To Be Alone: PG-13 A/AA

[Bassman4566]

This is a great story and has me alomost wanting to cry. Anyway how will you plan out the "real" bad guys reaction to the fact that Netto and Saito are sepreated from each other? Here's another question will Netto try to comite Suicide?
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Rukario
credit to orinigal owner

"That's all she wrote" Syrus Trusdale

[RollSoul]

I was just woundering how many fics do u have running at once?
HOW do u keep up with them all? -_-;
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NOTICE: This user no longer uses this account, they made a new account cuz they dont like the name of their account anymore =3

[YaminoMiko]

Yeah, How many anyways?

I could barely keep up with three of mines and i have people demanding me to Update soon. >.>

They even threaten to kill me too....... -_-; -_-; -_-;
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I wanna sleep, but I don't wanna sleep at the same time. @_@.
Repetition(RnREXE)

[Kitty-Chan]

Angst is good. I really enjoy this story; I think the premise is more pronounced for me right now because I've been on a Sephiroth/Cloud kick & Seph's past fits with this.
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Need more Zero/X, Netto/Rock, Rock/Netto, Forte/Netto, & Blues/Netto. PLEASE!
Ano sa...could someone please make me a Zero/X, Blues/Netto, or Forte/Netto avatar/banner? I would greatly appreciate it...
Thanks for the avatar, Mandi!
People! We need more Blues/Netto & Forte/Netto on the net. Come on; help me out here! *gives everyone her Super-Adorable Irrisistable Sad Kitty Eyes(TM)*

[Neko]

Netto walked in silence between Enzan and Laika on the way to Enzan’s house. He stared at the sidewalk with a thoughtful expression but didn’t talk or hum or do any of the things he normally did to fill in the silence that always seemed to resonate between the two older boys. Laika and Enzan exchanged worried glances over Netto’s head then Enzan decided to try and bring forth a little conversation for their sake.

“So, how was school?” he asked. Laika gave him a look that asked ‘Is that the best you can do?’ and Enzan replied with a small shrug.

Netto looked up and gave Enzan a startled glance as if he hadn’t realized where he was up until that very moment. “I…” he opened his mouth, then closed it. “I really don’t remember,” he said softly, then forced a laugh to make it seem like a joke. “You know, not sleeping and all I kinda just slept through the whole day!” he chuckled weakly and rubbed the back of his head.

“Netto…” Enzan said softly. It was eerie to see his friend look so… lost. Even though he was laughing, his eyes were empty and as soon as he stopped he looked sad.

“Sorry,” Netto mumbled and looked back down at the sidewalk.

Enzan and Laika both sighed and the remainder of the trip was passed by car horns and bird chatter.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Enzan pulled out his PET and looked at Blues with an expression the navi had never seen on Enzan’s face before. The expression worried him slightly, “Enzan-sama?”

“Blues, I have a favor to ask you,” Enzan said softly while giving the living room a furtive glance.

“Anything, Enzan-sama,” Blues replied in a respectful voice.

“Can you and Searchman take Trill and go to internet city, order some Choinese food and stay away from here for awhile? Laika and I have to talk to Netto and I’m afraid if Trill’s here then he’ll interrupt somehow,” Enzan said in a low whisper.

Blues looked startled then slowly shook his head. “Enzan-sama, we can’t leave you alone,” he replied in an equally soft voice. “As soon as your enemies find out what’s happened to Rockman I’m sorry to say this, but Netto-san will just be a target.”

Enzan chewed his lip for the second time that day. Only Blues knew that Enzan chewing his lip was one of the few outward signs of severe distress that Enzan showed. “All right, one of you can stay here, but some one has to get Trill out of here. Please.”

“I’ll explain this to Searchman then I’ll go out,” Blues said with a slight bow. “I’ll also ask Searchman not to listen in.”

A look of relief passed over Enzan’s face. “Thank you, Blues.”

“It’s my pleasure, Enzan-sama,” Blues replied with another slight bow. “I’ll ask for the food to be here in ten or so minutes.”

Enzan nodded and turned off his PET. He went back into the living room and motioned for Laika to turn off his PET as well, which the teen promptly did. With silence that a ninja would envy, Enzan crossed the room and fell into the easy chair across from Netto. He looked at his friend and saw that the same distant look from earlier had once again clouded his eyes. He leaned forward and passed his hand in front of Netto’s face once to bring him back to the real world. Netto blinked once then looked at Enzan’s concerned face. He turned and saw the same expression mimicked on Laika’s face. He gave them both a tiny smile and leaned back into the couch, grabbed a pillow and hugged it tightly to his chest. “Well?” he asked.

“Well? Is that all you can say?” Laika snapped. “After all that’s happened you can murmur one word?”

A pained look crossed Netto’s eyes but he didn’t retaliate to the verbal stab. Instead he nodded his head and buried his face into the pillow he was cradling.

This was an entirely unexpected reaction to Laika who immediately felt bad for snapping at Netto. He had hoped that saying something he knew would usually get Netto to retort with some smart-ass reply might snap him out of whatever funk he was in, but that didn’t seem to be the case this time. “Netto?” Laika asked gently.

Netto shook his head into the pillow and didn’t reply. He clutched the poor mound of fluff harder and harder until his knuckles began to turn white. Enzan and Laika looked upon him unsure of what to do until they saw his shoulders shaking. Finally Laika realized that Netto wasn’t replying because he was crying. His normally cold eyes widened at the realization and he awkwardly put his hand onto Netto’s shoulder. His and Enzan’s eyes met briefly and they both silently looked on as Netto let himself cry for the first time since Rockman had been taken away from him.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Blues let a slightly subdued Trill by the hand out of the online food shop. He sighed and looked around, trying to find a place to go to give Enzan more time to try and talk with Netto.

“Trill!” a voice called out from the throbbing crowd in front of the shop.

Both Blues and Trill looked towards the direction that the voice had come from. A few seconds later a harried looking Roll squeezed her way between two navis and walked over to where they were standing. “Roll!” Trill beamed and looked up at the pretty navi. “Hello!”

She waved and took his hand as it was offered. She nodded to Blues who nodded back and they began to walk through the crowd with the happy Trill between them bubbling in his own language, oblivious to everything but whatever his mind was focused on at that second.

“So, what are you doing here?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“I’m getting food for Enzan-sama, Laika-san and Netto-san,” Blues explained.

“And keeping Trill out of their hair?” she asked with a quick glance at the child who was currently gurgurling and calling out to a data constructed cat.

Blues sighed, “Enzan-sama is trying to find out what’s wrong with Netto-san,” he explained. “He’s worried about him.”

“I’m worried too,” Roll admitted. “About him, about Meiru-chan, about…” her lips twisted. “About Rockman,” she finished with a whisper.

Upon hearing the sound of Rockman’s name, Trill’s attention quickly snapped back to the conversation being held over his head.

Blues nodded, his face remaining impassive and calm. “I think we all are,” he admitted.

Roll sighed, “I’ve seen Netto-san many times, but not once save one incident when he was five have I even seen him out of the company of Rockman. Blues, I don’t talk to him much but Meiru-chan’s worried sick. He didn’t say a single word today at school. He didn’t even fall asleep like he normally does! He just sat there… and stared but I know he didn’t actually see anything.” Roll shivered involuntarily, “I’ve never seen anyone look like that before, least of all him. He’s always so happy and energetic no matter what. And Rockman…” her bright green eyes glistened slightly. “I want him back,” she whispered.

Blues nodded and Trill’s lower lip trembled. “Where’s Rockman?” he asked.

“Not here,” Roll answered truthfully. “And he won’t be, for a long time.”

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Once the food had arrived Netto had calmed down enough to stop crying. He looked over the pillow, his eyes still glazed over with unshed tears but he was no longer in danger of bursting out like he had earlier. Enzan carried in the food and handed some to Netto on a plate. “Eat something,” he said with a slightly pleading tone.

Netto looked at it then sighed, but a tiny smile showed on his lips briefly. “Thank you,” he said and took the food. He took a large bite of rice with sweet and sour pork on top and swallowed.

“Glad to see you’re still eating,” Enzan said lightly as he took a bite of his own dish. “If you weren’t then I’d think there would be something to be worried about.”

Netto gave him a watery chuckle for his efforts, which for some reason made the normally stoic boy feel a surge of pride. “Thanks guys, I guess I just needed a little time to get over the shock of not having him here.”

“Understandably,” Laika noted. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

Netto nodded, “I’m fine. Or at least I will be. Don’t worry, if something’s wrong, you two will undoubtedly notice.”

Enzan took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. Then he gathered the courage to ask something that had been bothering him for awhile. “Netto?” he asked.

Netto ate the last spoonful of what was on his plate and looked up. “Hm?”

“May I ask what they did to keep your part of the link under control?” Enzan asked slowly.

A hazy look passed over Netto’s eyes as he swallowed. With a sigh he set the plate down and stood up. “Sure,” he murmured and pulled up his sleeves.

Enzan and Laika both jumped up simultaneously to stare at the circlets. “Neural interface bands,” he murmured. “Those have been used for…” his voice trailed off as he tried to bring his train of thought to a different track. “Then those can’t be the only ones.”

Netto shook his head and sighed. “No, but you get the idea,” he muttered while suppressing a blush.

Enzan sighed while a look of unbridled fury passed over Laika’s face for a second before he regained his usually passive stare. “Well that will certainly do its job.”

Netto shrugged, “I don’t mind,” he lied.

Enzan and Laika both gave him skeptical glances but didn’t push Netto beyond that. Wordlessly the three boys cleaned up and then returned to the living room to watch some rented movies. Within the hour Netto was fast asleep between the two of them and neither one really wanted to move from their friend’s side to take him home. Not yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Look ma, I can angst while still being happy! Watch everyone angst at some point in this fic XD
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Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

Avatar, credit Yakitate@devart

[Midnight]

You did well, Neko. Just like you do in almost eerything you have published here...

It's good to see that although Netto is in quite a difficult state emotionally, he still has many friends that worry sick over his well-being. I thought having Netto cry was actually quite fitting, since it seems that only an event of seperation of this magnitude would break him emotionally. You made it rather easy for the reader to sympathize with Netto's situation in this chapter, and that's what makes it most effective.

Excellent job.
_________________
Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[Kitty-Chan]

As usual, an excellent piece of work. God, I love angst.
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Need more Zero/X, Netto/Rock, Rock/Netto, Forte/Netto, & Blues/Netto. PLEASE!
Ano sa...could someone please make me a Zero/X, Blues/Netto, or Forte/Netto avatar/banner? I would greatly appreciate it...
Thanks for the avatar, Mandi!
People! We need more Blues/Netto & Forte/Netto on the net. Come on; help me out here! *gives everyone her Super-Adorable Irrisistable Sad Kitty Eyes(TM)*

[Bassman4566]

Great Chapter Neko keep it up *Bassman456 is slapping himself because BO-BO-BO-BOBO-BOBO is on* It doesn't make sense*SMACK*
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Rukario
credit to orinigal owner

"That's all she wrote" Syrus Trusdale

[Ginrei]

"Those have been used for..."
Hm. Was I supposed to figure this out, or is it not really important? Oh well.
Do you know what I very much love about this chapter? When Netto gets upset and starts to cry, neither Laika or Enzan know what to do. It's such an awkward situation when people cry, and you made it realistic by not having someone give him a big hug. Granted he could use one right about then, but in a room of boys that's not going to happen. Trill's constant "Where is Rockman?" is also very realistic of a small child, and... oh, and I just like the way this chappie ends.
FAVORITE 'FIC EVAAAR. ^_^ Keep wriiiting!

[Neko]

Netto returned home later that night to a very concerned Haruka. As soon as he called out the traditional greeting of ‘I’m home’ into the seemingly empty house his mother had pounced on him.

“Netto, there you are,” she said with a concerned look. “Are you all right?”

Netto nodded and gave her an odd look, “I’m fine,” he lied. “I just went over Enzan’s house for a little bit.”

Haruka’s tense features relaxed into a smile. “Oh?” she asked. “How are your friends?”

“They’re fine,” Netto said dismissively as he put his stuff down by the door and walked into the living room. “Everyone’s…fine.”

Haruka frowned and followed Netto. When he stopped in the middle of the room and stood there she walked up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. “Sweetie, are you sure you’re okay?” she asked again, this time in a softer voice.

Netto usually would have shrugged off her touch, given her a quick grin and run upstairs to deal with his problems with Rockman but they both knew that what he wanted to do wasn’t an option at the moment. “Yeah,” he murmured, unsure of what else to say.

Haruka walked in front of her son, keeping her hand on his shoulders she bent over to his height and pulled him into a tight hug that he didn’t protest. “I’m so sorry, sweetie,” she whispered. “Your father is trying hard to get Saito back. Don’t worry, Yuuichirou brought him back once, he can do it again.”

Netto blinked and absorbed what his mother had just said. ‘That’s right,’ he thought. ‘She’s lost him twice…’

Haruka straightened up and gave her son a watery smile. “Everything will turn out fine,” she said.

Netto nodded and managed to give his mother a genuine grin. “Right, because if Rockman isn’t here then how could I hope to wake up on time?” he asked with a slight chuckle.

Haruka laughed softly and ruffled Netto’s hair. “That’s the way to think,” she said. She turned to look at the clock that said 8:30 and she realized that she really didn’t want Netto going to bed so soon, something told her that letting him be alone for long periods of time might only make things worse for him. ‘He’s so used to having someone there, all the time,’ she noted. Finally she said, “Do you want to watch a movie? It’s been awhile since we’ve had a movie night.”

Netto himself really didn’t want to go up to his room so he readily agreed and went into the kitchen to make popcorn while Haruka fished out a DVD to play.

When everything was situated, the pair sat down on the couch to watch the movie and eat the popcorn. Halfway through the movie, Netto began to drift off to sleep again and by the time the credits were rolling, he was fast asleep on Haruka’s shoulder. With a wan smile she set the empty bowl on the floor and changed the channel to a sitcom she watched sometimes. Then she maneuvered her son so that his head was resting in her lap so that he wouldn’t wake up with sore muscles the next morning.

She half watched the show while thinking about what had happened in the past few days. Saito was gone, again. Netto was torn but still trying to keep up his happy look for everyone else. Yuuichirou was in a panic about both of them. And herself?

With a sigh Haruka turned off the television. Her whole family was either gone, upset or both, at least in Netto’s case as he really was not in the mood to deal with the real world at that point. And she was left to pick up the fragments and glue them back together as best she could while she kept on her happy motherly façade and continued to keep the house and cook. She knew her lot in life and she couldn’t happier. The only dark clouds in her life were the death of her precious son and now this. She sighed and absentmindedly stroked Netto’s fine hair as she thought, the television completely forgotten.

The day she said ‘I do’ to the man whom had asked her hand months before she knew, deep in her heart that something about her life would be different. Something would change and of course at the time she believed that it would be her becoming a mother and a wife. Even with her Bachelor’s in Biology she knew she would probably never use it. Not that she cared because she knew that she would be happy either way as long as she was with Yuuichirou.

When Yuuichirou proposed to her, he warned her that he wouldn’t be with her for very long if his technology took off. Of course it did, just as his father’s had and just as undoubtedly Netto’s would if he decided to follow in his father and grandfather’s footsteps. And so he began to travel and for the first few years he took her with him. She was so happy those first few years but then she discovered the joy of motherhood and she knew that she wanted nothing else.

Netto and Saito were so precious to her. Sometimes, after Saito died she would lie awake for hours wishing that she could just hold him, hold the son that was no longer there and cradle him as he cooed at her or asked silly questions. On those empty nights when Yuuichirou wasn’t there and all she wanted was something to fill the void that was there she would sneak into Netto’s room and lie awake, cradling her sleeping son.

She absentmindedly brushed a lock of hair away from Netto’s neck and a glint caught her eye. Jerked out of her daydream about her past she at first was unsure as to why her attention was called for. Then she looked down and saw a small sliver of metal under Netto’s orange vest and she realized why Netto was so lost. “You have it hard to now, don’t you sweetie?” she murmured.

Netto was of course, still the deep sleeper he always had been. He neither heard nor comprehended his mother’s rhetorical question and perhaps it was for the best. Haruka knew about the link and what it did. She even half understood what Yuuichirou had done in order to turn Saito’s DNA into data. She had even helped Yuuichirou with some of the bio-chemical parts such as extracting the DNA and isolating several strands, although at the time she had no idea whose DNA it was. All she could remember from those few hazy weeks after Saito died was Yuuichirou coming to her and getting her to help with a few experiments to take her mind off of his death while Netto traveled with them for a few months. It was hard, of course and as if the death of one of their son’s had made them aware of what was with them they had decided to be a family.

This arrangement only lasted for so long and Haruka remembered being miserable, even though she was using the education she had worked so hard for. Yuuichirou was a brilliant programmer but he knew nothing about isolating DNA and the like because his major was Computer Tech and Programming. As it turned out, they had made a pretty good team, however the only thing that had come from their brief partnership was the net navi known as Rockman, to her he was Saito.

She didn’t regret it at all, even though she had no idea what she was doing when Yuuichirou asked her to extract DNA strands from some hair he had given her. She just wanted to do something, anything that would take her mind off her loss. Eventually she realized that she was neglecting the one thing she should never take for granted and she and Netto went home, leaving Yuuichirou to begin his 10 year obsession.

When Yuuichirou finally told her what he was doing, she reacted at first with anger, then with remorse, then denial then oddly, hope. That what he was doing was really going to give her back her son. The child that she had lost, all those years ago.

Haruka sighed and gazed at the ceiling, blinking back tears. And now? She wondered. And now what? Now she had lost him again, even though they had worked so hard to get him back, he was taken away, just like that. Not only that, but Netto was also effected in a way she would ever wish on anyone. It almost seemed like it wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t worth the pain, to loose a son twice and almost loose another countless times because of her and her husband’s need to bring back something they lost.

“Mama?” a sleepy voice asked.

Haruka’s eyes widened as she realized that Netto was awake. “Yes?” she asked.

Netto sat up and Haruka looked at him. Netto noted that his mother looked like she was about to cry and he could only imagine what she was thinking. “Are you all right?” he asked.

Haruka smiled at him, ‘I should be the one asking that,’ she thought. “I’m fine,” she answered.

Netto looked her straight in the eye and nodded. “Mama, I’m going to get him back,” he announced. “I will get him back, I promise.”

Haruka realized that Netto was willing to do anything to get back the brother he loved so dearly and the child she and Yuuichirou cared for so deeply. Even though Netto had only known he existed for a year and a half, he was willing to give up everything for Saito and she would do the same for them both. ‘That’s what made everything worth it,’ she realized. ‘The fact that even though we’ve been broken, we’re still a family and we’re willing to give up everything for the sake of the others. And nothing can change that. That’s why Yuuichirou and I did what we did,’ she thought. She nodded and smiled and pulled Netto into a tight hug. “I know you will,” she said. “I have no doubt in my mind.”

Netto smiled and returned the hug in full, feeling for the first time in days, at peace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Weeee, Haruka gets some love and a theory~ XD
_________________
Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

Avatar, credit Yakitate@devart

[Midnight]

...positively brilliant, Neko.

And you take the time out to focus on Haruka this time...and you did an absolutely magnificent job doing so. At first I found it odd that she would have a degree in biology, but after the chapter wore on, it was rather fitting--to have her sequence the genes of her lost son. Your focus on her forlorn behavior after Saito's death was equally as effective. The sympathy that you have set up in the previous chapter is only deepened and broadened in this chapter, and it makes it that much more desirable to read.

This is yet another example of the analogy that I pulled up in my last review--this is exquisite. Perhaps it's a sign of a quantum leap in your writing abilities...

Fantastic job. I'm seriously running out of words in describing how good of a job you do...
_________________
Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[Plantman]

This was, without a doubt, one of the greatest chapters I've ever read in your fics, not only because of the focus in haruka, but the whole concept of the Hikari family's relationship, how tight and united they are despite sometimes being appart.

Really fluffy and excellent chapter, Neko!
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Hecha en MÉXICO - Avatar by Me.
"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

[Plantman]

This was, without a doubt, one of the greatest chapters I've ever read in your fics, not only because of the focus in haruka, but the whole concept of the Hikari family's relationship, how tight and united they are despite sometimes being appart.

Really fluffy and excellent chapter, Neko!
_________________
Hecha en MÉXICO - Avatar by Me.
"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

[Kitty-Chan]

Jeez, everyone's already pointed out what I wanted to say. A truly wonderful piece of work.
_________________
Need more Zero/X, Netto/Rock, Rock/Netto, Forte/Netto, & Blues/Netto. PLEASE!
Ano sa...could someone please make me a Zero/X, Blues/Netto, or Forte/Netto avatar/banner? I would greatly appreciate it...
Thanks for the avatar, Mandi!
People! We need more Blues/Netto & Forte/Netto on the net. Come on; help me out here! *gives everyone her Super-Adorable Irrisistable Sad Kitty Eyes(TM)*

[Neko]

The next morning, Netto woke up without any prompt from an alarm of any kind. In fact, he hadn’t got much sleep at all the night before and he wasn’t really surprised that he woke up so easily. Trill was still snoozing in his PET as he quietly got ready for bed and when he picked it up the navi only stirred softly and turned over. Netto let a small smile cross his face before he pocketed the digital device and walked out of his room.

Haruka was downstairs with a plate of eggs that Netto figured was for breakfast. A look of surprise crossed her face as Netto gave her a sleepy smile. “I didn’t sleep very well,” he explained.

Haruka’s smile was tinged with sadness as she finished getting breakfast ready. Netto either didn’t notice, or chose not to comment on it while he ate quietly. He wanted so desperately for Rockman to be there, so he could talk and fill the silent air with something. He was slowly discovering how much he hated the silence and how much he missed the quiet presence of his navi.

With a sigh he got up from the table and picked up his backpack. He gave Haruka a quick hug good bye and walked out of the front door choosing to walk to school, rather then skate.

Trill woke up with a yawn and observed his surroundings. “Netto?” he asked.

“Morning,” Netto said softly and walked through the front gates of the schoolyard. “Sleep well?”

“Mm,” Trill said quietly. “Are you all right, Netto?”

“I’m… fine,” Netto lied. He didn’t feel like explaining himself to anyone at the moment, least of all a navi who wouldn’t understand 80% of what he had to say. “Just a little tired.”

Trill grinned, “Maybe you should have slept in then,” he teased, using a quip Rockman usually did when Netto complained about being tired. After he said that, a look of sadness passed over Netto’s face and Trill regretted saying what he did even if he was confused as to why it upset Netto.

“Yeah, maybe I should have,” Netto agreed in a dull voice and walked into the classroom, sitting in his normal desk and putting his head down.

“Don’t you want to talk with everyone?” Trill asked. He looked pointedly out the window where Meiru, Dekao and Tohru where all talking in the schoolyard.

“No, not really,” Netto said quietly.

“Netto!” Trill said grumpily.

Netto sat up at the docile navi’s change in tone. “What?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Your friends are out there. It’s polite to say hello, isn’t it?” Trill asked, using his vast knowledge of little kid logic to get Netto to do what he wanted.

Netto made a face. “Yes,” he admitted. “Trill, I will later. I promise.”

“Promise?” Trill asked, drawing out the word just enough to get his point across.

Even Netto had to smile at that. He nodded and gave Trill a grin that put the younger navi at ease. “Yeah, I promise.”

Trill nodded and retreated into the school’s main system and waited for Roll to appear. Talking with her was much more interesting then listening to the boring school day.

Once Netto knew that Trill was gone from his PET, he plugged it into the school’s system and put his head down, waiting for the day to begin. He sighed and looked at the blank black board. Once there were problems on it he knew that he would have his hands full, but at the moment it was just depressing.

Roll appeared in the school’s system to see Trill waving at her. As Gutsman, Iceman and the other navi’s appeared she walked over to the navi with a puzzled expression on her face. “Trill, you’re here? Where’s Netto-kun then?”

Trill pointed at a screen that showed the classroom. “He’s here,” he announced. “He said he didn’t want to talk to anyone and he promised to talk later,” Trill went on, stressing the word promise once again.

Meiru’s face appeared on a separate screen. “Trill, when did he wake up?” she asked softly as she walked into the classroom.

Trill shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t know. When I got up we were coming here.”

Meiru bit her lower lip and took her seat next to Netto. She closed off her connection and Roll’s eyes flicked over to the screen where she saw Meiru lean over and tap Netto on the shoulder. She watched long enough to see Netto sit up and give Meiru a rather fake smile before she closed that screen too. Before Trill could protest, she picked up the navi and carried him over to a different area. “Want to play a game?” she asked.

Trill nodded, “Sure!”

“Good,” Roll said with a smile and went to go invent a game so that Meiru and Netto could talk in privacy.

“Are you all right?” Meiru asked Netto as he looked at her.

Netto nodded, “Sure,” he offered.

Meiru frowned, “Netto… I know this is hard on you but… if you don’t talk to anyone you’ll only make it worse.”

Netto sighed, “I know.” He shivered slightly and looked at the ground. “It’s just so weird… not having him here.”

Tohru and Dekao both frowned before Mariko-sensei came in and clapped her hands, announcing the beginning of the class. “Come on, in your seats.”

“Lunch?” Meiru asked.

Netto nodded, “Of course,” he said in a teasing voice. He noted that it seemed to relax Meiru a bit so he continued the morning as he normally would, trying not to sulk or stay quiet. It seemed the more he tried to act normally, the easier people were around him. Perhaps that was for the best.

At lunch, Netto voice concern about not having Rockman and about feeling alone, but he made sure that the way he felt alone was never brought up. His friends didn’t really know the extent of the link, and he wasn’t sure he wanted them to know. Or at least, if they found out, it should be through him and Rockman. It was mostly Rockman’s story to tell anyway.

He always felt kind of guilty about not telling Meiru about what he could do, but then again he also wasn’t sure if he wanted to deal with the resulting consequences either. Meiru was so protective and very forth coming and he knew if she found out, it would only increase her worry. They were probably selfish reasons for not telling her, but he was only twelve so he really didn’t care in that respect.

At the end of the day, he actually felt a lot better after talking to everyone. He wasn’t anywhere near as depressed as he had felt that morning and he even went with them to get some ice-cream after school.

After that he went home and much to his shock as his mother’s he took out the homework he had been given that day and proceeded to make his way through it. He usually hated to do homework because he always felt he could be doing something better with his time but with nothing to do or rather, nothing he wanted to do that didn’t include Rockman, he felt that anything was better then doing nothing. The last thing he wanted to do was sit in the silence again, so filling his brain with symbols and words he half understood and ignoring everything else for a little while was welcome.

All too soon, there was nothing left to do and so he closed all his books and eyed his PET sulkily. Trill already went to bed but he didn’t want to yet. Giving into his wants, he picked up his PET and called someone who at least half understood everything. At first, he was afraid the person wasn’t home, but on the fifth ring he heard the line open.

“You never call me,” Laika said coolly. “What’s up? Did something happen?”

Netto glared at Laika’s face on the screen. “Yeah, nice to hear from you too. How did your day go?”

Laika smirked, “Well, as a matter of fact…”

“I was being sarcastic,” Netto pushed.

“I know,” Laika replied simply and sat down on his bed. “Glad to see you’re in a better mood. I take it your friends got to you?”

Netto chuckled. It was a little dry but it was a far cry from the day before when he could barely crack a smile. “Yeah. We talked a little and went out for ice-cream. It was a lot of fun.”

“That’s good,” Laika said quietly. “Enzan and I were worried about you.”

“Yeah, I’m worrying myself,” Netto sighed. “The silence is driving me insane.”

Laika raised an eyebrow. “Silence?” he asked.

Netto took in a deep breath. “Well, with the link I can almost always hear Rockman or feel him or know something is there…” his voice trailed off. “It’s creepy to not feel him anymore. Knowing he was alive was almost like an assurance that I was alive.”

Laika frowned, “I can’t even begin to imagine. So, you’re upset because of that?”

Netto shrugged, “I’ve been doing everything I possibly can to make sure there’s something,” he rolled his eyes. “I never realized how dependent I was on Rockman before,” he finished quietly.

Laika sighed, “Well, it’s not like you can’t see me or Enzan unless there’s a mission. Why don’t we go somewhere tomorrow, after you get out of school?”

“Really?” Netto asked. “That’s not like you.”

“I’m worried,” Laika said stiffly. “Do I need a reason?”

Netto gave Laika the first real laugh he felt in days. “No,” he admitted. “It sounds great.”

“Good, I’ll call Enzan and we’ll come by after school,” Laika said.

Netto nodded his agreement. Then the two exchanged good nights and hung up. “At least I don’t have to bug Meiru tomorrow,” Netto said softly. “I know she had her piano today, she didn’t have to cancel.”

Roll stepped out of the shadows in Netto’s PC. “How did you know?” she asked.

Netto chuckled, “I know everything that shows up on my computer. With or without Rockman. So, did Meiru send you over?”

“She wanted to know if you were doing okay. She’s worried, Netto-san,” Roll said softly.

“I’m fine,” Netto assured the pretty navi. “I think.” He shrugged and put his books back into his backpack. “I will be, after I get Rockman back.”

Roll sighed, “I figured. We all miss him, you know.”

“I’m sure,” Netto agreed. “Rockman is important to a lot of people,” he blushed, remembering his twin’s feelings for the navi he was talking to at the moment. He wondered if it would be inappropriate to say anything and in the end he decided against it. “Tell Meiru thanks for today, and tell her I’ll be fine.”

Roll nodded, “I will.”

Netto suddenly remembered something he said to Laika. “Roll,” he said quickly. Roll turned around, stopping herself from jumping to her home computer just in time. “How much did you hear?” he asked.

Roll shook her head. “Only you and Laika making plans for tomorrow.”

“Oh, good,” Netto said simply. “All right, I’ll see you and Meiru tomorrow then.”

Roll looked puzzled, but dismissed it. “See you tomorrow,” she replied and vanished from the PC.

Netto sighed and turned on his music, softly. It was hours before he fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New chapter, wheee~
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[Midnight]

Hmm.

I never expected Netto to turn to Laika for moral and emotional support, though now that I think about it, he seems like a logical choice.

I'm finding that this is rapidly become one of my favorite fics, most likely because I can sympathize with Netto much more so in this fic than in any of the other situations that were presented in other fics. He seems to share a lot of the emotions that run high through my persona...

Good read.
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Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[Kitty-Chan]

I also thought it appropriate that Netto turned to Laika; he's probably the most, um, stable (not the word I want but anything else is currently eluding me). I do so love angst.
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Need more Zero/X, Netto/Rock, Rock/Netto, Forte/Netto, & Blues/Netto. PLEASE!
Ano sa...could someone please make me a Zero/X, Blues/Netto, or Forte/Netto avatar/banner? I would greatly appreciate it...
Thanks for the avatar, Mandi!
People! We need more Blues/Netto & Forte/Netto on the net. Come on; help me out here! *gives everyone her Super-Adorable Irrisistable Sad Kitty Eyes(TM)*

[Neko]

The next morning Netto woke up a little more slowly then he had in the past few days. It was as if things were back to normal and for a few blissful moments his sleep addled brain through they were. Unfortunately that dream was shattered when his alarm clock began to ring loudly once again. Netto groaned and cursed his need for an alarm clock and reached up to press the snooze button.

“Mornin’,” a sleepy Trill said while rubbing his eyes.

Netto yawned loudly and tried to cover it with the back of his hand. “Morning,” he said in reply. He sighed and flopped backwards into his pillows and mussed sheets. “Guess I’ve gotta get up, huh?” he asked the ceiling.

“Education is important, you know,” Trill said cheerfully.

Netto snorted and rolled out of bed. “Where did you hear that?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

“Rockman said so,” Trill said sternly. “So you need to get ready.”

Netto couldn’t resist smiling as he rooted around his messy room for some clean clothes. “Yes, sir,” he teased and left the room to get changed.

Trill felt a glow of pride in his stomach in knowing that he had just witnessed the best mood Netto had been in days. And he was the one who caused it. Trill giggled happily and sat down at the bottom of his PET wondering if Rockman would have been proud.

Netto changed quickly and grabbed his PET. He stuck and piece of toast into his mouth and yelled a muffled goodbye to his mother as he ran out of the door slightly late. He skated to school at top speed while trying not to choke on the dry bread that he was wolfing down. When he slammed open the door to his classroom seconds before the bell rang he could have sworn he saw everyone in the classroom visibly relax. He flashed a grin and ran over to his desk. ‘I knew it,’ he thought. ‘If I just act the way I usually would then everyone else isn’t so worried. It’s better to make sure everyone is less concerned or Rockman will kill me for worrying everyone so much when he wakes up.’

As class began he heard his PET give a small ring and looked down to see that the e-mail icon was flashing. Netto tapped it and read its contents while Miss Mariko had her back turned to the class. ‘Glad to know some things never change. Meiru.’ Netto gave a genuine half grin to the message and turned to Meiru when Miss Mariko turned her back again and gave his friend the thumbs up sign. Meiru grinned back and then turned her attention back to the front of the room.

Netto sighed and ran his fingers through his hair and slowly deflated onto his desk. He was sure now that no one was looking. He glanced up to the front of the room and half listened to Mariko’s lecture. He idly wondered what Rockman would think if he saw Netto working so hard at turning in his homework. Netto smiled into his arms. Rockman probably wouldn’t believe him, he decided.

In the internet a sharp eyed Trill watched the boy. He ran over to Roll and tugged on the girl’s hand. “Roll?” he asked. “Roll-chan?”

Roll looked down at Trill and smiled brightly. “Yes Trill?” she asked.

Trill pointed to a window that showed the navis what was going on in the classroom. “Netto,” he said simply.

Roll glanced into the screen and saw that the child was lying on his desk with a glazed look over his eyes. She sighed and picked up Trill. “Are you worried?” she asked the small navi.

“He’s pretending,” Trill said flatly.

Glyde, Gutsman and Iceman had taken interest in the small navi’s gestures and wandered over to where he and Roll were talking. “Pretending?” Roll asked.

Trill nodded. “He needs Rockman,” he said softly.

“Well, he misses his navi I’m sure,” Glyde began but he was interrupted by Trill violently shaking his head.

“No, no, no,” Trill protested. “He needs Rockman,” he said again. “Rockman is gone though. Why? Netto is hurting and Rockman isn’t here.” Trill frowned deeply. “It’s not right.”

Roll set the tiny navi down and gave him an odd look. “What do you mean he needs Rockman?” she asked slowly.

Trill shrugged and sat down on the floor as he gave serious thought to the question. “Can you feel it?” he replied.

“Feel what-de gustu?” Gutsman asked.

Trill opened his mouth as if to reply but he seemed to stumble on the words he wanted to use. “It,” he said simply. “Rockman has it,” Trill said. “Netto had it but it’s gone now. Something is wrong,” he decided.

The four navis stood around the smaller navi as he sat and thought. There was an uncomfortable silence as the day wore on and they were plagued with questions of what ‘it’ could possibly be.

When school ended Netto got up and picked up his PET. He smiled as Meiru wished him a good afternoon and waved to Dekao and Tohru as they walked away from the school building. He shouldered his backpack and walked slowly towards the entrance of the school and stopped short when he saw Enzan and Laika standing there looking amazingly out of place.

“Took you long enough,” Enzan chided him.

“What are you doing here?” Netto asked loudly.

Laika crossed his arms and snorted. “How rude,” he said. “Even after you were the one who called me last night?”

Netto’s eyes widened and he slapped himself on the forehead. “Oh, right. I forgot. Heh, silly me,” he said and grinned.

Laika and Enzan exchanged glances and then looked back at Netto. “That has to be the fakest smile I have ever seen,” Enzan told Netto bluntly.

The grin slipped from Netto’s face as he stared at Enzan and Laika. “Uh…”

Laika sighed and pulled Netto out of the gateway. “You know that pretending doesn’t make the hurt go away, right?” he asked softly as he and Enzan escorted Netto down the sidewalk.

Netto laughed nervously and sighed. “Hm,” he murmured and was silent.

“Is there anything you want to do?” Enzan asked after they had walked for a few minutes in uncomfortable silence.

Netto looked up and appeared to give it some serious thought. “Could we… watch some movies and order a pizza?” he asked.

“As long as it’s a good movie,” Laika replied.

Netto snorted. “Not boring. Your definition of a good movie means there’s so much talking.”

“That’s called plot, Netto. Plot is necessary in a good movie,” Laika replied coolly.

Netto crossed his arms and ‘humphed’ as they continued to walk down the sidewalk but in truth he felt just a tiny bit better.

“How about we get a thriller?” Enzan suggested. “There are some decent ones that came out recently.”

Netto nodded his agreement. “Okay, sounds good.”

Both boys turned to look up at Laika. “I don’t mind,” he replied. “Fine with me.”

Netto actually smiled at that and looked content as he walked between his two friends. “Feeling better?” Enzan asked.

Netto nodded. “Yeah. Less alone more then anything,” he said quietly. He looked up quickly and saw Enzan and Laika’s concerned looks. “Not that it matters or anything,” he said quickly. “You know…”

“Why are you so hell bent on not letting anyone be concerned?” Enzan snapped, cutting Netto off.

Netto looked sad. “Well, I don’t want to be a burden to anyone. And Rockman… well…” he laughed and rubbed the back of his head. “It’s silly I guess. But because of the link if I ever was too emotional I would upset Rockman. So I guess now I just try really hard not to get too depressed or angry for his sake.” Netto stopped walking. “Even though he’s not here.”

Enzan and Laika both wondered what they would do if he started to cry again. The moment passed however and Netto took in a deep breath before starting to walk again. “So, what movie did you have in mind?” he asked Enzan as his friends fell into step with him once again.

Enzan and Laika’s eyes softened at his horrible attempt at changing the subject. Enzan looked thoughtful and shrugged. “Well, there was a new one that came out two weeks ago that you may like. It has zombies but it’s supposed to be written fairly well.”

“Cool,” Netto said brightly as they continued their walk towards Enzan’s mansion.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

“Did you hear?” a navi asked his mate. “That annoying Rockman has been put on ice by the humans?”

The other navi gasped. “No way. That goodie two shoes? What did he do?”

The first navi shrugged. “Apparently nothing. It happened after the battle with Forte a few days ago.”

The second navi whistled. “Wow, wonder what happened. Looks like there’s no one to stop the Undernet navis now.”

Forte’s red eyes gleamed in the dark as he heard this exchange. Rockman, suspended by the humans? Well, that was a new one. He stepped out of his hiding place and approached the two gossiping navis. He enjoyed their terror struck faces for a few moments before asking, “so, what else have you heard?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Teh angst fic! Oh man I've wanted to dust this one off forever <3 It's hard, slipping back into this kind of writing but yey Forte! And this is a fic I actually have an outline for and everything XD w00t
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[Midnight]

Interesting.

The thing that struck me the most about the chapter was the following exchange:

[Neko]

Forte needed to come back XD and I also needed to start the plot of the fic. It was more of a 'oh shoot I've yet to actually introduce a conflict to get rockman back' rather then a planned out thing ^^; sorry it's so messy. It should get smoother once I actually write the rest.

In my outline I have something like 'introduce Forte back into the fic' so he IS important it just takes some time.
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[Kitty-Chan]

So, will Forte try to
a), rescue Rockman himself,
b), cause mayhem until they release him,
c), tick all the scientist types off by being Netto's navi & thumbing his nose at them,
d), all of the above,
or e), none of the above?
Excellent chapter there, Neko.
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Need more Zero/X, Netto/Rock, Rock/Netto, Forte/Netto, & Blues/Netto. PLEASE!
Ano sa...could someone please make me a Zero/X, Blues/Netto, or Forte/Netto avatar/banner? I would greatly appreciate it...
Thanks for the avatar, Mandi!
People! We need more Blues/Netto & Forte/Netto on the net. Come on; help me out here! *gives everyone her Super-Adorable Irrisistable Sad Kitty Eyes(TM)*