Shi

It had been nine days of straight training; almost solely with his sword, although there was a tad of martial arts in there as well.

Had it not been a video game, this would be immensely hard on his body. Albeit, he felt tired, but still strong. The fourth floor was where he decided to relax. It was cold, but quite aside from that it was quite the pleasant atmosphere. While he almost always traversed the frosty forests and mountains that covered the floor, today he decided to keep it simple and explore the town. 

Shi had a specific restaurant he almost always went straight towards when he and Cain would get food. Under the circumstances, he decided it would be best to avoid it though. There was a quaint cafe nearby that he had been meaning to try and he had heard they served incredible coffee.

He approached the rustic, wooden door and pushed it open. It was empty. At least, there were no players. An NPC waitress greeted him, explaining that it was a quiet day and he had an endless choice of seats. Shi, being a fan of window booths, chose the one in the very back. It was a comfortable looking spot. In the center of the wood table was a lit candle. He couldn't put his finger on the scent, however he enjoyed it. It was calming, sitting in the coffee shop. He ordered and in no time at all, his drink was delivered. 

Shi gazed out the window, his drink keeping his hands toasty. He had so much on his mind, so much that he needed to deal with. Resting felt like a waste of time, but he knew it was unwise to overexert himself in such a constant measure.

The dark-haired man let out a long sigh before taking a sip of his coffee. "Where am I supposed to start?"

@Kirbs

With a swipe of his hand and a few buttons pressed, the man's mask dissolved.

Shi waited for the girl to introduce herself, but she only shook her head. He decided not to push her, assuming she was nervous. Who wouldn't be? Only moments ago, she had fallen to the floor and currently, she stood alongside a complete stranger who despite having a charming look to him, also appeared as though he could be the antagonist of a Marvel movie.

He knew better than to ask her questions. People who weren't comfortable with speaking to others generally preferred to listen, at least in his experience. In attempt to lighten the tension, he smiled gently. "Once again, I'm sorry for freaking you out. I'll be continuing through the temple if you're interested in joining me. If not, I wouldn't mind walking you to the exit." While he knew it was not safe inside of the Shadow Clan's ex-home, Shi was aware that he could not take on anything alone. It was possible that, if push came to shove, the girl could save his life. 

However, part of him was uncertain of whether or not bringing her along was smart. He was, of course, on a mission of his own and she was as much of a stranger to him as he was to her. It was impossible to tell if she had intentions of her own.

Shi shrugged off the thought. While he had been told not to lower his guard, the girl didn't seem like a threat. But what threats do?

@Neopolitan

(hi, merry christmas.)

"Arabelle, huh? It's good to meet you." He told her, managing a smile. Shi had never heard the name "Arabelle", however he quite liked it. He wondered what it meant.

Although he felt exhausted, he was almost certain it would pass in a moment or two. "Well, thanks for checking on me. I'm good, but I appreciate the gesture." If he was blushing, he was incredible at hiding it. He felt as though his face was on fire, however the fact that her expression didn't change (at least not that he could tell) made him believe that he was in the clear. It's an odd feeling, awkwardness—one that he was not accustom to. Perhaps he had overexerted himself training and it caused exhaustion. Or maybe the woman was a witch. There was know way of knowing.

For a moment, the violet-haired girl seemed puzzled; lost in thought. After catching herself, however, she asked if he had been doing something prior to their engagement. He shook his head. "No, I've been finished for a while. I was just... resting. I've been training all day." He explained, intentionally leaving out specifics, but giving at least enough information to keep a conversation going.

"What about you? I know I'm one to talk, being out here alone and all, but it isn't exactly a safe place to be by yourself."

@Arabelle

The feeling of dread that the structure emitted became even greater as he felt the surface of the door. He was terrified. Suddenly, as soon as he was about to push open the door, he felt something behind him. Whatever it was had shoved him forward with enough force that the gate opened up, revealing a room that resembled a king's throne room that was missing it's throne. Emerging from the walls were small waterfalls of lava that flowed into a moat surrounding the room and creating a circle in the center. Sticking out of a large chunk of onyx black metal was a single katana, perhaps one used by a swordsman who had once lived there.

He turned his head quickly, still unsure of what had caused this situation. A girl sat behind him with terror in her eyes. She appeared to be shaking, but that may have only been Shi's eyes playing tricks on him. His first instinct was to draw his curved sword, but the noirette stopped himself immediately. She did not look helpless, but she also did not seem like a fighter to him. Shi smiled at the girl, although it remained unseen due to his mask. He stepped towards the girl and reached out his hand, moving his white mask over to the left side of his head. "You okay?"

The young woman was interesting looking.   Not interesting as in weird, she was actually quite pretty. However, her hair threw him off. It was a mix of brown and pink. The man liked it.

"I'm Shi, sorry if I scared you." He told the girl.

Despite the noisiness of the beach, Shi felt at peace. He had nobody to talk tonbut he still felt as happy as ever, if not happier. His gaze moved to Cain, who was in the process of chatting up another girl. It seemed as though the previous woman had deemed him unfit to talk to and left. If this really was the blonde man that Shi knew and loved, then he was not going to give up because of one failure. No, instead he would move forward and continue flirting with every girl who he thought was even a little bit cute.

Shi was different, however. It wasn't that he didn't flirt (believe me, he did), but that he was not flirtatious around random individuals. He did not come to the beach to find someone to sleep with; he just a friend to talk to.

He eyed down a group in the water who had been splashing each other. They were clearly the kings and queens of the party, as they consisted of a good number of players. As much as he wanted to talk to them, he did not. Instead he made his way over the shoreline until the people in the water were behind him. He had experience with groups like that and normally, they didn't interest the noirette. As he confidently moved through the wet sand, Shi noticed a man who looked to be about the age of his grandfather staring down a crab. 

"Cool looking crab, huh?"

@Kioshi

@Lowenthal its ok ill sleep with you

Shi let out a sigh as he eyed the sandy beach that players were beginning to swarm. It had been quite some time since he'd gone to a party. As a matter of fact, the last he'd been to was his graduation party. The man was unsure if coming to a beach party was the best idea for him at that moment.

Behind him, Shi heard the footsteps of another man: a blonde. He rotated his head towards Cain, who was smiling cheerfully. "C'mon Shi, let's go have some fun. You need to let loose a little. It's summer, right?"

Shi shook his head. "We should be working."

To this, Cain laughed. "Hell no. Everyone needs a break, including the two of us." He moved down towards the beach with confidence. Cain, who was only slightly bigger than Shi in body size, wore black swimshorts and a purple button-down shirt that was left unbuttoned. To top everything off, on his face was a pair of classy dark sunglasses.

"Idiot." Shi muttered, following behind his dearest friend while giving a quiet chuckle. He was dressed in the same shorts as Cain, with the exception of the color: Shi's were red. Unlike the blonde, he was shirtless and at that time wore no sunglasses.

It took only a moment of scanning the area for the charcoal-haired man to realize that he was not acquainted to anybody around him. His eyes were locked on Cain, who returned the gesture with a smile before approaching him once more. "So, do you want to take the right side of the beach, or the left?" The man asked Shi, who thought for a moment. Before arriving, they had decided they'd both split up and move to opposite sides of the beach, where they would both attempt to meet new people. The noirette was pretty sure Cain was only interested in finding a girlfriend.

"I'll take left."

"Perfect." Cain grinned, eyeing down a dark-haired girl who happened to be suntanning on the right side of the beach. "I'll see you around, bud." He turned, giving Shi a quick peace sign as he departed.

Now that he was alone, he could figure out who seemed interesting enough to spark conversation. Shi eyed the groups around him, but nobody in particular stood out to him. He turned his head in the direction of Cain, who was in the process of chatting up the young woman who was mentioned previously. "I should've picked the right side..."

(Shi swimsuit)

At first, the fields were ghost-quiet.

However, this changed quickly as Shi heard the inquisitive voice of a violet haired woman who had engaged in conversation with him. "I'm okay, thank you." He lied, giving the stranger a smile as she stood at a careful distance from him.

Just by looking at the girl, the noirette could tell that she meant no harm towards the man. This caused him to become confused, as he could not figure out what it was she would gain from this encounter. It only took moments for the atmosphere around the two to become awkward and uncomfortable. For some time, no words were exchanged between them. It wasn't something he was used to. Shi lifted his hand and scratched the nape of his neck.

"Uh," the man started, "My name's Shi."

On another day, perhaps the conversation would have gone more smoothly. Maybe it wouldn't have felt as though he was forcing the words out of his throat. After the unfolding of the previous night's events, however, he was not in his right mind. Maybe this is good for me. I could use a pick-me-up.

Deep within the icy mountains of the fourth floor sat a mysterious and obscure stone temple. Shi had only heard rumors of it and never expected he would ever discover it's location. According to the stories, it had once been home to a group known to few as "The Shadow Clan," although he was not sure how true that was. Slowly and carefully, the noirette moved down the ragged mountain path towards the entrance of the supposedly sacred building.

Outside, the temple looked almost completely untouched. A couple of torches sat against the doorway, however it seemed as though they had not been used; at least, not for an incredibly long time. The stone bricks that made up the structure were almost perfect, aside from the occasional crack. It was magnificent, to say the least.

The steep decline of the mountain path alone was challenging enough to trek. With the ice and snow on top, it only became harder. Each step Shi took made him feel as though he would slip and fall to his death. Thankfully, that didn't happen. Instead, he safely carried himself down to the bottom of the path, where he was finally able to feel at ease.

Upon safely reaching the base of the trail, he gazed upon the temple gates, which were only meters away from him. Shi stepped towards them, increasing his speed with every stride. When he finally arrived at the entrance, all the man could do was freeze in place. Despite being considered a sacred and spiritual place, it gave off a terrifying, ominous vibe that almost made him turn back. Shi gripped the hilt of his curved sword, lifting his hand to touch the massive wooden door. Then, with all of his strength, he pushed it open. Inside, the halls were cold and lifeless. The noirette did not know what events had taken place here, but he was certain that they were not pleasant.

Shi adjusted his porcelain mask as he moved slowly down the main hallway, becoming more and more concerned for his own safety as he took each step. He wore his regular attire: a dark outfit with a grey, sleeveless jacket overtop. For both protection and style, he topped it off with a pair of steel arm guards. Eyeing his surroundings, he took notice of how quiet it was. The silence of the corridor made his body as cold as the snow that fell from the sky. His arms gently swayed back and forth as he continued forwards, eventually arriving at a large, iron gate.

As much as he wanted to turn back, he could not. What could possibly be behind you? he thought, staring daggers at the incredible door. It was massive and silver, with blood red markings and jewels creating patterns along it's face. His feelings about opening the door were mixed, as he felt both eager and frightened by the secrets that were kept inside. With some hesitation, he moved forward and pressed his hand on the door in preparation of entering.

"I guess we'll find out."

@Neopolitan

Spencer, despite his shyness, was actually an incredibly well-rounded man with a variety of hobbies and interests. Shi found that interesting. "Before I ended up here I was a musician. I wasn't big or anything, but I did sing. I can play guitar as well." He replied.

"I wouldn't say I'm super social, but I like conversations." The man chuckled, continuing down the straight, snowy path. After disconnecting himself from his relatives and old friends, he had noticed a steep decline in his day-to-day talks. Since he had left America, he hadn't been on a date, received a phone call from his grandparents, or even had the opportunity to bump into an old acquaintance on the street. He thought leaving his home town to explore a new environment would help him through his tough times, but that only backfired. On top of that, he was trapped inside of a video game that threatened his life. He wasn't really making any friendships in there.

Until the noirette discovered Spencer. He was the first real person he felt a connection with; his first friend in Sword Art Online. That was something he could not throw around like it was nothing. "So, tell me about sign language. What about that interests you?" He laughed, finding it odd that the man took up a hobby such as that.

"This is the spot." A voice called out to Shi.

The noirette scanned the area. It was dark, but not to the point where he was unable to see his surroundings. Stone statues lined the earthy floor around them. He stepped towards the nearest one and placed his hand on it's dirt-covered base. It took him a moment, due to the deconstruction of the body, but after inspecting it he was able to conclude that it was a Greek soldier. In fact, they were all soldiers. Shi stepped back. "I'm starting to understand why we were lead here."

"Why's that?" Cain, his blonde friend asked.

"This is a graveyard."

Both players froze in their place as they heard the soft rustling of leaves behind them. Shi dared to turn his head in the direction of the noise, but saw nothing. He wanted to speak, but could not find any words to use. His body stayed suspended to the ground, nearly as unmovable as a boulder. Suddenly, he heard another noise. This time, it came from a spot closer to Cain. "Shi," the blonde spoke, "They are here."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shi's eyes flew open. He lifted himself up from the cold, wet spot on the grass where he had managed to fall asleep and leaned up against the stone outer wall of Nimbus. Although it had felt like an eternity, he had only been out for a matter of hours.

The moon was still high in the sky, giving him quite a lot of time before he'd need to once again begin his training. This gave him two options: Either he could try his best to fall back to sleep or he could not. Shi went with the latter.

His mind was elsewhere, still trapped in the dream that he had roughly awoken from only moments prior. The noirette was glad that he woke up when he did. He wasn't sure he'd be able to take traveling further down that unpleasant memory. The man's gaze autopiloted to the moonlit sky. The bright orb illuminated the grassy, mountainous land below, creating a dim and peaceful atmosphere.

It was the perfect environment for Shi to cope with a loss.

@Teion

thanks for letting me know about my sig link, i'll get that fixed soon.

overall, i love what you said and will likely incorporate most, if not all of your ideas. I especially liked the part about survivors guilt, it's something that I think I'll play with a bit. Thanks Bal!!

journal link in sig xd im on mobile and too lazy to link it

im in the process of revamping my journal and i've only got the background of Shi done, so that's pretty much the only thing to focus on.

i feel like my writing is sort of poor (especially character backgrounds) and i'd like to improve it a lot

(ps. shi is japanese on the inside)

The blue sky seemed as though it were calling to Shi, pulling the man from the soil beneath him. In another time, he may have given in and followed the "voice." It was different now, however. Finally, after many long years, he had found the tiniest piece of hope. He planned on holding on to that.

It took a moment for Shi to notice the woman standing near him. "Huh?" He stumbled for words, which wasn't something he was used to. The noirette pulled himself up onto his feet and wiped the small amount of dirt off of his dark pants.

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for asking."

Of course, that wasn't 100% true. He felt as if his emotions would flood out of him at any moment. Shi wasn't used to this feeling. "Sorry, my name's Shi." He reached out his hand, inviting her to do the same. He was having immense trouble thinking straight. That was the normal thing to do, right? He looked around for a moment, only slightly coming to his senses. Where did this girl come from? He eyed her down. Violet hair tied back in a ribbon, as well as a black and green uniform that resembled that of a soldier. "So," he started, "been watching me for long?"

He was mostly joking, but somewhere deep down he likely felt at least a little bit self-conscious about what had happened prior to the engagement. Of course, he didn't even know what had happened, not really.

"So, which team are you going to choose?"

Shi turned his head towards the direction of the voice. He eyed Cain before speaking. "I don't know. I'm thinking Lessa, we met a while back." The noirette turned back to the crowd. Joining Lessa's team would be a comfort pick for him, nothing more than that. He knew that it was not necessarily the best choice, but it was the easiest for sure.

"No you're not, bud," his blonde friend began, "Aereth's team is suited perfectly for you and you know it. Did you even listen to the speech?"

For a moment, Shi stayed quiet. Cain was correct, there was no reason for him to not join the orange player's party. It would bring him one step closer to achieving his goals. "What about you? Are you joining Aereth then?"

"Nope. I won't be participating in this one. It looks like there are already more than enough capable players, I'd just slow them down." He let out chuckle, before dropping his arms down and sliding them into the pockets of his black overcoat. "Well, I'd better get going. Don't die out there, we've still got lots of training to put you through."

Shi was only a tiny bit annoyed that Cain had brought him all of the way to the Black Iron Palace only to abandon him moments later. "Aereth it is then..." the charcoal-haired player mumbled, although he was still looking in Lessa's direction. Although every part of his body wanted to move towards the woman's group, he could only think of what Cain had told him. It made him think about his future and dreams. Where will this road take me? He thought, slowly stepping away from Lessa's team and towards Aereth's.

"Hey," Shi started, "I'm Shi. Room for one more?"

- joining @Aereth -

text is :fire: ngl

Welcome back dude!

"It's okay," Shi smiled, "stay positive and you'll see your family again."

He pushed his cold hands into his slightly less cold pockets. The man thought about his family. He missed them dearly, but accepted that he'd never again see their faces. Shi wondered if anybody else was waiting for him to come back. It was unlikely, but possible.

"A random conversation topic?" He thought for a moment. Generally, he was good at conversation. It was a skill the noirette had picked up over many years of speaking to people in and outside of highschool and he had only improved since then. "What did you do before Sword Art? Like, what were your hobbies?" Shi loved that question because he found that almost everyone enjoyed talking about themselves. This was the best way to do so, especially if they had an interesting hobby like surfing or underwater knitting.

Of course, he also knew that talking about life outside of the game was normally not done. People, for whatever reason, didn't do so unless they were extremely close. Shi didn't really get that, but he respected it on most occasions. On this one, however, he felt as if it were okay to ask.

For a moment, everything was dark. Not even the sound of the wind could be heard. There was only emptiness. Then, without any warning, Shi was engulfed in light. His eyes and mind tried to identify where he was. "I'm home." He smiled as he felt a warm arm wrap over his shoulder.

"Mom." Shi mumbled, but was given no response. His gaze was averted as he noticed another figure, who sat on a brown, leather couch. "Dad too."

The noirette was confused, but went along with the situation. Something felt off, although he wasn't sure what. He sat down beside his father, and his mother followed. Suddenly, the television flickered on, without even a click of the remote. Shi wasn't sure what exactly it was that they were watching, but it made him feel slightly uncomfortable.

They watched from a first person view as someone drove a bright red car, he couldn't tell what kind, drove along a long--seemingly endless--highway. Every part of him wanted to turn away from the screen, but he stayed focused on it against his will. Then, as quickly as it came, the setting changed once more. Now, he was inside of the expensive-looking car, steering it along the highway. Shi's head cocked to the right for only a moment, and he noticed his mother in the passenger seat. His mind was scrambling, attempting to find an answer to what was going on.

He turned back to the road ahead of him and watched as a massive truck began to swerve in the direction of his car. The charcoal-haired man could do nothing, not even move the steering wheel.

Then, as he felt the impact of the truck slamming into his vehicle, Shi's eyes flew open. He looked around at his surroundings. A dream? Or maybe more like a nightmare. Shi breathed heavily for a moment, but was able to collect himself quickly. He stared into the water in front of him and noticed that he had been crying a little. He wiped a tear off of his cheek with his sleeve, and continued to look around him. The noirette was at the Waterfall of the Sage, somewhere deep in the jungles of the sixth floor. Thankfully, there wasn't another person around to see him in that state. He had come for relaxation, but recieved something much different. Shi let out a sigh, before falling backwards onto the grass beneath him.

"What a day."

@Arabelle

Shi liked the answer he was given. "Christmas has always been my favourite holiday." He stated. Of course, he had always spent Christmas with his family. They were no longer around, and he had nobody inside of the game to enjoy the snow with.

But that was okay. It was only a matter of time before he found someone.

The noirette listened as Spencer began to ask a question. It was one he had heard far to many times, but was still fine with answering. "I guess you could say I've been procrastinating a little bit, as bad as that may sound. But it's important to me that I face this game now. If I don't, I'll regret it later. So here I am."

The snow continued to fall at a slow, steady pace. It created a sort of relaxing vibe that Shi found incredibly enjoyable. The crunching of the snow beneath his dark shoes satisfied him as they walked through the serene forest. "So, what made you want to come out of your shell?"

(sorry if this isnt very long, im on mobile rn and can't really tell haha)

@Spencer

It was rather nice, sitting away from all of the busy people. It was as if they didn't exist at all.

Then he heard something unexpected from the right of him: a voice. One that seemed to be talking to him. His eyes opened and he cocked his head in the direction that it had come from. Sitting only inches away from Shi was a fairly young looking girl. For a moment, it had shocked the man. "Huh?" he stared, somewhat confused. The raven-haired player quickly came to his senses. "Right," he smiled lightly, "Welcome to the First Floor, I guess."

Shi stuck out his hand. "My name's Shi." He introduced himself, not wanting to be rude to the girl who was obviously looking for a conversation. It wasn't something that happened often, since most players who he'd run into kept only to themselves. "Nice to meet you."

Relationships

TBA

Roleplays

Arc 1 - idk what to call it yet

Ongoing / Probably going to go inactive threads :eyes: / Potentially really good threads if they get done

Inventory

» Starter Curved Sword
» Starter Light Armor

Skills

Non-combat:
»

Passive:
»

Combat:
»

Weapon skills:
» One Handed Curved-Sword (Rank 1)