Kiss Me Again

HEY! 8D It's a song fic, believe it or not! It's a multi-chapter song-fic! The song this is based on is called Stuttering by Ben's Brother. It's a really cute song, and it reminds me of what might occur between Skeith and Haseo if they went a year or so apart. Please, no flames Once again, this is dedicated to Akumarayne. Her and her wonderful SkeithxHaseo goodness. 3 Love for all!

How long had it been since that fabled name and password, for the PC Haseo had shown up on the screen? How long had it been since the person known as Ryou Misaki touched that game? How long had it been since that boy spoke with his friends in the form he recognized them best as? How long…had been gone without seeing Skeith?

The dark haired, Japanese teen, slowly pulled out the wooden chair of his computer desk and sat down, pressing the button on the monitor, the familiar Altimit desktop showing up in his face. He sighed, and pulled on the FMD that had sat next to the tower, collecting dust. A rush of anticipation ran through him, as he double-clicked the icon that read "The World R:2". The startup menu popped up and began to load its data, and then, the screen went black, signaling that the game was now starting. Ryou sighed again. He had sworn that he would never play the game again, after he found out he had been accepted into a prestigious university. He couldn't waste his time playing games anymore, when he had to focus his time on schoolwork.

And there he stood, Haseo, in his Xth form, exactly where he had logged out, a year ago. Netslum Tartarga, which was now, obviously an official server. It was almost as if the entire game stopped as Haseo logged in. All the players froze as they all saw the name "Player Haseo Has Just Logged In". There was an eerie silence, and Haseo knew exactly what to say.

"Yeah, I'm back."

The players all around the Adept Rogue screamed, the majority being girls, who ran up to Haseo, flinging their arms at him, begging him to be their boyfriend. Haseo, being the arrogant sonovabitch he was, declined each and everyone of them with a simple, wave of the hand and a cocky smile. He wondered, how many of his friends still logged on? He ventured off to the bridge, which apparently was off limits to all but a few people. An NPC stood at the door, playing the role of guard, and asked Haseo his name. After giving the creature his name, the NPC repeated the name, along with a slew of data, and added that Haseo was one of a few people who had permission to access the bridge.

Finally, safe from the crazed fangirls, Haseo was able to relax. He opened his menu and skimmed over the people who were online…Atoli obviously still played, Haseo couldn't blame her, the people she loved most played The World. Silabus wasn't, but it said, next to his name "Offline time: 4h 16m", so it was obvious that Silabus played the game still as well. Gaspard on the other had, had a busy sign next to him, with a small message saying "At the gym! 32lbs and counting! LOL!" Haseo laughed, Gaspard had finally gotten up off the computer and started exercising. He was a good kid, and he deserved this. Kuhn and Pi were online, but busy. Haseo forced a laugh. It had been a year…Had Kuhn finally spilled his heart to her? And did they finally hit it off? SakuBo was online too, it was Saku though, with a giant heart next to her name with the words "Playing with Master En! 3" Even though SakuBo was only really Bo, Haseo knew that Bo had a rather innocent attraction to Endrance. He really was a man to be envied…Speaking of Endrance, he was online as well, typical or Kaoru. Busy as well, but his message, unlike Saku's, was more dramatic, with the words "Dreaming of where my Haseo is…" Haseo had forgotten how much Endrance…felt for him, and perhaps, he should have left Endrance with a momento before he left. Yata apparently was doing quite well too, he was online…and it said "Online for 46d 17h and 9m." Yes…Yata had his full control over GU once again…

A slight dinging interrupted Haseo, as he realized he had an email. How could he be so stupid! He had logged in, and never once thought of how many emails he might have! The Adept Rogue quickly logged out, and went to his email account for The World…

And found a high number of emails, ranging in the thousands. He scrolled down to the bottom, finding several letters from fans of his…how they had gotten his member address, he wasn't sure. Skipping over them, he found a letter from Atoli, saying that she missed him. Same thing went with the other Infinity Eight. All of them apparently missed him greatly…

And then…a high amount of letters, entitled from the sender 5k317h. Opening the first, Haseo found himself laughing slightly, as he was easily able to decipher the garbled type into simple phrases, such as 'Haseo, where have you been?' or 'HASEO! I MISS YOU!' Of course the Avatar would miss Haseo…it was typical of him…Even thought Haseo wasn't always online, he could tell Skeith was with him in some form. Now and then, he would hear those little, sly phrases of Skeiths, and would be reminded of the Avatar and his bond with him. Wondering to himself, he considered if Skeith was the reason he decided to sign back in.

But as he scrolled through the list of e-mails, right at the top, he found on, with a name he was relieved to see active…

Ovan.

Haseo opened the e-mail and found that it was as simple as the Steamgunner's letters always were…But with just a little bit of a twist

Glad to see you have returned, Haseo. I would like to see you again, it's been such a long time, wouldn't you say? I'll meet you there.

Haseo knew exactly where Ovan meant…There, was Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground, Hulle Granz Cathedral. So much had happened there…so much tragedy, but so much relief. It was where he had lost Shino, and where they were reunited…And now, he was going to meet Ovan…No, Masato, for the first time in over a year. The Adept Rogue took another skim through his letters, mostly from Skeith, adoring fangirls, and one here and there from his actual friends. He would open one or two of Skeith's letters, as well as a few from Atoli and Shino.

He still saw Shino in real life, and he had wondered, why hadn't he ever gotten Atoli's personal e-mail, or cell number? It seems like something he should have done. But…it was all said and done, and here he was, Haseo had returned to The World, and he wasn't going to leave without a word again. He was above that now. Haseo was the almost like a Jesus figure in The World. He had saved everyone there, and he was there to protect them…Fortunately, it appeared not much had occurred that he was needed for while he took his hiatus.

He logged in, the familiar scenario of raging fangirls (as well as a few possible Endrance intimidators) came charging at him with joy and excitement. Haseo swallowed hard as the color drained from his face, and turned to the Chaos Gate.

"Delta Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground!" he shouted quickly as the gate warped him off, leaving a mass of very disappointed fans...Who clearly seemed to have forgotten that they could just follow Haseo, now that they knew where he went. Fortunately for Haseo…many people had forgotten how to simply follow someone from area to area…Perhaps a new rule had been established that stalking was no longer allowed in the game…Was it ever allowed in the first place?

Hulle Granz was just as peaceful as it always was, floating in the center of a digital see of pixels, golden sunlight flooding the Lost Ground with a fake glow. A rather confident smile flickered on to Haseo's face, proud to be back in The World, in which he, along with his many friends, had gotten to saving. He slowly walked from the warp point to the doors of the cathedral, enjoying the false breeze that was placed in the area. It then…occurred to him, that there was another AIDA outbreak, and yet again, Ovan could be infected, and be aiming to kill Haseo…

But that was a stretch. If Ovan was infected again, he would have told him now, right? Haseo smiled, being cocky, he felt that if such was the case, he might be able to take him on his own. Regardless of what might wait inside, Haseo pushed open the doors to the Cathedral, and stepped in, placing his foot on the mirror-like, tiled floors. Before him, at the alter, stood the familiar, blue and white clad Steamgunner, now, with his arm completely restored. The lock was gone, the one Haseo could recall from the day he had met Ovan. The day Ovan saved him.

"O-Ovan…" Haseo said, unsure if he had vocalized his name enough, taking a few steps forward to him. "Y-you're okay." The Steamgunner turned, his orange-tinted glasses shining in the light, a smile appeared upon the man's lips.

"As are you, Haseo." Ovan said, turning fully to face the Adept Rogue. Haseo's mouth formed a bright smiled as he took the last few steps towards Ovan, before throwing his arms around the man without warning. Ovan's body lurched a little, surprised at Haseo's sudden action. "You truly have changed."

Haseo found himself laughing, and looked up at Ovan. "O-of course I have!" he said, grinning out of amusement. "Aside from the lack of infection, it doesn't look like you have."

Ovan placed a hand on Haseo's hand and ruffled up his hair a bit. "Perhaps I haven't…Or maybe I have." Ovan pushed up his glasses with the tip of one of his index fingers. Haseo groaned, but more from a pleasant memory than anything.

"What?!" he chuckled. "More riddles?"

//It's in his nature, Haseo.// Came a third voice, entering the conversation. Haseo suddenly yanked from Ovan, who he had been clinging too without any complications. He thought for a brief moment that it was someone like Yata, or, more likely, Skeith.

But Skeith was nowhere to be seen, for once. Instead, it just appeared, interrupting their conversation. Ovan laughed seeing Haseo's shocked expression.

"Oh, Haseo." Ovan teased. "Just because I fell into a coma, does not mean that Corbenik abandoned me, like Innis abandoned Shino." Ovan motioned to his left, as a blurring, blue light manifested, a body appearing. It was rather tall, almost seven feet, perhaps more, and appeared a lot like Ovan, with sky blue hair, and a pair of orange glasses, and…like Skeith, was clad in all one color: white. In fact, to Haseo, it appeared to be a blue and white Skeith before him, but with five horns coming from beneath its azure hair. Its skin was tan, much like Ovans, and wore a long, flowing cape from its hips, but unlike Ovan, it was the same color as his hair, with an intricate pattern.

//Corbenik!// came a forth voice, this time, Haseo recognized it easily. The body of Skeith appeared next to him, throwing his arms over Haseo's shoulders. The Rebirth laughed at bit, glancing at Ovan.

"It seems to me," the 8th Phase said to his user. "That Haseo and Skeith have connected on terms we have yet to obtain." Haseo found himself blushing, a shocked expression on his face.

"H-how do you know that?!" Haseo spat, being interrupted by Skeith, who had shoved a few of his fingers into Haseo's mouth, to silence the boy.

"I've had a lot to discuss with the other Avatars, Haseo." Skeith purred, smiling at Ovan at Corbenik. "Now, if you excuse us…I have something I need to discuss with Haseo…Something I've been trying to discuss for a year!" Skeith's expression was relatively annoyed as he began to leave the Cathedral, proving his disappointment in Haseo. "I'll return him to the both of you later."

The area was a simple, cloudy field area, how Haseo had reached there, he wasn't sure…That was until he saw Skeith standing a few feet away. The Adept Rogue sighed and placed his hand on his forehead from frustration.

"So, what am I?" he hissed. "A hostage? Are you kidnapping me?" Skeith looked back at Haseo, his face was red, and it appeared, that all three of his eyes were puffy from…crying?

"Y-you never said goodbye, Haseo." He whimpered, approaching the Adept Rogue, who was seated on the grass, right outside the Beast Temple. "I was considering…" he continued. "Finding a new User."

"Why?" Haseo asked. "I remember telling you, a few days before I logged out, that I probably wouldn't be logging in for a while." Skeith crouched down, and looked Haseo in the eyes, two shades of red meeting each other. It was obvious now…that the Avatar was crying.

"S-Skeith…" Haseo said softly. "I didn't know you could cry." Skeith smiled, a few small tears rolling down his pale cheeks, landing on Haseo's pant legs.

"I only cry for you, Haseo." He said, leaning towards the Rogue, gently placing his ebony lips on Haseo's, but not forcefully like he had done so long ago. Warmth build up inside Haseo, as he recalled the many times that Skeith had doted his affection upon him, whether it was forceful or not, Haseo missed it.

"K-kiss m-me again…S-Sk-Skeith." He murmured, his voice raspy, and his eyes shut, devouring the lingering sensation of Skeith's lips on his own.

"What?" Skeith asked, seeing the slightly euphoric looking on Haseo's face. "Again?"

Haseo nodded. "P-please…?" he asked. Skeith chuckled at Haseo's request.

"Since when have you asked me to kiss you?" Skeith asked. "You never have wanted me to love on you! You've always struggled when I tried to—"

"J-just k-kiss me again!" Haseo shouted, grabbing Skeith's arms. "Do whatever you want to me after that! J-just…kiss me again!"

Skeith laughed and ran a finger under Haseo's chin. "If that's how you want it." He purred, pressed his lips on Haseo's yet again, lightly licking at the boy with his serpentine tongue, just to give him a little taste of what he had inside him. "I won't tell you when I'll do the rest."