Takuyamon
-o-
Disclaimer: Digimon does not belong to me.
Warning: This story contains slightly more mature content, including fighting/violence, sexual themes, and swearing, which is why I rated it M just to be safe. Please read with discretion. Thank you.
Thank you The Keeper of Worlds, FernClaw, Ho hot, the-ice-cold-alchemist, code R.R, Swanhilde, ForeverWildfire2.0, Midnight72, AncientGreymon, Impstar, LordTheadArmageddon, Rubius, Teren, dbzgtfan2004, kyky676, Berry Doyle, and Guest for your reviews and your support! I can't tell you enough how much it encourages me and helps me to feel braver about writing and continuing my story! This chapter is dedicated to you because you took the time to tell me what you thought. Thank you!
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Chapter Ten
-o-
"Takuya," Kouji said, grabbing his elbow at lunch and dragging him out the door. He pulled him to a secluded spot where Kouichi waited for them, and let go.
"Hello to you too," Takuya chuckled. Sighing and seating himself next to Kouichi, he found himself feeling mentally worn out. "I'm sooooo glad it's lunch right now. My brain has been whirling non stop all day, and it hasn't helped me learn anything. I probably failed that pop quiz!"
"I've been thinking too," Kouichi frowned. "About what you said about Tommy."
Growing serious, Takuya nodded with a grim expression. He'd been thinking about Tommy all day, not sure what he was supposed to do. It still stung that Shinya had so quickly gone and become someone else's Tamer, and yeah he understood why and was even glad about it, but it still hurt a bit. But then there was Tommy's situation. "Out of all of us," he said quietly, unconsciously clenching his hands into fists. "Why did it have to happen to Tommy?"
The twins nodded with equally grim expressions.
"I just feel like…like I should have been able to stop it somehow," Takuya continued. "Like, what if I had tried harder to find everyone earlier? Maybe we could have been there for him. Maybe we could have prevented everything…"
"You can't blame yourself," Kouji shook his head. "There's no way to change the past, and there's no way of knowing whether we could have done anything at all."
"Still, I know where you're coming from," Kouichi added. "But there's something more important to talk about—namely, what we can do about this."
"Right," Takuya declared. "We have to keep Tommy's brother from ever getting a hold of him again!"
"That may be harder than you think," Kouichi sighed. "Lately, there's been a whole lot of rogue digimon rampaging through the city, attacking people and tearing places apart. Kouji and I have been fighting them—it's one of the responsibilities certified Tamers have—and we've been noticed that all these different cases of digimon attacks are similar."
"They're looking for something," Kouji added. "And after what you told us about Tommy, I have a feeling that they're looking for him."
"What? How can that be?" Takuya blurted. "Why would they all be looking for Tommy?"
"Call it intuition?" Kouji shrugged. "All I know is that when I'm fighting them, they aren't themselves. They are frantically searching, even ignoring their own injuries, until they die. Someone is controlling them and making them look for something, or someone."
"You think Tommy's brother…"
"Yes," Kouichi nodded. "You said he's a scientist, right? That he's been experimenting on Tommy for years? If that's true, then he's bound to know a whole lot about digimon—and even the relationship between humans and digimon. If anyone has the means and motive, it's him."
Growing silent, Takuya munched on his lunch and thought through what they were saying. It made a lot of sense, but it was also gravely serious. If Tommy's brother really was the one sending rogue digimon out to their deaths looking for him, then not only was he criminal for what he had been doing to his brother, the killing and forcing countless digimon to hurt people and public property was almost worse. Just what were they supposed to do?
"It was so much easier in the digital world," Takuya finally groaned. "We could just fight the bad guy and be done with it."
"Even that wasn't so easy," Kouji chuckled. "I seem to remember…"
"If you bring up the Continent of Darkness, I'm gonna slap you," Takuya grumbled, but he smirked a little bit despite himself. "So what do we do?"
"What do you think?" Kouichi shrugged. "The only thing we can do: You keep Tommy safe at your house, we'll fight off the rogue digimon, and hunt down the brother."
"Then we kill him."
"Kouji!" Kouichi snapped, whacking his brother's arm.
He just leaned away, not even flinching. "Okay fine. We turn him into the police, take him to court, and ruin his life forever."
"I don't like that either," Takuya sighed. "Think about what Tommy must be feeling. I mean… even with all of the things he's done…he's still Tommy's brother."
"It's still the right thing to do," Kouji insisted with a scowl. He crossed his arms firmly.
"And it still sucks," Takuya frowned.
Without knowing what else to say, the three of them finished their lunches in silence.
-o-
Zoe's school finished exactly half an hour earlier than Takuya's. She knew that, because they'd discussed it last night, and she had decided that she would meet him outside of his school as a surprise.
Besides, after not getting kissed last night, she felt like she would be pulling her hair out in frustration if they didn't continue where they left off.
She stood by the school gate, twisting a lock of her hair with one finger. Maybe it was stupid of her to come. Maybe he would be annoyed to see her. Why did standing here and waiting make her feel so nervous and so excited at the same time? I'm going to see Takuya, she reminded herself. It's worth it.
The bell rang, startling her, and she breathed in relief as she realized that school was finally out. Eventually, students began to exit the building, walking together or separately out of the gate and toward their next destination. A few of them glanced at her with interest, but no one bothered to say anything. She preferred it that way.
When twenty minutes passed without Takuya showing up, she began to feel anxious. Maybe he has club activities, or classroom clean up duties, she thought, sighing. Should I enter and look for him? She shook her head. No, I might miss him that way. This school is too big.
"Wow, so you're one of those human digimon, huh?"
Zoe gasped, startled by the sound of someone's voice speaking to her, and turned to find a girl smiling at her. "W-who are you?" She stammered. "How do you know about…"
The girl giggled, lifting her hand and showing a digivice. "I'm a Tamer," she replied. "My name is Katsushiro Kimi, Zoe-mon. And I just happened to notice that you don't have a Tamer." The girl inched closer, grinning too widely. "What do you say, wanna…"
Without giving her time to finish, Zoe lifted her hand and pointed in a random direction inside the school campus. "Oh look!" she cried, laughing nervously. "That's my cue, gotta go! Bye!" She ran, not looking behind her.
"Hey wait!" Kimi called, beginning to chase after her.
Ugh, leave me alone! Zoe thought, ducking around a corner. It looked like a dead end, and though she couldn't explain why, she knew that this random Kimi girl was NOT a good Tamer for her. She was annoying, and pushy. Definitely not for Zoe. Where can I hide? Zoe thought, the sounds of Kimi's footsteps drawing nearer. Her eyes caught sight of a ladder high up on the side of the building beside her, out of reach, which seemed to lead to the roof. It was perfect.
"Can't follow me there," she smirked. Calling on the forces of wind, she leapt into the air and caught onto the ladder. It didn't matter that it was two stories off the ground, or that she didn't know how she could do it. It was just instinct. A few seconds later, she had scrambled up the ladder and hopped onto the roof, standing triumphantly at the top. "Pros of being a digimon," she giggled.
Suddenly, she felt the presence of an incredibly strong digimon, standing directly behind her. Whirling, she jumped backwards. It was Cyberdramon.
"Who are you?" he demanded, a deep growl in his throat.
She swallowed. He wasn't a mega, but he made her nervous because of how powerful he was. Not just that, she could tell that he was always hungry for a fight. "I'm Zoe," she said cautiously. "We met at HYPNOS briefly the other day. You were with that Ryo guy, right?"
"No, who ARE you?" Cyberdramon stepped forward. He showed his teeth in a menacing snarl that sent chills down her spine.
"I don't understand!" Zoe pleaded. She raised her hands in, sinking down into a half-crouch. Was he going to attack her? Did she need to fight? Where was Takuya? "I'm Zoe, I'm a good guy!"
His clawed hand grabbed her wrist so fast, she didn't see it happen. In a mere second, he yanked her toward him, slammed her onto the roof, pinned her down with one hand, and raised the other above her face with a charged digital attack. "Answer me," he hissed between his teeth. "Who are you?"
"Please!" Zoe whimpered. Oh my word he's going to kill me! Somebody help me! "I'm Zoe Orimoto, I'm not an enemy, I promise!"
"No, that's not what I mean," he growled. "I can smell you. I can see your data in my sensors. You are familiar to me, girl. I want to know why."
"This isn't the way to do it," she replied, her fear being replaced by frustration. What was wrong with this digimon? "All you have to do is say, 'You look familiar, have we met?' Don't attack me just because you recognize me!"
"NO!" He snarled. "That's not it! I know your data! Who are you?"
"CYBERDRAMON!"
Zoe turned her head sideways, seeing the Tamer called Ryo Akiyama standing on the roof a few feet away. He was panting, like he'd run as fast as he could to get here. She almost demanded to know what took him so long, but something stopped her.
His face.
No…it wasn't just his face. It was his energy. Something about him was calling to her, like recognition. Like rightness. It was so… magnetic. I know him, she thought, stunned by bewilderment. How do I know him? Why didn't I notice it before? He is… he is…
Cyberdramon let go of her, stepping away in disappointment. Glaring at him angrily, Ryo stormed over and held out a hand toward Zoe. "I'm sorry," he said honestly. "Sometimes he can be aggressive, but he's really a good digimon. He didn't mean any harm."
"I…know…" Zoe stammered, staring at his hand as he pulled her to her feet. To touch his hand felt like touching destiny. I want it, she thought, then blinked and shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Wait, what was she thinking? It didn't even make sense! I must be going crazy, she thought. It wasn't like this the first time I met him, was it? Although I barely noticed him at that time. All I could look at was Takuya…
Takuya! That's right, she was here to see him!
"Hey," she said, lifting her head and staring up into Ryo's face. "Where is Takuya? I was waiting for him by the gate, but then this girl came up and I needed to find someplace to hide, so I came up here and… can you help me find him? You're a Tamer, so you've got that d-tector."
"Digivice?" Ryo asked, smirking slightly at how quickly she spoke. He sighed, pulling it from his pocket and showing it to her. "Sure, I can help you. Just wait a second." He clicked a few buttons, running a search for any digimon in the area, and two blips of light showed on his scanner. One was right next to him—Zoe, of course—and the other one was still in the school below her. "Looks like he's still in the building, probably talking to a teacher. You can wait for him at the gate."
She laughed hesitantly, and peeked over the edge of the roof. Kimi was still pacing around at the bottom. "Um… I dunno, that girl is… rather persistent. Annoyingly persistent, I might add."
Ryo laughed, and the sound of it was so refreshing, Zoe found herself staring at him in a daze. She couldn't place why, but even the way he laughed was familiar. "Come on," he said gently. Suddenly picking her up in his arms, he leapt onto Cyberdamon's back. "Cy, take us to the gate," he said, grinning.
When Cyberdramon took off into the air, Zoe suddenly remembered how much she loved flying. They landed back at the gate far too quickly.
"I'll wait with you," Ryo said. "Just in case."
"Thanks," Zoe smiled, breathless. As she leaned against the school wall by the entrance and watching him, she found herself studying his face. His eyes kind of remind me of someone. And the way he laughs…it kind of reminds me of Mom's laugh. It's peaceful, somehow.
He saw her looking at him, and smirked at her. "Do I have something on my face?" he teased.
Zoe blushed, waving her hands awkwardly. "No! No, sorry, I was just thinking that you remind me of someone I know, that's all." And I can't help wishing that you were my Tamer… Zoe's blush deepened suddenly. Wait…why did I just think that? Gah! What's wrong with me?
"That's funny!" Ryo laughed. "I was just thinking the same thing about you." He sighed, a sad expression entering his eyes for just a moment. "She had the same color hair as you."
"Oh…was it…your ex girlfriend or something?" Zoe asked, feeling nervous.
He shook his head. "I've never dated anyone."
"What, never?" Zoe gaped at him. "Why not?"
This time, it was Ryo who blushed. "Ah…well…see… um… this is kind of… I'm pretty busy with being a Tamer and all and… um… Ah! Look, there's Takuya! Guess I'll head off for the day. Nice to see you again." He jumped onto Cyberdramon's back, not looking at her, and the two of them flew off into the air with a powerful blast of air from the digimon's wings.
Zoe watched him with a wistful feeling in her chest. I wonder why… I feel like I just lost something special to me.
"Zoe!" Takuya cried, running up to her with a huge grin. She instantly forgot everything that had just happened as soon as he grabbed her arms and swung her around. Even just his touch sent a power jolt of energy through her. "I didn't know you'd be here, it's great to see you!" he beamed at her.
She smiled breathlessly at him, her heart racing. I feel like I'm sinking into his eyes, she thought, mesmerized. She opened her mouth to say something in reply, but the only thing that could come out was, "Hi."
Someone cleared their throat beside them. "Well, Zoe. Nice to see you."
She blinked, tore her eyes away from Takuya's face, and blinked in surprise. "Kouji? Kouichi? Wow, it's great to see you guys!"
The twins stood just a little behind Takuya, and were genuinely happy to see her. Well, that is to say, Kouichi was grinning cheerfully, while Kouji's stoic face left her with no clue as to what he was thinking.
"Zoe, come to my house," Takuya said urgently. He nodded is head in the twin's direction. "Kouji and Kouichi are coming too. Tommy is there."
"Tommy?" Zoe asked, slowly coming out of her stupor. Just holding his hands made her feel electric, energized, and brain-dead all at the same time. Snap out it, snap out of it… She smiled and looked away from his face. "It'll be like a reunion!"
Takuya nodded, but his face instantly grew dark. "It's more serious than that," he said quietly. "Zoe…there's something you should know."
Growing concerned, her smile faded, and she followed the three of them back to Takuya's house, never letting go of his hands.
-o-
Shinya stepped out of the office, finished talking with the superintendant. It looked like Yamaki had figured out all of the paperwork, and Tommy was officially enrolled at the school. At least the day is over now, he thought, sighing. I'm ready to just go home already.
He paused, hearing voices just down the hall where he told Tommy to wait for him, and ducked into a nearby classroom so that he could listen in. It looked like some of the upperclassmen were talking to him. They were in the soccer club, and though Shinya didn't know them very well, they were fairly popular at school.
"Hey, you're that new kid in Kanbara's class, right?" the tallest one in the group—Shinya thought his name was Satou Yuu—stood in front of Tommy with his hands in his pockets, scowling slightly.
Tommy stood, surrounded by the three upperclassmen, with a blank expression on his face. He'd been like that all day, staring at everything without expression, without speaking, just drinking it in with wide eyes. Shinya practically had to drag him from classroom to classroom.
"What was your name?" one of the other senpai asked. "I thought it was Himi, right?"
Tommy blinked, looking from one to the other. Suddenly, a smile broke out on his face. "You're trying to be nice to me," he said cheerfully. "I can tell. Are you worried about me?"
The three of them looked flustered for a moment, and Satou scowled and turned away coolly. "No, we're just trying to teach you who's boss around here," he complained. "We're your senpais, got it? So you have to show us respect."
Tommy laughed. It was completely out of place.
"This kid," the second senpai sighed, shaking his head. "You making fun of us?" he demanded.
Suddenly growing serious, Tommy broke off his laughter and looked right at him. "It's okay," he said. "You don't have to worry about me cause I'm broken. I'll be alright now. Shinya promised."
Oh crap, what's he saying? Shinya blushed. He dashed forward and grabbed Tommy by his shirt, and proceeded to drag him out of the school. "Tommy, there you are! Let's go," he yelled.
He was aware of the upperclassmen watching them leave with confusion on their faces, but he didn't want to stop and talk to them. As quickly as he could, he dragged Tommy out of the school and toward home. Once on the sidewalk, he let go of Tommy's shirt.
"What's wrong with you?" he berated Tommy. "You can't just say things like that. Stop drawing attention to negative things. You need to think positively. You're going live a normal life now, okay? So stop telling people you're broken."
Tommy followed him, watching his face with a blank expression. "But I am broken," he said quietly. "I see everything through three pieces, and all I can do is try to figure out which piece is right." He paused, then smiled cheerfully. "They were worried about me. They can tell I'm not right. That's why they wanted to talk to me. I think they wanted to protect me, just like you. I think I like your school. There's nice people there."
"It's your school too, now," Shinya sighed. He rubbed his forehead, suddenly finding that he was getting a headache. What did he mean by seeing things through three pieces? He does sound like he's messed up, I can't deny that. But broken or not, I'm going to fix him. He'll be normal again someday.
It took him a moment to realize that Tommy was not next to him anymore, and he stopped walking in surprise. Turning around, he saw the human digimon standing a few paces away, staring at the sky.
"What's wrong?" he demanded, coming toward him. "Tommy?"
Tommy's face was blank, once more. "There's thirty of them now," he said, his voice quiet and eerie. "There weren't that many before."
"Thirty what? Where?" Shinya demanded. He looked up, but all he could see was clouds.
"When there's a hundred, he'll be ready."
"A hundred WHAT? Tommy, talk to me!"
Tommy blinked. He lowered his head, looking at Shinya in confusion. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"
"Augh! I give up. Come on, Tommy. Let's just go home." Grabbing his shirt once more, Shinya walked as fast as his could, dragging his partner behind him.
He couldn't say why, but something about Tommy's words scared him.
-o-
Tommy was nervous.
The house was full of people, and they were all talking at him with such cheerful voices. Sometimes, he thought he recognized some of them. Takuya he knew for sure. And those two reminded him of Kouji and Kouichi. There was even a blonde girl that looked like Zoe.
But where was JP? These people were too old to be his friends from the Digital World. Right?
He sighed, looking up at the ceiling as though he could stare right through it. Sometimes he thought he could see the Real World, floating above him. Would he ever get back there?
"This is a really weird dream," he said tiredly. But he was glad that this dream was nicer than usual. His friends weren't fading away and being replaced with digimon he had to fight.
Always, always, always, there were digimon to fight. He'd kill them over and over, but there just kept being more of them! It was sad, but he knew that just like all the other dreams, these friends would turn into monsters too.
"Tommy!" Shinya yelled at him, grabbing his face and making him stare into his Tamer's eyes. It was striking how much relief it gave Tommy, just to stare into those eyes. They made him feel so safe. "How many times do I have to tell you?" Shinya said. "This is not a dream! It's real life! Okay?"
"Okay," Tommy smiled. And he was starting to believe that, more and more.
It's always when I believe it's real, he reminded himself. That's when they change. Well I won't fight this time. Maybe I'll just let them kill me.
"Damn it!" the one that looked like Kouji yelled. He punched Takuya in the face as an outlet for his anger. "How could he do this? How dare he do this! I'll tear his face off!"
"Kouji," his twin lifted his hands nervously. "Please don't…"
"Hey and why are you punching me?" Takuya complained. But his energy levels were quickly spiking to a ridiculous level. It was so strong, Tommy felt like he was being smothered by it. "Let's take this outside…"
"Takuya," Zoe scowled, placing her hands on her hips. "Stop that, you're scaring Tommy! Look at him!"
Takuya turned to look at Tommy sharply in alarm. "What? Hey buddy…uh…it's cool, me and Kouji are just having fun… we're not really going to fight!"
"We're not?" Kouji asked, looking disappointed.
"No," Takuya shot him a glare, then smiled at Tommy again. "We're not. We're buddies, remember?"
It was only then that Tommy realized he was cowering behind his Tamer, gripping Shinya's shirt with both hands. He had half expected them to turn into monsters and attack him again. "It's not happening yet?" he asked, feeling confused. Why was Yutaka dragging it out for so long? When is he going to make me fight them? He always makes me fight them. Over and over… he shuddered, and leaned his head wearily on Shinya's back. "I'm too tired," he sighed. "Please don't drag it on so long, I just want to wake up."
"How many times do I have to tell you," Shinya snapped. "This isn't a dream."
How can I believe him? Tommy thought. He clenched his teeth. Maybe I just need to attack them this time, so that I can finish this test and wake up.
"Hey!" Shinya yelled. He whirled, whacking Tommy on the side of the head. It was so forceful, it knocked him over onto his back on the floor. He tried to get up, but Shinya jumped on top of him, pinning him down. "Look at me!" he shouted.
Tommy looked at his face, and suddenly stopped struggling. There was such strength in Shinya's eyes, such strength in his energy… just looking at him seemed to fill him with so much relief, it poured out of his eyes and slid down his cheeks.
"Repeat after me," Shinya glared at him. "This is not a dream."
He couldn't resist. It was an order. "This is not a dream," he said, shuddering with relief as he said it.
"I'm free," his Tamer continued.
"I'm free," Tommy said, his voice trembling.
Nodding, Shinya stood up, and pulled Tommy to his feet. "Good," he said. "Now if you start believing otherwise again, I'm going to whack you in the face with a pillow."
"A pillow?" Tommy giggled. "Oh, so threatening!"
"You better believe it. I am totally mean with a pillow. Just ask Takuya!"
"Takuya?" Tommy blinked, then suddenly realized where he was. "This is Takuya's house!" he declared. "That's right, Shinya's my Tamer…oh! Kouji! And Kouichi too! Even Zoe is here. Hi guys! It's so great to finally see you again!" he laughed, giving each one of them a hug, before hopping back to Shinya's side cheerfully. "Where's JP?"
They just stared at him helplessly. There was grief, horror, anger, and sadness written on their faces. It was like they couldn't even speak.
"Oh Tommy," Zoe sobbed. She grabbed him, throwing her arms around his frail shoulders and holding him close. Her tears fell onto his head. "I'm so, so sorry!"
This is real, this is real, he thought, but fear began to creep up inside him. He could already feel a tremendous amount of power growing in Takuya and Kouji, their fighting spirits kindled. They're not going to turn into monsters and fight me. This is real…it's real! He squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to be afraid.
But what if it wasn't real?
Instinctively, he reached his hand out toward his Tamer, the one thing that made him feel safe. It filled him with no end of relief when Shinya took hold of it, and didn't let go.
-o-
Rika sat up in bed, blinking tiredly, and turned her head to glare at her phone with such hatred, it might have been lethal if directed toward something alive. Why did it keep going off? Didn't that stupid caller know that she'd been up for 30 hours, fighting rogue digimon?
Cursing and complaining, she got up, grabbed the phone, and put it to her ear. "What?" she demanded angrily.
She heard crying on the other end.
"Hello?" Rika demanded, growing suddenly serious. "Who is this? Are you alright? Say something!"
"Rika!" the girl on the other end shouted. She choked back tears, and tried to calm down. "Rika I'm sorry to call you like this… it's just… it's…"
Suddenly, recognition clicked. "Alice," Rika breathed, frowning. It had been a couple years since they'd last talked to each other, since they lived at least three hours away from each other. "Tell me what's wrong," she demanded.
"Okay, it's… it's harder to talk about on the phone… um… can I come over?"
"Why? What's wrong?"
"I can't…um… it's… let me put it this way: My partner and I were taking out rogue digimon together when…"
"You have a new partner?" Rika blurted, surprised. Two years ago, Alice had sworn to never take another partner, because she felt like it would have been disrespectful to Dobermon. Rika was actually relieved to hear that she'd changed her mind.
"Yes. He's… yeah I have a new partner. We've been together for about a year now. But something's happened, Rika. I think… I think he's been kidnapped!"
"Kidnapped!" Rika gasped. She started changing into her clothes at once. Renamon stepped into the room, tired, but ready to go. "Where are you?" Rika demanded.
"I'm at home. Can you come meet me?"
"Yes," Rika promised. "Renamon and I are on our way."
Hanging up the phone, she grabbed her jacket and flew out the door, Renamon keeping pace easily beside her.
She could always sleep another day.
-o-
So long since I updated, I know. Forgive me! I am a working woman, my brain only has so much energy. But here you are, after all this time. You guys are so good to me! I hope that the next chapter will come sooner than this, for your sake!
Happy Easter everyone!
~Rukatofan