I wanted to do a serious fic and this is a good topic to pick. There's two main differences here from my previous stories. 1. This will contain character death from a terminal illness and it's not necessarily Mimiru. 2. Romance will not be the focus of this story. Please forgive me if the chapters are short because the research for this fic is slow.

Also this is two years after the .hack/sign which means Mimiru is now sixteen.

I also want to thank all of the wonderful people who have reviewed my dot hack stories. And for those of you who read and don't review, you know who you are and you should be ashamed. Flamers are preferred to indifferent readers in this humble author's opinion. ^_^

Read, Enjoy and Review

Samanda

This story is dedicated to S.C., Akichi-kun and Firecracker Girl for friendship beyond bounds, also for their unfailing support. Thank you! It is also dedicated to A.O. who has 'inlucescere luxi'! And you who are light, watch over us well.

Disclaimer: I do not own dot hack….if I did I would have put some lemon in it. Tsukasa/Mimiru lemon hehe.

Stars Ascend To heaven

Chapter One: A Trip To The Doctor

Koishitawa Mimiru woke to the sound of her alarm clock. She groaned and swatted it. After twenty minutes she reluctantly sat up. She looked down at herself and wrinkled her nose as she looked down at her sweat soaked pajamas.

"Eww, gross." She said and headed for the shower.

She made her way to the kitchen in due time and refusing anything else except a glass of orange juice.

Her mother, Mira looked worried. "I'm taking you into the doctor today, Mimiru, so you can stay home from school today. You haven't had your normal energy lately and your clothes are hanging off of you."

Mimiru was too busy fighting the urge to vomit up her orange juice. She lost the battle and ran for the bathroom.

Koishitawa Mira shooed Mimiru's little sister, Natsumi, off to school then picked up her car keys. Mimiru sat on the couch looking pale and shaking as her mother bustled around. Finally the two left and made their way to the doctor's office.

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"Well I'm going to order a blood test because there is a few things I still want to check," Dr. Isewa smiled reassuringly at Mimiru and her mother.

The doctor checked the lymph nodes in her neck and discovered they were swollen. Adding the nightsweats, fatigue and the weight loss the doctor felt it was just a bug that Mimiru had caught. The tests would rule out anything worse and the mother would be relieved.

"Is there anything I can do?" Mira was somewhat appeased.

"Just keep her home from school tomorrow. I'll let you know what the test shows when I get them back in a few days." The doctor smiled at her.

Mira stood up. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Your welcome."

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Mimiru felt weaker than ever two days later. She didn't have the energy to even get out of bed as her mother rushed around getting ready for work.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Mira asked her oldest daughter.

Mimiru smiled. "Go on, Mom. I'll be fine."

"Oh no, I'm going to be late!" Her mom wailed then took off. "Ja ne!"

Rapid clicks of her high heels preceded the sound of the door opening and slamming shut. Mimiru sighed in relief. Her mother clucking over her like a worried hen had been making her feel worse if that was even possible.

She looked over at her PC then shook her head. She was too wiped out to even want to log online to The World and kick some monster butt. And to a serious gamer like Mimiru, that was a serious admission.

The phone rang and Mimiru sighed. Her mother had positioned it near her bed in case of something like this.

She picked up the phone. "Moshi moshi. Koishitawa residence this is Mimiru speaking."

Her doctor's voice spoke kindly for a few minutes as Mimiru listened in shock. She agreed to the appointment tomorrow then hung up the phone with a shaking hand.

Shock and denial chased one another through her mind as she lay on her bed. Her doctor had tried to be cheerful but there had been something off in her voice as she spoke to Mimiru.

Mimiru knew that something was wrong and the knowledge would haunt her until the doctor told her.