"Mr. Ayase Shino, if your grades keep falling you're going to be in trouble." The teacher said as his student stood before him in the faculty office. "I don't want to have to call you in here again."

"Yes sir, I'll try harder next time." He said robotically with exhaustion in his voice as repeated the same words he always did, standing before his teacher who looked even more disinterested than he.

The teacher simply sighed, placing the paper away as he scratched the back of his head in annoyance. "It also doesn't seem to help that you're distracting the other students with their studies as well. Just keep to yourself more, and pay attention in class more."

"Yes sir."

"Go on, get out of here." He said, but as soon as Ayase turned his back he heard his teacher mumbling something to his co-worker seated next to him as he walked out of the office.

Once he walked back into the classroom, he saw that everything in his bag was scattered about, and on his desk was written "murderer" in black marker. He heard the giggles of his classmates scattered about among a few whispers of concerned faces. He gave no visual response and had no will to clean up the same desk twice a day so instead he just sat there surrounded by a mess of his school supplies.

After school, after most of his classmates had left he walked through the shopping district to scope out the cheapest ingredients for dinner.

"Ayase!"

He immediately tensed up as he heard a familiar voice. At first he tried to ignore it, but then was faced off with two girls blocking his away- looking at him with smug expression on their faces.

"Ayase Shino!" The taller of the two remarked as she grabbed his arm, stepping far too close into his comfort zone and then dragging him towards an alleyway where another unpleasant person was waiting for him.

"Shino, we ran out of money at karaoke, and the train's leaving soon. Spot us some cash won't ya?" The way she said it didn't sound like a question, holding up a finger. "We need about this much."

10,000 yen?

He narrowed his eyes towards her, gripping the straps of his backpack. "I can't give you any more money." He said, hoping that his voice wouldn't crack.

"Oh?" She looked up at him, amused. " Then just go withdraw it, after all you work part-time don't 'cha? Don't be trouble, isn't it a guy's duty lend a helping hand to girls in need?" " She asked as Ayase heard the giggles of her cronies behind him.

Ayase gritted his teeth as he gripped the straps of his bag. "Endou, I won't do that."

"Ho? Are you actually trying to grow a spine?" Endou said as she stood before him, tossing aside the lollipop that she had been eating earlier, littering the alleyway as she pointed towards him.

Ayase tensed up as his mind mistook the reality before him, seeing a gun in her hand that made him begin to tremble.

"Hey, Ayase- you like pistols don't you? Isn't that why you look so happy right now?" Endou said mockingly as she walked closer and closer to him, cornering him in the alleyway as her friends kicked him back forward.

"Don't puke in the alleyway. After the first time you did it in the classroom everyone had you watch you clean it up- how disgusting was that?"

Ayase heard the other girls around him laughing as he was trying not to show any more weaknesses, holding his stomach to try and quell his anxiety only growing stronger by the second. He couldn't even stop them as he saw his bag being taken and thrown upside down to remove everything inside.

"Thanks for the donation," Endou said as she spotted his wallet but just as she was about to take it again like so many times before a voice echoed the alleyway.

"Over there officer! They're stealing from a student!"

Immediately the three girls tensed up as they immediately ignored him and ran away at the mention of an officer, leaving Ayase kneeling next to a wall for support as he looked glossy-eyed at his materials scattered before him. For a moment he didn't even register the person- wearing a black hat and yellow jacket- was already picking up his things and packing them neatly away, lifting up the bag towards him.

"Are you okay?" He asked as Ayase bristled, snatching back his bag and turning his back towards him.

"I didn't need your help Shinkawa!" Ayase remarked while his friend only smiled to himself.

"Who said I was helping you? Maybe I just wanted to bully some girls." His friend jokingly said as he shoved his hands in his pockets. He noticed that Ayase was still trembling slightly so he took a few steps ahead of him and pointed out a nearby cafe. "I hear that place has really nice drinks. Let's stop by, my treat."

Ayase glared at him for a second but didn't say anything as he followed his friend.

The two sat in the back of the cafe that was practically empty as it was, save for a cat and the owner who was dozing off in the front of the store.

"Why haven't you reported those girls to the school yet? Threatening other students like that should be grounds for expulsion." Shinkawa said as Ayase sipped the black coffee before him.

"It wouldn't matter, it would just come off as me complaining as a bad student. Those brats all have better grades than me after all." Ayase said as he tried to temper his anger at the situation.

Shinkawa looked at him apologetically as he glanced down at his cream soda, fiddling with the ice cream. "You know- the cram school I go to is really good if you need any extra help studying I could-"

"I don't need your help." Ayase immediately responded as he placed down his coffee cup. "It's not like it would matter if I flunked out. It would probably be better if I flunked out anyway, I could just support myself by playing GGO anyhow."

"Thats..." Shinkawa gripped his cup as he couldn't find the right words to convince his friend otherwise, feeling a modicum of guilt at this whole situation. "You know...VR shouldn't be a place where you can live." He said under his breath before taking a sip of his drink.

"Huh?" Ayase lifted his head as he didn't hear the last part of what his friend said, only seeing him shake his head with a smile on his face.

"It's nothing. More importantly, are you participating in BoB this year?" Shinkawa asked, wanting to change the subject.

Ayase relaxed a little as he grew a little more excited. "Yeah, this year I'll definitely win with Hecate II." He remarked with some pride as he pictured his prized weapon in his mind.

"I hear that the competition is going to be especially hard this year with the rise in players- but I guess you should be worrying more about me since you're basically the best player in the game." Shinkawa remarked jokingly as he ate some of his ice cream.

"You've been playing more recently haven't you?" Ayase remarked. "I thought you were focusing more on school since the end of the year is coming up." He noticed his friend tense up slightly at the mention of that, but he couldn't read his expression as Shinkawa smiled at him.

"I've been studying all day so I can start playing more at night. So long as my grades don't falter any my parents don't bother me about it. Oh-" Shinkawa's eye lit up for a moment. "But my brother's really good at GGO as well, maybe we could all do a dungeon run next time."

"Your brother?" Ayase asked. "You haven't really mentioned him often."

Shinkawa nodded. "Well he was still healing up from his time in SAO for the past few months, but after I told him about GGO he seemed really interested in playing it. I think it'll be good if he had some kind of outlet to stretch his legs in. I'm actually really happy, we've never really gotten along before but now- he seems like a different person." Shinkawa said with a smile on his face, one that Ayase hadn't seen in a long time.

Ayase in turn, mirrored his friend's expression as he stood up from the booth, shouldering his bag over his shoulder. "Sure, it would be fun."

Aside from my time in ALO there have been no other instances of people being harmed within the virtual world besides this one in GGO. There's no longer a way that anyone could physically harm another player within a game like this- Kayaba ensured that; However- this whole situation is unsettling in itself.

Kiyoto thought to herself, looking over a tablet containing evidence files, as she sat in a hospital room far from the center of rehabilitation that she had gotten so used to. The room itself was set up for a new type of deep-dive VR, one where her nerve damage wouldn't impair her motor functions.

There should be no possible way that the energy needed to kill a person could be transmitted through the VR tech without shorting out the machine itself. Yet all of the gear from the victims were just fine.

Her attention was drawn away by the door opening revealing a familiar face who smiled at her. "Good evening Kiyo! How was your visit with baby brother?" The nurse asked as she walked over to the window, closing the curtains and then taking out a cloth hospital gown.

"Ah hello Miss Aki." Kiyoto felt a pang of guilt as when she woke up this morning to return to the hospital Shouhei wasn't even there to say goodbye. It was evident that he was still upset at her for taking this job and was giving her the silent treatment for a little while. Even worse, she would be unable to see him until her next return visit this weekend. "He's...mad at me-AH!" She admitted but then flinched as she felt her sides and chest being felt up causing her entire face to turn red.

"You really need to gain more weight Miss Kiyo, men like a full-figured woman after all. Are you eating enough?" Aki teased lightly as she leaned against her slightly.

"Y-yes of course!" Kiyoto exclaimed in embarrassment back as she tried to escape her clutches. Aki was the personal nurse who was in charge of her physical therapy ever since she returned from ALO. The nerve damage she had been inflicted with within the game that held her hostage had ended up messing up her entire body, making it hard to even hold small objects or even stand up properly from time to time without collapsing. She had been getting better little by little but it wasn't without setbacks.

"Oh- that reminds me. Mister Kikuoka asked me to give this to you." Aki said as she fished for a note from her front pocket, handing it over to her.

[Email your reports to the usual e-mail address. Once your recon mission is complete then send the information and we'll compensate you for the work and expenses. P.S: I realize that Miss Aki is an attractive woman, but keep your leering to a minimum~]

Kiyoto immediately tore up the note that was laden with the older man's teasing nature.

"Something wrong?" Aki asked as she set up the equipment.

"No- nothing, it's nothing." Kiyoto said as she placed the scraps on the table beside her and then looked at the machine. "So what is this thing suppose to be?"

"No idea, some kind of prototype deep dive machine. It'll make it so that your injuries won't be trouble on your mission. Now then- please remove your clothes."

"...Hah?" Kiyoto's face turned red again as the nurse approached her with a hospital gown.

"You'll need to have your chest exposed so I'll be able to put on the electrodes. Don't worry, we're both girls." Aki explained, slightly teasing her as she winked playfully while Kiyoto grimaced at this entire situation unfolding- wondering what she had gotten herself into.

[Link Start!]

Kiyoto opened her eyes to the start screen of Gun Gale Online, a game that was only known to a select group of people and was primarily popular with people overseas and those with a military background. The game itself primarily was focused solely on killing so as a result, it has minimal character customization options. Kiyoto stood before a character creation menu simply asking for a user name.

She hesitated as she saw her original user name, [Kirito] from her converted account.

I shouldn't be using a notable character's user name in a game that is often streamed...

Instead, she typed the user name [Kuro] with some reluctance and entered the game.

As Kuro entered the server her eyes widened in awe at the grey city filled with smog yet was captivating in itself. She looked around at the other players who were all wearing combat armor akin to mercenaries or military wear while a few other players were wearing outrageous armor and accessories. Kuro looked at herself in the reflection of the glass of a nearby shop, seeing that her avatar was male- with short hair and having a slightly roundish face that was slightly feminine- looking more similar to her real-life image.

For a moment she looked down at her hand, flexing her fingers as she felt no pangs of pain or numbness that she felt in reality- and for that she was grateful for. The avatar itself was provided by Kikuoka and had all the parameters that she had requested beforehand for optimal adaptability, however, that was where his help ended as the rest was on her.

"Excuse me sir!"

She flinched slightly as behind her was a skeevy-looking older man who clearly had an agenda. "That account you have- it's an F- 1300 type right?!"

"Huh?" She squeaked out in surprise. "F- what?"

"I'll buy your whole account for two mega credits! You almost never see an account like that in a game like this!"

"Sorry, I can't do that." She said reflexively, bowing her head slightly as she escaped from the situation.

"If you want to sell just contact me!" The older man called out as she ran in another direction but then quickly realized that this was going to become a lot harder than originally anticipated.

The server had proved to be larger than expected, and every other person Kuro had come across had not been helpful in the slightest. She sighed heavily, once again checking a nearby map but once again had proven to be going to wrong way. She looked around for a moment and then spotted a flash of neon seafoam colored hair that stood out against the grey of this world.

"Excuse me!" She called out towards the player who was walking with his friend. The seafoam hair player wore a white scarf, a parka and black pants with combat boots. "Could you help me out please?"

"Are you a new player?" The seafoam hair player asked as he looked over her male avatar.

"Yeah, I just started today. But I didn't expect the starting town to be so big." She said laughing off some nervousness. "Do you know where the cheapest gun shop is? I'm kind of new at handing guns."

The seaform haired player looked back at his friend who stepped forward with a smile on his face. His hair was silver and he wore camo gear along with armor. "What a coincidence, my friend Sinon here is one of the biggest Gun-nuts around. He could totally help you out!"

"Wha-Spiegel!" The player, Sinon remarked looking back at his friend in disbelief at being volunteered. "What are you saying?!"

"Come on, I'd help out but my brother just logged on. You on the other hand I know are going to be hunting for a few more hours. so why not spend a little of that time making friends?" The other player- Spiegel remarked with a smile as he turned towards Kuro. "I'm Richter, this is Sinon- he's nice once you get to know him." Spiegel said as Sinon looked away in annoyance.

"You're a fantasy sword user type, yet you want to enter the BoB?" Sinon repeated in disbelief as Kuro chuckled nervously.

"Yeah- I thought it would be a fun way to get experience," Kuro said as she followed the other two players towards the main area of the city filled the more players.

"Sure, if you want to get a headshot in the first few minutes of your first match." Sinon scoffed as Kuro reflected on Spiegel's words about Sinon being a nice person. They entered the shop and Kuro noticed how all eyes seemed to be on Sinon once he entered.

"GGO has two main weapon types; physical and energy. Energy weapons are light and accurate, most players use them against monsters because they don't need ammo and you can upgrade them with status debuffs. However, they can be easily blocked with shields. Physical guns, on the other hand, are more common in PvP, each has base stats however they have a modicum of personalization in how you want to upgrade each weapon. These types of weapons can cause shield damage and are more common among more experienced players." Sinon explained as he then turned towards her. "What kind of player type are you?"

"Uh, speed foremost, and strength after that?" Kuro said, stumbling over her words slightly as she tried to take in Sinon's extended explanation. She saw him thinking for a moment before turning back to her again.

"How much money do you have?"

"1,000 credits?"

"That's the starting amount. With that you can't buy more than a small gun or something used and then upgrade it with whatever specs you prefer. But you'd still need to get more money to get a gun strong enough to go toe to toe with any of the BoB players." Sinon muttered under his breath. "Should I lend you some money?"

"T-that's not necessary! Aren't there any places where I can get some quick money?" Kuro suggested.

"You could try a gambling game."

"...A what?"

"Hey chicken, come on!"

Kuro looked on in mild confusion at the scene before her, reading the word "Untouchable" on the logo of the game that had a pot of 301,500 credits. "What is this?" She asked as she saw another player entering the lane while being motivated by his friends.

"It's a dodging game, where the goal is to tag the gunman. Once you pass the 8 meter line the shooting gets faster and it becomes impossible to track the prediction lines. They're a defensive assist mechanic that helps players track possible attacks from rival gunmen. The only exception is the first shot of a sniper rifle."

"I'm gonna blast you from here to the moon!" The AI exclaimed as he shot the faster and faster every meter that was crossed. Kuro's eyes narrowed as they darted towards the AI's reload speed, noticing that there was a window of time between the reload and the fury of shots. The player took moments to pause to avoid the shots but 3 meters before reaching the end he tripped up and was easily shot by the AI.

"See? You can't move left or right and the track only gets narrower so you'd have to be faster the gunman could shoot."

Kuro hummed to herself as she walked towards the game, entering 500 credits to start the game. As soon as she stepped on the platform she could see red lines aimed towards her as she started to sprint down the lane. Her eyes widened as she saw the red lines pointed towards her. She easily evaded the first few attacks easily as the lane narrowed the closer she got. But as Kuro crossed the 3 meter line, no longer having room to properly evade she couldn't help but smile as the AI launched faster attacks. Kuro evaded them by sliding forward at the last second, causing the AI to lag slightly white he continued to shoot and reload.

Only a few feet from touching the AI Kuro's eyes widened as the AI switched up his attack as his gun turned into an energy one aiming low towards her previous evade but then at the last second she jumped- missing the attack entirely. Kuro touched the shoulder of the AI as she landed behind him, defeating him as the whole room went silent.

The only sound to break the silence was the [WINNER] victory sound as all of the credits fell out of the shack behind the AI before being transferred to her account and being reset. Almost immediately she was then rushed by Sinon as she stepped out of the lane with more players surrounding her.

"There's hardly any time to react between the shooting and reaction time, just what kind of reflexes do you have?!" Sinon asked as Kuro had to take a step back.

"Ah...See- it's just like dodging the attacks of a monster. I guess I just didn't want to take damage?" Kuro said, saying the first thing that came to her mind as she recalled all the nights she spent in SAO training. For a moment she thought to herself about every time she lost against Asuto after facing off against his fury of blade strikes while trying to deflect every one.

He was faster.

She thought happily for a moment before reality crashed down and her nostalgia faded away.

"...Just what kind of fantasy games do you play to justify that kind of answer?" Sinon remarked in disbelief as he realized he couldn't tear his eyes away.

Kirito looked on towards the shop menu, seeing a few guns that looked familiar in other MMO's but nothing that she could properly identify. However as she switched over to the hand weapon section of the catalog she became excited at the familiar sight of a hilt.

"There are swords in this world?!" Kuro asked eagerly towards Sinon who was standing nearby.

"Yeah, but no one really uses them since compared to the guns they're weaker by comparison."

"Weaker?" Kuro asked as Sinon nodded.

"This game is all about shooting so hand weapons like those are always going to be weaker in comparison. Beam sabers like those are energy-based weapons so they're better off against monster fights rather than pvp. Just like how physical-based weapons are more effective against shields, to balance the game the devs made it so that beam sabers can block against bullets. However- you'd need really fast reaction times to actually use it properly..." Sinon explained but then realized that his explanation went over Kuro's head as they already had a saber in their hands with a cheery expression.

"I'll leave choosing the rest of the gear to you~" Kuro remarked as they looked like a child receiving the toy they wanted on their birthday.

Sinon sighed heavily as he wondered how much more time he was going to spend on this on player."Are you sure that you'd want me to choose? We've only just met."

"Why not? I have no idea what would even have to look for anyhow and you seem like you'd know best." Kuro informed as Sinon looked at them in disbelief but digressed as he looked towards the hand gun section.

"Hm. It'd be a little pricey, but I'd go for something like this, an FN Five-seven." Sinon introduced, and then explained in detail the specs behind the weapon along with any available upgrades; almost all of which went over Kuro's head as she had no idea what any of it really meant.

She tried to be involved when picking out armor and a shield but left it more to Sinon.

As they walked outside the Sinon lead the way as he pointed towards a large notable building in the distance, once that towered over all others. "To enter the BoB you have to enter the governer's general."

Kuro narrowed her eyes towards the building in the distance, taking a moment to toggle the location through her menu and then looking at the distance in shock. "3 KILOMETERS?!" Kuro exclaimed. "Is there a teleporter nearby or something?!"

"Of course, but there's a more fun way of traveling in this game." Sinon informed as Kuro looked at him with a smile of anticipation.

"Mounts?" Kuro asked as she looked at an array of jeeps, cars, motorbikes, and a few horses.

"This one."

"Really? The buggies drift pretty hard so they're hard to control for new players, especially when you speed up." Sinon explained but watched on as Kuro climbed on it, entering a fee and revving up the engine. She took a deep breath as her chest filled with excitement. There was an option to change the model of the bike, there were a few notable models that she recognized including some American ones. For a second she wondered if Gun Gale Online had the backing of some of these companies but then zeroed in a particular Japanese brand and the bike transformed into a Suzuki Hayabusa.

Sinon jumped on the back of the bike as he saw that it appeared that Kuro had some experience with bikes like this. But before he could ask the sound of the loud engine reached his ears and he was forced to grab onto Kuro's waist as the bike jolted out onto the road at full speed.

"WHA-WHY ARE YOU DRIVING LIKE A MANIAC?!" Sinon exclaimed at the top of his lungs against the wind beating against his face.

"Because it's fun isn't it?!" Kuro exclaimed back as she sped up more, whizzing past other vehicles on the road and towards the government building. But then Sinon clung on tighter as Kuro drove off track and into the alleyways passing by players who had to evade the speeding demon. Sinon then felt his heart sink as he knew the direction they were going in and realized that they were heading towards the overlook of the government building. He didn't have time to even say anything as they were no longer on the road.

For a second he opened his eyes as he saw the cityscape passing them by, an almost beautiful sight for a few seconds before they then crashed against the ground just before the building, skidding on the side of the bike just as they arrived before the governors building.

Kuro was the first to jump off as she stretched their arms over her head. "See?" She asked turning around but then flinched slightly as Sinon fell face-first off the bike that dematerialized due to the damage it took. "Ah...are you okay?" She asked, kneeling before the other player who only gave her a thumbs-up as he was still shaken up from the ride.

Kuro stood before the entrance screen for the BoB, once she pressed the form button a wall formed around her, once that skewed the vision of outsiders towards her.

A security block?

Kuro thought to herself as she filled out the information. On the last page there was an extra form, one that was asking for personal information for the sake of rewards that could be gained during the BoB. Kuro instinctively was about to fill out the information but then pulled back at the last second as she quickly remembered that she was here on a job- thusly shouldn't give anything that could give away her true identity. Although- the thought of losing out on high-tier gear damaged her soul as she entered the BoB.

She took a deep breath as the security block around her disappeared and Sinon was there waiting for her. "What block were you entered into?"

"F...F-37." Kuro informed as they walked towards the first battle stage.

"Im, F block as well so chances are we'll be able to meet up somewhere in the middle." Sinon informed. As they entered the F block stage Kuro sensed the tension in the room as they stepped into a darker room primarily filled with male avatars all with their weapons drawn. For a moment Kuro could feel their eyes drawn towards her direction but then quickly recalled how previous players were all staring at Sinon who didn't give them a second glance.

"Come on." He said pointed towards an equipping station. "You can upgrade and do last-minute customizations over there.

"R-right." Kuro nodded as she followed him to a closed room. It was a sitting area with a few chairs and desks with various tools and a catalog for players to buy upgrades.

"T-there's a lot of strong players out there huh?" Kuro said trying to break some of the tension as Sinon changed his normal clothes directly into a battle suit. It was one void of any armor, seemingly it was built for agility and speed with the defining aspect being his which was the only thing that remained from his original outfit. "So...everyone who's strong in GGO will be playing in this tournament?" Kuro asked with some hesitation as she started to feel the weight of her mission on her shoulders.

"Everyone who wants to make their strength known to everyone else will be. But it doesn't matter, " Sinon corrected as he sat to the side, crossing his arms with a smile on his face, the first time Kuro saw how sinister it appeared. "Because the more they try to show off how strong they are it'll just make all the more satisfying when I kill them with one hit."

Kuro tensed up at his words, recalling how it only took one it for Death Gun to seemingly take out his victims. She gulped down those fears as she quickly realized that no matter what Sinon would have to become an enemy to take out once their feet hit the field of battle.

Hurry up with your gear your match will be starting soon."

"Ah, right." Kuro nodded as she pulled up her new gear, equipping the black gear and silver armor plate, but then her eyes widened in interest as she saw the customization option. "You can change the coloring of your gear?" She asked turning towards Sinon.

"Of course you can. Most players adjust it towards the environment they'd be hunting in but the BoB locations are randomized." He informed. He saw Kuro's hand hovering over the customization options, they adjusted their settings and in a flash of light their entire appearance changed.

Their former black and grey color scheme was switched over to a white jacket trimmed with red. The change included their hair which was turned a soft white with crimson-colored eyes.

"Don't you think that you're going to stand out like that?" Sinon asked, slightly curious as to the reasoning behind the drastic change.

Kuro in turn blushed slightly as they scratched the back of their head as they turned towards the exit of the room containing players that were eager for battle. "It's for good luck."

Notes:

- Hullo. Are are you all? uwu