I am going to skip to the part after the first floor is cleared. Some events may reflect the actual manga/anime, but not entirely.

Chapter 5

Hotaru

We will survive.

We will win.

We will make it out alive.

We can do it.

These words were heard all over Aincrad. Everyone would repeat these words to keep them going with the goal to stay alive. They thought that they would be able to miraculously clear the game with little casualties.

But these words were just words of reassurance.

It had taken over a month to clear the first floor. 2,000 players died before that even happened. It's two months after that, and another 1,000 players are dead.

I was officially a solo player, and still didn't have a guild. It was a surprise that I was still alive, since I was all alone. But my skills had improved. That dagger that had suddenly appeared at the beginning of the game was a mystery. When that girl had been attacked, it had just appeared in the fold of my sleeve, and instincts took over.

This was strange, since I was kind of wary around knives. But it had felt as if I had wielded a knife my entire life.

I hadn't helped at all with the clearing of the first floor. More floors had been cleared after that at a quicker rate, but many lives were lost.

Still, a lot of people have grown accustomed to life in Aincrad. Many people settled in homes and got married. There were still people who remained in the Town of Beginnings, not wanting to fight.

I fought, but I wasn't really much of a help. I wasn't anywhere near the front lines and rarely partied with anyone. I never sent any messages to Hitomi, the girl I met earlier. Mostly because I didn't like her.

I had a house on the 35th floor near the Forest of Wanderings where I often hunted. I still wore the black cloak I had chosen at the beginning of the game, but I also had on a black coat lined with blue on the inside that split in half at the end and black boots.

I often practiced my skills in a field behind my neighborhood where not many people practiced. Not too long ago, I found out that I could summon two blades and wield them both at once. I tested it out, then discovered that I could materialize as many as I wanted. I used this skill as an endless supply of throwing knives, something not often used in the game. It was especially helpful for hunting.

Lots of my skills were a mystery. For example, why did my daggers just appear in my sleeves whenever I wanted them? Why can I summon an endless amount of them? Why won't my level still show up? I've defeated countless monsters, but I couldn't see how many xp points I had in all. I didn't even know how high my hp was, since that bar had no number either. All I could see was my green color cursor and name.

I headed out for the field early in the morning to catch myself some lunch for later. The weather setting was fine, and the sky was filled with puffy white clouds. The fields have really tall grass, which makes it easier for monsters to sneak on you. Some of the monsters here were actually at pretty high levels. But I was fine, since I had great reflexes.

I picked a spot where plenty of monsters usually gathered and stood quietly, listening carefully for the slightest noise. It was a while before I heard a light rustling sound a few feet behind me. I whirled around and pulled a knife out of my sleeve. I threw it straight at the blur of white in front of me. A large, fluffy lump fell to the ground, dead. A small icon appeared above it.

"Leaping Lamb. 20 hp points."

"Oh, just a lamb." I sighed in disappointment. They weren't the tastiest thing around, but it'd do for now. I saved the body in my storage.

"H-help!"

I was about to kill another lamb when a scream suddenly pierced the air. I scanned the field and spotted a group of people fending off group of large, ape-like monsters with glowing red eyes.

"Tsumiki, switch!" A blonde boy a few years older than me yelled at the fallen girl in front of the apes.

"Drunken Apes, huh?"

"S-Saito-san!" The girl cried as one of the apes swiped him away with its giant firsts. "Saito!" A boy with long brown hair ran towards the monsters. He held his shield high in front of his chest and twisted his shoulders so that his sword was held behind his head. He brought his sword down and managed to kill a few of the apes, but they just kept on coming.

"Just leave."

I turned around and started walking towards the edge of the forest.

"O-Oshiro-san!" The girl cried. She held up her sword awkwardly, trying to protect her fallen friend from the monsters.

"How pathetic." I thought, but my legs wouldn't move. One of the apes knocked the girl's sword out of her hand. "Tsumiki!" Another boy tried to reach her, but a group of apes stood in his way. The girl grimaced and thrust herself right in front of her friend. The apes kept on advancing.

"What the hell is she doing? She's gonna get herself killed."

Something about the way she put herself right in front of her friend, naked of any shield or weapon, made me soften. She was shaking in fear, but stood her ground firmly.

I sighed. "Guess there's no helping it."

"Tsumiki, you idiot! Run!" The fallen boy shouted at the girl above him, but she ignored him and continued to stand around like an idiot. One of the Drunken Apes raised his gigantic fist, and with a loud roar, slammed his fist down on the girl. She squeezed her eyes shut and shrieked, waiting for the blow.

I pulled out a knife and leapt in front of her in one big leap. I slashed upwards, and the ape was knocked down onto his butt. He shimmered and broke apart into a thousand of digital pieces.

The girl, who was on her knees, slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at me and gasped.

"You okay?" I asked her. She nodded. "Get outta here. I'll hold them off." She hesitated for a moment, then helped her injured friend escape from the oncoming monsters. Once they were safe, I faced the apes again. "Ugh. Ugly bastards." I muttered under my breath. Apparently, virtual apes understand Japanese, because they seemed to get even angrier. "Come, come." I smiled tauntingly. "I am in quite an energetic mood today."

One of the apes in the front stumbled forward. With a leering smile, I spun sideways. The ape's fist missed my head by a few inches, forming a large crater in the ground. "Oh, my." I chuckled and pivoted on my toes. My dagger made a large cut on the ape's chest. With a roar, it shattered into a million colorful pieces.

"You can't move around with big, meaty hands like that." I chided and slashed through four oncoming apes. Their advances lessened, but more just kept on coming. "Oh, boy." I sneered and stabbed another ape.

"Oi, you!"

The boy with brown hair appeared besides me, sword in hand. He sliced through another bunch of apes. "Oh, arigato." I said lightly. "Pay attention!" He snapped. I took out another knife and threw it at the looming ape behind me, still facing the boy. His eyes widened. "Thanks, again." I said.

"Stop gaping and start fighting the damn monsters unless you wanna die."

"Mikage-kun!" A girl with long, wavy red hair was kneeling down besides the fallen blonde boy. "Behind you!"

The brown-haired boy slashed at another ape. "Tch. Where are they all coming from?"

"Guess I'll end this." I reluctantly pulled a knife out of my other sleeve. "Ne, do you mind standing back?" "Eh? Why?" The boy demanded. "Hmmmm…" I tapped my chin. "It'll be quicker if I do it myself, I guess?"

"Wha-" He blinked, then narrowed his eyes. "What are you planning?" "SE-CR-ET." I waved my knife in the air. "Why should I trust you?" The boy said suspiciously. "Hmm, I guess you shouldn't." I mumbled to myself. "You're an idiot, aren't you?" The boy scowled. "Well, you're friends seem to be struggling, and you don't seem to be able to hold all these apes off, so…" I trailed off. The boy's scowl deepened, but he reluctantly stepped back.

"Yoshu." I gripped my two knives firmly and faced the nearest ape.

"Move, human!"

"Those voices again." I grimaced.

"MOVE!"

"Tch." I resumed a fighting stance. "Claw stream." My knives began to glow. They grew longer and thinner, curving inwards in a long arch. I bent my knees and pushed as hard as I could. I held out my knife and sliced through 6 apes before hitting the ground. "Oh, is that all?" I pouted. "I wanna have more fun!"

"Insolent brat! Who are you?"

"Ah, shut up." I jumped up again and sliced the ape's head clean off. One of its friends swiped at me, but I just kicked off the ape's fist and leapt straight through its face. With the other knife, I cut off another ape's arm. One ape ripped through my cloak, which evaporated.

"Tch. You'll pay for that."

Ten seconds later, a pile of dead bodies with missing parts exploded in a whirlwind of digital colors.

"Ah, that was nice!" I stretched my arms high in the air. "But that really made me hungry…?" I stopped short. The group I'd just saved was all staring at me in…shock? "Um…"

"Idiot! Why'd you do that?" I silently scolded myself. "You could've just walked away, idiot!" I glanced at the fidgeting shy girl from earlier. She cautiously approached me and bowed awkwardly. "U-um…th-thank you-thank you for saving us!"

"Save you? That's not what I meant to-"

"We're grateful." The blonde boy was now on his feet. "Ah, that's not really-" I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. "You saved us." A girl with long, braided blue hair smiled. "How could we ever repay you?"

"R-repay me?" I thought for a moment. It was then that my stomach began rumbling. "Ah, ha ha ha…" I laughed.

"How about we treat you to lunch?" The short boy in the back with spiky dark hair suggested. "Oh, really?" I beamed. "Sounds nice. I accept!"

"Oi, wait!" The boy with brown hair exclaimed. "H-He's a stranger! Didn't you see those skills? And who uses knives like that?" "Ah, that's because I'm special!" I chirped. This made the guy even more suspicious. "Oh, c'mon, Oshiro!" The blonde guy slapped him in the back. "We owe him this much. He just saved us, ya know?" "He could be a member of Laughing Coffin, for all we know!" The brown-haired boy protested.

"…Laughing coffin?"

"How could I be from laughing Coffin?" I laughed. "There's no way! There's just no…Wait, who are they?" "You don't even know?" The brown-haired boy exploded. "Now, now, Oshiro-kun." The girl with red hair calmed him down. "Laughing Coffin is a guild of red players who go around killing other players. They're an infamous guild, feared by others. I'm surprised you haven't heard of them."

"Ah, I guess you could say I'm sort of out of the loop." I laughed nervously again.

"All Laughing Coffin members have a logo on their arm." The blonde boy added. "Oh." I rolled up both of my sleeves and held out my bare arms for them to see. "See? Nothing there." "Oh, there isn't." The red-head examined my arms closer. "You sure are pale, though." "Arigato!" I told her. "That wasn't a compliment!" The brown-haired boy fumed.

"Well, you obviously aren't a Laughing Coffin player." The blonde boy laughed. "Come. We'll treat you to the best food in town." "Yay!" I cheered "Thank goodness, I'm starving!"

"This is good. Now I don't have to cook that lamb myself."

They took me to a small restaurant in one of the towns east of the forest. It was pretty crowded, and the food smelled amazing. "Ah, smells nice." I breathed in the scent of grilling meat. A waiter led us to a large table in a separate room.

"The usual, please." The blonde boy told the waiter, who bowed and left to get our food. "This is where we usually eat after our battles." He told me. "Is that so?" I said absentmindedly, too busy nibbling on a loaf of bread. "Oh, we haven't introduced ourselves yet." The blonde boy said with realization. "I'm Saito Inui." (I'm just pretending players use their real names)

"She's Sadahara Tsumiki." He gestured to the fidgety girl who sat across from him. "Ah, nice to meet you." She mumbled, her head held low. "I'm Lilia!" The girl with red hair piped up. "And this is Yamaguchi Sera! She's a keeper, don't ya think?" She reached for her breasts, but was interrupted by a flying bowl of rice.

"Keep to yourself, Lilia-san." The blue-haired girl growled. "My name's Kudo Ryoga. You can just call me Ryo." The spiky-haired boy ignored the two girls fighting. "This grump here is Oshiro Mikage. Don't worry, he's always like this. Nothing personal." This earned him a nice punch in the stomach.

"A-as you can see, he's very friendly." Ryo grunted as he slid to the ground.

"Anyway, what's your name?" Lilia asked. "Oh, Takahashi. Takahashi Hotaru." I said. "Well, cheers to Takahashi-kun, who saved us all!" Inui held up his goblet. "Cheers!" The rest of the group besides Mikage raised their goblets.

I laughed nervously. "I didn't really wish to save you, though."

"U-um, that s-skill you used back then was amazing." Tsumiki spoke up. "Where'd you learn that?" "I know! I've never seen anyone use knives like that!" Ryo leaned forward. "So? Where's that skill from? I've never seen anything like it!"

"Oh, um…" That skill had just appeared suddenly in my menu a month after the game started. I had no idea where it came from. "No idea." I replied truthfully. "What kind of answer is that?!" Mikage snorted. "Ohhh, what a mysterious guy." Lilia smirked with interest.

"Hmmm…" Inui tapped his chin in thought. "Ne, Takahashi-" "Hotaru is fine." I held up a hand.

"Um, Hotaru-kun…I know this is sudden, but would you like to join our guild?" Inui asked.

"Oh, um…huh?" I blinked.

"You seem like a strong player and could be a great addition to our team. We're all part of the same guild, the Midnight White Wolves. It's small, but we're strong and aiming for the front lines. We all knew each other in the real world, so…ah, but I'm sure you'll fit right in, so…"

"Sorry, I refuse." I smiled.

"Um...huh?" Inui cocked his head.

"You mocking us or something?!" Mikage rose, hand on the hilt of his sword. "Ah, no, no." I shook my head, holding my hands up in defense. "I've just…never joined a guild before, so…"

"Wait, you're a solo player?!" Lilia exclaimed. The rest guild seemed pretty shocked, too. "Huh? Um…yeah…" Being a solo player wasn't exactly something I was proud of. Lots of people thought solo players were snobs who looked down on or couldn't trust others. Well, I guess I am sort of like that.

But I guess these guys were different.

"Whoa, cool!" Ryo beamed. "I heard solo players are really strong."

"Wait, did he just say being a solo player is "cool"? What's wrong with him?"

"What's so great about going solo?" Mikage said. "They just look down on others." "He's right." I intervened. "Being a solo player has its disadvantages."

"Then, why are you a solo player?" Sera asked. "I guess I just can't find the right guild." I shrugged. I didn't really favor guilds, but the main reason why I didn't join one was probably because I didn't like people in general. I was afraid of hurting others, I guess.

"But this is the first time I've been asked to join a guild." I realized. It felt kind of good.

"Ne, please?" Lilia begged with wide puppy eyes. She pouted and clasped her hands together. "You seem like you could be really interesting!"

"Um…" I backed away as she leaned closer until I could feel her breath on my face. "Don't force him, Lilia." Inui pulled the girl back down into her seat. I sighed with relief.

"This guild is pretty small but strong. Like a family." A small smile spread across my face. "I guess there's a first time for everything-"

"Yay!" Lilia tackled me with a big hug. "Gah!" I gasped for breath, flapping my arms up and down in surrender. "Welcome to the group, Hotaru." Ryo grinned, slapping me playfully on the back. "Um, instead of welcoming him, shouldn't you save him from suffocation first?" Sera sweat dropped.

"Sorry about her." Inui pried her away from me. "She gets excited a lot."

"No kidding."

I glanced at Mikage, who was scowling with his arms crossed. "It seems he doesn't like me."

"By the way, what level are you on?" Inui faced me.

Crap. How was I supposed to explain to these guys that I didn't even know my own level?

"Um…" I glanced at their levels. "20, or so…" "Oh, us too!" Ryo flashed another brilliant smile. The waiter arrived with trays of steaming hot food. My mouth watered.

"No need to hold back." Inui let out a hearty laugh. "Let's eat merrily in celebration of our new member!"

"Yeah!"

After eating, we headed for the inn a few blocks down where the small guild normally spent the night. They were low on money, so the boys shared one room and the girls shared the other.

"We're hoping to save up enough col to buy our own house." Inui told me as we got ready for bed. "But for now, we're stuck here." "A house?" I looked up from the sleeping bag I'd been spreading out on the floor. "Oh, if you really need one, I have one in a neighborhood south of the Forest of Wanderings."

"What? Really?" Ryo perked up. "Can we really use it?" "Sure." I shrugged, smiling. "Gee, thanks!" Ryo beamed. "Man, I'm sure glad we added you to the group!"

"Is it really all right?" Inui asked. "Suddenly using your home when we just met you and all…" "It's fine, it's fine." I plopped down onto my sleeping bag. "I'm always out hunting or fighting, so I don't use it that much anyway." "Wow, thanks so much!" Inui said with great gratitude. "Hotaru's such a nice person." Ryo grinned. I laughed.

"If only you knew the real me."

"Let's get some sleep all ready, I'm exhausted." Mikage spoke up. I stared at him. I have a feeling that we weren't going to get along very well.

"Mikage-kun." I smiled. "I look forward to working with you."

Anger grew on his face. "Who gave you permission to call me by my first name?" He hurled a pillow at me. Laughing, I ducked.

"Hai, hai, let's sleep." Ryo clapped his hands together. "Oshiro-sama needs his beauty sleep, or else he'll be very grumpy in the morning." "Shut up, bastard!" Mikage threw another pillow at Ryo's face. This time , he didn't miss.

"Settle down, you two." Inui scrolled through the room settings and turned off the lights. We all crawled under our covers until, one by one, we slowly drifted off.

"So this is a guild, huh? Seems nice."