The Grandcypher

[Apollymi]

"Hm... I am pretty sure I can keep it in mind," the blonde lass said of looking for deeper meanings. As far as she was concerned figuring out the motivations of people besides the obvious were a bit unnecessary. Because of this, she didn't often get along with other people. Since coming to this world, she'd managed to make a few friends. This lads thoughts on things tended to make up for some gaps in her own ability to see things from the human perspective. Numbers were one thing, people and the situations surrounding them were something completely different.

As their conversation progressed to points more serious, Kou clarified that he'd not really felt anything surrounding her initially. He went on to claim that she'd simply proved herself to be a worthy comrade in their adventures pretty early on. He even stated that his actual interest in her only seemed to develop as a consequence of figuring out who she was. This was to be expected, along with figuring out with certainty that she was an actual girl, which was likely one of the moments of sketchiness surrounding the lass. He mentioned that she was always alone as well, giving away a few key pieces of information about himself in the process. But apparently he thought that he'd be the only one having the sorts of issues she'd mentioned. "Sou ka," she said before speaking a bit more. "Iia, I am usually alone socially because it is less annoying. Well... it isn't exactly a choice, being famous is lonely. Being an idol just means I can't trust the motivations of people who speak to me," she said softly. To be technical she'd experienced a wide variety of different person to person interactions and had them go astray for various reasons. As a point of fact, middle school had been hellish as an experience for her socially, and as such by the time she made it to high school, she'd taken on a different approach, but it was one which left her well outside of anyone's social circle. Though it didn't change her popularity, if anything she became more of a commodity. "So in that way, it isn't just you having trouble interpreting interest. You are different from the kind of person who normally shows interest in me. You didn't seem to want anything from me, so I had no comparable experiences."

[Bloodedge]

Second by second, the conversation became more serious. It wasn't quite negative, but it was a far cry from their usual chats. Now that they were in seclusion, however, Kou had no issue finally having a real discussion. This was a thing he'd been missing out on, in a way. Miki made it clear that she preferred loneliness to the annoyance of being social. In that way, they were kindred. "No need to explain that to me. I lived with an entire hidden identity to avoid people latching onto me for being Geno Killer. And... even that's just a habit that came from my prime puzzle-solving days," he explained. He had taken to gaming as an outlet when he could no longer openly solve the puzzles he enjoyed, only to work hard at avoiding the problem repeating itself in a new habitat. Their similarities in that regard were clear, though there was one other thing that needed to be addressed. Miki thought it pertinent to mention him not wanting anything from her when they met. Again, this was a similarity of theirs... albeit somewhat different. Now was the time for Kou to admit something about himself, if it hadn't become clear to the lass already. "I'm different from a lot of people, except maybe... you. People want stuff from me when they know what I'm capable of, and that's why I hide who I am back home. Solve this puzzle, play this level for me, give me build advice in this RPG. On the other hand... If I want something from someone else, I always have the ability to get it. Most times, I can get what I want without making any sacrifices myself..."

[Apollymi]

Since they'd met, most of their conversations had been either world related, or light in topic. Right now, the tone of this conversation was rather serious. But strangely, it was still enjoyable for Miki. There weren't many people she would talk to freely, and even fewer who would understand the nature of her plights. Those who were young up and comers like herself had taken the easy way out of socially normative interactions, and those outside of it, couldn't see the kind of problems she was having. In this moment, Kou was indeed a spirit kindred to her own, able to understand her more distrusting nature and commiserate in a manner she hadn't known was possible. Kou had even gone so far as to hide his identity to retain his peace. "Sou ka," she said giving a tiny nod and feeling a great deal of relief about not having to try to explain to someone who would never understand about the nature of her social life.

"Yeah, I know what that is like, you have no idea how many upperclassman wanted to be introduced to my parents when I started high school, the really bold ones asked me for references when applying or mentioned knowing me. Though I do get the added benefit of being a girl playing a game, so people don't look to me innately for advice. In fact, I get ignored even when I am right and I get trolled a lot for not being the type of person who responds to being given random things, I already have because I play the freaking game," Miki sighed, her problems in playing video games were a bit different but they all stemmed from the same thing. It's why she'd been so gentle in her initial approach to things when they'd first started adventuring together. "But, knowing I can get most things myself, means I don't actually mind sharing or anything... It's nice to know someone isn't just trying to use me or buy me. It's why I never really thought about splitting off from you, it's fun now... in a way it wasn't before."

[Bloodedge]

She understood. Well, that much was to be expected. If anyone was going to follow along aside from Hikari, it would be her. The interesting thing was, she didn't understand simply because she had seen events happen to him. She understood simply because she could relate. "Trust me, I have an idea and a half. I'm guessing the number is somewhere up there with the requests for me to start Guilds, join raid parties, yadda yadda. Take my advice, and don't build a reputation for something you don't want people pestering you about every day. That's what I'll tell anyone." Truth be told, there was much more to Kou's reasoning. His ability to solve puzzles and excel in games was less about the games themselves, and more about the human minds that went into crafting them. He 'felt' puzzles by gradually putting himself in the mentality of their creators, and he made such incredible character builds in RPGs by realizing the intents of creators, then exploiting the holes between thought processes.

His current Avatar, for example, had no weaknesses to speak of. The physical weakness he lost for not being a Warrior, was made up for by the strength of his spells. On the other hand, the lack of magical versatility he would have suffered by being a Saber, was easily negated by his Spirit Origin and identity as a Celestial. These things all came from realizing what developers would have been missing. "You're right, though. This has been more fun than I've ever had just gaming, or anything like that. That's why I decided to cash in that perv moment before the fan showed up, ya' know?" he joked... sort of.

[Apollymi]

Kou understood. Of course he would, he was hiding his identity in order to keep himself off people's radar. Such a thing also explained his initial reaction to being called out as the Geno Killer. He claimed to have a piece of advice for her, and anyone else, and it was very interesting advice to say the least. She'd technically already followed it, her online identity was very separate from her general life. And because she ended up playing AoE with Kaiba Corp enhancements, she wasn't even using the account of hers which had the most presence. She'd get to live this particular life as a relative unknown. Or rather that would be the case if she wasn't currently using her own face. "That's pretty sound advice. I kinda followed it already, not intentionally of course... but at least I've managed to outrun my online presence by a bit. Though I'm using my own face so I can't really distance myself from that, well not without getting weird," she said with a bit of a chuckle. Though she wasn't as well-known as the Geno Killer, her alternate username was a staple in several RPGs known almost exclusively for not using a mic but being a lead group member. To be technical she was something of a chart topper with that name and appeared with it all over the place. She was a bit relieved that she mostly managed to keep that part of her separate from her current incarnation and away from her face. It would be bad if anyone who didn't already know found out about her other self.

Whatever the case, that wasn't really something she had to consider anymore. Instead the lad, had to make the claim that he too found their arrangement to be fun. He even made a joke about cashing in on his perv moment early due to how fun he found it. A grin crossed this lass' face, and she managed a teasing tone soon after. "Hoh? Well, don't let something as silly as a fan get in the way. Take another, make sure it's really fun," the girl said, and it appeared to be a joke. But... Miki had already mentioned that she wasn't really joking around when she said things like this, whatever the case, she'd watch for his reaction and maintain that grin for quite a few seconds.

[Bloodedge]

"I can tell. You were the Second Coming, from what I see all over internet forums and... my regular arcades, after all." The matter of Ashikaga Kimiko's game experiences had become something clear during their time in Atlantis. In truth, Kou took pride in the fact that such a person made their way onto his team. No, that wasn't right. Such a person had, in fact, become his partner above all others. It was almost like destiny, but the anime and manga he consumed had given him enough of the 'fated couples' trope. The real world couldn't produce such a thing.

Following his joke, Miki produced one of her own. Ah, but she said she was to be taken seriously in those moments, didn't she? He was expected to take another stab at perversion, and he was expected to make it something... fun. "H'oh─" It took a moment of thought, but he had the perfect idea, which showed in the form of a lecherous grin upon his face. Yes, he would go beyond perversion to the lewdest behavior of all time! He shifted closer, creeping up on Miki almost, while that grin only widened. Soon enough he reached out with one hand... and placed it atop hers.

[Apollymi]

"Oi oi, our arcades. I love those arcades. I have to sneak off to go there. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to shake my shadow to get a few uninterrupted hours at an arcade?" the girl said, again she wasn't really joking. She'd had to go through quite a bit to be able to visit an arcade without an escort and she still wasn't even sure she properly managed it most times. Still, she was quite happy to have actually found someone she considered an equivalent existence, and even happier to have made a proper partnership with them, instead of simply having them become something of a disappointment in one way or another. It gave her heart quite a tingle, but fated couples only existed in the manga she read and the anime she watched. She couldn't really expect such a thing out of her life, unless...

Whatever the lass was thinking, her teasing words to Kou had prompted a strange reaction and lecherous grin. Her eyes widened just a little. She wasn't expecting him to be fully with the idea... in fact, she figured she'd have to make a few more prodding statements. Ah, but no... her patience was being rewarded. He crept closer, closing the space between them on the bed, and she held her breath. Oh, that grin of hers had faltered as he reached out to touch her hands her eyes widened with what appeared to be genuine shock. 'He's doing that?!' her mind shouted as his hand made contact with her own. She looked around herself as if afraid of being found out, and then looked down at her hand beneath his with a wondrous expression. "This... this is so lewd. I didn't expect you to go this far," she managed to look honestly sheepish only for a few seconds before a huge grin broke out over her face and her true laughter ensued. Only Kou could and would make such a reference, and only she would find it funny enough to go along with it.

[Bloodedge]

If he gave it proper consideration, he certainly couldn't call it anything but 'their' arcade. For the longest time, his scores were unrivaled entirely. By the time she entered the building, those same scores were matched, sometimes even exceeded. Of course, he would always return to reach the top again; such was the way of Geno Killer. Ashikaga Kimiko, however, bounced back each time as well. It was a thrilling bit of sport between two gamers who had never met one another properly, but now, they were in a partnership with one another.

Moving on though, the contact he forced was met with shock. That shock seemed so genuine; it was a very good act. Alas, it soon became laughter which overtook the lass, only after she spoke of how unexpectedly lewd his approach was. "Bahahaha!" he laughed, though he oddly enough hadn't removed his hand yet. As a matter of fact, his laughter brought about a tension in his hand, resulting in a slightly firmer grip around Miki's hand. It seemed Kou still didn't even realize what he was doing.

[Apollymi]

Miki remembered the fun of their indirect arcade interactions. And much like she'd been when they separated in this world. She often found herself unexpectedly giddy at the idea of finding her scores in the arcades wrecked so that she could reclaim them once again. She'd been invested in a strange game of cat-and-mouse with the Geno Killer and now that she'd found him, they weren't actually rivals, but partners. What a satisfactory end to such a randomly interesting game.

Ah, but the game continued. Soon after the breaking of her own face, it seemed that the lad could no longer hold his own. They laughed together for quite a while, with the lad's hand squeezing hers a bit tighter. "Gomen, gomen... I was trying to hold it for a bit longer..." the lass mentioned as she looked at this lad directly then down at her hand which he was still squeezing. This wasn't uncomfortable at all, if anything it felt nice to be held in such a way. She found her own laughter dying down eventually and still she felt this tightness around her hand, it was warm and nice... how would such a thing feel if it wasn't just her hand he was holding? A blush crossed her face as her mind left the realm of pleasant and fell full force into deviance. "Sugoi." Miki muttered softly, he didn't even seem to realize it, but this had to immediately make one of absolute favorite moments of all time. Definitely at least top five... or maybe top three?

[Bloodedge]

"Iia," he said, waving off whatever apology Miki meant to offer. He'd hardly managed to withhold his own laughter, even long before he moved physically to touch her hand. The notion alone was hilarious to him, though he'd be lying if he claimed to not have ulterior motives as well. He made contact with the blonde's hand previously, and thought it intriguingly soft, albeit not as uncomfortably warm as he would have expected for one he could imagine holding. The current contact proved his point.

Soon enough, he was made to realize his hand was still upon hers. He couldn't bring himself to remove it, though, especially considering the expression upon Miki's face as she gazed upon the pair of extremities. "Ah─" he said. Kou wasn't exactly sure how to explain himself, but... did he even need to? He rather enjoyed this, and it certainly couldn't be considered selfish if he didn't let go just yet. Miki's reaction gave every implication that the satisfaction was mutual, after all. Perhaps just a bit longer...

[Apollymi]

It seemed Miki's apology was immediately waved off. He'd had trouble holding back his laughter as well, that much was obvious. What wasn't really obvious was the fact that he seemed to have no intention of letting go of her hand, and in all honesty, she didn't want him to. No, she felt warm and comfortable with her hand beneath his, she didn't try to move it, but upon hearing the sound which fell from his face, she found herself looking from where her hand was placed into his face. He really was nice, his eyes were quite welcoming and beyond that she'd not really seen his face from this distance since... 'Oh right,' the girl thought. The last time she'd been this close to him, they'd been in Dwargon, and being forced into a kiss while quite intoxicated. That'd been much nicer than she expected, actually he had really soft lips from what she remembered. Strangely this thought made her shift her body forward a bit, leaving them with only a comfortable distance between them, barely anything while they held hands. Her eyes dropping to his lips for just a moment while she remembered that time. Her fingers shifted just a little but would deftly interlace their fingers. Why not take a little more, if he was fine with the contact? If she was successful in this she'd finally manage to speak, initially looking at the lad's mouth, "I ah... realize that the last time we were this close together we were pretty drunk..." she said fairly directly. "I don't want my only memory of something so nice to be just that..." she mentioned as if rationalizing until her eyes met his again. "We should fix that..." she mentioned decisively. Was this a tad pushy? Yes, but it seemed like one of the best things they could do now, they were so close together, already holding hands. She wanted to feel even closer to him, and cement the idea that it wasn't just a series of strange circumstances which led them to liking each other. Besides... this would be a fresh memory from the time of their acceptance, as such it would definitely make quite the impression on the start of their relationship.

[Bloodedge]

The next thing he knew, he was being stared at by the lass. Ah, but that wasn't the whole of it; she was drawing closer and closer by the second, until coming to an eventual stop. At that time, a slight shift intertwined the digits of their connected hands. He nearly withdrew from this approach; he almost felt himself swallowing a lump of nerves. What did she think she was doing? She spoke after what felt like ages of silence between them, and when she did, she brought up the first time they were left in a state of drunkenness in Dwargon. Kou remembered that day... somewhat. She wanted to repeat that somehow? No, it wasn't being drunk that she thought to redo. That same day, there was a moment shared between them... or rather, forced upon their intoxicated selves.

It would make sense to right the situation by undertaking it by choice. He could assume it was a first experience for the pair of them, in fact. All things considered, this pair of teens had each made their feelings known on a few occasions now, at least to a certain extent. It was only right to act upon it somehow. Could he do it, though? This was life now, wasn't it? Kou had been so back and forth about so many things thus far, but there was no benefit to keeping himself from such a simple thing. Of course, his reaction to Miki's vague approach was something very different from his train of thought. "So... you want to..." he said, needing there to be no room for questions about what Miki meant.

[Apollymi]

Miki was soon close enough to be within 'striking' distance of the lad, so to speak. And from here, another earnest discussion began. She could see the nervousness of his person, the slight shift in the way he looked in the moment. This was kind of cute and very obvious to her. It was one of the few instances in which she would have reiterated that his face was very easy to read, and may have backed off before. Ah, but now she was too far down the rabbit hole. She didn't have any doubts that this young man liked her. She didn't have any doubts about his motivations in dealing with her, they were kindred spirits after all. And after everything that had happened between them up to this point, one thing was startlingly clear to the blonde lass, or rather to Ashikaga Kimiko. She wanted him. Not just the face she was currently looking at, but the one she didn't really know and couldn't see. The soul of the puzzle-solving gamer who took such genuine enjoyment from his favorite activity that he managed to be infectious, even to her. A shining caring big brother type, who didn't need her to progress... but seemed to want her at his side just the same.

Thinking of such a thing in the moment, softened her expression a great deal, even though the lad seemed to still be a bit withdrawn, at present she saw nothing wrong with pushing forward a bit more. If he needed clarity in her words, he could receive them, this version of her was less harsh than her natural disposition, but still the same person in a relative since. "I want to kiss you. Or rather I want us to kiss... again. This time on our own, because I like you... and want to share moments like this with you..." she said softly. "It's kind of a lot to ask so it doesn't all have to be right now. Just this kiss, this time, so we can both remember and experience it together. Okay?" she asked, it was still an offer. An offer, negotiated from a point of strength, one which left opening for growth in the future. But for right now, she just wanted them to experience this little thing not from a point of it being forced by some rowdy dwarves, but by their own motivations.

[Bloodedge]

Simple clarity was offered to him soon enough. Miki did, indeed, wish to reenact their 'first' kiss during Dwargon, albeit without outside interference being the cause. He couldn't pretend it wasn't on his list of desires as well. In fact, of all the moments he'd experienced in this world, his favorites were when the two of them were uninterrupted. If he had to reset this entire world, he'd visit that same farm again, and start that same quest the same way. Well... perhaps there would be a few differences, given current thought processes. Maybe he could have pulled off a smooth, fetching introduction the likes of which he witnessed in media. Sure, that would work... possibly.

For now though, none of that mattered. Miki made her desire transparent, and he had every intention of answering. His brow furrowed just briefly. This was a matter to be taken with utmost seriousness, or perhaps even too much seriousness. He was inching forward, doing his level best to avoid letting nerves overtake him. Why was it so different this time? Before, he was drunk. Due to a certain series, he knew the benefits of a drunken stupor in such situations, but he didn't expect this much of a difference. Still, he wanted it as well. There would be no hesitation. "Hai. Onegaishimasu," he said, moving closer yet. Once more, his grip tightened just slightly as he initiated a... technique he'd seen in a movie once. He would only approach 90% with those slightly pursed lips of his. He wasn't entirely sure why this was necessary, but that was it; only most of the distance was covered when his eyes came to a close.

[Apollymi]

Miki offered her own bit of clarity, but after doing so, she became slightly nervous. Was she being too forward? This could potentially look bad, she was a girl after all, she couldn't seem sexually demanding without coming off as slutty. She wasn't that, at least not in the general sense. She was definitely a social deviant, a bit too into debauchery, but she was still a virgin. She only had her mind go to strange places, but she wasn't always inclined to act upon them. Now though, she realized that she'd enjoy seeing through some of the things of her mind with the lad who was with her now. Perhaps if she'd been less sketched out initially, she might have approached him a bit more directly, held a conversation with him, and they could have approached that farm together? It likely could have made a great deal of difference in how they saw each other.

Ah, but none of this mattered at all. It seemed that Kou at least shared her desire in this particular aspect, and prepared himself accordingly. He was still getting over his nerves, but found a way to lean into her, though... not all the way. And his grip on her hand tightened slightly before his eyes came to a close. Strange, he hadn't attempted to take the whole thing upon himself, but she'd been the one to offer up the activity. Closing the last bit of space between them was the least she could do. So, she did. Her body moving forward slightly and once she was sure she would miss, her lips pursed and her eyes came to a close as well, and she brought her own lips, gently into contact with Kou's. This was quite a bit different than it had been the first time. She was drunk, she wasn't being pushed and it was still... really nice. She'd let her face linger against his for quite a few seconds, unsure of if or when she should pull away.