I sorta know where this is going, I swear...
Black eyes widened with a primitive fear, Rush twitched with aggravation as he watched his beloved mistress and friend slump to the ground, a pink glow rippling about her prone form as the mysterious program fully integrated itself inside her.
He let out a warning growl at the mutated Metto as it detangled it's heavy arm from it's face, blinking stupidly as it finally realised Roll's attack had ended. Glancing round, it recognised the female navi and an altogether vicious and thoroughly nasty expression passed over it's black face.
Recognising the danger, Rush yipped out in alarm and leapt up, releasing a large sum of virus to drown the Metto in. Without a second's hesitation he bounded over to Roll's side, tenderly nuzzling her with a fixated worry.
After a few moments, the female navi groaned and drowsily opened her eyes.
"Rush…?" she muttered sleepily.
The little program barked happily in affirmation and the pink navi rolled over onto her back, starching behind his ears in a distracted motion.
The dog was startled; didn't she realise the danger she was in?
As though to answer his question, the mismatched Metto suddenly cast off all his attackers in a heated fury of arms and good axe marksmanship. Eyes taking on a predatory glint, he stalked forwards.
Roll paused at the bellow and switched her focus over to the lumbering virus. Sighing, she carefully got up, bushing herself down and inspecting her tightly-clad uniform with a disgruntle air.
"Urgh…would it kill Meiru to actually give me something nice to wear once in a while?"
Rush's ears perked up and his eyes scanned over with a trace of something greater than worry at the cold tone Roll threw upon her words: since when had she dropped the affectionate 'Chan' she usually loped onto the end of her operator's name?
The Metto roared again and the girl's green eyes became dull with boredom, though a strange vicious light began to pound in at the corner of her irises.
"Not much of a talker are you?" she commented airily, gingerly glancing down at her fingers as though they held far more importance than the angered creature before her.
That was the final straw.
A few things happened at once; the virus charged, Rush started shoving against Roll's boots with a keening desperation and the female in question developed a misty-eyed expression. Running her tongue alongside her teeth, she exhaled huskily and fluttered her eyelashes in such a way that Meiru would have killed to acquire. And then she let out a little tutting sigh that fluttered straight into the rampaging Metto's ears and stopped him dead in his tracks.
Silence…it rang out loud and clear and Rush's eyes bulged.
Causally kicking the brown dog off her feet and ignoring his offended yelp, Roll stalked towards the now staring Metto, hips rolling at every stride. A slow smirk spread over her lips.
"Hey there…"
A million thoughts ran through Rush's mind, each more unexplainable than the last as his idol let a single delicate finger trace around the bruised lips of her opponent and slide under his chin.
"Hgrhhh…." the lonely virus purred, shifting his feet and closing his eyes in pure bliss at the soothing motions of this suddenly very forward navi.
"My, my, aren't you a big boy?" murmured Roll, her voice developing a teasing trait. Then her eyes hardened.
"Unfortunately you're not my type."
And with that stunning remark she jammed her fingers straight into the Metto's now drooling mouth and out the through the back of his head.
"Bye, bye."
She bounded back with ease as the big virus's eyes shot open and his hefty limbs swung out in a flailing motion.
"Love Me Heart Chain!"
A long line of pink hearts connected together in a whip like strand erupted out of a poised finger and wrapped itself round the struggling Metto, tautly binding his in to a wriggling mess of dissolving data.
Roll sniggered.
"Oh, I am sooooo bad."
She strode over to the dying virus before securely lifting up a single boot and slamming in down onto an already cracked helmet. The virus shattered instantly into a screaming mass of pixels.
Rush watched on in horror as she confidently flipped her hair back over her shoulder and pumped a fist up into the air in victory.
"Yes! I took on a mutated virus by myself! Now I can prove myself to Rockman!"
Whooping, she danced around the junkyard, all violence removed from her present behaviour and washed away to the eyes of the baffled Rush. She circulated the heap a few more times than scooped up the relived dog and swept him round in a rejoicing arc.
"We did it! The program really works!"
Rush tried to show his enthusiasm, he really did. But he could not help but shudder when he recalled the hostile facial expression she had donned during her successful battle. Or the way she had flawlessly executed a new attack that he knew for certain could not exist unless an operator gave expressive permission for a modifying program to do so.
But then again…
The little dog looked down into her shinning eyes and smiled. She was happy and so was she. And how could that glowing face possibly be hiding something deadly?
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Lines of code and scrambled sets of numbers fluttered in and out of existence as they shimmered on a lime-green desktop. They twinkled, blistered in their brief life of brightness with an insatiable appetite for light before dying away or becoming recycled into something more solid.
Rockman loved feeling these pinpricks of earnest data brush against his frame; they were too small for him to analyse properly though he was almost certain that they bore resemblance to the 'ghost code' many programmers muttered about. But to him this hardly mattered. The flashes of sensation he experienced when touching them always lifted his spirits and reminded him of the stars Netto liked so much, burning in their prison of velvet blue.
He often wondered if other navis went through similar emotions or even felt a trickle of inspiration as he did so. It wasn't really an idea that he felt comfortable sharing with his normal comrades; Blues and Search man had no time for such frivolities and Gutsman would not understand a word. And Glyde? He would sooner raise a polite eyebrow and make an off-topic remark about the weather.
In fact, it was more a topic that his female friends would be more supportive of. Medi was a first-rate speaker, giving many wise words and proved to be an enjoyable companion. She was probably the best one to go to. His other female friend tended to get excitable over such thoughts, her happy nature often inflating her head with romantic notions he couldn't even begin to contemplate. That said, she was a good listener and was usually supportive of whatever he chose to do. There was just this problem of her recent uncertainty around him…
Yes, Medi was the better choice but he had known Roll longer and hence felt a stronger sense of loyalty towards her. She had been with him from the word 'go' and despite many awkward situations and misunderstandings…his friendship with her had always remained firm. She, more than Medi, had witnessed the many changes to his character over the years and followed his evolution from the newly-programmed Rockman who liked to spar with Gutsman to one who had seen so much hurt and suffering in the darker areas of the net. She knew all of him, more so than newer friends he met within his missions.
Really, it was annoying, this little niggling in the back of his skull that hammered on and on to him about Roll and her pretty smile that made him feel like his mouth was clamped shut and that ridiculous way embarrassing 'girly' comments from her caused the strangest mixture of warmth and fuzzy jabs of queasiness to arise from his thread-bared stomach.
Or maybe it was just the ghost code talking.
A thin, shrill 'ding' suddenly jarred his hearing capabilities and his eyes developed a visibly startled look.
"What on earth?"
He then blinked as a large holographic projection of an envelope floated up beside him.
"Huh? This email service is an older model than hardly anyone uses anymore…"
Shrugging, the blue navi gingerly opened the email, quickly scanning over the text and becoming more and more confused over each sentence.
'Hey Rockman, are you free now? And don't use the old 'Netto needs help with his homework' excuse again. The little brat is old enough and strong enough to handle algebra equations by himself. So…I'll see you about 8:00? At the Metro tower in Internet City? Wear that nice tuxedo fashion chip Meiru bullied Netto into getting last Tuesday. And for God's sake, do something about that helmet dear?
Love Roll.'
Rockman twitched. 'Dear?' The next instant, a thoroughly unpleasant scowl crawled over his facial expression.
"Brat? What is wrong with her? She's never been so nasty about Netto-kun before…I'm going to have words with her."
And thus resolved to straighten out a few matters with Roll, Rockman abandoned the email while running over a selection of choice words in his head. He logged out with a visible trail of irritation in his wake, very much tuxedo-free.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Roll paced up and down in front of the tower, hands worrying at each other.
"Where is he? Of all times to be late!"
Rush watched over her from a few metres away, letting out a sympathetic whines as he did so. Roll flashed him a grateful look and returned to her frantic pacing.
"Urgh…"
She immediately brightened however when she heard the tell-tale sign of a logging-in.
'Finally…'
"Rockman!" she cried out, beaming brightly as she spun round to face him.
Rockman, however was busy doing the impression of a suffocating goldfish. His jaw dropped another few precious inches as he the full impact of her strange attire hit him.
His friend blushed as she felt his eyes firmly fixed on her, running a critical eye over her new dress-code. She had enclosed her usual pink uniform in a frilly yet slimming black evening gown that trimmed off in a reel of Victorian -style lace. She had also fiddled with the colour code in her own personalised settings to change the pink in her gloves and helmet into a smooth ebony tone. Of course, she was unable to change her antenna or the 2-D diongle diangal pattern of her blond hair and so had merely traded in her green bow for a sparkling ruby butterfly clip. To complete the gothic, prom-queen feel of her outfit, she had slipped on some high-heeled black boots complete with a wide array of silver buckles.
Meiru was not going to be happy to discover a large budget cut in her bank account had arisen because of a last minute shopping spree for fashion chips.
Rockman swallowed, wondering why he so desperately wished that girly green bow was still residing in her hair.
"You look…wow…"
Roll giggled, a crimson blush replacing the faint, polished, pink one that had been there earlier.
"Thank you…now let's start our date!"
Rockman blanched.
"D-date?!?"
His scary companion laughed again, a light tinkle of velvet dust through the air, as she intertwined her arm with his.
"Of course, silly! Why else would I call for you at this hour?"
She sighed, looking up into the sky dramatically as her eyes twinkled with the promise of things to come.
"First we'll go to that ice exhibition the water plant is holding, then window shopping round a few of my favourite stores, then a nice slow walk around that park they set up two months back, a boat ride or perhaps a Metto-drawn carriage around town and maybe if you treat me well enough, I'll even let you do some sparing in the stadium!"
Rockman looked at her aghast then shook his head slowly.
"Roll…"
The female navi looked at him, the spark still vibrantly shinning in her emerald eyes.
"Yes?"
Gently, the blue navi disentangled himself from her grasp and enfolded her slim hands in his.
"This…all this…it's too much! I don't know what's going on but I'm your friend and I want to help you. Your erratic behaviour. It has to stop. Now."
He stared at her straight in the eye, inwardly marvelling at how brittle her curled fingers felt with his grasp. Almost breakable. Almost.
Roll stared at him blankly feeling a large piece of her tear out with every word issued from his lips.
"W-what?"
She felt a fuzzy sense of anger close in on her mind and turned her attention on his pity-filled eyes.
'A tuxedo', she realised, 'he's not wearing a tuxedo.'
And with that, a part of her snapped.
"So…is that all I am to you?"
Rockman looked on, puzzled as she smoothly drew her hands away from his and lowered her head.
"I d-don't understand."
"Of course you don't!" snapped Roll, frostbite in her voice, "you don't ever understand. You're such a simpleton. I'm always there for you, I risk my life for you, I want to tear out the eyes of any girl you gets so godamn close to you and I always hold on to you as though I'm trying to break your arm. Why is that do you reckon? Is it because I'm your friend? You're such a moron you don't even realise one of your best friends is crushing on you!"
At this, Rockman issued a sharp gasp. He had always suspected that sooner or later he would have to deal with some fan girls professing their undying love for him, it was only natural. But this was Roll and the outcome of this situation was invaluable. She was his friend, albeit one that made his stomach squirm sometimes in a good way, but he was not even ready to admit any kind of interest in the opposite sex yet. He still had battles to enjoy and missions to attend. Dating was something he had no time for, planning to put on hold until Netto himself reached puberty.
For some reason, the idea of Roll developing any sort of feeling for him that grew greater than that of the platonic sense was absurd. She was such a pretty girl that he'd always figured she would end up with someone more mature and better equipped to protect her and give her what she needed. Someone like Blues whose temperament indicated that he never insulted women or was accused of being insensitive by them.
He felt lower than a worm. And entirely unsuited for dealing with the hurt feelings of a girl he was incredibly fond of.
"Roll-chan…"
A whistle of air brushed past his head and his cheek went taut as a furious black palm whacked against it. Shocked, he stumbled back, peering up into her furious expression with a hurt look.
It was the first time she had ever slapped him.
Roll herself felt a spasm of shock as she quailed at his sorrowful look.
"Rockman…"
She stared down at the hand that had hurt him as though it had betrayed her, flinching as a new thought struck her.
'Since when did I become as violent as Meiru-chan? This isn't like me…'
Gnawing at her bottom lip, she suddenly felt a daze sweep over her and a cloud mist over her memory. She looked up blankly.
"Rockman? What are you doing on the ground?"
The blue navi stared on in fright as a gentle expression settled in her unsettled eyes. It was clear that she had suddenly forgotten the entire incident.
Distracted, he glanced over at a pining whine form Rush and saw the familiar terror on the dog's face. He imagined it was the exact same sensation he himself was experiencing.
"Rush…"
The navi was not surprised to hear the thick, emotional quality his voice had developed.
"What happened? What did this to her? Who did this to her? Tell me!"
A familiar, warm breeze drifted through his ears as the girl laughed.
"Silly Rockman! Nothing did anything to me. I'm fine."
Smiling, Roll extended a hand towards him, the dazed look on her face still intact.
"Now, let me help you up."
Palms fumbling against the ground, Rockman yanked himself backwards in a desperate struggle, his face stretched into a keening sort of fright.
"Roll. Listen to me. There's something very wrong here. I don't know what it is yet, but I promise you, I will do everything in my power to help."
Confusion weighed down heavily on the female navi's brow while she pondered his words, a finger thoughtfully protruding her lip.
"Hmm…Rockman did you hit your head again?"
Her friend was at a loss for words.
"Roll…"
Then his face hardened.
"You're coming with me."
Ignoring her offered hand, he thrust up and gripped her other one, squeezing the digits into his hold firmly.
"Let's go back to Meiru-chan. She's worried about you."
Immediately a change darted over Roll's face, covering it in a look of absolute scorn. She waved a hand dismissively.
"Oh, Pfft! Since when did Meiru need a babysitter? I refuse to let that little witch spoil our quality time together. All she ever cares about is 'Netto this' and 'Netto that'. Do you have any idea how tiring it is to listen to some fashion-orientated freak rattle on about how miserable she is because her hair didn't turn out right or her new dress got torn? She should be grateful! I can't ever get a new hairstyle!"
Rockman dropped her hand in shock and stared at her solidly, a heavy wall of emotion stammering out through his mouth.
"Roll-chan…how can you say such awful things? Meiru-chan is your operator and friend. She cares about you a lot. And since when did you stop calling her 'chan'?"
Roll stubbornly whirled her head away and stuck her small nose up into the air.
"Ever since I get my head straightened out about a few things."
Rockman approached her, blue hands outstretched as though ready to grasp her in case she bolted.
"Oh really? What kind of 'straightening out'?"
Ignoring his edgy mannerisms, she gave her hair a simple flick over the shoulder and observed a few navis chattering animatedly a fair distance away.
"I grew up."
The male fingers wound into themselves tightly and clenched down hard and painfully. Gritting his teeth together at her unwillingness to give him a straight answer, Rockman grabbed her hand again, determinedly pulling her towards him.
"Home. Now."
His voice made no room for arguments.
Roll glanced down softly, smiling as she saw the protective cradle of his hand over hers.
"Are you sure you don't want to stop off at the ice exhibition?"
"Oh yes," he intoned firmly, "I'm quite sure."
Still working on the next chapter guys. It's one of those things I keep coming back to every now and again...