When Hiroko had agreed to play Sword Art Online with a cute<em>kohai</em>from her university's archery club, she never could have imagined the nightmare she was getting herself into.  She'd been pretty impressed by the beta version of the game that the younger girl had insisted she try, and despite her general lack of experience with such games she's been quite eager to step back into that fantastic fantasy world.  When her<em>kohai</em>had called to say she was running a little late and that Hiroko should log in ahead of her Hiroko had done so without hesitation, engrossing herself in creating a character, selecting equipment, and practicing how to use a bow in the virtual world.<br/><br/>The former high school archery champion had been a little perturbed when she realized she couldn't log out, but had figured it was a minor annoyance that would soon be resolved.  But then had come Kayaba and his announcement, followed by the big reveal with the mirrors.  Hiroko had been shocked when the face of the cute blonde girl she was playing was replaced by an image of her own face, accurate even to the beauty mark that was located under the left side of her mouth.<br/><br/>After that she'd searched desperately for her missing<em>kohai</em>.  According to Japanese tradition, it was her duty as a<em>sempai</em>to guide and help out the younger girl, but right then it was Hiroko who needed help and guidance as she knew next to nothing about MMOs.  She knew she should be hoping that the reason she couldn't find her<em>kohai</em>was because the younger girl had failed to log in before news of what was happening broke, but she secretly hoped that the younger girl<em>was</em>logged in, because the idea of facing the nightmare alone scared her.<br/><br/>Eventually, after days of searching, Hiroko gave up on finding her<em>kohai</em>.  She was going to have to face the nightmare alone.  Before leaving the town of beginnings however she acquired one companion she felt she could trust: a Japanese style bow called a<em>yumi</em>. With a strung height of over two meters, the giant bow was taller than its wielder and rather unwieldly, but to a girl who had been practicing Japanese style archery for years it seemed comfortingly familiar.<br/><br/>With bow in hand, the archer girl who went by the screen name "Robin" made her way out of the Town of Beginnings and into the dangerous world beyond.