zemblanity

People watching was becoming rather boring, but at the same time made Chiba jittery, fearful as he was of meeting Death Gun. He sat still, slouched a bit on the couch, giving off the impression of ignoring the rest of the world and appearing forgettable (another one of Korosensei's lessons). A heavy knot of something sat heavy in his chest, making it hard to breath.

Then he thought of the government and the fact that they were relying on him, and slumped a bit more.

"Hey!"

He ignored the bubbly voice in his ear.

"Hey, don't get down! You can do this! The government chose you for a reason."

"Yeah, because they literally had no one else," he muttered.

Ritsu ignored the comment. "They trust you, and they'll pull you out it you're ever in danger."

Chiba sighed. Rationally he knew that, but it did little to stop the fear coiling in his gut. Ritsu hummed and sent flashes of comforting thought his way. He tensed as he waited for his next match.

*I*I*

Sinon smiled as her saw her opponent for the final match.

Time to see what you're made of.

*I*I*

SogekiKyokan vs Sinon

Remaining Time: Two minutes

Field: Island Ambush

*I*I*

Chiba froze as he saw the field name.

It can't be. How does this sort of coincidence even happen in real life?!

"Chiba, focus."

I–I don't understand.

"Chiba! If you don't get your heartrate down, you won't be able to shoot!"

Won't be able to shoot. The words resonated inside Chiba's head. Won't be able to shoot.

Result: Failure, the target got away.

How can you kill an unkillable monster? How can one class stop the destruction of the world? It's impossible!

How is it that we tried our absolute best and still came nowhere close to hitting him?

"CHIBA!"

How?

How?

HOW?

"CHIBA, WAKE UP!"

He opened his eyes. He was in the field already and had wasted precious time on thinking, on self pity. A bullet zoomed two centimeters away from his face, and he started.

"You're in a round, get a hold of yourself!"

"SOGEKI!"

Chiba jerked up.

"Fight me seriously! You promised, and you can't space out now!"

And suddenly, the location didn't matter anymore. It didn't matter that the whole affair was on an island almost identical to the one he was currently on, it didn't matter that he had doubts about his task at school, and it didn't matter that he'd failed before.

Right now, the only thing that should have mattered was the match and Sinon.

"You're right! I'm sorry for zoning out. Let's have a good round."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he threw a smoke grenade, covering a radius of 150 meters, and then ducked and rolled into the cover of a few bushes and began to plan. He continued moving, getting further and further away from Sinon

The waiting game began.

Sinon is also a sniper—so she'll likely use the same tactics that I will. She's more likely to aim for higher ground to survey the island. That would be the best course of action right now.

So to find her, I have to concentrate on the elevated parts of the island and figure out how to approach it from a spot that makes it almost impossible for me to be seen.

Chiba skirted around the island staying under tree cover and moving quickly.

I won't have any time to set up distractions, so it'll be a matter of who shoots first…

He reached the cliffs and began to climb. It was slower than running, but the most direct, out of sight, and inaccessible way to reach the top of the hill.

It would take a bit of time, but he would be almost invisible during the duration of the climb….

When he reached the top, he glanced around, but didn't see anyone—

A flash of electric blue, and Chiba turned as she turned, and the exact moment that they realized that the other was there began their move towards their weapons, and both Chiba and Sinon drew their handguns—

And shot.

A/N: I'm going to be editing the previous chapters for the next few weeks, so please stand by as I regain my muse...