Yahiro had been waiting in line for the whole day, no, he'd been waiting outside the store even before the sun even rose. Sword Art Online, the world's first Virtual Reality MMORPG, he hadn't participated in the beta, but he's heard really good things about the game, how it just felt real. As soon as he stepped foot inside his home, he took care of everything he needed to before diving in, food, drink, and a quick trip to the restroom.

Now on his bed, he straps on the NerveGear helmet and boots up the game. He lies down and blinks a few times before smiling to himself. "Link Start!" He says as his mind is put to sleep and transported into the virtual world. Yahiro opens his eyes, to see a stone floor, then looks at his hands, testing them a bit, they look and feel real. Everything feels real, the texture of the stone, the ground beneath his feet, the feeling of his clothes. He breathes in, it's natural, just like air in the real world. He looks around, seeing all the other players being summoned into the world in a blue light. He smiles to himself. The excitement felt great.

Today, sleeping in wasn't an option. Chiharu normally slept in on a day she didn't have to work, but today had been different than any other day. Sword Art Online, the world's first VRMMORPG, was slated for release today, and Chiharu was busy waiting in line for a copy of the game. Chiharu had tried applying to beta test the game, yet no reply from Argus had ever come and promptly dampening her spirits. Nonetheless, it hadn't been enough to knock Chiharu fully down, and so she awaited in line for a copy for what seemed to be an eternity. Managing to snag one of the last copies at her local game store, Chiharu was well on her way home, ready to play the game she had followed for ages.

Shortly after taking care of basic necessities, Chiharu grabbed her Nerve Gear, holding it in her hands as she sat down on her bed and plugged in the helmet before putting it on. Looking at the large mirror in her room, Chiharu smiled awkwardly at her reflection. "I look like a dork," Chiharu mumbled, amusing herself with her own appearance as she laid back on the bed. A small moment passed as Chiharu gazed upwards towards the ceiling and readied herself for what she was about to experience--a world to live out her fantasies and dreams through her consciousness while her body slept away.

"Link start!" Chiharu announced to an empty room as her body went limp and her mind transferred into the world of Sword Art Online. Standing in the Town of Beginnings, Chiharu blinked a few times before looking down at her hands. Everything had felt real, or at the very least seemed real. The texture of her clothing felt real, the birds flying around certainly seemed real... even the air Chiharu breathed had to be real! The starting place surrounding Chiharu soon became aflame with bright blue lights as more and more players logged in for their first time. Smiling again to herself, Chiharu couldn't wait to see what memories she could make in the coming future.

---

Yahiro blinks and shakes himself off just in case he wasn't fully immersed yet. This is the first time he's ever tried the NerveGear and he doesn't fully know how it works. As soon as he gets his bearings, he tests out his menu, following the basic instructions from the game's user manual. He swiped his hand downward and a tab-based menu appears by his hand. He fumbles a bit, then navigates to the character menu and looks around, first settling on the weapon skills menu: <<One Handed Sword>>, <<One Handed War Hammer>>, and some other skills, but his eyes settle on one particular skill <<One Handed Curved Sword>>. He didn't see any katana skills, but figured it must be some sort of mastery-type skill like in other MMORPG's

And with that, he receives his beginner sword, a slightly curved short sword. He thought it'd be more curved, but this is the beginner sword, so he'll have to deal with it. He shrugs and looks around again. Blue lights continue to flash in different directions, but most of the other players already got settled, some are socializing, some are exploring and some are straight up gone, probably outside fighting monsters. All he had to do was decide if he wanted to talk with strangers or experience combat first.

He decides to start heading for the outside to try out the combat. As he jogs, he spots a pink-haired girl, now as he started, he'd notice that there were a lot of girls, and all of them were really attractive, but this girl was attractive in a way that could only happen inside a game. She's slender, but also tall, while her face was cute, but also almost seductive, and as mentioned before, she had pink hair.

Yahiro stops in his tracks and debates talking with her, she might just be a man in real life, Sword Art, like other MMO's allowed your avatar to be whatever gender regardless of real life. Whatever, this girl is really attractive and if he didn't make his move, other guys would probably already flock to her, it's in-game anyway, real life didn't matter. He walks up to her and stands there, only after a moment did he realize he needed to speak. "I, uhh, hello." That said as stiffly as his body language was. He is nervous, but he needs to relax a bit. He clears his throat again and smiles, "hello,"

___
@Poi

It was a moment before Chiharu grew used to her surroundings. The world of Aincrad was a lot to take in for Chiharu, especially when it was the setting for the world's first VRMMORPG. Once Chiharu settled in, she decided to check her menu and inspected the various utilities and gear of her character. There was a number of skills and abilties for Chiharu to choose from, but she eventually settled on <<One Handed Sword>> as her primary weapon skill. The sword in her inventory was nothing flashy, but Chiharu always thought they looked better than clunky-looking weapons such as maces or battleaxes.

Equipping the sword, the blade appeared in a brilliant light at Chiharu's waist. Chiharu also went to equip the small kite shield in her inventory, deciding to fill in the tank role as she had done before in what experience she had with MMORPGs. Like the sword, the shield was basic beginner gear, appearing as it was made of thick wood with the edges banded by some kind of metal. By the time Chiharu settled in and was ready to explore, most of the players had already disappeared to their own doings. I can probably handle a few boars on my own, but it would be nice to have a party... Chiharu idly thought to herself, walking around the Town of Beginnings to find some suitable party members to join in their adventures.

In the midst of walking around, a few looks were tossed Chiharu's way, but the one that stood out was the ponytailed man that approached her first. The stranger never said a word as he stood in front of her, and Chiharu stared back with a confused expression due to his silence. Eventually, the stranger had said hello to Chiharu, although he appeared nervous just from the body language he was showcasing. "Hello...?" Chiharu awkwardly replied, wondering what had spurred this conversation. Nonetheless, a light bulb went off in Chiharu's mind. "Are you looking for party members like me? I'm Chichi. Who are you?" Chiharu asked, attempting to play her cards right and diffuse the awkwardness. With luck, the stranger might be in search of party members too.

---

"Party?" Yahiro asks, off guard, before realizing quickly what she meant. "Oh, uhh yes, let's party up. That way we won't die?" He chuckles, then looks to his menu and swipes downward. He scrolls for a while until he finds what he wanted, the party menu. He invites Chichi to the party and confirms. He then sees the girl's sword and shield on her and decides to equip his own curved-sword, manifesting in a white-blue light on his hip. He realizes he has yet to answer Chichi "Oh and, I'm Ren" He sticks out his open hand to wait for a shake. He doesn't know if you could shake hands in VR, at this point it was too late to retract.

____
@Poi