Jomei

Approaching the opened dojo where the first round of the tournament was to take place, Jomei was finally able to place a face to the name of his opponent. The violet haired girl, who stood more more than a foot shorter than the tall ginger himself, stood on the opposite side of the mat, leaving a space across from her for him to ready himself. He offered a kind smile to her as he entered past the open panels of the dojo. With a bokken shoved into the belt of the hakama he wore, he placed a band around his wrist and used both hands to retrieve all of the long tufts of hair he normally wore in f

Jomei smiled at the girl's greeting. It seemed one of her reasons for wanting to participate in this tournament was to try her luck against some of the other frontliners. Help give her an idea of whether or not she would be ready soon. With a chuckle, the ginger responded, "Well, hopefully you'll have plenty of opportunities to try your luck today. But I wouldn't rush yourself to the frontlines until you're sure you're ready. It doesn't really have its perks, but I guess knowing you were one of the ones to beat that boss and unlock the next floor is nice for bragging rights." Taking a sm

Death always found a way to creep into their lives, one way or another. Usually of illness or old age, it was a bit less common for a friend or family member to perish in some brutal way, for most at least. That was in the real world. The life of a SAO player was surrounded by death, and never a peaceful one at that. The Monument of Life stood to prove that none of them were safe from the dangers that lurked within the many layers of this floating tower. However, at the same time, it connected them all, brought them together to fight for the same purpose; to clear the game and tell Kayaba that

"Three brothers? I had no idea you had siblings." he said with a cocked brow. It was always nice hearing tidbits of his friends lives outside of Aincrad, though noted as taboo to give away too many details. Honestly though, it wasn't like they were going anywhere anytime soon, so revealing things about themselves was harmless. "I wasn't blessed with any siblings.. or cursed, depending on how you see it." Lessa had given into the offer to share Jomei's drink with him, though her thoughts on what rested within the fruit punch was definitely different than Jomei's opinion. A small laugh bub

Despite it being a topic of conversation multiple times these past few months, Jomei still had yet to visit Baldur's home. It seemed rather grand, from what he and Macradon had mentioned. It was in the cards to drop by at some point, but this tournament just gave him a better reason to. Even the event itself was exciting enough, a Valentine's Day tournament? Such a weird combination, but really takes the romance aspect out of it. The most intimate thing they'd partake in was meeting with a single opponent in combat.. unless he won, of course. A dinner date with someone of his choice.. Was he e

The ginger nearly stopped dead in his tracks after hearing what Koga had to say to him. With just a simple apology about letting a bit of humanity spew from his mouth, Koga was quick to correct him. Not only correct him, but prove him wrong. If Jomei were a more emotional man, he probably would have teared up at the speech Koga gave. The first time really meeting this man, having this heart to heart, and Jomei already felt a sense of hope restored within him. Eyes closing, his lips stretching into a small smile. "Thank you, Koga. It may not seem like much, but I think I really need

Tournament of Thirst you say? Sign me up!

It was beginning to seem like a reoccurring trend, hinted at by the faces Jomei saw and Hirru's reactions to the ones revealed to him. These were not happy memories, as one would expect in the Forest of Memories. No, these seemed to be manifestations of their failures in life painted out on the blank canvas of a misty mass right before them. His companion seemed just as ready to be rid of this monstrosity as he was, the memories probably too painful to bear one after another. The name he spoke was unfamiliar to Jomei, yet, instinctually, he turned back to the creature as if he were able

Koga seemed just as unsure about what the future had in store for him as Jomei was. Though, his views on the life he once had outside of Aincrad did not seem ideal. However, he did seem a bit more confident about finding his purpose within this world. In the grand scheme of things, there really was not much other purpose other than fighting their way to Floor One Hundred and getting the hell out of this game. Koga's answer was interesting to Jomei.. for it seemed that he was rather certain of a future, mundane life in the real world but was gung ho about pushing forward, beating Kayaba's death

Turning his chin to face towards the figure amassing before them, Jomei's olive colored eyes focused on the details of the faces within the mist. Brows lowered and arms crossed, he kept a careful eye on each of the faces that emerged from its bulbous body, features becoming a bit more discernable before fading back into the mist. It was disturbing.. but also interesting to say in the least. After a moment of staring, his head shook. Hirru had seemingly recognized a few of the faces, more than just vague familiarities. His tone of voice hinted that he was a bit more sure of what he saw th

A long drawn out sigh passed through Jomei's nostrils before shaking his head. "A cruel world like this? I bet it will be back here again by sun rise tomorrow." The trek back through the labyrinth at this dark hour was difficult, but not impossible. For a short while, they were able to follow the same spiral marks Hatter and Vex had drawn, though they seemed to come to an end after awhile. It was probable that the marks left by players erased themselves after a period of time.. would make for quite the messy canvas if all of the marks drawn by the players who wandered these tall, grey sl

A simple hum in agreement as he nodded his head, the red-head followed along. The quest's parameters didn't seem to mention anything of a select person to speak with who would lay out the path and plan for the players to follow. No, it seemed they just needed to gather information on the Cerberus while wandering the town. Added a bit more of a natural feel to it, he supposed, and with the amount of NPC's wandering the streets at this hour, they should be able to find out what they need in no time. That is.. if the first man that Lessa tried to talk to wasn't jittery and unwilling to speak

Koga's sword connected with the creature with a loud crash. The trembling sound did nothing to affect Jomei and Koga, but the Daburu seemed to shudder upon impact. The tiny, burning coals for eyes darkened for a moment, revealing the heavy pain it endured after the two players laid into it.. but the toothy grin it wore was never changing, still stretching ear to ear. Even when clinging to a tiny thread of existence, as if knowing it had fooled the players for short while brought a smile to its face. Daburu's head hung low, stunned in place thanks to Koga's quick thinking. Seeing a clear

Eyes pinned to the three other players as they scrambled away towards the malformed visage of Taya, Jomei made sure they were far enough away and not trying to engage in battle with it. "I fucking told you!" the player who had tipped them off to this creature shouted back as they turned a corner, his voice bouncing off the walls and trailing off the farther he ran. Koga's call for help pulled his attention back to the matter at hand, the gangly monster pulled straight from a horror movie. "Right, on it!" he shouted as he turned around. A cold sweat trickled down his jawline as he looked i

Jomei, Koga, Hatter, Vex. All of their attention on this other player who threatened Taya. It was apparent by all of their expressions that they did not know who to believe. A story such as his just seemed too far fetched to be a lie.. but never had they seen a monster disguised as a player before. So it seemed the scale was tipping more in Taya's favor. Koga's idea was solid; the four of them would keep an eye on the two players in groups of three, as a means to keep on their toes while also separating the two. The red head nodded in agreement, before looking over his shoulder at towards the

Seemed that primarily playing the support role was just as exhausting as being the main line of offense. Hirru seemed wipes, almost more so than Jomei was himself. Then again, a lot of Hirru's own energy went towards making sure Jomei was kept up and running. Though, with the amount of area of attack sword arts he used within those past two battles, he definitely felt the wear and tear creep up on him a bit. A few minutes just to catch their breath and strategize would work wonders for the duelist-hunter duo. A soft chuckle bubbled out as his arms crossed his chest, his palms tucking into

Over his shoulder, through the sloshing of the mud they stood in, the armor clad Macradon approached the duo with near perfect timing. Jomei couldn't help but shine a grin, "Mac, always a pleasure." With Baldur expressing his need to break from the mundane, yet all the same peaceful sounding, lounging, and Macradon sharing a eerily too similar to Jomei's state of mind, the ginger would nod. "Guess we all had an urgency to get out and do something, eh?" Before the three could enjoy the time in the hidden hot springs, they would need to clear this field boss out of the way, The Ancient One

Another player had approached them, calling the lost girl 'Taya' and claiming to know her. What he was saying though was... confusing. "You'd better to listen to him. Put the sword away and lets talk about this." Jomei said, his voice a bit calmer than Koga's as he tried to diffuse the situation. However, the player persisted, keeping their sword out in front of them and going as far as to claim Taya was not the player he knew. Jomei looked to Koga for a moment, the gears turning in that head of his as he tried to wrap his head around the situation. For all they knew, this guy could just

Jomei's inventory was rather scarce as is. He was not as keen as his peers when it came to preparing for a boss fight or a quest. Usually, it was a last minute purchase, or him looking to loan out some items for a more capable player before the bout. Pressing his tongue into the side of his cheek, Jomei did a quick scroll through his inventory. It did not take long to loojk, but Jomei shook his head as he reached the bottom, "Shit." he said under his breath before looking back over to Koga, "Not sure if I had brought mine with me either.." Dropping his hand back to his side, the transluce

The group was on the move again after recovering from their near miss with the minotaur. Not much farther ahead, and they should be at the location they had last seen the girl. The shift of the walls from earlier had blocked off the original path, but the lingering spiral mark made it simple enough to find a route around. Soon enough, the surroundings seemed to come back to the other players, as they were able to pinpoint just where they had lost contact with the missing girl. "Right, be ready for anything." Jomei said as he brought his right hand across his hip, resting it on the hilt of his

Jomei took in one last deep breath to steady his breathing before walking over to where Koga lay flat on the ground. Extending a hand out towards him, he offered to help him up to his feet. Koga holding back to delay the minotaur for a few extra seconds was crazy, even for Jomei. Shoulders shuddered as a small laugh rolled out, "That was pretty ballsy, lad. You alright?" Once Koga was on his feet, the ginger takes a small step back. His arm fold about his chest, head turning to look at the wall that likely saved them from a much bigger problem. "I was a bit unsure of your level and capab

Back to full health, thanks to another round of healing from Hirru. Made Jomei feel a whole lot better about this fight, aside from the fact that both of the creatures that stood before him barely held onto their lives. If it weren't for Hirru having his back with healing, Jomei most likely would not have made it out of this forest... He wasn't sure what it was, but trying to survive in Aincrad seemed a hell of a lot harder lately. There were not many times he saw his health get that low, low enough to where another hit or two would have wiped him out. He'd need to be much more careful going f

It seemed some newfound courage found its way into the other two players as they joined along with Jomei and Koga without hesitation. Koga had asked about the other player's level, and it seemed she was a bit in over her own head here.. especially if she was wandering on their own. What the hell were they thinking? he thought to himself as he picked up the pace slightly. With the first of the spiral markings in their sights, the group knew they were at least on the right track. Turning to the right, they continued on in search of the missing girl. "I think there should be.. maybe on

The Irishman enjoyed the spectacle of catching Lessa off guard. A single, visible brow rose high over an olive eye as she greeted him with a full mouth and frantically looked for something to wash it down with. He was thankful he didn't randomly place his drink down, or Lessa would be the one with a belly full of sake punch and Jomei would be making another trip to Oji's corner for a refill. With a small shrug of his shoulders, he spoke "I actually never met Koga until tonight.. saw he sent out a mass invite and figured I would come by. It was that, or spend the holiday alone at home" he

It was a good thing Koga was just on board as Jomei was. Even if the other player wasn't willing to delve deeper into the dark labyrinth, Jomei still probably would have gone towards the scream as well. His money was the scream came from a player, rather than an NPC. Sure, the game could have started throwing NPC's into the maze to add a level of depth, give heroic players a reason to dive deeper. Or, worst case scenario, it was a monster created to mimic the screams of humans, to lure players to their demise. Jomei swallowed hard, hoping it wasn't the latter. However, last time he was here, h