A/N: Ok. So to answer some questions: no, the Death Gun incident will not happen in this fic. I have made that decision because SAO did not exist to turn people into homicidal maniacs. But just so you know, this fic won't be all "puppies and unicorns" to quote my 7th and 8th grade English teacher. She was awesome btw.
Running away
An expanse of black surrounded the swordsman as he stood there, too shocked to move. A large notification appeared in front of him, a spiraling circle with a countdown inside. The caption above read 're-spawn in,' but Kirito wasn't really paying attention. All he could think was:
She killed me.
His eyes grew wide. Sinon had killed him. And without any hesitation. She had pushed him off that cliff and had just watched in silence as he fell to his death. She wasn't just powerful, she was ruthless.
Kirito began to pace, his hand on his chin as he strode back and forth, his coat swaying behind him around his ankles. He would re-spawn soon, and it would be right back out into that desert, the desert he knew where Sinon was waiting for him. They had been traveling across that desert just before they had been ambushed, so their re-spawning point was out there, not exactly near the cliff, but close enough so that Sinon would be there within a few minutes if she ran.
The boy stopped pacing so that he faced the countdown. Ten seconds left. He could make it. He knew he could. To log-out, he would need to go into town and book a room at an inn or something. That way, his avatar would have a safe place stay. But he would need to do that without running into Sinon along the way.
With a flash of white light, Kirito disappeared from that dark room and appeared in the middle of the dessert once again. He glanced around warily, taking in the familiar sight of the ruins of a building. This was the checkpoint he and Sinon had reached. These ruins were the only things visible for miles.
Kirito unclipped his sword and flipped its switch. The blade hummed to life as he also drew out his handgun. He knew that Sinon would probably be hunting him by now, and he wanted to avoid as much confrontation as possible.
With great speed, he shot out into the dessert, consulting his map along the way. He had to get to the nearest city.
Something glinted in his peripheral vision. Realizing what it was, Kirito dove forward. An explosion of dust and sand billowed behind him as he rolled. With an expert twist of his body, the swordsman turned in midair and landed on his feet. He skidded backwards and few meters, causing more sand to drift up into the air.
Kirito's dark eyes shot up, anticipating the next bullet. A red light blinded him for a few seconds, and he rolled to the side out of the way. The projectile plunged into the sand next to him. Following the angle of the shot, Kirito saw a large rock formation not too far away. It was the perfect vantage point for a sniper.
Looks like I'll have to fight her, Kirito thought as he sped forward in the direction the shots had come from. He was basically a sitting duck if he stayed out in the middle of the dessert without taking care of Sinon. Eventually, she would get in a shot. That, or they would be out there all day with him dodging her every bullet.
Sinon attempted to shoot him several more times with her Hecate II, but he saw the prediction line and either dodged the bullets and sliced them away with his blade. Within seconds, he was up the hill and could see where she was laying on her stomach, her rifle in her arms. Before he could start toward her, she pulled out her submachine pistol and began to fire at him. Charging toward her, he deflected those as well.
Sinon rolled away from him, and when she got to her feet again, he could see the fury in her eyes. He could see her anger, the fire in her irises. She was glaring daggers at him as the two of them stood facing each other.
But he would not be intimidated, not here, not now. He stared at her evenly, meeting her gaze head on. There would be no running away. He had to face her, whether he wanted to or not. If he ran away, he wouldn't forgive himself. If he didn't try to resolve this problem, then there would be a chance that she would never even want to see him again.
He had to do this, or he would lose her in this world.
A/N: Next chapter will continue this but from Shino's point of view! So look forward to it and sorry for the cliffhanger... Yeah. Not really :)
