Death Gun: Akiri... This will tell me if you're real or a fake. I remember your raging anger back then. Your bloodlust as you hunted us down. If I kill this girl, will you go mad the same way you did then?

Sinon: (thoughts) Kill me...?

She could only look with fear in her eyes as she is completely powerless, unable to move a muscle, awaiting whatever going to happen to her.

Death Gun: Now, show me your rage, your hatred, Akiri. Your killing desire. Your mercilessness. Show me once again your true self... Blood Reaper...

Sinon: (thoughts) The meaning of strength...

She thought as an image of Akiri flashed in her mind.

Sinon: (thoughts) I thought if I kept watching him, watching Akiri... That I'd understand it someday...

Sinon closes her eyes shut, bracing for the inevitable. A gunshot rang out, but she didn't feel anything, nor did her HP went down.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that Death Gun had been hit in his right shoulder. Another gunshot is heard, this time the bullet grazes his left arm.

Death Gun immediately ran into cover as he pulled out his sniper and started to return fire. They exchanged shots, until a grenade had suddenly landed in front of them Sinon looked at it completely shocked.

Sinon: (thoughts) A grenade?!

Death Gun saw the grenade and ran away and Sinon closed her eyes. However, what she expected didn't come, instead, the black object released a cloud of white smoke which quickly enveloped her, hiding her from view.

Someone then ran up to her grabbed her sniper rifle and picked her up before running away. Sinon looked up and saw the person carrying her was Akiri.

Sinon: Akiri...?

Akiri continued to run carrying Sinon away from Death Gun, running as fast as he can.

Sinon: That's enough... Leave me. I'll just slow you down

Akiri: I'm not leaving you behind

As he said that, he is suddenly is shot in the shoulder from behind, but he continued to run as bullets narrowly flew past them. He then came across some three-wheeled buggies and a mechanical horse.

Akiri: No sports car this time

Sinon: The horse is no good. You can go off-road, but it's too hard to use

Akiri: Alright. The buggy it is then

Sinon: Do you know how to drive it?

Akiri: Theoretically

He replied as he went to the three-wheeled buggy and placed Sinon on the back seat with her sniper rifle. He started up the buggy with a rev and he drove away a few meters before he stopped and looked at Sinon.

Akiri: Sinon, destroy the other vehicles

Sinon: Okay, I'll try

Sinon then aimed her sniper at the horse and went to pull the trigger, but couldn't and she looked completely shocked.

Sinon: Huh? Why?

Akiri: What's wrong?

Sinon: I... I can't do it... Why?! I can't pull the trigger!

Akiri looked back to see that Death Gun is approaching and Sinon was shocked to see him too. Akiri quickly pulled her back to her seat.

Akiri: Hold on!

The tires squealed as he quickly drove away, leaving a cloud of kicked-up dust behind.

Sinon: Can we get away...?

She asked as he glances at the side mirror to see that Death Gun is on their tail.

Akiri: Damn...! He's onto us!

Sinon looked back to the shock of seeing Death Gun riding the mechanical horse to chase them and he is quickly gaining on them.

Sinon: Why...? He'll catch us... Go faster!

She shouted as she held Akiri tightly, completely terrified as her whole body is trembling in fear.

Sinon: Go! Go! Please!

Akiri then increased his speed, the speedometer steadily rising, however, their pursuer was still keeping up behind them and he pulled out his gun, aiming it towards the two.

Sinon was horrified as she saw the bullet line landing on her face and she moved her head just as the bullet flew past her head. She held on to Akiri even tighter.

Sinon: NO!!!

Death Gun continued to fire at Sinon, trying to hit her. She tightens her grip on Akiri even harder, as he weaves the buggy left and right to make it harder for Death Gun to hit his shots.

Akiri tried to go faster, but then saw that the buggy had already reached its top speed, but their pursuer is slowly catching up to them.

Akiri: I can't go any faster!

Sinon: No... Save me! Please save me!

Akiri then looked back and saw how terrified Sinon is as he held on to him for dear life, her whole body trembling in fear. It is the first time he saw this side of her, genuine fear and panic in her eyes.

He then looked over at Death Gun who was getting closer to them and he looks back at Sinon.

Akiri: Sinon, you need to listen to me. I know you're scared, but at this rate, he'll catch up to us. I need you to shoot

Sinon: I can't!

Akiri: You don't have to hit him, just distract him!

Sinon held Akiri even tighter, not letting go.

Sinon: I can't!

Akiri: Yes you can! I know you can!

Sinon: He's... He's...

Akiri: Then give me your rifle. I'll do it-

Sinon: No! Hecate... It's a part of me... No one can use it but me...

Sinon then picked up her sniper once again, trying to aim it at Death Gun and she tried to pull the trigger again, but couldn't no matter how hard she tried.

Sinon: I can't shoot. I can't do it... My finger won't move. I can't fight anymore...

Sinon just lowers her head, giving up.

Akiri: No, you can. I know you can. Everyone can fight. It's just a choice of whether you should! A choice whether to run away or face your fears!

Sinon: If I have a choice, then I choose not to fight... I don't want to suffer anymore... I thought I could be stronger in this world, but that was only an illusion...

Akiri then reached over and places his hand over Sinon's and she looked at him completely surprised.

Akiri: Don't say that. Don't give up. Because the moment you do, the moment you stop believing in yourself, that's when you lose. Don't let your fears drag you down

He then started slowly to guide Sinon's finger to the trigger, easing her into the motion.

Akiri: One step at a time... Just move your finger

Sinon: I can't! It's shaking too much to hit him

Akiri: It's okay. The shaking will stop in five seconds...

He started counting down.

Akiri: Three, two, one, now!

The buggy lifts off into the air, having gone off a ramp. As Akiri helps steady her aim, Sinon gazes into his eyes, completely awestruck at what she's seeing.

Sinon: (thoughts) How...? How can he stay calm in a situation like this...?

The thought ran through her head as she stares at his face.

Sinon: (thoughts) No... It isn't that he's calm... He's just giving it all he has... He's continually chosen to fight with all his strength instead of making excuses. That's the source of his strength...

Sinon then aimed down her scope and then with Akiri's help, she pulled the trigger and shot at Death Gun. The bullet cuts through the air, however, it misses its intended target as it hits the truck next to him instead.

Sinon: I missed...

The truck then explodes in a blaze and Death Gun got caught in the blast as he is enveloped by scorching hot flames.

The buggy lands on the tarmac, the tires and suspension absorbs the heavy impact as the vehicle lost control and spins to a stop. Akiri and Sinon took a moment to look at the fiery spectacle.

Akiri: Nice work, partner. Now let's get out of here

He said as he began to drive off, Sinon still staring at what's left of the explosion.

(Timeskip)

After their narrow escape, Akiri and Sinon drove off into the desert area and they had found a cave. In order to avoid the satellite scan, the two of them decided to hide deep inside the cave and rest up.

Akiri: He just appeared next to you, right? Does he have the ability to make himself invisible? And why didn't he show up during the scan?

Sinon: I think so. It's an ability called Metamaterial Optic Distortion Camouflage

Akiri: So there're abilities like that as well, huh?

She nodded.

Sinon: We should be alright here. The ground is rough sand, so even if he's invisible, he'll still make sounds as he moves, and we'll see his footsteps. He can't just appear right next to us like last time

Akiri: Right. Then let's keep our eyes peeled and our ears sharp

Akiri released a sigh as he then sat next to Sinon to take a breather and she looked at him.

Sinon: Hey, is there any chance he died in that explosion?

Akiri: No. Right before the truck blew, I saw him jump off the horse. I doubt he's unharmed, but I can't believe it killed him. Best the explosion did was give us some time

Sinon: I see. But at the stadium, how were you able to come save me so quickly? You were on the outer rim, right?

Akiri: Well, I found out that Gunner X wasn't Death Gun

Sinon: How?

Akiri: Because Gunner X is a different person and a different gender entirely. That's when I realized we messed up. After I dealt with her, I saw you laying on the ground. I knew you were in danger, so l borrowed her rifle and smoke grenade. I probably could've killed him with the rifle, but I figured it's safer to distract him instead

Sinon's gaze then falls to the ground.

Sinon: If only I'd been more alert...

Akiri: Don't blame yourself. I didn't realize until it was too late either. If I had been in your shoes, I would've been hit with the stun bullet. And you'd be the one who comes to my rescue

Sinon didn't say anything, still staring blankly at her feet.

Akiri then started to pull out his pistol and pulled back the slide to check if there is a round chambered. After he confirmed that the gun is loaded, he holstered it back and got up.

Akiri: Anyway, I'm heading out. You stay here and rest. To be completely honest, I'd rather have you log out, but you can't do that during the tournament

Sinon then looked at the boy, looking surprised.

Sinon: You're going to fight him? Fight Death Gun alone?

Akiri: Yeah. He's strong. To be honest, it'll be tough to defeat him without him firing at least once. If the situation gets dire, I might have no choice but to leave you behind. So I can't drag you into this anymore. I guess this is where our partnership ends

He said as he started to walk away, but then Sinon said something that made him stop and turn to face her.

Sinon: You're afraid of him too

Akiri: No, not of him. I'm afraid of what he's capable of. I have a lot of things... A lot of people I have to protect. I can't lose anyone else ever again... I can't die. No matter what

Sinon: Things you want to protect?

He nodded

Akiri: Yeah. In the virtual world and the real one...

Sinon: Then just stay in this cave and hide. During the BoB, you can't log out on your own. But as soon as it's just us and another one, we can kill ourselves and let that person win. That'll end the tournament

Akiri: Yeah, that's one option. But not one I'm going to choose. If I don't do anything, there's no telling how many more people he'll point that gun at. I can't take that risk

Sinon: Oh...

Sinon hung her head down, thinking deeply.

Sinon: (thoughts) You really are strong...

A moment of silence passes, until Sinon opens her mouth again.

Sinon: I won't run. I'll go outside and fight that man too...

Akiri: No, Sinon. If he shoots you, you could really die. I'm a hundred percent melee type, but you're not. He can turn invisible. If he gets close to you, you won't be able to do anything. You'll be in far more danger than me

Sinon: I don't care if I die...

Akiri then looked at Sinon completely shocked.

Sinon: Back there, I was so scared... I was so scared of dying... l was weaker than I was five years ago. Pathetic. Screaming. I'd rather die than live like that

Akiri: Of course you're scared. It's normal to be scared. Everyone has their own fears no matter how strong they are

Sinon: But I don't want to be scared. I'm tired of living in fear. I won't ask to come with you... I can fight on my own!

Sinon went to get up and started to walk to the exit. As she passes him, however, he stopped her by grabbing her arm.

Akiri: You'll fight alone, and then you'll die alone. Is that what you're saying? Do you think dying would solve everything?

Sinon: Yeah. I think that's my fate

Sinon tried to pull away her arm, but Akiri kept hold, not letting go.

Sinon: Let me go... I have to go!

Akiri: You're wrong... Nobody dies alone. When someone dies, the part of them that lives inside someone else also dies. And that goes for you too

He said, looking straight into her eyes.

Akiri: Whether you like it or not, your life matters to me now. You, matter to me now...

Sinon: Shut up! I never asked you to care...! My life is no one else's business but mine, so stay out of it!

Akiri: We're already involved with one another. If you die... Don't you think about how others would feel? How I would feel...?

At that moment, she lost her cool.

Sinon: Then...

Sinon gritted her teeth as she then turns around, grabbing Akiri tightly by his coat, looking at him completely furious with tears streaming down her face.

Sinon: THEN YOU CAN PROTECT ME FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!!!

She raises her voice. She then started repeatedly hitting his chest, her tears dropping to the ground.

Sinon: You don't know anything! And you can't do anything! Don't say things like that! This is my battle alone, and no one else's! And even if I lose... even if I die... At least no one can still blame me for what I did!

She yelled, her tears flowing freely as she could no longer hold back. Akiri could only look at her in silence as she breaks down.

Sinon: Or are you saying you will carry my burden forever?! Will you... Will you... hold the hands of a murderer?! Someone who has blood on their hands-?!

Akiri: Yes. Yes, I will...

Her eyes widened in shock, letting out a surprised gasp.

Akiri: You shouldn't have to carry such a heavy burden alone. I won't let you...

As she heard that, she was complete and utterly shocked at his words as she started to cry even more. He reaches a hand over to her shoulder, but she slapped it away as she looked at him with tears streaming down her face.

Sinon: I hate you! I HATE YOU!!! I hate you so much...

Akiri: It's okay if you hate me...

Her eyes widened, hearing what he said as she felt him wrapping his arms around her, holding her tightly against his body.

Akiri: You can despise me for all I care... I can't take away your burden. I can't make it disappear. But if there's one thing I can promise you, is that I'll always be there for you... You don't have to fight alone anymore. You don't have to be alone anymore...

She continued to cry under his embrace. The sound of her wailing and sobbing echoes in the cave. Akiri stood there as long as she needed, holding on to her tight, trying his best to comfort her as the two stayed like that for a while longer.

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