#MegaLan AU | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sminny-wew · 4 months

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Megaman Battle Network but I went back in time and moved a chair (headcanons/musings under the cut)

Everything else is the same but Lan was the one who had HBD, died, and was brought back by Dr. Hikari as Megaman.EXE (anything relating to this concept will be tagged "MegaLan AU" but otherwise he's called Megaman.EXE here)

Hub is a humble, polite, and diligent 5th grader. Greatly admires his dad and wants to work in navi development just like him, but is still a mama's boy. He always goes to bed, wakes up, and gets to school on time. He studies just enough to maintain decent grades, does all his chores, and gets around by skateboarding. Hub has a pretty happy and peaceful life, but something feels...missing. His dad's long work hours and mom's fussing have led him to feel somewhat sheltered and lacking in excitement, and his parents have noticed. So, for Hub's 10th birthday, Dr. Hikari surprised his son with his own custom netnavi: Megaman.EXE.

"Why did Dad name you 'Megaman'?" "Because I'm mega cool! 👉😎👉" [Or if you prefer the Japanese names: "Why did Dad name you 'Rockman'?" "Because I rock! 👉😎👉"]

This Megaman is very cocky and proud of his skills, but not to the point of delusion (he is not immune to fucking around and finding out lmao). It's more a case of him hyping himself up because A) he can do things as a navi that he could never do as a human, and B) he got a second chance at life and wants to live it to the fullest. He hates that he's separated from his family and the rest of the world by a screen, but he's still really happy that he got to know his twin brother at all. Someone's gotta drag Hub out of the classroom to see all the exciting things the world has to offer!!!

Unlike Hub with school and chores, this Megaman has to be prodded into doing navi tasks like file cleanup, software maintainance, etc. He's also not the most reliable alarm clock lmao

This Megaman has a bad habit of leaving the joke program running in the background. Hub keeps turning it off and even tried deleting it but somehow Megaman still has it running most of the time (he knows when to dial it back tho)

Despite slacking on most other navi tasks, this Megaman is still without a doubt very powerful, excels at netbattling, and is very eager to tackle net crimes (he begged Hub to jack him into the oven when it caught fire). He also loves to tease opponents, he keeps it lighthearted when battling friendly navis like Roll or Gutsman but can get pretty sassy against enemies. It's not smart, especially where Bass is concerned, but then again this is still Lan we're talking about. And SPEAKING OF

There were more than a few times where he almost gave away his real identity, whether it be because he made a comment about craving curry or called Hub "big bro" without thinking and tried to laugh it off ("It's because we're so close and you act all responsible and stuffy like an older brother!! No other reason hAHAHAHA ;;")

Once Dr. Hikari gives Hub "Lan.BAT" to save Megaman from deletion and tells him the truth, Hub is definitely still surprised but not as much as he could be ("Man, Hub, you're taking this whole 'dead twin reborn as a navi' thing pretty casually..." "You weren't exactly subtle about it, little bro.")

During the big climax in BN5, Megaman-channeling-the-spirit-of-Lan is mostly serious and focused, but he still can't help but be like "Heh, I look SO cool right now!!" and then the second the powerup wears off he crumples to the ground like he has glass bones and paper skin but it was SO worth it

Megaman is the only one who takes the rivalry with Chaud and Protoman seriously; poor Hub just wants to be friends and not cause problems but alas his navi got the Shounen Protagonist ADHD

Since the dynamic is flipped around, Maylu and Roll don't have the same feelings for the boys that they normally would, Maylu might've had a crush on Hub when they were little but she got over it (also: my house, my aroace Hub)

Also just in general, because he was a little more sheltered than canon Lan, Hub didn't have many friends for most of his life. He still grew up with Maylu as his next-door neighbor and childhood friend, but they weren't as close as Maylu and Lan. Hub avoided Dex b/c he saw Dex as a bully and wanted to stay as far from trouble as possible, and Yai he just didn't interact with due to shyness. But once Megaman entered the picture, Hub became much more social and outgoing. He became closer to Maylu, befriended Dex and Yai, and actively wants to befriend Chaud because he sees that same sense of loneliness in Chaud.

"I know how we can save Chaud!! First I need you to throw me--" "I AM NOT DOING THAT FOR SEVERAL REASONS"

#megaman battle network #megaman.exe #rockman.exe #lan hikari #netto hikari #hub hikari #saito hikari #MegaLan AU #artsy fartsy

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sminny-wew · 4 months

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Meeting of the Nettos

THUD!

After what felt like an eternity of freefall, Megaman.EXE suddenly hit solid, hard ground.

"Oww..." The orange navi groaned from his landing spot on the ground. After taking a moment to recover and gather himself, Megaman pulled himself upright and tried to inspect his surroundings.

He blinked his green eyes in confusion. He was standing in some kind of strange, white void. He squinted his eyes, straining to understand how far the space stretched, but no matter how hard he focused, he could not make out any sort of horizon; there didn't even seem to be a floor, despite the ground feeling completely solid beneath his feet. It couldn't possibly be the real world, but this place didn't feel like anywhere on the net, either. Was he dreaming somehow?

"Where the heck am I??" he cried out.

"Whoa! Another navi me?!"

Megaman whirled around at the voice of a sudden new presence in the void, and found himself face-to-face with...

...himself?

The other navi definitely had his face, but certain other details were different. He had the same orange gloves and boots, but his bodysuit was a plain black compared to his own dark orange. He also wore a full orange helmet, with a white antenna on both sides and short tufts of dark artificial hair poking out at the back. All the same, the Hikari family crest rested on the front of his helmet, the sides, and on his chest. But perhaps the biggest (and most curious) difference was that the other navi had brown eyes.

Hub's eyes.

"Whoa...!" The delayed shock finally struck Megaman, and he jumped in surprise. "Who are you? Why do you look like me??"

"That's what I wanna know!" said the lookalike, seeming oddly less surprised than Megaman figured he should be, and far more excited. "You're a Netto too, right?"

He blinked. "Huh?"

"Ah, wait, you go by Lan, don't you?"

Megaman's eyes widened slightly at the use of his real name, and he forced out a rather unconvincing laugh. "I dunno where you got that name from, but you're looking at the one and only Megaman!"

The other navi's eyes lit up in a surge of excitement. "No way! You go by Megaman too??"

Megaman deflated slightly. "Y-Yeah...? Is that name common around...wherever we are?"

"Sorta," said the other Megaman, "But in my case, I'm not usually a navi."

"Aaaaand you lost me," said Megaman, his brows furrowed in confusion, and brought a hand to his chin. "Hey, wait. If you're really another me, then...were you made the same way?"

The other Megaman shrugged. "I dunno, did you and your Rockman fight an ancient net entity that grants people's wishes by warping reality?"

Megaman merely blinked in silence.

The other Megaman grinned sheepishly, rubbing his hand against the nape of his neck. "Guess not."

Megaman let out a small sigh and shifted into a sitting position. "Normally I don't like to talk about when I was made. But, weirdly enough, I feel like I could talk to you about it because you remind me of more than just...well, me. You kinda remind me of Hub, too."

The other Megaman tilted his head with curious interest, moving to join him on the ground. "Who's Hub?"

"He's my operator. He's kind of shy and quiet, but he's a really nice and friendly kid. He's also really smart and focused!! Without him, I never would've stood a chance against World Three or anybody else!"

"Hey," said the other Megaman suddenly, "Just, out of curiosity, are you and Hub...twins?"

Megaman's eyes widened. "I...how'd you know?"

The other Megaman gave a weak smile. "Normally, I can be pretty clueless about a lot of things. But, if you're me, and you're a navi, and you were made, then...I think I understand."

Brown eyes locked with green.

"You were the one who had HBD, weren't you?"

Megaman gulped, but it was more of a phantom reflex than anything else. "...Yeah. When we were born, Hub turned out perfectly healthy, but...I wasn't so lucky." He shook his head, as though to ward off any negative thoughts. "But Dad didn't wanna give up on me. He worked day and night, trying to incorporate my DNA with the Navi Project to bring me back. And eventually, right around Hub's 10th birthday...there I was, all finished and ready to meet him. We've been together ever since: stopping netcrime and making the world a better place for humans and navis to live peacefully." He tilted his head downward. "I just wish we weren't always separated by a screen."

A silence hung between the two orange navis. Neither was entirely sure what to say next.

"...Are you mad at your dad?"

Megaman looked to his counterpart. "For what?"

"For doing that to you. Did he ever make you feel...inferior? Like you were just a backup of the real Lan?"

Megaman's brow raised. Where was this coming from? "Not...really? I mean, for a while I couldn't tell Hub who I was even though I really wanted to, and it was kinda hard to keep it secret, but other than that...Dad always seemed to think of me as Lan. I mean...I feel like I'm the real Lan. Never really had any reason to doubt myself."

The other Megaman hummed flatly. "Gotcha."

Feeling a sense of concern, Megaman side-eyed his counterpart. "Is...is your Hub okay?"

The other Megaman gave a solemn nod. "His name's Saito, actually, but he also goes by Rockman. And...he wasn't okay for a while, but I didn't know it at first. He'd been building fences around his true feelings and keeping them hidden, so I never knew just how much he was hurting." He brought a hand to his chest. "He was so scared at first when the entity switched our places. I had to keep reminding him to breathe just so he wouldn't pass out. I could tell he was really excited to be human and getting to just, live, y'know? But he felt like he didn't deserve it, like he'd stolen my life from me. Like he'd stolen Saito's life."

He looked back to Megaman, though the melancholy on his face had given way to vigor, and his brown eyes shone with it. "But after everything we've been through together, especially on Torishima...I feel like those fences are finally gone, and me and Saito are closer than ever! Brothers, no matter what!"

That smile was infectious, and Megaman couldn't help himself. "Yeah...just like me and Hub! Nothing can stop us, 'cause no matter what, we're always connected!" He then sighed defeatedly. "I just wish one of them was here now, they could help us find a way out of this place."

"I guess we better go find the others then."

Megaman did a double take. "Others??"

"Yeah! You didn't think we were the only ones here, did you?" He stood up and gestured for Megaman to follow him. "C'mon!"

The two walked for some time, though exactly how long, Megaman wasn't certain. For all he knew, time may not even exist in this endless white void. But, soon enough, they came upon a growing crowd, and Megaman's eyes widened.

An entire group of other Lans, or Nettos, or whatever they called themselves, stood amongst each other. They were either chatting, laughing, or just looking around in excited confusion. Some were navis, just like him. Others seemed to be completely human. At least one of them even appeared to be a girl.

Netto Megaman slung his arm around his shocked counterpart's shoulder. "We still don't really know where we are, but since it just seems to be other Nettos and Lans here, I've been calling it 'the Nettoverse'! Pretty cool, huh? It's like something out of a superhero movie!"

His mind spinning faster than he could keep up with, Lan Megaman shook his head.

"This...is...AWESOME!"

#megaman battle network #megaman #lan hikari #netto hikari #megaman.exe #rockman.exe #MegaLan AU #Running Up That Hill #nettoverse #artsy fartsy #I can't write anymore blaghhh #I was worried I wasn't gonna get this up before class but I just made it lmao

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sminny-wew · 1 month

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Just realized I never posted this here

#megaman battle network #rockman.exe #rockman exe #MegaLan AU #megaman.exe #megaman exe #lan hikari #netto hikari #hub hikari #saito hikari #artsy fartsy

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sminny-wew · 3 months

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Self Care (Nettoverse-adjacent side story)

[@dunedragon I initially wasn't gonna expand on this past that one post but it wouldn't leave my head lol]

Some want to see // Those who've gone above Friends that they lost // People they love I'd rather meet // The me down the road To lead me through the fog // Wouldn't ask for more 🎵: "Future People" - Alabama Shakes

Hub didn't know what to make of all this.

It was already unsettling enough to find himself dropped unceremoniously into an endless and seemingly-empty white void, with Megaman nowhere to be found. It was another can of worms entirely to find yourself in the exclusive company of...well, yourselves.

Some of the counterparts he'd encountered so far were humans, like him. Others were navis, and he briefly marveled at the possibility that he could have been the sick child reborn in a virtual world, instead of his brother. One even appeared to be some kind of spirit, which admittedly made him anxious, but at the very least they did not seem outwardly hostile.

But one of these counterparts somehow managed to be both navi and human at once. And it was this one that currently sat in Hub's presence.

Hub sat at one side, his counterpart opposite him a few feet away and attention focused on the Hikari crest necklace in his grasp. Hub's understanding was that this version of himself went by Saito, his navi name being Rockman. Hub didn't have the full details; all he knew for certain was that Rockman had been Netto's (his Lan's) navi until an ancient reality-bending net entity swapped their places, making Netto the navi and Rockman the operator.

Since arriving here (wherever here was, and however long ago that had been; the inability to keep track of time here lowkey unnerved him), Hub noticed that Saito was...distant. When he wasn't interacting with his other counterparts, even then keeping conversations to a cordial minimum, he often seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack, always stopping just short by reminding himself to breathe.

The sight tugged at Hub's heart. Though he himself had never been as prone to panic, he recognized that reservation and isolation. But after everything Hub and Megaman had gone through together, how Hub had grown and changed as a person...

He couldn't bear to watch that silent suffering happen again. So he swallowed his nerves and made the first move. "Saito?"

The other boy jumped at the sound of Hub's voice, clutching his heaving chest and turning to him with green eyes wide and panicked, like a deer in the headlights. It made Hub's heart twinge.

"Um...are you okay?" he continued, pulling down his headphones so that he could hear better.

His grip relaxing against his chest, Saito calmed his breathing before answering. "Y-yes, I-I'm fine."

His eye contact was dodgy. Hub didn't want to pressure Saito, knowing his own history with shyness, but he pushed further. "Are you sure?"

Saito nodded tensely. "Yeah. I'm used to weird situations like these."

Hub's brows furrowed in concern, and, hesitating only for a moment, he reached a hand out to Saito's shoulder. "I-If you want to talk--"

Saito cringed at the touch, and Hub's hand recoiled in shock. Fearful green eyes locked with hurt brown.

What had happened to Saito to make him look at Hub with such...what even was that feeling in his eyes? Fear? Resentment?

Hub's eyes trailed to the side. "I...I'm sorry to bother you." He pulled his headphones back over his ears. "I'll give you your space."

Before Hub could shift to stand up, a hand rested on his shoulder, and now it was his turn to jolt at the sudden physical contact.

"Wait," said Saito, "I'm the one who should be apologizing. It's not your fault. Not you specifically. It's just..."

Saito ran a hand through his bangs as he took a deep breath in, then out. This would be difficult to explain without sounding like a jerk on some level.

"It's still not easy for me to see my face with those eyes," he finally answered, "Without being reminded that I'm not...him." He darted to face Hub, hands anxiously raised. "B-but again, it's not your fault! I'm just..." Saito's gaze fell to his own, unclenched hands. "I guess, even after everything, I'm still tearing down a few of my fences."

Hub cocked his brows. Fences, huh? That certainly rang a bell.

Hub shifted back into a sitting position. "I wasn't trying to pry. I only asked because...the loneliness I saw in you reminded me of how I used to be. Before I met Megaman--my Megaman--I didn't even realize I had a twin brother, though I'd always suspected it. We were only two when it happened, and I never asked my parents about the other boy in our family pictures because I could tell it still hurt them to talk about it, even if they should've just told me. The only other person I had was Maylu, and even then, we weren't as close as we used to be. It wasn't until Lan was reintroduced to me as Megaman, and we started having all these adventures, that things began to change. Maylu and I started talking again, I stopped being scared of Dex and even befriended him and Yai... And I didn't just meet new people, I also got to see so many new places and try new things!"

Hub once again slid the headphones off his ears, pulling them off and holding them in his lap. He gazed at the Hikari crest emblazoned on each earpiece.

"I know our circumstances are different, Saito, but I understand more than you might think."

A silence hung between the two boys for a moment, though the tension of before had gradually begun to disperse. It didn't even really feel like an awkward silence anymore.

It was Saito who spoke first, braving eye contact with Hub.

"I...I'm afraid of ghosts," he began, and Hub nodded, acknowledging their shared phobia. "And I used to worry that, someday, his spirit would come to take back everything I'd stolen: his life, his loved ones, his face... I don't completely feel that way anymore, but..." He paused to let out a sigh, and his eyes trailed down to his hands again. "Sometimes, when I dream, I still find myself wondering what the...original Saito would think of me."

Then, without warning, Saito found himself embraced in a sudden, gentle, warm hug.

"Well, if it's worth anything," said Hub, "I think you're doing great."

The cracked dam burst, and warm tears quickly fell from Saito's eyes. Saito hugged Hub back, his fingers digging into the back of his counterpart's buttoned overshirt as though for dear life. His sobs left him in heaves, and Hub held him the entire time.

At some point, after Saito had finished crying his eyes out, the two boys pulled away from each other and stood up, determined to figure out where they were and find their respective brothers. As they began walking, Hub looked back to Saito.

"You know, I don't think you've told me much about your adventures with your Megaman--Netto, right? Tell me about Torishima. As much as you feel comfortable sharing."

"Well," Saito began, "There's so much that comes to mind: all the textures, the smells, the colors, I don't even know where to begin." He smiled fondly. "But, I guess I could start with the ocean..."

#megaman battle network #megaman.exe #rockman.exe #hub hikari #saito hikari #nettoverse #MegaLan AU #Running Up That Hill #artsy fartsy

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sminny-wew · 2 months

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"That's right! I've been looking at your personal files... Ah, there's nothing sadder than losing the ones we love... And I think you're gonna be REAL sad!"

#megaman battle network #rockman.exe #hub hikari #saito hikari #megaman.exe #lan hikari #netto hikari #ms madd #mmbn maddy #madoi iroaya #MegaLan AU #artsy fartsy

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sminny-wew · 3 months

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Both boys have proper final designs for the MegaLan AU now!!

#megaman battle network #rockman.exe #lan hikari #netto hikari #hub hikari #saito hikari #MegaLan AU #nettoverse #<- last pic IS technically a crossover lol #artsy fartsy

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sminny-wew · 2 months

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"My...personal files? 'Losing the ones we love'...? Megaman, what do you think she means??"

#megaman battle network #rockman.exe #hub hikari #saito hikari #megaman.exe #lan hikari #netto hikari #ms madd #mmbn maddy #madoi iroaya #MegaLan AU #artsy fartsy

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sminny-wew · 1 month

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Sometimes it takes about 6 adventures for you to really come into your own as a protagonist

(Righthand design is how I imagine MegaLan AU Hub would look from the end of BN3-onward)

#megaman battle network #rockman.exe #hub hikari #saito hikari #megaman.exe #lan hikari #netto hikari #megaman exe #rockman exe #MegaLan AU #artsy fartsy

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sminny-wew · 2 months

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Fraternity [MegaLan AU]

"Everything looks to be in order...I think you're ready."

Megaman.EXE raised his head, and his orange fingers ceased their drumming against his thigh. "I am?"

Dr. Yuichiro Hikari nodded. "You've passed every test, every update seems to be going off without a hitch...there's nothing else I can think of that you need to complete."

His green eyes widened, practically glimmering. "Does that mean...?!"

Dr. Hikari smiled. "Your brother is starting fifth grade very soon. I'm aiming to have you sent out to him by then."

Megaman's face erupted into a massive grin. He began to vibrate in place, bouncing so hard that Dr. Hikari thought he might very well knock over the monitor and burst out of the screen.

"I'm gonna meet my brother!! I'm gonna meet Hub!! Wahoo!!!"

"Now, now," Dr. Hikari ushered gently, "I know you're excited, but remember what we talked about?"

Megaman's excitement ground to a halt, and he slouched in disappointment. "Aw, come on, Dad! Can't I at least tell Hub? I'll make him promise not to tell anyone, I swear!"

Dr. Hikari shook his head. "I'm sorry, son. We can't risk anyone finding out the truth. No one can know about this. Not even your brother."

He puffed out his cheeks and crossed his arms. "But if I'm supposed to be his navi...wouldn't it help if Hub knew who I was?"

Dr. Hikari bit his lip. "It's...it's complicated. A lot could go wrong. He might be too afraid to use you if he knew. And if the wrong people knew your true identity, they could use that to hurt you. Me, your mother, Hub...we could all be in danger."

Megaman slumped in defeat. The last thing he wanted was to endanger his family, but...

"I'm really sorry, Lan. That's just the way it has to be."

But why?

His arms still crossed, Megaman's gloved fingers clutched at the adhering bodysuit, seeking a grounding presence for his nerves and an outlet for his energy. It made no sense to him; was Hub really better off not knowing the truth? How was Megaman supposed to give his all as a navi if he had to repress such an important factor of his identity? And how was the Navi Project supposed to fulfill its potential if he didn't give it his all?

Dr. Hikari must have picked up on his mood, based on what happened next.

"Hey," his father spoke gently. Megaman looked up to see Dr. Hikari with his hand raised in front of him, all other fingers curled inward except his pinky. It sat fully extended toward Megaman. "Pinky promise you'll do your best to keep this secret? For me?"

Megaman eyed his father's hand for a minute. Logistically speaking, it was impossible for them to make a true pinky promise; they were separated by a screen. But it was the sentiment, the effort to act like it wasn't there, that appealed to him.

Sighing on reflex, Lan managed a smile and extended his own pinky to the screen. He touched it to where Dr. Hikari's sat on the other side of the monitor. "Pinky promise."

Dr. Hikari smiled. "That's my boy."

"Hey, Lan?"

Megaman's head darted to Hub's direction curiously. Hub usually never called him by his real name, his human name, unless they were in the midst of a world-saving, life-or-death situation.

Was...was he in trouble?

"W-what's up?" Megaman asked, hints of nerves betraying the calm he tried to maintain. He never was all that good at maintaining the polite professionalism expected of navis. It was too stiff for his liking.

Hub must have noticed something was off with his response, as he suddenly raised his hands defensively. "Ah! Sorry, that sounded out-of-nowhere, didn't it? I-I'm not mad or anything, I just..." Hub trailed off, his index fingers fiddling nervously with each other.

Megaman sighed reflexively and smiled. Even now, after all they had been through together, his operator was still the same shy and quiet kid he'd met at the beginning of the fifth grade. How did Hub manage to stay so humble all the time?

"You just...?" Megaman offered.

Hub inhaled deeply, then exhaled, expelling his nerves. "Ever since we stopped World Three, and Dad told me the truth, I've been wondering...are you..." The rest of his fingers came together, anxiously curling on and around each other. Hub swallowed a lump in his throat, and somehow, Megaman got the sense that he was trying to change the subject from whatever he really wanted to say.

"...What would you do, if you were still alive?"

Megaman blinked. "Huh?"

"I-I mean..." Hub pulled his fingers apart. "If you were here, in the real world, with no screen separating us...what would you want to do?"

Megaman's processor buffered slightly as he carefully pondered the question. Although he did not like to dwell on the past and "what-ifs" for too long, he would be lying to himself if he said he had not considered what it would be like to be in the real world with his family...to be alive...

He didn't know what had prompted his operator to ask such a question, but he answered anyway.

"Well, first thing's first," Megaman said with a grin, holding his arms out as wide as the PET would allow. "I'd give you the world's biggest hug! Not everyday I get to do that, y'know?"

"But I mean, what about hobbies?" Hub continued somewhat nervously. "Is there anyplace you'd like to go, any foods you'd like to try?"

Megaman brought his thumb and finger to his chin in thought. "Hmm...I have always wanted to try Mom's curry...and Choina-style fried rice and nori...ooh, and hamburgers look really good too!!"

Hub's smile faltered. "You really honed in on the food question there..."

"Well, yeah," said Megaman. "Even though I've never had it..." Megaman's voice fell rather soft and quiet. "Sometimes...I think I remember what her curry smells like."

Hub's eyes lit up in surprise. "Really?"

"Oh!" said Megaman, already moving on to another subject. "Rollerblades!!"

Hub blinked. "Rollerblades...?"

"Yeah! I've seen other kids use them before, they look really fun! If I were human, I bet I could go really really fast with them!! I'd never take them off!!"

"W-well, you can't wear them everywhere..." Hub mumbled. "They're kind of a hazard indoors."

Megaman grinned at Hub, practically elbowing him with nothing but his green eyes. "But I could keep up with you on your skateboard!"

Hub smiled back and nodded. "That you could."

"Hmm...what else..."

"Well," said Hub, "Are there any school clubs you'd want to join?"

"...Ooh, I've got one!"

"What's that?"

Megaman's eyes beamed as big as his smile. "The soccer team!"

"Why soccer?" asked Hub, his brow raised with intrigue.

Megaman shrugged. "I dunno, it just looks like fun!"

Hub hummed. "Curry, rollerblades, and soccer..."

"What?"

"What do you mean, 'what'?" Hub asked.

"Why'd you hum like that?" asked Megaman, pressing himself against the PET screen impatiently.

Now Hub shrugged, a small yet playful smile on his face. "I guess it just doesn't surprise me that you'd pick those sorts of things. We may be twins, but we're very different..."

A silence fell between the two. Megaman briefly wondered if he had somehow been muted, before Hub spoke up again. He did not look at the PET screen.

"Lan?"

"Yeah?"

Hub nervously clutched the edge of his sleeve. "Are you...mad at me?"

"For what?"

"For not...protecting you, when we were younger." He began pulling at and fiddling with the sleeve corner.

Megaman tilted his head. "...From what?"

Hub's eyes darted to the screen, confusion and a trace of frustration apparent in him. "What do you mean, 'from what'? From what happened to you!"

Megaman's eyes squinted in confusion, still not entirely understanding what his operator meant.

"You know...your HBD..."

Oh.

Megaman shuffled slightly.

"I was born first, so that makes me the older twin..." Hub continued. "A-and, big brothers are supposed to look out for their younger siblings and protect them, but...I wasn't able to do anything for you...and now, you're..."

"Hub, buddy, we were two," Megaman reassured. "There was nothing you could've done for me."

Hub looked down at his hands, turning his palms up to look at them, as though they suddenly seemed foreign to him. "Then why do I feel so guilty?"

"I dunno," Megaman said with a shrug. "Most people don't wanna see their family get hurt. You're no different."

"But I didn't even know we were family until Magicman..." Hub trailed off, his hands flying to his face in frustration. Even though Megaman had survived the attack, Hub still did not feel comfortable talking about the incident.

His brother was almost deleted.

His younger brother almost died, again.

"Hub, it's okay, really. You didn't know."

"But I'd always suspected something like it," Hub said quietly behind his hands, thinking back to the family photos he had found buried in a closet once upon a time. Thinking back to how naively he had presented them to his parents. Thinking back to his mother's sudden teary silence, and his father's sudden somber tone as he asked where Hub found them. "Even if Mom and Dad weren't ready to talk about it..."

"Geez, Hub, where's all this coming from?"

Hub said nothing.

Megaman huffed with stubborn patience. Hub was beginning to fall into another one of his loops. That was not going to help either of them right now.

"Hub, look at me. Forget all that and just look at me for a minute, okay?"

Hub's hands fell to his mouth, his big brown eyes opened and focused entirely on Megaman.

Megaman crossed his arms and put on a big smile. "Listen: no matter what you or anyone else thinks, I know you're a good operator...and you're a good brother...and a good person. Y'know how I know all that, Hub?"

Hub shuddered slightly. "How?"

"Because you care so much about everyone. Me, Mom and Dad, Maylu, Dex, Yai, even Chaud! Even other navis!!"

Hub brought a hand to the back of his neck and rubbed it sheepishly. "W-well, I mean..."

"Ah, ah!" said Megaman, holding his index finger out in front of himself and waving it back and forth as he teasingly scolded Hub. "I've seen you go out of your way to talk to Roll and Protoman, you can't deny it!"

Hub tried to hold it back, but it was no use. He began to laugh.

Megaman beamed. "There's the Hub I know!"

"Look at you," Hub said between his giggles, "Being the one to cheer me up."

"I'm your navi. It's my job."

"But it's not just your job, and you're not just my navi, and you're not just Megaman. You're also Lan, my brother."

"You're taking this whole 'brother' reveal too literally!!" Megaman huffed. "Even if you are supposed to be the responsible older one, it doesn't change what happened! I'm still your amazing navi, and you're still my amazing operator, and you just gotta deal with it!!"

"But," said Hub, his tone once again content, "You said yourself you want to rollerblade and try Mom's curry, so you can't deny that you haven't thought about it, either!"

Megaman folded his arms behind his back and sighed cheerily. "Man, you might not like hearing this, but I'm glad Magicman almost deleted me."

Hub cocked a brow skeptically. "Why's that?"

"If he hadn't, Dad might not've given you Lan.BAT, and you wouldn't know the truth." Megaman began bouncing on the heels of his orange boots. "I couldn't stand not telling you!! It was so hard, having to keep that big a secret from you!!"

"And you weren't exactly subtle about hiding it, either."

Megaman glared. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Hub playfully stuck his tongue out at the PET screen. "I'm not telling~"

And he stepped out of the room.

"Wha--h-hey!" Megaman yelped from the PET on the bed. Hub broke into another fit of laughter as he reentered the bedroom, hesitating in his laughter as he reached for his PET. It may as well have been leaping around on the bed with how flustered Megaman sounded.

"Very funny, Hub!! I'd like to see you try being my navi sometime, you wouldn't last one day!!!"

If Hub heard him, he made no indication as he continued to laugh to the point of tears. Lan sputtered and fumed in embarrassment.

Such were the conversations of the Hikari twins.

#megaman battle network #rockman.exe #MegaLan AU #megaman.exe #lan hikari #netto hikari #hub hikari #saito hikari #artsy fartsy #Idk where I was going with this I just needed to stress-write lmao ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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