Unlike the prequel, I actually haven't decided on how long this one will be, if it would be another total of ten chapters or not. I'm just going to figure it all out as I write along until I've hit what I felt would be covered. However, I imagine I might cut some corners here and there if they're not that important to share.
"We're nearing through the last week, Jasmine," Medi announced. "I hope you haven't forgotten."
"Of course not!" Jasmine replied cheerfully. "That was why we worked extra hard on our studies since we returned home. So we can go have fun again!"
The young medical practitioner was traveling up to her grandfather's hidden home up at the outskirts of Choina. Medi's tiny holographic form sat on her right shoulder, casually kicking her feet up while looking ahead through the bamboo all around them. They had just finished collecting more ingredients to concoct effective medicines and were on their way for one last task to finish.
And that was to appeal to Jasmine's grandfather to let her freely visit Japan again.
"I have no doubt that he'll approve," Medi remarked. "I'm really looking forward to see Rock-kun live again."
"You're really fond of him, aren't you?" Jasmine asked.
"He never ceases to amaze me," Medi added, gaining a faint blush upon her cheeks. "Have you tried appealing to Netto-kun as well?"
"Hmm, we've been partners since the whole incident with Duo and we still are, even if we haven't been as active as before," Jasmine mused. "I like being in his company a lot. But now that there isn't any crisis threatening the world, I feel like our destinies are becoming separate."
"That shouldn't matter," Medi reasoned fairly. "After all, Rock-kun and I have been making our new relationship work despite the long distance. That's the beauty of email and instant messaging. So it should be fitting that his Operator gets together with you. I approve of you two, of course. I think Netto-kun is a fine young man for you."
"But isn't that rushing it a bit?" Jasmine inquired. "I haven't lived in Japan long enough to decide if I would really settle down there. I still love Choina to the point that I'm too attached to let it go."
"That's why I also have an idea to suggest to Cardamom-san, Jasmine."
"What's that?"
"We can say that we want to study abroad and learn of the flora of the other countries for the sake of making more potent remedies," Medi explained. "That way, we can go live in Japan for a lengthy period of time as part of our studies and see if you can get accustomed there."
"Oh, I see now," Jasmine agreed before falling back into a pensive look. "But then, wouldn't Jii-chan expect us to live in other places like Ameroupe or Sharo? That would mean that we can't stay in Japan for long."
"That's a valid point, actually," Medi commented, thinking of another solution. "Well then, we'll just cross that bridge when we get to it. I hope this will work out in the end."
"Yeah, me too…"
"… Something still bothering you?"
"I was also thinking that even if we can live in Japan for as long as we want, there's still that other girl that always hangs out with Netto."
"Are you referring to Roll's Operator, Sakurai Meiru? What about her?"
"She seems like a nice girl and appears very close to him."
"Rock-kun told me that they've been next-door neighbors for nearly their entire lives. But even with history, that shouldn't matter. After all, I'm together with Rock-kun, not Roll. Plus, she's also indirectly responsible for letting Roll use that defective Yan Love Chip in the first place."
"That's all in the past now, though. No one holds it against her anyway. And besides, unlike you and Rockman, I don't think Netto seems interested in a relationship right now."
"Key words being 'right now,' you're giving up too easily on this, Jasmine. If I was able to get through to Rock-kun, then you shouldn't have any difficulty getting through to Netto-kun. You two have been staying in touch pretty well over the month, sending each other some emails a couple of times per week."
"Maybe. But you still have the advantage over me since you declared your relationship official before we left Japan."
"Will you stop doubting me and instead doubt your doubts? Just give it your best shot! Just be yourself."
"Hmm, okay! By the way, how far along do you think Netto and Meiru are in their relationship?"
"From what I previously gathered, nothing much. Meiru has been visiting and watching over Roll most of the time, so not much development there. She's just waiting for her Navi to be released soon so that they could attend the Densan fall festival with Rock-kun and the rest of their friends, us included."
"I see. Oh, we're getting close to Jii-chan!"
"Don't forget our plan in going to live in Japan."
The sagely grandfather stood outside of his humble home, waiting to greet Jasmine as she returned from her tasks from the land on the other side of the country. The Choina girl immediately waved and ran up to him for a big hug.
"My star pupil, you've really grown into quite the young woman," Cardamom remarked. "You've become wiser and more capable each passing day while I wait for my time to come."
"Don't say that, Jii-chan!" Jasmine whined with a pout. "You've got a lot of years ahead for you. I'll make sure of it!"
"Now, now, I've already done plenty for this world and you'll soon be taking up my mantle as a master of the healing arts," Cardamom assured. "Speaking of future responsibilities, it appears that you and your Navi have something on mind you wanted to share with me."
Jasmine blinked unconsciously a few times, amazed on how perceptive her grandfather could be time to time. She turned to face Medi, who was standing on her shoulder with the same surprised look her Operator just had. They both exchanged glances before facing Cardamom once more.
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Medi commented.
"Jii-chan, there's actually something me and Medi are thinking about trying out," Jasmine began.
"Oh? And what might that be?" Cardamom asked with a twinkle in one of his eyes.
"In some top educational systems, students have been allowed to travel to different countries for specialized studying," Medi opened with. "Even though Jasmine and I are not part of any formal education, we want to study abroad to gain experience as top-rate pharmacists."
"Yeah, we feel that it'll help us grow and learn more about the world," Jasmine added as an appeal.
Cardamom responded with a low rumble of his throat as a sign that he was deliberating through his granddaughter and her Navi's interesting proposal. Jasmine and Medi did not move a single muscle as they anxiously waited for a livelier response from him, hoping for an approval and his blessing to go forth outside of Choina.
Their little area was nearly silent with the exception of their breathing. Cardamom then lifted his head up. Jasmine and Medi became very attentive to his answer.
"I only have one more question to ask before I give you two my final answer," he replied, receiving nods from the both of them as an urge to continue. "What brought about this desire to travel the world?"
The two females looked at each other, both feeling a bit uneasy about telling him their actual reason for leaving Choina at this moment. Moving to Japan to be close to a couple of close friends, in retrospect, did not have the immediate feel of productivity to their purpose as medical practitioners. As though he sensed their wavering, Cardamom's eyes narrowed slightly upon them. They felt a bit more intimidated by the passing second the longer his gaze lingered.
"Um, it's to…," Jasmine drew out, still trying to find the right words to justify herself.
"We just feel that… there might be… people…?" Medi mumbled to save her struggling Operator, suddenly finding some inspirational momentum to go on. "There might be people that are in need of special medical attention that only we can provide…?"
The nurse Navi mentally slapped herself on the forehead. The manner in which she enunciated her last sentence would certainly bring up a major credibility issue as she sounded completely unsure of herself. It didn't help that Cardamom's expression did not change at all. As a matter of fact, he looked like he became sterner after that.
Even Jasmine was starting to shake from the pressure, and the girl was usually hard to rattle.
"You really think I cannot see your true intentions?" Cardamom spoke up sturdily.
"…" Jasmine and Medi had no answer after that.
Cardamom then closed his eyes and smiled.
"You really do care for the lives of others. I see it well enough through your eyes and in your hearts. Well then, you're free to go. Good luck out there."
The old hermit turned and walked into his home, leaving his dumbstruck granddaughter and Navi behind. They comically blinked in succession, somehow unable to move any single muscle in their bodies.
"Did he just…?" Medi inquired, blinking once more.
"… I think so," Jasmine replied, giving a responding wide blink.
Inside his shack, Cardamom chuckled to himself.
"Your destiny with that of the Net Savior boy from Japan is wound tighter than you can imagine," Cardamom ruminated. "It goes beyond that of the comet that once was considered an ominous warning to our world." He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Well, time to get dinner started. Hopefully, that should be enough to pull those girls back so that they don't wind up standing outside the whole night."
Sometime later and elsewhere…
"Netto-kun, you got an email," Rockman alerted. "It's from Jasmine."
"Ah, I was hoping to hear from her soon," Netto said eagerly. "It's almost the end of the month and the festival is coming up."
"You actually remembered about the festival?" Rockman jested.
"You know that Meiru-chan is making sure I don't forget so that I'd take her and our friends out," Netto replied, grinning self-consciously. "Anyway, what's the email about?"
"It says that Jasmine and Medi-chan are on their way to Japan tomorrow as they just booked their flight," Rockman shared. "… Oh? Looks like they also have some big news they want to share with us once they arrive."
"Did they say what kind of news it is?" Netto asked.
"They said it was 'big', but other than that, they just asked how our day has been and that they're looking forward to reuniting with us," Rockman explained.
"Cool!" Netto exclaimed. "It's funny that Jasmine usually doesn't notify us ahead of time of her arrival and usually just drops in on us while floating down with her umbrella."
"Then it must be something serious if she sent us an email to warn us of her arrival," Rockman pondered. "Should I send her a reply that we'll be waiting for them at the airport?"
"Yeah, that would be a good idea," Netto concurred.
"Hey, Netto!"
Calling down from the sunset-drenched sidewalk was Meiru, waving over to him as she got closer. Netto smiled and waved back to her.
"Meiru-chan! How goes it?" Netto greeted.
"I just came from the Net Police station and guess what!" Meiru responded. "Roll is finally going to be released from custody tomorrow morning!"
"Whoa, that's awesome!" Netto remarked.
"Has Roll-chan been cleared of any possible aftereffects?" Rockman queried.
"Yep! All tests came out negative!" Meiru answered cheerily. "She has been allowed to be active over a week ago, so of course you should already know that, Rockman. She's back to her sweet self again. Also, she wants Rockman to be the first she sees upon her release."
"Well, I guess it should be safe for me to be close to her again," Rockman added rather awkwardly.
"Huh, what's wrong?" Meiru asked, having sensed the blue Navi's sudden uneasiness.
"We're actually going to pick up Jasmine at the airport tomorrow," Netto explained. "I just got an email from her that her estimated arrival time will be around 10:00 in the morning."
"Oh," Meiru grunted, suddenly understanding the implication behind Rockman's hesitation. "Well, it should all be water under the bridge now, right?"
"They should be on friendly terms, after everything they've been through," Netto added as an afterthought. "We're all friends and we've definitely been through worse before."
"So what would be the ideal way to go about this?" Rockman deliberated.
"Knowing you, you'd probably want to spend the rest of the day helping Jasmine settle in," Meiru said, turning to the side sullenly.
What's up with Meiru-chan? Netto thought, wondering why his red-headed childhood friend suddenly seemed depressed by mentioning his Choina friend.
You really don't get it, do you, Netto-kun? Rockman thought, picking up that particularly confounded look his Operator had.
"Hey, here's an idea," Netto said aloud. "How about we drop by the Net Police station to pick up Roll and then head over to the airport to wait for Jasmine?"
"You sure about this?" Meiru asked in concern.
"They'll have to face each other sooner or later, so it's best to resolve it now," Netto advised.
"That's… a really good point," Meiru agreed, impressed on her crush's use of common sense. Even she had her doubts about the NetNavis' confrontation, but through the way he said it, she felt that she could trust that it would work out in the end.
"Plus, I'd like it if you did join me in welcoming Jasmine back," Netto added. "We haven't spent much time together since you've been there for Roll since the beginning of the month. I missed you."
Meiru felt the pace of her heartbeat increase tenfold. The rapid blood flow made her cheeks glow bright red while she somehow struggled to share even her gratitude over the fact that Netto missed her and valued her company by a lot. She still hadn't mentally prepared for these kinds of situations.
"… I… uh…"
"Jasmine also sees you as a friend too. She's really awesome, isn't she? Kinda cute too! I miss her so much!"
"… … … Netto."
"Yeah?"
*BAM!*
"Ow!" Netto yelped, rubbing against the sudden red handprint on the side of his face. "What was that for?!"
"Sorry! Just felt like hitting you," Meiru huffed, folding her arms and turning away with a strangely adorable pout. "Baka."
"Netto-kun, maybe you shouldn't switch to complementing Jasmine while still complementing Meiru," Rockman advised with a nervous chuckle.
"I still don't understand girls," Netto grumbled, attempting to ease the pain. "… Ow."
"I'll still join you in picking her up if you're okay with it," Meiru announced, turning around with a softened and rather penitent look. "Just… be nice to her, okay?"
"Oh, of course!" Netto responded, brightening back up. "I'm glad you're okay with this, Meiru-chan. You're super awesome!"
The red-haired girl smiled tenderly from the praise before a memory resurfaced up in her mind. There was one more thing she needed to share now that she remembered.
"Before I forget, I ran into Yaito-chan earlier," Meiru announced. "She wanted me to tell you that her father's company is playing a big part in this year's fall festival and wants a large group of us to take part of it."
"But we're attending the fall festival together anyway," Netto pointed out with a raised brow.
"There's more to it than that," Meiru continued. "As part of helping Densan City as a whole become more culturally aware, they are adding in some unique traditions that're usually celebrated from the Western countries around this time of year. One is called 'Halloween' and another Yaito-chan mentioned is called the 'Day of the Dead.'"
"I've heard a bit about both, actually," Netto confessed, intrigued by her story so far. "I'm guessing our friends are involved with this because of Yaito-chan. So what do they want us to do? All I know is that for Halloween, there's a bunch of pumpkin carving and putting candles inside them to light them up like lanterns."
"Instead of dressing up in traditional robes, we get to wear costumes that, according to tradition, scare away evil demons and spirits back to the netherworld," Meiru concluded.
"Wait, did you just say… 's-s-spirits'?" Rockman shivered.
"Oops," Meiru gasped, remembering the blue Navi's phobia regarding paranormal ethereal beings, aka ghosts.
Apparently even the mere mention of those creatures were enough to send him up the cyber wall.
"… Excuse me," Rockman coughed before his holographic image on Netto's shoulder disappeared, signaling his retreat back into cyberspace.
"Don't worry about it, he'll get over it soon," Netto assured, though even he sounded doubtful over it as he scratched the back of his head. "At least, I think he will."
"Well, the good news is that we get free candy!" Meiru intervened in an attempt to turn around the mood.
"Ha! Now that's sweet, pun intended," Netto joked. "So then, it's you, me, Yaito-chan, and presumably Dekao, Chisao, and Tohru?"
"Yeah, and I believe Higure, Shuuko-san, Mariko-sensei, and even Anetta were invited by Yaito-chan to join in," Meiru added. "I think even the former WWW members from Maha Ichiban were taken in by Yaito-chan with the promise of additional funding for their restaurant."
"You know what would be funny is if somehow Yaito-chan and Anetta convinced Enzan to volunteer for it too," Netto said, smirking mirthfully at the thought. "That disco costume with the funny afro of his would certainly make the demons laugh themselves to death!"
"Who knows?" Meiru shrugged indifferently. "As for the Day of the Dead, it's the way some cultures honor and respect the deceased by preparing festivities for them as they believe their spirits return to this world for one set day around this time."
"As long as Rockman doesn't run into one, then I think we're fine there."
"I know there's usually a lot of food and dancing involved, and I believe one of the fun activities to do for it is decorating a skull mold with colorful sugar glitter and accessories."
"I never knew. They all sound really interesting."
"Anyway, I've got to get home. Nice talking with you, Netto! See you tomorrow!"
"Ok! Take care, Meiru-chan!"
As she went on her way, Netto looked back into his PET and attempted to get Rockman to respond to him. He also noticed the time and it was starting to get close to dark.
"Hey, Rockman, you alright in there?" Netto asked, beginning his trek home.
"Yeah, I've gotten over it now," Rockman's voice replied before his image reappeared on the PET screen. "I think I'm getting better on handling it."
"Just take it one step at a time," Netto reassured. "Anyway, it sounded like a bunch of us have been roped into showcasing these foreign holidays for the festival. I think it would be safe to guess that Navis are involved as well in dressing up in costumes for the Halloween thing. Hey! We should invite Jasmine and Medi to do it with us!"
"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," Rockman concurred. "What do you think they would want to dress up as?"
"We can ask them once we tell them all about it tomorrow," Netto said. "I hope the reunion goes well tomorrow. By the way, you and Medi have gotten really close, I noticed."
"I guess you can say that," Rockman commented with a slight sheepish blush. "At first I didn't understand why all these extremes, such as why she was really affectionate in the past and why Roll-chan behaved the way she did, but Medi-chan eventually made it clear to me after we saved Roll-chan. Then one thing led to another during our last few days together. And now we're like this."
To illustrate his point, the blue bomber Navi held up the index and middle fingers on his right hand and intertwined them.
"Well, it's because you're now close friends with her, isn't it?" Netto pointed out.
"But wait, there's more, Netto-kun," Rockman argued.
"How so?" Netto continued, appearing a bit frustrated as he felt that he was not understanding his brother of a NetNavi.
"I'm… not sure how else to explain it right now," Rockman said. "It just happens. Don't you feel anything when you're around Meiru or Jasmine?"
"Well, I've known Meiru-chan for a long time, so of course we're close friends," Netto surmised. "And Jasmine is really friendly and affectionate at times, which is nice. A bit odd, but still nice."
Was I really that dense like that before Medi-chan got through to me? Rockman thought, sweatdropping. "You know what? I'll just go ahead and make our reply email to Jasmine. Let's just call it a day?"
"Sounds good to me! I'm starving! I wonder what Mama made for dinner this time."
"Oh, Netto-kun…"
From a grim opening to a lighthearted second chapter, it seems like quite the mood whiplash. But you can expect some interesting, if not questionable, moments later on as the plot moves on.
Please review!