***
.hack//Reincarnation
A Fanfic by Vesvius
Note that I don't own jack
***
It was a very rare occurrence the household of the person who called himself Haseo. Sometimes, he called himself Haseo instead of his real name, and had found himself writing æHaseoÆ on a school test more then once. But it was a very rare day for him, because he was not playing æThe World: R2Æ, or even in front of his computer for once.
No, Haseo was outside his apartment complex. Exercise, after all, was important. That was something heÆd been neglecting and forgetting with all the things that had been going on recently. And with having just defeated Ovan, causing his ærebirthÆ ability to activate, he couldnÆt think of a better time to take a break. That, and heÆd been logged out and couldnÆt log back in. The rebirth had completely reset the system, and purged AIDA from the game, fulfilling OvanÆs ultimate desire.
So, Haseo passed the time with pushups, running, and occasional shadow boxing. But somehow, the workout only served to increase his anxiety. But instead of freaking out about the general status of æThe WorldÆ, his thoughts kept turning to the people that had been affected by AIDA. First, of course, was Shino. She had been his driving force at first, transforming him from a simple player into the notorious æTerror of DeathÆ. Endrance, his old rival-turned stalker, had had his precious memories played upon and manipulated. After being freed from the enslaving influence, he had transferred the slavish devotion to Haseo himself, much to his embarrassment and annoyance. Ovan himself had been warped by AIDA, which somehow mutated the kind soul he had been into the notorious Tri-Edge, a player killer who destroyed friend and foe alike. But he had done it all to be rid of AIDA, and to save his family. But despite the more important and central people in his life affected by AIDA, he kept thinking of one person in particular.
That one person had red hair, used twin swords, and was quite possible as tough as the Terror of Death himself. æAlkaidàÆ he thought, with the tone unknowingly being tinged with longing. In the short time he had gotten to know the former empress, Haseo had become very attached to her in a way that was very unlike how he was attached to Shina.
æI hope sheÆs alrightàÆ he mused. As he did with Shino, he visited Alkaid daily (luckily, they were in the same hospital). He had sat at the head of her bed, bringing fresh flowers daily, always accompanied by some news on a card or some paper. Her parents, also frequent visitors, had given him strange looks at first, and demanded to know how he knew their daughter. But he had simply told them that he was a friend from school, and they had relaxed after about a week. So he sat in peace, sometimes talking with her, but always just keeping her company.
Before long, he realized that he spent far more time with Alkaid then he did with Shino. Most of the time, his visits with Shino involved him walking in, grimly staring off into space for tem minutes, swearing revenge on Tri-Edge, then leaving. With Alkaid, he was there for an hour most days, sometimes two. Sometimes, her parents were there, and he had conversations with them instead of a comatose Alkaid.
Lost in his thoughts, he didnÆt even hear the noise caused by lots of movement on the property to his left. It wasnÆt until something crashed heavily into the ground that he shook himself free of memories and looked over. Two people, one guy and one girl, were taking boxes from a van into the house. One very large box had been dropped, and the girl was berating the guy.
æWow.Æ Haseo thought. æThey finally sold that house.Æ Indeed, the house next to his building had been up for sale for years.Æ æLooks like a couple of newlyweds.Æ Jogging over, Haseo saw that the fallen box was about to tip over again, possibly breaking what was inside. Quickly, he grabbed it and set it straight.
The man, who Haseo could see wasnÆt more then five years older then himself, grinned. ôSee, Kira? TheyÆre all ok, and if anything at all happens to your equipment, IÆll buy new.ö The man turned to Haseo. ôThanks for that. When Akira gets going, she really gets going. IÆm Keil Kazansho, and the lovely person fuming to my rear, and about to hit me unless I miss my guess, is-ö
Sure enough, Keil went down, following a hard shot to his lower back. His wife shook her hand, grimacing. ôDamn, does your back have to be so hard?!ö Her grimace changed into a grin as she looked at Haseo. ôThanks for the hand. This lummox was stupid enough to drop our entire Computer Setup! But enough about that. The nameÆs Akira Kazansho.ö She said as she stuck her hand out.
Haseo took at, and was mildly impressed by the strength of her grip. ôIÆm Ryou Misaki. I live in the apartment over there. Figured you guys might need some help.ö Thinking, Haseo looked around for something to talk about. ôSo, this is your computer stuff? ThereÆs a lot of it! Any good games?ö
Akira and the newly risen Keil both grinned. ôWell, we both used to play æThe WorldÆ a lot.ö Keil said. ôThatÆs how we met, actually. Some old friends invited us to start æR2Æ, and weÆll probably take them up on that offer soon. What do you play?ö
A smile broke out on HaseoÆs face. If there was one thing he could talk about, it was The World! ôYeah, I play æThe World: R2Æ a lot. As a matter of fact, IÆm kinda surprised IÆm not playing it now. IÆm an Adept Rouge.ö At the confused looks, he clarified. ôItÆs like a hybrid of a few different classes, chosen by the player. Mine can use Twin Blades, Broad Swords, and Scythes.ö
Akira nodded. ôI used to be a Heavy Blade player. IÆm pretty sure theyÆre called Edge Punishers now, though.ö At HaseoÆs nod, she asked ôDo you have enough time to help us set up? I donÆt trust this oaf with any of the fragile stuff.ö Her tone belied her words, as the insult to her husband was spoken in a clearly affectionate tone that showed volumes on how close they were.
Haseo glanced at his watch, looked up, then did a double-take at the watch. HeÆd been gone for much longer then he thought heÆd be! ôSorry, I gotta run!ö he exclaimed, and turned to run back into his apartment building.
The two watched him go. ôNice kid.ö Akira said. ôBut did the way he leave seem kindaà offà to you?ö
Keir frowned thoughtfully. ôSomething about that seemedà almost familiar.ö
A fourteen year old Keil sat around, talking with his small circle of friends. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. A familiar voice came out of the earpiece when he answered. ôCommence Operation Breakwater!ö Wiseman said.
Keil nodded. ôGuys, I gotta run.ö He said, and sprinted towards his house. As he ran, the mind of Keil fell away to be retrieved when it was needed. The cold, hard instincts, the cunning intellect, the ability to make snap decisionsà all that remained, and was integrated into the player, who only answered the name æKiteÆ.
Keil looked over at his wife, who nodded grimly. It seemed that she had sensed it as well. ôWeÆve got to install the stuff fast.ö He said, and they resumed unpacking with new urgency. It seemed that Kite and BlackRose were going to be needed sonner then expected.
***
At that moment, at a local hospital, a pair of eyes snapped open. Chika Kuramoto regarded her surroundings warily. Last thing she knew, she had been fading out of The World, staring up into the anguished red eyes of Haseo. Now she was lying in an odd bed, surrounded by the sound of beeping. æWhere am I?Æ she thought groggily. æWhere is everybody?Æ A soft snore from her left answered that question. Her mom was sound asleep in what looked like a hospital issue chair. But her mom was surprisingly hard to seeà
Chika gaped in surprise. It looked like her room (and she had no doubts that it was her room) looked like something out of a green house! There were flowers in the sink, flowers on the floor, flower on the table, some were even stuck between the wall and the curtain rods! And right next to her, on her bedside table, was a small stack of cards and paper. Taking one, she began to read.
Hey, Alkaid. ItÆs Haseo. Sorry IÆm calling you Alkaid, but it seems weird to call you anything else. You got placed into a coma two days ago. IÆd have been here faster, but I didnÆt know what hospital you were in. I also would have been at the Lost Ground with you if youÆd waited for a few minutes! You didnÆt give me any notice before you charged off!
The card continued in that vein for a while, lambasting her for her stupidity in rushing off at the words of an anonymous e-mail. Eventually, it ran out of anger, and was merely signed æHaseoÆ.
As Chika poured through the notes that had been left daily for what seemed like weeks, she noticed a general trend. After the first week, they ran out of anger and stopped yelling at her for her stupidity. Instead, they told her more and more about the daily goings on, and the weird information Haseo had learned. His friend Kuhn had over ten thousand e-mail addresses for girls! Haseo had recruited Endrance, upon her recommendation. But Endrance had developed a rather unhealthy obsession with Haseo. With the help of Endrance and Kuhn, Haseo had beaten and cured Sirius, restoring him to his usual self. But it was that card that Chika stopped at.
In it, Haseo told exactly what happened to Sirius. About AIDA, about the Epitaphs, about Project G.U. But for all the information that it contained, it paled away to Chika as she she saw the end. It simply was signed ôLove, Haseoö.
Chika hugged the card to her chest, with her ensuing squeals finally waking her mother.
****
Well, I figured I'd repost this in the new section!
.hack//Reincarnation
A Fanfic by Vesvius
Note that I don't own jack
***
It was a very rare occurrence the household of the person who called himself Haseo. Sometimes, he called himself Haseo instead of his real name, and had found himself writing æHaseoÆ on a school test more then once. But it was a very rare day for him, because he was not playing æThe World: R2Æ, or even in front of his computer for once.
No, Haseo was outside his apartment complex. Exercise, after all, was important. That was something heÆd been neglecting and forgetting with all the things that had been going on recently. And with having just defeated Ovan, causing his ærebirthÆ ability to activate, he couldnÆt think of a better time to take a break. That, and heÆd been logged out and couldnÆt log back in. The rebirth had completely reset the system, and purged AIDA from the game, fulfilling OvanÆs ultimate desire.
So, Haseo passed the time with pushups, running, and occasional shadow boxing. But somehow, the workout only served to increase his anxiety. But instead of freaking out about the general status of æThe WorldÆ, his thoughts kept turning to the people that had been affected by AIDA. First, of course, was Shino. She had been his driving force at first, transforming him from a simple player into the notorious æTerror of DeathÆ. Endrance, his old rival-turned stalker, had had his precious memories played upon and manipulated. After being freed from the enslaving influence, he had transferred the slavish devotion to Haseo himself, much to his embarrassment and annoyance. Ovan himself had been warped by AIDA, which somehow mutated the kind soul he had been into the notorious Tri-Edge, a player killer who destroyed friend and foe alike. But he had done it all to be rid of AIDA, and to save his family. But despite the more important and central people in his life affected by AIDA, he kept thinking of one person in particular.
That one person had red hair, used twin swords, and was quite possible as tough as the Terror of Death himself. æAlkaidàÆ he thought, with the tone unknowingly being tinged with longing. In the short time he had gotten to know the former empress, Haseo had become very attached to her in a way that was very unlike how he was attached to Shina.
æI hope sheÆs alrightàÆ he mused. As he did with Shino, he visited Alkaid daily (luckily, they were in the same hospital). He had sat at the head of her bed, bringing fresh flowers daily, always accompanied by some news on a card or some paper. Her parents, also frequent visitors, had given him strange looks at first, and demanded to know how he knew their daughter. But he had simply told them that he was a friend from school, and they had relaxed after about a week. So he sat in peace, sometimes talking with her, but always just keeping her company.
Before long, he realized that he spent far more time with Alkaid then he did with Shino. Most of the time, his visits with Shino involved him walking in, grimly staring off into space for tem minutes, swearing revenge on Tri-Edge, then leaving. With Alkaid, he was there for an hour most days, sometimes two. Sometimes, her parents were there, and he had conversations with them instead of a comatose Alkaid.
Lost in his thoughts, he didnÆt even hear the noise caused by lots of movement on the property to his left. It wasnÆt until something crashed heavily into the ground that he shook himself free of memories and looked over. Two people, one guy and one girl, were taking boxes from a van into the house. One very large box had been dropped, and the girl was berating the guy.
æWow.Æ Haseo thought. æThey finally sold that house.Æ Indeed, the house next to his building had been up for sale for years.Æ æLooks like a couple of newlyweds.Æ Jogging over, Haseo saw that the fallen box was about to tip over again, possibly breaking what was inside. Quickly, he grabbed it and set it straight.
The man, who Haseo could see wasnÆt more then five years older then himself, grinned. ôSee, Kira? TheyÆre all ok, and if anything at all happens to your equipment, IÆll buy new.ö The man turned to Haseo. ôThanks for that. When Akira gets going, she really gets going. IÆm Keil Kazansho, and the lovely person fuming to my rear, and about to hit me unless I miss my guess, is-ö
Sure enough, Keil went down, following a hard shot to his lower back. His wife shook her hand, grimacing. ôDamn, does your back have to be so hard?!ö Her grimace changed into a grin as she looked at Haseo. ôThanks for the hand. This lummox was stupid enough to drop our entire Computer Setup! But enough about that. The nameÆs Akira Kazansho.ö She said as she stuck her hand out.
Haseo took at, and was mildly impressed by the strength of her grip. ôIÆm Ryou Misaki. I live in the apartment over there. Figured you guys might need some help.ö Thinking, Haseo looked around for something to talk about. ôSo, this is your computer stuff? ThereÆs a lot of it! Any good games?ö
Akira and the newly risen Keil both grinned. ôWell, we both used to play æThe WorldÆ a lot.ö Keil said. ôThatÆs how we met, actually. Some old friends invited us to start æR2Æ, and weÆll probably take them up on that offer soon. What do you play?ö
A smile broke out on HaseoÆs face. If there was one thing he could talk about, it was The World! ôYeah, I play æThe World: R2Æ a lot. As a matter of fact, IÆm kinda surprised IÆm not playing it now. IÆm an Adept Rouge.ö At the confused looks, he clarified. ôItÆs like a hybrid of a few different classes, chosen by the player. Mine can use Twin Blades, Broad Swords, and Scythes.ö
Akira nodded. ôI used to be a Heavy Blade player. IÆm pretty sure theyÆre called Edge Punishers now, though.ö At HaseoÆs nod, she asked ôDo you have enough time to help us set up? I donÆt trust this oaf with any of the fragile stuff.ö Her tone belied her words, as the insult to her husband was spoken in a clearly affectionate tone that showed volumes on how close they were.
Haseo glanced at his watch, looked up, then did a double-take at the watch. HeÆd been gone for much longer then he thought heÆd be! ôSorry, I gotta run!ö he exclaimed, and turned to run back into his apartment building.
The two watched him go. ôNice kid.ö Akira said. ôBut did the way he leave seem kindaà offà to you?ö
Keir frowned thoughtfully. ôSomething about that seemedà almost familiar.ö
A fourteen year old Keil sat around, talking with his small circle of friends. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. A familiar voice came out of the earpiece when he answered. ôCommence Operation Breakwater!ö Wiseman said.
Keil nodded. ôGuys, I gotta run.ö He said, and sprinted towards his house. As he ran, the mind of Keil fell away to be retrieved when it was needed. The cold, hard instincts, the cunning intellect, the ability to make snap decisionsà all that remained, and was integrated into the player, who only answered the name æKiteÆ.
Keil looked over at his wife, who nodded grimly. It seemed that she had sensed it as well. ôWeÆve got to install the stuff fast.ö He said, and they resumed unpacking with new urgency. It seemed that Kite and BlackRose were going to be needed sonner then expected.
***
At that moment, at a local hospital, a pair of eyes snapped open. Chika Kuramoto regarded her surroundings warily. Last thing she knew, she had been fading out of The World, staring up into the anguished red eyes of Haseo. Now she was lying in an odd bed, surrounded by the sound of beeping. æWhere am I?Æ she thought groggily. æWhere is everybody?Æ A soft snore from her left answered that question. Her mom was sound asleep in what looked like a hospital issue chair. But her mom was surprisingly hard to seeà
Chika gaped in surprise. It looked like her room (and she had no doubts that it was her room) looked like something out of a green house! There were flowers in the sink, flowers on the floor, flower on the table, some were even stuck between the wall and the curtain rods! And right next to her, on her bedside table, was a small stack of cards and paper. Taking one, she began to read.
Hey, Alkaid. ItÆs Haseo. Sorry IÆm calling you Alkaid, but it seems weird to call you anything else. You got placed into a coma two days ago. IÆd have been here faster, but I didnÆt know what hospital you were in. I also would have been at the Lost Ground with you if youÆd waited for a few minutes! You didnÆt give me any notice before you charged off!
The card continued in that vein for a while, lambasting her for her stupidity in rushing off at the words of an anonymous e-mail. Eventually, it ran out of anger, and was merely signed æHaseoÆ.
As Chika poured through the notes that had been left daily for what seemed like weeks, she noticed a general trend. After the first week, they ran out of anger and stopped yelling at her for her stupidity. Instead, they told her more and more about the daily goings on, and the weird information Haseo had learned. His friend Kuhn had over ten thousand e-mail addresses for girls! Haseo had recruited Endrance, upon her recommendation. But Endrance had developed a rather unhealthy obsession with Haseo. With the help of Endrance and Kuhn, Haseo had beaten and cured Sirius, restoring him to his usual self. But it was that card that Chika stopped at.
In it, Haseo told exactly what happened to Sirius. About AIDA, about the Epitaphs, about Project G.U. But for all the information that it contained, it paled away to Chika as she she saw the end. It simply was signed ôLove, Haseoö.
Chika hugged the card to her chest, with her ensuing squeals finally waking her mother.
****
Well, I figured I'd repost this in the new section!