This story will start at the place where Kirito is in a coma after being stabbed. I will ignore the other parts prior to him being in Rath's Fulldrive machine since the light novel explains that. Please note that I will have Kirito start at age 8 and it is perfectly possible since in the novel, he was able to start at age 0 during his first dive.

'Where am I?'

'Where is this place?'

'What am I doing here?'

'Is this a dream?'

Slowly, his eyes flickered open and found himself lying on the ground. He didn't have a full recollection of what had happened except for that fact that he had a headache. Sitting up, the boy now noticed his body was a lot smaller than it should have.

'My body,' thought Kirito. 'It's as though I'm a child again in a body of an eight year old – or at least I think it's eight.'

Kirito then remembered what happened and how he had just been injured by Johnny Black. But a quick checkup around his chest area made Kirito realize that he wasn't bleeding at all.

After several more minutes of pondering thoughts, Kirito came to a conclusion that he was back in the virtual world and that he had to find an exit somewhere along in this game.

Kirito flicked his right hand, but no window came about. The same thing happened with his left. Frustrated, Kirito punched a nearby tree only to recoil in pain. Never had he felt pain in the virtual world, but this time, he felt every ounce of it.

This lead Kirito think of the question: What would happen if he died in this world? Flashes of Aincrad raced through his mind. Recollections of memories burned in his head. The fear of death before seeing his beloved Asuna once more entangled him.

The evening sun was on the rim of the horizon. Kirito realized that if he was to survive in this world, he would have to find shelter and food. Standing up, he walked towards an endless maze, missing the familiar weight on his back.

Luck struck in Kirito's favour that evening. Not too soon after he began his walk, he found himself standing before a giant gate with two men on guard.

Kirito walked up to the guards to introduce himself. "Hi, I'm looking for a place to stay for the night."

"Kid, are you alone?" asked one of the guards.

Kirito, who had planned his story a while ago, had no tension in his face as he told his perfect lie. "My parents were killed by bandits in an attempt to save me. I used to live out there, but my house was burned down and I have nowhere to go. My parents pointed towards this direction before they died so here I am."

The two guards looked at each other, wondering whether or not to believe this kid.

"Alright kid," said one of the guards, "we believe your story although we first need to check if you're a henge."

"A henge?" asked Kirito.

"A henge is basically when a ninja transforms himself to look like another person. It's a perfect disguise for enemies to sneak into allied forces if one is not trained properly," replied one of the guards.

"A ninja?" asked Kirito. "What's that?"

"A ninja is a soldier of a village commissioned to protect the village during times of war and peace. Ninja's excel in special abilities that allow them to be dangerous and original to one another," replied the guard. 'I'd better not give such a thorough explanation again if he's going to continuously to ask me all these basic questions.'

"I have no one with nothing," Kirito said. "Is it possible for me to become a ninja? It sounds pretty cool."

"Look kid," said the guard. "Let's just check if you're in a henge and one of us can take you to our Hokage so that he can deal with the problem."

"What's a Hokage?"

The guards sweat dropped in hearing the question. "A Hokage is the village leader. He is the strongest amongst all shinobis."

"Shinobi?"

"Just another word for ninja."

The two guards checked Kirito and found that he was indeed in his original state. Without further ado, one of the guards led Kirito to the Hokage Tower only to be attacked by a multitude of questions.

Kirito, on the other hand, knew that he was being annoying. But he also knew that because he was a kid, he knew his actions can be tolerated.

As Kirito arrived at the Tower, he couldn't be helped but be intimidated by the powerful ninjas inside. Walking to the top of the Tower, he found himself face to face with an old man.

Kirito debated whether or not to tell the Hokage the truth but was faced with the dilemma since he told the guards a different story earlier. In the end, Kirito was bent towards sticking to the story he created.

"I see," said the Hokage, taking a puff from his pipe. "Well, you said you wanted to become a ninja am I correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, I have a place where you can stay, but it's not the nicest thing in the world," said the Hokage. "You can pay it off later if you become a full-fledge ninja."

Kirito couldn't believe his luck. But it was the virtual world after all. "Thanks."

"Starting tomorrow, you can attend our Ninja Academy," said the Hokage. "It starts at nine in the morning sharp. Don't be late and here's your house key. I'll have a guide to guide you there," said Hizuren as he handed a set of keys over to Kirito.

"Thank you very much Hokage-sama," said Kirito with a bow.

"You're welcome Kirito-kun," replied the Hokage. "Welcome to Konohagakure.

Please give me your thoughts, comments, and reviews as to how is it and whether or not I should continue this. Please also note that future chapters will be lengthier.