Hi. Thnx for following my story I really appreciate it. ;)

After the man passed by them, Ryunosuke felt as though he stopped breathing for a moment.

"Chiba-kun, are you okay?" Ritsu asked him worriedly. She is wearing an outfit similar to Sinon's but hers is sleeveless and it's color is purple.

"Y-yeah..." Ryunosuke answered but Ritsu knew he wasn't feeling good.

The two went to a nearby table (which is the same place where he and Sinon were ealier). Ryunosuke was sweating and was slightly panting.

"It looks to me that you're not okay." Ritsu said putting on a worried expression.

"..."

"Did something happened before?" She asked.

"..."

-Flashback-

It was before I went down to E-Class. I witnessed something that I really wish I shouldn't have seen.

There was a war.

It was some gang who committed a bunch of crimes and opposed the higher officials from the japanese government. The police tried to arrest them but they resisted.

It became a bloody hell.

Many of the members of the gang let themselves get killed rather than getting captured.

I was there to witness the entire scene and watched others dying in a pool of blood right in front of my eyes.

Many of both sides died. The police lost more than 10 people while the other only has a few members remaining.

In this reality, I noticed that one of the members had a mark on his arm.

It was the Laughing Coffin tattoo.

Laughing Coffin. The guild that kills people in the Virtual Reality game of SAO. Why would they be in reality...?

I couldn't stop thinking about it and wasn't able to focus on my studies. I don't whine and complain and just let others depend on me without focusing on myself. That's why I went to E-Class.

"I see... a trauma." Ritsu thought. She was shocked that her classmate had to witness such a horrifying scene.

"But ever since I got sent down there, I forgot all about it. Is it because that we're trying to kill someone or am I just ignorant?"

"... I don't know the answer to that but I'm sure you'll figure it out." Ritsu answered, putting on a smile to cheer her classmate up "!?"

Ritsu noticed that Ryunosuke is shivering not because he is cold but is he... afraid?

"H-hey, Chiba-kun..." Ritsu tries to say something.

"Ever since I saw that mark, everything came back to my mind. Those memories of fresh blood..."

Unbeknowst to Ritsu, Ryunosuke's eyes are turning dull until he felt someone patted his shoulder.

It was Sinon.

"You're a mess." Sinon bluntly said. She notices Ritsu next to Ryunosuke "Who's this?"

"Hi! My name's Ritsu. Nice to meet you." Ritsu cheerfully introduces herself.

"Y-yeah, my name is Sinon. Nice to meet you, too." Sinon introduced herself to Ritsu.

She then turns to Ryunosuke "You made it back pretty early."

"..."

"If your first fight already has you like that, you'll never make it to the finals. Get a grip on yourself. You owe me." Ryunosuke didn't respond. She was about to leave until she notices something that caught her attention.

"... Huh?"

She saw Ryunosuke's eyes. They were extremely dull and most of all, they became black. She also noticed that Ritsu had a worried expression "What's wrong?"

"Those eyes... It's like he witnessed something horrible..."

"Good Luck." Ritsu suddenly said with a reassuring smile.

"Huh?" She saw the silent Ryunosuke being teleported to his next match.

She then figured out that Ryunosuke will be fighting a competitor named Ginko next. She turns around and saw Ritsu staying in her seat, watching the match. She then had a serious expression as Spiegel watched her.

-Bob Qualifiers, Round 2, Battlefield-

Ryunosuke was teleported in the map and silently stood there for short while.

His opponent from the far distance starting firing but most of them missed.

Ryunosuke clenched his teeth. He took out his sword and let out a battle cry.

Back in the waiting area, Sinon was watching the match with a somewhat worried expression while Ritsu watched while smiling, relieved that Ryunosuke regained his fighting spirit.

-BoB Qualifiers, Round 4, Battlefield-

Ryunosuke performed a rush attack like he did during his battle with Uemaru. He deflected the bullets that are fired at him and some hit his leg and shoulder. However, he ignored his injuries and just kept on going. In the waiting area, some gunners who were watching his match stared in awe.

"That's a crazy way to fight." One gunner said.

Spiegel and Sinon were also watching the match, with the latter having a surprised expression.

"You can do it, Chiba-kun!" Ritsu cheered.

Ryunosuke deflected the bullets and high jumped. By the time his opponent saw him, Ryunosuke is already behind him and was defeated by him with a single slash.

"He's using both sword and gun at the same time." One gunner wondered aloud.

"He's just being reckless. *giggle*" Ritsu said.

"He keeps fighting like that and winning. His next fight is in the semifinals." Spiegel said. He stood up and turns to Sinon "Sinon, yours is too, right? Good luck."

-BoB Qualifiers, Round 5, Battlefield-

"My opponent, Stinger, uses an FN SCAR carbine rifle as his main weapon. Since I'm a sniper, if he gets close to me, I'll have no chance. But on this map, if he wants to get in close, he has to pass through there. I'll finish him, then."

She looks at her right hand and suddenly remembers Ryunosuke when he holds her hand when they were hurrying for the registration and when she watched him recklessly battling during his previous matches. Her face slightly becomes red but she shakes her head "It's his fault..."

She notices someone approaching and fired her gun at the person.

"!?"

It was a vehicle.

"He wanted to make me waste my first shot, and to use that time to get close?" Sinon started to aim at the moving vehicle "But I can still see the first bullet's path. My second shot will be even more accurate."

She fired her bullet through the window and shot Stinger through the head, who was inside.

The vehicle crashes into a building and explodes.

"If he'd gotten out of the car, he might have been able to see the prediction line in time to dodge it."

-Congratulations!

-Sinon Wins!-

Sinon was teleported to her preparation area.

-Sinon vs Ryunosuke-

-Time Remaining: 55 seconds-

-Field: Intercontinental Highway-

"Him..."

-BoB Qualifiers, Final Round, Battlefield-

After Sinon was sent to the map, she scoped around a bit then went inside a broken vehicle, where she gets her weapon ready.

"He'll move through the shadows to find me... my only chance is my first shot, when he won't know my location. I'll hit him, no matter what." Sinon started to aim at the road, trying to find Ryunosuke.

"Why do I want to beat him so much?" Sinon briefly remembers his dull eyes "Because he's like me?"

Realizing what's she's thinking about, she angriliy shakes her head and starts to aim again but was shocked when she sees him casually walking through the highway, when he's completely in her aim.

"Does he think he can dodge my bullet whenever he wants?"

Ryunosuke kept walking towards her, not minding his situation.

"He isn't interested in dodging it?!"

She started aiming at his head and her pulse keeps beating.

"S-screw... Screw you!"

However, her shot missed, hitting only the vehicle behind him, which expoded. Sinon kept panting in nervousness. Her fired shots kept missing her target, who is unfazed by the explosions that are near him.

Sinon went out of the vehicle and ran towards in front of Ryunosuke and pointed her gun at him.

"Why? Does a fight with me not matter? Is that it?" She angrily asked.

"My only goal is to make it to the main tournament tomorrow." Ryunosuke answered, putting on an expressionless face "I have no more reason to fight."

"Then shoot yourself with that gun!" Sinon demands "Did you not want to spend the cost of a bullet? Or did you think if you let me hit you, I'd be satisfied? 'This is just a single match, in a virtual game.' I know that's what you think! But don't assume I think the same way!" She shouts, starting to have tears in her eyes.

Ryunosuke then remembers what he said when they were at the registration booth.

"Let's both fight as hard as we can."

"...I'm sorry. I was wrong. It's only a game. It's only a single match. But that's why we need to fight as hard as we can. Otherwise, we don't have the right, or reason, to live in this world. That's what I just learned. Sinon, would you give me a chance to make it up to you? Fight me once more."

"Right now?"

Ryunosuke then takes out a bullet from his gun "You still have bullets, right?"

"Yes, just one." Sinon answered.

"Then let's do this duel-style. Let me see... we'll move ten meters away, and you'll ready your rifle and me my sword. I'll throw this bullet, and once it hits the ground, the match begins. How does that work?"

"Listen... at a mere ten meters, your prediction line assist won't help you at all. And a shot from this Hecate will hit you for sure. At this range, it has a one hundred-percent hit rate."

Ryunosuke then had a smile "We won't know until we try."

"Does he have some kind of plan? If so... what is it?" Sinon wondered "I want to see it, no matter what!"

"All right. We can finish things this way." Sinon finally agreed.

Ryunosuke moved away while Sinon loaded her gun and aimed it towards his head.

"I knew it. He has some plan." Sinon then aimed at his leg.

"Okay, here I go." Ryunosuke then flicked the bullet. While in mid-air, he took out his photon sword.

The bullet falls to the ground.

Without a moment to spare, Sinon fired her single bullet, only to be slashed by Ryunosuke.

"No! That's impossible!

Suddenly, in her vision, she saw a python that crawled extremely fast towards her and wrapped her up. The next thing she knew, she was held by Ryunosuke and pointed his sword at her.

"I was aiming for your left leg... how could you predict where I was firing?" Sinon asked while still in a state of shock.

"I told you before, my highest statistic is accuracy. I was able to see your eyes from the distance." Ryunosuke told her "My hair mark off part of my vision like a gun sight."

"Does that mean... even without the bullet assist system you'll still able to see the bullet and quickly react to it...!?"

"He's strong! Way stronger than the others I've ever faced...!"

"If you're that strong, what are you so afraid of?" She asks.

"This isn't strength. It's only skill." Ryunosuke told her.

"... You're lying. Technique isn't enough to cut through a bullet from the Hecate. You must know that. How can I become strong like that? You must know. How can I become strong like that? I... I'm trying to learn that..." Her tears started to fall.

"... If that bullet could also kill a player in the real world... and if you didn't shoot them, you or someone you loved would be killed... could you still pull the trigger?"

Sinon was shocked about what he just said "Does he know about my past? About what happened? No... it couldn't be..."

Ryunosuke turned off his photon sword "I'm not strong. I just closed my eyes, put my hands over my ears, and tried to forget it all."

Sinon drops her gun.

Ryunosuke then smiles "Well... I suppose I won the duel, right? Then, would you surrender?"

Sinon remembering that he's still holding her, lets go of his grasp while her face is extremely red "Next time, I won't lose! Tomorrow, keep going until you find me!" She turns around "Resign!"

-Do you surrender?-

She places her hand on the panel.

Back in the waiting area.

-F-Block Winner-

-Ryunosuke-

"Yay!" Ritsu cheered.

Many of the players were surprised, while Spiegel was shocked.

In the shadows, the man in the cloak was there, silently standing.

Extra:

Ritsu: Hey, Chiba-kun...

Ryunosuke: What is it, Ritsu?

Ritsu: How come you're using your sword more often rather than a gun?

Ryunosuke: W-well, Korosensei told me not to always rely in my gun skills.

Ritsu: I see, so you've been following his advice.

Sinon: What are you two talking about?

Ryunosuke: N-nothing!

Hope you like this chapter, arigatogozaimasu.