Title: "Infecten – stage 2 – Aggravation" 2/2

Author: Nemesi.

Fandom: (MMBN)

Genre: Romance. Humour.

Word Count: 2.240.

Characters: Hikari Netto (Hikari Lan), Rockman (Megaman), Blues (Protoman), Ijiuin Enzan (Chaud Blaze).

Rating: PG-13 for implied… intimate intercourse between consenting, cybernetic/virtual young males. XD;;

Disclaimer: , its characters, places and themes belong to Capcom, Shogakukan, ShoPro, TV Tokio, etc.. No copyright infringement is intended.

Warnings: Shounen-ai. Fluffy stuff between Navis. Also, (and I claim ownership on this idea) Navi-preg.

A/N: Kane-Niisan wanted more. Neme-Niichan gives her more. 'nuff said.

Summary: "What's wrong with Rockman?"

Step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, reach the end of the room, turn, and repeat: step, step, step…

"Will you please stop pacing?"

Enzan resisted the urge to hit Netto with a random blunt object just barely. To his credit, Netto did try to comply with the request. Alas, there was only an unnoticeable falter in Netto's pacing, before it started anew.

"I can't. How is it coming up?"

Enzan gritted his teeth in frustration, muttered something barely intelligible, and went back to his typing. Netto had been so shocked, and damn him for thinking it, his pout so persuasively irresistible, that Enzan had volunteered to help. At first he had hoped to find the cause of Rockman's distress with a virus scan. Sadly, it didn't work. As the hours went by, the effect of the pout began to wear off, and Enzan found himself becoming steadily more frustrated at his failure.

Hopelessly curious yeah, but frustrated.

At least, Enzan mentally told himself, a pacing Netto is not as bad as an hyperventilating Netto who rips contracts and papers to tiny shreds.

And so, step, step, step, went Netto.

And type, type, type went Enzan.

The Navis, currently screened on Enzan's main PC, turned from one boy to the other, from one to the other, as though watching a tennis match.

When the tension reached the boiling point, Netto trotted up to Enzan, leaning over his shoulder to peer at the data scrolling down the screen.

"What's wrong with Rockman?"

The distress in Netto's voice gave Enzan's pause. He glanced longingly for his coffee mug, wished it filled to the brim with the hot, spicy brew, and rubbed his temples.

"I'm running all kind of diagnostic on his systems, Netto." I've been for the last three hours. "But I haven't discovered anything we didn't know already." Reaching out, he tapped an area of the screen. "These are the files infected with ICL. I cannot delete them because they've seeded themselves inside Rockman's core, but I did quarantine them." There was quite definitely something he was missing there, but what? "The PET processor is working at almost twice the normal speed, and it's odd, because there's nothing that justifies this level of activity. Moreover, almost two thirds of the PET's energy are being redirected towards areas that should but idle, depriving Rockman of strength."

"That explains the sleepiness and the weakness, right?"

"Yeah. Still…"

Netto's fingers tightened around Enzan's arm, but the other boy hardly paid it any heed, he was so deep in thought.

"Still?"

"Why is the PET working this much? What kind of data is being processed in these… wait." Enzan leaned forward suddenly, eyes narrowed in thought, obviously having noticed something of relevance. Netto was – literally – right beside him, cheek-to-cheek with Enzan and scanning the monitor just as eagerly.

"What is it? What?"

Enzan made a sound way too small for the impact his revelation was about to have on Netto's life, and tapped another area of the screen.

"These subroutines. They had escaped my notice before because they look familiar, but… that's exactly the reason why they shouldn't be here." Quickly, he opened up another window and summoned the Navis onto it. "Blues, I need you to show me your source code." Said, done, and the source code was opened in a second window. "Rockman?"

"Hai?"

"Could you give me full access to your central processor? And I mean full access."

Rockman threw Enzan a dubious glance, then turned towards Blues. There was a small, encouraging smile on the red Navi's face – either that, or it was a trick of the pixels – that spurred Rockman on.

"Right away, Enzan."

Rockman closed his eyes, and another window popped open on the screen. A series of algorithms began flashing on both the newest windows, and Enzan compared them speedily, occasionally taking notes. His jaw dropped open in surprise approximately three seconds into the job, and remained there the whole time.

After a while Netto – who was still clinging to Enzan's neck, you realize – began whining.

"What is it? What did you find?"

"Netto…" and that was, at least, the third time in a row that Enzan spontaneously called the other boy by his name, and neither noticed. "…call your father. Now."

With a finality that left Netto no other option that unglue himself from Enzan, throw himself bodily at the desk and compose Sci-Lab's number.

"I take you found it?"

Not exactly what Netto had expected to hear from his father, but the serene tone of his voice helped to calm his nerves some. Enzan narrowed his eyes.

"Of course I did. What surprises me is that you found it, seeing you don't have the PET."

Yuuichiro chuckled.

"I searched the virus-scan reports, and noticed the file right after Netto came to see you," he said. "Amazing, isn't it?"

Enzan snorted.

"If that's how we want to call it."

"You realize we might be facing the greatest cybernetic breakthrough since the invention of Navis, don't you?"

"Yeah, but…" the scientist in Enzan was giddy with excitement. The twelve-year-old part of him was thinking something more along the lines of 'why does it have to be my Navi?'. Stuck in the middle, Enzan opted for massaging the bridge of his nose, wished for more coffee, and expelled a sigh. "What are we supposed to do with it?"

At this point in time Enzan was graced with a poke in the side, courtesy of Netto.

"What are you talking about? Did you find out what's wrong with Rockman?"

It wasn't often that you saw Ijiuin Enzan at a loss for words. Sure, he always preferred silence to idle chatter, but he never, ever was just too overcome to explain himself.

Today was the exception.

"Netto…"

Netto clung to his vest, trying to look brave.

"Just tell me. I'm… I'm ready for everything."

Enzan cradled his forehead.

"Not for this. Netto…" pausing. Collecting his thoughts, choosing his words carefully, trying, hoping, not to be too blunt but informative enough, and obviously taking too long for Yuuichiro's liking, who took the matter in his own hands.

"There is a Navi developing inside Rockman's PET."

Enzan groaned. Netto gaped. One minute of shocked silence followed, before the whole of IPC had to cower under the force of Netto's shocked:

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"

Once the ringing in his ears had subsided, Enzan dared to peel his eyelids up, and saw Netto with his jaw on the floor.

"But… but that's impossible!"

"Not so much, at least not in theory," Enzan racked his fingers through his hair, made a mental note to introduce Hikari-hakase to the marvels of tact later on, and put his hands up in a placating gesture. "Remember when I told you that, during commuting, Navis share data?"

"Yeah?" Eyes narrowed, shoulders hunched up, looking for all the world like a cat ready to pounce.

"Well, once the connection is closed, some residual data lingers inside the… well… the Navi that was on the receiving end of the transmission." Had anyone told Enzan that one day he would discuss the Navi equivalent of flowers and bees with Hikari Netto, he would have them taken to the psychiatric ward in an instant. Life really works in mysterious ways…

"When the Navis upload themselves back to their PET, the data, being incomplete and raw, is cleaned away automatically by either the firewall or the anti-virus program. But…"

"BUT?"

"…but my guess is that ICL made it impossible for Rockman's systems to find and delete the data in time. As you know, that particular virus slows down the processors, and hinders the data flow."

"But- but Papa didn't talk about data! He mentioned a Navi! A Navi, Enzan!"

"I'm getting there. Do you have the first clue how Navis are programmed?" Netto shook his head. "To create a Navi, a programmer will write down a sequence of codes and algorithms. During commuting, data and algorithms from both Navis meet and mix, creating a similar sequence. Remember the subroutines I glimpsed inside Rockman PET? They belonged to Blues, that's why they looked familiar. They got inside Rockman's core, combined with his own, and created what we could call the first draft of a new program. Since it's nowhere near finished, it was saved with a temporary extension, and stored in a folder right inside Rockman's core."

"But my father said it's developing."

"Yeah, about that." Enzan cleared his throat. "Judging by the data-log, the file has been worked steadily on since its creation."

"…which means?"

"That more commutings followed the first. This is just my theory, mind you, but…if I'm right, each time that Rockman uploads himself to his PET after an… err… encounter with Blues, more data is added to the file, until it'll eventually be completed. Once that happens, the PET will recognize the program as executable, and you'll… well, you'll have two Navis in your PET."

Silence.

More silence.

More of the same.

And a little more on the side.

"…what do we do, now?"

Having had the world crashing repeatedly upon him since morning, Netto had reached a state of numb shock, one for which Enzan was deeply grateful. He motioned for the other boy to take a seat, then took one himself.

"I'm not sure. It's not like we have several courses of actions to choose from."

Netto frowned.

"What do you suggest?"

"The choice is simple. Either we let the Navi develop to its fullest and have a PET made for it, or we dele-"

"HELL, NO!"

Netto and Rockman and Yuuichiro, in splendid unison, though the latter omitted the curse word.

So much for numb shock, Enzan thought grimly.

"I didn't say we should dele-"

"NO!" tri-chorused again.

"I don't care what you think, you're not killing that poor Navi!"

"My thoughts exactly!"

"That would be unethical, and morally wrong."

"Listen, I was merely saying that dele-"

"NO!"

The scene repeated itself three more times or so, before Enzan was finally able to explain that he did not want to delete the developing file, but was merely listing the option as feasible.

"As Hikari-hakase pointed out, despite being the result of pure luck, this is the greatest cybernetic breakthrough of the last fifteen years." Enzan shook his head, either to clear it from shock, or in denial. "Navis possess the ability to reproduce. Who would've thought?"

"If the Navi inside Rockman's PET is successfully completed, it might revolutionize the whole concept we have of cyber life," said Yuuichiro.

Netto hummed in agreement.

"Yeah, but… shouldn't we ask, you know, the parents' opinion?" Enzan blinked, forcing Netto to elaborate. "It's not like the file can be completed if Rockman and Blues don't… you know… more. And it's their choice, whether they want to stay together or not."

"Good point. Rockman? Blues? Your thoughts, if you please?"

Caught unaware, Rockman was unable to mask the look of pure anguish on his face. He didn't know what he wanted to do. He just knew what he did not want.

He didn't want to delete a poor, undeveloped Navi.

He didn't want the newborn Navi to become some lab's guinea-pig.

He didn't want to be studied and prodded, his privacy invaded, his relationship disrupted.

He didn't want Blues to stay with him only because Enzan wanted the file to reach full development.

…but he didn't want – he couldn't take it – if Blues left him.

He tried to say as much, but words evaded him.

"I… I…"

"With all due respect, Hikari-hakase," Blues began, in a matter-of-factly, no-nonsense, clean-cut, don't-mess-with-me-or-else tone. "Deleting our child is out of the question. As for its completion, it'll happen in due time."

If Navis had had the ability to faint in relief, Rockman would have. The two Hikaris looked pleasantly impressed. Enzan merely surprised – his infamous eyebrow reached heights unheard of.

"You two are married, as Netto suggested?"

Blues shook his head.

"I am afraid we Navis don't get married, as humans do. We commute – that's our idea of lifelong commitment."

…definitely about to faint with relief, here. Or to latch onto Blues like a leech. Both urges were equally as strong. People were led to believe that there was a language barrier between Blues and the rest of the world, but the truth was he could convey more with a single line or gesture, than people could in a million years.

In a handful of words, Blues had managed to commit himself to Rockman, reassure him, hint to where their relationship was going, convey to everyone just what exactly he thought of the file ("our child…!" Rockman thought giddily), threw in a side-warning not to mess with it, and a thousand other things. Had Rockman been human, his heart would have been beating at about one-hundred-miles-per-hour speed, and his knees would have been weak.

Not that they weren't, but that's beside the point.

Then, Netto burst out laughing all of a sudden, which kinda threw everyone off. At least until he managed to wheeze out the reason of his mirth.

"W-w-w-with th-the l-l-l-look on your f-face, Rockman, one would—would t-think you were ab-about to… to… l-leap into… into B-Blues's arms, or m-melt at his fe-feet or s-s-s-something."

And then Enzan hid his (smirking) face in his palm, Blues shook his head, Yuuichiro chuckled and Rockman blushed. All back to normal.

- Stage cleared.
On to the next? (y/n)

To BunnyBell: I wanted to thank you for your reviews, and since doesn't allow me to answer anonymus messages, I'm doing it here. I also wanted the say... it's true that Infecten is the first ever fic to ever deal with Navi-Preg, bbut the ownership comment was said in jest, I promise. XD;;