Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman, or anything mentioned in this story at all. If I did, it wouldn't be nearly as good.

Please note that this is my first fanfiction that has any sort of plot, character development, or any other such things. In fact, this may well be the first thin I've ever written that has those things, so I bear that in mind when you read this.
Critisism will be greatly appreciated. I'm happy to hear of flaws I have made, and if you actually think it's good... well, feel free to say so. But please do review. And if you think it sucks, at least tell me why, so I can improve it.

The only vaguely spectacular thing about talking in this is "this will be talking", and 'this will be thinking'. Also, "If you find 'this'," it's just more quotes within quotes, not thinking while speaking.
I also realized I periodically use mail. That will be denoted :like this:
Furthermore, when a change in scene or time is denoted, it will be -like this-.

In any case, it's about time for the story to start. Please read and review.

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Lan stood alone atop a small stage with a medal hanging around his neck, and a microphone cluster right in front of him. A large collection of reporters croweded around him, and a barrage of questions bombareded him from all angles.

"Mr. Hikari, is it true that you defeated World Three all on your own?"

"What inspired you to work so hard?"

"What are your plans for the future?"

The noise got louder and louder, and Lan suddenly wasn't able to concentrate at all. He covered his ears, and turned away. Just at that moment, he heard a voice louder than any other.

"LAN!!! Get out of bed this instant, or you'll be late for school!"

Our protagonist awoke to find himself clutching his blanket. "What kind of wake-up call was THAT, Megaman?"

"My normal approach hadn't done anything, so I decided on the 'Angry Mother' phrasing instead," the Navi replied.

"Well, it certainly worked..." Lan begrudgingly admitted, annoyed by that very fact. Even so, he hopped out of bed, and quickly changed into his daily attire. He snatched his PET from off the desk, and began his usual mad dash to school. A few minutes later, he barreled through the door, and crashed into his seat. Less than a second later, the bell range. A single clap rang out from the back of the room, followed by another, and then another. Soon, the entire class had erupted into an applause. The inconceivable had happened.

"Even when you're on time, you still manage to inturrept my class," Ms. Mari said, through with a grin. After a few moments pause, the applause had died down, and focused back on their duties as students. "Now," continued the teacher, "today's lesson will be about ancient civilizations..." but Lan was already off in his own world, idley gazing off into space. He jacked Megaman in to the network, figuring his trusty Navi could give him a review later.

'I miss the old days. Back when action sat around every corner, and the world needed saving. I guess there are some good things, like not always being on the edge of death, but... school is just so boring. I don't know how anyone can learn anything. Like today, with that lesson about...' But his concentration was broken when he realized he had mail.

:So, you CAN show up on time.: It was from Mayl.

Lan scrambled to reply. :Of course I can.: He began to let his mind wander, but it didn't get very far.

:It was bound to happen some day, I suppose.:

:What's that supposed to mean?:

:Oh... nothing.: And nothing more happened, that was of any importance for a while.

-Later, during lunchtime-

Yai, Mayl, Dex, and Lan all sat at their usual table together.

"Nice entrance this morning, Lan. It's good to see you finally doing something right," Dex teased.

Between the shovels of food Lan stuffed in his mouth, he managed to say "I'm always good enough to beat you and Gutsman at netbattles. But then, that's not really right, because it's like taking candy from a baby, which isn't a very ni--"

"I'll show you!" Dex interjected, "Right after school. You, me, Yai's house. I'll show you who's 'good enough.'"

"That should be entertaining," sighed Yai, "don't you ever get tired of losing all of the time, though?"

"I don't... always lose..." wimpered Dex.

"The last..." Mayl took a moment to consult the counter she added to her PET, "37 times."

"He's just lucky! But... you'll see!" Dex cried out, anger ringing in his voice.

"Bring it on," Lan said with a confident grin.

Mayl rolled her eyes. "Don't you boys have more eating to do?"

"Oh, right!" Lan and Dex simultaniously began chowing down on their food again.

Mayl leaned back in such a way that made her more comfortable, and began to think. 'I've been there for Lan, and he for me, ever since we were little kids. I wish, just once, he would realize what more I see in him than a best friend.' A fry from Lan's lunch flew over as a side-effect of his berserk eating, and hit Mayl in the face. Nobody even noticed. She sighed again. "Oh, Lan..."

-Later that day, at Yai's house-

"Thanks again, Yai, for always letting us use your house as a meeting spot," Lan said as he arrived. He showed up 5 minutes after everyone else.

"How did you manage to get here late? We all walked over together!" the housemistress observed, "In any case, I'm just glad you can all appreciate the highest quality stuff daddy buys me."

"Enough chit-chat!" Dex cut in, "bring it on, Lan!"

The challangee approached the terminal, "Gladly. Jack in, Megaman!" He plugged the PET into it, and his blue Navi materialized in a huge size, right in front of him.

"Go get him, Gutsman", said the challanger as he plugged in his navi as well. The large navi appeared, and promptly shot an angry glare at his friendly foe. They stepped apart a few cyberyards. Glide appeared between them.

"Mr. Megaman, Mr. Gutsman: The rules are simple; anything goes. Now, excuse me sirs," he took several steps away, as to insure he was not caught in the crossfire, "and.... begin."

"Gutsman going to stop Mega-loser's fast moving stuff," Gutsman bellowed. His arms formed the gutshammer, and that hammer was brought down upon the ground in a powerful stroke. Cracks spread out along the panels in the entire area. Each panel clearly threatened to fall out after being stepped on, if not while.

Lan spoke quietly to the Blue Bomber, "Just like we planned." Megaman nodded, and charged right at Gutsman. Gutsman, however, found it easy to prepare for such a silly attack, and drew his arm back in preperation of a powerful punch. However, just as his enormous fist began it's charge right at Megaman's face, the target changed his course, and whizzed right by the now off-balance Gutsman. From the other side, he charged again, and the action was repeated. At this point, Gutsman learned from his mistakes. So, when Megaman charged at him again, he watched his competitors movements, and prepare to stop his dodge. However, Megaman had anticipated this, too, and when he got to Gutsman the runner went under the brute.

Curiousity seeped into everyone, as to why the panels had not broken, and also as to what Megaman was doing. Everyone except the one who had excecuted it, and his NetOp. "Your turn," Megaman said, smiling at Gutsman.

The latter flew into a rage at being duped so many times. "GRAAAAAAAH!" he cried out as he attempted to charge forwards. However, it was only one step before every tile Megaman had stepped on crumbled away, causing the even more enraged Navi to begin a plummet into the unknown far below. :Netnavi logging out: the computer informed the room.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Dex insisted, furious at his loss.

"No rules, remember? Look at that, we're so good, we didn't even have to shoot anything at you," the victor said, overjoyed at the success of his tactics.

"You're not that much better than me!" Dex insisted, getting more and more desperate.

"38," Maylu added to her counter.

Dex slinked into the corner, and collapsed down onto a couch. 'Why do I always lose? Is it because Gutsman and I aren't good enough? No way, we beat everybody. Everybody except Lan. Grr.... Lan. So it's not my fault, it's yours. If you weren't so... strangely good, we'd easily whoop you.' He was being ignored by the rest of his room.

"Jack out, Megaman," Lan said, "and good job."

"Thanks Lan. Good planning, by the way. Dex is predictable as the tides," Megaman responded.

"Well," Yai said as she smoothly glided over to another couch and sat down, "it looks like Lan will always be better than Dex."

"Miss Yai," Glide appeared suddenly on the screen, "repairs to the area have been finished. Will any other netbattles be taking place today?" Yai took a sweeping glance of the room to ponder that question. In the corner was Dex, practically weeping into a pillow at his painful loss. Lan was still standing in front of the giant moniter, planning with Megaman what to do next time. Mayl was absently staring at Lan. She had been since the battle, but had nowhere else to look. A golden plan began developing right then, and Yai thought for a moment to reflect on what she knew about the current situation.

Mayl had liked Lan as something more than friends since the dawn of existance. Well, several years, anyway. Lan had always been too dense to figure out from her not-so-subtle hints all the time.
The really funny thing was the power of Lan's subconscious. Dispite that he never really caught on to what Mayl frequently tried to convey to him, he actually did, and felt the same way. Any time Mayl had been in danger of any sort, Lan's behavior would change. He would get more serious, try harder, and never give up no matter the cost. Similar situations popped up frequently without Mayl's danger, and they were solved in a similar way, but it was never quite as powerful as when he had a direct hand in saving her. It was strange to watch two people who clearly felt quite strongly about each other do nothing about it day after day. But all that would change, hopefully. "Miss Yai?" Glide interjected. It had been silent for a while.

"Megaman and Roll will be battling," Yai responded. It was not a request, it was a command.

"What?" The guests and Navis exclaimed at mildly varying points. Evidently no one had expected this.

Mayl immediately found herself deeply conflicted. 'On the one hand, if we defeat them, Lan may become irritated at his loss. On the other hand, if Lan were won, I will become nothing more than another nameless loss in the piles of many he is better than. As a friend, I've evidently done too poor a job of standing out, maybe he'll notice me as a Netbattler, and see what has been in front of him the entire time.' After a moment's deliberation, she decided the risk was well worth the reward. "Roll," she whispered, "I want you to do everything in your power to succeed here. Even..." her whispers became nigh inaudiable, but Roll heard, and agreed.

"Alright, Megaman," Lan said, fairly calmly, "Go for it." He had no definte strategy. He had no loose strategy. He had no idea at all what he would be doing.

"Roll..." Mayl winked, "Do your best."

The blue and pink Navis appeared simultaniously on the huge cyberplain. Glide approached shortly thereafter, and said "The battle may now begin."

Lan was quick to act. "Spreader, battle chip in." Megaman's arm cannon changed minutely different arm cannon, which he swiftly aimed and fired. Roll noticed this, and qiuckly dodged. It was, much to her surpise, not aimed at her core, but at her feet. And when it struck the ground where she had stood, the plasma that shot out from the core struck her in her side, and she fell due to the sudden force. As Megaman aimed it again, she prepared the bow on her arm, and fired an arrow, all in one incredibly swift motion. Megaman was ill prepared for such an attack, and was struck directly. His arm quickly turned back into an arm.

"Roll arrow breaks chips," Mayl said with a smug grin.

"Sword!" Lan called out, putting said sword chip into his PET. But before the sword had even finished forming, it was broken by another arrow.

"Widesword," Mayl said through her extreme concentration, as she put a Zap Ring into her PET. The moment Megaman had prepared to dodge a slash, he was paralyzed. Within a moment, Roll had closed the distance between them, and knocked over Megaman with a grand tackle. She moved quickly, knowing her lack of time, and pinned him firmly to the ground. She averted her face, so that nobody would see the red that had flushed into her face.

"Surrender," Roll said, hopefully. Megaman returned to his own control, and found himself stuck. And he felt an odd sensation at the edge of his mind. 'I... I feel like I shouldn't stop this. It feels... almost... I don't know.' So lost in thought, Megaman didn't even try to stop it.

Lan looked at his partner, and pondered his lack of reaction. 'I could send him a chip, and he could probably escape this...' He looked over at Mayl. Concentration, hope and passion burned in her eyes. 'I've never seen her quite like this before...' He thought for a moment more, with his thoughts going in all directions.

Glide appeared by the Navis. "This match has been decided. Megaman, being evidently incapacitated, has been defeated."

The absolute silence set in. Nobody said anything, nobody even moved an inch. It stayed that way for 4 seconds. Then, suddenly, Mayl let out an extreme sigh of relief and collapsed. The anticipation and fear sent surges of adrenaline through her body, and with that resolution, they were gone. Her tense stance had drained her of energy. Yai cracked a grin, knowing full well that the gears of her genius plan had begun turning.

"Are you okay?" Lan asked his exhausted competitor.

"Aww... you're worried about me?" Mayl was more concerned with Lan's possible revelation than with herself.

"Well... I mean..." he searched for a justification for his concern. He continued with the first reason he could figure. "I wouldn't want any of my friends hurt, with me at fault."

"Oh..." Mayl stood up, "yeah, I'm fine."

"Well," Yai interjected, "I'm hungry." Lan's stomach growled in agreement.

"Let's eat!" Dex, who had become enthused at the thought of food, said.

And so they traveled to Yai's huge dining area, and sat down on the same side of the table. Without warning, a fleet of waiters moved in, in perfect synchronization, and with awe-inspiring levels of swiftness and coordination. They appeared to be doing a bizarre sort of dance, and elaborate and ornate dishes flew in utter chaos around the room with frequent redirection from the nimble fingers of the staff. Then, all at once, a perfectly prepared lobster landed in front of each guest. As quickly as they had appeared, the staff was gone. The diners sat in awe, with the exception of Yai, who yawned, and then began to consume her food.

"What... was that?" Mayl asked.

"It made me wait to eat," Yai said, scowling.

Lan proceeded to his regular practice of stuffing food in his mouth as quickly as he was able. Dex followed suit. The show's effect had warn off in favor of the hunger. Mayl then conceded as well, and began to eat her meal.

10 minutes later, there was no food remaining. Lan was leaned back in his chair, with his hand on his now-bloated stomach, while Dex was sprawled out on the floor, and Mayl was slouched forward due to her sudden wave of fatigue. Yai stood up to say something. "Well, it is quite late, and it is time for you to go home," she began walking towards her bedroom, "see you tomorrow." And then she was gone. The room was vacated shortly thereafter.

Right outside the gates of the mansion, the remaining members of the group stood in silence for a moment, admiring the sun, which had begun to set. Dex yawned, and then parted ways with the other two. Lan and Mayl began their walk home.

"So, Roll is actually better than Megaman..." the girl led.

Lan, having forgotten what had come over him earlier, was quick to rebute, "Nah, you just got lucky."

Mayl's mood immediately switched from playful to angry. 'Why can't he give me this one victory?' Her pace increased, and her steps rang out as her furious soles hit the concrete. "Gee, thanks Lan," she said in a snide mannor. They reached Lan's house shortly thereafter, but Mayl continued storming forward. "Goodbye," she said, not even breaking stride. And then she was gone. Lan stood alone on his porch, confused by what had happened.

"You could have at least let her have that," Megaman said after a minute.

"She called you bad!" Lan countered.

"Some things are more important than that."

"What does that mean?"

"You really are dense," Megaman sighed. Lan shook his head, and went inside. Haruka had finished setting out dinner plates, and was just sitting down with food.

"Welcome home, Honey. I made curry, would you like some?"

"Sure," Lan responded passively. He sat down at the table, and just stared at his food. He poked it a couple of times, but it was left entirely uneated when he left the table. He slowly walked up to his room. When he arrived, he set Megaman on the table, and plopped onto his bed, worn out from the day.

"Lan, what's wrong?" Megaman asked, "You always eat if there's food, even if you're not hungry. And especially if it's curry."

"It's... nothing," Lan said. He really had no idea what it was.

"Are you sure?" Megaman prodded.

"I... I don't know. Something seems very wrong."

"This is about Mayl, isn't it?"

"NO!... maybe... I don't know. Seeing her storm off like that... things shouldn't be like that. We've been friends for a really long time, and I just can't stand seeing her so angry."

"So, you finally get it..."

"Get what? What are you talking about?"

Megaman sighed. 'Lan hasn't figured anything out after all.' "Good night, Lan."

-Chapter End-

Alright, thanks for reading. Please review, and be constructive.