.hack//Warmth of the Oblivious

Written by Emerald Twin Blade

: Fragment No. 1 :

Mysterious Irritation

Two smiles… and a slight frown. Haseo, the Terror of Death, would sigh as he and his party had just gated back into the Δ Server's Root Town, Eternal City Mac Anu. They'd just gotten back from some major leveling-up training at an area suggested by their beast-like friend Gaspard. The area level had been 40, so it was a little iffy to him, considering that Silabus was only level-36 while Atoli was level-34. Haseo himself had been level-37. Apparently, though, this place was the best to train at, considering that everyone had gone up three levels.

"What's wrong, Haseo? Aren't you glad we were able to level up so much?" Silabus asked, grinning as he put a hand on his hip.

"It was only three levels… We could've gone higher if there'd been more monsters." Haseo replied, managing a tiny smile, "But… I guess it was alright."

The Harvest Cleric blinked for a moment and then came to attention, suddenly looking like she was reading something. She probably got an e-mail from Sakaki, that goddamn show-off. He acted like some hero from an action/romance anime that kids and girls watch. It made the Adept Rogue sick. Making sure that he could hold down his lunch, Haseo looked to the girl again, watching as she began to speak.

"Sakaki's calling me to go to Moon Tree's HOME." she smiled brightly at him, "Would you like to come along, Haseo?"

Him? And that polite bastard? No way in Hell! He, however, refrained from saying it in such a way.

"No thanks, I rather not go see some snob without a reason not to blow chunks." Well… at least he didn't cuss that time! That's some progress, right?

Silabus couldn't help smirking slightly; that's our Haseo, he thought. Atoli frowned, looking down and nodding before smiling again. She turned to the Chaos Gate and gated out.

Haseo shrugged, looking over to the Blade Brandier, "So… What're you gonna do?"

The boy clad in bright green put a hand behind his head, "Well, I've got to watch the shop for a bit… Gaspard said that he had to go somewhere for a while and asked if I could take over."

He nodded, walking toward the doors that led outside, "I need to find a few items, so I'll be going around looking for any good trades. See you later."

"H-Hey! Why don't you ask me? Maybe I have what you're looking for?"

The Adept Rogue shook his head, looking to his friend over his shoulder, "Trust me, Silabus… You don't have this."

The seriousness of his voice told him that it must've been quite an item. Silabus sighed, nodding. That was the signal Haseo had been waiting for. He then left, out of the Dome and closed the doors behind him. A small grin came to the Blade Brandier's face as the sound of a steam engine starting up reached his ears from the other side of the doors; his friend had probably gotten on his Steam Bike and hightailed it out of there.

He snapped himself out of his short daze, shaking his head to clear it, "Crap… I still have to go to the shop!" Immediately, he exited the Dome and ran for the Central District.

Haseo sighed, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand as he put something in his inventory. He nodded a 'thank you' to a player he'd just traded with, and he turned around to get back on his Steam Bike. He'd finally gotten 6 of the same weapon… and a weak one, at that. He thought for a moment; he and Silabus were both at level-40 now, and Atoli was at level-38.

Crimson eyes narrowed as he drove through the twists-and-turns of the Root Town, coming to a stop in front of the HOME. He would then approach the two wooden doors and insert the Canard Key, entering the HOME of his guild.

"Welco—Oh, it's only Haseo. What do you want? oink" asked the annoyingly rude little Death Grunty. It looked like a grunty-fied Haseo, only… well… more outgoingly mean.

"Shut up, you little pig, I need to do something with alchemy… Don't get your tail in a twist…" the notorious PKK mumbled, walking over to the Alchemy Shop, only to meet Death Grunty again.

"Hand over what you want alchemized! oink" it piped, obviously having a hard time ignoring that 'little pig' comment.

The Adept Rogue took out 6 Blades, putting them over the counter on either side of Death Grunty. He put his hands on his hips and stared at the little thing with narrowed eyes.

"Do what you can to fuse them together. I need this done as soon as possible."

Death Grunty took one of the Blade Suns into his small paws and looked up and down its long edge, "What do you need this for? oink This can only be wielded by Blade Brandiers, of which you are not! oink"

"Just do it, alright!?"

"How about a 'please,'? oink"

"Damn it! Please, just do it!"

The piglet-like creature snorted; that was probably the best he was going to get out the rookie Guildmaster for now. Taking up all the blades, he took them over to the machine (with some difficulty, of course). It took several minutes, but after pressing a big red button a whole bunch of times and replacing empty slots with the weapon to be fused, Death Grunty finally spoke.

"oink Is it ready? oink oink" The machine seemed to be smashing the weapons inside of it as it went up and down, but then it stopped and began to open up, "It's done! oink"

Haseo nodded, paying the amount of money needed for the alchemizing before snatching the weapon and heading out.

"Thanks." He mumbled, barely loud enough for the NPC to hear.

"Yeah, you better be grateful! oink"

"Hey! Shut up about that, already! You're like a broken record!"

"And you're like an old dog that can't learn any new tricks! oink Do you know why you're still at Guild Rank 1? oink"

"That's it; c'mere, you!"

"Well, that was a waste of time…" the Terror of Death muttered, walking down a path toward the Central District.

He'd just made a fool of himself in the Canard HOME by trying to attack a Grunty with his own two hands. Apparently, the said NPC could become a mere hologram if it wanted to, so his hands went clear through it. And due to the strength he'd put behind his hands, he fell over the counter and flipped onto the other side. After being laughed at for a while, he took hold of the blade he'd had done and tried to use it, but that ended even worse.

He picked up a hand and covered the side of his face with it. He'd embarrassed himself and nearly had a stupid pig take the best of him. Could anyone blame him, though? That thing was getting on his freaking nerves!

He stopped, seeing the Guild Shops in view already. Shrugging he made his way toward Shop Acorn, only to stop near Moon Tree's Guild Shop and stare.

Silabus was standing at the counter, smiling with that usual bright smile of his. His honey brown eyes were sparkling with friendliness, just about anyone could trust him with those eyes. Haseo blushed lightly, taking another step forward as he tried to make himself known, but he was stopped again.

A female player had just approached the kind-hearted Canard member, talking to him with the fakest sweet smile the PKK had ever seen. He made a disgusted look; what would a girl be doing around his friend? The only girls he ever saw Silabus come in contact with were Atoli and, occasionally, Sakubo. Before he knew it, a glare had formed on his face as he watched the two talking and laughing from afar.

The Moon Tree member running the shop was smirking, leaning over the counter and watching Haseo with her chin in her hand, "Y'know… she's probably going to wind up stealing him away from you."

"Like Hell I'd let him fall for a slut like that!" he snapped, his anger getting the best of him. He then blinked, realizing that he'd just answered a strange question with a stupid answer. He blushed, slapping his forehead as he spoke, "W-Wait a minute, what the hell're you going on about? What do you mean 'steal him away from me?'"

The black-haired female chuckled, shaking her head as she stood up straight, showing her completely silver-and-emerald green armor, "I think you know what I mean…" She smiled, "I'm Takako, by the way… A friend of Silabus, I presume, Mr. Terror of Death? Or even… a close friend?"

This caused Haseo to blush even harder, "No! It's not like that! Honestly! That's just plain wrong!"

"Are you really so sure of that…?" Takako asked, raising an eyebrow as she pointed back in Shop Acorn's direction with her thumb, "Take a look over there and tell me I'm kidding."

The Adept Rogue turned his head to watch the other girl and Silabus talking again. After a moment, the girl leaned over the counter and placed a small kiss on his cheek. Haseo's red eyes went wide, his heart cracking as a feeling of betrayal came over it. Suddenly, those crimson hues were filled with fury and anger rather than sadness.

Once the girl had fled, he stomped over to the shop and slammed his hands on the counter, glaring furiously at the Blade Brandier standing on the other side.

"Who the hell was that? You're girlfriend?!"

A surprised and confused look was on Silabus's face, a light blush painting his cheeks. This pissed Haseo off… He growled and turned around, walking away.

"H-Hold on! Haseo, it wasn't what it looked like!"

"Whatever!"

Silabus ran around the side of the counter and tried to catch up with Haseo, running as fast as he could. Reaching out a hand, he attempted to take his friend's shoulder, but just when it was about to collide, the PKK had logged out. The Blade Brandier tripped, losing his balance and nearly falling over, but he caught himself just in time. Standing up straight, he looked up into the virtual sky, frowning.

"Haseo…" he whispered sadly, wondering what to do. A thought suddenly occurred to him, and it thought it was a wonderful idea, "I got it! I'll go talk to Kuhn about this! Maybe he can help!"

After sending Kuhn a short mail, they had at last met up at the huge fountain there in Eternal City Mac Anu. The blue-haired player grinned down at his seemingly younger friend. Putting his hands on his hips, he tilted his head slightly and asked the question.

"So then, what was it you needed help with, Silabus? You don't look angry or sad, so it couldn't be something with Gaspard or the PKs…" He put a brown-gloved finger to his chin in thought before he raised an eyebrow, "Does it have to do with Haseo, then?"

The said-Blade Brandier looked down at the ground, blushing lightly, "W-Well… y-you see…"

The Steam Gunner awaited his friend to finish his sentence, but then it appeared that he understood what was going on, and he looked a little… well… not happy, "Oh-no… Don't tell me you haven't gotten over your own illness…"

"Huh?" Silabus snapped, cheeks brightening. He'd always known that Kuhn had an illness that made him, literally, every girl's dream man, but he did remember that, in the past, he too had fallen for him. When Kuhn found it, he'd called it an illness, just as anyone else would if they found out, "I… I guess I haven't…"

Kuhn laughed embarrassedly, "Listen, Silabus… I'm flattered, but we just can't—"

"No, Kuhn! I don't like you anymore… I like Haseo!"

The blue-haired man froze; awkward… However, this strange turn of event did make things a little bit harder. He put his hand behind his head before watching the younger, "Are… you sure? I'm positive that you already know how he can be… If he doesn't return your feelings, then I can't guarantee that he'll still want to be your friend."

"I know… but I think that there could still be a chance that he does like me…"

"Hah! Really?"

"Kuhn, I'm serious! Thanks to you trying to 'cure' me of my illness and sending random girls to come talk to me, I think it might've made him angry."

"Is that right…? How do you gather that, my friend?"

Silabus put one hand on his hip as he looked up to the sky again, replying softly, "Before that girl left, she gave me a kiss… on the cheek, mind you. And I think Haseo saw it. He came over to the shop and got all mad at me. I still remember how he looked when he asked me if she was my girlfriend. He looked like he'd just gotten betrayed…"

The Steam Gunner walked to his friend's side, putting his hand on his shoulder, "Well, well! It looks to me that he could have the same illness as you! But then again, didn't he have a girlfriend before? That Shino girl?"

The mention of that made the Blade Brander's heart clench, but he still clung to the hope that Haseo could like him, "I guess… but anyway, Haseo's still angry with me, so what should I do?"

"Send him a e-mail and explain what really happened. If he really does like you the way you think he does, then he'll probably forgive you."

Silabus nodded, smiling, "Thanks, Kuhn. I knew I could count on you to help me!" He turned around and ran a few yards away before turning back around and waving, "I'll let you know what happens! Bye!"

Kuhn chuckled, shaking his head, "Oh boy… I really hope he doesn't get shot down… I remember how hard it was for me to get over my first rejection." Shrugging, he logged out.

Haseo grumbled as he read through the News Capture area of his computer, watching Online Jack. That stupid, so-called news reporter was nuts! And now he was breaking into some kid's room—Wait a minute, what the hell? The kid's room was littered with crackling electronics, and he didn't seem to be himself… And on the computer screen, it read… AIDA.

His eyes went wide when he heard what the kid had whispered, 'Sakaki.' He KNEW there was something up with that guy! He couldn't be that compelled by justice! He was about to go e-mail Atoli about this, when he found that he'd gotten 1 important e-mail. Raising an eyebrow, he went to his Mail Station and saw that it was from Silabus.

He really didn't feel like talking to him right now, especially after how he'd just logged out when his friend was probably going to explain something that he already knew. Sighing, he chose to open the e-mail. Oh well, he wasn't technically talking to him, now, was he?

To: Haseo

From: Silabus

Subject: Misunderstanding

Haseo, what you saw earlier in Mac Anu was not supposed to happen! You see, Kuhn's always sending girls to come see me in an attempt to get me a girlfriend because I—Well, I don't think you need to know why. Anyway, that girl wasn't my girlfriend, and I don't really like her, or any girl for that matter, in that way.

You know how I am, Haseo. I can't be rude or mean to anyone, even if I wanted to. So, I was just being nice to her, and that was it. I'll probably never see her again, so… Is there any chance we can just put this behind us?

Haseo took a deep breath, clicking on the reply button. Thinking for a moment, he began to type everything he wanted to say into the e-mail.

To: Silabus

From: Haseo

Subject: Re: Misunderstanding

Heh, I guess I really did overreact… Sorry for logging out all of a sudden, I just didn't want to hear it, but I kinda had to, right? Anyway, yeah, let's just put that behind us and go on with our lives. If you're not busy, I'll meet you in Mac Anu.

Hey, what do you think I don't need to know? And why's Kuhn sending random girls to talk to you!? It could be an old lady you're talking to, y'know! Like the old hag! I really don't think that's a good idea… I'm gonna give Kuhn a piece of my mind next time I see him.

He reread the e-mail and chuckled as he sent it; he's probably gonna try to stop me, he thought. Going back to his Mail Station, he found yet another e-mail, but from Atoli. Curious, he opened it.

To: Haseo

From: Atoli

Subject: Training

Haseo! Our match against Endrance is getting really close! We really should go train a little bit more, don't you think? I found a really nice area where we can do just that!

It's Δ Counting Red Plum's Blue Cloud. It's actually a level-43 area, but I believe that as long as you're there, we'll be just fine! So, I'll meet you at Eternal City Mac Anu!

Haseo blinked after reading the message, shrugging. He was heading there anyway… so what was wrong with taking his two best friends to train again? A silent laugh escaped him as he logged back into The World R:2. Maybe things would look up… if they hadn't already.

Silabus didn't have a girlfriend, so that was just fine with him.

Author's Notes:

I kinda had to repost this, since Steeple333 reminded me that Silabus's eyes were honey brown, not dark olive green. xD! Yeah...