Sword Art Online
After The incident
Chapter 27 – Gearing Up
~Deathgun's POV~
I frowned a bit and gripped at my pistol in suspicion as I followed after the stranger that had suddenly appeared in front of me.
I had heard before that people would bring their victims into alleys or something, and then threaten to kill them over and over again if you didn't give up your items, so I needed to be careful. After all, I didn't know the guy, so there was no telling what he might do.
That, and he had this crazy look in his eyes. I couldn't quite explain it, but there was always this unsettling feeling whenever he would even take a glance back at me. Just his presence in general made me extremely nervous at my feet.
Normally, when I was Deathgun, I was usually the one to inflict fear and nervousness upon my enemies and opponents with MY presence, and I enjoyed that. But this was something new. The roles had completely changed, and now I was the target.
I looked around me as we passed building after building, and street after street. I was beginning to wonder how long this was going to take, when the guy finally turned a corner and disappeared into a nearby building. I gripped a bit tighter around my Black Star Pistol, before following him inside.
When the door closed behind me, everything around me was pitch black. I couldn't see a hand in front of me, even when I tried to focus my vision as best I could.
Suddenly, several bright lights turned on above us, and I shielded my eyes from the sudden harsh light. When my eyes got used to the intense light, they widened in amazement as I saw the contents of the walls in the room.
There was enough weapons lined up neatly on the shelves for a small army! Several machine guns, snipers, shotguns, you name it, was neatly polished and placed on top of a glass shelf, several lights hanging over each weapon to promote it in an almost professional looking way.
Every last weapon was neatly polished and groomed up, the whole room looking like some rich guy's huge weapon collection.
"What the hell is this?!" I mumbled in shock.
The guy who had lead me here chuckled silently and pushed his sunglasses back into place on his long nose.
"This is my private collection" He said with a smirk "All the weapons you see here are weapons that only the greatest players can wield"
"How the hell did you get your hands on these?" I mumbled in amazement as I let my hand run across the metal of one of the sniper rifles "I haven't even heard of some of these weapons"
"In the real world, I am filthy rich" He said with a self-confident smile "If you promise me you kill Kazuto Kirigaya, all of these weapons could become yours"
"W-What!? You're giving all of this stuff away!?"
"As I said, I'm filthy rich" He said with another smile "And, I have powerful connections. I can get all of this again within a week"
"Damn, I want to be you right now" I mumbled silently as I picked up a new model of sniper "Is this the Hecate III!?"
"I believe so yes" He said with a smirk "If you have a great enough speed stat, you should be able to fire at least five bullets with this within a few seconds"
"A-Amazing! I have never heard of such power!"
I smirked a bit as I aimed through the sight of the rifle and aimed at the opposite wall of me.
"The record of hitting someone with this is about 7 kilometers"
"What!? 7!?"
I could barely believe my own ears. I had never heard about someone hitting from that distance.
"And you can use it in the tournament if you want" he said with a smile "All these upgrades should make sure to give you a big advantage"
I stared down at the sniper in my hands. With this, I could easily win over Kazuto and the rest of the competition, and finally get rid of him forever. And I would finally be able to show Shino how strong I had become.
It seemed too good to be true though, and I looked over at the guy with suspicion.
"Alright, this all sounds pretty good. What's the catch?"
"No catch my friend. I just want you to kill that bastard to Kirigaya!"
"H-How do you even know that guy?"
"Our history go back several years" The guy mumbled with an elegant flick of his hair "Let's just say that he stood in my way. And the people who do that, will experience pain like no other they have ever experienced before"
I gulped slightly at him. He scared me a bit, but at the same time, we shared the same goal.
"How does me killing him in GGO help you in any way? I mean, he doesn't die in real life just because I kill him in here"
"Well, I'm sorry to say but…" he started as he walked over to a gun podium "I have been watching you. You seemed like a reliable servant, with the qualities I search for. So I have been overlooking you. And I have also learned you have the sources to get rid of the people that stand in your way for good"
He had been watching me?!
"Alright, so what do you get out of him dead?"
"Vengeance. And a huge money opportunity"
"Money opportunity? How?"
"Well, my friend, let me tell you something" He said with a smirk "Have you ever felt lust before? An incredible desire to take what you believe is rightfully yours?"
I felt a trickle of sweat run down my face as I watched him. I had to admit, I had had strong desires when it came to being together with my crush, Shino. But I had not reached the point where I would forcefully take her for myself. At least not yet.
"I-I guess"
"Then let me hear this" He mumbled "Do you know that he is currently madly in love with a girl, Asuna Yuuki?"
"Yeah, I do" I mumbled "I know he's with her, but I don't know much about her herself"
"Then let me tell you something. Before he entered the picture, she was MY promised fiancé. Though I didn't want to marry her because I loved her, I simply wanted to marry her because it was a good investment"
A good investment!? His ideas and ideals didn't quite suit or fit with me, but I stayed quiet to let him finish.
"You see, her parents, and the Yuuki family as a whole, is a very rich family. When I had become Asuna's husband, I would be able to make even more powerful connections and investment opportunities from within the family, and by that increasing my own income and value exponentially"
He grabbed a glass and a bottle of fancy wine from a shelf nearby, and took a sip.
"Therefore my boy, that is the reason Kirigaya must be eliminated. With him gone, I can finally begin forcing myself back into the circles of the Yuuki family, and have a new opportunity of gaining more power"
I looked at him for a moment before I spoke up.
"I can't quite say my ideals is the same as yours," I mumbled with a frown "but I don't care about you and Ms. Yuuki's personal problems. I only have my grudge against Kazuto, nothing else"
"Straight to the point huh?" He mumbled with a smirk "I like that. Ok, let me gear you up"
He smiled a bit as he walked over to a section of shelves.
"Alright my boy, which kind of character do you have?" He asked with a smile.
"I am heavily AGI focused"
"Alright, then you'll need light weapons"
He smirked confidently as he picked a pistol off the ground, and a belt with grenades and other utilities.
"If you use these," He said with a smirk "you'll be invincible. Just make sure to get that fucker killed"
"There's just one thing" I frowned silently "Who are you?"
"That doesn't matter" He said with a widening smirk "just think of me as a sponsor. An anonymous sponsor, like in Hunger Games"
"Huh? Hunger Games?"
"Just forget it" He mumbled with a sigh, turning around and muttered something to himself "That was a great movie…"
"Let's just get on with this" I mumbled impatiently.
"Alright, alright" He mumbled with a sigh "Get out there, train your stat points, and get ready for the tournament. I'd like to see you as the winner"
"Yes sir" I nodded silently.
I accepted the trade weapons he had send me, and turned on my heel, before walking out the door.
"I'm coming for you Kazuto…"
~Kirito's POV~
I smiled a bit as Asuna, Sinon and I walked out of rest area of the arena, and out onto the buzzling street. As soon as I stepped outside, the harsh smell of gunpowder and oil hit my nose, a smell I had quickly learned to associate with the game.
I smiled a bit as I looked back at the girls.
"Alright, so, what is our next move?"
"Well," Sinon said with a smile "The next thing we should do, is go grind some monsters in the wild"
"Wait, you can do that in this game?" I mumbled in surprise "I thought this game was a FPS tournament game"
"Well actually" Asuna said with a smirk "I read through the manual, and it turns out, that this game is an FPS game mixed in with MMO assets"
"So we can go grind monster!?"
"Yes we can" Sinon said with a smirk "If we grind enough, we'll be able to get enough experience to be a challenge in the tournament. And we might get enough money from the drops to buy new weapons"
"That sounds like a plan" I said with a smirk "So, what kind of monsters are in this game?"
"Well, mostly soldiers and mercenaries" Sinon said with a smile "Though sometimes, bandit camps and bases spawn, which contains monsters that grants tons of experience"
"That sounds awesome" I said enthusiastically "Is there a base spawn scheduled today?"
"Several" Sinon said as she scrolled through her inventory "But the closest one is about 3 kilometers to the west of here, near the seashore"
"Alright" Asuna said as she stretched her arms "Let's go kill some mercenaries. Maybe I should buy a bikini"
"Please do" I said with a smirk.
I immediately regretted my words as I was hit several times in the head.
"Aow, aow! Stop!"
"If you don't want a bullet in the forehead" Asuna mumbled with a glare "You shut up, now!"
"Ok, ok, it was a joke seriously!"
I stepped backwards from the unsettling glares from the girls, who both threateningly reloaded their weapons to scare me for my joke. I put my hands in front of me defensively and sighed.
"Just calm down girls, calm down" I said with an apologetic smile "We need to get going, right?"
"Nah, we're not that late" Sinon said with a smile as she showed me the clock on her menu "There's still two hours until the spawn"
"Oh good"
"But…"
I was taken slightly aback, and looked back at Sinon after turning away from her to walk down the street.
"buuut?"
"We still need to be careful. There's players out there who raid other people for their items"
"Oh, so it's SAO's Laughing Coffin all over again huh?"
"Who's Laughing Coffin?"
"Never mind" I mumbled with a sigh "If we have that much time, let's go get some rest before setting out. We have to be well rested"
"I guess that makes sense" Asuna said with a sweet smile "Alright, let's get out of the game for the moment, and get some rest"
"Alright" Sinon said with another smile "Please, meet me at the western city gate when you come back, alright?"
"Aren't you going to log out Sinon?" Asuna asked concerned as she stepped up to her.
"Nah, it's ok" Sinon said with a smile "I don't feel that tired, and I have to go spend my new prize money. Go ahead and log out alright?"
"Uhm sure, if you say so" Asuna mumbled with a worried expression "We're back in an hour or so, alright?"
"Alright, see you soon"
I smiled a bit and opened my menu, taking my girlfriend's hand as we both pushed the log out button together. We waved softly at Sinon as the light engulfed us, and she smiled and waved back as the world around us disappeared, our virtual bodies slowly dissipating.
~Sinon's POV~
As the others disappeared in the log out light, I sighed silently as I looked down at my hand. It twitched slightly. Probably from the sorrow that was slowly rising in my chest. Why would I log out if I didn't need food or sleep? I basically had no reason to go back to the real world.
I guess Kyoji Shinkawa always was one, since he was one of the only people who had supported me through my trauma ever since I was little but, I knew that he was currently at work and didn't have time to see me. And besides him, I didn't really have anyone to visit.
I didn't have much family either. I only had my mother, and even she wasn't worth much. Since she had been subjected to the terrifying situation of seeing her daughter having a pistol pressed to her forehead, her sanity had snapped. Ever since it happened, she had been on the hospital, receiving mental health help.
Ever since she was taken in, I had been placed in a care family. When I turned 16, I moved out and into my own apartment to cope with my own problems and sadness. I had thought that was the best. I wanted to deal with my own problems. I just wanted to be left alone.
Though I could always visit my mom, she would barely ever recognize me when I did. So, if I went back to the real world, I would only return to an empty apartment, all by myself.
Now that I thought about it, I had been a fool to want to be by myself. If you have problems, you should depend on your friends and family to let them help you. Though my care family had never really tried to understand me and my problems. They were never the most reliable people.
I sighed silently as I walked down the street. Right now, I was alone again, but I had several online friends I could always meet up with. It wasn't that big of a deal.
I smiled a bit as I saw a group of the said friends around a table by a bar, and I decided to walk over and say hello.
Geez. The problems some people have to go through.
~Asuna's POV~
I sighed silently and pulled my VR helmet off of my head. I winched slightly and put a hand over my eyes to shield them from the harsh light above us, sitting up slowly as I looked over at Kazuto's bed. He had already gotten himself disconnected from the heart monitors and IV's he had been connected to, and now stood by the window, staring out as he held a sandwich in his right hand.
I smiled a bit and stepped up behind him, kissing his cheek as I wrapped my arms around his waist.
"What are you thinking about love?" I whispered into his ear.
I could feel heat radiate off his cheeks and he blushed a bit as he looked back at me.
"Oh, hey Asuna" He said with a smile "Just worried is all"
"Yeah, I know" I mumbled as I stepped up beside him "We don't know what he's capable of after all"
"Exactly"
"Just focus on coming back to your family, ok?" I say as I snuck my hand into his "You'll be so focused that you forget about your fear and worry"
"Huh? Are you sure?"
"It works for me" I said with an approving smile.
He nodded softly and sighed.
"I guess I'll take it for what it is…"
We didn't manage to talk much privately. Suddenly, both of our families barged in, worriedly flocking around us, busy to hug us and show how much they worried for us.
"Guys, how is it going?" Sugu asked worriedly "Are you doing ok?"
"Well, we're currently working to flush Sugou out" I mumbled with a frown "We're trying to make him come out of hiding by entering the BoB tournament"
"Huh? BoB tournament?" My mother asked, interested.
We proceeded to explain everything that had happened the same morning and afternoon. We even told them how we had lost in the qualifying tournament, and how Kazuto had stumbled across a player that apparently knew of his identity. This news was of course extremely unsettling for Kazuto's family.
"I don't like it Kazuto" His aunt shifted around nervously "He could be an enemy of some sort. I don't like the thought that you guys are going back in there"
"Mom, you know I have to do this" Kazuto mumbled with a serious expression "I really wish it was different, but I have no choice"
"I know Kazuto, it's just…"
She sat down on his hospital bed in worry.
"I just have a really bad feeling"
He sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a comforting and protective way.
"I know. Don't worry about me ok?" He mumbled softly "I survived SAO, I can survive this too"
"You're right" She mumbled with a sigh "Just make sure he suffers as much as you have"
She was angry. I was too, but something underneath showed intense hatred.
Kazuto mumbled soft and encouraging words to his mother in an attempt to calm her down.
I decided I wanted to spend some time with my family in the hour we had, before we had to go back into GGO.
In about a week, we would enter GGO's BoB tournament. We had to be prepared by then.
We had to.
A/N
Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
I actually didn't have that much work to do this week, so I managed to complete this chapter a day in advance of schedule! Yay!
Hope you enjoyed this week's chapter, and see you next time.