Disclaimer: Ok, I don't own .hack or anything from it save the characters
I have created. Bandai owns the rest.
PG-13: I could probably get away with PG, but not sure just how violent it might get later, so better to be safe.
Author's Comment: So you know, all areas mentioned can be reached in the game and are to a great degree accurate.
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The Epitaph of Twilight. Despite the maze of complexity involved within the conundrum that was this series of occurrences, it all seemed to come back and revolve around this strange epic poem. Sitting underneath his usual tree in ? Hidden Passionate Prairie, Kite found himself once again contemplating recent events.
He had read bits and pieces of the Epitaph, but determining its order without the rest of it was impossible, and without knowing the correct order understanding it was at best. . . problematic. Wiseman was of course analyzing the texts as only he could do, and Helba being as cryptic on her knowledge of the Epitaph as always, Kite was left to figure out what he could on his own.
One thing he knew though, as far as he could tell, only two beings had been named more than once in the pieces of text he had read: The Wave, and now Macha. Who this being was he didn't know, but from the sound of it Macha wasn't like the other enemies, the heralds of the Wave as the Epitaph called it. Seductive traps, moving amongst the others, Macha seemed to be more like a spy than a true foe, in a combat sense anyway.
If that was the case though, then who was Macha spying on? Other players, the administrators, or even Kite and his friends; all were possibilities. It was the last one that scared him the most though, because that meant one of his friends, who he trusted, was the spy. But if that was true, then who could it be? Could it be. . . no, he wasn't about to start doubting his friends, those he relied on. He'd just have to deal with the problem when it arose.
Then there was the other being, the Wave, whatever exactly that meant. To take a phrase out of Nuke Usagimaru's book, if Skeith and the others were just the opening act, then what would this Wave be like as the main event? There were just too many questions that needed to be answered, and if anyone knew they weren't-"
"Kite, you came!"
Twisting his head off in the direction of the sound, Kite glanced up off at a nearby hill where a lone player stood, one he was beginning to see more often.
Waving her arm in the air, Mycinity began running down the hill, tumbling the last ten feet as she tripped up and lost her balance, she rolled to her feet and continued at a sprint towards Kite. The smile on her face broadened as Kite rose to his feet at her approach, and her heart pounded faster. As she reached him Mycinity dropped her sword and flung her arms around Kite tightly in a huge embrace, planting a kiss on his cheek as she did so.
Taken by total surprise at this, Kite lost his balance and fell backwards, landing on his back, Mycinity, who had not let go, falling with him using Kite to break her fall. Placing her hands on the ground next to either side of Kite's shoulders, Mycinity lifted her head up off Kite's chest and looked down at the young Twin Blade with a coy grin, her cheeks flushing crimson. He certainly was forward. "My goodness Kitey, you're moving so fast. Don't you think we should get to know one another better, at least trade Member Addresses before we get into this?"
Kite's own cheeks blushed now. He didn't quite understand all this, she had been the one to jump onto him and not let go when he lost his balance. She certainly was energetic though. But 'Kitey', what on Earth was up with that? "I'm sorry, but you were the one that fell on me after all. Would you mind getting off me please."
Her face turning even redder, Mycinity lifted herself up off Kite and rolled off to the right, sitting up and reclining back on her left hand. As she removed herself from on top of him, Kite sat up as well and returned to his position against the tree. Taking a deep breath, Kite closed his eyes and leaned his head back for a long moment before finally exhaling. As he lifted his head back up and opened his eyes, he suddenly through his head back in shock banging the back of his head against the tree trunk hard. Mycinity's face was right in front of his, grinning happily.
As his body flinched from the blow to his head, Kite heard a gasp and before he knew it Mycinity was grabbing his face and trying to turn his head to get a better look at the back of his head. "Oh, I'm sorry Kitey- poo, I didn't mean to surprise you like that. Oh, you're cute little head is going to get a bump now. I'm so sorry, please forgive me."
Finally pulling his head away, Kite rubbed the back of his head with his right hand and smiled despite his massive confusion. Kitey-poo? "It's ok, I've had plenty worse before. But Mycinity-"
"Please, call me My, everyone else does Kitey."
"Ok, then My, why are you calling me that? I mean I may not be an adult, but doesn't that sound rather. . . childish?"
Blinking at that, Mycinity just stared back at Kite for a moment. She always called him Kitey, although now that she thought about it this was the first time to his face, the others really had just bee fantasies. Still, they could work this out, after all, love was in the air. After all, he'd come here to be with her. "What, I think it's really cute, just like you." Inching closer now, Mycinity placed her hand on Kite's shoulder and ran it along his collarbone before scooting even closer and resting her head on his right shoulder with a heavenly smile.
Stunned into a stupor hardly described the look upon Kite's face just then. He just sat there for a minute, staring down at Mycinity's content face, eyes closed as if in some angelic sleep. As he tried to finally move his arm, Mycinity's hand shot out and caught his hand before it could barely move an inch, wrapping it in her own as fingers entangled and his arm was locked in place.
"Umm, My, what are you doing?"
Lifting her head up off his shoulder to look at him with half opened dreamy eyes, she replied, "Just snuggling. Isn't it nice, especially between two people who care about each other so much?"
Now it was Kite's tun to blink in silence. Care about each other. . . she couldn't mean a romantic relationship. Perhaps he was misreading what she had said. After all, when he'd given the Spiral Edge to Natsume she had said that she had nothing to give him, then after a moment had offered herself. That had certainly thrown him for a momentary loop before she'd explained she meant helping him out as a party member. As she settled her head back down onto his shoulder though, it became quite obvious to Kite that this wasn't a misunderstanding like Natsume had been. Letting out a distinctive gulp, Kite's mind raced with what to do. He wasn't good at these things at all, as he had never had a girlfriend before. It wasn't exactly clear where she'd gotten the idea that they were an item, but just now he wasn't sure what to do. Honesty, that had to be the best answer.
"Umm, My, I don't know how to say this exactly, but I think there's some kind of misunderstanding here." Mycinity lifted her head up at that, puzzlement crossing her brow. "You see, while you're very nice and all, I'm not really interested in a relationship like this."
At those words, time itself seemed to freeze for Mycinity. She couldn't have heard that right, but she knew she had all the same. It just couldn't be though, after all Kite had come, he was here, they were supposed to be together. It didn't make sense at all. Time then returned and a gasp exited Mycinity's lips as she lifted herself back away from him in shock. She still held firmly onto his hand though, even as he attempted to get her to let go.
"W-what? N-no Kite, that can't be right. Y-you and-d I we. . ."
"I'm sorry My, I do like you it's just-"
"But you CAME! You're here, just like I asked! That means you care, that you wanted. . ."
Kite's brow wrinkled in confusion at that. "My, what are you talking about? What do you mean I came?"
"The Message Board! Didn't you read it? I posted a message asking you to meet me here at this time if you wanted to get together with me. . . so we could get to know one another."
Everything suddenly came together. Lowering his head as he facepalmed, Kite shook his head morbidly. Looking back up at her after a moment, Kite felt a twist in his gut as he noticed tears beginning to well up in Mycinity's eyes. "My, I'm really sorry, but I never saw the message on the Message Board."
Sorrow was sweeping over Mycinity's face more and more now, a tear ran down her cheek. "But then why are you. . .?"
"I just come here every so often to relax and think about things by myself. That's why I was here the day you and I first met. I'm sorry."
Mycinity finally burst into tears, dropping her face into her hands and turning away from him. * Fate is so cruel to me! Why, why did it have to be like this? Can't we still be together? What is stopping us? Could it be. . .? *
Lifting her head up out of her hands and wiping away the droplets running down her cheeks, Mycinity said, "Is it because of HER? Do you like that other Heavy Blade or something?"
"You mean BlackRose? How do you-"
"What does she have that I don't? Don't you think I'm pretty?"
Kite supposed she was pretty, he didn't think she was unattractive, but something from the look on her face told him that saying 'I guess' wouldn't be a good thing just now. "Yes, you're very pretty My. You see it's just that-"
"Then what is it? Why can't we be together?" Her voice had begun to rise now, and the tears were flowing even more than before. Kite opened his mouth to answer, but before he could speak she continued, "I'm sorry, I just can't. . ."
Kite reached his hand out and tried to place it on her shoulder, but Mycinity just recoiled from it. Sighing to himself, Kite tried his best to give her a reassuring smile, then said, "Mycinity, would you like my Member Address at the very least? That way you won't have to post on the Board to get in touch with me."
Looking up at him in surprise, tears beginning to slow, she barely whispered out, "Really?" Smiling wider now, Kite nodded, giving her his Member Address. A smile swept over Mycinity's face now as she received the address and hope began to glimmer in her eyes again. As she stared into his fair blue eyes, Mycinity suddenly flushed red in embarrassment. "I'm sorry." Suddenly she warped away, leaving Kite once again all alone.
Staring at the spot she had been only a moment ago, Kite blinked, shrugged, and returned to his reclined position against the tree. He certainly hoped she was all right, but he could find out later. There was still plenty to ponder.
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She was late. Instead of being upset by it though, SM Slayer actually found it quite amusing. After all, Nightstar had arranged the time and place for the meeting, and here she was running late. It wasn't like she would have much trouble finding the place, jungle areas like this one in ? Bursting Solitary Melody were quite easy to navigate, especially since it was such a low level area from characters like them.
Placing his hands back behind his head again as he stretched out along the branch of the tree he had hopped into at the far side of this. . . what was something like this called anyway, a clearing? Well it didn't really matter, not to him anyway, it wasn't like he was one of those stupid nature lovers, although he had to admit that sometimes it felt nice to lie down on a big tree branch like this one. Hearing the faint noise of monkeys and birds in the distance just above the background music, SM Slayer began to consider it. The most likely answer was that being in a tree, climbing it, lying down in it, was all just some left over instinctual thing from the primates that had come before him. Some leftover gene that no longer served any purpose other than to say that trees were nice to climb. * Does that make me primitive? Nah. *
Checking the note he ad scribbled down from her email, SM Slayer yet again checked that he had come to the right spot. South three, west one, north one, west two. Yep, this was the spot, something must have simply been keeping her. Probably in the shower or something like that, it was a new routine for her to shower in the mornings after she woke up. Due to work and life the early morning had always been the most convenient time for both of them to meet up in 'The World' and now she was cutting into that time by taking showers in the morning.
They had gotten into an argument about this topic about a month before, and her reason had something to do with waking her up better than her usual cup of coffee. It hadn't really been a fight, not in the traditional sense anyway, more along the lines of a disagreeing conversation. They had never resolved it though due to Nightstar finally calling it off due to their agreement not to bring the real world into this one, and her morning routine was one of those things.
Sighing and closing his eyes, SM Slayer shook his head lazily. "Man, why do women always take so long in the shower anyway?"
"Well now, you certainly know what a lady wants to hear in the morning."
Startled at the sudden voice, SM Slayer's body twisted instinctually, and even as it did he realized that he had run out of branch. As gravity kicked in SM Slayer let out a yelp and reached to grab his Fairy Spear which still rested on the branch perpendicular to it with his right hand. Grasping it, he tightened his muscles hard and twisted his wrist to force the spear shaft to remain horizontal. It complied, and that left SM Slayer dangling from the branch with one hand holding him up.
Despite 'The World' being so much more like reality than any other game he had ever heard of, there were some instances that were different, and just now he was rather grateful. Unlike the real world, weapons in 'The World' didn't snap in half when too much weight was applied, or they were hit by something stronger. This was what allowed him to hang as he was without his spear snapping on him, and as he shifted his body weight to grab the other half on the opposite side of the branch with his left, he twisted the angle of the spear slightly causing him to face almost fully forward.
What he found there was a lovely redheaded Wavemaster sitting on the stone bench with legs crossed and a very amused look on her face. Reddening slightly with embarrassment, SM Slayer began swinging his momentum back and forth before gaining enough to flip himself back up onto the branch, where he returned to leaning on the trunk of the tree, stretching his legs back out and trying his best to act cool. "You're late Nightstar."
Giggling, Nightstar grinned knowingly and replied, "I'll be late every time if I can get a performance like that out of you. I didn't know you could be so energetic in the morning. Find a new blend of coffee with more caffeine, or are you just trying to impress me?"
Chuckling himself now, SM Slayer just shook his head slowly. "You never change do you?" Staring down at her, he got no reply. She just stared right back with a soft smile on her lips. "So anyway Nightstar, what's up? You find something out about this Kite guy?"
The smile disappearing now, Nightstar just sighed. "Some gentlemen you are. Don't even ask me how I'm doing."
"I'm sorry, but since you were late I only have a limited amount of time before I have to leave for work, so pleasantries have to go. If I may ask though, why are we meeting here and not in a Root Town?"
Glancing over her shoulder for a moment, she looked back up at him and answered, "Less likely we'll be overheard." As his eyebrow cocked in confusion, she moved on. "In regards to your earlier question SM, the answer is yes and no. More of a kind of."
A cocked eyebrow was not enough to show the confusion SM Slayer felt now. "Umm, can you get a little more vague? Shouldn't be too specific after all."
"Smart ass. Anyway, what I meant is that a lot of people seem to know of him, but not many actually know him, or that much about what he really is like. There were a few other stories similar to the one you got from Mycinity, of Kite appearing to save them from some terrible monster, but as for who he is and such, that's more rumor and myth."
"Myth? You make it sound like he's some sort of legend, like the Descendants of Fianna."
Shrugging her shoulders, Nightstar let out a whisper of a sigh. "Well, in a way, he sort of is a legend, or at least is becoming that."
SM Slayer just blinked. "You're kidding."
"Nope, although what I hear about him is quite mixed. Several of my sources referred to him as quite the hero, someone to be looked up to, just like people look up to Lord Orca and Lord Balmung, or how they used to look up to Lady Subaru of the Crimson Knights before they disappeared. However, there is some disturbing rumors and reports as well."
"Like?"
Taking a deep breath, she answered, "Kite may be an outlaw player."
"What? You mean he cheats, his character is edited? Well his design is kinda unusual."
Again Nightstar just shrugged. "I wouldn't know, but I guess he has some sort of illegal item that does something outside the rules of the game. More disturbing though is that one source linked him as working with Helba."
"Helba." SM Slayer just ran that through his head. Helba was the legendary hacker who was responsible for this virus within 'The World' and if Kite had an illegal item and was around her then. . . "Are you sure about that?"
Nightstar shook her head. "Not at all. Like I said it was just one source. I had another source tie him to Lord Balmung, saying the two had teamed up to try and stop the virus. That source didn't mention any illegal items though. My friend Marin says though that he and a young Heavy Blade were inquiring not too long ago about that girl in white they were chatting about on the boards."
SM Slayer nodded. "The one being chased by a something with a red wand? Yeah, I remember that one. I tried to look into it once, but the area was protected so I gave up. I figured it was just a hoax, or maybe some sub-event that CC Corp was setting up that got out of hand for awhile. You think it was something else though?"
"I can only speculate, but it's possible. There's just too little information to be certain."
"Yeah" SM replied with a nod, "but Kite is either tied to Helba or Lord Balmung, he couldn't be to both. I met Lord Balmung once before you know, and was very impressed by his love for this game and commitment to protecting it. Lord Balmung would never work with a hacker or anyone associated with one, especially one as notorious as Helba." Pausing and taking a deep breath, SM Slayer exhaled then looked down at Nightstar. "So, is that everything you found out?"
"Yes, but there is something else. One of my better sources that is quite connected to all sorts of information refused to do so this time, no matter the price. It was strange, I have never seen Wiseman turn someone down flatly on a request for information without even offering a price for it. Almost like he was afraid."
"Afraid, or what? Of Kite?"
"Maybe, or of what that information might do if it was revealed. All I can say about this Kite though for certain is that he's a very powerful character, and he seems to get involved with a lot of dangerous situations. He's involved in stuff way over our heads, but whether for better or worse I don't have a clue." Leaning back on her hands now, Nightstar tilted her head and looked up at SM Slayer with a curious innocence on her face that beguiled a mischievous amusement. "So, what do you plan to do now?"
Leaning his head back against the tree trunk now, SM Slayer began to run everything he had just heard through his head. What was he going to do? Nothing about this Kite guy was clear cut, the information seemed to be all twisted and disturbed like a corrupted data program. Corrupted, was that truly the right word? It had just come to him, but it painted Kite in a far darker color in his mind. Mycinity was certainly big enough to take care of herself, but then she didn't know what he did. Whether Kite was dangerous or not, trouble seemed to follow him, just like that guy that Fujiko. . .
No, he had to stop this, before another tragedy happened. Mycinity was a sweet girl, and he just couldn't let her get hurt by this Kite guy, or by whatever he was involved in. "I think it's time that I met this Kite myself, and when I do, I'm going to make sure he understands to stay away from Mycinity, and to keep her out of his dealings, or else."
"Or else what?"
"Or else. . ."
Nightstar's expression had turned to sorrow now. He really did see Mycinity as his little sister. He was roleplaying the protective brother he felt he had failed at being in the real world, it was all over his face. She'd seen it the day after Fujiko had. . . "SM, this isn't some newbie stalker or mid level thrill seeker. Kite is a high level veteran who from what I've gathered is around the same skill level as the Descendants of Fianna. What can you possibly do to him?"
"I don't know Nightstar, I don't know. Hopefully I won't have to do anything, but if I must then. . ."
His voice just trailed off as he became lost in thought. Lowering her head, Nightstar sighed as she felt the weight on her heart increase, the grief and pity washed away for a moment by something else that she had thought had long ago left her. *Oh Tadeoshi. . .*
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Author's Note: Hope you've enjoyed the chapter and all its developments. I guess it's starting to heat up now, so hopefully that means it will only get better. I would have gotten this out sooner, since I had the first half done on the 1st, but I had one last round of college papers to get done. Thankfully, they're all done now, and my finals aren't until next Thursday, so I hopefully will be able to update soon.
Sorry the chapter's a little longer than usual, but that could be a good thing I suppose, more stuff and all. No hints about what's coming like last time, best to just let you soak up everything that has happened in the last few, and dwell on my last hint. R & R everyone.
Note, both areas mentioned were on the Delta server.
PG-13: I could probably get away with PG, but not sure just how violent it might get later, so better to be safe.
Author's Comment: So you know, all areas mentioned can be reached in the game and are to a great degree accurate.
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The Epitaph of Twilight. Despite the maze of complexity involved within the conundrum that was this series of occurrences, it all seemed to come back and revolve around this strange epic poem. Sitting underneath his usual tree in ? Hidden Passionate Prairie, Kite found himself once again contemplating recent events.
He had read bits and pieces of the Epitaph, but determining its order without the rest of it was impossible, and without knowing the correct order understanding it was at best. . . problematic. Wiseman was of course analyzing the texts as only he could do, and Helba being as cryptic on her knowledge of the Epitaph as always, Kite was left to figure out what he could on his own.
One thing he knew though, as far as he could tell, only two beings had been named more than once in the pieces of text he had read: The Wave, and now Macha. Who this being was he didn't know, but from the sound of it Macha wasn't like the other enemies, the heralds of the Wave as the Epitaph called it. Seductive traps, moving amongst the others, Macha seemed to be more like a spy than a true foe, in a combat sense anyway.
If that was the case though, then who was Macha spying on? Other players, the administrators, or even Kite and his friends; all were possibilities. It was the last one that scared him the most though, because that meant one of his friends, who he trusted, was the spy. But if that was true, then who could it be? Could it be. . . no, he wasn't about to start doubting his friends, those he relied on. He'd just have to deal with the problem when it arose.
Then there was the other being, the Wave, whatever exactly that meant. To take a phrase out of Nuke Usagimaru's book, if Skeith and the others were just the opening act, then what would this Wave be like as the main event? There were just too many questions that needed to be answered, and if anyone knew they weren't-"
"Kite, you came!"
Twisting his head off in the direction of the sound, Kite glanced up off at a nearby hill where a lone player stood, one he was beginning to see more often.
Waving her arm in the air, Mycinity began running down the hill, tumbling the last ten feet as she tripped up and lost her balance, she rolled to her feet and continued at a sprint towards Kite. The smile on her face broadened as Kite rose to his feet at her approach, and her heart pounded faster. As she reached him Mycinity dropped her sword and flung her arms around Kite tightly in a huge embrace, planting a kiss on his cheek as she did so.
Taken by total surprise at this, Kite lost his balance and fell backwards, landing on his back, Mycinity, who had not let go, falling with him using Kite to break her fall. Placing her hands on the ground next to either side of Kite's shoulders, Mycinity lifted her head up off Kite's chest and looked down at the young Twin Blade with a coy grin, her cheeks flushing crimson. He certainly was forward. "My goodness Kitey, you're moving so fast. Don't you think we should get to know one another better, at least trade Member Addresses before we get into this?"
Kite's own cheeks blushed now. He didn't quite understand all this, she had been the one to jump onto him and not let go when he lost his balance. She certainly was energetic though. But 'Kitey', what on Earth was up with that? "I'm sorry, but you were the one that fell on me after all. Would you mind getting off me please."
Her face turning even redder, Mycinity lifted herself up off Kite and rolled off to the right, sitting up and reclining back on her left hand. As she removed herself from on top of him, Kite sat up as well and returned to his position against the tree. Taking a deep breath, Kite closed his eyes and leaned his head back for a long moment before finally exhaling. As he lifted his head back up and opened his eyes, he suddenly through his head back in shock banging the back of his head against the tree trunk hard. Mycinity's face was right in front of his, grinning happily.
As his body flinched from the blow to his head, Kite heard a gasp and before he knew it Mycinity was grabbing his face and trying to turn his head to get a better look at the back of his head. "Oh, I'm sorry Kitey- poo, I didn't mean to surprise you like that. Oh, you're cute little head is going to get a bump now. I'm so sorry, please forgive me."
Finally pulling his head away, Kite rubbed the back of his head with his right hand and smiled despite his massive confusion. Kitey-poo? "It's ok, I've had plenty worse before. But Mycinity-"
"Please, call me My, everyone else does Kitey."
"Ok, then My, why are you calling me that? I mean I may not be an adult, but doesn't that sound rather. . . childish?"
Blinking at that, Mycinity just stared back at Kite for a moment. She always called him Kitey, although now that she thought about it this was the first time to his face, the others really had just bee fantasies. Still, they could work this out, after all, love was in the air. After all, he'd come here to be with her. "What, I think it's really cute, just like you." Inching closer now, Mycinity placed her hand on Kite's shoulder and ran it along his collarbone before scooting even closer and resting her head on his right shoulder with a heavenly smile.
Stunned into a stupor hardly described the look upon Kite's face just then. He just sat there for a minute, staring down at Mycinity's content face, eyes closed as if in some angelic sleep. As he tried to finally move his arm, Mycinity's hand shot out and caught his hand before it could barely move an inch, wrapping it in her own as fingers entangled and his arm was locked in place.
"Umm, My, what are you doing?"
Lifting her head up off his shoulder to look at him with half opened dreamy eyes, she replied, "Just snuggling. Isn't it nice, especially between two people who care about each other so much?"
Now it was Kite's tun to blink in silence. Care about each other. . . she couldn't mean a romantic relationship. Perhaps he was misreading what she had said. After all, when he'd given the Spiral Edge to Natsume she had said that she had nothing to give him, then after a moment had offered herself. That had certainly thrown him for a momentary loop before she'd explained she meant helping him out as a party member. As she settled her head back down onto his shoulder though, it became quite obvious to Kite that this wasn't a misunderstanding like Natsume had been. Letting out a distinctive gulp, Kite's mind raced with what to do. He wasn't good at these things at all, as he had never had a girlfriend before. It wasn't exactly clear where she'd gotten the idea that they were an item, but just now he wasn't sure what to do. Honesty, that had to be the best answer.
"Umm, My, I don't know how to say this exactly, but I think there's some kind of misunderstanding here." Mycinity lifted her head up at that, puzzlement crossing her brow. "You see, while you're very nice and all, I'm not really interested in a relationship like this."
At those words, time itself seemed to freeze for Mycinity. She couldn't have heard that right, but she knew she had all the same. It just couldn't be though, after all Kite had come, he was here, they were supposed to be together. It didn't make sense at all. Time then returned and a gasp exited Mycinity's lips as she lifted herself back away from him in shock. She still held firmly onto his hand though, even as he attempted to get her to let go.
"W-what? N-no Kite, that can't be right. Y-you and-d I we. . ."
"I'm sorry My, I do like you it's just-"
"But you CAME! You're here, just like I asked! That means you care, that you wanted. . ."
Kite's brow wrinkled in confusion at that. "My, what are you talking about? What do you mean I came?"
"The Message Board! Didn't you read it? I posted a message asking you to meet me here at this time if you wanted to get together with me. . . so we could get to know one another."
Everything suddenly came together. Lowering his head as he facepalmed, Kite shook his head morbidly. Looking back up at her after a moment, Kite felt a twist in his gut as he noticed tears beginning to well up in Mycinity's eyes. "My, I'm really sorry, but I never saw the message on the Message Board."
Sorrow was sweeping over Mycinity's face more and more now, a tear ran down her cheek. "But then why are you. . .?"
"I just come here every so often to relax and think about things by myself. That's why I was here the day you and I first met. I'm sorry."
Mycinity finally burst into tears, dropping her face into her hands and turning away from him. * Fate is so cruel to me! Why, why did it have to be like this? Can't we still be together? What is stopping us? Could it be. . .? *
Lifting her head up out of her hands and wiping away the droplets running down her cheeks, Mycinity said, "Is it because of HER? Do you like that other Heavy Blade or something?"
"You mean BlackRose? How do you-"
"What does she have that I don't? Don't you think I'm pretty?"
Kite supposed she was pretty, he didn't think she was unattractive, but something from the look on her face told him that saying 'I guess' wouldn't be a good thing just now. "Yes, you're very pretty My. You see it's just that-"
"Then what is it? Why can't we be together?" Her voice had begun to rise now, and the tears were flowing even more than before. Kite opened his mouth to answer, but before he could speak she continued, "I'm sorry, I just can't. . ."
Kite reached his hand out and tried to place it on her shoulder, but Mycinity just recoiled from it. Sighing to himself, Kite tried his best to give her a reassuring smile, then said, "Mycinity, would you like my Member Address at the very least? That way you won't have to post on the Board to get in touch with me."
Looking up at him in surprise, tears beginning to slow, she barely whispered out, "Really?" Smiling wider now, Kite nodded, giving her his Member Address. A smile swept over Mycinity's face now as she received the address and hope began to glimmer in her eyes again. As she stared into his fair blue eyes, Mycinity suddenly flushed red in embarrassment. "I'm sorry." Suddenly she warped away, leaving Kite once again all alone.
Staring at the spot she had been only a moment ago, Kite blinked, shrugged, and returned to his reclined position against the tree. He certainly hoped she was all right, but he could find out later. There was still plenty to ponder.
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She was late. Instead of being upset by it though, SM Slayer actually found it quite amusing. After all, Nightstar had arranged the time and place for the meeting, and here she was running late. It wasn't like she would have much trouble finding the place, jungle areas like this one in ? Bursting Solitary Melody were quite easy to navigate, especially since it was such a low level area from characters like them.
Placing his hands back behind his head again as he stretched out along the branch of the tree he had hopped into at the far side of this. . . what was something like this called anyway, a clearing? Well it didn't really matter, not to him anyway, it wasn't like he was one of those stupid nature lovers, although he had to admit that sometimes it felt nice to lie down on a big tree branch like this one. Hearing the faint noise of monkeys and birds in the distance just above the background music, SM Slayer began to consider it. The most likely answer was that being in a tree, climbing it, lying down in it, was all just some left over instinctual thing from the primates that had come before him. Some leftover gene that no longer served any purpose other than to say that trees were nice to climb. * Does that make me primitive? Nah. *
Checking the note he ad scribbled down from her email, SM Slayer yet again checked that he had come to the right spot. South three, west one, north one, west two. Yep, this was the spot, something must have simply been keeping her. Probably in the shower or something like that, it was a new routine for her to shower in the mornings after she woke up. Due to work and life the early morning had always been the most convenient time for both of them to meet up in 'The World' and now she was cutting into that time by taking showers in the morning.
They had gotten into an argument about this topic about a month before, and her reason had something to do with waking her up better than her usual cup of coffee. It hadn't really been a fight, not in the traditional sense anyway, more along the lines of a disagreeing conversation. They had never resolved it though due to Nightstar finally calling it off due to their agreement not to bring the real world into this one, and her morning routine was one of those things.
Sighing and closing his eyes, SM Slayer shook his head lazily. "Man, why do women always take so long in the shower anyway?"
"Well now, you certainly know what a lady wants to hear in the morning."
Startled at the sudden voice, SM Slayer's body twisted instinctually, and even as it did he realized that he had run out of branch. As gravity kicked in SM Slayer let out a yelp and reached to grab his Fairy Spear which still rested on the branch perpendicular to it with his right hand. Grasping it, he tightened his muscles hard and twisted his wrist to force the spear shaft to remain horizontal. It complied, and that left SM Slayer dangling from the branch with one hand holding him up.
Despite 'The World' being so much more like reality than any other game he had ever heard of, there were some instances that were different, and just now he was rather grateful. Unlike the real world, weapons in 'The World' didn't snap in half when too much weight was applied, or they were hit by something stronger. This was what allowed him to hang as he was without his spear snapping on him, and as he shifted his body weight to grab the other half on the opposite side of the branch with his left, he twisted the angle of the spear slightly causing him to face almost fully forward.
What he found there was a lovely redheaded Wavemaster sitting on the stone bench with legs crossed and a very amused look on her face. Reddening slightly with embarrassment, SM Slayer began swinging his momentum back and forth before gaining enough to flip himself back up onto the branch, where he returned to leaning on the trunk of the tree, stretching his legs back out and trying his best to act cool. "You're late Nightstar."
Giggling, Nightstar grinned knowingly and replied, "I'll be late every time if I can get a performance like that out of you. I didn't know you could be so energetic in the morning. Find a new blend of coffee with more caffeine, or are you just trying to impress me?"
Chuckling himself now, SM Slayer just shook his head slowly. "You never change do you?" Staring down at her, he got no reply. She just stared right back with a soft smile on her lips. "So anyway Nightstar, what's up? You find something out about this Kite guy?"
The smile disappearing now, Nightstar just sighed. "Some gentlemen you are. Don't even ask me how I'm doing."
"I'm sorry, but since you were late I only have a limited amount of time before I have to leave for work, so pleasantries have to go. If I may ask though, why are we meeting here and not in a Root Town?"
Glancing over her shoulder for a moment, she looked back up at him and answered, "Less likely we'll be overheard." As his eyebrow cocked in confusion, she moved on. "In regards to your earlier question SM, the answer is yes and no. More of a kind of."
A cocked eyebrow was not enough to show the confusion SM Slayer felt now. "Umm, can you get a little more vague? Shouldn't be too specific after all."
"Smart ass. Anyway, what I meant is that a lot of people seem to know of him, but not many actually know him, or that much about what he really is like. There were a few other stories similar to the one you got from Mycinity, of Kite appearing to save them from some terrible monster, but as for who he is and such, that's more rumor and myth."
"Myth? You make it sound like he's some sort of legend, like the Descendants of Fianna."
Shrugging her shoulders, Nightstar let out a whisper of a sigh. "Well, in a way, he sort of is a legend, or at least is becoming that."
SM Slayer just blinked. "You're kidding."
"Nope, although what I hear about him is quite mixed. Several of my sources referred to him as quite the hero, someone to be looked up to, just like people look up to Lord Orca and Lord Balmung, or how they used to look up to Lady Subaru of the Crimson Knights before they disappeared. However, there is some disturbing rumors and reports as well."
"Like?"
Taking a deep breath, she answered, "Kite may be an outlaw player."
"What? You mean he cheats, his character is edited? Well his design is kinda unusual."
Again Nightstar just shrugged. "I wouldn't know, but I guess he has some sort of illegal item that does something outside the rules of the game. More disturbing though is that one source linked him as working with Helba."
"Helba." SM Slayer just ran that through his head. Helba was the legendary hacker who was responsible for this virus within 'The World' and if Kite had an illegal item and was around her then. . . "Are you sure about that?"
Nightstar shook her head. "Not at all. Like I said it was just one source. I had another source tie him to Lord Balmung, saying the two had teamed up to try and stop the virus. That source didn't mention any illegal items though. My friend Marin says though that he and a young Heavy Blade were inquiring not too long ago about that girl in white they were chatting about on the boards."
SM Slayer nodded. "The one being chased by a something with a red wand? Yeah, I remember that one. I tried to look into it once, but the area was protected so I gave up. I figured it was just a hoax, or maybe some sub-event that CC Corp was setting up that got out of hand for awhile. You think it was something else though?"
"I can only speculate, but it's possible. There's just too little information to be certain."
"Yeah" SM replied with a nod, "but Kite is either tied to Helba or Lord Balmung, he couldn't be to both. I met Lord Balmung once before you know, and was very impressed by his love for this game and commitment to protecting it. Lord Balmung would never work with a hacker or anyone associated with one, especially one as notorious as Helba." Pausing and taking a deep breath, SM Slayer exhaled then looked down at Nightstar. "So, is that everything you found out?"
"Yes, but there is something else. One of my better sources that is quite connected to all sorts of information refused to do so this time, no matter the price. It was strange, I have never seen Wiseman turn someone down flatly on a request for information without even offering a price for it. Almost like he was afraid."
"Afraid, or what? Of Kite?"
"Maybe, or of what that information might do if it was revealed. All I can say about this Kite though for certain is that he's a very powerful character, and he seems to get involved with a lot of dangerous situations. He's involved in stuff way over our heads, but whether for better or worse I don't have a clue." Leaning back on her hands now, Nightstar tilted her head and looked up at SM Slayer with a curious innocence on her face that beguiled a mischievous amusement. "So, what do you plan to do now?"
Leaning his head back against the tree trunk now, SM Slayer began to run everything he had just heard through his head. What was he going to do? Nothing about this Kite guy was clear cut, the information seemed to be all twisted and disturbed like a corrupted data program. Corrupted, was that truly the right word? It had just come to him, but it painted Kite in a far darker color in his mind. Mycinity was certainly big enough to take care of herself, but then she didn't know what he did. Whether Kite was dangerous or not, trouble seemed to follow him, just like that guy that Fujiko. . .
No, he had to stop this, before another tragedy happened. Mycinity was a sweet girl, and he just couldn't let her get hurt by this Kite guy, or by whatever he was involved in. "I think it's time that I met this Kite myself, and when I do, I'm going to make sure he understands to stay away from Mycinity, and to keep her out of his dealings, or else."
"Or else what?"
"Or else. . ."
Nightstar's expression had turned to sorrow now. He really did see Mycinity as his little sister. He was roleplaying the protective brother he felt he had failed at being in the real world, it was all over his face. She'd seen it the day after Fujiko had. . . "SM, this isn't some newbie stalker or mid level thrill seeker. Kite is a high level veteran who from what I've gathered is around the same skill level as the Descendants of Fianna. What can you possibly do to him?"
"I don't know Nightstar, I don't know. Hopefully I won't have to do anything, but if I must then. . ."
His voice just trailed off as he became lost in thought. Lowering her head, Nightstar sighed as she felt the weight on her heart increase, the grief and pity washed away for a moment by something else that she had thought had long ago left her. *Oh Tadeoshi. . .*
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Author's Note: Hope you've enjoyed the chapter and all its developments. I guess it's starting to heat up now, so hopefully that means it will only get better. I would have gotten this out sooner, since I had the first half done on the 1st, but I had one last round of college papers to get done. Thankfully, they're all done now, and my finals aren't until next Thursday, so I hopefully will be able to update soon.
Sorry the chapter's a little longer than usual, but that could be a good thing I suppose, more stuff and all. No hints about what's coming like last time, best to just let you soak up everything that has happened in the last few, and dwell on my last hint. R & R everyone.
Note, both areas mentioned were on the Delta server.