Jomei

<<Quest Details>> Isolation. Fear. A fight for ones own very life. Feelings the man knew all too well when we had been pulled from his normal life and tossed into solitude. For what reason? Simply revenge and revenge alone. A group made up of evil, cunning personas and murderers attempting to do nothing more than turn a huge profit, exploiting the crafting abilities of players who focused only on their art and not combat. A group that was turned on its head by Jomei and Lowenthal when the slavers had decided to kidnap two friends near and dear to them. He had ho

The shadow cast by the merchant's canopy slowly diminished as the sun continued to climb higher into the sky above. Exuberant shouts from the man sitting cross legged on a carpet just behind him about finely woven linens for sale, all while glaring daggers at the back of Jomei's head for taking up space that could be used by a paying customer. A slow bead of sweat trickled down the smooth jawline of the ginger as he looked out past the tents and buildings, at the clear sky peeking over the battered, sandstone wall that stood around the city of Fortaleza. Oy! Are you here for Nari too?" A

The voices of familiar players peaked over the sounds of battle as they strategized below, finding a way to push through the defenses of the Imperial soldiers. Most of their attention had been shifted to focus on the mass gathering of his comrades below, making the load of guards Jomei was stuck up against a bit lighter. One looked over the edge at the forming shield wall, barking out his own strategies to the other soldiers readying their weapons to combat the green-clad warrior. Their voices fell upon deaf ears as Jomei continued to push forward. Nihilim's Wrath scraped against the han

One could tell that Baldur took pride in the little slice of Aincrad that he called his own. Not only was it beautiful, but it was the perfect fit for Baldur's appearance and personality. He wondered if the teardrop island was originally designed with Japanese architecture in mind, or if it was a clean slate until Baldur painted his picture-perfect home onto it. "There have been plenty of events that pop up around the holidays that bring together all of Aincrad. Most, if not all, probably just scripted into the game's code or developed on the fly by Cardinal. None have really been able t

The bells of the Grand Cathedral broke through the silence of the night air. Limestone towers that contrasted heavily against the dark sky towered over the rooftops, always prominent and visible from almost anywhere in the city. Some believe that if someone found a way to climb to the very peak of the tallest of spires, they could touch the bottom of Floor Twelve above the clouds. If only such a feat could be accomplished, yet the story remained just that, a tale meant to satiate the dreams of imaginative players. Emerald eyes lingered not on the sight above them, but towards the ground

Guard the ship? Deep valleys formed from the wrinkles of his brows as the words left the younger man’s lips. He turned a gaze to Oji for a moment, before looking back to the two. They didn’t exactly catch him in the best of moods. “With all due respect” he began as he stepped off of the deck of the smaller airship and onto the Ifrit. “I may have been dragged into a war I wanted to no part of, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stay behind and play the role of a babysitter.” He turned to look at Oji once again, “I understand if you’d want to stay with the ship since you aren’t as suit

“Link, Henry, and Ben eh?” He repeated after her, “Don’t think you ever told me the names of your brothers.” A small hum, like an audible smile as hisnlios curved into a smile, “I’m learning more about you everytime we talk.” It was about time the two engaged in more personal conversation and allow their true lives, sealed tight behind the taboo floodgate, to trickle out. The two always had a close friendship, despite not always being together much, and almost as old as SAO itself. “I never had any siblings.. one, tall redheaded kid was enough for my parents.” He ended up talking throug

The menagerie of various scents that rode along the breezes that traveled through the open paneled huts served as a hard reminder to Jomei that he had not eaten yet today. His mind was so preoccupied with the excitement of the friendly bouts that he had completely disregarded his other senses. Standing there before long tables of hiis, the gurgling of his stomach audible to him over the various conversations that went on around him. Without putting much thought into it, the ginger took a plate and began to cover its surface with all types of easy-to-eat foods. Pieces of sushi, gyoza, and

The fights of the second round took off, and Jomei was only able to divide his attention so much. He took notice of Astreya fighting against Morningstar, and that seemed a bit of fun in itself. It was the NIGHT v. Nari-Larenth and Lessa v. Alkor fights that really caught his gaze. Jomei knew next to nothing about NIGHT, nor Nari, but his fight against her prior is what caught his curiosity. To see if she could keep the momentum up and take on yet another frontliner. This, of course, wasn’t the case as NIGHT came out victorious. The other side of the dojo, where he had positioned himself,

Thread Complete 12210 Words / 30 = 407 = 2035 * Tier 2 Pages Jomei T10 20350 EXP 200 Thread + 3052 (P5) Astreya T4 8140 EXP 200 Col

A duet. Astreya had come here out of the blue just for music lessons, and by the end of their lesson, they were already planning on meeting up again to possibly record a song together. Even when Telrenya was around, the times they had played music together was minimal, and they never actually recorded anything that they had played together. Not that he saw Astreya in the same light he did Telrenya, not in the slightest. He saw her more as a protégé, a musical partner, and a friend. "I've got plenty of songs to choose from" he said with a gestured hand towards the bookshelf filled with recordin

"Thats a big boy..." Jomei said as he took in the full height of the mountain of a monster the three were going to deal with. His chin continued to tilt upwards as his gaze traveled up and up until he was able to see the large red crystal floating above its form. Left hand gradually made its way to the opening of his scabbard, his eyes still locked with the oversized creature. He thumbed at the hand guard for a moment before pushing at it, revealing the very base of the darkened steel of his blade. The opposite hand moved across his waist and grabbed the handle, but did not pull the blade free

Jomei shook his head in response to Astreya's apology. "No no, its alright. You don't have to be sorry. What's past is prologue. I just.." he let out another exhale, this time steadier as the last of the tears trickled down the side of his cheek. "I didn't realize how much I had missed this. Like you said, sharing a passion. I'm not close with any other performers.. let alone musicians. So it just feels so good to do this again." "But I'd really like that " nodding his head before using a knuckle to wipe the last of the tears from his eye. Another sniffle and he brought both of his arms

His thumb brushed down the face of the guitar, strumming the strings and forming a conjoined sound. E chord. Gentle wrist motions, strumming the strings up and down in a pattern, creating almost a percussive like beat to back the melody. A chord. Lids closed over emerald orbs as his lips curled into a warm smile. The heel of his foot tapped on the wood panel floor to the beat of the music. The sounds of the outside world downed out by the music, slowing time down to a standstill in the moment. Finally, a G chord. He let the strings ring out as he opened his eyes, looki

A single brow rose as Astreya mentioned a folk song that she was familiar with. "Actually, yeah. I have heard that song before." a smile slowly forming. He pushed off of the piano bench and stretched his back before continuing, "Can't say its one of my favorite songs.. but it was one easy enough to pick up, and recognized by plenty." Turning to face the other direction, he walked back over to the wall lined with instruments, reaching down to grip the neck of the acoustic guitar he had placed down earlier when Astreya first arrived. "I have to admit, I didn't pin you as a fan for music li

"What sort of music do you do?" An incredibly loaded question. Jomei let out a small laugh as he tried to even put thought to that question. "Hm.. For as long as we've been in Aincrad, I've been experimenting with some different styles. There's such a wide variety of different people who got stuck in SAO with us.. not everyone has the same tastes in music." He brought a leg up to cross it over his knee, placing the palms of his hands on his ankle and lower calf. "When I had a shop that was open for business, I really needed to take that into consideration. Some people wanted music to h

"No, I'll admit. It wasn't perfect." he began with a small tilt of his head, spoken through a soft chuckle, "But you showed a mountain of progress, based off of what you recorded on this crystal." He took the item in his hand and tossed it up about a foot into the air before catching it in his palm once again. "Rome wasn't built in a day. Just as no one will become an expect singer with just a single day of practice, but you've shown improvement." "As for how to start strong well..." Placing his hands on the edge of the piano, he leaned backwards, eyes turning upwards as if searching for

Jomei caught the full brunt of two swords swinging at him in tandem, catching their attack with his rapier. The force of their combined attack pushed him backwards, but planting the balls of his feet into the hull, the ginger stood his ground. Quickly ducking, he pulled his blade down with him, letting the force that the two soldiers had put on him carry forward with a stumble. The duelist quickly retaliated with swift strikes into backs of each guard, their body's erupting into shards of data moments later. "There's only four of us here, one of which isn't combat focused." his eyes shif

It seemed the emotions that tied to this duel between the two ran deep, though Lessa's explanation as to why only skimmed the surface. A previous duel between the two seemed to set the uneasy atmosphere that lingered between the two friends.. if they could even call themselves that. Lessa's feelings for Alkor were apparent, her mourning of his death, and caring for his well being. Alkor's were much less apparent, and tough to read --as the rest of the man was. It was obvious he help Lessa in high regard, though to what extent was unknown. All he could do was nod as he listened to her, no

Shoving the tip of his rapier into the dirt at his feet, he used the blade as a cane of sorts, resting the palms of his hands atop each other at the pommel. With a crooked smile on his face, he watched, confident in her abilities, as Lessa moved in towards the final Hellhound to take the kill. "Well.. I don't think I've given any indication of trying to hit on you.. so I'll take it you expect the former. But if you'd prefer I did, then I can try and think of something." he added with a sharp laugh. As expected, Lessa made quick, easy, work of the final canine, the beast letting out a yelp as t

"Years of practice" he said softly, as if to not speak over the music that played right in front of him. It wasn't uncommon for musicians to be able to pick up how to play a song by just listening to it a couple of times. Especially a lullaby, which usually only consisted of a couple of notes without going too high or too low. Once Astreya felt ready, he began to play. Astreya quickly joined in, singing each note rather than humming as she had on the recording. A bit of a rocky start, he had to admit, but he blamed it on her trying to match up the speed of her singing with his own playin

"Yep!" he said with a small laugh, "Not on your own at least. I'll play the piano along with you." Taking the recording crystal from Astreya, he placed it on the ledge of the piano that normally held sheet music for the musician to follow along to. "There's two types of learning a skill.. Those that do research and study so they can learn the ins and outs, and those that learn from experience. So we could sit here all day just working through drills, and mulling over sheet music. Or, we could just jump right into it. Its a lot more fun that way if you ask me." he said with a smirk.

Before long, the small transport they rode on was crashing into the hull of the large warship. The other two players claimed Jomei's idea of holding one front while they tackled a second was a bad idea, and it was quickly scrapped. Just like the two ideas he had suggested. His hood masked most of his features, so the sheepish defeat he wore on his face was unlikely to be seen. Perhaps the fallacy of his plan to take on the Leviathan had become more widely known than he thought. Either way, there was no turning back now. Failed leader or not, he said he would help. So leaping from the shi

As Lessa's blade came down atop the hellhound with an explosive attack that made her previous blunder seem like she was just toying with them, the ginger nearly lost his footing. Catching his heel on a crack in the ground. He stumbled backwards a couple of steps before righting himself. Jomei never doubted that Lessa was strong, probably stronger than he was with her use of a two handed weapon. But the way her blade cut through the canine like it was nothing but air caught him off guard, especially as the glass-like shards of data erupted out to either side with its demise. "Oh so we're

"Nah" the ginger said with a shake of his head and a soft smile, "You don't owe me anything. This is a learning experience for me just as it is for you. An old teacher of mine once said, 'what is the point of knowledge if not to share that gift with others.'" He shone a bright grin, "So that's what I'm doing." Astreya continued to show dedication to learning this craft and discipline by keeping on top of herself to correct any mistakes. If she sang a note wrong, she tried to fix it. If she couldn't fix it, she'd try again. The more they played through the single scale, the more she was ab