Aincrad, Floor 64: Labyrinth 8:46 PM AST (Aincrad Standard Time)

Sweat poured down the swordsman's face as he shifted his weight to his right foot, pivoting with it he used the momentum to carve a diagonal path across his opponent with almost surgical precision; the ebony tinted longsword raking a crimson line through the level forty mob for the last time. Upon its arc concluding the mob burst into thousands of particles of light that hung like a shimmering veil in the air before disappearing, emitting a soft tinkling sound as they did leaving only the longsword user in their wake. The figure sagged slightly as he lowered his sword, his breathing becoming ragged, he took a moment to compose himself, his free hand slowly raising to open the status window, to see the fruits of his labours.

(Kirito: Level 80) Was embossed in bold letters across the top of the window, grinning to himself he allowed a sense of accomplishment to wash over him. The field boss had pushed him the final two levels to eighty as well as rewarding him a substantial amount of Col. He glanced at his health bar, alarmed at the red-tinted display that greeted him, another solid few hits and the boss would have fully drained it. A death sentence in this world.

"Lucky again" he mused as he pulled the cap off a health potion after sheathing his sword in the scabbard that was secured to the back of the black overcoat that was draped across his modest figure.

"That'll run out one day y'know?" an amused voice replied from behind him, he spun sharply; throwing the now empty potion bottle and unsheathing his sword once again in one fluid motion, his dark eyes scanning for the source of the new presence. "You REALLY need to loosen up Ki'" a violet haired girl giggled as she spoke once again, "Can't a girl just say 'Hello' without the constant threat of decapitation?"

Kirito let out a long winded groaned as he lowered his weapon, the voice and it's owner all too familiar. "Yuuki... you know full well that you shouldn't sneak up on people, especially here" he gestured to the towering walls of the labyrinth around them.

"We both know your ALWAYS on edge Kirito" she replied, her tone shifting slightly to reveal a more serious edge. "But that's just part of the reason your such a good swordsman, huh?" her voice gradually returned to its usual light hearted pitch with her last comment as she fixed Kirito with a beaming smile on Kirito while moving to meet his eyes.

The two warriors had met on the front lines sometime after Floor 40 had been cleared; the pair had become an unofficial party of sorts with Kirito's actual partner and eventual wife, Asuna, busy with her duties as second in command of the Knights of the Blood Oath.

The two had fought alongside one another through various fields and bosses, building a reputation as they carved through Aincrad with record breaking speed; That was until Kirito had suddenly vanished from the front lines for months on end with no explanation or forewarning. Upon his return he was stony and silent, placing distance between himself and the Clearing Group, with Yuuki finding the normally animated Kirito mute and subdued. Eventually, the reason for his absence was unveiled.

Clearers were simply informed that Asuna had been murdered by a traitorous member of KOB by the name of Kuradeel and the once mighty guild was to be pulled from the front lines for a supposed restructuring.

Kirito broke off from the group after the news broke; seemingly resolved to becoming a solo player once more.

The fire that had burned a path for the clearers was suddenly extinguished, it's last embers trampled with the Black Swordsman's departure.

Kirito had maintained radio silence, the only means of contact being a direct message which was more than often ignored. The swordsman's solitude was only broken when Yuuki had jumped into the line of fire to rescue him from a field boss that had almost got the better of him, his health deep in the red and sword disarmed.

Despite his complaints he could not ignore that had Yuuki not stumbled across him and intervened he would have been dead. A fact she had drilled into him with a tongue lashing that was probably heard even in the deepest recesses of the First Floor.

The scolding he could deal with. The tears were a different matter entirely.

Contact had slowly returned but his solo status was maintained, even if he had sworn to be less of a "reckless, suicidal, asshole." as a near hysterical Yuuki had put it.

"I suppose." Kirito, flashed one of his rare grins, Yuuki's upbeat attitude was infectious to all who surrounded her, himself included. He looked his former partner up and down, checking for any battle damage and noting the subtle differences to her attire from their previous meeting.

Yuuki's long lived lavender skirt and leotard had vanished; in their place were a pair of black combat shorts that came to the lower portion of her thigh, a matching shirt and a waist length jacket that was finished in her signature purple. Kirito felt surprise flicker across his face as he met her eyes once more; they had changed along with her outfit.

Grey shadows ringed the pale cream of her sockets, the once boundless energy that had filled the crimson orbs to the brim had dimmed slightly. For someone so young she looked so very old.

"Yuuki... are you doing okay... you look kind of..." Kirito hesitated, mentally kicking himself for even opening his mouth as the grin slipped from Yuuki's face.

The swordswoman barked out a laugh at his hesitation, "Shit?" she finished for him, "It's what's trying to organize and operate the front lines singlehandedly will get you I guess."

Kirito winced at the bitter tone with which she spoke. "It's my fault she even has to shoulder that burden... but then again, how could she ever expect me to stay after Asuna..." Kirito shook his head vigorously, a breakdown was the last thing he needed.

Yuuki sighed and looked back at him once more, a tired smile replacing the previous ear splitting grin.

"It's just good to see your still just about standing, what would we be without our big gun?" they both chuckled softly at her wisecrack, fatigue lacing both of their tones.

"Well, knowing you, you've been out here all day huh?" she continued after a moment of mutual silence; "Fancy finding an Inn to crash at?"

Kirito snapped out of his haze and glance at the clock to the right of his vision, slightly surprised at how fast time had snuck by.

"Yeah... looks like I have been here since 6am...'" he replied, feeling his limbs grow leaden as the countless hours finally caught up to him.

Yuuki smiled softly in response, "Luckily for the both of us I came across a village a ways back, looked kinda small but from what I saw it seemed to have something approximating an inn."

Kirito nodded in agreement, "Lead the way, oh fearless leader."

Yuuki snorted in mild amusement and set off out the cavernous Labyrinth, her fellow warrior in tow.

"Welcome to QROW" Yuuki read from the arched entrance gate. They had arrived after a hours walk, one that both sword users had complained at length about.

The town before them was small with a rustic air, with narrow cobbled streets that snaked their way through small, squat buildings as smoke rose from chimneys dotted atop them. NPC's busying themselves with whatever pre-programmed tasks the Cardinal System had assigned to them.

"There's your inn" said Kirito his eyes darting to a petite building a ways along the ramshackle path, "If it qualifies as one."

The pair eventually made their way inside with Yuuki striding up to the front desk to order two rooms with Kirito collapsing into one of the many wicker chairs that dotted the small lobby.

He only took the liberty of looking up when Yuuki finally returned, her expression an odd mix of irritation and a trace of embarrassment.

"Soooo... did you get them?" Kirito questioned one thin eyebrow raising at the girls odd expression.

"Well, there was only one available, so unless your planning on sleeping alongside the ever so friendly mobs we are going to be sharing." she offered, her cheeks bearing the faintest trace of scarlet.

"That's fine" he assured her, unfazed. "I'll just take the floor or something."

"Ahhh... the chivalrous nature of a true gentleman. Bravo my good sir!" she roared with laughter as Kirito let out a suffered groaned, taking the room key and marching ahead of the highly amused woman.

Yuuki was sat on the plush bed in her nightgown, a brush tangled in her copious lilac locks as Kirito came out the bathroom, dressed in his own black sleepwear.

In line with his previous offer he was ready to spend a less than pleasant night on the polished hardwood floor while his counterpart slept in oversized bed that been crammed into the tiny room; a grimace was just about to rise to his lips when he heard Yuuki clear her throat.

"Hey, Ki?" he turned his head towards her as she placed her hairbrush down on the vast expanse of the bed, her eyes already trained on him.

"Considering how uncomfortable that floor looks and the ridiculous size of this bed, I think I can bear to share." she finished, gesturing to the king sized bed that seemed to fill half the small room.

Kirito ignored the feeling of heat rising to his cheeks and grinned at her. "What is this? A sappy teenage romance novel?"

Yuuki laughed once more, shooting him a dangerous look. "You know as well as I do that if you try anything close to something you'd find in one of those cursed books your getting drop kicked in Target Point A."

Kirito cringed slightly at the thought and crossed his arms in a mock surrender before, with slight hesitation to his steps, moved to one side of the bed, climbing under the covers as he did.

Yuuki fiddled with the inventory screen for a moment, stowing her hairbrush and discarded combat gear before climbing into the other side of the large bed. True to Yuuki's word the bed still allowed for a large gap between its occupants, and Kirito immediately began to drift off among the soft embrace of the quilt; he was only kept from falling asleep from a soft tremor from the other side of the mattress.

Realizing it was Yuuki shaking under the bedclothes he called out hesitantly.

"Yuuki are you sure your ok with this?" he asked, doubt creeping into his voice.

"Yeah I'm all good just kinda... cold" Yuuki replied her tone quiet.

"Can I-" she stopped seemingly contemplating the right words "Can I move closer?" she finally said her voice even quieter.

Kirito remained silent for a moment before his face split into a mocking grin.

"What was that about 'No sappy romance novel esque behaviour' Yuuki?" he murmured back, his tone laced with a mocking jive.

"Urgh, you're insufferable!" Yuuki moaned, giving him a weak shoulder punch in response.

Slowly she shifted herself towards him her head resting on the pillow, eyes clouded with sleep.

"That better?" he questioned, as her eyes began to drift shut her mouth opening slightly to reply.

"Mhmm." was all he got before she slipped into sleep.

Authors Note: Thank you all for reading the first chapter of Duet of Twin Blades, this is a re-write of a story I had previously posted on another site; this is a far better example of the story as the old variant was riddled with issues from my inexperience with writing FF. I will continue to rework the existing chapters and this story should see fairly consistent updates due to the groundwork having already been laid.

Till next time!