Jin's Story

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"Aww, you do care."

Akira smiled and waved a dismissive hand."I don't necessarily condone violence against women in real life, and now that this game is no different from real life my morality carries over to here. So for a short answer? Yes I care, only due to a morality point. Also, It would be good to have a friend to travel with."

"If I tell you why I have nightmares that cause me to scream bloody murder will you tell me why you are trying to stop this game from ending?"

Akira had to ponder this idea as he hated telling his life story, but perhaps it would be for the best if they were to travel together.

"What do you say Akira? Feel like a bit of story time?"

"That is a fair deal, thing is you go fir-"

Akira stopped in his tracks, he felt a presence of someone else, it wasn't hostile but that was beyond the point. In one swift turning motion he had unsheathed his sword and now faced Jin, their swords were about an inch away from each other. Then surprisingly Jin simply sat down and began talking to himself, well he was talking to Akira and Amber but Akira had cared little for Jin's status.

"Ahh it seems as though the poor girl had a bad dream..too bad. I've had no food for days, possibly weeks. Not as though it is real..I assume you know of me. I am Jin. Hacker. Beta Tester. And the slayer of the great Game Master...in time that is."

"Never heard of you, and your status means nothing to me, feel free to stay but if you plan on being hostile, I won't hesitate to end you here and now, and for a level 70+ your stats are pretty low, I could detect you quite close. Perhaps the Cardinal-System reset your stats?"

Akira scooted over closer to Amber and had his sword resting on his legs for easy access. "Anyway, if you don't mind telling your story in front of, Jin was it? I won't hesitate to tell you mine."

Amber glared at the man, had he just called her 'poor girl?', 'POOR GIRL?!?!'
"Don't you dare call me poor girl again, I don't care if you hostile or who you are I will stick that stupid katana of your right up you butt!" She growled out sending the oranged haired man a glare.
"Anyway, if you don't mind telling your story in front of, Jin was it? I won't hesitate to tell you mine." Akira suddenly said and amber was remind of their deal, sending one late glare at carrot top she sent Akira a smile.
"Sure, it's not that amazing anyway..." Amber sighed and stared at the remaining fire as it slowly died. "In the real world, I have never been confident or popular or anything like that, I was bullied from a young age all the way through till I entered SAO. Bullying, that's what makes me wake in a cold sweat every night of my life. Kind of pathetic right." She sighed again, she hated how weak she was in the real world and that was probably was she had no problem being stuck here, "I was an accident child, neither of my parents really wanted me and I was ignored by them for most of my life. When I entered school I thought it would be a chance to make friends but I was wrong, it started then, stupid things like calling me ugly because I didn't have the latest cloths or stupid because I couldn't do a maths equations. I became a weirdo and an outcast, eventually it got worse and the children would push me into puddles and beat me up if I didn't steal things for them. I got depressed and no one was there for me, it just got worse as I got older, I was told to go kill myself and that no one would ever want me." Amber gave a cold smile, her past, how she hated it. "Than I found this world, and I could escape from my reality, I was free from my weak bullied self... But I guess now that this world has become my new reality the dreams will just follow me here..." Amber was silent for a moment, watching as the last of the fire died out leaving behind a trail of smoke from the burning coals.
"So how about you Akire? Why don't you want to leave SOA?" Amber asked, drawing herself back to reality and turning to look at the boy sat next to her.

In the real world, I have never been confident or popular or anything like that, I was bullied from a young age all the way through till I entered SAO. Bullying, that's what makes me wake in a cold sweat every night of my life. Kind of pathetic right."

"I was an accident child, neither of my parents really wanted me and I was ignored by them for most of my life. When I entered school I thought it would be a chance to make friends but I was wrong, it started then, stupid things like calling me ugly because I didn't have the latest cloths or stupid because I couldn't do a maths equations. I became a weirdo and an outcast, eventually it got worse and the children would push me into puddles and beat me up if I didn't steal things for them. I got depressed and no one was there for me, it just got worse as I got older, I was told to go kill myself and that no one would ever want me."

Than I found this world, and I could escape from my reality, I was free from my weak bullied self... But I guess now that this world has become my new reality the dreams will just follow me here..."

"So how about you Akire? Why don't you want to leave SOA?"

Akira listened to Amber's story, he personally couldn't relate to it at all, except being the outcast part as he wasn't invited into many things after being paralyzed, nor could he feel sympathy for her; not because he couldn't, but merely because he didn't want to. After feeling so much sympathy being placed on him and him hating it he just couldn't shove those emotions on other people.

"I never had to deal with bullying, just pity and sorrow. In the real world I've been practically paralyzed from the waist down since eight years old. I've had physical rehabilitation for awhile now so I can somewhat stand but its still nothing. You couldn't even imagine my surprise when I realized I could actually walk in this game. I want to live in this world forever since I can use my legs, I only punish those that are on the front lines, specifically solo-players. I won't hesitate to stop anyone on the front-lines from proceeding given the chance."

Amber grinned, Akire didn't look down on her or judge her for her past and the way her just seemed to shrug it off made her feel like it didnt really matter anymore that the person she was in the real world wasnt who she was now.
"I never had to deal with bullying, just pity and sorrow. In the real world I've been practically paralyzed from the waist down since eight years old. I've had physical rehabilitation for awhile now so I can somewhat stand but its still nothing. You couldn't even imagine my surprise when I realized I could actually walk in this game. I want to live in this world forever since I can use my legs, I only punish those that are on the front lines, specifically solo-players. I won't hesitate to stop anyone on the front-lines from proceeding given the chance." Akira said, telling her about his reasons for trying to keep the game going.
"Well I guess than you and me are just going to have to live life to the fullest in this world." She grinned at Akira, he hadn't shown her sympath so he would receive the same treatment, "Ours pasts are our pasts now, might as well forget them." She smiled at Akira befor turning to Jin.
"Hay carrot top, want to join in on our story time?" She asked, already forgiven the guy for the little girl comment.

"Well I guess than you and me are just going to have to live life to the fullest in this world."

"Aye, well that just means I will have to try even harder to stop people from advancing. I still need a plan to sabotage the Front-Lines however, and I need to act fast because the real beta-testers are probably on the third floor by now already. Luckily I have a few trump cards that I can use."

"Ours pasts are our pasts now, might as well forget them."

Akira laughed a bit at Amber's words, only if she knew how much his past dictated the way he lived in Sword Art Online. Unable to think of words he looked up into the sky for answers. After he found the right formula of words he finally began to speak. "I wish I could forget my past Amber, but I must remember my past as it is the reason why I'm fighting so hard now. But you can forget your past without a care in the world. As for me? My past is what made me the person I am today."


Akira stared at the pile of ash and charcoal that was once a beautiful crackling fire that provided heat only a few moments ago. It was philosophical almost, as the mood died down the fire did too, was this a passive effect of the flames or just coincidence mixed with Akira's imagination? He had been studying Jin since the moment he sat down, had he really been a hacker he would have been killed immediately, right? The Cardinal system was implemented to correct any form of anomalies within the system. Or at least that's what the rumor was around the forums. Jin could've easily been a beta tester, that was believable, but a hacker? That was bit farfetched for even Akira to believe but then again the coding behind SAO itself was a giant mystery so anything could theoretically be possible.

He had already met seven other players so far out of thousands within only hours after getting in-game, then again he had killed five out of those seven with the other two being Amber and Jin. Regardless he had to lay low so perhaps some friends wouldn't be a completely bad idea. By now he had turned his full attention to Amber, who was waiting for Jin, or Carrot-Top in her words to explain his backstory. That was when a magnificent thought popped into his head! He could use this girl...No doubt she was strong and seemed to care little for his history of killing players. Hypothetically, say Amber did go with him...how would she make use of herself? He would not have her kill players, he wouldn't dare stoop to that level. But he had already been assaulted twice before meeting Amber due to his status, even before it was permanent. Akira knew he would not last long without a coverup to why he was a "red player" and he figured that Amber would be his key, that is if she agreed to party up with him.

"Hey Amber?" Akira had asked in an innocent tone, "We should party up together, no doubt we could get far." He then turned to Jin with a wide smile on his face. "You can come too Jin! We could use someone with good expertise!"

"Hey Amber?" She heard Akira ask in an innocent tone making her slightly suspicious, "We should party up together, no doubt we could get far." He then turned to Jin with a wide smile on his face. "You can come too Jin! We could use someone with good expertise!"
Well that explains why she felt suspicious, amber smiled and nodded her head through. Akira was a nice guy once you looked a little deeper and he would have her back so she could sleep safely at night without worrying about someone trying to kill her in her sleep.
"Sounds fun, it's always boring to play these 'games' alone anyway." She said, putting quotation makes around the word "games". Anyway it might be fun to annoy mister high and might carrot top if he agrees to come along, she didnt want the game to end like Akira did but when the game did end she wanted to at least be alive when it happened and have had some fund like she intended to when she had gone into the game.
((Sorry it's a but short))

((Don't worry about it, it's understandable
"Sounds fun, it's always boring to play these 'games' alone anyway."

Checkmate, thought Akira as Amber had fallen directly into his plans, he hoped this partnership friendship would last for quite a long time, if not indefinitely. He now had an ally, someone to use as a scapegoat for his reasons for being marked as a player killer. Not that Amber knew this, yet.

He had ran the plan in his head a couple more times, Amber was going to be something, he hadn't gotten that far yet to assign an actual named role to her. But nonetheless she was something or someone more so that was a key target for certain people. Some wanted to capture her for their own reasons and some just wanted her dead. That is why Akira was here, he would fight off the assailants and kill them thus acting as a guardian for Amber. He was no player-killer, he was just a guardian that was just merely serving his duty. That would throw most people off...and as for the others? Well they would be disposed of rather quickly.

Akira opened up the [User Interface] for the game, opening up a large variety of options. He navigated his way to the [Social / Community] section and within a few swift hand motions had sent friend requests AND party invites to both Jin and Amber.

She saw the friend request and party invite pop up, and accepted both of them before quickly clicking on Akira's name and sending him a PM.
"So I'm curious, what's with the sudden want for a group, when I first showed up you wanted to kill me and now we have a partnership? What's the catch Akira?"
Through she was inclined to trust people reasonably easily she wasnt an idiot, she knew there was a reason Akira suddenly wanted her in a group with him she just didnt know what. In all honestly it probably won't matter, but amber always liked to know what she was getting into before she got into it, after all if it turned out that she didnt want to have anything to do with the group and Akira wouldn't let her leave than she would just kill him.
She might trust others easily but that didnt make her loyal to them, not to mention the main reason why she had no problem with Akira's PK status is because she would have one herself if she hadn't done her PKing in safe zones, like the man who tried to mug her in the starter town.

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Amber growled, that f**king motherf**ker. Now it was time for some revenge.
"Hay sweetheart!" She called after the man who was leaving, "Next time pay more attention to who your talking to." She wasn't surprised the idiot hadn't noticed she was also a hacker, I mean this was SAO, there was no magic and enchantments yet she had a sword that could both light itself and its surrounding on fire while also changing her appearance, ya that's totally a normal sword.
Quickly she pulled out her sword and felt herself change, swing the sword up and down, making a clean cut through the air she watched as a coding tab for her current area appeared, grabbing hold of it she quickly set to rearranging the code that made Jins cloths appear on his body.
Within seconds all his cloths were gone except for his boxers, "There, now you can go naked until you find more cloths or I give you your own back! And who is illogical?! Why the hell do I look like a bald 5 year old you d**ch! You must be f**cking blind!" She growled out again, as she began to storm around the camp and grabbing her things before starting to walk down the road at a brisk walk, "See you later, carrot top." She smirked at him as she passed before turning to face forward andignoring him.
Amber knew she could get aggressive but what Jin had said was unreasonable and it pissed her off, no one called her amature when she could kick their ass 10 times over and this cheating hacker was no exception, she didnt need to up her level and stats just to be boastful, she could do it on her own... With her awesome flaming sword that was also hacked but that was besides the point!
"You coming Akira? I need to get out of here I decapitate carrot top for saying something stupid again."

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Amber suddenly felt her cloths disappear, "PERVERT! I AT LEAST LEFT YOU YOUR UNDERWEAR!" She screamed as she dove for cover. okay, fair enough, he won this round but next time they met she would kick his ass, "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU CARROT TOP!" She screamed after the mans retreating body.
Looking at the environment she quickly opened up coding tab and began to mess with the plant coding, more specifically the leaves and vines. The plants slowly began to form clothing and quickly covered the girls body to give her some decency.
Next came the rain or her outfit would soon collapse, erasing Jins storm code quickly she turned to locate her sword.
Once she was now dressed in her make shift cloths she quickly turned to focus and find her weapon, doing a quick scan of the near by area she knew Jin couldn't of hidden her weapon to far, expecally her weapon, seeing as it was a hacked weapon it meant she would be able to pick up its signature code easily.
Locating the sword, she moved the coding back to her current position and the weapon appeared before her, strapping it onto her back before finally exiting the bush.
Oh that bast*rd was going to get it next time they met and what did he mean god? This guys ego was to big for his own good...
"Let's go Akira, I. Am. Not. In. A. Good. Mood." She said, each word punctuated by a storming foot step.

What Amber's leaf outfit looks like, not what she looks like so ignore the face.
http://e-shuushuu.net/images/2012-10-03-532700.jpeg

((That got out of hand quickly o_O))

Akira had temporarily ignored the small bout between Amber and Jin until some very interesting things had happened as he was far too busy and much too wise to get tied into the affairs of two red-headed fools.

"I will join your party and hopefully, when this is all over I will never have to see your faces again."

Good, that meant at least he would accept Amber and himself as allies for the time-being, even if Jin were to become an enemy later on by then Akira would have learned his fighting style and would most likely be able to defeat him in battle by accommodating his own fighting style to counter Jin, even if it meant walking into the woods and practicing on his own. He could not afford to lose in any form as a loss in this so called 'game' meant permanent death and death was a fate Akira had not yet planned to meet just quite yet.

"We will meet soon..Hopefully on level 1's floor. If we defeat this boss, I can hack us all the way up to level 50. But after that..I must leave you two behind. I act swift and fast. And you two should really stop with the pm's..It only makes you look more and more like amateurs. Also..be careful. If you want to make it to the first level boss you must use great teamwork. I am sure you will encounter me soon."

Hacking? AKira wouldn't stoop as low as that to access the 50th floor, if Amber wanted to go to the 50th floor via hacking, if that was even possible she was free to, however Akira had would refuse to do something such as that. He had already memorized the basic layouts for floors 1-5 that is, if the leaks from beta-testers have yet to change. Perhaps he shouldn't have invited Jin as he could be more trouble than he was worth.

Akira had begun packing up camp when things got really out of hands between the two. While rolling up the green sleeping bag that he had let Amber borrow he heard profusely exchanging words worth Jin, and that's to put it lightly. After stashing the sleeping bag in his inventory he looked up to see what all the commotion was over. As his eyes gazed up he couldn't help but Notice that Jin had on only boxers and Amber had her swo- Wait a minute?! Why was Jin only in his boxers? That is where things only got progressively worse, after some moment of Jin standing there doing something all of Amber's clothes had suddenly disappeared in the blink of an eye. Akira had immediately looked away in the opposite direction avoiding all eye contact with Amber.

That was when a very disgruntled voice which could only be recognized as a pissed off Amber had spoken to him.

"Let's go Akira, I. Am. Not. In. A. Good. Mood."

"Wait, I refuse to move until you put on some decent clothing." Akira had said firmly. He opened up his inventory and removed an outfit that would be at least somewhat suitable for Amber to wear, at the very least they were gender-neutral colors. While still looking away at Amber he held extended his arm out towards her, handing her a pair of black pants and a red shirt.