Railgun Online. Book 3, Phantom Bullet

Lost and Found

There were some days Shino wondered where the rest of her family was.. she knew who her grandmother on her  mother's side of the family was, and that was about it. Whenever she was five and she asked her father if she had any uncles, aunts, or cousins, her father would always shake his head and shrug.

"My little Shino. When Gran and Grandpapa adopted me, they wouldn't tell me what my family name was before it was changed to Asada. So I could never find out.. "

And so Shino was in the dark.. But when she heard what Death Gun had said. Though Death Gun hadn't offered any proof to back it up, she could tell it was somehow true. After all.. Death Gun knew her name... some how.. Death Gun knew plenty of things he shouldn't know..

As Mikoto continued to carry her further and further from harm.. Sinon placed a hand on her arm and held it there. So that was why.. Mikoto always felt so familiar to her.. they were family. If Shino's father hadn't been adopted.. she knew her name would be Shino Misaka..

Shino suddenly heard a very faint gunshot muffled greatly by a very heavy silencer.

She looked back.. and her fear expanded like a balloon.. There Death Gun was, having escaped Congono's ambush himself, coming at them like the Grim Reaper of GGO.

She looked forward and saw Mikoto was headed for a set of vehicles parked next to each other. Several were motorcycle buggies.. another was a large robotic horse.. and the last vehicle.. was another event item from GGO's  play on other scifi franchises... a Banshee.. a large vehicle with two short wings, and a cowling that acted as the purple alien aircraft's outer shell.

(I remember when playing Halo Reach... whenever I found the banshee, my friends would be like: DAMN IT!! HIDE!! SHE FOUND THE BANSHEE!!)

"Take a buggy.." Sinon muttered. "Banshee.. too complicated.. to fly.. only goes 62 mph....vulnerable shell."

"Right!!" Mikoto jumped onto one of the buggies and set Sinon gently on the seat behind her, wrapping Sinon's arms around her waist. "Hold on!!"

The vehicle revved up and the two of them were speeding down the street.

"Hey! Sinon, the paralysis is wearing off right?" said Mikoto. "I need you to shoot that horse for me! And I need you to shoot that Banshee too, we can do without the possibility of an air assault!

"O-okay.." Sinon took out her Hecate.. and aimed through it's scope at the robotic horse... but.. the circle in her vision.. indicating her shooting accuracy kept getting large and small.. large and small.. she couldn't steady her breathing.. and, her finger shook and trembled.. she couldn't pull the trigger.

She couldn't do it..

"I can't do it!!" Sinon cried out. "I can't pull the trigger!! I can't!!"

"Sinon?" Mikoto said. "Sinon please! At least try! I know this guy! He's definitely going to go for the-"

Too late..

Death Gun came.. like a rider of doom.. riding upon the large mechanical horse skillfully.. aiming his Black Star.. his own Death Gun.. at them.

He fired several shots.. all of which missed and ricocheted off the tail of the buggy. And he was catching up..

"Sinon!!" Mikoto yelled. "Just shoot!! Shoot anywhere!!"

"I can't do it!! I just can't do it!!" Sinon cried.

"Yes... you can.." Mikoto put a hand on Sinon's trigger finger.. her touch alone, seemed to calm Sinon's heart.

That's right.. Mikoto was family.. she was her cousin.. her cousin was looking after her.

Sinon couldn't completely calm her breathing.. but, she gathered the courage to shoot in that moment. Her trigger finger tightened around Hecate's trigger.. and the muzzle roared..