It was a beautiful day in DenTech City. The kind of day that a person would just wanna spend hanging out either outside, or just hanging out with friends doing whatever it is their mind could think of. Unfortunately, it was Monday. Not only was it Monday, it was most definitely a school day. However, despite this fact Hiro was soundly sleeping in his bed. Xero had yet to make a move, but that was because he was teaching Hiro a lesson. Don't go back to sleep when the alarm goes off. And as the seconds turned to minute the alarm rang again.

"Hm?" Hiro's eyes opened slowly just a bit before shooting open as the numbers on his alarm clock came into view. "Wha?! Xero!!" He yelped as he shot out of his bed and began to strip out of his pajamas and moved into the bathroom where he managed to quickly bathe, brush his teeth and make himself more presentable. "Yes Hiro?" Xero questioned his owner in a rather nonchalant manner as he heard him emerge from the bathroom. "Why didn't you get me up?! I'm so gonna be late now... And you... you..." With each word he spoke a new layer of clothing was added to his body. First underwear. Than shirt. It was moving smoothly until he fell. He landed with a loud thump, but he had no time to deal with the bit of pain. He got the pants on and was back up to get socks.

"You did get up. And then you went back to sleep. Next time stay up. I mean i can't shake you awake or anything." Xero answered. It was a logical answer. It was also true. "Gah... Fine fine..." Hiro submitted taking his Navi's words into account. His jeans were on and and now so were his socks and sneakers. The jeans were average blue jeans, the sneakers a solid black with white trim and a bit of blue accenting it here and there. The shirt, didn't really matter as there was now a Blue zip up jacket without a hood (See picture) over it with whiteish-grey vertical stripes running down the outer part of each arm. The metal pieces on his face were there as always. he rarely took them off, save to bathe, and his glasses were now on.

"Alright... What am I forgetting?" He asked as he grabbed his book bag. "Headphones." Xero answered calmly. "Right thanks." Hiro chuckled as he grabbed them, put them on and ran out. Wireless and connected to his PET along with wifi, and pretty much anything he could, including the radio. His own design, with help from his father. "Now... Off to school!" He cheered as he ran out. He might actually make it. At least, that's what he thought when he got to the door downstairs. That was when he realized. "3... 2..." Xero sighed as the bedroom door opened and Hiro rushed in. "Geez Xero." Hiro said as he grabbed the Link PET EX housing his Network navigator Xero.EXE. "Just hurry before you're late." Xero laughed as Hiro was soon out of the house and on his way to school

Jake Elwood was already at the school, sitting on a bench just outside the front doors and surfing the NET with his NET Navi, Blade.EXE. The two of them had been together for a number of years, since he was about eight, and the two were quite the accomplished pair of virus busters, having even been asked by the teachers to help take care of any viral trouble they might have, and taking out the occasional heal navi. Tournaments and challenges were common too. However, today wasn't a day for virus busting, and they weren't surfing the NET for the fun of it. They were waiting for one of the supposed sophomore geniuses to show up, one Hiro Alexander. Rumor had it that he and his NET navi weren't to be trifled with or taken lightly. In other words, a challenge. Which Jake, as usual, was making jokes about.

"So rumor has it the Navi has a scythe or something? Sounds like he's getting ready for the harvest season. Do Navis have a harvest season?" He laughed at his own joke, but his Navi, Blade simply sighed.

"No we don't have a harvest season. Now please FOCUS on what we're going to do today. These two are just as established virus busters as us, plus they're no strangers to facing other navis. They've won every challenge they've been given." Jake simply shrugged.

"So? We have too. Just goes to show most of the operators in this town just talk a big game." shaking his head again, Blade returns to the research they were doing, looking for videos of fights involving this Xero.EXE.

"Come on Danny, let;s just skip school. After all how can I the great PumpkinMan, hero of DenTech City defend the CyberWorld if you won't even let me Jack in?" Unfortunately for PumpkinMan his operator wasn't listening to this daily complaint and continued on his walk to school. "Well toady probably won't be too bad, just sucks that we should have such nice weather on a school day."

After walking for about five minutes Danny arrived at the school gates, hoping to get to his classroom before someone decided to make fun of PumpkinMan. However as soon as he entered the school grounds he spotted Ryan, the one who made of fun of his Navi the most. However what Danny really disliked about him was that despite the fact Ryan was slightly less skilled at netbattling he always won their fights, just because his Navi PirateMan had the Water Element.

Hiro was running, but he didn't like it. "You don't have to push yourself too hard." Xero said calmly as he relaxed in the PET. "And give the school a reason to alert mom and dad? No way am I taking it easy." He said as he continued onward. "Alright, but at least look out... You're gonna hit something." Xero replied as he began to rearrange some of the folders and files present in the system. Hiro would complain if he saw him cleaning up a bit and moving everything so he would just do it now. Overall the PET was a bit cluttered and Xero didn't like it no matter how much Hiro said he knew where everything was.

"YES!" Hiro cheered as he reached the school gates. He panted lightly as he transition to a walk. By this time Xero was done and just relaxing again. "Alright class, lunch, more class and then off to home." Hiro said giving a basic rundown. "I seriously wish you would try to hang out. Join a club or do something." He said with a calm tone, despite basically lecturing his owner. "oh come on Xero... A tournament is one thing, but almost everything thinks I'm weird just cause I'm smart. It's a drag. I don't wanna waste more time here than necessary." The young complained as he approached the doors. "Listen if you just close yourself off..." Hiro sigh as Xero began the lecture again. "Alright. I get it." He said calmly. "Now let's get to class."

As Hiro approached the doors, Jake stepped out of an alcove he'd ducked into when he saw his fellow sophomore approaching the school. It hadn't been hard to gauge when to step out with the guy arguing with his Navi. Blade hadn't found out much from the videos, just that they pair was extremely efficient and coordinated, so they'd be the best challenge that he and Jake had fought in a long time. With his characteristic welcoming grin on his face, Jake stopped him just outside the door and relative safety. "Hiro Alexander, right? Jake Elwood, fellow sophomore. Rumor has it you're quite the Operator."

"Ugh... I hate school. I mainly just sit around while you waist time learning pointless information." ElfMan said in an annoyed tone.

"Calm down ElfMan, so I took a little too much time getting here. Nothing to be upset about." Alex said as he walked down towards school, looking at his handheld Advanced PET. "Lucky me. While you are busy eating again, I only had those old video game programs to entertain me. What's the point of food again?" ElfMan asked. "Food is what keeps me alive, I need it to stay healthy." Alex explained. "Human logic. Well, wake me up when you need me, I'll be killing time in sleep mode." ElfMan said. "Ok ElfMan, have a nice nap." Alex said happily. "Alex, how many times do I have to tell you, it's not a nap. I am merely temporarily shutting down so I don't have to process the emotion of boredom." ElfMan exclaimed. But like always, he was getting a little bossy. Alex just shrugged it off. "Ok ElfMan, what ever you say." He said. "And stop referring me by my name over and over again!" ElfMan shouted in an angry tone.

Alex gave a smile as his PET shutdown. He then slid it into his pocket and then gave a content sigh. "At last, a moment without my NetNavi nagging me to death." He said. He then continued his walk and soon reached the front school door. Looking around, he noticed two other people there, Hiro and Jake. Instantly, he remembered some of the advice ElfMan had given him one time.

"Ok Alex, those people up ahead, go talk to them. Go make some friends, and maybe even tell the girl, if it is a girl, I can't tell, she's cute. You keep locking yourself up to much, go ahead and unlock." ElfMan's voice echoed.

"Oh ElfMan, if only you were in my shoes." He muttered to himself. School was not about making friends, it was about learning, even though he was still quite smart. He was just going to get to his class, learn school stuff, eat, learn more, and then go home.

Yaaawwwn....

A rather tired-looking boy yawned as he meandered down the street towards the DenTech School, headphones from the 20XX's hung around his neck. "Dang," Lefel said, sighing as he looked up to the clouds lazily drifting by. "Today would have been great for just sitting in the park, but we reeaallly can't miss my first day of school." Coming from one of the poorer areas, Lefel didn't have schooling -- nor a P.E.T. -- for his earlier years, and had been mostly learning from library e-books up until that point. "Well," a familiar voice said with a slightly upbeat tone. "You already know the stuff, so at least you won't get bombarded with work!" Some of his disappointment lifted, Lefel laughed quietly and responded, "Yeah, I guess you're right there, Windy!"

Nonetheless, it really was a bit annoying compared to his past schedule of just goofing off until noon. Nonetheless, it beat running around to do jobs for people for four some hours of the day. But regardless, he wanted to do this for a while, so Lefel would have stuck with it anyways. At the same speed as when he started, Lefel walked towards the school entrance.

Hiro paused upon the appearance of Jake Elwood. "Jake... I know who you are... We're in the same class." It was an honest mistake being that Hiro was quiet, always in the very back of the class and could probably pass off being invisible. He got the work done, got all A+'s and never really had a problem. But today... Oh yes today was a day where he couldn't just get through things quietly. Although, this conversation was somewhat interesting. "Well I'm not one to brag, but I'm pretty good if I do say so myself." He answered with a calm smirk. "What of it?"

"Obviously he wants to challenge us to a battle." Xero said as a miniature hologram of him appeared on Hiro's shoulder. A neat little feature of the Link PET EX. "Way to ruin the mood." Hiro commented with a sigh. "Look Jake. If that's all ya want we can go right now. Not like I'll really miss anything in class." He said calmly. It didn't hurt that he wouldn't get in as much trouble if he was "socializing."

Jake's smile only stayed in place as he nodded, confirming the offer. "Exactly what it is. Most of the operators around here like to talk a big game, but none of 'em can really back it up." Blade appeared as well, hovering in the air holographically while measuring his opponent. His sword of choice, the katana, rested on his back, the hilt showing over his right shoulder and he had his arms folded over his chest. "Blade and I need a good challenge, but on top of that, we need someone who we can trust when team tournaments come up. I'm sure you know how it feels to carry the team. I mean, with as much as we've done it, we gotta be world class strong men, right?"

Blade, after shooting a look at Jake that told him to stop joking for ten seconds, turned to Hiro and Xero. "To turn my operator's explanation into something understandable, we want a challenging future partner. However, we also would like a worthy opponent to begin the day. Is that acceptable?"

While Danny was getting ready for another bout of Ryan's insults, it seemed a conversation between two upperclassmen and the holographic images of their Navi's drew all attention away from him and PumpkinMan. Naturally he was curious as well ,and as he got closer for a better look he realized why they were so interesting." Hey PumpkinMan it seems that two of the schools best Operators are gonna battle. Now that is worth skipping class for." "Please as if either of their Navi's would be a match for the heroic and awesome PumpkinMan." But while the Fire Navi acted as if he barely cared about it, he still appeared in his holographic form on top of Danny's head, both for a better view and because he didn't really like anyone else being the center of attention.

"ElfMan would like this, time to wake him up." Alex muttered to himself as he dug his PET out of his pocket. Once it was tight in his hand and in his view, he tapped at one of the larger buttons on it. The screen slowly turned on, and ElfMan was up, but not very happy about it. "What, what is it? It's 5 hours early, did you tamper with the clock?" ElfMan asked. "Oh, nothing, just that people are doing Net Battles, and..." Alex said, intentionally cutting himself short.

"Net Battles?" ElfMan asked in a happy voice. Soon, ElfMan's holographic form appeared at Alex side in a wire frame, but soon the polygons of his body filled him in. "Bring them on! I'll challenge the first guy who's thirsty for battle. I have not had a good fight for weeks! How about you, good sir? Are you as bored as I am?" ElfMan asked. He then pointed at PumpkinMan with a smile on his face. Both of them looked strong, and it was about time he met his match. This was going to be a lot more fun then busting viruses.

Hiro was a little unsure. Yeah it sounded fine and he understood Jake, but he just couldn't really bring himself to agree. "Look Jake... I get what you're saying, but..." As the words began to come out Hiro was interrupted by a certain Navi's voice. "We accept the challenge." Xero said as he too sized up Blade. "Wha... Xero..." Before Hiro could properly object Xero began again. "Look Hiro. I'm curious. And I want a good fight. Hell any fight." Xero began to explain his position on the matter. There was a bit of mumbling coming from the operator and his navi for a time before Hiro gave Jake his full attention once more. "Alright Jake. You guys have a deal. Let's battle it out." The young man proclaimed calmly. "Now lets go. We're drawing a crowd." He said as he began to lead the way to the battle arena. There were a few interesting characters in the crowd, but right now he had to give his opponent his full attention. "Lets make this good." Xero said to Blade.

Jake's grin widens as he heads for the schools arena, following Hiro. This was going to be epic, and there wasn't one person in the whole school that wouldn't want to watch. Of course, he wasn't concerned with winning, he was concerned with putting on one of the best fights he'd ever had. Winning would just be a bonus to all of it. Blade looked at Xero. "I hope you're ready for a real close quarters fight, I exist for it." Blade himself had plenty to look forward to in today's match, specifically a Navi who really knew what they were doing in blade on blade combat. He was, for lack of a better explanation, tingly with excitement.

PumpkinMan was surprised that someone would actually challenge him. "I would love to have a good match what do you say Danny?" Danny though it over for a few seconds and decided to go for it. "Sure why not?"He then walked up to the Operator of the Navi that just challenged them. " You up for it as well? Though I would prefer to wait until those two have finished their match."As he said that he gestured in the direction of Jake and Hiro. "Not only because their battle would draw much more attention than ours anyway, but also because I want to see it myself. Oh before I forget my name is Danny and the guy on my head is PumpkinMan." While waiting for his opponent's answer he started following the crowd in the direction of the battle arena

"Sure, it'll pacify my NetNavi for a few hours at the most. I'm Alex, and my Navi's name is ElfMan." Alex said as he walked along with Danny towards the battle area. "Sup?" ElfMan asked as a greeting to Danny. Alex gave a little chuckle. "You know NetNavis, some are sweet and mile mannered and some, like ElfMan, are a bit arrogant and cocky. I was planning on watching the match as well, It'll be history in the making!" He said happily. ElfMan gave a smile as he bumped Alex's knee with his elbow. "Hey, you two should talk to each other, maybe even get to know each other. There's more to life than being cooped up in your room while making computer games, you know!" ElfMan said. Alex replied by giving ElfMan a rough bump back in the chest with his foot. "Knock it off, ElfMan! I don't need to talk to every person I see. Last time you told me to tell an adult nurse she was cute, and he was a guy!" Alex said. "Hey, you pointed out that there was a nurse. I can only see in hologram form, you know." ElfMan pointed out as he rubbed the spot where he he was bumped.

Hiro smirked as they reached one of the battle arenas. He set himself up and looked across to see Jake. "You ready?" He asked calmly choosing to block out the crowd. There were still a few that interested him, but he had to focus up. "Once we start up you go until you can't anymore." He said just before he sent in Xero. "Xero.EXE Jack in!" He said as Xero appeared. "Yo Blade just remember, a battle isn't all close quarters." He said acting a bit like it wasn't his specialty as well. The only difference was that he also had a few more ways of battle. Quite a few actually.

(Sorry I took so long.)

Blade didn't respond as Jake took his own position across from Hiro. It was no secret that the navi relied on battle chips for the majority of his ranged engagements, and they were only at medium range at that. Blade was designed for medium range and close quarters combat, the sword hilt over his shoulder, normally unseen, flashing into sight ever so briefly on the screen of the PET. Jake simply shook his head and raised his wrist. "Blade, jack in!" With a flash of green light at one end of the PET, Blade materializes inside the arena. with three shuriken already in his hand.

"Are you ready, Xero?" Blade stood in a familiar ready position for himself, but once the match began, he could spring into any action he wanted.

"Personality wise at least I don't think they are all that from humans. There are even some crazy Navi's, isn't that right PumpkinMan."Danny replied to Alex's comment about Navi's, while at the same time taking a playful jab at PumpkinMan knowing he could take the joke. "Hey that wasn't nice. "The fire Navi was clearly not offended at all and just played along with his Operator.

When they arrived at the arena Danny tried to find a good spot, preferably somewhere he could both see the action and after the battle was over quickly claim the port for his own fight.

"Hiro. Don't go easy." Xero said as a sort of answer to Blade's question. His eyes narrowed as he stared down his opponent the blade of the scythe currently in the ground. "Gonna be that fun?" Hiro asked with a smirk as Xero bent his knees looking as if ready to charge. "Right then." Hiro answered before swiftly reaching into his chip case. Xero charged. He grabbed the handle of his weapon and pulled it from the ground taking a full three steps towards Blade. "Area Steal, Battle Chip in!": Hiro said quickly as he pushed the chip into the slot activating it quickly. Xero seemed to disappear at the chip activated and reappeared behind Blade. "I was gonna ask you the same thing." The navi said now officially responding to whether or not he was ready as he swung the scythe at Blade.

Blade leaped up and over Xero's head, releasing all three shuriken as the hilts to his longswords appear over his shoulders. Drawing them, the blades are a deep gold, almost bronze in color. Moving forward and closing the distance with the opposing navi quickly, Jake inserts a chip. "Aqua Needle, activate!" As the chip activates, a small rainstorm of needles falls towards Xero, just a short ways behind a left handed overhand swing towards Xero's head from Blade's left hand. When that missed, he spun and slashed at Xero's gut. Blade was excited so far. Xero's reflexes were amazing, on par with that of his own, but he was still somewhat vulnerable in comparison to Blade. With no decent ranged attack, he'd be hard pressed to keep from getting kited if that was the route Blade choose to take.