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Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online. Reki Kawahara does!

[Twelfth Floor Dungeon: Hidden Passage]

Kirito padded silently through the darkness relying on touch and instinct more than sight. His heavy boots had been replaced with soft leather ones in order to minimize any sound he might make. Behind him he could hear the scuffing of boots against the hard stone, the muffled chink of armor, and the low breathing of nearly fifty front liners. Closing his eyes he breathed in deeply smelling only cold stone and absolute darkness, still he felt something was off. Maybe it was just the bleak darkness getting to him, moving a good ten yards ahead of the main group and there shielded lanterns Kirito felt as if he was in another world. With a silent sigh he reminded himself it had been his idea to take point, the element surprise would make their plan much easier after all.

Yesterday's meeting had lasted well past dark despite its early start time. During that time most of it hadn't been devoted to strategy but a moral debate. Most agreed, Kirito amongst them, that the combat power of the assembled group would vastly out match that of Laughing Coffin's. Even if the suspected number of enemies was a bit higher than what they were going to attack with, when it came down to it those that fought on the front lines had to be strong or would have died long ago. The problem wasn't whether they could win or their tactics and strategies. It was how to win without killing their enemies. When it came right down to it, those that fought the guardians and monsters of Aincrad had never had to simply subdue their targets. All their experiences, tactics, and skills were those that were the most efficient for killing their enemy.

But this time they wouldn't be fighting monsters, and no matter how human some of them seemed in the back of everyone's mind they were just monsters. So they would need to disarm or incapacitate the enemy, an enemy that only needed to kill them. In the end the debate was settled with a single rule, voted on by the majority. All attempts should be made to defeat Laughing Coffin without killing them, but should there prove no other means... Lethal force would be used without judgment on those fighting. Even after the vote though, arguments continued late into the night.

Kirito was on the fence in the debate, he didn't want to take another person's life. But he also agreed that the Laughing Coffin had to be stopped. Finally, he voted yes while mentally promising himself he wouldn't let it come to that. He would find a way to subdue or disarm his opponents. Pushing back his thoughts on the previous day's events he returned all his attention to the path before him.

Laughing Coffin's hideout was located within the dungeon area of one of the lower floors, meaning the monsters themselves were of no real threat to the gathered front liners. In fact, this floor had been cleared so quickly it wasn't a surprise that a hidden safe area existed outside the knowledge of the rest of Aincrad. One that apparently was discovered by the bandit group and converted into their own personal hide out.

[]

Asuna strained her eyes looking ahead into the darkness, she knew he was up there somewhere but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't spot him. Beside her Klein, who was barely visible in the weak light that escaped the shielded lanterns, whispered "Don't worry. I doubt even his own shadow could catch him if he didn't want to be caught." She nodded to the katana wielder giving them a thankful smile for the reassurance, but still resumed her vigil.

Had she not been looking so hard for the black clad swordsman even she wouldn't have noticed the black blur charge out of the darkness directly for them. Before she could even cry out the blur was on them, a heavy shield wielder in the lead noticed it at the last second raising his shield in defense.

Kirito leaped up, planting one foot on the raised shield before springing over the group yelling out "Ambush!" Even as he cried out sections of the stone behind the group fell forward with echoing crashes, dark garbed people flooding out into the hall behind the group. The narrow passage prevented the heavy phalanx in front from being able to shift into the back. Unprepared the lightly armored attackers in back, mostly wielding spears that would prove of little use once forced into close combat, would have suffered frightening casualties due to the ambush. Had a black clad figure not landed between them and their attackers, twin blades making a crisp sound as they cut through the darkness.

Kirito parried several attackers only to be forced to dodge a slender blade that passed so close to his face he could smell the acrid poison coating it. Again and again the sound of steel against steel echoed as behind him covers were raised from lanterns and the group scrambled to reform. Kirito caught one of the attackers in a back handed blow using the flat of his sword, blood and teeth arced free to sound against the passage's stone walls. Despite this the attacker only gave a bloody gap toothed grin before charging right back in. Kirito soon found himself being pushed back, every attack he blocked or parried was instantly replaced by another. Worry was just beginning to creep into his consciousness when the reorganized front liners rushed in to join the fray.

The sudden rush looked as if it was going to overpower the Laughing Coffin members when the thunderous sound of stone crashing into stone echoed from behind. Along the path that had originally been the groups frontlines more sections of the passageway fell away, revealing a second rush of attackers. The heavy shields meant to provide a line of protection for the groups lighter armored members had been shifted to the back now leaving them once again exposed. It seems the element of surprise had not been on their side, but confident in their preparations they now found themselves surrounded and hard pressed.

But despite the sudden change in tactics and being forced to fight at a disadvantage the lead group members were one and all seasoned fighters. Used to adapting to changes in a fight on the spot they rallied and the Laughing Coffin quickly found themselves being pushed back on both fronts, the superior skill of their opponents leveling the playing field almost instantly. For a time it looked as if the battle would be over shortly.

Kirito locked swords with his opponent before twirling his blade deftly disarming him, only to have another fighter charge in forcing him to abandon the first and give him time to recover. Beside him Klein in a stunning display of swordsmanship managed to disarm two enemies at once only to be left confused as to what to do next. Before he could decide another set of fighters engaged him allowing the first pair to simply recover their weapons. Things were turning out much as people had feared as the lead group members easily over powered the criminals only to find themselves unable to subdue them. Behind Kirito and to the left a member of the lead group gave out a pained cry. A Laughing Coffin member was pressed chest to chest with him twisting his dagger in the man's gut while laughing manically. The lead group member's sword was in position against the other mans neck but it seemed he had hesitated to finish the strike, a mistake the criminal didn't make.

All through the group similar situations began appearing, as the front liners found themselves hesitating at critical moments. Kirito spotted Klein back peddling rapidly with the tip of his katana pressed against the chest of an unarmed man who was laughing as he walked towards him. Bloody mouth in a grin, the man Kirito had struck earlier appeared before him unarmed "What's the matter, afraid to stain your hands with blood? Don't tell me all you little kiddies came out to play without thinking this through. If you're not going to fight back properly just hurry up and die!" With a laugh he lunged towards Kirito arms out stretched as if to strangle him.

Kirito's grip on his sword tightened, his arm moving on its own ready to impale the person attacking him. Within his heart he repeated again and again, He is a Murderer. There is no other choice. Spinning away Kirito dodged the man before fleeing into a group of armed fighters, his swords flashing in the flickering light as he busied himself with disarming his new opponents all the time chased by wild laughter.

[]

Breathing hard Kirito broke away from his latest engagement and finding a moments peace he scanned the fight still raging. There had been a number of the brilliant white flashes signifying a death, but from what Kirito could see the majority of them had been front liners. Six were missing just with his quick search, and still the Laughing Coffin continued to fight. With manic laughter and taunts, many of them unarmed, they were rushing around simply teasing the hesitant fighters. In the dim light a flash of white against the darkness brought Kirito's attention to Asuna struggling to keep several men at bay. With a series of thrust worthy of her namesake she disarmed both men and delivered numerous shallow wounds across their bodies, but instead of delivering finishing blows she stumbling back showing her fatigue from the drawn out fight.

One of the men still wearing a sickening smile despite his bleeding wounds picked up his sword casually as if he had simply dropped it in practice. Eyes wide he crouched down before lunging towards the exhausted girl with a wild cry. Asuna tried to raise her rapier to block, tried to spin away but her exhausted body reacted far too slow. She stared into the feverously bright eyes of the man charging her, the man that was going to kill her. In that moment when death seemed certain a single word popped into her mind, Kirito.

Darkness engulfed her vision wiping out the man's haunting grin in a flash as she heard the sickening sound of steel slicing through flesh to come to a sudden stop. Looking up past Kirito's black clad back that had suddenly filled her vision, her eyes locked with the already glossy eyes of her would be murderer. Kirito twisted the blades impaling the man leaning against him, his dark eyes hard. With an almost gleeful grin the man whispered happily in Kirito's ear so that only the three of them could hear "Murderer." Before brilliant white light engulfed him.

Clapping the gap toothed fighter Kirito had fled from gave out a cat call "Woo look who joined the murder club. Look out fellows he might actually be a threat." Others members of the group, who previously had been busy taunting their own opponents, added in their own mocking laughter and cries of welcome aboard.

Grinning wildly, his accusing eyes locked with Kirito's hard gaze as he taunted once more "Murder..." his taunt was ended with a sickening thud as his head landed beside his body. Kirito, eyes hard with resolve, danced through the small battlefield like a ghost. One fighter raised his sword in challenge only to find his hand gone, replaced by a bleeding stub shortly before a sword split his face from chin to forehead. A blade thrust into the side of another's knee causing him to fall with cries of agony that seemed to shock the Laughing Coffin members out of their stupor.

They rushed the dangerous swordsman from all sides still laughing and grinning in their own madness, but soon severed limbs and flashes of brilliant white light dampened their spirits. Other of the front liners finding their own resolve in Kirito's wild dance of death joined in the fray with grim faces. Being pushed back by the no longer timid fighters the Laughing Coffin seemed to have lost its laughter. It was only a few minutes before the first of the criminals turned to flee.

They found themselves frozen by a cold voice and a terrifying murderous aura "Don't run. I'll cut down anyone that runs. If you want to live surrender now. All others. I. Will. Kill." Kirito's cold hard glare seemed to find the eyes of all gathered. For a moment no one on either side moved before a terrified Laughing Coffin member turned and flung himself down the corridor in a mad dash.

He barely made it two steps before a blur of darkness passed him by, in its wake the fleeing man's body split apart into several sections before being engulfed in light. All eyes now settled on the Black Swordsman standing against a backdrop of darkness that seemed to twist and seethe behind him. The eyes they found watching them seemed like windows into the abyss, cold, hungry, waiting. The clatter of steel on stone echoed through the silent passageway as the first weapon was dropped. Soon a cacophony of sound erupted as countless weapons struck the floor. The battle was finally over.

[]

Kirito brought up the rear as all those gathered, friend and foe, made their way through a corridor crystal set to take them deep within the Black Iron Citadel. As the gate closed behind him he immediately turned and headed down one of the side passages leaving the actual imprisonment of the remaining Laughing Coffin members to the others. He made it around the corner before he collapsed to his knees, his entire body shaking. As he gazed down at blood soaked hands, both literal and figurative, he whispered "I had no choice, It had to be done." Again and again he whispered those words as if they were a mantra to stave off the self loathing that threatened to engulf him. But the words couldn't stop the flow of hot tears that made their way down his cheeks.

No matter what he said it could not change the fact, he had taken the lives of others. They may have been the lives of murderers but in the end it changed nothing, the weight of his actions pulled at his heart. No amount of justice, or righteous cause could remove the feel of his blade as it cut through another person, erase the look of horror on a dying mans face. No in the end no matter what pretty words you used to justify it, killing was still just killing.

The sound of soft footfalls closing in on him tore him from his self destructive train of thought. But when he tried to rise and flee he found no strength left in his legs, as if the burden he now carried was too much for him to lift. When foot falls came to a halt directly behind Kirito who prayed the person would simply pass him by. After a moment's pause Asuna knelt beside Kirito and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, offering what comfort she could. "Thank you for saving me. I-I'm sorry. If I hadn't hesitated... you wouldn't have had to..." Her voice carried with it tears of her own and Kirito shook his head to stop her from continuing.

"It had to be done. Better my hands be stained than yours." He did his best to give her a reassuring smile before moving to stand up again. Dropping back to his knees hard Asuna was forced to catch him in order to keep him from falling face forward. She stared wide eyed at the hand she pulled back from his body, a hand that was slick with fresh blood.

"Kirito?" Asuna's panicked voice speaking his name in a pleading fashion was the last thing he remembered. before darkness took him.

AN: Thanks for the follows, favorites, and just reading my story.

NarutoHarem123: I wouldn't say its pointless, although as the writer I'm awfully bias. It is true that so far I haven't changed the cannon story all that much. This is mostly due to, and this may not be a good reason, the fact that I liked this part of the series the most. But, that said the part I do want/plan to change is what happened after they leave Aincrad. I considered just starting from that point, but since I did want to change some of the core stuff, most notably it not being a video game, I couldn't exactly do that. Its quiet possible I could have come up with all new stuff that lead to the mostly same ending to continue from but I was so focused on getting to where I wanted to be I honestly just didn't think of it. In the end all I can say is I'm sorry you didn't enjoy my story. I'll keep your review in mind when I give my hand at another story. Til then I'll continue the lay out I had already planned, as I stated from the beginning I'm new at this and will hopefully only get better. I do appreciate you taking the time to give feed back, I can't fix things if I don't know they're broken.

Anyways, as always, hope you enjoyed reading and if you spot any terrifying typos/grammar sins or have any suggestions let me know and I'll try to do better in the future.