To the reviewer Guest: Don't worry, I ALWAYS finish stories. The only one on my profile listed as unfinished is my Black Lagoon Drabbles which is a collection of shorts I may never close out and a test chapter in the D&D archives witch will be expanded on soon.

This is something I will say to other authors also, FINISH your work! Don't leave the readers who went to the trouble to follow you hanging. And if your finished, please set your story to COMPLETE! There are dozens on the archives we read that are done but not listed as complete. Rant over now.

I do not own Sword Art Online, Highschool of the DEAD or their characters.

Chapter 10

Floor thirty-five: Ten months, 2 days

Takashi crouched quietly in the fork of a large tree in the Forest of Wandering. He had been coming back to the area regularly in hopes of catching the gang that killed Morita. He was frustrated that he had not been able to find any leads on who they were.

Maybe I should talk to Rika, he thought. He had seen the woman several times since he left; it seemed she had been keeping up with him even though he had tried to cover his tracks.

Rika the Thief-Taker, he thought. I guess once a cop, always a cop. In a way he understood. He enjoyed hunting down the orange players and the ones that helped them.

What a lot of players didn't understand was you could be in an orange guild or party, but still be a green icon player. The modus operandi, the habits of the orange group, was to use a green member to lure unsuspecting victims into the wilds and then rob or monster PK them. Most groups seemed to not set out to PK, only rob, but somewhere along the way they would end up stepping over that line.

He stopped and cleared his mind as he heard someone coming. He maxed out his hiding and stealth skills over a month ago so he was pretty sure he would not be detected.

Two huge sumo-sized teens came down the trail, talking between themselves.

"What are we doing on this floor, Raiden?" the first one asked. "You know Father said not to ever come back here after we PKed that one guy from his school."

"Shut up, Toru," the one called Raiden said. "What Father don't know don't hurt him, or us. We'll just tell him we were down on twenty if he asks where we got any loot. Personally I'm getting a little tired of it all. We never get enough time with the girls, unlike the asshole Tsunoda."

"Yeah, I've only gotten to fuck Miku twice after all this time," Toru said. "While the other girls are fine, she the one with the biggest tits and squeals louder than the others."

"But Tsunoda and Father keep her for themselves, even though Tsunoda fucks every female in the house that moves," Raiden said.

"Maybe we just need to leave and get some girls of our own," Toru suggested.

Raiden shook his head, "Never work. That's the only reason I stay now. Father, Yamada and Kurokami have a way of talking to them that gets them wanting to join the party. Once they get in they don't want to get away with all the sweet talk Father lays on them. You would never think he was some kind of a teacher in RL. I bet he was screwing all his girl students."

Takashi was shocked. He had just heard three names he knew, but could it really be the people he was thinking of? And the sumo's talk of a teacher…there was one at Fujimi Academy that quickly came to mind…

He watched as they moved up the trail. Dropping down, he shadowed them until he saw where they were going to set up their ambush. Getting back into a position where he could watch them, he thought about what to do.

They're too big for me to take on alone, that means I need help…and that means… He nodded as he made his decision. Opening his menu he punched up his friends list and started to type.

000

Floor twenty-four:

"So you guys were trying to kill the monster and all ended up in the water!?" Rika laughed at the Fuurinkazan guild members.

The thief-taker and Klein's guild were sitting in an open air bar on the edge of the main town on floor twenty-four. The town of Panareze was in the middle of a tropical area with beaches and islands all around. Since being cleared, it had become a hangout for those players that wanted get the feel of going to the seaside and there were even some spots where you could swim safely. This had caused a crop of player-owned bars and shops to pop up.

Rika was on the floor to investigate reports of harassment of girls by guys that didn't want to take no for an answer. She ran into Klein and company as they were coming back from a small quest on one edge of the floor.

"Yeah Harry missed a swing and cut the hand rail rope to the bridge. This must have been a possibility in the quest or it would have just come up as 'Immortal Object' instead of falling apart," Klein was telling her. "Come to find out to get the good drop, you had to kill the creature from underwater!"

Rika laughed again. She paused as her message alert chimed to her.

"Give me a minute, guys; I got a text," she said as she opened her screen. Seeing who it was, she read quickly and stood up, "Hey, I just got a message from Takashi. He's got a situation on thirty-five he needs help with. We could use the backup, you game?"

"Hell yeah! We've got your back!" Klein said as the others also jumped up. They knew the teen was still hunting for information on who killed his friend.

"I thought so. He's told me where he's at and what to look for. I'll tell you the rest as we go so let's roll!" she said as she started sprinting for the teleport gate with the guild behind her.

000

Floor thirty-five:

Takashi cautiously watched the twins as they hid behind brush waiting for whoever they planned to attack. He knew Rika was on the way, but had no idea when she would be there.

As he watched, a boy and girl about his age walked up the path. They were talking and paying more attention to each other than what was going on around them. As they reached a certain spot, the two brutes jumped out in front of them.

"Stay where you are!" Raiden shouted. "Give up your stuff and we'll let you go!"

"How about you give up your stuff and maybe I'll let you go?" Takashi called out as he dropped down behind the pair, weapon in hand.

The bandits spun around, surprised at this new threat.

"Who the fuck are you!?" Toru shouted.

"He's a thief-taker, like me," Rika said.

The twins spun again to find the couple had fallen back away from them. They now stood behind a tall purple-haired woman in Japanese armor, with a long bow, arrow nocked at the ready and pointed at them. Six other fighters spread out on either side of her, starting to surround them.

"So it's like this," Klein said as he stepped forward slightly. "You're going to listen to Thief-Taker Minami and drop you're weapons. Give up like good little boys and someday maybe you will get out of this game alive."

Raiden roared and charged the katana welder. Klein stood there and let the monster get a good solid hit on him, which knocked him back and to the ground.

Getting up he walked forward again, while drawing his sword, "Got to tell you, man, that was a hell of a hit, knocked my HP down a bit for a whole two seconds. If you had concentrated on leveling up instead of robbing players you might have done well on the front lines." He grinned, "But no, you took the wrong path and now you are up against a real guild. Teach 'em a lesson boys, but don't kill them."

Rika shot Raiden's club which knocked it from his hands. Takashi hit Toru from behind with his kanabō-tetsubō, slamming the big teen into the weapons of Harry One and Dale.

The other members of Fuurinkazan hit the twins with normal blows, since they knew if they activated their weapon skills, they would kill them in a second.

Less than twenty seconds later it was over. The two brutes were on their knees, hit points teetering on the brink of going out.

Rika turned to the couple who had been watching in awe, "Thanks for the help, you two. With this we hope to have stopped some very tough PKer's."

The boy nodded as he and the girl bowed, "You're welcome! We saw them watching us and knew better than to go into the forest after they did. When you ran up and asked for us to be bait…well we're just really glad we could help!"

"We'll take things from here so head on back to town and call it a day. Here, treat yourselves to a fancy meal on me," Rika told them with a smile as she opened her exchange menu and passed the boy some Col. Accepting it, the couple bowed to the group once more and ran off back down the trail.

Turning to the two prisoners, Rika frowned, "Now for the two of you. Follow my orders and no more harm will come to you." She began to go through the instructions on dumping their gear.

After that was done, she let Takashi bind them with rope; the manacles were too small for the pair. He tied them with their forearms locked together and another rope going up around their necks.

"Nice!" Rika said as she checked it out. "Where did you learn that?"

"Around," he said. He took her elbow and pulled her off to one side before speaking again, "Rika, I think these two know something about Morita's murder."

"Oh? Why do you think that?" she asked.

Takashi told her what the boys had been talking about. "With knowledge of those names, I need to get to the Black Iron Palace and check the Monument of Life. If the name I'm thinking of is on there…it's him."

"Do you think he would have used his own name?" she asked.

"This guy is arrogant to the highest level, I wouldn't put it past him," Takashi replied.

She nodded, "We'll give these two over to Rathgar. He'll get answers out of them."

They got the prisoners on their feet and Rika opened the corridor. After stepping through, a squad of Army guards surrounded them with spears. Rathgar jogged over to where the group was standing.

"Rika-san," he called out. "Got some new meat for me today?" He pulled up and grinned, "Well, well, looks like someone found their lost sheep."

Takashi frowned as Rika smirked. "He's the one that got the goods on these two," she said. "He was smart enough to call for help with these bruisers. Plus he thinks they may have been involved in our friend's murder."

"Evidence?" the law giver asked.

Takashi told the big man what he had heard as Rika walked over to Klein.

"Thanks for the help, guys," she said as she slapped the scruffy guild leader on his shoulder.

"Not a problem," he replied. "Buy us supper sometime, or better yet, get Saeko-san to make us supper." He looked over where Takashi was. "Is he going to be alright? He doesn't look too good."

Rika followed his gaze. Takashi did look ragged, almost wild in a way. "I'll know more later," she said. "I need to have a long talk with him and see how he doing. He blames himself because he was the one that organized the play group."

"To be honest, he looks ready to break," Klein said. "Anyway, call if you need more help, we'll be there if we can."

"Thanks again," she said as they headed out of the palace gate. Going back over, she caught the end of the conversation.

"If they know anything we will get it out of them, Takashi," Rathgar was saying. "Right now go check the monument and see if you are right."

Takashi nodded and started toward the atrium with Rika by his side. The names of all the players in Aincrad were listed in alphabetical order, so it did not take much time. The boy found the list of names he was looking for. They could have been anybody except a couple of them, like Tsunoda's, were a bit unique. It was when he found the last one that it hit him hard.

He drew back and slammed his fist into the monument's face. "Shido…Shido Koichi…that bastard…to think he's in here…" The boy dropped to his knees and leaned his forehead against the wall's surface. "I'll kill you…" he whispered as he began to sob.

Rika was not one for emotions, but it tore at her heart to see her young friend this way. She knelt down behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, laying her head beside his.

"We'll get them, Takashi. If they are the ones that did this, we will get them."

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Rika got up and got him on his feet. They walked back across the courtyard to where Rathgar was standing. Rika simply nodded to him.

"We'll take it from here," he said. "Before I am through with them they will tell me everything."

Rika took Takashi's hand to lead him out the gate and down one of the streets leading from the grand plaza. She went to the inn where they had stayed the first night, entered and paid the inn keeper for a room.

Entering the room, she sat the despondent teen on the bed and said, "Get your gear off." He followed her orders without a word. She pulled the covers back and softly pushed him to lie down. She looked at him for a minute and removed her own armor and weapons leaving only her sleeping clothes.

Crawling in next to him she pulled him close and hugged him as he broke down again.

000

Floor thirty-five: Ten months, 3 days

Takashi leaned against the bed's headboard as he smoked a cigar. Rika was leaning with her back against his chest, smoking also.

Somewhere in the night, after he had finished pouring his emotions out, they had kissed. Things had gone from there till finally they had turned off their modesty settings and made love.

It had been Takashi's first time, but he was blessed to have a teacher who was patient with him. Rika had shown him how to give pleasure to his partner, instructing him on the methods of making a woman feel special. Then she showed him how she could do the same for him.

"Where do we go from here?" he asked, quietly.

She sat up and turned around on her knees to face him. She rubbed his hair and kissed him softly before speaking. "You're asking about this, I'm guessing?"

He nodded as she smirked, "You can like me, Takashi, even love me, but don't be in love with me. I think you know where my heart is and always will be. Do you understand?" He nodded again. "We had a great time. We both needed this. Will it happen again?" She shrugged as she put her forehead to his, "Who knows. I think you will find you have someone waiting for you at home though. They've been worried since the day you left."

He looked puzzled but she just grinned, not willing to say anything else. Getting up she started resetting her morals and clothing.

He got up and stepped behind her, putting his arms around her waist and hugging her close. "Thank you," he whispered in her ear.

She smiled, "It was a pleasure I assure you. You're going to make some woman real happy, Takashi. Treat her right or I'll kick your ass."

The boy laughed. It was the first time he had felt like doing so in a long time.

"So what do we do now?" he asked as he opened his menus also.

She turned to him and looked him up and down once more before his body was covered in clothing. "Now we go home. After that…we wait and see what Rathgar comes up with."

With that she turned and walked out the door as he followed.

000

Floor twenty-two: a short time later.

Saya was sitting on the couch arranging her information files, while Kohta sat next to her reading the player produced newspaper. Shizuka and Alice were sitting at the dining table working on math problems Saya had made up for the little girl. Saeko was in her room meditating.

The front door opened and Rika walked in. "Ohayo," she said with a smirk.

"Ohayo," Saya replied as she looked up. "Where did you lay out all night…" the girl stopped as she saw who was walking in the door behind the woman.

"Oh…Ohayo everyone," Takashi said as he bowed to the group.

"Takashi-onii-chan!" Alice cried out as she and Zeke rushed to the boy.

He knelt down to hug the little girl and pet the wolf. "Wow! Zeke-san has gotten so big, Alice-chan!"

He stood up and staggered as Shizuka glomped him. "Where have you been, you bad boy!" she said as she smothered him in her breasts.

"Ah…hi Sensei…" was all he was able to get out as Rika pulled the blonde off of him. He stood red faced as he looked at his childhood friend. "Hey…Saya…"

The pink-haired girl walked over and glared at him for a moment before drawing back her fist and hitting him in the chest. "Baka! Where the hell did you run off to?"

"I was…just around," he said as he bumped fists with Kohta.

"Ta…Takashi?"

Looking up the boy saw Saeko standing in the door across the living room, "Hey…Saeko-san."

Suddenly the dark-haired girl rushed across the room and threw her arms around the surprised teen. She hugged him tightly for a minute before what she had done occurred to her. Letting go and stepping back red-faced, she went into lady mode, bowing to him in greeting. "Welcome back, Takashi-kun. I hope you are well."

The boy rubbed the back of his head and nodded, "I'm…I'm home."

000

Tokonosu, Japan: Takagi Mansion. Ten months, 3 days

Akasuki had been to Lady Takagi's office before, back when she interviewed for the job of computer specialist. She still felt uneasy stepping into the richly decorated room to talk to the woman about the subject at hand.

The room had big windows and a balcony that looked over the nearby river. The walls were lined with shelves full of books, pictures and pieces of art from around the world. Yuriko sat behind a big cherry wood desk that had a computer monitor, keyboard and mouse on it, with several piles of papers lying around the top also.

She looked up as her secretary escorted the computer tech in the door. "Good morning, Akasuki-san, I hope you are well today," she said.

"Ohayo, my lady," Akasuki replied as she bowed. "I came to see you because…well…we had some new developments overnight."

Yuriko frowned slightly, "Oh? Hmm, wait just a second, Kiriko will be right in and we will talk about it together. Would you like some tea? I'm going to have a pot sent up for us."

The young woman nodded and glanced around at some of the pictures as the woman spoke on the phone. Her eyes focused on a picture of two children about six years old, dressed finely with little backpacks on.

"That is my darling Saya on her first day of school," Yuriko told her as she walked up and saw what the woman was looking at. "Take a guess who the little boy is."

Akasuki smirked. There was no doubt the boy was Takashi. "He hasn't changed much has he?" she said as they sat down at a table by the windows.

Yuriko shook her head, "No, not much. He has always had that bedhead hair and he was so grumpy about having to wear that suit." The woman paused as Kiriko came in the door.

"Were you talking about Saya and Takashi's picture again?" the ginger-haired woman asked as she sat down with them. She grinned at Akasuki, "She loves to tell that story, Saya in her new pink dress and Takashi in his suit. Saya was already bossing him around, even back then." She sighed, "They grew up so fast. Now we just hope they will come home to us again."

Yuriko squeezed her friend's hand, "Don't worry, Kiriko, they will, of that I have faith." Turning to the computer tech, she smiled, "Now I supposed you have something to tell us?"

"Yes, ma'am. There was another…umm…development last night."

"Oh? Something new enough to concern you?" Yuriko asked.

"Not exactly concern, just different." She reddened slightly as she looked at the two mothers. "Takashi had an 'issuance' episode."

Yuriko's eyebrow rose as Kiriko shook her head.

"That bunch is getting more than I did when I was first married," the ex-police woman muttered as Yuriko snirked lightly.

"I find that hard to believe knowing how wild you were when you married Tadashi-kun," Yuriko said to her friend. "But, Akasuki-san, you did not say anything about anyone else."

"Well…Hisashi and Rei-chan were…active also, but no one else in their group."

The two older women glanced at each other as they heard this.

"So Saeko-chan did not have an…episode?" Kiriko asked.

"Ah, no," Akasuki said. "We crossed referenced the other players and out of the five thousand or so still left alive, there were around sixteen engaged in…activities last night. There is one group that is always active at the same time, they number around eight or ten, and two more pairs that we pretty much know are couples. Hisashi-kun, Rei-chan, and a married couple that are in game, but last night there were two new participants."

"Wait a minute," Kiriko said. "You said there was a group that was always active together? You mean you suspect them of being a sex group? As in an orgy?"

The computer tech nodded as Kiriko's eyes widened. "In fact several of them are students from Fujimi High School," the woman told them.

Yuriko frowned, "What about the teachers we suspect were also in the game? Shido and Nurse Marikawa?"

"Both have had episodes, but…let me go back to what I was saying first," Akasuki said. "Last night was the first time for Takashi-kun to be active. When we crossed checked for possible partners, the one name that came up was Minami Rika, a police woman,"

Kiriko's mouth fell open, "Rika!? I know her! She's a member of the SAT. I had no idea she was in the game!"

The woman nodded, "She was found in her home with Nurse Marikawa, who is known to be her best friend. Now in the past there have been some…episodes with them at the same time, but last night was the first time for Minami-san alone. And being that Marikawa Shizuka is the kids' school nurse; it leads me to believe they might be together in the game."

"Hmm," Kiriko murmured as she rubbed her chin. "Well Rei had talked about the woman Shizuka before. She did say all the students liked her because she acted like a big kid herself."

"I cannot see her associating with Shido Koichi," Yuriko said. "He is a vile man just like his father. Why he is allowed to teach is beyond me."

"Well this is a development!" Kiriko exclaimed. "I wonder what happened that Takashi ended up with an older woman?"

Yuriko though for a minute, "Umm, Akasuki-san, let's not say anything about this in front of Kage-san. I think he had gotten comfortable with the fact Saeko-chan might have been safe with Takashi-kun and the others. To suddenly find out there may be other factors in this…well let's just keep it to ourselves."

"Yes, ma'am," the woman replied.

"If I ever get my hands on that bastard Kayaba, I'll rip him apart with my bare hands," Kiriko muttered as she drank her tea.

"I believe I will be there to help you," Yuriko said as Akasuki nodded also.

000

Floor twenty-two: Same day

"What do you mean Hisashi and Rei aren't here?" Takashi asked as he leaned forward. "Where are they?"

"They left the same morning you did," Saya replied.

"I've been keeping up with them," Rika told him. "They are down on the eleventh floor in Taft. Hisashi is working in a players shop and Rei is helping a player inn keeper. They do go out and level every once in a while, but they are not pushing it like we and others have been."

"We need to let them know about Shido and his followers," Takashi said.

Rika waved her hand, "I will. I'll go down and talk to them here in a bit."

"I can…" the boy started to say, but the police woman cut him off.

"No you can't. We don't know how Rei-chan is feeling about things so it is best if you just stay away for now."

He sighed and sat back, "I had hoped she was over whatever it was that made her hate me by now."

"She might be, but just let me handle it," Rika said. "In fact…hey, Shizuka, let's go see them now. We can use the excuse that you wanted to make a home visit since you're their teacher."

The blonde laughed, "Like that would work! I'll just tell them I'm inspecting for indecent materials!"

Even Saya laughed. The pink-haired girl frowned a minute later, "So what are we going to do about Shido and his bunch?"

"Not much we can do unless I can catch him with his pants down somehow," Rika said. "If they have gotten away with it this long, I'm not sure how. They're going to have to make a big slipup for us to…" she paused. "Hold on, Rathgar is messaging me." She opened her menu and read the text. She smiled, "He got the twins to break, don't ask me how. He says they are going to raid Shido's hideout now and wants to know if we want to come along."

"Hell yes!" Takashi said as he jumped up. "I wouldn't miss this for anything!"

"Where are the two of you going to be?" Rika asked the couple sitting on the couch.

"Thirty-five again," Saya said. "We think until the fiftieth floor is open it is the best place for us."

"Be wary, though," the woman said as she got up. "Let's go," she said to Takashi, Saeko and Shizuka.

000

Floor twenty-seven: a short time later.

"Nothing," Rathgar snarled as they looked through the house where they had expected to find Shido and his followers.

"They must have gotten spooked when their two bruisers didn't come home," Rika said.

The pair stood in front of the house talking while they watched the squad of men Rathgar brought with him, go door to door asking questions.

The problem was most of the houses around were NPC homes, and either the occupants did not react to the questions, or the building was unoccupied.

Takashi and Saeko were about half a block down the street looking for players that might have seen anything, but to no avail.

He seems different, the girl thought as she watched him talk to people. He acts more mature than he was before Morita died.

The boy sighed and turned to her as he shrugged his shoulders, "This is a bust. I'm betting they bugged out in the middle of the night so they wouldn't be seen."

"That would fit what I know of Shido-sensei," she said. "I am glad I only had to take his class for one year. He always left me feeling unclean."

"I've heard a lot of rumors," Takashi said. "But I don't know anything for sure. I've heard several stories about that girl Yuuki Miku, none of them good."

She raised one eyebrow as she smirked at him, "Really? I had often heard boys like to play around with girls like that."

Takashi blushed, "Ah, I'm sure some do, but I think most of us are looking for something a little more solid in a relationship."

"Hmm, I see," she said as she watched him squirm under her gaze. "I am glad to hear that you want a meaningful relationship, Takashi. I was afraid your troubles with Rei-san had jaded you in that respect."

He frowned, "I'm not going to lie, Saeko-san, even though she did me the way she did, I think I am always going to have feelings for her. We have known each other too long."

Her face softened, "I understand, Takashi. I feel I might think less of you if you threw away your feelings so easily."

They turned around as Rika and the others walked up "Let's head back," the police woman said. "We'll just have to put the word out we are looking for this bunch and see what turns up."

"Are you going to be working with Rika-san now, Takashi?" the big fighter asked.

The boy nodded, "If she doesn't mind me as a partner, yeah."

Rika leaned against him with her arm on his shoulder, "I think I can deal with it. You'll be a good one to pair with Saeko-chan after all."

The two teens blushed as Rathgar and the others in his squad laughed.

"Well we are going to head back," the man said. "I'll message you if I hear anything."

"Thanks," Rika said as the group marched off. Looking at the others she said, "I think Shizuka and I will head back to the house for some down time. Saeko-chan? Why don't you and Takashi find something to do?"

The girl nodded, "I could use some help leveling on twenty-eight. What do you think, Takashi? Feel like fighting on the Wolf Plains?"

He grinned and rubbed the back of his head, "Well it has been a while since I spent time just grinding, so yeah, let's go."

The girl smiled and nodded as he led the way towards the teleport gate.

Rika smirked as Shizuka watched her. "What are you up to?" the blonde asked as she hugged her friend's arm.

"Oh, nothing," the other woman replied. "Just laying the groundwork. I wanna see what comes out of it. Let's go to the house."

Shizuka laughed as they locked arms and followed the teens.

A/N: Please Review, Favorite and Follow.

EN: 1st posted 1/24/15