Katoka

The walk down to the floor where Acanthus' home was had been rather sobering. Kat felt herself grow embarrassed at her actions and simply placed a hand on her face and groaned. Once she had sufficiently gotten it out of her system she continued to walk next to her two companions. "I can understand wanting to share a floor with your shop. My house and shop are on the same floor as our guild hall. It was too convenient not to have everything in one place." When the trio emerged from the winding staircase and into the bright lights, Katoka winced at he change in brightness. "You'd think they

As Emilia pulled Kat towards her she felt herself gasp, excitement rushing though her like a wave. And then it all came crashing down as she turned her attention to several messages that popped up. Katoka pouted, she wanted to be her focus right then. She wanted her to finish what she was saying, what Kat thought she was going to do. Her frustration melted away ever so slightly as the woman traced her jawline. She nearly purred in response, looking up into her eyes with a longing that she hoped Emilia could read. Her back arched and Kat nodded, making a mental note to be in Ronbaru in a f

The battlefront was heating up. Swords clashed, darkness plumed, the shouts and cries of players echoed through the area. As Belregor once again shifted his shape and covered the area in darkness, a flash of light pushed the dark back. Freyd had once again used his crystal to dispell the effect of their enemy's skill. Katoka shouted her thanks to him as she raced forwards once again. Her feet a blur and her body not far behind, she was getting used to the sand under her feet. It was still not her ideal footing of choice, but she was at least getting a handle on how to shift her weight. Li

"The routine helps." she smiled softly into her cup before taking another sip. "When things get too tough, when my thoughts are buzzing in my head like bees, I have to focus on something." It was something that her therapist had taught her back in the real world. It's easier to get a hold on things if you can keep yourself grounded, and the easiest way to ground yourself is to set a routine. She had been younger then, and didn't take what she was told to heart. Now she was a bit older, and was able to see how these things were exactly what she needed. Katoka's eyes widened at the men

"Thank you." Kat said, happy that Sam enjoyed the tea. "I didn't drink a lot of it before, but I started to so that I could add something else to my daily routine. Plus it reminds me a bit of home." As Sam slipped away to the bathroom Kat exhaled loudly and pinched the bridge of her nose. This was hard, being so close to her. The way she talked, the way she dried her hair, the way she smelled. It was all bringing memories flooding back that she didn't want to sift through right then. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to get her own breathing under control before Sam got back. Ka

Her hand covered her mouth in a failed attempt to hide her embarrassment. The woman was pushing all the right buttons, and Katoka she knew she was doing it for her own amusement. After the quest with Mari and Acanthus she had decided she would be more honest with herself, that she would admit that she was lonely and wanted someone to pay attention to her. Emilia was doing just that currently. Kat enjoyed being told she was cute, she liked the teasing, the pushing. As long as she didn't let her self get hurt, it would be fine for now. "My writing? It's nothing fancy. If I take my time it's

She could feel the tension in her shoulders slowly lessen. Kat always knew Sam loved music, so she wasn't surprised that she had started playing. Hearing that there was a famous musician trapped with them in Aincrad was certainly news to her. "Huh, it really makes you wonder who else is in this game with us." "I think I will have a drink." Katoka stood up and rubbed her hands together. "But I think it will be something a bit less alcoholic." With that she slipped into the kitchen and began preparing something for the both of them. Despite not having the cooking skill, Kat still loved

Her face was beat red. She could absolutely be easily riled up. "I... can't dispute that." she managed to get out. She cleared her throat and looked own at her cup. Emilia was an interesting person for sure. She had already opened Katoka's eyes to a few new things to really think about. She had a beauty that was enthralling to her, an older woman aura that did things to the samurai's mind that she had not felt before. It made her want to talk to her more, get to know her, among other things. Stroking the rim of the cup she glanced at the woman next to her, as she spoke. "I suppo

By the time she had finished her drink Katoka was feeling the effects of it. An indicator for the status effect popped up for her and she grinned. "Ohh yeahh, I deff. I deffurnatly can drunk get now." She laughed and tipped her glass back to try and capture any remaining ice with her tongue. It was a messy task but she managed to get a piece to crunch down on, her face and chest not wet with water. She was having fun, the alcohol was helping her loosen up and she didn't really care about much now. She was in the company of two people that wanted to spend time with her. Normally if that th

She grimaced. Would she find someone? Did she actually want to? She did. She missed flirting with someone, holding them, kissing them... Katoka sighed, scratching her cheek awkwardly with a finger. "I just, don't think and react I guess. I see pretty lady, I flirt." she shrugged, "It's easier than having to think about it. I'm not good at it, most of the time I get too flustered if the other person is better at it than me. I fold really easy" she laughed. Katoka followed Night, walking alongside her through the empty streets of Ilridge. The sounds of cheering filled the air on o

She sat on the edge of her coffee table, looking down at the bass that Sam was now wiping down. She was feeling so many emotions swirling inside her now that it was difficult to think. What she needed was a stiff drink, but she also knew that getting drunk right now would probably cause her to do or say something stupid. For now she pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to stave the incoming migraine. She might have to take tomorrow off as well. "I wish I could have met you when you were in a better state as well. Maybe then we would have... Things could have been different." she s

It didn't take them long to unload their cargo. There were only three crates after all. Once the girls had placed the boxes down Katoka brushed her hands off and turned to her companions. "Well? It's drink time right?" She grinned and eagerly as she hunted for a set of stairs that led back up to the bar. Finding a set a bit farther in the back she called for Acanthus and Mari to hurry up. Kat nearly took the steps two at a time but she had to remind herself that most of the building on this floor were on the verge of collapse, this one was probably no different. She was humming to he

She let her talk. Kat set out a pair of house slippers before slipping back into her own. She took a step into the living room and stopped. All of it reminded her of Sam, it always had. It was why she had trashed most of the house after she left. She brought new furniture and placed it all in slightly different spots but it still was the same. It was why she didn't stay at home as much, why she would distract herself with books and cleaning when she was here. She winced, not realizing she had been digging her nails into her palm. When Sam had almost said that she wanted to kill herself sh

A day off. For the past few months all Katoka was put her nose to the grind stone and work. She fought, she explored, she prepared for the next floor raid. Anything to keep herself from being alone with her thoughts for too long. The past couple of weeks she had taken more days to rest. A day here to clean up around the house, a day there to read a book and drink some tea on the back porch. She had even taken time to go do an odd quest with Acanthus and Mari in order to get drunk. Things had definitely gone off the rails with that one. Her cheeks flushed before she pushed that from her mi

This woman made Katoka's brain scrambled. It was like watching a cooking video, she would say something that caused her brain to whisk around in her skull before letting it rest for a moment, then mixing it up again. She attempted to hide her frazzled state by taking bites of her food and sips of her tea. It allowed her brain to catch up and process the information at hand. "I can see what you mean, about the name thing." she took a another bite of croissant and chewed thoughtfully. "Using my username, it's like a mask for me. I can hide behind it. Become a different person than who

An all encompassing darkness spread over them. Katoka felt her heart begin to race, her mind jumping to when she was swallowed by the Storm of Shadows. Anxiety, fear, failure. It all came rushing back as the grip on her sword weakened. But then there was a blinding light. A flash in the dark. Freyd stood with a crystal in his hand, raised above him like a beacon in the night. It was gone. She was still standing. They all were. Anger blossomed inside the samurai now. A hot fury that spread through her in an instant. Kat's hands tightened once again on her weapon as she surged forward,

She was tall. She was pretty. Not to mention she smelled quite nice. She hadn't expected the woman to step up and stag one of the pastries, let alone feed it to her. Her brain felt like it was stuck buffering, however her body remembered what to do when food was present. Quickly chewing and swallowing she felt her brain catch up as her face flushed bright red. At her mention of how she smelled she attempted to smell herself, did she really smell like honey? "I-I-I wouldn't p-poison someone I just met. But I can respect your c-caution." she managed to studder. "My name is Katoka,

In an attempt to spice up her morning, Katoka decided that she would venture down to the first floor. It had been a while since she had changed up her morning routine. It usually consisted of drinking tea on her porch while reading or watching her familiar Hanami sun bathe. Today however, she had to drag herself out of bed and made the executive decision to find a cafe in or around the Town of Beginnings to enjoy. She was still rather sleepy as she wandered the streets, despite the time she had taken to shower and at try to look decent she still remained heavy lidded and drowsy. Feeling h

Opening the lids of various crates seemed to be the easiest way to find what they were looking for. It was odd though, considering most ships would have the lids of their cargo nailed down to keep things from breaking or falling out. This was a game though and that logic didn't always apply. Katoka felt relieved that Mari was keeping the odd fish man away from her while she searched. She still let her left hand rest on the hilt of her weapon just in case. "Freyd is..." she opened another crate and smiled at the contents. Several bottles willed with an amber liquid. "He's not a bad person.

The second that Mari's hand had ended up on her thigh, Katoka had felt a heat run through her that she hadn't felt in a long time. At least with someone else. Each time her thumb stroked the bare skin it was like an electric shock ran through her, making her brain melt into soup in her head. At he mention of attention feeling nice, Kat almost let out a sound that would have made a nun blush. Instead she bit her lip and attempted to look out the window of the carriage. The attention was, in fact, unbelievably nice. She had lost count of the days (on purpose) of how long it had been since s

Goosebumps spread over Katoka's body as music pumped its way across the battlefield. She felt a grin spread across her face, yeah this would work as a battle track. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the boss change in front of them. It's form shifting to Mina's, though slightly off. "Didn't anyone teach you that if you're going to change your shape you probably shouldn't do it right in front of everyone?" She rushed in once again, her hair fluttering behind her. After a few steps she vanished, reappearing in front of Belregor as her katana once again struck the knight. The off sounding cla

Despite it taking longer than usual to get to their destination, Katoka was enjoying the trip over all. Regardless of the shady bar they were currently sitting it, and the dirty glasses that she took a moment to wipe off just before drinking from it. She had friends. She had Freyd, and Elora, and Ciela. This felt different though. A toast before downing the drink, she slammed the glass back onto the table and laughed. A rich belly laugh that made her feel more happy than she had in a while. As she listened to the two speak, she had forgotten that the game translated things for everyone. I

Katoka arched a brow at Acanthus as she seemed to talk someone that wasn't here. Looking around she hadn't noticed another person show up, which made her think that maybe the booze was starting to get to her more than she realized. Her thoughts were quickly scrambled at the nickname Kitty Kat. It had been something cute that she had been called in the past, but it had been a while. She attempted to cover her face to hid her once again reddened cheeks as she turned in a different direction. "I have a feeling that I'll be herding the two of you like a sheep dog during this quest, but I woul

Mari's mention of her clavicle made her cheeks turn pink yet again. Her hand reached up and traced her collarbone with a single finger. She hadn't paid much attention to that area of her chest, though she wasn't opposed to someone else doing so. She found herself wanting to get more attention from Mari. Katoka's eyes flicked to the woman, wanting to make sure she watched as she traced from her clavicle to her cleavage, "You do?" she didn't want to take advantage of someone while they were drunk, but she wasn't going to let the opportunity pass to at least flirt. She laughed at the two wom

When watching old kaiju movies, Katoka remembered always thinking the people that stood still and watched the monsters rise out of the ocean were idiots. They would be frozen, either in fear or confusion at whatever was happening that it was always too late for them to run away to safety. Now, after watching the massive knight clad in black armor do much of the same, Kat could honestly say she knew how they felt. There was no boss room, no entering a place to have a door shut behind you. They all stood on the beach and watched as this thing breeched the ocean's surface to face them. "Holy