The aforementioned crazed crimefighter – that is to say, the one and only Lan Hikari – was actually plotting out a crazy scheme. No joke, seriously.
Eyes sliding furtively from left to right, Lan smirked and darted forward. Hoping no one would see him, he scurried into the building. He sure wished that he wouldn't be noticed – it was too dangerous.
So, in what he hoped was a stealthy, sneaky fashion, Lan rocketed through the hallways of the Grand Tournament headquarters. It's great to have roller skates, he thought with a reminiscent grin, remembering when he his orange blades had cracked. Now he was sporting a new pair of equally flamboyant in-lines as he streaked through the hallways, one eye on the milling TGT staff as he snuck past them. Yup, nothing like a good pair of these to skate past people without them even realizing it, his thoughts went on, though he knew perfectly well that they probably did realize them. At least, his subconscious/heart of hearts knew it; the conscious part of Lan – iridescent in all his animeish idiocy, standard-anime-personality – didn't recognize the fact.
This is awesome! Grinning and crying out wordlessly as he pumped his arms victoriously, Lan was reminding himself of a short with a silly pink hat, though he knew not who or why.
Lo! And behold! This was second nature to him – his element, after NetBattling. This was what he did: coasting through the TGT building with the greatest of ease, his former quest to not be noticed temporarily forgotten, swingin' by people who took considerable notice of him without a care in the world, watching the stunned faces of those who he flew past. This was an awesome, uplifting sensation, all this – this – this soaring on wheels as he sped mast them, feeling the dust kicking up under his heels as he cut through the hallways between them, his face flushed with excitement as he glided past them, feeling his excitement mount higher and higher as he passed them and…
And crashed into the wall.
This is just great, Lan thought bitterly, a painful twinge in his forehead as he got to his feet. His previous ecstatic, joyous mood now evaporated, he slowly rose. Just what I need.
Lan grinned apologetically, a drop of sweat coursing down his cheek, blushing furiously, black lines streaking down from under his headband. He did a quick peace sign, mouth wide open and eyes closed through the sweatdropping. The TGT staff, however, were the exact opposite of what the twelve year-old NetBattler had been expecting.
They laughed.
And quite a lot they laughed, too. They laughed so much – mouths dropping open, guffaws seeming to cloud up the air around them, smacking their knees with the hilarity of it all – that Lan's annoyed expression faded quickly (though not completely); it was now a mere trifle. A grin enveloping his features, he aimed his peace sign far into the air, his previously gaping mouth now wide for another reason.
And so it was that day that Lan Hikari learned a valuable lesson – sometimes you have to laugh at yourself.
Once the humour session was over, however, Lan quickly waved the peace sign before scampering out of sight as he charged toward a nearby elevator. Hopping into it at the eleventh hour, he was given odd looks at his efficient rapidity.
Not that Lan cared, of course. After all, he was who he was – he had to do this thing that his humanized Navi wasn't anticipating but would definitely only mildly surprise him. Lan had his reasons, of course – OK, so being an SAP character/ having AI () helped considerably. Especially one who happened to have an imagination.
At any rate, Lan quickly arrived at the third floor. Tipping his head respectfully to some of the Grand Tournament staff standing inside the elevator (these two gave him odd looks), he swirled on his blades and emerged in the main hallway.
"All right, then." Lan pulled a map from his schoolbag, kneeling down as he did so. Consulting the many twists and turns that ran over the paper, his quick eyes took everything in. So, according to the map, his destination was two rooms ahead. "Excellent," Lan mumbled, folding up the sheet and packing it away into his bag, "This doesn't look too hard."
Swinging the bag across his shoulder, Lan went up on the balls of his feet and back down again. He didn't think it would be a good idea to go speeding through the hallway and the following room; who knew what could happen? Especially if his dad were there… He'd be mad, for sure, Lan thought, securing the pack on his shoulders. Boldly striding forth, he glanced around him.
It was quite a busy hallway, actually. Doors were positioned every few metres along the walls on either side, their bright white plastic signs bearing titles such as 'Graphic Design' and 'NetBattling Tournament Connections.'
Odd names. Blinking, Lan strolled calmly down the hallway. Away from him, a few people were seated at laptops, some with their Navis, while others were standing beside a counter a short distance away, against a wall between the doors. These were clearly receptionists; he could hear the riffling of papers, the clinking of glasses, and the bleep of PETs as they worked. The only other object of interest was a jack in-compatible bulletin unit next to a final door; this one was heading straight forward, where Lan had to go.
Lan rapidly passed the workers, making his way over to the bulletin. Mega Man is with me, he thought, fingering the button that could be pressed to refresh the news pertaining to TGT. Maybe he could check it out?
"Mega, do you wanna take a look?" he asked, bringing his eyes up to the screen. A few bits and bytes of information flickered across, being added to and subtracted from before his very eyes. Come to think of it, there was actually quite a lot of news today.
"Mega Man?" Lan quested cautiously when the blue bomber didn't answer. "Mega? Can you hear me?"
That was it. Nothing. Lan fumbled through the pocket of his shorts, rummaging around for his familiar sky-blue terminal. His furious hand arose seconds later, PET clutched in his fist.
What's going on? Being careful not to mutter the words as they ran through his mind, Lan brought the PET to his head. Why isn't he answering me?
"Mega Man, can you hear me?" The crazed crimefighter posed the question clearly but somewhat loudly; the humanized Navi needed to know. "Are you listening?"
Huh? Lan turned the PET in his fist, then gave a double take.
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Mega Man wasn't there.
Oh. Go figure. Feeling like he was about to flush – there was now quite a large group of staff people around him, having heard his frenzied murmuring – Lan stuck the PET into his pocket. It figured. A lot.
Now that he thought about it, Lan remembered. He'd left his Navi with Roll and that TGT guy, Maxim, in the Internet. Whoops. Almost sweatdropping again with the whole matter of this embarrassment-inducing agony, Lan smiled and pushed past the small crowd gathered around him. He had a mission to accomplish.
And, for any of those crazed fanfic-readers wonderin' – yes, it was involved with saving Mega Man.
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() SAP – standard anime personality AI – animeish idiocy Basically the same thing – a character, usually the main character, of an anime, manga, or video game, is rash, reckless, idiotic and of course hilarious.