A/N: Another chapter! I thought that I'd flesh out this story more because I want you the readers to understand what this story is a little bit more and just have some fun with this story, thank you for the peeps who have given me ideas on all my fics on my discord server its much appreciated! Just discussing and chatting about my stories (including this) really helps me get ideas on what I want to do.

So yeah, I have the next chapter of this story ready to go but I wont release it quite yet due to wanting to do the chapter 4-6 of this story, it'll take some time but I want to be a step ahead! I'd appreciate any feed back of course and if there are any readers wanting to join my fanfic server let me know, we all have general chats about every anime/fanfics/manga's and its honestly a vibe lmao.

Guns and Roses

Kazuto limped up the stairs to his apartment like he'd just escaped the final floor of Aincrad except instead of victory, he'd walked away with a bruised shin, a rapidly dissolving ego, and the distinct memory of a blacksmith's boot imprint on his soul. The boy couldn't help but have a sullen look plastered across his face.

He unlocked the door, stepped inside, and immediately collapsed onto the couch with the drama of a man who'd just faced something far worse than death, and that of course was romantic feedback on his performance.

"Well..." the puppet chirped from his hoodie pocket, sounding entirely too pleased with itself, "That could have gone worse."

Kazuto pulled the puppet out by its fuzzy body and glared at it. "She kicked me."

"Correct. With passion." The puppet said with enthusiasm.

"She left the entire forge. Ran away. Physically fled the scene. There were no survivors."

"There were emotions. That's progress." He countered quickly, shutting down Kazuto's point.

Kazuto tossed the puppet onto the coffee table like he was exorcising it. It flopped dramatically, legs in the air like a fainting goat.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again," the puppet announced to the ceiling, "You, sir, are a natural born romantic disaster. And I am so proud."

Kazuto leaned back on the couch, resting a can of cold melon soda against his poor, abused shin. "I flirted so hard she malfunctioned, so aren't I the opposite of that?"

"And that's the goal! Flirt so good it causes a system crash. stopped responding, and that's what I call a win." He ignored his question and focused on the good bits.

He groaned internally and scratched his cheek.

"Oh, come on, you saw her face. Bright red. Breathless. She didn't even insult your posture. That was peak fluster. Textbook."

"She kicked me," Kazuto repeated, pointing to his shin like it was exhibit A in the trial of the century. "With steel-forged rage."

"She panicked! It was a fight-or-flirt response. She chose violence, and honestly? Same."

Kazuto sighed and cracked open the soda, staring into the distance like he could see his own dignity disappearing into the void. He almost wanted to crawl and hide under a rock after today's events.

"I'm never going to be able to walk into her forge again." He said with a defeated tone.

"You absolutely are." the puppet said. "And when you do, she's going to look at you like you're a danger to her emotional well-being. That's irresistible."

"You are so lucky you don't have kneecaps."

"You are so lucky you do. Rika nearly took them both." He countered, Kazuto knew he had a good point.

Kazuto took a long sip of his soda, dragging his free hand down his face. He felt as if he had aged considerably since he had woken up earlier on in the morning.

"Okay. So, I made Rika flee the forge. What now?"

The puppet rolled upright, striking a thoughtful pose like a self-help guru. "Now we regroup. Reassess. Rethink. And then…"

A beat.

Kazuto already knew what was coming.

"Target Beta," the puppet declared, eyes (if it had any) gleaming with sinister purpose.

Kazuto closed his eyes.

"No. Absolutely not. Not her."

"Yes. Her."

"No. Shino will literally shoot me. Like, in real life."

"With love bullets."

Kazuto choked on his soda, Unsure whether to laugh or scold his puppet friend at his comment.

"Don't call them that. Ever."

"Come onnnn..." the puppet wheedled, sliding toward the edge of the table. "She's cool. Collected. Dangerous. She's like... romance on hard mode."

"She's got the emotional range of a frozen lake and the patience of a ticking bomb."

"Which means one good flirt will detonate the whole damn system. High risk, high reward. She's the sniper queen, and you're going to give her something new to aim at."

Kazuto stared blankly at the puppet. "My dignity?"

"Your heart. And maybe your abs, depending on how spicy this arc gets."

He got up, limped to the fridge, grabbed another soda just to hold it against his head this time. His head was slightly pounding and the puppet spewing nonesense to him did not help in the slightest neither.

"I'm not doing this again. Rika was bad enough. I thought we were going for subtle."

"You were subtle until the near kiss."

"That wasn't a kiss attempt!" he yelled from the kitchen. "It was… proximity-based banter!"

"You whispered to her that she smelled like molten steel and made it sound hot."

Kazuto pointed at the puppet. "And you told me to do that."

"I told you to flirt, not combust."

He returned to the couch, both cans of soda now in use one for the shin, one for the emotional scarring. "You know what? No. I'm taking a break. No more targets. No more flirting. I'm on harem cooldown."

"That's not how cooldowns work."

"Yes, it is. It's called self-preservation."

The puppet sighed dramatically. "Kazuto, my boy. You've already opened Pandora's romance box. The girls have noticed. Rika's blush was practically a confession. Asuna's going to hear about it and get jealous. Sugu's going to catch the vibe. Shino—"

Kazuto raised a hand. "Nope. Shino would never fall for this. She's too smart."

"Which is exactly why we're going for her next."

Kazuto groaned into the couch cushion. The feeling of talking to a puppet about his situation with the girls still not something he could comprehend properly.

"Look..." the puppet continued, standing now like it was giving another TED Talk. "With Shino, you don't come in hot. You come in cool. Tactical. Minimal words. Max impact."

"That worked so well with Rika," he mumbled into the pillow.

"Different builds. Rika's weak to confident teasing. Shino? You gotta act like you don't care... while absolutely caring."

Kazuto lifted his head. "That makes no sense."

"Flirting is war. She's a sniper. You counter-snipe with subtlety."

He blinked. "You want me to... stealth flirt?"

"Exactly."

"That's not a thing."

"Oh, it's a thing. You lean against a wall. You say something like, 'Your aim's sharp, but I think you're slipping around me.' Then you walk away."

Kazuto stared. "I will absolutely get shot."

"But her hands will be shaking."

He sat back up, defeated. The puppet was relentless. And, worse... it wasn't wrong.

Despite everything, despite the shin trauma, the social awkwardness, the creeping dread that he was now involved, he couldn't deny it yet...

It had been kind of… thrilling.

Seeing Rika blush like that? Watching her reaction shift from snark to stunned silence? Having her see him not just as the Kirito she always sparred with, but something else?

It was terrifying.

But also, kind of addictive.

Kazuto sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "…If I hypothetically wanted to talk to Shino…"

"YES."

"Hypothetically."

"YES."

"What's the least bullet-triggering approach?"

The puppet raised one fuzzy finger.

"We log into GGO. Invite her to a one-on-one shootout. You hold your own. Talk some clean, calculated trash. Smirk. Then hit her with a line like— 'I've seen better aim… but never from someone this close.'"

Kazuto's face turned beet red.

"I'm going to die."

"You're going to evolve."

He buried his face in his hands. "I was a normal guy once. Just a dude with a VR rig and trauma."

"And now you're a hot boy protagonist in development."

He groaned.

"This is your flirt arc, Kazuto. You've started it. You can't go back now. The confidence buff is permanent."

Kazuto muttered into his hands. "I want a refund on the patch notes."

"Too late. Tomorrow, we snipe the sniper."

"You snipe. I get PTSD."

The puppet hopped back onto the couch arm, arms wide.

"Let it be known. Shin. bruised. Ego: stabilized. Harem questline: officially unlocked."

Kazuto stared at the ceiling. Soon he'd face Shino. All because he was choosing to believe some damn puppet, who knew if he had already lost his mind? Kazuto did not know, he wondered if this all was some weird dream.

And if he was lucky, she wouldn't shoot him in the face.

Kazuto groaned again as he lay across the couch like a discarded NPC.

"…Why are you like this?" he mumbled into the armrest.

The puppet didn't answer immediately, mostly because it was balancing an empty soda can on its head like a circus act. Of course, that "circus act" being everything that comes before Kazuto must do before finally achieving his harem.

"Like what?" it finally asked.

"Like a chaos gremlin with a dating coach certification from Hell."

"Oh, that's easy!" the puppet chirped, tipping the can off with a bow. "Because you need me."

"I didn't need you before."

"You also didn't have any game before. Coincidence?"

Kazuto gave it a flat look. Unimpressed by the puppet in front of him.

"Okay, fine." the puppet said, hopping onto his stomach like it was claiming territory. "Let's review your party. You've got Rika the hot tempered blacksmith, may kill you. Asuna the classic first girl energy, also might kill you. Shino the quiet sniper, will kill you Suguha sweet, devoted, also your cousin and that's a whole other subgenre."

Kazuto groaned again, louder this time. "Why do you make it sound like I'm assembling a romance raid team?"

"Because you are! Each girl has different stats, different resistances, and wildly unstable aggro triggers. You're basically doing an emotional boss rush."

He rolled his head toward the puppet. "You didn't mention the part where they're all friends with each other and might coordinate a party wipe."

"Oh please, the tension's been simmering for years. It was only a matter of time before one of them tried to land a crit flirt. You just happened to accidentally beat them to it."

Kazuto stared at the ceiling. "You know who I blame for this?"

"I'm assuming not yourself, because that would require accountability."

"Klein," Kazuto muttered.

The puppet gasped. "Why?"

"He's the one who said I should 'open up more' and 'show some personality' before the Rika incident. I thought he meant emotionally. Not…" Kazuto gestured vaguely. "…this."

"Oh please, Klein's flirting skills are like a buff that only activates when no one's looking. He's the NPC that thinks he's the protagonist."

Kazuto snorted.

"Agil, now he knows what's up!" the puppet continued. "The guy's married and still gets flirted with more than you."

"He gives off reliable husband energy," Kazuto nodded.

"You give off slightly confused tech support energy."

"Thanks."

"It's not an insult! It's just not… hot."

Kazuto sighed and grabbed a pillow, covering his face with it. "Maybe I should just go live in a cave. No girls, no chaos, no puppet."

"You'd get bored in five minutes, and you'd still find a cave sprite to accidentally flirt with."

Kazuto groaned into the fabric.

"You like this," the puppet teased.

"No, I don't."

"You dooo!" the puppet sang. "You're just terrified it might work. Admit it! You liked seeing Rika blush."

"I liked it right up until she launched a Shin Shatter Strike."

The puppet pointed dramatically. "But did you die?"

Kazuto peeked out from under the pillow. "My pride is in a coma."

"Your pride needs to get benched. Confidence is in the game now."

The room went quiet for a moment, save for the gentle buzz of Yui's dev rig in the corner and the faint fizz of an abandoned soda can. Kazuto's thought's lingered on Asuna for a while, thinking about the girl for a little too longer than he would like to.

Kazuto broke the silence first. "…Do you think Asuna noticed?"

The puppet blinked.

"She always notices or will notice." Kazuto added, rubbing his face. "She's been watching me closer lately. Not saying anything, just… watching."

The puppet nodded solemnly. "Yep. That's the 'I'm about to pretend I'm not jealous but absolutely am' phase."

"She's gonna corner me with tea and emotional questions, isn't she?"

"Oh yeah. You're getting passive-aggressively invited to a talk. With snacks. And judgment."

Kazuto shivered. "I'd almost rather fight Shino."

"Speaking of which..." the puppet said, tapping his shin with a fuzzy paw, "are we still doing it?"

"…Doing what?"

"Operation Flirt N' Snipe."

Kazuto blinked. "You named it?"

"Of course I did. It's got branding. And a battle plan."

"I feel like this is a war crime."

"She logs in every day at 8PM sharp. You join her in GGO, no warning, challenge her to a one-on-one, and you hold your ground. Be bold. Be mysterious. Make her doubt everything."

"Why does that sound like I'm trying to seduce a boss AI?"

"Because you are. But with more blushes and fewer rockets."

Kazuto shook his head. "You realize she might actually shoot me mid-sentence."

"That just means you're making progress."

He leaned back again, this time letting the pillow fall beside him instead of smothering himself with it. "Okay. Fine. Hypothetically… if I do flirt with Shino…"

"Which you will." the puppet whispered like it was witnessing a prophecy unfold.

"…and she doesn't shoot me in the face…"

"Yes!"

"…Then what? Do I just… keep doing this? Until what, I've flirted my way through the entire group?"

The puppet grinned, he wanted Kazuto to do just that. The young lad rubbed his temple in annoyance.

"You either win the harem, or you become the legend."

Kazuto closed his eyes, rethinking his life choices and everything he had ever done up until now.

"…I need stronger armor."

(Scene Change)

Gun Gale Online was quiet tonight.

Kazuto spawned in at the southern edge of the PvP ruins, the wind whistling through shattered concrete and twisted metal towers. The sun never truly rose or set in this part of GGO, just lingered in a kind of permanent late evening glow, casting the world in long shadows and rust-colored light.

His boots crunched on scorched gravel. The air was dusty and dry. Digital wind carried faint sounds echoes of old battles, a ghost town coded into the bones of a game built for bullets and tension.

He flexed his hands, feeling the weighted pressure of GGO's gear simulation click into place. His long coat fluttered slightly behind him. He adjusted his scarf.

And up ahead, perched on the broken spine of a crumbling bridge?

Shino.

Still as a statue. Sniper rifle resting across her lap like it belonged there more than anywhere else. One leg bent up casually. The other swinging slowly off the edge. Her teal hair swayed with the breeze. Her eyes? Already in the scope.

Kazuto took a breath and stepped forward.

Then! Voice comms crackled.

"OHHHH baby, this is it. You see her? That posture? That silent murder elegance? She's gonna smirk, and it's gonna make my little puppet pee pee go badooing doooing doooing."

Kazuto nearly tripped.

"What the hell—what—why would you say that?!"

"You try seeing a girl like that aim down a scope like she's choosing a husband and not feel things."

"You're made of yarn."

"Confidence yarn."

"You're going to get me killed."

"Killed by affection. Death by romantic sniper. What a way to go."

Kazuto groaned, hand running down his face as he walked. "Why are you even in my comms?"

"Yui gave me access! Experimental 'externalized subconscious commentary node' or whatever. I'm your emotionally expressive GPS. She said something about tracking 'growth.' I think that was code for 'Kazuto needs help.'"

"I'm going to factory reset my brain."

"Too late. We're live, and Shino is thirty meters due east, perched and lethal. Engage flirt protocol. Begin with casual approach. Smolder optional."

Kazuto sighed and walked forward, cloak brushing the ruins as he stepped over rebar and collapsed concrete.

He climbed onto the broken bridge, its midsection half-exploded from a past raid event. Shino didn't turn. She didn't have to. Her scope tilted a hair as he stepped closer.

"You're late," she said, tone flat but not unfriendly.

Kazuto crouched beside her, resting his forearms on his knees. "Wasn't aware we scheduled anything."

"I like consistency."

"So... you're mad I'm late or just mad I showed up?"

"Neither. Yet."

He glanced sideways. Shino still hadn't looked at him. Eyes in the scope. Calm. Relaxed. Dangerous.

"Textbook silent tsundere posture..." the puppet whispered in his ear. "Hit her with something clever. Something that says 'I'm emotionally available but slightly chaotic.'"

"You always scope from this bridge," Kazuto said aloud. "Guess I'm getting predictable."

"You think that's a good idea? Creeping on me from across the map?"

"I like the view."

Pause.

Shino adjusted the scope by a single millimeter.

"The ruined city or me?"

Kazuto smirked. "Both."

She didn't flinch. But her fingers paused on the bolt for just a moment. Her breath hitched soft, small. If he hadn't been looking, he might've missed it.

"Confirmed reaction. We've got flutter in the lungs. High-velocity heartbeat. Smirk prep: engage!" the puppet muttered gleefully.

Shino finally looked at him, slow and deliberate. Her eyes were unreadable. Cold, but not unkind. The young lad was used to this, she had the habit of acting like this after all, even though he had known her for a considerable amount of time, it was something hard to get used to.

"You're not subtle."

"You're not denying it."

"Denying what?"

"That I'm getting under your skin."

Another pause.

Then Shino clicked the safety on her rifle and leaned back, arms crossed, rifle resting across her legs now. Kazuto watched her every movement.

"You think too highly of your flirting."

"And yet, I'm still here."

"So's my rifle."

"Which hasn't shot me yet. Progress."

She blinked slowly. Her lips twitched, just the faintest hint of something approaching amusement. Kazuto wanted to let out a sigh of relief as he saw it briefly.

"That's the tiniest smirk I've ever seen, and I am going to print it out and frame it in your bedroom." the puppet whispered. "Keep going. Full stealth flirt build activated."

Kazuto tilted his head, playing it casual, but his heart was pounding, of course his heart was pounding, he was talking to his friend with different intentions than before. He was a little nervous due to never doing such a thing before...

"You're not easy to talk to, you know."

"Good."

"But I still want to."

Shino looked back at him again, studying him like he was something more dangerous than a monster spawn. The breeze caught her bangs. For once, her scope was completely abandoned. Their eyes locked briefly as she scanned his expression out of curiosity. The puppet picked up on it and let out a chuckle.

"Why?"

"Because when you look at someone like that," he said softly, "They don't look away."

Her breath caught.

It was the only tell he needed.

"IT'S TIME. DROP THE LINE. DEPLOY THE FLIRT NUKE!" the puppet chanted like a sports commentator.

Kazuto leaned forward...just a little.

"I've seen better aim," he said, voice low and careful, "but never from someone this close."

A beat of silence.

Then—

BANG.

A bullet whizzed past his left ear, pinging off the steel beam behind him. His HUD flashed red. The young lad faltered for a moment as he let out a gulp.

"Try that line again," Shino said smoothly, standing up and dusting off her coat, "and the next one goes through your scarf."

Kazuto raised both hands. "Message received."

"She's bluffing..." the puppet said, practically vibrating. "That was a warning shot wrapped in sexual tension."

"I heard that," Kazuto muttered.

"Good. Because our little 'badooing doooing doooing' moment just came full circle. I think her heart went badooing, too."

Kazuto internally screamed, a part of him wanted to deescalate the situation into something else entirely but he knew he had long crossed the bridge of flirting and could no longer walk back his steps.

Meanwhile, Shino rolled her eyes and turned away, but her ears, just faintly, were tinted pink.

"You're impossible," she muttered.

"I'm persistent."

"You're a distraction."

"You like distractions."

She hesitated, watching his expression and every movement for a sign on his unreadable expression before moving a loose strand of hair out of her face.

"One duel..." she said at last, not looking at him. "We settle this the GGO way. You win, you can keep talking. You lose, you log off and leave me alone."

"SHE WANTS TO LOSE." the puppet yelled like it was watching a telenovela. "She wants to lose and make it your problem."

Kazuto stood, brushing off his knees. "Fine. One duel."

He smirked.

"But I'm warning you, if I win, you owe me one compliment."

Shino blinked.

Then, just barely, just barely, smiled.

"If you win."

"Start praying to your scope."

(Scene Change)

There was never a dull day on Gun Gale Online.

Never ever.

Kazuto crouched behind a charred vehicle husk, cloak fluttering slightly as the server's ambient wind pushed digital ash across the cracked pavement. The ruins around him stretched in jagged rows of wrecked buildings, warped rebar, and the occasional flicker of neon light from long-abandoned terminals.

The duel had already started.
90 seconds. No rules. No cover that lasted.

And somewhere, hidden in the rubble like a beautiful, moody landmine, was Shino Asada.

"This is it!" the puppet whispered over private comms. "This is your boss fight. Your destiny. Your anime flirt arc's final exam."

Kazuto adjusted his headset.

"You mean the part where I get my face shot off?"

"You say 'face shot,' I say 'heart shot.' Tomato, tomAHto."

"Why are you still talking in GGO? How are you talking in GGO AGAIN?!"

"Yui rigged me up. Said you needed 'emotionally disruptive input stimuli.' I call it chaos with benefits. We really need to get your memory checked Romeo."

Kazuto groaned and peeked out over the wrecked car, he felt as if he was all over the place today.

Nothing.

No glint of a scope. No silhouette in the fog. Just the familiar sting of 'she's already aiming at you, idiot.'

He ducked instinctively.

"She's probably already locked in," he muttered. "I'm one breath away from getting domed."

"Or kissed."

"Please stop."

"Can't. You logged in with maximum thirst and I'm just the puppet manifestation of your repressed need for attention."

Kazuto checked his ammo. Loaded two special cartridges into his rifle, one decoy, one flashbang, and slipped into the shadows of a collapsed department store.

He'd been in firefights with hackers, demons, and literal death incarnate. But nothing prepared you for the psychological landmine of trying to flirt with a girl who could end you with one bullet and zero remorse.

"She's the wind." the puppet whispered again. "She's the click before the bang. The soft sigh of suppressed emotions behind the scope."

"What even is your vocabulary?"

"Poetic. Cursed. And entirely justified."

Suddenly—
BANG!

A shot screamed past Kazuto's head, so close it sliced off the top edge of his HUD for a second. He dropped flat behind a crumbling statue.

"HOLY—!"

"That's our girl!" the puppet cackled. "Quick draw, dead aim, sexy scowl. Love that for her."

"Love that for me to die by," Kazuto hissed, heart hammering.

Shino's voice crackled through the public duel channel, low and calm, Kazuto picked up on it briefly and smiled to himself.

"You always make this much noise?"

"You always shoot this early?"

"Only when I want to get it over with."

"And here I thought you wanted to savor the moment."

There was a pause.

"...You're flirting."

"You're not denying it."

Another bullet chipped the stone half a meter from his temple.

"Try again," she said.

"I will. After I put on a helmet and sign a will."

Kazuto slid along the wall and peeked around the corner, launching a drone decoy to draw her fire. It hovered, then got shredded instantly by a single, perfect shot. As he had predicted of course.

"Damn..." he muttered.

"Bro." the puppet said, impressed. "That drone had a family."

He slipped inside the shattered remains of a cyber-café and crouched by an overturned table. Shino's footsteps were completely silent. No blip on the map. No breath. No error. There was no room for error.

"Okay. Here's the play!" the puppet said, suddenly serious. "You got to break her pattern. Force a move. Drop a flirt grenade right in her emotional blind spot."

"This is a duel."

"This is a date. With bullets."

"You are the worst tactical advisor in the world."

"But the best wingman."

Outside, glass crunched faintly. Shino was nearby. Her ability to always be nearby when she wanted to despite her style always impressed the young lad.

Kazuto pulled a flash round and lobbed it toward a stairwell! No real threat, just a way to draw her in. He slipped through a side exit, hoping to flank her.

"Also," the puppet added suddenly, "Is it weird that her crouch animation made my little puppet pee pee go badooing doooing doooing?"

Kazuto stopped in his tracks.

"...What is wrong with you? Why do you keep saying that?"

"What do you mean why do I keep saying that? Please I'm a person with needs!"

"You're a puppet."

"And she's making me question the entire fabric of my felt-based existence."

Another shot rang out, this one landing closer clipping his shoulder shield and dropping his HP bar to 87%.

"See? That's what you get for talking about your imaginary genitals."

"Worth it."

Another shot pinged off a nearby steel beam, sending pixelated shrapnel scattering across Kazuto's boots. His shield meter dipped into the yellow, and so did his pride.

He dove behind a vending machine filled with useless in-game snacks labeled things like "Battle Rations: Egg Flavor" and "Tactical Mints."

"Okay," he muttered, panting. "She's definitely trying to kill me now."

"Or kiss you aggressively, then you two will be locked in a intimate embrace as the world crumbles!" the puppet offered. "Either way, I support her."

"You support her trying to vaporize me?"

"Hey, some girls play hard to get. Some play hard to live."

Kazuto peeked around the side just in time to see a shadow blur past an upper floor window. He swore under his breath.

She was moving faster now. He knew he needed to start turning up the pressure up ever so slightly.

Closing in.

"She's stalking you like a panther in a high-tech jungle." the puppet whispered reverently. "I love that for her."

"I don't."

Kazuto gritted his teeth and vaulted the counter of the abandoned cyber-café again, dodging shattered monitors and fake advertisements for "Cool Cola: Level Up Your Hydration." The place reeked of burnt pixels and desperation.

He reloaded.

Silence.

Too much silence. Too much for Kazuto, he didn't like it at all...

Kazuto ducked under the shattered bar of a defunct espresso machine.

"Okay!" the puppet whispered conspiratorially. "New tactic! say something so stupid it derails her sniping instincts. You gotta confuse the attraction."

"How?"

"Compliment something weird. Like her crouch speed. Or her ammo count. Make it suspiciously tender."

"That makes no sense."

"And neither does attraction. It's chaos science. Just trust me."

Kazuto stood and shouted:

"Hey Shino!"

Silence.

"Your recoil control is... kinda hot!"

"Oh my god!" the puppet gasped, starry-eyed. "You actually said it."

There was a beat of silence, then a single gunshot rang out, missing him by an inch and hitting a soda can so hard it ricocheted into the ceiling like a cartoon bullet.

"She's flustered!" the puppet breathed. "She missed. She NEVER misses. Bro. BRO. You just made Sinon aim like a stormtrooper."

"I'm going to die."

"You're going to smash."

"Can I vote for neither?"

Shino's voice echoed faintly over the comms, clipped and icy. He imagined her expression and her flushed cheeks as she spoke.

"Did you just hit on my recoil control?"

Kazuto pressed himself flatter against the vending machine, he knew what he was doing was stupid but he had to find away out of the hole he had mentally and physically dug himself into, meanwhile the puppet was having a good time.

"It's a compliment!" He tried to fight back.

"It's a violation."

"Of what? Firearm etiquette?"

"Of basic conversational norms!"

"So, you're saying I got to you." Kazuto felt as if he had the upper hand.

"I'm saying I'm reloading."

"Still counts!"

Another shot fired! This one clipped the tip of Kazuto's cloak and vaporized a chunk of wall behind him. Kazuto couldn't help but notice that she was getting sloppy.

"That one felt personal," Kazuto muttered.

"She's definitely imagining your face on every pixel of that wall!" the puppet chirped.

"This was your idea."

"And look at you now! You've made it further into her heart than any man has... through the battlefield."

Kazuto rolled his eyes, checked his radar again, blank... And slipped into a narrow corridor. The map was designed to push combatants into final confrontations. Time was ticking. They were circling each other now.

The hunt had become... intimate.

"You do realize she could be anywhere now," he whispered, looking around for any sign of his lady friend.

"She could also be right behind you."

Kazuto froze.

No.

No, no, no, no way.

He could feel it! The sudden, electric awareness crawling up his spine like static, the unmistakable sensation of being watched. Hunted.

Slowly, cautiously, he turned...

And there she was.

Shino stood at the far end of the hallway, framed in flickering overhead light. She leaned against the scarred wall like she owned the place, one boot crossed over the other, her hip cocked just enough to look casual. Her pistol hung at her side in a loose, practiced grip, lowered, yes, but ready to rise in a blink. She wasn't aiming yet. She didn't have to.

She was staring at him. Of course she was.

Expression unreadable. Slate eyes narrowed slightly, mouth set in a line that wasn't quite a frown... but it sure as hell wasn't a smile.

Not unfriendly, though. Dangerous, yes. But not unfriendly.

Kazuto raised both hands, palms open, the international sign for: please don't shoot me yet, I'm still improvising.

"Okay," he said, carefully. "Let's not escalate. How about… truce?"

Her eyebrow twitched upward.

"Hard pass."

Ouch.

"Coffee after this?"

"Bullet first."

"Okay, but, like… flirty bullet?"

Shino actually blinked at that. The corner of her mouth tugged, just barely. "There is no such thing."

"Then why," he said, cocking his head with a crooked grin, "do you keep missing?"

That did it.

She pushed off the wall like a coiled spring snapping loose. No hesitation, no pause. Just pure movement! Graceful, lethal, fast.

Of course that would do it for her, Kazuto thought wildly, even as his legs reacted before his brain could catch up.

He yelped and turned tail, sprinting down the corridor. Behind him, two quick shots cracked through the air, one pinged off a pipe, the other shattered the floor near his foot. Not close enough to hit. But close enough to remind him: I could.

Warning shots. Teasing shots.

I'm faster than you, they screamed. But this is more fun.

A voice crackled in his ear, sarcastic, horrified. "You're making her chase you. This is turning into a rom-com foot chase. You are an absolute menace."

Kazuto skidded around a corner, heart in his throat, and nearly collided with a half-collapsed wall. He dove low, rolled through dust and debris, came up in a crouch, gun raised.

Shino was already there.

No breath. No footsteps. Just there.

Their eyes locked across the few feet between them.

Both guns raised.

Both frozen.

Heartbeats pounding. Muffled thunder in their chests.

Kazuto's voice came out quiet. Barely more than a breath. "You gonna shoot?"

Shino tilted her head, considering.

"You going to flirt again?"

He smirked. "Depends."

"On?"

"If it makes you miss one more time."

A pause. Tension sharp as a drawn blade.

Then she stepped closer.

So did he.

One step. Then another. Until the barrels of their guns nearly touched, lowered but not forgotten. Until they could see every flicker of movement in the other's eyes.

Until there was nothing left to say.

The draw timer hit 00:00.

MATCH RESULT: DRAW.

Silence, Kazuto couldn't help but exhale as felt relief wash over him.

Shino looked at him, cool as always. But there was color in her cheeks. Subtle. Her expression as unreadable as ever.

"You're such a disaster," she muttered shaking her head.

"And you're bad at pretending you hate it."

"I'm re-evaluating my standards."

"That's progress!"

She turned to go, however before she could walk any further away, she stopped.

Without looking back, she said:

"Next time, you make the coffee."

Kazuto stood there, stunned.

Then the puppet screamed...

"MY PUPPET PEE PEE IS DOING THE MACARENA. THIS IS A LOVE STORY FOR THE AGES."

Kazuto groaned.

But... he was smiling, and maybe, just maybe...so was she.

Have any thoughts?

Let me know!

Kano