Outside, Atoli ran up to them. "That was amazing, everyone!"

Fata sighed. "I wasn't much use, though. Sorry…"

Haruko gave her an odd look. "What do you mean, Fata-chan? You managed to damage your opponent enough for me to finish her off. The only real problem was when you tried to revive Akiko-kun, and that was just an easy mistake. Just remember, don't try to heal if someone with a full Skill Trigger is nearby."

Fata nodded sadly. "That's exactly what I've forgotten, and you've told me it so many times… I'm so sorry. I wanted to be a help to you in the final match, and instead I ended up getting killed."

Haruko put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be sorry, Fata-chan. And don't be sad. Those things aren't what the Arena's all about. Having fun, fighting in amazing battles, and-" he gave Alkaid a pointed look- "finding great rivals, that's what the Arena is for."

Atoli nodded. "I think I finally understand, Oniichan. About the Arena, I mean."

Haruko grinned. "I'm glad to hear it, Atoli. Someday, I think you'll make a great healer for some lucky Arena team. But…" He sighed. "Not just yet, all right? There are plenty of people like Bordeaux-san in the Arena who would take you down first, just for fun. And besides, your level's still pretty low, right?"

Atoli nodded glumly. "That's true. But you know me, I like to slow down and just watch sometimes."

Haruko smiled. "I like to do that too, sometimes. But I also make sure I train hard, to get stronger. Both of those things are part of this game."

Atoli nodded. "Right." She suddenly brightened up. "Hey, do you want to go see a field I heard about from Sakaki? He said it's really good for leveling up- for someone on my level, I mean."

Haruko grinned. "Sure. Let's go." The two of them walked to the Chaos Gate. A young, timid-looking Shadow Warlock stood there. Haruko paused. "Hey, what's up?"

The young player paused, pushing the tips of his fingers together. "Um…"

Haruko smiled kindly. "I'm Haruko, and this is Atoli. What's your name?"

The youth blushed slightly. "I'm Bo. Well, this character is named Sakubo, but that's because I share it with my sister Saku."

Haruko shrugged. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Bo-san. Atoli and I were just about to go to a field. Do you want to come along?"

Bo blinked. "Come along? You're really inviting me along to play?"

Haruko grinned. "Sure, why not? We need a third member anyway." He handed Bo his member address. "Let's see… You're at level 15, the same level as Atoli, so you should be fine for this field."

Atoli nodded. "Yeah. Come on, it'll be fun!"

Bo smiled shyly. "Thanks. All right, I'll join you." He joined the party.

At Mac Anu, Atoli turned to the Chaos Gate and began manipulating the controls. "Let's see… Sakaki said it was at ∆ Sacred Forbidden Bodhi Tree."

Haruko looked over her shoulder. "It's level 17. Way below mine, of course, but you and Bo-san should get plenty of experience from it."

Bo sighed. "Well, if the level's wrong for you, then…"

Haruko waved a hand. "Don't worry about it. I can level up whenever I feel like it. Hanging out with old friends and making new ones, though… that's well worth the extra time. Right, Atoli?"

Atoli smiled. "Right! Then let's go!"

Haruko shrugged. "You're the party leader. Ready? Bo-san, what about you?"

Bo nodded. "Um… I guess so…"

Atoli laughed. "Then onward to the field!"

∆ Sacred Forbidden Bodhi Tree turned out to be an ordinary grassy field. Grey clouds lined the sky, and a gentle rain fell. Atoli pouted. "Oh, it's raining!"

Haruko grinned. "You like sunny fields, Atoli?"

She nodded. "Of course. I love being able to see that bright blue sky, out in every direction. Rainy fields ruin the view."

Haruko shrugged. "I love rainy fields. Heck, I love the rain. I like looking at the sky, of course, but I've always liked clouds better. Have either of you ever been caught in a summer thunderstorm? It's a wonderful experience."

Bo shuddered. "I don't like thunder. It's scary."

Haruko laughed. "Yeah, I know. To be utterly at the mercy of Nature is an awe-inspiring experience. That's why I love it so much. And of course spring rains are nice too. They bring life back into the world after the bleak winters."

Atoli smiled. "I guess. I always used to hide when thunder came. You too, right Bo?"

Bo nodded. Haruko shrugged. "I always used to watch at the window when it came. But enough about the weather. Let's go crush some monsters, eh?"

Atoli raised her staff. "Yeah, let's go!"

Bo sighed. "I guess…"

Haruko paused. "Oh, before I forget, here." He handed a Halcyon Scroll to Atoli. "I bought this yesterday. With this, you can get the attack spell Lei Zas. It should come in handy, since clerics don't have much attack power."

Bo watched the exchange silently, and sighed.

The first group was a pair of Angelic Gores, large, tattooed behemoths capable of inflicting heavy damage with a single blow. Haruko darted in and sliced one in half with a single blow from his katana. "The other one's all yours!" he called.

Atoli nodded. "Right! Lei Zas!" A sphere of light shot out of her hand and pierced through the monster.

Bo raised his grimoire. "Vak Don!" he called, as fireballs fell and pelted the creature.

Annoyed, the creature raised its fist and charged Bo. He couldn't raise his guard in time, and took the full brunt of the monster's attack.

Atoli turned, concern in her eyes. "Bo!"

Haruko darted across the field. "You keep attacking, Atoli! I'll help Bo-san, so don't worry." He ran up next to Bo and began healing him with his supply of potions.

Behind him, Atoli kept chipping away at the monster's health, while dodging its fearsome attacks. Soon enough, its HP was dwindling, and Bo was fully restored. "Gan Bolg!" he cried, and crushed it beneath a shower of rocks.

Haruko grinned. "Not bad, Bo-san. You finished it off!"

Atoli ran over, staff at the ready. "We did it! Do you need any healing, Bo?"

Bo shook his head. "No. I'm all right. But Haruko, why did you use up all those potions on me? Someone who can just give away scrolls like that must have at least a Repth spell. Why didn't you just use that?"

Haruko blinked. "Well, I do have Repth and Ul Repth, but why not? I've got plenty of potions, and besides, you needed them."

Bo shook his head. "I don't know. It's just…" He twisted a lock of blond hair around his finger. "Never mind, it's nothing."

Haruko frowned. "Well, if you say so," he mused. "Anyway, there's still plenty of monsters to take out." He kicked open the treasure box and pulled out a Symbol Fragment. "Okay, so it's a Beast Temple mission. Let's go find the other two fragments!"

Atoli nodded. "Okay!"

Haruko paused and examined the reward for beating the monsters. "Say… since when did scrolls come as a battle reward?" He shrugged. "Repth… do you want this one, Bo-san? After all, Shadow Warlocks have pretty minimal healing."

Bo blinked. "O-okay." Haruko grinned and used the Healing Scroll on him. Bo nodded. "Thanks. That was really nice of you."

Haruko grinned. "Any time, Bo-san. Now, let's go smash some enemies!"

The trio fought their way through several monsters on their way to the Beast Temple. A few times, either Atoli or Bo took a powerful hit, and once Bo was even knocked out, but Haruko was always there, melding his items with Atoli's healing abilities to keep everyone healthy. After about half an hour of fighting, they finally had collected the three Symbol Fragments, and stood in front of the Beast Statue. Haruko bent and extracted an item. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Sakaki-san picked a good area, all right. I bet Mirelle-chan would have traded that Golden Grunty of hers for this in a heartbeat!"

Atoli stared at the musty-looking book in his hands. "What is it? Is it a rare item?"

Haruko grinned almost manically. "It's an ultra-rare item, Atoli! This is a Grimoire of True Names, a powerful weapon that enhances the magic of the one who possesses it!" He gazed at it almost lovingly.

Suddenly, he turned and offered it to Bo. "You deserve this, Bo-san," he said, smiling. "You did really well today. And besides, you're the only one who can wield it."

Atoli smiled. "Yeah, that would be perfect for a Shadow Warlock like you!"

Bo blinked. "But… you could get a lot of GP selling that, couldn't you? If it's so rare, I mean. Why give it to a newbie like me, instead of trading it for something for yourself?"

Haruko blinked. "Why not? You could certainly use this item. I mean, look at its ability! A 10 increase to all your spell damage!"

Bo shook his head. "No. All I did was keep using up all of your Healing Serums and Health Drinks. You should be able to get them back and more if you sell that."

Haruko stared. "But I don't want to get them back like that. Besides, I told you, I have plenty of potions. Just take the grimoire!"

Bo shook his head. "No! Not until you tell me why you're being so nice to me!"

Atoli put a hand on his shoulder. "Bo…"

Haruko shook his head. "All right. Let's go outside and talk, then."

Outside, Haruko sat and gazed up at the stormy skies for a moment. He motioned for Bo and Atoli to sit beside him. "So, what's upsetting you, Bo-san?" he asked.

Bo sat down, head bent. "Why are you being so nice to me, Haruko? I only just met you today, and all I've done so far is get in the way of you guys having fun."

Haruko stared. "Get in the way? What are you talking about? We had fun because you were there with us, fighting and getting stronger as we did."

Bo shook his head. "You would have had more fun without someone like me hanging around. And you, Haruko- you didn't get stronger at all! I can see you taking some time and helping someone like Atoli level up, because you're obviously close friends. But you don't know me at all, and you invite me along anyway. I just don't get it…"

Haruko smiled. "I helped you because… because I just wanted to, that's all. I like giving others help. You seemed kind of like you needed it, so I gave it to you."

Bo shook his head violently. "But that's what I don't understand! You're giving up nearly an hour of game time, and a few thousand GP worth of potions, and you're getting nothing back! Nobody's like that."

Atoli glared at Bo. "Don't talk about my Oniichan like that! Haruko's a good person, who just likes to help people. I may not understand why he does what he does all the time-" she glanced at him and smiled- "but I always trust that he's trying to do the right thing. I believe in him."

Bo stared. "Onii…chan?"

Haruko laughed. "You were half-right, Bo-san. Atoli and I are close friends- like brother and sister, even though we're not blood relations. But you… I saw you there, sitting by the Chaos Gate alone, and I thought that you could use a friend. That's all."

Bo bent his head and shook gently. "A friend…" he sobbed.

Haruko put a hand gently on his back. "Of course, Bo-san. Why else would I be so nice to you? You're not just some stranger, you're my friend." He grinned sheepishly. "If you want me as one, that is."

"Well, isn't that sweet? The little loner made himself his first friend." The voice was cool, female and seductive. "Oh, well. Since you don't want that rare item, I guess I'll just take it off of your hands for you!"

Haruko whirled around, eyes narrow. "Bordeaux. How… nice of you to drop by. If you've come to congratulate me, though, you're a bit early. The title match isn't until next week."

Bordeaux laughed softly. "Always the little joker, aren't we Haruko? I love that about you. In fact, I could just…"

Haruko drew out his blades. "Don't even think about saying 'love you to death', Bordeaux. There are anime characters with less annoying lines than that."

Bordeaux laughed. "Negimaru! Grein! Let's have us some fun, shall we?"

Her two henchmen popped up behind the group. Negimaru leered at them. "Well, little Atoli, I still owe you from a few weeks ago. Now let's see… Oh, I know! I'll make sure to PK you last of all, so you can see how pathetic your friends look when they're sprawled dead on the ground!"

Grein snorted, but kept silent. Bo and Atoli backed up against Haruko, looking at these two new enemies with fear. Haruko ground his teeth. "I don't think I can take them all on my own," he muttered. "They've been putting a lot of hours into leveling up, and without Akiko-kun by my side, I'm just not as strong."

Bordeaux laughed. "Oh, you've got that right, Haruko. This won't be anything like the last time we met. I'm going to carve you up like… whatever it is you Americans eat for Thanksgiving."

Haruko caught Bordeaux's flying sword on his twin blades and grinned maddeningly. "You've obviously never encountered a wild turkey. They can be nasty fighters." He turned his head. "Atoli! Get Bo-san out of here, now!" With one hand, he tossed her the grimoire. "And keep this safe, too. I still want him to have it, you hear?"

Bo stared. Atoli pulled him by the arm. "Come on, we have to go now!"

Bo pulled back. "No way! We can't just leave Haruko here!"

Haruko laughed. "Sure you can. I just told you to. Now, get out of the field, quickly!"

Negimaru laughed. "You're not going anywhere, girly!" he leered.

Haruko raised his free hand, fire in his eyes. "I just said she was. Learn to listen, Negimaru-san." A wind spell erupted in front of Atoli and Bo; Negimaru was caught square in the center of it. He turned to Atoli. "Now go, before they totally surround you!"

Atoli dashed off, pulling Bo. "He'll be fine, Bo. You and I just have to worry about ourselves, okay?"

Bordeaux leapt back from Haruko and charged Atoli, swinging her sword wildly. "Worry all you want, you're still going to… DIE!"

Atoli spun around and raised her staff. "Lei Zas!" she shouted. The sphere of light knocked Bordeaux head-over-heels and opened the path to the platform. Atoli sighed as they reached it. "Safe. Let's get out of here, Bo."

Bo shook his head. "If you want a friend, you have to be a friend first," he muttered to himself, over and over, like a mantra. With a sudden movement, he snatched the grimoire from Atoli's hand and dashed towards the fray, where Haruko was being assailed on three sides by Bordeaux's minions.

A new voice suddenly cut in. "That's better, Bo! And here I thought you'd never grow a backbone."

Bo blanched. "Don't take over, Saku. I have to help him."

Saku laughed. "Of course I won't now, Bo. I'm not evil, after all. Why would I get in the way of you helping a friend?"

Bo nodded. "Okay. Then let's do this! Vak Don!" Fireballs rained down on Negimaru's head. He yelped and spun around.

Haruko took advantage of this and clubbed him over the back of his head with the hilt of his sword. Negimaru chuckled hoarsely and fell over.

Bordeaux sneered up at this new arrival. "Well, aren't we the little hero? Come to watch your friend get killed?"

Bo shook his head. "No. I'm going to stop you!"

Haruko glared up at him. "Bo-san, I told you to get out of here! Forget about me! I didn't even get any EXP or items worth mentioning, so there's no reason to get killed over me!"

Bo smiled. "But Haruko, I just thought… you could use a friend."

Atoli ran up beside him. "That's right, Haruko. And besides, even if we can't damage her much, we can still interrupt their skills."

Haruko hung his head for a moment. Then, he burst out laughing. "Isn't anybody going to listen when I tell them to run?" he chuckled. "Fine, but keep your distance. Either of these two could take you out with one hit."

Atoli nodded. "Got it, Oniichan."

Bo smiled. "Roger!"

Bordeaux broke out laughing. "Oh, this is rich. You seriously think you'll beat us with a pair of low-level magic users? Even if you were a Descendant of Fianna once, you're nothing but a normal player now!"

Haruko sighed calmly. "I never was anything but a normal player, Bordeaux. I wasn't any stronger than other players, even if I did clear that event."

Atoli stared. "No way… there was a third player who cleared The One Sin?"

Haruko laughed, whirling his blades as he warded off attacks from both sides. "How do you people keep finding out about these things? I kept that a secret deliberately. Didn't want any of the celebrity that came with it, you know?" He spun lightly on his heel, sidestepped an overhand blow from Grein's broadsword, and struck him point-blank with a Sword Dance.

Bordeaux shrugged. "Well, it helps that little Mirelle is such a loudmouth. But really, after our match I went and bought all the information I could find on you. It wasn't easy, either. Yata's prices are steep, you know?"

Haruko sighed, and blocked Grein's next two-handed blow. "They always were. But somehow they always were fair enough that you couldn't get angry with him."

Bordeaux raised her sword high as Grein and Haruko grappled. "That's it, hold him there, Grein!"

A ball of light blasted into her face and made her stumble. Haruko slid to one side, whirled around, and took full advantage of this new opening. As his blades cut into her, Atoli and Bo joined in with spells from the back. Bordeaux gasped as rings suddenly appeared around her character.

Haruko grinned. "Rengeki! Tri-Strike!" he yelled wildly, and launched a high-power arts attack. Bordeaux groaned and fell to the ground.

Grein stared. "You!" he yelled. Haruko grinned and darted out from under his attack. A trio of katana hits to his back, and a powerful Vak Don from Bo, and he fell over as well.

Bordeaux coughed. "Man… you really are a Descendent, aren't you?"

Haruko grinned. "True enough. Balmung-sama always did say that I'd be strong no matter what character I used. The strength of the three Descendents of Fianna comes from the player behind the character."

Bordeaux snorted. "And that's why I'll always lose? Don't make me laugh. I'll get you next time." She faded out and vanished.

Haruko sighed. "Atoli, Bo-san, are you all right?"

Atoli nodded. "Yes. We're both fine."

Bo smiled. "You did it, Haruko! That was amazing!"

Haruko waved a hand. "No, it was nothing. If you guys hadn't kept interrupting every skill they threw at me, I'd have been in real trouble." He walked over to the other two. "All right, let's get out of here before more of those PKers show up."

Bo paused. "You should take this back," he said, holding out the book. "You fought so hard to protect us back there, and I didn't…"

Haruko pushed the book away. "Yes you did. I told you to go, but you came back for me, even though Bordeaux could have killed you in one shot. You deserve it even more after that."

Bo blinked. "But…"

Haruko grinned. "Just take it, all right?"

Bo paused for a moment, and then nodded. "All right." He broke into a wide smile. "Thanks so much, Haruko."

Haruko smiled and shrugged. "Any time, Bo-kun."

Bo nodded happily. "Oh, hang on a second…" He stood motionless for a moment. Then, a smug look came onto his face, and his voice shifted.

"So, you're the guy who's been helping out my idiot brother, eh?"

Haruko blinked. "Oh, are you his sister?"

Saku smirked. "That's right. I'm Saku, the older sister." She glanced down at the book in her hands. "Hey, this is a pretty cool item. You're really going to give this to us?" She smirked. "Well, I guess you're not that bad of a guy after all."

Haruko made a mock bow. "Well, thank you," he grinned. "It's nice to meet you, Saku-san."

Saku shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. Okay, I'll let Bo finish up here." She waved one hand. "I don't understand you, Haruko, but then again, this is 'The World', after all. You never know who you'll meet." She stood still for a moment again.

Haruko sighed as Bo blinked and scratched his head. "So, I guess we're done here, then?"

Atoli frowned. "It doesn't seem right, though… aha!" She waved as Matsu came wandering up. "Hey, Matsu! Could you do us a favor?"

Matsu grinned. "Hey, Atoli! What's up?"

Atoli giggled. "Matsu, this is Bo. We just met him today, and I thought we should have something to remember it…"

Matsu laughed. "Oh, a screenshot? Sure thing! I'll send it to all three of you. Let's see… how about posing by the Chaos Gate, back in Mac Anu?"

The three party members looked at each other and nodded in unison. "That would be nice," said Bo. "Okay, let's go."

Haruko grinned. "Sure. But what were you doing here, anyway?"

Matsu smiled. "Atoli called me. She said you needed help with a gang of PKers, but it looks like you beat them off on your own."

Haruko shrugged. "Yeah, thanks to Atoli and Bo-kun. They stopped them from using skills, and since I'm so light and fast, I could evade their regular attacks and go from there."

Matsu nodded. "Very nice. You two did really well. Now, let's go get that picture, eh?"

The three of them nodded in unison, and warped out at the platform.

A moment later, Matsu followed them through. "All right, now, let me know when you're ready."

Atoli ran up quickly and grabbed onto Haruko's arm with one hand, and raised her left hand, two fingers raised in a victory pose.

Haruko shrugged, then drew out his sword with his free right hand and placed it over his shoulder in a casual pose.

Bo stood on Haruko's right, blushing. In the crook of his left arm, he held the grimoire the three had won in the field. He held his right arm close to him, his fist clenched. A shy smile spread across his face.

Matsu's eyes lit up. "Yeah! That's perfect! Now hold still for a second, all right?"

Later that day, Haruko opened up his mail and smiled. "Matsu-kun was right. That was perfect," he mused, gazing at the screenshot.