o.0 Shameful confession time. I have only seen two episodes of SIGN, and they were the end episodes, too. And I wasn't really paying much attention to the last episode, because I never knew it was the last (You can imagine my reaction when I found out it was.)

So, I don't really know how the characters should act. I have looked it up on the net, though, so I think I have a handle on how the characters should act. But there's little-to-no information on Crim, or Subaru, so I'm really kind of screwed when it comes to them. And Ginkan won't be in this story, because I can't find ANY information on him whatsoever, so I really could not write him, unless you want a horribly warped Ginkan. Sorry to all his fans.

The upshot of this ramblingnosity is: If the characters are all OOC, don't flame me, just tell me how I can change them to make them more in character. Arigatou!

And, to add more to this over-long A/N, this was originally a one shot, but I came up with a plot for it (woo hoo). I was at a Radiohead concert, though, so it's a weird plot. It officially means, though, that this is an AU! You'll have to find out where, 'cause I'm not telling.

Ooh, and by the way, Bear is now Sakuma Ryo, compliments of the spiffylicious lovely Julian Sidhe.

**

'You mean… That was Sora?' Crim asked, a wild smirk pulling at his lips. He looked as though he wanted to giggle.

'You mean Sora is a ten year old? A ten year old who stalks women?' Mimiru burst out. 'Oh, that's priceless!'

She collapsed into laughter, with Crim threatening to follow her.

'He spent ages stalking *me*,' said BT irritably. 'The least he could have done was be in his twenties and insanely attractive. Now I like him even less.'

'Aw, BT, don't worry, I'm sure one day you'll be stalked by some odd movie star who happens to wander in,' Mimiru teased, gasping for air.

'That's not what's important,' An said. There was a rumble in the distance, and she jumped, spinning around and nervously looking for the source of the noise.

'Relax, An,' Subaru said, laying a pale hand on her friend's shoulder. 'It's okay.'

An sighed. 'Sorry, it's just making me kind of nervy being here.'

'That would explain why he's never here anymore, then,' Crim said, after winning his fight to subdue the giggle fit. 'A ten year old put into a coma… Well, since he's ten, it's no wonder he acted so stupid and immature.'

'He did help us, though,' Subaru pointed out. 'You say he's bullied?' she added, looking at Bear.

'I found him in this alleyway being attacked by three other boys,' Bear said. 'There was something kind of odd about him, right from the start… He seemed not to want any kind of help, or even contact. I felt sorry for him. He looked kind of lonely.'

'Well, no wonder he's lonely!' BT said. 'A ten year old after ME!'

'BT, calm down. That makes no sense, and besides, he went after Mimiru, too, remember,' Bear said.

'But Mimiru's still a child, you know!'

'I am not!'

 'I think we should bring him back into The World,' An said, over the din of the two females arguing.

'Yes. An and I discussed this, I think it's a good idea,' Bear added.

'You are a child!'

'Well, I bet you're really an old woman who's like, fifty, or something!'

'How dare you! Besides, you might just be another ten year old! You're immature enough!'

'Why do you think it's a good idea?' Crim interrupted, replying to Bear. His hands were locked around Mimiru's waist, mainly to stop the enraged heavy blade scratching out BT's hair.

'Well… He's bullied, and he's lonely. You should have seen him… I barely recognized him,' Bear said. 'When you think of him, what do you think of?'

'An annoying, permanently happy, sing-songy, extroverted twin blade with a horrible malicious side,' BT answered promptly, batting away Mimiru's hands.

'He wasn't that bad,' An said.

'He never killed you.'

'He did stop me from being killed by Morgana, though. But, he wasn't at all like that. He was all shy and quiet and closed up and wary. I think he needs The World. I think we were the closest he had to friends.'

'Friends?' Crim queried, raising an eyebrow.

'Gerroff, Crim!' Mimiru shrieked. 'I am *not* a child!'

An shifted a little, smiling at her friend's antics and tapping her fingers on her staff, surveying her friends. She still used Tsukasa's character profile. It was a kind of a testimony, proof of how such different people could all band together, of how the game could be stopped, of how people really did care. That couldn't just be thrown away.

'Well… I don't know,' Subaru said, also grinning at Mimiru. She turned and regarded An with serious eyes. 'He might just cause trouble again. I mean, admittedly, he did save us, which was very brave of him, but look at what happened. I don't think he'd even want to come back. When you were trapped in the game, you could at least interact with others. But Sora was trapped in a staff. You don't know what he might have had to deal with.'

'But, Subaru… We can at least try. I think we owe him this. He deserves it.'

'I agree,' came a voice. Bear, who had been listening to An and Subaru's conversation, turned to see Crim.

'You do?'

'Yes. Sora may have been all of what BT said – double on the annoying part – but he saved An, Aura and Subaru. I'm not his biggest fan, I'm not even a fan, but I think he deserves a second chance. It's the only honorable thing to do.'

'Aw! You're so nice!' Mimiru squealed, pulling Crim down into a glomp and causing him to lose twenty hp. 'I agree. He might not have been our friend, he might have been the most godawful and irritating ten year old to walk the face of the earth, but it's honorable, and it's what we should do!'

Bear turned to Subaru, who sighed. 'Against my better judgment, I agree. I can't see why, but I do want to help him.'

'Fine,' BT said. 'Fine, fine, I'll go along with you. But don't blame me when he kills us all or something!'

'Ginkan will be very put out about this,' Subaru commented, her armor-wearing friend popping into her mind.

'Especially when he finds out that a ten year old nicknamed him 'Bright-Eyes',' BT added.

**

'He goes to Yamaki Elementary, then,' An said, smiling at Bear.

'Yes. Remember the crest on his uniform?' Bear asked, leaning back from the terminal. Dressed in a creased white shirt and slacks, he looked rather rumpled, as he generally did in the morning.

'We'll have to figure out a way to talk to him, though,' An said. She unconsciously pulled at her school uniform, adjusting the skirt so it was a little lower.

'Well, I think you're the best person to do it.'

'Me? Why?'

'Well, because he's not likely to open up to me. Mimiru doesn't like him, and besides, she's not exactly tactful. BT *really* does not like the kid, and she doesn't like children, anyway. Crim, you know, doesn't like bringing the game into real life, and, like the others, absolutely hates him. Ginkan has the flu, and he'd really rather eat dog food than try and help an ten year old who called him 'Bright Eyes', as BT pointed out. Subaru… I don't know… she's still not really friendly towards him, and I don't blame her. Besides, you saw Sora around her. I think he's intimidated by her, a bit. That leaves you. He likes you, anyway, remember? He wanted to be your friend all along.'

'What a strange kid,' An commented. 'He really has the oddest way of going about making friends.'

'I don't think he wanted them, not really. It was you he wanted to get to know all along. What makes him strange is the aversion he has to people.'

'Yeah… But how are we going to talk to him?'

'I think I have an idea. It shouldn't be too hard to locate him, should it? Since we know his first name and the school he goes to. And people around his area would know of him, since he one of the youngest coma victims.'

'But that still doesn't explain how we can talk to him…' An said.

'That bit, I thought was a stroke of genius. His parents are probably quite rich, right?'

'Probably. Not many ten year olds have that much technology.'

'And the amount of time he spent on, that would probably mean that his parents aren't around a lot, right?'

'Yeah, but…'

**

'That's a great idea!' The woman cooed.

'I don't know… the last one was a bit traumatized, remember?'

'Yes, but he's alone so much, right?'

An shifted on the doorstep. She was dressed in a pair of casual-but-neat slacks and a button up shirt. Hopefully respectable enough. Mature, that was the look she was aiming for. Independent. Smart. And, from the sound of it, looking cunning would come in handy, too.

'Good point. Well, I think that this would be a good idea. Thank you for offering.'

An smiled. 'I'm sure Sora will be glad to see me.'

'Yes… Tell me, how do your know our boy?' The woman asked, smiling.

'Well… I… I was at the same camp as he was!'

'Really?' The man's face broke into a smile, too. An was relieved, since if Sora had *not* gone to camp, she would have been in quite a bit of trouble.

'Yes. I was an, ah, counselor there,' An said. 'You know, volunteering. I love children.'

Good God, she'd have to bite her tongue off, since it must be black and charred by now.

'Well, that's a great attribute for a babysitter,' the man said.

'Well, I'm sure you have a lot of homework to do, huh?' the woman said, smiling. She was probably quite nosy, An thought. And Sora seemed quite a private person, despite all of his bounciness. Very strange.

'Yes, Mrs. Uchiha. Is there any time you want me to start?'

'Well… I have a business meeting tomorrow with Tachikawa Corp.,' Sora's mother said.

'And I'm playing golf with an American CEO, so we'll probably need you for tomorrow,' the man added. 'I'll email you with the details tonight.'

He pulled a key out of his pocket and opened his door.

'Give my regards to Sakuma-san.'

'Sora? Sora, honey, we're home!' Mrs. Uchiha called up the stairs, deftly stepping in front of her husband and into the house.

What a house, An thought. Bear was right. These are rich people.

'Well, An, I'll see you tomorrow, then,' Sora's father said, stepping inside. 'Thank you again for coming around and offering to babysit our boy.'

**

'A stroke of luck indeed,' Bear said.

'Hmph. You're not the one who has to babysit him,' An said, finishing her rice.

'Oh, and if I had asked to babysit, that would have worked,' Bear smiled.

'How did you know them anyway?'

'Well, the Uchihas are famous among the business world, you know. Quite rich. I worked for a while making a brochure for Mr. Uchiha's company, before starting Annwen, but I never would have guessed they were his parents, though.'

'Oh. His mother looked quite rich, too.'

'Yes… I think she's the chairman of another company.'

'I think they'll need me for tomorrow.'

'I feel so sorry for you,' Bear said, looking not-at-all sorry. 'Babysitting him. You'll go crazy and kill him.'

'I beg your pardon, I wasn't the one who threw him off a cliff.'

'I think Crim is quite regretting that now, actually.'

'I'm regretting this even more.'

'Chin up, An,' Bear laughed. 'After all, it's not like he's a Player Killer in real life, remember?'

'Wouldn't surprise me.'

**

'You're *what?*'

The green haired boy paused and stared at his mother.

'A babysitter, honey. Great news. And such a nice girl, too. Now sit down and finish your dinner,' the woman said.

'I don't need a babysitter,' Sora said, spitting out the word babysitter like it had a bad taste. 'I'm not a *baby*'

'Of course you're not,' his father said absently. 'But it's not good for you to be alone all the time.'

What would you know about that? thought Sora bitterly. You weren't trapped in a staff. That's all there was there. Loneliness.

'I don't mind being alone, really I don't,' he settled for saying, sitting back down. Besides, it was already quite obvious he was fighting a losing battle.

'I know you'll like her, Sora,' his mother added. 'Like I said, a very nice girl. Name of… An, wasn't it?' she looked at his father.

Sora promptly dropped his bowl.

'Shouji An, that was it,' his father said. 'Pick that up.'

Sora felt like he would be sick. 'W-What about her family?' he blurted out.

'What about them?' his father replied.

'I mean… eh… I think I've heard of her… isn't her father a man called Ryo?' Sora asked, reaching beneath the table and picking up his bowl while praying to whatever divine force above that he was wrong.

'Yes. Ryo Sakuma. He worked on a brochure for me a while ago. Nice man.'

'Terrible haircut, though,' his mother added.

'He adopted her, I think. She was one of the people in a coma because of that video game,' his father said. His mother elbowed her husband and quickly shushed him. Her policy was never to mention That Game in the house anymore.

'I… don't feel well… Can I be excused?' Sora asked, standing up again. Puppy eyes. Usually he was supposed to eat everything in front of him, because his mother worried about him. It wasn't his fault he was skinny.

'Sora… Aren't you hungry?' his mother said, right on cue.

Big puppy eyes. Scarily large puppy eyes. Even if you had eyes the color of blood, it worked.

'No, mama.'

'Well…'

Dammit, thought Sora. I'm being cute. How can you resist?

'Okay then. If you're not hungry.'

Sora quickly cleared off his bowls and ran up the stairs.

Once in his room, he sat down on the bed. It was a plain, normal looking room, except for the desk, where a computer was perched. Obviously the pride of the room.

Sora could barely suppress a shudder, looking at it. He still couldn't bring himself to take it out of his room, though, anymore than he could delete his copy of The World.

Even though all it stood for was disappointment. After all, if you're going to be trapped in a staff for God-knows-how-long, you could at least be rescued by the person you want to be rescued by, right? But Tsukasa – An, he corrected himself – had not bothered to come and find him. He was probably the last person to find out that An was a girl, too, or that Bear had adopted her. In fact, they were probably all *glad* that he had been attacked by Skeith.

Bitterness twisted his brow as he remembered that staff. That damned staff. The feeling of being alone, the feeling of not even being, per se. The knowledge that you were not so much in the dark as you were the dark. Tainted. And that it had taken so long for  anyone to find him… The knowledge that no one did care was hard to take. Even if you spent a long time ensuring that no one would care about you, someone should at least have noticed. But An hadn't. They hadn't come to find him. They hadn't cared. Not even Kite. Kite had not been looking for him; no one had. No one at all.

Sora sighed and rolled over onto his stomach. Best not to think about that. After all, in his dreams he had time enough to consider it.

**

Sigh. That one didn't turn out as well as I wanted it to, but hopefully it ain't too bad. Please review! Flames will be used to toast sausages over, á la Gir Invader Zim style. Tell me whether I should have left it as a one shot or if I should continue.

Crystal17: *Gets up* Here's another chapter, O great one! Aack! Thankies ^^

Valefor: There is indeedy more to come! Warm and fuzzies all around.

Yagami: Do you have a Sora shrine?! URL me, quick! I love his theme ^^. It's a sign you're obsessed with Sora, apparently, if you actually like the banjo. I do, now. Hee hee.

Moonlight'sSpell: Not as much as your story does! I agree… Sora is too cute, but torture makes him even more adorable. I think the project .hack people knew that too o.0

Julian Sidhe: Thanks! Also, thanks for the tipoff on Bear's real name.