Chapter 4

Ryou sat on the edge of his bed, staring down at the floor sleepily. It was close to 10:30 at night now, and he was now fixing to sleep after returning home about two hours ago, and he hadn't logged into The World for this very reason. As Ryou's head hit the pillow and wrapped the blanket around his body, his thoughts went back to Sora. Angel wanted Haseo to bond with Sora, right? So that in this way, Ryou would re-discover what he had lost, right?

Right… Ryou thought, as a deep sleep gently washed over him, and a dream appeared…

A young Ryou from the third grade was walking quickly home from school, carrying in one hand a small, pink flower in one hand. He was smiling happily, wondering what his mother would say when he brought the flower home to her. She would say something nice, for sure, and that night, she could even read some of her favorite stories or poems to him. With that in mind as motivation, he quickened his pace--

"Well, well, well…if it isn't the shrimp from school!"

Ryou gasped as he stopped short. In front of him were three older, bigger boys from the 5th grade. The way they looked at him, as if a tiger were trapping its prey, did not give Ryou any sort of comfort.

"Um…I need to go home," he told the boys quietly, hoping that the boys would let him pass by…before they got any ideas of chasing him.

The boy who spoke first, who appeared to be the ringleader of the group, only snickered, giving Ryou a grin that made him shiver. "Why do you need to go home, and so soon?"

Ryou chanced a glance at the flower, then quickly hid it behind his back.

"Well, um…my mom's expecting me."

"What's that you got behind your back?"

"Nothing!" Ryou answered, trying his best not to give attention to his mother's present, or showing the boys he was terrified. "It's nothing at all!"

Two other boys quickly moved behind Ryou before he could react, and one of them pried the flower out from Ryou's clenched fist.

"Oh, look, it's a flower," the second boy held the flower up, and snickered as well. "Looks like the baby was going to bring this home to his mother."

Ryou would have tried to grab the flower back, had his arms not been secured by the two older boys. The flower was handed over to the ringleader, who was still smiling that sick, triumphant smile.

"Do you know what we do to flowers that are supposed to be given to their mommies by little snots like you?" he asked Ryou in a sickly sweet tone, and Ryou could feel his heart racing. "We CURSH THEM!!"

As the ringleader began to slowly pick the petals off the flower, one by one, Ryou began screaming. "NO!! Stop, please!! Don't do this!!" One by one, the petals fell on the sidewalk. "THAT FLOWER IS FOR MY M--"

One of the boys who restrained him clamped Ryou's mouth with his hand. "Shut it, brat. We're just giving you just what you need, for being such a mama's boy."

"It's everyone for himself, in this world," the other boy next to him hissed. "Like us; we don't need our mommies telling us what to do every single second, and we sure don't need to give 'em any gifts to show any appreciation to them. We live in a cruel, cruel world."

The ringleader snickered again, as he finished destroying the flower. "That's right; who says that you're the only one who doesn't get to suffer?" The flower now lay on the ground, and the joy that Ryou had before died as he stared at the broken flower.

"One day, shrimp, you'll thank us for it," The first boy that restrained him continued to his behind his ear, as Ryou had often imagined an evil spirit would do. "You don't need others looking out after you. You're all alone in this cold world. No one will look out after you when you're older, now will they?"

As the boys walked away, howling in laughter and glancing back and forth at Ryou, he bent down to look at his once-beautiful flower. "But…my mom…my parents…they love me, don't they?" he asked the broken flower in a shuddering whisper. The flower only responded by twirling a bit on the sidewalk when a small wind brushed past it. The petals floated away, off in the big world, leaving only the stem behind. Ryou quietly picked up the stem and walked home, slowly and sadly this time.

When Ryou opened the door to his home, his smiling mother began to greet him, only to see that something was wrong. "Ryou? Is something wrong?" She asked patiently and kindly, as she walked up to the little boy from the couch. In response, the little boy held out a stem. "What is it?" she asked him, confused.

"It was a flower…" Ryou began with difficulty, as he felt his throat suddenly clogging up. "I picked it up myself…so I could give it to you…but…some boys came and…and…" as he tried to speak more, he saw that he couldn't, and tears began streaming down his eyes.

Understandingly, the young mother embraced her child. "Shh…shh…it's okay," she soothed him with her tender voice, like any good mother would do. "I understand what you tried to do, and I really appreciate it." She gently took the stem from his hand. "A stem is still a part of a flower, isn't it?" She asked him, smiling.

"Well, yeah…" Ryou admitted.

"Then I'll treasure this stem for the rest of my life," the young mother said, holding the stem close to her chest. "Do you want some soup that I made, Ryou?"

"Yes, please," Ryou answered, smiling a little bit now. He liked thinking that his mother was the best cook in the world, because she was to him, and he always was grateful to have such an understanding mother. "Where's Daddy?"

His mother sighed as she began preparing the soup. "He'll be working late again. You know it can be over there at your father's work sometimes; busy, busy, busy."

"Ah." Ryou moved to the table to eat. He sat quietly for a few minutes, thinking deeply. "Mom…those boys said they wrecked my flower because they had to."

The mother glanced at her son, as she began pouring water in. "Oh? Why did they do it, then?"

"They said it's because they had to take care of themselves, and it wasn't fair if I could just go home all happy with a flower to give to you. They didn't HURT me really, but…they hurt me. I don't understand, though."

Ryou's mother sighed. "Ah, well…I don't understand it quite myself either. Sometimes people act like that because something bad has happened to them, or they just want attention. It could be that they don't want to suffer alone…that by making other people suffer, they could all be equal. Something like that, anyways. I could be wrong, you know."

Ryou stifled a small giggle. "Well…I don't think I'm that far off from being like them."

"Hm? What are you talking about, Ryou?" his mother replied in surprise. "You're a sweet boy; you're friendly, outgoing, you're very smart--"

"I don't have any friends, though," Ryou added in quietly. An uncomfortable silence filled the area. "It's true, Mama," he continued. "The kids at school…they don't talk to me, none of them. Whenever they DO talk to me, they're just trying to use me to get all their work right, and I can see that."

The young mother sighed. It was so difficult…she could see how smart and wonderful her boy was, and it was hard for her to see him sad because he was lonely. "Don't worry, Ryou," she reassured him, the same as always. "One day, you'll find a group of people who are sincere to you, and you can call those people your friends." She smiled again. "Now, let's finish making the soup so we can dig in, okay?"

Ryou smiled. "Okay!"

Ryou's eyes opened as soon as dawn reached his eyelids. He recalled the dream to be during elementary school. Ryou blinked his eyes, thoughtfully. He recognized that memory, he always had! But it had always been so faint…and that night it seemed so real, so vivid…as if he were experiencing it again, for the second time.

Angel said that going through this project might affect me in different ways…I guess dreams would be one of them, Ryou thought. Still, why that particular memory? It's one I can still remember, faded to some extent or not; it was a long time ago. And nothing much about that dream explained what happened to me…to Sora… Ryou sighed. It's a process, Ryou; it's bound to take some time. Just do what Angel said…relax, and enjoy the ride. Yeah. Like that'll ever happen.

Today, school seemed surprisingly…normal. And quiet. Orino had not appeared at all before Ryou today, and he had only passed by Angel in the hallways and saw her in some of his classes, and had not gotten to speak to her at all. When lunchtime came, no Angel appeared, leaving Ryou alone once more. I bet Orino's probably treated her for lunch in town, Ryou guessed, as he sat at his usual seat at his reserved table.

He sighed, an almost sad sigh. Still, part of him was happy with the isolation. Isolation gives you more time to ponder…to plan…to think out maps, routes, strategies, ideas, dreams, destinies even. Yes, this was perfect for him to plan his next move.

As Ryou quietly ate his lunch, he decided that as soon as soon as he came home, he would send Sora a Flash Mail, telling him that he would be waiting for him at Δ Bursting Passed Over Aquafield. That should get us started well enough, Ryou thought. At least I hope it does. I have no idea what to expect from this…this 'prototype' of The World. It could have bugs in it, for all I know. It could be a trap, even. Ryou forced himself to shake his head. No, no, no; you're thinking too much, Ryou. Angel's not that kind of girl; she'd never do something like that. It really does seem like she wants to help… He sighed again as he finished his lunch. "We just have to keep waiting to see, don't we?" Ryou asked himself.

Ryou took his time walking home again, though he didn't feel he dreaded going home as much today as he did yesterday. In fact, now he felt more confident of what he wanted - and needed - to do. Besides, it wasn't like anything bad was going to happen to him, right? If any problems arose, he could simply logout and log in, just like always. Things are going to work out just fine, Ryou thought to himself. You're getting what you've wanted for so long, and Angel will be completing her job successfully…just as long as things are going the way we hope to.

As he reached his home, he put away his things just like always and turned on the computer. As he waited for it to load, Ryou could do nothing but stare at the screen as it changed; he knew if he thought too much, not only would he not get anywhere, but he would begin doubting again. Negative feelings and forces were not what he needed right now. The computer was fully loaded now, and Ryou clicked on The World's icon. The sign-in window appeared, and Ryou immediately types in Haseo's name and password in, and then did his part by placing the headset over his head and eyes. With that, Ryou's…no, Haseo's mind, dove into The World…

Haseo gated in Mac Anu…as always, it was busy, with players chatting busily here and there, as well as players buying items from the shops that they would need on adventures. This time, however, Haseo did not stop to wander around. He took this time to send a flash mail to Sora:

Subject: Meet up

--Sora, meet me in Δ Bursting Passed Over Aquafield. I'll be waiting there for you.

- Haseo

After sending the flash mail, Haseo nodded, then warped out to the chosen area.

As Haseo gated in he gazed over the grassy field. There were players here, but not very many, and most of them were newbies. He stood on the field, waiting. There wasn't very much to see, as it was a level 1 area, and nothing very dangerous ever occurred here. The landscape seemed rather plain, but peaceful. He figured it was at least a good place to quietly converse with someone, or Sora in this case, and maybe even destroy a few monsters here and there…

"Oh, it's nice to see you again!" Haseo almost jumped, then turned around to see the green-haired Twin Blade standing right behind him. I didn't even hear him… Haseo thought with some shock. Sora was smiling. "I scared you, didn't I?" he exclaimed excitedly.

"No. Not at all," Haseo forced himself to stay calm.

"Admit it; I did scare you, didn't I?" Sora was grinning triumphantly.

"Look, what do you want?"

"You're one to talk. Didn't you just send a message to me, saying that you wanted to meet up here?" Sora looked around, apparently bored. "And you had to pick here out of all places."

Haseo blinked. "What's wrong with this area?"

"Don't you see?! It's too boring! No action, no excitement, everything is just standing still all the time, and the monsters aren't that interesting either; not challenging at all! I bet it would take only one blow from me to destroy twenty of those monsters!"

"You're really picky when it comes to these kinds of things, aren't you?"

"Next time we're going somewhere, I'm choosing the area," Sora grumbled.

Haseo rolled his eyes. "Fine. You can pick the area next time. The reason I called you over here in the first place is so that we could find something to do together." He started to brush his hand through his hair thoughtfully. "So, uh…do you…want to go into a dungeon?" Haseo couldn't help but feel peculiar, asking Sora what they should do; his foot digging through the ground showed this to be true.

"No," Sora muttered.

"What do you want to do, then?" Haseo could feel himself burning with exasperation.

Sora held out a blade in front of him, and looked curiously at Haseo. "How about a duel?"

"A…a what?!"

"A duel," Sora replied simply. "You know: Whoever is stronger wins; the loser dies. That's how all duels work, right?"

Haseo began sucking in his breath. "Why do you want to do something like that?!"

"Tenshi brought you to me, so that we could meet each other," Sora explained.

"I know that!" Haseo snapped.

Sora's eyes narrowed. "You don't look lame, but maybe you aren't as strong as you appear. That wouldn't be good at all...I want to test you."

"You think you can test people to see whether or not they're worthy of becoming your friend or party member?" Haseo asked, incredulous.

"Did I say that?" Sora asked, appearing surprised.

"You sure made it sound like that," Haseo responded.

Sora shrugged. "I didn't say it was like that. I want to see who's stronger, right now, me or you?"

"You could have just said that instead. But why do you want to duel over something like that?"

Sora was quiet for a moment. Haseo still had not drawn out his blades. "Are you afraid of me?" he asked Haseo darkly.

"Of course I'm not afraid of you!" Haseo retorted.

"I think you are," Sora continued, trying to sound mysterious.

"I think I'm not." When Haseo could see that Sora was not going to change his mind, he turned around, back facing Sora. "I didn't come to battle you. I came over here to talk to you."

"Fine, then. Let's talk," Sora repeated in Haseo's exasperated tone.

Haseo began to turn around, only to see a shadow dart past…no, through him…and then when the shadow was past Haseo, it stopped its high-speed movement revealing to be Sora. Haseo gasped, and his knees buckled immediately, his body fading into a dull grey.

The green-haired Twin Blade stared at the body, until it finally disappeared, and even then continued to glance at the spot. He didn't react until the last second… Sora thought. That's so stupid! Sora couldn't help shake a thought that was growing in him, though. I don't want to admit this to him or anyone else, but…he does look very strong, even if he is a little cranky, like BT. Maybe we can be friends soon.

Haseo gated in Mac Anu again. The city was still quiet, despite the players interacting with one another, but compared to what noise was surrounding him, it was nothing compared to what was going on in Haseo's mind. How dare he do that?! I called him over there so that we could interact with one another, just like Tenshi wanted us to, and he goes off and PKs! Why would he even do such a thing?!

Along with other similar thoughts, Haseo stormed off, hoping that at least the scenery would calm him down a bit. He stopped short all of a sudden when someone bumped into him. A young male Wavemaster quickly brushed away and ran off, yelling, "Sorry!" to Haseo. He blinked; hadn't he seen someone like that before? His mind flashed back to the woman he met at work…An Shouji, wasn't it? He kind of looked like her… Something inside Haseo told him to follow. He quickly went after the Wavemaster, keeping sight of his grayish clothing. Haseo managed to avoid bumping into various players while keeping track of the Wavemaster in front of him, and soon found himself in an alley of Mac Anu.

"I'm here; what did you want to talk to me about?" He heard the Wavemaster's voice from another section of the alley. Haseo walked from here on, until he saw the young Wavemaster in a corner, talking to another player, a female Heavy Blade, who was sitting on a pile of crates which were placed against the wall. "I see. Okay then; I'll be over there waiting for you tomorrow."

"I'll be waiting," The female Heavy Blade replied with a smile. She looked behind the young Wavemaster. "Hm? Tsukasa…I didn't know you brought company!"

The Wavemaster quickly looked behind him to see Haseo standing behind him. "Oh! You're the one I…sorry I bumped into you earlier; I was in a hurry to meet my friend here."

"It's all right…Tsukasa," Haseo answered, echoing the name.

The Heavy Blade waved cheerfully at Haseo. "My name is Mimiru!" she chirped.

"Mimiru…" Haseo murmered, as he slipped into his thoughts.

"So what's your name?"

"…Hm? Oh, uh, I'm Haseo," he stammered.

"You've got a very interesting Twin Blade design; it looks very unique," Mimiru commented.

"Thanks."

"How long have you been playing The World?" she asked. Haseo's eyes widened; he hadn't thought about what to say if anyone asked him for how long he had played The World. If he said he had been playing for, say, a year, and they found out later this was false…well, he didn't want to know what would happen.

"I haven't been playing here lately, actually," Haseo answered, looking away from Mimiru and Tsukasa. "I'm not a newb, either, but…well…"

"Oh, that's okay," Mimiru replied. "You'll get the hang of things here again real soon. And if you need any help, there's always my friend Bear; he'd be more than happy to help you out if you're having problems.

"Thanks," Haseo answered, and boy, did he mean it. "Say um…do you know about a Twin Blade named Sora?"

At the mention of Sora's name, Mimiru's face made an expression that showed great disgust. "That creep?! Why would you want to know anything about him?"

"Because the reason why I'm playing The World right now is to interact with Sora, that's all," Haseo replied simply, somewhat pleased that so far he had managed to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth.

"Why would you have any business interacting with that creep?" Mimiru continued.

"…Well, I guess you could say that he and I are related in some way or another."

"Oh?" Tsukasa's quiet voice spoke up. "Are you Sora's cousin, or something?"

"Well, we're a little deeper than that…I don't know really. I guess that's why I'm here, to find out." He sighed, exasperated again, his voice growing louder as he continued. "But as soon as I called him over to Δ Bursting Passed Over Aquafield, we started talking, and…well, we didn't really get anywhere. Then he said something about wanting to test me to see if I was better than he was, but I didn't want to face him, and then he went right into PKing me!"

"Maybe he thought you would react quicker," Tsukasa suggested. "In any case, I don't think you should go judge him too quickly; I'm sure he has his reasons on why he acts the way he does." Tsukasa smiled. "But, you know, I think that's real nice of you to try to spend some time with Sora; I think he might need it."

"Yeah…maybe you're right," Haseo agreed. "Still, I can't believe he just PKed me like that!"

"I know!" Mimiru exclaimed.

"Mimiru…" Tsukasa sighed. "You aren't really helping.

"Sorry. I just can't stand Sora! He's so…well, obnoxious!" Mimiru's look of disgust remained on her features.

"You might want to get to know Sora, too," Tsukasa replied, grinning at her. He then turned back to Haseo. "Are you meeting anyone here, Haseo?"

"Well, no. I just logged back in after I got PKed…" Haseo looked up to the sky. "Anyways, I don't know whether a schoolmate of mine is logging on today, so I might have to leave soon."

"Who's your schoolmate?" Tsukasa asked.

"Tenshi. Do you know her?"

"Hmm…is she a Blademaster? With blonde hair and a pink shawl over an arm?"

"Yeah, that's her," Haseo answered, nodding.

"I talked to her once, though not recently."

"Oh."

"But we could wait for you here, if you want," Tsukasa suggested.

Haseo shrugged. "I…guess so."

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Mimiru exclaimed. "Let's go wait near the bridge!"

Tsukasa followed Mimiru, smiling, and Haseo walked behind Tsukasa, still hoping to gain information about them about Sora. Haseo waited, his back against the bridge. "So…how do you guys know Sora, anyway?" he asked them suddenly.

"You're really into talking about Sora, aren't you?" Mimiru sputtered with disgust.

"I barely even know him," Haseo answered truthfully.

"Well, be glad that you don't; from what I can tell, he's an immature player who likes taking advantage of others for his own uses. One day, he's gonna get it. Oh, he'll get it all right. Just wait and see if I'm right!"

But I think it's already happened, Haseo thought to himself.

"I mean, just look at what he did to you, Haseo! He destroyed you there right on the spot, after you said you didn't want to fight him! How immature is that?"

"It's definitely immature of him," Haseo agreed. "But I also agree with Tsukasa--he might just be lacking contact in the real world, and doesn't know how to make friends here."

"You can't force someone to be your friend; they have to earn that privilege!" Mimiru continued to exclaim. "Even if he doesn't know about friendship, he could at least learn to have better manners! I mean, talk about finesse--"

"Mimiru, do you know anything about Sora besides on what he does?" Tsukasa asked her suddenly. "Anything at all?"

Mimiru stopped short. "Well, no, but I--"

"Like I said, I'm sure he has his reasons," Tsukasa replied quietly. "We don't really know him as well as we'd like…Mimiru, he may actually be a good kind of person, but if you don't give him a chance, what will he have to ever prove it to you?"

Mimiru sighed, and she gazed down into the river. "Yeah…" she admitted after several minutes had passed. "I guess you're right. I don't know him that well. Just the way he acts, that's all."

"And he could be a good actor, too," Haseo added in.

"Oh, I hate your kind of logic," Mimiru sputtered, causing Tsukasa to laugh.

"Well, if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all," Tsukasa quoted. Haseo nodded as he remembered, That's what my mother used to tell me.

"Excuse me…? Haseo?" Haseo instantly turned around to see Tenshi standing right behind him. "Sorry I was late today; Orino took me to the library in town today. I just couldn't bear to leave," she explained, chuckling.

"It's okay," Haseo responded.

"Oh, you met friends already?" Tenshi asked as she saw Tsukasa and Mimiru.

"Hi, you must be Tenshi," Mimiru greeted her with a handshake. "I'm Mimiru; nice to meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you, too," Tenshi replied, smiling. She then turned to silver-haired Wavemaster. "Oh, hello Tsukasa! I didn't know you were with Haseo!"

"We kind of bumped into one another…literally," Tsukasa explained with a grin.

Tenshi giggled again, then turned back to Haseo. "So, is Sora with you?"

Haseo glanced down at the river again. "Can I…talk to you somewhere? Privately?"

"Oh…of course, Haseo," Tenshi replied quietly, noting the seriousness of Haseo's tone. "We'll be right back in a moment, guys," she told the two players beside him.

"Oh, okay. We'll be waiting for you when you get back," Mimiru answered. Tsukasa answered with a nod.

Haseo took Tenshi around near the alley where he had just come from, hoping no one would see or hear them. "Is there something you want to tell me about, Haseo?"

"Several things, actually."

"Oh? Already?"

"Yes…" Haseo inhaled deeply. "First of all, I've had this dream last night…only I don't think it was just a dream; it was a memory." He paused for a moment, only to be responded by a glance from her that seemed to say 'Go on.' "It was a dream…back when I was in the third grade, and I was going home to bring my mother a flower that I picked myself, when this three-boy gang confronted me, restrained me, and destroyed my flower before my eyes, right there on the spot. With me so far?"

"Yeah."

"Then they told me it was because I needed it, that everyone was alone in the world we lived in, and called it cruel. I didn't understand what they meant by that then, and looking back, I don't think I still know. I remember in the dream I asked my mother about it, and she told me that people did those kinds of things to people so that they wouldn't have to suffer alone, and that those boys acted like that because of that, or because they wanted attention badly."

"And?"

"That's it, really. It was so real…I know it's a memory of my past, but it seemed so faint before I met you and played this version of The World. That night…that night, it seemed so real, so vivid. Like I was experiencing it again! Is that supposed to happen?"

Tenshi cocked her head to one side. "Yes…yes, I think that's what's supposed to happen. From what I've been told, Haseo, this specific program, this version of The World, was to help coma victims…not all of them lost their memory of course, but some have. I'm not sure whether or not this is true, but according to my father, some people who played this type of The World were people who have never played The World at all, but people who have lost their memories…amnesia, and whatever else you can think of."

"Huh! You've never told me that, before," Haseo murmered.

Tenshi shrugged. "It's not something we do a lot, actually. And we're kept a secret, too. We're just there to help people whenever we can, whether it be in the real world, or in The World." She smiled again. "Is there something else you wanted to talk to me about."

"Yeah, it's about Sora, actually."

"What about him?"

"Well, I've been trying to do what you told me…you know, to interact with him and such. Well, today I sent him a flash mail to meet me up in Δ Bursting Passed Over Aquafield, and when I got there, we…I guess we disagreed on what we wanted to do, and then Sora said something about 'testing me,' and then he PKed me, and I'm not sure whether or not it was by accident."

"Hmm…Sora is a very interesting player at times, I can tell you that much. And I can see you're trying to find some way to--"

"HEY! What are YOU doing over here?!"

"That's Mimiru," Haseo muttered. "Something's going on…I'll go on ahead see what's up. You stay here, Tenshi."

"All right, then."

Haseo darted back to where he had left Tsukasa and Mimiru, and found another player with them. Haseo couldn't help but call out to him in disgust when he reached far enough. "Sora!"

The Twin Blade turned to see Haseo, then leaped impressively in front of him, with Mimiru and Tsukasa gathering around Haseo. "I have a favor to ask you," Sora said, suddenly sounding very serious.

"A favor?" Haseo muttered. "After what you did to me in that Delta area, you expect me help you with a favor?"

"That's all in the past; besides that, you weren't paying attention to my movements. You let your guard down," Sora responded, in the same tone. "But never mind that; I need a favor from you, and it's very important." He then glanced at Tsukasa and Mimiru. "You're both a part of this, too."

"Why us?!" Mimiru answered, only to be stopped by a look from Tsukasa.

"We'd be happy to help out," Tsukasa replied, keeping a sharp gaze on Mimiru.

"That's good thinking, Tsukasa-kun," Sora said, with a small smile. "The thing is, there's a new Event coming up--"

"Event?" Haseo replied. "I didn't hear about any Events."

"--And it requires a four-man party in order to enter," Sora continued, ignoring Haseo. "So, naturally I thought of you guys."

"Maybe it's just because we were the only ones standing around," Mimiru grumbled.

Sora shrugged. "It could be that, but I wanted Haseo to come for sure," he gave Haseo a certain glance that spoke of interest, and it suddenly hit Haseo; Sora was interested in him! "You could think of this as a way to make up for falling to my attack. And this Event covers a whole variety of challenges, and you can't re-enter it if you logout. So, are you in?"

Haseo considered the offer. Sora did make this seem like this would make up for his defeat at Δ Bursting Passed Over Aquafield to him, but he wasn't sure if he could entirely trust Sora in this case, even if it was a good chance for interaction. "Why do you want to enter this event?" he asked him.

"There's an item I want to get…it's for something special," Sora replied simply.

"And what's that special 'something?'" Tsukasa asked kindly.

Sora smiled and shook his head. "Can't tell; it's a surprise. All I'm going to say is that I plan on giving it away soon, when I get it."

"Well, I'll go with you, Sora," Tsukasa said, verbally handing in his party application. A look from Sora to Tsukasa expressed his thanks; Haseo could tell that Sora liked Tsukasa, possibly in the same way he thought Sora liked him.

Mimiru gave a sigh of defeat. "Well…if Tsukasa's going, I guess I better go, too. Bear will probably be busy, anyways."

"What about you, Haseo?" Sora asked.

Haseo chanced a glance at the Twin Blade, and could see that, somewhere on his face, was some sort of hope…hope that would be crushed if he rejected the proposal. He then remembered what the woman, An Shouji, told him that yesterday at work: Your eyes…they seem familiar, somehow. Haseo's eyes looked into Sora's eyes…yes, they did seem similar to his own, in a way. Not very different at all…

"All right, Sora. I'll go with you."

The Twin Blade performed a small back flip, obviously very excited. Tsukasa couldn't help laughing, and even Mimiru cracked a grin. "Thank you, guys!" he sang cheerfully. "I really appreciate this! I'll give you a flash mail when everything's ready!" With that, he leaped off to another part of Mac Anu, and was lost from view by the others.

"Was it me, or did Sora kinda act a little different?" Mimiru asked. "I mean…it actually seemed like he was desperate, and that this really means something to him. Then he seemed so happy when we said we'd go with him…"

Tsukasa chuckled. "You know, this might not be so bad. Right, Haseo?"

Haseo continued looking off in the direction Sora had left. "Right…not so bad at all…"

Several minutes later, Haseo came back to Tenshi. "So, what happened?" She asked him.

"I just got myself stuck in an Event with Sora. It seems like he really wants this."

"That's good; you're taking this as a chance to interact with him better, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"I should probably tell you that your connection in The World is probably strongest here with Sora. I think that the more you interact with Sora, the more that will affect you as you dream, as time goes on."

"Do you think anything could go wrong with this, Tenshi?"

Tenshi bit her lip. "At first glance, no…but, in these cases, we handle these things delicately. I can safely say, there's always a risk factor."

"What's the risk?"

"I don't know…I asked my father once, but he never did answer to my question. It could be that bad."

"…Oh…" Haseo's eyes dimmed again into thoughtfulness. What could happen that could be so bad? he wondered to himself.

"Haseo…be careful, all right? I know this is a project and all, but I can't bear on seeing anyone get hurt because of this. You understand?"

"Yes."

Tenshi was quiet for a few minutes before replying, "Well, Haseo, it's getting late. We should both get to sleep soon. I hope you get what you want, and that Sora will be able to help you." With that, Tenshi logged out, leaving Haseo alone once more.

"Yes…Sora will help me," Haseo said aloud. "We'll help each other now." With that, he also logged out for the night.

A/N: Wow...I worked my butt off this time on this chapter. XP

I think this might be my favorite chapter yet; it was certainly the longest! Anyways, thank you guys SO much for your awesome reviews! Really, I get so excited whenever I read a review saying that they like it, and it makes me even more inspired. This is far from the perfect .hack fanfic, I know, but it's not the worst either, and I can honestly tell you that I am doing the very best I can with each chapter. Speaking of which, has anyone else besides me notices that each chapter/page is longer than the last? Ha ha...that's kinda weird.

Anyways, if anyone does get confused, please take note that this prototype of the first version of The World does not include the timeline...so, you could say that anything could happen and anyone from the Games or SIGN could meet up with one another as if they all met before and such. As Ryou goes on, though...he'll figure it out, through his dreams. This chapter was actually enjoyable to write, and I love writing this fanfic...so, thank you very much again! Comments, questions, criticisms are welcome, as long as they're not too harsh! :D