Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online.

"Hey? Kirito?"

Kirito slowly opened his eyes, hearing a soft voice which could only belong to a girl speak to him.

Normally when the Black Swordsman woke up, the first thing he'd see would be one of two feminine faces. It would either the beautiful face of Asuna or the adorable face of Yui.

This time, however, he found himself looking upon a different face which belonged to neither his wife or his daughter.

His half-lidded eyes adjusted to take in the freckled features of the girl before him - before they widened in shock upon realising who was watching him sleep.

"Liz!" Kirito wailed, shooting upright on the couch which he'd been napping on. "What're you doing?!"

"Chill out!" Lisbeth smirked. "Someone had to watch over you while you were asleep! Since Asuna's headed out, I had no choice but to do it myself … giving me the perfect chance to take in how cute you were!"

"Shut up!" Kirito hissed, irked by the teasing of the young blacksmith who was always ready to poke fun at him.

Lisbeth giggled, then smiled sincerely. She had been truthful with her remark about how Kirito looked while he'd been napping. She couldn't help herself being attached to the Black Swordsman, no matter how much he annoyed her on times. Even with Asuna out the house, there was no way she would even attempt to steal her husband away. Never would she come between the couple who had married with a child of their own in the virtual world.

"Anyway, Kirito," the redhead murmured, "the real reason I was watching over you was because I was waiting for you to wake up."

"Why, Liz?" Kirito frowned at her with concern. "Is there something the matter? You can tell me."

Liz chuckled awkwardly. She was a little reluctant to confirm Kirito's suspicions that something was amiss. She was certain he wouldn't at all like what she had to tell him.

"I just wanted to let you know," she said, "that I'm gonna make you a present."

"A present?" Kirito raised an eyebrow, bemused. "For me?"

"Yeah…" Liz nodded, still smiling uneasily. "Just for you, Kirito?"

The dark-haired hero tilted his head curiously. "What kind of present, Liz?"

"A sword!" Liz pumped her fists with determination. "As a skilled blacksmith, I fully intend to craft you the best sword ever! I'll put all my heart and sole into forging it for you! It'll be the greatest weapon ever to be made in the virtual world - with no one to use it but you!"

"Oh well, that's really kind of you, Liz, and I appreciate it…" Kirito smiled gratefully. "But you don't have to do that for me. As you know, I already have a sword."

Liz lowered her fists, her ambitious gaze fading as nervousness filled her freckled face again.

"No you don't, Kirito," she said fretfully. "Not anymore…"

"Huh?" Kirito's smile vanished to be replaced by a baffled look. "What d'you mean k don't have a sword anymore, Liz…"

"It's just … while you were asleep … I kinda…" Liz paused, took a deep breath, then let out what she had to confess. "…broke your sword!"

"YOU WHAT?!"

Kirito's voice was filled with outrage as it hit the roof of the exploding Black Swordsman's house.

Now he knew exactly how Liz had felt when the two of them had first met at her shop - and he broke the young blacksmith's masterpiece.

"Hey, you broke the best sword I forged when we first met … so it's time I returned the favour." Liz chuckled. "Now we're even. Right?"

The wooden walls of the cabin shook as Kirito screamed at the top of his lungs.

THE END