[PP - F1] Friends and Enemies «Feeding the Enemy»

[Takao 0]

Takao seldom spent time wandering around the first floor. When he did, it was usually just to browse the shops and markets of the largest city that Aincrad had to offer, at least that he knew of. With his typical daily grinding over and done with, he'd opted to spend some time on the first floor as a change of pace. With his armour and other equipment unequipped, he was left in the black high-collared, long sleeved shirt he usually wore underneath his armour and the brown coloured trousers that were tucked into his boots. Aside from the sword that hung over his right shoulder, he appeared rather average and unremarkable.

 

After trying to and mostly failing to navigate his way through the bustling streets of the starting city, Takao had finally made his way to a park that seemed mostly empty. He moved toward a wooden bench and slid the sword off his shoulder to lean against the back of the seat before he sat himself down. A long exhale escaped before he swiped his hand across the air and opened his menu. Some skillful menu navigation lead him to his inventory, and an instant later a wrapped up sandwich appeared in his hands. "Man," He huffed out as he glanced down at the sandwich. "I've really gotta learn how to make these."

Edited August 1, 2015 by Takao

[Glory 0]

Glory didn't want to fight not if she were alone so instead she wandered the first floor like a lost puppy. Afraid to ask to join a group or ask if someone would join her on an adventure Glory thought she'd be on her own for a little while at least. It took a special day or special something for her to actually open up and even then she'd maintain her shy ways. Shyness was something that Glory has had since the day she was born unfortunately so the flaw wasn't going to go away no matter how much she wanted it to.

 

The park was a pretty sight to her light brown eyes but Glory was glad it was nearly empty because the less people the less insecure she felt about herself. She was always thinking that people noticed her and her only because of her abnormal weight even if that wasn't the case the thoughts were just programmed into her mind. Glory happened to find someone and almost turned away from him in hopes of not being noticed until she saw him eating. Food was always a weakness for Glory so she wandered over to him and awkwardly stood to the side of the male. _{"Uh hey..."} She muttered as a blush made its way to her face, voice quiet. _{"D-Do you maybe have some more food I-I could have?"} 

[Takao 0]

Takao's hands squeezed the sandwich lightly as his mouth opened in preparation to take a bite of the mild-spicy food item. He'd heard a muttering voice that sounded to be nearby but didn't pay much attention to it, for once a sandwich was in his hands his daze wasn't easily broken. It wasn't until the same voice spoke up again that he'd stopped himself before taking a bite and shifted his glance to the side. He lowered the sandwich upon noticing the girl standing there somewhat awkwardly and immediately smiled warmly up at her from his seated position. The question ran through his head for a moment and he glanced down at the sandwich, then back up at her. "Sure!" He said in his usual chipper tone. He slid down the bench to give her room to sit and stretched out his sandwich holding arm to offer it to her.

 

"You can have this one. I haven't eaten it yet or anything." His smile persisted as he spoke, and his free hand was already hard at work with reopening his menu and navigating back into his inventory. By the time she'd decided on whether or not she'd accept his sandwich, Takao already had another identical to it in his free hand. "Oh, I'm Takao by the way." He said as the mental reminder to be polite and introduce himself suddenly chimed up.

[Glory 0]

At first Glory didn't think the person would answer her and in her mind many situations that didn't turn out too well swirled around though all of them faded soon enough when he smiled at her. _"Oh." She looked at the spot on the bench before sitting down and smoothing out her long tunic. _{"Thank you."} Glory smiled as her eye glimmered with gratefulness and hand reached out to grab the sandwich. _{"T-Takao? Is that Japanese? Sounds familiar."} Her stuttering died down but Glory kept her eyes glued to her lap as she took big bites out of her sandwich too afraid to look up and fully socialize with Takao. Not that Glory was being rude she just was extremely shy. _{"I'm Glory. Y-You're really nice."} 

[Takao 0]

Takao didn't waste any time when it came to digging into his sandwich once Glory had taken the one he offered to her. He nodded his head deeply, almost like a bow, in response to her gratefulness. The wordless gesture was used in place of speaking while he chewed, though he still managed to maintain a small smile. When she inquired about his name, he nodded again, though this time he spoke after swallowing. "Yup, I'm from Osaka. Takao Kimura's my full name." He said his name with ease. The concept of hiding his "identity" behind an online persona was a foreign one to him, especially so in Sword Art Online. They were seeing his real face after all, something as simple as his name shouldn't be much of a problem. He did however make a point not to inquire about the same to others, regardless of how he felt. Takao turned his head toward her slightly as she introduced herself, noticing how she kept her gaze on her lap. "It's nice t'meetcha, Glory! You seem nice too." He said, still smiling though he wasn't sure if she'd taken notice of the gesture. "How's the sandwich?"

[Glory 0]

_"Osaka?"Glory lifted her head slightly and took a look at Takao fully for the first time besides when she approached him. _{"That's where I live! Don't you just love it there? I never saw much... but what I did see was really pretty."} She admired her homeland and thought it was great that someone else in the game was from the same place she'd been her whole life. _{"Oh! And my name is Kitamura Aimi since you told me your's."} These things took away a bit of shyness on Glory's part since she could connect just a tiny bit more with Takao though she still felt uncomfortable socializing and especially sitting on the same bench with someone she just met. _{"Thank you again. Everyone says that so I guess I am nice after all."}She took a bite and smiled back at Takao who had been making the same kind expression on his face the whole time. _{"Great! I love it sort of tastes like my mother's cooking. Did you make this?"}

[Takao 0]

Takao leaned forward as he ate and supported his weight by resting his elbows on his knees. His eyebrows climbed with interest while he took another bite, his attention still focused on her. "Wait, really? You too? That's awesome!" He exclaimed, rocking his weight around until he was resting his back against the bench. Oddly enough, he hadn't met many people who lived in the same area as him. Most of the players he knew by name were either American or European, which he hadn't really considered to be strange. "I've been all over Osaka! My family really liked to travel, but work kept them close to home, so we stuck around the area a lot. Have you ever seen the Umeda Sky Building? It's so cool!" His eyes glistened with child-like wonder as he reminisced on all the sights he'd seen in the city. "My favourite part was always the food, though. But that's pretty common for Osaka I think." His expression settled into a soft smile as he returned to eating his sandwich.

 

She introduced herself with her name which surprised him, and his face showed it. He wasn't particularly good at hiding his emotions to any degree. "Kitamura Aimi." He quietly repeated the name, then nodded his head and returned to his habitual smile. "That's a nice name."

 

His nose twitched and his gaze returned to his sandwich when she asked him if he'd made it. "Nah, I wish. My cooking skill isn't high enough to make this kinda stuff yet, so I buy these on the third floor."

[Glory 0]

_{"Y-Yeah actually I have!"} Glory nodded excitedly as she grinned widely but had yet to show teeth along with her smile. _{"On a school field-trip I really did love going to that place.  It's crazy how tall buildings can be right?"} She kept her head down and a soft expression on her face as well but a faint blush still lingered. Glory was warming up to Takao but still wasn't quite ready for talking so much, only speaking more like this because of the connections she had with Osaka in her heart. _{"I went to a private school so you could think I was rich but I really wasn't. Traveling would be nice..."} Glory twiddled her thumbs idly but continued to keep her eyes fixed on Takao's just to ensure him that she was actually listening. _{"The best I had was that I could visit Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan by subway and also lived near a farming community so I saw all sorts of lifestyles."}

 

She'd finished her sandwich but continued to sit on the edge of the bench as if she were going to leave at any moment. This was sort of an escape plan for her. _"What?" Glory asked wondering why Takao seemed so startled all of the sudden but blushed heavily as he complimented her. She blushed at anything directed her way in a nice manner it was just her personality. _{"You think? My mother said Aimi means beautiful but I wondered why she would name me that in the first place..."} Glory muttered these sentences before trailing her eyes back down to her lap where her hands rested. _{"Oh. I should probably go where you go sometime I really loved the food. You really didn't have to share with me you know. I feel sorta bad for asking in the first place."}

[Takao 0]

"Yeah! It felt like I was high enough to touch the clouds, and it's not even in the top ten tallest buildings in Japan either. I'd love to go to the Abenobashi Terminal Building and check out Abeno Harukas sometime, it's like three hundred meters tall!" His genial voice carried excitement with it as he spoke. Architecture wasn't one of his passions in the slightest, but he couldn't deny the amazement he felt about the marvels of modern architecture. "A private school, huh?" He said, exhaling a lighthearted chuckle following a low whistle. "Fancy. I just went to a plain ol' public school. I live around the Miyakojima Ward, within walking distance of the Osaka Castle actually." He'd noticed her slowly opening up and smiled warmly, feeling rather happy to see that he'd managed to help her start to slip away from her shyness, even if it still lingered around for the most part.

 

He nodded along even as she muttered, and took the silence that followed as an opportunity to speak up. "Well, I think it's fitting. Love and beautiful, right?" He'd only just noticed that he'd been speaking in his native tongue for the duration of the conversation, since he usually spoke in English for the convenience of his friends who didn't speak the language. He was fortunate enough for both languages to come rather naturally, especially since one of his parents was a native english speaker. It had made the learning process considerably easier. "I can show you where it is sometime. It's an NPC run shop too, so it's open most hours of the day. I usually go there after I'm done grinding or questing for the day."

[Glory 0]

Glory's eyes widened because of utter surprise. _{"No kidding? I really wasn't paying attention on that field-trip, huh?"} She joked before giggling lightly and shaking her head. _{"I really didn't know that. Makes me wonder what it'd be like to stand on the highest floor of those buildings. Wouldn't the view be amazing? I bet you could see all of Japan on the tallest building."} Of course Glory was over-exaggerating but the thoughts of climbing the tallest building in Japan to the top was exciting. She wasn't afraid of heights so there'd be no problem at all with doing what she dreamed. _{"Abeno Harukas? Hmm..."} Glory tugged on a piece of short brown hair before speaking again and she continued to stare away from Takao. _{"Is that a skyscraper?"} She asked afraid as usual to get her question mixed up or wrong but she'd heard Takao mention how tall the Abeno Hurukas was so she thought she was right because the structure sounded familiar.

_"Right." Glory nodded. _{"T-Thank you for thinking so Takao. That's sweet of you to say something like that. Do you know what Takao means? I don't really..."} Her smile grew and head lowered even more as he mentioned her name was fitting. Many people said that but Glory reacted the same every time as if the compliment were foreign._"Fancy?" Glory shrugged. _{"...I guess so but I never really noticed that. Probably because instead of uniforms I would wear kimonos so I barely noticed the difference from a regular school besides the food was slightly better, and teachers taught more advanced subjects from time to time.}" Her brown eyes lit up once more when Takao mentioned his ward and a famous location nearby. _{"Wow! I've always wanted to see the castle but never had enough money to. I'm super jealous."}

Glory brushed a few strands of hair back behind an ear and stopped twiddling her thumbs to instead hold the end of her tunic since she tired of the other action. _{"I-I live in the Minato ward. We aren't so far away huh? That's kinda cool."} She stuttered because of how personal she was being not because of being uncomfortable. Glory had no problem sharing information it was just she'd never told anyone about her ward especially over games. Was this any different now? _{"I'd love to go if you don't mind."} She lifted her head to look at Takao. _{"Could we m-maybe do a quest? I've never done one before and I thought you seemed nice enough to ask... I hope you don't care and I promise not to bug you anymore if you don't wanna go on an adventure with me or anything."} Obviously Glory was upholding her signature red blush and stutter but who could blame the shy girl this was her first time asking someone to go out in the fields with her.

[Takao 0]

Takao grinned and chuckled along with her and turned his head forward. "Yeah, the view would be pretty awesome. You could see all of Osaka at least." He rolled his head across his shoulders and rested his head against the back of the bench, his gaze settling to look at the sky. He took a minute to scratch the length of his neck and think about her question that preceeded the brief silence. "I think that part is a skyscraper, yeah. There's uh... like... three buildings all close together, if I remember right. There's a hotel and department store near it too. I don't actually know how open the skyscraper part is to visitors though."

 

He smiled as she thanked him, and then exhaled a breath and hum that droned on as he thought again. "Uhh... I think it means something like 'dutiful male'?" He laughed lightly after saying the meaning of his name. Whether or not he thought it fit him wasn't what he found amusing, just the act of saying it out loud was enough. The conversation moved on to school, and at the mention of uniforms he visibly grimaced. "Ech. Uniforms. I really didn't like the one my school made me wear." If he could make a list of the things he was thankful for when it came to being trapped in the game, not attending school and wearing his uniform would definitely be near the top. The conversation shifted again, this time focused on the popular destination he'd mentioned. "It's kinda weird living so close to it, 'cause it doesn't always feel as special as it is. It was just that thing that was always in the background, y'know?"

 

The mention of a quest caused him to raise his head. He glanced over at her, though he didn't respond right away. His jaw set as he looked her over while his mind ran through the quests he knew about. The timid nature he perceived her to have narrowed the list down considerably, until one particular quest came to mind. He snapped his fingers and stood up to turn and face her. "Yeah, we could do a quest! I think I know one that's perfect for you too. Would you be interested in becoming a beast tamer?"

[Glory 0]

_{"Oh. Heh, yeah..."} She felt embarrassed for getting so excited of course you wouldn't be able to see all of Japan. Silly of her to think that really. _{"I'll let you know if I ever start listening in class."} Glory joked smiling at Takao for the first time instead of just to herself which was a big leap for her maybe Takao was good friend material after all. _{"You're not dutiful huh? Still a cool name to have. Takao. See pretty awesome."} She complimented him and giggled along just because laughter was contagious and because she guessed by the action and look on his face that Takao didn't really think he was the meaning of his name, she was quick to catch on.

Glory shook her head and frowned while moving her eyes back to her hands. _{"I never liked uniforms either but my school supported the idea of my family's traditional ways and made an exception for me."} She kicked her feet back and forth slowly. _{"Apparently I'm the only one who learned to walk with Gento sandals as a baby, ha."} Of course Glory felt glad she had such a skill and felt proud of embracing her heritage but still could feel the pain of her feet when first learning how to move around in such odd footwear. Now if she walked in Gento sandals it wouldn't hurt and she wouldn't fall like she had the first few years of practicing.

_{"I do know. The Osaka Aquarium didn't feel very special now that I think about it. Funny how we lived by places so famous but could care less about what we could already visit whenever."} Takao staring at her after that made Glory turn her head to blush even more. What was he doing? She suddenly felt self-conscience and held her arms over her stomach because her first thought was her weight of course. A long deep breath escaped from her and she turned her body back to face Takao when he spoke again and definitely not about her which slightly eased Glory's nerves. _{"B-Beast tamer?"} Glory paused and tapped her fingers together before jumping up in excitement, her light brown eyes glimmering. _{"Sounds great! C-Could we please start soon?"} She tugged on a piece of short hair nervously. _{"Sorry I got excited again... but I would really love to take that quest. What do I need to do?"}

[Takao 0]

Takao chuckled lightly and rubbed the back of his head, shrugging his shoulders at the comment regarding his name. "Well, I mean... I dunno, I like to think I am, I guess? But not just 'cause that's what my name means. To be honest, I think it's more awesome that there was actually a class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Navy called the Takao class. They were some of the most heavily armed in the navy at the time!" Of all the things he could be proud about in regards to his name, he had certainly chosen an odd one. His hand dropped back down to his side as he moved around her to the opposite side of the bench. He grabbed the scabbard that he'd left leaning there when he sat down and slung the strap over his shoulder. "Thank you, though." He offered up another warm, close-eyed smile as he secured the scabbard on his back.

Takao gestured for her to follow him and made sure to wait until she did before he moved. "We can start right now. I've never actually done the quest myself, but I know a little bit about it." He opened his menu as he walked and explained what he knew, quickly navigating to his inventory to arm himself with the equipment he was lacking. He didn't think he really needed the armour that appeared on his body automatically upon being equipped, but he wasn't going to take chances. "There's an NPC that'll give you the quest. Then you just need to get some low quality food items and feed it to a monster. If you're lucky, it'll take to you and become your familiar. If not, well... You'll just have to find another one. I think there's a cool down period between taming attempts too."

He paused for a moment and glanced over at her, though he continued to walk. "Have you been out into the fields yet?"

[Glory 0]

_{"Hmm. I didn't know that. Maybe you were destined to be the coolest looking person in SAO?"} She joked but honestly thought that the second definition for his name was much better than the first one he mentioned. Glory hadn't even noticed the weapon there that Takao just grabbed. _{"Y-You're welcome..."} She muttered shyly while smiling just a little and moving to walk next to Takao. _{"Great! I'm excited to become a beast tamer I just don't know which animal I would want to tame... They're all so cute."} Glory clapped her hands together twice before crossing both arms in front of her as the two moved away from the park bench. She was in awe because of Takao's armor almost forgetting you could equip anything from the menu. _{"O-Okay. I don't really have money though... C-Could you buy the food for me? Sorry for asking I was just wondering is all."} 

Her eyebrows narrowed downwards and Glory frowned in disappointment that not all attempts would work out perfectly ,she should've guessed. _{"No... You're the first person I asked. I-I've been to scared to join in groups. But I-I'm willing to fight if I have to!"} She didn't want Takao to underestimate her and already felt embarrassed for being such a novice in the game compared to others.

[Takao 0]

Takao glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow and laughed, then shook his head. "Coolest looking person? Hah, No way! You should see the leader of my guild, she's way cooler looking. Or even some of the other front liners, they're some mean lookin' dudes too." His hand hooked onto the strap that held his scabbard and fell into a comfortable position as they walked. Having never done the quest meant his knowledge on the matter was limited, but he was confident it was enough to at least get her set on the right path.

"I actually have some low quality food stuffs that I made a few days ago. They should work just as good, I think. Plus it saves us a run to the shops." The bustle of the first floor's starter town wasn't a particularly enjoyable experience for Takao, even if he did understand why it was so. There were plenty of players that didn't want to participate in the death game, which he found perfectly acceptable. Inaction just wasn't his forté. "The NPC should be wandering around up here somewhere. We should be able to spot her no problem since she sticks out." His eyes scanned the area for the NPC they searched for, who dressed in a strange fashion that was foreign to Takao, despite his extensive exposure to tourism.

"I don't think we'll have to do very much fighting, unless you accidentally tame one you don't like. I was just curious if any monsters came to mind that you wanted to tame. You've got plenty of time to decide though."

[Glory 0]

_{"Cooler than you? Wow your guild leader might break the cool-o-meter. So what guild is it?"} Glory asked interested in guilds as she hadn't heard too much about them and remember reading about guilds in the game guide. She obviously had warmed up to Takao but still kept her mannerisms shy as that was who she is. Of course Glory could never turn down an opportunity to crack a joke no matter how small. _{"You're a cook? That's really neat! I know there are professions but I'm not ready to take one on just yet..."} Her head perked up and eyes scanned the surroundings. "_{Sticks out? Is she weird or something?"} She frowned at the thought of "one she didn't like" because that was literally impossible to happen to Glory and she knew she'd want every single animal. _{"Any beast works honestly. Have you seen any?"}

 

 

Edited August 2, 2015 by Glory

[Takao 0]

Another laugh escaped Takao at the thought of his place on a 'cool-o-meter', although he nodded in agreement. "Yup! There's a lot of people in the guild that're like that, actually, like Ariel. But uhh, the guild's called "the Guardians of Aincrad". Lessa's the leader, I met her on a quest up on the fifth floor and only just recently joined the guild myself. If you're interested in joining, I could introduce you to her. I bet you'd fit right in with everybody!" He grinned down at the shorter girl and nodded again at the mention of his profession. "They're fun ways to kill time. I probably should've taken something a bit more practical, like Alchemist maybe... I just figured cooking would be more convenient. Definitely tastes better, at least."

The Romani woman that was very distinct from the rest of the crowd appeared and approached the two. "Oh, there she is. I just meant she was dressed unusual, see?" He gestured toward the unusual style of clothing she wore. Takao took a step back as she approached, allowing Glory to take the NPC's attention.

« Hello, player! Would you happen to be interested in monster taming? »

[Glory 0]

Glory thought that Takao being in the Guardians of Aincrad seemed right because he just was the type you'd think wanted to help everyone out, or was just super friendly, but when he mentioned her joining the guild Glory quickly shook her head and blushed. _{"N-No... I-I'm not fit to be a guardian. That would be really cool though if I was in a guild. I-I guess I'll think about it. Your leader sounds pretty awesome anyways it wouldn't hurt to meet her."} Glory brushed her hair back and bowed her head not feeling like she really would fit in with a crowd that already sounded amazing. "Y-You think so?" She fell back to stuttering out of surprise and a little embarrassment coming from insecurity. _{"It doesn't matter what you do as long as you like it really."} Glory giggled and lifted her head up. _{"I would think so. Food is the best."}

She followed Takao's eyes to find the NPC but found out she didn't have to do that because the lady did stand out like he said which made Glory laugh again just a little bit louder than the other times. _{"You're right for sure. That's a silly way of dressing if you ask me."} Not being used to that style of clothing where she lived the NPC didn't seem like the type to take seriously. Even though it was just an NPC Glory was still shy and quiet muttered when she spoke with her head up but brown eyes on the ground. _{"Yes please."}

Edited August 2, 2015 by Glory

[Takao 0]

Takao nodded in response and shrugged his shoulders some. "I can recommend you to some other guilds if you don't think that one fits, but part of the Guardian's goals are helping out new members, not just bein' all... Guardian-y. Lessa said the guild is supposed to like a safe haven for 'em, to help gear them up and prepare them and stuff. Buuut, if not the Guardians, I bet Silver Moon would be happy to have you. They're like a big family." His hand raised to scratch his cheek as his gaze shifted away, staring idly at nothing. "Their leader is pretty awesome too." He let his gaze linger on nothing for a bit longer before he turned back to look at her. "Either way, joining a guild is pretty important, or even just a group really. Goin' at it alone can be a really bad idea." He felt a bit hypocritical, prattling on about how playing solo was dangerous despite how often he recklessly did so himself. Takao fell silent when the NPC spoke up again.

« Excellent! Well, all you need to do is feed one, and it might just become your ally! »

As the NPC spoke, a floating menu appeared in front of Glory, asking her if she'd like to accept the quest. Two icons on the bottom presented her with her choices, accept and cancel. As Takao watched, his mind wandered back to a question he didn't get the chance to answer from a moment ago.

"Oh, I've seen plenty of monsters, if that's what you mean. Though not very many would strike me as, well... "Ally" material." He made sure to gesture with air quotes when saying the word "Ally". After a brief moment of quiet contemplation, he spoke up again. "There are a few that I think might work though. There are these little blue foxes with wings you might like, or maybe a wolf puppy? They're common on this floor."

[Glory 0]

_"Oh." Glory paused and thought a little bit. _{"Well Guardians doesn't sound all too bad now. I do need help. Maybe I'll be joining?"} Glory finished the sentence like she was asking a question and partly joking but she herself wasn't really sure about what her decision was just yet or what the words even meant. _{"Silver Moon? That's a great guild name I wonder where it came from, but I like it. I'll think about guilds later."} She nodded and nervously tugged on a strand of short brown hair. "_{Y-Yeah going out is scary... and dangerous if you're gonna fight. Don't worry I won't ever do that kinda thing until I'm stronger."} 

Smiling and nodding Glory accepted the quest offer. _{"T-Thank you."} She said to the NPC shyly but her face glowed with excitement as she jumped up and down. _{"Sounds cute! I want something unique though, let's hope this goes well. I'm excited."} Glory went on and on but stopped once she calmed herself down. _{"S-Sorry... Would you lead the way then Takao?"}

Edited August 3, 2015 by Glory