So much for my good feeling.

As she watched her latest opponent walk away, the girl known as «Zekken» couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Today, she had arrived at her spot early and there were already a few people lining up to fight her. Naturally, she assumed that they wanted to challenge her without having to lose in front of a crowd.

As she did every day, she had mowed through them with little effort.

Maybe you were wrong about today, Aiko, she thought of her sister.

Thinking back to all her challengers, she was starting to think that maybe she should have invited one of the girls that fought her. In spite of their losses, two of them had fought masterfully, at a level that had exceeded anyone that she had faced… but she couldn't help but find an issue with each of them that made her decide that it was better to find somebody else.

The blonde Sylph with the big chest was certainly powerful, but she seemed a bit too rigid with her fighting style.

The beautiful, blue-haired Undine just seemed like she was trying to prove something.

Still, it would've been nice to get to know them.

Deciding to take a break, she walked behind the giant tree, out of sight of the crowd and flew into its branches.

And as she did so, her eyes focused on an arriving duo consisting of a Spriggan dressed entirely in black and a green and white garbed Sylph.

"So this is the place?" Kirito asked his sister.

"This is the place," Leafa replied. "I can't tell if we're early or late," she commented as she looked around, trying to locate Zekken.

"Hmph," Kirito snorted as he sat down. "Well if a swordsman says they'll be somewhere, they'll be there. That's just the way of the sword."

Leafa rolled her eyes and grinned as if she understood something as she sat down next to him.

"Good to know that you remember so much from our kendo days."

He smiled at her, enjoying the open way she spoke with him. He scooted over to press his shoulder against hers.

"So what's Zekken like anyways?"

"Zekken's the strongest player that I've ever fought. Far beyond anyone or anything any of us have ever faced." He knew that voice and it wasn't his sister's.

He didn't get up or turn around as he heard two pairs of feet land behind him.

"Hello, Asuna," he greeted the Undine without sparing her a glance.

"Hello, «Black Swordsman»," she gruffly greeted back.

He couldn't help but groan when she said that.

"You know that nobody calls me that anymore." And I wish they'd all forget it. He couldn't like that nickname anymore, not after somebody ruined it for him.

"I think I deserve to be able to call you that."

He rolled his eyes as he got up. Quickly psyching himself up, he turned to the group who arrived.

In front of him was a breathtakingly beautiful «Undine» girl with long, waist-length light-blue hair and crystal-clear eyes of the same colour.

Still, he couldn't help but imagine them as a beautiful shade of orange, just as he remembered her from back in SAO – «The Lightning Flash».

On one side of her was a freckled «Leprechaun» with pink hair who glared at him with her pink eyes.

"And now I'm surrounded by more of Zekken's victims."

Asuna gave him an annoyed look.

"Joke all you want, but I bet a month of my cooking that you'll lose to her."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he snarked. He couldn't help but wince at himself. It was always difficult for him to speak to people in general… but talking with Asuna was especially difficult.

"I can't believe that this is the guy you like," he heard the Leprechaun girl whisper under her breath.

He didn't spare her a look… partially because he agreed with her…

Asuna nudged her friend in the ribs with an embarrassed expression.

"Well in the interest of getting to spend a month eating your amazing food," he said to Asuna, "why don't you girls tell me about Zekken?"

The girls, including Leafa, looked between each other before answering.

"Zekken's an «Imp»," Asuna answered first. "The weapon used was a one-handed sword, kind of like yours, but it's almost as thin as my rapier here." She tapped the weapon she kept sheathed at her waist.

"Also Zekken is fast," Leafa added enthusiastically. "Like REALLY fast! The normal attacks used on me were nearly as fast as sword skills! My eyes could barely follow Zekken's actions!" She stopped and looked at him with a look of realization. "In fact, I'd almost say it was like fighting you, Kazu." Kirito and Leafa had duelled several times in ALO. The virtual world was the only place where he had a ghost of a chance of beating her… Back in the real world, she would curb-stomp him at kendo without issue or mercy.

He grimaced at the info. Contemplatively, he put a hand on his cheek. "If even my incredible sister had issues following Zekken's movements, I may not have a chance…" Still… he couldn't stop his face from morphing into a grin. "It's been a while since I had some real competition."

That earned him a whack on each of his shoulders from two different girls.

"Anyways…" Asuna said hesitantly. "Try to be careful." She of all people should know how «careful» he was. "Leafa is right. There was something about the way Zekken fought… it really was a lot like fighting you." Her eyes turned away hesitantly. "And I don't mean that Zekken was just another super addicted player…"

"…"

What was there to say about something like that? Even if Zekken is powerful, nobody is unbeatable.

"Thanks," he spoke to his first partner. "I'll do my best."

He didn't say anymore as he turned away from his friends. As they waited for the time to come, Kirito went through several strategies in his head. At the same time, the fingers of his left hand wrapped around a «Record Crystal» that he kept hanging from a string attached to his belt. The crystal was something that did not originate in the world of ALO and it was used up over a year ago. Still, it brought him comfort and calmed him whenever he touched it in his avatar's virtual hands or even looked at it.

Before they knew it, a crowd had arrived. Evidently, they were here to challenge Zekken or to watch the duels that would occur.

Ignoring them, Kirito kept clutching the crystal as he began to hum the tune that it once contained to relax himself before the battle up ahead.

By the time he got to the end of the song, the crowd began to stir and cheer.

Looking up from the ground, he saw a flash of purple shoot out of the tree.

Gracefully landing on her feet was a girl with beautiful, dark purple hair, fixed with a red headband. Like a boss in an RPG performing its animation, she energetically spun around and flashed a V sign to the gathered players.

As soon as he saw her, he was completely mesmerized by the girl, watching her with fascination.

As he continued to stare, her eyes suddenly locked on to him and fixed him with her beautiful crimson gaze.

"Hi there!" she greeted in an unexpectedly cheerful voice. "Black-dressed swordsman over there! How about you be my opponent?" she requested him.

Caught off guard by her attitude and request, he said the first thing that came to him. "S-sure…" Why am I so nervous? "I'll be your first opponent…"

She continued to smile with a sunny disposition, throwing him further off guard by going against the image of Zekken that he imagined from everyone's description.

"H-hang on a sec," he requested as he grabbed Leafa's arm and turned her around.

Pressing his head against hers, he scolded her in a hushed whisper, "You didn't tell me Zekken was a girl!"

With their bodies touching, he could feel Leafa shrug.

"I'm pretty sure I did tell you," she teased. Thinking back, she may have, but this wasn't the time to admit that he wasn't listening about that part. "But since I knew you didn't pay attention to that, I thought it'd be pretty funny to see you when you found out."

"Grrrr," he grumbled. She knew him too well.

"Second, I didn't think it'd matter. Since when have you ever cared about the gender of your opponent?" she asked in a teasing tone. Clearly she had already considered her answers.

"Fine, you're right, I'm not Klein," he conceded.

"Right now, that's questionable."

"…" He glared at her, only for it to be returned by a smirk.

"I'm sorry, is that a problem, Ki-ri-to-kun?" Asuna asked in a dangerous tone. Just from that tone, he knew that he shouldn't look at her face. However, he could still feel her intense stare burning holes into his skull.

"I'll show you, Sugu," he tried to sound as if he didn't fear Asuna's killing intent. "I'll show everyone!"

With that thought, he turned back towards Zekken, but still felt that burning, almost audible stare boring into him.

"Go get her, Bro!"

"You've got this, Kirito-kun!"

"Kick his butt, Zekken!"

Drawing his sword, he approached her, one step at a time.

"By the way," Zekken called over to him. "My name's Yuuki. Or you can call me Zekken, AKA The Absolute Sword."

Something about that girl's carefree attitude calmed him down. Although, maybe he was crazy, but he thought he heard a bit of envy in her voice.

"My name's Kirito." He paused. Two different things he could add on to his player name popped into his head, however he couldn't use either of them. One reminded him of a past he'd rather leave behind… While the other would be insulting to the people he once failed… "…Just Kirito."

For a moment, her smile seemed to waver and her eyes seemed to droop with sympathy. He felt himself shrink back under the girl's look. It felt as if she was staring directly inside him, going into his mind. It was almost as if she knew that he had other titles to use.

Almost as quickly as it appeared, her somber expression changed back into her usual bright one. "Well, okay, Just Kirito," she said his name in a playful tone. The girl snapped her fingers and pointed her finger towards him. "Why don't I tell you how I'll play." The girl waved her sword around while responding. "You're welcome to use magic and items if you wish. However, I will only be using this." She tapped the handle with her free hand.

"A straightforward fight between swordmasters?" Kirito recapped with a grin. "That's exactly what I need."

However, in spite of his enthusiasm, this type of fight made him recall a duel back in SAO… Then again, that was more a fight for my life than a duel…

She smiled brightly in response, as if happy with his choice. Suddenly, she loudly said something leisurely.

"Ah, right. A fight on the ground or an aerial one, which do you prefer?"

She asked this earnestly, her beautiful smile hid not a hint of wickedness. Clearly, she simply believed that she could win no matter what kind of fight it was.

And people like to say that I'm cocky.

"Then, a fight on the ground," he requested.

"Ok. Jumping is fine, but you can't use your wings!" she said in a way that reminded him of a child making the rules for a game they made up.

After saying that, Yuuki's shadowy Imp wings immediately faded and disappeared. At the same time, Kirito also put away his black Spriggan wings.

Despite all his time playing in ALO, Kirito had always felt more at home on the ground. It was probably a combination of the year he spent battling as a groundbound swordsman in SAO. Not to mention the kendo practice he helps Sugu with at home.

Getting a feel for the ground, he tapped his toes on the grass two times before sliding the sole of his boot across the surface, understanding the friction he was working with.

Next, he confirmed his enemy's «Multicolor Pointer».

Since it was the first time the two of them have met, it wouldn't show their names, thus there was nothing above her HP bar. To the left side was a small icon – a «Guild Emblem». Unconsciously, his focus lingered on the girl's emblem which was a very cute one with a pink heart with two white wings spreading from its side.

Kirito himself wasn't part of any guild, so there was no emblem on his pointer. Several times, his friends – usually Asuna or Klein – have mentioned forming a guild, but he had always refused…

Still, he could recall a time when there was a guild symbol beside his player name – A black cat sitting against a simple white background…

The sight of a request for a duel returned him to the present.

[Yuuki is challenging you.]

At the bottom of the window, there were 3 modes to choose from: «First Strike Mode», «Half Loss Mode» and «Total Loss Mode».

Guessing what was the right choice in this situation, he pressed the «Total Loss Mode». Back in SAO, such a thing would've been forbidden because of the death rule… Again, his mind went back to a fight to the death he had no choice but to accept – His last fight in SAO.

He took a deep breath and let it out, trying to purge the memory from his mind.

The window requesting a duel automatically disappeared, replacing it was a ten second timer.

Positioning their blades at the same time, Kirito took note of his opponent's weapon – It was a thin, single-handed, double-edged straight sword. It was translucent with an obsidian purple hue like her armour.

He was no blacksmith or weapons expert, but even he could tell from a look that despite the sword's impressive design, there was nothing special about as if it was a rare or legendary weapon.

Good, he thought. That should keep things fair.

His own sword was a simple black longsword, the same colour as his hair, coat, pants… basically his entire being.

'Maybe you should wear more than just black,' a girl who should've appreciated that at least one of her guildmates lived up to their name had said to him once. He smiled fondly at the memory.

At least this girl understands what it means to have a signature colour. He took note of his violet opponent.

Yuuki placed her sword in front of her at her waist, and lowered her body.

Kirito put his left foot half a body in front, his waist was lowered, and the sword in his right hand was held downwards with its tip nearly touching the ground – A sword style honed from over a year of fighting for his life in this very castle.

Taking a look at his opponent who was looking prepared to fight but kept up a sweet, kind of cute smile, he made his resolve. I'm going all out. This girl deserves nothing less than my very best.

While he took a deep breath and let it out, he returned her smile with his own, which he could only hope didn't look smug.

The counter on the timer reached zero.

In the instant the word [DUEL] flashed, Kirito ran towards Zekken at full speed, instantly crossing the distance to his opponent.

This may not be a «First Strike Mode» duel, but he was determined to make the first hit. Something that he had learned in his time in ALO was that one can find out a lot about their opponent's fighting style based on how they defended themselves against a fast opponent.

"Ha!" his voice cried out.

His sword cut threw the air, leaving a black afterimage in its wake as it got closer to Zekken.

However his opponent barely seemed to be taken off guard. With impossibly fast motions of her own, she dodged the first two strikes, his sword only striking a bit of her long, purple hair. As for the third strike which she seemed to move into, she used her purple sword to defend herself, knocking his sword off target.

He couldn't help but be shocked. How?! Nobody, not even Asuna or Leafa had been able to block his rapid speed hits so easily!

He didn't have time to consider it further.

At the same time, a black light aiming for his neck leapt into his eyesight.

"—!"

Instinctively, he turned his body slightly, planted his feet and brought up his sword to parry the hit before it could make contact.

Now it was Yuuki's turn to be shocked. Her red eyes widened in disbelief as her sword bounced back from the recoil.

Not letting her recover, he tried to follow up and attempted another attack – a series of stabs at her chest.

However she was able to move her sword to block them, making his sword shift to the side.

Immediately after that, he kicked off the ground and jumped backwards, getting out of the way to give himself time to think.

Without taking his eyes off of his incredible opponent, he took a few deep breaths to compose himself.

Yuuki on the other hand had already thrown off her shock, she stood where he left her, sword raised to her waist, she smiled at him playfully.

As he took another deep breath, he couldn't help but smile in return… his lips spread as he gave her a grin which showed his teeth…

He didn't smile out of politeness… Nor was it anxiety… So why was he smiling?

The answer was obvious to him.

It was because, in front of him was an opponent who could not only keep up with him, but actually for once in his virtual journey, there was somebody who could get the better of him…

…No, for what may have been the first time ever since he was in the beta test for SAO, he was excited!

With a new energy and purpose guiding him, Kirito dashed towards his opponent.

At the same time, Yuuki also leapt forward. The smile in the corner of her mouth had widened into a wild looking grin and a radiance shone in her red eyes.

Meeting each other halfway into their dashes, they both went on the offensive. A flurry of strikes rained down on each combatant, making sparks fly out from both of their dark swords.

However neither of their attacks even grazed each other's bodies as they were both able to predict how the next strike would be and successfully parry or avoid the attack completely.

Even as he fought, Kirito's mind still made assessments of his opponent.

She's strong, and her reaction speed is at least on par with mine. Kirito had little issue admitting that he was very arrogant, however that was only because he knew his limits very well. Not to mention that she's probably as fast as Asuna. But she doesn't seem to have much experience fighting other players! He could surmise this based on the way that not once has she used a feint and opted to fight him directly.

Quickly, he dodged her next three-hit combo and got right into her face, forcing her to take a few stumbling steps backwards.

Despite his focus on the battle, he could vaguely hear a few people whistling, and even someone call him a playboy, but he ignored them.

With their bodies nearly touching, they continued their exchange of strikes, making it almost seem as if they were dancing with each other.

As soon as he found a slight pause, he deliberately brought his sword up as if to stab at her.

Her eyes gave off an arrogant glow as she predicted his next move and rushed to attack him.

But it was a feint.

Bringing his sword back, he effortlessly parried the hit, making her sword stop dead against his sword.

Now her eyes betrayed a look of shock.

At that instant, Kirito pulled back his sword. At the same time, he clenched his left hand into a fist and using all his might, he punched Yuuki in the side.

"Oof," she grunted.

In spite of his skill with swords, Kirito had always had a fascination with bare-handed skills ever since his time in SAO. What he used was a «Boxing» skill from ALO rather than a «Martial Arts» skill like the one he trained back in SAO, so it did almost no damage due to the fact that he didn't have a knuckle-type weapon equipped, but it succeeded in his objective of making her flinch.

I might as well have two weapons!

Kirito's black sword shone bright red as he activated his first sword skill of the battle.

«Sharp Nail»

He was confident that the attack would hit. Yuuki's balance was thrown off and attacks were impossible to avoid at this distance.

…However, a simple look at his enemy indicated that he had made a mistake. Even though her eyes were wide open, there wasn't a trace of panic in them. Rather, they were focused on the tip of his blade.

She already knows my next move! he realized in horror.

The instant that thought crossed his mind, Yuuki's obsidian sword flashed out.

The first two strikes made contact, slashing at her left shoulder and middle, however, she fearlessly tanked them and her sword struck his, knocking the third and final strike backwards.

With the last hit being parried, Kirito was frozen in a position with his right arm stretched out for several tenths of a second — this hopeless recovery time overtook him and Yuuki didn't miss her chance.

"Aaah!" she released a war cry as she attacked.

She thrust forward with a speed that would've been near impossible to avoid even if Kirito wasn't recovering from his skill. It first struck his left shoulder. Slanting directly towards the bottom-right, she executed a 5-hit combo without rest.

It was a combo that he had never seen before, which meant-

Oh no! Oh no! Crap! This must be her 11-hit, OSS!

Those 5 hits that already made contact had reduced his HP to a few pixels above the yellow zone.

If there's 6 more hits to go, there's no way I'll survive! He could feel his panic begin to rise, not ready to let himself die.

In that moment, he let his panic reach its peak while also keeping it in check, using it to decide his next, desperate gamble to win.

There was no way to dodge, or miraculously parry the unknown hits… So the only thing he could do was to go down fighting rather than roll over and die!

Nobody! Not even the most timid person I knew would go down without trying to survive!

Putting all his energy into his right hand, for the second instance in this duel, he activated a sword skill, but this time it was an Original Sword Skill. It was not his own, rather it was created and forcefully imparted to him by the first partner he ever had in the virtual world… The partner that he felt that he betrayed long ago, but still held a deep mutual care for…

«Starry Tear»

Red and blue flashes interlocked. Going from Kirito's right shoulder to his bottom-left, the tip of Yuuki's sword intersected with her previous hits and made a cross.

However, Kirito's sword finally hit Yuuki. Drawing the apex of a small star on his opponent's body.

They finished exchanging five hits. Then there was a moment of silence. Neither of them had fallen.

Yuuki's HP bar was reduced to nearly a quarter, but it was still yellow. Whereas Kirito's HP bar entered the red zone, and there was only a little left.

Unfortunately for him, as it turns out the rumours were true and Zekken's OSS truly did have more hits than any other known sword skill…

Her blade was still releasing a violet glow… One more hit was coming his way…

Once again pulling back her sword, it seemed that she was aiming directly at the center of Kirito's body, the intersection of the cross-shaped effect.

So this is the OSS Zekken was offering for this duel? Time seemed to slow down before the sword approached. Power and speed which exceeded common sense, beauty which was even greater than those. I guess… I can lose to this…

However, before he could fully resign himself to his fate, he thought he heard a voice and remembered something… a promise he could never truly make to someone, but one he lived by for her sake even in his darkest time… just as he did on that final day…

"Keep living"

I can't lose! he snapped to attention. I have to keep living!

The eleventh hit ferociously descended — However, an instant before he would have to suffer a cooldown for using a sword skill, with a movement that exceeded any speed possible in any world, Kirito brought his free hand to his blade's handle and hit it with his knuckles, pivoting his wrist and sword to intercept his opponent's equally fast strike.

Her sword struck the upper part of his black sword with a resounding *CLANG*, stopping dead against it.

"—?!" Yuuki's eyes widened, shocked that he could intercept her OSS like that.

In the wake of the duel, the two of them stared into each other's eyes, grey meeting red, they exchanged their shock at what he did.

A few moments passed before they both remembered that they were still in a duel.

But before Kirito could even think to strike, something black, shiny and pointed flew across his sightline. At the same time, the sword in his hand felt just a tiny bit lighter.

Hey… he thought idly as his eyes flitted towards the object. Isn't that…?

"AHHHHHHH!" a girlish shriek of horror made them both flinch.

At that moment, Kirito realized a few things;

1. That that was his blacksmith screaming.

2. That his sword was broken and he could feel it disappearing from his hand.

3. He had already lost the duel.

It took him a while to recover from all that. Once he was in the right state of mind, he tried to launch another punch at Yuuki.

With a grin, she intercepted it with one hand and brought her sword to his neck.

Well that's the end of that, he conceded his defeat. He couldn't help but grin, ready for her to end the duel.

I may have lost, but that was incredible! Kirito thought with excitement.

Zekken, The Absolute Sword, Yuuki. For now, he would concede that she was the most powerful player in ALO – in any virtual world. One day, I will surpass you!

He took another look at the girl whom he'd consider his rival.

I hope we can duel again.

However instead of finishing him off… she squeezed his fist which she was still holding and gave him a brilliant smile.

"Wow…" she breathed as her red eyes scanned him over. "Wow! Wow! Wow! That was great!"

"Wait... Wha...?" he said dumbfounded. Kirito was completely lost and could only let out a dazed sound.

Unconcerned at his awkwardness, she cheerfully nodded and continued speaking.

"That duel was incredible! Hardly anyone has been able to give me a challenge like that in ALO!" Even without turning around, he knew that three pairs of eyes were boring holes into the oblivious girl's head.

At least they aren't glaring at me for once.

Putting away her sword, she took both of his hands in her own. He was shocked at the girl's boldness but didn't get a chance to say anything as she went on.

"I've always, always been looking for a strong person. This time I've finally found one! Hey, Kirito, do you have anything to do after this?"

Around them, a few whispers could be heard, some even asking if Zekken was proposing to the black-dressed swordsman.

She gave him an earnest, pleading look. His mind wandered, remembering a time when someone else looked at him like that. Although at that time, it wasn't her who was asking.

Taken off guard by her energy and the memory, he could barely muster a response. "Well... uh. No..."

Her eyes widened as she smiled sweetly, making him realize how adorable this girl was.

"Then, come with me for a while!"

At the same time, Yuuki widened her back and activated her wings. The translucent, bat-shaped wings appeared, raising her body slightly.

"Sure," Kirito agreed as he activated his Spriggan wings.

However, before they would fly off, he turned back to his audience who was looking at him with assorted looks.

Lisbeth gave him a look of annoyance, which he was used to from her (and he felt like he deserved).

Leafa gave him a confused but primarily happy look, encouraging him to get going.

Asuna… surprisingly looked approving… or at least she didn't seem upset since she was slightly smiling at him.

"I'll log out later," he spoke primarily to Leafa. "See ya!"

"See ya, Bro!" she called as she waved. "Do your best!"

Smiling to her, he turned back to Yuuki who was looking at him expectantly. Shaking his restrained arms a bit, he gestured for her to lead the way.

Giving him another radiant smile, she grabbed his right wrist with both hands and quickly launched both of them into the sky.

He was caught off guard by the girl's forwardness, allowing for him to be dragged several metres through the air before he could bring himself to use his own wings.

Yuuki's wings released a purple radiance and she instantly put on a sharp burst of speed. Barely able to keep up, he followed after the mysterious, violet swordswoman.

Hi everyone! Sorry that this took so long, but I really wanted to do this fight justice… and as I've said in my other stories, fight scenes are not my forte. I still feel like there's something missing, but I just don't know what it is. For that reason, this chapter may be edited a bit in the future. Good news is, since the next 2 or so chapters don't have fight scenes, they should come out sooner. …Hopefully…

Reading over the fight after it was almost finished, I realized that I unintentionally put a parallel between this and a currently unreleased chapter of a different story… It's always fun to do that.

Finding a cover pic for this story was surprisingly difficult. Most of the available pics of the two didn't fit the tone of the story, or they included Yui who still wasn't found here, plus fanart of this ship is pretty rare and I couldn't just make my own pic with Yuuki wearing the Blackwyrm Coat like I did for Sachi for timeline reasons.

Some people have pointed out that Kirito has a 16-hit sword skill and shouldn't have been too surprised at Yuuki's OSS having 11 hits. I won't say it outright, but I hope this chapter has cleared up why that line was in the prologue and what it was meant to establish. It was not a mistake.

Sinon was originally included with Asuna and Liz, but since there wasn't much for her to say, she was removed. My thoughts keep fluctuating on how or even if the Phantom Bullet arc took place in this AU yet, so it was better to remove references to it until I'm sure. Also, considering I'm using this AU for a Fairy Dance arc and a Mother's Rosario arc, am I contractually obliged to make a Kinon version for a Phantom Bullet arc?

Until next time! (Which hopefully won't be another half year…)