[PP-F11] Opposites Attract?! (Lowenthal)

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka sighed, her eyes filled with disappointment as she arrived here on the eleventh floor. She had indeed never been here before and she was unsure of what adventures that might await her here on the first floor of the intermediates. She had heard that this was a nice place and it sure was nice that she was able to see a nice place for once having been stuck in a graveyard for quite a while. Indeed, she sucked up a patch of air before putting up her hood and starting to walk while studying the town. Her pink hair was half covered by the hood of her black cloak and her beautiful, stunning eyes were well-covered from the public sight. Her eyes were a shade darker than she used to have and her voice was a lot deeper than she had prior to the exclusive event. That fateful event which changed her a lot. A drastic amount that had managed to turn her life and personality upside down and she didn't like it at all. It wasn't as if she wanted to be like this. Indeed, she had tried to find something in her life which she could take love and pride for but she had nothing. Zelrius, someone she had tried to please for a long time had disappeared and became missing. He had never really liked her anyway. Honestly, she couldn't find anyone in this world which she had a connection with. Sure, Greg Baxen was there... But... Shizuka had lost her feelings for him. The love was no longer there and once it disappears, there was no point in staying together. Shizuka sighed and opened the door to a European style cafe before looking around to see everyone doing whatever they were doing. She walked over to the counter grumpily and ordered a cup of coffee from the waitress.

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal had decided to visit the town again. Well, more of a city really, but he was glad he could walk along its streets as a green player. The buildings of the italian renaissance was like the city of love. Or it least, it carried that feeling around. Lowenthal had yet to find anyone he was interested in since Clarence has left him so many months ago. He entered a bar where he could take a break from walking. As he walked in he sat at the counter, next to him was a person in a black cloak. He recognized the cloak, it was one he made. "H-Hey, I made that cloak your wearing. Nice to see someone who has a good taste." Lowenthal said, waving away the waiter. This person was much more interesting than a drink right now.

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka looked over at a voice that seemed to come from her right. With a frown, she looked over to see someone that she hadn't seen before. She took another sip of coffee while taking her time to check the man out. He had claimed that he had made her cloak but that was the wrong assumption. Of course, either the man had some problems with memory or he had mistaken her cloak for something. Indeed, she had actually ordered this cloak from Kayla, better known as Ariel, the highest ranked tailor in the game. Of course, as she was now part of the greatest guild in the game, she needed the greatest equipment as well. With a sigh, she looked over at the man and spoke quietly. "I'm afraid you have mistaken this cloak for something that you have made. It was actually created by Ariel." Shizuka said and with a slight smile, she had another drink of coffee and realized that the orange haired guy was still sitting there. "May I get you something to drink?" She asked politely, not wanting to be rude to someone that she had just. Plus, the guy looked so happy and cheerful... Something that she hadn't experienced in a long time. Keep that happiness... It is something to cherish. Shizuka thought, holding back a bit of tear and feeling her heart crumble for the millionth time since yesterday. 

Edited January 9, 2016 by Shizuka

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal chuckled. "Isn't this supposed to be the other way around? The handsome guy, buys the cute girl a drink. Or am I remembering this wrong?" Lowenthal said lightheartedly. "And Zelrius recently came to me, wanting a ton of capes for Azure. So, I'm sorry for mistaking yours. Did not mean to take credit, where it wasn't mine to take." Lowenthal said, apologizing. He thought for a moment. "But, don't let that stop you from buying me a drink." He said, chuckling. He leaned on the counter, to get a better look at the girl. "Hey, you alright? You're looking kind of down." Lowenthal said, somewhat concerned.

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka had been having a sip of her coffee when she heard the distant name of Zelrius. The name... It was familiar. Indeed, she hadn't heard of that boy's name for a while and well, the boy had gone missing for quite a long time now. No one had had a clue of where he is and one of the guild members, Daeron had already gone ahead and left the club. Indeed, the guild was a mess right now... More than half of its members were either depressed or troubled and now that they were without one of their greatest members, things were not looking bright at all. Shizuka sighed and that was when she realized that the orange-haired man had a connection to Zelrius. Indeed, she had been searching for him for a while now. There were two reasons as to why she was doing such a thing. One was because she wanted the leader to return and lead. The other reason was simply because she wanted an explanation... She wanted to know why the blonde had run away when everyone needed him, why he had disliked Shizuka, why he had given up. Shizuka's attention immediately turned towards the man.  "Zelrius? You know where he is? Please let me talk to him." Shizuka said. "Forget about the drink or my 'down'. I need to talk to him. He owes me something... Something important." 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal waved his arms in front of him. "I've got no idea where he's at. All I know is that I'm to replace his spot in Azure." Lowenthal said. Apparently, this woman needed to find Zel. But Lowenthal was honest. He had no idea where Zel went, or what he was doing. But, Lowenthal was curious. A lot of people knew Zelrius, and owed him a lot. But not one time had he heard of Zel owing someone else. "What does he owe you? I can't promise that I can help, but I'd like to at least try." Lowenthal said, trying to defuse the situation in front of him.

[Shizuka 0]

"What he owes me?" Shizuka repeated, looking down at the ground in disappointment. "He owes me an explanation. As a commandant, he had always been unsatisfied with my abilities and as a member, I'd always tried to please him. I have always resented him for not opening up to me and that resentment turned to hatred when I heard that he had gone and bought an exposed costume for a girl without permission." She finally finished and absorbed a moment of silence. "There's really not much you can do. Now that he has disappeared, I won't be able to accepted by the commandant and I won't be able to ask him for his reason of doing such a thing like buying such a poor clothing fashion for an innocent girl." Shizuka began once more and looked back at her coffee with a hard face filled with hardness. "This world really is hard eh. Seems like everyone's so sad all the time. You seem different, though... Maybe that is why Zelrius chose you as a commandant." Shizuka said before realizing that she wasn't being respectful towards the person that had claimed to be the replacement of Zelrius. "Uh. Sorry about that. I spoke too much... Mr....?" Shizuka asked, willing the name of her new commandant.

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal held back a chuckle. "Because he bought a skimpy outfit?" He said, almost laughing. "The whole, needing an answer thing makes sense, but that other thing." Lowenthal said, chuckling. "I'm sorry." He said, apologizing. He guessed that, made sense. Lowenthal leaned on the table, and thought for a moment. He could relate, he'd been hunting for Mari's appreciation for the longest time now. He sighed, knowing that feeling. "There's nothing you can do about it." He said. "If they dislike you, they will until one of two things. You change yourself entirely and become someone different. Or, something about your life changes. Either it be money or power." Lowenthal said. He smiled. "Lowenthal. Master of Shadows." He said, holding out his hand. "And it's apleasure to meet someone from the workplace, in a non-work environment." He said, smiling

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka, still thinking about her half-drunk coffee and the word exchange a few minutes ago, was hesitant to shake the orange-haired man's hand. Finally, she figured that if she was going to have to have him as her guild commandant, she might as well get to know him better. Plus, he seemed interesting enough for a first encounter. Shizuka smiled and silently took the man's hand and gave it a short, firm shake before releasing. "I'm Shizuka. Healer of the Azure Brigade." Shizuka said, turning back to her coffee and taking a few sips until she finished it all. Without looking, she clutched onto the cup and tossed it behind her where a garbage can was conviently placed. Hence, the cup fell through the garbage can like a basketball going into a basket hoop. Woah. I didn't expect that to look so cool. Shizuka thought, not turning her head by looking with extended vision. Brilliant. She finished and looked back at the menu. I sure could use a bit more coffee. Shizuka thought, pointing a finger at her chin while scanning the menu for anything interesting. 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal chuckled, as he shook her hand. "A pleasure." He said, watching her nonchalantly throw her trash into a bin from across the room. Without even looking as well. "Hey, nice shot." He said, complimenting her. It was, pretty cool. But it was just throwing trash across the room. When she mentioned that she was the healer, Lowenthal thought of Zandra. "So, how'd you come about joining Azure?" Lowenthal asked, curious. He looked at the drink menu, and perused it. From what he could tell, this was definitely a coffee shop, and a poor one at that. It had 'coffee' and three choices basically. Of course there were different flavours, and blends. But to Lowenthal they all tasted the same. "On second thought, I might pass on that drink." Lowenthal said, putting down the menu. "Not much of a coffee guy." He said, chuckling.

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka ignored the orange haired man on his comment of her having a nice shot. Indeed, it must have looked pretty darn cool but she had truly just been too lazy to go ahead and walk over to the garbage can. Indeed, she had wanted to save her energy and she would've ignored the trash even if she had managed to miss the target. With a yawn, she ordered another coffee from a different waiter. She hadn't had much sleep recently as her mind had been rather bothered by the recent events that had taken place in her life here. She had lost interest in her lover and found him to be too plain, too simple and honestly, he hadn't been there when she needed her. After a while of inactivity, Shizuka had lost contact with him and honestly, she minded not. It wasn't as if Greg Baxen was a bad person... It was just that he was lacking something... Something that Shizuka could place her fingers on. Shizuka sighed and yawned once more as she waited and listened carefully to Lowenthal's questions. "How I came to be part of the Azure Brigade? Well, I didn't apply. It seems like someone managed to notice me and my 'potential' and they had a vote in which I was accepted into the guild. Of course, I accepted... I was not going to refuse an offer from the best guild in the game considering I was only level 10 or something back then." Shizuka explained and coughed. "Not much of a coffee guy huh? I'm sure they have other things on that menu." 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal looked at the menu again, still only finding coffee plastered all over it's pages. He sighed, realzing his blunder and flipped the page over. There of course, were several other drinks listed by flavour and type. After not seeing a 'smoothie' section, Lowenthal sighed. He missed his favorite drink, but he could live without it for a while longer. He pressed the display button on the menu, ordering himself a glass of water instead. They did have sodas, and other fruit flavored drinks. But nothing that was strawberry flavored. "I'm just getting a water, I thought this place had strawberry anything. But it's all like fruit punch and kiwi lime twist." He said, rubbing his neck. He felt a bit, awkward now. He had been starting to feel as if the conversation was a bit forced, and starting to run dry. "So, Shizuka. How old are you?" Lowenthal asked out of nervousness, hoping that it might somehow spark conversation.

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka yawned and rubbed her eyes. Nights of failure to sleep at really taken a toll on her body and she decided that as soon as she returns, she'll take one massive nap now that she managed to get a lot of things off her chest. Of course, that was when she heard the orange haired man ask her of her age. Indeed, Shizuka had been quite curious on the man's age as well. "Age? Don't you know that it is not polite to ask a lady of her age, sir?" Shizuka replied with a grin. Her tone had obviously been one of a joking tone. However, the man might not have gotten the message as Shizuka was quite serious most of the time. Ever since that event. Shizuka thought, clutching her fist in hatred and her teeth in utter fierceness. Still, she snapped back when she realized that Lowenthal was still waiting for an answer. "Uhm... I'm eighteen." Shizuka said, scratching her head, now that her hood was down and her hair was exposed. Shizuka had been quite open to this man. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he was her guild commandant now. Still, she felt that that wasn't the case as she had never been open with Zelrius. In fact, they haven't had a conversation such as this... ever. Not that Shizuka minded. The blonde haired man never liked her. However, this Lowenthal seemed a lot more friendlier and interested. In fact, Shizuka was sure Zelrius doesn't even know his age. "What about you?" Shizuka asked.

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal took a swig of his water as it arrived. "Eighteen huh? You look much younger, so I don't know if that's a good thing or not. Take it how you will. And slap me, if you see fit." Lowenthal said, with a chuckle. He took another drink, now looking at the woman sitting next to him. She questioned him now about his age. "Me? I'm, twenty two." He said proudly. He had only just recently turned twenty two. Long enough for it to still be an experience, but long enough to stop bragging about his birthday. "So, what's your favorite place in Aincrad so far?" Lowenthal asked, wanting to make actual conversation now.

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka's eyebrows rose as the man decided that saying she looked younger was a good idea. She sighed and looked at the waiter in the corner of the room. "That's the first time someone had said I looked younger than 18," She said lazily without making eye contact. "But it's not in my nature to slap someone out in the public." She finished with quite a sarcastic tone as she looked back at her newly made coffee. I'll definitely craft after this. She thought, picking up the cup and with a sudden unexpected burst, she felt the coffee cup drop. It was as if it was slow motion and despite Shizuka's fast reflexes, she was unable to dodge the attacks of the coffee that had come from the cup. The coffee had stained her black cloak and even though one could barely tell, she was still sad that her new cloak was contaminated. Oh well... I'll get it washed off soon enough. Shizuka thought but there was something more worrying to her. "My coffee..." She whispered quietly, staring at her now fallen and empty cup. At this point, her hood was fully off, freeing her long, pink hair from the shelter of her black hood, causing her true looks to reveal.

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal smiled. "Well, that's something we have in common then. I do enjoy not getting slapped." Lowenthal jested, as he looked at Shizuka. He saw her reach for her coffee, and then immediately drop it. The coffee spilled from the cup, coating the woman's cloak in a home-brewed mess. Fortunately he cloak had taken the brunt of the spill, but sadly it had taken the brunt of the spill. The cloak was now effectively stained, and it would be nearly impossible to get the stain out. "You alright?" Lowenthal asked, as he held back a stiffle. It seemed Shizuka was more concerned about her coffee than her clothing. But at least now Lowe was able to get a good look at the woman's face. Hazel eyes, and a pointed chin. And on top of that, pink hair. She looked like a younger Mari in Lowe's eyes, but he'd never say that aloud. "So, that's what was hiding in the hood? Gotta say, I am impressed. Didn't think a commandant of the Azure Brigade was so, cute." Lowenthal said, ordering a replacement coffee. "Try not to drop this one. Okay?" He jested.

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka blushed and looked away before putting on her hood once more. It's been a while since someone complimented her. Indeed, since she had arrived at this game, she had been taken granted by the people that she had interacted with. Indeed, there were several examples of this occurrence. One, of course, was how Zelrius treated her and others involving Greg Baxen's decreasing love for her and eventually, her loss of feeling for him and his unromantic methods. She had been exposed to unbelievable situations and well, no one had really noticed. No one had bothered to attempt to fix her depression and in this world, she was unimportant... Just another useless healer. Most people believed that she had been handed everything... Probably from her looks but during her short time as an actual active player, she had endured and faced some of the worst things imaginable in this cruel world of SAO. No one knows what it was like for Shizuka... No one in this world had sympathy and no one realized the pain Shizuka was in and even remotely tried to fix it. "Pardon you, my looks are not for you to be impressed or unimpressed with. The way you said it seems as if I am just a pawn. Thanks for the coffee though." Shizuka said, picking up the coffee and drinking it slightly.