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"Chaud, are you almost ready?" asked Lan. They were about to leave for school, and Chaud was taking longer than Lan expected. "We're going to be late if you don't hurry up."

"I'm coming," said Chaud as he opened the door and stepped out into the hall. He was wearing blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and white tennis shoes. "I feel weird in these clothes."

"You'll get used to it, but come on. We've got to go!" said Lan as he ran downstairs and got his backpack and lunch. Chaud was close behind him, taking Lan's extra backpack (Ms. Mari insisted that he did the homework and came to class while he was there) and his lunch. The two boys said goodbye to Mrs. Hikari and ran out the door. Lan put on his skates, and Chaud grabbed Lan's skateboard and they started towards the school.

"What time does school start?" asked Chaud as he tried to keep up with Lan.

"8:25, but I need to get there early today," said Lan. Chaud looked at his watch and got a surprise. It was only 7:15.

"Lan," said Mega from his PET, "please tell me that you did all of your homework last night."

"Yeah, I did, but Dex challenged me to a Net battle before school," said Lan as they neared the school. They entered the schoolyard to see Dex, Tory, Maylu, and Mary waiting for them in the front.

"Morning Lan, ready to get beat?" asked Dex.

"In your dreams. Jack in Megaman, power up!" Lan said as he sent Mega to the battlefield. When Mega arrived, he found out that the match was a cage match, and that there was an audience of Roll, Ring, Ronin, Iceman, and Navi's of other students.

"Good morning Gutsman," said Mega as he looked at his opponent.

"'Morning, Guts. Mega ready to be beat by Guts?" asked Gutsman.

"You wish," said Mega as the Battle Start sign came up. Mega ran at Gutsman and shot him with a charged shot. Gutsman punched at him, but he jumped to dodge and shot him again with another charged shot. He landed and looked at Gutsman, who looked mad at the two free shots that Mega had just landed.

"Mega, here comes a shotgun," said Lan as he sent the chip. Mega used it as soon as he got it. He shot Gutsman in the chest and dodged a punch. Lan sent him a sword, and Mega got it when Gutsman threw another punch. Mega blocked it with his sword, and slashed Gutsman in the stomach. This sent Gutsman into a blind rage. He started to throw random punches, and Mega had to climb to cage to get out of range.

"Uh, Lan, could you please send me a Dash Condor and a long sword?" asked Mega from his spot near the top of the cage.

"Sure thing," said Lan as he sent the chips. Mega jumped on the Condor and flew around Gutsman, trying to make him dizzy. When Gutsman was starting to look disoriented, he flew down towards Gutsman, and sliced at his legs, and Gutsman fell over and tried to grab Mega, but he had already flown back to his spot on the cage.

"Lan, all I need now is an M Cannon," said Mega. Lan sent it and Mega shot Gutsman, causing him to log out. The Battle Over sign flashed as Mega jumped back to the ground. The cage disappeared, and Roll ran over to congratulate him.

"You were great!" she said as she jumped on him.

"Thanks Roll," said Mega as he walked off the battlefield towards his friends. He was congratulated by all of the Navi's, and even Gutsman was logged in to say "good game" before leaving to get repaired.

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"Time for class," said Lan as the group dispersed to their classrooms. Everyone started towards his or her classes, including the Navi's.

"Mega," said Ronin, who was lagging towards the back of the group again. Mega walked over to see what he needed, "No wonder you and Lan are such good opponents."

"Thanks," said Mega with a half smile, "I'll take that as a compliment." He and Ronin walked into the classroom and over to their NetOp's desks and got ready for the day.

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"Mr. Blaze, is something wrong?" asked the secretary as her boss walked into his office.

"No, I'm just not getting as much sleep as I should. I'll be fine as soon as I get working," he said. He walked in the room, and shut the door. "I'm just worried about Chaud. He's been gone for two days, and he hasn't called, emailed, or contacted me at all. I know that he can take care of himself, but why hasn't he contacted me?" he thought as he opened the memo again. He began to read the benefits again as the secretary came back into the room.

"Mr. Blaze," she said, looking at the working man.

"Yes Sandra?" he asked as he looked at her.

"I was just wondering where Chaud is. I need to send him a document," she said.

"I thought that you said that he was on vacation," sighed Mr. Blaze.

"Well, that's what his secretary told me," she said.

"Then why are you going to bother him? He went on vacation without taking any work, so he wanted to relax." Mr. Blaze was beginning to feel anxiety and anger boil up at the thought of his son.

"I'm sorry. This will have to wait until he gets back," Sandra said as she began to exit the office.

"Sandra, I'll look over the document. Just leave it on my desk," he said. Sandra walked back into the room, and put the document on his desk, and walked out. "I had better call Ayano Tech before Mr. Ayano leaves," he thought. "I just wish that I knew where my son is so I could let him know that he was right, that I was wrong, and that I am sorry." Mr. Blaze reached for the phone and dialed the number for Ayano Tech.

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Yai had been working nonstop since Chaud went into hiding to make sure that her father was ready for a call from IPC. "Dad, do you have the memo?" she asked as the secretary got the call that they had been waiting for.

"Yes, Yai, for the fifth time, I have it. You can transfer the call to me now," he said as the secretary transferred the call. Yai left the room to go back to her office.

"I should go to lunch at school today and see how Mary is doing," she thought as she entered her office. "Glyde, have we gotten any new emails?"

"Yes, Miss Yai, we have gotten one from Lan. It says that the battle with Dex was won by Lan, that Chaud and Protoman are going to school for the week, and that they are going by the names of Ryuu and Ronin," said Glyde from the computer.

"Ok, now which is which?" Yai asked, confused.

"Chaud is Ryuu and Protoman is Ronin," explained Glyde

"Ok, well, we should go and visit them at lunch," she said as she looked at the clock. "Lunch is in thirty minutes. We had better get going." She logged Glyde out and headed towards her limo. She got in the limo and told the driver to go to the school. They arrived at the school thirty minutes later, and walked into the cafeteria. "Hello everyone!" she said as she walked over to the table.

"Hello Yai," said Lan. "Do you want to sit with us?"

"Sure. Mary, how is your day going?" she asked as she looked over at the blonde girl.

"It's been ok," she answered.

"And who is this?" Yai asked as she looked at Ryuu, even though she knew who it was.

"Oh, hi, I'm Ryuu. I'm from Houston," said Ryuu as he looked at Yai. "I'm Chaud's cousin."

"Oh, I know Chaud," Yai said, playing along. "He's a nice boy." Ryuu snickered a little bit and got back to his food.

"So," asked Maylu, "How is your company?"

"It's fine. I think that the major business deal is about to go through!" she squealed. Ryuu looked at her like she was crazy.

"Mr. Blaze accepted!" he asked, astounded that his father actually read his memo.

"Yes, well, he called my father to discuss it," Yai replied.

"Well, that's good," said Dex. "Has Chaud found out about this?" Ryuu looked back at his food and avoided eye contact.

"I don't know, but I think that he does," said Yai. "Well, I just came in to chat. I have to go now, Bye!" She left the table and exited the room.

"Is she always like this?" Ryuu asked. Mary just giggled.

"You have no idea. She is like this twenty-four seven!" she exclaimed. Ryuu snickered and looked at the pink limo that was exiting the school grounds.

"I wonder why her father lets her help. She is so emotional. It would be easy to sway her opinion on a subject if you play through the heart," he thought. "Well, I'm done. I think that I'll go back to class."

"Me too," said Mary. She and Ryuu left the cafeteria and walked back to the classroom. Ryuu turned to Mary to ask her a question.

"Mary, I heard that you had health problems, and, well, I don't mean to be rude, but, what are some things that you can do?" he asked. Mary thought for a minute before answering.

"I can go to the mall, movies, park, basically anything without major exercise," she replied as they walked into the classroom. "Why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to do something after school," said Ryuu. "I mean, I don't really have all that many friends, and seeing as how we both are out of our normal lifestyles, why not do something together?" Mary smiled and sat down at her desk and Ryuu on top of it.

"Ryuu, I would love to do something with you after school. Do you think that Ring and Ronin would like to also?" she asked as she pulled out her PET. "Well Ring?"

"Sure, I don't mind. Do you Ronin?" she asked.

"No, its fine with me," he replied.

"Why don't we go and see a movie after school?" Ryuu suggested.

"Ok," said Mary as the bell rang and the rest of their classmates walked into the room. Ryuu went over to his desk and sat down.

"Ryuu, what's going on?" asked Lan as he sat down at his desk.

"Mary and I are going to the movies after school," said Ryuu as Mrs. Mari started class and they were forced to pay attention.

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"Well Dr. Hikari, how is Chaud doing?" asked Famous as Dr. Hikari was working on a new chip.

"He's going to be ok. But I believe that the sooner he gets home and talks with his father, the better," he responded. "In the meantime, help me with this chip." Famous looked at the Doctor with a small smile.

"I, and I'm sure that Chaud is too, am thankful that you are there to help," he said. Dr. Hikari smiled as he got back to work.

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School got out, and Chaud and Mary said good-bye to their other friends and started towards the movie theater. "What movie do you want to see?" asked Chaud.

"I don't know; I don't like scary ones, though. I heard that that movie Kikko-man is a good one," she said.

"Ok, then that's the movie that we are going to see," said Chaud as he got the tickets.

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"Lan, where is Ryuu going?" asked Dex as he watched Mary and Chaud walk off.

"They are going to see a movie," said Lan as he started towards his home with Maylu.

"Ok, well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," said Tory and Dex as they left for their homes.

"So, Lan, what are you going to do tomorrow. It's a Saturday," said Maylu.

"I haven't really thought about it. How about we let Mega and Roll do whatever they want to, and we can go to the park or something," suggested Lan.

"Ok, as long as Mega and Roll behave," joked Maylu. Roll looked at her Op in mock shock.

"Maylu, why, how could you even suggest that I would do something bad?" Roll commented before breaking down into laughter.

"Ok, well, see ya," said Maylu as she left to go to her house.

"Bye," said Lan as he walked into his house. He went up to his room, put the PET on its charger, and flopped on his bed. Mega looked at his Op, wondering what he was doing.

"Lan, is something wrong?" he finally asked. Lan rolled over and looked at his Navi.

"I'm just wondering about Chaud. He is starting to open up, and I'm wondering if he is suffering from shock or something," said Lan.

"I think that he and Mary might have a lot in common, so, yeah, he is opening up. I think that it's great that he has some more friends," said Mega.

"Yeah, you're right. I just hope that he can smooth things over with his dad."

"Me too."

End Chapter