[PP - F02 - PT] Strawberry Shortcakes

[Koga 0]

k o g a Spoiler notes [PT] All addons taken Stamina | Reduces EN of all attacks by 2 Ferocity | +2 DMG when using the weapon of your choice Precision | Gain +2 ACC Focus | Decreases minor critical threshold by 1. Also reduces DoT thresholds by 1. [PT] ST Specialist | For the following Sword Arts, +3 to multipliers and +2 to EN cost; ST-I, ST-II, ST-B. No other Shifts may be taken. [PT] Additional Sword Arts [x12] TECH-D (12 EN) | SHATTER | A single-target sword art that applies [Shatter] to an enemy for 3 turns. [Shatter] is a debuff that can stack up to a cap of 3. Each stack of [Shatter] removes -20 MIT from an enemy, down to 0, if it has MIT.  Unlock Condition: Complete <<The Monkey King>> [x8] TECH-F (8 + 2 * targets EN) | AOE STUN | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once. All struck targets are stunned for one turn. Unlock Condition: Complete <<Breaking the Unbreakable>> Koga | HP: 660/660 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 2 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | B.HEALING: 33/66 equipped T4 Demonic Katana <<Tsuki no Hikari>> [Burn // Blight // Cursed // Fallen] T4 Perfect Light Armor <<Shadow Chance Coat>> [Evasion // Evasion // Regen] battle-ready inventory None skills Spoiler | COMBAT Mastery: Damage III | Gain 1 * Tier Damage per rank | 15 SP Battle Healing V | Recover 5% (rounded down) of your maximum HP at the start of your turn | 30 SP Emergency Recovery | When non-fatal damage would leave you with 25% or less of your maximum HP, recover 10% of your maximum HP after the attack resolves. Effect cannot occur more than once per thread.  When activated if the player has lower than 10 energy remaining, simply reduce the player's energy to 0. | 6 SP EN Cost: 10 Energist | Increase Base Energy by 5 * Tier | 8 SP Howl | Gain +2 Hate against up to 4 targets | 10 SP EN Cost: 2 EN Cooldown: 2 Posts Focused Howl | Gain +4 Hate against a single target | 5 SP EN Cost: 4 EN Cooldown: 4 Posts | WEAPON Curved Sword I | +1 DMG when equipped with a Curved Sword | 4 SP Katana V | +7 DMG when equipped with a Katana | 30 SP Stamina | Reduces the energy of all Katana attacks by 2 EN | 4 SP Ferocity | +2 DMG when using Katana Sword Arts | 6 SP | ARMOR Light Armor V | +30 MIT when equipped with Light Armor | 30 SP Meticulous | +1 DMG when equipped with Light Armor | 4 SP Resolve | +1 ACC and +10 * Tier HP when equipped with Light Armor | 6 SP | EXTRAS Familiar Master: Rending | You and your familiar attack in tandem, applying Rend [7*tier unmitigatable damage] to the target that lasts for two turns. | 10SP Cooldown: 5 Posts Survival | Increases Healing effects received from all sources by 10%. Grants immunity to all damage dealing environmental attacks/effects. buffs Spoiler Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 10% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +3% EXP Gain. <<Well Rested>> | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat. <<Squeaky Clean>> | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down). <<Filling>> | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. <<Item Stash>> | +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot <<Relaxed>> | Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. <<Multipurpose>> | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll.

The sun shone brightly, causing Koga to squint as he stepped through the fields of flowers. How had Koga never visited this place, he wondered to himself. Well, the honest answer was that he was too stupid to realize this place was here. But instead, he told himself that he'd always been too busy leveling to venture into the quiet places of Aincrad. It wasn't completely untrue, at least.

The man waded through the grass, and hues of blues, pinks and yellows, his black garb contrasting sharply. His eyes swept over the seemingly endless sea of flowers, until his eyes settled upon a humble-looking stone cottage. Curious, Koga approached it, figuring it was either occupied by NPCs or Players, or empty enough that it was worth a quick looksee at its inner mysteries. However, as he approached Koga spotted a familiar figure. From where though, he couldn't quite place. He paused a moment and cocked his head, watching the woman as he thought. The swordsman tried to place her figure and recalled skeletons, and terrifying displays of power. Ah, that's right. "Kasumi," Koga greeted the woman, with a wave as he resumed his approach, "fancy seeing you here."

@Kasumi

Edited January 18, 2022 by Koga

[Kasumi 0]

A light sway in her step, a rather quick morning left an afternoon to herself. She had already well over handled her affairs and was heading back home to take a load off. There was a steady breeze that played upon the rich field of bright pastels, carrying a wave of petals in every hue imaginable across its tide. Carried aloft was her own hair, and on that wind found her name being called. Kasumi assumed it to be one of the NPC that had started to recognize her given she was a fixture here.

But it wasn't

A raise of her hand in an open twist, a curl of her fingers around her ear to fix the nest that was flapping around on that air. With a tilt of her head, and a smile. "Koga, Long time no see." That beaming smile was just as iconic as her clothes. "Enjoying the flowers?" the girl asked as she approached the building that was hers, curious as to why he was here. As if he needed a reason, and surely the place was an eagerly sought destination: The high fields of crossing in bloom.

AoE Specialist Taken, Precision/Ferocity/Focus/Stamina activated

Kasumi | HP: 680/680 | EN: 86/86 | DMG: 24 | MIT: 20 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 5 | LD: 1 | KEEN: 1 | P.V.O

Spoiler

Kasumi, The Pure Tide
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 19
HP: 680/680
EN: 86/86

Stats:
Damage: 23
Mitigation: 20
Evasion: 4
Accuracy: 3
Loot Dice: 1
KEEN: 1
P.V.O

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Mugen Tenshin Perversion - Citadel [T4/Perfect/Handwraps] Accuracy 1, Keen 1, Paralytic Venom 1
Armor: White Red-trimmed Gee [T1/Perfect/Cloth Armor] (3 Evasion)
Misc: Mugen Tenshin Decree [T1/Perfect/Trinket] (3 Accuracy)

Skills:
Martial Arts R5
Cloth Armor R5
Extended Mod Limit

Active Mods:
Blindside
Vanish
Surprise Attack (Trickster)
Nimble
Stamina
Ferocity
Athletics

Inactive Mods:

Active Extra Skills:
Hiding R5
Parry

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystal : 1
Vocal Augmentation - Resonation [T1/Perfect/Support/Instant] +60 HP: 2
Bird Seed (T2/Rare/Snack) Vitality 2: 1

 

[Koga 0]

Cheery as ever, the girl seemed, and not the least bit surprised by his presence, despite them only having met once before. Koga's hands retreated to the pockets of his coat as he took another lazy look around at his surroundings the gusts of winds bringing with it the scent of flowered perfume from months past with it. "Yeah, I am," Koga replied, looking back at Kasumi with a gentle smile. "Was just sorta wandering and wound up here," he explained, stopping in front of Kasumi. "I didn't even know this place existed till today, if I'm being honest," he added with a chuckle. "What about you? If I recall, you kinda have a thing for flowers, right?" he asked, recalling the flower motif she'd exhibited when they'd fought that Lich some months back. "Do you come here often?" It certainly seemed like the kind of place a girl with Kasumi's sweet disposition would visit often.

@Kasumi

[Kasumi 0]

A lean down toward a tree at her side, and plucking just a single one from the branches. A long green stock with multiple vibrant purple blooms. "Really? I live here, so I see this place every morning and night." She looks at the small building that added some soft gray to the green. A huff of those plants and breathing deep its scent before using her hand to strip its petals into her palm. "Staying busy, I hope? I still owe that other guy a rain check. Alkor" removing a glass jar and adding the flower to it, to make some of her perfumes later. This is where it all came from, and having as many of these as humanly possible on her person would only make it easier. "Your welcome to come inside." she moved to the door and slid a gold key into it with a soft blue glow, a mechanical sounding thunk as it opens. A ring of a bell as she slid it open gently. The orange haired blossom begins to vanish inside its exterior before you can see her face appear.

[Koga 0]

"Busy as I can," Koga replied. "Gotta admit though, I've been kinda lazy lately though." In part, that was a lack of motivation in the mornings to get the day going, and equal parts due to the recent changes in the system. It was taking a bit of adjustment. More than Koga cared to admit, but after years of using the previous system, it was to be expected.

As Kasumi drifted over to the door of what was apparently her home, Koga paused. There was a dream-like quality to their encounter. The light breeze, the scented air and the flowers swaying all around them, their colors showing brightly thanks to the brightly lit sky, itself decorated by the fluffy white clouds that might as well have been painted on the floor's ceiling. The presence of an admittedly attractive woman only added to the ephemeral quality of the day. It would be a lie to say that the sensation did not disturb him. He was not used to anything remotely carefree as a good dream. He wondered if this was even real, and maybe he really was asleep after all. And if so, when would the terrors begin?

The Rogue stood there for a moment, simply looking at the open portal wondering if this was a nightmare waiting to occur before mentally pinching. 'Stop being an idiot and move,' he thought to himself before walking through the door and looking around at the interior.

@Kasumi

[Kasumi 0]

A beaming smile as she slid past the rather humble looking interior, allowing Koga the space to stand. Adorned across the place are glass display cases holding various objects within them, where no two are the same. Rings, fittings, glasses the like. It looked not unlike a tinkerer's dream, littered with all a number of items. Placing the bottle on top of said counter, she checks the registry for any orders placed in her absence with a scan of her index finger. "Gimme just a moment, need to change."

She slinks behind the wall into the back and through that open doorway you can see a bench with a vice, a few large lenses on brass arms and a small grindstone. A few moments pass by in silence, and she comes out again, It's something significantly less 'battle ready' as she runs an orange ribbon into her hair tying it up into a ponytail. "That's good though, being a little lazy from time to time. Haste makes waste and all that." she offers him a chipper grin as she reaches for a leather apron. There was one order she had to tend to at the very least, for a name that looked familiar, but she couldn't place why.

[Koga 0]

Koga watched Kasumi disappear into the back of what he would have guessed to be her shop before quickly glancing around as he flicked his wrist and unequipped his coat and weapons, leaving the man standing his black jeans and dark grey tee. His hands retreated once more to his pockets as he slowly walked a circle in place. The room was a little messier than he'd expected, but not dirty. More like the work of an excitable crafter. As he waited, Koga venture over to one of the workstations and bent over at the waist, examining what looked like a ring mid-way through engraving.

The sound of Kasumi returning caused Koga to straighten his back. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he replied with a chuckle. He took another glance around the room. "So, I take it you're an artisan?" he asked, although the evidence before him seemed pretty clear. Noticing that Kasumi had taken a paper from her apron, he stepped to the side so he was not in the way of whatever work she was about to start. "If you're busy, we can always meet up another time," he offered. "I still owe you for taking me out for pastries last time. Maybe we'll drag Alkor along too, finally."

@Kasumi

[Kasumi 0]

"Yep!" she remarks with a place of her hands flat against each other like a clap, rocking on her toes for a second as he eyed Sam's wedding ring still under construction. "Oh, no no, it won’t take me more than a bit." She didn't want Koga to get the wrong idea. A slide of a pair of tweezers peels up some device meant for the bottom of a swords grip: a pommel. Some serious deft movement and carving sees metal shavings being produced as she tears through the order with finesse. Seconds, that's all it took before that iconic flash of blue followed by a deep purple showing perfect quality. Plucking it up and pulling the large lens over in its folded arm, she peers at it quickly through the glass.

"Done." she places it into a red velvet box off to the right side of said bench. Removing the thick brown leather apron from the front of her, leaving her in that almost sundress looking clothing. Kasumi hangs the thing on the hook she obtained it from. "I'd love to, do you think he can come?" The blossom still owed him for the rescue, after that wayward spawn showed up a bit quicker than expected. A small grumble in her stomach sees her turn a little flush, embarrassed, it has been a fair amount of time since the morning.

[Koga 0]

Well, if the woman said it was fine, so it was. Koga leaned back against one of the tables, arms behind him as he watched the artisan at work with...absolutely terrifying speed, geez, what was that? 2, no 1.5 seconds? Christ, he'd never seen speed like that.

Actually, no, that was a lie. He'd seen that kind of speed before, the last time he'd seen Kasumi fight. Koga always considered himself to be quick on his feet, but this girl, quite unassuming, made him look like a baby turtle in comparison. Slow, and easy prey for some predatory bird above.

Kasumi put what appeared to bet he ring he was examining before into a box and set it aside as she took off the apron and asked if Alkor might be able to join before her stomach rumbled and a red flush flooded her cheeks. Koga laughed lightly. "I dunno, I haven't heard from him in a while, but sounds like you're hungry. We could settle up my debt now if you want?" he offered. "I can message Alkor and see if he's up to meet us."

[Kasumi 0]

"I see." The girl chuckled, defusing her own little social faux pas. "I hope I'll be able to pay him back eventually." A soft nod in agreement, she tightened the ribbon in her hair with a tug of the loops. "Ok." It was here where the idea started to sink in, and she slides her sight away from Koga. Before it was like repayment, but in this way it was her and this...uh boy, going to get lunch....alone. Her skin gets a little further flushed, and she can feel the embarrassment boiling just a tinge again.

Taking a couple steps toward the door to build just a little distance to hide her butterflies, she opens the door with a ring. Taking a whiff of that sweet fragrance, reminds her to use a bit of that oil of hers. SHE WAS JUST OUT KILLING DISGUSTING THINGS. Kasumi thought that she probably smelled exactly like a rotten corpse, and it didn't even dawn on her until. Lunch.

 

[Koga 0]

As Kasumi turned away from Koga and opened up the door, presumably to let the fresh breeze in, he opened up his messenger and sent Alkor a quick message.

'Yo, long time no see. Kasumi (you remember her, right?) and I are gonna go get some lunch in a bit, care to join?'

Flicking the messenger closed, Koga looked over to Kasumi, who stood stiffly at the door. "Uh, are you alright?" he asked the girl, stepping towards her with a raised brow. Koga, obliviously, leaned over and around the shorter girl to peer out the doorway, his hand brushing her shoulder as he braced it against the frame on the other side. Had she seen something? Unlikely, this was a safezone wasn't it?

Seeing nothing himself, Koga shrugged and pushed against the door frame, propelling himself enough to stand upright again. "Do you wanna wait a bit to see if Alkie replies, or do you wanna just start walking?"

[Kasumi 0]

Kasumi's face felt like she just pressed it to a heater, and it was pretty damn red. Such things hardly registered to her in most cases, but when they did, it came real hard. "Y-yeah." she choked out as he slid past an outstretched arm over. A glancing slide of his hand on her shoulder was like getting struck by lightning. When had she become so nervous? "I th-hink walking is-s fine. Walking's good. It makes you healthy, and you get to take in all the sights and see all the people. The flowers are nice. I wonder what..." She continues to talk and walk on ahead, you can hear it slightly end up distorted as she just starts beelining it for wherever her feet would carry her. Not that Kasumi had the first clue where they were going. The blossom was on overload, and she needed to get a breeze to disable the stir-fry that was her noggin.

[Koga 0]

Almost like a toy soldier, Kasumi started to walk off, not bothering to wait or lock up behind them, all the while her mouth went off at a mile a minute. Koga had to dash out the door after her all while trying to equip his coat and weapon, shouting after her.

"Hey, Kasumi! Wait up!" the swordsman called, sprinting after the girl before finally catching up to her and stopping her with a hand on the shoulder. "Uh, I know I don't live here," he said, a hand on his knee, panting. "But, uh, isn't the settlement that direction?" he asked, removing the hand from her shoulder and thrusting it over his shoulder in the exact opposite direction they had just been heading.

He looked up at the girl as he recovered his breath. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, a genuine look of concern on his face as he noted how red she'd gotten. He straightened to his full height and pressed the back of his palm to her forehead. "You're warm," he reported. "I didn't even know we could get sick in-game."

Edited June 26, 2021 by Koga

[Kasumi 0]

A palm to her face sees Kasumi maintain that almost lobster like appearance, his hand was almost cool and comforting. In that same vain, however, it felt almost weakening and like static. Pins and needles where it sat. Her eyes immediately dart to her dress, as she recalled the only thing she had ever read regarding something like this. "Silly me." The blossom remarks, bopping herself in the side of her head with the backside of her left wrist. How does my outfit look, I should have worn something better than this? I don't really have anything else. Should I have bought something more suitable?

"H-Hi." It was weird, but now she was on autopilot on some magazine list she had read many years ago. Robotically, she about faces and starts to walk toward the city of Urbus. She starts to clap her face with her hands, trying to get herself psyched up and get these jitters to fall. #1: Get in a good state of mind

[Koga 0]

Koga looked on with concern as the girl not too gently tapped her head with her hand, chastising herself...only to then promptly greet him as if they hadn't just spent the last twenty minutes with each other.

"Okay, that's it," Koga said abruptly, taking ahold of Kasumi's hand and gently guiding her back to her shop/house. "If you're coming down with something, you need to lie down and rest," he said, dragging the girl along and pushing open the door to the house before venturing back towards where he'd seen Kasumi disappear to change earlier.

The room was a little cramped, but it was enough for someone to live out of, despite lacking any luxuries you'd expect to find in an actual home. Not to mention the various boxes and crates neatly stacked atop each other. At least it made it easy to locate the bed, which Koga guided Kasumi to and made her lie down in, pulling the covers up to her shoulders.

"Ok, I'm gonna go get you some tea really quick, and some soup. You stay put, and I'll be right back," he said in a way that indicated he'd clearly dealt with a sick bratty little sister before. "Do you have a preference for either of those?" he quickly asked, realizing maybe she didn't like something or other.

Edited June 27, 2021 by Koga

[Kasumi 0]

A sudden grasp of her hand sees Kasumi's legs feel like jello. This was not AT ALL how she expected the day to go. Before she could even process the fact that she was holding hands with a boy, she ended up in her own bed. When did we get here? she looks up past some enforced covers at Koga. "N-no." she was still awfully embarrassed, flush as a strip of bacon and almost slinking under the covers like a mouse behind a corner. Eying the room as the guy lorded over her, waiting for some answer from her. "I'm sorry." she drops the phrase from beneath the blanket that obscures the lower half of her face.

I've made a big mess of this. I don't know what I am supposed to do.

Gripping that bit of her blanket tighter, as it slowly sunk in. That she had a boy in her room. alone. This was the first time she'd ever even imagined it. And it was real. If you listened closely enough, you could swear you could hear steam escaping something.

[Koga 0]

The girl sank further into the bed and pulled the covers up even further, covering her flushed face. She only apologized in response to Koga's question, somehow retreating even further into the thing mattress of the cot. Koga just smiled in response, "Don't be. Friends look out for each other, right?" he said before turning to go out the door once more. "Ok, I'll be right back. You just sit and relax, okay?" And with that, he was gone.

Koga went out to the front and fished around his inventory for a moment, producing a teleport crystal, disappearing and then reappearing in the nearest settlement. "Soup and tea...soup and tea...where would I find soup and tea?" The man muttered to himself as he began to walk towards where he expected the restaurants to exist.

This hadn't exactly been how Koga had expected to go, but he couldn't really say he was complaining either. He didn't really mind taking care of others, in fact he kind of enjoyed it. Although, he couldn't say he had done so recently, so he hoped his skills in that department hadn't waned. Or that he hadn't over stepped his bounds with Kasumi. The girl did seemed a bit frightened after all. He'd have to apologize when he got back.

Edited June 27, 2021 by Koga

[Kasumi 0]

Confused and frazzled to all get up, Kasumi sat alone in the room she normally spent her nights in. Her face still felt hot, and the covers she'd been stuffed into weren't offering her any respite. Was she sick? Her eyes advance to the door across this small chamber. Slightly open still, Koga nowhere in sight. "Why am I so...pbth" She comments sticking out her thumb. This was her first time ever going to lunch by herself with a boy, excluding before when it was like paying the guy back. It didn't dawn on her what it must have looked like to the shopkeeper. Her head swims a bit, "WAS IT ALWAYS A DATE?" she yelps, pulling a pillow to her face. It starts to sink in what it was Koga had said to her before his inevitable extraction from this obtuse situation. "Friends, right. I am making this more than it is." she taps her face with both hands, trying to convince herself to let that hotness making her skin boil to pass. "Just Friends, we're just friends, Kasumi. Don't MAKE IT WEIRD." she squeals, hugging the pillow like a stuffed animal.

[Koga 0]

"Don't make what weird?" The voice's owner appeared in the crack between the door and it's frame as he pushed the door open with his boot, hands occupied with bowls and what appeared to be a couple of wooden thermoses. The man set the two packages on the floor beside Kasumi's bed before dragging over a couple sturdy looking crates and making them into a makeshift seat.

"Sorry I took so long," Koga apologized, picking up the first of the packages, the bowls, "I wasn't really sure what they had by way of good food down here, let alone good soup." He handed one of the ceramic bowls to Kasumi and grabbed one of the two wood bottles, and pouring it into the bowl. A dark red-brown liquid poured from it, dark chunks of various chopped vegetables mixed within. "I did manage to find some decent hot and sour soup though, I dunno if you like it but, it's kinda my go to when me or my sister come down with something." The man poured some into his own bowl, before closing the bottle and handing a soup spoon to Kasumi. "It's vegan, I wasn't sure how you felt about meat either."

Edited June 29, 2021 by Koga

[Kasumi 0]

Instantly flushed as soon as the boy's voice pierced the room. "Thank you." she spoke as she reached out and took the basin from the guy, looking into the brackish red stuff still piping hot and bleeding steam into the open air. Cradling it with both hands, trying to swallow the flutter and boil in her skin on her face. Taking a single bite, it still a bit too hot, causing her to wiggle her toes a bit. It was an attempt of distraction for a wavering mind, and for a second or two it did the trick.

Curious and also hoping to deflect her own twisted emotions, she looks on to Koga and asks him "You have a sister? What's she like, if you don't mind me asking?" her hair drapes down over her shoulder, a swaying pour of the stuff. A soft smile, still red as all get up, but she was working to fix that.