Crossing Blades, Crossing Hearts

From Love to Loss

Chapter One: Our Destined Meeting

A/N:

Hey there!

For those of you who haven't read my original, this is a rewrite of Crossing Blades, Crossing Hearts, the prequel to my second most popular story, the abandoned story known as The Kendo Club. This isn't meant to be a prequel to that story, however; instead, this is the official prequel to TKC's rewrite, The Kendo Club: Playing for Keeps.

Now, I know I said I wouldn't rewrite CBCH, but I just kind of did this on a whim. I got the idea, and I decided to change it up a bit. So, for those of you expecting to see the same exact events from the original, I'm sorry to say that the chapter has been altered in more than just pacing and such. (Okay, I'm not really sorry. Looking back on the original CBCH, it was utterly cringe-worthy.)

The premise of this incarnation is roughly the same, though, as is the time frame that this entire story takes place within. This is set in the universe of TKC: PFK, which should be obvious by now, but I thought I would get that out of the way first. Anyway, this story will start out around Kazuto's first year in middle school, and end around halfway through his third. (Both middle schools and high schools in Japan are three-year programs, for those of you who don't know.)

Well, I think that's it for this note. I'll see you at the bottom! Enjoy your read!

CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!

The furious sounds that could only be made when two bamboo blades clashed against one another rang throughout the whole arena. There were two types of sounds currently being made from the clashes; sounds of strength and confidence, and sounds of fear and uncertainty.

The clashes of power and confidence came from a young boy with what appeared from under his indigo equipment to have a well-toned, yet slender, body structure. He struck with no flaws; in fact, his form throughout each and every clash, no matter who initiated, had been nearly perfect for the entire match thus far. Nothing had yet caught the boy off guard, which only served to infuriate his opponent into making even more careless mistakes that were quickly used against him.

The clashes of fear, though they outwardly looked like clashes of rage, came from a older boy, probably a year older than the confident one. This boy had more upper body strength, which only made it harder to believe that he was being utterly thrashed by his junior. He wore a lighter blue color for his keiko-gi and hakama, with a black Bogu set.

It seemed as if the indigo-wearing boy was almost toying with his opponent, or, at the very least, wanted the match to last longer. It was clear that the match should have been decided at least a minute sooner, what with the indigo-clad boy's vastly superior speed and skill. And yet, he seemed to be drawing it out. At this point, there was only around one minute left on the clock before the match would end in a draw; neither side had actually scored a point yet, though it was obvious that one side had purposefully refrained from scoring.

Interesting, I thought, pulling a small, rectangular object out of the backpack at my feet: my sketchbook. I proceeded to pull out a pencil case, opening it and selecting the correct pencil to start off with.

I quickly set to work, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the match would end and I would lose my chance to finally draw something interesting. I had never went to a kendo match before, and my dad would only settle for a championship match such as this one to be the first one I ever saw.

After about thirty seconds, I finally finished my rough sketch of a clash between the two competitors. I looked up, finding that the indigo-clad boy had finally gotten serious, starting to get even faster than before. His opponent was quickly becoming overwhelmed by the incredible speed and skill of the boy, and soon enough, a double head-strike became the deciding blow.

The judges unanimously raised their flags in approval of this boy's double strike, ending the match for good and securing the indigo-clad boy the title of Tokyo Champion. I smiled broadly as the boy took off his Men, a smile on his face as the announcer declared him the winner.

As soon as I got a good look at his face, I was rendered speechless and motionless. If he didn't look amazing before, his slightly messy ebony hair and fascinating steel-gray eyes cinched it; this boy was perfect. There was no way I would ever find a better subject for my drawings… or a better opponent.

"Like what you see?" a feminine voice said from my left, a hint of smugness laced in with the overall curiosity. I turned to my left, finding my sister sitting beside me, a knowing smirk on her face and a mischievous twinkle in her blue eyes.

I chose to ignore her comment for the time being, instead choosing to get my bag, stand up and head towards the exit. I began to break into a run, stopping and turning around when I heard my sister's voice from behind me.

"H-hey, where are you going?" she asked me, getting up to follow.

"Where do you think, Aiko?" I answered her question with a question before continuing. "To go meet the new Tokyo Champ, of course!"

"Hey, wait up!"

I heard this as I walked towards my mother's car, an impassive expression on my face. I had thought that this match would prove to be more of a challenge, yet sadly, it turned out like all of the rest: in my easy victory. I tried to draw it out in hopes that he would be able to grow accustomed to the way I fought and find ways to counterattack, but even that didn't save the match from sinking into a sea of mediocrity.

I turned around to face the person who called my name, finding… the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Her long, lustrous hair, dyed a beautiful violet, shined in the setting sunlight. Her magenta eyes looked at me with a bubbly happiness that I hadn't seen in any of my friends, drawing me in to the point that I almost spaced out just looking at them. She had to be at least a half a head shorter than me, yet her figure was already well-developed, with her curves accentuated by a somewhat-revealing black shirt and violet miniskirt. Everything about her just seemed to draw me in, before I finally realized what I was doing—

Was I just checking her out?! I thought frantically, heat rising to my cheeks. The fallen angel in front of me must have taken notice of this, for the next thing she said made me choke on my own tongue.

"Like what you see?" she enquired, a teasing smile on her face. After a fit of coughs from me, her expression changed to one of concern, and she asked, "Hey, are you okay? I was only joking!"

"I'm fine, don't worry," I replied, smiling weakly.

She sighed in relief, extending her hand out to me. "I'm Yuuki Konno, by the way."

I took her hand and gave it a shake, saying, "Nice to meet you, Yuuki. I'm—"

"Kazuto Kirigaya, the Tokyo Champion," Yuuki said, her magenta eyes shining with happiness. "I was watching your fight."

"Ah, I see," I responded, looking down with a wry smile. "Sorry for the disappointing fight, then. It must have been really boring."

"What are you talking about?" my violet-haired acquaintance asked me incredulously, making me look up at her shocked face. "That match was amazing! You were amazing!"

At this, I felt heat rise to my cheeks, and I knew I must have made for quite the sight. The normally cool, distant and stoic Kazuto Kirigaya, reduced to a awkward mess in the presence of a cute girl. It was the strangest sensation I had ever encountered in my life, and I really had no idea how to deal with it.

"I-is that so…" I said softly, averting my eyes. "Thanks… I guess."

When I looked back up at Yuuki, I saw a contemplative gleam in her magenta eyes, making me wonder just what she was thinking. After a few seconds, it seemed as if a light bulb went off in her head. And, yet again, her next words nearly made me choke.

"We should exchange phone numbers!" she exclaimed, nearly scaring me out of my skin and making me choke at the same time.

Up until that day, I had never exchanged numbers with anyone, not even my friends at school, and I only had the numbers of my mother and sister entered in as contacts. It came as a huge shock that someone outside of my family wanted my number, and for a second, I just stood there, speechless.

"Is it no good?" Yuuki asked me, her fuchsia eyes clearly showing the dejectedness she felt.

"N-no, that's not it!" I said a little too loudly. I forced myself to quiet down before continuing with, "I was just a bit surprised, that's all."

"Oh, that's a relief!" Yuuki sighed, giving me a grin. "So, can you tell me your cell number?"

I told her my number, and she quickly whipped out a smartphone from her pocket, presumably entering my number in. after she finished, a look of accomplishment appeared on her features. Then, she took something off of her back, which I then realized was a backpack, and unzipped it, beginning to rummage through it for something. Soon enough, I saw a book in her hands, along with a pencil.

She opened the book, slipping through pages and pages of beautiful sketches, until she finally stopped at the end. When I noticed what the final sketch in this book depicted, I gasped, taken aback by the accuracy.

There I was in my full Bogu, clashing with the very person I beat easily not more than twenty minutes before. I looked back up to Yuuki with renewed awe, then asked, "Did you draw that?"

"That's right!" my cheery violet-haired friend replied brightly, ripping the sketch out of the bindings of the book. "And I figured that I would give it to you. It was a picture of you fighting from my perspective, and I thought it was really cool! I hope this can show you how awesome that fight was from my side."

She began writing on the back of it with her pencil, then handed the paper to me with care. I took it gingerly, careful not to touch the pencil marks, for fear of smudging them. The drawing was just so amazing, to the point that I didn't want to see it marred in any way.

"You know what?" I queried, smiling broadly at Yuuki. "I think you're right!"

Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind my new friend. I looked beyond her, finding a girl with similar features, only much taller, with bright blue-dyed hair and sky-blue eyes. When she reached us, she gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry about my sis here," she apologized, slinging an arm around my violet-haired friend. "She didn't bother you too much, did she?"

When Yuuki quickly broke free of her sister's grasp while shouting many a protest, I broke out into a fit of giggles. They both looked at me, perplexed at my reaction. Once I calmed down, I began speaking once more.

"Don't worry, she was fun to talk to," I answered with a genuine smile. But then, like a bolt of lightning, realization struck me. I gasped, turning around, before turning back to Yuuki and her sister. "Sorry, but I have to go! My mom's been waiting on me for at least fifteen minutes, and she's probably worried!"

We exchanged farewells, and I took off, running towards the parking lot in order to find my mother's car. It took at least three minutes, but I finally found her car, then opened the door to the passenger seat.

I took my Bogu bag off my shoulders and put it on the floor of the car, careful not to be too rough, as I had put the sketch inside it. Afterwards, I plopped down into the passenger seat, saying, "Sorry I'm late, Mom."

"Don't worry about it, Kazuto," my mother, Midori Kirigaya, replied. I could tell without even looking that she had an idea of what happened, and her next words confirmed my suspicions. "Besides, you made a new friend, right?"

I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of being right, so I refrained from asking just how she knew. Instead, I put on a mischievous smile, saying, "Who knows?"

No… I thought my true answer. I didn't make a friend.

I looked out the window as my mother's car roared to life. She began driving out of the lot, and as we passed the front of the building, I saw Yuuki and her sister looking straight at our car. I waved to them, watching with a smile as Yuuki waved back enthusiastically.

No, Mom, I thought once more, looking ahead. I found my first crush.

A/N:

So, what do you think? I'd love to hear some feedback! Favs and follows are nice, too, but nothing makes my day like a well-thought out review!

Well, if you have questions, leave them in a review or PM me. I'll be happy to answer any questions about the story you may have, so don't hesitate to ask away!

Lastly, I'll address the concern I'm sure a lot of my previous followers will most likely have about this story, should they actually like it: when will I update? Well, to answer that is to give what may end up being a false promise, so I won't give you a set date. However, I do plan on working on this as one of my primary projects from now on.

Well, I guess that's all I need to say. One last thing before I go, however, and I bet you all know what it is.

I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series, any of its adaptations, or any people, things or ideas that I use from them!

See you next chapter!