The Gunwomen
Madoka Magica and Sword Art Online
Chapter Three
Sinon led me into a shooting range that looked straight out of a police station. We stopped in front of one of the targets and I pulled out my pistol. I pointed it at the human-shaped cutout and switched off the safety. I focused on the target's centre and let a bullet fly. My aim looked good at first, but I soon watched in horror as it wondered left and missed the target entirely. I saw Sinon shake her head out of the corner of my eye.
"Hey, big shot. Firing a gun isn't that easy" She teased me. "Maybe you should try watching a pro before you try doing it yourself."
Sinon motioned for me to move, but I refused. I knew my aim hadn't gotten this bad. I raised my weapon and pointed it back at the target. A green circle appeared, overlaying the target. It was shrinking and expanding. This was some sort of targeting reticle, wasn't it? Why was it so big?
"Calm down." Sinon commented. "Nothing's at stake here expect your pride."
She was right. I was still flustered by my failure to stick my first shot. I took a few deep breaths and watched my targeting reticle become smaller as a result. I couldn't believe it. Calmness was the answer? I slowly pushed all the stress and worries out of my head and watched the targeting reticle shrink to a tiny five centimetres in diameter. I shot another bullet and it hit the centre of the target perfectly. This made Sinon jump a bit.
"Wow." Sinon exclaimed. "I've never seen a beginner land a bullseye like that on their second shot."
"Ha." I dryly laughed. "I may know nothing about VR, but I know how to use a gun."
I switched on the safety back on and then motioned to put the weapon into my time shield. Sinon gave me a confused glare as I pressed my gun against my wrist, expecting it to disappear. Slightly embarrassed, I slip it into a holster attached to my belt.
"Aren't you going to practice some more?" Sinon asked me. "It'll be a while before you can go out into the field."
"No, I think that will be good for now." I told her with a shake of the head. "I want my next target to be another player."
Sinon seemed conflicted. It was almost like she wanted to say how much I was rushing thing, but she also seemed to understand that I knew what I was doing. Or at least I thought I knew what I was doing. Honestly, this virtual world was still very new to me. I looked up at the clock on my heads up display. It was already 11 PM and I had work the next day. I turned back to Sinon.
"I have to get going." I announced to her. "Perhaps we'll meet again."
"I certainly hope so." She said back. "I'm sure I said this before, but there aren't many girls playing this game."
I did the cryptic finger swipe thing to bring up the system menu and hovered my hand over the logout button. I looked back up at Sinon.
"Bye."
I pressed my index finger down and the virtual world disappeared. I was looking up at my bedroom ceiling. I took off the AmuSphere and sat it on my nightstand. I was about to get ready for bed when my phone went off. I had no idea who would call me at this hour unless it was an emergency. I sighed and picked up.
"Hello, Akemi. This is Naka."
Initially, I froze. Jun Naka was my boss at work. Why was he calling me at such a late time? Was he going to fire me? I've done nothing wrong though.
"Good evening, sir." I greeted him. "Is something wrong."
"I need you to get on the next flight to Tokyo." He told me. "The calendar lady screwed up again. We have an important meeting with a customer tomorrow morning."
Naka then sighed into the phone. I could feel the frustration in his voice.
"We'll compensate you for the plane ticket and hotel, but I need you to get your butt over to the Akihabara as soon as possible. That is all."
Naka then hung up before I could say anything more. I looked up from my phone and sighed before looking back down. I pulled up the website for All Japan Airways and booked a ticket for a flight to Tokyo departing in four hours. I scrambled to pack everything in my suitcase and headed out the door. I was then on my way to Tokyo.
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(Chapter Four: In Progress)
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Quick Author's Note:
I realize this is a really short chapter. I had to cut it short here because I want to switch the point of view to Sinon and do some stuff with that. Trust me, the next chapter will be much longer.
