Right... I don't own any of the characters in this fanfic or any .hack characters for that matter. If I did, do you think I would be writing my first ever fanfic?
If you guys don't like this then kiss my shiny, metal ass! j/k Seriously though, at least I tried and considering this is my first ever fan fic, I don't think I did TOO badly... maybe I am just being optimistic. The pairing is HaseoxAlkaid. Or to be more specific, RyouxChika. Hope you enjoy! Oh eh...this will include spoilers by the way, including Vol 3 Spoilers. Just a heads up.
Prologue
I awoke to the announcement over the loudspeaker. Drowsily, I managed to catch the words "10...minutes...Sapporo". Jesus... I was asleep that whole time? It was true I had been pretty tired lately and honestly, who could blame me? With Shino falling into a coma, AIDA, that bastard Sakaki and Moon Tree, Atoli with her emotional crisis, Ovan being the real Tri-Edge and wanting me to defeat him to save his sister and purge all AIDA from the network, Cubia's return and last but not least Alkaid's coma and return to "The World".
"Alkaid..." I whispered quietly to myself. I honestly didn't know how I felt about her. I didn't realize how important she was to me until she was Pked by an AIDA infected Bordeaux. And by that time, I wanted to tell her so much. I was too blinded to my devotion to Shino to pay any real attention to the signs she had been giving me. "Hot training", the Honeysuckle blades, asking Atoli if we were going out together, all those signs. And I was too much of a fool to notice. When she returned to "The World", I was overjoyed. I distinctly remember holding her close to me, never wanting to let go, never wanting to lose her again. But even then, I was still thinking about Shino.
And ultimately my feelings for Shino were never going to be returned. Atoli decided to go on a journey of self discovery, away from her abusive parents and pitiful excuses for friends and everyone else had issues in their personal life to take care of before they could return to "The World". I remember feeling the dread of being alone again, of being abandoned again. Then... it happened. Alkaid approached me and asked if I would like to go visit and stay with her or a few days in Hokkaido Sapporo. Asking my father if it was ok wasn't a problem. He was going away on yet another business trip, so declining her offer would only make me lonely for a few days.
So here I am now, about to meet a close friend in real life for the first time. Nervous and anxiety didn't even begin to describe what I felt at the moment. I was too deep into my own thoughts and fears that I almost didn't even notice that the train was arriving at the station. I stood up from the somewhat matted seat and grabbed my suitcase. The suitcase contained a few clothes and basic provisions such as a toothbrush, razor for shaving, deodorant, hair styling provisions, that sorta thing with a few books for passing the time included in the suitcase. I walked nervously with other people to the doors of the train which shortly after, opened. I stepped out of the train.
At the station, I could see a large crowd of people gathering. Some were merely traveling to their destination, others were reuniting with friends, family and lovers. I stood there alone, nervous and wondering if she would even show up. Then... I saw her. A woman, no more than the age of about 16 or 17 standing there, waiting for someone. That someone was me. I could instantly recognize her from the picture she sent me of herself. I walked over to her, feeling more nervous by the minute. Feeling sick even. What the hell was wrong with me!? W-why did I feel like his toward her? She looked up and I stared into those beautiful, hazel eyes of hers. This was Alkaid... no, Chika Kuramoto. In the flesh. She too recognized me. She smiled. "Hello Hase... I mean Ryou, I am Chika, it is nice to finally meet you in person!"