December 7th, 2022
"If you had just been obedient this wouldn't have happened. Now, you'll pay the price for what you've done."
"Leave me alone!"
"Hold her down. After we're done here, you'll wish you were dead too."
The clock in her peripheral vision showed that it was only two in the morning. After rolling onto her side, Jemza reached up and brushed her hair back out of her face. She opened her mouth and took in a large breath of air before releasing it all at once. These dreams were becoming more frequent than she cared for, but at least this time it made more sense. After what happened with Jayce, this had been on her mind heavily so naturally it had the possibility of leaking into her dreams while she slept.
There were no lights in the room, but thanks to the game's natural night vision she could still see everything clearly albeit in darker hues. They had staying in the same inn as last night after eating dinner together. The whole evening had been an awkward mess and neither had said much to each other after her sudden confession. It had been a good kind of silence though. They were both simply too embarrassed to say much of anything to one another. In truth, it still amazed her that she could have such strong feelings after such a short amount of time.
Kicking both her legs frantically the blanket flew off the bed and she sat up in frustration. The thought of sleep right now was a bit frightening and it was still far too early in the morning. Fatigue wavered in the corners of her brain, but even looking down at the bed made her heart pick up the pace. She slapped the bed with her hand and pushed herself up and off the edge until she stood next to it.
Moments later she found herself in front of the mirror staring at her own reflection. She pressed the inventory buttons until she removed her clothing. She couldn't deny that the underwear clad avatar she saw in the mirror was attractive. Her skin was smooth and her hair never seemed to tangle. She turned sideways and couldn't help but smile slightly. Even the curves of her body seemed far too perfect. At least here in Aincrad, she felt beautiful, and no one could take that away.
"I wonder what he thinks." As she finished the sentence out loud she instinctively felt like her temperature had risen and saw her face in the mirror shift from pink to deeper shade. The games ability to mimic physical changes to emotions was beyond amazing. He was clearly attracted to her, but now there was the unanswered question of how they should act around one another. Would they go one like nothing had happened, or were they now stuck stealing awkward glances at one another.
They met each other December 1st, not even a full week ago. Why had she felt so drawn to him so quickly, and in turn was it too fast for him? What if he thought she was the type of girl who became attracted to men quickly, but without much real emotion behind it? In her own mind she knew this wasn't the case. Especially since she had never even had a boyfriend, but from his point of view it was completely understandable that he might come to that conclusion. He hadn't even properly responded to her confession before the <<System>> engaged. Did he love her back?
Jemza turned back towards the bed and fell on her knees throwing her face down onto the soft mattress. She was trapped in a game where death meant dying in the real world. Every day could be filled with danger fighting against countless type of monsters and creatures. The time it would take to be released from this game would take years at an optimistic pace. Yet, right now her primary concern was completely centered around a love life she never anticipated.
The day she took the Nerve Gear and quickly got connected to the game's servers had been a means to escape reality. Even if just for a little while she wanted to see a different world, and live as a different person. She was probably one of the only people here that thought of this prison as a blessing. She had planned to become someone else for as long as she was here. To live a happy and exciting life within the confines of SAO. At least for as long as it lasted that is.
Meeting Jayce was supposed to be a temporary thing. Just two people helping each other out for mutual gain. It had been nothing more at first. Then, she received a message from him asking if she would be willing to help on a quest. A simple yes or no question that would lead her to where she was today. By accepting his request, she found herself learning more about him. Seeing various sides of him only made her more curious about him as a person. More than anything he showed that she could trust him.
Then there was the Thieves Guild. Regardless that Rose Vermilion was only an NPC the moment she touched Jayce, no, even talked to him she felt anger. The way she was programmed was meant to portray her as a sultry woman, but the way she spoke to Jayce, and the way she touched him filled her with a sense of jealousy she had never experienced before. It had been eye opening for her and solidified just how much she relied on having him around. The potential threat of another woman, regardless of being an NPC, taking him from her was terrifying.
Jemza buried her head harder into the mattress at the thought of how immature she had acted. In her anger and confusion, she had lashed out at Jayce going so far as to physically push him around. Rose's outfit was definitely pleasing to the eye, even Jemza had to admit that, but seeing Jayce flustered by it tore her up. She pushed herself back up and returned to the mirror. She opened the inventory tab and equipped a few items.
"Hmmm..." She spun slowly looking at herself in the reflection. She had equipped her breastplate, skirt, boots, and gloves. The black tunic and tights were absent from her normal attire. This left her legs above the knee exposed a good distance up her thighs and the lack of a tunic meant her breastplate covered only vital areas, her skin showing everywhere else. She placed a foot behind her and spun quickly, her skirt flared outward exposing her underwear. She blinked in shock a few times before spinning once more repeating the process with the same results.
"Nope, not happening." With a few taps her tights materialized around her legs ensuring that she was now covered regardless of how she moved.
"Must be nice not having to run, jump, climb, and fight." She didn't care that she was muttering to herself let alone that she was sulking about Rose. If she couldn't pull the lower half off, then maybe at least the other side was passable. The breastplate covered her torso down to her stomach, but left the lower part open. The sides were comprised of laces holding the breastplate together which allowed her skin to peek out between each one. The main problem was that her bra was visible near the top front.
"How bad could it be?" She tapped the <<Remove all underwear>> button and felt both pieces of garments disappear from her avatar. Her lower half was still covered with her tights, but the moment she felt her skin press against the breastplate she knew there would be problems. She stood up straight in front of the mirror, looked around nervously as if someone was watching, and then jumped once.
"Whoever programmed physics in this game should either win an award or be shot." One hand quickly opened the window to re-equip her underwear while her other pressed against the breastplate to keep certain assets from escaping. She equipped the tunic last and looked in the mirror at how she looked on any normal day. She sighed feeling a bit jealous that Rose was programmed to be able to dress how she could without it interfering with anything.
Abandoning the attempts at modifying her clothing just to impress Jayce left her back to wondering just how he felt about her. Even if she could have altered her outfit to be more revealing is that the impression she wanted to give off? He could take it the wrong way or even worse, be scared off. Considering how she had been acting in the past she figured that even if she walked in naked he would most likely run away out of fear of how bad she might beat him just for seeing her. It made her smile knowing that he worried so much about how she felt and how she thought.
Why did the <<System>> activate when it did? Her smile softened as she remembered how the <<Anti-Harassment System>> activated just as he was about to respond to her, blasting him backwards. It was in place to keep people for forcibly assaulting other players and NPC's, but this wasn't like that. Did the developers of SAO really intend for two players to never have physical contact with one another? Romance within MMO games was always a commonality and in a virtual environment where you could interact face to face why would they want to prohibit that?
Perhaps Argo knew something about it? Jemza quickly shook her head to forget that idea. Argo would no doubt connect the dots and find out about her and Jayce. If she asked Argo about how to circumvent the <<Anti-Harassment System>>, then logically it meant that Jemza was wanting some sort of physical contact with someone. It was a nightmare waiting to happen and she could already see that evil smile on Argo's face.
What was important now, was finding out how Jayce felt. If he didn't completely feel the same then all of this was for nothing. After the way he hugged her last night she hoped that he was at least somewhat having the same feelings for her. If she was going to get an answer on this, then it had to be when he was caught off guard. He tended to be unable to converse properly when cornered or placed in a dangerous position.
"Alright." Jemza grinned and took a deep breath. It might take a bit of courage on her part, but there was one way that she could think of to create just such an event. She headed towards the door remembering something about inns and grouping that would give her the chance. Normally, inn doors could not be picked, and could only be accessed by those who owned the room. Being in a group was only slightly different. All purchased rooms were accessible by anyone in the group.