Shino happily munches on a candy apple while she and Joshua walk and scan the various stands. Most of them have food, which (to her date's surprise) she kept pushing them towards to satisfy her stomach. He made a few comments, such as "I didn't know you were a glutton as well". "How the hell do you have a great figure eating like this", and "You know, I'm sure Suguha got hers all-natural, not from eating". She's not even jealous of Suguha's "advantages", they'll get in the way. She won Joshua over without those bouncy things.

The other carts have games at them, and there's one coming up that grabs Shino's attention. A game with a rifle and some cans being shot at. Prizes range from little trinkets to a large, cute stuffed bunny. Seeing an opportunity, she looks up at Joshua, playing the innocent, cute face for the first time in months. "Joshua, let's go over there."

"Over there? You want a--Oh, you just want a duel."

"What? I would never. What makes you think I would challenge you over wanting you to win me that bunny?"

"Because I know you." He leads them over to her excitement. He read her correct, a testament to the fact they know each other so well. He's a sucker for the whims of girls, and she's a sucker for potential challenges. She wants to see who's the best shot IRL, but she also wants the bunny. It's so white and fluffy, the ears have a perfect pink interior, and those whiskers-- "You want first, Shino?"

Joshua holds the air rifle to Shino. She looks to the playing field first. Cans, about ten in total, are arranged in a zig-zag line. Nine of them are fairly shootable, but the tenth is quite the distance away for an air rifle's shot. A normal participant would use two of the three shots they have on the closer cans for a guarantee on the mid-range prizes before attempting the grand prize shot. Not Shino. She grabs the rifle and walks up to the counter. "Sir, if I hit the farthest can with any of my shots, I win the bunny, right?"

"Yes. But I hear you and your boyfriend are competing, so I'm giving you both three shots, and whoever hits that can the most wins." Shino looks back to Joshua, who stands back with fake nonchalance. He's trying not to show it, but Shino sees the challenge is engaging for him.

"What are we betting, then?"

"Hmm, loser is at the beck and call of the other for a week online...and offline."

"You know, I like karaoke. Do you?"

"Not necessarily."

Shino turns around and hoists the rifle up. Her eyes lock on to the distant can, and the girl known as Shino fades to the powerful sniper named Sinon. She imagines that can as that blond bastard Subtilizer, her aim centered between his eyes, and fires.

THUMP!

"Three hours. Oh, and I get to choose all the songs." She tosses the rifle to Joshua, who says nothing as the game master resets the can. Standing aside, she folds her arms as Joshua takes aim and becomes Jaymes. His primary weapon in GGO is a pair of pistols and his photon sword, but he's no stranger to holding a rifle. When she met him almost a year ago, he had an assault rifle and pistol combo before he switched to the dual pistol and sword combo. He did it before Kirito made it look cool.

THUMP! And he looks cool as he shoots the can down. "Yeah, I don't think so. Two hours is my limit."

He didn't say no, so she'll compromise there. "Fine. Next is the amusement park. We're riding everything." She raises that stake by standing seven steps away from the counter before taking aim. She smirks at the annoyance on Joshua's face for a second. "What's the matter, Lucky Red? After all…"

THUMP!

"High risk, high thrill, hear--"

"Yeah yeah, I know." Joshua grabs the rifle and stands the same distance as Shino. After a moment of quiet aiming, he does something unexpected as he holds the rifle with one hand, treating it like a pistol. Oh, what a showoff.

THUMP!

"Oh, now you're just being a butthole."

He smirks as he blows the tip of the barrel, taunting her. "What's that, Hecate? sounding nervous?"

"Tch." Shino snatches and reloads the rifle. This time she returns to normal distance, aims for about two blinks of her eye, and then looks back at Joshua. He sticks his tongue at her. Oh, he's going to get it. "You've lost, captain."

THUMP!

Joshua sighs as they trade the rifle. Final shot, either they'll tie or she wins. She already has her bunny, but she definitely wants to win. He sets up his shot, taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, but just as Shino is sure he's calm and clear-headed, she sneaks up behind him and lightly hugs his waist. "Joshua, you won't let me win? That's so cruel. So unmanly."

Seeing her distraction is working, she does something she's not especially proud of, but if it works for Strea… She presses her chest against his back just as he pulls the trigger, Shino watches as the plush bullet grazes the can, but doesn't touch it enough to knock it down. Shino steps away, thrilled by her (close) victory to claim her prize. "Told you I'd win."

"Cheater."

Shino shrugs as she grabs the bunny and hugs it. "Sorry, can't hear you over the cuteness of this rabbit!"

Half an hour later, Shino and Joshua sit in a field of grass with other people, just minutes away from the beginning of the fireworks. Joshua has been quiet since the mini-competition they had, a difference from his usual reserved nature. Yet he doesn't seem angry or in any sort of negative mood. His silence does deafen her, though.

"I'm sorry for what I did."

He perks up and faces her. "Huh? Why are you apologizing?"

"You've been different ever since the rifle game."

"Oh… Oh, no, I'm not unhappy about that or at all. I was just thinking about how to say thanks to you."

Shino raises an eyebrow. She hasn't done anything worth thanks today. "For?"

"Backing me up in the Underworld. I mean, I'm sure you didn't come for me, but for Kazuto and Asuna as well, but you didn't have a real reason to do so. Not saying coming for your friends isn't one, but you didn't have to wake up. So I… I don't know what to say but thank you."

Shino brings her legs to her chest, wrapping them up and placing her head on her knees. "I didn't come for Kazuto or Asuna. I mean, I did, but we knew Asuna was diving to protect Kazuto. I was worried about you, who had been diving for a long time without contact. I didn't know about Koharu until Sugu and I saw her body, and it was her who convinced me to go to you."

"Oh. Well, still, we did good that first round."

"Yeah. And I… I think I understand everything you meant back then. When we fought that monster together last November, before Death Gun and Lievre…"

"What's this? The PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II?" She shows me the weapon along with its stats. "Wow, look at that power. And the range is incredible. Of course, a gun like this requires a ridiculous amount of strength to use. The boss really did drop the strongest sniper rifle I've ever seen."

I give her a thumbs up. "Congrats."

"Heh. Yeah. I guess some of your trademark luck rubbed off on me." Sinon closes the prompt, then looks off to the side nervously. "So, uh, this is going to sound kind of corny, but… Really, thanks a million, Jaymes. I owe this victory and this gun to you. I wouldn't have had the firepower or HP to tough it out and take down that boss without you. I probably wouldn't even have tried. The only reason I was able to fight today was because I had a partner...and a friend."

"Hey, I'm sure you could've taken it yourself."

She shakes her head. "I think you're exaggerating. Still, I'm flattered you think so highly of me. But remember, I asked you to come because I thought I wasn't going to be able to handle it on my own." She turns away, folding her arms. "That's right… I wasn't strong enough. But with my new Hecate II, I'm a whole lot stronger."

"Sinon." I walk in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You are strong. You were when I first met you, you were a month ago in the second BoB, and you were just a minute ago. But as a few friends of mine learned long ago, true strength is not the power your gun has or how many swords you have on your back. It's the number of people you can count on. It can be one person or 11, but as long as you have someone watching your back, nothing else can make you stronger."

"Spiegel said that if I get stronger, I won't need friends anymore." She looks up, a fire in her eyes. "But he's wrong. You're right, friends are friends. Sometimes they help you, sometimes you help them. Strength, skill, what they can do for you: that doesn't even enter into the equation. My quest to empower myself isn't so that I can stand alone or turn my back on my friends. Ever since we met, you've had my back and supported me so much. That's why I want to get strong, so that this time, I can support you."

I smile. "That's a noble sentiment."

She then blushes and holds her mouth. "Oh, uh… Th-Thanks, I guess. Heh. Sorry, that whole speech was kind of out of character, huh?"

I shrug. "I don't know, if Fuka was giving this speech I might have to shoot her."

She chuckles. "Well, while I'm opening up, here's another tidbit. I've got my own personal reasons for all of this too. There's something inside myself I have to overcome. That's a big part of what's driving me to get stronger. In other words, I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my heart."

I nod. "Believe me, I understand that as well."

"Having friends worth fighting for is a great power, but even greater than that is fighting with those people. Just like that monster that dropped the Hecate II, I probably could have fought Subtilizer by myself, but having you there made me want to fight harder. I wish I could have continued fighting alongside you, but I went all out in that fight. Sorry."

Joshua smiles and looks up to the dark sky as the first streak of red and green shoots up and bursts into crimson and emerald flares. "I told you you were strong Shino. The strongest girl I met post SAO that's human. Glad to see you believe me now."

She could just accept the compliment, but she can't help but not overlook how specific he was. She decides to tease him a bit. "Oh? So there are some girls stronger than me?"

"...You said it, not me."

"But you're implying it."

"But how do you know what I'm implying if I never said what I am implying? Therefore, you are concluding that what I implied was stated, but what I implied may not be what you're implying."

Shino glares at Joshua, then shakes her head and looks at the popping fireworks. "I'm regretting everything that I've done in our last two meetings." She says that, but afterward she leans her head on Joshua's shoulder, smiling as they watch the fireworks.

"Have you overcome what's inside of you?"

"Somewhat. You?"

"I don't think so… But I think tonight is a good start."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Not every first date includes feeling a girl press themselves against you purposely. That's like, date ten stuff. But we're long past that point, huh?"

Shino rolls her eyes alongside a chuckle. "I guess so. Allow me to go to date eleven stuff then." Shino raises her head and pecks Joshua on the cheek. She relishes the heat that appears on his face and resumes her previous position, this time holding him closer. Her heart beats faster at the sudden move, yet it feels like the best thing she's done in months. She cannot break the lingering smile on her face. True, she hadn't completely conquered her inner self, but it was Joshua who first sowed the seeds of that task last year. Just like him thanking her is nearly impossible, she cannot imagine how long it'd take her to thank him for everything he's done sine they met. Hopefully he'll be there at the end of her trial, and her at the end of his, as her friend, rival, partner, and now lover. The fireworks in the sky are just the beginning of their new chapter.

"So you and Kazuto are on date eleven too? You kissed him on the cheek back in the Underworld."

"...Just shut up and enjoy this moment before I slug you."

Knock him out, Shino.Thanks for reading this short tale that's pretty much me satisfying my own itch and procrastinating from writing Fairy Dance. Pray I don't write a short with Silica. she's the last of the main girls I haven't done much with or plan to in this capacity in a previous story or continuing writing. Not since... Courage and Realization, that I remember.

Anyway, check out my other SAO content if you like, like The Troubles of Jaymes and Kirito. More on the way soon, such as my take on the story of early Aincrad with Progressive Factor...once I finish Fairy Dance, and one of two planned sequels to War of Underworld, Shrine of the Abyss Maiden. And, of course, whatever pops in my head at midnight that seems interesting.

Stay cool, everyone!