[PP-F7] The world we live in... (Jomei)

[Hasai 0]

Youno smiled as she reached floor 7. This was only her second time visiting a floor above 4, she gave a deep breath, as she felt more powerful than when she started. Obviously, she was still working on gaining more levels. She laid a hand on her rapier, as she checked out her inventory. She sorted through her items, and sat down on a bench nearby, Maybe someone could join me, and we could go out and beat up some monsters! That sounded like a brilliant idea. She sat still, and wondered who might she meet today.

[Jomei 0]

"A-Adere what're you doing?! Hey!" 

From the marketplace of the Seventh Floor suddenly came some yelling and commotion. The voices were given faces when, from around the corner of some buildings, came a small owl holding what looked to be a slab of meat the size of its body in its mouth. Following the owl was a tall, ginger haired player looking like he was trying to catch the owl, and even he was being followed by another player, this one of much larger stature, wielding what looked like a meat cleaver. Jomei, the orange haired player who owned the owl, was looking through the different tents and kiosks that housed different items for players to use. Upon passing a butcher's outdoor shop, Adere, Jomei's owl familiar, decided to take it upon herself to grab a snack from the player preparing said meats. 

It was not until the three made it all the way to the town's square when the butcher decided to stop Jomei by grabbing at his cloak which was flailing behind him while running. As Jomei hit the ground, the owl stopped in its tracks and gobbled down the slice of meat. Jomei held his arms up in front of him as the larger player above him held his knife out towards Jomei. "Waitwaitwait! Im sorry! I don't know what came over her! H-Here!" Jomei quickly opened up his menu and transferred over the sufficient amount of col for the meat.. extra for causing the man trouble. Upon doing so, the man grunted at Jomei and made his way back to the shop. 

Jomei stood up off the ground, brushing off his shoulders and glaring at his feathered friend, "Whats with you girl? You should have just let me know you were hungry.." he sighed and scratched at the back of his head, embarrassed that she caused such a scene.

[Hasai 0]

Youno started to chuckle quietly as she spotted an orange-head man running after something in the sky, she was to far away to see what it was. She noticed a rather large man, chasing them. When he grabbed the carrot's cloak, she stood up, she quickly headed over, and caught the sound of a trade being successful, Hmm... I wonder what that was about. Then Youno saw the thing in the sky scoop down, to the carrot. Her eyes widened, as soon as she saw it was an owl. Her voice came out in a high pitched squeal, as she raced over, Hello cutie~ Her face was in a cute little expression, meaning, YOU ARE SO ADORABLE! She gave a cute giggle, as she spoke, What's your name? Her voice was directed at the owl, and then her gaze became unfocused as she noticed carrot head standing there, calling the owl a girl, she focused on the carrot for a second, before looking back at the owl, her expression instantly changed back to one of pure delight.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei's approach to Adere was interrupted by a young girl running up to the owl. Jomei looked at the girl in wonder as she looked at Adere in awe, admiring her adorableness. Jomei could not help but let a smile spread across his lips as the girl talked to the familiar. Jomei slowly walked up to the two, "Now don't be rude, Adere.. Say hello to the girl." Adere's head turned around to look at Jomei as he spoke, and then turned back to the girl. She hopped forward towards her leg, and gently nudged her head against her shin.. her way of saying hello at this angle. Jomei laughed, "Looks like she likes you." When Jomei finally made it to where the two were, he crossed his arms. "As you probably guessed, her name is Adere."

After saying her hello's to the girl, Adere turned back around and opened her wings, flapping them until she reached Jomei's shoulder where she perched. Jomei scratched at her chin after she landed. 

[Hasai 0]

Youno squealed again, Adere is a beautiful name for a beautiful owl. I am Hasai. You are? She referred to carrot, before looking back at Adere, C-can I touch her? She adored owls, over everything in the world, and this brought her great joy to see such a beautiful owl such as Adere. She clasped her hands in front of her, and cooed at the cute owl, her gaze was off in another world, where she was surrounded by owls.... Then.... there was carrot head, in the ground.... With Adere on his head. She started to laugh, at her crazy imagination, before focusing back on Adere.

[Jomei 0]

"Aye. It is. And I'm Jomei, pleasure to meet you Hasai." Jomei bowed his head slightly. As Adere nudged her head against Hasai's leg, Jomei chuckled and nodded, "Of course. She loves the attention.. As you can see..." he ended his statement by looking around at him, seeing a group of people giggling while pointing at him. He let out a sigh, "And she can get pretty hungry sometimes too.. or all the time" he scratched at the back of his head. He cocked his head slightly as it looked as if Hasai was zoning out. " You alright there, lass?" Then she began to burst out laughing, so Jomei crossed his arms, still confused. 

[Hasai 0]

Youno bowed for sure she wasn't going to change what she would call him, Nice to meet you carrot. She started to pet Adere, and smiled, her gaze was focused on Adere, I was laughing because of my imagination. She knew that would most likely confuse him more, but she didn't care. She pulled out the leftover meat, she had gotten a while ago, about a day ago. She smiled, and offered it to Adere, I still have one left from buying two the other day, for my friend. Want it Adere? She asked the owl happily.

[Jomei 0]

"C-Carrot..?" Jomei grit his teeth and clenched a fist, but still let out somewhat of a smile. He was not very fond of being called the name 'carrot'.. He knew his hair was orange.. but it wasnt THAT orange.. But he tried to keep his cool with the girl, he didnt want to scare a newcomer off. He let out a heavy sigh while placing his hand on his chest. "Q-Quite the imagination you have there.." If it was anything like calling Jomei 'carrot' ... then maybe it was for the best Jomei did not know about it. As she pulled out the piece of meat, Jomei smirked. "Go ahead, Adere." Adere looked at the food with an excited look, spreading her wings out to the side. Jomei leaned forward so she could easily take the piece of food from the girl. 

[Hasai 0]

Youno smiled, and gave the food to Adere, before continuing to pet her, Yes. You may not be to much of a carrot, but once I saw you, that's what I thought your name was. So, I think carrot is your new nickname, do you like his nickname Adere? She asked the owl's opinion, hoping she would agree with her, as Carrot did actually somewhat suit him. She started to laugh again, My imagination was where I was surrounded by owls, and there was a GIANT carrot in the ground, the carrot was you, and Adere was on top of the carrot! She giggled again, Do you not like carrots?

[Jomei 0]

Jomei let out another heavy sigh. Well, there was no deterring this girl from calling him 'carrot'.. so he was gonna let her win this battle. He smirked at her, then turned to Adere when Hasai asked if she approved of the nickname for her master. To Jomei's surprise, Adere hoot'ed happily in agreement. Jomei was taken aback by his familiar's betrayal "W-What? How could you-" he drooped his head and sighed once again, now there really was no dropping this 'carrot' nonsense. He continued to hang his head as Hasai explained her daydream... picturing him as a giant carrot with Adere, and friend apparently.. perching on top of his carrot head. "Yup.. quite the imagination." He let out a chuckle as he picked himself back up. 

When Hasai asked if he liked carrots, Jomei scratched at the hairs on his chin, "Yeah I suppose I do.." He then shook his head, "Hey hey, don't get me trying to agree with this nickname!" he placed his hands on his waist. 

[Hasai 0]

As the owl agreed with her statement, she smirked, I like my imagination, thank you very much! Her eyes brightened with amusement as he agreed to liking carrots, Well, that means your nickname fits you! I believe that you actually do agree with it, you are just being stubborn. She looked at Adere, and smirked, she pet her head, before grinning widely, an idea popping in her head, I have somewhere I want to go... come with me? I have a gift for you. Her eyes twitched mischievously as she thought of what she would be doing. Of course it wouldn't involve anything bad! For her heart was taken by Takao. Her mischievous grin on the other hand... It could truly scare someone, especially someone like Carrot Boy.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei let out another heavy sigh, "Alright you win. Guess theres no way of having you drop it anyway.." he chuckled and shook his head. He was never much of a fan of being called Carrot or even Carrot top. Back in the real world, it usually was associated with someone making fun of him for his red hair. Carrots weren't even orange on top.. they had green leaves on top.. Ah well. No use fighting it.. its obvious Hasai did not mean any harm from it. So Jomei let out a smile at the girl. "Ill have to try and come up with a nickname that suits you then.. since you're so set on calling me Carrot then."

When the girl mentioned somewhere she had to go, Jomei nodded. He was fine with getting away from this area and the crowds that saw his little mishap with Adere. Then she mentioned a gift for him. This puzzled Jomei, a gift? She only just met the man, what kind of gift would she want to give him. Nonetheless, Jomei agreed, "Alright then, ill go with you." As she gave him a mischievous look, Jomei raised an eyebrow. This girl was really something else.. but honestly nothing he has not seen before here in Aincrad. 

[Hasai 0]

The smirk that played on the girl's lips was quite big, as she grabbed carrot's hand, she dragged him through the streets, and smiled as she came upon the right stall. She let go of carrot's hand, and made him turn around, before she ran to the stand. She set a bag of col on the table, and ordered the gift. She placed it carefully in a brown bag, before returning to carrot, You have to guess what it is! The paper bag was quite long, yet it wasn't that wide. Almost as if what was inside was a breadstick. She chuckled at her own joke, before she looked at Carrot and Adere, to see what he would guess.

[Jomei 0]

The girl continued to smirk and giggle at her idea, which caused Jomei to look at her quizzically, tilting his head slightly to the side. She then suddenly began to ran past him, grabbing his hand in the process "H-Hey wait!" the girl pulling on him made him quickly spin around, almost throwing him off his balance. It took a few stumbling steps before he could get his running back to normal, especially being pulled by this girl. After a short run, they found themselves at some wooden outdoor shop. Jomei did not have a chance to see what types of items they sold before being yelled at by Hasai to turn around. Jomei's eyes widened as the yell startled him, and he quickly turned. Adere turned around as well, yet she spun her head around to look at Hasai behind her. 

 

After a moment, he was told he could turn around. After turning, the girl held a brown paper bag in front of Jomei. They bag was tall and slender, almost like one that would hold a wine bottle, but smaller. He looked at the bag for a moment, thinking what could be inside. Suddenly, his face drooped a bit and a drop of sweat ran down his jawline. The look on his face said, 'seriously?' and meant he was pretty sure he figured it out.

"... Its a carrot... isn't it..." 

[Hasai 0]

As the carrot asked the question, Youno burst into laughter, Y-yess! She managed to get out, before taking it out of the bag, and handing the giant carrot to carrot. Her eyes twinkled, as she looked at Adere, and looked back at carrot, So, what do you wanna do? she clasped her hands in front of her, before lifting one hand, to pet underneath Adere's face, her collarbone basically. She let out a smirk, and looked back at carrot, You do like carrots, so you should eat it! Then she lifted her hand under her face, to make a pondering look, We could always go and beat up some monster's butts. 

 

*such a tiny post x3 Sorry!*

[Jomei 0]

So, what do you wanna do?

Those words rang through Jomei's mind as images of the carrot igniting in a gold light as he activated his sword skill, hitting Hasai over the head with it. As the carrot would break into pieces and Hasai's unconscious body would hit the floor, Jomei would stand over her.. laughing manically. 

 

But in reality, Jomei was not that type of man.. and this was obviously a playful joke that he even found funny himself. He could not help but laugh as he held the carrot in his hand. "Y-You just went and spent money on a carrot.. Just to continue with that joke!" he laughed again. Wiping a tear from his eye from laughing so hard, he placed a hand on Hasai's head. "You're not so bad" he chuckled and smiled down at her. He placed the orange vegetable in his inventory, "I think I'll save it for another time." She then suggested going out and fighting some mobs, Jomei placed his hand on his chin, "That doesn't sound like a bad idea. Alright, lets do it." he nodded at Hasai confidentially. 

[Hasai 0]

With the carrot in carrot's inventory, he agreed to go out and fight some stupid monsters, Alright. Well, Where would you like to go in order to fight the monsters? She smiled, I wonder if Adere would ever land on my shoulder... or if I had a familiar, where would they rest? She was working on getting a familiar, she planned to get it with Calrex, a high leveled player, Fighting monsters will get me more experience, which will help me level up and beat Zelrius' butt in a duel. She grinned wickedly, So carrot, how come you joined Aincrad? How come you put on the nervegear? She was quite curious actually, and he seemed smart. I level higher than myself even. But I will be catching up... and soon....

[Jomei 0]

Jomei opened up his map and scratched at the hairs on his chin, looking for what seemed like a good place to find some mobs to fight. "Uhmm. Here seems like a good spot" he pointed at a wide open area at the base of a mountain, not too far from Nimbus. Jomei smirked and closed his map with a swipe of his hand, "Alright, lets go." He took a few short steps, letting the girl catch up to his position before walking through the streets towards the exit gate.

The two continued their walk, almost silent at first. From his side, Hasai spoke up, asking about why Jomei decided to play SAO. "Hm.. Good question. Never heard it before honestly.. Well, I was always a fan of MMO's and fantasy.. so it was a given I had to try this out, with the full dive technology and all." He shrugged. "Figured it would be a good way to kill some time as I looked for a job.." he scratched at the back of his head, "Looks like finding a job is going to have to wait though.." he chuckled nervously. "What about you?" he turned to Hasai, wondering what her story was.

Edited August 4, 2015 by Jomei

[Hasai 0]

As carrot spoke, Youno listened, when he asked her, she answered. I wanted a place I could be myself. A place that wasn't tied down by the real world. So I saw SAO, and I begged my adoptive-father to let me attain the game. My adoptive-sister got it as well. She wants to be a PKer. I haven't heard anything from her, so my beliefs is that she died... I am not sure anymore. Her eyes glistened only slightly, before she turned it back into a smile. She had easily caught up with carrot, and now they were making their way out of the village.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei listened to Hasai's story, nodding in understanding. His slight smile slowly turned into a frown as she mentioned he sister wanted to kill other players.. even more so when she believed her to be dead. "Oh.. Hasai I'm sorry.. I had no idea." he looked at the floor in front of him,feeling bad for the girl's dilemma. "Who was your sister?" Jomei doubted her knew the girl's sister, but he had also met many people in his travels, so it was possible he may have at least heard of the name.