MegaMan NT Warrior (Rockman) Fan Fiction ❯ The Clash of Love ❯ Together and yet very far apart ( Chapter 5 )

The Clash of Love

Chapter Five: Together and yet very far apart

By KellyQ

"Why didn't you tell me that you put the Hikari house for sale?" Maylu asked, her expression showing nothing but pure anger. "Don't you think that would be up to Lan?"

Chaud's eyes shifted to Maylu. "I'm sure if your parents died, you wouldn't want to go back home..."

That got her to think. That's when she noticed that Chaud was looking at a picture frame of some sort. Maylu walked closer to see that it was a picture of Lan and someone else that looked just like him.

"Where did you find that picture?" Maylu asked.

Chaud's eyes shifted toward Maylu. "I found it in Mr. and Mrs. Hikari's room. I'm going to ask Lan who this person is when he wakes up."

"I don't think Lan will want to talk about it..."

"And why is that?" Chaud asked, looking up at Maylu to see slight pain in her eyes.

"The person is Lan's twin brother...he died a month before Lan started to Netbattle...."

Chaud looked at the picture, then back at Lan. "What happened?"

"He was really ill and there was not much that anyone could do to save him." Maylu clarified.

There was silence between them for a moment until Chaud put the picture on the table. "Maylu, can you keep a secret?"

"Sure...but if it has something to do with Lan...you should tell him."

Chaud turned his head to the left, away from Maylu's gaze. His face turned dark. "That's the thing. Lan and I..."

Lan's hand started to twitch. The movement caught Mayul's attention. Chaud noticed it too and took Lan's hand, his heart beating really hard in his chest.

"Lan...?"

The two waited for a moment to see if Lan would open his eyes, but he never did. Chaud's hand, clutching Lan's, started to shake.

"Come on, Lan...you've got to wake up! We need you..."

Maylu looked sympathetically at Chaud. The silver haired boy was really starting to lose hope, but she wasn't going to let Chaud do that. Maylu knew for a fact that he was not that type of person.

"He'll wake up, Chaud....Lan is not a quitter!"

She sighed when she got no reaction out of the silver haired boy. Maylu turned and walked out, closing the door quietly behind her.

Something in Megaman stirred, causing him to gasp. A sudden chill ran through Lan's Net Navi. Protoman noticed this, and he frowned.

"Megaman, what's wrong?"

"I don't know...I just felt something...that's all."

"I felt something too...like something was calling us."

Megaman looked up at Protoman for a moment. The red Net Navi felt the blue Net Navi was looking at him. He looked down to see Megaman had an innocent and confused expression.

"Protoman," a voice called out, witch happened to be Chaud, "have you found Megaman?"

Protoman and Megaman both looked at each other for a moment. That's when they both realized how they were looking at each other. Both of their expressions changed to bright red of embarrassment.

Chaud looked down at Lan. Two weeks was long enough. "Come on, Lan! You've got to wake up - I feel hopeless without you - and the missions are not the same without you either...remember the time you wanted to watch a specific movie before the sequel came out? After that mission, I pulled a few strings so you can met the actors..."

The silver haired boy smiled at the memory. He had to admit that Lan was a little obsessed that day. There were so many memories he could talk about. Chaud reached out and moved some hair out of Lan's face.

Both their Net Navi's watched from the computer. Protoman's left arm started to twitch, as his hand started clenched. He knew that Chaud was really starting to become frustrated that Lan was still out. Protoman was starting to become frustrated himself.

The red Net Navi was so deep in thought, his body tensed when he felt something touch his arm. The touch soon became familiar. It was Megaman's touch. The blue Net Navi's hand traveled down Protoman's arm, and put his hand around Chaud's Net Navi's hand, just as he squeezed.

Anetta ran down the hallway. When she heard that her friends where located in the hospital, she just had to be there for Chaud and Lan. She stopped at the door and knocked. Anetta waited for a moment. Once she didn't get a response, she opened the door and poked her head in.

Chaud just sat there, his face dark with grief and frustration. He didn't want anyone's sympathy - he just wanted Lan to wake up. Chaud turned his head to see a familiar face at the crack of the door.

"Anetta...?"

The red haired girl pushed the door the rest of the way. Anetta stood there with a smile on her face. It faded to a mournful look as Chaud quickly looked back down, his expression changing back.

Anetta waited for a moment to see if Chaud would say something, or even move. After a moment, Anetta could read the vibes from Chaud: He felt guilty.

"I know how you feel, Chaud," Anetta finally said, walking to the other side of the bed, "when I heard what happened to Silk, I didn't know who to blame - but I know Lan wouldn't want you to blame yourself for what happened."

Chaud wanted to protest against what Anetta said, but she was right. Lan wouldn't want him to feel guilty about what happened. Lan would want him to feel hope: not guilt.

"I...I never got to thank Lan for anything he did for me," Chaud finally spoke, his voice full of pain and sadness.

Anetta walked to the other side of the bed, and pulled Chaud into a comforting embrace. Anetta looked ahead, but movement caught her eye. She looked down to see that Lan was slowly opening his eyes.

Megaman's face lit up with joy. "Lan!"

Chaud and Anetta let go of each other. Chaud turned to see that Lan was in some kind of daze when he opened his eyes. Chaud practically threw himself at Lan while he enveloped the slightly younger boy into a big hug.

Anetta ran to the door and opened it. "I'm going to get the nurse!"

Lan, not quite able to focus around him yet, was plenty confused as to what was going on around him. Lan managed to somehow wrap his own arms around Chaud’s quivering body. He wondering just what it was that had scared his friend so badly.

“C-Chaud?” He breathed out, wincing at the sound of his voice, as it felt dry and sounded raw and unused.

“Lan…you’re finally awake…” Chaud murmured, not noticing that Anetta had left to go and find a doctor-and to call Meijin and report what was going on.

“W-what…happened?” Lan whispered.

Managing to release his hold, Chaud was a bit startled when he heard Lan’s scratchy voice. Giving his crush a small smile of encouragement, Chaud reached over to a water pitcher on the bedside table and filled a glass.

Lan drank greedily, not realizing how thirsty he had been. The cool water helped soothe his irritated throat. Licking his dry lips, Lan saw that Chaud was now sitting on the edge of his bed instead of the chair.

Megaman looked at Lan all the while. He had to apologize for failing his partner and friend.

"Lan..." Megaman said, getting the brunette's attention. Lan turned his head and was startled to see how flushed Megaman looked. "I..I...I'm sorry that I couldn't...that I couldn't save your parents..."

To Be Continued...