This is the final chapter. Thank you to all who have encouarged me to continue with this story. This was my first fanfic, so all the constructive critism was greatly appreciated. And I have finished all the .hack games and am busy beginning my sequel. Well, once again, I do not own .hack or any of its characters; they belong to Bandai Entertainment. Kites POV (point of view)

Chapter 4: "Declaration"

The loud "clang" sound of metal against metal was almost deafening as I raised my two short swords to block the downward slash of an all too familar katana.

"Come on, Kite. Is that all you've got?"

"No. No it's not, Sanjuro," I said with a sly smile forming on my lips. As Sanjuro pushed all his weight on his sword, I stepped back, causing him to stumble forward and trip over my foot, making him land flat on his face. "So, Sanjuro, how does that dungeon floor feel like?" I asked, in a mocking tone.

"Ouch, damn that hurt, Kite" Sanjuro said while rubbing his nose.

"Well, then, next time I guess you won't get so cocky," I said, while extending my hand to help him up.

"Yeah," Sanjuro muttered as he grabbed my hand and I helped him to his feet. "So, shall we go again?" I asked.

"Sorry, Kite, I've got some work I need to finish, so I think I'll log off".

"I see... Well, thanks for the sparring match".

"Later, Kite," Sanjuro said as the familiar golden rings encircled him as his character logged off and vanished, leaving me alone in the dungeon.

"I might as well head back to town," I said to myself as I used one of my sprite ocarina's to warp me back to the field, then to the root town. I warped into Mac Anu. It was bustling with activity, with people forming battle parties, restocking supplies, newbies just starting to enjoy the game and myriads of other actions going on all around me as I walked through the town.

"Yoo - hoo, Kite, over here," a high- pitched but familiar voice called me over to the very north end of the town, a open area for players to talk to one another.

"Hello Mistral. I didn't think you'd be on today." Mistral was a wavemaster like Elk, but that's where the similarity ended. Mistral was a happy-go-lucky person who enjoyed to form parties and go exploring.

"I didn't either, but here I am. So, any new areas to check out?" Mistral replied in her usual cheerful tone, which always seemed to have a unending supply of optimism.

"No, sorry, I don't know any new keywords," I said half-heartedly while leaning against one of the walls and looking down at my shoes.

"Is something wrong?" Mistral asked, her voice turning uncharacteristicly serious.

"It's just that... I was hoping to see..." my voice trailed off, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks, making me blush.

"Hoping to see who?" Mistral asked, a wide smile now plastered on her face, "A certain heavy-blade perhaps?" I blushed an even darker crimson as Mistral's smile grew wider.

"Am I that obvious?"

"You sure are," Mistral's said, a giggle escaped her lips. "So, the hero is in love. Ooooo... Young love, how romantic".

"Mistral I..."

"Say no more, Kite, it's obvious that you need a women's help with this matter," Mistral said as she grabed my arm and started to grag me through the town in search of Blackrose. It didn't take long to find her. She was standing on the bridge looking out over the river, like she had been a few day's ago. "There she is, Kite, now go tell her how you feel," Mistral said as she pushed me toward the bridge.

"Well, here it goes," I thought to myself as I walked toward where Blackrose stood. "Hi," was all I could manage to say as I came up behind her. "Why am I so nervous now," I thought to myself, "I was'nt this nervous the last time I saw her." "Ah, but last time you didn't know that she loved you," my inner voice objected.

"Kite, hi," Blackrose said a little surprised as she turned around to meet me eye to eye and snaping me out of my momentary trance.

"I have'nt seen you in a while, Blackrose".

"Yeah, well, I have'nt logged on in a few days, that's all".

"Is it because of what happened in Bursting, Passed over, Aqua field?"

"Yeah," Blackrose replied quietly while staring down at her boots. I placed a finger under her chin and brought her face back up to mine. I stared into her eyes, those ruby red orbs that were once full of confidence now seemed filled with worry and regret. Looking at her now, my nervousness seemed to fade away as I chose my next action. Blackrose had opened her mouth to speak but was silenced as I closed my eyes and pressed my lips to hers as gently as I could. It lasted only a few short seconds, but for those seconds everything just seemed to stop moving and remained still until we both finally broke our gentle kiss. I opened my eyes to see Blackrose's. They were no longer filled with worry or regret, but seemed to be be soft and full of emotion. I smiled at her and she smiled back before turning around to face the river again. I walked right up behind her, and wraped my arms around her waist, and gave her a kiss on her neck. To which she brought her hand to the side of my face and turned my head slightly and give me a deeper kiss then we had shared previously. Blackrose broke the kiss and whispered to me, "I love you".

"I love you, too," I whispered back to her. As I, too, looked out over Mac Anu's river, my thoughts consumed with the beautiful girl I held in my arms.

The End