How strange it was for one to feel like they belonged to nobody.

But Raika knew that was not true for himself, anyway, even if he and his parents never really did get along that well. Unfortunately, the authorities were now skeptical of his heritage from a supposedly valid source- again.

Raika sighed as he looked out the dusty, double-paned window from the small foster home that he was currently living in. The weather was practically a raging blizzard, but nothing more than the experienced snow plowmen could handle. Sharo was capable of weathering through many generations of snow storms, after all.

. . . If only he were at his military school again, instead of in a small foster home with a noisy juvenile crowd that sometimes broke out into fights. At least most were currently entranced by the television on the first floor. There were a few in the room with him, but they were engaged with a small portable video game console and were all watching the single player- who had headphones- probably working on some sort of game level.

Raika frowned, then pulled out his PET. He had fortunately been allowed to keep the small device, even though away from the military school where his navi, Searchman, had been given to him years before.

"Searchman, any news about the DNA tests?" he asked.

He kept his voice quiet, even though the other boys in the room mostly would not pay much attention to him currently, anyway. Even if they chanced to hear him speaking, though, they most likely would not understand the words due to him speaking in Ancient Sharian, the language that he and only a small population in Sharo knew.

His navi promptly answered in the same language. "None. I don't know the circumstances, but it is probable that something is holding it up."

Raika sighed, partly from sheer frustration. "I know," he responded. "Hopefully something will come up soon that will actually prove that I was definitely not illegally adopted."

Very soon, he hoped. The ludicrousness of the situation was just insane, really. As well as the fact that, truthfully, he should be at least with one of his uncles instead of the stupid foster home that he had been forcefully sent to. It was even more absurd that this was the second time that the same situation had occurred.

He shifted slightly on the hard wooden floor. Since it was a foster home, the officials should have made sure to follow the bare credentials in having each foster child with a proper bed, but so far, it seemed that there were some rules that they just did not care for. Some similar places, he knew, could not afford such luxuries and were most likely less comfortable than the home he was currently in, as well as much more crowded.

At least he was someplace warmer than outside. Plus, there were blankets and something resembling threadbare futons provided for night- and the headmaster was quite strict in that no one hog more than their fair share. Not that Raika ever would, anyway. The officials also did not know it, but he had spent some nights in military missions in colder surroundings with much sparser coverings, to say the least.

From the corner of his eye, Raika noticed something small being launched toward his direction. He easily ducked just as a small blue rubber ball sailed over his head. He could have easily caught it, but the owner had made it noisily known that he rather disliked anyone touching the object.

A small, brunette boy then trotted across the room to retrieve his ball where it had rolled a bit after bouncing against some backpacks against the far wall. The boy then went back toward the small crowd around the video game, tossing the ball up and down.

Raika returned his attention back to his PET, where his faithful navi was still standing at attention. "There is nothing else to report, even from the school's email system," Searchman stated.

Raika nodded his thanks, then frowned. "I would hope that I will be back at my actual school sometime soon," he muttered.

Attending a public school after the military one was rather . . . demeaning, in a way, even if the teachers there seemed to attempt to handle students in a- somewhat- strict manner. There was no way that several behaviors that he had witnessed in his short time at the "new" school that would ever be tolerated at his actual school.

"I am certain that you will return there, Raika," Searchman responded. "After all, you are someone of a status not to be ignored for too long."

Raika nodded, smiling briefly. Of course, it was due to Searchman that he had his net saver status, and one that could battle particularly well with his navi, at that. Then again . . .

"I wonder why someone wanted to put me out of the way this time," he said, frowning a bit. "The last time, two years ago, it was due to my uncle's high rank as a net police chief, and I just 'happened' to be someone to move away from him."

"He does care about you, Raika," Searchman immediately responded.

Raika shook his head slightly. How in the world could the chief truly care about Raika more than his own actual kin . . . and still after he and Searchman had been merged after Raika's carelessness had nearly cost himself his own life. He still had no idea how to make up for that brash mistake- if anything ever could. Sure, he had been punished by his school officials for a while, but it seemed that no penalty would ever be enough. Nothing would, especially if Searchman, his best friend and partner, would ever suffer from it . . .

Raika looked toward the window at the blizzard again, then back to his PET. He was glad that at least the nights were lighted enough by a single street lamp near the building so that someone did not trip- as much, anyway- at night. He had been abruptly awakened twice when someone had managed to fall on top of him.

He then ducked underneath the ball again, then frowned as he heard several pairs of noisy feet thumping up the stairs to the one-room dormitory. Raika inwardly sighed as he put away his PET.

"Dumb television stopped working," he heard over the ruckus of various conversations of others in the room. "It was just fine, and then it was all static."

"Just like that?" someone else asked, sounding rather skeptic.

"You kidding? After Davey got whopped by the headmaster guy after kicking it, what, two months ago? No one's gonna go near that thing 'cept to change the channel, even if it could be lifted by a five-year-old."

"As if," someone else chortled.

Raika rolled his eyes slightly, then went to the other side of the room where the backpacks were stored. Most had been hastily tossed onto the floor and some were even upside down, but his and a few others were carefully placed in the far corner. He opened the flap of his own pack to retrieve a textbook, pencil, and a notebook, then closed it again.

Ignoring the clamor around him, Raika then settled down onto the floor somewhat near where he had been before the others had arrived from the lower floor, and prepared to take some more notes. Even if he was not at his usual school and did not have his laptop with him, he still could attempt to keep up with or even ahead of his school subjects.

The school he was currently attending did not have the same order of curriculum as his other one, so some topics he had already reviewed, and others he had not- but fortunately (or perhaps truly, unfortunately), the classes themselves were not as strict in content. He supposed that it had to do with the fact that with his supposed foster child position, he could not be as easily be tested and so was not in any advanced classes, especially in such a short time period. Even with his precarious position, Raika still wished that for him, school was more challenging, as he was used to.

He immersed himself in studying- until something small hit him on his side. Raika only glanced at the eraser just as it hit the floor- it looked like one, shaped like some sort of colored panda- and then back to his text book. Truly, he knew that he really did not need to be worried that much. There were even sometimes several random things thrown across the room, such as the ball earlier.

Not to his surprise, though, he heard a faint whisper of "Don't hit Judo Guy!" and then footsteps backward that faded into the general humdrum of various conversations in the room.

Raika resisted rolling his eyes again. The very first day that he had been in the foster home, some boys a bit taller than him had attempted to fight him- and then a few more for the next three days after that. Though they could not possibly know about his military combat defense training, at least the majority of the others in the home knew to leave him alone (most of the time). There were a few random taunts here and there after that, but not much else so far. Of course, he still should definitely be prepared for something else in the future. It seemed like at least some of the older boys would want either a rematch or just to fight sometime at least somewhat soon.

"Maybe Judo Guy could tackle the headmaster," someone piped up from nearby.

There was a small complaint of "yeah, right", and a thud that was possibly someone being pushed to the floor in protest.

"As if anybody could beat that crazy head," said another voice. "You gotta be at least seven feet to even try."

Raika did not let on that he had indeed "tackled" problems much larger than even eight feet, and not just during cross fusion. Plus, engaging someone in authority in unapproved combat certainly would not be the correct way to handle most anything- not to mention, would not aid in his own problem of why he was in the foster home in the first place.

All too soon, there was a familiar loud shout of, "Supper time, now, or nothing till tomorrow."

Raika sighed, and quickly returned his school items back into his temporary school bag before following the crowd of others to the main floor. Surely he would be back in his proper place soon.

Raika could not sit up in the cross fire from several materialized viruses. He scoffed inwardly. Mere viruses, keeping him trapped, cowering on the floor? However, it would be prudent to keep away from beams that would instantly shatter his cross fused armor. Even he, as a member of the junior military of Sharo, had been well-trained enough for that.

It was still demeaning that viruses were his problem currently, even if they were somehow much more powerful than most any type of virus he had ever seen before.

Unfortunately, due to some inadequate timing on his part, he did have any battle chips in his PET as to further engage in battle with the powerful data beings. Surely if he put any in now, he would risk being a further target without Searchman's armor.

Slowly, as to not attract the attention of the viruses nearby him, he shifted his large rifle into a horizontal position on the floor. He was about to shoot, when he was suddenly blindsided by such a rapid attack that even Searchman did not have time to warn him. The hit was not powerful to even scratch his armor, much less halt his cross fused state, but it was enough to send him upward in an upward slope to slam against the wall halfway across the room.

Raika grimaced through the pain, but straightened and shot a single colored beam across the room toward a large cracked pillar, which then, as he had known it would, tumbled toward the ground, taking several viruses with it. However, there were plenty left, and there was only him and Searchman in their cross fused form to attempt to battle them-

Raika's eyes shot open as something heavy thudded on top of him. He blinked in the sudden darkness, different the musty area of the battle area with dust and rubble, and eerily quiet without the constant buzzing of the various powered viruses around him.

A half-muffled voice spoke up right next to him. "Oy, you crazy?" they said irritably.

The heavy thing- a person- was sprawled out across him and another boy that had been sleeping next to him. Raika inwardly sighed. Though he somewhat did not blame the boy, with the amount of people on the floor of the room, he still was not used to anyone falling on top of him at night. Again.

The person muttered an apology and crawled off Raika and the other boy, then headed toward another part of the room.

Raika sighed slightly, noticing that the light coming in through the single bare window seemed dimmer than usual. Of course the only light at nights in the foster home- PETs were forbidden at night, just as his military school, unless for emergencies- would be fading. At least Raika knew that he was not afraid of the dark, like some other boys in the home had said that they were at first before they had quickly gotten used to it.

He inwardly huffed, shifting under his blankets slightly. While he was glad to be woken from the strange dream, he could not help think that he was still somewhat cowering under something else that he could not control, or was somehow not doing enough.

Raika scowled. Surely, there was something that he had missed in all of the strangeness going on about him being sent to a foster home, of all places. Or, perhaps, it was even as Searchman had suggested a couple of days before- another attack on his high ranking chief uncle.

He still was not sure about anything else, though, when the loud clanging bell from the main floor woke him and the rest of the occupants of the room he was in. Raika quickly folded up the blankets with all of the others before shoving them into the single closet in the room. He noticed that his folding was neater than several of the others, but at least he had attempted it, even if the blankets would just be taken out the next night. Generally, one did not get the same covering two nights in a row.

Raika quickly showered, then dressed and went downstairs where several other boys were already sitting on the floor with pieces of rye bread and bowls of thick, unsweetened oatmeal. Raika accepted his own food from a frowning attendant and sat down on the floor in a nearby corner, away from the chattering boys around him. He was not assigned for dish duty that day, but was later in the week. Hopefully he would not be partnered with someone that would not attempt to run off like the last person had, apparently thinking that the chore did not apply to them.

A bit later, Raika quickly stacked his bowl on top of several others. He noted with some scorn that there were some bowls that were only half empty, if even that. Certainly, he had heard several complaints about the lack of "good" food in the foster home, but there was generally enough to go around. He had even heard some boys say that they were glad that breakfast was not just cold cereal- or even nothing- every day. Perhaps at least a few others had gotten used to higher dining standards before something had sent them to the home . . . such as himself. He knew not to outwardly complain, though.

(Then again, he had not always eaten well for many missions, and even in the military school, for both training and for some punishments.)

Around fifteen minutes later, he heard a shout from the headmaster from the main floor, warning about the school bus coming soon. Raika hastily put his PET away and grabbed his backpack from the corner of the second floor, to wait on the floor below.

"You're in a foster home?" Chaud asked worriedly.

Raika nodded at his small PET screen. "I still am not sure why," he admitted, frowning a bit.

Several boys were chattering in the room, were not paying much attention to him more than halfway across the room. At least internet calls were allowed, as long as they were not disruptive. Many did not seem to own PETs, though, or at least that he had seen.

"I suppose that it's easier for any sort of net saver mission calls if you can receive the calls yourself, though," Chaud stated.

Raika nodded. "Yes, definitely," he agreed.

He briefly wondered how he would hide the fact that he could cross fuse if darkloids materialized near the foster home- some civilians before had seen him, when it could not be avoided- but he attempted to shove the fear away.

"The headmaster agrees with my position," he said carefully, not mentioning the fact that it had took a few police officers for the stern man to believe the seemingly absurd fact that one of his disorderly charges could actually be a net saver.

"At least that is something," Chaud said. The boy then frowned some. "I wish that I could do something to help with this situation, though, but since you're in Sharo, it's much harder to look at information or ask questions."

Raika hid a scowl. "I'm sure that the chief will come up with something soon."

He was not used to having to depend so much on the chief for something, but as his uncle, he could help Raika in the situation more than some others could.

At a quick warning from Searchman, Raika dodged someone tripping over a backpack left in the middle of the room. They instead thudded heavily nearby on the floor. Several others laughed, but Raika ignored them.

Raika then stood, and offered his right hand to the dark brunette boy still on the floor. The boy merely scowled and swatted at his hand, and got up by himself.

Raika shrugged slightly before sitting down again. He was not prepared, when, a couple of minutes later, the boy had made a tower of some backpacks- not his, thankfully- and had lifted down part of the ceiling by a hidden lever. A sudden rush of cold fled into the room.

He stopped mid-sentence to stare at the ceiling, where the boy was now lowering a tattered rope ladder.

Raika briefly looked toward his PET. "I had not noticed that there was a mechanism up there," he muttered.

"Someone's going onto the roof?" Chaud asked quietly.

Raika nodded. Searchman had not warned him about anything odd on the ceiling, but it could be that the navi had not thought it important. Surely, though, there was some rule against it opening the hatch. Or, perhaps there was nothing specific about it, but most did not even bother with the possibly of going outside on the ground instead, especially when it was colder outside, such as it was currently.

Apparently either the boy was much stronger than he looked, though, or perhaps the wind had blown off much of the snow from the building's roof.

He watched as the boy then quickly grabbed his coat and some pair of thick gloves from nearby- Raika had missed seeing those there, stashed among the packs, probably for the small "mission".

"Hey, close it up already!" someone called from the other side of the room.

The boy, now going up the rope ladder, ignored them as he climbed higher and then out of sight. The ladder was pulled upward again, on some sort of hook on the top of the wooden door. The ledge was then closed, shutting out the majority of the cold.

"I hate it when he does that," someone grumbled. "Makes it cold in here, and somehow the headmaster never catches him."

"'Cause maybe he thinks that he'll fall off the roof," someone else said sarcastically.

"Riiight."

Raika turned back toward the PET. "Is going on the roof even allowed?" Chaud asked.

"I doubt it," he answered back.

"I don't think that there would not be much up there."

Raika shrugged. "That seems likely."

Perhaps the boy just wanted to be by himself. It did not matter too much, as long as Raika did not somehow get into trouble for it, or for the pile of backpacks still on the floor.

He looked up toward the ceiling again, seeing a slight difference in the plain wood above him. Clearly there was a lever there now that he had seen it in use.

"How high is the ceiling in there?" Chaud asked curiously.

Raika rolled his eyes slightly before he answered. "About six and a half feet, but I don't plan on going up there right now," he said back.

"I didn't say you were," Chaud responded. "I was just curious." He put a hand to his chin. "That seems pretty low, though, for just a second floor. I wonder why."

"Some ceilings can just be built to be low for a reason, or sometimes builders do not care that much," he replied nonchalantly. "Or this floor could have originally been a storage room at some point."

"I was also thinking about the storage room idea," Chaud stated. He then frowned, seeming to hesitate before speaking again. "How are the rations at the home?"

Raika resisted scowling fiercely. "I'm fine," he shot back.

"Really?" Chaud asked, his voice rather doubtful.

"Yes, really," he said, attempting to tone done his sheer frustration.

He sighed slightly, fervently wishing that yet again, he was just back at his military school already. He was not really angered too much at his fellow net saver, of course, but more at the situation that had somehow landed him and Searchman in the foster home in the first place.

Raika continued. "There is plenty of food, even with not too much variety; plenty of hygiene opportunities; and yes, clothes are washed at least once a week by the faculty in a facility nearby," he intoned.

To his slight surprise, Chaud's face became a bit relieved. "I was not saying that all foster homes are to be misjudged for a lack of basic standards, but I just didn't know how the place you were in was comparatively. You didn't even get to choose where you were placed, right?"

Raika noticed that Chaud had not mentioned the fact that he was obviously sitting on the floor instead of a bed, but chose to not comment on the fact. "Yes, I did not choose to come here at all," he stated angrily.

Chaud frowned, sadly, it seemed. "I know that," he responded softly. He then asked, "So are you and Searchman doing all right with your condition?"

Raika knew that his fellow net saver was referring to his and Searchman's merge. "We're fine," he replied curtly.

"That's good, at least," Chaud responded.

Raika nodded a bit. He supposed that it was something positive, though. He and Searchman had not had to deal with other random navis appearing; or even him or Searchman showing symptoms of illness the previous week when several other foster kids had been sick.

A few minutes later, he had hung up due to the loud clamor in the room where he could barely hear Chaud, much less the other way around. Fortunately the noise had settled down slightly, even though that was only with the headmaster's threat of missing the next meal if it was not quieter.

He then sighed a bit after ducking under a whole backpack launched over his head. Hopefully he would definitely be elsewhere soon.