Caliburn

Kana's eyes were locked on him when he'd finally turned his attention back to the girl. Some sort of firm, piercing gaze that seemed to take him in, made it hard to breathe. Like she was absorbing him. Or at least his avatar. The sharp feature's he'd chosen to worn, the crisp, all too clear to be real amber eyes, his tall and lanky form, perhaps a bit more firm than it's real life counterpart. Though modeled on his appearance in the real world, down to the obnoxiously colored green hair, it was all too ideal, the pen of an artist's tablet too exact.

All in the same vein, Kana sitting across from him, idle fingers slowly moving along the table's edge, the cascading blue locks the same color as seafoam, and, though he was loathe to admit it, a figure that drew the eye. All of it too perfectly put together. He wondered what she looked like in person, and not through the rosy lens of virtual reality.

He bet she was beautiful.

"Oh, right! I watch playthroughs all the time! I hadn't seen any for Sword Art, though," Caliburn replied. "I guess they were really strict about making sure nothing got leaked." He'd looked up the game as soon as Kana had mentioned it to him, his curiosity getting the better of him as always. The idea of getting to meet the person who he'd argue was his best friend for the first time, even if it was through the wired connection of a NerveGear, had been something he absolutely could not ignore for any period of time. "Would be nice if someone had gotten something through though...maybe one of them told us how to order some bread," he added before looking around. Maybe there was a server like in real life?

The soft touch of Kana's hand against his. It was unlike anything Caliburn had ever felt before. How did people usually describe it? 'Like sparks flying', that was it. Like a jolt of electricity running through his fingertips and spreading through his entire body, he almost swore he was physically shaking from...excitement? Happiness? Some mix in-between certainly. Even if this was all virtual, and none of it was real, it felt like so much more.

"C'mon, let's go," he said, quickly brushing past Kana and almost dragging her along with him towards the first food-like establishment he could set his eyes on. He hoped to god she couldn't see that all the confidence, chivalry and bravado were just an act, that right now, he was trying to keep it all together and not just melt into a puddle on the floor.

Caliburn opened the door for his friend, gesturing for her to enter first, "M'lady," and then followed her in towards the table she'd indicated. A part of him was a little disappointed she'd managed to seat herself before he'd even had the chance of so very gallantly pulling her chair out for her, but he'd make do. Besides, if he actually had done that, maybe the people around them would've assumed they're dating. Which they weren't. So why let people think that? And why was Caliburn thinking about this so much?

"Uh, yeah, breadsticks!" Caliburn suddenly piped up, realizing he'd gotten lost in thought. "Yeah, we can do that," he chuckled, before looking around and actually taking in the inn for the first time. It was everything he'd expected from a fantasy setting. Bustling, loud, full of drunk people, or at least people pretending to be drunk, and a lot of laughter. The green-haired man smiled as he watched so many happy people.

"So what should we do first?" Caliburn then asked Kana as he turned his gaze back to hers. "Oh! You mentioned we were short on money, how do we get more? Do we have to go find a job or something?"

Caliburn's avatar made a show of trying to think of what he'd be doing right now, were it not for the oh-so-unpleasant distraction that was Kana. With eyes fixed on the ceiling, and a fist beneath his chin, the man appeared to settle on an answer. "Probably sleeping. Yeah, definitely sleeping," he flashed her a quick smile before she moved to his side, but as soon as she was standing next to him, gently jostling him, shoulder to shoulder, the man felt a heat begin to rise in his face. 

'W-that- am I blushing!?'

Hikaru tried to shake his head clear of whatever had just overcome him, and focus on Kana teaching him how to open the menu. Unfortunately, he hadn't paid enough attention to get it the first time. The man mimicked the gesture as best he could, but nothing happened the first time. Nor the second, or the third. "Uh...Kana, am I doing this ri- Oh! Nevermind, I got it now!" The man grinned, ecstatic at his progress within the game. Sure, most players probably knew how to do all this within the first, like, five seconds of getting in-game, but Caliburn was not like most players!

"Aw, wait, really?" the man said, disappointed as soon as he heard that Kana might not be able hang out as much as he'd been hoping. Well, he supposed there was something to be said there about blind optimism. "Well, I'll take whatever I can get then."

"What do you say we go grab a table at an inn somewhere? See how the game managed to recreate food and drinks? A good plan for a first date, right?"

"Ohhhh, a date, is it?" Caliburn replied with the absolute biggest shit-eating grin on his face imaginable, all the while he wiggled his eyebrows in a manner that was both highly obnoxious, and also made one wonder if his eyebrows were actually just living caterpillars. "Well then, my fair lady," Caliburn made an exaggerated bow, stepping back with his right foot, his left hand kept behind his back and he made a flourish with his right. The hand then slowly arced from the man's side to his front, stopping just before Kana. The man turned his head to look up at the girl with one eye open from his bent over position. "Might you grace me with your hand this evening?"

Caliburn was just glad that Kana could hardly see the fire hydrant red color that his face had become. Steam was practically coming out of his ears, this was so dang embarrassing, what was he doing!?

Glad that his exuberance was not taken the wrong way, Caliburn broke into a wide, toothy grin once more. He watched as she span in a circle with outstretched arms, exclamations of fascinations. Like an announcer or something, with all the captivating presence. Or maybe that was just to him.

"Kana, I can't even figure out how to open the menus," he replied to the girl, crossing his arms and cocking a brow at her. "If I went anywhere without you right now, I'd be lost. And then you'd kick my ass for making you come find me." Caliburn really was useless when it came to these sorts of things. He'd never been much of a computer person, aside from Word documents. He had a hard time figuring out what all the options in the settings menus even meant.

"But, that means we can go explore together! I've got the whole day cleared for this! We can do whatever you want, and I'll just follow along!" Hikaru had gone out of his way to make sure his fridge was stocked full of drinks and microwave meals, and cups of instant ramen were ready to be made at a moment's notice, that way he wouldn't have to leave for more than a few minutes for anything today. After trying to meet each other for so long, he wasn't about to waste a single second on something as menial as walking for food.

Although there were no choirs of angels or silly 'time stands still' moment as their eyes met for the first time, the sound of Kana's voice chastising him was like music to the man's ears, a sweet melody that filled every part of his being.

A broad grin spread across his face as he turned to look at the source of the voice. "Kana!" he practically shouted with almost childlike excitement as he rushed towards her. Without warning, the man pulled the other woman into a tight hug.

There were no words to accurately describe the whirlwind of emotions that rushed through Hikaru as soon as he pulled, or rather dragged, Kana into his embrace. A tightness in his chest. Not the 'about to burst' kind that everyone always associated with feelings of...what was it again...It was more like he couldn't breath, couldn't draw air into his lungs. At at the same time, it had never been easier. Every single lungful of air was extraordinary and wonderful, like it was the first breath of fresh air he'd ever experienced in his entire life.

Whatever this indescribable emotion was, Hikaru wanted it to last.

But he stole only a single moment more of it for himself. They weren't his moments to steal anyways. Caliburn separated from Kana, grabbing her shoulders, practically shaking her. "I can't believe it! It's so good to actually get to meet you - well, ya know..." Oh no. He was rambling.

Caliburn let go of Kana's shoulders finally and laughed nervously, as he rubbed the back of his neck. "S-sorry," he apologized, before balling his hand into a fist and coughing into it. "I'm glad we're finally able to meet like this."

c a l i b u rn the kingmaker Spoiler notes: none   Caliburn Lvl 1 | HP: 20/20 // EN: 20/20 // DMG: 4 // MIT: 12 equipped battle-ready inventory Vanity Straight Sword [ EQUIPPED ] T1 Rare Heavy Armor [ MIT II ] [ EQUIPPED ] none skills Spoiler | UTILITY None | COMBAT None | WEAPON Straight Sword I | +3 DMG when equipped with a Straight Sword | 4 SP | ARMOR None | EXTRAS None buffs Spoiler | PARAGON REWARDS None | BUFFS None

???, Nov. 6, 2022

The world began awash with colors. Too many, in fact. Everything was white. The only thing to accompany him on the brief journey from the real world to the virtual world of Aincrad was the chime of the NerveGear, presumably connecting to the game's servers. Nothing to feel, to taste or smell. Nothing but that singular chime and a rush of colors blurring together into an all encompassing white.

And all at once it was gone, replaced with rolling fields, the sounds of chatter. He could feel it, smell it. The ground beneath his feet, the impossibly clean, crisp air of a world that had never known carbon pollution. Caliburn looked around in awe, a smile quickly growing on his face. But the novelty of this new technology was not the reason for the broad grin the man wore on his face. No, it was the fact that he would finally be able to meet the girl he thought of as his closest friend for the first time, face to face.

'Well, avatar to avatar,' Caliburn thought humorously to himself as he jauntily made his way towards the giant walled city the game had decided to drop him before. Presumably, all new players would start somewhere around here, right? Caliburn didn't really have any experience with MMOs until now, but that seemed the most reasonable assumption. Just didn't make much sense to get thrown elsewhere.

'Hmm, I should probably wait around here for her,' the man thought as he approached the grand entrance, a couple of guards outside it standing dutifully, guarding against whatever threats may lie outside the walls. Caliburn leaned back against the wall of the arch, hands lazily shoved in his pockets as his eyes examined the faces of each player that came and went. He wondered what she would look like in this game.

He also wished he had some way to message her and let her know he was here...Actually, how did he access the menus? Everything so far in the game had felt so...natural, walking, breathing, it was all there. He had completely forgotten for a moment that none of this was real, that it was all a game.

Caliburn made a face as he tried to figure it all out, his lips pursed and his brows furrowed as his eyes drifted to the side. Maybe...? Nope...thinking about it apparently didn't work.

"Ugh, Kanaaaaa, where are you, help me out here!"