Disclaimer: All I own is the plot.

AH! So sorry for the long wait! I had a ton going on these past few months, plus a little writers' block... It sucked. Lately I've been trying to catch up on all my fics, and this one was my main priority.

KaySlay: No worries! I forget passwords all the time! And thanks so much for the review! I'm super happy you're enjoying this :) And again, sorry for keeping you waiting XD


Roll clenched and unclenched her hands impatiently, watching as navis of all kinds passed by her. She stood in the middle of Net City, waiting and searching for the right navi. She felt slightly guilty about going against Maylu's back, but it had to be done, for her benefit.

"You wanted to talk?" The voice startled her, and Roll whirled around, eyes wide, one hand clutching at her navi symbol. She exhaled and then glared heatedly at the tall navi in front of her.

"What, are you trying to give me a heart-attack, Protoman?"

His lips just twitched upwards in the makings of a smirk. "I wasn't aware that navis had hearts."

Roll crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance. She opened her mouth to argue back, but he cut her off.

"Did you need something?"

The irritation dissolved off her face in an instant, leaving behind a more worried expression. She bit her lip and looked around at all the navis walking around them, some were shooting them curious glances as the two interrupted the flow of movement.

"Maybe we should go somewhere less crowded." Roll turned back to the crimson navi, who was still watching her, and motioned for him to follow. They ended up walking until they had reached a square that had considerably less navis. Their pace became slower as they walked along, steps falling in sync.

"I'm worried about Maylu," Roll began. "I know she's going through a hard time, but she's isn't dealing with this in a healthy way. Instead of talking this out with her father, she just sort of blew up on him and created all this family tension. I'm not saying she didn't have the right to be angry, but at the same time, she's going about this all wrong. Maylu has criticized her father on his evasiveness of personal issues, but she's beginning to do the same.

"Ever since we stayed at Yai's, she's avoided any conversations I try to start about her father. She pushes it away and is ignorant to her own actions. Plus, she's been wearing herself out from all her fake 'cheerfulness' and I'm afraid that one day she's just gonna break. I don't think that it's very good for her to keep turning a blind eye to her problems. She needs to find a solution to this that will set things right in a sensible way. But I'm afraid she just isn't willing to listen to what I say. She just writes it off as me being too worried, or sensitive."

Protoman stared straight ahead, attentive to the little pink navi. "I'm failing to see how I fit into this situation. No offense."

Her eyes flicked to his face, but immediately returned to the path in front of her. She took a deep breath, not quite sure how he was going to react to this.

"Well," Roll started a little nervously, "She's refusing to listen to common sense, and obviously my nagging isn't helping at all, so, I was sorta wondering if - well, if you could get Chaud to talk to her for me."

The crimson navi stopped, turning his head to look down at her by his side. Roll couldn't tell what he was thinking, and she couldn't see what his expression was like due to the visor that hid his eyes. She could only hope that he wasn't going to immediately shoot her request down.

She found herself wondering what he really looked like underneath the helmet and the shades. Did he show more emotion than what could be seen now? What did he look like? What color were his eyes?

After a second, Protoman faced forward once more and began walking. Roll, having stopped when he did, lengthened her strides to catch up with him.

"And you think she'll listen to Chaud?" He asked, a hint of a disbelieving scoff hardening his voice. "You presume she's going to value the opinion of a boy she hardly knows over that of a navi she's had for years?"

Roll stopped walking once again and turned her body to face him. He was forced to stop along with her. She looked straight into his visor, where his eyes should be. "She listened to him once. What makes you think she won't listen to him again?" She challenged him, refusing to be intimidated by his height or unpenetrable shades.

They stood in silence as he pondered her question. Finally, he crossed his arms, folding them over his chest. "If I did agree to this, how did you plan on pulling it off?"

Roll smiled. At least he was considering it.

"I was thinking that you could persuade Chaud, in a subtle way, that he should just check up on her or something. You know, to make sure she's doing okay. I mean, if they talk and get to know each other, then gradually, you could hint to Chaud about advising her to work things out with her father. That way they'll get to know each other better, and she can solve this whole father-daughter issue."

Protoman pondered the options. His Op was always busy, and catering to a troubled girl wouldn't help him with his duties or stress levels... But he had also been noticing how Chaud had been isolating himself more and more lately. Perhaps it would be good for him to open up and gain a new friend...

"Fine," He sighed, "I'll go along with your little plan."

Roll beamed up at him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much, Protoman! I just know this is going to work!"

He coughed uncomfortably, turning away so she didn't see his embarrassed blush. "Yeah, whatever. Just bring your Netop to the library at noon, okay?"

He logged out before she could reply, but the smile still stayed on her face. Maybe Protoman wasn't as emotionless as everyone thought.


Chaud sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was standing inside the entrance to the Dentech public library. How in the world had he gotten sucked into this?

"Sir, you've received an email from one of your company advisors." Oh yeah, that's how.

"Ignore it." The boy glared at his navi, the source of his trouble, but said nothing more. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against a wall beside the front doors.

It's not like he disliked the girl. On the contrary, she intrigued him. He just didn't quite understand why he was so interested in the first place. He wasn't usually one to meddle with other people's business in the past, so why start now? It confused as well as disturbed him. Perhaps he was more concerned about this girl than he had originally thought. But even that didn't make sense. It's not like he knew the girl well. He had interacted slightly with her during the whole Bass and cruise ship epidemic, but other than that, they were hardly even aquaintances. His mind flashed back to the talk he had had with Protoman the night before.

"She seemed quite troubled at Hikari's the other day." His navi had said after the redhead had somehow become the topic of their conversation. Chaud was filling in some reports, and had found himself discussing the girl with his navi.

"Hmm." He agreed half-heartedly and continued to research his work. There was a second of silence.

"I wonder why she was alone that one time in the city. Strange isn't it?" Protoman continued vaguely, testing his operator out. So far, the teen's focus was mostly on his business work. Maybe a different approach would catch his attention.

"I heard she is no longer living at her own house, that she is now staying with Yai." He stated it casually, as if this was just normal gossip. As if he was one to engage in normal gossip. "I also heard she told off her father, and is falling into depression. Hopefully she isn't suicidal."

The typing on the keyboard halted, and Chaud turned his attention to his navi, eyes narrowed in scrutiny. "And just where have you been hearing this, Protoman? Funny, I didn't think you were one for gossip." He stated suspiciously.

The navi shrugged one armored shoulder. "I was talking with Megaman and Roll for quite some time while you guys studied. It was bound to come up sometime or other."

The boy said nothing, so Protoman continued. It was time for the little push...

"Aren't you the slightest bit worried for her well-being? Perhaps you should talk with her, just to make sure she's okay."

"Doesn't she have her own friends?" The Vice President questioned.

"Obviously they aren't helping much if she is still struggling so bad. All I'm saying is that you were in a similar situation before, and maybe she just needs someone who understands her. Besides, it really couldn't hurt just to check in." He waited tensely, hoping he hadn't hinted to hard.

Chaud sighed and went back to his computer. "Send a message to ask her when she is open to meet."

Protoman almost smiled. Bingo. Curiousity killed the cat.

"Right away, Sir."

Chaud ran a hand through his hair and flicked it to the side. This girl interested him more than he had expected.

His eye caught on a head of red hair entering the semi-busy library. He pushed off the wall and strode over to meet her.

"Chaud! So what did you want to talk about?" Just then, her stomach growled loudly and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

He smirked. "First, we should find something to eat."

She nodded sheepishly and they exited the library. They walked for about a block or two before stopping at a deli. She ordered a salad, and he bought a sandwich. The meal was eaten in a semi-comfortable silence. Both seemed slightly lost in thought. Inside their PETs, the navis observed intently, as if watching animals in a zoo.

The boy finished first, and waited politely for her to eat the rest of her salad. She squirmed slightly as the silence had now stretched into an awkward gap. She brought her fork down at a cherry tomato, but it slipped away. She tried again, a little more vigorously, but it just rolled to the other side of her plate. Growing flustered, she stabbed at it, and the tomato promptly flew off her plate and bounced underneath somebody else's table. She growled and dropped her fork onto the plate in frustration. Maylu heard a small cough and looked up to see an amused Chaud stifling his chuckle behind a closed fist. Her face heated up and she shot him a half-hearted glare. His laughing blue eyes remained unaffected.

She cleared her throat, attempting to regain some of her dignity. Her hand drifted towards her PET to pay for her meal, but was disrupted when the other teen abrubtly stood.

"Don't worry about the tab. It's on me." Before she could protest, he had already walked to the counter and paid for both their meals in zenny. She allowed herself to be a little impressed by his gentlemanly habits.

"Thank you," She said as he rejoined her at their table. He nodded and sat back down. The deli was mostly empty and peaceful besides one or two people at other tables, so they both just stayed where they were.

Neither said a word. Chaud was gazing out the window, not completely sure how he was supposed to begin this. It wasn't like he could approach this in a business like fashion. He imagined that starting a conversation off with, 'You have exactly two minutes to convince me of your current situation,' wouldn't go over so well. He was an expert in running a company, not counseling! He once again wondered at how on earth he had been persuaded into doing this. Friendship wasn't exactly his strongest area, especially when it came to this paricular female who he couldn't seem to figure out.

His dilemma was dispelled though when a huff escaped the girl in front of him. She looked him in the eye. "Look, neither of us are ones to beat around the bush, so just get to the point. Why exactly did you want to meet up with me today?"

He raised a dark eyebrow in surprise. But before he could reply, she continued.

"Last time I checked, you didn't really enjoy interacting with others. Or me. In fact, I was pretty sure you were disinterested when I tried talking to you about my life that day at the arcade." She paused as if in thought, and then her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Did Roll put you up to this? I know she's been worried about me, but really, I'm fine. I realize she's concerned about what's been going on, and I'm sure she thinks I'm getting all moody because of it, but seriously, it's not that big of a deal. I mean, I wouldn't want to disturb you or anything. You probably have a lot to deal with, and I don't want you regarding me as some kind of charity case. Please, if that's what it is, I think we should just drop it." She ignored that fact that she had begun to rant a little as she continued speaking, and looked at the boy expectantly.

He blinked. 'Disinterested'? 'Fine'? 'Charity case'?

"I was just going to say that I would be willing to tutor you and Roll in netbattling if you wanted." He smoothly covered up. "Unless, you would rather not..."

"Tutor... Netabattling?" It was Maylu's turn to blink. His words confused her. She had been almost ninety-nine percent positive that he had only come because Roll had asked him too. But lessons in netbattling? That definitely wasn't something she had expected.

"You want to tutor me?" She asked again. He nodded. "But... but why? I mean, why all of a sudden, and why us?"

He crossed his arms and shrugged. "Roll is fast. She has good agility, plus, you have been improving in your operating skills. With just a little bit of practice, you could both be experts in sword battling." Chaud slid down a little in his seat, but maintained eye contact the entire time. "It's your call. Do you want to, or not?"

Maylu thought about it for a second. It was kind of unusual for him to just suddenly offer something this big to her for nothing. Especially from how out of the blue it was. Her memory flashed back to watching him and Lan netbattle in the arcade. She hated feeling helpless. She hated being the damsel in distress. Maybe this was a window of opportunity for her.

"Yeah. I do." She agreed, meeting his gaze steadily. "I think it's a really good idea."

He smirked and stood from his seat. She followed. "Good. Meet me at my house by noon tomorrow. We'll begin then."

He turned to walk out, but a hand on his shoulder halted him. "Chaud!" Maylu exclaimed. "Thanks. For everything."

He turned his head slightly, peering at her from over his shoulder. A little half smirk curved his lips. "You're welcome."

With that, he walked out of the deli, leaving her to her own thoughts. Once outside, the smirk faded from his face. He exhaled loudly. What have I gotten myself into?


Author's Note: Finally updated! I'm actually pretty happy with this chapter! I feel like it described their personalities in different ways. Now, we can finally move onto the actual process of them becoming legit friends... and maybe more ;) I thought the whole cover-up, 'I just want to teach you netbattling' excuse from Chaud was pretty good at representing his ability to improvise and detect peoples emotions...

Tell me what you thought! I'd love it if you reviewed :)

MI3