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"Chaud time to get up. It's six thirty," said Proto the next morning.
"Why do I have to get up now?" Chaud complained, half-asleep.
"Because you said that you needed to stay on your same schedule and because we were going to use the gateway chip on Mega so he can have an easier time waking Lan up. So, get up," said Proto as Chaud got out of bed and changed into his regular clothes.
"Ok, let's go," said Chaud as he walked into Lan's room and over to his computer. "Mega, is it time to get Lan up?" whispered Chaud to the computer. Mega, who had woken up when he heard Chaud enter the room, looked over at his clock.
"Yeah," he said, "do you have the Data chip so I can get back in the net when I am done?"
"Here it is," said Chaud as he looked into Lan's chip folder. "And here is the Gateway Chip. Proto and I will be in our room. I'll be 'asleep' and Proto will be in sleep mode." He slotted in the Gateway chip and left the room as soon as Mega appeared in Lan's room. Chaud snuck out of the room and back into his and waited for the scream.
Meanwhile, in Lan's room, Mega had grabbed a pillow from the floor where it had fallen the night before, and smacked Lan over the head with it. "OW, What the heck!" screamed Lan as he looked around for his assailant. After looking around for a few seconds, he saw Mega. "What, but, how did you get out of the computer?" he stuttered as Mega stood there trying not to laugh.
"Well, Chaud slotted in the gateway chip last night so I could get you up, but he is probably still asleep," added Mega as he watched Lan get up and head towards the desk.
"You're right," said Lan as he walked over to his computer and looked out his window and saw that Maylu's light was on while the screensaver turned off. "Maylu's up? I didn't know that she woke up this early."
"Yeah, well, can I get back to the computer now?" asked Mega. Lan nodded his head and slotted in the Data chip and watched as Mega was transferred into the computer.
"I still don't get how that works. I mean the chip was designed to change you to data and then transfer you to the computer," said Lan, obviously dumbfounded.
"The chip makes sure that the person/Navi that it is transferring is data before the transfer, and if he/she isn't, it changes the person to data and then transfers. If they are, they are automatically transferred. Clear as mud, right?" asked Mega as he watched Lan mull this over.
"Yes, but I'll pretend that I understand," said Lan as he started to get ready for school. "I can't remember the last time that I was up this early."
"You have been up this early before?" joked Mega as he watched Lan get his books together.
"On second thought, no, I haven't. I think that I have everything ready to go. What should I do now, since school isn't for an hour," said Lan as he picked up his PET and backpack and walked into the hall, and almost bumped into Chaud.
"Lan, do you think that you yelled loud enough," said Chaud who looked like he had been rudely awakened by Lan's scream, "I think that someone on the far side of town heard you. What in the world has gotten into you?"
"Shut-up, you put the Gateway chip in the computer for Mega to use, and he hit me and startled me. You had it coming to you," said Lan as Chaud's mask of anger and exhaustion broke and he snickered at Lan.
"Well, is anyone else up? I'm hungry," said Chaud as he walked downstairs. When he got to the bottom, there was Mrs. Hikari making breakfast for the two of them.
"Morning Mom," said Lan as he sat down at the table.
"Morning Lan, and hello Chaud. Did the two of you sleep well?" she asked as she set a stack of pancakes on the table. Lan and Chaud each grabbed two and began to eat.
"Yes ma'am, I did sleep well, thank you" said Chaud in between bites. Lan just shook his head as he finished his and took two more.
"Well good, Lan, save some of those for your father," said Mrs. Hikari as Lan finished his second helping.
"I'm done anyways, and I'm bored anyways. Mega, why did you wake me up so early?" Lan asked.
"Because you need to get to school on time, or else Ms. Mari will get really mad. You remember what happened last time," said Mega. Lan replied by wincing at the memory.
"What did she do?" Chaud asked, looking at Lan.
"She threw three markers at me, and hit me, Maylu, and Dex. She doesn't have the best aim in the world," said Lan as he looked at the clock. "Seven o'clock. Should I leave now?"
"Yeah, I think that Mary and Maylu are going to be there," said Mega as Lan stood up and headed towards the door.
"Ok, Chaud, you want to come with me to school today?" asked Lan as he stopped at the door.
"I have nothing better to do. Should I change clothes?" he asked as he stood up from the table.
"Yeah, I bet that if you wore a hat people wouldn't recognize you," said Lan as he started towards his room. "Let's go and see what I can find."
"Ok," said Chaud as he followed Lan back upstairs. They went to Lan's room, and he found Chaud a pair of regular blue jeans and a red t-shirt.
"I have never worn these. I think that my dad sent me the shirt from somewhere," said Lan as he handed the clothes to Chaud. Chaud took the clothes and went to his room to change. A few minutes later he came out.
"How do I look?" he asked.
"I can hardly recognize you. But I still can, so here is a black hat that should match," said Lan as he tossed the hat to Chaud. He put the hat on and Lan gave a nod of approval. "Let's go and see if Maylu is ready to go now." Lan ran down the stairs with Chaud following closely behind him. They reached Maylu's house right as she was walking out the door. "Hi Maylu."
"Lan? You're here early. May I ask why? Oh, hi Chaud. I barely recognized you," she said as she noticed who the boy with Lan was.
"That was the point. I decided to see what school is like," he said as they began walking.
"Didn't you go to school?" asked Lan.
"No, I had tutors though. I may have gone to preschool, but I'm not sure," said Chaud as he tried to remember.
"Oh, well, you are going to see what it's like today," said Lan as the school came into view.
"Um, Lan, do you have a plan on how to get him into class?" she asked as she caught sight of the rest of their group.
"As a matter of fact I do, he is one of my friends from Houston. What do you want your name to be?" he asked Chaud as they entered the school grounds.
"Hey Lan, who's your friend?" asked Dex, who couldn't for the life of him recognize the extra boy.
"Hi, I'm Ryuu , I'm visiting Lan from Houston," said Chaud, remembering where he was supposed to be from.
"Hi, I'm Mary. I'm from Netopia and I am staying with Yai," said Mary, walking over to shake Chaud's hand.
"Nice to meet you," he replied as the bell rang.
"Time for class," said Tory as they began to walk towards the building. Chaud lagged to the back of the group, and Lan went over to see what he was doing.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
"What if someone, i.e. all of your friends, recognized Proto," said Chaud as he watched the rest of the group go inside.
"Lan, Ryuu, you coming or what?" asked Dex from the door.
"Tell Ms. Mari that I need to take Ryuu to the office to get him checked in, and that I'll be in ASAP," said Lan as he looked at Dex. Dex nodded his head and walked into the building. "I think that I have a blank fashion chip, here it is. You can change what he is wearing to whatever you want." Chaud slotted in the chip, and a popup screen came up with menus and color selection.
"Ok, Proto, you are going to be wearing a purple jumpsuit, with a matching helmet. Your visor won't be the same shape, but it'll look more like sunglasses. And your hair will be black, and your symbol will be inverted," said Chaud as he entered the colors and specifications into the chip. "This isn't permanent, is it?"
"No, it'll last until you take it out, though. I'll give you that chip later. And here is a sticker to put over the symbol on your PET. We had better get to the office now," said Lan as he ran into the building with Chaud right behind him. "The office is right here." Lan and Chaud walked into the principal's office and up to the secretary's desk.
"Lan, please tell me that you didn't get in trouble already," said the secretary.
"No, I need to get a pass for my friend from Houston," said Lan.
"And his name is…,"
"Ryuu," said Chaud as the Secretary wrote his name on a nametag and gave Lan a pass for class
"Lan, try to be on time next time," she said a she handed Lan a pass for class. Lan thanked her and he and Chaud left the office and headed towards Ms. Mari's class.
"Lan, nice of you to join us. Would you please sit down. And who is your friend?" asked Ms. Mari as she took Lan's note telling her where he was.
"I'm Ryuu, and I'm from Houston," said Chaud as Lan took his seat.
"Well, you can go and in the empty seat behind Mary for now. Now class, please pass your homework up," said Ms. Mari as class began.
MLMLMLMLMLMLMLMLMLMLML
At lunch Lan, Ryuu Dex, Mary, Maylu, and Tory went to the cafeteria to buy lunch. "So, what do they expect us to eat today?" asked Tory as they got in line.
"Um, it looks like chicken, or fish, or mystery meat," said Lan as he looked at the dishes. "Can I get a hamburger?" he asked the lunch lady as she put the burger on a bun. Lan slid his tray down the line.
"Could I get a salad?" asked Ryuu. The lady took some salad and put it in a bowl for Chaud. He slid the tray down behind Lan and waited to pay.
"I'll get it," said Lan as they got to the pay place. He paid and they went to go and sit down at their group's table. They ate in silence for a few minutes, when Mary finally broke it.
"You know Ryuu, you are the only other person who sits here who gets a salad other than me," said Mary.
"Well, everything else didn't look edible," said Ryuu.
"Oh," said Mary looking sort of downcast.
"Did I say something wrong?" Chaud asked Lan.
"No," he answered, "it's just that Mary has a health problem, and so she has to watch what she eats."
"Oh, I'm sorry Mary, I didn't know," Ryuu said. "Great, my first day as a normal kid and I have already messed things up."
"It's okay Ryuu, I should have known that you wouldn't know that. It's really okay," said Mary. "So, who is your Navi?" Ryuu pulled out his PET and showed them the purple Navi inside.
"His name is Ronin," said Chaud.
"Ronin, that's a strange name," said Maylu, who was looking at Ryuu, wondering where he had gotten that name from.
"Yes, Ronin. It means Samurai without a master," sighed Ryuu.
"I bet you get that a lot," said Mary. He shook his head in agreement.
"Hey, do you know who he looks like?" asked Dex. "Protoman!" Lan and Maylu both held their breath, waiting to see what Chaud was going to say to that.
"Yes," said Ryuu, "that is because Chaud is my cousin."
"Oh, well, that makes sense," said Tory as the bell rang for the afternoon classes. They all threw their trash away and headed for the afternoon classes.
MLMLMLMLMLMLMLMLMLML
"I can't believe we got to make putty," said Lan after school. Everyone started to laugh, including Chaud.
"Well, it was a science class," said Maylu. "I need to get home now, see you tomorrow."
"Bye!" said Mary, Dex, and Tory.
"We had better go too, bye," said Lan as he and Chaud took off after Maylu.
"That was a close one at lunch today," said Maylu when the boys caught up with her.
"Yeah," said Lan, "How did you know what Ronin meant, anyways?"
Chaud looked down and waited a few moments before answering. "Well, I knew that a day would come when I was going to have to go into hiding. Either because of my company or being a Net Saver. So I had most of this planned out for a while," he replied.
"Oh," said Lan, "so, what does Ryuu mean?"
"Ryuu means dragon," said Chaud as they neared the houses.
"Well, it's good to know that we didn't have to cover for you all day, but just part of it," said Maylu. They had reached their houses, and Maylu went inside. "See ya later."
"Bye," said both boys as they entered Lan's house.
When they walked in, they saw that the entire house had gone under a very thorough cleaning. "Hello boys," said Mrs. Hikari, "I would appreciate it if you didn't track dirt into the house today. I just got through cleaning it."
"Yes ma'am," they replied as they went upstairs to their rooms.
"So," said Lan, "are you going to school with me tomorrow?"
"I don't know, should I?" Chaud asked.
"Yeah, I think that it's time for you to be social," said Lan. "We are going to have to change your hair style, and your PET for when we are at school. We should also go and get you some different clothes."
"Okay, can we go now? I know that you aren't going to be doing homework," said Chaud. Lan laughed and he and Chaud left the house. They went to the mall, and got a whole new wardrobe. They also stopped by the PET store and got Chaud a new PET cover.
"That should take care of ya for a while," said Lan as they left the last store and headed for the food court. "You want a drink?"
"Sure," he replied as they got to the counter.
"I would like a Coke," said Lan.
"And I would like a Dr. Pepper," said Chaud. The lady at the counter gave them their drinks and they left the mall. "Lan, why are you doing this for me?"
"Because you are my partner, and you are having a hard time. I'm just trying to help ya out. We had better get home before Mom starts to worry," said Lan as he dragged Chaud out of the mall and towards his home.
"What did I do to deserve such good friends?" he thought to himself as he remembered all the people who were kind to him over the past two days.
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