Chapter 5 - Just a Memory

A rag doll. Yes, that's what it looked like. A discarded rag doll, lying on its back, limbs positioned as if it had been unceremoniously tossed there, head tilted slightly to one side, drool trickling down from a corner of his mouth. Eyes closed like those dolls with the closeable eyes, and when you lifted it up, its eyes would open. Actually, the face was more like a china dolls’, its whiteness and beauty like porcelain.

There was neither a snore nor a breathy noise, just the slightly noticeable rise in the blackness.

The figure above grinned and took the ladle he held in hand and banged it loudly against the pot that was held in the other.

BOOOOOONG

The sound echoed painfully loud in the avatars long ears, waking him from his soothing slumber in his owner’s bed. He rolled over and slightly opened the third eye that sat in the center of his forehead. A gleam of dangerous red shined out like an alarm, the ringing in his ears made his eye widened as if match . The avatars third eye narrowed at the sight of the figure that had disturbed him with such a god awful tone.

Ryou, standing by the bedside, continued grinning madly. Though unafraid of the once digital deity, that third eye of his peering at him in such a manner started to become unsettling.

The other two eyes opened slowly, setting their crimson glaze, which was dulled, upon the figure. The third began to dull itself as well. "That wasn't a very nice thing to do. If you wanted me up... there are plenty of other ways to do it." He put special emphasis on the word and got a nice reaction by means of the boy rearing back a bit. "I could show you, if you’d like." He continued as he raised a hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Serves you right!" Ryou scoffed. "What did I tell you? The end of the bed only, and here I wake up this morning with a face full of avatar."

"I’m not that scary..." Skeith replied hurt.

"I didn’t say you were..." Ryou said grumbling.

"Then... I don’t see what the problem is."

"You're sleeping on the couch from now on." Ryou muttered as he turned and walked out of the room.

Skeith pouted, like he normally would when he’d get scolded by his user. If it was anyone else he would have killed them on the spot.

Shortly afterward the avatar sauntered into the kitchen and plopped down at his usual spot at the small table. He yawned and grabbed a muffin, beginning to sleepily nibble at it.

Like every day thus far, it began with the same routine of trying to get the avatar to talk about something serious. After trying different ways to get the avatar to talk, Ryou finally had nothing else to use, short of torture or by sexual means, and he doubted either of those would work and he’d rather not have to do those at all, which is why he hadn’t.

Then again... there had been something he hadn't tried.

"Since its Saturday..." Ryou began, avoiding the gaze of either of the two. "I’m going to play The World, so don't bother me, alright?"

Skeith cocked his head to the side. "Why?"

A simple question.

"I haven’t been on since you two came here, and I want to do something to relax."

A simple answer.

"But I’m here, so there's no need for that." Skeith said. He didn’t see a reason why the boy would need to do such a thing when he was perfectly capable of doing those things for him. Besides, he had plans! Plans he had been working on for the past two days.

"I don’t play the game just for you. Besides, Kuhn invited me on a quest."

"I... thought we'd go do something special today." Skeith replied, voice a notch higher than normal.

That made Ryou raise his brow a bit, but no... he must not get distracted this time. He turned his head slightly, giving the digital deity a side glance.

"It’s nothing perverted, and I’m coming along too." Kite spoke up from his silent listening.

With Ryou's now undivided attention he explained. "I thought... we could... ahhhh..." He ended with a moan. He had forgotten the word for it and could only moan helplessly. "Aaaahhhh..."

"Picnic, Kite." Skeith said, sounding it out for the AI.

"Yeah." Kite said, flushing. "It was Skeith's idea and I think it’s what normal people do, so I wanted to do it to."

"What do you think? It would be awesome, right?" Skeith said, proud for coming up with such an idea. It showed on his face by way of a silly, yet sexy, grin.

"No." Ryou said flatly.

Though the idea did appeal to him, he didn’t like it, mostly due to the unusual appearance of the two. Sure, there were a ton of oddly dressed weirdo’s about normally but he did not want to be seen with any.

"Why not?" Skeith cried, slamming a hand on the table, looking angry.

This was so not going according to his plan. Originally, Skeith was supposed to ask him not to play, and he would agree on the condition to be told why he was here. Though now... well... it could still work, only he’d have to agree to be seen in public with them in exchange for said information. Oh god, if someone spotted him with these two he would never live it down.

….

…..

……

...Ugh. It wasn’t a very good situation, but who knows if he’d get another chance to find out, or if he’d ever find out at all. Also, there was the chance that... No, the way the two had a dangerous look in their eyes meant there was no escape from this. He would be dragged, kicking and screaming, off to the park. Against his will! Now that he thought about it, whenever Skeith was involved there was always a lot of 'against his will' type of situations. Man… how did things end up this way? Couldn’t he catch a break at least once in his life?

"...I'll go." Ryou paused so the two could cheer happily. "…On the condition that you explain to me why and how you're here."

"That again?" Kite said.

"You don’t give up, do you?" Skeith said, grinning.

"You know me well enough to know I don’t."

Skeith continued to grin for several more seconds, as if he were secretly doing a fangirl squeal inside, before his expression turned serious. "I came here because... I was lonely.” A moment of silence from the two made him continue. “…since there is no longer a need for me, you haven’t called for me, and I haven’t seen you.”

"Like that would make you stay away." Ryou said scoffing. In his mind, nothing would stop the avatar from stalking him unmercifully. At school, at home, in the mall's window's...

"I can't see you on my own anymore... not there... not in 'The World.'"

"What are you talking about?" Ryou asked, a little confused.

"This power... it would once again awaken Cubia, so I used that power to come here instead."

/Finally./ Ryou thought to himself. Though he was expecting something more harsh and unforgiving, the way the avatar danced around the issue so much. Why was it that he had kept silent for so long? Why such worry and avoidance about it? It seemed he was about to get answer to that.

"Didn't you miss me? Don’t I matter at all to you?" Skeith asked harshly and demandingly, fisting the table once again with a balled, tightened hand, a trickle of blood coming from it as the avatars sharp long nails dug into his palm.

"That’s not it... its just... I..." Ryou fumbled for words at the angry outburst that sounded more like a relationship breakup between lovers.

"Because I am only computerized data?" Skeith said frowning slightly, his mouth almost turning down into a pout. He didn’t even seem to know or care about the bleeding.

"Skeith..." Ryou said, watching the hands on the table shake, the blood now pooling onto it.

"You’re supposed to be mine, forever, Ryou." Skeith cried, his mouth slightly quivering much like his hands, the eyes misting over with unshed tears.

He wasn’t sure what to do, and seeing such a reaction from Skeith frightened him, giving him an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach.

The avatar was mostly right in what he had said. It was certainly true that he, at first, viewed him as nothing more than lines of data, a coded, scripted AI and a power to abuse, and then realizing later on about how he, the avatar inside his character, was more than just a 'stupid npc'. That it had thoughts and feelings of his own, and after all was said and done and The World had been saved and the avatars disappeared, he gave it no further thought. No thought to the feelings of the other, whom he had so closely felt and shared many things... but only in the game, and now the figure was here... here before him crying, crying of all things!

Sliding over he pulled the figure toward him, putting a hand on the black hued shoulder in comfort. Skeith lowered his head to rest on Ryou's shoulder.

The avatar noticed the wet spot widening on the boys shirt and how wet his face felt. "I don’t understand. Why...is my face so wet?"

"You don't know what crying is?" Ryou asked a bit surprised.

"Is that what this is?" Skeith asked, totally oblivious to the concept of tears and crying, being that he had never had such an emotion before.

"I... didn’t know you felt that way." Ryou said still at a loss. He wasn’t really good at this kind of thing.

"It hurts... this stabbing, painful feeling... right here." Skeith said. He pulled back from the boy and placed a hand on the dull red mark on his neckline, the area where his core could almost be seen, and easily felt.

Ryou reached up and put his hand on it. He could feel a slight tremble in it.

Holy crap! Skeith was actually emotionally hurt. He could hardly believe it and he lifted a finger up to wipe away at the wetness staining the pale face. "I’m sorry." Ryou didn’t know what to say other than to apologize.

Skeith reached up and placed his hand over Ryou's heart, feeling the loud beating of it, then withdrew his hand. "This is goodbye."

"What?"

"I don’t belong here in the first place, and I’m not exactly needed in either."

"So... what? You’re just going to go back!? You can’t just decide that right here and now!"

"It’s obvious you don’t want or need me here, and you can’t play 'The World' without me in the game either."

"Skeith..."

"I didn’t want to go back to sleep... but... I guess I can’t avoid my fate after all. That’s why I ran off and came here. I didn’t want to be in that lonely slumber, I feared being sent there again.” Skeith began, laughing toward the end of it as if he had just made a great fool of himself.

Ryou frowned. Sure the avatar was an annoying, barbaric nuisance but he had started to get used to him being around.

“Since we are merged together its not as if I can’t talk to you ever again.” Skeith said, still slightly laughing as he wiped the left over liquid off his face, drying it.

"...And what of Azure Kite?" Ryou questioned, looking over at the figure. He had his head lowered, hair covering his face as if he were hiding from him.

"He wasn’t meant to stay either; he'll go back and protect The World, of course."

Ryou sighed heavily.

"It’s not like you needed me once my job was done." Skeith chuckled again. "...Besides, I know you're not alone."

Ryou raised a brow, but said nothing.

"You have plenty of friends to keep you company.”

"What about Magus?" Ryou asked as if the other’s presence in this world would convince him otherwise.

"That's up to his user. Since him being here would use up Kuhn's life force. Why do you think you've been so tired lately?"

So... that’s how it was. No wonder he had been sleeping so damn much and ending up exhausted half way though the day for no good reason.

"It’s why I wanted to do something special with you, for our last day together."

"Were you ever planning to tell me?"

"No."

"Why the hell not!? You were planning to just disappear without a word!?" Ryou cried, this time it was his turn to bang his hand on the table.

"Because... it hurts me..." Skeith said, rubbing the red spot. It brightened then faded, only to brighten again, as if it were an actual heart, the fading timed with the beating of one.

"Skeith."

"I wanted to experience what this so called 'happiness' was before I was sent into stasis. Or what Aura calls 'a memory'."

"She's also the one who allowed me to come here, to experience things for myself." Kite said, finally speaking up. His silence was mostly due to a similar stabbing pain though its location was different then the avatars.

After several moments of silence Ryou stood up. "I suppose we should go before it gets too late then."

"Thank you." Skeith said, grinning in that oh so familiar way of his. It would be the first and last time he’d ever hear those words from his avatar.

And... also... it would be the last time he would see or hear from the horned avatar. That is until The World was once again in danger and need the assistance of the Children of Morganna.

- The End

A/N: Sorry its been so long for the update. Originally it was supposed to be a couple more chapters longer, but I had to cut it short, and then I accidentally deleted it off my flash drive and had to write it ALLL OVER again. thus why such a long delay. Im sorry for those of you who wanted more chapters with other avatars. Hopefully it still turns out as a good ending and all. I want to thank everyone for reading this and I hope you all enjoyed it.