Last chapter seemed to cause some confusion about the creature at the end. Apparently my ability to describe is not the best and many have asked "Is it a cabbit?" or along the lines there of. To admit, I have no idea what a cabbit looks like so I can not say it does not look like a cabbit, but I can not say it does either. I will probably post a picture of the creature somewhere later. Once it's up, I'll give you the link. Until then a (hopefully) better description will suffice. The creature is about the size of a cat and is slender like a cat. It has a very fluffy, bushy tail and its ears are long like a rabbit (though not floppy). Hopefully this is better.

With that said, I would like to thank those who have given their feedback on the last two chapters: Fire-chan, Kawazoe Kazuma, Silvera, Giosseppe, and Marshmellow Dragon. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Especially those who reviewed both chapters.

And now for Chapter 15 (!). And of course you know I'm going to leave you hanging 'cause we're going back to when Netto is still alive!

Disclaimer: Capcom and those guys own . I don't. I'm just one of the crazy fanfic writers doing her best to keep alive. LONG LIVE .EXE!

Chapter 15: Enzan's Gift

"Ijuin-san!"

Enzan looked further down the hall of the hospital and saw an older man approaching him. His hair had long since gone white and was very evidently thinning. Bright and lively eyes shone through his glasses and his wrinkles did nothing to take away from his friendly smile.

"Dr. Ueda," greeted Enzan to the aging man.

"Here to see your friend?" Dr. Ueda asked. Enzan nodded. "How is he?"

"He's doing pretty good," Enzan answered, "but I'm sure you're here to see for yourself."

The man nodded. "Indeed. I tend to try to meet my patients," he chuckled lightheartedly. Enzan gave a small smile.

"Just make sure you don't tell him I hired you, okay?" Enzan said.

The doctor chuckled and nodded. "Sure thing. Will you be by my house anytime today?"

Enzan shook his head. "Afraid not. I have plenty of things I need to get done. Unless you need me?"

Ueda shook his head. "No. Just wondering. I've begun the research. I've also hired a couple of assistants."

Enzan nodded. "Good. Just keep me posted. And if you need anything else, don't be afraid to ask. Anything you need for your research will be given you."

"Thanks," the doctor said. "I'll do my best to do my part. Have a good day, Ijuin-san." He shook hands with the young VP and Enzan walked out of the door.

Ueda smiled. "Well, I guess it's time to go see this friend of the IPC VP."

The brunette was typing away on a laptop when Ueda walked into the room. Whatever he was doing so enthralled the teen that he did not notice the old man enter. Being an expert on conditions such as this boy's, the doctor knew better than to speak and risk startling the boy. But thankfully he was saved the wait until the boy noticed him.

"Netto-kun?" a voice emanated from the computer.

"Yeah, Rockman?" the boy said without slowing down.

"Someone's here," Rockman answered.

Netto stopped typing and look up, laughing sheepishly. "Oh, hey. How long have you been there?"

Ueda chuckled. "About 10 seconds. Your navi's quick."

Netto laughed as well. "Yeah, he is. But who are you?"

"Netto-kun…" Rockman's voice reprimanded slightly.

Ueda chuckled again. "It's alright. I'm Doctor Ueda and I'll be your primary doctor from now on."

Netto smiled. "Nice to meet. Hikari Netto, but you probably already knew that."

Ueda laughed. "Indeed, but formal introductions are still nice."

Rockman's hologram appeared above the laptop on Netto's lap. "You said your name is Doctor Ueda?" Rockman asked.

"Yep. That's me," Ueda said, smiling broadly.

"Is something up, Rockman?" Netto asked his navi.

Rockman shook his head. "No, nothing."

Netto frowned but let it alone.

"So what are you working on?" the doctor asked casually. Rockman gave a light groan and Ueda caught a small glimpse of an eye roll.

Netto, ignoring his navi, answered, "A birthday present."

"Really?" Ueda asked. "What is it?"

Netto grinned mischievously. "A little program that will sing 'Happy Birthday' when Meijin-san turns on his computers."

"Which, by the way, can't be turned off until he enters the appropriate code," Rockman expanded. "Oh, and little model cars and wild animals run across the screen too." Rockman paused thoughtfully and then said, "But at least it's not a fake virus. You nearly gave Enzan a heart-attacked when it was his birthday."

Netto laughed at the memory. "And the best part was he thought I didn't know when his birthday was. But, yeah, ticking him off is not a good idea."

"And yet you do it anyway," Rockman put in, crossing his arms.

"I can outrun him…most of the time," Netto said.

Ueda laughed. "Well remind me to never tell you my birthday."

Netto and Rockman both returned the laugh.

"So your navi's name is Rockman?" Ueda asked.

Netto smiled proudly. "Yeup."

Ueda chuckled at the boy's energy and pulled out his own PET. "This is my navi and partner, Tare."

"Nice to meet you," Tare said as his hologram joined the circle. He was a white and silver navi. He was nothing fancy in design, wearing plain armor and a blue visor over his eyes, but one could tell he was still a rather advanced Navi.

"Tare, why don't you go talk with Rockman while I talk with Netto-kun," the old man said to the white navi. "Check out what programs he's using to monitor Netto-kun's health and give him anything else that could help him," Ueda instructed. Tare bowed and disappeared. Rockman also disappeared as he returned to his PET to greet the doctor navi.

"Well, Netto-kun, let's get to know each other since we'll probably be spending quite a bit of time together. I'm afraid I may be asking a lot of repeat questions but just help me get through it and hopefully we can have a good time together."

"Well, since you asked me so nicely…" Netto teased, quickly warming up to the new doctor.

The doctor gave a friendly smile. "Well to begin, tell me about yourself. You're a netbattler, aren't you?"

The question caught Netto off guard. "Yeah, but why? Are you going to start letting me netbattle? "

Ueda laughed and shrugged. "Unfortunately, no. It's just that I try to get to know those I work with and not just their medical problems. Is okay with you?"

"Sure! There's no problem here with that," Netto answered cheerfully, happy to be talking about something else besides HBD.

And so for the next several hours, Ueda and Netto talked about everything from netbattling, school, family, friends, work as a Net Saver, Ueda's work and Netto's current predicament. The only thing they did not talk about was who had sent Ueda, the leading expert in heart diseases, including HBD, to Netto.

It ended up being a pretty good day for the normally bored Netto.

Doctor Ueda sat his desk, the only light in the dark room being the lamp on his desk. Before him, caught in the direct light of the lamp, were papers and books on HBD as well as Netto's medical history. He removed his glasses and squeezed the bridge of his nose as he shut his eyes.

"Hiro-sama?" Tare asked, addressing the man by his first name.

"Doesn't the name 'Hikari' sound familiar to you?" he asked.

Tare frowned. "Slightly. Why?"

Ueda frowned as well. "Never mind," he said as he placed his glasses back on his face and picked up Netto's medical papers. He stared at one line in particular: "Family history of HBD. Brother died December 12…"

Hikari: that name, it was so familiar. And not only that, but the timing was right and from what he had learned from Netto had told him, it just all seemed to fit.

But it couldn't be…

Doctor Hiro Ueda sighed as he set the papers back on the desk and leaned back in his chair. All he could do was sit and wonder as he remembered a young one he had treated so many years ago.

Now he wondered about Rockman as well.