fighting between the three friends, looking at the excited expressions and ecstatic smiles upon their faces. It felt good to make someone happy, even if it was just acting as a climbing post.
Eventually, Suguha had the bright idea of knocking Kazuto onto the bed so that he couldn't turn around and keep the twins away anymore, so she body-checked him, forcing him onto the bed with Aiko and Yuuki stuck to his sides. Suguha jumped on top of him, crushing him with her weight.
"Sugu, you're really heavy," Kazuto complained from where three girls were atop him, one moreso than the others. Hearing this, Suguha's face flushed red from embarrassment and she buried herself closer to Kazuto, seeking to hide herself from the world.
"Onii-chan, don't call me fat!" Suguha exclaimed, hitting Kazuto's chest several times. "That's mean…" she softly spoke, Aiko and Yuuki laughing slightly from the side, observing their interaction with something akin to longing in their faces.
"I didn't mean it like that, Sugu," Kazuto said, noticing the hurt on Suguha's face. "I just meant that you're no longer as small as you used to be, so this isn't something we can do very often."
"Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine," Sugu pouted, drawing the word out. "But this is comfortable! I'm not leaving."
"Sugu…" Kazuto trailed off, though his younger sister remained exactly where she was.
"Nope!" she said, before an idea ran through her mind. "Aiko, Yuuki, get over here while he's trapped!"
"Okay!" Yuuki agreed, jumping onto Kazuto and curling up on his right side. Aiko did the same, minus the jump, on his left, breathing softly into his ear.
"Thank you," she whispered, a contented smile on her face.
"Yeah, yeah," Kazuto shook his head, though he couldn't stop the vestiges of a grin from forming. "But you all owe me now."
"Shut up, pillows don't talk," Sugu commanded, a mock glare on her face. Kazuto decided to comply, and slowly, the three of them drifted off into a comfortable conversation, Kazuto silent in the middle of it all with a smile on his face.
"Onii-chan, I'm going to kendo now," Suguha called to Kazuto, who was upstairs in his room. Today was the day that the official release of Sword Art Online was scheduled for, the servers going up at exactly 1 pm JCST for Japan and the international release for the rest of the world.
It was a weekend, so Kazuto, now sixteen years of age, was free all day in order to play the game. But, he had promised his sister that he'd go meet up with her, Yuuki, and Aiko at exactly 6 pm, a promise he intended to keep. Even so, it still meant that there were four hours and thirty minutes before he had to leave. As long as his in game timer worked well enough, he would be able to log out in time.
"Okay Sugu!" he called back, plugging his NerveGear in. "I'm hopping on Sword Art Online, see you at six!" Making sure that he was going to be in on time, Kazuto sighed when he held the NerveGear in his hands, examining it for one last time before diving in. This was the NerveGear he had customized, he had finally made it suitable for use. After several tests, including one use of the SAO beta version, he had determined that it wouldn't cause him permanent brain damage, and instead, the effects would be temporary at most. All it did was give him a slight headache, but everything felt so much more real in the device now. Maybe it was placebo, maybe it wasn't.
"Link start," he said, activating the NerveGear and sending himself into the world of Sword Art Online.
The world was very much the same as he remembered it, the fully immersive experience relaying any and all information to his physical body. Kazuto started walking out of the town as he took it all in. His goal was to get to a safe zone in Horunka today, where he could find the quest to get the Anneal Blade, one of the strongest weapons in the early game. The reason wasn't due to the incredible base stats, but due to the fact that one could upgrade it ten times, compared to the normal five. Everything felt so alive within this world, a truly incredible experience allowing one to feel the wind brushing their hair as they ran, the grass tickling their legs, and the sweaty palms against their shoulder.
Wait… sweaty palm?
Kazuto, who was using the in-game name Kirito, turned around to see a red haired man panting behind him, his hand remaining on Kirito's shoulder. Kirito shifted his arm away, but the man continued to chase after him, until they were in a clearing with many boars in it.
"What do you want?" Kirito finally asked the man, now that they were a decent way away from anyone else.
"You look like you know what you're doing," the red haired man stated, causing Kirito to take a step back. "I was wondering if you could help me understand how to play the game?"
"No," Kirito said, turning away. "All you need to do is activate sword skills to do everything. Open the menu and you can see instructions," he said, before running away.
"Thanks, I guess," the red haired man told nobody, before turning around and getting headbutted by a boar. Due to the height difference, the original point of impact came around the crotch area, launching the redhead away and causing him to curl up.
Kirito was having a much easier time fighting the mobs. Being one of the lucky one thousand players in the beta test, he was able to move around better than most, fighting off the mobs that came his way with the beginner's sword, a low level item that had infinite durability but only a small amount of damage.
This pitiful damage output was offset by one key factor: the hitboxes in this game were realistic. While some monsters, "mobs" as they were called for shorthand, had large amounts of hit points(HP), they still had semi-realistic weak points. These weak points could be targeted to deal massive amounts of damage to a monster. It may not have been enough to kill, but one swipe with a sword that had a damage output of 1 could two hit kill a wild boar if they knew where to target it. And Kirito knew where to target it.
Widely regarded as the best player in the beta test, Kirito's success came from two things: his incredible combat ability, due to his (at the time) overpowered items and incredible reflexes, and his attention to detail. He noted where super effective strikes landed, and was able to easily capitalize on that fact by aiming for those places. They were a bit trickier, but with Kirito's focus on strength and agility (STR/AGI), he was able to land the hits consistently, and also held a higher damage output than what would be considered normal. Despite his stats and equipment not staying the same from the beta, Kirito knew that his strategy worked, and it would continue to work until proven otherwise.
As Kirito slashed through another boar, a small ding in the corner of his vision let him know that he had leveled up again, now at level 3. Additionally, he could now see the village of Horunka in front of him, so he quickly finished the dash and entered the village.
Checking the time, he noted that only three hours had passed, meaning that he still had a bit of time before he had to leave. Smiling to himself, Kazuto sought out the woman that gave the quest, looking to get the blade before he had to log off.
It was now 5:25, and Kirito had just finished the quest for the Anneal Blade. Killing the Little Nepenthes was hard, especially because he had to avoid the fruit on the top of their head. Hitting that would draw aggro from all the surrounding mobs, leading to what was likely a player death.
What made the quest even harder was the fact that the item he had to retrieve only spawned atop one head for every hundred Nepenthes he killed, so it took a while. But, Kirito finally had the sword, so now he could log off.
Entering an inn, one of the safe spaces where he could log out, Kirito entered the designated area for doing so and opened the menu. Navigating to the player settings and pointedly ignoring the 483 messages he had received (it looks like his contacts from the beta have been saved), he was shocked when the button to log out was locked behind what looked to be an admin screed. Clicking it, he saw a pop-up for the admin account number and password, neither of which were things he had. From the fact that both were ten digit numbers, and letters could be implemented into both of them, the chances of randomly guessing didn't look too good.
Opening the messages he got, he was going to ask Argo, the most famous information broker in all of Sword Art Online, for information on what was happening, but then he quickly noted that all of the nearly five hundred messages came from the demented rat.
Backreading a little, he saw that all of the messages were variations on the phrase "Kirito text me back" ranging from "Kirito" to "Kirito if you don't respond soon I swear to all the gods that I will use your bodily fluids to season my next meal."
Dear fuck Argo, what do you want? Kazuto finally texted back, looking up only to receive an immediate response.
Get to the Town Of Beginnings as quickly as you can. People can't log out, and aren't respawning when dying, the info broker told him, causing him to run straight to the teleporter.
I'll meet you at the cathedral, he delegated, jumping up and using his AGI stat points to get on top of the roofs. Quickly navigating to the cathedral, he jumped down and looked for the avatar of Argo the Rat, the only person he had ever friended in this game.
"Argo?" he called out, but he was getting no response. This was likely because he was teleported to the town center of the Town of Beginnings, surrounded by what looked like every single Sword Art Online player in the game. Many were confused, some were panicking, but most just believed that this was the introduction sequence.
A red hexagon blinked in the sky, the text "Warning" printed in black on it. The hexagon spread, creating a tessellation of warnings resulting in a sphere surrounding the plaza. Someone banged on the sphere, but found that they couldn't get out.
Blood started to leak from the gaps between a few of the hexagons, causing more than a few uncomfortable shifts and some whispers. Kazuto brushed most of them off, but one caught his attention.
"I wish Kazuto was here," a girl whispered to another, as the blood pooled into a red canopy, floating back up as a robe formed around the figure being formed.
"Hello everyone, and welcome to my world," the fully formed figure said, his(because it was definitely a he, the voice made that clear). "It brings me great pleasure to introduce you to the world of Aincrad, the floating palace in Sword Art Online. This game," and he said the word with displeasure, "has been my life's work, and I hope that you find it just as incredible as I do."
"Kayaba Akihiko," was the one conclusion Kirito's mind came to, as he was possibly the only man who could do all this. The creator of SAO, perhaps the smartest mind in the modern age.
"As I'm sure you've noticed, the logout function is currently locked behind the admin credentials. Please do not panic, this is an intentional feature of Sword Art Online." Not panic, how could Kirito do anything but panic? He was for all intents and purposes, trapped inside the game! Unable to see Suguha again, he might actually die due to being unable to sustain his body.
"However, there is a way to change this," Kayaba said, and Kirito looked up. "You are all currently on the first floor, one out of a hundred designed to grow harder the higher up you go. If you manage to clear the hundredth floor of Aincrad, by beating the boss and finishing the game, everyone alive at that point will be able to go free."
"This is madness," Kirito told nobody. The beta testers hadn't even gotten close to that floor during a two month period, assuming the constant rate of clearing, it would take over a year in order to clear Aincrad. His mind lingered on that thought, before it caught onto another point.
Everyone alive?
"I do not recommend rushing the bosses," Kayaba said, as if affirming Kirito's thoughts. "For if your hit points ever reach zero, you will find yourself unable to respawn. And that status will make its way into the real world as well."
"The way the NerveGear is designed, it will fry your brain if two things happen: one, any attempts to remove the NerveGear are made without the game being cleared. And two, it will fry your brain if it registers that you have died in the game. You do, however, have a ten second window between death and dying, so use it wisely."
"As I said, any attempts to remove the NerveGear from your head will result in your death. As a result of this, two hundred and thirteen players have found themselves in a grave much too early. As I give you this message, I presume details regarding your situation will be broadcasted everywhere in an attempt to prevent further deaths."
Kayaba allowed a moment of silence for people's minds to catch up. They were all trapped inside a video game, something straight out of a bad manga. If they died here, they died in real life. Kazuto looked around in an attempt to judge people's reactions, but it was a bad idea as he began to feel the fear radiating off the crowd in waves.
"And one last gift I give to all, let your true forms shine through," Kayaba said, waving his hand as he disappeared into the blood they had seen earlier and receded into the gaps between the hexagons.
Kirito was blinded by a white light for a second before it died down, and he was left staring at a clear sky, with no doubts that what just happened was a hallucination if the stunned reactions of everyone else made sense. Kazuto lifted his right hand in an attempt to open his menu, but saw a mirror in it, so he looked into the glass provided.
Staring back at him wasn't Kirito's face, but the face of Kazuto Kirigaya. The same effeminate features, the same messy black hair, the same crooked frown. Kirito was looking in a mirror, so that meant that he now had his IRL appearance. All around him, people were coming to the same conclusion, scared for their privacy and appearance. Kazuto had more pressing things on his mind as he looked around, searching for the person who asked for someone by the name of Kazuto. It was a low chance, but it was possible.
"Onii-chan?" he heard from behind him, prompting Kazuto to turn around. There, in front of him, was the group of three that he had hoped would not be here, Suguha standing in front of Aiko and Yuuki, both of whom were clutching onto a part of her clothing in order to avoid being separated from each other in the crowd.
"Sugu?" Kirito asked, rushing forward and bringing the three into a hug. They all responded in kind, clutching onto him like a lifeline. "Look, I don't know why any of you are here but I'm going to do everything possible to make sure you survive." At this point, he was reassuring himself that they wouldn't die, not the girls any longer. "Follow me," he said, dragging them off to the side in order to avoid the crowds.
"Kazuto?" Aiko asked, stepping forward, causing him to look up from where he was planning out his route on the map he made. His goal was to avoid dense concentrations of mobs, in order to help the girls on their journey. "How far did you get in the beta test?"
"Ten floors in two months," he grimaced, before noticing the scared expression on her face and thought of why she might be scared. "Wait, don't worry! That was because I played solo. Now that we have thousands of people, the floors will go by extremely quickly."
"Okay," she nodded, not really buying it. "Okay."
"We're going to Tolbana, they have the best inns in the game there. I'll rent a room for the four of us, and we can stay for the night," Kirito declared, three nods meeting him. "It'll be about an hour long jog, but this is a game, so you won't get tired so easily. Everyone alright with the plan?" he asked, three more nods sent his way. "Okay, then let's go." The quartet started running, nobody following, considering Tolbana wasn't the ideal town for leveling up.
A wild boar was the first enemy they spotted, level 2 and decently large. Kirito could tell that the girls were nervous, especially since they could now die if their HP hit zero. Kirito used Linear, a sword skill that rushed straight forward in the direction of the sword, dealing decent amounts of damage. Kirito rocketed forward, coming to a stop a little bit behind the boar, having traveled five meters in an instant. The problem was the large amount of ending lag, leaving him stuck in place until his body caught up to the blade. The skill dragged you forward, but it kept you there until your current pace would have brought you there. The boar exploded into fragments behind him, a small amount of XP and col leveling him up again. Level 4, Kirito waited for the three to catch up to him before continuing the run, jogging to the town that would end up their home for a while.
"Welcome to Tolbana," Kirito told the three girls, walking to the inn. It was located close to the town entrance, probably for the weary travelers that came to the town.
"Hello there, what can I do for you?" the innkeeper asked Kirito, the set dialogue option he had heard so many times before music to his ears, as he was reassured by the familiarity of it all.
"One room with two beds and complimentary food," Kirito requested, the innkeeper nodding and offering him a key and a card.
"How long are you staying?"
"One night," Kirito responded, seeing the popup with the price of the inn coming up.
"Room 209, second floor and first on the right," the NPC responded, warily looking at the young man with three young girls as if doubting their intentions.
"Thank you," Kirito finished the interaction, taking the key and the band. He accepted the popup asking for 500 col, the nightly fee, and he saw the loss of a third of his col.
"That man was looking at us weirdly," Yuuki told Kirito, tugging on his sleeve. Kirito nodded, opening the door to their room and ushering the four inside.
"He doesn't know our relationship, probably assumed something weird," Kirito responded, closing and locking the door. Kirito sat down on one of the beds, Suguha sitting next to him and resting her head on his shoulder, his arm snaking around in order to better hold her. Aiko and Yuuki did the same opposite them on the other bed.
"Kazuto?" Aiko asked, noticing how he had something on his mind.
"Alright, there are two things we have to do," Kirito began. "First, names. I need your names."
"Suguha, Aiko, and Yuuki," his younger sister responded, looking at him questioningly. "You know our names already."
"No, as in your avatar names. I need them in order to become a party," Kirito explained, seeing the lightbulb light up.
"Oh, then it's Leafa, Ran, and Yuuki," she said, pointing to each of the three in turn.
"Yuuki," Kazuto trailed off, looking at the girl in question who squirmed under his gaze. "You know you aren't supposed to use your real name online, right?"
"Yeah," Yuuki agreed, crossing her arms. "But nobody's going to know who…" she stopped, realizing that she looked the same in game as she did in real life.
"It's alright, relax," Kirito told her, leaning forward as he finished with his menu. "I just sent all of you a party invite. You should be able to see it, so click OK if you got a party invite from Kirito."
"Your name is Kirito?" Suguha asked him, clicking her button, Aiko and Yuuki doing the same. Kirito nodded. "Unoriginal and lame, as expected of my brother," she said, causing the two to giggle at how his name was just a combination of his first and last name.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he told them, before turning serious. "Anyway, what are you all doing in the game? I don't recall any of you being interested in this stuff," he asked, quickly noting the sad expressions on their faces. Despite how he wanted to take the question back, he needed to know the answer.
"We wanted to play with you, Onii-chan," Suguha said from behind him, a hand going up to wipe the forming tears. "You always seemed to enjoy the game, so we wanted to experience it. I took the spare NerveGear and put it on, then I got in bed with you when you had put yours on. I never went for Kendo practice, it was canceled. Right now, we're together in bed with mom probably realizing that her children are in what amounts to a coma." Kirito's arms came even tighter around her, now essentially hugging her to his chest as she started to tear up.
"I'm sorry," Yuuki cried, jumping at the two siblings in order to join the hug. Kazuto opened his arms and let her in, softly stroking her hair in order to soothe her. "It's my fault that we got in this game. I wanted us to all play together, and I asked mom if I could get a copy and she said yes, so I did and then I got Sugu and Onii-san to play, but now we're all trapped here and it's all my fault that not only are we trapped here but I'm stopping you from beating the game." Kazuto didn't say anything, simply letting her cry it out as he held her, allowing her to get it all out of her system.
"Don't worry Yuuki, nothing that happened is your fault. Don't blame yourself for anything, that just makes me feel bad for being such a bad person that you all felt you had to join me here in order to reconnect," Kazuto told her, leaning back on the bed. Opening his menu, he selected the nightclothes option, changing instantly. "For now, let's get a good night's sleep. I'll help you all with leveling in the morning."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? None of us have an idea on how to play this game," Aiko asked, fidgeting slightly.
"Floor one has the easiest mobs in the game. I'll teach you how to fight, so that you can actually live in this world. Don't worry, you'll be safe with me there," Kazuto reassured. "Sugu, Yuuki, get changed. I'll take this bed with Sugu, Yuuki and Aiko, you've got the other one."
"I'm staying here," Yuuki's weak voice called out from where she was curled up on Kirito's left side, reminiscent of the first time they met. Suguha returned to her place atop him, curled up on his chest as they did when they were younger. Kirito found himself idly stroking their hair as he looked to the last person in the room, a smiling Aiko.
"Come on, we aren't doing this without you," Kazuto beckoned, and Aiko complied, not bothering to switch to nightclothes as she snuggled into Kirito's right side, light breathing tickling his ear as they sat there, drifting off to sleep as Kazuto lovingly pet their heads, reassuring them that they would be okay.
Yuuki was the first to fall, snoring slightly as she curled up like a cat, her head on Kazuto's left forearm as he gently ran his hand along her spine, soothing motions designed to put her at ease. Kazuto smiled at the sight, the twelve year old girl still acting like a small child in many aspects of life.
Suguha went next, her hands wrapped around his midsection as she held him to her, as if proving that he was still there. Kazuto found her head resting under his, hair thrust near his nose as he took breaths, smelling the super realistic lemon shampoo that she loved to use.
"Kazuto?" Aiko asked, the last of the three awake. Her glassy eyes looked up to him, emotions swirling in an indecipherable mess.
"Yeah Aiko?" Kazuto responded, reaching to stroke her head. Aiko accepted the gesture, leaning into the palm of his hand and whining softly as he disconnected.
"We're going to make it out, right?" she asked him, and Kazuto knew that a lot hinged on his response to this question.
"Aiko, unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that we will," he tentatively said, her face falling as he did. "But, I do know," he continued, causing her to look up with hope once more in her eyes. "That I will do everything in my power to get you, Yuuki, Sugu, and me back home, no matter what it takes. That is my guarantee."
"Thank you," Aiko said, coming closer until her head was buried into Kazuto's neck. "Thank you."
Kazuto let his hands stroke her hair for a little while longer, until he noticed the sleeping status appearing next to her, signifying the state her character was in. Relaxing and looking up to the ceiling, Kazuto closed his eyes and let the feeling of sleep overtake him, a comfortable bed and cold pillow doing wonders for his ability to sleep. Three bodies were next to him, all wrapped in some way around a part of him, seeking comfort in the precarious situation they found themselves in.
In the morning there were four.
"Hey, hey!"
"Argo, what the fuck are you doing?"
Anyway, if you liked, please follow, favorite, and review with something you want to see. If you didn't like it, review with why you didn't like it. Thanks, and I'll try to get the next chapter out before July.
