Title: Eidolons.

Author: Nemesi.

Fandom: (MMBN)

Genre: Romance. Angst. Tragedy.

Word Count: Chapter:2.239 Whole fic: 13.934 circa (undertaking revisions).

Characters: Saito Hikari/Rockman,Hikari Netto, Hikari Yuuichiro, Blues, Ijiuin Enzan. Others mentioned.

Rating: PG-13.

Disclaimer: , its characters, places and themes belong to Capcom, Shogakukan, ShoPro, TV Tokio, etc. No copyright infringement is intended.

Warnings: AU. Shounen-ai.

A/N: I've been plagued by this idea for a while now. And I've fallen rather hard for this AU.

Summary: What if despite his heart disease Saito had not died and be turned into Rockman? Would he still have fallen in love with Blues, and Blues with him, even if one was a human, and the other a Navi…?

* * * * *

A recurring dream:

He is running through purple-tinged shadows, a little boy with pale, pale skin and huge, huge eyes. He is running with his chubby little hand stretched before him, as if he was trying to grab at something and pull it back to himself. There are small pinpricks of lights all around him which aren't stars and aren't eyes either, but small glowing something, those same chains of 0 1 0 1 0 1 he sees cascading across his father's laptop when he works at home, and they are humming quietly, those chains, singing his name, calling him, Saito-chan, Saito-chan.

There's nothing in front of him, or to his sides. Wherever he turns, there's just darkness, sprinkled with colour-shifting dots. He would call out for Mama, or for Papa, or for his brother, but he thinks that if he were to call out, he'd make no sound, which would scare him; and he doesn't want to be scared, not here, not now, not when there's no need for fear.

He is in a hurry, rushing towards something: something hazy and bright, that flashes prettily there on the line of the horizon, something blue, like water and sky, a pulsing light that seems to resonate and echo like a low chorus, calling and beckoning in sweet humming tones.

There's also something else waiting for him beyond the flash of blue: something red like roses and silver like moonlight, something that's waiting patiently, sighing and bemoaning his absence, and Saito is trying to go there, he really is, but it's taking time, and he seems to be going nowhere, and then Papa is calling for him all of a sudden, and he can hear Mama crying too, and Netto, Netto is clinging to his hand saying "Saito-niisan, Saito-niisan!" over and over, and the pretty moonlight is fading away, the roses are wilting near the blue waterfall, and the little boy is opening his eyes to a white hospital room, his hand outstretched still, and Papa calls again, and Mama cries harder, but with relief now, just like when their Gow, their doggy, got hit by a car and got up from the bushes without even a scratch.

Netto smiles and clings to him, all red cheeks and huge wet eyes, curling against his side like a big cuddly cat, but the purring Saito can hear is that of machineries, tall, lumpy monster that are attached to him with rubbery tentacles and sharp needles, and the man with the white coat is saying it's a Miracle, a Miracle, and Saito feels like crying, and just like that hot, fat droplets start running down his round, round cheeks, and he cries for the place he should've reached but has been brought back from, cries for the roses and the waterfall, and it is crying that he wakes up from this dream, which isn't a dream at all, but a memory of the first time his heart disease almost killed him.

* * * * *

"Hurry up, Netto! We're going to miss the train!"

"I'm coming! Coming!"

There was a crash, a mumble, and then a vaguely Netto-shaped cyclone barrelled downstairs, a toothbrush poking from his mouth, and flung himself in the kitchen. He grabbed a toast from his (amused) mother's hand, tried to take a bite, noticed the toothbrush, removed it from his mouth, then shoved the toast, whole, in its place, promptly chocked on it, pounded vigorously on his chest to avoid suffocation, and sat down to fasten his skateboards. All of this under the reproachful gaze of Saito.

"Honestly, Netto. You are the one who offered to come with me to my check-up, and now you can't even wake up in time?"

Netto glared at him over his shoulder.

"I did wake up in time," he assured, to which his twin retaliated:

"And fell back asleep three seconds later."

"Did not."

"You did, and you know it."

"It was a whole three minutes," Netto countered, grinning unrepentantly. "Cheer up, Rock-nii! We aren't going to miss the train!"

"If we suddenly sprouted wings, maybe."

"Aw, we've still got plenty of time, and you know it!"

"If twenty minutes is your definition of plenty, then yes, we do."

"You worry too much."

"And you too little."

"Worrywart."

"And you are a sleepyhead."

"A sleepyhead, but still on time."

Saito narrowed his eyes, then bent down to gently swipe some crumbles from the corner of his brother's mouth.

"Netto, you should learn to be more responsible. It's not like we can walk all the way to Sci-Lab, if we miss the train. We'll have to wait for the next one."

"And it's not like Papa won't postpone the check-up of an hour or two if we're late, right?"

"That's exactly it, Netto. We can't expect Papa and his colleagues to be at our beck and call. They are making me a kindness, and I ought to show up in time. Please?"

Netto looked sheepish at that.

"I know, Rock-nii. And I promise we won't miss the train. Scout's honour." Netto got to his feet, experimentally kicked the heel of his rollerblades against the floorboard. Saito shook his head in a hopeless fashion.

"You've never been a scout, Netto. And stop calling me that!"

"What? It's cute!" He gave his brother an affectionate noogie. "You are my rock, Saito-nii! Nothing takes you down!" he rubbed his fist harder against his brother's head, delighting in the annoyed sounds he was making.

Their mother was watching them, smiling in fond exasperation at their antics.

"Netto, don't tease your brother," she had brandished a cookie, and was waving it admonishingly at her son. Netto countered with a huge grin and gave her a thumb up, arm firmly wrapped about his brother's neck.

"It's all in good fun, mom."

She hummed a reply, then checked the time on her wristwatch.

"Saito had a point, anyway. You'd better get going." She advised, sounding a little worried. Saito really couldn't afford the luxury to walk all the way to Sci-Lab; his heart wouldn't take kindly to such an exertion. She pushed herself out of the chair, and went to put her mug in the sink. "Could you bring your father his lunch? He forgot it again…"

"Sure thing, mom." Saito disentangled himself from his twin, and went to collect the blue lunchbox on the countertop before his mother could say another word. He took a water bottle, a few napkins, added an apple, and stacked everything carefully in a paper bag, testing that it could hold the weight before marching back to where Netto stood in wait, pushing his lips this way and that, rocking on his heels, and generally looking like he had been waiting all morning, while Saito had slept in.

A brief commotion followed, in which Netto vehemently protested as Saito insisted he put on a jacket, and then the twins made it out of the house and to the curb. From there, Netto bounced and waved at their mother like a drowning man. Saito smiled sweetly and wriggled his fingers at her. Haruka blew them both a kiss, head tilted as she watched them go.

The boys stopped to holler the usual greeting at their childhood friend Meiru, gave a wave to the Chip-Store's owner, and then skipped off at a moderately quick gait. It was always like that for them – Netto's exuberance wouldn't let them walk like normal people, but Saito's weak heart forbade them to run like youngsters are wont to do.

And so jogging they went, at a pace that would let them reach the station in time, without putting too much strain on Saito's weak heart.

The rest of their journey was uneventful, but far from boring. Netto would look at everything, point at everything, touch everything, comment on everything and everyone, which caused Saito to chuckle half of the time, and people to scowl crossly at them the other half. When the latter occurred, the boys would flash their patented Twin Smiles, or resort to Netto's Puppy Dog Look of Doom if the situation called for it, and be forgiven (or have the person join the fun in a case or two).

Saito clutched his chest after a particularly lengthy laugh they had, gasping open-mouthed for breath, and felt a bead of icy sweat run down from his temple all the way to his neckline. Netto squeezed his hand encouragingly when it happened, with that kind of patience that comes only with years of experience, and said nothing.

His lack of concern was only apparent – Saito was the person he loved most along with his parents, and his pain was like a thorn in Netto's heart – but acting unworried convinced the other passengers not to crowd around the boy, something that would do Saito more damage than good.

There weren't other episodes for the rest of the journey; and once they arrived at their destination, Saito managed to reach the top of the stairs without pausing or swaying once. Netto congratulated his twin with a thumb-up, which Saito answered with that adorable, heads-tilted-sideways smile that was so typical of him. Then the glass doors slid open noiselessly before them, and they slinked in the cool shadow of Sci-Labs.

Dozens of familiar faces turned in their direction; a shower of greetings welcomed them almost at once. Netto brightened, loving the attention. He began to skate around, administering grins and chirping a greeting or a question to each person he knew.

Saito's reaction was much less exuberant than his brother's, and all the more endearing. He bowed politely to each of the employees, hands clasped before him, shining his best smile at them.

It took them quite sometime, but in the end the twins managed to reach the other end of the Hall. They had just taken a corridor, when a woman in her thirties emerged from a door in the back and beelined over.

She was tall, her hair dark and short, with pale skin and a noble arch to her nose. She was carrying a clipboard, on which she was taking careful notes with a ball pen. There was a plastic card clipped to her labcoat, with her picture and her name signed in a neat, clean handwriting: Shigure Honto.

The scientist (for such she was) was pretty by any standard, but it was her smile that turned her into something to gawk at. Her eyes crinkled charmingly and gained a twinkle, and her whole face seemed to light up from within.

Netto and Saito crowded around that smile like it was a magnet, and puffed out their chests for the woman to stick on the "Guest" temporary passes.

"Netto-kun, Saito-kun," she greeted softly. Her voice was rough with smoking, but still nice to hear. "Welcome to Sci-Lab. I trust I don't have to explain the rules to you?"

Netto grinned cheekily at her.

"No touchy, no breaky," he said. Saito elbowed him, discreetly, in the side; but Shigure laughed.

"That just about sums it up, yes." She replaced her pen in the pocket of her coat, then peered curiously at Saito over the rim of her glasses. "Say, Saito-kun: isn't it a little early for your check-up? I thought you had them monthly?"

Saito shrugged. While one of the best cardiologists available was in charge of his case since he was three, his father also insisted he had regular check-ups with him at Sci-Lab.

At first, Saito had been too young to wonder why a scientist would do a physician's work. But as he grew up, he became way too accustomed to the routine to question it.

Besides, the whole issue reduced to nothing more than this in his eyes: his father was a doctor, and his disease was serious. It only made sense that Yuuichiro wanted to monitor his son's condition personally.

"I do," he confirmed. "But Papa insisted I came today, I'm not sure why."

Shigure furrowed her eyebrows in though, then her forehead cleared with sudden understanding.

"He probably wanted you to see the new PET we've been developing with Enzan-kun's help." Saito blinked. Netto blushed (though he'll deny it, but there are many a witness who will confirm it), and squirmed about. "I heard you've been getting into Net-battling lately, Netto-kun?" she added as though to confirm her theory.

"…kinda, Shigure."

"Shigure-san," Saito corrected, with the ease born of practice.

Shigure tapped her lips thoughtfully.

"In that case you can't miss the chance to see this new PET. Well, I guess you could get a sneak-peek while Saito has his check-up… provided that you abide to my rules. What do you say, Netto-kun?"

Netto tried – for his brother's sake more than his own – to contain his reaction, and not squeal out too loud at the prospect. It didn't seem fair that he got to see the cool things and have fun, while Saito had to sit down for a boring check-up. It really wasn't. Not in his eyes, anyway.

But Saito wanted his brother to have fun, especially since he knew much too well how long his check-ups could take.

He gently nudged Netto towards Shigure, giving him a smile and a nod. His twin brightened at this wordless blessing, and departed with a brief hug and a promise to "tell him everything afterwards".

Saito watched him skip off down the stairs, then trudged, very slowly, towards the elevator.

* * * * *

…so… am I the only one who got stuck on the notion of Blues and Saito/Rockman playing the part of the tragic lovers living in different dimensions (the real one and the digital/cybernetic one)?