Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, but I do own the OCs. I hope you enjoy the story!

Toshiyan walked down the cramped dark alleyway, alongside other members of the Knights of the Blood Oath, a great guild of Aincrad, and great other swordsmen and women. He looked around, he saw many with beads of sweat on their heads, they look as if they would slice at anything that jumped out at them. Whereas others trudged along more tired than anything else, some having no idea how dangerous this would be. All that anyone knew was that they had one purpose, dissolve the murder guild by the name of Laughing Coffin.

They have no idea why they're here. He, yet again, shoved the regurgitating dread down his throat. His thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his shoulder, he turned to face a girl his age named Asuna looking at him.

"It's not your fault, we'll get your sister back, that's a promise." she whispered.

"Thanks." he replied.

You're too kind to me Asuna. Somehow you always knows what to say to make me feel better. How do you and Lyn do it? How do you become that strong? Strong enough to lay down your life for anyone here and not bat an eyelash. A smirk appeared momentarily on his face. It'd be annoying if you weren't so good at it.

Asuna stepped forward, lingering just a few feet in front of him. Toshi stared at the distance between her and the swordsman in front of her, or, more appropriately, the lack of distance. He frowned once again.

I can't complain against Kirito. He helped structure this raid and gather others to arms. A step above acquaintance, but a leap below a friend. So many people are like that now. It's my own fault really.

The parade stopped; someone got up to speak. "If the tip we got was good, then the should be nearby Laughing Coffin's base, but before we charge in, keep one thing in mind; those guys are red players. Once the battle start, they won't think twice about killing anyone of us. Don't you hesitate, if you do, then you're dead."

Standing still like we are right now won't help either.

"We do have 2 things going for us though," the man continued. "We outnumber them and we have higher skill who knows, maybe they will surrender peacefully; a guy can dream, can't he?"

Toshiyan sighed. I doubt it. Peace isn't the first word that comes to mind when I think of Laughing Coffin.

"Look out!" said a member of the crowd. Toshiyan looked up quickly and saw members of laughing coffin jump down from above, metal clanking loudly already. Toshiyan quickly reached for his daggers, gripping them firmly. He then charged with amazing speed into the oncoming horde. He singled out a single lone member and lunged at him, he dodged his first attack, and narrowly cut him with his left dagger.

One.

The member turned and prepared another attack, aiming a downward slash. A downward slash? He fluently stepped to the left. You should know better than that. Two. Three. The red player groaned, collapsing to the ground. Toshiyan jumped over him and kept searching for the passage he was looking for.

Three. Two. Four. Seven? I hate how math works. The heat of the battle seemed to slow down for a brief moment, Toshiyan inhaled quickly, glancing through the swords around him. I don't have time for this.

"Toshiyan!" A dark figure dashed behind him, Kirito raising a sword to defend himself, his back against Toshiyan's. The latter weaved under the Black Swordsman, his daggers glowing. He thrust with his daggers with unmatched dexterity, dropping the member of laughing coffin quickly.

"Being short is a good thing, Toshi." Lyn's voice echoed in his mind.

Toshiyan turned around. "Kirito, this way, I saw the path."

"Right."

Both swordsmen leaped around the next individual battle, Kirito glancing with solemnity at the rest of the fight. Worry stained both their minds, but Toshi's determined gaze burned through it. He dashed down the path, approaching the large metallic doors. He turned back to check on the swordsman behind him. "Kirito, hurry up!"

"Toshiyan, wait,-"

"We need to go if we'll have any chance of saving Lyn! Let's go, now!" He beckoned him down the path that led to the internal structure of the base. "Kirito!"

Kirito's hesitation faltered, but only for a moment. Kirito gazed back into the large fight. He suddenly gripped his Elucidator tightly, facing away from Toshi. "No! Go get Lyn!"

"Kirito!" he called after him, but in almost a blink's worth of time, the Black Swordsman disappeared into the large scuffle. Toshiyan stared dumbfounded, confusion tore into his mind. The fear he felt, suddenly turned into a miraculous bitter energy that burned in his chest. "Fine, I'll do it myself!"

He lunged into the empty corridors of laughing coffins base, searching desperately to find a dungeon of some kind. Finding a narrow crystal staircase, Toshiyan bounded off the wall, skipping the stairs as he descended into the lower levels of the cavern. Rolling off his last leap, he began to gain the lost momentum, only to have a sharp pain in his back stop him suddenly. He collapsed, growling in rage at the distraction.

"Toshiyan, we meet again." a dark voice spoke smoothly. "You must be here for your sister."

No! Please!

"I'm pleased that you came to visit me," The voice drew closer, a of glove grabbed Toshiyan's hair, pulling his head up. Part of the man's oily black hair obscured the right side of his face, his dark eyes allowed no one to see past them. "I mean, with how long we've known each other, I'd even consider us family."

"Serpent! You have my only family, where is she?!"

He dropped Toshiyan's head, simultaneously kicking the boy in the gut. "Since you asked nicely, how about I show you what you want, little boy." he replied with cruel pleasure. He proceeded to drag Toshiyan to a dark hallway and past many empty cells and finally dropped him on the floor. Serpent then walked to the nearest cell and dragged its occupant on to the floor nearby him.

"Lyn!" he cried with relief. No reply came, her hands began to scrape against the floor, almost praying her fingers would deliver her from this place. Toshiyan burned his gaze back to the member of Laughing Coffin. "What did you do, you snake!" anger enveloping his words.

Why has the poison not dissipated yet?

"Oh relax, I only starved her a little bit." He paused letting his words sink in while smiling cruelly, suppressing a laugh.

"You," Toshiyan continued to struggle. "I am going to KILL YOU!" He fought with all his strength to move and reach for his sheathed daggers, but nothing happened.

"I'm only kidding," Serpent continued. "You know as well as I do that I think she's far too pretty to try and starve off, it would break my heart to see it happen."

My fingers are freeing up! "When I get my hands on you, I'll-" Serpent casually reached into his pocket and stabbed him with another concealed blade thus strengthening the poison's power. Toshiyan growled in a mixture of emotions.

"Stop trying so hard, you can't save her." he muttered, opening his menu. A large sword, appeared in his hand. He began to chuckle. "I-I've been waiting to do this for a long time. I've wanted to kill her for so long, but now, you can enjoy it with me!" He raised the sword up. "Come now, watch her die!"

He struck it down and a red mark appeared on Lyn's side. She cringed further, yelling out.

"Stop it! You want to kill anyone, kill me instead!"

Serpent turned, smiling. "The mighty Electric assassin, begging for mercy from a lowly serpent like me. I like to see you beg, do it again." he raised his sword above Lyn and turned to face Toshiyan.

"P-Please, leave her alone." he sputtered.

"Hm, no." he stabbed the sword in once again.

"LYN!" Toshiyan yelled.

Lyn mustered her strength and looked up at her brother who also couldn't move. "I-, To-" her face was full of tears.

"You don't get last words with me! Neither of you brats deserve it!" He swung his sword down one more time and stabbed her in the side again. Her eyes widened one final time, her body began to glow. Shards filled the narrow dungeon pathway, floating away into the ranks of the many souls claimed by the game of death. Another snicker echoed through the hallway. "Well, that was dramatic," The serpent said as he sheathed his sword. "and yet, very satisfying." Serpent turned to Toshiyan but stayed silent and unmoving. "Ahh, has the assassin's tongue been stole-"

You're a dead man!

Toshiyan lept to his feet, screaming. Serpent, immediately reached for his sword again. Toshiyan, seizing the opening, slammed into him, pinning him to the ground with daggers. He repeatedly sliced at Serpent, the man on the ground trying to stop Toshiyan's strikes with his left arm, but to no avail. He sliced again and again and again, his voice not ceasing for a moment with rage.

Shattering glass broke the screams. Toshiyan panted heavily, his daggers protruding from the ground. A little purple hexagon displayed: Immortal Object where the daggers sat. Tears continued to stream down his face.

"Lyn."

"We started out with 50 of the best people I know." Kirito counted to himself "Now, only 38 of them are left."

Asuna hurried over to Kirito "Everyone is a little bit shaken, but I think that-"

She was stopped when Kirito embraced her. "I am so glad you're alive, are you alright?"

Asuna's initial shock gave way to a smile as she hugged him back. "I'm fine, don't worry about me." Pulling away, she regained her solemn look. "Kirito, where is Toshiyan?"

Kirito looked down. "He's not here, last I saw him, he was going after his sister."

"But I thought-"

"So did I," Kirito explained. "It, er, didn't pan out."

"He went by himself?!"

"Asuna, he's a skilled swordsman."

"I'm going in after him." Asuna proclaimed, turning around.

"Wait up, you can't-" he paused.

"What is it?" she asked. Turning to see what he was staring at, a lone figure stumbled out of the corridor, the doors behind him shoved open. Kirito and Asuna rushed over as Toshiyan continued to stumble along. "Toshiyan!" she rushed over and embraced him as well. "Where were you, did you save Lyn, where is she?" He didn't respond and continued to walk toward Kirito. Her expression shifted as she stopped Toshiyan, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Toshiyan, where is Lyn?" Asuna asked again more inquisitively this time. He stopped, keeping his head down

"She's dead, Asuna."

Asuna paled. "Toshiyan, I-"

"It's not your fault, there is only one person to blame." Toshiyan glared up at Kirito, who paled slightly at his piercing eyes. "I-I know who's really at fault."

"Toshiyan, we should leave."

"R-Right." Kirito agreed. "Come on."

Know this Kirito, I will cope with you now. Asuna and the others may trust you, but I hope you never forget this, because I hope that this experience makes you rot in guilt for eternity.

This story is a re-implementation of my very first fanfiction. I feel like I've improved a lot with my writing, so even if you've read this story before, I'd recommend you stick around for this one. I'll be adding more information about character interaction, background, and even more scenes, each with a better sense of writing and (relatively) regular updates. If you liked this one and would like to see more, feel free to PM me with advice, or leave a review. I'd love to hear from you guys. Until next time!

Zippy