74Hello readers! This short note is here to explain that, being my first fan-fiction, there will be lots of errors. So, feel free to point them out, with if possible cordiality, it will be really appreciated and it will help me in the long term!
«Players, I welcome you all to my world.»
Kayaba Akihiko, tutorial for Sword art Online.
November 5th, 2022. Day before the «Sao Incident»:
The shinai raced through the wind, striking it's target weapon and breaking her defense before the second shinai, with lightning like speed, struck it's target.
«Men.(Head)»
The sound of the shinai colliding with the helmet of his adverser reverberated through the dojo. The next instant, a sigh, coming from the smaller Kendoka, was heard before she took an angry stance,and...
"You won, Oniichan. Again!" pouted Suguha Kirigaya, thirteen years old girl and shooting-star of Kendo. She took her helmet off, her short black hair messy and her skin luising with sweat, her shinai, worn out by practise, still in her hands.
"Well, didn't you tell me that you wanted an all-out spar with me to prepare yourself for the competition next month?" Answered with an amused smirk Kazuto Kirigaya, said brother-in-fact-cousin of Suguha, fourteen year old kendo practitioner, national champion and acclaimed prodigy of the discipline, his deep black eyes shining with mirth. His black hair, freed of the helmet which constrain it, was in the same messiness than his sister's, but his skin remained relatively free of sweat. His breath was still steady too, while Suguha's breath was shallow and irregular.
His two shinai were then promptly «sheathed» at his belt, allowing him to take the water bottle next to him and drink before giving the rest of his water to his sister. With a quiet thanks, she took a deep gulp and released a sigh of satisfaction before sitting on the floor and prompting his brother to do the same.
"Of course I want you to go all out! I don't intend to stay behind you and lose in the quarter again! " Huffed Suguha with an annoyed frown.
"I'm sure you don't. So can I expect you to fight me in the final this time?" Retorted Kazuto cheekily.
"You bet! You better don't lose to anyone but me, or I won't forgive you!I still need to take my revenge for the last time! I'm sure to win the national, this time!"
Ah. The last time referred to the national tournament of last year, when we faced each other in the quarter, and so Suguha didn't have the chance to prove her worth to the jury. Because of it, she swore to beat me in the tournament this year, and gain the title this time. I wouldn't be surprised if she managed to do it by sheer determination. We are, after all, the same on this point.
Kazuto, after a quick glance at the clock, said with a nonchalant voice. "Well, it's nearly noon, so do you want to make lunch with me, or do you have something better to do?"
Hearing no answer, Kazuto placed himself in front of his sister.
"Sugu?"
"Hmm? Oh, sorry Oniichan, you were saying? I ... was lost in my thoughts."
"What were you thinking so hard about? Your secret boyfriend maybe?" Asked Kazuto teasingly .
With blood rushing to her head, Suguha quickly negated with the head. "N..No! I... I was just thinking about the past. And Ojiisan."
"Oh?" Answered Kazuto plainly. "What about him?"
"Well... you remember when you tried to abandon kendo, and you told it to Ojisan? At the time, you were still quite shy, and a bit cold with me and Okaasan. Well, I always wondered what Ojisan said that make you become so determined and daring. He even made you warmed up to us again, and you showed an interest in Kendo since then!"
Yeah, he remembered it very well. It was this conversation that helped him realize how much his family was precious to him, and it cleared the doubt that were lingering his mind. At this time, he was ten years old, and he had just discovered several months ago that his Kaasan was in fact his aunt, making Suguha his cousin, and that they took care of him when his parents died in a car accident when he was just one year old.
For the young him, it was a shock, so he gradually began to distance himself from his family, first being a little colder with them, and it escalated into him trying to abandon kendo, which he had little interest for in the past. At that time, Ojisan decided that enough was enough, and gave him a talk which made him realized how foolish he was.
Flashback
Near the dojo of the Kirigaya family, two figures could be seen approaching the entrance. They were small and young, seemingly ten years old or so. In their little hands, relatively new shinai could be seen, and while the girl happily chatted with her brother, he himself had a small frown on his face.
In front of the dojo's doors stood a tall and muscular man, his brown eyes cold and unwavering. His baldness, his long white beard and the perpetual frown on his face giving him a feeling of sternness. He is Kirigaya Kobayashi, former cops and kendo champion, and Kazuto and Suguha's grandfather. He was wearing his training gear, which composed of a black hakama and a keiko-gi of the same color.
Coming in front of the old man, both Kazuto and Suguha's bowed stiffly while saying "ONEGAÏSHIMASU, Sensei!". They stayed like this, waiting for the answer of their teacher and grandfather.
After a long pause, a grunt like answer of "Go wear your gear and start to run." was heard before Suguha and Kazuto answered "Yes, Sensei!" and Suguha started to go in the dojo.
However, after opening the doors and seeing that Kazuto wasn't coming, Suguha was going to call him on it when suddenly Kazuto place himself in front of his grandpa'.
"Ojiisan...No...Sensei. Could I talk to you after the training? It's... important." asked nervously Kazuto, fidgeting under the stare of his ojiisan.
Kobayashi, wondering the reason of such a demand, nodded nonetheless before making his way in the dojo with his grandson, joining Suguha who stopped at the door when she heard the conversation and was looking at her brother with a questioning glance. However, seeing the fleeting look in the eyes of her brother, she quickly dropped the matter and started to put on her gear along him. It wasn't long before they both began their training.
During the entire training session, he didn't even look at her once in the eyes. Even during their finishing spar, he just keep to obstinately look elsewhere, everywhere but her eyes, and he didn't even try during the fight. He just keep going long enough to not be considered a yielding per say, but still, his lack of efforts were so apparent that you needed to be blind AND deaf to not see it. Several times, their sensei even scolded him for it, but he didn't seem to care too much.
At the end of the training session, his hakama sticking to his skin due to the thin layer of sweat and his hair a bit messy, Kazuto went in front of his grandpa' while his sister was taking her gear off, and shyly mumbled: "Sensei...I..."
"Stop beating around the bush and say it already Kazuto. Time is a precious thing."
"I... I want to stop Kendo, Sensei!"shouted Kazuto with as much strength that he could muster, his eyes closed.
When he fearfully started to open his eyes to see the reaction of his grandfather, he could only cower in fear when he saw that he was absolutely FURIOUS. When said grandfather started to advance toward him, his hand ready to hit him, he closed his eyes and waited for the strike.
However, before this strike could come, a shout of "Please, Ojiisan, no!" was heard and when Kazuto opened his eyes again, he saw his cousin Suguha, bowing with her head on the floor their grandfather to not hit him, and he faintly heard her saying that she would "train for the both of them" when Kobayashi caught him by the arm.
"Come with me Kazuto. It's time that you hear something that should have been said a long time ago. I can't stand this pitiful attitude of yours any longer. Do NOT follow us Suguha, it is something personal." said he with a gruff voice, before he dragged Kazuto in room located on the ground floor. After he let go of his grandson's arm, he told him to take a seat while he was locking the door.
When he himself took a seat, Kazuto kept his eyes on the floor and never said a word until he heard a sigh coming from his grandfather. When he lifted his eyes to his grandpa, he saw something that shocked him to the core. His grandfather was looking at him with, not anger nor disappointment, but something akin to warm and worry. But he must be seeing things! There's no way than his strict and cold grandfather could be worried about him! However, the voice of his grandpa cut him out of these thoughts quickly:
"Kazuto. When I heard that you had found out about your parents, I somehow knew that you needed to have this conversation. It was probably my... apprehension, that postponed it to later date, even though you needed to hear this. So, foremost, for the confusion and the pain that it caused to both you and Suguha, know that I am deeply sorry."
At this point, Kazuto knew that he must be dreaming. There was no way in hell that his grandfather would be apologizing to him in such a way. It's just impossible!
"However, Kirigaya Kazuto! Can you answer me truthfully and honestly, why did you become so distant to your own sister? To your own mother and father? To your own family?!"
"But she's not my sister! And they are not my true parents!"
"Oh? So when they raised you, they didn't raise you like their own son? When they took care of you when you were ill, they didn't cuddle you like their own son? Are you sure that for you, they are not your true parents?"
As he stood there, the mouth agape, speechless, trembling, crying, his grandfather continued:
"When you were playing with Suguha, were you not laughing with your sibling? When she fell ill, did you not took care of her like the big brother you are? When she cried in front on you, did you not cuddle her with your own arms, calming her with a soothing voice, telling her that her big brother would always be here for her!?
At this point, Kazuto, unable to contain himself anymore, broke down crying and shouted:
"I just don't know anymore!I... I love Okaasan and Otousan and Sugu! I really do! But... but why... why didn't they told me... why did they wait for me to discover it! I felt... when I saw it, I felt astonished, I wished with all my strength that it was an hallucination, a bad dream! That I would woke up and laughed it up with Sugu! So, when I asked it to okasan, and when she told me the truth, I felt so..so... so betrayed! I didn't know what to think anymore! I didn't want to hurt them! I really didn't! Please, trust me... I... didn't want... to hurt them...I just..."
Kazuto was sobbing, hugging his knee, crying with a voice so weak, and looking so frail at this instant, that Kobayashi really think that if he touched him, he would break apart like some shattering glass. So, with gentle movements, he stood up and walked next to Kazuto, before sitting on his knee and hugging him.
When Kazuto felt his grandpa's warm embrace,he broke down once more and continued to cry on his grandfather's shoulder, while saying apologize in stride like a mantra. After several minutes, he wiped his eyes with his sleeve, and thanked his grandfather once more, with a weak voice.
Kobayashi, after this, took several step backward before continuing in a soothing voice. "Kazuto. You're a smart child. You have potential. You have so much kindness in you. But you're full of doubt. You are afraid of making a mistake. And it is your greatest flaw. Do you know why, Kazuto?"
"Because this is your fear of making mistakes, that makes you hurt those who are close to you. I'm sure that you wanted to speak with your mother about your doubts, did you not? But, you were most likely afraid that it would hurt her to hear you say this, so you stayed silent. And these doubt did not vanish, so unconsciously, you hurt her and everyone else by becoming distant."
The child, at the moment, was feeling stupid. He was hating himself. He was trembling with self-loathing. So, he placed himself on his knee, and begged his grandpa, the one who seemed so wise right now.
"Kobayashi-ojiisan... please, tell me what to do so I would never again hurt them..."
At this, his grandfather simply smiled, and placed his hands on his grandson's shoulders.
"It is simple, my grandson:you just need to stop doubting yourself. You just need to have faith in yourself. Because, having doubt just makes you weaker, while being determined makes you able to make everything you want possible."
Kazuto, awed by the conviction that he could sense in his grandfather's word, could only nod shyly when his grandfather, regaining his seriousness, ask him something that he had completely forget.
"Now that it is said, Kazuto. Do you still want to stop Kendo? I know that you are afraid of my reaction, so I will accept it if you REALLY want to stop, but I admit that I would be disappointed."
Kazuto, remembering his reason of being there in the first place, could only chuckle nervously.
"Well...can I ask you something before Ojiisan? Why are you so determined of training me and Suguha in Kendo?"
Kobayashi, after the unexpected question, take several seconds to carefully answer. "The reason for this, is because it is my dream, as a kendo champion, to pass on my knowledge and my skills to my descendants. When my two sons didn't show talents nor interest for Kendo, I was ready to accept that my dream will remain that for the rest of my life. That's why I have so high expectations for you and Suguha, because you both have so much talents! And I'm sure that the talent you have shown was just the tip of the iceberg, because despite your lack of motivation you still were able to follow the training and execute the kata with ease. It is the dream of the old fool in front of you to be able to see my descendants win the national tournament of kendo."
Seeing the bitter smile on his grandfather's face was one of the painfullest thing that Kazuto experimented. Not only was he someone of his family, but this person just helped him with something that plagued him for months.
At this instant, he decided to thank his grandpa by accomplishing his dream within his lifetime. With his new resolution burning in his mind, he stood up and, facing his grandfather, shouted with all the determination he has.
"I will continue Kendo, grandpa. But not only that, I will be a national champion! You'll see! Give me five years... no, three years, and I'll a national champion! You'll be proud of your students; and I'll accomplish your dream!"
"I... Kazuto, I have no doubt you will. Just know that I'm already proud of you and Suguha. Now go, I need to have a little rest, and I think that your sister is worrying a lot about you."
"Yes. I'll be doing just that. Apologize to Okaasan too, and to Otousan when he came back home." Kazuto answered warmly while walking toward the door. "Thank you for everything, Ojiisan."
Later this day, he apologized to his sister and mother, hugging them and telling them how important they were to him. They returned the hug with tears flowing freely from their eyes, and Kazuto had to promised once more to Suguha that he will never leave her before she agreed to let him go.
Three years later, while his grandpa was watching him from a television in a hospital room, Kazuto won the national Kendo competition. His fiercest match was against his little sister, Suguha, who he won against with his mastery of the Niten Ichi Ryu, his dual sword style that he used for the first time against her. After the final, Kirigaya Kobayashi died of cardiac failure, tears leaking from his eyes and a smile on his face.
Flashback end
"Oniisan. Oniisan! ONIiSAN!" Shouted an irrate Suguha.
"Eh...? Ah! Sorry Sugu, I was thinking about the past, me too." apologized Kazuto sheepishly.
"Geez, you're impossible! So, will you answer me or not?You never answered me whenever I asked you before, it is something to personal to say, or...?"
"Ah, that's not it. Well, I just am uncomfortable thinking about it. Maybe, if you win the national, I will tell you." Retorted Kazuto with a smirk.
An instant of silence passed before she sighed and quickly changed the subject. "Okay... So, what do you intend to do after lunch? I'm going with Umeko-san and Taeko-san to the mall. Do you want to come with me?" Asked Suguha in a falsely nonchalant voice.
Kazuto just chuckled sheepishly, seeing through the display of his sister and explained in a sheepish tone "Sorry Sugu, today I need to prepare everything for tomorrow. I already told you so yesterday." and going toward the dojo's door continued "I'm going to prepare lunch today, you can take a shower if you want meanwhile, or you can help me cook so it goes faster."
"Tomorrow? You mean your game right... Well,I will help you Oniichan! After all, I can't let you cook unsupervised, can I?" coupled with a playful wink which granted her some water on her face courtesy of her amused brother.
The rest of the day was like a blur to Kazuto: he remembered the lunch which was spent in a trivial and lighthearted conversation, then the depart of Suguha. After this, he went to his computer, homemade at the age of 10, and started to read the different interviews and topics about the game which will officially start tomorrow: Sword Art Online!
He was one of the lucky thousands(out of one Million!) who were chosen to be the beta-tester. He still remembered the delightful two months which he spent in this game; even though he was one of the best players, he was at a measly level 12. It was just to show the unimaginable difficulty of the game. And, he couldn't just play to the game, he still needed to practice Kendo of course, but still. And they were only at the 6th floor at the end of beta, while they were one hundred floors to clear!
So, right now, he was just refreshing his memory and looking after news from the creator of the Nerve Gear and the game, Kayaba Akihiko. He always found it amazing that Kayaba never once mentioned it at a "simple game". He always referred it as an other world, something beyond the boundaries of this world. And this game was as close to a world as possible, with it's limitless numbers of NPCs, skills and weapons. The skills went from forging weapons to sewing, fishing or even cooking to those interested, with each their one thousand levels needed to master the skills.
After this, he faintly remembered hearing Suguha telling him to come because dinner was ready. They made small talk during the dinner, Suguha telling about her day of shopping(during which she bought absolutely nothing, to the amazement of Kazuto. She had spent the whole day in the mall for what?!Sightseeing?!), himself advertizing that tomorrow he would skip the morning spar and would probably be playing the whole day till night, and several other unimportant things, before washing the dishes swiftly, brushing his teeth in an instant and trying(unsuccessfully thus far) to sleep. His nervousness and excitation kept him far away from the desired slumber.
November the 6th, 2022. Day of the «SAO Incident»:
After countless sighs, he stood up to look at the time, his digital clock taunting him mercilessly with the red figures of 05:48 AM. Resisting the urge to sigh once more, he got out of bed and he turned on his computer,thinking that If he couldn't sleep, he might as well do something meaningful... like searching for any last-minute information once more. Hey, a prodigy in Kendo he might be, but he still loved informatics and computer as much than before! Proof it is of his self-made 24 GHz octa-core PC with it's triple screen, made several years ago already.
Finding no new information, he sighed again and, seeing that it was nearly thirty to nine, decided to make breakfast for his sister and himself, knowing that Sugu usually woke up at nine o'clock, and that her shower took another fifteen minutes (a miracle according to his friends!), he had 45 minutes to prepared it. Well, time to get to work!
Thus, when Kirigaya Suguha entered the kitchen at 09:50, what awaited her was a sumptuous breakfast, with white rice, miso sauce, several shishamo, natto and a cup of tea on the kitchen's table. Her brother was waiting next to the next, a proud smile on his face, while he gestured to her to sat down. The delicious aroma exuded by the food quickly prompted her to started eating, of course after the traditional "Itadakimasu". After fifteen minutes, the table was freed of any food, and two very pleased Kirigaya could be seen washing the empty dishes while conversing lightheartedly.
"It was amazing, Onichan! Is there a reason as to why you worked so hard on the breakfast today?"
"Well, not really, I just felt like it. I had the time too, since I had a bit of trouble to sleep, so I thought why not, and there we are" explained Kazuto with an amused smile.
"Oh? That's all? And me who thought that It was to give me some energy for my kendo training at the club this afternoon. But of course you didn't think about poor little old me." Teased good-heartedly Sugu with a wink.
"O...Of course it is for this too." chuckled nervously Kazuto. "You didn't think that I had forgotten it, right? What kind of shameless brother would forget something as important as this?"
"Riiight. Of course you didn't. This matter apart, when start your gaming spree? You told me that you would played at it the whole day, but I don't remember you telling me this."
"Ah? I must have forgotten. Well, Sword Art Online begin at 1 PM. I want to be prepared thirty minutes before that, so from 12:30 to... said 06:30 PM I'll be playing. Then I will do some light training in Kendo till seven o'clock, and after this I will prepare the dinner to the both of us, sound okay for you?"
"No problem. I should come home between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM. Don't forget to stop before I come back, or I'll make you!"
"Haha! Don't worry Sugu, you'll come home to find a find a table full of food waiting only you." confidently said Kazuto.
"If you say so." Retorted Suguha with mirth. Having finished to wash the dishes, she dried her hands with a nearby towel while glancing at the clock. "Well, you may don't do YOUR morning training, but I still have MINE to do. So, see you at noon"
Looking at the clock, he saw that it indeed was already twenty past ten. Deciding that his impatience needed to be sated once more, he went to his room and started to read everything about Kayaba Akihiko. Interviews, news, briefing...
Why, would you think? Well, because this man, this genius, was someone that Kazuto respected from the bottom of his heart, that's why!He was the man who ten years ago started alone to develop the technology of the Nerve Gear and the "Fulldive", which is the term used to explain the act of linking to virtual reality. The Nerve Gear itself is like a cask, but in truth it was numerous signal transceivers. By using the electronic signals sent by those transceivers, the gear acceded the user's brain itself. Thus, the five senses didn't use the eyes or the ears, but the signals went directly to the brain. However, it was not all: The Nerve Gear sent fake signals to the brain, but it also blocked the orders that the brain sent to the body. It was a necessity: nobody wanted to ran into a wall, or worse.
Kayaba Akihiko may have started to develop the Nerve Gear alone, but he quickly found a team ready to work with him in the form of Argus. The success of the Nerve Gear, which was the wet dreams of every gamer really, made them go from an anonymous company to the most famous and successful industry of Virtual Reality. However, even though the Nerve Gear was issued, the gamer quickly realized that the game of sport and flight weren't enough: a MMORPG was needed to exploit the full potential of this new reality.
That's why, when Argus published the development of the very first VRMMORPG, developed by Kayaba himself, and started the recruitment of 1,000 beta-tester for the game, named "Swort Art Online", more than one MILLION people sent their candidature. And Kazuto himself was one of the lucky chosen for this unique opportunity !
Looking at the bottom-right of his screen, the figures indicating twelve past noon prompted him to start eating his bento. He wasn't really hungry, but he knew that not eating before Fulldiving for several hours was a bad idea: he already experienced it enough times to know it. Seeing that he still had twenty minutes before the launching of SAO, so he started the installation of his Nerve Gear to his computer. When there was ten minutes left, he heard his sister advertizing him that she went to her club. He told her to do her best.
Five minutes left, he laid on his bed, the Nerve Gear on his head, looking intently at the clock in the top-left corner.
Four minutes left, he remembered that he forgot to prepare some snacks if he disconnected before the dinner, but it was to late now.
Three minutes left, he was starting to feel impatient, his glare trying to force the figures to go faster.
Two minutes left, he mentally reviewed everything he will do when he connect. He should go directly to the nearest NPC weapons store, to buy some sword and start to grind the mob near the starting city.
One minute left, he remembered that he promised to Argo that he will add her on his friends list when he will connect.
Thirty seconds left, he mentally prepared himself to say the magic words.
Twenty seconds left, he humidified his lips.
Ten seconds left, he took a great breath.
Nine...Eight...Seven...Six...Five...Four...Three...Two...One...
Kazuto then shouted with all his conviction, hopes and determination, at 01:00 Am exactly, the words that sealed his fate: "Link Start!"
And that's the end of the first chapter! So, I will explain here some japanese term that I used:
-Oniichan, quiete obviously, mean big brother.
-Ojiisan mean grandfather.
-Okaasan and otousan are respectively mum and dad.
-Shishamo is a variety of fish
-Natto is fermented soya bean, classic of japanese breakfast
Thank you to have read my chapter, and please leave a review explaining your feelings about it!