Chapter 29: Friendly time

11:33 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday July the 19th…

"… Alright. Here's the place. Did you check if we've got any vipers trying to sneak around, Knight Man?"

"I detect no living signature in a radius of 225 meters, Princess."

"Good!"

Princess Pride (dressing on her street clothes) headed for the Hikari house while checking with Knight Man that she wasn't being followed: giggling, she climbed up the steps and rang the bell.

"Oi! Poipu – chan. Welcome again..." Haruka welcomed.

"Thank you, ma'am. Are Netto and Saito at home?"

"Of course. Come in."

"Thank you."

"Oi! Poipu. Welcome back."

"Is everything OK?"

Netto and Saito climbed down and met with her: they then sat around the main table and Haruka served tea and cake.

"Thank you."

"Don't mind it."

"So! We're going to go chat with everyone at the playground?"

"Yep! Tooru – kun's gone to Kobe for a few days so he won't be there: but I'm sure Dekao will challenge you to a Net Battle."

"As always. Well, I don't mind it."

"By the way! Do you remember about the Napalm Man incident?" Netto brought up.

"You've found out something about that?"

"It'd seem Gospel were the guys who inserted that idea into the leadership hoping that both Dark Land and Cream Land would lash at each other… So reinforce security in case these guys try to pull something similar." Saito warned.

"Sure. I know. They took profit of our kindness and that's one of the most terrible things you can do to someone."

"Truly!" Knight Man muttered.

"Well. Let's stop the gloomy talk and eat up."

Netto began to devour the cake: Saito rolled his eyes while Pride giggled: they also calmly ate up their cakes and then drank the tea too: Netto's PET beeped.

"Oi! Netto! When are ya coming over? Aren't ya late?"

"No, Dekao. I said 12PM! Now is 11:41 AM."

"Aw man! I thought that this Super Clock App some guy sold me for just 2555Z was the ultimate clock in the whole world!"

"Bubble Man sold you some hoax again."

"NO WAY!"

"Guts, guts. This clock reads 66:66 XX-YY-ZZZZ, de guts."

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?" Dekao gasped.

"Niichan! Chu! Use the head! Chu! Bubble Man's a bad guy! Chu!"

"Oh man!"

"If only niichan bothered to pay attention… Chu!"

"Thanks for the cake and tea, ma'am."

"It's nothing, dear. Have fun."

"OK! Let's get on the move. We're going, Dekao!"

"Good! This time I'll beat Knight Man! Mwah, hah, hah!"

"Dream on! Niichan! Chu!"

"Mwah, hah, hah! Hah, hah!"

Netto, Saito, and Pride walked out: the escort car followed them at a prudent distance and they reached Higureya: Dekao and Chisao came out of the store: Dekao looked up to something and Chisao was totally unimpressed.

"Oi! Poipu! I've bought a Rare Chip which was on 50% sale! Today I'll beat Knight Man and become the real knight to protect MY Meiru – chan! Heh, heh! Heh, heh!"

"Hmpf! Chu! Ya just bought a Tank Cannon Battle Chip and that ain't a Rare Chip! And it won't do against Knight Man's bulky body armor! Chu! I see it coming! Niichan!" Chisao scolded.

"Let him be, Chisao – kun." Pride shrugged.

"Alright! Chu! But he who warns a traitor is not!"

"Huh? Where'd ya get that motto?"

"Netto told me! Chu!"

"I should be the one telling ya things!"

"If only niichan bothered to… Chu!"

"Man. Scolded by my lil bro…" He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"De masu! Come again!"

"Good… Bye." Shuuko timidly called out.

"And next time witness my Super Cool Battle Chip! De masu!"

"Yamitarou! Stop making up things!"

"Pyrururu! Trouble, pyu." Aqua Man muttered.

Netto and Saito rolled their eyes and continued, ignoring the mysterious figure who had spied them on the hall stepping into the store while forming a smug smile across their face which was hardly visible.

"… OK! Here we are. Yo! Meiru – chan."

"You came!"

"Meiru – chan! Today I prove that…!"

"You need to study Math."

"Wha~h!"

"Jeez. We're all 14 by now. And I've learnt some self-defense too so I don't need you to protect me."

"Yaito – chan isn't here yet?"

"You know her. She likes making grand entrances."

"As usual…"

The group reached the playground and Meiru immediately shooed Dekao's boasts away so he began to cry and got into his fours to weep: they paid no attention and Meiru shrugged when they brought up Yaito's name: the twins weren't too impressed at that either.

TA-TA-TADAN!

They looked at the right to see her limo parking there, the door opening and the red carpet automatically sliding out: the maids climbed down and formed the honor guard before Yaito came out drinking a bottle of strawberry milk using a straw and looking indifferent.

"Yaito – chan…" Even Meiru seemed to find it exaggerated.

"Tee, heh, heh! So cha think I'm overdoing it, Meiru – chan?"

"Yes, I do! Jeez! We've known each other for about 3 years now: how many times do you think we've witnessed that already?" Meiru sighed in exasperation.

"A billion, maybe? Tee, heh, heh! Heh, heh, heh!"

"Alright! Poipu! Showdown!"

"Fine. Knight Man! You know the drill: friendly."

"Roger, Princess! Let us go, my friend!" Knight Man invited.

"Guts, guts!"

"Battle Chip, Tank Cannon! Slot In! I win!"

The blast bounced off Knight Man's armor even without him doing anything at all and it hit Guts Man instead.

"Wha! Out of 1600 HP… 200 got rested? No way!"

"I told ya! Niichan! Chu!"

"Aw man!"

"Royal Wrecking Ball!"

Knight Man spun around and rammed into Guts Man: he recovered and ran towards Knight Man.

"Battle Chip, Mega Guts Punch! Slot In!"

"Guts, guts! Mega Guts Punch!"

"Royal Wrecking Ball!"

The spinning effect repelled Guts Man and had him crash into the ground again: he grumbled.

"Guts Machine Gun! GATTSU~!"

"Kingdom Crusher!"

The detached wrecking ball hit Guts Man fully and knocked him into the ground while Knight Man aimed at the "sky" and shot the ball again to make some chunks of rock fall atop Guts Man.

"Shit! Guts Man's lost 750 HP already!" Dekao was sweating by now and he looked nerve-racking.

"Not surprising." Roll muttered.

"Not at all, true." Glyde muttered next.

"The usual thing..." Saito shrugged.

"Go, Knight Man!"

"Royal Wrecking Ball!"

When Knight Man made contact, though, a cloud of smoke ensued and a chibi doll appeared there: the real Guts Man appeared behind him and tried to shoot a shuriken but it shattered on impact: Knight Man bounced off a pillar and hit Guts Man again.

"No way! The Kawarimi failed too?"

"Guess so." Meiru dully commented.

"Hmpf! I knew it! Chu!"

"Now, now. Chisao – kun. Try to be more positive!" Pride told him.

"Bring me another bottle!"

"Yes, Yaito – sama."

"Go, Guts Man! Program Advance! Count Bomb, Tripe Slot In! Giga Count Bomb!"

"Giga Count Bomb! De guts!"

Knight Man collided with it and the explosion pushed him backwards to hit a wall: he let out a groan but quickly detached.

"Hah! See! I took out 300 out of 1800!" Dekao grinned.

"Don't get cocky, Dekao. Not even Rock Man and I could totally win over Knight Man back then. If we couldn't do you expect yourself to do it better than us?" Netto warned.

"That's 'cause ya are weak!" Dekao boasted.

"Oh yeah? Who ended up 2nd place in the N1 Grand Prix?"

"YIKES!"

"Who busted Bomber Man and Stone Man?"

"Well…" He trailed off.

"Who defeated the "Gospel" monster?"

"That's…"

"Who had to come help you defeat Burner Man?"

"Hum…"

"Niichan! Shut up and fight! Chu!"

"Wha~h! My lil bro is scolding me~!"

"Dekao – kun… Why don't you try joining some theater group and act in some drama play…?" Pride muttered with a sigh.

"Dunno." Yaito giggled.

Heh, heh, heh. That guy doesn't change, eh?

They didn't notice someone looking on through a perimeter CCTV camera placed nearby.

"Go, Guts Man! Smash 'em up!"

"GATTSU~! Mega Guts Punch!"

"Kingdom Crusher!"

Guts Man suddenly used the Mega Guts Punch to shot the wrecking ball back at Knight Man and wound his chest armor: Guts Man ran in and began to punch him.

"W-whoa!"

"Heh, heh, heh! I'm a genius!"

"A genius? Cha? No. Guts Man just happened to try to boil his gorilla brains." Yaito giggled at her joke.

"Wha~t?"

"Yaito – chan…! She's starting to exasperate me." Pride muttered and rolled her eyes.

"Your puns bring trouble along…" Saito sighed.

"Welcome to the club." Meiru sarcastically told Pride.

"Thank you." She sighed.

"Good, Guts Man! You've taken out 640 out of 1800! And ya still have about 770 HP left! Go, go!"

"GATTSU~!"

"Royal Wrecking Ball!"

Knight Man firstly jumped and landed back to cause a tremor that momentarily disoriented Guts Man before Knight Man rammed into him: Guts Man recovered and tried to jump and head for the earlier wound but Knight Man saw him coming.

"Kingdom Crusher!"

"GATTSU~!"

"Oh crap! I'm now left with 350 HP!" Dekao gasped.

"That's because ya get cocky~…" Yaito giggled.

"Wha~t? Oi, Yaito!"

"Tee, heh, heh!"

"Trouble." The rest of the group muttered.

Sure thing! Ooyama brings trouble along: he's Trouble-Dragging Man to begin with! Heh, heh, heh! You guys are in for a morning of endurance: enduring that guy's ramblings!

"Go, Guts Man! Rocket Guts Punch!"

Several copies of Guts Man's fists formed and flew for Knight Man but he merely started to spin again and made all of them hit Guts Man instead: several explosions ensued and Guts Man looked like he could barely hold his ground.

"A~h! Only 90 HP left…!"

"Kingdom Crusher!"

"GATTSU~!"

"Well. That was entertaining." Pride commented.

"Higure – san…! He tricked me, the…!"

"No, niichan! You saw that Battle Chip on the bargain shelf and immediately said you wanted it! Chu! Higure – san never said it was a Rare Chip to begin with! I told ya a while ago! Chu!" Chisao warned.

"E~H?"

Higure Yamitarou never lies when it comes to Battle Chips: he might've cheated in the bowling game 'cause he sucks at sports but that's all he can do to begin with, anyway.

"I'm cursed!"

By whom…? By the Great Evil God Zorc…? Heh, heh, heh, heh!

"Snap outta it!" Netto told Dekao.

"Damn it! I'll buy an Ultra Rare Chip next time around!"

"There aren't any." Yaito replied.

"Go collect lilies in the Netherlands." Meiru challenged.

"NO WAY~!" Dekao gasped in horror.

"Niichan's a baka~! Chu!" Chisao protested, being already fed up.

"Wahaha~h!" Dekao began to cry again.

Act the pitiful all you want, Ooyama. Nothing will change. But I'm concerned about "they" going to Higureya… Why would they? What could they hope to achieve? None of those Battle Chips are worth Yoru Yami's time to begin with. They're all vulgar stuff. Sure, there might one Dream Aura or a Gun Del Sol but that's all. Guess I'll have to check on them!

"Yo. What happened?"

"Oh! Charles. Well… Dekao managed to make some damage to Knight Man but got cocky and lost nevertheless."

"No wonder."

Charles walked up to them and looked in a good mood: he'd stuffed both hands on his raincoat's pockets.

"Huh? The guy from Pokémon Colosseum…?" Dekao looked up.

"Jeez. I'm an otaku." He admitted with a sigh.

"So?" Yaito suddenly asked.

"So… What? Miss?" Charles didn't seem to get the question.

"Careful there, Charles… It's the T-Level Strategy!" Davis whispered.

"YIKES!" He gasped.

"So?" Yaito asked again while she looked up to something.

"Eh… My bad but I'll pass." Charles managed to shake her off.

"Too bad. Tee, heh, heh!" Yaito giggled nevertheless.

"Phew."

"Yaito – chan… Stop teasing people already…" Meiru sighed.

"So! Mister! Are ya gonna tell the Sidious wannabe he's fired?"

"I'd love to but until I figure out where the guy is at…"

"Then we can't do much." Davis sighed.

"By the way, Dave. Did Hal agree to let you heat up the popcorn?"

"JEEZ! Charlie Team! Behave!" Davis protested while blushing.

"Oi, oi… I'm not Charlie Team!" Charles complained back.

"Who knows, Charlie~?" Davis teased with a grin.

"Man. Today ain't my lucky day!" Charles complained.

"Nope! Today's your enigmatic day, Charlie~!" He made up a motto.

The group laughed while Charles rolled his eyes and sighed in defeat…