LIFE AND DEATH
By milesprower06
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(MP06 gets giddy over more reviews.)
Renamon: Great, here we go again.
(Jeri comes up.)
Jeri: Let him be. He isn't gonna be so happy when I get through with him.
Renamon: What did he ever do to you? Oh, right. He killed you off in the Prologue of his first story. Well, at least wait until this one's finished, alright?
Jeri: If I must... (taps foot impatiently.)
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Chapter 5 – Back In the Act
SHINJUKU JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
9 DAYS AFTER MEMORIAL
12:15 PM
Takato had found it difficult to concentrate on Ms. Asaji's lessons today. He couldn't get his mind off of Rika's missing D-Arc, and sometimes it drifted back to what happened three months ago. Ms. Asaji noticed this, and when the bell rang for lunch, she asked to see him.
He stood in front of his teacher's desk.
"I've noticed you're having trouble again, Takato. Are you alright?" she asked.
"It's nothing, Ms. Asaji. I'm fine." Takato told her. He didn't want another person worrying about him. But he couldn't fool his teacher.
"I want to believe that. Really, I do. But…" Ms. Asaji contemplated on how to put what she wanted to say.
"Sometimes these things take time, Takato. You can't rush them, no matter how badly you want to."
Takato knew what she was talking about – she had been made aware of what had happened, as well as his psychologist's appointment that he had scheduled three months ago afterwards.
"If you need to take more time off to deal with this, please, do so."
Takato recalled what Renamon had said to him when they first became partners. Now's not the time to be strong…
Takato slowly nodded, yielding to his teacher's suggestion. He walked back to his desk, dumped what was on his desk into his backpack, and walked towards the door.
"Good luck, Takato. See you in a few days." Ms. Asaji told him.
During his walk home, Takato reflected on what was troubling him. It wasn't just his losses three months ago – it was what had happened to his memorial. Those two items in the tin…they were almost sacred to him. Now they were gone without a trace. How was he ever going to find them? Who had them and why?
He neared home. He was half a block away, when out of nowhere, a white beam of light erupted out of the concrete, between him and the Matsuki Bakery. Fog quickly swallowed the entire block.
A digital field.
Takato saw the silhouette of a Digimon twice his size. It looked somewhat familiar. He grabbed his D-Arc from his pocket, and activated the analyzer.
"Gorillamon, Champion Level. Primary attack is Energy Cannon." Takato read off the holographic screen. The fog began to part, and Gorillamon came into focus. Takato recalled facing this particular Digimon earlier with Henry, before the D-Reaper crisis. "Renamon, you ready?" he asked.
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She materialized directly behind Takato. Yes, she was, but was he?
"Always." she answered him.
Gorillamon took in his surroundings.
'Probably deciding what to reduce to rubble first with that cannon.' Takato thought. Indeed, the cannon that made up his right forearm was a force to be reckoned with. He began to sniff the air, then turned away from the duo and set his sights on an enticing bakery a half block away.
"Oh no you don't. Renamon!" Takato exclaimed.
That was her cue. Renamon leaped past her Tamer towards the Wild Gorillamon. Takato dug into his right pocket and retrieved his newly constructed deck of modify cards, and began to fan through them.
"Digi-Modify! Speed Activate!" he had seen Rika use the speed card on Renamon many times, and it was very handy. Renamon came between Gorillamon and the Matsuki Bakery; a gap that was closing fast, and unleashed her attack.
"Diamond Storm!"
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The flying diamonds did little to encumber the 10-foot tall beast. He roared in defiance, and began swinging at Renamon.
'As long as he doesn't start blasting away with that cannon.' Takato thought. Even with her increased agility, Gorillamon still appeared to have the upper hand. It was only a matter of time before he landed a blow – right to her chest, sending her crashing into a stacked pile of wooden pallets. Renamon was an agile fighter, but she was just a Rookie. This was, more or less, still a one-sided fight.
"Time to even the playing field" Takato said as Gorillamon closed in on the bakery.
"Digi-Modify! Digivolution Activate!"
D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N
"Renamon digivolve to…Kyubimon!"
The nine-tailed fox materialized where Renamon had been only moments ago.
'Now or never.' Takato thought, as he prepared to swipe another card.
"Fox Tail Inferno!" Kyubimon called out her attack, the tips of her tails going ablaze with blue flame. Takato swiped another card. Two attacks in one volley.
"Digi-Modify! Flamedramon Fire Rocket Activate!"
Flamedramon's orange fireballs joined Kyubimon's blue ones. All together, they impacted Gorillamon, square in the chest.
A Champion and an Armor attack – he didn't stand a chance. He exploded into fragments.
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Kyubimon watched as the shards of data floated up into the sky, eventually dissipating. It felt good to fight again – a way to get some of what was building up inside off her chest. She looked over at Takato, relieved at his ferocity in the battle that just took place. Perhaps, he was prepared to fight again…but then again, it was his family's home and business that was at stake just now. She stared at Takato, ten feet away. He just stood there. He looked okay, but then she took a closer look…he was shaking.
She de-digivolved to her rookie level and continued to look at her Tamer. He held his D-Arc in a vice grip.
"Takato?" she asked. She saw him fall to his knees and drop his D-Arc. She raced over to catch him before he dropped to the ground. She caught him by the shoulders. He was out cold.
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The Matsuki Bakery, which was crowded by the lunch rush only moments ago, was now empty, save for Mr. and Mrs. Matsuki, who saw the digital field erupt a few dozen feet away. Renamon came in the front entrance with Takato in her arms, and his D-Arc and cards in her hand.
"I don't think he got hit." Renamon immediately told his parents, not wanting them to panic.
"He just…passed out." she said. She took him back into the living area and set him down on the couch, where they looked him over. He had a moderate fever, but that alone didn't explain why he fell unconscious. Renamon took him up to his room and set him in bed, and waited for him to wake up.
As she sat there in his room, she thought back to how he looked just prior to collapsing. He looked like he was in borderline shock…but why? Perhaps, it was because it was his first fight since Egypt…his first without Guilmon…
She didn't want to jump to conclusions – it could be any number of reasons. She did take note of how aggressive he was with his modify cards. She had only attacked once before he slashed a Digivolve card, and even then, he didn't waste any time, using Flamedramon's Fire Rocket attack in tandem with her Champion level's Fox Tail Inferno. It was an impressive move, but he usually took time in choosing his cards - he didn't this time, but it's not like they had time; Gorillamon was closing in on the bakery. What did he have on his mind when he made that new modify deck yesterday? It almost seemed like he was ready to fight. But if he was so prepared, why did he seem so…shaken, afterwards? That brought her back to the beginning of her questions. She wasn't getting anywhere; it was starting to frustrate her; not being able to help him. It was well into the afternoon before he stirred.
"Why isn't it my burden alone to bear?" Takato asked from up in his bed. Renamon looked up. He was still lying down, but had woken up. She stood up and walked over to the bed.
"Because that's not why I'm here. I don't want to stand back and watch while we try and deal with this by ourselves." she replied.
"We?"
"You can't go through this alone. And…neither can I. No one can. I'm afraid that if we try to deal with this alone, keep it all inside…that it'll destroy us. I…never liked it when Rika shut me out. Before she became involved with everyone else, she always kept to herself. It made me uncomfortable. Back when it was all about winning…becoming stronger."
"Back when she thought Digimon were just for fighting."
"Yes."
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Takato raised his right arm slightly and looked at his wrist, or rather, at the still noticeable scar on it.
A stupid mistake – one he'd never make again. He lowered his arm back down to his side.
"Speaking of fighting…it certainly didn't take you long to get back in the act" Renamon said.
"My home was in danger," he said bluntly.
'So that was a decent part of it.' Renamon thought. Tactics did change, sometimes drastically, depending on the situation at hand.
"But that new deck you made yesterday. You haven't touched your modify cards since…"
"Yamaki wanting to investigate the lack of bio-emergences gave me a funny feeling, so I wanted to prepare…just in case we stirred something up. Anyways, I figured if we ever find out who has Rika's Digivice, they aren't going to just hand it over. It doesn't mean I wanted to fight. You never heard me complain about the lack of bio-emergences" Takato said.
Renamon still wasn't sure if Takato could continue the normal life of a Tamer…after what happened. And now, even if he did…would it be right?
She let the question fade to the back of her mind for now. She wasn't sure, but it seemed like Takato could finally be ready to talk to her…and so was she.