MMBN RP - the moment's already passed

@scenegraph and @Nanaimobars

Meiru sighed, chin on her fist, looking over the Fossa Trackers on her desk. Had it really been as long as it felt since Triese’s kidnapping, and the wicked Hikari-hakase’s takeover of the chatroom? Everything had fallen into place, for the most part. The nightmares and feelings of uselessness had all faded away with time. Triese herself seemed to be doing much better. And the only Regal in the chatroom was, according to Enzan and Netto, a friendly one. The half-memory of what Roll had done to Rush still seemed to bother the Navi, though, and Rush’s continued absence was starting to bother Meiru as well. After the threats that had been bandied around in the chatroom, Netto had volunteered Beat for her use, but it seemed a bit sad to give up on Rush completely after all those years together. Everything was fine now, and yet it felt like they’d learned nothing. It seemed to Meiru like the members of the rescue team had drifted apart. Even the tall Netto had gotten in touch with his counterpart, and not her; which was probably just as well, since their interaction at the sleepover had been decidedly awkward. Mel seemed to think the same, constantly making a scene in the chatroom as if to say Look me in the eyes. Meiru hadn’t seen very much of Pat since, which made sense, because he didn’t seem very confrontational. Weird, weird, weird. But she could always do what she should have to begin with, and shoulder more of the initiative for herself. And she had the key to that right in front of her—Netto was more interested in talking to Nick, since they seemed to have a certain amount of expertise in common, but she’d volunteered for contacting Mel and Pat to deliver their Fossa Trackers. And now, her entire afternoon was free, and Mel knew the message would be coming any time. It seemed to Meiru that the best time would’ve been right after the rescue; the next best time was the present.

5:30 PM

[MSG:

] well, the fossa tracker’s all ready for you~ [MSG:

] do you want to come over to my place, or should i head over to yours?

Mel grumbled as her PET pinged with new messages. Who was bugging her this time? Right...Meiru had mentioned getting her one of those trackers in the chatroom. She so wanted to not have any more surprise drop ins-but also...she had to interact in order to receive it. That, and she felt a twinge of annoyance at the conflicting idea that it had taken so long to come around at all. [MSG:

] right. [MSG:

] uh... As much as she wasn't enjoying going to these other instances herself, especially since swearing off it...it was probably best if she went to Meiru. A Meiru already existed here, she very likely didn't there...This was over-thinking. She was going to take the thing and leave, she had no intention of going anywhere besides. Surely, that would go as well as the last time she had told herself that. [MSG:

] i can come there. advise when ready.

After a moment’s consideration, Meiru took the Fossa Tracker and went downstairs to the living room to welcome her guest. It was the most open space in the house for interdimensional portals to spawn, and it was relatively easy to clean up any evidence that she’d had visitors there. There was still a rogue Squishjelly on the sofa, but her parents weren’t due to visit for another two months; it could continue to silently serenade the living room with its plush keytar. [MSG:

] okay, ready! …see you soon, i guess? blobwhoops

Meiru stood in front of the sofa with Fossa Tracker in hand, ready to greet Mel.

Once given the clearance, Mel set the portal up. It was becoming all too familiar, and she didn't care too much for that. She had already been out and about earlier, so there weren't any preparations to be made really. Soon she was stepping out of her messy room and into yet another pristine one. Pink walls, spacious...despite there being a piano next to the stairs...weird jelly thing on the sofa. The pink all made sense for who she was seeing...it was weird that she could consider Meiru as someone who was cool who could also make pink work..at least this older Meiru. The one in her instance was still kind of annoying. This one she got to see grapple a gun. She was somewhat jealous. Hands in her pockets, her eyes moved from the Squishjelly to the device in Meiru's hands. She didn't know what to say, she was bad enough at small talk, let alone not having talked to her at all since the rescue. "Hey."

Mel had come to the right place; plenty of Meiru’s circle was also bad at small talk. “Hi!” she cheerfully replied. “Oh, I like your necklace! You’ve got a really cool style.” She meant it, too; the outfit was loose and casual, perfect for hanging out. The smell of smoke was quite unusual in this version of the world; she noticed it, but didn’t let it bug her. She also wasn’t bothered by the examination of the room, since it wasn’t like most of the design choices in here were hers. “Your days of surprise guests are at an end—this is all yours now,” Meiru continued, offering the Fossa Tracker. “You can do things like adjust the volume and get information from it once it’s paired with your computer, but it’s really pretty straightforward. It senses a distortion forming, it makes a sound.”

"Oh uh..." A compliment? Mel didn't really know how to handle those...Over skills? Maybe. Over appearance? Definitely not. "Sure...I guess it's cool..." There was no thanks to be had. She gingerly took the device from Meiru's offering hand, turning it up and around to inspect it. "But it doesn't prevent anyone from coming through. Just alerts you? I think the other guy is working on a jammer, yeah?" The other guy that was with them, the guy she stabbed whose name she could only remember when it suited her. Pocketing it, she stood awkwardly for a moment. She maybe should say something? She wasn't as bitter towards her fellow losers...though still it was weird to talk about after how much time had past. She wanted to just push it off and forget but her endless frustration just refused to let her. "So...how do you feel about...everything?"

“Yeah… he was a Nick, wasn’t he?” Meiru tilted her head, trying to remember. “I don’t think I’ve heard anything about it since that awful copy of Hikari-hakase took over the chatroom. But it sure would be useful to have in combination with this. You could keep other people from coming in and see who was trying to reach you.” She still took the existence of that evil Hikari-hakase a bit personally. After everything the Hikaris had done over the years for Meiru and what she’d seen them go though, it was hard to accept one who was like that. Meiru had been about to ask about the pie, not about everything; they both knew what Mel meant by everything. When the topic was broached, Meiru sighed. “Honestly? I feel like I’m still not prepared for when this happens again. And it’s better for Netto if he isn’t acting like it’s gonna happen, since, well—” She shrugged, making a sort of ‘it’s complicated’ gesture. “But… just because that Regal and that Hikari-hakase aren’t in the chatroom now doesn’t mean they won’t be back later.” She ran a hand through her hair and admitted, “Roll’s still upset about it, too. She knows the SoulNet signal now, but…” “I still don’t know if I can cancel something that comes on that quickly,” Roll explained. “And worse, I did a terrible thing to Rush to make us Cross Fuse, and he hasn’t returned home. Something’s not right. I… I’m worried he’s stuck in that other world, somewhere.” “I think… since nobody else can, we’re gonna have to start resolving it all for ourselves. And for me, that starts here, with this.” Meiru indicated the Fossa Tracker in Mel’s hand. She knew it had taken too long; but at least it had been delivered, rather than never reaching Mel at all. With a sad smile, she said, "It sounds like you've been frustrated about it all, too."

"Sounds right." Mel shrugged. She really had been focusing so much on her frustration with the other team that she was starting to shove down who was behind all of this. She supposed she was constantly talking to the people in the chatroom and not actively seeing any Dr. Hikaris around in her day-to-day life. She may not have such a handle on things if she ever ended up running into her own, as unlikely as that would be. "You really going to get involved again?" She asked, with a twinge of a genuine tone. She was so inclined to never do anything like that again, not as much for the 'lack of planning' like everyone else was more upset about. Rather the crushing reminder that any time she tried to do something good for someone it never worked out. She was convinced she was doomed to that 'cartoon villain role' as Rock had so eloquently put it. Though, from what little she remembered seeing of Meiru before things went completely batshit- she was quite competent. She must have been completely lost by the time Rush had entered the picture...she didn't remember any of that. She almost felt stupid for suggesting that it would be stupid to think they could resolve any of this, that they should simply leave it to someone else, and sheepishly plunged her hands into her sweater pockets as her host brought up her very public frustrations. "Yeah. You could say that." She averted her eyes to the floor, voice more despondent than anything.

Mel seemed skeptical, and little wonder—it wasn’t like anyone else seemed concerned, save for her own Netto and Enzan. (And if they got too concerned, they’d stop using the chatroom entirely, which seemed like a shame in itself.) Still, Meiru said, “…I’ve gotta. Even if Rush is staying away out of his own choice, he’s my responsibility, and I need to make sure he’s okay.” “It’s been too long,” Roll murmured next to her even while she tried to apply the best possible spin. “This just isn’t like him.” “And... if those guys come back, I'm not about to let things go the same way for someone else. But we’ve also gotta be smart about it, y’know? One step at a time. Even if I wish I could make it all go faster.” Meiru noticed how downcast Mel was. “I've had things go a bit weird with that Netto before, too. And everything being over text doesn’t help any, since it's hard to tell how people are really doing...” An idea, far better than standing around the empty living room, occurred to Meiru. “…Wanna grab something to eat?” she asked. “We could talk about what we want to do next. You could tell me about that pinball machine, too, I’m a little curious about how that went!”

It was hard to feel bad for that thing...that thing that came in and banged spoons in her work and didn't pay but they fed it anyways. DragonMan thought it was cute though, and would say it was like him or any other virus, capable of feeling things. So maybe she should have some shred of concern, if not for that, than for what could possibly be done with it in the wrong hands. Meiru and her navi were really invested in this, she seemed to have this energy that was hard to denounce...it could be that she happened to earn a shred of respect back there. Mel straightened a bit at mention of the other Netto- and the pinball machine. She really wasn't used to anyone picking up on her problems or what she had to say in the chatroom besides her navi- let alone an adult willing to talk. She had told herself it wouldn't be another escapade like the last time...though...she really couldn't turn down an offer of food (Especially after said pinball machine), and Meiru seemed to make the decision easy. "Uh...yeah! That sounds good."

Mel had a point; Rush was a habitual moocher. But Meiru had developed a few tricks of her own to deal with him, so their relationship had gone from unbearable to The Way It Was. (She had a semi-unfounded feeling that, if she were to take Netto up on his offer of using Beat while Rush was gone, it would be so effortless that she would never cede the Beat Synchro Chip to Netto and Rockman when the time came. If the time came.) “Where’s there something cool going on…” Meiru mused, opening up a holoscreen from the PET on her wrist. “The Downtown Café!” Roll remembered. Despite the serious subject of earlier, a stop at a nice café was a sure way to make her excited. “They always have that series of maple pumpkin things right now!” “Ah, that’s right! And they’ll be all decorated by now for fall, too! It’s really cute.” Meiru beamed at Mel. “How does that sound?” She was already heading toward the door; even if it didn’t sound like what Mel was after, there were plenty of other stops to be found in Downtown Densan. (Perhaps they would even end up venturing to the newest trendy spot, Beach Street.)

Mel stood around awkwardly shifting her weight while Meiru decided their itinerary. She hadn't felt this out of her element in a long time. She did show some interest in the other's PET though, if only to make a face at it's simple design. The wristband could be useful, she supposed. "Uh...anything is fine with me really." Maple pumpkin...did she like those? She would soon find out she guessed. Meiru was already out the door and she shuffled along in suit. It was getting brisk, fall sure was there. Mel really didn't get the appeal of the season, costumes were dumb and the dying plants just released more evil pollen to torment her. This season was better enjoyed indoors...alone...like the rest of them.

Outside the door of Meiru’s house was the same old Akihara Town—an upper-middle-class neighborhood a short subway ride away from the center of Densan City. It hadn’t changed much at all. “Yikes, it’s cold out today!” Meiru complained, zipping up her jacket in a hurry. “Good thing you brought a sweater!” she called back to Mel. It would be a normal, uneventful subway ride, but Downtown Densan was in full fall swing. The number of Halloween-themed shop displays was continuing to grow, another imported holiday from Ameroupe finally beginning to take root. But where Meiru was taking them was much cozier and calmer than the street outside. There was a savory item on offer alongside the various pastries, maple tea drinks, pumpkin coffee drinks, and maple pumpkin coffee drinks—pumpkin gnocchi. (There were also, of course, plain coffees, teas, and breakfast sandwiches outside the special menu.) Meiru, being more of a sweet food aficionado herself, was already planning to go for pumpkin fritters with her maple pumpkin coffee. (edited)

The metro ride was uncomfortable and silent. Mel never really opted for the transit option if she could help it. Willing to walk an hour here or there instead to avoid the crowds. She didn't care to take in any of the festive decorations on the walk from the metro station to the cafe, and was relieved to find that the cafe was much quieter. She'd never allowed herself to go to one, instead watching other kids hang out there after school with a dull envy. The vibes were vastly different from her workplace too, she felt even more out of her element. The pictures on the menu of the items looked more cute than edible to her and she was half embarrassed to even order any of them. She might remember this place and see if it was old enough for her to order from delivery in her own instance. After an excess amount of time, she finally settled on a simple matcha tiramisu (Though she didn't know what it was) A matcha parfait, and a maple pumpkin coffee to try. She didn't consider Meiru's budget until after ordering. "Ah...I can probably pay this back...eventually. The pinball machine really took it out of me." (edited)

“It’s okay, I think I’ve still got a voucher or two…” Indeed, Meiru had one voucher for each drink, bringing the cost down from five thousand zenny to a much more reasonable twenty-six hundred. There were several more vouchers beefing up her wallet, to the Downtown Cafe as well as several other cafes around Densan. "Yep, all good!" “This is why we banned you from Saturday night,” the girl behind the counter said flatly. Meiru handed them over, paid, then flashed Mel a victory sign while the obviously familiar girl behind the counter looked unamused. “Ehehe.” While they went to the pick-up side of the counter to wait for their food and drinks, she somewhat sheepishly explained, “I, uh, enter a lot of contests with prizes like this.” “It isn’t using our powers for evil if they let us enter,” Roll said, innocent as the day she was initially booted up.

"Mmh..." Mel looked about just as unamuzed. She caught sight of how fat Meiru's wallet was with coupons, between that and the contests she couldn't help but piece something together: "This seems like something an old person would do." She muttered. Admittedly she didn't know many old people, or anyone who clipped coupons personally, but media of course had been her introduction to society after all. DragonMan of course, had to be in action to see the delicious treats, and projected to his usual spot on Mel's shoulder, clearing his throat to try and absolve that comment. "Thank you for treating us!" He said for his netop, while snorting at Roll's addition.

“Oof…” The way she seemed to good-naturedly wilt made it clear that Meiru had heard this one before. “You're welcome! It’s hard to treat lots of guests on a budget, y'know,” Roll defended. “The Net Savior stipend helps some, but it doesn’t help that much. We can’t draw out too much money at once, or Ai-san—er, Meiru’s mom’ll notice…” “Yeah, yeah. Regular people, with regular Navis that are bad at finding things, simply eat ramen and drink bad coffee when they find they can’t afford to go downtown for the rest of the month,” their cashier cut in. “Aw, go easy on me,” sighed Meiru. "I'm treating them, and I didn't use a voucher last time." “Nope,” said the girl behind the counter, before placing a tray with their desserts in front of them. The heavenly smell wafting from the paper boat turned Meiru’s mood right around. “Oh, the fritters look amazing! Thanks!” “Chiba’ll be done with your drinks in a sec,” the cashier added before plastering a Customer Service Smile on her face and addressing the next customer in a much less familiar way than she had Mel and Meiru—“Hello, welcome to Downtown Café! What can I get started for you?” "It's a really chill place, honest!" Meiru said before their coffees arrived.

"Ah..." Mel looked down at her feet, her face hot. Of course she heard that. She shouldn't have said it...she shouldn't be feeling so off that she said it! She said rude shit all the time. There was definitely something different about this girl that kept her so off-balance. And there she was taking too much when they were on a budget. Sure the coupons were there, but really now she was feeling herself sinking lower and lower. She never felt like this and she didn't like it. If anything, the fractious barista was a welcome familiarity that grounded her in place while they waited for their drinks. "Yeah it's uh...nice I guess." She had nearly forgotten that the parfait she ordered had a cute little face on the top scoop that stared right into her and she grimmaced right back.

Meiru noticed how embarrassed Mel was, and said, “It’s okay, really! I like going places, and it's even better taking someone else along! Besides, it is true.” She sighed, “It feels like most girls don’t have to bother to use coupons, do they...?” When Mel seemed a bit uncertain about the cafe, she added, “Erika-chan’s much nicer than she sounds, don’t worry. She’s great at keeping secrets!” “Here ya go,” said a youngish man, placing the two coffees behind the tray. They were in festive orangey-gold mugs, with foam and nutmeg on top. “Thanks!” said Meiru. She took the tray and her coffee and led the way to a seat next to the window. The table was in between a chair and a cushioned bench with pumpkin-like pillows strewn around it. She set down the tray of desserts and immediately took a big bite of one of the fritters; it had a audibly crispy surface. “Wow, they’re still warm! It’s so nice to have a fried dessert on a day like this.” She offered, “I’ll trade you one for a bite of tiramisu!”

Mel squinted at the older girl. Half of what she was saying didn't really apply, but that's how it went when you didn't express your problems- people assumed things. "Oh, I don't know anything about that." She hadn't used coupons outside of her own work place. It had become a joke for them to pass coupons to each other, when usually they ended up doling out their leftovers among themselves for free anyways. She wasn't about to delve too much into the Erika thing either, a real reflection of how she was at work...except not with casuals. She was just rude to everybody. "She seems fine to me." Taking her items she followed along to the table, opting for the bench seat. She sat awkwardly for a moment, watching Meiru take her bite, and looking incredulous at the suggestion of a trade. It was weird enough eating in front of someone else as it was. "Um...ok I guess?" At the very least, she was curious about the fritters.

It seemed clear now that Mel didn’t normally go to these sorts of places. Kind of like how Enzan had been, at the start of their partnership. Unfazed by the look on Mel’s face, she led by example, taking a corner scoop of tiramisu with the spare spoon they’d been given and giving it a try. “It’s so creamy!” The earthy-sweet matcha marscapone was dense and satisfying. “And here’s a fritter off the top of the stack, for maximum crisp,” Meiru carefully chose to give in exchange. Mel received a pretty large fritter, with a delicate glaze over the top. "Now that we're settled... you've gotta tell me more about your pinball machine!" Meiru took a sip of coffee, then picked up another fritter. "I'm guessing it got there safe and sound...?"

Mel watched, hands in her lap while Meiru made the trade. She eyed the fritter before slowly picking it up and taking a small bite. It wasn't as sweet as she was concerned about...though she didn't care for the glaze. All in all not terrible. She would finish it. "Oh...That looks like it would look really good dipped in your tea." DragonMan suggested, leaning forward and eye-balling all the food. He was only a little jealous. "...I'm not doing that." She stated flatly, setting the fritter aside for now and picking up her spoon to start on her food- only to be slightly daunted by the little bear face on the parfait yet again. "Right, the pinball machine...Yeah it got here ok. Was a very tight squeeze in my apartment but I had some...friends help me with it." Finally, she went for it, taking a small scoop out of it's little chocolate chip eye ball. "I've only taken a cursory look at it's insides to make sure everything was in order when it's turned on...haven't actually tinkered with it yet."

Roll dashed across the table to the other Navi, pleasantly surprised—he’d been pretty quiet so far on the trip, and she didn’t think they’d met in person before this. “Hi there!” With that greeting, she added, “It’s fun to look at all the sweets in a place like this, isn’t it? The ones they make for Navis don’t quite feel the way these look, to me.” She watched with wide eyes as Mel gouged out the parfait bear’s eye, her train of thought momentarily derailed. “Ah…” she said, in a hushed whisper. “It’s been put out of its misery…” First blood was drawn on the bear parfait! Meiru beamed, both at that and at the news that the pinball machine had arrived in good condition. “Nice! It sounds like a really cool problem to have. Something to explore in your own time, just for you.” She polished off another fritter, thinking it over; like writing or producing a song was for her, or Enzan’s current dessert-making kick was for him. “Do you have a lot of smaller-scale projects like that?”

"Oh!" DragonMan hopped down onto the table to meet Roll. "My aren't you cute!" Truly! She looked like the perfect princess to be stuck in a tower. Though, there was an aura about her that implied that she simply would not allow that to happen. "Yeah! I sure wish we got to try food this nice! I'm DragonMan by the way...I don't think we really got to introduce ourselves last time." He craned his neck to watch the enucleation of the bear. "Aw...I should have got a picture of that before you maimed it..." Mel squinted down at the two while she removed the spoon from her mouth, evidence now destroyed. "It's meant to be eaten, not fawned over." She wasn't about to admit that she also found it...somewhat cute. Though in a way that was more unnerving to her than anything. Food shouldn't have faces. "Yeah, I guess so." It was weird talking about herself so much...not that she was about to ask Meiru about herself...but having someone show interest was new and weird and maybe not all that terrible, but still definitely weird. She poked the spoon around in her tiramisu next, scraping, but not taking anything. "Having a project for fun is ok I guess...though I really just like taking things apart in general...so I guess I don't really differentiate work from fun that often. I do have other small projects I guess you could call them. I salvage and restore old tech on the side...helps pay for insane buys like the pinball machine."

“Aw, thank you!” Indeed, perhaps once upon a time Roll would’ve been that princess waiting on a prince… but if you asked her now, she’d say she was an adorable princess knight! “My name’s Roll. Nice to properly meet you!” Dragonman seemed like a fun-loving guy, with a personality that could put anyone at ease—a natural fit among Roll and her friends. Though she’d been a solemn witness for the bear’s execution, Roll nodded along with Mel’s assessment. “It only gets harder to eat cute foods the longer you wait. You get attached to them.” “It’s true!” Meiru agreed, grinning before continuing to eat. Om nom fritter! (Though that tiramisu really had been good, as she was reminded watching Mel play with it. Maybe she would order one for herself…) When Mel explained her hobbies, it reminded Meiru a lot of how much Netto enjoyed his job as the Ministry’s cybersecurity chief. “That’s so cool! It feels like there’s so much to uncover, doing restorations like that here in Densan. People make such interesting things, and then they end up just being one-offs or prototypes.” (...And then they wound up being the Net Saviors' problem when someone dusted one off and went on a tear. But!)

"Likewise!" DragonMan grinned broadly, and sat once he found a nice spot on the table to keep everyone in view, and to be more on Roll's level. "Oh she's right you know!" DragonMan agreed with Roll and Meiru, nodding sagely. Mel grumbled and continued to pick away at the bear, not that she was taking what they said into account, but that it was liable to start melting over the edge of the cup. "Mm, yeah." A good 50% of Wily's tech were one-offs or prototypes for sure, most of what she kept or sold were 'one of a kind'. She made a lot of good money from those. Lots of skulls. "I've definitely dealt with some tech that could...have negative implications in the wrong hands, yeah." "Um so..." She hesitated before changing the subject. She very easily could have gotten carried away talking about all the weird tech she salvaged...but there was a nagging shadow hovering over it all. "The chatroom...stuff..."

“…Ah…” As far as Meiru was concerned, the ‘chatroom stuff’ she’d intended to update Mel on had already been discussed. She’d given Mel the Fossa Tracker, and she’d gotten the impression that Mel wasn’t going to pursue anything to do with the incident further. And with that taken care of, she’d decided to show her guest a nice afternoon as well as learn a little more about her. She wasn’t here to lecture Mel on tone or etiquette or whatever. But there was obviously something Mel still considered unresolved… “Well, I’ve pretty much told you what I’m gonna do. I’ll get a Fossa Tracker out to Pat next, and touch base with him, too, and then… I need to start tracking down Rush. But what do you wanna do?” After a moment, she reconsidered. “Though, really, there’s been a ton of other ‘chatroom stuff’ since then! That’s just what’s on my brain at the moment, sorry.”

"Right, the dog." Mel supposed the other girl wasn't not going to get her dog back. She couldn't really relate. There wasn't anything she'd go that far to retrieve except maybe DragonMan but ultimately for anyone else...right now...it just wasn't worth it. "I don't know...I don't think I can do it again." Her tone faltered slightly, she wasn't about to admit that she wasn't strong enough to do it again either. She went back to playing with her tiramisu absent-mindedly, resting her head in her other hand. "I don't even know how to talk about it." Her face screwed, in her signature way to hold everything down- glowering down at her tiramisu like it was the one who had personally traumatized her and swallowing harshly. "I don't know if I want to be there anymore. I didn't want to be there to begin with...but I don't think it's going to go away if I try." Her thoughts went to the Fossa Tracker in her pocket, likely to have it's work cut out for it regardless. DragonMan gave her a withered look, but didn't have much to say. They'd had this conversation before. 'but you have friends there' 'they could be next and the next rescue could go just as bad or worse' and 'it was best to keep them at a distance from the start'. "Well...I still think things will get better..."

Mel’s doubts reminded Meiru of her own, back when she’d just been an ordinary girl trying not to be left behind by her extraordinary friends. Eventually, the issue had been forced, and she’d resolved to fight; but she’d sacrificed a lot to fill the shoes that had been left empty, and she wouldn’t wish that level of effort on Mel. “It seems like we’re the only ones who feel it when we wind up fighting something bad, sometimes,” she said instead, half-remembering a long-ago conversation. “We’re the only ones who feel like we’ve made a mistake. But I think everyone does, when they’re alone, even if they’re good at hiding it.” Now she was remembering her conversation with Pat at the hospital, how ashamed she’d felt at her conduct. “I nearly left the chatroom, too,” she confessed. “I thought I should’ve realized how things were going to go and taken charge, even if it was that tall Netto’s world we were going to. And since I didn’t, I thought I had just run in and made everything worse, and I was really embarrassed. I thought everyone else would see it that way, too. But then I found out Pat felt the same way. And if both of us did okay, then I think you did just fine, too.” “…What about that Nick guy?” Roll asked after a moment. “He does seem to have it suspiciously together,” Meiru said with a sly smile before abruptly dismissing the charges. “But, nah, it’s not on him either.” She’d gotten quite a ways away from the point! “Anyway, I feel like it’s really up to you if you wanna take a break. But I don’t think you have to.” “I get the sense Dragonman’s not taking a break, though, and that’s fine, too!” Roll added.

8:27 PM

“I’d definitely wanna stay in touch with you, and I bet there’re lots of other people who’d miss you…” Meiru thought aloud. “So maybe you should keep using the messages, even if you decide to take time off from watching the chatroom! We could do something like this again, and…” Sincerely, Meiru added, “If something happened, and you ever wanted to lend your expertise, I’d be so happy to see you there by my side.”

"Hmm." Mel tried to take in what Meiru was saying past her rising frustration over just...everything. She wasn't in the same boat of 'fighting something bad' the way these other people were. Besides this one shared experience she typically was the bad. Considering how upbeat Meiru had seemed in the chatroom after it all, she was a bit surprised that she had intended to leave too. She seemed so resolute now. "I don't know..." She muttered. It's not like she would have picked up well on others feeling the same frustration until it slapped her in the face. It very well could have been the fact that everyone else was also hiding that she came to the assumption that they were aloof about it, especially since she only really got the chance to talk to her team about it, with the exception of Lan. "It's not even about anyone haven taken charge or whatever. You don't need to lie. I know I didn't do good. I stabbed a guy." She sneered down at the tiramisu, digging the spoon in a little more forcefully this time having resisted the urge to just slam it right through. That being telling over her improvement wasn't enough though. "I...It could have been worse." DragonMan piped up, eyeing the spoon with slight concern. "You acknowledged that you wouldn't have done that otherwise. "And we don't have to get involved in anything like that again, like Meiru says. But...we really should stay in touch right?" The sour expression stayed put on Mel's face. She knew right from the hop, since meeting Ellen, that it would be a bad idea to get attached to these people. And she didn't understand why people wanted to be attached to her either. Which was why she needed to push them at every opportunity. The idea of anyone missing her was too much for her to even consider at this point. She had no idea how to respond to Meiru's sincerity. For all her thoughts of pushing people away, there seemed to be no such effect with her. The spoon dropped to the plate as her hands shook with some kind of impotent emotion that wasn't quite rage for a change.

Meiru watched Mel stick it to the tiramisu a little sadly; then, as Dragonman started offering comfort, she pointed out, “I beat up a kid.” The kid had been Wave Changed and she had been Cross Fused, but the point stood. Roll appeared crestfallen at the reminder, only assuring Meiru that she needed to keep explaining. “We all did stuff we wouldn’t have because of that SoulNet. It’s that Hikari-hakase’s fault, when it comes down to it.” “Yeah,” admitted Roll. “It… might have used frustrations we already had, but we never would’ve acted on them without it.” All she could remember was having had enough of Rush's misbehavior. She hadn't even remembered the years and years of absurd bargains Meiru had been made to strike with him, just that she'd had enough. She'd lured him in and struck him down without remorse, under SoulNet. “Maybe not even that. We couldn’t even remember why we were there,” Meiru pointed out, to both Mel and Roll. To Mel, she said, “We all did lousy. So, I forgive you. And anyone who doesn’t is just being a jerk.” Mel’s spoon clattering against the plate startled Meiru for a second, but she reached across the table to offer her hand to hold, if wanted. “We’re cool.” (edited)

DragonMan nodded along with Roll. “Yeah, she’s right. I really don’t think you would have done that either way. You’d never used that knife before. If anything you would have used it on that messed up Dr. Hikari if-” “If we didn’t lose all track of why were there there. Yeah.” Mel choked out, swiftly withdrawing her hands from Meiru’s reach and settling them back on her lap. She managed to get the shaking under control but was hunched over and still visibly uncomfortable. She tried to rationalize Meiru and Pat’s fight as not ‘beating up a kid’ due to them both having fuckoff crossfusion powers that put them on level ground in her mind, but didn’t argue. Maybe it was also that Meiru wasn’t that old that put her out of the usual adults she was used to fighting. Either way she left that one alone, it was pointless to argue her feelings especially when she could barely handle her own right now. There wasn’t much rationalizing everyone’s forgiveness on the other hand. She was affected as badly as she was because she was already fucked up and wrong. There wasn’t any changing that. People were weird and said shit they didn’t mean all the time, especially to appease someone, so how could she even trust genuine forgiveness to begin with? At the very least, so far Meriu had proven to be someone she could trust, even if she would take it back later. She didn’t really have a reason to placate her. Actually, it felt good in a fucked up way that someone else felt shitty about the whole thing too. After an uncomfortable beat she reached back up to pick up her spoon, ready to try again. “Uh…thanks…I guess…We’re cool.”

Meiru watched as Mel withdrew her hand, wondering what had happened in her past to make her react this way. She obviously needed the reassurance, but just as obviously was uncomfortable receiving it. (So much like someone else she knew, when he hadn’t been used to being around so many friendly faces. She couldn't help but draw a few conclusions in her mind; good luck shaking her off now!) She wasn’t sure what to do, either. She wasn’t as close to Mel, and she knew from her experience with Netto that it was likely the other girl would startle or worse under an unfamiliar embrace. Fortunately, before she felt as thought she had to do something even if it was the wrong thing, Mel picked up her spoon. Meiru followed Mel’s lead, picking up her own spoon. “…I’m stealing another bite.” By the end of the sentence, the whimsy was genuine.

Mel stopped and waited for Meiru to take her tiramisu tax with no qualms before taking another bite herself. It was weird, but she didn't do anything to stop it. Apparently people shared food all the time and it was normal? She could barely stomach the idea of actually eating a meal at a table in front of another person, but she was managing. Maybe things were getting better after all. In the silence that followed, she decided to try the pumpkin maple tea. It was the one thing she managed to handle with care. She was pleased to find that it wasn't too sweet, and really helped calm her nerves just a little bit. "Yeah...I think I will stick around...for now. Hopefully there isn't a next time to even question ditching on."

It really was a great tiramisu. And such a photogenic green, even after being smushed! “Between this and the coffee I’m gonna be awake for a while. But it’s worth it when it’s this good!” She was going to end up racing Kaita down the Ministry hallways, if she didn’t start pacing herself. No more tiramisu for her. Meiru enjoyed a sip of her coffee along with another fritter, then set it down when she heard Mel decide on sticking around. “Aw, that makes me really happy! And, yeah, I feel the same way.” With a small laugh, she pointed out, “It feels like the more Netto prepares, the less things actually happen. So maybe he’s keeping things quiet with all his Fossa Trackers and backup plans and such, and now’s the time for us to get in there.” “I’m gonna try and hop on more often, too,” Roll decided. “We’ve been a little busy, but not that much.” With a good-natured giggle, she added, “I’m looking forward to chatting with both of you!”

Mel watched Meiru incredulously while she gabbed. Was she really so easy to string up on coffee and sugar? She was kind of jealous. it took her two-to-three double shot cans to make her late-night projects more often than not, and somehow she was still always exhausted. Even more incredulous was the idea that her staying would make anyone happy, but that could be drowned out for now with the nice tea. She wasn't going to make any promises about controlling herself better in there though. "Yeah...it's been kind of quiet." Aside from the occasional verbal threat and campy gays...there really hadn't seemed to be any direct threat from the chatroom since the admin went down oddly enough. Her Netto...from what little she could tell he seemed...interesting. Different for sure. Even if the one from her instance was younger, she doubted he would ever be passing around Alphabug samples online. The impression was definitely leaning on these two being better than hers. Hanging around them too long might make work awkward though? Much to consider. DragonMan nodded in agreement with Roll. "Definitely looking forward to it! Just hope we actually get to chat properly more often than being on alert."

“It’s true!” Meiru said in response to the incredulous look. “Enzan—er, my partner—he’s the one who goes for those F5 Energy drinks and whatever. I just stick to coffee and tea.” Sometimes it was lots and lots of tea, but nonetheless it was tea. Those F5s tasted like carbonated lightning to her; she didn’t want to know how many years of life expectancy they’d shaved off of Enzan by this point. “I’ve been poking my head in from time to time, just to keep an eye on it, but it seems like when I get there I’ve already missed everything,” Meiru admitted. “It’s been a little bit since we did, though,” Roll said. “Netto and Rockman haven’t said anything, either, so I guess nobody’s really been keeping an eye on it the past few days…" (Which was too bad! Roll did enjoy a nice bit of camp.) “I still can’t believe we managed to run into a whole slew of Beyondards, honestly,” Meiru giggled. “Like, what are the odds of it happening twice?” “That’s just like us,” agreed Roll. Operator and Navi shared a sensible giggle at the idea. (edited)

She made a face at the idea F5, energy drinks were always either too sweet or tasted like battery acid- ultimately not worth the effects when a double or triple shot coffee did the same thing. She only knew one Enzan vaguely personally now, which was more than she could say for that particular little group. "Stuff's gross." "Yeah! I'm always coming in once the drama is over." DragonMan huffed. There were some situations he wished he could have had a say in, but maybe it was for the best. Mel cocked her head slightly at the 'Beyondards' mention, why did that sound familiar? "Dingo told us a bit about that...when he was gone for that little while, remember?" DragonMan said, picking up on his netop's confusion. "Ah." Yeah, she had to cover a lot of his shifts when he disappeared that one time, and Dekao didn't shut up about it either. Weird that he also had an interdimensional situation but there didn't seem to be one of him in the chatroom. Maybe he just kind of slipped through the cracks? "Anyways..." She dug into her tiramisu again while she thought of how to bring this up without sounding desperate...or seeming like she wanted to go, though she did. It specifically came to mind since Meiru was the one who brought it up in one of the few times she popped in. "There were some ok-sounding things in the chatroom..." She started and then dropped off, failing immediately. After a few seconds she tried again. "Like the beach...I think a cook off was mentioned."

Meiru nodded in emphatic agreement when Mel delivered her verdict on F5s… and was surprised to learn, “Oh, you know Dingo?” And he’d told Mel about the trip to that first Beyondard. “…I guess our worlds must be pretty similar, then.” It was hard to say how far along Mel's world was, though, so she refrained from mentioning anything about Dingo's carving work. The beach was definitely something Meiru remembered coming up before, though. So Mel was one of those posters who sometimes said the opposite of what she meant… “Yeah, it just got kinda lost in the rush. Even we’ve already had our summer party at the Ministry…” “The weather sure feels like summer, still,” Roll pointed out. “It’s still not too late!” “Yeah! Sounds like I’d better ask around and see who’s still interested, and where we’d all wanna go.” Meiru beamed. “As soon as everything's planned out, I’ll send you the invite!”

"Maybe?" She wasn't sure how similar exactly, and it was hard to gauge since her Meiru was like...12? What would or wouldn't have gone down before or between now and then. "I dunno, I just work with him." "They're friends." DragonMan added with a nod of certainty. "Yeah, I guess." It was weirdly becoming easier to say, or acknowledge the f word now...but the sinking feeling after the fact still remained. This could be forced down for now with the rest of her tiramisu. Once that was done she glanced at her parfait, now mostly melted. She mostly nodded along with Meiru and Roll's back and forth- offering a small "Thanks." at the invite. With a blink, her brain rewound to what Meiru had said about her work party. "You work at the Ministry of Science?"

Meiru smiled fondly as Mel and DragonMan explained—Dingo was a cool guy, further reinforcing her already unassailable opinion that Mel was in fact a cool girl. “…Oh, geez, is that not an open secret around your version of Maha Ichiban?” Meiru asked. Mindful of anyone passing too close by the table, she explained, “Netto worked at the Ministry until he disappeared, and then I decided to fight in his memory.” Realizing how dramatic and unsuited to both the location and the company that sounded aloud, she sheepishly defended, “I was thirteen.” She thought back over what she knew. Dingo was still working for the curry shops, so it had to be before Reclaims the Earth was finished… Beyondard had happened, but it was hard to say how recently… which all put Mel's world at anywhere from three to five years behind her own. “How… old is Dingo, in your world?” It seemed better to ask after him than about her (how vain!) or Netto (how potentially mood-ruining!), and they all were about the same age. (edited)

"Oh uh...I don't know?" She didn't pay much attention to that gaggle of kids when they came in, but she did know that Dingo and Netto did the stupid Crossfusion thing (And now Meiru by proxy)- which was experimental Ministry tech? Netto was a Netsaver probably? Yeah that all seemed to add up. Netto disappeared huh? She didn't know much about hers at all, but he seemed to be in the chatroom now so whatever happened ended up working out apparently. She really didn't have anything to say on the matter, but held an uncomfortable silence. "Well...I wouldn't say -children- should be considered employed by the Ministry." She replied flatly. There were some strong feelings about this kind of thing. On the subject though, she had no idea how old they actually were. They were all around the same size if that accounted for anything at all. She was about to answer the question Meiru hadn't asked regardless. "I dunno, you guys are like 12 I think? Dingo might be older or something but he's just as short. He's not older than me I know that." (edited)

Meiru shrugged, lightly observing, “It is a salaried position, so I don’t think it’s technically volunteering…” That was all she was going to say on the matter, though. She could tell it wasn’t a subject Mel was eager to discuss. When she heard their age, she let out a breath. So it was all going to change very, very soon. (Or… maybe it wasn’t. Maybe the version of Netto in Mel’s world was going to get really, really tall.) “Tell Dingo to keep practicing with his wood carving,” she said mysteriously, though her smile looked almost sad. …Time had certainly flown. Meiru could tell—she was down to one fritter now. “Maybe we could get a milkshake straw for the parfait…” she mused, looking at the consistency of what was left. “Or we could just leave it.”

"Hm." She didn't have much else to input on the topic of 'volunteering' for the net police either, but the mood had already soured enough earlier. They didn't need to go back there. "Yeah, I will." She nodded regarding Dingo. "They're really not half bad." "It's a shame that his art isn't well received around here." DragonMan lamented. Being in a big city didn't help, but the art of people indigenous to Japan had a hard enough time gaining traction with the general populace, let alone art from another indigenous culture. It was sad watching him sit out there while people walked by with hardly a glance. Things had been going well so far...it had felt a little less weird eating as time went on, and Mel even finished the fritter she had traded earlier. She eyed the parfait at Meiru's suggestion, she wasn't about to just leave it. It was just liquid-y enough to drink, and she gulped it down almost all at once and set the glass down a little hard. That little bear couldn't judge her anymore.

“Yeah,” Roll agreed with DragonMan. “He was here when he made that first big piece, but it wasn’t until he went back over to Ameroupe that it—“ Realizing that she was potentially about to change the course of another Dingo’s life, she clapped her hands over her mouth. “He mostly lives in Jawaii now, but he hangs out with you guys whenever you’re in his town, or he’s in ours,” Meiru explained, effortlessly diverting the conversation away from why Dingo was no longer working for Mahajarama. “Out of everyone, I think it’s friendships like his that have lasted the longest…” Whip-chan, Dingo, Jasmine… Outside of Enzan and later Netto, they were her closest friends. “He and Tomahawkman saw a lot of the same stuff we did,” Roll agreed. “It kinda makes sense to stick close to someone who really gets it, doesn’t it? On top of him being fun to hang out with.” Meiru did a victory fist-pump once Mel finished chugging the remains of the parfait. “Hmm… I guess that means we’re done here.” They could continue to nurse their drinks as they walked, after all. “But it’s been such a nice day out, I kinda want to do something else!” “Good thing we’re in Downtown Densan, then!” cheered Roll.

DragonMan watched as Roll caught herself from saying much else, but 'going back to Ameroupe' was all that needed to be said. Of course it was probably what was best for him, but losing that friend and coworker would be rough for Mel. "Mm! Mhm yeah!" Mel almost caught that thought, almost, but considering their timelines were different, that might not happen anytime soon! She could hope. She wasn't going to exress that though. She didn't really know what she could say in regards to long-lasting friendships, or the things they've seen working for the cops and doing their crossfusion shit either, instead just nodding along. At the prospect of doing something else she was at a complete loss, grabbing her drink and slinking along behind. She hadn't even considered going out to the cafe when she planned coming here, let alone even more activities. "Uhh...I wouldn't know...what to do?"

Truth be told, Meiru had nothing specific in mind, either. But they were in Downtown Densan! There were all kinds of shops to peruse and things to do, from crane games and lotteries to art museums and… places Mel was not quite old enough to patronize yet. “Stop me if you wanna look closer at something,” she told Mel. “We’re not keeping you from anything, are we?” Roll asked DragonMan as Meiru slowed to a stop in front of a storefront with rows and rows of gashapon machines lining the side and back walls. In particular, there were a few series of virus charms, the kind one would attach to a necklace or bracelet. "Hmmm..." Meiru remembered herself a moment later. "Is it okay if we look around in here?"

She supposed there wasn't much else she planned for her day. Even if she didn't have much interest Mel followed after Meiru anyways, looking into some passing windows half-heartedly. She didn't window shop much for how often she roamed around at night. DragonMan took up his favourite spot on Mel's shoulder, checking out the stores as they went by along with them. "Oh no, we didn't have anything going on today. It was our day off." He answered for them. As they slowed in front of the gashapon store, his eyes immediately honed on on the virus accessories. "Mel we HAVE to go in there!!" He clawed at the collar of her hoodie, as if he could interact with it and influence her decision. "Huhh...." Mel squinted, it wasn't like she could see anything from there with clarity anyways. "I guess so?" Meiru was already inquiring, so she went ahead and entered without being prompted further. Following DragonMan's directions she knelt down at the wall where the machines with the virus charms were. "Oh. I see." Normally she wouldn't be tempted by something like this, even if they were a virus she particularly liked...but things had been kind of different lately...and there were Molokos in there.

Roll beamed at DragonMan’s enthusiasm. “It’s a winner!” Like at most arcades around Densan, there was a small terminal to tap one’s PET to in order to produce coins for use in the gachapon machines. Meiru didn’t even need to tell Roll how much to put in from the PET’s virtual wallet: a solid 2000 zenny, plenty of tries to get a sampling of the things that looked interesting. There really were all kinds of things, from anime characters to improbably-posed cats. Little trinkets like this were some of Meiru’s favorites; they didn’t take up too much space, or they could be used for different things than just sitting on a table. But first thing first: the virus charms… Marumoko and Rabirii were split between two series, and thus two different gachapon boxes. There were other ‘cute’ viruses in the bunch, too, like Metool, Kumonpe, Jelly, and… Yura? Meiru wasn’t sure if she’d ever thought of that one before, though it probably would be cute as a charm… Since Mel seemed to be going for Marumoko, Meiru decided to attempt for Rabirii. Click-click-click… …Paraball? “He is just a little guy…” she decided agreeably. Once she was finished admiring it, she slipped the capsule into her jacket pocket. (edited)

Watching Meiru Mel tapped her PET to the machine, and thankfully there were no software limitations between now and her now. It was nice to be able to tap whenever rather than have the middle man of a points card like the arcade she was familiar with. She wasn't sure what she was going to do with these...or any of the ones she would roll that she didn't care about- but the urge came upon her none the less and she was twisting. "You know, these are more for you than me. I'm not gonna use these." She said over her shoulder to DragonMan. "You can't even use them." "Sure I can! You can put them on my PET." She made a face, not only at his idea, but at the result of her pull. A Jelly, and not even one in the colour she liked. It seemed that colour variations outside the basic forms were pretty rare. "I'm not putting charms on my PET." "I mean it's technically my living space, so I think I should be allowed to have it decorated how I want, right?" DragonMan contested. "Guys, help me out."

Meiru and Roll exchanged glances. “I guess it kinda is, isn’t it?” wondered Meiru. “The Operator has to carry it around, but it is the Navi’s home base while we’re out and about…” “I think our tastes are so similar that we never had to think of it that way,” Roll admitted. “Our house network is definitely like your room, if we’re equating Navi spaces to human spaces,” Meiru continued to muse. “Maybe the PET is more like… a car.” Roll giggled at the comparison. “So putting charms on it would be like bumper stickers!” “Or fuzzy dice,” Meiru continued sagely. “So one or two charms is definitely reasonable,” Roll concluded. “There’s not a ton of space for it on the Mode PET, though…” “They’d really get in the way dangling off the PET body,” Meiru agreed. As it was, the wristband was so comfortable as to be unnoticeable, IPC quality in action once again. “Maybe, if we hooked the bracelet on the outside of the wristband…” “So it’s an outside layer!” finished Roll. ...At the moment, these two were thoroughly distracted from trying for more charms.

"Haha yes!" DragonMan roared triumphantly. "Yes! I should be allowed to deck out my car!" He was only somewhat jealous that their hosts were so alike that they had no qualms about sharing things like aesthetics. Maybe under different circumstances Mel would have ended up with a navi that shared her tastes...but he didn't want to think too hard about that! Mel groaned at being voted out and removed her PET from her pocket to look it over. The Progress shell definitely had a little set of holes in which to loop accessories through. She was cornered. "Ok...maybe I'll consider it if we pull a good one." What she considered a good one was anyone's guess. Viruses she actually liked and would have to be defended against the tastes she displayed outwardly. "Maybe they have cooler ones in another machine." DragonMan compromised. Surely there were options for people who wanted 'cool' over 'cute'. "You know, like a Draggy or something." "That one's...meh." Mel mumbled, continuing to crank for pulls at the same machine. She wanted that Moloko, even if she wasn't going to be displaying it anywhere. "Yeah but," DragonMan held back a snort. "It kinda looks like you."

Meiru was a bit surprised; Mel did look like the type to like a virus like Dragurin. (Alas, there were no Lava Dragons or Needle Machines to be found; only ones that could be considered some form of cute… though there was a possible Dragurin to pull from Mel’s machine.) Though, was it a surprise at all, looking at the list of possibilities from Mel’s machine…? “I get it, because it’s wearing a choker, too,” Roll said to DragonMan, studying the picture on the gachapon machine. With Mel on the hunt once more, Meiru turned back to her own Rabirii search. Click-click-click… Bomb Corn! Definitely cute, and the star of one of Mary and Ring’s favorite Battle Chips. Though, since Mel was right there, and had been unenthused by the Jelly… “Wanna trade? I’ll take the Jelly.”

"Oh yeah I wasn't even thinking of the choker." DragonMan snickered. "Its the way her hair stands up like it's spikes when she doesn't brush it, and the 'no body can get close to me' ring of fire- oh and that face..." Mel scrunched her eyebrows, making a similar expression to the virus as she inspected the next pull: coincidentally, a DraggyEX. "I don't see it." DragonMan stifled another fit of laughter to shout: "Ohh! That one must be rare right?! And it's black so it won't offend your wardrobe!" "Huh...yeah I guess." She stuffed it in her pocket for later and once he was done sparkling over it, DragonMan brought Mel's attention to Meiru's trade offer. Oh what a stupid thing that was...but she knew DragonMan would like it. These things were meant to be traded for dupes and such after all. "Oh...uh sure." She passed over the Jelly and took the BombCorn, turning it over in her hands. "God this thing is stupid." "No! It's great! And you accepted the trade so what does that say?" DragonMan argued, sticking his tongue out. "Anyways, what are you guys going for?"

“Aw, I’ve been having a great time with Mel-chan today!” Meiru said in reply to DragonMan's teasing rather than stand there awkwardly. “People just express themselves differently, that’s all. Someone can really appreciate something but not say ‘thank you’ out loud… does that make sense?” Roll smiled, a bit nervously; DragonMan probably knew Mel best, but at the same time, she and Meiru couldn’t exactly agree with that when it came to someone she’d met in person that day… “Thanks!” Meiru said with the Jelly obtained. “I bet Netto’ll really like this one.” “He does like these sorts of viruses, doesn’t he?” Roll mused. In response to Mel’s question, Meiru cheered, “I’m going for Rabirii!” Then, she asked, “Who’re you going for? I guess I just assumed Marumoko, because Marumokos are the cutest, but…” She studied the set in Mel’s machine like it was a serious clue.

"Oh for sure, I think she's been doing really well today too." DragonMan nodded. "We've also had a good time with you guys today!" Mel ran hot at having the -chan affixed to her. She understood why, but it always threw her through a loop when it was used. "Er...at least someone gets it." She muttered. "It's really hard to 'express yourself differently' here when there are so many social expectations and everyone expects you to be polite all the time." There were so many different ways to say things, and levels of politeness too, even if she felt anyone deserved it...it was a lot to remember as a second language. The most she ever used was basic customer service language when her boss was around. She supposed the Bunny made sense- maybe it was making assumptions but it was pink like them, and she was out here breaking assumptions of her own tastes as well. She wrinkled her nose as Meiru made the correct guess on the nose. "Well...I don't what makes you think I want the cutest one but...I already have a big Moloko so it would match I guess." Yes, that was the excuse that would pass for now, she ignored DragonMan chortling in her ear. The coins she had initially withdrawn were starting to run out and she grimaced...was she really going to spend more than she intended just to get the stupid sheep? After draining Meiru's wallet at the cafe no less? Yes...just 1000z more and surely

That made a sad sort of sense to Meiru—it seemed Mel was used to saying things ‘wrong’, being different. “You just have to find your people, I think,” she said. “The ones who’ll make the effort to stick by you.” The ‘you’ she was using encompassed anyone and everyone, including herself. “It isn’t always easy to do, but it’s too sad not to find someone you can be yourself around…” Being half-Ameroupian and a Netbattler had felt so lonely during those interminable hours at middle school. But even then, she’d had Enzan waiting at the Ministry. And Mel had… “Like Dingo!” When Mel defensively wondered why she’d made that guess while DragonMan all but confirmed Mel really wanted that Marumoko, Meiru tilted her head, thinking. “Well, I guess it’s the standout one in that set. Like, all of them are cute to some degree, so if you aren’t after Dragurin, then it’s gotta be Marumoko.” “I would’ve guessed Yakaan, too, but it’s not in the set,” Roll brought up. “It’s a kettle, so it’s inherently cute,” Meiru agreed, “but is it the kind of cute they were after when they were making these charms…?”

Mel exhaled deeply through her nose. She knew what Meiru was saying had merit, she was slowly finding her people. 'Being herself' however was something more foreign; she hadn't been 'herself'- the old her in seven years. It was so hard to gauge who she really was now under all the grand-standing to keep people away from her. The moloko kept pushing it's way through despite it all. "Yeah..." She thought for a moment and opened her mouth just as Meiru shared the thought. "Yeah, like Dingo...and Ellen I guess." She didn't have the same access to Ellen, but she counted now. "Kettle's ok." She replied, turning the crank and receiving more boxes. "She's right." DragonMan said. "They are inherently cute. but I don't see them selling." "They have Sparkys in here, they don't even have a face." That didn't bother Mel, but she seemed to have tacked 'having a face' to what people associated with cute- even if it was just eyes. Some more doubles, another rare- these were good pulls but not what she wanted. A rare green and yellow Champy. They were definitely viruses she could relate to, but didn't fit her taste...she knew someone who might though. Finally, she got her prized Moloko, sitting on her little mountain of duds. Surely she could hawk some of these off later to make up for the amount spent on them. There was no fanfare, but there was some relief now that the search was over.

“Ellen-chan!” Meiru exclaimed in recognition when Mel mentioned her. It quite tickled her to know that her kouhai was also friends with Mel! The more she got to know about her, the more she realized that some bits of that aloof exterior were just a facade—just like a few other people she knew. As Meiru began to slide in coins to make a few more attempts of her own, she wondered, “Maybe it’s the way they wobble around that people think is cute?” “I think it’s how they get distracted by things in their path,” Roll said. Metool, Bomb Corn again, Kumonpe, Metool but blue, Paraball, Paraball… Paraball?! “Don’t give up now, Meiru-chan!” urged Roll. “Right!” One more pull. Meiru squeezed her eyes shut as she was parted with another coin and felt the gachapon ball drop into her hands… …It was the Rabirii. Meiru soundlessly sighed in relief.

"Ah..." Mel had name-dropped her, but somehow didn't think Meiru would be able to connect her name from the chatroom. Maybe they met already? She could see Ellen getting around seeing how flippantly she started playing with portals after getting stuck the first time. "Oh, that is kind of cute in a way." DragonMan mused, imagining their little orbits like a funny lost little dog. Sparky even sounded like a dog's name! "Yeah! You've got this!" DragonMan hooted when Meiru drew her target, happy that they could both get what they wanted out of this...even at the cost. "I think we're about done here then, right?" Scooping up the remaining capsules, Mel fit what she could in her deep pockets, and carried the rest nestled in one arm awkwardly. "Ok wait though." She started stalking along the wall to look at the other sets, squinting at them, before settling on one and putting her few remaining coins in. "What are you doing? We have too many already!" "I just need one more." She insisted, pulling three until she got what she wanted: A Zomon. "Ok. I think I'm ready to go now."

Meiru was happy to wait while her guest pulled the Zaemon. It could be just as exciting to watch a friend pull for a certain prize as it was to do it herself, after all. “Interesting,” she said, quite sincere. Mel’s picks certainly ran the gamut, between it and the Marumoko. Once Mel was ready to go, though, Roll said, “We should get going, ourselves. It’s getting late.” Dusk was beginning to fall. As they stepped outside, a chilly blast of wind made Meiru take a reflexive sip of still-warmish coffee. “Yeah, guess so…” She turned to Mel to bid a proper farewell. “Don’t be a stranger, okay? I had so much fun this afternoon! I’d love to show you around to more places.” With a carefree smile, she added, “Tell Ellen-chan I said hi, too!” As far as she was concerned, things had gone great! Meiru felt like she’d made a proper friendship now. She was quite happy she'd been able to make sure Mel had a good time, even with how foreign the idea of an afternoon out had appeared to her guest at first. And maybe, one day, Meiru would be able to hear Mel’s story; she certainly seemed to have one, with how she’d reacted at the café. But being a good enough friend to make Mel feel less alone and more comfortable sharing that story with someone was a fine goal in itself to her. Thinking of it that way, it hardly seemed to matter if she wasn’t the one meant to hear it.

Mel squinted slightly at Meiru's comment. Was she scrutinizing her picks? They weren't for her- but she couldn't just admit that she was picking things out for her friends either! She was vulnerable enough on this trip. "Ah yeah...I guess it is late..." She really did end up spending most of her day here...for a hand off that was meant to only be a few minutes. And now that her hands and pockets were full- of that leftover coffee and an absurd amount of gashapon capsules it was a good thing that there wasn't about to be any more travelling. "Ah..." She wasn't sure how to respond at first, and directed her attention to her feet. Meiru had been a strangely positive experience...that maybe she wouldn't mind experiencing again once she's fought off her negativity about it later, once she was alone again. She swallowed the metallic-tasting bile that was always there at the back of her throat, ready to remind her that she didn't deserve nice things like this. "No promises...but, yeah I'll tell Ellen if I see her again." "Thank you so much again for hosting us, and treating us!" DragonMan spoke up, waving them off from his perch on Mel's shoulder. "It was nice seeing you again! And Roll too!" Mel was never very good at goodbyes, but at the very least Meiru held a rare honour in not being flipped off when they parted ways. Slipping into an alley was something easily overlooked on a crowded street for someone who looked like her, and once she was sure the coast was clear DragonMan opened the portal for her. Once back in the mild comfort of her spruced up apartment she went about starting the mess anew, dropping all of the virus capsules. The day had gone better than expected, but she still couldn't help but let out a massive sigh of relief that the social aspect was over, and went about sorting the charms into which she would keep, give away, and sell at an exorbitant price to a world that may or may not have them yet.