Hello everyone! Before we begin I'd like to say a couple of IMPORTANT THINGS. Got your attention I hope? No? Damn.

Well for those of you who are attracted to BIG LETTERS I need to explain a few things. Kazuto is going to be two years older here than he was in canon when he started SAO for certain reasons, and two, this story is going to be original in the sense that I'm building off of what we know of GGO, which is a fairly strong ground point, but there leaves a lot to be explained so most of it is going to be original content, feel free to check the SAO Wiki to find out the official information about GGO to get an understanding of whats mine and what's not. There will be some original characters, but they're going to be villians, as this story is going to be centric on Kirito and Sinon. Also, I will be bringing the Bullet of Bullets into play, but I'll be calling it the Ballad of Bullets. I really cannot think why it's called Bullet of Bullets, it's just so wrong.

And now for the final point which is going to be a tad controversial. I'm not sure at this exact moment how many of the original cast I'll be bringing over for reasons that might be clear due to the summary of this fanfiction. This isn't something I've cemented yet, as I'm still weighing the pros and cons of it. But before I bore you anymore with my long winded explanations, (YES, GET ON WITH IT.) allow me to put the final bit up!

DISCLAIMER FOR ALL THOSE WHO ARE REAL PRICKS ABOUT THE NITTY DETAILS: I don't own SAO, nor any of the characters within that are trademarked by the purposeful owner. I won't even take credit for my original characters as I'd never accept responsibility for my monstrosities I pass off as creative works.

Besides, IF I did I'd probably make the series rated NC-17 and give people psychological problems. And – (This is where you should walk away and start reading. ENJOY!)

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'Aim to be the best!'

Sixteen year old Kazuto Kirigaya grinned like a child, rolling back and forth on his computer chair, as he re-read the slogan on the box art for Gun Gale Online. It was the first VRMMO and the first game to feature the upgraded NervGear, which until now had been in development stages. Although GGO was an American made game by the company Zaskar, it was co-developed with the Japanese company Argus due to the involvement of the NervGear. It was the first time a game had been made by two international companies, making it quite the topic of excitement. It was announced that the game would have a limited launch a week early in Japan, with only four-thousand players given access through invitation only.

He still couldn't believe he'd been chosen for not only the beta, but the limited launch as well! He still remembered the swell of pride he felt when the official e-mail came into his inbox, explaining he'd been chosen due to his overall excellent performance in both previous games and the beta. That of course meant that all the players chosen for the limited launch would be hardcore gamers like himself.

While he wasn't the biggest fan of futuristic MMO's, the tantalizing idea of fighting to become the greatest player in a game made his heart race. Besides, even in cyberpunk setting of GGO, swords were still something a player could acquire, and from his month of beta testing he'd learned that any of the melee weapons were capable of deflecting any shot. His wild sixteen year old mind danced with the possibilities, imagining how cool he would become, the only player in a gun centric game to master the sword and rise above them all.

He checked the time on his desktop, it was eleven forty five, just another fifteen minutes until the servers came online. He had another full week off until school started back up and he planned to make the most of it. He'd already eaten his full and taken a bath, nothing was going to stop him until he'd pass out from exhaustion. Snatching his NervGear from the desk, he put the already calibrated device onto his head and lied down, plugging in the power cord and reading the digital readout on the visor as it powered to life. With the head set now intercepting his nervous system's commands, he navigated to GGO's icon and opened it. His vision was transformed to nothing but white as his mind was taken over by the FullDive technology and he no longer felt as if he existed in reality.

He input his information, knowing he had to have been grinning in the real world as the words Link Start! Appeared and he found himself at the character creation screen. Alright, he thought, Let's get my beta avatar loaded up and tweaked while I wait for the servers. The image of his in game avatar Kirito appeared, he'd did his best to look more manly and heroic, something he wasn't in real life. He would have squirmed with excitement if he could have.

XXXX

When he took his first breath and his eyes opened, he was reminded of just how perfect the NervGear replicated the five senses. He could hear the sounds of excited chatter, smell the grunge of the city, the feel of a warm breeze, and even taste the saliva in his own mouth. He took in the sights of the player spawn area, currently loaded with awestruck players who had yet to experience FullDive technology, as they beheld the capital city, Space Battle Ship Glocken.

From what he memorized about the game's lore, GGO was set in a post-apocalyptic earth, where humanity had made the planet inhabitable for centuries due to a global war. To survive, what was left of humanity fled to space, where they lived a meager existence for centuries until their crippled planet could once more support some form of life. The players assumed the roles of the first generation born on earth again, after the only city on earth had been established and was ruled by two mega corporations, Yokohama Universal Industries and the Fuller Corporation. Both served as a type of government, and represented employment for players. It was basically the way to explain GGO's quest system, or Jobs, as it was called.

The two corporations were in a race to see who could reach the inner heart of the advanced civilization their forefathers had left behind deep under the earth, just below SBC Glocken. No one knew how far it descended, but it was the major focus of the PvE portion of the game, beyond the numerous ruins of the old earth that stretched for miles over open desert, the developers claimed it would take years for players to explore it all.

He rubbed his hands together, moving with large strides as he circumvented the masses of players who all sat around chatting and exploring the new system. He'd already had time to acclimate, if he wanted to get the best head start he could, he needed to hurry to the outlying desert where the low level mobs would be and –

His thoughts were cut off as he slammed into someone, knocking them down.

"Ow! Hey, watch it!"

"I-I'm sorry, I -" Kirito's words stammered out, as he realized he'd knocked over a beautiful girl around his age. She had short blue hair, her enraged eyes that bore into his matching in color with her hair. She wore the plain and drab looking starting gear, which for girls was a sleeveless version of the male white shirt and black pants. His eyes caught sight of a small pin on her collar, which was a free item given to beta players. Realizing he was staring, he blushed holding out his hand. "Sorry, I'm just too excited right now." He tried to give a manly smile, using his avatar's good looks to his advantage.

The girl let out a curt, "Hmph." before standing on her own, leaving Kirito's hand alone, causing the boy to retract it with a nervous laugh. "Whatever, just be more careful." She turned on her heel and walked off, leaving Kirito feeling lost as he watched her go. He found his eyes dropping to her rear, but snapped his eyes back up, his face red. Gah, I couldn't have possibly looked more like an idiot than I had! He berated himself as he grumbled and hurried off, not able to shake the thought that he'd like to see her again.

XXXX

It'd taken a few hours, but he'd finally outfitted himself with all the equipment he could, making sure to load up on medkits. He patted the black steel sword on his back, it's design much cooler than he'd expected from a sci-fi game. It was what cost him most of his money, but he'd rather use it it than the cruddy pistol he'd been given at creation. He'd considered better armor too, but since he could just dodge around the things he'd be fighting he wouldn't have much need for it.

The automated train he rode shook, sending sparks out from it's magnetic wheels, as it continued towards the edge of town where he could exit Glocken. Kirito found himself entranced, staring out the train's window, the neon lights of the city playing across his face. Every sort of advertisement for in game products flashed on projected screens that floated in the afternoon sky, which he couldn't help but be impressed by. Many of these features hadn't been included with the beta, he supposed Argos/Zaskar saved the best for last. They'd really did everything they could to faithfully recreate the feeling of a gritty, dystopian, cyberpunk society. His nose wrinkled as he smelt what was possibly a recreation of dried urine on the train, perhaps they went too far.

He glanced around the empty train, finding he was the only player on it. He took that as a sign that many of the beta players might be resting on their laurels; More loot for him. He'd already pulled off the lapel that had been given to him as a beta player, it didn't have any stats and the last thing he wanted was for a new player to bug him for help when he had his own problems to focus on.

Attention, we will be arriving at the western gate shortly, I repeat . . . The synthesized train's AI voice droned out the information three times, also displaying what it spoke on a LED bar in bright red English, followed by Kanji.

Kirito headed for the sliding glass doors, staring ahead at the giant looming wall that separated the safe zone from the wasteland beyond. His right fist began shaking, the first steps to his journey began here. Here, he could become the hero he wanted to be.

Screw reality.

XXXX

Kirito skid as he sprinted around the corner of the destroyed office building corridor, the sound of glass crunching under his foot. He struggled to breathe, gasping for air, pushing his body as hard as he could hearing the growling mutant behind him snapping it's jaws as it chased him. What the hell?! He thought, leaping over a knocked over chair, hearing the beast slam through the debris like it was paper. This building only had zombies in it during beta, not some mutant wolves! He'd already killed one of the beasts that had tried to jump him, nearly tearing out his throat in the process. A second one had been not too far behind, both at Lv.5, the fact he'd been able to kill the first one was sheer dumb luck with two critical strikes.

A fork was coming up, left or right, he couldn't remember which way went where. He grit his teeth, feeling the hot diseased breath of the mutant on him. He chose right! Sliding around the corner, his face fell, but he didn't dare stop running. It was a dead end, a large shattered wall window being the only thing at the end of the hall. The thing was right behind him, he felt the air pressure from its jaw snapping on his heel. A plan hatched in his mind. The was only a few feet to the window, and he heard the wolf let out a monstrous bark as it lunged and he threw himself to the ground. He felt the wind breaking over his body as he skid on the broken glass that littered the floor from the line of shattered wall windows.

The monster let out a yelp as it realized it made a fatal error and the momentum of it's leap sent it straight out the broken window, howling as it plummeted ten stories below.

Kirito lay still, his breathing ragged and hard, to the point where he completely forgot he was in a game. The fear and adrenaline he'd felt was very real, along with the pain of small cuts he received all over his torso from the shattered glass. He flipped over onto his back, just as the mob slammed into the ground below, a small pop up appearing before him telling him how much EXP and Credits he earned, along with an item, a single Wolf Pelt.

He cleared the readout with an exhausted tap on it's screen, his arm falling back down to the dirty carpet below him. He rolled his head over wincing as he saw the setting sun setting on the desert, through the destroyed wall that once was lined with roof to floor windows. Every single sensation he'd felt here so far was indistinguishable from reality, they'd even improved the quality of the image the NervGear gave, to where it no longer held the faint static image like a screen would have.

Though, he thought, he could do without the negative effects of such realism, like being completely winded after running through the building. There was a reason he was out of shape in the real world, he hated cardio. At least his in game avatar had better stamina or he might have been a mutant's lunch. Checking his HP, it was still full – he'd managed to avoid getting hit; a minor miracle in his book.

He took a final deep breath, before pulling himself up off the floor, dusting off the sand that coated him and the small shards of glass. Taking a glance at his status, he grumbled. The EXP bonus from beta wasn't present and it looked like they increased how much it would take to get to even level two by an exponential amount. Even with exploring this ruin and killing the mutant rats and zombies as he had only yielded a tenth of what he needed. Well, at least with this much loot, he should get plenty of credits to –

"Help!"

Kirito snapped his head over towards where the sound echoed from outside, immediately throwing himself to the wall and away from the windows. The panicked male voice screamed out again, and Kirito edged over to the window that the mutant had leaped out of, peeking his head around the corner.

At ground level, he saw someone with long red hair tied, a bandana wrapped around his forehead, running in a frenzied panic across the open desert for the building, with two players chasing after him shooting their guns into the air, laughing. Kirito cursed, the last thing he needed was to worry about was player killers, and the idiot was leading them right into the building that only had one exit.

He pushed away from the wall and ran back towards the start of the hall where he'd remembered there being elevators. If he was gonna have any chance of surviving this, he'd have to help that player fight off the PK'ers, because as soon as they saw the ruin was littered with dead mobs, they'd start searching for him.

Reaching the elevator, he drew his sword and jammed it between the ancient steel doors, prying them open with a heave as he did so. Once it was open enough to wedge his body in, he used himself to open it the rest of the way, revealing the elevator shaft. Peering down, the dark shaft was illuminated by the light that poured in from behind Kazuto, dust particles dancing in the light. The elevator was stuck at the far bottom, where it'd remained since humanity abandoned it. Another cry for help echoed up through the shaft, telling him they were already inside.

Kazuto let out a harsh exhale, blowing it through pursed lips as he sheathed his sword. "This is really stupid." He spoke shaking his head, taking a few steps back and staring at the taut steel cable that once moved the elevator. "This is really, really stupid." But, it was just a game, right?

Kicking off into a full sprint, he jumped and let out a startled yell, grabbing onto the steel cable as tight as he could and before he could relish that he'd managed to grab it, he began plummeting down, as red sparks of damage chipped off his avatar in a flashy display. He let out a grunt of pain, actually feeling the sensation of flesh being torn from his hands, although the avatar wasn't advanced enough to degrade or he might actually run out of hand before he got to the bottom. He wrapped his legs around the wire, trying to keep his wits as he fell at an even pace that still felt far too fast for him. Glancing up at his HP, he was at eighty percent, he was losing near two percent every second. He grit his teeth, and looked down just in time to see the elevator as he crashed into it, a loud bang echoing through the shaft, taking an insignificant amount of fall damage, but it still hurt like hell.

He pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his backside, already looking for the emergency hatch on the top of the elevator, as he could now hear loud shouting, the words being disrupted by the thick steel walls. He found it – in the corner of the elevator, a squared area marked with faded and chipped red and white striped emergency paint. He again used his sword as leverage to pry open the rusted hatch, and dropped down into the decayed elevator cage. As he fell, he kept himself crouched when he landed, remembering the doors on the ground level had fallen off.

"Just give us all your stuff and we'll let you live, we promise." A gruff voice taunted.

"Aw come on, I'm new to this, can't you guys give me a break!? If I give you all my stuff I won't have anything!"

"Heh, you should have thought about that before you left the safe area you stupid idiot. Now either hand over your stuff or we'll take it from your corpse."

Kirito crept along, the elevator's had partial cover from a marble half wall that raised up about three feet, serving as a type of hand rail for the raised pathway that led to the elevators from the main lobby. Peeking his head up over the marble, he saw the two PK'ers dressed in a low level set of vendor gear, giving off the cliché look of Mexican bandits that he'd seen used in other media – they even had six shooters, it was a nice touch, he thought. At least they dressed the part they played. His eyes narrowed as he saw the pins attached to their wool panchos, marking them as beta players.

Turning his head, he couldn't help but sigh as he saw their red headed victim. He was dressed in starting gear, he didn't even bother to upgrade any basic equipment with the starting credits. He almost wanted to let them rob him to teach him a lesson. Kirito shook his head though, he couldn't bring himself to ignore the idiot, even if he'd been asking for a bullet.

Kirito vaulted over the wall in one smooth motion, drawing his sword as he landed. The two bandits jumped, spinning to level their guns at him while the red head newbie just looked on in shock. "Who the hell are you?!" One shouted, pulling the hammer back on his gun, shifting his gaze between the two.

Kirito gave a shrug, keeping a smug look on his face. If he was going to act like a hero, might as well play the part. "Just a random passerby. I couldn't help but notice you two were giving this newbie a hard time. That's not exactly polite now is it?" Oh yeah; Nailed it.

The bandit scoffed eying Kirito's sword. "Are you freaking kidding me? A sword?" He laughed, elbowing his friend as he dropped his guard. "What kind of idiot brings a sword to gun game?"

"A dead one." The other chuckled, his eyes turning deadly as he pulled back his hammer and put the sight directly over Kirito's face. "Adios, idiot."

Kirito smirked as the prediction line appeared, settling right between his eyes.

"Hey, look out!" The newbie cried, just as the shot rang out, making him flinch.

At the exact same time, a loud clang rang out, as Kirito's sword cut through the air and the bullet, making it slam into two spots behind him.

The bandit's jaw dropped, stunned. Kirito charged, while they both still sat with their jaws open. The first bandit cursed and brought his gun up in a wild shot, but the swordsman dodged it by pushing his body right, and then lunging forward. "Sh-" was all he got out before the sword punctured his torso, his health dropping immediately to zero, a small icon appearing over his body reading DEAD.

"Jun!" The other one exclaimed, putting the barrel of his gun against Kirito's skull, but just as he pulled the trigger, his opponent moved with blinding speed with a spin, and he found his arm severed from the elbow. He screamed out as the pain felt almost real, but locked eyes with the swordsman holding a taunting grin.

"Adios!" Kirito taunted, before lashing out with a decapitating strike.

The red head stared in shock as the last of his would-be robbers fell to the ground with the DEAD indicator popping up over him. He watched as his savior flicked his sword once, before sheathing it. "C. . . Cool!" He roared before charging up to Kirito and grabbing his hand, making the teen shout in surprise as the red-head shook it with abandon. "I can't believe how freaking cool you were man! Just how the heck did you do that with a sword?!"

Kirito's mask of heroism broke as he tried to pry his hand free from the wild shake, managing to yank it away as he massaged his wrist. "Thanks, I guess." He muttered out, this is why he disliked newer players.

The newbie slapped himself on the head, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry!" He spoke, giving Kirito a deep bow fast enough to almost snap his spine. "Thank you for saving my life!" He rose from his bow with a huge grin, extending his hand. "The name's Klein, what's yours?"

Kirito let out an amused sigh, he might be annoying but it was rather endearing. He reached out and took the outstretched hand. "Kirito. You know you shouldn't really be wandering around out here without at least some newer equipment."

Klein chuckled scratching the back of his head. "I kinda figured that after those two tried to chase me down. Shooting the gun wasn't like how I thought it was gonna be at all. First time I've ever played a sci-fi MMO."

Kirito's jaw cracked open, his mouth agape. "How the heck did you get an invitation . . ." he didn't mean to ask it so bluntly, but it was the only thing he could think to say.

Klein gave a nervous laugh. "Well, to be honest, it's my friends game, but he had to work today so he let me give it a shot 'cause he's trying to talk me into playing it with him." He pulled his hands up rotating them to look at them. "To be honest with you, even though I'm a new at this, I really can't wait to play more. I still can't believe how real this is!"

Kirito gave a small laugh. He guessed that there would be a handful of cases where the invited players wouldn't be pros. "Well, you should get back to the main city." He bent over on one of the corpses, raising his eyebrow at the fact neither of them released yet to respawn in Glocken. Might be a bug that was left over from the beta test. Oh well, they'd just get to watch him loot their corpses.

"O-Oi, Kirito, that's kind disrespectful, don't you think?" Klien asked, looking at the corpse looter with some worry.

Kirito tossed an amused smirk over his shoulder. "It's part of the games mechanics. If you die in PvP the player that killed you gets to loot your stuff, with the exception of a few pieces that are randomly chosen." He didn't add the fact that none of their pieces were reserved, making them all loot able. He picked up a representation for two hundred credits, along with one of the revolvers. "Here." He said, opening a trade window with Klien. "Take it, get yourself back to town and some actual gear."

Klien looked between the trade window and Kirito, giving the teen a huge grin before hitting accept. "You know, you're okay in my book Kirito! Wanna be friends?" He stopped with a chuckle. "Er, guess I shouldn't be asking that when this isn't my account."

Kirito laughed, standing up after looting the rest of their gear and weapons, leaving two avatars in their small clothes. "Well, how about you look me up after you get a copy in the full launch?"

Klien nodded with a grin and stuck his fist out, "You know it!" His grin grew as Kirito tapped his fist with his own, sealing their brotherhood in his mind. He then looked up at Kirito's head, his eyebrow raised. "Say, what's with the orange icon?" Kirito's head dropped, his long hair hanging around his face. "Uh, Kirito?"

Kirito let out a long depressed sigh as he squatted down. He'd completely forgotten. "It's a feature they put in for PvP. If you kill a player outside of defense or in registered matches your branded as a criminal." He brought his head up propping it up with his arm that rested on his knee. "I'm gonna have to pay off my bounty if I want it gone. That and people will probably give me a bit of a wide berth. . ." He groaned in his head. He forgot to let them get a shot off on him first, they both weren't orange players yet so until they'd actually damaged someone they were considered white.

He still didn't understand why that rule was in place, they encouraged PvP here! He figured it was so that players could roleplay criminals who got huge bounties on their heads so that powerful bounty hunters would try for the prize. He supposed that was a cool notion, but he didn't want to be that kind of player.

Klien let out a remorseful cry as he stumbled back. "Ah, crap, and you got that cause you were protecting me!" He dropped to his knees shuffling his hair as he let out a comical roar. He then froze, snapping his fingers. "Here! Take this," he stumbled with his in-game menu, trying to get a trade window open. When he did, all his credits appeared in the trade window. "Take it man, I can't just leave you hanging like this!"

Kirito pushed the trade window away, canceling it. "Stuff it, just get yourself some better gear so you can defend yourself next time, alright?" He gave a small shrug. "Besides, I got a lot of credits from this place, I'll be able to pay off my bounty easy."

Klien looked unhappy about it, but nodded, slamming a clenched fist against his chest. "Alright, I'll just have to make it up to you some other way, it's a man's promise!." He then looked surprised as a message popped up in front of him, noticing it showed for Kirito too. "What the heck – automatic transfer?" Klien read out in broken English.

Kirito was about to say something as well, before he felt himself being teleported along with Klien, both letting out a small yell as they disappeared from the broken ruins.

XXXX

Kirito's ears exploded with noise, making him slap his hands to his ears before he even realized where he had materialized to. The sensation of getting off a spinning chair assaulted him, making him wobble for a moment before he found the ability to stand upright. Looking around, wincing from the noise still, he saw he was in the crowded main street that led to the corporation high rises of SBC Glocken, and it was packed from end to end with players, all shouting and trying to figure out what happened. The city was dark, as the looming city blocked the last rays of sunlight, with only the neon lights to give illumination. He lowered his hands and shook his head.

"Kirito! You alright man?"

He turned, seeing Klien looking just as bad as he felt. "Ugh, yeah. But damn that teleport felt weird." He grunted as he felt someone's elbow hit into his side. "Watch it!"

Klien nodded, rubbing his stomach as he grew nauseous. "Why the hell are we here anyway? Are they gonna do this sort of thing often?"

Kazuto shook his head. "They probably have some kind of world event going on. Probably the opening ceremony." He heard Klien give an understanding 'Oh.' "But, why they couldn't have given some warning first is beyond me." Before he could say anything more, a loud musical tone bleated off in three notes, gaining everyone's attention as a massive screen at the end of the street, installed into the front of a building came to life, SBC Glocken's icon appearing on the screen on a black backdrop.

Everyone stared at the odd sight, drenched in the neon glow of the cities main road. "Greetings." A female voice called out, it held a distinct synthetic tone to it, labeling it as a type of AI. "I am Aya, an artificial intelligence chosen to oversee this tournament you have all been selected for." Murmurers spread throughout the crowd, as everyone tried to figure out what tournament it spoke of. "As many of you have become aware, the log out feature in your menu has disappeared."

Kirito's brow knitted as he swiped his finger down to check his menu, finding that what the AI spoke was true. He felt a cold sweat break on his brow as he glanced back up at the screen, the static logo now seeming far more ominous.

"This is an intended feature. I repeat, this is an intended feature." Every face that stared at the screen was frozen in shock, some in horror. "Now then, until the strongest player is proven through the Grand Ballad of Bullets, no one shall be allowed to leave the game."

Kirito's mouth hung in shock as he processed the information. The Ballad of Bullets was a feature announced in development, a yearly tournament that would pit the strongest players against each other to win a prize of real money. But he'd never heard of a Grand Ballad of Bullets.

"Furthermore, as an additional feature, when your avatar's HP reaches zero, you do not respawn, nor can you be resurrected. When this happens, the microwave emitter in the back of your NervGear will overcharge and will destroy your brain, thus killing you immediately. This will also occur if someone from the outside attempts to remove your headgear or power it down."

Panicked screams erupted on the main road, as some openly wept and fell to their knees. Klien's eyes were wide, his pupils shaking as he turned to look at Kirito. "H-Hey, Kirito, this isn't real. . .right?" His voice shook as he saw that Kirito looked just as freaked out as he did.

Kirito didn't hear Klien, he barely heard anything. His mind was paralyzed from the information, as it repeated itself over and over again in his mind. He shook, as the two bandits he'd killed sprung to his mind. They couldn't possibly be dead, this all had to be some sick joke. He couldn't have just committed murder.

"If you doubt this, look to the screen." Images of real world news channels appeared on the television, splitting the screen into nine separate feeds. "Major news outlets around the world reporting on this now. You can rest easy knowing that your tournament will not be prematurely ended by outside forces, though one hundred and fifteen fellow players were not as lucky." Each news station had detailed reports of players all around Japan being taken to hospitals due to the incident, after receiving word from an anonymous source

Kirito collapsed to his knees, the irrefutable proof shining bright upon the gigantic screen a hundred feet away. His stomach churned and his mind swam. The sky above crackled with thunder, as dark clouds rolled in unseen.

"Why the hell are you doing this to us!?" A voice from the faceless mass called out, with similar cries rising to meet his.

"Gun Gale Online is a game created to find the greatest player, the one whom would receive the title of the strongest, in order to determine who among you is they, the proper stakes must be set forward."

"In order to survive and claim the title of strongest, you must win the Grand Ballad of Bullets that will work as a series of team elimination tournaments hosted every six months by the two ruling corporations of the remnants of humanity, Yokohama Universal Industries and the Fuller Corporation."

"Each tournament will be comprised of sixteen contestants, as mercenaries, you will choose which corporation to work for, however there will always be as close to an even number as possible, ensuring that the game progresses at the intended pace. This will continue until only sixteen players remain, and then the final round will be a free-for-all to determine whom among you shall be crowned the victor."

"As of this moment, of the four thousand whom logged in, only three thousand nine hundred and eighty three remain. You all answered the call to prove yourselves in this arena. Now you have the chance, the real chance, to do so. Good luck, players."

"Aim to be the best."

The screen blinked out, and a large crack of thunder sounded as rain fell upon the city in a thick layer, drenching those who stood frozen. The neon lights that surrounded were distorted by the rain and spread their glow across the city in a mixture of color. The unnatural shock that held the crowd only remained so long, as cries and screams began to cut through the roar of the rainfall. Protesting screams were lost like tears in the rain as players struggled to make sense of their reality.

Kirito's hair was plastered to his face, his breathing was harsh and shook. His arms trembled, and he stumbled back a step. This wasn't some joke. It was real, and he'd killed two people. His hands were now coated with blood.

Klein was snapped from his stare as he saw Kirito move. "Oi, Kirito -" he began, before cutting himself off with a shout as Kirito turned and ran, knocking aside two men who were just staring at the ground. Klein cursed and chased after him, trying to keep up as the throng of people slowed him down.

Kirito ran. He didn't care who he ran into or knocked over as he moved. He needed to get away before anyone saw his orange icon. A dark alley showed itself, he aimed for it. "Kirito! Wait!" He heard, and he grit his teeth as he willed his legs to keep pushing forward, but he found himself slowing.

Klein hunched over, breathing hard, trying to ignore the smell of the dark alleyway. He picked his head up and stared at the immobile Kirito, half his body concealed by the dark shadow and the other lit up by the pink restaurant sign that just lit up the first few feet of the alley. "Where are you going?! This isn't the time to get separated! If what that thing said is true we're in big trouble!" Klien took a step forward.

"Stop." Kirito spoke curtly, causing Klein to freeze. "Don't follow me." His voice trembled, just barely.

"But -"

"Don't you get it?!" Kirito shouted, half turning his head, his bangs hiding his eyes from the startled Klein. "We. . . We're. . ." he struggled to find the words, of how to explain to the man he'd started to consider a strange friend that they were enemies. ". . .I killed two people, Klein. You can't be around me."

"You did nothing like that!" Klein replied, his voice tinged with heavy emotion, as the realization came to him that if Kirito hadn't stepped in, the two players might have killed him for fun, without understanding that they would have really killed him. "If you hadn't . . .Kirito, you saved my life!"

"Maybe. But other players won't know that. Just leave Klein, use the credits I gave you and go." Kirito's fist clenched.

Klein knit his eyebrows and stomped forward. "I'm not going to abandon you Kirito, you're my friend and I -" a sound of steel scraping against a sheath sounded, and Klein found the tip of a sword pressed against his throat, making him shout in surprise. His eyes locked onto Kirito's obsidian eyes, hard and dangerous in the low light as rain trailed down his face.

"Don't make me repeat myself. Go. Away."

Klein swallowed, his face crestfallen. He backed away a step, and the sword was sheathed. His pursed mouth cracked to speak, but stopped short as he saw the look on his friend's face. Kirito. . . He watched as Kirito turned, his threatening mask cemented. He could only watch, as his friends back was swallowed whole by the darkness of the alley, the echo of his footsteps soon overshadowed by the incessant rain.

XXXX

Underneath SBC Glocken in a massive hollowed out part of the earth, was the belly of the beast, the slums of the great city that sunlight never reached. Here, the buildings were made from old scrap and reused parts of the original SBC Glocken, the pieces that were rejected for the majestic realm above. Several massive support pillars rose from above the steel piecemeal buildings, which supported the main part of SBC Glocken. The streets were tight and packed with people, filled with smoke from restaurants, the smell of cheap perfume and blood permeating the filthy air.

This underground slum was pockmarked by gambling dens, whores, underground fighting rings and everything in between. Here the criminal element of GGO could reside, where one went to escape the pristine safe zone, an area of the city where anything and everything was allowed. Among the throng of NPC's that followed their programming to walk the town and make it as populated as possible, Kirito stood enraged as he held the liaison NPC up by his collar, forgetting that intimidation couldn't work on a program.

"What the hell do you mean I can't pay off my bounty?!" He screamed, his fists shaking as he glared at the comical NPC that was made to look like an ugly balding midget in a pinstriped black suit, it's face deformed to look like a cross between a pig and a mutant. The freaks breath smelled of horrid garlic and rotting meat. They stood in front of a large neon advertisement that morphed from green to pink, changing the hue every few seconds.

"You know who you're touching wise guy?!" The NPC repeated as it had over and over again, due to a players touch. Kirito shook with rage and fear, as a notification popped up in front of him, a yellow caution sign heading the message.

Due to changes in the game, players can no longer pay off their bounty in order to discourage killing outside of the BoB. It can still be removed upon death. Thank you for your understanding.

He dropped the NPC, making it fall to the steel ground below with a low thud. It soon picked itself back up, walking to it's anchor point just besides Kirito. A lit cigar that had fallen from his hand before materialized between his pudgy fingers that were covered with gold rings. It turned it's abnormal head towards Kirito, "What can I do for ya boss? You look like the type who gets his hands dirty, hehe, perfect for buisness." He snorted, a very pig like snort, before smoothing back the greasy ring of hair around the back of his head.

Kirito stared down at the filthy street, littered with trash, as he ignored the smell of a rotting fruit that lingered nearby. "My bounty. . . how much is my bounty?" he asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Hmm." The piglet took the cigar in his scarred lips, as he shoved one hand under his suit, pulling out a PDA. "Kirito. Bounty: 20,000 credits." A mini screen appeared in front of Kirito, it held tools to navigate all the criminals listed in the game, his was the only one that appeared, one out of one result. His finger shook as he pressed his name, bringing up a more detailed screen. The photo icon only had a greyed out bust of a male, with a question mark filling it in.

Wanted; Kirito. For two counts of murder, for an amount of 20,000 credits to be payed upon successful kill.

The gray screen that carried his sins brought his reality to him in full, along with the knowledge that he was now a marked man, and everyone would know he was a murderer. He didn't know what to think, what to feel. He stumbled from the NPC, who reset it's standing position. He began to aimlessly walk through the throng of NPC's, uncaring that this area was not safe, that he could be killed by a player or an aggressive NPC.

His head raised up, looking at nothing, as some of the NPC's spoke to him as they passed, all it falling on deaf ears. He was surrounded by replications of humans, the NPC's that passed him were diverse, two never looking the same, giving the city a very alive and lived in vibe – yet he knew that they were as soulless as rocks. He felt so very alone.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A chuckling voice called out.

Kirito turned his head, his eyes hollow and emotionless. Behind him stood three mafia looking NPC's, dressed in fancy clothing and jewelry, their faces covered in scars, red names appearing to label them as Criminal. "Go away, leave me be." He mumbled, he knew the NPC's wouldn't listen.

"I think we should show this little punk to not walk in places he shouldn't be allowed!" One mob cackled, before all three pulled out a knife.

Kirito's teeth grit, his eyes flaring to life with fire. All the days events coming to him in a flashing scenes. He was a murderer, he'd killed two people. He was engaged in a game where he was expected to kill in order to live. That if he ever wanted to escape this hellish reality, he would need to win – to kill. He didn't want to hurt anyone, he just wanted to have fun in a game. But now he stood, the first killer in a game full of people destined to die. He didn't want this. He didn't want any of this!

He screamed, loud and furious he screamed. The NPC's didn't register it, and moved to attack with cackling laughter. Kirito turned and tore his sword from it's sheath. He slashed, cut and tore with each and every attack his mind red from madness and grief. He felt tears pour down his face as he felt pain cutting through him, both mentally and physically. He did not care.

When the haze lifted, he stood in the middle of the road, the Criminals all defeated. A notification appeared before him, he had cleared a rare event spawn. He glanced at the item it'd given him, a rare Black Cloak. He equipped it, not bothering to look at the stats. The clothing materialized onto him, and he flipped the hood onto himself, noting there was a loose piece of cloth he could pull up to cover his nose, fully covering his face, with only his stony eyes exposed.

He sheathed his sword behind the cloak and glanced at his HP, he was in the red. Even with the understanding he almost died, he felt nothing. Using a medkit, his HP was returned to full. He took a final look at the Criminals, their bodies dismembered and littering the ground in what would be a gory mess, covered in sword slashes to where there was more of their red frame work exposed than actual character.

He turned and walked away, swallowed up by the throng of NPCs as he plunged himself deeper into the slums.

This was reality. And nothing he could do would allow him to escape it.

XXXX

A bit shorter than usual, but this is the prologue so I hope you can forgive it. Sinon didn't get any air time besides her small introduction, but fear not you'll be seeing more of her soon.

I truly hope I'll be able to keep everyone's interest with this, as this is unexplored territory for us all. Kirito will not be the same as you remember his from SAO, though I hope to keep him as close to the original as I can, while still showing how being involved in this mire of death will affect him.

Please do review and favorite, the next chapter shan't be far off, and I'd love to hear your hopes and likes and criticisms for my work! Get ready, cause if I have my way I'm gonna be putting all of us on a wild ride!

Until Next Time!

Shinobi no Ryu