A/N: Welcome to my scifi fic! :D I've always wanted to write one, so here we are haha. As you probably can tell from the summary this is going to be a fic centered around virtual reality gaming (or VRG as I refer to it), and SWW4 is the game. I explain more in the fic, so don't worry :P

SWW4 was inspired by SAO, 1/2 Prince, and other countless fics and books. The idea is all my own, however.

I apologize if I ramble a lot in the fic... Writing in 1st person tends to do that to me lol. I tried.

Rated T for now, rating may change in the future.

Terms to know: Duan is a form of currency, similar to a US dollar. SWW4 takes place in an AU of today's world, I suppose - the setting would closely be related to Japan, but since I've never been to Japan nor do I live there... it remains placeless :D And yush, SasuNaru will be the main pairing.

SWW4

Chapter One: Getting Started

There it is.

Sitting oh-so-innocently on its little shelf, acting like it isn't the last of its kind (for now) and pretending it isn't 3000 duan. I lick my lips before literally diving for it, barely feeling the slick box slide into my hands before a horde of screaming, indignant teenagers surround me. Victory!

I clutch the box to my chest as I shoulder aside fellow fans who screech as I pass, hands scrabbling for my prize. I vaguely consider sticking my tongue out at them, but in the end I figure I would be more likely to make it out alive if I rein in my more childish tendencies.

By the time I reach the cashier, I'm gasping for air. The mob has quieted, and now they're staring at me unnervingly from behind the red rope that restricts them from going any closer to the cashier, like they're hoping that I'll suddenly change my mind and chuck the box back at them so they could buy it.

Like hell I would.

I'd been saving for this game for half a year, ever since it had come out. It had cost me many hours in which I could've spent hanging out with my friends—fine, friend—and lots of sucking up to my boss…who just happened to be the owner of the game store. No, of course I didn't choose to work here just because they sold the very game I salivated after. Of course not.

"Ready to buy it, brat?" My boss stands behind the glowing screen that hangs suspended in the air, hovering. Her arms are crossed over her ample chest.

Not trusting my voice, I merely nod and slowly hand the precious game over. She takes it from me with a smirk and quickly passes it under the screen, which acts as a 'cash register', or so it was called in the past. Nowadays, it's just 'the screen'. My boss taps a few buttons on the screen before passing it back to me, holding out her hand.

"That'll be 3000 duan."

I want to cry as I hand over my froggie wallet, which opens its mouth on its own accord as my boss reaches in and extracts the money—in cash, too. Poor Gama-chan is anorexic now. I mourn on the inside as she presses another button and a drawer pops out; my boss stuffs the money inside and grabs a small leather pouch from underneath the desk, depositing my new game inside. She then takes my arm and yanks me around the desk, marching toward the back of the store.

"Wait—where are we going—?" I try to ask.

My boss doesn't answer. Instead, she pulls me into the employee corridor and points to a locked room I've never been inside before in all my months working here. "That room houses a teleporter. We use it for emergencies; I think this case definitely qualifies as one. When news gets out you bought the last, nine-millionth game they have produced, people are going to go wild with desire. I suggest you stay low and hunker down in your house for a few weeks until the rage passes." My eyes open wide at her words, but I don't have time to respond before she's pushing me down the hall and into the room. The last thing I see before the door closes and leaves me in utter silence is her gleaming, honey-brown eyes and the pink curve of her lips.

Then the door shuts.

Distantly, I feel like I can hear the roar of a mob. Shudder, I refuse to let myself consider what would happen if they actually did get a hold of me; instinctively, I clutch the leather bag tighter to my chest, wondering what will happen now that I'm inside a teleporter.

I've heard of these devices. A beta version was created fifty years ago, never released to public, and slowly the world forgot about it—that is, until ten years ago when rumors resurfaced about the famed device and how it was circulating in the gaming world. I never would've imagined my boss getting one (they're pretty damn expensive, as far as I know) but… knowing Tsunade, I shouldn't be surprised.

Thoughts vanish from my mind as a sudden humming sound fills the room, far outweighing the noise of the mob and my own breaths. The walls light up neon green around me, pulsing slowly before beating faster and faster. By now, the grip on my leather bag has tightened so much that I'm going to leave permanent marks in it. The humming increases in pitch and for the first time, I wonder about the consequences of a machine like this—has it ever been officially approved by the Government? What if it doesn't really teleport people, just devices like all the other teleportation machines we use in everyday life? This was the first machine to ever claim to teleport people…but what if it would just disassemble me into a million tiny molecules and I would be overrun and tossed apart and forgotten forever about in the fabric of time and space—

The neon light pulses one more time before flickering and shutting off completely. I squeeze my eyes shut as the humming continues, growing louder and louder until I feel like I'm vibrating…

I shoot my eyes open to discover I really am vibrating. Barely taking note of my new surroundings, I fumble in my pocket for my phone, sitting up on the couch while doing so. The vibrating stops before I reach it, so I decide to check my phone later and figure out what the hell just happened now.

Apparently, the teleporter works.

Evidently, it also causes you to pass out.

I'm in my house on the living room couch, though I have no recollection of arriving in front of the house, let alone getting here onto the couch. Did someone carry me in?

That question is answered the minute the door connecting the kitchen and the living room whooshes open and in a heartbeat I find myself smothered in red hair.

"Oh! Naruto! You're okay! Do you have a concussion, sweetie? Does your head hurt? Minato! Get some ice! Did you scrape your elbow really hard? How'd you pass out in the first place? And what's this?" The flurry of questions stop the instant she holds up my leather bag. I snatch it from her, hugging it protectively to my chest, wondering which question to answer first.

Most people say I'm a lot like my mother. I talk as fast as she does; I have a short attention span like she does. But this is a little overwhelming—I've forgotten how insane she is when I get hurt. Her overprotective-mother-mode goes into overdrive and my dad and I are left to calm her down, like now.

My dad places a hand on my mom's shoulder, drawing her back. She looks tearfully up at him before sobbing and laughing at the same time. I can't help but laugh at her and slowly my dad joins in until the three of us are in a hysterical laughing fit. Okay, our family might be strange and a little dysfunctional, but we're perfect. I couldn't have asked for more.

Finally, my dad calms down first, wiping his eyes. "I don't know what that was, but… he's fine, Kushina. I'm sure Naruto just…" Then he turns to look at me, the same blue eyes I have turning inquisitive. "Actually, what were you doing, Naruto?"

I can't help but grin as the euphoria of my victory finally catches up to me. I have it! The very game everyone is lusting after is in my hands and my hands alone. The giddy feeling causes words to spill from my mouth.

"You know how I've been working the past half-year, right?" I exclaim eagerly, prying open the leather bag. "Well I've been saving for…wait for it…this!" I whip out the sleek black disk case, shiny and brand new with the words 'SWW4' emblazoned on the front. My mom and dad stare at it blankly. "Don't tell me you don't know what this is! SWW4!" I wave my arms.

"Sorry, kid, we're getting too old for your technology-savvy generation," my dad says, laughing with my mom again. I push out my lips, knowing that it's a lie; they spend their days working for a branch of the Government, which deals in advanced technology all the time.

"Anyway," I continue, my excitement overriding my concern over my parents' distinct lack of gaming knowledge, "SWW4 stands for Shinobi World War IV. You had to have heard of Shinobi World War, right? It came out in... um, what was it? 2198? I think so. Well this is the fourth game of its generation! Most people have it since it came out half a year ago, but…finally…it's mine." I stare lovingly at the shiny case.

"Oh, right!" My mom snaps her fingers, dark blue eyes shining. "Didn't Sakura have one? I remember her coming over a few months ago with some kind of virtual game. You two were so excited over it."

"Sakura!" I gasp, suddenly remembering my promise to call her as soon as I get the game. "Crap, what time is it?" I pull out my phone, which is a slim portable device that's hardly larger than two inches by three. I press the screen and words light up in the air, reading: 'Four missed calls from Sakura; Seven missed texts from Sakura'. I blink and say again, "Crap."

Five minutes later I've hastily bid goodbye to my parents, promising I'll come to breakfast tomorrow and eat well since it's obvious I'm skipping dinner tonight to play SWW4. Besides, it's not like I'm going anywhere for the next few weeks, like Tsunade said—I can already hear the phone ringing in the living room, probably potential buyers. Well too bad. I'm not selling this for a million duan, if someone offered.

My door slides shut with a hiss behind me as I fall onto the bed that detaches from the wall, fueled by motion sensors. I'm thumbing through the contacts, pressing buttons that appear in the air; I have a SKX33, which is a pretty old touch-holographic phone. I heard that in the past the most people had were touch screens. Nowadays, those would be ancient—probably relics you could sell to collectors if you had the connections.

My musing is cut short when Sakura abruptly picks up the phone, an image of her floating above the screen.

Sakura Haruno. She's the kind of person who looks like one thing but acts completely different. She seems like the kind of person who would be super-popular and never be friends with a loner like me, but what did you know? One fateful day in art class in high school, we became friends. And I've never regretted it.

It also turns out Sakura's a big gaming nerd like me. She buys all the latest games, and she has instantaneous access to them too, because her dad works for the leading company that produces the virtual reality games (or VRGs). Sadly, none of the VRGs are two-player yet, so whenever she brings new ones over she always lets me try them out before playing them herself. To say the least, watching someone play a VRG is not interesting. They basically put the gear on their head, lie down, and appear to be asleep as their mind wanders through the virtual world, leaving any bystanders to occupy themselves until the player awakens.

"Naruto! Did you get it?" Her voice breaks me out of my reverie, eyes excited and bright. I nod, holding up the black box. "Oh my god! Open it! Now! Let me see!"

"You know, you're almost more excited than me," I tease, but I'm opening the box as we speak, carefully sliding my finger along the edge to allow it to read my fingerprint. These days, all the VRGs come in lock-proof cases; you have to have your fingerprint encoded in the game otherwise you can't play, since VRGs are really expensive. That's why Sakura can never loan me games, which was a huge disappointment. But at least I finally have my own!

"Well excuse me for having to listen to you talk about it nonstop for the past month," she huffs, flopping onto her own pink-strewn bed before propping herself back onto her elbows, staring at me. "Have you opened it yet, Naruto?"

"I'm getting there," I mutter, as I finally crack open the case.

For a moment, I'm speechless, allowing myself to fully bask in the glory of having bought the last game available—until they produce more, of course.

Then Sakura ruins it, shrieking so loud that the holographic-noises momentarily distort, replacing her scream with static. I wince, used to my best friend's crazy antics. "Tone it down, Sakura!"

"Sorry," she answers sheepishly, a small smile adorning her face. "Come on, take it out!"

I sigh but follow her demands, running my eyes along the inside of the case. It's cloaked in smooth black velvet, and nestled in the center is a gleaming silver square device. To the right is a pair of black sunglasses; to the left is an earpiece. I lift the three items out carefully, taking in the 'SWW4' written in silver on all three.

"W…what do I do now?" I whisper, hardly wanting to break the delicacy of the moment. VRGs rarely come with instruction manuals, because most of it is self-explanatory. I'm lucky Sakura's here to help me, actually.

Sakura is eyeing the device in my hands, a proud look on her face. "Well, you see the button in the center of the Control?" I nod, setting down the sunglasses and earpiece. "Press it, and a voice will come out telling you what to do. It's easy riding from there."

"So…do I press it now?" Strangely enough, I'm nervous. I'm never nervous when I'm about to play a VRG game, so why now?

"Of course!" There's some rustling on Sakura's side as she momentarily ducks out from her phone's view. She pops back with her own sunglasses and earpiece, smiling. "I'm going to enter now. When you get there, follow what it tells you to do, okay?" She's about to put the sunglasses on when she remembers something, face lighting up. "Oh right! When it tells you to enter a Clan, pick Uchiha, in Konoha. I'm there, so maybe I can pull you some strings and get you to join, right?" She winks, popping the sunglasses on and waving. "Happy gaming!"

The call goes dead.

I sigh again, feeling a little wiped out after talking to Sakura. That's what always happens, so it's no huge surprise. Transferring my attention to the Control, I swallow and lift the device in my palm. It's silky smooth and cool to the touch, about a centimeter thick, and surprisingly heavy. The button in the middle tempts me, and giving in, I press it.

For a second, nothing happens.

Then the world lights up around me in misty green lights, flashing from the Control that's suddenly revolving in the air, hovering with tiny anti-gravity belts. A smooth voice issues from the device, indiscernible between female or male.

"Welcome to Shinobi World War IV, the fourth game of the SWW generation. Please follow my instructions in order to start your gaming experience as quickly as possible." The device stops emitting green light and floats lightly back to my bed, settling on the covers. "First, pick up the Visor. These will serve to provide you the best aesthetic experience feasible. Once you have picked up the Visor, please place them over your ears as you would a normal pair of sunglasses." I pick up the Visor and place them gently over my eyes, feeling a thrill of excitement as the sunglasses mold to the side of my head, cool and unyielding, as if it was made for me. (I'm really doing this!)"Next, pick up the Headset. This will send non-damaging brain waves into your nerves to complete the virtual reality experience. Once you have settled the earpiece over your right ear, please say the word 'Begin'."

The voice goes silent as I slide the black earpiece over my right ear, making sure it won't fall off before lying back on the bed—as every gamer knows, lying down on a comfortable surface makes sure you won't wake up with a nasty back cramp, as the case would be if you started playing sitting up.

Finally ready, I take a deep breath and close my eyes, settling into a familiar pattern. In. Out. In. Out.

Three. Two. One.

"Begin."

Instantly, I'm plunged into the world of SWW4.

A/N: Feedback is much appreciated :)