Chapter 15

Sinon was teleported off of ISL Ragnarok, the island on which the

event happened, and returned to a temporary waiting zone. She

stared at the results board before her, complete with log-out

timer, and tried her best to cool down her racing mind.

The event was over at last, but the Death Gun incident was

not. His accomplice might still be lurking nearby when Shino returned to reality. Kirito said that he would have the police dispatched to her place at once, but given that he was logging out at

the same time she was, and then had to contact his employer, it

would easily take more than ten minutes. She would have to defend herself in that time.

First she'd check the safety of her apartment, then call Kyouji

Shinkawa and have him come over. He might encounter the accomplice, but their weapon in the scheme—according to Kirito, at

least—was a syringe full of poison, not guns or knives, so they

wouldn't possibly try to jam a needle into a conscious person in

the middle of the street. Still, she would tell him to be careful on

the phone, of course.

The large countdown ticked away with astonishing speed. Only

ten seconds until she was logged out.

She checked the results screen one last time. At the top,

Sinon's and Kirito's names were sparkling. It was the ultimate

goal of any GGO player to be listed in that spot, but sadly, she was

certain that the honor would be stripped from her. Too many

fishy things happened to reach that point. She'd have to wait until

the fourth tournament to reach her goal.

Stuck in third place was Death Gun's registered name, Steven.

Oddly, he spelled it "Sterben," which perhaps meant it was supposed to be pronounced slightly differently. The cloaked man's

true identity, of course, was "Death Gun," and his character name

was nothing but a piece of camouflage.

In fourth place was Yamikaze. No doubt many players had bet

on him to be the champion, which meant the betting market had

to be in a state of chaos now. A list of famous names stretched

down from fifth place onward, including Dyne and Xiahou Dun—

ending with twenty-eighth place.

At the very end were two players who'd been disconnected:

Pale Rider and Garrett.

So Death Gun had claimed two victims after all. That probably

meant he had two accomplices. What kind of a group had to come

together in a VRMMO, and what did they need to go through, for

three people to undertake such a horrifying crime spree?

When the countdown reached zero, Sinon was feeling not the

elation of victory, but a deep, freezing chill.

A momentary floating sensation came and went, and Sinon was

Shino again, lying alone on her real bed.

But in fact, she might not be alone. She reminded herself not

to open her eyes or move all of a sudden. She kept herself utterly

still and her eyelids closed, trying to sense her surroundings

through other means.

There were a few different sounds she could hear. First, her

own breathing. Next, the quick thumping of her heartbeat.

The low thrum near the ceiling belonged to the heating cycle of

her air conditioner. The dripping was from the tank of her humidifier. Outside the window, the gentle rumble of street traffic.

A stereo subwoofer from some other apartment in the building.

That was it. No other sources of unfamiliar noise in the apartment.

She took in a slow, long breath. The only smell her nose picked

up was the gentle scent of the herb soap on top of the dresser she

used as an air freshener.

Nobody else is in my room, Shino thought, but she couldn't

open her eyes quite yet. She couldn't eliminate the fear that

someone might be standing just on the left side of the bed, staring

down at her.

In fact, it didn't even need to be in the room. There was the

kitchen, the bathroom…the veranda…Even in her tiny apartment,

there were plenty of places one could hide if they wanted. In fact,

he might even be hiding under her bed. It was awful. She didn't

want to move.

Meanwhile, Kirito—Kazuto Kirigaya—should be calling the police through his government contact. In another fifteen minutes,

she'd hear the police siren. If that was the case, it might be

smartest just to stay put and wait.

She had just shut her eyes tight, prepared for the long wait,

when her old-fashioned heater ran out of juice and spit out a

burst of unheated air that brushed Shino's exposed thigh. A chill

ran across her skin, and she suddenly felt an ominous itch deep

inside her nose.

She was only able to resist for two seconds. The space between

her eyebrows and the bridge of her nose crinkled up, and her traitorous respiratory system emitted a small but undeniable achoo!

Shino froze up, waiting for a reaction from somewhere else in the

room.

Still, nothing moved.

Shino slowly, carefully lifted her right eyelid. The dimmed

room glowed dully from the streetlights coming in through a

crack in her curtains. She checked the state of the room, first

within range of her eyeball, then with the turning radius of her

neck.

For now, she didn't see any human figures. She gingerly,

silently took off the AmuSphere and placed it next to her pillow.

She sat up with nothing more than her stomach muscles and took

a quick look around the room.

It seemed like everything was exactly as she'd left it when she

full-dove a few hours earlier.

The mineral water bottle was on the table. Next to it was a

large stereo. Her schoolbag was on the floor. None of them had

been moved.

Shino pushed off the sheets and moved to the edge of the bed,

swallowed, then leaned over to look under the bed. Nothing

there, of course.

She looked up through the crack in the curtains to confirm

that the lock on her window was firmly in place.

Next, Shino set her feet on the floor and craned her neck as far

as it could to peer into the kitchen. But it was far too tiny of a

space for anyone to be hiding in it.

She stood up and walked over to the wall, stifling her footsteps

without realizing it, and hit the light switch. The room was suddenly full of white light that spilled down to the entranceway on

the other side of the kitchen.

If she squinted her eyes, she could see that the lock on the

door was still horizontal. She stayed right where she was, trying

to sense anything from the one place in the apartment that was

separated by a wall—the bathroom. There was no sound coming

from it. She tiptoed from the main room to the kitchen.

The door to the bathroom across from the sink was shut tight.

It wasn't locked, and the lights were off. Her sweaty hand gripped

the aluminum doorknob.

With a deep breath, she flipped the light switch with her free

hand and opened the door.

"…"

Shino stared at the interior.

"…I feel really stupid," she muttered. The beige interior of the

bathroom was, of course, empty. At long last, from her neck to

her shoulder and further on down, she felt the tension drain

away. She made a half turn, leaned back against the wall, and slid

down to a seated position.

There was no one else in the apartment. Nor were there any

signs of a break-in so far. Naturally, that did not preclude the

possibility that someone had hacked her old electronic lock,

watched the progress of the GGO tournament on a cell phone,

then left just after Death Gun's defeat.

If that was the case, the intruder should still be in the area. As

long as the possibility of a return visit was greater than zero, she

ought to call Kyouji Shinkawa for help at once—but Shino didn't

have the strength to stand at the moment.

She glanced up at the kitchen alarm on top of the refrigerator.

The digital readout said that it was 10:07.

What an incredibly long three hours that was. Eating the yogurt out of this empty container here before I dove in feels like

ancient history at this point.

She felt like something inside of her had changed, and also

that nothing had changed.

But at the very least, the hasty panic that Shino felt dwelling

within her for a very long time seemed more distant now. Perhaps she had learned that the haste to be strong, to get stronger,

was an empty thing. It all started with a single step.

"All…right!" she told herself, then realized that she was ravenously thirsty. Shino walked over to the sink, filled a glass with tap

water, and drank it down in one go.

Just as she was about to fill up another cup, she heard the oldfashioned ding-dong of her doorbell.

She tensed up, staring at the door. Her breath caught in her

throat as she imagined the lock turning all on its own.

Perhaps it was the police already. But when she looked at the

clock, it had only been three minutes since she logged out. It was

much too quick for them.

She stood there long enough for the doorbell to ring again. Stifling her breathing, she approached the door without making a

sound. She reached out hesitantly to put the chain on the door,

but just as her fingers were about to touch it…

"Asada, are you there? It's me, Asada!" came a familiar, highpitched boy's voice through the electronic lock's intercom.

She felt the tension drain out of her shoulders and stood on

her sandals as a footstool to look through the peephole, just in

case. Through the fish-eye lens was the very person she was just

about to call—her former classmate and GGO friend, Kyouji

Shinkawa.

"Shinkawa…?" she asked through the intercom.

He immediately responded, though he didn't sound quite sure

of himself. "Um…I just wanted to celebrate with you…I bought

this for you—sorry, it's just from the convenience store."

She looked through the peephole again to see him hold up a

small box that looked like it contained a piece of cake.

"Th…that was really quick," she blurted out. Even counting the

time she spent in front of the results screen, it was less than five

minutes since the tournament ended. Perhaps, instead of being at

home, he'd been watching in a nearby park and rushed to the

store on the way here. That hastiness was appropriate for the

AGI-heavy Spiegel, she had to admit.

But at least it saved her the trouble of having to call him. She

breathed a sigh of relief and put her hand on the knob. "Hang on,

I'll open up."

She looked down as she reached over and noticed that she was

still wearing the baggy sweater and short pants, which wasn't

much, but she didn't feel in the mood to change. Shino turned the

knob ninety degrees.

The door opened to reveal Kyouji Shinkawa, grinning away.

He was heavily outfitted with jeans and a fleece-lined military

jacket, but it was cold enough outside that even that seemed inadequate.

Shino hunched her neck at the chill against her bare legs and

said, "Ooh, it's freezing. Quick, come in."

"Uh, sure. Thanks."

Kyouji bowed and stepped into the foyer, squinting as he

looked at Shino, as if she was glowing.

"Wh-what? C'mon, shut the door before it gets cold inside. Oh,

and make sure to lock it," she said, feeling a bit self-conscious

about Kyouji's gaze. As she turned back into the apartment, she

heard the heavy click of the door lock behind her. Back in the

main room, she picked up the remote off the table and turned the

heat on higher. With a heavy groan, warmer air flooded into the

room, driving away the chill.

Shino plopped down onto the bed and looked up to see Kyouji

standing at the edge of the room, looking uncomfortable.

"You can sit wherever you like. Oh, need anything to drink?"

"Uh, no, I'm fine."

"Listen, I'm tired, so unless you really don't need anything,

speak up," she teased.

Kyouji finally smiled weakly, set the cake box down on the tea

table, and sat on the nearby cushion. "Sorry for barging in like

this, Asada. But…like I said earlier, I wanted to help you celebrate

as soon as possible," he said, clutching his knees like a child.

"Um…congrats on winning the BoB. It was incredible, Asada…

Sinon. You're finally the greatest gunner in GGO. But…I always

knew this would happen someday. You've got true strength, the

kind nobody else has."

"…Thanks," she said, hunching her neck at the ticklish feeling

the compliment gave her. "But my victory was only a tie at the

top…plus, as I'm sure you noticed watching the feed, there was a

bunch of weird stuff that happened in this one…I have a feeling

that the entire tournament might get nullified."

"Huh…?"

"Um…listen…"

Shino wasn't quite sure how to bring up the topic of Death

Gun to Kyouji. She herself didn't know enough about the incident

to explain it all logically; plus, at this point, it almost felt to her

like all of those events were some kind of strange hallucination.

Perhaps…

Could this all have been the product of sheer coincidence?

Was it even possible to have someone poisoned at the same time

they were shot in the virtual world? The only thing Shino actually

saw was the scene of Pale Rider losing connection. If he and the

other victim really did die, then Death Gun and his crimes were

real, but nothing about that was certain until this was revealed.

In either case, the police would arrive within another ten minutes. She could explain it all to Kyouji then. Shino made up her

mind and changed the topic.

"No, never mind. Just some weird players involved. Anyway,

you really showed up here quick. It was barely even five minutes

after the event finished."

"Um, well…the truth is, I was watching on my phone nearby.

So I could congratulate you as soon as possible," he said hurriedly.

Shino smiled. "I had a feeling that was the case. You'll catch a

cold in this weather. Maybe I should make some tea after all."

But Kyouji shook his head and stopped her. The smile was

waning from his face, replaced by an expression more of desperation. Shino blinked in surprise.

"Um…Asada…"

"Wh-what?"

"I saw you…inside the cave, in the desert…"

Together with the look in his eyes, Shino understood what he

was trying to say at once. She recalled what happened in the cave

and felt heat burst along her face from cheek to ear.

"Oh…That was, uh…"

She'd completely—perhaps intentionally—forgotten about how

she'd laid down on Kirito's knees and cried and wailed. Kyouji

had witnessed the whole thing. It was so careless of her that she

hadn't considered this possibility.

She looked down in sheer discomfort, while Kyouji continued.

She was sure that he was going to ask what the connection was

with that man, but his statement took her by surprise.

"He was…threatening you, wasn't he? He blackmailed you into

doing that stuff, right?"

"H-huh?"

She looked up, stunned. Kyouji was leaning forward in a slight

crouch, an odd look in his eyes. His lips trembled irregularly as

he gasped, "He threatened you, and forced you to snipe his target…but in the end, you caught him off guard and blew him up

with that grenade. But…that's not enough, Asada. Like I told you

before, you need to make him pay…"

"Uh…err…" Shino was at a complete loss for words. She

scrambled around for something to say. "Listen…no, he wasn't

threatening me or anything. I realize it's not something you're

supposed to do in a free-for-all competition…but I nearly had one

of my spasms while in the dive. I lost control, and I…I took it out

on Kirito. I said some horrible things to him."

"…"

Kyouji's eyes were wide as he listened raptly.

"But…while I did find him obnoxious, I thought…he was like

my mom. Maybe that was why I cried like a little girl again…It's

embarrassing, really."

"But Asada…it was because of the spasm, right? You wouldn't

have done it otherwise? He doesn't…mean anything to you, does

he?"

"Huh…?"

"You told me to wait, remember?" Kyouji said, eyes full of desperation as he leaned forward on his knees. "You did. You said

that if I waited, you would be mine someday. So…so I…"

"…Shinkawa…"

"Say it. Say he means nothing to you. Say you hate him."

"Wh-what's going on…?"

She did remember telling Kyouji to wait before the tournament, in the nearby park. But that was meant in the sense of wait

for me to overcome my obstacles. Only when she did that could

she be a normal girl.

"But…you won, Asada. You're strong enough now. You won't

have any more attacks. So you don't need him. I'll be with you

forever. I'll…I'll always be around to keep you safe," he mumbled,

getting to his feet. He stumbled a few steps closer—then suddenly

threw his arms wide and embraced Shino with all his strength.

"Wha…?!"

Shino was too stunned to do anything but tense up. Her arms

and ribs creaked, and the air leaked out of her lungs.

"Sh…in…ka…wa…"

The shock and pressure drained her breath away. But Kyouji

only squeezed harder, pushing heavily enough to knock her backward onto the bed.

"Asada…I like you. I love you. You're my Asada…my Sinon," he

croaked, less a passionate confession than a chanted curse.

"Stop…it…!'

Shino thrust her arms against the bed to support herself. She

put her strength into her legs, leaned her shoulder her against his

chest, and…

"Stop it!!"

It came out as nothing more than a desperate whisper, but she

was able to knock Kyouji back. She gasped for air.

Kyouji, stumbling backward, fell onto his bottom when his leg

hit the cushion behind him. The cake box fell off of the table and

splattered wetly onto the floor. But the boy barely noticed. He

just stared at Shino in pure surprise, unable to believe that she

would reject him.

His round eyes eventually faded, and his lips trembled harder

and harder. "No, Asada. You can't betray me. I'm the only one

who can save you. You can't look at any other men."

He stood up slowly, approaching again.

"Sh…Shinkawa," she mumbled, unable to recover from the attack.

It was true that when she invited him in once before for dinner, and when he hugged her in the park, there had been a

glimpse of this kind of impulse within Kyouji. But she figured

that as he was a boy, this kind of action was somewhat of a given,

and that weak-willed, reserved Kyouji would never lose control of

himself like this.

But as he stood silently over Shino, who sat helplessly on the

bed, there was something insane that gleamed in his eyes, something she'd never seen before.

Shinkawa isn't actually…going to…

The fragmented thoughts crossed through her brain bit by bit,

until fear spread over her, greater than her shock. But Shino's

imagination, while working in the right direction, was woefully

inadequate in predicting the measure of his response.

Mouth parted, panting restlessly, Kyouji reached into the front

pocket of his military jacket. He grabbed something inside of it.

When the hand emerged, it was holding something strange: a

shiny, plastic, cream-colored object about eight inches long.

The tapered tube was about an inch wide on average, with a

grippable protrusion sticking out diagonally, which Kyouji used

to hold it. There was a green button where the grip met the main

tube, and he had his index finger placed against it.

A silver-metal part was affixed to the very end of the tube, a bit

spiked, with a hole at the very end. All in all, it looked like a

child's toy laser gun, but the very lack of any decoration gave it

the look of a tool, a device designed for a specific purpose.

He slowly and simply moved the tip to Shino's neck. The chilly

touch against her skin made all the hair on her body stand on

end.

"Shi…k…wa…?" she gasped, but he cut her off before she could

say anything further.

"Don't move, Asada. Don't speak. This a high-pressure needleless

syringe. It's got a drug called succinylcholine inside. If it gets into

your body, it'll render your muscles useless and stop your lungs

and heart at once."

If her mind could be said to have an outer shell, this shock would

have caused the bottom of it to give out. Even Shino couldn't keep

track of how many times that had happened today.

The chill at the nape of her neck spread to the tips of her

limbs, and as she felt them throb with numbness, her brain

worked overtime to put the words that Kyouji said into an under-

standable thought.

Kyouji had just said that he would kill Shino. If she didn't listen to what he said, he'd use that toylike injector to pump her full

of a drug with a long and confusing name, stopping her heart for

good.

But in parallel to this thought, a voice in the corner of her

mind kept stating, This is a joke, right? Shinkawa wouldn't do

something like that, would he? But her mouth was now as immobile and brittle as dried-out wood. And the sensation of the metal

tube pressed a few inches below her left ear was chillingly, mercilessly cold, a phenomenon that brooked no possible humor.

Shino was unable to see Kyouji's face due to the reflection, but

she stared at him all the same. His young, rounded chin moved,

emitting a voice devoid of feeling or inflection. "It's all right,

Asada. There's nothing to be afraid of. We're about to become

one. I'm about to give you the feelings I've been saving up ever

since we first met. The injection will be very soft and gentle…It

won't hurt a bit. Don't worry. Just let me handle everything."

Shino had no idea what he meant. It sounded like Japanese,

but it might as well have been a foreign language. Two phrases

stood out, echoing over and over in her head.

This is a high-pressure needleless syringe. I'll stop your heart

at once.

Syringe. Heart. She'd just heard those two words very recently…somewhere else.

At this point, it felt like something from an imaginary fantasy.

On a moonlit desert, in a tiny cave, from the mouth of a boy with

the face of a girl. Zexceed and Usujio Tarako had been injected

with some kind of drug, and their hearts failed…

But did that mean—could it be?

Her lips trembled and spasmed, and she heard her own voice

leak out like it belonged to someone else.

"Then…are you…the other…Death Gun?"

The tip of the syringe pressed to her neck twitched. She saw

Kyouji's mouth take on the admiring smile that she so often saw

when she spoke with him.

"Wow…incredible work, Asada…You figured out the secret of

Death Gun. That's right, I'm part of Death Gun. But in fact, until

the BoB started, I was the one playing Sterben. I hope you saw

that video of me shooting Zexceed in the pub in Glocken. But for

today, I got to play the real-life role. After all, I can't have any

other man touching you, Asada. Even if it is my brother."

Her body stiffened.

She had only once heard him mention that he had a brother.

But aside from the fact that he'd been sickly since birth and in

and out of hospitals, Kyouji said nothing about him, so Shino

never bothered to ask further.

"B…bro…thers? So the one in the killer guild in SAO years ago

was…your…brother?"

This time, Kyouji's eyes bugged out in true shock.

"Wow, you knew? I didn't think Shouichi would reveal that

much during the tournament. Maybe he decided he liked you,

too. But don't worry, I won't let anyone else touch you. In fact, I

wanted not to inject you with the drug today, though I knew my

brother would be mad…I mean, in the park, you said you would

be mine."

He stopped briefly. The drunken smile on his lips faded, replaced by another empty expression.

"But…then you were with him…You're being fooled, Asada. I

don't know what he said to you, but I'll drive him away. I'll help

you forget him."

He clutched her right shoulder, still pressing the syringe to her

neck with his other hand. He pushed her down onto the bed, then

got onto it with her, straddling her thighs, mumbling as he did.

"…Don't worry, I won't let you be alone. I'll come with you

very soon. We'll be together, just like GGO…No, let's do a more

fantasy-themed one. We can be reborn in that world and live together as husband and wife. Going on adventures…having kids…

It'll be a blast."

Kyouji was completely off the rails now. Somewhere in Shino's

paralyzed brain, she was able to cling to just one thought: The police will be here soon, so keep him talking.

"But…without his partner, your brother will be at a loss…aand…I didn't get shot by Death Gun in the game. So if I die, then

everyone will start to doubt the legend of Death Gun you spent so

long crafting," Shino said, taking great pains to keep her desiccated tongue moving. Kyouji pressed the tip of the syringe under

her exposed collarbone, a twitching smile on his face.

"It's fine. We had three targets today, after all. My brother

brought in another helper to carry it out. A guildmate from SAO,

he said. So he's already got a replacement for my position. Plus,

I'd never let you get lumped in with scum like Zexceed and

Tarako. You belong to me, not Death Gun. We'll go somewhere on

vacation…I'll carry you all the way into the mountains where nobody is, and then I'll follow right after you. So wait for me once

you're there, okay?"

Kyouji's left hand touched her midsection through the

sweater, as timidly as if he were frightened of her. He tapped a

few times with his fingertips, then slowly began to rub her with

his entire hand.

Shino tried her best to ignore the revulsion that crawled along

her skin and keep talking. If she made any sudden moves or

shouted, the harmless-looking boy with her would press the button on the syringe without hesitation. Sadly, there was something

in Kyouji's voice and face that made that very clear.

As quietly and gently as possible, Shino continued, "Th-then…

you're saying you haven't used that syringe before in real life?

Then, we…we can still do it. We can start over. You shouldn't

think about dying…Aren't you going to take the high school proficiency test? Aren't you going to a cram school? Aren't you going

to be a doctor…?"

"Proficiency…?" Kyouji repeated, as though he'd never heard

that word before. After a moment, he murmured in understanding, and his hand lifted off of Shino and went into his jacket

pocket. He pulled out a long, thin sheet of paper. "Want to see?"

He thrust it into Shino's face with a sardonic smile. The printout was something very familiar to Shino: the results sheet of a

mock exam. But all the scores, in every subject, were almost unbelievably poor.

"Sh…Shinkawa. How…?"

"Isn't it funny? Bet you never thought people actually got percentile scores this low."

"B-but…your parents…" she said, unable to believe that Kyouji's parents would allow him to keep using his AmuSphere with

grades like that. He picked up on what she meant.

"Heh…as if I couldn't make a sheet like this in any old printer.

Besides, I tell my parents that I get online tutoring through the

AmuSphere. Sure, they wouldn't let me set up an autopay for the

GGO subscription, but I was able to earn that much in the game…

I could have managed…"

Suddenly, the smile vanished from his face. The bridge of his

nose wrinkled, and he bared his teeth in a snarl. "I decided…I

don't care about this stupid reality anymore. My parents…the

people at school…They're all idiots, every one of them. If I'd become the strongest in GGO…I would have been happy. And I

should have been. That's what should have happened with

Spiegel…"

Shino felt the tip of the syringe trembling against her neck and

held her breath, expecting him to push the button at any time.

"And then…that piece of crap Zexceed…lied about the AGI

build being the best…and thanks to that cheating coward, Spiegel

can barely even equip an M16…Dammit…dammit!"

The loathing in Kyouji's voice completely surpassed the

bounds of a mere video game.

"Now I can barely even make back the subscription fee…GGO

was everything to me. I sacrificed everything in real life for it…"

"And that's…why you killed Zexceed?" Shino asked, shocked

and horrified. He clamped his eyes shut for a moment, and the

drunken smile returned.

"That's right. Is there any better sacrifice to make to create a

legend about Death Gun being the greatest player in GGO—no, in

all of VRMMOs? I killed Zexceed, Tarako, and now Pale Rider

and Garrett. Even the idiots playing this game have to realize that

Death Gun's power is real now. I'm the greatest alive…"

Kyouji's entire body shook with uncontrollable pleasure. "Now

I have no need for this worthless reality anymore. Come, Asada…

Come with me to the next stage."

"Sh-Shinkawa," Shino stammered, shaking her head. "You

can't do this. You can still turn back. You can start over. Come

with me to the police…"

"…"

But Kyouji only shook his head, staring off into the distance.

"Reality doesn't matter anymore. Now become one with me,

Asada," he said emptily, bringing his hand up to brush her cheek

and run it through her hair. "Oh, Asada…You're beautiful. You're

so beautiful…"

His fingertips were scaly and dry. Each time the cracked skin

at the base of his nails scraped the fine skin around her ear, an

unpleasant pain ran through her face. But she made no show of it,

and Kyouji continued absently.

"Asada, my sweet Asada…I've always, always loved you. Ever

since…I heard about what happened to you…at school…"

"…Wha…?" Belatedly, what Kyouji said registered in Shino's

mind, and her eyes went wide. "Wh…what do you…mean…?"

"I loved you. I wanted to be like you…always…"

"Then…you…" she squeaked, praying that what he was saying

wasn't true. "You mean…you only talked to me…because of what

happened to me in the past?"

"Yes, of course," he stated, stroking her head like she was a little child, nodding fervently. "You won't find another girl in Japan

who got to shoot a bad guy dead with a real gun. It's incredible.

Didn't I tell you that you have true power? That's why I picked

the Type 54 to be central to Death Gun's legend. You're what I

want to be. I love you…I love you…more than anyone…"

"You…can't…"

What an incredible gulf. What an incredible separation between them.

She had once believed that this boy was the only human being

not related to her by blood whom she could trust. But his mind

did not belong to the same world as hers. From the very first step,

he had been incredibly, unfathomably distant.

At last, Shino's heart was full of black, deep despair. Sight,

sound, hearing—all of her senses began to lose meaning, and the

world slowly faded away from her.

Shino lost all strength.

In her faded, unfocused vision, Kyouji's two eyes floated like

black holes. Like passageways connecting her to a world of darkness.

They were that man's eyes.

He had returned at last. The man who had bided his time,

lurking in the shadows—in the gloom of the night streets, between the furniture, within the hood of Death Gun.

The warmth drained from her fingers. The connection between her body and consciousness began to peel away at the

edges. Her soul was contracting. In the warm, cramped darkness

at the very center of her mortal shell, Shino shrank into a little

ball. She didn't want to see anymore. She didn't want to feel.

The world she'd lived through for sixteen years was too cold,

too cruel. It stole the father she'd never recognize, stole her

mother's mind, and with great malice, took away a part of Shino's

soul.

The stares of adults, reflecting the curiosity of viewing some

rare creature in a zoo, and even more ill-concealed loathing. The

merciless taunts of the children her age.

The world decided that wasn't enough, and wanted to take

more from her now. She didn't want to accept this as the one and

only "reality" that existed.

That was right—it wasn't reality. It was just one particular

combination of events, out of the countless worlds that existed

and overlapped. Somewhere out there was another world where

none of this had happened.

Somewhere out there was a world in which Shino Asada didn't

meet Kyouji Shinkawa, the post office wasn't attacked, the accident that killed her father never happened, and she lived an ordinary, happy life. As she curled smaller and smaller into a compressed, inorganic ball, Shino's soul sought a version of herself

that was smiling in the warm sunlight.

In what little rationality remained to her, Shino caught a tiny

whiff of irony. In her inability to withstand the cruelty of life, she

was escaping into the realm of dreams, which made her just like

Kyouji Shinkawa.

Kyouji was bullied at school, pressured by his parents' expectations, and flattened by the difficulty of tests, so he abandoned

reality and sought salvation in the virtual world. If he could earn

the title of the strongest in the virtual world, that would have

more than enough value to fill the emptiness of his real life, he

believed. But when that hope was taken away from him, he fell

apart.

Shino, too, sought the same kind of strength in Gun Gale Online. And at one point, she thought she had realized something,

had found her way. But the chilly hand from the swamp of memory had caught Shino, dragged her back with it, and she never

tried to resist. She couldn't even open her eyes. It was all pointless in the end.

As the thoughts trickled up, bit by bit, like tiny bubbles from

the bottom of the sea floor, she wondered, What about that other

boy?

He had been trapped in a virtual prison for two long years, and

ended up taking the lives of several people. He probably lost others who were important to him in that long, long battle for sur-

vival. Did he regret that, too? Did he hate the virtual world that

stole so many things from him?

No, he probably didn't. No matter what challenges came his

way, he wouldn't abandon the things he bore. He seized that desperate, unlikely victory from Death Gun because that was what

kind of person he was.

You are strong, Kirito, Shino muttered from the deep dark.

You went to the trouble of saving me…and now I've let it go to

waste. Sorry…

Kirito said he would send the police over as soon as he logged

out. She didn't know how many minutes had passed since then,

but it was clear that they wouldn't arrive in time. What would he

feel when he learned that she'd been killed? That was the only

thing that weighed over her mind…

Then, like a chain reaction, another fear lit up within the darkness of her heart.

Would Kirito just call his employer and call it a day? Or would

he rush over to Shino's apartment himself, just to be sure? He

would still be late, she figured, but what would happen if he came

here and encountered Kyouji Shinkawa? Would Kyouji run away,

give up…or turn his syringe on Kirito next? The last option was

quite possible, after the way he seethed in hatred of Kirito earlier.

She might be able to accept her fate, to acknowledge that she

was meant to die here. But getting him involved, that innocent

boy…

That was a different matter.

But it won't change a thing, young Shino said to herself, curled

into a ball on her side, blocking her eyes and ears.

Kneeling at her side, hand on the girl's slender shoulder, Sinon

whispered through her sand-yellow muffler, We've only ever

watched ourselves. We've only ever fought for ourselves. That's

why we didn't notice the voice coming from Shinkawa's heart.

But while it might be too late for us now, we can at least fight for

someone else, here at the very end.

Shino slowly opened her eyes in the darkness. Right before her

was a white, fragile, but somehow powerful hand. She timidly

reached out and grabbed it.

Sinon grinned and helped Shino to her feet. Her pale lips

opened, speaking briefly but clearly: Let's go.

The two leaped off the floor of darkness and began to rise up

to the light far above, glimmering like the surface of water.

Shino blinked hard, connected again to the real world.

Kyouji was trying to pull the sweater off of her, keeping the syringe pointed to her neck with one hand. But with only one hand

to work with, the process was not going easily, and he was visibly

frustrated. He started pulling on the fabric as hard as he could,

attempting to rip it off of her.

Shino leaned to the left with the momentum of his pulling,

pretending that he yanked her too far. The tip of the syringe

slipped off of her neck and landed on the bedsheet next to her.

She did not miss the opportunity. She grabbed the syringe

cylinder with her left hand and struck upward at Kyouji's chin

with the heel of her right.

He grunted and lurched backward. The weight on her body

lifted. She smacked him over and over, pulling desperately on the

syringe. If she couldn't wrest it away from him, she would never

get another chance.

But the tug-of-war between Kyouji's hand on the syringe han-

dle and Shino's hand on the smooth barrel did not favor her.

When he had regained his balance, he pulled hard, screeched,

and swung his free hand.

"…!!"

The fist pounded Shino's right shoulder. As the syringe came

free from her grip, she toppled over the head of the bed, hitting

her back hard against the writing desk. One of the drawers jarred

loose with the impact, spilling its contents onto the floor.

Shino gaped, trying to will the air back into her lungs. Kyouji

was clutching his bruised chin atop the bed, but he recovered and

stared at her straightaway. His eyes were wide, and his lips quivered, shining with saliva. She could see a trail of blood from his

bitten tongue.

Eventually those lips parted to croak, "Why…?"

His head shook slowly, clear disbelief on every inch of his features. "Why…would you do this? You don't have anyone but me,

Asada. I'm the only one who understands you. I've been helping

you all along… Watching over you…"

Shino recalled what happened several days ago, when Endou's

group ambushed her on the way home from school. They demanded money, and Kyouji coincidentally happened by and

scared them off…

But that wasn't a coincidence.

Kyouji must have followed her home from school for days in a

row, watching to ensure she got home safely, then turned to go

home and log in to GGO to wait for her there.

It was nothing short of obsessive delusion. She had a hint of

his dangerous nature, but no idea of its true depth. Even in her

endangered state, a part of Shino couldn't help but feel a bitter el-

ement of punishment for not taking him seriously.

"Shinkawa," she said, her lips tense, "I know it's been nothing

but pain…but I still love the real world. And I think…I can love it

more. So I can't go with you."

She put a hand on the floor to push herself up, and her fingers

touched something heavy and cold. Shino instantly sensed what it

was. It was what she kept hidden within the drawer that just fell

out: the real-life symbol of all her fears. The Procyon SL model

she won for participating in the second BoB.

She found the handle by touch, lifted up the heavy gun, and

pointed it at Kyouji. It was as cold as if it had been carved directly

from a block of ice. The feeling in her right hand began to drain

away as the numbness crawled up her arm.

Even she knew that this sensation was not actual cold. It was

her mental rejection of it that caused it to feel that way, but understanding how the sensation worked didn't make it go away. A

fear she couldn't describe began to well up in the depths of her

heart, like black water.

The spotless white of her wallpaper began to waver, like the

surface of water, and cracked gray concrete floated up from behind. Her floor tiles turned to faded green linoleum, the window

to a wooden counter. Shino was back in the rickety old postal office.

Kyouji's face, caught in her crosshairs, suddenly warped and

melted as well. His skin turned oily and ashen, deep lines appeared, and crooked, yellow teeth jutted from his cracked lips.

The syringe in his hand had turned into an old-fashioned automatic pistol, gleaming dully. And so had the gun in her hand.

Shino shrank, predicting the scene she would see next. Her

stomach convulsed, leaping into her throat, and all the muscles in

her back stiffened.

No. I don't want to see. I want to toss aside the Black Star

and run away.

But if she ran now, everything would go to waste. She'd lose

both her life and something else just as important. Perhaps fighting the terror of the spasms as Shino, or fighting countless powerful foes as Sinon, would never bring her the results she sought.

But…all strength was found in the process.

Shino clenched her teeth hard enough to crack them and

clicked the hammer of the gun with her thumb. The hard, dense

sound tore through all of the illusion at once.

Kneeling on the bed, Kyouji shrank back slightly at the sight of

the Procyon SL pointed right at him. He blinked rapidly in terror,

rasping, "Wh-what do you think you're doing, Asada? That's

just…a model gun. Do you really think you can stop me with

that?"

Shino put her hand on the lip of the desk, putting as much

strength into her quavering legs as she could to stand up. "You

said it yourself. I have the true power. There's no other girl like

me who's shot someone with a gun."

"…"

Kyouji's face went as white as a sheet. He scrambled back further.

"So this isn't a model gun anymore. When I pull the trigger, an

actual bullet will come out and kill you," Shino said, inching

backward toward the kitchen with the gun still pointed at Kyouji.

"Y…you're going to…kill me…?" he mumbled, slowly shaking

his head. "Asada's going…to kill…me?"

"Yes. You're the only one going to the next world."

"No…no…You can't do that to me…"

The willpower drained out of Kyouji's eyes. His absentminded

features stared into space, and he took a proper sitting position

on top of the bed.

When she saw his hand relax and the high-pressure syringe

start to slip out of his fingers, Shino was briefly arrested with the

choice to snatch it away from him at that exact moment. But she

had a feeling that if agitated, he would lose all reason whatsoever

and attack her. She continued her steady retreat into the kitchen

instead.

The moment Kyouji disappeared from view, Shino bolted back

for the front door. It was only five yards, but it felt unbearably

long. She raced with wide strides, trying to keep her footsteps

quiet.

But right as she reached the big step down into the foyer, the

mat slipped beneath her feet, and she fell. When she swung her

hand to regain balance, the model gun flew out and landed in the

kitchen sink with an incredible clatter.

Though she hadn't fallen completely, Shino's left knee hit the

floor painfully. Still attached to the ground, she reached out as far

as she could and snagged the doorknob.

But the door didn't open. She noticed the lock was horizontal

and frantically twisted it vertical, her teeth clenched. At the same

moment that the lock clicked open, a cold hand grabbed her ankle

from behind.

"…!!"

She turned back, breath stuck in her throat, to see Kyouji's

soulless face. He was down on all fours, clutching her leg with

both hands. She didn't see the syringe.

She shook her leg wildly, trying to break free, even as she

lunged to get the door open. But while she could reach the knob,

she couldn't get a grip on it. Kyouji was pulling her back with astonishing strength.

He dragged her backward a few feet into the kitchen, but

Shino resisted by grabbing the lip of the foyer step and clinging to

it.

She tried to scream, thinking that it might be audible from

outside, but her throat was constricted, unable to suck in air. All

that emerged was a weak rasp.

Kyouji's strength defied understanding. He was the same

height as her, so where was he getting so much power? She lost

her grip on the step as he continued pulling, and slid quickly

through the kitchen.

His weight was immediately pressed onto her. She clenched

her fist and tried to aim for his chin again, but only grazed it before he caught her wrist. The bones creaked as he squeezed like a

vice, setting off sparks of pain in her head.

"Asada-asada-asada," he rushed, the sounds only recognizable

as her name after several seconds. Excited, bubbling white froth

spilled from the corners of his mouth, and his eyes were unfocused. His mouth opened wide as he leaned in, teeth exposed as

he made to bite her skin. She tried to push him back with her free

hand, but he easily caught that one as well.

Though her hands were immobilized, she could still use her

own mouth. Her jaw tensed as she prepared to bite at his throat.

Suddenly, cold air rushed over her shoulders. Kyouji looked up

with a start over Shino's head. His eyes and mouth went wide.

Somehow, the door was open, and something—someone—

rushed through like a black gale of wind and kneed Kyouji in the

face. Shino stared in shock as Kyouji and the mystery intruder

tumbled past her, further into the apartment.

Kyouji was being pressed down to the floor by an unfamiliar

young man. Blood was flowing from his mouth and nose.

The boy had longish black hair and a riding jacket of the same

color. At first she thought he might be another resident of the

apartment building, but the identity of the man—no, boy—became clear to her when he turned and shouted, "Run, Sinon! Call

for help!"

"Kiri…" she mumbled, then bolted upright. She wanted to get

to her feet, but they wouldn't listen. She was only able to rise at

all by pulling herself up against the side of the sink. He really had

come from wherever he was diving in Ochanomizu. That meant

the police should be coming soon. She lashed her weak legs into

motion, hopping the few steps to the door.

But then she remembered something crucial.

Kyouji had a lethal weapon. She had to warn Kirito.

She turned around to shout, and saw Kyouji roar like an animal, all self-control lost. Kirito's body flew backward, and the two

switched positions.

"It was you…it was youuuuu!!" Kyouji screamed, so deafening

that she practically heard speaker feedback in her ears. "Stay

away from my Asadaaaaa!!"

Kyouji's fist thudded heavily into Kirito's cheek. His other

hand went into the jacket pocket and pulled out the horrible gunshaped syringe.

"Kirito!!" Shino screamed, right as Kyouji howled, "Dieeee!!"

The high-pressure, needleless syringe stuck in the T-shirt be-

tween Kirito's jacket and chest and made a small, sharp, but unmistakable pshht!

Terrifyingly enough, it was strikingly similar to the sound of a

gun with a high-quality silencer attached, though Shino only recognized it by virtue of Gun Gale Online, not from a real-life experience. But no matter the source, the sound represented a threat

that needed to be dealt with. The next thing she knew, she was

racing forward.

Shino crossed the kitchen and went into the room, searching

for the most effective weapon without consciously realizing what

she was doing. She chose the stereo atop the table, picking it up

by the handle with her left hand. It had served her quite well, but

it was old and much larger than the newer wall-mounted stereos

—a block of metal weighing well over five pounds. She hauled it

with her waist and swung it around backward.

The half turn of her body and the momentum of the heavy stereo

carried it straight into the left side of Kyouji's head, the drunken

smile plastered across his face once again. She barely even felt or

heard the impact. But she did hear the sickening thud of Kyouji's

head slamming backward against the corner frame of her bed.

Battered on both sides of his head within the span of half a

second, the boy groaned and flopped forward. His grip loosened

and the syringe started to slip out.

She didn't know if the device was made for administering multiple doses in succession, but she clawed it out of Kyouji's hand

regardless. Its owner's eyes were rolled back into his head and he

kept groaning, but he wasn't likely to move anytime soon.

Shino thought about getting a belt or something to tie up his

hands, then remembered that there was something more important first. She turned and shrieked Kirito's name, then crouched

over his fallen form.

There was a softness to the boy's face that she thought she recognized from his online character. He gazed up at her with

barely-parted eyes and grunted, "He got me…I didn't realize…that

was a syringe…"

"Where? Where did it get you?!"

She tossed the syringe aside and tore down the zipper of Kirito's jacket. Her thoughts were a jumble of half-formed impulses:

Call ambulance—emergency care before that—but how to remove

the poison? Her fingers trembled.

There was an ominous dark stain right above the heart on his

faded blue T-shirt. She didn't know how strong the piercing

power of that syringe was, but it didn't seem likely that a thin cotton shirt would have stopped it.

"Don't die…You can't die like this!" she shrieked, yanking the

bottom of his shirt out of his jeans and pulling it upward. The

skin of his chest and stomach was white and scrawny, as if someone had carved it down from its proper size. Just to the right of

the center, in the very spot where the stain had been—something

was stuck to his chest.

"…?!"

She stared at it, confused.

It was a small circle, about an inch across. There was a thin silver disc, surrounded by what looked like a yellow rubber suction

cup. A socket-like protrusion emerged from the metal disc, but it

wasn't connected to anything.

The whole surface of the metal was wet; a single drop hung

from it. The clear liquid had to be the fatal "succinylcholine" Kyouji had spoken of.

Shino looked around the floor for her tissue box and pulled

two out, carefully wiping the liquid away. She leaned in closer to

examine the skin around the odd patch to ensure that the highpressure stream hadn't broken into his flesh.

No matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find any marks

on Kirito's skin. The tip of the syringe must have hit this inchwide metal disc through his T-shirt and been absorbed by the stiff

object. She touched the skin above the patch just to be sure, and

felt his pulse racing away healthily.

Shino blinked a few times and looked up at Kirito. His eyes

were closed and he was moaning and groaning.

"Um…hey."

"Ugh…it's too late…It hurts to breathe…"

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Dammit…now that the moment's finally here…I don't have

any good final words…"

"What's this thing stuck to your chest?"

"…Huh?"

Kirito's eyes opened again, and he glanced down. His eyebrows furrowed and he brought up a hand to trace the metal disc.

"Are you saying…the injection went into this?"

"Um, I think so. What is it?"

"Uh…I'm pretty sure it's…an electrode from the heart monitor…"

"H-huh? Why would you have one of those? Do you have a bad

heart?"

"No, not at all…It was a safety measure against Death Gun…

Oh, I get it. I was in such a rush to get disconnected, I must have

pulled the cord out of this one by accident," he muttered, sighing

heavily. "Damn…You really had me going, there."

"That's—" Shino started, grabbing him around the neck with

both hands and squeezing violently "—what I was going to say! I…

I thought you were dead!!"

All of the tension and nerves suddenly drained out of her, and

her vision darkened. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs and

looked back at the collapsed Kyouji.

"Do you think…he's okay?" Kirito asked. She reached out and

picked up his limp wrist. Fortunately, there was a pulse there,

too. She wondered again if they ought to tie him up, but with his

eyes closed like that, Kyouji's face was too innocent looking. She

had to turn away. She didn't want to think about him right now.

Her chest was full, not of rage or sadness, but plain emptiness.

For several seconds, she just stared over at the high-pressure

needleless syringe—the true "Death Gun," in a way. Eventually

she opened her mouth and said simply, "Thanks…for coming to

help me."

Kirito gave her a familiar one-cheeked smirk and shook his

head. "Nah… I didn't end up doing anything for you in the end…

Plus, I'm sorry I was late. Kiku—my employer wasn't getting the

picture fast enough. You aren't hurt, are you?"

Shino shook her head. Suddenly, she noticed something was

flooding out of her eyes. "Ah…what the…"

Her head was as fuzzy and useless as if it were stuffed with

cotton, but the tears streaming out of her eyes only picked up momentum, dripping off her face.

Shino closed her mouth, stayed still, and let the tears flow. She

knew that if she tried to say anything, she would only start bawling at the top of her lungs. Kirito didn't move, either.

Eventually, she sensed the howl of distant sirens approaching,

but her tears were not going to dry up anytime soon. Secretly, as

the big drops fell one after the other, Shino understood that the

source of the void that filled her heart was deep, deep loss.