Synopsis
Suguha Kirigaya is Kirito's cousin, raised alongside him as a sister after his parents died and he was taken in by her family. To shield him from their strict grandfather's disapproval when he abandoned kendo for computers, she threw herself into the sport instead, eventually becoming a national-level competitor in her own right.
While Kazuto is trapped inside Sword Art Online, Suguha starts playing the VRMMORPG ALfheim Online as a Sylph under the name Leafa, partly out of curiosity about the world he loves and partly to feel closer to him. Taught the game by her classmate Nagata Shinichi, she quickly puts her years of kendo training to use and becomes one of the strongest Sylph duelists, eventually winning her race's tournament.
Outgoing and quick-tempered where her cousin is withdrawn, Suguha is nonetheless deeply protective of him. Discovering that Kazuto is not actually her blood brother, and that he is Kirito, shakes her badly, but she works through the confusion to stay close to him, later playing an active role in the fight to save him during the Fairy Dance incident.
