A/N: It's great to hear people are enjoying this as I try to process a lot of plot points for Perfected, this is a good passtime. As always, great to hear from people as I post these reviews with every new chapter or directly if needed. Review time;

To Isshion: Great to know it's to your liking :)

Enjoy.

|Nov. 6th 12:50|

|IRL, Nagi's Home|

"-everything's set-up on my end, I had the helmet charged since last night, plus I've fueled myself to survive for a long period of time," Kaito commented while sipping on his cup of tea at the kitchen island, his right foot tapping constantly. "And you?"

~Nyahaha, always on point - same here, haveta be if I'm to get first dibs on any change in the Beta's infO~ On the other line was Argo, keeping with her odd string of laughter that Kaito came to enjoy, imagining her avatar's whiskers twitching when she got excited. ~Any and all work's been handled per usual by my striking HerO!~

Kaito hummed a laugh as he drank his tea, "I'm sure the Rat could've done as well on her own, but it's fine, I'm glad my changes helped,"

Argo snickered, ~Always eager...~ Her voice sounded a little softer before that twang in her pitch returned. ~I'll meetcha in our usual spot, Mr HerO!~

"Yeah, see you then, Argo," With that, they hung up as Kaito downed the last of his drink, looking across the island at the older woman cleaning down the counters with a soft smirk. Kaito smiled anxiously. "Please, don't take that out of context,"

"Fiiiine, I won't," His mother, Akira, deflated before giving her son a wink. "You'll admit it on your own,"

"Admit what?" His head cocked to one side, making her chuckle while brushing a strand of her white hair behind her ear, the rest tied back into a ponytail say for her bangs.

"Hm, nothing sweetie," She turned to Kaito with her hand ushering him upstairs. "I'll keep them from bothering you, but don't stay online all afternoon and night, at least log out to make yourself dinner, okay?"

Kaito placed his cup in the sink, then, suddenly, he gave his Mom a tight hug as her arms held onto him with just as much affection. "You're the best Mom ever,"

Akira laughed at that, ruffling his hair. "So I've heard, and again, getting you that Nervegear wasn't an issue, we split the price halfway," She jabbed his chest, "Now don't keep your girlfriend waiting, it's almost one o clock,"

Kaito took off with a wave, "Not my girlfriend~!" He replied awkwardly.

"Not yeeeet~!" She sang back as he vanished past the wall upstairs.

Once in his room again, Kaito stopped at his desk with the monitors one, the time one minute to one. He looked at one of the two photos on his desk, the left displaying two people, himself when he was younger, and a man with combed, onyx hair and deep onyx eyes.

"Hey, Dad, off to Aincrad again, I'll try not to stay online for too long this time, don't want to wake up with my nails done again," Kaito tapped his chin in thought. "Though Kaida and Kayda are very good at painting nails..."

Tapping his fingers to the edge of the photo, he grabbed his Nervegear and got comfortable on the bed, seeing the HUD appear in its light grey tint. The time was '13:00'. His right hand rose to give a two-fingered salute to the ceiling before residing at his side. "Time to dive..." Closing his eyes, he let his body sink against his bed. "Link Start!"

The world suddenly dissolved into a white void, various strobes of color surrounding his vision as he zipped toward the 'Sense Configuration' screen, hitting all five in the green. Next came his login details, which was the easy part, lastly, his saved avatar from the beta. While he would be without his ninjato he could easily obtain his haori once in the game. Accepting yes while setting the language to Japanese the screen went grey.

|Welcome to Sword Art Online!|

With that, the last tunnel of light was absorbed by strikes of white and blue, and his vision went dark.

He was back in Aincrad.

|Sword Art Online, Floor 1, Town of Beginnings|

Several Hours Later...

Pandemonium, in one word, Nagi could sum up the events after 18:00 Aincrad Standard Time. What started out as a fresh retake on his experiences in the Closed Beta swiftly turned into a nightmare no mind could even believe would come to reality, a horror story brought to fruition through the creator, Kayaba. They were all trapped, less than the starting 10,000 players were now imprisoned in Sword Art Online, and if they died... it was over, their lives would soon follow suit.

"Here you go, thanks for the business," The NPC clerk replied as Nagi smiled kindly with the items in his inventory.

"Thank you, sir," He bowed his head and turned to walk down the street that led toward the central plaza where everyone was told of their situation, the sky a light orange, bathing the harrowing town in its warmth, though none could be found under the screams, sobs, and rioting caused by players far and wide.

He carried himself calmly, Nagi was frightened, that much was natural for anyone, but he didn't let himself stumble and collapse. People were in trouble, scared, some couldn't even move at all. Right now, Nagi had one task in mind. Reassurance.

Approaching an archway between two houses, he found two girls huddled together by a stack of crates, sobbing and trying to confide in one another. Nagi stopped to kneel down to them. "Hey, take these," He made a sack of items appear in his hands, the taller of the two looking up at him with tears caught in her eyes. "There are a few items in here, food, water, two health pots as well, it's not a lot but it should help,"

"I... th-thank you," She hiccuped, taking the items as she gasped, seeing him dry her eyes with his haori, smiling softly.

"I know it hurts, but you'll be okay," He suggested, standing up. "You're stronger together,"

"I..." She couldn't find her voice as he gave a short bow and continued walking.

Nagi took his time strolling the Town of Beginnings, seeing a young boy with his head in his knees, shaking. Nagi stopped, kneeling again to leave another sack of items, seeing his misty eye peek above his arm as Nagi retained his smile, patting the boy's shoulder. "Take care of yourself," With that, he left him to his silence, not wanting to press more than was necessary.

Over and over, Nagi traveled the roads, confronting various players, be it alone or in groups. Some reacted with kindness, others only snapped out of their daze when he spoke, one girl sobbed into his chest for a minute until she calmed down. One guy reacted violently but Nagi didn't retaliate, keeping his face neutral.

"We can't be killed in safe zones, if hitting me helps, go ahead, I won't be mad, sometimes it's all we can do to feel a sense of comfort, however brief it is," Nagi spoke calmly as the man's grip on his haori weakened, bowing his head as tears hit the ground. Nagi responded by putting his hand on the man's shoulder for a moment. "It's okay to be angry, we all are, direct it at Kayaba, but not at those suffering too,"

His feet dragged him back to the plaza. Over a hundred were present, facing that same, soul-crushing dilemma they all felt. Nagi hadn't the resources to provide for all of them so he focused his energy on those who looked far worse than others, clearly without any experience prior to the mass teleport.

The player looked much younger than the rest, sitting by the teleport gate with her head also buried in her knees like many others. Her hair was light brown and tied into two tails by red ribbons, her eyes were also a light red.

/Silica\

Once her head rose upon feeling someone watching her, Silica jumped a little when she found Nagi looking back at her, tears staining her cheeks. He didn't speak, smiling warmly as he held out a handkerchief. "Here, your face must be very damp," He kept his voice soft as she took it shakily, hiccuping as she dried her face and eyes, though her tears remained. "You look better,"

"*Sniff* t-thank *hic* you," She croaked, seeing a sack set beside her. "W-what's *hic* that?"

"A few items when you find the strength to stand again, take your time, today not everyone needs to bottle up their feelings," Nagi replied, "You're very young for this game, I'm guessing you decided to play regardless, that's quite brave of you,"

"Mmhm," She sniffed, "M-my *hic* dad b-bought i-it... m-my dad... *sniff*," That caused her to breakdown again as Nagi sat beside her, letting her sob against his side, muffling her cries against his jacket while he stared up at the sky beyond the towering walls of the plaza's coliseum-like structure.

"Today you should scream out in anger, anguish, fear, let it all out until your throat hurts and your lungs burn," Nagi spoke, a few catching his words as Silica's sobbing quietened a little. "Tomorrow too, but don't let grief tether you here forever; use it, burn it up until your legs move forward, pick yourself up and find a reason to never give up,"

By now, Silica's crying had calmed down, her head pulling away as Nagi stood up again, giving her a gentle pat on the head with a bright smile. "You can be stronger too," With that, the boy in the haori pressed onward to many others that needed even just the presence of another beside them.

Inside one of the town's most impressive structures, a large castle of black iron stood to the north of the plaza. It housed only a vast room of names on black marble. To the average player of SAO, it was little more than a fancy display of players, and now, many had been crossed out by two lines, faded against the texture. Some, as Nagi's footsteps echoed across the floor, were stroked out right before his eyes.

He stopped a small podium in the middle, it wasn't anything spectacular, primarily to add some flair to the otherwise empty building. Scrolling down his small collection in his menu, he materialized another item, a bouquet of white lilies with a faint lilac tint to the petals. Nagi placed several of these bundles down against the podium's wall, carefully.

Once sorted, he sat on his knees to pray in silence for a solid minute. He had so much swirling inside of him that it almost made him falter in his prayer, tears catching the corners of his eyes as the thought of how his Mom was feeling right now, his sisters, all of them were suffering, and right now, hundreds of families felt the same.

"Mom, Keon, Kaida, Kayda... I'll do my best," He whispered, eyes squeezing tighter. "Dad, please protect me; and all of you, I swear that your deaths won't be for nothing."

Drying his eyes, Nagi had one more destination in mind before he would set out for the next town.

To the northwest of the town was a small park that overlooked the exit to the fields of beginnings. It wasn't spectacular, though its prominent feature was the large oak tree at the top of a hill where you could see over the tops of a few buildings. Sat at the base of the tree was the person Nagi had been looking for, and for a moment, he felt his body freeze in place, something made his heart skip.

Like all other players, the girl wore the standard equipment under leather barding, what stood out was her change in features. Gone was the usual autumn hair Nagi knew, replaced with curly auburn hair under a brown hood with brown eyes. The user, 'Argo' appeared for a second above her head.

"Cute..." "Found you," Nagi found his voice again. Argo stopped whatever she was doing to compose herself, mirroring Nagi's internal reaction as she met a boy with a similar facial structure as the katana user she befriended, only now his hair was a little shorter, covering his ears with blackish-brown bangs above his eyebrows. His eyes were a smooth onyx pigment.

She cracked a faint smile, "Guess my Hiding Skill needs polishiN'," Silence ensued as she patted the grass next to her, not saying anything as he sat down against the tree between two roots with her. "Ya look the samE," She flicked his cheek where one of his braids would've been. "And missin' your noodle haiR,"

He lightly shoved her with a whimsical expression. "Like you're to talk, your hair was just as long," Argo laughed at that. Soon, their lighter tone of the situation faded for silence again, staring toward the vast fields over the wall, a warm breeze passing through their hair. "...you know..." Nagi began, drawing a side glance from Argo.

"I... I just kept thinking that if I focused on everyone else, that if I could help them that might make these pains in my chest lessen, even if just a bit," Nagi's voice was strained as he spoke, tapping his ring finger atop his left hand. "An-and maybe then I could keep going, and... and do something - anything to not think about them in that way,"

"Your folkS?" Argo murmured, unsure of how to reply, she had never seen Nagi like this. He was pale, and he kept fidgeting, it was so unlike the person who'd move mountains for a stranger.

"My Mom and sisters, I... I made a promise I'll not stay on too late, so, so I guess I'm frustrated," That was only a fraction of how he was feeling, hanging his head close to his knees.

"My Moms..." Argo spoke softly, her twang barely noticeable when she stared ahead with a lost expression on her face. "By now they'd have found out, considerin' you and Kirito are about the only close friends I got, but yeah, I getcha..." Slowly, her head sat against Nagi's shoulder, closing her eyes momentarily.

Nagi let out a shaken breath, placing his head atop hers, jamming his eyes shut to the silence, the gentle guitar of the Town of Beginnings music plucking at their emotions so perfectly it almost seemed cruel. By their sides, Nagi sat his hand atop Argo's, both trembling slightly at the gravity of their situation weighing down on them.

They had one hundred different floors with various environments, bosses, and threats to overcome. It was a daunting, seemingly impossible task even the Beta Testers couldn't fully conquer. However, they had seen that when the system was against them they persevered until the last second dropped. Facing indomitable enemies and coming out triumphant.

"What now?" Nagi opened his eyes as the pair quickly scooted apart, Argo clearing her throat.

"We 'never give up', righT?" Argo had overheard him at the plaza, giggling as his face turned red behind the collar of his haori. "Such a way with words, I swore some girls were swooniN',"

"Well, so long as it helps people tomorrow or the next, that's fine by me," He completely side-stepped her last comment, dusting himself off while holding out Argo's dagger for her. "I'll be heading to Horunka before it gets too crowded,"

"Best call, no point travellin' all the way to Tolbana with yer low-leveL," Argo agreed with her arms crossed, then she wagged a finger at him strictly. "You better not do somethin' stupid like Kii-bou probably is doiN',"

Nagi put his hands up nervously, "Cross my heart," He signed before relaxing his smile. "...so, see you in the next over?" Nagi asked, the broker giving him a sly smirk while rubbing two fingers together.

"Nyahaha, so long as you're payin' for some life-saving infO?" Argo cooed in passing.

"Always," He crossed paths with her, high-fiving before bringing their hands back to tap off the backs of their palms. The Rat made her way toward the town while Nagi wandered to the gate leading northwest. Nagi jogged toward the light at the end of the tunnel, stumbling a bit as he turned back to find Argo was long gone, making his chest tighten.

His right foot creased into the dirt, launching out onto the dirt road at breakneck speeds. Others had already begun the journey forward, those that knew not to stand around. It stung in his heart, the idea of how his family and friends were suffering, that swelling grief burning like a furnace in his stomach as he leapt over a wall, seeing a player panic in their attempt to level from the Wild Boars in the area.

Taking in a long-drawn breath, Nagi's sword began to glow its light-blue pigment. "Horizontal!" He flew across the hillside, splitting the charging boar straight through the middle of its head down to the tail in a single stroke, leaving behind shattered glass. "Be more careful next time!" Nagi called back, continuing his sprint.

The boy had decaying leaf-colored hair and light brown eyes that shot up to Nagi. "T-thank you!"

Nagi clutched his sword by his hip tightly, for the time being, this was the best he could do, what mattered most was getting to the second floor, and even more so, surviving until the next day.

On November 6th, in the space of one afternoon, over 213 people had died permanently within SAO, and that number kept rising...

To Be Continued...

How was my take on the first day? As I said, we've all heard the foreboding speech Kayaba gives, Abridged or otherwise, so instead I wanted to focus on Nagi's way of taking the call to action by helping players that needed just someone to confide in. We even met two characters present in SAO.

I tried to keep to Argo's personality while adding a little more emotion when she and Nagi confided in one another, I doubt even someone like Argo would be taking the situation on the first day lightly. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Players!

007 - Way of a Thousand Blades

Something is amiss near the mountains of Floor One, Nagi is set with a most unexpected, and challenging task...