Okay, here we are with the next chapter.
There's not much to say about it. It's mostly the adaption of another one of Sinon's character events from HF. By now, it should be obvious that her character arc will play a major role in this story, and this chapter will conclude a certain part of it.
One thing I'd like to mention beforehand is that the "little" and "big" in the chapter's title are... open to interpretation, and there's more than one candidate for the "realisation", although one of them isn't explicitly addressed in this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online Re:Hollow Fragment or Sword Art Online in general.
It was evening on a day in late January. It had been a productive month for the Assault Team, and they had reached the 82nd floor.
Kirito had rested in his room for about an hour after a long, exhausting day. It had taken the Assault Team a few days to find the right way to the labyrinth since the system of ravines and caves on this floor had been a bit hard to navigate, but they had found the entrance to the labyrinth that day.
Now he went downstairs to the restaurant area for dinner. There were more people than usually. To be fair, the number of players on the upper floors had increased since the new year had begun. Some of the stronger parties from the lower floors and a few craftsmen had joined the players on the upper floors. All in all, the situation had started to get better.
As he surveyed the large room, he noticed two familiar faces near the stairs. Asuna and Lisbeth stood a bit away from the hustle and bustle and seemed to have a conversation.
Kirito: Hey, Asuna, Liz!
When Kirito called out to them, Asuna and Lisbeth turned towards him. At that point, he finally noticed how concerned they looked.
Kirito [slightly worriedly]: Hm? What's wrong?
Asuna: Kirito-kun… It's… It's about Sinon-san.
Kirito: Sinon? What about her?
Lisbeth: Well… It's a rather long story. Basically, when we were hunting today, Sinon was supposed to use her archery skills to lure monsters from a dangerous zone to an area where we could fight them better.
Kirito [slightly confused]: So… Did something go wrong?
Lisbeth [slightly annoyed]: Geez, let me finish and you'll see where this is going! [calmly] Anyway, it went smoothly at first, but for whatever reason, Sinon began to lure more and more monsters until I, Silica and Leafa could hardly handle them anymore! Then she started to try to take them out herself, but she ended up drawing the aggro, and we had a hard time defending her. Akinym had to step in – several times, by the way – [slightly awkwardly] and believe me: He did not like it!
Kirito [worriedly]: Hm, I see. That's… indeed a bit worrying. [slightly confused] And strange. I mean, Sinon usually seems quite levelheaded, doesn't she? I mean, whenever I go with her to the Hollow Area, she's always focused and tries to learn as much as possible and stuff…
Akinym had recently allowed Sinon – as well as his other trainees – to leave town to train without him. However, he had insisted that his less experienced students such as Sinon only went with players from the Assault Team to support them.
Since then, Kirito had gone questing with Silica, Lisbeth and Leafa every once in a while, and he had taken them as well as Sinon to the Hollow Area on a few occasions.
Kirito had noticed that the girls had become stronger, although he couldn't really judge that in Sinon's case. He had only heard stories, but judging from them, she had become much stronger now that she had the Sniping skill.
However… Now that he thought about it, Kirito had noticed that Sinon still seemed to doubt herself quite a lot. During their trips to the Hollow Area, she almost seemed to insist that she wasn't strong enough yet, although Kirito had the impression that her archery could be extremely helpful. It was a bit odd.
Lisbeth [slightly contemplatively]: Well, yes, I'd say she usually is, but in battles… Don't get me wrong, she's usually focused but also… extreme. [slightly worriedly] I mean, she tends to go overboard sometimes. It's not just today, similar stuff happened the last few times, too. [slightly struggling for words] Sometimes she... just gets… reckless.
Asuna: Yes… It's a bit worrying, but I have the feeling something's weighing on her mind, but she doesn't really want to show it. When I went with her and a few KoB members, who have recently come to the upper floors as reinforcements, to the labyrinth on the eighty-first floor yesterday for training, it seemed to… upset her that we tried to defend her. We only wanted to keep the monsters away from her, so she could shoot them safely, but whenever we intercepted a monster, she would shoot at a different one instead. It was almost as if she wanted them to attack her, like she wanted to fight them all by herself, no matter what risks she would have to take. I tried to talk with her about it, but she refused to…
Kirito: That is concerning! I mean, we have to work as a team to survive here, and we all have to play our roles, but recklessly trying to do everything oneself is just… It's just way too dangerous.
Lisbeth [chuckles slightly awkwardly]: Funny that you mention it. Akinym said something similar. [slightly worriedly] You know, Sinon kept pulling stunts like what I've mentioned earlier. She did that until Akinym got really mad at her. Like, I've never seen him that angry, [awkwardly] and that's saying something! [worriedly] They had a really heavy argument. [slightly contemplatively] Now that I think about it, she mentioned what you've just told us about, Asuna. She said – and I'm quoting her here – that if she can't fight on her own, she can't really fight at all. [worriedly] Well, and Akinym just told her to stop, and that there's no strength in dying and so on and so forth… I think they talked completely past each other.
Well, that was certainly an issue. Now that Kirito thought about it, he had heard that these two seemed to have such arguments on a regular basis, although – to his knowledge – it hadn't been that bad since Sinon got her Sniping skill.
In fact, their relationship had improved in that regard… for a while. During that time, it had usually been Lisbeth who had managed to upset Akinym somehow. However, it had taken only two weeks for things to go back to "normal".
It was strange… Sinon had learnt pretty much everything she knew about VR from Akinym. On top of that, they both seemed to be the rather serious, down-to-earth type of people, so Kirito had actually thought that they should get along just fine (well, at least better than with some other people), but… they just didn't.
They had somehow managed to work together successfully despite fighting on a regular basis. For instance, Akinym had put a lot of effort into helping Sinon to learn how to use her Sniping skill to the best of her abilities, and they worked together on that subject pretty well.
For example, they had experimented with the theoretical maximum range of Sinon's archery. They had wanted to see if Sinon can shoot an arrow past the limit of her range of vision. As an archer, she would rely heavily on eyesight, so she had acquired the Searching skill since it could increase her range of vision. Nevertheless, she wanted to see if she could theoretically hit a target that was so far away that she couldn't see it anymore.
For the experiment, they had searched monsters which would be just outside of Sinon's range of vision, and Akinym, who had a much higher Searching skill, had pointed their position out to Sinon. In all honesty, Sinon's archery skills were amazing, and she had managed to aim at the right spot just with the information from Akinym.
Incidentally, the experiment had shown that an arrow would fly past Sinon's range of vision, but even though her shots had hit, they hadn't had any effect whatsoever. It was probably a safety measure the system used to prevent stray arrows from causing trouble.
The point was that it was seriously bad news if these two had got into such an ugly fight, especially for Sinon.
Kirito [slightly contemplatively]: Hm, so… I guess we should talk with them about it?
Asuna: Well, that's the problem. We wanted to, so we've looked for them, whether it's here or anywhere in Arc Sophia, but we can't find Akinym-san or Sinon-san.
Kirito [slightly shocked]: Wait, you're saying they are still out this late?! [calmer] No, wait, maybe they are doing some special kind of night training?
Lisbeth [slightly hesitantly]: Well, it's not completely impossible, I guess, but I kinda doubt it. [calmly] You see, we did some nighttime training last week, and it… wasn't that bad, but Akinym had advised us not to go hunting at nighttime if we can avoid it. It would be strange if he'd train with Sinon after sunset, especially since Sinon had the most trouble during that particular lesson. [chuckles] I mean, we even joked that it would be better for her to have some kind of night vision.
Kirito [contemplatively]: I guess you're right… Wouldn't that mean… [worriedly] that Sinon went hunting on her own at a time like this?!
Asuna: I… I hope not, but I think so. I hope she's okay… wherever she is.
Kirito [contemplatively, mutters]: Wherever she is… We have to find her. How? [slightly excitedly] Right, that's it! Does one of you have Sinon on your friend list?
Asuna: Right, of course! I have, I'll check her location!
Asuna opened her menu, then her friend list, hastily searching for Sinon. She couldn't believe that she hadn't thought of that sooner. The thought that she might've overlooked something or that she could've done something about the current issue… It had just been bothering her too much.
Asuna: There! She's… [slightly shocked] The eighty-first floor! She's on the eighty-first floor, outside town. That's… It seems that she's on the way to the labyrinth.
Lisbeth [worriedly]: The labyrinth?! Are you sure?
Asuna [worriedly]: I can't say for sure, but her current location lies on the route from the main town to the labyrinth, so…
Kirito: You think she's gone there because of what happened yesterday? In order to prove that she can fight even on the toughest kind of battlefield without help?
Nobody answered, there was simply no need to.
Kirito [slightly worriedly and determinedly]: Anyway, we should hurry there! As long as she can take out enemies from afar, Sinon should be fine, but her bow is more or less useless if enemies get close enough. And in the labyrinth…
Within the crooked, relatively narrow corridors of the labyrinth, it would be hard for Sinon to keep her distance from monsters. She couldn't shoot around corners, could she? Not to mention that monsters could spawn literally everywhere.
On top of that, there could be various traps and other pitfalls. Sinon didn't even have the Trap Dismantling skill...
Asuna [determinedly]: Right, let's go!
Lisbeth: Okay, I'll come with you!
Around one hour later, Kirito and Asuna ran through the corridors of the labyrinth on the 81st floor. Lisbeth had stayed behind with Agil, who had agreed to join the search, to look around right outside the labyrinth. They'd wait there in case Sinon would come out on her own.
While he was running through the labyrinth, Kirito couldn't stop thinking of a group of ambitious mid-level players who had died inside the labyrinth on the 27th floor. Back then, he had realised that he should've treated them differently to avoid the tragedy. If he had acted openly… Hopefully, it wouldn't end that way this time.
Thankfully, they could use stealth mechanics to avoid battles. The monsters in this labyrinth were mostly undead or lizardmen-themed and relied mainly on vision to spot enemies, and the severe sandstorm which constantly raged outside the labyrinth's walls on this desert-themed floor caused so much background noise that the monsters didn't react to the noise of their hurried footsteps.
Kirito used his Hiding skill. Although the number of proficiency points had been messed up by the tremendous system error and he hardly used it, Kirito had leveled it up again high enough to conceal his presence from the surrounding enemies. Asuna didn't have that skill, but she used a veil potion as a substitute.
They had already made good progress, but for better or worse, they hadn't found Sinon yet. Kirito used his Searching skill regularly to scan for nearby players. Hopefully, there wouldn't be other parties here at that time of day, so it would be easier to track Sinon down.
They were on the second floor of the labyrinth when Kirito suddenly stopped.
Kirito: Asuna, wait! There's something!
Asuna stopped as well and quickly turned towards Kirito.
Asuna: Really? Where?
Kirito looked around for a bit. After a moment, his gaze rested on a side corridor a few metres ahead.
Kirito: There is a player signal nearby. And a monster signal. Too bad that my Searching skill isn't high enough again, I can't tell how many players or monsters, but that corridor leads there.
Asuna: Okay, so wanna check it?
Kirito [nods]: We should, but maybe we should split up in case I'm wrong. Asuna, could you go check the rest of this level? I'll check that corridor.
Asuna nodded. It was a good idea in her opinion, especially since she could continue the search at a higher speed without Kirito.
They parted ways for now, and Kirito ran down the side corridor as fast as he could. It took him only a minute or two to reach a dead end – a relatively large chamber – where he found a person crouching on the ground. It was Sinon.
There were a few lizardmen monsters swarming around her. At first, Kirito became extremely worried. He deactivated his Hiding skill for now.
Kirito: SINON!
Sinon seemed to be in a daze, although she didn't seem to be paralysed. She didn't react at all.
Kirito's worries became even worse when he got close enough to see her HP bar. It was in the red zone.
Kirito took another look at the monsters to see if they'd attack her before he would reach her. He was surprised to see that the monsters were ignoring Sinon. They all focused on a different target, another player: Akinym.
Unlike Sinon, Akinym actually reacted to Kirito's arrival. Akinym had just parried a strike from a poleaxe as he turned towards him.
Akinym [slightly surprised, strained]: Kirito-san?!
Kirito: Akinym?! What are you doing here?! Wait, are you actually…?
The question if Akinym seriously took Sinon to the labyrinth for training popped up in Kirito's mind. If yes, he'd definitely give Akinym a piece of his mind later.
Another monster tried to attack Akinym with its fangs, but he quickly moved to the side to dodge. Akinym used a 3-hit AOE Sword Skill to repel the two monsters who had recently attacked him, but the delay after that gave a third monster behind him the opportunity to hit him with its claws around the left shoulder.
Akinym figured that he couldn't afford getting distracted while he was surrounded, so he quickly turned towards a gap between the monsters and escaped through it via a forward dash with his Acrobatics skill. After that he turned towards the monsters again and jumped backwards until he reached the wall to gain as much distance as possible.
Akinym: We can talk later! For now, help me to take them out!
Kirito: Right, got it!
Kirito drew his swords and lunged at the first monster.
There were five of them, and with the same tactic they had used in the Hollow Area, Akinym and Kirito would normally be able to handle them quite easily, but Kirito had been running almost non-stop for a while. He had to rely completely on Sword Skills to attack as the system assistant was more or less the only thing that kept him moving.
Akinym had to lure the monsters into position for Kirito to attack them, which wasn't easy since he wasn't used to such tactics, but they pulled it off in the end. It took a few minutes, though.
After the last monster had shattered into polygons, Kirito dropped to the ground, panting heavily. Akinym also needed a moment to catch his breath. And Sinon… Well, she slowly returned to reality.
Kirito was about to ask if Akinym had actually brought Sinon here, but Akinym pretty much cleared that up before he could bring it up.
Akinym turned towards Sinon and glared at her.
Akinym: Now that that's out of the way, let's get to the actual problem. [yells] What were you thinking?! You came to a labyrinth – on a high floor at that – all by yourself! Do you actually want to die?! Because that's what it looks like! Why?!
Sinon tried to utter a response, but she couldn't really form a coherent sentence. She was still too shaken, and Akinym's yelling didn't help.
Akinym: I thought that much. Let me guess: You thought that you had to make your way through the labyrinth on your own to prove that you're "strong" enough to "fight" on your own. But here's the thing: [very sternly] You're just a weak, ignorant person who runs into her own death out of wishful thinking!
Sinon winced, and Kirito couldn't bear sitting on the sidelines and watching anymore.
Kirito [slightly upset]: Hey, you don't have to be that harsh! At least let her catch her breath and explain herself! And try to talk this out!
Akinym [slightly annoyed]: Why? So that she can complain again? Or utter stuff about become stronger on her own? Maybe something about not depending on others because it wouldn't mean anything? I've tried to do this by talking, but this situation is the result!
Akinym pointed at Sinon, although Kirito noticed upon closer inspection that he was actually pointing at her HP gauge.
Akinym: The labyrinth isn't the place for a solo-hunting archer, and when she brought exactly that up this afternoon, I told her that. [upset] Now she apparently wanted to prove me wrong, but – unsurprisingly – she's proven me right. [turns towards Sinon] I'm sick and tired of this nonsense! Get it through your almost impenetrable head already! Thoughtless, reckless behaviour won't make you stronger, it will only make you dead! [sternly] And there is no strength in dying.
Sinon was in no condition to talk back. She had averted her eyes, staring at the ground, and she was shaking.
Kirito: Okay, okay, she get's it!
Akinym: I hope so! Because I won't say it again… After all, I won't get an opportunity to… since this farce ends here and now! You're no candidate for the Assault Team, you simply don't have the mindset, and I won't bother with this nonsense any longer!
Sinon's head shot up, and she stared at Akinym wide-eyed.
Sinon: W-wait!
Kirito: Wait a moment, don't you think you're rash here?!
Akinym: Absolutely not! [glances at Sinon, calmly] It's too bad, actually. She had a certain talent. She even made it all the way here on her own. Made sure that she could shoot enemies from afar. However, it was only a matter of time until that wouldn't work anymore, and she ran into a bunch of monsters that emerged from a side corridor. She tried to get away to keep her distance, but she only ran into even more monsters, and they chased her all the way here. She tried to back away further and further… until she couldn't anymore.
Sinon [very confused]: W-what? B-but how… How can you…?
Akinym: What do you think? I've seen everything, of course!
Sinon: But you weren't there! I haven't seen you… or anyone.
Akinym: Of course not. Your Searching skill is nowhere near my Hiding skill, and with the noisy sandstorm outside, I could walk right next to you and you wouldn't notice anything.
It slowly dawned on Sinon – and Kirito, too – what had happened.
Akinym: I think I told you: No matter what you do, I might watch you. Or did you seriously think I didn't anticipate you doing this when it was completely obvious?
Kirito [in disbelief]: Wait… Wait a moment! Are you telling me… [upset] Are you saying that you've been with her all this time?! Why didn't you stop her or help her sooner?! Why did you wait until she almost DIED?!
Akinym [sternly]: Because it had to be done!
Kirito [in disbelief]: W-what?!
Akinym [sighs, exasperatedly]: If I had revealed my presence at the very start, she would've complained as usual. Nothing would've changed. And if I had stepped in earlier, let's say when her HP bar became yellow, she would've shrugged it off as usual. [sternly] No, she had to learn the consequences of her actions the hard way, which is why I waited until her HP bar reached the red zone!
Kirito [upset]: That was way too dangerous! What if something had happened! At such low HP, the monsters here could've easily killed her!
Akinym: That's why I was here: to prevent that from happening! I was ready to jump in at any moment, just as I did!
Kirito: The risk was still too high! There had to be another way!
Akinym averted his gaze and began to rub his temples. It had been a too long and tiring day for him to deal with this...
Akinym [mutters, exasperatedly]: Why is nobody ever trying to make arguments instead of fancy, ethical speeches… This is leading nowhere again.
Akinym walked away. He passed by Kirito without even looking at him.
Kirito: Hey, wait! Where the hell are you going now?!
Kirito tried to stop Akinym, but he didn't even turn around. He just kept walking.
Akinym: Kirito-san, I trust you to make sure that Sinon-san gets back to Arc Sophia safely.
That was all, he kept walking and eventually vanished around a corner.
Kirito didn't follow him. He thought about it for a moment, but he figured that someone needed to make sure that Sinon was safe. Unlike… a certain someone, he wouldn't put her at risk.
Looking at Sinon, Kirito noticed that she was still in really bad shape. She was staring into space again, although it seemed a bit different than the first time. He walked over to her.
Kirito [slightly soothingly]: Hey, Sinon. It's okay. We'll bring you back to town. [slightly contemplatively] We… Right, I should message Asuna.
Kirito sent Asuna a short message, saying, "Found her. She's safe."
Sinon [shakily]: W-what… What should I... do now?
Kirito: Hey, don't worry. We'll figure something out. You… [slightly annoyed] You're probably better off without him. After what he did here…
Sinon [interrupting, flatly]: I thought I'd die… I thought that I was going to die here!
Kirito [soothingly]: Don't worry, you won't. [looks at Sinon's HP gauge, slightly worriedly] By the way, do you have any potions? Your HP regenerate slowly, but it's probably better if you still do something about it.
Sinon: A-ah… Right…
Sinon opened her inventory and converted a potion into an object to use it. She had already used all the healing items she had put into her pouch for easy access. Kirito was happy to see her HP bar going up again.
Kirito: There, much better! Wanna leave now? We better get going.
Sinon was willing to agree. It was only that her legs weren't. She tried to stand up, but she basically had no feeling in her legs, so she couldn't really move.
Sinon: S-sorry, I… I guess I need a minute.
Kirito: I see. [slightly reassuringly] Well, I guess we'll wait till you're ready. Maybe Asuna will get here in the meantime. [slightly worriedly] You know, you really shouldn't pull stunts like that. It's okay to need help, even if it's not easy to accept that sometimes. I had to learn that first, too. [mutters, slightly upset] You just shouldn't rely on people who almost watch you die…
Sinon [mutters, slightly worriedly]: You don't understand. I guess you don't understand after all…
The next day, Akinym sat on the couch in his inn room and thought about what he should tell the rest of Sinon's trainee group about her… expulsion. They probably knew about it already, but he thought that he should still explain it to them. It was probably better than leaving that to Kirito…
Akinym presumed that the other girls would react similarly to Kirito, which wasn't making this easier. In this situation, the sudden knock on the door was a welcome distraction.
Akinym: Who is it?
Asuna: Hello, Akinym-san, it's Asuna. Could we talk? It's about… Sinon-san.
Well, Akinym wasn't surprised, at least not much. It was, however, a welcome opportunity for a test run.
Akinym: Alright, come in!
Asuna opened the door, and Akinym was a bit surprised to see Kirito standing right behind her. At first, Akinym was annoyed because this would probably make things more difficult, but he realised almost immediately that this was even better. Now he could test his "speech" with someone who might be (almost) impossible to convince using reason.
Asuna looked to the left for a moment and gave someone a quick nod. Kirito also glanced into that direction for a second. In light of that, Akinym actually expected a third person to appear, but no, only Kirito and Asuna entered the room and closed the door behind them.
Asuna needed a moment to gather herself, and she took a deep breath.
Asuna: For starters, I'd like to thank you for keeping her safe. Judging from what Sinon-san told me, she would've died if you hadn't been there to step in. [dejectedly] I know we came as fast as we could, but to think that we would've been too late…
Akinym: There is nothing to thank me for. It's merely my responsibility to keep my students safe.
Kirito [mutter, slightly annoyed]: Yeah, "safe" meaning "in the red zone".
Asuna looked at Kirito angrily, which made him flinch slightly. He uttered a quick apology for the "slip of the tongue".
Asuna [clears throat, calmly]: Anyway, while I can't and don't want to revoke your decision, I'd like to ask you to reconsider excluding Sinon-san from the training. [hesitantly] She… still wants to participate.
Akinym [raises an eyebrow]: That's… a bit unexpected. [slightly sternly] Regardless, I've made this decision for a reason. I've made it clear that I expect my students to follow my instructions, yet she broke a rule I've set up for her own safety, and you saw the result. I have to show that such actions have consequences.
Asuna: I'm… willing to accept that. However, I think that… [worriedly] that almost dying should be punishment enough, don't you think?
Akinym hesitated to answer for a moment. He shifted on the couch uncomfortably, trying to think of the best way to say what was on his mind.
Kirito used the opportunity to throw in… an old topic.
Kirito: Speaking of which, I'm still worried even to let her near you again. [sternly] What you did was playing with her life for crying out loud! You say that you have a responsibility to keep your students safe, so how does that match with almost letting one die?!
Asuna [whispers, slightly upset]: Kirito-kun, we've talked about that, and with Sinon-san! You know what she said. She wants it that way, and you said you'll accept it!
Kirito [slightly apologetically]: I'm sorry, Asuna, especially if I'm making this more difficult for you, [slightly determinedly, looks at Akinym] but I can't stand here and leave that unspoken!
Akinym [annoyed]: I think I've already told you what my intention was. And that I was there the entire time, ready to jump in to keep her safe when the time came!
Kirito: You're saying that, but can you even guarantee that you could've kept her safe? You merely kept that monsters away from her when I got there! Not to mention that one monster could've slipped past you, or another one might've spawned and attacked her before you could draw its aggro!
Akinym clenched his teeth a little. He had nothing to reply, at least not at first, and it irritated him.
Akinym: Fine! I'll admit that there was a risk! It's still not as high as the risk of Sinon-san running straight into danger again if I hadn't done that!
Unsurprisingly, neither side was really convinced. Akinym inhaled deeply to calm down.
Akinym: Okay, listen: There are basically three types of students I've come across.
To emphasize the point, Akinym raised his left hand and held up the thumb, the index finger and the middle finger. He put the last two down again after that when he began his explanation.
Akinym: The first category is students who really have what it takes to become members of the Assault Team. The talent, the discipline, the thoughtful behaviour… You get the point. There aren't many of those students, but they still make this task worthwhile.
Akinym took another deep breath as he put his thumb down to raise his index finger instead.
Akinym: Then we have students who might be overall fine, but simply lack the skill, or they can't handle the pressure and fear that come with fighting on the frontlines. I usually try to talk these people out of joining the Assault Team. Many of them actually have talent as craftsmen of all kinds or as merchants, so I support them in that field. If that doesn't work, I'll try my best to teach them what they need to know to stay at least alive until the game is cleared.
For the third group, Akinym just slumps down a little and reaches for his temples.
Akinym: And finally, we have the absolutely worst kind of students. Reckless people. Some of them even have talent, but it's wasted because those players are too occupied with their own personal problems. They don't exercise the necessary caution, don't learn and train patiently or don't plan carefully. Sinon shows most of the classical symptoms of the most obnoxious group in that category: players who think that they have to overcome their fears at all costs.
Kirito and Asuna frowned. They had had their fair share of experiences with that issue themselves – not the pleasant kind of experiences, by the way.
Akinym: Especially their fear of death. They think that it would show that this game has broken them if they show fear in battle, so they do everything to avoid that… [slightly upset] That's just dumb!
Kirito and Asuna were a bit taken aback by that turn of events. To be fair, the kind of attitude Akinym mentioned was unhealthy, but to call it dumb…
Akinym: Fear of death isn't a weakness, it's just the natural consequence of the instinctive desire to stay alive! It admonishes people to be cautious. If they try to get rid of it, they end up doing stupid, reckless stuff – and die. There's nothing to gain from it. Not letting fear get the better of yourself is okay, but there's a line between that and ignorance of danger that shouldn't be crossed. Those who can't draw that line shouldn't fight! It's as simple as that.
Kirito: I… I understand that you don't want anyone to die because of imprudence, but… Do you really think the best way to handle this is… to let them face death?
Akinym wanted to answer right away, but he stopped. He averted his eyes for a moment and ground his teeth before letting out a sigh.
Akinym: Frankly, yes. To be honest, it might be better not to, but I'm not actually a teacher. I was just a high school student, and I probably wouldn't even make a good tutor. I don't know anything about pedagogics… or how to deal with that kind of problems. I've just thought about this a lot, and I've learnt a few things from experience. I couldn't figure out how to work best with people, so I've decided to work with rational principles instead. These principles command that it's better to crack a reckless person's ego than to let this game shatter it and kill people.
Kirito didn't know what to say in response. Akinym's explanation seemed unexpectedly genuine…
Asuna: Akinym-san, if I understand you correctly, you're concerned that Sinon-san won't be careful enough to stay alive on the frontlines… or in general, so you've expelled her as a precaution?
Akinym: Basically. It's not just her, though. Reckless behaviour wouldn't just put her in danger but also the people around her. Yesterday, she could've killed her team members, too, by luring too many monsters…
Asuna [nods]: I understand your concern, but if that's the reason for your decision, you should see something.
Asuna went to the door and opened it. She looked outside into the corridor and gave someone out there a nod. It was a signal, and Akinym thought that it was probably meant for the person from earlier.
Akinym was still quite surprised when Sinon came around the corner and entered the room. Although… On second thought, Akinym wondered what he had expected. Of course it would be Sinon…
Sinon looked quite miserable. She even hesitated to enter, and Asuna had to give her a little push – literally.
Sinon: Um, hello, Akinym-san. I… I'd like to apologise for what happened yesterday. And I'd like to thank you… for saving me.
Akinym [slightly sternly]: That goes without saying. I've told you: As your instructor, I have… had a responsibility to keep you safe.
Kirito gave Akinym an irritated look, although the "recipient" didn't even notice that.
Sinon: You… You were right. I was ignorant… [slightly shakily] and… weak. [takes a deep breath, calmly] It's also true that if you hadn't done what you did, I would have tried to do the same thing again. I would've ran into the labyrinth again, and this time… [scared] I might've died… [slightly nervously] I was so frustrated that I couldn't… W-well, I couldn't reach my goal, my long-term goal.
The bystanders were all a bit taken aback by that phrasing. Akinym could make the most sense of it. At the very least, he understood what could be behind Sinon using "his special terminology".
Sinon [dejectedly]: I was so desperate to reach that goal… I thought that if I couldn't find the strength I was looking for, I might as well die, that it was better than living with this fear, and it would've been for the best of everyone.
Akinym stared at Sinon with a quizzical expression.
Akinym [flatly]: Um, Sinon-san, are you crazy?
Kirito [upset]: Hey, show a little bit consideration!
Sinon [confused]: W-what do you mean?
Akinym looked back and forth between Sinon and something behind her. He pointed at this "something".
Akinym: Sinon-san, would you mind turning around and reconsider if it would be the best for "everyone"?
Sinon looked over her shoulder, and she was almost shocked to see Asuna standing there with a very worried expression. Okay, there was still a rest of surprise left from her reaction to Akinym's… remark, but still.
Akinym [slightly determinedly]: Sinon-san, you have people who worry about you here, and they don't think so.
Asuna: That's right. Please don't think that we would just move on like that if something happened to you. I… don't want you to die, I want you to return to the real world with everyone else. So please… Please take proper care for yourself!
Sinon didn't know what to say, so she just kept silent.
Akinym: There you have it. Besides, everyone has someone who cares for them. I also needed some time to remind myself of that after coming here. I wondered who would actually miss me… [chuckles slightly] until it hit me that my mother would cry her eyes out if I died. Are you seriously trying to tell me that there's nobody out there in the real world who misses you? Or who would be sad if you didn't return?
Sinon thought about it for a moment. She had been so occupied with her goal to become stronger in this world that she had almost forgotten about some things back in the real one.
Yes, there were certainly people that were worried, people who would be brokenhearted if she died. Her grandparents came to mind. And her mother… God, she didn't even want to think about it. They were probably on the verge of having a nervous breakdown just because of what had happened so far… or what she had done to get here.
Sinon: Y-yes, there are such people.
It was strange. The thought actually made her smile.
Akinym: Good. Now that you've realised it, take it to heart!
Sinon: I will. [slightly dejectedly] You see, when I was overrun by monsters, and they rapidly chipped away at my HP until the bar turned red, I… [scared] I was terrified. I don't want to die. [slightly desperately] I still want to become stronger, I have to, but I also want to survive this world, and I don't want to compromise on that. B-but right now, I can't do either of these things. I need help, your help, so please, [bows] give me another chance!
Akinym needed a moment to think this through. Asuna noticed this and interpreted it as hesitation, so she stepped up.
Asuna: Akinym-san, I think it shows that Sinon-san has learnt the lesson you wanted to teach her. She won't make that mistake again, so wouldn't it be better to give her a second chance rather than to be a stickler for rules? You say that you're not a teacher, but I think you should understand that people need a chance to show that they can learn from mistakes.
Akinym had to acknowledge Asuna's reasoning. He had similar thoughts.
Taking a look at Sinon, Akinym also couldn't help but think that it would be a waste to put SAO's only archer on the bench like that. He still thought that she could become a top player. It was just a matter of attitude, so if her attitude had really changed…
He asked himself what would really be for the best of the Assault Team and all SAO players.
Akinym [slightly exasperatedly]: Okay, I'll make an exception.
The mood inside the room visibly lightened up when Akinym said that. Sinon straightened herself and put on a small but quite happy smile.
Akinym [sternly]: Just this once! I don't want to hear any more rambling about becoming stronger on your own or any nagging arguing! And it's over for good as soon as you ignore my instructions once more! Got that?
Sinon [nods]: I do. Thank you… and… I'll take it to heart.
Well, this marked the end of another particular chapter in the history of Aincrad and its clearers.
So, that's another chapter done.
I've made some minor changes to the setting. For instance, I think I've changed the floor Sinon goes to when she almost gets herself killed the first time in HF. Also, certain details like the sandstorm outside the labyrinth on the 81st floor or the hard-to-navigate 82nd floor are additions made by me, too.
Now, Sinon's character arc will... take a little break, so to speak. The next few chapters will be original content, and they'll be central to Akinym's character arc.
Little Preview: The Assault Team is making progress, but they're facing a particularly nasty obstacle now. They'll need the right idea, but will they like what a certain someone comes up with?