Disclaimer: Shiningheart of ThunderClan doesn't own Digimon.
The next morning dawned bright and early. Too bright and too early. I hate mornings, especially the ones where I'm the first awake and have to be the mean person to make them all get up. Just my luck, this was one of those day. Surprisingly, the easiest to wake up was JP. I'd been expecting him to be the hardest. When he did get to his feet, I gave him a questioning look that he shrugged at. "What? I always get up early for school." Ah, that explains it.
The next person to get up was Zoe. Not as surprising. She splashed herself in the face with some river water and was soon alert. She helped me wake Tommy up. He was more difficult than I would have thought. He kept asking his mother for five more minutes. When JP tried, Tommy attempted to hit him and told someone named Yutaka to knock it off. The brother he'd mentioned yesterday, maybe. He eventually remembered everything and got up, apologizing to JP as well.
And now, for the real challenge. The four of us stared down at Takuya, who was snoring like a chainsaw and had a snot bubble the size of my fist. Zoe expressed her disgust with said snot bubble. "That's just..." she trailed off, unable to name the exact emotion she wanted to use. She didn't have to finish, though. The rest of us knew exactly what she meant. Zoe and Tommy looked to me for instructions while JP simply nudged Takuya with his foot. "So, how do you usually wake him up, Alex?" she asked curiously.
It prompted me to smile at her and motion for JP to back away from the gogglehead. He did so nervously, having no idea what I was going to do. I cleared my throat importantly, took a deep breath, and shouted loud enough to echo around the canyon, "TAKUYA, BREAKFAST!" He immediately jolted up, eyes wide and looking around. First step of knowing how to revive him: mention food in any context. He realized he'd been tricked and gave me a nasty look for it, which I responded to with a cheeky smile. "Welcome back to the living, Taki! Did you bring me a present from the other side?"
He flipped me off in response and flopped back to the ground, hiding himself as best he could. So, he wants to fight, does he? Oh well, his loss. I grabbed his arm and tried to make him stand, but he whined loudly and yanked himself back down to curl into a ball. I tried to drag him by his foot, but he ended up kicking me in my gut. I grunted and rubbed the spot where he hit, scowling angrily at him. Taki opened one of his eyes to glare at me. Our stand-off was put to an end when JP said, "You realize I could just pick you up and throw you in the water, right Takuya?"
I crossed my arms and smiled triumphantly while Takuya cursed some more and finally got up, albeit unhappily. He saw me smiling and snapped at me, "What're you lookin' at?" I smiled wider, just to piss him off. He snarled in response and turned his back on me to stalk towards the river. He'll get over it. Takuya in the morning is never a pretty picture.
While he freshened up, I looked around and made a sound of surprise. "Huh. The Candlemon disappeared on us. I wanted to thank them for letting us stay the night." I paused as a distant clatter of falling rocks made it's way to me, and I smirked. "Either that or they're hiding from us again."
Zoe grinned at me from where she was trying to fix her hair and giggled as she said, "I'm sorry, hiding from who? You were the one practically breathing fire on them before we went to sleep!" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tommy wince a little at the exaggeration. Zoe saw it too, and smiled apologetically. "Oops. Wrong choice of words... Sorry, Tommy!"
He smiled at us in an, 'It's okay' kind of way before looking to the approaching Takuya. His entire head was drenched, making him looked like a drowned possum. I snickered in a way that made him scowl. "Are we going to eat before we start or just go right ahead?" the youngest asked.
Takuya grunted and shook his head, spraying the rest of us with water. Zoe and Tommy yelped while JP backed away with a scowl. I just laughed. "They're hiding from Alex because she went all 'mama bear' on them." My smile turned into a scowl in half a second. Takuya smirked wickedly at me. He knows damn well that I hate being called a mama bear. Conniving, vindictive bastard. "We'll start now and pace ourselves. And the first to start complaining gets kicked in the ass." Sad thing? He means it. Takuya hates mornings with a passion that rivals my hatred of exercise. We're both going to have to deal with it. I turned a blank look on JP, just for his reaction, and he pouted at my silent implication but nodded all the same. Takuya led the way up the trail before shocking me by turning right back around to yell, "Thank you everyone!"
His voice echoed, but more little pebbles fell. The Candlemon remained hidden, and we all added our own appreciations and went on our way. Tommy walked next to Takuya, Zoe and JP walked next to each other, and Bokomon and Neemon- who I'd forgotten about, up until now- were bickering with each other. I walked at the back of the group, already sweating. I'm not fat, or even relatively chubby. But being skinny and being in shape are two different things. I could sit on my ass all day and not gain a single pound.
Takuya's probably the only reason I even go outside. If he didn't drag me from my house every weekend for a game of soccer or a volleyball match or just to play tag like when we were young, I'd be an anti-social hermit locked in my room and writing fanfiction, only leaving when I was hungry or needed the bathroom... Now why the hell does that sound so familiar...
A tug on the hem of my shirt made me blink. I looked down, fully expecting to see Tommy, but it was Bokomon who met my eyes. It surprised me enough that I blinked stupidly, and I swear a smirk curled his mouth before he effectively wiped it off. "I wanted to ask about your shoulder, my dear. All that activity last night must have been bothersome for it. And the bandages need to be changed before the day ends."
My... shoulder...? Oh, my shoulder! I'd actually forgotten about it. Part of me worried about that, but the rest of me was thankful for the digimon's worry. "Nah, it's fine. I honestly forgot about it. It hasn't even given a twinge since you put that gunk on it yesterday." I rattled my bag for emphasis. "Speaking of that stuff, can you teach me about it? You may not be around when we need help. I know basic first aid from our world, but your stuff is probably different. And how to read and write your language, too! Hell, teach me everything you can about this place!"
Bokomon rubbed the back of his head sheepishly at the enormity of my request. "I'll do my best, but it all depends on how attentive a student you are. If your studying habits are similar to your habits of pestering Takuya..." He trailed off with a meaningful look, and I giggled nervously. "Well, let's start with that 'gunk' I applied to your wound..."
We spent hours going on like that. He not only told me about first aid, but about the history and different regions of the Digital World. I'm proud to say that not once did my attention span falter. There's just so much to learn, and so damn interesting! There were two divisions of digimon, humanoid and beast. Then the sub-divisions, and there are so many! Angel and Virus, Plant and Bugs, Fire and Water... The list goes on and on!
Bokomon, despite what I would have thought, was a patient teacher. He allowed interruptions in the forms of questions and opinions, and even allowed me to rant a couple of times at the injustices of all the tyrants over time. Turns out that Lucemon and Cherubimon aren't the only digimon who sought dominion over the others. There was one called Devimon, who controlled other digimon with something Bokomon called 'black gears'. Devimon was the first out of many who would try, and consequently fail, to take over. Nearly every story he told involved human children, chosen by whatever divine beings watched over the Digital World at the time.
The humans that were called the DigiDestined almost always had a digimon partner. That's why Bokomon had been so surprised to see Takuya actually turn into a digimon. The fact that it was one of the legendary warriors was only half of it. That led into a philosophical debate on if the warriors could be called their partners or not. And it continued until we spotted a fork in the tracks we were following. Up until this point, we'd been trekking along one road. Now a decision had to be made. Do we go right, or do we go left?
The left track led to a forest. I could see a huge ass tree even from here. To the right... more desert looking wasteland. Jee, such a tough decision... There was a switch right before the split, and Bokomon leaped up onto it. He shifted his weight to make the tracks switch back and forth, going, "Which one, which one? Left or right, right or left, up or down! Better make your decision quickly!" It sounded so much like something the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland would say that I snickered. He hopped down and gave me a look before rubbing the side of his face. "Ugh, I made myself sick..." Don't you dare puke on me, ya' little Radish Head!
Zoe pointed to the left. Takuya, like the true fool he is, pointed right. I face-palmed and started to curse in my head, even as they both said, "This way!" And with that, they proceeded to argue. It couldn't even be called bickering, because they really meant everything they said!
They scowled at each other for a second before Takuya scoffed and said, "You're wrong!"
The blond placed one of her dainty little hands on her waist and stuck a finger in Takuya's face, making him go cross-eyed to stare at it. "Why, just because I disagree with you! Don't you think the forest terminal just might be surrounded by trees?!" Heh, yeah, you would think. Logic and Takuya have never been on the best of terms. In fact, you could say that they have a blood-feud remarkably similar to that of the Montagues and the Capulets in Romeo and Juliet.
He glared at her and insisted irritably, "Trailmon said to follow the train tracks, and your way curves left!" ... What Trailmon? I seriously don't recall there ever being a Trailmon. Was this before Kouji got his spirit, when we were all separated? Or were Bokomon and I so deep into our lessons that we didn't even realize that we'd been interrupted? Takuya huffed and crossed his arms, turning away from the blond. "You think you know everything!"
Zoe's green eyes flashed angrily, and her hands clenched into fists. Her cheeks were starting to redden with her rage, and she took a step towards Taki. I hope it doesn't come to a physical fight. The Italian wouldn't stand a chance. Some guys are taught to never raise a hand against a woman, but a lifetime of being my best friend has pretty much made Takuya immune to that. "I'm right!"
The brunette male turned half-way to look at her from the corner of one brown eye, triumph and suspicion making for an odd expression. "So you wanna go right?" ... I'd beg whoever's listening to tell me that he's not really that stupid as to think she's actually conceding to his point, but I know Takuya better than anyone. That's well within his limits.
Her hands came up halfway and flexed, like she wanted nothing more than to wrap them around Takuya's neck and squeeze with all of her strength. She restrained herself, though I couldn't tell if it was for my sake, Takuya's sake, Tommy's sake, or her own. Take note that JP probably wouldn't care either way. "No, I'm going the way that makes sense! Later!" With that she turned on her heel and marched off.
Takuya scowled at her receding back and barked back, "See ya!", before he turned away. Over his shoulder, he barked, "Come on Alex!" He turned back when he didn't hear my footsteps following him. Zoe stopped as well and looked at me curiously, probably wondering why I haven't already followed him. "Alex?"
I winced at the slightly dangerous tone of voice before looking at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, Takuya, but... but I think Zoe's correct. We should go through the trees." His face darkened and I took a step back, waiting for him to explode. He never did though. Instead of answering me, he turned his back on me and started to stomp away. I did the same, minus the stomping, and passed Zoe on the way towards the trees. She took a moment before following after me, walking at my side but not saying anything. I was thankful.
Behind me, I heard JP yell, "Hey, Zoe, wait up!" followed by Tommy going after Takuya. It worried me slightly that the only two of us that had spirits were going the other way. If luck is on our side, then it won't really matter until Taki comes to his senses and comes after us. But my luck has never exactly been on the 'good' side of the fence, and I've learned that it's beyond stupid to rely on it. It's why I don't ever play cards.
Bokomon and Neemon followed after, and everyone kept quiet. For the most part, at least. The two digimon were whispering back and forth, and I felt them looking at me once or twice. JP tried to start a conversation, but the stupid idiot decided that insulting Takuya was the best way to start. "Wow, what an idiot. I can't believe he went the wrong way! I mean it's obvious this is the right way, right?"
Zoe didn't answer, but gave my clenched fist a worried glance. When he continued to insult my best friend's intelligence, I said bluntly, "JP? Shut up." Lo and behold, he actually did! I was kind of expecting to have to hit him to make him be quiet. Maybe he knew just how close to dangerous territory he was. The wonders of intimidation! He'd probably be able to beat me up instead of the other way around, what with his greater weight and height, but thank God he hasn't seemed to think of that yet.
It didn't take us long to reach the trees. Only about ten minutes, which is actually rather surprising. I'd have thought it would take longer. The train tracks led straight through the village, but we all paused next to a huge wooden sign that had symbols on it. I took the notebook from last night and flipped passed the notes that JP took on the legend of the warrior to write it down. Not that I actually knew what it said, but it would be useful for my lessons about this world.
I was either the only one to see it or the only one to pay attention to it. Zoe's attention was grabbed by the humonstrous tree that the sign was near, and she gaped up at it in wonder. "That is one humongous tree!" She was right. It hurt my neck to look at the top of it. The train tracks we were following led up and over the roots, through a hole in the trunk, and I assumed out the other side. There weren't any leaves on the branches, like all the surrounding little trees.
Part of me wondered about that, but JP stole my attention before I could think any more on it. "So this must be the forest terminal, right?" All of us, even Neemon, looked to Bokomon for either denial or confirmation. I didn't think it was, but I could damn well be wrong. It's happened plenty of times before.
The radish-headed digimon raised an arm towards the sign the other two humans had ignored up until now. He turned his head to me and said a quick, "Take notes, Alex dear." I showed him the page with a cheeky smile, and he nodded in approval. "Good girl." He cleared his throat importantly and said, "This sign here says this place is called Breezy Village." I wrote down the name while everyone else sighed in disappointment.
Bokomon's negative was kind of expected. I didn't see why the other two- three if you included Neemon- were so bummed. If we were only meant to come this far, the person on the d-tectors wouldn't have sounded so urgent. If I remember her tone correctly, it was more of an, 'URGENT! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!' feeling. If this was our destination, it would have sounded more like a, 'Hey, it's me! Just wanted to know if you'd like to come over for some coffee, catch up a little! Call me back, hon!'
"Welcome, tourists."
The voice was so unexpected that I shrieked bloody murder and jumped onto JP's back, clinging to his head and bristling like a cat. JP yelped at my weight and flailed, trying to either knock me off or right his balance. I didn't help with my constant squirming, trying to look behind us while still clinging to him. He turned around and I took this chance to use his head to push myself up and look. Kouji was smirking such a smirk that, if it was just a tiny bit wider, it could be called a smile. And God forbid Kouji Minamoto smile. "Where in the hell did you come from? You were so not there a second ago!" I yelled out, eyes wide.
Kouji sat on a bench across the tracks from us, his arms casually thrown over the side. He looked the same as he always did: black hair shiny and smooth, clothes unruffled, and one leg crossed over the other. His eyes glinted in amusement that probably only I knew was there. For some reason, I've always been better at reading him than others. "I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." He actually totally could, too. Whether he would or not is another matter entirely. "So this isn't it." Bokomon shook his head in a negative.
Zoe gave a girly giggle that made me blink at her, still sitting on JP's back. At least he'd stopped flailing. "Hey Kouji, what's up?" Kouji stood from his seat and leaped down onto the tracks. Unlike with Tommy and Takuya, I didn't freak out this time. Kouji was smart enough to watch where he was walking. He began to walk away without looking at us. I was fine with letting him go. Don't get me wrong, I had no personal problems with the guy. But if he doesn't want our company, then who are we to force it on him? Zoe didn't agree with this philosophy, however. She called out after him in confusion, "Hey, wait, where're you going?"
I almost cringed at the coolness in his tone. It wasn't the coldest I'd ever heard his voice, but it most definitely got his message across. "Where I go is my own business. Thanks for asking." I wasn't expecting any different. If he had responded in any polite way, I'd worry he was hurt or sick. He walked away again and Zoe let him this time with a huff.
JP, ever eager to please the pretty blonde, crossed his arms behind his head and said loudly, "He reminds me of white chocolate: looks good, but has no taste."
Says the boy in the blue and yellow jumpsuit. Still, why let this opportunity pass even if Takuya's not here? Keeping a careful eye on Kouji's retreating back, I said back to JP in the same volume he'd used, "Wow, JP, I didn't know you swung that way." There! Just the briefest pause on Kouji's part was enough to make me beam proudly, even as JP spluttered and turned crimson. I jumped from JP's back and danced away from him, deciding to take their attention off of Kouji's retreating figure. He didn't like being watched, I knew that much. "Yeah, that's right, I went there. What'cha gonna do about it, huh?"
He looked damn near close to having his head explode. I'm sure my devious little smile didn't help him at all. Zoe shook her head with a sigh and got between us. Her look warned me to knock it off, and I shrugged at her. I wouldn't give a fake apology. I mean, I didn't really think JP swung that way, but it was all meant in good humor. I know we haven't really known each other that long, but she should already know that about me. "Do you make a habit out of pissing off your friends?" she asked in exasperation.
Without missing a beat, I shot back, "Yes actually, I do! It's how I show affection." I swooped down on the closest of our two digital companions- which happened to be Neemon- and brought him up into a bone crushing hug. "Neemon, I love you!" I cried, swinging him around like a ragdoll. Despite their annoyance with me, both humans started laughing at Neemon's distress. Never let anyone say I didn't know how to dispel tension.
Neemon waved his arms to get away from me. His eyes bugged wide and bulgy, like I was squeezing all the air out of his head. He probably had more air than brains in there, anyway. "L-let me go! I can't breathe!" Without further adieu, I dropped him. Just opened my arms and thump, he fell on his fluffy bunny tail. He scurried to hide behind a smirking Bokomon and crouched there, trembling comically. "Sh-she scares me."
Mission accomplished, then. Fear my weirdness, mwahaha! Bokomon cleared his throat a little and, without looking, kicked Neemon away from him. He looked around at the barren trees while ignoring his friend's pained whimpering. "This isn't quite right. Breezy Village is known for it's spectacular view of lush forest greenery, but there's not much to see."
A sign on a nearby building half-fell, creating a crunching sound from dry bark falling. The place looked like such a ghost town that I couldn't help the slight startle I gave. Unease began to gnaw at me, and I instinctively looked around for Takuya. Only then did I remember that my best friend had separated from me. I'd never felt so alone as I did then, knowing he was angry with me. I may have picked on him a lot, but that didn't mean I didn't love him... as a friend. In a totally platonic way...
JP seemed to have the same reservations about the village as I did, though not for the same reasons. His nose wrinkled a bit in distaste. "See what, a garbage dump?" Zoe started jogging away, towards the big tree, and he followed after her like a lost puppy. "Let's check it out Zee!" I was about to follow him when this weird sound emitted from his pocket. He stopped and pulled his d-tector out. "Weird, my d-tector is doing something!" He looked at me, like I knew what the hell was going on. I shrugged at him, just as confused. "Maybe my spirit is around here somewhere!"
The joy in his voice made me smile. He was the oldest out of the group, but that didn't stop him from being just as excitable as the youngest. "Maybe. Why don't you go find Zoe and show her? She might be impressed!" If he detected the slight patronizing tone, he didn't take offense to it. "She went towards the huge tree. Maybe she wanted to get a good view!" JP nodded happily and ran off, pumping his beefy arms to go faster.
He could find her himself. If Zoe really did go up into the branches, the only way I was going up there was tied up and unconscious. I felt much safer with my feet firmly on the ground than I did up high. Besides, this was the perfect time for Bokomon to check on my shoulder and continue my lessons. The digimon apparently read my mind, because he made a grab for the back of my shirt and dragged me over to the bench Kouji had recently vacated. "Honestly, my dear, what are we going to do with you?" he tutted, though the amused glint in his black eyes didn't go away.
I totally would have answered with a smart-ass comment too, but a sudden scream from above made the both of us bolt up. Zoe was falling. Zoe was falling. Had she slipped? Oh hell, it didn't matter, because the blonde was zooming towards the ground and giving such a high-pitched, terror-filled scream that it echoed slightly through the trees. My legs started running on their own accord, but there was no way I would get to her before she went splat against the ground.
She hit a root and slid along it, still screaming wildly. The ground was suddenly covered in red flower-looking digimon, and Zoe slid off the root to land safely among them. She looked at them curiously and looked about to speak, but she instead yelped loudly when I tackled her into a hug. "Ouch! Alex, hey, get off!"
I did, but only to hold her at arm's length and scan her over. "Are you okay? What the fuck happened? Don't you ever do that again, Zoe Orimoto! I thought you were going to die! How would I explain that to Tommy and Takuya?! 'Sorry, Taki, but gravity just decided to be a bitch today!' Nuh uh, no way, that ain't gonna fly!" Zoe blinked in shock, but I pulled her over to a bench and pushed her down. "Does anything hurt? Aside from your ass, which I'm sure is throbbing from colliding with a hard surface like that root."
She shook her head and tried to protest, but I touched her ankle and she winced. "Crap. I slipped off of the branch when JP came running and saying his d-tector was doing something. You don't think I hurt it too badly, do you?" I gently touched her at different places and watched her reactions. The place I'd first pressed got the biggest reaction.
I eventually shook my head. "No, it's fine. Just a little sore. There might be some slight bruising, but that's it. Just keep your weight off of it for about half an hour and you should be good. Tell me if it swells up, though. Then we'll have to ice it and wrap it up." JP came running towards us, a frantic look on his face. "She's fine!" I called to him. "She can't put weight on her foot, though. Since it's your fault, help her around."
He grumbled for a bit before helping Zoe up. She leaned some of her weight on him and smiled at me in thanks, but I shook my head and pointed at the flower-digimon. They hadn't moved much since I'd dragged Zoe away to look at her ankle, just shifting to watch us. At the attention, they all smiled and waved. Their hands were flowers as well, but they had blue petals instead of the red ones on their head. Their feet were root-like in appearance, making me think they dug their toes into the ground for nutrients like any plant would.
One of the digimon came over to us with a cheerful smile. "Welcome to Breezy Village! You're the first friendly faces we've seen in awhile!" First friendly faces, huh? Somehow, that didn't make me feel very safe... "We Floramon welcome you! Please, enjoy your stay in our home!" She bowed at her waist, and the other Floramon behind her echoed her statement while copying her.
Another Floramon, smaller than the rest, suddenly appeared at our side. She tugged at my hand, a cheery smile on her face, and cried, "Come on, you must be hungry! We'll fix you lunch!" I instinctively tried to protest, honestly not wanting to impose. The thought that this might be a trap didn't even cross my mind. But the flower-headed digimon turned a wide-eyed, pleading stare on me. My insides melted, the way they always did when a child begged something from me. Takuya had always joked that I'd spoil my children rotten in the future, but everyone knew he was probably right.
I relented with a sigh and a nod. Chibi-Floramon, as I was going to call her now, cheered loudly and downright dragged me behind her towards a building. I heard the snickering of all four of my friends and tossed an annoyed glare over my shoulder. Zoe was using JP's arm as an improvised crutch and both were following after me. Neemon and Bokomon were carrying my bag between them, since it was too big for only one of them. Both of them, even the clumsy bunny digimon, were being careful to not break the jars of medicine inside.
Chibi-Floramon pulled me inside. The room was nicer than I would have thought, considering the debilitated state of outside. It was big enough to fit all of the Floramon, who filled in after us. Zoe was the first to sit down. She pulled her hurt foot onto her lap, massaging her ankle with a wince that slowly relaxed. The rest of us took our own seats until we formed a star-shape. The blonde sighed and leaned back against her chair, keeping her legs crossed. "My ankle already feels better. I just had to massage the kinks out of it."
Good. We could move on then after eating. I didn't want to wait for her to heal, as callous as that made me seem. Then again, I could guilt JP into carrying her until she was completely better. "I still want you to be careful. We can't afford injuries this soon into our journey." Bah, like I could talk. I'd gotten hurt on our very first day here. Bokomon gave me a meaningful look and I sighed. "Yeah, yeah. You can look at my shoulder when we finish eating."
The Floramon were bustling about, calling to each other in high-pitched voices. Chibi-Floramon stayed with us, gazing at the humans among the group in childlike wonder. "Are you humans? Where did you come from? I've never seen a human before! You look weird!" The bluntness made me giggle, and I had to cover my mouth with my hand when an older Floramon came over to bonk the younger one on the head. Chibi-Floramon whined and rubbed her head, looking up at her elder with a pout. "What was that for?! I was just asking them questions!"
The older one glared at her sternly. "Rude questions! You aren't excused from your chores just because you digivolved yesterday!" She shooed Chibi-Floramon away before turning to smile at us. "I apologize for her! Usually my daughter isn't so ill mannered! Your food will be here in just a moment!" But... but we didn't order anything... And I just realized, we don't have any money either! Almost in answer to my thoughts, she smiled and said, "The house special is free today. I hope you don't mind us taking the liberty of choosing your meal!"
Zoe shook her head with a friendly face. "No, it's fine! It's really thoughtful of you guys to invite us for lunch!" Five bowls of yellow-colored liquid were put in front of all of us. JP drooled at the sight of them and, without a word or a single manner in sight, dug in noisily. Zoe took an experimental sip of her soup and gasped in delight. "Molto bouno! Yum!"
JP stopped eating long enough to look at her in a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "Melt-o what-o?" Haha, dork. I don't know why, but his cluelessness amused me.
I answered for the blonde, eating my own soup slowly. "Molto bouno. It's Italian for very good. Right?" I looked to the other female, who nodded. "Délicieux is French for delicious. Which this is!" I copied JP and slurped my from bowl loudly. "Seriously, it's freakin' awesome. What do you call it?"
Mama-Floramon, as I'd mentally dubbed her, chirped an answer while her daughter brought over a couple of orangy-yellow fruits. She seemed to be having problems carrying them. I reached over to maybe try and help, but she gave me such an adorably cute glare that I sat back with an indulgent smile. "We call it Clam a la Floramon! It's all in the way it's prepared!" Mama-Floramon took one of the fruits, which apparently was the signal for the other Floramon to come forward and take their own.
Another Floramon continued where Mama-Floramon left off. "Allow us to demonstrate!" On every Floramon except for the child one, two petals from their heads lifted up to show an empty space. I'm serious, a purely empty space. No brain, no skull, no muscle, no anything. I guess it makes sense. When digimon were killed, they turned into data, right? Meaning they'd have no use for skeletons or blood. Still weird though. All of the Floramon placed the fruit into their heads and the petals lowered down.
All at once, they started to dance. It was such a generic 'blah' sounding tone, not like the chanting of the Candlemon from last night. I had no urge to join in, especially after one counted down and they started singing. "When you take a little clam fruit and you mix it in your stew, you make the most delicious soup, the flavor's never dull. We shake our heads both up and down and sing this song more tuneful, a little bit of us resides in every yummy spoonful!"
Mama-Floramon stood on one foot for a moment before smiling at us. "And, done!" She walked over to Zoe's empty bowl while a different one came up to me. Both went up on their toes and bent over the dish, the yellow soup flowing from their noses in a smooth stream. "It's fresh! Enjoy!"
Zoe and JP looked a little green, now that they saw how the soup was made. I sympathized with them, but that was no reason to be rude! At least it didn't have bugs or dirt or spit in it, which is a lot more than we can say for some of the things I've been served in fast food joints! ... No, seriously. I once found a fried roach. It was gross and I'm pretty sure it traumatized me. I shrugged a little and drank some more, only registering the shocked looks of JP and Zoe after I finished. "It may not be appetizing, but it's something for our bellies to digest. Who knows when our next meal will be?"
That seemed to make them rethink, looking at their dishes in wariness. Zoe finally picked up her bowl and started chugging it. Some slipped down the sides of her mouth, but the blonde apparently didn't care anymore. JP, with a look of much reluctance, followed her example. I wordlessly handed over a bunch of napkins to them, a small smile on my face. At least they were willing to listen to me on faith.
When we were done eating, all but Chibi-Floramon and my group's two digital friends went outside. Bokomon had insisted on looking at my shoulder, since he hadn't been able to earlier. Since Neemon hadn't left either, I was beginning to think he followed Bokomon everywhere. Chibi-Floramon looked on in wonder while Bokomon, standing on the table, undid my bandages. "Wow. How'd you get hurt?"
I smiled at her and pulled a chair closer, patting it in welcome. She got the hint and hopped up, still watching me curiously. "Sometime yesterday, I'm guessing around noon-ish..." I told her about JP and Tommy, the Pagumon- as Bokomon had ended up telling me the gray blobs were called-, and Kouji. And just to be dramatic, I threw in a bit of flair. I'd just been describing what Lobomon looked like, making him sound more angelic and beautiful than he'd actually been, when the building suddenly rocked from an explosion outside.
My chair fell to the ground with how fast I stood up. Chibi-Floramon looked up at me in fear, and I gave a quick, "Stay here!", before running outside. Bokomon and Neemon followed me, twin looks of dread on their faces. The outside looked way better than it did before. Flowers were planted all over the place, pretty blues and reds and yellows. The Floramon, plus Zoe and JP, had smudges of dirt all over them, proving they'd all been hard at work. But there was a cloud of dust where JP was scrambling away from on all fours, expression panicked and fearful.
Snickering came from the dust clouds, evil laughter that sent a shiver down my spine. The dust settled, and three mushroom-looking digimon stood there. They were all identical, even the white circle patterns on their purple caps. Their skin was cream-colored, an off-white sort of shade, and they wore matching red boots and gloves with studs and skulls. They leaped, one by one, into the air, and introduced themselves one at a time. "We are-" "the Mushroomon-" -"Brothers, yeah!"
All of the floral digimon all had reserved looks, like this happened often. All at once, they chimed in their high pitched voices, "Oh no, not again!"
The Mushroomon Brothers all landed on branches to trees, giving the entire clearing arrogant, malicious looks. They continued their routine from before, one of them starting a sentence and the other two completing it. That's going to get really annoying really quickly. "We thought you understood-" "-that planting trees and flowers-" "-was a big waste of time!"
Mama Floramon stepped forward, pleading with her eyes. The only reason I could pick her out of the crowd is because of her voice when she begged, "Please don't wreck our plants!" Desperation colored her tone. Despite her being a grown digimon and not a child like Chibi-Floramon or Tommy, I still felt the need to charge in there and... and... do something! I'm not sure what, but if there's one thing I've picked up from Takuya, it's the reckless impulse to charge into things head first and make shit up as I go!
All three Mushroomon sneered and leaped once more into the air. While airborne, they all threw yellow mushrooms at the ground and yelled, "GIGGLE GRENADE!" They rebounded off the ground and into the space above all of the Floramon and exploded into yellow dust-like particles. The stuff floated down softly, like golden snowflakes but more... menacing, I guess is the word. Out of curiosity, I held my hand out and let a bit pile onto my hand. It looked like... like... pollen. Which meant...
My eyes snapped over to the Floramon just as they all burst out laughing. JP and Zoe looked at them, JP in annoyed confusion and Zoe in worried confusion. Zoe turned around to look at them all, her head tilted to convey her vexation. "What's so funny? They're trouble!" she asked them all.
I let the 'pollen' fall from my hand and glared at the smirking Mushroomon. I'm glad I told Chibi Floramon to stay inside. She shouldn't have to see this. "It's the pollen from their Giggle Grenade." I told them. Everyone turned their attention to me, even the giggling Floramon. Apparently, no one had heard me come out after the first explosion. I took a few steps toward the fungi digimon, my hands clenched into fists. "I'm not sure how, but that attack of theirs causes Floramon to lose control of themselves. Think of it like the happy gas you get when you go to the dentist."
Comprehension dawned on the two humans' faces. The trio of brothers landed on the ground, looking annoyed at my interpretation of their attack. "Very good, human. And you'd be laughing too if you were a Floramon! Our Giggle Grenades keep them in a good mood."
Another one put his hands on his 'hips', or whatever hips they can have being mushrooms, and gave a haughty, 'in your face we won bitches what'cha gonna do now' look. That was what it said to me, of course. It could have meant something entirely different to everyone else. "They get so tired from busting a gut, they can hardly move! Let alone plant flowers!"
Mama Floramon gained enough control over herself to gasp out, "What did we ever do to you to deserve all this meanness?" She had tears in her eyes, though I can't say whether they were from the laughter or the pain of watching their hard work go to waste. "We used to greet the visitors at the station together, remember?!" She paid for her moment of solemnity by laughing harder, holding onto her sides. I felt pain just watching them.
Another Floramon took over, leaning on another laughing Floramon to keep from falling to the ground. "She's right! In those days, you were a real fun guy!" I thought I saw something from the corner of my eye, but nothing was there when I looked. Maybe the Giggle Grenade was affecting me, just not in the same way it was to them. I could have sworn I'd seen Kouji's navy jacket, but he was long gone. There's no way he knew what was going on... right?
When I looked back, the Mushroomon all had ugly- or uglier, depending on your point of view- looks on their faces. The one who I assumed was the leader held up a fist in the Floramon's direction, jealousy tinted in all three pairs of eyes. "You Floramon were always more popular with the tourists! They always liked you better!" Hey, just throwing this out there, but maybe it's because they smell better? Flowers versus mushrooms, which would I rather have surrounding me while I eat?
The other Mushroomon took up the complaints. "No matter how hard we tried to please those looky-loos, they thought you Floramon girls were cuter and nicer than us spore guys!" Once again, I wonder why... You're not exactly being friendly to us, now are you?
Mama Floramon disagreed with their claims and took deep breaths to try and stop laughing long enough to get her point across. It didn't work as well as she wanted to, as she was still giggling, but at least her words were understandable. "But that's not true! They liked you too!"
The other Floramon all nodded, agreeing with Mama Floramon. Another Floramon added her own encouragement while laughing. "And your mushroom mousse was so popular with the tourists. They liked it better than our soup."
From the looks on their faces, I was forced to assume that the Mushroomon Brothers weren't buying the Floramon's words. Their mouths twisted like they'd just tasted a War Head. You know, those sour little hard candies you suck on? I would have said 'sour lemon', but that's kind of repetitive. "That's enough!" the leader yelled. He leaped into the air with a different colored mushroom and called, "MUSHROOM MASH!"
The crowd split with cries of distress. JP had a delayed reaction, and only just dived out of the way of the attack. The shed he'd been standing in front of was utterly destroyed, dirt and dust flying everywhere. A wooden board came my way and I ducked to the ground, letting it fly straight over my head. Everyone stared where the building had just been, dismay on every face that didn't belong to our offenders. "They're toasting this place like an English muffin!" JP cried. Even during a battle, everything leads back to food with him. If nothing else, his dedication is admirable.
The three Mushroomon went back to how they'd spoken before, one starting and another taking over and the third finishing it up. "It's over! We've had it with your flower power-" "-and we're gonna-" "-totally flatten Breezy Village!"
A brief commotion from the trees made me make the mistake of looking over. It wasn't a mistake because the Mushroomon were attacking- we seemed to have come to a stare off with them- it was a mistake because I regretted seeing what was happening. It seems Neemon had said something stupid again, because Bokomon was abusing the poor bunny digimon. He was spouting off stuff about this digimon called Cherubimon. Walking a little closer to them to hear better, since the name sounded familiar, I heard Bokomon start speaking in his lecturing voice. "How could anyone like Cherubimon ever slip your mind? He's the source of all that is evil in the digital world!"
Cherubimon... Cherubimon... Had Bokomon mentioned him during our lessons and I just forgot? It was itching at my brain like a mosquito bite, but I just couldn't remember. Bokomon continued to glare at Neemon, expecting a reaction to the news. Neemon completely blew him off by pointing back over to the others. "Look, she's starting a parade!" ... Did Bokomon snap your pants too hard this time, Neemon?
Giving the bunny the benefit of the doubt, I looked back to them all and saw Zoe marching up towards the lead Mushroomon with an angry face. "Hold it!" she yelled. All three fungi digimon watched her in surprise. It was probably the first time they'd seen a human, if the other digimon were an indication. It was also probably the first time anyone had went up to them after an attack. Two firsts in one day, how about that?
One of the Mushroomon snapped out of it and scowled at the blonde. "You just stand aside, girlie!" Smack. I wasn't the only one to gape at her. Zoe slapped him so hard in the face that he fell back against one of his brothers, who seemed quite confused on what to do. Attack, not attack, verbal bashing, what?
The other brother didn't seem to have that problem and stepped in front of the other two protectively. "Hey, that's my brother! Why'd you slap him?" Better question. Why didn't someone slap him earlier while he was threatening everyone? Instead we all just stood around with our mouths hanging open. Are we really that useless without a spirit? A nasty little voice in my head whispered, 'You're even more useless. Without a d-tector, how are you going to help any of them?'
It was ruthlessly crushed down and was effectively silenced by the time Zoe spoke. Which only took a few seconds, actually. I'm so used to that stupid little voice popping into my head and telling me shit I don't want to hear that I don't even need to work to make it shut up. "You need to learn how to get along!" Queue awkward stare. Like they had no idea what she was talking about. "Just because you feel like you've got the short end of the stick doesn't mean you get to go around destroying things!"
From where I stood, I added my own thoughts as well. "Fighting rarely solves anything, for both parties. It just ends up bringing more violence and hatred. We should know, our world solves nearly everything with violence."
Zoe nodded agreement, her hands on her hips in self-importance. She stared at the Mushroomon in expectancy, waiting to see what they would do. The fungi digimon exchanged looks, as if they were actually thinking over our words. JP, though, decided to throw all that away. He went right up next to Zoe, a glower on his pudgy little face. "Yeah, so listen up! You toadstool heads can't just go barging in with your purple mushroom caps because they're just plain ugly!" ... JP, you stupid, ignorant, dumb-ass... He turned to look at the both of us. "Right?"
The Italian and I just gave him blank stares. I think this is the only time I've given the 'shut up or I'll hit you' look to anyone other than Takuya. Zoe offered a bit more than a blank glare. "You insulted them. That's totally wrong."
JP took a nervous gulp before looking back over to the Mushroomon. Any consideration they'd given to ending this peacefully was wiped away. Anger took it's place. The leader had apparently recovered from Zoe's slap because he pointed at JP with a scowl on his face. "You shouldn't have said that. You're gonna get it!" JP turned and ran with a shriek while the Mushroomon gave chase with a battle cry. Than ran right by Zoe and me, ignoring us completely.
I probably shouldn't have found it as amusing as I did. JP was fleeing for his life and holding his d-tector up, begging the spirit to come help him. The Mushroomon were following after him with growls and grumbles and snarls, calling "Mushroom Mash" with every little bomb they flung. The amusing part was that they seemed to be running in a complete circle. They had the entire expanse of the village to run through, and yet JP decides to stay out in the open where there's little to no places to hide.
So, yeah. Like I said, I found it funnier than it actually was. But even I gasped when JP tripped and his d-tector flew out of his hand. "JP!" Everyone called out. I even started running towards them when a bright pink light suddenly shined from beneath the roots of the big tree. A pink ball floated up into the air and zoomed toward the entire group.
JP scrambled for his d-tector and held it up with a bright smile. "Yeah, my spirit! Spirit evolution!" I couldn't stop myself from looking back and forth from JP to the ball of pink, girly light. If that spirit really was JP's, then I was Santa Claus. Everyone seemed to be so sure that it was his...
... Up until it flew right by him and stopped in front of Zoe. Her d-tector started freaking out and she took it from her pocket, making the spirit fly into it. The female voice from when everyone else changed said, "It is time." The familiar cocoon of data wrapped around the pretty blond. When it disappeared, Zoe was no more.
In her place stood a butterfly slash pixie like digimon. Large white butterfly wings flapped to keep her in the air, and were almost all as tall as her. She was showing more skin than I would have thought Zoe's spirit would. She only wore what was necessary to 'cover the goods', so to speak. A lavender bra with matching panties. Lavender and green stockings covered her legs up to mid-thigh, at which point straps went up to connect to a band of leather going under her breasts. White and rather bulky metallic gloves went up to her elbows. They matched with the white metal guard that went over her eyes. Her hair was a light purple color, not quite lavender but not quite purple, and went down to her knees.
I looked over at JP to see how he was taking it. His expression was a mixture of disbelief and disappointment. It was sort of heartbreaking to see it. I knew how much he'd been looking forward to spirit evolving. JP's blue and yellow d-tector was dangling in his limp fingers, as much use at the moment as his actual cell phone would have been. "Zoe evolved... instead of me..." he said to himself.
To be totally honest, I hated that expression on his face. On any face, really. I went over to stand by him, leaving it to Zoe's spirit to handle everything. I heard Neemon and Bokomon have an exchange before the radish-headed one yelled out for everyone to hear, "She's one of the legendary warrior! She has bonded with the ancient spirit of the wind! She's Kazemon!"
Kazemon, huh? Looks like Zoe got her wish on being a cute digimon. When she spoke, it was in Zoe's exact voice. When Takuya and Kouji spirit evolved, their voices became gravelly and harsh. When Tommy spoke as Kumamon, his voice was a bit more matured. It was odd, to me at least. "Evil creatures, be purified by the wind!" she yelled.
One of the Mushroomon shook himself out of the daze Kazemon's arrival had put everyone in. He leaped into the air with a shout of, "Nice try, butterfly!" His brothers followed after him and all three drew their arms back in preparation to throw more bombs. Streams of pink wind came from each of Kazemon's fingers when the Mushroomon threw their weapons. "Bye bye!"
Kazemon threw her hands down so that the streams criss-crossed, sending blasts of condensed air at the bombs. "Hurricane Wave!" The bombs fell to the ground and detonated harmlessly. The deflection seemed to tick off the Mushroomon Brothers even more. They tried again, throwing the bombs with a little more force than before. Maybe they thought she wouldn't be able to block them in time. Kazemon went into a handstand and spun around with a shout of, "Tempest Twist!" She spun faster and faster until she became something like a pink and lavender tornado.
She knocked the bombs into the air with no problem. Kazemon... I'm not sure how to describe it. I want to say she glided towards them, but I can't really say for sure. All I know is that she was suddenly among the enemy digimon, her feet connecting with their faces in a painful way.
Bokomon and Neemon gasped in shock. "Imagine what she could do with vegetables!" I gave Bokomon a look that said exactly what I thought of that before realizing something. All of the Floramon were gone. Had they run away at the start of the fight? Now that I think about it, they disappeared when Zoe first slapped that Mushroomon. Had they been gone this entire time and no one realized it?
JP brought me back to the 'real world' by beaming in excitement at where Kazemon was still spinning. "And that could have been me!" Gonna be honest, I'm kind of glad it isn't. Not that I ever want to see that look on his face again but...
Kazemon gave a backwards kick, and a flutter of her wings brought her airborne and back to her feet. The Mushroomon groaned where they all laid and pushed themselves up. The two followers looked to their leader with hopeless expressions. They really had no idea how they were going to win. The leader looked at his brothers and self-righteous anger made him puff up.
I knew he was the enemy. I knew that having any emotion other than hostility would end up making me upset when it came time to end the battle. But when I saw him getting protective of his younger siblings, pissed off that they were getting hurt, I gained a little bit of respect for him. Maybe he was feeling something totally different than that and I was just romanticizing, but that's the way I chose to interpret his actions. So nyah!
They all got to their feet and glared at Kazemon before exchanging looks. They had something planned, and the slow, conspiring grins that spread across their faces made me nervous. They looked at Kazemon and the grins turned into sneers. They went back to their 'one of us speaks and the next continues it', and GOD it was starting to get annoying. Not to mention that they had leaped into the air again while speaking. "So what?" "We're not through yet!" "Revenge time!"
Instead of just attacking like they'd been doing, the trio stacked themselves up like a tower. I wondered if they were going to launch themselves now as a single unit, but what they actually did was way more literal than what I thought they were doing. The data shield of digivolution encircled them, and a single digimon took the place of all three. It looked like a giant wooden stump with thick branches for arms.
It hit it's arms against the ground and roared out a wordless challenge to the pixie-like warrior. Bokomon was about ready to give a lecture on this new foe, but I interrupted. "Hold it, I wanna guess!" Bokomon gave me an irritated look, but I completely disregarded his annoyance in favor of listing off names. "Treemon? Stumpmon. Barkmon. Woodmon?" Bokomon blinked at me at the last one, and I actually snorted. "Wow, his name is seriously Woodmon? Bokomon, please don't take this the wrong way, but you and Neemon have the most unique names we've run into so far."
His face said he wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or not. He ignored it either way by shaking his head and going on with the short lesson he'd been originally planning to say. "That's Woodmon, a plant digimon. His Branch Bash attack is one of tremendous strength, and his bark is like armor." So it would be tough to beat him. See, this is why Takuya should have stayed with us. His Warrior of Flame-ness would have been handy right then.
Regardless of Bokomon's words, Kazemon ran right up to Woodmon and leaped into the air with a flutter of her wings. "How about a little love tap!" She bumped her hip against Woodmon's... face? Head? I have no idea. Point being, she hit him with her hip and hearts appeared in his eyes. Then she started pummeling her feet against his head, trying to do damage and failing horrendously. "Your bark's much tougher than your bite!" Oh hell, she's getting cocky. This is going to turn very badly very soon.
I didn't know how soon, though. Woodmon went to smack her with a growl, but Kazemon dodged with a small backwards flutter. She did a mid-air backflip, but all that did was scuff up his bark a little. Just enough for me to see a mark. Kazemon seemed to think this was an accomplishment, for she gave an arrogant grin that I only ever saw on Takuya's face and exclaimed, "Man, I'm good!"
I missed what happened after that, but only because I face-palmed. I might have even left a red mark on my face from the force. All I know is that one minute Kazemon the digimon was floating in the air, the next Zoe the human was lying frighteningly still on the ground.
As much as it shames me to admit it, I froze. Even when JP shoved me aside to try and run for Zoe. I only moved when a sudden voice from the more foresty area shouted, "Hey, cut it out!" Kouji. Again, where the hell did he come from?! Not that I'm not glad to see him, considering he was the only one to know how to actually fight. But my point still stands that he comes out of freaking nowhere.
Zoe was getting to her knees with a wince. Woodmon sent another Branch Bash at her, and the blonde barely dodged in time. Kouji stopped near me and I heard him gasp. JP ran at Woodmon with a shovel in the air. "You can't do that to my friend!" He smashed at the digimon's back, but it broke so he was only holding only the handle. Woodmon swatted him away hard enough that he did a little spiral in the air before landing face first in the dirt.
My turn. I took a deep breath and charged forward, ignoring Kouji's shout for me to stop and get back there. Closer and closer I got to Woodmon, not even knowing what I was going to do. He noticed me just as I got close and swung his arm towards me, but I had the presence of mind to fall to my knees, duck right under, and skid to a stop right in front of his face. He seemed just as surprised as I did. We stared at each other in shock before I did the first thing that came to mind: I poked him in both eyes.
Yeah, not my brightest idea. He cried out in shock and pain and flailed his arms blindly. I yelped and barely got away, backpedaling until I was back next to Kouji. He was staring blankly at me, like he couldn't believe I actually did that. "Yes, that just happened. Get over it and spirit evolve!" He smirked at me before raising his d-tector in the air. He was covered by data, and I waited tensely by his side for him to finish.
By the time he did, Woodmon had already recovered from my 'attack' and was glaring at the two of us. Without taking his eyes off of him, Lobomon growled to me, "Get the other two and stay out of my way." I gave a sarcastic salute and ran to the side. Woodmon gave a roar and tried to follow me, but Lobomon yelled, "Hey, pick on someone your own size!" He ran at Woodmon, purely to get his attention.
I trusted him to keep the enemy busy and ran right by them. The enraged yell of Woodmon said I hadn't gone by unnoticed, but Lobomon did a good job at keeping him at bay. I reached JP just as Zoe did, and we each grabbed an arm to help him stand. "Come on. We're too close here." They both followed me to the edge of the forest, where I gave a loud, piercing whistle.
Lobomon took that as a signal to kick it up a notch. Until then, he'd been staying strictly to defense. Now, he switched to offense. Lobomon leaped back to put some space between them and took out the hilt of his sword. The lightsaber beam appeared with a dramatic yell of, "Lobo Kendo!"
Woodmon roared again and tried to smack Lobomon in the face, but Lobomon leaped over and slashed his sword in a downward motion. I had no idea what that was supposed to accomplish, until Lobomon leaped back out of range and shot a Howling Laser straight into it's forehead. The first attack had opened a small hole, exactly where Kazemon had marked it earlier. The second had taken advantage of it, being able to get passed the wooden armor and straight through Woodmon's head.
At first, that didn't seem to do much more than cause Woodmon pain. He cried out, of course, but it soon seemed to fade. It was when he went to attack that cracks appeared around it, and more holes appeared on Woodmon's bodies in areas that neither Lobomon nor Kazemon had even touched. The line of data that signified victory appeared, and Lobomon straightened from the defensive position he'd fallen into. "Obviously, you've been taken over by evil!"
Psh, obviously. If digimon are anything like people, some of them are assholes just because they can be. But that's totally a lesson for another time. Lobomon took Kouji's d-tector from a pocket on his belt and pressed a button. "Shadow creature, be purified by the light!"
He pressed one of the buttons on it and ran the glowing top of the d-tector across the data, making Woodmon dissolve and having the three Mushroomon reappear. They groaned and sat up, rubbing their heads and looking around. It appeared that they couldn't remember what had happened, questioning what happened and if they'd been in a bad dream. It surprised me how different their voices were now that they'd been 'purified by the light'.
The confusion went on, but my attention was on Lobomon. He leaped back to get some space between them all, and data surrounded him almost as soon as his feet touched the ground. Kouji floated there a bit, looking majestic even coming out of a battle. From behind me, JP exclaimed, "Is that all there is to it? That's it?!"
Without thinking or looking away from the Warrior of Light, I responded to him, "To be fair, he has been taking kendo since he was small." In the immortal words of Hagrid: I shouldn't have said that. I should not have said that. I felt their eyes on the back of my head as I went up to Kouji, even as he knelt on the ground. He was breathing heavily, but nowhere near as badly as when he'd first dedigivolved.
Kouji glared up at me when I stood next to him, like he expected me to repeat Takuya's mistake of trying to help him up. Instead, I smirked down at him and said, "So you're a purifier? Do you do water too? Because I'm parched."
He would have hit me in the shins if I wasn't prepared for his half-hearted punch. I backed up and laughed, but a sound from his d-tector made us both look down. The screen was flashing. Kouji pressed one of the buttons, and data spread out on the ground in a giant circle. "Fractal code rendered."
Everywhere it passed, grass and flowers came to life. The data spread to the naked trees around us, and the branches suddenly had rustling leaves on them. Bokomon informed everyone, "Breezy Village's fractal code is returning!" You don't say…
The Floramon came from out of no where, surrounding the Mushroomon happily. All except one. Chibi-Floramon made a beeline right for Kouji, and he fell down when she threw her arms around him. "That was incredible! Almost as good as the story Alex was telling me!" Kouji sent a swift look at me, and I conveniently found the sky rather interesting.
He huffed slightly and placed Chibi-Floramon back on the ground. "That's great, kid. Now go… do something else. I need to talk to Alex." She nodded happily and waved goodbye to me, leaving me to the asshole that was Kouji Minamoto. I smiled sheepishly when he smirked up at me, sitting with crossed legs on the ground still. "You told her about me?"
I laughed a little and scratched my arm; a gesture I did whenever I was nervous. "Well, she asked about my shoulder. I couldn't just tell her part of a story, it wouldn't feel right! And I… may have exaggerated... certain parts of it…" His smirk grew, and I felt my face flare up into a blush. "Oh, shut up!"
Kouji looked like he was about to reply, but I was saved by footsteps coming up behind me. Kouji's face shut down just as Zoe started speaking. "They're all pretty happy, thanks to you." She offered a hand to help him up, one that Kouji glared at before standing under his own power and walking away. He didn't look back or say goodbye, just up and left. Zoe gaped at his back and yelled, "You know, Kouji, you could try being friendly!" Again, no response. Zoe huffed and said, "I don't get him. Why do I try to like a guy that acts like that?"
I didn't even think before saying as seriously as I could, "It's the hair." All annoyance drained from her face as she started laughing. "See how shiny and soft looking it is? Kind of want to know what conditioner he uses." Kouji didn't stop walking or say anything, just lifted one of his hands and flipped me off. Not the reaction I wanted, but still a reaction!
Zoe and I laughed together, even after Kouji disappeared and our friends joined us. JP and the two digimon had no idea what was so funny, and so stood there awkwardly until our humor ran itself out. With a smile, Zoe shook her head. "Alex, you are quite possibly one of the weirdest people I have ever met." I beamed at what I took as a compliment. She turned back to where Kouji had disappeared and said decidedly, "You know what? I don't care what that Kouji thinks. We were a great team."
I couldn't think of anything to say to that without sounding mean. She'd held her own against the Mushroomon, but Woodmon had totally kicked her butterfly butt. If Kouji hadn't showed up when he did, I doubt we'd be having this conversation. Zoe looked at me, like she was expecting me to agree. Then came a voice that it felt like I hadn't heard in forever. "We have returned!"
I spun around so quickly JP had to grab my arm to steady me. There, running towards us, was Takuya. Tommy was running with him, and as glad I was that both were okay, my eyes were for the older brunet. When the groups separated, Takuya hadn't exactly been happy with me. Instead of running to him like I wanted to, I looked at the ground and bit my lip.
None of the others noticed my uneasiness. Zoe took an aggressive stance, feet flat on the ground and hands on her hips. "You blew it! Where were you two?!"
I didn't have to look up to know Takuya was rubbing his head sheepishly. "Well, that's quite a story. After a while, we thought you might need us, so we decided to check back in." I glanced up for a fleeting second, just as his gaze darted to me. Our eyes met for the briefest of moments before I looked away again.
Zoe huffed at the obvious lie. "No, you took a wrong turn and missed a once in a lifetime show!"
Tommy was huffing at Takuya's side and kept a hand curled into the older boy's shirt, as if needing the anchor to stay up.
Takuya didn't seem to mind it, or else he would have told him to let go before responding to Zoe. "Yeah right Zoe, don't try to psyche us out! You know we didn't miss anything!"
The blond grinned triumphantly. "Well, you didn't get to see me spirit evolve!" Both boys exclaimed in shock and disbelief while Zoe nodded, waiting for them to react. They reacted alright, but in the wrong way. They started laughing, not believing she could spirit evolve like they could. I would have stepped in if I needed to, but I knew Zoe could handle it. And she handled it magnificently, chasing the boys around and threatening to whack their heads. "I can't believe you two! You go away and then say that a girl like me can't spirit evolve?! I'll evolve your heads!"
What does that even mean? I looked around for JP, wanting to ask him, but couldn't immediately find him. He was more off to the side, looking away from everyone and up at the sky with his d-tector in his hand. I walked over to him, wanting to see if he was okay, in time for him to ask himself, "Why don't I have a spirit? Someone tell me that…"
He was still upset about that and I still hated seeing that look on his face. I held his hand gently, and he looked down at me. We shared an understanding look and he gripped my hand back, smiling gratefully, when a yell behind us made us look back at the idiots still running around. Takuya was looking at me while shielding his head from Zoe's hat. "ALEX, MAKE HER STOP!"
I laughed in relief. He wasn't mad at me. Thank God. I dropped JP's hand and crossed my arms, grinning back at him. "I'm not sure I should. You deserve it, after all." He whined loudly as Zoe crowed before slapping him a bit more with her hat. I relaxed, more at ease now that we were all back together again. And Takuya being there had nothing to do with it. Nothing at all...
Pages: 16 on Google Docs
Words: 12125 on Google Docs
Me: Dear lord, this chapter KICKED my ASS. I was stuck on the same part for the longest time because I just couldn't get into Zoe's head. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the extra super long chapter!