Jacky counted herself very fortunate to have escaped Jocelyn unscathed, saying a silent prayer for her schoolmate as she headed into the library. She might be taking a risk, setting up for one of her study sessions while the manic mallcop was likely prowling the campus for reasons that made sense only to her. That said, she had to assume the library would be one of the last places Jocelyn would end up... Truth be told, she viewed the library as a kind of sanctuary that the recent craziness in her life couldn't penetrate. If it could, she would have to seriously consider cutting those aspects out of her life.

For now, the library was as quiet as she liked it. Jacky found an empty table, one of many, and spread her work out in front of her. Before sitting, she also removed her coat, laying it across the chair behind her. Finally, Jacky took a seat and adjusted her glasses. She was ready to put behind her Jocelyn's crazy schemes, Rodney's reprehensible intentions, Amegrin's bizarre accusations, and her professor's part in it, whatever it was: now, it was time for her to dive into a world where reason governed, where all the rules made sense even as they waited to be fully understood, where-

"Jacky!" a loud whisper came from her PET. "Jacky? Your PET location has relocated to the library. I thought you were meeting up with Jocelyn this morning?" Hyde's voice, although sounding in one of its better temperaments, still cut like a dagger through the tent of sanctuary Jacky had begun pitching.

"Our plans were cancelled. Also, my rendezvous wasn't with Jocelyn, it was with my professor, and then a follow-up outing which led to me encountering Jocelyn... but that's no longer a concern."

"Ah," Hyde replied, smiling and folding her hands, allowing silence to fill the air again. Jacky had just enough time to get back into her book before Hyde's voice spoke again. "Jacky, do you think we could stop by the store for additional upgrades? We've got quite a bit of extra zenny, and I was thinking the previous installments had me feeling quite vigorous after-"

Jacky grabbed her PET and raised it to her face, intending to speak to Hyde directly. While she meant this only to give her Navi the appropriate intention, the combination of her natural scowl and her furrowed brow of concentration gave her face an especially sever quality. "Hyde, I'm afraid now isn't the time. My recent excursions with Jocelyn have cut into the allotment I set aside for individual study, which may begin to affect my most critical goals. I'm sure you understand. If there is no emergency, I really must postpone it until a later time."

"Ah," Hyde replied, frowning at first, then giving her a half-hearted smile and nod.

That was good enough for Jacky, who lowered the PET again, preparing to get back to work.

"Um... do you think you might log me into the network then?" Hyde spoke, sheepishly. "I know it's been... tenuous, but I found I've had some success solving personal problems of other Navis with Sleuth. I feel an urge to try and do good rather than let my hands remain idle... I'll do my best to avoid making trouble with you, and after all, you'll be right there to keep an eye on me. That'd be fair, wouldn't you say?"

Jacky sighed, pinching between her brows and seeming hardly convinced.

"A-and my personal development! This would certainly help to speed my personal development, wouldn't you say?"

Jacky let out an even deeper sigh, but relented, desperate to finally return to her work. "Very well. I'll have you on mute for my concentration. I'd ask you to please not do anything that will force my response..."

"Thank you, and of course," Hyde responded, flashing a small smile.

"And I'll remind you that if my response is forced, it will likely take the form of an immediate jack out. I hope you will pay that fact your full attention," Jacky reminded her, nose-deep in her book now.

"Yes, of course..." Hyde replied again, smiling more tightly now as she realized what Jacky meant. "Well, I'll be counting on you."

The student gave no response now, her eyes reaming through lines behind her thick glasses as she devoted herself to her study.