A/N: Wow. This is getting to be more popular than my other Kirinon fic. I am quite surprised. Thanks for all the support guys! I love you and I'm sorry that this one took me a while. My last day of school is tomorrow so i should be able to update my stuff more often :)
Judgement
The desert seemed empty and lifeless, almost eerily so in the fading afternoon light. The sun was lowering in its wide arc across the sky, making its way toward the horizon. Wind whipped across the landscape, whistling as it blew sand in sweeping billows across the ground. The cloud of course earth continued to roil until it tumbled off the rocks and into a dark, endless chasm.
A certain sniper stood at the edge of that chasm, her powder-blue hair tousled by the wind, her indigo eyes staring down into the large, black void below her. Her mind was blank, clear of any thoughts or emotions whatsoever. The recent shock she had just had, left it hard for her to think anything at all until she could bring herself to cope.
Eventually though, she did think something.
I'm going to murder him.
Swiftly, the girl spun on her heel, snatched her rifle off of the ground, and stalked up the hill. With thoughts of revenge firmly set in her mind, Sinon hastened her pace in the direction of the checkpoint she and Kirito had reached earlier. She knew that he would be re-spawning there soon, and her gun would be there to greet him.
It didn't take her long to spot the ruins she was seeking. She chose to lay down and set up behind some rocks on a large dune that gave her a great view of the land below. She settled into place just in time too, for she could already make out a dark blur streaking through the sand.
You are not getting away!
Filled with unusual hatred and anger, Sinon aimed ahead of the blur and opened fire. To her annoyance, the blur dove, avoiding her bullet as it got to its feet in the sand. She probably should have taken more time to calm herself before firing a shot.
Sinon cursed inwardly. Her first shot had been her advantage. It was the one that didn't have a prediction line and was next to impossible to evade.
But of course, if anyone could dodge Hecate II's bullets, it was Kirito.
She could see his face through her scope now, his dark eyes set in resigned determination, seeming to look right at her. Sinon's jaw tightened as she pulled the trigger again. She was well aware of Kirito's skill from the time and missions they had spent together, and she knew that he could be a problem if he was fighting on the opposite side.
As much as she hated to admit it now, she was a bit in awe of Kirito's skills. She…well, he was pretty amazing considering this was his first cyber-type game. He had told her that he had mostly played fantasy games until now, and she got that vibe with the way he wielded his photon sword, but it really seemed like he was too good. He rarely died if at all, and the way he fought…he basically kicked ass. It was like nothing she had ever seen before.
It was almost like this world was his reality.
This wasn't a game to him.
Sinon used to think she was the only one who thought that way.
Kirito began to speed toward her, his sword out and glowing in the air in front of him. He moved like an acrobat, dodging and blocking every bullet she sent his way. Before she knew it, he was already making his way up the hill toward her. Sinon cursed again, pushing herself up in an attempt to make a run for it, but she knew that was useless. Kirito was a lot faster than she was.
She had barely lifted her torso up when Kirito vaulted over the rocks and came to face her, his sword brandished in her direction. The corner of the sniper's lip turned up in an angry growl as she yanked her submachine pistol from her belt. She shot at him. He blocked every single bullet, but it managed to buy the girl time to roll over and get to her feet.
Now, it was just the two of them, standing there, facing each other down. Sinon felt her anger boiling within her as she glared down the barrel of her gun at her opponent. Kirito looked at her with equal intensity past the glowing blade of his sword. His expression was calm, yet hard-set with a certain determination as his dark eyes looked evenly into hers.
God, how that pissed her off so much.
"Sinon." The boy called out to her. "We need to talk."
The girl scoffed. "About what? I have nothing to say to you, Kirito." She spat, glaring at him full force, but he didn't even flinch.
"I know you're probably angry, but just listen—"
"Not interested!" came a yell before the air was punctuated with the sound of gunfire. Kirito grimaced as he brought up his sword to block the bullets. Even with his speed, he had to admit that Sinon's shots were difficult to outmaneuver. She knew his style, the way he fought, and she could exploit his weaknesses, the places where he was flawed. She wasn't called the best for nothing. But he knew her as well, far more than she realized, so he was able to evade the majority of her bullets. Barely.
He was grazed a few times, red pixels spilling out of his wounds. He ignored them though, and instead dashed toward the girl before him. Angrily, Sinon leveled her gun at him and let loose a volley of shots. She was able to hit him a few times more times, but nothing she inflicted on him was fatal. With a whirl of his blade, Kirito got closer to her. He threw an expert swing in her direction, but Sinon dove under his arm, barely avoiding being cut in two. She rolled to her knee in the sand behind the swordsman, her pistol raised with the tip aiming at his chest. The gun barked and sputtered several more times, but soon, the clip was emptied.
Filled with anger and annoyance, the girl threw the gun away into the sand, not concerned with such a useless item. She didn't have time to reload it. Besides, it didn't matter. She still had one more gun left at her disposal.
In a desperate dive, Sinon went for her sniper rifle. Kirito saw her, and rushed to intercept. However, being held at gunpoint made him stop short. Sinon was standing up, slowly but surely, her gun supported in her arms. She had the scope to her eye, aiming straight at him.
Kirito looked from Sinon to her gun and back again. His eyes hardened, his jaw set as he realized the challenge she was throwing at him. Taking his stance, he angled his body sideways, his sword pointing at her.
Sinon glared at Kirito through the lens of her scope, staring at his stupid, expressionless face. There was no way he would beat her. She would not allow that. She was Sinon, the greatest sniper to ever exist in GGO. She felt great pride in that and did much to maintain her title. There was no way she would let this lying, double-crossing jerk defeat her. Especially when he looked so calm in a situation like this. What nerve!
It was silent as they stared each other down. Not even the wind was blowing at that moment. It was as if the desert itself was holding its breath, anxiously awaiting what would happen next.
Suddenly, a loud bang sounded as a shot rang out from Sinon. A bullet flew out of her rifle, headed straight towards the swordsman, the object of her hatred. In one, swift, decisive swipe of his sword, Kirito cut the bullet out of the air. The next thing Sinon knew, he was right in front of her, his sword at her throat and his arm around her waist, trapping her against him now that her gun had been knocked away.
Sinon stared at him, her eyes wide with shock.
He…beat me.
The girl swallowed, feeling nervous with a sword at her front, Kirito's strong, unmoving body keeping her from escaping. She could feel his muscles, tensed ever-so-slightly against her, and his breathing. He wasn't out of breath, but she could tell that he had used a good amount of stamina. She could hear it, see it move his chest in low, steady rhythm.
"…How?" She finally asked him. Kirito was silent, so she elaborated. "How did you dodge that when you were so close? There was no prediction line, so there wasn't any lag time between the moment I pulled the trigger to when the bullet reached you. You should be dead."
There was another pause, but Sinon stayed still, waiting for his answer as she watched his thoughts swirl just behind his dark irises.
"…Your eye."
Sinon didn't quite understand, so she just furrowed her eyebrows.
"I saw you aiming for my leg."
The girl blinked in shock. "You predicted the prediction line?" She asked, but Kirito didn't answer, he just kept giving her that aggravatingly calm expression. The sniper laughed once, but she didn't smile. "You're the only one insane enough to do that."
"…Maybe I am." The boy answered, a hint of amusement in his voice. It took a moment for him to speak again, but when he did, he seemed to have sobered up. "I still want to talk."
"I don't think I can stop you now." The girl responded, a bit sarcastically, sounding defeated. She couldn't help it. She was trapped between a sword and a stubborn swordsman, there was nothing she could do to escape. "I'm listening."
Kirito was silent for a minute, as if he were trying to organize his thoughts. "…Yes. I did lie to you."
"Why?" Sinon asked, a slight edge to her tone.
The boy hesitated again, choosing his words carefully. "Well for one, you just automatically assumed I was a girl."
"It's not my fault your avatar looks like that." The girl snapped. She expected some kind of retort in return, but was surprised to hear a simple sigh.
"I know."
"…Why didn't you just explain?"
"To be perfectly honest?"
Sinon gave a firm nod, the best one she could without touching the glowing blade under her chin.
There was another aggravated sigh. "Well, I'm not…I'm just not…good with people."
Indigo eyes blinked at that.
What?
Looking a bit weary, Kirito flicked off his blade and released the girl from his grasp. Feeling him let go, Sinon moved away from him slightly, feeling a bit wary.
Now that they were standing on equal terms, Sinon watched Kirito as he avoided her gaze, rubbing the back of his neck abashedly. "When we met, you thought I was a girl and seemed fine with that. You liked me just fine, so I thought 'why not keep it that way?'"
Sinon just blinked at him as he continued to look away from her. "So you felt the need to lie to me? To keep me in the dark?"
Kirito winced. "Yeah. Sorry about that."
The sniper continued to scrutinize him, her indigo eyes watching his every move. Her arms crossed over her chest as her mind thought his words over.
So he just did that because he was afraid that I wouldn't like him? That's kind of stupid but…
"I guess I can understand that." Sinon finally replied, causing Kirito to look up at her in surprise. "I'm not very good with people either."
The boy continued to look at her in disbelief. "So…does that mean…?"
Sinon pursed her lips, setting her intimidating gaze upon him. "I guess I can forgive you."
Kirito's shoulders slumped in relief. He was expecting something far worse.
"…Just don't ever let me see your face again."
Dark eyes widened, hoping that she was joking, but all they saw was an impassive wall of hostility.
That didn't look like he was forgiven.
