Chapter 9: The Final Player
Ryotaro (Klein) was sitting on a bench. It was his day off, and he wasn't planning on playing ALO. He had decided to take a walk, and grabbed a cup of coffee along the way.
"Man…" He sighed. "This feels nice."
Ryotaro took a sip of his coffee, and got up. He walked a bit longer but he ran into someone and accidentally spilled his coffee on him.
"Oh!" He snapped. "I'm sorry!"
"Ah, don't sweat it, man." The man said. "It's just coffee. It could've been worse."
The two then laughed. Ryotaro invited the man over his place.
"Seriously, man. You don't have to do this…" He chuckled.
"Well, you can't go around with coffee all over you, can ya?" Ryotaro replied.
After some talking, the man gave in and gave Ryotaro his shirt. In turn, he gave him a spare to wear for the time being.
"Wait, I haven't asked your name." Ryotaro asked.
"Ah, I'm Kiriya." The man said. "Kiriya Kujo."
I've gotta believe!
(A circle camera shot of Kirito and Asuna, back to back, looking around, as the world pixelates and revealing the title)
I don't wanna know heta na shinjitsu nara I don't wanna know shiranai kurai ga ii noni
(The SAO gang talking together)
Why? Why? Why? Why? Kizukeba I came too far
(The floor suddenly crash and all of them fall, their bodies pixelating into their SAO avatars. They slowly get up, looking around the pitch blackness)
Tomaranai kanjiru kono yokan wa
(The world shatters into color and the Riders walk up to them)
The new beginning
(Each Rider show their Gashats)
Michi no ryuoiki ima wo kirihirakunda
(The SAO gang prepare to fight as the Riders go into Level 1)
I've gotta believe!
(The Riders go Level 2)
(Turn it on!) soutou
(The Gamer Driver lever turns)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Takanaru
(Ex-Aid VS Kirito and Asuna)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Kokoro ga
(Brave VS Silica and Lisbeth, Snipe VS Sinon and Leafa)
Michibiku ano basho e kakenukete ikudake
(In an explosion, Lazer tears by with Ex-Aid riding)
(Hey!) I'm on a mission right now
(Ex-Aid (on top of Lazer in Bike mode), Brave, Snipe, prepare for battle with Kirito, Asuna, and Sinon respectively, and the SAO gang take back seat, despite posing for them too.)
(Hey!) I'm on a mission right now
(Graphite and Genmu also get into a battle stance)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Kotae wa
(Graphite VS the SAO gang)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Kotae wa
(Ex-Aid & other Riders VS Genmu)
(One!) kono te no naka
(Sinon (GGO) and Snipe raising their guns to their faces)
(Two!) susumubeki Life
(Asuna and Brave clashing swords)
(Three!) ikitekudake
(Kirito & Ex-Aid run towards each other as the title appears once more)
Now, the shirt needs to dry. Kiriya and Ryotaro just decided to talk some things until the shirt is dry. They were telling each other some wacky stories.
"You're kidding, right?" Kiriya chuckled. "You tried. To romance. An NPC?"
"Hey! The circumstances were legit!" Ryotaro retaliated.
"Hey, I'm not saying it's wrong." Kiriya defended.
They got a huge laugh out of this. Kiriya looked to a nearby counter. There, stood a picture of the SAO gang.
"Who are they?" He asked.
"Ah, they're just my friends." Ryotaro said. "We played ALO together for a while. Oh yeah, you see the guy in black?"
"Yeah?" Kiriya muttered.
"That's Kirito." Ryotaro answered. "That guy is like, crazy strong!"
"You mean metaphysically or mentally?" Kiriya asked.
"Uh… how about both?" Ryotaro responded sheepishly.
Kiriya got up and picked up the picture. He observed Kirito closely. Then, he looked at the others.
"Hey, your shirt's dry." Ryotaro called.
Kiriya quickly pulled his phone and took a picture of the picture. Then, he walked over to Ryotaro. He quickly changed and began to set off.
"Thanks for the time, man." Kiriya said.
"Ah, don't sweat it." Ryotaro smiled.
They said goodbye, exchanged numbers, and then Kiriya left. On his way, Kiriya thought a lot to himself.
"Looks like this race is a lot more complicated than I thought…" He whispered to himself.
Later, out in another forest in ALO, the SAO gang were busily racking up some kills. Random mob spawns made them easier to collect decent items.
"This one's pretty zippy!" Lisbeth shouted.
She was trying to get an average sized monster, but the way it moved sporadically kept her from getting a kill.
"Nah, looks like you got this!" Kirito teased.
"Very funny, Kirito!" Lisbeth yelled.
Then, something odd happened. The monster stopped moving. Then, with a jerk, orange blobs started to spew out of it. The blobs consumed the monster and turned into something else.
"Yee-haw!" It shouted. "Let's get revved up!"
The SAO gang just looked on.
"Bugster…?" Silica asked timidly.
That question was short-lived, as a bullet just whizzed by Asuna's head hit the Bugster straight in the face.
"OW!" It yelled. "Who did that?"
Everyone turned and saw Snipe. He had his Magnum in rifle mode.
"Let me handle this guy." He chuckled.
And with a zip, he charged in and attacked the Bugster. But even he couldn't keep up with its movements.
"Ya blokes need help?" asked a voice.
Everyone turned again and saw a Sylph player. He was just casually walking towards them.
"You gotta fight speed, with speed." He smiled.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Leafa shouted.
He shook his head, and went on. He quickly took the time to ruffle Leafa's hair though.
"Hey!" Leafa grunted.
The Sylph pulled something out. It was a Gashat.
"Another Gashat?" Lisbeth shouted. "Just how many are there?"
"More than you know, lil' missy." The Sylph replied.
He pressed the Gashat.
BAKUSOU BIKE!
Following a guitar riff, trophy stands began to place themselves all over the area. The Sylph spun on the spot where he was and inserted the Gashat into his belt.
"Henshin." He said smoothly.
GASHATTO!
LET'S GAME! MECCHA GAME! MUCCHA GAME! WHATCHA NAME?!
I'M A KAMEN RIDER!
The figure of the Sylph is now replaced by a giant chibi figure. However, this one was different from the others. It held two weapons, both of which had motorcycle wheels on them.
"Let's get started!" He cheered.
He charged in. He got the Bugster with a wheel to the face.
"Nice of you to join us, Lazer." Snipe greeted.
"Happy to be here!" Lazer replied.
Both he and Snipe were now gaining some momentum on the Bugster. If Snipe shoot, the Bugster would dodge, and that gave Lazer the opportunity to strike.
"Hm." The Bugster said after taking some damage. "Time for me to take my leave!"
The Bugster then summoned a dirt bike. He got on it, and tore down the road.
"Hey!" Snipe screamed. "Get back here!"
"Well, guess we'll have to go after him." Lazer shrugged.
Then, he spun around.
"Second gear!" He said. There, he lifted the lever of his belt.
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
BAKUSOU! DOKUSOU! GEKISOU! BOUSOU! BAKUSOU BIKE!
The chibi figure's armor popped off. But this transformation was a bit different. Instead of a humanoid form, it had turned into something else. A motorcycle of all things.
"HHUHHH?" The SAO gang all yelled.
"Alright, Snipe!" Lazer said. "Last one to catch him is a rotten egg!"
Then, with tires screeching the ground, Lazer sped down the road.
"He-Hey! I'm not as fast as you, y'know!" Snipe yelled, sprinting after him.
Sinon saw a chance. She quickly drew an arrow, and shot at Snipe's general vicinity. The arrow landed just in front of him, which prompted him to stop.
"You." She said, walking up with a dagger in hand. "I'm going to defeat you, right here, right now."
"What brought this on?" Snipe chuckled.
That was the point. Sinon tightened the grip on her dagger, and proceeded to swing it. She went for any open spots she could. But Snipe was able to either dodge or block all of her attacks.
"Sinon!" Kirito shouted. "What are you doing?"
"Kirito!" Asuna interrupted. "I'll handle this. You guys go with that Lazer guy!"
"Okay, then." Kirito replied. "Everyone, let's go!"
Everyone then sprouted their wings, and took to the sky. Asuna turned back to the fight of Sinon and Snipe. She went in.
"Sinon!" Asuna cried, grabbing her from behind. "What are you doing?"
"Let me go!" Sinon shouted. "You don't know what you're doing!"
Snipe just turned his magnum back to magnum form and pointed it at the two.
"Like shooting fish in a barrel…" He whispered.
SHAKARIKI SPORTS!
A neon green game area spread out all over the area. Everyone stopped and looked in the direction of where the game area came from. Right there, the black Ex-Aid appeared on a BMX bike. He rode it towards them. Then he did a backwards wheelie and hit Snipe in the gut. Then he spun around and scraped Asuna and Sinon off their legs. Then he did a wheelie and got Asuna on the chin. Sinon went for slash, but that was dodged by a bunny hop. The black Ex-Aid then inserted a Gashat on the side of his belt, as well as pressing the button.
GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!
Cartoon effects began to swirl around the BMX's rear wheel. He then pressed the button.
SHAKARIKI CRITICAL STRIKE!
The black Ex-Aid then jumped and spun sideways very fast. All Snipe, Asuna, and Sinon tried their best to defend against the attack, but in the end, the attack overpowered them all. Sinon fell on her rear, Asuna was knocked into a wall, and Snipe rolled. All of them got up, but the black Ex-Aid was long gone. Snipe gritted his teeth, and exited his transformation.
GACHUNN! GASHUNN!
Snipe reverted back to his Spriggan body. Taking another quick look at Sinon, he sprouted his wings and flew off. Sinon gathered herself, and realized Snipe was gone. She grunted angrily, kicking a wall. Asuna was starting to ask questions.
"What is it, Sinon?" She asked.
"I… don't want to talk about it." Sinon responded quietly. "Let's find the others."
She sprouted her wings, and flew off. Asuna looked concerned. She might've not known Sinon for very long, but she has known her long enough to consider her a friend. She wanted to know what was bothering her. But, that was a question for another time.
