The Fujiwara House

Packed up and ready to go, Shin undocked Red's PET from it's charger and slid it into his belt holster before locking it firmly with a loud *click*.

"Let's go," Shin called, adjusting his sunglasses.

"Yeah!" Red and Myun cheered, pumping their fists into the air.

And so they went.

In any case, Shin just headed home after he grabbed a bite to eat. Docking his PET into the charge station, the netop-navi pair gave each other a thumbs up before selecting a network and jacking into it.

[JACK IN]

"Whew, what a day, huh?" Shin remarked, jacking Red and Myun out of the network.

"Yeah, but it was super fun!" Red cheered, bouncing up and down as she arrived in the PeT.

"Well, I think I'll take a jog around town before getting some rest. Wanna count my steps for me?" Shin stated, getting up and stretching.

"No problem!" Red replied, opening up the pedometer application while Shin strapped the PeT to his belt.

"Off we go then," Shin proclaimed, going down the stairs.

Shin returned from the shop, took a shower, made dinner, ate dinner, changed, and finally plopped on his bed, going to sleep.

Suffice to say, his digital programs did the same.

The next day, Shin had decided it was a nice and warm today outside...

...so the best option was to stay home.

"Awww~ But the weather is great for some good jogging to get your circulation going!" Red complained, jumping up and down in irritation at her NetOps decision.

"Nope. I went on a jog yesterday, that was enough," Shin refused, sipping on some more lemonade. The air conditioning was definitely keeping it cool.

"But... but...." Red whined, giving Shin the puppy-dog eyes. He was quite unaffected.

"At any rate, we're going to join the NetPolice," Shin proclaimed nonchalantly.

"....Whaaaaaa-?" Red gasped, jaw dropping.

"The Investigative Division in all actuality. Since Neo Requiem is pretty much nonexistent, I need another organization outlet," Shin explained, munching on some potato chips afterwards.

"...So it was just a Guild to you, huh?" Red inquired, sweatdropping as Shin slurped some more lemonade.

"Very true. Ah~ I miss Aida a bit. Those were fun times," Shin reminisced, scratching his chin.

"So... off to the NetSquare?" Red inquired.

"Yup."

"Oooookie-doke..." the red-caped wonder sighed. In truth, she was a little excited. Investigations meant detective, right? This could be pretty cool.

With that, Red jacked herself in using the Computer's direct connection.

[JACK IN]

"Phew, that was a close one," Shin sighed as Red returned to the PeT.

"Well, we got a bunch of stuff. I'm not sure they're all useful though," Red grimaced, examining the one she took of Arch falling face-first and Myst and Sake in their bathrobes.

"Well we have plenty of recordings in that case. I'm kind of curious what's in this diary," Shin mused, re-establishing the link to Netfrica.

"Yeah, let's see what PartnerMan has to say about our findings!" Red cheered, warping back into the net.

[Another Jack In]

Shin sighed, Red groaned, Myun yawned, and the latter two went back in again

[JACK IN, AGAIN]

[.GMO deactivated]

Shin breathed a sigh of relief as Red returned from the mission safe and sound. It seemed she was enrolled in the Faction as well.

"Good work, Red, now let's see if we can't upgrade your abilities, eh?" Shin proposed, taking the PeT off the docking station.

"Oooh~ What're you gonna do this time?" Red inquired, eyes shining and curious.

"Well, you'll see," Shin chuckled, heading off to Scilabs.

Returning from the metroline, Shin sighed as he went to his room and docked the PeT on the charge station.

"..." Red was silent as she observed her new upgrades. She kind of scrunched her face at some of the changes, but sighed before plopping down on her rear end.

"All's well that ends well," Shin mumbled, preparing for the end of the day.

[A few days later]

Even though it was fall, the season was too hot for Shin to handle, sighing, he removed the ice pack from the top of his forehead as he spun around in his office chair. In a freak accident, the air conditioning units for the entire stretch of neighborhood had broken, and Shin could really feel the heat pressing down on him right now. He had devoted a small electrical fan to Red's PeT, but suffered from the heat as a consequence.

"I'm booooored," Shin complained over the roar of the fan.

"Yeesh, it's about 95 degrees Fahrenheit outside, Shin! If you stay in here too long without the air conditioning, even with all the windows open you'll be sure to get heat stroke!" Red piped up, popping out as a life-size hologram from her PeT.

"B-but, where do I even go? I know they're working hard on maintenance but I don't think I know anywhere else to stay!" Shin whined as he turned his chair to face his navi.

Sighing and crossing her arms, Red puffed out her face and glared at Shin, "Did you even think of taking an insta-jet to Sharo?"

"...." Shin sat there for a moment, blinking, before his jaw dropped as much as it could. "You know what, you're absolutely right. Let's get going," the ace replied, snatching the PeT up from the charger and startling Myun as he closed all the windows and blinds and made sure to take a suitcase with a change of clothes with him. Docking his PeT in a side pocket, Shin held hands (or as much as he could) with the holographic image of his navi as he faced the humid outside from his doorway.

Looking down, the ace gave his navi a grin, "Now, shall we go?"

Letting out a sigh, Red puffed her face up again and narrowed her eyes at her operator, "What are you saying now anyway? Let's go!" Red yelled, running ahead while Shin chuckled and ran to catch up. The metroline. Then the airport.... Then... to Sharo.

[To Sharo]

[One week after staying in Sharo]

There they were, the champs were bored again. Most of their daily life was running errands for others and fixing the neighbors' appliances for grocery money. They needed to do something awesome, and fast.

"We're going to rot in here..." Red whined, curling her knees up to her chest and sighing bitterly. Myun continued to punch a virtual punching bag.

"Ugh... but there's nothing to do!" Shin moaned, throwing his hands into the air in frustration, dropping his game console controller. The sound of Myun rhythmically beating her fists into the bag resonated through the room.

"...Defeat a Cybeast?" Red suggested, pondering thoughtfully.

"Eh, I guess Champion status entitles something like that, but we're going to need help. Lots of it," Shin groaned, rubbing his temples.

"...another mission? Actually, why haven't we gone to see big sis Maverick at all!?" Red jumped up, pouting at her NetOp.

"...Well, I've kind of been out of it for that... I think another mission would do just fine..." Shin mused, pulling up the NetPolice Forums.

"Hooray! We're actually doing something!" Red cheered.

Myun needed another punching bag anyway.

"Alright, let's head out. ...Heh, it's been a while since I've been to Netvegas," Shin remarked, smirking as he fondly recalled his coming of age party.

"Must've been a real good memory, I'm sure," Myun commented, causing the operator to laugh.

"What happens in NetVegas... stays in NetVegas," Shin smirked, adjusting his sunglasses as he took his PeT and headed out.

[To Navi Shop]

It was just another lazy weekend at Shin's house, he hadn't been doing that much since that big win in the Netvegas Casino he had before he left, so he had been taking it easy.

But now his funds were low, and he needed to get back into the action, a man's gotta work for his food you know.

"To the internet!" Shin proclaimed suddenly, pointing his PET into the jack-in port.

"Whaaaa?" Red mumbled, rubbing her eyes, half-asleep, and still wearing pajamas before being beamed into the network.

"To food money and beyond!" Shin announced, cackling maniacally.

[To Electown Rogue Net]