Sakura Sasaki

He thought I was dead? That was just yet another lame excuse of his running off yet again I bet. He disappeared to the military and then he disappeared to the frontlines here and no one heard from him for months did he seriously think he was going to get off so easily.

"Sousuke don't give me that garbage seriously first you disappear into the military at age 12 and then to the frontlines here? Is the mission really more important to you than us? You there Kou is it? I bet you didn't know he was a child soldier did you?" I asked the girl who seemed to know Sousuke.

When the man removed his hood and mask I lost control of my emotions switching to my usual timid self with a hood up and my blue hair flowing down either side of my face. My eyes returned to their normal blue colour. Wait Sousuke my brother was still alive? And he was still here after leaving me yet again on some crazy mission of vengeance? Was he stupid? It was at that thought I switched into dark Sakura with my hair turning midnight black and eyes turning purple. My now modest looking gear turned into a more combat style leather tunic before I shoved him into the fountain before letting loose. 

"You! How dare you show your face hear after what you pulled!" I screamed at him as he plunged into the water.

I wandered onto the second floor looking for nothing in particular. Since Sousuke left I had had to toughen up to learn the game myself. I had developed a fourth more confident persona since then so even if I met someone I knew I doubted they would recognize me since my avatars altered appearance depending on my persona. This one had red hair and eyes which gave me a more sexy look especially since my armour was more revealing like this. I noticed a few people sitting on a fountain one was a feminine looking person and the other a muscular looking man with full combat gear and a hood and mask obscuring all but his eyes. I decided to approach the feminine person and give him a friendly warning.

"Hey you did you know guys like him over there usually mean trouble?" I asked the strange person.

Im interested to see what you would give Sakura as a theme song xD

I looked in the direction of the crowd i had just been pushed around in. It seemed to have died down a lot in the few minutes i was talking to this guy. I nodded at him timidly before beginning to walk across the street carefully. As i walked i began to tie my hair up beneath my hood thinking to myself that maybe i should have a little more confidence in myself. Or perhaps the other versions of my self were saying to me atleast. I noticed my hair turning to that pink color again that indicated my timidness had faded away. I called this version of myself Cute Sakura, but only because i thought i looked cute with Pink hair. I took off my hoody and spun on the spot as i did so revealing the light blue tank top i wore beneath it. I grinned at the boy and decided to give him a nickname. ''Can i call you Ray? You look like a Ray.'' I said giggling.

I looked up to see the others in group getting up to leave and i skipped up to them with a grin on my face and leaned forward slightly with my hands behind my back playing the cute girl part as my hair Turned a pink color and my eyes stayed their bright ocean blue colour. I took my hoody off revealing the blue tank top i was wearing underneath and tied my hair up to fit the personality of 'Cute' Sakura who had just fully emerged for the first time in a long time. ''Where ya goin'?'' I asked grinning

I thought for a moment and looked at him in the eyes and blushed. I looked away trying to hide my obvious embarrassment and pulled my hood further up to help hide my face. ''I wasn't really planning on doing anything really i was just trying to cross the street.'' I explained. This guy was certainly no prince charming but something about him caused me to lose control and sent my heart into a flutter.

I stopped for a moment when i saw who it was. It was my brother's Fiance and noticed she seemed to have something on her mind. Being in the form of dark Sakura however left me thinking harsh thoughts towards her, but i fought back the desire to scream profanities at her. All she did was bump into me by accident after all, i still couldn't hold back the coldness i felt however and brushed of her apology. ''Yea well you should be paying more attention shouldn't you?'' i said to her placing my hands on my hips and staring at her darkly.

He just kind of stood there staring at me awkwardly for a few moments after he pulled me away from the crowds. After a few moments he introduced himself. I was to busy trying to hide the blush that had formed on my cheeks from a few moments ago to react right away. I looked at the ground as he spoke and after a few moments looked up still a little flustered. ''Oh ... uhm hi ... my name is Sakura, its nice to meet you.'' I said bowing in respect.

On this particular day i was roaming the crowds in the form of Dark Sakura, Normally i would't be able to handle the stress of the crowded area's and so she had come to take my place for a while. My usual blue hair and blue eyes had been replaced by black hair and purple eyes although i still kept the same facial features. I was inspecting a few items that NPC's were selling only to be bumped into by someone. ''HEY WATCH IT!'' I said spinning around to see who the culprit was.

I looked up at another player who had just appeared out of no where as i got knocked to the ground. I looked up at him in a daze surprised that someone was actually trying to be helpful towards me. Up until now no one had really offered to help me when i was stuck in the crowds and i was left to fend for myself. I took his hand and smiled at him. ''Oh yes ... please anywhere but these crowds.'' i said hastily. Desperate to get out of there.

I was trying to find my way through the crowds of the first floor once again. I kept getting knocked around as I tried so desperately to escape from the living hell of being unable to call upon my other self to take over the situation for me. She was to busy arguing with the emo Sakura on what we should be doing. In the end I drew up my hood of the real world hooded jumper my brother gave me and made a dash to the nearby alley.

When they boy hugged me I felt slightly out of place almost like it wasn't me he was hugging. I felt he had the wrong idea about my past but that is a story for another day. For now I let him hug me sensing he needed this moment.

Asura described his wife and his daughter and I felt a pang of pain for him. "Oh I'm ... I'm sorry about your wife, but I'm sure you will see your daughter again soon. We can all fight our way out of this together." I said offering him a smile. "I never really got on with my family apart from my brother. When Sousuke left, rumours circulated about our family and my father took his frustration out on me." I told him hanging me head as I said it.

He asked me where about I lived in the UK which brought back a few memories of the little cottage on a large piece of land on the outskirts of London. "I was sent to a small place on the outskirts of London in the country side. It was for my safety after my brother became a target from a terrorist organisation called Amalgam. Perhaps you have met him? His name is Sousuke and he has a tailor shop here on the 4th floor." I said taking a sip of my wine as the man looked at me. He certainly had a battle hardened look about him and being in a marines I had the utmost respect for him.

I giggled when he said i was too young to drink. It was funny because despite the fact i came to Japan for the launch of SAO and to be with my family during the holidays, I was sent to the UK for my safety when Sousuke was recruited to that private military company. He was in some sort of secret service working under some of the high ups in the navy that had been sent on a special mission. The UK wasn't as strict on drinking laws so legally i was allowed to drink.  ''I live in UK normally so where i live im legal.'' i said pouting.

I felt my self change as he dragged me back into the street my darker side taking form as my blue hair turned midnight black and my blue eyes turned purple. I couldn't handle crowds myself and so this Version of myself took over when i was scared. A man shouted from across the street threatening my brother. Unfortunately for him i was Dark Sakura right now and i wasn't going to take any crap. I practically teleported behind him since i moved that fast and hit him in the head with the hilt of my sword. ''Stupid B*****.'' I said as i began to walk back to my brother.

I decided to come clean with him so he would at least be able to sympathize with my situation a little. I didn't expect him to understand but at least he would know why im the way i am. ''All my friends Betrayed me back in the real world. I could only trust my brother and he was taken away from me when i was 14. My father got angry and horrible and ... abusive, so i created other versions of my self to handle things that i couldn't handle alone. I was scared of being alone and needed some one and so my 'Others' appeared in my mind to take over when they are needed.'' i told him

I turned around to see my Half-brother following me down the alley that i used to get from one side of the market place to the other. I wondered if he even knew about what had haooened to me when i was 15 and i was diagnosed. ''Oh uhm hi ... i uhm ... i just don't like the crowds that's all.'' i said doing my best to try and hide my fear of the crowds. He couldn't see through me that easily ... could he?

I was wandering through the starting city just relaxing and watching players go about their business. I was staying away from all the crowds however to avoid going into a panic. I always hated crowds and had no desire to run into one. My main method of travel through the cities was the alley ways whuch were usually deserted for the most part so i felt at ease there. I raised my hood of my real world clothing i had received from my brother and made a quick dash through the crowd to get to the alley at the opposite end of the street.

I looked up at him in slight shock but i could tell he knew i was inside my mind talking to the other versions of myself. ''We were talking about how we were going o allow you to be able to choose which one of us you talk to just like my brother can. Each of us have different memories that the other doesn't have and we all have different skills too. You can just ask for one of us and we will come out and say hi.'' I told him cheerfully. I sounded really innocent when i said that too.

The man spoke to me and pointed to the seat in front of him. He made me a little nervous but i had to remember that we were in a safe zone and if things went sour there was always my 'darker' side to protect me. I hoped that the man at least couldn't pick up on the fact i had split personality disorder, but if i did swap during the conversation the game would alter my appearance anyway to reflect my other feelings. It was strange how the game based my appearance on my personality rather than my real life self. It was only when i felt calm and able to control my mind that i remained in my usual state.

I took a seat opposite him and lowered my hood revealing my long blue hair and ocean blue eyes. I was a shy kind of person really and the look he gave me was not one of hate, but more in the line of annoyance. He had said he didn't like people staring and had been polite about it at least so to me he didn't seem like a bad person. I took a sip of my wine. It tasted good considering i had only drank once on a previous occasion when i turned 18. Not long after My birthday i came to SAO and got trapped in my 18 year old body. It made me think if we would age in game according to our real body but i let that thought slip away for the moment. ''Uhm hi my name is Sakura, are you perhaps in the military sir?'' i asked politely not wanting to make a bad first impression.

I had just stepped out of my Brother's shop on the fourth floor. He was a tailor and i thought i would go and say hi to him. I drew my hood up over my head as i stepped out. I was wearing the clothes he had made me that resembled my real world Clothing. It consisted of a Blue and white striped hooded jacket, a pair of baggy denim jeans and a pair of red and white sneakers. I saw a tavern across the street and stepped inside to the sight of a man being saluted by a bunch of other players. I assumed he must have been in the military or something, I walked over to the counter and purchased a glass of wine and watched the tough looking man curiously.

I stood there looking at the boy wondering why he was trying to hide his emotions. Was he scared of me maybe? ''Erm im ... sorry if i ... scared you'' i said to him walking up to him and drawing him into a hug hoping to ease him.

I approached the boy a small grin appearing on my face. "Then you had better look after her because if she needs me ill be there to protect her. Remember we are all Sakura and you will no doubt see me again if she needs it or you request me. We trust you and we can't explain why. We trust you enough to let you see us change." I stepped back and dropped my hood to let my hair flow out down my back and looked him in the eye. My natural blue hair colour gradually worked its way through the black and my eyes faded back to blue. "Erm hi" i said as my normal mindset returned.