Winter had settled in with cold gusts and the occasional trickle of sunlight past thick clouds. Even due to the cold, many continued onwards with their daily lives; from the tourists to the businessmen, all followed their path they had always trodden down. The streets remained stocked to the gills. No place, either sidewalk or road, was spared from waves of people flowing like colossal river past buildings and junctions alike. Past the beckoning traffic lights, vehicles of all shapes and sizes squeezed between openings of luminous green and gates opening wide to allow a herd of people to cross a certain junction. Neon flickered above in mesmerising reds, yellows and even blues. Advertisements were flashed upon them, running into the next without pause. It was just a normal day in Central Tokyo.

Skyscrapers towered above the organised chaos. They merely stood there, watching the day run its path from daybreak to dusk in gloomy gray. Their glass glistened in what sunlight there was. Inside, businessmen had just got to their desks. Many still had their conversations while the day was new. Artificial lights finally twinkelled out of existence as the day aged with the first flowers blooming in the first light. Leafs gentled rocked in the wind, shivering them to the core. Meanwhile lifeless trees remained still; no leaves remained lush on them.

However, within this swarm of the masses, a single man sat away from the hordes. Nearby a train station, Ueno park sat comfortably. The man had sat on a wooden bench worn with age, his suit perfectly clean and not a single crease was upon it. Upon his lap, lay a small black suitcase. He waited for someone, a specific person. It was not long until the person turned up from the park. Mostly covered in a thick green coat and red scarf, not much of the person could be made out from the clothes. But, there was someone indeed underneath and they basked in the warmth such thick clothing had given as a gift. The person sat beside the man and unknotted their scarf. Green eyes became much more visible along with a few stands of red hair above the right eye. None other than a male teenager sat there quietly, with a bad case of yawning.

"Glad you could make it Akiyama," the man spoke, while opening up his briefcase, "You aware of the details?"

"Of course," a response came from the boy, "You're lucky I had time out of the workshop today, Kikuoka."

Kikuoka handed over a few files before saying comfortably, "oh please call me Seijirou. Anyway, we've managed to gather some more information over the deaths we discussed that occured during them playing GGO."

"Hmm yes…" Akiyama put on a thin pair of glasses and flicked through the files. "Heart failure, but nothing on the brain. Most relying on the game for income, typical. Both have little hopes in terms of hygiene. Although, both are top players too, I've seen these play in tournaments, one even won the last Battle of Bullets! I should know, got 50,000 Yen off a bet."

"And there is another thing. After the death of Shigemura Tamotsu, or "XeXeeD", a player kept note of an individual that shot a screen with him on it the same time as Tamotsu died in real life. He was being interviewed on a stream will this happened. Such deaths, linked to Gun Gale Online, has happened twice now."

"Is that so?" He seemed puzzled after this. The AmuSphere was perfectly safe to use. The public would not use anything known for its issues. Any dangerous effects would have been identified immediately, especially after the Sword Art Online incident… "It is unlikely it came from the game. I've taken dissected one such AmuSphere. The fuse would blow far below the current needed to harm the body, or even stop the heart for that matter."

"Not much supports any theory right now. There is no signs of struggle or harm anywhere on the body. However, the supposed killer called himself 'Death Gun', after giving a small speech about 'Judgement'. I'm sure there is some shots of the guy somewhere floating around on the internet or ingame."

Akiyama scoffed at the name before closing the files in one fell swoop. He then turned back to Seijirou. "Someone couldn't come up with a good enough name in time. Nah, probably an annoyed fanboy with XeXeeD going against the Agility build he recommended to many players. But, I admit this is a case that needs to be dealt with properly and quickly. Unfortunately, I am unable to do this. Isn't there someone else for the job?"

Seijirou sighed while looking upwards to a small flock of birds gliding in the gusts of wind. Then, after adjusting his glasses, he continued: "There was one I did think of a few days ago. I even invited him to a nice little cafe to talk it over. He refused. However, I don't blame him. It has been a full year since he and the survivors escaped from Aincrad. Then, to save his dearest from a corrupted chief of a research institute. It must have taken its toll on Kirito…"

"I can agree on that," politely answered Akiyama as he handed back the files to Seijirou, "I know of the people you are talking about. That story has spread like wildfire over the last year. If I were him, I would sit this out too. Especially to spend time with friends and loved ones. For this 'Kirito', give him my condolences next you see him around. And furthermore..."

He paused. Something just came up in his mind. So, as a group of school aged children ran past cheering as they went, Akiyama spoke again, now with certainty: "I may not be able to find this 'Death Gun' but I know how to catch a guy in the act. Yet, I do know who definitely can find this fella for you."

"Please do tell! Anything would help immeasurably!" Seijirou lit up like a lightbulb with such information.

And thus, with a smile, Akiyama confidently said, "A fellow player I play with often on GGO. Not the most stable of people, in fact I would class him as a loose cannon sometimes. However, he can get done pretty much anything you throw at him. He may be no 'Kirito' in action or words, but he is a good friend of mine. In Gun Gale Online, he goes by the name, 'Sabretooth'. I'll be able to talk to him tonight."

"Wonderful! I knew you will be able to help in this investigation!" he looked a large clock at the centre of a walkway. 8:20 in the morning, "You have any plans for today?"

"Of course!" a sharp reply came as he lifted back up his hood and knotted his scarf, "I help to run the Akiyama 'n' son's workshop towards the Sumida Park. You may join me, the one and only Akiyama Kujo, in continuing this conversation; nonetheless keep this side of the chat away from my Dad and customers. I doubt they would like this kinda thing."

Although his voice was slightly muffled, Seijirou understood every word and simply replied with a nod. After that, they both stood and proceeded to walk out of the park. They continued to chat as, behind them, small birds swooped down from the trees to get to the occasional crumb or worm lying on the tarmac. Moreover, other people had started to migrate into the vast open spaces. Many simply walked around, taking in the views while some younger children played around a large fountain towards the centre. As if with a flick of a switch, the park became alive.

Out of the blue, Kujo remembered something from earlier. "Hang on, why wasn't our meet in that cafe?"

"Well, I can explain…" Seijirou started to back off before starting to sprint off with Kujo in pursuit, "I can explain! Give me a chance!"

So, with the day fully dawned, these two ran through the streets of Tokyo. A clenched fist was raised by Kujo, of both anger and determination. Yes, there was a setback with some things needing "explaining". Yes, the only person that could help was not the most stable. Yes, there was much investigation to do. But, it was possible. To bring a killer to justice. For their actions, they will pay. A taste of their own claimed medicine.

Author's Notes:

Panzer Bros:

Thus, the tale begins! As a quick warning, there will be significant changes from the actual "Phantom Bullet" arc ahead along with parts that run at the same time as the original timeline. There will be parts that are similar or reference the source material; so, if you dislike spoilers (even mild ones), I'd recommend you to get caught up with the third arc before reading. However, I have attempted to deviate a little from the source material (up to a point) in some parts that don't include the original characters to hopefully blend events in better than if they remained unchanged and to not to rely too much on this arc.

Lastly, there will be little to no connection to previous arcs within the show. I'm focusing, for now, entirely on the Phantom Bullet arc. Therefore, if they did not appear within Gun Gale Online, don't expect them to appear here.