Escaping SAO had been literal hell for Liz.

Because from the moment she had banded together with Argo, Caylee, and Kirito to rescue Asuna from various directions, she had to deal with one thing after another, after another.

The fucker Sugou had stabbed her when she had gone running from Asuna's hospital room to intercept the crazy man before he could reach the stirring strawberry blonde. She had then passed out from blood loss while Kirito and Caylee were dealing with him. Where she could've sworn she had seen someone, vaguely, just someone from her past that she didn't fully remember, during the hazy handful of moments between passing out and fighting to stay conscious.

She had gotten into some serious trouble with her parents and was forced to miss an engineering expo she had been working one being in enough shape to make it to.

Asuna was released right after her and Liz had immediately regretted not testing out of the survivors' school when Asuna and Kirito were always together. Sure, she got to go to school with her little sister Silica, but she could've easily just studied for a couple months and tested out of the school. Rather than have to see the two love birds and pretend that watching them together didn't feel like she was being stabbed every time.

Since she wanted a partner, someone to be with, who would accept and understand her properly and not just leave because she wasn't a normal girl.

Pretending she had a crush on Kirito was easier.

Romance was a joke because she was a lost cause.


"I want you to come with Asuna when I introduce Sinon."

Liz looked up from her mathbook with a startled expression and frowned at the boy, unsure what he was trying to do. Strong arming her into accompanying Asuna to meet another girl who she had never met properly before. She already had to get used to the various people at their school bugging her about if she really was from a 'rich family' and or used to be called a prodigy in engineering. Something that was supposed to be a secret!

So there was no way she wanted to just come and show up when this girl could recoil and wonder why the hell the upbeat and playful girl was there when they were nothing like each other from what she had seen last week when she had answered Asuna's call in the middle of the night and reluctantly took off to the address Kirito had given her to kick someone's ass for putting a VR player's life in danger.

The kid had been weaker than she had when she had come out of SAO, so it hadn't been hard to keep him away from the sleeping girl still inside a VR headset, but it had been a pain in the ass to keep him from stabbing her with that injection device Asuna had warned her about via Kirito. Chasing him had been the most annoying part, so the girl had barely even seen her since she had been running out the door after the culprit.

"Kirito, I've never even met her, Just because I went out there to help out like the ultimate best friend to you both I am, doesn't mean her and I will just automatically get along-"

"Sinon's anxious, seeing someone who's so casual and relaxed will help her relax."

Liz rubbed at her forehead with her eraser, "pretty sure having a klutzy idiot like me there will only make her more anxious Kirito," she sighed. "I'm not you or Asuna okay? Goofball, playful idiot, klutz, loud mouth, exuberant, chaotic, none of those match up with the person you were playing with in that tournament."

"You're much better at reading the room than I am and even Asuna," Kirito refuted and Liz ignored him and turned back to her mathbook, "come on… I need your help here!" he pleaded, "she's got really bad anxiety and just getting her to agree to show up is like pulling teeth, which you'd understand…"

Anxiety… he wanted someone with an understanding of it to be there- wait.

Liz instantly gave him a suspicious look and branded her mechanical pencil at him like a weapon, "okay, now how do you know about that? I never said I had anxiety, not once. I would know, since that's something that's not broadcasted to other people."

Kirito instantly winced and looked guilty, looking away from her with some scratching at his cheek in that sheepish way he had done even back in SAO.

Asuna probably told him at some point. Great.

Liz deflated and groaned before propping her head up in her palm and reluctantly slid her phone down the bar to him. "Put her number in there and give her mine, if she contacts me I'll get to know her so she's not meeting two random strangers, kay?" She turned her head away from him, hiding her reddening ears at her next comment, namely a secret. "Tell her I'm a gunsmith in GGO."

Kirito seemed to understand not to ask why to tell her that.


Sinon: Er, hello, is this Liz? Kirito keeps bugging me to contact you.

Sinon: I apologize if he got the number wrong, he seems to be a bit of an idiot.

Liz squinted sleepily at her phone and begrudgingly rubbed at one of her eyes before getting up with a grumpy groan. Since there was no way she was going to be able to keep a conversation up at midnight while sprawled on her bed. Meaning she had to leave her room and go somewhere else in the house.

Of course the VR player would contact her in the middle of the night.

Settling down on the couch in her living room, Liz reluctantly turned her phone screen back on and flinched at the light with a hiss.

She regretted not leaving a single light on in her room.

Liz: Yup, this is Liz alright! Or atleast, that's my game handle

Liz: That's cause he is an idiot, almost as much as I am tbh

She didn't have to wait very long, this Sinon girl of Kirito's partner in the Death Gun incident seemed to be highly proficient in technology. Or atleast she had a very fast typing speed on a mobile device.

Sinon: I believe he said the full handle is 'Lisbeth' is that right?

Sinon: just making sure he's not pranking me.

Liz: It is, Lizbeth's my name in ALO and GGO and stemmed from SAO like Kirito.

Liz: otherwise I go by Rika, but Kirito's an ass and constantly calls me "Liiiiiz" to annoy me

Sinon: That doesn't surprise me, it seems like something he would do.

Sinon: My handle is Sinon, I play GGO as well

Liz settled down more comfortably into the couch cushions and focused on responding properly in the bright light of her phone screen.

Liz: You were Kirito's partner in the whole death gun thing, right?

Liz: Your sniper was pretty spectacular. Your skill lets it's true abilities really shine.

Sinon: Kirito mentioned you were a bit of a charmer, looks like he's right…

Liz winced. Of course Kirito made it sound like she wanted to flirt with the girl.

Liz: I was being serious, I'm just a smith in game and forge IRL so I can appreciate weapons and their capabilities.

Liz: just to make it clear, Kirito exagerates things.

Liz: I'm just friendly and playful, the flirting is only in person and is completely harmless. Just a defense mechanism.

Sinon: Ah, makes sense then.

Sinon: he said you were his partner's best friend, that true?

Liz didn't hesitate.

Liz: Yup, grew up with her and all.

Liz: he's a lucky guy, my best friend's sweeter than sugar and super smart.

Sinon: that's what I heard, heard that she's pretty calm and laid back besides her temper.

Liz: Oh that's no overstatement, Asuna's temper's like liquid fire xD

Liz: But I mean, I do too. I tend to react first and think after cause well

Liz: Anxiety's a bitch.

She didn't exactly like admitting to a literal stranger that she did in deed have anxiety, and really badly for that matter, but in this one case, it was necessary. Because Kirito was relying on her to coax this girl into meeting up with her and Asuna, so having some common ground would only help her relax and understand that they have a good idea what she was dealing with.

Her response made it worth it.

Sinon: It is, it's the lurking monster biting at your heels every moment of every day.

Sinon: Hey, I know it's late, but do you want to work out a time to be in GGO?

Sinon: I need to get my sniper fixed after Death Gun shattered my scope.

Liz: sure thing! Have to work around school and tutoring, but I'd be glad to take a look at it and see what magic I can perform with it.

Sinon: Cool, send me what times you're free, I'm in game most of the evening and night.

And so Liz now had to cram meeting the famed sniper herself in GGO into her crazy schedule.

Fuck.


Sinon: Hey, you up?

Luckily, she was.

Liz: Yup, probably should be sleeping with my boxing event tomorrow but ehh.

Liz: What's up, Sinon?

Sinon: Shino

Sinon: that's my name I mean.

Sinon: I had my suspicions, but Kirito told me you were the one that kept Kyouji from attacking me. Which makes sense with that boxing comment.

Damnit Kirito, fucking hell!

Liz: Oh, yeah, Asuna had called me and sent me in while Kirito was still in the game.

Liz: I swear I didn't do anything but chase the kid off and cornered him outside.

Sinon: It's lucky you weren't hurt.

Liz: Nah, Kirito had warned me about the device.

Liz: And unlike the king of idiocy over there, I have actual training so I'm not weak noodle arms like he is~

Sinon: Okay, he deserves that diss

Sinon: I wanted to thank you, just took forever to actually say it.

Liz: No sweat! Honestly, Kirito's bred a hero complex into most of us SAO buddies, so it would've been wrong to just ignore his call when usually his intuition along with Asuna's are spot on.

Liz: Plus, if there's one thing that SAO taught all of us, is there's a time and a place for battles, but it's important to protect the innocent.

Liz: Wow, my tank's really showing through ^^'

The reply took much longer than expected, and Liz was thrown for a full loop when it did come through.

Sinon: If you and I ever become friends IRL

Sinon: Would you teach me a little self defense?