[Kirigaya Residence - 2017 ]

Kiyoto stood in darkness with her shinai in hand as she could feel the beads of sweat trailing down her face in the intense heat of body ached with days of bruising and holding her stance for hours but she knew that giving in was not an option. The pain she felt now paled in the comparison to the result of failure, and the pride she would lose if she failed. Aside from the weapon in her hand she was all but helpless to any incoming attack that was headed her way. She tried look guys where it would come from, turning her head to hear anything that would give away a location; a creak in the wood, the shuffling of feet, or the slight breathing of the other person.

All of a sudden she heard a step heading for her, she lifted her training weapon to block believing it to be from the side but instead it came from the front as she was knocked back to the ground, her helmet falling over as she was out of breath from the hours of practice. Her body was sprawled out on the ground, unable to properly move- any attempt to pick herself up was met with her entire body trembling. She then heard the rush of lighter footsteps running towards her, helping her sit up as her blindfold was removed.

The first person she saw was her grandfather looking down at her with a permanent scowl on his face, one he was never seen without in their time together. He led his practice sword in hand as Kiyoto hung her head in shame.

"This is not a practice in defense but one of patience. You act too hastily, too fearful of what you cannot see." Her grandfather remarked as he then turned his back to his grandchildren.

"I can do it!" Kiyoto exclaimed as she tried to sit up by herself- pushed her younger brother to the side. "I know I can!" Kiyoto's eyes burned with frustration as her grandfather turned around.

"Perhaps, but not today. Rest now. Don't set a bad example for your brother." He said as he then walked away- leaving her and Shouhei alone together.

Kiyoto couldn't help but curse under her own breath at she pounded the ground in frustration, upset at herself most of all.

"Sis?"

Her anger was subsided slightly at the sound of her younger brother looking at her in concern, grabbing on to the sleeve of her Gi. As much as she wanted to remain angry, looking at his roundish face and worried eyes reminded her of what was more important. She turned to him, ruffling his hair as he nuzzled towards her touch- acting cute as she smiled. "Don't worry about me, I'll do better next time!" She insisted, believing that was what he needed to hear as Shouhei then looked downtrodden.

"Shouhei!"

Both siblings snapped to attention as their grandfather called the younger of the two. Kiyoto felt some reluctance as her bother helped her sit against the wall as he put his helmet on. Readying his weapon he practiced the same exercise she did however each strike he made rang out in the dojo as he met every one of his grandfather's strikes while Kiyoto could only look on with festering envy.

[BoB Qualifiers- First Round - Temple Ruins]

Kuro stood in the waiting lounge as the Qualifying matches began; Sinon explained beforehand that in the block matches multiple pairs of players would face off in smaller arena's. She was teleported in a bright light into a field surrounded by ruins. She couldn't get Sinon's image out of his mind. He seemed like an okay person, but then again- she knew firsthand how quickly someone's persona could change in the field of battle.

The only two weapons she had equipped were her beam saber, the hand-gun, and 3 complimentary grenades.

There was no trace of the other players she was paired with as there was a forest of potential hiding places surrounding her. Reflexively she scoped around for the highest point in sight- a stone tower- and knelt down. Atop the vantage point she closed her eyes; it was a given that she would be an easy target- but high risks mean even higher rewards.

With her vision impaired, her other senses became all the more sharper. She could hear the wind against the trees, the leaves falling, the sound of the crackling of the leaves falling from the trees And something noisy that crunched against the grass.

Kuro steadied herself as she listened more intently, pinpointing the source as she heard the disjointed crunching moving behind her- then a click.

THERE.

Her eyes opened to dozens of red lines as she allowed her body to fall backwards from the pillar. In the distance, she saw the source, the other player from this round who stood up to get a better shot from the foliage a good distance away.

Kuro activated her beam saber mid air, as she hit the ground tumbling and then running into the bullets that were aimed in her direction. She recalled the game from earlier, of how the lines were meant to improve the accuracy of the shots, but they would work in her favor now. She couldn't help but frown as each bullet was met with the energy blade of her sword- almost all bouncing away as they were struck with the beam.

"Wha-" The other player gasped as the distance was closed faster than he anticipated and the next thing he knew Kuro was at point-blank range. He tried to shoot again but the only sound that came out was the air from an empty magazine.

"Sorry." Kuro said with a smile surprising the other player as she used her sword to cut his foot off before he could reload his weapon, knocking him to the ground. "I'm kind of out of practice." She then plunged her beam saber into his chest accompanied by shooting him at point-blank range until his avatar exploded.

The horns of victory were sounded and she then disappeared through light and entering the next match directly.

[BoB Qualifiers- Final Round - Intercontinental Highway]

Sinon looked up at the screen that led up to the final match of the qualifiers; the final match where both players would have the chance to test out each other before the BoB Battle Royale officially began. The sniper looked around to see that he was summoned on a bridge where the area limit to his back. Sinon headed for a brokedown bus nearby, seeing that it was the only way for Kuro to come. In turn, all he had to do was wait for them and then take the shot before they knew what even happening.

Throughout all his matches Sinon couldn't get Kuro out of his mind. Just before he was summoned for his matches ha had watched Kuro's first fight not even realizing that he was looking on in awe until Kuro had won their second match in under a few minutes despite being a first-time player. His entire body had tensed up as he watched their match unable to believe how quickly they had defeated their opponent. For as long as he had played GGO he had never seen a style of fighting like that before. For a second he wondered if he was being played; thinking that Kuro was a top player who had made an alternative account and had taken advantage of his knowledge- but that idea faded quickly as he watched their playstyle.

They'll move through the shadows to find me, they all do.

Sinon thought to himself as he looked through his scope towards the end of the bridge. The location wasn't the safest since he wouldn't have a direct escape route; his would literally be in between a rock and a hard place- however, it was the ideal tactical location to take out a target. He would only have one shot to take Kuro out before they would be able to know his location. The only few things hindering his sightline was the sun in the distance a few overturned cars, however, he was confident that Kuro's silhouette would be enough for him to aim up a shot.

There were those who fought from the shadows like himself who sniped their targets; those who charged into battle relying on their high defense stats guns blazing; and those who took the tactical approach by shooting and then hiding; however, Kuro was something else. Their style of fighting reminded him of a swordsman who could cut through their opponents without a second thought and walk away unscathed. He imagined meeting them face-to-face on the battlefield, looking down the scope of his sniper rifle in their direction, aiming at their head for the perfect shot only to be defeated by a swing of their beam saber.

Snipers were helpless in that sense.

Once their position was revealed it would become race against time between them and their target. He would have to run for his life to another vantage point as his shot skill cooled down, aim again and hope that the shot would hit the target. Even so, the idea of being so close to a loss both terrified and excited him in a way he hadn't experienced before.

His finger hovered over the trigger, twitching as his eyes darted across the horizon line of the bridge not seeing any sign of movement aside from the dust being gathered by the wind. He took a deep breath as he tried to quell the rampant thoughts in his head, telling him to move spots; to find Kuro first; to find an exit route if they came close enough. But those thoughts were fleeting as Sinon knew to trust his gut and the weapon in his hand.

Then- his eyes widened in shock as he saw something falling out of nowhere towards him, shocking the sniper to his core. "Grenades?!" He exclaimed just as the class of the bus broke impairing his vision for a moment as he lifted up Hecate II up, trying to look where they came from. The bridge was now obscured partially by the smoke that was being produced. He cursed himself for not being more wary as he reached for his second gun however he then realized that there was a red mark trained on him. As he tried to see where it came from his eyes were blinded by the sun in the distance and his was shot back.

Hecate II landed behind him as Kuro opened his eyes to see Kuro had him pinned to the floor of the bus with the only thing separating them was the gun that Sinon had pointed at his chest. At this distance, Sinon could see the pink highlights within Kuro's crimson-colored eyes and even more infuriated, the smile on their face as they held his gun to their chest. Sinon was in a daze as he then felt another hand touch the trigger of his weapon and then Kuro's avatar dispersed before him as Sinon saw [WINNER] hovering before his face.

"Well that was fun." Kuro said a little cheerfully as she returned in a flash of light and walking over to Spiegel who was sitting at a booth. "Have you been waiting for Sinon all this time?" She asked.

"Yeah. My brother's matches just finished so I thought I'd see how you guys were doing." Spiegel said as Sinon had returned as well.

"Hey, good match-" She asked as Sinon walked over to her with a darkened expression, wasting no time in trapping her in the booth.

"Do you think this a joke?!" Sinon exclaimed as he pointed his weapon towards the other player. "Why didn't you take the kill when you had it?!"

"You were going to shoot weren't you? Think of this as repayment for helping me out earlier. When we meet in the tournament I won't be so friendly." Kuro prompted playfully as Sinon was in a daze by the first words that came from their mouth. The sniper then was flushed with anger as he punched the wall next to them, hanging his head for a moment. "How can you do that?"

"Do what?"

"How can you stand on the battlefield with a smile like that- taking out other people so easily?"

"Huh?" For a second Kuro wondered if she might have offended him in some way, thinking that he was a hardcore player or something. "Well- it's been a while since I played a game this intense so it was fun."

"Still...with that kind of skill." Sinon murmured under his breath. "I've decided." He said as Kuro looked at him, now off-put by the expectant grin; one that hungered to overtake the person sitting before him. "I'm definitely going to be the one to kill you."

"...Hah?" Kuro responded as Sinon walked away towards the nearby bar leaving her uttered dumbfounded which Spiegel chuckled.

"Don't worry about him much, it's kind of a culture around here where some players will mark others as their target. The reasons as to why can vary from wanting to prove strength to friends just wanting to mess around, especially when tournaments like this tournaments come around."

"Were you participating as well?" Kuro asked as she recalled that Spiegal went off to meet another player earlier. She saw his smile fade slightly before it morphed into a sheepish grin.

"No, truth be told I'm not really that great at this game. If I entered then I'd be taken out in the first round no question. I'm just happy to see Sinon enjoying himself- in his own way." He added as he smiled apologetically.

Kuro's expression softened slightly as she felt nostalgia dredge up."You two are really good friends aren't you?"

"I'd like to think so. We've known each other since middle school after all. I was the one who showed in GGO, to begin with, but when Sinon got his hands on it he's been thriving. He's been waiting to prove himself in the BoB for over a year now ever since he lost to the previous champ." Spiegel explained as Kuro tensed up at that knowledge.

Kuro's eyes narrowed as she recalled Sinon's playstyle, for whatever reason she couldn't imagine him of all people being Death Gun.

In the reports of Death Gun his known appearance had been in a public place, a bar at the peak of player attendance. Yet once the spectacle was made he disappeared without a trace, probably ditching the gear he was wearing to properly incorporate with the crowds. A sniper like Sinon would probably be just the opposite of the kind of person Death Gun is. Whatever shots he takes are one-hit kills, there's no presence, nothing that would allow players to be drawn to him.

"Spiegel..." Kuro asked hesitantly. "Do you know anything about the player Zexeed?"

"Him? Oh yeah, he didn't enter this year. There are rumors that he apparently died but no one can really confirm or deny." Spiegel informed.

"I hear he made a lot of enemies on a recent stream he did." Kuro spoke carefully as she read Spiegal's body language but nothing stood out aside from him seemingly chuckling at the memory.

"Oh yeah, he went off about character builds before being disconnected. It was pretty funny."

Kuro tensed up. "Why's that?"

"Because everyone raged on him on the forums about agility builds and whatnot. I just thought it was pretty funny because I remembering how Sinon was arguing with forum members for days after that stream came out. That guy is really passionate about this game."

Kuro paused to collected all the information she had collected, even if it was one source she couldn't imagine a practical reason being given to kill Zexeed. But then her eyes widened as she recalled that Zexeed was killed on a live stream, some place where everyone who was watching would have seen his demise.

This guy...is he killing people during streaming events?!

"Are you done yet?"

Kuro lifted her head to see Sinon walking towards them with a frown as he was glaring at Spiegel. "What are you still doing here? Aren't you suppose to be studying right now?"

"Calm down I'm just offering some friendly advice" Spiegal said as Sinon scoffed.

"This guy doesn't need any more help."

"Uwah- you're so cruel Sinon." Spiegel chuckled as he feigned hurt towards his friend who appeared to be the more serious of the duo.

"Just get out of here already- the matches here are almost done anyhow." Sinon said turning his back to his friend to look at the screen, who was rubbing his shoulder in turn.

"Heh, roger that." Spiegel saluted as he turned back to Kuro with a smile. "Good luck on your next match Kuro, I hope you beat up my best friend!"

"HEY!" Sinon retorted just as his friend walked ahead of him. "TCH- that guy..." Sinon muttered under his breath, he crossed his arms in annoyance as Kuro couldn't help but smile cheekily.

"You two are really good friends aren't you?" She asked with a Chesire smile that only grew as she saw how flustered Sinon became- a far cry from the person who threatened her early on.

"W-we're not! He's just my gaming partner that's all!" He remarked as he ran to catch up with his friend, the two of whom were leaving the facility as the matches had ended.

Gaming partner huh?

Kuro thought to herself as she looked down at the white and red of her armor. She then shook away those sad feelings as she noticed how the previous matches were playing on the screens.

There's a waiting period before the main tournament starts, an entire day where I have to go through all the footage available in the preliminaries. If I can memorize the playstyles of the 30 players then I'll be able to get a hint as to who Death Gun-

Suddenly, Kuro's entire body tensed up as she immediately stood up and looked around. She had felt a breeze, the breeze of someone walking past- but there was no one surrounding her that she was aware of. Her eyes darted left and right and then were trained on the door as she saw it open and close without anyone visibly leaving. Every one of her instincts were screaming that something was wrong and immediately she was in pursuit.

Running through the city Kuro had no idea what she was looking for or whom, but she knew that something or someone was up to no good. Her heart raced as adrenaline pumped through her body.

This is no good.

Kuro ducked into a nearby alley as she tried to quell her racing heart. She placed a hand on her chest as she closed her eyes, surrounding herself in darkness as she listened to the world around her. For a second she thought that she was imagining things, that perhaps her imagination was getting the best of her, then- she heard a rush of footsteps. Immediately, she reached for the beam saber as a bullet knicked her shoulder, making contact with solid metal as she clashed against a gun.

A hooded figure had appeared before her with a red eyed skull mask under his cloak. The Skull mask immediately jumped back as Kuro reached for her gun, firing a few shots the draw him back as she regrouped.

"So- did I interrupt your little stalking mission?" She guessed on a hunch with a cheeky smile, but the only response she received was the skull-mask aiming up gun.

Kuro's beam saber made contact with the shots fired as she dashed forward to attack. Even if neither could die or take any damage within the city this fight became a clash of wills. Every one of her slashes missed but the gunner's shots didn't hit either. It continued on towards the upper areas as the gunner jumped up towards the higher, more narrow areas of the city with Kuro following. As she chased them down on the rooftops of the city she tried to aim her handgun towards the skull-masked man, missing a few times due to her shaking grip.

She clicked her tongue as she ran out of bullets and then tossed the gun itself towards him, luckily hitting him as his escape was hindered for a second. But it was all the time Kuro needed as she aimed her beam saber towards him, once again clashing against metal as she bore into glowing red eyes that hid this person's true identity.

"You're Death Gun aren't you?!" She demanded as she pushed forward, edging him towards the end of a rooftop that sloped down into an endless abyss. However the next words that she heard were ones that shook the swordsman to her core.

"What a fine look in your eyes, tell me- what does it sound like when you scream?"

Kuro's breath hitched as her entire body was shaken to the core as she heard a voice, distorted next to her ears, whose words made her recall all the horrible memories she had tried to repress for years. All of a sudden the pieces began lining up as it did all those years ago in SAO and everything about this one person made all the more sense.

This guy...he was one of the people who killed Satchi, who killed my guild...he's a member of Laughing Coffin!

Notes:

-I know little to nothing about Kendo.