Rainfall - One-Shot

[Sol]

Netto slowly walked through the streets of Akihara, his head bowed as he gazed at the ground. It was late Autumn, and the air was bitterly cold. Already, dark clouds loomed over the city, a light drizzle of rain already falling. Many people were already rushing to their homes in hopes to avoid the oncoming rain. However, Netto continued walking slowly, still looking at the ground.

Naturally, Rockman was worried. "Netto-kun," he said, "we should be getting home right now. Getting caught in the rain isn't going to be good for you, you know!"

Without even looking at the PET, Netto nodded. This made the blue navi even more worried. "Netto-kun!" he exclaimed, "Are you alright? You've been acting really weird today!"

Sighing, Netto took the PET off his waist and stared at Rockman. "I'm fine Rockman, just tired." he mumbled softly. Rockman frowned, but nodded nonetheless.

"Then let's go home already!" Rockman said in exasperation, "Seriously, do you want to get caught in the oncoming storm?" Closing his eyes, Netto shook his head and started walking faster than before in the direction of his house, his eyebrows furrowed together in concentration. Rockman could only look at his operator helplessly.

A few hours later, Netto was staring out his window, looking at the sky. The rain was coming down a bit harder now, and the brunette was in deep thought. It was totally dark outside; the dark clouds that had been hanging ominously over the town earlier that day enveloped the sky and blanketed Akihara in darkness. Netto continued staring out the window for sometime before he sighed and turned to his bed.

"I'm going to sleep now Rockman," he stated flatly, as if he was being forced to do a chore, "Good night." he said as he slipped into bed.

Rockman stared at his operator. "Netto-kun...good night." he let out, looking even more worried than before. Sighing, he began to shut down the PET. "I just hope you're feeling better tomorrow..." he muttered as the PET shut down for the night.

Staring over at the now blank PET, Netto frowned and closed his eyes.

It was raining.

Netto opened his eyes and looked around him warily. He was standing on some rooftop of a building that overlooked the city below. All around him, the rain poured down harshly; the noise of it hitting the ground was enough to echo throughout the empty area. Blinking slowly, he looked straight in front of him. Near the edge of the rooftop was another figure, who had its back turned to him.

Netto walked over to the figure slowly. The rain was now pouring down even harder; each raindrop like a knife searing into his skin. However, he paid it no mind as he continued walking over to the person overlooking the city. Netto then stopped a few feet from the figure, just staring at its back. By this time, the rain had soaked his clothes so completely that they clung to his skin, and his hair was all matted down around his face.

The figure then sighed. "So...you did decide to come after all."

Netto didn't even move. "I heard you calling...so I came." The figure then nodded, then turned around.

The figure was a mirror image of Netto himself. However, his eyes were crimson instead of the deep brown Netto's was, and he carried himself with a more serious air. Netto didn't even bat an eyelash.

The rain was deafening now, however, Netto could still hear his mirror image speak as if there was nothing obstructing his voice. "I always did like to watch the rain..." he commented off-handedly, turning his head to watch the rain fall to the ground, "It's soothing."

"Just tell me why you called out for me." Netto interrupted, somewhat annoyed. The mirror image gave a chuckle and started pacing around.

"I called for you so we can talk a little bit." he said. Netto tensed up a little bit, although it went unnoticed by the double. "Tell me...why are you so unsure of yourself?"

That question took Netto by surprise. Everything seemed to freeze around him, and the heavy rainfall immediately turned silent. "What do you mean?" The double of himself chuckled again before he narrowed his eyes.

"You know very well what I mean." he stated, "Why are you so afraid?"

"I'm not afraid." Netto said, glaring at his double. The double snorted.

"Then why..." the mirror image of Netto began, "are you so secretive around all of your friends, including Rockman? Are you that worried of what they will think of you?" He saw the boy shift slightly and smirked. "I was right...you are frightened by the fact that they may hate you for accepting your darkness, instead of just ignoring it like they do."

"You know nothing." Netto spat harshly.

"Oh, I do know everything Netto...after all, I am the embodiment of your inner darkness." the mirror Netto said, smirking at the boy. "I'm rather impressed with the way you decided to handle things...you saw how easily the dark power can throw things off balance, so you sought to protect yourself against that..."

Netto growled. "It wasn't like I had a choice in the matter, did I?" The dark Netto chuckled.

"True...after all, your link with Rockman is a double-edged sword, is it not?" he questioned. Netto winced at that; his dark counterpart was right. During the whole incident with Dark Rockman, Netto had felt his emotions start to run wild due to the dark power seeping through their link. When he found out what was happening, he knew the only way to gain control over his emotions was to accept the darkness within himself so he wouldn't be affected by the dark power.

It had worked to an extent; Netto found that he no longer felt uneasy around the dark power. However, he also felt that he didn't know who he truly was anymore. He put on a facade for everyone while trying to sort out his emotions, but earlier that day was the first time he didn't even bother. Obviously, it really bothered Rockman.

"So you accepted the darkness within yourself...have you thrown out that silly preconcieved notion that darkness is always evil as well?" the dark Netto continued as though nothing had happened, "I'm sure you have...you're far too smart for that."

Netto closed his eyes and sighed. "Yes, I have...but...it's like I don't even know myself anymore." he remarked as he stared at the ground, "I've always been so sure of myself before all of this happened, and now I just feel lost..."

The dark Netto's eyes seemed to soften as he walked up to his counterpart and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're doubting yourself right now, but...stand strong." he admonished, "If you keep going like this, then you WILL lose yourself completely to the dark. Do you want that?"

Netto shook his head. "I don't, but..." he trailed off, looking at his dark counterpart in the eyes, "I just don't want to be completely different."

"Then don't be." the dark Netto answered simply, "Just be who you believe you are."

Netto smiled, feeling relieved. "Thank you..." he whispered as the rain started to not only pick up in noise again, but also in speed. "But...I am curious; why were you so insistant about helping me? That was the reason you called me out here, right?"

The dark Netto smiled slightly. "Light and Dark are in perfect balance within yourself, and there is no need to upset that." he said above the loud roar of the wind, "It is rare that people like yourself exist in today's world, Hikari Netto."

Before Netto could say anything else, the rain poured down even harder than it was before. The heavy rain blurred the form of the dark Netto, who softly chuckled to himself once more before totally disappearing. Blinking, Netto kept staring at the spot where his dark counterpart stood only moments before as the rain started to make everything distorted.

Netto then woke up, taking in a few deep breaths. Taking a look outside his window, he saw that it was morning already. The downpour from last night had yet to cease, but it didn't bother him one bit. Blinking a few times, he looked over towards his computer, where Rockman was just staring at him.

"Finally!" he huffed, "I thought you would never wake up! You always sleep in so late...you're lucky it's the weekend." Rockman said as Netto chuckled.

"I guess I am, aren't I?" he chuckled as he picked up the PET and smiled at Rockman. The blue navi smiled back at him.

"I see you're feeling better than yesterday." Rockman remarked, "What was bothering you anyways?"

"Ah..." Netto let out as he rubbed the back of his head, "Nothing much. I was just thinking about everything that has happened recently."

"Well, I can't blame you then." the blue navi replied, shrugging. "But what are we going to do today? It's a downpour outside, so I doubt we can go out and play."

"It's alright Rockman," Netto said as he sat down in his desk chair, "I'm sure we'll find some other things to do around the house, right?"

Rockman nodded. "Sure. Maybe we can go on the net later to meet with the others?" he suggested, "After all, they can't be having much fun either in this ugly weather."

"Oh, I don't know..." Netto said as he grinned, "Don't you think the rain is rather soothing, Rockman?"

The blue navi only stared at him. "That's a strange thing to say coming from you, Netto-kun. Are you sure that you're not sick or anything?"

"Don't worry..." Netto said as he leaned back in his chair. Briefly, his eyes flashed crimson for a split second before returning to their original color. "I'm feeling just fine..."

---

Normally, I usually try to have a theme whenever I'm writing my one-shots. For some reason, the theme of this one changed as I was writing it, and I'm not quite sure into what...oh well.

Canon-wise, this story is post EXE5. I would have made it post Stream, but that would reduce the overall impact, I imagine. XD
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<3 Planty~
Art in icon done by Raburabbit.

[Sol]

Netto slowly walked through the streets of Akihara, his head bowed as he gazed at the ground. It was late Autumn, and the air was bitterly cold. Already, dark clouds loomed over the city, a light drizzle of rain already falling. Many people were already rushing to their homes in hopes to avoid the oncoming rain. However, Netto continued walking slowly, still looking at the ground.

Naturally, Rockman was worried. "Netto-kun," he said, "we should be getting home right now. Getting caught in the rain isn't going to be good for you, you know!"

Without even looking at the PET, Netto nodded. This made the blue navi even more worried. "Netto-kun!" he exclaimed, "Are you alright? You've been acting really weird today!"

Sighing, Netto took the PET off his waist and stared at Rockman. "I'm fine Rockman, just tired." he mumbled softly. Rockman frowned, but nodded nonetheless.

"Then let's go home already!" Rockman said in exasperation, "Seriously, do you want to get caught in the oncoming storm?" Closing his eyes, Netto shook his head and started walking faster than before in the direction of his house, his eyebrows furrowed together in concentration. Rockman could only look at his operator helplessly.

A few hours later, Netto was staring out his window, looking at the sky. The rain was coming down a bit harder now, and the brunette was in deep thought. It was totally dark outside; the dark clouds that had been hanging ominously over the town earlier that day enveloped the sky and blanketed Akihara in darkness. Netto continued staring out the window for sometime before he sighed and turned to his bed.

"I'm going to sleep now Rockman," he stated flatly, as if he was being forced to do a chore, "Good night." he said as he slipped into bed.

Rockman stared at his operator. "Netto-kun...good night." he let out, looking even more worried than before. Sighing, he began to shut down the PET. "I just hope you're feeling better tomorrow..." he muttered as the PET shut down for the night.

Staring over at the now blank PET, Netto frowned and closed his eyes.

It was raining.

Netto opened his eyes and looked around him warily. He was standing on some rooftop of a building that overlooked the city below. All around him, the rain poured down harshly; the noise of it hitting the ground was enough to echo throughout the empty area. Blinking slowly, he looked straight in front of him. Near the edge of the rooftop was another figure, who had its back turned to him.

Netto walked over to the figure slowly. The rain was now pouring down even harder; each raindrop like a knife searing into his skin. However, he paid it no mind as he continued walking over to the person overlooking the city. Netto then stopped a few feet from the figure, just staring at its back. By this time, the rain had soaked his clothes so completely that they clung to his skin, and his hair was all matted down around his face.

The figure then sighed. "So...you did decide to come after all."

Netto didn't even move. "I heard you calling...so I came." The figure then nodded, then turned around.

The figure was a mirror image of Netto himself. However, his eyes were crimson instead of the deep brown Netto's was, and he carried himself with a more serious air. Netto didn't even bat an eyelash.

The rain was deafening now, however, Netto could still hear his mirror image speak as if there was nothing obstructing his voice. "I always did like to watch the rain..." he commented off-handedly, turning his head to watch the rain fall to the ground, "It's soothing."

"Just tell me why you called out for me." Netto interrupted, somewhat annoyed. The mirror image gave a chuckle and started pacing around.

"I called for you so we can talk a little bit." he said. Netto tensed up a little bit, although it went unnoticed by the double. "Tell me...why are you so unsure of yourself?"

That question took Netto by surprise. Everything seemed to freeze around him, and the heavy rainfall immediately turned silent. "What do you mean?" The double of himself chuckled again before he narrowed his eyes.

"You know very well what I mean." he stated, "Why are you so afraid?"

"I'm not afraid." Netto said, glaring at his double. The double snorted.

"Then why..." the mirror image of Netto began, "are you so secretive around all of your friends, including Rockman? Are you that worried of what they will think of you?" He saw the boy shift slightly and smirked. "I was right...you are frightened by the fact that they may hate you for accepting your darkness, instead of just ignoring it like they do."

"You know nothing." Netto spat harshly.

"Oh, I do know everything Netto...after all, I am the embodiment of your inner darkness." the mirror Netto said, smirking at the boy. "I'm rather impressed with the way you decided to handle things...you saw how easily the dark power can throw things off balance, so you sought to protect yourself against that..."

Netto growled. "It wasn't like I had a choice in the matter, did I?" The dark Netto chuckled.

"True...after all, your link with Rockman is a double-edged sword, is it not?" he questioned. Netto winced at that; his dark counterpart was right. During the whole incident with Dark Rockman, Netto had felt his emotions start to run wild due to the dark power seeping through their link. When he found out what was happening, he knew the only way to gain control over his emotions was to accept the darkness within himself so he wouldn't be affected by the dark power.

It had worked to an extent; Netto found that he no longer felt uneasy around the dark power. However, he also felt that he didn't know who he truly was anymore. He put on a facade for everyone while trying to sort out his emotions, but earlier that day was the first time he didn't even bother. Obviously, it really bothered Rockman.

"So you accepted the darkness within yourself...have you thrown out that silly preconcieved notion that darkness is always evil as well?" the dark Netto continued as though nothing had happened, "I'm sure you have...you're far too smart for that."

Netto closed his eyes and sighed. "Yes, I have...but...it's like I don't even know myself anymore." he remarked as he stared at the ground, "I've always been so sure of myself before all of this happened, and now I just feel lost..."

The dark Netto's eyes seemed to soften as he walked up to his counterpart and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're doubting yourself right now, but...stand strong." he admonished, "If you keep going like this, then you WILL lose yourself completely to the dark. Do you want that?"

Netto shook his head. "I don't, but..." he trailed off, looking at his dark counterpart in the eyes, "I just don't want to be completely different."

"Then don't be." the dark Netto answered simply, "Just be who you believe you are."

Netto smiled, feeling relieved. "Thank you..." he whispered as the rain started to not only pick up in noise again, but also in speed. "But...I am curious; why were you so insistant about helping me? That was the reason you called me out here, right?"

The dark Netto smiled slightly. "Light and Dark are in perfect balance within yourself, and there is no need to upset that." he said above the loud roar of the wind, "It is rare that people like yourself exist in today's world, Hikari Netto."

Before Netto could say anything else, the rain poured down even harder than it was before. The heavy rain blurred the form of the dark Netto, who softly chuckled to himself once more before totally disappearing. Blinking, Netto kept staring at the spot where his dark counterpart stood only moments before as the rain started to make everything distorted.

Netto then woke up, taking in a few deep breaths. Taking a look outside his window, he saw that it was morning already. The downpour from last night had yet to cease, but it didn't bother him one bit. Blinking a few times, he looked over towards his computer, where Rockman was just staring at him.

"Finally!" he huffed, "I thought you would never wake up! You always sleep in so late...you're lucky it's the weekend." Rockman said as Netto chuckled.

"I guess I am, aren't I?" he chuckled as he picked up the PET and smiled at Rockman. The blue navi smiled back at him.

"I see you're feeling better than yesterday." Rockman remarked, "What was bothering you anyways?"

"Ah..." Netto let out as he rubbed the back of his head, "Nothing much. I was just thinking about everything that has happened recently."

"Well, I can't blame you then." the blue navi replied, shrugging. "But what are we going to do today? It's a downpour outside, so I doubt we can go out and play."

"It's alright Rockman," Netto said as he sat down in his desk chair, "I'm sure we'll find some other things to do around the house, right?"

Rockman nodded. "Sure. Maybe we can go on the net later to meet with the others?" he suggested, "After all, they can't be having much fun either in this ugly weather."

"Oh, I don't know..." Netto said as he grinned, "Don't you think the rain is rather soothing, Rockman?"

The blue navi only stared at him. "That's a strange thing to say coming from you, Netto-kun. Are you sure that you're not sick or anything?"

"Don't worry..." Netto said as he leaned back in his chair. Briefly, his eyes flashed crimson for a split second before returning to their original color. "I'm feeling just fine..."

---

Normally, I usually try to have a theme whenever I'm writing my one-shots. For some reason, the theme of this one changed as I was writing it, and I'm not quite sure into what...oh well.

Canon-wise, this story is post EXE5. I would have made it post Stream, but that would reduce the overall impact, I imagine. XD
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<3 Planty~
Art in icon done by Raburabbit.

[Plantman]

This is really great. I'm loving the way you handled dark Netto's intervention within Netto's self. It's thought provoking and really well written. I'm pretty bad about making reviews, so excuse the shortness XD
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"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

[Plantman]

This is really great. I'm loving the way you handled dark Netto's intervention within Netto's self. It's thought provoking and really well written. I'm pretty bad about making reviews, so excuse the shortness XD
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"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

[Neko]

*squeal*

*squeal again*

Yeah... that was awesome XD Nice work, I'm amazed at how well written this was. We're just abusing the whole Dark Netto thing to hell aren't we? XD
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[Midnight]

*applause*

I suppose you guys are really beating the horse, so to speak. Then again, the concept of darkness and light, when done correctly, is a nearly endless source of ideas. I still don't know how you manage to churn out ideas like this on a daily basis.

Anyway...yes, Netto interacting with a darker and seemigly more logical version of himself was done quite masterfully--and the rain served as the perfect allegory for the situation at hand. Great job.
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Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[Kitty-Chan]

I'm not up to being eloquent at the moment so...YAY!!! GREAT STORY!!!! -_-;
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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)*

[feepitsrule]

I like it. Good usage of "embracing your dark side". I'm sure that post-fanfic Lan will go crazy. This also kind of shows dark does not equal evil. I liked it overall.
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[SereneEXE]

This has given me a whole new point of view. I love this fic, Sol! Nice theme, cause I've always thought dark=bad but now...

[YaminoMiko]

Dark is not aways bad. It's just isolated because people thinks it's a bad thing. That's why its so violent all the time. Light will ALWAYS need Dark, and Dark will ALWAYS need Light no matter what people say.

I got to say...it's a good story. I love Light and Dark stories.
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