Series: Hunting The Great Game||Title: The King's General
Characters: Taiki, Shoutmon, Beelzebumon, Xros Heart||Romance: N/A
Chapter: Four||Words: 4,844
Genre: Drama, Friendship||Rated: G
Challenges: Diversity Writing, L19, series of 5 or more fics; Include The Word Boot Camp, #29, panoramic; Season Rewrite Boot Camp, #5, vanish; Season Rewrite Challenge: rewriting Digimon Hunters; Presents Under The Tree
Notes: Time for Taiki to spend some time with his friends!
Taiki never forgot a single member of Xros Heart. They were his friends and his allies, fighting beside him whenever he needed them. Technically by the end of the war, his forces, combined with that of Kiriha and Nene, made a much larger army, one that he didn't know if it counted as just Xros Heart. But here they all were, everyone who had once lived in his Xros Loader, all those who made up the very heart of Xros Heart.
And they all surged forward, doing their best to get a hand or whatever appendage they had on him, some tearing up in greeting, some just trying to hold on to him. He tried to hold back, as thrilled to see all of them as they were to see him.
"Taiki! Taiki!" The voices just kept on rising in joy and he found himself passed from Digimon to Digimon, soon breathless and gasping with how tightly they hugged him.
"Hi, guys!" He managed to gasp out, stumbling away from the hugging to find himself at the head of a broad table. Shoutmon was there, and Beelzebumon, and Doroulumon, plus Cutemon – and his parents, which didn't surprise him. Trays of DigiNoir had been stacked nearby, along with vessels of water. Shoutmon gestured to a chair near him.
"Good to see you again," Doroulumon greeted, lifting up his head. "How long are you going to stay?"
"I don't know yet," Taiki admitted, dropping into the chair and trying hard to catch his breath. Being greeted by everyone tired him out almost as much as falling out of the sky and being shown around town had. "Guess it depends on what Wisemon finds out."
Wisemon, a few seats down, barely looked up from his book. "It could be quite a while. We haven't learned much about the portals yet." Then he raised his head to stare at Taiki. "We haven't been able to speak to anyone who crossed through them before now."
Shoutmon shook his head. "Not right now, Wisemon. Taiki needs to eat: and so do you."
Wisemon looked down at his plate of DigiNoir, confusion lit bright before he started to eat, absorbed in his book without another moment's hesitation. Taiki chuckled for a few moments.
"There's not much to tell, really. I was just heading to meet Zenjirou when I was just kind of in that tunnel between worlds. It didn't look anything like the place between zones did when we were here before."
He slipped his Xros Loader out of his pocket and stared at it thoughtfully for a few moments before he put it away. An idea floated in the back of his mind, but he didn't want to try it in front of everyone. He'd practically just got there. Running off right away would be rude.
The DigiNoir was indeed some of the best; it came in all qualities as he remembered, and this tasted head and shoulders above everything else. What came after surprised him.
"Cake? Cookies?" He almost had forgotten the Sweets Zone. The Digimon who'd lived there once hadn't forgotten him, and now they spread their offerings before him, along with fresh squeezed juice and several samples of excellent teas.
"All the best for you, General!" WaruMonzaemon declared with a cheerful smile. "We hope you enjoy it!"
One taste exploded over his tongue like the cake version of absolute heaven. He didn't bother doing anything but nodding as he ate as much of the cake as he could, wishing he could bring some of this back home with him.
He tried his best to pay attention to the conversation going on, most of it having to do with the missing Digimon. He heard names, though not that many were familiar to him: Gumdramon, Dracmon, Psychemon, Dobermon, and many others. Most vanished without a trace, much like Gumdramon had.
"There are a few of them who did leave traces," Shoutmon said. "Everything around them was just shredded. Burnt, sometimes."
Taiki nibbled around the edges of a finely crafted cookie. "Could you show me?"
"Sure, but not until morning. It's getting pretty late." Shoutmon turned to the nearest window, where streaks of shadows already hung thick and dark. "We should all get some rest soon." He looked back at the table and snorted. "Some of us more than others."
Taiki followed the way Shoutmon looked and stifled a laugh very unsuccessfully.
Wisemon's book had tumbled to the side and he lay face down on the table, snoring rather loudly. He really did not change that much.
"So the former Red General has returned. Has there been any sign of the others?"
"Not yet. Apparently there's no rhyme or reason to those who come through the portal."
"I see. We may not have to put up with the others, but watch for them, nevertheless. That one of them, this one, is here is quite enough of an annoyance."
"Is there anything else that I can do for you, my lord?"
"Not at the moment. Return there by dawn and observe what he does. If any of it could be of use to me, then inform me as soon as possible."
"As you wish!"
Taiki and Shoutmon, both full to the brim with DigiNoir and desserts, made their way back to their shared rooms. Taiki almost couldn't wrap his mind about the fact of being able to sleep in a warm bed with clean blankets and under a stout roof in the Digital World. They'd had times during his first visit when they'd had a comfortable place to rest, but for the most part, they'd made so night after night with whatever shelter they could find.
Doroulumon and Cutemon had carried Wisemon back to his quarters. Taiki looked forward to teaming up with everyone the next day and doing something that could bring some kind of answers. All their brains working together solved a lot of things before. He didn't see why this would be any different.
He threw a glance behind them for a few moments and wasn't surprised to see Shoutmon doing the same thing.
"You see them?" Taiki murmured, keeping his voice just pitched where no one else could hear him. Shoutmon nodded, eyes faintly narrowed. "Can you tell who it is?"
"Not yet," Shoutmon murmured. "They're not that close."
Just close enough so the two of them could be certain they were being followed, too far away for either of them to see or smell whoever it might be. Taiki wished some of the others were with them. Doroulumon's nose would have been very useful right about then. But they had to make do with what they had, which was the two of them and the door to their rooms that they could close and lock.
Just because someone followed them didn't mean it was an enemy, though. Everything he'd found out on their trip before told him that Digimon were basically good and his wish on the Code Crown had made that a reality for all of them.
So why did he still have a thread of fear rising up his back as they closed the door and why did he not completely trust the locked door to keep them safe all the time?
To Be Continued
Notes: I have such plans!
