Floor 1: A Grim Introduction

A/N: I do not own Naruto or Sword Art Online. Had my mind on combining these two anime for a while now and decided to stop thinking about it and just write. I will try my best to update regularly. Please leave reviews and comments, I would like to know what I can to do better.

The television flickered to life. It began moving swiftly through channels, one by one, finally stopping on the "Game Network". The volume bar on the screen rose a couple of notches when a blonde woman, sitting next to a man in a white lab coat appeared on the screen.

"We are here with the Creator and Chief Producer Kayaba Akihiko. He has created a new VRMMO game that has completely sold out within the first three hours of its launch. Mr. Akihiko about this new VRMMO game, Sword Art Online, what do you have to say for yourself and your company?" The woman spoke, holding the microphone towards the man.

The man smiled and sat straight up, clearing his voice to answer the question. He adjusted his glasses before speaking.

"My company and I are very proud of our accomplishment. We are very happy to hear that the public is interested about our game, and are looking forward to playing it" He smiled again as he finished his statement.

"I bet. So when are the game servers set to launch ?" The reporter asked inquisitively.

"What time is it?" Kayaba asked, looking down at his watch on his left wrist. "In the next 15 minutes actually. I think the players will be very excited for the open ceremonies of the-

The television cut to a black screen. The blonde spiky-haired boy could not contain his excitement any longer. He and his friends stood in line for eight hours, waiting to buy a copy of the new game. He smirked and looked at his watch, only ten minutes remained until the official launch.

He ran to his room, shutting the door behind him. He picked up his Nerve-Gear and smiled, his blue eyes reflecting in the device's visor. His phone in his left pocket vibrated, signaling he had a text message. It was group text from Sakura and Sasuke, both stating, they were about to log in. The boy then laid upon his futon, and placed the device upon his head.

He allowed the device to run its diagnostics check and when it gave him the green light, he smirked and excitedly said "Link Start!"

Naruto grinned boldly as his avatar materialized into the virtual world. His avatar dressed in an orange long-sleeved shirt, black pants, finger-less gloves and a brown chest protector, the signature piece of all Sword Art Online beginner players. Naruto watched as all around him players began to materialize into the world. He felt a light tap on his shoulder, turning around he saw his friends standing behind him, all dressed with similar clothes.

"Naruto, what took you?" asked Kiba, running a hand through his hair, then placing that same hand on the sword on his waist. "We've already went and bought our swords."

Naruto laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, I know. Got caught up watching the press conference."

Naruto looked around at his friends but noticed a couple were missing. "Where is everyone?"

Shikamaru spoke up from his place, siting Indian-style on the ground. "Neji, Sasuke, went on to the fields to get some EXP before all these beginners start figuring out how to kill monsters. As we all know, Ino, Ten-Ten and Sakura followed."

"Yeah It's a good thing we all got access to the Beta Test through Sakura's Father, or we'd all be looking like them." Kiba stated, nudging is head over to the "newbies" spending all of their money at stalls.

Naruto smirked and scrolled through his inventory, clicking on one of his swords to add it to his avatar. He looked back up and smiled, noticing a small, petite player next to Kiba.

"Ohayo Naruto…" Hinata, shyly smiled and pushed some hair behind her ear. Her avatar wore an all-white top and pants, with grey fingerless gloves, and a black chest protector.

"Hey there, Hinata. I thought you would be with Neji." Naruto was slightly glad that she was still here. He was looking forward to playing the game with her, as he was with all his friends.

"He went on without me and besides…" Hinata trailed off and looked at the ground.

"She wanted to learn some skills from you." Kiba spoke up, teasing her by ruffling her hair. Hinata immediately blushed, the red tint could be seen on her avatar.

Naruto laughed and was about to respond when flashes of light appeared all around them as players returned to the Central Town Square. He watched as a barrier materialize, keeping everyone inside. Sasuke, Neji, Ten-Ten, Ino, and Sakura appeared next to them in a flash of light.

"What the hell is going on? I was just fighting a wild boar." Neji exclaimed, sheathing his sword.

The sky began to turn read as a large red cloaked figure appeared in the sky. "Hello players, and welcome to my world. I am Kayaba Akihiko, and I am now the sole person that controls this world. By now, some of you have noticed there is not a log out button. This is not a defect, I repeat, this is not a defect. This is but a feature of the game."

Naruto watched around the plaza as players checked their HUD screens, looking for the log out tab. He checked his own and noticed what Kayaba was saying was true.

"What the fuck do you mean we cannot log out?" Kiba screamed at the cloaked figure.

"To log out and safely return to you must defeat all 100 floors of the game. Removing the NerveGear will send microwave signals and fry your brain, thus killing you. As well as if you die in the game, you die in life. People have ignored that warning, as a result, 200 players have already died." Screens began to pop-up, showing news reports and live feeds from news stations. "Good luck." The figure and the barrier both disappeared and the sky returned to normal.

Everyone stood frozen in their place. The eerie silence, broken by a young girls scream for help. The whole crowd began to riot, yelling and screaming at the sky. Naruto looked down at the ground, unsure of what to do. He was then pulled away by Shikamaru into a side alley, away from the crowd.

"Okay, I'm officially freaked out," Sakura, held herself tightly. Ino began to cry next to her. "What now?"

"We have to survive, all of us. That's the only way. Defeat these 100 floors and get back to reality." Shikamaru stated, unsure if that was possible.

Naruto felt his whole world crashing down on him. One slip up, one mistake could mean everything. He would never see his parents again, never live the life he wanted to. He began to shiver uncontrollably until he felt a hand close over his fists. It was Hinata, trying to comfort him.

"Shikamaru is right." Sasuke spoke up. "It's the only way. I'm moving on ahead. We all know as beta-testers the fields around this area will soon be cleaned out. We have to move on."

"But we cant leave the new people in this town, they'll die Sasuke!" Shikamaru looked out into the town square where players began to realize that they might not make it home alive. "Someone needs to help them."

"Well you can stay. It wont be me. To be strong in this world means raising your stats, getting the best weapons, and defeating stronger opponents." Sasuke, turned away from the group. "Until we meet again, try to stay alive until then." He then took off towards the next town. Kiba and Sasukra nodded to the group and decided to follow Sasuke.

Shikamaru sighed and looked to the rest of the group. "Someone needs to stay and keep the peace here. I guess that person will be me."

"I'll stay here with Shikamaru," Ino finally drying her tears, spoke with a raspy voice, "Besides, no one has seen Choji, Lee, and Shino yet. We have to continue to look for them as well. To make sure they didn't…." she trailed off not wanting to visualize that scenario.

"Well, I cant stand here and do nothing. I need to defeat this game and get back. So im going on." Naruto stood up straight and smiled. "You guys be safe."

As he turned around to head towards the next town, Hinata strengthened her grip on his hand. "I'm going with you. No need for you to do this alone. And two heads is better than one."

"Three heads." Neji spoke from his place near the wall.

Naruto smiled and nodded. Though he was grateful for them help, he didn't want to see any of his friends die. But, he figured his chances for surviving would be better if he had a party. He shook hands with Shikamaru, saying he will see them soon. And the three of them took off down the road, after Sasuke's group.

This is our new world. This death game. We must survive, at all costs.