This is a 'What-If' scenario where what if Kirito and Sachi had actually left the Moonlit Black Cats and ran away, trusting each other and moving away from the front lines, at least for a while. Also, the Moonlit Black Cats ares still going to be killed off, sorry about that if you wanted them to live, but I really just want this story all about Sachi and Kirito, the couple. BTW Kirito has a harem, just saying that now. Finally, Sword Art Online is not going to just have been released in Japan. This game would have gone world wide with its' revolutionary tech and this new game that was coming out using said tech, why the hell didn't other countries get in on it? If anything the US would've paid HUGE amounts of the money it doesn't have to Kayaba in order for him to send some of that good-good. Anyways, the amount of players in total was over 10,000,000, because that is a more realist number for an MMORPG. I mean common on, back in 2016 World of Warcraft had 5,300,000 players, so you know, if a computer game can have that many players, imagine a whole new system that gives you free reign over your movements and body? Unbeatable. Anyways, because of this, XP and Col are a lot more abundant than what the show presents. Now that that's all out of the way, let's get on with the fanfic. Also I don't have to say this because Everybody knows it, but I don't own SAO or any of its original characters. However, I do own my very own OCs, so I got something going for me. Also, I will be putting in religion into the game, more specifically Christianity, and to get really specific, Baptists. Look them up if you don't know to much, but most of my own characters are that, and the rest, Catholic. These characters are inspired by my friends and loved ones, and I will keep first names, but no last names. But those will be revealed at a later time, and for now, they'll be known by their nicknames. This will mostly be Kirito's POV. Also, I am going to have SAO have a blood and bleeding effect, just because if Kayaba wanted a 'real world' where he is in control, then I don't see why he wouldn't have blood and all the gore

"Hey Kirito, let's run away together." and when she said that, I didn't know what she meant. I know that we were getting close because I have to teach her and I've become her friend, but sometimes I have a hard time understanding what she says.

"Run away from what?"

"From this town, the monsters... from the Black Cats. From Sword Art Online." When she finished her statement, my mind automatically went from zero to a hundred real quick, because there's only one way to leave SAO at the moment.

"Are you talking about a double suicide?!" I asked, and I heard her give a small huff of air before she answered.

"That might be okay too." and I couldn't help but flinch at that. The lack of emotion that was behind that statement scared me, because it's the same amount that others have used before the jumped off a ledge or let monsters attack them. I guess she realized how scared I was of that statement as she immediately started to shake her head.

"No, I'm sorry. That was a lie. If I had the guts to die, then I wouldn't be hiding in town right now would I?" and I started to calm down, but she still had more to say. "But really, why do we have to die? It's a stupid game, why can't we just leave? Is there even a point to it all?" and all I could do was agree with her.

"I guess, when you put it that way, there really is no point huh?"

"I-I'm so afraid to die here. It's gotten to the point where I can't even sleep. Not once." and all I could do was sympathize for her. To be as innocent as she is, and to be trapped in this type of setting, I really do feel bad for her. It's why I try so hard to train her as best I can and protect her from the things that seem to much for her. But what I could do right now, was make her a promise.

"Hey, you're not going to die. Not while I'm around. I won't let that happen." After I said that, I heard her gasp, and see her look up at me.

"Really? How can you keep that kind of promise?" and when she said that, time seemed to slow to a halt for me. My mind working a million miles a second. I was thinking of every way to keep that promise, but only one option seemed to shine the brightest.

"I will stop at nothing to keep you safe. If it means giving up my own life, I will. I will be your personal body guard. and Even if I can't protect you for whatever reason, then you have Tetsuo who is also a forward like myself. and Since I've joined the guild, the margin of precaution has dramatically increased. I'm not willing to take any chances. You will make it to the end of this world, and go back home. That is my promise." and she smiled, and started to cry from what I could only see as happiness.

From there, we went back to the Inn we were staying at, the rest of the guys where so relieved to see her again, and we all went to go to sleep for the night. Sachi is in the room next to me so I made sure she got in okay, and went into my room. An hour or so had passed, and everyone else was probably asleep already, so I decided to go through my inventory and sort everything out, what to sell, what to keep, just some organizing. You'd think it wouldn't take very long, but being as high level I actually am, there are plenty of things that could help the guild then if I were to sell it to an NPC.

As I was just about done, I heard a knock at my door. Without thinking I called out "Come in."

I saw that it was Sachi who had entered, with a pillow to her body. She had a small smile on her face, and wore a simple nightie. Then I realized that my inventory was still open and immediately closed it, hoping she didn't see.

"Hey, sorry, but I just can't seem to sleep. I was wondering if you would let me sleep in here with you?" and I knew instantly, I can't say no. I made a promise to protect her, and what better way to make sure she's safe if she's in the same room, right? What I couldn't have foreseen was the fact that we were both in the same bed! There's an extra one in the room, so it came to a real surprise that she climbed into my bed, placed, her pillow, and leaving enough room for me to lay down in it as well.

All I could do was just lay down, and try to think of anything else except that we were in the same bed. I started to think about the other players in SAO, the remaining 7,360,000 or so players that have survived this long. Sure that seems like a really high number, but remember that close to 3,000,000 people have died, and we are just barley over the quarter mark. How many of those players are like Sachi? Innocent, scared to death, can't help but feel, well, helpless. But still, many of those people have made new friends, and are smiling and laughing. I've never really taken a second to actually think about those people, but now I have my main priority, to keep Sachi above all others safe. She doesn't deserve to be in this death game, but I'll make damn sure that she leaves, and help the others that are just like her safe and be able to leave this game to go back home, where everybody belongs. Just then, I heard Sachi call my name.

"Hey, don't worry about a thing. I'm right here, and I promise to protect you." and sure that sounds weird to say to someone that just called out your name and nothing else, but I now knew what she was constantly thinking about, ad that she regularly needs that reassurance of safety. She gives a brief nod, and snuggles further into her pillow, falling asleep. I turned form her and starred up to the ceiling, making a promise for life. Then I fell asleep as well.

***05:30***

When I woke up, I noticed something very peculiar, Sachi was RIGHT ON TOP OF ME! In the middle of the night, Sachi and myself moved closer together till we actually started to sleep the way we are now. We had our legs tangled together, and she was laying her head on my chest now, with her arms around my torso. I had my arms around her, holding her close. I didn't know what to do, I started to panic, but slowly I started to calm down, and tried to think of ways to get out of this particular situation, but I couldn't think of anything, but I just gave up, and decided that when she wakes up, she'll get embarrassed about it and move away. I know, that's messed up of me, but I'm not very good with these types of situations. So I went back to sleep.

After an hour later, I woke up again, but to see that Sachi was back to where she was originally, if maybe just a tad bit closer to the edge, and I used this to make it seem like I just woke up, no need to make it weird. So I gave my morning yawn and started to sit up. This also seemed to scare her as she noticed that I was 'waking up'.

"Hey, morning Sachi. How'd you sleep?" When I turned to face her, I saw that she was very much red with embarrassment, and I just realized that she must have woken up minutes before me. I didn't say anything and just played it off like ti was nothing, I've had a lot of practice with that.

"O-O-Oh, it was good. I didn't have any nightmares this time. It really helped that you were there." and the more she talked, the more relaxed she became and started to think that I was to dense to notice. I give that impression a lot to others, as it's mostly a front. I'm a a lot smarter and more perceptive than people realize. Anyways, she went back to normal when she thought she was in the clear, and we both got ready for the day. It wasn't really weird seeing as how just a few taps and you are changed, so it was simple. We finished getting ready, and started down the stairs to the the dining area. We ordered some breakfast, which was very western with scrambled eggs, bacon slices, and something very similar to pancakes. We were just about finished when the rest of the guild came down and they ordered breakfast. When everyone was finished, we started to leave and head towards the teleport gate.

"So, guys, I've been thinking for a bit, and I think that we should send someone else to buy the house for the guild." Keita had said out of the blue, and we all stopped and turned towards him.

"What do you mean by that Leader?" Ducker had asked, and we all nodded at his question, all asking the same think.

"Well, it's just that, if I were to go buy a house, then we might end up with a worse house than it's worth, and since Kirito seems to have the most knowledge out of all of us about this game, then I think we should send him to go and buy it." and I had my second surprise of the day. I was going to be entrusted to buy the guild house for all of us. It gave me a bit of a fuzzy feeling, as these are some of the only friends besides Agil and Argo that have entrusted me with anything. As I looked at everyone's reactions, I could see that they were thinking it over, and started to agree with Keita, till they all nodded their heads in agreement.

"But, I also think that if we just sent Kirito, we might get a house that doesn't have a lot of furniture or decorations to make it feel like an actual home, and since we need to buy her new gear anyways, I also want to send Sachi with him. is everyone okay with that?" and the rest of the guys gave a resounding yes, while Sachi and I are still stunned about the whole ordeal. Just then a window popped up in front of me, and it was from Keita, he was transferring the funds to me. Once it was all said and done, the window closed, and I noticed that I have 250,000 more Col than what I last had. The reason why it's 250,000 and not 200,000 was because we stopped off at Agil's shop earlier, and sold all the items that we didn't want, and Agil knows about me being apart of the guild and me keeping my level a secret, so he didn't say anything and played it off as if I had just started to meet him. Then I also had sold the extra stuff I personally kept and sold them to him as well.

So everyone ended up agreeing to send Sachi and I to buy the guild house, and to get her some new gear. We gave them a quick wave, and since I said I know some better places to buy a house for cheaper from a very reliable source, AKA Argo, we decided to go to level 22, where the Level is mostly a forest and a giant lake in the middle of the floor. "Teleport: Coral Village" and with that, we were off. Little did I know that when we came back, we wouldn't like the news that we would receive.

And that is where I'm going to cut it, I hope you all enjoyed the fanfic, and it was a very good read. Let me know how it was, if I have any spelling errors, or the like and tell me, so that I can go back and fix them. I don't know anybody on this site really, and if anyone wants to become a beta reader, that be great. Also, for those that are wondering who will be in the harem, it will have Sachi, Argo, Silica, Lisbeth, Asuna, Suguha, and Shino, in that order. I'll work out the details as the story progresses. Also tell me what you guys want to see from this fanfic, give me ideas, I want to be able to give you what you guys want, and maybe more. Let me know who else you guys might want to see in the harem, and just to let you all know, I've only seen the two seasons on Netflix and Ordinal Scale, but I don't remember much of it, so if you want a girl, and they aren't from what I've just listed, then let me know from where, and I'll do my own research. Hope you all enjoyed, see you in the next chapter, and I promise, the chapters will get longer in due time.