A/N: Gussy Phantom: "Hello again, everyone! Here is first chapter of our very first fanfiction!"
Shannon Senpai: "Hello, it's me... Again! I like to change my name every time so don't be surprised if my name is different in the next chapter, thank you so much for being patient and for the positive comments! Enjoy chapter 1!"
-The authors
CHAPTER ONE:
Kazuto exited the school building and make his way to their usual meeting spot- the bench under the big, shady tree in the school courtyard. He found Asuna waiting for him with a bag in her lap.
Asuna noticed him and smiled, "Hi Kirito. You finally made it."
"Yeah. Sorry, my class ran longer than expected. And I've told you before that you shouldn't use my avatar's name in real life."
"Oh! I forgot! Sorry, it's just that I'm so used to calling you that. Anyway, I've got something for you."
She reached into her bag and pulled out an item wrapped in paper then handed it to Kazuto.
He unwrapped it to reveal one of Asuna's home-made sandwiches. Just looking at it made his stomach growl. He hadn't eaten since lunch and was starving.
He took a bite and said, "Thanks, Asuna. I was starving. How did you know I'd be hungry?"
Asuna smiled back, "You're always hungry Kazuto. But, we really should get going. Everyone will be waiting for us."
"You're right. Where are we meeting again?"
"Agil- I mean, Andrew's bar, remember? We all talked about it after school yesterday."
Kazuto rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled, "That's right. Now I'm the one forgetting things."
Upon entering the bar, Asuna noticed that everyone was already there. Rika (Lisbeth), Suguha (Leafa), and Ayano (Silica) were all sitting at one table while Tsuboi (Klein) and Asada (Sinon) were at the bar with Andrew (Agil).
"Well, you two finally decided to show up, huh?" said Tsuboi.
"Now, now," said Andrew. "I'm sure they have a good reason for being late, Tsuboi." Andrew looked Asuna and Kazuto expectantly.
Asuna pointed at Kazuto. "His class ran late."
Andrew waved a hand and said, "No matter. It happens."
He then addressed everyone in the room, "Now that everyone's here, let's get down to business."
Everyone gathered at one table and began to discuss the boss raid they had been wanting to do.
"First off, we'll need to get supplies," said Suguha.
"She's right," said Rika. "Even though there's eight of us, the boss will be pretty difficult to defeat."
"Yeah," Kazuto said. "Even with the supplies, we might lose."
"Don't think like that!" exclaimed Ayano. "You've got to stay positive! We'll never win with a mindset like that!"
"She's right, Kazuto. If we go into battle with a negative attitude, we're sure to lose," said Suguha. "We'll have a much better chance of defeating the boss if we stay positive."
"Now, about the supplies," said Tsuboi. "What will we need?"
"Suguha and I talked about it earlier," said Asada. "We can come up with a list."
She turned towards Tsuboi and Kazuto. "Will you two be able to get the items for us?"
"Us?! Why us?! I was planning on trying to level up before we meet at Asuna and Kazuto's place!" whined Tsuboi.
"Because you two are stronger," said Suguha. "I thought you wanted to be a samurai, Tsuboi. They're supposed to be chivalrous. Besides, the other girls and I will be helping Asuna make food for the raid. You want to eat, don't you?"
"C'mon man," said Kazuto. "It's not that hard. We'll get the supplies in no time."
Tsuboi sighed, "You're right, Kazuto." He turned to Suguha and Asada. "Sorry, girls. That wasn't how a samurai should act. Just give us the list and we'll get the supplies."
The rest of the meeting went pretty smoothly. They planned that Asada would attack from afar with her sniping skills. Asuna and Suguha would use their magic to heal whoever needs assistance while Kazuto and the others work to distract and attack the boss up close.
"The plan sounds pretty good to me," Rika said.
"It does, but I'm going to run it by Yui tomorrow to see if she can improve it at all," said Kazuto.
"Good idea," said Asuna. "She knows the system pretty well, so she might have some helpful advice."
Asuna looked at the clock and realized what time it was. "Well, I'd better be getting home or I'll be late for dinner. We'll meet at our in-game house tomorrow."
"I'd better get home too," said Tsuboi. "I want to try and get some practice in before our raid."
Everyone left soon after, except for Kazuto and Suguha.
"Don't you two need to get home? It's getting pretty late," said Andrew.
"You were pretty quiet during the meeting," said Kazuto. "Is something wrong?"
Andrew was quiet for a minute before sighing, "I just have a bad feeling about this."
"Why?" asked Suguha. "We've done this before and made it out just fine. What's different about this time?"
"I don't know," Andrew replied. "I've just got this bad feeling that... Never mind. It's nothing."
"Are you sure?" Kazuto asked.
"Yeah. It's just a feeling. I'm sure you'll be fine."
"Kazuto, we'd better get home. It's getting late," said Suguha.
"Ok. See you later, Andrew."
As Kazuto and Suguha walked out the door, Andrew said, "Be careful, you guys."
The next day, Asuna and the other girls had just finished preparing the food when Klein and Kirito walked in with the supplies. It had taken a little longer than planned since Yui had suggested getting more than what Leafa and Sinon had listed.
"Hi, Daddy!" exclaimed Yui. She flew over and landed on top of Kirito's head. Since she was a pixie, she fit perfectly.
"Hey, Yui," Kirito said.
He turned to Asuna and asked, "You ready?"
"Almost," she answered. "We just need to pack up the food. Did you get all the supplies?"
"No," said Klein. " The greedy shop keeper wanted 600 Yrds for each potion, so we could only buy a few."
"But we got everything else," Kirito added.
"But what if we need the potions you couldn't get?!" exclaimed Silica. "We might not make it!"
"You have to keep a positive attitude, Silica," Kirito said with a grin. "We won't win with a mindset like that."
Lisbeth chuckled, "He used your own words against you, Silica."
Realizing she had said the same thing to him the day before, Silica smiled and said, "You're right, Kirito. We'll just have to make do with what we have and keep a positive attitude! Right, Pina?!"
The little, blue dragon squawked in agreement.
After they finished packing the food and supplies, the group left and headed for the forest. It was the quickest way to their destination.
After about an hour, Yui suddenly gasped. "Daddy?"
"What is it, Yui? Is something wrong?" Kirito asked.
"I sense something strange in the system. It's over that way," she said, pointing to something unseen in the distance. "I think we should go take a look. Someone might need help."
Kirito thought for a moment then called out to everyone. He told them what Yui said and then decided to go take a look with Asuna, Leafa, and Yui. The others would remain close by in case they needed backup.
Yui led Asuna, Kirito, and Leafa to where the strange readings were coming from.
"What exactly do you sense, Yui?" asked Asuna.
"I'm not sure, Mommy. It's just... different than anything I've ever felt before."
Since they were fairies, traveling to their destination was made much quicker because they could fly.
They landed where Yui told them to. There was nothing there except for an empty plain.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Leafa asked.
"Yes," Yui said. "I'm sure this is the right place... I don't understand. I thought I sensed something, but there's nothing here."
"It's alright, Yui," Kirito assured. "Maybe it's just a glitch in your programming. I'll check it out later. But right now, we should get back to the others."
As they turned to leave, the ground suddenly began to shake.
"What's happening?!" Leafa exclaimed.
There was a great flash and a then a portal appeared in the sky.
"Look!" said Asuna, pointing to the portal.
"Get ready," said Kirito. "Anything could come out of that portal."
As soon as he said that, five figures fell out of the portal and crashed to the ground. The portal then vanished without a trace.
"That was strange," Leafa commented.
"Yeah," said Kirito. He then looked at the five unconscious figures on the ground.
"Are they ok?" asked Asuna.
Yui answered, "I detect life readings from them, but..."
"But what? If they have life readings, they can't be NPCs, right?" Leafa asked.
"Right," Yui said.
"I've never seen these people around, though," said Kirito. "Are they new players?"
"That's the strange thing, Daddy. These people appeared out of nowhere. They're just registering in the database now. But, they're not from anywhere I know. They're from a different universe entirely."
A/N: Shannon Senpai: "Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of our story! The next chapter should be coming out soon. Thank you so much for being supportive and patient!"
Gussy Phantom: "Any guesses on who these mysterious characters who appeared are? Mwahahaha! You must wait and see!"
-The authors