A/N: Reviews! I feel special. Thanks very much for your commentary!
Doctor Yadate is not going to be a main character. He just has a name 'cause all the masculine personal pronouns were starting to bug me.

Enjoy the show. (Yes, a trademark phrase. Don't hurt me!)

Disclaimer: .hack belongs to those dudes who can draw better then I can.

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Chapter 2: Not Really There

You told me that you want to die
I said I've been there myself more than a few times
And I go back every once in a while
You called me lucky; you...you called me lucky.
Trouble Breathing - Alkaline Trio

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It had only been a few moments until Hikaru's eyes opened begrudgingly much as they had done earlier; he had fallen adjacent to the bed, and when the nurse poked her head in, she merely saw him sending a frigid glare towards the window. Assuming nothing had happened, she resumed her walk to the hospital cafeteria. She could've sworn she had heard a thud. Must've been her imagination, that... He listened as her high heels moseyed down the hall.

Hikaru Mitsurugi propped his weight against the bed and continued to examine Tokyo, complex and bustling; people shoving their ways across the streets, paving roads for themselves. His keen eyes could spot many things--an old man picking up a silver coin from the road, a little girl with the brightest hair leaving a card shop.

Even though the windows were nearly soundproof, it was annoying. Supremely annoying, and noisy. He could just...tell. What a bunch of simpletons...

Smog didn't seem to get any higher then the floor he was on; quickly, he noted that he was at least sixteen stories from the ground. It didn't blemish the sky. Then and there, he recalled his last coherent thought before he had another episode. Sora...!

Sora is your name.

A spasm rippled violently throughout his pre-adolescent body, so quick he couldn't feel it yet so turbulent he felt the stiffening aftereffects. His vision flickered with static streamlines for a moment; a wave of black and white specks you may see if a television channel is malfunctioning.

It was after he had regained his composure; the doctor walked in, a file in his hand. "Hello, Hikaru; how are you feeling? You really shouldn't try to get up so soon. Get back into bed, Mr. Mitsurugi--now, if you will."

"My name--..." The boy stumbled towards the white desk, the soft glow of the thin lamp glimmering on a file, reading: Name, Hikaru Mitsurugi. Age, 10. The quick convulsion from seconds ago returned and numbed his body, leaving him with an intangible control over his motions. His hands fumbled blindly around the desk. You are... "I am..." he said slowly, fingers twitching and curling around a ballpoint pen.

"Hikaru-kun? Are you alright!? 'I am...' You are what? You're--"

"SORA!!!"

A horrible, strangled cry escaped from his throat--a terrifying jumble between a scream and a vicious yell. The ballpoint pen jolted from his hand, whizzing perhaps a centimeter or less past the side of Doctor Yadate's egg-shaped head, and with a loud thud imbedded itself in the wall.

The boy--no, Sora's eyes flashed a bloodier red then ever; he breathed heavily, staggeringly, as if his heart threatened to leap out of his chest any moment. Yadate's eyes widened, yet his pupils shrunk to a miniscule size; his flimsy glasses slid off his nose and clattered to the ground.

Doctor Yadate turned and fled from the room, leaving the tormented boy to his thoughts. He scampered after the familiar bouncy-haired nurse, his elderly muscles not taking him at a very rapid pace.

"Nurse--nurse! Get that man, the one who said he wished to make contact with...with anyone that had been in...a similar state as his daughter! Get me the father of Annako Sakuma!" The nurse turned the corner with a swift nod, acknowledging the request. Mutedly, he continued: "...And whatever you do, call Hikaru Mitsurugi...Sora. I-I'm warning you..." Her sparkling cerulean eyes took this into account with a hint of terror, apparently shaken by whatever had driven the doctor to the brink of hysterics. And she began to perform the task that was appointed to her, disappearing behind a corridor.

Sora could only sink to his knees, furiously brushing aside the moistness in his eyes.

The doctor lied to you about your real name...

My child...

When will I see my...my family? I want to see them. NOW...

...my child...

...Answer me, damn you!!!

...You will soon understand...

I am your family...

And the only bit of it you've got...

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47-year-old Ryo Sakuma sat at a desk, scribbling notes down on a sheet of scrap paper. His icy gray eyes scanned the paper, and seemingly pleased with the progress it had made, continued to write furiously. A little ways behind him, a brown-haired girl with amethyst eyes played The World, furiously tapping the controller and occasionally mouthing something or repeating a Wavemaster spell under her breath. Apparently satisfied with the fruits of his work, Ryo tucked the paper away in a small pile on the other corner of the desk.

"Annako, could you tell Mimiru I beta-read her assign--"

Before he could finish his sentence, his cell phone began vibrating on the table, rhythmically thudding against the wood. "Say something, papa?" Annako asked distractedly, busily tapping the controller. Ryo shook his head and picked up the phone, pressing a bright green button with a small picture of a telephone. The author

"Hello; Ryo Sakuma speaking. May I ask whom is calling?" he said nonchalantly, standing up and peering over Annako's shoulder into the liquid screen. At the moment, the character Tsukasa was helping Mimiru-chan beat down a monster. "Hm?" The man nodded in affirmation, albeit the woman on the other end couldn't see it. "...Yes, I do remember requesting that six months ago..." A pause. "A boy, eh?"

"Yes, Mr. Sakuma." the feminine voice responded. "His name: Mitsurugi Hikaru... The boy's caretaker, Doctor Yadate, however, said he vehemently claimed his name was Sora."

"Sora!?" The portable phone nearly fell to the ground--he ended up juggling it in his hands for a while before coughing and pressing it to his ear. "I-I'm sorry. Right. I'll be right there." The voice faded. Ryo turned around, tapping his daughter on the shoulder. Annako was too enraptured in the game to respond. So, he merely turned off the computer.

"Hey! I was playing that!" Annako bristled, whirling around in her chair and folding her arms on her lap. "What is it?" she asked with a small grin.

"We're going to the hospital. We're going to visit a boy--ah, hell, you know him. Sora. Sora, from six months ago."

Annako paused; her eyelid fluttered and she shot up from her seat.

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A/N: The plot is moving along rather slowly, isn't it? Oh well. I'll pick up the pace in later chapters, but for now... Anyway; I'm quite positive BT will show up sooner or later. She's going to be an integral part here.