This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

Chapter 202 37.3 Story Hooks?

GARNET

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Deep within the slums of Vestyge's capital city of Vulcan, a young lad ran through the pipe-filled streets with reckless abandon. On her hands was a piece of a broken pipe fashioned as a weapon, a red valve adorning the other end like a club as he dashed through the treacherous path like a nimble rat.

"After that cretin!"

"That brat stole from me!"

The boy grinned as he dragged his spoils of war with him. Having stolen bread from a few stands that were too stupid to look at him stealing in the middle of the noon, he held no love for their methods, especially if they were just going to call the Watch on him anyway even if he tried buying from them legit.

"Hah! You're all too slow!"

With a taunt, he leaped over another errant pipe, using his size to his advantage as he rounded into a narrow corridor.

"Where did that bugger go to?!"

"He shouldn't have gone far!"

"Heh, idiots..."

Garnet sniggered at yet another job well done, slinking into the deepest darkest depths of the Vestygian slums. His speed had never failed him, and with another decent haul, he was sure that her sister wouldn't have to go hungry that night.

"Let's see what I got..."

Leaning by the walls of a dilapidated building, the young boy counted his spoils. Looking inside the bag, he counted at least three loaves of bread, along with a few sizeable fruits that would've surely cost a fortune. Vestyge was never known for its agriculture, resorting mostly to its more southern colonies for fruits and vegetables.

"These are pretty damn good," he smirked.

It was better than he expected. Usually, he would only grab a few moldy, half-eaten scraps of bread along with maybe a rotten fruit if he was lucky. To think that the risky he move he pulled on that one stall even worked as well as it did... Her sister might just not go hungry for a day or two.

"Now to get home..."

Of course, that was assuming that he got home without much incident. The walls had ears, and if the authorities somehow managed to find him on his way back, he'd have no choice but to fight or drop his haul.

And he didn't want to do either of those things. As much as her sister was crippled, she still packed a mean punch, especially if she realized that he wasn't actually working an honest job.

Cautiously, he peeked out of the alleyway, making sure that the coast was clear before casually walking out to the steam-filled streets of Vestyge. Having learned the first time that acting suspicious only made him look more so, Garnet made sure to look as normal as possible, even placing his weapon over his shoulder as if he owned the place.

Still, even as he looked as comfortable as everybody else, his eyes still kept their due vigilance at every nook and cranny he walked past. He didn't want to get tailed, especially if they somehow found where their hideout was...

No... He would never endanger his big sister like that.

Slowly but surely, he navigated the city streets, making sure to take the lesser known paths as he climbed onto some of the more dangerous pipes overhanging the streets. The slums had always been treacherous to traverse, and one wrong slip would have him careening back down onto the cold metallic ground.

Eventually, he reached their old reliable shack. It had seen better days, of course, with its roof being having been pierced by yet another pipe from the ever growing mass that was Vulcan.

"Finally home..."

With bag in hand, Garnet stepped forward, mentally preparing himself for what was to come as soon as he entered the shack. Dropping his trusty pipe by the wayside, he strode forward. It wouldn't do for her sister to see him holding a weapon. She'd just ask him too many questions that he wouldn't be able to lie his way through them good enough.

"You're back early."

The young man held his breath as he heard the same imposing voice he had been with for almost the entirety of his life. Squeaking axles made themselves heard from behind one of the few walls they had left, the sound of it clearly denoting that it had seen better days. Turning a corner, the rusty wheelchair arrived with its passenger, his sister still looking at him as if she wasn't knee-deep in illness.

"Work had been easy today," he quickly lied, flashing a carefree smile as he placed a hand on the back of his head. "Didn't even break a sweat, Sis."

"So it would seem."

Ruby gave her a questioning look, her disheveled red hair still somehow looking shinier despite the gaunt look on her cheeks. Her legs were covered with a dirty cloth, and her dress was still the same old noble dress he found for her when he found himself on the docks that one time.

"And I bought us a lot of stuff today," Garnet proudly declared showing his stolen bag with a smile on his face. "You don't have to go hungry today!"

"Nonsense," she scoffed, waving her hand in a way that reminded him of some of the higher-ranking people he sometimes saw on the streets. "However many those are, you need it more than I do."

Garnet frowned. As per usual, her sister was still somehow denying any and all attempts he made at trying to feed her. She sometimes ate, of course, but only when he could practically hear her stomach trying to eat itself. Sometimes, he would even try and feed her while she was asleep, her unconscious state somehow being more receptive to food than whenever she was awake.

"There's more than enough here for us, Sis," Garnet insisted, digging his arm down into the bag and pulling out an orange fruit. "Here."

Throwing it in his sister's direction, Ruby caught it with both arms, her frown only making him more nervous as he waited for her reaction.

"This is... fresher than usual," she skeptically pondered, giving the fruit a suspicious look. "And you're saying you bought this?"

"Yep!" he insisted. "So eat up! I still have more here if you-"

"You're stealing again, aren't you..."

Garnet froze. Swallowing, he found himself face-to-face with his sister's infamous glare. Well, it was only infamous to him, but he'd think that most people would probably wilt the moment his Big Sis Ruby aimed her hazel eyes on them.

Still, he had to lie.

"A-Absolutely not!" Garnet insisted, years of stealing having honed his skills in the art of lying to his big sister. "I just got paid better this week."

Instead of replying, Ruby raised an eyebrow at him judgingly, the orange in her hand casually being tossed up and down as she seemingly pondered on whether or not to throw it at him.

"Really," Ruby drawled out, clearly not convinced with his answer. "I don't think you're telling the truth to me."

"But I am," he pressed further, hoping that he'd be able to perpetuate the lie he had been running for so long. "So go ahead and eat it already. I know you're starving."

Inwardly, Garnet hoped to whatever gods there were that his big sister would just stop asking questions. He had gone through over a year of stealing and foraging, and only today did he manage to score this big. The least he wanted to see was his Big Sis Ruby actually eating more than a nibble of food before chucking the rest to him.

"Garnet, you wouldn't lie to your Big Sister now, wouldn't you?"

He swallowed an unhealthy dose of guilt down his throat as he replied, "Nope! Honest!"

Blinking, Garnet inwardly sighed in relief as he saw his sister finally dig in on the orange she had been tossing around for a while. Watching, he could see the hidden joy and relief in her sister's eyes as a bit of juice escaped her bite, her perpetual scowl doing little to hide her feelings of happiness from him. And just like that, the risk he just took was more than justified.

"I'll let you slide this time," Ruby grunted, her naturally high-pitched tone still somehow sounding dismayed. "But promise me. No stealing. If you haven't earned enough, I can go without eating."

"Sure..." Garnet half-heartedly replied, his own resolve only firming up the more he saw his sister getting a bit of color on her cheeks. "I'll do my best."

"See that you do," she scoffed. "I don't want you wasting away at this dump for too long. You can go and find yourself a better life out there so long as you know what you're doing."

"You always say that, Sis..."

Walking behind his sister's wheelchair, Garnet wheeled his snacking sister back into the safer portion of their shack. It wasn't much, but it was home. He could only hope that he could find a better solution for his sister's illness, however. As much as she wasn't truly his sister in blood, she did her best to raise him right before she became crippled.

It was the least he could do. If he could somehow get her out of this place, he'd take it in a heartbeat.

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Sticking to one chapter per day for now. At least until work eases up. I'm not exactly earning much from writing...