Shounen-ai. As a reader, you should know what that means by now. If not, I suggest you cruise google.com until you do. And I don't want any flames on the reproduction system of reploids. .... Actually, no. Flame me! >.< I haven't gotten one since god knows when.

Maverick A criminal reploid under the influence of a virus program, specifically the Sigma Virus, the Maverick Virus, the Zero Virus, and the Xero Virus. Handle with extreme caution and report to Infirmary upon coming in contact with the infected reploid. Rogue A criminal reploid under no influence of a virus program. They are, but not limited to, mercenaries, assassins, and those built to purposefully cause destruction. Hunter A military agent that is dutied with retiring both Mavericks and Rogues. They work for the government of their stationed countries and the United Nations._

The sound of typing keys stopped as the typist reached out for the pencil on his left, using it to cross out the 'Hunter' paragraph on the yellow piece of paper. There was nothing after it, but he still wasn't finished defining the terms.

He tapped his pencil on the keys of the laptop in thought, staring at the screen dully. His palm was pushing up into his cheekbone, his green eyes half-lidded, and was on the verge of sighing.

Megaman X was the current epitome of boredom.

Life was quieter nowadays, with Sigma (hopefully) gone for good. But it had been four years since the last Sigma-Maverick revolt and tension about an untimely return was beginning to fade away like dust in the wind.

On the other hand-- X pursed his lips together as he continued his typing in a brief spat of inspiration.

Irregular A non-scientific, militaristic label placed on human-based reploids who are infected with one of the super viruses. Symptoms include agression, change in personality, and occasional memory loss._

On the other hand, Zero had also made his fair share of returns from the dead. But this time... This time, Zero would not be coming back, not when he was buried in the ground with a smashed AI and memory protocol. The remains of the chips and modem were actually still being kept on display in one of the museums in Japan.

It had been confirmed there was no chance of recovering the lost data, which made them relatively worthless. But then again, the shell still could have been used.

Which is why only X, Cain and Signas know where it was buried.

Enigmas Rare. Reploids with no database information, no profile, or even a registration number. Report those who are._

X bit at the corner of his lip and saved what he had onto disk, shaking his head remorsefully. He never had anything better to do but review the key items in his life. What he was taught as a Hunter, what he had done to ensure the survival of the human species... who he had shared it with.

He clicked the shut down option and closed the mini-computer, holding it in his lap as his gaze went to the window and the world beyond it.

After the Mavericks had been cleaned up, X had been transfered to America. Florida, more specifically. And so here he was in the small city of Caldenton, looking over the mingling landscape of buildings and random treetops from his third floor apartment. The change had been pleasent from Tokyo's never-ending sea of steel, plexiglass, and cement, and still was for three years running. Even after being called in to lead teams or perform solo missions against some big name Rogues.

However, you can move the body from place to place but never can you forget where you've been. Or where your heart truly lies.

X had also been able to gain a social life between jobs. Or, as close to one as you could get. A few anime-crazed teenagers who worshipped the very ground he walked on, three women who insisted on him joining them for lunch every friday, and two guys who introduced him to 'clubbing'.

And all lacking the knowledge about his second job or deeds done across the sea and all over the world. X smiled softly. This life may not have been as exciting as his last one, but at least here he can get a better understanding of the creatures he spent so long defending.

X hmmed, just as a pidgeon flew past the window, and ran a hand through his hair to distract himself from a sudden though, his smile turning into a frown. This was the life he had been expecting to lead since after the second Sigma-Maverick war, after...

"I promise, X! *flashy grin* Once Sigma is defeated forever, we'll live in some city, in some country, and take life by the reigns, just like the humans did."

"Together?"

"Well, why not? There's hardly been a day that we haven't done anything together. ...Do you mind?"

"Of-- Of course not! *sincere* Why the heck would I mind you dragging me along for trouble? ... Just as long as you don't die again. *sorrow*"

"*chuckle* *quiet* Trust me, Yakasa. I've just proven that I'm indestructable. Don't worry about me. You've got yourself to look out for."

"And I /have/ looked out for myself," he murmured, half lidding his eyes in thought. "You and your damned bravado.. Would you have still saved me if you knew how I felt about you? Would you even be alive.. if you had known?"

The sound of the chime-tinted doorbell jarred him from his memories. It sounded again before he realized what had pulled him away and X slid off the platformed windowsill, hurrying to the door.

"Hang on!" With a quick glance at a passing clock, X had a good idea at who was rapping on his chamber door. Throwing on a shirt grabbed from a chair, just to be modest, he opened the door. Unsurprisingly, it was his 'fan group', fresh out of school with stars in their eyes.

"Kon'nichi wa, Hikari-san!"

X suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and laugh. Instead, he smiled lightly. To them, he was plain old Hikari Yakasa, Japanese native, and their ticket to learning the written and vocal language of the nihonjin, so that maybe one day, they could understand it enough to hold a proper conversation.

To him, they were normalcy in a life that could never truly be considered so.

"Douzo ohairi kudasai, minna-san." And he shuffled them all inside, prepping himself for another long two hours.

In Japan...

"He's extraordinary, isn't he?"

He snorted in distaste and his host gestured to the creature beyond the glass. "It's just a child, Shiniji-san. Perfectly worthless to society or even the military."

Shiniji Kaede shot a glare over her shoulder at the man behind her. "There's a reason I never told you the details of this project, Hinaka. Don't jump to conclusions."

As Shiniji walked briskly out of the observation booth, General Hinaka Jin let his nostrils flare in annoyance as he followed her out.

The child obviously never had any privacy it seemed, he mused, as he looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up the entire right wall of the hallway.

"We've been monitoring the boy since his very birth," stated Shiniji, without looking back or even slowing down her pace. "As of now, he is five years, four months, eighteen days, nine hours, and 10 minutes old. His mother died in the birth, but we expected that."

The dark haired woman opened the door at the end of the hallway and bade him enter. "Doctor Akira Kikade was the one that brought it to our attention and because of it... the government funded all of this."

Beyond the door was a technician's dream come true.. and a nightmare made real. Wall to wall with expensive electronics, used for God only knows what. Wires strewn everywhere, going in all directions. And people in white coats were bustling about like ants in a colony.

Despite the mess, Hinaka was impressed. There was just one thing that nagged at him. "All this for a /simple boy/?"

Shiniji noted the stressed words and turned to look at him, before motioning for him to follow.

As Hinaka suspected, the cell was made almost entirely out of glass for constant observation. Inside the cage were various things, such as a chalkboard covered in numbers, an unmade bed, simple toys like plastic cars meant for toddlers, and a swing that hung from a bar ten feet in the air.

The boy himself, sitting at a desk in the corner, was.... pretty, almost. Absurdly long blonde hair for a child his age, vivid blue eyes that revealed a vast expanse of innocence, and skin that had a natural tan, albeit a little light.

"What's he doing?"

"8th grade math."

Hinaka started, gaping and turning abruptly towards the woman. "How is it possible?!"

Shiniji smirked at him, chuckling harshly. "That's not all. He's unaware that an outside world even exists and even with his cheerful exterior, he draws images of massacre, brutal murders, and all sorts of terror, oblivious to the fact that what he's drawing is morally disturbing for a child his age... or impossible to realize with no outside experience."

"Who is he, Shiniji-san."

"Aa." Shiniji turned back to the glass. "Once upon a time not too long ago, a woman worked the streets as a prostitute. Ran a clean business, always making sure she and her customers were protected.

"But one night, she got a special visit. A strange man, very handsome, elegant, predatory, came wandering down the Rows. It was like he was inspecting every woman against the wall and finding nothing he liked... until he stopped at her.

"Probably the most money she'd ever seen, let alone made, in her entire life was right there, in her hand come morning. Two months later, she discovered she was pregnant.."

"What does this have to do with anything?" he hissed.

"Hinaka-san, the man who came to her was a reploid."

The room suddenly got quiet as Hinaka slowly absorbed this crucial piece of information. What....?

Shiniji laughed-- no, cackled at Hinaka's bewildered expression. "And that's not even half of it. Myuri!"

An twittery assisstant came out of the frey of scientists, clutching a folder under his arm. He handed it to Shiniji without a word and then melted back into the waves. It was passed into Hinaka's hand shortly after. "I'm sure you'll find this quite interesting. Now, if you'll excuse me," she said, leading the high-ranking officer back to the hallway. "I have another appointment. Keep the file to look over and tell me if you want to go on with its proposal."

Masa grunted as the progress report showed that they were lagging farther behind in work with each day. The construction reploid shook his head. If things kept up like this, he may have to lengthen the hours... again.

But really, how hard could it be to dig a hole in the ground?

Masa kicked a stone partially lodged into the dusty earth, sending it skittering across the ground. And he couldn't do anything to speed the project up except to threaten to cut paychecks.

....Again.

The site was busy with noise from heavy machinery and commands of action. Jack hammers chipped into the ground, bulldozers rumbled and pushed dirt away, men carried wheelbarrels of debris in the same direction. A normal construction area.

He was deciding on letting the team quit for a break when a human subordinate came rushing up to him, panic in his face and pale all over. Masa started. "What's wrong, Yajuu?!"

"Wa-- Wwwatage.. Watage! He... he fell /through/ the ground! Stop-- stop the machines!"

Masa cursed beautifully and hit the emergency stop for all the building machinery. As they all powered down, Yajuu dragged Masa to the hole and both slid down the incline to wherea small crowd had gathered. "Back away! All of you!"

The workers obeyed the orders and Masa kneeled down next to the hole. "Someone get me a flashlight!"

He was handed one not even a moment later and Masa shone it down into the drop. "Watage! Watage, can you hear me?!"

The light revealed nothing. Only the makings of a cavern. When no answer came, Masa grunted. "Someone call the fire department. I'm going down there."

Even as they protested, Masa still undid his utility belt, keeping only the walkie talkie and flashlight with him as he jumped down. The protests only grew louder as he decended, but that was soon remedied as the assistant managers backed the men and women away.

Below, Masa fell about thirteen-fourteen yards before his legs struck solid granite. The reploid wavered, but managed to keep his balance. Around him, the light echoes of dripping water came from all directions. He turned on the light and wove it around, making out walls to his lefts, walls in front of him, and a huge space to his right. Still with no sign of Watage, Masa wandered about the open area, putting caution into his steps and keeping his eyes open.

"Watase? Watase Ukio, if you don't show yourself, you're fired!" The air was cool down here, much cooler than up above. Masa bit at his lip, slightly worried. If something fatal had happened to Watage and he wasn't found by dark (which would be bizarre, considering it was only noon and there's no way he could have vanished), he'd most likely freeze. Damn human, always wandering even when they shouldn't be... "Wa~ta~ge!!"

All that answered him was the dripping water--

"Boss!"

Masa jumped, startled badly at Watage's sudden appearance in front of him. Watage was waving his arm in excitement, while the other hung limp by his side. Masa took a subconscious note of it, before glaring at the shorter human. "What are you /doing/, Watage?! Did you hear me calling you??!"

"Uh.." In the dark, Watage blushed sheepishly. "No, I didn't actually. ..... Am I fired?"

Sighing, Masa pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm considering it, but if you come with me now and /cooperate/, there's a less likely chance of it happening."

"But-- but sir!" It was a protest, something Masa didn't understand at all.

Watage would have continued, but the pain in his arm finally caught up with him. The man grabbed his shoulder, face contorted with pain. Masa hurried over to him and leaned him up against the closest wall for support. Giving his unprofessional opinion, the reploid said, "Dislocated shoulder, broken ulna bone.. Anything else hurt?"

Watage shook his head. "No, not that I can tell of. .... Oh, but sir! I found something down here!"

Masa snorted as he radioed in that he had found Watage, reported his condition, and requested a medical team down here as well. Immediately afterwards, he said to Watage, "Like what? Signs of subterranean life? You're a construction worker, Ukio, not a scientist."

"But Masa-san! Just go look! Fire me, kick me to the moon, but /please/ just go look over there." And he pointed to where he had popped up from.

Masa swung the light in that direction, seeing a slight intrusion in the wall. It was a tunnel leading along the wall, not away from the room. Masa exhaled in annoyance. "Stay here."

Watage didn't need to be told twice.

Masa started down the passage, noting its size and stability. Something didn't seem too right about this, but that was pushed aside as his light hit the deadend of it. The reploid cursed and was about to turn back, planning on giving Watage a serious piece of his mind, when the light shined higher. Masa blinked and stepped closer.

The wall was covered in grime, rock chippings, and dirt, but Watage had apparently wiped some clean away and beneath it...

Masa, his mind shocked, rose the radio back to his mouth. "Yajuu?"

"Yes, sir?"

"...Get me a professional too."

"A professional, sir? What kind?"

"An archaelogist, a paleontologist, I don't care!" he barked, eyeing the wall with trepidation. "And I want the Hunters called in too. Now."