Chapter 11: Phantom Bullet
December 14th, 2025
"So, Death Gun!" I howled. "Let's dance!"
My knife flashed in my hands as I dropped into a careful waiting stance, and my eyes were narrowed as I watched Death Gun. I could feel his urge to kill radiating from him, and I matched the aura of death with one of my own, summoning up all the hate and rage and hatred and need to murder have to kill he must DIE. I panted slightly, my breath hissing out, and Death Gun shifted. I felt like I could feel him laughing at me, and I bared my teeth. Laugh at me, would he? Let's see him laugh when my knife is buried to the hilt in his skull. "Well, Rythin," Death Gun intoned, slicing the air with his estoc and letting his cloak flare in the wind. "You continue to surprise me. With that bloodlust, how you never joined Laughing Coffin is beyond me."
"I don't play well with others," I growled, digging my boots into the sand beneath me. "Besides, I only learned better after we all woke up."
"A shame," Death Gun sighed. "With you, it would be so easy to kill whoever we want."
"Bite me. Or don't, I don't want rabies."
The posturing done with, we moved, closing in each other at the same time. I wasn't dancing gracefully this time; this was flat-out trying to kill the bastard, no wasted moves or motions. With a grunt, Death Gun thrust forward with his sword, the tip seeking my unprotected throat, but I was already moving to avoid the blow. I parried the blow with the flat of my knife, shoving it off to the side away from me while closing in on him at the same time. With a shout, I thrust my fist toward his gut, slamming a punch there – only to be forced to jump back when I heard a metallic clang and he drew back his estoc again, this time going for my eyes. Landing with a spray of sand, I hissed in pain and shook my hand. Punching metal hurts when I don't have my diamond gloves to take half of the blow.
Death Gun didn't give me a chance to recover; he was already dashing forward, estoc licking out and trying to find holes in my guard, and despite my years of experience with Future Step I just couldn't dodge all of the attacks. I wasn't good enough. Still, my bloodlust matched his, the two thirsts for blood warring as we struck out at each other, and I could read that to get maybe a quarter of a second of warning – but that just wasn't enough. I couldn't get through his guard; it was like fighting Asuna, only an Asuna that genuinely wanted to kill me. So let's up the ante!
I dashed forward, the viper in me lashing out and tracing the path I needed to strike at. I followed it with a hiss of exhaled breath, tightening my muscles to attack as fast and strong as possible; my dagger plunged toward his arm. Death Gun flicked his estoc up and knocked my blade away with a spray of sparks, and I felt his bloodlust aim toward my stomach like the fangs of a spider trying to pierce me. I thrust my knee up, interrupting the path, and it collided with his estoc, forcing it to slide past my body. I kicked out, the viper striking towards his stomach, but he was already shifting to the side almost faster than I could catch it. The only warning I had was when his fangs struck at my neck from the side, and I dropped, catching myself on my hands and kicking up with my legs. The blade of his estoc blew past where my neck had been and I pushed up, soaring towards him with my feet outstretched, but it was fruitless and I hit only air. I landed and twisted, feeling where his fangs would sink into my body and moving to avoid the repeated thrusts.
Disengaging from him and jumping back, I took a deep breath. Crap... We were reading each other too well. Fighting with the bloodlust active like that, he could sense where I'd strike next and I him. Like that, we'd never get anywhere; I decided to experiment a bit and focused, directing the viper to attack at the left foot. Just like that, Death Gun shifted to the right, and I grinned slightly, only to tense when his fangs struck toward my right arm. I narrowed my eyes and shifted, turning my shoulders slightly to pull my arm out of the path of the spider's fangs. Then I chuckled; looks like he was doing the same thing as me. This won't get us anywhere; as we circled each other, I used my viper and he used his spider. Neither of us could get a solid blow on the other without sacrificing more than we were ready to risk, and so we didn't attack, just continuing to move around each other. Oh, there were the occasional probes, Death Gun lunging toward me with his estoc licking towards my eyes and me cutting out with my dagger or trying to get behind him; we were constantly engaging and breaking away, but it would only look like we were fighting. I lunged to the left, trying to direct the viper to the right, but Death Gun must have expected that because instead of circling behind him I found myself being forced to roll forward or else end up with a punctured lung. Damn this sand... I can't get a good footing.
Tired of this pointless clashing, I snarled and poured more hatred into my body, trying to give myself any edge I had over Death Gun, and he stumbled slightly; I pounced on the opportunity, my knife splitting the air with the shriek of tortured metal as it went directly for his throat. Death Gun leaned to the side, dodging the main blow, but that was okay – striking his shoulder worked just as well. I didn't get away scot-free, being forced to take a thrust straight through the ribs, but when he pulled back for another blow I slammed myself toward him. He drew back his blade, trying to get it in position in time, but I lashed out with my blade and knocked his estoc out of alignment before twisting and slamming the point of my steel-toed boots into the side of his head. He cartwheeled away, rolling with the blow, so I didn't get to do as much damage as I'd have liked, but it was still the first solid hit I'd landed on him. I'd sacrificed half of my own health to get it, but I'd damaged him – he'd have to be shaken now. That was my entire goal - I'd die, but I'd be able to weaken him if not outright kill the fucker.
Death Gun came upright and I slammed my foot into the ground on the landing to push forward, intending to carve open his throat from ear to ear; the second I got close, though, his free hand flashed up and cast something toward me. I had a heartbeat to realize he'd just thrown sand at me before it was in my eyes and I leaped back, hissing at the stinging pain in my eyes. I'd been blinded, and that was bad; even through the darkness, however, I could feel the bloodlust and jumped back, hearing sand crunch where I'd been a second ago. There was a hissing sound that wasn't from me – his gas mask? "I'm impressed, Rythin," Death Gun said, and he sounded lower. That crunch and surge of killing intent was probably him trying to run me through.
"Rotten bastard," I growled as I pawed at my eyes, trying to get the grit out of them. "Blinding me with sand you grabbed from your dodge?"
"Ah, so you did see that."
"Extrapolation, actually," I murmured, blinking. My eyes were still watering and my vision was blurry, but I could fight. "You didn't have sand in your hand before I kicked you and you did after – so it had to have been when your hand was on the ground." I flicked my knife blade to the side. "Cheating asshole... I'm going to kill you for that."
"It's not cheating," Death Gun told me, sounding amused, "it's using my resources creatively."
I snarled something incoherent. I'm the dirty fighter here, bastard, not you! I'll be damned if I let you beat me through an obvious trick like that! I gathered myself, preparing to lunge, until suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder; I looked over to see Kirito standing there, a determined look on his face. "Rythin," he said, staring at Death Gun. "Let me handle this."
I watched him for a second, then raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"
He looked at me and nodded, his face solemn. "I have to be the one to do this. I have to face him." Ah. Death Gun is Kirito's demon, the thing he has to beat to accept how he killed those three players. And if I killed Death Gun, he'd never be able to accept that part of him and move on. Shame, really. But Kirito was my friend, and I'd do anything for him. "Please." Even without him looking like a female that probably has every single one of our friends laughing hysterically. And or cooing over how cute he is. Maybe both. Who knows!
He'd said it in the cave, to Sinon mostly, but he'd said it all the same - that he shouldn't forget what it means to kill, the significance of taking a life, and that when he did accept those burdens he'd be able to find closure - and right now he was asking me to let him take on the past, to be able to accept what he did and fight back. Faced with a reason like that, well... How could I say no?
"...Of course, Kirito," I nodded, straightening up. I sheathed my knife and with it forced the viper down to rest again. Taking a deep breath, I cracked my neck and grinned. "Right, then, have some fun. I leave this case in your hands, world-weary vet." Kirito smiled slightly and swung his beam saber. "By the way, Death Gun, thanks for being so understanding about this." The cloaked man was just standing there, probably a little bemused. "I'll be standing back, for now. I won't get involved in a one-on-one duel."
"How noble," Death Gun sneered.
"Trust me, I'm going to kick your face in regardless," I said, smiling widely. "But Kirito's got hunting rights, since he's fought you before." Stepping back to the top of a dune, I sat down and crossed my legs, getting comfortable. As I settled my weight, I spread my arms widely. "Kirito?"
"Mm?"
The problem with fighting one against two wasn't that they'd gang up on you. The problem was exactly what had just happened – they'd fight separately until one gets tired, and then the other tags in, perfectly fresh. Attrition will wear down anyone and force them to make mistakes.
Mistakes that would allow us to kill Death Gun. My smile dropped instantly as I clenched my fists. "Destroy him."
Kirito nodded and swung his sword, preparing to attack Death Gun. Death Gun just laughed madly and blurred forward, dropping under Kirito's thrust and retaliating with several thrusts of his own. I watched impassively as Kirito was struck on the shoulders and arms and legs, red lines opening up along his avatar and marking him with damage. I just watched with narrowed eyes, thinking. It was cold, but Kirito asked me to do this. Though, if there was a chance of Death Gun getting away, I would have said no. But I trusted Kirito; and even if he lost, I was still here, ready and willing to murder Death Gun.
It was possible... No, at this point it was still probable that Kirito would lose. Despite fighting me first Death Gun was just too fast, too accurate with his thrusts. Laughing madly the whole time, Death Gun's estoc flashed out over and over again, striking Kirito and forcing my friend on the defensive; Kirito backflipped away to gain distance and brought his sword up in a guarding position. Death Gun didn't even bother with the speed now, he just walked forward calmly, thrusting at Kirito's vital points. Still, Kirito was good enough to be able to deflect the attacks with a grunt, sparks flying every time the estoc and the beam sword collided. Occasionally Kirito would dodge the attack, shifting to the side and leaning one way or another. Still, Death Gun was clearly toying with him. As he laughed, his estoc slipped through Kirito's guard and opened up more wounds, and I gritted my teeth. But I wouldn't interfere; I'd given Kirito my word that I wouldn't.
Death Gun was tough, no two ways around that. I leaned forward as Kirito kept backing away, trying to get distance between himself and Death Gun. Still, Death Gun kept pressing the attack, forcing Kirito to block and parry and never have time to attack. Kirito just needs to slow him down, that's all. I looked over at the tower where Sinon had been sniping from, and I grimaced; her scope was damaged, so she couldn't snipe. The only thing she could do would be to come down to the battlefield personally, and that was just a bad idea. I watched Death Gun execute another smooth combo, flowing from a thrust to a roundhouse kick to a slash with practiced ease, and I clenched my fists - he was just too strong for Kirito to take on alone, not without figuring out some way to slow him down. But I couldn't do anything, I was stuck on the sidelines, why am I always forced to watch as my friend fights and dies? Why?! First Kayaba, now Death Gun, why am I always so usele-
I froze, and stared at my left hand in amazement. Despite the chill wind blowing through the desert, it felt... warm. Like someone was holding my hand, someone invisible and intangible but warm. ...The nurse? No, she was a professional, and she wouldn't touch my body without asking first, or it being strictly medically necessary. So who was holding my hand? A face floated in my mind's eye, and I relaxed. "Argo..." I breathed. My love was in the room, sitting beside me, sharing her warmth with me. "Thank you." I placed my right hand over my left and leaned forward, studying Death Gun's appearance and movements. Sooner or later, something would appear, and that would give me the chance to pull on the loose thread that was his estoc. And that thread would lead me to his identity. Frowning, I set to work planning and scheming. I needed Sinon here, that's for certain. She was the only one that could interfere at this point, since I'd given my word and everyone else was dead. But how to keep her safe from Death Gun? I couldn't guarantee I'd be able to take the bullets for her, and the bullets traveled faster than I could kill her with my knife. So how could I keep her from getting shot?
I shifted, and smiled. I'd forgotten about that, somehow. Yes, that would work perfectly.
We all watched anxiously as Kirito fought desperately against Death Gun; his diagonal slash was aborted before it even began, and Death Gun struck quickly, like a viper. Thrust, thrust, kick, thrust... Kirito was just barely keeping up, and I knew he was taking damage. My hand tightened on Nick's motionless hand, and I took solace in just being able to hold his hand, even if he didn't respond. He was strong, despite what he claimed. I saw the dark sides of him, and I knew how much he was fighting and struggling against daily; nobody who could still function in society while dealing with that much stress and pressure could be weak.
A monitor started beeping, and we all turned to stare; Kazuto's heart rate had spiked over 160, and it was still rising. I glanced at Kazuto's body, and my lips pressed into a thin line; he wasn't as well-built as Nick was, since I don't think he did martial arts, but that wasn't my main concern. My main concern, and most likely Asuna's as well, was that sweat was covering his body and he was panting heavily. "He's sweating so much," Aki said, staring at the readout from the electrodes attached to his body. "If this keeps up he'll dehydrate soon." She glanced over at Nick's readout and frowned. "Weyr isn't as bad, but he's not looking stellar either." She sighed. "I wonder if we can get them to log out. Or at least warn them..."
Asuna and I shook our heads immediately. "No," Asuna said, "he wouldn't hear us. The Dive blocks everything out."
"It's not as extensive as the NerveGear," I said, still holding Nick's hand, "so some sensations get through, like heat, but for right now we have to act as though he can't see or hear us."
"Besides," Asuna said, staring at Kazuto's panting body, "the AmuSphere is designed with stuff like this in mind. If his heart rate gets too high, or he gets too dehydrated, it should log him out immediately."
Aki closed her eyes for a long time before sighing. "Okay," she said. "I guess we just have to wait."
I looked back at the screen to see the camera briefly shift to Rythin; he was sitting on the top of a nearby dune, watching the duel unfold with a frown on his face. I smiled slightly when I noticed that he had his right hand over his left - looks like he can feel my warmth through the AmuSphere. I can't do anything except trust him, trust that he has a plan. I know he'll come through, he always has before. No matter what the challenge was, he's always risen to meet it. I have faith that he'll be able to pull through here. I know he'll be able to do it. I trust him.
"Hey Mommy?" Yui said suddenly. "Try holding Daddy's hand, just like Aunt Argo. He'll feel the warmth of your touch and know you're here watching over him." I looked over, and saw her smile sadly. "Since I can't touch anything in your world, hold him for me, too." Aw, that's the saddest and sweetest thing I've heard. Poor Yui. I wish there was a way for her to come to this world, but I just can't see a path that would lead to it. The technology just isn't advanced enough yet. "I know he won't feel me there, but still..."
Asuna looked at her phone, then smiled softly. "No," she said, shaking her head. "That's not true. I'm sure he'll feel your hand too." She lifted Kazuto's limp hand and slid her phone under it, resting his hand on the display. "I know he will. We'll cheer him on... together." She placed her hands on top of Kazuto's, and bent down until her forehead was almost touching her hands.
"Mommy..." Yui whispered.
I looked at Nick again and reached out, tracing the line of his scar with the tip of my finger. "You mean so much to me," I whispered to him. Before getting stuck in Aincrad, I'd always been a loner; I was secure and surrounded by my information, and that was all I needed. Despite a small, teeny-tiny crush on Kazuto, I hadn't needed anyone but myself. "I know you can do this. You're the Tactician, the man I fell in love with, so make me proud." But this abrasive, selfish, damaged, vulnerable, wonderful man worked his way into my heart and I don't know what I'd do without him. If I had to go back to that empty loneliness… "I love you," I murmured. "And I'll always be with you, no matter what."
I smiled and leaned over before gently kissing his forehead. "So beat this bastard and come back to me."
Things were not looking good. Kirito managed to dodge two thrusts to his neck and jump back, but he was still totally on the defensive; no matter what he did, he just couldn't shake Death Gun. And I couldn't help but feel that Death Gun was still just playing with Kirito, like a cat would with a mouse it's caught totally and utterly. Death Gun stabbed to the left, and Kirito blocked it before shifting his guard to the right, sweeping the beam saber up and knocking the point of the weapon away from him. He was staying alive thanks to his insane reaction speed, but that was all he was doing - he wasn't able to fight back in any meaningful manner, and his health was slowly draining with every attack he was forced to take from Death Gun.
I just wish he was able to know Death Gun's name. I mean, I get that he didn't want to know Death Gun's name, and I understand; I can understand not wanting to know the name of a madman and a murderer. I can even understand that Kirito wanted nothing to do with Laughing Coffin at all, that he just wanted to forget that the day had even happened. And he did succeed, in a fashion. A shame that his past came back to haunt us.
Death Gun forced Kirito to block two heavy overhead attacks, and the pressure of the blows made Kirito put all his weight on his front leg; suddenly, Death Gun dropped low and swept Kirito's leg out from under him with a nasty leg sweep. Kirito tumbled to the ground, rolling away from Death Gun's thrusts and jumping away just as the point of Death Gun's estoc slammed into the ground where his legs had been. He started shifting to the offensive, taking two heavy swings before slamming an overhead strike down on Death Gun that was blocked; at some point, he'd shifted to the heavier two-handed style of wielding his beam saber, and I frowned. His fighting style was optimized for efficiency, with no wasted movements or attacks. Giving up the versatility and speed of his one-handed style wasn't a good idea; Death Gun's style was like Asuna's, quick thrusts, almost like a fencer, and Kirito's style was slower than his by default. So he'd need to be as quick as possible to keep up, and heavier attacks isn't going to do it. I didn't even expect Death Gun to block the attack. And then the cloaked guy proved me right by rolling backwards and kicking Kirito in the stomach, flipping my friend over him and sending him crashing to the sand. Kirito immediately looked up and scrambled backwards, dodging Death Gun's thrust and follow-up slash. Still, it looked like it caught him in the cheek, and I gritted my teeth. Damn it, if I knew who he was I could use that information against him. Predict his actions, or taunt him, or something.
So who the hell was Death Gun? Kirito hadn't learned his name, but we needed it now. There had to be some clue, some sort of tell, some part of him that was left over from Aincrad other than his weapon! There was Kirito's fighting style and reflexes, my Future Step... so what was his? He thrust and Kirito blocked, shifting the weapon to the side with a spray of sparks; I was watching so intently it was like slow motion. The sparks were flying, then Death Gun struck again like a viper. Again, Kirito managed to shift it aside, reacting just in time, and then Death Gun struck a third time. Time seemed to slow to a stop as the point of the blade scratched Kirito's cheek, leaving a bright red mark. I hissed under my breath, but Death Gun had overextended himself; his hood flapped back, and I found myself drawn to his eyes. Laughing Coffin... the laughing skull and red eyes... I knew those eyes. Death Gun twisted, preparing to make a stab directly at Kirito's heart, and my friend couldn't dodge. But it was too late; I had seen his face fully without being covered. Where did I know those red eyes from? And that laughing skull mask, I knew it too. I'd seen it before, I'd talked about it before.
Click. I'd talked about this person in the briefing before the raid on Laughing Coffin. He had been one of the three main members of Laughing Coffin that we needed to watch out for - deadly with an estoc and absolutely, insanely in love with killing. He had been the first person to attack, according to the report from Schmidt and his guild, he had been stopped by Kirito non-lethally. I needed to remember, so I closed my eyes and imagined the room. Imagined standing in front of everyone, calmly explaining about the three killers to watch out for, the high-priority targets of capture. I'd pointed to the first image, PoH - the leader of Laughing Coffin, the man with the charisma to lead so many murderers. It wasn't him, his weapon was a massive cleaver. The next had been... Johnny Black. He wore the bag over his head and used the poison throwing knives...
Click. Wait. I'd met all three of them before. When we were running through the forest to rescue Caynz and Yoruko and Schmidt. It had been PoH and Johnny Black and the man holding Yoruko at sword point had been... The third person on that list, the one with the skull mask and the glowing red eyes had been...
Click.
"XaXa!" I shouted. In the distance, Kirito's lips moved as he whispered the same words at the same time.
Death Gun jerked, the tip of his estoc missing its target and sliding by Kirito's side. "Red-Eyed XaXa!" Kirito shouted. Looks like he figured it out just at the same time as I did. "That's you, that's your name!" Death Gun - no, XaXa was off balance from missing the thrust, and Kirito was able to slice with his beam saber and nick XaXa's arm. The first strike he'd successfully made against his opponent, and I was filled with bloody satisfaction. We'd found you. There was nowhere for you to run and hide now, and that means you're done, XaXa.
XaXa and Kirito stood still, staring at each other for a moment - Kirito probably waiting for the attack, and XaXa reeling from having his identity revealed like that. My heart beat once, twice, a third time - and then a bullet indicator appeared, centered on XaXa's heart. I whipped my head around to see the bullet line stretching to where Sinon was standing tall at the top of a nearby dune, and laughed. "Kirito!" she shouted.
I felt a shiver run down my spine, and I could feel the wild grin on my face. This was it, this was what Kirito needed to distract XaXa! Sinon had him in her sights and he was forced to dodge the phantom bullet that was centered on his heart in addition to Kirito, and he couldn't possibly have the same kind of skill with Future Step that I did - he couldn't dodge two attacks like that at the same time. XaXa grimaced, then dashed towards Sinon faster than Kirito could catch him - but I was already there, standing beside her, before he could get a bead with his pistol. I drew Sinon's pistol out of my pocket and racked the slide before putting it to her head. "I'll kill her before letting you touch her," I said softly. "She will live." The viper has claimed her as its own, and it will not abide having its prey stolen.
XaXa snarled and then was forced to jump back as Kirito appeared in front of him, swinging his sword. The beam sword hissed as it cut through the air; somehow, despite everything, Sinon used every last bit of her skill and whatever else she had inside to keep that bullet line trained on his heart. The world slowed down again, and I felt my mind kicking into high gear, burning every detail of this moment into my memory. Kirito had his sword raised high over his head, preparing for that one last attack that would end this, shouting a war cry as he swung - and then XaXa cackled madly and disappeared, his cloak turning him invisible. No! This will not end this way! Kirito reached out, trying to grab XaXa before he disappeared - but his hand closed on nothing but air. No, no, gods damn it, NO!
I felt the warmth on my hand, and I clenched my fist. If Kana was there in the real world, holding my hand... Asuna would be there too, holding Kirito's! He could feel the warmth there too! And Kirito did; his hand dropped to his waist, where his pistol was holstered, and he whipped it out like it was a second sword. There was that Dual Blades skill - and with a chill running down my spine, I could see him, see the old Kirito lunging forward with Elucidator and Dark Repulsor. My grin turned bloodthirsty, and my eyes gleamed with madness; Kirito pulled the trigger several times, and each shot hit XaXa. He reappeared clutching his shoulder, the cloak's invisibility field damaged by the bullets, then lunged forward, his estoc flashing out; but his strikes were wild, panicked, the cornered rat lashing out and trying to bite its attacker. Kirito just spun gracefully through the attack, not taking a single point of damage, and then opened his eyes; for a second, I thought they were golden with determination, something I'd only ever seen twice before. Once, when he was fighting Kayaba, and once when he was scaling the World Tree to save Asuna. And both times I'd seen those eyes... His target had no choice but to die. With a shout, Kirito swung his blade, and XaXa couldn't dodge; Kirito's beam sword struck XaXa in the side, sparks flying everywhere as the energy blade clashed against XaXa's armor, and then with another shout and a push of effort Kirito split XaXa's body in half.
I felt calm inside, and I lowered the gun, tossing it into the side by my side. I wouldn't need that any more.
An explosion ripped through the air - Kirito must have severed a grenade or something - and both Kirito and XaXa's remains were sent tumbling. Kirito got up, though he was staggering slightly; XaXa, however, didn't. Kinda hard to stand when your legs are lying several feet away from you. Suck it, nerd. Then XaXa's estoc impaled the ground right beside his legs, and I felt a mix of emotions. One was confusion - as in how in the seven hells did the blade land point first and stick there? I mean, come on, it couldn't have been weighted that poorly that it would fall point first. The other was a sense of being torn; one hand, I wanted the blade to stab him in the crotch, because that would have been hilarious. But on the other, no guy really deserved that, except for maybe rapists. Either way, I clapped Sinon on the shoulder in thanks and went down to join Kirito.
My friend was panting heavily, and he gratefully accepted the hand I offered to help him stand. Then we both whirled as XaXa's voice rose from his severed body. "Soon," he intoned. "It's not over yet. You can't stop me. He'll find you. And he'll-"
With a glare of disdain, I walked over to him and calmly stabbed him through the eye with my knife. "Fuck off, XaXa," I growled. "And by the way, red eyes are my calling card now." His red eyes dimmed, and the sign appeared above his head - Dead. I stepped back from his motionless body and laughed; first, the laughter was normal, but it soon turned dark and bloodthirsty as I reveled in killing my target. Oh, gods that feels so good! We're done now, and he's dead, what a beautiful ending.
"No, XaXa," Kirito ground out, from behind me, and I turned to see him walking towards me. "You're done. And we'll find your partner, too. You won't kill anyone any more. Laughing Coffin's dead." That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die. Looks like you rolled the dice and they came up snake eyes, bastards. You're done.
"Sorry for kill-stealing, by the way," I said absently, giving XaXa's lifeless body a dismissive wave. "But I really wanted to get a good stab in, and you got to cut him in half and blow him up."
"Yeah, yeah," Kirito sighed, smiling wearily. "Let's go." We turned and walked away from XaXa, and a breeze kicked up, swirling sand and tossing Kirito's hair about.
We walked for a bit, before seeing Sinon approach us in the distance; after a few seconds, she was right in front of us, and we all stopped, staring at each other. Sinon and Kirito were grinning, and I was having trouble keeping a smugly satisfied smirk off of my face. Sinon set Hecate down and held her gun by the barrel, keeping it upright; Kirito silently reached out his fist, and Sinon gave him a fist bump. "...Good job," I told her quietly, and she nodded her acknowledgement.
Kirito looked up at the sky, hands on his hips. "It's over," he murmured, sounding remarkably drained. I looked up at the night sky as well, and grinned slightly; the sky above was remarkably clear, and I could see plenty of stars scattering the night sky.
"Yeah," Sinon agreed.
"I guess now, we should probably get this tourney over with, huh?" Kirito said.
Sinon nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess we should."
Kirito stepped forward, close to her. I just glanced around, noting the recording cameras that were floating in the sky, and snickered. "With Death Gun out of the picture," Kirito murmured to Sinon, "I'm pretty sure the guy casing out your apartment's taken off."
"No sense sticking around to get caught," I said, shrugging. "If XaXa can't use his Death Gun, then, well... They don't want us to know who the partner is." I'm pretty sure it's Johnny Black or PoH, but that's just a gut feeling and I'm not entirely certain. I shifted my weight and grinned. "Either way, you're fine when you log out."
"But you should still call the cops when you do," Kirito added, "just to be safe."
"O...kay," Sinon said, frowning, "but... what am I supposed to tell them?"
"You could..." I stopped, thinking. If she told them she suspected a break-in, that might work, but at the same time it's possible they'd just ignore her, since nothing would be missing, and the killer was probably very careful. So breaking and entering was off the list, and she couldn't just say she felt insecure, they'd tell her to lock her doors and bolt the chain. "Huh."
"Oh yeah," Kirito said sheepishly. "Right." Then he blinked. "The guy we work for's with the government. We could ask him to send the cops to your place."
I frowned, then nodded. "Probably the best way to do it. The bossman can probably figure out some excuse or whatever."
Kirito frowned and looked to the side, hands on his hips. "But how are we going to get your info? Can't really ask for it in here." He frowned.
"...got any invisibility cloaks?" I asked dryly after a second. Both of them chose to ignore me. Probably for the best, really, since it was a tasteless joke.
Sinon just smiled. "It's cool, I'll tell you," she said, and Kirito gasped in shock. My eyes widened for a second. I'm suddenly very glad these mics won't pick up what we're talking about.
"A-are you sure?" Kirito muttered.
Then Sinon surprised both of us by leaning forward. "My name is Shino," she whispered into our ears. "Shino Asada." Then she rattled off her address. Huh. That was surprisingly easy. And, uh, where is that exactly...I imagined the map of where we were in the real world, then frowned. Crap, I'm terrible with directions.
"You're not going to believe this," Kirito said with a small chuckle, "but you're close to the place we're Diving from." Wait, seriously?
"Yeah?" Sinon asked, sounding excited. "Wow, no way."
Kirito grinned. "How about this? After we log out, we'll head over to you."
"You would?" Sinon gasped, smiling widely. I get the distinct impression she's more excited to see Kirito than she is to see me, though I can't really blame her. Given a choice between me and him, hells, I'd pick him. Then she looked to the side. "No, actually, I'm good. A friend of mine lives near me, so I've got help if I need it. He's the son of a doctor, so if it makes you feel better I'll call him as soon as I log out." But what if that friend of hers is actually XaXa's second partner ohhhh nooooo. Heh, like that'd happen. Something like that would just be ridiculous.
Kirito nodded with a smile. "Okay, but after we log out I'll still call the guy we work for and have him send the cops. If you're cool with that."
"Mm-hmm," Sinon murmured with a nod, "sounds good." Then she sighed and looked at us with an unimpressed stare. "But not good enough. You're just going to log out without telling me your info?"
"Right, sorry," Kirito said with a sheepish grin. "My real name is Kazuto Kirigaya, and this is Nick Weyr." I gave a small wave.
"That's how you got Kirito?" she asked, smiling. "Seriously?"
"Unimaginative, I know," I said.
Kirito stiffened. "Yeah, well, like either of you can talk," he muttered. Sinon blinked, before both of them chuckled. "Alright," Kirito said once the two had recovered their composure, "if we're ever going to log out of this thing we've gotta end BoB first."
I blinked, looking at them. "So how exactly is this going to work? I mean, I know you two want to have your duel, but should I just kill myself or something? I might have thrown all my grenades away when I was planning on fighting XaXa, and slitting my throat with my knife might be a bit awkward, so, uh..."
Sinon gave Kirito a studying look. "Man, look at you. You're all banged up." She shook her head. "There's no challenge in beating someone as thrashed as you." Kirito just laughed awkwardly. "Nah, I'll take you on in the next BoB. But you better not leave me hanging."
Kirito just made a disgusted noise, and I patted his shoulder. "Yes, you'll look like this when you transfer in again."
"Well," Sinon said, digging in her pocket. "Let's get this thing over with already." Wait, but... wait, what?
"How're we doing this?" I asked, confused. "It won't end until two of us hit zero HP, so... You shoot both of us? Kirito plays with his lightsaber a bit more? I perform ritual sacrifices to the Great Old Ones?" Ia, ia. Rythin fhtagn.
For some reason - maybe something I said? ...Oh. Sinon, get your mind out of the gutter, would you - Sinon snorted slightly before shaking her head and smiling at both of us. "No, Rythin, I think I have a better idea. I guess you two didn't hear what happened in the first BoB?" We shook our heads. Probably a research deficiency. "There were two winners."
"Huh?" I grunted.
Sinon reached out and took Kirito's hand, bringing it up to chest level, palm up. "The player who should have won let his guard down too soon, so the other guy gave him what we like to call a Souvenir Grenade."
"A Souvenir Grenade?" Kirito repeated. Hate to admit it, but I'm lost here too. Mind explaining a bit more? "The heck's that?"
"This," she said, placing a round object in Kirito's hand and then pressing the top of it. It started ticking.
I stared at the plasma grenade in his hand, then at Kirito. "Kirito, did you seriously fall for that literally right after she told us she was going to do it?" Kirito yelped in panic and tried to throw the grenade away, juggling it like it was a hot potato, but Sinon just laughed and threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. Sinon was smiling happily, while Kirito was laughing sheepishly. I, for my part, just sighed and shook my head, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You're a gods damn idi-"
Then there was a big explosion.
...Ow.
I could imagine the stunned, yet slightly 'well, yeah, that's Kirito for you' look our friends would have if they were watching the fight. Well, let's get going and log out already, and I swiped open my menu and hit the logout button. As the minute-long timer ticked down, I looked at the results screen. Kirito, Sinon and I were all at the top in first place - seriously, Kirito, you're an idiot - and it slowly scrolled down, revealing the names of everyone that died. Apparently, XaXa's name was Sterben in this game. Eh, I'm just gonna keep thinking of him as XaXa. Makes things easier to remember. Then the list reached the number of disconnected players, and I nodded. Yep, XaXa got two kills this time - Pale Rider, and somebody named Garrett. Well, sucks to be Garrett, I think. But that does give us a little bit of a clue; XaXa had two victims, and that means he had at least two partners. Sinon wasn't targeted until near the end, but it was still too far away for the Pale Rider killer to get there. Maybe whoever killed Garrett was the one going after Sinon? Possible. But we'd need to figure out the distances, and we'd have to figure out when exactly XaXa shot Garrett, and all that busywork could be put off onto the agent. Then the timer hit zero, and I was logged out of GGO.
And as a result I had to wait patiently, my lungs desperate for air, until my body remembered what gravity felt like and how it had to act to overcome said gravity. Stupid body. But that wasn't important; what was important was that when I pulled off the AmuSphere and opened my eyes, Kana was sitting there, her hand in mine, and smiling happily with tears in her eyes. "I'm back," I said softly.
"You're back," she said. Then she leaned forward and gave me a hug, completely ignoring how sweaty I was - holy crap I was really sweaty. I must have been sweating a lot during the showdown with XaXa. "You're back," she whispered, and I felt tears hit my bare skin.
"I told you, didn't I?" I said, gently patting her back with my free hand. "I'll never leave you. Ever." When she pulled away, her cheeks were a little red, and I smiled at her.
"Nnng..." I heard Kazuto moaning from his bed, and I looked over to see him pushing the AmuSphere off of his head. "Nick, remind me never to get blown up again."
"That was your own damn fault and you know it." Huh. My voice is super raspy. I looked around, and Kana wordlessly handed me a bottle of water. I cracked it open and drained a few refreshing gulps, before sighing and smiling at Kana. "Thank you."
She smiled back. "I had a feeling you'd need one, since it looked like you'd been dumb enough to dive in without one handy," she said, her voice taking on a teasing tone.
"Eh, I can live with this."
"Daddy! Uncle!" Yui's excited voice rang out, and I cracked a small grin before fishing out my phone from my pocket. I couldn't really move all that much until Aki removed the electrodes, and she was handling Kazuto's electrodes first, but I could still wriggle around and grab my phone. "Congratulations on winning!"
I held the phone over me so I could see Yui's smiling face. "Thanks, kiddo, but next time," I grumbled, "I'm just going to stab everyone and blow them all up. This whole 'take out one particular player to stop a mass murderer' stuff is bull." Aki moved over to me, finished with Kazuto, and she swiftly removed the electrodes from my body. Able to sit up once again, I did that right away and stretched, loosening muscles that had stiffened and feeling my spine pop and crack. Gah, I'm going to have arthritis when I'm thirty, at this rate. Then I looked over at Asuna; she was wiping at her eyes, talking to Kazuto who was busy putting his shirt back on. "Hey, Asuna," I said, and she turned to smile at me. "Doin' okay?" She appeared to have been crying slightly, and I'm not really sure why. All I know is, I don't want her crying.
"I'm fine," she said, smiling happily. "You're both safe."
"Of course we are," I said, waving a hand and swinging my legs off of the bed, searching for where I had left my clothes. Oh yeah, they're on the windowsill. As I was putting my shirt back on, something occurred to me. "Kana, catling, did you perhaps, by any chance, manage to record the livestream?" I asked ever-so-sweetly.
Her smirk was so smug I couldn't help but smirk in response. "Why yes, dearheart, I did," she replied in the same tone of voice. "Whyever do you ask?"
"There could be some interesting footage of that later on," I told her, "and I wouldn't dream of depriving Kazuto the chance to see himself in action. That just wouldn't be nice. That cave scene..."
"What cave scene?" Asuna asked me. "Kirito, are you okay?" My best friend had blanched at my words.
"He's fine," I said airily, waving a hand. "Maybe just a little tired from exerting himself so much in the BoB. Anyway, Kana, we should go over that footage tomorrow and make it presentable."
Kana smirked. "Oh, yes, yes we will."
The two of us shared a grin, then I shook myself. "Plotting aside, hey, Kazuto! We gotta call Kikuoka and let him know what's going on."
Kazuto snapped out of the terror state he was in - that I had partially put him in, to be fair - and nodded. "Y-yeah. Phone, phone, where's my phone..."
"I got it." I opened my phone and hit the speed dial I had set for Kikuoka's number, waiting patiently for him to pick up.
After it rang a few times, the line connected. "Agent Kikuoka speaking," the Agent said.
"It's Nick."
"Nick!" Kikuoka said, sounding surprised and pleased. "Good to hear from you. By the way, your friends are quite scary when they're mad."
I blinked and looked over at Asuna and Kana, mouthing 'What did you do?' to them. Asuna bit her lip and looked away, while Kana just grinned like the cat that got the canary. Figures I wouldn't be getting any answers out of them. "Whatever they did, I'm sure they were justified. Anyway, figured you'd want the answers you were looking for."
"I'm listening," he said, suddenly all business.
I started ticking off the points of an invisible checklist hovering a few feet in the air ahead of me. "One, Death Gun can't kill in the real world, he has partners that do it and time it to coincide with the gunshot in-game. At least two, maybe more."
"Good to hear."
"Two, the method of death is probably injection with some sort of drug. Unknown as to the drug type or method of insertion, but double-check the autopsy on the bodies for any foreign substances." Tick goes the little box. "Three, two more casualties in BoB. Player names Pale Rider and Garrett. Might want to figure out who they are and where they live so you can get the bodies out of there before too many people notice." Next item on the agenda, actually tell him the guy's name. "Four, we figured out who Death Gun is. Red-Eyed XaXa, a killer from Laughing Coffin." I heard Kana swear loudly, and I glanced at her to see her ranting under her breath; the few words I could pick out had something to do with 'idiot', 'notes', and punching Kikuoka. Have fun, beautiful, I'll hold him down for you. "If it helps, the name he used in GGO is Sterben. That should give you enough to find him, right?"
Kikuoka made a pleased-sounding noise, and in the background I could hear keys on a keyboard clicking. "Yes, that should be more than enough. Is there anything else?"
Kazuto made the universal 'give me the phone' gesture, and I nodded. "Kazuto wants to speak to you real quick, tossing him the phone." I handed my phone to Kazuto, and he put it up to his ear.
"Agent Kikuoka?" A pause. "Yeah, listen, I need a favor. Could you somehow send the police to this address?" He rattled off Sinon's address, then waited. Probably waiting for Kikuoka to confirm. "Yeah. A girl named Shino Asada lives there, and I think she was one of Death Gun's targets tonight."
"Shino Asada?" Asuna asked me.
"Sinon," I replied. "Blue-haired sniper girl, helped us take out XaXa." Asuna made a murmur of comprehension and stared off into space thoughtfully. After I turned away from her, I briefly wondered if I should have let Kazuto tell her. Eh, can't unsay the words, so whatever.
Kazuto had just about finished speaking to the Agent. "Okay, so you can get a car there pretty soon? Good. Thanks."
He handed me back the phone. "I'm back."
"Good job, Nick," Kikuoka said. "I mean it. We couldn't have done this without you."
I sighed. "Just make sure you reflect that gratitude in my paycheck. Later." I pulled my phone away and ended the call. So long as that's taken care of. "Aki? Anything interesting happen to our bodies while we were Diving?"
"You both got a little dehydrated, and your heart rate spiked a few times, but that was it," the nurse said, examining a readout before writing something down. She looked up and smiled. "Nothing that can't be be fixed by something to drink and a good night's rest."
I nodded. "Good to hear."
"By the way, Nick?" Kana said. "Turns out XaXa's handle in the game is pronounced sterben." She pronounced it with a 'sh' sound, instead of a sibilant.
"Huh." Must be foreign. Explains why I didn't get it, though.
She shrugged. "Apparently, it's something they use in hospitals here in Japan. It means a patient has died."
I frowned. "Well, I guess that makes sense. You wouldn't want other patients freaking out if someone died, right? It might make them relapse or something, or get all hypochondriatic, because that's totally a word, and call the nurses over every little ache and pain." Makes sense, I guess. Then I looked over and noticed Kazuto frowning, and I raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Kazuto?"
"I... Didn't Sinon say her friend was a doctor's kid?" he asked slowly, looking at me.
I felt a shiver run down my spine. I only felt that when I was fighting an enemy and something was about to ambush me, so I knew it wasn't good news. "She did, far as I can recall, yeah. You're thinking..." He's thinking that if the only place people use the word sterben is hospital-related, then Death Gun and his accomplices have to be related to a hospital, and since Sinon's friend is a doctor's kid... Ah, crap.
"I'm just worried," he said. "I just don't want to think that Sinon could get attacked while we were this close by."
I shrugged. "Roger, bossman. Let's go, then. You're driving, though, because I have absolutely no idea where the hell her apartment is."
"Going out again?" Kana asked with a small smile. "Don't you want to take a break or something? I mean, you have been running around all day."
"Yeah, yeah," I said with a sigh. "But no rest for the wicked, right? Besides, this shouldn't take long. We get there, make sure she's fine, then get back to here." I paused. "By the way, Kana..."
"Mm?"
I fidgeted slightly, looking away. "Could you... could you stay with me tonight?" I asked quietly, my cheeks heating up. "I-I don't... After what happened today, I don't want to be alone."
Kana blinked, somewhat shocked, before smiling softly. "Sure thing, Nick. Just let me call my mom and let her know, okay?"
I smiled hesitantly before looking over to where Kazuto and Asuna were unsuccessfully trying to hide matching grins. "And what are you two smirking at?"
"Nothing," they chorused.
"...Right." I shook myself. "C'mon, Kazuto, let's get going. You're the one that's worried, so don't slow us down."
"Right." He gave Asuna a quick hug, whispering something to her, and then nodded to me. "I'm a little worried, but I'm sure Sinon's fine."
I sighed, following him out the door and down the hall. "Probably. But, I guess it won't hurt to check on her." We passed the stairwell, and I tapped him on the shoulder. "Let's take the stairs, it'll be faster than waiting for the elevator." He nodded, and we slipped inside the door, hurrying down the stairs. My legs felt a little heavy, though that was understandable, really. I'd spent a lot of time lying on a bed, and my time spent in-game always left me feeling sluggish. Guh. Good thing I wasn't driving, at least. My reflexes were always a bit off when I first woke up. Before long, we were out on the street and roaring down towards wherever Sinon used to live. I had to use that green helmet again, but I didn't really mind.
I really was glad things had worked out in the end. XaXa was destroyed, we were the victors, and that was good enough for my happiness. I even got to wake up with Kana by my side, and that was just fantastic in its own right. I wonder if Kazuto feels the same way about today... Somehow, I think he'll say today was pretty good. I mean, he did manage to hopefully defeat his demons and put the deaths at his hands behind him. Or would it be that he's accepted the burden he'd been trying to avoid the entire time? ...At the end of the day, I guess, I just won't ever understand. I just don't understand what it means for him to kill, just like he'll - hopefully - never understand what it means for me to kill. And I want to keep it that way, really... I've done so many things that if I were to redevelop a conscience now, I don't know if I'd be able to forgive myself or ask anyone else for forgiveness either. So I think it really is better this way, Kazuto in the light and me in the shadows. Besides, this way I don't really have to deal with people. Always a plus. But it had been a close call; I had come close to losing my friend to his past, and just knowing that frustrated the hell out of me. The world just kept taking and taking and taking from me, and I was sick and tired of losing the things I cared about. There was no way I would let the world take anything else from me, not if there was any way I could help it.
I felt the bike pull to a stop, and I blinked and realized we were parked. Kazuto was getting the bike parked, so I simply hopped off and tossed him my helmet. "I'll go ahead and check on her," I said. "Catch up once everything's parked." He nodded and waved me ahead; I took the stairs up two at a time, hurrying. When I hit the landing, I turned to see Kazuto at the bottom of the stairs, so I just waited for him at the top. I mean, he was already there, so might as well, right? After he joined me at the top of the steps, we walked to her door. "Should... we knock?" I asked hesitantly, looking at Kazuto. He looked torn. "What if her doctor kid friend is -" There was a scream from inside, and I swore. "Answers that!" I reached out and tried the handle - it was unlocked. Didn't look like any sign of forced entry, though, but whatever. Worry later, save Sinon now.
I threw the door open, and Kazuto stepped through, taking two steps before bringing his knee up into a guy's face. The guy was - had been, rather, before taking a knee to the face - sitting on top of a girl with black hair and glasses, and I stepped inside. "Knock knock," I said, rapping on the door. "Candygram!" I'm a godsdamn land shark.
Kazuto was grappling with the boy; he tried to shove him back away from the girl, who until further notice I was assuming was Sinon, since she said she lived alone and there was a girl that kinda looked a little bit like Sinon - it was the hair really - and this was Sinon's apartment. The boy threw Kazuto against the nearby cupboard, but Kazuto didn't let that faze him, and threw himself at the boy again, tackling him to the ground. "Run, Sinon!" he shouted.
The girl pushed herself up slightly and stared at the two boys struggling in her hallway. Suddenly, her eyes widened as she stared at Kazuto. "Kirito!" she gasped. She looked over at me. "Rythin?"
"In the flesh," I said, kneeling slightly to help her up. "You okay, Sinon?" In the hallway, Kazuto forced the kid to his feet, both of them still grappling slightly. Neither was trained, at least, which was good. If the kid was trained in hand-to-hand, Kazuto could get hurt badly.
"Y-yeah," she stuttered. Then she shook herself. "Shinkawa... He's one of Death Gun's partners!" I froze, then swore under my breath. Fucking statistics I swear to gods.
"Get off me!" the kid shouted, getting the upper hand. Kazuto was still a little thin, I guess. Makes sense that he'd be stronger.
But worry about that after making sure Sinon's okay. "Are you okay?" I asked Sinon, glancing over her body. Her hair was a bit mussed, but since the kid was apparently trying to rape her I was just glad nothing more was wrong. "Did he inject you with anything?"
"No," she said. "But Shinkawa has an injector! It's the drug they use!"
"That so?" I growled? "Gimme a sec, then." Running over to where the kid - Shinkawa, apparently - was kneeling on top of Kazuto, punching my friend over and over again, yelling about how it was all his fault or something, I pivoted and slammed the tip of my boot into his chin. There was a cracking sound, and Shinkawa went sprawling, crying out in pain. Also, amusingly, literally crying, probably because of the dislocated and or cracked jaw. There was some blood coming from his nose, but I think that's coming from Kazuto's Falcon Knee to the face. I set my foot down, wincing slightly as my knee complained - right roundhouse kicks weren't my best - and knelt down next to Kazuto. "You okay?"
He winced, pressing at his cheek. "I'll live."
I nodded. "Good. Go over to Shinkawa and get whatever drug he's got stashed on him. Sinon said it's some sort of injector?" I raised my voice, directing the question to Sinon, who was still trembling in the hallway.
"Yeah," she said, taking a deep breath. "It's some sort of high-pressure injector. It should be in his pocket."
"I'm gonna call the agent, let him know what's going on," I said, stepping over next to Sinon and pulling out my phone. I hit the speed dial for Kikuoka and leaned against her counter, staring off into the distance. I'm not really sure what Shinkawa was doing, but I'm just glad we were able to stop him in time. I guess it's a good thing that we came to check on her after all. The line connected, and without preamble I said, "It's Nick, I'm at the address we gave you earlier. There's been a sliiight bit of a problem."
"What happened?" Kikuoka asked immediately, not wasting any time.
"We showed up at Sinon's apartment, worried about her safety, and when we got there -"
"Kirito!" Sinon suddenly screamed.
I whirled around, and my heart stopped beating; Shinkawa had somehow managed to flip Kazuto over against the bed again, despite being injured, and had...
Shinkawa had withdrawn a small metallic object from his coat pocket and pressed it to Kazuto's chest. As I watched, he pressed something and a small 'fft' sounded. A small switch inside me flipped, and my eyes went dull as I realized Shinkawa had just injected Kazuto with the drug they used to kill. He had just killed Kazuto.
Oh. Everything feels calm and distant now.
…In the words of a nigh-immortal vampire, Shinkawa, "You done goofed".
Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or reviewed.
