AN: Hello! And Happy New Year! I hope you guys had also excellent holidays! I had a good one! Here is the first chapter of the year! I'm happy. In this chapter, there will be less action and more "explanation" I guess, and what's better to bring a certain Netto's friend for that ?
Chapter 6: I told him not to get close to people
"Mama..."
The wind blew gently, yet he could feel a familiar warmth against him.
"Mama... Wait..."
But that warmth began to fade away, and eventually, it disappeared completely. The child started to run, thinking he would catch up with her.
"Mama! Don't leave me!"
Netto woke up when he felt his head fall against something hard. The air, caressing his cheek, was cool and the sunlight was bright. He tried to get up but was still trapped in his cloak. He managed to free himself and look around. Once again, he was alone. Saito was nowhere to be seen. His new traveling companion was gone again, but why?
He frowned at his disappearance and looked around again. He noticed a drawing on the ground, a kind of arrow that didn't stand straight. The child looked up in the direction indicated and saw many more. Some kind of clue from the older boy, telling him where he had gone? He got up and started to follow them, arriving at a green plain. Netto felt a jolt behind him, he turned around and looked around.
"Saito? Rockman?"
Although he thought he would find Rockman, he was nowhere to be found, but by the speed, he could suspect that it was him. As for the other boy, nothing. Netto continued to follow the arrows, did Saito really have fun making these drawings as a treasure hunt? The arrows stopped when he found the goal: it was a bus stop, and there was nobody there. At the same time, it was funny to see a bus stop on a road in the middle of a plain. The child looked to one side and saw in the distance the famous city he had seen last night. If taking a bus could take him directly there instead of walking, it wouldn't hurt too much.
He had no choice but to wait, then he felt his stomach growl. Just as he was thinking of taking his donuts out of his bag, he heard a noise. The bus was getting closer to him, and he stopped the front door opening. Netto didn't hesitate and entered, smiling, towards the driver who was quite imposing and rather tall if he wasn't sitting, his eyes hidden by his cap.
"Excuse me, what is the terminus?"
"Akindo City," replied the driver expressionlessly.
Netto offered him a smile, he knew the name of this city, and had probably seen pictures, but had never been there. He took out the small wallet that Ann had given him and the money for the ticket. The child thanked the driver and went to the back of the bus, trying out the back seats, and enjoying the small crowd.
The bus started moving again and went forward. Even if he didn't have to worry about the way to go, he was worried about Saito... But also about Rockman, he couldn't show himself to people, for fear they would see him as a monster. Netto sat on his knees against the seat and looked out the back window, watching the mountain he had left slowly recede. Without warning, a creature came down the street and ran almost on all fours toward the bus.
"Rockman!" Netto exclaimed, pronouncing the word too loudly.
As he got closer, the beastly Navi gained momentum and climbed onto the roof of the bus, which left a jolt and some noise. The few people in the seat murmured when they heard the noise, but Netto sat back down properly, pretending that nothing had happened. At least Rockman was on top of the bus, and he didn't have a problem at the moment, his only concern was Saito. The kid felt his stomach making noise, but he couldn't afford to fill it while he was on the bus, there was a sign saying he wasn't allowed to eat. He would eat once he arrived in Akindo City. If the trip was long, the best thing for him was to keep resting until the end of the journey. He yawned and laid his head to the side, his eyes closing.
He felt the bus stop abruptly when he opened his eyes. He didn't know if he had slept for ten minutes or an hour, but the child looked at all the passengers getting out, which were more numerous. Netto went down following the other passengers, he had arrived in a big hall where several other buses were parked. Instead of continuing to follow the others, he went around the bus to see if Rockman was anywhere, he didn't seem to be on the roof, or even under the vehicle. He had no choice but to get out of there, taking the route everyone else had taken.
The young boy found himself in a brightly lit hallway, with all kinds of messages saying "Welcome" to newcomers. The child arrived in a large hall, like a large airport. He could see messages on the walls explaining how the city was created, what the city had contributed in the past, and finally, a message that piqued his curiosity: he could tell that the Cybeast once tried to destroy this city, but that it was soon rebuilt. As he tried to read more, he noticed a sentence that made him pause.
"Since the destruction of the Cybeast by Colonel Barrel and his faithful Navi, Akindo City has shone brightly as a haven of peace between Navi and humans."
The child blinked several times. Barrel was also in this world... He was a hero, just like Colonel! Not only was he the one who had saved them from Duo in his home world, but he had fought two giant monsters! This man did not change, he had a sense of duty. Now, where was he? Had he returned to Amerope?
Netto walked away from the wall with this information, he was happy to at least learn this news. He noticed train platforms in the distance, so perhaps there was a way to get to the north? He walked to a window where a woman was writing... on a typewriter. He called out to her with one hand, and she had to stand up to see him, filled with confusion.
"Hello... I would like a ticket to go..." He had lost the name of where he and Saito were supposed to go, he thought for a second. "I need to go to the north, did you have an express or something?"
The young woman blinked as she looked at him, but she had to regain her seriousness.
"Are you alone, kid?"
Netto nodded.
"Yes, at least my Navi is out... But what about going north?"
"Where are your parents?" She asked while ignoring his question.
"That's just it, I have to meet them there!"
The only reaction she had, was to pick up the combiner of a phone and put it against her ear.
"Don't move, kid, I'll call someone to take care of you."
The child frowned when he heard her, took a few steps back, and realized that she had been ignoring his problem all along.
"Yes, I have a lost child, can you get him back?" She said into the phone.
This time he puffed out his cheeks again, and ran in one direction, filled with annoyance.
"Kid, come back!" The woman's voice echoed behind him.
He didn't listen to her, all he wanted was to get out of the station hall now. Once outside, he was surprised how this city was not like Densan City... Or even the pictures he had seen before. There were no tall towers like he had often seen. The city was older and the buildings were no higher than six floors at least. It was still quite traditional while trying to look modern. He smiled as he looked around, it was beautiful. Netto pulled his hood back over his head, not wanting to be noticed as a child. His stomach growled as he walked through the streets of the city. He finally settled on a bench so he could at least eat one of the donuts he had saved.
The child ate quietly, searched his bag, and took his PET in his free hand. He looked at the object with a look of emotion. His two biggest regrets for the device being broken were first that Rockman was trapped outside and in a form he could not control. And the second reason was that it had his pictures inside, pictures of his friends... Of his parents.
"Mama, Papa..." He whispered, still looking at the PET. "I'm coming... I'm coming home. Give me some more time."
He placed the machine against his chest, squeezing it tightly.
"Papa, I know you'll find me. I wish I could give you some clues..."
If his PET had still been on, would he have been able to contact the people in his world? That might be easy, but he couldn't have the answer now. Netto finished his donut, put his things away, and headed back to the path. What should he do now? He could always visit the city, after all, it was very different from the original. Perhaps, he could take a souvenir and when he returned to his world, he would keep it as a treasure.
By the way, what is the Densan City of this world like? Netto remembered on his first day in this world, a guard told him that it was strange to see people living there. Although they were in the west of the country and Densan City was in the east, the city was not on the path he had to take. He would still like to go there, just out of curiosity. He could always ask Saito once he sees him again... If he finds him, how will he find him in this big city?
Walking around and looking at the surroundings, Netto noticed a large screen, like those flat screens he used to see in town. However, they looked more like thick televisions. On the screen, he recognized Midorikawa Kero, the famous journalist who was very cheerful and very nice for the few times they had met. So even in this world, she was still a journalist, and she was still in love with frogs. She was doing her usual introductions for the news and then she turned to a man that Netto did not know.
A round black haircut, closed eyes, and a smile firmly inked on his face. This man could be in his twenties if his appearance didn't lie, but the child couldn't help but think that he might be hiding something. Midorikawa had moved to his side, beginning the introduction.
"Prosecutor Roppu, you are one of the most iconic figures in Variety, you have never lost a case to lawyers and you have always had a sense of justice! With these disappearances of children, are you in a hurry to give the sentence against a follower of one of these cults if one was caught?"
She raised the microphone to him to get an answer, the man continued to smile.
"It's only natural to me that we should catch these thugs and put them behind bars, or even sentence them to death. That would be the sentence I would give them if I had one in front of me."
The young reporter pulled back the microphone and seemed shocked at his own words.
"Sentence them to death? Really?"
"Yes, many children have disappeared and none of them have been found. One might suspect that they have been imprisoned, perhaps even murdered. Don't you think that death would be the best sentence for those who have harmed our children?"
She began to stammer. Finding no answer to that, then suddenly she remembered something else.
"Yet we found a strange child once, he was deformed... Unfortunately, there were few photos, and we don't know what became of him. Do you think it was a child who escaped from the cultists? Do you think they were subjected to terrible... Incantation?"
The prosecutor, ever confident, allowed himself to put his hand on the reporter's shoulder, appearing to reassure her.
"It was all a hoax by some idiot, but I wouldn't be surprised. For now, I am sorry that we are desperately looking for these children. I would be willing to receive every guru across the street in my courtroom. For now, my job is to give my sentence on these rogue Navis who do nothing but misery for our fellow citizens."
Netto noticed on the screen, that the young reporter had started biting her lip, she was reacting as if she had had some sort of discomfort.
"Yes, it's true, many Navis are prone to the Beast Factor, and many start attacking humans when they have no corruption..." Midorikawa added in a less confident voice.
"Fear not, I know you had a Navi, my dear, you must believe in the bond that unites you, it is out of a desire for justice that Judgeman never gave in and remains my loyal companion!"
She began to nod her head.
"It's true..."
Roppu turned his head towards the camera, that smile still not gone.
"Well, for now, I invite the people of Akindo City to come in large numbers to the great philharmonic music concert! I continue to do my best in my work to give you justice, but don't forget that sometimes you have to take part in the fun too!"
The man made a sort of bow and greeted the young woman. Midorikawa smiled again, although she kept a drop of sweat on her temple, and looked at the camera.
"Thank you very much, Prosecutor Roppu for your answers! And we hope you have a great time at the big concert in Akindo City!"
The TV showed something else, and Netto was speechless. This story of children being kidnapped seemed to be far too frequent. He understood why people were so protective toward a child who was alone. The young boy had long been used to seeing children walking the streets alone. In his school, after class, he saw many first graders walking home alone. And when he was really six years old, he was used to that. It was kind of sad, and the fact that he was trapped in this body, made him a potential target. Still, he knew he could count on Rockman and even Saito. His Navi always came to the rescue when he was attacked by a virtual creature, and when it came to an adult human, Saito was there... which made him a pretty strong kid for someone like him. When he had managed to take down all those guys when they met. He knew how to defend himself without needing Cross Fusion.
Rockman and Saito were his guardian angels, in a way. He chuckled for a moment at the thought, and slowly his laughter faded. Netto felt... Weak. In this body, he was weak because he couldn't do anything. He was useless, and even if his Navi and the other boy were there to defend him, he would continue to have these problems because he was in this body. He hated this "trial" that Duo had imposed on him. What was he supposed to do with this?
He heard a scream somewhere from across the street. Netto moved closer to where he had heard the scream, on another street, a gang of kids was kicking a brown Navi who was on the ground. It reminded him of what he had seen when he was in Ann's village. Clenching his mouth while frowning, the blue-cloaked child moved closer to them, fists clenched.
"Hey! Stop that!"
The group turned to him, the children must have been between eight and ten years old. One of them stepped back to observe him.
"What do you want, runt?!" one of the children exclaimed in a contemptuous tone.
Netto became even more annoyed while gritting his teeth.
"Leave that Navi alone!"
The other children snickered, but the one who had come closer to him was all still angry.
"What do you care?! He's a Navi!"
"So what? He doesn't have to be treated like that!"
"You're just a pathetic idiot! That Navi might as well get the Beast Factor and smash you to bits!"
Netto's eyes twitched at his words, was this why they were beating this Navi? He returned to the same expression and put his head forward.
"Leave him alone anyway!"
The other boy, who was a little older, had come closer and with a quick blow, he threw his fist against the boy's cheek, making him fall to the ground. Netto gritted his teeth and put his hand on the spot where he had been hit. It had been so violent that it had nearly twisted his jaw.
"Stay in your place, runt!"
"Yeah go back to your mother's skirts before that Navi becomes a Zoanoroid and takes you away!" added another.
After Netto tried to get up, the gang of kids was shocked by what the other boy had just said.
"Are you crazy? Don't say that word! What if he..." another boy began to say.
"I'm not staying here... I don't want to be kidnapped!"
And while all the other kids started to run away, the one who had knocked Netto to the ground had also moved away, while giving another blow to the poor Navi on the ground. After a long silence, the young boy stood up while holding his cheek and moved closer to Navi. As he got closer, the shape of this Navi looked familiar to him.
"Are you okay?"
The Navi raised his head slowly, and he turned his face towards him. Netto was shocked, the Navi in question was Glyde! He directly recognized Yaito's butler who was on the ground and being pummeled.
"Yes... I think I'm okay. I'm a Navi, and human child blows are nothing to me at all." He explained in his usual tone, though he was a little worried.
He turned his head to the child who was staring at him, eyes wide.
"What about you?" The Navi noticed the child's cheek. "They hurt your face! Those dirty little rascals..."
Netto stepped back, placing his hand on his cheek to hide his wound, but the brown Navi stood up while facing him.
"Hold on kid, I'll try to fix you up, I'm used to it with my operator."
The child shook his head.
"No, it's okay... Thanks anyway..."
"Come on, don't be silly!"
With a touch screen that appeared in front of him, he activated a strange system that allowed his hand to glow. He touched the child's cheek with a cool hand, and Netto gritted his teeth. They waited for a few seconds and the pain was completely gone.
"There you go!"
The child blinked a few times and touched his cheek, all the while sure there was nothing left.
"How did you do that?"
"It's a program that was installed for me, Navis can't really heal humans, but we have small resources that allow us to heal smaller wounds! I'm kind of surprised it worked so well with you."
The child continued to blink, how was that possible?
"Well, I must now find Yaito-sama. Otherwise, the lady of the house will scream again. Take good care of yourself, kid!"
The Navi turned around and went in one direction. Netto was stunned, Glyde now had some sort of healing for humans. It was incredible. The child was still in awe of what had just happened to him. It was pretty amazing that humans were so hostile to the Navi... Since he had been in this world, except for Ann, no one had been nice to him. The brown Navi, as polite as he was, had been grateful to him at least. Even though he didn't have to, he couldn't help but have to follow the formal Navi he had just saved, after all, he knew him, and if he was there, his operator must have been too. A little further on, he heard a woman screaming, but it was only when he heard the voice of a person he recognized that he became concerned.
"How dare you fire us like this!" shouted a voice from a young girl.
The person who had kicked them out had slammed the door in their faces. Netto didn't realize it at the time, but he recognized her as if nothing had changed. Across the street was Ayanokoji Yaito, one of his close friends, who was known as the rich girl of his school, she was the heiress of the video game company "Gabcom". Besides her hairstyle which was the same, she was wearing a brown dress with some stains on it. She was there and she was annoyed against the door, ready to make it explode with her glare, while behind was the Navi he had saved, Glyde, who was trying to stop her.
"Yaito-sama! Please, it's not worth it!" he almost shouted, even though he was holding the girl's arms.
"I don't care, I'll show her!" she continued to argue.
"Listen to me, please, let's get out of here!"
As the girl calmed down but was still angry, she turned and started walking in one direction, followed by her Navi who was worried that she might start screaming again. Netto felt like laughing as he watched his old friend, no matter what world he was in, the nine-year-old girl had not changed at all. Discreetly he began to follow them, what else did he have to do but wait for Saito. As he followed her, he could observe her grumbling against Glyde, as she used to do.
"Yaito-sama, you shouldn't have intervened, you should have let me do it..." interpellated Glyde who was still embarrassed about what had happened.
"I don't care! She had no business talking to you like that!"
"It's... It's my fault, I was late..."
Netto wondered what had happened to get them kicked out. Was it really because of Glyde's tardiness? He was curious, even if the girl was not the same Yaito he knew, she was still the same, and his friendship toward her was still there. Why was she so dirty, what was she doing in this person's house? Also, she was all alone, except she had her Navi with her, usually, she traveled in a limo, the last time he had seen her alone like this was when she was ruined.
If he continued to walk behind her a few feet, the girl had frozen after a few minutes. She struck a pose, which brought confusion to Glyde. She put her hand on her hip and turned back to the child, pointing a finger at him.
"You there! Why are you following us?!"
Netto gasped as she addressed him, was he really not discreet? Yet, he hadn't been following them for so long.
"Oh Yaito-sama, it's..." Glyde began, his mouth left open mid-sentence.
But she moved closer to him, eyebrows furrowed as she usually did.
"What do you want from us? Do you belong to the sect? You want to kidnap me?" Her voice became more and more violent as she spoke.
"Yaito-sama, it's only a child..."
The little girl turned around while looking at Glyde the same way.
"So what? Who says they don't hire children to kidnap a poor innocent young woman like me?! I won't be tricked!"
Netto winced at the sound of it. It was clear that she was still behaving the same way in his world, but since she didn't know him, she wasn't in the sarcastic mood he learned from her. However, he noticed, behind her, the apologetic look on Glyde's face.
"Well? Answer!" she still shouted, pointing at him.
His head still hidden under his hood, he frowned but tried to be a little more gentle.
"I saw you get kicked out... I wanted to know if you were okay."
He didn't realize it, but he had spoken in a very familiar way with her. He still thought she was the Yaito he knew. Although he could see her gaze calm down, she continued to be on guard.
"What do you care, you're just a kid! You're smaller than me and you think you can help me?"
For the second time that day Netto puffed out his cheeks, he didn't like being reminded that he was a kid again. And it didn't help that Yaito was now taller than him.
"I'm twelve!" he replied rudely.
For the first time, Yaito grinned, but mischievously. She crossed her arms and couldn't help but giggle.
"So you're just a dwarf!" She stopped smiling when she realized what she had said. "Ah, I get it! They hire dwarves to make it look like they're children!"
Netto frowned again, this probably wasn't worth it, especially since she didn't know him.
"Yaito-sama, come on, don't be mean to that kid!"
"Look how suspicious he is Glyde! He's wearing a cloak while hiding his face!"
Hearing his remark, the child took off his hood, annoyed, revealing his face that was just displeased.
"See?" Glyde replied, still in a good-natured tone, raising his arms.
"Pff..." Yaito said.
"Listen to me Yaito-sama, that kid saved me earlier from another gang of kids, that's why I was late..."
"Ah?!" She became angry once again. "Some kids beat you up again?!"
"Yaito-sama..."
"Why don't you ever fight back?!" she screamed at the formal Navi.
"Because it's only about children! I don't have to fight them!"
Yaito finally raised her fists, and her face was red with anger. She looked at the child who was startled when she looked back at him. At first, it looked like the girl wanted to yell at him too, but she lost her patience and only blushed in shame, turning around while raising her arms.
"Yaito-sama, I sincerely think that boy didn't mean you any harm, he was just worried. He saved me, followed me, and saw you."
"And what does he care anyway?!" she exclaimed.
"Don't you think you should apologize?" Glyde replied in a weaker tone.
The girl lowered her head. With her foot, she tapped the ground. After a few minutes, Netto saw her turn around while looking at the ground, her cheeks red.
"I apologize!" she said in a brusque voice while not even looking at him. "You saved Glyde, and you were just worried..."
Netto tilted his head. He knew she felt pressured to do so, but deep down he knew (if this version was the same as the one he really knew) she regretted it deep down. He could see her rather tired look, her brown eyes seemed to be slowly losing their glow. What had happened to her? He finally calmed down to smile.
"I forgive you."
Yaito was surprised, while Glyde sketched a smile. Without waiting for another word, Netto took out his bag from under his cloak to pull out his famous donut box. He opened it in front of her.
"You want one?"
She started to wince again and first, while she seemed to want to refuse the offer, Yaito, with a quick gesture, took a pink donut. She ate it without saying a word, but with that grumpy look. It was Yaito all over again! He put the box back in his bag and waited for a reaction from her, but the girl once the donut was finished, looked at him annoyed.
"Damn... Now I owe you two things..."
He tilted his head in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"Listen to me kid, you saved Glyde and gave me a donut, so I owe you something in return, right?"
"You don't have to..."
Glyde moved closer, placing his hand on Yaito's head.
"Accept, young boy, it is rare when Yaito-sama can do a kind gesture!"
"Well... I have to find someone..." He tilted his head, trying to think, and raised it with an idea. "But in the meantime, you can show me around the city! This is my first time here!"
Yaito stopped her grumpy expression and turned back to Glyde, who was still looking at her with that benevolence.
"Well... We can give you a little tour, what do you think Yaito-sama?" Glyde offered.
She finally nodded, her eyes closed.
"Fine, we can give you a free tour of the city!"
Yaito started in one direction, and then realized something.
"By the way... What's your name...?"
Netto forced himself to smile, he had indeed forgotten to introduce himself. It was strange to introduce himself again to a person he knew so well.
"Hikari Netto," he just announced.
"Well, Netto-san, since you saved Glyde, I agree to give you a tour of the city."
He nodded even though he tickled at the fact that she had added the honorific "san" to his first name. Before he could say anything about that, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him away.
"Come on, hurry up! I'm already doing this for free!"
Netto was brought in every direction, in every place. Although Yaito was still aggressive with him, Glyde had apologized to him more than fifty times. At first, she was still a bit in her shell, but as she presented something to him, she became more and more talkative and a bit more interesting. Listening to her explain what was going on around her, Netto wondered what had happened to her in this world. After all, like her other version, she had a particular vision for money. She kept talking about how expensive everything could be, whether it was a restaurant or a hotel, but he was curious when she mentioned that she dreamed of eating in a restaurant. Didn't she have the money for that?
They passed a kind of coliseum, the girl with blond hair mentioned that it was a large open-air festival hall, and today there will be a philharmonic concert. Netto remembered that the prosecutor who had been on TV mentioned it. He wished that everyone in the city could come to this concert, so why couldn't Yaito? After all, wasn't she rich enough to afford it?
"Are you going to go?" Netto asked still looking at the young girl.
She raised an irritated eyebrow, and Glyde felt compassion for her.
"If Glyde hadn't arrived late..." she began.
"We would have gotten our paycheck... But we were fired. I'm still sorry Yaito-sama!"
"Your pay?" repeated the child.
Glyde nodded, preferring to answer for his operator.
"We are poor after all, we do odd jobs to eat."
Netto opened his mouth wide, shocked at what he had heard. The Yaito of this world was the opposite of what she was. Yet she had kept the same personality, the same appearance, the same vision of things, even Glyde who was still her Navi had not changed. It only took one detail to make her entirely different from what she was. He felt a little sad for her, he remembered so well when she had been ruined and how it had made him sad.
A question struck his mind. She was poor, but where were her parents? He would have thought that she would continue to live on her own by going to school while her parents did their best to work, but it seemed that it had to be done with her and Glyde. Just as he wanted to ask his question, Yaito's stomach as well as Netto's gurgled. Both children started to blush and then the girl started to get angry again.
"Raaah, damn it!"
She pulled out a machine that Netto recognized as a PET and she pressed it severely.
"Yaito-sama, I can tell you that we have enough money for two days of meals."
She lowered the PET quickly, disappointed at what she had heard. She was feeling downcast.
"Don't worry, we'll find a job again."
The girl finally nodded slowly with sadness. Netto bit his lower lip and moved closer to her, offering a pat on the shoulder.
"If you want, I can invite you to eat? I have enough money for both of us to eat!"
She looked up, her eyes hopeful, they shone like a shojo heroine's.
"Is that true? You would do that?"
The girl's reaction made him feel a tinge of regret. "Uh... Yes?"
"Great!"
Yaito grabbed his wrist and took him on board with her.
"We're going to eat at the best address I have!"
The girl took him somewhere, though Glyde was yelling at them. She had taken him to a rather elegant restaurant. The people were quite well dressed. Once inside, the formal Navi had returned to the PET and the waiter had taken them to a table. The girl had set the PET down horizontally so that he could observe the surroundings.
"Why does Glyde have to be in there?" Netto asked with a raised eyebrow.
"In some places, Navis are not allowed to be outside."
Netto blinked several times.
"But why?"
"You've never heard of the Beast Factor?" asked the little girl, her head resting in her hands.
"Uh, yes! But I don't really understand what it does... It makes the Navis aggressive?"
"Worse than that, it turns us into a Zoanoroid! So we become soldiers under the orders of a Cybeast!" added Glyde.
Netto remained silent, this was all unknown to him after all. But he kept a fixation on the second sentence.
"But the Cybeasts were destroyed, right? How can a Cybeast take control of a Navi if it no longer exists?"
"The Beast Factor virus is sort of what's left of the Cybeasts, it's spread around us like air," Glyde explained.
Netto finally nodded his head. Yaito looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
"You seem to know very little for a twelve-year-old boy," she said with a small haughty tone.
He frowned as he watched her and coughed. "I just grew up in a place where we were safe from all this," he finally said, looking away.
"No one can be safe from the Beast Factor. That's why humans are just hostile with the Navi," she continued to say.
"Personally, even though I don't like the way humans treat us, I can understand the fear that people have. I would be afraid to meet a Navi with the Beast Factor," Glyde added.
Netto didn't know if he really agreed with him. Surely fear could play into behavior, but wouldn't it just be better to find a solution than to lament the problem?
"By the way Netto-san..." Yaito began with her head still on her hand. "Why did you come to visit Akindo City alone?"
He answered first with a shrug. "I'm not really alone, my Navi is somewhere, and I have to meet a friend. Besides, I'm only here in passing..." He paused as he realized something. "Oh, but did you know if the trains here go to the Hokkaido area? I need to get there!"
Yaito blinked, and she looked at the PET screen where her Navi was.
"Why do you want to go to Hokkaido, Netto-san?" asked the brown Navi.
He recoiled in his chair, his eyes taking on a sad look.
"Well, I have to go there... To find my parents."
"Why would your parents be there?" Yaito asked still in a rather restrained tone.
Netto opened his mouth a few times, but he hesitated to answer.
"I... I wouldn't know how to explain it."
"No trains are going there, after all, it's a deserted area. Especially since it's the place where the Cybeasts have destroyed the most in the world," replied Yaito, her other hand raised.
"Other than maybe some thugs, or cult followers, there's no one there."
He looked down, it was a bit of a lost cause, but he didn't lose hope for that.
"What about a train to the Hokkaido border?"
Yaito shrugged.
"I don't think there's a direct route to the north. A lot of the railroads have been destroyed."
Netto finally bowed his head in disappointment, the way home might still be long.
A waiter approached them and asked them what they wanted. As he looked at the menu, the boy's eyes quickly narrowed when he saw the price. He wanted to please his friend... But now... It wasn't possible.
Later, they left the restaurant without taking anything, and finally went in front of a fast food restaurant, the girl grumbling that she could not eat as she pleased. Instead, she sadly ate a burger, sitting on a chair outside.
"Look at me... Still ending my life like this..."
"It's not so bad you know," tried to rationalize the boy between several bites. "What matters is that we eat."
"Yeah, but you said you'd buy me dinner!"
"I just did!"
"I expected you to offer me something more exceptional!"
"I don't have enough money to pay for something like that!"
She started to get angry again, but Glyde stood next to her.
"Yaito-sama, he's just a kid, he's not going to take gold nuggets out of his pockets!"
She was just going through the motions. Netto was getting a little tired of it, he managed to be patient with her in the other world, but here, it was way too different.
"You have quite an eye for the fancy life!"
The girl stopped being annoyed and simply started laughing. Glyde began to smile with some discomfort and a drop of sweat fell from his forehead.
"Netto-san if you only knew..." he began as Yaito continued to laugh. "Yaito-sama comes from a very wealthy family."
"My family was the head of a prestigious computer company!" she said. "They had gotten into making video games. But unfortunately, because of the fear of technology with the Navis, no one was interested... So, we went broke."
The boy tilted his head and felt bad for her again. So she was indeed like the one he knew, just ruined and delivered by herself. He could understand now, in her eyes, the sadness that was given off.
"What about your parents?" Netto asked even though he was afraid of getting into too much fragile ground.
The girl did not answer, except that she looked to the side. Glyde put his hand against the girl's back.
"They, unfortunately, left us some years ago. I am now her sole guardian."
Netto continued to look at her, mouth agape as she no longer looked at him.
"I'm sorry..." was all he could say, after all, she knew happiness in the other world, but here it was only misery.
She turned her head, still with a haughty look and a mischievous smile.
"Pff, why are you apologizing? Are you feeling guilty about this?"
"No...?"
"Then don't apologize for nothing. Apologizing just because you think you have to won't change my condition."
He raised his head at what she had just said. Glyde asked her not to be violent with him, but she scoffed. Netto didn't say anything to that, it was true that he wasn't involved in her problems. The Yaito of this world was her own person with her own story, it was not the ruined Yaito of the one he knew where he could help to restore her fortune. This world was just a kind of mirror with themselves, when he comes home, he will not forget that he should never complain again.
Yaito continued to eat, even though he had already finished. What should he do now? Should he leave her? He could see that even though she claimed to have no worries, she was still sad. He heard an advertisement for the philharmonic concert in the distance and watched as the girl looked much sadder. Netto frowned, he knew he was doing too much, but he had to do it, he couldn't leave a friend, even if she didn't know him, unhappy. If it had been the Yaito of his world, would he have ended up ignoring her? No, certainly not.
"Yaito! Let's go see the concert!"
She raised her head in surprise.
"We can't afford a seat! Or she won't eat for the next few days," Glyde replied in fear.
But Netto ignored him.
"We can go! But I have another method for that!"
He stood up and took her hand to force her to go to the Coliseum. He could hear crashing waves in the distance and noticed a harbor behind the coliseum. There were ships docked and some sailing off on their own journies. The entrance of the Coliseum was packed with people, and of course, the prices were too high. The child looked away while Yaito for once showed fear like her Navi. He examined the perimeter of the Coliseum and found... a ladder propped against a house nearby. Looking up, he noticed that the houses weren't that high, and if he could, he probably could... Maybe that was the best solution he had. With a confident smile, Netto took Yaito's arm with him and walked towards the ladder, which he grabbed with his two small arms.
"Netto-san, what are you doing?"
"I told you we're going to see the concert!" he replied as he put the ladder over his head.
Further on, they came to a staircase that led to the rooftops. Yaito and Glyde told him several times that it was dangerous, but Netto did not listen to them. He preferred to go on his way and finally use the ladder when they were close to the coliseum and finally climb it to the top of the wall. Once on the roof, the girl did not trust it, especially since she had to call Glyde back inside since the Navis were forbidden outside the PET in the coliseum. And finally, taking the girl's hand, they jumped together into the stands. They were finally inside!
"Let's find a seat!" Netto exclaimed.
"No! All these seats have been reserved! We're still not going to take one when we haven't even paid!" expressed Yaito who retracted against herself.
"If there are people who couldn't afford seats, I think we can afford to sit!"
He moved to the first chair he saw, and Yaito came to him though she grumbled as usual. Netto watched as the world sat down, the scene was a long circle on a high railing. They were very far away and they probably had the best view of the whole stage and the world. He noticed a man in front of them, on special seats, whom he recognized. The round black hair and his frank that hid one eye, it was the prosecutor he had seen on TV earlier.
"Hey that guy over there!"
He pointed, Yaito trying to follow his direction and she finally noticed him.
"I saw him on TV, that's how I heard about the concert!"
"Oh... That's the prosecutor Roppu. That guy is all over the place," Yaito explained as she watched him from afar.
"If I may have an opinion," Glyde began from her PET, "I don't like that man very much."
The girl took the PET to see the Navi on the screen.
"Why is that?"
"That man accuses a lot of innocent Navis, I don't mind understanding the human fear against the Zoanoroid, but that man..."
She tilted her head as Netto was quite surprised. All he could do was twist his mouth.
"He's the spokesperson for Variety though, right?" Yaito asked again, looking at the PET.
"Yes, but he makes the human part look very bad, I'm glad we have the priestess with us."
Netto was a bit puzzled, still confused.
"What is this... Variety?"
"Wait!" Yaito turned to him, stunned. "That's the name of our government!"
He remained silent until he finally shrugged his shoulders. The lights started to go out and finally, it was quiet around them. Only the stage was lit and after a long minute of silence, the music finally started to play. For Netto, it was just classical music, he had no real opinion, except that he thought it was for old people. However, Yaito's eyes were shining with excitement to hear the orchestra playing. Looking at her, the boy only huffed with a smile, and then he leaned on the seat in front of him that was empty while resting his head while watching, enjoying the music.
Rockman would have liked to be there, given his passion for music. It was strange when he first learned about it. His Navi kept music in the PET that he listened to from time to time and he had never told him. Netto had learned this when he wondered why the PET ran out of space. It had surprised the operator but pleased that his Navi had something for himself, after all, he wasn't going to force him to like the same thing he did. But when he learned that he liked to see cooking videos, it was even funnier in his eyes. If only he were here, in his normal form, they would have been together and he would have been happy.
When he heard a piano note, Netto's spine shook, and this time he thought of Meiru. He had forgotten about her lately after all that had happened. He had left her when she was finally playing in front of people. Even though he had seen her play live, he could feel something with the song Rockman choose for her, he had never been so excited. And now he would never hear the rest of that song. His mouth twitched tightly, his childish emotions back on top. He wiped his eyes strongly, he knows he will find her, and she will continue the song.
Netto turned his eyes to Yaito, and noticed her eyes completely reddened. She kept the tears in her eyes even though they wanted to be shed.
"Is everything okay?" Netto asked.
"This is the first time I've done an event like this since my parents died..." She turned her head towards him, finally letting a tear fall. "We don't even know each other, why are you doing all this for me?"
Netto shrugged and offered a genuine smile.
"You remind me of a good friend, and I don't like to see my friends being sad, so I'm doing everything I can to help them."
Even as her eyes let her tears roll down her cheeks, she couldn't help but make small noises. She wiped them away while Netto placed a comforting hand against her back.
"Thank you..." Her voice was weak, and for the first time all day, she had given him a genuine smile.
He nodded, happy for her. Keeping his hand against her back, Netto continued to look at the orchestra before him, the music was so beautiful. Deep down... He understood Rockman, he could feel the beauty of a work he loved.
It could have been a beautiful moment... If there had not been an explosion. Netto felt shaken as the girl next to him fell against him. He looked around and noticed that on one side there was smoke. The orchestra had stopped and people began to stir in all directions. The child looked around, the world was running toward the exits that were on the ground.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm!" a voice rang out.
But it didn't help, and out of nowhere Viruses appeared. Netto gasped as he got out of the seat with Yaito and stood against the wall. The surrounding Viruses didn't care about them at first, all they did was go one way.
"Yaito-sama! Let me out!" Glyde shouted into her PET.
She looked at him and pressed the main button so he could appear in front of them. He knelt down and put a hand on one of the two kids' shoulders.
"Are you two okay?"
Both nodded although the blonde girl was much more distressed. Glyde turned around and examined each route to get the children out safely. He also noticed the viruses which shook him to his core. "These are not viruses under the influence of the Beast Factor..." he announced as if he didn't believe it.
"What?" Netto gasped, darting his head toward Glyde.
"If they are normal viruses, then they must be trained for something specific."
"Ah! You mean they would be the rebels?" Yaito exclaimed.
"Surely."
Netto didn't understand it, but he will probably get answers later, the important thing was to get out of there. As they descended, viruses barricaded their way. Glyde brought out his cannon and hit the viruses, but many of them resisted, the cannon's charge was not strong enough. The boy wondered where Rockman was while hiding behind the brown Navi. He usually came to the rescue when he was in danger.
A much larger virus dived from above to attack poor brown Navi, who had turned around, pulling the children against him to protect them from any attack. Although they thought they were going to get hurt, a sound of suppression came to their ears. Glyde turned around and the children saw a large blue Navi, whose helmet was shaped like a book. He was levitating and had a whip in his hand. Glyde felt almost too small, so he stood up and grabbed the children, forcing them to move. Netto then noticed that the only person who could be the potential operator of this Navi was the prosecutor who was looking in their direction, with that mysterious smile, and his PET pointed at them.
The child could not take too much more detail, Glyde had led them toward the exit. Once outside, they were against the harbor. A good number of Navis hurried to get on a boat, something the formal Navi could look at. Yaito and Netto had headed the opposite way, not realizing that Glyde had an idea in the back of his head.
"Pfft, more rebels who wanted to make a mess!"
"Why are these 'rebels' doing this?" Netto asked innocently.
"Because they're terrorists!"
"Oh..."
So this world was not safe from evil people like the WWW. Yet, didn't he have enough problems with these "sects"? He frowned. All these people, it didn't matter if they were rebels or child kidnappers, they were all just fools. As Yaito followed Netto, she felt a force take her by the arm, jerking her toward her Navi.
"Glyde what are you doing?!"
Glyde dropped to his knees in front of her, his hands taking her arms.
"Yaito-sama, listen to me carefully, do we have to get out of here?"
Her eyes widened for the little girl for a few seconds, but her brows furrowed again.
"What are you talking about, this city is our home! We've always lived here!"
"We would never have a future in this city, especially considering how people treat Navis here." He bowed his head, knowing that this might be difficult for her. "We need to go to Cyber City."
The child opened her mouth without saying a word, but she resumed in a sadder tone.
"But here, this is the city where we had always lived..." Her voice was so weak.
"I know... But it's better to go somewhere else and find a new home."
She didn't answer, except that she dropped her head to look at the ground.
"I promised your father that I would take care of you, and for your safety, we have to go to Cyber City."
Yaito finally raised her head slowly at first, then she looked at the boat that was filling up with people. She glanced at Glyde and gulped, nodding her head. She finally ran against him, hugging him tenderly, a gesture he returned as well. The girl turned back to Netto, who had been watching everything with a sad, concerned expression.
"Are you coming with us, Netto-san?" Yaito asked, holding back his emotions.
He gasped at the question but shook his head gently. "I can't come with you, I have to find my Navi as well as the friend I'm looking for."
"I see," Yaito simply replied, she walked towards him, standing in front of him. "But if you come by Cyber City, you'll visit me, right?"
Confused at first, he eventually smiled and nodded. If he noticed that she had furrowed her brows again, she was also blushing heavily. Quickly, she leaned against him and pecked his cheek with her lips. The little girl pulled back, her cheeks red as a tomato.
"This is the real gift...for everything you've done for me."
He blinked a few times, heat rising to his cheeks as well, and nodded, still a little bewildered. She turned and went to Glyde, taking his hand to go to the boat. Netto watched them get into the boat and leave. He waved to his new (old) friends, and all he hoped was that they were safe now. The child was a little sad to see them go, but he reassured himself that he would see them again when he got back to his world and they would be like before. His world, his home.
Goodbye stranger, it's been nice.
Hope you find your paradise…
To be Continued...
AN: The lyrics used come from "Goodbye stranger" from Supertramp, I listened this song while doing this ending, I thought it would fit well. Do not worry, there will be no Netto x Yaito in this story (it's so weird isn't it ?) we will see Yaito in the part 2 of this story, so not now.
As always, thanks Tyno for your correction on the chapter, please give him kudos!