Before I begin this I'd like to say that I'm sorry about how long it's taken to write this chapter. My editor passed away while I was writing this chapter and it's been hard for me to get around to finishing it. But it's here.

I'm gonna treat ya'll to something special. That's for sure. Also, thank you all for reading and reviewing my chapters!

0-00-000-00-000-

5 minutes felt like an eternity for Haseo. 5 minutes of hearing her sobs of helplessness, and knowing that there wasn't much he could do to comfort her pain agonized him. Waves of emotion, like anger at whoever caused this beautiful girl to shed tears, worry about what could be happening in her life that would make her like this, and even guilt, coursed through his being. But finally after that long eternity, her sobs slowly died down. He took a step back and gazed into her emerald eyes.

"Atoli…" he said sadly. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up at him with an embarrassed look on her face. "I'm sorry... I didn't…"

He grit his teeth slightly before cutting her off mid-sentence. "You idiot… you don't have to apologize for anything." He hated that after all the confidence she had gained, whatever she was going through was enough to make her start apologizing for everything when she didn't need to. He gave her a soft smile and wiped away a stray tear that had slid all the way down her cheek with the back of his finger. "Let's sit down… then you can tell me all about it."

Without waiting for her reaction, he took her hand in his and led her to one of the pews in the cathedral, before sitting her down and him next to her. He released his grip on her hand but still kept his own on top of it, then glanced over at the harvest cleric. "Please… let me know what's going on so I can do something about it okay?"

Taking a second to compose herself, she looked down into her lap but spoke loud enough for him to hear. "I… really did it this time Haseo." her hand that was on her lap clenched into a small fist while the hand that was trapped under the adept rogue's. He didn't say anything, instead just waited for her to elaborate.

"It all started this Friday. I went out after school to shop, there was an outfit I thought was adorable. So I went and bought it." She bit her lip and hesitated for a moment before continuing. "And when I got home, and tried it on… my mom came into the room. She was…" He could feel her hand trembling underneath his own, so trying to soothe her, he brushed his thumb over the top of her hand.

She initially was surprised by the gesture, but it made her feel a little bit better to know he was here with her, listening to her, and most importantly to her, seeing her. She continued her story after a moment of hesitation. "My mom was less than pleased with the way I was dressed… she said no daughter of hers was going to be dressing like a prostitute…" He cut in for a moment to ask, "The outfit, what was it?" She tilted her head to the side wondering why he was asking. "It was a skirt, with a belt kind of draped over the hip with a shirt that said 'I am thou, thou art I' and a picture of something that looked like a tarot card in the middle. It also came with a black and white checkered jacket." He shook his head and said "Okay so absolutely nothing about makes you look like a prostitute but continue anyway."

She smiled, glad the he understood, then continued. "She… said that she was tired of me constantly bringing disgrace unto her, and…" Her eyes started to tear up again as she struggled to choke the next few words out. "She told me… that I was no longer welcome under her roof, and… I had until next week to leave. And I…" The stream of tears started to roll down her cheeks, "And I don't know… what to do!" Her sobs started anew, and stronger than before.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wasn't on the best terms with his parents, even to the point where he moved out on his own, but he couldn't imagine not wanting them in his life or vice versa. He squeezed her hand softly and she buried her eyes into his chest once again, as if he was the only emotional anchor she had.

0-00-0000-00-0-00-000-0-0

Kitchi Teshima walked into his apartment, and sighed heavily, tossing his bag onto the azure countertop, and undoing his tie aggressively and tossing it to the side. His girlfriend was sitting in a white T-shirt with the word GO! Written on it. She was playing a game on their TV when she tilted her head backwards and gazed at him with her amber eyes twinkling with excitement. "So?! How did it go?"

He walked over to the fuzzy red couch that she was sitting on, and placed a hand on her tanned leg, rubbing it gently. "Oh it went well enough… he was… jovial I guess? Promised to get back to me as soon as he reviewed the other applicants and such." She nodded at him and then asked "Then why do you seem so glum chum?" He laid his head in her lap, slinging his legs over the arm of the couch. He remained silent for a while as she began to play with his teal hair.

She smiled softly and said to him in a loving tone "There you go again, clamming up when you should be talking, you've not changed since the day I met you." He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relaxation. "You know, you haven't done a whole lot of changing yourself. Well, besides dropping that whole tsundere 'It's not because I like you or anything' you were doing before we got together." She smacked him on the chest gently and tried her best to not look amused, before cupping his cheek. "But I think I know you well enough to know when you're not telling me the whole truth."

He tensed his muscles, then relaxed them, knowing she had him pegged. "I got an email this morning, before the interview." She perked up for a moment, "My email made you upset?" He shook his head quickly "No! It was very sweet, and thoughtful." The young lady put a finger up to her chin to ponder for a second. "Yasuhiko being a fuckboy again?"

Kitchi snorted at that "Well! Yes but no. He was bragging about the job he has again." She rolled her eyes then said "well then cut the suspense and tell me who messaged you!" The man let out a sigh and uttered one word that would bring the peaceful world he had built for the two of them crashing down.

"Aura."

She stopped all her movements, and for a while an eerie silence fell on the both of them. Her eyes widened and when she finally moved to speak, her words got caught in her throat. Kitchi was the one to eventually break the quiet. "There's… trouble brewing again, and the current protectors of [The World] can't handle it." He bit his lip and clenched his fist sitting up on the couch and slamming his fist on the armrest, causing his girlfriend to jump in surprise.

"Damn it! It's not fair!" He growled in frustration. "I quit because I was done with the fight! I put my life on the line every day during Pluto Again, and I thought it was all over when R1 was finally shut down. But when trouble started brewing in R2, and I was starting my life with you… everyone wanted me to drop everything to become the savior of [The World] again, and I was so scared... "

He got louder clenching in his fists into his lap, and shuddering in anger, guilt, and terror. "Scared of losing everything I worked so hard for… scared of losing you, of the friends I made.. God I'm just a coward, I know the fate of the world, both virtual and real are at risk but I still am terrified…"

His trembling slowed, and she climbed behind him and pressed her chest against his back, resting her hand and head on his shoulder. "You're not a coward Kitchi… you've gone through so much and done so much more for everyone in the world, and no one outside of our group will ever know about it. You were the one who kept fighting when the rest of us had given up. You're a hero, and I understand not wanting to put your life at risk anymore."

"Just know, whatever you decide to do… wherever Kite goes, BlackRose will always follow… even if that means making a return to [The World]" She smiled and turned his face towards hers, cupping his cheek and stroking it gently. "I love you Kitchi. More than anything." Letting her eyes fall shut, she leaned in and pressed his lips against his own.

And just like that, all his anger, and fear melted away. His muscles relaxed against hers and he deepened the kiss, before pulling away. "I love you too Akira." He smiled and closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they flashed with a certain resolve. "In that case, I guess we need to go shopping for new hardware huh?" Feeling a sense of pride that she was able to make him feel a little better, she decided to let her mischievous side come out to play.

"We don't have to go right now, do we?" He knew that tone of voice and gulped loudly, understanding what was coming. He knew he had to choose his next words very very carefully. "I mean… we don't HAVE to?" She grinned and said "Smart Man."

0-00-00-000-00-0-00

Another eternity passed before the Harvest Cleric had calmed down enough for them to sit awkwardly with each other, unsure of what to say. Their hands were still intertwined, and a blank look was plastered on her face. She muttered under her breath "I don't know… what to do anymore."

Haseo's heart lurched at her suffering, and he opened his mouth to say something. Even though he knew what he was about to say, when it came out of his mouth, it surprised him as much as it surprised her.

"Hey, why not come live with me in Tokyo?" She perked up at how ridiculous the proposition sounded at first, especially since they haven't really met in real life before. But they were extremely close from their past battles, and she felt that he knew her better than anyone else really did.

"But… I don't want to be a burden or cause you trouble, and I can be… mmphn?!" He silenced her train of thought by covering her mouth with his hand. "Man I don't know how many times I've told you this Atoli, but I'll say it again because apparently you're hard of hearing or something." He grinned at her and said "That stuff you've been telling yourself isn't true. Sure sometimes you're irritating, especially when I feel like you're trying to pick a fight with me." He pulled his hand away from her mouth and then said,

"So if it's okay with you, I mean if you don't have any other options, my place is always available for you."

I'm sorry that it took so much longer than normal to put out. About future chapters though, it's going to be tough going without an editor. If anyone has any editing skills, please let me know.