Chapter 42: Remembering
10:22 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday August the 8th…
"Hey! Oriol. Today I feel like looking back to our first meeting back when 1st grade began… You've got the record, right?"
"Of course."
"Good. Play it."
"One moment, please… 2008… Here it is."
"Full-screen mode…"
Kage stepped into Kuroshiro's dorm room and sat down next to him; Kuroshiro drew his Link PET and interacted with its menu for some seconds before bringing up a video, been recorded with this PET, the video displayed a classroom in which Netto, Meiru, Yaito and Dekao along with other students were present, and "Kage", or, rather Kuroshiro, was standing in front of the blackboard given the position of the camera; the date "MONDAY 17/09/2008 09:05 AM" was printed in the lower right corner of the screen.
"…our new transfer student: Kage Miquel – kun…"
"I am Kage Miquel. I look forward to sharing this class with all of you."
"Looks weak… I'll pulverize 'em!" Dekao boasted.
"Who said that!? Ooyama – kun!"
"Yikes! W-what is it, sir?"
"Come to the staff room at break time. We NEED to TALK. That's not how you greet a new student on the first day of middle school!"
"Y-yes, sir… Understood, sir…"
"By all the… We get a new student who looks like a nice person and he greets with a bully's speech. This guy…!" Meiru complained.
"That Fatman won't change!" Yaito complained next.
"Guess so." Netto dully replied.
"Alright, Kage – kun. The seat to the right of Hikari – kun is empty. You can sit there."
"Yes, sir. Hi. I'm Kage Miquel. Nice to meet you."
"That's my motto, yeah."
"I'm Andy."
"Rock Man EXE."
"Good. The rest of introductions can wait until break time. Let's start by explaining the timetables and the subjects."
"Here I stopped recording and I began again at break time." Kuroshiro announced as he brought up another file.
"Aright, that's the break time bell! Ooyama – kun! Come with me to the staff room NOW. We need to TALK!"
"Really… Asking for trouble on the first day… Must've been watching some TV series about school gangs and thought it was all "macho" and "cool" and all that nonsense. SHEESH!" Meiru complained.
"I told cha: that Fatman guy won't change!"
"Obviously." Netto boringly replied.
"By the way, Hikari – kun… You wouldn't happen to be THE Hikari Netto – kun, right?" "Kage" asked of him.
"What? Oh yeah. That used to be me, yeah."
"Used to?"
"I quit. I'm now a vulgar civilian who sucks at Net Battles and can only win about half of them." He merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah. We grew outta the stuff. We've decided to return to our roots and now we've got trouble beating even Guts Man."
"What's Ooyama – kun's problem, then?"
"Problem? Being too arrogant. Thinks it's the center of the Universe just because it's the strongest in our class! Gets cocky, begins to boast they're he's the strongest in the whole school. There are obviously strongest guys in here but he won't even try to match the strength! Coming up with excuses, such as "it'd be boring to see Guts Man beat them up one after the other"! That idiot. You gotta fight the opponent to realize the extent of their power!" Netto grumbled.
"S-sorry… I didn't want to anger you…"
"I know ya didn't. It's just that that guy drives us mad."
"Say, Kage – kun…"
"Yes? Sakurai – san, was it?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"HUH!? N-no, miss…"
"… That question really took me aback." Kuroshiro admitted.
"Leave it to Meiru to attack you from an unexpected angle to begin with."
"…By the way… Ayanokouji – san, Glyde – san's Operator… She wouldn't happen to be a member of THE Ayanokouji family, right? The owners of Gabcom Inc.?" "Andy" was asking Glyde.
"That is correct."
"But she doesn't like to show off either." Roll shrugged.
"Guts, guts! This guy looks like it'll be easy to beat!"
"You shut up." Roll snapped at him.
"Guts! Guts Man didn't want to anger Roll – chan! Guts!"
"Then keep your trap shut."
"Hey, cha! Do cha go to the disco?" Yaito suddenly asked.
"No way! I'm not delinquent, Miss! I am serious about sticking to what one is supposed to do, Miss!" "Kage" protested.
"Gotcha, cute."
"C-cute? Me? Is that a joke, Miss?"
"Cha never know!"
"Come on, Yaito… Don't drive him mad." Netto sighed.
"Honestly speaking… That moment was magical for me. Everyone wanted to be friendly with me… However, it also had a hint of sadness to it. Your state was worse than I'd imagined… You looked at life with an absolute boredom as if there wasn't anything worth on it! I guess we can skip one month forward to our first secret meeting. Is that alright?"
"Yeah. On that day, we then went separate ways to have breakfast and, then, when the day ended you told us your address… Skip one month forward, yeah."
"What do you think now of our first encounter, Saito – kun?"
"Like Oriol said… We were skeptical about what life could offer us and such we looked at everything in a negative manner…"
"Next one: Wednesday October the 17th, 2008. 17:17 PM."
"…and thus I went and saved that Miss from the bullies!" Dekao was saying as the group came out of the school.
"There were no bullies and no Miss, Dekao. You're trying to play the hero to Miquel again. Miquel! Don't believe everything Dekao says! The guy lives in the clouds. This guy is no "senior" to admire!" Netto grumbled.
"If we're of the same age, he obviously can't be a senior, right."
"Netto! Why do ya sabotage my heroic actions?" Dekao grumbled as he glanced at him.
"Because you make them up. It's a lame attempt to pretend you're more important that what you actually are. The teachers said so!"
"YEAH! YOU FATMAN AND LIAR!" Both girls yelled.
"YIKES! Don't say that aloud!"
"That can't end up well." Hikawa muttered close by.
"By the way, Hikari – kun… Can I invite you to my place today? You already invited me to yours, so I think I should be returning the favor…"
"Sure. See ya tomorrow, guys."
"And tomorrow I'll become the Greatest Hero Ever!"
"SHADDUP YOU DAMNED FATMAN!"
"Really… Ooyama – kun doesn't learn anything! So must boasting, and he barely passes the exams." "Andy" was protesting.
"I know. Guess it's an idiot's dumb luck." Rock Man drily replied.
"Let's skip forward to 17:47 PM…" Kuroshiro announced.
"So? What do you think, Hikari – kun?"
"Nice. Practical and comfortable."
"Thank you. Can I make you some tea?"
"Thanks."
"Go ahead and sit on that sofa. I'll be right back."
"OK. It's small, but it's got the essential. No wonder, if you live alone."
"Here's the tea."
"Kage" returned with a platter having a teapot and two teacups.
"Hmm! Green tea: my favorite. Cheers!"
"Cheers."
"You look thoughtful, Andy – kun."
"I am, yeah."
"… Hey. Miquel. You there? You look absent-minded."
"… Truth is… There's something I gotta talk to you about… My name isn't Kage Miquel. I'm named Kuroshiro Oriol."
"HUH!? Why would you lie to everyone, then?"
"It was necessary. I'm here to create an illusion."
"An illusion? What does that have to do with me?"
"A lot. I'm going to offer you the possibility of erasing the ghosts of the past and become a new person! Someone who will bring stability to society, under a new name and face… The name of Kage Miquel and my face…" Kuroshiro explained.
"So you know about that of two months ago?"
"I know a lot about you. I researched all files on you. I'm trying to help you. I feel like I should."
"I should be honest, too. My name isn't Andy either and this isn't my real form… Here."
"W-whoa! You look… similar to Blues!"
"Yeah. I'm Legato. I'm his antithesis."
"Antithesis…? Like Rock Man DS…?"
"The same concept, but I'm a million times better than that cheap imitator, really." Legato explained.
"So… That tale about the origin of your name and all was part of that deception, too? What are you really, Kuroshiro?"
"A former Nebula member…"
"Nebula, you say!"
"But I wasn't there because I liked it! I was dragged there against my will and they tried to turn me into an assassin. But I escaped them."
"I can see the fear in you… You aren't making this up."
"It's reasonable that you'd be skeptical, but… I'm gonna say the truth to you, Netto – kun. Sorry for the change, but I feel like calling you by your first name would be friendlier…"
"I don't mind. So, what are you suggesting?" Netto asked.
"See… My plan is to keep using this ID for the rest of the year. Then, in the summer, we'll stage some tale to make me vanish off the radar and then you can begin your training… When "Kage Miquel" resurfaces, it will be you! You will be using this ID… Since there'll be plenty of witnesses and evidence that we're two separate persons then…"
"I see…! Clever, very clever… I'd be like a secret agent or something like that, you mean to say?" Netto guessed.
"Yeah. A member of "Golden Star", the organization, which will bring stability to society… As Serenade wished…"
"Serenade! So you're doing this because Serenade would've wished for this to happen?" Netto gasped.
"Serenade…" Rock Man muttered.
"We were inspired by a Navi who was a friend of Serenade… Her name is Slur – sama… You'll be introduced to her one day."
"Alright… And you'll be my CO?"
"Yeah. However, you can treat me as a friend. We're trying to create an organization with a friendly atmosphere. Our first rule is this: we never kill and never use real ammunition."
"Good. So what do you do then?" Rock Man asked.
"We use tranquilizer darts! They put people to sleep for a while and they're totally harmless."
"By the way, Netto – kun… One of these days, when the time comes, I'll grant you a program which will allow you to beat those three guys who represent the sources of your problems…"
"How exactly will you bring "stability" to society?"
"Easy. We're building a super-computer which will filter all information related to crimes which will then be supplied to the police and the government anti-espionage agencies: FBI, CIA, etc."
"So you've planned everything and you need time for it to become a reality?"
"A lot of time, really. We don't expect to be able to run the computer at 100% capacity until two years from now."
"Two years… They'll surely fly by. What role will you take on in this "Golden Star" group?"
"I'll be Vice President Noir and use a disguise to hide my face. Else, someone could derive a conclusion, making the whole thing crumble… My disguise will be a black monk's robe together with a heavy hood to hide my face… And since I'll be the VP it's not like you can go and pull the hood saying "that's a joke", right?"
"Man. You've thought of everything!"
"We still don't know how many members we'll be or what background they'll have. They'll be around our age or above but there'll be no difference, really. We'll split the members in two Departments! I will control one and the other will be controlled by a gentleman named Kanou Shade; he'll use the code-name President Hades."
"Hades… Sounds creepy enough, alright." Rock Man laughed.
"They should invent a Hades Pokémon." Netto laughed at his own joke.
"But I'm not forcing you to decide just yet. We've got nine months ahead of us. Plenty of time to keep on meeting and discussing how we're gonna tackle this…"
"Deal. This is our secret, Oriol. Oriol. It sounds cool. That's a Catalan name as well?" Netto asked.
"Yeah. It's pretty popular there."
"Miquel and Oriol… They make a nice rhyme… I now see why you go with the family name "Kage"… It'll become a "Shadow" myself and have my own identity hidden in the form of a black horizon with no features whatsoever… Like Sidious hid from Force users… By pretending he wasn't important or relevant…"
"That's the main idea, yeah. My own name, Kuroshiro, means to say that I'm not either bad or good: neutral. Gray. The middle point."
"So, Rock Man – kun… Will you keep the appearances up? Just be as you are… No – one will be able to smell anything out… No actions you'll do as "Andy" can be attributed to Rock Man! Because it will be clear they're two separate persons which aren't in league with each other…"
"I can't wait for that. However, I'll hold back… I'd rather say you guys should pretend to not to be too strong at Net Battling either! So that they underestimate you in purpose." Rock Man sneered.
"Man! So much chatting! A whole hour has passed! I should be getting home soon to finish tomorrow's homework. But let's meet again someday, Oriol…"
"Hmmm… There'll be exams the next two weeks so I'd rather postpone our next meeting to the start of November."
"Excellent. We'll be there. Let's go, Rock Man."
"Did I give you new fuel?" Kuroshiro asked.
"Yeah. Now I know what I can do with my life. See ya."
"Take care: let's meet tomorrow!"
"Good-bye, Netto – kun."
"Take care, Rock Man – kun."
"That was a good moment, yeah. By the way, about Ms. Sniper…"
"Oh, her… Her aunt contacted me because I did give her my direct number and she apologized for her behavior!:Sshe told us she had raised her to be a mannered person but she's always been too rebellious. It'd seem she is in for some heavy scolding. We had to draw a line somewhere to prove we're serious about the members' behavior and their actions." Kuroshiro explained.
"Alright. You handle that. Before I go back… Let's have some sex, shall we, Oriol – chan? What roles do we have this week?"
"You're the Master, I'm the Slave."
"Then that's the opposite for us." Saito admitted.
"Let's go fetch your "cyborg body", shall we?"
"Yeah. Have fun, you love-birds." Saito joked at them.
"Good luck with Legato." "Kage" encouraged.
"Don't worry. He's a kind Master."
Kuroshiro picked the Link PET and opened a cupboard to reveal a "Copy Roid" there; he aimed the Link PET at it.
"Plug In! Legato, Transmission!"
The IR laser hit the emerald in the center of the chest device and the "Copy Roid" gained Legato's form; Kuroshiro handed him the Link PET and he saluted before opening the left door and leaving through it shutting it behind him.
"Today we'll do it on the shared shower room."
"Kage" had removed the facemask to reveal Netto's face and was animated as he looked up at Kuroshiro.
"Alright. Do you want me to put on the one-piece bat suit? It'll fit with the place." Kuroshiro suggested.
"Let's go for it. Today I feel like pulling some tricks."
"It'll be fun."
"By the way… Did Mr. Sniper make any comments about Ms. Sniper or he simply keeps as silent as ever?"
"Silent as ever. Kanou – san did come give him a reminder about not assuming that he's superior to others or looking down on others."
"Alright. Let's make sure to keep both of them under check."
"I know. However… That hardly matters right now. What matters is that we can have fun together, Netto – kun! Let's get started!"