Disclaimer: I do not own .Hack/G.U.
A/N: As I said in part one, that was not the end (if you did not read that then you might want to at least go back and skim). This was never meant to be so long, but I'm one of those long winded people when it comes to stories I refuse to shut up. Anyway, this is the sequel with flashbacks, hence the title.
Here we go . . .
.Hack/Repose: Pre-Sequel
Prologue
By the Not so GeniusVampire
'This hurts . . . every part of me hurts . . . why? I don't . . . remember . . .' Hot, sandy winds blew, knocking a battered figure off his feet. When he stood up, his arm fell behind and disintegrated into strips of blue data. The same data spilled from his left eye hidden behind shades of flaming blue hair. The right eye wandered aimlessly round the barren field. 'Did I lose something? If I did then what was it? Why can't I remember . . .?' Out of exhaustion, he succumbed to the melting heat and intense wind and fell to the hot earth. 'Did I lose something . . .?' His one good eye expended and contracted.
Those words brought forth a torrent of memories. None of them was making any real sense until they fell on the faces of two people. One being a tall, alluring man in all violet with roses on a loftily perched cap, these roses never seemed to lose their petals, except for one memory when he did not even appear to be alive. The second face was framed by a mess of white hair and angular red marks on his cheeks, he wore all white with a strange rack around the back of his neck. A fresh wave of pain washed over him, but it was not physical he could see the deep hurt in the younger person's eyes, but why was he so hurt? Did it have something to do with the man he saw before? Was the AI himself somehow responsible?
The AI could no longer move, think about moving, or even think for that matter, it was too tiring and painful. Maybe he would just rest, that seemed best, but what if he did not want to wake up, or what if he were unable to? He wanted someone to, it did not matter he just wanted someone to wake him if he fell asleep . . .
Actually it did matter he wanted that white haired person to wake him up. He felt as though no one else would do; why? He must know that person in some way otherwise, he would not see him so vividly, and he probably would not want his . . . help as much if he did not at least know him . . . perhaps he was important . . .
'Ha . . . se . . . o' was the last thought that passed through his mind as he lost consciousness.
And this is how Azure Kite's part reopens . . .
The room was quiet and this was disturbing. Nothing outside moved, the teen's breathing was even inaudible. 'I would do anything for some noise right now . . .' he thought. He lay on his ruffled, unkempt bed, immobile and broken. The quiet filled his barren mind. The teen ruffled his already messy hair, it fell in short light brown wisps when he took his hand away. 'I'd do anything for the sound of a shout, wail, or even a whisper . . .'
"I will be your sword . . ." A faint whisper rang out in his ears. Ryou sat bolt upright "Endrance!" he called only to realize that his mind had played a horrid trick on him. He fell back 'You should never had said that . . . swords break, and they are always being thrust into dangerous situations . . . for the sake of someone who does not deserve to have something so valuable . . .' He thought miserably as images of Endrance flooded his mind. The sly smile, the slanted eyes, the sight of him bowing oh-so-slightly, pledging his life to them even though the person he was devoting himself to was not worthy of it. 'When you first said that, you said I brought you out of the darkness, but it seems as though I just put you back there . . .'
Ryou buried his head in his hands and moaned, the sound causing even more pains to consume his heart. The sound only succeeded in reminding him of Azure Kite. He saw the way the odd AI looked at everything around him, his animated eyes, half smiles now and then, and pale blushes. All images faded to be replaced by a pleading one eyed expression. 'What have I done to you?' he thought, the last look in Azure Kite's eye haunting him because he knew that if he had taken Azure Kite more seriously, tried harder to listen, and been more honest with him . . .
Then the both of them would still be there and not . . .
Ryou's howls of pain carried on well into the night and the morning.
'Where am I?' Kaoru thought 'Why is it so dark and why can I not hear anything?'
He lay unconscious in a flat hospital bed in the emergency ward. A curtain separated him from the busy world outside. Various bandages covered his slim body, some of them coated with an odd smelling burn medicine. The thickest bandages were around his midriff, it was a mystery as to how he survived the surgery with the frightening amount of blood he had lost. However, he had and now he lay there with an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose. A heart rate monitor beeped now and then showing somewhat normal stats. The lights in the room were turned off.
The lights were the only things that were not on Kaoru's mind were active. 'Hm, when I think about it, he did not Data Drain me . . . that means he was somewhat aware of his actions even though his mind and body were torn asunder. It may have been a faint awareness, but he was aware nonetheless. And that is why we are all to blame for where we are now . . . We were aware of what we were doing regardless if we did not have the foresight to see how they would affect those around us. And when it came to the ones closer to us we may as well have been on other planes of existence. See Haseo? Ryou? We are all at fault so do not blame yourself; it would not matter anyway the two of us would still want to see you, be around you, be with you . . .'
'So where are you? Why can I not see you? Is it because you cannot see me either? Are you lost as well? Or are you huddled somewhere in the dark cursing yourself because you think you are to blame? Do not do that to yourself, Ryou; please do not blame yourself for being young and immature. This is our doing.' He made a final allusion to Azure Kite as well as to himself. We were in our own worlds and now we must suffer for a period of time. 'However, suffering is not meant to last forever, and a day will come when this will all be a distant, yet scarred moment in our lives. How long that will take is up to us. I can wait, can you, Ryou? Kite? Can you wait?'
.Prologue/End
A/N: See? Everyone is alive but having their own issues.
Please review and I will get back to work.