To love

Haseo opened his mail calmly for the first time in what seemed like years. He was no longer overcome with nerves and a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach, wondering if he would come across any information about Tri-edge. All the fear bottled up inside about whether or not Shino would ever wake up again was now out of his system. He no longer had anything to worry about, at least for a while. Ovan was gone, and that event alone in which he disappeared had hurt him deeply, but he had slowly gotten over the shock. He had talked to Shino about it, and they had promised to stand-by and wait for his return, for they knew one day he undoubtedly would. The one thing he now felt as he opened up his inbox was relief and an enormous amount of thankfulness. He had made a pretty impressive amount of friends in Shino's absence, but that's just what they were; friends. He was happier than ever knowing that the one that meant more than anything to him, the one he sat beside hours on end in a hospital room for, was back among the living. And it was because of these friends of his that that was made possible. He was truly thankful to have all of them.

A message appeared on-screen alerting him to 3 new, unread e-mails. He closed the alert and scanned the contents of his inbox. The first message was from CC Corp, congratulating him on recently completing the Forest of Pain. He had enjoyed that event immensly, being able to spend time with Shino and his old friend, Tabby. Shino had been a great help in that event, and he found that he enjoyed it more going through it with a party, rather than solo, the way he once had in order to gain strength when Shino was first PK'd. He closed the e-mail as soon as it began to remind him of those memories and moved on to the more personal messages below. The next one was from Atoli. It was a reply to an e-mail he had sent her quite some time ago. He wondered why it had taken her so long to reply.

Sender: Atoli

Subject: Re: My decision

Please don't misunderstand, Atoli. When you ran out of the cathedral, I didn't run after you because I just so happen to be in love with you. I never said anything like that. You're a really good friend of mine, and I didn't want to see you end up getting hurt. But I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression either.

So I just want you to know that the feelings you have for me aren't mutual. I'm sorry, but Shino really means a lot to me. I hope you can understand..

I thought a lot about what you said, Haseo. And now I think I finally understand. Of course Shino means a lot to you; that's why you always fought so hard. Shino is really lucky to have someone like you who cares so much about her.

At first, I wasn't sure how to respond to your e-mail, so I didn't reply right away. I'm sorry. I hope you'll forgive me. I just wanted you to know that I'm okay with your decision. I understand how important Shino is to you and I'm glad the two of you are able to be together again.

Hey, when you have some free time we should all go adventuring!

Oh, and congratulations on completing the Forest of Pain! Was it difficult the second time around?

Sincerely, Atoli

Haseo sighed. The whole letter seemed mechanical to him, except for the last part, which sounded more like Atoli. He also didn't understand why she was apologizing. He knew she had a life away from The World. So did he. Either way, he was relieved she hadn't given up on their friendship, and had accepted his relationship with Shino. Atoli's feelings for him were never a big secret, and he was just glad she wasn't hurt by his choice. He decided to reply in celebration.

Sender: Haseo

Subject: Thanks a lot

It means a lot to me that you understand. And you don't need to apologize, I know you have a life away from The World.

The Forest of Pain wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, since they were supposed to have upgraded it from the last time the event was held. Taking on the event with a party instead of going it alone made things a whole lot easier too. Wait a minute, how did you know I entered? Did Silabus tell you?

Anyway, thanks for everything you've done for me, Atoli.

He stopped once he typed in the last part. A simple 'thank you' just didn't seem like enough. Without her, he thought, he wouldn't have been able to understand how he felt toward Shino in the end. He flipped over to his greeting card list. After looking through them, he stopped at one that he thought might do the trick. He flipped back over to the e-mail, attaching a 'Motto' greeting card. Once that was sent out, he stared at the remaining contents of his inbox.

The last and final message was from Aura, which greatly surprised Haseo. He thought she had disappeared.

Sender: Aura

Subject: Gift

Use it well.

"Well, that was pointless." Haseo said to himself as he closed the e-mail. Checking the letter had seemed like a waste of time. He eyed the attachment, and figured it was the 'gift' mentioned in the e-mail. "I'll open it later." He told himself, closing the mail station.

With nothing important to do, and school not currently in session, Haseo decided to do something fun for once. All this time he had accessed The World seeking information, finding Tri-edge's whereabouts, or anything else related to Shino's recovery. He had played around with Ovan and all the strange occurences that had followed. And now all he wanted to do was something normal for a change, and he wanted to check up on Shino. He'd wanted to do something fun with her ever since she woke up, and although the Forest of Pain had been an enjoyable event, it wasn't really what he had had in mind for the two of them. He thought about taking her to a lost ground and catching up with things, but they had previously spent a day catching up already in Arche Kloen. He thought about going adventuring, but with rampant player killers still around, (although they wouldn't be a threat to him) he didn't want to risk anything happening to Shino.

A chime sounded, announcing the arrival of a new e-mail in the mail station. Still having not decided on what he would do, and curious about it's contents, he scrolled over to check his e-mail once again.

Sender: Silabus

Subject: Interesting quest

Hey, what's up Haseo? :) Gaspard's busy making up some school work and won't be online for a while, so I thought maybe we could do a quest together. Just like old times! Oh, and be sure to bring a friend along. You know how you need three people for a quest, remember?

See you at the quest shop in Breg Epona!

Well, why not? Haseo thought. A quest did sort of sound interesting. There hadn't been one he couldn't complete so far. Although he didn't know what the quest was about, he closed the e-mail, without even bothering to reply, and dove into The World.

As soon as he logged in, he found himself standing in front of the chaos gate in Mac Anu. Before warping over to Breg Epona, he checked to see who was online. Naturally, Silabus was online, probably waiting for him at the quest shop. He needed one more person for the quest.

He scanned the list of member addresses and sighed when he noticed that Shino was offline; so was Atoli. Alkaid was online, but her status was busy. He scrolled further down the list. Endrance was also online, but when wasn't he? He thought about inviting him, but remembered that they had gone adventuring a couple days ago. And besides, he didn't feel like recieving Endrance's never-ending rain of praise and admiration. He had felt enough love from Atoli lately and it was almost enough for him to want to take a break from The World.

Maybe I should log out for a bit and come back later? Haseo thought dismally, knowing full well that in the real world there would be nothing for him to do. Or at least, nothing he wanted to do. He was about to log out when Shino came online, immediately bringing a surprised smile to his face. He sent her a flash mail.

Shino, Silabus and I are about to go on a quest in Breg Epona. Why don't you come along with us?

He waited for a reply.

Are you sure it's okay for me to join you?

Why wouldn't it be? Haseo thought. He sent another message.

Of course it is. He told me to bring a friend.

Shino replied.

I see. Then I'll meet you in front of the chaos gate in Breg Epona.

Haseo smiled. No matter how often they were together, she always managed to make him feel more at ease. She really was his reason for being in The World. Without another thought he warped to Breg Epona.

I'll be waiting for you, Shino.