Audio Recordings made by Yomikawa Daichi
Date: January 19th, 13:38
Title: "Sabot Platoon"
-Log Starts-
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "Honda, is there something you can clarify for me?"
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "Hm? Like what?"
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "I was able to take the time to review Kikuoka's 'Death Gun' case. The reports more or less fell in line with what I've already heard. However, the arrest report seemed to suggest that there was more to the next would-be victim than I had assumed. In fact, my intuition tells me you weren't alone in this investigation."
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "Right… I suppose I should mention that I actually wasn't alone, that I had assistance from friends."
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "Care to elaborate?"
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "Curious?"
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "Call it 'record-keeping'. If there's something of possible benefit for the First Virtual Security Division, I'd like to be informed."
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "So long as you don't suspect them out of paranoia… Yeah, I had assistance back then. A small team that I myself led, I should add. It was around long before the incident happened, made up of what few friends I made when playing GGO."
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "Interesting. Who were they?"
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "Well, I won't divulge personal info, but to sum it up: One was, I guess you could say, an 'inventive' chap who went by Subaru, like the car brand. He was a support gunner I could count on. Also a real good driver, provided you had no problem with rollercoasters."
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "The other went by Starbug. She was very dependable in a firefight, especially with plenty of explosives yet was as normal as anyone can be. But, she wasn't bad herself. Her sister runs one of the shops down town; friendly connections certainly help get you discounts and a good place to hang out. Together, we formed what we called 'Sabot Platoon', after the type of munition used to pierce armour. It was Subaru's idea, if I remember correctly."
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "Hm."
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "Oh, right! The Platoon was just us three but it wasn't until the Battle of Bullets event that coincided with the Death Gun investigation that we had a fourth member. Ever heard of the name Sinon?"
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "No. Is this person supposed to be someone reputable?"
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "One of the best if not the best sniper in all of GGO. A professional player that everyone could recognize and know not to mess with - or at least should've known not to (ask the muppets that tried to hit on her). We met by chance one day before the investigation and I figured it wouldn't hurt to get an excellent sharpshooter to tag along."
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "The report said that Death Gun had an established pattern of pursuing top players. Did you have reason to suspect he would target her?"
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "Not at first. I realised he would go after whoever won the upcoming Battle of Bullets so the plan was for me to win it and draw him out, to act as bait and figure out how he was killing players. But it wasn't long before I found out that Death Gun was targeting Sinon as well."
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "And that was why Death Gun - or more specifically Shinkawa Kyouji - went after her, Asada Shino."
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "Right. I made sure not to reveal my temporary home location as best I could before tackling this case. But he, or more accurately 'they' knew where Sinon lived which didn't help the fact that Shinkawa personally knew her."
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "Textbook example of how murderers know their victims..."
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "I heard that was statistically proven but I still found that hard to believe. But there you have it, my Sabot Platoon. If work didn't eat up my time I'd be tempted to call them up, invite them and introduce you all to my old squadmates."
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "I'll pass. My presence here is meant for work, not for recreation."
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "Suit yourself."
-Log Ends-
Date: January 20th, 9:56
Title: "Sinon"
-Log Starts-
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "This… Sinon person you mentioned before… Who was she really?"
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "Another one of your 'record-keeping' duties?"
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "She wasn't the one whom Kikuoka entrusted with his investigation, but was nevertheless a facet of the case. You in turn saw fit to entrust her by your side and, rather conveniently, was also subject of target by Death Gun. So who exactly is Sinon - or more accurately, who is Asada Shino?"
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "Like I told you, she's one of GGO's top players and a fine sharpshooter with that Hecate of hers. You'd never see her without her signature rifle; it's essentially a part of who she is. A good sniper can make you scared; a sniper like Sinon won't even give you that chance once she lays eyes on you."
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "You seem to respect her."
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "That's what happens when you fight alongside someone, even for a short period of time. Respect comes from that... and a mutual understanding of how easily you can kill each other."
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "If so, then I wonder how someone of her calibre was not offered a spot in our ranks."
Andrew Honda (Sabretooth): "She… has her own life to attend to. After all that happened..."
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "Hm? Come again?"
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "Nothing. Let's just say that she's been busy; she's a student after all. Plus, I dunno if she's actually interested in this kind of work..."
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "I see..."
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "Is that all?"
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "Not quite. There's something I'd like to bring up with regards to Ms. Shino-"
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): " *Sigh* Don't tell you've been prying into her personal life..."
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "So I take it you are familiar with her past."
Honda Andrew (Sabretooth): "Look… this is awfully personal for her, understand? It's something no one should ever have to go through in their life, something that's been haunting her for years. She's already had to live with dirty rumours about her so the last thing she needs is one more person knowing about it and judging her for it. We won't find your dirty little secrets so I ask that you do the same - especially for someone who isn't involved. Got it?"
Yomikawa Daichi (Oracle): "Of course. I apologise..."
-Log Ends-
Author's Notes:
Panzer_Bros:
Awfully sorry for the lack of updates on this fic, and for the shortness of this chapter, spare time has packed its bags and left. It will not be back for a while, but I'll attempt to do what I can here and there. The main story will continue after this chapter of Random Ramblings. Let me know if you like to see more chapters like this, or another way of including said segments (if you, dear reader, would like to read more of them). Any feedback will be much appreciated! See you all on the next chapter.
The idea of these Random Ramblings came about as a way to not only practice interactions between members of Gun Shield, but also give some context on the group (and other things besides) without clogging up the main story too much. Their inspiration mostly came from my time playing Borderlands 2 with their collectable audio logs to give some backstory on certain characters or events that transpired beforehand and partly from other games (Like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine or the later Metal Gear Solid games) with how they tell some smaller stories via audio logs. Either way, think of these Random Ramblings as collectables that a player can find lying around if they look closely enough. Of course, these would be far more organised and secured due to being kept by Oracle.
I am a part of the Sword Art Online Fanfiction Central discord server! Come join for endless entertainment around the franchise and much more beyond. Hope to see you there. Copy the link to join (remove spaces): discord .gg /HTauXae2gd