Sinon was not in the mood for anything else besides prepping up for tomorrow's qualifiers. But, her friend, Shinkawa Kyouji (he went by Spiegel in GGO), said, "Come on, Sinon-chan. You haven't played yet, and you've been studying all week! They and I will be thankful to see you over there, I'm sure of it."
"Hmph," Sinon chewed on that moment before, finally saying, "All right, then. But, for just a couple of minutes." She stuck her open palm virtual hands inside her yellow casual sweater. As they walked down the empty streets of SBC Glocken, she quickly mentioned, "If I'm going to be prepared, I better be sharp for BoB. And how am I supposed to do that if I slack off now?" A week of constant schooling and other bumps in the road tended to do that.
"Yes! Uh, Gotcha," Spiegel nervously laughed. Which made Sinon think she took it not so lightly. Luckily he shook his head in assurance. "Still, it's good to see your back to yourself again."
Spiegel's avatar body-type was a tad leaner and much taller than how he looked in real-life. Here he had faint -almost gray- skin and a long silver pony-tail to match. Besides the green camouflage pattern, long-sleeve tunic, body-vest, and cargo pants, he certainly was a different person here than IRL. He was also the few people, besides her grandparents and mother, she could trust. Let alone call a friend. She was glad for him.
Still walking down one of the many foggy bridges, he then asked her, "What do you plan on doing tomorrow, by the way? Before the tournament, I mean."
"Tomorrow?" Sinon asked -mostly because you didn't always talk about what happened outside the virtual world too often. It defeated the purpose of escaping what went on outside of it. "No offense," She shook her head, "but I'd rather not talk about the real world as much here, Spiegel-san. There's...Too much on my mind lately." She brokered calmly, but not too rudely.
That part was more accurate than anything she said prior. Mostly because even after she shouted Link Start! -The most excited she'd ever been in a while- Sinon did have a lot on her mind. More specifically, with Reggie.
More than an hour ago, the down-with-the-weather American had somehow been able to prevent her from being mugged by her school bullies, Endou, and her two cronies. And get her back in time to the apartments safely.
Somewhere along the way, Sinon had managed to get Reggie to answer the question she asked him yesterday about tutoring her. She wasn't so sure why she wanted to do that so urgently with him -since they had met only almost a week ago.
But, something about it felt like the right thing to do. And when Reggie said yes, the feeling was emphasized.
It was probably that thought that made her add, "But, I'll probably end up doing some light studying a couple of hours ahead of time, maybe after, I don't know." We hadn't agreed on a time yet.
"Huh," After a few seconds in thought, Spiegel, almost like he was feeling how that sounded, nodded. "...Sōdesu ka." He said again, only a little morbidly?
Sinon sent him a concerned look. "What's wrong, did I say something funny?"
"N-No, I was just-!" Spiegel rubbed his creamy cheek with the side of his fingerless gloves for a moment. Then, after gathering himself, he said, "Just a bit nervous for next week. My father wants me to pass my tests, too, and wouldn't let it down if I came back with anything less than a high score. Being a doctor down the road is no simple walk, either."
"E e," Sinon brought out, "here's...hoping, we come out on top." She briskly, but determinedly, said the phrase Reggie once ran by her last time they talked. Hoping it brought, well, at the very least, spirit into her friend's stomach.
It might have taken another second of hesitation on his face. But, after another one, he gave back a determined look to go with his grin. The next couple minutes of traveling through the smoke, oiled, cordite city with its high towers and overwhelming amounts of bridges, escalators, and stairs. The two high-school teens found the place they were looking for. A local bar.
"After you, Sinon-chan," Spiegel politely signaled. The fact the doors were automatic in this particular bar, made it seem the other teen was joking. The fact his face lit up red said he didn't know.
"Thanks," Sinon respected what he was doing nevertheless.
Entering the more nightclubish, but still moderately populated, atmosphere the bar gave off. A few groups of players here and there in separate booths or tables gave them a glance or two -some more than just a glance directed at Sinon distinctly. Despite the changing climate of GGO, a problem of peeping that didn't seem to go away no matter how much she wishes it did. Kicking the guys that got too close for comfort made the feeling mutual at best.
"Yo, Sinon!" Someone with a harsh voice exclaimed over by a small booth tucked away from the entrance. "Glad you came. Come on, have a drink with us!"
If the visible yellow-brown cowboy hat and outfit didn't say who it was, Sinon could have guessed by the voice alone. They went over. "Hey, Dyne," she greeted the trigger-happy gunman (when he wasn't being ambushed). "What do you want, bringing us all the way over here?"
"Don't be so heartless." Dyne pretended to look visibly hurt. Or maybe because he had too much to drink, she couldn't tell.
Most of Sinon's ex-comrades, Jin, Storm, and Ginrou, greeted her cheerfully -probably drinking also, but not nearly as much. Taking a seat across from them, Sinon and Sepigel waited for the rock-faced mustache player to empty another mug.
Then, once he had, he said, "Seeing how you're cutting right down the middle for a start, I'll get right down to the chance, too…" He hiccuped.
Sinon, laying her elbow on the rickety-steel round-table with the most unenthusiastic face she could put on with her cheek also resting on her fist. Gave her friend a questionable glance. "He didn't tell me what this was for," Spiegel gave an honest nervous response.
She lamented and turned back. "Go on, then. Let's hear it."
"Great! It won't be long, I promise. Right, boys?" Dyne called for the rest of his squadron. All but, Ginrou -who was half-awake, half-passing out from the alcohol- nodded in unison. And I'm supposed to take this seriously? Sinon thought unconvinced what her former squad leader had to say. He went on, "You obviously know about the Death Gun rumor around GGO, correct?"
"Who hasn't at this point?" The advertisements around the supercity wouldn't shut up about it. Sinon couldn't say she didn't really believe them. It sounded false and far fetched.
"Well," Dyne began. "There's been talk the last few days about how BoB will be now. I'm not saying those rumors are true, you and I both know that. But, seeing how, not only XeXeeD, Pale Rider, and what's-his-face, are 'offline,'" -he emphasized the word with doubt "a real opportunity could be found here."
"And what does that mean?" Sinon asked him. Noticing Spiegel was leaning in, oddly intrigued.
Keeping his voice down, as if the other players nearby were eavesdropping, Dyne said one word: "Cooperation."
"What?"
"If enough of us make it past the preliminaries tomorrow afternoon," He paused for that to sink in. "We can have a real chance of winning something big in the finals. If we were to have -as I said- cooperation, Sinon." He left it at that. Then, leaned in close. "So...are you in?"
"You're serious?" Sinon asked skeptically. When Dyne smiled and nodded enthusiastically, she got up from her seat. "In that case, I'll have to say no."
Dyne's expression, along with his squad, dropped. "What? W-Why?"
"Probably because of our little 'mix-up' last Sunday night?" She reminded him and went into details during their failed operation with scorn. Seeing how they were cut to pieces afterward. "If that's the way it's going to be out there, Dyne, I don't want any part of it. Thanks, but I'm better off alone."
Sinon and Spiegel got up and left the bar disappointed than ever -especially her- in stony silence. Hearing her ex-comrade shout out behind her, "Y-You won't tell anyone, right?!"
Sinon didn't answer. Not that she was going to anyway.
After that waste of time and effort, making the trip over there and, Spiegel, apologizing for it. Sinon assured him it wasn't his fault. Honestly, it's mine for thinking he had new information about the other players. She shook her head. Shows what I know. Still, Sinon thought about it.
The idea of forming a team, if some players happened to make it to the final round, just rubbed her the wrong way. It sounded appalling, but didn't that count as cheating for the sake of it? To her, it was. How was she supposed to get stronger and overcome issues around her here unless it was just her and her gun? Let alone, for the most part, in real life.
Still bitter about this exchange, Sinon headed over to the gun shop. She went around town for target practice after Spiegel had to unexpectedly leave. Saying something about his studies in the real world. She understood. Work never sleeps, she guessed.
Able to score some decent hits with her pistol, a Glock 18C, acted almost like a mini submachine gun. It seemed no matter how fast or how zigzagging the target dummies moved: Sinon's shot was on point more often than not hitting center. Switching to her Hecate II sniper, her signature weapon, made the point drive home after taking repeated shots off her target's heads from afar. One-shot. One kill. Was her motto. She practiced a few more times until getting eventually bored and leaving the shooting range -other players still banging away as she left the area. It wasn't until the electronic gate shut behind her that she heard some commotion by the gambling game, Untouchable! in the other room.
Curious, she wandered over and was surprised to not only see a sizable crowd there. But also a young newbie, as evident from the gray uniform and blackish pants.
Upon closer look, from the long black hair, it was a girl all right. Which made Sinon wistfully sigh. She always enjoyed seeing another sucker throwing their money and losing it into the jackpot after the NPC on the far end of the lane eventually shot them dead. Seeing another girl do it, meanwhile, was way worse. Especially with some of the guys around her jeering already.
If she had known any better. Not only wouldn't that girl have made it past the ten-meter mark, evad volleys of gunfire, and, after dodging the NPC's dirty laser blast trick at the end and winning it all? She would have called the person who said that crazy.
Sinon blinked in dismay. How did she do that?
Amazingly bewildered, Sinon stood there in awe as other players who felt the same way, immediately hurried over to congratulate the black haired girl. If they hadn't done that, Sinon wouldn't have noticed a brown uniform boy, who almost had the same look as her. Out in the open as the crowd dispersed.
When she noticed he had dark, red eyes. Sinon recognized who that was. And, feeling her lips skin back into a snarl -she stormed over to him.
. . .
Standing around not doing much since they got here. McKnight had to make sure the ex-SAO player, Kirito, got what he needed for tomorrow's qualifier rounds. And what better way than the local gun shop?
Almost a carbon replica of its US counterpart -all say for the more techno hyper beats than the arcade one back home- was always his favorite due to the enormous variety of weapons and, of course, affordability. Too bad I'm stuck with one. McKnight thought. His crimson eyes gesturing the certain...girly-looking player behind him into the cheerful store.
"Wow," Kirito muttered out when they got inside. "I didn't think there wouldn't be many different types of guns?" His partner made out. The number of guns here was displayed digitally on the walls and between sections with ammo and, sometimes, holographic 3D models of certain types. Sure enough, it fit the description. "Way more gear than Lizbeth has at her shop, that's for sure." He muttered to himself.
"Who?" McKnight asked the swordsman -or would it be a woman? Since he nearly looked like one?
"Ah-Nobody," Kirito caught himself after the fact. McKnight could obviously see that fact was a lie. But didn't call him on it -more pressing matters to attend to.
One of which was, "In that case, to get the right gear and weapon for the job, I'll need to know your stats first of all."
"Stats, right." The swordsman repeated with care as if to remind himself how to do that. McKnight didn't think he'd have to hold the Hero of Aincard's hand during the process. Soundly he didn't have to. "Got it!" Kirito flipped the menu interface revealing his character's stats and the progression and gear he had on. Right now, it was marked as GGO BASIC in Japanese for the swordsman's current attire. "Looks like it's the same from ALO, but more so emphasized on Strength than Agility first here."
"Consider yourself lucky then." McKnight pointed out with a shrug. Kirito sent him an unamused look. "What?"
He crossed his arms. "Because that was the exact same thing you told me several minutes ago on how 'lucky' I was to get this specific avatar." He drew back a piece of his long black hair away from his vision and back behind his ear.
McKnight hid a laugh and gave the swordsman's appearance another quick scan up to down. It didn't take him long to come up with a response. "Think of it this way, at least the enemy will go easy on you since you look like a girl." He shrugged, again -hiding another laugh.
Which didn't seem to help his counterpart on this side of the Pacific very much? McKnight didn't blame him. This VR shooter's stance on customization was pretty easy to get heated about since he wasn't too fond of it himself. You might get the majority of how you looked, but it was seldom to get everything you wanted. There was no way to manually and interchangeably alter your appearance with the flip of a switch. Unless you tried to reset your account over a dozen times that is.
Something McKnight obtained, unfortunately, intimately about when Gun Gale spawned him the size of a kid once.
His current appearance, all said for his short black hair under his butternut field cap, and red eyes and only lighter skin tone from his pale white in real life, was his tallest figure so far. Which wasn't saying much since he was as tall, maybe shorter than Kirito.
The other teen then said questionably, "And continue getting hit on is better?" He shook his head, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'd prefer-" Suddenly a flash of realization flooded the Japanese teen's purplish eyes -guess he wasn't the only one with lousy eye coloring. Suspiciously, Kirito then shifted gears and asked: "What were you doing before you got here anyway, McKnight?"
"That's easy. I was-" McKnight felt the nerves of his person shoot up on his binary-coded spine.
That wasn't a question he expected the other teen to ask him at this point in time. Mostly because Kirito hadn't asked him back at the bridge with the crowd watching the MMO Stream.
Asada, his neighbor, was in some trouble after McKnight's taxi took a detour from Tokyo Traffic. A good time, too. The three other girls in uniform surrounding her didn't look like they wanted to say hi. After, he managed to get her out of there -the weather beating the hell out of his nose, too. At the time, McKnight wasn't quite sure why he had used the excuse of Asada missing their tutoring session since they didn't agree to one prior.
But, next thing he knew it, he ended up actually deciding to have one sometime tomorrow. Oddly he felt...jittery when he told her he would go, and not because of sneezing a storm along the way. This was the second time, too. He wondered, oddly bothered. Finally, expecting Japan's weather was getting the best of him.
Still, it felt weird, to say the least.
When Kirito gave him a funny look, McKnight snapped his thoughts back in order.
As unbothered as possible, he managed to say, "S-Seeing how much traffic there was on the way back from the hospital...can you blame me for being late?" He masked his thoughts with a purpose.
Kirito gave him another questioning stare McKnight had given him before strapping him in the death trap that was his motorcycle on the ride to the hospital. McKnight gave one back of his own, though a tad bit forced.
After about five or ten seconds of the world's shortest staring contest, Kirito decided to discharge. "All right, then." His voice allowed, with some doubt. "What happens now?"
McKnight blew out a heartful sigh. "Right. Uh if we're going to do this right then," He looked over his shoulder to one of the rifles to the wall nearest to him. "I reckon a good start -since your stats do show it- would be a good assault rifle or submachine gun like mine. A few more plasma grenades could go a long way, too. That way, you'll be able to wallop the enemy and run away quicker. Some armor wouldn't hurt either- Why are you making that face again?" McKnight asked, when he took notice of the disgruntled swordsman's expression.
Since he had most of his attention to the pretty image of an M16 tucked near a holographic display when barely looking at Kirito's direction. McKnight realized he wasn't directing it towards him. It was aimed at the interface panel. "H-How much would all that be again?" Kirito asked as if watching a puppy jump off a roof.
"A lot," McKnight replied. "Why?"
Hesitantly, the teen pointed a shaky finger to the screen's upper left corner. "I only have 2,000 credits, " Kirito muttered out, expecting that it would cost him every nickel of it despite the considerable amount.
But he wasn't the one paying for it. "Relax, I'm covering it." McKnight held up a hand expecting protest, "I don't like it better than you, but Mr. Seijirou instructed me to make sure you're up and ready for Gun Gale, and I aim to do it. Just don't take it lightly."
Kirito uttered something, unsure under his breath. A moment later, he asked, "Shikashi... isn't there another way I could earn money? O-On my own, I mean like a mission or something?"
Putting the finger on it, McKnight peered around. "Is it still here?" He mumbled.
"What is?"
"That place." McKnight pointed over his shoulder when he spotted it. Promptly hearing the swordsman shuffling his feet to where his gloved finger pointed.
"Un-...touchable?" Kirito read out in plain English from the sign hanging above.
"Right the first time." McKnight nodded. "If you're serious about winning it big," -he bobbed his head over to the closed-off room- "that's a good place to start."
Sure enough, they entered the walled-off area.
Being a short room. The gambling game was about three yards wide and twenty being extended. The flooring inside was coated purple-steel, and there was a saloon roughly centered on the corner right for the game. The narrow prairie track led to it. Gated off by what cattle and horses were kept in during the Old West -probably.
And just like the design, a smug, gun-trotting cowboy was at the end of it. "Let's go, Chicken!" The NPC declared in the language he dressed up for.
Giving a short rundown. You had to get as close as possible to tag the handsome-looking gentleman at the end of it without being shot to kingdom come and win the jackpot of...295,000. Kirito nodded and understood after the explanation. McKnight still wasn't convinced the swordsman would do it -until he began walking over to the front gates after another player failed ten-meters inland.
"Ōi, look at another newbie throwing her money away." Someone behind him whispered, "E e, let's stick around and see how far this cutie gets shot."
McKnight frowned at that. But not necessarily like they were wrong. The way this game worked? That was the idea.
Had he known that this wasn't one of those times, he wouldn't feel his vision retreating behind their digital sockets.
The minute Kirito, for some unbelievable reflex skills he'd ever seen, managed to get past the ten-yard mark unscathed. Predicate the hail of bullets from the gunman's revolver coming towards him. Dodge the NPC's near point-blank laser attack. And tag the cowboy. Winning all the money from the passed hundreds, -no...thousands!- of players that tried and failed?
He wouldn't have believed it.
Standing there, speechless. Someone behind McKnight, probably the same guy who mocked Kirito in the beginning, stammered out: "M-Man, who is she..?"
"Kuso," McKnight swore and would have asked the same thing if he didn't know Kirito was a guy. "By God, he actually did it."
While the crowd dispersed -most trotting over to greet and congratulate Kirito- somebody off to his left shoulder shouted, "Hey, you!" McKnight, dubious, turned and was taken back that the approaching angry figure was a...blue-haired girl? She barked on, "I've been looking all over for you! McKnight."
"Huh?" McKnight quirked up. "Do I know you?"
"Don't play dumb with me!" She growled, pulling his collar close to meet the fire in her eyes. "You have guts showing your face around here, you damn mercenary!"
McKnight glared and slapped her hold off him. For a moment, she looked surprised because of that. He went on, "Now, I remember," He nodded as he spoke hard and flat, "You're that damn sniper who tried to take a shot at him Sunday night." He recalled, sending her a savage grin. "Still angry about me putting a bullet between your eyes?"
Her pale face went red. "Why, you-!"
Angrily she took a step forward, and McKnight replied back in stride. Her blue eyes shooting back at his red ones. Like an artillery duel waiting to happen. And he didn't aim to miss.
. . .
"That was Sugoi, new girl!" One boulder-shaped player exclaimed out to Kirito. Another row of nods followed with someone else adding, "Hai! I've never seen anyone with those kinds of reflexes."
"Doumo Arigatou, it was uh...nothing", Kirito nervously laughed. Mostly because he didn't see what he did was that big of a deal. Let alone get so much attention for it. The Bullet Lines, as the system here in GGO, referred to them as, were pinpointed red lines that marked either the most likely or, sometimes seldom spots, a bullet was going to hit you by. Helping vastly narrow down the places where they were going. If anything, he thanked them the most.
That didn't mean everyone else around him felt the same way. "B-But, how'd you know when to time gettin' blasted by the gunman's lasers at the end?" The same player from before asked, eagerly -as if finding the answer to a hard test possible by the class brainiac.
If it wasn't for the shouting and bickering through the crowd towards the front entrance, Kirito guessed he probably would have said something along the lines of Isn't that the point of the game? To predicate the Bullet Line? In the most girlish, energetic manner possible -considering he quite literally looked the part and could help out somewhere down the line for information. But when he heard: "McKnight-!" Followed by something less distasteful...
He immediately excused himself, leaving the players around him still awestruck and confused. What did Reginald end up doing? Was what ran through Kirito's mind.
Sure enough, the American boy was there in the middle of it. Trading death glares that, if looks could kill, would fit the description of someone one who was about to do so quite nicely.
When Kirito managed to slither his way to the front of the crowd, he realized his partner was sending that off...to a girl?
"As I said before, mercenary," The player in question, a young pale girl -maybe around their age with noticeable light-blue hair- roared off: "You have no sense of strength. You're just a low dog hired gun with no sense of formality!"
McKnight laughed as if that was funny. "Says the camping sniper, yeah, you're strong," He mocked. "How's picking off players that can't even shoot back from afar, better?" He retaliated.
"And you're better for shooting players that already surrendered?" She retorted
"Like hell, you were!" McKnight returned back.
"Okkē! Okkē! Enough, you two!" Kirito shouted with a small pitch as he got in between them. He didn't know why and how this happened and who happened to start the fight. What he did know was something pretty terrible was going to happen real quick if no one intervened.
The blue-haired girl then shot a look at him. Kirito's avatar might have been several inches taller than her. But the angry expression on her face no doubt could have knocked him down a notch. Surprisingly, her face softened a tad bit. "Who are you?" She asked, her voice obviously holding in the bitterness aimed at McKnight -who was currently behind him no doubt doing the same.
"Oh, ah- I'm Kirito," He answered hesitantly. Not wanting to take her current good nature to waste. The Black Swordsman added just as fast, "S-Sorry for any troubles. Uh, me and my um...boyfriend," -He's going to kill me!- "was showing me around for the tournament since it's my first day." He giggled nervously to go on with the charade.
"Wait, wha-?" Kirito sent McKnight a flash. Shut up and relax! I know what I'm doing, His face meant. Sort of.
McKnight growled but more or less took the hint. Their job was to get ready for a possible fight with Death Gun. Not a random girl.
"Boyfriend?" Nevertheless, she found some amusement in that. After another second, she nodded with a grin, "Fine, then. Since it's your first day, I won't get in the way between you two."
Kirito blew out a mental sigh. Both for de-escalating the situation and, possibly, get a description for Death Gun later. The current reports of Death Gun were vague at best. McKnight -and everyone around them?- grunted in some disgruntled fashion at that.
Turning sharply around, the blue hair -sniper?- said, "My name's Sinon, by the way." Sending a small look, Kirito's direction. And, to his fellow teen, a resentful one. Before leaving.
Seeing how...Sinon was gone. The pretty disappointed crowd -the two of them, conjured up- began leaving, too. Meanwhile, McKnight sent his own look his way. "Boyfriend?" He repeated, contemptuously. "Why in God's name would you say that!?"
"What was I supposed to say?" Kirito asked, honestly. "It was the first thing that came out after you and uh Sinon were fighting. After all, you said my appearance could work to our benefit, didn't you?"
McKnight looked bluntly at him. As if thinking he was speaking Mandarin or something. Looking around and noticing several players sticking around whispering and gesturing their way, McKnight frustratedly said, "Let's get off here." Like a guild-leader to the party's smartass. Kirito wasn't sure his speech came off that way. But didn't bother asking the American about it.
The two boarded the gun store like before. The only difference was Kirito was there only for spectating and dragging his shoes around with McKnight stringing him along. Checking off a mental checklist and occasionally stopping and thinking about what to get next. Ranging from armor, a holster, grenades, a light black pistol called -what was it?- a Beretta 9? Or M9? Something along those lines.
It was only after half an hour of this trend that Kirito had to prick up and ask, "Anything else?"
McKnight almost looked as if he had forgotten he was there. Kirito grunted. After another moment or two. The Khaki uniformed teen, Unenthusiastically, said, "I've been trying to figure out whether an SMG would fit well in your STR-AGI -strength and agility- class or something heavier. I haven't decided yet."
Shouldn't that be my job, then? Kirito thought wonderingly. But knew it wouldn't do him any good -McKnight went on pretending he wasn't there. Even humming a tone.
Having his eyes wander over his resigned expression, Kirito blew out a sigh and took a double-take when he spotted something familiar off in the right corner of the room. "Nē, what's that over there?" He asked out loud. Walking over to the display with a mix of wonder and surprise. When he got close, he said, "I didn't think they had swords in here, too!"
Labeled Kagemitsu G4, or Photon Sword, seemed to resemble a metal-tube with various colors that could be almost-completely coated with the user's choice. According to the record, flipping the switch will ignite a purple plasma blade.
"Don't you think that's pushing it?" McKnight asked, slightly frustrated when he had to rush over to see why Kirito had rushed over first.
He shrugged. "If they're selling it. It must be good." Kirito admitted happily enough. Since he was more familiar with a sword than a gun. His two-years in SAO and sparring with his younger sister, Sugu, only proved that. McKnight was in the minute of protesting. But, stopped halfway when Kirito already chose his blade's color -black- and pressed the button to purchase it.
A small little robot resembling a mobile wastebasket suddenly drove and appeared behind them when it greeted them. With a bright voice, it asked, "Please, confirm your purchase!" in happy Japanese. When Kirito happily did so, his sword -as if by magic- appeared floating over the little robot's head. Thanking him for his purchase and to take care, the robot zoomed away. Off to duties surely elsewhere.
"It's so light." He stated. Like a child opening a gift from someone on the holidays or their day of birth, Kirito wasted no time igniting the incredibly tiny device. Sure enough, the surging long but not too long (compared to his old Dark Repulser) sword shot out a darkish purple glow. Seemingly fizzled in place, almost like a lantern. He began swiping and dashing the literal air around him. Every movement and motion felt as light as the breeze outside in the real world.
McKnight even looked taken back. "Not bad, swordsman," He complimented. "But if your reflexes are going against someone who has a little more firepower than that cowboy earlier...you'll be cut to ribbons and smashed flat." He paused, then gingerly scanned Kirito's upper torso. "Seeing as you fit the part nicely."
"Geez," The Black Swordsman returned, seeing where this was going. "If you're asking for an apology, you'll get it."
Kirito promptly tried sheathing the buzzing Photon Sword behind himself -only to remember this wasn't ALO or SAO. Crap, he thought flushed. Playing off as he deactivated it and attached the hook on the end of the metal-cylinder to his belt.
McKnight returned unimpressed. "Just make sure you keep your distance when we walk around in public," He grudgingly informed him. "The last thing I want is another rumor being sent throughout Gun Gale for the next two days that what you said back there was a fact."
"The next two days?" Kirito repeated with a raised eyebrow. "You sure sound pretty confident about that, McKnight." He jokingly jeered at the uniformed teen.
McKnight, suddenly, in a severe and stern tone, responded, "I am." His crimson eyes looking through him. "I better be that is. Why else would I travel across the world's biggest ocean to come back here?"
Kirito flinched. Why does this mean so much to him? He thought in bewilderment. But, rather than asking that, he asked another pressing one question, "Is there um, anything else I need?"
He cocked his head to the side when McKnight's sense of direction wandered down to the marble-white floor as he recollected himself. "Uh, hai, one more thing," He made out. Facing Kirito back again, he asked, pretty lightly, "Have you ever fired a shot in anger before?"
"Never," Kirito answered truthfully. Suddenly, pausing. "Why do you ask?"
McKnight didn't answer him right away. Instead, he walked near an area called Gun Range. "Let's change that." And went inside the automatic doors.
Kirito groaned and, reluctantly, followed suit. The loud bangs and ripping sounds were enough to tear his hearing in two.
. . . . .
"Hai...as of this moment, nobody has any idea if they're still alive?" The fellow inside the stream asked. His player card being a dubious -or as dubious as you can be- hazmat soldier.
His buddy, who's card was a dancing cactus, chimed in with, "Unless you take what the police and what that American company for GGO has been telling us so far: probably no." His deepish voice hinted there wasn't anything to be taken seriously with what the companies said. Who could blame him?
The fine gentleman currently listening to the conversation intently had a good idea of why it was. He kept his hearing pressing forward. "Sekai da! But you think the ones running the tournament tomorrow really care? We've already said that the cops or they can't -no wait, won't- say anything. Especially after that other new guy...what's his name?... Pale Rider? Went 'offline,' too."
The one who just spoke seemed to be matching the tone of the colorful yet stupid theme of having a profile picture to match. An innocent-looking penguin stuck between a hard place (i.e., the player card itself) he had as a photo was as if appears, trying to get out.
"You'd think they say something now. And with all the rumors and changes that might happen for BoB, it sucks he had to go, too. Was thinking about betting on him." The gas mask user pointed out. As if turning his attention to his comrade IRL, he asked the cactus guy: "You still thinking about baiting Death Gun out?"
"Who, me?" The streamer joked. Which got a laugh from his friends.
The headset to the person listening picked them up clear as day. Clear enough, they also pick up from the other guy a sense of hesitancy.
The other two must've heard -or, the very least, went on. The streamers stopped talking about the incident. Instead, went on how the Bullet of Bullets operated with the "changing" of the hand and other rumors on how the meta itself will be affected. Again the person listening couldn't blame them. Only a little.
It must've been good thus far. Nobody had a clear understanding of what was going on like bugs scurrying around and wondering who kicked their nest.
Funny enough, he did stand up a little when he heard the door behind him open. "Oh, it's just you." His shoulders lowered disappointed, and he went back to watching the monitor. "You scared the hell out of me."
"I see that." The other man noticed. "I also see you're enjoying my younger brother's computer."
"It helps the time go by faster." He admitted halfheartedly. For some reason, he couldn't have helped letting out a giggle, "It's funny, you know?"
The other guy amusingly shook his head as he set down his bag or backpack on the bed near the computer in the lightly lit room. "Knowing you, it's bound to be plentiful. Especially after what you did earlier this month, Azasu."
"Pale Rider was on the list that you happen to memorize and write down after coming back from Gun Gale Online." He answered back, matter-of-factly. "We haven't gotten caught, not yet anyway."
"Heh, well, you're not wrong there." His friend shrugged. Obviously sensing the question left unanswered, his old companion then asked, "Now, what's so funny to you?" As if knowing the answer already but asking for entertainment.
"Kara," He smiled, "About everyone in that game is walking inside GGO and thinking everything is okay. After we see the old and new faces around town," He took the opportunity to move the mouse over to a folder on the screen and, upon clicking it, showcased several of the players in GGO's photos. "That's when they'll cause some true havoc. "
On-screen, players that were either marked for sacrifice and a good three of them marked already as sacrificed. Profile pictures, almost police photos, of XeXeeD, Lightly Salted, and Pale Rider having giant X's over them. The ones that didn't have those marks were going to have them pretty damn soon. There already were a couple in mind. And what better way to rile up the masses of not only this game but...others, too?
"I'll admit, your brother does know his stuff when it counts." He laughed again. "Heru, he could've been fairly high up in our dead guild." He declared, turning over to his partner with another sinister grin. "Isn't that right, XaXa?" Using his old friend's user tag back from Sword Art Online with satisfaction.
Back when they were still Laughing Coffin members.
XaXa -maybe not as savagely but definitely not as friendly to anyone else- lifted the corner of his lips in the same manner. Crossing his arms to go with the shadows of the room, they operated for over some time now. He replied back with, "Un, that's about on point," He nodded slowly. "Johnny."
They both grinned at each other. Both ready for tomorrow's show.
Author's Note: Thank youso much for reading! If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review and follow/favorite the story for more updates! Thanks and have a good one! Onwards to the Qualifiers Arc!
