Chapter 38: A Scared Sleeping Sniper

December 18, 2024

Floor 76: Arc Sophia

Since I had spent most of the day yesterday with Leafa, sparring and giving her battle advice. I figured I would do the same for Sinon since she was on the same boat. I had notified her about it last night after I was done sparring with Leafa. I woke up around the same time that I normally do, gathered my gear and headed straight for her room. Worried that I was waking her up at a god-awful hour, I lightly knocked on her door.

"Sinon? Are you awake? If you aren't, I'm sorry for bothering you. I can come back later."

Sinon- No... it's ok... come on in...

Worried that she just woke up, I stepped inside. To my surprise, she had her gear set and ready to go. She looked at me with a deadpan face and a few bags under her eyes.

Sinon- Ready to do some battle training?

"Yea but are you sure you're up for it? You look really sleepy. Seriously, if you need to rest a bit more I could come back in an hour or so."

Sinon- Thank you for worrying about me Kazzu, but I'm good to go. I really don't have anything else to do today anyway.

"Alright then... but if you start to feel worn out just let me know, ok? I don't want you passing out on me."

Sinon- I won't you worrywart. Now let's go before I actually fall asleep.

We both shared a chuckle as we left Sinon's room and proceeded out into the field.

December 18, 2024

Floor 76: Verdant Plains

After spending some time setting up a few training dummies for Sinon to battle against, she got straight to work. She first focused on attacking one at a time, then two and then all three. She continued to do this in sets as I gave her small instructions. She swung her dagger downwards towards a dummy's lower half.

"More power..."

She follows my instruction and strikes the next one with more power, almost losing grip on her dagger.

"Strengthen your grip..."

She holds onto the dagger for dear life as she strikes the last dummy with her full strength, cutting it in two and shattering the object. I smile and give her a slow clap.

"Nice job Sinon. A few more reps of this and you'll be prepared for a real battle."

Sinon- Seriously? A few more reps? How many more do I have to do?

"Well... not to sound rude, but practice makes perfect, and you definitely need the practice... I would say probably about 100 more reps should do it."

Sinon's eyes went wide as she looked at me with shocked frustration.

Sinon- 100!?

"Yes, because in addition to weapon handling, you have to practice sword skills since those take some time to master and recharge."

Sinon- Damn Kazzu, you take your training seriously. Maybe a bit too much.

"Not possible. Every mistake made is more opportunity for the enemy to get the drop on you. If that's what you want, then go ahead and say that you are doing just fine. If you want to acknowledge that I'm trying to give you the skills needed to protect yourself in case I'm not there for you, then start the circuit over again."

Realizing that she wasn't going to win the argument, she took a deep breath and proceeded to run the circuit a few more time, improving little by little with each revision. She looked more focused and determined to win after every strike. I smile to myself as I watch her go at it.

Well, she's definitely improving faster than I expected. She may complain a bit, but she seems to be earnest in her training and is a quick learner. The only major flaw I see in her is her weapon. That dagger doesn't look right for her. Maybe we could look into other weapons? Something other than a mace or a spear. A rapier? It wouldn't be surprising to have another rapier user on the team.

Sinon- Ugh...

I snapped out of my thoughts to see Sinon swaying back and forth, her eyes closing as she fell backward.

"Sinon!?"

I jumped forward and caught her before she hit the ground. Holding her bridal style, I sat down on the grass and laid her down on my lap, trying to wake her up.

"Sinon? Sinon, I need you to wake up, ok?"

She must have heard me because her eyes slowly opened. She noticed the position she was in and started to blush.

Sinon- Eeeek!

She shoved herself off of me and stood up quickly, crossing her arms and giving me a glare. I sigh and stand up, knowing she got the wrong idea about what happened.

"You know, this is why I asked if you needed more sleep earlier. You can't just pass out while standing and then scream when you end up in my arms. You scared the daylights out of me."

Sinon- Well I have reason to scream. I don't know where you touched me when I was asleep.

"You know, Asuna assumed the same thing about me and Kirito. I don't know why people always assume the worst when they wake up in the prescience of another human being. Regardless, you have my honest word that I did nothing to you for the few seconds you were asleep except catch you and lay you down."

Sinon- No... I'm sorry... I jumped to assumptions... as long as you didn't do anything weird, I'll thank you. Besides, you make it hard to get angry with you when you tell nothing but the truth. It's quite annoying sometimes.

"I'm sorry for not lying. I guess?"

Sinon- Don't be. I was just teasing.

"Well... maybe now we should take a break. You must really be tired if you're passing out on me."

Sinon- Fine...

She puffed her cheeks and sat next to me, looking away from me. She must still be upset at the situation. That, or she's just cranky from lack of sleep. Regardless, I looked up at the sky and noticed the weather was beautiful.

Today sure is warm. These really are the perfect weather settings. But could it be affecting Sinon? Could she have passed out from the heat? If that's the case, we can halt our training for today. Maybe I could convince Sinon to return to her room and take a nap. Knowing her stubbornness, that would be a miracle.

Before I could continue my train of thought, I felt a pressure on my shoulder. Looking over, Sinon had once again passed out. I chuckled as her soft snores escaped her lips. I carefully laid her down in the grass and let her sleep.

I guess Sinon likes taking naps as well. Her and Kirito would get along just fine in that department. I knew something was up when I picked her up this morning. She looked sleep deprived and she's passed out twice.

Sinon started shifting in her sleep, seeming like she was trying to fight something or run from something. It got to the point where she started to speak in her sleep.

Sinon- Who... who are... you...?

"Sinon?"

I pressed my hand on her back, trying to comfort her. It didn't work as she seemed more stressed out.

Sinon- You... no... No... I don't ... want... Don't want to... see...

She was having a nightmare. A nightmare of what, I couldn't make heads or tails of.

Sinon- What... should... What... should I... do...? Someone... please...

I decided to try something. I moved my hand over to the top of hers and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. I then proceeded to talk to her as if she was awake.

"Sinon... I don't know if you can hear me, but I can definitely hear you. I know a cry for help when I hear it. I can't promise to fix what's bothering you, but if you wake up, I can assure you that I will try my hardest to be rid of your nightmares. All I need you to do is wake up..."

As if she could hear my words, her eyes slowly opened. I removed my hand from hers and smiled as she looked at me, her eyes fully open.

"Hey... good morning again. I decided to play it safe and lay you down next to me. Please don't get mad at me again."

Sinon- I'm not... thank you for not letting me injure myself again...

"Anytime Sinon..."

Her dream has me curious. It seemed like a bad memory than a dream. I should ask her about it, but she look really shaken about the whole deal.

"Why don't we put a pin on training today? We can continue after you get a long rest, ok?"

Sinon said nothing but gave me an approving nod. I stood up and offered my hand to her, which she slowly accepted as I rose her to her feet. We said nothing more as we walked back to town.

Whatever you're going through Sinon, just know that you don't have to battle it alone. I'll leave it be for now but hopefully one day you'll trust me enough to tell me. Until that day, I'll be there to comfort you when you need a shoulder to cry on... or sleep on in your case...