A/N: Anyone remember The Price One Must Pay? This is actually inspired from that, and also me reading a heap of post DW fics that involved the warriors going back to the Digital World. The prices though (the ones mentioned in the summary) aren't necessarily the same and will, as this is a lengthy fic, take longer to manifest themselves. They also may not wind up being as well defined, as this isn't a fic based on definition.
This is also my Camp NaNo fic. My goal is to write 20,000 words, and I've done over 10,000 now so I'm on track for once. So expect...probably another three chapters before it goes into dormant, provided real life doesn't get in the way.
Scroll of the Hearts
a new quest beyond the boundaries of dimension and form
Chapter 1
A Knight on a Journey
The knight journeyed out with a blade of courage in a scabbard of humility on his hip, a shield of love borne upon his right arm for protection while the unfeeling gauntlet that coated his left hand gripped the reins. His boots, sturdy and befit a dragon rider, sat comfortably atop the lowermost hem of his form-fitting armour, the armour itself being a modest earth-red colour and rippling at the touch of the wind. The sound was similar to a flute being expertly played, and the knight parted his own lips to partake in the merry song before he came upon the battlefield –
And then the music stopped, and Takuya blinked, finding to his embarrassment he was not riding out on any sort of quest but rather in music class awaiting his test..and on the receiving end of quite a few glares for not watching his classmates. Kouichi had just finished his own presentation with the flute and looked equally embarrassed, the calm serenity of his playing being shattered by loud applause.
Still blushing, the boy slid into his sit in the corner of the classroom, giving Takuya at the end of the row a small wave as the brunet abandoned his own seat and withdrew his flute from its casing.
Takuya took a deep breath, and began to play. The melody sat upon his lips; his lungs seemed lost in the symphony of their own – which was odd, as he had been dreading this test for a good reason; his aptitude at any sort of music was questionable at the best and ear-shattering at worst. Literally, as he distinctly remembered making both Junpei's and Kouichi's ears bleed on two separate occasions when he'd first started on the flute in school soon after returning from the Digital World.
Now, almost two years later, he was almost as bad as he had been without the practice – on most occasions. A noticeable exception was his current playing; for once it seemed he knew exactly how much air to blow, as if he'd been playing this song his entire life. He wasn't even looking at the paper –
'Kanbara-kun,' the teacher interrupted. 'As relieved as we are not to have sore ears, the idea of this test is to play the music in front of you.'
Takuya blinked at the paper on its stand as if it was a foreign language. In a way it was, hence why Kouichi had taken to it like a bee takes to honey despite having not studied the flute in his owne elementary school and started the year Shibuya Junior High four weeks behind after an unexpected but necessary move brought him and his mother to Shibuya.
Granted, the destination hadn't been necessary, but in the light of the family reunion it did seem like the only option. The reason they had to move though could not be avoided; it was simply pure luck both of them had been in far safer places when the earthquake had struck. Schools, hospitals and the likes were relatively fine, but the more mundane buildings hadn't been given the same attention when designing and building the infrastructure and therefore quite literally crumbled in the pressure.
The loss of a home and items within it however did, in a sense, seem worth the fact that Kouichi was now a lot closer to his friends. And it wasn't as though the building had flooded badly…like some of the others in the area, so the Kimuras had been able to salvage quite a lot. But even then, some things were irreplaceable. Like the last remaining digivice in their world, crushed under a slab of fallen roof.
'Kanbara-kun.'
His teacher sounded vaguely annoyed now, and Takuya pulled his flute from his mouth before realising he had been unconsciously playing again.
'Ah, gomen Sensei,' he said, staring at the wood oddly before returning his attention to the music he was supposed to be reciting. It was an unknown piece; they each had to play a different one. The tests weren't as easily as elementary school when they had a week's notice, and to top it off the symbols were a lot harder to recognise as well.
He took a deep breath, carefully read the first line, and blew gently –
– then winced at the piercing sound that came out, an octave higher than his intention. A few boys at the front covered their ears as well, snickering…not that their tests earlier had gone any better.
A third of the way down the page, the teacher interrupted him again, and he realised that his solo's smoothing was the result of him switching back to whatever tune he had been playing before than him finally getting the hang of how hard to blow and for what duration. The rest of the test was about as jerky as his constant instrument, and by the time he finished and sat down the teacher had a pained look on her face.
Her bun was also a little loose, but no-one was paying attention to that.
Takuya retook his seat, looking at the two notes sitting innocently on his desk. One was from Kouichi; his doodles were unmistakable…probably because no-one else drew quite like him. Concrete drawings were all good and proper – there were a few people in the class who could manage that – but Kouichi was the only one who, given a pen, could make nonsense look interesting and, at times, beautiful.
The other note was from one of the boys in the front row. He opened that one first, knowing that while this one may not necessitate a reply, Kouichi's would. As it turned out, a reply was not needed, as the boy was saying he couldn't help but laugh at the switching tracks, and if he felt insulted to feel free and get his due revenge at the track meet that afternoon.
He laughed quietly at that, then in the midst of amateur music opened Kouichi's note…before blinking at the single sentence…or question.
Sadly, he didn't know what he had been playing any better than Kouichi did…or the teacher, as he found when she kept him back after the recitals were completed and the rest of the class was dismissed. But the question reminded him of the story he had been thinking bout; he didn't remember reading it before, but he had read precious few books. In any case, it seemed more the material for a good action-packed video game…except he didn't remember coming across a knight who looked quite like that one did. And really, who named articles and weapons like that?
He figured he'd ask Kouichi later; that guy was obsessed as ever with fiction. "Ever" was a relative term though, considering they only knew each other for two years of the thirteen he'd been alive. Nearly fourteen, as the summer holidays were almost upon them, as well as the twins' birthdays.
Which reminded him: he would need to go shopping for presents before the weather brought Tokyo to a grinding halt. He grimaced at the very thought, and spent the rest of the period alternating between gift ideas, each as bad as the next, and making plans to fill up his summer holidays. If it was as boring as the previous one, he was liable to – do something crazy. Sadly, that's what it was summing up to be, even with camp and his friends to hang out with. They were good and all, but it seemed somehow unsatisfying and dull after fighting for their lives in the Digital World.
I wish I could go back…
The sun shone through the unmasked window, tickling the tips of his hair.
'How did your recital go?' Kouji asked curiously.
Takuya groaned. He would have buried his head into his hands if they weren't currently holding his lunch. 'Why do you ask?' he grumbled. 'You know exactly how it went.'
'Badly?' the ex-warrior of light guessed, a small smile on his lips.
'I don't have the luxury of years of lessons,' Takuya said.
'And how many times do I have to tell you those lessons were for guitar, not flute.' Kouji rolled his eyes. 'Just face it; you have no music talent.'
'Not true,' Takuya shot. 'I was playing perfectly fine today.'
Kouji raised an eyebrow at the brunet. 'Didn't you just say your test went badly?'
'Well…the test went badly, but I was playing something else and that sounded fine.'
The eyebrow was raised higher. 'Let me get this straight,' Kouji said slowly. 'You were playing some tune you've never heard of or read before perfectly, but you couldn't get the one you were supposed to be playing straight after reading it off the paper?'
'No!' Takuya shook his head, a little exasperated with his friend's dimwittedness. 'I have heard it before; I just can't remember where!' He paused, before adding: 'And you better not roll your eyes again.'
Kouji obliged, though he looked duly disgruntled. 'Stop giving me good cause.'
Takuya huffed. 'I can't help it; that daydream was the most interesting thing that's happened all week…'
'And just what has that got to do with you playing a flute correctly for the first time in your life?'
The brunet opened his mouth to answer and stopped, jaw slacking slightly. He actually didn't know. He thought a little, about the strange knight and his assortment of gear and their stranger names. He'd been humming something – or it had sounded like that anyway – but it hadn't seemed natural enough to play without an instrument at one's fingertips and Kouichi had been doing his own – and far better – recital at that time…if only because the teacher decided to have pity on the last member of their roll and shuffle the names up into a random order.
'You don't know.' Koji sighed. 'Sometimes talking to you scrambles my brain.'
'Hmmph.' Takuya stuffed some rice into his mouth. 'Still, if that had been the song I was supposed to be playing, I would have aced the test.'
Kouji didn't look particularly interested in that. 'How did Ni-san's recital go?'
'Uhh…'
'You weren't paying attention,' the younger twin deadpanned. 'I guess it doesn't matter; you couldn't tell an A+ performance from a mediocre one either.' He chewed slowly on a roll. 'Why does Ni-san's insist on spending his lunch time in the library?'
'Apparently the reading group's a weird one.' Takuya shrugged. 'You'd know better, wouldn't you?'
Kouji spared him a glance. 'That was a rhetorical question.'
'Whatever.' Takuya turned his attention back to his lunch, turning his thoughts back to that strange knight he had been daydreaming about. He wondered where the knight was going; a quest perhaps. Something exciting. Dangerous too…but he seemed well protected. Maybe it would be like the Digital World…
Something hit him on the head, and Takuya glared at the lid that had landed innocently on his lap.
'Would you pay attention?' Kouji said, annoyed.
'I am,' Takuya mumbled, rubbing his head as he handed the lid back.
'Then what did I just say?' The raven-haired male crossed his arms.
'Don't go sounding like a teacher,' Takuya grumbled when he couldn't recall.
Kouji didn't even bother looking smug. Takuya zoned out of conversations and the likes almost as much as Kouichi did…except with more dramatic results. Kouichi after all had the spirit of the king of cats – or queen as they sometimes teased him – and enough grace to avoid collisions with lampposts and trees and cracks in the sidewalk even when he wasn't paying full attention. Takuya was the opposite, walking into things even when he was looking straight at them. It made the others wonder how their hot-headed leader had not been the one to fall down a flight of stairs…although they could all understand how certain things could defy even the best of grace.
'I said,' he repeated patiently…or as patiently as his words ever sounded, which wasn't much compared to most others. 'We're meeting outside Izumi's school at five. Her track meet, remember?'
'Uhh…sure.' He might be a little scatterbrained, but no-body could forget after the blonde had drilled it into their heads, on her toes since she found out that that the district-wide competition would be held at her school's oval. It was a little odd actually, as her junior high school stemmed from the private girls only elementary, however the co-ed school that had been planning to host wound up with some trouble and were forced to pull out. Since then, Izumi had reminded her friends at every available opportunity, making certain they would be present to cheer her on. The only person who wouldn't be disappointed – as repetition dragged for all people – was Junpei, although he was out of luck as frazzled nerves had failed to make an appearance for him to smooth. Then again, Izumi had been in many track meets since she'd returned from the Digital World, and she'd placed at the top in all of them. 'How could I?'
'Are you sure?' Kouji asked uncertainly.
'Of course.' It was Takuya's turn to roll his eyes. 'You think anyone could forget with the way Izumi went on about that meet.'
'It's a big deal for her,' Kouji pointed out. 'If she wins here, she'll get to go to Nationals.'
'I know.' Takuya sighed. 'And I know I'll be up there cheering for her, but it's a bit grating hearing about it so often. I can't help but wish something would happen.'
Contrary to the brunet's expectations, Kouji nodded in understanding. 'I know what you mean,' he said. 'There's a lot of things I didn't mind before that I can't stand now.'
'Like your guitar lessons?' Takuya teased, relieved for the break and the opportunity for some subtle revenge.
'Yes, exactly like those.'
Takuya stopped for a drink at the water fountain before heading indoors, almost walking right into Kouichi who was apparently waiting for someone…or something.
'Hey,' the brunet said, plastering a grin on his face; his initial one had melted off in the sudden blast of lunchtime heat. 'We missed you at lunch.'
Kouichi smiled back, shielding his eyes from the sun and the reflecting fountain. 'Reading club,' he explained.
'Really, you should get involved in something more…involved,' Takuya said. 'Something like…'
'Soccer club?' Kouichi asked.
'Yeah, or track like Izumi. You're a fast runner.' Takuya tended off towards his locker and Kouichi followed. 'Or soccer; you're a good goal-keeper and our current one lets every second ball in.'
'I don't feel much like playing a sport outside of what we have to,' Kouichi replied.
'I don't see how anyone could rather be inside on such a hot day.'
'Air-conditioning?'
Takuya had to admit the elder twin had got him there. Still, he took things entirely too seriously; the brunet was convinced it wasn't healthy.
'Still, you should exercise your body too, you know. And have some fun.'
'I like reading,' Kouichi returned, leaving out the fact that his apartment was far enough for the walk to and from school to be plenty of exercise…even if he wasn't running late (and he hadn't yet…although six weeks weren't enough to start generalising).
'I only read enough to get through school.' Takuya shook his head of hair. 'It takes so long. My eyes wander off…' He suddenly remembered what he had meant to ask the other. 'Have you heard of a story of a knight?'
'A knight?' Kouichi repeated.
Sensing the other wanted more detail, Takuya obliged. 'He had a blade of courage that was in a scabbard of humility, and a shield of love on his right arm and this really hard gauntlet on his left –'
'Apathy,' Kouichi said thoughtfully.
'So you have heard of it?' Takuya asked.
He was a little put out when Kouichi shook his head. 'I just thought of apathy, because courage and humility are in a way antitheses of each other.'
'How do you mean?' Takuya said.
'Well, courage can lead to overconfidence.' Kouichi gave the once warrior of flame a sidelong glance. 'Or pride, and humility is the opposite of pride.'
'Oh.' Takuya thought for a moment. 'Why apathy though?'
'Well, love causes pain, can't it? So apathy would be the opposite of that.'
'Makes sense I suppose.' It didn't really, but Takuya was inclined to take Kouichi's word for it. 'Except love doesn't always cause pain.'
Kouichi didn't comment, though if Takuya had looked at the other's face he would know he disagreed. 'Why do you ask?' he said instead.
'Oh.' The brunet blushed. 'I kind of daydreamed during your recital, and I remembered that story…except I don't remember ever reading it before. It's definitely not one of my video games though.' He paused for a moment, before remembering another tidbit of information. 'Oh yeah, he was humming too.' He laughed sheepishly. 'I guess I was paying attention after all. Sort of hypnotic.'
'It was rather upbeat,' the other responded quietly.
'Whoops.' Takuya laughed sheepishly. 'I suppose it's the weather that makes me so sleepy then.'
Kouichi just shook his head; he was starting to lose the thread of conversation.
'But really, I was thinking about it later, and for some reason the music reminded me of mice.' Takuya threw his arms into the air. 'Mice. I mean, really.'
'Mice,' the other deadpanned.
'Don't do that,' the brunet said immediately. 'You sound like Kouji.'
'Mmm,' Kouichi answered non-committally, his mind of something else. 'Remind me what book you're doing your literature report on.'
'The Pied Piper of –' Takuya broke of. 'Oh.' He swatted the other on the shoulder as a small grin escaped. 'Really, you could have just told me.'
'And miss the fun of teasing you?' the other shot, parting ways to go to his own locker...sadly tucked in a corner because of his late enrolment.
'You and Kouji,' Takuya grumbled. 'I swear, whoever came up with the idea of double-trouble – oh.' He quickly hailed the other before he escaped out of earshot. 'Are you coming with us or meeting is there?'
Kouichi turned. 'Going where?'
Takuya goggled at him. 'Izumi's track meet!' he exclaimed. 'How in the world did you forget?'
'I think I did forget,' Kouichi said slowly, blinking.
Takuya continued to gape. 'She's been going on about it since she found out. Anyway, five at the gates of her school.'
'I guess I'll be meeting you there then.' Kouichi shook his head lightly. 'I can't believe I –'
' – you forgot,' Takuya finished. 'Go figure. But don't tell me you double booked yourself.'
'No, I just need to finish a few chapters and then return my book. It's from the downtown library and it's due today.'
'A few chapters.' The brunet's tone was almost weak, even before the rest of the statement caught up to him. 'Just how many books did you borrow that time, if you've still got…tell me it's just the one?'
'It is,' Kouichi confirmed, sounding faintly amused. 'And you know, I can't remember how many books it was.'
'Of course you can't,' Takuya mumbled, turning away again. 'You remain one of the weirdest people I've ever met.'
Kouichi didn't know how to reply to that either.
'Hang on…'
Kouichi turned back again.
'How'd you know to wait for me anyway? I'm hardly ever on time.'
'I saw you by the fountain,' Kouichi replied.
'From…' Takuya flexed one hand, and then the other. 'Geeze, you must have really been looking. How come?'
Kouichi shrugged.
'Found a crush or something?'
'Don't start sounding like Junpei.'
'Says the guy Junpei doesn't tease about nonexistent crushes.'
Kouichi wasn't sure "teasing" was the right word, but he didn't say that out loud. He didn't fancy the conversation that was sure to follow in any case, so he simply let the thought to mull in his head with the rest of their current conversation.
It wasn't that Kouichi went out of his way to be different; on the contrary he had once, for a time, done the opposite. But that was before the Digital World. Now he liked to think of it as more defining himself…even though the person least fooled with that idea would be himself. Because the truth was that some wall still existed between him and the wall, and transparent as it was, he seemed incapable of knocking it down. Often, he'd find emotions rising to his skin or words to his lips only to fade before speaking them, and against someone like Takuya who always spoke his mind, himself not realising at times the effort the things he said without formulated words…well, it always became more prominent.
He wondered if Takuya ever realised half of what he managed to convey in a conversation. For unlike Takuya, the story about the queer knight was perhaps the last thing on Kouichi's mind…except for the fact that it gave off the restlessness that the brunet felt with not only the summer but the world in general. And he wasn't the only one, because Kouichi could see his brother hosting a similar sort of restlessness: there was a guitar in his room he never played anymore, even though he could play it very well. Their father mentioned offhand once that there was a time the younger twin could not be found away from it, and now it would take a day's cleaning to rid it of the dust that clung to the once polished finish. Not regular dust; it was dusted as much as anything else, but the dust that came from disuse.
That made him think of the precious cargo he carried, but art classes was about the worst place he could think to look at it. The bits of glass, plastic and broken wires could easily be mistaken with the miscellaneous debris on the tables and the floors…and as it was, he doubted he had managed to collect the entirety of his D-scanners from the ruins of their old apartment. He wouldn't be surprised if some of the ceiling that had crushed it was wrapped up with the device itself…but still, it was too important for him to throw out.
Most people didn't know it existed, much less he carried it with him still, so he received no comments on its' behalf. Other things though had been quick to attract attention when he had arrived at a new school four weeks into the semester. It was lucky he had known Kouji and Takuya – and even wound up in Takuya's class – as he would have been horrendously lost otherwise and perhaps also gotten the short end of whatever introductory stick the seventh graders carried. Being good friends with two of the most popular guys (and the twin brother of one of them) in the year level brought along benefits though so he managed to avoid any preliminary trouble – even if, to be perfectly honest with himself, he wasn't too thrilled to be stuck behind another shadow. He didn't have much of a choice. The downside to that however was that it put the spotlight on him more times than he liked, and therefore others figured out things that wouldn't normally come to light within six weeks.
Like he was quite good at school, as he had easily been able to adjust to the slightly different curriculum and the week he had missed between moving and getting himself (or themselves rather) resorted. And that he liked reading…which was how he had wound up in the reading club. It was compulsory after all to be enrolled in at least one club activity, and while he wasn't a bad soccer player or long distance runner or jumper by any means, he had simply not felt like doing any of that.
It was almost funny, that some of the students managed to label him as "dark" right off the bat. But, if anything, they left him alone for the most part. "Alone" though simply meant no-one went out of their way to cause too much trouble – and Kouichi couldn't help but find himself wishing at times he could find an antagonist to…well, antagonise, if only so something could develop further. He felt like he was still trapped somewhere…although boredom was the last thing on his mind. His mind was occupied with other things.
His fingers were occupied with other things too, picking up things seemingly at random and trying to put them into some semblance. The project was easy enough, for all the difficulties everyone around him seemed to be having. Just put things together and create a diorama , something they would be able to write two hundred words on in their sketchbook later…excluding the explanations of what they used and why. At the moment though, Kouichi hadn't locked – or stuck – anything in; he'd instead let his mind wander to its content as he put things at random together, looking for a medium that simply seemed to fit.
His eyes fell on thin wires and began twisting them into shapes. A little cat, dog, hatching dragon, mole, larva and chick. It took a lot longer to make more filled counterparts: the lion, the wolf, the adult dragon, the bear, the beetle and the bird.
Speaking of birds, he wondered how he had managed to forget about Izumi's race. And for some reason, he spent the rest of the lesson thinking she wasn't going to come away from that meet happy.
Kouichi readjusted his backpack before continuing his small struggle through the crowd. The meet had attracted quite a bit of attention; it was a big deal after all, especially since Shinjuku was usually known more for its lights than its action. It was really more a place for adults than children…but then again, Shibuya was pretty low key and not much of a place for kids to get their daily excitement from either.
Neither was Minami, really. It was interesting, how the world seemed more tailored towards adulthood than childhood and adolescence.
But the track meet was different; it was something that attracted Tokyo's younger population. And that made it harder to spot those he was looking for, as in a sea of mostly brown and black haired people, everyone looked the same.
Eventually, he managed to crash (figuratively) into Junpei, and navigation became far easier after that.
'You're still hopeless with crowds,' the older brunet laughed, waiting until the other caught up before ploughing along. 'The others are at the gate.'
'"Gate" is quite vague,' Kouichi returned, rather relieved now that he wasn't drowned. 'Or quite large in this case.'
'True enough, but voila.' He waved a hand, and another waved back. A pale and slender one, revealing itself to be Izumi's as the group came into view.
'What took you guys?' she shouted over the noise. 'I'm going over soon!'
The two boys wished her luck and she took them before departing.
'She doesn't look nervous,' Junpei remarked, eyeing her form on the tracks. 'I'd be jelly right about now.'
They laughed a bit, Tomoki most of all. 'My heart's pounding,' he confessed. 'And I'm not even running.'
Kouji on the other hand was frowning a little. 'I hope she's not overconfident,' he said.
Kouichi gave him a sidelong glance; it was comforting to know it wasn't his mind alone the thought had crossed.
'Are you saying Izumi can't handle the competition?' Takuya asked with a grin. 'If I were in her shoes, I'd have every reason to be overconfident with this lot. She holds the district record, and she's the Warrior of Wind. There's no beating that.'
'That's what I'm afraid of.'
'Izumi going easy on someone?' The tone was sceptical; apparently the two best friends were not on the same wavelength.
Kouji sighed. 'I'm just concerned that she might think the competition is too easy and not do her best.'
'Do you think she could lose like that?' Tomoki asked, a little worried. 'She would be so disappointed…'
'Probably,' Kouji said, the same time his brother said: 'Not necessarily.'
The twins looked at each other again; the others looked between them.
'Why do you say?' Kouji asked finally.
'Well…' Kouichi said, wishing he had simply kept the thought to himself. 'I was just wondering how much a victory would be work if she didn't have to work for it.'
'Maybe.' Takuya shrugged; he didn't seem so concerned. 'A win is a win, and she'll move on to something bigger. In the end, it won't matter, because in higher competition there'll definitely be a challenge and that's what she's aiming for, right?'
Kouichi thought for a moment, then half-smiled. 'You've got a point there,' he admitted. 'I guess I wasn't looking at the bigger picture.'
Satisfied with that victory, the brunet rounded on the younger twin. 'And you should have more confidence in Izumi.'
'Alright, alright.'
The preliminary whistle sent them scrambling for a better view of the track. They saw Izumi sprint off, taking an early lead as the others straggled behind. Takuya yelled for a bit and fell silent, before yelling again; the transition was so fast those of the group who did see it wondered if they weren't simply hallucinating. Tomoki was bouncing up and down; he'd grown a bit since his adventures but he was still shorter than the others, and Junpei was clapping and shouting at regular intervals. The twins clapped too once the blonde crossed the finish line ahead of the herd, but they saw the look of frustration on her face when she turned back to look at the rest of the competitors, and again when the times were announced.
It seemed Kouichi had been right after all, but it was frustrating that things he was right about, like that, were things he couldn't take pleasure in. Nobody brought his comment up again – which he was grateful for – but he wished he hadn't said it in the first place.
Izumi fished around in her bag for a towel before wiping her face. Her hair clung to her forehead and neck, making the hot day and the expenditure from the run seem even more tolling.
Quite frankly, she was disappointed. With an opportunity to go to National competition, she had been appropriately psyched however the competition itself had appeared almost threadbare. She knew her friends were cheering for her in the crowd; there had been moments where she could swear she heard Takuya's and Junpei's voices attempting to drown each other's out, but in most cases the crowd swallowed that as well. She could see the others – she knew they were all there – but she couldn't hear them at all.
Really, she should have tried her best, and not only for them. Except it felt like she had tried her best. A very disappointing best though; she was nowhere near her set record despite the gap between herself and the one who took second place. She should be getting better with time, not worse, but even as she wiped the sweat away she felt that she hadn't pushed herself to her limits as she once had.
Why? she wondered. Wasn't the feeling of her hair sailing behind her and the wind spurring her legs enough to excite her? Or was she missing something else?
A few congratulators came, and she accepted them with a lukewarm and tired smile; whether she had run herself ragged on the tracks or not was irrelevant in that she was feeling rather tired in the aftermath. Still, her team wasn't about to let her get away that easily, and before she could catch up to the others they had dragged her away for, in their opinion, a "well deserved" celebration.
Not that she didn't love pizza and garlic sauce. But she felt a little weary, as though she was lying to herself about something, pushing herself to do something she didn't particularly enjoy.
Which was odd, because she did enjoy running. And competing.
But she couldn't shake off the disappointment she felt. Sure, she'd obtained her ticket to larger competition, where she would run with and against the best of their country. But she had to wonder if it was as important to her as those initial meets she had partook in, or if it had developed into something…else.
In the end, she pleaded tiredness and left the restaurant early, walking slowly home under the still bright sky. Offhandedly, she thought of how it would be twilight in a few months by this time…not that it really mattered, for despite Shinjuku's reputation the path between her home and school was safe enough. In fact, it was probably safer than Shibuya where the boys stayed, for Shinjuku was always lively, even at night. So while a midnight brawl wouldn't be anything unusual, it would be far more difficult to try and attack a lone figure in a swaying crowd.
So as expected, she made it home with no difficulties, waved a greeting at her parents who had come home ahead of her, and hopped straight into the shower. Despite it being summer, she turned the faucet as hot as she could manage without pruning herself within the minute, and enjoyed the warm water cascading down her shoulders and back and tickling her stomach.
She closed her eyes and let the river wash the wind away. A sad thought, she reflected later as she lay in bed, listening to the night's song through the open window and watching the large moon smile down upon the earth in an almost mocking way. There were a few stars though, but none of them flashed and disappeared; she hadn't seen a shooting star since her time in the Digital world, she realised.
She wondered what she should wish for if she saw one.
