Afterwards
The hospital doors swished open and Tsukasa paused, squinting as bit as
he stepped out into the bright sunlight... then she visibly shook
herself. Ann still found it all so odd, returning here to the real
world, finally recalling the person that she was and the life she had
left behind. With a honest smile on her face the slim, brown haired
young woman walked away from the hospital, glad to finally have a clean
bill of health.
Striding down the sidewalk she passed the older woman in the wheelchair,
then slowed as a powerful sense of recognition washed over her. Ann
turned around, seeing the other woman had stopped too, looking at her
with a expression of equal surprise. "Subaru?" Ann asked hesitantly,
seeing the warmth and caring in those eyes, even behind the gleam of
square glasses.
"Tsukasa," she breathed out, grabbing her wheels and rolling over to
where the stunned young woman stood, both of their faces lighting up
with joy.
"I'm Ann," she grinned as she dropped to her knees, somehow unsurprised
to feel the other woman's arms come around her in a fierce hug.
The other woman held Ann close to her, only letting her go after a few
moments. "Mariko," she introduced herself, the two looking into each
other's eyes for what felt like forever. Softly Mariko continued, "I was
scared I wouldn't see you again...."
"Me, too," Ann conceded. She smiled, "I was going to log into the World
again once I got my nerve up, ask who you were here in the real world."
Mariko reached out to touch Ann's cheek, knowing the kind of courage
that would take of Ann. For many long months she had been trapped as
Tsukasa in the World, unable to log out, unable to free herself at all
and she had to be feeling some terror at the idea of playing the game
again.. "Me, too," she softly conceded, "or at least I was going to ask
Bear about you."
"Bear'd be glad to hear from you, I think," Ann smiled. She gazed up to
where a young woman was hovering nearby, looking on curiously, "Your
friend?"
"A work associate, actually," Mariko quietly admitted, "she volunteered
to take me over to the hospital for my checkup."
Ann didn't hesitate very much as she said, "So why don't I bring you
over?" A little flash of a smile, "It'll give us a chance to talk."
Mariko smiled in honest pleasure, "I'd like that."
The hospital stay wasn't too long, thankfully, or Ann might have had to
wait outside the building. She had spent altogether too much time in
hospitals lately, either fast asleep or being poked and prodded by
doctors trying to find out why, exactly, it had happened. Afterwards
they decided to head for a cafe for a bit, neither of them having
anything too pressing to do.
It felt oddly right for Ann as they went down the sidewalk together, the
younger woman pushing Mariko's wheelchair. Every now and the Mariko
would look up, as if to confirm that Ann really was there, then her lips
would rise in a gentle smile. Ann herself had to concentrate on keeping
her eyes on the road, so to speak, and not focus too much on her
companion.
"What are you thinking about?" Mariko asked as they neared the cafe.
Ann and Mariko walked over to a table, the younger girl moving a chair
aside so that Mariko could roll into whichever place she wanted to sit.
As Ann settled down she said, "It occurred to me that while I know you
pretty well from our conversations in the World, I really don't know
much about you in the real world."
"I guess I have a bit of an advantage there, considering all the
researching Bear did," Mariko conceded. She gave her full name then
continued on, "I'm an full time editor with a major publishing house,
working from home as you can probably guess."
"That sounds fun," Ann agreed thoughtfully. They paused in talking as a
waitress came over, took their orders then bustled off only to come back
with coffee and cakes. A faint blush colored Ann's cheeks, "Would it be
stupid if I admitted I expected Subaru to be younger than I?"
Mariko just smiled, leaning her elbows on the table as she fondly
studied Ann. "It's all right," she chuckled, "we all develop our own
images of what we thing people in the real world look like." A laugh,
"You and Tsukasa look remarkably similar, though."
"I scanned a photo of myself and imported it to the World," Ann
admitted.
"Clever," Mariko chuckled, "I just picked out someone of a similar
look."
The conversation flowed easily, recounting some of their separate
adventures in the World and details of their work at first, then
gradually moving into more personal matters. Ann was mildly surprised
that someone as attractive as Mariko was still single, and Mariko was
sympathetic to Ann's own personal troubles.
"I know that things are going to be difficult, after everything that's
happened to you," Mariko said as she pulled a business card out of her
pocket and wrote her name, numbers and email address on the back, "if
you need anything, please call me."
"I couldn't...." Ann hesitated.
Mariko reached out, putting her hand gently over Ann's. "When everything
with the Crimson Knights fell apart and all, you ignored your own
troubles to help me," she said simply.
Ann actually blushed, "It wasn't much."
"It meant a lot to me at the time," Mariko answered honestly.
"Me, too," Ann agreed, looking away shyly.
Mariko removed her hand from Ann's almost reluctantly, only then noting
what the time was. "I hate to say this..." she started.
"It's getting late," Ann agreed wryly. She got up, then went around to
Mariko as she softly asked her, "Can I walk you home?"
"You won't get into trouble?" Mariko asked as Ann pulled out a
cellphone.
Ann held up a hand a moment, "Hello? Hi Dad.. yes, I'm fine.. I'll be
home a bit later, I have to take a friend home first." She tilted her
head to the side, "She's a good friend, Dad.. don't worry." She said
good-bye then sighed, "Bear's like a mother hen, now."
Mariko looked amused, "There's an interesting mental image."
"You know what I mean," Ann smiled back at her wryly. After giving
Mariko her own number the walk to Mariko's home was filled with quiet
conversation, neither of them seeming to wish their time together to
come to an end. When they finally reached the small house they hesitated
outside, both not wanting to part.
"Call me," Mariko said firmly as she reached out to take Ann's hand, "I
already miss not seeing you everyday in the World."
"I will," Ann agreed. She took a breath, almost as if she was gathering
her courage, "And maybe we'll see each other back in the World, too."
"Are you sure...?" Mariko asked softly, looking up into those brown
eyes.
"I have to try it again sometime," Ann answered her honestly, "and I
have too many friends there to leave them all behind."
"Thank you," Mariko squeezed Ann's hand once, firmly, then she watched
the young woman walk away, "and good luck."
Rolling up her walkway Mariko unlocked her front door, going inside and
closing the door behind her. She avoided the kitchen and went into her
office, rolling in front of her computer even as she sighed happily. 'I
wonder if Ann knew?' she thought, putting her hand on the keyboard, then
adding aloud, "I babbled like a idiot."
Almost as soon as Mariko had recognized Tsukasa as Ann, had seen that
same soul staring out of those kind eyes she felt her heart skip a beat.
When Ann had told her in the World that she might be a girl in reality
Mariko had been worried about how she would react, but meeting here she
had found herself drawn even more to Ann, a feeling that confused her
even more.
"I knew that I was in love with Tsukasa," Mariko mused to herself aloud,
"but it seems that I really fell in love with Ann."
Checking her email account she saw one from Bear and smiled, opening it
to see he was already planning a time where she and Anncould meet 'Not
that I need him to now,' she thought even as she sent the thank you
reply. Mariko logged into the World, checking the BBS first then logging
into the game itself... feeling secure in the knowledge that she and Ann
would meet again.
It wasn't that long before Subaru received a familiar Flashmail within
the game and saw that Tsukasa had logged on. Using the Chaos gate they
met in Delta server, the familiar city stretching around them as they
appeared. He looked much the same, ash gray hair falling into those
eyes, but he was free of that oppressive sorrow that had seemed to haunt
him in the World before.
"Welcome back," Subaru said as she walked over to Tsukasa, looking up
into those eyes with pure warmth.
Tsukasa looked a bit sheepish, "I'm nervous."
With a sympathetic smile Subaru took his hand, smiling up at Tsukasa
gently. "Is everything all right?" she asked him quietly.
"No problems logging out," Tsukasa confirmed. He smiled as he took a
steadying breath, "So, want to see if any of the others are on-line?"
"There's something that I want to do first," Subaru said as she summoned
up her courage. Stepping close to the surprised Tsukasa she slid a hand
behind his head and gently drew him into a kiss. He stiffened in
surprise first, then Tsukasa's arms circled her to draw her close with
such tenderness....
They separated with the greatest reluctance, Tsukasa looking down at her
with a certain degree of awe. "Wow," he managed to say.
Subaru sighed softly, leaning against his chest as she quietly
confessed, "I've wanted to do that for a long time."
"Me, too," Tsukasa answered softly, "but do you mind that I'm a girl?"
"No," Subaru said softly, "you?"
Tsukasa shook his head no, too. He kept her arms around Subaru as he
added, "I think we have some things to talk about in the real world."
"I'm glad," Subaru said softly. She looked up at Tsukasa a moment as she
added shyly, "I'd like to try this in the real world, too."
Tsukasa blushed, but didn't disagree.
End.
Notes: According to the shoujoai message boards the names Ann and Mariko
were taken from the .Hack Zero novel, set after the end of the anime
series. Interestingly, art scanned from that book appears to imply a
romantic relationship between the two women. I didn't recall any mention
of Mariko's job in the anime, so I decided to make something up based on
her scholarly look....
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