Dekiru And The Beaters of SAO
Chapter 9: A Murder In The Town Of Mutants Part 2
Floor 50: Algade
Izuku, Rumi, and Kaina made their way to floor 50, which greatly confused Kaina. However, that confusion only lasted until they entered a shop that she's been trying to avoid for a while now.
"Andrew, how have you been doing? Are you still robbing all of These Schmucks blind with your harsh bartering?" Rumi called out in a Chipper tone that made Andrew smile. But that smile only lasted until he set his eyes on Kaina. Quickly grappling the two by the heads and forcibly pulling them towards him, he whispered harshly into their ear.
"What the fuck is the matter with you too? Why the fuck are you with Lady Nagant?" Andrew asked completely serious. Surprised by the seriousness of his tone as well as his alarm, Izuku was quick to respond.
"Well, we're investigating a murder and what's wrong with her." Izuku asked confused and a bit worried. Andrew looked at him seriously before giving a quick look behind him. Seeing that Kaina was standing in the doorway awkwardly, he looked back to his nephew and responded.
"She works for the HPSC, and she's one of their wet work agents. She specializes in assassinating villains and heroes who are extremely corrupt. Hell, I got a hold of her psychological report and she's mentally un-." Andrew said before being cut off by an obviously irate Kaina.
"Okay, I knew you knew a lot but how the hell did you get a hold of a psychological report on me? Especially for an X-HPSC agent?" Kaina asked angrily, she was not able to hold herself back, especially when she heard that he knew about her mental state. She had never reported it and the fact that the HPSC knew of it alarmed her greatly. She knew what that meant. If they thought that she was too unstable, they would eliminate her or at least throw her in Tartarus. Looking back at her and straight into her eyes, Andrew spoke up.
"I may be an X-Agent but before that douche of a president fired me I was in charge of the Intel team. Now I am one of the top information brokers in Japan. So believe me when I say no secret is safe when I'm snooping around. Now what is your intention with my nephew and his girl? if you're here to kill them, so help me I will have every underground hero in SAO bury you 10 ft under." Andrew said with steel in his tone.
"I'm done killing for those assholes. It's why I've been avoiding your shop. I didn't know what ties you had left from the HPSC because the second I got out of this game I was going to disappear. I have no intention of killing anyone for those assholes ever again." Kaina said with venom in her voice.
Then she blinked and realized what she said. She did not mean to say that, and doing a quick scan of the room she noticed that one of the items above the door frame was glowing. And she instantly recognized the item. The Amulet of Truth had the capability that anyone i radius of it could not help but tell the truth. It was an extremely rare item, so rare in fact only three have ever been found so far. So how the hell did Andrew get one of them?
"To answer that unasked question, I just got it recently. Got it for a decent price too. It's the fourth one ever found. I plan on sending it to the interrogation team on floor 20 so they can confirm if somebody is guilty or not. As you know, the other three are currently in PKers hands, such as Laughing Coffin. Which, they are using to prevent any of the heroes from infiltrating the ranks. I spent a small fortune to secure that so you better not spread what I got around." Andrew said seriously as he deactivated the item. He literally just got it an hour ago and just bonded to it 5 minutes before they walked in. At least now he knew it was legit. Kaina, seeing that he was standing down but still on guard, let out a long sigh of exasperation before speaking up.
"Look, Andrew, please, I beg of you, don't tell the HPSC. They will kill me, you know this. And if they don't, they're either going to just ship me to Tartarus on false charges. Or worse they would attempt to 're-educate me.' Please, I have enough blood on my hands and I know I did a lot of things, terrible things. But like you, I thought I was doing it all for the right reasons." Kaina asked pleading, If she had to beg on her knees, she would. Being killed was the best option out of the three. Since going to Tartarus was going to guarantee her one of the most inhumane experiences imaginable. And their 're-educational Program' was pretty much her getting lobotomized and experimented on until she was nothing more than a loyal puppet. So yeah, if it meant begging on her hands and knees or even selling her body to this man she would do it.
Andrew could not help but let out a sigh at her desperate look. He heard horror stories of Tartarus and The HPFC's so-called re-educational Program, and she was right, if the HPSC got word of this, she was done for. Both of them were simply soldiers following orders and fighting for what they thought was right at the time. Yeah, the current president may have fired him but that was only because he refused to spy on his sister and her husband. As well as standards and morals that did not match the current president's Ideals. The only reason why he wasn't killed or locked up was because he had a lot of friends in high places. Which Kaina definitely does not have. Letting out a long sigh, he decided to ease her nerves.
"Look, I have no intention of selling you out. And if you truly want an out, I'll make you a deal." Andrew said, causing Kaina's eyes to widen in disbelief and then narrow again.
"And what deals that?" Kaina asked her eyes narrowing.
"The deal is simple, you join my nephew's Guild, and your job is to make sure he and his girl survive this hell. If you do that, I'll get you out. I have a lot of underground Heroes who owe me a lot of favors as well as some politicians." Andrew said seriously which caused Rumi to growl.
"Hey ass, me and Dekiru don't need no babysitter or bodyguard, We can handle ourselves." Rumi said with a growl, Which causes Andrew to laugh.
"Yeah, kid. I know you can handle yourself, but if I can get the Lady Nagant on your side and watch you're back, I'm going to sleep a little bit easier at night." Andrew said, which made Rumi growl further. But the second Izuku put her hand on her shoulder, and when Kaina nodded her head in agreement. Her growl turned into an angry pout, and she knew she was going to have to deal with it.
"All right, now that's settled. We need you to look at something Andrew." Izuku said knowing full well that the world was not all black and white.
Every day since he's been here he's been reminded of that. So although it was quite disturbing to hear that Kaina was a wet work agent, he did not hold it against her. Especially since she had no plans of returning to that life anytime soon. He knew people could change and he had a good feeling that she would change too if given the chance. And if Izuku can give her that chance, he was definitely going to.
A Minute Later
After briefing Andrew on what they knew. The 4 made their way to the back of the shop, where they sat around a small table. When everybody was settled, Andrew was the first one to speak.
"So what can I do for you Izuku." Andrew asked. In response, Izuku summoned the murder weapon from his inventory and handed it over to him. Before speaking up.
"Can you tell me anything about this weapon? It's the murder weapon." Izuku asked seriously. Andrew Wordlessly took the weapon into his hands and activated his appraisal skill. When it was finished he spoke up.
"Hmm, Guilty thorn, it says here it's Player made, by a guy named Grimlock. Other than that, Nothing odd about it. Certainly, nothing that allows you to kill in a safe Zone." Andrew said Confused before handing the blade back to Izuku.
Izuku looked at the blade and an idea crossed his mind. Without much thought, Izuku flipped the blade into a reverse grip and spoke up.
"Well, there's only one way to be sure." Izuku said before attempting to stab his hand with the blade. Rumi saw this and immediately stopped him before the blade even touched his skin. Before starting to yell.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Rumi yelled in anger.
"Ahh, seeing if it damages my health bar." Izuku said, confused about why she was angry. If it damaged his health bar, it could kill somebody in the safe Zone. It was the best way to test it, so why was she so angry?
"And what if it has an instant kill function or some poison function that no one could cure and you end up dying? Something like this you don't fuck with." Rumi Said with anger before taking the blade out of Izuku's hands, turning to Andrew, and speaking up again.
"You take this T-fizzle, just don't sell it to some smuck." Rumi said as she handed it over to Andrew, which caused him to let out a chuckle before responding.
"Ah, handing the black man the murder weapon. A Tale as old as time." Andrew said with a chuckle before accepting the weapon and putting it into a special safe in the shop. As they left, Andrew stopped Kaina.
"I'm pretty sure you figured out now why I'm asking you to watch over him." Andrew said, causing Kaina to frown a bit before responding.
"The kid doesn't have an ounce of a self-preservation instinct, does he?" Kaina asked already knowing the answer.
"No, he doesn't. My sister, his girlfriend, and I have been trying to fix that. But it's kind of hard to get that mindset out of somebody who's been told for his whole life that he was not worth anything. His first instinct is to save somebody, which is good in a hero. But he's all too willing to sacrifice his own life or his own body to do so. So keep an eye on him and bail him out if he does something stupid, would you?" Andrew said, causing Kaina's frown to deepen. She knew the kid was quirkless, and knowing the society they lived in, she could only imagine what Horrors he had to face on a daily basis. But hearing that the kid was told daily that he was worth nothing disgusted her. She knew that he most likely experienced a lot more than that because of his quirk status, which didn't help the matter. So with a sigh, she nodded before walking out of the shop. If her job was to protect the kid even from himself she would God damn do her best.
The Next Day. Floor 57: Martin
Izuku, Rumi, and Kaina were heading to the restaurant to meet with their Witness for another chat. The three had just met up with the others, and what they told them was quite interesting to Izuku. As he thought, the CRC did attempt to duplicate the murder and several times at that. It was quite obvious that every time they attempted it, they tested different variables in the hopes of getting the outcome they wanted. But luckily every attempt failed with all the members a part of the attempts captured. This started to make Izuku think something wasn't right since things were not adding up. After the rest of the group went back to their previous duties, Izuku came up with a plan, and spoke up, catching hIs two partner's attention.
"Miruko, you're going to assist me in the interrogation. Lady Nagant, you're going to Shadow us, so stay out of sight. I don't want anyone sneaking up on us." Izuku said, causing Kaina to nod her head, before activating her stealth skill and splitting off, and making her way to the rooftops. Rumi, on the other hand, looked absolutely confused, which she quickly made known.
"Ahh, Why the fuck do you want me to assist in the questioning? Especially since we both know I'm simply too much of an ass when talking to people especially when they're emotional." Rumi asked confused, but Izuku just smiled at her before speaking up.
"That's exactly why I want you to assist. Something isn't right and I need her to be thrown off balance a bit. Don't worry, you don't have to do anything special, just be your normal self." Izuku said, with her nodding her head. She could do that especially when she only had to act like herself.
Entering the restaurant, they immediately noticed Yolko sitting at one of the tables waiting for them.
"Remember Rumi, I'm going to be playing good cop so if I call you out on some things don't get mad." Izuku said, with Rumi waving off his concern.
Rumi knew that he knew her brash and rough personality, was a self-defense mechanism that was developed from her being raised on the streets, and that she was a good person. She also knew that he didn't judge her for it in the slightest and accepted her as she was, which is why she loved him so much. The fact that she did not have to change any part about herself for them to be in a relationship, meant that Izuku loved her for being her. It was why she knew anything that came out of his mouth in this meeting was something that he would probably never say in a million years. And knowing how kind he was, this was probably going to hurt him more than it's going to hurt her. As the two entered and sat down at the table, Rumi spoke up.
"Oh, wow, The good old Restaurant. I haven't been here in like, hours. Glad to see the old place hasn't changed." Rumi Said With sarcasm as she flopped down onto her chair.
"Did you really hate this place that much, I thought it was a good place for our date." Izuku asked but Rumi just gave a scoff before speaking up.
"Dekiru, honey, the restaurant is named Restaurant. I'm pretty sure that's an indication that this place is going to be bad. But don't worry your little sweet head, I still had plenty of a good time. Although I was quite upset that we couldn't have our alone time. Perhaps after this we could rent a room and-." Rumi said before being cut off by Yolko, who was now blushing up a storm.
"Ahh, D-Didn't you want to ask me some questions?" Yolko asked as she blushed heavily.
"Shush, the grown ups are talking." Rumi said, and before she could continue, Izuku let out a long sigh, and spoke up.
"Sorry Yolko, Grandmaster Miruko Isn't what you call a people person. So have you ever heard of a player named... Grimlock?" Izuku asked causing her to let out a shocked gasp And Rumi let out a growl of annoyance.
"Well that seems pretty definitive. So, how do you know this guy? According to our investigation, he's the one who forged the sword that was used in the... Incident." Rumi idly commented. It was at this point that Izuku saw something in her eyes, and after giving a discreet signal to his partner, decided to play on this hunch of his and responded to Rumi's choice of words.
"Do you not mean... murder?" Izuku asked and seeing what he was doing, Rumi instantly started playing along and was quick to respond.
"Really, then show me a body." Rumi said in a challenging tone.
" It's SAO there's never a body." Izuku said exasperated, but keeping a close eye on Yolko's expressions.
"Well isn't that convenient?" Rumi said like she won.
"Can.. Can I jump back in here please?" Yolko asked, completely thrown off by the scene in front of her.
"Oh yes, maybe you can clear this up. Do you know why your friend would fake his own death?" Rumi asked, which shocked Yolko, which Izuku took note of. The shock was genuine, but he couldn't tell if her shock was genuine because they thought that he wasn't dead, or the fact that they somehow found out that he wasn't dead.
"Wait you're saying he's not dead?" Yolko asked, completely shocked.
"No... Of course he's dead." Izuku said in a convincing dismissive tone. Which got the reaction he desired.
"Oh, right of course he is dead." Yolko said as she slightly looked away for a brief second. Which both caught and immediately knew why she did such a thing. When somebody lies, they usually break eye contact and look to the left or right. It didn't help that the girl was a terrible liar as well. This meant they needed to play up the ACT in hopes of getting more of a response out of her. They needed every piece of the puzzle they could get to this mystery so they could solve this case quickly. And if they needed to argue like a married couple to do so, so be it.
"Now Dekiru, there's no need to be like that, we need to give the poor girl some hope." Rumi said in a (obviously fake) sincere tone. Which Izuku immediately scoffed at before responding.
"Miruko, don't act like you care when you just want to win this conversation like it's some contest." Izuku said, which Rumi huffed at before turning her attention back to their so-called Witness.
"Fine, so tell me Yolko, why would Grimlock want to make sweet sweet love to your friend with a business and of a broadsword." Rumi asked, which made Izuku rub his eyebrow in exasperation that was actually real. Because even for her that was a little too far. Which Rumi actually agreed with since she regretted it the second it came out of her mouth. But she didn't let that regret show. This is why she was not good at these things, she had no filter. But all that mattered was that Izuku knew that she regretted it, which she could tell that he knew.
"God... Miruko, laying it on a little thick, aren't you?" Izuku asked with exasperation.
"What... I asked... There is just no winning with you." Rumi said with a Scoff.
"Sorry Yolko, but can you answer the question?" Izuku asked in an apologetic tone.
"Yeah... sure. The only reason I can think of would be because of his wife's death." Yolko said before explaining what happened in her previous Guild.
How they found a magic item, and some wanted to sell it, while some wanted to keep it. And after a vote, they decided to sell it. But when Grimlock's wife (Which was only in-game for convenience) Griselda went out to sell it, she was killed. She then told them that it wasn't a unanimous vote and two people were against selling it. And those two people were their supposed victim and A lancer named Schmitt, which Izuku noticed she said with disgust. And when he inquired about that, she back pedaled. The two decided not to press that and went back to this possible next victim, Schmitt.
"Schmitt, Schmitt, why does that name sound familiar?" Izuku asked himself.
"What! Do you know him?" Yolko asked a little shocked. But that shock only grew when Izuku's thinking expression turned to Realization and a bit of frustration.
"Fuck!"
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