[Open] She fell into Paradise

[Nyumo]

It was bright, the sun must be getting in through the window again, mom must have opened the blinds during her nap.  Heaving a sigh she rolls over and curls up into a ball, her sad attempt to get the light out of her face.  Stange though, it felt like it hadn't changed at all, the light was still as bright as before.  Not only that but where her pillow should have been was replaced with something brushing against her cheek, a familiar scent that normally she shouldn't experience in the comfort of her home.  Her eyes flutter open, blinking away the sting of the light as she starts to assess her surroundings.  It appeared she was laying in a field of grass, the blades tickling against her skin, and with a yawn she sat up and stretched out her arms and legs.  

"Hmmm, when did I get outside?"  She lazily slurred her words out, rubbing her fists to her face to push the sleep away.  Setting her hands to her sides, she feels a thick cloth wrap under her palm along with the sound of something clanking.  Looking over to see the origin of the sound she spies a nodachi in its sheath beside her. Along with the weapon at her side she noticed her arms were wrapped in leather sleeves and wristbands. The cogs in her head were beginning to turn, causing her to fire up to her feet and start patting herself down and checking her person.   It was clear this wasn't where she thought she was, but it only made this wake up even more exciting.  Grabbing up the weapon at her feet she hastily draws it out and starts to scan her eyes over it, a fang filled grin falls on her face. Attaching the sheath to her waist, she takes both hands to the hilt and begins taking practice swings to feel the weight in her hands. Feeling the comfort of the blade in her hands, she lets out a content sigh as she looks on with glee.  

Her inspection of the weapon is abruptly interrupted with a visual pop up next to the blade in hand with an information blurb of flavor text to the nodachi.  Pupils widening at the final realization cropping up in her hands, her eyes start to scan around her to start taking in the scenery around her as she sheaths the blade to its scabbard.  Outstretched before her was a vast city covered in foliage, it felt so familiar and yet so foreign.  "I'm in?"  She pauses still taking in the awe of the city spanning out infront of her as the excitement begins to boil to the surface.  She thrusts her fists into the air and shouts as loud as she can. "I'm in!  Oh my god this is amazing!"  She starts looking over herself once more as the realization is just bubbling out. "I had no idea it was going to be like this."  Setting her hands to her face she mushes her cheeks and runs her hands up to her hair to feel the thickness and ponytail.  "Just like I made her, ahhh this is so cool I hope he gets on soon so he can see this too."  She pauses for a moment and pets her fingers along the hilt of the nodachi, a strange curiosity coming over her.  "I wonder how I'm here though..."  Sighing audibly she rubs her fingers over her eyes to concentrate.  "Was I logging in before I woke up? Ehhh nothin' to worry about right now.  I gotta see if he's on yet and send him a message."  Her eyes start to wander around her, trying to find some kind of hud to use, slowly reaching her hand out to touch at anything that might come about.  With a squeeze of her hand, menu's fly into focus and she immediately recoils her hand being caught off guard.  "Whoa."

Looking over the interface laid out before her, she couldn't help but have a toothy grin on her face.  Taking her time to familiarize herself with what she can before opening up the friend list and sends a request to her friend hoping he was on as well.


Word count: 708

[Burai]

Burai just logged in, standing in a grassy area. The sun gently beamed down on him. He glanced upward, covering his face at he stared at the sun. As, he brought his hand to his face, an odd Hud popped up. The menu startled, he fell backward and plopped on the ground. "Ow..." He swiped at the menu trying to get rid of it. After many tries with no avail. He clenched his fist out of frustration and throw a wild punch at the menu. Before he could make contact, the menu vanished and his fist hit nothing but air.

Feeling defeated, and relieved, he reclined backward until his torso hit the ground abruptly with a loud thud. He brought his hands behind his head, and rested his head against them. He lazily yawned, and folded his legs."This is not bad." He said with a chuckle and a grin, as the grass pricked at his skin, A welcomed annoyance at best. He couldn't believe how vibrant everything was. He paused, casually turning his head to each side, to get a better view of his surroundings. The scenery was breathtaking, off in the distance was a city. Burai was curious, was the city just as gorgeous on the inside?  How were the other players and NPCs. The thought began to strand him. "I'm just here to have fun. No point getting worked up over something like that..." He glanced back up at the sun. And, being partially blinded, he sharply sat up and looked down at his chest. His eyes scrolled down to his stomach and then to his legs. He finished his examination, by checking out his arms. He lifted his right arm, and arched his forearm inward from the elbow, flexing. "Nice~" He looked at his left arm and did the same. He was pleased with the results

He wanted to explore this further. He slowly stood up, brushed off his pants. He lifted his hands and brought them to his cheeks. Slowly spread his legs apart and got into a boxing stance. He threw his left hand forward, quickly. He preformed a few jabs, followed by a right cross. "Hmph!" He was impressed, he could actually feel the weight of his punches. He wondered what else could he pull off. His hands lowered and were positioned in front of his chest. He  firmly planted his left foot down, digging his heel into the ground. Once he  was confident in his balance, he kicked his right leg upward. Once it was at its peak. He lost his balance, and fell backward. He fell back on his butt, laughing.  He prayed no one saw his accident. 

He couldn't believe how real everything felt. That's when it hit him, what about his unmentionables. "Ultimate test!" Burai stood up quickly, and suspiciously looked around to see if anyone was looking at him. He didn't see any onlookers. "Coast is clear" He grabbed the waist of his pant and slowly pulled it outward. Before he could peek. A loud ping echoed in his ear. The sound startled him. Burai let go of his pants and froze into place. Once he calmed down, he held out his right hand and opened his menu. "Friend request!?!" He let out a sigh of relief. "Must be her." Burai accepted, and clicked the voice chat. "Ah, so is this thing working? ahem, I wasn't doing anything dirty! I swear!" He was yelling, he didn't know if she saw him, or if she heard him. He felt embarrassed and guilty.

Word Count:593

[Nyumo]

A cheeky smirk plays along her lips at his immediate defense, it's not like she could see what he was doing making it all the more entertaining, a stifled chuckle escapes her lips. Cupping her hand over her mouth, she wrinkles her nose and speaks with a playful venom. "Was bu making sure everything was in working order~?" Idly she taps the sheath of her weapon to the meat of her shoulder, enjoying the feel of its weight in her hand as she spoke with Burai. "Glad to see you got everything running. Wouldn't want to level too much ahead of you~."

Squatting down in her spot she reaches her hand out and starts to fiddle with her hud once more and opens up the area map. She notices that only her immediate vicinity is visible, suppose she was being too hopeful that they would have access to the entire area as soon as they logged in. "Hey Bu, what do you see around you? My map isn't really telling me much, let alone any landmarks we could meet up at." Letting out a heavy sigh of displeasure she hangs her head to the side in defeat. "I wonder if the city is as big as I think it is." Rolling her head with annoyance written on her face, she breaks out of her bad posture and brings her weapon to her side and latches it to her waist guard. "I took acrobat with this class, so lets see just how much mileage I can get out of this." Tensing her calves, she starts to bounce herself in place to get a bit more focus on her jumping before going all out. After a few test hops she crouches down and leaps as high as she can, sadly it wasn't as impressive a hop as she was hoping for. Tapping her finger with agitation to the tip of the hilt she ponders just how feasible it would be to use that to travel more quickly across the city. Slumping her head over once more, she brings her hand up to her ear to go back to talking with her friend.

"As much as I'd love to try and find my way to where you're at. I think we'd be better off heading further into the city. I'm sure there's a central market in here, so our best chance would be asking a guard right? We'll be able to meet up once we get there and find out where a good starting point is yeah?" She felt having to talk to the npc's was the lazy way out but she definitely knew without a map of the city one of the two would end up horribly lost and they might never run into each other before having to log back off. "That's fine with you right Bu~? I'd like to see what they have for sale too, get and idea of what I can strive for." Her feeling of initial annoyance was waning the more she thought about the experience she was going to have. It was a whole new city, not only just the city but the world itself, and she got to see it with her own two eyes. With a rejuvenated sense of wonder, she starts her trek into the city to find out what it had in store for the two of them.

Word count: 566

[Burai]

A horrified expressed appeared on his face, as he heard Nyumo. He assumed by her tone, that she witnessed his peeking. He was unsure what he could do to convince her that he wasn't doing anything naughty. He let out a long and despairing sigh. His eyes slid downward and stared at his feet. He began to think about what course of action he should take. He could continue the 'charade,' or just come out clean. The thought of telling her the truth, left a bitter taste in his mouth. He bit his lower lip, and pinched it tightly with his teeth. He didn't want to be dishonest. But, coming out clean seemed just as terrible. As, she continued to tease him. He gave in to his guilt. "I was only going to see if it was there! I wasn't going to rub it or anything!" Flustered, he folded his arms in protest, "It's mine anyways!"

After his outburst, he felt reassured. There was no shame and examining yourself..right? He tried to sell himself the idea, to strengthen his own resolve, but it was apparent he still felt guilty. Nyumo asked him about area and devised a plan for meeting up. He rolled his eyes, as she mentioned talking to guard for directions. There were a few things guys just couldn't do. Asking for directions is one of those things. And, when we have to its in the most dire of circumstances. Every man understands that! Burai cast his eyes upon the city, and stared at it intensely.

Burai unfolded his arms, and opened his map. He gazed at it blankly for a moment. He couldn't make heads or tails of it. He closed it, and glanced toward the city once more. "I suppose, we can go talk to a guard and ask for directions. But, if you buy anything, don't expect me to carry your bags." He smirked to himself about the 'shopping joke.' He casually placed his hands into his pockets and made his way toward the city. He glanced around periodically, taking in the sights around him, as he ventured forth. Even though he was doing something so uneventful, like walking. He was enjoying himself immensely.

Once he made it to the outskirts of the city. He stopped mid stride in his walk. He looked to his left to see a couple of npcs. They were chatting and giggling amongst themselves. Burai found it odd. It wasn't an uncommon thing to see npcs talk. But these two were looked real. Burai diverted his eyes and continued walking. He came across another npc, this guy seemed to be lightly armored and looked menacing.

Burai felt a lump form in his throat. He pursed his lips together, and sucked in his cheeks. He gulped hard, and approached the man. The man stared at Burai, giving him a stern look.

Burai panicked, where was the menu to select the conversation options. He brought his left hand out of his pocket waved it around frantically. Before he found anything the man asked him if he was ok.

This caught Burai by surprise. And npc freely addressed him? "Um, I'm new...I'm trying to find the Center Market." The man's look softened, and gave Burai directions to the market. And, advised him not to cause any trouble in the city.

Burai nodded, and thank the guard. He quickly scurried off toward the market. He had to tell Nyumo about what just happened. He brought his left hand to his ear, and pressed his index and middle against his ear. "Mo-mo, can you hear me? You won't believe what happened to me...Hurry and meet me at the market."

He arrived at the Market shortly after. He casually moved off to the side and rested his back against a wall. He crossed his arms overs his chest and scanned the area. "This is more interesting than I thought. I wonder what Nyumo looks like.."

Word Count:662

[Nyumo]

Unable to contain herself, she burst into laughter at his continued defense. Shaking her head from side to side she wipes a tear from her eye, slowly regaining her composure. It was just too much fun to rile him up, maybe he just fed in to her playfulness, but it always got her to smile. It only made this new adventure even more exciting to her, not only did they somehow end up in the game, but he was there to keep her entertained outside of exploring this new world. Making her way through the city, her pace was set to a fast walk, a spin on her heel from time to time to take in her surroundings. It was awe inspiring to see everything so vividly she could barely contain herself, this bright eyed and bushy tailed admiration of everything however was very distracting.

In another twirl to take in the city, it ended up causing her to bump into another person and trip herself. With an audible crash and clatter of body and weapon, she knocked the back of her head hard to the ground, immediately recoiling with her hands holding where the brunt of force was. "Ah son of a crumming deuce that smarts!" Rolling around on the ground nursing her wound, she looks up to the person she collided with looked like they were from the area. "Excuse me, I didn't mean to bump into ya." She furrows her brow in confusion at her own actions, it felt strange for her to talk to someone who most likely wouldn't respond except with some pre-made dialogue. Chuckling to herself she shook her head and put that thought behind her, and started to pick herself back up. Taking her by surprise she is lifted back up to her feet from under her armpits, cheeks flushing at the prospect of some random person picking her up off her feet. "H-hey! What are you doing?" She claps her hands against the mans arms to release herself from his grip and steps back with her fists up. The man recoils and brings his hands up. "Sorry! I saw you getting tripped up and thought I'd help. Don't hurt me please." This brought her full attention forward, releasing the grip in her palms to straighten herself back up, sheepishly bringing a hand to rub the back of her head. "S-sorry, I was just taking in the sights and got side tracked. Uh, you wouldn't happen to know how I can get to the Central Market?"

After a brief back and forth and mapping out what she can on a piece of paper to find the place easy enough, she bows before the man and turns to leave with a wave of her hand. That was definitely not what she was expecting, but it just gave even further of an immersion into the game, continuing her previous bubbling excitement with a fist pump from both hands. "Man this is so cool, I can't wait to tell B-" Her train of thought cut off from the jingle in her ear and the familiar voice ringing into her head. Looks like she wasn't the only one who had something interesting to talk about when they caught up. "I should be there soon, we'll talk more then." Hastening her speed to a light jog, she holds up the piece of paper she'd written on earlier to navigate through the maze of buildings and foliage.

A short while later she comes out of the thicket of buildings to what she can only assume is the market area with vendors perched with their wares around the scene. Stopping beside one of the stalls she brings her hand to her ear once more. "Hey I think I'm here, I stopped by a shop that sells uh..." She pauses and glances over at the booth next to her. "Jams? Or some kind of jellies? I wonder if they're gathered from the mobs around here." She shrugs the idea away and returns her attention back to the map at hand until retiring it to the pouch on her hip. "It shouldn't be too hard to find me, I feel like I'm sticking out like a sore thumb in this scarf." Gently she tugs at the garment to move away from her chin. "I put little bones in the pattern, thought it was fitting for this race. Anyways just meet me when you can, I'd like to look around soon~"

Word Count: 748

[Burai]

Burai continued to watch over the market. Quietly taking in the sights, sounds and smells. Trying not to arouse any suspicion, or attention to himself. Boredom was slowly starting to set in. "Perhaps I should find a nice shaded spot and just relax." His eyes began to actively search for such a location, where he could indulge in his guilty pleasure. A sound abruptly echoed through his ear. He was beginning to get used to the alert sound, he simply unfolded his arms and pressed his left fingers against his ear once more. He heard Nyumo's message, a smile creased on his lips. "So she is on her way? Knowing her, she'll be a while."

He decided he would waste his time, and actively look around. His eyes fell upon a vendor. She was flocked with buyers, or admirers Burai couldn't determine which. She looked above average. He pushed off the wall, and took a few steps closer. He slides off to the side, not to be in anyone's way. He didn't want to get lost in the sea of people going back and for. Burai turned his face toward the vender. He shrugged, "She is attractive, I supposed." His eyes scanned her torso, starting at her waist and slowly working their way up. They stopped at her bust. He was generally unimpressed. Though her breast were ample, he couldn't say they were awe inspiring.

He sighed, and brought his right palm to his face. He plopped his cheek in the palm of his hand. "Is her body the reason for all the attention, or is it her face?" Burai couldn't believe he was thinking about this, in a video game. These npcs interacted with each other on such a personal level. It was as if they were human. He was satisfied with these thoughts. And, if the game was going to be this well developed with the npcs, everything else is going to be incredible.

Burai heard the alert ping again. Lifted his cheek off his palm. And, then pressed his fingers against her ear. Nyumo told him she stopped at a stall. And, about the scarf she was wearing. "I will keep an eye out." He slowly stepped forward and began to walk through the crowd. Looking for a woman with a scarf. He began to think, what if Nyumo is a male in the game? He paused for a moment, giving it more thought.

He couldn't see anyone around his height that fit that description. He lowered his gazed, and he noticed a small furry girl with a scarf with dog bones on it. Burai tip toed behind her and screamed "Boo!"

Word Count:445

[Nyumo]

Preoccupied with examining the wares of the merchant, it wasn't surprising that she hadn't noticed her friends arrival. The shrill scream echoing in her ear causes the item in her hands to rocket into the air in her panicked state. Realizing the sudden mistake she made, she drops down to prep herself before springing back up into the air to catch the absconding jar. Tucking her legs in to adjust her momentum, she quickly falls back down to the ground and stabilizes herself before popping back up straight. Bowing her head to the merchant with jar outstretched, she turns to face Burai and swats at him with the back of her fingers. "Why do you always gotta do that?!" Puffing her cheeks out at him, she folds her arms to her torso and taps her foot to the dirt. Her eyes trail along the height of her friend taking in the character model he picked out for himself, she lightly bites down on her bottle lip. "Hmm, really outdone yourself this time. I like it~"

Realizing she was ogling, her cheeks flush a mild red and she quickly unfolds her arms waving her hands to distract his attention. "Anyways, you said you had somethin' to tell me earlier? You noticed somethin' up with the npc's too yeah?" Her eyes turn back over her shoulder to the merchant, prompting her to push her hands out to try and guide Burai away from anyone who could eavesdrop or get offended. Then again what was she getting worked up for about whether they could hear them or not, they are just code in the game aren't they? Maybe they're just really well written and she's just being overly immersed in everything. She spies a secluded area in the market and pushes her friend the best she can with his foot plus height over her before stopping to resume their conversation. "Is it just me? Or are the npc a lot more interactive than normal?" Bringing her thumb up to her lips, she nibbles at the tip of the skin in thought. "One I ran into earlier, acted like just a regular person it was weird. How much work would have to be put into a system to achieve that? Do you think it's AI? Can you imagine a separate AI for every npc... you'd think that would be decades of work to achieve even in our generation." It was very intriguing to her that the game had such advancements to its name. She was still having difficulty containing her excitement, she just hoped she wasn't the only one who was getting caught up in all of it. She looked back up to see what Burai had to add or if she had covered all of the bases with their discoveries.

Word count: 467

[Burai]

Burai Beamed with delight, as he watched Nyumo fumble the item she was holding. She even took it a step further to receive the item when she jumped after  it. A feeling of joy erupted in the middle of his stomach. The feeling spread throughout the rest of his torso. Laughter soon billowed from his mouth, as she came back down. Once she was settled, she swatted at him with the back of her fingers and scolded him. Even her protest was adorable. A feeling of guilt washed over him. He kindly gazed down at her with a timid smile. Her facial expression added to his guilt. But, seeing her react in such a way was worth it. He wanted to pinch her cheeks and give her a hug, she was too cute. He didn't have any siblings, but he imagined this is what it felt like to have a little sister.

His smile faded and was replaced by rosey pink cheeks, as she gave him a compliment. Burai would never admit it, but that compliment went a long way. He was worried he messed something up. He wanted to have the look of an exotic, urban martial artist. Feeling reassured that he completed the look. He stood tall, and looked up at the sky, flicking the brim of his nose with his thumb. He lowered his face and looked down at Nyumo once more, she began waving her hands. He was confused about the sudden outburst, but he paid it little thought. She mentioned the npcs, and her thoughts about them. They matched his own perfectly. He wanted to tell her about his encounter. Right as he opened his mouth to speak, she made an odd hand gesture. This caught him by surprise and Burai clamped his mouth shut with his hands and nodded.

She began pushing him, he was unsure about what she was trying to accomplish. He happily gave it and didn't resist her forcefulness. After a moment, they arrived to a secluded location. It was then that it dawned on him. She wanted to talk about this in secret. Burai was never the sharpest tool in the shed, nor the brightest crayon in the box. Nyumo went on about her experience and thoughts about the game thus far. She looked at him, her eyes bursting with excitement. He casually nodded, "I asked an npc who was lightly armored for directions, but before that I saw two women gossiping. These npcs are greatly detailed and lifelike." He placed his right hand on his hip, and gave her a toothy grin "I'm just happy to see you enjoying yourself. You are just radiating excitement! Do you want to stay here, or go out and explore."

Word Count: 457

[Nyumo]

She really was radiating wasn't she? This was just so much to be taking in on the first day, how could she not be this thrilled? Swinging her arms up she tucks her hands behind her head and under the mane of a ponytail to help her focus. "I honestly don't even know where to begin, there's just so much to see in the city alone." Starting to ruffle her fingers through her conglomeration of thick hair still getting used to it, a bright fanged smile creeps along her face. "This is really happening isn't it? We're inside Elder Tale, I'm still just reeling from this all gosh..." Looking at their surroundings, she remembers one of the first things she'd mentioned about checking in the market. "Let's go see what kind of gear is sold in these parts, maybe we can look into gear for the future."

With a bounce in her step she parades herself out of the seclusion of the alley into the marketplace. With her feverish pace, she had to continually check behind her to make sure Burai was still in tow through the revelry. Pausing at a weapon shop, she perused through the wares but for the most part didn't see anything that would pertain to either of them. As disappointing as it was, she didn't expect them to have exactly what they were looking for right off the bat, maybe the wares changed over time? Shrugging idly she bumps her hip to Burai to signal they were on the move once more. "Let's get somethin' to eat yeah? I'm feelin' a bit famished right now." Without waiting for his reply she was off again looking for a food stand, and with a short exchange she bought two dishes of a local flavor and handed one over to him. "Bon appetite~" She takes a handful and bites down happily.

Her entire body jerked into a rigid state with the food still stuck in her mouth, something wasn't right with the food. Taking a few chews at the mouthful she had, there was nothing to it but the texture to let you know there was something there. She looked over at Burai with her brows furrowed up. "It doesn't taste like anything, it smells so good but.... there's no flavor?" You could see the tears welling up in her eyes, she was ready to enjoy her meal and was horribly denied, the most blasphemous encounter to ever befall her. She started to sniffle, slowly putting the food back onto her plate. "How could they do this to me? Food is sacred, you can't make food that isn't food... Buuuuuuu~" She pouts her lips with tears dangling off the sides of her eyes, holding her plate up to him. "Make it taste like food again."

Word count: 467

[Burai]

Burai took a step back away from her. He didn't know if her excitement was contagious, but he didn't want to come down with a sudden case of her enthusiasm. It was great to see her full of life and energy. He couldn't act like that, the thought alone made him feel exhausted. He wondered where all her energy came from. She wanted to go to gear shop. He didn't want to go window shopping, but shopping is one of those things girls love to do. He didn't have the heart to tell her no. He trailed after her like a lost puppy.

He placed his hands into his pockets and slowly trailed after her. He smiled at her each time she glanced back at him. Burai wasn't going to lose sight of her, she stood out like a sore thumb. He slunk his way inside the shop. He looked around casually, and spotted a pair a brass knuckles. He wanted to check them out and see if he could use them, as he was about to pick the knuckles, something bumped into his hip. Distracted, he looked down at Nyumo, and sighed briefly. She was a blazing through this place like a firecracker. She mentioned she wanted to get something to eat. "Why would we need f-" As he made his comment his stomach rumbled. Embarrassed lowered his head, and bashfully left the shop. He chased after her in a light trot. Once he caught up to her, she gave him the food. He stared at it for a second, and didn't know what to expect. It looked delicious, but he was more curious about why his stomach growled. Was he really hungry in a game?

Suddenly Nyumo bit into her food, she looked absolutely mortified. She gave him, they most saddening look. Tears began to swell in her eyes. Burai felt rather indifferent, it was a video game, why would the food taste like 'real' food. But, then again, it did look appetizing. He took his plate, and stared at her food. His eyes glanced at the plate, then towards her, and finally back at the plate. He grabbed the plate from her and then shoveled everything into his mouth. "Sea naw paw-" That's when suddenly his taste bud took a direct hit. He tasted nothing, it was like eating paste. A Depression fell upon him. He couldn't speak, the food was terrible. He never ate food this terrible before. "S-something this plain should be illegal. Perhaps if we add some salt to the dish it would make it more enjoyable?"

He took a moment to regain his composure, and glanced over at Nyumo. He couldn't let this small thing derail her whole experience. "Don't look so gloomy, you'll get wrinkles." He smiled at her, "We still have to dabble in other things, right?"


Word Count: 476

[Steel]

It was morning and Steel woke up from the branch he was on. To explain, Steel had decided to stay the night outside of town in a tree. It wasn't that he didn't have enough money, in fact, he had a considerable amount from all of the battles he's fought. It was because he just liked to be outside and be immersed in nature and he liked sleeping in trees for some reason. Even now, he couldn't figure out that last part as to why he liked being in trees and sleeping in them. He liked nature so much that a friend of his once asked why he didn't choose to be a druid, the class that was most in tune with nature. Steel had a simple answer to that. He was a kendo practitioner back in the real world so swords would be more up his alley. Also, he was never one to choose the mage or healer classes in games since he thought there wouldn't be much action from it. And the reason why he chose the Swashbuckler class specifically rather than the Samurai class which matches kendo more, the Swashbucklers fit his style of Attack and Speed and dual wielding felt more comfortable to him as he did that in kendo as well. The real reason though was because his late friend Kyousuke, someone whom Steel respected, was a Swashbuckler. In fact, Steel based the name off of Kyousuke's old character as well so he could carry out his will or something along those lines.

With a yawn, Steel climbed down the tree and wondered what he would do today. As he walked around, he noticed two players talking to each other. Normally, this wouldn't have piqued his interest and he would have just continued to walk but this time, these two seemed to be new. To be specific, it looked like they were trying to get used to the world which meant they just got here. The last part of their conversation seemed to be a huge complaint about the food and how it had no flavor. That just confirms my theory. Steel thought to himself as he walked over. He couldn't just leave them alone like this.

When he got close to them, it seemed as though they didn't notice him. Steel wasn't surprised because he already had a low presence and people hardly notice him unless he was talking to them or was in combat. It's because of this that Steel calls himself a shadow in a sense. It was fun to surprise people because of it though as it never got old and people could never really get used to it. "You want some food? I think I got too much from that sushi place." Steel said to them as he got next to them. To these two, it'd be as if Steel appeared out of nowhere, causing them to become shocked and maybe even jump back in surprise. Steel had taken out some sushi he had gotten in a town a while back. "Don't worry, this food has actual flavor." He assured them before motioning to them to dig in. "My name's Steel, what yours?" He said all of this in a friendly manner.


Words: 542

OOC: Hope you don't mind that I join in. I brought sushi

Nyumo
Burai

[Nyumo]

CAN'T HOLD ME NOW

YOU GOT NOTHING THAT CAN STOP ME NOW

((Sorry for the wicked delay, I completely spaced and thought Burai hadn't posted yet and found out last night. Sincerest apologize for taking so long))

Stifling a chuckle at Burai also coming to the same realization she had about the food, she gently wiped at her eyes and gave him a confident smile. "I'm sure even if we added salt in this game it'd still be as drab as this monstrosity." Hanging her head dejectedly, she sighed and gripped at the flesh of her exposed stomach, it had the rumblies that this meal was not going to satisfy. Or well maybe it could if she ate all of it but that was not a chance she was going to take, she wondered if this was going to be how they spent the rest of their time in game. Dreaming about the succulent meals they once had on the other side, her eyes drifting closed just imagining the sizzling smells and flavours, she could really go for a platter of balamaki right now. Her simple desires causing her to drift into a lull of memories of good tasting food, almost drooling at the thought, until there is another voice scarily close. Snapping out of her daze she whips around and flails her arms around in a faux kung fu action with the head bob to go with it, plate still held in the palm of one hand. "S-sushi???" She recoiled from her reflexive defense and tilted her head to the side. "How does it have flavour though? I can't imagine we just bought a bad batch from a vendor." She arches her brow curiously to the new face, though doesn't hesitate to dispose of the plate in her hand in the possibility he was telling the truth and they could actually taste something good on this side of the game.

Slamming a fist to her hip to pose for the new face she sticks her nose up with an air of boastfulness. "You can call me Nyumo, and this here is my best friend Burai." She says swinging the back of her hand to pap her partner against the stomach to draw the attention to the towering monk. "We were just prowling the market for ideas on future goals and decided to stop for somethin' yummy... it was disappointing." Her expression changes to a grimace at the thought of the horribly bland taste still lingering in her mouth. "A-anyways you said the sushi has flavor, what kind of sushi do you have? I can't really eat the california rolls, allergic to the avocado's..." Her eyes expressed hope that it was something she could actually enjoy, it always upset her that she couldn't enjoy the typical sushi roll because of her food allergy. It always tasted good but it was just too unpleasant an experience to willfully do that to herself regularly.

Word Count:468 Burai Steel

deltra of gangnam style

[Burai]

Burai looked beyond Nyumo to see a person approach her from behind. He glanced away, and decided that the person wasn't of much importance. Many people were here in the market, coming and going. He turned his attention back toward the food. He began thinking of ways to try to give this food flavor, without destroying anymore test buds. But, today being his first day here. He didn't have a lot of ideas, most of his ideas consisted of pouring other ingredients in the food. But, where would he go to get the ingredients. The person from before appeared behind Nyumo. Burai glanced at the man and looked at him. Question himself how he snuck up behind her. "When did he get there, I could've sworn a second ago. He was further-" Before he could give the man's sudden appearance. He introduced himself as 'Steel.' And, offered them some Sushi. Nyumo greeted him by turning around and flailing her arms around.

Burai laughed at his friend's sudden surprise. He did enjoy scaring her, or just watching her get scared. She was always so animated and energetic. But, this time he couldn't fathom it, and felt the need to hide. He quickly palmed the center of his face with his left hand. He felt extremely embarrassed, by her outburst. But, it was moments like these why he adored her. She could express herself so vividly. He was always envious of that. Being that outgoing was just too much 'work.' "Out of all the things she could've done. She chose that poorly executed martial art stance. She looked as menacing as a teddy bear." Nyumo took down her 'legendary defense,' Burai quietly watched her as she tossed her plate aside, he glanced over at Steel. 

Nyumo chose to introduce herself to Steel. Burai took his eyes away from them, and looked over at a shady tree. He gambled that, that spot would make for a great nap. Suddenly he felt a light jab in his stomach. Nyumo introduced him, as well. Burai gave Steel a disinteresting look. "It's nice to meet you... ah? Steel, was it? I don't particularly like raw fish. You two can share." He actively turned his face away from the sushi and looked away, and made a sour face. He couldn't imagine why anyone would want to eat fish. They swam in a giant toilet bowl all day. Who would want to put something so gross into their mouth. Not to mention the smell, taste, and texture. Seafood never sat well with Burai. He wouldn't spoil the moment with his own prejudice against fish.

Word Count: 436

[Steel]

Steel found the reactions of the female of the pair he found to be both funny and strange. She was like the extreme version of how people normally reacted to his ‘sudden appearances’ where it seemed as if he came out of nowhere. In reality, he usually just had a low presence to the point that people ignored him or they wouldn’t be able to tell that he was there sometimes. The male of the two of them didn’t react as energetically. In fact, he was on the other side of the spectrum in terms of reaction but Steel could tell from the look on his face that the guy was thinking something along the lines of ‘Where’d this guy come from?’ The girl with the animal ears, showing that she was of the wolf hair race, now showed an expression of both disbelief and hopefulness, probably at the thought of being able to taste some real food. Steel was the same when he first came into this world and he couldn’t blame her that she had some disbelief. Originally, it was impossible in the first place. “To answer your question, any food that’s been made using the normal crafting system will have no flavor whatsoever. On the other hand, if the food has been cooked through actual cooking procedures, it will be able to have flavor. However, you would need to have the cooking subclass or something of the sort to remedy the cooking part or else the food will turn into a purple mush.” He said in response to her question. “A sushi chef who I became friends with made the food by hand so it has flavor.

It was then the girl introduced herself as Nyumo and her companion who was half a foot taller than Steel, as Burai. “It’s nice to meet you both.” Steel said with a small smile. Despite the height difference, Steel didn’t feel intimidated by it. He could only imagine how intimidating the height difference would be for people who were around 5 feet tall or so. Nyumo had introduced herself rather cheerfully while Burai seemed completely uninterested. Nyumo began to explain their predicament and how they got to where they were in the present. Right after, she asked if there were any avocados in the sushi as she had an allergy to them. “Where do you think you are, America? The sushi I got is Japanese styled” Steel asked reminding her where the California Roll came from. “There’s fish and vegetables in here but no avocados. There’s even Coconia Fruit slices in one or two of the sushi rolls.”

It was then Burai decided to exchange pleasantries. But then, he turned down the offer of sushi saying that he didn’t enjoy it before turning away with what was close to disgust. This attitude in all honesty pissed Steel off but he decided not to chastise him. “Okay then, if you don’t like fish, how about some Yakisoba?” He suggested as he took out a small box of the fried noodles.


Words: 509

Nyumo
Burai

OOC: sorry for the wait!

[Nyumo]

CAN'T HOLD ME NOW

YOU GOT NOTHING THAT CAN STOP ME NOW

Puffing out her cheeks at the half-alv, she plucks up one of the pieces of sushi and throws it into the air letting it fall into her mouth. Testfully chewing at the morsel in her mouth before letting out a sigh of pleasure, bringing her hands up to her cheeks to savor the taste of actual food again. "Remind me to never buy food from an NPC again. Though I'll have to find someone who can cook, my subclass is acrobat. I doubt I'm going to somersault my way through a kitchen to make actually edible treats like this." Without missing a beat she takes what's left of the offered sushi into her hands and continues to pop them into her mouth while still talking with Steel. "I've only had one experience with sushi and that was when I found out it had 'cado in it. I just kind of assumed it all had it in it, didn't realize there were more variants." She let out another sigh of contentment to the delicious food, Steel really helped her out in this dark hour of the time they've spent in game so far.

Pausing long enough in her munching of the sushi, her head tilted to the side inquisitively. "So trying to use the subclass skill doesn't work for cooking, would the same be said for the other crafting classes? I picked blacksmithing so I can make my own weapons in the future but I don't know a thing about actual smithing." With her inquiry out she resumed polishing off the sushi with abandon to whether Steel intended to keep some still, pieces of rice sticking to her lips haphazardly. "How is swashbuckler treating you? I was thinking about it when I was making my character but it just didn't scream my name you know?" Her lips break into a toothy grin, clapping a hand against the hilt of her nodachi, even if it was a starting item she was really happy with her decision and couldn't wait to get some field practice in soon.

Word Count: 344 Tags: Burai Steel

deltra of gangnam style

[Burai]

i've never had to knock on wood Burai was content, with how things were going. He would rather be alone with his best friend. Splurging everything they had into the game, as this was their first time. Despite his initial thought, what he truly cared about was seeing Nyumo happy. He tried his best to indulge himself into the conversation. Maintaining his distance from the Sushi, point his nose away from the terrible dish. His eyes lingered over toward Steel, as the man informed Nyumo about 'cooking.' He continued to talk more about the Sushi. Burai's fell onto the plate, and he looked at the food. The sight of it alone, made him feel nauseous. He placed his right finger and thumb on his forehead and slowly slid them apart. Once they were fully extended he began to rub his temples. It was disheartening, he could fathom why anyone would want to eat it. And, to make matters worse Steel took it upon himself to offer something called "Yakisoba." Burai brought up his other hand and covered his mouth. He shook his head no diligently. "I am not even hungry. Thank you for the offer, I'll have to pass." He slid his foot along the ground to his right, and shimmied away from Steel. Burai wanted nothing to do with the Sushi or Yakisoba. "This man, is trying to kill me..." Recovering from his plight, he saw Nyumo toss up a few pieces of Sushi and caught them with her mouth. Watching her eat that cursed food sent chills down his spine. She even continued to talk while she was eating. Which lead to her discussing her class choices. Burai's thoughts for picking his classes was much simpler. He liked hand to hand combat, so he chose monk. And, he'll be able to 'tank' for Nyumo. He also chose Pharmatist so he could make various potions. It seemed like something that would give him an edge. If he ever got into a conflict with another player. He didn't add to the conversation, he could smell the sushi lingering about between the three of them. The stench already defiled his nostrils, speaking would only add to his distress. ▲ words:360 ● Nyumo, Steel ● "I rather die thousand deaths than eat raw fish."

deltra of gangnam style

[Steel]

“Yes, the same would be for the other types of crafting. Just as you, a blacksmith wouldn’t be able to cook properly, a chef wouldn’t be able to do any smithing. “ Steel said in response as he began to explain a little bit about the system. “As for your craft, it seems our bodies automatically know how to do certain crafts but it is true that real life experience helps in this situation.”

“My swashbuckler class has been treating me very well thanks for asking.” Steel said in response to Nyumo’s question. “It fits my style a lot and it’s useful being able to wield two weapons at once without the accuracy penalty.” He then listened to her talk about how she was considering being a Swashbuckler as well but she instead decided to be an Assassin. She seemed to really like the main class Steel noticed from how she wanted to practice with it soon.

“I know that look on your face, its saying that you don’t want to eat it because you think there’s fish in it.” Steel said being very adept at reading other people. In the real world, doing this sort of thing, analyzing another person at fast speeds was essential in his kendo matches so he could exploit an opening in his opponent in the fast paced matches where you barely had any time to think when you were crossing swords with your opponent. Thankfully, this skill that was not part of the system carried over to his avatar which made sense since it was the same person anyway controlling the avatar with the same level of analytical skill. Except this time, this little talent wasn’t just used for combat but it was also used for social interactions.

“Yakisoba has nothing to do with fish. It’s just noodles fried with soy sauce with vegetables and sometimes meat added in. Don’t you dare think that Japanese food is only seafood.” He then opened the box with the yakisoba and showed that there was indeed no fish in the dish. The aroma of Yakisoba being a warm food was stronger than the sushi’s relatively weak aroma. “Just try some, you’ll never know whether or not you like it if you don’t try it. Or do I have to force it into your mouth because of your stubbornness?” He really didn’t like how the monk was acting. It pissed Steel off. He then thought of an idea through his observations. “You don’t want to look immature in front of your girlfriend here right?” He said this for both fun and to tease a little. Steel was able to notice these sort of things.

Words: 446

Nyumo
Burai

OOC: Hahaha, I am so evil! I will tease you all! Actually, I don't do that for the most part

[Nyumo]

CAN'T HOLD ME NOW

YOU GOT NOTHING THAT CAN STOP ME NOW

"Nope he doesn't want any." She says abruptly, pilfering the box of noodles and utensils available, promptly stuffing her face once more with another delectable meal. This time she was inhaling the meal to prevent any protest or retaliation, someone was going to eat it and she knew Burai wasn't going to budge on his stance. Hearing Steel still trying to goad her friend into trying some, she almost chokes at what he had to say, sputtering and thumping her fist to her chest. Taking a large gulp to get the food out of her mouth, she points the chopsticks accusingly at Steel. "I am not his girlfriend, and he can look as immature as he wants to in front of me, I do it to him all the time." Nyumo let out a strong huff through her nostrils, using the chopsticks to bring up another mouth stuffing size of noodles. As she drew them towards her mouth a realization come over here that looked like it knocked the wind out of her with a sudden exhale of breath, her eyes looking past Steel in her train of thought. "Oh god can I get fat in here? Should I watch what I eat?" The noodles drop back into the box from the chopsticks as the thoughts swam in her brain, causing her to clap both hands to the sides of her head with a vice grip on the food still to avoid spilling it anywhere. "I don't want to have to do that here too! I worked so hard to get to where I was and now this?!" A pang of further realization washed over her while she was having her mini break down. Pointing the chopsticks at Steel once more, she waves them at him with as menace as a five foot girl can give. "You're up to somethin' aren't you? Givin' random food to strangers, you poisoned me didn't you?" She turns to Burai and puts her still full hands against his chest as tears form in her eyes. "If you see my mom, tell her.... the noodles were worth it. Bleh~" Nyumo finally collapses to the ground in one of the most overly dramatic ways imaginable.

Laying on the ground for a couple of moments, she opens one of her eyes in a squint to look around and see if anything was happening, unsurprisingly she was unharmed and was not in fact poisoned by their new acquaintance; she could live another day after all. Stretching out her body to look less ridiculous on the floor, she sets the box of noodles on her stomach and starts twirling the chopsticks inside the box. "Okay so uh, that was a thing right? I imagine the guards would kind of do the thing if someone did that right?" She looks up from her perch on the floor to Steel with a cheeky grin, pulling up a small helping of noodles and guides it back down to her mouth to nibble at while talking to him. "So what other kind of foods are there to eat here? I dunno if I could deal with oriental food all the time you know?" Her hand travels from mouth to box repeatedly while she is speaking, progressively garbling her speech more and more as she hides away the food in her mouth with cheeks extended. Feeling around with the utensils inside the box, she leans forward and tilts the box over to see that it's been polished off, allowing her to finally chew her food. You can hear the audible swallow of the mass she'd crammed away followed by a pleasant sigh of admiration. "So good~" She reaches up to put the sticks between her lips, rolling backwards over her head to set her feet down on the ground and pops back up with her hair flying around her. Closing up the box once more she places the sticks back onto the lid and offers to hand it back to Steel. "I appreciate the meal, do I owe you anything for lettin' me have it?"

Word Count: 681 Tags: Burai Steel Note: Tease all you want, it's fun

deltra of gangnam style

[Burai]

i've never had to knock on wood Burai stood aside, he thought his incident with Steel and the sushi was over. With that chapter behind him. The trio could move on to something more important. He was interested more in the crafting and subclasses. But Steel, decided to live up to his name. Much like the object, he gave Burai the impression that he was a hard, head strong, and gray, like 'steel' a blend of materials, to form something hard, sturdy, and reliable. Burai don't know how reliable the man was just yet. But, he was definitely stubborn. Burai winced, as Steel informed him about Yakisoba. And, how it had nothing to do with fish. Apparently it noodles fried with soy sauce mixed in with vegetables and meat. To Burai that is where the problem lay. Steel contradicted himself, "What would be the meat in this situation?" He asked. His eye's fell upon the Sushi and slowly slithered their way back towards Steel. "I assume it was the fish." Burai couldn't fathom why Steel was so persistent with the food. And, why couldn't he leave it be. Burai politely declined, and showed no desire of wanting to eat the Sushi. Suddenly Nyumo went on an outburst. Eating at the noodles, though Burai was confident that she just inhaled it all without actually tasting any of it. And her blatant remark about not being his girlfriend. Burai was confused, he didn't know what Steel meant by girl friend. Burai thought the description was accurate. Nyumo was a girl, and she was his best friend. They have been a couple, a duo like Batman and Robin for some time now. Since the day he met her. But, he thought it would be funny to take it out of context and tease her. He would pretend he just found out now that she didn't feel so strongly about the camaraderie. And, feign to be heartbroken about The sudden 'break-up.' His plan took a back seat, was almost derailed by her next statement. Asking if she could get fat. Burai felt weak in the knees. Something just sapped all of his strength, he staggered back words and shook his head from side to side in disbelief. "That's my best friend," He muttered, she was always like this. Or, at least with him. And, that's what he valued the most. Though it was a hard on him to keep up with her. He wouldn't have it any other way though. This was Nyumo at her best. He tried his best not to laugh, but a chuckle managed to escape. When she put her food compiled has in his chest. Burai looked down at her, and sighed. She said her final farewell and melodramatic falls to the ground. Burai slowly let off a golf clap. "That performance was legendary." He said mockingly, and decided to bring back a previous point. "Since when aren't we boy and girl friend!?! I thought he had something crazy, something great. You and I together forever, buddies for life!" He scoffed loudly and frowned playfully at Nyumo. "Are you replacing me with Steel? He's not even funny!" He ignored her question about other foods. Though it would be great if they did have a large variety, other than Sushi. ▲ Words: 542 ● Nyumo, Steel ● Notes "Award for best death, goes to Nyumo!"

deltra of gangnam style

[Steel]

Steel couldn’t help but sweat drop at the scene in front of him. The girl with animal-like ears was just bouncing all over the place. Immediately after Steel had offered Burai the yakisoba, Nyumo had snatched it away and ate it herself, stuffing her face with more food. She’s either really hungry or she’s just greedy with food. Steel thought to himself. In Burai’s case, the large monk was still suspicious about the food, still thinking there was fish or something in it. Honestly, Steel was getting annoyed by Burai’s pickiness about food and felt as if he was acting like a little child. You know, you’ll never know whether or not you’ll like it if you’re unwilling to try anything! Steel berated the monk in his mind. For this reason, he teased the monk with the ‘girlfriend’ idea.

The results of the teasing were a whole lot different than how he expected. The teasing affected the person that was not the target of the teasing in the normal way while the actual target seemed to take it the wrong way or got the wrong meaning in general. Nyumo had choked, probably in surprise, after hearing the little joke and said that she was not his girlfriend in rebuttal. He was actually expecting that to come from Burai, the actual target. The said target reacted in a completely different way that was unexpected. It seemed that he got the wrong idea altogether about the term boyfriend and girlfriend. He became weak in the knees and didn’t really react for a bit. At this time, Nyumo went and got all dramatic about getting fat in this world and the delusion that he put poison in her food. Steel could understand the getting fat part as this seemed to be an extremely important topic for girls but the swashbuckler thought the female was overdoing it.

She then asked about other foods other than oriental food. “There’s tons of other foods out there you know. Oriental food is sort of rare here in London.” He said in response, stating the obvious. “Italian, Spanish, Mexican, and English food are some of the stuff I’ve seen. Although I haven’t taken a liking to the English food I’ve tried.”

It seemed that Burai had completely ignored their talk about food and tried to shift the topic back to what was probably the reason his legs were going weak. He started shouting loudly and angrily towards Nyumo saying that they’ve always been boyfriend and girlfriend and that they’d be together forever. Steel just sighed and decided to get the situation to deflate and cool down. “The way you’re acting, people would normally draw two conclusions from it. They’d either think you were some over possessive guy who doesn’t know how to move on or that you’ve completely misunderstood the terms of boyfriend and girlfriend.” Steel said to Burai. “Personally, I think it’s a combination of both but I think some misunderstandings should be cleared up.” He then took out a sheet of paper and his Sorcerer’s Quill and then started drawing on the sheet of paper. Steel definitely could not call himself a master artist but his drawing skill was at least proficient enough to allow people to recognize what he drew. In Japan, art class was a requirement at some point. After a short bit of time, Steel had drawn on both sides of the paper and he then showed one side of it to Burai. This picture showed Nyumo and Burai in each other’s arms and about to kiss. “You see, a boyfriend and a girlfriend as most people know it are a couple who are in love with each other and sometimes do stuff like this.” Steel began to explain as he pointed to the picture before turning the sheet of paper around. This picture had a wedding scene. “A good deal of couples date each other with the goal of marriage in mind. What I was joking about earlier was that she was your lover which Nyumo denied. You took it as her denying the friendship between you two which I’m sure is not the case. I’m not trying to mess up your friendship either so let’s just put this little event behind us okay?”

Nyumo then asked whether she would owe him anything. “Don’t worry about it, you don’t need to repay me or anything.” Steel said in response with a smile. “I knew the guy who runs the Japanese restaurant so I was able to get this stuff cheap. You guys looked hungry and sort of miserable about the food situation so I just wanted to help out.”

Words: 777

OOC: sorry for the wait! I was at a retreat over the weekend and I got sick on monday and all that. Words of advice, not sleeping for over 36 hours takes a huge toll on you. Also, watching the sunrise can take a while but it's fun if you have friends with you.

Burai
Nyumo