[PP-F1] [COMPLETED] Relieve the Boredom (Jevi)

[Koumori 0]

I sat just outside the town of beginnings, still on the first floor. At this point in my adventure I still have yet to venture up. I don't know if I was even ready to go up yet, I mean I still have the starting gear and no col to speak of, but that doesn't mean I wasn't growing bored of the first floor. I sat against the wall looking at the Aincrad sunrise. It was a nice sight I'll give it that. However I wasn't about it sit around there all day. Hopefully something interesting would happen.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Koumori

[Jevi 0]

Sunrise seemed like an appropriate enough time to get this job done. The girl leaned against a building, her body hidden in the shadow cast from the rising sun. She retied her long tan scarf so it covered most of her face, and even wrapped around her head some, her yellow eyes poking over the scarf while her purple ponytail fell behind her. As a large group of players walked by her position, she stepped from the shadows, tying a large sack to her waistband. She then scanned the area, looking both ways down the street before she quickly made her way towards the Eastern District of The Town of Beginnings. She hoped no one saw her or decided to follow. 

[Koumori 0]

Much to my dismay my prayers weren't answered. I stood up from my long held position and shuffled my way back into the town. I hadn't really been sitting there that long, it was still early morning and the sun was still close enough to the horizon. As I was walking I realized I should probably plan out my dad. I figured that I could get some materials by hunting around in the fields. After all I had been itching to get my hands on sword I could call my own. Satisfied with my plan I adjusted my course to head for a café. I hadn't yet had breakfast and I wasn't about to go out all day without any food in my stomach. Well, at least I thought this is how my day was going to go. As I approached the eatery I noticed a strange woman sprinting through the streets. With the large sack handing from her waist and the scanning look held in her eyes, some sort of alarm went off in my head. After following her with my eyes I decided that I should at least tail her for awhile. I hope she doesn't try to pull anything I thought. I'll see what she's up to. 

[Jevi 0]

Jevi swiftly moved through the streets, trying not to draw much attention to her. She slowed her sprint to a quickened walk as she moved through the different players and NPCs walking the streets. She needed to get to the other side of town as quickly as possible before she was found out. She looked behind her.. luckily she did not see anyone trying to follow her.. She came to a ledge above her, about 15 feet above her head. She sucked her teeth, she wished she had some sort of skill to get up there easily.. Looks like she would need to find some way around. As she quickly turned to find another path, she looked behind her again. This time, she locked eyes with another player, a boy's. He was still a distance off, but he was walking in her direction. Maybe she was just overthinking it.. and quickened her pace as she went around the corner to find another path. 

[Koumori 0]

As I followed the player she gradually started to slow down, but I could tell she was in no less of a hurry. The expression on her face remained and I sense she was desperately trying to get somewhere without being seen. Eventually she reached what was basically a dead end: an unscalable wall. I hadn't noticed it in time so I was still casually walking some distance behind her when she suddenly turned around and locked her piercing eyes with mine. Crap, she saw me I thought. Just at that moment her pace picked up again and with that I was even more confident in my assessment. Well, at the very least she wanted to get away from me. I prepared to break into a sprint but then I had a better thought. I was fairly certain she would be able to outrun me, but not if I cut her off. Based on the direction she was headed before I took off down the street and weaved through an alley or two. If I planned things right I'd come out just before she reached where I was. 

[Jevi 0]

Finding her way to the upper level of the path, the purple haired girl continued to make her way through the streets. She placed her hand on the bag at her waist, making sure it was still secured tightly. I hope they still aren't following me.. I thought it would have been hours before they caught on. She felt herself begin to sweat under the pressure. She needed to keep up the pace and not look suspicious by turning around to check. She let out a light sigh as she continued to hurry through the streets. The one she needed to meet should be waiting for her in a cafe on the far side of the city. All she needed to do was get through the town square and it should be a straight run to her target. 

[Koumori 0]

I was right. I still had no idea where she was going but I was at least able to get ahead of her. Looking down the street I noticed that besides the alley I was in and the corresponding one across from me there was only one way to go, the town square. I figured that would be my chance. Before she got close enough to recognize me I left my position and hurried up the street, weaving through the crowd. I reached the town square rather quickly an immediately ducked around the corner. She'd reach me any second. Without thought I swiftly took the position most natural to me: arms crossed, left leg back and leaning on the wall. I figured I'd look imposing enough like this. Just as I was ready I saw her walk up. I quietly and smoothly spoke to her, "Got something to hide?" I smirked as I said it. 

[Jevi 0]

Looked like she was going to be alright, they had not caught up to her. Just then, she heard the sound of yelling and pounding footsteps behind her, ~"S***." she said under her breath. She looked over her shoulder to see a group of rowdy looking players running down the street behind her, weapon's drawn. Maybe they didn't realize she was the one they were after. No matter, as long as no one got in her way, she would be able to make it in time. She looked forward to see another player standing in front of her, looking quite confident in stopping Jevi. ~"What the hell?!" She had no time for distractions, but she knew if she didn't do anything about this kid, he would probably let on her position to the guys following her. She grabbed his arm quickly as she quickly darted to the side, merging into the bustling square. She quickly opened her menu and unequipped the scarf from her neck, revealing the rest of her face and making her seem a little less suspicious. She stopped running and began to slowly walk with this other guy, ~"Just play along.. please.." she said quietly, almost as if pained in what she was about to do. She lowered her hand from her arm to his hand and held it. As she did so, she turned her head to the kid and began to playfully giggle as if he said something funny. Looking back over her shoulder, she noticed the group of players run into the town square. They scanned the area, looking for whomever their target may be, despite not knowing what Jevi looked like or realizing it was even her.  She seemed to be safe for now, so she created a larger distance with the group, taking the player by the hand slowly to the other side of the square. 

Edited August 4, 2015 by Jevi

[Koumori 0]

The girls reaction was not what I was expecting to say the least. She furiously approached me and grabbed my arm, yanking me into the plaza. If she was trying to run from me why would she take me aside like this? Just as I was about to interrogate her I noticed she was busy working her menu and watched as the scarf covering her face disappeared. Maybe she wants to speak to me face to face, I thought. It was then she did something even more shocking: she grabbed and held my hand. The woman, my hand forcibly held in hers, leaned closer to me and began laughing at a joke I apparently wasn't aware of. Then she whispered something into my ear. She wanted me to play along? What was going on here? I've seen enough movies to be familiar with this tactic, she was trying to blend in. That had to be it. But the only question remained was from who? It clearly wasn't from me so she must have been spooked by something else. I took a cautionary glance behind me and it all fell into place. I noticed a group of intimidating, and very angry looking, men approaching with weapons drawn. I didn't know what they planned on using them for in a safe zone but they looked like they meant business. I stayed quite as the girl requested as the passed us. Once they were gone it was my turn. I whipped my hand out of her's, put my hand on her shoulder, and pushed her into a sitting position on a nearby bench. "Okay, what's the deal?" I said exasperated while staring down at her. 

[Jevi 0]

Jevi let out a sigh of relief as she noticed the men beginning to give up on their search for her, and then she felt the player whom she had used as cover grab her by the shoulder and push her onto a bench. The appreciative look on her face suddenly turned to that of anger. How dare this kid push her like that, he was the one that got in her way! She pushed his hand off of her shoulder and glared up at the boy with yellow eyes, her brow furrowed. ~"Whats the deal? I was in the middle of trying to get somewhere before you interrupted me and almost gave me away. Thats what the deal is." she said forcefully to the player, but still in a soft tone so others could not hear her. ~"It was nothing concerning you, unless you're with them. So why did you try to stop me?" she learned her body forward while speaking to him, her nose slightly crinkling with annoyance. 

[Koumori 0]

She did not look happy. Whatever, I wasn't too concerned at this point with whether she liked me or not at this point. The men were gone and she seemed relieved at first, but my reaction really set her off. That being the case, I was no less interested in getting to the bottom of the situation. She begrudgingly explained herself to me and I would return in kind. "Well when you see someone running through town with their eyes in the back of their head some alarms go off. I don't know who's in the right her but those guys looked like bad news. What did they want with you?" I started off stern but drifted into a more inquisitive tone. I assumed I wouldn't get the information I wanted if I played rough. 

[Jevi 0]

Closing her eyes, she let out a heavy sigh. Guess she had no choice but to let him in on her 'secret mission.' ~"I'm not going to go into great detail.. but those guys are no good.. they stole something from my.. client .. I told her I would get it back for her." She unfolded her arms and looked up at the boy, shrugging her shoulders. Her words were genuine, for it was exactly the truth of the matter. Of course, there was more to it than she was letting on at the time.. but she was truthful. ~"You can choose to believe my story, or not. Either way, I need to get this item to that other player. And it needs to stay somewhat of a secret."

[Koumori 0]

She was definitely peaved that I was envolving myself in her business but I could tell her response wasn't a lie. The displeased expression her face bore was not one of deceit. The woman wasn't trying to lie to me, but she wasn't saying anymore than she had to. At this point I could tell that it was going to be a chore to get the full story out of her, something which at this point I wasn't giving up without. Based on the brief explanation she gave me, assuming of course it was true, makes it seem like she's trying to do the right thing. But I still couldn't be sure on the identities of the men nor her "client". The client was what bothered me the most. Good people have worked for pretty despicable individuals. For some reason thought that wasn't the vibe I was getting. Id have to choose my words carefully if I wished to find out. Relaxing my stance a little I spoke, "So you're retrieving something for a client, huh? I'll chose to believe you but if you're so intent on keeping it a secret it must be important. Let me help you." I wanted her to accept voluntarily. Threats wouldn't be a good opening move. But I could do it

[Jevi 0]

Jevi looked at the boy quizzically, one of her eyebrows raised. Her arms still crossed as she leaned back on the bench so she was sitting upright, ~"You want to help?" She scoffed, ~"No thanks kid, Ill be fi-" her eyes were drawn back towards the entrance to town square. The men who were chasing her were gathered again, and were soon joined by another group. She grit her teeth when she recognized a woman in the group as someone Jevi bumped into right after stealing the item back, the only one who saw Jevi do the deed. ~"s***... Alright, I could use your help. But we need to move now."

[Koumori 0]

She was about to dismiss me, but something made her change her mind. She clearly didn't want to go with me out of choice but out of necessity. I noticed she was looking at something and turned my head to look in the same direction. The men were back, and this time they were accompanied by a woman I had never seen before. The girl at my side, although worried, didn't seem to be especially concerned about those men earlier, so it must have been that woman that set her off. She told me we needed to move. Now that I was seen with her I would undoubtably be considered an accomplice, so I had to comply. I turned back to look at her, "Right. This way." I gestured her to follow me down one of the side streets that led in a direction that was essentially parallel to the menacing group, going through it would allow us to get behind them. Hopefully unseen of course. I hoped she'd follow without fighting with me. "It's Koumori, in case you were wondering"

[Jevi 0]

Jevi did not hesitate to follow the player. His wanting to help seemed genuine, so she was going to put her trust in him. She knew the ones who were after her could not kill her while in the safe zone. But what was stopping them from humiliating her by dropping her HP down to 1 in front of the whole square? Or worse yet, they would hunt her down when she least expected it when she was asleep.. or even out of the safe zone. Then there would be nothing she could do about it. She shook her head, she could not think about that now and needed to focus on their escape. ~"You really seem to know your way around." she said to the boy, looking at the walls around them, ~"And I'm Jevi." 

[Koumori 0]

Jevi, as she introduced herself, seemed happy to follow my lead. I was happy about it of course but I was honestly surprised. I had expected her to be at least a little difficult about it. Perhaps in the moment getting away was more important than arguing with me. I led her down the street just as planned and continued walking as I spoke, "I've stayed down here a little longer than I should have. I know the town pretty well." It seemed like they had not noticed us slip down the street so I slowed our pace to a normal walk. Never a good idea to draw attention. We continued moving in silence and when I was satisfied we had widened the gap sufficiently I turned down an alley and walked around to the back of a store as to not be seen from the street. This should be good I thought. Now it was time to get the full story. "We should be good."

[Jevi 0]

Jevi let out a sigh of relief as the two slowed their pace. Taking on this mission was starting to be a pain in her neck. She looked at the boy, who looked at Jevi quizzically. She smirked, letting out slight hum, ~"Guess I should explain myself a bit more.. since you're helping me and all." She took a quick look behind her, just to make sure that the group had not trailed them. ~"Well, as I said.. That group likes to call themselves 'keepers of the peace,' but they like to collect money or items from other players as a sort of payment.. Obviously they aren't doing it right, since they have stooped so low as the begin stealing from players when they refuse to pay up.. which is bulls*** in itself." she placed her hands on her hips. ~"The group stole something from a girl, a special item she had made custom at a shop here.. a very pricey item and very valuable to her. After it was stolen, she tried to ask for help from other players.. none of them wanting to step up to them. Once she started offering a col reward, however, I overheard and decided to step in." she shrugged her shoulders, ~"And thats when I went and stole it back.. and here we are." 

[Koumori 0]

Once Jevi was confident that we were in the clear she opened up, more than I thought she would honestly. I listened to her story intently, and couldn't believe what I heard. A group of players was collecting money from other players so that they could "keep the peace". And they would even steal from players if they refused? That was despicable. How could anybody get away with claiming that there's tax collecting in SAO? The fact that these people even thought for a second that they were doing something right is beyond me. Jevi continued to explain as I stewed and told how a girl had a very important item taken from her by that group. I was disappointed that Jevi only offered to help once the girl put up a reward, but that doesn't make her bad. This was a serious issue. With a scowl on my face I offered my opinion, "You're saying a group of players has taken it apon themselves to become tax collectors? And they're even taking what they want by force? Of all the things happening in SAO that is by far the worst. I'm glad I ran into you because now al I can think about is stopping them...but right now we have to focus on getting that girl her item back. You have it, right? What is it?" Jevi and I were going to fix this. Now I felt like it was my duty. 

[Jevi 0]

Jevi's eyes were focused on what was in front of her and around her, making sure that there was no one in the area that were tailing them. Once Koumori summed up Jevi's own story to her, she scoffed, ~"Good. You catch on quick." she turned to him with a smirk on her lips.  ~"Yeah.. Apparently they call themselves Army of Aincrad.. or AoA for short.. There a makeshift group.. kinda like a guild, but not on the books. They help out some of the players who are too scared to leave the beginning floors... some even claim themselves to be "clearers" who go up to the higher floors to make it safe. But in the end, they just want mass amounts of money from it.. Like I said, resorting to violence if it comes to that." She glared forward, ~"Just a bunch of no good thugs if you ask me.." Jevi then reached for the bag on her waistcloth. ~"Well.. if you insist." she opened up the bag to reveal a small teddy bear. What seemed like some cheap item at first, turned out to be quite a valuable vanity item, completely hand crafted. ~"Doesn't look like much.. but it means a lot to the girl apparently."