Without Him
By Squirtel the Squirtle

Izzy sat there and stared blankly at his computer screen. Although this was not out of the ordinary for him, what as strange was that the computer wasn't even turned on. He sat there in deep though - about Tentomon.
"There must have been something I could have done," thought Izzy. "Some sort of plan I coulf have came up with. ANYTHING! But I didn't..."
A few hours went by. All Izzy did was think up plausible plans that he should have used.
"I should have taken him with me," he decided. "I should have picked him up and stuck him on that tram car with me."
"But what about an allibie?" his other mental self debated.
"Simple," he spoke aloud to his mind. "My parents already know about him. He could stay with me!"
"Oh yeah," his mind mocked. "I'm sure Tentomon would just love being caged up inside a house all his life."
"He could put on a disguise like those first few times we needed to leave the safety of home," he argued out loud.
"Oh please!" his mind countered. "I was surprised that worked the first time. How many times could you have pulled that little stunt off without being seen?!"
"Then I suppose that he could stay in a tree nearby," Izzy murmed. "Yes! Tentomon loves trees!"
"Don't forget that birds live in trees and that birds eat bugs," his mind reminded him.
"Birds don't eat bugs that are five times their size," Izzy retorted.
"What about large birds of prey?" he thought.
"It's not like Tentomon can't defend himself," he sighed.
"But something is going to look fishy if suddenly the birds of prey are getting friend left and right," came yet another interjecting thought. "And finally, just how pleased do you think he'd be if he was forced to live in another world all his life?"
That thought hadn't ever occurred before. Most certainly, Tentomon would be happier in a world of his own.
Izzy sat back in his chair and sighed. It was obvious that he couldn't have taken Tentomon with him. Izzy drawled on that thought a few moments before moving onto another idea.
"I could have stayed with him!" he shouted, nearly jumping out of his chair.
"Calm down!" his mind screamed at him. "Before you hurt yourself!" Izzy's body obediently sat down. "Now... That idea is totally ridiculous and you know it! How would you survive? You'd need food, water, and shelter!"
"None of those things were ever a problem before," Izzy stated. "The Digimon foreged for food easily. Water is abundant in the streans, rivers, and lakes nearby. Shelter can be provided in the caves and trees."
"Okay, so you could survive," his mind accepted. "But what would your parents have said?"
Izzy took a brief moment to tumble that thought in his head.
"I-I-I don't think they would have been happy," Izzy said softly. He remembered how terribly relieved both his mom and dad appeared when he came back and embraced them for a while. Thinking of their reactions had he not walked off the tram with the rest made him nearly cry.
"And you yourself would miss them and the other Digidestined after al while," his thoughts interrupted again. "No matter how glad you would be with Tentomon."
"That's true," he whispered. "That's very true."
"So you see?" he thought. "There is no way you two would have been able to stay together. You should stop beating yourself up over it and accept that fact."
"But I don't want to accept it!" moaned Izzy.
"Is something the matter, sweetie?" his mother called into his room.
"No Mom! Izzy shouted back. He paused and tried to get his train of thought back.
"No one wants to accept the truth, Koushiro," his thoughts told him. "It's just how life is. You'll have to learn to live with it. You must learn to love without Tentomon."
"Live without Tentomon," Izzy repeated in a sigh. Flashes of memories the two shared flooded his mind a moment. "How can I live without him?"
"Just keep the memories you two made together," his hear echoed. "Never forget the place you hold for him in your heart." Izzy spun around in his chair and turned on his computer. He thought about that again as his computer hummed to life and revealed a large picture of the two standing and smiling at each other.
"I'll never forget..."