Because I depressed you all last chapter, I decided I should entertain everyone with a more fun chapter. So once again we are shifting gears and picking back up with Lightman. And if you don't feel like checking how chapter 8 ended, Roll has invited Rock and Light to meet everyone at Net City. Okay, now that we've shifted gears, let's get going! Yay!
Oh, and I added a bonus section at the end, so make sure you check it out!
And now for the part I really should just copy and paste: I don't any of the rights to Rockman.EXE (or any other form of Rockman for that matter either.)
Chapter 10: Fitting In
Lightman kicked his legs forward with full force, pushing the swing into a forward motion. Rockman sat in the next swing over, gently rocking back and forth in his own seat as he watched his brother swing higher. To any navi that happened to pass by, they may have thought that the two were just playing and enjoying themselves, especially the lighter blue one. However, Rockman knew better.
Lightman was nervous. He was about to meet his friends' navis in person for the first time and interacting with them instead of those whom he knew better. Not that getting to know the navis better was a bad thing, it was just…different. But the knowledge that he would be separated from his friends, still able to talk to them but not able to be with them that was more unsettling. The fact that they would have no idea who he was only increased the butterflies in his stomach.
And what if they reacted like Enzan had? What if they did not accept him? What if whatever bothered Enzan bothered them too?
Lightman clung to his swing tighter and pumped harder. He had faced so many uncertainties before: what was it about being with his friends that made him so nervous? Was it the fact that it was his friends?
Rockman patiently watched his brother as Lightman soared higher and higher on the swing. He wanted to say something to comfort his nervous partner, but doubted that he would hear him. So he just watched, trying to settle and calm Lightman through their link. He didn't know how well it worked, but he tried nonetheless as he watched, half wondering if Lightman would actually pump himself so high that he would actually swing around the top bar.
Then, without warning, Lightman let go of the swing, letting himself fly high into the air before landing rather gracefully on the digital sand.
"Not bad."
Both Rockman and Lightman swung around to the owner of the familiar voice. They were greeted by the sight of Tomahawkman and Gutsman.
"So you must be Lightman," Tomahawkman indicated at Lightman.
"Uh, yeah," Lightman answered, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
Tomahawkman gave a large grin as he introduced himself: "I'm Tomahawkman. And the big guy behind me is Gutsman." He pointed at mentioned navi.
"And I'm Dingo," Dingo said energetically as his face appeared in a window next to Tomahawkman.
Another window popped up next to Gutsman. "My name's Dekao," Dekeo said.
"Ni…nice to meet you," Lightman greeted, feeling a wave of awkwardness rush over him. It was an unfamiliar feeling because he rarely felt out of place.
Tomahawkman seemed to notice Lightman's nervousness because he slung his arm around the blue navi's neck pulling him into a headlock. "Why are you so uptight?" he teased.
Lightman sweatdropped. "You have no idea," he mumbled to himself so no one could hear him.
"Why does Lightman look like Rockman, de-gutsu?" Gutsman asked Rockman. Rockman just shrugged, pretending to be absorbed in watching the struggle between the two other navis, his twin quickly becoming upset with his captor as he tried to escape the tight bond around his neck.
"Oh, you guys are already here," Roll said as she, Glide, Iceman, Aquaman, Numberman and Rush walked up.
"Roll-chan, de-gutsu!" Gutsman called out.
"Roll-chan, mina!" Rockman greeted.
Tomahawkman also looked up to acknowledge the approaching group, giving Lightman the chance to escape from the Native American-themed navi by stomping on his foot. Tomahawkman howled in pain as he grabbed his foot, releasing the light-blue navi. Rockman gave his brother a disapproving look as Lightman took his place next to him, but either Lightman did not notice or he simply chose not to acknowledge the unspoken scolding. Rockman suspected the latter of the two. Once he had finished fussing over his foot, Tomahawkman also glared at Lightman. Lightman just glared back, a triumphant smile hinting on his lips. Tomahawkman fumed, Lightman stuck out his tongue, and Rockman sighed in defeat.
"So you must be Lightman," Glide said as he extended a hand, breaking the dispute between Tomahawkman and Lightman. "Allow me introduce myself. I am Glide, Yaito-sama's navi."
Lightman accepted the hand, giving a cheerful smile. "Nice to meet you, Glide," he returned. Rockman smiled as the rest of the group introduced themselves to Lightman. He felt relieved that Lightman had loosened up and had reverted to his normal, happy self, even though he still sensed Lightman still felt slightly awkward. But he couldn't blame him—after all, he was pretending not to know them.
Rockman then turned to Tomahawkman, who was watching as Lightman and the others talked. He mouthed "I'm sorry" to him, but Tomahawkman just smiled and waved it off, at which Rockman smiled gratefully. However, he swore he saw a hint of revenge gleam in the other navi's eye, and Rockman knew it would be war between those two.
Oh well. At least those two would get along.
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Rockman had to cover his hearing receptors as his brother cheered loudly right next to them. The fact that Tomahawkman was right next to Lightman cheering just as loud did not help matters much either. It could not have been any louder if the two had been in a cheering contest as they watched the soccer game in the coliseum; actually, Rockman half believed the two were in a cheering competition, competitively trying to out-yell the other.
But despite the voice rivalry, Rockman was enjoying himself. It had been a long time since he had hung out with his friends like this—years, really. He had almost forgotten what it was like to just relax. And the fact that he was sharing it with his twin, as Lightman grabbed onto him in excitement as different plays were executed, made it all the better.
Everyone else was enjoying Lightman's company as well, though Rockman did notice that Roll was becoming progressively clingier and less talkative throughout the day. But other than that, everyone laughed and talked freely with the light blue navi as if they had known him their entire lives. It made Rockman feel so much better knowing that the tensions about wondering how they would receive Lightman had passed and had passed outstandingly, even if Lightman and Tomahawkman would forever be bound in friendly rivalry.
After the game, the group of friends made their way from the coliseum chatting merrily about the game and other topics. If this had been the real world, the sun would have been about ready to set, but since it was the net, the sky blazed a refreshing blue and the streets of Internet City were still active. Shortly after the group had started make their way to wherever they were going, Lightman leaned over to his twin.
"Rockman, can navis go hoarse?" Lightman whispered confidentially.
Rockman chuckled to himself. "I don't think so," he whispered back. Almost as soon as he finished the answer, he found Roll grabbing onto his arm.
"Roll-chan?" Rockman asked in surprise. She didn't answer but only held on tighter. Both Rockman and Lightman looked at her quizzically.
"Hey, what were you two whispering about?" Tomahawkman asked pleasantly.
Lightman grinned as he put his arms behind his head. "Nothin'!" he answered cheerfully.
"No, really!" Tomahawkman pushed.
"Not any of your business," Lightman taunted back, causing Rockman to roll his eyes. Everyone laughed, except Tomahawkman.
"Iceman, it's getting late. I think it's time you should come home," Tohru said as his face appeared on a window beside Iceman.
Shuuko's face also appeared next to her navi. "You too, Aquaman."
"I think it's getting late for everyone," Higure said as his face too appeared.
"It was nice to meet you, Lightman," Glide said, again extending his hand.
"You too! All of you!" Lightman returned. Then everyone waved good-bye as one by one the navis logged out, Roll rather reluctantly. Soon the twins were the only ones left.
"Well?" Rockman turned to his look-alike.
"Well, what?" Lightman asked, clueless.
Rockman shook his head. "Have fun?"
Lightman gave a wide grin. "Oh course! And you?"
"Un. I hadn't realized how long it's been since I've hung out with them like that."
"I'm sorry," Lightman responded.
Rockman looked at Lightman startled. "For what?" he asked.
"Well, it's because of me it's been so long," Lightman answered regretfully.
"It's not your fault!" Rockman exclaimed.
"Maybe, but still…"
"Forget it. Anyway, I'm just glad you got along great with everyone," Rockman said.
"Yeah! What's Enzan's problem?" Lightman continued playfully, causing Rockman to chuckle.
"Well, let's go home. We promised we'd help Papa tomorrow," Rockman said as he started toward the link that would lead them home.
"Sounds good to me!" Lightman said as he followed. He then had an idea and tapped his brother on the arm before taking off at full speed. "Tag you're it! Catch me if you can!" he called back.
"Don't think I can't!" Rockman challenged loudly in return as he sprinted off to catch his twin, laughing and yelling happily all the way home.
A mysterious figure watched as the two raced past him on the street. He grinned evilly. "You laugh now, children, but just wait. It won't be long now until we execute our plans on your net. And then, like the Eon Net and the Undernet, you will be ours!!!"
And with that, the figure continued his way unnoticed down the streets of Internet City.
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Oh! Cliffhanger! Sorry, but I had to do it. I mean, up until now, this arch didn't have much of a plot and since this story is labled part Action/Adventure, I have to take this story somewhere. So what will happen? What's the Eon Net? Well, if I told you, there would be no point in a cliffhanger!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll probably return to the depressing stuff next chapter, but since I usually lie about the next chapter, don't hold you're breathes. It's not that I mean to lie about this stuff, it's just that the story turns out so much more different when I actually write it. So yeah…
And don't forget the bonus right after this (like, a couple of lines)! It answers a question that I doubt any of you actually asked: Where did I get the name Lightman? Well read on and find out!
Bonus:
Okay, so how did I come up with the name Lightman for Netto? It's actually really corny, but I thought I'd tell you anyway. There is some stroke of genius if you squint really hard—or maybe it's just the smudge on the glasses I'm wearing? … sweatdrops. So anywho, most of you know that the main characters in Rockman are named after musical genres or terms, so I thought Netto should follow the scheme. But after racking my brain, I couldn't come up with something fitting, especially since I wanted to play off Rock. At the time, the color scheme for Lightman was yellow (which, if you care to know, later became green and finally light blue at the last moment—I actually had to go back and change chapter one). Furthermore, Netto's last name is Hikari, which means "light". So, for the time being, I named him Lightman, fully intending to change his name later. Then I realized that Light plays off Rock! If you combine the two, you get the music genre Light Rock!!! Okay so REALLY corny, but if it works, it works. I'm not going to go back and change it, anyway—that'd be too much of a hassle. But at least now you know my reasoning for naming Netto's navi form Lightman, even if it is corny.