Koumori

Manta seemed to accept that we'd be coming with her and started to equip all of her gear. She smiled before she put on the last piece. It was a small silver necklace. She spun around and modeled it before explaining what it was. The Koumori Hitter. Well I wonder what that's for. She really wasn't a fan of my evasion. I gave her a pouty frown before answering. "I'll take that as a compliment." Sousuke piped up and asked if I had been hit in the process of it being made. "That's why it was made, Sousuke." All joking aside, we all got our gear ready and Sousuke proclaimed we were ready to go. "Right!" I said with excitement. I started walking and came up beside her and pushed her shoulder with my hand.

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?"

My first impression of him was definitely right. He thanked me for my words but said something very unexpected. "Huh?" He sat there in awkward silence for a second before he tried to explain himself. He started to say something about being an amazing person here but he stopped himself. The only thing I could think was that his real life was horrible. Something definitely happened to him. That would explain why he was so flinchy and insecure. I had to say something to him. But I had to play it right. "I know some other people feel that way too, but it's a minority. Most people are fighting to leave so we will get out eventually, there's not much you can do about that. But you can use this as your chance. I don't know what your life is like, but you can use your time in here to change. Become strong here so when you go back you can fight stronger than before. My goal for being in here is a hero. I think that when I get out I'll feel more fulfilled. Maybe you will too." I paused for a second before looking him in the eye. "Just don't give up. It's only just started."

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. 

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?

I watched as Manta and Sousuke made their apologies. They hugged for a little too. They really didn't care about pda in front of me. When they were finished Manta told Sousuke what she had told me earlier about the boss. Sousuke had much the same reaction I had and was ready to fight the thing as well. Did she really think it would be that easy to shake us? "Well that settles it then. Sousuke and I are helping you." I walked up to Manta and pointed my finger at her face this time. "No butts about it." I said smiling. The fact that I was doing all this without shame didn't seem to be registering. What kind of monster was I?

The girl turned around in shock at the sound of my voice. She looked at me for a second before she started to wipe her tears. Trying to hold them back, and only partially succeeding, she choked up trying to tell me her problem. It wasn't something I hadn't hear before but she seemed especially broken up about it. She definitely wasn't taking the whole death game thing very well. I vaulted over the bench and sat next to her when she returned to scaring at the ground. She left her hair cascade around her as she sat in sorrow. I leaned forward and faced her so she could see me when I spoke. "Hey, it's not that bad. We're all trying, we'll get there eventually. But if we jump in head first we really will die. Stay strong. You'll make it out of here someday." I wanted to throw in a joke but I decided against it. There was a time and place for everything. I just hoped she'd take what I said well. I didn't give speeches very often but when I did they were usually pretty successful. 

Ryuma's eyes practically lit up when I asked him what he wanted to know. He leaned forward and rattled off a volley of questions that I lost track of in the middle. I raised my arm and started shaking my hand in the air with my head. "Hey, slow down dude. One at a time haha." I just went ahead and answered his first question. It was a tough question to answer though. Instead of thinking about it I just said what came to me. "Well we're all trying to fight and get out. The front lines especially, but we're all fighting hard every day so we can go back to our families. It's dangerous but it's what we have to do. In order to fight though you need to be strong. But strength in here doesn't come from the body it comes from the mind. You have to be willing to sacrifice yourself at any moment. You have to be willing to change too. To change for the better and not stay stuck in the past. That's how we'll really beat Kayaba. If we play into his hands and destroy ourselves we'll never win." When I finished my impromptu speech I realized that at some point I started gazing into the sky and tilted my head back down to Ryuma. I had turned his simple question into a long winded speech. I didn't do that often but whenever someone asked a fundamental question about SAO I couldn't help but give them my personal ideology. I should probably apologize. "Sorry for going off like that, haha. I don't usually go that deep."

She didn't seem too excited at the list I offered. Actually, she seemed dissapointed. She definitely wasn't impressed with the lame activities I suggested. She seemed as surprised as I expected when I mentioned her home. She turned her head away from me and back to the fireplace and stared. After a few seconds she turned back and answered flatly. That explained why the snow didn't excite her: she saw it all the time. I knew that I shoul drop the real work dialogue then but I felt like it might be a good time for me to share some of mine. I mean, I did make her think and talk about hers. It was only fair. "I guess that's why all that stuff doesn't excite you then. Well where I come from we got snow sometimes but I never got the chance to play in it. Hard to do in a tight city." I let some silence drift in as I though about home. "But even kid stuff is fun when you do it with friends."

The weather on floor one was by far my favorite. Most days it was right in my temperate sweet spot and I loved every second of it. If I was able to get out into the fields and just lie down, which I often did, it was very likely that I would drift off to sleep only to wake at sunset. That's exactly what I did today. After a long morning of grinding, I teleported back to floor one and found a spot out in the fields. This time I picked a spot just behind a row of benches behind the bushes that adorned their backs. I was outside the limits of a park on a hill that only gradually leveled out. I had gotten there sometime around noon and fell asleep not long after. However, this time I wasn't able to nap for long. I was woken up by the sound of sobbing. My eyes blinked open as I heard the sound of a girl crying coming from above me (which eas really behind me). I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Over the benches I could see bright red hair. I wondered what she was crying about. Well no matter what it was I wasn't just going to sit there and watch. What kinda person would I be if I just ignored a girl that was crying. I'd have to cheer her up. So I quickly popped up through the bush and rested my arms on the backrest of the bench and looked at her as I spoke. "What's wrong? I heard you crying so I thought I'd see if I could help." That reminded me of my first interaction in SAO. I heard a girl crying and decided to investigate. It's funny how history repeated itself. 

That was all I needed to hear. That sound of absolute contentment that came from Glory almost soothed my heart. She didn't care what I was saying, she didn't care what was going on outside, all she cared about was us. That hug. I couldn't disagree with her. It was amazing. So that was what a hug with your first love felt like? It wasn't just warm, it was plain right. Our hearts beating together as one and our bodies following suit. She felt so delicate in my hands but I swore to myself in that moment that I would never break her. I would protect her from everything and make sure at the end of the day, or the week, or whatever, she'd be safe for us to do this again. We stood in that exact position for minutes after she made that sound. But those minutes felt like hours. I figured that we'd have to stop at some point to go to bed so I got ready to let go. But I couldn't. I didn't want to ever let go of her. That moment was too precious. Unfortunately, I made the wrong move. I had started to pull back but I threw my hands back to where they were so suddenly that we were knocked off balance. Glory fell backwards and I went with her. She landed on her bed and I was still right on top of her. If my heart was beating fast before it was beating like a jack hammer then. It was all I could hear in my ears, well expect for hers. Sad to say, that's the area where my head ended up. I realized I should probably move before she began to feel weird so I lifted my head, but I paused when I saw her face. She looked so sweet and innocent. I just hung there, my arms supporting my weight, and looked into her eyes once more. But this time I was closer than I had ever been. Our noses were touching. I could feel her breathing on my lips. Lips. Should I do it? Would she be mad if I did? Once that word popped in my head the only thing I could think about was kissing her. I tried to resist but I couldn't. After looking at each other's eyes for a little longer I closed mine and began to twist and lower my head. But I stopped short. I really couldn't do it. My heart wasn't ready and I suspected neither was hers. Instead I opened my eyes back up and raised my head. Aww crap I could be a little selfish couldn't I? Before I gave myself time to bail out again I quickly moved down again and gave her an incredibly quick peck on the cheek. All of my courage expunged, I rolled off of her and layed next to her on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. I looked over at her one last time before I got up. She really was beautiful. Some of my my courage back, I spoke. "So uh, that was really nice. I'm sorry if that at the end there was too rushed. But, uhh, so...so what do you think this means?" I clenched my fists as I waited for a respond as I layed next to her. 

(Hope I didn't disappoint. Good thing I proof read this one is was full of mistakes.)

She listened to me intently yet again and I could see the gears turning in her head. She was still probably trying to figure out what could possibly be considered fun on this floor. When she finally spoke up she asked exactly what I expected. A wicked smile formed on my face before I answered. Not an evil smile, but one that showed mischief. "Plenty. Snow angels, snowball fight, snow men, ice skating, sledding, you name it! There are tons of things to do here. Wasn't there snow where you came from?" I paused after I said that last part. You weren't really supposed to talk about the outside world. It was usually off limits. People didn't really want to have to remember. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that."

Vayrin stared into the fireplace as I spoke. Evidently she found it as realistic as I had. Lots of stuff in Aincrad was like that. If you really paid attention, the stuff here was amazing. It really did look like real life. She brought her attention back to me when I finished speaking. I could tell she had been listening to every word I said but she changed the subject. I wondered what she had been thinking about that whole time. She had had a pretty reflective look on her face. Nevermind that though. "Nothing real specific this time. I just kinda missed this place and wanted to see if I could have anymore fun here." Hey come to think of it, Vayrin never said what she was doing there. Maybe she had the same thing in mind as me. I'd certainly be able to do something with her. Well at least that's what I thought. I didn't know her very well but she seemed pretty easy going. Not Shirosu easy going but still easy going nonetheless. I smiled at her as I asked my next question. "Hey something gives me the feeling you came her looking for some fun too. How about it?"

Ryuma almost jumped when he realized what I meant. He quickly followed after me as I weaved through the crowd. "I figured as much. Just follow me." I on the other hand knew the place almost too well. I took us down a few streets before stoping in front of a cafe. This cafe had a large outdoor seating area so I walked through the entrance and took a right and sat in a bench seat in the corner of the fenced in area. I waited for Ryuma to sit down before I spoke. "So! Where should we start? Fire away."

"That's no excuse. I recognized him from the beginning. Get your act together." I scoffed at Manta's attempt to defend herself. I knew that was Sousuke so there was no reason she shouldn't have. When I finished with Manta, Sousuke withdrew his sword and made some comment about her not attacking him next time. Did he think I was done. I turned to him and pointed right at his face. "And you, apologize to her. Do you even see what you've just done? That's no way to treat your fiancé!" I wasn't just acting, I was actually mad at him. Not only didn't he recognize her, he threw her to the ground and threatened her. That's not something s guy should do and I wasn't going to let that slide. I took a step back and sighed.

"Yeah, I'll do that" I said back to Sousuke with a smile but pain in my head. It didn't show of course but I could feel it. I wasn't going to give him my measurements of course but something told me that he'd make it anyway. Oh well, that didn't mean anything. As long as I didn't wear it. That was when Manta got out of her seat and restated what I said just earlier. She seemed to agree that it was way too late to start the fight. "Sounds good! I'll be ready whenever!" I said happily. Then she nodded at me with a smile. When I saw that I felt an unexplainable chill down my spine. What did she think I meant when I said that earlier. All I knew was I had a bad feeling. I didn't have too much time to think about that though after what she said next. How did she know about that? Who could possibly have told her. It didn't bother me because she seemed to throw it out playfully but it was way unexpected. Certainly Sousuke wasn't expecting it. Hmm, it was about time for me to have some fun again. I looked at him with a look that I never knew I could and spoke sarcastically in that way only a girl, and, apparently I, could. "It looks like our secrets out. Whoopsie." I smiled and turned to walk out the door. Before I followed Manta out I said to them both. "I wonder which one of you I'll change first." And with that I made my exit. And that's when I finally knew I could have a lot of fun with this. I didn't feel like any less of a man either. Actually, I think I might've felt even more like one than I ever had. Maybe it was right what they always said. But still I couldn't imagine how it came to all that. Just a few days ago I never even considered that I even remotely looked like a girl. Now what

When I started acting like that Manta immediately thought that something was up. She gave me a panicked look before she looked over my shoulder once again. I don't know what she was thinking as she unsheathed her sword and bolted past me. I spun around to watch her leap up into the air to attack Sousuke. Wait? What did she just scream? She really didn't notice that was him? For christ's sake. I took off running after her as Sousuke took her down and brought his sword down to her throat. A feigned being out of breath when I reached them and bent over to catch it. Then I looked at them and gave them my best angry girl. "Yeah yeah, "Where's Rachel" and all that. Seriously guys? Are you sure you're engaged? You should at least be able to recognize each other you know." I put my hands on my hips and stood there and waited for them to realize what was going on. "Honestly" I said to the air, sarcastically. 

Ryuma laughed at what I said, at least he wasn't too far gone. "I see. I won't pry." He seemed to look down a bit before straightening out his posture. He talked again when I assumed he built his confidence back up. He asked what I could teach him. Woah don't jump the gun there guy. Do you realize where we are. "Right but maybe we should, you know, go somewhere else for that? We are kinda standing right in the middle of the road." I pointed behind him at the crowd of people walking by and occasionally looking our way. It would be weird to give someone serious advice whilst standing in the middle of traffic. "Come on, let's go find someplace to sit." I started to walk off so he would follow. 

Vayrin seemed happy to be warming up and even cracked a sort of joke. "Small virtual death tower, huh?" I said with a smile. She slowly took off her hood and fully revealed her Violet hair. It was actually very beautiful in its exotic look. Not many people had hair like that. It made her stand out. Well maybe the fact that everything else about her was also purple helped with that. And I thought I was odd for having just purple eyes. When she fully settled she began to answer my question. So she justed wanted a change of scenery. Based on what she said it sounded like she hadn't seen much action. "I was just thinking the same thing but I disagree. This is a great vacation spot! I usually have tons of fun here. Well...maybe that one time got super awkward super quickly but beside that it's been all good."

Sousuke examined me up and down before confirming he was certain. I got him. Nice work Koumori. But it wasn't over yet. He asked for his skirt back but wanted to make another one for me. Manta quickly piped up and said that I could borrow one of hers while I waited. Oh how kind of you two. But I noticed that Manta seemed a little excited when she said that. She was no longer judging or angry, but she was definitely enjoying it. Why wasn't she freaked out by what I was doing? She was actually encouraging it. And I could tell she wasn't playing around. But still I didn't like skirts even though I was wearing one without any issue. "Oh you guys are too nice. You don't have to go through the trouble just for me." I brought up my menu and switched out the skirt for my pants and returned it to Sousuke. That was when Manta spoke again. "And just be yourself. I don't think you're weird" What did that mean? Was she talking to me or girl me? Was she encouraging me to cross dress as a girl? There was no way. What had gotten into her? She knew this was all the result of a misunderstanding right? Or was it? I could've just corrected him. Why hadn't I? Why am I asking so many questions in this post? I didn't know the answers to any of those questions. But I did know that I had been silent for awhile. "Thanks, Manta. I'll try and take that to heart." That was meant just for Sousuke. He seemed pretty deadset on girlifying me so I had to at least pretend.

Manta turned to look at me but instead looked past me at something with a concerned look on her face. I turned to see what it was and only saw Sousuke standing there. He was wearing new gear though. It was pretty intimidating I'd give him that but it probably wasn't what had concerned her. Either way, he'd probably come up to us soon so id have to turn on girl mode. I hadn't done it in a while but I didn't think I lost my touch. Of course I would never say that out loud. Ever. The only reason I did it was to save myself at that point. Well, I guess it was still funny for me. I turned around to face Manta again but with the girlish bubbly look on my face. I put my hand on my hip and stuck my other index finger in the air and pouted as I spoke. "You were almost killed last time. Why didn't you ask me to help?" At least I could still wear my pants. Please God Sousuke better not waltz on over and be like "hey where's your skirt" or something dumb like that. Not in public, I didn't think I could handle it. 

Vayrin looked surprised to see me or maybe surprised I remembered her. Either way she was surprised. I had cut her off when she started speaking but she took it fine and agreed to me request. She followed me to the cafe and I held the door open for her to enter. The sweet relief was immediate when I stepped through the door. The inside was just as cozy as I expected. I pulled down my scarf from my face as I navigated to a table by the fireplace a tool my seat. The crackling of the embers and heat of the flames were all to real. When we were situated I looked back over at Vayrin. Her face was much less red so I guessed she appreciated the change in temperature. Well, might as well talk about something. I hadn't seen her since that first time and I was curious about how she was getting along. "So, what've you been up to? Getting used to things yet?"

Ryuma flicked up an eyebrow at my offer. It seemed like he didn't really understand what I meant. He stuttered a bit as he asked me to explain and caped off with an apology. I motioned my hands a bit to start to explain but I stopped when I saw him visibly flinch. That was odd. What did I do to make him flinch like that? Did he expect me to hurt him again? I was going to pull out my sword and do some tricks with it to illustrate my point but I gave that idea a second thought. It would probably only put him more on edge. "Rude? You're not being rude. I just meant that I've made my rounds around this place so I can help get you started. That's all." He spoke up again, perhaps more frightfully than the last, and asked me for my name. I usually didn't start off conversations by throwing out my name like some people did, but since he asked id tell him. "I'm Koumori." There it was, he flinched again. What was going on with him? Was I really doing something to freak him out? I decided not to let it slide and ask. "Hey is everything alright? You seem on edge? Is it my face?"

"Good." I said in response to Vayrin. I was glad she decided to accept, she seemed unsure for a moment. I wasn't surprised when Manta didn't send one too, that's who she was. Plus she did the same with me. If the persons worth it she'll come around. She did extend an offer to come for her shop so that was enough. Well, it looked like everything was wrapped up so I spoke up. "Guess that's it for now then. Nice meeting you Vayrin. See ya Manta." I was ready to go, but I'd wait for them to make the decision too. I didn't want to awkwardly leave. 

I watched as Manta and Sousuke happily ate their cake, slice after slice. It must've been really awesome. Dammit why did I have to say something? I really wanted some.  "Hey slow down guys." When they were finally finished the waiter returned and we paid for our meals. When he left for the final time I stood up. I stretched out a little bit and pushed my chair back in. It was getting late, way too late to start the boss fight, so I figured it would be best if we just called it a night and headed home. This time I didn't do anything crazy with my hands and just put them at my sides. "This turned out to be a crazy night, huh? Definitely wasn't expecting all this. But it's getting late so we should probably forget about taking that boss tonight." I was going to wait for them to respond but I had one more idea. I let a sly smile appear on my face and I leaned forward on the table and looked directly at Sousuke. "So, you won't insult me by second guessing my gender again right? That kinda thing really hurts a girl's ego ya know?" At this point I'd probably have to just submit to acting like a girl whenever that guy was around. That was the hole I dug myself into. Whatever I didn't care anymore. It was definitely my ultimate prank so far and it was kinda fun in a way. You really can do anything in a video game. But I wondered what Manta was thinking. Probably she thought I was laying it on too think. I mean she was a girl so she could probably tell those kinda things. But I thought I was doing pretty well. Looks like I now had a double life. Yippee. The girls would be falling all over me now. It'd probably be best to keep this a secret from anyone I was interested in. Yeah...