Sword Art Online/ソードアート・オンライン 1. AUTHOR'S NOTES

_I'm going to try and keep Author's notes to a minimum after this so please hang in there!_

**Here's something all of you SAO Fans should know by now - though I did make alterations! **

**I'm including it so that everyone gets the feels for what Sword Art Online is. If you're a fan then feel free to skip over this without further notice! However, if you aren't a fan -though IDK why you'd be reading this if you WEREN'T a fan (Is there something wrong with you? O_O)- then please feel free to read! **

**It's the opening of Reki Kawahara's light novel Sword Art Online: Aincrad (volume #1)! **

**Having said that I DO NOT own Sword Art Online, only various characters within this story (though most of them are Cannons there might be glimpses of known characters so keep that in mind as well).**

**I, also, plan to make a few alterations format wise **(Ex. I will not be including the "« »" when listing things and instead will use _italics_.)

**Rated PG-13 for now, if harder language is used I will be changing it to R. **

_Thanks for picking my Fanfiction to read, hope you enjoy!_

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A huge castle made of stone and steel floating in an endless sky. That was all this world was.

It took a various group of craftsmen one month to survey the place; the diameter of the base floor was about 10 kilometers — large enough to fit the entirety of Setagaya-ku within. Above, there were 100 floors stacking straight upwards; its sheer size was unbelievable. It was impossible to even guess how much data it consisted of.

Inside, there were a couple of large cities along with countless small scale towns and villages, forests and plains, and even lakes. Only one stairway linked each floor to another, and the stairways existed in dungeons where large numbers of monsters roamed; so discovering and getting through was no easy matter.

However, once someone made a breakthrough and arrived at a city of the upper floor, the _Teleport Gates_ there and of every cities in the lower floors would be connected making it possible for anyone to move freely through these levels.

The name of the castle was _Aincrad_, a world of battles with swords that continued floating and had approximately ten thousand people trapped within. Otherwise known as...

**_Sword Art Online_**.


	2. I: Nervegear

I: Nervegear

* * *

Hanako had never really been interested in Nervegear, or at least that's what she told herself during the odd occasions that the subject came up. To her, when Nervegear was concerned, it was a large waste of money and made people fall for an illusion. It was a false world that people liked more than the real one, fake and unsafe. Of course it was, but that didn't stop Daichi from fawning over the new gear like it was the golden fleece itself. Her brother had always been a gamer, she had thought this was just another phase of his hobby that she would never get involved in. Despite this Hanako knew there was a deep curiousity rooted beneath this distrust in the technology. Perhaps it was the fact that she knew very little about it except that it had been invented by some guy with way too much time on his hands. As far Hanako knew the helmet her brother put on had some type of technology in it that messed with a person's senses, allowing them to enter a virtual world. She eventually had Daichi explain things to her.

According to him, Nervegear -known as NRV Gear by the technical junkies- was the first generation of FullDive technology made by Kayaba Akihiro released with the Beta Game by Argus. The mechanics were simple enough to understand as well. It basically worked as a computer you slipped over your head so that it could trick your brain and use your mind as the screen. It had the ability to redirect signals in the brain and control your five sense, which was why using it was actually like stepping into a virtual world. Equipped with a back-up battery and internal memory, the helmet that Hanako always saw Daichi wearing was the real deal. The most impressive part was the high density microwave transceivers that her brother described to her though. They were powerful enough to determine a user's face structure, in other words it could tell what a person looked like just by pulling it on.

What Daichi seemed the most excited about though was the game he was a Beta Tester of along with 1000 others; Sword Art Online. It was some game that he referred to as a VRMMORPG, some gamer code that meant along the lines of Virtual Reality Multi-something-online Role play. Hanako didn't know the specifics except for the game used the NRV. He said the place was amazing, a whole world compacted into 100 floors of dangerous monsters and sword fighting. Amused and intrigued, Hanako had allowed herself the pleasure of listening to his rambling stories about himself and the other players. It wasn't until the second week that the topic of the Dual Prince appeared. A player with the unique ability to wield two swords, Daichi had never seen anyone like him. It was obsession that he couldn't stop talking about for the rest of the month. By the time it was over Hanako almost felt sad the stories would stop, not that she would admit it.

"Well, it's a good thing it's over." She stated, lounging on Daichi's bed as he hammered away at this computer keyboard. "You can get back to reality now. I'm pretty sure mom's pissed you ditched college for a month straight." She saw him glance over at her quickly before turning his eyes back to the screen in front of him, choosing to remain silent. Daichi was older then her by two years, the youngest son in their family of six. Tall with a mess of sloppy blonde hair and blue eyes, he was seemingly attractive on the outside. In truth he was actually a nerd that hid from daylight and kept a collection of 2D girlfriends hanging on his wall. It was a waste of good-looks if you asked Hanako but it wasn't her problem. If he wanted to spend his time with a poster then who was she to judge? Hanako had some strange habit of her own after all, ones that her friends at school would never believe she had. "What are you going to do with all your free time?" She questioned, "Now that your game is done."

"Dunno." He replied lazily over his shoulder. "But I preordered the actually game so it shouldn't be that hard to wait until November for the launch." Hanako let out a shocked noise, sitting up abruptly.

"You preorder the actual game?" She asked, gapping at him. "Where are you going to get the time to play that? Don't you dare become a stinky hermit, I won't be able to invite friends over!" He didn't reply, just gave a soft laugh and continued playing his game as if nothing had happened. She couldn't believe him, already he had neglected everything he was supposed to do for a month and he planned to continue the trend in November? He was so obsessed with games that he was going to slowly deteriorate into nothing, even now he was playing a game as if it was more important than the conversation they were having. To Daichi, neglecting a game was worse than neglecting life. He'd easily hang up anything he had planned so that he could get his hands on new software or beat the next level of some adventure game he was playing. It was so immature of him that Hanako - and the rest of the family - scolded him for it all the time. At the rate he was going he would be living off of their parents until he was forty. Still, Hanako couldn't fully make herself hate the fact that he was irresponsible, because with the game came the stories.

"You think the Dual Prince preordered it also?" She questioned meekly, swinging her legs around so they danged off the side of his bed. "I mean... He was one of the best, it only makes sense that he would." Her statement finally got the attention it deserved, Daichi turning in his swivel chair to stare seriously into her eyes. An unnerving silence filled the room, the screen of his computer flashing a few times as he died before a menu popped up. Still their eyes held each other - large grey ones against slanted blue ones - Hanako not daring to look away even a second as her brother looked her over. Finally a smile crept across his face; one that gave Hanako shivers. It was clear evil thoughts had crossed through his mind, Daichi was planning something.

When he spoke it was almost deadly, "You want to do it..." Hanako's eyes widened as a single hand lifted and her brother pointed at the Nervegear waiting on his desk. "Want to try a fulldive of your own?" Hanako felt her heart jump, her body suddenly becoming very hard to hold still as she shifted her weight around on the bed. He hadn't offered anything like that before and though the offer was appealing Hanako didn't think she could handle something like that. To go into a virtual world was not something she wanted to do, afraid that she might like the game world better then the real one. She shook her head, peeking around at the helmet her brother was still pointing to.

"No. Way." She stated in an attempt to be firm, "I don't want to play some... stupid... ga..." Her voice trailed away as Daichi forcefully stood from his chair, causing it to shoot backwards and clatter against the wall behind him. He then walked - more like stomped - his way to his closet and threw open it's door so that he could rummage around in the back; withdrawing a large box as he turned to face her once more. It didn't look like much, just a plain cardboard box with nothing printed on the outside, but when he placed it in front of her and lifted the lid Hanako almost felt like her stomach was about to explode.

"I had hoped you'd take part in the actual game with me." He said looking down at the Nervegear within the box. "That's why I went out and bought this and preordered two copies of Sword Art Online." The slick blue helmet seemed to call to her, the NRV print in black holding her eyes in some sort of trance. Daichi dropped the lib back onto the box before she could so much as blink, shrugging as he began to put it away. "Since you don't want it, I guess I'll have to sell it or something."

Hanako clicked her tongue hatefully and snatched the box from him. "Only because you went through the effort to get one for me." She snapped, secretly overjoyed with having her own Nervegear. "I'll only do it once, if I don't like it then you can't bug me about it later on. Got it?" Daichi gave her a bright smile, head tilted to the side like an overly happy puppy. She could practically see his tail wagging.

"I know you'll like it." He replied almost skipping over to his computer, "I'm one step closer to my dream now!" Shifting the box so that it was propped o her hip, she looked over her brother's delighted face. She knew encouraging him was bad but she was suddenly rather curious about what he was talking about.

"Dream?" She asked figuring that if he said something stupid she would put him in his place. She couldn't have his head in the clouds too often, he was already in a virtual world enough to be deemed stupid.

"For you, the Dual Prince, and I to conquer the 100 floors of Aincrad!" He stated, pride written all over his face. "Or to learn how to wield two blades... either one would be enough for me." Hanako held back the urge to rub her face tiredly and shook her head.

"Idiot. Who would want to play a full game with you?" She snapped, the impact of the words causing Daichi's head to droop. "Still, it seems like it might be possible so I guess I can help you out." With that Hanako stood, ignoring the sparkle in her brother's eyes as she exited his bedroom and cross the hall to her own. After placing the gear in the corner she flopped down on her bed, staring up at the white ceiling as she took in the silence of her room. She wasn't sure if following her brother into a game like that would be smart and she was frightened but she seemed drawn to it as well.

"A Virtual Reality, huh?" She mumbled letting her eyes drift closed. "Might be nice."


	3. II: Link Start!

II: Link Start!

* * *

November 6th, 2022; a Sunday. The day that Sword Art Online would officially launch had finally arrived and Hanako couldn't be more nervous. Sleeping was impossible, her mind seemed to concerned with running in circles about whether or not she should actually test out the VRMMORPG with her brother or opt out like she usually did when it came to his games. Sword Art Online was the first of its kind though and the thought of virtual gaming was something that would revolutionize the world. She was curious as to what it would be like because, unlike her brother, she had never done anything like this before. Daichi on the other had had been part of the lucky 1000 beta testers that had been picked for the trial run that happened in august. He had offered to show her around once they submerged, telling her that he would walk her through every step until she felt comfortable on her own. Hanako just wished it was that simple.

Glaring at the wall of their kitchen, eyebrows furrowed in deep thought, Hanako blocked out the world as she debated just how she wanted to go about this new challenge. She glanced at the clock, 12:06 and the launch was at 1PM that afternoon. That gave her a little under an hour to decide. She somehow felt it wouldn't be enough time, the closing deadline gripping her stomach and causing her to fidget nervously in her chair. Sitting and worrying about it was doing bad things with her mind, she had to move around or she'd go crazy thinking about it.

Looking around the room she studied the rest of her family. Akira, her older brother, was bent over a stack of files that probably had something to do with his work. He was 23 year old fresh out of law school with a job as a low level lawyer at some law firm. Truth was his job was just a cloak for the higher ups using him recklessly as a slave, making him do everything they either didn't had the time for or didn't care to do themselves. Next to him, snoring with his limps spread awkwardly outward over the side of the couch, was Ren. Not much could be said about him other then the fact that he seemed to be doing pretty well in school despite the fact that he tended to sleep through most of his classes. Hanako couldn't really understand the reason he was so tired since he didn't do much during the day, but she supposed he wasn't often at home during the night hours. He had a busy nightlife.

Tucked into the corner was Hanako's third brother, Taro, the second oldest of the group. He was flipping through the channels in search of a good news show. He was a business man and was rarely ever home except for the odd occasion that they had a family dinner. Usually he was at his own house with his wife and daughter. Finally was Daichi, who was rubbing down his NRV helmet as if it were some sort of trophy. Hanako was sure he wouldn't stop rubbing it down until it gleamed and reflected his face in the surface. Their parents had gone to the store so everyone in the family was accounted for.

"Don't worry about me." she said to the others in the room as she pushed her chair back. "I'm just going to find a dark hole to climb into." No one even looked up at her, Taro seemed to manage a little wave of his hand and Ren snored louder but other than that her exiting the room was a very uneventful thing for them. She headed upstairs, venturing into her room to flop onto the floor and stare at the computer unit that Daichi had set up in her room the day before. He had done a great deal of explaining in the past two weeks, he had wanted to make sure she was ready to go by the time the servers were up at 1 o'clock that day.

He had started with the basics, that the world she would be entering was called Aincrad; otherwise known as Sword Art Online. It was a huge castle made of stone and steel floating in an endless sky, 100 floors of it. The goal was simple enough, Players had to fight their way through a labyrinth of dungeons located in the tower connecting the floors to one another. Once you located the Boss in the dungeon of the current floor that was unlocked it was a simple enough to know that you had to defeat it. Apparently people went about it in different ways, doing it alone was harder so some people got into groups to take them down. If you were hit to many times and you HP reached zero, well then it was game over and you'd have to restart in the main city of that floor. The rest he planned to walk her through in the game once they met up.

"Some things just have to be taught in-game." Daichi had told her with a shrug, "Don't worry, I'll be able to find you so just enjoy yourself until I get there. Look around and stuff, spend some Col. Oh, buy yourself a good sword and some maps of floor 1." Sword and maps, it seemed like a simple enough task for her first full dive. She had nothing to be worried about, if she didn't like it she could simply log out and be done with it. Daichi had said it was alright for her to just look around, besides he would be following her into the game shortly after so it wasn't like she'd have to wait long. A short first dive, one that only lasted an hour or so. She had to be back to help her mom make dinner anyways so she'd just keep an eye on the time. Speaking of time, it was almost 12:45 and with a press of her computer's power button the countdown began. She decided to watch the news, most of them would be covering the launch of SAO anyways so it'd be nice to see who she'd be interacting with.

Dragging her mouse across the screen she clicked the small play button at the bottom of a video. "It's time for this week's MMO stream. We begin with a promotional video. Was this the day of last week's launch? What were all there's people waiting for?" Flashes of a huge line flickered past on her screen, the people looked excited and rather oblivious to the passerby's that openly stared at them. Hanako wondered if they were all preparing for their first full dives as well, though the thought didn't last long as the female voice cut rudely across her mind. "Sword Art Online. The one at the front of the line waited three days prior to the launch. Amazing! Or is that just what any real gamer would do?"

"Eh!? Three days?" Hanako said in disbelief as the screen switched to a scene of a group of men. "Such dedication." The flaunted their games proudly, beaming like they had just won an Olympic gold medal. She imagined the owner's of the game store even happier than them, though it was hard to believe as a particularly foolish looking red-head in the corner caught her eye. So a different variety of people liked this type of thing, it was surprising but Hanako supposed it was normal for people to be curious about the first virtual world.

"Today we will be covering the internationally famous Sword Art Online, a.k.a. SAO!" The female voice continued to drone on but Hanako was no longer interested, her eyes had caught hold of the clock. It seemed like it was time so with a soft sigh she closed down the internet and connected the NerveGear with the correct wires. Daichi had insisted that she know how to do it by herself, that way if she became obsessed with it he wouldn't have to set it up for her every time. It was simple enough, connecting a wire here and securing a few things over there. By the times she was all set the clock read two minutes until one and Daichi burst into the room.

"Ah... oh, you've already got it set up." He said in an impressed tone, "It thought I would have to talk you into it again, but it looks like I was worried for nothing. Alright! Ready to try it out?" Hanako swallowed the lump I her throat as she was handed the helmet. It took a bit of time to get it on and comfortable but by the time she laid back on her bed Daichi was already beaming with excitement. "Remember, I won't be able to come on until later, I have to finish all that work that I left alone all summer if I want to be able to play seriously. It should take me a few hours so I'll just log on after dinner and show you the basics then. Remember to set an alarm, alright?"

She nodded and fidgeted around on her bed in an effort to get comfortable. When she was in a position she liked she glanced nervously at Daichi through the shades glass of the NRV helmet. Sensing her fear he gave her a thumbs up, grinning stupidly like he always did.

"You'll find me, right?" She asked nervously. "If you don't I'll kick your butt!" He nodded enthusiastically, tapping on the part of her helmet above the clock to point out that it was already a few minutes past one. She had to clear her throat a few times before she finally manages to speak. "Link Start."

At the sound of the word the helmet comes to like around her, the screen flashing a bright white. With blurbs of color the system begins to check itself, approving the different bits of hardware just as Daichi had said it would. Finally a selection pops up allowing her to pick out a language before the login screen appears. Hanako had already created an account online just as her brother had instructed her to do, so without a minutes delay she typed in the information. A soft ring met her ears before a tunnel of blues and grays flashed in front of her, transporting her into the world of Sword Art Online.


End file.

Sword Art Online/ソードアート・オンライン, Fantasy, Romance