[PP-F2] Fortuitous Happenstance (ShinoTenshi) (Complete)

[Evander 0]

Evander flinched. "Whoa, what in the- oh." It was the girl. Whoa, did he just speak out loud without thinking? Yeah, it was an expression of shock, but still, he needed to have better control over himself. So, she wanted to know why he looked at her so 'closely'. Really, in his opinion, it was more of a glance, but whatever. And geez, he just wanted to see what flower she had picked. Curiosity killed the cat, he supposed. Well, honesty was always the best policy, so he guessed he would just tell the truth, like he did before. It seemed to work, sort of. At least it had stopped her from becoming angrier. Well, here went nothing. Evander looked her in the eyes so that she could see that he was telling her the truth. "Ah, you are referencing to earlier, correct? I saw that you picked a flower, and was curious as to what type of flower it was. I couldn't see the flower very well, so I moved my head so that I could see the flower. It was a red flower, that looked somewhat like a star. The flower looked pretty cool. That's it. Again, I'm sorry if it appeared like I was doing anything else." Evander turned away and sighed. "I did not mean to make you upset." Man, hopefully that was enough. He wished he was better at social situations.

[ShinoTenshi 0]

As expected Evander jumped at her Shino's sudden appearance. But that wasnt the reason she came over. It was just a simple honest response that Evander gave but Shino knew how to play her emotions. In this case, ashamed would be good, "Oh.. Im sorry I didnt know. I was so blind that you were looking in that direction that I didnt consider you were looking at the flower." She sat next to him and looked off into the distance, "I guess Im just used to people seeing me in that way." She looked down at her school shoes that she arrived in and forced a few tears out, as it was one of her many acting talents. Then she looked at Evander with her tears streaming down her face, "Im sorry for judging you. I shouldnt do that so often. What is wrong with me..?" She played her act carefully for she could see how observant this boy really was and didnt want to arouse suspician. "Would you forgive me..?"

[Evander 0]

This girl cried a whole lot. This was like the third time today that she was crying. He would've thought that her tear ducts would be dry by now, but obviously not. But still, if he hadn't known she was a really good actor, he likely would have bought into all of those, and thus likely ended up dead at the bottom of a mountain or some other place. She sounded quite genuine, actually, really genuine, but it was all an act. It had to be. No way there would be such a sudden mood swing, or even more tears coming out. Oh, he had caught on now. Or he was being paranoid, but with each passing second, his suspicions grew. There was no way she wasn't in some way trying to deceive him. Right? Yeah. Yeah, definitely. And her favorite color was red. Probably. Well, she picked a red flower, specifically, and that was proof enough. Which, when combined with everything else, put up a fairly disturbing picture. So, yeah, no he wasn't going to buy any of this stuff, no matter how truthful and remorseful it seemed. And her plead almost made him feel guilty for not trusting her, but, like he thought earlier, she was a good actor. If only he was a good actor. Well, he supposed he could just pretend that this was just a normal girl in his conversations so that he seemed natural in his responses. And, really, there was nothing really needed to be forgiven. Just a misunderstanding after all. Or some really good ploy to get at his trust, but he was past that. But still, truthfully now, to himself, he didn't actually think anything needed to be forgiven. He wasn't that offended. Just scared out of his mind. So, his response would be the truth, at least. "Hmm? Oh, there's no need to apologize, and nothing needs to be forgiven. It's fine. I wasn't offended. It's cool. I just thought you needed some space, so I left, that's all." Evander turned his head and held out his hand for a handshake- oh, shoot, he had gotten too caught up in the act and thought this was a normal girl for a few seconds. He couldn't withdraw it now without seeming weird. "No hard feelings?"

[ShinoTenshi 0]

Shino heard his response halfway through and suddenly remembered something wrong with her plan. "Im faking these tears too much and he must have noticed how quickly I switch emotions.. Hell do I have to fake this too..?" "No. No hard feelings."Shino shook Evander's hand and wiped her tears away. "Time for another act" She sniffle once and spoke again, "I must seem like a mess.. That's what I get for being a girl. You would think they would take out girl problems to make the game more enjoyable." Shino had a hard time keeping a straight face with this one. She knew that he couldnt argue that all of her moods were fake, not to mention the ones from here on out. "It might not be a pretty topic but it should keep his mind straight for now. Silly boy, you should just give in. It'll be too late by the time you figure it out. So just enjoy the ride while you can."

[Evander 0]

Evander sighed. Now she was talking about girl problems. Only problem was, he wasn't a girl, and didn't spend that much time around very emotional women, so he had no idea what she was talking about. Well, this was great. And also excruciating. She was probably doing this on purpose. Though, he didn't really know how a game would take out girl problems, considering it was a part of a person's mind, and he was pretty sure mental manipulation and stuff that went deep into the psyche was illegal, so, uh, yeah. Well, he had no choice to respond, in some way, shape, or form. Ugh. At least he had gotten past the more delicate phase earlier without too many repercussions. So, uh, here went nothing. He would probably just say what he thought. He had no particularly profound ideas about this topic. "Huh, that sounds pretty bad. I can't really say I understand where you're coming from about girl problems and all, considering the fact that I'm not a girl, but nah, it's fine, you seem cool." Oh, geez, he had to keep himself from chuckling from the irony of what he just said. Oh, wait, chuckling would be a pretty good idea for building up camaraderie, let loose the chuckles. Good thing he didn't have too many. And, it was a good ploy to segue into more, uh, comfortable topics. "Heh, this is pretty ridiculous. We're talking about such a serious topic, and getting upset, on a nice day like this. Let's move onto some nicer topics." He wasn't really sure if the girl really could move onto nicer topics, but why not test and see how far her acting could go? Could she even pull off a normal laugh? Evander did some sort of cross between a smile and a smirk. "So, anything funny, or particularly interesting, happen to you so far in the game? I fought off a bear just the other day. Thought I was going to die." Well, that wasn't very amusing, but he couldn't think of anything right now, so he would let her try.

[ShinoTenshi 0]

Shino smiled lightly, not because Evander forgave her, but because she was successful on getting him to think about something completely different. But how would he know the difference? "You're right. We should really be taking in such a lovely day." Shino layed down on the grass and closed her eyes feeling the warmth of the sun above. "I wonder if you tan in this game.. It certainly feels like you can." She listened to Evander and thought for a short time abou her response, "I met a perve on my first day here. That is really it. I overheard a quest about breaking a rock or something. I figure its easy so Im gonna solo it." Shino let out a sigh realising how boring her life really is in this world.

[Evander 0]

Considering she just called him a pervert for looking at what flower she had picked, he wasn't really sure how much of a pervert the person she had met was, but, whatever, that line of inquiry likely only led to bad things. Ah yes, the breaking rock quest where one gets to have an old guy draw whiskers on their face. He just did it the other day, with the help of Khrysaor and Rain, two very sane individuals, unlike the girl he was currently speaking to. Without them, it probably would have taken an eternity. But, well, at least that would preoccupy the girl for some time, keeping her from doing whatever she wanted to. He wasn't sure if this girl was full, straight on murder insane, but she was an actor trying to get his trust. And she was likely hostile. So, anything to keep her busy would be great. And that's all she had to say. Well, this was quickly going to devolve into some awkward silence between the two of them or something. He didn't really have anything to add either. At least the sun was warm, he supposed. "Oh, that quest? I took it the other day, but I had help. There's an old guy that draws whiskers on your face that don't come off until you break the rock, so don't be startled when that happens. All you have to do is keep punching the rock, and it'll eventually break." Well, that was great, a few sentences to prolong the conversation, but it was quickly dying. Cool. Great. Man, he kinda wanted to just leave right now and get away from this untrustworthy individual, but he didn't really want to turn his back on her outside of a safe zone. He was pretty much stuck. Unless, just maybe, he could get her to leave of her own volition. "Oh, wow, look at the time, I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time, I'm sure you have better things to go and do asides from just sitting around here and talking to a random guy like me." Wow, that was kind of bad and awkward, but, oh well. Maybe she actually did have something better to do. Eh, who was he kidding, she would probably say she didn't have anything better to do or something like that. "Well, if you don't have anything better to go and do, how about we go and get some lunch in Urbus?" Now, that was better, they would be in a town and nearer to his inn room, which he could flee to if things got dicey, and he could keep an eye on her since they would be travelling together. And, also, it was lunchtime. So, everything checked out.

[ShinoTenshi 0]

Shino gave Evander a confused look as he said two completely different things. "Wait what? He just said he was leaving me here and now he wants me to come with him?"  Shino looked at Evander closely, seeing that he was kinda nervous, "Mm. Perhaps he figured me out.." She jumped up to her feet and brushed herself off, she gave Evander a smile while cancieling any of her true intentions. "The only question is.. now or later?"  Shino gathered her knowledge and came to one conclusion, "I'll let him decide." She looked out beyond the safe zone and back at the slightly taller boy. "Which do you want? Do you want me to come or go?" She spoke with a slightly frustrated tone with her eyes glaring at him questioningly.

[Evander 0]

Man, he didn't know, he was practically playing by ear here. All he knew was that he didn't want to tick off the girl he was talking to, which he kind of just did, and that he wanted to get out in one piece. He kind of messed up his speech earlier, but it was cool, he could handle it, and oh gosh this was nerve-wracking. He started tapping his foot nervously. Evander took a deep breath to recollect himself. He was fine. Everything was fine. Okay. Evander relaxed. He was ready. Alright. Evander put on a more calm and collected facade. Freaking out could happen later, when he was alone. Okay. Evander stood, then turned to the girl and smiled. "Sorry for being confusing, I'm just a bit nervous, I dunno, I haven't really had many long conversations with others in a long time. I guess I'm just afraid of messing up." Well, that was basically the truth, though he was afraid of messing up for a slightly different reason. He put out his hand for her to take and pull herself up with. "How about we go to lunch in Urbus? The food's on me. You can choose where we can eat at." Ah, that was better, his sentences were nice and natural, calm. And they would be able to get a bite to eat. A nice, cool breeze blew through, rustling the flowers. This wasn't too bad.

[ShinoTenshi 0]

The tapping of Evander's foot frustrated Shino slightly more, but she was more curious on his answer to notice something like that now. She was now confident he figured it out, "it" being that she was a dangerous person. "Im not sure if he knows Im a murderer, but he isnt that comfortable around me." She listened to his answer and gave him a smile, "I thought you'd never ask sweetheart." Shino grabbed Evander not by the hand, but by the arm to pull herself up. Now on her feet, she wrapped herself around the arm that Evander held out to her, "Its your lucky day. You chose correctly." She looked up at him, looking as cute as she could  manage, "Lead the way."

[Evander 0]

Alright, she just wrapped herself around his arm. On any other day, with any other girl, this would have been fine, a normal gesture, but with this girl, one was never sure. What if she was pinning his arm so that he could fight less effectively when they got out of the safe zone? Well, in that case, thank goodness he could fight with both his right and left hands, though it might require a bit of awkward maneuvering in order to draw his sword. But, whatever, not much he could do now, so might as well just keep on trucking. This was going to be a terrifying trek to Urbus. Evander avoided turning his head to look at her. If he did, their faces would have been a bit too close for comfort. But, he could tell, she was trying to make some facial expression to endear herself to him. Good thing it wouldn't work, even if he did look at her. Alright, should probably start walking now. Evander began walking forward slowly, so that Shino could synchronize with the walking pace. And, also, it gave him more time to think up a contingency plan. If she was higher-leveled than him, he was basically dead, but if not, he could take a few hits, probably. Since his left arm was currently occupied, he would have to draw his sword with his right hand, from the sheath on his right side. Alright, may be a bit difficult to do in case of an attack, but he could do it, probably. And... that was pretty much all he could plan. He didn't really have anything else. At least his cloak would soak up damage for him. It was then that Evander realized that he hadn't said anything for some time. At least he was calm, though, so his words wouldn't be jittery or anything. "So, uh, what do you think you want to get for lunch in Urbus? Could you try not to choose anything that expensive, because I'm kind of poor? I know a pretty good cafe, and a bar that has some good food, though they're probably not open right now. Or, we could experiment. Up to you." They exited the safe zone. Alright. This was where it would happen, where anything could happen. Evander mentally prepared himself.

[ShinoTenshi 0]

At first Shino was unable to match Evander's walking speed, but she eventually caught up with his longer legs and matched his speed. In the silence of them walking Shino opened her menu and sent a party invitation to Evander. "Just in case we get in trouble, you know?" Soon after he began asking her what she would want, she looked up to him and gave him an almost demanding look, "I want ramen. Its my favorite food." Sure she was a little more drematic over something relatively cheap, but its just in Shino's nature. As they exited the safe zone Shino seemed very unsure of where she was. She would glance at any sound she heard and look around constantly. "Sorry if I seem a little jumpy. Im not the strongest player yet."

[Evander 0]

A party invitation, huh? Never had one of those before. He shrugged. He guessed there wasn't any harm in accepting a party invitation. At least it would allow him to see her level. Oh, wait, she would be able to see his too. What if he were only safe right now because she didn't know what level he was? Evander thought for a second. Eh, whatever. Sure. Evander tapped the accept button. He just hoped he hadn't made a mistake. Oh, she was just level two. Maybe she hadn't been lying about all of the low level stuff she talked about, and about how she was nervous. Or maybe she was. He didn't know. So, she liked ramen. Alright. He didn't know of any ramen places around, but sure, he guessed they could look for one. At least Urbus was a relatively small city. Outside of the safe zone, Shino seemed a bit jumpy. Had to be an act. No way it wasn't. Even if she were relatively weak in levels, this was just a ploy to secure his trust and stuff. Well, he couldn't really do anything about that, even if it were an act, except stay wary. And now, for his response. "Nah, I understand perfectly. I was kind of scared too, while I was out on the first floor alone. But, you don't really have to worry. Most of the mobs here are actually pretty manageable. You just have to let me tank the blows, since I have some fairly tough armor equipped, and we can take care of them easily. They can usually be dealt with after a few blows." Alright, cool. And now he wasn't sure what to talk about. Maybe why she liked ramen? "So, ramen, huh? Can't really say I know any places, but we can look for one. How come its your favorite?"

[ShinoTenshi 0]

Evander took Shino's mind off of possible death by talking about her favorite food. She spoke as though it was obvious why she loved it, "I lived off of ramen my whole life. Especially these past few months since I moved out. Its cheap and good." She smiled at the thought of living in her apartment with her friend Anibell. Not so much she had fun there but it was her base to go to after she's had her fun for the day. A bird suddenly flew out of nowhere , and Shino jumped grabbing Evander's arm tightly. "Christ, that could make this game a horror game if they keep that up." Shino sighed, thankful it wasnt anything to worry about.

[Evander 0]

Evander chuckled a little. A bird. A small bird had made her jump. Alright then. Could be an act, but he didn't really even know any more. Whatever. So, she had purportedly 'lived off of ramen her whole life'. He was assuming that she was speaking of the cheap instant variety, where one just added hot water, but there was always the chance that she actually went out to a ramen place to buy a bowl of ramen. Well, he could always ask, he supposed. But, eh, that line of conversation would quickly lead to a dead end. He was somewhat wary of inquiring into her home life, since it was probably pretty messed up if she was trying to act her way into gaining his trust. Horror games and things were definitely off the list, because of obvious reasons. So, he was basically stuck. Great. Silence wouldn't be that bad, but it would be pretty awkward, he supposed. So, more talking about ramen it is. At least it would prolong the conversation. "So, what kind of ramen did you like to eat? Did you eat mainly the instant noodles kind, or would you actually go to a location which served ramen and order a bowl from there?"

[ShinoTenshi 0]

"Hmm.." Shino thought about her answer for an oddly long amount of time before finally speaking again after a minute, "I dont remember my younger years so much but me and my little sister would eat instant ramen whenever our parents were at work or something. Every once in a while we would go out to eat at a real ramen place." After that Shino fell strangely silent, "I do remember there were some good times between us. But they know how it was ruined, there's no going back to fix their mistakes." She perked up again noticing a town in the distance, "Is that where we're headed Evander?" she asked as she reached out her hand pointing to the town.

[Evander 0]

"Yeah, that's the town, Urbus. It's the main town of this floor. The teleport plaza is in there, so I'm surprised you don't know about it already." Huh, that was intriguing. She didn't know about Urbus already? Or maybe she just walked out of there without learning anything about it to get straight to questing and punching rocks. "The town proper is actually fairly small, so we'll be able to see if there's a ramen place in there or not rather quickly." But it was actually rather likely that there was going to be a ramen place, despite its small size, since this was a Japanese game. They walked up to the wooden gates of the walled city. Evander could see the inn he was staying at over to their right. If things got scary or messed up, he could always retreat there. It was always good to have an escape plan. They stepped through the gates. "This town is only about a third of a mile long if you walk a straight shot from one end to another, so, yeah, it's small. We could go down main street to look for a ramen place, if you want, or we could go around the city on the walls to look from above, or whatever. It's up to you." Man, he felt like some sort of tour guide. Well, there was nothing else he could really talk about safely, so it was better than nothing.

[ShinoTenshi 0]

Shino looked around Urbus, originally blind to its unique architecture. She glanced around looking for ways to familiarize herself with the town. Knowing all the ins and outs was one of Shino's special traits that benefit her specifically. "I would rather walk through the streets. Seems like its less time consuming." She began leading the way pulling Evander by the arm she still held. Shino wanted to waste no time getting to her favorite food as it was one of her favorite things..

[Evander 0]

She really liked ramen, huh. She was putting on a punishing pace, almost yanking his arm out of its socket. One would think that she would be sick of it after subsisting on it for almost her whole life, but apparently not. They rushed along the cobbled streets of Urbus. Merchants sat around with wares, like always. Evander could barely even read the names of the establishments they passed, and everything was a blur. There was a cafe, a bar, a tavern, another cafe, he was pretty sure that was his inn they were seeing again, a ramen restaurant- wait, wait, wait, stop. Evander ground his feet in the earth. So, here it was. The ramen place they had been looking for. He looked in the sole window of the establishment. Well, this was a ramen place alright. It was relatively empty, only a few people sitting at some tables, eating their noodles. They entered in through the wooden door, the little bell above them chiming. The place was fairly clean. A waiter came on over and showed them their table. Sweet, they got a table right by the window. He could look out at random people on the street, if he wanted to, and he could run out of the place fairly quickly, if he had to. They took their seats. The chairs were pretty comfortable, even though they were just wooden and plain. Evander perused through the menu. Well, shoot, he had no idea what to order. He couldn't really say that he had been to many ramen places. He looked across the table towards Shino. "Any recommendations?"

[ShinoTenshi 0]

After a short while of walking, the pair finally came to a ramen restaraunt. Upon entering and taking a seat Shino realised that even in the virtual world ramen places are the same no matter where you go. She could instantly answer Evander's question on what to get, she has her favorite to stand by forever, "Im gonna go with roast chicken." Shino didnt have to look at the menu, all places had it and she knew it. "So tell me Evander, what do you plan on doing in the forseeable future? Perhaps we can go hunting together sometime. Or in time I would be willing to have a sparring match."