Keita/Synopsis

#### Pre-Episode 3

On November 6, 2022, Keita got his hands on a NerveGear and a copy of Sword Art Online, a VRMMO set in a multifloored castle in the sky called Aincrad. After logging into the game, Keita initiated the game's tutorial, which was presented by an NPC named Charlie. However, instead of listening to him, Keita deliberately ignored Charlie's instructions, as he planned to use the NPC as an expendable soldier, effectively kidnapping him.

After getting trapped in SAO, along with 10,000 other players, Keita took every opportunity he could to advance through the game. He recruited two more NPCS named Gary, who was looking to save his family, and Derrick, who was trying to stop a bandit invasion. He also recruited a girl named Sachi, who suffered from lag due to her bad internet connection from "living in the boonies", and together, they formed a Guild called the Moonlit Black Cats. At some point, Keita obtained a Charisma Hat, an item that boosted his Charisma by 50 points, effectively making anyone he talked to do whatever he wants.

#### Episode 3

On April 8, 2023, in the Floor 11 town of Taft, the Guild were in a tavern when Keita spots a player named Kirito. Keita somehow managed to look through Kirito's character page and learned that, not only was he not associated with any Guilds, but he was Level 40. Keita then approached Kirito while he was enjoying a drink says he noticed he was a solo player, which confuses Kirito, as that information was set to private. Keita then takes the opportunity and invites Kirito to join their Guild. However, Kirito repeatedly declines the offer, out of a mixture of wanting to play solo and the fact that Keita is clearly only interested in him because of his level, as he moans with delight when he looks at it. Not wanting to let such a high leveled player go, Keita persuades Kirito by putting on his Charisma Hat, compelling Kirito to join the Guild, much to Kirito's dismay.

With Kirito successfully swindled into joining the Guild, Keita reveals that of the most members are actually NPCs. Kirito then points out the fact that, if Keita has the tutorial NPC, that means he hasn't beaten the tutorial. Keita tries to play this off by saying just because he can't play the game doesn't mean he can't "play the game", but he fails to prove his point when he tries to wink by saying the word "wink". Even though Kirito wasn't happy with the situation, Sachi tries to thank him for joining their Guild. However, she lags in the middle of her sentence, which goes out of control, spreading to the other players and causing a fire that kills four people.

Kirito quickly became a major asset to the Guild, assisting them on many adventures, such when they killed a Killer Mantis together in the Sunshine Forest on Floor 20.

On May 16, 2023, Sachi ran away. Keita tried to run after her, but the NPCs ended up inadvertently blocking the door. Annoyed, Keita sends Kirito message explaining the situation, asking him to find her for him. Charlie takes this opportunity to advise Keita to take a break, as he's been playing for 4608 hours. Keita yells at him, as he doesn't have a choice but to play the game, after which the Charlie proceeds to clip through the wall, much to Keita's annoyance. Anticipating that Kirito wouldn't want to look for Sachi, as it's his day off, Keita also sends him a picture of the Charisma Hat, compelling Kirito find their lost teammate, much to his dismay.

One day, sometime around June 21, 2023, Keita came in contact with the game's Mafia, which was run by Don Fluffles, and told them that he could duplicate a rare item in their possession. Intrigued by the offer, Fluffles accepted and gave Keita the item. However, Keita soon discovered that the ability to duplicate items got patched out of the game and subsequently sold it for money. When Fluffles found out about this he became enraged and demanded Keita to replace the item or else he would have him and his Guild mates killed.

On June 21, 2023, Keita then gathered his Guild members and reveals to them what had happened, during which Derrick takes the opportunity to remind Keita that the bandits are coming, which Keita acknowledges is ironically an apt description of their predicament. He then tells them that the item only spawns in a Dungeon on Floor 27, one of the hardest Floors so far. Keita tells the Guild not to worry, as they'll have Kirito with them, who's "practically carrying this crew". Kirito is offended by this statement, as it underplays how much work he actually does, but Sachi signals him to let it go. Keita then asks what the Guild thinks of the plan. Kirito is about to mock how stupid Keita is, but, having promised Sachi to be nicer, he keeps his thoughts to himself. With the plan set in stone, Sachi points out that Keita didn't say what he'll be doing during the mission. To which Keita, once again, uses his Charisma Hat to talk his way out of going with them, teleporting away on Taft's Teleport Gate the next day.

The following day, Kirito returned to Keita alone and explained that they fell into a trap searching for the item, and that the rest of the Guild had been killed. This caused Keita to fall into despair, and he committed suicide by jumping off the edge of Castle Aincrad, presumably out of fear of being killed by the Mafia.

#### Legacy

Due to the deaths of Keita and the other members of the Moonlit Black Cats, Kirito developed severe PTSD. Kirito tried to retrieve an item that he thought would revive his friends, but when was faced with the reality that there was no way to bring them back, he retreated into his sarcastic persona and became unwilling to make any more emotional connections, fearing that he'd lose them too. He was eventually brought out of his self-induced loneliness by Klein and Asuna about a year later.

At some point, Kirito fought Fluffles to avenge his fallen friends, which resulted in Fluffles falling off a cliff and losing his position as head of the Mafia.

Because Keita stole the tutorial NPC, this resulted in the deaths thousands of players, especially in the first month, as Charlie was no longer available to teach them. This eventually became one of the main reasons Kayaba Akihiko started the death game. As such, Keita is arguably just as responsible for the events that took place inside SAO as well as being the sole cause for at least half the death count.

## References

1. ↑ Episode 1
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Episode 3
3. ↑ Episode 8
4. ↑ Episode 11