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It was supposed to be a quick trip to the overworld.
Find a way up, grab the goods, make a run for it, easy as always!
“Please Sir! My mother is sick! She really needs those!”
Sampo Koski was a man of his word, so NOT bringing Natasha the medicine was firmly out of the question!
...
Well, he still had a reputation to uphold.
He swiftly grabbed a bottle out of the box he ‘borrowed’ from some warehouse no one really looks after and playfully twirled it around his hand.
“Is one of these enough to suffice for the time being?”
He was met with silence.
“Sir? You know, when someone offers you aid, that someone being Sampo Koski himself, you should accept it while the offer’s up, eh?”
“She needs more than just one bottle... 5, no, 6 at least! Just for this week! Please, I’m begging you!”
Hm. There were roughly 10 bottles of this medicine (Sampo couldn’t be bothered to remember the name) in the box, and he distinctly remembers Natasha saying something about people not being allowed to drink more than a spoonfull.. 6 bottles? For a week?
...
Was this guy trying to rip him, THE Sampo Koski, off?!
Maybe he needs it for his whole family? And who would steal medicine for something other than aid? Oh well, he can always get more and this guy was starting to annoy him.
“Okay, It’s a deal then! Take the box with you, free of charge! There are plenty more of where that came from! Knock yourself out!” His mother will if he actually plans on giving her that much...
“Thank you Sir! Thank you!”
“Just uh, keep this between us two, friend. Don‘t want people to think I just gift goods around every other day!“
with that, the guy ran off.
...Rude.
A long sigh escaped the man’s mouth.
Time to go avoid more soldiers!
---
Sitting at his table, Gepard could feel his headache getting worse just by looking at todays complains about a certain someone.
Burglary, Fraud, Theft, Assault...
Where am I even supposed to start?!
A knock on the door was what forced the blonde to take a deep breath.
“Excuse the intrusion, Sir Landau. There is a report that managed to slip through.”
The guard wasted no time and handed Gepard the short report.
“Thank you, I will look into it.”
The guard proceeded to bow in respect and excuse herself.
Boxes of various types of medicine are rapidly dissapearing at xxx.
Although there have been Silvermane Guards in charge of supervising the warehouse, the number of disappearences have not declined.
Few reports of civilians state to have seen the culprit.
All of the following reports state to have seen them between 11p.m. and 4a.m.
The witnesses described the appearence of the culprit as follows-
Gepard didn’t even have to keep reading to know who was behind this.
It was currently 10:56p.m., almost time for the nuisance to strike.
Grunting, the guard got up, ready for yet another chase..
---
Sampo couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was wrong.
Not about himself, of course, but it was something about that rude guy he gave the medicine to.
He attempted to scam him, sure, but what did he want with 6 bottles of medicine??
Should he care this much? Probably not.
Has he stayed on the overworld just to make sure the guy wasn’t actually causing his mother to overdose? Tragically, yes.
Well, he doubted that was what was happening a while ago, seeing as he was stood behind a wall of an overlooked, dark, alleyway.
Since when has he gotten so attached to the wellbeing of the people he trades with?
He’s got the goods, They’ve got the cash. Easy as that!
But did Sampo Koski, businessman extraordinary, want to be responsible for someones death? Not particularly.
It was a sizzling sound that made the man perk up and get out of his daze.
The sound of ethical use of medicine!
Time for his grand reveal!
“Alright friend, just what is it that you’re doing? You can be honest with your good ol’ pal Sampo, you know!”
The man flinched in surprise, spilling a good portion of the medicine onto the floor.
“God, you scared me man! Don’t sneak up on people like that, ha..”
Slightly squinting his eyes, Sampo could vaguely make out what the smuggler was doing.
“What are you filling that into, friend?” He asked, still as talkative and charismatic as ever.
The man hesitated before looking around and answering him.
“Eh whatever, I’ll tell you. Theres some wonder chemical in these that is great for explosives. Not the pussy kind that can’t even blast through rock walls, these bad boys will tear through cement and steel all the like! I can offer you some great prices, seeing how you helped me out and all..”
The guy smirked at him, excpecting an answer.
Ah.
So, there was no dying mother after all.
This guy just lied to him, and built bombs out of medicine that could have helped entire communities underground!
And to top it off, he was charging him?
“Ahem.. Well, friend. Before I buy, I must know, just what are you gonna use these for? I mean, just between us, I’ve been in the business for quite a while, so don’t you worry about this getting out. Maybe, your good old pal could help you out with supplies, as long as the price is right?”
He was lying through his teeth, ofcourse. What use could he make of overpriced bombs? He has his own, after all.
“Are you kidding? Price? Hah!”
A few dirty laughs escaped the asshole, spilling even more of the medicine.
With every passing second, Sampo grew more irritated.
Now it was a confession he was digging for.
“Well, how about letting me help in exchange of some of those explosives, friend?”
He was not as sincere as before, smile faltering and all that, but the guy was too giddy to notice.
“Sorry, but no.. As for what I’m doing with them.. well, I had the Goethe Hotel in mind, but all the people there are old hags waiting to die anyway, so im going with some overpopulated spaces, like the trams! Hoping to catch one on a school day too! I mean, I could tell you the dates to keep watch and have a laugh, eh?”
“So, your objective is just.. killing people for shits and giggles?”
Suddenly, he wasn’t as charismatic and trustworthy as normal.
He only put up that facade for customers, after all.
“Huh? Yeah, so what? Got a problem?”
He got up from his spot on the ground and balled his fists.
“No, no! Of course not!”
He put his hands up in defense, pretending to be scared.
“I’ve got multiple problems with what you’re doing, friend! For starters, you betrayed my trust! That really hurt my feelings! You don’t wanna hurt my feelings, do you?”
Despite his words, he was still acting scared, confusing the scum that stood before him.
“Well, naming all the issues you pose to not only me, but my fellow potential customers, is futile, as the list would never end! But, I’ve got a deal that you won’t be able to deny...”
He pulled out his blades, face going completely blank.
---
Two missing boxes, no traces of anyone ever coming or leaving, typical.
Gepard took a quick look at the clock. It was now 11:23p.m.
He was about to leave and call it a day after talking to the guards, when a muffled scream reached his ears.
Right on cue, he ran towards the noise.
The last time he heard a scream at night, he got all ready for battle when it was just some drunken teens.
His embarassment can’t keep him from his duty though, so he prepared himself for combat.
He thought it was nothing, just before another scream could be heard, now much closer.
He silently went up to the alleyway, peeking in his head to look at the situation, when his heart dropped.
There he was, Sampo Koski, standing before a man on the verge of death, bloody weapons in his hands.
Sampo Koski was a criminal alright. Theft, Fraud and all that, but murder?
Gepard knew how he operated. Tricking people but never really going to extreme lengths if something didn’t go his way.
This was not in character at all. Something else must have happened.
Well... that, or the man has been doing this for longer, just never letting the blonde find out.
He had his doubts about that scenario, seeing as how heavily the criminal was breathing, seeming shocked himself.
In any case, Sampo has done serious harm to the barely breathing man.
Gepard had to act, now.
“Freeze! Put down any and all weapons!”
For the first time in his line of work, Sampo flinched.
“Woah! Didn’t see you there Gep! As for this whole.. ah.. situation..”
He hesitated for way too long, almost making Gepard speak up again.
“Why don’t we both forget this ever happened huh? Just uh.. tell the.. what was her name? Sorry, kinda out of it after... yeah! Just, let it slide this time?”
“That man needs serious medical attention. If you want to reduce your sentence, step away from him and drop your weapons.”
Sampo took one long look at the victim, before sighing melanchonaly.
“I thought he would be weaker.. this is truly frustrating..”
He frowned.
In a matter of seconds, one of Sampo’s blades was inside of the man’s throat, making him faintly scream.
...
What the fuck?
---
Gepard looked at him, flabbergasted.
He just blankly stared back.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Just finished the job, really. He was gonna die even with the 6 bottles.. hah..”
After that, he just started giggling to himself like a maniac.
“Sorry, hah.. Man Gep, you should see your face! Sorry, oh my god..”
“What part of this is amusing to you, Koski.”
He thought that would get him to snap out of it, but it just fueled the man’s laughter.
“You probably don’t even get it, sorry, oh my god... So you see, the guy asked for 6 bottles-“
He would’ve continued going on and on about the humor of the situation, had Gepard not lunged at him out of nowhere.
His head hit the ground unceremoniously, causing him to hiss through his teeth.
Despite the fact that Gepard was pinning him to the floor, leaving him seemingly defenseless, Sampo couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Hey, what gives, man? Going in for a kiss are we?”
He was excpecting the man to get flustered and then try to arrest him, but the look in Gepard’s face quickly proved him wrong.
“Do you have any Idea of what you’ve done?”
He sounded mad alright! Furious, even!
But he wasn’t the usual type of angry, there was something painfully genuine about him, something Sampo couldn’t quite grasp.
What was he supposed to do in this situation? How should he act?
Naturally, Sampo wanted to spin this into an amusing segment, but the man above him didn’t seem in a mood to laugh.
...Wait, is he talking to him?
“Koski, I’m being serious! Are you even listening to me?!”
“Whuh, wha, what? Woah! Sorry, friend! Still uh, out of it! Wow! Hah!”
‘Out of it’ is a giant understatement. Had he hit his head that bad? Wait, what are they doing right now?
Gepard started making noises again, random sounds ommiting from his theatralically moving mouth. Shit, why was he so mad?
“Oh for fucks.. Answer me!”
His grip dangerously tightened.
“Ow, ow, okay, okay! Lay off, jesus..”
...
Gepard looked at him, excpecting something.
An answer? Uhhh... to what?
“Gepard, please don’t hit me but, could you repeat that question?” He asked, growing in on himself ever so slightly.
A groan is all that Gepard could offer. Well, it’s understandable, really.
“Sampo Koski, you have exactly 5 seconds to explain yourself before I call for help and have you arrested for murder.”
Oh. Ohhh..
He turned his head to his right, taking in the sight of the fresh corpse.
Ah, he killed him.
...
Well! Can’t do anything about it now!
“Let’s word it as uh.. self defense..?”
It was a pathetic attempt of a joke, really.
Before Gepard would inevitably call for reinforcements, it dawned on him, this time making him stop smiling.
He took someones life.
Oh!
Alright! Nothing good ol’ Sampo can’t handle!
For some reason, he couldn’t convince himself that this was the case this time.
“Is he, like, dead?”
He was met with silence.
For, probably, the first time of his life on this planet, he was at a loss.
Too many thoughts started channeling through his brain, leaving him out of options to do anything. And oh how lucky he was! The captain of the Silvermane Guards was about to arrest him!
“Hey, man, uh.. why aren’t you like.. uh.. sorry this doesn’t happen, normally! I, wow, I-I really butchered the guy! Think he uh- I don’t know- like.. do you think he..”
He wasn’t thinking, kept talking to somehow kill the silence that was slowly starting to make him anxious, not that he was ever anxious! Sometimes!
“Sampo.”
The guard finally started talking again.
“Why did you kill him?”
God, that was not what he was hoping for!
“Wha-Why? I mean uh.. W-why not! No, no, ignore that, jesus! I uh, he was doing.. doing.. things! Bad things! Well, he was uh, planning on doing bad things! And um, I, the good guy that I.. am! I uh, stopped him from, from doing those.. fuck, hah.. what am I doing?”
Sampo was officially, very, out of it.
He took another look at the carnage he was responsible for.
“But, uh, hey! Um.. nevermind I.. fuck, I can still.. Gepard I, I’ve seen people surviving, uh, things that were almost as bad as.. fuck...”
As if it couldn’t get any worse, his eyes started to sting as his vision blurred.
Against his better judgement, he started talking again, desperately trying to rid of the silence.
“H-hey now! I, I can’t be the- the only one here talking!”
He killed someone and was caught doing it.
The next sentences were barely whispers, clearly meant more for himself than anyone else.
“Why did I do that... He, he wasn’t gonna, like, i don’t know... If I just took my stuff and, like... why did I do that...”
---
Gepard was prepared for a chase, a fight, maybe a confession. But this?
Sure, these kinds of reactions weren’t all too uncommon, but this was Sampo.
And obviously, there was more to this than just mindless murder.
The way he frantically looked at anything but Gepard’s eyes, the way he stumbled over his words. The way he didn’t even realize his dagger wasn’t in his hand anymore, still gripping the air.
Then there was the initial confusion. The way he didn’t seem to be quite there, talking about everything and nothing all at once.
He was still rambling about something that didn’t quite make sense when Gepard shut him up.
“Sampo, shut up. Listen for a moment.”
He shut his mouth instantly, still not meeting his eyes.
“I’m gonna make this brief so you don’t zone out again. You killed a man, wether that was an accident or not, he’s dead. I need you to explain what happened so that I can understand the severity of the situation.”
He finally made eye contact with him, opening and closing his mouth.
Gepard sighed deeply before letting go of the man’s wrists, freeing him from his unforgiving grasp.
The blonde almost frowned at the red skin swelling up where his hands have been, and proceeded to peel himself off of the man.
“I.. ooookay captain! What, whatever you say!”
Sampo sat up with way too much force, visibly making him shudder for a moment.
“God this, eugh, stench! Wow! Hah..”
Gepard watched him glance at the corpse before blocking it out with his hand, smiling.
“So sorry to dissapoint, but we’re gonna have to cut this short! I, uh, have business to attend to! You know me!”
He hastily got off of the ground, struggling a bit but succeeding in standing upright, despite leaning against the wall opposite to the corpse.
“Sampo, what you did-“
“-Was self defense! Uh, fuck, that smell really is something, huh?”
“‘Self defense’ is a bit of a stretch, Koski.”
“Nothing is a stretch for this guy, friend!” Sampo pointed at himself, proud, though his smile did not quite reach his eyes.
Gepard would have argued back, had it not been for the blue haired man hovering a hand infront of his mouth, a panicked look on his face, his smile shaky.
---
Ah
Well, this was bad!
Sampo wanted to say something, anything really, to finally go back on track like their usual encounters.
All that left his mouth was a low hum, just in time as his vision started to blur.
He felt really weak, probably hunching over even more. It was then that he noticed his legs going numb.
The man hastily turned the other way, still covering his mouth. He had to get away, as far away as he could possibly get. Running away was his speciality after all! This was nothing new!
Except it was. This has never happened before, this should never even have happened in the first place! Why was Gepard even there? Why was he there?
His breath quickened, almost suddenly, when an unfamiliar feeling spiked in his chest.
It was almost something akin to elation, just without all the nice things? Like the high he got out of it, mixed with anything but excitement.
He didn’t notice the way his hand was now connected to his mouth, trying to shut down any noise that he was bound to make. He didn’t notice the warm liquid pooling in his eyes beginning to make its way down his cheeks. But those were NOT tears! Simply sweat! He was a sweaty guy, alright!
A firm hand on his shoulder was what finally caused the dam to break, making him gasp up in panic as more sweat trickled down his face.
He didn’t dare to move, make a sound or even breathe. It was as if everything stopped against his will.
Why was this happening? What made him react this way, and why was Gepard not chasing after him or something? It was all they did, this didn’t happen, like, ever!
He wanted to make fun of him when he turned his head and caught a glimpse of the corpse again, just laying there, in a pool of its own blood.
That guy was walking around just an hour ago. Maybe less.
His organs that once kept him up and walking were now deteriorating, leaving nothing but dead meat.
If only Gepard wasn’t there, then he could have gone on as normal.
He wanted to run away, back into his sorry excuse of a home, when the black splotches in his vision soon took over, lulling him into nothingness.
--
The next time he awoke, Sampo was not too eager to find out that he was still dizzy, despite having sat down.
He kept his eyes closed carefully, not wanting to indicate he was awake yet, had someone stayed with him.
It would be better to calm his nerves first, seeing as the memories started pouring back into his brain, albeit slowly.
He was heavily leaning on a cold wall, barely sitting upright. There was a slight breeze, confirming that he was outside.
He could recall a sense of panic, a horrible metallic smell and a familiar face.
He gently opened his eyes, only to be greeted by an intense stare of said familiar face, leaning on the wall across from him.
They weren’t in that alley anymore, quickly proven by the fresh air, but as he tried to move and get up, he couldn’t.
Oh. Gepard had handcuffed his hands behind his back. Well, about what he had excpected!
The blue haired man started looking around, his weapons had to be somewhere after all.
Wait.
They weren’t in the alley anymore.
The corpse was still there, his dagger still inside.
And seeing as how Gepard was right here...
“Fuuuuuck...” He groaned, tired and whiny.
The Guard was gonna arrest him for good.
If it had been something stupid like a scam, Sampo could’ve gotten out of prison in no time!
But murder?
He killed a man!
And to top it off, he was from the underworld! Court would not be in his favor, if they even held a trial for him.
He’d have to break out, of course. But his reputation?
The play didn’t even start yet!
He could not keep the chases, scams or anything up after this.
...That made him frown more than it should’ve.
“Why did you do it.”
This guy was already giving him a headache, so straightforward!
The jist was up anyways, no point in really hiding anything.
His role would have to be rewritten, the dynamic he hoped to build up with the captain of the Silvermane Guards would sadly have to falter.
He found himself unnecessarily troubled by this, and opted for a glare.
“Why.. do you think I did it?”
While Sampo did avoid to answer, he was curious on what was going to happen to him, seeing as he was not sitting in a cell yet.
The blonde sighed and pinched his bridge, irritated.
“I don’t know... seriously man, I’m looking for reasons to not immediately lock you up! Help me out?”
That was unusually genuine! Perhaps he really overdid it this time.
Wait no, he killed people before! This was all Gepard’s fault! Had he not found him, everything would be normal!
An overwhelming amount of anger spiked in Sampos chest, who could not keep it hidden as well as he hoped.
“It doesn’t even matter why! Seriously! Do you think any amount of talking would bring the shitbag back to life? Not like that would do you any good...”
He would have stopped talking if he was not currently having a crisis.
“I mean, really! What should I have done! Let him bomb people for fun? I-I did you a favor! One.. wait no, two people less to worry about! Hah! But it’s not funny at all if I’m honest!”
He was not looking into Gepard’s eyes, instead fixating his gaze onto some trash left behind next to the man.
“He was using medicine for bombs, Gepard! Bombs! It’s just a little funny when you, like, think about the irony! I bet Aha would be laughing Their ass off if They had one!”
“Sampo-“
“I mean seriously! If I just, i don’t know, went back home, it wouldn’t have ended as peacefully as it did! I should’ve left him really, but you know me by now don’t you!”
He was smiling wide, eyes frantic.
“Sampo Koski! Your good ol’ pal you can always count on! Ha! What a joke of a title...”
Then there was silence, finally calming the atmosphere.
“I should have asked for another skript. I mean, this is ridiculous! Already fucking up the foreplay, are we?”
Sampo looked up into the sky, knowing that the fools were not watching yet, but still complaining to anyone that would hear his words.
His smile vanished as he calmed down, eyes now downcast.
“I hate corpses, Gepard. The uh, fools always thought that kinda shit was funny.”
He didn’t know why he was telling him this. Gepard wouldn’t even understand it! He was just blatantly blowing his cover further.
Still, he kept talking.
“Always made me watch, since I... didn’t laugh with ‘em. But, in my defense, I wasn’t the only one! Just the, uh, last one. I guess.”
He finally looked at the man before him.
Gepard was looking at him, listening. He knew that he didn’t get a single word he was spouting, but he was listening.
There was no pity or shocked gasps. He was listening.
That was reason enough for him to continue.
“I... don’t kill people. Now, at least. I did in the past but, you know, never had time to think.”
He paused for a moment, contemplating what he should say next.
“One time, hah, they got some hostages for me and some other kids and, like, lined them up. We- I- um. That was the first time I took a life. And they- I really didn’t mean to, Gepard. But um, they said that if we... if we didn’t find it amusing, they’d get more. And um... Gepard I was, I’m sorry...”
Ah, he was crying now.
Sampo Koski, the man, the legend, crying infront of his enemy!
Such a pathetic sight.
Atleast he was silent about it.
“I know that, um, this won’t change anything, by the way. I already accepted being locked up. You can, uh, go ahead. Say the- Say the word! Hah..”
Gepard remained silent.
“Get your buddies, or whatever.”
The blonde sighed.
“I understand that you have a rather... complicated background, but that won’t protect you from the law.”
He was excpecting this, but was complicated really the term?
What about tragic! Or traumatizing! Seriously, Gepard needs to step his dialouge up!
“This is an exclusive one time occurence, Sampo. You will not do anything like this again. If you do, the punishment will be severe. This has never happened.”
Wait, what.
“It’s a blessing that you wear gloves. Otherwise, this would have been way more complicated-”
“Wait wait wait, what? You can’t be serious.”
Gepard simply got up, pulling out a key for the handcuffs.
Was he actually...
He kneeled before Sampo, who was sitting upright due to the initial shock, looking at him.
Letting criminals get away with murder was not the way of a Silvermane Guard, let alone the captain.
Why the hell was this guy uncuffing him?!
“Gepard wait, wait, what are you doing?”
He asked, genuinely confused, just as Gepard was done freeing him.
“Do not mention this to anyone.”
He got up, still looking at him.
“Well I’ll be damned, Gepard Landau, captain of the Silvermane Guards, letting a wanted criminal get away with murder? Wonder what the press would think!”
He was excpecting the man to threaten him, but he has already disappeared.
This was incredibly out of character. Was he dreaming?
Oh well, no time to think about that now! If he was giving him a chance, he would take it!
Sampo spent the rest of the night retrieving his daggers and setting up a crime scene, fleshed out with multiple clues that would lead to nothing!
It was a perfect story in his head:
Two lovers, inseperable! So inlove that it would lead to inevitable death! Or something!
Not that any of the guards would get it.
He also left the unfinished bombs untouched, hoping that they would find the guys fingerprints on them.
When he arrived at his place, laying down to rest, he couldn’t.
Well, no wonder! He had two whole breakdowns infront of Gepard.
Now all that he could do was hope the man didn’t change his mind anytime soon.