Tifa & Yuffie

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Lan looked a bit thrown off by the move, not having expected Chaud to pull out the old Dream Sword combination. Megaman wasn't so shocked, though, diving to the side of the blast, just quickly enough to avoid being taken out of the match entirely, but not quite enough to avoid damage, his pace having begun slowing down since the impact with the floor. The Dream Sword wave zipped past his left side, leaving a long, though shallow wound in his flank and cutting a small gash in his arm. He could feel his strength beginning to wane and knew that he'd probably collapse pretty soon, but before he did he wanted to be sure he'd at least gotten in a good strike. So while Protoman still stood where he was, yet to regain his stance after the Program Advance, Megaman raced in as fast as his legs would carry him, Lan understanding perfectly what he wanted to do and sending him his Knight Sword chip, his strongest sword. As Protoman would stand up, Megaman brought the sword around in front of himself to slash across, feeling the resistance under the blade that told him he'd finally hit his mark, though he wasn't sure where, before he landed behind Protoman, waiting a moment to hear confirmation that he hadn't just imagined hitting Protoman, panting heavily as his head began to spin from exhaustion, before his legs gave way under the combined effort of injuries and exhaustion, staggering slightly to try and stay upright before he collapsed and the battle system announced, after 43 long minutes of battle -though it had seemed far shorter than that- that the battle was over, the familiar robotic voice droning 'Megaman logging out'. He didn't immediately appear in Lan's PET, likely having to reboot on reserve energy after exhausting his strength so utterly.

As the buzzer went off that announced the end of the match, the stadium broke out in a chorus of cheers, the match more than exciting enough.
"Incredible folks! That battle lasted for over 40 minutes! That's a record breaker! And what a fight! I've never seen such a battle in all my years as official announcer, it's so beautiful it almost makes me want to cry!" Ribitta cheered over the loud speakers, sounding like she was only just not in tears at the incredible fight she had just watched. "What an amazing comeback, after a long and grueling battle, Chaud and Protoman have claimed victory and the title of this years Grand Netbattle Champions!" Even Lan was clapping a grinning for Chaud, for once not seeming at all grudging about having lost. After all, he'd lost fair and square and Chaud and Protoman had put up a fight that deserved the Championship.

After a good few minutes of cheering, the dark-haired boy walked around the arena to hold out a hand to Chaud, with a warm smile.
"That was an awesome battle you two, it's great to have you back!" he beamed, his eyes bright and cheerful after such a thrilling battle. "and thanks for what you did back there...it's good to see Mega getting back to his old self, again...I guess you guys missed his old attitude too?" he added, quietly, not that anyone could hear them speaking anyway over the chorus of cheers in the crowd. It seemed that Lan had guessed that Chaud and Protoman had purposefully entered the way the had for the sake of giving his brother back his spark.

[Tifa Lockhart]

As Protoman straightened from the Program advance, his eyes widened at the sight of Megaman charging towards him, Knight Sword raised. He had just enough time to step back and strengthen his stance, arms coming up in front of him to block the attack. The blade bit through his armoured forearms, but left his core unharmed. He dropped his arms and drew his standard blade ready to re-engage Megaman, but it seemed he would not have to. Megaman dropped in exhaustion, the arena announcing the end of the gruelling battle.
A soft grin crossed his face as he raised his chin high, light gleaming off his visor as he raised a hand into the air amidst the cheers of adoration. He'd missed this... fighting for the fate of the world was great and all... but it didn't have the same charge as fighting just for the fun of it, and for the cheers at the conclusion.

Outside, Chaud was breathing heavily, a light sweat dripping down his face. He clutched the console in front of him tightly, his legs trembling a little. Really he was not ready for this much work, but he'd had too...
So as soon as he was ready, he straightened and proudly faced the crowd, raising his arms in triumph and closing his eyes to bask in the moment. They chanted his name, and Protoman's. They adored him, and he was certain they were as glad to see him back as he was to BE back.
Finally, he turned to face Lan, clasping his offered hand tightly.
"How long did you think Protoman and I were going to let you have all the glory, Lan?" he asked with one of his typically cruel smirks. "We thought it was about time we came back and wiped the floor with you so that the two of you. Megaman had become complacent. Isn't that right, Protoman?"
He looked down at his PET, and to the confident looking red navi.
"It was about time we reminded you two what you're capable of. Hard times might be ahead, but we're strong enough to take them."
"He was right you know," Chaud added as he released Lan's hand. "I just had to keep believing. Now he has to do the same."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

((is complacent really the right word, there? Protoman's comment seems strange if complacent was what Chaud actually said...))

"He was, and now I guess I owe you two a favour for getting him back to his senses!" Lan laughed, grinning cheerfully. With that he gestured for Chaud to follow him from the arena, as they needed to wait in the halls while the arena was prepared for the closing ceremony when they and the other finalists would receive their awards. "I have to say, something was different about him today, he's normally pretty serious about battle, but he was making a lot more wise cracks than usual today..."
"that would probably be because I'm in quite a good mood, Lan"[/i] a familiar digital voice piped up from Lan's PET, though it sounded a bit croaky with exhaustion, and Lan wasn't surprised to see his brother looked very weary as he pulled up his PET to talk to him. "remind me not to go that overboard next time...I feel like death, as much as I'm in high spirits at the moment"[/i] he said, smiling tiredly to his twin from the PET screen with an exhausted attempt at laughter. "And Chaud? I know I do. Or at least I do now...thankyou for reminding me"[/i] he said, glancing across from his PET to Chaud as best he could from the flat little screen. The statement made it clear that he must have been awake to hear Chaud's final comment to Lan, whether he'd been fully rebooted at the time or not. "I'm sorry for acting so strangely, I'm not sure what came over me. I guess all the stresses of the past months had been getting to me or something...it's kind of hard to believe I hadn't noticed how much confidence I'd lost. I'd never even realised how strangely I was acting"[/i] he apologised, sounding a tiny bit distressed at the thought that it had slipped his notice that he was acting so unusual, but his tone quickly returned to normal, or at least as normal as it would get with how tired he was.
"No kidding! I mean you've always been more the pacifist of the two of us, but you've never been downright docile before." His brother flinched at that, pouting slightly.
"H-Hey! I'm not a Pacifist! I just prefer diplomacy to unnecessary violence." Megaman retorted, looking rather offended by his twin's comment.
"Don't give me that; you prefer not to fight, as such that makes you a pacifist!" Lan quipped, only seeming to work his twin up more.
"Fighting someone when you could solve the problem without violence just stoops one to the same level of iniquity as their aggressor, which only makes one completely pharisaical, and I despise people who are so morally inept!"[/i] the navi argued, his twin only looking confused.
"Ugh! You know I hate it when you go and use all those fancy words I don't understand just to win an argument!" the younger twin grumbled, looking as utterly lost as he suggested.
"I don't know what you're talking about! I would NEVER take advantage of your lack of vocabulary, I just like to actually use the more unusual words out there that the generally inarticulate populace of the world neglect to make use of and leave to vanish into the unread pages of the dictionary."[/i] his brother glared at him again, and the navi just smirked mockingly. "oh yes, you just envy my eloquence, don't you?" He teased, his brother uttering a sound of irritation.
"I don't even know what 'eloquence' means, Megaman!" He sighed and shook his head, turning back to Chaud. "yep, he's back to himself again alright...I'd forgotten how much attitude he has" he said, smiling slightly and shaking his head, making it clear he had actually missed that playful mocking.
"I don't have attitude, I'm just your elder brother, ergo it's practically my life mission to give you hell for your faults" the navi remarked, sounding like he was recovering a little by now.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Chaud laughed softly as the twins began to bicker the whole way out of the stadium and into the hall to wait for the closing ceremony to begin. His legs ached something fierce, and his discomfort was beginning to show on his face, but he was doing an admirable job.
"Sit down for a while, Chaud," Protoman insisted, glad when the boy did as he asked without protest. "You did really well out there."
"Thanks Protoman."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

"yeah, you wouldn't believe how great it is to see you back on your feet, Chaud!" Lan remarked, with a warm smile. It seemed he had been afraid that Chaud might never walk again, he was deeply relieved to see the boy finally walking. "I told you that it was worth keeping your chin up!" Megaman offered a tired smile from his PET as well.
"A little faith goes a long way."[/i] he commented, at that, though it was debatable who it was primarily said for. "I'm really glad you're getting better, Chaud...I know you told me not to, but, I-I still kinda' blame myself for you having been confined to a wheelchair for so long. I was afraid you might not get the chance to walk again and that it would be my fault, for not protecting you..."[/i] Lan immediately voiced his disagreement with that, surprising his twin.
"we were all just as much to blame, Mega, you weren't the only one who was too late to stop Murrain. You shouldn't feel bad about it, at least Chaud's getting better, that's what matters! And don't forget that if it weren't for you he wouldn't be, you were the one who took care of him while the medics arrived, and just those few minutes were crucial." he insisted, teasing a smile out of his twin.
"yeah, I know...you know me, I just can't help my guilty conscience. It's an unfortunate downfall of being protective of my friends, I just can't help feeling like a failure when someone gets hurt."[/i] he shook his head slightly, as though he were berating himself on his idiocy. "But that doesn't matter now, the past is the past, right now it's more important to look to the future. Especially with how long Nebula's been quiet, what they're up to should be what we're worried about right now."[/i]
"okay, now you're sounding more like my big brother!" with that, Lan quickly glanced behind him to check they didn't need to be heading out yet, before he turned back to Chaud. "About that...has anything new cropped up at all? Dad always seems too busy to talk about how the analysis of the files are going, especially after...recently." the way he hesitated didn't help to prevent his twin from noticing what the subject was. The navi offered a soft sound of what Lan thought might be something between grief and pain, fidgeting uncomfortably, eyes flicking elsewhere. The tournament had been keeping his mind nicely preoccupied from thinking about what happened to Zero, he didn't like thinking about it. It was only a source of pain for him.
"...please don't mention that, Lan...I'd rather not remember what happened."[/i] the boy pleaded, quietly, seemingly trying to find something else to think about rather than dwelling on bad memories.
"s-sorry, I'd hoped it would slip past you without you realising...just try not to think about it, alright, Dad's doing his best" the younger twin apologised, offering his brother a slightly sad smile.
"I know, Lan...that doesn't mean the memories aren't painful ones. Just keep talking, alright, I need to get it off my mind, conversation is a good distraction"[/i]

[Tifa Lockhart]

"Perhaps we shouldn't be worrying about all this right now," Protoman insisted. "Why damage a good day with such things?"
"I agree with Protoman," Chaud nodded, massaging his thighs gingerly. "Let's just enjoy the last of the tournament for today, and then we can focus on Nebula later."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Lan nodded and smiled at that, since it was probably a better idea than risking throwing his brother back into a depression right when he was getting the skip back in his step. "that's true, they haven't tried anything yet, so for now it's not important. Right, Mega?"
"yeah, I suppose that's true. All the same, just don't let your guard down. There's a crucial difference between enjoying down time and being utterly ignorant. Let's not get on the wrong side of that difference"[/i] he seemed to be grateful for the conversation, eager to keep the idle chatter rolling. "so, Chaud, when exactly did you start the rehabilitation? I thought they said they couldn't start until you had some feeling back"[/i] he asked, contemplating whether it was a stupid idea to jump over to Blues' PET given he was still recovering and if so if it was worth doing so anyway.
"yeah, how did you get back on your feet again?" Lan agreed, curious dark eyes fixed on Chaud's blue. He grinned amusedly then, as he continued. "did you have to woo the doctors with appreciation?" he cackled, clearly just joking around and not meaning to actually be insulting at all.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Chaud smirked softly when the questions he'd been expecting started coming up in their conversation. It had actually taken longer for Lan and Megaman to get to it than he'd anticipated.
"It was several weeks ago when the feeling came back," he explained, looking down at his legs. "It wasn't a pleasant experience... even now the only real feeling is pain, but I wasn't going to let it stop me."
"I tried to convince him to go to a Doctor the moment it began," Protoman clarified for them. "But he wouldn't go. Chances are, his doctor saw this tournament and is having a fit... he doesn't know any of this has happened."
"I knew that if I told a Doctor I intended to push myself this hard that they'd stop me. They'd want to rehabilitate me slowly and carefully... but I didn't have time for that."
Chaud leaned back in his seat again now. His face certainly seemed pale and drawn. It had been a tough few days for him. "I knew that Nebula could strike at any moment... and I didn't want to be a burden if I had the chance of being able to help again." He smirked in his usual taunting way. "There's too much at risk to leave it all to you, Lan."
Protoman and the young tycoon shared a soft laugh.
"So for the past few weeks I have been teaching myself to walk again... with Protoman's help."
"He is far from 100% recovered, but this tournament has certainly been a test, I am glad he made it through it."
"I can't say I feel magnificent right now." The young man seemed every bit as haggard as the statement suggested. It was going to be a tough closing ceremony for him.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

When Chaud made his taunting remark, Lan offered a slight pout in indignation, but after the other had finished speaking, he smiled brightly though there was definitely concern in his eyes, as though he were caught between whether to be worried about Chaud or happy that he was doing better. "well, I hope that the pain goes away soon, Chaud...but it's a good sign to at least have some feeling back. Hopefully the pain is just temporary. And don't sweat it about the doc, if he causes trouble, we'll be there to back you up! Nobody tells Chaud Blaze what to do!" he said, with a grin, his brother offering a brief snicker at that from his PET.
"Yeah, you did well just to make it through the competition, you deserve a bit of a break after this. Don't forget to ask if you'd like any extra help though, you know we'll be there if you need us"[/i] the blue navi offered, a soft smile crossing his face, now that he was distracted from bad memories. "we're only a phone-call away. Just remember not to push yourself TOO hard, there's challenging oneself and then there's just pushing your luck, and as good as it would be to have you recover asap, the last thing we need is you putting yourself in WORSE condition by pushing yourself too far, alright?"[/i] Lan nodded his agreement with his twin, neither of them wanting Chaud to end up ill for his efforts.
"say, why don't you two come over to ours tonight? Mum will be making the usual celebratory family feast, and nothing helps recovery better than getting proper rest and eating well, right?" the younger twin suggested, grinning cheerfully at the idea, clearly excited to maybe be able to spend some time with his friend after the other had cut off the rest of the world for several weeks.
"Yeah, I'm sure Mum and Papa would love to have you guys over! How about it?"[/i] Mega agreed, smiling brightly to their blue-eyed companion. With that the navi briefly checked the clock, quickly letting Lan know that they had about another 10 minutes give or take, before he vanished a moment, reappearing in Chaud's PET to greet Protoman. He was looking just about recovered now, though the way he shifted his weight from one leg to the other now and then suggested he was still quite sore. Lan smirked slightly as his brother jumped over to Chaud's PET, seemingly having put 2 and 2 together finally after how long seemingly oblivious to his brother's relationship. Whether or not he'd known beforehand was hard to tell. He wandered over to sit beside Chaud then, so that he could also see the red PET's screen to be able to talk to his brother and Protoman.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Chaud and Protoman both chuckled softly as Lan and Megaman began to insist that he look after himself. He shook his head and waved them off with a lazy hand.
"We'll come over this evening, if you stop fretting," Chaud assured, leaning back in his seat and looking down at his PET as Megaman jumped over to it and Protoman greeted the blue navi by taking his hand and squeezing it.
"I know my limit, but I'm not going to improve without pushing it."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

The twins both laughed lightly at Chaud's protest to their worries, Lan slightly more exuberantly than his twin, though both were equally cheerful. "yeah, yeah, okay Chaud" Lan said, as his laughter died down again. "sorry, I just don't want you to forget to take care, that's all. After all, you have forgotten in the past, and I had to sock you one to snap you to your senses! I'm pretty sure a punch in the face is the last thing you need right now!" he said, his twin looking a bit lost a second, as though struggling to recall when this was, before he seemed to have a realisation. Lan offered him a puzzled look. "what? what's that face for?"
"nevermind, I was wondering why I couldn't remember that, then I realised that I actually wasn't there at the time, courtesy of Mum"[/i] he explained, turning to his silver-haired companion. "Of course, neither were you, so I guess that makes two of us that the conversation is lost on, huh?"[/i] he remarked, with a soft laugh. He'd long since gotten over those memories and now had no trouble looking back on them, he just hoped it wasn't still a sore subject for Protoman, in case he didn't take it too well. In response to Protoman taking his hand upon greeting, the younger navi gently (and discreetly) entwined their fingers, grateful that the camera cut away so that their hands were off screen. It somewhat annoyed him that he was usually too shy around others to show affections for his love, especially since it had been months now (nearly a year, he thought, if memory served) since they had first admitted their feelings.
"right! I forgot that you two weren't there! my bad, sorry!" Lan laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in an embarrassed manner, feeling a bit silly to have forgotten. After all, that was basically the whole reason he'd gotten into that tousle with Chaud in the first place.

[Tifa Lockhart]

((Whatinthewhonow? XD What is Lan talking about?))

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

((he's talking about shortly after protoman went evil, Chaud was basically saying how he should have let Lan use that dark chip and Lan socked him one and then had a hell bromance pep talk with him straightened him out. Haruka knew it was going to ahppen, too, so she made an excuse to nick Mega for a minute to give him some privacy to talk sense into Chaud. I'll show you later or smth))

[Tifa Lockhart]

Chaud and Protoman actually mirrored one another's reaction to the topic, both shifting a little and looking off into the distance with an identical poise. Neither really liked to think about that time. They'd both spoken about it and come to terms with what happened back then, but it didn't erase how it had felt.
"I don't know that this situation is quite the same to warrant fists, Lan," Chaud mused with a soft chuckle. "You forget that I had to do the same for you once."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Lan laughed sheepishly at that, realising that Chaud was quite right. "touche! I'd forgotten about that!" he remarked, his brother only smiling and shaking his head in a fond manner.
"I swear you'd forget your head if it wasn't attached to you...though it's debatable there's a brain in that thick skull"[/i] he jibed, his tone suggesting it was much more affectionate than it was an insult.
"hey, I do so have a brain! I just don't like to overwork it is all!" Lan retorted, grinning playfully. Mega laughed again, nodding in agreement.
"I suppose you could put it that way, if by 'don't like to overwork it' you mean 'avoid using it at all by any means possible'!"[/i] He quipped, his brother not even able to find a decent comeback and simply admitting that the navi was right. Megaman shrugged slightly with a smile at that response, having known he could win that argument. "believe me Lan, when it comes to translating what happens in your deranged mind, I'm an A-grade student. I'd almost say I know you better than you do"[/i] when his brother only shrugged and grinned, Mega turned back to speaking to everyone. "we should head back out to the arena now, the ceremony will be starting pretty soon"[/i]