Koumori

"Hey suicide is a real problem not to be taken lightly." I said to her, mock scoldingly. I laughed at what she said next. "Well if not I'd be dead right now so it looks like it wasn't high enough." She sat back down against the tree and pulled out some book. I didn't see people make use of those very often so the fact that I was looking at a little kid do it struck me as strange. She brought her head up from the book to answer my question. People often say they aren't lonely when they really are. I'm the leading authority for that one. Although you might not feel it in the moment, looking back on it you can clearly see all the times you felt alone. Being in company makes you realize that just like I did. But what she said about the "kiddie pen" caught my interest. I had never heard about anything like that. Maybe that's why I hadn't seen many kids? I leaned forward to ask. "Kiddie pen? You mean they've been keeping all the kids in one place? How old are they?"

The fields on the first floor had many secrets. That was a lie. There were no secrets, I would know. All the fruitless hours of looking for materials had shown me everything I needed to see to come to that conclusion. Still, I decided to look around for trap doors or something just to keep myself from being bored. I found myself on one of the further away fields behind a bank of bushes. When I got back there it dawned on me that the whole time I wasn't looking for trap door like secrets but really just a secret place to nap. Yeah who was I fooling. The place I found looked pretty good so I got ready to lay down but I stopped when I heard rustling in the bushes next to me. A rabbit shot out in front of me and I grabbed it out of the air in my fist. However before I could do anything I heard something else. I heard a girl's voice and saw its owner standing in front of the bushes next to me with sword raised. I looked back to the rabbit and returned to her as I realized the absurdity of the situation. I smiled wryly as I tried to explain myself. "I can explain! He called my mother fat!"

(Me on my mission to make a different, stupid entrance every time)

Oh god. It happened with her too. I put my head in my palm and started chuckling when she called me a girl. Well I should've expected that. Nine out of ten people thought that. I brought my hand back down and smiled at her. "Haha, right." She'd figure it out eventually. The girl sat up and readjusted herself, but had a strange look on her face. She said she was looking for mats and got lost. I'd say. "A little bit." I sat forward and pointed over her shoulder. "The exit is that way." I looked over her and decided that she was pretty low level, probably started out not too long ago. "Do you want some help with anything? I've got some time to spare."

We stood there in silence for a minute, gazing out into the distance. The sun was just setting on the horizon and lit the sky up orange. It was the perfect background for the situation. I smiled while I kept my eyes forward. "Good then let's get going" I said as I literally walked into the sunset. I didn't think I'd ever get the opportunity to do that in my entire life. All I can say is that it felt awesome. Like a boss. Am I right? I'm right. Ryuma was starting off on his journey and I'd be there to help. 

(I think this is a good spot to end it)

Ryuma took his hand off of my shoulder and grabbed my hand. "Woah I don't think I'm ready for that yet. I mean we just met." I said smiling. He was serious though. He really wanted to be out there beating the game. "Then we'd better get a move on. We've got a lot of floors to clear." He smiled and started laughing after he finished the next part of his speech. I smiled to and turned around to face the field. "Promise me one thing though: never become conceited." The wind started blowing strongly as I said that, only adding to the effect. I was serious about that. I had a thing about people with skill or whatever feeling like they were better than the rest. To me that went against the whole point. 

I smiled and scratched my head as Ebony said it was no big deal. "Haha okay". She thought for a few moments when I mentioned quests, no doubt trying to think of one she could actually do. I knew she wouldn't be able to come up with one. The kind of quests I was thinking of wasn't one of the big published for rewards ones. I was thinking about the random ones you could find around town. I found out I was right when she said she'd do them if I did all the work. "It's alright I'm not talking about those, we probably won't have to do any fighting. There are smaller quests with no rewards but they're pretty fun. They're usually more about finding things or doing a mission or something. So what do you say? That sound good?"

Elul smiled at my introduction and told me her name as well. "Nice to meet you, Elul" I said smiling. I watched as she played with her hair, attempting to get the hay out, before she saw I was getting comfortable and decided to do the same herself. She must've abandoned getting rid of the hay because she layed down and made herself a pillow. She started staring right at me too. It felt a little weird but I decided not to say anything. She was probably just trying to figure out what level I was or something. Well I wasn't going to say anything about that but I had to say something. "So I guess you weren't expecting to run into anyone in here huh? Where ya headed?"

Haha one sided doesn't sound too promising

"Right, I will." I said in response to the girls shaky speak. She seemed pretty nervous or maybe rattled at what had happened. I couldn't blame her. Who wouldn't be freaked out by someone falling out of the sky? She looked up to the sky and asked me where I came from. I looked up too and pointed. "I was sitting on the tower up there. Thought they hay would break my fall. Apparently I was wrong haha." I started scratching the back of my head in embarrassment. I watching in curiosity as the girl reached into her bag and pulled out a first aid kit. "Huh?" Was all I said as she reached out and wrapped me in gauze. She cut it with her dagger and finished up. Some skill activated and I was healed right up. "Thanks. Hey I guess I should at least introduce myself. I'm Koumori, you can call me Kou if you'd like." I said smiling at her. I was now leaning back on my arms  in a more comfy position. 

"So it was totally a guess then. Maybe I should wear a sign." That could be a solution. People definitely wouldn't be confused if I did that. Although, I don't think I'd want to be that dork who walked around with a sign. No thanks. I already have spontaneous memory loss of a very specific time period to worry about. Maybe there was a bug or something. She voiced her desire to not face anymore NPCs and instead do something with me. That sounded good, I'd be doing nothing anyway. I nodded at both her list and suggestion. "Player run shops have better stuff anyway. Plus they don't need an algorithm to deal with "Umm." Alright, why not? I have nothing better to do anyway. Wanna try and find a quest?" When I finished talking I realized I might have said something offensive. I quickly began waving my hands in front of me. "Ahh no I didn't mean that hanging with you is settling or anything."

She laughed at my pathetic attempt at a joke. She hopped up as she revealed that she too had been confused by my gender. So that was it huh? She was comfortable with me because she couldn't figure out what I was. Well maybe not comfortable, more like totally distracted. I bopped up from my crouch to stand with her. "Seriously? You too? Does no one in this game know what gender I am? Tell me, what was the secret that made you realize?" It surprised me a bit that she was confused actually. She didn't display it on her face like other people had. Well at least I didn't have to illogically fake it with her too. In any case, I smiled when she said she was doing better. "Really? I'm happy I could help you out then. I learned a lot about having friends in here so I get it." I followed her gaze as she turned her head to look at the store she was ejected out of. She seemed sad at the prospect of not being aloud in. "Ehh I don't think NPCs hold grudges for too long." When she asked me what I was doing there I had to ask myself the same question. I never knew what I was doing there. "I don't really know. I just come down here and walk around a lot. What about you? It looks like you're trying to shop for something, if you could manage to not get kicked out of stores."

My head was spinning from the fall. I could just barely make out the silhouette of a figure appearing above me. I felt a finger touch my cheek and a mumbled "are you okay?" The girl I had almost fallen on top of had come over to me to see what happened. I started rubbing my eyes with my hand after I heard her voice. "Yeah I'm okay. I didn't hurt you did I?" I made an effort to sit up and slouched forward and sat cross legged in the hay. My head had stopped spinning and I could see straight again. I looked at the girl and smiled. "Sorry, I didn't see you at first. Stupid me." I said as I lightly brought my fist to me head. 

After a couple of minutes I saw exactly what I had been hoping for. I had to grab on to the ledge to stop myself from falling when I started laughing at the sight of the cart. Were there seriously carts of hay rolling around here? I regained my composure and stared at it. Should I do it? Would it actually break my fall? I figured that at my current height, the fall wouldn't be enough to kill me so the consequences wouldn't be all that bad. Without thinking anymore about it I pushed forward off the ledge and went into a dive right as the cart passed underneath. I was in free fall with the wind in my hair and it felt exhilarating. When I got closer to the cart I was something I wasn't expecting: a girl. There was a girl already sitting in the fluffy yellow mass. There was no way I could bail out of my jump to avoid her. If I didn't do something I might collide with her. "Look out!!" I screamed when I recognized the danger. I crashed into the hay with a muffled thumb. I came to a hard stop and laid there on my back. It did not work. The wood stopped my fall. Luckily though I didn't hit the girl, but I couldn't see her. "Oww"

I began running off to the lake and I noticed Manta and Sousuke were not next to me. They were following, but far back. I smiled at the thought of what they were doing back there. It was really starting to get on my nerves so I decided to mess with them. I looked back to see where they were and ran ahead, the cold wind against my bare legs. Once I was confident I was out of view I veered off the path and ran behind a large pine tree. I would hide there until the walked past and then...well I'd figure out what I'd do when the time came. As I waited I got to thinking again. Being a girl was really different. It just had a different feeling through it. I felt lighter for some reason, although that might not have been the case if I was a more developed girl. Why was a self conscious about that? Stupid crappy potion. Making me even more confused than I was before. 

(Don't use the search skill to find me. That's just uncool.)

Ebony looked up at me and signed. She paused for a second before trying to explain to me what had happened. When I heard what she said I widened my eyes and leaned backwards. "You're Ebony right? When you met me you were far from shy. I actually thought you were the most forward person I had ever met. No joke." It was hard for me to believe that she was shy. Like I said to her, she seemed very outgoing, bold even, when she talked to me. If what she said was true, what made me different? I hadn't considered that she only talked to me because I put off some sort of approachable vibe. I noticed she wasn't making a move to stand up so I stayed in my crouch as well. I smiled when she reflected on NPC kicking power. "They're great to have for kickball games."

Sword Art Online. The most advanced an immersive video game ever developed. Nothing had ever matched it in any measurable category. Too bad it screwed itself when it trapped its first players in a life or death survival match. It made me laugh every time I thought of it. Kayaba definitely wasn't after money, and for a villain that's a little refreshing. But none of us could tell what he really wanted. For all I knew there could be cameras following us all around and making a reality show out of our failures. Now that would be something else. Or, on the other side of things, he could've just dumped us here and left. I guessed it was somewhere in between. That's what I was thinking as I sat on top of the clock tower of the large church in the center of town. I looked at the expanse of city and was amazed at the sight. If I didn't know any better I'd say it was all real. I sat there and soaked it all in, watching the people below and the trees in the fields. I wondered if there was a bail of hay below me I could jump into when I was done. 

(She's shy? She wasn't shy the last time)

The fact that I was still in the first floor was a mystery. Maybe even an industrial secret. Nonetheless, I was there. For whatever reason I enjoyed walking around the streets. It was interesting to see the people walking around and the thriving stops. I often ran into players just starting out and got a chance to help them. I was in a side street full of NPC shops when I heard a crash to my left. Before I could turn my head I saw something fly past me into a wall. When the dust settled I saw a girl laying on the ground. I squinted to see who it was and recognized Ebony. She say there with her head in her hands as I walked over to her. I crouched down next to her and spoke. "Challenging shop owners to duels again?"

Manta and Sousuke followed me out of the tavern and into the snow. I was too wound up to even notice the cold. Sousuke came skipping in front of me and posed with the best smile he could muster. He wanted to know where we were going. Good question. I hadn't actually thought about that. I noticed Manta had stopped behind me as well so I assumed they both were waiting for me to take the lead. The only place I could think of was the lake. I had been there with Starrine and Shirosu and it was they were...interesting experiences. At the very least we could have fun there. I didn't even notice I was doing the finger to lip and eyes up thing while I was thinking. My eyes lit up when I got it and I proclaimed my decision with enthusiasm. "Let's go to the lake! It's really pretty and we can ice skate too!" I started running off in the direction of the frozen lake. "Come on slow pokes!" 

"The pay may or may not be extremely generous" I said smirking. She told me she needed to go back to her shop and invited me to come along. I figured there would be no harm in going, it's a good idea to check everything out. Plus I was pretty sure I had never been to an Artisan Shop, assuming I even knew what one was. "I'll check it out, sure." I laughed again when she brought up money but really thought about her comment about love. "There you go again with the money. You really seem to like that stuff. I don't know, you just haven't experienced that." Memories echoed in my head as I said that, half looking into the distance. I snapped back and waved her forward. "Alright lead the way."

"The pay may or may not be extremely generous" I said smirking. She told me she needed to go back to her shop and invited me to come along. I figured there would be no harm in going, it's a good idea to check everything out. Plus I was pretty sure I had never been to an Artisan Shop, assuming I even knew what one was. "I'll check it out, sure." I laughed again when she brought up money but really thought about her comment about love. "There you go again with the money. You really seem to like that stuff. I don't know, you just haven't experienced that." Memories echoed in my head as I said that, half looking into the distance. I snapped back and waved her forward. "Alright lead the way."

I smiled awkwardly as the young girl rattled on about me jumping out of the tree and killing myself. I dusted off the dirt from my head and removed the leaves from my pants. "As fun as tree base jumping sounds that's not what I was going for. I kinda just slipped and fell." I rubbed my aching head and got to my feet. That girl was really young, small too. I guessed she couldn't be any older than 12, probably younger. I never saw someone so young in SAO, let alone outside the safe zone. I wondered how she ended up here in the first place. All I could think of was that perhaps the nerve gear wasn't meant to be hers. I heard many stories of people trying out their friends or relatives game for various reasons. I didn't feel like I should ask her about it though, it was not really any of my business. I smiled at her when she asked if I was okay. "Good. I'm fine don't worry about me. It only took out a little HP." I did some stretching and neck cracking before I sat back down against the tree. I looked to the girl and decided to talk to her. She was out here all alone and probably didn't know anyone else in the game. She was probably lonely. "So whatcha doing out here by yourself? It can get kinda boring when you're alone." I didn't want to mention dangerous as she might get mad at my assuming she couldn't handle herself. Kids were like that. 

I smiled awkwardly as the young girl rattled on about me jumping out of the tree and killing myself. I dusted off the dirt from my head and removed the leaves from my pants. "As fun as tree base jumping sounds that's not what I was going for. I kinda just slipped and fell." I rubbed my aching head and got to my feet. That girl was really young, small too. I guessed she couldn't be any older than 12, probably younger. I never saw someone so young in SAO, let alone outside the safe zone. I wondered how she ended up here in the first place. All I could think of was that perhaps the nerve gear wasn't meant to be hers. I heard many stories of people trying out their friends or relatives game for various reasons. I didn't feel like I should ask her about it though, it was not really any of my business. I smiled at her when she asked if I was okay. "Good. I'm fine don't worry about me. It only took out a little HP." I did some stretching and neck cracking before I sat back down against the tree. I looked to the girl and decided to talk to her. She was out here all alone and probably didn't know anyone else in the game. She was probably lonely. "So whatcha doing out here by yourself? It can get kinda boring when you're alone." I didn't want to mention dangerous as she might get mad at my assuming she couldn't handle herself. Kids were like that. 

Ebony brushed herself off and states her defense. "You know what they say about assuming." I said to her sarcastically shaking my finger like a mother disciplining a child. I chuckled when she proved again she was big into money. "Whatever you say." I watched as she smirked and opened up her menu and flicked around the screens. In a few seconds a friend request popped up in front of me. I wasn't exactly surprised to see it but it wasn't expected either. But like I thought to myself earlier, this girl showed great potential so I pressed the accept button without much delay. Another friend added to the list. "Good now that we're friends I can let you in on Manta's ring of cronies. Haha I'm kidding of course...or am I?"

Ebony brushed herself off and states her defense. "You know what they say about assuming." I said to her sarcastically shaking my finger like a mother disciplining a child. I chuckled when she proved again she was big into money. "Whatever you say." I watched as she smirked and opened up her menu and flicked around the screens. In a few seconds a friend request popped up in front of me. I wasn't exactly surprised to see it but it wasn't expected either. But like I thought to myself earlier, this girl showed great potential so I pressed the accept button without much delay. Another friend added to the list. "Good now that we're friends I can let you in on Manta's ring of cronies. Haha I'm kidding of course...or am I?"

Glory let out a hiccup, a very cute one, as we fell onto the bed. When I got up a bit to look at her our eyes met and I got lost in her brown eyes again. They were beautiful and I'd never get sick of looking at them. When I went in for the kiss I could feel something in her like maybe she was getting ready for it. Still I didn't know it was safe and I ended up only kissing her on the check. Strangely though I could hear her exhale when I did that. Like perhaps she was sighing out of disappointment. I rolled off of her and we both layed there looking at the ceiling. There was quite for a few seconds before she answered my questions. My heart was already beating loudly but I heard by far the longest one yet when what she said registered. As she reached out her hand to touch mine my head was racing. I would get the chance to do this all again. I would get the chance to be specialty her. And most importantly, I'd get to see her. This day went from just an average one to the best one of my life. I never would've guessed that I'd find Glory and things would end up like this. But for some reason it felt like all I ever really wanted. "Really?" I sat up on the bed and Glory did the same. We looked at each other again for what seemed like an eternity before we did anything. Then I slowly moved up my hands and Henry placed them on the sides of her face. This time I would be a man. I wouldn't chicken out. I wanted to kiss her more than anything in the world and I had the feeling she wanted the same. I moved her head closer to mine and I leaned forward as well. I let our heads rest with our foreheads touching before I went any further. When our lips met I thought I would literally melt. Her lips were so soft and warm, I couldn't remember anything that felt so good. My heart stopped pounding so fast and my chest just felt warm. If I didn't want the hug to end I certainly didn't want this to end. We were convehing our true feelings to each other. The kiss was long, much longer than the first one. At some point during it my hands hand migrated from her head to around her waist, pulling her even closer. I could feel the warmth of her body again and I felt like I was at home. When I finally brought my lips back I felt like a part of me died, but I knew we couldn't actually do that forever. "I'm sorry I bailed out earlier. I'd-I'd love to be more than..just friends" My eyes were still closed. Words like that had never escaped my mouth before so I was more nervous than I had ever been. But I didn't think I even had a reason to be. I could still feel her breath as I waited for an answer. 

Ebony completely ignored me and stormed into the store. She stomped right up to Manta and challenged her to a duel. All I could do was cross my arms and smile as I listened to Manta set the rules and get ready. Before it even started Ebony was sent flying back through the door and all the way out into the wall across the street. "That's gonna leave a mark." I followed Manta outside and waited while she gave the girl some Col and waved to me as she walked back in. I moved over to Ebony and offered her my hand to help her up. "Seriously, where did you get the crazy idea that she was paying me off? Do I look that desperate for cash?" 

(Just realized my last post was long enough to be a page of a book.)

After I got under the table Manta abandoned her seat and sat down next to me. She leaned in and told me to stick with my choice. "What do you mean?" I couldn't come up with what she was trying to say. But actually maybe I did. It dawned on me that she must've been questioning not only my gender identity but my orientation. I may have been questioning the first one a little myself but I was most certainly straight. There were no ifs ands or buts about that. Manta, I assumed, had been working of the assumption that I both wanted to be a girl and liked boys. I'd have fun explaining myself in the future. Or on the other hand she could be as confused as I was. All this was her fault to begin with. Her and Sousuke. I didn't get the chance to say anything before a skirt was thrown at me, accompanied by Sousuke telling me to put it on. That time I didn't object and equipped the skirt without indecision. I also noticed that the blue skirt looked pretty weird with my purple vest so I also traded it out for a white shirt. God I was thinking about color matching then. I was envious of Sousuke. All he was doing was having fun with it while I was crying under a table. Why did I have to deal with it all? I wiped my eyes with my arm and popped up from under the table with my best smile. "Alright let's go." I half skipped to the door and let myself out. It wasn't as weird to wear a skirt that time. It was different really being a girl. Didn't seem as awkward. "You better not be kissing behind my back again!" I called back at them. 

"I didn't say you couldn't save yourself, I said no medic could save you." I said at her attempt to poke holes in my logic. "You're a tough one aren't you? Can you please tell me why you're so set on this?" She walked up to the door and got ready to go in. "It'll literally be your funeral"

(sorry for shortness)