Sword Art Online: The Crystal Swordsman

Unreal Monster

I laid and stared at my ceiling, not really knowing what the day ahead of me would bring. I rolled over and saw my NervGear charging on my desk. I was fully dressed on my bed, taking the second to lay down and think about my life both inside and outside of the NervGear. I finally got up, threw my bag over my shoulder and headed out of my bedroom down the stairs. I walked out the front door and zipped up my hoodie when I noticed the sky above was particularly cloudy today. I walked all the way to school while staring at the ground as I always do, contemplating my life choices. I wanted to run away sometimes but... where would I even go? I didn't have many close friends and the ones I did have were too far away for it to be convenient. Once inside the schools front doors, I made my way to the locker bay that our school had as opposed to halls of wall lockers. I must have been running late however because the halls were completely empty. I opened my locker to put my bag in so I could make my way to class with my binders.

"Look who's running late. The little emo." A bully stood in front of his two friends and made fun of my long black hair.

"Just leave me alone, Travis." I knew him by name, everyone did.

"Is that backtalk I hear?" Travis said taking a step toward me.

That set me off internally.

"Yeah, it is." I undermined him.

"You know what happens to people who talk back?" Travis said as his two friends pinned me to the wall of lockers.

"They get their fill." Travis reeled back and fed my stomach with many hard punches, winding me heavily in the process.

Eventually Travis' friends dropped me and I fell onto the floor gasping for air. I started coughing and held my stomach tight on all fours. I began to chuckle a bit as they abandoned me to my own devices. I went to my classes and tried my best to stay focused on things, but I couldn't shake what happened. I skipped one class to try to mentally get my bearings and I was able to calm down a little. Once the bell rang for lunch, I went to my locker and opened my bag to get a few things to eat.

"There he is. Where were you the last class?" Travis scoffed behind me.

This time the locker area was packed with people so I was prepared to be humiliated.

"Just working on a passion project." I said innocently as I closed my locker.

"The only thing you're passionate about is cutting yourself." Travis spoke of my wrists.

Sometimes I would roll up my long sleeves when it gets too hot, revealing the scars that remained from my past.

"Make fun of my scars all you want, Travis. It only makes me stronger." I told him, already acceptant of the mistakes I've made.

"Oh yeah? Same way your mothers death made you stronger?" Travis had no filter.

I felt nerve to burst in my head. I grinded my teeth and clenched my fists tight as I tried to hold back the intense rage within me.

"Aww, is the little emo going to have a temper tantrum?" Travis taunted me.

I yelled and lunged at him, tackling him to the ground as aggressively as possible. I gave him three good punches before suddenly being ripped off by his friends. They pinned me to the lockers once more but this time I was ready for it. Travis got up and walked towards me with a chuckle, thinking the rest of the fight would be easy now because my arms were restrained. I jumped and sent both my feet into his chest, shooting him back onto the floor with a tumble. I yanked my right arm enough to pull one bully forward into my view and I smashed my forehead into his nose, causing him to stumble back immediately. With my right hand now free, I used it smash against the other bullies jaw. Once Travis' friends were off me, I went to face Travis who was crawling back away from me. Once I was right in front of him, I simply spit in his face and walked off without any more delay. Hopefully that scene would put him in his place for now. As lunch was over and there was no one left in the halls, I went to my locker and packed up my stuff to head home early for the day. The place was already hell as it was, I didn't want to have to deal with the stupid people asking about if I did or did not fight. Plus the teachers would be calling me to the office to suspend me. Forget that, I'll suspend myself. I exited the school to a rainy long walk home. I was left with my thoughts as the pavement moved by and my mind set adrift. I got in the door from a self proclaimed short day but I knew I would hear about it tomorrow. I hopped upstairs to my room and looked at my computer desk to see that my NervGear was now fully charged. I grabbed it and readied for a full dive. I let out a sigh as I contemplated today's events, putting on the headset to begin my dive.