/ 82 Days Ago…

/ Game Version: _Alpha_Build_ver101 (Code Name: Rock-a-Dile Red)

Today was the big day, I was sitting in the meeting room waiting on the rest of the staff leads to come in. Over the last few weeks things had been tense the staff was on edge and some had not wanted to log into the game due to my unfortunate mishap.

All human error I might add.

I looked up as Naomi came in the room, ever since I started working here Naomi had been one of the most up beat people I have ever met. The lead Artist of SAO bounced over to me and sat down quickly and began to rattle on about the last week had been a nightmare and she was behind on the last few levels. At this point all the infurstructor of the world was complete and the nuances and decorating.

I personally always thought her title should have been lead Interior Designer of SAO but I wasn't the one diving out titles. After all I was the lead Combat System Designer and all I did was tell the development team what skills should be called and to tone them down or not. Well I got to fight dragons so it's a little better.

"So we should have the last five levels done in about two weeks. So, " Naomi paused and I knew the questions that were about to spill out of her mouth. "How are you handling everything after the accident? I know it cant be easy you know losing an eye and all. Its kind of creeped me out that it happened because of the game." Again I had to sigh, it was mostly human error.

"Its not the games fault Naomi, its like a lance, its not the lances fault that if you stab someone with it." Oh that was kind of bad analogy but the principal was sound. The game just did what it was made to do, it just didn't have any limits on what it was doing.

"Still I can hardly believe it, but you have bounced back rather quickly."

"Well what do you expect from someone who is a dragon slayer, all part of the job description" I said with a slight smirk. That had been my generic replay when people asked about my eye. I had even found someone to put the dragon symbol from the game on the patch I had on in real life. The eye its self was still red and from what the doctors said that was just how it was, there was no reason to remove it thank goodness but as far as sight was concerned I would never see out of it again.

"Anyway I'm done with all the mobs and boss fights up to level 90 now, so there is nothing to really worry about other then your team to finish up the decor then test the last ten floor. We should finished well before we start the closed beta." I had to grin at my next statement and Naomi paled ever so slightly. "Then I can make the entire team log on for a good old fashion game night."

Naomi just rolled her eyes at me, and readjusted her red rimmed glasses. The reset of the team leads were filling in the conference room and I felt a hand on my left shoulder and turned to see Kayaba standing there. When I first woke up from the hospital stay after the incident he was there for me and had been there for me as much as he could since then.

While I didn't mean to we did have a little bit of a fight two days ago. He was just trying to help but I got frustrated with him and yelled at him. He left my apartment and after we both threw a few well misplaced words at each other. I felt like a heal and no doubt my rebuff of him just trying to help made him feel like a heal as well. But it was my fault, no questions about that. So yesterday I had apologized profusely and tried to make dinner for him, which I failed at. We then ended up making dinner together.

When I was young and I was in the wreck that took my legs it wasn't really that big of a deal, don't get me wrong there were inconveniences and things that I had to get use to but I was young. When your young and growing up if you can't walk that is just how it is you can walk so you learn what you can do. Things like that are a little easier as a child we adapt better, when I first started working on SAO it took me a lot of effort to learn to walk again.

Thank goodness the 'like riding a bike' statement held true.

But losing an eye was really a trial, and I wasn't so young that I just did what I had too. I was a young women that was to a pint stuck in her ways and now I had a mountain to go up to get use the differences.

Smiling up ay Kayaba I asked how his day was going. At the office we were all about polite conversation, we worked really hard not to let you relationship be a factor when it came to work and so far we were doing great.

"I was just hoping that we might go out for dinner tonight there is a special place I would like to take you if you don't mind." Que me acting overly girly and just nodding as he gave me the elusive funny cute smile of his.

And its gone.

He stood and made his way over to his seat a the head of the table taking his seat waiting for the last of the leads to come in.

And Que Naomi.

"So what's he like outside of work, he seems so serious, even when speaking with you." I shrugged.

"He's sweat," I know I blushed a little with my revelation." I never really dated much back in my pro gamer days. Most of those guys wouldn't know what to do with out a controller, or they envisioned that they needed to be dating super models. Not some crippled girl in a wheel chair." Naomi thought this over and just smiled until I added in the next sentence.

"Plus they got all butt hurt when I stomped them in the ground. Hurt a boys e-penis and that is a sure fire way to make them not like you." At that both of us had to giggle.

"So where do you think he wants to carry you tonight?"

"Don't know, we never really go anywhere fancy, just because were both kind of the same as far as social outings go. I hate going out, and Kayaba is about the same. We just prefer to hang around at home or eat out at a local places then go home a watch a good movie."

After all were both more comfortable in front of a computer then in front of other people.

Naomi and I continued our polite girl talk as much as we could as the last few people filled into the room and the boring meeting began, it was just a gathering of the minds, discuss where we were see if anyone was behind, then if so come up with solutions to help get them back on task. In short, boring.

It was nearing the end of the hour long meeting that one of the few faces that never showed up namely Takahara, Kinji the CEO of the company and Koujiro Rinko one of the lead hardware engineers of the NervGear. While the NervGear was Kayaba's brain child and he had almost single handedly engineered the wonder, he had a team what he worked with and the one person right under and closest to him was Koujiro Rinko.

Rinko handed Kayaba small stack of papers, and hear read over the one on top and then started to take one and pass the stack along. As the papers were going around Kinji started speaking, then I knew what this was about, and slouched in my chair.

"Now I know this goes without saying but you all signed NDA's as part of your paper work, but I just wanted to take a moment to reiterate this as and remind you that what happens here in the office is sometimes sensitive information." He then took a stern look at me, it was well know fact in the office that Kinji was proprietor of the notion that foreners needed to stay out of his country's businesses. With me being the only no Japanese born employ on the SAO team, I made a point to try and keep my distance from him.

True I am not Asian, but I have duel citizenship, due to my mother being American and her duty station being here in Japan. Add in an un fortunate incident of me being a month early and not being born on the air base and there you have it, a legal Japanese American. At this point in my life I have never even been to America, honestly I feel more at home here and while my English is ok, I have been told that I have a bad accent.

"Meaning that the goings on here are not to be discussed outside of the office. We are passing around a copy of the NDA in the even any one has questions and you as leads will be going over this with your teams. I'm now going to turn the talking over to Miss Rinko."

Kinji stepped to the side and then Rinko stepped up.

"I would like to speak with all of you about introducing unauthorized software into any systems that pertain to SAO and Arc's intranet." Again I got the stair down, it was turning into a red letter day so far. "After an audit of the NervGear systems that caused an error in one of the past updates in SAO, this unauthorized software caused a glitch in the NervGear that could override the safety systems. This is very dangerous and could cause the limiters on the NervGear to not preform as spec."

Red letter isn't the word I should have used this was a nightmare, they had not called me out directly but with the way they were implying everyone knew why and who this was about. Had they directly called me out about this I would have given the rebuttal that I did have authorization for CALClito, heck Kayaba helped be write the code for some of the little fellow, but again they had not called me out. This was the typical covering your ass move.

Please let this be over with soon.

After another moment of Rinko finished her passionate, how dumb can a person be speech, it was over and Kayaba stood and took control of the meeting once more.

"Thank you Mr. Takahara, Miss Koujiro, I know some of you have some very proprietary software that we have developed for the SAO project, much like Miss Springfield's CALClite AI system she uses for testing. Which I know about as well as most of the others, but if you do have such a program that you world like to implement please be sure to run it by your team lead and they can in turn pass it on to me." After a quite adjustment to his glasses and a keen cock of the eyes at Takahara and Koujiro and turned back to the rest of us.

Normally I would not play that care but you tell'em boy friend!

"We have a lot to do, so lets keep on task, we are only two month from the Live Closed Beta and we have it as our duty to put on a good show to the luck thousand players. Thank you everyone for all your efforts." He bowed slightly to everyone and a round of thanks your were heard around the room for his praise. That was one thing the Kayaba was not know for, it you did your job then that was it you didn't really go above and beyond, so a thank you to the team at this point was a little off.

Naomi leaned over to me echoing what I my self only allowed to lighting drift through my mind.

"I think your having an affect on him." She whispered.

I on the other hand, could only nod.

（人´∀`*）

Koujiro, Rinko was a very secure women in her business life as well as her personal, however she is not have everything she wanted in her personal life, namely she did not have Akihiko Kayaba. She like others had pined for his affections for some time during the development of the NervGear, and subsequently the development of SAO. however her efforts were in vain when the pro gamer Menolly Springfield entered the throng of employs at Arc to work on SAO.

Rinko was brilliant there was no doubt, and her genius was rivaled only by Kayaba himself, even she would admit it. So it went beyond her that he had fallen for some 3rd rate programmer and video game jock.

She watched from afar as Kayaba walked over to her as the other team leads exited the meeting room. The one eyed cripple was laughing with Naomi the lead Art Director.

Another flak but good at what she did. Rinko thought to her self.

Kayaba joined them and they started a pleasant conversation to which Menolly giggled and blushed after some prodding from Naomi. What was the catalyst to there relationship, how had she ensnared someone like Kayaba.

Rinko could only huff as she left conference room herself, not caring to watch the display of banter between the couple and it did nothing but infuriate her that he should have to lower him self to her level, both mentally, and physically.

Well after the little incident both she and he would be working together to make sure that the NervGear that was going out tot eh beta test group could not be modified or cause some similar effect on anyone. Granted Kayaba was right this was just a one in a million chance that there would be a bug in the update and Menolly would be logged in at the time.

Just a roll of the dice, but when it came to Kayaba she was leaving nothing to chance.

(◣_◢)

Kayaba had been a little nerves the few times I had seen him throughout the day, I couldn't put my finger on it but he just seemed like he was putting a little more effort then usual into keeping out social life out of our work one. Like he had really put a mask on after the meeting this morning. I let it go and went back to work, well I went to hangout with Naomi and here team as they were putting the finishing touches on the last few floors.

Currently I was caught up skill were balanced, all the bosses that I could fight at the moment were balanced, so truly I was running low on ideas of what to do so mostly CALC and I just hung out and watched Naomi work and chat with her.

I kept sifting through outfits and weapons making cool looks for my self but I would always swap back to my Lancer armor and weapon in the end.

"You know its kind of odd to see you walking around. Not that its bad your walking I just got so use to looking slightly downward when we talk, you know." I nodded from my position on top of a ledge of the balcony I was on. This was one of the major parts of Iron Crad, the grand opera hall and Naomi had been working on it all day.

I had no idea that an opera hall required so much chiffon.

"Yeah that it's a little odd for mot to look up at everyone. So yeah I get it."

Naomi looked from her console to me, I could tell she was contemplating what to say or how to fraise a question. On instinct my head tilted to the side letting her know I was waiting for the next question.

"Why do you not make a character different from yourself?" That was out of no where.

"Well I don't know," Truthfully I didn't maybe I was just un imaginative in that regards. "I guess for everyone else the put a lot of time into making there ideal version of them self but me, her I can walk so I'm already different from what I am irl."

I really took in the differences in Naomi here opposed to her real life self. No glasses, no markup, curly brunette rather then her midnight black hair, and it was short to boot where as her hair in the real world was straight down to her shoulder blades.

"Yeah that's about it I really don't have much I want to change about me, I'm already pretty awesome." I smirked, and Naomi glowered at me. "What? I'm just being honest. I always figured in games it was me playing them and with SAO I really am playing it."

"You know, you have a little bit of a ego some times. You should watch that." She said, the glower still in full force.

"It just comes from being so awesome." I said taking out Fafnir out and pulling off my signature jump followed by a Dragon Dive, I hit ground lance first and flames exploded out in a circle. Flipping around and in mid air I pulled the lance out of the ground and the small divot I had made in the floor, and landed gracefully in the middle of my destruction on the stage. Taking a bow.

"See awesome..." The look of horror on Naomi's face was palpable and I didn't know what could cause it.

"Why," she said in a sad tone. "Why would you do this to me? I was still working on that texture of the wood and blew it up." I blinked and looked down at the stage flooring, it did indeed look scorched and there was a hole in the floor. If this was an active texture she was working on that mean that any interference on it would become part of it. I did feel bad for what I had done but I could only look up with a mischievous grin on my face.

"Ooops." I said meekly.

.・゜゜・（／。＼）・゜゜・．

The rest of my day was spent with Naomi to help fix the problem I caused, I really didn't mean to mess up her project and she forgave me after promising to hang out next weekend and accommodate her with ice cream. I did and so we have a plan for me to atone for the sins against her creative hand.

The day was coming to an end and I was really just sitting around looking over some paper work. Most of the staff had cut out for the day in an effort to make good use of the weekend. I didn't have long to wait for Kayaba as he appeared in my door way and I smiled as I closed out the last window on my computer.

"So you said that there was some where you wanted to go tonight?" I asked in a cattie tone and I was rewarded with that slight smile.

"Yes, but we have to go hurry or we will miss the train."

This is new, and completely surprising.

"Director are you kidnapping me?" I asked as I rolled to the door and we both made out way to the elevator.

"You once told me you were fond of surprises, I have one for that should not disappoint." He said coming in behind me as and taking over the driving of chair.

The trip to the station was mostly quite, with only small talk, mostly from me asking where we were going. Him declining to tell me, and then me in turn guessing and he no answering me with anything other then, it's a surprise.

Once on the train I was enjoying the scenery, I had always loved trains they were just so fun to ride on and you got to see so much of the country, granted it you tried to hone in one thing you had to be quick on the rail systems here.

The only clue I got to where we were going was it was a north bound train, and it would take us about two and a half hours to reach our location. I was having a good time as we road and talked and joked about various topics, it was nice, simple.

At some point I feel asleep, not so much a habit I had developed but more that it just put me in a really relaxed state so sleep came so naturally. I woke a Kayaba nudged me awake enough to assisted him in helping me get off the train but I think he did most of the work hauling me off the train to a car. I wasn't sure due to grogginess but I think I saw we were at the Shinshirakawa station.

Again, sleepy time Menolly is not to receptive of new information. Not to mention having a warm boy friend holding you close was a plus too.

( •̀ω•́ )σ ( . Y . )

Akihiko Kayaba was not against having the small girl in his arms staying there but unfortunately they still has a drive ahead of them and he would need his hands free. He took great care to as he set her in the front seat of his car, it was an older model but it wasn't so old that it was anything to scoff at. He had paid cash for the car several years ago when he started building SAO and with only a few short months it was imperative that he cross all of his T's and dot his I's.

He had thought long and hard about bring Menolly here to his hide away from humanity, his sanctuary. It was a risk but one he was willing to take it for her, for them. It was still to soon for him to tell her everything. Even though she her self has experienced what it was like to live there, in his world. To live or die by the sword and your own actions, taking life in your own hands.

Mentally he cursed, true she had taken the control and lived but not knowing it was happening had been a great disadvantage. If it had not been for that AI of hers she would not have survived. While part of him did not want to give her an unfair advantage.

However when SAO went live she would be on the same level as he, she would be beside him. They both longed for a world like that, a world to be free in, and so there was no doubt in his mind that she would stand beside him in the world that he was creating.

Ha came back out of his thoughts as he looked at the Km marker, they were not very far and he would have to stop to get grocery's before they reached the cabin. While the weather was nice now there was talk of snow later in the reign of Mt. Asahi but it shouldn't be so bad to cause deplorable conditions.

If luck was with him Menolly would wake up to a snow covered mount forest scape. She loved her guild hall in SAO and had it where it was merely for the location and environment. He hoped she would like the real thing.

He had to smile at that, what was real any more. SAO was just as real as this world, and soon the world would know that the barrier between this world and the other was a lot closer then any one knew.

o(´^｀)o

Mmm so warm.

That was my first conches thought of the day and I snuggled into the warmth that my arms were around. Then it moved, then my eyes opened, scanned what I was holding, and then my face light up like a roman candle.

While most of the time I can hold my own in an odd situation I was snuggling into my boy friend and I had no idea how I got here.

Where the hell is here?

"You're an very clingy in your sleep."

Oh god.

"Hi, good morning."

"If you will let me up I'll start breakfast." dumbly I nodded and un curled my hands from him.

I had to look around and figure out were we were and it was obvious it was a cabin, and then I stopped, outside the windows it was snowing. I looked over to where Kayaba left the room and saw my chair beside the bed and quickly crawled my way over to find a par of sweat pants and a shirt there in the chair along with my sneakers.

I dressed an fast as I could, it wasn't to hard since I could roll around the bed as much as I liked, and then I was in my chair wheeling out of the room.

Upon exiting the bed room I could see that it was not that large of a place, two bedrooms from what it looked like and maybe two bath, a large kitchen and living room. In the center was a rounded fire place with a flame lit that was helping to heat the largest of the cabins rooms.

Kayaba was working on breakfast as I wheeled around looking at everything and enjoying the heat from the fire pit.

"I hope a more American like breakfast is ok. Eggs, bacon, and pancakes, I think that suites the situation." He said as he flipped the skillet and a doughy confection flipped up and landed on its opposite side.

Mans got cooking skills.

"That sounds American enough to me. Though you should know I have never been to America."

"So you have said. Why is that?"

It wasn't a hard answer, it was not that I had a problem with my American heritage it was just that it was alien to me. Yes I had grown up around a US military base and knew English, and I was American, but then again by accident I was also Japanese. I knew Japan, I had lived here all my life, my mother was still here, albeit because of me. I might not have been Asian or have the features of a native but I was a native of this land.

"Well I really don't have any family there, my mother still lives in Okinawa Prefecture, on the beach no less. We should bug her one weekend." The surprised that flittered across his face was funny and he missed the flip of one of his pancakes. Then I realized what I had just done. I had asked would he like to meet my mother. "I mean if you would like to go to the beach that is. I didn't mean you had to meet my mother, unless you want to. You know."

"Perhaps that would be a good idea." he said as he duped a pancake in the garbage. "But for now I thought we might go out I knew you really like the mountains and snow. There is a light snow still falling, more then enough to enjoy before it becomes unbearable."

He was really putting forth an effort to wow me. It was working.

I hesitate to use the term magical evening, but that's what it was. The whole weekend was great we played in the snow, even built a snowman, He did most of the snow many making but I helped with the face. Wheel chairs do not work so well in soft earth. Then dinner and it was just nice to be in doors with some that I loved.

I had a moment of realization that I did, love, yes that was right I did love Akihiko Kayaba. It was as we were laying on the couch in the middle of the living room that I voiced this.

"I'm in love with you." For a time no other words were said as he held me close to his chest and worry started to pool in my stomach.

"Hmm, love is a very fickle thing, its not an absolute it's taking a chance. I never thought I would take that chance on any one but I want to take that chance at love with you Menolly."

It should go without saying that that was the night we did more than voice our love, we proved it and I think that was also the night that Kayaba and I both took a chance. He nor I ever started this relationship to really find love. I think that we were actually really lonely of people not understanding us and in turn us never understanding most other people.

We never really made connections with people until met each other and entered the others life. I know for a fact that I would have never become friends with Naomi if I had not made a concerted effort to open up to people but mostly each other.

If this night was a dream I really hoped that it would never stop.

When I started Count Down Till Launch I never really planned that deep of a love story. Well really I never intended to write a love story. I hope it comes access how socially odd both Menolly and Kayaba are and how there slightly opening up the world.

I really want these characters to stand on their own and not seem like cut outs. A lot more happening in the real world in this chapter. As some of you might notice the Alpha Phase is coming to a close and I have one more chapter before we move on to the Beta Phase, I'm sure there are a lot of people looking forward to that.

Koujiro, Rinko is a character from the SAO universe and most to scenes in this episode take place in locations spoken about in the SAO series.

Q_ Will we get the meet people like Kirito in the Beta?

A_ While he might make an appearance in the Beta he is not the main focus of this story. Not to mention it is a Beta that will be run to test out things in the game. I plan on Menolly running a few events in the game's Beta, like raids and other things.

Q_ Will the story continue after the launch of SAO?

A_ I plan on that yes, but this is not a primary story that I am running with at the moment this is just a fun side story I do for fun sake, but I have every intention of finishing it and going through GGO and maybe some of the other Arc's we'll just have to see.

Questions, comments, concerns are all welcome. No flames please I only want constructive criticism if you will. Thought short review just to let me know you enjoy the story are more than appreciated. Thanks to all my Reviewers for your efforts and words of confidence.

PS: No it was not beta'ed.

I

I

DO IT NOW!

I

I

V