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First, a standard disclaimer. All Tamers characters contained herein are owned By Akiyoshi Hongo and Toei Animation. Hiyatake Kageru and Naremon are owned by Cyan and Bradmon and are being rented for this story. Chiuchi Kenji (Anthadd) and Arashi Natsume belong to their respective authors and don't appear often or for long.
Next, this is a two part story. The first part is primarily plot and an introduction to Kageru while the second part is a further closing to the episode with some ... call it citrus, overtones. Since you're reading this part instead of skipping to the smut (with plot, I don't do pure smut) in the second part, I highly recommend reading The Cyan Chronicles II which covers much of Kageru's past before he become Kageru. There is apparently quite a bit more - much of which hasn't been written down yet - but that constitutes the greater part. While you're there, review that and their other stories, they're really under-appreciated. Hmmm, all three forms of 'there' in one sentence, don't you just love english?
While reading, remember that this takes place well after Kageru first meets Ruki, so their relationship is not straight out of left field. Cyan has assured me the events of Tamers as influenced by Kageru and co. will be posted in some form before long, so be patient. Part of the reason this is so long is we want to be thorough.
Note from Cyan: Yes, I know Naremon is just a reversal of the first two syllables in Renamon and that it's a pallette swap, but this was done taking that into account and I have reasoning behind it. It just doesn't come up in here, or likely anytime in the near future for that matter, so just be patient and don't flame.
Thanks: Cyan helped me a lot with this, from his take on the events of Tamers and the characters, to his in depth knowledge of nearly everything Digimon and his unusual ability to project alternate characters over his own personality. Of course, the fact he wrote Kageru's character was important, too. :P
This chapter follows Tamers episode 10 fairly closely, and I got the
idea for the title from a comment by Ruki's Grandmother in episode 12 of
the dub.
Chapter 1
A Bad Start to a Bad Day
The sun hung in the mid-afternoon sky. As he walked out from the shadow of a building and into the sunlight, Hiyatake Kageru - Digimon Tamer and wrong person to have as an enemy - looked up and glared at it. He paused to think about just how annoying this 'Day Star' was and flick out his sun glasses before scurrying after his friend.
Kageru had never been fond of the sun or what most people considered "nice" weather, and he did not intend to start now. The fact things hadn't been this quiet since he arrived in Shinjuku didn't make him feel any better.
While Kageru hung back, Makino Ruki continued on her way home. She reached an intersection and the traffic light turned red against her. Stopping, she let out a sigh. Ruki wasn't in a good mood to start with - not that either she or Kageru were ever in a 'good' mood - and the way the day was heading did nothing to improve it.
For a start, Kageru caught a lucky break and pummelled her in a card battle that morning - she didn't mind being beaten by Kageru, but it wasn't a good start to the day. The pair had then gone downtown to register for an upcoming card tournament, but had arrived too late and couldn't secure any places. To make matters worse, Ruki had been getting 'funny' feelings all day; as if she was being followed by someone - or something - other than Kageru and their digimon.
The funny feelings had started shortly after she left the house. At first, they were nothing more than thinking she had seen something out of the corner of her eye. It had now reached the point that she could swear there was something behind her, even when she turned and didn't see anyone. What she hadn't noticed was everytime she got one of these funny feelings, Kageru had fallen behind her for one reason or another, or was simply not paying any attention.
Ruki did her best to brush them off, but they were starting to make her uncomfortable. This time, it almost scared her. Kageru was far enough back that he couldn't see Ruki when she was suddenly overcome by a frigid cold. She was certain she even saw her breath. What was reaching out of empty space to grab her vanished as quickly as it had appeared when Ruki turned. The only thing she saw behind her was Kageru jogging to catch up.
The two actually made quite the pair. Both tended to be cold, almost to the point of being emotionless and they had nasty attitudes to match. Kageru tended to be a bit more cruel with his sarcasm, but it was present in both. They even looked similar, although this was primarily because Kageru had dyed his once brown hair red to match Ruki's, "for lack of a better colour" - though it wasn't quite exact - and they tended to wear the same clothes. Indeed, even their digimon and D-Arks were almost identical.
When they first met, both felt an empathy for the other - a bond shared at a deeper level. It was as if they had known each other for years, though Kageru had just arrived. They were friends, but more than that, they actually considered themselves partners. Lacking somewhere else to stay, Kageru ended up living in Ruki's home in secret. Living in the same place and trying to keep it a secret was trying on their friendship at times, and indeed may have retarded its development a bit. Neither truly realised it was developing into something more. But their relationship is not yet our focus.
As he approached, Kageru could tell something was going on, he could sense it, but he didn't know what. Ruki's expression made him think what was wrong related to her somehow. "Ruki, daijoubu?"
{Roughly: "You okay?"}
Not wanting to admit something had phased her, Ruki used Kageru's delay to her advanatage. "What happened to you?"
Kageru looked at her for a moment before answering, his eye movements hidden by his sun glasses. "I stopped to put on my sun glasses, all right?"
"Whatever," she replied in her usual tone. The light changed to green. "Hurry up. Mom wanted me back by 2:00. I don't think I want to know why, but I should be there ..."
"If you say so. Don't let me slow you down ... not like I'm expected or belong there..." Kageru was still bitter about his place, or complete and total lack thereof, in that world.
Just after they crossed the street, Ruki stopped again. This time because Culumon was standing right in front of her. "Will you play with me?" the miniature digimon asked as it jumped into her arms.
Kageru thought for a moment how much he'd like to be in Culumon's place before realising what he was thinking. He returned to reality just in time to see Ruki's mother approaching and duck out of sight. He didn't really belong in that world, so not having to explain awkward things to Ruki's mother was the preferred path.
"Ruki, there you are."
"Uh, hi mom," said Ruki, glancing around to see if Kageru had vanished.
"Are you on your way home? My big surprise is all ready for you."
"I can hardly wait..."
From there Rumiko started ranting about something Ruki wasn't interested in. She backed off slowly before turning and running. When she was far enough away, Ruki stopped, dropped Culumon and waited for Kageru to catch up.
"Whatever it is, maybe you'll be lucky and you can sell it," quipped Kageru as he rejoined her.
"Let's take the long way home," decided Ruki.
Kageru nodded. "Right..."
Ruki and Kageru arrived at her home shortly after two o'clock. They split up as Ruki went to find her mother and Kageru made his usual efforts to enter the house unnoticed. 'Not existing makes life so much more difficult,' he commented one time.
(For those who still haven't realised it and didn't read my notes, Kageru is in fact Cyan - the additional character in Cyan and Bradmon's stories - but he's pretty much rejected his former self.)
It turned out Rumiko's big surprise was a bunch of clothes for Ruki to try on. Ruki was vastly under-impressed. Kageru had found himself a comfotable place near a window so he could watch what happened.
"Am I being punished for something?" complained Ruki.
"Why don't you try it on, Ruki?" she prompted her daughter. "It'll make you look more like a girl. It looks so cute!"
Don't you go turning into Mimi on me, I won't have anything to wear! thought Kageru. It was lucky for him that Ruki was about his size and a tomboy. It meant he didn't have to worry about a wardrobe, and that was just as well.
"I don't like cute!" Ruki glared at her mother.
"But what about that stuffed animal I saw you holding?"
"That was ... for a science project."
She BSes so well.
Ruki continued, "We had to do an experiment on the effects of gravity on small objects, so I threw it off a bridge!"
Kageru found her comment hilarious and could barely stay quiet. What
noise he did make attracted Rumiko's attention and Ruki cringed.
Fortunately for both, she brushed it off as being an animal, and returned
to her (unsuccessful) attempts to get Ruki to stop being a tomboy.
When Ruki finally escaped her mother, she returned to her room. The frigid cold returned as she approached the door. She ducked through it and closed it hastily behind her. Renamon appeared out of thin air, as she was wont to, and Naremon appeared just behind her. Kageru immediately looked up from the cards he was examining.
"Ruki-chan?"
"Renamon, check what's outside the door."
Renamon complied and slid the door open silently. She checked all three directions quickly and slid the door shut. "There is nothing there, Ruki."
"Don't lie to me, I know there's something out there!"
Kageru approached his friend, looking a bit concerned. "You sure you're okay?"
"You know I'll do anything to protect you, I'm your partner," added Renamon.
Ruki just glared at them. "Let's get this straight. I don't buy into this stuff about partners and feelings. I don't need you to protect me," she snapped at Renamon before turned to Kageru. "And I don't need you fawning all over me, either. I don't need you ... I don't need anyone." She turned and went back out the door again.
Kageru and Renamon were silent for a moment after Ruki left. Kageru spoke first, "I don't know if you plan to stay here, but if she doesn't want me around, I'm gone."
Naremon vanished again as Kageru made sure the coast was clear before leaving. He exitted the room, leaving Renamon alone, and made his way out of the building.
"Ruki ..." muttered Renamon, then she too vanished.
After he left Ruki's home, Kageru simply started to wander around town.
Before long, he found himself near the elementary school he and most of the Tamers attended. There weren't many people around since it was a Saturday but Kageru could see Takato, Hirokazu and Kenta playing cards in their usual gathering spot.
He really didn't feel like dealing with Takato - who had a habit of bothering him about fighting digimon - so Kageru left the area. The thought of finding Kenji came to mind, but he didn't feel like seeing his old friend Anthadd at the moment - not that Anthadd was sure who Kageru was.
If he was going to go anywhere, Natsume's seemed the best bet, but he didn't really feel like being anywhere. Kageru always had been somewhat of a loner, and his habit of keeping to himself when something bothered him was showing through. He would always be there if someone else wanted to talk, but he himself never wanted to.
Kageru wandered aimlessly for a little longer before he finally decided he wasn't mad at Ruki, nor did he want to leave. He grasped his D-Ark. "Naremon," he whsipered. The Fox-like digimon appeared next to him. "Find Renamon. I'm going to find Ruki."
Naremon simply said, "As you wish," and vanished.
Kageru set his D-Ark to tracking mode, and followed the signal he
thought was Ruki's.
In the meantime, Ruki had made her way downtown again. While whatever had been bothering her all day had stopped, she didn't like that any better. For lack of any other direction to her wandering, Ruki found her way to the subway station. She didn't know where she was going and she didn't really care.
As she went underground, the cold field made its return. Ruki spun around to face what was approaching her. "What do you want?!" she demanded.
The two unfortunate men who happened to be standing behind Ruki at that moment were left at a loss for words. "Uhm ... nothing," one managed to stammer. The sight of something going up a staircase caught Ruki's eye, she shoved past the men and charged up after it.
When she reached the top, there was nothing to be found. Continuing down the hallway Ruki still couldn't find what had been following her all day. At the corner she checked her back again to make sure it wasn't sneaking up behind her again.
"I saw you come in here, you creep!" Ruki shouted at the air. "Come out!"
The answer Ruki got was certainly not what she expected. Her back to
the wall, she had finally provided Ice Devimon with the perfect opportunity
to grab her. He appeared behind her, clamped one claw over her
mouth and used the other to haul her through the wall.
While Ruki was busy playing hide and seek with Ice Devimon in the station, Kageru had tracked the signal he was following there. He still wasn't sure he even had the right signal, but since he knew where Takato was and wasn't then anywhere near Kenji's or Natsume's homes, Kageru figured it had to be Ruki's.
He went into the station and made his way down, continuing to track the signal - but that was more difficult in the tunnels. Just as he approached the signal, a muffled shout grabbed his attention. He didn't need to hear it twice to know who it was. Concerned about what had been happening earlier that day, Kageru broke into a run.
He rounded a corner just in time to see Ruki disappear through the wall. Left standing in place and unable to move, Kageru was becoming increasingly concerned. In one of his less stellar moments, Kageru decided out of desperation to try going through the wall as well. He got a good running start and threw himself at the wall - he found it was quite solid.
When he managed to get up, Kageru took out his D-Ark and attempted to find Ruki's signal again. For some reason, he could only locate four others. Without a signal to follow, Kageru ran out of the station and did his best to find his missing friend. As he thought about it, it finally dawned on him there was more to it than just that.
Assuming it had been a Digimon who had captured Ruki, Kageru decided
finding the Digital Field would be the easiest way to find her. Of course,
there was no Digital Field to be found. His life was never that easy.
As Kageru ran around the city, attempting to find her, Ruki was actually quite safe. She had no idea where she was, it was very cold and she didn't like it one bit, but she was indeed safe ... at least for the moment.
When Ice Devimon silently rose out of the floor behind her and picked her up, Ruki felt anything but safe. His cold embrace was worse than ice, his aura was of darkness and he radiated an almost tangible evil.
"Welcome to my humble abode." His grasp sent a chill up Ruki's spine.
"Are you ... a digimon?" Ruki stammered. "
Yes."
"So this is a Digital Field?"
"Exactly. Beautiful, isn't it? It suits you perfectly."
"It suits me?"
"How you treat people, the way you think you're cold as ice. You don't have time for warm, weak relationships. You always expect perfection from everyone around you. I am the only one who understands you. That is why we're meant to be partners."
"Partners?"
"Yes."
"No, I can't. I already have a partner ... Renamon ..." Ice Devimon's embrace seemed to sap her strength, but Ruki's mind was still awake. "What have I done?"
"In order to prove I am worthy of you, I have set up a little show and tell," said Ice Devimon as he extended his wings.
The room brightened slightly, and many stalactites and stalagmites of sheer ice could be seen. Contained in each was a frozen digimon. Ruki looked at them in a horror she hadn't felt before.
"For years I have hunted hundreds of digimon and absorbed their data," continued Ice Devimon. "They were friends to some, maybe even partners. But as you said, they're only stepping stones."
"I didn't say that ..."
"Ah, but you did. I fight to evolve. You make your digimon do the same thing."
"No ... I couldn't see it before. I'd eat dirt before I'd let Renamon become a monster like you."
"Better to be a strong monster than a weak nobody. Is that what you want? To be a nobody?"
"I'll tell you what I don't want. To be a partner to anything like you! You think you know everything about me? Well you don't. So just spit it out, what do you want with me?"
"You really are exquisite when you're angry. I can see what he likes in you, though you, too, defy your feelings. I've searched a long time for someone lke you: With a heart of ice and a will of stone. I want you to be my partner."
"In you dreams!" exclaimed Ruki.
"Don't play hard to get. You want the strongest digimon around, I want the strongest tamer. Don't you see? We're perfect for each other."
"Never!"
"Are you thinking about that pitiful excuse for a digimon, Renamon is it? You've never settled for second best before, why start now? Why go for beauty when you can tame the beast. But go ahead and call her. We can have a live demonstration of who the stronger digimon is."
"No way!"
"Then I'll just have to call her myself," decided Ice Devimon as he
raised his claw to his forehead. He concentrated for a moment and a beam
of energy errupted from his forehead and passed through the ceiling.
While Kageru was not known for actually caring about someone, let alone be protective, Cyan always had been somewhat protective of those he was close to whenever there was danger, and it was showing through. The afternoon was drawing to a close and night was approaching, and he still hadn't been able to figure out where Ruki was.
If only I'd stayed with her! Kageru cursed himself in his head. I shouldn't have left her and now god only knows what's happened to her. She could be dead ... or worse ... If anything's happened to her ... He shook his head to clear it. Gotta stop thinking like that. I wonder if Naremon's found Renamon yet ...
Unfortunately, for all his tracking abilities and the strength of his senses, Naremon hadn't any more success than Kageru had achieved. Of course, the detail Renamon didn't want to be found didn't help matters any.
By the time night had fallen and it was dark out, Kageru had nearly driven himself insane. Despite the fatigue caused by running around all afternoon, he continued to race from place to place, desperate to find Ruki. He was on the verge of collapse when the Digital Field finally manifested itself. Kageru's D-Ark went wild and he looked up. The beam of psychic energy Ice Devimon had released could be seen from nearly anywhere in the city.
As Kageru started towards the Digital Field, it suddenly occured to him that rushing off to a Digital Field unarmed and without Naremon or backup wasn't that bright. He doubled back to Ruki's house, made his way inside silently and retrieved his sword, cursing his idiocy the whole time. Kageru wasn't in the habit of carrying his sword with him everywhere - it was difficult to hide at times and led to awkward questions - but he insisted he should have gotten it earlier instead of wasting time then.
Kenji and Natsume had already hooked up with Takato and Lee when Kageru crossed their path. Not being very traditional and in a hurry, Kageru was taking the high road while they took the low road, and he certainly intended to reach Ruki before them. However, due to his rush, Kageru didn't notice them at all. On the other hand, Kenji noticed the other boy and pointed him out just as he reached the end of the wall and jumped down to the street below.
Deciding something was up - Kageru was usually not in that much
of a hurry - the second group quickened their pace, too. None of them was
very sure of what would have Kageru in such a hurry, but they could guess.
They had seen enough of the pair to guess there was something else to
Kageru and Ruki's relationship, and combined with Kageru's defensive nature
it made sense that Ruki must be in trouble.
At the top of the tower, Kageru found the final door separating him from Ruki and her captor was barred solidly. He couldn't force the door open, so he resorted to his next best method: Attack the door with his sword and then force it. Drawing his sword, Kageru stepped back slightly before lunging forward and swinging his blade. The sword cut through the door cleanly and in the same motion threw himself against what was left. The door gave way and Kageru found himself in a vast room with Ruki and Ice Devimon.
"Kageru!"
"Ah yes, her only friend. You've come to "free" her, have you? We were just getting aquainted," sneered Ice Devimon.
"You keep your bloody hands off of her, bachiatari yaro!" shouted Cyan, sword held straight out in front of him.
{Translation: you don't wanna know ...}
"Bold words. You don't even have a digimon here, how do you intend to fight me?" asked Ice Devimon.
"I'll match your cold being to my cold steel!" Kageru leapt forward, towards the pair.
"Kageru, be careful! Aaah!" shouted Ruki as Ice Devimon tossed her aside. Kageru was more of a threat than he seemed, so the devil did not want his hands full while fighting.
The fight was actually a very short one. Ice Devimon fended off a pair of Kageru's swings, then backed out of the boy's range, quickly. Calling "Frost Claw!" he sealed Kageru neatly in a prison of ice. Kageru wasn't completely frozen, but that wouldn't make a difference after long.
"Pathetic. He wasn't a challenge at all," growled Ice Devimon.
Ruki got up from where she had been thrown and approached the now very still Kageru. She placed her right hand against the ice and stared into his eyes. Although he couldn't move, his eyes said it all. He had failed her, and he was terrified about what would happen next. Someone really did care for her ...
"You see? I'm stronger than either he or Renamon will ever be. Why do you refuse such power?"
He was interrupted by another loud crash as the other Tamers came through the wreckage of the door.
"Ruki!" called Takato.
"More insects, and I don't have a fly swatter," taunted Ice Devimon.
Lee looked at his D-Ark. "Ice Devimon. He's a champion level viral digimon. His Frost Claw attack can freeze you in a solid block of ice. We should be careful, looks like he already got someone."
"Jen, can we?" asked Terriermon. His tamer nodded approval.
"Get him, Guilmon."
"Go for it Arimon," said Anthadd.
"Just be careful ..." admonished Natsume. Quailmon gave a grin before turning and following the other digimon. Renamon and Naremon were still nowhere to be seen.
Ice Devimon didn't give this second wave of opposition the chance to become a threat. As they approached, he unleashed his Ice Claw attack again and froze them in two pairs; Guilmon and Terriermon, and Arimon and Quailmon.
(Note: Arimon is a fire ant vaccine digimon, his attack is 'Spark Popper'. Quailmon is a quail-like vaccine digimon (surprise surprise, eh?), her attack is 'Feather Missiles'.)
"Quailmon!" shouted Natsume.
Ruki turned away from the demon as her laughed at the other digimon and looked at Kageru. Being stuck in a relatively solid (he could still breathe, so it obviously wasn't completely solid) block of ice was starting to take its toll on the boy. His temperature was dropping rapidly and his pulse was slowing. He couldn't survive in there much longer. Renamon, where are you? We need you, Ruki thought to herself, desperately.
Almost as if in response, there was yet another crash. Looking up, Ruki could see the two fox digimon standing in front of a newly created entrance.
"Hail Storm!" called Naremon. He released a cloud of sharp hail shards and Ice Devimon was hard pressed to dodge. All Naremon wanted to do was keep Ice Devimon busy, and he was doing that quite well.
With Ice Devimon distracted, Renamon had the time she needed to act. "Koyousetsu!" The rain of energy slashed the ice block to pieces, and yet missed Kageru entirely. He now slumped to the ground amidst the snow and ice. Renamon turned back to Ice Devimon and traded places with Naremon as he joined Ruki in examining Kageru.
For being trapped in the ice block, Kageru was in fairly good shape. Still being alive was good shape to begin with, and he was most certainly still that. He hadn't frozen too badly, so he was already starting to move only moments after.
"Kageru, how are you?" asked Naremon.
"I feel like I just spent a night outside during a Winnipeg Winter ... How the hell do you think I feel?!"
"He'll be fine," diagnosed Ruki. "Kageru, don't move," she added as Kageru tried to stand.
Renamon was not having much luck against Ice Devimon. She tried repeatedly, but the demon negated her Fox Leaf Arrowhead easily with his Frost Claw. He finished the job and Renamon was left in a heap. With Kageru out of commission, Naremon couldn't do much to help.
"See how weak she is? Embrace the future I offer you! How can you care for such a weak creature?" taunted Ice Devimon.
"She's my friend..." Ruki trailed off. She then looked directly at Ice Devimon, her eyes blazing with the cold fire that dwelt within both her and Kageru. "I care because Renamon is my friend!" Her D-Ark began to glow brightly ...
"Renamon shinka ... Kyuubimon!"
"Now we have a chance," whsipered Kageru from where he lay.
Unfortunately, Kageru was wrong. Kyuubimon faired little better against Ice Devimon than she had as Renamon. Quickly beaten, it was left up to the other Tamers, who were still trying to free their digimon.
"Now what?" asked Kenji.
Lee stood lost in thought for a moment as Takato tried to break the ice with a rock he found nearby. Anthadd was the first to speak. "Fire attacks won't do us any good, they're sealed in too well."
(For those confused, Kenji is the physical person, but as the character has been written, Anthadd - the one from Cyan's other stories - is sort of sharing his body. Don't ask.)
"Then we'll break the seal from the inside." Lee pulled a card out of a pocket. "Card Slash! Inflation Space!" The effect of slashing the card caused Terriermon to expand greatly, breaking the ice in the process. He returned to normal size a second later.
"Yes!" exclaimed Kenji.
Lee handed the card to Natsume. She looked at it questioningly for a moment. "Card Slash! Inflation Space!" Quailmon broke the other ice prison, then returned to normal size, too.
"Oh dear, it seems my little cage wasn't strong enough. I guess I'll have to destroy you myself! Hah hah hah hah!" cackled Ice Devimon in a deranged fashion.
"Hail Storm!" called Naremon, allowing the other digimon a chance to approach. Ice Devimon dodged easily, but was left open to attack by Kyuubimon. Again, Ice Devimon dodged with relative ease, but the other group was now on top of him.
"Card Slash! Speed Plug-In B!" shouted Takato. Guilmon immediately began to move faster as the triple team began.
"Blazing Fire!"
"Spark Popper!"
"Feather Missiles!"
Even though the three attacks hit at the same time, they were still not enough to defeat Ice Devimon. Of course, Guilmon had yet to factor in.
As his digimon charged Ice Devimon, Takato slashed another card and executed his first successful combination. "Card Slash! White Wings!" With his new found ability, Guilmon flew into the demon and then up to the ceiling, jamming his opponent in tightly. Flying backwards, he unleashed his Fireball attack and the devil was finally exorcised.
The digimon defeated, the Digital Field disappeared, and with it the ice. The Tamers were now left alone on the roof of the building, but were broken and sore. Kageru was now sitting up on his own and Kyuubimon had returned to her feet. Nearby to Kageru, Ruki stood staring out over the city.
More to break the uneasy silence than anything else, Takato spoke up. "So, all's well that ends well, huh Ruki?"
Ruki glared at him, wearing her usual frown. "I hate them. All of them."
"Who, Ruki?" asked Natsume.
"Digimon, I hate all digimon!" Ruki snapped back. She turned on her heel, all but shoved Takato out of her way and walked towards the elevator. As she left, Kyuubimon too turned and jumped off into the night.
"Kyuubimon! Wait!" called Anthadd after her. When the fox vanished, he turned to Kageru. "Aren't you going to do anything?"
"Actually," started Kageru as he struggled back to his feet. "I am going to do something." He glanced at his digimon. "Naremon, go." His partner looked at him strangely. "Get out of here. Go follow Renamon."
As the others stared at him incredulously, Kageru limped after Ruki. "I don't believe those two!" exclaimed Anthadd.
"I don't think any of us can figure them out," agreed Lee.
"I wonder what happened to them..." wondered Natsume. "That isn't like Kageru."
"How's that?" asked Takato. "You know him best, Natsume," he added.
"I don't know ... it's just too harsh, even for him." She shook her head. "It's strange."
"You can say that again," said Kenji.
"We should go, too," suggested Lee. The others agreed.
Part 1 down. Now for part 2, the more interesting part.
Anyway ... read, review, the whole nine yards. About the only way to tell someone read this is for them to leave a review, and it also helps the writers improve, so just leave one! :D