He could hardly sleep that night. He went to bed early, hoping to sleep, and instead found himself pressing his eyelids shut, pretending he was tired. However, the opposite was true; he hadn't felt this awake and alive in weeks. With his eyes still closed he began hoping and praying for his exhaustion to catch up and wash over him. But all he could think about was that promise.
Two months. The last time Takato had seen his partner and best friend was two months ago. Just thinking about that time period made him shudder. He still had nightmares about it; the red mass, the agents, the kernel and prison of Jeri, taller than most buildings. Whenever he started to feel overwhelmed, he concentrated on his final biomerge with Guilmon. Gallantmon Crimson Mode, made possible by Grani, was his ultimate defiance against the D-Reaper. He and Guilmon were one...which brought him back to his promise.
A promise he can finally, hopefully, keep.
Not everybody was as optimistic, however. Rika, of course, presented a lot of counter arguments, but she did sounded excited. Even Jeri said she wanted to go, to help find Calumon. Henry was confused as to how a portal opened at all, and Takato had to wonder himself; however, he decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. He could see Guilmon. He had to take this chance. He felt that the portal would stay open as long as they needed, but that didn't stop him from wanting to hurry. They had no plan, no way back, and no permission, but tomorrow they were going to the digital world.
He rolled onto his side to check the digital clock on his nightstand. The green, luminescent numbers indicated that it was only 2:15 in the morning, but his attention was immediately drawn to the object adjacent. He could barely reach it with the tips of his fingers, but he grabbed hold eventually.
He smiled to himself and attempted to sit up in his bed. His fingers brushed over the goggles, his tamer's symbol. He remembered the first day he wore them, after Guilmon hatched from his digi-egg. His grip tightened around the goggles in order to control the flood of his emotions.
"Hold on buddy...just a little bit longer," he whispered to himself. He slowly put the goggles on his head for the first time in months, and instantly he felt ready for bed.
"Just a little bit longer, Guilmon," Takato whispered as he lost consciousness. "I promise."
After all the effort to fall asleep, Takato struggled now to wake up. He could hear his alarm beeping, distantly, calling to him. He knew he had something important to do. But his dream world had him trapped. At first, all he could see was darkness, but then he looked harder. Colors were flying around at high speeds, unstoppably fast. He could feel something on his wrists, tying him down. And then he realized he couldn't breathe. He didn't think he was underwater, and he could barely move to check. He heard a voice, soft, feminine, and familiar, calling his name, and he bolted upright in his bed, sweating and breathing heavily.
He took a second to compose himself, before the ringing of the alarm became too much. After he turned it off, he stood up, and threw on his classic blue shirt and grabbed his digivice and modify card deck.
He walked downstairs into the bakery store run by his parents. He opened the fridge and started packing food for the trip. He opened the bread drawer and found nothing where he expected to find, well...bread.
"Looking for this?" Takato winced and slowly turned to face his parents standing in the doorway, holding a bag full of bread.
"Uhm..." Takato started, nervously. He had been upset with himself for not telling his parents about leaving, but after the events with the D-Reaper, he figured it would be easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
"It's okay, son," his dad said. "Yamaki informed us that there was a possible digital portal open, and we knew right away you'd be going."
"And...you're okay with it?" he asked, only half surprised.
"Well, not really," his mother replied, with a slight smile etched on her face. "But we know you'd go anyway. Plus, even we miss Guilmon." She gave her son a hug. "Bring him back, alright? Then we can all be together again."
Takato smiled. His parents recognized that Guilmon was a part of their family. He hugged both his parents, holding back a few tears, and together, they packed for his journey. He slipped into his shoes, and headed out the door. When he reached the top of his hill, he turned towards his house. In the light of the barely risen sun, he could just make out his parents waving to him. He waved a final goodbye, and walked determinedly towards the park.
He didn't want to run, but his pace hastened with every step. The warm breeze made the world seem comfortable, and the clear sky foretold days of joy, but the only thing he could think about was getting to his destination. He hoped he was the last one there; that way, they could just leave. His stomach felt almost queasy, but he wasn't sure why he was nervous.
Not nervous, he thought. Anxious. To see my best friend.
As he entered the park, he couldn't help but reminisce about the adventures he and all his friends shared. A ton of them had started in this very park. He laughed as he recalled pushing Guilmon in a shopping cart. That was a blast...and then there was an actual blast, caused by Henry, Gargomon, Rika, and Kyuubimon battling against the snake deva in the subway.
With the shed that served as Guilmon's hide out getting closer, he felt his anxiety heighten.
"Hey, gogglehead," a friendly voice call. He turned to see RIka, Henry, Suzie, Jeri, and Kenta standing just outside the shed. "Took you long enough!"
"As if I was the one you were all waiting for?" he replied, smiling. "Where's Kazu?"
"Where do you think," Kenta said, Henry laughing. "If he could just hurry, then we could leave!"
"Actually," Rika said, eyes on her phone. "We can't leave without Ryo." Everybody looked at her, and she slowly turned red. "What?" Her voice sent out a challenge, begging them to comment. Takato, not dumb enough to poke Rika's buttons, simply turned and laughed. But Ryo's and Kazu's absences bothered him. What was the hold up?
He heard footsteps, and excitedly looked to his left. He didn't see anybody. Instead, the bush began shaking. Takato suddenly became worried. Ryo and Kazu were not "enter through a bush" kind of people.
Just as he was about to call everybody's attention, two small children walked out of the bush, holding a single, purple digivice.
"Ai?" he said in surprise. "Mako?" Everybody else's heads snapped in their direction.
"Hi!" Mako said, smiling. "We were scared we'd have to go alone, but the big kids are here!"
"Where are you going?" Rika said, gently, worry seeping into her voice.
"To find Impmon," Ai said, putting the digivice back around her neck. "The digivice told us to come here. Please don't call our parents!"
"Of course not," Takato promised, earning himself a scoff and reprimanding look from Rika. Henry walked over to the young tamers.
"How old are you guys?" he asked, trying to sound genuinely curious, but his eyes glowed with concern.
"Five, since today!" they both said, showing a hand with all five fingers extended. Henry was quiet for a moment, staring at his own sister. Then he sighed.
"Well, we can't say no to the birthday twins, can we?" he said with a shrug. The two kids rejoiced as Henry continued. "You're tamers, so you deserve to come and find your partner. Just stay close and be careful."
As the two kids promised profusely, Rika sighed loudly and began pacing, hands moving absent mindedly across her digivice and cell phone. She kicked a small stone and watched it fall down the concrete steps, listening to the clatter of each drop.
"Those two are on their way to being as stubborn as Ryo," she whispered, shaking her head.
"Heard my name?" a voice said from behind them, startling both Takato and Rika. Rika rolled her eyes.
"Ryo!" Jeri said, her voice cheerful. Takato couldn't stop himself from genuinely smiling. "And Kazu!"
"You big dorks, what took so long!" Rika shouted, giving both boys a punch in the arm.
"Ah, hey!" Kazu screamed, while Ryo said "Took a detour when I saw Kazu trip and fall on his face." Kazu's mouth gaped open, and everybody laughed.
"All right, Tamers!" Takato shouted. "On this day, we march to reunite with lost friends. Move out!"
Single-filed, the Tamers walked into the shed and slid down the path dug long ago by Guilmon. Takato brought up the rear. As Henry helped Suzie down the hold, he turned to face the sun again.
"You ready?" Henry asked, putting his hand on Takato's shoulder. Takato nodded. He walked in and saw the Tamer's flag he had left there. He stared at the pictures of his friends for a moment, before picking it up and standing at the mouth of the pathway.
I'm on my way, Guilmon. I promise.