Scene #3896: A Face from the Past

Owner	Pose
Tomoe	Tomoe has just finished up a dungeon with a few other Salamanders she knows, once things had settled down from the whole Fiasco with Asuna being kidnapped? Relations had improved with the GU when Eugene and a few of the other higher ups had found out somthing actually shady had been going on but the Salamander woman was in high spirits as she walked along one of the main streets in the capuitol honestly just out and about today, then again she spent more of her life these days in full drive than she did in reality...
Kain	A gust of wind flies overhead at some pretty intense speeds, along with the shouting of happiness! "WOOHOOOOO!" A player using their wings on their own, probably... flitting around the area on red wings, marking the player as a Salamander, zipping and darting around and through buildings with decent ease. Then after a while of flying around on that speed, they slowed down and it was much easier to see them as he lazily was just flying backwards, on his back, hands behind his head, almost as if he were swimming. Looking around, his face would show recognition as his would meet the gaze of a very familiar female avatar walking on the ground. But as he was recognizing her, suddenly he'd lose where he was going and- crash right into a building wall, slowly falling to the ground comically until he landed on the ground, arms and legs spread out from the landing. "Owwwwwww..."
Tomoe	Tomoe pauses as someone flies over head, she suspects it's just a newbie having fun with one of their first flights, she's got no issue with this but then she watches. Tomoe while she'd changed her av avatar a bit would still be knowable for most people form SAO, maybe it's just due to the fact the young woman was nearly six feet tall back then and here? She sees the other player go down hard, she cringes fo a second then sprin got him. "Hey are you all right?! The flight controls can take a lot to get used to!"
Kirito	What with there being maybe some possibility to meet up and tackle a quest stopping a Killer Mantis uprising in the Sunshine Forest (Aincrad's 20th floor), Kirito was waiting for Tomoe to show up on the map again. And spring the idea on her by surprise, maybe! Kirito's always quite fond of hunting quests, his friends have all learned by now. And sometimes thoughtlessly against the creepiest enemies. Does he recall that an unusual amount of his circle of friends (largely the females) have no love of bug monsters? Probably not. The fairy clothed entirely in black swoops in overhead, a hundred meters or so higher than Tomoe. He arrived just in time to see the dust cloud kicked up from a crash. Heck, he heard it. And so the Spriggan grimaces in sympathy upon realizing that was a PERSON taking a dive. "They're going to feel THAT later." He should know. He kind of plowed headfirst into a tree at what felt like Mach 1, his very first day in Alfheim.
Kain	Groaning in pain, the Salamander standing up as the female approached him, dusting himself off as he did so. "I'm fine... just need to watch where I'm going and not get distracted by a familiar face." He smiled to Tomoe, and it would be in that instant the face looked extremely familiar, not just to Tomoe, but possibly to Kirito flying overhead as well. (( See first picture in look Kain for shown face. )) "It's good to see you again, Tomoe! It's been a while!" Decently-sized, this character definitely looked like he'd aged well. His features were more defined, he looked a bit more sure of himself, and wearing some decent gear... not top-level raid gear of course, but certainly better than some newb could get scouring Floor 1 of Aincrad or similar locations in Alfheim.
Tomoe	Tomoe is trying to help the other Salmaner up and she pauses for a moment trying to place him. She tilts her head a little bit. "Wait do I know you? I don't think we raided before." Her name is known in SAO but this man is talking like he knows her well enough, she's trying to place him now but given avatars that can be hard for a lot of people. "well it could be worse, you could have slammed into a cliff at mach speed." Sjhe ginrs and will offer him a hand up should he need it.
Kirito	And there's Tomoe, tending to the fallen guy. The briefest of smiles flickers on Kirito's face moments before he spins about in the air to face almost straight down and cranks wingspeed to the max. SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOM! He comes in for a hell of a landing JUUUUUST far enough away from the group that the dust cloud he kicks up on impact doesn't reach everyone. The boy rises to his feet and approaches, looking pretty upbeat. Smiling a bit mischeviously and stretching his arms out. "Gonna rate that one a four out of ten... everything alright? Last time I plowed into something like that I felt it IRL for half a day." The mischevious expression melts into a bit of concern and sympathy, but the boy halts his approach and tilts his head ever so slightly, eyes widening... then narrowing. Recognition's definitely there. But he can't pin down just WHO.
Kain	The Salamander chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. Partially from the slam and partially from embarassment. "I suppose it's to be expected... it was 3 years ago. I-" Suddenly, a landing most dramatic. The moment the dust cloud disappeared, even more of a recognition hit the Salamander's face! "Y-y-y-..." Stammering quite a bit, he knew JUST who had landed in front of them! He was a living legend! "Y-You're Kirito! Th-The guy who completed SAO and saved everyone!" From his tone of voice though, that's not where he'd remember Kirito easily from. He looked at both Tomoe and Kirito, knowing the one place he could mention that would bring recognition to full view. "It's Kain, from the Church in The Town of Beginnings!" He gave that familiar smile once more!
Tomoe	Tomoe wasy "I heard from your sister on that, she said she got screen caps of the impact you know." Tomoe grinning widly at this, after all there's been a low key prank war between teh two foer years and this is just the latest salvo between them and she pauses for a moment she pauses for a moment three years ago? That /gets/ Tomoe's attention now and there seem to be a glimer of understanding in her eyes even before the response. "Kain?! I recall you from the Church now! I hadn't thought to see you dive into anything again I admit." She shrugs "Some of the Cleaders? we just never could let go I guess. So what brings you to Sword Art Online?"
Kirito	SUGU has WHAT?! Kirito's shoulders comically sag for just a moment. "That figures." Buhhhhh. Well maybe he's lucky and Tomoe's pulling his leg. He's quuuuuuiiiiiickly brought out of that funk by having this tall and lean swordsman IMMEDIATELY recognize him. And not just recognize him... The guy who completed SAO, he says. The Black Swordsman straightens up, standing tall and tensing. His eyes go wide, almost ALARMED... for there's memories at play he doesn't always like recalling. There's still plenty of people who regard him as anything BUT. Still... "Ahhh! The group staying with Sasha!" Blurts the boy, startled and seeming like anything BUT a hero. "... It's been a few years... uweh, it's not like I was the only one on the assault team." He makes a sort of sheepish face. Being hailed as a hero is kind of embarassing. But he racks a smile soon enough. "Got back into VRMMO, huh. I should've seen that coming."
Kain	Kain has a big smile on his face once both Tomoe and Kirito recognized him. "Yeah, it's been a long time!" He looked at both Kirito and Tomoe, regarding Tomoe's words about not thinking to see him dive again. "Everyday, I kept convincing myself that it wasn't a death game. Of course, I knew what would happen if my HP made it to 0... but I kept myself positive. Since you and Asuna helped us out that day, I've always kept up the thought that... if I were to let this game get the better of me, if I let it defeat me mentally, even if SAO was completed and we were freed, I'd still have lost. Because the feeling would have kept with me even after the game, and there was no way I'd let myself feel that way. So when VRMMOs were still a thing after SAO, I jumped at it. Why not? Even if it wasn't for others, for me, SAO was still fun. I still had fun playing." He shrugged. "But yeah. I came back because I had fun and I'm still having fun here!" He certainly looked like he was having fun, his expression and demeanor.
Tomoe	Tomoe Says "Been a while since I heard from Sasha honestly now that IT think about it." She's still in a pretty good mood though tough she looks over Kain for a moment longas e she listens and nods she seems to know where he's coming from. "I can see and your right I don't think any of us wull ever fully get away from it but if we hide? Well the one behinbd it has won in a way. Fair enoug so you hooked up with a guild or regular party yet?"
Kirito	Hearing such a big speech about these feelings is enough to get Kirito looking somber... but not for long. He ends up smiling a bit softly. "You aren't wrong. That's pretty close to how I felt. The moment you stop fighting in spirit... there's no more moving forward again." After a small sigh, he plants a hand on his hip and quips, "Nice to know someone else feels that way about SAO." From this stance he folds his arms and answers somberly. "Not going to lie. Those few years held some of the worst times in my life. ...but... also some of the best times. Anyways... enough on that topic." It is kinda taboo in a lot of cultural aspects now, not that Kiio cares when others freely discuss it! "Was going to see if you wanted to go hunt some Killer Mantis up in Aincrad, Tomoe. Maybe it'll be a three-person party." Big change for the legendary solo player, that's for sure.
Kain	Kain thinks about that offer a small bit. "That was... 20th floor? I think? I'd be cool with farming them for a bit. I was just, as you guys saw, practicing flying without a controller... people in here keep telling me it's really tough to get the hang of even for the more advanced players... but I seem to have gotten it down pretty easily." He demonstrates this by flitting around a little more at high speeds, deftly avoiding certain obstacles in the tightly cramped city. After a few seconds of showing off, he landed back with both Tomoe and Kirito. "But since practice is rather easy going, I should get back around to combat again." He just shrugs a small bit. "Who knows? Maybe things'll be easier in Aincrad than before. It'll certainly be easier without the threat of actual death." He chuckles nervously, thankful that there were no other players nearby as he spoke about SAO.
Tomoe	Tomoe says "For me things just kept happening and one thing lead to another. You know and now here we are again though it's good for this place to be full out a game honestly. Huh pracicing we could help with that if you really want to, we been helping a few new players in our guild."
Kirito	"Voluntary Flight isn't easy. That's pretty impressive!" Kirito's quick to note, showing a pleased smile at that display of skill. He might have a rival here. Just the idea of seeing how someone he met working hard that long ago has progressed... has him pretty excited. The curse of being a bit of a shounen protagonist at times. Or a blood knight, one may say. 'Battle freak'. Yeah, battle freak. "Easier? Nah. It's ten times harder now. Flying enemies and way tougher bosses. SAO was almost taking it easy on us compared to this." And Kirito... is totally revved for that challenge. "Pretty smooth flying! How long did it take you to get that nimble?"
Kain	Kain nodded. "It was actually pretty hard to get it down... I was training movement slowly with the off-hand controller... which it's not really all that bad, especially when you're focused on Fencing. But I saw plenty of players using Voluntary Flight, and I felt like I needed to be that good." He gave a nervous chuckle at Kirito's question. "You're... probably gonna think I'm lying, but I actually mainly stay in the air whenever I can. Rest my wings, then back in the air once I can. So in that essence, I've been practicing maneuvers and being as nimble as I can for about a week." Suddenly, he got a notice in front of him from Kirito, a Guild Invite. He looked incredulously at Kirito. "Were... were all the rumors I'd heard about you lies? Everything that I've heard has all said that you're a solo player, never joining a Guild!"
Tomoe	Tomoe says "It's good fun once your able to and have no timer on how long you can fly." Tomoe gets a wide gfrin on her face about this. She looks to him for a moment she laughs. "No that's normal Kain, that's honesly normal for a lot of people who get to it with flying. TO be fair they couldn't give the bosses in SAO too many mechanics, they had to be learnable on the first attempt, at least poentially, none of the arse pulls like Avlanche's old fantasy mmorpgs used to do." She looks to Kirito for a moment at Kain's last comment. "So Mr. Beater, should I tell him or do you want to?"
Kirito	Kirito's taken by surprise with that question. "... It wasn't entirely lies. ... The one time I joined a guild... it went horribly." And the incident of the Black Cats may never be public knowledge. The boy makes a face, but he doesn't wanna dwell on THAT. Not one bit. Tomoe knows more about why. "Most of the Beater stuff you heard was true though. The boss battle for the first floor... a scapegoat was needed. Someone to take all the heat off the beta testers. ... that's why I ended up going fully solo for almost the whole time. Now look. I'm running a Guild. Didn't see this coming!" He scratches the back of his head, a bit sheepishly.
Kain	Kain sighs in relief. "That's a relief. I'm glad someone believes me." He then looks at Tomoe curiously. "What do you mean?" in regards to his question to Kirito, whom he turned to right after. Looking at Kirito, he hears the explanation of what exactly was up with everything. And his face goes wide. "So... a solo player only going alone... now is a Guild Leader? How did that come about? Don't get me wrong, that's pretty cool! And sure, I'll definitely join the Guild!" He presses the accept button on the Guild invite.
Tomoe	Tomoe knows a bit more but she's never dared to pry on it. She does seem more amused about Kirito being a guild master. "Seriously it took Klien, his entire band, Asuna, me, and how many others to drage you into being Social. Glad it workd though given what happned her ein ALO, I'm just glad things seem to be over forgood now."
Kirito	"You make it sound like I hated hanging with people." Kirito asides to Tomoe in wry protest. Well, it's... only slightly true. Just a bit. He's not about to admit that COMPLETELY. "You weren't keeping up much with news on the front lines... or about the Multiverse back then, I guess. I just happened to be the first one to make contact with people from other worlds, and we needed a guild to organize everything under... so..." He ends up shrugging a little. Yep, that's how it happened. "Lots of those people are still hanging around. Some of them are real weirdos." But he manages to inject that word with some affection! "Everyone just uses it to coordinate and hang out. Sometimes we launch raids. Pretty casual. I'm cool with that."
Kain	Kain is just chuckling at how anti-social Kirito seems to be acting. Guess what they did say had some truth to it after all... Either way, he wasn't one to talk. He had much the same problem at times... only reason he's even speaking about this at all is because he's standing in front of one of his heroes... wait... one of...? "Hey, Kirito... don't take this the wrong way... but aren't you and Asuna... you know... a thing? Where's she at? I... kinda was hoping to... you know... square off against her." He gave a small blush. "Since that day, I've been... kinda getting stronger to... you know... be as strong as you two both are... but I only really saw how strong she was that day, and... well..." He seems to be having issues getting his words out...
Kirito	Well there's few better ways to get Kirito a teensy bit blushy than bringing up his relation with Asuna. "We were married in Sword Art Online." He answers a bit awkwardly. "And we're still together. So if you're looking to cross swords with her, you'd better prepare yourself. She's still every bit the lightning flash she was in SAO! Went with an Undine though." And, rumor has it, Asuna's new title is 'Berserk Healer' because of her propensity to leave the mage lines in a raid fight and suddenly take to epically swording everything when she gets frustrated. Some people are kinda terrified of her for that. The boy's face is awkward, and he's struggling to get words out straight himself. "But if you're looking for a match, just a name a time and place. I'm looking forward to seeing what you've picked up since SAO!" He holds his fist out for a friendly bump!
Tomoe	Tomoe is more than happy to hang back here she looks over at Kirito. "Maybe you did, but that's changed hasn't it? You and Asuna might as well be attached at the hip some days now humm. But I know where you sleep now and I won't let you hide in your metaphorical room again. Yes, yes we are, Klien's been up to stupid tricks for one of Thinkers streans a while ago." However as things get more serious she trails off at this not wnating to g get betwen this. "IF you want a duel I'm game but don't expect me to go easy on you. I'll not insult you like that."
Kain	Kain smiled and returned the fist bump to Kirito. He then looked at Tomoe and Kirito. Then... a small recognition hits his face. "Wait... Asuna is the Berserk Healer?!" He actually looked a little terrified at that now. "I don't know if I wanna face her, then..." Nervous chuckling... then he looked to Tomoe as she offered. "Oh! That'd work! And... maybe Kirito could watch and assess me that way? I mean, I'm just killing time for another hour while dinner's cooking."
Kirito	"Berserk Healer. She's been so anxious to hit higher floors..." Well, that was mostly up to floor 22, but she's still shown enough of that spirit... and reputations don't go away easily. Yeah, Kirito's tone pretty well confirms it. That's her. The boy folds his arms. "Sounds good to me. Duels are a lot more fun than hunting monsters!"