A/N: This is the rewritten version of Chapter 1.

Notes:

" " – a term in-universe, also used when a character is talking

' ' – character is thinking

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Guilty Crown or any of its characters. If I did, Season would be 48 episodes long, Inori would've lived, and we'd get a Season 2 which is also 48 episodes XD.

A BOY, A GIRL, AND THEIR REUNION

Chapter 1 – The boy and his fate.

2042 A.D. Normal POV

A total of 3 years have passed since the event that had changed Shu Ouma's life forever. The fourth "Lost Christmas" was over. Japan had since then become a fully independent nation after GHQ's complete shutdown. Da'ath was still as enigmatic as ever. Even a joint-coalition between Japan, the UN, and several countries, failed to gain so much as a lead on the shady organization. At the surface, all was at peace… at least for now.

Shu POV

I had just awoken from another nightmare.

"Current time."

"The current time is now 3:27 AM" was the answer of my voice-automated side table clock.

This was not the first time my sleep had gotten disturbed by a nightmare. 3 years of living without her had been interlaced with a silent pain known only to the one who had witness her final moments, me. The vision responsible for waking me up, starting with apparitions of Mana had been truly frightening. The dream ended with a moment in my life that truly broke my heart flashing once more before my eyes. It was the time I saw Inori who had handed me that red cat's cradle. I wiped away the tears that were flowing from my now blinded eyes. I truly missed her. Even though the years have passed by, I can never forget that warm smile and those beautifully scarlet eyes that seemed to pierce into the depths of my soul. The sensation of her silky hair, her warm embrace, her angelic voice, the woman that I loved and continue to love, Inori Yuzuriha.

Trying to go back to my slumber proving utterly pointless now that my mind was fully awake, I got up from my bed and prepared to go outside. I began feeling for my cane. It had enhanced features a normal cane wouldn't have. Tsugumi gave it to me 2 years ago to help with my condition by adding an electric stunner that could be activated via voice command. This would be in case I was attacked so that I wouldn't be completely defenceless without my eyesight. Other features of the cane included a distress button which would send an alert to Funnel or "Fyu-neru" so that Ayase and Tsugumi(they live together in an apartment complex) would know if I was in danger. Being blind meant I was handicapped, so they insisted on the extra precaution.

After about a minute of capping for the cane, I then managed to grasp its upper part. Making sure I didn't forget to take my player and my in-ear ear buds, I donned my coat and went out of my so called "home" quietly so I wouldn't wake up my stepmom who was still asleep. All of my songs in my playlist were by EGOIST, Inori's songs. This had been one of the few connections I still had with her. Her songs could even be seen by others as my "security blanket".

I trodded along the pavement while having a set destination in mind. I was headed to a certain park that had become my refuge over the years whenever I was troubled or feeling down. Upon reaching the park, I proceeded to my usual spot, a bench in the near middle of the place. I gently poke my cane on in front of me to confirm my position. A wooden clanking sound was produced. I then sat on the bench and put on my earbuds to listen to the voice of my beloved. The track played.

"Mou anata kara aisareru koto mo,
Hitsuyou to sareru koto mo nai
Soshite watashi wa koushite hitoribocchi de,
Ano toki anata wa nante itta no?"

Before the second part of the song could play though, I heard a faint trace of a melody that wasn't from my player so I stopped the track and remove my in-ears. I was met with silence. After a few minutes of waiting for the melody, as I was to put in my in-ears again, I heard a very familiar voice singing the second part of the track I was just about to continue listening to…

"Todokanai kotoba wa chuu wo mau,
Wakatteru no ni kyou mo shite shimau
Kanawanu negaigoto wo"

"Inori…" I managed to let out. The singer continued.

"Hanasanai de
Gyutto te wo nigitteite
Anata to futari tsuzuku to itte
Tsunaida sono te wa atatakakute
Yasashikatta"

"Fate is being cruel to me." I state to myself with an expression on my face that other people around would've backed away from. The song I just heard was undoubtedly seemed to have been sung by Inori in the flesh. My mind was telling me that she was nearby.

"Shu." I heard Inori who's voice seemed to come from my right. Giving in to my curiosity, I extended my right arm to try and feel if there was truly someone there. I was inwardly shocked that there was. 'This sensation…' "Inori…" I muttered, it appears Inori really was here.

"Shu…"

"Inori, you're here it would seem…" I replied. Tears were trailing on my cheek. This was all still a big shock to me but I managed to keep my cool. I wouldn't want to be seen as a screaming madman by the people around me if there were any after all…

"Shu, I came to warn you"

"Warn me? What do yo-" before I could finish my question I heard a flashing sound not that different from the static from television with no cable signal. I immediately tried to feel if Inori was still beside me, but she had disappeared.

"Inori?" no response

"Inori…" still no answer.

"Inori….Inori!...INORI COME BACK!" I finally screamed. I wasn't going to let this go down easily. For the first time in 3 years, Inori had somehow managed to appear beside me. This wasn't a dream, I refuse to believe it was a hallucination. Her voice, that feeling when I felt her on my right, it was all real. Inori was alive, and I'd be damned if I didn't find I way to be with her again. Then I remembered what she told me before disappearing. "Shu, I came to warn you". What did she mean by that anyway?

Instead of recovering from that nightmare I had back at home, I was instead even more mentally stressed while having a bunch of things to ponder on in my head right now. As a sat there mulling over what had just transpired, I heard Haruka's voice calling me. It would seem like I still managed to wake her up when I left.

"Shu, why are you already out this early? It's only 4:05 in the morning you know! I was worried."

"Sorry mom, I had another terrible nightmare." was my immediate response.

"Was it Mana again?" Haruka asked with a tinge of concern in her voice.

"Yes, and Inori too."

"Come Shu, let's go back home."

"Okay then, mom".

The walk back home was a bit awkwardly quiet. I was still too disoriented and distraught with that ordeal in the park. We arrived at 4:30 which was still too early as Haruka normally wakes up at around 6:30 while I wake up at 8. Haruka then told me she was going back to sleep saying I should also try to get some shut-eye. Upon entering my room, I plopped myself face down on my bed, I completely had no intention of going back to sleep at all. Sleep was the last thing on my mind right now. One could say that I had no interest in closing my eyes and succumbing to the call of sleep that turns one's world into black. Not that it made any difference in my case since I was blind anyway.

"Inori, where are you?" I ask myself inwardly since I knew I wouldn't be getting any response.

"If I ever get the chance to see you again, I want you to know that I loved, and still love you. Wherever you may be right now." was my emotional sentiment that I had.

"I love you too Shu." was what I heard. 'Oh great, now I'm hallucinating' I grumbled inwardly but showing no visible change of expression on the outside. I didn't say anything more. I had enough mental activity for today.

"Shu, I'm here."

A cold breeze brushed off my face.

"Shu… It's me, Inori."

'Shu, stop thinking about things that cannot be' I thought while trying to ignore "Inori"

"Shu… I'm here right now" that's it, I have had enough of this.

"No you're not Inori, you disappeared from the park earlier didn't you?" I tell "Inori" while deciding to play along with this illusion.

"Yes, I did. This really is me Shu."

"Nope, you're a figment of my imagination, there's no way you would suddenly appear here inside my room, as if by magic or some sorcery, when it's very clear that you disappeared from the park a while ago. Heck, I'm not even sure if I imagined what happened at the park or not" I answered "Inori" again with a hint of irritation. This was getting more annoying that I was being given false hope by fate that Inori would appear here of all times.

"Inori" then put her arms around me and pulled me into a hug. Her warmth seemed like it was melting away all the stress I had accumulated these pst minutes since I had been awake. Wait a minute, warmth? a hug? She's tangible? This can only mean one thing…

"INORI?! How did you get here? and what were you gonna tell me at the park? And why did you only start to appear to me after 3 years? And how did you know I would be back in my room by now? And ho-" My barrage of questions was put to a halt by a gentle placing of Inori's hand on my mouth which worked of course. Inori and I then hugged each other.

"Shu one question at a time, I'll explain how I have appeared to you though my time is a bit limited" Inori informs me. 'Her time is limited she says? She's gonna disappear again…'

"Then please do Inori" I tell her to proceed while breaking of the hug. 'God I missed her' was what I had been thinking.

"First of all this is me Shu, It's me Inori. Yet, this really isn't me in person Shu. I'm sorry you had to suffer thinking I was gone for 3 years." Inori audibly teared up a bit

"That doesn't matter anymore, what's important is you're here now. But how in the world is what you're saying possible Inori, I can touch you, you can touch me, but you're not here in the flesh?" I also teared up at Inori's remark on how I had been suffering. Those were tears of joy however, now that she was within my reach. The latter part of my response though, shows how confused I was at the details of how she was here, and yet she "wasn't here in person"

"What you see before you is a 'solid thought projection' cast from where I am currently. I'm actually in some weird place other than the "dimension" you are in. Even I myself, dosen't fully understand. Back at the park, you should've heard a sort of 'zappy' sound. That was the transmission being cut. I have just established a limited reconnection." was the detailed explanation that Inori had. It's true that I did hear a flashing sound before she was gone.

"I am able to send this projection to where you are due to the help of someone. It seems he also ended up here, where I am."

"Why then, only after 3 years have passed, that you were able to contact me?" I interjected while questioning Inori's projection.

"Because it took at least 3 years to determine and gather the requirements to be able to cast a projection to your location. The requirements included a spatial void, was what the person who helped me called it but all that void really does is move objects from one place to another instantly and is limited to non-living objects, a telepathy void, and a void that can produce ice. The ice void provides the base of the projection, while the telpathy void engraves my essence and thought, and finally the spatial void is what sends the projection to you."

"And the coordinates of the projection automatically lock on to the one whom you will to be its target." Inori's projection added.

"Oh, well it's good to be able to meet you again Inori." I hug her projection again with tears freely falling from my cheeks. 'Wait, did she say "void"?'

"Inori, you said you needed voids right? How is that possible? I thought I had absorbed all of the voids along with the apocalypse virus?"

"It turns out, that when I traded fates with you, I got sent to this isolated place along with a few others. Oddly enough, voids were scattered in the area. I also somehow was able to use those voids along with the other people who were there." she answered though the projection was starting to be unstable. I knew this as I heard the flashing static noise again like from the park.

"Shu, the projection is almost at its limit, the person who is helping said something about the ice not being a permanent medium for thought or something like that. So before this projection disappears, I remembered that I appeared again to warn you about the danger."

"Inori you said something like this at the park." I added, remembering that unfinished warning earlier.

"Shu… t-they're coming…." Inori quivers a bit. This obviously troubles me seeing Inori trembling but I brace myself for what I was supposed to here.

"Who's coming Inori?" I asked her. Inori then had a disturbing look on her face. It was the expression of one who had been cornered and instilled with fear. This made me burn with rage on the inside.

"D-Da'ath. Shu, they're still t-trying to-" the projection dissolves with a flashing static sound.

"Inori?" 'Damn, I didn't even get to say goodbye.' was what I thought. So Da'ath's still out there huh? It seems like things are gonna get rowdy again. I then try to sleep now that I've the knowledge that Inori was indeed alive. My heart had a nice tranquil despite the stuff about Da'ath, because I got the chance to hear and "see" Inori again even if only by projection. I was soon sound asleep for the first time in 3 years. That wasn't to say my dreamscape would be as peaceful because…

I was soon in a pitch-black area. There was nothing but darkness and I was alone in it. Even though Mana wasn't here to disrupt my dreams, this black nothingness still spelled "MALICE" in all capital letters. I then heard an eerily familiar male voice say:

"Well, well. If it isn't the one who rejects the highest honor of being Adam. I suppose you've met with that fake already. And before you ask, this is indeed your subconscious. This isn't a dream though."

"Reveal yourself." I stated indignantly. What I really wanted to do was beat up this bastard for insulting Inori but I had to think rationally. If there's anything that my experiences have taught me, it's to be logical in my approach. I then realized I could see. That's right, the ailments I have in reality don't carry over here in my dreamscape. Here I had my eyesight. A blond male with a sinister grin then appeared in front of me. His was a face I knew all too well.

"My, oh my. Is that how you are supposed to greet the Envoy of Da'ath?"

-Chapter 1 END-

A/N 2: End scene. Man, crappy exposition is crappy. On a side note, the next chapter of Steins;Fate(Chapter 6) is soon to follow for those who read that fanfic of mine :D. Somehow I find that writing for Guilty Crown is harder than it seems especially blind Shu. Don't get me wrong I have all these ideas in my head, but I hav a hard time actually putting it in story form lol XD. So there you have it, the first chapter of"A boy, a girl, and their reunion." Thanks for reading, and reviews are always welcome be it good, or bad even hate reviews are welcome lol :D See y'all next chapter.