thanks to DJVampiStep for your thoughts!
to gothgod9415: Wraith will be entering in a few chapters.
once outside the tall Black Iron Palace, I saw the mob of people in the Town of Beginnings. I gulped. Aoki saw my weakness, and smiled knowingly.
"Hey, Silica-chan, let's go look for an inn. We will drop Teika-kun off at Agil's shop to restock on supplies, ok?" She said. I smiled slightly. 'I am glad she cares' I thought. She winked at me, showing that she knew what was wrong.
"Ok!" Said Silica. "Then we get some girl time!" She pumped her fist in the air. "Who is Agil?"
I answered. "He is a guy we met a few days ago. We trust him" she nodded.
"If Teika-kun trusts him, I trust him!" She announced.
I laughed, and rubbed her hair. She had an indignant expression on her face, which made me laugh more. "Silica-chan! You are so cute!" I said.
"Hrmph!" She didn't object though to my rubbing.
I steeled myself, and got ready to enter the crowd. Silica noticed the sudden change in my expression. "Something wrong, Teika-kun?" She asked.
I smiled. "I don't want to say it…. I am afraid of crowds" I said. I averted my eyes.
"Ok? Is that it?" She asked.
I looked back at her questioningly. "Yeah. I get claustrophobic around so many people"
"What is claustrophobic?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.
Aoki laughed. "I'll tell you later." She said, taking my hand, ready to lead my through the mob. I gave her a serious expression, and a nod, hoping that said my gratitude. She tightened her grip slightly to acknowledge she understood. She then walked into the crowd, me not far behind. Once we entered the wall of flesh, I felt it.
My heart started racing, my breath picking up. I felt the tension in every muscle in my body. My vision tunneled, black encompassing the outskirts of my vision. I must have been crushing Aoki's hand, and I knew it… I just couldn't help it. After what seemed like years, of the pressing, the shoving… it all left me.
I saw I was standing inside the shop, the walls lined with wares, and the dark skinned owner taking inventory. "Umm, Teika-kun?" I heard next to me.
I looked at her. "Yeah?"
"I think you have crushed my hand sufficiently" she said. I let go, a sheepish grin on my face.
"Sorry" I mumbled.
"Well, we will see you!" She said, waving, and going back out with Silica. After the door shut, I sighed.
"Hey man, what's up?" Said the deep rumble of Agil's voice.
I turned and faced the massive man with the same sheepish grin. "Sorry, can't stand crowds" I mumbled.
"Hey man, this is a judgement free zone" he held his hands up as he said this. "If ya need a break from it all, I have no problem" he went back to counting things.
"Hey, Agil. Your shop is two stories, right?" I asked.
"Yeah, what'ya got in mind?" He asked.
"Do you use the second floor as a bedroom?"
"Yup, but I have a spare room…. lookin' for a place to stay?" He turned back to me.
"I'd pay handsomely" I said quickly, but he waved my words off.
"Don't worry man. As long as the girls are ok with sharing a room with you, and you don't make a ruckus in there" he winked. "I got no problem in you staying as long as you like"
"Thanks, seriously" I said walking up. 'Other than that suggestive remark, I really like this guy' I thought. I held out my hand.
He smiled, and grasped it, shaking it firmly. "Again, no prob man".
"Do you sell decent weapons? Like, other than total b.s. stuff?" I asked. "Broke my sword."
"Yeah man. Here" he opened a menu, and started looking through it. "What'ya got in mind?"
"Hmm. I want something with serious swinging power with high destructive force…. a one handed battle ax?" I asked.
"Hmm, price range, Str range?" He said, narrowing the list.
"Price doesn't matter, and the heaviest you have"
"Hmm, how about this" he tapped something, and a weapon materialized in his hand.
It was three quarters of a meter long, with a wooden shaft for a handle. The head was that of a hatchet, made of black iron. The head itself was large, the blade having a good twenty centimeters of edge. He handed it to me with both hands. I grasped the handle with my right hand, and pulled it up.
I felt the muscles in my arm strain to lift it. It's weight was certainly large, as to lift it easily I grabbed it with both hands. 'Good thing I saved some StP for this!' "Give me a moment please" I said. I gave it back to him, and placed the spare points on Str. I then grabbed it again, lifting it with much more success.
"Great!" I commented. I checked the durability. 275/275. "How much?" I asked.
"How about, twenty five hundred." He said.
I blinked rapidly. 'Cheaper than crap, but ok'. I took out the coins, and gave them to him.
"You do realize that you could have sent them to me via the System, right?" He asked, taking the bag.
"You do realize you could have not screwed yourself over by selling this thing so cheap, right?" I countered, trying (and failing) to imitate his voice. He laughed slightly.
"Touchè" he grunted.
I opened my menu. "Hey, dude, can you walk my through how to send a pm again?"
"Yeah, sure." He said. After he did, I sent a message to both of my friends.
Recipient: Aoki, Silica.
Message: "found a place. Agil is letting us stay above his shop. Y'all can come back now".
After sending that, I placed the weapon in my inventory. I saw the knife I got from Lupa earlier, Wolf Fang. "Do you have wrapping paper? I have something I want to give to a friend as a gift. And armor if you have some light, but strong stuff."
"Well, yeah, here" he reopened the menu, and let me look through it. After choosing what I wanted, I payed his a respectable amount, and he gave me the items.
I wrapped the knife in brown paper, as to obscure its shape. Right when I was done, the door opened. I looked to see my two friends walk in. I quickly put the wrapped item in my inventory, and walked over to greet them.
"Before you say a word" started Aoki. "I really need to vent right now.". I nodded, and she started pounding my chest with punches. I stood there, like a brick, taking it.
"Damn beta testers! Taking everything from us and keeping it for themselves! Making the rest of us work harder to achieve half the result!" Each syllable was enunciated with a strike to my chest. After that she stopped. "Thanks, I needed that".
"Hello, Agil-san! I am Silica!" The little blonde bowed to the tall man.
"Hey, Silica! No need to be formal here, we are all equal in this place" he said.
"Oh, yessir!" She bowed again.
I laughed, and ruffled her hair. "Silly. He wants you to speak as though you are with Aoki-chan and I"
"Hrmph!" She squeaked while I rubbed her head. "Why do you keep doing that?"
I stopped. "Sorry. It's just so tempting"
"I like it! I was just wondering why!" She exclaimed when my hand left her head.
"You never pet my hair!" Said Aoki indignantly.
"That's because you're twenty centimeters taller than me!" I exclaimed. "Sometimes I want to know what the weather is like up there! Silica-chan is right here, and is easy to pet."
"So you like shorter girls?" Asked Aoki, raising ear eyebrows.
"Man, this is soooo entertaining!" Said Agil.
"Dude! Help me!" I pleaded.
"Nope, you have dug your own grave" he said.
"So, what is your type?" Aoki continued her interrogation.
"Umm, I plead the fifth amendment?" I said hopefully.
"We aren't in America, we are in Aincrad!" She said. "Answer!" She took a threatening step forward.
I thought about it for a moment. "Umm, someone who truly doesn't need me. Someone who can be self sufficient. Great personality…"
"How about physical characteristics?" She nearly growled.
"Where did this come from?" I asked.
"No where. Answer the questions!" She commanded, grabbing the front of my faded purple shirt.
"Why are you being so mean to him?" Asked Silica.
"Because I want to know, and my time in America taught me, that when I want something, I have to work to get it. I am working for these answers!" She looked back at me. "So, what will it be?" She asked, face centimeters from mine.
"Umm, physical traits don't really matter…" I said, which I was hoping the correct answer.
"Bull shit. I know every guy has a list of physical traits he wants his date to have!" She said.
I thought wildly, picking things from mid air. "Umm, I would prefer somewhere around my height, fairly thin, but not malnourished…" I started.
She dropped me. I stumbled back a step. "I see how it is. You would prefer Silica over me" she stormed up the stairs in a fury.
"Did I say something wrong?" I asked. Agil was laughing.
"Man, you are the most clueless person I know" he said.
"Well, enlighten me please!" I exclaimed. I hate not being able to figure something out almost as much as I hate crowds.
"Nope, sorry man, but that is something each guy must figure out for himself… the hard way" he said.
'And I don't have google to help me!' I thought. 'Girls!' I started walking up the stairs, fairly annoyed.
"Umm, Teika-kun?" I tuned around.
"What!?" I demanded.
Silica flinched. "Umm, never mind"
My expression softened. "Sorry, I am just really annoyed at Aoki-chan right now. She usually isn't like this." I said, walking back to her, and ruffling her hair.
She dodged my hand, and dashed up the stairs. I stood dumbfounded. "What did I do?" I asked Agil.
"You snapped at her. Get ready to be chewed out by that other friend of yours. Sorry man." He said with a knowing look.
"Hey, thanks Agil" I said.
"Dude, if you guys are always like this, I will pay you to stay here! And then charge tickets for the first ever Aincrad Comedians!" He laughed. "You better go up before they hunt you down"
I sighed. "G'night" I siad, heading up the stairs. Once up, there were two doors, one to either side. I heard hushed whispers through the one to the left. I knocked on it, and waited for a response. After a moment, I didn't get one, all that happened was that the whispering stopped. "I'm coming in" I said.
I opened the door. The decor was very basic; wooden walls, ceiling, floor. There was a chair and a desk in a bed was queen size, with ample room for the girls. The two friends were sitting on the bed, and Aoki was hugging Silica. The little one was crying. "You got mad at her? What did she do to you?" Demanded Aoki.
"I am sorry" I said honestly. "I took out my frustrations on her, and that was wrong"
"Damnit Teika! All she wants is you to accept her, 'cuz she feels like an outsider! And what do you do? You yell at her!" She glared at me while Silica kept sobbing.
"Silica-chan" I said quietly.
"Go away" she wailed.
"You heard her! Leave! We don't want to be around you right now! Aoki shouted.
I nodded, and headed downstairs. Once there, Agil looked at me sympathetically. "Hey man, if you want I can get a sleeping bag out and you can hit the hay here" he gestured to the ground behind the counter.
"Nah, thanks though" I said to him.
"Then where you gonna sleep, man?" He asked.
"Not going to" I answered. "I'm thinking of grinding."
"Well, ok. When you need to repair your ax, there is a npc shop on main and third street who has reasonable prices."
"Thanks. See you tomorrow." I said. I walked out of the shop without a backward glance, to go find something that would taste the iron of my ax.
After Silica stopped crying, Aoki let go of her. "Their there. The bastard is gone now" she said comfortingly.
"Sorry Aoki-chan. I was just sad that you two were fighting." Said the little blonde. "I thought he was mad at me too"
"Don't worry. It doesn't matter what that idiot thinks" said Aoki.
"I care" murmured Silica.
Then, a notification appeared on her HUD. She opened her menu to find she had a pm.
Sender: Teika.
Message: " I left some things for you outside the door.".
Aoki read through the message, and stood up.
"Where are you going?" Asked Silica.
"Just looking at something." She said.
After opening the door, she looked down. There was a closed wooden box. It was about one meter long, three quarters wide, and one half meter deep. She picked it up with a lot of effort. ' 'The hell is in here?' She thought. She brought it over to the bed, and placed it in front of Silica. "What is that?" Asked Silica.
"Something Teika left for us." Said Aoki.
She found the seam that separated the kid from the rest. After taking off the lid, the contents surprised her. Across the top was a one handed iron longsword, diagonal to fit in the box. Its handle guard was small, which made her think that it was made for quick yet hard attacks. The handle was wrapped in black leather. Her name was etched in the base of the blade neatly. She grabbed it and gawked. There was a note under it, engraved into a piece of wood. It said "I got the materials to make these from various fights. I got a npc to make the sword, and I bought the rest from the col I had left over. I wanted to give this to you tomorrow, but I think that I won't be back for a few days" she put the sword down, and looked at the rest.
There was a slightly curved knife, with 'Silica' engraved in it. The whole thing was white, and looked like a wicked fang. Under this we're two dresses, one scarlet red, and was pretty small. The other was bright pink. She raised the pink one, and held it against her body. It was just her size. Her first thought was 'wow. He is so nice' her second was 'how in hell did he get my size?'. Next, we're two pairs of chain mail shirts, meant to be worn under clothes. One was her size, and the other Silica's.
'Wow' thought Aoki. 'Clothes...armor….. weapons…. how much did he spend?'
Silica was raising the red dress. It had a short skirt on the bottom, and strapless top. She blushed slightly at the revealing dress. Aoki took out the piece of wood, and flipped it over. On that side was another note. "Sorry if the dresses are a little vulgar, it's all the npc had, and the best quality on the first floor. Guaranteed to last at least two months. Don't worry about me. Protect each other, and have a little fun."
I smiled as my ax cleaved right through another Dire Wolf. The rest of the pack was crouching a growling. I have taken out three of them, and six remained. One of them barked at me, and one of its comrades leapt. I smiled. 'Your friends tried that already, didn't work' I thought. I spun, holding the hatchet in my hand, and the blade bit deep into the side of the neck of the wolf. It died instantly. 'This will be my life for a few days' I thought.
"Kyyaaaaat!" I shouted, and ran at the wolves, preparing to kill another.