CHAPTER 1: WHAT COMES AFTER THE END

I woke up from dreaming and put on my slippers, then started making my way to the kitchen.

Say'ri was sitting in front of the dining table, drumming her fingers until I entered her line of sight. A box of cereal was next to her, along with a used bowl that had something that looked like milk along the rim.

"You woke up late again." She said. "The next thing you cook might as well be lunch."

I shrugged.

"I had a nice dream and in it, I was eating all kinds of fruits while resting on Suguha's lap."

Say'ri sighed.

"Whatever. You do realize that you're an hour away from the group meeting with Kazuto and the others, right?"

I stopped in my tracks, how the hell could I have forgotten?

Forget the stove, I took the box of cereal and shoved in my mouth the contents as much as I can before taking the box of milk and downing about half of the contents. I heard another sigh come from Say'ri, along with mutterings about "that doesn't seem healthy".

After swallowing, I ran straight for the bathroom and washed myself as fast as I could.

"I'm off." I told Say'ri once everything was done. She nodded before jumping into the couch and watching TV.

It felt good to wallow within the fresh winds that wafted on my skin as I raced to Agil's place where everyone was.

"Yo, wassup?" I asked.

I heard Asuna sigh somewhere, something about me being late. I looked over and found Kazuto downing his beverage and walking to where I was. I put my hand up for a high five, and he thrust his fist to where my body could've been if I hadn't moved myself.

"Some friend you are." I said jokingly.

"Go fuck yourself." Kazuto replied.

I sighed. From the little time I spent with these guys, I sure did change them a lot. Some of them were a lot more open to cursing and some of them were a lot more open in general, and that might not have been pleasant for everyone (Especially Keiko, who looked so young and delicate, but now had the mouth of a salty truck driver), I thought it was a welcome change.

I loved it when people could express themselves to their fullest as it just means they have a lot more trust in the people around them.

"Leo, you should sit down." Suguha said.

For the past few months, Suguha Kirigaya, also known as Leafa, also known as Kazuto's adoptive sister, also known as Kazuto's cousin, became my girlfriend. Of course, with the abundance of my experience with girls (which is, to say, none) I've made little progress with her over the time. I mean we do hug sometimes, and I have kissed her a few times, but nothing more afterwards.

I nodded and sat next to her. Kazuto then took the chair next to mine and we all went straight to discussing things.

"Tonight, we'll be doing a raid, so bring your best equipment, alright?" Kazuto announced.

"I'll be there if you need any equipment honed." Rika added.

I smirked.

"Well I need a sword sharpened if you know what I'm saying-"

Cue Suguha elbowing my ribs to get me to stop talking. Rika sighed, as she was already used to my innuendos. Keiko had no idea what I meant and was still a bit confused.

"What did he mean? I thought he was going to spam his signature spells from afar like he always did because he's a scared piece of-"

I stopped her before my pride could fall any lower. I wasn't scared; I was just really fragile as I was more of being the glass-cannon than I was a front liner.

"In any case," Agil said, concerning the raid, "you all need to stock up on potions too, just in case this new monster is any threat."

We all nodded.

"I'll tell Say'ri when I get home." I told them.

"Why doesn't she come to these meetings though? Isn't she lonely at home?"

Eh?

Oh, right. I mean it crossed my mind that Say'ri might've needed some fresh air, and that a strategy meeting could do just that, but I didn't ask her… because I forgot.

"Nah, she's been through a lot, so I guess I'd give her the time of day to chill." I said instead.

The others nodded before we stood up from our seats and left the place.

"See you later." Suguha and the others said. I nodded to them and sat on the nearest bench I could find.

Rika chuckled as she sat on the same bench.

"You didn't ask your sister, did you?"

I shook my head.

"Shut up, everyone's happier not knowing that."

She smirked.

Rika became one of my fastest friends after we met in school. She turned out to be a lot snarkier than I remembered, but then again, those stories were about a black swordsman blacker than the blackest black that ever blacked the black black blackity black. Anyway, she had a thing for Kazuto, and that's why she was nicer than I remembered.

Meanwhile, I was kind of a dick who loved dicking around, and that's just how it works for some reason.

"I still can't put my finger on it though…" I said out loud.

"What is it?" Rika asked.

"What's so different about you? I knew there was difference between you here physically and you in the game, but I can't seem to recall…"

She grimaced. "Really? After all this time, you couldn't- goddammit, Leo."

I smiled. I loved it whenever my name was placed next to a swear word.

"Is it about your hair? Then again, that joke is so clichéd and-"

"Yes, it's my hair." She said, rather impatiently.

"Wait, what?"

I was genuinely surprised.

"I was right?" I asked again.

"In game, my hair is pink, remember?"

Oh.

OH.

"I knew it. I was just kidding around, hahaha…"

Why the heck didn't I see it before?! That was so obvious that even I couldn't notice it.

She sighed.

"Anyway, are you coming to my shop later?" She asked.

I shook my head.

"Like dear old Keiko said, I have too much fun spamming my spells from afar."

She grinned.

"So the part where she said you were a coward-"

"- is not true." I finished.

"Sure it is." She said with a sly smile.

It was fun getting to know these people up close. Seriously though, I never thought I'd get along with any of them this well. I thought I'd be too blinded by fanboy that I'd completely forget that in this world, they were living breathing people.

And yet, here I was having a little bit of banter with a friend of mine. Life really was weird.

"-en't you going to your work?"

"Huh?" I asked. Sometimes I just get so into my monologues that I completely forget when I'm with someone else, which is quite ironic considering that that last monologue was about me having friends.

"I said, aren't you going to work?" Rika asked.

I shook my head.

"No work on Sundays. It's my one free time this week."

She nodded.

In order to stop being a burden to the family that adopted me, the Chan family, I started working as a student so I could help them pay for my expenses the only way I could. My new parents tried telling me it was alright, but I told them it would be great if I could learn to be responsible at a young age.

They were worried, of course, as they had lost one of their children, and here I was likely risking my life going out of the house.

Not being bound to the family I've already lost by existing in this plane of reality, I was surprisingly capable outside the confines of my home.

Save for my family and friends, I technically had nothing to lose.

Some parts of me would ask if I should've been responsible when I had my real family in my world, and I would just let the thought pass. I moved on from that world already, and so I think it was only right for me to move away from that line of thinking.

Rika cleared her throat to get me back to reality. I shook my head and told her I was alright.

She grimaced.

"You're being a dipshit again, aren't you?"

To any other person, this would've been an insult, but to the two of us, it was a sign that she was worrying about me. She knows how hard it was for me to take my mind off of the family I've already left behind, and she tries to help me the only way she could.

"I'm sorry." I replied. "By the way, have you felt the chill in the air? It never got this cold from where I come from."

"The Philippines?" She asked. "That's the… tropical country, right..?"

I nodded. I guess she did freshen up on Geography, even if it were only a bit. She was one year my senior, and physically two years ahead of me, but she still sometimes asked me for advice on her studies as I knew a lot about random things enough to actually understand some concepts ahead of me.

Of course, just because I knew a lot of things outside my level did not mean I was a genius. In fact, I was just a bit above average.

Ugh, why did my brain suddenly think of school? School is not today, school is tomorrow. Get your priorities straight, Leo.

I nodded to Rika.

"We only had two seasons, the wet and dry seasons. Good thing you know, have you been studying?"

She flushed and shook her head.

"I just thought it was important for me to know my friend a lot."

I smiled.

"Aww, you actually care about me, don't you?"

"Shut up, or I'll make sure you end up in the hospital again."

"Ow, low blow much?"

"I learn from the best." She replied, her smile masking how much of a scary monster she could be every once in a while.

I suddenly felt the need to change the topic, seeing as she was a girl and she knew girl things…

"What's the best thing to get a girl?" I asked suddenly.

"For Suguha?" Rika asked.

I nodded.

"Some chocolates would be nice. Scarves are romantic too, aren't they? Or maybe a hat from the department store." She replied. "What brought this on though?"

I felt the heat rise on my cheeks as I realized what sort of answer I was preparing and how dumb it actually felt to say out loud.

"Can't it be that I just wanted to be a better boyfriend?"

She actually laughed when I said this, and I had to cover my face in embarrassment.

"If you really wanted to make her happy, all you have to do is not suck at whatever you're doing." She replied before tapping me in the back.

"I just remembered that I was supposed to do my homework early." She added.

"I'll see you later then?"

"Sure, even earlier if you really want that sword of yours sharpened."

I laughed as she went her separate way. She grasped my humour and that was probably why we got along so well.

I checked my phone and saw the date "November 2, 2025".

I sighed. It looks like Phantom Bullet is just a week away.

I held back from mentioning the event from the investigators too much because I felt like changing too much of everything could keep me from knowing what could happen in the foreseeable future.

But I wasn't going to let anyone die, right?

But if I didn't was GGO still going to happen?

But I was supposed to help people, not let everything pass me by.

This is not a game, Leo. This stopped being an anime right after you stepped through this world.

These are people, Leo. Don't forget that.

If you could stop people from dying,

If you could stop people from getting hurt,

If you could do something about what happens next,

Then do it.

And whatever Leo couldn't do,

Grey just might be able to do the job.

A.N.

Yo, wassup guys? It's your boy, Grey.

I've planned out most of the chapters in this new series, but I'm still looking for opinions on some plot lines.

I'd like to thank my readers from the previous stories like Yaksher, M7rwe3, ThePatroller55, and Mystical Koala. Your messages were my saving grace, honestly. I really wanted you guys to know that it meant a lot for a newbie like me when someone sent their appreciation and criticisms.

This is the beginning of a new adventure, and I wanted to enjoy this all with all my readers, so please leave a favorite, a follow, a review (mostly that last one. I'd really like to know what you guys wanted to say, after all) and I'll see you all in the next chapter!

By the way, Persona 5 is AMAZING and it might affect the rate of chapters I can do in a given amount of time.

Grey, out.