Disclaimer: Don't own Hack and everyone.
A.: Bombay-elk
Asthma can suck big time. I just had an attack last night in the train station and I was sent to the ER. Anyway, I only made miniscule editing, I was too lazy to re-do everything. I can't believe my writing was that lame…
Key: --x-- means memory/real world
--o-- means different area/scene in The World
Heart to Get: Chapter Five
--o—o—o--
"Tsukasa!"
Lavender eyes snapped open as amethyst met bright blue, a small smile on the player's face as Mimiru waved a hand in front of him.
"I'd say you were really in deep thought since you'll smack my hand away whenever I do that," the Heavy Blade replied, placing her hand on one hip.
"When did you get here?" Tsukasa grunted, stretching his cramped legs. He was silently surprised and happy to see his long time friend finally appearing back, but she ruined his mood a little as he was pondering about that suspicious looking Twin Blade he met not long ago, ignoring his surroundings.
I don't know how he had gotten the keywords to that field, but I doubt it was mere coincidence… Tsukasa thought, frowning slightly.
"A couple of minutes ago, I wanted to see if anything was new in the BBS board and then I logged in, seeing you with a spaced out look on your face," Mimiru explained, sitting beside him, "So what's up? I haven't heard from you in a long time since of the exams I had to take."
"Speaking of which, how did you do on it?" Tsukasa asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Maybe after hearing how poorly she did on the exams might lighten his mood a little, even though it'll be wrong to smile at his friend's unsuccessful grade.
Mimiru let out a groan, massaging her temples, "Ugh, don't remind me! All that studying made my head explode and gave me migraines. I was teetering on the edge as I keep forgetting things of what I recently learned, and I had an anxiety attack before the exams barely began! Can you believe my luck!?"
The Wavemaster let out a small smile as Mimiru shook her head, quickly letting it disappear before she looked up, "What was the score?"
She chuckled nervously, "Ah.. I.."
Tsukasa rolled his eyes and sighed, crossing his arms as he predicted the usual grade the forgetful player received, "I should've expected that from a clueless person like you."
It shouldn't even be a surprise for me.
A sharp hit on the head caused him to wince as Mimiru glowered in slight anger, a grin appearing on her face with her fist raised in the air, "You jerk, you didn't let me finish my sentence! I passed with flying colors, and I actually have a great chance to get into the university I want to enroll to! And you thought I was hopeless!"
Tsukasa gave a scowl, massaging the abused part of his head, "From the way you say, it sounds you wouldn't make it."
"But I did and proved you wrong," Mimiru said triumphantly.
"Whatever," Tsukasa muttered, removing an item, "It might've been ridiculous for me to do this, but I wanted to give this to you if, miraculously, passed the exams for trying hard..."
A sparkle of shock glinted in Mimiru's eyes as Tsukasa held out a large midnight blue sword, streaks of gold and red handsomely decorating the weapon.
"Tsukasa… this is one of the best gifts I can hope for!" Mimiru squealed, wrapping her arms around him.
Tsukasa squirmed uncomfortably as Mimiru threw an unexpected glomp at him, pushing her away, "Alright, I can understand you're happy about this, I don't need thanks."
Mimiru gave a sheepish smile and looked at the majestic weapon in her hands, mouth slightly open in awe, "But how could've you gotten this? You must've been in a high level dungeon to get it, not to mention some strong players to join with you. Unless you made a copy?"
"It's the real thing, don't worry about that. If you hadn't noticed, I've been leveling up a little the past month and couple of days ago when you were gone."
I must've been insane missing her loud personality, its even worse than the last she's been here.. Tsukasa mentally sighed, his ears throbbing.
"A little?! Its looks more than just 'a little' to me! It'll take a long time for me to catch up to your standards," Mimiru commented, replacing her old sword with the recently acquired one.
"You can level up faster if you go to fields that are in a higher level than yours, I can help you with that," Tsukasa muttered, his head pounding at the sound of Mimiru's boisterious voice. I'll do anything to make you stop talking…
"… you know, you've changed a lot, since the last time I met you," Mimiru replied softly, a gentle smile on her face.
Tsukasa turned his head towards her, expressionless, "Changed? How so?"
Stubborn man… Mimiru half groaned, half laughed mentally.
Mimiru smacked him on the arms lightly, "Don't act as if you don't know you bully, you wouldn't have been this generous to give me something as rare as this, or help me out. You'd usually want me to achieve it on my own."
Tsukasa shrugged, saying nothing as he looked away to look at the scenery in front of him. He couldn't help by silently agree to Mimiru's well observed reasons, but he hated it when people can read him so easily.
Was I really that cold to everyone? It would probably make sense though, in many ways when I was with Elk, I did change…
"I mean, there is this one things that's strange and it's been bugging me a little. What caused you to come back here? If I remembered correctly, you said you 'would never go back to this stupid game even if my life depended on it', and yet now I see you here out of all places," Mimiru reasoned.
"… I don't know, I guess because there wasn't really anything much for me to do out there. I've been doing okay in my classes, Bear's not here since he's on a business trip with B.T, and he won't be back home until next week. Everything that I wanted to do when I came back is already done, and out of boredom, I returned. Just to see if anything new happened."
"A lot has been going through here since we've been out of touch from this game, a friend of mine informed me about the latest news. I come here once in a while, and CC Corp. has made big upgrades. We can smell, feel.. just like you can," Mimiru replied, smiling as the gentle wind caressed her skin.
Tsukasa nodded instinctively as he didn't bother to listen what Mimiru said, the image of a cerulean eyed boy appeared before his mind, a grim line forming from his lips.
Kite… there really can't be any other explanation to see him there. No other regular player can have access into the forbidden field unless they are a hacker…
"So.. who's the lucky one?"
"What!?" Tsukasa yelled out, his cheeks burning in embarrassment as her sudden question jerked back to reality. Did she figure it out already!?
Mimiru giggled, "For you to be so different, there has to be someone who turned you like this, it happens to anyone when they're in love."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Tsukasa muttered stubbornly, his cheeks cooling down and trying to ease his breathing.
The female player wagged a finger at him, already seeing the blush that had risen from her friend's cheeks, "You can't lie to me Tsukasa, I've pretty much known you for a long time, so confess! I won't be satisfied until you do!"
"Why are you so interest in my life for? It's really none of your business to snoop around," Tsukasa replied coldly, adding a small growl to threaten his friend to end the conversation. Hopefully, she might take the small warning and back away from it so he won't have to blush madly like a schoolgirl. He can just log out and acted as if this had never happened, but he's waiting for Elk to join him along somewhere.
I guess that option is ruled out, girls can stick their noses into everyone's business when they feel like it.
Mimiru ignored the hint of warning in his voice and wore a face of mocked pain, placing her hand over her heart, "I'm hurt Tsukasa, you don't trust me? You can tell me, I don't tell anyone of one's secrets and you know that. Is it Subaru? You and her always seem to be so close when we were all together."
Tsukasa shook his head, his vision of the beautiful turquoise girl now so distant and blurry, it's difficult to decipher her face. What shocked him a little is he didn't even thought about Subaru ever since he and Elk have been going through many things together, his solitary existence crushed and filled by Elk's kindness, keeping him company and the care he wished for.
"I haven't met her for a long time, less even heard. The last I knew, she went out of state to cisit her relatives. Besides, I only feel a brotherly-sisterly love towards her, nothing more."
"I see… is it someone I know?" Mimiru asked hopefully.
"I don't think so," Tsukasa replied, feeling this conversation going a little too far, "Let's end this, all you need to know is it isn't Subaru, that's all."
"Aw come on! Don't be a spoil sport, I wanna meet this girl! It's the first time I've ever seen you like this!" Mimiru grinned, eyes twinkling mischievously.
Tsukasa's cheeks flared back to red as he coughed, shutting his eyes tight.
A thin eyebrow was raised as Mimiru looked at Tsukasa curiously, "Guy?"
Tsukada groaned in defeat. This woman won't give up on guessing! How could've she known these kinds of things so easily when he said no word about him?
Then it's confirmed, Mimiru is officially a psychic reader, I have to keep my thoughtrs clear when I'm around her… Tsukasa sarcastically thought.
Although, she might be grossed out if I tell her it's a guy and she won't talk about it anymore, I don't care what she thinks. It won't change the fact of what I feel for him.
"Well? Tell me, is it a guy or girl?"
"… guy, happy now?"
Mimiru chuckled, "There, now was that so hard for you to tell me?"
He warily looked at her, not expecting this, "You're not grossed out?"
"Of course not! Love doesn't depend on gender, it matters about the personality and heart of the individual. People who sometimes think its wrong are silly. Love is love, it can be in any form you and your partner want it to be," Mimiru smiled.
"How do you know these types of things? I doubt you've read it from a book."
"It's just natural, you're not the only person whose going through that."
"Hn.."
She made it sound normal, I guess her talking isn't as annoying as I thought it would be.
"Does he know?"
"I don't think he should, we have a close friendship, so if I tell him and if he rejects it…" Tsukasa shook his head, sighing, "Then everything we had together would shatter. I can't risk ruining it, we've been close than with Subaru's and my friendship for the past month."
"You airhead," Mimiru scolded, poking his arm, "Don't you realize you're already ruining it? You're hurting yourself if you keep it like this and it'll be harder for you to confess it when you stall it longer. Quit being negative all the time, he might feel the same way, no matter of the risk. You'll grow and die an old grumpy man if this guy falls in love with someone else, and you'll regret not to tell him earlier."
Tsukasa went silent as he knew her reasons were, yet again, right, "… fine."
Mimiru gave an encouraging smile at the silver haired boy who returned a faint smile back, a peaceful settlement coming between them.
For now.
"Now… did you both meet outside The World? If you did, you have to introduce me to him since we're close to each other."
Tsukasa groaned as he drew his knees close to himself, placing his head between them.
--o—o—o--
"Hey Elk!"
"BlackRose!"
A cheerful smile came over the HeavyBlade's face as she ran towards to her kind friend. Seeing the bright smile from the Wavemaster's face can make the day bright.
Especially for mine.. When I see Kite again, I'll give him one hell of a beating. She seethed.
"Long time no see!"
Elk beamed, "Same here! I haven't seen you around."
"I've been pretty busy now and then, but I wanted to find Kite to join on a dungeon along with me. He hasn't emailed me to go to one or anything and it sort of pisses me off. Have you seen him by any chance?"
Elk shook his head, "I've been busy myself too by going to dungeons to level up and give some rare stuff to Mistral. I stayed on root towns for a little while to restock and save, sometimes trading."
"Oh okay, but if you ever see him, email me okay? I wanna give Kite a piece of my mind to know who he is messing with."
"Don't worry, I will!" Even if I do see him, I'll just hide away..
"So anything new happening?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary, I've made a new friend the past few weeks!"
"Really? That's great! What's his name?"
"Tsukasa, he's a really nice person and we've been going through lots of things together, he's helping me collect Aromatic Grass for Mia."
BlackRose's eyes widened in shock, "Tsukasa? A Wavemaster with gray hair and purple eyes?"
"Yeah," Elk replied, surprised, "You know him?"
"Know him? He's one of the greatest players here in The World from what I've heard! Few players had seen him around here since he doesn't come on as much anymore, he's usually with Subaru when he is though."
"I see him everyday, we meet up in root towns to go on a journey to fight off some monsters or sometimes head for a field to talk. Who's Subaru? He mentioned her a couple of times when we talked about our past."
"Subaru used to be the leader of the Crimson Knights, a group of players who swore safety to the players of The World and the game itself. They disbanded a long time ago after she resigned. She doesn't come here anymore after they awakened Aura; she's Tsukasa's closest friend."
A sudden twinge went into Elk's heart of hearing the type of relationship Tsukasa and Subaru had, chances of hope slowly crumbling away.
So they might've been together… but wait, what was I hoping for? Elk pondered, biting his lower lip.
"How did you know this?"
"Hm? Ah, I have a friend whose a friend of Tsukasa and Subaru, she told me everything they've been going through years ago. When I met her, I was upset she copied my style and we had this stupid fight of who got it first and stuff," BlackRose chuckled, "But everything smoothed out once she had big exams coming up and had to study for them. She's pretty nice, her name's Mimiru."
Elk looked up, "Mimiru? I think I met her before, but with Kite long ago. Does she have brown hair and blue eyes?"
BlackRose nodded, "You that's her!"
"Well, thanks for the help BlackRose, its really great to see you again! I have to go and meet up with Tsukasa, we're going to go for a journey."
"If it's not too much trouble, can I come along? I don't think Kite will ever reply back to my emails and I'm in the mood for some adventure."
"I don't mind, you can come along with us, but the dungeons will be pretty strong."
BlackRose grinned, "Don't worry about that, you only gotta be concerned about catching up to me, you Wavemasters are slow."
"Hey!" Elk laughed, his mood lifting.
--o—o—o—
"How old is he?"
"How should I know? I don't want to go deep into his private life unless he wants me to," Tsukasa's voice muffled out from his arms. For the past few minutes, Mimiru kept on bombarding questions about his crush, finding every scrap of detail this boy had made Tsukasa into a softy, each one more personal than the last.
"Stop being a liar! You said the both of you have a really close friendship, you should know the basics."
An irritated sigh came from the Wavemaster before he gave in, tired of the never ending questions, "Fifteen."
"A year younger than you, not bad. His name?"
"I don't know his real name, but his player name's Elk."
"That's a pretty cute name for The World," Mimiru giggled, seeing the tips of her friend's ears redden.
"Are you blushing?" Mimiru gasped in mock surprise.
"No," Tsukasa denied, burrowing his head deeper into his arms.
I swear, one more word…
"The World must be coming to an end, Tsukasa's blushing!" Mimiru teased.
"Shut up…" Tsukasa gritted out, "Or else I'll kill you."
"Relax, I haven't been all cheery and smiles until after the exams, I need something to make me laugh."
Tsukasa peeked up an eye, "And teasing me's the only option?"
"Yup!"
Tsukasa looked up from hearing a ringing sound, catching sight of a silver blue haired boy and a woman surprisingly identical like Mimiru appearing in the server. His heart soared as crimson met with lavender, a faint hue of pink rising from both Wavemaster's cheeks. Elk bowed his head, shyly looking back through his silver lined tresses.
Mimiru looked at the direction where Tsukasa looked, a smirk appearing on her face at seeing the sight of BlackRose, "Speak of the devil."
"Tsukasa!" Elk yelled, waving at him as he and the other player started walking towards them.
Waving back, Tsukasa ignored the look on Mimiru's face as he stood up and went towards the newcomers.
"Heh, and I thought I wouldn't see you again, idiot," the Heavy Blade next to Elk sneered at Mimiru with a friendly grin on her face.
"Same here, stupid," Mimiru grinned back, pushing herself up as she joined along with Tsukasa.
"I'm just looking for anyone who's interested in coming to a journey with me. It happens that Elk here invited me along since another friend of mine hasn't contacted me for weeks."
Mimiru blinked, "Elk?" She turned her head to meet a pair of gentle ruby eyes, wide in recognition.
In an instant, a genuine smile appeared on Mimiru's lips at the memory of the said Wavemaster, "I remember you! I met you at that dungeon long ago with a Twin Blade player in red right?"
Elk nodded, she remembered him! "Y-yeah, I didn't know you were Tsukasa's friend!"
"You didn't ask!" She laughed, punching Tsukasa on the arm lightly, "You didn't tell me it was this Wavemaster!"
Leaning towards the timid boy, she gave a hearty wink at him, "Tsukasa told me all about you, I wanted to know who made this jerk come back into the game after all these years! I'm glad it was you!"
Blushing, Elk returned the gesture with a shy smile, "Thanks, I guess!"
"So Mimiru… failing your exams as usual?" BlackRose grinned, straightening up to meet Mimiru's identical grin.
"For your information, I've passed my exams with a perfect score, thank you very much," Mimiru huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Right, a perfect zero!"
"What did you say!?"
"You heard me wench! Unless you're tone deaf?!"
"How dare you!!"
Tsukasa and Elk mentally winced as both HeavyBlade players began to shove one another roughly, a stream of curses and rude remarks slipping from both women's mouths.
"Perhaps we should go without them," Tsukasa suggested quietly, sighing in irritance as the shrill screams from BlackRose and Mimiru gave him an oncoming headache.
"Yeah, I thought it would be fun if BlackRose would join us since she wants to go on a journey," Elk murmured, sighing in disappointment, "I guess not."
"Yeah right, she's just as annoying as Mimiru," the older boy scoffed, catching Elk's hand and began pulling him away from the women's squabbling.
Pink appeared on Elk's cheeks as he allowed himself to be pulled away, "Wha-what are you doing?"
"Trying to get ourselves away from them," Tsukasa replied, darting his eyes back and forth to see if the female players have noticed their absence, "The sooner we leave them here, the better for us they won't have to join along, they'll only want to kill each other than the monsters."
"So we're going to ditch them?"
"Is there any other better way? They won't recognize us being gone, Mimiru won't leave you alone until she knows every single thing about you."
Elk looked back hesitantly, guilt seeping for leaving BlackRose, but shuddered at the thought of Mimiru popping up personal questions.
"Ow! That hurt, bitch!"
"That's what you get for calling me a failure!"
Elk looked back at Tsukasa, nodding silently as they both started to walk quickly towards the Chaos Gate until a chilled voice caused them to freeze.
"Hey! Where do you think you two are going!?" Mimiru shouted, pushing BlackRose to the ground and making a head start towards them.
"You're not gonna get away from our sight! Elk, you said I can come along with you!" BlackRose shouted.
"Run." Tsukasa whispered urgently, clutching Elk's hand tighter as they started sprinting towards the crowd of people.
A smile tugged its way into Elk's lips as he squeezed Tsukasa's hand, gaining speed as they just barely made across a couple of Grunties.
"Watch where you're goin'!" One of the Grunties snorted, shaking its head angrily at them.
"Sorry!" Elk giggled, looking back at the disgruntled Grunty before meeting Tsukasa's gaze.
A small smile was seen from Tsukasa as they reached to the Chaos Gate, hastily bringing out their staffs up in the air.
"Tsukasa! When I get my hands on you, I'll-!"
"I can't believe you Elk! How can you leave me back there with this priss when I could've spent my time with you!?"
Elk yelped as he felt BlackRose's fingers brushing against his skirt before a series of golden rings surrounded the Wavemasters, clutching to Tsukasa's arm and hearing twin frustrated screams before being led to their destination.
"Hey, they're gone now, we've barely escaped from them," Tsukasa spoke softly, feeling a tug from his heart at the cute sight, placing a hand on Elk's hat gently.
Opening a crimson eye to check, Elk opened the other as he saw an endless field of sand, large palm trees and enormous sized starfish resting lazily on large boulders, relaxing.
Unexpectedly, Elk began to laugh, wiping the tears cornering his eyes as he smiled at Tsukasa, "I've never done anything like that before, running away from them and passing through people. It was kind of fun, but BlackRose wouldn't be too happy when I come back."
Tsukasa smiled, "Neither would Mimiru, but I'm not afraid of her shaking me like a rag doll, she's always got this short temper."
--o—o—o—
"Don't worry so much Kite! I'm absolutely sure he'll come here tomorrow on the dot!"
Kite glanced worriedly at Mistral, "You're positive about this Mistral?"
It was dark in Aerial Fort, fewer players were in the server since most of them would go to Carmina Gadelica where it would be bustling and crowded. Kite and Mistral were close to the Chaos Gate, Kite resting on one of the cannons while Mistral remained standing, swinging her staff childishly.
Mistral smiled and nodded, "Yup! Almost everyone here in The World would come to the annual event of the fifth year of The World restored back in peace! You have to be there since you're one of the heroes who brought the restoration of the game! CC Corp. would send you an email to come to it anyway and they'll personally thank you along with the other Legendary Hackers that brought peace to The World before! That is if they come though, no one hasn't heard news of them or seen them."
Except Tsukasa. Kite thought, momentarily forgetting Mistral who continued to explain the details of the festival excitedly.
The faint feeling of warmth towards the cold Wavemaster stirred within Kite again, cheeks in a faint pink hue when recalling the strange 'talk' they had on that day.
--x—x—x—
"Who are you?"
The lavender eyed Wavemaster coldly asked towards the Hacker, his voice equally as menacing as his eyes which made Kite shiver.
The Legendary Hacker remained silent as he was entranced by the sensual sound of the Wavemaster's voice, causing Kite's heart to beat furiously. He suddenly lost the ability to speak as the beautiful figure before him only radiated desire and yearning. He had already forgotten the question that was directed to him.
Amethyst orbs thinned, pale lips opening again to speak, impatience in his voice as he didn't receive an answer from the Twin Blade.
"You must be Kite."
Kite's eyes widened, reality breaking into his thoughts and bringing him back to the present with this Wavemaster whose been with Elk the whole time.
"And if I am?" Kite firmly replied back, startled to hear his voice calm and collected. What was he thinking? He wasn't here to stare at this person with the feelings of infatuation, he was here with one purpose: to find Elk and ask for his forgiveness. How could he feel the sensations of desire towards this Wavemaster when there's a serious problem at hand?
"Stay away from Elk," the mysterious boy warned him, pointing his staff towards him, "Or I'll kill you myself."
Kite narrowed his eyes, a frown marring his expression, "Funny, I didn't hear you were the one who can tell people whether they can see Elk or not. I thought Elk can decide for his own."
"You've hurt him enough, so go ruin someone else's life. Whatever you've done to Elk isn't something he deserves and that's something I wouldn't allow to go freely."
"Elk's and mine's business doesn't concern you, so you don't have the right to intrude into it!"
A pale fist connected with Kite's jaw, leaving Kite to stagger back from shock as his jaw began to swell, amazed of the Wavemaster's strength and speed.
Amethyst eyes glittered dangerously as he pulled back his fist, "Any business from one of my friends is my business!"
The Wavemaster shook his head in annoyance, "I don't know why Elk was considering of forgiving you; he even begged me not to hurt you…"
Kite took a step backward as the Wavemaster approached him, silently swearing if he comes any closer, his heart would surely burst from the up close features of perfection from the pale skinned boy.
"Even if Elk did forgive you, I'm sure as hell wouldn't," the Wavemaster snarled.
"Yours doesn't matter from the start, I want Elk's forgiveness and that's the only that that is important to me!"
A smirk appeared on the boy's lips as he sees Kite's trembling figure, only a few inches away from his face.
"Don't act as if you're the hero in this moment now, I'm the last person you wouldn't want to mess with. I don't take grudges lightly so I suggest you be careful who you fight with."
"The same goes for you," growled Kite, forming a fist with his hand, "I bet you don't even know who you're arguing with."
"Heh, I know very well who I'm dealing with…"
A wicked glint came across those orchid eyes, "You're those kinds of people who relatively don't give a damn about anyone, only yourself as you throw your weight on them as if you're the boss in control. You took advantage of Elk when he was at his weakest point!"
Kite shut his eyes tightly as he threw a punch towards the Wavemaster, "That's not true!"
The boy dodged the fist easily as he continued, "It isn't? Then tell me why you had to kill his friend Mia when you know she's his first friend!"
Cerulean eyes were snapped open as he looked at the smirking Wavemaster in shock and scowled, "I didn't have a choice! It was the only way to bring her back into her regular form and restoring back The World! I didn't want to kill her, but there wasn't any other way!"
How did he know about that!? Don't tell me-!
"Elk told me everything of what happened here in The World years ago, but he wouldn't tell me what you had done to him, neither would I want to hear it because it'll only hurt him. When he and I first met, he was traumatized and wounded, when he was supposed to be in full health once he logs into a root town!"
"How about you?! You've done more damage than I had when you sent those groups of players into a coma!" Kite yelled, realization dawning.
He remembered reading one of the bulletins about a wanted Wavemaster who sent players into comas by an unknown power years ago, another thread leading about the same player seeing a strange cat player. Reports on players falling into a coma by this Wavemaster had filled the boards at the past, a group called the Crimson Knights wanting anyone to catch the criminal and will be rewarded handsomely, until the leader decided to cancel the search.
The boy froze, causing Kite to smirk in satisifaction, "So it was you, that Wavemaster named Tsukasa. You were familiar when I saw you, I've met a fragment of your memory in one of those abandoned fields. Helba told me you were stuck in The World once a long time ago, and you brought the restoration back to the game, but you were also the reason why many people had either died or remained in a coma after all these years!"
Kite was prepared this time as he blocked the blow of the staff with his blade, pushing Tsukasa back and lunged forward, attempting to slash at him.
Tsukasa ducked quickly and gave an upward thrust of his staff towards Kite's chin, swinging his leg to bring the Twin Blade player off balance.
A jolt of pain coursed through Kite's body as his back collided with the ground roughly, the bladed weapons escaping his grip and sliding away from his reach. He clenched his teeth, breathing harshly as the end of Tsukasa's staff dug into his chest.
"You're pathetic," Tsukasa murmured, allowing his staff to press harder, "I'm wondering whether I should kill you now or not…"
The softly whispered words cause Kite to shiver again, the silent craving of desire for this Wavemaster burning as the hottest of flames. His body itched for even the softest brush from Tsukasa's fingertips. All of his anger dissolved into nothing but yearning, his breathing ragged.
Why am I reacting like this…? What is it that I want? No, who is it..?
A sharp pain from Kite's chest pulled him from his thoughts as Tsukasa applied more pressure on his staff, looking bored and angered.
"You wouldn't understand of everything I've been through Kite. Realizing you were stuck in a world where you don't remember anything, not even your own real name when you're all alone," Tsukasa replied coldly, resisting the urge to plunge the staff through Kite's chest.
"You know no one who can help you, and you can feeling nothing but anger and pain when you mean nothing to anyone, being used by the people you thought you can trust. I was only a tool, a puppet for the game itself when I was brought here, that was the only reason!
The people I sent to a coma only wanted a reward if they send me to the Crimson Knights, they think of me as a criminal for seeing a mysterious cat player. They were either doing it for ransom, or they were too much of a bother to me when I wanted to be by myself. They pestered me and ignored my warning when I simply wanted-"
--x—x—x—
"Kite! Were you even listening?"
Kite blinked, seeing a fuming Mistral with cheeks puffed angrily after explaining the whole event for nothing.
"Sorry Mistral, but-"
"No buts! You have to let your mind relax and forget about Elk for at least a second! Its not like he's dying or anything! I know you really do care for him, but if you keep yourself worked up like this, you'll never find him!" Mistral scolded, worry clouding her face, "I'm more worried about you now, this isn't healthy for you."
Kite opened his mouth to protest, but shut them and sighed, shoulders slumped in defeat. At one point, she's right, he's physically and mentally drained from stress and the lack of sleep for a couple of days, its difficult to keep his eyes open.
But I wasn't thinking about Elk at the moment..
"You're right Mistral, I'm sorry," Kite apologized.
"Then tomorrow we'll relax at the event where you can forget all your troubles for a moment. But we can't wear these clothes once we get there."
Kite frowned, "Why not?"
"It's a festival! There'll be game booths, fireworks and stuff! No weapons or armor are allowed!"
"But I don't have a kimono.." Kite sheepishly admitted, rubbing the back of his head, "I usually collect armor and other items that would be of use."
"That's okay! I'll give you one of my rare ones I collected, but you'll have to give it back in good condition, go it? I've got the perfect one for you, it'll make you eyes stand out!"
"I don't think I want to stand out, it's just a festival. How can I relax if I'll be crowded by so many people when you want me to dress like a king?"
If I stand out, Elk would've tried to hide away from me and Tsukasa would be there along with him to make sure I wouldn't get close to him. Kite frowned.
"Oh, you're right about that," Mistral pouted, "Fine, I have another one that won't stand out as much, but it'll look great on you."
"So Mistral, when you said I'll be one of the main people, along with the previous Legendary Hackers who'll be in the festival, does that mean we'll also be considered important?"
Mistral nodded, "Right, the representatives of CC Corp. might make a speech and bring all of us in front of everyone… wait. Kite, you promised!"
"I'll relax for a while before CC Corp. makes the speech Mistral," Kite assured, firm eyes staring at disbelieved ones, "This might be my only chance to try and talk to him, I need all the chances I can get, please understand that."
The energetic Wavemaster sighed, nodding, "I guess, but don't push yourself too hear Kite, at least promise me that."
"I will, it's just really important that I need to talk to-"
Words were caught in his throat as a series of golden rings appeared beside the Chaos Gate, revealing two Wavemasters, the smaller one holding onto the taller for support and happily speaking of a humorous topic, which the other one wrapped his arm around his shoulder, chuckling.
"I'm serious! Then it was my turn to play the piano, but I was so nervous playing the whole piece in front of everyone in the auditorium, I-"
Tsukasa pulled Elk to a stop, humorous eyes flaring in anger when meeting shocked cerulean. The gentle hold on Elk's shoulder tightened possessively when blue orbs hardened with jealousy at Tsukasa, another pair of surprised magenta staring both in alarm.
Elk looked up, confused of Tsukasa's sudden action and following where his gaze had landed, "What's wrong? Did you forget some-"
His face instantly paled, eyes widening in fear as memories roared back in the front of his mind at seeing Kite. Ghostly fingers began to caress his body from memory, his neck began to stung from the Twin Blade's claim on him.
His mind screamed at him to turn and run, never to look back of what he saw, but he remained still, eyes glossing with tears that threatened to spill.
"Elk!" Mistral called, stunned by the instant change of fear from Elk. What's happened to him?!
Turning his gaze from Tsukasa to the smaller boy, Kite's eyes softened as guilt washed over him, jumping off from the cannon and taking a step forward.
"Elk…"
Trembling, Elk took a step back in response, his heart pounding loudly in his ears, muffling the sounds around him.
No, not now! I can't!
A painful squeeze ached Kite's heart as he took another step, breaking from seeing Elk retreating.
"Please Elk, let me explain…"
The terrified Wavemaster shook his head, tears overflowing when lust-filled words echoed inside his mind over and over.
Kite gritted his teeth to prevent from his own tears falling, stretching out his hand towards him, continuing his walk, "I'm sorry… I didn't…"
Scowling, Tsukasa moved in front of Elk to hide him from Kite's sight, a menacing look in his eyes, "I warned you Kite, don't take another step unless you'd like to die this second."
Cerulean eyes narrowed, "And I told you to stay away from this, this is only about me and Elk!"
"Elk, its okay, I'm right here for you," Mistral whispered, placing her hands on Elk's shoulders to calm him down, biting her lip as Elk made no inclination to relax.
"If something happened to Elk, it is my concern! You've done enough damage by just giving him those memories!" Tsukasa shouted, his nails biting deep into the flesh of his palm to keep him from placing his hands into Kite's neck.
"Tsukasa!" Mistral cried out, her own tear spilling from her eyes as she shook Elk with more force, trying to free him from his imprisoned mind, his eyes wide with pupils dilating dangerously as tears continue to flow over his cheeks, "I can't wake him!"
Tsukasa quickly turned away from Kite and went towards Elk, gathering the trembling boy into his arms and nuzzled him gently, whispering soothing words into his ear as his eyes glared at Kite angrily.
Kite felt a strong kick in his stomach. He caused Elk to be like this, shaking and terrified in his gaze instead of smiling. None of this would've happened if he hadn't let his anger get the best of him. If it hadn't happened, he and Elk would've been on better terms, they might've gone together to the annual event and he wouldn't be with Tsukasa…
"I'll let this slip for now, but if I see your face again, or even lay a hand on him," Tsukasa whispered fiercely, "I'll leave you to decide."
The small form in Tsukasa's embrace had relaxed as his eyes closed, his breathing calm and slow, signaling he fell into a deep sleep after hearing Tsukasa's voice and feeling strong, comforting arms embracing him protectively. The familiar smell of lavender soothed his senses, telling him it was Tsukasa rubbing his cheek with his, cradling him gently.
Tsukasa turned his head to meet Mistral's gaze, giving a smile of apology, "Thank you. I'm sorry you had to witness this, Elk will be okay under my care, you can trust me on that."
Mistral nodded, sniffling as she rubbed her tears away with the end of her sleeve, "I-I know you will, but… Kite, Elk, what..?"
What can I do? What happened that made Elk be like this?
She shifted her gaze towards Kite. What did Kite want to explain to him? I want to help, but I don't know how! I feel useless by just standing here!
Tsukasa closed his eyes, "I can't exactly explain what happened since I don't know either, but whatever Kite did…"
He took a short glance at the crushed Twin Blade, "It must've affected Elk so greatly to make him act like this. You'd have to ask Kite for the answers."
Taking a few steps back, golden rings surrounded Tsukasa and Elk as the tall Wavemaster decided to transport themselves to another area, leaving a broken Twin Blade and an aghast Wavemaster.
--x—x—x—
Pale hands trembled furiously as it dropped the control, pulling away the headset he wore while tears escaped from Prussian blue eyes, burying his face into his hands as silent sobs echoed in the dark room.
The computer screen displayed nothing but static, the young man removing his hands away, shoulders shaking as a lone tear fell and hit on the keys.
"I'm sorry Elk.. I'm sorry…"
A.: What was I thinking on writing long chapters?