[PP-F1] «Bonding with You» [Natalia] {COMPLETED}

[Echo 0]

After a long hours of obtaining materials for my crafting recipies, I took a seat next to the fountain in the central plaza of the Town of Beginnings. I was tired from all the grinding, but the day is still young and I am ready to meet some new people. I stood up and looked around the central plaza and was on a hunt to make a new friend. I spotted a female player not so far from where I was. "Hey there. Excuse me. My name is Echo, and I would like to show you around town if you would like?" I asked the female player with a smile. She looked as if she just joined the game, but I am here to help here if she needs it.

[Natalia 0]

Natalia had been browsing the stock of a small vendor when she was approached by another player. A boy, maybe man, standing slightly taller than herself; she estimated about two inches, give or take. As by instinct, she glanced towards his icon. Green, as she had hoped. Though she couldn't imagine why a yellow player would be confident enough to stride around the town greeting people, so perhaps she was simply being a little overly cautious. Who wouldn't, though, when murderers finally began making their appearance within the game?

"Heya, Echo." she addressed the teenager with the name he had given her. "I'm Natalia, and though I'm still level one, I know this town almost as well as I know the back of my virtual hand." her delicate lips grew into a light-hearted smile. "If you'd like to simply go for a walk through town, maybe even outside of the town and into the fields, then I suppose I could spend a bit of time with you." Her eyes remained leveled with Echo's, showing no true sign of fear, or any sort of anxiety.

Her fingers brushed through her long, dark hair. She gently tugged at the yellow ribbon that she decoratively laced through it. "If you're interested, that is."

[Echo 0]

Natalia had been browsing the stock of a small vendor when she was approached by another player. A boy, maybe man, standing slightly taller than herself; she estimated about two inches, give or take. As by instinct, she glanced towards his icon. Green, as she had hoped. Though she couldn't imagine why a yellow player would be confident enough to stride around the town greeting people, so perhaps she was simply being a little overly cautious. Who wouldn't, though, when murderers finally began making their appearance within the game? The Town of Beginnings is quite large, and we could start our adventure from here.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Natalia." I said to her. I looked at Natalia for a moment, "So, you already know what the town is like. That's great." I gave her a light smile and walked closer to her side. She had asked me to have a stroll around the town, and probably outside the safe zone. She wanted to spend some time with me. "That sounds great, Natalia. Let's get going!" I said with excitement. I took her by the hands and we headed off. I tired my best not to make this journey as awkward as possible.

[Natalia 0]

Upon Echo gripping her hand, she immediately pulled away, startled by the immediate physical contact. "Listen," she began, "I'll go with you, but I just met you, so save the more intimate contact for someone you know a little better. Sorry to sound a bit uptight. I'm not used to friendly physical gestures." A part of her felt as if she was being a little too much of an ass about it, but her point stood strong, at least in her mind.

Shaking off the negative of what had just happened, Natalia smiled again. "Alright, let's head to the fields!" she said with a feigned excitement, and she began to walk with him to the town exit leading towards the area populated by boar and low-leveled wolves. With no knowledge of Echo's level, she imagined it would be a good place to start. Though, judging by early interactions, specifically his offer to show her around town, it wasn't hard to imagine that he was at least higher than level one.

"So, tell me about yourself, Echo." she said, curious as to how the optimistic boy might respond.

[Echo 0]

As soon as I heard that I let go of Natalia's hand quick. "Ahem.. Sorry about that." I said while we walked around the town some more. "I didn't mean to do that. Just kind of like an instinct." I said as we walk towards the central plaza. I didn't mean to do that, but if she felt like that it's okay. I guess it was already weird for someone to introduce themselves out of nowhere. Now I'm just being awkward.

Rejecting any further thoughts, I smiled at Natalia. She wanted to head to the fields, and I'm not going to stop her from enjoying this journey. "Yeah, let's get going." I replied to Natalia. We began to walk out the exit of the Town of Beginnings and towards the «Frenzy Boars» and some low leveled wolves. We walked closer to the fields, and I unsheathed my «Steel Sword». "You should get your weapon ready. These monsters are aggressive." I said. I placed my sword on my shoulder, but focused my target on the monsters.

"About myself? I don't really remember much about myself. I just know I'm a high school student, who didn't really had much after that. My memories might come back to me when we further beat the game." I said with a serious tone. We continued to walk towards the fields, "How about you? Tell me something about you. I asked her with a curiosity that passes my mind.

[Natalia 0]

As I expected, he's a little impulsive. Though I can't really judge him too much for that, considering I'm on the same boat. She kept her thoughts to herself, however. No need for her to let him know that she was already a little unsure of whether or not he was someone she wanted to be around.

As he warned her to watch herself, she couldn't help but smile at his ignorance. "C'mon, Echo." she said with a smile. "These monsters only look aggressive. Everyone knows that most of the monsters in these fields are passive until attacked. Both the boar and the wolves are passive until attacked." Regardless, she still drew her blade, since they would be initiating combat somewhat soon. The hilt was lightly gripped within her right-hand as they continued walking further and further into the grassy fields.

Though most of the time she had been looking forward, as Echo spoke of his own past, she was short of shocked as he easily opened up about his personal life. It was honesty that she appreciated, but talking about the world outside of SAO was taboo; she knew a few people who were shunned for bringing up their own lives. Still, she wasn't that type of person. "Hey," she began, "Just so you know, I wasn't trying to get you to tell me about your real life. That's all your own business." She sighed. "But I guess it's fair that I do the same for you now."

She thought back to her life in the real world. "To be honest, there isn't much a story to tell. I'm also a high school student, though I've almost graduated with honors at this point. I would have been on my last year had SAO never launched." she hated the thought of all the effort she would have wasted if she was killed in this death game. "I didn't have many friends, though. Only problem with being in your school's top ten." she shrugged, awaiting his response.

[Echo 0]

"You know. If you don't want me to be around just say so." I said thinking that she wasn't having a good time. I knew that this wasn't a good thing to do with anyone right now. I continued on to the path with Natalia, but still cautious at the moment.

Natalia was quite brave, but I was calm during this situation. I placed the sword on my shoulder and continue to walk through the fields. I stood there for a moment wondering what might happen if things just went down hill during my adventure with Natalia. I rejected the thought and continued onto the fields. We passed by some monsters, but some were looking at us. I let my guard down as we continued onward. The sun glisten as the wind blew the tall grass. The feeling felt right for me to just relax, but this is out of the safe zone. Anything can go wrong.

After telling Natalia about my personal life, which had no value at all. She told me that I didn't need to tell her about anything related to my real life. We continued to walk towards the path, but she then said to me that it wasn't fair if she didn't tell me. Before any words could escape my mouth she had already spoken. I closed my lips and listened to her back story. She hated this game for making her stuck here. She did all these things to become a great student, but now she might not have a chance to go back.

"Wow one of the top ten, huh. Must be amazing. I'm not that bright at all." I said with a jokish tone. Our journey was quite long, but it didn't matter. I didn't have anything to do at the time, so just walking around is fine. "I didn't have many friends at all. I remember always having this weird dream about this really good friend of mine, but I can never see her face." I said with a light smile. I looked over for a bit, but she wasn't interested at all.

[Natalia 0]

An uneasy expression grew on her face. "It's not that I don't want you around, Echo. I actually enjoy the fact that I actually have company right now." she said, feeling as if she was being overly dramatic. The two had just met probably around fifteen to thirty minutes ago, and now they were having conversations about whether or not they want each other around. It felt a little too much like a stereotypical internet relationship; that wasn't something Natalia was very proud of. "You're just coming on a little too strong, so if we could just slow down a bit, that'd be fantastic." God, I'm not cut out for relationship counseling. she had to withhold a grin that wanted to form.

"To be completely honest, I don't believe you." she said, referring to his lack of confidence in regards to his intelligence. "It might not accurate, but I believe that everyone has the ability to be brilliant. Most simply don't fully reach what they can do, whether it's because they're distracted, or simply don't care to learn." she sounded a little too philosophical for her own tastes, maybe a bit ridiculous. Yet she continued. "Just have faith in yourself." she wanted to say a bit more, but stopped there.

Natalia stopped walking as Echo spoke of his good friend, and placed her hands on her hips. "Well, that's.. different." she said, slightly confused. She could remember everything in her past pretty clearly, but he seemed to have more trouble. Perhaps it was just a difference in retention ability? Still, the thought of seeing a faceless friend within a dream was almost haunting; she couldn't imagine what the nightmare itself would be like. "I'm sorry you have to go through that. I've never had a recurring nightmare."

She stood atop a hill with a relatively modest slope. At the bottom of said slope was a boar. "Enough talking for now, let's do some killing!" she said, and charged down the slope, her blade already in hand, but her grip tightening. She lowered her blade, attempting to slash across the creature's back, as she normally did, but tripped before even reaching her target. Thankfully, because of her miss, the monster wasn't aggressive towards her yet.

Boar - 5/5

Natalia - 7/7

BD: 3

DMG: 0 (Missed)

[Echo 0]

I smiled at Natalia as her face grew a uneasy expression. "It's okay. People don't like being around me. At school, I'm just a strange person." I said, feeling idiotic about it. We walked a bit but suddenly Natalia said something about me coming on a little strong, "Ack, S-Strong? What do you mean? I'm just being a friend that's it." I said with a nervous chuckle. I continued to walk a bit faster than Natalia, Slow down a bit? Coming on a little strong? D-Does she think? Ah.. Nevermind I thought to myself. I formed a grin on my face and continued to walk forward.

"You don't need to believe me." I told Natalia. I knew that I wasn't intelligent, but apparently Natalia still thinks I can be brilliant. "I'm not really good when it comes to education, but when it comes to sport I do an okay job." I said, with a nervous smile. I guess she's right, maybe I don't care if I learn. I didn't have much to look forward in my life, but maybe if I put some effort in to learning I might be able to do something. She was quite philosophical, it made me smirk for a bit. She told me I must have faith in myself, and I took that to heart. "I'll make sure I will." I said with a smile.

"No need to be sorry. I just wonder who it was. It must be someone special." I said with a slight chuckle. It wasn't a nightmare, but a dream I would love to go through everyday. It was a time in my life that someone I hold dearly, but I never could see her face, or remember her name. As the thought cross my head I smiled. Natalia walked atop of a hill and attacked a «Frenzy Boar», but she missed the it and it hasn't made a effort to attack. I grinned and dashed in with my «Steel Sword» readying my attack. "ACTIVE!" 《Midnight Crescent》I swung my sword from the left and curved to the bottom right hitting the boar.

PARTY

Echo - 13/13

Natalia - 7/7

ENEMY

Boar - 4/5

BD: 7

DMG: 1 DMG

[Natalia 0]

[OOC ~ Once the combat ends, we'll get back to that previous conversation. xD]

"Nice hit!" Natalia exclaimed as she watched her new acquaintance hack a point of health off the <>. At this rate, it shouldn't be too long until they had defeated the creature, as long as she didn't miss again. This time the boar was facing the opposite way. Good, she might be able to catch it off-guard and score a hit on it. She charged at the creature once again. "Take this, you bastard!" she charged, and raise her blade to her left-shoulder, ready to diagonally slash at the blue-furred monster.

With a bit of luck, her strike hit, and the creature lost yet another health point. Her attack had left a glimmering red mark across the side of the boar. "Hell yeah!" she shouted, unaware that the boar had turned back towards her until she could feel the vibrations of its hooves rapidly striking the ground as it charged towards her. "Oh, crap!" she yelled as she dove to the side, barely missing the pointed tusks.

PARTY

Natalia - 7/7

Echo - 13/13

BD: 8

ENEMY

Boar - 3/5

[Echo 0]

"Good job, Natalia!" I exclaimed as she struck the «Frenzy Boar». As long as we keep hitting the «Frenzy Boar» we will end this quickly. I once again charged my sword skill, and kept my distance from the «Frenzy Boar». My sword started to glow a bright white and charged at the «Frenzy Boar», but the «Frenzy Boar» charged at Natalia and was about to ram her. She was able to barely dodge the «Frenzy Boar». "Phew. She's okay." I said as I had to recharge my sword skill. The «Frenzy Boar» turned back towards Natalia, but I was able to dash in front of her.

My sword skill was unable to activate at the time, but I was able to stop the «Frenzy Boar» from ramming Natalia. I kicked the «Frenzy Boar» to the side and leaped back to charge my sword skill once more.

PARTY

Echo - 13/13

Natalia - 7/7

ENEMY

Boar - 3/5

BD: 5

DMG: MISS

[Natalia 0]

To be honest, the fact that the two of them had continuously missed the boar was rather embarrassing. Maybe not in the opinion of Echo, but she felt like they were doing incredibly poorly. Yet, maybe this is how most of the lower-leveled players were? It was hard to tell.

She rose to her knees, and then stood up as the boar once again charged towards her. "Are you really that desperate to kill me!?" she shouted at the boar, beginning to grow more and more agitated. As it came at her, she simply stood. Just as it was about to ram her, she stepped to the side, and swiped at its face. Her timing, however, was slightly off, and the tusk managed to strike just below her knee, sending her to the ground, wincing from the minor pain the Nerve Gear stimulated in her brain. Her attack, however, had also hit the boar as intended.

"Take it out, Echo!"

PARTY

Natalia - 6/7

Echo - 13/13

BD: 7

ENEMY

Boar - 2/5

[Echo 0]

I looked at the boar and lashed out at it. I missed my attack and it could have hurt Natalia. I recklessly slashed the «Frenzy Boar», but it ran in all sort of directions. I stood still for a moment and dashed towards it but missed it and tripped over it as it passed by me.

I gave a smirk and dashed towards the «Frenzy Boar» and kicked it towards a tree and slashed it's back. It ran in circles from what it seems like it was in pain. I grinned and charged my sword skill once more. A final sword skill will end it's life. Without hesitation, "ACTIVATE!" «Midnight Crescent». The «Frenzy Boar» fell to the ground and shattered to a million of polygons. I ran to Natalia and checked her leg, "Phew.. You're fine." I said with a sign of relief on my face.

PARTY

Natalia - 6/7

Echo - 13/13

ENEMY

Boar - DEAD

BD: 7

[Natalia 0]

A gasp of relief escaped Natalia as she watched the remnants of the boar reduced into smaller and smaller polygons. Such a weak creature, yet it felt like it was something to be drastically feared. The thought of what the monsters must be like further into the game.. it made sense how some managed to come to the conclusion that the game might be completely unbeatable; the harder the game became, the more people would give up and simply live within the world as if it was reality. That doesn't actually sound too bad. she thought. Though, the more I look at it that way, the more likely I'll give up as well. I cannot allow myself to do that.

Sometime between the defeating of the boar, and Natalia getting lost in her thoughts, Echo had appeared by her leg. "You're really protective, aren't you, Echo?" she said with a smile. "I could have taken a decent amount of hits from that angry pig, but one hit sent you into a panic." her smile turned into a couple laughs. She rose from the ground, and brushed her bangs back to their typical side. Her fingers then plucked a few strands of grass caught in her hair.

"So, what were we talking about before that battle?" she stroked her chin. "Eh, it doesn't really matter now, I suppose." The sun was beginning to set. They probably had enough time to kill a few more monsters, or they could go back. "What do you want to do now?" she asked Echo, who was beginning to grow on her.

PARTY

Natalia - 6/7

Echo - 13/13

[Echo 0]

I gave Natalia a smirk, "Yes, yes I am. I don't care how weak a monster is. If you get hurt I'm going to make sure you're alright." I said with a smile. I sheathed my sword and pulled down my menu to check the time. I put it away and watched as Natalia brushed her bangs and plucked the strand of grass in her hair. I dusted off the dirt from my coat, and I rubbed my eyes as my vision starts to blur. I fell to the floor and laid there for a moment.

Natalia then asked me what we were talking about before our battle. She then rejected the thought and the sun began to set. "The sun is leaving." I said to myself, as my sword start to glow from the moon rising. I sat up and looked at Natalia, "What do you think we should do? We still have some time before the night arrives." I said, with a soft tone. I stood up and dusted the dirt off.

[Natalia 0]

"Well, thank you very much, Mr. Echo." she said, being completely serious for once. With death being a permanent risk and all, fewer people could truly say that they would 'watch your back.' The fact that Natalia had found one today was incredibly lucky, and she knew it. Echo was somebody who deserved to survive this death game; there weren't many she thought that about.

In regards to her earlier question, all Echo had done was repeat the details of whether or not staying would be a good idea, which, once again, brought a slight laugh from the girl. "Alright, Echo. Let's head back, and on the way, we'll battle any monster that steps into our path. Sound good?" she asked, but didn't wait for his response before entering a light jog into the direction of the town. "Of course it does! You asked me what I wanted to do to begin with!"

[Echo 0]

"You're quite welcome, Ms.Natalia." I said, mockingly. She was quite serious this time, but I had to lighten the mood up. If things here were to serious, what would be the point to making a friend.. or a bond. The fact that I was able to keep Natalia safe was all I needed. She had a perfect life, and I'll make sure she gets out of this game and continue it.

I gave Natalia a light smile, and nodded. "Sounds like a great idea." I said, with a soft tone. She started to job towards the Town of Beginnings, and I started to take off as well. "W-Wait for me!" I said as I chase after Natalia. As we follow the path back to the Town of Beginnings, there were quite a few monsters on the field but they didn't bother us. I smiled as we continue to follow the path back.

[Natalia 0]

For the time being, there didn't appear to be any creatures stumbling into their straight path back to the Town of Beginnings. As such, Natalia kept her blade sheathed as the two walked, Echo still a bit behind her. A couple of minutes had passed without a word, just the sound of grass crushing beneath every step the two took. By now the breeze had most dissipated, and her hair, for once, fell the way she wanted it to. Her white leggings, however, had a green stain that had remained since she had fallen earlier. It wouldn't be too long before the game naturally reverted them back to normal, she figured.

She stopped at the top of a hill. From the hill they could see the massive town. It could only be about a hundred yards or so away at this point. At the bottom of the slope, a duo of wolves and a single boar were just idly wandering around. With a deep breath, Natalia sat atop the hill, her left leg pulled back, raising her knee. She placed her hands behind her and shifted her weight onto them. "You know, for a virtual world, I'm still amazed by how much beauty and detail there is." she said, directed towards Echo, but also for the sake of saying it. "If, by chance, we never escape, would it really be so horrifying? I mean, we could be worse off."

[Echo 0]

After some time has past, we have passed by many monsters that seem to have ignored us on the way back to the Town of Beginnings. Natalia still ahead of me just a bit, we continued to walk by the grass and a couple of minutes had passed without any of us saying a thing. I wanted to break the silence, but we continued to walk and no words could escape my lips. The wind blew at Natalia's hair and I gazed at her for a bit. I shook myself off and continued to follow her.

Suddenly, Natalia had stop atop of a hill once more. I climbed on atop of the hill and the two of us saw could see the Town of Beginnings from here. Before I could step down the slop, there were two wolves an a frenzy boar. They were just walking around beneath us. Natalia took a seat, but I stood standing watching the sun set before us. I stabbed my sword onto the ground and leaned against it and watched the sun set. Natalia then told me how amazing and beautiful the game was. I smiled and nodded, "To think, so much effort was put to this game, but it's being used for murder." I said, with a soft tone. Then out of the blue, Natalia said if it was horrifying if we could never escape. I sat close to Natalia, "Don't worry. I'll make sure you're to leave this game and continue your life." I said, directly smiling at her. I looked towards the sun setting and continued to watch as the sun leave and the moon rises.

[Natalia 0]

As Echo promised to return her to her life, Natalia turned to face him for a second. Seconds later, she simply hung her head low. "There's a problem with that, Echo." the tone in her voice had went from one of fascination to one that sounded almost a little cold. "What makes you think I want to go back to that world? I know I said that I was an honors student, who was close to graduating, and I hate the fact that if I die, I'll have wasted so much effort." she stopped there, as if searching for words. She had spent most of her life living in her room in an almost never-ending cycle of homework and sleep. Once the Internet came into her life, it was a cycle of homework, Internet, sleep. Her life had little excitement. Being trapped in SAO was the complete opposite; she had friends, adventures, and powers unlike anything in the real world.

Remembering that she had paused in her conversation with Echo, she continued: "But life here feels worth living. Almost even more so than it did in the real world." Her eyes began to water as she thought of how pathetic that might actually sound. With that, she rose back to her feet and dashed back towards the town. "Let's just go back to the town! I don't feel like killing anymore monsters tonight" Natalia said as she once again left him in a flash of speed.