Jomei

Thin blades of steel cut through the arid, hot air at a speed most would not be able to keep up with. The two almost evenly matched duelists fought to gain an opening, sparks leaping from where their swords clashed into the sand at their feet. Jomei could feel his energy beginning to wane. His breaths becoming heavy, sweat mixed with the last of the pheromones burning his eyes. Within the last few moments of the elixir's effects on him, Telrenya was able to land multiple blows on the ginger, riddling his fair skin and green attire with speckles of bright red. "Ah, so dramatic." he laughe

"Probably a more appropriate meeting, yeah?" Jomei responded with a soft, suppressed laugh. Though Telrenya's voice was laced with wit, her desire to reconnect was genuine. He had not anticipated meeting with her to discuss things, due to their lack of contact over the past few [however long its been..] A gentle sigh would escape his lips, as a hand snaked around the back of his sweat slicked neck. "I suppose we should talk, shouldn't we?" he admitted. His olive gaze would shift from hers towards the ground, unable to formulate a response. His mind scattered; the plague of too many thoug

Jomei huffed, running a hand through his elixir dampened bangs to push them to the top of his head. Loose shards of glass that tangled to his hairs were raked out, falling to the sand at his feet. That sharp, dagger-like stare that he had worn just a moment ago had dulled and softened as his eyes smiled. "Nothing like getting a bottle smashed over your head to get the adrenaline pumping." Free hand would rub the crown of his skull, feeling slowly returning to his scalp. "I take it you got that one from watching my fight with Acanthus." Bouncing on the balls of his feet for a moment, his wrist

Telrenya's expression was not unlike that of a rabbit just before the slaughter In that split moment, the veil of opponents locked in a duel was lifted. The teeth of a bear trap had revealed themselves, closed around Telrenya's calf. Tearing into the white of her boot, bright red marks in lieu of blood outlined the wounds. That sudden moment when she looked at him, those chocolate brown eyes that he had found himself lost in many times before, were filled with an emotion directed towards him that he had never seen - and never hoped to see - fear. At least, in the tiniest aspect of feeling

Within the moments before their blades crossed, Telrenya retrieved an item from her belt. A single coin, brushed nickel and thin, contrasting greatly from the pieces of Col they usually traded in. Taking a gamble, Telrenya would launch the coin into the air, the etched faced of their announcers glistening in the suns light at its peak. The shock on Tel's face as she plucked the coin from the air in front of her told Jomei all he needed to know. Tiny, blue sparkles, like dust to the wind, carried from where the coin had vanished to the ginger, sprinkling onto the face of his rapier. "Hm..

Jomei the emerald duelist //spreadsheet Well, this was going to make for quite the interesting day.. Jomei would avert his eyes whenever the next week's match ups were announced. He did not have much of a choice the prior week, since he needed to talk game plan with Wulfrin. The ginger was never much for strategy, unless his life depended on it. Never taking the time to study his opponent before hand, changing up his equipment or consumables to best counter the other player he would be crossing blades with. To him, the

Freeing himself from the invisible bindings of a stun, Wulfrin charged at Kiyabu and finished him off. A clean strike, yet very powerful. The now unconscious body crashed to the floor, unmoving -save for their chest rising and falling with each breath. A relieving reminder that there was no threat of harm or death during these duels. A reminder that he could give it his all which, after his previous fight with Acanthus, he would require to defeat her yet again. Waning energy against an steel defense could be the end of him. It was not defense that Acanthus relied on in that moment, but i

"Wha-?" Blinded momentarily by a cloud of dust that, by some holy power of this church, remained undisturbed during this entire fight until just this moment. Allergies weren't a thing he had to deal with in Aincrad, thankful for that, but holy church dust into the eyes, nose, and mouth weren't exactly pleasant and still spawned a sneeze. Covering his mouth and nose with one hand, he would swipe his rapier through the air to dissipate it. Hirru and him had fought a fog monster after all, shouldn't be too outrageous to destroy a dust cloud. Wulfrin had followed suit with the plan and went

One foot gently crossing over the other, Jomei initiated in a sort of dance with his opponent. Though they kept enough space between them to fit the entire supper table and not just the J-Man. Their ballad was ultimately cut short as the unfamiliar player rushed in. Having closed the circle more than the ginger had realized, Jomei hardly had enough time to react as Kiyabu summoned a short blade from behind his back. No good, gotta move! Shifting his weight onto his back leg, he prepared to leap backwards and hopefully avoid the blade as it hummed with the power of a sword art. That s

"I am seriously going crazy. I'd have sworn that said shop a minute ago." "Well.." Jomei interjected, a click of his tongue as he leaned an elbow on the bar. "Pretty sure that train left the station a long time ago." a playful jab to lighten the mood. So it wasn't just exhaustion causing his eyes to play tricks on him, they were experiencing visual glitches. Minor as they may be, it was still something they had never seen before. "The lack of safezone, monsters invading the starting town, glitches. I know the design team behind this game are psychos.. but this doesn't seem like them." He

Jome the emerald duelist //Spreadsheet - Consumes a portion of Spaghetti and Meatballs | +1 DMG , + 10MIT Jomei | HP: 200/200 | EN: 43/43 | DMG: 11 | MIT:28 | ACC:3 | AA | F-SPIRIT | EVA:2 | BH:7 | HB: 4 | FLN: 4 | HLY: 2 // Initiative Roll: 241256 / LD 14 BRRRNNGGG The small, circular clock shook on the bedside as a hammer bounced back and forth between two bells in rapid succession. A reluctant hand made its way out from the sheets, like a snake emerging from its den, and pressed down the top of the clock

Almost instantly, she came to her senses. Frantic cerulean orbs settled on him, calmer and relieved now that the terrors had ceased. Jomei's lips would flash a small smile as she silently thanked him for the reassurance, and he would release his hand just as she would. Pushing himself up into a sitting position, he would sigh, "No need to apologize, we all have our fears. And that was a lot all at once." He would peer over the bar once more to make sure those noises weren't some sort of welcoming chime for the wicked monstrosities that roamed the floor. Still safe, for now at least. "Thou

Just as quickly as he had gotten to his feet, he was knocked down once more. In a frantic attempt to escape the source of the sound, Lessa had collided into Jomei's legs, knocking him off balance. Tumbling to the floor, he landed partially on top of the blonde a hand planting to the ground beside her head and a forearm pressing into her armored abdomen. Despite facing in his direction, blue eyes went anywhere but his. Cuffed gauntlets fought to muffle the sound, but it still apparently sent her into such a shock. Rolling off of her, he would prop himself up on one elbow just to her side. "Hey,

A bell that still managed to hang above the door, though broken and missing a hammer for ages, created an unceremonious tink sound. A brief respite from the rain, Jomei would step inside following behind Lessa until the room opened up. Running a hand through saturated locks of orange, he would push them to the top of his head as, he too, scanned the interior. Lessa had mentioned fighting some type of monster in here, but everything seemed calm and quiet. Maybe it was just a one time thing and didn't respawn, hopefully. But just to be safe, a limp wrist rested on the pommel of his rapier as oli

Fire, whether a raging inferno or the smoldering end of a matchstick, it required constant oxygen to burn. If you seal those flames within a room, and cut off that flow of oxygen, they snuff out. The desire to claim victory over the other burned deep within their bellies, keeping them on their feet with sword in hand. But that energy feeding that raging flame was fading. And their ability to remain standing would be snuffed out. The struggle was obvious as Acanthus steadied herself. Barely able to hold her shield up in front of her body, arm trembling as it raised her botan into th

As fragment of the crystal continued to shatter under the weight of his hand, the feeling returned to him faster than he had anticipated. Like standing in front of a burning fireplace after being outside in a snow storm, the theoretical frost melted away. Moving just a few fingers to confirm, he would slowly exhale a sigh of relief. Whether Acanthus seemed to catch on to his little act or not, he was unsure. However, her reluctance to attack while he was down meant she was, once again, dangerously low on energy. Perhaps not even enough for her weapon to process even the simplest of sword arts.

A sound unlike any he had heard come from the quiet girl's lungs before. The adorably, strange girl who found her fun, not with socializing, but digging holes on the beach. A spark of rage ignited within her, and the fire in her eyes ready to burn Jomei down to the ground - her with it, if it was necessary. Falling onto his back foot as Acanthus pressed forward, he barely had enough time to bring his rapier up to defend against Acanthus' onslaught. The weight of her longsword easily outmatched Jomei's rapier, not to mention the power Acanthus put into each strike. He needed to rely on parrying

"Me neither." he finally spoke, shaking his head. The reality of the situation was, they were both done. The thick blanket of exhaustion was draped over them as they each fought for the upper hand with what little energy reserves they had left. Acanthus had relied more on defense, keeping her shield up until the right moment to strike. Jomei, however, would not give her that option. His strikes were not nearly as accurate as they once were, or else he would be able to sneak the point of the rapier around Acanthus' wall with ease. The switch to a 'tank' build wasn't looking too helpf

You're making a fool out of yourself again. Shoulders rose and fell with heavy breaths, loose hairs stuck to his sweat slick skin. The blade he clutched in his hand began to feel heavy, despite its lithe build. Crashing against the face of Acanthus' steel defense over and over, he'd nearly lose his grip on the rapier. Talked a big game, made Acanthus feel uncomfortable. Her apology in the heat of battle did not seem to reach Jomei, although he heard her words loud and clear. The self doubt that plagued his mind was far louder. An issue he thought he had put to rest, coming back

"Don't apologize." Quite the hypocritical statement to make after apologizing himself. Jomei would flash her a smile, very small, very forced. But he shared no other words, as she had requested. “But I don’t want to hear your answer. I want to see it." All of a sudden it sounded as if he was the one being tested. To prove that he was where he should be, fighting on the frontlines and being a beacon of hope for those unable to. The doubt sowed deep within, imposter syndrome at its worst, began to sprout and take root. The wit, the charm, all a face that he put on to mask

Sharp words pierced his chest, dealing more damage than any weapon or sword art. An awful, real pain settled in as icy daggers tunneled to his heart. A chill ran up his spine and, for a moment, he was the one left paralyzed instead of Acanthus. While words were not spoken loud enough for any others to hear, the entire arena fell silent to Jomei. "I-" a lump caught in his throat. What could he even say to combat that? He was just trying to have a spot of fun, give the audience a show like the performer he was. Was that newfound confidence that he had been tapping into turn him into some so

She's taunting you. Don't fall for it. Their weapons fought for power over the other, their wielders pushing back and forth. Jomei would eye the sharp edge of Acanthus' botan as it pressed into the thin length of Vicious Mockery. But he would not allow her to gain the upper hand so easily. "You see, my dear Acanthus." he spoke through a grunt as he turned his sword, forcing Acanthus to stumble as she followed her momentum. But she was fast, and that shield was back in his face before he could even act upon the moment. "If it were that easy, this would be over already. That, and you

A silent sigh to himself, Jomei gently shook his head with closed eyes. He could understand Acanthus' need to prove herself to him - to Aincrad - that she was meant to be here. In his mind, she had already proved it. But he could see that she was stubborn, and stuck in her ways of needing to treat this as if it were a serious battle. "If that's how it has to be." Jomei would nod, "I'll step it up. Take things more seriously. If you'd prefer that, that is." It wasn't going to stop him from enjoying himself. With the fear of death no longer present in this moment, there was the abili

"Pity?" Jomei questioned her with a small scoff. He could see that she was really taking this seriously. A first time going up against other players, perhaps. Players who's names have been carved into the history of each floor that they cleared. He could understand the pressure she felt.. but she was also forgetting that she too fought on the frontlines. One fight, or a dozen fights - it mattered not. They were on equal levels, comrades in arms. Did she feel that he thought he was better than her? "No, no pity. Just think we both could use a minute. I can tell you're low on reserves." he

With a sword hand raised to strike down at the stunned Acanthus, he was taken by surprise when a small shockwave rushed out from her person. The energy that traveled throughout her body to hold her in place was suddenly forced out. A little gift from defeating a certain boss, he was familiar with it and should have expected as much. Damn, no chance, he would think to himself as he attempted to recover from the shock and jump back into the action before Acanthus fully brought her defense back up. Steel against steel, Jomei's rapier bounced off of the face of Acanthus' shield once more. Fo