Shino Asada, known as Sinon in-game, had killed someone with a gun at the age of eleven—a chain of coincidences that led to a tragedy. Having lost her father young, Shino grew up supporting her mother, whose mental health had crumbled in the aftermath. Then, by chance, Shino encountered a bank robbery, managed to seize the robber's gun, and shot him dead. Since that day, guns became a source of trauma for her. Even seeing them in movies made her nauseous.
One day, Shino ran into Kyoji Shinkawa, a former classmate who'd left school due to bullying. Their conversation was perfunctory, driven by a sense of obligation, but Kyoji mentioned GGO. Intrigued by the idea that a virtual world might help her overcome her fear of guns, Shino, encouraged by Kyoji, decided to give it a try. To her surprise, GGO didn't trigger her trauma. Though she never forgot her original goal, she found herself increasingly immersed in the game.
On the same day Yahata met Elsa, Shino—now Sinon—was in the field with Kyoji, aka Spiegel, invited to join a team hunting a mob-hunting party.
"Hey, Spiegel, are you sure it's okay for me to try sniping? I've always wanted to, and I'm grateful, but this is my first time. Won't I mess things up for the others?"
"It's fine," Spiegel assured her. "I already talked to the team. Besides, five of us could handle these guys easily. Just treat it as practice."
"Got it. Thanks."
"Take it easy."
"It's my first time, so I'm not sure how I'll do, but I'll give it a shot."
After that exchange, Sinon followed the tutorial steps she'd learned, peering through her scope to prepare for her first snipe. Then, it happened.
"Alright, everyone, let's charge—"
The party leader's words were cut off as a bullet effect flashed on his forehead, and he dropped dead.
"What?"
Sinon froze, unable to process what was happening. Looking up, she saw massive bullets striking her teammates' heads one after another, vaguely grasping the situation.
"Incredible…"
Watching her team fall, Sinon felt awe outweigh her fear. She wondered what kind of person this unseen sniper was, wanting to catch a glimpse, but another teammate went down. Only she and Spiegel remained.
"Sinon, it's a super long-range snipe! Probably Shana's doing—this is bad!"
"Shana? The Shana with the anti-materiel rifle, the only one confirmed to have one?"
A recent BoB video flashed in her mind: Shana's inhuman knife skills and the anti-materiel rifle lying behind him. Sinon had watched that clip countless times, knowing Shana well despite never meeting. She stood up instinctively, but the next moment, a shock hit her head, and her vision went black.
If it's Shana, it can't be helped. Just bad luck this time.
Back in town, after a debrief with the others, Sinon realized her hard-earned sniper rifle was gone. Spiegel invited her to join the team at another hunting ground, but too ashamed to admit she'd lost her gun, she declined. Dejected, she trudged through town, ending up in a bar. Nursing a drink—non-alcoholic, despite the VR setting—she was mid-rant when a man approached, looking relieved.
"Good, you're here. Mind if I sit?"
"Do whatever. I'm super down right now. Ugh, why'd I have to drop my brand-new sniper rifle? It was so expensive… Why'd they have to target us now? Stupid, stupid Shana! Give me my gun back!"
"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to target you, but I got careless and didn't notice you standing up. My bad. Here, I picked it up."
"If you didn't mean to hit me, then miss properly! But if you're giving it back, I'll let it slide…"
Sinon trailed off, realizing what she was saying. Looking up, she saw a man whose face was instantly familiar, despite never meeting him. Shana sat across from her, his expression genuinely apologetic. Her mouth opened and closed as she struggled to find words.
"You… you're Shana? The real Shana?!"
"Huh? You didn't know you were talking to me?"
"Of course not!"
"So all that was just you venting to yourself?"
Sinon, caught red-handed, turned away, stammering.
"I-I wasn't… It was just, like, a little complaining…"
Glancing at Shana, she saw him silently offering her rifle. Hesitant but grateful, she took it.
"Th-thanks…"
"Returning lost items is the finder's duty."
"Hah, what's that?"
"Common sense. There you go, it's yours."
"Oh…"
As Shana turned to leave, Sinon instinctively reached out.
"Hm? Something up?"
"Uh, well…"
She scrambled for a reason behind her impulsive action, landing on this:
"If returning my weapon is your duty, you still owe me personally, don't you? If you're up for it, stick around and talk."
"Huh? Why am I stuck with headstrong women today? Fine, fine, as you wish."
"Good. You get it."
Shana sighed. "Got something to ask? Fair warning, some things I can't talk about."
"I know. Just give me a sec to think of what to say."
"You don't even know what you want to talk about?"
Suppressing a yawn, Shana waited patiently as Sinon mulled it over. Her first question was utterly ordinary.
"Why'd you bother returning my gun?"
"I told you, it's just what you do with lost items."
Sinon stared at him silently, her gaze unwavering. Feeling uneasy, Shana recycled what he'd told Pitohui earlier.
"I screwed up and hit someone I didn't mean to. Ignoring that would leave a bad taste in my mouth. That's it."
"That's all?"
"Well, if I made a rare sniper candidate quit because of my mistake, that'd also leave a bad taste."
"Fair point. If I hadn't gotten my gun back, I might've given up on sniping."
"Exactly."
Sinon nodded, thinking of her next question. Shana's BoB performance stood out most, so she settled on that.
"Hey, about your knife skills…"
"Ugh, that's become a thing, hasn't it?"
"Not really. People here are mostly gun nuts, so your anti-materiel rifle gets more buzz."
"Good to know."
Seeing Shana relax, Sinon wondered if he wanted to downplay his knife skills. Still, curiosity won out, and she asked about something that had nagged her since watching the video.
"Are you, like, from a fantasy game like ALO?"
"Why do you think that?"
"Some people I know use knives as sidearms, but your style feels… different. I can't quite explain it."
"How's it different?"
"It's like… fighting with a knife is part of your life?"
"Interesting. You've got a sharp eye."
Shana was genuinely impressed by Sinon's insight. She seemed eager to ask more but, noticing his tiredness, held back. They agreed to continue the conversation if they crossed paths again, and Sinon declared she'd log off for the night. As she prepared to leave, Shana called out.
"I think you're cut out to be a sniper."
"Really? Coming from the Shana, that's kind of a big deal."
"It's not flattery."
"Thanks."
With one last question, Sinon spoke up.
"When you're about to snipe, what's going through your head?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing, huh?"
"Helpful?"
"Very."
"Cool. See you, Shana."
As Sinon waved and started logging out, Shana suddenly spoke.
"Wait a sec."
"Hm? What's up?"
"I forgot to ask your name."
"Oh."
They locked eyes and chuckled.
"I'm Sinon. Nice to meet you, Shana."
"Likewise, Sinon."
"See you."
"Yeah, later."
With that, Sinon waved again and logged out for real. Shana gave a small wave back, exhausted. He logged off too, crawling into bed and falling asleep instantly. Thus, Shana found himself entangled with two players: Pitohui and Sinon.
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