Summary: Having never found out from Helba that Kite was Orca's friend, Balmung does some digging and decides to visit the comatose boy. He certainly didn't expect to find what he did. Or should we say who? Not an OC.
There are spoilers…if you don't know what happens to Orca. In like, the first twenty minutes of the game. Or if you don't know about Kite's new item, in the next ten minutes or so of it. And I apologize if Kite seems OOC, but really, he acts so depressed sometimes! Even if it's mostly after someone yells at him.
Rated Teen because before this is over, I will most likely end up cursing two or three times, be it in the fanfiction or out of it.
Done because there is a serious lack of dot hack/INFECTION fanfiction, or any of the video games in the series, for that matter. And you can do so much with the storyline…anyways, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I'm borrowing the dot hack games one by one from my friend. What in the world makes you think I own the whole friggin' company?
xxx xxx xxx xxx
Every day, the boy who had become known as Kite in the popular online game, "The World", would make a stop at the local hospital after school before heading home. It never lasted long, usually only twenty or thirty minutes at the most, but it was enough to get some of the nosier nurses to whisper amongst themselves. Some were convinced that he was simply paying his respects to a deathly ill elder, while others thought the boy was involved in some secret love affair. One employee, sick of all the gossip, went and found information on who he kept visiting, and showed it to the nurses. It turned out that the boy was visiting another teen, male, and roughly the same age.
That had only raised a few eyebrows (especially for the followers of the "love affair"), and most of the women were too convinced their version was right to take the information seriously.
Kite, as he had accustomed to being called, looked everything and nothing like his avatar in real life. At the moment, he was wearing the standard black school uniform with a simple collar and white trim. He was small, lean, and thin muscles rippled across his frame, their source of which unknown. His hair, while maintaining the same shape as it did online, was a fluffy, chocolate brown that perfectly matched his dark eyes.
It wasn't that Kite looked like his avatar in the World-he didn't in the slightest-but it was more of the way he carried himself that caused the similarities. An aura of sadness and determination seemed to linger around his body, and each light step that he took seemed to punctuate this fact.
As of right now, though, Kite was slouching in a chair next to the bed of his comatose friend, collar unbuttoned and hanging open to reveal his neck, and his eyes were dull, being quite deep in thought. He watched Orca (funny how playing the World has gotten him into the habit of calling Yasuhiko that,) remembering solemnly the first time he had been allowed to visit the hospital room, and the shock he had received. Orca had looked so weak…he still did, for that matter. It only made Kite all the more determined to find the cure for his friend in the World.
"You know," he said now to the patient (if, for nothing else, to break an increasingly depressing silence). "I met this really stuck-up guy the other day online. BlackRose kind of forced me to go to this one area, some sort of cathedral…and well, one thing led to another, and he ended up trying to save us from one of those infected monsters. Data bugs," He corrected, remembering the name BlackRose had used. Kite grinned without humor. "Of course, that was when I got the bracelet, because the thing just wouldn't die and BlackRose and the other guy were looking pretty worn out"
I didn't want more people to end up like you.
"Only now, instead of being grateful, the guy's determined to catch me, because he thinks that I'm some kind of a hacker."
Of course, there was no response from the only other human in the room. Kite sighed, and drifted back into his thoughts, but not before he muttered one last thing.
"I think his name was…Balmung."
xxx xxx xxx xxx
As it was, the same man that Kite had been softly complaining of to his friend happened to be just four stories below and outside, briefcase waiting securely in the car and wondering why in the nine Hells he had the bright idea to come here in the first place. From where "Balmung" lived, the hospital was quite out of his way, and it had taken a long time to reach this place.
To be honest, he was afraid of what he might find. It had come as quite a shock anyways when Helba, that blasted hacker, had told him Orca was in a coma, and oh-by-the-way was only fourteen years old. Frankly, between the appearances of the Data Bugs, his partner's condition, and the people responsible for this entire mess running free, his temper had been running a bit short lately.
"It's all that damn virus' fault…" He growled.
"Um, can I help you?"
Balmung jumped. He hadn't noticed that he had gotten all the way to the front desk of the hospital. The secretary was staring at him oddly. "Yes," he said, relaxing slightly. "I am here to visit a friend; can you tell me which ward he is in? His name is Orc-I mean, Yasuhiko…"
"Oh, that boy! Funny how popular he is, his other friend has been visiting every day. I'm sure if he was awake he would be glad to get a visit from his uncle."
Uncle? Do I really look that old? Oh well, it doesn't matter. It's less suspicious this way. He flashed her a smile, although it was half-turned to a smirk. Fortunantly, the nurse did not notice. "Indeed. The ward, please?"
"Oh, I'm sorry! Here you go." She gave Balmung the number and directions to Orca's room, then went back to her computer as a silent gesture of dismissal. Slowly, he turned away from the front desk, and went off to find his partner's room, repeating over and over again that there was absolutely nothing wrong with meeting up with some kid from an online game when said kid knew nothing about it.
It was just a polite visit from a companion. That was all.
xxx xxx xxx xxx
Kite was once again knocked rudely from his trance-like state, this time by a noise coming from somewhere outside the room. For one fleeting, confused moment, he thought that Orca was waking up, but no, it wasn't that at all. Someone was opening the door to his room, muttering incoherent words (though he distinctly heard the word, "stalker,") under their breath.
Dully, he realized that Orca had another visitor, and one that obviously had expected the room to be empty. A tall blonde man entered the room and promptly stopped when he noticed the other. He stared at Kite, gray eyes blinking in surprise, and all prior muttering ceasing. It was apparent that he expected Orca to be the only human in the room. For a few minutes, the machines Yasuhiko was hooked up to were the only sounds that either could hear.
Then, abruptly, Kite pushed his chair back from the bed, and stood up. He murmured a very soft, "Sorry," to the other man, and made to leave. It was obvious that whoever the guy was, he wanted some time alone with the comatose patient. He was halfway through the door when the man grabbed his elbow. Kite looked up in surprise.
"You don't have to leave," The older man stated softly. "Do not feel the need to simply because I am here."
At that moment, Kite's blood ran cold, and a feeling of pure fear washed over him.
That voice…! He thought. It's the same as the guy who- it's the same as Balmung's! Whereas before Kite wanted to leave out of respect, he now wanted to go for his own safety. There was no telling what might happen if Balmung discovered who he was online, most especially as their last meeting had not ended on the best of terms.
But what do I do?If I speak at all, it's almost guaranteed he'll recognize my voice. But if I don't talk…he'll get suspicious anyways! Maybe I should just run away right now, and hope he doesn't follow.
It was too late, though. Seeing as Kite had yet to move, the man-no, Balmung- had taken it as a sign of his acceptance to stay, and was already leading him back into the room.
xxx xxx xxx xxx
Kite mutely sank back down into his chair. He was worried; even if he managed to avoid Balmung's questions, it wouldn't be too long before his cover was blown.
And then what would happen? Kite was terrified. Even if the older man was an average adult height, he still towered over Kite, and there was no doubt in the boy's mind that if the situation became physical, he'd probably end up right next to Orca.
Yet again, he was abruptly brought out of his musings, this time by someone snapping their fingers under his nose.
"Sorry," the man - Balmung- said. "But you were zoning out on me. I'll ask again. Is Yasuhiko your friend?"
Kite nodded.
"Have you known him for a while?" Nod, nod.
"I suppose you met him at your school, whatever it may be." Another silent confirmation from Kite.
"Hm, I see. Who are you, anyway?"
Well, shoot.
Later, he would wonder just why Balmung was asking all these questions, but for now Kite was too caught up in his current crisis to care. It didn't take too long for him to get to a question that couldn't be answered with a simple yes or no. Kite, therefore, did the only thing he could do: said nothing.
"Come on, child, do not space out on me again. Who are you?"
Maybe he could still get out the door without trouble. This was obviously not going to end well.
xxx xxx xxx xxx
Balmung sighed, frustrated. The kid was either mute, deaf, or was afraid some sort of apocalypse would occur should he reply in any way to him. And the fact that the boy's eyes kept darting towards the door every few minutes only made him more suspicious of who he really was.
"Look, boy, you can leave as soon as you tell me who you are. Can I not simply receive a name or something?"
His response was for the boy to suddenly leap up and making a dash for the door. He was not fast enough, however, and just like before, Balmung caught his right arm and dragged him back into the room. This time, however, he did not let go.
"Now that that's taken care of, you will tell me. Why are you so persistent in keeping silent?" He growled. Again, the kid did not speak, and merely kept his eyes on the floor.
Growing angrier by the second, Balmung squeezed his arm tighter. The boy whimpered softly. "I do not appreciate being ignored." There was a silent threat in those words that both understood.
Kite saw no way of getting out of answering this question. I...I guess I have no choice. The knot in his stomach had returned with even greater force than before. "Because," he said, body trembling slightly, "I don't know what will happen…when you hear me speak."
Balmung's eyes widened in shock, then quickly narrowed in anger. "You," he hissed. "You are that hacker with the bracelet!"
xxx xxx xxx xxx
I think that's a good place to stop, don't you? xD
"It was just a polite visit from a companion. That was all." Sorry fangirls, no shounen-ai in this fiction. I have nothing against it (I even admit to being a fangirl myself,) but in order for this to work, the guys have to feel exactly what their actions and body language claim. In other words, the ancient fangirl rule of, "two guys that are mortal enemies are secretly lovers!" doesn't apply here. :
"A blonde man stared at Kite, his gray eyes blinking in surprise." Yeah, it's an awful description, but you know what? I'm pretty sure all of you people have your own version of how the characters look in real life. If you lack imagination, just pretend that Balmung's in his entire getup as it is in The World.
See ya later! In the mean time, Tell me what you thought of it!
