Mayuri

The man’s tone changed and he offered her an apology. “That’s unnecessary, really.” She said weakly and smiled. The man put his weapon up, and approached Shay offering his hand. “Mayuri,” the dark haired girl said as she shook the hand that was offered to her. “It’s very nice to meet you as well.” She added in quickly. “I suppose in a place like this it’s easy to act with hostility. You know, act first and ask questions later. But what is your weapon?” she asked him curiously, “I’m not familiar with your tequeniques.” To be fair, there weren’t many she knew.

“Wake up sleep,” a gentle voice spoke as she felt soft kisses being applied to her face.

opened her eyes slowly to find Eric beside her, gently caressing her cheek. She sat up sleepily and looked around. The surroundings were entirely unfamiliar but it was somehow warm and inviting. The air hung with the smell of bacon and Shay gave a little stretch. Shay

“What time is it?” She asked her love as she rubbed her eyes.

“It’s still early, there’s no rush,” he replied.

“Then why’d you wake me up so soon?” Shay whined as she flopped back down and covered her head with her pillow.

“Because,” Eric replied as he took her pillow away, “ I want you to eat before you go.”

“Aren’t I always telling you that?”

“Perhaps,” he said with a smile.

***

“You’re so silly,” Shay mumbled as the winds kicked up. A small branch was picked up and tossed into the small space beside her. In the morning when she’d awaken, she’d find that it was something for her to use in her potion making.

62608

CD: 3     SAFE

LD: 16     +1 MATERIAL FOUND

It’d been eighteen hours since Mai had begun her quest. She was tired and too worn to try and make the long journey back this evening. She was unsafe in the open, but she had no choice, she needed to rest at least a while before going again, so she took shelter in the unburied part of the wreckage and curled up. It didn’t take her long before she’d fallen into a deep slumber, blissfully unaware of any dangers that might come across her while she did something as ridiculous as sleeping in the field.

62580

CD: 9     SAFE

Sometime later, Mai’s indicator began to beep. She was close. With every step the signal got stronger and stronger until she was on top of the item. The raven haired girl began to sift through the cool sand and eventually fund the wreckage she was told she would find. “It’s close!” she said and smiled as she bailed sand from her hole like a dog digging in its yard. Shay was covered in grit from head to toe, but she could hardly care; her small hands hit a small handle, and the girl tugged and tugged until she eventually fished up what she was looking for.

“YES!” She cheered as she quickly added the darned box into her inventory for safe keeping.

62578

CD: 11     SAFE

Shay smiled at the girl, glad to find her doing well. The game often took its toll on players, and whenever she came across a happy face, it gave her hope that in the end, they would all be relatively okay. Luna explained what it was she was doing and Shay nodded as she thought about it.“You know, it’s not really so much about level, it’s mainly how fast you can build skill in your weapon.  The kind of build I’m making doesn’t really rely on their weapon so I haven’t worked much with it, but it makes it hard to do things on my own. , and I wouldn’t mind helping you kill some things. “Mai said with a smile.

 “The piggies out on the field aren’t too difficult and we can split any materials and col we find… sound good?”

Mai did not have long to watch as her presence was quickly noticed by the other player who spun around to face her. She was greeted coolly and questioned as to why she was present at such an odd hour. “I’m sorry,” she apologized quickly, “It wasn’t my intention to frighten you. I was surprised to see anyone else out here as well. It seems that I’m not the only one who could not sleep this evening.”  she said wondering if it might have been foolish of her to approach a layer she did not know. It was hard to tell who was friend or foe lately, and Life always warned her to ere on the side of caution.

Mayuri couldn’t sleep. She lay there in the dark staring up at the ceiling with only her thoughts to keep her occupied. He hadn’t returned, not for two nights now, and she was hurt but tried not to take it personally. He was lost and he needed to work things out, and she was going to give him the space and time he needed to do so. Instead of throw herself a pity party however, Shay decided she’d go out and get some air. Hopefully the cool night sky would bring her some peace and she could sleep once more. It seemed to the girl that walking did indeed help, but her feelings would muddle every time she stopped to rest, so she continued on. When she’d walked one way and then the other across floor two, she decided she needed a much larger space to roam, and so she found herself one floor one.

As she stepped out from the blue light of the teleport system, the church bells in the town of beginning began to sound. Twelve chimes came from the bell tower in the distance, and Shay sighed heavily. She placed her tiny hand over her heart, and closed her eyes. The weight of it throbbing inside her small form was unbearable and so she continued to move in order to ignore her own pain.

Sometime later she found herself walking out in the fields far beyond the safety of the walls of the beginning city. The winds blew softly, rustling the tall grass surrounding her. She stared up at the night sky, her teal eyes observing the cosmos above. All was silent, or seemingly so, until she heard the sounds of combat close by and thought to go investigate.  Shay came upon someone practicing his sword arts under the starry skies. His movements were much different than hers of Life's, and so she stood there in the dark, trying to figure out which kind weapon he carried.

Mai smiled and bounced over to meet Luna halfway as the girl made her way over to Mai. “I’m glad to see you’re still all in one piece.”May greeted the other girl as they finally reached one another. Their first meeting was a bit scary but also a little thrilling at the same time. She and the blunette had meet on the seventeenth floor while Mai traveled in dangerous areas where she knew she ought not to go. But they had made it back a live and Mai got to see mount Olympus up close, so all in all it wasn’t a bad journey.

“How’ve you been doing? What brings you out here today?” she asked the girl curiously.

Hours past and the sun had long gone. The floor was no longer warm, the temperature began to drop the longer she was out there under the night sky. The moon overhead was full and buttery yellow, and she was greeted by millions of points of light in the darkness. If time weren’t a factor, Shay would have walked slower and enjoyed the view, but time was growing short and she still had a ways to go before she found what it was she was looking for. Her map indicated she was still a few miles off, and needed to hurry.

62442

CD: 11     SAFE

Time was against wasted, but all of the obstructing sand was removed and Mai was able to see once more. The young woman sighed heavily and opened up her HUD once more. The sun was beginning to set, and Shay was starting to worry about whether or not her mission would get done in time. “You can’t fail yourself now…” she said aloud.  Out loud self talk might have been silly to some, but Shay needed to hear the words be said. It was the only way for things to get through to her sometimes.

62437

CD: 5     SAFE

“AHHH!” Mayuri screamed as the wind had kicked up again and shot sand right into both her eyes.

It wasn’t that it hurt, but she lost her vision and she couldn’t move for a moment as she gently tried to wipe her large babydoll eyes to remove what sand she could. If this had been the real world, she surely would have been blinded, and with a blast like that, it was likely that any damage done to her lovely eyes would be permanent.

“Stupid freaking…” the girl trailed off and mumbled a long line of obscenities that would rarely ever leave the lips of the sweet girl.

62436

CD: 1     MAYURI IS DAMAGED BY THE WINDS

MAYURI     78/88

Shay’s stomach turned as she thought of dying in the game. She’d heard of much stronger players falling easily to others, their lives over in an instant. While the news had been passed down and around by many who heard it before her, she was aware that they could not have been too far off from the truth of the matter. “If they can die in one hit… so can I,” she said aloud. Dying on this floor , alone in this place was not going to happen. She would make it home to her love in one piece today. She would worry about making it another day tomorrow. It was all she could do.

62433

CD: 10     SAFE

“Why did I come on my own?” Mayuri complained loudly.

The walk was terrible. There was nothing to do or see or talk to. Having Life come with her would have been pleasurable at least, she loved being beside him and talking to him and generally just being in his space. “No,” she said shaking that lovely vision from her head, “You rely on him too much. There are something you need to do for yourself….” She reminded herself. The girl supposed she could have gone with a party, but she really didn’t know many people, and being in possession of the Blood of Champions meant she could possibly become a target. It was actually a handy little boss drop, and if others much stronger than her knew she had it, she’d be killed for it; many players had been killed for less.

62424

CD: 10     SAFE

The winds were simply unbearable. They tore through her blasting rough sands against her soft skin, and lashed her lovely hair about. It was hard to move, and even harder to see. If she’d come across a mob, there would have been no way for her to fight in such condition as she had no accuracy. Shay felt smart to have put Evasion on her gear so she could at the very least, avoid danger. Beads a sweat poured down her pretty face, and she was thirsty, but she could not stop, not just yet. She would forgo sleep for as long as she could manage. There was still plenty of hours of sunlight left and she wanted to get as far as she could before nightfall.

62420

CD: 2     SAFE

The winds eventually died down, and Shay uncurled from her little ball. She opened her HUD and looked at the map and the time. It seemed that her little adventure hadn’t taken her too off course, and because the windstorm hadn’t lasted long, she was still okay on time. The pink kimono clad girl stood once more and shook the sand from her skirt, but it was just a wasted gesture as she was covered in sand. Sand in her hair… in her ears, in her nostrils, she could even feel it in her socks. It was a terrible feeling. She would definitely need a bath when she returned home. It was a good thing there was a lovely one in Urbus .

62418

CD: 6     SAFE

The winds got stronger and stronger as Mayuri walked. They were so strong that she struggled with every one she took, fighting the powerful force as she moved along. She shielded her eyes with her forearm and stared at her feet as walked, but it wasn’t going to do her any good. She could not see what was ahead of her, and for all she knew she could be walking into a mob or a pit or something else dangerous and lose her life. The girl was going to have to wait until the winds died down. Curling into a ball with her back to the wind, Mai huddled up and she waited. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to wait too long. Her time was limited and she needed to hurry if she was going to make it back on time.

62416

CD: 2     SAFE

There was little around her for her to see on the floor; only sand and blue sky and sun. There was the occasional sand dune, and a tumbleweed or two. She’d yet to see any signs of life, and she was thankful for that. If she could avoid mobs while she was exploring, then it would make it easier for her to complete her task. Up ahead of her she spotted something on the ground and she hurried over to it. There she found some wild grasses that she could collect. When she got home she would research what they were for. The winds picked up again and whipped her long hair about, and Shay shielded her eyes to avoid getting sand in them.

 62414

CD: 7     SAFE

LD: 18     +1 MATERIAL FOUND

Her walk had not even been long before Mai realized how much of a chore she’d taken on by trying to complete this quest. The surroundings were harsh.  The air was hot and dry, the sun beat down upon her dark head, and she was blasted by the sands that were swept up off the ground and tossed into her general direction. If she were not careful, the sands would cause her damage. It was probably why the reward for managing to survive such conditions was the Survival skill. It was kind of like a badge of honor to say that one could survive the terrible elements in such a place as this.

62413

CD: 10     SAFE

MAYURI     88/88

So long as Mai had teleport crystals, Life told her that she was allowed to join the smaller boss missions. The first one had scared her, she didn’t feel like she could handle it, but with Life’s admission of feeling like he was falling behind, Shay felt the need to push herself forward harder. She was going to hurry and catch him in levels so that she could support him properly on the battlefield. She didn’t like that the love of her life was ready to withdraw, it wasn’t like him and she needed to do her best to save her man from losing himself more than he had already. It was why Mai was on the sixth floor taking on the Traveler quest alone. She was going to have to start doing more for herself and rely less on her Life.

The Traveler quest was pretty simple: wander off into the desert and find a package. With the mission outlined in her player’s handbook, Mai felt even she couldn’t blow this one. She found the mysterious NPC within the town and accepted the mission. “According to the guide, the winds can suck here… So I suppose I ought to use it…” she told herself. “Mai removed the Blood from her inventory and powered up. She grinned as her health bar nearly doubled and she felt more powerful than before. It truly was an addictive feeling. Powered up and ready to go, Mai headed out into the arid dessert sands to try and complete her mission.

MAYURI USES BLOOD OF CHAMPIONS

MAYURI’S HEALTH RAISES 40 HP

MAYURI’S DAMAGE RAISES +2

NEW STATS

HP: 88

DMG: 5

I will be powering through this quest tonight ^_^

Mayuri hated this.

While the love of her life was off exploring higher floors and kicking ass, she was on the lower levels still picking her way through the dregs because it was all she could do. Mai knew when she thought of her build it was going to be hard, but she did not think it was going to be impossible to gather materials or hunt or gather levels and experience for that matter. She’d realized for awhile now that SAO was only built for two character types: damage dealers and tanks.

“They should have called this world of swords and tanks…” Shay complained as she used Light Reaver to cut down some tall grass. Sadly, it was all her weapon was good for seeing as she had hardly managed to hit anything in her last few adventures.

Mai wandered through the plains area on floor one. She worse a sour expression on her pretty little face; those who knew the girl personally would find this look rather unfamiliar to her form. She must have been an unusual sight in such a place, a pink butterfly fluttering in flat fields were few not dressed in beginner gear would go; so it was a surprise to her when she came upon a familiar looking girl walking about as she was.

“Hello again!” Mayuri called out to her waving her arms, trying to get the attention of the little bluentte.

Mayuri sighed softly as her request was met with enthusiasm. The pretty lady introduced herself and Shay nodded. “Very nice to make your acquaintance, Ariel. You may call me Mayuri… Mai for short, if you please.”  Ariel produced an empty rack that with a few clicks from within her control panel, filled up with an assortment of outfits. The blond began to sort through the garments and produced a rather lovely white dress for Shay to try on. She was pointed toward a changing area and she took up the dress and then walked back behind the screen to try on the lovely garb. Although the modesty settings were on in Mai’s, she appreciated being given the option of privacy to swap out her gear.

With a few clicks from her panel, Mai removed her pink kimono and tried on the white dress. She ran her fingers over the soft material and smiled softly as she fluffed the skirt feeling rather pretty. Shay wondered if Life would think she was pretty in white. Stepping back around from the privacy screen she looked at Ariel for opinion.

“It’s not too showy is it? I don’t think he likes girls seemed to be rather traditional in demeanor and she saw him as the sort to  try to cover her up if she were showing too much skin in public

Mayuri looked at the other girl and pursed her lips together. How could she possibly know what his gear was.  It was a personalized set of gear as was hers, so there was no telling what sort of stats he had upon it. There was the possibility he was ranked, but she could not tell. The blue haired girl was scared and by all rights she ought to have been.

 Mai walked over to the girl’s side and she was about to have her follow, but the young man stopped them. He pleaded his case for them to at least take a safe path and see the mountain upclose. The girl’s teal eyes drifted to the tall mountain in the not too far off distance. She truly would have loved to see it up close and if they stayed on the main road, there was little chance of running into something as creatures tended to stay in the fields. Glancing back at the young man, she ciuld see he was not about to detour from his plan. She looked at the girl beside her, and then back at the mountain. Shay was sure Life had probably seen the mountain up close; he’d been wondering the higher floors without her. She wanted to know what he’d seen. It wasn’t fair of him to restrict her from such things.

“Okay…” Mai said, “I want to see it. But we’re going to be smart about this.”

Shay opened up her HUD and began to remove things from her inventory. She handed each player a blue crystal.

“If things go South…use those to teleport to somewhere you know is safe. My name is Mayuri… I’m an alchemist and my shop is in Urbus on the second floor. You can always find me there if you should ever need my help.” She told the pair of players making her introduction.

MAYURI GIVES VICTOR A TELEPORTATION CRYSTAL (*1)

MAYURI GIVES LUNA A TELEPORTATION CRYSTAL (*1)

MAYURI LOSES TWO TELEPORTATION CRYSTALS FROM HER INVENTORY

So the truth had finally come.

As she expected, he was out exploring the higher floors and wandering about in places she could not go. But there was more, the man she loved had lost his nerve. Mai lifted her little blue teacup and sat back into her little chair as her eyes focused on the handsome figure before her. He told her about a man he’d lost to the battlefield, the reason he had become the way he was. He averted his light eyes and stared into the tea she’d poured for him unable to meet her gaze once more. It was clear to her that the one she loved was hurt beyond compare.

 But what could she do for him? She was only a girl after all.

Shay got up from her seat and approached Eric, kneeling beside his seat. Brushing her long dark wavy locks from her face, she reached for his hand she took it hers. The girl held it for a moment tracing her delicate digits upon his skin before kissing the back of it tenderly. Her large eyes turned back up to look at his pale face which looked as sullen and forlorn as the winter moon in the cold night sky. It was hard for her to imagine what he was going through and she wanted to help him, but there was little she could think of to do. There was some relief for her to know that it was not she that was holding him back. Her biggest fear was that he wasn’t fighting to his abilities because he was too busy helping her to level ; he was dealing with his own deep seated issues, ones that had nothing to do with her.

“I’m sorry Eric…” she began.

“I’m sorry you feel like you’re falling behind and that you lost your friend. I’m sorry that you’re afraid to die.” She gripped his hand more tightly in hers with her last statement. “I’m afraid to die too. I’d love to just hideaway, just you and I, in a little cottage at the edge of these woods where we could be happy till the end. You say the word, and that’s what we’ll do.”

Shay paused as she looked about the dimly lit room. Her eyes glanced over the barren shelves and the vacant display cases. There was nary an item or decoration or anything in the little shop that she owned and yet her home seemed so full. It was because she had him: the one thing that she never knew she always wanted. Her eyes returned to her companion and a demure smile curled over her pretty face as she continued.

“Someday my dearest, we’ll die, but it won’t be here. And we will meet out there because we made a promise. You promised me you’d keep me safe, and I promised to keep you alive, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re just going to have to work harder to catch up. I know we can do this. I know you feel like you can’t, but I’ve come to understand that if you don’t do something Eric, you’re going to hate yourself. I’m not going to let you regret or hate yourself for inaction. If you need to rest, then rest. We’ll train and work hard and when you feel you can stand again, which you will, we’ll go fight together. You’re my party mate and that makes us a team. We’ll save as many as we can, and we will be thankful for making it out alive each and every time. I love you Eric and I’m not going to let you fall apart. I know I’m not very big, nor do I seem very strong, but you can depend on me. I’ll take care of you... I’ll always take care of you."

Mai’s happy expression dropped, her smiling lips turned downward and her bright eyes relaxed and gave the young man a look of concern. Despite both girls being wary of the journey, the young man was desperate to go. More worrying was the facts that he thought the Gods were nice beings. “No…” She said softly, “They’re really not.”A sinking feeling hit Mai like a ton of bricks and she could feel herself become nauseous. Life was going to be unhappy with her.  She couldn’t go; she wouldn’t go. Though her desire to not see the young man die was strong, she could not put her life in peril in such a way that would leave Eric behind and alone in this world. They were supposed to get out together; she couldn’t do that if she were dead.

“Will you go?”She looked over at the blue-haired girl with deep concern for her safety as well.