"The Oldest Guardians"

A .hack//SIGN story

by Rune Grey (starstrike@leamonde.net)

**Note - The spoilers will contain spoilers.**

**Spoilers - This story contains general spoilers for the ending of
.hack//SIGN, as well as possibly some of the initial events for
.hack//INFECTION. Read at your own risk.**

"So, its all come to and end, hasn't it?"

"Hmmm? What do you mean by that, Kurim?" Bear asked, the puzzlement at the
suddenness of that question evident in his voice. The Red Lightning had
joined him rather unexpectedly at this cafe, set by one of the many canals
that dotted the Water Capital, and up until now they had been exchanging
more common banalities. The comment, offhand as it was, had caught him
completely by surprise.

A light breeze swept through the city of Mac Anu, better known as the Water
Capital and former home of the Scarlet Knights, and as it sent the role and
silk streamers that leapt from one building to another snapping in its wake,
it was enough to pull the napkin that Bear was holding from his grasp. As he
snatched it back out of the air, he lost his train of thought just long
enough for Kurim to continue on with his original commentary... charging
every forwards, Bear noted in amusement. That was certainly his style.

"We've completed our question - solved the mystery and riddles of the
Twilight, awakened the mythical sleeping princess, and been proclaimed the
heroes of the story," the red garb Long Arm user continued, as if this were
all in a days work for him. With a quick motion, he snatched his drink - or
at least a reasonable facsimile of one, probably based off of a new
programming routine to increase the realism of the system - off of the
table, he offered Bear a rather jubilant toast to their 'victory'. "Now, we
get to relax, and enjoy the fruits of our labors. What more could we ask for
than this?"

It was probably not the wisest thing in the world to do, rapping a mug of
liquid rather soundly against someone else's when they had no idea that you
were about to jump into such an action. Only a quick snatch from Bear
managed to secure his glass in both hands, keeping the liquid inside from
flying all over the place and creating an even larger scene than Kurim was
creating at this point with his boasting and extravagant motions. Finally
regaining control, Bear sighed softly and raised his own glass in a somewhat
belated return of the toast.

"Have we really finished with this business, Kurim?" he asked, frowning
deeply into his glass, thoughts racing through his mind as to all of the
possible loose ends that had been created by the chaos and uncertainty of
the previous six months. "While the main problem that we were dealing with -
Tsukasa's inability to log out of the World - has been addressed, there are
still a number of questions that need to be answered before I will be
satisfied that we have heard the last of this." Sipping from his drink
again, Bear continued onwards before his companion could reply to his denial
of the promise of the mythical 'happy ending' already having drawn upon
them. Kurim could be enthusiastic, and would definitely have made a good
motivational speaker... but his attitude towards The World, that it was
still a game even in the face of everything that had happened so far, could
certainly be a disadvantage at times.

"At this point, neither we nor Helba have been able to determine what
happened to either Aura or the agent of the enemy that followed her back to
the Cyber Slum," Bear commented quietly, bringing to mind the images that
had confronted him in the last few moments before Helba's 'drastic measure'
had taken effect. The strange monster, one of a style he had never seen
before in The World, appearing out of nowhere in pursuit of the newly
awakened Aura, Tsukasa, Mimiru, and Subaru as they returned from that Other
space that was the realm of the enemy. "Nor do I think that our enemy has
forgiven or forgotten our own involvement in disrupting their plans - if
nothing else, our foiling their attempts to kill Subaru or our rescue of
Aura."

"Tch," was the only immediate reply from the other end of the table. Kurim
remained silent for a long moment - long enough that Bear wondered if the
Long Arm user was actually giving this matter some serious thought. Not
exactly the Red Lightning's style. But the reply, when it did come, was
about what the swordsman would have expected of his irrepressible companion.

"You worry too much about all of this, Bear," Kurim replied, managing to
sound rather exasperated at this entire course of conversation. "We were
involved in this entire chain of events solely because of Tsukasa. There is
no point in obsessing over the unknown now - all that we can do is attempt
to prepare for whatever might be coming, and allow fate to take us in her
hand, and shape things as she will.

"Now, for a topic that I have to admit that I am a bit more curious about,"
Kurim continued, leaning over the table so that his voice did not project
quite as much across the entire cafe. Bear raised one eyebrow at that -
tact, from Kurim? This had to be something that was important to him. The
blue haired man smiled slightly, managing to look rather rakish in the
process. "How is your newly adopted daughter settling in? I've not seen him
log back onto the World all that often since our little incident in the Net
Slum."

Bear smiled, not at the confusion that mix of pronouns would have evoked in
the casual eavesdropper, but instead at the thought of the progress that his
new family had been making over the last few weeks. "Tsukasa is,
understandably, a little tired of The World. Nothing more than I would
expect from someone who had been trapped here for months on end, unable to
retreat back to the real world once they because exhausted of this place.
For reasons that should be fairly obvious, I think she will return here more
often once she again has her feet under herself, but I think that the fame
Tsukasa gained in The World makes him a bit nervous when he returns here."

"Obvious reasons indeed," Kurim replied, a ripple of amusement passing
through his voice as he spoke. "Subaru has been much more restless of late,
when I have had the occasion to speak with her. Without the Scarlet Knights
to keep her busy, and Tsukasa's not being quite as eternally present here in
The World, I think that she has found herself with her own loose ends, so to
speak."

That comment received a slight nod from Bear - who along with Kurim and
Tsukasa was now one of the very few people on The World who know about
Subaru's crippling ailment in the real world. The fragile, wheelchair bound
young woman that Tsukasa had introduced to her new father and the diminutive
but iron willed, confident Heavy Axe user that Bear know in The World did
not match up in his mind... that they were the same person spoke of a great
deal of willpower and self control in Subaru's part. He might have pitied
her, given how that wonderful young woman was trapped in what was
essentially a broken body - if he had not known almost instantly upon
meeting her that the one thing that would insult her more than anything else
from one of those she knew in The World would have been pity for her
condition.

Sighing again, Bear settled further back into his seat, and waved off the
look of concern that Kurim gave him following that long period of silence.
"Just reminiscing," he commented, smiling now. "Subaru and Tsukasa have been
rather difficult to separate since they met here in The World - that has
hardly changed with the venue of their interaction. Subaru told me once that
the two of them found strength in each other's company... and I have to
confess, I am happy to see that holds true even out there in the real world,
where they need each other's support more than ever."

The Long Arm nodded in agreement, a satisfied smirk crossing his face at
that particular revelation. "I'm glad - long ago, back when I first met
Subaru here in The World, I took it upon myself to teach her to stand up for

herself, to put her own ideals and feelings before her and not to bend to
the will of others. To stand on her own two feet here, and not allow herself
to continue to be shaped by the ideas and wants of those who really did not
care about her." Kurim paused for a moment, reflecting back on those days,
many years ago. To his satisfaction and enjoyment, Subaru had quickly taken
those lessons to heart, in the end allowing Kurim to step back into the
shadows and leave his massively overgrown whim to her expert care. At that
point, he had simply allowed himself to sit back and watch, as under
Subaru's firm but gentle hand she had forged the Scarlet Knights from a
ragtag collection of player characters devoted to an ideal into the largest
sanctioned group every allowed by the CC Company, with unprecedented support
powers at the time.

And in the end, noting had pleased him more when at the last, the Knighthood
had finally begun to rot. And upon seeing this, Subaru had taken it upon
herself to grasp that which she viewed as a trust and a gift from him, and
shatter it over her knee when it reached the point that it no longer held
any of its original shape. Not held back by nostalgia, perceived
responsibility, or the wishes of others that it might survive... simply
acting upon her own heart and judgment.

For a young woman who had been so afraid of others, and of losing their
implied good opinions and wishes of her, that she had always bowed to
whatever pressure that they had brought to bear against her... be they the
most petty of whims and desires... to have the chance to watch her stand up
to the wishes of the overreaching knights, even Ginkan, who in his self
righteous zeal had sought to extend the Scarlet Knights' mandate beyond all
sane limits, had been the proudest moment of his entire life. The old Subaru
would have bowed before that pressure, and lost face and respect of both the
players as a whole and of the system administrators who had given her the
responsibility over the Knights. But this Subaru... Kurim could not have
been more proud of her, even had she been his own flesh and blood daughter.

Shaking off that moment of revelry, the Red Lighting continued speaking.
"But, I would never have been able to truly be Subaru's partner - that was a
task that I knew that I would have to leave for someone else. She needed
someone who she could lean against, to share her confidences and worries
with not because they were a pillar of support that she could cling to in
the hard times, but because she knew that she was simply returning the favor
for their giving her the same consideration. Someone she could view as an
equal... and I must confess, if I had to have chosen someone for the role, I
could have picked no one better than Tsukasa. Although..." And Kurim laughed
warmly, glancing back up at Bear. "...from what I have since heard, I am a
bit surprised that it was Subaru that Tsukasa threw his hat to. I might have
expected that feisty young woman whom you were working so closely with on
trying to solve Tsukasa's case might have also drawn his eye, given her
spirit and how often they were together."

Bear allowed himself a hearty chuckle at that comment, obviously amused by
this turn of the conversation. "You might have as easily said that it was
Subaru who threw her hat to Tsukasa. But yes, I was also a little surprised
at how things turned out. It took me quite a while, as well as having a
chance to meet Mimiru in the real world, to figure out why she didn't play
her hand for Tsukasa's affections.

"I respect Mimiru very much, and I think that someday she will be a person
whom others will be able to depend upon for advice, support, and guidance,"
Bear explained, furrowing his brow as he considered what had until now been
an unvoiced sentiment, trying to forge it into words. "But I do not think
that Mimiru was ready, or still is for that matter, for the level of
commitment that Tsukasa required while he was trapped here in The World."

A raised eyebrow was Kurim's response to that reply, and he gestured for
Bear to continue onwards. The swordsman nodded once, closing his eyes and
lacing his fingers together, resting his chin upon them as he braced his
elbows against the table.

"It is related to the reason why I offered to adopt Tsukasa - something that
I only realized when I thought back on my first conversation with Subaru,
when we were first discussing her relationship with Tsukasa right before he
took her to see Aura. Tsukasa was afraid of returning to the real world,
which was a major part of his inability to log out as I understand it.
Subaru's love - completely unconditional, uncaring about Tsukasa's gender or
body in reality - gave him a reason to return, so that he might have a
chance to meet her in truth. When I offered my guardianship of him, when I
unconditionally offered to adopt Tsukasa as my daughter when she returned to
her true body, I gave him a reason not to be afraid of what might occur when
it was time for him to return."

Bear closed his eyes at that, remembering the obvious source of Tsukasa's
aversion to reality - the man who must have been a terror to her for every
waking moment since her mother had died. Tsukasa's father was a man who
should never have been allowed to raise a child - one of the 'classical'
Japanese men who viewed daughters as a waste of space and time. A man who
had blamed Tsukasa for the death of his wife, and for being girl, and thus
utterly useless to him. Bear had to meet him once, to know what this man was
like, and what he had likely done to Bear's new daughter in the past. It was
something he needed to know, even if he had not needed that bastard to sign
the papers handing Tsukasa over to Bear's custody.

"Mimiru was more than willing to offer friendship upon those lines, but as
for committing herself the way that Subaru has? Even if Tsukasa's gender had
not been an issue, " Bear paused, and shook his head slightly in a negative.
Mimiru had changed after he had told her that Tsukasa might well be a girl
in real life - although it had not been a change for the worse. That
revelation had brought the two of them closer together, binding them closer
together... but not in the same way that Subaru and Tsukasa had managed to
find common ground with each other. "I do not think that Mimiru was ready to
offer him the level of commitment that Tsukasa needed while he was here... I
would not have thought that Subaru would have been able to, were it not for
her condition."

Kurim made a loud noise from across the table, partly in amusement and
partly in satisfaction. Obviously he was satisfied with that answer... and
the knowledge that Subaru had managed to look past the loss of the use of
her legs to find something more from her life. After a moment, he replied,
"Still, I am glad that it was you who decided to handle Tsukasa's parenting
issues. If you hadn't, it would have fallen to me to deal with it... and I
just don't have the time." Kurim grinned again, more than willing to make a
few jokes along those lines now that everything had been settled for the
best. While he wasn't one who wanted the responsibility that appeared from
time to time in The World to infringe upon his already abundant array that
his true job offered him, he was also not above making a few jokes along
those lines.

Bear chuckled under his breath for a moment, before curiously raising one
eyebrow as the Red Lightning leapt from his seat, slinging his glaive around
and resting it on one shoulder. "Time for you to leave already?" the
swordsman asked, a little surprised even despite Kurim's reputation of
acting a bit unpredictably at times.

"Yes - the demands of work call for me once again," his companion replied,
his chipper tone regarding something that might have been a boiler room job
enough to set a more serious person's teeth on edge. And then, with a rapid
spin, the Red Lightning leveled his weapon at Bear, a dreadfully serious
expression on his face. "Now! This would normally be the point where I would
assume a dreadful expression, and ask you to give a dire warning to
Tsukasa - telling him of the dreadful consequences that would befall her if
he were to break Subaru's heart! And now, I would normally delve into my
imagination, presenting several unpleasant and possibly painful punishments
if he were to ignore my warning and do so anyways! But!" And Kurim flashed
one of his classic smiles, that managed to somehow make him look like a
young boy before he continued. "Since the Reputation of the Red Lighting
would suffer if any where to learn that he had dared to threaten any lady,
instead I am forced to ask you to convey my affections and best wishes to
both Subaru and Tsukasa."

That was enough to earn a warm laugh from Bear, who nodded once in mock
surrender to his companions rather lavishly acted out request. Kurim smiled
in reply, and fired off a quick salute before returning his weapon to its
place on his shoulder. And with a flourish, he turned and charged off into
the crowd, people yelling and jumping out of the way as he charged on past.

Bear smiled, not as broadly as he had a moment ago, but a smile none the
less. There would always be a bond between the two of them, a bond based
upon the love shared that the two young women that they both thought of as
daughters. And for Bear... that would always be enough.

His musings enough to draw forth another low chuckle, the swordsman leaned
back in his seat and watched as the crowd attempted to recover from the
passage of the overly enthusiastic Long Arm user. Already this had been an
interesting evening, and it had not even started in truth yet. And with
that, Bear settled into to await the arrival of both he and Krim's
daughters...

And a world that seemed a few shades brighter than it had been just a few
moments earlier...



*Author's Request - since my mail account was eaten over the last few days,
and had to be trasfered over to a new machine, it would be appreciated if
any C&C on my previous .hack fic could be resent to me privately?  It would
be greatly appreciated!*




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