A/N: You were all shocked to hear Lightning in the Laughing Coffin guild, aren't ya? That's gonna put quite a damage on her chances on staying with the Lunar Twilights. Lightning had better hope they, especially Hakomo, don't find out.
FEBRUARY 14TH, 2023. FLOOR 1, VALLEY OF PEACE.
Valentines Day. It's not really my favorite holiday, but it is peaceful unless Serah and Snow get all Lovely-Dovey, then it instantly turns into a miserable day for me. Well, that's one benefit for being trapped in this virtual world, that I wouldn't have to see those two together, not that it's really a bad thing to see Serah, but I just can't stand the sight of seeing her and Snow together.
Even though I gave them my blessing, I still regret Serah marrying that doofus.
Of course, there's also a Valentine's Day event in this world. It's just known as 'Love in the Air' Every town is decorated. Pink, white and red streamers, balloons, paper hards on the town buildings. It's pretty amazing. Not only that, but the Valley of Peace is covered in flowers. Not literally, flowers are just part of the decoration, that and there are vendors who are selling flowers.
I start walking down the street. Everywhere I go, there are couples in this city. People laughing, giving each other gifts, kissing or hugging. Makes me smile seeing people so happy despite being trapped in this world.
Right now, we are having a hard time in Warlords Wrath Online. It's been a month since we unlocked the tenth floor. We haven't been able to find a way to defeat the boss, let alone try to get an attempt to face it. The passage to the Elite Dungeon is locked. No one knows why this is happening, not even the Beta Testers.
But we don't worry about it, not on a day like today.
"Hey! Lightning!" A voice says.
"I am not interested!" I say aggressively as I turn around, only to see it's Hope and Vanille. "Sorry, I didn't know it was you."
"Rough day?" Vanille asks.
"Yeah. A ton of desperate guys keep asking me to be their Valentine." I say.
"Oh, sorry to hear that. I have something that might cheer you up." Hope opens his menu. He scrolls through his lists, then a window opens. A trade window that's from Espeon. The only item that's on the list is 'Red Rose'. I push on the item, the window closes and a single red rose appears in my hands.
I'll admit, I'm surprised to see this. But it's not that big of a surprise. Every year on Valentines' Day, Hope gives me a rose, and some flowers for Serah as well. It's really sweet of him of course.
"I didn't think there are roses in this world," I say.
"Wasn't easy to find one. But you know I would never leave you hanging." Hope says. Vanille laughs, and I chuckle as well.
I walk up to Hope and give him a rub on the head. "Thanks, Espeon."
"Come on, Espeon!" Vanille starts pulling on Hope's arm. "I want to go to the Lovers Festival!"
Hope chuckles a little. "Okay. Okay." Hope looks at me as he and Vanille walk away. "See you later, Light."
The Lovers Festival is really not too far outside the city. I don't really plan on going there, I'm predicting more morons trying to hit on me. Then again, I wonder if only couples are in there. If that's the case then I guess the administrators probably would have thought of some system that blocks out singles.
As I wander around town, I found Rokel. He's just sitting on the bench, looking down depressed. He sure does seem pretty sad. I wonder what's going on with him.
I approach Rokel. "What's eating you, kiddo?"
Rokel looks up at me, then looks down. I can see that he is looking at the rose I have hanging in my hand. "Really? Even you get a Valentine!" His tone is pretty upsetting but makes it sound like he's trying to be offensive.
"Okay, first of all. This rose isn't a real Valentine, just a gift Espeon gave me. And secondly, watch your tone with me, boy." I say with a threatening tone in the end.
Rokel doesn't seem worried, only sad and regretful. "I'm sorry...today's just not a good day for me."
I let out a sigh then I sit right next to Rokel. "All right, what's wrong?"
At first, Rokel didn't speak, but he answers. "It's just it's Valentines' Day and everyone but me seems to get a date."
I see where this is going. Hope was like this once. "Okay, you can't really just overreact to one year."
"One year? I've tried for four years to get a girlfriend. But all the girls just turn on me...or sometimes get big tough guys to get rid of me, mostly by dumping me in the dumpster." Rokel says.
I raise an eyebrow hearing that dumpster part. "That's pretty rough," I say.
"It is. You have no idea how hard it is to wash away the stench of three-month-old lasagna. It was also one of the reasons I couldn't get a girl." Rokel's not wrong about that. I slightly scooch away from the boy, only about six inches.
I start to try and give him confidence. "Okay...look, maybe this year is your lucky day," I say.
Rokel looks at me with eyes like up. "Really? You're saying you'll be my girlfriend?" I give Rokel a look that means it's not happening. "Sorry...What did you actually mean?"
I cross my legs, sighing. "Well, normally I highly wouldn't recommend this, but we are in a virtual world filled with a ton of people, who don't even know who you are. I'm sure we can find someone for you."
Rokel looks a bit clueless. "Wow, this doesn't seem like you at all, Lightning."
"Well, I guess you could say my sister is starting to influence me. Back in High School, she was playing matchmaker for everyone. They even called her Nurse Cupid." Rokel laughs a little. "Yeah, I don't really find that funny. She was mostly doing it so I could get a date to the prom." Rokels' laughing dies.
"Sorry. Do you really think you can help me? What if no girl likes me? Or finds out about Tyler?" Rokel asks.
"Well, I wouldn't worry about that jerk. I don't think he'll bother you after when I get through with him." Rokel smiles a little. I stand up from the bench. "Let's go."
I'm now spending the day playing Nurse Cupid in placement of my sister. I have a gut feeling she would be doing this for Rokel if she were here. I start off by giving him a few pointers on how to talk to a girl. Just walk up, give a compliment, be calm and relaxed.
Rokel is...a bit rusty. I can't tell if it's cause he's new to this or it's cause a pretty girl is coaching him and he can't focus. I'm thinking both. Maybe I should have gotten Hope to help him out instead, but he's busy with Vanille.
In the town, we found a girl roughly about Rokel's age with long brown hair. "See that girl over there?" Rokel nods. "Try talking to her."
Rokel faces the girl, but he doesn't move. I can tell the boy's nervous. I give him a push, causing him to stumble forward. He ends up falling on his stomach to the ground. At least that got the girl's attention. Not exactly in a good way, but still.
The girl looks confused looking at Rokel, then the kid instantly gets back on his feet. I stand back and watch as Rokel greets himself. The girl doesn't seem too interested. Long story short, the girl just walks away and Rokel returns to me, depressed.
"Didn't go well?" I ask.
"She wasn't really interested," Rokel says.
Rokel looks pretty bumped. "Don't give up so easily. Let's just keep trying."
We spread through the Valley of Peace. It's a large city and all the couples are most likely in the Lovers Festival outside of the northern town. There's a good chance there will be single females wandering around here. Probably around Rokel's age.
I'm just hoping to help this kid and that this will maybe help break this silly impulse of his. Him trying to crush on me is really starting to get annoying. Of course, it was annoying from the start, but it's getting hard to tolerate it.
We found a girl who seems to be like a vendor, for she's by a cart selling flowers. She looks 17 years old but seems caring like my sister or Vanille. I have Rokel approach the girl, he does some small talk with her, then asks if she can be his valentine. But sadly, she's already spoken for.
Of course, she has a boyfriend.
We keep on looking. We next found some long white hair, seems sixteen. She was also carrying a heavy create. I tell Rokel the way of being a gentleman: Carrying their heavy supplies for them. Then again, I wonder if this is really a mistake, cause Rokel doesn't seem to have much muscle, and I'm also guessing that the strength parameter is pretty low for a Wavemaster.
Rokel approaches the girl, offers to carry her supplies. She gradually accepts his offer. This quickly backfired when she hands him the create and Rokel fells down due to the weight. He's really not helping himself, is he?
This goes on for a while. I rather not explain what happened, but it's about 4 PM, and Rokel's about to give up. "It's hopeless."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Rokel," I say to him.
Rokel looks up at me. "I appreciate you trying to help, Lightning. But it's just no use." Rokel looks down. "Guess I'm just meant to be alone." Hearing that saddens me. I don't really show it.
"That won't happen. You're a nice boy, Rokel. Any girl would be lucky enough to have you." After hearing that, I suddenly felt stupid saying that. Not cause it is, what I say is true, but just doesn't sound like myself. Not to mention his impulse will probably overcome him hearing that. "I'm sure we'll find someone. Who knows, she might be just around the corner."
Rokel doesn't say anything else. Just to our luck, as we're turning a corner, Rokel bumps into someone cause the both of them to fall. I step back when the bump happens. The other girl we bumped into was Silica. The girl must be carrying something, cause there are a ton of apples and other types of vegetables flying everywhere, now laying on the ground.
"Oh no!" Silica says with worry, as two apples and a tomato shatters. Looks like the crash caused their durability to drop to zero.
"Oh my! I'm sorry!" Rokel gets on his knees, starts picking up the dropped food. "I didn't see you there."
Silica starts picking up her items as well. "No! It's fine, I'm the one who wasn't paying attention."
I stand by watching the two. Pina seems to be doing the same, only he's just laying on her head. They put the stuff back in the basket. All that's left is the one apple in front of them. Both of them grab it at the same time, Silica's hand on the apple and Rokel on hers. They were both surprised, then they look up at each other's faces.
I can tell by the looks on their faces that they're lost in each other. I've seen stuff like that in those romantic shows. After a minute of staring, they look down at their hands and retreated them instantly like they were touching molten lava. Their faces are red, nervously smiling.
It's obvious, they like each other.
Rokel grabs the apple and hands it to Silica. "I-I uh...believe this is yours."
Silica accepts it. "Thank you." She puts it back in the basket. Pina raises his head, looking at Rokel. Then gets on its wings flying right in front of the boy. Rokel seems nervous being approached by the feathered dragon. Pina sniffs Rokel, then gives him a rub with his face. "Hey, looks like Pina likes you." Silica chuckles while Rokel seems a bit nervous from the pet. Silica grabs Pina and places him on her shoulder. "Oh...I know you. You're that Wavemaster from the Assault Team."
Rokel seems surprised but then recognizes Silica from a few of the boss fights. "Uh...right, I'm Rokel." Rokel holds a hand out.
Silica grabs his hand and shakes it. "I'm Silica."
"Silica. What are you doing here?" I ask.
Silica picks up the basket. "I just finished harvesting my garden, now I'm on my way to deliver them to a food vendor."
Rokel grabs the basket and takes it from Silica, which caught the girl by surprise. "Uh, let me carry that for you."
"Oh, you don't have to..." Silica sees that Rokel's doing fine carrying the basket. "Oh...okay then."
Silica takes around to the vendor she was visiting. During the whole time, I watch those two. Constantly eyeing each other. Rokel carries the basket with all his pride. I'll admit, I'm impressed.
After making the delivery, the three of us stand outside the restaurant. I stand just a few feet away from him, listening to their conversation.
"Thanks for helping me out back there." Silica says with a smile.
Rokel seems nervous by that response. "Uh...It-it was nothing." There was silence coming from the two. Rokel turns to look at him. I give him a look, gesture my hand to roll and I mouthed 'Go on'. He nods then faces Silica. He takes a deep breath before speak. "Uh...Silica. I-I was wondering if uh..." Silica starts to look confused. "If you..." Rokel rubs his arm nervously. "Want to go to the Lovers Festival...with me?"
I'm disappointed to hear that then slap my forehead. "You mean...as a couple?"
Rokel looks even more nervous, his face is turning red. "Uh...not exactly, I mean...we just met and all. We're probably strangers." Rokel makes a worried look that shows he instantly knows that was a mistake to say. "Not-not that you are strange. It's just..."
I sigh with irritation and march right in. I cover Rokel's mouth, silencing him, and did the talking for him. "What my friend is trying to say is that you seem like a nice person and he would want to go to that festival with you." I also want to add 'Please do it! I've been trying all day to get this kid a girlfriend!' but I left that out, knowing that'll cause a disaster in this.
Silica seems surprised. "Oh. Why, yes. I would love to go with you." Rokel is speechless, which is good cause I now remove my hand from his mouth. Silica holds a hand out with a smile. Rokel hesitates for a moment, then takes it. Next thing that happens if they're leaving, heading to the festival I guess.
I stand by, watching the two leave with a smile. I could say job well done.
So I return to an inn that me and the rest of the Lunar Twilight's are resting in for the night. Aerith, Hakomo, and Elementalist attended the Lovers Festival with their loved ones, or in Aerith's case just some close friend.
I'm just going through my menu while waiting around for the day to pass. "Hey, has anyone seen Rokel?" Spellbreaker asks.
"He's probably still out on his date," I say.
Raphael bursts into laugher soon after I spoke. "Oh yeah! Good one, Lightning." We all look at Raphael. Some saying that he's being rude, Aerith confused. Mine is more serious and offended. Raphael notices our expressions and his laughter slowly dies down. "Wait...you're serious? Our Rokel, that little punk who can't even talk to a girl without hitting on one, has a girlfriend?"
"I wouldn't say 'girlfriend'. More like...a girl just trying to have fun." The moment I said that I feel stupid.
"I think it's nice that Rokel has a date," Aerith says. "I've been kind of feeling bad for him."
"Then why don't you go out with him?" Elementalist asks.
Aerith looks surprised hearing that, her face is turning red even. Elementalist, Raphael, Spellbreaker are all laughing. "Oh shut up, guys. Quit bothering Aerith." Hakomo says.
I roll my eyes, silently chuckling as I continue going through my menu. "Hey! He's coming!" Hearing Elementalist saying that makes me look out the window. I see Rokel and Silica coming towards this way, holding hands and Silica holding a bouquet of flowers.
Raphael looks out the window. "Oh, man! He really does have a girlfriend, and it's not imaginary." Raphael moves to the door, an ear on it. "We are they saying?"
Elementalist moves Raphael out of the way and puts his ear on the door. "Move! I want to hear too!"
"Hey! No butting in! That's my thing!" Raphael and Elementalist are fighting over who gets to stand by the door and listen. At this point, Rokel will be able to hear us through the door.
Hakomo grabs those two by the ear and pulls them away. "Guys! Knock it off!" Hakomo pulls them away, then he listens closely through the door. "Cause I want to listen!"
Elementalist and Raphael are surprised by this, then Spellbreaker joins in. "I want in!" Elementalist and Raphael barge in on the party. All four of them are now listening closely to through the door. Aerith and I are just sitting by watching them.
"Men," I say arms crossed looking disappointed.
"They are so simple-minded," Aerith says.
I look down at Aerith. She seems calm but I notice her eagerness from her leg shaking. "You want to join in, don't you?"
Just that like, she bolted for the door. "I do!"
I just watch my guild as they listen through the door. They are crazy, and strangely I enjoy it. I look out the window to see Rokel and Silica standing by the door. I decided to do a little listening myself, only this time I lightly open the door so I'll able to hear him.
"I had a fun time." Silica says.
"So did I. You know, this was my first...date," Rokel says.
Silica smiles a little. "Really? So is mine."
That seems to make him happy. "I-I uh..." Rokel nervously rubs the back of his neck. "I'd like to...go out again some time...if you want?"
Silica nods. "I'd love to. It's a date." Silica turns and walks, only by a few feet, then she turns back to give Rokel a kiss on the cheek. That certainly caught him by surprise. After the kiss, Silica makes her leave.
Rokel makes an expression that looks like he's about to faint. At first, I worry a little, then I relax when I see him smile, putting a hand on the cheek she kissed. It's nice to see the kid happy after all of the dark events that have happened to him, thanks for the jerk Tyler.
Rokel opens the door, only to be greeted by his guild tumbling down like a tower. Rokel is surprised to see them. Everyone looks up at him, worried. They've been busted.
"Hey, Rokel..." They all say.
"Were you guys eavesdropping on me?" Rokel asks.
Everyone was all 'What? No!' "Of course not!' 'I was just checking the door.'. I slightly shake my head and chuckle. Strangely, their silliness amuses me. After they'll little chat, Rokel walks up to me.
"I take it you had a fun time?" I ask.
Rokel nods. "Thank you for helping me, Lightning."
Rokel approaches before me and gives me a hug. Without any further hesitation, I return his hug. I guess I'm good at this Nurse Cupid thing just as my sister is.
But I don't really plan on making it a hobby.
