Warning: This Fic will contain traumatic experiences, people dealing with PTSD, discussion of trauma, and a slow burn romance involving three people, two of which are already in a committed relationship. if that offends your sensibilities, or is simply not something you feel like reading at this time, I recommend that you do not read.
Caring For A Rat Part 5
The shop was deserted, with no one manning the counter. There were no shelves, only a few display cases that contained a bewildering variety of items for a single shop. At a single glance, there were heavy axes, throwing weapons, crafting equipment, vanity items, potions, light and heavy armor, and even a painting on display. They all looked to be high-end gear as well.
The prices were correspondingly expensive. The one armor display I touched brought up prices only slightly less than what I paid for my custom coat, and they looked like untailored items. The stats however, were comparable. Which made it all the more surprising that whoever made this wasn't more famous in SAO, where people were close-knit, and the high-levels even more so.
In fact, the secondary stats on this item would make it a high-end item, even competing with last hit bonuses.
A creaking door broke the silence that had settled over us as we browsed the small shop. A tall woman walked out behind the counter, carrying a small box of items. Distractedly, she starts scrolling through the accompanying list, muttering to herself all the while.
"Claws, claws, claws, and boots, the potions, the book, and… yes, that's everything." The woman sighs, and leans back against the wall. Her brown hair almost blended into the wood paneling behind her, and her face seemed creased with anxiety and worry, her dress draped voluminously around her, obscuring her body from the waist down. It rustled as she stepped out from behind the counter, once again talking to herself.
"Now i just need to- Eep!" The woman yelped as she caught sight of us, and jumped back behind the counter. "I-I'll be with you in a second!" She called out, and then ducked behind the box she had just carried out. I could hear the sound of her hyperventilating from where I stood.
It was fairly obvious why the store was so deserted, now.
"You guys should probably wait outside while I close the deal." Argo said, seeming resigned, and then she ghosted towards the counter, her footsteps even lighter than they were normally.
I exchanged a look with Asuna, and we stepped just outside the door. "I don't want to leave Argo alone, but…"
"Yeah," I agreed, leaning back against the doorframe. "So, where did you want to go after this?"
Asuna raised an eyebrow, "You asked me on a date with no plan?"
I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly, "It seemed like you needed a break, and I didn't want you to concern yourself with trying to figure out what we were going to do."
"Well then, decide quickly Kirito, because I'm looking forward to this date." My wife teased, lightly shoving her shoulder against mine.
"Alright, alright," I said, "I'll think of something."
Asuna nodded in approval, and we waited in a comfortable silence for a bit longer. I turned over plans for our date in my head. Would the park be a good idea? No, there was too much chance that someone would happen across us, and while we weren't keeping our marriage secret, we weren't advertising it either.
A restaurant, then? No, even trying would be an insult to Asuna's skills as a chef. Maybe we could go for a walk through the elven realm? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. The Elven Realm held good memories for both of us, and since we were keyed in to the teleport gate on the fourth floor, we could use the gate out to the elven borders for our walk.
"What do you think about visiting the Elven realm?"
"On the fourth floor?" Asuna looked surprised.
"It's been a long time since we've been there. Maybe you want to see it again?" Asuna hummed in thought, tapping her finger against her chin.
"That sounds like a lovely date idea." Asuna smiled, making my heart burst into flames. "Do you want to visit Kizmel while we're there?"
"No, I was thinking that this would be a walk through the forests. We can visit the castle another time."
"Oh," Asuna said, her eyes shadowed as she kicked a pebble across the street.
"...Or we could visit Kizmel?" I hedged, only for Asuna to sigh in response, tossing her head in a motion that made her hair catch the light.
"No, this you're right. This should be a date for the two of us."
"Okay." I said, feeling a slightly oppressive silence fall as we sat on the steps leading up to the store, both of us clearly wanting to say something, but unsure about how to say it.
"Maybe we can schedule a visit with Kizmel?" I asked, breaking the silence, and causing Asuna to start smiling again.
"I'd like that."
The silence that we sat in was much warmer this time.
It was only two minutes later that Argo came bustling out of the store, an eager look in her eyes.
"I've got it!" The Rat exclaimed, scrolling frantically through her message board.
"You've got what?"
"No time!" Argo yelled, sprinting down the street, "I've got an emergency guide to publish!"
Asuna and I exchanged a look, and then took off after Argo. Anything that caused The Rat to put out an emergency edition of one of her guidebooks was worth our time.
Asuna caught up to Argo first, and I scooped the Rat up as I ran to catch up with her, ignoring Argo's startled yelp. I pushed off from the ground, landing on top of one of the flat-topped houses with a single leap, Asuna right behind me.
"Where do you need to go?" I asked.
"Ah-ah-The bookstore!" Argo stammered out, her face flushed red. Fuck, she was angry at me.
I readjusted my arms so that Argo wouldn't fall mid-leap, and set off across the city, Asuna running beside me. It was nice of her to do that. I had no doubt that she could easily outpace me or Argo; neither of us were especially fast. After all, it still took me over two minutes to run a mile. Asuna could do it in less than one.
It seemed my fears of Argo falling were misplaced, because the woman seemed to have frozen in my grip. Was I reminding her of her imprisonment? I shouldn't have taken the high road, nevermind that it was a full two minutes faster. Argo's wellbeing was more important.
Unfortunately, by the time I realized this, I was already at my destination. I slid to a stop in front of the sole bookstore of the 55th floor. Argo slapped my arm, and I carefully set her upright on the ground.
"Whew," Argo said, dusting herself off, "Warn a gal next time you're gonna take her on a magic carpet ride!"
"Are you okay?" I asked, kneeling slightly to put myself at an even height with her. "I took the rooftops because they were over two minutes faster, but if I made you uncomfortable…"
"No, no! Nothin' like that!" Argo said, her hands adjusting the edges of her cloak, "Just warn me next time, okay Kii-bou?"
"Okay."
"Good!" Argo turned, and slipped into the doors. This wasn't like her. Normally she would've drawn out her teasing by at least thirty seconds, with at least one jab about my tendency to physically pick up and carry girls. That she was almost fleeing from speaking to me...
I really shouldn't have taken the high road.
Asuna stared after the departing Rat with a strange expression on her face.
"Is something wrong?"
My wife sighed, stretching her arms out. "I'm just worried about her."
"I am too."
I grabbed Asuna's offered hand, and entered the store with her.
Argo was already towards the back of the store, operating the printing press that allowed her to increase the number of pamphlets she could put out by an order of magnitude.
She looked over her shoulder as we entered, and hurriedly turned around, her hands almost punching at the buttons that made up the printer's "keyboard". She was definitely mad at me. Her face had been red when she saw me. She only got like that when she was especially angry.
Did she want me to apologize? She hadn't wanted an apology the last time I had offended her, or even most of the times, for that matter. The rules surrounding which offenses required me to apologize seemed nonexistent when I tried to categorize them.
Prevent her from tracking down the whereabouts of the last piece of info surrounding a floor boss? My apology rebuffed and her own apology was given. Accidentally trip her while pursuing a smuggler? She didn't speak to me for a whole day until I gave her the map data to one of my more effective grind spots on the 27th floor.
It was especially strange, given that we had still caught the smuggler.
But I had never understood other people, and probably never would. I still didn't understand myself. Regardless, I needed some way to take Argo's mind off of my stupid actions, and I thought I knew how.
I strolled up to the other side of the printing press, leaning across the stable frame, and watched her work. The Info Broker almost aggressively avoided looking at me as she worked, her hands flying through the system, barely pausing each time she had to load a new set of pages.
"So, why was it so important to get this out?" I asked, trying to strike up a conversation.
Argo's eyes gleamed beneath her hood, almost making her look like a rather tall Jawa. "I finally got Marnie to sell me th' info for his smithing methods!" She started happily babbling, sharing info with Asuna and I that she would have charged anyone else through the nose for.
"Did ya see the equipment in Jeanne's shop?" When I nodded, Argo continued speaking, "It's top tier equipment, all o' it, but none of the other smiths I investigated could get the secondary stats on their armor anywhere near as high as Marnie's."
Argo pushed down the lever that indicated she was ready to print. Kayaba was weirdly committed to realism in some ways and not at all in others. In this case, that meant giving the printing press the keyboard of a modern computer, while a series of levers that controlled the printing process, and the product of the press manifested as an item that had to be picked up. That, and a dial indicating how many copies were to be produced.
I made sure to brush up against this dial as I walked around the machine to help Argo with the new booklets.
"...But Marnie's one o' the most private members of Jeanne's lil' guild, so I couldn' jus' meet him, an' he was convinced that he wasn't a special blacksmith, so I had too-"
The sudden outpouring of booklets from the machine bowled both of us over. Argo let out a yelp of surprise as she was buried underneath copies of her latest pamphlet, while I relaxed and let the wave carry me over to the edge of the room, right next to a pair of familiar boots.
Asuna looked down at me with an amused smile. "Hey," I said as I lay buried beneath pamphlets.
"Honestly Kirito," Asuna tutted, "You really shouldn't prank Argo like this."
"I have no idea what you mean," I said, grasping her hand and letting her pull me to my feet. A second later, the room glowed as Argo transferred all the booklets to her inventory.
The Info broker looked almost apoplectic as she stormed over to us. "Kirito!" Oh, she was really angry now. She only broke out my full name when she really got worked up. "You drained all my Ink you numbskull!"
I rocked backwards as Argo poked me in the chest. "What are ya gonna do ta make it up to me, huh?" I gave her my best puzzled look.
"I thought you wanted to get those books out quickly, Argo," I said, gently diverting another of her angry pokes, "I'll help you get more ink, if you want me to. I can do it-"
Asuna cleared her throat meaningfully.
"-Right after my date."
"Which we are currently delaying for your sake, Argo, so please, tell us what was so important that you had to get it published now?" Asuna's voice wasn't quite icy, but there was no mistaking the chill that her voice held.
"Hey, I didn't ask you guys to come along Aa-chan, you invited yourselves," Argo countered, coming up against the solid and implaccable wall that was Asuna. Still, with a calmness that I wished I could replicate, held up a finger. "It'll be 10000 Col each." A trivial amount to clearers such as us, but still…
"And why wouldn't we just pick up one of your new booklets about this topic?" Asuna asked, one eyebrow raised in incredulity.
"Cause they don't explain how I got it."
Without another word, I swiped open a Trade Window, and sent a request to Argo. I had been the one to run after her first, so it only made sense that I paid for the info now.
With two quick taps, Argo accepted the trade, and sat back on the Printing press, and started to tell her story.