PP/NK - F16 Beachside Dueling (Jomei / Open To Invite)

[Calrex 0]

With a small sigh Calrex appeared in the safe zone of the sixteenth floor as his eyes looked out at the island themed area, giving a small smirk. At some time in the past he had traveled to a similar island, although it was of course more modernized than the indigenous appearance of the huts and such. Nonetheless, he was sure that many of of the players would see it as a paradise.

"Well, yeah, it can be, until you end up stuck there for many years. I can definitely see someone getting stir crazy from the lack of traveling capability at a moment's notice."

Swiping on his menu the bluenette's casual combat clothing vanished, leaving only a pair of dark blue swim trunks attached to his lower body. However, there was a small black band around the elbow of his sword arm. As he gave himself a quick look over he gave a small smirk. It seemed all of his training may have had some form of physical change on his avatar. With his increase in damage and other stats, it began to reflect in his character's body. It wasn't excessively muscular, as he was sure many other male players had aimed for, but it was toned, hiding the strength that would have been betrayed by a bulkier appearance.

Clenching his right hand while bending at the elbow he looked forward as he put his hands into his pants pockets, "I wonder if there's anyone else in the area. Might as well check the current vicinity."

Pulling up his contact list he saw a name he had not seen in quite some time, "Huh, I guess Jomei's around here. Might as well stop by and say hello."

Sending out a PM to the ginger the bluenette pulled up his friend tracker, making his way over.

[Jomei 0]

This was a sensation he had not felt in ages, he thought to himself with a sigh of relief. His hands ran through his wet hair as the sound of excess water pitter pattered at his feet. Thanks to the addition to his new home with Zandra, this was the first shower he had taken in the two years he was stuck in Aincrad. Though bathing was not a necessity in the virtual world, it was still relaxing and was a nice reminder that he was still alive and had a life on the outside worth fighting for. With a squeak as he turned the knob, the water shut off, and Jomei stepped out of the steamy shower, placing a towel around his waist. 

Jomei had been away from those he cared about for awhile, aside form his fiancee of course. He was enjoying his retirement from the frontlines.. or at least he thought he was. As much as he loved life without any dangers, it was beginning to feel a bit boring. The man brought his hand up to the fogged over mirror and wiped it clean, giving him a good look of his face. He looked into his own olive green eyes, wondering if he had what it took to join back up with his brothers and sisters fighting to regain that life on the outside again. 

After drying himself off, Jomei raised his hand to open his inventory and scrolled until he came upon a casual outfit of his. With one tap, a pair of grey, denim pants appeared on his legs, followed by a quarter sleeve black shirt, and a pair or black shoes. Zandra was out for the day, something about giving out some of her overstock to low-leveled players, so the ginger was at a loss of what to do today. That was until a private message bleeped and got his attention. A curious Jomei tapped the icon, revealing a message from his old friend, Calrex, who was in the area. It would be nice for him to reconnect, so with a smile on his face and towel around his neck, Jomei send out a quick reply and stepped out onto his front porch to await his blue haired friend.

[Calrex 0]

As he continued to make his way towards Jomei's location Calrex gave a small sigh, moving some more large leaves out of his way. Making his way to the shoreline he looked out to see the calm blue waves which seemed to bring a calming sensation over him, moreso than he usually had when he was in combat. "I'm still in the safe zone, so I guess Jomei's somewhere on the beach."

Glancing over to the right the bluenette spotted the ginger-headed player as he gave a smirk, waving as he made his way over. Looking just behind where Jomei was located appeared to be a beach house, "Hey Jomei, didn't know you and Zandra got a beach house. Must be pretty awesome, heh."

Putting his hands into his jacket pockets he gave a casual smile, "In any case, how have you been man? It's been a while."

[Jomei 0]

From the rustling foliage at the edge of the sand emerged Calrex. He was able to recognize his friend due to the blue hair and his face, but unlike their usual meetings, Calrex was not wearing his ultramarine armor, or coat. This time, he was wearing nothing but a pair of swim trunks. Jomei grinned and raised his hand up over his head, waving to the blunet. "Hey there Calrex. Yeah, its fairly new, and we haven't been here too long." the man said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder to the building behind him. "Always nice weather, a nice view, and a bit of privacy." he said with a chuckle, looking back at the building before turning back to Calrex. "Yeah, it has been awhile.. I haven't been in much contact since I went into retirement from the front lines." he finished his sentence with a hint of regret. "Anyways, what brings you out here. Judging by those shorts, it seems as though you seem to stay on the beach for awhile." The man stepped up to the guard rail and rested his arms on it, slouching over slightly. 

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, well even if I'm not the first, let me say congrats on the new place. It's certainly in a very relaxing area, heh. Didn't know you completely retired though, heh. I just kinda figured you were on an extended hiatus from all that."

"Can't say I blame him. There's been a lot of madness on the frontlines for the past few battles, so rather than sticking through and potentially having more tragedy on your mind, a break is definitely a great idea."

With a smirk the bluenette made note of Jomei's attire. It certainly wasn't one that he would normally think of wearing for the beach, at least if he was going to swim, but of course some the ginger's house was right there it wasn't like he couldn't change into something for swimming within a few seconds. "Well, I figured I'd dress for the floor this time around. It's been a while since I wore these clothes though. Last time was for Lowenthal's beach party back on the eleventh floor. But it is nice to feel the warmth of the sun, even if it's simulated."

Walking over to the railing Jomei was resting on Calrex leaned against the railing as well, looking out at the beach, "So have you just been looking out here at the sights for the most part, or have you checked out any of the new floors as well? I haven't checked out the seventeenth floor yet, but from what I've heard it's a lot like being in Ancient Greece."

[Jomei 0]

Jomei smirked, "Well, aside from the NPC we purchased the house from, yeah you are the first. So thank you." Jomei's smile turned a bit more serious when Calrex mentioned his hiatus, ".. Between you and me, I'm not sure about this whole retirement thing.. Yeah, I'm enjoying the safety of my home, and spending the time here with my fiancee, but you can only stare out at the beach every day for too long." he chuckled lightly, "Also, I miss seeing all of you guys, and fighting for our lives. So if you see me pop up at one of the next boss meetings, don't be surprised." 

"Ah, Lowenthal's beach party.. That was a pretty long time ago. Pretty sure Lowe and Clarence were still a thing." he let out a sigh, "and I was still falling head over heels for Carmine..God I was such a hopeless romantic back then.. But enough about that, I suppose I could join you." Bringing his hand up, Jomei opened the small grey menu once again. Piece by piece, his clothing disappeared, and his pants were replaced by green swim trunks. For someone who had been away from fighting for awhile, he was still in great shape. All of his muscles were tone and visible, and thanks to his longer torso, his chest and abs were seemingly larger as well. He then took a step back before vaulting over the railing and landing in the sand in front of Calrex. "No actually, I haven't been up to that floor yet, though it sounds pretty exciting." 

[Calrex 0]

"Yeah, well, from the last time I saw Lowe he seemed to now be going out with another player named Shizuka, so I guess 'Clarenthal' is long gone. It's been a while since I last saw Clarence as well, so I can only guess he might have retired as a fighter as well. But I'll be sure to keep an eye out for you at the meetings heh. Although..."

"I guess if Jomei's planning to come back to the meetings, I should probably give him a heads up with what's going on."

"Let's just say there's some tension right now amongst the frontliners. A few players have been PKed during the raids, and apparently there's a presence of supposedly a player-killer guild by the name of Laughing Coffin. I don't remember if you were around for when that happened, but that seems to be the general current state of affairs, just so you have an idea of what you might be coming back to. In any case, enough of serious things for now."

Giving a small sigh the bluenette pushed off the railing, a smirk on his face, "In any case, Carmine huh? Geezes I haven't been in contact with her for more than a few months now. I wonder if she's even still planning to be a merchant, at least from when I last spoke to her."

Glancing over at Jomei's physique Calrex's smirk only grew. It definitely seemed that even though the ginger had been off the frontlines for a few raids, his form was still in good shape. A good thing, as from what the Ultramarine Knight recalled, he had gone for a striker build, meaning that he relied on speed, accuracy, and damage over defense.

"Well, if you're planning on coming back, how about we do a quick spar to see if you're still in good shape? Same thing as how we did the unarmed duel before, except this time we'll just use some sticks or something in place of our swords."

[Jomei 0]

"Him and I never crossed paths more than once.. so his whereabouts are just as unknown to me." Jomei said, placing his hands on his hips. "And yeah, I believe its Shizuka he is with now.. heh.. never imagined those two hitting it off like that." he smirked, hoping his sandy haired friend was happy and doing well. It had been awhile since he had last seen him. Back when they had rescued Piera and Lee no doubt... but those two once again had vanished from his life.

Calrex then gave a quick overview of what was going on on the frontlines. For the most part, Jomei knew it all. He was there for the slaughter of Zelrius and Ssendom, and the mention of this Laughing Coffin from Opal's lips. The Irishman nodded grimly, "I know. I was there during the Floor Fifteen raid when it all happened..." he looked down at the sand, trying now to bring those thoughts back to his mind. "One of the reasons why I cut back for awhile and took a break."

"She's dead." Jomei said, cutting off Calrex before he could go any further. "Checked the Monument not too long ago.. see how everyone was doing. Her name, etched off.." he shrugged his shoulders, a sad tone in his voice. "Guess something must have gotten to her, or she did it herself.. I don't know." He looked up at the sky and spoke softly to himself, "Honestly.. I wish I could have seen her one last time." He shook his head, "Ah.. but now is not the time to dwell on the past." 

The ginger smirked at his friends offer, "Sounds like a good idea to me." His eyes scanned the beach for some pieces of driftwood that the two could use as weapons. Walking around the the side of his house that faced the ocean, the man found two pieces of wood, each about 3 to 4 feet in length. Perfect for a child pretending to wield a sword. He then brought the sticks back to Calrex, tossing one to his friend. "These should do just fine."

[Calrex 0]

OOC: Same rules as last time. We roll the CD to determine what type of attack we're using, and the first to five hits is the winner. As usual we also roll the unmodified LD to determine who throws the opening attack.
CD Results:
1-4 = Quick Strike (Rock)
5-8 = Strong Blow (Paper)
9-12 = Counterattack (Scissors)

IC:

"Oh...I didn't even realize. I'm sorry to hear that."

"I only met her once or twice, but Carmine seemed to be a good person with a steady head on her shoulders. To think that she's gone...I guess in some ways that's just the reality of this world. It's twisted...darn it I wish I could have been around to help..."

Giving a small curse under his breath the bluenette pushed the thought out of his mind as he looked over to see the ginger-headed swordsman pick up a couple of sticks, tossing one over to him. With a smirk he picked it up, feeling the weight of the branch. It was certainly lighter than any of the weapons he once wielded, but he also figured since this was a casual spar he might as well also see if the skills he once learned in the real world might be of use. They of course wouldn't be useful to activating Sword Arts, but this wasn't a battle about dealing damage, only connecting hits. "Excuse me a sec Jomei. Since we're simply practicing, I figure I might as well see if I haven't lost my touch with some old techniques I dabbled in."

With his grin growing he walked over and found one more branch, about equal in length to the one his opponent had tossed him, picking it up in his non-dominant hand. Flipping it into a icepick grip he walked back over, giving a nod, "If you want to test some stuff out too feel free. Honestly I doubt that I'll be wielding Dual Blades any time soon, so we might as well make the most of this while we can, heh."

ID: 64102
Loot Dice: 1 (facepalm)

[Jomei 0]

ID: 64129
LD: 16 (First Hit)
CD: 8 (Strong Blow)

"I think I'm going to stick with just this for now." Jomei said as he brought the long stick up to his front and held it with the tip pointing at Calrex, just as he would if it were his usual rapier, "I've been out of the game for a few months now.. so I may be a bit rusty with my regular techniques." The man moved the stick up and down gently, testing the weight. It was light, but since the rapier was known for being a lighter weapon, it would not take Jomei too much to adjust. Once he was ready with his own 'weapon' he looked across to Calrex, who was standing there, dual wielding two sticks. Jomei raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Ready?" 
 

Jomei knew that he had speed on his side. Calrex was not only a tank, but could pack a punch.. both with a weapon and without. His speed, however, was in question. Jomei's build was focused solely on just that, and slowly cutting down those that could not keep up with his speed. That being the case, he needed to get the first hit here. As soon as Calrex gave Jomei his reply, he grabbed the stick with a second hand and brought it down to his side, charging forward kicking up a large cloud of sand behind him. The man ran moving side to side to try and throw off Calrex's line of sight. Once he was in range, and on his right side, Jomei swung his stick hard, colliding directly with the man's shoulder.

[Calrex 0]

ID: 64141
Craft Dice: 12 (Counterattack)

As Jomei took the initiative and charged forward Calrex gave a calming breath, bringing his body into a squared position. His sword arm bent at a 90 degree angle, his fist facing upwards and stick pointing behind him. His left arm came across hist stomach, the fist aimed towards his right as the other stick's point directed forward. Even though the non-dominant sword was in a reverse grip, the stance was clearly an arnis dual weapon position.

"Jomei's extremely fast, as characteristic of his build as a damage dealer. I normally would be able to endure his assault, but this time we're scoring for hits, not overall damage. Meaning I'll need to play this carefully."

For a second the ginger vanished from Calrex's sight as he got behind him, but as the bluenette sensed the incoming strike from the side, tuned from the many months of fighting creatures and players alike in SAO, as he quickly turned. His right wrist oriented itself into a vertical guard, stopping Jomei's attack as he continued his rotation. His left hand came around, the second stick coming low at Jomei's shin.

Duel Count:
Calrex: 1/5
Jomei: 0/5

[Jomei 0]

In a flash, Jomei's strike was blocked by one of Calrex's sticks. Olive eyes widened in shock, for Jomei was sure that there was no blocking his initial strike. Jomei, however, had forgotten that the bluenette was dual wielding, and his second weapon struck Jomei in the shin. With a grunt, the Irishman stumbled backwards, but quickly regained his composure. The ginger glared over at his opponent, showing his teeth with a low growl. The man slowly lowered his body back into his fighting stance, holding his impromptu sword so it pointed forward. 

This time, Jomei would go on the defensive. Taking in a deep breath, he focused on Calrex's moves and stance, taking in a deep breath. He slowly began to circle the man without breaking eye contact. Gently spinning his wrist, Jomei would make small circles in the air with his rapier-stick, waiting for Calrex to strike so he could attempt to parry the attack and go in for his own attack. 

ID 64352
CD 10 (Counterattack)

Duel Count:
Calrex: 1/5
Jomei: 0/5

[Calrex 0]

ID: 64366
Craft Dice: 4 (Quick Strike)

As Calrex gave a quick exhale after securing the first strike he watched as Jomei composed himself and assumed a more defensive stance, the stick trained on the bluenette's form as the faux rapid began to spin to the left and right, as if tracing a horizontal figure eight in the air. From what he knew of watching various fencing videos back in the real world, it was a defensive motion designed to protect both sides from incoming attack, and one that was good for drawing the enemy in and countering swiftly.

"I've got to make my next attack count, just like the previous one."

Bending his back leg he shifted his foot so that he was on the ball, rather than the entire sole, planting it into the ground. At the same time his arms came forward, his left shoulder forward. The position shortened the reach of his back arm, his reverse gripped sword in front. Watching the rotation of the blade he continued to steady his breathing, timing it as his eyes followed the trail of the blade.

Right as the tip of Jomei's sword trailed to the outside of his left Calrex stepped forward, thrusting his left hand forward, the sword in a vertical positioning. The two sticks collided to the left. At the same time he shot his right hand forward in a low stab for the ginger-headed man's gut.

"The main thing I need to keep in mind is that wielding two swords, I always need to be defending and attacking at the same time. I don't have the strength to deflect a two-handed weapon because of the lack of leverage. At the same time it requires more active focus, because wielding both hands independently of each other does not come naturally."

Duel Count:
Calrex: 2/5
Jomei: 0/5

[Jomei 0]

"Oof!" Jomei exhaled sharply as Calrex's second stick penetrated Jomei's defenses and shoved him right in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. "Psh, dirty move.." he said with a smirk as he took a couple of steps backwards, needing to rethink his strategy. Obviously parrying Calrex's attacks would be tough for him, since he could very simply block with one stick and attack with the other. On the other hand, Jomei did not have the brute strength Calrex did with his build.. so going in for heavy attacks would be tough.. though.. Jomei dug his front foot into the sand and clenched the bottom of his weapon with both hands. He then charged forward, holding his stick to the side as if he wielded a straight sword rather than a light rapier. 

He hoped his plan would work, to throw Calrex off. He would throw all of his strength behind the initial strike, which would be simple for Calrex to block with both of his weapons. However, as soon as Jomei would catch an opening, he would go back in with a swift strike to catch him off guard. He only hoped Calrex would take the bait..

ID 65371
CD 3 (Quick Strike)

Duel Count:
Calrex: 2/5
Jomei: 0/5

[Calrex 0]

ID: 65476
Craft Dice: 3 (Quick Strike)

The change in stance and strategy was certainly something that Calrex was not expecting this time around. As Jomei rushed towards him, his sword in a horizontal positioning for a strong swing. He already knew that the rapier user's two handed swing would trump the amount of strength he could put behind a single sword, meaning that he either had to block or dodge. This time around, it appeared he would have to block. Bringing his hands side by side he quickly braced for the impact, the stick smashing into both of his own.

Looking out of the side of his eye he saw that the ginger had weaved to the other side. The strong strike was a leading attack, one meant to force him to guard to one side, leaving the other exposed. His left hand quickly shot to the side, targeting as his own swift attack parried the incoming strike, "Whew, close on that one Jomei! Nice trick with the change in attack."

Duel Count:
Calrex: 2/5
Jomei: 0/5

[Jomei 0]

ID 65708
CD 7 (Strong Blow)

Jomei's eyes went wide again, "What the hell?"  The Irishman slid his weapon off of Calrex's before performing a backwards handspring and landing in the sand a couple of meters behind him. Raising back up to his feet, Jomei smirked, "What I get for taking so long of a break I suppose."  He would need to push himself a little bit harder if he had any expectations of winning this fight. Last time they had dueled like this, they were both active on the front lines, and therefore were more evenly matched. Though in a normal fight, Calrex would surely have kicked Jomei's ass... much like he was right now. Maybe if I try throwing in some sword arts... he thought to himself. The man glared across at Calrex before taking a couple of steps backwards. Bending his knees, he lowered himself to the ground, taking the position of a runner in a race. As his back foot pushed him forward, he kicked up some sand and charged at Calrex, his speed increasing as he moved in closer. He brought his right hand back, still pointing at Calrex. The man then launched forward, as if using his Flashing Penetrator move, and he jabbed his stick forward, aiming to hit Calrex in the gut with a powerful strike. 

[Calrex 0]

ID: 65710
Craft Dice: 6 (Strong Blow)

After guarding against Jomei's previous attack Calrex felt his arm and the shock of the sudden movement. Unlike his other movements, the sudden forced guard had caused his muscle to tense for a second. Even though SAO was a simulated reality, he could still certainly feel certain aspects being replicated by his mind, including nerve shocks. However, there was no time to recover as Jomei came at him once again, his stick pointed forward as if he was using one of the rapier Sword Arts, <<Flashing Penetrator>>

The bluenette swore for a second he saw the streak of light iconic of an activated Sword Art, but he immediately shook it off. The attack was coming towards him, but with his current equipment, two "weapons" he was incapable of activating his own movements for Sword Arts, as only the wielder of the <<Dual Blades>> unique skill had such an ability.

Nonetheless, that didn't mean he lost his own real world experience to draw upon. Quickly slipping his left hand stick into a hammer grip he dropped his body low while his sticks came upwards in an X guard. Jomei's own stick slid in the gap between, being redirected upwards from the rising guard.

As he reached a full crouch Calrex pushed upwards with his shoulders and legs simultaneously, tilting his wrists to that they angled the sticks more forward before using his forearms to push away and upwards. The intersection of his sticks moved slowly further and further upwards before parting at the top, knocking Jomei's stick away. If he had directed it at the ginger himself, it would have been a scissor cut aimed towards the man's neck, but since the quicker fighter attacked first he could only use it for defense.

"Well that long break sure hasn't left you slower! That attack came out ridiculously fast! If it weren't for the fact it didn't become assisted by the system you probably would have gotten me."

Duel Count:
Calrex: 2/5
Jomei: 0/5

[Jomei 0]

ID 65714
CD 6

There was no time for chatting about his attack, which Calrex had once again blocked with ease. From what it seemed, however, his quick attacks left Calrex unable to attack himself. Jomei would need to keep up with the relentless strikes until he could finally land a hit on Calrex, turning the tide of battle. 

As his stick was redirected into the air above him, leaving him standing awkwardly with his arm pointing straight up, followed by his stick, he thought about what to do next. Another quick attack to throw Calrex off would be his best bet, and with the position the bluenette was in to block Jomei's attack, it could just work. Following the motion of his stick moving backwards, Jomei continued the motion, drawing a circle with his arm, looking like the hand of a clock. Pushing himself into the air slightly, Jomei's stick just scraped at the sand, but continued forward like an uppercut, Calrex's jaw as his target. 

[Calrex 0]

ID: 65717
Craft Dice: 9 (Counterattack)

As the <<Flashing Penetrator>> esque attack was deflected Calrex eyes watched as Jomei's sparring weapon came around, like following the path of a sun through orbit, coming back around in an uppercut fashion. Had the stick gone any deeper into the sand it might have done the simultaneous trick of sending sand into the bluenette's eyes, temporarily distracting him to open up a clear path for the attack. However, even if it didn't do so the rising blow was building momentum, and coming in fast.

His own two sparring sticks were still coming back down from his double arcing upward blows to block the stab, but the good part was that their momentum was carrying them downwards, in the same direction the uppercut was coming from. Quickly standing upright Calrex brought his two sticks into a lower X-guard, right stick on top of left, intercepting the rising blow. Upon feeling the three connect he pushed to the side with his right arm, deflecting the force to his left side.

The transition broke the X-guard, but at the same time positioned his two sticks for a double beat strike to Jomei's side. Since the recovery for the uppercut was still in effect the bluenette quickly spun to his right side, both sticks coming from the left side to the ginger-headed man's centerline, one aimed for the neck and the second for the hip.

Duel Count:
Calrex: 3/5
Jomei: 0/5

[Jomei 0]

ID 66029
CD 7(Strong Blow)

It should not have been a surprise to him at this point, that Calrex had blocked another of his attacks. Not only that, but he knew what was coming right after it, being with the momentum of his attack, bringing his stick up to block Calrex would be nearly impossible. He grit his teeth and braced for the impact, as one stick slammed Jomei in the hip, the other went into his neck. The force of Calrex's attack sent Jomei crashing into the grainy sand. "Damn.." Jomei cursed under his breath "This really... isn't good.." For Jomei's sake, he was thankful that this was just a friendly duel, though the fact that his health was dropping a bit from each attack didn't ease him, he knew Calrex would never kill Jomei. Problems with living out of the safe zone he supposed. 

The ginger considered just throwing in the towel, for this fight seemed pretty much pointless at this point. It was a good thing that Zandra, nor anyone else he knew, was around to see Jomei getting his ass kicked. However, if he ever wanted to return to the front lines, giving up would not be an option. The Irishman pulled his knees into his chest and propelled himself forward, landing on his feet. Immediately after regaining his balance, he rushed forward, clenching his sword in two hands. With one powerful step, Jomei brought his stick back and swung it like a bat at Calrex's shoulder.