[PP-F1] hopeful beginnings <Kuro, Itzal>

[Kuro Takanori 0]

[PP-F1] hopeful beginnings <Kuro, Itzal>

 

Kuro had logged in and looked around, he was at the towns main plaza standing on an almost shining metal platform with four small stone pillars around him. Knowing from the beta testers he was chatting with online these were called "teleport platforms" or something like that, he liked how when he focused on the metal platform the cardinal system made the metal platform look beyond real.

"well, that's a neat trick" \ he swiped his right hand down and his menu window appeared in front of him, he tapped the "items" option and a small list of item names came up. "they said something about sword skills.." his voice became quiet as he started walking while looking at his items, he wasn't paying attention and ran into a wall. BAM!

"ow-.. wait what?.. it doesn't hurt?" he poked his head and didn't notice any pain. he looked at the purple hexagon like pop up that read "Immortal object", the pop up dissipated and he looked at his hand.

"this world.. won't beat me" he thought of this game as a challenge instead of a death threat.

Edited September 16, 2016 by Kuro Takanori

[Itzal 0]

Itzal walked out of the restaurant, placing the small meal of two bread loafs, a slice of pizza and a bottle of water into his inventory.  It had been a while since he visited a restaurant but with most of his friends becoming cooks he wouldn't really need to.  With his new purchase he adjusted the hood and mouthpiece of Niger Natio, his black armor, and made his way through the city.  Ulises was silent again and Itzal decided that it was time he dealt with him.  This was going too far and he needed a chat with his friend.  However he needed a suitable place to do so.  Somewhere he could do so with peace and quiet.  The crowd began thickening and by now the players and npcs on floor one had learned about Itzal and weren't afraid of him so his armor had been rendered useless in getting through crowds.  Well.  There was one other way he could get through this huge town.  Itzal slowly made his way over to a building and leaped up to begin scaling it.  By the time he reached the top he heard one of the younger players exclaim in surprise at seeing a man climbing the buildings.  He paid no mind and began leaping from rooftop to rooftop.  Parkour was essential he thought if you wanted to be a proper scout.  He knew exactly where he wanted to go and when he arrived he stopped on a beam that stood between the walls of an alley that acted as the area's one and only entrance.  Someone was already here.

[Kuro Takanori 0]

Kuro standing before the entrance of the wall looked around and tapped the wall again, but the immortal object pop up didn't come up so he just shook his head and started out the entrance which was most likely a very stupid idea since he's never fought here in sword art online before.

"it's time to see battle through sword art online's rules and techniques. i have my straight sword so i should be good i think.. hopefully" Kuro had thought of enemies stronger than him and was prepared to run at any moment, but for now he just kept walking along the trail going down the first route

"so where's an easy mob to kill?" he glanced around and couldn't find an enemy in sight "crap.. maybe they were hunted clean and just need time to respawn?" he wasn't actually too far away from the front gates, he was only about fifty feet or so away from it "ugh... wonderful... i have to wait longer..". he had nothing to do so he started back boredly and just kicked the ground as he came to the gates.

"stupid system.."

[Itzal 0]

Itzal saw the player begin to walk toward the city gates and his eyes followed him before finally pulling himself onto the rooftop again.  He went to cut him off and this was easy since the player needed to push through the crowd to get there.  Itzal?  No.  He was free.  That was another beauty about parkour.  He soon made it to the top of the gate, surprising the guards as he leaped onto the floor.  The started yelling at him but then recognized him and shrugged at each other before continuing on.  They knew he was a scout, not an assassin.  They had nothing to fear.  Itzal waited until he spotted the player make his way out and look around.  As the player wandered around for a bit Itzal took note that he didn't wander far from the city gates.  He was essentially trying to find a monster extremely close to the gates so he could make a quick escape if need be.  He looked around for a bit before hitting the ground with his foot and walking back into the town with a soft muttering.  Itzal watched him for a while and knew that this player needed his help before he made a mistake and got himself killed.  He ran down the wall and leaped onto a nearby building, making his way slowly down while keeping in pace with the player.  Soon he was leaping across the beams that stuck out of the individual buildings.  He picked up a small rock and threw it accurately at the player's shoulder and when he had the players he pointed at a specific restaurant.  When he saw the player turn to the restaurant and confirmed that he understood Itzal leaped from beam to beam above the crowd.  When he was near the restaurant he slipped through the beams, grabbed the next with his hands and landed softly at the entrance, taking a seat to wait for the player.

[Kuro Takanori 0]

Kuro kind of followed the guy with his eyes as he did his parkour routine into the restaurant, he walked into the restaurant and seated himself directly opposite of the player that had so easily maneuvered through roof tops and bars to sit down without breaking a sweat. Kuro thought it through and the player sitting across from him seemed to be strong himself, kuro covered his eyes with his long almost glowing white bangs. now that his eyes were unseen he glanced at the player's armor and equipment.

"so.. you going to tell me why a higher level player like you wants to speak with me in the first place?" Kuro's face didn't show emotion, no smile, no frown, nothing but how his lips are positioned on his face. Kuro was thinking of what this higher level individual might want with him, sure his cursor was green but there's still a chance that he could lure him into a trap and kill him with multiple players.

He then looked down and started talking to himself quietly about what to do if that came to be the situation, if he had to fight other player's he didn't mind it but he'd rather not end someones life over something so trivial as experience and items so he had to think of running away and keeping a dash without stopping to catch his breath. mentally he was creating options and paths to go on.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal watched as the player seated himself opposite of Itzal, making sure his bangs were over his eyes so they weren't seen by Itzal.  Interesting how he tried to hide his white eyes despite the fact that Itzal had already spotted them when the player turned to look at him.  Then again the player probably didn't realize that Itzal was a trained scout and could spot many details easily.  Then again the eyes did betray thoughts, emotions and reactions and thus if you wished to keep those a secret then it was important to hide them.  Itzal listened as the boy asked why a high level player would pull a player like him aside like this.  After he did so he looked down and seemed to be talking with himself.  As he did the waitress came by with a smile.

"What can I get you two today?" 

"I'll have the pepperoni pizza please."  While she wrote it down he turned to the other player, whom the waitress would ask next.  "To put bluntly, I saw you look for monsters and I also noticed how you didn't trek farther than fifty feet away from the gate.  Either your nervous or cautious but either way if you were attacked by a mob you couldn't handle the monster could easily block your path.  Believe me, I know.  In other words you could have been killed in an instant.  Level one is a pain but you're going to get yourself killed if you solo like that.  You need to start by playing with other players if you want to solo, and right now with the monsters having gotten stronger even then it's not recommended unless your Calrex, the strongest player in Aincrad.  Wrapping this all in a few words:  I saw you in need and decided to give you a helping hand should you want it.  I'm part of a recently forged guild that devotes themselves to helping low level players get stronger in whatever they need.  You can order something and take my offer, or eat and leave.  The choice is yours."

[Kuro Takanori 0]

"i don't need handouts and I'm not in the mood for anything" his reply was short and got to the point, Kuro looked him over one last time but this time focusing on any areas he could hide weapons and items. When he was younger and in the slums of japan he had to make sure to be able to decide if his enemy had a weapon or didn't". while thinking of the places he could hide things he came to the conclusion that there are over 53 ways to hide a small blade within his armor.

Kuro totally ignored the waitress from that point on and just stared for a moment while processing the dialog that he had just been told. 'why would he do this if it doesn't benefit him in the slightest? it's a trap for sure. why else would he do it? it doesn't make sense' Kuro then moved his hair away from his face to show his whitish-grayish metallic eyes that reflected light as well as a top ranking blade.

"i don't see how you get anything out of this, mind filling me in?" Kuro wasn't the one to speak to someone for long periods of time and did not enjoy anyone's company so these actions weren't actually interest in the conversation. it was only the fact that he could possibly become stronger, he didn't care about the other people involved. His eye's could become linked with another's and dig within your chamber of secret's stored inside your heart (metaphorically). 

[Itzal 0]

Itzal watched the player shrug off the offer a bit coldly and scan Itzal for weapons.  He didn't move as the player did so.  Then he asked him what he would get out of this.  So he was the over suspicious type eh?  Well hopefully some good friends and company would dampen that just a little bit.  Maybe.  The waitress shrugged and walked away to give Itzal's order to the chef and he was already starting to get hungry.  Pizza was possibly the greatest food of all time.  Yes, nothing beat a good fresh pizza.  He allowed a small sigh to escape as he pulled the mouthpiece down, but left his hood up, and folded his hands together.

"I'm not sure where you're from, but I'm going to guess you couldn't trust anyone correct?  I had a similar experience though probably different than yours at the same time.  However you won't get far in this game without friends, unless you intend on staying in towns for the rest of your life.  As I said soloing is a very dangerous path and only a handful players take that route, and only a handful of those survive.  Not to mention those handful who do?  All have friends if they need the backup.  In other words, you'll need to find someone you can trust sooner or later.  The better solution would be now than later.  If you don't want me that's fine but you'll need someone to help you.  As for what I get out of it?  Simply put, I can't stand knowing a player has a strong chance of dying and I want to do everything in my power to help others not only survive, but to live well in this world, the way they want to.  If they want to do nothing but fight and level grind?  I'll help them.  If all they want is to have a business?  I'll fetch materials for them.  If they want to just hang out and talk?  I'll be there to chat.  It hurts me to see someone left out, or hurt, or sad, or in danger.  So when I saw that you needed help, I didn't think about myself in any way, and I still don't.  That's my drive in this world.  It's to help others."  He stretched out his hand to the player.  "My name is Itzal."  he said with a smile.  "A pleasure to meet you."

[Kuro Takanori 0]

the metallic eyes widened, his mouth tugged into an angry frown "I'm not helpless okay, I can handle myself just fine out there in the fields." Kuro stood up and walked towards itzal. "and don't go around talking as if you know me. you don't and never will!" Kuro then threw his fist to the table and turned "bye, whatsit-zal". with that he just started walking away, Itzal had struck a subject that even Kuro didn't dare talk about... the subject was Kuro's past. when Itzal mentioned how he couldn't have trusted people in his past was enough to set him off.

It was somewhat obvious that Kuro was heading in an odd direction if he were to be going back into the fields. He made his way into an alleyway and looked around each way before leaning against the wall of the alleyway and sliding down. "get ahold of yourself idiot.. you broke character, again.." he fought back tears and only ended up with small drops leaking from his metallic eyes. Kuro hated his past and wished he'd just forget about it completely, but the past comes to bite you in the back whenever you're weak.. so Kuro keeps up his strong and independent act so people won't notice. He can't let anyone close, from his past he'd learned that people who get too close are potential victims.

Kuro sat there on his knees and threw his arms around his shoulder's to hide his face. even though he knew nobody was around he had to hide it no matter what. in his mind, if he becomes weak then the memories come flooding back. Kuro's actual personality was hidden behind thick walls and locks he'd put up to protect himself and others.

(emotional real quick)

[Itzal 0]

Well.  That went horribly wrong.  He went over his thoughts and confirmed that he never once called the player helpless and so he came to the conclusion that the kid's past must be a sad one.  His own past was sad of course, but he was guessing he was more mature than the other player was.  Itzal sighed as the player slammed his fist on the table and walked away, insulting him on the way out.  Itzal withdrew the hand he had offered and turned to the waitress as she gave him his food.  Itzal thanked and paid her before storing it in his inventory.  Looks like it was to go then.  He had no need to stay here after all.  He walked outside and decided to switch his gear, trading the black Niger Natio to his Twilight cloak:  A deep purple trench coat with a silver vest underneath and dark brown pants.  It had a hood as well which he rarely used but he decided to go ahead and pull it up.  Hands in pockets he made his way down the town, just wanting to go for a walk.  As he did so he turned round an alley, hoping to get back to the area he originally intended to go in the first place, when lo and behold he ran into the same player.  He looked at his eyes and saw that he was crying earlier.  He smiled gently.  "Well I always knew God gives us second chances.  How about we start over again ok?  I still have the pizza if your interested."

[Kuro Takanori 0]

Kuro froze. someone saw his weakness. this was going to get out, he had to do something. Even though there are rules in the town he ignored them and drew his blade, activating a light blue sword skill that slashed from the left side to the right, this skill was called "horizontal". but because of the safety rules inside of towns and cities his blade was blocked and sent back with a hexagon shaped pop up where his blade should have struck. his blade flew to the ground and he stood unarmed.

Kuro wasn't crying anymore but had red around his eye's. "get the hell out of here.. now..." Kuro had no power of the other player to stop him from leaking his secret. Itzal knew his secret, which was that he, in fact, isn't strong. he's the most emotional and weird person of all.. he did not want to let the player go, but there wasn't anything to stop him with. Anyways Kuro was pretty sure that he'd cracked his sword when he attacked Itzal and it was blocked.

Kuro was wondering what rumors would be made of him, what names he'd be called, how helpless he'd be to stop this all.. he couldn't take it and started to cry yet again, it's a good thing this was digital because he'd probly run out of tears if he'd have done this in real life. He wasn't a match now, he'd be the laughing stock of the whole game. He'd become everything he wished he wouldn't become. it'd all be over for him.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal was totally shocked when the player drew his weapon.  Despite being in a safe zone which he was well aware of he instinctively moved his arm to deflect the blade's flat end and knock it out of the player's hand, but the game did that all by itself.  When the blade was knocked away the player seemed defeated.  This confused Itzal more then ever.  What the hell was he thinking?  Did he one:  think that he would be able to kill let alone harm a higher level player?  And two:  how would this help him in any way progress?  There was no rhyme or reason to this.  He wasn't angry at him, just worried is all.  There was a bit of silence until two npc guards rushed up when they heard the sword striking the ground.

"What the hell is going-  Oh.  You.  Everything alright?"  Itzal nodded to the npc.  He was well known by everyone now, due to his seeking new players who needed help all the time.  Even though he wasn't wearing Niger Natio, the hood as well as his stance made it obvious who he was.

"Just a misunderstanding is all.  He's done nothing wrong."  The guard looked at the player for a bit before nodding and walking away, trusting the player knew what he was doing.  Itzal sighed as he walked over to pick up the player's weapon.  When he lifted the blade he tested it with a few swings, recalling how ridiculously light the weapon was in comparison to his own longsword.  Man had he made it far.  Itzal turned to the player and walked over and when he was directly in front of him, threw the weapon in the air, caught the blade end, and handed it to the player.  "Now let's try this again shall we?  Hi.  My name is Itzal.  I'd like to know what your name is, how I offended you in some way, and why you thought it necessary to kill me and become a red player.  Can we just talk or would you like a quick sparring match?"

[Kuro Takanori 0]

Kuro was quiet and didn't answer to him at all, he only rubbed his eyes so he would stop all the god damn waterworks. abut thirty seconds of silence later he replied with "my name.. is Kuro... my problem is that you read me like a damn book.... and for the last. i panicked.". He took the sword quickly and sheathed it upon his back, where it was easiest for him to get to it "right now pizza sounds pretty good..". He sniffled, then hid behind his bangs again.

Kuro was not happy yet was not angry.. he was sad altogether. He wasn't sure what to think of Itzal and was confusing himself with all of these damn emotions flying around in his head. "i don't understand why you go this far though, can't a guy be left alone with his waterworks?". Kuro laughed a little and then went back to sad. He was all mixed up with emotion and memories and he just needed a little human interaction to take his mind off of things.

The blade that he sheathed had a crack from the handguard to the middle of the blade though, so he'd have to go and get that fixed when he went to get new equipment.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal listened as the player finally managed to give his name.  Itzal smiled.  "Kuro.  Nice to meet you.  Alright then let's take a seat here on the bench."  As they moved to sit down Itzal removed the pizza box out from his inventory and placed it between them.  He opened the box and nearly melted right there as he breathed in the amazing smell of fresh pizza.  He took a slice and bit a piece of it out, savoring the flavor before swallowing.  He now pulled back his hood, smiling to Kuro and looking him in the eyes, blue meeting white.  "As for why I do this?  Again I can't help but want to help others who seem to need it.  I ran into you by accident, I was never following you.  Yet I was led to you.  And whether or not you meant me harm I wanted to help you get a firm footing in this world.  Nothing good comes from trying to hide who you are.  My armor?  Niger Natio?  Is not to disguise myself.  I chose to be a scout in this game, and thus I practice stealth and evasion as well as detection and searching skills.  I'm a decent fighter but I'm not completely orientated to that area...  Yet.  Not to mention that it gives me an edge in meeting unsavory players as I can withhold my emotions from them and keep them from attempting something they'll regret later on.  When I saw you I knew you had an issue that you couldn't work out on your own.  I'm going to guess that we both have our sad stories but if you don't want to share yours that's fine.  I can share mine if that would make you a little more comfortable.  And I can teach you the ins and outs of this game, as well as how to handle yourself and others if you want me to.  I'm almost done training a player named Alisa so she'll be able to handle herself for a while."  He wondered what Kasier would think or say, if he got a new apprentice after Alisa.  They had only just gotten together but it seemed there was a strong bond from her and he wanted to return the favor.  He just.  Didn't know how to go about it.  Should he ask her on a date?  Just randomly do quests with her and talk?  He had no clue.  He was in over his head on that one. 

[Kuro Takanori 0]

Kuro sat with him on the bench and kind of stared at Itzal as he spoke. once itzal was done he said "i.. don't mind you sharing... and as for the ins and outs?.. i would um... appreciate that?". Inside Kuro's mind he started to stop wondering why Itzal wanted to help people and started to wonder what kind of person he was. what kind of person would he have to be to be in able for him to just trust people right off the bat and fight next to them, teaching them.

"so how do you just. give out your trust like you do? what's to stop the beginners if they attack you?" Kuro looked as if he never had heard of someone helping for no apparent reason other then to help. Kuro stood up and turned to Itzal "what would you do if they attacked you huh? kill them? or just leave them there and run? what insurance do you have!?"

Kuro took Itzal by his collar and pulled "how do you know that i won't kill you myself or at least attempt it? huh?"

[Itzal 0]

Itzal listened as the boy was hesitant but he knew that his reason was probably based on experience.  When he said he didn't mind him sharing he nodded.  "Alright then.  Well to put it short since you seem to be the kind of kid who wants to get to the point, both of my parents were killed in cold blood in front of me at the age of six while we were on a trip in Japan, don't ask me why I don't know I was too young to remember.  A police officer took me in and I started going to school.  My particular skills got me the attention of the bullies in the school and therefore whenever I was outside the house I was evading others as much as possible.  Thus I locked myself in my room and my only visitor was my adopted sister.  Soon SAO came out and here I am."  He listened as the kid asked how he just gives out his trust, then proceeded to pull at his collar.  Itzal couldn't help but chuckles.  He still had much to learn.  "Well being a fairly higher level than new players means they can't kill me.  They could try but it would take them forever just to deal half my health.  Not to mention I'm a skilled fighter and can parry or evade attacks fairly easily.  So in other words, I'm not afraid of low level players harming me.  As for handing out my trust, I wouldn't necessarily say that I do that.  I like to analyze others and get a read on their personality, but overall I'm willing to give them a chance.  That's something that a lot of people wish or ask for and don't receive, yet that's the thing everyone deserves.  So as for teaching you a few things, how about we discuss that after eating a few slices ok?  Don't make me eat this whole pizza, because I will," he finished with a chuckle before taking another bite.

[Kuro Takanori 0]

"pizza huh?.. never had it before" Kuro looked at it's melting goodness and took a slice cautiously "this won't do anything to me right? i mean.. it looks good and all, but is it okay to eat?-" Kuro watched Itzal eat some and put the slice to his lips "might as well". He took a bite and moved the slice away from his mouth, a line of melting cheese connected his mouth to the slice of pizza he just bit out of.

His face turned a little red in the cheeks and his eyes glistened a little "holy crap" Kuro looked as if he had just figured out the purpose of life. "where'd you find this stuff?" Kuro was planning on going to that restaurant later and getting more of this, all he needed was the name of the restaurant they were at but because he wasn't focused on the restaurant and was focused on Itzal he didn't get the name of it.

Kuro took another bite and chewed it down, these actions made him seem younger to anyone that hadn't seen him before. a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth, he kept taking bites until that slice was gone. "um. may i please have another slice of that?" he pointed to the pizza inbetween them.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal wasn't surprised that Kuro didn't have pizza.  Not only did he not know Kuro's history but pizza wasn't as common a food in Japan as it was in other countries.  He watched as Kuro took a slice and bit at it.  Itzal laughed lightly as he saw his eyes widen and a little more at his reply.  "Ha ha!  I told you it was good!  There's an Italian restaurant not far from here, the outside decorated with red and gold.  Can't miss it.  Cheap yet very delicious indeed.  And filling, though I always eat a lot, here and in the real world.  Yet somehow it doesn't show...  And dude we're splitting this.  You have four slices and ditto for me!"  Itzal took another bite of his slice and allowed his eyes to close as he enjoyed the taste.  The two continued to eat, both of them equally as hungry and devoured the pizza rather quickly and once it was finished the box disappeared into a thousand tiny crystals.  Itzal wiped his hands clean and turned to Kuro.  "Ok, so I'll be honest, I want you as my friend.  I never had any friends when I entered this game and now I'm getting more than I ever thought possible.  And I would love to have a few more guy friends as well."  He said this because after coming up with a list of his friends, he discovered that he had more feminine friends than masculine.  "As for my teaching you, depending on what build you're shooting for, I could take you on as my apprentice, or one of my friends could.  We're in charge of a guild that helps lower level players get up on their feet and make it to the top after all.  We won't treat you like a child, we never do.  I know your strong and capable.  If you don't like that idea I could share you the basics and check up on you from time to time.  Overall it's your call but I found that there's things in this game that are dangerous to learn on your own."