All right, in response to a request for some of Elk's offline life, I've decided that it would be worth the while, seeing how not EVERYBODY can stay logged onto a game forever (I came really close though!). So here comes the section dedicated to real life Elk.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of .Hack. If you want to sue me, go ahead. The most you'll be getting from me is about two dollars. So it isn't worth it! XD

Twenty-four Hours Multiplied by Two

Elk woke up to the shrill cry of his alarm clock. He rubbed his eyes with clenched fists and yawned soon after. His disheveled, ebony hair spread across his pale skin, barring his deep, sapphire eyes. 'Great...another school day. Well, at least there's only a few more weeks left...' he thought while preparing himself for the school day routine.

He walked down the usual path to the usual boring classes he would have to take. However, he paused and remembered the events that had happened last year. It felt like he was reliving the whole thing but in his private world and nobody was able to see but him.

"You know? What you said Monday, about nobody liking you, wasn't true," he started.

The girl walked a little slower, delaying her departure from him at their usual fork in the hallway. She clutched her binders to her chest and pierced his eyes with her chocolate ones. "You...really think so?" He watched as a slight grin appeared on her normally depressed face. "Thanks. Well, see you later."

Once the girl walked into her respectable classroom, he was encountered by some of his own friends. "Heh heh, nice going man! You got her eating right out of your hand!"

"How could you lead her on like that?!" As well as the girl's own classmates. "I can't believe you didn't think about her feelings!"

"Yeah, neither can I!"

"You tell that jerk, girl!"

"Hey, it's not his fault if 'oh I'm so depressed yet so bright' is so easily influenced!" his friend shot back. Before any more arguments could arise, and before the tardy bell would destroy his clean slate, Anthony continued the way to his math class.

'Is that really what she thought I meant by that?' he contemplated. He couldn't bear the fact that one of his only friends would think of him as a possible suitor. He placed his pencil between his middle and index finger, twirling it back and forth. 'I only meant to brighten her mood. She's seemed so unhappy ever since I've met her, that it's almost pitiful.'

He thought the whole sequence of his classes was appalling. It appeared to be nearly the same as the year he had spent with Fallon - art class in first period, Math second, Enrichment third, and so on.

"Anthony!" His teacher's voice echoed harshly in his ears, disrupting his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh...I'm sorry..."

"Well, what's the answer?"

He had forgotten all about his Algebra class that he was taking. Pragmatically, he was meant to take Pre-Algebra, but there was no more room in those classes, so the school thought he was well developed enough to take an advanced eighth grade course.

"Um...the quadratic equation is negative B plus or minus the square root of B squared minus the quantity four times A times C, all of that divided by two A..."

"That is correct. Thank you, Anthony. Now, Matthew..."

'Phew...that was close...What was I thinking about again? Oh yeah, Fallon...'

'Now that I think about it...when WAS the first time that we met? Physical Education in fifth grade, yeah, I remembered meeting her then. I feel sort of badly for treating her wrongly...'

In fifth grade, Anthony used to be a real slacker. He would put off his schoolwork till the last minute or forget to bring his work home to finish it. Of course, like any disciplining parents, his were no exception. He lost all his luxuriant privileges – his television set, radio, video games and systems, time with the few friends he had, and even the door to his room. The DOOR to his room of all things, why did they have to take that away? The missing piece constantly reminded him to do more work than needed. He didn't like the feeling of being exposed to everything and everyone. There was no privacy in a room without a door. Moreover, there certainly was no protection either.

'And I made fun of her just because I was so insecure about my own self...Who am I fooling? I still am insecure, but I guess it wasn't as bad as before.'

He couldn't hold back the faint smirk. He had to admit that he did have some fun 'torturing' her. But...what was so fun about correcting her mistakes and watching her frustration of her embarrassment? She always took things so seriously. He remembered the times when the coaches made everyone play dodge ball, and he watched her look childish by saying stuff like "watch out for that ball!" and "you're going to die if you go into their territory!" Yes, it was interesting just watching her and some of her flaws. Yet, she was determined and never backed down from a challenge, unless it was something utterly stupid like failing a test or something of the sort. He'd hate to admit it, but he was becoming quite good friends with the girl.

'Argh...I need to stop acting like an infatuated boy. It will only disrupt my learning sessions.'

So he cast all side thoughts away and continued the day with no more painful thoughts about that stupid love game. Two days had passed since he had gone to his virtual paradise with his much admired feline. He wondered if she thought about him; and if she did, would she admit it? He had to see what she was doing.

"Anthony, there's a girl on the phone for you," came his mother's voice. He inwardly cursed the interruption the girl had caused. He wouldn't be able to see Mia if this Debbie would never cease calling him and asking him questions about his personal being. He must admit, he sometimes did enjoy the phone call, but only when he felt like no one really cared about him. He constantly wondered why she called him of all the boys. What exactly did she want from him?

"Hello?" he answered.

His mother was correct, it was a girl, but he couldn't place his finger on whom it was. "Hello, Anthony? Do you remember me?"

His voice was laced with a bit of embarrassment, "um...no, not at the moment, sorry."

"It's Fallon! You know, from fifth and sixth grade?"

'Fallon? I know people had asked me that she had wanted my email address, but I thought they were just lying. Besides, I never had one to give to her even if they weren't lying.' His quickly responded in a cheerful manner, "really? Wow, it's been a while, but it's still great to hear from you. How did you know my phone number?"

Fallon replied with a bit of a smug expression, "heh heh, well, I looked it up in the phone book."

'The phone book? Why didn't I think of that?'

She continued, "so, how've you been?"

"Fine, I've been doing well in school surprisingly."

"So, you're not slacking off like in Ms. Chaco's class?" He could hear her chuckle at the comment.

"I was never slacking off in the first place! She was the one losing my work and being late to class, remember?"

"Yeah, I do. That's why you called her 'Chaco-late'," they both laughed at that memory.

"So what about you? What have you been doing?"

"Eh...nothing much. I've just been participating in the anime club here. Any events for you?"

"Well, actually, I have this ROTC ball I'm going to be attending. I was considering on asking this one girl to come with me. Do you know a person named Courtney?"

For a second, he thought he had noticed a slight sullen voice come through the phone, "no, I don't," she paused and laced her voice with a more light-hearted one, "well, she's one lucky girl. Ha ha, my friends have been telling me I should do something like that too."

"What? Go to a school dance or something?"

"Yeah, something around that area. They keep telling me things like 'Fallon, you need to get a boyfriend' and 'Fallon, stop looking so sad'."

"Wait, you've never had a boyfriend?" This was getting interesting, a girl who looked like she had everything in wits and decent appearance was without a suitor? Sure, she had the traits of any African American – dark tone, semi-flat nose, delicate onyx hair, medium-sized structured body. To top it off, she was very intelligent compared to everyone in her grade level and the one above it.

She hesitated on her answer, as if she was tying to forget an experience that led her to dread, 'well, yeah. I never have really."

Normally, Anthony would leave a person be, and not discuss his or her love interest, but he couldn't help his curiosity, "well, do you have your eye on someone?"

"Um...this may sound a bit odd, but yes, I do."

"There's nothing wrong with that. It's a part of growing up. We're really close to high school, so you know, it's all right," he replied. He couldn't believe the words coming out of his own mouth. Never had he talked about the matter with so much care, he used to brush it off casually.

"Heh heh, I see. Well, how about you? Do you have your eye on anyone?"

'Crap...she wasn't supposed to ask me that' "Well, I have my eye on a few. If you don't mind me asking, who has the honor of holding your heart?"

"Well...he has an 'A' in his name and goes to the school you go to."

Anthony paused to think about who else had an 'A' in his school. It suddenly hit him on whom she was discussing. 'She can't possibly be serious. How could she? How could she actually still like me after all this time?' His heart began flail like a fish out of water. "R-really? Since when?"

"I still do now," her voice resounded within his head.

Moments of silence spread between both of them, although it felt as if it were an eternity until one of them spoke.

"Well, you know, I happen to know a girl with an "F" in her name, whom has my attention," he paused for a reassuring chuckle, "Hey, you know about The World, right?"

Her enthusiastic reply hinted that, despite being an introvert, she was a true gamer at heart – if anything, more aggressive and competitive than she appeared. "Yes, I've heard of it, I've even played it before; but I don't own the game. Why?"

"Oh...well, I was thinking that we could probably meet there if it was possible."

"That would be awesome. Maybe if I earn enough money from mowing lawns, I'll be able to get the game soon. Until then, I guess the phone would be an okay way of reaching you."

He agreed, "yeah, that will be just fine," staring at the clock, he knew he had to bring closure to the conversation, no matter how much he didn't want to, "Hey, I really hate to go, but I have to finish my homework. Can I get your number before I leave?"

"Done," Anthony breathed. His homework had taken up at least another hour of his time from The World. Algebra was easy to him. It was just doing all of the work that was time consuming. He placed the worksheets inside of the algebra book and soon afterward slammed his pencil atop it. He looked at the clock once more and decided that if he was careful not to disturb his parents, he could play in The World until midnight.

Stepping lightly, Anthony made his way to the computer, placed a virtual helmet on, and started the machinery.

"Hey, Elk!" Mia's voice came. The azure haired introvert turned his attention to his amethyst feline. She was standing at the mail station. It was a wooden board that held the messages of friends. So if one person passed through the town and couldn't find his friend, he would merely leave a letter on the wooden plank and be off. However, this was no ordinary piece of wood. This piece of wood possessed magical powers to keep other persons from reading what was not theirs. It would create a protective aura around the message until its rightful receiver came. Then the message would flash in all different hues, much like the aurora borealis, when the intended receiver was in the vicinity.

Elk walked up to his feline companion and returned her greeting, "hi, Mia. So, what are you doing?" He asked, performing his usual head tilt act while looking at the message within Mia's hands. It was of a khaki color and was neatly rolled up in a scroll fashion. Sealing it, was a crimson ribbon.

"Oh, I was reading one of my letters. Apparently, Kite is willing to come into the dungeon."

Elk slightly squinted. "Kite? You mean that bracelet boy?"

"Yeah, that's him. I told him that I could tell him more about the bracelet. So, he agreed to meet us at the bottom floor," Mia replied, sticking the paper back on the wall. The message quickly disappeared. The piece of wood knows when paper is to be discarded.

Elk followed Mia back to the Chaos Gate. He watched her search for the correct code for the Unbeatable Monster's keep. "We're...going to head out...now?" Mia simply nodded in response. Within several seconds of the code's completion, the two were gone.

'I just hope you know what you're doing, Mia..."

Gosh, this took forever! And I really don't know anything about Elk's offline life, so I made up almost everything about it. If you know anything that I don't, I'll be glad to change things. Overall, I'm not very satisfied with this chapter. Some parts are okay to me, but everything else was just like "blah." Oh well, you know what they say: You're your own worst critic. I'm sorry for keeping you guys waiting so long for this. And I thank all of you whom have been with me (I.e. adding me to your favorite authors list and such) throughout this long wait. Oh, and even if you didn't review, I still thank you for reading my fiction. Please review once more for me! Thanks!