Subaru

"There is a path in the direction you desire - I'm sure."

- Subaru

Subaru (昴, Subaru) is a Heavy Axeman that appears in .hack//SIGN as the leader of the Crimson Knights.

Appearance
Subaru is a petite, blue-haired woman who wears a light blue dress. She has small, feathery wings that sprout out of her back, and has a red wave tattoo on her forehead. She possesses a regal-looking axe, but rarely uses it in combat, preferring to hold it as a type of scepter. In the episode Recollection, when she reminisces the early days of the Crimson Knights, she is shown to have a pink dress.

Personality
Subaru is soft spoken, but has a very determined personality. As the leader of the Crimson Knights, she is frequently called upon to settle disputes both inside and outside of the guild. Though she is aware of the power she wields, she is fiercely dedicated to her position and refuses to let such power change the way she acts. Subaru is very protective of The World's players, and does her best to make The World a place that everybody can enjoy. Her strongest supporters are Silver Knight and Crim.

Basic Info
Subaru's player is a paraplegic student named Mariko Misono (御園真理子). Her disability was caused by a car accident four years prior. She enjoys The World because she can do things there that she can't do in real life, like walking and running.

After the events of .hack//SIGN, Mariko began a romantic relationship with An Shoji and became friends with Mimiru's player offline.

.hack//SIGN
As the leader of the Crimson Knights Subaru took an interest in Tsukasa, who she believed was an illegal player. Wanting to talk with Tsukasa one on one she pulled in a few favors with a system administrator (revealed in AI buster 2 to be Kamui) and got permission to use the Knights to capture Tsukasa. With the help of Crim the plan went off smoothly, and Tsukasa was delivered to her. Though her conversation with him was brief, as Sora and Mimiru soon arrived to rescue him; she was intrigued by the strange player, and swore to find out more about him.

This goal would prove difficult as her second in command, Silver Knight, believed that somebody with her status should have nothing to do with a character like Tsukasa. Working behind the scenes he foiled every attempt Subaru made to meet with Tsukasa. When she became aware of this Subaru confronted him and realized how far the Knights had fallen since she'd founded it. Despite the protests of Silver Knight Subaru decided to disband the Guild for good.

With her new found freedom Subaru succeeded in making contact with Tsukasa. The two began seeing more and more of each other and became really close. Eventually Subaru joined up with Bear and Mimiru, hoping that they could find a way to help Tsukasa log out of the game. Their search led them to Helba, and with her aid Tsukasa, Subaru, and Mimiru came into direct contact with both Morganna and Aura. With Subaru as his strength Tsukasa was able to find the courage to defy Morganna, and was able to successfully awaken Aura. Now able to log out, Tsukasa was finally able to meet with Subaru in the real world.

.hack//ZERO
After reading a cryptic post by Carl on the BBS, in which Carl mentioned "Aura", "the cathedral", and "Basho's apprentice", Subaru decided to enter The World and see what was going on for herself. She met with Carl at Fort Ouph. Subaru told her that Aura was not the bad person Carl thought, but merely a baby who did not know her own strength, and that she believed Aura had chosen Carl as her next guardian. Carl did not appreciate hearing any of what Subaru told her and broke off the meeting early, leaving both of them dissatisfied.

.hack//Games
The real Subaru doesn't make an appearance in the Games herself. Though, in Quarantine, a post on the BBS is made by a player wanting to meet Subaru at Ω Obedient Someone's Knights. Obviously she does not show up, but Crim appears hoping to see her again. When he finds out she didn't come, he gives Kite Crim's Spear and then leaves. At the end of Quarantine, a compilation of Subaru's data fragments is formed by Helba to create a working Subaru AI and gives the AI to Kite.

.hack//Unison
Subaru travels to a bar in Carmina Gadelica where she meets up with BlackRose, Mimiru, BT, and Tsukasa. After a brief chat with them and the appearance of several other characters, they travel to Net Slum to join a party hosted by Helba. At the party Subaru dances with Tsukasa, and catches a brief glimpse of Aura looking down from the sky.

.hack//GIFT
Subaru is seen with Crim and Silver Knight for most of this episode. Because of Silver Knight's perverted comments, she beats him up several times. Later on, she meets BT and enters a battle of wits against her. It is unknown how it ends. At the final moments of the episode, Subaru is being peeked on at the hot springs by Silver Knight and several others.

.hack//Legend of the Twilight
Subaru has a brief cameo in the manga.

.hack//G.U. Returner
Subaru is briefly seen on a balloon Silver Knight is admiring at Δ Hidden Forbidden Festival.

.hack//LINK: Twilight Knights

 * See Subaru (LINK)

Trivia

 * Subaru's Japanese voice actress, Kaori Nazuka, also does the voices of Terajima Ryoko and Shino.
 * Subaru is the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster.
 * The AI Subaru will refuse to follow Kite to Ω Obedient Someone's Knights, unless he has already been there and met Crim at the Gott Statue, stating, "you don't need to pay attention to a player talking to himself."
 * AI Subaru's weapon is called Fate Encounter, a rare level 99 Heavy Axe weapon.
 * Although Helba is the only character to hover while moving, AI Subaru, like Terajima Ryoko, can float momentarily while using a recovery spell, revealing that her wings are somewhat functional.
 * Sign also reveals the wings are attached to her character's back directly, not her clothes.
 * The Shopkeeper from .hack//LINK: Twilight Knights possesses a picture of Subaru and the Crimson Knights in his collection.
 * A PC strongly resembling Subaru is seen briefly in the .hack//Roots episode Discord. Whether or not she is related in any way to the original is unknown.