Katoka

It wasn't often that Katoka got down to the first floor anymore. She walked slowly from the teleport gate towards Freyd's favorite meet up spot, near Marv the guard. She decided that she would take her time today and take in the sights of the various players and NPCs going about their business. It was always nice to see that despite being trapped in this virtual world, people could still live their lives as normally as possible. Rounding a corner the samurai saw her two friends, the cowled Freyd and the green haired Elora, picking up various pieces of paper from the ground while bal

Kat pouted in an attempt to still seem mad, but it didn't last long. "You're lucky you're cute, it's hard to stay mad at you." she kissed Sam on the cheek and curled up the best she could in her lap. She listened to Sam she told her story. The boss fight, the aftermath, it was definitely three days worth of hell it seemed. She could also tell that Sam was genuine in wanting to contact her and not being able to. She smiled softly and cupped her love's face with one hand, "I forgive you." She kissed her softly again and stood up. "Now, as your punishment," she gave Sam a sly grin, "I think

With a yawn and a stretch Katoka awoke once again on her living room couch. Her body was stiff, her har a mess, and there was dried dross on her face. She hadn't slept like this in several days. Most of the time she woke with a start and looked around expecting to be somewhere else. This time however, Sam sat next to her, watching as she slept. "Were you watching me sleep?" she asked arching one brow and shaking her head. "Kinda creepy. I should report you to the town guards for being a peeping tom, or in this case a peeping Sam." she grinned and leaned in to kiss her quickly before sitting ba

Day three. Three long days with no word. No message. Nothing. Katoka was tired. She barely was getting any sleep. She had taken to spending her days on the couch, facing the door in the hopes that at many minute she would walk in. When she did sleep, it was for short periods of time on the couch as well. A blanket was tossed to the side for those times. Mugs upon empty mugs that had once held coffee accumulated on the coffee table, along with a few small plates here and there from when she could stomach to eat. The small samurai opened her UI to check for a message that wasn't t

"I love you too Sam." Kat kissed her love, feeling the warmth of her body pressed against hers. Then the kiss was over, and she felt Sam's hand in her own. But soon that too was slowly taken away. She watched as her wife to be walked out of the house and off to fight in a battle that could cost her life. Katoka didn't want Sam to see that she was scared, now that she was gone tears spilled from her eyes and she pressed her fingers against her lips in an attempt to feel her touch again. A small sob escaped from her lips she the blonde slumped against the kitchen counter. All she could do n

Turing around with a grin, Katoka eyed Freyd as he emerged from the darkness nearby. She arched a brow as he complimented her, her posture relaxed a bit when he assured her another prank wasn't in the works. Watching as he reached into the inky black and pulling out a wrapped weapon the samurai felt her eyes widen in surprise. She could almost feel the energy in the air, the electricity that emanated from it reaching out to her. Kat stepped forward and gave her friend a bow as well before reaching out to unwrap the cloth from the katana. It was exquisitely made, this she was sure of. As s

Katoka giggled, "No, it has buffalo sauce, it's an American thing. It's like a spicy chicken sandwich." she smiled and tried not to laugh again as to not upset Elora. It was cute watching her pick through the menu while talking out loud. After her decision was made Kat waved down the waiter NPC and the two placed their orders. "They don't actually have to cook the food since, you know, game. It just kind of spawns in after a time. They still make you wait though." "I think that regardless of updates things will get harder, especially the higher we advance through the floors. It seems like

Katoka blushed and puffed her cheeks up in a pout. "THAT'S RIGHT YOU BETTER RUN!" She called after him as she turned around and began to sprint in the direction of town. She knew that there was no way she'd find him with his ridiculous shadow jumping thing he did, but she could at least try and make it back to civilization before him to get the drop. Feeling the crackle of energy spread through her body, she tapped into what little she could of the rolling storm inside her. Her muscles contracted and expanded more quickly than they normally could, the electricity coursing through her causing h

The samurai let her shoulders droop and her mouth hang open as her quest partner obliterated the Avalanche in front of her. She knew he was stronger than her, but the difference in their strength never ceased to amaze her. Returning her katana to her saya she watched as Freyd rode a piece of the monster down the waves of snow rushing towards her. Taking his outstretched hand she climbed aboard the nose board as the two rode the wave to a stop. "Well now, I suppose we can dig our way back to the edge. Or..." she smirked as she crouched down and used the reality defying physics of the syste

Her face flush with embarrassment as Freyd pulled her from the snow, Katoka's eyes sparked with the flickering of anger. She brushed the snow from her face and hair, then flicked her sword to the side to remove any snow from it's edge. Taking a deep breath she assumed a more controlled stance and smirked, "Let's try this again then." The muscles in her legs tightened and she sprung forward as if tugged by an invisible force. Her katana glowed with the charge of her sword art, a pale almost white blue light that streaked across the battlefield. A metallic ring sounded out as steel struck c

The mention of her upcoming wedding filled Katoka's stomach with butterflies. She was nervous and excited, but it never seemed like the right moment to execute the ceremony. The mention of gear as a gift definitely perked her up, followed by a giggle at the thought of Freyd ruining the ceremony. It did warm her heart at the mention of him and Elora getting along well, she didn't care what the pace was as long as they were happy. "You both deserve all the happiness you can get from one another, no matter the speed. I'm glad things are going well." she gave him a warm smile. Looking ou

Katoka laughed, she was enjoying their time together. After what had happened, it was nice to even pretend to get back to normal in some fashion. "Hmmm, they have pretty much everything here. It's what makes it such a popular spot during the dinner rush." taking a look at the menu the samurai grinned, "I know what I'm getting, the buffalo chicken sandwich." Continuing to look over her menu despite being done she read a few other items. "Honestly I love their sandwiches here, I'd recommend almost any of them." tipping her menu down Kat looked out of the window to watch the NPCs and players

Katoka took a shuddering breath and let herself succumb to her desires as she pressed herself into Sam. ----- After a time they were both out of breath and sweating. Kat pulled herself close to Sam and kissed her neck, sighing as she held her close. It had been too long since they had been together like this and it was apparent that they both needed to let off steam. A few minutes passed and Katoka's stomach growled, she blushed and looked up at Sam. "I might be a bit hungry now." she kissed Sam's nose and attempted to wriggle free from her, "I can grab you something as well fro

"I guess we've gained quite a few members if we can strengthen the front lines now." Kat said as she changed direction with Freyd. The amount of high level players seemed to have jumped recently, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She was more worried that the newer frontliners wouldn't realize that max level alone wasn't enough to make them strong. Shaking her head she brought herself back to the task at hand. "So how have things been with you and Elora? Did you finally talk with her?" she asked, curious as to how her two friends relationship was progressing. Last she had heard, the t

"Oh? Older than me huh?" she grinned, "Guess I should call you older sister eh?" Katoka listened as Elora told her about her family and past. She wasn't that different from herself in a way. "Don't worry, I wasn't a try-hard at all. After getting bullied in middle school I just kind of, stopped interacting with people at school. I wanted to stay at home all the time but my mom made go. She said it was 'good for socializing' even though I didn't. I had friends online that I played games with. That was my socializing." she shrugged nonchalantly, "But she didn't see it that way." When t

The cold bit into Katoka like several needles and she wished the clear condition for this quest allowed for the use of the <<Survival>> skill. Trudging along in the snow she followed Freyd, hoping that the path to the monster hadn't changed too much since the last time. Pulling her scarf up over her face she quickened her pace so she could keep up with Freyd's stride and punched him lightly in the arm. "Thanks cowl head." she smirked from behind the cloth. "So how goes the frontlines? Is it true that you guys have already found the next floor boss?" She was curious, after

Katoka kissed her soon to be wife softly. One hand holding Sam's face while the other slid it's way to rest on the small of her back. She felt her own tears that she was trying to hold back begin to fall and mix with Sam's, though hers were ones of happiness and longing. They had put off their wedding for far too long and at this point, Kat wasn't even sure why they had. When they both finally stopped kissing for a moment, the blonde had realized she had at some point crawled into Sam's lap. She looked up at her with big, wanting eyes, before she rested her head against her chest and let out a

Kat couldn't help but laugh. Freyd was right in a way. Being scared of dying but going out to fight an ice monster? Probably not the best idea, but she was determined to face her fears head on. As Freyd wrapped the large fur blanket around her, she gripped it like her light depended on it. The warmth it provided along with his kindness began to settle her anxiety, allonging her tears to slowly stop and her breathing to return to normal. The blonde listened to her friend as he consoled her, his words surrounding her like an extra layer of comfort. "That's why I came out here. To fight

"What happened to you?" Katoka flinched at that. Was she really that bad at hiding it? She must had been. "It was... brutal Freyd. The rain wouldn't let up. It was a constant, unrelenting, disgustingly cold storm." she rubbed her arms again in an attempt to stave off a chill that wasn't there. "The black ichor that fell from the sky just kept rising and rising. We all made our way to high ground as bast we could. I ran into Elora along the way and kept her with me. I kept her safe for as long as I could." She looked up at Freyd, her eyes filling with tears and guilt, "I did Frey

"Don't focus too much on me, you won't be able to fight the boss if you're too distracted." she smiled and hugged Sam tightly. She laid down with her and held her close, "We can stay here as long as you need." Kat kissed her forehead softly and patted her head as she cried. She was worried, but she wanted Sam to feel at ease so that she could focus on the fight at hand. Katoka did something she hadn't done since she was back home comforting her little sister, she began to hum a song. Softly and calmly she hummed a tune that her mother had used to comfort her, and that she in turn used to calm

Katoka was shocked at first. The thought of the front lines, the danger, the strength of the bosses, it scared her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, holding tight onto Sam's hand before responding. "Honey, I'm not mad if that's what you think. I'm... Scared. For you." she looked into her watery eyes and smiled softly, "It was going to happen eventually. I know how strong you are. It's selfish of me to want you to stay away." Kat shifted herself on the bed so that she was cross legged and facing Sam batter, "Please, just promise me that you'll be safe. Because if something happe

Kat jumped at her companion's sudden appearance. She turned to see the ragged figure as he walked around and sat across from her, a smirk on his face. "On of these days Freyd." she mimed punching her fist into her empty hand, she was grinning the entire time. "If it wasn't for Cardinal and this damn update we wouldn't have to repeat this quest for a damn skill." she fussed as she took another sip of her drink. "I appreciate you coming though, should be a breeze like last time." Hiding a guilty face behind her mug she pretended to sip her drink again before she answered, "Sam and I ha

Katoka had spent most of the day inside Firm Anima's halls doing research, as she liked to do, on various quests. With things being so different since Cardinal updated things she was cross referencing and even updating a few of the logs the guild had. She realized that it was dark out and cursed under her breath, she was trying to be better about getting sleep but when she was focused she tended to loose track of time. After a few minutes of returning books and maps to their places she saved her notes in her hud and collected her things. The blonde waved and said her goodbyes to anyone she pas

Sitting inside the warm confines of the White Rabbit Tavern, Katoka took a sip of her coffee in the hopes that it would stave off the cold on the fourth floor. Looking irritated she once again opened her hud to check her messages. After learning that you could now receive an extra skill from a quest she had already done made her a bit annoyed. "Stupid Cardinal, making me have to come down here to this damn icebox of a level again." she pouted and took another sip of her drink. She had sent an invitation to Freyd again, might as well have him tag along like last time. They worked well together

Katoka smiled sadly, thinking about home. Elora bringing up the outside was not something everyone trapped inside the game did often. "It's fine, sometimes it's good to think about what you've left behind. I was in my final year of high school, I guess now I'm way past that point." She laughed and bumped her shoulder against Elora's. "I miss my family. My mom, my dad, my little sister. You remind me a lot of her actually." She felt a surge of emotion that she hadn't thought about in a long time. Katoka wrapped her arm around Elora's and rested her head on her shoulder; the comfort of her warmt