Absolute Bond (Yuuki x Kirito)

Chapter Nine: A Blossoming Catastrophe

Aincrad, Floor 64: Village of QROW 12:24 AST (Aincrad Standard Time) 

Warmth, overwhelming Warmth, was the only term Yuuki Konno could fish from her still awakening brain, the phrase ran through her sluggish mind repeatedly like a broken record as her pale eyelids fluttered open to combat the morning sun now invading the small room. The source of the seemingly endless warmth became apparent as soon as her clouded scarlet eyes drifted to the bed beside her; A certain raven-haired swordsman had wrapped her in a rather tight full body embrace, her lavender hair pressed firmly into the supple flesh of his chest. She smiled softly, breathing in the now familiar scent Cardinal awarded players it considered appropriately "washed." The previously undetected sound of Kirito's sleeping invaded her ears as she basked in the loving embrace, her head moving in time with the slow rise and fall of his chest; her mind slowly drifting to the previous nights' dramatic conclusion. A blush lapped at the porcelain skin of Yuuki's cheek as she recalled her breakdown after revisiting her blackened past, the weight too much to much to bear... And yet, even with her spilling her darkest secrets to him, the information that had left many others either horrified or disgusted, he had stayed . A luxury many did not offer the swordswoman, often choosing to avoid the minefield of her altogether; "He stayed" Yuuki's mind repeated the phrase again, a smile fully crested her lips in joyful response and she pulled the boy closer, the warmth only burrowing deeper into her form as she did. 

 A small sigh from the body next to Yuuki brought her back from sleep once more as her eyes flicked dainty up to meet their Onyx counterparts, a smile danced across Kirito's slightly dazed face as he planted a kiss on her temple. "Ah, finally decided to wake up Miss Sleepy?" Kirito's lopsided grin grew at the sight of Yuuki's emerging pout, he let out a hoarse chuckle, "Oh don't give me that look, I've been trying to get up for an hour, unfortunately, I seem to have grown a rather persistent anchor." Yuuki cast her eyes down the bed to where her and Kirito's legs were twined together in an almost unnatural fashion, Yuuki struggled to identify where she ended and he began; She returned her eyes to his and casually rolled them, flicking a strand of violet hair back over her shoulder. "As if your complaining" Yuuki poked a jovial finger at him, rolling her eyes once more, voice full of mock accusation, "I shudder to think what unspeakable things you've done to my pure, innocent self while I've been out." Kirito gave a snort of laughter, "You, Innocent? Miss "Elucidator Jr." Yuuki giggled in response, planting a kiss on Kirito's forehead before moving to leave the bed; "Going somewhere?" Kirito pouted as Yuuki stood up, his warmth suddenly gone. Yuuki smiled warmly at him before muttering, "Oh, Kirito?" he looked up at her, concern briefly crossing his features, "Thank you for listening last night... it meant a lot to me." Yuuki finished softly, turning and entering the bathroom leaving Kirito behind her. "Anytime Yuuki." 

Floor 72: Boss Chamber

A blanketing murmur became audible as Yuuki and Kirito took their last steps along the stone-flagged floor into the Boss Room; Warriors from all guilds and floors were gathered in the small safe space, beyond its protective barrier lay a cathedral style hall, it's walls stained a sickly crimson. The two moved into the group, keeping a firm grasp on the others hand as to not get lost in the confusion, eyes desperately seeking for any familiar face among the haphazardly organized crowd. "Oh, hey! Kirito!" two sets of eyes turned in the direction of the noise and two smiles soon followed, "Klein? It's been an age!" Kirito grinned, bumping fists with the approaching swordsman. His own grin shone like ever but his equipment showed more distress than it's owner, with noticeable gashes carved deep into the armors crimson facade. "Talk about it!" Klein laughed boisterously, his bandanna swaying precariously, "I'd heard you finally decided to get off your ass but I've been out of action myself, first Boss raid in a fair while." Klein indicated his shoulder which wore a large white bandage and was uncovered by the scarlet armor. "Been through the wars eh?" Yuuki grinned, Klein gave a snort of amusement, "Yeah, hurt almost as much as losing that spar with you." Yuuki and Kirito tittered at the memory of the short-lived duel, "Anyhow, beat tall, dark and emo yet?" Klein indicated Kirito with a single finger letting Yuuki smirk, "Well, he's usually too busy staring to judge properly, but I'd say I'm not too far off." Kirito simply sighed, a hand coming up to his face, "I j-just." He promptly gave up, turning back to Klein. "Any info on the boss?" Klein shook his head, his face suddenly grim, "This one is unlike the others..." he suddenly looked around for any lingering eavesdroppers before leaning in closer to the two before continuing, "Something's off... All the previous raids have had atleast some available scouting data, you remember right? The kind Argo used to sell us?" Kirito and Yuuki nodded, the maps and miscellaneous data sold by the infamous info broker had proved invaluable to the success of previous raids, however outlandish her prices were; "Well... there wasn't any this time..." Kirito and Yuuki exchanged curious glances, Argo had never failed to provide information before, even on the shortest of notice. "All her suppliers failed to get back to her, she hasn't heard from any of them in days." The party of three collectively frowned, the loss of scouts meant only one of two things, either this Floor posed a serious threat, or there was a less than agreeable third party involved. "Any leads yet?" Yuuki asked her brow still furrowed in concern, "No, at least, not yet." Klein shook his head looking towards the stonily silent Kirito; "Kirito?" Kirito looked up and met Klein's gaze, his eyes betraying his unease, "Those scouts..." Kirito murmured slowly, as if mulling something over, "They were all fairly high levels and traveled in groups... it would have taken a lot to take them all down..." Both Klein and Yuuki shot him quizzical looks as he fell silent, a dark shadow slowly descending over the group, "Yeah... your right, even if they were ambushed by a field boss you'd expect at least one to come back..." Yuuki finished, her face now furnished with a dark look, "You don't suppose Heat-" Yuuki cut off as a chorus of footsteps echoed around the darkened walls. "Halt!" the baritone voice of Heathcliff chased the noise of the footsteps around the chamber, the background hum of chatter falling deathly silent, all eyes turned towards the famed commander. "Well, I see you've all made good time, a nice change." The grating sarcasm rode with his words and a general sound of irritation arose from the gathered players, some placing their hands on the hilts of their weapons in an automatic response. "Well, I see your all restless, shall we begin?"  

A soft tinkling sound emanated from the flagged floor as the clearing party advanced, eyes trained on the foreboding darkness blanketing the end of the chamber; A louder, more high pitched chime played, a warning of the battle to come, the last chance to run. The party slowed, the darkness at the end of the hall lifting slowly as if afraid of the horrors it was unleashing upon the gathered warriors. A deeply seeded growl rolled across the stone pavers, two bloodshot eyes followed it, the pupils wide and wild, their message clear. 

"AGAIN, FORWARD!" the command reached the stagnant players, they responded instantly, launching towards the ailing boss, it's four health bars nearly depleted, the once-green indicators now stained a deep crimson. Kirito ran alongside Yuuki, both raising their respective swords and launching a devastating flurry of slashes and stabs across the bosses' torso, it's boar like head reeling back accompanied by a hoarse shriek, the arm that held it's weapon flailing back over its head; The other clearers seized the opening and unleashed a furious attack, weapons of all kinds raining deep scarlet lines to join Yuuki and Kirito's own as the two watched, still frozen, recovering from their use of sword skills. The muscle-lock finally broke as the group hastily retreated, the boss recovering from its stunned haze with yet another deafening roar that shook the enclosed hall; Panting slightly, Kirito addressed Yuuki and the rest of the gathered players as the boss drew itself back into an attack stance, a low menacing growl emanating from the depths of its throat. "Right, form up and be ready to block, don't try to score a hit, it'll be too risky when it's on the attack." As if on cue, the piercing sound of grating metal sounded as the boss lifted its heavy chains and charged the group, the low growl replaced with an equally ear-splitting roar; "NOW!" Kirito bellowed as the boss brought the chain down towards them. The clearers responded immediately, shields, swords, and axes all raised against the incoming attack, forming a makeshift shield which the chain rebounded from with a sickening sound of grating steel, punctured with sounds of exertion from the players below; The boss followed once again with further devastating blows, each one forcing more to their knees in a desperate bid to maintain the cover. The boss finally backed off once again, its breath labored from the assault, the clearers rising once more to face it, Kirito and Yuuki at the forefront. Kirito raised his voice once more, "Right be ready to repeat that, its second attack is about to beg-." "FORWARD, NOW!" Heathcliff's order overrode Kirito's own, his troops already charging, weapons raised along with a battle cry; the others followed, the sight of those advancing reassuring them, Kirito stood still, along with Yuuki faces frozen in horror. 

Screams punctured tore through the air as the boss ripped through the scattered line of players, bursts of bright, aqua colored shards clouding the air like macabre confetti; The survivors lay on the floor, weapons thrown far from reach and armor durability depleted. The boss' face twisted into what looked like a horrifying interpretation of a smile as it raised its knarled arm once more, preparing to bring the chain down on the remnants of the party. Kirito stood wide-eyed, the screams and begging seeming to be coming from the other side of a glass wall, their pleas muffled behind shock; From the corner of his vision a blinding purple light emanated, along with a desperate cry, the wielder launched towards the boss, blocking its fatal strike with a thunderous bang that shook Kirito from his haze. He saw the savior struggle and finally crumble against the attack, a lavender sword flying from her grasp. Yuuki crashed to the floor, a jagged crimson wound branded upon her chest...  

(A/N) 

Happy New Year! Once again I have to apologize for the incredibly extended wait for Chapter Nine, Christmas combined with writer's block didn't turn out to be a winning combination for getting this chapter out in a reasonable amount of time; Still, I seem to have gotten my drive once more so you can hope to see Chapter Ten far sooner. Please comment your thoughts on this chapter, it was a long time coming... 

Yuuki can't seem to catch a break, can she?