[b]Ikuji[/b] “Sword Art Online! The number one talked about massive multiplayer online role-playing game is coming out today! For those who aren’t able to obtain one of the copies, you can watch the launch here!” echoed out into the store. A television set attached to the wall continued to play advertisements, discussions, and interviews about one of the biggest games coming out to the world. With Nerve Gear technology, this game would be one like no other. Kenji had reserved his copy of the game and his set of nerve gear months prior to the release of the game and he couldn’t be any more excited to start playing it later in the afternoon. It was just a matter of finishing his managing shift at one of his family’s convenience stores. Two more hours of listening to the large glass door that would soon be the start of his escape into the virtual world, swinging open and brushing against the wall, and then slowly coming to a close with an audible ‘thud’. Shuffles of footsteps each time, blank faces upon their face as if they were only there to hinder his opportunity to play and his employees obligatory, almost recording like “Welcome to our Store!” with each set of guest entering into his domain. He was beyond ready to begin on his epic adventure, one that would allow him to start to explore and create an empire of his own in this virtual sandbox. He could imagine the swarms of people that would want to buy from his store and the never ending cascade of gold that would fill his craziest fantasies. A life where he could actually use actual people to start understanding the everyday desires of dealings and desires of average people and how he could use it to increase sales in his families’ real life business. He continued to daydream and as the clock continued to rear towards the end of his shift, two hours prior to the game release, the glass gates were abruptly pushed inward and a large hulk of man thundered into the small store. “Welcome to our store!” sounded off in quick succession, completely out of instinct, by one of the cashiers, but before it was too late the beast began to approach the female, his face shadowed by a large brown hood. Towering above her, his voice bellowing out into the store for all to hear, he said “I am looking for the manager,” he paused, his eyes shifting across the back of the counter, locking onto the entrance of the back room, Kenji’s office. “Akimoto.. Kenji. I wish to speak with him immediately.” He finished, grabbing a few pieces of candy from the shelf underneath the front of the counter. The cashier with a pale, ghostlike face beckoned out for the protection from her manager, hoping that Kenji could stop the beast before it became an issue. Kenji slowly rolled back in his chair, his back towards the door, slowly creeping out the edge of the door to understand the commotion that plagued his beloved playtime. Kenji walked out, with a serious demeanor, to the counter to further understand the situation. His hands slowly gripped onto the edge of the table, his eyes gazing into the abyss that was shrouded by the monster’s hood, “Hachiro..” he says in a stoic manner, his eyes narrowing. Shifting his hands to the small of his back, folding them onto one another, he stood straight in a heroic fashion in attempts to scare the colossus back to from which it came. However, even with Kenji’s attempt at fortitude, it could only seem like the beast had just caught his prey. The demon began to reposition himself, giving a more menacing look as he cracked his knuckles and neck. It chuckled, the sound echoing throughout the store alarming all the customers of the impending confrontation between the two men. Curious eyes peered from the corners of the aisles, children cowering under their parent’s shadows, and the hushed overtone of whispers, unsure if this confrontation would be the manager’s last. “What’s going on?” people asked. “Is he going to be okay?” children worried. It was as if this was going to be the final confrontation of decades of angst and hate, a vendetta between two men powerful enough to fuel a war. “Kenji..” it began with a deep, dreadful voice, “I have been waiting for this day and, now that it has finally come, we can finish what we had started so long ago.” Kenji was unmoved, his vigilance never daunting, “You think that I could have forgotten, Hachiro? You think that, after all this time of waiting, I would have tossed it to the side, a piece of trash? I’ve been prepared for this day longer than you could have ever imagined.” He replied. A quick smirk could be seen under the shadow that enveloped Hachiro’s face, a dark laugh following shortly after. Placing the candy on the counter, Hachiro reached up to his hood to reveal what had been taunting all those around the store. The brown hood fell slowly to his back and his dark complexion seemingly in sync with the aura that he gave, “Sword.” He started. “Art.” Kenji continued. “ONLINE!” they exclaimed together, both of their hands flying in the air in collision that resounded throughout the store. The mood completely shifted in the store and, from what seemed like, absolute terror and despair completely evaporated as they realized they were just two kids excited about playing a video game. Several customers exasperated a sign of relief as they continued on their way to shopping. “Are you ready to go, Kenji?” Hachiro asked, placing the money on the counter to buy the sweet. He smiled brightly as he walked to the door. His mannerism completely seemed to change as his ‘dark’ persona was given more light, slouching slightly forward and a near never-ending smile painted on his face. “Yes, yes.” Kenji replied, as he placed his service jacket on his chair back in the office. “Good work, everyone.” He said before leaving with Hachiro in tow, eyes set on getting on the game. --- “I can’t believe it..” Kenji started, his eyes looking around the rest of the Starting City. “There is no way that they could do this to us? We paid all this money and they’re just going to let us die?!” he panicked. “Ken-..” he paused, realizing that they were still in the gaming universe, “Ikuji, we’re not even sure that this isn’t just a sick prank made by the developers to freak us out.” Hachiro ensured him, not knowing himself if what he said was true. “We’re going to stick with our plan, alright? When they finally let us out of here, I want to at least have some type of foundation to come back to so we can start the business. Okay?” Ikuji offered his expression and emotions acting as if he was attempting to deny the fact that was brought to him and that this death game was purely just a trick. Hachiro replied calmly, still trying to console his best friend. “Of course, Ikuji, you know that I’ll be right behind you.”