Author's note: The .hack franchise belongs to Bandai. All characters from .hack/GU (including bit-characters and NPCs like Henako) are also property of Bandai; however, Haruko and the other non-GU characters are my own original creations.

Author's note 2: This work uses the Japanese system of honorifics extensively. Here is a brief guide for those not familiar with the system:

San: This is the standard honorific. Think of it like our "Mr./Mrs."; however, in Japanese, it's much more commonly used, and it is also used with first names.

Kun: The honorific used by Sora more than any other. It has two meanings: it can be used to indicate the superiority of the speaker (and thus inferiority of the addresse; teachers will usually address their students using 'kun', for example), or it can indicate familiarity and friendship. (Male classmates will often use this second version of 'kun'.)

Chan: Used when addressing children or close friends (although usually in this sense it is only used with girls.) In either case, it carries a very childish, cute feel.

Sama: An honorific which confers high respect on the addressee. It can also indicate an old-fashioned sort of crush (it is used in this sense in the manga/anime Rurouni Kenshin by the character Komigata Yumi towards her lover Makoto Shishio.)

Dono: Another respectful honorific; various sources put it lower or higher than 'sama', but in any case it indicates great humility on the speaker's part.

Oniisan/Oniichan, Aneesan/Aneechan: Literally, "Big Brother" and "Big Sister". Both of these are used in other contexts as well, but within the story they will always be used by a younger sibling to address an older one. Whether the address ends in 'san' or 'chan' depends on the relationship between the two people; 'Oniichan' implies both closeness and cuteness.

No honorific: Characters other than Haruko almost never use honorifics in "The World", but in the real world, addressing someoneusing only their first name, without an honorific, is a sign of extreme intimacy. This form of address is known as yobisute. For a person to ask another to address them using yobisute is a sign of great love; there are some famous love scenes along these lines in anime.

Author's note 3: Sorry this is up a day late... I'll still stick to the usual MWF schedule, however. Also, keep in mind that from here on out, the real world will also begin to become involved in the story, sometimes quite heavily. I realize this is a departure from usual .hack technique, but I think you'll all enjoy it regardless.

.hack/Guardian

File Segment 2: Toccata of the Rising Darkness

Time: 2017, coterminous with .hack/GU vol. 1: Rebirth.

Mayako, a young Harvest Cleric, had never been so frightened before in all her life. All around her, a menacing ring of PKers closed in. Their leader, a fearsome Blade Brandier with a metal spider attached to one shoulder plate, whooped and swung her sword. One of Mayako's companions crumpled to the ground- and with all the enemies closing in, there was no chance to heal. Her only hope was the short mail she'd received only seconds ago.

I see you. Hang in there, help is coming. Even if you get killed, hang around as long as you can- we're bringing a cleric, so we'll be able to revive you.

Mayako whimpered. Even her mystery rescuer would have trouble against the enemy; her count put the number of Kestrel members at over 20.

One of the thugs laughed. "Nice one, Bordeaux," he said to the Blade Brandier.

Another shriek of delight from Bordeaux, and another member of Mayako's party flew through the air. She yelped and ran, only to be stopped by a pair of ugly-looking henchmen. "Please, help me!" she yelled.

Hang in there!

Bordeaux laughed, and her sword fell.

As Mayako crumpled to the ground, she saw a tall character in black, spiked armor approaching. Is that… the person who keeps calling me? She sent a final message to her party members as she hit the ground. Someone's coming. Just wait a little longer.

The spiky Adept Rogue grinned wickedly, and kicked one PKer in the back. The stricken one stumbled forward, grabbed at his neighbor, and both went down in a heap.

Several of the attacking PKers spun around at this new threat. A pale-skinned Tribal Grappler pointed in fear. "The Terror of Death!" he yelled, terrified. "It's Haseo! The PKK!"

Bordeaux stared. "What?"

Haseo gave a fearsome grin. Slowly, he drew out a pair of twin blades. Bladed wheels along both swords whirred malevolently.

Mayako watched in utter shock as Haseo attacked the PKers. With twin blade, magic, scythe and broadsword, every attack he made sounded the death knell for another enemy, until only Bordeaux was left.

Bordeaux shook her head, bemused. "I'm surprised; I didn't think you'd be this strong. I guess this means that rumor about you killing 100 PKers wasn't a lie after all." As she continued speaking, she slowly inched her hand towards her blade. Suddenly, her eyes flared. "Die!" she yelled, and launched herself at Haseo.

There was a flash of light, a thud, and Bordeaux flew an impossible distance through the air before crashing down. Mayako watched as Haseo and Bordeaux spoke. "Do you know Tri-Edge?" Haseo asked.

Bordeaux stared. "What did you say?"

Haseo glared down at her. "He's a legendary PKer, shrouded in blue fire. They say players that get killed by him never come back to the game."

Bordeaux said something, but Mayako wasn't paying attention anymore.

Almost there. Haseo-dono is really something, huh? Sorry I'm taking so long, but I had to get my party together. I wasn't expecting him to show up and take out the bad guys for us.

Mayako stared as Bordeaux glared up at Haseo. "You think you can go up against me, the great Bordeaux, and just walk away like nothing hap-"

Haseo cut her off by activating the chains on his broadsword. Slowly, cruelly, he pushed the blade deeper and deeper into Bordeaux, until suddenly he ripped it away with a brisk motion. Bordeaux moaned and collapsed to the ground.

Haseo smirked. "Yeah. I think I can." He turned around and surveyed the carnage. "Tch," he muttered, and warped out.

Mayako groaned. I guess he isn't coming after all…

A voice intruded on her thoughts. "Man, what is he thinking? Every PKK worth his salt knows that you should check and see if the victims are still around." A pair of sandaled feet appeared in front of her eyes, along with the hem of a sky-blue robe. "Rip Maen!" a calm, warm voice called.

To her surprise, Mayako found that she had been restored. A hand entered her field of vision, and as she took it, she looked up.

She stared. Her savior was holding a staff in his free hand, but no Harvest Cleric she had ever seen had such an amazing character design. A sleeveless, flowing robe hung from his shoulders to just above his ankles, bound at the waist with a black sash. Around his neck was a deep, wine-red scarf that blew in the virtual wind, and dark grey bracers obscured his forearms. However, his face was what had caught her attention.

Bright green eyes sparkled at her from below spiky red hair. Curling blue wave tattoos framed the eyes, and ran up to frame an odd glyph that stood out on his forehead. His smile was kind and warm as he helped her to her feet. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Mayako blinked. "I… I think so."

Her savior raised one eyebrow. "You know, it's rude to stare," he said, without a trace of anger.

Mayako blushed. "I'm so sorry! It's just…"

He laughed. "It's all right… Mayako-san, right? I'm Haruko, by the way."

Mayako nodded. Suddenly, she gasped. "Oh! My friends!"

Haruko raised a hand. "It's all right. The rest of my party's already on it." He twirled the staff again. "And before I forget… Ol Repth!"

Mayako blinked as her health jumped to nearly full. "Oh… thank you, Haruko."

Haruko shrugged. "Hey, I couldn't just leave you guys there. What was Haseo-dono thinking, though?"

Mayako shrugged, and looked around. Her party members were already standing up and talking with two other new characters that had arrived: a red-furred Ya tribe Beast with a fox's head and deep golden eyes, and a red-haired Cleric with bright pink robes and wings on her staff. "Nogmung! Ninjato! Are you all right?"

Ninjato gave her a thumbs-up. "Never better, thanks to this beauty."

Nogmung nodded gravely. "Yes. We were lucky that these three were here."

Haruko rolled his eyes. "Haven't saved since this morning, have you, Nogmung-san?"

One of the fallen PKers laughed shrilly, and then leapt up and made for Mayako. "Ooh… hours of work, down the drain… that sounds promising!" he shouted.

Suddenly, a pair of twin blades was in Haruko's hands, and he was in front of the attacker, blocking him with a cold grin on his face. "Playing dead, eh Negimaru-san? Well, I can't allow that." He forced Negimaru back with a quick push.

There was a flash, and suddenly Haruko was on the other side of Negimaru, an odd katana in his hand. White feathers floated through the air in his wake. Negimaru fell to the ground. Haruko shook his head, pulled out his staff again, and shouted "Zan Rom!" A fierce whirlwind sprung up. Negimaru yelped and faded out. Haruko sighed and straightened up. "Man, he's annoying, ne? You all right, Mayako-san?"

Mayako stared, blushing. Haruko grinned. "Hey, what did I tell you about staring?"

Mayako gulped. "But… those are…"

Haruko blinked. "Oh, you mean these?" He reached behind him and pulled one of his wings forward. "Yeah, they're wings. They came with the character design when I got my third form."

Nogmung frowned. "Hang on a second. Twin Blade, Blade Brandier, and Harvest Cleric add up to five points worth of classes, but Adept Rogues are only allowed four, right?"

Ninjato shrugged. "Yeah, but wasn't there a Rogue-only event a while back that let you add a point to one of your weapons?"

The Beast player grinned, and pulled out, in order, a broadsword, a lance, and a wicked-looking scythe. "Yeah. Haruko and I both cleared it the day they announced it. I'm Akiko, by the way, and the weirdo over there is Henako."

Henako grinned and twirled her staff. "I only have the one weapon, actually. I'm just a regular Harvest Cleric."

Ninjato raised an eyebrow. "Weirdo? What do you mean?"

Haruko laughed. "You've never been exposed to one of her outbursts, eh Ninjato-san?"

Henako grinned weirdly. "Yeah. They're… pretty weird, I have to admit. But then again, that's just who I am."

Haruko rolled his eyes. "So, is everyone back at full health?"

Mayako raised her staff. "They will be in a second. Lao Repth!" Blue spheres leapt from her staff to all three party members, healing them to full health once more.

Haruko grinned. "Not bad… I'm still at a pretty low level with my staff." He shrugged. "Well, I guess that's it. Maybe I'll see you three around sometime." He turned, and with a whirl of feathers, he warped out. Akiko and Henako glanced at each other, shook their heads, and warped out as well.

Back in Mac Anu, Akiko sighed. "You know, you're well on your way to becoming exactly like Balmung, Haruko."

Haruko blinked. "Huh? What are you talking about, Akiko-kun?"

Akiko shook his head. "Well, the whole 'clueless idiot' thing, for starters. You didn't notice that that poor girl's probably now totally devoted to you?"

Haruko shrugged. "I suppose… I mean, I didn't ask for this character design. And what bright spark put wings on my third form, anyway?"

Akiko rolled his eyes. "See? Totally clueless to the fact that there are probably now legions of girls following him around. Honestly, Kuhn would kill for a design like yours."

Haruko shrugged. "I can't help it. If who I am attracts girls, that's not my fault."

Akiko snorted. "Again, exactly what Balmung would have said. I know you idolize the guy, but come on!"

Haruko shook his head. "I don't know what to say, Akiko-kun. Balmung-sama wasn't trying to get admirers either, but there were certainly quite a few of them."

Henako shrugged. "Well, you don't have to pose exactly like he used to when you do that sword-slicing thing. But then again, at least you stick around and talk to them for a while. Balmung was always this mysterious guy who'd show up, beat down the enemies, and leave without even giving his name. Almost like a ninja!" She paused. "Except, he used a Japanese sword, and he didn't vanish into smoke… anyway!" She smiled. "You don't have that mystery air around you- not for long, anyway. So that's one way you're different."

Haruko rubbed his chin, a serious expression on his face. "You're right… I'll have to work on recapturing that element of mystery."

Akiko glared at him. Haruko laughed and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Kidding, kidding!"

Out in the square, Haruko spotted a pair of familiar faces and ran over. "Atoli! How's my cute little sister? And… Sakaki-san." As always, there was a certain frostiness in his tone. "How have you been?"

Atoli frowned. "Well, this rude person in spiky armor just walked through here."

Haruko blinked. "Spiky armor? You mean Haseo-dono? Where'd he go?"

Atoli shook her head. "No idea. He just walked off while Sakaki was still talking to him. He was so rude!"

Haruko chuckled. "That's definitely Haseo-dono. I just had to help revive a group of players because he took out the PKers but left their victims to rot." He sighed. "I'm starting to worry about him. I lose track of him for six months, and when he comes back, he turns into a total jerk."

Sakaki frowned. "So, judging by your party, you've been out PK-hunting again?"

Haruko shook his head. "Not even close. I saw a party being attacked, so I called Akiko-kun and Henako-chan to help. Haseo-dono just beat us to it, that's all."

Sakaki shrugged. "But you fully intended to kill them before Haseo arrived, did you not?"

Haruko stared back at him. "That's right. 'The World' is a game. Those who interfere with others' fun, and those who seek fun at others' expense… I will stop them wherever they arise."

Sakaki frowned. "But does force really solve anything? If you were truly strong, you would be able to stop them without drawing a blade."

Haruko shrugged. "I'm not as good with words as Zelkova-sama is, so I really don't have much of a choice. And more and more often, enemies can't be persuaded by mere words. Bordeaux and her cronies will PK whoever they feel like, no matter what we say. Thus, force is the only option."

"Even if it is the last refuge of the incompetent!" piped up Henako. Haruko threw her a look of mock outrage.

Sakaki shrugged. "I deal with them all the time, without force."

Haruko glared at him. "Yes, but I'm not as skilled in blackmail as you are."

Atoli stepped between the two of them. "Oniichan, Sakaki, stop that! You're both fighting for the good of 'The World', after all! So what if you have different methods of doing that?"

Haruko instantly relaxed. "You're right, Atoli. It doesn't really matter."

Sakaki sneered. "Yes, it does. I've already said this to Haseo, but if you succeed, you'll be no better than the PKers themselves."

Haruko's good mood instantly evaporated. His face like ice, he gave Sakaki a glare that could have cut a diamond in half. "What can you mean, Sakaki-san? PKers seek to gain thrills by killing off regular players, and spoil their fun in the process. But my friends and I seek only to stop them from ruining others' fun. We act to protect their happiness so they can enjoy the game better. Do not compare us to PKers again, Sakaki-san. They are scum who ruin the game for others. We fight to protect them from that."

"That's right! Haruko's not a bad person! How could you even think that?" A new voice cut in as a young Harvest Cleric ran across the square.

Haruko blinked. "Hey, Mayako-san! What's up?"

Mayako blushed slightly. "Well, I wanted to thank you again for before. And also…" She blushed harder as she handed Haruko her member address. "I'm working on a little project, and I wanted to be able to show it to you when it's done."

Haruko shrugged. "Well, thanks. And like I said, don't worry about earlier. That's just what we do."

Atoli smiled. "Who's this, Oniichan?"

Haruko blinked. "Oh, geez… where are my manners? Atoli, this is Mayako-san. She's one of the ones we helped out earlier, when Haseo-dono walked off without treating them."

Atoli frowned. "I don't understand why he didn't do anything."

Mayako shook her head. "The whole time, he seemed preoccupied by something. And at the end, he was asking about something called 'Tri-Edge'."

Haruko's eyes widened. "Tri-Edge? Did he find out anything?"

Mayako shook her head. "No, I don't think so…"

Another voice joined in, this one deep. "Actually, he did, because I found out and told him. He found out that today, Tri-Edge will return to a certain place."

Haruko spun around. "Ovan! Well, it seems six months haven't stolen your ability to be mysterious. How would you know where Tri-Edge is going to be?"

Ovan smiled. "Let's just say that I have my sources."

Haruko glared. "How about we say a bit more than that? Sources like what? Even Henako-chan and her unit couldn't track Tri-Edge."

Ovan adjusted his sunglasses. "Well, I suppose she didn't ask the right people, then. The trail is there. In any case, you already know, don't you? After all this time, where would Tri-Edge reappear?"

Haruko's eyes flew wide with sudden understanding. "Hulle Granz… so that's where he's gone." He glared at Ovan. "You knew that he wasn't ready! If he's hurt because of this, or worse, on your head be it!" He ran for the Chaos Gate. "Haseo-dono…" he muttered.

At Hulle Granz, he rushed to the great doors and flung them open. A blinding light met his eyes, and he looked away.

When he looked back, he gasped in horror. Haseo stood there, yelling in pain as his armor broke apart and disintegrated, piece by piece. Suddenly, his entire character shattered into thousands of pieces, leaving behind his original first form, torn apart by gashes that showed only static beneath. Soon enough, Haseo blacked out and faded away completely.

Haruko grit his teeth and moaned. "Haseo-dono… no…" His head snapped up, flames in his eyes. "Azure Kite! You face me next!" He raised his right arm, the bracelet glowing fiercely.

But Tri-Edge merely vanished in a wash of blue flame. Haruko fell to his knees and punched the tiled floor with all his strength. Suddenly, fatigue seemed to overwhelm him. He sank to the floor and knew nothing for a time.

After a while, he was awakened by Zefie shaking him and whacking him over the head. "Hey. Wake up, idiot."

Haruko smiled wearily. "Well, that's a nice way to greet someone. Weird… I must have blacked out for a moment."

Zefie frowned. "You've been running on almost no sleep for a while now. I know for a fact you actually slept in the guild Home last night. Idiot."

Haruko shook his head. "It wasn't a dream, though, was it? Tri-Edge really used Data Drain on Haseo-dono…"

Zefie nodded. "But he's all right. He's been totally reformatted, but he just logged back in. He'll be fine. You, on the other hand, need to sleep! Go, now!"

Haruko yawned. "I guess. But something's up. Ovan reappears, and now Tri-Edge shows up and attacks Haseo-dono… it doesn't make sense yet." He shook his head. "I'll never figure it out like this. Good night, Zefie-chan." He logged out, yawning again.

A few minutes later, he logged back in. "Like I'd let this go just like that," he smirked. "Now, where'd he go?"

In the Central District, he ran into Silabus. "Silabus-kun! Hey, have you seen a player named Haseo around? He's an Adept Rogue, clad in black leather, with wave tattoos in red all over him."

Silabus blinked. "Well, Gaspard and I helped out a guy with that name a little while ago. He kept claiming to be the 'Terror of Death', but glitched down to level 1. We didn't really believe him, but then a PK named Bordeaux showed up and attacked him. After that, it seemed kind of silly to disbelieve him."

Haruko nodded. "Yeah, that's him," he said, choosing his words carefully. "There was a really bad glitch at Hulle Granz today. Some hacker probably stuck a virus into the server for kicks. But how'd you get away from Bordeaux?"

Silabus smiled. "A woman called Pi showed up and said that Moon Tree was on their way. Bordeaux freaked out and ran for it."

Haruko rolled his eyes. "Geez… Zelkova-sama's getting pretty scary, huh?"

Silabus blinked. "Zelkova? Actually, I think they were scared of Sakaki showing up."

Haruko's eyes narrowed. "Ah, yes. The blackmail specialist. Honestly… Zelkova-sama has done a lot for the guild, but nobody recognizes him for it. Sure, he likes to wander around and chase Chim Chims a lot. So? He's still the reason Moon Tree made level 10 only a month after it was founded."

Silabus grinned. "That's true. Plus, even though I've never met him, from all the stories I've heard he seems like a pretty fun guy."

Haruko shook his head and laughed. "Yeah, that's true. Try going to a field with him, though… he can be a real handful sometimes. But you know, you can't help but like him."

"Absolutely!" Gaspard ran up, grinning. "Hey, Haruko! It's been ages!"

Haruko blinked. "We saw each other two days ago, remember?"

Gaspard pouted. "Yeah, but that's a long time!"

Haruko chuckled. "You goofball… Anyway, I heard you helped out Haseo-dono. How's he doing?"

Gaspard scratched his head. "Well, obviously the fact that he's been bounced down from level 133 to level 1 is a problem, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him. He's leveling up normally and everything." He shrugged. "He's just logged out, though."

Haruko sighed. At least he's all right. He gave a huge yawn. "Man… those all-nighters are starting to catch up with me. I'm going to go take a nap… see you later, guys." He yawned again and logged out. He pulled off his FMD, lay on his bed, and instantly was asleep.

A few minutes later, Hiruma opened the door a short way. "Sora-kun?" he called softly. He pushed the door open further, and saw Sora sprawled on the bed, snoring gently with a carefree look on his face. Hiruma chuckled softly. "Always trying to do too much, aren't you Sora-kun?" he whispered. He laid the book he was carrying on Sora's desk and left, closing the door softly behind him.