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.hack//HUNTER\
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By |K (U |R /A

~*~

"Oh shit." Killua muttered under his breath, quickly taking off his headset, which phones were blaring out loud static directly to his keen ears. For the past three days he has been here, working on some firewalls that restricted his access to his files and the internet. His father has warned him that if he beats Milluki up again within the next month, he'll be in BIG trouble, and that's the reason his brother messed around with his laptop, to piss him off while he can't fight back.

He bit down on his lower lip to keep himself from shouting out his frustration and reset his computer again. He changed the last CD with a new one and put the visor back on just when instructions started appearing.

New Data Input� . Please enter filename/s� .

C:\>_

He yawned, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his arms over and behind his head before letting his fingers linger over the keys. He wondered if this would really work...but what the heck? It was worth a try. Let's see. This would be his...two hundred and fourth 'creation'?

C:>\KILZAOL204_

Confirming� . confirmed� .

So the computer accepted the file, but would it do the job?

Virus scan starting in 5 seconds� . 4� . 3� .

Killua pressed on the Cancel button hastily. No way. Unlike in other computers and servers, his viruses can't get past the Zaoldyeck virus scan. There's just something in the program Milluki has made up that prohibited all sorts of viruses from penetrating the system...what that was, Killua has yet to discover, but right now, all of his three hundred viruses are susceptible to it.

Virus scan canceled� . Copying Files to Mother Frame� .

The young hacker's eyes narrowed inside the headset, taking in all the numbers and reports streaming in front of him.

89� . 93� . 94� . 96� . 99� . 100� . Copy complete� . Open File?

Killua pressed the enter key so hard that his keyboard almost fell off the edge of his desk. He groped around and managed to right it before it did, his eyes never leaving, nor can leave as long as the headset is on, the computer's outputs.

Opening File KILZAOL204� . Size: psssssttt� .

He took off the headset and glared at it. He has always hated static and the pain to his ears it brought. After waiting a few more seconds, he raised the visor and put it back on, two fingers on one hand crossing each other.

Firewalls down� . Password system abolished� . WARNING: Computer accessed by unknown user� .

Killua's eyes took in the sentence glinting bluish green above and ignored it, he can delete the message tomorrow. Smiling, he made a quick check of all his files, shut down the computer, its clock registering 0234 hours last, and went to bed.

He lay there silently, staring up at the ceiling, a small smile coming to his lips in the dark. He has done it. Tomorrow he will be able to access his files again and get online to the internet. Then, he can enter...The World...

~*~

At that very same time, somewhere in another part of the real world where it is early twilight, a blond young man was in front of his computer as well, a visor on his head and hands poised above the keyboard.

He went online and was asked to log in.

USERNAME:_

He typed it, his member ID, the identity everyone he has met in the game 'The World' knows him to be. Of course, his PC (Player Character) doesn't look all that alike to him, nor does it act anything resembling his true nature, and practically no one online knows, or have any guesses close to who he really is IRL (In Real Life)

KURAMA_

Below his username he entered his password. A sad sort of look took over his face inside the headset, but that didn't matter any. In The World, you must forget who you really are. In here, you are what you have made your PC like.

But still...the reason he plays in this game has yet a connection with the happenings in his real life, his true past. He must not completely turn into his PC, he has to be strong and maintain the fine line between fun and duty...he can't forget his quest here in The World as well as out out of it, IRL.

*~*~*

Standard Diclaimers Applied. I don't own neither YYH, HXH, nor the .hack series. The concepts, terms, and such of the game, I have read from another fan fic as well as have searched online. I deny ownership of them all! ^_^

If you haven't guessed it by now, IRL characters are the Gon-gumi, while their counterparts in the Yusuke-gumi are their PCs. That's only for the Hunters and Reikai Tantei though, I don't know who will be the matches among the other characters.

Oh yeah, Killua here is really a hacker. I wasn't kidding any. I included that event so that it'll be evident that in my story, he's a small young boy capable of making viruses and some of the said viruses can hack into other people's files, accounts, member ID's, etc...now don't think it's a bit odd or bad. In the series, there were a lot of hackers before The World was relased that they actually had to make this group called WNC (World Network Council) to monitor activities online.

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>>.hack//HUNTER>>
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|K (U |R /A

Gon Freecs woke up and grinned as his eyes settled on his most prized possession - his computer. Remembering that it waas Saturday today and there would be no classes, the grin got wider and he threw off the blankets carelessly on the floor. He was wearing his headset and was just about to turn on the computer when his aunt's voice echoed down the hall.

"Gon, I know what you're doing there. It's too early. Come down and have breakfast first."

The little kid sighed, took off the visor, and placed it down carefully next to his small pile of CDs. He stared at it for a while then turned around and walked towards the door. Oh well, it was his second most favorite thing to do anyway. Might as well eat first or else he won't have the strenght to fight in The World.

~*~

Leorio or, as he is known in The World, Kenshi (Blade User) Kuwabara hummed softly under his breath, eyes fixed in the scenery in front of him, which was bare brown rocky ground stretching as far as his PC's vision covers. He yawned and threw his sword into the air, allowing it to turn in a full circle before catching the handle easily. Behind him, a Juumontsukai (Wavemaster) came out of the forests but he didn't notice.

"Why did you call me here, Kuwabara?" the newcomer growled at him, glaring at the back of his head.

Kuwabara's lips turned into a frown and he wheeled around slowly to face his companion. "Why so tense today, Kurama?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in concern. It wasn't usual for the normally calm and good-natured redhead to be so harsh. Sometimes he even wondered if it was his true nature...in the real world, that is. He sometimes catches him so lost in thoughts and so sad...so detached when he's not with his party.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Kuwabara," Kurama replied quickly, smiling that sweet, polite smile of his. His expression changed so quickly that Kuwabara would have pursued the subject of his attitude longer had not those eyes suddenly flash something...real, warning him not to comment.

"Ah, well, it's okay," he reassured his friend, fully convinced that something was bothering the other.

"Really. I...well, I have a terrible headache IRL right now so I'm sort of out of sorts," Kurama offered an excuse, which Kuwabara didn't believe but he nodded his head anyway.

"Sort of out of sorts?" Kuwabara echoed, laughing.

"Yeah," the other muttered, offering his smile again. He un-equipped his staff then sat down beside the slightly taller man. "So why did you leave a message in town for me to come here?"

Kuwabara responded with a frown. "As usual, you haven't checked your mails."

Kurama shrugged. "I...just can't be bothered. Anyway, my mails are probably hacked by now...you haven't sent me any serious info, have you?" he asked seriously.

"Err...no," Kuwabara replied dumbly. "I just wrote in it that I have some new news." and that was what he has said too.

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"So what's up?" he asked flippantly, tossing his magnificent red mane behind his shoulder.

"Well...hey, have you seen Yusuke yet?"

"Uh, no," Kurama replied, thinking of their other and youngest party member, Yusuke. As far as he knows, the little kid lives in a place called Whale Island with his aunt and that his real name is 'Gon'...not that it matters any in The World. "So what were you going to tell me?" he prompted again.

"Yeah, I forgot," Leorio continued, missing the question shot at him. "Time Difference. Must be early morning at Yusuke's now...you waiting for him? Or have you got a job IRL today or something? I'm gonna be here for the day..."

"Guess...I'll hang around," Kurama agreed to stay. It seems Kuwabara suddenly had second thoughts of disclosing the 'new news'. Oh well, he'll find out soon enough. Probably just a new dungeon he discovered or a keyword system. He'll talk later when Yusuke's here... "What now?"

"Wanna go to Beginner's Tavern?" Leorio asked, referring to the little pub at the town that served as the starting point for newbies to the game. Their whole party often comes to Beginner's Tavern to either hang around, get info, wait for each other or meet newbies that they can offer help in leveling up to when they're bored.

"Sure," Kurama agreed and stood up, making his way to the nearest town where he can take the Chaos Gate to Beginner's Town, Kuwabara right behind him.

~*~

Mito sighed as she entered the room of her nephew. Gon was in front of his computer, visor on, his hands on the keyboard. She glanced around the room and saw that the bed wasn't made yet. She sighed again, stooped down and picked up the fallen blanket.

"Gon." she called.

She wasn't heard of course.

It wasn't that she disapproved of the game or anything like that, it is, after all, a mean by which Gon can make friends that are actually "human", but still...

"Gon, be careful." she said softly and stalked out of the room.

~*~

As soon as Killua got back to his room from breakfast, he turned on the computer and put on the visor simultaneously. He waited until his computer could connect to the internet, then proceeded downloading the game "The World" right away.

DOWNLOAD COMPLETE

He quickly brought up the log-in screen and made an account. Soon, he was logging into the game.

USERNAME: HIEI_

He typed his password and all other thoughts about the real world disappeared as he entered The World.

~*~

Standard Disclaimers Applied. The .hack series, the Hunter X Hunter series, the Yuu Yuu Hakusho sereies and all these animes' elements do not belong to me. They are the propriety of their makers, producers, etc.

A/N: So our characters are all logged in now. I was planning to make this a short fic, maybe 9 or 10 chpaters at most, but by the looks of it...I can't I'm already in the second chapter and they haven't even met yet.

About Kurapika's PC, he's in the ningen form, Shuichi Minamino. I don't know how in the world I will make Youku Kurama appear but I'll find a way.

C:>\.hack//HUNTER_

|K (U |R /A

Gon scanned his list of new mails impatiently, his hands almost shaking in anticipation. Junk, junk, junk...most of them were random junk mails. His eyes suddenly stopped and rested at one marked: 'Yusuke', which was sent by a player named 'Kurama'. Grinning, he opened the mail and read its contents.

Yusuke.

Me and Kuwabara will wait for you at Beginner's Tavern. Hurry. I want to go to this field I heard of yesterday and Kuwabara says he has some news to share to us as well.

Kurama.

Gon's smile grew wider and he quickly closed his inbox and logged into The World.

~*~

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" growled the person Hiei accidentally bumped into. His earlier thoughts of being 'normal and pleasant' in The World passed through his mind for a fleeting moment, and he was thinking of apologizing to the man when a vision of what his PC looks like returned to him. Now he wouldn't want those fiery red eyes go to waste...

Hiei glared at the man who instinctively backed off. He smirked when the guy hurried away, finding it funny that a player who has a higher level than he can be scared that easily.

"Yes, I already mailed him. I told Yusuke to meet us at the tavern."

A deep male voice caught his attention, and he wheeled around to see from whom it had come. Behind him was a multitude of PCs, but he quickly recognized the owner of the voice as the redhead standing a few feet away from him.

"I hope he comes soon!" exclaimed the carrot-topped guy with him. Hiei tried not to snicker, the guy looked utterly ridiculous in his opinion.

"Don't worry, Kuwabara. Let's go."

Hiei made his mind up. He knows his brother in the real world, Illumi, plays this game too. Maybe he's this redhead. He'll now have his little sweet revenge�

He was eyeing the two, and saw them enter what looked like a pub. Something clicked. Ah yes, the Beginner's Tavern. That was his destination as well.

"Ugh!" Someone or something crashed into him from behind.

~*~

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Yusuke muttered, extending a hand towards the other boy to help him up. The person slapped it away and stood up quickly, scowling at him. "I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Hn." Yusuke stared as the short black-haired boy walked away, and entered the Beginner's Tavern.

Not wanting to infuriate the guy by meeting him again, he quickly sent e-mail to Kuwabara saying that he'll meet them in the forests instead and run out of the town towards the east.

~*~

"Great!" the little girl said gleefully, her black eyes glinting inside her visor.

USERNAME: YUKINA_

PASSWORD: *******

|Welcome to The World. Choose your destination.|

Caruto sighed as she saw that her only choice for now was Beginner's Town since she was a newbie to the game. Oh well. She raised a hand and pressed upon it.

A flash of light and she found herself at the Chaos Gate of Beginner's Town.

~*~

"Thanks," Kurama said, smiling at the waitress. Of course she was only computer-generated and so responded as programmed: smiling, bowing and walking away. The emerald-eyed teenager shrugged and sipped his tea. It didn't taste like anything, but it did however slowly restore his SP.

"Hmm�not many newbies today, huh, Kurama?" Kuwabara asked from across him.

Kurama looked around, scanning the room. He sort of nodded to a group of people who recognized him and waved at him before fixing his eyes on his companion. "It is a weekday in about half of the real world, you know," he replied and then gave a short laugh. "And the fact that those who care to bother playing are players already explains it quite well too."

"Guess so," Kuwabara muttered, looking over the door as someone walked in. His eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out who it was. Obviously it wasn't Yusuke though. The guy was shorter, a white starburst in the middle of his black mop of a hair which was the same color of his clothes. By the looks of it, he's a new player.

"Kuwabara," Kurama called him, trying to get his attention.

"Huh?" He asked, looking at him. Then he whispered, "Newbie. Looks dangerous, be careful."

"What are you talking about?" Kurama asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think he's a PK[1]."

"Right," Kurama replied semi-sarcastically, raking a hand halfway through his crimson hair.

"I'm serious."

"Well even if he is, he's still new, isn't he?" Kurama pointed out. "He wouldn't dare go against higher-level players like us."

Kuwabara shrugged his shoulders, watching intently as the newcomer approached their table slowly. "He's coming."

The boy stopped in front of them. Kuwabara eyed him warily, equipping his sword beneath the table, while Kurama crossed his pale arms on top of his chest and looked at him with mild interest. Suddenly, the boy drew his sword and aimed it at Kurama, the tip halting a few centimeters from the flesh of his throat.

"Let's take this outside," he growled.

~*~

Standard Disclaimers Applied...you-know-what-that-means!

A/N: I guess this part was a bit weird? Well, if you know how Hiei and Kurama met in YYH, it won't be as confusing. But for the sake of those who doesn't, let me narrate: Hiei's journey of finding his sister, Yukina, brings him to Ningenkai where Kurama was but a young high school boy. Mistaking Kurama as another different evil youko, Hiei fights him. I know, I know, the reason in this fic is different but I forgot to let Caruto play The World in the previous chapters. Oh well. The main thing is, Hiei and Kurama gets to fight each other at the beginning.

PK or Player Killer - one who kills PCs or other players for the heck of it.

Loading...

Logging in...

| WELCOME TO .hack//HUNTER |

"I said 'let's take this outside'" Hiei repeated impatiently, scowling at the two of them. "And don't take your idiot of a FRIEND along with you," he added, glaring at Kuwabara.

"Why you-?!" Kuwabara started, on the verge of striking the arrogant black- haired player with his sword but stilling himself for the other's blade is pointed at his friend's throat. He lowered his hand while the egotistical laughed at him.

"Hn," Hiei grunted, glowering at the taller PC and pushing the tip of his sword closer to Kurama's neck with one hand while the other on his hips. He wore a mock smile.

"All right. I'm coming with you, just wait," Kurama said calmly, eyeing him peacefully and finishing his tea. After which, he turned to his friend and smiled assuredly at him. "Kuwabara, please unequip your weapon. We are, after all, in a tavern. I'll meet up with you and Yusuke later, okay?"

"Fine," Kuwabara agreed reluctantly as he unequipped his sword and sat back down. At this, Hiei smirked and lowered his hand, disarming himself as well.

"See you later," Kurama mumbled to Kuwabara, following the black-haired PC as the boy made his way out of the tavern.

~*~

"Where could they be?" Yusuke asked no one in particular, tapping his feet impatiently on the grassy ground. Sounds for that particular field kept on playing over and over again in the background, boring Yusuke almost to death.

"Sure, The World's fantastic," he prattled, just to help pass the time. "The sounds, gameplay, graphics, everything, but you must admit it's a bit monotonous...when you're not doing anything that is! It looks oh so cool when you're in adventure, but totally dull when you're at a stand still!"

"Dull...but then again, the system would probably go haywire if it'll have to have infinite number of background music for every field," he continued on talking nonsense...

~*~

"Where now?" Kurama asked the shorter male, checking him out at the same time. He really looked like a newbie, and if one would judge his level by his appearance, one would say that he's a low-level player. For one thing, his weapon and armor is the most basic of all and is probably the initial accessories of his character which means to say that he hasn't been playing long enough to get enough money to buy new ones.

"To the forest," Hiei grunted, his eyes still narrowed on him. Killua is totally convinced that this PC with him is Milluki's. IRL, his brother's a total wimp compared to him, but what about in The World? After all, Milluki has been playing longer...and an expert at games. Kurama is sure to be more skilled than his PC, Hiei.

'Maybe I can hack into Milluki's account and copy Kurama's status?'

He made a mental note to do that after logging off and shifted his attention back to the redhead.

"You...you haven't yet told me your name," Kurama dared say, choosing to ignore the fending expression the other wore. He wondered who this stranger is IRL though. He has presumed him as a kid, but why the hostility?

"Hn. This will be the first and last we see of each other in The World. It will not matter to you if I say my character's name so why bother?" Hiei replied, while trying to figure out how will he be able to beat this stronger PC.

"Huh? Maybe," Kurama muttered, only half-agreeing.

'I'm sure we'll meet again.'

"Hiei? You have had not yet any training, have you?" he asked, making the other stop in the middle of the walkway.

Hiei turned to him angrily and glared at him Kurama just looked back, undisturbed. "Well, what if I am?"

"Then you will find it hard to win against me," Kurama replied, throwing his red locks over his shoulder. "I will meet you in the center of the forest. If you survive in the way, I will fight you. Though I doubt it of such a weak PC as yours."

'The creatures in the Beginner's Forest aren't too hard to beat, but this will serve as a good training field for him.'

"Til then," Kurama said, waving a hand and rushing towards the heart of the woods.

Hiei glared towards the direction he ran off to, taking the redhead's words as an insult. Making his mind up, he rushed towards the trees as well.

~*~

"Where can Yusuke be?" Kuwabara wondered out loud, drumming his fingers upon the tabletop nervously. "He must have already logged in hours ago..."

"Kuwabara!"

He turned around to see who had called him. He groaned when he recognized the voice, it was Shizuru, his so-called self-appointed sister in The World.

"Hi, sis," he greeted her, as she sat down next to him. "Been drinking?"

"Nah," she answered, lighting up.

"I really don't get how you do that, you know," Kuwabara said, pointing at her cigarette. "I mean, what do you do? Do you really light up IRL? Cause far as I know, the people there haven't yet come up with a visor you can smoke in."

"Of course not," Shizuru replied, idly puffing smoke into the artificial air. of course no one minded since they couldn't exactly smell it. "I buy it at a certain shop I found hidden in one of the fields."

"So you're actually telling me that you spend all the money that you win fighting on just those?" he asked.

"Yes...that's practically all I do here in The World. Fight, get some loot and buy these stuff," Shizuru answered, shrugging her shoulders. "And of course looking after my dearest brother who always gets into trouble."

"I do not always get into trouble," Kuwabara answered defiantly, but Shizuru just laughed.

"You're so easy to tease today. There's something wrong, isn't there? What's my little brother's problem now?"

"Nothing," Kuwabara quickly replied, already pissed off. "Except that Kurama just left with some newbie PC and Yusuke still hasn't come."

"Ooh, a new PC, huh?" Shizuru asked, ignoring the latter part of the statement. "Was she cute? I bet she's really pretty and she dumped you for the handsome Kurama, huh? And now you're pissed off cause he got her instead of you!"

Kuwabara sighed and glared at her. "For one thing, I don't think Kurama has had given any attention to women both here and IRL yet. And for another, the newbie was a guy, alright? He had the nerve to aim his sword on Kurama...and challenge him to a fight. I could have cut his throat in less than a second but Kurama acted the all-too-calm he is and stopped me."

"You're not serious? A newbie challenging Kurama?" Shizuru asked, her question ending with a little laugh. "Poor guy, whoever he was. Not even high-level players can beat him."

"Yeah."

"So what else..? Ah, Yusuke's not yet here? Are you sure you're supposed to meet up with him in here?"

"I'm sure," Kuwabara answered. "Kurama was with me when he mailed him."

"Oh. Well, why don't you just mail him again? Unlike Kurama, Yusuke often checks his mails and replies to them too," Shizuku pointed out.

"Yeah, maybe I'll do that," Kuwabara agreed, almost hitting himself for not thinking of it earlier.

"Do that," Shizuku said, getting up from her seat. "I have to go, Kuwabara. see you sometime again."

"Yeah, bye and thanks, Shizuru."

~*~

Standard Disclaimers Applied. *la la la*

A/N: A bit longer than the last one, I guess. I'm getting myself into a fix with the other chracters. I totally screwed up when I made Caruto Yukina. I mean, if I'm to follow the YYH pairing...Leorio X Caruto? *barf* And I wonder who Shizuru is in HxH? Any suggestions? Oh well. Anyways, I've got the next chapter planned out, just no time to type it out.