[PP-F2] Dank Memes and Broken Dreams

[Mishiro 0]

He was staring down at his empty cup, eyebrows furrowed as if he were deep in thought. Mishiro raised the mug to her lips and drank, just to give herself something to do. The fingers on her free hand drummed a beat, a familiar beat to a song she couldn't put a name to, against the table, and after a bit, the boy lifted his head and gave her a small smile. He asked her a simple question. 

 

Depressingly enough, she found that she couldn't answer it as immediately as she could with a complicated math problem.

 

"For fun, huh? Um," she paused and took the time to collect her thoughts. It could be anything, right? Or were there things the social code - or whatever they called it now - dictated she couldn't say to a stranger. "I draw. Sometimes I walk around the settlement and draw whatever catches my attention, but mostly, I do commissions. And, I- Every Sunday, I go out and spend time with a close friend of mine. How about you?"

[Pinball 1]

This was usually where the conversation died or got weird enough that most people tried to end it. Pinball, though, wasn't really too keen on letting that happen just yet. Maybe he was just desperate to have somebody to talk to. With Lucy spending a lot more time with Sugutsuya, it meant Pinball had a lot more time to himself. Problem was, Pinball got lonely sometimes. 
So, he did the only thing he knew how to do. Completely ignoring the comment about her drawing, he smiled slightly. 
He turned to the left dramatically, and, running a hand through his hair and regarding Mishiro out of the corner of his eye, he leaned back, flipping his bangs to the side. 
"Is he a - cute friend of yours?" 
He laughed, more to himself, really. It was a weird, choked cackle, and probably made him look more like a loony than anything. 
This wasn't really smart, considering he was trying to keep a conversation going. 

[Mishiro 0]

He was doing a weird gesture. Leaning back and flipping his hair to the side with a smile. She could only describe it as... flamboyant? Was that the right word? He was surely awkward at first, but now he was starting to resemble Arabelle. In that they were both unpredictable weirdoes. Then he asked her - "Is he a - cute friend of yours?" - and Mishiro almost choked on her coffee. Yes, at this point, she was 100% certain this random kid she picked up from the front door of her favorite cafe would get along with Arabelle. At this point, the purple-haired girl was scarce in both her and Roman's lives, but if she resumed her regular visits - Mishiro would definitely... not introduce the two. 

One confusing person at a time was enough!

Mishiro cleared her throat and looked at him from over the brim of her coffee mug. She carefully maintained her calm expression but even so, a slight shade of pink dusted her cheeks. "Uh," she began very eloquently. "I suppose one would normally consider him as a good-looking person. Um, he has pink hair. It's a weird color, and it's also really long. But... he pulls it off, I guess? And he's tall so, uhhh." She was rambling. This was bad. Where did her communication skills go?! Just because of one, unexpected question? "In conclusion, I think he's cute. But, um, what you're implying, I don't - see him that way. I don't really see anyone that way right now."

Gosh. That was top-level communication skills right there. She had to get back at him. Somehow. Like she would sometimes with Arabelle.

"What about you, mister?" She leaned forward, doing her best imitation of Arabelle's playful smile. After those two embarrassments, she wasn't feeling very formal now. No, more like, she'd forgotten about it. "What are your standards of cute? Hahaha. Maybe that red-haired girl from a few days ago?"

[Pinball 1]

He watched with increasing interest and a smile that kept growing wider as she stuttered her response. "Oh, so he is cute," he continued. 
Pinball leaned back into his chair, bringing his fingers to his chin with a playful smirk. "Ahh, young love," he murmured. Then she said that she doesn't see him that way. "Oh," he said, 100% stalling until he came up with another response. Then he thought of something, and his mood shifted. "I almost thought you were going to leave me for him." 
"Well, if you don't see him that way." Pinball kicked his feet up onto the chair next to him, so his boots stuck up and out over the table. He winked, jabbing a thumb at his chest.. "I'm pretty tall too." He ran a hand through his hair again, giving his best "Sexiest Man Alive" Magazine smolder. "And it wouldn't be the first time I dyed this." 
"What about you, mister?"
Pinball sat up, laughing loudly. "Mister? How old are y-" 
"What are your standards of cute? Hahaha. Maybe that red-haired girl from a few days ago?"
His brain short-circuited. Any semblance of confidence that joking may or may not have given him was gone now, replaced by a beet-red Pinball.
"I- what, no, I don't-" 
He grabbed his cup and hurled it across the room. "CAN I HAVE ANOTHER PLEASE YES THANK YOU-" 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Pinball

[Mishiro 0]

...
...
...

"Your order has been taken. Please wait a few minutes!" chimed a generic but pleasant-sounding voice. On top of their table, data shards shimmered into existence and joined together to form a stand with the boy's order number. His Col value subsequently decreased.

"Even from this far...? And no complaints about shouting? I rate this cafe's customer service an eleven out of ten. Restaurants in the real world should follow their example." And in front of him, Mishiro could hardly keep a straight face at the boy's embarrassment. She hadn't expected that reaction, had only spoken that way because she didn't know anything else she could tease him about, but somehow she'd hit right at his weak spot. Holding her large mug of coffee with both hands, her small smile seemed almost smug as she continued. "So, after all that talk, you're the one leaving me for her. You didn't answer my question, mister. Is she a - " she began, tilting her head to the side innocently. Mishiro was rephrasing the question, but that didn't matter. With his weakness discovered, the power dynamic was obvious now! "Is she a - cute friend of yours?"

[Pinball 1]

Pinball was beyond flustered. He was losing this battle. He snapped, turning around, red in the face, lifting a finger. He squinted as he stared at her. "I- you, you don't- I'm-" 
He gave up, sinking low into his chair. "Hnnnggg." The coffee had materialized in front of him, and he winced at the sound of Col being spent. He didn't actually have much in the first place, and what he did have he had usually mooched off of Lucy - but that was neither here nor there. There goes my chocolate money. 
"No," he replied immediately. "No she isn't." 
He quickly changed the subject. "Anyway~! You said you drew stuff?" Pinball rested his head on his hands innocently, leaning forward onto the table. "What kinda stuff do you draw? Portraits? Scenery?" He paused. This might be going too far. "Explicitly pornographic sketches of you and this pink-haired dude playing out your sweetest fantasies?"
"Or are those in the secret sketchbook?" 
He turned away to take a drink from his new cup of whatever the hell it was, completely expecting to get slapped for that.
"I like cowboys," he murmured. 

[Mishiro 0]

Saying that he didn't find that red-haired girl cute right after that reaction. Mishiro sipped from her black coffee, and it was obvious from her amused smirk that she didn't believe what he said. Not. One. Bit. One point for Mishiro! She was honest with her answer, and she didn't get as embarrassed as he did. She was considering whether she should tease him more when he suddenly changed the subject. To her drawings. Lucky for him, she liked talking about her hobbies. "Yes. But I don't really stick to one thing in particular. Apart from commissions, I mostly just draw things I like seeing. Like, the view from the window in my room and I believe I also have a drawing of that panda familiar." She pointed, with a finger, at the panda waiting by the door for customers to arrive. "I don't know its name, so I just call it Pochi. Generic, but cute."

Then he said it. That madman. "--explicitly pornographic sketches of you and this pink-haired dude playing out your sweetest fantasies?"

Mishiro f*cking choked. P-porno... that word hadn't even been present in her thoughts up to now! And much less associated with him! She slammed her coffee mug down on the table, let out a strangled, embarrassed sound, and her hands went up to unsuccessfully cover her red face. If she thought she had control a moment ago, she definitely did not now! "No! No, no, no, no. I don't, I-I totally don't! I can't even draw the positions very well--" Then she vaguely recalled that she did learn how to draw a... body in that situation, but that was mostly a dare from her friends, and she'd vowed to herself to never think of that again. And... and... Roman and - [censored] [censored] [censored]. She buried her bright red face in her hands. "Eeeeeee."

"Okay, okay! I promise I only have one sketchbook, so I'll show you!" the clearly-embarrassed girl suddenly exclaimed without being prompted to. She brought up her shared inventory and scrolled through Roman's entire scented candle collection - why had he dumped it there again? - and finally, she came across the right item and her sketchbook materialized in her hands. Mishiro handed it to him, no more like shoved it towards his face, and sat back with her face still red. "See? I don't even--"

Famous. Last. Words.

Her sketchbook had many drawings contained within it. They were fairly normal things you would find in an artist's sketchpad: pictures of sceneries, portraits of people, and practice pages. But the first four pages were exclusively occupied by her drawings of him. Two portraits, one with his hair in his usual ponytail and the other with his hair loose. One drawing she had snuck in when he fell asleep at her desk. And a full-color drawing of her and Roman sitting together with caramel apples in their hands, their backs to the sunset. 

"I bet your cowboy fantasies are much worse," Mishiro mumbled half-heartedly. She rested her arms on the table and put her head down, too embarrassed to see his face.

[Pinball 1]

He waited for it, but nothing came. Instead, he turned to her, watching her with this bubbly amusement that almost seemed to grow as she went on and on. His smile got wider and wider. And he laughed. A lot. He was still grinning when she shoved the sketchbook in his face, though he hadn't said anything else yet (he was still mulling over all of his options), and took a look at her art. He flipped through the pages, genuinely impressed with what he saw. But~ 
He looked up from the sketchbook to her, waggling his eyebrows as he pointed to the pictures of what he figured was the pink-haired man she was talking about. 
Pinball rested his head against his hand, propping the sketchbook up on the table and staring deep into the artwork. "Oh, man, he is handsome," he said dreamily. 
He laughed, closing the book with a flip of his wrist and handing it back to her. "Oh yeah," he agreed, "my cowboys are much worse." 
Pinball shook his head. "I'm just messing with you," he said, almost under his breath. He hoped he hadn't gone too far. 

Now it was Pinball's turn, because, "I've drawn stuff before too, actually." He swiped through his inventory, scrolling - if you could call a single swipe scrolling - through the rather short list of items and materializing his journal. After a small flash of light, he held in his hand a leather tome held shut by a cord of twine. "I bought this not too long ago, but," he began, opening the journal, "I've drawn like... one or two things." He got the book open, and there was a moment where you could see the many empty pages towards the back of the book. "I write in it too, though," he explained, his face getting a little red. Then, he added softly, "We're not going to go through that though." He flipped through a couple of pages, his fingers pulling on the corners of filled out papers. Then he stopped, holding the open journal close to his chest. "I don't actually draw much, so bear with me." He was really only showing her because he thought it was unfair he had made her show him her stuff. 

He laid the book out on the table. Drawn in scratchy pencil, there was sketched an extravagant manor, long since reclaimed by nature. The estate was bordered by a wrought iron fence that was sagging in places, the long tendrils of thorny vines wrapping around its chipped and dented bars, the occasional flower breaking up this harsh barrier. Lichen climbed up the mansion's stone supports, and portions of the roof of the building were either caved in or about to be. In the yard there were shady trees and patches of mushrooms littering the grass, adding to the feeling of the scene. The art made use of shading, but the hatching technique was definitely favored throughout. He made good use of it though; the repetitive use of it wasn't a horrible detriment to the piece overall, and the artstyle had an almost rustic feel to it. 
He could feel his ears turning red as he waited for her to get a long enough look at it. Then Pinball turned to the other side. 
The page was empty except for this small blob in the top left corner. There were four sticks poking out of this blob, and there was a large black spot towards the top right of it. There was a smaller blob connected to it that was filled out with a smiley face. Then, to the right of it, there was an arrow pointing to the drawing and the word "cow." 
"I'm trying to work on my animals." 

Edited December 24, 2018 by Pinball

[Mishiro 0]

Mishiro lifted her head and rested her chin on her arms. He'd finished browsing through the rest of her sketches and was now looking at the first four pages dreamily. Her hand wrapped around the handle of her mug as she pouted. "Mm... or do you mean my artwork's good for reproducing the real appearance so closely?" she mumbled, trying to draw his attention away from the current topic. She could only imagine what would happen if those two met. One troublesome person going after Roman with hearts in their eyes was enough! She accepted the sketchbook and it dissolved into data fragments as she replaced it in her inventory. And just like that, most of his teasing tone (and his confidence with it) seemed to subside. If anything, it almost sounded like he was apologizing for it. The corners of her lips quirked up in a small, amused smile. Well, that was one difference between Arabelle and this strange person. "Hehe. I know."

 

She leaned forward, propping her elbows up on the table's surface, and watched with increasing interest as he brought out a notebook and explained that he drew, too. Oh, so he had interests other than cowboys(?), being a weirdo(??), and knife tricks(???). The strange boy opened the notebook and flipped to the first drawing: a manor, viewed from outside its gates. The mansion had long since been abandoned with parts of its walls crumbling down and overgrown vines creeping through the surrounding fence, and the lack of color gave it a strong, desolate feel. "Hmm..." Mishiro inched forward, looking deeper into the picture. She was oblivious to the boy's embarrassment. This was a pleasant surprise. She had no idea he was this good. "It's pretty. Did you think of it yourself or did you use a reference?"

 

Then, he flipped to the next page. "Cow." There was the drawing she had been expecting from someone like him. Mishiro laughed and slid back onto her seat. "I can see that." 

[Pinball 1]

This was even more embarrassing to do than he had thought. Why had he shown her his journal again? 
Pinball laughed nervously, promptly slamming his book shut as soon as she sank back into her seat. He made quick work of rewrapping the cord around the leather tome. "I- did. Reference." He didn't say anything more than that. Instead, he stowed his journal, and slapped his hands down on the table. "So!" 
The exclamation fell flat. He was at a loss. He started tapping the table. "Doo doo doo," he hummed, leaning backwards. Then he snapped back up. "So when can I meet your boy - boyfriend, friend boy? Because we're obviously such great friends already." His voice was laced with a casual sarcasm - he didn't mean it. He didn't even know this girl's name. Or if he did, he had already forgotten it. Plus, Pinball wasn't really sure he even wanted to meet the guy. That'd be... uncomfortable. Meeting people always was, especially when he was like - hanging out with his lady friend. Alone. Yikes. He was just searching for something now - anything that would shift the topic of conversation. He was super embarrassed by the whole journal thing, but he had shown her because he had felt bad about making her all flustered and junk- it was only fair, right? 

[Mishiro 0]

Mishiro felt her cheeks warm up as she awkwardly avoided eye contact and mumbled something incomprehensible. Then she cleared her throat and said, loud enough for him to hear but still quiet enough to sound almost like a whisper, "He's family." It was vague, but enough to describe the nature of their relationship. Details about her real life were things she rarely talked about. This was a game. She was sure the code can be altered in a certain way to allow anyone to watch the events taking place. "Hm? Um, yeah. Some other time, if you promise not to tell him about... that thing earlier. Wait, we are...?" 

 

The somewhat socially inept girl was not used to detecting sarcasm with anyone other than her purple-haired best friend. She glanced up at him, wondering if it was a genuine question, and then back down at her cup of coffee. It was growing cold now. And the conversation was gradually turning awkward. "Say, mister." Mishiro looked up at him with a somewhat unsure smile. All this talk, and yet - "Have we told each other our names yet?"

[Pinball 1]

"Sweet Home Alabama!" 
He froze, still smiling. He needed to stop. He was gonna stop now. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying to think of some way he could salvage the already dying conversation. "No, no, of course, I wouldn't like - say - anything. Of... no." She went on though. Pinball just stared. "Oh, no, I- I was being sarc- I was being like, an... do you want-" He stopped himself, awkwardly shifting his gaze to rest on the table. He shook his head. Nothing, nevermind. He felt the heat rising in his face and his ears. 
"Say, mister."
He turned, a little too eager. "Yeah..?" 
"Have we told each other our names yet?"
He nearly jumped in his seat. So they hadn't! Pinball wasn't going crazy! He let a little fist pump loose before responding with a grin, "No, I don't think we have." 
It was hard for him not to laugh as he spoke. He offered his hand, smiling from ear to ear. "I'm - I'm Pinball." 
He winked horribly, goofy smile persistent in its presence. "Lovely to meet you, darling." 

[Mishiro 0]

...where the skies are so blue, and Lord, I'm coming home to you...? Mishiro could vaguely recall the way a certain purple-haired girl sang those lines with a fake Southern accent right before a flustered Roman chased her out of the inn. Fortunately for both men involved, she failed to understand the implications of that reference that day and a certain pink-haired healer never explained it to her when she asked, and neither did she now. But unfortunately for the boy seated across her, Mishiro was curious. He had stopped talking and looked at her with a strained - somewhat guilty? - smile on his face, and it resembled the expression he had earlier when he teased her about p-p-porno-- She awkwardly shifted her glance to an empty table adjacent to them and twirled a finger around strands of long, black hair. "What's that supposed to mean?"

 

The boy stammered through his response to her earlier question only to cut himself off at the end and look down at the table, his face steadily turning red. And now that their conversation had reached a lull, Mishiro couldn't help but realized that what she said was more embarrassing than she thought. It had only been a reaction out of pure confusion, but somehow, she'd placed him right on the spot. Still, the girl thought as she lifted her coffee cup to her lips and drained the remnants of her drink - hopefully, a warrant excuse for the long pause - whatever he meant when he asked if he could meet Roman, she thought it would be nice to learn more about him.

 

"It's fine." This wasn't how she traditionally made new friends, but he was nice. And he was somehow keeping up a conversation with her even though he was in no way obligated to do so. The girl set her cup down and her face had the slightest semblance of a pout when she lifted her gaze to look back at him. "Don't get so embarrassed. You were the one who brought it up."

 

He told her his name. Pinball, like the arcade game. Oddly enough, it fit him and his playful personality. And how the color of his hair reminded her of the metallic balls they rolled around the game board. She hesitated for a quick moment then leaned forward and extended her hand. "My name's Mishiro." The girl grasped his hand in hers in a firm, very businesslike handshake. When it was over, Mishiro drew her hand back and slid back onto her seat. "'Shiro,' written with the character for 'white,' and 'mi,' written with the character for depth. ...I, just liked how it looked when I wrote it down in kanji. It's nice to meet you too..." - darling - "Pinball. Is there any sort of meaning behind that name?"

[Pinball 1]

And he was panicking again. It seemed like this whole meeting, from start to finish, was a horrible little roller coaster of emotions. Awkward. Panicking. Jovial. Pinball flipped through these emotions like a card dealer shuffled a deck. On and off, this pattern repeated until finally Pinball recognized it was even happening. And it was weird. It felt robotic - inorganic. He was trying so desperately to make her smile again that he was ending up seeming horribly unfunny. Sweet Home Alabama? Really? What was this, 2016? He was like seven years old in 2016 but that's beside the point. He needed an out! Something snappy he could say or do that would salvage what he was convinced was on track to be an absolute trainwreck of a conversation. 

He was grasping at straws now, frantically trying to come up with that perfect... thing. Pinball had withdrawn from the conversation. He stared off for a second, biting his finger and bouncing his knee. He didn't even really hear her until she told him her name (thank god), at which point he answered - although there was still something distant about his voice. "That's a pretty name," came the absentminded reply, "and yeah. It was my cat's name." But the finger biting never stopped, and his knee kept bobbing up and down, getting closer and closer to knocking the bottom of the table they were sitting at. Until suddenly- 

"Hey! I like walks. Do you wanna go on a walk?!" 

He practically slammed his hands down at the table. He spoke with a feverish delight, like he was some kind of old, bummy miner that had finally struck gold after three weeks of chipping away at the same boring rocks. And then he realized he had been a bit too loud. He cast a quick glance at the rest of the Cafe before slowly sitting back down. "Sorry about that," he murmured. "But do you wanna?" 

[Mishiro 0]

As the boy panicked and scrambled for a way to salvage the already dying conversation, Mishiro looked down at her empty coffee cup with a small, proud smile. The somewhat (bordering on completely) socially inept girl was completely oblivious to the boy's frustrations. The conversation did feel slightly... off - he brought up things she didn't understand without offering further explanation and it was lively and then suddenly awkward at times - but they were still talking, right? As someone who hardly went out of her way to make friends, she felt a small sense of accomplishment at holding a conversation without her friends around to help her.

 

She instead took an interest in one of the things he said. A cat's name? It was odd but... cute. Mishiro looked at the boy who was biting his fingernails and nervously shifting about his chair, and she wondered if it was something she said again or if it was -

 

Pinball sprung up and slammed his hands on the table, sending Mishiro reeling back in surprise.

 

"Do you wanna go on a walk?!"

 

"Eeeeeep!"

 

His voice was loud. The noise and conversation from the other tables blurred into the background - a few moments later, she realized some had just fallen quiet and curiously turned to look in their table's direction. Thankfully, they had finished their drinks earlier so nothing spilled. Soft laughter came from the next table, and behind her, someone said something that went along the lines of "go for it, kid."

 

It was funny. And it was sudden.

 

He sat back down, apologizing, and Mishiro laughed.

 

"I can hear you just fine with that voice." The girl paused to consider his invitation. Their drinks were finished and she didn't have anything else to do for the day. Mishiro could very well just head back to her inn and continue her drawing practice, but she didn't want to turn him down. "Alright. I'll order a take-out first, though."

[Pinball 1]

"Like, like, I'm really trying here," he squeaked, slipping from his chair. "I don't know. I'm not really used to this sorta thing I don't think." And he wasn't. He didn't really know how long was too long. Like, this was normally the way you left someone, right? Especially someone you just met. You had drinks and then went your seperate ways and then maybe one day you came back again and you talked to each other and if you got close then you could go out and have a bit more fun doing other stuff. It probably wasn't good that he was so anxious and fidgety, either. He felt like he was rambling in his head but he didn't really ramble he was just really excited to meet somebody who talked to him other than Lucy especially since she was hanging out with that guy he didn't like and the fact that he was left alone just doing nothing by himself all day was really kind of nerve wracking and lonely and he couldn't really do that too often without going outside and trying to do something. 

Rambling.

Pinball looked away and let himself have one little mournful moment to himself, wallowing in his own self pity. Straight marinating in that insecurity. Then he spun around on a heel. "Are you sure you wanna? We could head to the market or something. New players are like, finding all sorts of new stuff every day and like - trying to sell them in the empty stalls the NPCs don't use." 

He hesitated, but ultimately managed to keep a bit of a smile on his face. He was enjoying himself (he thought), but he was worried she wasn't. He was worried that he was being weird and that his anxious energy was just going to resuly in a "Dude, chill," and a pat on the back and a friendly excuse to leave. That was probably a totally valid response, too. That vanilla chocolate whatever hadn't really done anything to settle his nerves. 

Plus, he didn't really have too much money. He had some, but like, not a lot at all. And it kind of seemed like he was trying to take her on a djhsjdhfdakfj. 

No!! I just met her, he told himself, and that was that. His mind went back to Lucy and her teasing smile. And then Sugutsuya was there and he stopped thinking about that. 

"It might be pretty cool to check it out? Or-" he asked, and he wagged his index finger for emphasis, and there was a bit of excitement creeping into his voice now; he talked a bit faster and he stumbled over his own words a bit, "-we could walk through the mountains. I've kinda got a knack for sidestepping the little baddies and stuff. There's this really nice kind of flat top mountain a bit further into the floor that has this super nice view, and uh... yeah. I've only gone there like once or twice, I think." 

He felt like he was grabbing her by the arms and dragging her along with him. His heartbeat picked up the pace. Pinball's ears felt like they were burning, and he tapped his foot nervously as he stood, but he tried to keep it quiet and not really draw too much attention to it or anything like that. 

He was like this huge hampter; just a bundle of nervous energy. 

[Mishiro 0]

"--And you are. I know, it's fine." Mishiro accepted her takeout after a short wait at the counter. She discarded the paper bag and shifted the steaming hot paper cup back and forth in her hands. Lifting it to her lips, she took a sip. 

Pinball was still talking.

"I want to. I already said so, didn't I?" Honest, and straight to the point. Mishiro turned to face him, gray eyes betraying a slight hint of confusion. It was a fact to her that she wanted to go on a walk - why wasn't it to him? The boy went on, offering her two options though it was evident he was leaning more on the latter. His sentences dragged, he talked too fast, and there was an effort to make the two places more interesting. And now he waited, his ears red and his foot tapping repeatedly against the floor.

The girl had a rather vague sense this conversation was a bit... off. 

She considered his words. His repeated questions. He wasn't used to this; neither was she. But he told her he was trying. She thought she was, too. 

"We can pass by the market any other day, and you seemed more interested in the other, so let's go for the mountains."

Perhaps a different approach was better. 

"A flat top mountain... you must be talking about the range in the northeast, right?" It was the nearest and located on the farther edge of one of the beginner-friendly areas. She had reason to assume he wouldn't take her straight to a high-leveled zone without asking for her stats first. Mishiro recalled the map Roman had once given her, affixed to the beta testers' guide to Floor 2. She had no need for it, but she would bring it out of her inventory and study it in her free time out of curiosity. "Then if it's alright with you, let's make a stopover in the middle. There's a hill in the middle of the grasslands, only a few minutes off the path." 

This was weird, different, somewhat unfamiliar.

"It has a good view of the surrounding area, and... I've only been there once, but it's a nice, quiet place. Consider it my contribution."

But she was trying some more and maybe that was the point.

Mishiro would follow after Pinball as he made for the exit. She remained a step behind him, clutching the warm drink to her hands as they stepped out into the cold January air. 

"By the way, the vanilla latte?" The girl sped her pace until she was walking alongside him and held up her drink. "It's good, but I still think it's best enjoyed if you drink it slowly."

Edited July 7, 2019 by Mishiro

[Pinball 1]

"Yeah, that's what I mean," he smiled weakly, and then nodded, glad to not be the only decision maker. It felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. "Yeah! Of course-!" 

Pinball didn't like this constant inner back and forth thing that was happening. So he did just what he'd been told to. Walking through the exit, he had a moment to himself, albeit a brief one; he took a step back, he took a breath, and he took that moment to remind himself: hey, she's probably super weirded out right now. Do something about it, you sack of [censored]. I swear to god if there's one more awkward pause im going to [censored] jump off the [censored] edge of Aincrad and I'm going to take your stupid [censored] [censored] knife with me. 

When he saw her following, they would start to walk, and his steps would fall in line with hers. The silence was broken first by the whispers of a gentle breeze running through the surrounding trees, and then by Pinball's new - friend? Acquaintance? - herself. 

He blushed and sheepishly chortled, looking away for a moment. 

A pause. His tone was apologetic and embarrassed. 

"Sorry if I've been acting weird. I don't really get out much, if you can't tell."

[Mishiro 0]

Unbeknownst to herself, she was smiling as he laughed.

This was nice. She didn't speak to many people in the same relaxed manner, and she felt a small sense of achievement at the thought that they were getting along rather well for strangers. 

He was speaking up again, apologizing. 

"It's alright," Mishiro responded evenly. She thought he was rather odd - one moment he was loud, excitable, trying to fill in every pause in the conversation, and she couldn't grasp what he was possibly thinking and another he was more subdued, awkward, sometimes asking for her confirmation like he couldn't believe it; and he made frequent, erratic switches between those moods - but not enough for an apology.

Then she remembered his teasing and decided perhaps he did deserve to say that apology. 

She was still red-faced when she admitted, "I don't 'get out' much either. With someone else, I mean."

The cafe they had visited was now out of sight and they were walking down the cobbled path that led to Urbus's exit. She quietly admired the rows of medieval-style buildings as she sipped from her latte. Then she looked back up at him to ask a question that had been nagging at the back of her mind ever since he brought up the mountains. Beginner-safe as it was, that area was not something one would think themselves well-acquainted with after a short walk outside. "Do you leave the safe zone often?" 

[Pinball 1]

He nodded. 

Her smile was amazing to see. It made him really happy. 

Er, in a totally platonic way, of course. He silently willed images of Lucy into his mind. But only Sugutsuya came. He nearly scowled just for thinking about that, but Mishiro spoke and her voice took him away from those thoughts, if only for a moment. 

He smiled back. Maybe it was best that he just enjoyed the time he spent with her. 

As friends. 

Pinball stuck his chest out with an exaggerated guffaw. Jabbing a thumb into his chest, Pinball proudly proclaimed, "Well, you're lucky you're going out with me!" 

A pause. Absolutely oblivious.  

"I leave the safe zone all the time! And, not to brag or anything, but I kind of mastered every weapon on Aincrad." 

Then he deflated, still smiling, but softer now. "Nah, I'm just kidding. I'm still Level One. But! I know short cuts we can use to avoid any mobs. I'm sure you do, too? Lead the way! I can make sure we don't, uh, you know. Get killed. Or whatever."