...I kinda feel dumb for doing this since there's other kinds of fics almost (note I said almost) like this.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the .hack series. If I did, I'd be cutting out some characters or give a brutal death to characters I didn't like.

Chapter 1: Troublesome Headches and Dreams

Lately he's been having headaches.

Normally, that wouldn't be a problem for Ryou Misaki, player of Haseo in the popular online MMORPG The World, but it has been affecting his performance at work. Worse, it had worried his boss and co-workers when he'd collapsed and fainted after a particularly bad one. All he could seem to remember was a bright red flash of light before he'd lost consciousness. So, he was then sent home on orders by his boss to rest. Luckily it was summer break, he wouldn't be fainting anytime soon at school at least. He didn't need his parents to know about something as insignificant (to him at least) as this.

Speaking of his parents, if they found out he was playing The World, they would probably drag him back to where they lived and he couldn't allow that. It had taken him numerous arguments until they'd finally let him have some sort of independence. He was going to a school they chose for him, the least they could do was let him live on his own. Even though they paid for his apartment and utilities, at least he'd gotten them to agree he could work for his own things like food, internet, and miscellaneous stuff.

The only rule they'd set up, and constantly told him, was to not play The World.

Ryou had no idea why his mother and father were so anal about him playing The World. Back then, he thought it was silly for them to be so paranoid about some online game. He'd really only secretly played, because some others at school talked about it. He didn't see the harm in trying it out, but after the ordeal he went through he wondered if his parents knew about the dangers of it. It felt like they were keeping something from him and he had a feeling it had something to do with the time he couldn't remember after being in a coma.

Right now, as he lied on his bed, he felt it was best to take his boss's advice and rest a bit.

~Dream~

"Hey, wake up!" Ryou's eyes snapped open as someone seemed to hit his head. "About time you got here, I've been waiting for so long." Ryou blinked, not believing what he was seeing. "What, cat got your tongue?" There, floating in front of him, was his ten-year-old self.

"You're…me?" Ryou asked hesitantly.

"Well, half actually," The boy seemed to smile, floating around the dark abyss they were in. "The other half isn't here, but you'll meet him soon, that is, if you can recognize him."

"If he looks like you I doubt it'd be any trouble recognizing him." Ryou snorted, crossing his arms in a Haseo-like manner.

The boy laughed. "Naw, he doesn't look anything like me. I bet you don't even know what I am, do you? If you don't even know what I am then there's no way you'll know what he looks like." At this, the boy seemed to smirk. "I'll give you a big hint though. Things are always different offline and online, but sometimes they'll collide with each other."

"What kind of a hint is that?" Ryou asked, confused.

"Not saying anymore, it'd ruin the game." The boy laughed.

"Stop screwing around with me!" Ryou yelled, before something seemed to sear through his head. "A headache?" He wondered aloud. "How? I'm dreaming aren't I?"

The boy frowned. "Dang, she's getting closer." He scowled, before floating close to Ryou. "You need to get away from here and wake up now!" The boy yelled, pushing Ryou.

"Hey! What?!" Ryou felt himself fall into the darkness that surrounded him.

"We'll talk later! If you see the other half – " The boy called after, his words fading as Ryou felt the darkness close in on him.

~End Dream~

Ryou gasped, crimson eyes flashing as he jolted upright in his bed. Remembering his dream, he tried to make sense of what the short encounter with his ten-year-old self was saying, but didn't understand at all.

"It was just a dream." The teen mumbled to himself. "So…why am I thinking so much about it? And what did he want me to do if I saw this…other half?" His eyes narrowed a bit. "Who's this 'she' that was getting closer anyway?" Glancing out his window, he noticed the sun was just setting, the fading light peeking through his blinds. "I guess I wasn't asleep that long." His eyes swept over to his computer that sat there on his desk, M2D and controller right in front of it. "Maybe…playing The World will get my mind off things."

With that, he got up and started up his computer.

AN: I swear this thing wrote itself. Ehehe, oh dear, I guess I really need to do something better with my time. If you liked it, okay, thank you for reading. If you hated it, sorry it wasn't good. Well, I should really be working on some of my other stuff, but I can't since my mind is ruled by my current obsession...which happens to be the .hack series right now. So, again, thank you for reading the...short chapter I guess. Maybe I should make it a bit longer next time.