A rather short chapter, which isn't ideal after the long wait. But if you've been checking out my profile, you might understand why. So many new things to write, so little time. Onwards!

Chapter 26

The Promise I will keep

The roar of the crowd told me the end of the match had come. A great sense of panic was beginning to settle in.

This was it. The moment I had been waiting for.

I rolled my shoulders back as I stood up. Almost on que, the instructor came in to collect me. I grabbed the sword that was resting against the bench.

Last time I had faced Kimiko, it was still a hard duel. The way she very quickly adjusted to having no blade in her hand to go immediately on the counterattack. And she had had three years to hone her skills since then, if we counted the year before we got to the Swordcraft Academy. I had seen the white flash of her Sword Art, but not the Art itself. Yet she had seen the one move I had up my sleeve…several times. Plus, she had a grasp on Sacred Arts, something she could easily put to use.

A lot was stacked against me. But I had to give it my best shot.

She stood on the other end of the hall, a bright smile on her face. It told me she had won her duel against Aldon. My heart already began beating faster, almost ready to pump the adrenaline into my veins.

She looked ready to go again, her smile confident and her gaze focused, even with the sweat shining on her head. Everything about her said she had been waiting for this moment for ages.

I won't let you down then.

I took my stance and calmed myself, not letting the adrenaline take over. I saw her mirror my actions, the air thick with tension. I heard a voice saying our names, but it was so faint that I was barely able to hear it. To me, the only things that existed in the world at that moment were me, her and our swords.

"Begin!"

I kicked off the ground. It only took one step before we were both in each other's face. I went for a swing at her shoulder, which Kimiko answered with the exact same move. I leaned my left shoulder back, her blade passing where it used to be. My sword also met no resistance. I quickly swept my leg around to take any further forward momentum out of my body, and continued the arc of missed swing. Surprisingly, my sword was forced into a lock as both of us had executed the exact same set of moves in perfect harmony.

I glanced up at Kimiko who had the biggest grin on her face that I had ever seen. It drew a smile out of me. Those five seconds had obviously communicated that I was taking this match seriously. After all, she was the only one who understood the Beyond Style as much as I did, so the fact we both had executed that combo perfectly, and our minds becoming one told us that we were both giving this fight our all.

We broke the lock and took a step back. Kimiko bent her knees and held her sword alongside her body. Her blade began to glow white. I didn't recognise this move at all as part of the Beyond Style, preparing myself for whatever this move was. However, a quick search of my memory drew from that one time I saw Kimiko training with Lilith. I didn't know the beginning of this skill. That's not going to stop me.

Kimiko leapt to the right and then left, trying to throw me off where she was trying to hit. But the fact her sword was pointed at my chest betrayed her intentions. She let out a small yell and thrust three strikes at my chest. I was taken aback by the speed of the thrusts, but raised my guard to block them. Suddenly her head dropped down as she aimed a slash at my knees. I had enough time to bend my back, quick enough for my spine to protest, and lift my feet above the strike. Her blade came for another strike at my arm which I was using to keep my body from hitting the ground. I pressed all my weight into my wrist and pushed off the ground, throwing myself away. My memory finally came into use, as she charged towards me, aiming two strikes at my centre mass. I stood up straight to meet them, swiping my sword across my body for the first hit and then sidestepping the second. She flew past me, her smile a little faded from disappointment, before coming to stop a few inches out of my reach.

I went in to slash at her open back, when she turned, her sword sparkling white still. My surprise at the extra hit almost made me forget to defend. I brought my sword up into the path of the strike. The tip of her sword smashed into the flat of mine, the sheer force behind the stab sending me flying back across the polished floor.

Me and my back groaned in pain. I got up, seeing Kimiko frozen in place, her sword stretched out in front of her in the same position as when she struck me. She finally relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. I looked down at my sword and saw the blade was cracked at the impact point. It wasn't enough to break the blade, therefore declaring the victory, but enough that one strike in the area of that crack would snap the sword in two. Which meant I had to adapt.

I smiled, confident that I still had a chance of victory. This confidence didn't seem to faze Kimiko, only boost her enjoyment of this fight.

"Why are you smiling so much?"

"I'm just enjoying the moment."

I couldn't tell if it was a trick of the light, or something triggered in my memory, but for a brief moment, I thought I saw her white hair flash a bright yellow. It was strangely familiar, and made my heart skip a beat.

I never want this moment to end.

That was it…

In the open fields, it was just me and her, trading a few strikes of our blades. We weren't even trying to hit each other, just taking the time to enjoy each other's company. Her bright smile…more delicate and precious than the rarest Flower…

The right side of my head began to hurt again. Before, it made me stop trying to remember. This time however, I fought through the pain. I wanted to find out where it led, to see what caused this sensation in my heart to manifest. I prepared for the one Sword Art I knew she didn't know. The one she wanted me to teach her. I stretched my left leg out in front of me, bent my right. My blade was already glowing gold by the time it sat at shoulder height.

Kimiko smiled as she copied the exact same motion as I did. It wasn't a perfect mirror, but it was enough for the blade to glow. Not the golden glow that shone on my blade, but a soft purple. The same colour as my uniform.

I unleashed the power building up, launching myself at her. She kicked off the ground, both of us meeting each other in the middle. Our blades clashed-

My right eye was suddenly covered in pitch black and felt extremely hot. I blinked a few times, seeing the blood covering Kimiko's face. She looked at me, the smile gone and replaced with pure horror.

"What's going…"

I felt all feeling in my body leave me as the rest of my vision was replaced with white dots, slowly connecting to form a veil of brightness.

"Infinity Error 5. Ejecting…ejecting…error. Cannot eject. STL unstable. Fluctlight collapse imminent."

What…? Wait…I've heard something like this before…

"Emergency procedure 9. Initiating…initiating…complete."

"Is he okay…?"

"What even happened…?"

I slowly opened my left eye. My right one refused to open for whatever reason. I could feel two arms wrapped around me. I looked over and saw Kimiko sitting next to me, tears in her eyes. Just behind her, I could see Luna crying on someone's shoulder.

I reached up to my right eye, but someone grabbed my wrist. "Don't touch it." The stern voice of Ms Azurica came from my right ear. "All of you need to back away. Elite Disciple Kimiko, I need you to let go."

I wanted to open my mouth to speak to Kimiko, only barely being able to see her face which was currently drenched in blood, to tell her I was alright…even though that was a lie. The right side of my head was absolutely killing me. However, I couldn't draw the strength to speak. Eventually she looked up and saw my eye was open. It was enough to convince her to let go.

At the edge of my vision, I saw a green glow appear. "System Call. Generate Luminous Element. Reconstruct Lost Organ." Suddenly, the emptiness of my right eye socket was filled. "Try to open your eye."

I slowly began to pull apart my eyelids, glad the blood hadn't dried. I opened my mouth to thank Ms Azurica, but once again, I couldn't speak.

"Someone help take him to the infirmary." Ms Azurica said to the crowd.

"I've got him." A male voice that I didn't recognise…or did I? I couldn't tell. I looked to see a guy with jet black hair and dark eyes, wearing the trainee uniform of the Sword Mastery Academy, crouching down next to me. "Could you grab his left side?" He said to Kimiko, who nodded. Both Kimiko and the boy took one of my arms and lifted me up. My legs felt dead, almost collapsing under me as I stood there, but with the two supports at my side, I was able to make progress.

We were slow, but we made it to a small room that I could see was hardly ever used. I was laid on a bed. Kimiko looked at me, a worried look on her face.

"What's your name?" The black-haired boy asked Kimiko.

"Kimiko."

"Are you two friends?" She nodded. "I'm sorry this happened."

Kimiko was shaking. "I don't even know what happened. One moment he was fine, and then suddenly…" Her voice became a squeak as fresh tears began to run down her face.

Even though I couldn't speak, I reached out and grabbed her hand. It seemed to calm her down a little, her giving me a weak smile.

The black-haired boy was staring at my right eye, almost like there was something still wrong with it. Without a mirror though, I couldn't tell exactly what it was. I wanted to ask who he was. But almost like he knew my question, he smiled and gave me the answer. "I'm Kirito."

Kirito-

Ms Azurica walked in suddenly. "Elite Disciple Kimiko. Primary Trainee Kirito. I need to ask you both to leave now." Her face looked grim. "An Integrity Knight has arrived. He's come to take Elite Disciple Light to the Central Cathedral."

I know. There's a lot of questions that need answering. Most of them will likely be answered next chapter. But damn, that was so freaking awesome to finally write. What's exactly happened to Light? Why did his right eye explode when he's a Real Worlder? Why has an Integrity Knight shown up despite the fact he hasn't broken the Taboo Index? All will be revealed soon.

Also, a little titbit, the move Kimiko pulled off was Star Splash, the skill from SAO. She thinks she's made it up all by herself, but maybe something gave her a little push towards discovering that Sword Skill.

Reviews:

blackbutterfly1313: I did love making that fight more creative. I almost feel like this fight was kind of quick in comparison. I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter though :)

So...an Integrity Knight has arrived. Who is it? Well, you'll have to find out soon enough. Though...it's kind of sad. Light's never going to fulfil his promise to beat Golgorosso, or to fight Eldrie. That certainly would've have been interesting fights. But unfortunately, Golgorosso never made it to the Four Empire Unification Tournament, so that disappointment might've stung worse.

Either way, I hope you all enjoyed, and I look forward to seeing you all in the next one. Until next time, Stay Cool.