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.
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"Oh my, you mean you two are actually married?"
SM Slayer chuckled at Mycinity's question as he held Nightstar with one arm around her shoulder, her own around his waist Heads nuzzled together sitting on several crates on the edge of the street next to the river that ran through Mac Anu. "Not quite My, weweremarried, and we even have a little girl together. Everything has just been… complex."
"So," KenRyu broke in, "what are you two going to do now? I mean, you're so warm and cuddly with one another, but you're not married anymore, and yet…" KenRyu gripped her skull and wrenched back and forth, screaming, "It's just all too confusing!"
Then suddenly KenRyu felt a hand grip her rear giving it a good squeeze, causing her to leap up. From behind her as she landed a chuckling voice said, "Aha, I told you I'd get a feel one of these days KR. Now stop trying to figure this kind of relationship out, it just hurts the brain. Trust me."
Spinning around to face the lecherous samurai with a murderous glare in her eyes, KenRyu raised her fist back and threw it forward at Wakizashi screaming, "Super Naru Punch!" Landing dead center into Wakizashi's chest, he went flying back through the air and smacked into several barrels and crates before colliding with the building wall and slumping down against it. Still fuming, KenRyu shot out her finger at Wakizashi and stated menacingly, "Don'tevertouch my ass. You understand me? No one gets to touch my ass withoutmypermission."
Smiling weakly as he tried to pull himself up out of the pile, Wakizashi replied, "Can I have permission then?"
Walking over and pushing him back down to the ground so he once again slumped against the wall, KenRyu replied, "No, you can't, and it will be a snow day in Okinawa before you do either."
"I'll pack my winter coat then."
Sighing in exasperation, KenRyu threw her arms up into the air. "What will we ever do with you?" She then spun around so her back faced him, and moments later plopped back so that she was sitting in his lap as if he were a chair.
Gasping as she landed, Wakizashi just sat there for a moment with the young female Twin Blade in his lap in half amusement half shock, then said, "Comfy now are you?"
Grinning mischievously back at him, she wiggled her rear into his lap, then said, "Yes, quite. Thanks for the seat." She then leaned back and gave him a peck on the cheek.
The reddening face of Wakizashi simply replied, "My pleasure."
The rest of the group burst out into laughter at the pair's antics. As the laughter subsided, Mycinity returned her attention to SM Slayer and Nightstar. "So, what are you two going to do now?"
SM Slayer glanced over at Nightstar with a grin on his face. She did the same, then looking back over at Mycinity Nightstar answered, "We're not quite sure just yet. We're just going to take things slow for now and see where things go."
"That sounds like a great idea."
Everyone turned to look down the alleyway where the voice had come from, and Mycinity's face just lit up. "Kite!"
The Twin Blade waved as he and BlackRose made their way down the alleyway towards the group. As the pair arrived, Wakizashi began to glance from behind KenRyu's head from BlackRose to Mycinity and back again. At last he said, "Are they related or something?"
BlackRose and Mycinity frowned at the samurai, but Kite just chuckled. At that the girls looked at Kite and BlackRose responded, "What are you laughing at? Her and I are not that similar. Hey, don't smiley at me!"
Kite just gave her another smiley and moved to sit down, finding it all quite amusing. As he sat down he received an affirming nod from SM Slayer, which given their recent encounter Kite found strange. SM Slayer though had decided, after hearing of the events with Liet and Helba, that Kite deserved his stamp of approval. After all, he had defended Mycinity, even put himself in danger to do so against an extremely powerful hacker. No, he realized he had been wrong about Kite, and that revelation alone had been enough to make him rethink a lot of his life. Maybe if he started to look beyond black and white, he might just have a chance to fix things with Nightstar, with everything. It was like she always told him, "Love cake rather than love make."
As the girls seemed to be glaring still from his amusement, Kite decided it was time to change the subject. "I received an email from Helba."
At the mention of the hacker, everyone turned to look at Kite, all other thoughts and interests void from their minds. After several moments Mycinity finally said, "Well? What'd it say?"
"She wanted to apologize to all of us for the trouble that Liet caused, and to assure me that he wouldn't be coming back again. To be honest, the way she said it kind of made me not want to know the details." Everyone nodded. "The rest, was about the Wave and some new leads and such. BlackRose and I are meeting up with Balmung shortly to check it out. Sorry, but it's too dangerous for the rest of you to come."
Sighs and nods ensued. Kite was right after all, it was too dangerous, but that didn't stop a majority of them from wanting to go, to see everything for themselves. Then with a thoughtful sigh Wakizashi stated,
Depart and fight well
We will pray for your safety
Awaiting your return.
Everyone smiled and Kite and BlackRose thanked Wakizashi. As they finished, KenRyu removed the grin off Wakizashi's face as she said, "Hey Waki-baby, that haiku was wrong. You had six syllables in the last part. Dummy."
Smiling back smugly at her, Wakizashi replied, "Sue me."
"I just might."
Another round of laughs went off, and as they died down, Mycinity rose up from her seat on a crate and walked over to Kite. "Kite, I want to thank you for everything you've done for me, for all of us. We've given you a lot of grief, and even more stress to worry about, but you've never tried to make us feel unwelcome. So for that, and everything, thank you."
As Kite was about to reply, Mycinity reached down and cupped his cheeks in her hands, and before he could react leaned in and gave him a strong kiss on the lips. As she released him, a cute smile on her face, she said to a stunned, nearly stone statue Kite, "That's the rest of the thank you."
Woohoo!" KenRyu cheered, "and with tongue too no less. Go My!"
Stuttering in reply, Kite just sat there in shock, twitching slightly as his face turned chestnut. Then from behind her Mycinity heard BlackRose scream, "Now look what you did, youbrokehim!"
At that Mycinity gave Kite, who was still quite frozen in place, a mischievous wink, then took off back up the alleyway, BlackRose in hot pursuit. "Stop running and take your punishment like a woman, you coward! You promised you'd back off!"
Shouting back over her shoulder, Mycinity smiled innocently and answered, "I suppose I did, huh? Oh well."
"Don't 'oh well' me, get back here!"
As they left earshot, the rest of the group began to chuckle, save Kite who was still frozen in shock. Then KenRyu got up out of Wakizashi's lap and moved over to Kite, waving her hand back and forth in front of him. "Nothing, damn, and me with no marker."
SM Slayer chuckled, then said, "Don't worry, he'll snap out of it soon… or at least I hope so." The girls began to giggle, as from the town in the distance they heard BlackRose shouting, "GET BACK HERE!"
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Author's Notes:
Well that's it, finito, done, there is no more. Kite has left 'The World'. It certainly was a fun trip, and I hope all of you enjoyed it. I know some of you are probably thinking, "What, that's it? B-but what happens now? They didn't… he didn't… damn you for not telling us the very very end!" To this, I apologize, but use your imaginations. Kite can't hang out with Mycinity forever, and really, I can't write the rest of everyone's lives.
This of course brings up the question that most stories like this lead to: will there be a sequel? In short, most likely not. Sorry if that upsets any of you who love seeing Mycinity and the gang do what they do, but I need a break from them myself. Maybe in the not so near future I might write something more following the gang, maybe have them encounter Aura, or Zephie, or Shugo and company. Who knows, but there won't be any new stories with them in it at present.
Next question: Well if not a sequel, what's next? Now this I can handle. A few of you have picked up on my recently started story "The Master of Lionel" based off Final Fantasy: Tactics. I will be working on this one for awhile, and if those of you who liked this fic, especially some of the battles, like FFT as well, you're quite welcome to read it. If not, don't fret, because the FFT story is sort of a side project. My next main story is going to be either an Inu-yasha, Ranma ½, or Love Hina story. Now I do have ideas for other possible stories ranging from Yu Yu Hakusho, Rurouni Kenshin, and such to things like Ai Yori Aoshi, but these are the three that I have mapped out the most and would be prepared to start writing shortly. Feel free to throw in a vote on one of those three (Inu, Ranma, Hina) if you like, but right now it's a lean towards an Inu-yasha story.
Now for references:
The Super Naru Punch is an attack that is used by the character Naru Narusegawa in the story Love Hina. For those of you who are unaware of this story (shame on you) Naru usually uses it to punch her poor landlord/boyfriend/who knows Keitaro through walls, over roofs, and even into orbit. Thankfully, Keitaro seems to be immortal… or something.
The phrase "Love cake rather than love make" is a Japanese saying with several meanings depending on context. In this context though, it's close to the English equivalent, "You can't judge a book by its cover."
Lastly, it's thank you time. Before we get to them however, I want to make a comment on the reviews in general. While most of them were quite enjoyable to read, there were a few that annoyed me for one reason. It made mention to events in Quarantine, which I specifically asked everyone not to do so that I wouldn't have the story spoiled for me. Several of you made mention of a confrontation between Ryoko and BlackRose, especially in comparison to BlackRose's responses towards a challenge on Kite's affections from Mycinity. Since I never saw it, or played that part of the game, I could not use it as a reference for BlackRose's reactions. I ask that in the future, you respect any requests I make on spoilers for me.
Note: These names were not in any order or ranking, so don't be mad if your name is near or at the bottom of the list. Nor should the length of any one thank you be compared to others. Length is based on your reviews as well as how many from you I may have received. Also, some questions or comments just take longer to answer, so a short thank you should not be taken poorly, as I appreciate all of them equally. If multiple people asked similar questions, the answer may only appear under one name and not the other to save repeated answering.
Wyld Stallyns: You were the first person to reply, and you were most kind in your reviews as well as polite not to tell me what happened in Quarantine. Thank you.
Starlight the Wanderer:Haven't seen you as of late, but I always enjoyed reading your comments. Much appreciated, thank you.
Omoshiroi no Neko:I know you didn't enjoy my early bashing of BR, but understand that I needed to do it to establish her tough side in the story. I love her as much as you do. Thank you.
Custos:Your reviews always gave me a smile. Though some were rather demanding, it was only to get me to write more, so I understood. Thank you.
Zero Tribal:I am very happy that you love my work. Sorry to put that cliffhanger on you, but I'm sure from your reaction that the wait was worth it. Just don't stare at the screen so much, I hear it's bad for the eyes. ;) Thank you.
Junyortrakr:I won't even try to pronounce that. You have probably been one of the more frequent reviewers throughout most of the story, and you usually kept it short and simple. Kinda reminded me of Gardenia. Thank you.
Patrick Cooper:Well, you definitely wrote some long reviews, and I enjoyed talking to you about the story as well. Not to knock the other reviewers, but yours were some of the reviews I really waited to read given their detail. Sorry that My had to annoy you as she did, but it happens. Others were with you, trust me. Thank you.
Lone Stalker:I'm glad you feel this was one of the best .hack fics you've ever read. Thank you.
Nox-Magi:I hope I didn't disappoint you with the end. It sort of was rather pathetic compared to the last few chapters, but then it was to just give it an end. Enjoyed your comments, and I appreciate the compliment to my perseverance. Thank you.
Steeple333:One of the late joiners to my story, but always welcome. I am pleased that you enjoyed the final battle, it was my aim to do just that. Thank you.
SOMEONE2003:I got the caps right this time. As far as I can remember, you are the only one to spur a direct reply within the chapters themselves to your review. Granted it wasn't under the best of circumstances, but it's unique. Thank you.
Argent Inluminai:You'll be happy to know, I talked to Mycinity and she's agreed to let you join the Lord Kite Fan Club as member 11. Congratulations, and thank you.
Gray17:Well, I enjoyed your reviews greatly in much the same way I enjoyed others who wrote long reviews, but you actually gave critiques, and that was most welcome. First, I know that it was said to Balmung, and so does Kite. I just thought it would have more effect if Kite acted like it was from personal experience, not a third party thing. Second, refer to my above comments on Quarantine events. Thank you.
Goldberry:Sorry I made you stay up so late reading all these chapters. I'm glad you decided to give my humble story a chance given your past experience with similar stories. Thank you.
China-boy:No, it wasn't as big as Kite's club. Thank you.
Maniac10:I'm sorry some of these took so long to get out. Thank you.
Minako:The name of the club was not .hackers. The game says that's what Kite's party was called. The name of the Club was "The Lord Kite Fan Club". As to what Helba thinks of it, she was unavailable for comment, but my guess is she found it amusing. Thank you.
Pupuplatter21:You flatter me with your comments of my brilliance. Really, the Kite action figures just seemed logical, and marketable. Thank you.
Jarr Jar:Was what happened close enough to a catfight for your tastes? Thank you.
Silverbluenchantress:Thank you.
Kai33:I know. Thank you.
Hirokono:I'm glad you enjoyed Wakizashi so much. He does seem to be a fan favorite. In fact, it was loved comments like yours that got him into the last chapter for one more haiku. Thank you.
Cool-cat1:Please don't cry, I updated. Thank you.
HexWa:Thank you.
Shadow Rave:Thank you.
Jonathan Priest:Well, I appreciate your decision to play catch up with my story. I enjoy a good samurai story as much as the next guy too, but for more on My or Wakizashi, read my bonus material after the Epilogue. You never did say whether you guessed right on the special guest, but that doesn't matter. Thank you.
Klorr:Sorry, that is the final battle. I promise there will be other great battles in future stories I write, although you probably won't see any sequels to this one in the near future. Thank you.
Happerry:Usually I don't comment on spelling errors, but this one's been annoying me. It's spelled 'continue'. Sorry if this embarrasses you, but I kept seeing 'cuntinyou' and dividing it into three words. Again, very sorry, glad you enjoyed my work, and thank you.
Shinyu:Well I hope your holiday was pleasant, I'm glad you liked the story, and the praise was much appreciated. As for Wakizashi and KenRyu's romantic fate, well it could be a good idea for a sequel, read the notes after the epilogue first. Thank you.
Ryano:Happy birthday. Sure, you can consider it your birthday present, just not one meant only for your. Glad you enjoyed the story. Thank you.
Bandit Ken:Yes, I have seen Star Trek: Insurrection. While the line is in that movie, I'd heard it long before that. A similar one pops up in Swordfish. It's a weighing of the greater good against a principle belief in human rights. I first heard it used in reference to the Japanese Holding Camps of WW2. Thank you.
KtRc:Nice to know my story can be seen in such vivid detail. My guess is that you ran out of popcorn though before it was updated again. Your comments were much appreciated. Thank you.
Behold the Void:Thanks for the critiques. While I can't figure out what exactly you meant by completely incoherent, especially since no one else mentioned it, but it's possible some chapters didn't get a full proofread beyond a spellcheck. I try to do my best, but my time is limited so to get these out in a reasonable time, corners do get cut. I did go the extra mile with the final battle chapter though. Thank you.
GX:Well the important thing is that you did review in the end. I appreciate your comments on my commitment levels, and Wakizashi is most pleased with your liking him. If you think yours was long though, try reading
