Kashi

Kashi whistles as they walk. It's a bright tune, filled with joy. When they reach the cave, he stops. "Ready?" He asks. He draws his sword and waits for Yuki to finish getting ready.

Kashi, who can't see, manages to get up. He turns in the direction of the panthers breathing and charges. "Yah!" He yells and charges, but he doesn't attack. The panther leaps at him, but it is only at the last second that he slashes. The panther is cut neatly in two. Kashi sighs and sheaths his sword, then takes a potion. The scars over his eyes vanish, and he opens them. "We make a good team, huh?"

Kashi and Yuki continue on toward the caves. However, in the bushes, several boars jump out, all with faces of hate. "Crap!" He draws his sword, and attacks. Yuki can clearly see he has the situation handled, but what she sees that he doesn't is the panther sneaking up on him. The panther rears back, then jumps on Kashi's back, causing him to stumble and trip, while the boars prepare for another attack. Kashi's health bar starts to lower, but he still has plenty left, so he continues to struggle. His face becomes filled with scratches, making it almost impossible to see.

Kashi turns red, then pays for their meal. "So, what do you want to do next?" He gently smiles, and takes her hand. "Maybe an adventure? Or how about some shop exploring? We could even just sit around and be bored! Whatever you want to do, I'm set!"

"Huh?" Kashi snaps back into reality. "What is love?" He thinks for a second. "Love is a feeling that you hold for someone. It is a feeling that makes you want to be better, to help them, for them to help you. It means that no matter what, you would DIE to protect them. That is true love, in my opinion. But don't forget, love is a two-way street. You can end up feeling more broken than before, or you happier than you ever imagined. That is love. It is a powerful thing. Personally, I treat love as a treasure. I give it away, yes, but to very few." He blushes. "I think you might have some of it Yuki..." He turns his head. "Sorry about all that deep stuff. I really didn't know either, until I joined SAO."

Kashi seems oblivious to her thoughts, every once in a while, saying something with his mouthful. Finally, after finishing, he sits up. He sees that Yuki is lost in thought, so he sits back, toothpick in hand, and stares of as well. He drifts back to the old times, where he was living in fear, the painful times.

"Good!" Kashi sighs, and sits back in his chair. "Look! Our dessert is here!" He grins as they are served cake and ice cream. "Yum!" Kashi starts to eat , but he takes his time.

Kashi can see he struck a nerve, so he feels bad. But, after ordering, he talks to her. "Hey Yuki? This may sound rude, but I want to talk to you. Stop lingering in the past. Focus on the future. If you stay in past, it can destroy your future. Don't mess up like I did." He takes his hands in hers. She can see he is crying. "I want you to promise that you won't let your past block the light of your future! Promise!"

Kashi grins, and shakes his head. "No, I got it! Thanks for the request though." He talks to the restaurant owner, then turns toward Yuki. "Let's go get our seats!" After sitting down and eating for a bit, Kashi asks, "So, got any siblings IRL? The closest I had was a cousin, but she's...." As Yuki looks at Kashi, she can tell that the cousin is dead. "ARGH! I did it again! I just ruined this very nice dinner!" He signals a waitress. Before he orders more, he tells Yuki, "Since I ruined the meal, can I fix it by getting us dessert?"

Kashi asks, "So, do you want to explore the city? Maybe we could find a secret entrance to a rare cave!" His eyes sparkle. Suddenly, a large growling is heard. "Oh man, I forgot that I was so hungry. Almost perishing really makes me hungry. Why don't we go eat somewhere? I'll pay!" He grabs Yuki by the hand and pulls her behind him to a shop, titled, "The Best Ribs In SAO!"

Eventually Kashi wakes up, and slides off her back. "You carried me all this way? Sheesh, that's a heck of a feat. I guess it's my turn." He picks her up in his arms and walks the rest of the way to town. Upon reaching the entrance he puts her down. He thanks her. "Thanks for all that! You saved my life!" After a second he says, "So, what's next?" He grins.

Kashi manages to slide up against the wall, then takes a potion, increasing his health. It is still low, however. He turns his head to look at Yuki. "Just give me a second." After a minute, he shows Yuki the item. "What do you think?" After handing it to her, he nods off and falls unconscious.

Kashi lay on the cold floor, holes in his hand arm, and ribs. He is looking off in the distance, pixels swiriling around Yuki's face. He coughs, and Yuki notices his extremely low health. He then coughs again, more violently than the last. "We..we..item." He manages to say, before falling more into death's grasp, the only thing allowing him to live is the thought of leaving Yuki.

The owl starts flapping its wings at a very fast rate, shooting sharp rock feathers at Yuki. But they don't hit her. Kashi is pinned to the wall by his arm, giving the owl a chance to repeatedly stab Kashi in the ribs and chest. He screams in pain. The owl turns to attack Yuki, put Kashi rips the feathers out of his arm and lands on top of the owl, covering its eyes.

Kashi, now realizing he had eaten nothing at all, waves at Yuki, happy to spot a friend. He congratulates the couple, then sits down next to Yuki. "Boy, I'm so hungry I forgot there was no food." He grins sheepishly.

Kashi nods and goes into the next room, which has nothing in it besides a giant stone owl in the middle. It sits and does nothing, but Kashi swears it's breathing. Suddenly, it opens its red eyes and shrieks, then starts flapping its wings. "Oh boy!" Kashi states, then draws his sword. "Now is your chance to try that new sword Yuki. We got a mini-boss on our hands!"

Kashi immediately jumps up and dashes to the buffet table, grabbing the whole chicken and pot of mashed potatoes, then starts to devour everything in sight. "Muafh gulf roti." Kashi states, mouth full of food. He gulps his food with a large glass of wine, right out of the bottle. "Compliments to the chef." he says, and goes back to eating.

Kashi hummed along to the lute player's song. After a minute or two of talking, Kashi stands up. "And they will live together until they want a divorice or they die of something, yadda. yadda, yadda, kiss the bride and all that." he then sits down, drawing the attention of many. "Can we eat now?" Kashi exclaims.

Suddenly a young man rushes in, followed by several angry people, all trying to hit him, now made impossible by the non-pvp zone. They stop and turn around, but linger by the entrance. Kashi sighs. "Well, guess I'm staying." He sits down next to another person and whispers, "Will there be food?"

Kashi laughs. "Nice. Now you can kill werewolves." He shakes his head. "So, wonder if there's some kind of rare enemy around here. I haven't heard anything about this place. Maybe we should check out the other rooms." He nods."But of course, if you don't want to, we can head back to town."

Kashi slowly approaches the chest, carefully avoiding what looks like traps. When he finally reaches the chest, he swings it open revealing it's contents. "It's a sword, huh. Well, since I can't use it, it goes to you." Kashi lifts the sword and bows, holding the sword in is hands, presenting it to her. "Take it, as a sign of our friendship."

"Oh!" Kahi says when he sees  the whole in her shirt. "Have my jacket." Even though it's a little  big, it still fits OK. "You can borrow it for now." he says, and nods. "Now, what's in there?"

Kashi sees Yuki's predicament a grabs her and pulls her to him, into his chest. He swings his sword, cutting the monster's arm off, then finishes it with a thrust. "You OK Yuki? That was a deep blow. Here, have a life crystal." Kashi pulls one out and quickly hands it to her. "Now, let's check out that chest."

Kashi turns and stares Yuki in the eye. "Just get behind me." As he approaches the chest, several monsters appear in front of them. "Crap!" Kashi yells, and he pulls his sword out, separating Yuki from the monsters. Kashi clenches his teeth, ready for the pain to come.

Kashi checks the vicinity for monsters, then, when there are none, stands up. "Empty of monsters, but there is a chest over there. Now, is it a chest or a trap?" He grins, then slowly approaches it. "Wonder what's in here..."