A day or two later..
Kenji was pretty excited. Not only had he got some of his old mobility back. Not just because he finally got to hang out a little more with Yuki. Not even because he had started receiving a flood of offers from various schools. No, it was because the present his buddy Daigin had got for his birthday had arrived. And man was it awesome, not that he expected anything less from a guy who called his navi Awesome Man, but still. Awesome.
At first it looked like some kind of wireless headband but he realized he was meant to strap it to his face, right over his eyes. It had a black plastic band that covered both his eyes and his ears and a mesh helped the thing sit on top of his head like a ball cap or a bandana. The adjustable rubber strap in back made him think more along the lines of some kind of night vision goggles though.
He patiently charged the.. Rig.. And synched it to his PC. While this was going on, Musou jacked into the thing to get himself acquainted with the Progs and dataspace. It seemed pretty plain and unremarkable from inside, though a bunch of large monitors floated in one corner of the place. Two large chairs sat before the things and a pair of Mr Progs were chatting away, idly monitoring the slowly growing battery bar that was being displayed across all the screens.
All Musou could get the the very unhelpful Progs was he should read the manual or to just wait and see what it did. With a snort, he thought to himself they must be from Netopia.
When everything was ready and Kenji placed it on his head to make adjustments he immediately noticed that the black band had somehow managed to pretty much cut off his senses from the outside. He was seated at his desk so it didn't bother him so much but he noticed that there was some sort of noise cancellation going on through what he realized was also an audio headset. More then just noise cancellation, he could swear it was generating some kind of white noise effect outwardly, just barely detectable. The inky blackness didn't help much, but that was before everything turned on.
Light almost blinded him as it flashed in front of his face, almost blinding him. All he could do was close his eyes, since the device apparently had subtle rubber molding around his eyes to keep all other light out and whatever he was seeing in. He blinked several times and saw.. A dojo before him. He could hear water flowing over rocks from somewhere nearby and the loud, sudden clack of a bamboo pitcher dumping and hitting a rock when it returned upright.
He looked around wildly and saw Musou, standing in front of him. He seemed pretty tall, as Kenji's point of view only seemed to be about up to his waist. Wait, maybe.. The boy slid his computer chair backwards and slowly stood. His perspective, likewise, backed up a bit then raised. He looked around from his position and found when he moved his head, his perspective actually changed.
"Whoa.. What is all this? Accelerometer driven maybe?" he said aloud as he gawked in amazement. Musou stepped forward and raised his hand slowly, extending it towards Kenji's point of view. The navi paused and almost pulled back but he reached out and passed it cleanly through Kenji, or so the boy thought.
Musou breathed a sigh of relief and said "That's good. For a minute there I thought you somehow got yanked into my world". Kenji blinked and said "What do you mean? Wait.. What are you seeing? From me, I mean"
The navi scratched his head and said "Well.. You. Mostly. I mean, I've been looking at your through a camera for awhile and now I think this.. Um. Present of Gins has synched up with that camera you borrowed from him. I can see you. Everything looks scaled correctly, as far as I can figure.. I mean, I cant see your feet or half your legs.. I think your desk is blocking the camera"
Kenji gave a "Hrmm" and backed up a bit more. He slid his computer chair well out of the way and looked down at himself. Sure enough, he could see a ghostly blue body scan of himself. It was far from perfect, but he noticed quickly as he made some movements that the image was processing and loading fully in real time. The boy mumbled "Huh. My.. Uh.. Avatar, looks pretty grainy but it's got no delay. That's what's important anyway".
"Hey Musou, I'm gonna back up a little.. You step forward towards me. I don't want to break any of my furniture, if I can help it" His navi stepped forward and automatically took a fighting stance, hopping on the balls of his feet ad a grin formed on his face. Kenji took his own fighting stance, firmly rooted in place and said "I'm going to have to do some scripting on the dojo program. Maybe see if there's any extra software for this headset-" He ducked a slow kick his navi launched as a test. "At the least-" He broke off as he raised a hand to slap one of Musou's incoming punches aside but the two just went through each other.
They both stood back up, amazed but at the same time disappointed. "Well, at least to see if I can get a light or something to show up when one of us connects. Or some kind of scoring system". Musou nodded and looked Kenji's avatar up and down and said "It's still pretty awesome, Sensei. I mean, it will take some getting used to but.. It's sorta like your right here with me.
Kenji mumbled "I wonder what happens if I-" He steps forward a few steps, arms at the level he would expect his desk to be at and once he reaches it, puts his hand up and clicks the off button on the camera atop his monitor. He moves his head back and forth and his perspective still changes.. He takes a few steps backwards and notes that everything still synches up with his movements. "Huh. Interesting. So it's all in the visor. What do you see now Musou?"
Musou had been looking around wildly since Kenji turned off the camera. He felt his presence, knew he was there.. But he imagined most navis weren't as perceptive as he was. "Hey, I want to try something, Sensei" The navi spoke up before calling out the the Mr Progs that worked in the background to stop the dojo program. Sure enough, when everything cleared up and he was in the PC's dataspace he saw a Prog standing where he figured Kenji was standing. Or at least his point of perspective. The Prog wore a replica of the headset with one exception, though he could tell it was more of a lens over the eyes and not a solid black band to block vision.
"What can you see now, Sensei?" Musou asked as Kenji looked around again. "Looks like.. The area your in. Seems pretty bland though". He looks down at himself but doesn't see anything "But I don't have a body. This feels pretty strange.."
Musou walks forward and gives the Prog an experimental push on the shoulder, and sure enough he encounters resistance, as would be normal for a navi pushing a Mr Prog. Of course the Prog, who had been silent this whole time suddenly spoke out with "Hey, watch it". Musou just blinked and stared a moment before taking a few steps back "Er.. Sorry. This is all very confusing" The navi said. The Mr Prog smirked and said "Really? Have you guys bothered to read the instruction manual? I can load it into your PET if your too lazy yo do it yourself, Mr Navi"
Musou frowned but didn't say anything. Though he was definitely thinking "Rude.. Netopian.. Prog...".
Kenji undid the strap on the back of his head and removed the headgear, carefully placing it on his desk. He rubbed his eyes, letting them get used to regular light once again. "Hmm. this has a lot of potential, I think. Yeah, Musou can you hop in there and bring up the manual and whatever software suites it came with ready to go, just in case?"
The navi nodded and with a quick "Hai, Sensei", following the Prog back to it's home device, a wireless leap away.
A quick flash of light and energy and the navi was once again the head datascape of the headset. Sitting in front of him was a pair of floating blue data cubes. One of the Progs quickly said "Here, just take 'em and get out" One of the navi's eyes twitched as he fought with the urge to punch or at least yell at these guys. He settled for grabbing the data cubes then hopping back across the wireless link strait to his PET. He dumped the data off to one of his own, much friendlier Progs, who bowed graciously and took the files to load into the document viewing system and the software suite into a position to be run if it was needed.
Breathing a sigh of relief, the navi said "Thanks" to the Progs before heading to the hardline jack-out port exit, once again, and headed back into Kenji's PC. "Well that was quite a little trip", he mumbled as he got back and at his request, the dojo program was up and running again.
Meanwhile, Kenji sat and started reading the nearly textbook-sized manual. Or at least he did until there was a knock at his bedroom door. "Yes?" He called out, to have his father open the door and step in. The Master had a frown on his face and said "You were supposed to just come in for lunch. Play with your toys later. Meet me back in the dojo in five. For goofing off, your going to be sparring with me for awhile" Mr Kobayashi turned and walked back out without another word. Didn't even close the door behind him.
Kenji groaned "This is so not fair. There's so much to read about this thing and so much to try to script and work out.. And after he's done with me I'm only going to feel like sleeping" Musou shrugged helplessly and said "Sorry I'm not any good with all this stuff. Your the brains, after all"
Kenji smirked and said "Gee thanks. I think. Are you implying I'm lacking in brawn?" He got to his feet and issued the jack-out command to Musou.
The navi sighed. He was going to get some kind of whiplash from all the hopping back and forth between links. After he appeared back within his PET, to be run ragged by Mr Kobayashi again, he was sure, he said "Nah. You've got plenty of brawn for an eleven-year-old who has been on his butt for months. But I'm telling you, the faster you get all these things set up, the faster I hand you your butt. If I weren't a fighting navi, or maybe wasn't drilled with your own school's martial arts then maybe you could get in some hits. But like I am now? No way you'll even touch me"
It was hard to tell if Musou was being arrogant or just matter-of-fact, but the challenge was beginning to get Kenji's blood boiling. But he knew if he went to his father with an attitude he would get it knocked out of him just that much harder, so he let it go, with a mumbled "We will see. If I ever get this stuff read and if I ever get anything set up".
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Several grueling hours later...
Kenji groaned, for what had to be the hundredth time, just today, and plopped down into his computer chair. "Ugh.. Let's try to do something constructive with our time. Father was 'kind' enough to let us out a couple hours early tonight" The boy said as he held an ice pack to his forehead.
"Ken, he let us out early because he knocked you unconscious. I think you scared him. His face was pretty shaken until you responded to the smelling salts" Musou grumbled. It's funny how in a typical family, the father beating his son out cold would be a terrible, immoral, illegal thing. But in the Kobayashi household, it just meant Kenji forgot to duck or block at the right time. Probably had something to do with his father sweeping his weak foot from behind him and bouncing his head off the mat and into one of the walls though. Yeah he would have to watch out for that crap in the future. "Be aware of your weakness and be prepared at all times" he imitated his gruff father and grunted in disgust at the end.
Musou snickered and said "Hey that was pretty good. How about this-" He got an exaggerated, serious look on his face and crossed his arms before grunting loudly. Then he said "Drop... And.. Give... Me.. Infinity.." He couldn't hold the guise though and following that, he cracked up.
Kenji flashed a grin back "Heh, not bad Musou, just don't let him hear you say that or you just might be given that order" Musou's face paled as he realized that the possibility was pretty real. He silently nodded.
The navi tried to change the subject, following yet another leap through the PET's jack-out cable and into Kenji's PC. "So what do you have planned for tonight? Want to try to gather more info on the Officials? Maybe try to find out that the Neo Shogunate's stake in this faction war is?"
Kenji shakes his head and says "Actually, I'm going to read more of this manual and support you while you go and post on the GNA board and sit tight" His navi raises an eyebrow and says "Ohh I get it, you want me to go call them out on their scheming and plotting right? The whole 'running weapons for both sides' thing they are doing?"
Kenji shakes his head and says "Actually.. We are going to try to pick up a support program. We usually fight alone and we could really use the help, I think. It would be nice to have someone watching your back that we didn't have to worry about connecting to the net on.. What did it used to be called? Dial-up?"
Musou snorts and mumbled "More like connected by a cup and a string. Anyway, I have to have heard you wrong, you want to do a mission for the GNA? Why? I mean after our talk with Officer Cabal, I was sure you were set on unraveling their big nasty corporate scheming or something"
Kenji gave another light shrug, scrolling within the PET's textbook viewer back to where he was. "I don't want to sound like a hypocrite or like I don't have any conviction, Musou, but right now we aren't strong enough to be all that choosey. And remember, Officer Cabal brought up a valid, if annoying, point at the end that there is another way to look at the GNA. A way other then sneaky corporate misers that may or may not be pumping psychotic viruses into the net. They are actually doing a lot of good."
Musou just.. blinked. But eventually he did come up with the ever-witty "What?"
The boy sighed and said "Look. No matter what we decide, right now they are the only ones able to get us a support program. And we aren't strong enough or experienced enough yet, according to, well, whoever decides these things.. To approach the Net Police or anyone else and ask to join, let alone ask them for a support program"
Musou crosses his arms and says simply "Then we should just do without. What happens if these support programs are just ticking time bombs made by the GNA to spy on navis or even turn on them at some point? I mean, they DO get stronger by eating bug-frags, right? I know when I ever get a whiff of that kind of corrupt data, it makes me sick. I'm a lot more attuned then most navis, I don't really want that kind of thing next to me all the time" It was hard for Kenji to tell if he had a point or was just making excuses.
"Look at it this way, Musou. Everyone else on the net, as far as I know, is accepting armaments from the GNA. Every bad guy we bump into will be equipping themselves from where ever and however they can. We need to at least do this one thing and get a support program. And anyway we will be doing a mission for an actual person, that's my understanding. They just broker it".
Musou frowns again "And that's another thing that bothers me. They demand payment just to help people with stuff. I mean sure, some of it is probably time-consuming and difficult, but it's just not right. We are out to join the Net Police right, not to become some kind of net mercenary? Highest bidder and all that garbage?"
Kenji grumbles again "Musou. Please, I already have a headache and I sincerely hope I do not have a minor concussion to go with it. For every reason the GNA shouldn't be helped I can come up with at least one more it should. I have no intention of lining their wallets or progressing any of their schemes. But it's a fact that we need help. I know you ran around with Delta, and we both can't forget Rook, but support programs are linked to you. It's just another extension of you. And it can be whatever you want or need most. Your a great fighter but your support program could be.. I dunno, a sniper? A medic? A freakin' Metool? Anything"
The boy goes back to reading and mumbles "My conviction is not weakening, Musou. I just don't think trying to tear them down is the way to go about eliminating their corruption. They provide useful services to all navis and people. They sell chips and train navis and operators. The broker missions and deliver help to those who couldn't get it otherwise. Those things are facts. And those things are what we should try and preserve about them. They are the same things the Officials did. If we can stop the fighting, end the wars and somehow bring peace to the net.. Their money-grubbing corrupt ways will come to the surface. They have to, they will panic and do anything to keep their power and wealth, even if it means becoming the next big threat".
The boy finishes up by pointing a finger at the camera sitting atop his monitor, Musou's current viewpoint of him. "And that is the GNA we will put down" The navi scratches his chin and says "Your either really good at making excuses.. Or you have this thought out a lot more then I imagined. Either way you make it sound.. Ok I guess. Alright I'm in. Doesn't look like I would have had a choice anyway-"
Kenji shakes his head "Don't be like that Musou, you always have a choice. If I'm asking you to do something you feel is truely wrong, immoral, or just plain stupid, your welcome to challenge me on it, or just don't do it. I won't be happy but I value your free will and individuality just a bit less then you do, I imagine".
Finally set in motion, the pair buckles down and gets ready for the night ahead of them. Musou stepped into the link in the corner of the PC's dataspace to his homepage on the net and from there hopped into Internet City to get his 'request' on.
The Kobayashi Household
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A few days later...
"I've read all the files but I don't get what it's talking about, interfacing with your Link-II. I have a Link-II right?" The boy studied his PET, flipping it over and around and removing the batter cover to check for anything he missed. "That's what it says, doesn't everyone have one of these?", he concludes, in confusion.
Musou stays silent for the most part, just giving an elusive "Uhh I dunno, Ken" Kenji sighs and slumps back in his chair. "I'm being told to bring up menus I don't have.. Musou, do you know anything about this? Is your PET in some kind of demo mode or are some of the features gone?" The navi swallows and says "Um, about that Sensei. You see.. Well, yeah, actually. See, I wasn't-" The boy cuts him off and says "What, you knew? Explain!" Kenji doesn't seem amused.
The navi clears his throat, annoyed at being cut off but expecting his operator to be mad. "First off? I'm trying to tell you, just let me finish. There was a good reason I couldn't tell you" The boy sighs, defeated but just looks into his PET's camera, waiting. The navi nods and continues "Alright, so yes our PET has had some functions disabled. Your parents listened to the store clerk when they were making the purchase, they asked him what a kid needed to get by with a PET in school. So they turned off a few of the advanced features. Things like the hologram projector and-" The boy cut in again "H-Hologram?! Why didn't you tell me?"
The navi crossed his arms and frowns, waiting in silence a moment. "Er, go on Musou" The navi smirks and says "Anyway, I couldn't tell you because that's part of the deal of shutting off features. I didn't even know they were shut off at first, that info had been blocked to me. As far as I knew, we could do anything a regular team could. But after talking a bit to Flower and AwesomeMan, I realized I was being blocked on some things. So I questioned a few of the Mr Progs in the PET but they wouldn't tell me anything. But instead of acting clueless, they denied things mostly and finally told me access was denied and why. But I couldn't tell you because every time I tried, the program kept me quiet. Wasn't fair really, or comfortable"
"Sounds like some lame kind of mind-control. Why would they do that to you?", Kenji asked. Musou shrugged and said "Yeah well, I didn't like it either but there are certain rules to the whole system. We navis get a lot of freedom. I could honestly just run off into a link and go away if I wanted to, never come back" Kenji grunted and quickly added "Again" The navi grinned sheepishly "Well, we are past that point. Anyway, I couldn't tell you because I couldn't tell you. In fact, until just a minute ago, when you asked me directly if some stuff was disabled, I couldn't even talk about it or.. I dunno, really dig up any info on the issue"
Kenji frowned, annoyed and asked "Ok, so It's not your fault, I get that. Mind telling me how we get those features turned back on?" Musou bit his lip and said "Well, it's sort of in 'school' mode right now. Kind of like a child lock. I'm not allowed to do anything to it and none of the Progs can help either. You either have to get another navi to help you and figure out how to hack and.. Jailbreak your own PET, which cuts you off from the network in general and denies you updates and stuff.. Or you go ask your mom or dad for the password. It's a sequence of words, and it has to be started off with some kind of command so I haven't got the slightest clue, even if I was allowed to help you figure it out"
The boy snorted and said "Well, that's easy. At the end of summer, I'll be going off to a new school, I need all your features turned on. I'm sure they will agree" He gathers his PET and heads out. He straps it back to his arm, using the holder he had for when his foot was broken. He got used to it and just likes the hands-free approach. Heading into the living room, he sees his mother had finished cleaning up after lunch and was just watching tv and sipping iced tea. As he formulated a way to approach the situation, Musou was busy watching the latest development in his world.
They had completed the mission for the GNA, working along with Holley and some of the NetMafia to entertain a bunch of less-than-fortunate navis who had no operators. He felt guilty that they had taken data from what would have been extra toys for some of the orphans to make his SP, but it was what he had set out to do in the first place so he tried to push it out of his mind. Various Mr Progs had set up some kind of glass tube on top of a platform and the data from the SP program had been swirling around within it for a couple days now, slowly taking form.
The Progs greeted Musou and went back to reading screens and managing interfaces, making a tweak there and there as they all waited. Within the last day it had begun to take on the image of some kind of golden wolf. Musou wondered what it was going to turn into, it wasn't really big enough to ride like a mount. It would be cool to fight alongside of but part of him followed Kenji's thoughts that a medic or sniper would have helped to balance him out in combat and a wolf sounded like neither. Oh well, it would be awesome and he would love it, no matter what came out.
"M-Mom, can I ask you something?" Kenji said as he stood by his mother, whom was seated on the couch. "I believe you just did, Ken" She grinned and took a sip of her tea. Kenji tried hard not to roll his eyes and started again "Alright, so I need to talk to you about something" Mrs Kobayashi raised her eyebrows and asked back "Yes, Ken. What's this about? Do you have any.. Questions about your body or-" The boy had a sour look on his face and quickly cut in "N-no. Nothing like that"
His mother looked a bit disappointed but turned it into a serious expression quickly "Alright then, what's this about?" Kenji sat down by her and began "Um, so I found out Musou's PET is in some kind of.. Uh 'school' mode. Some of what it can do is turned off" His mother nodded, taking another sip of her tea. The boy blinked and waited a moment or two before adding "So.. I'm going away to a new school and all. I might need some of those features. I think I need some kind of password to open it up"
Mrs Kobayashi shook her head and said "I don't think so. I used to have a PET when I was your age, though it was a Link-I. But I remember reading all about what the Link-II PETs could do. It was a big, exciting development. But over the years there have been all kinds of stories of security leaks, breeches and, well, things that weren't supposed to happen. You call it 'child safety' but I asked exactly what was being shut off and it's to maintain the highest levels of security"
The boy gave her a doubtful look "B-But Mom, Musou said something about a hologram emitter and all kinds of stuff. Anything that lets us interact better would be great for training and.. I dunno, just being friends" He struggled a moment, trying to come up with other reasons "Besides, you talked about security but the infrared port was enabled and.. Uh stuff"
His mother tilted her head to the side slightly and tried to say gently "Because you could barely move without crutches. You didn't need something else to keep your hands busy. Besides, not everything has a jack-in port and most things that are missing that, unless they are really really old, have an infra-red port. It was out of necessity, really. I'm not going to disable that now that your up and about, just keep out of trouble" Kenji bit his lip, trying to find some way to win out with logic but his mother seemed very confidant in the way she talked, and both the boy and his father knew that attitude meant she wasn't changing her mind.
He thought for a moment of his father. Maybe he could help him? It would mean extra training today, just for showing up around the man but, surely he would listen to reason? Or fists. They had that kind of relationship of mutual understanding.
Kenji ran into his room to get changed into his gi and black belt and as he ran out the back door with a "Bye mom", his PET strapped to his arm, she had a good idea of what he was doing. But her husband had very different ideas of what traits Kenji had to display before he was ready, so she would let it be. She sipped her tea again as she clicked her tv program back in, rewound it a good ten minutes and picked up where she left off.
Making his way into their backyard dojo, Kenji wasn't surprised to find his father there training. He had counted on it, in fact. It didn't seem as though anyone else was in the dojo that afternoon and that was fine. Mr Kobayashi finished the form he was working through, with crisp and precise movements, and didn't acknowledge his son's presence until he was good and ready to. For his part, Kenji had bowed at the edge of the floor and sat in meditation, waiting. When he heard his father's movements change from fast to slow and casual, he opened his eyes and looked up to the man. "Kenji. Come for more training? I'd thought you had enough after this morning. You whined like you were crippled. Your not even limping now by the look of it, good good"
Part of him was glad his son was recovering quickly, and part of him guessed that meant his son was nearing a growth spurt. He would have to adjust training to a more spiritual and emotional control, because if he didn't give the child's body time to recover properly, his growth would wind up stunted. Maybe it was time to break out some of the traditional herbal concoctions his family had used for generations. As the man rubbed his chin in thought, Kenji looking rather uncomfortable at his stare.
"Father. I found out my PET's been limited, put into a kind of.. Child safety mode. I wanted to see if you could unlock it" Kenji was strait and to the point, which both of them preferred. But just as strait, Mr Kobayashi gave a 'Hmph' and said "Did you ask your mother?" The boy gave a sheepish grin and bit his lip. Clearly that meant yes. And the fact that he was still asking meant she had said 'no'. The man narrowed his eyes and took a fighting stance "I will give you the password if you can beat me in a fight. That will mean your not a child any more and I can step down with no regrets" Kenji began to panic, he wasn't afraid to fight but he knew the kind of chance he stood against the man that had been in a barely-declining peak condition now for most of his life.
"Er, uh. B-But I'm about to go to a new school. What if I need one of those features turned on.. And.. And one of them is some kind of hologram. That might help Musou and I train-" His father deepened his stance and said "Unless you can beat me, you will be in my shadow. You will just be a child going to a new school. Your birthday is next week and you will be twelve. In some cultures that would be a time of entering manhood. Time to go find a wife. Mankind has grown too soft with convenient tools and devices and coddling. They forget how to fight for survival" He raises one of his hands and waves his fingers at Kenji in a 'come at me' motion, adding "Fight for what you want. Or stop asking. That is my answer"
The boy unstrapped the PET from his arm and sat it against a wall, tilted so the camera had a full view of the fight. Musou chirped up "Good luck, Ken" The boy narrowed his eyes and turned to look at his father as he took a fighting stance "Luck is for those with no skill", he said. Mr Kobayashi smirked and took his stance again "Well said, but you would be wise to use whatever you can in a fight. Your foes will rarely be karateka. They will break rules, they will use weapons, their friends will hit you from behind or they will throw dirt in your eyes. Don't fight me as one karateka to another, fight me like you want your PET unlocked. Do whatever it takes"
Kenji growled and ran at his father, giving a loud "Keeeyaaaa", springing off the ground into a flying kick. His father turned to the side, raised his forward-facing arm and caught the boy's leg with minimal effort. Not giving him time to stabilize himself and bring his other leg about, he spun around and flung the boy into one of the dojo's nearby walls. The boy crashed into the wood, unable to believe that both he could be so damn predictable and that his father would knock things off walls and risk damaging the building to beat him. This really was serious.
The boy blocked out the pain in his shoulder from where he hit and bounced a couple of times on the balls of his feet, resuming his stance and focusing himself.
He ran again at his father but stopped just short and dropped down, hands planets on the ground and threw a quick sweep. The older fighter had an idea of what he was doing and distributed his weight to his back foot, assuming a cat stance. Kenji's sweep flew right under his front foot as he raised it and much to the child's dismay, he stamped down quickly right atop the boy's foot. As Kenji's body was responding to the pain and his weight and technique was completely thrown off by suddenly being in the middle of a rotational move and now no longer able to move. He gave a 'Gahh' and fell to the floor, trying to quickly recover.
The older man was having none of it though and pulled back the foot he had stomped with, on the next time Kenji tugged at it, throwing the boy off further as resistance he was expecting was no longer there. He brought the same foot up and sent a kick to the boy's nose. To his credit, Kenji sensed a blow coming to his face and raised one of his arms in time to let it take the blow. He took the momentum from the kick and tumbled backwards, rolling and tucking to get back to his feet and to his stance.
His father snorted and said "Is that it? You run at me and fall down? I may be older but your wasting all your energy in these stupid attacks, I'm still fresh" Kenji growled "It's not fair, you have me beat in range. By a lot" His father gave another snort and resumed his front stance "So? The world isn't fair. If I were trying to kill you, you would already be dead" Kenji growled but tried to not let his father make him too mad. He knew the man was both trying to teach him a lesson and to get in his head. Make him loose what little control he still had. The boy adjusted his stance and hopped on the balls of his feet as he looked around. Win any way I can, huh, he thought as he noticed that he had earlier knocked several fighting staffs, or bo down when he hit the wall. Fine. That should work.
He flipped backward, hands planted atop the middle of a bo as his feet swung over top him. When he landed he took an offensive stance, holding the staff. He took a step forward and swung the thing around his body in a flashy display before holding part of it behind his shoulder. Mr Kobayashi rolled his eyes and said "I was about to give you credit for the weapon. Make up the reach difference. But if your just going to waste movement and try to show off I'll have to break it over top your head. I taught you everything you know"
That was it, the boy had had enough. He ran at his father, staff held behind him and stopped just short of where he knew it could strike. But just as he began to swing it forward, Mr Kobayashi surprised him by quickly stepping forward and intercepting the middle of the staff with one hand, while sending a punch to Kenji's stomach with the other. The boy grunted and released the staff as he fought the strong urge to hunch over and hold his midsection. He had to overcome.. One of his father's hands was occupied with the staff now so maybe if he.. But the boy took too long in trying to think of what to do and Mr Kobayashi not only stepped backwards to where he started, but indeed brought the staff down quickly and forcefully atop his sons' head.
Kenji realized too late that he was still on the defensive and tried to tilt his head to the side and raise one of his hands to catch the staff but all he managed to do was deflect the blow from the center of his head. It went down the side of his skull, struck his ear is it went and crashed into the side of the boy's neck. He fell down to one knee and managed to grab the staff somehow, maybe is father was leaving it on the boy's body to try making a point. He realized that he was being forced down hard, and knew the man was trying to pin him to the floor. The boy leaned to the side and slid his body out from under the staff, letting his father's motion make him lean forward, off center.
Or so he had hoped. Apparently the man had been holding back when he pushed and merely had to shift his weight, which took a fraction of a second and he was back on guard. Kenji threw a quick punch at his father's chest, hoping the man's hands were too busy with the staff to guard, but the man turned with the blow, to the side and dropped his now-leading arm over top the boy's wrist. He flexed the muscles there to tighten his grip and spun further to the side, behind him, sending his leading foot out while he did so to knock the boy off his feet and throw him in an impromptu hip toss, without even using his hands.
Kenji flew back into one of the walls, this time merely knocking down one of the black and white pictures. At least now the boy knew why his father, who always talks about tradition and the past, had plexiglass frames over them. He brought himself back to his feet, finding it harder and harder to numb the pain as one of his feet, his neck, an arm, shoulder and now one of his elbows were crying out in agony. But he had to win, this had gone past fighting for Musou, his father was making a point. He had been called a child and humiliated over and over thus far. He had to find a way to win...
The boy took his stance again and began looking around frantically for something to use, anything, when his father rushed towards him, holding the bo like a spear, he stopped several feet from the boy and let the momentum and his powerful muscles carry one end of the weapon forward. Kenji narrowed his eyes and rolled to one side, rolling closer to the man, but this had been a mistake apparently, as Mr Kobayashi stepped back at the same time and slid one of his arms further up on the bo, to give him some of the handle back. He then whipped the end closest to him upward as he crouched, striking the boy as he ended his roll cleanly in the chin. Mr Kobayashi put enough strength and torque into the blow, even standing as he delivered it, to send the boy back into the wall.
When Kenji landed in a pile like a rag doll, the older man stopped a moment and waited, watching the boy's movements, his breathing, looking for any trickery. And then he became worried. He hadn't killed his son and heir, did he? He dropped the staff and bent down over Kenji, inspecting him and opening his eyes, to see him unresponsive and his pupils different sizes. Ugh, great, a concussion. At least he isn't dead, the man thought to himself as he gently picked up his son and carried him back into the house.
Mrs Kobayashi saw the condition her son was in and scowled at her husband "I know the two of you brutes like to fight but really? He's just a boy. Do you have to beat him so badly? Is he even alright?" Mr Kobayashi frowned and looked her in the eyes "He's fine, just a concussion. A good heat wrap and herbal-" His wife crossed the distance between them and stood, her gaze burning a hole through the back of the man's head. He had to look away as she said "Just a concussion? This isn't some game or movie. Being knocked unconscious ever is a serious thing. It's our bodies responding to shock and intense overload by giving up all but involuntary control! What in the world caused this?"
Mr Kobayashi sighed and said "He wanted me to take the lock off his PET. I told him if you wouldn't do it then he had to beat me in a fight. To show he had grown up" The woman sighed deeply "Dear, it's just something he doesn't need. I plan on giving him the password when he has graduated school. Your bigger then him, stronger, know more about fighting.. What chance does he have of beating you, even when he is older?" The man gave a shrug and added "I just want to make sure the dojo is in good hands. I told him I'd do it to give him some more inspiration to get stronger. And fight smarter"
Mrs Kobayashi sighs and shakes her head "I know your trying to make him tougher, but if you kill him with your silly training, your going to follow him to the afterlife" He gave a frown, they have had similar talks in the past and he knew when she is being serious. It's not that he is afraid of her in a fight, it's that he knows she is fully willing to cut his throat in his sleep or something. Her dedication was one of the things he liked so much about her but still, he would rather avoid that all together.
"Yes dear. Don't worry, I'd rather not seriously injure him either. I was making a point. Letting him know what he had to work to overcome" He tried to be logical about it but it obviously didn't change her mind any "Uh huh. Let's just try and keep him out of casts and intensive care if we can. Surely those months you couldn't train him should remind you what will happen if he gets too hurt" Mr Kobayashi clenched his jaw and said "Physically? No. But that made him stronger in other ways. Everyone should get a taste of what it is to be powerless and mortal. It keeps heads level and helps us learn to master our fear"
She just shook her head and walked away. She didn't need to say it again, it was understood. Mr Kobayashi gently lay Kenji down on his bed and brought the covers up to his head. He looked around to make sure nobody was looking and remembered Kenji had left his PET in the dojo. He bent down and gave the boy a kiss on his forehead and said quietly "Don't worry boy, I couldn't be prouder of you for trying" That done, he regained his serious composure and headed back out to resume his own training and of course run Musou through some katas. Mrs Kobayashi, meanwhile, was preparing a cold compress for her son.
"I've read all the files but I don't get what it's talking about, interfacing with your Link-II. I have a Link-II right?" The boy studied his PET, flipping it over and around and removing the batter cover to check for anything he missed. "That's what it says, doesn't everyone have one of these?", he concludes, in confusion.
Musou stays silent for the most part, just giving an elusive "Uhh I dunno, Ken" Kenji sighs and slumps back in his chair. "I'm being told to bring up menus I don't have.. Musou, do you know anything about this? Is your PET in some kind of demo mode or are some of the features gone?" The navi swallows and says "Um, about that Sensei. You see.. Well, yeah, actually. See, I wasn't-" The boy cuts him off and says "What, you knew? Explain!" Kenji doesn't seem amused.
The navi clears his throat, annoyed at being cut off but expecting his operator to be mad. "First off? I'm trying to tell you, just let me finish. There was a good reason I couldn't tell you" The boy sighs, defeated but just looks into his PET's camera, waiting. The navi nods and continues "Alright, so yes our PET has had some functions disabled. Your parents listened to the store clerk when they were making the purchase, they asked him what a kid needed to get by with a PET in school. So they turned off a few of the advanced features. Things like the hologram projector and-" The boy cut in again "H-Hologram?! Why didn't you tell me?"
The navi crossed his arms and frowns, waiting in silence a moment. "Er, go on Musou" The navi smirks and says "Anyway, I couldn't tell you because that's part of the deal of shutting off features. I didn't even know they were shut off at first, that info had been blocked to me. As far as I knew, we could do anything a regular team could. But after talking a bit to Flower and AwesomeMan, I realized I was being blocked on some things. So I questioned a few of the Mr Progs in the PET but they wouldn't tell me anything. But instead of acting clueless, they denied things mostly and finally told me access was denied and why. But I couldn't tell you because every time I tried, the program kept me quiet. Wasn't fair really, or comfortable"
"Sounds like some lame kind of mind-control. Why would they do that to you?", Kenji asked. Musou shrugged and said "Yeah well, I didn't like it either but there are certain rules to the whole system. We navis get a lot of freedom. I could honestly just run off into a link and go away if I wanted to, never come back" Kenji grunted and quickly added "Again" The navi grinned sheepishly "Well, we are past that point. Anyway, I couldn't tell you because I couldn't tell you. In fact, until just a minute ago, when you asked me directly if some stuff was disabled, I couldn't even talk about it or.. I dunno, really dig up any info on the issue"
Kenji frowned, annoyed and asked "Ok, so It's not your fault, I get that. Mind telling me how we get those features turned back on?" Musou bit his lip and said "Well, it's sort of in 'school' mode right now. Kind of like a child lock. I'm not allowed to do anything to it and none of the Progs can help either. You either have to get another navi to help you and figure out how to hack and.. Jailbreak your own PET, which cuts you off from the network in general and denies you updates and stuff.. Or you go ask your mom or dad for the password. It's a sequence of words, and it has to be started off with some kind of command so I haven't got the slightest clue, even if I was allowed to help you figure it out"
The boy snorted and said "Well, that's easy. At the end of summer, I'll be going off to a new school, I need all your features turned on. I'm sure they will agree" He gathers his PET and heads out. He straps it back to his arm, using the holder he had for when his foot was broken. He got used to it and just likes the hands-free approach. Heading into the living room, he sees his mother had finished cleaning up after lunch and was just watching tv and sipping iced tea. As he formulated a way to approach the situation, Musou was busy watching the latest development in his world.
They had completed the mission for the GNA, working along with Holley and some of the NetMafia to entertain a bunch of less-than-fortunate navis who had no operators. He felt guilty that they had taken data from what would have been extra toys for some of the orphans to make his SP, but it was what he had set out to do in the first place so he tried to push it out of his mind. Various Mr Progs had set up some kind of glass tube on top of a platform and the data from the SP program had been swirling around within it for a couple days now, slowly taking form.
The Progs greeted Musou and went back to reading screens and managing interfaces, making a tweak there and there as they all waited. Within the last day it had begun to take on the image of some kind of golden wolf. Musou wondered what it was going to turn into, it wasn't really big enough to ride like a mount. It would be cool to fight alongside of but part of him followed Kenji's thoughts that a medic or sniper would have helped to balance him out in combat and a wolf sounded like neither. Oh well, it would be awesome and he would love it, no matter what came out.
"M-Mom, can I ask you something?" Kenji said as he stood by his mother, whom was seated on the couch. "I believe you just did, Ken" She grinned and took a sip of her tea. Kenji tried hard not to roll his eyes and started again "Alright, so I need to talk to you about something" Mrs Kobayashi raised her eyebrows and asked back "Yes, Ken. What's this about? Do you have any.. Questions about your body or-" The boy had a sour look on his face and quickly cut in "N-no. Nothing like that"
His mother looked a bit disappointed but turned it into a serious expression quickly "Alright then, what's this about?" Kenji sat down by her and began "Um, so I found out Musou's PET is in some kind of.. Uh 'school' mode. Some of what it can do is turned off" His mother nodded, taking another sip of her tea. The boy blinked and waited a moment or two before adding "So.. I'm going away to a new school and all. I might need some of those features. I think I need some kind of password to open it up"
Mrs Kobayashi shook her head and said "I don't think so. I used to have a PET when I was your age, though it was a Link-I. But I remember reading all about what the Link-II PETs could do. It was a big, exciting development. But over the years there have been all kinds of stories of security leaks, breeches and, well, things that weren't supposed to happen. You call it 'child safety' but I asked exactly what was being shut off and it's to maintain the highest levels of security"
The boy gave her a doubtful look "B-But Mom, Musou said something about a hologram emitter and all kinds of stuff. Anything that lets us interact better would be great for training and.. I dunno, just being friends" He struggled a moment, trying to come up with other reasons "Besides, you talked about security but the infrared port was enabled and.. Uh stuff"
His mother tilted her head to the side slightly and tried to say gently "Because you could barely move without crutches. You didn't need something else to keep your hands busy. Besides, not everything has a jack-in port and most things that are missing that, unless they are really really old, have an infra-red port. It was out of necessity, really. I'm not going to disable that now that your up and about, just keep out of trouble" Kenji bit his lip, trying to find some way to win out with logic but his mother seemed very confidant in the way she talked, and both the boy and his father knew that attitude meant she wasn't changing her mind.
He thought for a moment of his father. Maybe he could help him? It would mean extra training today, just for showing up around the man but, surely he would listen to reason? Or fists. They had that kind of relationship of mutual understanding.
Kenji ran into his room to get changed into his gi and black belt and as he ran out the back door with a "Bye mom", his PET strapped to his arm, she had a good idea of what he was doing. But her husband had very different ideas of what traits Kenji had to display before he was ready, so she would let it be. She sipped her tea again as she clicked her tv program back in, rewound it a good ten minutes and picked up where she left off.
Making his way into their backyard dojo, Kenji wasn't surprised to find his father there training. He had counted on it, in fact. It didn't seem as though anyone else was in the dojo that afternoon and that was fine. Mr Kobayashi finished the form he was working through, with crisp and precise movements, and didn't acknowledge his son's presence until he was good and ready to. For his part, Kenji had bowed at the edge of the floor and sat in meditation, waiting. When he heard his father's movements change from fast to slow and casual, he opened his eyes and looked up to the man. "Kenji. Come for more training? I'd thought you had enough after this morning. You whined like you were crippled. Your not even limping now by the look of it, good good"
Part of him was glad his son was recovering quickly, and part of him guessed that meant his son was nearing a growth spurt. He would have to adjust training to a more spiritual and emotional control, because if he didn't give the child's body time to recover properly, his growth would wind up stunted. Maybe it was time to break out some of the traditional herbal concoctions his family had used for generations. As the man rubbed his chin in thought, Kenji looking rather uncomfortable at his stare.
"Father. I found out my PET's been limited, put into a kind of.. Child safety mode. I wanted to see if you could unlock it" Kenji was strait and to the point, which both of them preferred. But just as strait, Mr Kobayashi gave a 'Hmph' and said "Did you ask your mother?" The boy gave a sheepish grin and bit his lip. Clearly that meant yes. And the fact that he was still asking meant she had said 'no'. The man narrowed his eyes and took a fighting stance "I will give you the password if you can beat me in a fight. That will mean your not a child any more and I can step down with no regrets" Kenji began to panic, he wasn't afraid to fight but he knew the kind of chance he stood against the man that had been in a barely-declining peak condition now for most of his life.
"Er, uh. B-But I'm about to go to a new school. What if I need one of those features turned on.. And.. And one of them is some kind of hologram. That might help Musou and I train-" His father deepened his stance and said "Unless you can beat me, you will be in my shadow. You will just be a child going to a new school. Your birthday is next week and you will be twelve. In some cultures that would be a time of entering manhood. Time to go find a wife. Mankind has grown too soft with convenient tools and devices and coddling. They forget how to fight for survival" He raises one of his hands and waves his fingers at Kenji in a 'come at me' motion, adding "Fight for what you want. Or stop asking. That is my answer"
The boy unstrapped the PET from his arm and sat it against a wall, tilted so the camera had a full view of the fight. Musou chirped up "Good luck, Ken" The boy narrowed his eyes and turned to look at his father as he took a fighting stance "Luck is for those with no skill", he said. Mr Kobayashi smirked and took his stance again "Well said, but you would be wise to use whatever you can in a fight. Your foes will rarely be karateka. They will break rules, they will use weapons, their friends will hit you from behind or they will throw dirt in your eyes. Don't fight me as one karateka to another, fight me like you want your PET unlocked. Do whatever it takes"
Kenji growled and ran at his father, giving a loud "Keeeyaaaa", springing off the ground into a flying kick. His father turned to the side, raised his forward-facing arm and caught the boy's leg with minimal effort. Not giving him time to stabilize himself and bring his other leg about, he spun around and flung the boy into one of the dojo's nearby walls. The boy crashed into the wood, unable to believe that both he could be so damn predictable and that his father would knock things off walls and risk damaging the building to beat him. This really was serious.
The boy blocked out the pain in his shoulder from where he hit and bounced a couple of times on the balls of his feet, resuming his stance and focusing himself.
He ran again at his father but stopped just short and dropped down, hands planets on the ground and threw a quick sweep. The older fighter had an idea of what he was doing and distributed his weight to his back foot, assuming a cat stance. Kenji's sweep flew right under his front foot as he raised it and much to the child's dismay, he stamped down quickly right atop the boy's foot. As Kenji's body was responding to the pain and his weight and technique was completely thrown off by suddenly being in the middle of a rotational move and now no longer able to move. He gave a 'Gahh' and fell to the floor, trying to quickly recover.
The older man was having none of it though and pulled back the foot he had stomped with, on the next time Kenji tugged at it, throwing the boy off further as resistance he was expecting was no longer there. He brought the same foot up and sent a kick to the boy's nose. To his credit, Kenji sensed a blow coming to his face and raised one of his arms in time to let it take the blow. He took the momentum from the kick and tumbled backwards, rolling and tucking to get back to his feet and to his stance.
His father snorted and said "Is that it? You run at me and fall down? I may be older but your wasting all your energy in these stupid attacks, I'm still fresh" Kenji growled "It's not fair, you have me beat in range. By a lot" His father gave another snort and resumed his front stance "So? The world isn't fair. If I were trying to kill you, you would already be dead" Kenji growled but tried to not let his father make him too mad. He knew the man was both trying to teach him a lesson and to get in his head. Make him loose what little control he still had. The boy adjusted his stance and hopped on the balls of his feet as he looked around. Win any way I can, huh, he thought as he noticed that he had earlier knocked several fighting staffs, or bo down when he hit the wall. Fine. That should work.
He flipped backward, hands planted atop the middle of a bo as his feet swung over top him. When he landed he took an offensive stance, holding the staff. He took a step forward and swung the thing around his body in a flashy display before holding part of it behind his shoulder. Mr Kobayashi rolled his eyes and said "I was about to give you credit for the weapon. Make up the reach difference. But if your just going to waste movement and try to show off I'll have to break it over top your head. I taught you everything you know"
That was it, the boy had had enough. He ran at his father, staff held behind him and stopped just short of where he knew it could strike. But just as he began to swing it forward, Mr Kobayashi surprised him by quickly stepping forward and intercepting the middle of the staff with one hand, while sending a punch to Kenji's stomach with the other. The boy grunted and released the staff as he fought the strong urge to hunch over and hold his midsection. He had to overcome.. One of his father's hands was occupied with the staff now so maybe if he.. But the boy took too long in trying to think of what to do and Mr Kobayashi not only stepped backwards to where he started, but indeed brought the staff down quickly and forcefully atop his sons' head.
Kenji realized too late that he was still on the defensive and tried to tilt his head to the side and raise one of his hands to catch the staff but all he managed to do was deflect the blow from the center of his head. It went down the side of his skull, struck his ear is it went and crashed into the side of the boy's neck. He fell down to one knee and managed to grab the staff somehow, maybe is father was leaving it on the boy's body to try making a point. He realized that he was being forced down hard, and knew the man was trying to pin him to the floor. The boy leaned to the side and slid his body out from under the staff, letting his father's motion make him lean forward, off center.
Or so he had hoped. Apparently the man had been holding back when he pushed and merely had to shift his weight, which took a fraction of a second and he was back on guard. Kenji threw a quick punch at his father's chest, hoping the man's hands were too busy with the staff to guard, but the man turned with the blow, to the side and dropped his now-leading arm over top the boy's wrist. He flexed the muscles there to tighten his grip and spun further to the side, behind him, sending his leading foot out while he did so to knock the boy off his feet and throw him in an impromptu hip toss, without even using his hands.
Kenji flew back into one of the walls, this time merely knocking down one of the black and white pictures. At least now the boy knew why his father, who always talks about tradition and the past, had plexiglass frames over them. He brought himself back to his feet, finding it harder and harder to numb the pain as one of his feet, his neck, an arm, shoulder and now one of his elbows were crying out in agony. But he had to win, this had gone past fighting for Musou, his father was making a point. He had been called a child and humiliated over and over thus far. He had to find a way to win...
The boy took his stance again and began looking around frantically for something to use, anything, when his father rushed towards him, holding the bo like a spear, he stopped several feet from the boy and let the momentum and his powerful muscles carry one end of the weapon forward. Kenji narrowed his eyes and rolled to one side, rolling closer to the man, but this had been a mistake apparently, as Mr Kobayashi stepped back at the same time and slid one of his arms further up on the bo, to give him some of the handle back. He then whipped the end closest to him upward as he crouched, striking the boy as he ended his roll cleanly in the chin. Mr Kobayashi put enough strength and torque into the blow, even standing as he delivered it, to send the boy back into the wall.
When Kenji landed in a pile like a rag doll, the older man stopped a moment and waited, watching the boy's movements, his breathing, looking for any trickery. And then he became worried. He hadn't killed his son and heir, did he? He dropped the staff and bent down over Kenji, inspecting him and opening his eyes, to see him unresponsive and his pupils different sizes. Ugh, great, a concussion. At least he isn't dead, the man thought to himself as he gently picked up his son and carried him back into the house.
Mrs Kobayashi saw the condition her son was in and scowled at her husband "I know the two of you brutes like to fight but really? He's just a boy. Do you have to beat him so badly? Is he even alright?" Mr Kobayashi frowned and looked her in the eyes "He's fine, just a concussion. A good heat wrap and herbal-" His wife crossed the distance between them and stood, her gaze burning a hole through the back of the man's head. He had to look away as she said "Just a concussion? This isn't some game or movie. Being knocked unconscious ever is a serious thing. It's our bodies responding to shock and intense overload by giving up all but involuntary control! What in the world caused this?"
Mr Kobayashi sighed and said "He wanted me to take the lock off his PET. I told him if you wouldn't do it then he had to beat me in a fight. To show he had grown up" The woman sighed deeply "Dear, it's just something he doesn't need. I plan on giving him the password when he has graduated school. Your bigger then him, stronger, know more about fighting.. What chance does he have of beating you, even when he is older?" The man gave a shrug and added "I just want to make sure the dojo is in good hands. I told him I'd do it to give him some more inspiration to get stronger. And fight smarter"
Mrs Kobayashi sighs and shakes her head "I know your trying to make him tougher, but if you kill him with your silly training, your going to follow him to the afterlife" He gave a frown, they have had similar talks in the past and he knew when she is being serious. It's not that he is afraid of her in a fight, it's that he knows she is fully willing to cut his throat in his sleep or something. Her dedication was one of the things he liked so much about her but still, he would rather avoid that all together.
"Yes dear. Don't worry, I'd rather not seriously injure him either. I was making a point. Letting him know what he had to work to overcome" He tried to be logical about it but it obviously didn't change her mind any "Uh huh. Let's just try and keep him out of casts and intensive care if we can. Surely those months you couldn't train him should remind you what will happen if he gets too hurt" Mr Kobayashi clenched his jaw and said "Physically? No. But that made him stronger in other ways. Everyone should get a taste of what it is to be powerless and mortal. It keeps heads level and helps us learn to master our fear"
She just shook her head and walked away. She didn't need to say it again, it was understood. Mr Kobayashi gently lay Kenji down on his bed and brought the covers up to his head. He looked around to make sure nobody was looking and remembered Kenji had left his PET in the dojo. He bent down and gave the boy a kiss on his forehead and said quietly "Don't worry boy, I couldn't be prouder of you for trying" That done, he regained his serious composure and headed back out to resume his own training and of course run Musou through some katas. Mrs Kobayashi, meanwhile, was preparing a cold compress for her son.
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"He looks like he is going to be fine, Mrs Kobayashi" The doctor said as he finished looking over the young boy, Kenji. "It was a relatively minor concussion, by the looks of it, though I would tell him to avoid headbutting any more sidewalks or trees or whatever massive blow must have his this youngsters' thick skull" The woman threw her husband, standing nearby, a dirt look and looked back to the doctor "We will see that he is more careful in the future Doctor, thank you. Is there anything else we should know?", Mrs Kobayashi asked, concern apparent in her voice along with a minor twince of annoyance.
Standing from the boy's bedside and placing a few things back into his bag, he pulled out some paperwork and motioned to the door "Young Kenji needs his rest, we should talk in another room" Mr Kobayashi frowned and said "It's alright, he can hear whatever you have to-" But another dirty look from his wife silenced him. He cleared his throat and added "Uhhm, perhaps that is best"
The trio of adults headed out of Kenji's room, leaving the door slightly ajar. Kenji sighed and looked over to the PET, sitting near his pillow. He whispered "Musou, go find out what they are saying" On the view screen of the PET, his navi nodded and vanished in a flash of light. Kenji, meanwhile, had a migraine to nurse and closed his eyes to keep the waves of nausea away. It wouldn't be a fun week, according to the doctor. Great way to spend my birthday, he mused as he made an effort to relax and hoped for sleep to overtake him soon.
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Within the Kobayashi household network...
(Just a bunch of appliances really and a pair of PCs. Only Kenji's is modern or sees regular use)
It was so much easier walking around his home network. He didn't do it very often, but whenever they had any irregularities or hostile viruses popped up he kept things in order. It was like a toned and trained warrior walking half a block. Wasn't hard, would just take time. On that thought, the navi began to sprint. He didn't want to miss anything, after all.
Passing by a group of chattering Progs, who tried to greet him, Musou bound over them and gave a quick "Hiiiii. Sorry, busy" as he moved. They squawked in surprise and made an impulsive effort to move out of the way, though it wasn't necessary since the navi had cleared them with his leap. Several moments later, he came upon a few links, looked around at them for a moment as he thought Uh.. Lets see.. I gotta hear them.. What has a microphone.. Uh.. Ah, Mom's PC. I hope it's on. He didn't really need to ask since the link was lit up, meaning it was active. And the rule was (unless it had some kind of dormant mode with heavily reduced functionality) if it was lit up and active it was his to explore. Most of the time anyway, as legality was a whole other issue.
He appeared inside a simple and old data scape that was Kenji's Mother's PC. The Progs were situated in the middle of the area around what appeared to be a sort of digital tribal fire. And the one that seemed to be in charge was a older-looking Prog (older because his body was faded and he actually had a beard). "Good afternoon, Elder. Kenji asked-" The old Prog gave a "Ehhhh? Who interrupts our gathering-" He stops when he gets a good look at the young and dangerous (at least to your average Prog) martial artist navi. "Oh it's you, hoodlum. What do you want?" Disdain heavily colored his speech and he was clearly struggling to be polite.
Musou sighed and headed over to one of the edges of the data scape, glancing over as he thought I think it's around here... He held up his hand and moved it around in the air, searching for an inactive system. "Don't ignore me you whippersnapper! I asked what the hell do you want?" The old Prog had clearly lost his patience. Musou didn't even look back, finding it hard to give any respect to someone so consistently rude to him. It definitely wasn't the first time the two had met. "I need to access the microphone and hear a conversation in the living room. Then I'll leave"
The old Prog scowled in disapproval "Eavesdropping? That is so like you. No respect" Musou still didn't look back "Whatever, old man. Kenji got hurt and a doctor came to look him over. The guy won't tell him the rest. Discussing it in private. He sent me to find out" The old Prog seems to have ignored most of the explanation, though a few of the regular Mr Progs ran to the navi's side to activate the system he wanted, if nothing else then to quicken his passing. A moment or two later, they all winced as they heard loud voices and the volume quickly adjusted at the behest of one of the Progs "S-sorry", it said quickly.
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The doctor motioned to the tidy desk that had Mrs Kobayashi's PC and several of their important bills and documents neatly arranged. She got the gist and extended a hand to the desk "Oh please do, Doctor. Take a seat. Would you like some tea?" The doctor mumbled a "That sounds lovely" as he sat at the desk and fished out the paperwork he needed. He began to fill things out as he said "Now as I was saying. Medical science had advanced by leaps and bounds in the past few decades. In the past, even a minor concussion would have taken weeks to heal and anyone who fell victim to one was more likely to get them in the future. Bruising and scar tissue on the brain is quite serious. It can be fatal, in fact"
He wasn't doing much to ease their tension with his dry, matter-of-fact explanation and it was Mr Kobayashi who said "But? Is there a good part to this talk?" The doctor was int he middle of quickly writing out something and stopped. He glanced up at the man and said "Hmm? Oh, yes yes" He looked back to his paperwork and continued, talking idly like it was no dig deal. "Yes, you see that was the past. I've given him a couple pills that have some specially developed cultures and enzymes that not only cut it down to a week of rest but ensure this will have no impact on his body in the future. Normally you have to get a prescription for these pills and they are normally.." He struggled for the word "Regrettably expensive"
Mrs Kobayashi came back and sat a cup of hat tea gently by the doctor's side, atop an insulated doily and along with a tiny pot of honey. "Ahh thank you, thank you, looks lovely" The doctor said as he stopped what he was doing long enough to dump most of the honey in and stir it gently with a provided spoon, taking a sip and sitting it back on the doily. He cleared his throat and continued "Anyway, my boy is one of your sons classmates. They aren't the best of friends but they get along well enough. Anyway, we heard that young Kenji had placed ahead" He thought for a moment and added "Two years, was it?"
Mrs Kobayashi said "Kenji would have been going into the sixth grade. He is instead going into the eighth. So yes, Doctor. His best friend placed into ninth, we are all a bit sad that they may be separated" It seemed like unnecessary information, but the man did ask, and the Kobayashis' were nothing if not thorough. The doctor nodded as he took another sip and went back to work and his off-discussion "Anyway, my son heard I was coming over to take a look at his classmate and told me the situation. Not to mention Kenji's birthday is a few days away. So consider this a present from the both of us to you. I have several samples of the pill I can distribute, at my discretion, and I see nothing wrong with giving you enough for a simple week's supply"
Mrs Kobayashi was at a loss "Er, I.. I don't knwo if I can accept such a thing, I mean it's so very generous and thank you so much but-" The doctor raised a sheet of paper that has his scrawled recommendation, required, really, if Kenji needed extended medication, what a month's supply would cost. The man's eyes bugged out as she went silent and she changed her tone quickly "T-thank you so much, Doctor. I don't.. I mean.. Thank you, this will help us tremendously" The man gave a cheery smile and nodded. "Oh don't mention it. That's the problem with a lot of medication, you see you can't buy it in less than a month's supply most of the time. So even if you need it for just one or two days beyond the month, you would literally have to buy two month's worth. Shameful, really"
"Anyway! Let the boy rest. I would just let him enjoy his last week of being, eleven, was it? And Take it easy on him. Your son has an amazing ability to recover and spring back from things I'd swear would kill a lesser person. He must be made of very tough stuff!" Mrs Kobayashi had a thankful, if worried expression, while her husband had a thinly-veiled smirk of pride on his face. "At any rate, no sense bothering him with any of this. And like I said, no more headbutting sidewalks. Or breaking a stack of bricks with his chin. The bruises he has on his chin and neck will heal in a day or two, especially with the pills"
He stands and mutters something along the lines of "What's good for the brain is good for the rest of the body", as he hands them the paperwork. They all head to the entryway and the doctor slips off the Electopian house shoes, almost slippers really, provided to him and sits them neatly in one of the shoe boxes. He replaces his own shoes and turns to them. They all exchange bows, with pleasant parting statements, but it's too far for Musou to pick up.
Standing from the boy's bedside and placing a few things back into his bag, he pulled out some paperwork and motioned to the door "Young Kenji needs his rest, we should talk in another room" Mr Kobayashi frowned and said "It's alright, he can hear whatever you have to-" But another dirty look from his wife silenced him. He cleared his throat and added "Uhhm, perhaps that is best"
The trio of adults headed out of Kenji's room, leaving the door slightly ajar. Kenji sighed and looked over to the PET, sitting near his pillow. He whispered "Musou, go find out what they are saying" On the view screen of the PET, his navi nodded and vanished in a flash of light. Kenji, meanwhile, had a migraine to nurse and closed his eyes to keep the waves of nausea away. It wouldn't be a fun week, according to the doctor. Great way to spend my birthday, he mused as he made an effort to relax and hoped for sleep to overtake him soon.
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Within the Kobayashi household network...
(Just a bunch of appliances really and a pair of PCs. Only Kenji's is modern or sees regular use)
It was so much easier walking around his home network. He didn't do it very often, but whenever they had any irregularities or hostile viruses popped up he kept things in order. It was like a toned and trained warrior walking half a block. Wasn't hard, would just take time. On that thought, the navi began to sprint. He didn't want to miss anything, after all.
Passing by a group of chattering Progs, who tried to greet him, Musou bound over them and gave a quick "Hiiiii. Sorry, busy" as he moved. They squawked in surprise and made an impulsive effort to move out of the way, though it wasn't necessary since the navi had cleared them with his leap. Several moments later, he came upon a few links, looked around at them for a moment as he thought Uh.. Lets see.. I gotta hear them.. What has a microphone.. Uh.. Ah, Mom's PC. I hope it's on. He didn't really need to ask since the link was lit up, meaning it was active. And the rule was (unless it had some kind of dormant mode with heavily reduced functionality) if it was lit up and active it was his to explore. Most of the time anyway, as legality was a whole other issue.
He appeared inside a simple and old data scape that was Kenji's Mother's PC. The Progs were situated in the middle of the area around what appeared to be a sort of digital tribal fire. And the one that seemed to be in charge was a older-looking Prog (older because his body was faded and he actually had a beard). "Good afternoon, Elder. Kenji asked-" The old Prog gave a "Ehhhh? Who interrupts our gathering-" He stops when he gets a good look at the young and dangerous (at least to your average Prog) martial artist navi. "Oh it's you, hoodlum. What do you want?" Disdain heavily colored his speech and he was clearly struggling to be polite.
Musou sighed and headed over to one of the edges of the data scape, glancing over as he thought I think it's around here... He held up his hand and moved it around in the air, searching for an inactive system. "Don't ignore me you whippersnapper! I asked what the hell do you want?" The old Prog had clearly lost his patience. Musou didn't even look back, finding it hard to give any respect to someone so consistently rude to him. It definitely wasn't the first time the two had met. "I need to access the microphone and hear a conversation in the living room. Then I'll leave"
The old Prog scowled in disapproval "Eavesdropping? That is so like you. No respect" Musou still didn't look back "Whatever, old man. Kenji got hurt and a doctor came to look him over. The guy won't tell him the rest. Discussing it in private. He sent me to find out" The old Prog seems to have ignored most of the explanation, though a few of the regular Mr Progs ran to the navi's side to activate the system he wanted, if nothing else then to quicken his passing. A moment or two later, they all winced as they heard loud voices and the volume quickly adjusted at the behest of one of the Progs "S-sorry", it said quickly.
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The doctor motioned to the tidy desk that had Mrs Kobayashi's PC and several of their important bills and documents neatly arranged. She got the gist and extended a hand to the desk "Oh please do, Doctor. Take a seat. Would you like some tea?" The doctor mumbled a "That sounds lovely" as he sat at the desk and fished out the paperwork he needed. He began to fill things out as he said "Now as I was saying. Medical science had advanced by leaps and bounds in the past few decades. In the past, even a minor concussion would have taken weeks to heal and anyone who fell victim to one was more likely to get them in the future. Bruising and scar tissue on the brain is quite serious. It can be fatal, in fact"
He wasn't doing much to ease their tension with his dry, matter-of-fact explanation and it was Mr Kobayashi who said "But? Is there a good part to this talk?" The doctor was int he middle of quickly writing out something and stopped. He glanced up at the man and said "Hmm? Oh, yes yes" He looked back to his paperwork and continued, talking idly like it was no dig deal. "Yes, you see that was the past. I've given him a couple pills that have some specially developed cultures and enzymes that not only cut it down to a week of rest but ensure this will have no impact on his body in the future. Normally you have to get a prescription for these pills and they are normally.." He struggled for the word "Regrettably expensive"
Mrs Kobayashi came back and sat a cup of hat tea gently by the doctor's side, atop an insulated doily and along with a tiny pot of honey. "Ahh thank you, thank you, looks lovely" The doctor said as he stopped what he was doing long enough to dump most of the honey in and stir it gently with a provided spoon, taking a sip and sitting it back on the doily. He cleared his throat and continued "Anyway, my boy is one of your sons classmates. They aren't the best of friends but they get along well enough. Anyway, we heard that young Kenji had placed ahead" He thought for a moment and added "Two years, was it?"
Mrs Kobayashi said "Kenji would have been going into the sixth grade. He is instead going into the eighth. So yes, Doctor. His best friend placed into ninth, we are all a bit sad that they may be separated" It seemed like unnecessary information, but the man did ask, and the Kobayashis' were nothing if not thorough. The doctor nodded as he took another sip and went back to work and his off-discussion "Anyway, my son heard I was coming over to take a look at his classmate and told me the situation. Not to mention Kenji's birthday is a few days away. So consider this a present from the both of us to you. I have several samples of the pill I can distribute, at my discretion, and I see nothing wrong with giving you enough for a simple week's supply"
Mrs Kobayashi was at a loss "Er, I.. I don't knwo if I can accept such a thing, I mean it's so very generous and thank you so much but-" The doctor raised a sheet of paper that has his scrawled recommendation, required, really, if Kenji needed extended medication, what a month's supply would cost. The man's eyes bugged out as she went silent and she changed her tone quickly "T-thank you so much, Doctor. I don't.. I mean.. Thank you, this will help us tremendously" The man gave a cheery smile and nodded. "Oh don't mention it. That's the problem with a lot of medication, you see you can't buy it in less than a month's supply most of the time. So even if you need it for just one or two days beyond the month, you would literally have to buy two month's worth. Shameful, really"
"Anyway! Let the boy rest. I would just let him enjoy his last week of being, eleven, was it? And Take it easy on him. Your son has an amazing ability to recover and spring back from things I'd swear would kill a lesser person. He must be made of very tough stuff!" Mrs Kobayashi had a thankful, if worried expression, while her husband had a thinly-veiled smirk of pride on his face. "At any rate, no sense bothering him with any of this. And like I said, no more headbutting sidewalks. Or breaking a stack of bricks with his chin. The bruises he has on his chin and neck will heal in a day or two, especially with the pills"
He stands and mutters something along the lines of "What's good for the brain is good for the rest of the body", as he hands them the paperwork. They all head to the entryway and the doctor slips off the Electopian house shoes, almost slippers really, provided to him and sits them neatly in one of the shoe boxes. He replaces his own shoes and turns to them. They all exchange bows, with pleasant parting statements, but it's too far for Musou to pick up.
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"Happy birthday Ken!", an excited Musou yelled. The boy near his PET groaned and said in a whisper "Quiet. Head hurts" Musou bit his bottom lip and said, much quieter, sorry Sensei. So, how does it feel to be twelve now?" The boy shrugged lightly as he got up from his bed and made his way to his desk, PET in hand. "No different than eleven felt. I'm not a teenager, I don't have any extra privileges or restrictions.. Most children's menus and stuff say 'twelve and under'. It's kind of a limbo year"
He sat down at his desk and muttered "Maybe I'll finally start growing, this year" The boy looked over to the door frame of his room and eyed the tick marks made over the years indicating his height. They didn't go up nearly as quickly as he had hoped they would, but his parents kept telling him he had managed to dodge puberty so far. Gee, lucky me, he thought.
He plugged his PET into it's charger and the jack-in port to his PC. "Hop in, Musou. Let's do some exploration. I think it's time to head elsewhere. All we ever do is wander around ACDC net"
The navi nodded and said "Well yeah, but look at all the stuff we have found, just in this place. Ancient temples and warehouses with bionic viruses and stuff. There has to be a lot of stuff we haven't seen yet, still" He walked over to the jack-in link that appeared within his PET and in a flash of golden light, transferred into Kenji's PC. They weren't hanging around here today so he wouldn't get to see his beloved dojo program, but that was fine.
"So, it's up to you really, Musou. Go where you want, I'll support you. More ACDC? I've done some research on the forums and it seems a lot of people start in SciLab or Electown. Plus, we get to break in your new friend"
Musou grinned at that, he was looking forward to fighting alongside his new SP. Of course, keeping in mind that this would be the first fights ever that his SP would be in, sorta made his decision for him. "I almost forgot about him. Yeah, we better just jump back into ACDC. Again" The navi sounded disappointed but quickly got over it "We never have gotten all that far into this place, you know? Seems like the stronger I get, the stronger the viruses get. It's pretty scarey actually. Does it mean I'm attracting tougher fights? Are the weaker ones hiding from me, even though I've been working on improving my senses and detection skills?"
Kenji shrugged "I dunno. But can you just try to keep the noise down? If I'm holding my head in anguish I'm not going to be able to pass you chips" On that note, he reached out and adjusted the speaker volume a bit lower for his PC and it's suite of helpful programs for busters. Musou nodded and headed into the now-familiar ACDC network.
[To ACDC Net]
He sat down at his desk and muttered "Maybe I'll finally start growing, this year" The boy looked over to the door frame of his room and eyed the tick marks made over the years indicating his height. They didn't go up nearly as quickly as he had hoped they would, but his parents kept telling him he had managed to dodge puberty so far. Gee, lucky me, he thought.
He plugged his PET into it's charger and the jack-in port to his PC. "Hop in, Musou. Let's do some exploration. I think it's time to head elsewhere. All we ever do is wander around ACDC net"
The navi nodded and said "Well yeah, but look at all the stuff we have found, just in this place. Ancient temples and warehouses with bionic viruses and stuff. There has to be a lot of stuff we haven't seen yet, still" He walked over to the jack-in link that appeared within his PET and in a flash of golden light, transferred into Kenji's PC. They weren't hanging around here today so he wouldn't get to see his beloved dojo program, but that was fine.
"So, it's up to you really, Musou. Go where you want, I'll support you. More ACDC? I've done some research on the forums and it seems a lot of people start in SciLab or Electown. Plus, we get to break in your new friend"
Musou grinned at that, he was looking forward to fighting alongside his new SP. Of course, keeping in mind that this would be the first fights ever that his SP would be in, sorta made his decision for him. "I almost forgot about him. Yeah, we better just jump back into ACDC. Again" The navi sounded disappointed but quickly got over it "We never have gotten all that far into this place, you know? Seems like the stronger I get, the stronger the viruses get. It's pretty scarey actually. Does it mean I'm attracting tougher fights? Are the weaker ones hiding from me, even though I've been working on improving my senses and detection skills?"
Kenji shrugged "I dunno. But can you just try to keep the noise down? If I'm holding my head in anguish I'm not going to be able to pass you chips" On that note, he reached out and adjusted the speaker volume a bit lower for his PC and it's suite of helpful programs for busters. Musou nodded and headed into the now-familiar ACDC network.
[To ACDC Net]