[PP-F1] Colours of the skies (koumori)

[Miriko 0]

I was looking at the colours. The colours of the skies. How pretty they were. Pinks, blues and yellows. A whole rainbow. I looked around at the other players around me on the green fields. Many players were talking, so.e were fighting some wild boars. But there was one player that caught my eyes. He was standing in the shadow of a tree, looking up at the sky with purple eyes. I walked towards him, hopeing to start a convorsation with the shadowed player. I made my way up to him. I looked at him and spoke. "Are you looking at the colours of the skies?

[Koumori 0]

The world of Sword Art Online is still very new to me. The bone chilling announcement of Akihiko Kayaba still rang with great force in my mind. Once I knew this had become more than a game, more than something to do in my spare time, I had made up my mind. I would conquer this game. I decided right then and there what shape my path would take. But in my haste I didn't pay any close attention to the world around me. When I woke up today I decided to take it easy, to really observe Aincrad for the first time. Eventually I found myself standing under a large tree. I stood there silently observing the other players. I watched as they defeated the somewhat pitiful monsters of the fields of the first floor and contemplated joining them. But I knew I couldn't do that. I didn't mix well with others nor did I want to. As much as I could I wanted to be a solo player. As if trying to break that train of thought I shifted my gaze to the sky. The seemingly infinite expanse of colors and clouds was simply breathtaking. I couldn't believe this was all a game. When I finally started to soak in the beauty I noticed a figure approaching out of the corner of my eye. It was a girl and she looked to be about my age. I couldn't imagine what she wanted with me. When she asked me if I was observing the sky I ignored the nagging voice in my head and decided to answer truthfully. "Yeah. You know the more I see of this world the more I come to think of it as reality. Well I guess it already is. Sorry but who are you?"

[Miriko 0]

The player spoke, talking in an intelligent way. He spoke about sword art online beingmore like a reality that a game. 

"It truely is beautiful. Amazing what people can do these days. By the way in Miriko. What is your name?" i asked and outstretched my hand so the player could shake it. 

 

(Sorry if its too short, im a horrible writer >_<)

[Koumori 0]

The strange girl introduced herself as Miriko. I couldn't quite get a read on her yet but she seemed happy enough. Seeing her up close I could definitely confirm she was my age. I don't know what got the best of me, whether it was my curiously or boredom, but I decided this conversation might be worth continuing. She offered her hand to me and after a moment of brief hesitation I returned the favor and said "I'm Koumori. Nice to meet you Miriko." My lack of conversational skills aside I decided to let this girl continue the conversation.

(it's okay don't worry about it. Sorry about putting the conversation on you, I would say something but I think that would be out of character)

[Miriko 0]

"Koumori....... I dont think i have ever heard that name before. Its a cool name though, very unique." I softly smiled at Koumori. I pulled a stray piece of hair behind my ear and continued to talk. "Do you like it here in sword art online if you dont mind me asking?" I didnt want to be too pushy, thats just not me. I looked out onto the grassy plains. The sun was in the middle of the skyand it was a hot day. Luckly, it was cooler in the shade where we were standing. 

[Koumori 0]

Do I like it here in Sword Art Online? That was a question I haven't been asked yet, and truthfully I hadn't really thought about it myself. I looked over at her, she was staring into the vast expanse, as if waiting for an answer but still giving me my space. I let out a little sign and then spoke the first words that came to my mind "I think I do. All of us wanted so badly to be in this world and now we're faced with the challenge of finding a way out. It depends on how you look at the situation. I like to think that there's a reason we're here. That somehow if we make it out alive we'll be better people than when we came in. At least...I want to be. I can't forgive Kayaba for what he's done but if all we do is wish for this world to end we'll be wasting our lives. We have to make the most of it." I said way to much. That's not like me. Instantly embarrassed, I peered into the distance just like Miriko while managing to keep a cool face. I waited for her response. 

[Miriko 0]

I litsened to Koumoris answer intently. "I like your thinking. To me, SAO is like a another reality, that we are trying to escape. We all wanted to go to a different reality, but now we are here, we want to back to our normals lives in the real world. One thing i dont get is why is everyone scared of dying in SAO. Its no different from the real world. Is it because of the fear of not seeing our loved ones or the fear of not goingback to our normal world. I dont care if i die here or the real world. I just want live it while i can." I stopped as i reliesed i had spoken more than i usually do. Looked at Koumori, waiting patiently for his answer to my thoery

[Koumori 0]

Her response was much deeper than I thought it would be. It certainly made sense that people would be scared to not see their loved ones, but I thought there was more to it. I tried to keep my usual amount of distance in my response, not letting much emotion show through, but I couldn't help but be philosophical once again. "That could be a part of it, but I think there's more. In the real world you don't need to face any danger. If you want you can stay in your house, get a job in an office, make a living without taking risks. In the real world you can hide from death and it doesn't face you every day. But here, death is a threat that is constantly looming over our heads. One wrong move and you're killed by a monster, that can't happen in your basement. You're right though. Being in here, away from our reality doesn't help. If one things for sure it separates the courageous from the cowards." I couldn't believe what I was saying. I was a speaking so much with a girl I had just met. I slowly slid down the tree and ended up sitting on the ground, back against the trunk, still hazing ahead. 

[Miriko 0]

After Miriko heard Koumori's response, she shook her brunette head in agreement. "True, true, we never had to fight a monster in the real world. We were the top of the food chain in the real world but know, not so much." Miriko sighed. She gracefully sat on the grass next to Koumori. "If you dont mind me asking, were you born with purple eyes or are they contact lenses. You dont have to answer if you dont want to. Im just courious." Miriko pulled at the green grass, breaking it into pixels that dissolved into the humid air.

[Koumori 0]

We sat there on the grass, feeling the soft wind blow through every so often. The amount of data and computing power it took to create all of this must have been truly astounding. I looked over at Miriko just in time to see her ask her question. What a weird one. Is that what she was thinking about the whole time? Maybe that was why she approached me to begin with. Still thinking I spoke, "They're natural, I've been asked that a lot." I adjusted my position a little, left arm resting on the corresponding leg. I wondered where she was going to take this when I looked over at her once more. She looked peaceful. She was idly pulling on the grass with a smile on her face. Maybe Miriko did understand how to enjoy this world. Deciding to say something else I spoke up "It's going to get dark soon. I think I'm gonna head out." I wondered if she'd stay or come. 

[Miriko 0]

Miriko listened to Koumoris answer. "How interesting, I noticed the color of your eyes when we sat down." They sat in silence for a while until Koumori again spoke. Miriko who wasn't done talking to Koumori so she said. "Is it alright if i join you? I want to talk for a bit more." Miriko pulled out one more piece of grass and looked at Koumori "So, What do you say?"

[Koumori 0]

Miriko sat their contently as I spoke, that is until I spoke about leaving. She looked up from her task of pulling at the grass to ask if she could come with me. She claimed she wished to talk some more but maybe part of it was not wanting to walk alone. I stood from my comfortable position and gazed into the sky one more time. Without turning back to her I said "Sure, let's go." I began turning to walk back to town, "If you have any more questions go right ahead"

[Miriko 0]

Miriko got up and walked along with Koumori. "So what brings you to SAO?" Miriko asked. Then an NPC popped up out of nowwhere.

"Hello, players I have seem to have lost my book. I was sitting over there and then it was suddenly gone."

Miriko looked over at Koumori. "Do you want to help this guy or keep walking?"

[Koumori 0]

Miriko gleefully got up to follow me as I walked back. She caught up and walked by my side. She was beginning to ask me something else an NPC appeared in our path. He wanted us to find his book for him. If it had been a player to ask for assistance I would've offered my help without much issue, but this was just an NPC. Then again, it wasn't really too late plus this seemed like it would be more fun than just walking. Maybe it would even have a nice reward, I couldn't imagine many people would accept this one. I looked over at Miriko, she seemed to be willing to go ahead and do it so I decided to accept it. I walked forward and told the NPC we'd help him out. He explained that he was sitting not too far off when the book suddenly vanished. The way he described it made it seem like it was stolen. I turned to Miriko and said "Looks like we're hunting a stolen book."

[Miriko 0]

"Hmmmmmm A stolen book then." Miriko spoke, thinking. "We should ask some questions." Miriko turned towards the NPC.

"What did this book look like?" Miriko asked. The NPC replied, "It had a blue cover with a gold spine."

"Did you notice anyone suspicious hanging around?", The NPC again replied "There was one guy, with a big hat...."

"That is enough questions for us to get started, we will come back if we need any more." Miriko smiled. She then turned back to Koumori, "Lets get started."

[Koumori 0]

Miriko seemed to know just what to do. She asked the NPC a few questions so we'd have more details on what we're looking for. That hint about the guy in the hat would be especially helpful. The best place to start would be no doubt where the NPC had the book stolen. "Alright, let's go to the scene." As if activated by that statement, the NPC began leading us in the right direction. The spot he led us to was not far off from where we were and under a large tree. There was a blanket laid out on the ground and nothing else. "Let's look for anything unusual." I looked over to Miriko who was just as focused on this as I was. As I examined I found a piece of cloth caught on the bark. I leaned over and pulled it out. It was a torn section of something that should be black and leather. I held it up and turned to Miriko, "Looks like we know how he's dressed."

[Miriko 0]

Miriko followed The NPC and Koumori to the big tree. After walking around the tree, looking for clues, Koumori found a piece of leather or black material. Miriko listened to Koumori. "So this guy has a big hat, and was wearing black leather......" Miriko turned to the NPC.

"Is there anything that you remember about the person in the hat?"

"The guy was tall. very tall and im sure it was a man."

"Which direction was he heading?"

"Towards town i think. Its a bit hard to remember." The NPC scratched its head, trying to remember.

[Koumori 0]

Miriko interrogated the NPC and found out that the (most likely) man who took the book seemed to be heading into town. To me that was definitely the case. Someone would only steel a book if it was important to them or very valuable. If the thief wanted to sell the book, he'd need to go into town. "He's in the town. The only reason he'd take it is to sell it," I said to Miriko. I turned then to look at the NPC "we'll get you your book back. Wait here for us." With that I nodded to Miriko and took off towards the town. Odds are this was a timed event, we'd need to get there quickly. Miriko seemed to be pretty smart, I was sure she was on the same page. You know, I didn't think that I would ever stop being amazed by SAO. The wind blowing through my hair, it was real. 

Edited August 8, 2015 by Koumori

[Miriko 0]

We took off towards town. Miriko and Koumori searched high and low for the mysterious man. The wind had started to pick up, giving a gentle blow. They passed a couple of inns and even asked a few players. Suddenly Miriko saw a tall figure in a hat, similar too the NPC description, walking through the crowd.

"Koumouri, over there, that could be who we are looking for." Miriko whispered to Koumori. She picked up her pase and followed the figure, detirmined to not loos the man in the hat.

[Koumori 0]

It didn't take long for Miriko and I to get back to the town of beginnings. Once inside the gates, we headed for the largest shopping district. We searched around and asked both players and NPCs if they had seen anything. Unfortunately, we came up with nothing. This process repeated for every new area we tried. No one had seen a man in a large hat wearing black clothes. Was this quest leading us on a wild goose chase? It was seeming more and more likely. As we continued searching the night encroached even faster. But then, we got a huge break. I was looking through a crowd gathered at a nearby booth when Miriko tapped me on the shoulder and whispered that she thought she had found the man. I adjusted my gaze to where she was pointing, and I found our suspect. Without thinking or saying a word, I took off sprinting. Rifling thought the crowd it took no time at all to reach the suspected thief. Before he even knew I was there I tackled him to the ground. He struggled as I pinned him on the floor, his arm in the classic "say uncle position". I may have been to...zealous in my assault. Everyone around was looking. Miriko quickly came up besides me. I'd best ignore the crowd. "Where's the book you stole!" The NPC struggled some more, "I didn't steal your so called book, but I may know who did" the man said with a smirk. What did he mean by that I wondered. "Explain!" The NPC looked around at the confused crowd, "why don't we go somewhere more...private" He was probably right. There was no need to get the information in front of all of these people. With that I shifted my weight off of him and brought him up to his feet. Arm still in the same position, I began leading him to an alley while I turned back to the crowd and spoke "don't worry everybody, it's not a player." That probably wouldn't be enough to satisfy their curiosity but I didn't think anyone would follow. I led the shadowy man down the alley and shoved him down to the curb. One could say I was taking this far too seriously, but why not? If you can't have fun with yourself in this game then what was the point? I leaned as close to his face as I could, "Talk". He looked at me with an expression I didn't like and turned his head to Miriko, "I'll only speak to the lady."

 

(sorry I missed the part where you said you followed him)

Edited August 8, 2015 by Koumori