Chapter 3: Normal Netto

= At Netto's House =

Netto dashed upstairs when his mother called him. "Netto, aren't you going to eat dinner?"

"No thanks, mom. I'm not quite hungry right now."

"Netto? Not hungry? Are you sure you're not sick?" Being the caring mother she is, she came up to him and felt his forehead. "You feel fine enough. Well, if you're really sure, I'll just leave some in the fridge, okay honey?"

"Okay, thanks mom!" Netto continued up the stairs with a bright smile on his face.

"I'm glad that Netto is happy again," Haruka said after Netto closed his door. "That's the happiest I've seen him so far, although, not everything seemed right. He never skips a dinner..."

"Well, I'm glad too. I guess he was just bored, that's all. He was given a mission today at the Apple store, so he must have been tired after coming home. True, though, not all seems normal..." Yuuichiro said.

"Netto-kun, what are you so happy about?" Rockman asked. "Don't say 'nothing' again... I... I... I could have l... lost you today." Rockman became a bit teary eyed.

"Fine, I won't say 'nothing'... we finally had a mission! It was small, but it was something. I've been waiting for a mission ever since Beast Plus ended and the whole Ryuusei no Rockman crap started." he replied. "And don't worry, Rockman. I'm still here."

Rockman stopped his tears. "Hey! I like that show!"

"Sorry Rockman. It's not that I hate it. It's just well... One of the main characters looks just like you! He's even named after you. What a rip off!"

"I suppose..."

Silence filled the room for quite a bit when Rockman noticed that Netto had school tomorrow.

"Netto-kun... it's time to finish your homework. Tomorrow's Monday, which means school-"

Netto laughed. "Ha ha, I already finished my homework this morning before you woke up!"

"No freakin' way. You did your homework, that early, on a Sunday, no less?" Rockman almost fained at the sound of that, but to his surprise, Netto backed up his claim well by showing his brother a stack of finished homework.

Rockman hadn't bothered asking Netto if he was really okay; he'd just deny the claim again. He wished his brother would share his thoughts more with him, though.

They trusted each other more than anyone else in the world, but Rockman felt as if his brother had somewhat trusted him less. No, that wasn't it. He knew Netto better than anyone else. Netto would never trust him less! At that point he sighed and felt a bit more relieved.

"Well, I'm off to bed. It's 7 PM right now. Night Rockman!"

But it's only 7 PM. Why would he sleep this early? On a Sunday, no less? Well, as long as he finished his homework... Plus today must have worn him out, Rockman thought. He didn't argue back and went into sleep mode himself.

= The Next Morning =

"No... please... no... I don't want you to go... Come back... Come back... Don't leave me..." Netto groaned in his sleep. "NOOO!!!"

He jumped up and out of bed after that horrific scream. What was that all about? He thought.

"Rockman, what time is it?" he asked his navi.

"Well, Netto, if you already haven't noticed, it's time to BE at school!" Rockman yelled.

"Oh crap." Netto hurriedly washed his face, brushed his teeth and changed into clean clothes, rushing downstairs to grab his breakfast, lunch, PET and backpack.

"Tnks mm bmm mm!" Netto yelled as he rushed out the door on his skates before his mother had a chance to say anything. He still had food in his mouth.

Now that's the Netto I know. Haruka thought as she smiled. Wait, I shouldn't be happy that he's late for school again, though.

"Why the hell didn't you wake me up earlier, Rockman?!"

"I tried to! But no, you were too busy screaming 'Don't leave me' and 'Come back'! What was that all about anyway?"

Netto tried hard to remember, but he couldn't pull himself to remember. He remained silent for a moment.

"Netto-kun?" Rockman asked.

"Mmm? Yeah? Oh, it's nothing. Anyway, I'd better hurry if I don't want Mariko-sensei yelling at me once again."

= In Netto's Classroom =

He spoke too soon.

"HIKARI NETTO. ONCE AGAIN, YOU ARE LATE TO CLASS. I WAS ENJOYING THE PAST FEW WEEKS WITH YOU ON TIME, BUT WHY THE CHANGE NOW?!"

Netto gulped as the class started laughing and blushed as he went to his seat and sat down.

"I'm sorry, Mariko-sensei. I finished Sunday night's homework, though," Netto said as a slight smile crept upon his face.

"You're forgiven. Wow, you actually turned in your homework, on a Monday, no less. Your lateness is excused," she replied as she took his homework from him and smiled. The entire class became silent. Mariko-sensei must love homework to excuse lateness.

[[Me: Blah blah blah, that's enough for school. Nothing else will happen besides the normal boring school stuff; All of his friends aren't even in the country, for crying out loud! Well, almost all of them... Anyway...]]

= After School =

"Damn it, where could that blasted piece of paper be at?!" yelled a very unhappy Enzan. He looked as if he had been playing hide and seek in his office, and it looked like hell broke loose there too. He frantically searched everywhere, but to no luck, he couldn't find it.

"Sometimes, I hate being the V.P. of IPC..."

"If I may, Enzan-sama, perhaps you should look somewhere outside your office?" Blues asked.

"Blues, I had it with me the whole time up until we got here. Where else would it be?" he replied.

"As you wish."

"Maybe it's in there... no... how about there..."

Meanwhile, Netto was walking back home from school. He stopped by the neighbourhood park before he went home and sat on the swings smiling. I finally got to see him again.

"Netto-kun, what are you smiling about?" Rockman asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just a really nice day today, all snowy and stuff, ya know?"

"Really?"

"Really."

A cold wind started blowing, making Netto shiver.

"Netto-kun, I think we should get home now. You might catch a cold."

"You worry too much, Rockman. But I suppose you're right. Let's go." He gave a smirk to Rockman as he got up and started walking.

Netto was about to take a few more steps when the cold wind blew a piece of paper into his face, startling him for the moment.

"What the hell, people should learn how to throw their trash in the bins. What is this blasted piece of paper anyway?" Netto looked at the piece of paper.

It had a bunch of mumbo-jumbo on it, but before he threw it away, he caught the letters IPC in the top left hand corner of the paper. He continued examining it until something else caught his eye.

It was Enzan's signature. Upon the thought, Netto brought the paper to his chest and looked up at the sky, smiling. Enzan... he thought.

"Earth to Netto!" Rockman called out. "What are you doing?"

"Ehh... I was reading the paper of course! What else would I be doing?"

"Well, it seems as if you were doing more than just looking at the piece of paper. What is it anyway?"

"Well, it has the letters 'IPC' on it and Enzan's signature is on the bottom, so it must belong to him. Only one way to find out."

"We're... we're... going to Enzan's?" Rockman asked, slightly blushing but not enough for Netto to notice.

"Why are you talking like that? What, are you scared of Blues?" Netto teased.

"Oh, no reason. And I'm NOT scared of Blues! Let's go." I could never be scared of Blues... he thought.

"Come on, Rockman. There has to be a reason. Are you feeling well? Besides, you ask me that ALL the time!"

"No really, Netto. It's nothing. Let's go before the weather worsens."

"If you say so."