Notes: This is probably the longest chapter out of all. Sorry about all the
chapters titles being messed up (1- 5.5.). Sorry about not adding the
Disclaimer on all chapters. You know that already.
Chapter 5.5; hot chocolate
Sitting by the fireplace in the company of his best friend, Netto took a sip of his hot chocolate. MegaMan sipped some of his, downing some of the tiny marshmallows floating in the hot liquid drink.
The night was slowly crashing down upon the lands, white flakes of snow falling down in increasing speed. Two pairs of bright eyes looked out the window from where they sat, watching the sunset illuminate the snow-topped roofs of houses. Christmas lights hung down from the roof's gutters, bathing the house in green and red light.
The interior of the Hikari house was littered with many Christmas decorations, such as a Santa that danced when you walked by. The tree was utterly magnificent, the fresh evergreen tree looking brilliant with the green and red orbs hanging off its branches, candy canes hidden amongst the cover of pine needles. Presents wrapped in silver were piled under the tree, of many shapes and sizes.
Eggnog was sitting in the refrigerator, along with the Christmas goose, special mushroom soup, and other such condiments. Christmas carols were being sung in the street by a choir compiled of children, their beautiful voices sounding almost like those angels. Tonight was Christmas Eve... and everyone was merry.
"Isn't it beautiful?" MegaMan said, peering out at the snow covering the previously green ground. Netto smiled at his gesture. "I've never seen anything like it." His friend continued. A moment of silence passed between the two, the quietness accompanied by the steady crackling of flames giving off warmth.
"It's your first Christmas, Mega. Snow is falling, houses are lit up..." Netto began to say. MegaMan turned his attention away from the scene outside the window. "And I'm glad that I'm spending it with you." MegaMan completed the sentence.
Netto was about to say more when his mother came in from the kitchen, interrupting the two. "Out, you two! Or else you want to be sucked up along with all the snow you tracked in!" She said, dragging a huge vacuum behind her. Huge puddles of water were on the floor where snow had been, having fallen off Netto and MegaMan's boots when they had come in. The two boys ran out of the room, their mugs in hand, and sat down at the table. "A snowball fight like we'd had earlier is worth being yelled at." Netto laughed, and MegaMan joined him.
The two had gone out in the knee-deep snow, and built snowmen and made snowangels, and then broke out into a huge snowball war, even getting bystanders involved in the fight. Dex and Yai had been out there, and they had gotten pummeled many times by the two, Netto having flung the first snowball. It had been a big one, too. But then the two chickens had fled into their homes to shelter.
MegaMan had laughed at the sight of the two running from Netto like that. He imagined that they were wondering who he was, and wondered what guesses they were coming up with. It was plenty interesting to think of what else he could do to them, but he figured to just let it go already. Netto wasn't sad anymore about the whole thing... MegaMan looked across the table at Netto sitting in the chair, slurping the rest of the hot chocolate out of his cup.
Netto noticed the two bright green eyes gazing at him, and waved a hand in front of his NetNavi's face, snapping him out of the trance he had been in. "Hey Mega, you okay? You look like you're daydreaming..." Netto said. MegaMan shook his head and smiled. "Yeah. I guess I was for a moment there." He looked into the mug in his hand, and swished the brown liquid lying on the bottom around. It had long since gone cold, and he wasn't about to drink it anytime soon.
"So... can I ask what you were thinking about? Or no?" Netto asked him, bringing MegaMan's attention back to him. MegaMan considered the question, then a plan popped up in his mind. "It's nothing private, but something I'd still want to keep secret, if you don't mind." MegaMan said. Netto smiled. "You're entitled to your own secrets, you know!" Netto said, smiling brightly. Breaking his gaze away from his operator and best friend, he didn't want to be caught daydreaming again. The last thing he wanted was for Netto to ever worry about him again.
"You know what...? It seems that the demon that'd been plaguing me has vanished." He said, putting his head on the table so that it rested between his arms. Netto seemed to be concerned, and then nodded his head lightly. "I hope it stays this way... but I can't be sure..." MegaMan drawled on. Netto listened to him, and sunk into his own thoughts at the question his friend brought up. Could the WWW be planning something horrible again even as they speak? "What if the demon came back again...?" Netto thought aloud, his head resting as his friend's was. MegaMan 'hmphed' in acknowledgement of the question. "Then I might go off the deep end again." He said. Netto locked eyes with MegaMan, as the two shivered at the thought.
The Net still hadn't recovered from the damage that had been dealt earlier. Neither had MegaMan, who still had a lot of guilt he was keeping secret inside of him, still believing it was his fault having caused the mess. As long as he held that guilt and hatred for his actions, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. "You sure clobbered the Net, though... It just goes to show how weak the NetBattler forces are. Which means that we really are the only ones who can truly do something about anything... especially the WWW." Netto said, with a smile pulling on his lips. MegaMan simply nodded his head in response. It was true that the NetBattler forces were horribly weak, having failed in stopping all of the WWW's previous attacks that he had stopped. So they were really the only ones capable of doing anything decent.
"Lan, time to set the table! Oh, and dad called, he said he was coming soon." His mom called from the living room once the vacuum had been turned off. Netto's eyes lit up, but when they fell upon MegaMan again, the excitement seemed to fade a little. "What if dad recognizes you from the attacks?" Worry was in his voice. MegaMan shrugged his shoulders, seeming to be less concerned about that. "Whatever happens, happens..." he said. Netto blinked. MegaMan noticed this. "I doubt that he'll recognize me from that. I mean, you said that there were no other NetNavis who could maintain a human form... and he's not going to guess." MegaMan continued, and Netto nodded his head.
The two of them had researched on the Net about how he could be in the real world, and there had been no information or other happenings. "Which makes me think that somehow or another, I'm different than all the other NetNavis out there..." he continued, "To be honest, I don't really know why I am..." Netto reached across the table, and took MegaMan's hand in his own. He offered him a smile. MegaMan appeared to cheer up.
The two got up from their seats and went into the kitchen, gathering the special china and silverware and glasses needed to set the table with. Mom watched them carefully as the two performed the task, still a bit edgy around Netto's friend, because she didn't know him too well. She wondered if her son should hang around with those kind of people, who were just a little bit strange... mother's intuition told her something was up... as if they were hiding some secret from her. Ever since Netto had gotten that PET, and had disobeyed her by keeping it. She couldn't help but wonder if something she had done in her raising of him caused this, something she had done wrong. Maybe she could ask during dinnertime, she planned.
MegaMan had set the napkins in their place, and had put the silverware in the correct positions. Netto had the dishes and bowls, and glasses, and whatever else was needed to set the table right. The two of them stepped back, and observed the table. Yes, everything looked perfect. The candles were there, the red pointsetta in the middle, a welcome Christmas decoration to the otherwise bland table, covered in a white tablecloth. "My dad's going to be home an hour from now. We'd better get everything looking perfect... because it's been a while since he's been here." Netto said. MegaMan noticed the tone in Netto's voice, that he really wanted to impress his father. He seemed perfectly intent on making everything flawless. There must be another reason besides giving his father a big welcome at home, though. Perhaps Netto was aiming to distract his father from putting suspicion on him...
"Netto, you don't have to defend me." MegaMan said as he placed a chair in the right position. Netto didn't look up. "Did you see mom? She's really suspicious of you... I don't know, but I think she knows something's up. We'd better be careful." He said. Mega shook his head rapidly. "I can't just stand by with caution, and be on my toes all the time... I just want everything to be at peace. And most importantly... I-" A knock on the door interrupted Mega's sentence, and he stopped abruptly. Mom opened the front door to reveal Netto's father, back from work. Even Science Lab scientists worked on Christmas. "I just want to be with you... Netto-kun." MegaMan finished, standing alone, a hand placed on the table. Netto was by his dad, giving him a big hug; there was a huge smile on his face, and he looked really happy to see him. Seeing stuff like this made Mega's heart melt a bit... and it also made him a little bit jealous. Just a little bit. He cringed at his own thoughts, his own feelings. He felt ashamed to have them. There was no chance in Hell that Netto would... love him back.
/ Christmas wishes come true, when snowflakes fall from a sky so blue... /
"So you must be Mega. I'm Lan's father, Yuuchirou Hikari. Lan's told me so much about you." Netto's dad extended a hand to his son's friend, who looked bewildered. Mega blinked as he shook his hand. "He has?" He questioned. Netto looked embarrassed, of course dad was going to tell Mega everything he told him about his friend. Mom got out the foods that they were going to eat for dinner, and Mega and Netto sat down. Netto was looking at Mega from where he was sitting at the table; it turns out that they were sitting directly across from each other. If they were to stretch out their arms, they could touch each other's hands. But there were candles and other stuffs in the way. And Netto wasn't thinking about that at all, anyway. The thought had crossed MegaMan's mind for a second before it had melted away. He was determined to forget about his feelings for now; this was dinnertime spent with his operator's family for crying out loud. There was no room for that.
Mom started passing around the mushroom soup and dad was sharpening the knives used for cutting the goose in all its deliciousness. MegaMan was watching the whole thing; he still couldn't believe that he was included in this traditional Christmas dinner. He wasn't a part of the family. He felt he ought to say something... "I'm honored to be included in this dinner... I'm grateful." He said, looking up at all of them. "Don't mention it, any friend of Lan's is welcome any time. Besides, there's more than enough food to feed an extra mouth." Dad laughed. MegaMan felt a little better, but he still felt like he was intruding... Netto noticed this. "Mega... it's okay. You're a part of the family now, remember?" He said. Mega heard this and felt more comfortable and at home. Mom raised her eyebrows a bit in surprise.
"A part of the family? What do you mean?" She asked. Mega whirled his head around to face her at her words. They sounded condescending and they were laced with suspicion. It was perfectly clear now that she didn't trust him at all. Netto looked towards his dad, perhaps he could straighten things out. "He's been here for a bit longer than a month now. Lan says he's a friend visiting, but it's like he doesn't have a family at all. They never call, never check up on him-" she set her fork back on the table, along with the mushroom soup "and it does not make any sense at all, that he would be here this long! It's very suspicious. You're hiding something from me, Lan. Be honest." She looked at her son, with a look that said 'I know you're lying'. Netto shifted under the gaze. Mega slammed his hand on the table, causing her to look up at him, startled. His teeth were gritted and he looked quite upset. "I can't believe that you would question Netto-kun's kindness!!" He yelled. He couldn't take it anymore. "He was kind enough to bring me here and give me a shelter from outside. He even let me eat his food, sleep in his bed, and let me eat at a special dinner such as this one." He stopped to calm himself down. Netto's mom looked really stunned, Netto's dad looked speechless. Netto was clenching his fists and staring down at the table.
Mega stood up, and turned towards the direction of the front door. "Whether you trust me or not, I will always be by Netto's side. As long as I am his NetNavi..." He said, then shut his green eyes, and walked out the door without saying another word. Netto was quiet for an instant, then he shot up to go after him. "Wait, MegaMan!!" He cried, scrambling after him. Dad's eyes widened considerably at the familiar name... mom was pale at the discovery of the young man's true identity... and neither could fathom just how it was possible a NetNavi could exist in the real world. "Mega! Come back!" Netto called his NetNavi's name. But there was no finding him; it seemed that the blue one had disappeared into the storm of white powder. Even his footsteps had been covered by the quickly-falling snowflakes. Netto clutched his jacket, and shivered, but pressed on in spite of the cold he felt. "MegaMan!!" He ran down the unplowed streets, looking into alleyways, store doorways... anywhere that he could think he could be. "Mega!!!" He called until his voice was hoarse, and even then, he continued to call his name, though it came out as whispers... It was his responsibility to bring him back, because that was where he belonged, no matter what his parents said. He had no idea that MegaMan would have reacted that way, in defense for him. And what he said...
''I will always be by Netto's side. As long as I am his NetNavi...''
Chapter 5.5; hot chocolate
Sitting by the fireplace in the company of his best friend, Netto took a sip of his hot chocolate. MegaMan sipped some of his, downing some of the tiny marshmallows floating in the hot liquid drink.
The night was slowly crashing down upon the lands, white flakes of snow falling down in increasing speed. Two pairs of bright eyes looked out the window from where they sat, watching the sunset illuminate the snow-topped roofs of houses. Christmas lights hung down from the roof's gutters, bathing the house in green and red light.
The interior of the Hikari house was littered with many Christmas decorations, such as a Santa that danced when you walked by. The tree was utterly magnificent, the fresh evergreen tree looking brilliant with the green and red orbs hanging off its branches, candy canes hidden amongst the cover of pine needles. Presents wrapped in silver were piled under the tree, of many shapes and sizes.
Eggnog was sitting in the refrigerator, along with the Christmas goose, special mushroom soup, and other such condiments. Christmas carols were being sung in the street by a choir compiled of children, their beautiful voices sounding almost like those angels. Tonight was Christmas Eve... and everyone was merry.
"Isn't it beautiful?" MegaMan said, peering out at the snow covering the previously green ground. Netto smiled at his gesture. "I've never seen anything like it." His friend continued. A moment of silence passed between the two, the quietness accompanied by the steady crackling of flames giving off warmth.
"It's your first Christmas, Mega. Snow is falling, houses are lit up..." Netto began to say. MegaMan turned his attention away from the scene outside the window. "And I'm glad that I'm spending it with you." MegaMan completed the sentence.
Netto was about to say more when his mother came in from the kitchen, interrupting the two. "Out, you two! Or else you want to be sucked up along with all the snow you tracked in!" She said, dragging a huge vacuum behind her. Huge puddles of water were on the floor where snow had been, having fallen off Netto and MegaMan's boots when they had come in. The two boys ran out of the room, their mugs in hand, and sat down at the table. "A snowball fight like we'd had earlier is worth being yelled at." Netto laughed, and MegaMan joined him.
The two had gone out in the knee-deep snow, and built snowmen and made snowangels, and then broke out into a huge snowball war, even getting bystanders involved in the fight. Dex and Yai had been out there, and they had gotten pummeled many times by the two, Netto having flung the first snowball. It had been a big one, too. But then the two chickens had fled into their homes to shelter.
MegaMan had laughed at the sight of the two running from Netto like that. He imagined that they were wondering who he was, and wondered what guesses they were coming up with. It was plenty interesting to think of what else he could do to them, but he figured to just let it go already. Netto wasn't sad anymore about the whole thing... MegaMan looked across the table at Netto sitting in the chair, slurping the rest of the hot chocolate out of his cup.
Netto noticed the two bright green eyes gazing at him, and waved a hand in front of his NetNavi's face, snapping him out of the trance he had been in. "Hey Mega, you okay? You look like you're daydreaming..." Netto said. MegaMan shook his head and smiled. "Yeah. I guess I was for a moment there." He looked into the mug in his hand, and swished the brown liquid lying on the bottom around. It had long since gone cold, and he wasn't about to drink it anytime soon.
"So... can I ask what you were thinking about? Or no?" Netto asked him, bringing MegaMan's attention back to him. MegaMan considered the question, then a plan popped up in his mind. "It's nothing private, but something I'd still want to keep secret, if you don't mind." MegaMan said. Netto smiled. "You're entitled to your own secrets, you know!" Netto said, smiling brightly. Breaking his gaze away from his operator and best friend, he didn't want to be caught daydreaming again. The last thing he wanted was for Netto to ever worry about him again.
"You know what...? It seems that the demon that'd been plaguing me has vanished." He said, putting his head on the table so that it rested between his arms. Netto seemed to be concerned, and then nodded his head lightly. "I hope it stays this way... but I can't be sure..." MegaMan drawled on. Netto listened to him, and sunk into his own thoughts at the question his friend brought up. Could the WWW be planning something horrible again even as they speak? "What if the demon came back again...?" Netto thought aloud, his head resting as his friend's was. MegaMan 'hmphed' in acknowledgement of the question. "Then I might go off the deep end again." He said. Netto locked eyes with MegaMan, as the two shivered at the thought.
The Net still hadn't recovered from the damage that had been dealt earlier. Neither had MegaMan, who still had a lot of guilt he was keeping secret inside of him, still believing it was his fault having caused the mess. As long as he held that guilt and hatred for his actions, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. "You sure clobbered the Net, though... It just goes to show how weak the NetBattler forces are. Which means that we really are the only ones who can truly do something about anything... especially the WWW." Netto said, with a smile pulling on his lips. MegaMan simply nodded his head in response. It was true that the NetBattler forces were horribly weak, having failed in stopping all of the WWW's previous attacks that he had stopped. So they were really the only ones capable of doing anything decent.
"Lan, time to set the table! Oh, and dad called, he said he was coming soon." His mom called from the living room once the vacuum had been turned off. Netto's eyes lit up, but when they fell upon MegaMan again, the excitement seemed to fade a little. "What if dad recognizes you from the attacks?" Worry was in his voice. MegaMan shrugged his shoulders, seeming to be less concerned about that. "Whatever happens, happens..." he said. Netto blinked. MegaMan noticed this. "I doubt that he'll recognize me from that. I mean, you said that there were no other NetNavis who could maintain a human form... and he's not going to guess." MegaMan continued, and Netto nodded his head.
The two of them had researched on the Net about how he could be in the real world, and there had been no information or other happenings. "Which makes me think that somehow or another, I'm different than all the other NetNavis out there..." he continued, "To be honest, I don't really know why I am..." Netto reached across the table, and took MegaMan's hand in his own. He offered him a smile. MegaMan appeared to cheer up.
The two got up from their seats and went into the kitchen, gathering the special china and silverware and glasses needed to set the table with. Mom watched them carefully as the two performed the task, still a bit edgy around Netto's friend, because she didn't know him too well. She wondered if her son should hang around with those kind of people, who were just a little bit strange... mother's intuition told her something was up... as if they were hiding some secret from her. Ever since Netto had gotten that PET, and had disobeyed her by keeping it. She couldn't help but wonder if something she had done in her raising of him caused this, something she had done wrong. Maybe she could ask during dinnertime, she planned.
MegaMan had set the napkins in their place, and had put the silverware in the correct positions. Netto had the dishes and bowls, and glasses, and whatever else was needed to set the table right. The two of them stepped back, and observed the table. Yes, everything looked perfect. The candles were there, the red pointsetta in the middle, a welcome Christmas decoration to the otherwise bland table, covered in a white tablecloth. "My dad's going to be home an hour from now. We'd better get everything looking perfect... because it's been a while since he's been here." Netto said. MegaMan noticed the tone in Netto's voice, that he really wanted to impress his father. He seemed perfectly intent on making everything flawless. There must be another reason besides giving his father a big welcome at home, though. Perhaps Netto was aiming to distract his father from putting suspicion on him...
"Netto, you don't have to defend me." MegaMan said as he placed a chair in the right position. Netto didn't look up. "Did you see mom? She's really suspicious of you... I don't know, but I think she knows something's up. We'd better be careful." He said. Mega shook his head rapidly. "I can't just stand by with caution, and be on my toes all the time... I just want everything to be at peace. And most importantly... I-" A knock on the door interrupted Mega's sentence, and he stopped abruptly. Mom opened the front door to reveal Netto's father, back from work. Even Science Lab scientists worked on Christmas. "I just want to be with you... Netto-kun." MegaMan finished, standing alone, a hand placed on the table. Netto was by his dad, giving him a big hug; there was a huge smile on his face, and he looked really happy to see him. Seeing stuff like this made Mega's heart melt a bit... and it also made him a little bit jealous. Just a little bit. He cringed at his own thoughts, his own feelings. He felt ashamed to have them. There was no chance in Hell that Netto would... love him back.
/ Christmas wishes come true, when snowflakes fall from a sky so blue... /
"So you must be Mega. I'm Lan's father, Yuuchirou Hikari. Lan's told me so much about you." Netto's dad extended a hand to his son's friend, who looked bewildered. Mega blinked as he shook his hand. "He has?" He questioned. Netto looked embarrassed, of course dad was going to tell Mega everything he told him about his friend. Mom got out the foods that they were going to eat for dinner, and Mega and Netto sat down. Netto was looking at Mega from where he was sitting at the table; it turns out that they were sitting directly across from each other. If they were to stretch out their arms, they could touch each other's hands. But there were candles and other stuffs in the way. And Netto wasn't thinking about that at all, anyway. The thought had crossed MegaMan's mind for a second before it had melted away. He was determined to forget about his feelings for now; this was dinnertime spent with his operator's family for crying out loud. There was no room for that.
Mom started passing around the mushroom soup and dad was sharpening the knives used for cutting the goose in all its deliciousness. MegaMan was watching the whole thing; he still couldn't believe that he was included in this traditional Christmas dinner. He wasn't a part of the family. He felt he ought to say something... "I'm honored to be included in this dinner... I'm grateful." He said, looking up at all of them. "Don't mention it, any friend of Lan's is welcome any time. Besides, there's more than enough food to feed an extra mouth." Dad laughed. MegaMan felt a little better, but he still felt like he was intruding... Netto noticed this. "Mega... it's okay. You're a part of the family now, remember?" He said. Mega heard this and felt more comfortable and at home. Mom raised her eyebrows a bit in surprise.
"A part of the family? What do you mean?" She asked. Mega whirled his head around to face her at her words. They sounded condescending and they were laced with suspicion. It was perfectly clear now that she didn't trust him at all. Netto looked towards his dad, perhaps he could straighten things out. "He's been here for a bit longer than a month now. Lan says he's a friend visiting, but it's like he doesn't have a family at all. They never call, never check up on him-" she set her fork back on the table, along with the mushroom soup "and it does not make any sense at all, that he would be here this long! It's very suspicious. You're hiding something from me, Lan. Be honest." She looked at her son, with a look that said 'I know you're lying'. Netto shifted under the gaze. Mega slammed his hand on the table, causing her to look up at him, startled. His teeth were gritted and he looked quite upset. "I can't believe that you would question Netto-kun's kindness!!" He yelled. He couldn't take it anymore. "He was kind enough to bring me here and give me a shelter from outside. He even let me eat his food, sleep in his bed, and let me eat at a special dinner such as this one." He stopped to calm himself down. Netto's mom looked really stunned, Netto's dad looked speechless. Netto was clenching his fists and staring down at the table.
Mega stood up, and turned towards the direction of the front door. "Whether you trust me or not, I will always be by Netto's side. As long as I am his NetNavi..." He said, then shut his green eyes, and walked out the door without saying another word. Netto was quiet for an instant, then he shot up to go after him. "Wait, MegaMan!!" He cried, scrambling after him. Dad's eyes widened considerably at the familiar name... mom was pale at the discovery of the young man's true identity... and neither could fathom just how it was possible a NetNavi could exist in the real world. "Mega! Come back!" Netto called his NetNavi's name. But there was no finding him; it seemed that the blue one had disappeared into the storm of white powder. Even his footsteps had been covered by the quickly-falling snowflakes. Netto clutched his jacket, and shivered, but pressed on in spite of the cold he felt. "MegaMan!!" He ran down the unplowed streets, looking into alleyways, store doorways... anywhere that he could think he could be. "Mega!!!" He called until his voice was hoarse, and even then, he continued to call his name, though it came out as whispers... It was his responsibility to bring him back, because that was where he belonged, no matter what his parents said. He had no idea that MegaMan would have reacted that way, in defense for him. And what he said...
''I will always be by Netto's side. As long as I am his NetNavi...''