Chapter 1 – Memories of Death!

In the place I was standing, all that could be seen was thick fog. Nothing could be seen from miles around; I could barely make my own body out as I looked down to see if I could see the floor. It was impossible, and yet for whatever reason I kept taking a step forward.

My footsteps didn't make sound, there was no noise in anything, not even in my breathing. Was I even breathing? I didn't know, how could I know? Everything around me was grey, and yet I felt like I had been here before. Not with my physical body but with my spirit. Ok even I think that sounded stupid, but there was something familiar about it all. I continued to walk on not really knowing where I was going, nor did I seem to care. My feet simply kept going, only stopping when they felt like it somewhere in this never-ending fog.

I tried to peer out into the fog, and yet I didn't know what I was trying to see. Surely there had to be a point to this, yet a sense of hopelessness washed over me. What the hell was I even looking at? As all seemed lost, I finally saw two figures emerge from the mist.

One of them was a slender woman, with short black hair. Her blue eyes were as deep and bright like an ocean, skin pale white with delicate pink lips. The other was a man with dirty blonde hair, his face firm and sturdy. He was fairly muscular and his brown eyes were dark, one stare could pierce the heart of anyone. I knew both of them naturally.

"Mother, Father!" I gasped in shock, it couldn't be four years ago they were in an accident and died. A pang of guilt hit me in the chest harder than a bullet from a gun, they died because of me.

My father reached out to me; his arms outstretched. His eyes piercing into mine, I couldn't move. When he was alive my old man had been very strict, but he did love his family above all. Though I could feel something not quite right there with his gaze. Suddenly my air waves were being cut off, he was holding both his arms around me throat.

"Why didn't you listen to me Son!?" His voice lashed out of his mouth in malice, as his hands squeezed tighter around my throat. I could already see myself passing out soon.

"If you simply trusted us over that girl, we would still be alive!" My mother's soft voice came forward, but there was no doubt there was venom in her voice. Especially at the word girl, I wanted to fight back as I know who she was referring to. Alas though I felt my eyes slowly close, and all that was left was black.

I awoke later in a daze; I was amazed to think I lived through that. All I could see was a concrete floor, so at least I could tell I was face down.

"Where am I?" I asked to no one in particular, but what was odd was my voice. The voice coming out of my mouth wasn't how I sounded. It was too high pitched, despite being sixteen I had a fairly deep voice for my age. So why was my voice so squeaky now?

Slowly raising myself up, I looked over at a puddle on the floor it was then it all became clear. The person staring back was me, but not the me of now. No this was me from four years ago. A soft male face started back his eyes similar to my mother's, my hair went down around three quarters down my neck. I made it that way to cover my stuck-out ears, I hated those ears back then. My face was young and childish, too childish for a twelve-year-old. God I was lucky never to be mistaken for a girl. I also had one other notable feature my eyes.

I was in a small population who had Heterochromia, one of my eyes was blue and the other was green. This was due to my grandmother; she had the same condition when she was born. It made me think what she would be thinking about all that had happened to me in the last two years. Being trapped in a death game wasn't exactly something you could simply accept straight away, so I could only imagine how it must have felt for people on the outside.

Still what was happening now wasn't part of the death game. No, it was all in my head, I could tell when I looked back at my clothes. I was dressed in a plain black shirt which was covered by a blue jacket, accompanied with blue shorts. Looking around it was clear that this was a part of my past.

The building in front of me was very basic, it was a small square building with several small rooms on the west and east sides. The front was painted white, where two doors stood in front of the structure. I knew it to be my old elementary school, it was when I was in my final year. It started to feel a bit run down in most people's eyes, but it hadn't been the worst school back then. I was about to head towards the doors but then I heard it.

"Keep away from me Murderer!" A shrill female voice cried out, followed by several other voices all young crying the same thing over again.

"Murderer!"

"Don't come near us!"

"She will kill us all!"

I looked in the direction of the voices, and ran towards the circle of children. This memory always cut me like a knife, in the middle of the circle was a girl in the previous year to me. Her features were so soft and delicate, her brown eyes looked down barely looking at anyone. She had short black hair with two bangs on each side of her head, her outfit consisted of a long-sleeved white top, red shorts and adorable pink shoes.

"Stop it leave her alone!" Those words automatically came from my mouth. It was a part of the memory; my body was moving on its own. I threw myself into the circle and placed myself between the hecklers and the girl. As I did, I could see her expression it from fairly stoic, to a pained expression. It hurt to see that expression every time I relived this memory.

"Of course, you would protect her, Setsuhi!" One of them spat at my face, the young man's face was cruel and his smirk left me feeling cold. "Then again you have never been one of us anyway, you are only a half breed you freak!"

Half breed! Those words hurt me badly as a child. You see my name is David Setsuhi, as you can probably guess I'm not fully Japanese. Oh no I'm actually half British and half Japanese, my mother fell in love with a Japanese man whilst she was studying abroad. Ultimately, they didn't say anything that was noteworthy, but they did love each other deeply. So much so, they had two children, the first had been Mayu my older sister.

Two years separated us, she was so mature and beautiful. Long black hair, glossy lips and dark brown eyes like my father. No matter where she went, she always made an effort to help others. I had to admit I was a bit jealous of her at times, she was clearly the apple of our parent's eyes. Whilst I wasn't at all a bad son, I couldn't help but think they saw her in a brighter light then me. Even though we at times felt worlds apart, my sister had never judged me and even when our parents had died. Mayu made sure to look out for me. Still she also never suffered the same prejudice I got, I guess since she had the full Japanese name, she got away with it.

"Well they are both freaks, so naturally only a freak would care about a murderer!" A girl chipped in, giggling at her insult.

"Shino isn't a freak or a murderer! You don't know anything about her!" I yelled back in anger. The girl behind me, didn't even react she simply kept looking down at her hands.

Shino was my only friend at this school, since I was a disgusting half breed and she was awfully quiet. We usually spent a lot of time in the library together, she had told me about her Mother. Ever since her Dad had died when she was coming up to two, her mother had been in a traumatised state. Apparently, she had reverted to a state prior to meeting her husband, and Shino had been doing everything she could to look out for her. Even at her young age she was so sweet and mature, there was no wonder why I liked her. She didn't judge my heritage and saw me for me. Though it was this day that things changed.

"David…" Shino's voice came from behind me, it was barely audible but I could just about make it out. I turned to face her; she still didn't look up at me. Her lips quivered and I could tell she was fighting back tears, probably in an attempt not to appear weak in front of the mob. "Just forget about me."

No matter how many times I had this memory, those words broke my heart. How could she say that? No matter how hard things got, we stuck together but now she refused to let me help. I hated my weakness, like everyone else I had heard of the events of what happened in that post office. Shino had managed to shoot a robber dead with his own gun, sure it sounded bad but I knew in my heart she wouldn't have done it in cold blood. If I knew Shino, I would have bet she did it to protect her mother.

"What are you saying!?" my voice quaking. "I can't do that!" Shino didn't respond she simply turned and walked away from me and the others. "Shino!" I cried out but before I could reach out for her, several boys in the group had pulled me back and I felt several fists hitting my body and face. A sea of punches rained down on me, blurring my vision once again, I could feel my consciousness fade away once again, as my world turned dark with a horrible burning pain of regret to go with it.

Saying that waking up and being stuck in another memory wasn't tedious, would probably be the biggest understatement of the year. At this point I just wish I could wake up properly, I knew I wasn't dead. It was actually not that simple, in certain 'episodes' I will flash back on past events. What caused this? I wouldn't be able to say, it is like a form of daydreaming and deep thought. Sometimes I would start to think hard and before I knew it, everything around me feels just like it did in my memories.

This time however, I was back in Aincrad. I looked like my normal self, or at least what this system saw as normal. My face was identical to how it been back when I had been trapped in SAO, it was still fairly childish but my hair was more rounded. It still hid my ears, but now it was more swept so my left green eye was covered. I gentle moved it aside, so it was easier to see. Looking around I could tell I was on 76th floor, the Arc Sophia. To be more specific I was in the market place area of the main town. It was a beautiful town, white marbled buildings which were used as inns or shops dazzled in the sunlight. The ground was smooth and even, a big perk of this virtual reality. No roads or pavements would get cracked no matter the many people who would trudge through it.

Oddly though this marketplace was fairly quiet, then again most of the assault squad had left to look for the next boss room. I would have joined myself; it wasn't like I wasn't capable. My equipment wasn't too shabby, sure I was no Black Swordsman but I could hold myself up in a fight. I didn't belong to a guild, or at least I don't anymore. That may be another story for another time. I wore a dark blue jacket, with matching shirt, covered by a black armour breastplate. My trousers were also black and my boots, it was a basic outfit but simple enough for quick movement. My build was about power and speed, it was more tactical to wear as little armour as possible.
Ok sure it left me more exposed to attacks but I could move a lot quicker and attack when I saw an opening.

The sword on my back was a one-handed blade, a bit slimmer than most but not like a rapier. A decent amount of weight was behind it, so it would certain hurt if I swung at anything. Ever since I had killed a boss on the sixty fifth floor, I had obtained it, the sword was called the Crimson Butterfly. As you could expect from a weapon with that name, the blade was a deep red colour with a butterfly on both sides of the hilt. It was an odd thing, I felt right wielding this sword. Though to be honest I knew of the symbolism behind the butterfly, the cycle of transformation, birth and death. What a very ironic thing that was, my surname Setsuhi practically meant melody of death. No matter how hard I wished for it, I don't think I could ever truly run away from that pain.

Though the reason I didn't join up with the assault team, was due to what I had been feeling recently. This world had taken so much away from me, my life and even my sister. I was starting to feel crushed, when Kirito had fought Heathcliff. I thought the nightmare would end, but no I saw the way the world was being warped and glitchy. As soon as the final blow had been delivered, I could tell something had gone wrong. It was soon after I found out how right I was, we all were stuck in this damn place. I know you probably would think, by now you would think I would want out of here more then anything. Though to tell you the truth, I had lost all my motivation. What was the point of fighting? Sure, we may have a chance of getting out, but what was really left for me when I got out? My immediate family was dead, I had lost two years of my life. Meaning I would be behind where I should be, not to mention what the possible outcomes could be for survivors of this death game. Could it even be possible to live a normal life, after being trapped for so long? I simply didn't know anymore.

I sighed and continued my walk. I had entered a new area of the town; it was similar to plaza of the warp gate. Minus the obvious handicap of no summon gate, instead it was more like a park area. A beautiful circle of greenery, mixed with the brown wooden benches and several grey street lights. It reminded me of a park I used to go to back in the real world, it was probably one of only a few places I could relax. In the centre of the area was a stunning fountain, it was stone and the bird on the top sprayed water down into the basin. I looked down into the water looking back at my face, I looked better than the previous memory at least I looked a bit older. Though I still had my long hair, I couldn't help but laugh to myself. My family hated my hair this long, sure it was long but it only went down the back of my neck. It wasn't like long girl's hair. Oh well guess there was no pleasing some people.

As I continued to look into the water, back at the face that belonged to me. It had happened, the sky was being ripped apart. Well a piece of it anyway, it was the same effect when Kirito and Heathcliff clashed. A distorted colour of pixels, but what emerged from them surprised me more. I could see that a person was emerging from the distortion, it was slow at first like if an angel was falling from heaven. Though I could tell it wouldn't be long until the person fell, I turned and ran as quickly as I could towards the area below the sky portal.

"Damn it, I've got to make it!" screaming to myself, I forced my feet to go as fast as I could. Whoever was falling from the sky was now falling very quickly, even with my fast agility stat I couldn't help but fear I wouldn't make it. The figure was almost at the ground now, without hesitation I dived forward pushing my legs back as I went for a running catch. My arms outstretched, I dived onto my back and before I knew it, I felt something in my arms. I was surprised the person wasn't that heavy, but I barely took notice as it was hard to focus thanks to the adrenaline.

Taking a few breaths, I finally composed myself, who or what did I just catch in my arms? The first thing to take note of was the outfit, it was an unusual outfit. The basic part of a green tunic hugged the body of the owner, covering the bottom shorts which were coloured black. There were also long black gloves with only the two middle fingers covered and matching black top which clung to the figure's chest though I couldn't quite see the top as it was covered by a large red muffler around their neck. The other noticeable thing was one breastplate that swung from their left shoulder, protecting that one side of the body. It wasn't hard to say this was a girl, her petite frame gave it away. Though I won't deny she was very pretty, I could feel the softness of her skin as I held in my arms. Her legs were slim and long, not to mention her chest was nicely rounded too. Hey don't give me that, you would have thought the same. I'm a teenage boy for god sake! What can I say I'm attracted to girls like most guys are!

After examining the appearance of my fallen angel, I took a look at her face and I gasped loudly. Her hair was black and thin, with two small adorable white ribbons tied to her bangs, whilst also being cut short at the back. Her skin was a pale white, but I couldn't see her eyes as they were shut. I could see her lips were slightly parted and she was breathing comfortably, as her chest moved up and down slowly. She was still alive thank goodness! Still I couldn't believe it, it couldn't be her. I knew there was only one way to fully check, I reached for her right hand and gentled examined it. My eyes widened as soon as I saw it. There it was! A black spot! I know it sounds odd, most would expect it was probably just a mole, but I knew for a fact it wasn't. This spot was caused by gunpowder, that means there was no doubt anymore. I knew exactly who this was!

"Shino…" I spoke weakly, I couldn't believe it. The girl who had been my closest friend, that same friend who had left four years ago and with it a part of me left too. She was here, in SAO. In my arms right now, I wanted to cry but I held it in. Why was she here? She shouldn't have been here! Yet a part of me was relieved she was, yet I also felt selfish for thinking that. Afterall she was now in the same danger all of us were in, and I didn't know what I could do.

"David!" A voice came from behind me, I tilted my head in the direction of the voice, but I refused to let go of Shino. The guy coming towards me was none other then the Black Swordsman, Kirito as his name suggested he was decked out in all black. Whilst I did like black, I couldn't deny with the black of his outfit, plus his hair I swear he looked like a cockroach.

My relationship with him was of mild friendship, I had worked with him a couple of times in boss fights. Plus, on certain side quests, he was a nice enough guy, though I couldn't deny it pissed me off how many attractive girls seemed attracted to him. Seriously he was clearly a computer dork, and yet he would hang around with at least five girls. I guess I was just jealous, after all the only girl that even remotely spoke to me was…my face was burning at the thought, but I calmed down. No way in hell Shino thought that way about me, we were friends…just friends…

"We saw the distortion in the sky, and ran to come what was happening." A girl with long chestnut hair suddenly spoke up, she was wearing a white and red guild outfit, with a red skirt. A slim light blue rapier by her side, this was the infamous vice commander of the Knight's of the Blood Oath. The Flash herself Asuna. She was also Kirito's 'Wife', she was sickly sweet for being a vice commander, as well as overly pretty. I didn't exactly trust her though, she reminded me too much of several girls I had met in middle school. They appear sweet and kind, but secretly they were poison underneath. Maybe I was being harsh, but I had a feeling she didn't exactly trust Kirito either. Then again, he kept picking up stray girls everywhere he went, so maybe I shouldn't be so judgemental.

"Wait who is this!?" Kirito finally reached me, and noticed me cradling the unconscious girl in my arms. No doubt this may look bad, if I was the kind of guy who would be able to talk to girls normally. Well there was a reason, I was a gamer you know.

"Well umm…" I stuttered; it was a known rule that you don't talk about real life in this world. So, I didn't know how to introduce the girl in my arms, it wasn't like I could simply say "This is Shino, she was a friend of mine until she alleged killed a man!" This was too much of a delicate situation so, at first it seemed the most logical to feign ignorance but would that really help? After all what if Shino recognised me when she woke up?

A faint moan was suddenly heard, looking down I could see Shino twitching in my arms. Her eyes slowly opened revealing those beautiful black orbs, looked around in a daze. "Wha…Where am I?" She looked around noticing the guy with black hair, and the chestnut haired Asuna. Then her face blushed as she realised that I was holding her. "Hey what do you think you are doing!?"

I quickly released her, and blushed myself. "I'm sorry, it is just you fell from the sky and I caught you. I didn't want you to die, so I simply caught you Sh…umm sorry I don't think I caught your name." God, I sounded stupid.

"My name?" She asked looking confused, but she soon flipped it on me. "Shouldn't you name yourself before asking someone else for their name."

Wait didn't she recognise me? She was acting very odd, but she did have a point. "My name is David, and right now we are in Sword Art Online. So, my advice is to do this motion to open your menu." I demonstrated by using my right index finger and thumb, with one quick swipe down I brought out my menu.

Shino did the same as me, and scanned her menu carefully. "David…?" Her voice showed obvious confusion, I had predicted as much as a lot of this would be overwhelming to a newcomer. Still something else made my heart hurt, at the way she had said my name.
"Oh, it appears my name is Sinon, here so I guess that is what you can call me."

That defiantly made sense, most players used different names whilst playing games. I had to admit I hated my lack of originality, and using my real name but hell it was unique as no one had a full English name. A benefit of being a 'disgusting half breed' I guess. Sinon was clearly a play on her real name, so at least now I was sure this girl was indeed Shino.

It was Kirito who broke the silence, "Well if you are new here, you best head back with us. We have a place we all gather and live up here, so it would be safer if you stay with us. I'm sure we can all give you pointers on how to survive here." He was smiling like a small child, clearly, he was still enjoying his life in here. Then again, a computer geek finally becoming strong, it was practically every dorky kid dream. Plus, since Kirito was considered one of the best, it didn't surprise me in the slightest. I would have to keep an eye on him, clearly a guy who loved to play hero.

Sinon simply nodded, and we all travelled back to Agil's place. As Asuna and Kirito took the lead, I stuck back and tried to speak with my old friend. Unfortunately, I didn't really know what to say, my words were caught in my throat and I simply ended up staring at her.

Eventually she noticed my constant staring, and to say the least she wasn't happy with me. "Will you stop staring at me!?" She screamed, her brow frowning and her eyes sharp as daggers.

"I'm sorry, it's just…" I paused; this was going to be hard. "Say do you recognise me?"

Sinon expression softened, but it became a lot more confused. "Should I?"

It was then I could feel my heart split in two. How could she not recognise me? We had been very close friends back then. I know it sounds selfish, but after finally seeing her again. I wanted to make amends; it was hard to explain but it was hard not to feel responsible. If only I could have understood the situation better, she may have never left in the first place.
"Oh, umm no, sorry I guess you just remind me of someone I knew. Probably just my imagination, after all I've been stuck in here for two years. Might just be remembering incorrectly, just forget I said anything." I gave off a very weak laugh, it wasn't convincing whatsoever.

"Okay…" Sinon still looked at me like I fell of the turnip truck. Not that I could blame her, god I was such a loser. Still as we continued to walk, I had noticed her eyes showing a different emotion. She looked pained, like she was trying to remember something. Though at that point, I didn't know what. I could feel the memory going faint, the dark abyss once again caught me. It felt cold, yet the pain I felt was burning my chest. I still hated how far away I was from Shino, she was right here in this world, yet she didn't even know me. I might as well be a stranger. We were so close and yet so far away.

It was only a few days; the next memory took place. I had gone to the seventy-eight floor by myself, it wasn't much of a floor. It looked mostly like an old seaside town, mainly wooden huts and sea for miles. I looked took a trek up into the white mountains surrounding the sea, it would have been hard work if I actually wanted to care about this trip. The floor was awfully quiet, barely any monsters so getting up the mountain wasn't hard. The cold air blew in my face, and my body was getting numb as I climbed.

Not that it would matter, this was going to be my final trip!

It was strange, I didn't fear death. Yet I felt that I should, I was running away from everything. I was running away from the responsibility I had burdened myself with for over four years, I had killed my parents! They died because of me; my sister was dead because of me too. If I had been able to do anything, back on that awful raid at least she would still be with me. I wouldn't be alone anymore, but then I felt warmth again when I had seen Shino. It was stupid of me to believe she still cared, that we were still friends.

"Just forget about me." Those were her exact words, and she clearly forgot about me, if only I had taken that advice. Maybe then my heart wouldn't be damaged. Losing the only other person that meant anything to me was too much to bear. I didn't want to feel this pain anymore, call me a coward if you want, it doesn't really matter. If you can't understand the crushing feeling of losing everyone you loved, and being responsible for most of their deaths. You have no way to judge me!

I arrived at the edge of the cliff and looked down. The waves that crashed against the rocks were large and heavy, the rockface felt like it shook with every body of water hitting it. It was more then large enough to die of falling distance, it was the perfect place to end my life.

"I am all alone…" I muttered to myself. "We all start life alone, and now I will end my life alone." I took one step closer to the edge, my right foot leaving the edge of the cliff, leaning forward I could see the sea below me clearly now. The cliff was almost gone, this was it. The day I die!

"David!" A scream came from behind me, the voice I couldn't register properly but I think it was a female voice. Who was it? I just couldn't remember.

"I'm sorry…" I said faintly and my other leg feel over the edge.

"David…Don't!" I closed my eyes, yet something was off. I didn't feel like I was falling, had the person caught my hand. I did feel a slight warmth of human contact, and it then spread to my chest. I was being pulled back, yet I still didn't open my eyes. No that wasn't it, my eyes wouldn't open. For some reason this part was flooded in darkness. Did I just not remember what happened? Or was my memory blocking something out on purpose?
"David…" The voice was saying something yet it felt my ears blocked out their sound. What was it trying to say? I feared I wouldn't get the answer to that, as all my senses were cut off and my journey through memories was about to end.

A/N: Well that was a hard chapter to write, so for the whole 5 people reading this, I hope you enjoyed my chapter *Laughs*. Seriously though this was meant to come out last year, but I had to do so many rewrites in order to keep with the timeline and other factors. Still we now have our new hero, and as you can see, he is very traumatised. A perfect man for a job with ghosts and evil sprits *sweatdrops*. Oh well I hope you all had a good new year, and I will try to get out chapter 2 out a bit early next time. Still have a lot going on in life though so please be patient.
Next time – The Camera Obscura! See you there!