A/N: Wow. i never expected for my chapters to get this long in this story. I bet you guys are happy though.

Opportunities

Shino stared hard at the two hands clasped tightly on her desk.

It was two days after her little "episode," and she had finally decided that she could return to school. She had taken a day off mostly to gather her nerves together and recuperate (the more intense panic attacks always left her worn out). But mostly, the girl knew that she was using those as excuses in the end. There was really one, main reason why she had skipped school:

She was a coward.

The girl slumped, making her head rest against her folded arms. She knew that she had mostly stayed home from school because of one Kazuto Kirigaya. Her cheeks just heated up at the thought of him. She had done it. Again. She had done something embarrassing and now she couldn't even bring herself to confront him.

Shino felt ashamed of herself. She had let Kazuto see a side of her that she wished didn't even exist. He had seen her in her weakest state. Then, she had almost throttled him.

But the most confusing part was when she had used him as a comfort...

He was the arrogant idiot, the one she hated most, yet she had somehow found herself going to him for comfort. How did that make sense? She had been screaming at him moments before laying her head down on his chest. She was probably driving him insane by now as he tried to figure out what her deal was. He probably hated her even more now.

Wait a minute. Why did she care if he hated her or not? She hated him anyway! It didn't make a difference whether he hated her or not, she didn't even like him to begin with.

It's because I'm not afraid.

Shino shook her head. His words had been coming back to her since he had said them. But why? She had said it herself, he was probably lying.

And what did his words matter? She hated him!

And I don't think that you're insane either.

The scraping of a chair against the floor caught the girl's attention. She looked up on instinct, being pulled out of her thoughts, and her eyes met with a pair of intense, black ones.

Kazuto stood next to his chair, his hand resting on the back as he looked at the girl who sat behind him. Shino just looked up at him as well, trying keep her face as emotionless as his. His face, it just made her frustrated. What exactly was he thinking?

The two of them stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, trying to read each other.

Finally, Kazuto gave her a small smile.

Shino stared, her eyes wide. He was smiling at her?

"Hey, Asada." Kazuto said, raising his hand in a sort of greeting.

The girl continue to study him, trying to decipher whether or not he was being genuine. His gaze just held hers steadily.

"…Hi, Kirigaya." She finally replied, her tone soft.

He continued to smile as he sat down in his chair, but Shino couldn't really see if he continued to after he faced the front.

It was an unusually quiet day between the two of them after that. They didn't go through their usual banter or death glare competition, but instead, it was as if they had never hated each other in their lives. It was almost unnerving.

Finally, at lunchtime, progress was made.

The bell had just rung, and Shino had just taken out her lunchbox when per usual, a crowd of girls swarmed Kazuto's desk. The girl sitting behind him just stared for a second, blinked, and finally rolled her eyes before going back to her lunch.

She really hated him.

Her dark eyes went down to focus on the chopsticks in her hand as she picked up some rice. Her lunch that day consisted of rolled omelets and an assortment of vegetables. She was actually pretty proud of it. After she had moved to Tokyo, she had had to learn how to cook her own meals.

As Shino began to eat, a nagging feeling crept up inside of her. She ignored it at first, putting all of her attention on her food. But after a while of having the feeling grow, she finally looked around warily. She scanned the room starting at her right. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary…

That is until she caught sight of Kazuto.

Through the wall of girls, Shino caught a glimpse of a certain dark-haired, dark-eyed boy. He was just staring at her, and Shino wondered how long he had been doing that for. But that's not what really caught her attention. His eyes, they were slightly wide and a sheepish smile had crept itself onto his face.

Did he look…uncomfortable?

Shino just looked at him, trying to understand. Kazuto's eyes flicked to the girls around him to emphasize his message: Help me.

He was asking her for help getting away from girls? What kind of guy does that? Don't guys usually want girls to fawn over them?

Then, a girl shifted over and Shino lost sight of him. The bespectacled girl just stared blankly before focusing back on her food again with an angry determination.

No. Why should she help him? She was supposed to hate him! He was the one that wouldn't back down no matter what! It drove her insane, why couldn't he just concede defeat?

It's because I'm not afraid.

Shino stood up, slamming her chopsticks down in irritation. Walking around her desk, the girl made her way to Kazuto's. She pushed her way through a few bodies before she was finally able to see him again. Surprised, the group fell silent, wondering what the new student wanted there.

Kazuto on the other hand, looked up at her hopefully, but he kept his face as clear of emotion as he could. He just wanted to know if she had come to save him or condemn him.

"…Kirigaya. We need to talk." Shino said in a demanding tone.

"Uh, ok." The boy was able to stutter before his wrist was encased in a death grip. Then, he was unceremoniously yanked out of his chair and dragged across the room. Shino was in front of him, pulling him out of the classroom. The door slid shut loudly behind them, and they were suddenly alone in the hallway.

The two of them just stood there for a moment, Kazuto eyeing the girl in front of him curiously as she just avoided his gaze.

"…So—"

Shino looked at him sharply and Kazuto swallowed. He was really hoping that she wasn't going to yell at him or anything.

"Um—"

"I'm sorry."

Kazuto blinked. "What?"

Shino sighed, attempting to look him in the eyes as she continued. "I'm sorry…I think we got off on the wrong foot." Her face reddened. "Can we just put everything behind us and start over? I feel like you deserve that…"

The boy in front of her blinked again, not really sure if he heard her right. After a few seconds of silence, a small smile came onto his face in understanding.

"Sure. I'd like that." Shino's eyes widened as he held his hand out to her. "Hey, I'm Kazuto Kirigaya. It's nice to meet you."

It took her a second, but Shino slowly lifted her hand and placed it in his. "Shino Asada. Likewise."

They shook in greeting before parting a little awkwardly.

"So…I'll see you in class then?"

Shino nodded. "Yeah." She turned to the door of the classroom, her hand resting on the handle. She paused before opening it, and instead, turned to face Kazuto. "And, Kirigaya?"

"Yeah?"

Her dark eyes averted from his gaze (his eyes were seriously unnerving). "…Thanks."

With that one, quiet word, Shino Asada slipped into the classroom.

Kazuto stood outside the room for a few minutes, for some reason, his dream came back to him.

That girl…she had been in Asada's journal.

The boy just stood there, wondering at the significance.

Later that day, after school, Kazuto was laying on his bed, staring up at his ceiling in contemplation.

That had taken forever, he thought to himself. It had barely been two months since he had first met Shino Asada, and they were now just starting to act like normal, civilized people. It had felt like longer than just two months to him though. Despite that, he was kind of relieved, especially after witnessing her breakdown. Having this new development in their relationship would make it easier to help her.

With a sigh and a slight smile on his face, Kazuto reached beside him and took his NerveGear into his hands. He eyed it for a few seconds, just looking at it, before finally placing it on his head.

Normally, at this time of day, he would be diving into ALO. Today, however, was a different story. His recent dream had become a sort of obsession to him, and all he could think about was the girl he had found in that building, broken and lifeless. She seemed to haunt him whenever he least expected it. At first, he had tried to pass it off as his dream making him paranoid, but in the end, all he could think about was her. He didn't know her name, or who she was, yet he still felt connected to her somehow. She felt important and he wanted to know why.

That was why he was going into another game today.

After thinking and thinking about his dream, he realized that it resembled a cyber-type game he knew about: Gun Gale Online. He had the urge to go there for some reason, and couldn't bring himself to ignore it. He just felt like he had to go, or else he would regret it.

"Link Start."

With those words, he entered into the online world. It didn't take him long to log-in to his account, and soon, he was standing in the plaza of a large, metal city. That was really all he could say to describe it. All of the buildings, even the sky, were a dark gray, and the air reeked of oil.

Kirito now stared around in wonder, marveling at the entirely different world he had come across. It was a whole other reality, a whole other story.

There was the opportunity to start a new life here.

The boy looked down at his hands. No matter how many times he dived, the feeling that everything was real amazed him.

Something dark fell into his line of sight, and Kirito glanced at it. He was confused as he stared at it.

It was a lock of dark hair.

His hand reached up to touch it, and he felt it between his thumb and forefinger.

He had long hair?

Kirito turned around, not fully understanding, even when he saw his reflection in the glass of the building behind him.

"…Hm?"

Kirito placed his hands on the glass and leaned forward, not sure what to think. In the glass, he could see himself, yet he didn't want to believe that was him. He was wearing a white tunic and black pants (seemingly normal), but the weird part was his long dark hair and the soft features of his face. He stared into his dark eyes for a long moment.

"…WHAT?!" His voice reverberated against the iron of the buildings as he questioned his appearance. He just stared, his mouth agape and his eyes wide.

Why did he look like a girl? Did something go wrong and he was changed into a girl?

In a panic, Kirito puts his hands to his chest. After a few seconds of not finding anything unusual, Kirito sighed in relief. His eyes narrowed as they went back up to stare at his image. He really wasn't happy about it. He would have to find a way to change it somehow.

But that would have to come later.

That was when he embarked on his journey to start his life in GGO. He had to figure out what weapons and equipment to buy and where. As he walked through the streets, the hopeful feeling in his chest slowly turned to that of embarrassment. Wherever he went, players (all guys) would cat call or wolf whistle, "complimenting" him.

He really needed to change his avatar.

After a while of this though, Kirito got lost, and found himself at a fork in the road…street.

He just sighed. "Everything here looks the same to me."

Suddenly, a shock of powder blue appeared in his peripheral vision.

His heart leaping, Kirito's head snapped up to stare at a girl, the girl from his dream and from Shino Asada's sketchbook. What were the odds?

Without really thinking about it, Kirito rushed up to her.

"Excuse me!"

The girl stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. Kirito froze for a second as well, her indigo eyes seeming to entrap him. Why did they look so familiar?

"…Can I help you?"

"Um…" Kirito was speechless for a second. All he could think about was her eyes. They held a certain intensity to them, one that he found intimidating…and a little scary.

Wait a minute. Could this girl be Shino?

The girl did a quick once-over of his attire. "Is it your first time in this game?" A gentle smile came onto her face and Kirito found himself freaking out inside.

She probably thinks I'm a girl!

Then, a weird, yet intriguing thought came to him: What if she's just nicer to girls?

He looked her over briefly, finding himself wanting to find out. He wanted to know more about this girl.

It took Kirito a second to psych himself up for his big moment.

Then, in the cutest and most innocent way he could muster, Kirito put his cheek into his hand.

"Yep. This is my first time here. I'm practically lost."

The girl nodded. "That's understandable. These streets look the same if you haven't traveled on them before." She glanced at a nearby clock. "Well, I'm not doing anything right now. Would you like some help?"

So maybe she was nicer to girls.

"You would really do that for me?"

There was another nod. "Sure. There aren't that many female players in this game anyways, we should help each other out, y'know?"

"That's awfully nice of you." Kirito gushed, though inside he was a little afraid of himself. Maybe he was spending too much time with the girls in ALO.

He smiled sweetly, wondering if this could really be Shino. "I should introduce myself. I'm Kirito, by the way."

"Kirito? That's an unusual name." The girl mused, but she smiled nonetheless. "I'm Sinon. Nice to meet you."

Sinon, huh? This was definitely her.