The Shimokita Promise

If you ever get back. Let's go to Shimokita together

Mimiru blushed as she pulled away from Tsukasa. He smiled at her.

"It's good to see you," Tsukasa said

"You too," Mimiru replied

"Tsukasa!" Ken called out over the crowd

"Here!" Tsukasa called back, "That's Ken. I'm staying with him. He's the one who brought me here,"

"Brought you here?" Mimiru wondered

"Yeah, he used a special program and that's how I managed to get out of the World," Tsukasa explained

At this time Ken had arrived. Tsukasa introduced Mimiru. Mimiru walked with them for a little while. Tsukasa enjoyed her company. It was different from what they did in the World but, Mimiru's presence made the simple walk home just as enjoyable. They reached the apartment and Mimiru grabbed a pen and a small pad of paper. She wrote down a phone number and handed it to Tsukasa.

"It was nice seeing you again,Tsukasa. This is in case you want to reach me," Mimiru explained

Then she turned down the street and walked off into the Tokyo night.

A week later the phone rang. Tsukasa answered it.

"Hello," he said

"Hi Tsukasa, It's Mimiru," a cheerful voice spoke

"Oh hi Mimiru,"

"Listen I was wondering if you had anything to do this weekend?" Mimiru said shyly

"No, I'm free," Tsukasa answered

"Well then do you want to come to Shimokita with me?" Mimiru asked. There was a note of hopefulness in her voice.

"Our promise," Tsukasa murmured

"What was that?" Mimiru wondered

"Okay, how about we meet at seven?" Tsukasa answered

"Sure," Mimiru replied

A knock echoed through the apartment. Tsukasa wore a light blue shirt and jeans. He undid the lock and opened the door. The sunlight from the large windows bathed Mimiru in brightness. She was casual in a red tank top and hip hugger jeans. She smiled at him and Tsukasa tried his best to ignore the sudden quickening of his pulse. They stepped out into a crowded Tokyo street and shielded their eyes from the bright summer sunlight. The two teens first went to Shibuya square where they had to wade through throngs of people to get their tickets and get onto the train. After ten very claustrophobic minutes the train let out at Shimokita station. The trains screeched along Shibuya /Inokashira line heading in one direction. In another direction, trains arrived from Shinjuku line. Noise drifted from the station and onto the street. Mimiru and Tsukasa wandered along the avenue amidst a sea of young people in hip clothes. Shimokita assaulted Tsukasa's senses. Every where was something to see, smell, touch, hear, or taste. Mimiru had long since bought the bag that she had wanted, but she turned into a shop called Super Junk. She browsed around and soon she had bought a new outfit and some cool manga. Tsukasa tried on some clothes, and in the end he bought a hat. Tsukasa enjoyed it. He was doing what normal teenagers did in the real world. They walked around, window shopped, and tried stuff on. He did not remember a time when he felt more carefree and relaxed. Then they got hungry and turned into a restaurant for burgers and some chocolate sundaes.

"You have to try these, their sundaes are amazing," Mimiru beamed

They really were. Real world food was really delicious. As Tsukasa and Mimiru ate, Mimiru noticed someone enter the shop. It was a young girl. She had short red hair she wore a yellow tank top and an orange skirt. It was Tsukasa's player. She gasped. Real World Tsukasa noticed them and walked over, her eyes wide. Character Tsukasa stared at them, her eyes wide with shock and surprise. She worked through the shock of seeing a digital character in the real world. Tsukasa wasn't just any game character either though. He was her game character. Somehow her legs carried her to their table.

"How did you get –out here?" real world Tsukasa asked

"It's a long story," character Tsukasa replied

Apprehension and curiosity warred within real world Tsukasa. She backed away without being aware she'd done it.

"How are you?" Mimiru tried

"I'm well. Bear is well too. Subaru's been e-mailing me," Tsukasa said

"How is she? I missed her since she moved to America,"

"She's okay,"

"That's cool," Mimiru said

"I should go," Tsukasa said

With that the young brunette left the Café.

Tsukasa watched his player leave. The visit had reminded him of a painful truth. He didn't belong here. He was data given flesh, and he didn't belong in the real world. He was an anomali. He didn't belong with Mimiru. Mimiru watched Tsukasa across the table. She told him a silly joke and got him to laugh. She loved to see Tsukasa smiling. She wanted him to smile always, and she wanted to protect him.

In a dark dungeon somewhere on Lambda server, a young heavy blade stood poised to open a treasure chest. Her mind ran over the delicious possibilities of what might be inside, and she became more excited. She pulled open the chest. Then she heard the ding of a portal behind her. She turned and gasped. A large bronze-colored monster shaped like a dumbbell appeared. She pulled out her sword and prepared to fight. Before she could react, the monster had shot its tentacle and stabbed her through the heart. The health drained from her and she collapsed. Somewhere in the real world a girl collapsed to the floor knocking her headset off. The pain of the death simulation was almost unbearable. She was barely breathing. In the virtual world, data began to gather at the site where the girl fell. The treasure of this dungeon was a glass ball with blue and red swirls. The ball began to rise into the air held up by unseen hands.

"The cipher sphere," a bodiless voice whispered

There was a flash of light and power and data. Suddenly small bytes began to come together. Code began to write itself. Then suddenly there stood a young woman next to the treasure. She had long black hair cascading down her back and silver eyes. She wore a white robe. Her blood red lips smiled wickedly.

"The cipher sphere, the one algorithm that can break any computer code, with this I am indestructible. Soon Aura, Tsukasa, and the whole world will be mine,"

She cackled coldly. In the World a thunderstorm began.

I do not own .hacksign or any of the characters.

I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I don't really like it, but what did you think? The meeting with Tsukasa's player was an impulse thing. I know what I want to do with this story. I'm worried about keeping them in character though. Next chapter is plot building. Any comments, questions, or concerns can be sent to Thanks for reading.