X.EXE: I, Saito [PG-13] [Ch 06: The Fine Line]

[Megawoman.EXE]

I really liked this one too. Keep up the good work ManxoChu
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Megawoman (Lyne)

Avatar made by Serenade.exe

And feel free to post here too artists if inspired
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[Blue Bommer]

Man, I thought about it, but still. The net portle idea was very smart. This is going to be very interesting.

[Hikari Angel]

flying servbots LOOK OUT!!! lol, that was a funny chapter, this is going to be a funny story, I think.
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"To give ourselves, and never count the cost of other's greater needs."

[HubHikari]

AWESOME!
This is a excilent fic I can hardly wait till the next chapter keep up the great writing!

[ManxoChu]

Sorry it took so long, but here it is. I upped the rating to be on the safe side. Anyhoo... Battlechip: Chapter Update, Slotto In!!

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X.EXE--I, Saito

By ManxoChu

Chapter 05: Pengi's, Elebees, and Battlechips

I woke up to the sound of Mama and Papa chuckling and discussing something, but the throbbing headache kept me from focusing in on what they were saying. I caught their attention when I sat up in my own bed.

"Saito-kun! Are you alright?" Mama almost knocked Papa clear across the room coming over to check on me.

"My head hurts, but I think I'm okay." I tried to smile but even smiling seemed to hurt. What hit me?

Mama smiled. "Good." Then she gave me the evil eye. Uh oh. "Then what in heaven's sake were you doing in Sakurai Meiru's bedroom in the middle of the night? We didn't raise you or Netto-kun to be like that."

Papa interjected with a hand on Mama's shoulder. "What Mama's trying to say is 'what happened?'. That call from Meiru had us worried, to say the least."

I hung my head low, feeling like scum under a Mettool's foot. "I visited Roll-chan, and it worked..." I started telling them about my visit with Roll-chan, the good and bad parts, then my heart sank at what happened next. "...I hit my time limit."

Papa sighed and sat beside me. "Even though you hit your time limit, you were able to plug out in time, Saito-kun. That's why you ended up in Meiru-chan's room, right?" I nodded, thankful for his understanding. "Just remember that everyone has their own DS within them. It doesn't matter if you're human, navi, or both."

Mama gently pushed Papa aside once more. "So did she like my curry?" I smiled nervously.

"She liked it, Mama. At least the bits that were on me after she shot it." Everyone laughed for a while, at least until what I said dawned on Mama.

"SHE SHOT MY CURRY???"


...............


I woke up late this morning although Tango-kun didn't wake me as usual. With a bed this comfy, I could see why Netto-kun hated my waking him up on time. I got ready and when to the kitchen, only to find Papa there. "Where'd Mama go?"

"Mama went to do a few errands. I told Tango-kun not to wake you because I told the school you won't be coming in." He sipped his coffee and gestured at the chair beside me, of which I took my seat in. "Saito-kun, I'm glad you're getting along with... well, almost everyone here. However you and I need to have a talk. A man to man kind of talk."

"What kind of man to man talk?" I blinked, not really sure as to what he's talking about. "Did I do something wrong?" He chuckled a bit.

"No, not really. It's nice that you really wanted to go see Roll-chan. I'm guessing it's a combination of your friendship with her, your unique navi data, and your new configuration that's made your desire to be with Roll-chan even stronger. Well, that and the fact you're growing up like everyone else in the real world." He smiled, although it still confused me a bit. "Tell me, son, what do you feel with you were with Roll-chan?"

I felt my cheeks start to burn as a blush began to creep on them. "Really good, I guess. She's a wonderful friend, Papa. I was really hoping she wouldn't stay away from me if given a chance."

"That's good to hear, son." He looked rather nervous. "Well, you see... When a man and a woman really care for each other, um... They fall in love and uh... Well... You know about ancient devices?" I nodded. "Good. A man is like a USB flash drive and a woman is like a USB port."

I paled at the comparison. "You're kidding, right? How do a drive and a port do with a... Oh... OHHH!!!" I turned red as a Hellody virus. "We're not having THAT kind of talk... Are we?"

Papa only smiled, despite his cheeks burning with embarrassment. "You're growing up, Saito-kun, and soon you'll start thinking doing... Well... A different kind of 'plugging in,' if you catch my meaning." He kept smiling, despite all the information he just gave me.

"I wasn't even thinking about... about... THAT. But how would it work for me and Roll-chan?" Thanks to Papa's analogy, I also had something to embarrass him with. Heh heh... "Papa, do you think that Roll-chan has a USB port I could use?" I beamed my best grin as Papa went as pale as a Weather virus.

And the Netbattle Point went to Hikari Saito.

All joking aside, I spent the day thinking about what Papa told me. I also watched an old documentary file detailing human reproduction that Papa uploaded to my PET station. Now I fully understood Papa's analogy, although I don't think I could look at ancient portable data storage devices the same. My thoughts were interrupted by a beeping on my PET station's screen.

"Hi Rock!" Roll-chan beamed from the other side of the screen. "I got some time to myself because Meiru-chan's taking a nap. How are you?" I took a seat in front of the monitor.

"I'm alright, I guess. Papa gave me a talk about the Pengi's and the Elebees." She giggled, making her look even cuter than normal. ...Cuter than normal?

"Meiru-chan had 'the talk' a sometime ago, while you were gone. Since we have some time, think I could stay a while? I want to know what you've been up to while you were gone." She put her hand up against her side of the screen. For some reason, I was drawn to do the same but on my side of the screen. For a moment, I was certain that I felt her hand touching mine. I saw her flushed cheeks accent her smile real nicely. I'm sure I was blushing too, but with Roll-chan that's okay. We spent the afternoon talking about my time away from Akihara.

End Chapter 05
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The glitched navi that likes to randomly baleet others. =3

[WarpObscura]

Heh, I loved all the chapters. The flying Servbot and "man-to-man" talk parts were genius. XD
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The name is Warp "Ligia" Obscura. *Cocks gun to shoot mispellers*

[Blue Bommer]

Curry, 3$, cleaning up curry, 10$, the look on Saito's face with, SHE SHOT MY CURRY, most likley, priceless. Keep it up!
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[Megawoman.EXE]

Yep this will have to be the funniest chapter yet Manxochu. I wonder how much humor you can install into this story. ^w^ ebil pun.

Chapter Update Chip in Download!
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Megawoman (Lyne)

Avatar made by Serenade.exe

And feel free to post here too artists if inspired
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[ManxoChu]

Sometimes inspiration runs on its own custom guage. -_-; Enjoy! Chapter Update Chip, Slotto in!

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X.EXE--I, Saito

By ManxoChu

Chapter 06: The Fine Line

Am I dreaming?

I found myself on a battlefield. In front of me stood Cross Fusion Searchman with his Scope Gun trained on me. Behind me was what remained of Sharo's finest with decimated tanks and soldiers crying out in pain from the volley of Dark Spread Gun attacks I used on them.

No, not this memory again!

"Rockman! I can't let you pass into Sharo! I don't want to delete you. Netto! Hikari Netto, snap out of it!" The mention of Netto-kun's name fueled my anger and hastened my pace toward the green-clad NetSavior. "Netto, wake up!" He fired a warning shot that impacted mere centimeters from my feet but I kept advancing.

Don't attack! Please, I beg of you, don't attack!

"You want Netto-kun? I'll send you to him then! Battlechip: FastGuage, DarkSword!" The evil blade formed on my arm as I charged towards Cross Fusion Searchman. The world slowed as the effects of FastGuage began to work. I dodged the shots from his Scope Gun as if they were Woodman's rolling logs.

The FastGuage lasted long enough to bring him into range of the DarkSword. "Surprise!" I brought the blade down in hopes of slicing him in two. Instead of Laika, I was only able to slice his Scope Gun that he used to block the attack. Outraged at his tenacity I delivered a roundhouse kick, sending him tumbling to the ground. With a feral grin I stalked over to him.

Stop this! I don't want to remember!

"Netto, please... snap out of i--URK!" I silenced him for the moment as I gripped his throat with my free hand, raising him onto his knees. "N-Netto..."

I readied my DarkSword to take off his head. "I'm Hikari Saito. Tell Netto-kun I miss him dearly. Hn hn hn... Now DIE."

However, his death never came. I was blindsided and sent sprawling to the ground, disengaging the DarkSword. "WHAT!?" I sprang to my feet to face my new opponent. "...A human?" Amidst the cloud-darkened field, next to Searchman, stood a lone human dressed in a white karate gi. His hands were covered with leather handguards and the red headband waved fiercely in the growing wind.

"No one dies tonight, Saito-san." Consumed by anger, I charged in for the attack. To my shock, my punches and kicks were blocked almost effortlessly. His eyes were the calm in stark contrast to the storm of attacks he delivered. I was knocked onto my back once again after taking several strikes. "Your soul is out of balance, Saito-san. I'm sorry but it seems I'll have to knock you back into balance."

Please end this now!

Lightning flashed and thunder clapped as he went on the offensive. He dodged shots from my X-Buster as if he was on a FastGuage chip himself. I had no room to retaliate as he picked me apart, striking hard and efficiently to quickly wear me down. I had a split second to throw in a punch when he countered with a kick to my chest, sending me to the ground a third time. I rolled backward to my feet to have my jaw drop at what I saw.

"We end this, Saito-san!" He must be a hybrid like me because he was channeling lightning into a ball of energy in his hands. I felt my body tremble at the sight of such power. Before I could even form my X-Buster to attack, everything turned white as he unleashed his attack. "HADOU-KEN!"


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I woke up in a cold sweat, expecting to feel the full force of that attack. Looking around, I realized I was in my room. It's just a dream. I patted my body to check for any injuries besides that dreaded scar. In the waking world, my jaw dropped again when I spotted *him* standing by the window.

"Good morning, Saito-kun. Looks like you had an intense dream."
He gave a small smile but the intensity was always there in his eyes, calm yet powerful. How he does that I just don't know.

"Ryu-sensei? What're you doing here?" I yawned and started getting dressed. He waved to stop me.

"I suggest sweats and something to keep your hair out of your eyes. A few katas and an early morning spar will help wake you up." I nodded and changed into a set of light grey sweats to contrast his dark grey, almost black, sweats. He still had on his red headband although it stood out a bit more with his now salt-and-pepper hair.

After two hours of katas and sparring we were at a local diner near school for breakfast. Ryu-sensei was having a rather large breakfast as did I, on the NetSavior's tab of course. After a sip of his milk he seemed to look right into my soul with those eyes of his. "I know something troubles you. It's the darkness in your soul, correct?"

I nodded and stared into my orange juice. "I dreamt about we first met. I had no control over my actions back then." I looked around to make sure no one could hear us. "I could have killed you and Laika. I still feel lost, sensei."

"Saito-kun, there's a fine line between the light and darkness. It has a paper's thickness and everyone, especially those like us, must find and tread on the line. Either side corrupts at one point or another. Light tempers darkness just as darkness tempers light. I've been in your place before, dealing with my own demons." He stared off into the distance, as if to remember his own misdeeds. "There's no victory because the darkness is always there. Find the balance and only then will you find your true strength."

Before I could ask him anything, he tossed a 50z coin into the air to me. When I caught it I looked over to find he'd vanished. Looking around, I saw him through the window. He was already in the distance walking to wherever fate took him. How'd he do that? I watched him disappear into the distance before making my way to school.

Thank you, Ryu-sensei. I'll find that fine line or die trying.


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After school I got an email from Meijin-san on my next assignment with Meiru-chan. I took several deep breaths and even counted to ten several times over so as to not stay mad. It was good I did this because Meiru-chan came over to discuss about the assignment: watching over Ijuin Enzan.

"I don't get it, Saito. Enzan's a good NetSavior so why does he need to be protected?" She took hold of my arm as we walked home. My heart was racing at the feeling, almost as bad as being around Roll-chan. I'm sure my face is as red as my icon by now. "Is Omega Gospel really that bad?"

"From this assignment and from what we faced with already, I think so. Still, I think the one getting the worst of this mission is Enzan himself." We both laughed at that thought. "He won't live down that he needs babysitting."

"Saito, please don't hit Enzan again. I'm sure he'll find the mission insulting enough." She giggled before running home. I went home and packed up some clothes and supplies before meeting up with Meiru-chan.

Don't hit Enzan. Don't hit Enzan. Don't hit Enzan. Well, unless he misbehaves, don't hit Enzan. Kick him, maybe. Only if he misbehaves or he gets in trouble then shall I hit him. Blues will understand. "Fine line, indeed."

End Chapter 06

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Hoped you liked the cameo. Gotta keep up the Capcom tradition, y'know. :D Ciao!

{ManxoChu LOGGING OUT}
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The glitched navi that likes to randomly baleet others. =3

[Lido Azn Girl]

lol, that last thought by Saito is hilarious! Very well done. Keep it up!
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Thanks for the sig, DrkX~! ^^ You're the best!!! <3