Don't own SAO or other references.

Probably my most wish fulfillment prompt ever.

Reincarnation had always been something I was curious about, having another chance at life was a nice escapist thought, but the reality of it was weirder then I'd ever thought possible. My early years were... Weird, to say the least, especially when I was born as a Japanese baby instead of an American one.

Figuring out the language took time, but since I had literally nothing better to do I managed it... Didn't mean I didn't have some slip ups, but considering my parents kind of fucking hated me, deciding to leave me with my Grandparents, they didn't notice.

Yeah, that was a thing.

My new life didn't exactly have the best start, my Father cheated on his wife with my Mother, resulting in me. I had a good name though, Shirogane Raiden, no relation to the Persona 4 character, but all the relation to the Metal Gear one. As if being reborn wasn't enough I got the body of a game character...

Not that I knew that right away. It's not like I'd ever seen Raiden as a child, so I never really connected the dots, especially since I had red eyes instead of whatever eye color Raiden normally had. (I look cool as hell though, so it's fine.) My maternal Grandparents liked the look too, though my Grandmother mainly compared me to a rabbit, while my Grandfather just said something about Albinism running in the family.

Living with my Grandparents was awesome, a bit cliche given my Grandfather owning a dojo and all, but learning kendo and swordsmanship was fun as hell! I was a big fan of learning Iaijutsu, Monster Hunter and anime were heavily involved in that decision, but I took to it like a fish to water. Being an actual swordsman was a thought I really wanted to fulfill, so I went for it.

It was also kind of necessary after I figured out where I was.

Another thing about my life was the fact I didn't know where I was for a while. I'd assumed for years that I was reborn in some form of fiction, and after nearly a decade of not knowing, the answer became clear when news about some big company developing a 'Full Dive MMORPG' came across my eyes. After a little digging, I put it together, and I was both relieved and conflicted.

Relieved that I knew where I was, I didn't have to wake up one day and see an alien invasion outside my window to learn where I'd been reborn.

Conflicted because I didn't know what to do with that knowledge. Sword Art Online was my gateway into anime, so it had a special place in my heart. Sure, the later series' were a bit iffy in my books, but the first season would always be in my top 10 because of what it meant to me... But now I was living in it, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to get involved with the plot.

SAO was a big deathtrap, one that canonically ended up with thousands dead, and I was worried I'd be another number.

I wasn't delusional, had no dumb thoughts that I would have Plot Armor or be fated to replace the main character or other dumb things like that. This was my second chance at life, and I didn't want to lose it...

So after taking a few months to think on it, I made a decision.

When the beta came I applied for a spot as a beta tester.

If I was granted the chance, then I'd involve myself with the plot.

If I didn't get in then I'd live my life how I wanted...

So of course I managed to get in. (Maybe I shouldn't have let Gramps take me out to Kendo tournaments.) I'd won a few over the years, having Raiden's body, actual swordsmanship lessons, and a desire to be as cool as possible, were a bunch advantages in my favor.

The times my 'Parents' tried to get involved with me after winning were some of the only downsides to the whole thing though. ('Oh, the kid we both dropped like a hot potato is actually worth something? Let's get in on that!') Without them my life was great.

Anyway, I managed to get involved in the beta...

And I was hooked.

I was a gamer in my last life, not Esports material or anything, but I was comfortable playing anything... And even though that side of me had gone neglected in favor of becoming a badass swordsman, it rushed to the fore when I played the SAO beta. The ability to really use what I'd been learning to cut down mobs and be rewarded with a level up was something I didn't know I wanted until I had it.

Gramps liked the clips I'd managed to save and show him too, so that was a big plus.

And then there were the friends I made in there...

Obviously, one of them was Kirito, because of course it was. We'd ended up meeting in one of the starter areas, partying together so we didn't have to go to another spawn zone because we were both too excited to fuck off to another zone. We fought together for a bit, got to talking, I had to start the conversations because he was an introvert, I sort of was too, but it worked. We were both fans of the combat, and when he found out that I actually practiced kendo and the like we got to even more talking and actually practicing together. (Cause this can't possibly butterfly anything into existence.)

Then there was Argo, a rat that had somehow snuck her way into my non existent friend circle and planted her grubby paws down into it. She was a snippy and smug little thing, but she was great. We got together often to mess with Kirito, talk shop, because having a good exposition giver was always a good thing, and just hung out for the fuck of it. It helped that she was cute, not my type, much too smug, but still cute.

We made decent progress in the beta, and I got to try out moves that wouldn't work in the real world without some funky super human shit, like Breathing from Demon Slayer, which I'd managed some progress with, and just generally had a good time. Even when the beta ended we kept in touch with each other, even meeting up once when we all had the chance... And Argo bugged us enough for us to say fuck it and give in.

When the Rat wanted something she usually got it.

A month later and I still had no idea what Argo/Karina said to Kirito/Kazuto to get his ass out of his house. She'd threatened to 'Getcha pasty chuuni ass subscribed tah as many Yaoi magazines as humanly possible if ya don't come an meet up with us.'

A dangerous threat to be sure, and quite an effective one.

All that aside though, he was happy with his new friends, and had made up his mind.

He would join them in SAO, do his best to not die, and live his life to the fullest.

With that in mind, Shirogane Raiden laid on his bed, put on his Nerve Gear, and said the magic words.

"Link start."

And so began the journey of SAO's White Lightning.