"You're really gonna want to let me by."

But the two Salamanders that stood in front of Lisbeth only chortled, drew their swords and started to advance on her.

"You are not confined here," one said, his voice an emotionless monotone. Between that and the awkward choice of words, Liz figured they were foreign players using some kind of translation engine. Not a top of the line one, either. Most likely they were griefers. Probably American, and probably capturing the encounter for their video channel.

"If you do not go out, we will enjoy ending you," the other said. It sounded like an offer to let her escape. Maybe, she couldn't be sure. Yet their swords started to glow with charged skills. They're not even trying to hide it, are they? Either she'd fight them, or they'd stab in the back while she ran.

Lisbeth, however, neither ran nor reached for her mace. Instead, she answered with an exaggerated sigh, then wagged her finger. "You're not very good at this at all. Haven't you ever heard of the classic blunders?"

The two griefers stopped, shrugged at one another, then pressed forward.

They didn't know? No one watched the classics anymore. Undaunted, Lisbeth continued. "The first classic blunder is, of course, never get involved in a land war in Asia. The second, only slightly lesser known? Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line. And how about the third? Anyone?"

When they didn't answer, she put her hands on her hips and grinned. "Never attack someone whose traveling companion is the Absolute Sword!"

They barely had a chance to lift their swords as a purple and red streak burst forward from the hallway behind Lisbeth. The first griefer never got a good look at her as she unleashed a vicious four hit combo, reducing him to a remain light. The second swung his blade, but the Absolute Sowrd spun on her heel, blocked the strike and flashed him an adorable smile.

"Huh?" he managed to blurt out.

"Bye!" she replied in a cheery, sing-song tone.A few quick strikes drained his HP and left the two young women as the only fairies left in the corridor. Her work done, Yuuki spun around and flashed a victory sign to Lisbeth.

"I wasn't sure at first, but you were right! That was a great entrance!"

"Oh, c'mon Asuna!" Rika thrust her fists down in front of her, leaning toward her best friend and doing her best impression of a starving puppy.. "It's really really important."

"You've said that a dozen times already," Asuna replied, rubbing a finger against her temple. "It doesn't change how important this test is. You know what my mother said, and chemistry is my weakest subject. If I bomb this test, then I- No. No! Don't you dare use that lip quiver on me, Rika."

"Leafa's at a kendo tournament, Silica and Sinon are busy with their families all weekend, and Kirito got drafted into helping Klein's guild with the emerald fountain quest. But there's no way I can get through that dungeon alone!"

"You could just tell Eugene that things have changed and you can't fulfill the commission."

Rika grimaced. "You've met Eugene. He's not exactly the warm and understanding type. Besides, this could be a big deal for my shop! There's got to be something you can do!"

"I have an idea."

The answer came not from Asuna, but from the small domed device attached to her shoulder. The camera contained whirred to look and focus on her. Rika felt a sudden warmth in her cheek, and bowed apologetically.

"S-sorry, Yuuki. I always forget to say hi to you."

"It's okay, really! But you said the ingot you need is in the dungeon on the twenty fourth floor, right?"

Rika nodded. "The Cave of Forbidden Words. It's pretty tough, from what I've heard."

"Siune, Nori and Jun went through it not long ago, and said it's got an amazing design. I've been wanting to check it out. I could go with you!"

Though Rika liked Yuuki (it was almost impossible not to, after all), they'd always spend time together as part of a larger group, teaming up on boss raids and quests or during the big parties at the forest house. The only time she'd been around Yuuki alone was when she challenged the Absolute Sword during her duel challenge, and she'd been too busy getting her butt kicked to spend much time talking to her. Ever since Asuna confided in her about Yuuki's condition, she felt a tinge of awkwardness around her. However, with Yuuki's help the dungeon would be a breeze, and she probably preferred to be treated as a fighter rather than a sick girl.

"You wouldn't mind?" Rika finally responded.

"Of course not! What are friends for?"

"Then it's settled! Tonight, around 6 o'clock?"
"Whenever you want," Yuuki replied with a giggle. "It's not like I have a whole lot going on."

"Now you're making me wish I could go," Asuna said, glancing off to the side.

"Nuh uh, you have to study, remember?"

"Don't worry, Asuna! I'll keep Lisbeth safe, and we'll be back to the house before you know it!"

"I know you will." There was a distinct lack of enthusiasm in her voice, however. "You guys have fun."

Even after they parted ways, her best friend's reaction gave Rika pause. Maybe she'd have something to talk about with Yuuki after all.

Not long after their encounter with the griefers, Lisbeth and Yuuki found a safe zone deep within the cave. It was the classic calm before the storm design, a room to let players recover and prepare before the dungeon's boss fight.. To this point, the monsters barely put a dent in Yuuki's health bar, but they had another reason to stop.

Asuna remained true to her word and stayed in the forest house to study for her test, but she'd insisted on giving them what she described as " a little food" before they left. They were surprised, yet not entirely shocked, when they opened the gift box and found a feast fit for a king inside: A pair of hire katsu sandwiches, rainbow sticky rice balls, eggplant with sesame ponzu sauce, and two bottles of berry juice that tasted like melon Ramune.

"She doesn't do anything half way, does she?" Liz asked.

"Never," Yuuki managed between bites.

They sat next to one another, leaning on the wall and snacking away, As she ate, Lisbeth realized Asuna had done this mostly for Yuuki's benefit. While they all enjoyed the in-game cooking and being able to enjoy exotic food without any of the calories, it was a much bigger deal for Yuuki. After all, it was the only way she could taste food anymore.

That thought brought her mood down.

"So Eugene," Yuuki managed to eek out behind a slab of eggplant, "He's the pushy guy who tried to recruit me at that party a little while back, isn't he? The one with the scowl and the scary eyebrows?"

Lisbeth snicked. "That's him."

"How'd you agree to make a sword for him?"

"You'll be shocked to hear it's Kirito's fault. He and Eugene were having one of their sword measuring contests—"

Yuuki blinked in confusion. "They measure their swords against each other? Weird."

"Metaphorically speaking. Kirito blabbed about the sword I made for him in the original Aincrad. Naturally, he thinks I might be able to make a sword on par with Gram, the one he uses now."

"Isn't that a legendary weapon?"

"It is, but with the right materials and a skilled blacksmith… like me, for instance… you can make some pretty powerful weapons. The problem is, you need a strong ingot to pull it off. The one at the center of this dungeon is supposed to be pretty powerful.."

"Huh." Yuuki paused long enough for a sip. "I never knew you made a sword for Kirito."

Her lips curled into a frown. "It's kind of a long story, and not all that pleasant, either."

"Oh. You don't have to tell it, then."

Lisbeth considered that. This might give her the opportunity she wanted.. "Tell you what. If I share this story, you have to answer a question for me."

"Hmmm. That sounds fair."

"You've probably heard that Kirito had the double wield skill in SAO, right?" Yuuki nodded, and Liz continued. "Well, he wanted a sword to use with it, before anyone knew he even had the skill, and Asuna recommended he come to see me... even though the jerk didn't mention that he knew her, which caused all kinds of problems. Broke my best sword at the time, too."

"Accidentally?"

"No." Lisbeth paused to take another bite of her sandwich. "So I agreed to make him a new one. It was sort of like this, the materials we needed involved a quest." She cleared her throat. "Kirito made a mistake and we ended up trapped in what turned out to be the dragon's nest for a night. We escaped, of course, and I made him a sword called Dark Repulsor."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"Did you miss the part where I mentioned a dragon?"

"That makes it even better! It sounds like a great adventure."

"I guess it was, in a lot of ways." Lisbeth waved her free hand in the air. "But I felt kinda awkward, too. Especially when I figured out how he and Asuna felt about each other, even if they hadn't yet."

"Oh." Yuuki was quiet after that.

"But it made my smith shop a success in Aincrad, and so I'm hoping if I can make a great sword for Eugene, then it would happen here too. The more money I make, the more I can share with the rest of our group to help on our quests.." Then she added with a sheepish grin, "And it would be nice to have that reputation again."

"I can see how you and Asuna became such good friends. Both of you are so selfless!"

"We all pool our money, so it's not that big of a deal."

"But that's not the only reason you're so selfless. Did Asuna ever know you have feelings for Kirito?"

Lisbeth sputtered. "H-how did you—?"

"The way you mentioned him and Asuna," Yuuki said, then added with a sheepish grin, "And you were blushing when you talked about him."

"Had," Lisbeth said. It was hard to deny a few flickering embers of her crush remained, but she was under no illusion it could ever work out. It was one thing to fall for someone when they saved your life, it was quite another to make a relationship work. In the end, she and Kirito would have been a poor fit for each other. Despite her running joke with Silica about an "open competition" for him, she would never pursue a relationship with him, even if things changed. Even if they already have, she thought.

"But I never told her," she continued. "I told him. Sort of. I just didn't want to hurt my best friend."

"She's lucky to have you, Lisbeth."

"I'm pretty lucky to have her too," the blacksmith said, then the usual grin returned as she leaned forward. "Guess that means it's my turn now. My question is, when are you going to tell Asuna?"

Lisbeth let the silence linger, waiting for Yuuki to take a big bite of her sandwich. Once she did, her smirk turned Grinchian.

"That you're in love with her."

Safeguards in Alfheim Online prevented players from mundane problems like choking, but Yuuki struggled mightily against them. When she finally regained her composure, she looked at Liz incredulously.

"What are you talking about?"

The blacksmith arched a brow. "You're really gonna try to play it off after that reaction?

She could see the look of intense focus on the face of the Absolute Sword. While her reaction time was incredible, Liz knew that wasn't all that made her formidable. She studied each opponent and within an instant, knew whether to strike, parry or fall back to regroup. Or even yield, as she did in this case. She leaned back against the wall and sighed.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Maybe not to everyone," Lisbeth admitted, her smile's devious edge fading into a gentler expression. "But I see the way you look at her, the tone of your voice when you talk about her. You hang on her every word when we're all together, and when she smiles at you? Forget it, you light up. It's really sweet, actually."

But Yuuki didn't seem pleased with the observation. In fact, she was shaking, her eyes wide in a look of pure panic. "Do... do you think she knows?

"She's never said anything to me about it."

"You're not going to tell her, are you?"

"Of course not. But I think maybe you should."

In that moment, she looked less like the indomitable Absolute Sword, and more like the scared girl she was. "Why? What if it freaks her out? If she doesn't want to talk to me anymore?"

"She'd never want to stop talking to you! And I told Kirito how I felt about him and we're still friends. It might be better than keeping it all bottled up."

"I… I don't know…

Lisbeth hesitated to speak her next thought. Perhaps she was wrong. But she had to articulate what she'd been thinking for a little while now. "The truth is... I think she might feel the same way."

The small room fell utterly silent for what felt like an eternity.

"That... that's impossible."

"You know what I said earlier, about the way you look at her? Sometimes I see her looking at you the same way. She can't stop talking about you... if it's not the things you do together, it's how important you are to her. Didn't you see how devastated she was that she couldn't go with us?"

"It's... it's because we're friends."

But Lisbeth shook her head. "Yuuki, she's been my best friend since Aincrad. She loves her friends dearly, but with you, it's different. Different even from what she feels with Kirito."

Yuuki leaned forward and hugged her legs against her chest. "I... I can't."

"But if you-"

"I'd sooner run away again than tell her how I really feel."

Now it was Liz's turn to stare at her in bewilderment. "How can you say that? She was devastated the first time she thought she'd lost you.. And if she has feelings for you, wouldn't you like to know?"

"Of course I would." Yuuki met Lisbeth's eyes. "All of this stays between us, right?"

"If that's what you want, I won't say a word of this to her."

She nodded, then closed her eyes. "Before I met Asuna, I felt really scared when the other Sleeping Knights signed off and I was alone. I couldn't sleep, I was terrified I might not wake up. I was scared I'd fail the rest of the guild and we wouldn't get our name on the Monument of Swordsmen like. I couldn't find anyone who could help us.

Yuuki's expression softened. "Then one day, I get challenged by the most beautiful person I've ever seen in my life, and she's everything we've been looking for. When I held her hand for the first time, I... it's kind of a cliché to say my heart skipped a beat, isn't it? But that's what it felt like. After that first meeting, I thought about her instead of being afraid. And I've kept thinking about her... even daydreaming hearing her say those beautiful words to me."

Her cheeks turned as pink as Lisbeth's hair. "I've even... imagined what it would be like to kiss her. And when I do, I'm able to sleep peacefully. It's like she's there with me, holding me in her arms, keeping me safe. My own guardian angel."

"Then why not tell her that?"

"Because of what... what I'm up against. I know I don't have a lot of time left. I want to spend as much of that time with her as possible. If there's even the slightest chance telling her would change that, I don't want to risk it." She took in a halting breath. "And, even if it did, it would be selfish of me. Our time together is going to be very short, no matter what happens. And even if shares cares about me... even..." She paused, as if scared to say the word. "Even if she loves me, she still loves Kirito, I can't ask her to make that choice. Even if she chose me... the thought of her being alone... I can't bear that. Kirito will be here for her. I'm only going to be a part of her life for a short time."

After a few seconds, Lisbeth reached out and gave Yuuki's hand a gentle squeeze. "You need to do what you feel is right. But if there's one thing I know for sure, no matter what happens? You made her a better person. You'll always be a part of her life."

Yuuki looked back and her and smiled weakly. "Then that's enough for me."

"And you'll always have your dreams."

Yuuki giggled nervously. "That too."

Lisbeth rose to her feet, stretching her arms out. "Well, shall we keep pressing forward?"

Instantly, the confidence returned to the Absolute Sword as she jumped to her feet. "We've got an ingot to recover!"

"And I've got the best partner anyone could ask for."

Yuuki's cheeks flashed pink again. "And I'm helping the best blacksmith in all of Alfheim!"

And so they pressed on, the subject of their conversation not mentioned again.

Well, almost never mentioned again, for nature is a hard thing to suppress. Dolphins want to swim. Eagles need to soar. And Lisbeth couldn't miss an opportunity to tease a friend, which she did as they reached the boss's chamber.

"Any questions before we go in?" Yuuki asked.

"Just one," she replied with a smirk. "In those dreams of yours... is Asuna a really good kisser?"

The punch to her shoulder hurt worse than she expected, but it was worth it to see the look on Yuuki's face. Combined with the nervous laughter afterward, Lisbeth guessed the answer was yes.

Rika threw open the doors of the hopsital and bolted down the hallway, despite the protests of the orderlies. She didn't stop, didn't listen, didn't even acknowledge another human being until she saw Asuna, standing outside a familiar room, her face buried in her hands, cheeks wet with tears. Rika all but launched herself at her best friend, wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug.

Instantly, Asuna buried her face into her shoulder. Though she'd calmed herself en route to the hospital, Rika too could no longer hold back her tears, and for a time the two held onto one another.

"I miss her already," Asuna finally managed.

"So do I."

"There's so much more I wanted to do... so much more I wanted to say..."

"Shhhh," Rika refused to loosen her grip.

After several minutes, Asuna finally broke the embrace and wiped her tears on her sleeves. "She'd be so mad at me, if she knew I was crying again."

Rika shook her head. "I think she'd understand."

"It's not going to be the same without her. I know that sounds strange, since we had so little time together..."

"It's not strange at all. Sometimes you meet an amazing person by chance, and they change your life forever. Like I did, when you happened to stop by my blacksmith shop."

In spite of everything, Asuna managed a smile. "It was more of a blanket laid out on a street corner."

"Everyone starts somewhere." Rika took hold of her hand and squeezed. "Hear that? You're laughing already. That's what she would've wanted."

"I know." Asuna looked to the ground, then back at Rika. "In the end, there's something I wanted to tell her, but I... I just couldn't get the words out..."

Rika smiled and shook her head. She would keep her word to Yuuki, even after she'd left them. But she wouldn't lie to her best friend either. "She knew. Trust me, she knew.."

The Salamander general folded his arms across his broad chest, fingers thrumming in annoyance against one bicep as Lisbeth landed on the island and made her way over to him.

"You're late."

"Sorry, I know I promised this a few weeks ago, but-"

Eugene raised a single hand in the air. "That isn't what I meant." He glanced over his shoulder at the tree behind them. "I completely understand the delay in the weapon's completion, in light of what's happened. But you were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago."

"Oh, right. Sorry about that, then."

"I'll only be upset if your reputation as a blacksmith turns out to be overstated."

Lisbeth withdrew the broadsword from her inventory, an ebony black weapon with red and purple lines running the length of it, and offered it to Eugene. He took the weapon and held it aloft, watching the light gleam off of it. Then he took a step back, swung the weapon a few times, and then the strangest thing happened. He smiled. An actual smile from the deadly Salamander general. No one would believe her if she told them.

"It's beautiful, an equal to Bran in every way. Tell me, did you give this weapon a name?"

Lisbeth looked at the tree once more, her eyes lingering on the sword planted in the ground in front of it, then to the x-shaped strike in the trunk ALO players lobbied to remain in tribute.

"Musashi."

Eugene followed her gaze. "An appropriate name."

"She helped me gather the materials, so it felt right to honor her."

"Indeed." He sheathed the weapon at his side. "As I will do my best to honor its namesake."

"She was really amazing, wasn't she?"

"A true inspiration." He paused, then looked back to Lisbeth. "My brother often carries on about quantum physics... he once told me that there is a theory that all possible outcomes happen in alternate universes. I like to believe there is at least one where someone as noble as the Absolute Sword is still a part of it."

"I'd like to think that too."

"She deserves nothing less."

Lisbeth looked back to the tree, Eugene's words bringing a smile to her face. She imagined a world where illness didn't steal Yuuki away. In that version of Aincrad, instead of a sword planted into the ground in tribute, her best friend and the woman she loved held each other in a tight embrace.

As Eugene had said, they deserved nothing less.

A/N - Gee, what a shock, I'm writing more YuuAsu stuff.

Joking aside, this was a story that's been sitting idle on my hard drive for some time and actually planted the seed for Reconfiguration. I actually had a different pairing and story idea for today's theme, Strength, but after staring at the blank page for a good hour and a half, I decided to bring this one up and rewrite it. I really do believe that Yuuki had strong feelings for Asuna, but would never have acted on them because she wouldn't want Asuna to be hurt in the end.

And c'mon, Yuuki and Lisbeth running around together? That's just a blast to write.