[IC] Living in Aincrad: a SAO RP

[Little_ninja]

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Seeing the other person who helped the little girl offer his hand and seemed to look after her, he continued off, to wonder the labyrinth.

---

Umichi

Seeing Timi hiss and flinch back, Umichi just continued to smile and wait for her. As he pulled her up, she said her name, Timi, and that she wanted to go to town. "Alright then!" he said cheerily. He pulled her with some force and turned his back to her, while crouched. The momentum flung her onto his back. Starting to stand, it seems she didn't weigh much, according to the game. Or he had enough strength for her weight, something along those lines. The hand he used to bring her to him, his left hand, was tucked under and behind to support her weight. His right hand, on the other hand, held his Anneal blade. He was piggy-back riding her. She was small enough for him to do that anyway, a little smaller than Suki. "Hold on tight" he told her.

Dashing through the Labyrinth, he sliced through a dozen or so Ruin Kobold Troopers. Exiting, the light and the open field was bright and vibrant, it took no more than 10 minutes to reach outside. Umichi stood there, with the girl on his back, waiting for his eyes to adjust before continuing. "Ah, fresh air. What were you doing inside the labyrinth all by yourself Timi? In fact, how did you get to Tolbana all by yourself?" He first spoke aloud to no-one, before starting to question Timi. Once again, he began running. Due to the extra weight of a person, he wasn't quite as fast, and was tiring out, reaching the gates longer than it took when he was leaving to reach the labyrinth.

After reaching the gates, he didn't slow down though. He continued to run, it was almost 1630, and he didn't want to be late to the meeting place, Maiden Inn, since he was still technically the leader. Approaching the meeting place, with Timi still on his back, around a corner, near the Maiden Inn, he crashed into Suki. Since he had a bigger build then Suki, and had the weight of of Timi, while he was running, the momentum carried the three forward. "Sorry. I'm so sorry" Umichi blindly apologized, before seeing it was Suki. "Suki?" he asked, after seeing who it was. The way they were positioned, would create many misunderstandings. It was one of those typical manga scenarios, and he was just expecting someone to show up.

While on top of Suki, who had fallen and was lying on her back, his hands managed to fall on to where her hands were. He also forgot about the fact that Timi was on his back. When he had realised it was Suki, he also remembered Timi. He wondered what kind of position they looked like they were in. It was specifically 1627, just a little away from the Maiden Inn when this happened.

[MarshiestMallow]

Timi yelped as he turned, pulling her onto his back, and she gripped tight, pressing her face into the trangers back, unsure if he had told her his name or not, but Timi hadn't heard it. She swallowed, not watching as he ran through the Labyrinth. She did look up as he exited into the light, and breathed out softly. "I-I got lost. I was with a group, but...but I guess they thought me as b-b-baggage...and...the boys in Tolbana aren't nice...so I've been staying out the town during the day..." She trailed off as he began to run again, towards the town.

She was going to say to just leave her on the edge of the safe zone, when he just continued to run into the town, She flinched again, and pressed into him once more. When he crashed into someone and fell, she cried out, and moved away to avoid being crushed, pressing up against the wall of a building, and covering her head with her hands, fearful.

Suki had started back to the Madian Inn, as shefinished up making some potions, and gathering some supplies, figuring that tomorrow they would be entering the labyrinth. She was just walking down the street when Umichi crashed into her, seeing the form of Timi on his back. She moved with the fall, thinking that was better then trying to stop it. Gravity was just fun that way. She was laughing as Umichi apologised, realising the position they were in. Her hair had fallen over her eyes, and she huffed out a breath to try and move it. "um. Excited to see me, i guess. Next time, a kiss would do, rather then knocking me down" She said in amusement, still chuckling. She smiled, but was distracted by movement out the corner of her eye. She looked over towards where she saw the movement, seeing Timi.

"I think we're scaring the girl" She said softly, looking back to Umichi, waiting for him to rise, so she could. She smiled again.

---

Paka sighed as he found himself alone. "Well, that was completely insane" he muttered to himself, shaking his head, he headed to the blacksmith, to see about any lessons he could get from the towns smith. He then proceeded to the merchant's domain, and brought and sold some items, before getting his katana enhanced slightly, and the durability increased.

He pondered what to do with his skill points from leveling the last few levels, and eventually decided to put most of it in his strength, and the rest into his agility, not wanting to be slowed by his strength, and knowing agility played an important role in surviving here.

He kept himself busy, before heading to the Maidian inn early, arriving there at 1620, ordering a drink, and some food as he waited.

[Jangel13]

Angelo went to the marketplace and jumped down from the rooftops to land in the square as he started searching for presents to give as a show of good faith that he wasn't a bad guy he just didn't think he would find people to help him so he had to get the attention of people with friends. he looked around and decided to get something simple for them as he used some of his money to buy gloves in both men and women sizes all were plain gloves but were labeled with <<more coins drop after battle>> effect to them so he thought that would be a good show but hoped they wouldn't interpret it wrong from the ability. So now Angelo had to find a gift for the guy that kept putting him down so he decided to find the guy a new katana he looked around knowing it was difficult to buy a katana with the money he had left from buying the gloves but Angelo wanted to prove he wasn't a bad person so he decided to sell 3 <<cloth armor>> and use his stolen money to buy what he thought was a good blade considering it was called a silver katana. Not really made of silver obviously but it had a special effect of <<effective against dark creatures>> on it so he thought the holier then thou katana guy would like it or at least not throw it away the second he got it. Once Angelo got everything he went to the inn the guy was talking about and waved over at him as he joined him "nice to see you again. hope you don't mind but I got you a present as a sign of good faith" Angelo said moving his hand and flicking over the screen till he revealed one of the gloves he bought and put it in front of the guy "hope you like"

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

After he had stormed off, Fujiwara found himself aimlessly wandering the streets of Tolbana. Having to deal with that stupid thief once was enough, but the thought of him joining the group was... Aggravating, to say the least. He was perfectly fine with new people, just not ones with a criminal record on them. It baffled him to think that the others were trying to give him a chance; by that point, it was all but guaranteed to him that he would be a liability to the group in more ways than one. A level 3 at this point in the game would take massive amounts of damage and deal very little back, and the usage of a spear meant that even the damage he dealt would be slow and almost nonexistent. Sighing, he stared up at the sky and wondered how to deal with that stubborn fool if he decided to show his face again. Noticing the time on his interface, Fujiwara shook his head and sighed.
"I... Guess I'd better get there now." he said as he quickly made his way to the inn. There, he noticed the rest of the party waiting, along with a certain thief trying to hand Paka something.
"So much for 'no more pickpocketing', hm? Who'd you steal those off of, hm? Or is that simply something you 'happened' to come across in the short while that you were stalking the town? Who knows?" he said, glaring at the thief. "Bribery will get you nowhere; we're not that greedy. But of course a petty pickpocket like you wouldn't understand that."

---

Ayame stretched and smiled, wiping off the nonexistent sweat off of her forehead as she had just finished lunch for everyone. Smiling at her handiwork, she moved the food onto indivitual plates, which she then put onto platters to serve to everyone else. Taking the platters and moving to the main lobby of the inn, she noticed everyone had already gathered around or near the inn. Ayame moved to the table where Paka was sitting at and placed the platters down gently.
"Alright, let's see how my cooking turned out this time. Stew and salad should do nicely for lunch, wouldn't you say?" she asked before noticing Fujiwara come in. As she did, Ayame also noticed that Fujiwara was a great deal angrier than when she had last seen him. Noticing his gaze, she turned to the thief from earlier and, sighing, shook her head.
"Well, that killed the atmosphere. I'm sorry, but could I ask you to please leave? I would much prefer to not have any of my valuable stolen from me, thank you very much." she said, backing away from the table a bit. Noticing Ayame, Fujiwara glared at the thief.
"Can't you just go away already?" he asked, his expression changing from one of anger to one of pure irritation.

[Little_ninja]

"Haven't you gotten a tad cheekier" Umichi replied flirtatiously to Suki, rising after she noted that they may have been scaring Timi. He wanted to continue with what he was saying, but for now, his attention turned to Timi. First, he apologised to Timi, "Sorry about that, are you alright?". Before doing introductions, he thought it would be better to go meet everyone before introducing the young girl he just rescued. Thinking that he would get their advice on what to do next. Turning to Suki, he then continued what he was saying, "You were cuter when you were shy. But a cheeky Suki is also good." there was a huge grin on his face. "Oh, and next time, I will take you on that offer next time." he whispered to her, winking.

"Timi, I want you to meet my friends okay? Come on now. Don't worry, they are nice people. And if they do anything to you, I will make sure you are fine okay? Trust this Onii-san okay?" Umichi crouched down to the girl who was covering her head with her hands and pat her, gently. "This Onii-san won't bully or hurt you, and his friends won't either. Onee-san here is also a very nice person." he coaxed her, checking the time. Barely a minute was left before the scheduled meet-up time. "Oh damn!" Umichi cried out, grabbing both Suki and Timi's hands and dashing to the entrance of the Maiden Inn.

Noticing Yui was at the door still for some reason, "Come on get inside" he called to Yui. Kicking open the door, "Phew, just on ti.... me..." his speech slowed after noticing an angry Fujiwara. His anger was directed to the person who stole from them earlier. With the three girls behind him, he turned and told Suki and Yui, "I don't know what Fujiwara might do. I'm going to try mediate the situation and try calm things down and figure out what's happening. Take Timi upstairs or something in case things get a little messy, okay?" Umichi entrusted Timi to Suki, and walked up to Fujiwara.

He didn't know exactly what was going on. Looking at Paka, and Ayame to try read their expressions of the situation, Umichi sighed and decided to be direct. "So, can I get a run-down on the situation? Fujiwara, it's clear your upset and therefore, please let Ayame and Paka explain, okay? And you ..." he looked over to the person who stole from them. In front of him was some items. "don't speak for now, I need to discuss this with the party. I will listen to what you have to say afterwards."

Where did he get those items from? His indicator had turned orange when he stole from Ayame. That doesn't disappear for at least a couple of hours. Even then, assuming he had gone to the market area and then to the inn within 30 minutes, how about deciding the stuff to buy? And the col to buy it? Was that stolen col? Did he farm it? He cowered easily, he probably is a relatively low level. Farming it wouldn't be realistic for him. *Sigh* No matter how I add it up, it looks like his trying to bribe for some reason. I don't want to allow him in, and I doubt Fujiwara does either. But I should listen to Paka. He would probably have a better understanding of the situation than myself. Umichi thought to himself, seeing the items in front of the person who stole from Ayame.

For the time they had been traveling, Umichi did make most of the decisions. Not by himself, he did consult the party, there were times when he did not agree with most of the party in opinion, but he lead them the way they wanted, since he could see the reason behind their logic. He avoided conflict in the party, and tried to keep a leveled head.

"Ayame, can you keep watch of the situation for now? Don't let them leave for now, and try to keep them from arguing or fighting or doing anything troublesome. Maybe give them some of the food you made. An empty stomach does affect people's rationale sometimes. Okay?" Umichi asked Ayame to help mediate the situation, while walking passed Paka. "Let's talk where they won't hear, or they might interrupt, okay?" He then waited to see if everyone would comply, and if Paka stood up, would take him outside to talk. If they didn't, he would have to deal with the situation in another matter.

[DELETED7282737]

Yui

She didnt want to enter the inn alone since she saw Fujiwara heading in just a moment ago and he seemed pretty pissed about the thief "Jeez why does he have to be like that." She gave a loud sigh and waited for someone else to arrive so that she didnt need to deal with the thief and Fujiwara. 'Well there is no helping it that it goes like that.' She suddenly heared a familiar voice from one of her party members "Umichi" She gave a bright smile at him and the two girls accompanying him. She got up and stood before the somewhat smaller girl. She lowered herself to face the smaller girl to get a closer look "Shes so kawaii" Her smile went even brighter and she was about to drowl because of the cuteness of the girl but she dindt seem to be that happy to meet other she must have been terrified being alone in this game with people that were all older then her. Yui entered the inn following behind the other three where a tense aura was hanging in the air. She walked over to one of the tables and sat down with no reason. She didnt know what she could do to calm them all down. She just sat there staring at the aruguing of her party and the thief.

[MarshiestMallow]

Suki grinned, poked her tongue out at Umichi, "You've corrupted me" She said, rising, brushing herself off, and flicking her hair back. She smiled, and tried to appear non-threatening to the girl. She watched Umichi try and coax the girl up, and wondered what type of life the girl had had in here. Her heart went out to the girl, who didn't appear to be much older then ten. She had probably come to play for fun, and ended up stuck in the game, unable to reach her parents, unsure what to do.

When Umichi checked the time, and grabbed her hand, as well as the gilrs, Suki had to laugh. "He does this a lot" She said to Timi, "I like it" She smiled at Yui, and said "Hi". But when she saw the situation, her smile faded, seeing the theif from earlier, and wincing as Fujiwara seemed to want to rip his throat out. Suki shifted, putting herself in front of Timi, as Umichi walked up to Fujiwara. She turned to Timi, kneeling down so she was eye level with the girl. "I'm Suki. We're just having a bit of trouble with someone, nothing serious. Come on, I'll get you a drink and a sandwich. You must be starved" She settled Timi at a table, and grabbed a drink and sandwich for her, slipping in beside her, so she wouldn't see any confrontation. Timi was quite, pale, but accepted the food and drink with a mumbled "Thank you, Nee-Chan" and Suki smiled. She couldn't imagine what the girl was thinking.

Suki brought up her friends list and added Timi, thinking that it would be good to keep track of her. "Maybe we can take you back to the town of beginnings" Suki said after a minute. Timi tensed up, her hands squeezing her sandwich slightly. Timi shook her head, "No, please...the other kids...they're mean to me..." As tears filled TImi's eyes, Suki didn't hesitate, pulling the girl into a hug. "It's okay. You can stay with us, if you like then, Timi" Suki didn't know how she would convince the others, but she was prepared to fight for Timi. Suki had always had her older brothers to protect her from bullying, or other kids just being mean. Timi deserved that too, so Suki would provide it. "Come on now, you have to eat, and then I can take you to a room, to rest some. It sounds like its been a long day for you" She coaxed Timi into eating, glancing up as Umichi stepped out the inn with Paka. When Timi had finished eating, Suki took her up to the room she had claimed, seeing the two double beds, pretty much taking up most of the room. Timi's eyes were wide, and Suki imagined that she hadn't spent much time in inns. She smiled at the girl, "Go on, claim a bed. We can share, cause we only have three rooms with enough beds for the rest of the team" Timi quickly claimed the bed by the window, and Suki sat down with her. "Just rest. You're safe" And even though she knew Timi was too old for it, she began to sing softly

"nchworm, inchworm, measuring the marigolds
You and your arithmetic, you'll probably go far.
Inchworm, inchworm, measuring the marigolds
Seems to me you'd stop and see how beautiful they are"

Suki thought it would offer the girl a sense of comfort, and Timi closed her eyes, after burrowing under the covers. Suki smiled, and stayed where she was.

---

Paka looked up as the thief from earlier appeared, talking to him, and he was about to say something about stolen goods when Fujiwara came barging in, and began to yell at the theif. "Fujiwara" Paka snapped, "You would go far to save and protect Ayame, wouldn't you? this game is about survival, and you yelling at him isn't going to affect him. So take a deep breath, calm down, and shut your bloody mouth, because your judgement is clouded by the fact he stole for Ayame" He said, just as Umichi game up.

Paka sighed, shaking his head, and rising when Umichi asked him to step aside and talk. "They're going to rip him to shreds, so lets not linger long shall we? The kid seems okay, except for the stealing part. There's worse he could have done to get items off from people, and you know it. He could have just attacked solo players out of safe zones and taken their items that way. Yes, the gifts he has everyone is probably brought with stolen money. But in this game, we should be helping all those we can. Just because we aren't in the real world, doesn't mean we should leave our basic human morals behind. The kid needs help. We can offer it. Fujiwara is just ticked off because he stole from Ayame. Look, we'll be going up against the boss soon enough, and I imagine we could use all the help we can get, considering it's probably a tough one. We can team up with him for that, and then if everything's still rickety, we can say goodbye to him. We can't knock back help when it's offered, not this early in the game"

Paka crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned back against the wall. he wasn't worried about anyone listening in, doubting anyone would have a high enough level to do so just yet.

[Jangel13]

Angelo sighed seeing the hated stares at him and he got up and he gave the gloves to the others that were hating him and he went over to the guy they apparently named Fujiwara so Angelo went over to him and bowed " I am sorry to have offended you and I give you this katana as a show of apology and a peace offering" Angelo said as he went through his inventory and got out the silver katana handing it over to him " I know im not liked right away but I have good intentions I will not steal and I will do everything to help you guys if you accept me. I leave myself to your mercy"

Angelo said bowing to each of them as he sat down in a chair near paka was sitting since he was the only one standing up for Angelo he thought it would be better to stick with someone that will stop them from killing him outright. " I would also like to point out the gloves were not bought with stolen money I used what money I had for them." Angelo said softly not wanting to say that the sword was with stolen money since he was a level 3 he didn't have much money to begin with so he did what he could to make a peace offering. He knew it wouldn't be enough but it should at least show he would do everything he can to make friends.

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Ayame looked to the side for a second as Umichi suggested that she be the peacekeeper before nodding. No matter how strange it felt to make sure Hideki didn't go ballistic, making a scene here would only cause trouble. It seemed alright when Paka told him to calm down; it seemed as if Fujiwara would step back a bit and let things play out. However, when Fujiwara saw the katana he just... Well, he blew up, to say the least.

"Okay, gloves I can understand. Gloves are fine. But a goddamn SILVER KATANA? Are you TRYING to be obvious here? There's no way in hell that you could've bought that if you're level three! I'm not going to accept something obtained with stolen money, no matter HOW much it's worth. That's it, I'm going to-"

"H-hold it! Back off for a second, Hideki!" Ayame panicked, quickly blocking Fujiwara's path. "If you fight him, you'll be no better off!"
"...Fine." Fujiwara responded, glaring at the thief. "Regardless, your attempts at bribery will help nobody, especially yourself. Keep your stolen items to yourself."

Gritting his teeth, Fujiwara backed away from the thief, his hands clenched tightly into fists at his side. At this point, every single action that the thief did aggravated him even more. It was more a battle of dignity now than it was one of defending Ayame. It had taken him a week and a half to help Ayame to catch up, but helping a level 3 right before a boss battle was almost out of the question. It'd be suicide to bring him in, and tiring to grind him up, especially with the boss battle coming so soon. Not that he cared much for the man, of course.

[Jangel13]

PKMNB0Y said
Ayame looked to the side for a second as Umichi suggested that she be the peacekeeper before nodding. No matter how strange it felt to make sure Hideki didn't go ballistic, making a scene here would only cause trouble. It seemed alright when Paka told him to calm down; it seemed as if Fujiwara would step back a bit and let things play out. However, when Fujiwara saw the katana he just... Well, he blew up, to say the least."Okay, gloves I can understand. Gloves are fine. But a goddamn SILVER KATANA? Are you TRYING to be obvious here? There's no way in hell that you could've bought that if you're level three! I'm not going to accept something obtained with stolen money, no matter HOW much it's worth. That's it, I'm going to-""H-hold it! Back off for a second, Hideki!" Ayame panicked, quickly blocking Fujiwara's path. "If you fight him, you'll be no better off!""...Fine." Fujiwara responded, glaring at the thief. "Regardless, your attempts at bribery will help nobody, especially yourself. Keep your stolen items to yourself."Gritting his teeth, Fujiwara backed away from the thief, his hands clenched tightly into fists at his side. At this point, every single action that the thief did aggravated him even more. It was more a battle of dignity now than it was one of defending Ayame. It had taken him a week and a half to help Ayame to catch up, but helping a level 3 right before a boss battle was almost out of the question. It'd be suicide to bring him in, and tiring to grind him up, especially with the boss battle coming so soon. Not that he cared much for the man, of course.

Angelo sighed loudly hating that he thought it was stolen as Angelo rubbed his eyes annoyed "it wasn't stolen it was bought, its name is silver not its actual material made with it, next time read the description on why its says silver" Angelo said softly knowing that all he saw was silver katana not why it was called it. considering it was meant as a weapon against dark creatures Angelo thought he would actually like it. "its meant to be a weapon against dark creatures and how the hell would I have been able to steal that? im a level 3 remember im not a high enough level to pickpocket a weapon or break a strong box from someone that would own it. Already you assume the worst of me, I am insulted sir and I would appreciate if you looked before you judged"

Angelo said simply crossing his arms standing firm on this that he didn't steal it....bought with stolen money but the item was only named silver it wasn't actually silver the idiot just looked and assumed the worst. The guy cant even have a present and accept the peace offering but Angelo knew someday he would be in trouble and Angelo would save him despite his constant threats and insults to his character

[Little_ninja]

When Suki told him, she was corrupted by him, all he could do was smile at it.

Taking a step outside, Umichi listened to Paka, nodding with his left hand over his mouth. Deeply thinking about the situation.

"I agree with most of what you are saying, but there's big risks involved with taking him up. One thing is I am suspicious of the fact he was able to get the items by using col. Just a little over two hours ago he turned orange. You can't turn green in less than two hours, on the first incident. This has to be at least his second incident, judging from the fact he had been leveling the skill, it takes longer to be green again, see where I am getting with that? It's even in the book.

Another thing is, resources out in the field are becoming limited, you've seen it yourself. The only reasonable place left to train is probably the labyrinth, and we don't know what can happen in there, bringing too many people with little experience isn't going to end well.

By the way, I just saved a kid and brought her along, we can talk about her later, but, Suki and Yui have taken a liking to her. As things stand, it is likely she will come with us. I'm worried about bringing someone who stole from us once with a kid around.

Anyway, I'll think about it some more alright? I'm not going to decide right now. Oh, don't take me the wrong way, I am not disagreeing with you. It is just that, I thought of some factors which you might not have been fully aware of, like the kid and the indicator change. I do want us helping others, and do realize he could of done worse to take items, but there's the integrity of the group to think about as well.

In the end, I want to judge his character for myself before making a complete decision, which I will explain my decision in full with everyone else. So that if we do accept him, hopefully Fujiwara will understand, and if we don't, he will understand the reasons. Anyway, bring Ayame out, I want her opinion as well, unless of course you have something else to add." Umichi paused for a moment, giving Paka a chance to speak out.

If Paka had nothing else to say, Umichi would continue with, "For now, keep Fujiwara from killing the poor guy okay? I don't want things to turn messy." On the other hand, he would first listen to Paka more if he continued. Paka was definitely looking at this reasonably, and definitely was thinking about doing the right thing. But there was a lack of thought for the integrity for the group. I am worried about having association with even an ex-orange player. Others might judge us too quickly and then we won't be able to go on the front lines or others might avoid us. There's a lot of risk involved here. There was also the party limit. Soon we will reach the max party limit of eight. If we try to split into two parties and so on, it might lead to problems such as leadership, organization and so forth.

His thoughts continued to think about the entire situation. The guy needs help, that much is clear. Stealing from us was wrong though. He may have learned the consequences now, but still, if he hasn't, more trouble with ensue. If he just came up to us normally, I would of considered it more, but for someone to normally ask to join a stranger's group was in itself suspicious. There's just too many factors. Well, it seems Fujiwara doesn't want him, and Paka thinks we should let him, for a while, at least. I need to ask him things myself, and get Ayame's opinion.

[MarshiestMallow]

Paka listened to what Umichi was saying It was all reasonable, yet Paka just didn't want to abounded someone. There was risk in taking him, and risk in leaving him. "I'll bring Ayame in" he said "But I don't want to find out that that kid died, and we could have done something about it, not when nearly six hundred have already died" With that, he went back inside, "Umichi wants you Ayame" He said perhaps a bit harshly then he intended, pointing to outside.

He marched up to Fujiwara. "Get off your high horse. a lot of people have died already, and all you care about is a little stolen col. The kid will die out there alone, and I for one don't want that on my conscience. I've seen too many people die already. What would you have done alone? The monsters are coming more and more in swarms, and you better have good equipment, or you'll die. It hasn't been easy for everyone else out there finding a group to stay with. Just for a second, imagine what it would have been like, alone, low level, crappy gear. Stealing is the best the kid could do. The least we can do to make sure another person can survive is train them, give them a good weapon, some health potions. Read the guild book, and just see how many people have died, Fujiwara. If you think you can live with the fact that if we don't do something for this guy, he'll just be another number, then perhaps I don't want to team with you anymore"

A small voice spoke up. "Please don't fight" Timi stood there, shaking slightly, "Please. when we fight, the game wins. Don't you see? The whole point of the game is to...be human. And Human's make mistakes." She seemed to run out of words, and she bit her lip, looking down. Suki had fallen asleep herself, and timi had woken, hearing the shouting because she had trained her listening skill to survive when out of the safe zones

Suki woke, realising that she had drifted into a nap and panicked, seeing Timi missing. "Timi?" She called, hurrying out the room, hoping that Timi hadn't gotten in trouble. She stopped when she heard Timi's voice, and she listened, standing at the top of the stairs.

[Frettzo]

Maiden Inn

"Hey hey hey, people!"

Standing upon the Inn's small stage was a tall, lanky blonde man. An angular jawline and blue eyes quickly gathered the attention of most of the players at the inn, even though his face was coated in a thick layer of white makeup, with black lipstick and eyeliner to go with. A smile rocked his face before he flexed his thin muscles, arms and legs moving in numerous ways. Comically tight black leggings and white-striped black sweatshirt snugly gripped his flexed, nearly non-existent muscles.

A single, feminine giggle was heard from the crowd, and then a young boy stood up. "Boooo! Get down!" He said as he reared his hand back and threw a piece of stone-hard bread at him, which the man avoided with a duck.

"Booooom...!" Said a voice that came from backstage, simulating a explosion.

"S-shut up Casc--"

The man onstage coughed and scratched his hair, "Anyway, enough of me showing off my clearly amazing physique," He said, smile turning into a grin, "we've got a whole show for you guys to enjoy, so you better like it or we'll haunt your dreams!" And then he snapped his fingers.

The dim lighting turned off, and the windows shut closed, blinds preventing any light from entering.

Then a spotlight, emitting the brightest yellow shed concentrated light onto a single form on the stage--A girl, wearing the same makeup and clothes as the man was standing there. But her clothes were loose, and she had stuffed what seemed like twenty pillows into her shirt, making her look like a gargantuan goof. Some giggling could be heard from the crowd, but soon everything fell silent, and the girl, Cascabel, was still standing stoically. All until suddenly, a scratchy violin began playing.

Its tune resembled an american country song, its notes were crazy dynamic and seemed to give the quaint inn an aura of mirth, aided only by the fact that the girl started dancing around the stage with a goofy grin on her face. Her pillow-stuffed shirt jiggled happily with each step, and with every up and down of the violin, she'd spin around and somehow manage to throw one of the pillows towards the audience, laughing and snorting all the while.

The moment she got rid of her last pillow was the moment that another man jumped out from the shadows, pushing her away from the spotlight. He was dressed as a farmer with undersized pants and oversized shoes. He began dancing to the tune, singing a tacky country song to match.

This went on for a few minutes, until at last the lighting went back to normal and the four performers showed themselves. The three dancers walked down towards the public and dragged willing people to dance with them, the violinist keeping the cheery tunes and the dancers now dressed with their black leggings and white-striped long-sleeved sweaters.

The public was happy and distracted now, distracted enough that two of the dancers could actually step off the stage and sit down on one of the tables to take a break. But quickly their eyes were set on other targets, mischievous smiles forming on their faces.

[MarshiestMallow]

A Quest announcement appears to all players in the Inn, and all those that will enter for the time being:

Quest said

Dance party

Description
Music is all about in the inn. Who cares about what has happened before. It is time to dance! Let the party begin!

Pre-requisite
- An inn
- Five or more people (any group of people, do not need to be in a party or friends) that are awake

Activation
- Music of a happy tune is being played (NPC or real)
- People are having a good time

Requirements
- Dance to the music
- Have a good time

Rewards
- 20 exp to all members
- 50 col to all members
- Party Poppers
- 200 Sociability points (do not do anything, just like the relationship points don't actually affect anything)

[Jangel13]

Angelo looked at the entertainers and wondered what they were doing for a few minutes as they got people to dance then he saw the quest announcement appear on his screen and Angelo couldn't help but smile at that, he was required to dance to get experience and col. Well Angelo needed all that he could get so why not! Angelo got up smiling and started to clap in tune with the music laughing happily, Angelo never really had a party before at least not one that with this many people before with music and the laughter and the smiles everywhere. Angelo started to consider taking up the performer profession if he would be able to cause this much happiness in people so for now Angelo got up and started to dance with the people in the circle near the stage clapping with the other patrons as they enjoyed themselves. Right now Angelo couldn't be happier finally feeling like a normal person rather then being hated or being a fragile kid back in the real world, he was able to be real and be the kid he never got to be as he danced and clapped...

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

"Alright, so I misjudged that. So what? That doesn't change the fact that it's-" Fujiwara started again before Paka walked in. Ayame noticed this as well, and when she was directed outside and Paka stepped in to talk down Fujiwara she happily obliged. It was tiring and pretty depressing to see him like this, to be fair. Swiftly making her way out, she noticed Umichi standing nearby and walked over.

"I'm here. What is it that you wanted to ask?"

---

As Paka began to lecture him, Fujiwara took a deep breath and stared him back in the face. Though he did bring up valid points, there was still no doubt in his mind that it would be impossible for this wannabe thief to join the party. Relaxing his fists, Fujiwara shoved his anger aside and began to speak as calmly as he possibly could, relaxing all of the tensed-up muscles that were raring to go for a round or two. His voice rapidly shifted from one on anger to one of experience and detachment.

"Alright. I get it. You're worried about seeing someone else die. But this person's been insisting on joining the party, which I absolutely do not approve of. I'm not even irritated about the first robbery at the moment; it's the fact that he's attempting to bribe us with items which he claims he hasn't stolen. If we are to assume that is true, then given his stats and the way he's acting right now the ability to obtain the katana he tried to present to me just now is out of the question. The gloves I can understand. They're not that expensive on the marketplace, after all. But on my little walk after I stormed off earlier, I noticed the exact same katana on sale. If I had bought it then and there, I would be half broke right now. No joke. If I recall correctly, it's not a monster drop from anything he can solo at this level, given what was in the guide book. Not to mention, the drop rate on rare weapons with enhancements is extremely low. That leaves two logical conclusions to draw from this, which I assume you already know. On that note, let's say we do the opposite of what I argued- we let him into the party. Now, the mobs on the first floor are all being cleaned out, and quite rapidly at that. The dungeon is rapidly becoming the only source of income and exp, which means that we'd have to drag him in there. Now, what happens if we drag someone who is level 3 into a dungeon that is clearly not meant for fresh players to enter? They die. you're so insistent on letting him join, but at the same time you're missing the fatal flaws in your argument. His obtainment of the aforementioned katana shows that he is either astronomically lucky to have not died, that he stole it, or that he stole the money to buy it. The latter two, in turn, show that he isn't truly ready to 'quit pickpocketing' as he so claims to want. Second, if he joins the group he'll be more of a liability and we might even end up being put into a very bad predicament to try and save him. If he dies with us, under Umichi, do you think any of us will be able to deal with the stress? If we see him die in front of us instead, would you be able to forgive yourself any more than if we had leave him be? And lastly, I return to the katana. you mentioned 'good equipment and potions' as things to give him before we leave him to his own devices. With the money he spent buying that sword, he could have easily bought a better set of equipment for himself. Not to mention, he had the bright idea of stealing from us in broad daylight earlier. His actions thus far have shown- to me, at least- that his decision making might get us all into trouble or worse. I honestly don't care much for the fool, but at the same time pushing him away seems to be the only reasonable thing to do. If he's going to keep making mistakes like that that might get us in trouble or worse, then I question his value and heavily question your rationale if you let him in and something goes wrong."

After finishing his argument, Fujiwara took another deep breath and, sighing, sat down on a nearby seat.
"Well, now that that's all out of my system I'm still not going to let this fool in. He's a danger if we bring him, a danger to himself if we don't... You remember how long it took for everyone to grind up to this level? We don't have that kind of time to waste on every charity case we come across, you know. Sorry if I've been sounding like a jackass for the last two hours or so, but that's the truth of it all." he said, his emotions slowly returning as he spoke. Ignoring the performers in the background, he said one more thing before Timi interrupted.
"If we let him in and some serious shit does go down, it's on your head. Not mine."

As Timi did interject, though, Fujiwara sighed and relaxed in the seat he was in.
"I'm just saying what I think is best for the team. If you think counter to that, then so be it."

[MarshiestMallow]

Paka let Fujiwara rant, watching the performers. "You are a hypocrite. If I remember correctly, Ayame was still level one when she joined. Did any of us complain about helping out with her training? The monsters unlike us, can respawn. So we take a day, one day, to help train someone. Find a good re-spawning area, and grind with him." That was all he said, turning away from Fujiwara, he watched the performers, mildly amused by their antics, but didn't join in Paka wasn't one for dancing, much less in public. It was clear he was done with the conversation, and he headed over to the bar, grabbing a drink, leaning against it.

Timi began to shake again, and Suki was by her side in an instant. "You just don't think before you say things, do you fujiwara?" She snapped, angry at his words and the effect they had on Timi. She knelt, taking Timi's hands in hers. "Don't worry. I won't let the others make you go away. You may be low level, but we can protect you. I promise. And you'll just get stronger and stronger, I know it" Timi nodded miserably, and Suki sighed, hugging her. She picked the girl up, managing to do so with her strength. Timi was lighter then the Dire Werewolf's carcass, for which Suki was grateful. "Lets dance"

She moved to where people were dancing due to the performers, and moved with Timi in her arms, smiling when Timi smiled, and let out a soft breath. "It's all going to be okay"

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Fujiwara sighed and shook his head, annoyed by Paka's persistence. Circumstances were different then from the way they were now. Back then, they had time; everyone was still getting oriented to the world, and nothing major had happened yet; it was the third day, after all. With the boss fight around the corner, though, helping that thief just stalled their preparation even more and cut into any time they could have otherwise used to prepare. Sighing and massaging his forehead, Fujiwara stood up from his seat as the music picked up and Suki yelled at him before leaving for his room upstairs. He had had enough of this argument, and it was clear that he was never going to be able to convince Paka of anything, nor patch up the incident anytime soon. Figuring that it was only going to cause more trouble if he tried arguing any further, going upstairs and away from everyone else seemed like the most reasonable idea.

"If he's going to be selective in his argument like that, then I don't think it's even worth trying to debate with him..." he said to himself mentally. Sighing at his apparent defeat, he quickly made his way into his room and laid down on the bed that had been laid out. Staring at the ceiling and outside the window as he could hear the things happening downstairs. The festivity downstairs seemed nice and all, but Fujiwara needed a place to organize his thoughts better. Glancing at the clock, Fujiwara sighed.
"Ah, they'll grab me if they need me. Highly doubt they will after that incident, though." he muttered to himself as he began to mindlessly flick through his interface.

[Jangel13]

Angelo laughed smiling seeing the two girls from earlier join the circle of dancing with him as Angelo started to really have fun and enjoy himself as he went to the circle center joined a different girl that held her hand up for a partner and Angelo joined her putting his hand against hers as they danced in a circle around eachother laughing happily keeping in tune with each others steps as they matched each other Angelo and the girl soon bowed to each other before going back to the edge of the circle so another group could dance together in the center as Angelo clapped and laughed with the others in the circle. It was one of the best times of his life and Angelo didn't care if it was in a game or not because it felt like it was real and that was good enough for him. No matter who hated him for it Angelo wouldn't care because he was who he was and he wouldn't change that but he can change what he does and he will happily give up being a pickpocket if it means he can gain real friends for the first time even if one them hates him...

[Little_ninja]

"Can I hear your side of the story, Ayame? And what you think? I know basically, that you, Paka and Fujiwara are the ones who interacted with the guy the most. I pretty much left the situation to you three. But it doesn't seem resolved at the moment, so I want to hear all of your stories, before I see what we will do. Hopefully that is okay." Umichi told Ayame. Although, he didn't level up his <<Listening>> skill, the music could be heard from outside. Opening the door, Umichi was puzzled as what was going on. He could hear the cheery music and saw that Fujiwara had gone up stairs, while Suki and Timi were dancing. I'm glad your here. You keep things calm he thought to himself. Looking around, he saw Paka was sitting and the thief was dancing. Yui was still sitting at one of the tables. A quest notification popped up, but he ignored it for now and closed the door.

"So anyway, what's your side of the story, and what do you think about the guy? Also, what do you suggest we do." Umichi asked Ayame again.