Leave of Absence

Chapter One: VS Heathcliff

Author's Note

Hey, readers! How are you all doing? I'd like to start out by explaining that this is one of those classic "what if" fics. I'm pretty sure that this one hasn't been done before, but please tell me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, this takes place in episode ten, Crimson Killing Intent, the episode where Kirito and Heathcliff have their first duel. However, in this story, Kirito does not activate «Starburst Stream», which makes the fight play out a little differently. You can probably guess how.

Anyway, I guess that's it for now! Without further ado, enjoy!

"Better hurry, folks!" I heard the sub-leader of the «Knights of the Blood» in charge of finances shout enthusiastically from afar. "The good seats are going fast!"

I looked over to where he had set up a stall to sell tickets to this quickly-growing event, seeing the fat, brown-haired sub-leader himself behind the counter, sporting a jolly expression that screamed his love for Col.

Ridiculous, I thought, frowning under the hood of the cloak I wore to disguise my identity. It's not even real money. What good is having such a disgusting amount of cash if you don't even need it for anything?

I looked at the banner above his stall, grimacing at the title they gave me. It made me feel like some heinous villain compared to the title of my opponent- Heathcliff, the «Living Legend».

«Dual-Wielding Demon»

Well, I do wear black all the time, so I guess it makes a little sense…

Still unnoticed due to my cloak, I slowly made my way through the crowd, heading towards the back entrance to the giant, roman-styles coliseum that my little duel with Heathcliff was to take place in.

Once I successfully made it in without being noticed, I immediately went to the place where I had decided to meet up with Asuna. I didn't know why she wanted to meet with me before the fight, but I had a sneaking suspicion that I wouldn't like it.

Low and behold, my suspicions were confirmed at soon as I saw her. She didn't even greet me when I said hello, instead choosing to get right in my face and shout this:

"My god, you're such an idiot! How could you agree to a duel?"

The dim lighting of the corridor only enhanced the intimidating glare she gave me, making me flinch back with my hands held up for protection. "Okay, I get it! Calm down!" I retorted weakly, still backing away in slight fear. I may have had a «Unique Skill», but she was still a formidable opponent, and also still very scary when angered… even in a «Safe Area».

"It's not like he gave me any other choice," I continued, averting my eyes. She seemed to get that I felt threatened, and so she backed off, standing up straight with a sigh.

"The other day," Asuna started, running a hand nervously through her long, chestnut hair. "When you used your «Dual-Wielding» skill… I'd never seen anything like it before. The thin is, the commander has his own «Unique Skill», too."

I looked down into my lap, looking at the hands that would soon be holding swords to clash with my opponent. "Yeah, I know. I've seen it a bunch of times, myself," I replied, looking back up at Asuna and giving her an expressionless look. "The «Divine Blade». It maximizes his offensive and defensive power. His attack is strong, but his defense is incredible."

"No one has ever seen the commander's HP dip into the yellow before,' Asuna said, looking at me with concern. She crossed her arms, then continued with, "It tips the game's balance of power. He's so overpowered, it's unreal."

"I know," I whispered.

"What if you lose?" Asuna queried, sounding and looking extremely guilty. "At this point, I don't care about my leave of absence. I just care about you having to join the «Knights of the Blood»."

I slowly stood up, a smirk appearing on my features. "Yeah, well," I started, turning to Asuna as my smirk widened. "I don't plan to go down easy."

As I stood in the middle of the coliseum's arena, I couldn't help but feel a certain animosity for the man clad in red armor that stood before me.

Despicable. I'm challenged to a one-on-one duel, and I get this? It looks like the entire frigging population is watching me!

True to my thoughts, the stands of the coliseum were filled to the brim with excited players. Being my unsociable self, it was exceedingly unnerving to have everyone's eyes on me, though I didn't show it.

"I'm sorry for the trouble, Kirito. I'm afraid that the knowledge that the only two people in the game who owned «Unique Skills» were going to be dueling was a little over-tantalizing to the players," Heathcliff apologized, though he showed no signs of actually caring.

He's talking as if he isn't actually a player himself… I thought, narrowing my eyes with suspicion.

"Don't worry about it, I don't care," I lied, smirking at my next line. "Besides, I'm getting a cut of the fees."

"No," Heathcliff said abruptly, startling me a bit. "After this battle, you will be a part of the guild. I'll treat this as your combat evaluation."

My eyes narrowed once more, this time in mild irritation. Don't get too cocky, Heathcliff, I thought, frowning. Or else this won't even be a worthwhile battle. You may be strong, but I'm no pushover.

I saw him go through his menu, and soon after, I saw a game window pop up in front of me.

Will you accept the duel request?

Opponent: Heathcliff

Type: 1 vs. 1

I hit the accept button, and a small sub-window popped up above it. Three options presented themselves, and I chose the only sane option: the third one down, known as «One-Strike Mode».

Both windows disappeared, and soon after, a giant window popped up in between us.

DUEL

Heathcliff vs Kirito

Then, a timer appeared just under the dual window, counting down from sixty seconds.

59, 58, 57, 56, 55—

I drew my two swords slowly, holding them parallel to my sides at a forty-five degree angle with the ground. I had found this to be as good a stance as any, and it had worked for me in countless battles against mobs and mini-bosses. However, there was no guarantee that it would work well against Heathcliff, so I knew I had to be on my guard at all times.

I can't hold back… ii thought, tightening my grip on my swords as a determined look settled in on my face. I won't hold back.

30, 29, 28, 27, 26—

Heathcliff drew his sword from his cross-shaped tower shield, pointing it at my throat as he got into a relaxed position. It seemed that he was way more confident in his abilities than normal, and he wasn't afraid to show it. His expressionless face said it all…

He didn't think I was a threat.

3, 2, 1—

As soon as the buzzer sounded, I came rushing at him, my right sword piercing the virtual air to hit his shield in the beginning of a two-hit combo known as «Double Circular». My left sword finished the combo by sliding around the shield to slash, but—

Heathcliff's longsword blocked it with ease.

Of course, this did nothing to deter me. That skill had not been meant to decide the fight. No, it was merely the signal of the beginning of a very promising duel.

I aimed a strike at his head with my right sword, his shield blocking it just in time. With my left, I continued my assault, striking at his legs. He lowered his shield to block, and as he did, I swung my right sword at his head. But of course, he ducked, completely avoiding the strike as his head went behind the shield.

Three more strikes, and he finally made his first offensive move. He pushed his shield towards me with incredible speed, making me flinch back. Big mistake.

He drew his shield back, sending his longsword in for a stab at my head. But of course, there was no way that I would let him hit me so early in the duel. I blocked with my swords in an X-like pattern, jumping back to distance myself.

Heathcliff wasted no time closing in on me, and I wasted no time charging back in on him. However, just as I began to swing my right sword in a diagonal strike, I felt something large and blunt his me in the chest. When I looked down, grimacing in pain, I found—

His shield?!

True to my thoughts, Heathcliff had jabbed me with his tower shield. Being merely a shield, however, it didn't cause nearly enough damage to count as a clean hit and end the duel. Even so, it knocked the virtual wind out of my lungs, the force of his probably-massive Strength stat sending me flying back several meters.

Once again taking the offensive, the shield-wielding warrior before me charged, coming at me in hopes of catching me while I was still wheezing. He didn't get the chance, however, as I recovered just in time to block his each and every strike.

After I realized I wouldn't land any hits like that, I jumped back once more, landing several meters away with a skill already mid-charge.

«Vorpal Strike»

With a sound akin to a jet engine, my skill launched, sending me flying at the red-clad paladin before me with incredible speed. However, my skill being the straight shot that it was, Heathcliff was easily able to read its motions. He reacted accordingly, blocking with the center of his tower shield.

Still, the force of my skill sent me flying past the Heathcliff, not stopping until its full range had been carried out, leaving me several meters away from the cocky warrior. I spun around to face him just before the long post-motion delay of «Vorpal Strike» came in, watching as he slowly turned around. He knew he could take his time, since my post-motion delay would keep me immobile for at least another three seconds.

"Splendid reaction time," Heathcliff said, a smile on his face that said he was actually enjoying the fight.

I smiled, not bothering to hide that I was just as excited as he was. "Yeah, and your defense is unbreakable."

I heard the crowd cheering with deafening volume, but I paid them little heed. I was in the zone; nothing would stop me from winning this fight, not even Heathcliff's «Unique Skill».

Faster than the human eye could follow, we both charged back in, meeting each other in the middle in a clash that sent showers of sparks everywhere. Just milliseconds after, he sent an uppercut at me with his shield, forcing me to bend backwards to evade.

I slashed diagonally at him with my right sword, and he blocked with his own blade, creating a flash of light that blinded us both for the faintest of moments. I recovered first, quickly gaining control of the battle for the first time since the duel began.

My speed was incredible. I had become a blur, my swords striking faster than anyone could follow. Each strike hit its target quicker than the last, but I knew… it wasn't enough.

Not yet… I can't give in to my exhaustion yet! I thought, pushing myself past my limits. I could feel the sweat soaking my clothes; I was starting to lose stamina. If I could just keep going a little more, I could reach my top speed. And with the way he had been fighting, I knew that I could beat him with it.

Some on…! Faster! Stronger! Better! I can still get better!

The silver-haired paladin before me aimed a jab at my head, and I used my left sword to redirect it out of the way. While my left blade kept his sword occupied, my right came in for a thrust towards his chest. But of course, his longsword blocked the strike.

Damn it! Not yet… just a bit more!

The position my swords were left in after my parry allowed me to activate a high-speed skill with a low post-motion delay, giving my body some time to rest as the skill did the moving for me. Somehow, my red-clad opponent blocked each strike with ease, as if he knew each hit's exact movements and timing.

The hell?

Once my skill ended and the short post-motion delay began, Heathcliff aimed a sideswipe for my neck. The delay wore off just in time to allow my fast reaction time to come to my aid, and I caught his sword with my left blade.

I spun to the left,, yanking his longsword to the side. When I came around full-circle, both of my swords hit Heathcliff's shield aside, knocking him off balance for the faintest of moments.

But it was enough.

I utilized the tiny opening to make a downwards strike at his head. I just knew that this would be it; the strike that would end the duel. However, just before it made contact—

Time seemed to slow down, leaving me suspended mid-slash. What's worse, I could see Heathcliff moving to the side, as if he was completely unaffected by whatever happened.

What the hell is going on?! Wait a second, I have to prepare to dodge!

Just after I finished my thought, time came back to full speed. I couldn't see Heathcliff anywhere, but somehow I knew that he was right behind me, aiming a strike for my back. I ducked just in time, just barely evading the stab.

As I ducked, I twisted around to the left, slashing my sword just below his shield to make contact with his shins.

And I did.

I heard a deafening buzzing noise, indicating that the duel had been decided. And, sure enough, when I got up and looked into the air, I saw a winner message.

Winner: Kirito

Time: 1:46

The crowd erupted into a series of furious cheers, but I paid them little heed. Something had happened just then. Something weird.

What the hell just happened? I thought, panting feverishly. There's no way he could be that fast. My «Dual-Wielding» skill has an attack speed bonus max of one-hundred-eighty percent, and he moved at least twice as fast as me. There's no way his «Unique Skill» would allow for that much speed when that's not even meant to be the stat it increases.

When I looked over at Heathcliff, I found him looking at me with one of the most ferocious glares I had ever seen. It almost scared me, though I didn't show it.

After a few long, grueling seconds of silence between us, with the crowd still cheering ferociously, Heathcliff abruptly turned on his heels and walked away.

Author's Note

Yup, that just happened. Hopefully you guys enjoyed the fight scene, since I certainly enjoyed writing it! If you feel so inclined, I would love to hear some feedback.

I don't really want to bore you with a long note, so I'll get right to the disclaimer.

I don't own the SAO light novels, any of their adaptations, or any of the characters, items, or other things I borrow from them. I'm way to poor for that to even be a possibility. Plus, I live in America, not Japan. Hopefully, that clears up any misunderstandings, Aniplex!

See you in the next chapter!