It was late spring when Helba had invited them all to Net Slum, following the recovery of the last of the coma victims that had been released that past Christmas. It had seemed a long wait between the wrapping up of all things concerned and the reunion, particularly since there really had been no union, per se, to start with. Sure, Tsukasa acknowledged, some of those that had involved themselves with her had also come out to help Kite, but overall there was little intermingling between the two groups. Until tonight.
    The time of year had invoked a certain festive spirit in the hacker, Tsukasa was sure, when the two groups had all filtered into the field to the welcoming sight of fireworks filling up the night sky. Textures had been modified to reflect the mood, and decorations --junked Mac Anu banner meshes and suchlike-- had been erected. Had it all been a physical effort, it would not have seemed so impressive, but the idea that Helba had written all this from trashed data and aligned it from scratch, probably all on her own, was nothing if not a shock.
    So was the BGM. Helba's tastes in music, of course, had never been a topic of consideration in Tsukasa's thoughts, but it seemed suiting that someone of her (presumed) age and history would favor techno. Even if it struck the visitors, herself included, as just a little old-fashioned, it somehow pulled everything together even more.
    She had danced with Subaru the most, of course, not wishing to leave her side for anything...
    ...Except when her eye had caught a familiar face peering out from the alleyway.
    Poor Sora. He had just recently begun logging on again after reviving from his coma that past winter, and by the sound of it he had been completely at a loss on how to conduct himself. And so, had fallen back into old habits. A good thing Ginkan and Crim had been around to put an end to his PKing before it had started, and probably even better that the person involved, that bubbly Wavemaster Mistral, was insanely good-natured, or the night could have turned ugly quite quickly.
    But now, of course, Sora had swung the opposite way. His means of dealing with people in the past now proven ineffectual, he couldn't even bear to be part of the celebration his "aunt" had prepared for them. So he had hidden, and broke down in such a way as Tsukasa was sure no one had ever seen him before. He'd cried.
    The night had been favorable for Tsukasa. She had seen Subaru again --constant phonecalls just hadn't been enough these past few months--, she had met with all the old crowd that had helped her, she had gotten to see the faces of all those that had succeeded her group in saving The World...
    ...She wanted to lend a helping hand to someone else.
    She'd said, "We're friends... right?"
    "R...right!"
    She'd taken his hand, nervous though he was, pulled him out of that dark alley into the bright colored lights and the music and the throng of dancing people, allies, those linked together even if they were unaware of the bond existing between them. Friends.
    As the night ran on, Tsukasa left Sora's side to let him mingle as he pleased, while she rejoined Subaru. Occasionally, passing through the crowd, she would spot him out of the corner of her eye, typically following around Mistral, who seemed to be enjoying herself too thoroughly to mind his past transgressions. Possibly she didn't even make the connection.
    "Must be that motherly aura," someone said near her ear.
    A hand clapped down on her shoulder, the sudden force jolting her roughly to a halt, nearly wrenching the still-walking Subaru from her grip. Tsukasa turned, startled and a little angry, into the face of a youngish PC in strangely-colored garments, probably a hacked character model.
    "Yo," said the boy, with a slight wave. "Haven't seen you in a while. Are you feeling better?"
    "Do I know you?" Tsukasa asked. Her mind was helplessly drawing blanks.
    "Huh?" The boy blinked a few times, suddenly at a loss. "Come on, don't tell me your memory's going again... I'm Kite, remember?"
    "I've heard that name," Subaru said, in that typical unobtrustive tone that made Tsukasa's heart go all fluttery. "You were the one that led the Christmas operation."
    "Well... yeah... but..." Kite scratched the back of his head. "We've played together since then. You too, Subaru."
    "I'm so sorry, but... I don't understand," Subaru confessed. "This is the first time we've met face-to-face, isn't it? How do you know us?"
    "And with such familiarity?" Tsukasa added, a bit suspicious.
    "Uwah, but..." Kite flailed. "Helba found you two in Net Slum one day, she gave me your member addresses along with hers... I've played with you, but you guys were always kind of in a daze, and... I guess not at all how you're acting now, but..." He stopped, holding his forehead. "I don't understand."
    A thought struck Tsukasa. "Could it be... you were playing with our ghosts?"
    Kite boggled at her. "Huh?"
    "I'd heard a little from Mimiru, about how some of our log data was still stored in Morganna's system. A lot of people in the root towns started seeing what looked like us, but it wasn't. And if you say we showed up here in Net Slum, where all the trash data is sent..."
    The Twin Blade considered this. He exuded something not unlike a whimper. "That's... really spooky."
    "It seems we need to reintroduce ourselves, then," Subaru said kindly.
    "I guess so," Kite conceded nervously. He laughed uncomfortably. "And I guess I won't be playing with those two anymore..."
    "We'll give you our real member addresses," Subaru told him, in that gentle accomodating tone of hers. "Right, Tsukasa?"
    "Eh? Oh... sure," Tsukasa said, with a confirming nod. "Got to warn you, though, we're not on much..."
    Kite shrugged. "Hardly anyone is these days. I'm surprised all my old friends came back for tonight..."
    "Have you met the people from our group?" Subaru asked, as she transferred over her member data and started to make sure that Tsukasa was doing likewise.
    "A few. Briefly. I saw Sora around here too... Oh no," Kite said, as something occured to him. "Don't tell me. He was a ghost too?"
    The other two PCs couldn't help but permit themselves a few short giggles. "It seems like you're having to start a lot of relationships over again," Subaru remarked, not unkindly, when she had more or less recovered.
    "Speaking of that guy..." Tsukasa murmured, craning her head around their small epoch toward the surrounding crowds. She could see Mistral, but her usual tagalong for the evening seemed to have disappeared. "I wonder where he's gone. I should introduce him to some people. You and your group, for a start. Since he's already met that Mistral girl..."
    "But for right now," Subaru said, diverting attention back to Kite again, "please, I'm sure there's a great deal of catching up to do."
    >>Subaru, Tsukasa laughed in a private PM, >>you just want to hear about this ghost of yours, don't you?
    >>Honestly, I'm more interested in hearing what yours is like, she answered just as playfully, giving her a smile that went unexplained to Kite.

    What Kite discovered was that the real Tsukasa and Subaru were much more fun to be around than ghosts.
    Now he was dizzy. He had met a great quantity of people in a small length of time, and had introduced to the others yet more. It struck the Twin Blade too for the first time in full that he did, indeed, know far too many people. Whereas Tsukasa's "gang" (as he was increasingly referring to it in his mind) consisted of a relatively tight-knit group of six or so people, Kite had kept up regular correspondence and played with three times that number, not counting those ghosts. Which had never seemed weird until he saw the look on Tsukasa's face.
    Eventually they broke off, the couple going their own way while Kite mingled in another direction. The night was wearing on now, and such a relief it was that it was a Saturday night without concern for school or work tomorrow.
    He nearly collided with BlackRose, who said she had been looking for him for the past hour, and that she had something she wanted to talk to him about, and could they get together on that yet tonight? Oh, and incidentally, could he go it a couple of beers for her and Mimiru?
    Women.
    He was on his way back from the drinks stall with three tankards in his arms, wondering just what kind of purpose beverages even had in a game without any sort of intoxication stat, when in the effort of dodging one of the glitched NPCs he ran headfirst with someone else.
    "Ack!" he exclaimed, staggering back and struggling to keep the three digital drinks from spilling over everywhere. "Sorry, I--"
    He stopped.
    The PC before him was another Twin Blade. Tall, almost past human, slim and dark-clad. He had the pointed, angular look of a teenager, athletic and confident, and the kohl around his eyes made him appear almost like a raccoon.
    And he was very, very familiar.
    He had stopped on collision with Kite, and though seeming intent to move along, had frozen in place when he noticed the shorter PC staring up at him.
    "Sora!" Kite said, before he could stop himself. "It's been a whi--"
    (beat)
    Kite lowered his gaze. "Sorry. Of course you don't remember me."
    (beat)
    "Wh4t 4r3 j00 t4lk1n9 4b0ut?" Sora demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. "W3 ju5t pl4y3d t0g3th3r l45t w33k, r3m3mb3r?"
    Kite exhaled sharply in instinctual relief, but that same emotion constricted his throat and made it hard to breathe in again. "You mean-- you're the real you?"
    "l45t 3j3 r3c4ll..." Sora said, arching an eyebrow. He was completely at a loss for this behavior.
    Which Kite noticed and didn't really care about. Suddenly, his head was swimming again.
    And he didn't really know why.
    And he didn't really understand why it didn't matter.
    But he really didn't want to leave his side.
 
 

    Mimiru poked BlackRose's shoulder.
    "Shouldn't you be getting off?" she asked apprehensively. "Nearly everyone's gone."
    Which was true. Only a few stragglers remained, the weird ones no one knew well, like Nuke Usagimaru and Piros, and the glitched NPCs. Even the music was dying. The party was effectively over.
    BlackRose seethed.
    She had waited all night, but that stupid idiot Kite had never brought those stupid drinks. Who knows where he had gone.
    "That stupid... boy!" she raged.

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