- - -
Darkness permeated the second-story bedroom, cloaking two figures in a bed. One wearing a huge, blue bandana, the other in a blood-red jacket that hung off one shoulder. The younger one in the
bandana had his head resting against the black shirt that the older wore. And the older was lighting brushing the younger's hair away from his eyes.
"Promise me..." The younger began. When the older tilted his head, the younger gazed up at him and murmured, "Promise me we'll always be together." The older offered a warm smile, placing a finger on
the younger's nose and whispering, "Always." Cheeks turning slightly pink, the younger smiled and shut his eyes again.
The older continued to stroke the younger's hair, and the younger started to drift off to sleep. As he did, he gently hugged his older friend and whispered, "I love you... Enzan..."
- - -
It was raining when Net awoke from his sleep. And, as usual, the boy didn't want to get out of bed. Despite Rockman's best attempts at making as much noise as possible, Net seemed intent on staying in
bed. Unable to wake his controller, Rock let out a sigh and quietly mumbled over Net's laziness.
Downstairs, Haruka looked at the clock on the wall. And, with a sigh, she headed upstairs to wake her lazy son up. "Come on, Net, it's a school day, and you're going to be late..." she said as she entered
the room. Getting only a whiny groan in response from the mass under the blankets, Haruka walked over and pulled the covers back. To her surprise, Net's face was flushed somewhat. He, in general, looked a bit on the ill side.
Haruka brought a hand down and lightly placed it against Net's forehead, and then against his cheeks. With a sigh, she blew her bangs away from her eyes and turned. "I'll go call the school and let them know you won't be in today, honey." She walked over to Net's PET. "Rockman, will you please go and have Roll tell Meiru that Net is sick? I don't want her to be late, too." Rock nodded and, after getting Haruka to plug him in to Net's computer, the Navi took off.
- - -
"Meiru, there's a bit of bad news..."
Meiru, who was brushing her hair once more, just to make sure, looked over her shoulder and towards her PET. "What is it, Roll?" The pink Navi tilted her head and said, "Rock just stopped in to tell me that Net's sick. And that you should head on to school without him today." Meiru frowned, looked at the clock, and sighed. "Well, I can't go see if he's okay now. We'll go check on him after school, okay?" Roll nodded and turned to pass the word on to Rock.
Meanwhile, Haruka had called up the family's doctor and given him the symptoms. A simple flu, it turned out to be. And, thankfully, it wasn't one of the stomach variety. The doctor had told Haruka to try and keep Net sitting up, as laying down would only make the coughing more frequent. So Net sat up in his bed, huddled under some blankets to ward away the chills, and was drinking plenty of orange juice.
Haruka was bringing up a plate with some crackers on it. "Here, honey... I know you aren't very hungry right now, but you should try eating a little bit, okay?" Net just nodded, grumbling about the lack of a TV in his room. And in his current state, he wasn't about to haul himself down the stairs. Rock popped back up onto Net's PET screen and told them that Meiru might stop by later. Haruka thanked Rock again and went back downstairs, telling Net to call for her if he needed anything.
With a sigh, Net slumped down. "I was having the best dream earlier, too...wish mom hadn't woke me up..." A faint bit of pink could be seen on the boy's cheeks. Rock raised an eyebrow and peered at his
controller. "Oi, Net...you're blushing." With a blink, Net pulled the blanket up to hide his face. "I am not!" Rock hmmed, then grinned. "Oh, I see. I bet you were dreaming about Meiru-chan, weren't you?" Net whined, sticking out his tongue at Rock. "I was not! I was dreaming about E..." He caught himself and, blushing again, ducked his face back behind the covers.
Rock blinked, tilting his head. "E...?" He thought for a moment, running through a list of the people Net knew that... ...ohh. That would explain the blush then. "I see..." Rock paced a bit, then got a grin on his face. "Oi, Net, I'll be back soon. I'm going to.. uh.. make sure our sector of the internet's okay!" And with that, Rock transmitted himself back into the computer. Net was just relieved to get his prying Navi off his back. And, seeing as how he was still rather sleepy, the boy scooted down a bit and shut his eyes, drifting off to sleep.
- - -
"Excuse me?"
"C'mon, Blues! Please?"
"I am not telling Enzan-sama that!"
"Why NOT?"
Rock crossed his arms and frowned. Blues always had been stubborn. Like master like Navi, he mused. Blues turned away from Rock and muttered, "Why would Enzan-sama want to visit your master anyway?" Rock let out a long sigh, walking over and placing his hands on the red Navi's shoulders. "Because, you idiot, Net's in love with Enzan..." From behind his shades, Blues blinked. Rock smiled, continuing, "Have you heard Enzan ever mention Net?" Blues shook his head, jerking his body away from Rock's soft grasp. "No. He has no reason to discuss your master with me."
Rock sighed again. Trying to get through to either of those two was like talking to a firewall. Dejected, Rock reached out and ran a hand through Blues' long, silver hair and murmured, "I wish you could understand the concept of love, Blues..." He turned and started the trek back to Net's access, leaving Blues standing there, confused.
After he was gone, Blues looked up and opened his connection to Enzan's PET. Enzan was staring at the screen, looking somewhat confused as well. Looking over his shoulder at the retreating Rock, Blues asked, "You heard, didn't you?" Enzan never bothered replying. He didn't need to. They were both thinking the same thing...
- - -
Late that night, Enzan stared up at the ceiling, his arms crossed behind his head. The rather shocking news from earlier was still being processed in his mind. Rockman wasn't the type to lie, so what he had said must have been true. Moreover, Rock seemed to have the same type of feelings for Blues. But Navis couldn't feel. They were just programs. The whole concept made Enzan's head hurt. He continued to stare at the ceiling and, in a soft voice, asked, "Blues, would you pipe some music in? Something... relaxing." A moment passed, and quiet music filled the room.
Enzan shut his eyes. Too much to think about for one day. His rival was in love with him? That didn't make a bit of sense. Enzan never treated the boy as his equal. Only as an inferior battler. Net had managed to pierce the boy's bloated ego when he was able to defeat Blues in battle not once, but several times. "Perhaps," Enzan mused aloud into the silence of the night, "Life isn't supposed to make sense..."
And with that, the white and black-haired boy let sleep carry him away.
- - -
"Would it really be so bad?"
"I can't fall in love."
"Why?"
"I refuse to be taken advantage of."
"I do not understand."
"...Love is a weakness."
"Only to you."
"No one would accept it."
"He's hurting."
"..."
Enzan stared into a mirror, arguing with himself. Despite his best efforts, his mirror self was winning
the battle.
"You don't believe me?"
Enzan looked up at himself. His reflection faded, leaving the mirror black for a moment. When the darkness faded, Enzan was looking at Net. Net was in bed, curled up and crying quietly, trying his best to mask the sobs and coughs. Enzan flinched, a surge of remorse passing over him.
Net buried his face into his pillow and sobbed out, "You promised... you promised me..."
- - -
Enzan's eyes snapped open, and he sat bolt upright in bed, trying to regain control of his quickly-beating heart. Shutting his eyes briefly and taking a deep breath, the boy calmed down slowly. That dream... or nightmare, whichever the case may be, was haunting him again. He flopped back down, staring at his ceiling, music still quietly pouring in from his PET.
"How I try...
never to slip
and speak your name...
it would come so easy...
That would just stir the fire again...
That I swore was cold inside me...
I almost loved you, but I stopped just in time.
If I'm to save myself, you can't cross my mind..."
Enzan shut his eyes tightly...
"I think of the sun...
I think of the rain...
I'll count the shadows on the wall,
so I won't feel the pain.
'Cause if I think of you,
my strength will be gone...
I will do anything at all..
So tears won't fall...
If my thoughts would let you through,
you'd find your way back somehow...
That's not what I need right now...
So to protect myself..."
As the chorus repeated itself, Enzan felt the wetness slip down his cheeks. He had tried to deny his feelings, he really had. He had tried not to admit that he cared for his rival. But everytime they met, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He had learned how to keep from letting on, but it still hurt.
He banged his left fist again his bedsheets, rolling onto his right side and curling up. "Damn it..." Wiping at his eyes, the boy called out, "Blues... go let Rockman know that we'll be 'in the area' later today." Blues paused for a moment and then, with a "Yes sir", he left for Net's access.
- - -
To Be Continued...