Disclaimer: -sighs in annoyance- Do we really need all this…this…distrusting? I think not.
Netto
fell to his knees on the floor, totally unable to deal with the
shocking news that was trying to force its way into his reality.
"No…It's can't be…He's…he's lying, I know it!"
Accidentally dropping his PET to the floor in a fit of distress, he
rose slowly and stumbled in the general direction of his room.
"Netto...I'm so sorry...I can't believe it myself, but..."
Meiru attempted a rather sorry attempt at condolence, but Netto
wasn't accepting anything on the order of comfort. Meiru felt Enzan's
eyes on her back, watching her closely, and turned to shoot
eye-daggers at him. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw his eyes
were shimmering with tears. …Enzan? Her gaze softened and
she was about to whisper words of comfort to him for no real reason,
but at the next moment, Enzan was looking awkwardly into a corner of
the kitchen, hands still jammed in his pockets as always. Meiru laid
all of her attention back on Netto, crooning "It's okay, it's
alright…just…just calm down…" She could feel him shuddering
in shock and sadness, and it didn't really help the whole comfort
thing.
"No, it won't, Meiru." Netto said all of a
sudden. Meiru jumped undetectably, and Enzan's eyes suddenly shot
back to the pair of children. Netto's head rose up, as did his
voice, saying, "It won't be okay, so stop pretending…" He
then pulled away from Meiru's warm arms and tore off to his room,
tears streaming down his face. "Stop pretending it's not my
fault!" he yelled as he slammed the door behind him. Meiru
sighed and looked back down at the carpet, barely noticing that
Rockman was left behind in Netto's fit of rage. She picked up the
PET and gently called Rock's name, but he was sitting in a corner
of the net device, curled up in a ball and obviously lacking the will
to live, let alone talk. Meiru gave up the lost cause, set the PET on
a table, and finally let loose a couple of tears of her own as the
horrible truth finally sank in: Hikari Haruka was gone, and she was
never coming back.
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Netto
cursed, stomped, paced his room, anything to let loose some of this
pent-up energy that was boiling inside of him. Why did I let her
go overseas? She said she was only going to visit Papa…who the hell
could've done this to her? From what the Netopian official had
told him over the phone, Haruka 'seemed to have been involved in an
car-related incident'. Incident my ass. This was murder and they
know it. Mama's car was totally fool-proofed, and she had it
protected by a GuardNavi… the only way it could catch on fire the
way they told me told me it did was if someone rigged it from the
inside. And when I catch whoever did it…Netto clenched his
fists, set his jaw tight, and paced even harder. If Rockman had been
in there with him, under any different circumstances, he would have
made some smart remark including the phrase "wear a trench in the
floor". Racking his brain for any reason that someone would want to
kill his mama, Netto came up blank. She had no enemies…no one
was jealous of her, from what I know…maybe someone was mad that she
got Papa and they didn't? The thought was unlikely, but it was
still a possibility. I should've asked her to stay. She left
because she wanted me to be alone with my friends. I made her
leave…it is my fault! Netto started to cry again at the
very notion.
And worst of all…I have no one to talk to.
Meiru, Dekao, Yaito…their parents are all happy and well. Enzan,
well…The thought hit him like a bucket of ice-cold water.
Enzan! His mama passed away…maybe I can talk to him a
little…Mental scolding came next, with a slight tinge of pink
across his face. Yeah right, me, talk to Enzan? We barely
acknowledge each other…He continued to pace, hands now calmly
behind his back, but his face anything but peaceful.
------M-E-A-N-W-H-I-L-E------
"Enzan-sama, go talk to him, please?"
"Hm?"
Meiru
and Enzan were now doing their own pacing in Netto's living room.
Actually, it was more Enzan doing the worried, troubled pacing, and
Meiru sitting on a comfy couch, hands clasped in front of her. "You
heard me, I think you should go talk to him. You saw him; he won't
listen to me at all. I've got it too well off."
Enzan paused and
sniggered a little. "You've got it too well off? If you haven't
noticed by now, I'm the VP of one of the biggest companies on
Electopia. I think I might have it a little better than you…no
offense," he added, seeing a flash of indignance in Meiru's
eyes.
Ignoring his last sentence, Meiru continued. "Also, I
don't exactly know how, but I think you can relate to him a little
better than I can."
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
"For
starters…earlier, when that overseas official told Netto what
happened...I looked over at you, and you were on the verge of
tears."
She saw! Enzan's mind froze, but his body
played it cool. "And?"
"Well, that was just one of
the hints I saw that you might be the best person to talk to him
right about now. Not to mention how excited he seemed when you came
to the door, and how fast he was talking before the call, and the
fact that both of your faces were just a tad pink, and then every
time you guys caught each other's eyes, you'd look away, or at
me, or somewhere other than each other…" Meiru gave a knowing
little smirk, giving off a very suspicious vibe. Enzan blinked at the
intensity of this aura. "...Um, okay...I'll go talk to him...but
don't be surprised if I come out within 30 seconds with a strict
order to leave him alone until further notice."
Meiru seemed
satisfied for a moment. "Good. In the meantime, I'll send Roll
to try and find to Rockman." He's most likely run off
too…She sighed quietly. Brothers they are indeed…
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During the meantime of which Meiru was speaking, Netto was busy working on his face-pillow coordination. For all practical purposes, he was meditating, and no one could bring him out of this hypnotic trance of doomed suffering. After a few minutes, he broke himself out and flipped over to his back, looking up at the blank ceiling that mirrored his thoughts so perfectly. His mind was empty but for one person…
-------M-E-A-N-W-H-I-L-E-------
Hands safely behind his head, Enzan slowly began to walk up to Netto's door. He leaned his ear toward the door and heard no sound at all. No crying, no breathing, nothing. Enzan began to panic. Oh my god, what if he--no, he wouldn't…would he? He could have just run away, he wouldn't have to take such drastic measures…
With a light sigh, he began to think of what to say. What can you say to someone that's gone through this? I went through it, and all anyone said to me was, Oh, I'm so sorry even though your mother never meant a damn thing to me and I don't give a damn about what you feel either, and I doubt Netto wants to hear that...
-Flashback...-
You see a happy mother, with long snow-white hair and blue eyes to match her son, running around a park. Climbing up a slide, then holding on tight to him while sliding down. Once the bottom is reached, the happy laughter of a 5 year old is heard. "That was so much fun, Mama! Let's do it again and again and again…" "Yes, Enzan, as long as you like..."
-End Flashback...-
"Mama..."
Enzan's lower lip trembled, and he allowed a single tear down his cheek before wiping it away. Knocking lightly on the door, "Who's there? Go away..." floated out loudly, laced with pain. Enzan let out the breath he had been holding for at least a minute. Good, he's in there after all. "It's me, Netto..."
"…Enzan?" Netto gasped. The door opened in T minus 0.12481 seconds, and the young teen's brown, sparkly eyes stared at him with utter misery pouring from them. Enzan's hands went behind his head again, and he asked gently, "A-are you…okay? D-do you want to talk?"
Damn this stupid stuttering. It makes me sound like an infatuated fool.
Netto had never heard Enzan like this. What's going on? Why does he sound so nervous? "Um...sure, I-I guess..." came Netto's slightly bewildered reply. He let Enzan in, completely forgetting the fact that Rockman was nowhere to be found, and almost happy that he had a legitimate reason to talk to Enzan casually. And in my own room, too! Score!
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So…hopefully, this version of Ch. 1 will be a WHOLE lot better than V.1. V.2 STRIKES! -dance, dance- Tell me if you guys like it. And I'm making this into a different story (instead of just replacing the current Ch. 1 with this one) so that you guys can review THAT one and rant/rave about it. Reviews GET!
