Finding Strength Within ||Digimon Savers/Data Squad

.:: || Chapter 8: Anniversary || ::.

Hey! How's everyone's summer been? Mine was full of work, work and more work...oh, and I have a boyfriend now. But right now I'm still on my week vacation so I thought, why not get started on the next chapter? I'm sure everyone is tired of waiting for updates, which I apologize for. I'm gonna try my best to keep myself motivated to update more, even with work and spending time with my boyfriend. So keep a look out for more chapters from me, cuz this story isn't stopping, you can be assured of that!

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon Savers or any other OCs that appear in this story other than my own.


...

"Did you hear that?" Tohru spoke in a hushed tone when she heard a rumbling not too far ahead from where they were. Thankfully, they managed not to get completely lost within the underground cavern they were trapped in. Tohma had the idea of leaving coins on the ground to mark their trail, so if they were going around in circles, they'd know it.

Hearing the rumbles and feeling the tremors in the ground, the group knew they were close to their target. "I think we're close to finding Drimogimon." Masaru smirked, itching to fight this oversized mole and go home to a warm bed and his mother's home cooking.

Cautiously, the group continued forward until they came to a very high cliff. However, below them was the Digimon they were looking for. He seemed oblivious to their presence. Good. It would be easier for them to launch a sneak attack...if they had a way of climbing down without the mole noticing.

"Okay so...how do we get down there safely? Tohma's still injured.." Rosa questioned, brown eyes glancing down at the wound on the blond's leg. Her question was only met with a confident grin from the taller brunett. "...What are you thinking, idiot?"

"Don't call me an idiot.." Masaru grumbled, but quickly shifted focus back to the matter at hand. "We're jumping for it."

"You really are an idiot! We have an injured person here, plus that's just a dangerous thing to do in general! What goes on in that tiny brain of yours?!" Rosa yelled in a harsh whisper.

"Hey! Like I said, don't call me an idiot, pipsqueak!" Masaru stared her down, but she just stared right back with her own glare.

"I'll deck you for calling me that!" The shorter girl curled her hand into a fist and raised it up.

"G-Guys, please don't fight." Tohru stepped in between the two and separated them, "Besides...Masaru's plan is the only one that seems the most effective right now. We..we just have to take that risk." Of course, she was scared of jumping from so high up...but she trusted her best friend. She believed in him.

Tohma was quiet. He wanted to say that this was a terrible idea, but at the moment he really was in no position to be calling the shots. Jumping did seem dangerous and risky, but what did tey have to lose? Well...other than their lives.

Masaru smiled down at Tohru and ruffled her head before grabbing hold of Tohma and looking to the others with a nod. "On my mark..." Tohru took in a deep beath, bracing herself for what she considered to be her leap of faith. Rosa rolled her eyes, but got ready to jump as well.

"This better work, Daimon.."

The auburn haired male grinned and nodded, probably a bit too overconfidently. But then again, when was he never confident in what he did?

"Just believe in me."

They watched their target carefully until he was directly below them, and that's when Masaru nodded his head at the two girls and the other Digimon.

"Go!" The moment that word left his mouth, the hot blooded teen jumped from the ledge with his arm slung around Tohma, Agumon and Gaomon following their partners not even a second after. Tohru didn't think about it and just jumped with Terriermon clinging to her head. She let out a small scream before landing on Drimogimon's furry back. Rosa followed close behind with Coronamon and landed safely, if not a bit disoriented.

Tohru's heart was racing as she clung to the mole's fur for dear life, but felt an arm around her shaking body. She glanced up at Masaru, who was smiling at her. His smile was like a calming agent for her, because she felt her body relaxing and she didn't feel as terrified.

Her emerald hues watched him crawl up the mole's body and it was at this point that the oblivious Digimon had noticed they were on his back and started moving around in a fidgety manner. He knew he felt them there, but he couldn't see them...and didn't think to really look at his back. Well...guess not all Digimon can be intelligent.

Masaru crawled onto Drimogimon's head and the mole stopped moving, big eyes glancing up to meet the teenager's gaze.

"...Yo."

Drimogimon immediately started thrashing around to try and get them off his back. Masaru was pretty much riding ontop of the mole's head like it was a horse. Tohru and the others held on for dear life as best as they could, getting flung around like ragdolls.

The mole Digimon took off through the cave and bashed through the walls, the sun's rays shining down on them. They'd made it outside at last! But now they had to find a way to keep Drimogimon from drilling through the ground again.

Tohru wasn't sure what Masaru's plan was, she was just choosing to believe he even had a plan of action in the first place. The auburn haired teen glanced around, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he had a tight grip on Drimogimon's purple fur coat. A familiar landmark came into his line of vision and for some reason, he knew that's where they needed to lure the mole into.

A dome made of crystal. It was perfect! He had completely forgotten about that thing!

Just like using reigns to steer a horse in the right direction, he managed to get Drimogimon to run into the crystal dome. The mole bashed right into the hard wall and the teens and smaller Digimon on its back tumbled onto the ground.

Tohma glanced around and noticed the ground was made of pure crystal. That's right! Now there was no way Drimogimon could escape! He couldn't drill through the ground. Did...did Masaru really think of this all on his own? The blond genius had to admit, he was impressed. Even he didn't think of something like that!

"Now that we have this overgrown gopher where we want him..." Masaru's hands formed into fists and he ran forward, driving his fist right into Drimogimon's face. He jumped back and took out his Digivice as that familiar orange energy engulfed his fist. "...let's do this, Agumon! Digisoul, charge!"

Tohma forgot his pain and took out his own device and snapped his fingers, charging up Gaomon. There was a bright light and in his place stood Gaogamon. He bared his fangs and stood beside GeoGreymon. Both adult (champion) level Digimon ready to fight.

Rosa blinked in surprise, she couldn't believe Masaru actually came up with a smart idea for once! Maybe she was underestimating how smart he actually is. Just like she was wrong about Tohma being completely heartless. She never was a good judge of character...

She held up her had and moved it in a motion as if she were running her fingers against the flat surface of a blade, red energy forming around her hand. Rosa charged up Coronamon, and he became Firamon.

Tohru, now a bit more confident, was determined to help out and protect her teammates. Her green energy formed around her chest and left hand and as she charged up her Digivice, Terriermon hopped off her head and became engulfed in light. Gargomon came out in his place and he landed with the others, cocking his guns.

Before any of them could attack though, Drimogimon began to shake violently with a crazed look in its eyes. The giant mole became engulfed in light and grew bigger, and when the light died down a completely different Digimon was in its place. It now had three drills, two for hands and one where its mouth and nose would usually be. It was yellow in color and sort of looked more insect-like than what it previously did.

"Shit...it evolved..." Rosa cursed under her breath, clicking her tongue.

"Doesn't matter, we'll still beat him!" Masaru grinned confidently, "Go Geogreymon!"

"Wait! What if our Digimons' attacks cancel each other out again?" Tohma questioned, remembering what happened hours earlier.

"Ah...that's right. Shit.." Masaru had forgotten about that little detail. Digmon started to attack, using a Gold Rush attack while the other Digimon dodged the best they could.

"W-Wait...um...what if all of our Digimon combine their attacks together? If we do that, maybe the attacks won't cancel each other out." Tohru spoke up, the fight with Meramon coming to mind. It worked then, it should still work now. "We've done it before, so let's try it again."

Masaru blinked in realization, as did Tohma and Rosa. They all looked at each other and gave a nod of understanding. "Good thinking, Tohru!" The street fighter smiled affectionately at her, causing the girl to blush and return the smile.

"Everyone! Attack at the same time!" Tohma shouted, and Gaogamon nodded obediently.

"Yes, master!" Gaogamon began charging up his attack, as did the other three Digimon. "Spiral Blow!"

"Mega Burst!"

"Fira Bomb!"

"Gatling Arm!"

All four attacks fired in unison and combined to form one powerful blast, hitting Digmon directly. The blast sent the four humans back a bit, Masaru holding Tohru tightly against his chest while Rosa held onto Tohma as tightly as she could. The light from the blast was so bright that they had to shield their eyes, but once it faded, a Digiegg was left in its wake. Their partners had also reverted back to their child (rookie) forms.

Tohru's lips tugged up into a triumphant smile as she stood and ran to Terriermon, scooping him up into her arms and twirling him around. "We did it, Terriermon!" She giggled cheerfully, nuzzling her cheek against her partner's. Her heart swelled with a newfound confidence that she never knew she could have.

Masaru smiled warmly at such an adorable sight and walked over to his best friend, once again affectionately ruffling that cute head of hers. His forrest green eyes filled with a soft warmth that only those close to him could actually witness.

"Yeah...you did it, Tohru. I can already tell that you seem more confident now. I'm proud of ya, shorty!" He laughed lightly, failing to notice her cheeks going red. She smiled sheepishly and nodded her head, stuttering out a small 'thanks.'

Rosa picked up her tired partner in her arms and he managed to catch her smiling faintly. She and Gaomon helped Tohma stand up, but at this point Tohma's leg was feeling a bit better. He was able to walk on his own without their help, but he appreciated the gesture anyway.

"Hey Rosa...well...thanks for slapping some sense into me." The blond felt embarrassed saying that, but he did want to let her know that he wasn't angry about getting slapped across the face. "You had every right to do that...I was out of line." He scratched the back of his head, pale cheeks turning a bit red.

The Spaniard's brown hues widened a bit, clearly taken aback by what he said. Her tanned cheeks flushed a bit and she looked away with a huff. "G-Good! I thought I'd have to slap you again if it didn't get through your head the first time!" To her surprise, Tohma actually smiled at her...and laughed a bit. Her heart skpped a beat and she flushed redder, but couldn't help but laugh with him.

The group soon left the crystal dome and headed for the spot where they'd be taken back to the human world. The sun seemed to be setting in the Digital world, but they were sure that it was still the early hours of the morning back in their own world.

"Masaru." Tohma spoke up to break the silence, causing the street fighter to stop and turn to face him. "Let's...start over." He looked at Tohru, "You too, Tohru."

The shorter brunette blinked, but smiled and nodded her head. Masaru closed his eyes, a grin coming to his features. Forrest green hues met cerulean, his fist held out. Tohma looked at it a moment, then returned the gesture and gently bumped his own fist against his rival's.

"You got a deal, Tohma."

Tohru looked between the two males and stuck her fist out too, wanting to get in on the fist bumping. The taller blond glanced down at her smaller hand, smiling a bit more as he tapped their fists together. "Friends?"

She giggled lightly and nodded more enthusiastically, "Friends!"


...

After arriving back in the human world, they expected to get chewed out by Satsuma for disobeying orders. Instead, however, he praised them for learning to work together as a team. If anything, he seemed more relieved that they got back in one piece. Masaru and Tohru were driven back to their homes by Yoshino, while Rosa got a ride with Tohma in his limo.

Of course, Tohru got scolded for sneaking out so late at night to go do something dangerous. She understood why her grandmother would react that way...especially so close to her anniversary date.

Around this time of year, on the day of her grandmother's wedding anniversary, the elderly woman always seemed more sorrowful rather than being happy. Normally, this would be a joyful occasion...but...

She could only stay happy for so long before she began to miss her late husband.

Tohru walked into DATS headquarters the next day, dressed in her normal clothing. A dark blue hoodie, brown shorts going down to her knees that she clearly bought in the boy's section, and her signature beanie. She couldn't stay long today, which was why she wasn't dressed in uniform.

Her teammates watched her walk up to Satsuma's desk, and tried to strain their ears in order to hear their conversation. Judging by the solemn expression on Tohru's face, she must not be in a good mood.

"Thank you, Captain...I'm sorry I can't stay very long." She apologized with a bow. Terriermon was actually not perched ontop of her head like he usually was. Instead, he was sleeping inside her Digivice. The night before really tired them both out, and it was clear that Tohru was just as tired. She turned to look at everyone else, who were all staring curiously.

"Um...I'm afraid I have to leave shortly...today is my grandma and grandpa's anniversary." Yoshino's eyes lit up and her lips tugged up into a smile.

"That's wonderful! I bet they've been married a long time!"

Tohru nodded her head, but her face did not share the same joy that the older girl's did. "Yes...they have."

"But why do you seem so sad about it?" Tohma asked, raising a thin eyebrow at her odd behavior.

"...Because we're going to visit his grave today."

...

Oh.

The room fell completely silent. Nobody knew what to say in response.

"I see...I guess that's why you need to leave early then, huh? You want to spend time with your grandmother." Yoshino stood up and approached the younger teenager, pulling her into a hug. She could see Tohru's eyes beginning to tear up and led her into a separate room, despite Masaru reaching out to touch Tohru's shoulder.

He, of course, knew that Tohru only lived with her grandmother. He's been her best friend for years. He remembered going to the funeral, and he remembered how much she was crying. He knew that every year on this day that she and her grandmother went to visit the cemetary. Heck, Masaru has even gone with them before. He'd do the same today...if he weren't a DATS agent.

Though...maybe he should have asked to leave early too. No. Even though he wanted to be there for Tohru, he didn't want to intrude on the time she should be spending with her grandmother. Masaru was sure that granny Harima would rather be alone with her granddaughter today.

Yoshino sat down with Tohru, rubbing her back to soothe her as the younger girl held back her tears. To change the subject, she brought up something that she'd been thinking about since yesterday. "Tohru, I'd like to talk to you about a thought I had...it's about your Digisoul." Now she had the girl's attention, and it seemed to distract her a bit.

"W-What is it?"

"Well, you know how your Digisoul usually comes from your heart and then makes its way to your left hand?" She waited for Tohru to nod before continuing, "Now...don't take my word for it since I'm not entirely sure about this...but...I noticed that whenever your Digisoul activated, it was when you were feeling more confident in yourself about fighting. However, the one time that you began to really doubt yourself was when it didn't work at all."

Tohru thought about what Yoshino was telling her, recalling what happened the night before. How useless she felt...was...was that why it didn't work? In the Digital World, when she and Tohma made ammends with each other, she felt like she was important to the team and it worked again

So...having such strong doubts in her heart was the cause.

Emerald hues widened in realization and met caring magentas. "I-I think you might be right, Yoshino! O-Okay...from now on, I'll try to be more confident in myself." She tried to put on a more determined face, standing up and pumping her fists.

"That's the spirit! You're starting to make a lot of progress already, Tohru. Now all you have to do is confess your love to Masaru!" Yoshino stated while clapping lightly. The younger teen suddenly turned bright red and shook her head, waving her arms in front of her defensively.

"N-No! Y-You got it all wrong! M-Masaru a-and I a-are just friends!"

Yoshino gave her a sly grin, totally not buying that at all. "You're not very good at hiding it, Tohru. It's obvious to pretty much EVERYONE that you like him...well, aside from Masaru himself. He seems totally oblivious..." She sighed exasperated.

Tohru looked down and twiddled her fingers shyly, steam starting to rise off her face. "...I-Is it really that obvious?" She asked quietly. She suddenly felt the older girl's hands on her shoulders and looked up to meet her gaze.

"Don't worry, I won't tell him. But seriously, you should just tell him. Watching you two be all cute with each other is gonna drive me up a wall." She laughed, which caused Tohru to start giggling as well. It was kind of infectious.

"I-I will...w-when I'm ready to." Tohru promised, then took a glance up at the clock on the wall. "I gotta get going now. I'll definitely be here tomorrow, so see you then...and...thank you, Yoshino." She smiled softly at the older teen and left, heading back home.


...

Her grandmother was all ready to go. They'd bought her husband's favorite alcohol and snacks, rabbit shaped manju. Coincidentally, those were also some of Masaru's favorite treats. She's sure that if she did bring the auburn haired male and Agumon along, they'd try to eat all of it before they even arrived at the grave site.

She let Terriermon out of the Digivice and he took his spot ontop of her head. "Am I going along too, Tohru?"

"Of course, Terriermon. You're part of our family now, so I would like for you to meet my husband." Hikaru, her grandmother, responded with a small laugh. "Tohru, take the wine bottle please. It's too heavy for these old bones to carry." She would usually sound more light hearted when she joked around like that...but Tohru understood why her grandmother couldn't sound happy today. The light humor sounded kind of forced, as if she were trying not to worry Tohru.

But...that only worried her more.

"Of course, grandma." Tohru picked up the wine bottle, having to hold it in both arms because it was kind of big. The elderly woman held a basket filled with the manju since it wasn't as heavy.

The walk to the cemetary was quiet. The crisp evening weather felt nice and the sun was starting to set, painting the sky with different shades of pinks, oranges, blues and yellows. It certainly was a beautiful day for a wedding anniversary.

It wasn't very long before Tohru and her grandmother arrived, and they approached the tombstone of her grandfather. Beautiful flowers decorated the site, as did a lovely picture of the man himself. He was smiling in the picture, and looked so carefree. The flowers must have been from some of his friends who were still alive.

He was an outgoing man with a carefree attitude, which gained him a lot of friends over the years. Even in his old age, he was still every bit as active as he was when he was younger. He loved to go out swimming especially, and was pretty damn good at it.

But...that was what led to his untimely death.

Her grandfather went out swimming alone one day, but he was struck with misfortune when he got a sudden cramp in his leg and began to drown. Tohru was sure that he was probably screaming for help and flailing around...but nobody was there to help him. He died a horrible, scary death...alone.

His body was found a couple days later after Tohru and her grandmother reported that he'd never come home from swimming. The funeral was held a week later, and for a while...Tohru didn't attend school. She stayed in her room, crying and sleeping. Her grandmother was no better. For a while, she became depressed and rarely ever smiled.

She knew that she had to be strong though, for her granddaughter. She needed to keep smiling. For Tohru's sake...but deep down, she felt it would be difficult to move on from her husband's death.

They laid the wine bottle and basket of manju in front of the grave and knelt down, dusting off some of the leaves and dirt that got on the grave. Tohru then pushed her palms together, lowering her head and closing her eyes in prayer. Her grandmother did the same.

The two stayed like that for a few minutes, just praying to their lost loved one. They were completely silent, the only source of noise being the light rustling of the trees and leaves as a light wind blew.

. . .

. . .

. . .

Hika..ru...

Emerald eyes snapped open, Tohru lifting her head up and looking around after being startled from her praying. What...what was that voice just now? It...almost sounded like it was saying her grandmother's name-

. . .

. . .

A shiver ran up Tohru's spine upon noticing something that just did not seem right. It wasn't very clear, but she swore she could make out a figure standing by the trees. It only vaguely resembled a human figure, and just as quickly as she saw it, whatever it was...vanished before her eyes.

'W...What...was that?'

"Tohru? What's wrong?" Terriermon whispered, having noticed how frightened she looked just now. The brunette snapped out of her initial shock, letting this all sink in as her heart began to pound.

"O-Oh...it's nothing, Terriermon. I'm fine." She lied, putting on a smile to try and make him believe she hadn't just seen something creepy. He didn't buy into it, but decided not to press her any further.

'That...that couldn't be what I think it is...right?

...Ghosts don't exist...

...do they?'


Ooooo, we're getting into some spoopy shit now. You're probably wondering, 'Bean! Why're you putting ghost stuff in a Digimon story?!' Well, you'll just have to wait and find out. ;D

I know some of you were wondering about why Tohru's Digisoul suddenly started to work again last chapter. The idea for this actually came from some other Data Squad fanfics I've read where the OC's Digisoul was activated through their love for whichever character they were being paired up with.

Now that's all well and good, but they all did that same thing. I wanted to try and be a bit different. Tohru's activation has absolutely nothing to do with her crush on Masaru and is more along the lines of, it activates successfully when she isn't doubting herself or thinking such negative thoughts about herself. A much better idea, no?

Anyway, you know the drill, please leave a review because I love getting feedback from all of you! It makes me so happy! ^ ^

~Bean