Asakura Hao and Roxas strode into the room, just to check on their darling author. Like, if she ever got out of her chair, or if she was done with assignments.

As usual, Liang was at her desk, typing rapidly. Her eyes darted about the 13-inch Macbook screen, presumably for her assignments.

"Same old," Roxas mumbled, sighing. "She never writes anything...you know, fanfiction-like any more." He slumped into a chair, defeated once again.

"Don't be so harsh on her, Roxas," Hao comforted him, though he didn't sound very much convinced. "Liang is...well, recuperating."

"What, from her terrible internship experience? From churning out article after article for the past year or so?"

Hao grimaced. Roxas was unusually upset today, and Hao knew why. At first, Liang had consoled them with hopes of a new fanfic update. "Right after I finish my work during the holidays, I'll be back!" she had told the two teens. "I already have Hao is Bored halfway complete, and The Love Critic will definitely get my attention right after."

Firaga, Liang's imaginary Charizard who was adored by the girl, had re-appeared too. He didn't show up for the longest time, but, as Hao noted, when Pokemon X and Y came back, she remembered him. "Yes, Firaga," she had told the Pokemon, "you'll get a new Pokemon fanfic soon."

But now Firaga had disappeared once again, and it was just Hao and Roxas. Just a few days ago, Roxas had been fading - sometimes, he'd find that he was translucent, much to his horror. Sometimes, he'd be as opaque as ever. "But sometimes isn't enough," Roxas had complained to the Shaman King.

But now, as the two of them watched her scribbling down notes, or tending to her town in Animal Crossing as a break, Roxas was probably afraid that 'sometimes' may grow into something more permanent.

"She's just tired," Hao dismissed, frowning.

Roxas' face softened. "Yes, but...she should know what's important..."

The Shaman King's words next were heart-wrenching. "Are we really that important to her right now?" he asked, glaring at Roxas. The blonde kept silent, and Hao continued. "She's 19. She thought that Advanceshipping meant the world to her when she was 12. Where are Ash and May now?"

"Non-existent," Roxas whispered, his voice cracking. "I don't want to be that, too."

Hao would've liked to tell Roxas that he felt the same way, but the Shaman King really didn't. He knew what he meant to the writer. He had been the one who held her in his arms when her boyfriend broke up with her at 2am. Not Roxas. Roxas had always been secondary, the best friend who didn't hold as much meaning as the man who kept her spirits up at night.

"You won't," Hao whispered back, as he watched Liang stretch her arms, a small smile on her face. She didn't seem to notice at all the dialogue between the two characters. "The Love Critic is important to her."

"And look what happened to it," Roxas answered spitefully, and at this, Hao knew that Roxas had already caught on about the shaman's position in the writer's eyes.

Hao sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. "Bad times to be a fictional character," he muttered.