[PP-F1] First Impressions

[Miaki 0]

"Teleport! <>!" The shimmering blue light enveloping Miaki started to dissipate as he returned from one of the upper levels to the starting city and the acting main hub for players in Sword Art Online. Because no housing was available for players to purchase yet, most of them took up residence in the various inns and taverns scattered throughout the <>. With the last of the light now vanishing, Miaki saw the familiar sights of the towering buildings. The city was, as usual, busting with activity as players and NPCs interacted with each other. Buying, selling, starting quests, turning in quests, and many of the other various things players can do in SAO.

Stepping off of the elevated arch known as the <> which took players between the various floors that had been liberated so far. A gentle breeze tugged away at Miaki's light-brown jacket, which he liked to keep open to allow the wind to rustle it about behind him. Underneath this he wore a olive green tunic over a long sleeved white button-up shirt. His khaki pants had a small layer of dust over them as well his brown leather boots. His glasses shined off some of the sunlight overhead, bringing a slight glare to his eyes. He reached up to adjust his light-brown fedora, blocking the sun from his face. What else was there for him to do today he wondered.

[Nikki Styx 0]

It had been a long few days for the Blue haired tank known as Nikki Styx. She had spent her time back on floor 1 helping to teach other low level players how to better fight in the game. She had wanted to help liberate them from the crutch of the Cities walls and give them the experience they needed to venture out and make a living in this game. Her belief was that one could not live in the cities. That they were simply waiting to die. Yes they may die outside fighting, but they would be alive until then. However to ensure there survival she would teach them and take them out herself, giving them valuable xp and advice as she went.

Unfortunately now she was dreadfully tired and not paying any sort of attention to where she was going. In this busy street that was a recipe for disaster, one that quickly manifested as she bumped into another player and fell onto her behind. She took a second to get herself together before looking up at the man she had walked into. He was well dressed, if not a little dusty. It almost looked like he was returning from outside, or some other task. She had wanted to say something, but it had been her who had been in the wrong. Instead she sighed and rolled up onto her knees to keep from showing the world her under garments. "Im really sorry bout that" She said with a small blush

[Miaki 0]

Miaki was always told to watch where he was going. His mother would scold him for his habit of reading and walking telling him that he would hurt himself or someone else. His father would insist that Miaki wasn't paying attention when he was biking and using a bluetooth to talk on the phone. Even some of his friends would tell him to mind his surroundings otherwise beauty would pass him by and he'd be fully unaware. Beauty like what he saw before him. Seeing as most of the time things like this were his fault, Miaki automatically came to the assumption that he'd just walked into this woman.

"I'm really sorry bout that." She said, sitting on the ground still.

Miaki stopped immediately and reached down to help her up. "Oh no, the fault way all mine. Are you alright my lady?"

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki took his hand with a smile, he certainly was a kind person, especially considering she had just walked into him. As she stood up she dusted herself off, brushing first her front, then her back, before turning to look at the stranger. "I'm really sorry. I know its no excuse, but I've just been really tired and I should have been looking" She was still smiling and she even held out her hand now for him to shake. "I'm Nikki Styx..." she introduced herself with a courteous shake of the hand and a polite bow.

She had been surprised by his kind words, and kinder gesture, many people on this floor would have told her off, some might have even come after her for it. It was sad to think that that's how bad this floor had become. It was however nice to see that there were still a few nice people left here. "I can't say I've seen you around before... You must have been great at keepin out of sight"

[Miaki 0]

Nikki Styx introduced herself offering her hand in greeting which Miaki shook then leaned forward and kissed the back of her hand. "A pleasure to meet you Nikki. My name is Miaki Murakami." Removing his hat, Miaki took a small step back, placed is right arm across his waist, and returned with a bow.

"I can't say I've seen you around before... You must have been great at keepin out of sight"

Miaki placed his fedora back on his head. "Hahaha, well I will admit to having had a slow start in here. In fact it wasn't until recently where I started getting myself away from this floor. I'm trying to get leveled up and ready for the front lines. Now you my friend,-" He said pointing at Nikki. "I'm sure that I'd remember seeing you before. Do you live around this floor? Or do you live on one of the other levels?"

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki blushed at her hand being kissed, but managed to hold it together. This guy was certainly a charmer. He had introduced himself as Miaki, it was a nice name, sounded great, though the meaning eluded her, if it had any. So he had had a slow start, nothing wrong with that. "Better late than never" She said in a chipper voice. "And no I tend to stay up on floor 4 mostly. I enjoy the snow, its quiet and surprisingly cozy" She took a look behind him, seeing the teleporter he had used. So he had come from somewhere else too. No surprise as many people tended to come and go from here just for its familiarity.

"You live here, or just visiting?" She asked as she nodded at the teleporter. One thing for sure Nikki was perceptive, and if she wanted to know something she could usually figure it out by guessing. She took a second stretching herself out and then spoke again. "I like to come down here and help teach other players how to get ahead in this game. I try to help as many people as I can." She spoke as if she were some hero going out of her way to save the world, luckily she caught her self and immediately corrected herself. "I mean.. I try.. I just want to help."

[Miaki 0]

Well that's kind of you to help players out down here. I can tell you that it really does make a difference in the attitude down here when people come down here and help them out." He quickly glanced Nikki over and deducted that her case of fatigue was due to having spent alot of time helping players not too long ago. "I personally just came back from visiting the 2nd floor. He said, rotating his body a little and throwing his thumb over his shoulder pointing back at the <>. "Right now I live in an inn on this floor nothing special at all. Eventually I plan to move myself up to one of the other floors but haven't gotten around to that yet."

Miaki searched his mind for any reason he might have that has prevented him from leaving this floor. Coming up with nothing he resumed their conversation. "Wait. You live on the snow covered 4th floor?" He started to get noticeably excited with the topic of snow. It reminded him of when he was a little boy, before his family moved to a southern state in America. "I've not yet been to that floor. What is it like up there?"

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki was caught off guard by his sudden excitement about the 4th floor. It reminded her of her early weeks there. Now she still loved it, probably just as much as she had before, but the novelty and newness of it was gone. It was no reason to get excited, because she could always go there, she knew it all, or atleast the town, inside and out. After a moment she smiled fondly. "Ya know its just the best place. It has a vendor who sells hot chocolate that is better than anything you can get in the real world, and a tavern that sells cider that is just unbelievable... Im sorry I don't have any to offer right now, I normally carry some with me." She stopped for a moment trying to remember if she actually had finished it all, though she knew she had.

"The best part though is waking up and looking out the window at the snow covered streets and walkways. Seeing the white tree tops, and the icicles. Its like Christmas everyday." She stopped talking and began to blush furiously having spoken with such passion to someone who she had just met. It was a new thing to be able to get so emotional, and express such happiness, and it would often cause her some degree of embarrassment. She smiled again brushing a strand of hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki tried his hardest to not get too excited while listening to Nikki as she described the forth floor to him, but was sure that he was failing miserably. Up to this point Miaki had only frequented the first and second floors, exploring them to the fullest. Anything beyond the two floors was full of mystery, wonder, and excitement to him. "I'll certainly have to visit that floor very soon." After being in SAO for as long as they had been, Mikai finally started to become like his normal outgoing self. Now, working hard to make up for lost time, he was doing his hardest to catch up to the front liners.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. She had the distinct impression that he hadn't gone too far around yet, but the gear he was carrying and the dust on his clothes suggested he was trying. Perhaps it was just a matter of having assistance. There were so many times that players had to help her out, either getting up to a new floor, or simply teaching her better ways to fight, maybe that was all he needed. If anything he seemed as though he would be visiting her floor, so that was at least something."Make sure you have warm clothes.. it can get very cold. N if you make it up there I'll be sure to show you around."

She took a second to pull up her menu's and check the time. It was still early, and given the friendly nature of Miaki she figured it would be a shame to leave now. "What are you up too? It seems I have some time before I have to go home, so If you want we can keep this up." She wanted to get home before dark, lord knows floor 4 really got cold after sundown, and the Inn was a fair walk from the main gate, but she still had time.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki glanced where one would wear a wristwatch in the real world. "Heh, old habits die hard." He checked the time on his interface and looked back to Nikki. She was closing her menu and already looking at him again.

"What are you up too? It seems I have some time before I have to go home, so If you want we can keep this up."

"Well now that I think about it, there are some nice cafes here and on the second floor. You should have about an hour or two before the sun gets too low. We could get something warm before you return to the cold of the fourth floor. What do you say?"

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki nodded with a smile. She appreciated that he was smart enough to understand that her floor would get colder with the sun down, even for not being there. He clearly had a good amount of common sense. That and his politeness made for a combination that she would be hard pressed to say no to, so instead she agreed. "I'm afraid I don't know much about what's good here so you'll have to lead the way."

[Miaki 0]

Miaki looked around them trying to get his bearings to one place he saw in passing once before. "There is one place I've heard of that has a great view of the city as well as great hot drinks. I don't recall the name but I know where it is. It's in one of these taller buildings on the north end. It would be my pleasure to lead you there." With that they started walking toward the <> of the populous city on the first floor.