Um, so even though I probably shouldn't be doing a new story since I still have three others I need to work on, here it is!! :D I've really been itching to get this one up and going, so enjoy, everyone!!

Disclaimer: I don't own .hack or anything related.

An arcade, Tomonari thought to himself, was not nearly as fun and laid-back a place to work as all his friends believed. True, you pretty much had freedom to play whatever games you wanted (provided you weren't on the clock), but they all got pretty old after a while. Except for the classics, of course. Tomonari's personal favourite was Pac-Man. But Pac-Man notwithstanding, the rest got real repetitive, real fast.

And yes, most days consisted of sitting behind the counter doing what you pleased – except for the typical stream of people either needing change or turning in tickets for prizes – but some sort of fight usually broke out at least once a week, over ridiculous things like someone "stealing" a machine from another, or whose tickets were whose. This might have been mildly entertaining to watch, only for whatever reason Tomonari was regularly the one his boss sent over to break it up. He'd gone home with a black eye or a bleeding lip more than once.

Still, he liked his job fairly well. He did get to play the new games that were shipped in before anyone else, which were interesting for at least a few days, his coworkers were all very friendly, and they had some of the most colorful customers.

At the moment, though, the arcade was quite empty – which made sense, as it was noon on a weekday. Everyone was either at work or school. Only he and one other employee, who was currently fixing a machine in the far corner, were present. Tomonari say behind the front counter, elbows propped on the surface and hands supporting his chin, and wondered idly why their employer even kept open at a time like this. Occasionally, a couple of college students or a parent and child would enter in the middle of the day, but that hardly seemed worth it.

Ah, well…easy money, anyways. Tomonari shook his head a bit to clear the oncoming drowsiness – he'd been out a bit too late at a party the night before – then turned towards the large, wall-length windows that faced outside.

And saw her.

His hands slipped, and he nearly slammed his chin into the countertop. He stared. There was no mistaking it; her hair was maybe a little longer, her face and figure more mature, but it was her. Standing right outside of his work.

For several moments, Tomonari simply stared and stared, taking in every detail of her appearance. Her face was turned from him, seeming to be looking down the street for someone, but he could see her profile perfectly. Her eyes were bright, lips full (was she wearing makeup?), and her hair was longer; it was almost to her shoulders, though it was styled the same as ever. This made him smile.

She was wearing an olive-green dress with frills at the ends of the long sleeves; it complimented her very nicely, falling just about her knees, and paired with brown loafers to finish off the ensemble. She carried a matching purse, which she had now started waving in the air, apparently flagging down whoever she'd been looking for a moment ago.

He could still hardly believe his eyes; five – no, closer to six years. Had it really been that long? Surely he should go and say hello…that would be alright, wouldn't it, after all, it had been that long…it would be fine, right?

Already excited, Tomonari leapt to his feet, fully intent on hurrying outside and surprising her from behind – surely she'd be happy to see him – but then came a man, and it must have been the one she was searching for, because he swept her up into his arms and kissed her. And she very clearly returned it.

Tomonari froze, eyes widening, heart pounding; he gripped the counter very hard. He couldn't tear his gaze away. They broke apart after not too long, but still remained close, although not touching. The man's, the stranger's, lips were moving in words Tomonari couldn't hear, and she smiled, smiled so happily, and her eyes were happy, and her lips moved in reply. So unlike her…

As she spoke, she pointed down the street in the opposite direction her – boyfriend? Fiancé? Husband? – had come from, and, laughing at something he'd said, set off with him hand-in-hand.

Tomonari couldn't move, could hardly think. Mai had never looked that happy to be with him. Certainly, she hadn't been unhappy; she'd been happy, yes, but never so whole-heartedly…and he'd never seen her laugh so genuinely, so carefree, let alone be the one to cause it.

What had happened? What had happened? Finally, he let go of his death-hold on the counter, and rushed around to gather his things, change out of his workshirt. He had to leave. He had to leave right now.

Finished with his preparations, he went and begged his coworker to cover for him, who must have noticed something was wrong because he agreed quite readily. Tomonari was out the door in a matter of seconds.

He was jittery the whole ride home, hands clenching and unclenching on the steering wheel, and he fumbled with his keys for at least a minute before he managed to get inside his apartment, where after locking the door behind him he dropped everything and headed for his bedroom.

He needed to take his mind off of this, off of – off of everything, needed someone, a distraction – it just happened to be a someone he was currently unable to meet in real life.

Kuhn warped into Breg Epona less than five minutes later, and immediately sent out a shortmail invite to join his party. He received a busy message back almost instantaneously, but not to be deterred, he sent two, three, four, five more invites, the responses becoming increasingly hostile, until at last ten mails later Pi warped into town beside him looking very ill-tempered indeed.

"What do you want, Kuhn?! I was in the middle of a very important meeting!" Pi all but growled, practically spitting fire; despite the imminent danger, Kuhn had never been more pleased, more relieved, to see her.

However, that didn't make coming up with a good excuse any easier. He put on a sheepish face. "Ummm, well, ya see…"

"Kuhn?!" She looked ready to kill; Kuhn laughed nervously, still with the same sheepish expression.

"U-uhh, don't be mad! I just wanted to go adventuring, and since I've been, uhh, longing for your charming company…"

Kuhn waited for the explosion, for her to find a way to PK him in a root town and then leave without another word, but it never came; instead she simply stared at him.

When it became clear she wasn't going to say anything anytime soon, Kuhn bravely ventured a, "Ummm…Pi…?"

"Alright, let's go." The sudden, business-like tone and the words that came with it surprised him, and it was his turn to stare. "What area did you have in mind?"

"Well, I…" Kuhn began, then trailed off, because he hadn't had any area in mind and was still too shocked at the lack of a punishment to think of one; Pi heaved an impatient sigh.

"Fine, I'll pick one. Honestly…" And faster than he'd thought possible, the Tribal Grappler had invited him into her party – he accepted, even though he'd been the one to invite her in the first place – selected a decently high-level area, and they were off.

She'd chosen a cave-dungeon, which Kuhn supposed was alright, though he preferred the field areas himself. As soon as they'd arrived, Pi took off at a brisk pace, and the Steam Gunner had to hurry to catch up with her.

For the first floor or so, they fought in silence, only occasionally interacting when needed, which Kuhn didn't necessarily mind at the moment – that is, until his thoughts started to wander off down a certain path with no real diversions offered. So he began to talk – well, ramble, really, as Pi wasn't saying much – about all sorts of irrelevant things; it wasn't until they'd reached the Beast Statue and Kuhn started talking about the mechanics of Pac-Man that she stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. He shut up and did the same, gazing at her curiously.

"What's up, Pi?"

"Tell me what the problem is."

Kuhn started a bit at this abrupt demand, and was about to cheerfully deny any problem, but the no-nonsense voice and the look in her eye made him change his mind. He sighed, and his rueful smile matched his tone.

"Guess it's no use trying to hide anything from you, huh, Pi?"

She didn't answer, only looking at him expectantly, and after a pause Kuhn finally confessed. "Okay, okay…the truth is, I…I saw her."

He didn't need to explain, and he didn't wait for this to sink in; the Steam Gunner rushed on without meeting her gaze. "She has a boyfriend, and…she looked so happy." He swallowed before continuing, still unused to admitting to things like this, even to her. "I couldn't help thinking that I wished I had ever made her that happy…heh, but it's pretty stupid, huh…after all this time…"

Another pause; he peeked up at Pi, but still she waited, as if she knew he had more to say.

Kuhn had confided in Pi about his past a long time ago; she was the only one. Of course his closest real-life friends were aware, had been there though much of it, but he never talked to them about it. Haseo knew his only serious girlfriend had dumped him in high school, but Pi knew all the details, all his feelings on the matter (and, he surmised rather bitterly, Yata had probably listened in). She proved to be an excellent confidante.

Eventually, Kuhn went on. "She was always so mature for her age…it was one of the things I liked best about her. …but I'm sure I'm still too childish for her…" He gave a sad sort of chuckle, still not meeting her eyes, and said no more.

Pi was quiet for a long moment, observing Kuhn over her glasses, arms crossed across her chest, before she spoke, inflectionless. "I'm not going to feel sorry for you. You are acting like a child."

Kuhn was quiet even longer, rather stung; finally he said, with a weak attempt at humour in his voice, "Ouch, Pi. You don't pull any punches, do you?"

"You said it yourself, it's stupid after all this time," she replied evenly; now Kuhn felt a distinct pang in his chest. He looked back to her at last.

His humour was even weaker. "Well, at least I'll know who to come to next time I need cheering up."

"Stop it with the comments," Pi snapped, suddenly irritable. "You're an adult, and I'm telling it like it is. Someone has to."

"Maybe I wasn't looking for the reality," Kuhn snapped back, now on edge himself. "Maybe I was looking for some sympathy."

"Really? Really, Kuhn? Did you honestly think she wouldn't date after she dumped you? Did you think she'd be wandering around alone for the rest of her life?"

"No, of course I -!!" he began heatedly, but then cut off at this cold logic. Whenever he thought about Mai, it was usually remembering the two of them in the old days, but when he pictured her after the breakup…he had to admit her saw her alone - with friends, yes, going to college, getting a job, but never with a new love interest.

The silence as he pondered this startling revelation was more than enough of an answer for Pi, who drew his attention again by scoffing as she turned her back on him, then made her way to the nearby portal.

She spoke coldly. "You really do need to grow up."

And with that, she warped out.

So? How was it?? Good? Bad? Okay? Let me know, praise constructive criticism, anything!! Thanks for reading and hopefully I'll see you in the next chapter!! Buh-bye!! :D
Lovelove, Amy

Man, my notes were really short this time. o.O