[PP-F1] A Formal Date (Itzal)

[Kasier 0]

"Ok, Kasier. Dress, check. Hair, check." A deep breath followed as she stared at the mirror of her messy room. Although the room of her shop was messy, there was no way that she would portray herself as a messy person. Not today at least. Today, she needed to look her best, and she wanted to make sure that she looked different. Her hair was curled differently, in an elegant manner fitting of a queen. Her skin was paler than usual, despite the fact that she didn't do anything to that part of her body. Needless to say, this was an important occasion. She had scheduled the restaurant for exactly 9:00pm, purposefully later than the usual time so most people would've already left by then, leaving her and Itzal to their own privacy. Everything so far was amazing and perfect, and she was very satisfied with how she looked. Soon, it would be time for her to leave the shelter of her shop and go to the finest restaurant in first floor, a place that she had to spend weeks ahead in order to reserve the area. It will be worth it. She thought, taking a deep breath and opening the door to her shop. She had left later on purpose, because it was fitting that the male was to receive first and receive the female with politeness. Kasier giggled to herself which she immediately stopped when a few players gave her odd looks. Nope, you aren't going to ruin my day. She thought to herself, making her way slowly to the restaurant that she had informed Itzal to meet up at. I hope he's there already. Knowing Itzal, he would have been there way earlier though.

Edited November 3, 2016 by Kasier

[Itzal 0]

The day before Itzal had received a message on his menu during training.  He finished off the monster and opened his menu and was extremely shocked to see that Kasier had told Itzal to get a nice tuxedo and meet her in a very specific restaurant on the first floor.  After that message Itzal had wasted no time.  He went to Ariel and picked up the outfit, the hat being exactly what he had shown Kasier on their first date.  He managed to get his hands on cologne as well and kept it in storage until today.  He stood in front of the lake combing his hair while he wore the black tuxedo with a bowtie and the black phadora he had shown Kasier.  When he finished he put on the hat and sprayed his tux with the cologne.  He looked at his reflection and somehow he didn't blush.  In fact he thought he looked pretty cool.  He nodded and began to walk to the town.  He left an hour early and by the time he reached the restaurant he was about thirty minutes early.  Itzal was pretty surprised at how fancy the place was.  He didn't think Kasier would like something like this.  However he did like trying new things, and the more he learned about Kasier the more he loved her.  The man was about to show Itzal his seat when he raised his hand to stop the action.  "I think I'll wait for my friend to arrive before I take my seat."

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Kasier allowed her hand to flow through the organized, flowing hair that she had recently dyed. Indeed, she wanted to change it up a bit and she honestly didn't know what to think of her newly dyed blonde hair. She didn't really know how that looked at the moment, hence she will simply arrive and ask for Itzal's advice. Of course, she was aware that Itzal loved her not for her hair style or outward appearance but rather what was on the inside, just like what she thought of Itzal. Kasier sighed, her heart beating faster every step that she took closer to the restaurant and her face was quite red from the glances that she obtained as she walked through the streets of the starting town in her elegant blonde hair and grand dress. Soon, Kasier arrived at the restaurant in which she had reserved. The starlight above was shining greatly upon her and the world of Aincrad as she finally stepped into the shop. However, Itzal was not waiting at the entrance so she would simply walk into the shop and see if the man was waiting there or perhaps he was already seated. Immediately upon entering the fancy restaurant, she could hear classical music slowly drifting in the background and all around was silence, except for the soothing sound of water beating on rocks in a nearby fake waterfall. It was exactly what she had expected from an expensive restaurant, and it was just what she wanted. Kasier smiled, noticing the black-haired man standing in the corner, patiently waiting for her arrival. Without hesitation and a second to waste, Kasier walked up to the man and greeted him. "Hi Itzal. Hope I didn't make you wait for too long."

@Itzal

[Itzal 0]

As Itzal waited he looked around the restaurant.  The combination of the classical music and the gentle sound of the waterfall made an excellently peaceful atmosphere.  As he looked around he noticed one of the musicians had a piano.  Hmm, he thought.  Perhaps...  Then he saw her walk in....  With blonde hair and a grand dress.  The dress was elegant, beautiful, and yet soft, not too much decor so it's beauty seemed more natural to Itzal.  While he didn't expect the change of hair color he didn't mind.  The golden appearance made her appear much lighter, as he knew her heart was.  Her eyes added to the light beauty and gave it the fiery flare she held in her soul.  All in all, he believed her new look revealed more of her heart than the serious and dark appearance she showed off to others.  It didn't matter either way of course, he loved her either way.  He smiled brightly to her and shook his head.  "Not that long actually."  For him at least.  He was used to waiting up to three hours when stalking a mob.  He had been practicing his tracking and while it was slow progress it was still progress.  When they were side by side he took her arm.  "I noticed you changed your appearance a little bit," he said with a friendly grin.  The man nodded as he led the two to their table.

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Kasier smiled. The man's response to her change wasn't as drastic as she had thought it to be but she really didn't mind. His lack of response showed just how much he really didn't care about her physical appearance. What he really cared about was where her heart lays and her personality. Her choice of dying her hair was not something that she had done for Itzal, but it was rather for herself. A change of pace... That was all. In fact, she felt much better with her current dye of hair than her previous one and that was enough to convince her to keep the hair that she currently had. It wasn't as if her change of hair would change how she acts. Kasier blushed immediately when Itzal walked by her and took her arm but she was surprised that he had done so when the waiter was obviously looking as he led them to the isolated table that they would be sitting at for the night. "Yeah, I did change my hair up a bit. I became pretty bored with the black that I have had before so I thought I would change it up a bit. How do you like it?" She asked as she sat down, opening up the menu and immediately becoming confused with the various amount of food items on it. "Well, there's a lot more things in here than I had expected there to be."

@Itzal

Edited November 5, 2016 by Kasier

[Itzal 0]

Kasier smiled to his response and the smile in Felix' mind made her literally glow.  She blushed when he took his arm which of course made him blush slightly.  As they walked over to their table people turned to notice them but no one stared.  When she asked how he liked it he smiled.  "I love it.  I believe it shows off the beauty in your heart a little more than the black hair.  While the black and red made you look mysterious, which was pretty cool, the blonde hair and red eyes gives off a fiery beauty.  Which is what you are Kasier."  As he thought about it, he wondered if he should change his hair color.  He had never thought about such a thing before and wondered if it was worth it.  Or even what color to change his hair to...  Ah it didn't matter at the moment.  Right now he was with Kasier in a fancy restaurant, him in a tuxeedo and black phadora, and she in a blue grand dress.  As they took their seats and checked the menu Itzal couldn't help but let out a low whistle.  There sure were a lot of options there.  As he looked over them he saw that the options were separated into categories.  He avoided the seafood section entirely, but everything else he was perfectly willing to try out.  The fact that there were so many options he didn't know what to choose.  It seemed there was a little bit of every culture's food in here.  He wondered if his original homeland, America, which he never cared for in the past, had any romantic foods, or if they were always fast food sort of people.  He nodded to Kasier's comment.  "Indeed.  I never expected to see so many options before...  Well, what are you in the mood for?  I love pizza but I'd like to try something new tonight."

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Kasier nodded. It was great that Itzal didn't mind the change of hair color that she had only recently implemented. If she could, she would be sure to keep this new hairstyle because to be honest, she liked it better than the other plain black hair that she had. Despite the fact that her red eyes were not matching in relationship to her blonde hair, she thought that it kind of portrays her personality... Since her personality is a contradiction of herself. Perhaps that was something way to deep to think about during a time like this but she was having trouble finding out exactly who she was. It was like a maze, a maze that she can't escape from. One day, she will escape from that maze and when that happens, it will be when her true potential is revealed from the darkness just like how the sun radiates after a storm. Kasier sighed, whipping a stray piece of hair from her face and making sure that her vision is not interrupted as a result of her new, loose hair that she was too lazy to braid and organize. "By the way, I really like that tuxedo that you are running and that fedora seems familiar. Did you buy that from the fourth floor?" Kasier asked, realizing that she had sarcastically complimented him on his fit with the fedora. It appeared that he didn't really get that it was sarcasm but it is too late now. Besides, it really didn't look that bad on him anyways. "If I would have to look at the menu, I would go for something that sounds French or a language that I don't understand because then it would probably be super fancy. I'll probably go with... Halibut Dauphine." She finished, trying very hard to pronounce the words that she truly didn't recognize. 

[Itzal 0]

His eyes flickered up when she made movement and listened to her compliment his outfit and how the fedora seemed familiar.  He smiled slightly, blushing a little at her compliment.  "Well, actually I had Ariel make it along with the tux.  But yeah, I had it designed as close as I could to the one we found.  You were right it does look nice, and I think I like the way it looks too."  This part was honest.  He wasn't sure the first time simply because he had never worn anything other than things like the trench coat, as well as the fact that he had never been shopping, let alone as a first date with his girlfriend.  "You're dress is amazing too."  After that she looked at the menu again and mentioned how she'd like to order some sort of fancy french food that she wouldn't understand.  When she said two words he never heard about he tried to find it in the menu but failed miserably.  Fancy French foods it was he thought.  He scanned the menu and found one that caught his eye.  Unlike Kasier, while he didn't know the words themselves, he knew the accent.  "I guess I'll go with the Cassoulet," he said at last.

[Kasier 0]

And hence, after the waiter took the orders that both players had placed, they were left alone in a quiet room with a piano in the center of the room while the desks surround the piano. Of course, the restaurant had several gigantic ball rooms and this was only one of them, which is one of the reasons that the two players found themselves suddenly alone and quiet. It was really weird, having the only thing separating their faces to be the candle in a quiet, dark room. From this dim lighting, it really made Itzal's face stand out in the darkness of the room. It was then that she found a loss of words. The food was no doubt going to be quick to be made but there was still time for them to talk before the food arrives, yet Kasier would've wanted to slap herself for losing the words that she wanted to say. "Uhm, yeah, I guess Ariel really did help us out a lot this time." Kasier said simply, realizing that Ariel was the last thing that she wanted to talk about. She didn't want the topic to be on someone else, she wanted to be them, and solely them. "So, anything romantic to say?" Kasier said, in a joking tone but in all honesty, she needed Itzal to open up the conversation.

[Itzal 0]

With the items ordered the waiter bowed and walked away.  Normally, fancy restaurants took a while to cook the food...  But this digital restaurant wasn't normal, so he had no idea when it would be.  He took a moment to look around and...  Noticed for the first time that they were in a ballroom.......  How on earth could he have missed this vital piece of information?  When she spoke it was clear she was trying to come up with a topic to talk about.  That's when he noticed something.  With the background being dark and the candle in the center, her face was illuminated by the fire.  The warm glow made her red eyes appear to have a live fire inside of them and it made her hair glisten and shine.  Fire tended to reveal much about others in ways people never thought possible.  Then she asked if he had anything romantic to say.  And he was nearly stumped.  He attempted to think about what he could have possibly said that would be romantic when he finally realized that he was approaching it wrong:  He needed to share something that naturally came to him.  So he shared what he just saw.  He took a breath before beginning.  "Fire is incredible don't you think?  It can be a raging storm yes, but it can also be calm, gentle, a guide and light as well as a beauty in itself.  It tends to reveal things about others if you look close enough.  And when it illuminates others,"  he looked back to her with a smile.  "I just wish others looked at you when it does, so that they could see you the way I do." 

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Kasier knew that Itzal wanted her to show off her kindness to the others of this world but that is not what her aim was. She knew that only the mature can survive in this game and so she would have to disagree with Itzal on that regard. Kindness should be shown only to those who deserve it and to those that she actually knows. If not, kindness becomes wasted and hence, it will eventually run out. This had been Kasier's way of thinking ever since her transformation and although she feels tired every single day, she still follows through with her aim in hopes that eventually, she will be respected in this world of Aincrad where respect is the one true currency. Kasier did not wish to show anyone her kindness, that is, except for Itzal for he is the one and truly who she respects to the utmost, not just as a high-leveled player but mainly because of his kindness, his willingness to help others. If anyone saw the players on the streets and was introduced to them, it would appear that Kasier and Itzal were completely opposite in personality. However, Kasier did not think so. To her, the two were perfect together... They were balanced, one side filled with light to the outside but one side of mystery and seriousness to the other people. Kasier smiled, leaning closer against the table and coming closer to the flames of the candle, resulting in her face being closer to Itzal's as well. "Well what if I only want you to see my beauty? Would you like to change that?" She asked, her red eyes staring at the black-haired man as she asked the question.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal watched as Kasier leaned in closer to the candle and asked him a question.  He wondered sometimes why she kept so serious around others all the time, and he hoped that one day she would tell him.  For now however she wanted a response to him.  He leaned in a little bit as well, their faces equally close to the warmth of the flame.  "I would not.  It's your choice and if you wish it I shall grant it.  Others could call you a monster and unless it hurt you I wouldn't care.  Because I know the real you, and I wish to know everything about you.  And nothing can take that away."  He stared gently into Kasier's red eyes.  The flame that danced inside, the reflection, wasn't a reflection.  Kasier's soul was a living fire, bright and beautiful as well as deadly.  The flames that danced in her crimson eyes was truly beauty incarnated.  He placed his hand on Kasier's own.  "Kasier you know I'll do anything for you."  He leaned in past the candle and gave her a soft kiss on the cheeks.  His face warmed just a little bit as this was the very first time he had actually kissed anyone.  However he felt it was time he had returned the favor.  Some small part in his mind screamed 'It's about dang time!'  he gave off a mental chuckle.  'yes Ulises, it is.'

[Kasier 0]

Itzal's response was a response of a perfect boyfriend. Always supportive and always trying to please Kasier and let her know that he will support her no matter what. That is the perfect boyfriend, and she knew that she was lucky to be the girlfriend of such a man. A man who she can always rely on and trust in no matter what. She loved him greatly and she knows that that love will never change. Sure, the relationship was not love at first sight, in fact, she was surprised that the two was able to create a relationship between themselves given the prior events. As Itzal leaned forwards and kissed her on the cheek, she blushed, whispering into his ear, "And I will do anything for you." It was then that she noticed a movement in the darkness. She soon realized that it was the waiter, with their food on both of his arms and waiting patiently for the two to finish before he comes and places their food. Immediately, Kasier drew back, blushing heavily in embarrassment as she realized that the man had been watching them. Without a word, the waiter came and placed the food on their table.

"I'll be right back with your iced water." He exclaimed, walking out of the ball room and leaving the two players in awkward silence. "Welp, time to get started on eating I guess." She finished, looking at the plate of food and stabbing it with a fork carefully and playfully before taking the first bite.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal saw the raw happiness that shined off of his girlfriend's face and it warmed his heart to the core.  After he pulled back he heard her words and smiled with a slight blush of his own.  Right now all he wanted from her was what she gave freely to him already.  And he wouldn't have it any other way.  Then the waiter appeared and Itzal noticed Kasier blush very heavily and he looked back at the waiter before putting two and two together.  When the man walked away Kasier suggested they start by eating.  Itzal nodded with a little red on his face.  When he looked to see exactly what it was he ordered it looked rather..  Simple to be an elegant dish.  It was a casserole with what seemed like sausage, pork, duck, pork skin, and white beans in a soup like liquid.  A little curious he took his utensils, and as he began placing it in his dish he looked up to Kasier.  "Well, bon appetit I guess."  And with that Itzal took his first bite and closed his eyes.  And they remained closed for a few seconds.  He finished chewing, swallowed, and opened his eyes with a shine.  "I think I'm in heaven right now,"  The dish was truly delicious and even rivaled the pizza he'd had before.  Although he had to admit he didn't have the most high quality pizza yet.  He continued to eat and looked up to Kasier and her own dish.  "So how's your food?"  Once again however his mind wandered to the piano and a song he was thinking about playing...

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Halibut Dauphine... Kasier remembered. That was what she had ordered and honestly, it wasn't as impressive as she had first thought it looked. The quantity was not nearly enough for the price that it was. Still, the NPCs of this game would not rip anyone off so there must be a reason behind such an outrages price. It didn't look good, nor did it smell that good. However, when she unwillingly took the first bite, all that rushed up her face was a wave of complete deliciousness in which the strong smell of cheese and tomato sause immediately flooded her nostrils. Immediately, she realized how great the taste of the food was and with that, Kasier looked up, replying to Itzal. "Wow, this is really good." Kasier said, sitting there and slowly playing with her food and eating it as well. She was taking it slow... the food wouldn't get cold and she didn't have plans for the rest of the night. Heck it was already night fall so she might as well spend the rest of the day with Itzal. A perfect way of ending the day to be honest. A perfect person to spend time with. Kasier looked at Itzal, realizing that he was giving occasional glances to the white piano and immediately, she knew what he was thinking. (Not godmodding >.> LOL) Kasier smirked. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind a performance."

[Itzal 0]

As he took another bite, having the meat completely soaked in the soup before doing so, he saw Kasier look at it distastefully.  He urged her to try it and when she reluctantly did so, her face lit up brighter than the sun.  When she made her comment he nodded vigorously.  "I know right?  I never thought food could taste this good other than pizza.  I'm definitely going to trying out foods from here on out."  He glanced at the piano once before resuming his food.  He wasn't sure if this would be the right time or not, and the staff were technically already playing music, so he doubted that-  He looked up when Kasier spoke and saw her smirking at him, causing him to blush ever so slightly.  She knew he liked music and she knew he'd want to do things for her.  She figured it out quickly indeed.  He gulped down what was in his mouth.  "Uh, um.  Ok then."  He stood up from his chair and made his way over to the piano.  The npc turned to Itzal with a smile.  "Hello sir!  Is there a song you'd like to hear?"  "Uh, actually...  I was hoping that I could play a song real quick?"  The npc smiled.  "Ah!  A fellow musician eh?  Well then, please play for your lady."  Itzal blushed a little more and nodded as he sat down.  He let his hands feel the keys.  In truth he had only ever played electronic keyboards, where you pressed certain keys on the computer's keyboard and it played keys on the digital piano.  So he began by testing out the different keys, memorizing which key made which sound, and thus matching them all with their letters and numbers, adding the IDs to the keys mentally.  Of course as he tested it, it sounded like he was terrible at it, and he heard chuckles from somewhere.  Were there other players in the restaurant or just npcs?  Either way he was ready.  He stopped and paused to think of a song.  When he did he nodded and began to play.

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYn9uP8CXo4

 

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

"Yeah, I think the food items in this game are one of the best things available to a player. The taste of these items vary from food to food. I don't understand how it was even possible for Kayaba to program so many different food tastes and unique flavors in all these countless amounts of food items. He sure did a great job in making this game realistic. Unlucky that he failed to act as a normal human being and trapped us all in this game. However, if he didn't, maybe we would've never met." Kasier said, contemplating on the impact of fate on their lives. Was the whole world decided by fate? Or was it decided on a person's free will. How someone lives could be based on their decisions or it could be based on fate and destiny. Mankind will never know will they? Indeed, there is no way of truly telling unless someone deciphers the meaning of life. But who knows what could've happened in real life at this point... Maybe the world had faced destruction and they are safely within this virtual database. After a few minutes of silence and her poking at her food slowly and eating it, she watched as the man stood up after she recommended him to go and check out the piano. However, what she failed to notice was that there was an NPC sitting there in the darkness. She had failed to notice his presence entirely despite her not knowing how she had managed to do that. It didn't matter, the NPC had agreed on moving out of the way for Itzal to take a seat and begin with his piano playing. At first, Itzal looked like he was a total newbie, failing to correspond the notes to the actual keys. After Kasier's heart skipped a few beats, Itzal finally managed to get his game together. Kasier smiled, standing up and sitting down next to Itzal about midway through the sun before placing her head on his right shoulder and closing her eyes.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal had to agree with Kasier on what she said about food.  In fact he could say the same for the floors themselves.  The detail that went into everything, the millions of hidden areas on each floor, it was so impressive that it made Itzal want to explore every area of them.  And hopefully one day he would.  When she mentioned that they might not have met if this game hadn't happened.  He thought for a moment.  He believed in a God and he knew that if they were truly meant for each other they would have met whether in the game or real life.  As he played the song he felt Kasier sit beside him and rest her head on his shoulder.  He looked to her and when he saw that her eyes were closed he smiled.  How he came to deserve her was beyond him, but now that he had her he wouldn't let her go.  When he was reaching the end of the song he decided that he wanted it to flow into one more song.  So he began thinking of how to transition it as he approached then got an idea and played the keys in that pattern, making it seem like it was actually part of the song, and moving into the second.

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8j1oq7FvZk

 

As he played the second one, and as he neared the end, he'd lay his head on hers.

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Fully aware of the fact that the food would never go cold due to the game's mechanics... Not that it was really that hot when it was served either. That was how the food was designed in this game. Everything that was placed within this game was meant to be perfect, and that was exactly how the creator of this game intended it to be. Plus, he didn't do too bad of a job doing that either. In fact, not only were the non-living things in this game perfect... There was a living man who was perfect in her heart. And who else could be perfect to her but the one that was supporting her head right now. She would stay with him until the end, until they die in pixels together, or until they survive until the end of this game. That was her goal. It was either to die together, or to live together. Soon enough, she would reach the front lines and then they would fight up there together and she was going to make sure that when she becomes a healer-tank, she would be able to fully protect Itzal whenever he fights and wherever he goes. This game had developed her from an innocent lady to a fierce warrior, a player fitting to survive within this game. And she was grateful. The only person she shall show weakness to is Itzal, because to him, she cannot hide herself. As Itzal continued with the love song, a drop of tear fell from her eyes, landing on Itzal's shoulder as she thought about all the memories that they had had together since the start. All of that could end in a flash, a single hit from a boss, a single trap triggered in a dungeon. Yet even if they die, it would be certain that their souls would stay together as pixels flow into the sky... That was how it would be. She wasn't scared of dying. As long as Itzal is always there with her and her with him. Soon, moonlight shone through the windows of the restaurant, shining directly on the couple, emphasizing the two in the darkness of the room.

[Itzal 0]

When the song finally came to a close he brought his hands away from the keys and wrapped one around Kasier.  This was probably the most peaceful moment he had ever had in his entire life.  In the real world if he wasn't getting chased by bullies, focusing on his work, or diving head first into the world of gaming.  There was the occasional time he spent time with his sister but overall his life was spent doing something at every waking moment.  In Aincrad same thing.  Either searching for players to help, constant training, or searching the many floors.  But to sit here, unmoving, with his arm around another person, leaning against each other, resting both in body and in soul.  This was something he could never have achieved on his own.  He felt he could almost fall asleep here, being beside her.  However two things prevented this from happening.  After his performance Itzal heard some clapping.  He looked up and was surprised to see a few cursor's dotted through the restaurant.  When he noticed the moonlight shining on the two of them he blushed slightly but nothing more than that.  The npc walked up with a smile and Itzal knew he wanted his chair back.  Itzal rubbed Kasier's arm until she opened her eyes and he gave a sheepish grin.  "The man wants his chair back.  Sorry." 

@Kasier