When, after what seemed like a very short while, he opened his eyes again, they were momentarily obscured by an enormous quantity of blonde hair. Atoli, sensing him stirring, had thrown her arms around his neck in a wild embrace. He spluttered, and Atoli giggled and stepped back. He smiled. "Hey…"

Zefie whacked him over the head with one fist. "Idiot. Gaijin knight. How many times do you think you'll pull off a miracle like that?"

Haruko shrugged. "Oh, I don't think it will take more than four or five." Zefie glared at him, but remained silent.

Atoli knelt beside him. "Are you all right now, Haruko-kun?"

He chuckled. "Of course, Atoli-chan. So, how long was I out, anyway?"

Henako shrugged. "Half an hour, maybe. I was just starting to get worried."

Yuki groaned, and bounced a well-placed strike off her head, knocking her hat off in the process. "You were the most worried of us all, Henako! Running around, suggesting this, that, and the other medicinal herb, all manner of quack remedies… does the girl never stop reading up about weird and potentially dangerous stuff?"

Akiko shrugged. "Well, this is Henako we're talking about." He extended a hand and helped Haruko to his feet. "Okaeri, Chief."

Haruko gave him a thumbs-up. "Tadaima," he responded simply.

"Oh, please. What is it with all you saps, anyway?" a thin, cruel voice cut in. Zefie scowled and vanished, as a lanky Tribal Grappler walked up, a smug look on his pale face.

Akiko's eyes narrowed. "Negimaru. Now what would one of Bordeaux's lap dogs be doing running around on his own?"

Negimaru chuckled, drawing out his blades. "Hunting noobs, of course. What did you expect?"

Haruko glared at him. "Thin ice, Negimaru-san. Very thin ice."

Negimaru snorted. "Yeah, right. I saw your little fainting spell there. I don't know what's going on, but you're in no condition to do anything to me right now."

Akiko tightened his grip on his lance. "Who says Haruko would be the one carrying out that threat?"

Negimaru glanced at the furious Akiko. "You? Hah. Beasts should learn their place, you pompous fool."

Haruko's eyes flared. "Beast players have no 'place', Negimaru-san, unless you mean to say that their place is right here among the rest of the players. Now, player killing scum like you… Crap, I can't think of anything witty. Henako-chan, could you help me, please?"

Henako took a deep breath, and tilted her head back so she could look down her nose at Negimaru. "Ordinary players like us, Negimaru, and everyone else in 'The World', are above Kestrel scum like you in much the same way that the sky is above the clouds," she said in an official-sounding voice.

Haruko blinked. "Hey, Douglas Adams. I love those books."

Negimaru grumbled inarticulately. Then he caught sight of Atoli and leered at her. "Well, what a cute little noob friend you've picked up, Haruko. And what's this pretty little thing's name?"

Atoli gulped and backed away. Haruko placed himself between her and Negimaru and glared. Negimaru met his gaze for only a moment before looking away. "Third time pays for all, Negimaru-san," Haruko intoned quietly. "Leave now."

Negimaru snorted and turned away. "Whatever. It's not worth my time to pick on a wussy magic user like that. And look at her character design! I'd make myself look bad if I PKed a little wimp like that." Suddenly, he whirled and charged Atoli. "But, what the heck, I don't care what anyone here thinks of me!"

There was a sudden flash of light, and Negimaru flew through the air for about fifteen feet. Haruko stood directly in front of Atoli, his sword out and blazing with a silvery aura. "You filth…" he spat. "How dare you insult my friends, and then attack Atoli-chan like that?" He charged at Negimaru again as he bounced off the ground. "Take this!" he shouted.

Atoli dashed up besides him, and grabbed his arm. "No, stop it!" she cried. "I'm fine, he didn't get me."

Haruko stared at her. "But… what are you saying, Atoli-chan? He just tried to PK you!"

Atoli shook her head. "So? Now you're going to PK him back, is that it? How does that solve anything?"

Haruko whistled. She really is kinda like Hotaru-chan. "Well, I think that settles the guild problem, Atoli-chan."

Negimaru sat up and laughed. "Yeah, go join those stupid little hippies from Moon Tree, 'Atoli-chan'! Hah!"

Haruko glared down at him. "Keep quiet, or I'll really give you something to wince about."

Atoli grabbed his arm tighter. "Stop, Haruko-kun! I don't want to see any more of this!"

Haruko glared down at Negimaru for a long moment, and then sighed. He turned to Atoli, a smile growing on his face. "Okay then, Atoli-chan. For your sake, I'll let him be this time." He gently slid his arm out of her grip, and put his hand on her shoulder. "The guys in Moon Tree are a good bunch, and they think like you do. And I won't deny that their ways can work sometimes."

Akiko sighed. "Problem is, more often than not these days, people like Negimaru can't be persuaded to stop doing whatever they please, no matter what the cost to others." He pounded his fist into his open palm. "They're ruining the game for all the decent people who want to play!"

Atoli looked up at Haruko. "So you're a PKK then, Haruko-kun?"

Haruko smiled. "Please don't think less of me because of it, but yeah, I am. Most of the people in our guild are. We don't just go around looking for fights, though. What we do is keep our eyes open, and when we see someone trying to PK someone, we go in and stop them- and not necessarily kill them, mind you- and heal whoever they were attacking. That's how a PKK should operate. Not like those bounty hunters who run amok. We're guardians, not destroyers."

Henako giggled. "And yet you still manage to get more PKs than most of them."

Haruko snorted. "Except Haseo-dono, of course. But then again, nobody can compare to someone as insanely driven as that."

Atoli nodded. "I understand, but still…"

Haruko grinned. "It's all right, Atoli-chan. You're just kind, that's all. There's nothing wrong with that. It just means you're more suited to something like Moon Tree than a PKK guild like ours. Besides, that's one of the things I like about you."

He turned to Negimaru, and tossed a small item to him. "You're off the hook today, Negimaru-san. You should thank Atoli-chan; you would have been finished if she hadn't stopped me," he said in an amiable tone. "Go work off some of that anger in the Arena or something. That's what it's there for. Come to think of it, we'll be there later too. The tournament is going to start today, after all."

Negimaru snorted and popped the cork on the Health Drink. "Bordeaux and I will be there too, naturally. And you'll understand if I don't thank you." He drained the flask in one swig.

Haruko shrugged. "We'll beat you and claim the Demon Emperor title yet. And I was the one who hit you in the first place, so actually I do understand. But I see no reason for you not to thank Atoli-chan for calling me off."

Negimaru sneered at the two of them. "Fine, then. Thanks, little Atoli," he said, sarcasm heavy in his voice. He turned and dashed off towards the platform.

Haruko sighed. "He's so disagreeable, eh Atoli-chan? Anyway, Henako-chan, Akiko-kun, and I are going to fight in the arena tournament later on, but we've got some time before that. I'll see if Zelkova-sama is around. He's the guild master of Moon Tree, so you should meet him. I think you'll find it a good fit."

Atoli nodded. "Well, yes, I think so too. Moon Tree was one of the guilds that Henako told me about when she was showing me around earlier. They sound like a nice group."

Haruko lit up. "Great! Now, let's see… looks like Zelkova-sama is online, and not busy. So far, so good… now let's see what he's up to." He stood silently for a while as short mail messages flew back and forth between him and Zelkova.

After a minute or two, he smiled and turned to Atoli. "Turns out, he's at the Moon Tree headquarters. He says he'd be delighted to meet a new recruit. I have a key that will let us in, so meet me back at Mac Anu's Chaos Gate, and I'll switch you into my party. Then we can go meet Zelkova-sama." He waved and ran off towards the platform.

Just as he was preparing to warp back to the Root Town, however, Atoli ran up behind him. Haruko blinked. "What's up? Don't feel like finishing the field with the others?"

Atoli shook her head. "No. After everything that's happened…"

Haruko smiled at her. "It's all right, Atoli-chan."

She looked up at him. Haruko was shocked to see that tears were starting in the corner of her eyes. "But… how can you keep doing things like that? That monster… you could have gotten yourself killed, Haruko-kun! And not just your character- you could have really died!"

Haruko blinked. "Oh, that's what you're worried about. Well, yes, it's dangerous. I know that. But somebody's going to have to do it. In every version of 'The World', things like this have happened. And every time, the players have rallied and fought it off."

Atoli blinked back tears. "But why does it have to be you? Do you have any idea how worried I was for those thirty minutes you were unconscious for?"

Haruko shrugged, a sad smile on his face. "To be honest, I was a lot more worried about you than me. I'm honestly surprised you were still conscious after you took that hit for me." The smile faded. "No matter how hard I train, I still can't keep innocents safe," he muttered. "Even now, I'm no good. Maybe Zefie-chan should have chosen a different bearer for the bracelet."

Atoli grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "Don't say that! You beat it, didn't you?"

Haruko shook his head. "It almost cost me everything to do it, though. And what's worse, you almost ended up like so many others have in the past. If I can barely manage to defeat the least of Morganna's minions, what good am I to anyone here?"

A loud, sharp noise split the air, and Haruko stepped back, rubbing his cheek where Atoli had slapped him. "Snap out of it, Haruko-kun!" she said. She was crying openly now. "You can't beat yourself up like that!"

Haruko blinked. "But…"

Atoli shook her head violently. Teardrops flew through the air like rain. "No! If you don't think you're strong enough, then keep fighting! Get stronger! Keep belittling yourself like this, and you really will be as weak as you keep claiming." She sank to her knees.

Haruko knelt down beside her, a smile creeping slowly onto his face. "You know something, Atoli-chan? You're absolutely right." He put a hand on her shoulder. "This is going to get me nowhere. If I'm not strong enough, I just have to make sure that I'm stronger next time, right?"

Atoli looked up, smiling. "Yeah!"

Haruko grinned. "Feel better now?" Atoli nodded. "Well, let's go meet Zelkova-sama. Talking to him is a great way to make yourself feel better." He raised his arm, and the two vanished in a whirl of energy.

A while later, they arrived at the throne room, far into Moon Tree's headquarters. Haruko walked forward and looked around. "Huh. That's strange; Zelkova-sama said he would be here. Now where could he have…?" He whirled around suddenly, swinging twin blades up just in time to block the blur of motion that had charged at him.

The attacker, a smiling young man, tightened his grip on his scythe and whirled around again. Haruko darted in, blocked the haft of the scythe with one blade, and swung up the other. It halted just in front of his attacker's throat.

Haruko smiled. "Zelkova-sama, good to see you again. You've got to stop trying to catch me off guard like that, though. It isn't going to work, and quite frankly it's getting a bit predictable."

Zelkova chuckled. "Always swift as the wind, aren't you, Haruko?" he said. "But, you know, it's so much fun, even if there's no chance of me getting you." He turned to Atoli. "Ah, so this is the new recruit you mentioned? Atoli, right? Pleased to meet you."

Atoli nodded. "So you're Zelkova. It's nice to meet you too." She came closer, looking at Zelkova for the first time. He was fairly short, and looked like he was about twelve years old. He wore a simple, formal-looking white outfit. His hair was blue, and from each temple sprouted… She blinked. "Um, what are those on your head?"

Haruko laughed. "Horns, actually. Nobody's really sure where he got them, but it doesn't really matter that much."

Zelkova shrugged, grinning. "So, Atoli, do you know much about Moon Tree?"

Atoli shrugged. "Only what Henako told me when she was talking about the main guilds. It's basically devoted to helping other players enjoy 'The World' more fully, right?"

Zelkova nodded. "You got it. We're divided into seven units, and we focus on helping out the victims of PK, fraud, and things like that. We also focus on nonviolent ways of dealing with rogue elements, like Kestrel guild members, although we're not afraid to fight back if attacked. We've accomplished a lot in the few months since we've began, and already our guild level has risen to the maximum possible."

Haruko chuckled. "Which is why Moon Tree gets an entire field to itself for a headquarters; whereas we Twilight Guardians have to deal with the usual tiny Home space."

Zelkova shrugged. "Your own fault for not having a big guild. I know you devote a lot of time to boosting your guild rank, Haruko, but even the most devoted of Guild Masters can't do much if the guild is small. In any case, though, soon enough you'll have access to a Dol Dona Home. Your space will get bigger then. I wish C.C. Corp had kept Dun Loireag, the old Theta server root town, though."

Haruko shrugged. "Oh, well. C.C. Corp would never let us have a field for headquarters anyway. We're too deeply involved with bizarre events for them to trust us with a place like this, or like the Kestrel HQ. And no guild with a master tied even remotely to the Twilight incident seven years ago would ever advance far. Kestrel, on the other hand…" He snorted derisively.

Atoli shuddered. "Kestrel… that's the guild Negimaru was from, right?"

Zelkova groaned. "Oh no, has he been giving you trouble again, Haruko? Honestly, sometimes I wonder if anything can get through to him."

Haruko shrugged and switched to private chat so that Atoli couldn't hear. "Well, sometimes, that's when you need a PKK on your side. I respect your philosophy and all, Zelkova-sama, and I've seen firsthand how effective it can be sometimes. But people like the Kestrel members, who couldn't care less, and the Blacklist members… honestly, sometimes I wonder if even Sakaki-san can stop them."

Zelkova bristled slightly at the sound of the name. "Sakaki… right."

Haruko caught his eye. "I don't trust the man either, to be honest, but even a rogue element like Bordeaux knows not to start something in front of him. Come to think of it, she knows better than to start something in front of you, too."

Zelkova shrugged. "Well, Atoli," he said out loud, "Haruko has told me a bit about you, and I agree with him that Moon Tree would be a good fit. But I want to make sure you agree too. Do you have some free time? I'd like to show you around, along with Kaede, and have you meet some of the other members who are around."

Atoli smiled. "Sure! That would be fun!"

Haruko chuckled. "Well, unfortunately I've heard just about all the stories that Zelkova-sama and the others have to tell, so I'll take my leave now. I'll see you around, okay Atoli-chan? And Zelkova-sama, tell Kaede-san I said hi, okay?" He walked off through the headquarters.

At the end, a tall, middle-aged man in a samurai costume stood calmly by one of the pillars. Haruko stiffened. "Sakaki-san. How… nice to see you again."

Sakaki smiled. "Why such anger, Haruko? That is Haruko, isn't it? I like the new form- it suits you well."

Haruko snorted. "And yours doesn't suit you at all. There is no blade in your soul; that much is clear to me."

Sakaki's eyes narrowed. "If you're trying to pick a fight, forget it. You know perfectly well that I never attack unless attacked first."

Haruko's eyes narrowed to match his. "You and I both know what I'm talking about, Sakaki-san. Zelkova-sama is a good friend of mine, and if you try anything… underhanded… well, having me to deal with will be far from the least of your problems, I assure you."

Sakaki smiled, running a hand through his green hair. "Oh, I assure you I have no such plans, Haruko. I intend always to work under Master Zelkova until he decides to retire as guild master."

Haruko snorted. "Yeah, right. Sneaky dealings don't slip past Henako-chan and her Second Unit. I'm keeping a watchful eye on you, Sakaki-san." He raised his arm. "Oh, and one more thing. A new friend of mine, Atoli-chan, is thinking about joining Moon Tree. Zelkova-sama is giving her the tour as we speak. And the last thing I want is for her to get involved in a power struggle. See to it that that doesn't happen, or else." He vanished in a flurry of blue sparks.

Sakaki smiled coolly at the vanishing figure. "I wouldn't dream of it," he said softly.

Behind him, Zelkova and Atoli warped in. "Oh… Sakaki! Atoli, this is the commander of Second Unit, Sakaki."

Sakaki turned around, a warm smile on his face. "Ah, Atoli. Haruko mentioned you were thinking about joining Moon Tree as he passed." He spread his arms wide. "I would gladly welcome you into my unit. Let us help heal the pain of this world together."

Atoli blushed slightly. "Um… Yes, let's."

Behind her, Zelkova shot a glare at Sakaki. Sakaki simply smiled. "Unfortunately, I must be off at the moment. Matsu and I have to defend the honor of our guild in the arena."

Atoli blinked. "Oh, that's right! Haruko-kun said he was going to fight there too. That's today, right?"

Sakaki nodded. "Yes. He shouldn't have any trouble, though. Against those dishonorable rogues from Kestrel, his team should easily win."

Atoli shook her head. "I hope so. He looked kind of shaky when he left."

Sakaki frowned. "How so? After all, what sort of force could affect a player?"

Atoli blinked. "Um… well… he said it was like during the Twilight incident."

Zelkova's eyes narrowed. "Oh boy. Has he been playing with things that are too big for him again?"

Atoli nodded wordlessly. Behind her back, a strange, almost triumphant look stole across Sakaki's face. As Atoli turned back to him, it was replaced by a frown. "These are distressing tidings. If such evil forces are once again running amok in 'The World', then we of Moon Tree must take up arms against it. Atoli, will you fight alongside us?"

Atoli looked at Sakaki. The young Blade Brandier seemed to exude confidence and power. She nodded firmly. "Yes, Sakaki. I'll join Moon Tree, and fight alongside you."

Author's Notes: Okaerinasai (sometimes shortened to okaeri among friends) and tadaima form the two halves of a traditional exchange among Japanese speakers. It translates basically to "Welcome back/home" and "I'm back", and is often used in situations like this (for example, Tifa and Cloud say it at the end of Advent Children.)

Hotaru, for the large percentage of .hack fans that steered way clear of that particular story, is a character from .hack//Legend of the Twilight. She is NOT the same person as Atoli, however; Atoli did not play "The World" until the advent of R:2.

And I know that Atoli and Sakaki knew each other before either of them joined "The World", but she doesn't find out it's him until later. (As with most problems like this, it'll be addressed later in the text.)