It had been a rough week after it became apparent that all 10,000 players that were logged on the first day of Sword Art Online's release. Within only a span of a week, some people went mad, became depressed, or committed suicide, or a combination of all three. But while a small number of people gave up on life, there was even more people that became determined to get to level 100 of Aincrad and escape from the game.

Harry, for his part, was in the depressed category. He was perpetually lost, scared and confused, and found himself wandering a lot, sometimes not even paying attention to where he was going.

On this particular day, he was in the fields once again, desperately avoiding running into any enemies, when he saw a brown-haired man with a red bandana fighting boars. He tried to pass by, but his heart stopped when the man made eye contact with him.

Klein blinked at seeing the child in front of him, then smiled warmly and waved. "Hey, kid! What brings you out he-" He stopped talking when Harry turned and bolted. "Hey, wait, come ba-URK!" He was rudely interrupted when a boar rammed into him from behind, causing him to fall flat on his face. Klein hopped to his feet and impaled the boar through the face, killing it, then turned to look for the child. He was gone. Klein sighed.

"I sure hope he wasn't a player...No kid should be trapped in this place..."

Harry just continued to blindly run away from the tall bandana man. 'Need to get away...'was Harry's mental mantra until he ran into something solid while he was distracted. Harry fell to his behind and rubbed his head in pain. "W-What did...I..." Harry started to say until he looked up to see the back side of a boar. The boar then turned around and locked onto the player that bumped into it, snorting angrily.

Harry wasted no time in getting to his little feet and dashing away as fast as he could. He whimpered when he heard the boar's bellowing as it charged after him, intent on crushing the tiny boy under its weight. The child felt tears pour down his cheeks, and tried desperately to wipe them off as he ran. 'No crying, no crying, no crying...'

As this was happening, Asuna was grinding experience within the same plain that Harry was currently running for his life in. She just killed another one of those annoying boars, when she heard running. 'I wonder what that is...?' Asuna wondered as she turned around to see Harry running away from a very angry boar.

The young woman's eyes widened at what she was seeing. Why was that child all alone? Had nobody stepped up to care for him when they noticed a little boy wandering the game?

Asuna gasped slightly as Harry tripped and got his foot caught in a root. Her eyes narrowed at the boar, and she drew her rapier...

She activated a sword skill and dashed towards the boar before it could kill the child.

Harry was running for his life before he felt his foot caught on something that caused him to trip. He tried to get back up to run but his foot wouldn't budge in the slightest. With a quick look, he saw that his foot was caught in a root that made a loop above ground.

Harry heard the boar quickly gaining ground on him. He struggled to pull his foot free, but it simply wasn't happening. Defeated, Harry lay face down in the grass, waiting to get crushed...

He heard a death cry, but it was not his own. Looking up, he saw the woman he had seen on the first day sheathing a rapier. The boar was nowhere in sight. She turned to him.

Harry flinched when she looked his way. 'Oh no! She's going to kill me next!' Harry though as he struggled to get his foot out of the root so he could escape. Asuna gave him a sympathetic look before she crouched down to his level and put her hand on his foot.

The second she did this, however, Harry flinched and started to panic. "Please don't hurt me! I don't want to die!" Harry said in desperation, causing Asuna to stop and look at him in the eyes.

"...I'm not gonna hurt you, little guy." She said softly as she reached down to untangle his foot from the root. A quick tug later, and Harry was free. He jumped to his feet and began to run...only to feel a hand on his shoulder. "Just wait a minute!" Harry stiffened, and awaited the inevitable strike...

The strike never came. Asuna gently turned him around and looks him in the eye with a concerned expression. "Why are you playing a game like Sword Art Online anyway, especially alone?" Asuna asked him, causing him to fidget slightly. 'I-If I tell the truth, what will Uncle Vernon do to me...?' Harry asked himself as he tried to think of an effective lie.

"M-My aunt and uncle let me..." He answered softly. Asuna stood and put a hand on her hip with a frown.

"This game is way too dangerous for a little boy." She said seriously.

"Th-They didn't trust it, so they asked me to test it." Asuna scoffed.

"That is absolutely abysmal parenting, or guardianship, or whatever you would call it." She said in outrage. "Making a child test a potentially dangerous machine...I've never heard anything so awful!"

At her words, Harry looked down sadly. "I don't like it here." Harry said as he started to shake. "it's s-scary." Asuna gave him a sympathetic smile. "Your not the only one that thinks that Harry, I think it's scary and horrible." Asuna admitted to him as she came closer and enveloped him in a hug to cheer him up.

Harry's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates. This was the first affectionate gesture he had ever received... Instantly, and without thinking about it, he threw his arms around the woman's neck, happily hugging back, glad to experience gentle care for the first time.

Asuna smiled briefly before becoming serious again. "Is anyone taking care of you?" Asuna asked him.

"No, I've been all alone here since the first day I got here." Harry replied sadly while still in the hug.

Asuna was shocked. A tiny little boy was alone the whole week that they been trapped here so far? '...I CAN'T just leave him here...There's only one option.'

The young woman smiled warmly at the cute little boy in her arms. "Aw, I could never leave a little dear like you out here all alone. If you'd like...I'll let you come with me. I'll take care of you. Would you like that?"

Harry's eyes widened to major proportions when she made the offer. 'Sh-She really wants me...?' Harry thought happily until he frowned. 'She doesn't know I'm a freak...' Harry thought with sadness.

"It's okay, you don't have to deal with a useless freak like me." Harry told her as he looked down enough so that his eyes were hidden by his hair.

Asuna's eyes widened. "What? Useless freak? You? Don't be silly! I'd be happy to have you with me!" She smiled as she poked the boy's nose. "How did you come to the conclusion that you were a freak?"

Harry opened his mouth and was about to say that it was his uncle that told him this, but he knew that Vernon would be furious with him if he told someone. "I-I can't tell you...He'll k-kill me." Harry told her.

Asuna eyes widened at the mention that someone was going to kill him. She then narrowed her yes. "Who?! Who said that they were going to kill you?!" Asuna demanded.

'Oh no! She can't find out! Uncle Vernon will make me drink chemicals or bury me in the backyard again!' The thought of what Vernon would do to Harry if he ever found out that someone knew of his treatment was too much. Harry began to hyperventilate.

Asuna was startled by his reaction to her question. 'Oh no, oh no!' Asuna thought to herself as she tried to figure out how to calm him back down. So she ended up starting rubbing his back. "I'm sorry! You don't need to tell me if you don't want to!" Asuna said in desperation to calm him down.

The back rub slowly, but surely, soothed the panicking little boy. When she was sure he was calm, Asuna pulled out of the hug, and stood, smiling gently down at him. "Well, if you really don't want-" She was interrupted when Harry ran to her and hugged her leg.

"Yes...Please...Thank you...I...I don't wanna be alone anymore..."

She placed her hand on his head and rubbed his scalp, causing him to hum in pleasure. "You're welcome...what's your name?" Asuna asked in embarrassment, forgetting that she didn't ask him his name the entire time they were talking together.

"My name is Harry, miss." Harry told her.

"Hello Harry, my name is Asuna." Asuna introduced herself with a smile. Harry smiled back at her and was surprised when she scooped him up in her arms and cradled him like a mother would her baby. "Alright then, let's get to a town." Asuna said as she started walking to the nearest town.

This would be the start of a two year adventure for the two as they keep each other company during this trying ordeal.