12:07 PM (Japan Time), Saturday March the 3rd…
"… And my strawberry mightiness defeated that mosquito!"
"You mean that you smacked it with the bottle…"
"What part of that is "mightiness"?"
"You know her. She loves to appeal as grandiose!"
The usual group was gathered in the treehouse.
Birds sang outside.
"Spring has finally come. Next month, new school year…" Netto muttered.
"The famed "middle school second year student"…" Dekao chuckled.
"Why are you so happy about it?" Hikawa asked.
"Must be expecting some trope to become reality!" Hoshita sighed.
"Surely…" Yuuki sighed.
"Bro! Don't lower the guard!" Chisao scolded.
"I know, I know! I was trying to make a joke!" He argued back.
"Beware! It's the descent of the strawberry glider!" Yaito giggled.
"Another pun on Glyde? Why bully him?" Meiru sighed.
"It's not bullying. It's a pun!"
"Don't overdo it or he'll become depressed…"
"Bubbles! The Bubble Prince is back! The Bermudas were great!"
They looked at the LCD screen displaying the Cyber World.
Bubble Man walked towards Ice Man and Aqua Man, confident.
"Welcome back!"
"My comrades in arms! Tonight, the revolution!"
"What revolution?" Both asked.
"The Bubble-Ice-Fountain Revolution!" He laughed.
Both blinked in a quick succession, puzzled.
"And what does that do?"
Trill and Iris walked over to them, also puzzled.
"It makes you feel mightier!"
"Agreed!" Yaito giggled.
"Miss Yaito…! Don't start trouble, or Mr. President…!" Glyde whispered.
"I know! It's a joke! No need to be so serious about it!"
Rush ran over there and tried to call for attention.
"What's the issue?" Iris asked.
A screen formed above him to display a translation.
"Golden Bones at 50%!"
"And here I thought that trouble had sprouted!" Roll sighed.
Rush gestured again.
"Blue Rouse Bouquets at 75%!"
"Why would I want that?" Roll asked.
Rush crossed his arms and stopped to think.
He then began to argue.
"For White Day?"
"Instead of telling me, tell Rock Man over there…"
She signaled him with the head.
He was some meters away from her, talking to Guts Man.
"Why?"
"Why don't you look in Wikipedia what White Day is about?"
Rush rubbed his chin and closed his eyes to think.
"Did you know that my new strawberry color hammer is the rage?"
"Sure, sure…"
Yaito made another joke, which didn't impress Meiru.
"Guts! And I fought those copies of Burner Man! I beat them!"
"You've really made huge progress, Guts Man!"
"I managed to fight copies of Bright Man, too…" Glyde added.
"Rufus sure was desperate if he bothered with those…"
Rush pulled Rock Man's right hand to call for his attention.
"What's up, Rush?"
He gestured and formed the screen with the translation.
"Blue Rouse Bouquets at 75%!"
"What for?"
"For White Day!"
"Well… Isn't it a bit over the top? We're still students…"
Rock Man stopped to think about it.
"There's no need to make it as romantic as movies, right?"
Rush stopped to think about it.
"Humans are complicated!"
"I don't deny that…"
"Who sends you that information, anyway? Guts?" Guts Man asked.
"Sigaano Nogaano, the Nomad Merchant…"
"Who…?"
"What kind of name is that? Guts?"
"Sounds like a pun on Spanish words. "Si gano, no gano"…"
"And what do they mean?" Dekao asked.
"… "I win, I don't win"…"
"Which is it? A stalemate?" Hikawa wondered.
"But, say. If he uses the word "Nomad"…"
"It's that Tabuu guy?" Netto guessed.
"Maybe it's his way to say "all is OK"…" Rock Man suggested.
"Who's that?" Yuuki asked.
"The man behind Caith Sith. A private eye…" Netto replied.
"Cool!" Hoshita whistled.
It's not like I can say that it's an alien Net Navi…!
Netto inwardly sighed.
"Of course, "Tabuu" is his alias as a private eye…"
"Like a codename?" Hoshita asked.
"Correct!"
"Hullo. Dingo is already at home and training at hunting…"
Tomahawk Man joined them.
"Glad to see that he managed to deal with his anxiety. It's not easy…"
"I met Gyro Man on my way there, who was hectic…"
"What happened?"
"Charlie is running up the walls because of Tesla's jokes…"
"What does Tesla want out of Charlie, anyway?" Netto wondered.
"Dunno. Adults are complicated!" He sighed.
"I don't deny that. Especially with such a spoiled human!"
Meiru rolled her eyes.
"But she was dangerous, no?" Iris argued.
"Of course! We don't deny that…"
"Do you fear that she'll try to recreate her past actions?"
"Hard to say. Given how she's constantly on the run…"
"Why does he bother to contact Mr. Charlie, then?"
"Maybe it's one of those "undesired but inseparable relationships"…"
"Possibly. Let's leave it up to them…"
"Maha and the crew are working hard, as always…"
"Glad to know. The curry of the other day was great!"
"Because Brother and I worked on it!" Chisao announced.
"The mighty Chefs!" Netto chuckled.
"Beware! The Strawberry Milk and Curry Set!" Yaito laughed.
"Sorry, but they don't make a good combination…" Chisao argued.
"It's joke!"
"Well! Spring break is almost there, so let's enjoy…"
"Maybe we can make a short trip to Kyushu or Shikoku, even…"
"It'd be great to expand our horizons!"
"Decided, then! Let's begin planning our mighty expedition!"
"There she goes again!" Meiru giggled.
"I'm the Strawberry Princess, after all!"
"Let's have fun, then!"
12:18 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Good work out there, Sidier…"
"Yes, Master!"
"Did you find the soda, Sid?"
"Excuse me?"
"I fail to see the correlation…"
"Don't worry, Tomocchi!"
Yamikawa and the others were gathered and talking together.
"By the way. Did you meet Si-No?" Kagehi giggled.
"Who's that?" Kuroumi asked.
"The stingy seasonal merchant!" She laughed.
"Very original!" Yamikawa sighed.
"Is that a pawn of Rufus that must be punished?" Sidier asked.
"Probably no. Ignore it!"
"Kidding. It's Sigaano Nogaano…"
"And who's that?"
"Your county cousin, Sorocchi…"
"Sure, sure. Heard that joke a billion times by now…"
"A cat merchant…"
"Caith Sith… Tabuu?"
"Sure. Looks like it's his new "civilian name"…"
"Well. If he's using it to dig about Clark, I don't mind…"
"I did hire a private eye myself, too…" Kuroumi recalled.
"Love at first sight with the auntie?" Kagehi joked.
"Sure, sure…"
"The Lock and Rock will revolutionize the world of rock 'n roll!"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Dunno. Guess it's a SNS trend!"
"Fine, fine…"
"By the way, Sid. Did you find the Mighty Mara?"
"And who would that be?"
The other two rolled their eyes.
"A game character. Don't worry about it…"
"I apologize for my lack of knowledge. I should study more…"
"Nobody is obliged to memorize all characters from games…"
"Each chooses their preferences…"
"Understood…"
"You're not obligated to keep up with her jokes, either…"
"I know, I know! I just like teasing Sid!"
"And what does that contribute to the battle?"
"That's…"
She was surprised and unsure of how to reply.
"It doesn't…"
"Then, excuse me, but… What is the point, then?"
"… There isn't, right…"
She sighed and formed a weak smile.
She scratched the back of her head, too.
"I'm going to meet the gals. See you, Tomocchi and Odacchi!"
She walked out and her colleagues shrugged.
"Did you find anything else, Saruba?" Kuroumi asked.
"A server in the UAE filled with copies of Asteroids…"
"Classical! I found a drug dealer that'd fled to Hong Kong…"
"As for myself, I defeated those "carbon copies" of Slur…"
"Good job. They weren't easy, I take it…"
"Indeed, sir. But after 3 or 4 them, I learned their patterns…"
"That's great. Share that data with us later…"
"By your orders…"
"There are probably more assets hidden. But there's no rush…"
"I know. Without someone coordinating them, they're harmless…"
"At the most, they're stupid and gullible fools…"
"But let's not be confident. There could a smart lass somewhere…"
"What about the System?"
"Tabuu approached us and helped analyze it…"
"And we located a hidden central computer that coordinated it…"
"In the real world, that is… Deep beneath KA – 222…"
"Designed to resist earthquakes, tsunamis and bombing…"
"If it's a military asset, it makes sense…"
"Sure. It was originally meant for the Spectrum Project, but…"
"Weil reused it for the System…"
"Hence why you'd been unable to turn it off…"
"But we can finally be at ease. We also removed another thing…"
"The limitation in displacements?"
"Exactly…"
"Everyone can now move freely between regions?"
"Sure. They can all become "exchange students"…"
"That would open the door to new tactics…"
Sidier rubbed his chin, becoming animated.
"I hadn't considered that. It could be interesting…"
"We're also trying to change the environment, too…"
"To remove all this poisonous atmosphere?"
"Yes. To finally become normal Navis…"
"And we won't need this "Light Armor" to protect us…"
"Wonderful news, sirs!"
"It'll still take some time, but it's a certainty…"
"That I and Saruba will be married in Merry-Marry!"
Kagehi's voice echoed into the room.
"Where's that…?" Yamikawa sighed.
"Ask Mario!"
"I remember! Super Mario RPG…" Kuroumi recalled.
"That wedding hall where you fight the monster cake…?"
"Same one…"
"How original. Sorry, but not interested…"
"It's a joke! No need to take it seriously…"
"It's hard to tell when you want to take it seriously or not…"
"Guess that!"
"What happened to…?"
"I'm on my way to the teahouse!"
"Where did you build it?" Yamikawa asked.
"Right below your feet! Since this garden is so relaxing!"
"Fine, fine…"
"I thought that the limitations were still in place…?"
"It's probably a videoconference, bypassing the limitations…"
"I see…"
"Your fan club is eager to meet you, Sid!"
"I am afraid that I do not understand the meaning of it, milady…"
"Sarucchi! Why did you have to make him so stiff?"
"Didn't we all agree that a warrior committed to the task was best?"
"Did I…? Heck! Should've thought it better!" She sighed.
"Too late, Somari!" Kuroumi chuckled.
"Can't be helped!"
"And, one day, we'll go try out the famed Deka-Chisa Curry!"
"Sure, sure…"
"Sid! Ready your gourmet tongue, you'll need it!"
"Somehow, I doubt it…" He sighed, skeptical.
"Beware! It's the guaranteed madness! Sam Yosemite and Taz!"
"Again, I do not know who they are…"
"Give us a break, will you?" Kuroumi sighed.
"Sure. See you in Alice's Wonderland!"
"Wonderland…? What an odd choice…" Yamikawa sighed.
"I am up to any challenges. I shall not falter!"
13:23 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Any big changes in the underworld, Yuriko?"
"Some thugs are confused at the lack of orders and controls…"
"This is a good chance, isn't it?"
"Yes. We also spread conflicting rumors and orders…"
"And Miyabi?"
"Hunted down some amateur bounty hunters…"
Yuriko and Pride were meeting.
Pride wore her casual outfit today.
Both were enjoying the tea.
"Raika – kun also found dummy bombs in a mailbox…"
"Where?"
"Near the IPC building…"
"Dear!"
"But they were dummies. A distraction…"
"I see. To start up an evacuation and then sneak inside…"
"Maybe a repeat of what they did with Roast Man…"
"Stealing confidential data and selling it in the black market?"
"Hard to tell. Maybe as a bluff, maybe as blackmail…"
"Seeing the behavior of Rufus, it's hardly a surprise…"
"My country's intelligence also caught some folk…"
"Such as?"
"Weapons smugglers trying to sneak in machineguns…"
"That could've been dangerous…"
"But, upon inspection, it turned out to be model guns…"
"I see. A scam!"
"Truly. Typical of Rufus, though. Money comes first…"
"Use and throw pawns. Eliminating the competence…"
"I'm back, Yuriko. I did find some thugs and beat them…"
"What were they?"
"Dumb delinquent high school kids trying to act mighty…"
"Classical!"
"I said that I'm Yakuza and they ran off…"
"Did they think that they could scare you with numbers?"
"Probably!"
"Such cowardly folk!" Knight Man grumbled.
"I know. But we must be firm and ready to deal with them…"
"Yes, Princess!"
"By the way. I saw Dive Man and Circus Man arguing…"
"Weren't they under arrest?" Yuriko recalled.
"I checked, but they were pre-recorded holograms…"
"I see. A ruse to make us think that they'd escaped from detention…"
"We must be wary. They might use similar tricks elsewhere…"
"It's possibly something readied beforehand but went unused…"
"Let's hope that. Knight Man. Warn the Net Police about it…"
"By your orders, Princess…"
"Let's take a break and then resume work…"
"Delighted…"
13:29 PM (Japan Time)…
"… As excellent as ever…"
"Planning to become a curry gourmet, Miyabi?"
"Very funny, Wily…"
"Why not… Go compete with Suemitsu…"
"I don't care. I don't mean to compete with anyone…"
Miyabi was enjoying a curry meal at Maha 1st.
Wily was also doing the same and joking with him.
"By the way. Did you send this "Junk Bargain Sale" message?"
Iroaya looked up from the dishes that she was washing.
"Who? Me? No…" Shadow Man replied.
"Maybe it was that famed merchant of madness!" Wily chuckled.
"How innovative. Patent it…"
"Madoi! I found a threat email! "The grudge of Roasting Man!"…!"
"Come on! It's a childish prank. Ignore it!" She sighed.
"By George! That stupid brother sends a challenge, too!"
"But it says "GUASS MAGNEST"… It's probably a parody, sir…"
"Sure. Here it says "your mommy"… How childish…"
"Truly. "The tragedy of Namaste"… As if it would impress me…"
"Yes, sir. But I checked that the firewall is working, sir…"
"Good. Keep four eyes on it…" Wily warned.
"Roger, Lord Wily…"
"Miyabi. "Sushi Man's Revenge" is coming…"
"Not that stupid sushi maniac assistant again!" Wily sighed.
"Maybe you should've told him to stop doing stupid stunts…"
"I'd forgotten about the man altogether…"
"Fair enough…"
"And how could I predict what he'd do, anyway?"
"True. I take it back. Guess that those fools irked me…"
"It's reasonable. Take it easy…"
"Agreed. It's not worth becoming annoyed over…" Maha added.
"You're right. Maybe I need a day off in the mountains…"
"Training at the waterfall?"
"Possibly. Don't come bother me, though…"
"I know, I know…"
The phone rang and Iroaya answered it.
"What? A cheeseburger? Sorry, but we're a curry restaurant, and…"
A familiar laughter rang out from the phone.
"Tesla Magnets!" She cursed.
"What!" Count Elec gasped.
"The Queen of Kabukicho has come! Tremble!"
"Give me this!"
He yanked the phone from her.
"What is this? Brother's newest stunt?" He demanded.
"Been a while, Uncle! It's but a warning!"
"What kind of warning?"
"Stay away from my realm, Kabukicho!"
"Fine! But if Brother dares to show up, he'll learn from me!"
"Good, good! Beats destroy each other!"
"I'm not a beast!"
"That's to be seen!"
"What are you implying?"
"Nothing. Simply wanted to show my superiority!"
The call ended and Count Elec sighed, shaking his head.
"She's going to run into Trouble. I can see it coming!"
"Predictable!" Iroaya sighed.
"Maybe we need a tiara to lure her out?" Colored Man suggested.
"True. She did try to steal that tiara…"
"I agree. We don't want her to start a "Neo WWW Version 2"…"
"Agreed, Lord Wily…"
"I'll call Cream Land, and they can send a suggestion to the Net Police…"
"Go ahead…"
Miyabi stood up and drew his wallet.
He headed to the counter and paid in cash.
"Thank you very much…"
"I'll contact you if there's updates…"
"About merchants of memes and madness…" Shadow Man chuckled.
"How brilliant. Patent it…"
Miyabi walked out and Wily chuckled, amused at the joke.
"Time to work, my folk!"
He stood up and looked at his subordinates.
"Roger!"
13:36 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Hi, Charlie – kun. How's it going?"
"Dr. Hikari! Been a while!"
"I did think that the PET that Meijin carried was familiar!"
"Sure. I came over for PET maintenance…"
Airstar talked with Yuuichirou in a MOS waiting room.
He left the newspaper with the crosswords atop the desk.
He stood up to shake his hand.
"Hello! We also came over for maintenance!"
"Jasmine – kun, Anetta – kun and Nenji – kun. Been a while, too!"
"Hi, Doc! I am always indebted to you, Boss!"
"Let's make sure that nothing odd has slipped inside!"
"Same!"
Rokushakudama, Jasmine and Anetta also walked in.
"Makoto – kun is here today, she will help with it as well…"
"Are they dating?" Anetta asked.
"Not sure. I don't ask intimate questions…"
"True! Sorry, sir…" She apologized.
"Don't worry! It's no big deal…"
"By the way! Do you know about the "Ultra Hammer Flu"?"
"Sounds like a scam!" Jasmine sighed.
"Agreed. Besides, there is no "flu" in the Cyber World!"
"True! I'd forgotten!" He gasped.
"Sounds like something Rufus would say out of boredom…"
Yuuichirou rolled his eyes, slightly exasperated.
"Sorry for the wait! All is in order!"
Meijin and Makoto brought them a plastic box with their PETs.
"Thank you!"
They all retrieved them.
"Charlie. I filtered 666 spam emails from Tesla…" Gyro Man reported.
"She sure must be BORED!" He sighed.
"Nenji! I detected 31 scam attempts. Be careful!" Napalm Man warned.
"Man! That happens for stuffing my head with fireworks!" He sighed.
"Jasmine. Grandpa sends a video letter…" Meddy reported.
"OK! Will check it out later…"
"Anetta – chan. There was a wiretap app hidden in the OS!"
Makoto warned her as she handed it over to Anetta.
"Devil! That Rufus! What a pervert!" She fumed.
"Maybe was trying to overhear info about Enzan – kun…"
"That makes more sense. I should warn him…"
"We also ran checks for those in your PETs, but they were clean…"
"Must've taken profit that I don't have a Navi…"
"Well! I'll be more careful. I won't lose to such cowards!"
"That's the spirit!"
"Of St. Louis?" Napalm Man laughed.
"What's that? A booze brand?"
"You never know!" He chuckled.
He laughed, perplexing the others…
13:51 PM (Japan Time)…
"… I received a call from Anetta…"
"Did something happen?"
"The MOS found a wiretap app hidden in her PET…"
"I see. Typical of Rufus…"
Enzan and Raika were meeting in the former's VP office.
Two cups of coffee were set on the table.
"I've been helping the Princess with security aspects…"
"We also found more hypnotize men pretending to be Rufus…"
"A distraction. Classical!"
"Lord Enzan. I filtered 69 phishing scam attempts, sir…"
"They must be realty stupid to think that I would fall for them…"
"It's automated, sent at random…"
"That makes more sense…"
"There also was a man pretending to be Soldier Iriya…"
"What? Impersonating Iriya next? Rufus!" Raika growled.
"Iriya… The Operator of Asteroid Yamato Man, right?"
"Yes. And my fencing rival…"
"Maybe it was an attempt to lure you out into a trap…"
"Wouldn't surprise me…"
"I also received a tipoff from Maha Jarama…"
"The restaurant owner?"
"Tesla Magnets is in Kabukicho, Shinjuku…"
"Matches our previous eyewitness accounts…"
"Also… Netto told me that Nakayami sent him a challenge…"
"Really?"
"One of these days, he wants to have a fair and square match…"
"Curious…"
"He said that anyone is welcome as witness and referee…"
"If he says that, then he does mean it…"
"Remember that the man is a victim of Clark's schemes…"
"True. So much has happened since last summer, I'd forgotten…"
"At first he was under the influence of Clark's programming…"
"But eventually broke free from it…"
"Yes. And Obihiro… Or, rather, Akihiko… Has also realized that…"
"Sounds like Rufus had him go through nasty things…"
"What a bastard, truly!"
"Anyway. It looks like he'll eventually turn himself in…"
"If that's his decision, I won't interfere…"
"By the way, sir. There's a scam about a "Cyber Flu"…" Blues warned.
"We should warn others so that they don't fall for it, sir…"
"Rufus! You're so stupid…" Both sighed.
They both sipped some of the coffee.
"Anyway. We'll have some busy days ahead of us…"
"Sure. But we mustn't falter…"
"Once we wrap all up, maybe we can take a short break…"
"Agreed. Maybe go to the hot springs, too…"
"Why not? Let's begin planning!"
13:58 PM (Japan Time)…
"… You look lost in thoughts, Netto…"
"Saito… Well. Pondering about all our challenges…"
"Yes. It's been a hectic three years…"
Netto stood in the balcony of the treehouse, looking at the skies.
The trees swayed with the passage of wind, and birds chirped.
Rock Man joined him, and they talked together.
"Fortunately, we fully nullified those nasty nanomachines…"
"And without Rufus to update them, they're harmless…"
"While we ultimately couldn't settle the score with Clark…"
"It's likely that the man will meet his downfall somewhere…"
"Becoming fixated over it is their goal. We must avoid it…"
"Correct. Life isn't about battles, as Dad said…"
"Sure! It's about curry and spaghetti with meatballs!" He laughed.
"Why not? As long as it's not a repeat of Namaste…"
"Boy! I learned the lesson…" He laughed.
"Well! If you need help with the homework, I'll always help…"
"Thanks. Learned to take it more seriously…"
He turned around and extended his right hand.
Rock Man was surprised for a moment but shook it.
"Let's work together!"
"Delighted!"
Both winked at each other and smiled…
THE END