A/N: silly-as-all-hell computer themed names go!
That aside, I'm not great at characterization. I'll try to make List's character clear through the story, but this first chapter introducing her is not going to say much about what kind of person she is. I think. It's possible to read more into things, though.
Also, I might not be writing Enzan's perspective exactly the way the series does it; I haven't rewatched the Axess series in a while, and am going off my previous character interpretations. I hope nothing is too OOC, but I also hope that if you catch anything dramatically OOC, you'll tell me about it. Please enjoy.
A week later, standing awkwardly in the middle of a crowded airport terminal, Enzan found himself having serious second thoughts.
He'd approved the Ameroupean specialist, after a careful inspection of her credentials and a detailed background check. Nothing suggested criminal connections, and she was indubitably skilled. So Enzan'd gone to the Commissioner with the go-ahead, and Kifune had contacted Ameroupe, and a week later, List Shiba-Bertrand had boarded a flight for Japan. But now, five minutes before her arrival, the one factor about her Enzan had ignored while making his decision was asserting itself loudly in his troubled mind.
List was twelve, and barely older than him. Enzan had never considered his age as a barrier to anything, having become vice president of IPC at ten, and then there was Hikari Netto...so he had neglected the age consideration when deciding. But afterwards, he found himself troubled; his own situation was rare, and Netto was too much of a special case to be a good example. List was only a civilian with working parents, no government affiliation, and no experience with the military; in all rights, a normal-if-intelligent child. So Enzan had begun to wonder, with increasing dread, whether she could possibly be fit for a Net Savior position – whether he even had the right to put her at the heart of the fighting. Why had he decided so quickly?
You needed Blues back. His own voice sounded coldly in his mind. You were so desperate to just do something, anything, that you ignored what any normal person would have considered, and dragged yet another child into fighting against a terrorist syndicate. How could you?
Enzan shook his head violently, and the airport came back into focus. It was not a new accusation. He had thought so many times in the last week, and had beaten it back each time. He had no choice but to do so, since going back on his decision would have meant telling the Ameroupe government that no, sorry for the trouble, but there's been a mistake...the thought was terrifying. The only thing he could do, Enzan thought grimly, was protect her if the worst came to pass. That was enough for him.
He looked up to read the overhead announcements, and in that moment someone stopped in front of him and asked, "Are you Ijuin Enzan?"
"I-" Enzan stopped, mentally warning himself to be more cautious, and focused his gaze back down. The girl standing in front of him was the splitting image of List's photograph, down to the fussed dark-gray hair and quizzical expression. A yellow ribbon dangled above one ear, and Enzan recalled it in a similar position in the photo.
He relaxed. "I am. You are Ms. Shiba-Bertrand?"
"List, please." The girl bowed, surprising Enzan slightly, although he hid it. "It's very nice to meet you...Mr. Ijuin?"
"Enzan is fine."
They exchanged the appropriate pleasantries and walked towards the exit, List insisting on carrying her own luggage. Enzan explained the Japanese Net Saviors' work as they walked, and paid close attention to List's responses as he did so, trying to gauge whether his previous fears had any basis.
"...so, you'll know that Dr. Hikari Tadashi was essentially the creator of the internet in its current form, and Dr. Hikari Yuuichiro, his son, was the inventor of PET technology. Dr. Hikari is currently with us at SciLabs - "
" - researching Cross Fusion and new ways of letting humans work with the internet." List finished, then shook her head. "Oh, sorry for interrupting! But I'm a big fan of Dr. Hikari's work and...so, I was wondering – why did Dr. Hikari begin studying Cross Fusion? I know it was useful in fighting instantiated Nebula programs, but the first confirmed attack..."
Enzan explained as best he could, List listening attentively and occasionally commenting. As they exited the airport and continued talking, and List began to relate stories of Ameroupe's battle against Nebula, Enzan found himself beginning to relax. Perhaps it was too early to tell just yet, but...List was certainly not as naïve about Official work as he had feared, and she was fairly well-informed in general. At least it was a change from Netto, whose only interests were Netbattling and food, Enzan thought with some amusement. And if Netto could do this...well, we'll see.
In the chauffeured Official car, halfway through an explanation of Cross Fusion, Enzan recalled something. "I'm sorry, your Navi – may I see him or her? Your Navi'll need security clearance to be allowed into the SciLabs network, and I would like to check a few other things as well."
"My Navi? Oh, you're looking for my current project." List pulled her knapsack out from under her seat and begun to rummage around. "Sorry, I have a lot of disks, but the Navi template one should be somewhere around...ah, here it is."
She handed Enzan something that looked all the world like a black battle chip. Enzan took it, in some confusion. "This is...where you store your Navi?"
"Mm-hm. Just slot it into your PET like a normal chip, and the Navi program'll automatically open. You should be able to do whatever you need with it from there."
Don't you have a PET? Enzan, mildly bemused, wanted to ask. And if you don't use a PET, how do you talk with your Navi...?
But he held his tongue. Perhaps this was the way Ameroupean programmers did things, and if so, he'd learn about it sooner or later. Setting his doubts aside, Enzan pulled his own red PET from his pocket and, ignoring the twinge of pain at seeing its blank screen, slotted the chip in. A few seconds and a download bar later, a gray Navi appeared on the screen. It had a simple buster, a gray circle for an icon, and was so entirely nondescript that Enzan wondered, out loud, whether List had gotten the wrong chip.
"Not at all." List grinned. "I guess Luc is a bit plain, but it does the job. I'll definitely show it to you later."
The unconventional presentation of the Navi, Luc, aside, Enzan had no further surprises as he cleared it – no, him, Enzan thought, why am I calling a Navi an it – for SciLab entry. They took the chauffeured car back towards Official HQ, List now talking animatedly. Enzan was content to listen for the rest of the way back, and as they exited the car towards a welcoming party of Commissioner Kifune and Ms. Manabe, thought, well, things are starting to get interesting.
The next day, Nebula attacked.