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Finale


Epilogue

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"Argh! How can I just calmly do arithmetic with everything I just went through?" Netto scowled at the schoolbooks on his desk, wishing them away with his mind.

"Come on, Netto-kun," Rockman gently admonished. "You skipped school. You still have to do homework."

"Undue stress!" Netto argued. "Mariko-sensei ought to have let me off, just for today. It was for a good cause."

Rockman put on a smile, but inwardly he sighed. Everything was back to normal, or as normal as it got in the Hikari household. The elder twin had concealed his disappointment that Yuuichirou and Netto were in such a hurry to leave the cyber world--to leave him. But he supposed it was only natural

"Netto! Dinnertime!" Haruka's voice floated up from downstairs, startling them both.

As though he had been waiting for just such an excuse, Netto leapt to his feet and snatched the PET out of its charger. "Coming, Mama!"

The table set for two was spread with Mama's special spaghetti dishes, complete with garlic bread and cheese. Netto could not contain his excitement. "Meat spaghetti! All right!"

"Eat up," Haruka invited, removing her apron and sitting down. Netto propped up his PET on a stand and helped himself to a large plate of spaghetti with meat and tomato sauce as his Navi looked on with some degree of envy. Once he had sat down and begun to ravenously attack the food, Haruka asked, "So, how was school today?"

Netto stopped abruptly, one noodle dangling from his mouth. "Ah." Rockman pretended to be very busy browsing their e-mail inbox. Haruka looked at her youngest son, waiting, until he finally answered, "Ah, well, I actually didn't go to school today. I went to see Papa at work."

"Oh! Well, how was he?"

"Just fine," Netto lied. "We spent the day there, but don't worry, Rockman is making me do all the work I missed." The Navi gave them all a wan smile.

The front door emitted a beeping sound indicating that someone was accessing the lock through a card key, and a moment later Yuuichirou himself stepped into the kitchen. "Hi, everyone."

"Papa!" Haruka rose, a smile spreading across her face. "I wasn't expecting you until the weekend! Here, sit down, we're just having supper! It's your favourite--"

"Wonderful! Mama's special meat spaghetti!" Yuuichirou clapped his hands together in delight. "I picked the perfect evening for a surprise visit!" While Haruka set a place at the table for her husband, Yuuichirou turned his attention to the two boys. "Can I talk to you two for just a moment?"

"I guess so." Netto, PET in hand, allowed his father to lead him into the living room.

The scientist sat down on the couch, his expression serious. "I just wanted to thank you for what you did today. I wouldn't have made it back alive without your help."

"Of course." Netto looked almost offended that they would have even considered not helping.

"The two of you just can't seem to resist seeing someone in trouble," he continued softly. "I won't be surprised if mine isn't the last life you save. I just want you to be careful, and don't get hurt."

"Don't worry! I'll protect him, and you and Mama too," Rockman said proudly.

"I'm counting on you, Rock." Yuuichirou smiled. "But what you boys and Enzan-kun both did today was noble--not the rescue, but forgiving Bit. I never realized you had matured so much."

Netto, who had "forgiven" Bit very reluctantly, frowned at his father. "But you forgave him before I did. I wouldn't have thought you would have let him off without going to the authorities."

"I couldn't stop myself," Yuuichirou confessed. "I still saw him as his father's son, and I remember that every time I look at him. When I remember the great things Dr. Cossack did...that was why I took Bit on as my intern. And now I realize that he's not his father, but the desire to excel is just as great. I want to give him the chance to shine for himself."

"And you think he won't try to sabotage you again?" Netto asked in disbelief.

"It's a two-way street." Yuuichirou looked sad. "If I want him to forgive me for never seeing his potential, I have to make the first move. You'll see--Bit will be grateful for the second chance, and in the end, it'll make him a better man than putting him in prison would."

Netto didn't know what to say to this. He sat mutely on the couch for a moment until his father took his hand and helped him stand. "Anyway...I thought I'd come by and see everyone again...I've spent too many nights at the Labs."

"Well...yeah." Netto couldn't help but agree. His father looked sheepish, accepting the plate of meat spaghetti Haruka handed him.

"Isn't this nice, everyone having dinner together!" Haruka beamed. Netto and Yuuichirou, both often guilty of missing such dinners, smiled back. "So, what brings you home from work so early, Papa?"

Yuuichirou twirled noodles on his fork, looking thoughtful. "We completed our project and it successfully passed the first round of testing, so tomorrow we have a big demonstration planned. My intern offered to spend the evening tweaking it so I could come home and spend time with my family."

Netto and Rockman both looked horrified.

"Emdee is there too," Yuuichirou reassured them.

"Oh, that's Mahito-kun, is it?" Haruka asked. "Such a sweet boy! I remember when he and his father used to come for dinner. You should invite him sometime, I'll make something special."

"Yes, Mahito-kun." Yuuichirou looked thoughtful. "I suppose I should get out of the habit of calling him 'Bit'."

"He always did hate that silly nickname. More parmesan, dear?"

"Please." He wondered why he'd never noticed.

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-fin.

Author's Note: This story certainly evolved from what it was originally supposed to be: a Yuu/Haruka romance with a little bit of age-defying and humans-becoming-Navis thrown in. I suppose it all turned out for the best. As always, this story is for Mari-musume, my dear friend. I hope you liked it.

To everyone else, thanks for sticking around to the end. With the last chapter came a much-needed edit, and I redistributed everything so it is now five parts long instead of seven. Only the fifth part is new, so hopefully no one will be too confused. Enjoy!