Fourth Shot

[tank_sniper]

[Shockingly enough, Shinon is not in a dungeon or field for once! Rather, she's sitting for a break in the Warp Gate room in Mac Anu, her beloved Hécate II propped up beside her. She's also... incredibly zoned out. To the point where she probably won't notice other characters unless they actually come up to her and call out to get her attention. By the looks of it, she's fairly worn out despite it only being the afternoon.

The people most close to her (particularly guildmates) are free to note that not only has she not been around the @Home much lately, but she also seems to have lost a level somehow.

Somebody's been pushing herself a tad too much as of late...]

Comments

[elucidator]

Is there anything else to do around here besides that?

... You're right on the mark, at any rate. [ a yawn escapes his mouth, before he plops himself down a small distance away from her. ]

I'm guessing you've been up to the same.

[ it's not hard to tell that something different was in the atmosphere today, but Kirito was never one to pry. ]

[tank_sniper]

More or less. Like you said, there's not much else we can do.

[...She almost looks like she's about to say something else, but... It's not like she can exactly broach the whole Laughing Coffin topic easily.]

[elucidator]

[ he pauses after hearing that, reluctantly. ]

You look like you have something to say on top of that.

[tank_sniper]

[...She really isn't doing well at concealing her feelings right now, is she...

It takes her a moment, but she finally does speak. She dreads his answer either way; if he doesn't remember, she really is as alone as she fears. But if he does, she knows he has already experienced something horrible.]

Are you familiar with the name... Red-Eyed XaXa?

[elucidator]

[ the moment Kirito hears the name, his eyes narrow. ]

... The name's a little too familiar for my liking. [ he has to stop himself from clenching his fists, and from biting down on his teeth. ]

How do you know of him?

[tank_sniper]

[So he does recognize the name... Her first sense is one of relief, but it's quickly squashed by guilt for feeling that way in the first place.

Shaking the thoughts away, she begins to try to explain.]

I... encountered him. In another game.

[...She may regret this later, but for now, she'll just have to risk messing up time and space a bit.]

You were there, too.

[elucidator]

[ ... ] Go on.

[ his tone is to the point, while dozens of thoughts were whirling in his head. it bothered him enough that he seemed to have gotten scot free in the real world, and knowing it was possible he was still causing some form of mischief outside of it...

to say he was feeling aggravation would probably be an understatement. ]

[tank_sniper]

...It was in another online game. Gun Gale Online. He made a reputation for himself as a Death Gun, and came up with a way to kill players in real life while appearing to shoot at them in the game.

[Here's where her breath catches, and it becomes more difficult to explain.]

He... was working together with his brother and a friend from his days in SAO. I was... one of the targets, but you were able to stop him.