VI

In-between

But he was already gone.

Sinon wasn't angry.

At least, that's what she told herself.

In reality, of course she was angry. And somewhere in her head, she knew that she had every right to be.

Who did he think he was?

That… That complete, utter asshole.

"Miss? Would you like to order something?"

Sinon blinked. She'd been staring at the vase with a single white flower in the centre of her table for far too long. She looked up at the NPC waitress hovering over her and forced a smile.

"Um, I'll need a few more minutes to decide."

The NPC smiled in response. "Please, take your time."

Sinon promptly returned to grinding her teeth.

Between the turmoil within her and the constant urge to punch something or yell at the top of her lungs, she really couldn't figure out what exactly she was angry about. She was angry about his abrupt departure, for sure. Something close to her first true friend had upped and left her alone without a word—yet she knew that that wasn't the underlying cause of her ire.

She'd never been good with other people, that much was for certain. But one would think that after being an introvert for so long, Sinon might've had a better grasp on her own feelings.

Was it the way he'd said those things yesterday? His flat-out arrogance? No, Sinon knew Kirito wasn't like that… probably. There had to have been a reason—even if she couldn't comprehend it just yet.

Then was it his deception, his lie? What even was the lie? Had he been playing her for a fool the whole time, stringing her along as some sort of support puppet? Yet again, Sinon shut her own question down. Someone couldn't just hide their identity like that for so long.

Then why?

Perhaps she was angry at herself? After all, Kirito was wholly out of her reach now; she wouldn't be able to contact him for any closure. And surely, he wouldn't come looking for her, not with the way he'd left. Not once in the 3 weeks they had shared did Sinon think to add him to her friends list. Why would she have, when he was waiting in the dining hall to eat breakfast with her every morning? But again, he hadn't mentioned it either. Maybe he'd forgotten as well?

Or maybe… he'd seen something like this coming from the very beginning? And yet, when Sinon had looked into Kirito's eyes just before he had moved on… In that moment, Sinon had thought she'd seen sadness, even guilt.

So, Kirito must've had a reason. And maybe he'd done it for her, too. He'd surely be a target now and sticking with him would've been like painting a bullseye on her own back. What if that had been his reasoning?

While that thought should've been comforting, the only thing it resulted in was Sinon's hands curling into fists.

So then… why?

Why hadn't he taken her with him? Had he believed her to be too weak to defend herself against the more fanatical players? Insulting, but an insult would never make her feel the way she felt.

When it really came down to it—the only thing left was… trust. Did he not trust her enough to watch his back?

"Miss?"

The waitress from earlier had returned, wearing a winning smile.

"Are you ready to order now?"

Sinon didn't answer. She couldn't. She was much too captivated by the feeling of her anger dissolving, and a strange feeling taking its place. Her chest clenched, and her jaw tightened until breathing was a chore.

She couldn't name that feeling. The closest she got to identifying it was "loss." Yet that word was far from adequate, in her mind.

Regardless. Kirito was gone, and for all Sinon knew, he'd stay that way. Her only friend, her first partner.

That… that dumbass.

And in the time it had taken her to sort her thoughts out as best she could, Sinon had decided that she wasn't hungry, after all. She abruptly pushed her chair out and stood up.

Pushing past the NPC waitress, Sinon muttered an "excuse me" and left the restaurant.

Sinon tugged at the string of her bow, a small smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. The legs of the bow flexed ever so slightly, and as Sinon released the cord, it sprang forward with a twang. It had become so effortless—practically second nature to her, that she couldn't exactly remember how life had been before becoming an archer.

Ahead of her, the third-floor dungeon sprawled out for kilometres. Torches flickered dimly every few meters along the walls, providing barely enough light for Sinon to make out the vague silhouettes of the monsters ahead. The stone walls had paisley patterns carved in, and Sinon couldn't help but reach out and run her fingers along them as she walked towards the dungeon's exit.

Playing solo as a ranged specialist was somewhat akin to suicide, yet the disaster that awaited her in every party she'd tried joining so far was worse. Her teammates would block her shots, hog the rewards, or retreat. (And that usually involved leading the angry monsters right towards her in the process.) If Sinon was really lucky, it would be a combination of all three. Besides, she could use a dagger pretty well if things really came down to it.

After three weeks of bouncing from party to party, she was starting to think she'd be solo for the entire game. Was it perhaps her fault—the way she fought?

Well, he had never had a problem with it. And much to her chagrin, she hadn't seen him for a month. Sinon had been looking forward to chewing him out with all she had, but he'd never shown. It wasn't like she was actively searching for him, but wouldn't they have met at least once by chance?

Sinon had been going into the second floor's dungeon for two weeks, making barely any progress with the incompetent parties she'd found herself in. Then, literally overnight, the dungeon had been mapped and mostly cleared.

Who else could it have been?

But when the time came to fight the boss, Kirito had been nowhere to be seen.

Sinon recalled the meeting she had had with Argo following that boss fight.

"Come on, clearing a dungeon overnight? He's just trying to show off. I wonder who it could be for~?" Argo had teased, a coy smile on her face. It seemed that as far as Argo was concerned, spending three weeks fighting together was grounds for undying love.

When Sinon had asked Argo if she had any idea why Kirito had waited two weeks to clear the dungeon out, the info broker had shrugged.

"Maybe he was levelling up until he felt ready?"

Sinon idly fingered her metal hair clip as she walked, lost in her thoughts.

"Asu—!" Came a yell from a dark hallway to her left—one she hadn't yet explored. And following that yell, a sound that made her heart lurch. The sound of glass shattering.

Sinon turned and sprinted down the hall, pulling her bow from her shoulder.

By the time she'd reached the other players—player, it was already over. A cloaked figure around her height stood alone, swaying back and forth not unlike a leaf in the wind.

"Um—" Sinon began quietly, trying her best not to startle the player in the cloak.

The player swayed ever slightly too far and began to fall. Later, Sinon would realize that she'd covered five meters faster than she'd ever thought she was capable of.

In the fall, the player's hood had fallen back, revealing an admittedly, even to Sinon, beautiful girl. The girl's eyes were wide open—she was merely exhausted, not unconscious. Her auburn hair fell over Sinon's arm and draped across the floor as Sinon supported her head.

"Are you okay?" Sinon glanced at the girl's health bar and blanched; there was barely a sliver left. Her hand shot into her pouch and instantly pulled out a bright red vial. Gingerly, Sinon lowered the tip of the vial to the girl's mouth.

Her eyelids drooping, the auburn-haired girl sipped slowly from the potion, and Sinon breathed a sigh as she noticed the girl's health bar begin to steadily climb. As soon as the vial was empty, the player pushed Sinon's arms away, and sat up herself.

"Are you okay?" Sinon repeated, noting that the other girl didn't seem to be much for words. "Um…" Sinon continued, grasping for a name.

The girl stared back at her in response.

"You didn't have to do that."

"…All I did was—" Sinon tried, before she was quickly cut off.

"I have my own potions." The girl answered, matter-of-factly. She pulled the cloak of her hood up, and her face disappeared into darkness once more.

"You might've died from just hitting the ground there!" Sinon's voice raised, accompanying her rising temper. "A thank you would be nice! Hmph."

"Thank you." The girl replied, leaving Sinon speechless. How blunt!

As the other player stood up and brushed herself off, Sinon noticed her extremely thin sheath for the first time. A rapier user. She must've been extremely dextrous—Sinon hadn't run all that far when she'd heard the cry of distress earlier, yet when she'd arrived, the threat had already been dealt with. Which reminded her…

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it in time to help your friend." Sinon muttered.

The cloaked girl, who had made to turn and leave, turned halfway back to regard Sinon with cold, solemn eyes. "We… We weren't friends."

"Party member, then?" Sinon attempted.

The girl merely turned and began to walk away. Once again, Sinon was spluttered to speechlessness. The other girl was cold.

Yet Sinon thought that for a moment, behind those emotionless eyes, she did see something. Guilt. As Asuna walked away, her pace quickening with every step, Sinon merely stayed frozen, staring at her back.

The Black Swordsman had made somewhat of a name for himself. And this made Sinon angry because in the two months since he'd abandoned her, she hadn't heard even a peep from him. But she knew the anger was irrational—she'd stopped expecting anything like that weeks ago.

It seemed he had realized he couldn't hide forever, as he'd become a common sight on the front lines. Luckily, the situation with beaters seemed to have calmed down and Sinon had a feeling that most players were just glad that he was on their team. Yet somehow, Sinon hadn't seen him from less than a hundred meters away, much less had a chance to talk to him or better yet, smack him.

Sinon stepped outside of the sandstone inn she had been staying in, taking a deep breath of arid desert air. The twelfth floor in its entirety was a grand desert, and while crossing it on foot wouldn't kill you, it would most certainly be a most uncomfortable experience.

She had taken to wearing a muffler as a headscarf in a feeble attempt to block some of the sun's sweltering rays. One of those straw hats the NPCs were selling may have done the job better, but she'd be damned if she let anyone see her in something as ridiculous as that. With the heat, sleeves were out too. Even though it was a little weaker than her regular gear, Sinon wore a sleeveless tunic with a leather chestpiece. Unfortunately, she didn't have anything to wear on her legs other than a pair of trousers, and knee-high boots.

Today's schedule was somewhat more relaxed than others—she had been working tirelessly to clear dungeons floor after floor. Instead, Sinon would be doing a good old-fashioned quest. If anything, it would be a break from the front lines and the hardcore players that basically inhabited them.

So, imagine her surprise when she saw a vaguely familiar girl standing at the entrance to the sandstone maze the quest took place in. Asuna of the clearing group tapped her foot impatiently with crossed arms, free of her regular cloak. She was sideways to Sinon, in a way that she might be able to see Sinon out of the corner of her eye. She looked as if she was waiting for something or someone.

Should I just go in without saying anything?

Sinon and Asuna weren't exactly friends. In fact, they'd never spoken, save for their tense first meeting. If Sinon was asked to describe her in one word, her answer would be instant. "Cold".

Thus, her surprise only increased when Asuna pivoted on her heels to look straight at Sinon with a frustrated glare and gestured for Sinon to meet her. Sinon pointed at herself as if to say, "me?"

Asuna's look only hardened as she slowly nodded her head once. Sinon walked forward cautiously, taking note of Asuna's twitching eyebrow. Now that she was closer, she could see that Asuna, sans cloak, wore a flashy yet simple garment. Simple in the way that it consisted of a breastplate over a long-sleeved shirt with a mid-thigh-length skirt, flashy in the colour scheme—red and white.

"Asuna?" Sinon probed, "did something happen?"

"Not really," Asuna replied coolly, though her face suggested otherwise. "I had a party lined up to do this quest today, but they're late and I'd like to get started soon. Well, I guess you'll have to do."

Maybe your party decided you were a little too hard to get alo—HUH!?

"I'll… have… to do?" Sinon repeated, blinking. It seemed Asuna had gotten even pricklier in the time since their last interaction.

"Yes. Now let's go, the sooner I can get back to the front lines, the better." Asuna turned swiftly with a huff and marched through the maze's entrance.

"Just wait a second! I don't know what the big idea here is, but you can't just say that and walk right in expecting I'll follow you! At least wait for a while longer!" Sinon called, stopping Asuna in her tracks.

"Like I said, I can't wait any longer." Asuna huffed lightly. But before Sinon could even open her mouth to say anything, she continued. "You know what? Fine. You can stay and wait if you want. I'll do it myself." Without even waiting for a response, the girl turned and marched headlong right into the maze.

Sinon knew there wasn't a way Asuna would be able to go in there alone and come out unscathed. But did they really have a chance together? Regardless, the real question might be: could she handle a life on her conscience?

Sinon sighed. "Argh, alright!"

She followed Asuna into the maze, and a sandstone wall immediately materialized behind them.

"…Wonderful." A disgruntled humph came from the archer, as she eyed the wall that now blocked their exit.

Asuna swivelled, an annoyed expression on her face.

Suddenly, they both lost their balance as the ground rumbled beneath them. Sinon stumbled a step, glancing around frantically. The small chamber they were in lead to three different passages, and something large was coming from one of them. Asuna, similarly, glanced from entrance to entrance, trying to find any trace of a monster.

Their answer came in a cloud of sand, rushing from the leftmost corridor, robbing them of their senses. As she coughed, Sinon patted sand from her tunic with her right hand and wiped at her eyes with her left. As the sand cleared, the first thing Sinon saw was a chitinous spear, sharp to a pinpoint.

But it wasn't a spear. Instead, they were met with a stinger. From the receding cloud of dust skittered a massive black scorpion, two meters in width. Its curled tail reached a full three meters overhead, almost as high as the walls that surrounded them. Its grotesque mouth foamed around the mandibles, and Sinon was so repulsed that she hesitated for a moment in drawing her bow.

Yet Asuna didn't seem to have the same sort of reaction. In an instant, her rapier was flashing in the harsh desert light.

The two fought with no coordination whatsoever. Asuna darted in with her rapier, only to stay in front of the scorpion for too long for Sinon to sink a critical shot. Sinon would likewise throw Asuna off, by firing an arrow that whizzed by too close to her shoulder or ear.

"Hey! Where are you aiming!?" Asuna twisted her torso just long enough to yell at Sinon, before turning to duck under another strike from the scorpion's poisonous tail.

"I'm aiming at the big guy! At least, I would be, if someone didn't keep getting in the way!" Sinon retaliated, grabbing the fletching of another arrow.

Asuna only had time to shoot Sinon a murderous glare before she was forced to face the scorpion once again.

It took them just over five minutes to actually kill the damn thing. Against a single enemy, they were ineffective. Against multiple? Well, they'd be dead. As soon as the last arrow sunk into the scorpion's shell, Asuna wheeled around on Sinon.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Asuna glowered.

"Are you trying to fudge my shots?" Sinon shot back, narrowing her eyes. How could she have gotten stuck with this insufferable girl alone in a dungeon?

With a huff, Asuna turned around. "We-we'll take that passage. That's where the scorpion came from, so it should be our best shot."

"Yeah… The sooner we get out of here, the better." Sinon muttered, under her breath.

They barely made it five meters before the sandstone beneath them collapsed and they fell onto a steep incline and into darkness. As Sinon and Asuna slid, their screams bounced throughout the tiny chamber, and Sinon guessed that it was just big enough for a human lying flat.

As the two tumbled to a stop in a much larger underground room, Sinon laid on the floor in a heap, her body refusing to move. From next to her, Asuna let out a low groan.

"That was great." Sinon drawled, purposefully squeezing out every drop of sarcasm she could muster. To her relief, she could still feel her all of her limbs, and none of her joints felt bent at strange angles. She raised her arms above her face, shocked that they hadn't been marred on the way down. Yet, Sinon hadn't escaped completely unharmed—a quarter of her health bar was missing. The sooner they got out, the better indeed.

The lantern in Sinon's hand flickered to life, casting ghoulish shadows across the two girls' faces.

"What?" Sinon asked, upon seeing the curious look on Asuna's face.

"I'm just a little surprised you're prepared is all," replied Asuna nonchalantly, dusting herself off.

Sinon coughed. After all, experience was the best way to learn.

"There's only one way forward." Sinon muttered, holding her lantern higher in an attempt to cast light further down the hallway before them.

"Then the choice is easy." Asuna responded, and the two set off into the unknown.

The underground chambers they'd fallen into turned out to be sprawling network of catacombs. It seemed like an eternity walking past and even through bones before they finally reached a circular room, maybe five meters in diameter. A thin stream of light poured into the space from a tiny hole in the roof above—yet there was enough daylight that the two girls were blinded, averting their eyes.

As they did, the noticed the symbols carved deep into the pale rocks, completely covering the walls. They were nothing Sinon had ever seen before—long, flowing strokes and strong marks and dashes. Almost like an archaic form of kanji. The floor was less sandstone and more actual sand, giving the girls an excuse to rest for a minute.

Sinon sat against the wall hugging her knees, letting a handful of sand flow through her fingers.

"It's nothing like real life." Asuna broke the silence, sifting through the grains with her fingers. She sounded almost… bitter.

Maybe it was the lull in activity that made Sinon feel especially candid, or maybe it was the melancholic scene in front of her. "Does it have to be?"

This seemed to get Asuna riled up. "What do you mean 'does it have to be'? Every day in this counterfeit reality is a day lost in the real world."

"Well, what's the difference?" Sinon dragged her fingers down and opened her menu, seemingly contradicting herself.

"What do you mean?" Asuna sat as well, raising an eyebrow.

"We're still alive, aren't we? And besides," she paused for a second, feeling her breath hitch, "people... can be strong here." Sinon finished at a whisper, and Asuna didn't immediately reply.

"…Wouldn't you rather be strong in reality?" The other girl finally spoke, after what felt like an eternity of silence.

Sinon blinked, surprised that Asuna had deduced the reason for her split-second hesitation.

'I can't!' She wanted to admit. Of course Sinon wanted to be strong in the real world. It wasn't as if she hadn't tried and tried. Yet no matter what she did, what she'd exposed herself to, the result was always the same.

"Maybe one day..." Sinon muttered, burying her nose further between her knees. Maybe one day, she'd be strong enough to merely hold it...

Sinon glanced at the girl next to her and her eyes widened in surprise. In spite of the former hostility between them, Asuna smiled. It was small-the corners of her lips barely turned up. Her eyes didn't glimmer with happiness… If anything, Asuna looked sad, almost as if she was sympathetic.

Sinon hated pity.

She should've detested any semblance of it, coming from Asuna. Yet, she felt as if by some chance, Asuna actually understood her, if only a little.

And somehow, Sinon felt ever-so-slightly content.

A/N: A more heavy end to a chapter, and it's pretty fitting because this was supposed to be a more emotional, introspective chapter for Sinon. It took me a while to write, but the upside is that my beta, One More Guy, ended up liking a lot of it the first time around. Yay!

I've been keeping up a pretty cool update schedule of the first and last of the past few months, but I definitely won't be able to keep that up now that school's starting. This time, I really don't have much to say. Reviews, follows and faves are really appreciated-they help me get writing again faster!

I guess the last thing to do would be to plug Ace Fiction again, and I really don't have any creative ideas to do it. Um... We're a discord community with a bunch of authors and writers where everybody comes to chill, share ideas and make requests every once in a while! If you want to get to know us authors, it's probably the best place to be. We're really accepting! /YU8A6Bp

I hope you guys enjoyed.

Until next time,

-TheSilentSwordsman