Kotori 0 Posted May 25, 2015 #1 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Nighttime was quite the silent and empty place if a player went to certain areas. It would seem that Kotori had found herself in one of these secluded areas as she walked slowly on the cobblestone road that made up the floor of Starter City. The area she was located at wasn't dark at all as there were plenty of light posts and also taverns and inns that illuminated the area. It was actually pretty bright, almost like Japan at night. Of course, it wasn't powered by electricity so there was that difference, but without the knowledge of where she was and the fact that this was virtual, she could mistaken this for the real world. She knew that it was all fake and that this was just some simulation where in fact she was on an artificial diet and was being fed and hydrated through tubes. It was an unsettling thought and did cause her to become more uncomfortable. She ignored the thought and was distracted by an odd thing. A bench. The bench wasn't particularly special and it didn't seem out of place, it was just there. It looked inviting, as if to say "Come, come over here and sit down." That's exactly what she decided to do. Kotori gently sat herself down onto the oak seat and stared at what was in front of her. It was actually a bit less bright right where she was, but it was still enough to see. Her eyes turned to right and then back to the left to look for any players, but it seemed there would be none. She didn't know why but the girl felt a strong urge to hum. Maybe it was because there was nobody around or just to remind herself that she existed and was alive. The brunette started to gently hum as she was seated on the bench and her legs moved back forth as she did so. Her hair was flowing slightly because of the wind, something that changed daily, but it never differentiated much. At last, Kotori decided to sing a little nursery rhyme that she vaguely remembered her mother singing to her. Even though she didn't remember her mom singing the whole song, she knew the song by heart because she knew he used to sing it her to make her fall asleep. By the next morning, he would most likely have been gone and then it was a regular routine. Soon he just stopped doing it as she grew older and older. Opening her mouth, she let out a melodious tone and started singing, albeit quieter so it wasn't broadcast to the whole area, although it would still be audible to anyone nearby. "Let me pass, let me pass. What is this narrow pathway here? It's the narrow pathway of the Tenjin shrine. Please allow me to pass through. Those without good reason shall not pass. Going in will be fine, fine, but returning will be scary. It's scary, but let me pass, let me pass." She finished with a triumphant smile, pleased with how it turned out. Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Hikoru 0 Posted May 25, 2015 #2 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Hikoru walked through the park, enjoying the cool night from a hard day at the shop. After he had locked up fro the Night at "Trinkets and Drink-its" he went out to eat and decided to go for a walk, in which he did. He looked around at the awed beauty of the things around him. Although he knew that it was all computer generated, he still couldn't believe how they had made the trees seem so real, and the grass to feel the same as the outside world. He smiled as he kicked a nearby pebble, and it shattered into pixels as it hit a wall. He knew better. The things around him were nothing but projections that he couldn't get rid of, they were Immortal to him. He sighed and sat on a nearby park bench. Suddenly, he heard a beautiful voice coming from behind him. He peeked over the hedge to see a girl who seemed very familiar to him, but he wasn't sure who it was. He couldn't remember her name, but he knew she came into his shop to buy a few potions one day, and he hadn't seen her since. He blushed as he realised he was looking like a wierdo, and sat back down into the bench. He heard her sing an unfamiliar song. He sighed, remembering that he had not sang in a long time, ever since the game started up, and maybe thats what he was missing, its what made him so.... depressed. He cleared his throat quietly, and sang softly "When you walk away, You don't hear me say, Pleaaase, oh baby, don't go. Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel, tonight. It's hard to let it go" He sang as he remembered the weeks he took to memorising that song front to back, and learning to play it on the guitar, and it made him happy to relive those memories Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Kotori 0 Posted May 25, 2015 Author #3 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Kotori's eyes widened as soon as she heard the voice of another player. It was behind her, behind the hedge that the bench was situated against. She was so startled at the sound of another voice that she immediately rolled off the bench and then equipped her dagger. How long had the person been there and were they listening to her singing. Singing. The voice was singing a song she didn't recognize, but it wasn't a nursery rhyme that's for sure. Her initial fright and the defensive position she was in dissipated and instead she focused on the person. She wasn't sure what the person was trying to achieve by singing as well, they never introduced themselves nor said a single thing although they have to have been listening to her song considering the bench behind her's was located really closely. The girl walked to the side of the bench and then strolled to the front of the player. It was him again. A boy named Hikoru who she had bought potions from. At this point, his voice was no longer radiating and he was finished. "One, why were you stalking me and two, why are you singing?" she asked, confused and slightly angry at the action he decided to take. It wasn't as if she was an unapproachable person and the only way she knew he was there was because he had decided to sing so she had no idea that he was listening. Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Hikoru 0 Posted May 25, 2015 #4 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Hikoru closed his eyes as he finished singing, not hearing the rattle of another person moving quickly. Suddenly, he heard footsteps and a voice speaking to him, and he opened his eyes to see another player- the one who had been singing- and he was quickly startled, reaching for Back-Biter, but froze and pulled his hand away. He looked up, and rubbed the back of his neck shyly "Um.... I w-wasn't meaning to stalk you... I-It's just that you sang, a-and I hadn't sang f-for a long t-time...." He said, stammering his words a lot. He didn't like to be put on the spot for such things, and he usually stammered and had trouble finding words. "A-and the s-song had a lot of g-good memories...." He said. He looked at her Username above her head to calm her down, and he saw it and remembered her name, Kotori. He sighed slightly and calmed down, doing his best to gain control of his words. "Im sorry for startling you, If I did anyways.... I just used to sing a lot before.... Well, this.... and I kinda missed doing it, and you reminded me...." He said as he gazed up, trying to avoid eye contact, and hoping for her not to see the slight tinge of red on his cheeks. Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Kotori 0 Posted May 25, 2015 Author #5 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Kotori sighed a bit as the boy stammered out a reply towards her. He was very nervous for no reason and at the moment blushing as well. Maybe she had come off a bit angry or maybe in a bad manner, but that still didn't excuse his behavior at all. "So you decided to sing out of nowhere, with no regards to how I may have felt? Forget it, j-just don't do it again, ok!" She mumbled. Her eyes turned to bright moon above them. It was still pretty early even though it would be considered nighttime. Not too much time had passed anyway, it just seemed that her walk was so long and that she had been doing so for hours. The still fresh night invited her to continue on her walk and ignore everything else. She couldn't be bothered to do anything else so she set off in towards the right, away from Hikoru. Although, she guess that he was most likely lonely and would try to follow her simply for companionship. It didn't matter though if he did so she just hummed as she strolled away from the benches. Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Hikoru 0 Posted May 25, 2015 #6 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Hikoru felt bad as he saw the girl though, and she seemed angry with him singing after he did. He frowned and slowly felt depression hit, but shrugged it off before it got too bad. He had to make it up to the girl, or else he would feel horrible for the rest of this game. He sighed and got up, running to the girl "Hey, wait up!" He said as he slowed down. "Look, im sorry about that.... I just... You reminded me how nice it is to sing once in awhile.... Would it be alright if I tagged along? If im not a bother, I mean...." He said as he felt for his knife, just for safe keeping. Back-Biter had become apart of him now, and he really didn't want to go anywhere without it. He rubbed the hilt gently for secureness, and let go easily, knowing he could trust the girl. He slowly rubbed the back of his neck, trying to make it feel less akward between him and Kotori, and he hoped he would be able to. Although being alone wasn't a bad idea. Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Kotori 0 Posted May 25, 2015 Author #7 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 "F-fine! You can come with me.." Kotori muttered as the boy questioned whether or not he could accompany her on her walk. She knew it was going to happen, but still. It wasn't that she wanted to be alone or he was annoying, it was just a bit unexpected. Her feelings aside, she continued walking alone the cobblestone road. Hikoru seemed like a pretty nice person although his various shifts in moods worried her a bit. She couldn't tell if one minute he was going to be shy or the next minute he was going to be in shock. Her eyes shifted, it was getting a bit darker than before. There wasn't that many light sources around in this area, that was also a bit peculiar. Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Hikoru 0 Posted May 25, 2015 #8 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Hikoru walked alone the cobblestone wall. He looked at the stars and smiled as he saw the constellations form in his mind. He looked at Kotori, and saw that something was... off, by her expression. Then he thought about it, and noticed that there wasn't a lot of light out "Huh, this is wierd.... Usually, this area is kept lit up...." He said remembering. He knew his shop wasn't far from where he was, and usually it was lit up at night, but it was a lot darker here. He kicked a rock and watched it pit-pat on the ground then soon turn into pixels. He knew this was getting akward, standing in silence. He decided to try and make some small talk "So tell me about youself...." He said, not as shy as before, but a little more to his normal tone of voice. He knew he was growing more comfortable around this person, and that made it easy for him to talk to her. The other times he had been in big groups, so he didn't know what to say or do that didn't make him seem so akward to other people. Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Kotori 0 Posted May 25, 2015 Author #9 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Kotori nodded in agreement as Hikoru mentioned the area that they were currently walking was usually a bit brighter than normal. It was a bit odd, but there was nothing really to it. She was more focused on simply walking about the city, something she had grown fond of doing lately. Simply put, the girl enjoyed doing ordinary things once in a while because most of her life in SAO was not normal at all. "So tell me about youself...." "Uh..." was the only she was able to spit out. It was such a sudden question and she honestly didn't know what to say to a question like that. It was such a general question and anything could be answer. "What about myself?" she asked, trying to divert the question away from her and back at the boy. Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Hikoru 0 Posted May 25, 2015 #10 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Hikoru heard the girl struggle to find words, and then she asked him about what. He just shrugged "Oh, anything really. Skills, backstory, Profession.... I don't know a lot about you, and you seem like a nice person...." He said, trying to sound nice. Although he wasn't the best person at asking questions, he knew where to start with them, and it would carry on its own from there. He looked around at the darkened area around him, and didn't see anything out of the ordinary, except for that is was dark. He frowned a little and tried to see if he could figure out what the problem was with the lights, and whether or not there was some way to fix it Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
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