Omgyay, Tabby!! Possibly my favorite female character in this particular .hack chunk. She's smart as a brick but somehow manages to not get in the way all the freaking time, unlike other characters who should know better…cough cough Atoli. Plus she smooshes Saku (keeping her from hogging En) in Returner and that is neat. Yay neko! Too bad there wasn't much to write for her. There is however a delicious bit of fanservice in this chapter so that should make up for it.

Geek's Utopia

It took several days of on-and-off planning to decide on a place and time for the Twilight Brigade—sans Sakisaka—to reunite in the real world. Nanao Shino was busy with university, while Kubo Moe, Tabby's player, was working hard in high school, still pursuing her dream of studying nursing. Knowing the two of them were working so hard in school made Ryou ever more mindful of the fact that he had failed not only getting into university but getting a decent job; he felt like a deadbeat compared to them, though occasionally he would glance at Indou, sprawled on the couch or borrowing his computer, and feel better.

In the week between the completion of planning and the actual meet date, interactions between the two were still tense. Despite Ryou's small act of reconciliation, Indou had added more reason for resentment by spending at least half the day on Ryou's computer, invading his space and using his electricity. No small amount of embarrassment was present in the days following Ryou's official "welcome back", and the first actual back-and-forth they'd had since the incident had been Indou's suggestion of a guild reunion.

Ryou continued his job search, though he was running out of places to try. Most of the local places hiring had already rejected him or else required something more than a high school graduate with little job experience. The search was less frantic, though, with the knowledge that Indou was no longer dependent on him and could ostensibly fend for himself. A small part of him knew full well the scruffy but goodhearted man would be missed, and though it was violently squashed time and time again by the rest of his senses, it would still show up again the next time he contemplated the impending post-Indou situation.

He had to admit though, there were times when Ryou had peeked in at Indou engrossed with the computer screen, and apparently not playing The World but reading web pages filled with text. The newspapers Ryou brought home every few days often ended up in a different spot than he'd left them too. He couldn't help but wonder if his tenant was preparing for the move as well. It did put that nagging little part of his mind at some ease to think Indou would actually be ready for the evacuation and not simply kicked out on his ass.

The days passed slowly, but finally the meeting day came: a Saturday that dawned clear and slightly chilly, the sun quickly cutting swaths through the damp air. Squinting at the cloudless, pale sky through the apartment window, Ryou guessed it would be a relatively cool day for the summer months they had so recently entered. Lots of kids on break would be hitting up all the youth-geared hotspots—arcades, karaoke bars, the trendier cafes. He was glad they had decided to go to a real restaurant, even if it would be on the expensive side. He had the money to pay for himself and Indou, and Shino had graciously offered to pay for Moe, who didn't work as all her time was taken up by school followed by cram school.

Ryou had halfway finished dressing before he noticed Indou was already sitting at the computer, and probably had been the whole time. He wasn't typing or talking, and Ryou had been experiencing the tunnel vision of the freshly woken, so the sight of Indou hunched so serenely in front of the screen, hands poised unmoving over the keyboard, came as completely unexpected. Ryou yelped and quelled the instinct to dive under the covers of his bed for decency and safety.

"Oh, sorry," Indou replied absently, turning to look at him, though with the expression of someone preoccupied. Ryou was acutely aware that he was lacking a shirt and that he couldn't be sure it was his face Indou's gaze was directed at.

"What the hell are you doing online at a time like this? It's not even nine o'clock and I was still in bed! You could have at least said something when I got up and started… changing…" He could feel has whole face burning red.

"I didn't even notice you'd gotten up," Indou replied smoothly. His voice was as unreadable as his line of sight; he could easily have been lying or telling the truth, but Ryou couldn't tell. He decided to err on the side of caution and struggled into a shirt.

"Anyway," the man went on, turning back to the monitor, "Moe-chan says she'll have to leave early. Some evening plans got in the way, nothing interesting. I offered to move the meeting time up so she could spend more time with us, but she said having lunch any earlier than eleven would just be 'weird'."

"That's…a bummer," Ryou managed. He didn't dislike Tabby or her player, but he had never had a lot of tolerance for blind optimism and so her company could grate on him after a while. He couldn't say he was sorry to have her attendance shortened, since it would make her all the easier to bear.

"That's all. Oh, and after lunch I'm going to take a little trip to see Ina. It's a bit covert, our parents aren't too thrilled with me at the moment, but… well, there's an opportunity for me to see her without them getting in the way and making things difficult, so I have to take it. Shino says she would be fine spending the rest of the afternoon with just you."

The blush returned to Ryou's face. He had hardly seen Shino at all once she was conscious again; it was somehow more difficult to talk to her in person, and certainly more difficult than just visiting a comatose body (though the first few experiences of seeing the person behind the character had been a bit surreal). She could be intimidating, through all that softness.

Indou had turned off the computer and was heading out of the room, but he paused with the door half-closed behind him. "Now that I'm no longer bound to your hospitality, I would like to take this opportunity to say that not only do you have a very nice body, but it looks especially good when it's turned all pink."

The door was shut by the time Ryou was close enough to have punched him.

Indou and Ryou were the first to arrive at the restaurant around one, but they had barely ordered drinks when Shino came calmly striding to the table. She smiled at them both before sitting down gracefully. "Hello, fellow guild members. I'm so glad to see you're both doing well. Congratulations, Indou-san, on your new freedom."

Indou smiled back and struck up conversation while Ryou huddled in his seat. He was almost glad when Moe scampered over to join them, panting slightly and apologizing for her lateness.

They ate and talked for near an hour, mostly about CC Corp and new games. Moe scowled at the thought that any game could eclipse The World—understandable, since she lost her mentor to a lack of interest in the game. A quick glance at her watch sent her scurrying off again, leaving behind a cloud of more apologies and thanks to everyone, especially Shino. This was also the sign for Indou to leave, which he did in a much quieter manner. The two bill-payers were left at the table for four, staring at unfinished desserts.

"Well, now that it's just the two of us, I'd like to talk to you about something…" Shino began. Ryou found himself blushing for no particular reason. "It's of a romantic nature," she went on, and his embarrassment increased tenfold. Was Shino going to say she…? No, that was ridiculous, she'd had plenty of time alone with him to tell him that, and besides, she'd never shown any signs of jealousy towards the other girls who fawned over him…

"Don't look so embarrassed, it's about Indou, not me." It seemed as though Shino had read his mind. Was he really so obvious? Well, he did shower her with adoration and idolization from time to time, and he had devoted an incredible amount of time to saving her. Wait, did she say Indou?

"We have been talking a lot, and he's confided in me that, to put it gently, he's very fond of you. To be more accurate, he—"

"Wait, wait," Ryou sputtered, waving his hands helplessly. "I know he says some annoying things, but it's all a joke, right? It's just his weird way of telling me he respects me or something, right?"

Shino shook her head solemnly. "No, not right. He didn't explicitly tell me I couldn't reveal this to you, and I think he's beating around the bush far too much. You need to be told. He loves you. I can't say why, since he didn't seem the type to me, but he keeps a lot of secrets…"

Ryou sat speechless, staring blankly at a crumpled napkin. "So all the times he's looked at me that way, he was really looking at me that way," he stated stupidly. He knew he should probably feel a little dirty, knowing Indou's stares had been pointedly looking through whatever he was wearing at the time, but it didn't bother him so much, somehow, knowing it was real affection, infatuation, and not some bizarre joke.

"I suppose so," Shino replied bemusedly, but Ryou was already fishing in his wallet for his portion of the bill. He left it on the table and walked out, giving Shino a stiff bow in lieu of words, and went straight back to the apartment. He sat at his computer for quite some time before composing a brief but much-edited email to Ovan. He sent it, went out for groceries, and when he returned, showered and crawled into bed. He hadn't been awake more than seven hours, but he already felt exhausted. He was deeply asleep by the time Indou came back in the evening, and didn't wake when the older man quietly entered the room and logged on.