Title: [none]

Rated: PG-13 (because I said so)

Includes: .hack / TASOGARE NO UDEWA DENSETSU

A/N: Hey guys! Did ya' miss me? Hm? Did ya'? Did ya'? Did ya'? Probably not, but shut up. -- BTW, this is sorta based on some of the info from the manga. Never seen the anime, but I've heard good reviews! ;P Sorry for the late update. I got temporarily banned for my "Ask InuYasha & Sesshoumaru" fic. Oh, well. Enjoy!

.::Chapter 3: The New Girl::.

The next day at school, Rena noticed the empty seat beside her in class was now occupied by what looked like a half-Asian girl. She seemed timid and shy in this new and unfamiliar territory. Her chocolate eyes overflowed with insecurity. Rena felt sorry for her.

"Hi, there! New here?" she whispered in a friendly tone.

The girl looked up. "Uh, yeah." She kept her eyes down.

The teacher spotted the two. "Miss Kunisaki!"

"Gomenasai."

Suddenly, something caught the corner of Rena's eye. Could it be? Shugo was staring at the new girl, his mouth slightly open. Drool was slowly making it's way out of his mouth, but he didn't seem to notice. Rena smirked. A plan began to form...

Rena whispered to the new girl again, this time careful not to attract the teacher's attention. "Meet me after school?"

The girl was confused, but nodded nonetheless.

As promised, Rena waited for the new girl when school was over. She saw her wandering aimlessly and waved excitedly, nearly on her tiptoes. "Hey! Over here!"

The girl, quite relieved to find that she was not forgotten, hurried over.

"Hey! I'm Kunisaki Rena!" Rena smiled sweetly once she had caught up with her.

"I'm Mitsu Michiko," the other replied shyly, blushing just a bit.

Michiko looked over at Shugo, who was beating Komiyama half to death. Both Rena and Michiko could hear Shugo screaming, "You stupid pervert! How dare you look at my sister that way!", while Komiyama stupidly denied it. Michiko turned to Rena. "Uh...do you know him? You guys look an awful lot alike."

Rena hung her head and sighed. "Unfortunately."

"Heh heh.../sweat drop/"

.::That night in The World...::.

"Rena said to meet her here, so where is she?"

Shugo paced impatiently under a virtual tree. Rena had told him to meet her in the Beginner's Area of The World, so why wasn't she there yet? Hadn't she said it was urgent?

Finally Rena came into view. Shugo started to wave, then changed his mind when he noticed someone else behind her. He looked at Rena confused when the two approached him.

"This is Michiko. You know, the new girl from school? She's a wavemaster, like Mireille." Rena explained. She turned to Michiko. "Michiko, this is my big bro, Shugo."

Shugo raised an eyebrow as he looked the newcomer up and down. She didn't look like the new girl. Gone was her flowing shoulder-length, dark brown hair. Gone were her sparkling chocolate eyes. Her skin was just as tan, but that was the only resemblance. How could this be Michiko? But then again, this was a game.

"Oh," Michiko blushed and looked away, her big green eyes shying away from embarrassment. "Hi."

"Hello," Shugo replied slowly. He dragged his sister by the arm away from the girl. "We'll be right back," he called over his shoulder. "Just give us a sec."

Seeing no other choice, Michiko shrugged and waited.

"What is she doing here?" Shugo whispered harshly. "Is this what was so urgent?"

Rena shrugged. "She's new and all, and I just thought she could use someone to hang with."

They both looked back at Michiko. Her blue-black, waist-length hair danced in the wind, as did her black kimono-like robe. She seemed to be trying to figure out what exactly her huge staff was for. They watched with slight interest as she sat on the grass and fingered the small cross on the tip of the staff, then drew back and screamed when it began to slowly rotate. Rena returned her attention to Shugo.

"Could she please join our party? Please?" she begged, her crimson eyes wide and pleading.

Though he knew he'd regret it later (his hands were already full, what with Ouka, Mireille, Hotaru, Rena, AND Zefie), he nodded in agreement. If it made Rena happy...

Rena squealed excitedly and gave him a quick squeeze.

Later that night, the gang met up at Mireille's hideout. Rena obviously brought Michiko along.

"So. You go to Rena-chan's school, huh?" Mireille, always just a bit nosy, begged for more info.

"Yeah. I do." Michiko answered cautiously. "So?"

"Where'd you come from? You know, where'd you used to live?"

"America..."

Hotaru stepped up, her grip slowly loosening on the grunty she was so willingly glued to. "I am from the States, also." She smiled sweetly. "I am visiting the Japanese server from the US to possibly help improve my Japanese language skills."

Michiko found this rather interesting. "Really? Cool!"

Michiko and Hotaru chatted the rest of the night, partly in Japanese, partly in English. Shugo began to regret not paying attention in English class. Eventually, Hotaru had to log out. Shortly after, Rena, Mireille, and Ouka followed.

"See ya' tomorrow, onii-chan!" Rena waved before leaving. "Erm...if we have any time. Finals are coming up, huh?"

"Maybe we'll get lucky and find some more information on Zefie and her mom! Or better yet, maybe we'll find some more treasure or rare items! R-A-R-E!"

"See ya', kid. Don't stay up too much longer. /wink/"

Shugo plopped down next to the currently sleeping Zefie and patted her head. Other than Zefie, Shugo and Michiko were completely alone...

--And there's the next chapter! Anybody wanna help me find a name for this thing? /sigh/ Eh, well. The chapter's longer at least. I think. XP Well, ja!--