A/N: I beat the block! I beat the block! This chapter's been stuck at half-finished for who knows how long, because I couldn't get the stupid fight scene to happen. Well, I did. It's short, though I did try not to do the anime fight, there is a specific reason I chose the Digimon that I did. Let me know how my Ruki is, she's a bit of a new one for me. Sorry for the delay, please read and review!
Episode Seven
Her dreams were hazy and hard to recall when she woke up properly the next day. Even as a younger child, Juri was no stranger to waking up frequently during the night, but she wasn't used to always waking and looking in the same direction like a metal drawn to a magnet. Once or twice, she thought she had seen it glow.
Even now, during her morning routine, Juri felt her eyes drawn to the toy on her desk, and the deck beside it in its rubber band.
I'm going crazy, she decided, this time thinking it in an innocent way, and not the one she had never put into words over the past few weeks. And despite that feeling, she still picked up the items and slid them into her leather purse, tiny though it was. After a moment of thought, the puppet joined them after a carefully voiced "wan!" (1). Then, picking up her bag, Juri left the house.
"I'm leaving!"
The house didn't answer, because her father was already down at the restaurant, but she said it for the ghosts to whisper about and that really was enough.
She hurried down the sidewalk. It was fairly early this morning, so the streets were quiet barring a few vendors and the shopkeepers opening for the morning.
"I wonder if Takato-kun is at the park with the others yet..." She never knew. His mother did wake him up sometimes to help set up shop, he complained about it all the time...
"Good morning, Katou-chan!"
Broken from her thoughts, she waved as she passed a nearby shopkeeper, looking around at the sky and clouds that, to her eyes, were growing steadily grayer as she ran. There wasn't supposed to be any rain today... and the air didn't feel wet either. Regardless, it was getting harder and harder for her to see. Shutting her eyes, she stumbled on. It's not like seeing well could make a difference on a foggy day anyhow.
She lifted her head and opened her eyes again. "Maybe I should have looked at the weather report this morning..." But it hadn't been wet when she left this morning... so it couldn't have rained...
Dread began creeping into her throat, apathetically slow. She sped up, striding as fast as she could until she heard the bushes shift. Her stride slowed and Juri looked around. "Takato-kun?" She examined the area. Takato-kun had no idea where she lived. Maybe it was one of her friends.
Her friends were noisier than this.
A chill went up her spine and she began to move a little faster. She gripped the new toy tight in one hand, like she could throw it and it would make a difference. As she ran, she began to hear footsteps behind her. She couldn't really call them footsteps however. They were more like crashes, crashes mixed with the smell of rotten eggs. Mutant skunks?
It was a weird thought, but it was worth thinking!
She looked around and whimpered, feeling panic rising up in her throat. She could barely see her hands at this point. Juri's steps grew more and more frantic until she hit something and almost recoiled hard enough to hit the ground.
A hand caught her wrist just before she could however, and she came face to face with a red-headed girl.
The girl peered at her through her sunglasses with a mild frown. "Hey," she said, without any particular venom. "What are you doing out here?"
"W-Walking to school." Um... it wasn't particularly obvious, was it? "B-But I heard a noise and it sounded like footsteps and is something burning?"
Makino Ruki regarded the girl she was holding up, debating whether to just leave her or not. In the end, despite her babbling, she had done the smart thing and gotten the hell away, all while trying to note her surroundings in the dark. In this fog... though how did she end up in here in the first place?
Really, she was gonna be late for class at this rate... her mother would get over it.
She pulled her D-Arc from her pocket and the other girl blinked at her, pulling out a similar device from her bag. "You have one of those toys too," she asked?
Ruki stared at her, torn between bafflement and exasperation. It wasn't a toy. It was a tool, clear difference. "Something like that," she said aloud, pressing a button. "Renamon," she called into it." Within seconds, she felt the kitsune materialize feet away. With her glasses, Ruki could see her with ease, but the girl probably couldn't. "Grab it." She pulled the girl to the side as Renamon flew by in a burst of light.
"What-What is that?"
Ruki almost smiled, almost. "Renamon, and she's hunting. Don't get in the way."
"Get in the way of wha-" She cut off her last words with a shriek as Renamon soared into view, dragging a flaming cat into view. A monitor burst into life above the D-Arc's screen and Ruki scoffed aloud. "Lynxmon. Armor type." She smiled. "So its flames are its armor, huh?" She peeked into her deck and slipped out a card. Lifting one, she slid it through with practiced ease. "Card Slash, Attack Plug-in B!"
Renamon dashed forward, spinning her foot back and kicking the lynx in the face. Spinning on her other foot, she struck again, then another, faster and faster.
Ruki only crossed her arms, and continued to watch, barely shifting when the girl beside her rose to her feet. She didn't miss the way those eyes flickered. She was never an expert at emotions, or people, or, hell, girls, but she knew what fascination was.
Hmph. She'd put a stop to that as soon as possible. There could be as many peasants running around as they wished, but there was only one Queen.
"Fox Leaf Arrowhead!"
Ruki snapped her eyes up to see Renamon's attack stab into Lynxmon's back. It hissed and knocked her down, just as Ruki slashed another card. Renamon struck out with a claw. Ruki bit back a wince. That was clumsy. Was Renamon getting clumsy? Or was she worried?
They did have dead weight near them.
No excuse.
"Renamon."
There was no verbal response, but then, the girl hadn't really expected one. The kitsune vanished and reappeared into the air, blood dripping from one cheek. However, the fanged smile on her face distorted the befuddled one on that of her enemy. She spread her arms and the leaves flew for a second time, one between the eyes, another into the heart. The enemy burst into red, and Renamon's eyes closed, red energy turning to blue as it flew to the kitsune like metal to a magnet.
The other girl only continued to watch. "It just died... didn't it?"
Ruki glanced over. "Yeah," she said. "And Renamon's taking her fill, like she's supposed to."
"Like she's supposed to..." the girl repeated, eyes a bit glassy. Maybe that would scare her off. For a moment, it seemed like it would. Then the girl just smiled. "Amazing!" she said, eyes suddenly sparkling. "You two are so strong!"
"What." What?
The girl ran to Renamon as she touched the ground. "You scratched your cheek. Let me see!"
Ruki shared a glance with Renamon, and then looked away.
It was only chance that she saw the flickering light from the girl's little purse.
