AN: Someone asked whether Kirito would recognize Xaxa|Death Gun quicker since he's gone through his memories and is a practicing Occlumans now. However, while I've stated in previous chapters that Occlumans can easily recall anything they've ever experienced, I'd like to point out that in those cases they knew exactly what they were looking for and where to look. If Marzanna's mind is a library, then it's easy to remember that one specific cake her mom made, or say the day she and Kirito got together, she knows exactly what she's looking for and where the memory is stored. She essentially has the reference code to which shelf it's stored on, the title of the book, and the author, so it's easy to find. Kirito trying to remember someone, who I'll remind you looks completely different barring the red eyes, he vaguely feels like hes met before and sorta recognizes then trying to hunt it down by looking through every single memory he has stored together that relates to Laughing Coffin is like trying to find a specific paragraph in a singular book when you only know what genre it's in. Kirito in canon tried to force himself to forget what happened and ended up looping the same, incorrect, memory over and over, Kirito in Nephilim Witch is frantically digging threw memory after memory of fragments of conversations and newspaper articles and occasional run ins with Laughing Coffin members trying to find the single scrap that holds the information he's looking for.

Also, I was going to upload this tomorrow since I uploaded the last one on Friday, and that'd make it a week between uploads, but I figured I'd post it today since it's Thanksgiving. So, enjoy if you've got the time or need a break from crazy relatives or something!

Review Responses:

Spellflame- Um. None? The series isn't really written with the idea of them using IRL magic to effect VR, the two times Marzanna summoned Shuraba and the additional consequences of the second time were fairly isolated events born of desperation.

CatScratcher- Not really, the focus shifts around all the time depending on what's going on in the story at any given moment.

shadowchaos5150- I actually went to look at how long it's been since you updated, not to laugh, but just out of curiosity, and oof. That's rough buddy, but I mean, fanfics are something you do for free in your own time. Don't let people pressure you just because it's been a while and your struggling. Honestly, as backwards as it might seem, sometimes if the ideas just aren't flowing I find it helpful to work on another fic. I have multiple works in progress on the backburner that I haven't gotten very far on that I work on every now and then when the muses just ~refuse to cooperate. I find though, that working on them and imagining scenes and stuff for them often sparks ideas for the fic you actually want to be working on, Nephilim Witch in my case. Like sometimes your like "Huh, if I twist this a little it's usable for the fic I'm working on too" or "well that idea that just popped into my head doesn't work for this but it could work for the one I've been posting…". Though, people aren't the same, so I can't guarantee it'll help. Anyway, onto the other stuff. I mean, I can definitely see him breaking out the rarer materials when someone just doesn't match the standard ones, but I've always imagined it more like since the Ollivander's have been in the wand business for so long, he's mostly just selling the stock of those kinds of wands they've built up? Rather than spending all that much time making them. I have no idea what Yosh! Saga is, but I could see her going for optimization and getting some enchanted objects at some point, though I doubt it'll make it into the fic. It won't take as long to come out. Neither will the next one.

December 13th, 2025

She stretches as her gaze drifts around, wondering if one of the people that had been in her preliminary bracket was Death Gun. Unfortunately, she hasn't seen anyone acting particularly suspicious. Luckily, Nero, or Blue Rose rather, was in a different bracket, so maybe he might find a likely suspect. She'd also tentatively asked the singular friend she and Blue Rose had made in GGO, Sinon who she'd met during the last BoB, to keep an ear out for the name and tell her. She'd thought she'd have some explaining to do, and Sinon had asked, but upon seeing her awkward expression, her friend had waved it off and said she'd listen for it.

Kirito was also in a different bracket from either one of them according to the roster. She was glad he'd made it. Originally she and Blue Rose were supposed to meet him at the spawn area, but he'd been running late and told them to go on ahead.

She's been tense throughout the entire prelims, but no matter how closely she watched anyone or their matches on the screens she hadn't seen anything questionable. Or, at least not more so than usual with the GGO crowd.

She supposed she'd just have to hope one of the others saw something. It's with that in mind that she makes a beeline for Blue Rose when she sees him upon exiting the prelim area, "Anything?"

He shakes his head, "Not that I noticed."

"Blue rose, Hanna."

They both turn to see Sinon approaching, her expression a strange mix of irritated and concerned, trailed by a young woman staring down at the ground blankly. She smiles lightly, "Sinon, did you hear anything?"

She shakes her head, "Not personally, but this guy I met," She jerks her thumb over her shoulder at her follower, "Kirito, he-"

She rears back, "Wait, Kirito? Is that really you?"

The young wom- man, apparently, jerks his head up and finally focuses, "Huh?" He stares blankly for a moment before seeming to recognize her, which was the whole reason she'd shown him a picture of her GGO avatar before this whole fiasco started to begin with, "Oh, Hanna!" Then he slumps, "Yeah, it's me. Stupid randomized avatars."

She snickers lightly while Blue Rose starts laughing. Kirito narrows his pretty eyes at her cousin, then turns his delicate nose up with a humph. Sinon glances between them, "You know this Trap?"

Blue Rose and Kirito choke, her cousin on his laughter, Kirito indignantly, before he turns to Sinon sharply, "Trap?! Trap?! Trap implies I chose this! I didn't! Or that I'm trying to fool people and I never purposely mislead you! Just because you assumed-" He cuts himself off and whirls of Blue Rose who is ~cackling, "Stop laughing!"

She grins lightly at him, unable to help herself, "I didn't know you were into that sort of thing, babe." He chokes again and Blue Rose falls over from his laughter. She ignores them both to turn to Sinon, "But yeah, I know him. This is the husband I told you about before."

Sinon looks at him in surprise, then she gives her a dubious look, "Him? … Are you sure this is the same guy?"

She laughs, "Positive." Then she sobers, "You saw something babe?"

His indignant rage evaporates like smoke as his shoulders slump, "Yeah… Someone approached me after my first fight. He was wearing a metal skull mask with glowing red eyes, and he had his name display disabled, so I don't know who he was, but he asked me if I was the real thing. When I asked him what he meant and who he was, he just pulled up my name on the roster. Then he said, 'This name… That skill with a blade. Are you the real thing?' And I don't know where we met, but somehow when he asked that while staring at me with that mask… I knew we'd met. He's from SAO, I was certain of it." Then his face darkens, "And when he lowered his arm after closing the window, I saw it. He had his arms wrapped in bandages, but there was a gap on his inner wrist. I couldn't see the whole thing, but I'd know those particular eyes and mouth anywhere. He had a Laughing Coffin tattoo."

She sucks in a sharp breath. He turns his face away slightly, "I tried to tell him I didn't understand the question, but he said… He said, 'Whether you're a fake using his name or the real one… Someday I'll kill you', then he just left. His voice though… it was the same as the one in the audio file Kikouka sent us. He's Death Gun. I'm certain of it. And he's found a way to continue the murder spree he started in SAO."

She runs her fingers through her mates hair as she frowns sadly. Earlier, Sinon had tugged her aside and quietly told her that she hadn't had the context at the time, but after what Kirito told them about his encounter with Death Gun, she was fairly certain that when she saw him after round one that he was going through a panic attack. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to help him before the system teleported him away for round two.

She wants to take care of him, to get some food so good it's drool worthy and munch to their heart's content. To curl up in bed with him and cradle his head to her chest while she runs her fingers through his hair and speaks softly about anything and everything that will distract him and bring his mood up. Perhaps even open their bond up fully and take a nap so they're both immersed in the other and everything else practically melts away.

He won't let her though. He's bound and determined to dig through his memories and try to find Death Gun's SAO name. There isn't anything Kikouka can do unless he has that so he knows who the person wearing the AmuSphere is. Unfortunately, his heightened memory from Occlumancy practice might actually be making the problem worse, given that there were a lot of interactions related to Laughing Coffin in some way, from the first mention of PoH when he first started to rise to the raid of the unofficial guild and even rounding up runaway strays after, and Kazuto has them all shoved together in his mind in chronological order. Which means a whole lot of digging.

He's already been at it for hours and it's nearly midnight. She's unbelievably worried for him. He keeps instinctively yanking himself not only out of the memories, but from his mindscape completely every time it gets too much, but over and over, regardless of his worsening condition he stubbornly insists on going back in and refusing her offer to help. He's almost as white as a ghost, he's shaking like a leaf in a hurricane, and he's practically drenched from the cold sweat, but still he persists.

The only concession she'd pulled from him had been to stop at midnight so he'd get sleep for tomorrow, and the worse he gets as he digs through any memory even vaguely related to Laughing Coffin the more she wishes it'd just hurry up and become midnight already.

She leans down and presses a hopefully soothing kiss to his forehead when he shudders yet again. Yet another glance thrown at the clock for the umpteenth time drags a sigh from her.

Midnight couldn't come fast enough.

December 14th, 2025

Marzanna selects a drink from the menu and a part of the table slides up containing her order. She turns to her mate as he clears his throat, "So, in the main tournament, thirty players are randomly placed on the same map? And you just start shooting when you encounter someone, and the last man standing is the winner?"

She nods, but Sinon cuts in before she can answer, "All of that would have been in the email the admins sent you!"

Kirito waves his hand awkwardly, "I did read it, but… I mean, I just wanted to make sure I understood it. The island that serves as the tournament map is ten kilometers in diameter, and everyone starts in a random location at least a thousand meters away from anyone else, right?" She nods, and Kirito furrows his brow, "How are you even meant to find anyone?"

Sinon sighs, "You're shooting at each other with guns, so it has to be that big. The participants automatically receive an item called a 'satellite scan terminal' when they spawn in."

Kirito turns to her, "Satellite… Like a spy satellite or something?"

Sinon nods, "Yep. The idea is that a spy satellite passes over the stage once every fifteen minutes. Then it transmits the location information of each player on the map to the terminal."

Her mate hums, "But doesn't a rule like that put a sniper at a disadvantage?"

She snorts, "The player locations on the map are only available for a single minute. And besides, fifteen minutes is more than enough time to fire one shot, kill one person, and move."

He huffs lightly in amusement. Then Blue Rose Clears his throat looking a little more serious, "Onto the players themselves, I recognize most of the names from the previous BoB, but I'm not exactly the sort to memorize the names of everyone in a tournament, so there are about ten I'm not at least vaguely familiar with."

Sinon pulls up a participant list and starts looking it over, "Hmmm. Other than a certain obnoxious energy sword user, there are only three names I don't recognize. Gunner X, Pale Rider, and… I guess it's pronounced 'Steven', though it's spelled really strange."

She pulls up her own participant list and looks it over, before pausing and narrowing her eyes, "No. It's Sterben. It's German, specially its specialized medical vocabulary meaning, 'Death', it's used when a patient passes away at a hospital.(1) That one is probably our most likely suspect. Though we shouldn't just dismiss the other two."

Sinon closes the window and gives them a piercing look, "Most likely suspect for what? I was fine with letting it go when it seemed like you were just listening for people claiming to be that Death Gun guy from the rumors, but what exactly is going on here?"

She turns to her mate, but Blue Rose's sigh cuts through their wordless conversation, "Sinon is the best sniper in GGO. She could be a target."

She and her mate share a look before he also sighs, then glances around. Seeing that their table is fairly isolated he leans forward with his elbows on the table and drops his voice a bit, "From what you said earlier, you've heard rumors about this Death Gun guy shooting Zexceed and Lightly Salted Tarako, right?"

Sinon nods, "Mm. And then they were disconnected and no one has seen them since. That Death Gun guy is hacking their accounts, right?"

Her mate purses his lips, "I suppose that's a solid theory. Unfortunately, no. IRL Zexceed and Lightly Salted Tarako were both found dead, with their estimated time of death being around the same time each of them was shot."

Sinon's drink drops from her suddenly slack hand as she stares at Kirito in surprise. He drops his gaze and drags a hand through his long hair as he continues, "An autopsy was performed on each since there was a possibility of foul play, but upon finding that they both died from nothing more than acute heart failure and taking other things into account, such as the fact Zexceed had been logged in for over 48 hours without eating anything, it was concluded that they were probably natural deaths after all, so a more in depth autopsy wasn't performed on either."

He sighs, "Realistically. The AmuSphere was designed with safety in mind after the absolute shit show that was SAO, so the chances that someone has found a way to kill someone in VR and have them die IRL is miniscule is the conclusion that was reached at the time." Then he lifts his gaze to meet Sinon's wide eyes head on, "But even then it couldn't have been said to be one hundred percent impossible. I was hired by an official from the government's VR division that was put together in the early days of the SAO fiasco to come here to GGO, find Death Gun, and make absolutely sure that he hasn't actually found a way to kill people."

Sinon stares in silence for a few moments, "It was concluded to be practically impossible... At the time?"

He nods seriously, "Yes. But as I said yesterday, that man… He's definitely found a way to kill people."

Sinon swallows audibly, "What- What makes you think that? The AmuSphere-"

He lets out another sigh, this one more aggravated as he leans forward and clutches at his bangs, "That man. He was in SAO. The same as Hanna and I." Sinon sucks in a sharp breath, but Kirito just continues on, "In SAO, despite the circumstances, there were still Player Killers. Some of them just refused to believe that dying there would actually kill people and thought we were just stuck, but some of them… Some of them enjoyed it. There was a man called PoH, though no one knew his actual screen name, who encouraged that sort of thinking. 'It's all Kayaba's fault we're stuck here with the possibility of death, so anyone who dies, their death is on him', is what he spread. He got more than a few people together who enjoyed that their murders could actually kill people and made an unofficial guild named Laughing Coffin." He lets out a ragged breath, "That man yesterday. Through a gap on the bandages he had wrapped around his arms, I saw the emblem of Laughing Coffin tattooed on his wrist." His eyes narrow, "A man like that. He wouldn't be content to just kill people in a game. He wouldn't be doing this if he hadn't found a way to continue Laughing Coffin's rampage."

She nods, "Mm. So our best bet right now is to chase him down as quickly as possible, but we should also wipe out as many people as we can before he can get to them, since we don't know who he's targeting and it's better if we kill them since we know nothing will happen to them that way. I mean, theoretically he could shoot their bodies, and depending on how his method works, it might still kill them, but given his apparent obsession with power, it's highly unlikely he'd do that."

The dead silence hangs over their table for a few minutes before Sinon sucks in a shaking breath, "You… said I could be a target?"

She nods, "According to the official who hired Kirito, Death Gun has a couple specific criteria for who he goes for. Specifically, he only targets top-level players. This entire tournament is full of the best players in GGO, which may seem like a target rich environment, but given that both times he rambled about justice as well as power, he probably has other criteria that are currently unknown, so he'll probably only be after specific players. Since we don't know what his other criteria are, but you are the best sniper in GGO, you could be a target."

Sinon just stares at them for a few moments, then she shakes her head frantically, "I-"

It's as far as she gets before Snape horn blares and light and electricity fill the area. When she can see a few seconds later Marzanna finds herself on the edge of a cliff overlooking a forest.(2)

The third Bullet of Bullets has begin.

She looks around for a minute, then steps forward off the cliff, bouncing from one jutting out rock to another then to the trees. This Death Gun may think he has real power and can do whatever he wants, that he's an apex predator, but he'd better prepare himself.

The Sparda family was on the hunt and he was the prey.

"You should always check your six, Dyne." He thinks it's a little ironic when he hears Sinon murmur that as he's sneaking up on her, but he's surprised a moment later when Sinon apparently notices his presence and whirls around while pulling her handgun, "Who's there?!"

Before she can fire he knocks her gun aside and shoves her down, "Shh! It's me!"

She stills, "Kirito?"

He nods in return as he shuffles off of her while still keeping low and pulls out his binoculars, "Yeah. When I saw that other player being chased by Pale Rider who might be Death Gun, even though we're leaning towards Sterben, I had to check it out. I'm surprised you're still here though, I thought you might've resigned."

Sinon slowly shifts back over to her sniper, "... I thought about it, I won't lie. But. I mean, there's only a possibility that I'm a target, it hasn't been confirmed. So, I thought… Well, I figured snipers excel at stealth and perception, so the chances of that Death Gun guy sneaking up on me are pretty slim, right? I don't want to go anywhere near that guy, but… I thought maybe I could help by killing as many people as I can, so he can't? Like you were saying earlier. And if I do come across him and things go bad, I can always run away or resign, right?"

He gives her a surprised look, then smiles lightly, "Mm. I suppose so." Then they both turn back to the bridge, but he can't quite bring himself to leave it there, "Sinon." She doesn't turn away from where she's gone back to looking down her scope, but she does hum in question, "Thanks. For helping I mean. I know this all has to seem pretty crazy to you."

She sighs slightly, "It does. But... I mean, I've known Hanna and Blue Rose long enough to know they aren't the kind of people who spread rumors or creepy pastas or whatever. And… You had a pretty visceral reaction to that guy yesterday, and your conviction earlier… It's hard not to believe it, even if it sounds crazy."

A few moments later when they spot Pale Rider walking down the bridge, she sighs, "That guy isn't Death Gun."

He hums, "No, not unless he completely changed his get-up and style before the tournament started." Then Dyne opens fire and Pale Rider cartwheels out of the way before he starts swinging around and bouncing all over the pillars and wires of the bridge, "Woah. His fighting style kinda reminds me of Hannas in ALO."

Sinon hums, "She fights kinda like that here too. Though she carries a bit more weight, so she can't get as much out of her 3D maneuverability as this guy can." Just as quickly as it started, it's over with a point blank shotgun blast to Dyne's forehead, and Sinon sighs in exasperation, "Dyne, you should have shot from the hip after swapping magazines, not tried to fully pull your weapon up." Then she shakes her head, "I'm going to shoot him."

Kirito hums in agreement, "Alright. But if he really is that man and he's just changed gear, it might not be that easy."

Sinon gives a hum of her own, "Based on the way he dodged Dyne's shots, he would definitely have the time to dodge at this range. However, unlike when he fought Dyne, I'm a sniper not someone trying to shoot him right in front of him. He shouldn't know the shot is coming until it's too late."

Then she lets out a breath in preparation to shoot. Before she gets a chance though something trailing electricity slams into Pale Rider's chest just as he starts to turn away. There's a beat of quiet before Sinon says in disbelief, "I missed the gunshot?"

He shakes his head, "No, I definitely didn't hear it. What's going on?"

Sinon narrows her eyes, "The only possibilities are a quiet laser rifle or, if it's a physical gun, a silencer… But he shouldn't be dead, so why isn't he moving?"

He turns his binoculars away from Pale Rider and starts scanning, "It looked like he was shot from the forest."

She makes a noise of disagreement, "I think it was from farther than that. I just looked all the way to the end of the map when the satellite went by, and no one's within a kilometer." Then she seems to realize something, "Wait, Kirito… Where did you come from?"

He hums, "During the last scan, I was swimming underwater to avoid that machine gun guy, so maybe that hides players from the satellite?"

She turns to him, "It's true that it's already known that hiding in a cave prevents the satellite from detecting you at the cost that you can't connect to it and see other players, so I suppose it's possible. I'll remember it for more normal BoBs later."

He narrows his eyes, "Sinon, his avatar has a strange light effect."

She looks back down her scope and adjusts it, then with a surprised tone, "A stun bullet?"

Then he catches sight of that familiar cloak, glowing red eyes, and gleaming mask and can't help but gasp, "It's him!" He forces himself to calm down, "How long has he been there?"

Sinon breaths out in surprise, "Silent Assassin?!"

He glances at her, "Wha-"

She cuts him off, "The rifle he's carrying. It's a high-level sniper rifle that comes equipped with a silencer. I'd heard rumors that it existed, and I've seen pictures of people who claimed to see it, but it's the first time I've seen one myself. If he can use a gun like that, who is he?" Then she shakes her head, "Nevermind that, I'm taking the shot. If he's dead, he can't hurt anyone, right?"

He nods, "Mm."

As he watches through his binoculars, Death Gun pulls out a handgun cocks it and points it at Pale Rider with one hand as he makes a cross gesture in front of himself. Before he can fire, Sinon pulls the trigger, but somehow he seems to know the shot is coming and leans out of the way. He straightens and looks right at them for a moment before turning back to Pale Rider as Sinon pulls back on her rifle's bolt handle, ejecting the spent round and chambering a new one, even as all of that's happening, she's speaking to him quickly, "I can take another shot, but he'll see my bullet line and will definitely dodge it. Harassing him won't stop him from shooting Pale Rider as he runs away."

He grits his teeth, mentally cursing the fact that he and Sinon are too far away for him to be able to get close enough to fight the bastard. Just as he's wondering if he's going to have to just sit there and watch Death Gun kill Pale Rider, Death Gun jerks and a few seconds later a hail of bullets coming from the forest Dyne and Pale Rider had come from forces him run towards one of the bridge's pillars. At the same time, multiple shots hit Pale Rider in rapid succession and kill him before Death Gun can.

He yanks his binoculars up and looks towards the beginning of the bridge on the other side, just in time to see a blonde woman come running out of the forest. It takes him a few seconds since it isn't what he's used to, but he soon recognizes Hanna with a wave of relief. She holsters one gun underneath her cloak and pulls something else out even as she keeps shooting towards the pillar Death Gun had disappeared into the shadow of.

A moment later she hits the button on something round and throws it. It bounces once before detonating.

He sucks in a sharp breath in surprise, and beside him Sinon cries out, "Optical Camouflage?!"

It certainly explained what he'd just seen. Because Death Gun had disappeared into the shadow of the pillar, but after the detonation of the grenade, he'd shimmered into view near the center of the bridge, walking away from Hanna. He quickly darts towards the edge of the bridge again, and this time just jumps straight over the edge into the water. Hanna immediately moves over to the edge and sprays the water, before she stops a few seconds later, frowning heavily. He doesn't need to have a line of sight on the water or be down there able to ask her to know what that frown and lack of shooting means.

Death Gun had escaped.

Ōojisan sighs in aggravation, and Hī-Obāsan(3) pats his hand in comfort, "It's frustrating that he got away, but at least they didn't get that young man."

She leans forward with a smile, "Plus, Mama and Papa know he's got that camo cloak now too!"

Hī-Ojīsan makes a noise, "That cloak seems like it might be cheating in a game setting though."

Hī-Obāsan hums, "Maybe, but as Yui-chan said, at least they know he has it now. He won't be able to take them by surprise as easily with it later."

The conversation tapers off and they refocus on the stream. Papa and Sinon-san have met up with Mama and they appear to be talking, though the way the recordings are set up, they can't hear what players are saying unless they're basically shouting. It's set up that way to protect the players from accidently muttering something confidential, like personal information, that can't be edited out since it's broadcast live.

One of the Stream announcers, Sunny-san, comments on it in a confused tone, "It's a little strange that they're all just standing around talking instead of fighting. And that they all seemed to be after Sterben-san?"

Cloudy-san, whose name seemed to have been picked just to match Sunny-san's, hums in agreement, "Isn't it?" Then she chuckles, "Makes you wonder if he was talking smack pregame and ended up making them all mad at him or something."

Sunny-san laughs, "Maybe! It's possible that owning that 《Optical Camouflage Mantle》made him a little too confident, even enough to say something he shouldn't have! Still, it was lucky he had it! He'd have been in hot water otherwise, but with it, he was probably able to sneak under Hanna's suppressing fire and sense she couldn't see him, she didn't adjust her aim. It's just bad luck on his part that she tossed that plasma grenade!"

Cloudy-san makes a noise of agreement, "Mm! That Optic Camo took me by surprise though! That sort of thing is super rare, ya know?! It's not the sort of equipment just anyone has, that's some high tier gear!"

Sunny-san laughs brightly, "Right?! That sniper rifle, known as the 《Silent Assassin》isn't anything to sneeze at either! You'd have to either get super lucky and acquire an unbelievable number of ultra rare drops to build them yourself with maxed out levels in the Light Armor Creation and Physical Firearm Creation skills, or spend about 500,000 yen in total to get them both from the cash shop!"

Cloudy-san makes a disbelieving noise, "Honestly, I don't know which route sounds more likely, since they both sound pretty preposterous. Especially since those things aren't just rare and expensive, they're also hard to make use of, since you have to have pretty high levels, both yourself and in the appropriate skills, to be able to equip and use them, you know?"

Sunny-san makes an excited noise, "Right? Right? So, even if he bought them, Sterben-san still has to be pretty skilled! Though, that doesn't mean he isn't in hot water if he's made those guys mad! That green haired girl is Sinon-san, widely considered the best sniper in GGO, and sometimes given the simple moniker 《Eagle Eyed Sinon》since she's definitively the best! Her shot may not have hit, but it wasn't a miss! That was dodged, which says more about Sterben-san than herself. And the blonde who flushed him out is Hanna-san, known for the fact she uses manual aim but hardly ever misses, she's sometimes called 《Sure-shot Hanna》and she isn't someone I'd wanna mess with either! Honestly, the only question mark is our newcomer, Kirito-kun, but from the way his preliminaries went, he's not someone you should mess with either!"

Cloudy-san makes an over exaggerated sound of surprise, "Ehhh?! Kirito-kun?"

Sunny-san laughs, "Nope! In most MMOs character customization is only possible through micro-transactions, but in GGO it isn't possible at all! If you want a new avatar, you have to make a new account, or maybe even buy one from a Model Merchant, a type of merchant player who hangs around Spawn just to try and get players with popular model types to sell them their accounts. Unfortunately for our newbie Kirito-kun, it seems like he got a rare M9000 series avatar, a particularly feminine looking male model, though the limited registration information we have access to lists his gender as male. That's why I used kun though, so our viewers wouldn't be confused by his looks!"

Cloudy-san makes a disbelieving noise, "No way! That cute looking lady is actually a guy?! What poor luck!"

Sunny-san laughs, then makes a noise of surprise. While they had been talking Papa and Sinon-san had clearly been having a conversation with Mama, with the only nonverbal context on could pick up on, barring body language in general, being that Mama had gestured to herself then along the river, then at both Sinon-san and Papa and gestured another way. Now they split off, Mama following the river, presumably to try and hunt down Death Gun, while Papa and Sinon-san went another way together.

Sunny-san of course comments on this after her surprised noise, "Eh?! They aren't going to fight at all?! And what's this, Kirito-kun and Sinon-chan are leaving together?! How very strange! They haven't forgotten that this is a battle royal have they?!"

Cloudy-san makes a confused noise, "I don't know, but there's action in other places, so unfortunately that's all the time we have for them right now!" The camera changes to show a man on a plateau with a machine gun shooting down at a guy taking cover behind some rocks, "It seems like XYZ-kun(4) is trying to dislodge Lion King Richie-kun from the machine gun nest he's made for himself!"

Yui tunes out the rest, while she'd normally be excited for this sort of thing since she likes a good fight, particularly in a non-lethal VR setting, the business with Death Gun makes it impossible to enjoy. As such, she doesn't particularly care if it doesn't have to do with Death Gun, Mama, Papa, Ojisan, or Sinon-san.

She sighs. Hopefully they could deal with Death Gun soon and without any more casualties than what he racked up before Kikouka contacted Papa. (5)

While he wouldn't say it's immediate, they don't make it particularly far from the bridge before the unexplainable sixth sense he'd developed in SAO have him stopping and straining his hearing. A few seconds later, he draws his sword and turns to a fallen log a bit away just as Sinon starts to say something. She cuts off in surprise as he bursts into movement to defend himself and Sinon from the hail of bullets suddenly coming at them.

He steps to the side and deflects the final one headed straight for Sinon's face, and hears his opponent call out in disbelief, "No way!"

Then he starts frantically digging around, probably to change clips, and he casually says to his companion, "I suppose we need to take him out so Death Gun can't. I'll defend us, take a shot when you have the chance."

Sinon nods, then quickly lays down with her gun, "Roger."

Then he's busy deflecting again. He assumes she isn't shooting since their opponent has reloaded and there was a chance her bullet would be knocked off course by one of their opponents, but during another pause when he runs out of ammo, she doesn't take the shot like he thinks she would.

He glances back to find her gaping in awe, and quickly calls out, "Sinon! Now!"

She jolts, then quickly looks down her scope. A few seconds later there's a fairly loud boom as her gun goes off and their opponent is ripped in half completely. He blinks rapidly in surprise, "... I wasn't expecting a sniper to do that much damage."

She snorts as she climbs to her feet, "Most don't. This is technically an anti-materiel rifle, which is meant for use against equipment, like helicopters or armored vehicles, though not tanks. It's not generally meant for use against people. Still, that's in the real world. Here in GGO it'd be stanger if I didn't use it against people just because that's not what these kinds of guns are meant for IRL. And given that this is a game, it's even more powerful."

He nods slowly, "Ah. Sinon is scarier than I realized."

She gives him a look, then turns and speed walks away.

He calls out as he hurries to catch up, "W-Wait! Don't leave me behind!"

He is thoroughly ignored, but he persists, "Where are we going anyway?!"

She finally stops with a sigh, and once he catches up she points to a large run down city in the distance, "The Lost City. It's located in the center of the island, so it'll be a hotspot for players. Hanna left wiping them out to us while she tries to track Death Gun, right? There are a couple people in this zone still according to that last scan, like Lion King Richie, but if I was a mass murdering psycho, I'd probably ignore those singular guys off on their own and head there to maximize the carnage. Honestly, he probably only targeted Pale Rider because he was on the way." Then she clenches her hand into a fist as it drops, "Though, that does mean we'll probably run into him again, if he really does head that direction."

He hums in agreement, "Maybe, but we have to clear out other players that he might target as quickly as possible." He sighs as they take off again, this time at a run, "How did this turn into basically trying to speed run a tournament?"

She narrows her eyes at the map. Unsurprisingly, Death Gun wasn't showing up. Though that was assuming they really were Sterben and not Gunner X, since they were on the map, though honestly that might be further proof, since he'd have no reason to disengage his Optical Camo. Kirito and Sinon were also in the city, which made sense given that they were trying to sweep the other players out of the competition and Death Gun's hands. Even if they'd realized they were heading the same place, they probably still would have split up, so they could take a direct route to the city while she followed Death Gun and tried to catch up before he made it there himself.

It hadn't been easy to track him here, but for all that he had Optical Camo, he didn't have any actual training in covering his tracks. About one hundred and sixty feet upstream she'd found wet footprints coming out of the river, and while they'd soon tapered off and the stealth skill he undoubtedly had prevented him from leaving actual footprints on the more solid soil, she hadn't been able to continue tracking those. However, this wasn't a city, so in-game objects were able to be damaged and destroyed, which meant there were plenty of other signs, such as broken bush branches, for her to follow.

It had meant she'd had to slow down a bit of course, but given that Death Gun probably assumed that he'd lost them with no way to be tracked, he probably wasn't in a huge rush so she was likely pretty close behind him.

Unfortunately, while the run down state of the city meant there were still ways she could track him, such as footprints through spots of dust, it would be significantly harder.

She had stopped to take a look at the map and try to get an idea of the situation, and now she was a little torn. Slim though it may be, there was a possibility that Death Gun was Gunner X, so she could go to them and find out for sure, and in the worst case, take them out before Death Gun decides to target them. On the other hand, there were other players nearby who would be targets in the highly likely scenario that Gunner X wasn't Death Gun.

She wavers before sighing heavily, Gunner X was too close to where Death Gun entered the city for her to comfortably dismiss it as coincidence. Especially since the 3D map showed them on top of the ruined stadium, implying they were a sniper, just like Death Gun. She'd just have to hope Death Gun didn't target the other players while she was distracted if she was wrong.

With a game plan in mind, she waits for the character locations to disappear before making her move so other players can't see which direction she's headed.

She moves at a dead run, though she keeps to the shadows as much as possible as she closes the distance between herself and Gunner X's positions.

She soon finds herself rushing up a stairwell as fast as she can while still keeping quiet, and finds the correct floor and is rushing out of the hole in the crumbling wall that will spit her out behind the stadium's sign. She unleashes with her handguns as soon as Gunner X is in her line of fire, though unfortunately it doesn't seem that they're Death Gun.

Gunner X goes down hard with a shout of surprise losing her rifle in the process, and she can't help but sigh, "Gunner X, huh? You weren't who I was looking for, but I suppose I better take you out anyway."

Gunner X lifts a hand quickly, "W-Wait!"

She pauses in surprise and raises an eyebrow, "For?"

The woman clears her throat, "I just wanted to say, I know the kanji it uses make it Gunner, but it's meant to be read as Musketeer X. It's very important to me you see, so please say it right."

She blinks a couple times rapidly in surprise, then huffs a small laugh, "Musketeer X then."

The pretty woman smiles, "Thanks. You can kill me now."

She huffs another laugh, then shoots the other player in the head. She holsters her guns and runs her fingers through her hair with a sigh. She'd made a mistake. Now there was nothing she could do but hope Death Gun hadn't got anyone and wouldn't until she can find him again.

She's just turning back to leave when a familiar voice draws her attention with alarm,"Kirito!"

It's unquestionably Sinon and she sounds panicked. Whirling in the direction it came from, it takes her a few seconds of frantic scanning to spot it. A few streets over, just barely peaking out in a gap between the buildings between them, she could just make out Sinon, laying limp on the ground.

Without hesitation she scoops up Musketeer X's sniper, yanking the gun up into position and focusing it. Sure enough, Sinon was laying prone on the ground with a terrified expression. She couldn't see Death Gun himself, he appeared to be behind the buildings from her vantage point, but his arm was peeking out from where he had his handgun extended in preparation to shoot her friend.

She grits her teeth. She wasn't Sinon, but the distance wasn't too big, and she had a little experience with a sniper IRL. So without hesitation she forces her heartbeat to slow as she takes aim. A split second later, she takes the shot between beats.

Unfortunately, it doesn't blow his arm off, but luckily it pushes his gun away right before he pulls the trigger and the bullet just misses Sinon.

His arm disappears and she's just focusing in on her friend's head, wondering if she should take the shot to knock her out of the game before Death Gun gets her when smoke fills the area, undoubtedly from a smoke grenade given its appearance.

She flicks her eyes around quickly, scanning the gaps past the smoke. Sure enough, a few moments later, Kirito runs into view past the smoke, carrying Sinon and her Rifle. He jerks suddenly, likely seeing her bullet line, since he had to have been close enough to see Death Gun get shot if he tossed the smoke grenade and was able to collect Sinon so quickly, and since she hasn't moved, even using a sniper, the bullet line is now visible to anyone within a certain radius who heard the shot, or anyone who saw it.

He looks towards her in panic, then his expression turns to relief, undoubtedly able to make enough out to recognize her.

She keeps scanning back behind him, but unfortunately, Death Gun is skillfully minimizing the time he's in the gaps between buildings, so she doesn't have the time to line up the lead to account for his speed and get a shot off.

Quickly shifting ahead of Kirito she scans for anything that might help, and soon finds a row of three wheeled motorcycles with a full backseat built into them, and a mechanical horse. Two of them were clearly broken down, but one still appeared to be drivable. They looked like they were a couple streets over from Kirito's position. Focusing back on her mate, she puts the bullet line in front of him to get his attention, then moves it to a turn he can make to get to the bikes. They understand each other enough that he catches on immediately and turns down the road she'd indicated.

It might not be the most efficient route, since there are undoubtedly alleys and intersections she can't see from her vantage point due to other objects in the way, but she guides him as best she can. It isn't long before he's depositing Sinon in the backseat with her rifle and hopping on.

They start to drive off, then pause briefly and Sinon takes aim at the only possibly other working vehicle, the mechanical horse.

Confusion sweeps over her when Sinon doesn't take the shot. In fact she looks confused and frustrated as she looks down at her gun and says something. Then suddenly her expression shifts to alarm. Zooming out, she sees Death Gun has caught up and is running towards them.

Kirito quickly abandons the idea of destroying the horse and takes off. It was probably fine. The mechanical horse was notoriously near impossible to ride, even supposedly ridiculously harder than riding a real horse according to a few players online who had experience with both.

As such, she's surprised when Death Gun hops on it, and outright astonished when he handles it just fine. Which was bad. The mechanical horse was designed to be faster than a bike, hence the difficulty for balance's sake. It isn't long before he closes the distance enough to draw his handgun. He gets off two shots before she has a chance to even try to line up a lead on him in the hopes of hitting him, but luckily he clearly can't control the horse at full speed and still accurately hit.

After the two misses he appears to give up on trying to hit Sinon while riding and holsters his gun, but he's still chasing them down, and the speed they're traveling at is making trying to accurately lead and hit him in the split second when he's between buildings damn near impossible. Keeping pace with them as she keeps them in her line of sight is one thing, but taking that shot is just too much for her, especially since snipers are not her forte. Sinon could probably make that shot, but she isn't Sinon.

She can just make out Kirito's mouth moving as he says something and Sinon shaking her head against his back from where she's clutching at him in terror. They appear to go back and forth for a minute before Sinon straightens a little and looks at her gun with a complicated expression. After a moment she lets go of Kirito and picks it up, turning around to line up a shot on Death Gun, though the look on her face is far from the confident young lady she's come to know and call her friend.

Just like with the horse, for a moment she just sits there, apparently frozen as she says something before she drops her head and closes her eyes with a crushed expression.

She and Kirito appear to talk for a few moments while Kirito shifts to grip one side of the handle bars with both hands. Then he twists around to grab Sinon's hand around the trigger. They speak briefly again as Sinon tries to line up the shot despite the way the bike undoubtedly has to be making her aim go all over the place. Then they hit a makeshift ramp in the form of a car with a particularly crushed rear end. In the moments they're in the air, Sinon takes the shot.

Unfortunately, it misses.

It isn't a total failure though, it hits one of the ruined cars. They're programmed to have a chance to have fuel inside and therefore possibly explode when hit, and all those things line up to make a movie worthy explosion go off right next to Death Gun.

The flames engulf him, but even then she can't shake the tense feeling coursing through her.

With a sour look she loots some ammo from Musketeer X, whose belongings would be considered as environmental objects from the moment she died so players wouldn't have to worry about losing anything in case someone took someone else's stuff to use like she was.

It didn't feel like it was over yet, and while he seemed to be going after Sinon pretty hard for unknown reasons, if it wasn't over then she had other players to wipe out. She has an excellent vantage point and sniper, she might as well use them.

Turning towards the sound of gunfire, she finds a group of four players duking it out. They're fairly stationary, and therefore pretty easy pickings. She slows her heartbeat as she lines up the first shot, then nails him in the head. She moves to line up her second shot as she pulls the bolt, and the next round has barely chambered before it's fired into the next head. The other two players are starting to freak out and panic, but she wipes them in much the same way before they have a chance to take cover from her.

Then she pulls away from the scope with an agitated sigh. She really wants to go help her mate, but she can't leave until she's sure all the players in the city are dead.

As stubbornly locked onto Sinon as he appeared to be earlier, if he was still alive, there was no guarantee Death Gun wouldn't change targets.

She wonders where on earth Blue Rose is.

"Ehhh?! Cloudy-san, did you see that?"

Cloudy-san makes a disbelieving noise, "I did! I feel like I just watched a scene from a high production film! That was unbelievable!"

Sunny-san makes an excited noise, "Right?! Right?! Bullet of Bullets always has a good amount of action in it, but this is amazing! And the interactions between Sterben-san, Kirito-kun, Sinon-san, and Hanna-san makes me feel like I'm watching an action drama!"

Cloudy-san makes a noise of agreement, "Right! Something like," She takes on a sort of an epic movie trailer voice "After his betrayal, they've finally tracked him down, only to find they must participate in a bloody tournament if they want to get their revenge." Then she goes back to her normal voice, "Something like that!"

Sunny-san laughs brightly, "Exactly! And the way Hanna-san made such quick work of those other players afterwards! It's all so exciting!"

Cloudy-san makes a noise of agreement, "Mm! Listen viewers, you really don't want to take a break from this BoB stream, everything's happening so fast it feels like you'll miss the action if you dare to even blink!"

He's not fond of the direction they'd been forced to go while getting Sinon away from Death Gun. The entire quadrant of the map appears to be a desert, and the wide open terrain makes him anxious with the knowledge there might still be a sniper after them and they're just out in the open.

He stops the bike and looks around, "Jeez. It's so wide open, there's no cover at all…"

Sinon looks around as well, then points, "No, there's caves in this region. Judging from the terrain, I think there's one over there. If we go in deep enough, we can avoid the satellite scan happening soon."

He nods, "Okay, let's go."

He turns the bike in the direction Sinon had pointed and they make their way over. Given how soon the scan is supposed to happen, he's relieved to find that Sinon is correct.

Once Sinon says they're far enough into the cave, he turns the bike off and climbs off of the bike and stretches. Then he turns to his quieter than usual companion, "For now, let's avoid the next scan here."

Without a word, Sinon gets up and climbs out of the bike and goes over to sit against the wall. He follows her over, then turns back, "He just appeared behind you while you were busy sniping that other player, right?"

Sinin nods slightly, "Yeah. There are ways to know someone is there, even with Optical Camo, but I was focused on taking that other player out and didn't pay as much attention to my surroundings as I should've. Especially since we split up so you could get those other two."

He sighs as he sits down next to her, "... To be honest, I got so focused on the plan to stop him from killing other players that I forgot you were a possible target too. I'm sorry."

She hums, "I forgot too, and I was the one who suggested we split up to begin with. I don't blame you."

Then her gaze flicks to the cave entrance, "We should be alright here though. The ground is rough sand, so even if he's invisible, he'll still make more sound than usual as he moves, and we'll see his footprints. He can't just appear out of nowhere like last time."

He nods, "I understand. Then we just have to keep our ears sharp for anything out of the ordinary."

There's a beat of silence before Sinon speaks up again, "Hey, is there… any chance he died in that last explosion?"

He doesn't want to cause Sinon distress, but he can't lie to her, so he doesn't hesitate to answer, "No, right before the truck blew, I saw him jump off his horse. I doubt he's unharmed, but I don't believe it killed him."

There's a beat before she moves her gun, which she'd been clutching onto hard, off to the other side and leans it against the wall, "I see." Then she crosses her arms over her knees as she turns to him, "At the stadium, someone sniped at him, but they didn't shoot at us after from what I can recall."

He turns to her in surprise, before understanding washes through him, "Ah, you were pretty out of it for a little bit. She must've just taken out Gunner X in the stadium and was using their gun, but it was Hanna. She actually led us to the bike with the bullet line."

There's a beat of silence before Sinon berates herself, "If only I'd been more alert…"

He turns to her, "You don't need to blame yourself so much. I didn't realize he was nearby either. If our positions were reversed, the only question of whether I'd have been the one hit with the stun bullet is if he's willing to go after me. And then you and Hanna would've had to save me. Right?"

Sinon buries her face in her knees and goes quiet for a little bit, "... He said something strange while he was standing over me. He was saying that killing me would tell him if you were real or fake. That he remembered your raging anger back then. He thought that if he killed me and you went mad the same way you did then, that meant you were real. He wanted to see your rage, and… your desire to kill. Your mad blade. He wanted you to show him again."

He goes stiff. He can't force his jaw open to let words out. And after a few moments, Sinon lifts her head to look at him with her brow furrowed, "If… If he's so fixated on you, why wouldn't he just go after you. We were split up either way, so why would he go after me? Was it really just to pass you off?"

He looks away, "I don't know. But if he wants a fight, he's certainly going to get it."

Sinon turns to him, "E-Eh?! Are- Aren't you scared of him?"

He looks down, "I suppose it's pretty intimidating that I could die if he manages to shoot me even once." Especially since he's been getting used to the heightened Nephilim durability, "But, Sinon, guys like him can't be allowed to go free. You have to stand up and fight, no matter how scared or intimidated you are. And I am. There are so many things he could take from me with just one bullet. There are too many things I still need to protect, both in the virtual world and otherwise, to just die."

Sinon straightens, "T-Then, why don't you just hide here? It's a lot safer, and you wouldn't have to risk anything. During BoB, you can't log out on your own. But we could just wait until it's just us and one other person then kill ourselves and let them win, so we can also be sure he can't kill us in the real world by shooting our corpses, if that's an option for him."

He shakes his head, "While that may be a valid option in general… I can't do that. If we just sit here waiting for the tournament to end, there's no telling how many others he'll point that gun at. And I can't just stand by and let that happen."

She looks away and down, "Oh. I guess you really are strong, huh?"

He looks away, "I suppose that could be considered strength. I just… I can't avert my eyes and pretend it isn't my problem when people need help. Especially if I can do something about it."

She glances at him briefly, "... You're a pretty good guy, Kirito." He doesn't get a chance to think of a response to that, other than the knee jerk, 'I'm really not', before she continues abruptly, "I won't run away."

He tilts his head in surprise, "Huh?"

Sinon nods, "I'll go outside and fight that man too."

He shakes his head, "No, Sinon. If he shoots you, you could really die. I'm a one hundred percent melee type, but you aren't! He can turn invisible. If he gets close and surprises you again, you're in far more danger than I am."

Sinon tilts her head down, "I don't care if I die." That draws a surprised intake of breath from him, but Sinon just continues on like she hadn't heard it, "Back there, I was so scared… I was so scared of dying. I was weaker than five years ago. Pathetic. Screaming. I'd rather die than live like that."

He furrows his brow, "It's only natural to be scared… There's no one who isn't afraid to die."

She barely lets him finish that much before she pushes on, "I don't want to be scared. I'm tired of living in fear." She buries her face in her knees again, "I won't ask to come with you." Then she straightens up and climbs to her feet, turning towards the entrance to the cave, "I can fight on my own!"

She only makes it two steps before he manages to grab her arm, "You'll fight alone, and you'll die alone. Is that what you're trying to say?"

She doesn't turn around, but she does lower her head a little in agreement, "Yeah. I think that's my fate." Then she tries to pull her arm away. When he doesn't budge, she continues, "Let me go. I have to go!"

He shakes his head, even though she won't see it, "You're wrong. No one dies alone." He stands, but doesn't let go of her arm, and she turns as he continues, "When someone dies, the part of them that lives inside someone else also dies. You already live inside me. You certainly live inside Hanna and Blue Rose."

She furrows her brows, "That's impossible." Then she looks away and lowers her head, "I've never given myself to anyone else."

He glances down at where he's holding her wrist, then lifts their hands, "We're already involved with one another!"

She grits her teeth then grabs the collar of his coat, "Then… Then protect me for the rest of your life!"

She looks down immediately after as tears roll down her face and she grits her teeth. Then she yanks her hand out of his grip and starts smacking his chest with her fists though since it's an emotional response, the blows are weak and slow, "You don't know anything! You can't do anything!" She stops hitting him and presses her shaking fists into his chest, "Don't say that!" She takes a step closer and hits him once more with one of her fists, "This… This is my battle, and no one else's! Even if I lose, even if I die…" She presses her forehead against the edge of his chest plate, hiding her face from him as she trembles, "No one has the right to blame me!" Then she lifts her head to glare at him fiercely through her tears, "Or will you carry that burden forever? Will you... Will you…" She pulls a quaking fist back like she wants to hit him again, but ends up curling her head and shoulders around it protectively, "... hold the hands of a murderer?!"

She'd lifted her head partway through the question, but she was still curled around herself protectively, and immediately after she squeezes her eyes shut. She opens her eyes after a few moments and starts weakly pounding on his chest with the fist she'd been protecting as she cries. She subsides quickly though, and presses her face to his chest as she starts crying hard enough that she couldn't force words past the cries coming out of her if she wanted to.

He'd sort of been standing there taking it so she could let her feeling out, but he thinks that maybe he can comfort her now. Or that's what he thought, his hand has barely brushed her shoulder when she smacks it away harshly, "I hate you! I hate you so much!"

She seems to slowly lose strength and slip to the ground as she cries her heart out after that, but she wouldn't even let him try to comfort her. He squeezes his eyes shut and forces himself to endure it until she's calmed down enough to let him help.

(1): German is one of those languages I listened among the ones Marzanna is fluent in, so she'd very likely know this despite not working in the medical field.

(2): Yes, I know there was a period in canon between Kirito and Sinon's conversation and the start of the tournament, but Sinon probably would have forfeited before the tournament even started in the midst of a panic attack, and you don't think I'd let her out of this, do you?

(3): Ōojisan is what I found online for Great Uncle, but only if they're your grandparents' older brother, but I'm not sure how accurate this is. Similarly, Hī-obāsan is what the internet spat out to the question of what your great grandmother is called, but again, that might not be entirely accurate. Also, since the dash over a vowel generally means that it's a long sound, like the way people often spell Obāsan with two a's to indicate its a longer sound, Ōojisan has a very long O sound at the beginning, just so you know how to read it in your head.

(4): We get a full roster for the third Bullet of Bullets when it's scrolling through who placed where at the end, so I just pulled one at random.

(5): For all that it didn't take very long this entire section wasn't very easy to write. For one thing, I was trying to figure out how the hell to write Yui. On top of that though, I was also trying to get across the sort of over exaggerated reactions and hype as well as trying to balance the neutrality you'd get from announcers, without making it sound too over the top or weird. Also, for the "Right? Right?" the announcer uses, I'm imagining her playing it up like she's so excited she's repeating herself? In anime, a lot of times if they repeating themselves, they'll only translate one saying of it and the other person will just be like "you only needed to say it once!" so I was trying to get the sort of vibe that she's playing up that sort of excitement and the other commentator isn't saying anything about it since they're supposed to be hyping the excitement.