A/N: Hello everyone! It's been awhile since my last update, hasn't it? I'm really sorry about that. Well, one of the main differences in this chapter is that I have decided to revert to the original, Japanese names. This is because... well, once you learn them, it's kind of hard to go back... (laughs). Well, by a friend's suggestion, I'm putting a short translation of the English names to Japanese, just in case someone doesn't know them...
Lan Hikari: Netto Hikari
Megaman: Rockman
Maylu Sakurai: Meiru Sakurai
Yai Ayano: Yaito Ayanokouji
Chaud Blaze: Enzan Ijuuin
Protoman: Blues
Mr. Famous: Meijin Eguchi
Dr. Hikari: Hikari-hakase
Chief Keifer: Commisioner Kifune
Manuela: Manabe
There... that took a lot of room, didn't it? >.>;; Anyway, I hope that's right...
Oh, special thanks to FMA Chiberz Rocz for all of her help! I really appreciate it!
Also, special thanks to Taylor and Lisa for their entertaining reviews. (laughs) You two are great! If any of you would like a review from them, they ask for you to send them an e-mail. (smiles)
Disclaimer: I do not own Rockman.exe, or anything else associated with it. Rockman.exe is owned by CAPCOM. I only own my own characters, and this fan-fiction.
Chapter Four
Enzan and Akari were walking silently along a street, Akari lagging behind slightly. For some odd reason, people on the other sidewalks were all bustling here and there, but the one that the both of them were walking on seemed rather void of people. Only a couple people were walking along. Akari was staring at the ground uncomfortably. There was a question bothering her, but she wasn't sure if she ought to ask it or not. She couldn't exactly talk it over with Multi since her PET was in an awkward position in her bag, so she just decided to ask after some silent debating with herself.
"…Why did you say that back there? We're not really going anywhere—are we?" she asked, her voice barely over a whisper.
After a moment, he replied. "Let's just say… they get on my nerves sometimes; they seem to want to know everything about what I do outside of work. It was more of an excuse to leave them, I guess. And… we could go anywhere you'd like to go, if you want to."
"O-oh…" She was surprised by his words. "T-there really isn't anywhere I'd like to go…"
"Enzan-sama," Blues called out. "You have an e-mail. It's from Hikari-hakase and Meijin-san. They want you to meet them at Sci-lab."
"Do you know what for, Blues?"
"There was nothing in the e-mail that said why."
"Okay, then." He turned towards Akari. "Do you need to go anywhere? Like back home or something?" Akari shook her head.
"No, I don't have anything to do today." she answered quietly.
"Would you mind going to Sci-lab, then?" he questioned.
Akari was startled. "Um… are you sure it's okay?"
Enzan nodded. Akari took out her PET and looked into it. "What do you think, Multi? Do you want to go?"
Multi grinned. "Sure! Wouldn't you want to go, Akari? I mean, after all, it is the place where the newest technology's being made."
Akari gave a small smile. She looked up at Enzan. "I guess we'll go then, if you're sure it's okay."
Enzan nodded his head, but it was so slight it was hard to tell if he moved his head at all. He returned to looking ahead, and before too long, they arrived at Sci-lab. Even before they entered, Akari was staring at the building, fascinated at its extreme size.
"…Wow…" came a voice from her PET. Enzan couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Once they entered, Akari could see scientists wearing white lab coats running back and forth between places; scientists testing new technology in rooms, shouting in excitement as they worked; large monitors displaying statistics where yet other scientists were typing fervently underneath, large machines whirring to life beside them.
"Hikari-hakase and Meijin-san? You wanted to see me…?" Enzan called as they entered the main testing lab. Hikari-hakase looked up from his work.
"Ah, Enzan. Welcome," Hikari-hakase greeted. He looked over to Enzan's side. "…And who might this young lady be?" Akari looked down to the ground timidly.
"This is Akari Chang," Enzan introduced. Akari bowed her head slightly in greeting.
"Nice to meet you, Akari." Hikari-hakase said with a kind smile. A faint blush showed up on her face. She turned out her PET so that the screen was facing him.
"This is Multi," she said softly. Multi waved and said an energetic, "Hi!" Hikari-hakase smiled. "It's nice to meet you too, Multi."
"So what did you want to see me for, Hikari-hakase?" Enzan questioned. The doctor turned to him.
"Ah, yes. Commissioner Kifune here wanted to tell you something--,"
Just at that moment, Netto came bursting in through the doors. He skidded to a halt right in front of his father.
"Gah! I'm sorry, papa. I'm here now!" Netto panted. He turned around and faced Enzan. "Hiya, Enzan--," He blinked. "Hey… it's you again!" he shouted as he saw Akari. Akari cringed slightly from his loud voice. Rockman resisted from rolling his eyes.
"Yes, Netto-kun… it's Akari-san," Rockman said, exasperation evident in his voice. "Why don't you go and introduce yourself properly this time?"
"…But, doesn't she already know who I am?"
"Yes, Netto-kun, but you haven't actually spoken much to her, you know? You should actually introduce yourself by yourself this time, instead of having Meiru do it for you."
Netto shrugged. "Okay," he said casually. He looked at Akari again and stuck out his hand. "Hi Akari, I'm Hikari Netto," he said while grinning. She smiled weakly and shook with him, but she stopped and released his hand, grimacing. She brought back her hand slowly and stared at it, seeing an odd substance in her palm. Then she looked up from her hand and turned to Netto with a puzzled look. Rockman peered out from the PET screen to see what was going on, but then he smacked his forehead once he found out.
"Oh my God, Netto-kun…" Rockman said wearily. Enzan looked over to see what the substance was.
"Netto… what the heck is that?" Netto laughed sheepishly.
"Well um, I guess I forgot to say this… but uh, on my way here, I uh… slipped in a pile of mud. But um, I managed to catch myself in time so that my entire body wouldn't be covered in mud. And… this is the reason why my hands have mud and dirt on them." He held up his hands that did, in fact, have smudges of wet mud here and there. Rockman rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, we all know how athletic you are," he said sarcastically. Netto grinned embarrassedly.
"Oops… Sorry, Akari."
"I-it's okay…" she answered gently. Hikari-hakase handed her a handkerchief, on which she wiped her hand off after saying thank you. Enzan turned back to him.
"I'm sorry, Hikari-hakase. What was it that you wanted to tell us?"
"Oh… well, Commissioner Kifune wanted to introduce you two to someone—," He looked up. "And… here he comes now." Indeed, Kifune, along with Manabe, were approaching them. There seemed to be someone following them as well.
"Enzan, Netto… we have brought over a new Net-Savior to help you two," Kifune started. "We are very proud to introduce her to Japan, so please make her feel welcome." Netto suddenly blanked out.
"Wait… it's a she?"
"Netto… shut up." Enzan said impatiently. Netto growled, but he went quiet anyways.
"Yes, Netto, it's a she," Kifune said. "And… her name is May Summers." He stepped to the side to reveal a girl around their age. She had deep chestnut hair, which had a slight curl, along with pale blue eyes. She stepped forward and smiled cheerfully at them.
"Hi guys! My name is May Summers, like Kifune-san said. It's nice to meet you," she said, extending a hand. Netto took her hand. In about two seconds, she had pulled away.
"Eww! What is that!" she yelled, rubbing her hand off on her pant leg.
"It's uh… mud." Netto said awkwardly. Rockman lowered his voice so that Netto couldn't hear, and whispered, "I believe there was some dog business as well…" May looked at Netto in a disgusted manner, and turned to Enzan. She blinked.
"Nice to meet you, Summers." Enzan said. May stared at his offered hand a bit before extending hers. As she was shaking his hand, she stared up at him.
"Ijuuin… Enzan…" she said dazedly. All of a sudden, she shook enthusiastically and started blabbing on about a whole amount of things. So much in fact, that Netto swore he had a headache later.
"Oh my God! Ijuuin Enzan… oh my God, I've always wanted to meet you… you're the first on my list of people I've wanted to meet… I can't believe it! I'll be working with you and everything! This is… unbelievable! I don't regret coming to Japan at all!" she blurted out quickly, a huge smile spreading on her face. Enzan blinked, expressionless. May looked at him.
"Is something wrong?" she asked him. After a moment, he let go of her hand and shook his head.
"No, nothing's wrong," he said, turning away. Akari looked at him with a puzzled look.
"Well, May here is from the United States. The Net-Savior Agency over there has sent her over to help you two. At first I was doubtful, since I wasn't sure she'd like it over here. Then I learned that she is multi-lingual, and can communicate with foreigners. She could be considered as a spy, since the Net-Savior Agency in America usually sends her to find out information, which she does quite rapidly. So, she should be pretty helpful to you two." Kifune spoke. He chuckled a bit and added, "It seems she's gotten quite used to you two already."
Netto scoffed. "More like she's gotten used to Enzan," he grumbled under his breath. Rockman laughed at this remark.
"Well, would you two mind giving May a tour around the city?" Kifune asked. Enzan and Netto looked at each other, before Netto replied, "Sure, why not? I don't have anything else to do today." Enzan groaned slightly.
"Sweet! Let's go!" May exclaimed. Right before they all left, Hikari-hakase bid them a goodbye, but then remembered to tell Netto to wash his hands. Netto laughed awkwardly again and dashed off to find the nearest restroom.
"Well, how are all of you today?" May asked. But before anyone else could reply, she immediately cut in. "I think I'm feeling pretty good today, if I do say so myself." She grinned up Enzan. "How are you doing today?"
Enzan raised an eyebrow. "I'm… okay, I guess."
"That's great to hear!" she exclaimed. Enzan blinked, starting to feel that Netto wouldn't be the only one that annoyed him.
"Well, since I'll be your tour guide today," Netto began. "This is the great city of Densan! Great food, great net-battling, and all that!" He flashed a smile. After a bit, however, a confused expression took its place.
"Wait… if you're a Net-Savior, then shouldn't you have a navi?"
May laughed. "Oh yeah…" She took out a PET. "This is my navi, Jazz."
"Hey…" Jazz said weakly, waving from her PET. "I'm sorry that my Net-op is so dense as to have forgotten me…"
"What was that?" May shouted.
"It is true, you know…" Jazz replied with a sigh. She smiled. "Anyways, I can't wait to start working with you guys! I hope that we'll be helpful to you two."
Enzan smiled slightly. "What is that you specialize in?" he asked.
Jazz pointed to herself. "Me? Oh, I'm good at data collecting. As Kifune-san said, the Net-Savior Agency in America usually send us on missions to find out secret information about our enemies," She grinned. "I guess we're pretty good at sneaking in and out of places." May nodded in agreement.
"That's pretty cool." Netto said a bit absently. "Well, beginning off with our tour," he began, getting back to his assumed position as tour guide. "Off to the right there, is Higure's chip shop. He's a friend of ours that has a… huge obsession with battlechips, so… if you ever need anything, you can probably get a pretty good deal there." He continued rambling on about the other places they passed, including the arcade, the Densan City Middle School, the little corner of a field that he liked to take naps in, and some local curry shops.
"Ah… and here is the best curry shop of them all! Maha Ichiban!" he exclaimed grandly. The group stopped in front of the store. Enzan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. During the so-called "tour", Netto had been rambling on about his own favorite places, and May had been chattering on about… well, herself, and her own life back in the States. She had mainly directed her words towards him as well. It was a bit much for him to handle. Then he realized that Netto would probably continue on with describing all the different types of his favorite curry, and he silently prayed to whatever power there was above that he'd survive through it.
"Man, I'm starving! Let's go in and get something to eat!" Netto said, leading the way in. Enzan grudgingly followed everyone else inside.
"Wow… this is pretty good!" May said, spooning up another mouthful of her curry. Netto had ordered so many things that Enzan felt full just looking at it all. He didn't feel much like eating, and he had passed when Netto had offered him some.
"Of course it's good!" Netto replied as he smiled, finishing another dish. Enzan sighed.
"So," May began, turning to Enzan. "Your navi is Blues, isn't it? Do you think it would be okay if Jazz got to know him better? It's okay? Great! How about a net-battle? I don't think Jazz is that bad, and it'd be so sweet if I got to net-battle you!" she spoke rapidly, her words tumbling over one another. Enzan wasn't quite sure how to reply…
"Um… sure, I guess…" he said, not sure to which question he was replying. May was really starting to get on his nerves. When he looked up at her, he noticed that she had gone back to chatting to no one in particular, talking about some other random fact about herself. Sighing, he looked around to see if he could interest himself somewhere else. His gaze fell on Akari, who was sitting next to him, staring at her sketchbook with a blank look. She had her head bowed, and her PET was placed neatly on the table in front of her. Brow furrowing, he wondered vaguely how anyone could be so quiet and shy. He realized that she hadn't spoken a word ever since May was first introduced. Mentally, he made a note to speak with her a bit kinder, just to see if she would talk more.
"You're not eating anything," Enzan spoke quietly. Akari looked up in mild surprise. She turned to Enzan.
"Oh… I'm not… I'm not that hungry…" she said gently, and returned to staring at her sketchbook wordlessly. Enzan looked at her, wondering why she was this way. He'd never quite met anyone like her before. She couldn't have always been this quiet… could she? He didn't know, and it bothered him slightly for some reason.
May looked over at Enzan and Akari. Her eyes narrowed when she looked at the other girl. She couldn't understand why Enzan paid attention to that girl, when he barely noticed herself. After all, that girl hardly spoke. She really didn't see what was so special about her. Besides, she wasn't even a Net-Savior, she thought.
"We should probably get going, you know." Enzan said standing up, shaking May out of her train of thought. Netto groaned, but he got up as well. He would have forgotten to pay had Rockman not yelled at him. Covering up any sign of her previous thinking, May bounded up happily, and Akari stood also, clutching her sketchbook closely. She looked at the new Net-Savior uneasily. She had become aware that May had been looking at her while they were sitting, even though she didn't show any sign that she noticed. She wondered what she did that could have earned such a cold stare from her.
Once again outside, Enzan breathed in deeply. He was glad to get out of the small restaurant. All four of them were walking along the outside street once more. Enzan looked up into the sky to see the sun, a brilliant orb of fiery gold and orange.
'It's getting late,' he thought.
"So, do you know where you're staying?" Netto asked May. She nodded her head.
"Yeah. The Net-Savior Headquarters provided me with a nice apartment room for myself. It's not too far from here," She grinned as she pointed off to somewhere in the distance.
"Would you like us to walk you home?" Netto offered. May shook her head.
"Nah, I can walk. It's not too far, like I said before." She turned around to face all of them, smiling. "You guys are really too nice. Thanks a lot for today. See ya around!" And with one last glance at Akari, she ran off.
"Yeah, I better go too. I think mama said that she would be making noodles tonight." Netto said, grinning longingly at his upcoming meal. Rockman rubbed his forehead.
"It's amazing where all that food goes," he mumbled incoherently. As Netto skated off, he waved resignedly from his PET. Enzan watched them go, smiling slightly at Rockman's irritation. Akari was getting ready to leave as well.
"Um… th-thank you for today. I had a nice time," Akari said softly, bowing a little. "I need to get home now." She started walking off towards the bus station.
"Hey," Enzan called. She looked back. "Are you going to be walking back home?"
"No… I'll be taking the bus." She smiled softly. "I'll be fine."
"Oh…" An awkward silence followed. "Well, okay, see you then."
"Good-bye…"
Enzan watched her walk off. He could faintly make out Multi, talking rapidly to her about something. He chuckled to himself. It was strange how different Multi was compared with her Net-Op. Akari was quiet and composed, while Multi was much more talkative and cheerful. He wondered if they'd always been that way. He couldn't think about it much more after that, though, as he had to ask Blues to send the limousine on which he would ride back to IPC headquarters. Soon, the long dark vehicle turned around the corner, and stopped in front of him. He got in, thinking about the work he would have back at his office.
While he was riding away, he didn't notice a certain chestnut-haired girl staring after him, a reproachful look written all over her features.
End chapter...
A/N: Heh... it annoys me how short this seems... >.>;; Well, hopefully I got the names right and all. Later on, I'll probably go back and change the summary and chapters 1-3 so it doesn't seem weird. I know it's probably annoying to hear authors say "please review" all the time, so I want to say that it doesn't really matter if you don't review. When you do review, however, it allows me to see how well I do as an author, and it motivates me to write better. So... just know that reviews are always very appreciated. (smiles)