10. Heartless Thoughts
There's no note, no sign of a break in. His brother's school bag is gone. If summer still didn't have another two weeks, and his brother wasn't too smart for supplementary classes, Osamu would assume he was there.
But he's not. The open computer is key.
His parents are terrified, then upset, then angry.
"Osamu-chan is right here! What about our Ken-chan?! What about him? Aren't you going to look for him?"
He has never heard his mother so furious, so full of anger. There's something else in there. Guilt, an undercurrent of self-loathing. He wants to laugh at it, but he is too busy watching his fingernails make his palms bleed.
What if Ken's words the night before had been for his parents, and not for him?
No, he realizes in an instant. It was for everyone.
Osamu knows that being smart doesn't mean anything if your heart's not going to tell you the way to use it. But how would Ken know? He's not praised for watering the garden boxes or keeping the house clean. Not here. In the Digital World, he must have been praised for his gentle heart.
Osamu gets to his feet and leaves. He's sure his parents are saying something, but he can't deal with them. Not when they're all so darn dumb.
Ryo is, not surprisingly, outside. "He left huh?"
"Yeah." Osamu pants for air. He needs to exercise more. "Can you help me find him?"
Ryo grins. "I'm willing to try. Let's go."
Someone's eyes are following them but Osamu can't care. He'll get back to the Digital World and find his brother. And he'll say sorry and a host of other things.
Maybe he'll find a way to give that Millenniummon bastard a good thrashing. If Digimon were programs, you had to be able to hack them.
…
Ken sits in the dark sand. His tears have tapered off to silence now and Wormmon has settled sentry on his head. He watches too, sitting and looking at the waves. They aren't hurting him, and they let Wormmon be here. Maybe this place isn't as bad as he had thought.
The sea starts to rumble. Black hands and tentacles swim up out of it.
Ken thinks about moving and doesn't.
"Go home," whispers the wash. "You don't belong here. You know that you do not. Go home."
Ken makes a face. It almost seems cruel. Then it fades into misery. "That place isn't home."
Wormmon says nothing, and because Ken can't see him, he doesn't know his eyes are red.