We sat there, in the absolute darkness, for almost an hour before Kuhn said anything. For most of the time, he sat there, twiddling with my hair. It was calming, yes, but it was also getting late in the real world.
Kuhn must've realized that because he sighed and turned to me.
"Were you aware of how many times I came to see you?"
I shook my head and sighed.
"I was there a lot, hoping that you would wake up. It was a farfetched hope though..."
I put my hand on his. "Thank you."
"What?"
"You were there... you were with me."
I put my head on his shoulder and he put his arm around my waist.
"It's good to be back." I whispered in his ear.
He smiled. "Yeah, good to have you back..."
"Is something wrong?"
"Nope... Everything is perfect."
"Good."
We sat in silence for awhile longer.
"Don't leave me again." he whispered.
It hit me hard.
"W-" My voice broke. "What do you mean."
"I can't stand it. Everytime you leave, I worry."
"Kuhn, I have to leave though..."
"Not like that. I mean... when you're in the tournament, and I'm stuck in the stands... Or... the AIDA room."
I could understand that pain that he felt.
"It won't happen again, I promise. Except for the tournament."
Kuhn smiled.
'Reality Factor' did let us log out, which was good. I was able to explain to my mom without to much difficulty that If I wasn't in my room, I was in the game. Of course, being married to my dad, who worked for CC Corp, would prepare you for anything.
"Just be careful." She warned.
"Of course, mom."
Of course, we weren't prepared for the second half of the virus.
"It seems that full out cos-playing has swept through the streets of Tokyo, as over one-hundred people portray their characters from 'the World'"
I flipped off the TV and put on my M2D. I had an important e-mail from Bo, so I was trying to hurry.
Kaden, Your sister(Ella) came to see me again today... She seemed really upset. Oh BTW, Saku won't be able to come to the tournament, so I'm gonna take her place. Is that okay? "What's going on?" I hissed. I also had and e-mail from CC Corp, telling me that the second round of the tournament was about to begin. I logged in, happy that today was going to be a non-AIDA match against Matsu. I invited Bo and Atoli into my party Pi was busy with a G.U. meeting and registered for the match. Bo was quiet and every few seconds he would look up at me. Atoli on the other hand was buzzing cheerily. She seemed excieted that she was going to fight Matsu again. "What do you mean, again?" I asked. "I fought him in the Demon Palace tournament." She told me. "Oh, good." I said and grinned. "You can give us insight on his techniques. "Did you know he's an Adept Rogue too?" She asked. "No way, are you serious?" "Mmhm! But he only fights with bayonets." "Oh, cool." Bo sighed. "Something wrong?" He looked up at me. "No... Nothing's wrong. Just thinking about something." "What?" He shook his head, and smiled. "Whatever." "Wait, Kaden!" I turned to him and he gave me a gift. "What is this?" "It's a present from my sister." I opened my menu and looked at it. It was a broadsword named Moon Brand. "Wow, tell her I said hi and thanks." Bo nodded as I equiped the weapon. We warped down to the arena and to the waiting crowd. Matsu smiled when he saw us. "He really seems to be looking forward to this match." Atoli whispered. "Yeah, he does." I drew Moon Brand and glared at Matsu. He waved back and got into his stance. "You guys ready?" I whispered. They nodded. Zelkova smiled as Miriam warped in behind him. "So, you have shown again." He said. "Yes... slowly but surely, AIDA is releasing it's hold on me." She told him. "The Prophecy?" Miriam sighed. "Matsu versus Kaden." Zelkova said to her. "Yeah, I know." The movements and skills of Matsu were almost the same as Kuhn's so I was well prepared for the match. But at the same time, he was extremely skilled in fighting tactics. And they were familiar to me as well. "So, the Flame Sword Demon. Perhaps he might be challenged again." Zelkova laughed. "Flame Sword Demon eh?" A voice asked. "Ella?" Miriam asked in shock. Ella smiled. "Yeah. Bo's down there so I'm allowed here." "Good..." Miriam smiled. Ella leaned against the rail. "One of us should probably tell her that he's PKed her once." Ella said loftily. "What do you mean?" "Way back when, a few weeks after Kaden started playing, she got PKed by him." Zelkova smiled. "Another match for the history books." "Kuhn, I didn't detect any AIDA signals in the Arena." "So? Anything could happen. I mean, you saw it the Holy Palace Title Match. Kite managed to come back." "Kuhn... Wait a second. I'm detecting two Altered Data characters!" "Who is it?!" Pi's eyes narrowed as she homed in the arena. "It's..." The screen went black, "What the..." "The Data Anomalys are multiplying!" She slammed her fist into the keyboard. "Dammit, we have to get down to the Arena!"