[PP-F1] Can the Sky Cry? (Jomei)

[Shizuka 0]

Can the sky cry? Shizuka didn't know. In fact, she was clueless to the majority of this game and here she was, having spent a night in the cold on a park bench, early in the morning, sitting down by herself, considering the question. Can the sky cry? She would say no, as she had never seen it before, but there were many things that she has never seen before including any of the floor bosses which the other players have defeated through many casualties and deaths. However, here she was, asking a question to herself. Despite her thinking, it was actually an excuse for her mind to be occupied. Even though the wheels in her brain is turning at the very moment, she was still staring blankly into the space that occupied the area in front of the gigantic oak tree located at the middle of the park. She sighed before rubbing her eyes with her hand in order to perhaps wake her from the blur that she was seeing and thinking about at the moment. Still, after about ten minutes of thinking, she was still unable to come up with an answer to her own question. How annoying. She decided before feeling her stomach rumble. Eh. Time for ramen. And thus, she decided to throw her question to the back of her mind. Indeed, if the sky did cry, she would soon witness it through her own eyes. Perhaps when she stopped crying, the sky had also stopped. Nevertheless, she has arrived at the ramen booth where she order what she usually ordered: Spicy ramen. This time, it was spicy beef flavored ramen which she sat, impatiently, waiting for her order to arrive so she can devour the food and wake up as a result of the spiciness. 

(I'll be posting on my phone for the rest of tonight so if my posts are not pink, don't go OCD on me XD. I'll format it the next morning.)

[Jomei 0]

((No need to format it. A post is a post xD))

The irishman found himself once again down on the First Floor of Aincrad. He used to always question his motives for coming back to The Town of Beginnings. After awhile, however, he figured he just needed to remind himself of where he began, and how far he has come since then. He smiled at the thought, as he picked another berry from the small bag in his hand, tossing it high into the air for his own companion to fly by and grab it. With a chuckle, the man placed the bag back into his inventory and let out a whistle, calling for the animal to return to his shoulder. Scratching the small bird on her chin, Jomei placed his other hand on his stomach, "You know.. feeding you made me realize that I was hungry too." He figured it was time for lunch, but where to go was the question. His hand tousled his amber colored hair as he rubbed the back of his neck, thinking of just where to get a bite to eat. Slightly off in the distance, he noticed a small hut set up, the signs outside advertising the place sold ramen. It had been awhile since Jomei had eaten ramen noodles, so he figured why not. Making his way over to the shop, he entered and smiled at the one behind the counter who was taking orders. "Just a spicy miso ramen please." His gaze then moved down to the counter in front of him where there were only about 5 seats, 3 of them being taken. He decided to take the empty spot next to a girl with pink locks running down the back of her head. "Mind if I sit here, lass?" Jomei asked politely, as he pulled the chair out for him to sit down.

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka had been quietly chewing away at her delicious piece of beef when she was interrupted by a man that was searching for a place to sit. Of course, having been extremely drowsy and half-asleep, she was unable to reply with enough haste before the man sat down on his own with the pull of the chair. Nevertheless, she replied to the man with a simple "sure.", the only thing she could process in her mind before physically speaking out. No matter how asleep or drowsy the girl is, she'll always have passion for the ramen that she loved so much. She took a few more slurps of her spicy ramen before hearing that the man had ordered a spicy miso ramen. Miso ramen! She thought. One of the most expensive items on that menu. She realized before looking up at the man and instantly forgetting about the ramen that she'd been eating. The spiciness had already woken her up at this point, but the fact that somebody had ordered a spicy miso ramen was more than enough to snap her out of complete drowsiness. "Good choice, mister," She began to say, "That's quite a delicious food item you have ordered. And an expensive one not to mention... I'm sure you'll like it." She smiled before picking up her chopsticks and continuing the slurp down upon her spicy, good-tasting food item known as ramen.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei nodded politely at the girl who had answered his request at a slightly delayed pace, as he was already setting his rear on the chair. Jomei watched at the one behind the counter went off to prepare the noodles. The girl next to him then commented on his choice from the menu, telling him that it was not only a delicious choice, but a pricy one. "Is it? Its been awhile since I've had a nice bowl of ramen.. I remember miso being one of the tastier I've tried. Especially when its spicy." he chuckled. "And expensive huh..?" he mumbled to himself, but enough for the girl to hear. His eyes gazed down at the menu in front of him to see just how much the food he had purchased was. Upon finding it, he did notice it was one of the pricier dishes the house had to offer. However, Jomei was not one to spend his money very often.. and he had enough to spare. He smiled and looked back up from the menu, "Ah, thats no concern to me.. As long as its up to par with the taste." 

Not long after checking the price, a bowl of noodles was placed in front of him. He felt his mouth water as he looked down at the bowl, which contained pieces of chicken and other assorted vegetables on top of the noodles, all simmering in a red broth. He then took hold of the chopsticks and began to eat the ramen. She was right, this is incredible! I need to come here more often. After slurping down a long noodle, the irishman wiped some of the broth from his lip and turned to the girl next to him, "Definitely was a good choice. I take it then you come here often." he chuckled, "I'm Jomei by the way." He took hold of a slab of chicken in the chopsticks and bit off a piece of it.

[Shizuka 0]

"Come here often?" Shizuka repeated as she was not sure if she heard the question correctly as many NPCs began to flood the shop as it day has truly begun now. "Uh. Yes. Everyday for breakfast and sometimes other meals as well. I like it here, most of the time, it rather calm and quiet... Well, except for this morning." When the man introduced himself, Shizuka felt that she was obligated to do so as well. She finished the remainders of her ramen before speaking out, "My name is Shizuka. Level 4." She'd added that last part for no reason and perhaps she should've as the man might not be a friendly character but her mind was truly not working at the moment and the drowsiness does indeed affect one's thinking. Argh... She thought. I need to like slap myself so I can wake up from my slumber. She thought as her eye lids became a bit heavy and she had to jerk awake when she began falling asleep. "Owner!" She shouted. "I'll pay with col now." And thus, the owner came and she paid for her food. 

[Jomei 0]

Jomei raised an eyebrow at the girl as she commented that she comes here pretty much for every meal. "Hah, a connoisseur of ramen you must be then." he chuckled as he took another mouthful of the delicious noodles. He began to notice the shop filling up with more and more people, a lot of them being NPCs. A way to draw attention to the place he supposed.. seeing a large group of people at a small place like this would only spell that they had something amazing to offer. A smirk etched onto Jomei's lips as the girl introduced herself, "Nice to meet you Shizuka Level 4." he pronounced the whole thing without spaces, as if the whole thing were her name. "Well, if we are introducing ourselves with our levels... I guess that makes me Jomei, Level 23." He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling quite silly that he introduced himself with his level like that.. especially being a higher leveled player on the First Floor of the game. He could tell from the look in her eyes that she was sleepy.. despite it being still early in the day. "You look pretty tired, lass." he said over to her as he noticed her eyelids struggling to stay open. He turned back to his bowl of ramen, scooped up the last bit of noodles, and then lifted the bowl to his lips to let the spicy miso broth pour down his throat. After placing the chopsticks back on the table, he opened his inventory and sent the necessary col over to the shop keep to pay for his food. "Thank ya' kindly." he said with a polite bow of his head.

[Shizuka 0]

"Yes indeed, mister," Shizuka said with a smile. "I didn't get that much of a good sleep last night. The loud crickets and sounds of the night were bothering me until I forced my eyes closed." Of course, she did not tell the amber haired man about her location of sleep in that back valley as it might sound rather awkward. Soon, she decided that it was for the best if she changed the topic right there in case the man was going to ask for where she would've slept that she was able to hear such noises. With a yawn, she said, "I'm feeling much better now," pause. "You're level twenty-three? Woah. That's rather high!" She exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down as there were other NPCs nearby. That would be the second high leveled player that she's met. The first was one by the name of Ssendom and they had had a meal together in a fancy restaurant that Shizuka would've never afforded by herself. Then, as she talked, she heard distant conversation between two NPCs that were sitting in a fair distance away.

"Did you hear about the Halloween boss event?" One asked.
"Indeed! The players are all pumped!" Another said.
"Yeah. I'm quite excited myself." The first one replied once more.

Shizuka cracked a smile.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei looked off to the side in thought as Shizuka mentioned the loud sounds of the night kept her up. "Aye, I know the feeling.. My shop is located just outside of the safe zone on Floor Two. So sometimes I hear the sounds of wolves.. boars.. sometimes players fighting them." he shrugged his shoulders, "But I've gotten used to it. Reminds me to keep safe." he smirked. He thought about possibly moving his shop back into the safe zone of Urubs, maybe even moving it up to a higher floor in time. For now, however, he decided his music hall would stay put where it is. The man put his hands up and waved them gently when the girl exclaimed that his level was rather high, "I-Its really not much. I know a lot more people one the front lines who could crush me with their thumb." he laughed sheepishly. Off in the distance, Jomei heard a pair of restaurant patrons speaking about the upcoming Halloween event on Floor Six, out in the pumpkin patch. Jomei chuckled, "Heh. Sounds like that event out in the pumpkin fields is bigger than I thought..I'm surprised more players did not sign up for it."

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka sighed. "I wish I could've participated. I would've probably helped out those that are injured in that boss. I'm walking the path of a support and healer build. I've heard that there are not a lot of those these days and I love to help others and keeping them alive (luls). If only I wasn't so depressed at the start of the game or who knew how much use I could be to the player community." She said, a long passage of words but a good one. One that can get the point across. Indeed, that sentence probably explained Shizuka's entire game so far. She had been completely useless at the start of the game, and because of this, her level is so low compared to some of the other players like the one in front of her. Don't worry. I'll catch up. She thought with a smile as a method of encouragement for herself. "The event out in the pumpkin fields? I've heard about it but not in detail. Do you know anything more about it? Still, even if you do, a level four player like me would probably prove to be completely useless and will probably die if hit by an attack. So... Surely someone like you signed up for the event right even if you are humble about your level." She said after a series of questions.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei placed his elbows on the counter and leaned forward, his face turned towards Shizuka as she expressed her interest to help in the event, but was not a high enough level most likely due to being withdrawn during the early months of the game. He could not blame her.. most of Aincrad probably felt that same hopelessness and depression at some point during the past few months. "You're not the only one. I felt the same way upon starting. Even still do, from time to time.." He let out a light sigh, and then smirked at the girl. "No worries, you'll find yourself getting stronger in no time if you just put yourself out there. Maybe even if you joined a guild." Part of him wanted to just start going on to this girl about his guild and trying to get her to join.. but then again, he only just met her. He would probably keep that in the back of his mind. 

The man nodded his head, "Aye. From what it seems, theres a large pumpkin like monster thats causing a bit of mischief on Floor Six.. For the event, seems like we are going to have to take it out. From what I gathered, it would be like fighting a powerful floor boss." Jomei's face tensed a bit at the thought of possibly getting killed during this fight. "Y-Yeah actually. I will be joining the others out there to fight it." 

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka watched as the Jomei's face turned tense as he talked about the boss. "Must be quite a tough boss then," She exclaimed with an assumption. "Well, I give you my best wishes while fighting that boss. Hopefully, you guys will successfully kill the pumpkin without deaths. Still, I think you should relax today as the battle will probably take a lot out of you. I always rest before a day of importance and I think you should do that as well." Shizuka said with a smile. Indeed, in real life, when she would have act as a model for her father's company, she would take the previous day to rest and do nothing. Still, after years of practice, every session would create a lot of stress and worries for her. Luckily, she would be in this game for a while to escape that. Well, that is one of the few positives of being stuck in this game. Shizuka thought. She always tries to be an optimistic individual even if some other people are not around her. With a sigh, she decided to order a cup of water for a low price. "Sorry, I'm rather thirsty, would you like a beverage?" She asked randomly, not sure of what else to say except to offer the man a beverage.

[Jomei 0]

The man shrugged his shoulder, "No idea to be honest. Won't know just how strong it is until it pops out of the ground." Jomei's serious face turned into a smile when she wished him and the others the best of luck, "Thank you. I'm sure we will be fine.. I was the last one to sign up, so I noticed the names of a lot of tough players I am familiar with on there." The girl then suggested Jomei take the day to relax, for that would be the best way to prepare for an event such as this. "Yeah, that doesn't sound like a bad idea actually." Jomei lifted his hand to open his stats menu, and brought the same hand to his chin while looking over his current experience. "No way that I could gain another level.. unless I go up to Floor Twelve and find a elite monsters there... and fight them all night." Jomei doubted his own strengths to do even that. He swiped his hand down to close the menu, "A day of relaxing it is then. And no thank you, I am fine." he smiled. 

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka obtained her cup of water before drinking it and putting it into her inventory. "So, where do you want to hang out? Preferably somewhere where the scenery is good as I enjoy those locations rather well. Aincrad is rather boring if you ask me except for fighting action and I think you'd rather not have that." She said before taking another sip of the water that she held with her right hand. Then she decided to take a peek outside and from what she could see, the town was completely crowded by now as the sun had risen out to the sky completely and it was obvious that if they didn't move now, it might end up being too late for them to move. With a sigh, she stood up. "Well, let's just go somewhere and we can decide and talk along the way."

[Jomei 0]

The irishman watched as the girl ordered the cup of water, and after taking a couple of sips, placed the cup into her inventory. Had she used up all of the bottles of water given to each player at the start of the game? He then blinked in surprise when the girl asked where he would want to hang out. "Hm.." he rubbed his chin, "You know, I haven't really been down here in awhile.. I don't really remember what there is to do for fun down here" he took his hand from his chin and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I mean.. when I was down here all the time when the game first started, I would just drink the day away in the pub and wait for it to all blow over." He turned in his seat and stood up, "So I'll let you decide that one." 

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka had always loved nature, and with nature came great scenery. Indeed, she has been to many places where the scenery and make one gasp in terror or squeal in delight. Of course, that was over exaggeration, but she was sure that they could have a picnic of some sorts later on. However, right now, since the man had not been on the first floor, she decided that it would be best for her to show him the outskirts of the place... Just outside of the safe zone as that is where nature shows to have the greatest potential. "How about we head out to the plains of the danger zone? I'm sure a few boars wouldn't hurt you but I would be surprised if there are some waiting, I highly doubt it." Shizuka said with a smile. "The place is beautiful... especially during sunset... Perhaps we could go sightseeing for a while? I'm sure you'd like that."

[Jomei 0]

"Sure." Jomei said with a nod. There were a lot of nice sights here on Floor One, being the largest floor and all. The Town of Beginnings may have taken up most of it, but there was still so much to explore. He wondered what this girl had in mind, or if it was something Jomei had seen before. Either way, he was always down for an adventure. The man chuckled at the mention of boars, "You know.. Its been quite awhile since I've fought a boar. Was always worried about them when I was lower leveled.. always heard that they were one of the top causes of death in Aincrad." Jomei  began to walk out of the hut, extending out his arm to his side to gesture to Shizuka, "Lead the way." 

[Shizuka 0]

 

Shizuka decided that she would go ahead and lead the higher leveled player to the plains. If one truly observes nature, they would be able to discover the loveliness and amazingness of nature. Shizuka sighed before standing up from the ramen place and saying, "Follow me" Shizuka said as she finally managed to pull her butt from the chair that she sat on. "Let's watch trees dancing from the plains," She said, trying to let Jomei know what she was planning to give him an opportunity to back away from the sightseeing if he desires. She allowed the man to follow her as she walked out of the shop and with a smile, she opened the door and walked out. Soon, they were on the outskirts of the town and she hadn't expected time to pass by so fast. The sunset was rather pretty and it was quite hard to imagine that they had spent an entire morning in a ramen place.... The owner must be rather annoyed at that fact. Despite this, the story must continue and Shizuka quickly settled down after sitting on the plain field of grass. "The scenery here is quite nice," She said after making herself comfortable. "Have a seat, maybe after a while, we can have a gaze at the stars... I haven't star-gazed in this world yet." They would have to wait a while for a quite a bit if they were to star gaze and the man might not want to wait that long.

 

[Jomei 0]

Jomei followed after the pink haired girl as they left the ramen shop, their seats almost instantly being taken by other hungry patrons. He thought he caught a glimpse of the owner behind the counter shaking his head at them.. They had not stayed that long, had they? Upon turning to look out at The Town of Beginnings in front of him, Jomei's question was answered. The sun was already beginning to set. They had literally spent the entire day sitting in a ramen shop. The man, with a puzzled look on his face, rubbed the back of his neck. "I-I guess time flies when you're eating ramen, huh.." he let a light chuckle pass from his lips. Jomei placed his hands into his pockets and followed next to Shizuka, letting out a sharp whistle as if calling something. Moments later, a small brown own hovered above Jomei's head, perching on his shoulder. "This is Adere by the way. Adere, this is Shizuka." he said with a smile, scratching the bird on the side of its feathered head. 

Eventually, the two found themselves out of the town and in the surrounding fields. It seemed that Shizuka wanted to take in the beautiful sights of Floor One, which Jomei did not object to. As she suggested earlier, a day of rest and relaxation before the whole boss-like fight would help him in the long run. Once the girl seemed to find a spot she found suitable, she took a seat in the grass, staring out at the horizon in front of her. Jomei, still stood for the moment, looking upon the sights himself. "Aye.. Really is." he smiled. "If you think this is nice, you should see the other floors. You have the flower fields on Floor Three, winter wonderland on Floor Four, the European feel of Taft on Floor Eleven. And if you'd rather look for something more exciting, theres the city suspended above a Volcano on Floor Nine, and even a village filled with zombies on Ten!" Jomei found himself getting a little excited at all the different things he has seen. "And to think... Theres 100 Floors in Aincrad.. If our lives were not at risk every day... This would really be a paradise, huh." He found himself babbling quite a bit, so he finally decided to take a seat next to the girl. 

[Shizuka 0]

"Yeah, the place is really nice. I can't wait to discover the many mysteries and fantasies about the world." Shizuka said, already excited about proceeding up to the higher floors. Of course, going up these floors would have to take lots and lots of hardcore grinding enable to assure her safety. At the moment, she's having quite a bit of people helping her out with many tough quests and she was grateful. However, on these quests, she isn't exactly the most useful player. She would only be able to inflict at most six damage on a boss and then either Calrex or Zelrius would one shot it with ease. She wasn't jealous of their power, heck, she knew that she would never deal that much damage to any mob as she is a support player. Her role in this world is different from the DPS and the tanks. In fact, eventually, she plans to become one of the greatest supports in the game, if not the greatest support. However, a day of relaxation shouldn't be wasted with thoughts of leveling and battling, even the strongest players need rest once in a while. She then looked over at the owl in which Jomei called Adere. "Wow, are bird type familiars really popular? I know Ssendom has a bird type as well. Perhaps I should get one later on." She said, finding that the owl was rather silent but cute. After saying thus, she decided to direct her attention to the beautiful scenery once more. She's been enjoying this game solely on the amount of detail on the graphics and she loved it. The images were pretty much filled with realism... Speaking of realism, Shizuka thought of something strange. She hadn't experienced rain since the start of the game, but she had slept through an entire day before. "Oh, by the way, Jomei, does the sky cry?" Shizuka asked.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei nodded his head, looking out at the scene painted in front of them. "Well, whats stopping you? You could always stay in the safe zones and you would not have anything to worry about.. though, how would you find the more scenic places like this." he put his hand outward, showing off the land. "And if you ever needed help with going out of the safe zones up there, I have no objections in doing so." he looked at the girl and grinned, "I make it a goal of mine to help as many people as I can, and keep them safe if need be." Jomei remembered back when he was a low leveled player, and just going out into the fields of Floor One scared him. But it was through his friends like Skylar and Lowenthal that he managed to get stronger, and gain the courage to do so. He smirked, knowing after all those months, now he was up to pair with his best friend Lowe.. could possibly even have surpassed him sometime soon. 

Jomei chuckled when the girl mentioned seeing a bird familiar elsewhere, "So you know Dom then?" he grinned. "Great friend he is. Powerful in combat. and I could trust him with my life." he gently pounded his fist to his chest as he spoke about his trust for him. Jomei took trust for his friends very seriously, especially in this game where your life depended on it. "That is true. I know a couple of other players with bird familiars as well.. Calrex, Zandra.." he scratched his chin, trying to think of any more he may have seen. "but also, there are so many other types of animals to train out there, an old friend of mine even have a small snow leopard cub... before he.. disappeared that is."  He let a light sigh escape through is nostrils.

Shizuka then brought up a question to Jomei, asking if the sky cried. "Cry? You mean like rain?" Jomei looked up at the sky, which had a few clouds, moving slowly across the sky. "Well, yeah. The weather in Sword Art is actually pretty realistic.. just like everything else. Just like some days.. Floor Four may snow a bit more than usual.. or more dust storms will kick up on Floor Five." He smiled, "It truly is a work of art.. This game, I mean." He let his body fall back, placing his hands behind his head as he lain in the grass.