At this point, everyone had calmed down and Histoire made everyone some tea.

"So, tell us about yourself." Vert once again led this 'interrogation' as I was forced to watch it unfold.

"Haha, this kind of feels like an interview with the parents of the daughter after she brings her boyfriend home for the first time." Certainly doesn't feel like that kind of atmosphere here! Lan sure seems relaxed despite the tension.

We hear a knock at the door and both IF and some fluffy looking girl with somewhat pink hair enter the room.

"We got here as quick as we could. What's the situatio…" IF looked to the back of the room and noticed the big dent in the wall.

"I..see. Is Lan hurt?" Neptune led them to the sofa where Lan was and gave them an update on the situation.

"Okay! Don't worry ! I'll fix you right up!" The pink haired girl, which I guess is Compa, starts putting some kind of salve on Lan's more prominent wounds and wraps them up in bandages.

"Looks great! Just make sure you don't move too much and you should be fine in a few days!" A few days?

"Umm, Miss Compa? Didn't he have broken bones or anything?" I was concerned she didn't notice.

"Oh Ge-Ge! You can just call me Compa!" G-ge, what?

"I don't really have an x-ray, so I can't tell for sure. However, he seems to just have some really bad bruising. Nothing a few days of rest won't fix!" Seriously?

"Thanks, Compa! You da bomb for realzies!" Neptune gives her a high-five and she blushes a little.

"Aww, it's no big deal! It's what I do!"

With that out of the way, IF leans on the sofa and takes her turn. "So what did you need me for then?"

"We need you to look into whether everything he's saying is the truth or not." Noire filled her in on her role. She could do that?

"Got it." She pulls out her phone and sets it to record, then pulls out another phone to type on like a notepad. How many phones do you need?

"It really isn't that long or interesting of a story you guys." Lan sighs and leans back on the sofa.

"We can judge that for ourselves, thanks." Blanc, who had been sitting quietly, finally noted.

"Fair enough I guess. Uhh, guess I'll just start with my upbringing?" Lan rubs his head as he tries to remember.

"Ooooohhh! We get to hear about little ol' Lanny Boy!" Neptune is excited for different reasons than the rest, of course.

"So, I was raised on a little island somewhere by the CPU continent. I'm not sure where, I only ever knew its general location." Lan started.

"It was just a small town, not too many people if I remember correctly. Just me and my mom, hanging out until I moved out. The end!"

We all looked at him with dead eyes.

"The uhh, end of part 1! Hmm… You guys sure are serious."

He sighs and starts again.

"So I lived with my mom until I was about 15. Around then, there was some…accident where my mom worked. She and some other workers got caught up in it and they didn't survive. After that happened I wandered around the outskirts of the PC continent doing odd jobs and selling things I made."

Blanc nodded "I see, you didn't move in with any relatives or an orphanage or something?"

Lan waved dismissively.

"I was already basically self-sufficient at that point. Didn't need to go anywhere, nor did I want to. I was more of a solo kind of person. Until I met Lily 4 years later, I spent most of my time by myself."

Noire still seemed suspicious. "So what were you doing exactly in those 4 years?"

"Just what I said, wandering and making stuff with whatever I could get my hands on. Anything more specific…I can't really remember. All those days are kind of a blur for me." Right, he told me his memories are rather fuzzy around that time period.

"After I met Lily, I decided to get a more stable living. So I took an advanced course to get my degree and teaching certificate. It took me about a year." He made it seem so easy. Yet it's so difficult for him to do a 100 piece puzzle.

"You're a teacher!? I mean, Nepgear mentioned you were but…You?" Even though I told her, she was still shocked.

Lan pouted. "Why does everyone say that? I'm a great teacher! All my students find me at least tolerable! Which is impressive for highschool students!"

"Doesn't sound that impressive…" IF had to add. "In any case, I'll look into the validity of his story and background. I can let you guys know what I found tomorrow probably."

"That would be incredibly appreciated, IF." Histoire, who had been quiet until now, finally seemed ready to join the conversation.

"No offense, Lan, but we can't accept you just like that. I'm sure you understand."

"Yeah, I get it. Do what you have to do, Histoire. As long as it doesn't get between me and Lily." With that, Lan stood up and turned to me.

"Lily, we have to get going soon if we want to be on time for our reservation." Oh! That's right!

"I almost forgot about that! But…" After hearing about how the CPU's don't intend to let us go home, I'm kind of…

"You sure you want to miss it? They have those little robot waiters there." …He sure is convincing.

"Okay, let's go. It's not just because of the robots though! I have more character than that!"

But my protest falls on deaf ears. "Sure, sure, you want to spend quality time with your husband."

Grrr, he's teasing me again!

Before we get too into it, Noire cuts in. "Just remember, it's SUPER important you're here tomorrow by 9am. Got it?"

Lan looks confused, so I answer "Yeah, I got it." I give him the 'I'll explain later look' and he leaves it at that.

Then Histoire warns us. "Lan, if anything comes up while we look into you, we will do what we have to in order to keep Nepgear safe."

Lan chuckles. "And I will do whatever it takes to keep her happy."

After their exchange, we say our goodbyes and head down the elevator.

In the elevator, I can't help but say aloud. "They are not gonna like what they find."

Lan gives me a wry smile. "Probably not?"

We are so screwed.

It's not like Lan was lying, but he was not telling the whole truth.

"It isn't like I was really involved in any activities the group was involved in. I left before anything really happened." He shrugged.

"I know, but it won't look good no matter what. Especially considering what your Mom was doing." I don't know everything, but I've been told the 'important stuff' as Lan calls it.

"There's no point telling them all that. It's better for them to do the research. Besides, I barely understood what she was doing anyway. I just know it was not good." He has a point. Only thing that would get us is suspicion. With this, maybe we can buy time for a few days and figure something out.

"I know at least one thing though." He said with a hand on his chin.

"What's that, dear?" I tilted my head,trying to think of what it could be.

With my prompting, he continued. "If it weren't for whatever she did to me, I'm sure that hit would've put me in the hospital."

I gasped. "You're right! I knew that when you got small cuts and stuff they healed pretty quickly. I didn't expect you to be so sturdy though." I thought he was going to be in the ICU for a while.

He proudly Hmph'd. "It was pretty cool, maybe I have some superpowers after all?"

I giggled. "Silly, wouldn't that be considered a superpower?"

"Oh! I guess you're right!" He laughed too.

"Then I guess it's good my mom was in ASIC then!" He continued laughing.

I immediately stop laughing. "No, I still think that's pretty bad."

"Oh."

Hahahahahahhahahaha, oops. Remember when I said I would post two chapters? Just kidding! I had to rewrite this like 3 times because I just couldn't get it right. I don't want his backstory to be TOO important or anything. At the same time, it has to be because he is the only person we know nothing about. Once this whole 'Arc' or whatever you wanna call it is over, I want to focus more on the present. Hopefully it doesn't end too badly for Lan. ASIC is pretty dead at this point, so maybe they won't mind? For now, let's just let our couple relax and go to the fancy dinner place with the tiny robot waiters! Carry on fellow gamers.