Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Sword Art Online.

The Death Game

"It's here Ichi-" A black haired, normal-heighted female avatar called some other one.

"Don't say my name in this game! It can be considered rude in online." An another male avatar with vivid orange hair cut off what she was saying. Though Ichigo made his avatar slightly less tall, the height difference was there.

"Oh, so cutting off when people are not considered rude while calling someone with his real name is rude?" Rukia -now Hikari- teased Ichigo - now Mamoru - playfully. It was something she can manage to do in this new world without Ichigo's help.

"That's different matter. Now, would you like to start exploring?" Ichigo changed the course of the conversation. His companion was eager enough, and it was easy to see she was excited. "What are you waiting? Let's go!" She exclaimed, and ran away. Ichigo stopped her.

"Sorry to break your hope, but, Ru – no, Hikari, the weaponry is not that way, it's this direction."

"Tell something like that early!"

"Did you finished your shopping yet?" Rukia asked to Ichigo, sarcaristically.

"It was not a real shopping, it was to get an actually working blade!" Ichigo replied.

"Now this is Anneal Blade(1), one of the best blade you can get in the first floor. Wind floret(2) is a good one, but it is more like a rapier, and I strengthened it, so using it in the higher floor will be hard. Oh, and this curve blade is interesting. On the official site before opening, there was something about earning special skills. Using curved blade can earn a special skill – Katana. I think it's not a bad idea." Ichigo explained everything he know about the game to her. He already completed the Earnil Blade quest, and he was about to complete same quest again. Rukia was thinking about her weapon choice. She was keep looking at curved blade and the Wind Floret. She reached her hand to the curve blade.

"If you want the floret, use it. You have your katana, and this is not reality. You don't have to choose what you used before." Ichigo said. Rukia was looking at the floret with the curved blade on her hand.

"If you say so…. Maybe it'll be alright…." She changed the weapon with uncertainty. She held it straight. It was bluish white, whick made her think about her Sodeno Shirayuki.

"So, the hunt now?" Ichigo asked. Rukia was definitely excited. "Yeah, let's go!" She ran to the nearest ally to the field.

"Congrats on your first victory... but that boar—it's about as hard as slimes from other games." "Eh, really? I thought it was some sort of semi-boss or something!"

"Not a chance."

The voice of the first one was familiar to Ichigo. He heard it from his beta testing time…

"Are you Kirito?" he asked the first one. The game perfectly made people hear their voice in the real world because the Nerve Gear starting command was voice-activated. It was one sure thing that would hardly ever change.

"Mamoru? I thought you'll not play this game again." Kirito said. Rukia tugged Ichigo.

"If you mind, would you like to introduce us?" She said with a bit of sarcasm.

"I was going to, you midget." Ichigo replied with same tone. "Well, Kirito, this is Ru – I mean, Hikari. She's a friend from the real world, and the reason why I play this game again. Hikari, this one here is Kirito. He was something closest to a party member during the beta. And the man there is…."

"Klein. I just met him, and just helping him with the sword skill." Kirito explained. Ichigo just nodded. "Klein, this is Mamoru, and as he said, I was in par with him at the beta testing." The man – Klein - nodded. He looked at Ichigo's and Rukia's hand, and abruptly asked.

"hey, where was the weapon shop? I didn't remember seeing one."

"You were training without proper weapon? Wow, Kirito, you're a hardcore teacher." Ichigo replied. "There's a weapon shop in just five minutes. You want to look?"

"Sure! ...is what I want to say, but..." Klein's delicate eyes looked at the bottom right of his vision. He must have been checking the time.

"...well, I should log off and eat. I ordered some pizza for 5:30."

"Well, good for you. I just hope my dad will wake me up during the game as he usually do. Pizza is a much nicer wake-up call." Ichigo said. Rukia chuckled, remembering the 'normal' morning in the Kurosaki family.

"Eh…? There's no logout button." Klein, who was about to log out, said. "No way." Kirito said, and take a look on his panel. He froze.

"Is there any other way to log out?" Klein asked. Kirito and Ichigo both thought about it for a moment…"No." "I don't think there is a way." They both replied. Soon, someone overheard us opened their own control panel and tried to log out. Then…

"Ah... look up!"

Four of them almost automatically turned our eyes upward. There, a strange sight greeted them.

The bottom of the second floor, one hundred meters above us, was checkered in red. When Ichigo looked closely, he could see that the pattern was made up of two phrases crisscrossing each other: the words [ Warning ] and [ System Announcement ] written in red. Kirito was surprised for a moment but then thought, "Oh, the operator is going to begin informing us now," and the tension in my shoulders eased a bit.

The chatter died down in the plaza and everyone could feel everyone waiting to hear what was going to be said. However, what happened next wasn't what they had expected.

From the middle of the pattern, a liquid that looked like blood started oozing down slowly. It came down at a rate that almost emphasized how viscous it was, but it didn't fall all the way down; instead, it started congealing into a shape.

What appeared was a twenty-meter tall figure with a hooded robe draped around it.

No, that wasn't exactly right. From where the players were looking, they could easily see into the hood—there was no face. It was absolutely empty. They could clearly see the inner cloth and the green embroidery inside of the hood. It was the same inside the robe, all we could see inside the edges were shadows.

"….GM?" Kirito asked.

『Players, I welcome you all to my world.』

The thing, whatever that is, said.

『My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world.』

"What?!" "The Kayaba Akihiko?" Ichigo and Kirito said at the same time.

『I think that most of you have discovered the fact that the Log Out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug; it is all part of «Sword Art Online»'s system.』

"Part of... the system?" Klein muttered brokenly.

The announcement continued in its low voice as if to cover the sound.

『Until you get to the top of this castle, you cannot log out of your own free will.』

"Castle…like, the entire Aincrad?" Ichigo muttered.

『...also, the disruption or dismantling of the Nerve Gear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted...』

A moment of silence.

The silence of ten thousand people was overwhelming. The next words came slowly.

『the signal sensors in your Nerve Gear will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions.』

Destroy one's brain. In other words, it meant it will kill them.

Any user that turned the Nerve Gear off or unlocked the clasp and took it off would be killed. That is what Kayaba had just stated.

People in the crowd started muttering, but there was no one shouting or panicking. It was either that everyone, like me, couldn't understand it yet, or refused to.

Klein raised his right hand slowly and tried to grasp the headgear that would be situated there in the real world. As he did, he let out a dry laugh and started talking.

"Haha... what's he saying? That man, has he gone nuts? He's not making any sense. The Nerve Gear... It's just a game. Destroy our brain... How is he going to do that? Right, Kirito, Mamoru?"

His voice broke at the last shout.

"...theoretically it's possible, but... he must be bluffing. Because if we pull the plug on the Nerve Gear, there's no way it can emit a strong pulse of that type. Unless there's some form of battery with a huge storage capability... inside..."

Klein already guessed the reason why Kirito had stopped talking.

"There... is," he said, his words almost a scream with a hollow expression on his face. "Thirty percent of the gear's weight is in the battery. But... that's totally crazy! What if there was a sudden power outage or something!?"

Kayaba started explaining, as if he had heard what Klein had shouted.

『To be a little more specific, disconnection from an outside source of electricity for ten minutes, being cut off from the system for more than two hours, or any attempt to: unlock, dismantle, or destroy the Nerve Gear. If any of these conditions are met, the brain destruction sequence will start. These conditions have been made known to the government and the public through mass-media in the outside world. On that note, there have been several cases where the relatives or friends have ignored the warnings and tried to forcefully remove the Nerve Gear. The result...』

The metallic voice took a short breath here.

『...regretfully 213 players have already exited this game, and the real world, forever.』

A long, thin scream was heard. But most of the players couldn't or refused to believe what they had been told, and just stood there slack-jawed or with a wry smile on their faces.

Rukia pulled Ichigo's avatar down. She whispered to him.

"What do you think about us? What actions your father will take? Dying doesn't matter to us, but in this game….."

"I'm pretty sure he will go to Urahara's as soon as he know something about this." Ichigo replied. "They will choose the best options as possible. If they manage to get us out of here, it must mean they made sure of what will happen. However, if there's possibility of resulting something bad, they will not do it. Or, that's what I think."

"...don't believe it... I don't believe it," Klein, still sitting on the ground, started saying in a strained voice. "He's just trying to scare us. How would he do such a thing? Stop kidding around and let us out. We don't have time to play along to your sick opening ceremony. Yeah... this is all just an event. An opening show, right?"

『Players, there is no need to worry about the bodies you left on the other side. As of this moment, all TV, radio, and Internet media are repeatedly reporting this situation; including the fact that there have been numerous deaths. The danger of having your Nerve Gear taken off has already all but disappeared. In a moment, using the two hours I have provided, all of you will be transported to hospitals or similar institutes and be given the best treatment. So you can relax... and concentrate on beating the game.』

"What?" Kirito yelled.

"What are you saying!? Beat the game!? You want us to play around in a situation like this!?"

"This isn't a game anymore!"

Then Kayaba Akihiko started announcing quietly with his monotonous voice.

『But I ask of you all to understand that «Sword Art Online» is no longer a simple game. It is a second reality... From now on, any form of revival in the game will no longer work. The moment your HP reaches 0, your avatar will be gone forever. And at the same time...』

『...your brain will be destroyed by the Nerve Gear.』

"... no freaking way," Kirito muttered softly.

『Players, there is only one way to be freed from this game. As I have said before, you must get to the top of Aincrad, the one hundredth floor, and defeat the final boss that resides there. All players still alive at that time will be immediately logged out of the game. I give you all my word.』

players still alive at that time will be immediately logged out of the game. I give you all my word.』

Ten thousand players stood in silence.

It was then that Kirito realized what Kayaba meant when he said, «get to the top of this castle». He was talking about Aincrad itself.

"Clear... all 100 floors!?" Klein suddenly shouted. He got up quickly and raised a fist up to the sky.

"And how do you want us to do that? I heard that getting up was crazy hard even during the beta testing!"

This was true. During the two months of beta testing, the one thousand players that had taken part only managed to get to the sixth floor. Even if ten thousand people had dived right now, how long would it take to get through all 100 floors? Most players who had been forced here would be asking themselves this rhetorical question.

The strained silence eventually gave way to low murmuring. But there was no sign of fear or despair.

Most people here would still be confused about whether this was a «real danger» or a «seriously warped opening event». Everything Kayaba had said was so horrifying that it felt unreal.

『Then I will show you evidence that this is the only reality. In your inventories, there will be a gift from me. Please confirm this.』

As soon as I heard this, Kirito pressed my finger and thumb together and pulled downwards. All the players did likewise and the plaza was filled with the ringing sound of bells.

All the player pressed the Item button on the menu that appeared and the item was there, at the top of the belongings lists.

The name of the item — «Hand Mirror»

Rukia muttered, "What's this?" and touched "Make Into Object" button. Suddenly, Klein was wrapped in white light. As soon as the other noticed this, they were engulfed in the white light.

When the light died, everything was same – but not. The face in the mirror was something Ichigo and Rukia knew. They stared each other.

"Ruki-No, Hikari? You look same as you were on the real life."

"Do you think I didn't noticed that, you stupid straw…" Ichigo covered her mouth because he didn't wanted to let anyone know his real name in this game, let alone the nickname made from it.

"Who are you?", "No, Who are you?"

Kirito and Klein asked the same questions. At least, their voice was same. The avatar which had Kirito's voice looked like feminine, but it was definitely a boy. Klein looked like a fallen samurai – but definitely not a fallen shinigami. He looked like someone from historical drama.

Kirito looked into the mirror. "Ah…it's me…"

"Really? You loook more feminine than what I thought." Ichigo said. Kirito looked at him. With his orange hair, he looked like a typical delinquent. Unlike him, Hikari looked like just a normal student you can easily see. The height difference between Mamoru and Hikari was big. It seemed like Hikari shrunk a bit.

"Ah, Right!" Kirito yelled suddenly. "There are high density signal sensors in the Nerve Gear covering our whole head. So it can tell not only how our brains look, but our faces too..."

"B-But, how can it know what our bodies look like... Like how tall we are?"

"The calibration." Ichigo answered Klein's question. "It need to put on our height in it, Right? They must have used it."

"...Reality," Kirito muttered. "He said that this was reality. That this polygon avatar... and our HP was our real body and our real life. In order to make us believe this, he's produced a perfect copy of us..."

"But...But y'know Kirito, and … Mamoru?"

Klein scratched his head roughly and the eyes beneath his bandana shone as he shouted.

"Why? Why the hell's he doing something like this...?"

『You will all most probably be wondering, "Why." Why am I —the creator of both the Nerve Gear and SAO, Kayaba Akihiko— doing something like this? Is this a sort of terrorist attack? Is he doing this to ransom us?』

It was then that Kayaba's voice, which had been emotionless up to now, seemed to show some signs of emotion. Suddenly the word «empathy» passed through my mind, even though there was no way that would be true.

『These are not the reasons why I am doing this. Not only that, but for me, there is no longer a reason or a purpose in doing this. The reason is because... this situation itself was my purpose in doing this. To create and watch this world is the only reason I have created the Nerve Gear and SAO. And now, everything has been realized.』

Then after a short pause, Kayaba's voice, now emotionless again, spoke.

『...Now, I have finished the official tutorial for «Sword Art Online». Players—I wish you luck.』

This last sentence trailed off with a faint echo.

The huge robe rose soundlessly and started sinking, hood first, into the system message that covered the sky, as if melting.

Its shoulders, then its chest, then its two arms and legs merged into the red surface, and then a final red stain spread briefly. Right afterward, the system message that had covered the sky disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.

The sound of the wind blowing above the plaza and the BGM that the NPC orchestra was playing came softly to our ears.

The game had returned to its normal state, apart from the fact that a couple of rules had been changed.

Then— at last.

The crowd of ten thousand players gave a proper reaction. In other words, countless voices started resounding loudly through the plaza.

"It's a joke right...? The hell is this? It's a joke right!?"

"Stop kidding around! Let me out! Let me out of here!"

"No! You can't! I've got to meet someone soon!"

"I don't like this! I'm gonna go home! I want to go home!"

Yells. Clamors. Shouts. Curses. Begging. Screaming.

The people that had changed from game players to prisoners in a matter of minutes crouched clutching their heads, waved their arms about, grasped each other or started to swear loudly.

In the midst of all this noise, Kirito's mind became strangely cool again.

"Klein, come over here for a sec." Kirito called Klein. Ichigo pulled Rukia aside.

"It would be better if we go to the next village now. You want to come?"

Rukia thought about it for a sec. "…but…if this became reality, I think it'll be better to have katana."

"You can always buy that one in other village. No, a better one. I think it's better to leave now."

"If you say so. I don't know anything about this game, you know?"

"So, next village?"At the same time, Klein finished conversation with Kirito and went into the city.

"Are you going to the next village?" Ichigo asked. Kirito nodded.

"Well than, let's go.

(1) Anneal Blade is an item that can be found on the first floor. It's one of the best weapon in the low floors, and Kirito used it in the beginning. It is written on the Sword Art Online Progressive.

(2) Wind Floret is the sword Asuna used in the first floor by Kirito's is a monster-drop item, and Asuna used it with some strengthning.