Hey all! This is a redone version, but still not final. I'm going to experiment with the story before I begin posting more chapters of this. I welcome ideas, criticism, and anything else. I do apologize as an amateur for the plot holes and rushed story line, and I'll work hard to fix it. But I must ask if anyone would be kind enough to beta read chapters of this story before I release them!

This story was truly my first fanfic that I started to write, before To Protect What's Precious and A Light in the Dark. It takes place in a fantasy world, similar to the ones of SAO, ALO, PA, and possibly the Lord of the Rings, with strange creatures and other races than humans. There will be magic(in the form of weapon's skills and magic itself) and some favorite characters we all know and love. :D

WARNING!: LEMONS, AS WELL AS GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AND TOUCHY TOPICS WILL SURFACE! THEY WILL BE MARKED!

With that out of the way, let's get this story rolling! :D

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SAO!

Key for story(More will be added IF needed):

BOLD - anger

Italic - thoughts

The sky was turning shades of red, magenta, and orange as the sun set. Another day was coming to a close as a group of children, laughing and playing, ran towards a nearby building. They had known it as their home for their whole lives, never leaving its boundaries. Well, the only exceptions were the times they were curious and headed towards the town or woods, and the times they went shopping in the town with their caretaker.

She was of average height and was moderately young, at the age of 24. She had run the orphanage since she was given it by her grandmother before she passed away. She smiled at the children as they ran around.

"Come along children," she said, "It's time for dinner."

The children almost immediately turned on their heels and ran for the building. All but one boy, that is. His black hair was soaked with sweat, and his breath heavy.

"I'll be right there, Ms. Rebecca." He said, wheezing.

Rebecca sighed and shook her head, "That's what happens when you push yourself too hard." She said. She shut the door as soon as he made it through, and went to dishing out the food. All the children ate happily, while Kirito sat down at the end of one of the tables.

"Took you long enough Kirito," laughed another boy with white hair, "can't ever keep up with everyone else."

Kirito rolled his eyes, "Whatever Sam." He said, continuing to stuff his face. The orphanage didn't have the money it needed to put food on every plate, so it usually had to settle for what it could get. But the children never complained, knowing what was being done for them.

Sam proceeded to try and provoke the boy. "Didn't I hear you say a while ago that you wanted to become some kind of, what was it now? Hero, or a knight of some sort?" He said with a smirk.

"So what if I did?"

"Well first of all, knights have to be of noble birth," He said, "and I know for a fact they'd never let a runt like you join their ranks!" He laughed, narrowing his red eyes at the boy.

Kirito clenched his fist. "Your point is, what exactly?" The other kids around them murmured in excitement. Kirito did tend to have a tough time taking insults, especially when it came to his past. He didn't know who his parents were, or what happened to them. He was found in the woods when he was about eight years old, and had been all on his own. No one knew why or how he got there, or how he survived on his own.

On his first day in the orphanage, he had set himself apart from the rest of the children , especially after how he reacted when backed into a corner. He was like a wild animal. The unfortunate soul who had gotten on his bad side was indeed Sam, who had ignored Rebecca's warning and ended up with a large bite mark on his shoulder. All of the children stayed away from him, and he did the same.

That was at least until two children decided to try and break the ice. They got past his cold, lone wolf outer layer and got to lonely child on the inside. It took them a while to get him to come out of his shell, but they managed. He looked at them now with all the confidence in the world that they would always be by his side.

The first to try was a girl, Maria She had long, green hair that hung down to the middle of her back, with matching emerald eyes. She had been the one to convince a boy, Ray, to become friends with Kirito. The only reason that left Ray at a crossroads, was the fact that he was Sam's brother. He looked over at her, she silently shook her head. Ray looked conflicted, but decided to interject.

"How about we not get into this today, guys?" He said.

Sam just glared at him, but he decided to go along with it. Kirito turned to Ray, "Thanks." He said with a sigh. Ray just nodded. After dinner, they all went to take their turns in the bath. Maria walked over to Kirito and frowned.

"You know he's just just messing with you, to get you to react," she said, putting her hands on her hips "just like when you first got here."

The boy lowered his gaze, not knowing how to retort. Ray put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't let him get to you." he said. "He doesn't know what he's talking about. Don't you remember the story that Ms. Rebecca told us?" he said, trying to cheer the boy up.

"Yeah…"

"I'm sure you can become a knight!" he said cheerfully. "We both will! We'll defend the innocents from monsters and bad guys and-"

Sam cracked his hand on Ray's head, instantly shutting the boy up. "No you won't, you idiot!" he laughed. "Neither of you will"

Kirito punched Sam square in the face, earning a growl and a hit from him. Both went to the floor scrambling over each other, throwing punches and kicks all the while. Most of the other kids were cheering Sam on, while Maria and Ray tried to pull the boys apart.

"Boys!" cried the woman as she came into the room from the kitchen. "What on earth are you doing!?" When the two stayed quiet, she sighed. "Look. I know you two haven't gotten along well, but this has got to stop! We're all family here, so please try and be kinder towards each other."

"Yes ma'am." they said in unison.

When she walked away, Sam walked past the boy, bumping his shoulder and snickering. Kirito slowly walked away from the group of children towards the bedroom. He found his of the many beds in the room, curling on it. He soon found his two friends beside him, trying to make him feel better, with no avail. That night, he couldn't sleep, remembering what Sam had said about having to be of noble birth or title. He felt a lone tear slip down his face. When he finally felt his heavy eyes shut, a loud pound came at the door, forcing them back open. All of the children shot up out of their bed, running into the main hall, where Ms. Rebecca was answering the door.

"H-Hello?" she asked, unsure about who was before her. The children heard a man's voice answer.

"Hello there, cutie."

Suddenly, a blade's tip could be seen go through her, dripping blood. Kirito, along with every other child there screamed as their caretaker fell to the floor, bleeding out. Men in armor came through the door, laughing as one of them pick up Ms. Rebecca's body and pulled it into a corner. Kirito couldn't believe what he was seeing, especially when he saw the crest on the men's armor: the symbol of the capital of their kingdom. Before he knew what he was doing, he ran to the fireplace, despite the calls of his friends, and picked up the metal poker by the burnt wood. With tears trailing down his cheeks, he ran at one of the men, stabbing him through a chink in his armor.

"Fuck!" roared the man as he fell. "Why you little shit!" he swung his sword at the boy, who just managed to block it. The impact was strong enough to send him flying backwards into a wall.

"Kirito!" cried his friends as the other children ran around, trying to escape the knights. They slaughtered many of them, and proceeded to rape the dead and some still living, including their now deceased caretaker. They stared and screamed, as the one who seemed to be the captain of the small squadron came closer, before Kirito thrusted the poker into his eye. Screaming and cursing at the children as they ran towards the door, Kirito pulled his friends behind them, not stopping for anything. A quick jerk and he watched his friends be pulled away from him. He was about to turn around and attempt to rescue them, until a blow to his head knocked him to the floor.

A-Am I really going to die? He thought as he heard the screams fade and his mind drifted into unconsciousness. He slowly accepted his fate, assuming he would never wake again.

Despite what he'd thought, he found himself slowly come to, to find the home he'd come to know, burned down. It was morning, as the sun had just crossed the horizon, rising into the sky. He rubbed his head, and remembered the horrifying experience of last night. His eyes widened when he realized he didn't see his friends. Among the forty or so children Ms. Rebecca had kept, it seemed the knights had killed about twenty five or so. Among those as he dug through the rubble, calling Ray's and Maria's name, he found the brunette, eyes glazed and skin pale, with a gaping hole in her chest. Tears spilled down his cheeks as he cried out her name in sorrow.

"I-I'm so sorry!" he cried. He regretted not being able to protect her, or the others. He may only be a ten year old boy, but he couldn't help but feel it was his fault. He sat there crying until he ran out of tears. He stood, looking over the destroyed building, and began thinking about what he needed to do. He began looking through the rubble to see if anything else was useful, where he found the poker he'd used before. Along with a sack he stuffed with some bread and a water pouch, he tied the poker to his belt, and began walking into the woods. He knew they were far away from the nearest town, so he'd be on his own, but he didn't care.

Anger coming over his face, he made a vow. I will avenge them. He thought. No matter what, I will never trust those knights.

Kirtio bright down an axe on a piece of wood. A crack and it was split in half. He wiped his forehead, looking up. Though it was the middle of summer, and he didn't expect it to be so hot. He sighed, throwing his shirt off and continuing chopping wood. When he finished, he brought it into his log house built beside a large lake in the vast woods. It was quite large for one person, which had taken him a couple months to finish. He went into his clothes which traveling merchants had offered him at a low price due to low stock. He'd gotten a bargain, somehow finding a proper swimsuit. He put it on and went back outside for a dip.

Ever since the day the orphanage burnt down, he'd stayed in the woods. That incident was eight years ago. He knew his birthday was coming up, marking that'd he be nineteen. He didn't see many people around considering how deep into the forest he was. Knowing the dangers of being alone, he'd trained whenever he got the chance, using the poker he'd kept to start out He'd killed his fair share of lone monsters in the woods, protecting his house from harm. He even kept the large fish like monster of the lake at bay.

He figured he'd eventually have to interact with others again, but decided against it all this time, only trusting himself. He knew he was weak, and that in order to avenge his friends, he needed to become a skilled and powerful warrior. There was only one problem: he couldn't ever seem to remember what he'd done, and this wasn't the first time he'd forgotten parts of his life. It was the same at the orphanage. When he tried to remember his parents or life before being found, his head would begin to hurt, and he'd end up with nothing. After he climbed out of the lake, he decided it was time he get out of the are and travel around. His body had developed according to his will. He wasn't buff for someone training for about eight years, but he was indeed swift with a sword, knowing how to handle decently sized beasts in the area. He wasn't the tallest either, which he found useful in his speedy attacks.

His back had scars from monsters he'd challenged too early, making him realize no matter what, anyone was vulnerable. Inside, he donned a black tee shirt, and grabbed a black leather coat he'd gotten from a hunt in the woods. He found it in a monster's lair, taking it off the skeleton of a dead adventurer. Putting on matching black pants and boots, as well as black fingerless gloves. Finally, he packed his satchel with some food and money and headed off.

In the woods, he met a merchant who pointed him in the direction to the nearest town: Exordium. It was one of the outer cities of the Human Kingdom of Aincrad. There were many kingdoms throughout the world, some more inviting than others. As he recalled, there was the Fairy Kingdom of Alfheim, split into nine sections, each specific to its own race of fairies. They were to the west of Aincrad. To the south of Aincrad, was the Dwarf Kingdom of Montibus. They were said to dwell within the mountains, rarely seen in a village above ground. Up north lay the Northern Mountains, no one ever talked about them, other than to say they were covered in snow, and no one should ever dare go there, so he didn't really know what to expect. He sighed, wondering if he should go see them one day.

To the east across the sea, lay unknown lands that had been uncharted by anyone on the continent of Arcanum, no matter what kingdom you resided in. All who had tried, never returned, presumed dead. After spending the rest of the day of traveling, he came upon its outer walls outside the forest. It was quite a large town surrounded by thick stone walls about thirty feet high. Walking up to the gate, he could see the guards, frowning upon their crest.

The capital's symbol. He thought, grimacing. How could this day get any worse. He got in the crowd of people leaving and entering the city, hoping to pass by without trouble. When he finally got the city gate, he gazed upon the peaceful town as it's people bustled about minding their own business. He'd wanted to bring the sword he found in that monster's lair, but it had gotten beat up and was becoming unusable after a couple years of weathering. The metal it was made out of seemed to get easily corroded, so he decided to buy a new one.

He stopped when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned to find a man with spiky red hair, held up by a red bandanna. He seemed to be wearing samurai armour, and a blade within it's hilt on his right hip. The man's brown eyes met his, and he smiled.

"Hey there." he said cheerfully. "Are you visiting here? Haven't seen you around before."

Kirito nodded. "Yeah. I live out in the forest." The man seemed nice enough, but he'd prefer not to be bothered.

"Well, let me officially welcome you to Exordium!" he said. "The name's Klein."

"Kirito."

Klein began to tell him about the town, especially where to go for food, weapons, or even to form a guild. These adventurer guilds were put together to form groups of people, like a secondary army for the kingdom. The leading guild in the kingdom, The Knights of the Blood Oath, were supposedly composed of extremely strong warriors, and acted so formally, anyone would have guessed they were the militia. Kirito on the other hand, knew better. He had already heard all this back when he was in the orphanage, but decided to let the man speak. When Klein finished, he pointed Kirito in the direction of the nearest blacksmith.

Thanking him, the boy headed off to see what he could buy. He got a few looks from those around him, but surmised them being the same as Klein. Finding the blacksmith's building, he walked in, and saw a man polishing a mace. Looking up, he noticed a smile appear on his face.

"Welcome!" he said, waving for him to come over to the counter. "What can I do for ya?"

Kirito walked over, glancing at all the weapons on display. He pulled out his a small money sack, wondering what he could buy. Looking around once more, his eyes fell upon a sword. It was a one handed sword, made of a two toned black metal. He gripped the handle, wrapped in a black cloth, and lifted it off its stand. He stood, holding the blade in two hands, examining it. It was of moderate weight for its size.

"I see you've taken a liking to that one." said the blacksmith. "One of my finer creations, called an Anneal Blade."

Kirito nodded, taking it in his right hand and swinging it a couple times. Deciding he liked the way it felt, he bought it with a sheath made for it. Fastening it to his back, he thanked the man and left. Looking up and down the street, he saw a bakery, deciding to check it out.

Today, however, wasn't his lucky day.

A heavy hand came down on his shoulder, stopping him from moving any farther. He glanced at it from the corner of his eye and narrowed his eyes. It was the gauntlet of the kingdoms knights.

"Hey you!" growled the man's voice behind him. His eyes widening, recognizing the it. He turned to see a man covered in it, and saw within the helmet, he was missing an eye. "I heard from the guards at the western entrance that they saw a suspicious figure come in."

As much as he tried to keep his composure, he felt the need to throttle the man, knowing he was there that night. "So? What's it got to do with me?" he growled back.

"They described someone looking exactly like yo- wait a minute. Do I know you, punk?" he grunted. Kirito was enraged. This man didn't even have any recognition.

"About eight years ago." he said, catching the man's ear. Kirito reached for the handle of his sword, glaring angrily at the knight. "You lost your eye eight years ago, correct?"

"How did yo- No way!" the man drew his sword, attempting to slash down the blade on him. Kirito however drew his sword quicker, stopping the knight in his tracks. The loud clang caused a ripple of gasps and screams from people in the town.

"H-How?"

Kirito growled and with one flick of his wrist, he knocked the man's sword from his hand, causing him to step back.

"After that night, I lived on my own, waiting for the day I could pay all of you bastards back!" he spat. "You and your squad killed and raped them!" he yelled, bringing the blade forward towards the man's throat. Again, today wasn't his day. Another clang rang through the air, as he found a thin blade between his and the knight, who'd fallen backwards, shaking in fear.

Looking to the blade's holder, he found a girl, about his age. The outfit she was wearing, he guessed put her with the Knights of the Blood Oath, with its white with red trim coat design, and a metal breastplate over her chest. Her red skirt underneath matching it all with her mid though white leggings and boots. Her long chestnut hair draped down to the bottom of her waist. Her narrowed hazel eyes meeting his black ones. For a while they stood there, until she finally spoke.

"Who are you and what do you think you're doing?" she asked.

Kirito withdrew his sword and sheathed it, sighing annoyedly at her interference..

"You're with the Knights of the Blood Oath, right?"

"So what if I am?"

"You're supposed to preserve the peace and judge the sinners. You're not doing a good job." he said, glaring at her. She pointed her blade at him, which he took notice of as a rapier, with a turquoise handle and matching circular hilt, having a dark blue gem on opposite sides of it.

"How's that?" she asked. "I stopped you from killing a knight, didn't I?"

"Well, that knight happens to have burned down an orphanage with his squad, and killing and raping children in the process."

Her eyes widened. "There's been no rep-"

"I was there." he growled. "Eight years ago."

She was silent, looking back at the knight. She glared at him. "Is this true?"

"N-No way! He's lying!" he said, still shaking. Kirito was about to draw his sword again when more Knights of the Blood Oath appeared.

"Commander," one of them said addressing the girl, surprising him. "Is everything alright?"

"Watch this man." she said pointing to the knight. "I'm going to have a discussion with this one." she added, gesturing to Kirito. Nodding, they helped the knight up roughly, and pushed him away. The boy ignored the girls earlier statement and began walking until he was stopped when he felt a cold gaze upon him.

"I did say we were going to have a talk. Didn't I?" she said aggressively. He shuddered and turned to her face nodding.

"Y-Yes ma'am." he said, sighing as she nodded and led him to the bakery. "Come on then."

They sat down at a table, and began discussing what happened earlier. He filled her in on the details, his fists clenching just remembering it. He noticed the understanding look on her face as he told her the story.

"I'm sorry that you had to experience that." she said, an empathetic look on her face. "I can't do anything other than spark investigation, but I don't think it will lead anywhere." Her eyes narrowed. "If the Integrity Knights hear of this, you might be in trouble."

"Integrity Knights?" he asked confused.

"A special order of powerful knights, sworn to defend the kingdom and throne." she explained. "But you don't need to worry about that right now." she said, taking a bite of her muffin. He sipped on his cup of coffee, which he'd come to like after trying it for the first time.

"So, what's your name?" she asked.

"Kirito."

She smiled at him. "I'm sorry we were introduced like this, but my name's Asuna." she said, smiling at him. He nodded at her statement. They talked for a while. Though he was rather uncomfortable with it, he didn't want to be rude. In a way, she'd helped him after all. She seemed kind as well, so it couldn't hurt. After saying goodbye to her, he walked to find a room to spend the night in. He sat on the bed before going to sleep, thinking about his day.

Maybe today wasn't all bad. He thought as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

That's a wrap for chapter 1! :D

That beginning was kind of dark with the killing of children as well as the rape :( RAPE IS SERIOUS! DO NOT TAKE IT LIGHTLY SO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING! But I hope you all understand how it sets up Kirito as a person in this story. He gains a hatred of the knights whom he had once admired, and seeks to avenge his friends and fellow orphans.

As for a note for all who read the previous chapter 2, I'll be changing the plot. I don't like how I had it set up that much, so pls bear with me for a new one!

ALSO PLS LET ME KNOW IF THERE IS ANYTHING I NEED TO ADDRESS IN THIS CHAPTER! I will NOT re upload this one again until I feel it's worth it. So, lemme know what you think. :/

That's all for now folks! :D

New character's ages in this chapter:

- Kirito: 18(At burning of orphanage: 10)

- Asuna: 19

- Klein: 25

- Maria, Ray, Sam: 10

- Ms. Rebecca(when alive): 24

FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A REVIEW OR A QUESTION IN EITHER THE REVIEW SECTION OR IN A PM, AND THANKS FOR READING! :D