Author's Notes: Ever since I've watched the Mother's Rosario arc in the anime, Yuuki has become one of my favorite characters in the series. So one day I got a bunch of ideas for a one-shot with her, so I just decided to write a series of one-shots about her. This here is the first. A little context: this takes place in SAO, I always thought it would be an interesting idea to have Yuuki in the death game rather than in ALO. So without further ado, enjoy!
Life in Death
In the light of the rising sun, Yuuki danced with the practice dummies. Her waster—a wooden blade—struck at their wooden bodies with force, as her feet tangoed to a rhythm of cracks and controlled breathing. A feint, a thrust, a roll under the enemy's arm, and a cut to the now exposed back. She pressed the attack, and two more slashes followed. Never stop when momentum was on your side. She finished with a blow to the dummy's head that was strong enough to decapitate it had she been using her combat longsword.
There was no time to celebrate though.
A quick survey of her surroundings showed many other dummies willing to join in this disco. In a real fight, she could trust her teammates to watch her back as she dispatched one mob after another. But here she was simulating an event where she was surrounded and alone. The key was the same as in any other situation: always keep moving. And kept moving she did, never staying in one place for more than a second, making sure not to her back open to anyone. She felt the wind rush against her face in her movements; she must have been a blur to anyone watching. This was the joy in fighting, where instincts take over and your body acted faster than your mind could think.
She felt unbeatable. Unkillable.
Then she tripped, her feet catching each other in a twist. The ground met her with redemption.
"Ouch," she said, picking herself up. Dust caked her face and she brushed them off with a swipe of her hand.
That was clumsy of her, she thought and laughed. But better she learns from her mistakes now than out in the field, where it truly would be a matter of life and death. A quick replay in her mind of the maneuver she had been trying to perform showed her where she went wrong, and then she dropped back to her guard and the dance resumed.
Time was abstract as Yuuki struck, parried, and struck again. She could do this all day—and not just because her virtual body permitted her to have limitless stamina—for there was an intrinsic peace she could feel only through the cuts of her blade and her own sheer competence. She was alive in this world, whereas restricted in the other by disease and weakness. And though these wooden dummies proved to be no challenging foes they were apt partners whose company Yuuki enjoyed whenever released from the duty of being a clearer.
"It's not a surprise that I would find you here at this spot at 6 AM in the morning," said a voice, whose owner Yuuki had failed to notice arrive in the training zone.
She stopped amidst delivering a blow, startled, almost dropping her sword. She smiled when she realized who it was that had spoken.
"Good morning, Asuna-nee!" she said.
"Morning, Yuuki." The second-in-command of the Knights of the Blood Oath responded with a smile of her own. "You should've been more aware so that I didn't startled you. That could have meant your death in a real fight."
"Yeah hehe, that's something I've been trying to work on lately." Yuuki dusted off the dirt accumulated on her during her training session.
"Peripheral vision is the key. If you only focus on the target in front of you, you might get caught off-guard by something else," Asuna explained.
"I bet you use your peripheral vision a lot to check out a certain black-haired boy, don't you, Asuna-nee?" Yuuki said, flashing that infamous grin of hers.
A blush came on the Flash's face. "I don't know what you're talking about. Shouldn't you get back to training?"
Yuuki giggled at her superior's embarrassment. She turned to face off the dummies once more, but then stopped and faced Asuna again. "Won't you train with me, Asuna-nee?"
"I'm not in gear."
Whereas Asuna was only wearing a simple set of tunic and trousers, Yuuki was donned in the full harness typical of a KoB member; cuirass, gauntlets, sabatons, greaves, all in the shades of the red and white colour of the guild. It was her belief that one should train fully armoured in order to accustomed to its weight when moving.
"That's alright I can take mine off and we'll have a duel. It's been forever since I last had one," she said.
Asuna paused to think and then walked over to the weapons rack, picking up a waster of her own—a lighter, straight wooden sword. That told Yuuki of her answer and she began unequipping her armour, leaving only a set of purple chemise and brown breeches. They took up positions opposite each other on the training field, which was half the size of a football pitch. The KoB had to spend quite a sum of Cols in order to obtain the compound for the guild's headquarters.
"Are you sure you don't want to warm up first, Asuna-nee?" Yuuki asked.
"Battle waits for no one, Yuuki. I'm always as ready as I can get," the Flash replied.
A duel request popped up in front of Yuuki; it was to half-health. Since they were only using wooden blades and not actual steel, there were in no risk of accidentally killing each other and thus were in no need to adhere to the first strike duel rule. She hit the Accept button and a sixty second timer materialized at the top right of her HUD.
She dropped into her guard, longsword forward, while her feet in a semi-wide stance. She watched her opponent, who adopted a guard with the blade stretching forward while the other shoulder hung back, hips facing perpendicular to her target. The look on the Flash's face was one of utter focus. Knowing Asuna, Yuuki fully expected her to take this fight seriously. There was not the slightest hint of doubt in those hazel eyes of hers.
Three.
Two.
One.
The countdown hit zero and a loud blaring sound signaled the start of the duel. Yuuki rushed forward, reaching with her blade. The parry from Asuna was swift and the riposte came right after. Not having fully committed to the previous attack, Yuuki dodged it easily. The beginning stages of any fight was to prod for weaknesses before going in.
She stepped right and cut at the head. Asuna pullbacked, her sandals scraped against the ground. The swords clashed and Yuuki pressed forward. She swatted aside her opponent's blade after noticing its weak position, grasping for the opportunity to gain first blood. She stamped forward, heavy blows swinging to the desperate parries of Asuna. Then Asuna sidestepped and when Yuuki turned to face her, the light of the morning sun blinded her. That moment of distraction was enough for her opponent, and a sharp counter thrust took her in the throat. She stumbled back and Asuna struck two more times before she managed to roll out of range.
Her health bar had dipped by a small amount. Had it been a real blade, the consequences would have been direr.
"You didn't use a sword skill there, did you?" Yuuki asked.
"If it had been a sword skill you would have seen it a mile away."
"It was so fast I couldn't see it coming."
Asuna smiled. "That's because you tunneled vision on hitting me so much, you didn't see where I was leading you. Like I said, peripheral vision is the key," she said. "Plus, they don't call me the Flash for no reason."
Yuuki grinned. "Then I'll show you why they call me Absolute Sword."
She struck again, this time more cautious of committing too much. Asuna must have realized her tendency to rush in and had used that against her. Yuuki reminded herself that this wasn't Godfree she was facing. The use of such tactics which she had not even think to use made it no wonder how her opponent came to be the Knights of the Blood Oath's chief strategist. If Yuuki wanted to win, she was going to need to be a lot more patient.
Perhaps sensing the younger player's hesitation, Asuna rushed forward. Her blade—a blur—forced Yuuki to backpedal. A sense of panic rose within her as she bided her time to make a counter. But there was no slowing of the attacks, the Flash's form perfect. Blow after blow came, slowly whittling away her health bar by the miniscule until, so fed up with being on the defensive, she barreled forward, her shoulder catching Asuna in the abdominal, knocking the wind out of her. She threw an uppercut that connected to the side.
Asuna rolled out of the way, now being the one of the defensive. Yuuki followed up, struck hard and fast. But a swift parry and riposted forced her to retreat. She had not expected the parry; the Flash having regained her feet much quicker than she thought.
"How's that for a little payback?" Yuuki said, grinning.
"That tackle took me by surprise," Asuna admitted.
"Yeah, I figured playing cautious wasn't my fighting style so I just kicked it all out the window. Worked out great, didn't it?"
"We'll see," said Asuna and struck again. Their blades met and scraped against each other, locked at the crossguard. "We have some spectators by the way it seems."
Yuuki saw a small group of other KoB members gathered on the outskirt of the field watching them, pointing and gesturing. "We must have woken them with all this noise hehe."
She broke the deadlock, let her longsword soaked the attack of the smaller sword with its weight, then cut low. Asuna deflected it and struck high. Yuuki ducked, used her momentum to roll forward, and performed a backcut. A maneuver like that was easily countered by a fighter as experienced as Asuna, but Yuuki had intended it as a feint. She kicked out at the legs, tripped her, and did a spinning slash. The blow crushed through the feeble parry, but only managed to connect to Asuna's arm rather than the head where she had intended.
The spin brought Yuuki off-balance, and the Flash was quick to capitalize. She got to her feet, grabbed Yuuki's sword-hand, and hammered the hilt of her weapon into her face. Disoriented, Yuuki threw out a punch of her own and by sheer luck landed. The hit staggered Asuna, and both players used this opportunity to regroup and reset, retreating and leaving some distance between them.
More KoB members had showed up to the field and were in heavy debate about who would win. There were chants for the Flash, but they did not dwarf the chants for Absolute Sword as well. Yuuki smiled at the thought.
"Let's give them a show, shall we?" Yuuki said.
"A show of your defeat, yes." Asuna darted forward.
Yuuki parried the lunge, checked herself before lunging as well. She laughed when that attack was deflected. "I see you're very confident in yourself, Asuna-nee."
"Do you usually talk this much when fighting?"
A quick thrust didn't give Yuuki the time to respond. She sidestepped to her right, directly into Asuna's roundhouse kick that caught her in the head. She tumbled, got a palm on the ground and pushed, handspringing back to her feet. Cheers erupted from the spectating crowd, but Yuuki tuned them out for she had to focus on her opponent. At this point of the duel, Asuna had scored more hits and while Yuuki had dealt a fair sum of damage herself, she doubted that if things went on the way it did she would win.
They circled each other for a moment before Yuuki rushed in, longsword swinging. Asuna ducked under, blocked the knee Yuuki threw next, but then yelped in surprise as the younger girl grappled her. Being of a higher STR build, Yuuki had the advantage if it came to a brawl. She dropped her longsword, locked Asuna's weapon-arm, twisted it till she released her blade, and then pommeled the Flash's face with a series of punches.
Asuna threw herself to the ground, taking Yuuki with her. The impact loosened the armbar, and Asuna used this opportunity to get free. She rolled her lower body upwards, kicking Yuuki in the abdominal with both legs. Yuuki rolled off her and saw Asuna scramble for her weapon. She did the same.
But the Flash was quicker.
Just as Yuuki picked up her longsword, she saw Asuna's sword flashed a bright pink. A Sword Skill. There was no time to retreat. The first three thrusts came at unnatural speed, hitting Yuuki in the chest as she desperately brought her guard up to defend. She stumbled back, but then realized the combo was not over. Two slashes followed at her now exposed legs for her guard was up high. Yuuki fell to her knees. A jab to her abdominal and a jab to her head came next. Her defense was all but shattered at this point and the blows connected without impunity. The final strike—a powerful thrust to the chest—brought her health bar below the halfway point.
The crowd—which had by now grown to probably include everyone that was present in the KoB headquarter compound—erupted in thunderous applause and cheers. Yuuki stared at the bright flashing display in the air above her, longsword hanging limp by her side.
WINNER: ASUNA
The realization that she had lost settled, and a sense of disappointment welled up in her. But then that sense was gone, pushed to the back of her mind like it was nothing, for winning was not what she'd cared about. She was just happy to have faced a worthy opponent, one who was stronger than she was. If there was one thing that Yuuki had learned in her young life, it was that there would always be defeats; it was how you take those defeats that determined how victorious you'll be.
She skipped her way towards Asuna, a bright smile on her face. "That was so fun, Asuna-nee! Let's do it again some time."
The Flash responded with a smile of her own. "Yes, we should. You really did force me to use everything I got."
Yuuki tilted her head, pleased with the compliment. "That last Sword Skill you used. I've never seen anything like it! A 8-hit Combo!"
Asuna laughed embarrassedly. "Yeah, I've just recently learnt it. You really were something to have made me used it."
"My last gamble to bring you to submission didn't quite work, but I'm happy to lose to something as amazing as that," Yuuki said with a laugh. She wondered if there was Sword Skill that had a higher hit-combo than the one Asuna performed. "I guess I've had enough training for today."
The two of them then headed towards the edge of the field. As they approached the awaiting crowd, Yuuki saw players exchanging money probably through bets they had placed on who would win. There were some disappointed face, but overall everyone seemed glad to have witnessed such an epic fight. They shouted their approval as both she and Asuna reached them. Yuuki flashed a large grin at them, and was quick to receive pats on the back despite her defeat.
"I think it's safe to say we have two of the most talented fighters in all of Aincrad," said one tall man. He had grey hair, but a strong chiseled face and he commanded the attention of the others as he spoke. The KoB members roared their agreement.
"Thank you, sir. It means a lot for you to say that," said Asuna, clearly embarrassed by the compliment from the guild leader.
"It was a contrast of two distinct fighting styles. Asuna, with her careful methodical approach, and Yuuki, with her aggressive upfront reckless abandon," Heathcliff said. "In the battlefield, there's a place for both; a cautious style to minimalize losses and an assertive one to create opportunities out of thin air. You two have done great. I hope the others here will follow your examples."
Another round of applause came. Yuuki, ever the jovial one, basked in it with glee. She turned to Asuna. "Thank you for that, Asuna-nee. I see I still have much to learn from you. Hehe."
"And I from you too," Asuna said. "Don't ever change, Yuuki. Not for anyone or anything that Kayaba throws at us in this world."
Yuuki threw her arms around the older girl, wrapping it tightly. The move surprised Asuna, but after a moment of hesitation, she returned the embrace. And to everyone who had been watching, they seemed like sisters.
Author's Notes: The main premise of this idea was to repeat the duel between Yuuki and Asuna in SAO, where Asuna the Flash would be at her prime. Personally, I hated what became of Asuna's character after the SAO arc, so I sought to bring her back to her strongest point which was in the death game. As you can tell by how this one-shot played out, I personally think Asuna in her prime would be able to beat Absolute Sword. Asuna, to me, is the type of person who if they have a sure goal in mind would be able to focus solely on that goal and nothing could stop them. In SAO, Asuna's goal was to complete the game and she has strive to be strongest there is as a result.
Anyway, enough about Asuna. About Yuuki, what I was trying to portray her here is simply as a girl who somehow is happy to find happiness in a world of danger and death. She doesn't let disappointment get her down easily and always has a positive attitude. This is true to canon as she is seen as always happy despite the disease she has. Overall, it was fun writing this story with her in it, and I've got two more one-shots planned out. They're not set in SAO, but rather in ALO and the real world. Won't spoil anything else other than that.
One promise I'd like to make though is that I'll update within the next four days. I've lately been learning how to set and meet self-imposed deadlines, so this is a good opportunity for me keep to that discipline.
Hope you enjoyed this short story, do review if you please.