7/6/05

A/N: Okay, the final chapter of New World. You know, I'm not really all that fond of this fic...

Teek: I'll admit, it's not one of your best works...

Me: Yeah, I know. That's okay, Brother My Brother should make up for the sucky-ness of this fic.

Mizu: Speaking of which, I do believe it's my turn to narrate?

Teek: No, actually, I was thinking of taking over this chapter.

Koenna: How about I do it?

Teek: You sure?

Koenna: We're putting New World in, right? That's a .hack/ theme song. .hack/ is my department anyway, so...

Jhule: I was gonna do this chapter...

Teek: Dilemma, dilemma, dilemma... What do you think, Bobs?

Me: Hmm... Somehow, I think we should let Saya do it.

Saya: What! Me!

Me: You say that like it's a bad thing... C'mon, I'm thinking of writing a first-person LoM fic anyway, this'll be good practice for you.

Saya: I... Oh!... Well, alright, fine...

Me: Any other objections?

Jhule: Nah, I wasn't that set on it anyway.

Teek: Yeah, me neither. Saya should be good.

Koenna: Excelent attention to detail, too. And that's high praise from a hacker. No, I don't object.

Mizu: I didn't wanna do it in the first place. :P Have fun, Saya!

----Sayara----

I lurked in the shadows of the forest, watching as Riku and Mizu said good-bye to the friends they had made. As usual, I was apart from the group. I hate good-bye's anyway. It seemed like everyone was talking at once, so I couldn't make out what was being said. Soon enough, though, every one had gone, except Riku, Mizu, Teek, Bobbi, and, oddly enough, Jhule.

The homicidal red-head walked up to Mizu, something clutched in her hand. It was a piece of paper, neatly folded small enough to fit easily into a pocket.

"Here, Mizu," Jhule said, handing her the paper, "I want you to have this. Don't read it just yet, though. Wait until you need a song of light. You won't even remember it until it's needed."

"Thanks, Jhule," Mizu said, slipping the paper into a back pocket. Then enexpectedly, Mizu pulled the girl into a hug. "Bye, Jhule. I'll miss you guys."

"You probably won't even remember us when you get back," Bobbi said, almost sadly.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Teek almost laughed. I could tell just by the slight huskiness of her voice that she was really going to miss the Shadow. So was I, for that matter. "You'll remember us eventually, even if it's only in dreams."

"Dreams are enough," Mizu said. "I'm used to remembering only in dreams. It's frustrating while awake, but at least I know that I can remember for at least a minute or so each night." Mizu gave one last round of hugs, tears in her eyes.

"We should go now, koishii," Riku said, turning to the bridge that spanned the gap between this world and the worlds we belonged to.

I sighed and leaned my back against the tree, letting myself slide to the ground. Once there, I crossed my legs and pulled out my Force Marimba and began to play a sad melody on it. The soft notes somehow managed to echoe throughout the woods, and I thought that maybe they carried to the group by the bridge. Sure enough, I heard Bobbi say, "Sounds like Saya sais good-bye, too. We'll see you later, guys, don't you worry about that!"

I'm guessing that Mizu hugged the others again, then I heard the sounds of her footsteps and Riku's as they ran across the bridge to their destinies. Out of nowhere, I heard Bobbi start to softly sing, and altered my melody to harmonize with her voice.

"Tell me nanimo wakarinai no demo

You say itsumo sonna kotoba mo"

I'll try to translate the song for you as she goes: "Tell me I don't understand anything, but / You always say those kinds of words, too."

"Surechigau dake no You find another way

Owatteku sekai wo tobidashite you know?"

"You find another way where we only pass each other by / And rush out into a world that's ending, you know?"

"Hello Hello It's a New World

Hikari yori hayaku monokuro no supiido de

Hello Hello It's a New World

Jikan yori tooku kakenukeru You're so far away..."

"Hello, hello, it's a new world / Faster than light, with monochromic speed / Hello, hello, it's a new world / Further away than time, I run through it; you're so far away..."

Oddly enough, the song seemed to fit. As the last notes died away, Elazul walked up to me, and sat next to me.

"You didn't even say good-bye, Saya," he said quietly, slipping an arm about my shoulders. I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"You know how I am about those, 'Lazul," I whispered. "Besides, we'll see them again. You and I both know that dreams can be as real as waking."

"But they're still dreams," Elazul said, completing my thought as he did so often and so well. We sat in silence a moment, just enjoying easc other's company like Riku and Mizu did so often in their brief stay. Then, he broke the silence. "You're not crying, Saya. She isn't Jumi, it's safe to cry for her."

I chuckled slightly, deep in my throat, a noise that Elazul often said reminded him of a cat purring.

"I'm not going to cry, Elazul," I said, knowing full well that he was aware I was lying. "I'm going to miss them, surely, but I'm not going to cry. I've gotten used to holding back tears for those I care for, after all."

"It's not good to keep it bottle up inside of you when the tears do not imperril your life, Sayara. You are human, after all, and humans are meant to express their emotions."

I looked up into his lapis lazuli eyes, and was startled to see a smile on his face. I smiled back at him, just a little, and settled myself into a more comfortable position, stretching my legs out in front of me.

"You know," I said after a while, "I'm sure I will cry eventually. For one reason or another. And for one of them, or maybe both. But right now, I'm not going to. All I'm going to do right now is wish them a safe journey. Or as safe as possible. Those two head into dangers that we never had to face. I pray that they'll both make it through, intact."

"So do I, Sayara," Elazul whispered, staring off into the trees. "So do I..."

A/N: End of Hikari Series Book 2. Sorry about the faulty translation for the song, guys. I'm fairly certain that "monokuro" doesn't mean "monochromic." I mean, how can speed have only one color? It doesn't even have half of a color for crying out loud! Anyway, all I have to say for the rest of this fic is, "To be continued..."