Taiki groaned as his alarm clock started to ring, slowly raising himself up on his elbows to turn it off. What a restless night. His dreams had been wild. He had dreamed about when Lillithmon had attacked the castle where Bastemon lived, and she had taken Akari hostage... Well, he had to get to school now. Zenjirou would probably ask for a kendo rematch at recess. In all the twelve years of his life, no one had faced him (and lost) more in kendo than Zenjirou. He quickly got dressed into his usual clothes, a red shirt with yellow markings and beige pants, then grabbed his backpack and ran downstairs, grabbing his Xros Loader off the counter. It was okay to keep it there- his mother could see Digimon now too, and often asked ChibiKamemon to help her around the house. He ran to the door and grabbed it open before skidding down the steps and starting to run.
"Taiki, if you got up earlier, you wouldn't have to run to school every day!" Shoutmon commented from the Xros Loader as Taiki raced down the street.
"Like you help!" Taiki yelped back, swerving around the corner. He ran into the classroom gasping, and took his seat.
A student from his class leaned over to Taiki, whispering excitedly. "I heard that we're getting a new student today!" he said, his glasses reflecting the sun.
Taiki squinted at him, slowly nodding. I wonder who it is? Will they be my friend? he wondered, looking up at the teacher, who was starting to open the door.
"As most of you already know, we have a new student today," the teacher said in a low, flat voice. "She will be here in a moment." The class started whispering again. Now they knew the new student was a girl.
"Hello everyone!" A voice echoed through the classroom. Taiki looked up and his eyes widened.
The teacher's cough broke the silence, and he gruffly said, "Go sit next to Taiki." Some boys groaned in disappointment as the girl took the seat next to Taiki.
She smiled at him, winking. "Don't be so surprised. It was bound to happen sometime," she said, cupping her hands over her mouth so the teacher couldn't see her talking.
It was Akari.
"A-Akari!" Taiki spluttered, flustered. "I didn't expect you here." He shuffled his feet and looked around the classroom to avoid her deep brown eyes. The glares he was given were much worse than blushing, he decided, and finally met her gaze.
"My dad found a job here again, and we moved back," Akari explained, her face feeling warm. Who turned on the heater? This room is scorching, she thought to herself. Cutemon snickered within her Xros Loader, and Akari flicked it, blushing.
Taiki gazed at her, not knowing what to say. It was one thing to meet sometimes on weekends, but seeing her every day in school? Hastily looking down into his math book, he started to doodle. This school year just got a whole lot tougher.
Zenjirou looked up from his notebook, smirking. "Do you hear that, Ballistamon?" he whispered to his partner, who let out a contented 'gnnah'. "Taiki and Akari are in the same class- they're in seats next to each other! This is perfect! Don't you think, Nene?" he asked the girl to the left of him.
Nene's violet eyes flicked up at Zenjirou for a moment, then back to her math work. "They're good friends already," she said in a voice like a gentle breeze, picking up her yellow pencil. "So it shouldn't be hard." As Zenjirou nodded rapidly, happy that they had agreed, a low cough interrupted him. Kiriha was glaring at him from across the room- no, glaring wasn't the right word. It was more like a death wish. He gulped.
Kiriha's icy blue eyes almost pierced through Zenjirou. If he talks to Nene one more time, I'm setting Mailbirdramon on him, he thought furiously, and a metallic chuckle coming from his Xros Loader told him that his partner, the steel pheonix Mailbirdramon, understood. "I didn't ask your opinion," he hissed at the dark blue Xros Loader as the laughing continued. He blushed a pale red as Nene glanced at him, and her own Xros Loader seemed to be emitting laughter as well.
Nene turned back to her notebook, her pencil shaking in her hand. "Nene, are you okay? Do you feel sick?" Sparrowmon asked her, worried. The girl shook her head and smiled weakly, putting the lavender Xros Loader in the desk. A whacking noise began in the Xros Loader, and Sparrowmon's voice appeared again. "Mervamon! You laughed at her! How could you?"
Nene could barely hold in a laugh as she listened. Come on bell, save us, we're dying of boredom here, she thought, starting on the last problem on the math sheet. She hated algebra... Then the recess bell rang, and she pushed herself away from the desk. Making sure no one was looking, she took her Xros Loader out from her desk and walked over to her locker, starting to take out her snack.
On the other side of the classroom, Taiki and Akari were chatting. "So how's Cutemon?"
"As annoying as ever."
"I'm not annoying, kyuuu!"
A girl from Taiki's class walked over to them. "Akari-san! Why don't I give you a tour of the school?"
Akari smiled at her, nodding. "That would be great, thanks." she said, waving to Taiki as she walked away. Taiki waved slowly back, sighing, then started walking towards the door of the classroom, prepared to see Zenjirou facing him with a kendo stick. Instead, some boys from his class were waiting, glaring at him.
Their "leader", a scrawny boy with glasses, poked Taiki. "Hey, Taiki. How do you know the new girl so well. Is she your girlfriend?"
Taiki nearly choked on his apple, then answered. "No, she's not! She's just a childhood friend. That's all, and who cares anyway?" He walked briskly away from them and grabbed a basketball, shooting halfheartedly at the hoop.
Meanwhile, Akari was facing about the same conversation. "I'm telling you! Taiki's my best friend," she said for the fifth time. Annoying people... Can''t they just back off?
Her Xros Loader glowed, and as Akari let out a gasp and covered it with her hands, Cutemon jumped out. "Leave Akari alone, kyu!" he yelled, hot pink eyes fierce.
One of the girls sneered. "How cute, a talking bunny. Anyway, Akari-san," she said, leaning in close. "Stay away from Taiki-kun if you know what's good for you!" She walked away, her friends giving her nasty looks. A yelp arose from the girls a moment later, and they hurried away. "Eeek! That bunny talked! Actually talked!"
Akari sat down, desolately looking at her shoes. Cutemon sat next to her. "I'm with you, kyu! I'll stay with you, kyuu!" he promised, jumping into her backpack. "I'm a stuffie, kyu! A stuffed bunny, kyuuu!"
Akari smiled, stroking the bunny Digimon's pink fur. "Thanks, Cutemon. You're the best," she said, and Cutemon let out a happy 'kyuu!' "Now let's get back to class. I hear the bell."
