Hi! Sorry about this chapter being late and all, but I got a new story up, I'm trying to update the other stories, and the school year is closing and I have finals to worry about! But, At the very least I've finished The Two Swordmasters"! I just need to post the explanation chapter and I'll be completely done for that story! :D Now one thing I should clarify before this chapter starts. Kirito actually just woke up from a sudden fever his IRL body got. So, no, he still hasn't gotten that surgery that he desperately needs. Just wanted to clear that up (and don't kill me). And sorry about this chapter. It felt rushed and bullcrapped. Sorry in advance. DX

Anyway, Thanks to Impstar,DemonFoxBK201, thepkrmgc, Delta Marauder, StarElsie, Vangran, Kirinthor, mailbox killer, realisticFantasy, Marianneanimelover, Guest (from chapter 1), Sw0wk1tty, another Guest (chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 13, 16, and 20) raisins2011, AW27, Kakeru PB, midnathething, A dude (from chapter 1), fyphoniex, and Guest (the one about calculus *shiver*) for reviewing last chapter! You guys are just...AMAZING! And all those who favorite'd and followed this story and me! :D

DISCLAIMER: (Whoa haven't done this in a while, I think.) Nopity, nope, nope, nope! I don't own it! XD

Chapter 21: The Blacksmith's a Friend

Dual blades; the ability that allowed the wielder to hold two one-handed swords at once. Also, one of the Skills given to a player by the Cardinal System.

At first, Kirito was about to keep it to himself, but…the moment he returned to his room, Asuna bombarded him. He literally sat on his bed with Shiku dozing off next to him to listen to her rant her frustration and worry on him. Of course, none of the words were as condescending as they sounded. She scolded him about running off, not telling them where in the world he went. If there was one think Kirito could relate her to, then he would admit to finding a second "Suguha".

"Asuna—" he began, but she cut him off with a hand motion.

"Let me finish!" she snapped. "You nearly cause another panic attack for all of us! What were you thinking?! Going off on your own without saying anything is bad, Kirito! And without anything equipped for that matter!"

Kirito gave her a nervous smile. "I just needed to confirm something!"

"And what's that?" Asuna said, hardly believing him.

"Well…" Kirito trailed off, not knowing how to explain it to her. He pulled his knees to his chest and secured an arm around them. He opened his menu with his right hand and made it visible for Asuna, showing his skill. "I just wanted to make sure this wasn't a lie."

"…Dual blades…?" Asuna read. All of her anger suddenly defused as she began to give him a change to explain himself. She gave him a shocked look when it registered. "Isn't that one of those 'Special Skills'?!"

Kirito shrugged and closed his menu. "I don't know. It just suddenly appeared."

"Kirito! You don't just brush off something as rare as this just like that! This is pretty serious!" Asuna exclaimed. Kirito huffed slightly and turned his head away from her.

"Well, I could! It sucks that I can't do anything since I don't have a sword that's the same level as Elucidator, anyway."

"You mean that black sword you got when we fought that mini boss a few weeks back?"

Kirito nodded and rested his chin on his knees. "Yeah, I gotten a hang of the weight and I can decently use it, but…how can I practice that skill if the sword isn't the same level as the one I have now?"

Asuna hummed in thought as she paced back and forth in front of Kirito with a hand at her chin. "Hmmnn…I do know someone who could probably help us."

"…who?" Kirito asked, somewhat reluctantly. Asuna stopped her pacing and grinned.

"Oh, you'll see, Kirito. But, first, let's train that new skill of yours."

Kirito tilted his head. "With what?"

"Crappy swords."

"What? Wouldn't I break them?" Kirito said as he stared at Asuna as if she was crazy. She shrugged her shoulders with a smile.

"Not when you just got your new skill."

He sighed. "Well…I guess it can't hurt to try…"

._._.~A Week and a Half Later~._._.

Kirito looked a little skeptical as he looked at the little house near a river. "Hmmm, I don't know, Asuna. Are you sure this blacksmith doesn't look too hard? I'd hate to have yet another person constantly nagging me..."

Asuna confidently placed a hand on her hip with a smile. "Oh, cheer up, Kirito! As long as we don't mention anything and stay perfectly normal, then we'll be fine!"

The Black Swordsman bit the back of his lip. "She's your best friend, right...?"

"Yup! She's the best friend and blacksmith you would ever find in Aincrad." Asuna replied with a smile. She grabbed his wrist and began to cross the small paved bridge. Shiku trotted next to Kirito as he stumbled after her with a forced a smile.

"...I'm screwed. I just know I am." he muttered under his breath.

Unable to protest anymore, Kirito reluctantly followed Asuna to the doorstep of the blacksmith. Trailing his heels, Shiku padded quickly to stay close. The lion was still small, cute, and tiny, but it was still very useful…somehow. Asuna knocked on the door and opened it a second later. Kirito blinked in awe of the place. The whole store was full of weapons of all length and sizes. Several of them were placed on shelves, clustered in barrels and displayed on the wall. Kirito couldn't help but feel impressed.

"Wow. She must've been bored if she made this much." he said. He chuckled when Shiku leapt onto the ledge of a barrel and stared at his reflection on one of the shiny swords. Asuna dragged him to the counter at the back of the shop.

"Lisbeth-chan!" Asuna called. Just faintly they heard a distant reply from an open doorway leading to the back of the shop.

"Ah! Coming!"

Kirito heard someone climbing up steps and blinked at the sight of the blacksmith. She wore a dark red top with puffed up sleeves and a flared skirt of the same color. She also had a white apron over it with a bright red ribbon on her chest. A happy smile graced her features as she walked in.

"Hey, Asuna-chan! Looks like you brought a friend this time. Is he the one you're always worrying over?" The blacksmith greeted with a wave. Asuna placed her hands on either side of Kirito's shoulders and shoved him a little toward the counter.

"I don't worry that much, but yeah. This one here needs a sword." She said. Kirito forced a smile as he gave Lisbeth a small nod.

"H-hi…"

There was a long silence as Lisbeth stared at him.

"A-ah..."

"Aren't you that guy I'd seen last night?" She asked suddenly. Kirito gave her a look of confusion.

"W-what?"

"I think I saw you running around with nothing equipped last night. You really do look like him..." Lisbeth trailed off, looking him over once more.

"E-eh?" Kirito sweat dropped.

Lisbeth placed a hand on her hip and smirked. "You know there's a rumor about how a boy who looked like the Black Swordsman was running around. Some are saying that he's strong enough to fight with just his fists now. Can you?"

"What? No, of course not!" Kirito said as he raised his hands up in defense, palms forward. "I was just in a hurry, that's all!"

Asuna scowled and punched him lightly, "And you better not to it again."

"I won't! Geez." Kirito snapped, getting slightly irritated. He turned to Lisbeth. "Setting that aside! What's the strongest sword you have here?"

"My strongest sword?" Lisbeth asked, making sure she heard that right. She grinned confidently and reached to the sword magnificently displayed right behind her counter. Kirito couldn't help but stare at it as he took it into his hands. The sheath was dark grey and the sword looked very simple. He tuned out Lisbeth as she began to rant about how he would never find a sword better than that.

Asuna just watched in curiosity as Kirito unsheathed the sword. He gave Asuna the sheath and backed away a few steps.

"It's so light…" he muttered. Kirito gave the sword a test swing and pressed his lips together.

"So? Is it great or is it great?" Lisbeth asked with a hand on her hip with a smirk. Asuna said nothing as she tilted her head at Kirito. He just placed the tip of the sword at the edge of the counter, unsheathing Elucidator.

"What are you doing?" the blacksmith asked as a tiny sweat drop formed on her cheek, feeling a bit nervous. Kirito gave her an innocent smile and swung Elucidator down. The sword shattered into glass shards the moment his sword touched it. Kirito gaped in shock. He never expected that!

Nervous, he looked at Asuna, who stared at him in surprise, then to Lisbeth. The blacksmith's jaw was hanging open with devastation. "You did not just—!"

There was a long, deathly silent pause. Shiku leapt onto the counter and looked back and forth between Kirito and Lisbeth. Then, he meowed.

"YOU BROKE MY STRONGEST SWORD!" Lisbeth snapped, pointing a rigorous finger at Kirito. "HOW DARE YOU!"

Kirito stumbled back while giving her a confused look. "But wasn't it because the durability and strength were low that it broke…?"

Asuna bit her bottom lip to stop her laughter. "Pfft! Kirito, you just downgraded Lisbeth's work."

Kirito looked at her. "Hah?!"

Lisbeth stomped her foot and yelled angrily, "What the heck were you thinking!? Destroying people's creations as if they were nothing! You've got some nerve, you IDIOT!"

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I swear! I'm sorry!" Kirito apologized, the words automatically slipping from his mouth. "I just wanted to—"

"Wanted to what? Destroy my sword!?" Lisbeth cried. She dropped her shoulders and wailed to the ceiling. "And it was my best creation ever!"

Kirito sheathed Elucidator and held his elbows. "Um…does that mean you can't help me?"

Lisbeth blinked and stared at him. "You broke my strongest sword. What more can I do for you? Give you another to break?"

"I-I didn't mean it…" Kirito apologized once more. Asuna sighed and placed her hands at her hips.

"Oh, come on, Lisbeth. I'm sure you can make a better sword somehow. Kirito really needs one." She said with a hopeful smile. Lisbeth pressed her lips together as she thought. Kirito watched with slightly hopeful eyes. It was clear to Lisbeth that he really wanted a strong sword, but, what for completely eluded her. After all, how in the world could she forge a sword as good as the black sword strapped to his back?! Even though her skill as a blacksmith was top par, she couldn't make anything better unless she had a high level—

She froze as an idea popped in her head.

"That's it! I can make a better sword if I had a high-level material!" Lisbeth exclaimed. "If I can just get the Crystallite Ingot, then I can craft a sword just as good as Elucidator!"

Kirito's eyes immediately brightened. "Really?! That's at the West Mountain! I'll go get the Crystallite Ingot and—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold it right there, Kirito." Asuna said as she stepped right in front of Kirito's face. "You are not going anywhere."

"But—"

"When was the last time you engaged in an actual fight?"

"Ahhh…A week…?" Kirito answered, hesitantly. Asuna frowned with unimpressed eyes, making him give in. "…and a half. But that doesn't mean—"

"That you'll stay behind? Oh, I don't care. I'm making you stay behind. Even if I have to tie you to the counter!" Asuna threatened. Kirito took a step back and crossed his arms with a (cute) angry pout.

"But it doesn't mean that I'm weak! Besides, I was practicing that week and a half, Asuna." Kirito said, trying to convince her to let him go. Asuna placed a hand on her hip and gave him a look.

"That's still a no." she said.

"Oh, come on!"

Lisbeth blinked at the interaction of the two. She never saw Asuna argue with a person before. "Uhm…Why don't we make him come along? It's his sword I'm making."

"She's right, Asuna." Kirito added with a shrug of his shoulders. "It is my sword."

"No." came Asuna's answer.

"Asuna!"

The swordswoman ignored Kirito, who uncrossed his arms in disbelief, and turned to Lisbeth. "You and I will go and get the Crystallite Ingot. Is it alright to leave Kirito here? I'm sure we'll be quick."

Lisbeth shrugged her shoulders. "Well…if he can watch over the shop while we're gone, then I'll be fine, but—"

"Then it's a done deal!" Asuna said as she grabbed Lisbeth's arm and pulled her right over the counter.

"Wah!" Lisbeth cried as she scrambled to keep herself steady as she was pulled to the front door.

"H-hey! Asuna, you can't be serious!" Kirito said as he followed behind. Lisbeth managed to get her balance back as Asuna opened the door and stepped out. Asuna suddenly released Lisbeth and reached over to grab the door handle. Kirito stopped right in front of the door in confusion as Asuna smiled.

"I am serious, Kirito. So, don't mess up anything until we get back, okay?" Asuna said.

"Huh? Wai—"

*Slam!*

Asuna slammed the door shut before Kirito could say anything more and turned to Lisbeth. "Hurry and lock the door!"

"E-eh?!"

"Just do it!"

"R-right!" Lisbeth did what she was told and quickly opened her menu and locked her shop. Automatically, a sign reading "closed" appeared at the door. Asuna didn't let go of the door until there was banging on the other side.

"HEY! You can't be serious about locking me in here! Let me out!" came Kirito's muffled voice. There was more banging as Asuna heaved a sigh.

"Sorry, Kirito! It's for your own good." Asuna reasoned. She turned around and patted Lisbeth's shoulder. "Let's go?"

"Wait! Stop! The lights turned off! Crap! Please don't take too long!"

Lisbeth couldn't help the guilty smile as she looked back. "Is he going to be alright by himself…?"

"Oh, he'll be fine. He's the Black Swordsman, after all!"

._._._._._.

Kirito kept banging on the door for a minute longer, before completely giving up. He knew why Asuna would make him stay behind, but that didn't mean locking him up in the shop for Heaven's sake! He sighed heavily and leaned against the door. Sinking to the ground, he wrapped an arm around his knees and buried his head in his arms.

"Great. Juuuust great. Now what?" Kirito muttered to himself.

"Meow!"

Kirito's head shot up immediately and stopped the faint outline of Shiku's golden fur. "Oh, yeah. I forgot you were here."

He reached out his hands and gestured Shiku to come, "Come here, Shiku."

The little lion only meowed again and bonded off somewhere. Kirito felt himself grimace and rewrapped his arms around his knees once more. "Great. Even Shiku left me here."

He could've sworn he dozed off until he heard something fall. Kirito drowsily lifted his head and searched for the source of the sound before giving up ten seconds later. "It was probably just me imagining things."

*Ka-Crash!*

"What the?" Kirito blinked himself awake and stood up from his place at the door and squinted through the dark. "Ugh, why is it so hard to—" then a though popped into his head.

"Oh, what the heck, I have that night vision skill, idiot." He muttered to himself as he activated his skill. He expected to see a well-organized store, until he saw a toppled spear on the floor. He sighed and went over to pick it up. At the corner of his eye, he saw Shiku sitting in front of a barrel of axes.

"Darn it, Shiku, you shouldn't be messing things up." Kirito said as he placed the spear back. Sighing, he looked around and spotted a sword next to Shiku. "Really?"

"Meow!" Shiku flicked his tail and appeared to smile. Kirito pressed his lips together and picked up the sword.

"Seriously, Lisbeth would kill me if she found her shop all messed up. Stop it-" He cut himself off when he stepped on something that cracked. "Eh?"

Not even a split second later, a shill shriek rang through Kirito's ears and made him jump so high, he could've sworn he jumped six feet in the air.

All of a sudden his night vision disappeared and he heard everything start crashing to the floor and a barrel toppling over. Scared out of his wits, he somehow managed to find an empty barrel and hopped right into it. Kirito covered his ears as he waited for Shiku to calm down. There was no way in heck was he about to get skewered by weapons. Not now, and not ever.

After a long while, the crashes finally stopped, but Kirito didn't leave the barrel as Shiku stared at him from the rim above him. Eerily glowing eyes seemed to bore into him. Kirito laughed nervously and tried squish himself deeper into the barrel.

"Ahahaha…Good, kitty. Goood K-Kitty….." He said, his voice shaking as he silently begged for Asuna and Lisbeth to hurry back. At that moment, he vowed to never, ever step on Shiku's tail ever again. Not all cats were always good to their master, apparently.

And done! Sorry if it wasn't what you guys were expecting, but I was thinking about showing how protective Asuna is over Kirito, not just Klein (the awesome mother hen you guys labeled him as). I will let you know right now, I will not write what happens on Asuna's and Lisbeth's adventure mainly because 1) it will be painstaking for me to do and 2) I want to move the story further. I hope you guys are fine with that. Um, I know there was more I had to tell you guys, but I can't seem to remember...Eh, oh well. But to all of the 2015 Seniors out there...

CONGRADULATIONS ON MAKING IT THROUGH THRITEEN YEARS OF SOMETHING THAT PROBABLY DID/DIDN'T PREPARE YOU FOR COLLEGE! XD I will you guys luck in the world/college life ahead of you guys. And I'm not excited to Graduate, but I'll just do what Scary (POA) does. Grin and Bear it. Although, I'm happy for you seniors out there! I'll be graduating on May 29, 2015. Who else is graduating that day? You guys excited for it?!

Preview! It's a reality chapter.

He took a good look at the black-haired teen before him. The teen was as pale as a vampire in those American novels he read a while back. The hand he held was smaller than his own and he couldn't believe that it was a hand of a fifteen-year-old boy. Just by looking at the other teen made it hard for him to believe that Kazuto was still alive. Although, the constant, slow beeps from the monitors reassured him in a way. Under the visor of the Nerve Gear, he caught a glimpse at Kazuto's peaceful face.

At that instant, he felt a wave of relief and sighed, letting go of all of the insecurities he had. Just seeing Kazuto somehow managed to calm his bad nervousness. For that moment, he felt like a normal person again. Placing a hand at his chest, he smiled to himself and closed his eyes, his lips forming into words, but not a sound escaped.

"If you can give me this peace, Kazuto-kun, then I'm sure, that if it's you...you'll use this heart of mine well."

Later!

-CloudyLightning