FD: This is the long awaited third chapter! 'Crying'

I'm SO HAPPY to receive those wonderful reviews. Thank you all for commenting on my story. Your words inspired me again and I'm happy to say this chapter is slightly longer than the rest!

zero asakura, Dem14, Mike, kitsunedemon, kazuma, Maerii-kun, SoujirouKaorufanatic, and Mr.Doom, Thank you all so much for your comments and opinions.

To SoujirouKaorufanatic: I'm very pleased to know that I received your stamp of approval. after reading your work, I can honestly say, it's an honor to receive your acknowledgement. I'm very happy to know there are people who enjoyed the work I created. Thank you for your support.

Disclaimer: I don't own .hack/Sign.

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Chapter three

"Tsukasa?" a gentle masculine voice called out, startling the silver-haired teen inside the room. The boy jumped around in surprise, his muscles flinched slightly. However, upon the sight of the dark-haired man, the silver-haired teen relaxed his tense shoulder blades. The boy lightly placed the blue head helmet on the side of the table then turned around and offered the elder man in front of him a hesitant smile.

"Hey, Bear." Tsukasa greeted his foster father with a light wave of his hand. Bear had applied to become his foster father almost immediately after he has woken from the coma. Due to his abusive situation with his father, Bear was able to receive his permit very quickly and rescued Tsukasa from that shadow of a man who he formerly known as his father.

It had been a blessing to finally able to escape that dark shadowy place that kept him caged until he finally sought escape in The World and became imprisoned in another way. However, Tsukasa often felt the whole situation is too surreal. It's so much like a fairytale and often he have to pinch himself just remind him that this is all reality. He often dreamed of moments when he woke up to discover that he is still trapped in that place full of acrimony and hostility.

Noticing the slight glaze that crossed over the brilliant pool of lavender, Bear chuckled slightly. Then his dark eyes aged with wisdom softened as they stared at the frail form of his foster son. Tsukasa, a boy barely over the age of sixteen, has experienced and lived through anguish that no one his age should ever even known. His eyes shown age that should not be present in the eyes of one so young. Watching him, Bear felt a surge of paternal protective instincts rise. Every child should be protected and cared for! His hands clutched slightly as the image of Tsukasa's father surface. 'It is he who has wounded this innocent child's soul.' Bear thought bitterly then his thought turned desolate, 'I wonder if I'll ever see Tsukasa's eyes free of pain.'

"Bear?" a soft questioning voice broke through the elder man's musing. Bear shook his head slightly and offered a reassuring smile to the nervous boy and sat down on the sky-blue bed sheet. "You know, you don't have to call me Bear. My name is Fajita Takashi. If you feel uncomfortable calling me dad, you can just call me Takashi-san."

Smiling sheepishly, Tsukasa sat down beside Bear. "Sorry, I gotten so used to call you Bear that it takes awhile to adjust the change. " rubbing his hands lightly against the soft fabric of his navy T-shirt, Tsukasa said apologetically.

Fajita Takashi or Bear chuckled lightly and smiled. "If that's the case then just use whatever you are comfortable with. If it's Bear you prefer, then I don't mind." At the grateful smile the boy gave him, he felt he made the correct decision.

"So, you just logged out from The World, right?" Bear asked gently, and then leaned back against the wall. He had expected Tsukasa to do that so quickly; after all, he did just escape from that prison a week ago.

"Yes, I just had a dungeon adventure with Mimiru." Tsukasa's face lit up with pleasure as he begins to enthusiastically describe their adventure to the dark-haired man beside him.

Bear nodded supportively as the boy rambled over the tiny details of their meeting and quest with him. A soft understanding smile lingered over his lips as he noticed with delight that the shadows that had always remained in Tsukasa's eyes seem to fade as he continued his narrative.

It was a night of contentment for several parties, including the brash extroverted girl with dark- brown hair.

…………….

"Tsukasa!" at the sound of his name, the violet-eyed Wavemaster turned away from his scrutiny of the castle carpet and welcomed the newcomer with a soft smile. It's quite interesting that after the computer has sensed he's paying attention to the carpet, it created intricate design upon the floor covering in order to suit his need. However, the color deign are now at the back of Wavemaster's mind as he walked toward his Heavy Blade friend.

"What were you doing?" Mimiru asked, a grin over her lip after Tsukasa paused in front of her.

Shrugging slightly, Tsukasa shook his head, "contemplating carpet designs." He said calmly and sat down on one of the stone block placed inside the hall.

Following his action, Mimiru jumped up and landed beside him, "Carpet designs?" she raised one of her eyebrow and looked at Tsukasa disbelievingly.

Nodding firmly, Tsukasa smirked, "You should try that sometime. Maybe you will finally learn what's patience."

"Hey! Are you implying that I'm impetuous?" Mimiru shook one of her fists in front of Tsukasa's face threateningly.

At Mimiru's glare, Tsukasa chuckled softly. He knew he shouldn't feel this way, but he couldn't stop the upwelling of amusement caused by Mimiru's annoyed expression.

Watching the boy laughing softly under his breath, Mimiru narrowed her eyes. "You are getting a kick out of this, aren't you?" she putted her hands on her hip and a frown cross over her lips.

"Sorry, sorry." Tsukasa waved his hands in a placating way, " but it's just you are so easy to tease." He said and chuckled again.

"Ha, ha. Very funny." Mimiru crossed her arms and pouted almost childishly.

Watching her, Tsukasa let another grin cross his lips, but it quickly faded as he noticed the appearance of another. A blond Wavemaster name BT.

………..

Though they both are Wavemasters, BT's ensemble bore little resemblance to Tsukasa's robe. Instead of light beige and dark brown, BT has chosen emerald green combine with extravagant golden sashes as her main colors. Like a regal lady, BT glided toward the two teens and stopped gracefully just in front of them.

"Hello, Tsukasa. Mimiru" She nodded lightly toward the silver-haired boy and dark-haired girl beside him in acknowledgement and offered a tiny smile. Such actions are quite rare for the blond sorceress for she is quite known for her icy indifference. Only around those whom she is familiar with will she offer any signs of emotion. But only a little…

Mimiru stiffened slightly at the sight of the blond Wavemaster. Despite the fact she did contribute in helping Tsukasa regain consciousness, there's something about that woman that it rubbed her the wrong way. There's always a condescending air within her tone that made her feel like a mere child. It always made her wants to scream out to her and prove she's wrong.

Noticing the way Mimiru's shoulder tensed at her appearance, BT hid a smile. It is well known that the character often imitates the actions of the player who's wearing the headset. The Mimiru in the real world would probably have severe knots around her neck if she keeps this up.

The sorceress is well aware of Mimiru's thoughts toward her. Though the thought had bothered her, it's too small to faze her. She found the girl's actions very amusing. Though she does protest fiercely, she is still but a child and her words and actions show that. However, no matter how reluctantly, BT has to admit for the past days, Mimiru had matured from the naive bratty girl she had first met weeks ago.

Her eyes turned to the gentle Wavemaster sitting adjacent to her. The matter involving Tsukasa had revealed to the girl a world she never seen and with her involvement, Mimiru had begin to mature. She tilted her head slightly as her eyes refocused on the boy beside her. Perhaps the effect works both ways. The haunting boy that BT was acquainted with always has guarded pained eyes even when he's flustered. The shadows always lingered behind his eyes, ready to surface at any moment. Now they seem to fade and being chased away by the content warmth that is slowly aggrandizing. Bt followed his line of sight and found the object of his attention.

'Hmm. Maybe the little girl can be good for something.'

…………

The three of them were not alone for very long. The others begin to file in soon after BT's arrival. The first to make their appearance is Krim, the ex-crimson knight. Followed him is Bear, who is the one that send the invitations to everyone for the reunion. Though Mimiru did yell pretty clearly that this is Tsukasa's welcome party, much to the mortification of the Wavemaster.

After chasing Mimiru around the Grand Hall in circles, Tsukasa managed to crash into Sora, the next arrival. This caused some chuckles to go around, seeing the agile Player Killer sprawled on the ground, blinking in surprise at the sudden impact. Mimiru, of course refused to turn away this opportunity, laughed extra loudly, but was silenced by a disapproving glare from Bear, her mentor. Sora, surprisingly good-natured, had shrugged it off and chose to stay beside BT afterwards.

…………….

"Oh man! Why is Subaru still not here?" Mimiru complained, a pout on her lips. "I thought she would be one of the early ones!"

"Subaru has a lot of stuff she has to take care of." Krim interrupted the Heavy Blade's complaining with a light shake of his head, "It seems she want to reestablish Crimson Knight."

"What?" Mimiru exclaimed and jumped beside the red-clad man, a frown of confusion lighting her face. "I thought she decided to just play for fun now."

"Well, she is going to play for fun also." Krim replied and dropped down on the floor cross-legged while the others gathered around to hear this news. "The World has been going kind of chaotic since the whole Key of the Twilight issue started. Subaru want to reestablish order to The World again. After all Subaru took responsibility very seriously. Being the head of an organization that keep order around The World for so long, I guess she felt kind of responsible for it."

"But not you." Bt commented quietly from her position against one of the post.

Krim shrugged, "Well. I came here to relax, and it has never changed. As I said before, I have enough responsibility in the real world as it is. I don't need more."

…………….

"Tsukasa?" lifting his head lightly, the young boy's weary lavender eyes met worried emerald ones. Mustering a weak smile to his friend, Tsukasa tilted his head slightly toward his left.

At his invitation, Mimiru sat down beside the silent Wavemaster. Her hands fidgeted around the rim of her skirt as she bit the lower part of her lips. She had seen Tsukasa's countenance darkened ever since Krim begin his account of Subaru. Almost immediately afterwards, Tsukasa had retreated to one of the dark corners in the hall and remained in silence from then on. His expression is one she is painfully familiar with. It's the one he wore when they first met, the cold indifferent mask that betrayed none of inner thoughts.

Seeing him like that again brought back old reminisce, but more importantly, concern. After spending three days with him adventuring through dungeons and hidden caves, Mimiru slowly became used to the new playful side of Tsukasa. He has more peaceful and open eyes now that he is free of the imprisonment of The World. He had laughed, smiled and bantered with her like old friends. Seeing him wearing that emotionless mask cause anxiety to course through her vein.

Slightly apprehensive, Mimiru took a deep breath and asked. "Hey, did eat something bad or have a stomachache or something? Cause your face looks kind of weird?" after the words slipped out of her mouth, Mimiru wished she could kick herself. Oh why, why did she say that? It's not what she meant to ask. But she had been quite nervous and those words just came out.

Tsukasa's face twisted slightly at her question. "No." his voice deathly calm, "Thank you for pointing out that I look ugly today. I'll be sure to check the mirror next time before I leave, so that I won't scare you with my horrible looks."

Mimiru smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head. "Tsukasa! You know that's not what I meant. It's…just that…. well…. um…" shifting uncomfortably at Tsukasa's accusing gaze, Mimiru stammered as she tried to explain. Finally giving up, she crossed her arm and shouted. "Well…that's not what I meant!" she huffed slightly and blurted out.

Staring at her for a moment, Tsukasa suddenly let out a soft laugh and smiled gently at the bewildered Heavy Blade. "Okay. I got what you meant." He patted her light on the shoulder and grinned. Mimiru has a talent of pulling him out of dark thoughts, he thought with an affectionate smile.

"Tsukasa!" Mimiru mock-glared her friend as he snickered again. Inside, she is quite relieved to see Tsukasa smile again. Though, she suddenly narrowed her eyes, she wish he wouldn't be so cheerful every time he see her make a fool of herself. "Tsuka-"

However her words were cut off by new appearances.

………….

Tsukasa felt the smile fade away from his lips at the sight of that familiar figure. Long classy dress framed the petite figure. Dark mint colored locks framed those delicate features set on creamy oval face. Gentle crimson orbs that softened with a sweet smile.

Tsukasa felt his mind freeze as those rose-colored eyes turned toward his own violet ones.

Subaru.

…………………

FD: what do you think!

This chapter deals a lot in other characters as opposed to only Tsukasa and Mimiru like the previous two. I want to give more background to my story. There will be more interactions between Mimiru and Tsukasa later.

If any of you know anything about the relationship between Sora and Mimiru in the anime, please tell me. It would be a big help for my later chapters. Thank you!

Oh and please REVIEW!