K: I was watching my subtitled .hack//SIGN this morning, and I couldn't help but think up this little ficlet. I have no idea where this would really even go, since I only thought up that one scene, but that's how most, if not all of my fics start out, so I'll just wing it. ^_~ Besides, there aren't enough fics with this pairing. XP (Seriously- there's this one, another one of mine, and just one other I've found) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Hark! Thou dost not own thine RPG series! Thou dost not favor Piros either! Thou simply felt like writing this way for no apparent reason! XP

Dedication: To every Kite/Elk shonen ai lover. You people ROXXORS!! XD

Gosei no Ai

Synthetic Love

Gate I: Realitas

            Tell me-

            What makes this world different from any other? There are real people with real feelings… Yet the whole of it is completely synthetic. It's all just data… All just a game mankind invented for its own entertainment. We created this reality so that we may escape the hassles of the so-called 'real world', but…

            …Isn't this the same thing? The same people…? The same tyranny over the land and natural hate toward things we deem 'ugly'….? The same insecurities we all wish to escape can easily be found here, in the hearts of the players.

            ….In my own heart.

            Fear of what others will think of us. Fear of judgment in the eyes of strangers, and those we may already know. The constant need to prove ourselves, even though we may deny it. The need to feel accepted… To have others care about you… if only to prove to yourself there is a reason for your existence.

            All of it is out there, in the real world, and all is brought here by the very people who wish to escape it. We tell ourselves again and again that it isn't true, but, deep down… you know that's the case.

            So, tell me-

            What makes life inside the net different from life outside it? Is it simply that here, everyone pretends that they're someone else- some idol whom they have no chance to be in real life…? No… people do that all the time, no matter the place. They use it as a cover for their bitter weaknesses….

            Is it that here, we can vent our frustrations in battle as much as we like without feeling physical pain? For most, perhaps……but not me, thanks to the bracelet. I may not bleed, but I can still feel each and every blow.

It hurts- GOD does it hurt- but it's the only way for me to live here. I have to do this… for Yasuhiko's sake… I owe him at least that much. It's not his fault I'm in this situation now- he had no idea this would happen… We're all innocent victims…

I may not like it, but I have no choice… I could try to run and hide, but I'm already in too deep. I was ever since I first stepped foot in that dungeon and spotted that girl for the first time. I'm caught in this twisted conspiracy, and there's no way for me to escape. All I can do now is try to protect others from having to go through what I have to. Maybe, if I go through with whatever that girl has in store for me, I'll be able to keep this from happening again- to some other innocent newbie.

            And to think- Elk once wanted to own this damn trinket himself… He has absolutely no idea what he'd asked for… And, as much as I'd love to be rid of these responsibilities, I couldn't do that to him… He may not like me all that much, but that doesn't mean the feeling's mutual. I'm rather fond of him, actually… Too bad he's never logged in when I call him… Heh- probably chatting with Mia or something.

            I wonder if they'll ever figure out their real feelings for each other? Sure, Elk may actually like Mia that way, but she never said she felt the same. She only said she missed him when he wasn't around… In truth, I have the feeling she only loves him as a close friend or a brother. Then again, I could be wrong. After all, I'm denied the time to really see how they act around each other, given the fact they're always too busy to see me. Besides, it's not any of my business anyway, is it?

            No. My job isn't to play cupid… It's to defeat this strange threat to this world. This world… If I'm to save this reality, whose supposed to save the other one? Or am I to save both, since the underlying facts point out that this realm is a lot like our own? Heh… There's that question again… I wonder if anyone else noticed the connection? Do they even want to? Probably not…

            I guess I'm alone then… Caught between 2 realities…. Then why is it they're starting to feel exactly the same?

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K: O_o; I'm lost in my own ramblings….. *coughs* Um… yeah… ; This chapter doesn't even contain that one scene this whole fic was based on… Guess that means it's gonna be multi-chaptered, then. ^^; Ah well…

Anyhoo, if you haven't figured it out already, that was in Kite's POV. Pretty obvious when he started talking about the bracelet, right? --; Yeah… I was basically just setting up for the certain scene I thought of, since it reveals Kite feels pain when he gets hit and stuff like Tsukasa did in .hack//SIGN. Then again, Kite can log out, and she (Tsukasa) couldn't…. *shrugs* Whatever… I was just wondering if the Twilight Bracelet affected Kite like the Key of the Twilight did Tsukasa….

Well, I guess I'll go to bed now… Nothing better to do, anyway… --; Ja ne!