[PP-F1]No More Tears (Koumori)

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka, lonely, terrified.... Lazy. She was a lot of things and one thing that she knew she wasn't was weak. However, she was unable to hold her tears drop once more as she sat down in a park bench. Perhaps she should've found a much better place to shed a few tears than out in the open where everyone can see. However, she had much more things on her mind than to mind what the NPCs thought of her. From what she could tell, there were barely any players on this floor anymore. They've all made great progress since the start of the game, yet Shizuka hadn't. Once more, she whipped a drop of tear from the right corner of her right Azul eye. There were many things to think about currently, yet her mind was a storm. Many questions had gone unanswered such as why Kayaba would set them all off in a death game.

No matter how much the environment around her distracted her physical self, her mental state was not able to be distracted even though she'd willingly let it do so. As a result of her numerous times of crises and desperation, her beautiful face had been scarred with tears and wetness... Perhaps that made her even more pretty but it certainly made her look depressed. Here she was... a single girl sitting on a wooden park bench by herself under a green tree covered by the warmth of the sun above. No... Shizuka did not feel warm... It was rather the opposite. With a sigh, Shizuka dug her face into the palm of her two hands and started crying softly. 

[Koumori 0]

The weather on floor one was by far my favorite. Most days it was right in my temperate sweet spot and I loved every second of it. If I was able to get out into the fields and just lie down, which I often did, it was very likely that I would drift off to sleep only to wake at sunset. That's exactly what I did today. After a long morning of grinding, I teleported back to floor one and found a spot out in the fields. This time I picked a spot just behind a row of benches behind the bushes that adorned their backs. I was outside the limits of a park on a hill that only gradually leveled out. I had gotten there sometime around noon and fell asleep not long after. However, this time I wasn't able to nap for long. I was woken up by the sound of sobbing. My eyes blinked open as I heard the sound of a girl crying coming from above me (which eas really behind me). I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Over the benches I could see bright red hair. I wondered what she was crying about. Well no matter what it was I wasn't just going to sit there and watch. What kinda person would I be if I just ignored a girl that was crying. I'd have to cheer her up. So I quickly popped up through the bush and rested my arms on the backrest of the bench and looked at her as I spoke. "What's wrong? I heard you crying so I thought I'd see if I could help." That reminded me of my first interaction in SAO. I heard a girl crying and decided to investigate. It's funny how history repeated itself. 

[Shizuka 0]

(OOC: That first person doe)

Upon hearing a voice coming from somewhere to the right of her, Shizuka turned her head to see a boy around her age. Immediately, upon the first reaction, she whipped off her tears, ashamed that someone had heard her sobbing voice. Like a little child, she tried to hold back the continuous amount of tears and was a bit successful in doing so. "What's wrong?" Shizuka repeated, "Everything is wrong. Look at this place' we're trapped here and there is no escape until the game is beaten... we're far from even close to doing that." She looked at the ground miserably before allowing her long hair, messy from sadness and many hours without organization, to fall freely down her shoulders and her back. She knew that it wasn't polite to say what she had, but the situation was just unbearable for someone like her. She didn't like to cry, yet her tears had roamed around freely just about two minutes. Why did she have to be so emotional?

[Koumori 0]

The girl turned around in shock at the sound of my voice. She looked at me for a second before she started to wipe her tears. Trying to hold them back, and only partially succeeding, she choked up trying to tell me her problem. It wasn't something I hadn't hear before but she seemed especially broken up about it. She definitely wasn't taking the whole death game thing very well. I vaulted over the bench and sat next to her when she returned to scaring at the ground. She left her hair cascade around her as she sat in sorrow. I leaned forward and faced her so she could see me when I spoke. "Hey, it's not that bad. We're all trying, we'll get there eventually. But if we jump in head first we really will die. Stay strong. You'll make it out of here someday." I wanted to throw in a joke but I decided against it. There was a time and place for everything. I just hoped she'd take what I said well. I didn't give speeches very often but when I did they were usually pretty successful. 

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka had finally managed to catch a grasp on herself and hence she began to whip off the remaining tears that were left in the corner of her eye. Then, she began to look into space as the boy "lectured" her on how it's a slow process and she would just have to be patient. With a sigh, Shizuka began to speak once more, "I just don't see why Kayaba would do something as cruel as this." She truly doesn't understand it. The guy was achieving so much greatness and fame, but he just gave it all up by trapping his players inside this world. She'd barely played the game when she found this out and currently, she was in a tough position because she was way behind everyone else level wise. With a clueless sigh, she stood up from her bench. Perhaps today is the day in which I shall begin to be efficient and useful to the players in SAO. Shizuka thought as she stared up in front in determination... Perhaps she'd set a new goal for herself... perhaps it's a sudden ambition to complete something... Perhaps it's just a temporary thing she made up to cheer herself. No matter... She's set on doing something useful... And she will certainly do so... But how?

[Koumori 0]

The girl choked on her last year's and dried her eyes as I spoke. When I was done she looked at me with anger and confusion in her eyes. She didn't get why Kayaba would do this. To tell the truth neither did I. None of us had any hope of knowing what that mad man was thinking. But I could just out and tell her that. "We'll find out when we crush him." Then she bolted upright. When she came out of the seat I followed with her. A new expression was worn on her face. One of conviction, but there was still uncertainty. I felt like she wasn't yet sure what she'd do but she knew she'd do something. She would've come to that realization on her own but I liked to think I helped her along. I smiled at her and said "Good. Looks like you made up your mind."

[Shizuka 0]

"Yeah," Shizuka said as she found a smile across her face. This boy in front of him definitely didn't bring her to her new thoughts but he definitely edged her towards it. "Thanks," She said in gratitude before looking in front of her with new confidence and cheerfulness that showed her true personality. "So... Uh... Any tips on becoming a higher leveled player?" She asked, willing to take advice from anyone at this point. She would love some level one boar killing but was sure the boy would make the mob's health incredibly high. However, some action would be nice, especially since she'd been too scared and such a coward to go out of the safe zone. It's time for me to help out and contribute instead of being a lazy butt. She thought but first, she'd need some experience in order to succeed. 

[Koumori 0]

(Lazy butt. Haha)

I smiled when she answered back. I was glad to see she was more at peace with herself. Definitely better than the sobbing wreck I found earlier. She began to look past me at the great expanse of the fields. I couldn't see them but I knew what she was thinking. She wanted to be out there, fighting. She wanted to become a stronger player too. Definitely more than level one. When she asked me how to level up I knew what to say. "Two words: grind and quests. You're not ready for quests yet, no offense, but I think you could tackle some grinding. Maybe not right now, but soon. Don't worry, it's not that scary. You'll be a natural. The boats will be roasted ham before they know it." Now that she was cheered up I brought my jokes back. They may not be that funny but they usually lighten the mood pretty well. Lots of worried players take comfort in seeing others who can laugh. It shows that not everyone has given up. We might be scared, but we haven't given up. 

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka let out a chuckle as the boy made a comment about roasted ham. She was rather easy to make laugh and of course, the boy had succeeded in allowing her to laugh some of her sad thoughts and gloominess away. It's nice to have some friends here. She thought. In real life, she'd never really had many friends and here, she could perhaps change that if she wanted, which she did. "Eh. Mind if I add you as a friend?" She asked, "That way, I could PM you at any time right?" Indeed, perhaps now was not the right time for some grinding as she'd just come out from a deep shell of depression. She opened up her menu which she's barely touched during her time in SAO but that matters not. She looked hard for the friends tab which she soon found and pressed. After staring at the empty friend list for quite a while, she looked back up and smiled in embarrassment. "Yeah... I really haven't been out there with my friend gathering skills." She said as she scratched her long hair before twirling a piece of it with her pointer finger. "Can you accept my friend request?" She asked before pressing friend request and then realizing suddenly that she doesn't even know the guy's name yet. "Oops. Sorry. May I ask for your username, please?"

Edited October 28, 2015 by Shizuka

[Koumori 0]

I was glad to see her laugh. I always liked to help people out, rather physically or mentally, so it made me happy to see when I did something good. She stood there for a second with something on her mind before hesitantly asking me a question. She said she wanted to add me as a friend. That was a surprise. I didn't expect to get a friend request after saying three sentences to her. If this had been a few months ago I may have said no. But I was different now. I knew that it wasn't worth it to be overly suspicious or analytical of everything. It only burned you out. "That was fast. At this rate we'll be married by tomorrow night." I said to her with a laugh and a smile. "Sure, I don't mind." I waited as she fumbled around with her menu. It was obvious that she hadn't used it much. And I could tell by how quick she asked me that she probably didn't have many friends but since I couldn't see her screen I didn't know that for sure. She asked for me to accept her request, and I would've, but I didn't get one. She practically slapped herself when she realized she didn't even know my name. "Oh, it's KoolKid900." I said completely straight faced. I couldn't hold it too long though. "I'm kidding. My names Koumori. Nice to meet you."

[Shizuka 0]

"Haha. I hope not. Sorry. I'm just a bit sociable, that's all." Shizuka said with a grin in response to the boy's jokes and comments. He's quite comical... I could certainly get used to communicating with the boy. "I don't see why not add you to the friend list... I think you're quite nice. Also, I don't see why I shouldn't add you as a friend... It's not like there are disadvantages... There are only advantages. I'll be sure to add pretty much everyone I know and meet to my friend list as it only provides me with advantages." The conversation with the stronger boy sure did help Shizuka become a lot more cheerful even in the desperate situations that she and the rest of the players were placed in by the evil game developer. Shizuka slowly pressed the buttons on her menu with caution so that she doesn't accidentally press a wrong button and discard something like her starter weapon. "My name is Saman-Shizuka, I mean." 

[Koumori 0]

"Don't worry about it." She seemed to take my joke well. She didn't laugh but she smiled again. She told me she was a sociable girl and I could definitely believe it once she got talking. Once her depression lifted she was like a whole new person, full of energy and things to say. But I didn't want her to get too carried away. There were a few downsides. "Well you should still be careful. Your friends can see your location at all times so you shouldn't just be giving your address out to everyone. But I think you'll pick good people." She was so happy as she pressed her buttons that she was shaking. But she took it slow to avoid messing up. She looked back up at me and gave me her name. She stumbled for a second, probably giving her real name, before giving her screen name. "Hi Shizuka." When the friend request came my way I quickly pressed the accept button. "There you go. Now we're officially friends." At that point I could've just left. It might actually have been weird if I hung around any longer. We had just met and I knew nothing about her. But she was still a girl and she had just been crying so I knew I couldn't do that. Guess I found what I was doing that night. "So, what do you say we celebrate with something to eat? On me of course."

[Shizuka 0]

"Ok. I don't have any money anyway." Shizuka said with a smile. She had not expected to have dinner with someone so quick after she opened up, but she was fine with it. She's officially made a friend, an ally, and a possible future comrade. "So, do you have any place in mind?" She asked, embarrassed that she was unfamiliar with the floor that she'd spent so long on. She'd never really explored the floor and she was quite sure that she should've. Of course, she had absolutely no col on her and absolutely zero materials as well. All her gear were starting gear and a crappy little starting longsword. It matters not... She thought. Starting from now, I shall work, work, and work so I can get stronger and stronger... Until I beat the game... Or until I die trying. Shizuka thought. Her mind was floating with positivity and she didn't mind at all. It was nice to be back to herself from the depressing self that she was just yesterday. Then, suddenly, Shizuka noticed that the sun was no longer above her... Instead, it was in front of her, far in the horizon. "Wow. Time sure does fly." She said in astonishment. She hadn't expected the night to approach already and she couldn't care less... She'd accomplished a lot for that day, the fact that she's back to her own, true self was enough of an accomplishment for one day's work. Wow. She thought as she watched the sundown. "Well, let's go to dinner then."

[Koumori 0]

"Then guess without me you woulda went hungry." I said back to her. She seemed open to the idea and not put off at all. However, she didn't know where to go so I'd have to think something up. The first place that came to mind was the sweats cafe I took Glory to. For some reason I felt maybe some sugary treats would do Shizuka good. "Well there was this one place I took this girl to-" Whoops. Maybe I shouldn't have said that after inviting her to dinner. That could definitely give her the wrong idea. I started waving my hands in the air in the shape of an X. "No wait that's not what I mean. We were just eating. I'm not implying anything really." Yikes. I thought I was last that stage of awkwardly failing to explain myself. Maybe thinking of Glory had brought it back. I noticed that Shizuka was looking off in the distance again, but this time in awe. "Huh?" was how i responded when she said something about time flying. I turned to see the sun approaching the horizon. She was right; it had gotten pretty late. "We should probably get going then. It's not too far from here so just follow me."

[Shizuka 0]

"Very well," She said with a friendly smile. Indeed, she had zoned out and was sure she'd missed something that boy had said. Nevertheless, she hoped that it was unimportant as she was only able to catch a glimpse of random parts belonging to the boy's speech. Suddenly, she heard her stomach grumble ever so loudly and as a result, a red blush appeared on her face and she could feel the heat rising upon it. She hoped the boy didn't hear that as it would indeed be quite embarrassing and shameful. I didn't even know your stomach could grumble in this game. She thought. Well... You learn something every day don't you? She thought to herself. "Let's go then." She finally said before following the boy into the heart of the starting town... Somewhere that she's been in for quite some time yet knows almost nothing about. As they walked, Shizuka looked around at the different structures that seemed so fantastical and amazing to look at. If the houses didn't make the game look amazing, the far sunset sure did. With a satisfying sigh, she said, "This place truly is remarkable now that I look at it from a different perspective."

[Koumori 0]

She happily followed me as I began leading her to the resturaunt. I looked over a couple times and noticed her gaze dancing around the city and the sky. She seemed to be amazing by what she saw. That was admittedly a little odd. She must've been in there this whole time so you'd think she'd seen everything already. I mean I spent a good amount of time on other floors and I did. Eventually she sighed and commented on the beauty of the place. "It is. It's almost more realistic than the real world in some ways. But in others not so much. One things for sure though, the sun set never gets old." After we walked through streets and side streets we made it to the location of the cafe/resturaunt thing. I walked to the door and held it open for her to enter. Just like the last time I was greeted by the amazing aroma of baked goods. The sweet smell lifted my spirits to the highest they had been that day. It really was fantastic. I led her over to one of the window booths and took my seat. Another thing I noticed was that it was a lot less busy than the last time. Wonder why that was. In any case, I figured I should tell Shizuka about the place. "This place specializes in desserts. They have a regular menu but the best desserts on the lower 10 floors are definitely here. Like I said I've been here before and I can personally vouch for that." I picked up the menu in front of me and examined it. What to get?

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka strolled into the shop to mark that it was rather deserted. A few customers were chatting away in the back but truly, no one remarkable was grabbing her attention. Perhaps the NPCs blend with the background. She guessed before continuing the study the place. Studying a new environment had been a habit since she was a little child as she never really explored and traveled to many different places and the places she did travel, she studied and took in all the little detail. The outside of the shop did indeed give a clue that this might be a sweets or candy shop or something of the sort that isn't related to traditional dinner. However, she didn't mind, a few sweets as dinner doesn't sound so bad either. When Koumori sat down near one of the closer window booths, Shizuka sat down on the same booth and picked up a menu of her own. Of course, she had no col and didn't know the value of col, thus she decided that she would go ahead and order some of the cheapest things. After skimming through a variety of cakes, pudding and candies, she finally reached her decision of what she'll get. "Uh. I'll get this mini-chocolate cake, please." She said politely to the boy. 

[Koumori 0]

Shizuka followed me in and sat down. She seemed intrigued by the place, looking around and examining the patrons. Although, like I said, there weren't all too many. I suppose all the people that knew about this place had already moved on. Their loss really. She picked up her menu too and examined it diligently. After she was done she put it down and told me what she wanted. "Chocolate, nice choice." I hailed the waiter and made both of our orders. "The girl will have the mini-chocolate cake and I'll have deluxe ice cream sundae." The waitress walked away and left us alone again. I smiled at Shizuka and explained my choice. "I know it seems childish but I've always wanted to try one. Better late than never right?" I figured if I didn't want this to be awkward id probably have to start a conversation about something. "So, word of advice, if you wander around the streets with a sad look on your face you'll be swarmed by guys wanting to help instantly. Since I've been here I've seen that happen at least 7 times. It's weird how a girl in distress is like a magnet. Or I guess maybe it isn't."

[Shizuka 0]

"Eh?" She said, not sure if she's mistaken what the boy had said. "Uhm... Are you implying that I should go around looking sad? I prefer not to have that attention on purpose, please... Not my style." She said. "I like to smile. What's the point of looking sad? It's rather foolish if you think about it... Why would someone pretend to be sad just to attract the attention of male players." With a sigh, she thought it over while looking out the window. Indeed, it was rather foolish, perhaps the boy had thought that she was crying in order to attract attention back there on the bench of the park.... Well, he's well mistaken. She rested her head on her palm that was being supported by the hard surface of the table before staring out into space. The scenery was rather good. A few trees blended in with the yellow sky and the blaring horizon that was also accompanied by a few squirrels and little, baby boars that could be seen in the distance. Soon, she began to close her eyes. So tired... Need sleep. She thought before letting her body lose control on her consciousness and falling asleep. She didn't know how long she'd remained asleep like she had been, but it mattered not. She'd been awoken by speech which she soon found to be the waitress. "Your food order is here!" She'd said and this had jolted Shizuka wide awake when she heard of the word food. Then she realized that her chocolate pudding has arrived as well as the boy's sundae. "Wow... They look delicious." She said before taking the spoon and eating.

[Koumori 0]

"Huh?" I looked up as Shizuka rejected what I said. She definitely misinterpreted what I said. I waved my arms as I corrected myself. "No no that's not what I meant. I'm not saying you should be sad. I meant that people are pretty weird and will crawl out of the wood works if you look like you... I don't even know what I mean. I guess I'm just trying to say be careful out there. Not everyone's nice." I scratched the back of my hair awkwardly when my explanation started to fall apart. I noticed she had started to look out the window so I followed her gaze. The view was pretty great. The setting sun lit up the sky with oranges and pinks, some animals scurried in trees. I wondered how much processing power that took. When I decided I had seen enough I turned back to see Shizuka asleep at the table. She was a strange girl. I began to lean over the table to wake her up but stopped midway. I'd let her sleep. I sat in my seat in silence until the waitress arrived. When she announced our food was ready Shizuka must've felt a disturbance in the force. She bolted up and was more than ready to eat. "Welcome back, haha" I picked up my spoon and began eating my dessert. It was amazing. I wasn't dissapointed at all. "Wow you're right this rocks." We finished our snacks in no time and I paid for the meal. We just sat there in the afterglow of (my) money well spent. I leaned forward and smiled. "It was nice running into you today, Shizuka. You're pretty cool."