Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon
I have this kind of headcanon about what happens after the series end. This is an premature sculpting of it.
Shiuchon cries for two weeks after Lopmon leaves. Their father comforts her for hours and she lets him. Half because Jenrya himself is in no state to comfort a hysterical child and half because she probably doesn't understand Janyu's role in the digimon's departure. Jenrya doesn't know if she would have forgiven him for it.
Jenrya feels heavy. The weight of understanding and of forgiveness perches itself upon his shoulders and most of the time he wants to do nothing more than crawl into his bed and sleep. He feels old and weary in ways that he didn't think he'd be able to understand before, but here he is; understanding and experiencing. It's as if part of his heart, his very soul, his genetic matter was torn away from him.
(and in a way it was, wasn't it? Confined to some obscure corner of a Digital world as a mark of ultimate compromise)
As much as Jenrya wants to restandsleep and wake up much, much later, he finds himself unable to close his eyes sometimes and curses his body for expecting to feel that familiar weight on his head, that familiar voice near his ear.
He knew that this may have happened one day, but he never realized just how hard it would be to even contemplate the idea of moving on.
They gather at the park sometimes to reminisce, to comfort or to just sit and be in the company of others who know exactly how it feels like.
They all have different theories on what happened, what should happen and how they should feel about it.
Takato tries his best to reassure everyone that this is not the end, that they'll see their friends again. 'kazu and Kenta bounce between wholeheartedly agreeing with Takato and berating him for not having a plan to do so yet. Juri tries to remind everyone of the things that they have gained with this adventure (while everyone tries their best to ignore how her hand is brushing Takato's). Ruki just stays silent most of the time, arms crossed tightly over her chest. Jenrya feels that it probably hit her hardest of all.
Sometimes Ryo stops by as well, though he never says much either, though, with his soft smile and his downcast eyes, it's more like he's hiding something, like he knows something the others don't.
Jenrya himself remains quiet, knowing that his own thoughts would be less than helpful. Instead he starts to analyze and to plan and to research.
As life and responsibilities take over, the tamers find themselves meeting in the park less and less. The park is out of his way, but sometimes Jenrya rides his bike by there anyway, or extends his jogging route there.
Sometimes he just walks there and sits and thinks, thinks, thinks. What could have he done differently? How could hey have arrived at a different circumstance? Perhaps the worst and best realization that Jenrya comes to is that he can think of no other way it could have turned out. It brings peace and pain simultaneously and fuels his desire to analyze and plan and research.
Biking home from school one day, Jenrya takes his semi-regular detour through the park only to find a familiar figure sitting on one of the swings, looking absently at the trees.
Ryo doesn't notice him there until Jenrya approaches him from behind and speaks.
"What brings you to the lovely parks of West Shinjuku?"
Ryo starts and turns his head with a smile, "Could ask you the same question."
Jenrya sits down on the swing next to his and returns the smile, "I live around here. You live a train ride away. It's not really the same question."
Ryo shrugs and turns back at staring absently at the trees and sky.
"This place is pulsing with energy, you know? So much interaction between the two worlds has occurred here."
His blue eyes flicker closed and breath deepens slightly.
"How's your dad doing? He looked pretty distraught the last time I saw him."
It is Jenrya's turn to shrug.
"He's having a lot of trouble getting over his personal guilt. He's trying hard to make it up to us, to get us to stop hating him. The thing is, we don't hate him. We don't even blame him."
Ryo rocks back and forth, feet digging into the sand.
"So you've forgiven him?"
"Yes. I really don't think he could have done much differently, given the circumstances. He did what he thought he had to."
"How grown up of you."
Ryo's voice is almost mocking, and he turns to Jenrya with a smirk.
Jenrya just frowns lightly in return.
"If you've forgiven him, then please tell me what exactly is going on in that brilliant head of yours?"
The younger tamer's lips tighten, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Please," Ryo snorts, "what else are you doing with the red card, and the blue cards and the information that you're planning to hack off of your dad's hard drive."
Jenrya whips his head around to face the older boy.
"How did you know about that?" he exclaims.
Ryo swings sideways to bump Jenrya's shoulder.
"Your thoughts scream pretty loudly, Jen," he smirks again, "that is, to anyone who's actually listening."
The younger tamer chooses to focus not on Ryo's knowledge, or why Ryo thought that he could call him 'Jen', but on the one question he could answer.
"Just because I've forgiven him doesn't mean I trust him." At this, the older boy's face turns solemn. "Our priorities are different and I can't trust him to respect mine. His main priority is keeping my sister and me safe. And, well, it's not that I don't care about my safety, but…"
Ryo looks silently at him, waiting for him to finish.
"But I have to get them back. I don't want to forget Terriermon any less then Ruki wants to forget Renamon or Takato wants to forget Guilmon." He shuts his eyes firmly, "and if this situation is even potentially within my power to change, then of course I have to try. But I don't think my dad would let me do what I plan on doing."
Ryo snorts again, "wow, sounds like a very healthy relationship, you and your dad."
"Excuse you," Jenrya glares, "I don't think that's any of your business."
"Sorry, just trying to be honest." His smile is not unkind this time. "The more you lie, the less you'll trust each other. Think of how that will end."
"I just don't think I'm willing to compromise with him on this one."
"No, you wouldn't be." Ryo murmurs, but before Jenrya can ask what that even means, Ryo lets out a rather large sigh and stretches his arms over his head. "Well, if you do find yourself in the Digital world, make sure to look me up."
For the second time in the conversation, Ryo manages to completely shock Jenrya.
"Wait, what?"
Ryo pulls out his D-Arc, now unresponsive without the presence of his partner, and stares at it.
"I… need to go back."
"I think the term need is a little extreme, here, don't you think? You're going to go back without planning ahead or figuring out a way to defend yourself without your partner or figuring out a way to get back to the real world? That's crazier than anything I've said to you today."
Ryo's smile is slight, "believe me when I say I don't think you understand."
"Well, then enlighten me." He snipes.
His sigh is heavy (like the weight of understanding and forgiveness perched on his shoulders). "I just don't belong here," his grip tightens on his D-Arc, "he's calling me back to him. Even if I wanted to, I don't think he'd allow me to stay here for much longer. If he was still at my side, maybe, but…."
After a few moments of silence, Jenrya raises an eyebrow.
"You know, this isn't really explaining anything."
"I know. I'm sorry." He shakes his head. "Just don't worry about it."
Jenrya sighs. "I mean, I know I can't stop you and it's probably safe to say that you know more about the digital world than the rest of us combined. But I wish you'd reconsider."
Ryo laughs. "Thanks, Jen. Take care of Ruki for me, 'kay?"
Jenrya laughs in return, however uneasily, "Why do you think Ruki needs to be taken care of? I'm pretty sure she can handle herself."
"True, but I think in the end she'll need someone like you way more than she needs someone like me."
Jenrya just looks on quietly at the older tamer.
"We're far too similar, me and Ruki."
"Whatever you say…" Jenrya's tone is incredulous. He then looks to the sky, which is flooded with pinks and oranges of an impending sunset.
"I better get going, otherwise my mom will start worrying" the younger boy says and stands up.
"'Kay" Ryo says, punches Jenrya lightly on the arm and then grips it firmly to grab his attention.
Jenrya turns to him and, for the first time that day, looks directly into his eyes.
"We'll see each other again, Jen. I promise you that."
His mouth stretches into a smile, "Until then, Ryo."
It isn't until he gets home that Jenrya is hit with the realization that he may have glimpsed at something well beyond his understanding.
But perhaps, Jenrya thinks, just like forgiveness and compromise and necessity and digital sentient beings, this will also be understood, eventually.
Fin.
a/n: This is a bit of a tribute to my favorite digimon character, Jenrya (and quite frankly, an attempt to revive the part of the franchise that seems a bit dead). One of my first OTPs ever was Jenruki, but I've recently come across some fiction (namely by Starshone, namely the 'Fiberglass Slipper' Universe) that made me very curious about the interactions between Jenrya and Ryo. Not necessarily in a romantic sense, but I feel like Ryo is one of those people that likes to push people's buttons a bit and Jen likes to be in control of the situation too much to go along with it. Too bad Ryo's character wasn't explored that much in Tamers.
I'm also extremely curious as to how Ryo deals with the space-time continuum and how the other Tamers would actually react if they understood the full implications of it.
(And yay for the slight Jenruki thrown in there, just for fun)