The Importance of Names

Viruses were mostly known for their destructive behavior against internet appliances and navis, but even viruses had to rest and recover. That was what the large flock of Marumoko was doing just now.

Grazing the cyber grass with a laziness never seen in them in normal occasions, the sheep-like viruses didn't seem very threatening. Their wool, as pink and puffy as a cotton candy, bobbed up and down every time they moved, creating an almost hypnotic effect on the viewer.

And Aubade, despite being the son of two of the most powerful navis ever to walk the internet, was no exception.

He was currently sitting against a boulder, with a small fluffy marumoko plush on his lap and a smile on his lips. The toy had been given to him by Yamatoman during one of his birthdays and was a cherished memento of his younger years with the older navi, although he rarely took it out in the open in fear that someone would see and call him a sissy.

Aubade had nothing to fear, though, for the zone they were in was within their home in the Ura Net. The large fields, occasionally dotted with trees and flower plants, had been forcefully populated by his father to render it more lively. He could remember the confused eyebrow that Forte was giving Forza when she was explaining her plan.

It was no surprise that, with his half-sister's knowledge of his likings, two days later an entire flock of Marumoko was dotting the green ground with pink. And he had to admit, Forza's idea of inserting peaceful viruses in the vast meadows had turned out to be an exceptionally good idea. He just refused to think about how Forte had managed to do that.

Knowing him and his rough methods, the viruses had surely gone through a lot of stress...

Aubade eventually gave a deep sigh of contentment, happy that everything just went well. If something had gone wrong, Forza would have surely become sad, and he hated seeing her that way. She was far too cheerful a girl to be seen with tears in her eyes.

Not mindful of his surroundings, the child closed his eyes and lazily stroked the soft plush resting on his lap. He loved its fluffiness and how his hand felt against it, and the stroking movement was so hypnotically relaxing that he never noticed someone approaching in a fast run.

It was only when Forza screamed his name at the top of her lungs that he woke up from his daze with a scare. His red eyes met his sister's, so much alike his own pair, and he gave an awkward smile as he still tried to recover from the jolt of sudden fear. "Forza!" he exclaimed, always happy to see her. "I thought you were with our father?"

The little girl shook her head and sat down next to her brother, her plush star always present and now resting on her lap, just like Aubade's toy. "Daddy said he had something urgent to do," she explained, playing with a point of her yellow star.

Aubade raised an eyebrow in surprise. For their father to leave Forza on her own so suddenly without first calling him meant that there was truly something urgent going on. For a moment he thought about getting up to go help Forte, but then realized that there was practically nothing that could defeat him. And if there was even a remote chance of things going wrong, he would have already taken them to Doctor Cossack for more protection.

"It's probably someone trying to hack into the Secret Area again," he commented, lifting his marumoko plush so that he could stare at its face. "Nothing to worry about, although father might not take that as kindly as we do."

Forza blinked her large red eyes, and then smiled happily. "You're right!" she exclaimed, reassured by Aubade's calm behavior. Her gaze then fell on the plush her half-brother was holding and oohed at it. "That's really pretty! What's his name?"

There was silence for several seconds as Aubade had no answer for that. In the years he had possessed the toy, he had never bothered giving it a name, nor deciding what gender it would be. To him, it was just a toy, albeit really important, that had no life and could never answer to his calls.

"It... doesn't have one..." he replied after a while, not understanding the importance of giving names to toys. He loved his sister only like a big brother could do, but sometimes she could really confuse him. "Why?"

Forza stilled for a few seconds with her star plush clutched in her arms. Then she proceeded to drop in front of Aubade with a determined look on her face. "It is important!" she exclaimed as she propped her own plush into a sitting position against her knees. "How am I supposed to present him to my Hoshi-chan?"

More confused than before, Aubade looked at Forza, hoping that he could enter her head and decipher her thoughts. "Do... they need to be presented to each other?"

Thinking that she had finally convinced her brother that her idea was the absolute truth, Forza patted the top point of Hoshi-chan with a hand. "They have to! Otherwise, how can they play with each other if they don't know their names?"

"But..." Aubade opened and closed his mouth several times like a fish, voice forgotten somewhere in the back of his frame. How two toys could play with each other was beyond his understanding. Maybe he should ask his father, or better, his grandfather, the meaning of this whole situation. But that couldn't happen until later, and at the moment there was a very eager little girl waiting for a name.

Their eyes met once again, and Aubade found himself lowering his gaze onto his plush, pondering how it could feel if he gave it a name. "I..." he searched for words, for a name that felt right so that he could make Forza happy, but nothing came. "I don't know..."

It pained him when he saw his sister's face sadden, and he would have tried to say something comforting if he had the time. As it was, Forza's sadness lasted only a few seconds before smiling brightly. "Then can I give him a name?"

Aubade felt a bit unsure, but upon seeing how happy she was over the idea of finding a name for his plush, he gave a small nod. "Sure."

It took Forza just a couple of minutes before she beamed with a small squeal. "I know! I know!" she quickly proceeded to slightly push Hoshi-chan towards the other plush. "Hoshi-chan, this is Maru-chan!"

As he watched his sister pet the newly named Maru-chan, and although he still felt deeply confused by the entire situation that had just transpired, Aubade felt a sudden bubble of happiness that spread through his entire frame until his lips pulled apart into a wide smile.