Hello everyone, TravyMcNavy184 here with a new story. This is going to be a Sword Art Online story. I have read a few SAO fanfics so I figured I would try my luck and make a story for SAO as well. This story was inspired by Dual Swordsmen: Link Start by Last Step, Before going any further, I would like to thank Last Step, primarily the first half (A.S.W) who made up the author who started this story and the other half who gave me the opportunity to continue where they left, and I can only hope that is a story worthy to carry on their legacy. I'm not really sure how adopting stories works so I just decided to start from the beginning. If that isn't how it is done, then I'll pick up where Last Step left off. Anyway, this fanfic will feature an oc who is a twin brother to the protagonist Kazuto Kirigaya aka Kirito. The boy's name is Yusukue Kirigaya and will go by the handle Yuga. The story will follow mostly the anime with some of Yuga's own adventures as he and his brother try to escape SAO. Like I said this is my first SAO fanfic so let me know what you guys think. So without further ado, read and enjoy. As always, I own nothing but ocs.

The Black Swordsman and The Gray Huntsman

Prologue

In the year 2022, mankind finally managed to revolutionize the gaming industry by bringing a true virtual world experience to life. In one particular city in Japan, people were lining around the corner to purchase the worlds very first VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online, or SAO for short. In the suburbs of an unsuspecting house, in a large bedroom sat two boys around the age of 14. One boy sat at his computer desk with his headphones on and a gaming magazine in his hands. The boy had spiky black hair and black eyes. He wore a gray hoodie with black sweat pants. On one of the beds, sat a boy with the same features as the other, only this boy's hair was straight and longer as it nearly shadowed his eyes. This boy wore a black graphic t-shirt with blue jean shorts. He sat on his bed as her was fiddling with what looked like a helmet. These two boys were Kazuto and Yusuke Kirigaya respectively. They are twin brothers both born on October 7, 2008. Of the two, Kazuto was the older twin by seven minutes.

These two boys were two of the 10,000 players who not only managed to get their hands on a copy of Sword Art Online, they were also beta testers who got to play the game before it even came out. Right now they were just finding ways of killing time before the game could officially launch. While they were doing their thing, they heard a knock at their door, causing them to look up from what they were doing and at the door.

"Come in." Yusuke said.

The door opened and a girl about a year younger than the boys entered their room. She had short black hair with dark gray, almost black eyes. She wore a gray schoolgirl's uniform with a yellow bow. She also had a kendo bag over her shoulder. This girl was their sister, Suguha Kirigaya. Even though she was recognized as their sister, in reality she's their cousin.

"Hey Kazuto. Hey Yusuke. I'm off to kendo practice now." She said.

"Alright, good luck Sugu." Kazuto replied with a smile.

"You give 'em hell champ!" Yusuke said, raising a fist for emphasis.

Sugu chuckled at the younger twin's comment. "Love you guys, see you guys at dinner tonight. Have fun with your game." Sugu replied with a smile before she shut the door. With that, Suguaha left the house to attend kendo practice.

As the time to launch approached, the twins hooked up their Nerve Gear helmets, connected everything where it went, inserted the game, and readied themselves to play the game. Yusuke looked towards his brother, who was about to lie down on his bed and smirked. "So, you ready to rock and roll Kazuto?"

Kazuto smirked at his brother before answering. "When you are little bro."

With that, the twins lied down on their backs in their respective beds with their Nerve Gear helmets. As the clock struck 1:00 pm, the boys readied themselves for the moment of truth.

""Link Start!"" They shouted in unison and they were transported into the game.

After the helmet checked all vitals, the boys typed in their user information and were suddenly transported into a world straight out of Camelot. The boys spawned right next to each other and looked at each other and smiled widely. Kazuto's avatar looked just about the same as his IRL appearance, only his face looked more handsome, like the protagonist of a novel. He also wore a blue tunic with black pants with gray boots and a sword strapped to his back. Yusuke's also looked the same as his IRL appearance, but his had a black beard to match his hair. He sported a gray tunic with black pants and brown boots and an axe was strapped to his back.

Yusuke chuckled happily at his appearance. "Hello world, we are back! Wooooo." He shouted with glee.

Kazuto also chuckled. "Hell yeah! This is gonna be awesome Yusuke."

Yusuke just shot a glare at his brother. "Hey! It's Yuga while we're in here, remember." He hissed at his brother, who just sported an embarrassed look.

"Oh, right. Sorry, forgot that. Well in that case, address me as Kirito." He said with a smirk, which Yuga returned.

First Floor-Starting Town

Kirito and Yuga currently found themselves in a large marketplace along with many other players who logged into SAO for the first time. Everyone in the marketplace were either chatting with other players or browsing the many shops for items that many couldn't probably afford since they had little money. Kirito and Yuga were right now running through the marketplace. Kirito was ahead of his brother by a good length.

"Come on Kirito, slow down will you. I know you're excited but damn don't leave me behind." Yuga called out.

Kirito decided to egg his brother on. "What's wrong, Yuga? Having a hard time keeping up with your big brother?" Kirito asked mockingly, causing Yuga to gain a tick mark.

"Why don't you ask that after I leave you choking in my dust!" Yuga declared as he started to pick up speed.

While this was going on, a lone man saw the brothers racing each other. Thinking they knew what they were doing, he decided to follow them. As the brothers made a turn into an alley, the man called out to them.

"Hey, wait up guys." Kirito and Yuga stopped running and looked behind them to see who it was who addressed them. The voice belonged to a young man wearing basic armor and a white tunic with brown pants. He also had a scruffy appearance with long pink hair held in with a red bandanna. He finally caught up to the brothers, taking deep breathes from running to catch up to them.

"Uhh, hi there. Can we help you?" Yuga asked the stranger.

He let out a deep breath before he answered the younger twin. "Yeah actually. You two look like you know you're way around. By chance, were you guys in the Beta test?"

"Um, yeah, we were." Answered Kirito.

"Well cool. Today is my first day here, so I was wondering, if it's not too much trouble, you think you can give me some tips for the lower floors?"

"Yeah, I don't know if-" Kirito tried to say.

"Please I'm begging you." The stranger interrupted.

"Aw come on Kirito, what harm could it do to give him a few pointers." Suggested Yuga.

Kirito thought for a moment. "Welllll...alright, I guess it wouldn't hurt."

The stranger's face soon adopted a grateful smile. "Oh thank you both so much. You guys are freakin' awesome." He thanked wholeheartedly. "By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Klein. Good to meet you." The stranger, now known as Klein introduced himself.

"My name is Kirito and this is Yuga." Kirito introduced him and his brother, who waved at him with a smile on his face.

Klein just looked at the twins questioningly. "Hey uh, is this some kind of bug or something? Aside from the gear and the beard on one of you, you two look almost exactly alike."

Kirito and Yuga just looked at each other for a moment before they looked back to Klein. ""Really? We don't see any similarities."" They both said in unison, shocking Klein.

B-b-b-b-b-" Klein was now babbling from the shock. He couldn't even form a sentence.

""Hey, you okay Klein?"" They both asked with their heads tilted. This caused Klein to fall on his ass in utter shock. Having had enough fun, the twins just laughed at him. "We're just messing with you Klein." Said Yuga.

"Yeah. Truth is Yuga and I are twin brothers in real life. We're sorry for scaring you, we just couldn't resist." Kirito said as Klein got back on his feet.

"Oh...well...that would probably explain a lot." He said chuckling awkwardly, still trying to digest what he was just told. "Well anyway, don't do that again man, I startle easily."

The twins just chuckled at him. "Alright, we won't." Said Yuga.

1st Floor-Starting Town-West Field

The three players were now in a field on the first floor. Kirito and Yuga were standing on the side while Klein dealt with a boar like creature, having little success as the creature knocked him on his ass while he clutched his groin area where he got hit. "AH! My nuts!" Klein exclaimed painfully.

"Come on, seriously?" Kirito asked annoyed with Yuga sporting the same expression.

"You realize you can't feel any pain, don't you Klein?" Said Yuga.

Klein then raised his head in realization as he really didn't feel any pain down there. "Oh, hey you're right. Hehe, sorry about that. Force of habit." He then found himself on his feet again.

"Wait, force of habit?" Inquired Kirito.

"You mean you've been hit in the nuts multiple times?" Asked Yuga with a raised eyebrow.

"Trust me guys, you don't want to know."

"Withdrawn then!" Exclaimed Yuga with a raised hand.

Kirito then shook his head as he went back to training Klein. "Remember what I said? The first move is the most important."

"Yeah, easy for you to say. This damn thing won't stand still." Klein said glaring at the boar.

Yuga picked up a stone and took a stance. "It's like this Klein, if you do your initial motion right and activate a sword skill at the right time..." Yuga then threw the stone at the boar, hitting square in it's butt, angering it and making it look at the three players. "Then the system pretty much guarantees you'll always hit your target.

"Initial...motion?" Klein asked, sounding like a student in a classroom who had no idea what the teacher was talking about.

"Here is an easier way to look at it." Kirito commented. "Right after you start your move, wait a little bit. When you feel the skill start to activate, drive it on home." While this was going on, Yuga was holding the boar back with his axe.

"Drive it on home?" Klein said questioningly as he raised his sword again. After a moment, it hit him. He got into a stance and readied himself, by then his sword started glowing yellow, indicating he was about to perform a sword skill. Yuga saw this and kicked the boar away, making it run towards Klein. As the Boar approached the newbie, Klein then thrust his sword and it made contact with the animal, causing it's health gauge to drop to zero and erupt into a thousands of polygons, singling it's death.

Klein smiled at his success and did a victory pose. "Hmhm, not bad newbie." Yuga complimented as he raised his hand to give him a high five, which Klein gave happily.

"I'll say, you did pretty good Klein." Kirito added as he raised his own hand, which Klein also high fived. "Don't let it go to your head though Klein, that boar is about as weak as slimes in other games are."

Klein's eyes widened at what the older twin said. "What? Seriously! I thought that thing was a mid level boss!" He exclaimed.

"Sorry dude, but they are." Added Yuga as he pointed at a nearby hill where more boars materialized in the field.

Klein took a couple more practice thrusts to get the handle of his skill. He seemed to be getting the hang of it. "Woah!"

The twins smiled at the sight. "Nifty little skill, isn't it." Asked Kirito.

"I'll say. So these skills, there's tons of them like blacksmith and stuff right?"

"Yeah. From what I heard, the game has a near unlimited number of them. Except for magic though." Said Yuga.

"Heh, an RPG without magic. That's a pretty bold decision." Klein said with a smirk as he continued to practice trusting. He chuckled happily at how quickly he was getting the hang of it.

The twins smiled at his joy. "So what do you think Klein? Kinda fun to move your body as you fight, isn't it?" Asked Kirito.

Klein turned to the twins with a mile wide smile on his face. "Aw, hell yeah it is!" The twins nodded their heads at his comment.

"So, you ready to move on?" Inquired Yuga.

"Yeah man, let's keep going." Answered Klein.

A Few Hours Later

After a few hours of playing, the sun started to set in the game. Kirito, Yuga, and Klein were now in another area of the field drinking in the view the game offered them with smiles on their faces.

"You know, when I look around, I still can't believe we're in a freakin' game bro." Klein said. "Seriously, whoever made this game is a genius. Seriously, it makes me glad I was born when I was."

"Join the club Klein." Yuga said, extending his fist towards him. Klein just fist bumped him.

"Come on, it's not that big a deal." Kirito said.

"'Not a big deal', Kirito, you were just as ecstatic to get this game as I was."

"Yeah and come on, cut me some slack. This is my first full dive."

The twins both looked at Klein in surprise. "Really? You mean you never used a Nerve Gear before today?" Kirito asked.

"Yep." Klein answered with a nod. "As soon as I got the money together, I rushed out and bought all the hardware to play SAO. Stood in line and scored one of the ten thousand hard copies. I guess you could say I was pretty lucky. Although...you two were ten times as lucky to get to Beta Test it, I heard only a thousand people got the chance."

"Yeah, I guess Yuga and I were lucky." Kirito said scratching the back of his head.

"So, mind if I ask how far you two got in the Beta?"

"Two months in and Kirito and I couldn't even make it past floor eight."

"Yeah, but now I think we could get there within a month easy." Kirito said confidently.

"Wow, just earlier you said it wasn't a big deal, now it sounds like you're really into this." Klein said with a snark.

Kirito then pulled out his sword and brought before him. "Hmm, I guess you could say that. During the Beta Test, SAO was the only thing on my mind, day and night. In this world, a single blade could take you anywhere you want. And in all honesty, even though it's a virtual world, I feel more alive in here than I ever did in the real world.

Yuga chuckled at his brother's declaration. "Yeah, the virtual world is indeed great. While that may be true, a wise man once said 'As terrifying and painful as reality can be, it's also the only thing that's real. The only place where you can find true happiness. Not to mention the only place where you can get a decent meal.'" Yuga chuckled as he finished his saying, causing his brother to chuckle too.

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that Yuga."

GROOOOWL

The twins heard a grumbling noise coming from Klein, causing to become embarrassed. "Hehe, speaking of decent meals, I'm getting pretty hungry. I better log out."

"Hmmm, it's too bad the food in here only satisfies your hunger virtually, huh?" Kirito asked rhetorically.

"For reals. That's why I ordered a pizza for 5:30." Klein said with a smirk.

"Wow, talk about victory lies in preparation." Yuga added.

"You know it man. Besides, the game can wait til after I get my pizza on." Klein then got up on his feet and looked at the twins. "Say, I was just about to go meet up with some people I know from another game. I don't know what you guys are up to after this so, you know, if you want you guys can friend them and hang with us."

Kirito looked to the ground with a downtrodden expression. He didn't do too well meeting other people. In fact, the only person he really associated with in games was his brother. Yuga, on the other hand was a little more sociable than Kirito, but like his brother, he was a little asocial as well.

"Uhh, we appreciate the offer Klein, but the thing is...Kirito and I really don't do too well with people we don't know. Honestly when we played games it's always been the two of us. So again, thanks for the offer, but you know..."

"Oh no it's alright Yuga, no pressure. You guys could always meet them another time."

"Yeah, sounds good." Kirito said casually. "Thanks Klein."

"No problem. If anything, I should be the one thanking you two. One of these days, I promise, I'll find a way to pay you guys back for all your help. Virtually, that is."

Kirito soon adopted a small smile on his face while Yuga had a smirk on his face. "We'll hold you to that Klein. Don't think we'll forget, cuz we won't." Said Yuga smugly.

"Right. Well anyway, thanks again for everything, Kirito, Yuga." Klein said gratefully while extending his hand to shake their hands, which the brothers did wholeheartedly. "Guess I'll see you guys around then."

"You bet Klein."

"If there's anything else you want to know, just message either me or Yuga and we'll help you out any way we can."

"Sweet, I'll do just that then." Klein then walked a good distance from them and swiped his hand to bring up his HUD menu. He face soon grew a confused expression. "Hey, uh guys. I don't mean to sound like a total noob but, wheres the log out button?"

The brothers soon became confused at Klein's question. "What?! It should be right there." Kirito said with a raised eyebrow.

"Klein, I realize this is your first time in full dive, but if you can't find the log out button, then you seriously got a problem, buddy."

"Guys, I'm not kidding, it's not there." Klein said, panic now present in his voice.

Kirito and Yuga then swiped their hands to bring up their own menus. And just as Klein said, the log out button was not present on their menus, causing them to become wide eyed in surprise. "What the hell?!" Yuga exclaimed.

"You were right, Klein. It's gone." Added Kirito.

"Well, it is the first day of the launch of the game, maybe it's a bug." Klein theorized. "Heh, I bet the server people are freaking out right now." He finished with a chuckle.

"Maybe, but if it is a bug, this is a pretty serious one." Said Yuga.

"Yeah, and the server people won't be the only people freaking out right now." Kirito added.

"What do you mean brother?"

Kirito then pointed to the clock on the HUD. The time read 5:25 p.m. Klein saw this and started freaking out since his pizza was supposed to arrive in five minutes. "NOOOOO! MY TERIYAKI MAYO PIZZA AND GINGER ALE!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Calm down Klein! Why don't you just call the game master?" Kirito suggested, causing Klein to stop screaming and calm down.

"Yeah, I did that but he's not picking up." He then turned towards the twins. "Hey, do either of you know if there is another way to log out of this thing?"

They both shook their heads. "Sorry Klein, whenever a player wants to log out, the only way to do that is to go through the menu." Yuga answered, causing Klein to panic once again.

"No, that can't be right." He said trying to deny what the younger twin just told him. "There's gotta be another way out. Uhhh, return! Log out! Escape!" He tried shouting words to try and log out, but they were in vain as nothing happened.

"Klein, we're sorry but we told you, the only way out is through the menu. Not to mention there was no emergency log out in the menu either." Kirito said.

"No way. You gotta be kidding." Klein soon got another idea. "Ooh, I know. I'll just take the Nerve Gear off my head." He then tried to take off his helmet while in the game, but like his previous efforts, they were for not.

"Don't bother trying. Once you're hooked in, you can't move your body in the real world anymore. The Nerve Gear intercepts all the commands you give from inside the game. There's even an interface built into the Rig." Kirito explained.

"Seriously?" Klein asked. "So now what, we wait until someone gets around to fixing the bug?"

"Well there is that, or until someone IRL comes around and takes the helmet off for us. But other that that, pretty much." Yuga added.

"Well crap, I live alone. What about you two?"

"We got a mom and sister. And I'm pretty sure they'll notice if we're not around by dinner-" Kirito tried to say, but hearing him say sister made Klein make a mad dash to the twins and grab onto their shoulders in anticipation and shocking the twins.

"N-no way! You guys got a sister?!" Klein asked excitedly. "How old is she? What is she like?"

Kirito and Yuga just looked at Klein as if he had just went insane. "Uhhhh, she's into sports and she hates games. Definitely not your type-" Yuga tried to say.

"Who cares, man?! I want a girlf-" At this point, Kirito and Yuga punched Klein in the stomach at the same time, knocking him on his ass. He tried to clutch his stomach, but realized he can't feel pain in the game.

"Get serious here, Klein." Kirito said seriously. "Don't you think this is weird?"

"Yeah, totally. But come on, it's just a bug."

"I don't think this is just a bug Klein." Yuga said. "If we can't log out, It'll cause some serious problems for the game."

"Yeah, you're right about that one."

"I wonder if the developers even know what's happening. If so, then they can just shut down the server and log everyone out." Kirito added. "So why haven't they made any kind of announcement?"

The three just stood there contemplating their dilemma. Their thoughts were interrupted when a bell started ringing in the town. Suddenly, they were enveloped in a flash of light. When the light dissipated, they found themselves in the town plaza along with all the other players in SAO. Everyone was very confused as to how they ended up in the town plaza.

"Hey, do you know what's going on?" One female player asked the person she was with, who shook his head as he was just as confused as she was.

"Someone forced a teleport." Kirito hypothesized. The bell finally stopped ringing and all was quiet save for the chatter amongst the other players. "Hey, look up there." One player pointed to the sky and sure enough, a red hexagon with the word 'warning' started blinking in the sky.

"Now what?" Asked Kirito.

"Whatever it is, you can bet it can't be good." Answered Yuga.

Eventually, more red hexagons appeared in the sky. They kept appearing until the sky became completely red. Suddenly, the sky started bleeding red blood, which freaked everyone out half way out of there minds. Soon, the liquid started to take shape into a giant, imposing hooded figure wearing what looked like a robe.

"Wow, talk about making an entrance." Yuga said sounding somewhat impressed.

"You can say that again." Kirito responded.

"Is that the game master?" A random player asked.

"Is this part of the game?"

"Why doesn't he have a face?"

"I'm scared." The same female player from earlier said as she got close to her companion, who held her securely.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it's all part of the opening ceremony." He assured her.

"Attention players." The figure called out to all present in the plaza. "I welcome you all to my world."

"What does he mean by that?" Kirito asked.

"My name is Akahiko Kayaba. And as of this moment I am in control of this world." What the figure had told everyone shocked them to their cores. The figure before them was Akahiko Kayaba, the genius behind Sword Art Online. "I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menus; the log out button. Let me assure you this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be."

"Uhhhh, he's kidding, right?" Klein asked shocked beyond belief.

"You cannot log yourselves out of SAO. And no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the Nerve Gear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the Nerve Gear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life."

'Tch! Man, I hate it when I'm right.' Yuga thought to himself. Soon after hearing this, everyone was now on the verge of panicking.. One couple tried to leave the plaza but a force field prevented them from doing so. "Hey, are you guys listening to this crap? He's gotta be nuts, right?" Klein asked the brothers.

"No...he's not." Kirito answered

"He's right Klein. The transmitters signal in the head gear work just like microwaves. If the safety is disabled, it could fry your brain." Yuga added.

"Well...couldn't someone cut the power or something?"

"It won't work. The Nerve Gear has an internal battery." Answered Kirito.

"GRRRR! This is crazy! It's totally crazy!" Klein said agitated.

"Despite my warning, the families and friends of some of the players attempted removing the Nerve Gear. An unfortunate decision to say the least. And as a result, the game now has 213 less players than when it began. They had been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world."

"213!" Kirito exclaimed in shock.

"No way!" Klein added.

"Holy shit! This can't be happening!" Yuga added grabbing the side of his head with both hands.

"As you can see..." Suddenly, pop up windows appeared around Kayaba's form. The windows all showed news footage in the real world about Sword Art Online. "International media outlets have round the clock coverage of everything, including the deaths. At this point, it is safe to assume the likelihood of a Nerve Gear being removed is minimal at best. I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game. It is important to remember the following; there is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system...forever. And the Nerve Gear will simultaneously destroy your brain."

The brothers imagined what would happen if they died in the game. The Nerve Gears they wore would destroy their brains, killing them in the real world, shocking them to their cores. They then looked at Kayaba in rage and anger. They both idolized this man for the creation of SAO and now he went and did this to all the players. This man was no genius or revolutionary, he was just a stone cold psychopath, plain and simple. Everyone else in the present now looked like they were about to have a mental breakdown, until Kayaba addressed them once again.

"There is only one way for a player to escape, you must clear the game. As of now, you are all gathered on Floor One, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on Floor One Hundred, and you will clear the game."

Right now, people were shouting things like "Impossible!" and "No way!" Others were still in denial at what he told them, say things like "Why should we believe you?" Even Klein was saying it would be impossible to clear all one hundred floors, that even the Beta Testers couldn't make it that high.

"And last but not least, I've placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please, have a look." With that, everyone opened their menus and opened their item storage. Once Kirito and Yuga opened their item storage, they discovered an icon with the word mirror on it. When they pressed the icon, sure enough, a small mirror appeared in their hands. They looked into their mirrors and saw their reflections.

"GAH!" Klein shouted in surprise.

When the twins looked, Klein was enveloped in a blue light. ""Klein!"" They called out to their friend. Soon enough, everyone else were enveloped in the same blue light, including the twins. Eventually, the blue light faded away.

"Kirito, Yuga, you two okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine Kl-" Kirito tried to say, but the man before them wasn't the Klein they met earlier today. The man before them looked to be in his twenties, he was till scruffy and he wore the same red bandanna, but his hair was now shorter. This man looked nothing like Klein, which confused the twins at how he knew them. "Wait, who are you?"

The man looked at them with a confused expression. "What are you talking about? I'm me, who are you guys?" He asked. The twins looked at each other and...

"K-Kirito?"

"Yuga?"

""What the hell?! What happened to our avatars?!" The exclaimed at the same time. They looked around and realized they weren't the only ones who changed. Every single player in the plaza reverted to their real world appearances. Some players were younger than their avatars made them to be. Others were older. Some of the female players were even dudes in real life and vice versa. They then looked to the man and realized...

""Wait! Is that you Klein?!""

Klein just looked at them dumbfounded. "Wow! You guys really are twins in real life. If it wasn't for your guy's gear and colors, I don't think I could tell who was who." He said before his expression turned worrisome. "But seriously, how the hell-"

"The scan. There's a high density signal device inside the Nerve Gear rig. It could see what our faces look like, but how does it know our height and body type?"

"When you first put the Nerve Gear on, it had you do this calibration thing. It asked you to touch you all over your body like this." Klein explained as he touched his body to show how he did it. "Remember?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Yuga added.

"You're right Klein, that's how it got our physical data."

"But I don't get it." Klein said as he put his hand to his head, trying to contemplate what the hell was going on. "Why would anyone do this to us. What the hell is the point."

Yuga pointed to Kayaba. "Something tells me this lunatic is about to tell us his reason."

"Right now, you're all probably wondering 'why'? Why would Akahiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and Nerve Gear, do all this? Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design."

"A God complex, seriously?" Yuga said angrily.

"Kayaba, you bastard." Kirito added just as angry as his brother.

"As you can see, I have achieved my goal." Hearing that made the brothers clench their fists tightly as they continued to stare angrily at Kayaba. If this were the real world, they would be bleeding right now from the pressure they applied to their hands. "This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you all the best of luck." And with those final words, Kayaba disappeared and the sky returned to it's normal color.

'This isn't a game anymore. It's real.' Kirito thought to himself clenching his fist. 'Akahiko Kayaba created a virtual world. He designed the Nerve Gear rig. The man is a genius. My brother and I have been fans of his for a long time. So I know, everything he just said is the truth. If we die in the game, we die in real life.'

After a few moments of silence, everyone in the plaza broke into a panic. People were scared beyond reason, many people began screaming in terror, many others wishing this was a nightmare and they wanted to wake up from it. Kirito and Yuga were the only ones who remained calm. Not wanting to get caught up in the panic, Kirito grabbed Yuga and Klein. "Yuga, Klein, lets get out of here." With that, the three ran out of the plaza and into a nearby alley.

"Alright, listen. Yuga and I are gonna head out for the next village. We want you to come along." Klein was taken aback by Kirito's offer. "If what he said is true, and I think it is, the only way we're gonna survive in here is to make ourselves as strong as possible." Kirito then brought a map of the Starting Floor and surrounding areas. "In an MMORPG, the money you could earn, the XP, once the game starts, there's only so much of it to go around."

Yuga then jumped in and pointed to where they were on the map. "Look here. The fields around the Town of Beginnings are going to be hunted clean soon. If we head to the next village now, we'll have an easier time collecting cash and points." He said as the map mapped out the fastest route to the next village. "Plus, Kirito and I know all the paths and places we should avoid. Even if we're level one, we can get there easy."

Klein was silent for a moment before he answered. "Thanks guys but, you know those friends of mine I was telling you about earlier? We stood in line for a whole night to buy this and they're still back at the plaza somewhere. I'm sorry but, I can't leave them."

Kirito thought about this for a moment. He realized if it was just him, his brother and Klein, it would be manageable, but two or three more might lead to problems.

"Sorry guys." Klein said, interrupting his thoughts and making the twins look at him. "I can't ask a couple of guys I just met to risk their lives for a bunch of complete strangers, can I?" He asked rhetorically. "So don't worry about me, you two just get your asses to the next village."

"Are you sure Klein?" Yuga asked sincerely.

Klein just smiled at the younger twin. "I'll be fine Yuga. I was a guild master in the last game I played so I'm more than prepared. And with all the stuff you guys taught me, I'll get by no sweat."

The twins just nodded their heads at his answer. "Alright, if that's what you want Klein, then we'll get going. Just remember, if you need anything, just message us, alright?"

"Sure thing, Kirito."

"We'll be seeing you soon Klein. Come on Yuga."

"Right behind you brother. Take care of yourself Klein." Responded Yuga as he followed his brother to the exit out of town. Before they got further, Klein had one last thing to say to the twins.

"Kirito! Yuga!" He called out to them, making them stop. "I...well...I think you guys look way better than your avatars." He complimented, making the twins smile at him.

"Yeah, and that scruffy face of yours suits you ten times better." Kirito said, making Klein laugh.

"Good luck Klein. Don't go doing something stupid and end up dying on us otherwise I'll kick your ass!" Yuga shouted, making Klein give them a thumbs up.

Without skipping a beat, the twins ran towards the exit, passing other players along the way. The twins ran through the fields as they made their way to the next village, having few run ins with some creatures that tried to stop their progress. The creatures were cut down like wheat by the twin's weapons, nothing was going to stop them. The thought of beating the game and seeing their family again was the only thing on their minds right now. They weren't going to let this world beat them, but in order to beat the final boss on the top floor and clear the game, they were going to have to get stronger and they sure weren't going to get that way just standing around. So with the determination and resolve to beat the game, the twins raced to the next village and onward towards their adventure.

Meanwhile, back in the real world

It was evening now and Suguha had just gotten out of kendo practice not too long ago. She was now heading home to get something to eat and check in on her brothers.

Suguha stretched her arms. "Mmmmmm. Oh man, practice was brutal today. I really hope I'm not getting rusty if I want to make it to Nationals again." She said to herself. As she was walking, she couldn't help but think of her brothers and how they were doing. "Hm, I wonder how Kazuto and Yusuke are doing. Knowing them, they're probably really invested in their game." While walking, she looked up to see a jumbotron on a building that was reporting a breaking story. What the story was reporting caused her to become horrified. The news was reporting about Sword Art Online and the deaths that attributed to the game as well as the players that were now trapped in the game.

"Wait, Sword Art Online! Isn't that the game that-" She widened her eyes in realization and terror. "Oh no. OH NO!" Suddenly she took off into a sprint as she ran for her house as fast as her legs could carry her. 'Kazuto. Yusuke. Please tell me you two aren't playing that game! Please tell me you're both alright. Please!' She thought hysterically. After running for what seemed like forever, she finally made it to the street her house was on. As she turned the corner, she saw something that made her heart stop and her blood run cold. Police and Paramedics were outside her home. She immediately assumed the worse. She saw her mother outside and ran to her.

"Mom!" Suguha called out. Her mother saw her daughter running up to her.

"Suguha." She acknowledged. Tears running down her eyes. She embraced her daughter.

"Mom, what's going on?!" Suguha asked hysterically with tears threatening to fall from her own eyes. Her mother said nothing, further worrying the young girl. "Mom, Kazuto and Yusuke. Are they-"

"No, no. They're alive honey." She affirmed. Hearing that brought some peace to Suguha, but not enough. She turned her head to her house to see people coming out of it.

"Alright, let's get these two out of here!" A paramedic shouted as he and three others were now seen wheeling out the Kirigaya twins and about to load them into ambulances to take them to the hospital. Suguha saw her brothers still had their Nerve Gears on their heads but were also hooked up to other things as well.

Seeing her brothers the way they were now, Suguha just felt her entire world fall apart. "NO! KAZUTO! YUSUKE! NO!" She shouted. She tried to run to get to them, but her mother held her back. Suguha tried with all her might to try and get free but he mother's grip was firm as she continued to scream their names. Once they were loaded into the ambulances, they were immediately taken to the hospital. Suguha at this point was on her knees crying her eyes out. Her mother was on the ground with her, hugging and comforting here daughter as best she could, even though she was also worried for her sons. The death game had officially begun, and all they could now was wait and hope they will come back someday.

And done with the first chapter of The Black Swordsman and The Gray Huntsman. Like I said in the beginning, I would like to thank The authors of Last Step for the opportunity to adopt this story. I just hope that this story is good, not just for my other readers, but for them as well. Next chapter, Kirito and Yuga face their first boss fight and they have a run in with familiar auburn haired girl with her own views about the game. So read and review and let me know what you think, just nothing too mean and I'll have the next chapter out ASAP. Until then, this is TravyMcNavy184 signing out. P.S. The quote Yuga said to his brother should sound familiar to some of you. If not, watch Ready Player One, awesome flick.