Hack Sign: 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 odd, returning here to the real world, finally recalling the person she was and the life she 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 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 to help track you down."
"Bear's good at that," 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 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, "He's like a mother hen, now."
Mariko looked amused, "There's an interesting mental image."
"You know what I mean," Ann smiled wryly. After giving Mariko her number they walked to Mariko's home was filled with quiet conversation, neither of them seeming to wish the conversation to end. When they finally reached the small house they hesitated outside, both not wanting to part.
"Call me," Mariko said firmly, "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 had already filled her request for Ann's number and address. 'Not that I need it 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 into those eyes with pure warm.
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 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," she managed to say.
Subaru sighed softly, leaning against his chest, "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 her head no, too. She kept her arms around Subaru as she 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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