A/N: I know. I know. Valentine's day was looooong over... or was I too advanced? But, I can't help it. I really want to make a fanfic about these two since there aren't much stories about them and this what came up. Well, I still hope you'll enjoy it. Hugs~!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Megaman NT or its characters.

WARNING:

° This is a Chaud(Enzan)xIris fanfic with a hint of Lan(Netto)xMaylu(Meiru) and a one-sided Lan(Netto)xIris. If you're offended by these pairings for some reason, feel free to click the 'back' button.

° Probable OOC-ness and inaccuracies since I haven't really seen all of the episodes.

° Lots of wrong spelling and wrong grammars. So, read at your own risk.

EDITED (01-20-2019): I just realized that Iris only attended once in Lan's class so this fanfic is not possible. Lol. Oh, well. This could be treated as a semi-AU wherein Iris stayed for a few weeks in their school.

Chocalates

(One-shot)

Valentine's Day.

It's been weeks since Iris arrived in the Human World and yet, she still couldn't seem to fully adjust in her new environment. Well, it couldn't be helped that the culture and norms of these people were far more different and complicated than the beliefs of her people (and NetNavis, for that matter) back home. Still, she needed to get accustomed to them, to blend in until she'll be able to find the Synchronizer. And so far, she felt she's doing a good job since no one was being suspicious of her identity yet (except maybe for that black-and-white-haired NetSaver, but that's another story). Right then, she must be extra cautious with her actions and be subtle on her mission, or else she'll fail, and that was something she would definitely avoid at all cost.

Which brought her back to her current situation wherein, as much as possible, she was trying to blend in on whatever special events these humans had. And based on her careful observations, one of them had fallen today on the 14th day of February. The Valentine's Day.

Now, Iris didn't have any idea what's so important that day. She didn't even have any clue on who Valentine was and what was his contribution to mankind that these people had commemorated a day just for him, but one thing was for certain. Everyone seemed to be looking forward on whatever big will happen that day. And it definitely involved...

"Chocalates?"

"Yep! That's we're making on Home Economics today. Haven't you tried making one?" Maylu Sakurai asked curiously, as she put on a clean white apron and tied it behind her back.

The female navi just shook her head as she also kept her long brown hair in a bun. She hadn't heard of the word 'chocolate' before, let alone made one. It wasn't like she and her fellow citizens in Beyondard had the leisure time to make chocolates or any kind of sweets either, considering how they had to survive the constant war everyday in her world. Chocolate was definitely out of the picture for them.

"Really? Doesn't your former school taught you that?"

Again, she merely shook her head.

"Well, it's a good thing you're studying here now. You sure miss a lot of things being a teenager in your previous school." The female NetOp winked. "Come on! This will be fun."

The brunette simply shrugged in response as they prepared for their ingredients. A part of her was still trying to make sense what the red-haired had just said though.

Valentine's Day.

It's been months since Chaud decided to open up to other people and yet, he was still struggling to do so from time to time. Well, it couldn't be helped that most of his life, he never trusted anyone but himself (and Protoman, of course), not even his own father. Still, he was trying to improve and get himself involved with his friends, even if he was constantly busy being the vice president of BlazeQuest, a NetSaver and all. It also didn't help the fact that he was more advanced to them in terms of education (being the prodigy he was, not that he was bragging or anything). So, obviously, he didn't really see them often.

Which brought him back to his current situation wherein, he was going to visit Lan and the others in their school to catch up. But then he stopped on his tracks when he saw many glittering hearts and red balloons scattered everywhere around the campus, and realized that today might not be a good idea to hang out with them. Because it just dawned on him that today is the 14th day of February. The Valentine's Day.

Now, Chaud didn't want anything to do with the said date. In fact, if had given the opportunity to erase that day, he would do so in a heartbeat. But, unfortunately for him, he couldn't. So, he was stuck with it for as long as he lives. It's not like he was always been like this though. February 14 used to be an ordinary day for him. But, it all changed because of...

Chocalates.

Okay, you might be thinking that disliking a simple holiday just because of some sweets was a bit too extreme. But, then again when you've been chased around by hundreds of crazy fangirls (and even fanboys) every year just so they can give you their home-baked chocolates, you will definitely think otherwise. He didn't even like sweets, for pete's sake!

So, basically, leaving now before anyone can see him was the only logical option left for him. He was already prepared to leave that place when he heard someone screaming his name.

"OH MY GOSH! IT'S CHAUD BLAZE~!" Damn it! He cursed inwardly.

Before he knew it, he was already running for his life. Literally. A part of him was still wondering how the heck did he forgot to check the date before he left this afternoon though.

Liking someone.

Now, that's another bizarre thing Iris didn't know. For as long as she remembered, she never really felt any special "liking" to someone opposite to her. Sure, she cared for a lot of people and navis, like the Synchronizer, for example. Still, that didn't count though. Because he's a family to her, and so was everybody else back home.

It's not like there weren't any attractive guys in her world either, as someone in her class would put it. In her opinion, it just didn't seemed important to her before or even now, frankly speaking. Because again, (a friendly reminder that) they were currently in a dangerous war and having such trivial matter would only make her life more complicated. So, you will understand that it was something she never really thought to herself.

So, when the girls asked to whom her chocolates will be, she had no idea. They, on the other hand, seemed to have already decided whom to give theirs though. Majority of the female population (including Yai Ayano) had already set their eyes on Chaud Blaze, and the rest with someone else. However, When the brunette asked Sakurai hers though, she just smiled and said, "It's a secret."

Iris then began to get worried. She felt that if she won't be able to look for someone to give her chocolates soon, everyone will be suspicious of her and it will blow her cover!

"You know, you don't really have to give it to a boy just like everyone else." Sakurai said as she sat beside her on a bench outside the building.

She looked at her cluelessly after staring and fidgeting with the plastic wrapper that contained her chocolates.

"Well, it's not really a requirement." The red-haired laughed as she explained. "Those girls just kinda go overboard most of the time when it comes to these things. But, to be honest, you can just give your chocolates to your friends, if you really don't have someone you like at the moment."

"Is that what you're also going to do?"

"Well," she said sheepishly. "Maybe."

"More like she's giving it to a special friend," Roll suddenly butted in in their conversation, which made her operator suddenly blushed furiously.

"Shut up, Roll!" Then she immediately turned off her PET.

The female NetNavi couldn't helped but smile. She also wondered if she had someone special to her, she'll also feel the same as Sakurai right then.

"Anyways," The red-haired suddenly stood up, "I have to go. I still need to look for that idiot."

Iris tilted her head in confusion. She didn't really know whom the female NetOp was referring to but nonetheless nodded.

"I hope you already made up your mind, Iris. See you around!" she waved at her as she left.

Liking Someone.

Now, that's something Chaud will never understood. For as long as he remembered, he didn't get it why people would do crazy things just for someone they like. It's ridiculous and, not to mention, scary even, especially when they went too far just like what his rabid fans were doing to him at the moment. Seriously, why couldn't they just leave him alone.

It's not like he didn't appreciate their effort either. In fact, if he were to be really honest, he's actually quite surprised-flattered even-that they would still admire someone who was never kind to anyone in the first place. Someone like him... But then again, it's a different story if they only like him for his talents or looks. Tch! Whatever. That didn't really concerned him right then. What's important was that he could escape them as soon as possible.

"Are you okay, Master?" Protoman asked worriedly to his operator after running and avoiding those people chasing him for the last 30 minutes. They were hiding inside the janitor's closet near the boy's locker area and no one had found him yet.

Well, so far.

He sighed as he sat down and leaned on the wall. "I'm fine." Then chuckled a little. "You know, I've been through worse than this."

His NetNavi also sighed.

"Guess we're stuck here for who knows how long." The NetSaver groaned as he closed his eyes.

Suddenly, he heard someone coming. He immediately put his PET back in his pocket and moved closer to the closet's door.

"Did you already received chocolates from the girls' Home Economics class?" a guy whom Chaud wasn't familiar with said as the former opened his locker.

"Yep! Three girls handed me theirs during lunch," another one bragged.

The male operator rolled his eyes at the guy's statement. He couldn't believe that there were still idiots who would brag sweets as if it's some kind of a trophy. It's so stupid! At least he, on the other hand, knew how to appreciate these things. Geez!

He was already barely listening to those guys' nonsense conversation when he heard something that caught his attention.

"Well, I just hope Iris would give me her chocolate. I heard she hasn't given it to anyone yet." He sighed dreamily.

"Iris, who?"

"You know... Iris, the pretty brunette with a long shiny hair."

Brunette? Chaud narrowed his eyes at that word.

"She just transfered recently and every guy in the campus already has crush on her."

The NetSaver frowned deeper. Because of the guy's description, he had a growing suspicion that the girl they were referring to was the same girl he had met before back at the abandon warehouse.

Now, if someone would ask him if there's a person opposite to his gender he's interested to, then he would say it's that girl. And before you get the wrong idea, no, it's NOT because she's pretty or attractive. Seriously, he didn't even noticed it, especially, during that time when she jumped from the air vent and he caught her in his arms... nope, not at all.

The real reason was that all of the unusual things which was happening around the then (the mysterious attacks of the cyber beasts, the sudden appearance of Trill and that unknown NetNavi etc.) seemed to directly involve her. And, not only that, she also suddenly disappeared after he'd been knocked unconscious.

So, yes, he's really interested on her but just not romantically though. And now, that he knew she's here in this school, he would definitely look for her at all cost.

Dark.

Although, Sakurai had already talked to her about it, Iris still couldn't figured it out whom to give her chocolates yet. It's because it just occured to her that she didn't have someone really close to her since she had just arrived in their school. And even though, lots of people were trying to approach and talked to her (boys in particular), she felt she still can't consider them friends. But Sakurai and the others seemed really nice to her. Guess, she'll just have to give it to them, in the end, then?

She's so busy with her thoughts that she didn't noticed where she was going and ended up colliding with someone.

"I apologize." She lowered her head.

"It's al-Hey, it's you, Iris."

She blinked. "Lan Hikari." That's right. Aside from Sakurai, Hikari was the one who welcomed her the most and was really kind to her ever since she arrived.

"You seem to be distracted." The netbattler just laughed which made the girl turned red as a tomato.

"I apologize." She bowed again.

"Hey. Hey. You don't have to be sorry about it." He sweatdropped and made a hand gesture. "It's fine really."

"Still, I apologize."

"Then, I guess, apology accepted?" he said awkwardly then noticed the chocolates wrapped in plastic on her hands. "Oh, is that from the Home Economics class?"

"Ah, Yes. I made it." Then for some reason, something was urging her to give him the chocolates. She didn't understand it though why she suddenly felt that way.

And, this was not the first time, too. Ever since she met him, there was already something extraordinary about him that she couldn't helped but to be drawn. It could just be because he knew the whereabouts of the synchronizer or might be because he's a strong netbattler, but then, she felt that it was something else.

"Yes, actually, I would like you to-""LAN, YOU IDIOT!" Out of nowhere, Sakurai appeared and grabbed his ear. Iris was taken aback at her actions. After remembering what the human girl said a while ago, she realized that the former was actually referring to him. Sakurai seemed not notice her though. The female navi began to get uncomfortable.

"Ouch! Wait! What did I do?" the poor guy groaned as he tried to remove the girl's hand only to fail. "Ow!"

"You dummy, I've been looking for you all around the campus. Where were you?!"

"Oh? Well," he smiled sheepishly, "a guy from our next room showed me some really cool battle chips. Why?"

"Hmph! Fine." Although the red-haired girl was still clearly mad, she finally let go of his ear. "I just wanted to give you this." Then she shyly handed him a nicely wrapped box.

"What's this?"

"Chocolates, obviously!" Sakurai was already turning into a darker shade of red every minute and the NetNavi didn't know whether it's because of embarassment, anger or both. "You should be grateful because I really did my best. So, eat it!"

"O...kay? Thanks?" Hikari raised his eyebrows.

"Well, then, bye!" Just like how she suddenly appeared to them, she immediately left.

He then turned to her. "Sorry about that, Iris. You were saying again?"

"Ah, nevermind." She faked a smile as she hid her chocolates behind her back. "I think, I should also take my leave now."

"Oh, okay. Well, then see you in class." He grinned widely.

She bowed hastily in response and ran away.

While running, many questions suddenly flooded her head. Why did she felt that her heart was pricked by a thousand needles when she saw both Hikari and Sakurai together? Was she jealous? But, why would she be? She didn't like Hikari, right? What does even 'like' means? She didn't really understand. All she knew was that she wanted to get away from them. From him.

She finally stopped when she reached the end of the west wing and saw the dark stairs. It looked abandoned to her though. So, wanting to be alone, she immediately walked down.

However, she was all wrong. Because at the bottom, two unfamiliar guys was waiting for her.

Dark.

Although, Chaud had managed to get out from the janitor's closet. He was still paranoid that those girls were still on his tracks. And, even if he did wanted to leave, he couldn't since he still needed to confront that mysterious girl. He just didn't knew where to find her though.

"Chaud?"

The NetSaver began to stiffen. Don't tell me, they already found me? However, he sighed with relief, when he turned around and saw Dex Ogreon, his fellow net operator, instead.

"Wow! The girls weren't really lying when they said you're here." The huge guy grinned and pat his back hard. "It's been a while, man. What brought you here?"

Chaud winced a little. "I was actually going to visit you guys. But it looks like I came here at a wrong time."

"Oh? Why?"

He pointed at the floating heart-shaped balloon at the far corner and Dex immediately understood.

"No wonder Yai and the others were looking for you." He laughed. "Man, you sure are lucky. I wish I were in your shoes. Being chased by girls is heaven."

"More like hell," Chaud grumbled silently.

"Although, I don't think Iris would be one them."

"Iris?" That name again.

"Oh, yeah! You still haven't seen our new classmate, right? She's really cute~!"

Classmate, huh? What a small world. "Yeah, I haven't met her yet. So, where's this classmate of yours?" The NetSaver tried to ask casually while he put his hands on both of his side pockets.

Dex frowned. "I don't really know. The last time I saw her, she was running on the hallway. She probably already went home though."

"Is that so?" He also frowned. Guess, he's really out of luck that day. He sighed. "Well, I should probably get going then."

"Aren't you gonna talk to Lan first?"

"It's fine. I still need to head back to our company. Just tell him, I came to drop by though."

"Sure thing. See yah, man!"

He nodded in response and walked away.

While walking, random thoughts popped in his head. What now? He was so close to finding the key to solve all of this mess but because the girl wasn't around, he's stuck.

Should I track her then?

He stopped when the idea occured to him. It was possible. He could hack the school system to access her personal info and get her address. It will be easy. He just needed to jack-in Protoman and everything was set.

He smirked. Yeah, he'll do that. But first, he needed to look for a secluded area.

He began to look around and noticed an abandon staircase which led to the school's basement. He then realized that it's the rumored stairs where a said ghost resided. Of course, Chaud knew it wasn't true. But, it's dark appearance was enough to scare anyone away except any brave soul. Good thing, the NetSaver was one brave soul.

He smiled wider. The lights, which was broken for a long time, seemed to be hadn't fixed yet so no one will be able to spot him. Perfect!

However, it looks like someone already beat him to it.

"E-Ever since I met you, I-I really..."

It looks like it's a confession, too. How troublesome. Guess, he'll have to look for another place. But, then he stopped on his tracks when he heard whom the guy was confessing to.

Chocolates.

"...really like you, Iris." A short green-haired bispectacled guy confessed shyly.

Iris' eyes widen. She didn't know how to react. She was actually so surprised to say anything. But then what do even humans say in this kind of situations? Should she say, "Thank you for liking me"? Or "I'm sorry" because she didn't like him back. She didn't even know the guy. It didn't also help that the guy's tall raven-haired friend had been eyeing her from head to foot. Because of it, she's starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Hey, my friend here just confessed to you. You should, at least, give him a response." The other guy narrowed his eyes.

The NetNavi began to fidget with her long skirt while her other hand tightened her grip on her chocolates. She could already sense danger coming from that guy.

"Don't just stare there. Are you mute? Say something!" The second guy said impatiently.

"I-It's okay, Kurt. You don't really need to scare her. She doesn't have to respond right away."

The female navi was, at least, thankful that the glasses-wearing guy seemed nice. But then again, she's fully aware that looks could be deceiving. Because of that, she mentally prepared herself to knock them unconscious if worst comes to worse. After all, she already did it before to a certain NetSaver, so it's not like she couldn't do it again. It will only be a little difficult this time though since there were two them. But still, all she only needed was a perfect timing to execute her plan.

"Hmph! But it doesn't look she's going to talk..." Then he noticed the wrapped sweets on her hand. "Wait! How about that chocolate your holding?"

Iris immediately hid them behind her back. Although, she knew it's kind of futile since they already saw those sweets. But still, she wanted to protect it because, even if she wasn't able to give it to Hikari, she still treasured those chocolates since she did her best on making them.

"Come on! Hand it to him. You don't seem to have any plans on giving it to anyone anyway. Hurry up!"

Still, she didn't budge. Because even if she didn't know much about humans. She believed that if they truly like someone (as those girls and Sakurai had explained), surely, they wouldn't harass her like how this guy is doing to her. His friend, the guy who confessed to her, wasn't even trying to stop him either. Maybe because he's also afraid of his companion? She didn't know. But it didn't matter to her now, though. Because she was more concern on escaping to protect herself more than anything else.

"Hey, did you hear me? I said-"

"Isn't it kinda rude for you, guys, to bully a single girl?"

They immediately turned to the newcomer and saw a guy with a familiar black and white hair. Iris' eyes widen when she recognized him.

"It's Chaud Blaze!" the shorter guy gasped.

"Hmph! Don't meddle with this, Blaze, or you'll regret it."

However, the NetSaver simply smirked in response. "I don't think you're in the right place to threaten me. Don't you also think so?"

The raven-haired guy only gritted his teeth.

"Leave her alone or the school faculty will hear about you harassing a girl just because of some chocolates." He said seriously.

"Come on, Kurt! Let's get out of here or we'll get suspended," the bispectacled guy said worriedly as he tried to drag his friend away.

Kurt, on the hand, didn't have any choice but to oblige. However, not without glaring sharply at the male NetOp like flying daggers.

Iris immediately sighed with relief. However, it soon evaporated when she noticed that the guy was now staring at her seriously. She began to panic because she knew that he remembered her now and she didn't know how to explain why she immediately disappeared the first time they met.

"Um, t-thank you for saving me a while ago." She bowed.

He sighed. "It's nothing. You should probably go home now. Those guys won't bother you anymore."

"T-Thank you very much."

He didn't reply. Instead, he turned around and walked back up the stairs.

For some reason, Iris felt guilty. Even if he already knew she was hiding something, he was still being considerate. He even saved her when he could have just leave her alone. After everything he did for her, she should, at least, give him something in return, right?

Finally after making up her mind, she immediately ran after him.

Maybe there's still hope for her that day to be good.

Chocolates.

"Ah, excuse me!"

Chaud stopped and turned to her. "What?"

The brunette didn't replied immediately but instead handed the nicely wrapped chocolates to him. "For you... A-As a token of gratitude," she said while her face was flushed a little.

Chaud however only stared at the sweets in front of him as he didn't know how to respond. He was also caught off-guard. Because, ironically, the thing that he had been avoiding most of the day was now given to him. And, what's weird was that it came from the girl he was least expecting to.

She seemed to notice his hesitance though as she hastily added while getting redder by the minute. "Y-You can throw it away, if you don't want it. You're not obliged to eat it after all."

There was a hint of sadness in her tone that Chaud noticed which made him blurted out the words he, himself, never expected to say. "I'll eat it." Then he grabbed the chocolates from her.

The girl was surprised but nonetheless nodded. "Um, t-thank you again and please excuse me." She bowed ungracefully and ran pass him.

Chaud was only left alone and dumbfounded. He couldn't believe himself. First, he had let go of his opportunity to confront the mysterious brunette. And now, after all the running and avoiding, here he was holding the cursed sweets, he had hated with passion.

Okay, the girl was still a little shaken because of her encounter with some guys and he was just being considerate. But, accepting and stating to eat the chocolates? Seriously, something was wrong with him.

He sighed and stared again at the fancy wrapped goods. He was so tempted to throw it but then he already said he'll eat it. Guess, one chocolate won't kill him, right?

He opened the wrapper carefully and after popping a butterfly-shaped chocolate in his mouth, he was surprised that it wasn't too sweet that will make anyone nauseous. It was just (for the lack of better word) right. Just his taste. And before he knew it, he was already putting another one to his mouth.

Damn irony.

For once, he was glad he received those chocolates. For once, he was glad on Valentine's Day. He only chuckled to himself. Well, guess, it's okay to break on his character for a while because he realized something.

Maybe that day for him wasn't so bad after all.