forFragments of a Shattered Mirror

Disclaimer: I do not own, have not owned, and will never own Bandai or the .hack franchise, including the anime, games, manga and characters, situations, items, and places therein. I do, however, own this plot. It's mine. My own. My precious! Muahaha!

Epilogues…

Note: Three different possible epilogues have I, one of which was inspired by Aeris in her most recent review. Two of them hold the possibility of a sequel, and for one of those two I actually have given serious thought of what a sequel would entail. Anyway, I will post the three versions of the epilogue as I write them, and you (the reviewers) can tell me which one you like best, or whatever… After some thought and rereading of my last chapter, I must say I kind of like the ambiguous ending… the italicized part. I just like it. O.o Which is probably why I wrote it that way… Anyway, the first version of the epilogue has been typed and here it is… Be warned: It's sad, well… one of the sad ones. Two of the epilogues are sad, actually. Personally, I don't like how this is written, but… It's kind of hard to articulate it I suppose. Err…. Enjoy?

Epilogue number 1:

Rain drizzled from the sky in a mournful cascade, singing a whispering dirge, and perfectly in tune with Amaya's emotions as she stumbled along the damp gravel path between graves. Her movements were listless, and her eyes downcast, sorrowful behind her glasses. Her blue-black hair hung in dripping tendrils about her shoulders, some carrying the water into the collar of her trench coat. She didn't care. Whether she was dry or wet didn't matter to her today… one year… one year exactly after he died.

Reaching his gravestone, she halted in her trudging, only now looking up to read the name "Nakahara Akira" carved into the stone. No emotion flickered across her features at first; her expression was apathetic at best. She took a step towards the gravestone, paused, then took another. Reaching the foot of where the grave had been dug, she stared at it for a long moment. Then, emotion broke through and she fell to her knees in the wet grass, gazing at the name through tear filled eyes. A trembling hand reached out, a finger tracing the characters comprising the name. The hand fell limply at her side, and she returned to just staring.

When she'd awakened from her coma, a little over a week after it had all ended, the girl had been quite unsure how to feel about Akira… or Kite as everyone called him. He was still lost in the unnatural sleep at the time, so she couldn't talk with him, sort things out. But she'd had time to herself to think. Plenty of time. And she'd sorted out some of her feelings, but nagging questions still remained. Questions only he could answer…

But he'd never awakened. Kite had just faded, slipping farther under each day, his body withering away until finally… his life was no more.

At first, Amaya had been upset. No, upset isn't strong enough to describe how she felt. Furious and depressed at the same time comes closer. How could he! How could he just die like that? After everything… Why? Had he just given up and let himself slip away? Had Morganna taken him with her? Why didn't Aura and Helba find some way to separate the two? How dare he die! It just wasn't fair…

No. It just wasn't fair. It still wasn't fair. All the time in the world to think about it still wouldn't make it fair. Amaya missed him sorely, though she usually wouldn't admit to herself why. Perhaps it would be easier to admit if the two had a chance to sit and talk things over. To come to terms with all that had happened. But, that chance had been denied them. And now, Amaya would be hard pressed to explain why she grieved so much, why she felt an inexplicable desire to see him alive again, why she couldn't say good bye. The funny thing was it was so simple. She loved him. She loved him a lot. And now he was gone.

- + - +

A man, broad-shouldered with a kindly (though weary) face possessing strong features watched his surrogate daughter stumble over to a grave and fall to her knees beside it. A sad sigh escaped his lips as the girl burst into tears. Some day soon he hoped to see a sparkle in the girl's lavender eyes once more she smiled. She still refused to talk about what all had happened, and Bear, as he was fondly called by Amaya and Mimiru, had been forced to ask Mimiru and others about it. So, now he understood a little of Amaya's emotional turmoil this past year, but… There was more than the others involved knew, or would say. Maybe soon… soon Amaya would be able to tell him and others… And seek healing.

- +

Two figures exited the graveyard not long later. A man with his arm wrapped around a girl's shoulder. Despite the rain, the two turned into a nearby park, walking along the paths… talking.

A/N

Well, there you go. The first of three epilogues, and the one I like least. This epilogue is one that would not have a sequel.

Replies to my reviewers:

Dragon's Hitokiri: Thanks for reviewing again! Kite: -rubs head- Oooooowwwwww! Sora: -laughs at Kite- Boing! -bounces off of Hitokiri's head-

Dreamcaster555: Thanks!

Aeris Valeria: I emailed you on my school account.

Arakasama: Muah. My favorite endings usually are the sort where technically the good guys win, but it isn't a perfect ending. Hope you like this epilogue. Heh...

Twilight Memories: Muahahahaha! I am a murderer... I'm really excited about G.U. Can't wait until it's out! (Christmas, maybe? I know it comes out this year) I drooled all over the keyboard while watching the trailer. And yes... Kite in the trailer.. is kind of how I pictured an evil version of him... Wow.. Freaky. OH.. Random tidbit.. A while ago, an idea struck me that, since Mia was sort of a player version of Macha (the phase), what about other phases becoming players? I still have a bit of astory I stared along those lines saved, but it never went anywhere... Maybe Bandai hacked into my files or got telepathic.. Oh well... I really, really hope the game is as good as the other four, or better, if possible!.. The graphics are sure to be awesome...Write your own stories!

Angelyoshi: Goosebumps! You're comparing me to R.L. Stein? Hehe.. I like goosebumps, too.. Thanks! Yeah, I think I might make a sequel... Just not to this epilogue..