The Black Swordsman

Chapter 27: Hiro

6 Months Before SAO Incident:

"What the hell is this...some kind of weird drawing?" asked a tall kid, who was holding a spiral notebook with what looked like character designs in it.

"It's none of your business", claimed a small, frail boy, with glasses as he tried to snag his notebook back from the bully.

The bully used his height to his advantage to keep the notebook out of reach. While holding the notebook in one hand, he shoved the small boy with glasses to the floor with his free hand. The bully continued to read what was in the notebook.

"Shit, it's pissing me off that I can't understand what the hell this is", mumbled the bully to himself in frustration. "Hey guys, come over here and check this out!"

More of the bully's friends came over to look at the notebook while the small boy with glasses picked himself off of the floor of the high school that they were all in.

"Do you guys have any idea what the hell this garbage is?" asked the bully, passing the notebook to each of his friends.

"Why does it matter?" asked the small boy, getting the attention of the boys, who were all taller than him. "Just give it back, please. I-if you don't give it back...I'll...I'll...tell one of the teachers."

One of the boys, who was now holding the notebook tossed it onto the floor, in front of the small boy. As soon as he bent down to pick up the notebook, the main bully grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him into one of the lockers of the school, resulting in a startlingly loud smashing sound that drew the attention of a couple of other students.

"No one likes a snitch, do you understand me?" threatened the bully, menacingly. "You can have your weird little notebook back but don't ever say that cowardly shit again, or my buddies and I will beat the shit out of you, got it, Hiro? Don't forget that you're all alone at this school, now. Big brother isn't here anymore, remember? He's onto bigger and better things, now. You can't hide behind him ever again and we both know you don't have the guts to stand up to us, yourself."

Hiro Nobuyuki gulped and nodded his head in firm understanding. The bully released his grip on his shirt and allowed Hiro to fall onto the floor. One of the bully's friends kicked the notebook, carelessly, towards Hiro. He immediately grabbed the notebook and held it close just in case the other kids tried to take it, again. The main bully and his friends walked away as they told him they would see him around. Hiro checked to make sure that his drawingsl weren't ruined in any way and, luckily, they weren't.

"Thank goodness, the designs aren't ruined. I was worried those imbeciles ruined them", said Hiro to himself. "My brother is having dinner with us tonight and I've been working on these character designs for weeks to show him. Maybe, he can show them to Kayaba and they can be implemented into SAO. That would be so cool."

Hiro picked himself up and dusted himself off.

"I still can't believe Sugou got the chance to work for the Akihiko Kayaba...that's so cool. I swear, once I graduate from this shitty school, I'll ask him if I can work with him. Since he's my brother, he'll be able to put in a good word for me."

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Hiro could barely contain his excitement as he sat across his older brother, Sugou, at the dining room table. He chewed on the food that his parents had prepared for him in anticipation while Sugou was speaking to his parents about his work.

"For the most part, SAO is already completed", explained Sugou, answering a question that their father had just asked. "These next 6 months are mainly just going to involve putting the final touches on it. Actually, Kayaba said that there are personal touches that he wants to add as well. It's exciting, though. This project has been in development for what feels like forever. I'm excited for it to get released."