PP - F2 The angelic blossom (Koumori, Sakura)

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke had come back to the second floor for a visit. He liked this place. There were people everywhere and he was wearing his combat gear again hiding his face. In crowds like this he preferred keeping himself anonymous so he wasn't hassled but he has a feeling that was about to change as he sat on the edge of a fountain.

[Koumori 0]

I didn't really go to the second floor that much. For me it was that neglected area between two better places that didn't really matter too much. The first floor was, well, the first floor, and every place else had cool environments and tough quests. Despite that, I decided that maybe I would pay a visit to the second floor after all. When I walked out of the teleport gate I was amused by the old European architecture. I'd been there before but I think I may have forgotten what it looked like. I had to admit it was pretty cool. I walked around town for awhile before I decided to sit and have lunch. This time I brought stuff with me so instead of going to a cafe I went to look for a nice place to stop. For some reason, I felt a longing to go to a fountain. Fountains always seemed to be pretty important. Eventually I found a decent sized one and sat down. There was another player there but I wasn't in the mood to talk so I didn't speak to him. I didn't really look at him either so I wasn't sure who it was. What were the odds it was someone I knew?

[Sakura Sasaki 0]

I wandered onto the second floor looking for nothing in particular. Since Sousuke left I had had to toughen up to learn the game myself. I had developed a fourth more confident persona since then so even if I met someone I knew I doubted they would recognize me since my avatars altered appearance depending on my persona. This one had red hair and eyes which gave me a more sexy look especially since my armour was more revealing like this. I noticed a few people sitting on a fountain one was a feminine looking person and the other a muscular looking man with full combat gear and a hood and mask obscuring all but his eyes. I decided to approach the feminine person and give him a friendly warning.

"Hey you did you know guys like him over there usually mean trouble?" I asked the strange person.

[Koumori 0]

I began to get ready to eat when I saw another figure approach me. She had long red hair and armor so revealing I doubted it could even protect her from a finger flick. I watched her for a second as she continued walking but went back to my business. She must've seen me looking at her or something because as I was looking down I saw a shadow appear on the ground in front of me. I looked up at her as she told me to watch out for people like the guy sitting next to me. "Huh?" What was wrong with the other guy. I turned to see him and immediately recognized who it was. It was Sousuke, sitting in his inexplicably ominous armor. But I wasn't happy to see him. It meant that I had to pretend again. And this time there was a girl here who I didn't know who'd receive that as her first impression. Oh well. "Oh! Sousuke! What are you doing here?" I said in surprise. I didn't put any over acting into it, just enough so it didn't seem out of character to him. I wondered what the girl would think. She had come up to me to warn me about him so she must've felt I looked vulnerable. Maybe she thought I was a girl to begin with. 

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke looked up to see Kou a friend of his and another girl who seemed familiar yet something about her was was off. He looked at Kou and smiled before remembering he had his hood and mask up so he pulled them down and repeated the action. That must have looked really awkward he thought to himself.

"Hey how are you doing Kou when did you get here and who's the red head?" He said motioning towards the girl.

[Sakura Sasaki 0]

When the man removed his hood and mask I lost control of my emotions switching to my usual timid self with a hood up and my blue hair flowing down either side of my face. My eyes returned to their normal blue colour. Wait Sousuke my brother was still alive? And he was still here after leaving me yet again on some crazy mission of vengeance? Was he stupid? It was at that thought I switched into dark Sakura with my hair turning midnight black and eyes turning purple. My now modest looking gear turned into a more combat style leather tunic before I shoved him into the fountain before letting loose. 

"You! How dare you show your face hear after what you pulled!" I screamed at him as he plunged into the water.

[Koumori 0]

Sousuke also didn't notice me earlier so when I called his name he took off his mask to say hello. Then things got weird. The girl that was standing next to me changed. Literally changed. Her hair turn blue and her clothing mysteriously morphed. No sooner did that happen did she change again. Her hair went black as she was overcome with with rage at the sight of Sousuke. She screamed at him at the top of her lungs about showing his face or something like that. I couldn't understand what was happening at all. The girl lunged at him and threw them both into the fountain. Well that happens a lot. I bolted up and ran over to where he had been sitting and leaned over the edge to look inside. "Hey, guys! What's going on? Calm down!" I leapt into the fountain and wrapped my arms around the girl before she could do anything rash. I pulled her off Sousuke and let go. "Why did you attack him?"

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke Sat up from the fountain yet again soaked from head to foot. Was this for real was his sister still alive and in front of him and had she got yet another persona this one seemed so cocky.

"Sakura what are you doing here? I thought you were dead like the others!" He called as he jumped up embracing her.

"How have you been sis we need to catch up." He said hugging his sister. 

[Koumori 0]

Sousuke looked up at the girl in complete shock, leaving me standing there soaking wet in total confusion. My bangs were on my face again. After staring at the girl for what seemed like way too long he finally squeezed out some words. Dead like all the others? God what kind of past did he have? Well clearly she wasn't dead, Sousuke. Before he gave her a chance to respond he continued. He reached up and wrapped his hands around her in a tight hug. And he called her sis. So that girl was his sister? He seemed overjoyed to see her but she was furious. Well he did think she was dead without checking so that coulee explained it. Let's see...how would a cute girl react to this? I walked behind her and put both my hands on her shoulders. I poked my head out to the right of hers and scolded Sousuke. "You have a sister?! Why didn't you tell me? And why didn't you actually check to see if she was dead hmm? She doesn't look too happy." I almost forgot the cherry on top. I turned to look at the girl and smiled. "Oh, my name's Koumori but you can call me Kou." It seemed like I had unofficially officially adopted that nickname. That's what I used to be called by my family when I was younger but eventually I grew out of it, grew out of it because it was girly. Look how things came full circle. 

[Sakura Sasaki 0]

He thought I was dead? That was just yet another lame excuse of his running off yet again I bet. He disappeared to the military and then he disappeared to the frontlines here and no one heard from him for months did he seriously think he was going to get off so easily.

"Sousuke don't give me that garbage seriously first you disappear into the military at age 12 and then to the frontlines here? Is the mission really more important to you than us? You there Kou is it? I bet you didn't know he was a child soldier did you?" I asked the girl who seemed to know Sousuke.

[Koumori 0]

Sakura didn't seem to take too kindly to Sousuke's exuse. Quite frankly I don't think I would have. I've seen the "I thought you were dead" line used so many times in movies that it's become stupid. Like seriously, go check just to make sure. Not that hard. Well I was right. She started yelling at him for making such a lame excuse. Then she said something about him entering the military..at 12? For reals? He was a soldier before he was even a teenager. While I was still trying to process it Sakura turned to me and asked if Sousuke had told me about it. I dramatically shook my head "no" before answering. "Why didn't you tell me that either? And what kind of military let's a 12 year old join? That's insane!"

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke Sat down on the edge of the fountain after Sakura had 'come clean' bout some his past before SAO he decided now was probably a good idea to explain to Kou what it was all about.

"It wasn't the army that I was in Kou it was a secret military organization more commonly known as a PMC or private military company. They we called mithril and they went around the country picking out kids who showed exceptional ability in certain fields. I was one of the few who met every criteria so I was whisked off without little warning. I spent my teenage years in places you wouldn't want to think about and I've done things no good man should man should do but I served my country and fought for what I believed in that's why I got discharged for not following orders." He explained 

Sakura seemed to be standing there waiting for one of use to say something and her gaze was making me feel uneasy.

[Koumori 0]

Sousuke sat down on the inside edge of the fountain and began to speak. Sakura and I were still standing in the water. He told me about how he had been recruited by some militia as a child to fight for his country or something like that. I couldn't imagine having to do that at such a young age. I definitely would not have volunteered. I waded through the water and sat next to Sousuke on the fountain. I looked at him and spoke sympathetically. "I know you said you wanted to, but I'm sorry you had to go through that." I waited for a second to let that have it's effect. They I out my pouty face back on. "But you still have to apologize to your sister."