Alisi Thorndyke: Hey Matt. :) Great chapter 3. :)

I still say that Tori's eyes are abnormal to everyone else's lol. I wonder how he can see like that lol and it's a surprise that he is avoiding someone? That's new, but it's a first for everything. :)

Good Job. :)

Alisi T. :)

Me: Is it a surprise? I wouldn't be surprised myself.

- - -

Maurice A. Nigma: Well, I've got to say that this chapter is a bit more confusing than the last one. But it was good none the less. I mean, I thought for a moment there that Shuko would at least still a be a bit scared after her meeting with the guy last chapter. In any case, it's good that she's finally able to stand on her own two feet within this new chapter. But what I'm most surprised with is the fact that Tohru is embarrassed with being with her. Not that I can blame him for being weirded out by the way that Shuko acted as if she were the victim and not her AquaMan and that he just saved her life. In any case, I'm even amazed by the way that Shuko herself didn't understand the concept of forgive and forget. The way that she saw both Tohru and IceMan bonding with one another is the sort of thing that is left by both Netto and RockMan. And speaking of which, other than the fact that I'm shocked that he's into the field of psychology. Not to mention the fact that he's still dense for when it comes to own friends feelings. Especially for when he unintentionally hurt her feelings for when he said those words to Meiru. I mean, I know the guy didn't mean to hurt her, but my god, he could be rather cruel. Not only that, but it seems to me that things would only get worse right before it gets better. Well, that's all from me. Later!

Maurice A. Nigma
The Great Blue One

Me: I don't see how you couldn't be embarrassed when you have some person hanging around with you who seems to have serious emotion problems. Oh, and Shuko not understanding forgiveness fits right in with how she acts in the series. She sees a problem she did or did not cause, she doesn't apologize, she just whines about it. Asking forgiveness is one thing she never did, and- as you read further on, she was never taught.

As for Netto, most things such as forgiveness and bonding between net navis is left mostly to them. But still, after a gajillion netto fics, we need some different flavors like Tohru. His being into psychology actually plays an important role in this fic, and since I couldn't think of anyone else, I picked him. Though I couldn't make him too intelligent. I did have to leave in those moments when he drives Meiru to tears over his oblivion.

And things have yet to get worse. By the way, if it is not inconvenient and you feel like doing a good deed, could you tell other people who like Tohru stories about this? The most hair-raising chapter is coming up next.

Thanks for the amazingly long review again, Maurice!

---The psychological info in this chapter was derived mostly from Wikipedia and edited by myself. I do not own this info.

The next several days were uneventful. Tohru went to college with the others and then went to the Waterworks. After that he went home to tell Netto what he had learned. Meiru had been absent ever since Day 2 of their little investigation, and only Tohru had any idea why. Netto's visit to the Science Labs was no big thing. His Dad had a little upgrade to add to Rockman and that was all.

The strange thing was that Tohru's visits to Waterworks seemed to have no visible purpose. Shuko was always there and he always showed her around the Waterworks, though she'd seen most of it already. Netto wrote down everything he knew besides the stuff in the report, but it was not satisfactory.

"Tohru seems to be enjoying this." Netto thought as he went through his notes on Day 5. "If I didn't know better… No wait, I think Tohru likes the attention he's getting from Shuko!"

He looked over his notes and made odd faces as he read every detailed thing Shuko said to Tohru. It wasn't disgusting or vulgar, it was just really, really weird. And this time it was Netto feeling weird, it wasn't Tohru like it was originally.

On Day 4 Tohru had to tell Netto what had happened yesterday because Netto had been called to the Labs so he had to wait till the next day. As Netto was finally able to write the things down, Tohru mentioned everything he could remember. This was the second time Netto had heard this story, and he could detect a slight- a veeeeeeeery slight note of pride in Tohru's manner.

Now it was Day 5 and Netto finished going over his notes. "Tohru is definitely welcoming Shuko's attention, even if he doesn't realize it himself." he thought. "I didn't think this would happen. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait and hope something else happens. If only Meiru-Chan were here, she could help me on this report."

Meiru-Chan was nowhere to be seen, of course. She was at home, sighing, occasionally crying and basically trying to recover from what had happened to her. Roll did the best she could to comfort Meiru, but it was no use. Usually Meiru would go to Netto when she had a deep problem since they were the closest of friends, but now she felt helpless. She didn't dare tell anyone besides Roll about it, and all she could do was be sad and depressed in her lonely room in her large lonely house from which her parents were always absent. Another factor to her dependance on Netto.

So the three went that way for a few days, Meiru staying hidden, Tohru growing more and more fond of Shuko's company and Netto getting more and more confused by the day.

Suddenly Netto's confusion was forgotten as he suddenly ran into someone on his way home from college on Day 6. They both smacked into each other pretty hard and they both fell down onto the sidewalk. The man yelled and struggled to his feet. "Why don't you watch where you're going!"

Netto got to his feet and helped the other man up. "I don't think you're anyone to talk about eyesight." he remarked. "If I remember correctly, you're the same person who knocked down my friend a few days ago."

Netto was right. The man had tanned skin and sandy hair that blended together almost perfectly. "I don't know what you're talking about." said the man. "Anyways I'm looking for someone. Have you seen her? She's about so high and-"

"Just a minute." said Netto. "I actually happened to be looking for you. Before you start asking questions, Why don't you tell me what your name is first? After all, I haven't seen anyone like you that has such wonderfully similar hair and skin coloration."

"Look mister," the man said nervously. "I don't know who you are or what you want. All I know is I'm looking for someone who is this tall and has purple hair with purple eyes."

Netto raised his eyebrows. "Aha…" he thought. "This is the very man."

Aloud he said "I think I know the very person you're looking for. Tell you what, this rowdy street corner is no place for conversation. Why don't we talk in a more suitable place? Say… that place on Cadenza street? That's one of the best places around here, and it's very comfortable. What do you say?"

The man nervously agreed. Netto hailed a cab and had the driver take them to the Pastry Shop. Netto ordered some hot chocolate and some cookies for the two of them and they took a seat at a table near the entrance where it was generally empty. The other customers were all taking seats near the fireplace.

"Ah… this is nice." remarked Netto casually. "It sure beats bumping into people in the cold outside, don't you think?"

The man nodded, shaking a little as he did so. Netto smiled to make the man relax a little. He had the one thing left that might be essential in unlocking Shuko's mysterious behavior, and he wasn't about to let him go without toying with him a little.

"Now tell me, you haven't been here before by any chance, have you?" Netto asked.

The man shook his head. "Um… no, actually I've never been here before. I've heard of it before though. Now would you tell me what you know about who I'm looking for?"

Netto held up his finger for silence as the waitress arrived with their refreshments. The man leaned forward expecting Netto to speak, but Netto first tossed one of his tiny cookies into the air, gulping it down as it fell into his mouth and then taking a nice long draft of hot chocolate. "Mmm-mmm! Nice. Anyways, you must be talking about Kiddo Shuko."

The man nodded his head in an odd wobbly fashion. "Exactly the one! I've been looking for her for quite a while."

"Well I have been looking for you too…" said Netto, still holding a disarming smile. "I was actually told by someone else that you happened to be here a few days ago."

The man shook his head. "Oh no, I've never been here." he muttered, finally taking a draft of his hot chocolate and picking up one of his cookies. "Why were you looking for me, anyway?"

Netto had no more interest in his cookies, and just sipped his hot chocolate. "Before I tell you that, answer me this. My friend Froid Tohru has been with Kido Shuko and has told me of a certainty that you've been here and even talked with him. Brown hair, black eyes, usually wears a yellow jacket."

The man crunched down several of his cookies and washed them down. "Nope. Never saw him."

Netto decided he had enough. "Now listen here, pal!" He growled, slamming his fist down on the table. "The last several days have been packed full of unusual events, and you're the one thing I've not been able to explain. I've run into you before, whether you remember it or not, I've seen you. You're the same person that bumped into my friend and the same person Froid Tohru told me about. You were here, you saw Kido Shuko while she was with Tohru and you say you don't remember. Well let me tell you something man, you aren't getting any more info out of Hikari Netto. Not until you-"

The man jumped to his feet and pushed his chair back so quickly it screeched all over the restaurant. "Hikari Netto!?" he squeaked. All the other customers turned their heads in his direction and the man lost his nerve. "I don't believe this, THE Hikari Netto!" Right here!"

The man stood with his legs shaking and then dashed out of the store, leaping onto a passing bus as brilliantly as a deer. Netto would have gone after him but his PET started beeping almost at the same time. He took it out and saw Rockman opening an e-mail. "This better be important, Rockman!"

Rockman turned to him. "It's from Tohru-san. He said to not expect him today as he's going to take Shuko around Waterworks again. He had to use the emergency system because the normal e-mail system wasn't working for some reason."

Netto stamped his foot. "Blast it all!" he yelled. Then he realized that the other customers were still staring in his direction and he blushed; waved his hand and ran outside. "There's no way I'll be able to find him now! I can't even see the bus! Of all the times to receive an emergency e-mail!"

"What are you going to do?" asked Rockman.

Netto put his PET away. "Well, I suppose I'll go and warn Tohru-kun. I got that feeling I get whenever I meet someone suspicious. And whenever that happens, I am always right about them. Also… there's something about that man that jars with everything I've been thinking about him."

"You mean besides the fact that you think he's a bad guy?" Rockman suggested.

"Yeah. The problem with him is that… I believe him when he says he never saw Tohru-kun before. I don't even think he's even been to this shop. And I can't… fathom how that could be possible. A dangerous game is afoot, Rockman. And you and I are right in the middle of it. Let's keep our guns oiled, got it?"

Rockman nodded and smiled. "Got it, Netto-kun."

"So the water circulates in these pipes here, and then it's deposited through this large pipe here. You can see it from the catwalk."

Tohru was pointing out the different Waterworks systems to Shuko and telling her all he knew about them. Shuko showed great interest in what she was hearing, or least she seemed to show interest in listening to Tohru's voice. It seemed as if the sun would never set without Tohru's permission. She gave him a lot of compliments on his knowledge and memory, and Tohru was very flattered. Instead of being scared or worried, he took it with a smile and sometimes even his chest puffed out a little bit with pride.

Iceman, though he was in the PET case and couldn't see anything, he had a miserable time listening to the whole thing. He could tell by Tohru's attitude that he might even encourage Shuko to continue what she was doing. He couldn't even begin to talk to Tohru about it, and it was very hard for him to listen to what would eventually lead to a great downfall in a friendly relationship.

"You're so smart, Tohru-kun." said Shuko. "Are you going to be a hydrogeologist when you graduate from college?"

Tohru nodded. "Yep, and I think I could get a job right here too."

"I thought you were going to study net battling." Shuko said. "Are you studying for both, or are you going to do one at a time?"

"Both at the same time." Tohru replied. "I was going to be a net battler, but I decided things like that ought to be left with men like Netto-kun and Enzan. Iceman and me are good, no doubt, but a career in the Net Police doesn't appeal to me. Besides, little has happened since Dr. Wily disappeared from the Science Labs. I'll study it anyway, but ultimately I'm going to study hydrology."

Shuko's eyes opened wide. "Both at the same time? Then you must be very clever. I can barely concentrate on one thing; much less two."

Tohru nodded. "Yeah, I know."

Shuko turned to Tohru and frowned. "Tohru-kun! How can you say such a thing?"

Tohru blinked. "What?"

"You're so mean, Tohru-kun." said Shuko, crossing her arms and turning away from him. "You shouldn't belittle me just because I'm not as smart as you are."

"Just a minute ago you were saying how you couldn't multitask!" Tohru pointed out, his face a mixture of total astonishment. "I agreed with you, that's all I said."

Shuko turned around and glared at him. "So what? You're still mean. Just because I say something about myself doesn't mean you have to agree with me."

Tohru replied: "Shuko-Chan, for as much as you claim criticism, I'm astonished that you would act this way. Especially since you and I have been such good friends this past week, I expected you wouldn't be offended by the first critical remark."

"You could have said something nicer instead." Shuko said huffily. "When somebody says something like that you're supposed to be encouraging and helpful, not saying they're right in thinking they're stupid."

Tohru's face twisted into a grimace of disbelief. What was happening just now was simply unfathomable. "Shuko-chan, I did not call you stupid." he pointed out calmly. "And the way you're acting now is ridiculous."

Shuko gasped and her hands flew to her face. "R-ridiculous?" she whispered breathlessly. "You think I'm ridiculous?!" In just a few seconds tears were spilling out of her eyes and she looked like she'd been slapped in the face. "Oh, Tohru-kun!"

Shuko ran away from him and towards the Waterworks exit. Tohru didn't go after her as he was still shocked at her behavior. His thoughts were all so mixed up that he couldn't think. "Why on earth did she act like that?" he asked himself. "Why didn't she just take it like she normally does!?"

Then his mind went back to Netto and his study. "Of course, I'll go talk to Netto-kun!" He then raced off to find him.

Netto arrived home in a bad temper. He stomped through the living room, went to his bedroom, threw off his backpack and tossed his roller blades into the wall. He had meant to throw them in the closet. He picked them back up and stepped backwards up against the opposite wall.

"When I'm in a foul temper, I mean to temper flawlessly from the stomps in the living room till I throw my roller blades into my closet. Hi-yah!"

His roller blades made a loud bang as they hit the closet wall. Netto suddenly turned around and noticed Tohru was right behind him. "What on earth are you doing here?!" Netto demanded.

"Uh- I'm wondering why you're throwing your roller blades into the wall." Tohru stammered.

Netto sighed in irritation. "I meant to throw them in the closet wall, not the regular wall. The first time- Oh look, never mind, what are doing here without knocking or ringing the bell?"

"I was here already. I was waiting for you, actually." said Tohru. "Something happened with Shuko-Chan just today."

"And something happened to me today too, Tohru-kun." Netto said, still in a bad temper. "I couldn't find you when I wanted to talk about the paper we're trying to write about Shuko-Chan. Meiru-Chan hasn't shown up for several days and I just lost track of a weird, nervous little sandy-haired, tanned skin man."

Tohru nodded. He could see his friend was in no mood for calm discussion. "Maybe I should come back later to talk." he suggested. "You look like you need to settle down."

"No, no." sighed Netto. "I'm just a little bad tempered right now. Let's go down to the living room, I need to relax."

Tohru and Netto both went to the living room and sat down. Tohru spoke first. "Shuko-Chan was very hurt by a comment I made today. She said she couldn't multitask and I agreed with her. She told me I was a mean person and that I should have said something nice instead. I eventually told her she was being ridiculous and then she cried and ran away as if I insulted her looks."

Netto got out his notebook and scribbled down what Tohru was saying. "You know that's interesting considering what an idol she's made out of you and how you've treated her like a girlfriend."

Tohru frowned. "Hold it, Netto-kun." he said. "How can you know anything like that? I haven't even talked to you about it for the past couple days."

"It's kind of obvious, Tohru-kun." Netto replied. "The way you've been acting lately, anyone would think the same thing. I don't think Meiru-Chan was right, it seems as if Shuko-Chan thinks of you as her hero or something. Today probably just disappointed her."

Tohru blinked in surprise. "I don't like what you're saying, Netto-kun." he said. "You sound like you suspect something more than that."

"I suspect something, Tohru-kun. I just don't know what it is yet." said Netto. "But I hope your problems with Shuko aren't connected to that man."

"Why? Did you talk to him?" asked Tohru.

Netto nodded. "I sure did. But before I tell you anything about it, I need to tell you what I think of you and Shuko."

Tohru sighed and waved his hands in the air. "Netto-kun, please. Me and Shuko-Chan are nothing more than friends. I don't like her anymore than anybody else."

"But she likes you, Tohru-kun." said Netto. "I doubt she feels any kind of love toward you, but you know how she is. You're the first person ever to show her any special attention or friendship in her life. I've been studying my psychology pretty deeply and if I'm not mistaken, Shuko has a certain mental condition."

"Mental condition? Netto how can you say such a thing!" said Tohru. "She may have a gloomier nature than we do but that's no reason to suppose she's crazy!"

"Exactly." said Netto, who now was paging through his textbook. "That's why I'm not using it like a reason. I remember mentioning this to you several days ago and if I'm- Aha! Yes! I am right. Listen to this.

'Dependent personality disorder is a personality disorder that is characterized by a pervasive psychological dependence on other people.

Individuals with DPD see relationships with significant others as necessary for survival. They do not define themselves as able to function independently; they have to be in supportive relationships to be able to manage their lives. In order to establish and maintain these life-sustaining relationships, people with DPD will avoid even covert expressions of anger. They will be more than meek and docile; they will be admiring, loving, and willing to give their all. They will be loyal, unquestioning, and affectionate. They will be tender and considerate toward those upon whom they depend ' "

Netto shut his book. "Shuko depends on you for her happiness, Tohru-kun. This self-stifling of her normal reactions of anger have destroyed what would have been her natural personality. She held you up to be a great person to be admired because of how nice you were. The one person who could free her from her depressed state of mind. Now it seems she has broken down because she felt a failure on your side for calling her imperfect. And with her brothers gone, I've no doubt she'll miss work AND school. She'll just stay home being miserable for days, possibly even a couple weeks."

"I see." said Tohru. "But there's a hole in your theory. Shuko hasn't hidden any feelings of anger or sadness. What just happened today proves that."

"But she didn't have to!" said Netto. "Shuko thought she could tell you these things without any reprimand. You made her believe that her incapability's or poor personality didn't matter. She was devastated when she realized the contrary. Now she thinks to herself: 'Tohru is not the one in my life to take my sorrows away after all. He thinks the same things everyone else does.' It's not your fault, Tohru-kun. But unconsciously you have been both erected and struck down from the -Hero- pedestal of her life."

Tohru fell back against the sofa, hung his head and stayed silent for several moments. "...You know, I think you're right, Netto-kun." he said quietly. "I think what you say makes sense."

Netto felt a little victory celebration take place in his head. He quickly forgot it as he remembered another fact regarding his theory. "I think her parents may have been the cause of her state of mind." he said. "They may have had some problems that messed with her confidence. That may be why they left."

"Well I'll tell you one thing, Netto-kun." Tohru said. "I'll definitely try and stay away from her and solve this problem."

Netto blinked. "Stay away? Tohru staying away isn't going to help at this point. If you just stop being a friend to her she'll most definitely undergo another crisis that will make her condition worse!"

Tohru stood up. "I don't care!" he said sharply. "I'm not going to have another person feeding off of me because they have some problem with their self-deranged mind. This whole business is more revolting than it was before and I want no part of it, do you hear me?"

Netto jumped to his feet. "And what about that man?" he pointed out just as forcefully. "He's been tracking Shuko down for a while now and I've reason to believe he has mind problems of his own. I don't think Shuko is safe without someone with her. That man was deathly afraid of me and for only one reason. He means mischief, horrible mischief. And if anyone is going to look after Shuko it's going to be you. You can't have your fun from worship and just leave her to heal herself. Tohru-kun, her very mind and future life lies in your hands now whether you like it or not, and you're not going to skip the town of your responsibility.."

Tohru turned around and stormed out the front door. "I'll do as I please, Hikari Netto!" he shouted. "No co-dependent mentally challenged person is going to control my life!"

Netto couldn't believe what he had just heard. He had never imagined Tohru would say the things he just said. The kind of selfish thinking that runs rampant in today's society had taken a hold of his friend. Netto went to his fridge and got out the Sprite and poured himself a glass. He imagined that this may be similar to how Tohru felt at the very beginning of this… mess.

As he drunk he began to calm down and think more positively. Tohru was probably just startled and needed to calm himself down. Tohru's nature ran contrary to being rash in almost every situation, and this unethical turn was probably just a rough spot for him. "He'll go to Shuko." he thought. "He won't abandon her. But I think I ought to go to Waterworks tomorrow, just in case."

In case of something nobody in this whole story is going to expect to happen. Stay tuned (and reviewing) for the next update in which a chilling event will take place that will change everyone's lives forever. Some for the good… and some for the bad.