.hack// Heart of Twilight

 by

Mistress Ness

Chapter 1: How it Began…………

In a big room in a mansion, a young woman with long, raven hair and emerald eyes was playing "The World". A smile was playing in her lips when suddenly, her face turned into an expression of pain and surprise. She cringed and suddenly, her body stopped and she collapsed to the floor. Her goggles fell by her side as her black bangs covered her eyes. "Sister?" a girl's voice said from the other side of the door followed by a light knock. The knob turned and a girl with light brown hair and identical green eyes carrying a tray went in. "Hotaru, I brought the chocolate cookies you like…………." She said with a smile as she turned to the desk where her sister is. The smile slid off her face as her eyes saw her sister on the floor. "Hotaru!!" she dropped the tray and ran to her side. She held her up, but her sister's head lumped to one side. Tears started to gather in the girl's eyes as her mouth trembled. "Hotaru?" she shook her sister lightly, but no response. Her eyed widened. Throwing her head back, she screamed. "HOTARU!!!!"

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The young Wavemaster was strolling the deep and dull dungeon when a girl's shrieks reached his ears. He searched the area to locate the voice and another scream rang. He pinpointed its location, the end of the dungeon. He ran there as fast as his feet could carry him. He finally reached his destination and stopped short at what he saw. Three men, a Blademaster, a Long Arm, and a Heavy Blade were gathered on a young girl, who was cowering on a corner. Two identical blades lay far from the girl's reach. Her face was hidden by a short curtain of copper-colored hair. "Ready to die?" One of the men smirked. The girl's shoulders shook violently as they got ready to pounce on her. "Leave her alone!" Tsukasa yelled. They turned to him and their eyes widened in fear. "Oh my god, it's him!!" one of them cried. "Let's get outta here!!" said another one. Without any other word, they teleported out of there. He walked over to the girl, who was now sobbing quietly with her hands on her face. Tsukasa picked up her weapons and placed them near her. She gave a small squeak and shrank away even further. "It's okay." He tried to calm her down. She was still shaking. "I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise." Then she removed her hands from her face and looked at him. He was seeing a delicate face with twin, teary emerald eyes. Two light blue angel wing marks decorated her cheeks with a winged green orb on her forehead. Two slender bangs flowed down to her waist and her hair reached no lower from her chin. And adorable wings decorated her back. A faint but sweet scent of lavender mixed with rosemary filled his nose. He might finally be over the nightmare he had before, but he could still feel and smell things. The girl was a bit taken aback at who she saw: A cute pale face of a boy with red boomerangs on his cheeks. White hair poking from a cloth cap shadowed two indigo-colored eyes. In his hand, he held a non-colored, crescent-shaped staff with a red orb on its middle. "A Wavemaster." She said quietly but she as she got a closer look, her misty eyes widened. "You….." She quickly grabbed her twin blades and held them at ready. "Please." His warm voice calmed her. "I'm not here to hurt you." He put a hand out to her. She smiled small and grabbed it. He helped her up and the girl shook dust off her white cut-robes that covered her short, red skirt. Her pale blue boots clicked on the ground as the bells on the pointy end of her robes jingled. She looked at him and bowed as she rubbed the tears off her eyes. "Thank you for saving me. I thought I was doomed." She said in a shaky voice. She placed her blades on her back pouches and said with a tiny smile. "Anyway, I'm Sakura. Lady Sakura, that is. As you can see, I'm a Twin Blade." She bowed again. Tsukasa stared at her. "Lady Sakura? Why is that?" he asked. Sayuri sighed and said. "Well, I am cousin of Lady Subaru of the Knights. She doesn't know that of course. Oh, what's your name?" she said. "Tsukasa." He replied. Sakura looked shocked for a second but then dropped the look. "So, you're the one who my cousin's knights were looking for." She said. He nodded. "Aren't you afraid of me now?" he asked. Sakura shook her head; her twin auburn threads swayed left and right. "No, I knew you were him when I first saw your face but I wasn't afraid. You saved me and that means you're not a mean person like those player killers. Since I'm sort of a newbie on the game, they picked on me." She said. He was a bit touched by her comment. She gave him a warm smile. "One thing I ask from you, Tsukasa." "What's that?" he asked. She toyed with her hands a bit nervously. "Please call me Akemi. That's my name in real life. Akemi Sorasama. And I don't want anyone to know of my presence." She said. Tsukasa nodded. "Ok." Akemi smiled big. "Thank you! And can I call you Tsukasa?" He turned to leave. "Sure, whatever." "Thank you!" out came her response. Then a huge monster appeared. Akemi drew her swords and charged towards the monster. "Wait! You can get killed!" Tsukasa called after her, but she ignored him. "Fly!" she cried and her wings enlarged. She jumped into the air and charged with her swords. She slashed the monster with amazing agility, avoiding its counterattacks. She kept on doing it until it died. She landed safely and her wings shrank back. She turned back to Tsukasa and gave him a smile. "I thought you were a newbie!" he pointed out. Akemi ran her hand through her hair and said shyly. "Well, I am at some things, but in attacking, I'm pretty good at it." She giggled. Tsukasa said nothing. Akemi sheathed her swords behind her back again and turned towards the exit. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Tsukasa, but I have to go somewhere." She said, her back to him. He stared at her with great curiosity. "Bye." She stared to walk away. "Wait." She stopped short and slowly turned to face him. As her eyes focused on him, he felt his heart do a somersault without knowing the reason. "Yes?" her voice was soft. "W-why are you here? Subaru disbanded the knights some time ago. So why are you here? I doubt it's related to Subaru or the knights." He said. Akemi's emerald eyes widened for a split second then she looked away, half-closing her eyes. "I….it's something you wouldn't understand." She said bluntly, trying to brush off his question. He was taken aback by her tone and tried again. "Well, I woke up from a long coma two weeks ago, so I think I would understand." Tsukasa said. Her look changed from serenity to sadness. Tears began to build on the corners of her clouded eyes. Akemi walked past him, leaving a trail of her sweet scent behind her and sat on a boulder. "Please, sit next to me." She pointed to a boulder next to her. Hesitating a bit, he sat down. She lowered her face, letting her soft hair hide her eyes. Her thin bangs touched her lap. Her wings drooped with her mood. "I'm here for a very important reason. You see, my beloved older sister, Hotaru went into a coma when she played the game. She was done coaching me for the day and it was her turn to play the game. I was upset and I decided to play the game and find out how she went into a coma and to find out a way to bring her back." her mouth trembled slightly as her hands clenched into fists. Tsukasa listened quietly to her story. Tears threatened to come forth, but Akemi bit her lips trying to hold them back. "What's the name of her character?" he asked her. She raised her head and looked at him. Her eyes were shinning with tears. "Kohaku. It means "amber", her favorite stone……." A tear trickled down her face as she gazed at the ground again not saying more. Tsukasa felt bad for her. Akemi drew out her blades and said. "You notice how my twin blades are quite different from the other blades you have seen?" Tsukasa looked at them and saw that she had a point there. They were different from everyone else's. "Yeah." He replied. She gripped the silver blades so tightly that they cut through her skin and her hands began to bleed. She winced and loosened her grip. Tsukasa stared at her and then at her bleeding hands with shock. The young Twin Blade was just a surprised as the young Wavemaster. She felt her cuts throb deeply inside her flesh. She flinched again. "H-how? This is impossible! In this game you're not supposed to feel anything, the least of all, pain." She said in a shaky voice. Tsukasa took one of her swords from her hand, much to his and her surprise. "What are you doing with my blade?" she demanded, her eye twitched because of her pain. He slashed a long piece of his robe and split the cloth in two. He handed her back her sword and began to tie a piece tightly around one hand then he did the other. She stared at him mutely, her eyes wide, and she turned slightly pink. When he finished, he sat back to his boulder. Akemi stared at her bandaged hands. Her blood was leaving a medium-sized pool on the dark cloth. Her eyes turned back to him. "Thank you." she said, a shy smile parted her lips. He smiled in return. "No problem." Akemi's smile slid off her face and said. "You know, while I was in the game after my sister went into her coma, I got an e-mail from someone. It was weird, it was my first time I was actually going into "The World" using my character. I trained using my sister's. I barely understood the message. It told me to go this dungeon in Delta: Starless Mythical Holy Ground. I went there and I encountered a little girl. She had violet eyes and her hair was ivory-white. She gave me these blades." She patted her swords. "And told me to that if I wanted to reawaken my sister, I would have to beat some dude or monster to get a special item called the "Heart of the Twilight"." That name got Tsukasa's full attention. "Heart of the Twilight?" he asked. She nodded. "It sounds just like the Key of the Twilight……" he said. "I heard about it." Akemi nodded her head. "That's why it surprised me when I heard her say it." His indigo eyes gazed deeply into her emerald ones. "Was her name Aura?" he asked. Akemi nodded, her eyes emitting surprise. "Yes, why?" He shook his head. Akemi stood and took two steps forward. "Tsukasa?" her voice was again soft but this time was a bit unsure. "Uh, yes?" he said. She looked at him over her shoulder and smiled. "We may not be friends right now but, I want to ask you a favor." She said. "Yes?" he asked. She took a deep breath before answering. "Can you……can you meet me somewhere tomorrow? I have to logout, I wanna go visit Hotaru at the hospital." Tsukasa nodded. "Sure, where you wanna meet at?" "Delta: Starless Mythical Holy Ground. At the very end of the dungeon. At 5:00 in the afternoon on the dot." "Ok, I'll be there." He smiled at her. Her tears dried off and she gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you, Tsukasa. I'll see ya tomorrow at 5." She gave him a short wave before she left. He stared at the spot where she was for a moment and then he left the dungeon. Back in the real world, Akemi was at her room in her mansion in Tokyo. She removed her goggles and got up to stretch. A knock sounded at her door. "Yes?" she called out. "Mistress, your mother said to get ready to go to the hospital to go visit Mistress Hotaru." A woman's voice called the other side. "Ok, tell Mother I'll be right there in a moment." She said. "Yes, miss." Akemi heard the maid's retreating footsteps. She suddenly felt a sting in her hands. She looked at them and gasped. Her hands were tied by dark cloth. "From Tsukasa….." she said a quiet voice. "How can it be? It was supposed to disappear when I logged out." She stared out the big window in her room. The sun was setting, coloring the sky orange, scarlet and gold. She went to her bathroom, removed the cloth and put Band-Aids on her cuts. She held the cloth in her hands, thinking of Tsukasa, what he did for her today. She smiled warmly. She was sure he could help her find the Heart of the Twilight. Akemi was at Hotaru's room in the hospital. She stood before her unconscious sister with a sad look on her pretty face. Hotaru's raven black hair was spread all over the tubes. She took one of her hands and clasped it tight. "Hotaru, don't worry. You won't be like this forever; I will find the Heart of the Twilight and help you open your eyes again. I promise you, sister, I will." She said, her eyes gazing into her sister's closed eyes. She walked out of her room where her mother waited for her turn to see Hotaru. She reached over and placed a hand gently on her daughter's shoulders. An assuring smile spread her lips. "Akemi, don't worry. Hotaru will not be like this forever. I promise you that." She kissed the top of her head and went in. Akemi stared down at her hands. Her mother hasn't asked her about her hands and she was relieved she hasn't. She didn't want to do any explanations right now. In light steps, she went to the hospital backyard. She sat under a tree and let the evening breeze play with her auburn hair. She giggled. She made her character "Sakura" look a lot like her in the real life. The same copper-colored hair and glowing emerald eyes. She turned her gaze to the sky. The full moon had its gentle glow and the stars were appearing one by one. A very pleasant evening indeed. She got up and walked back, knowing her mother was done and it was time to go home. After dinner she said to her parents. "Mother, Father, I think I'll call it an early night. I am very tired. Can I retire to my room?" Her father looked concern for his youngest daughter but he gave her a slight nod of his head. "Thank you." Akemi bowed and turned to leave. One of the maids said to her. "Mistress, you need anything in special while you are in room?" Akemi turned to her with a kind smile. "Yes, I would like a set of tea for two because I would like you to come to my room in a while. Please, Emi." She said. The maid Emi smiled in return and nodded. "Very well." Akemi turned back and left. She entered her room and felt a bit relieved to be out of the dinning room for the night. Ever since Hotaru went into a coma, her parents have been too dense, without meaning to. She sometimes finds hearing her parents arguing about what to do about Hotaru rather unbearable. She let out a puff of air in relief that her friend Emi, the only one aside from Hotaru she talked to, would come in and have a chat with her. She changed into her nightdress and walked over to her nighttable by her luxurious bed. She picked up a photo. A young woman with shiny black hair and green eyes had her hands on a smiling Akemi's shoulders. A picture of Hotaru and Akemi. She traced a hand lovingly along the cool frame. "Mistress?" Emi's voice came from her door with a light knock. Akemi placed her picture back and smiled. "Yes, come in." Emi entered the room with a tray containing two cups of tea. Akemi helped her set it on her balcony outside her window doors. They sat and Emi was the first to speak. "So how's Mistress Hotaru?" Akemi took a sip of her rose tea and said. "She's still the same." A hint of sadness showed on her tone. Emi nodded. "I see. So have you found out anything in "The World" today?" she asked. Emi, who was daughter of the Grand Maid, Chikako was looked very young for her age. She was 19, but with her long blond hair, glittering blue eyes, and sweet good-natured smile, she looked like her sister's age. Thought she's very mature. Akemi has already told her about going into the game and go look for an answer to help her sister. She used to be a player herself and sometimes helped with Akemi's coaching. Akemi shook her auburn head. "No." she didn't want to tell her about the events that happened in that dungeon today. No yet anyway. Emi let out a small chuckle. "Good thing you fled to your room because Lady Selenne and Master Shigheru were having another dense argument." Akemi sighed. "Again?" She wasn't the least surprised. No news at all, history is more like it. She looked at her reflection in her drink. No chills or thrills. "Mistress, are you ok?" Emi's voice broke her chain of thought. Her eyes snapped back to her. "Oh sorry." She said. Emi gave a short wave of her hand. "It's ok." "I just hope I can find an answer that will help Hotaru." She turned to her tea. Emi smiled at her. "I know you will. You are a girl of many talents and excellent qualities, just like Mistress Hotaru. Both of you have sharp instincts and kind hearts, I just know you will because you love your sister. And only that love is needed to guide you in your quest." Emi said in a caring tone. Akemi's lips curved at the corners. She liked Emi, she was very wise and pretty understanding in her own ways. "Thank you Emi, I feel a lot better." She said. "My pleasure." She smiled. Akemi got up and said, blinking drowsily. "I'm sorry, I want to rest now." She smiled. Emi shook her head playfully and gathered the set and walked to the door. "Good night, Mistress Akemi." She bowed. Akemi bowed also. "Good night Emi and thank you for coming to talk to me. I really appreciate it." She smiled and closed the door. Akemi sighed deeply and turned off the light, thought the room still had a strong light because of the moon's aurora. She lay in her bed and stared at a pink teddy bear with wings. Hotaru gave it to her for her 15th birthday. Akemi's loved teddy bears since she was 6. And Hotaru always gave her a winged bear of different color every year, along with the bears other people gave her. But of all bears, the ones her sister gave her are her favorites. She stared at a shelf beside her bed, which rested against the wall. It was full of teddy bears, but right on the top. Blue, red, yellow, green, white, aquamarine, and indigo-colored winged teddy bears were aligned. The 7 bears Hotaru gave her the previous years. Right with her recent one, the one Akemi held close to her. She hugged her bear tighter and went to sleep, not letting go of it.

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The next day, it was 4:30, and Akemi went into the game. She placed the goggles over her eyes and logged on. She appeared at Chaos Gate and warped into her dungeon. As soon as she got there, she ran into the dungeon and reached the end in no time. It was half hour before Tsukasa came to see her. She decided to practice with her swords while she was at it. Smiling, she drew her twin blades and began doing a sword dance, sending her strengths in her every move. Tsukasa appeared at the field and decided to take in his surroundings. It was night here, turquoise night lights glowed in the starry sky. The full moon shone gently upon the entrance. Snow shone sliver in the moonlight. Trees of various flowers gave bloom all around him. His deep eyes finally focused on the dungeon and went in. He reached the end and heard something making noise with the air. He scanned the area and saw Akemi slashing the air with her blades, gracefulness filled her every move. Her eyes were closed and every time she twirled, her bangs flew along softly. The bells jingled as she moved her feet as well. He watched her in silence and felt warmness creeping up on his face. He was speechless as if he was hypnotized by what he was seeing. He shook his head trying to snap out of it. Tsukasa, get over yourself! He commanded himself, his staff made a noise. Akemi stopped and opened her eyes to look at him. Her lips turned to a delighted smile. "Hey you came!" she cried happily and she walked over to him. He felt himself blush again. She looked at his robe, which the torn he did the other day was gone. "Oh, I almost forgot!" she pulled out a silver chain with a tiny bell. She grabbed his hand. He gaped at her. She looked at him and smiled again. "I want you to have this." She placed the gift on his palm and curled his fingers on it. She released his hand and he opened it to get a closer look. The chain was silver with the tiny bell of gold. He looked at her, her face was rosy pink. "Why?" he asked. Akemi blushed even more. She looked at the crystal ground, avoiding eye contact. "Um, it's for yesterday. It's a thank you gift for saving my life. Not only for that, I have no friends here and you listened to me and I really appreciate that." She gazed back up at him again. She took the chain from him, got closer to him, and began to fasten the chain around his neck. Tsukasa felt her arms around his neck and her scent was stronger and sweeter. His mind was tempted to wrap his arms around her, but he caught himself. He mentally shook his head again and tried to hold the unexpected temptation back. What the hell's goin on with me!? I blush when she smiles at me, my heart goes 3 times as fast as I soon see her and now my mind……wants her? I must be goin insane. He tried to scold himself for such manners. He then head a faint click and felt her warmth leave him and she clapped her hands together and said with a big smile. "Oh it suits you!" Tsukasa looked down. On his pale vest, the tiny bell rested on his chest. Akemi giggled in happiness as she poked the bell and it jingled. She laughed and he turned another shade of red. Akemi looked at his face and the smile faded. "Tsukasa? You face is bright red, are running a fever?" she placed a warm hand on his forehead. He felt pretty awkward. She removed her hand and looked at him curiously. "Hm, you don't have a fever….." she shook her head. "Never mind." She touched the bell again. "Always have this with you. If you ring it, wherever I am, I can hear. If you want my help just ring it and I'll know where you'll be." She said as she looked into his eyes. He smiled at her and nodded. "Ok, I promise." Akemi smiled. "You know what?" she asked. "What?" Akemi cheeks turned pink again. "You're nicer than you look. I don't think I've met anyone this gentle since I first came here." Tsukasa blushed lightly at her comment. "Thank you. I know you won't open up to me since we're still strangers. But at the least, I want to have someone to talk to." She said. "Wait!" he cried and Akemi fell silent in shock. "We're not strangers! We're now friends, right?" he asked her, being careful to hide the hopefulness in his voice. Akemi relaxed her look and said uncertainly. "If you want to. I would love to have you as my friend." To her surprise, Tsukasa's arms pulled her into him and he hugged her. "I'm glad." Akemi blushed in his embrace and heard his heart beating as fast as hers although she was just a bit shorter than he was. But his warmth calmed her and letting out a soft sigh, she wrapped her arms around him. They stayed in each other's arms for a short moment but it felt like forever. Tsukasa broke the embrace and gazed into her emerald eyes . "So, this will be our special place?" he teased. Akemi smiled. "Perhaps. No one but you, Aura, and me know about his place." She said. Then, an idea popped into her mind. "Hey, since you're able to log out again, you wanna hang out with me in the real world?" she asked. He thought about it and decided to do it. After all, he had a great curiosity about what Akemi looked like in real life. "Sure, why not?" he smiled. Akemi grinned. "Cool! You can come over to my mansion and play video games or go horseback riding!" she clapped her hands together. Tsukasa looked at her curiously. "Mansion?" Akemi slapped a hand on her forehead. "Oops! I didn't tell you! Do you know the "Sorasama Inc"?" she asked. Tsukasa thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, the famous system developing company?" he said. Akemi smiled and nodded. "Yeah! You know who the owner is?" she asked again. "Yeah, Shigheru Sorasama……." He stopped short and his eyes widened. He remembered what she said when they first met. "Please call me Akemi. That's my name in real life. Akemi Sorasama………." "You're Shigheru Sorasama's daughter!?" he cried. Akemi nodded with a smile. "Yup, he's my dad." she replied. "Wow….." he said. "How many of you are?" Akemi said with a puzzled look. "Two. Only Hotaru and me. Why you ask?" "Just curious." He shook his head. Akemi laughed and then her face was serious. "Tsukasa, can I ask you something?" she said. Tsukasa nodded. "Sure." Akemi looked down at the ground and said with a shy voice. "Um, can you help me on my quest on finding the Heart of the Twilight? Please?" Tsukasa said nothing for a moment. Akemi looked up at him and he saw tears shinning in her eyes. She gave a small sob and then collapsed to her knees, crying. Tsukasa was shocked for a split second and then kneeled down next to her. Her shoulders shook and her tears splashed the crystalline ground. "Please!! I want to help my sister so bad! I want to see her alive again! And….this is too much for me to bear alone! I want someone to help me……!" she choked out between sobs. Tsukasa felt bad for her and realized that he hated to see her so sad like that. Akemi buried her face in her hands and continued crying. Tsukasa placed a hand on her shoulder. Akemi's misty eyes widened as she raised her face from her hands at feeling something warm on her shoulder. She looked straight into his eyes. Tsukasa gave her a warm smile and brushed off her tears with the back of his hand. Akemi felt her heart jump and her face turned pink. "I'll help you revive your sister, Akemi. I swear I will." He said gently. "Don't cry." Akemi's lips slowly turned into a smile and she hugged him tight. Tsukasa blushed in her embrace. "Thank you! Thank you!" she cried. She broke the hug and stood up with her bright smile. "I feel a lot better now!" she said. Tsukasa smiled too and stood. She took his hands and clasped them tight. He blushed and she said. "We're now in this together! We'll find the Heart of the Twilight and revive Hotaru, right!?" Tsukasa smiled and nodded. "Yup! We will." Akemi smiled.

Author's Note: Hello! It's my first .hack//SIGN fic, so go easy on me! ^_^ BTW, I KNOW Tsukasa's a girl in the real world! But, since he's so cute as a guy, so in this story I'm keepin him a GUY! Hey, everyone has the right to alter right? ^_^ Anyway, as y'all know, I'm Mistress Ness, author of the CCS fics, "Sakura, Syaoran, and the Great Quest" and "The Dream After the Beginning". Also, I'm almost goin for my Chobits fic "Chobits X"! Anyway, if you have comments or questions, don't be afraid of e-mailin me! My e-mail is Angel heart33842@ aol.com Later! Mistress Ness ^_^