October of 2023

A few months have passed since the day one of the most anticipated video games of the decade has turned into the worst nightmare of its player base. By now, the names Sword Art Online and Kayaba Akihiko have been imprinted in most people's minds, whether they like it not. Among those people are those who wake up each morning ever since to be reminded that their friend, their sibling, their lover or even spouse is subjected to imprisonment in a virtual world, with chances of never returning back stacked on top. As you imagine, without the game's creator and mastermind whereabouts being known, therefore no way of prosecuting him, the rage and agony of these people had to surface somewhere.

With a hastened pace and a backpack swinging forcefully on their back, a young and pale blond 16 years old boy was making his way between the rows of other students just freed from school by the bell. But he didn't have as satisfied an expression as his peers. No. His gaze was cast slightly downward, his sea-blue eyes tired and sluggish, but with a scowl on his visage. This boy had waited hours to finally leave school for he had some business to take care off... business not so pleasuring to say the least. 

Constantly checking out the unknown alleyways he ventured into, with an eye keeping track of the GPS app on his phone, he navigated the neighborhood. It was his first time there, without a doubt, but confidence of being sure what he's looking for is here would have you fooled. For the past 2 months he made investigations, talked to a lot of people and ran background checks in hopes of finding one single person, a peer of his age apparently. His search was fruitful in the end, but the sight of his discovery wasn't what he expected.

With a loud thud, the back of a raven haired highschool student hit the brick wall behind him, his school supplies poking him even from inside his backpack. At least it cushioned some of the force from the shove. He didn't retaliate on his aggressors, as much as he wanted to, but he understood their reasons. He understood why his fellow schoolmates would seek him out to scoff and scowl at him, even go as far as give him bruises during PE classes so long the teacher wasn't watching. He...understood why he was bullied. If only he was entirely at fault for it though. 

"What are you putting on a brave act for?!", a brown haired classmate of his lashed out, shoving his leg in the boy's stomach, making him gasp for a moment. 

But he remained silent. He's tried fighting back in the past, and all it earned him was a higher crowd the next time and, subsequently, more bruises later on. Having the means to fight back, in his case, a lean but tall and slightly muscular build, doesn't always mean it's good to be put to use. There were higher chances of him getting charged for assault than the issue being solved. Seeing as his aggressor had other boys and girls from school there to vouch for him, it's clear he was in a sore spot. 

"SAY SOMETHING!", his opponent raged once more, pinning the boy to the wall, pressing his arm against his neck. The saving grace was that he lacked muscle mass to seriously cause any breathing issues. Of course, that's not to say he didn't try. 

The victim stayed quiet. He didn't avert eye contact, but didn't taunt his opponent further. At least, he didn't intend to, but the brown haired one had little to no patience at this point, and went it for a direct punch to the face, with gritted teeth. 

The raven one gritted his as well and braced for impact, already coming up with some excuse to his teachers next time they meet and ask what happened to his face. But the impact never hit its mark.

"The hell is your  problem?!"

Hearing the confused tone of his aggressor the raven opened his eyes to see someone has come to his aid, catching the fist that was aimed for his head. His helper's back was turned, but the yellow strands of hair were obvious at first glance. He stood maybe 2 inches above the raven, but otherwise their height and over all build seemed similar. Considering how easy he stepped in, it wouldn't be far fetched to assume the new guy had experience with fist fights before. 

"Stop it.", the blond's voice was suave, almost a perfect match for singing, almost going against his overall appearance of a brawler. He turned slightly to check on the raven one, who stood wide eyed and suspicious at the new arrival. 

"Tch. You a friend of his or something?"

"...no. We don't know each other.", his eyes dropped slightly, cursing himself under his breath.

"Then go away! This doesn't concern you-AGH!", he got his wind knocked out of his by a kick to the chest. The rest of his group rushed to get in front to prevent further blows, but the blond had no reason to continue. 

"See for yourself how much a kick hurts." 

The other 2 boys, probably close friends of his, put him on their shoulders to carry him away, with the rest closely following suit, as they wouldn't fare much better in a street fight anyway, leaving the 2 guys in their own company. 

They finally made full eye contact with one another, the raven expecting the blond to say something, but his words died in his throat. He rubbed his neck awkwardly as he struggled to watch the other person in the eyes. How could he? He marched all the way here to do the exact thing he prevented... Confronting yourself in the mirror is never a pleasure to do.

Eventually, seeing as the guy couldn't strike a conversation, the raven abandoned his oath of silence and spoke.

"You shouldn't have done that. Now they're just going to get riled up more.", his voice was deeper than the blond's and raspier, which almost came as a shock for the other, probably expecting some gratitude. 

"...you don't hold a grudge against them...?"

"What's the point of it? It's not going to solve anything."

"But-"

"Still!", he cut him off. "Thanks, i guess."

Dusting himself off, the raven adjusted his backpack and went on his way home, with a slow pace, poking here and there at his stomach to feel if it hurts or not after the kick.

"Wait!", the blond called out, almost on instinct. He didn't accomplish his goal. Others did it for him, which made him sick to his stomach in more ways than one. But there was still one thing he needed from the boy, answers.

But those answers were slowly walking away, ignoring his plead to wait. He wasn't about to let that happen. And so the pursuit begins.

With 2 to 3 meters of distance between the 2, the blond walked at the same pace following his target, who ever so often would look behind to see if his savior was still clinging to him. 

"Quit following me.", the raven was slowly getting irritated. 

"I just want to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about. I don't need a stalker in my life."

"I am not a stalker. I helped you didn't I?"

"Help I didn't ask for!"

"Tch.", the blond's patience was running dry as well by now. 

But neither teen was keen on indulging in the other's request, and so the stalemate continued. This back and forth went on for a good half an hour, the raven purposely taking the long way around to maybe lose his follower, but to no avail. Eventually, he had to be more forceful once they reached a smart apartment complex. 

"Ok. Look. I don't know why you're so adamant on following me around, but I will call the police if you keep this up!"

"...this...is where you live?", the blond seemed more surprised than snarky, as if his expectations were on an entirely different level.

"...yes. So get out of here.", he went on to climb the staircase, but for the first time since their meeting earlier in the day, the blond put his hands on him.

He gripped his arm, tugging at him to come back down. Sure, he couldn't enter someone's own home uninvited, but he could get his answers outside just as fine.

"I had enough as well, you know? So just play along for a while and-WOAH!"

The blond dodged just in time the elbow that came straight for his chest, in an attempt to break free from his grasp. Sure enough, the raven knows his way around the street just as well. 

"You can pull stuff like this and yet let yourself be beat up?", the taller one pulled his guard up, adopting the most common stance for boxing. 

"I don't like to fight.", the raven lowered his body, keeping his palms relatively opened, as if waiting to grapple his opponent. 

A new kind of stalemate took the place of the previous one. This time, someone was sure to get hurt. Right? Well...

"Ahem.", the soft voice of a coal black haired girl broke them out of their concentration. She was one of the residents of the upper floors and seemed annoyed by the duel that was blocking her only way of reaching her apartment. 

"Do you mind?", she questioned the boys, waiting to be let through. 

The blond toggled view between his opponent and the girl, not sure how to proceed from here on. The raven, on the other hand, with a sigh of annoyance, forcefully grabbed the blond by his collar and dragged him up the stairs and into his own apartment, leaving the girl from earlier a bit dumbfounded. At the very least, no other shouting was heard from beyond the walls and door.

As soon as the door was shut, the raven's shoes and back pack were thrown to the side of the hall and his coat hanged on a hook just above the rest. This was a one room apartment, the hallway incorporated near its end the fridge, sink and washing machine along with some cabinets above those. After that, it led into the main room where the bed was located, along with a desk, a wardrobe and a small circular table in the center, short enough that you'd only need a pillow to sit comfortably and eat on it. The only other separate room was the bathroom, with its toilet, shower and sink, but that's not that interesting or relevant.

"Are you coming in or what?", the tenant questioned his guest, caught up in his surprise at the turn of events. 

"Ah. Yes. Pardon the intrusion...i guess?", he hanged his coat, left his shoes and backpack and joined his new acquaintance in the main room, being offered a pillow to sit on around the table. He also noticed a rather large trash bag thrown in an empty corner of said room. But he highly doubted that was garbage, seeing as it emanated no smell. By the outline, he'd guess those were books or newspapers. 

"Get on with it.", the tenant rested his back against the bed, waiting for the questions to come.

"...Right.", he couldn't allow himself to forget why he came here in the first place. "I am assuming you don't know who I am, right?"

"No...but you do know me by the looks of it.", the raven narrowed his eyes. 

"...Kayaba Saruhiko..."

The raven had no reaction hearing his name be mentioned, used by now to people throwing it around, especially his family name. Saruhiko simply let out another sigh, coming to terms what this conversation was about to discuss.

"Then...I take it you're here due to my older brother, Akihiko.", the blond teen simply nodded, allowing Saruhiko to continue. "...Before this degenerates into a shouting match, let me make it clear that I have no idea about his whereabouts. I've told the same thing to the police and any other person that ever asked about it."

"...Your parents?"

"They moved to the countryside to avoid, well...you know by now.", the raven traced his fingers slightly over his bruised arm.

"Right. Sorry."

"Don't mind it. Besides, since you're here, I assume you have someone close to you stuck in Akihiko's game, most likely." 

"My name is Yuuki Misaki and the one stuck is ...my sister, actually. She's close to our age. " 

There was a brief silence between the 2, as neither found it comfortable to talk about the circumstances of those in the game.  Misaki especially.

"I guess I should apologize for my brother. Though I am not sure if you really want to hear it or not.", Saruhiko was still thankful Misaki was more prone to conversation than scandal.

"Ah. No. It's not like it's your fault. Besides, it would have been my older brother Kouichirou  the one stuck if it wasn't for the business trip he went on."

"Your brother is a business man?"

"Well, my father is the CEO of RECT Inc. And my brother works for the company."

"RECT Inc?! But that's-"

"The company that took on the hosting of SAO servers after Argus, the original creators, went bankrupt. Yes.", Misaki finished Saruhiko's words for him. Perhaps their fate was a lot more intertwined than they initially anticipated.

"But then... you should already know more details about SAO than I do. So why seek me out?"

"Initially...I just wanted someone to take my anger out on, but after today... I fell like I am the one who needs to apologize."

"Don't sweat it. I am used to it after so long."

"...right..." 

The flow of the conversation was disrupted once more, as Misaki's questions all flew out the window the moment he was told there's no info about Akihiko's whereabouts. All but one.

"Say... is there like...any reason your brother did, well, this?" 

Kayaba took a sneaky peak at the trash bag in the corner before contemplating.

"Maybe he did, but ... I don't think he told anyone about it. At least, not to me."

...

"Then this whole investigation was a bust...", Misaki let himself fall flat on his back, seemingly giving up. "Ah! But don't take this personally or anything. I shouldn't have had high expectations about something not even my dad's company can sort out."

"Have they made any attempt?"

"Depends what you consider attempt or not. They plan to release a new VRMMO called Alfheim next week or so, a safe one. But in terms of solving the SAO fiasco...not so much..."

"They made the AmuSphere, right?"

"That's for the new game, though. I don't see how will it serve the ones stuck in SAO now. The only saving grace is that it can't fry your brain. I made sure of that.", Misaki puffed his chest slightly, almost feeling prideful.

"You did?"

"I...like to tinker with electronics from time to time."

"So you're an IT guy..."

"Eh...can't say for certain. I suck at software. So if you're expecting coding out of me, let me disappoint you right here and now. It's just that I love engineering. So I gave my dad some help here and there... Sorry. Went on too much of a tangent there...", his mind went back to his sister and the time he wasted to search for Saruhiko all this time.

The raven haired one was feeling conflicted. But not for the reasons you might think.

"...are you good at engineering?", he let slip.

"Are you mocking me? I actually am...I think..."

"...how good?"

...

"Where are you going with this...?"

Standing up, Saruhiko went and dragged the aforementioned trash bag closer to the table, unsealing it in the process, revealing a pile of notebooks and journals. He took out one labeled NerveGear V1 and handed it to Misaki.

"A-are these...?"

"...it's the only thing let behind by Akihiko, the initial plans for his projects... Initially, the police planned to confiscate them to aid in solving the SAO crisis, but they were later returned on grounds that they would be of no help on how to log out of the game without killing people off."

Misaki, on the other hand, was shuffling through the pages of the notebook, familiarizing himself with the concepts and terminology. Unlike before, his eyes recovered a slight shine in them, a slimmer of hope.

"Saruhiko... how far do these notes go ?"

"I went through them several times when I was younger, and before Akihiko completely went no contact. As far as the game is concerned, I could understand most of it or learn what I didn't know later on. The hardware however I couldn't comprehend. I am not good at engineering."

"But I am... can you code?", the blond put the notebook aside and turned his full attention to Saruhiko.

"I've learned to alongside my brother before this whole shit show...so, yes, I guess?"

For the first time in a good while, Misaki's usual scowl turned into a smile. Not one of happiness, they were still far from that, but one of hope, hope that there is still a chance. 

"Saruhiko."

"...yes?"

"I have an unused NerveGear and a copy of SAO still at home. You-"

"Have the notes and planning of both of them in these journals... Are you insane?"

"Does my smile make me look like I am?"

"Very."

"Then I guess I am.", he extended his hand towards Saruhiko. He was shaking, having a rush of adrenaline going on, but how could he not when such ideas were going through his head. "I don't want to pressure you or anything. I swear I won't hold it against you if it fails or worse, but... will you help me crack Sword Art Online open?"

It was a fools dream to say the least, with an expected pace of a snail were they to attempt it to begin with. Still, Misaki wanted to give it a shot. The 2 may not have the genius of Kayaba Akihiko, creator of both the NerveGear and SAO, but they could fill in where the other lacks. 

"I wouldn't have such high expectations if I were you, Misaki."

"Yes. I am always told I dream too big, but if there's a chance..."

"...then it's worth taking the shot."

With the deal sealed by a handshake, a duo of Sun and Moon was about to fight an uphill battle regarding the fate of those 8 thousand remaining players stuck in the death trap called SAO.

"I'll handle anything regarding hardware and components. I'll even snoop around my dad's company if I need to."

"Then the software part falls on me. I'm somewhat accustomed to Akihiko's way of coding, so I'll probably get the hang of it faster than anyone else. That being said...", he trailed off, looking at the pile of notebooks and thousand of pages they would need to go through... "We better get to reading."

"Heh. The more detailed the better."

If the fates of these 2 wasn't intertwined before this encounter, they certainly are now. Beware the ones who live outside the virtual world...Beware the ones who sail beyond the digital sea...

And so, a whole year passed by...