-The gone boy-

Before Elsa could recognize, her arm had already been gripped firmly by the boy. She tried to shake his grip lose, but that only gave her more pain as the boy tightened his grip.

With a gasp, Elsa said, "Can't you be a bit gentler towards ladies?"

But the boy didn't let her go. He stared at the ceiling without blinking, and proceeded to pull himself up, seemingly in pain. He gasped for air as he rose, leaning against the back of the bed only a few seconds after, when his grip loosened and Elsa withdrew her hand.

"Who're you?" he said, more demanding than asking. "Where am I?"

Elsa seemed a little perplex for no more than a second as she decided to stay. It was just the three of them in the room, and she could be quite sure that she wouldn't be in any danger given the protection of LadyDevimon. She leaned closer to the boy, wondering why he was shirtless instead of being wrapped in some funny patient gown.

"With the rudeness you've just performed, wouldn't be better if you apologize and identify yourself first?"

The boy said nothing. Maybe he wasn't even listening to her at all. All he was doing was tilting his head left and right, examining his surroundings as much as possible. He seemed stunned, for he hardly blinked during his scanning. He sat up straighter on the bed, shoving the thin, white blanket off he as he readied himself; probably for leaving.

"Did you not hear what I said?" demanded Elsa. This time it was her who detained the other by holding tight to his wrist, preventing him from leaving without violence.

Unfortunately the boy was violent. Within a second he'd already shaken off Elsa's grip and had set foot on the cold tile floor. He gave her a look of hatred, and then turned around towards the door, only to have his way hindered by LadyDevimon, who had been standing guard at the only door in the room.

"Don't get involved with me." He said hastily. Elsa would've said that he had a good voice if not for the fact that she was in no mood for that kind of casual talk when she was ignored.

"It is you who should avoid getting involved with us." LadyDevimon said in a plain voice that reminded Elsa for some zombie movies.

"Kudamon!" he yelled. Within seconds a white, long Digimon with a foxy head appeared, wrapping his tube-like body around the boy's neck.

LadyDevimon laughed. "You think that's gonna help you?"

"You have no idea what I'm capable of." The Rookie said. His gaze was just a dangerous as the boy's.

Nearby, Elsa stood casually, leaning herself against a wall with a few bags of vibrantly colored chemicals that seemed to be nutrient solutions. When the boy saw her, she simply shrugged and winked. "Okay, so let's just assume that you've made it out all by yourself. What's gonna happen next?" she knew she'd successfully drawn his attention when he glued his gaze upon her. "Have any idea? Cause I don't."

"It's none of your business." He said dryly, yet his dark eyes shown with desperation, which indicated his urgency to get rid of the hospital.

"Well, I guessed that much." Elsa continued, her tone uncaring. "But how do you intend to get out of here without drawing any attention?" she giggled artificially as she said that. When the boy gave her a glare that was both questioning and threatening, she said. "You really want me to tell you?"

The boy's gaze had already spoken the words for him. Seeing that, Elsa said between giggles as she covered her mouth with one hand. It was hard to tell if she made that up or if that was spontaneous. "You're only wearing a pair of briefs."

There was a moment when embarrassment appeared on his cheeks in a scarlet color, but it was short-lived. The boy didn't seem to have noticed that earlier as he examined himself. A second later, he was no longer just trying to get out, but was scanning the room around him again with clear eagerness to find something. He ignored Elsa, who seemed to be a bit astonished by the berserk on him, as he checked every single shelves in the room, pulling whatever he could find out shelf by shelf, then checked the floor under his bed, and proceeded to check every single gap between the shelves and the bed and the walls.

When Elsa started to comprehend what had just happened, the boy was standing in the middle of the room, looking beaten, mumbling, "Where's it?"

"Did any of you take anything from him?" Kudamon demanded as he approached Elsa, who seemed not at all frightened.

"No." She said before she even knew what she was saying. She considered a while before saying, "But I know someone who did."

The boy rushed towards her; she lowered the hand that she'd used to support her chin as the boy pushed her by the shoulders, pinning her against a wall.

"Want to know who that is?" she said, trying not to sound terrified.

"Tell me whatever you know!" he demanded.

"Have you forgotten LadyDevimon over there? It seemed unkind to leave her out in this matter."

He turned around, and saw LadyDevimon slowly approaching him, her face wide with a smirk. But he still wouldn't let go of Elsa.

"Maybe we can make a deal." Elsa suggested. It seemed to her that talking to this boy in the way she was used to was getting easier and easier. "What say you?"

The boy lowered his arms a bit, saying, "Your terms?"

Elsa could now push him away from her. The award distance between them was now gone. Elsa looked around, escaping his glare until she finally said, "I'll tell you everything I know, but then you have to owe me a favor."

The boy said nothing. Elsa knew it was working.

"And stop being rude to me." She finished.

"That's all?"

"Of course, notwithstanding that a lot of annoying stuff's gonna find their way to you sooner or later." She said. "But first, why don't we introduce ourselves formally?"

"So who are you?" he said in a harsh tone.

"Would you be a gentleman for once and get yourself introduced first?" said Elsa, raising her voice. "You scared me with that grab, you know."

"Alright." Said the boy. Sitting on the bed now that he couldn't do anything else. He said lowly. "My name's Kynan."

Elsa mumbled, "Strange name." Quietly before she reached up and said, "You can call me Elsa."

"So what're you gonna do now?"

"Go find that 'someone' who has what you're looking for." Before she finished saying, she'd already reached the door side, LadyDevimon joining her. It wasn't until she saw in the reflection of the door glass that Kynan was following her did she stop to say, "You stay here."

"You know I can't do that." He said harshly. "I need to monitor your every move. Can't tell if you're lying."

She gently turned, then stalked towards Kynan to force him back to the bedside and then pushed him hard, causing him to fall off balance and slam into the mattress.

"You're gonna stay here until I get you some proper clothes." She said fiercely. "I don't wanna let anyone see me walking with a half-naked guy!"

"You think I wanted to accompany you?" he argued.

"It'd be better if you didn't." Elsa said, too fast to hear. "Then I wouldn't need to keep you here with force."

Kynan rose up to get going, only to be stopped by LadyDevimon, blocking his path.

"Be a good boy and stay quiet until Elsa returns."

Rikuto decided it was time for him to leave the park. All the hopes that Ren would somehow re-visit the garden in the same day had died along with the little sunlight that could pass into Veritro. He guessed that he'd fallen asleep waiting, since it seemed that the time was really late by then.

"Com'on, Green, let's get going." He said, his voice powerless. "Maybe we should be here tomorrow for a greater chance."

Green's face was perplex, so was his mind. "Why did you insist on finding her yourself?"

"I don't know." He answered honestly. "All I could really think of was that it might be better to recruit her with someone she already knew."

The garden wasn't large, so they reached the entrance within a matter of seconds. He lingered there for a few seconds, though, as if hoping that so kind of miracle would take place and let him find Ren instantaneously.

"Are we really going?" muttered Green. The Rikuto he could see was like a statue, looking straight at the garden without any motion at all. He could only say for certain that the girl Ren had some significance to him, since he'd seemed particularly eager to be with her. Having waited for a few seconds, he pulled Rikuto by his sleeve, notifying him that they should go.

"What happened to you?" asked Green.

"I don't know." Uttered Rikuto as he turned, his eyes still possessing the tendency to look back at the garden. "I guess I was deep in thoughts. Anyway, we really should be going."

That was when he heard noises that were apparently from quick paces. Confused, he turned back to see what was happening, only to be knocked off balance by something, falling on his back. Whatever hit him wasn't doing well either, for Rikuto could feel the weight of that something being exerted on him, pinning him on the ground.

There was a moment of silence and confusion. But when he got to his senses again, he knew what'd happened. Lying on top of him was no other than Ren herself, who seemed to be equally perplexed and ignorant as she rubbed her temple with one hand before opening her eyes to notice that she'd crashed into Rikuto.

"Hi." She said softly, a sliver of embarrassment in her voice. "I heard you've been looking for me."

Rikuto could hear none of that, however. He simply groaned lightly out of the pain and uttered, "Can you get off me first?"

As if being awaken in a dream, Ren mumbled "of course" before she supported herself with her arms and lifted herself up, all the way shoving her clothes to get the dirt off. She then gave Rikuto a hand and helped him up.

"Sorry I bumped into you." She apologized lowly. "I wasn't really paying attention."

"Never mind." Said Rikuto, who was apparently lying.

"So, why'd you want to find me?"

"How'd you even know that?"

"Well," Ren started, her voice hesitant. "I mistook your brother as you earlier." She said with such speed that Rikuto could only make out some of the words. "And he told me you were looking for me."

"Right…" mumbled Rikuto, turning towards Ren before he realized that they were standing too close together. Noticing that, he stumbled a step back, so as to ease their weird distance. There was a moment when both of them said nothing, avoiding eye contact as they stared straight at the ground without a word. Eventually it was Green who ended the silence by asking, "Em…shouldn't we be going now?"

Green's voice brought both of them back to reality. Ren forced a smile as she asked, "So, why were looking for me again?"

"It's…complicated." Replied Rikuto, still avoiding eye contact. "It's basically…er…someone would like you to lend him your talent as a Tamer." It felt easier when everything was said.

"Tamer?" Ren muttered. "But I…wait." She examined Rikuto with keen eyes for seconds, making him believe that there was something wrong with him before she started talking to herself. "You're a Digi-Destiend, and I'm being asked to help as a Tamer…does that someone has something to do with you being a Digi-Destined?"

Rikuto nodded numbly.

"Well, I'd love to get involved in stuffs like that. But…" she said. Rikuto didn't even need a prophet to know her choice of words for the next line.

"I know you've something to do with your parents, but can you at least try to talk to them?"

When Ren's face became puzzled, Rikuto knew there was something wrong. Though he'd only seen her twice, she'd always seemed cheerful, too cheerful, except for the time when she talked about wanting to be a Tamer. Rikuto couldn't really get himself an excuse for trying to recruit her. He just felt a sense of obligation that he ought to be the one to find her. Irrational as it was, he could feel his heart beating faster upon the possible rejection.

"Alright, I'll try." Ren's answered was the best medicine to his beating heart. He felt like he'd suffocated earlier on. He'd never felt so nervous talking to someone before.

"Thanks." He muttered, looked away from her face, and added, "I should be going home by now." This time however, he departed far more efficient that he'd done, without looking back and with a few quick paces that he seemed to be jogging. Green needed to speed up to follow him suit.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Green when they're halfway from home. They hadn't spoken to each other on the way. "You face seems funny."

"Nothing." Rikuto replied hastily, "What could possibly be wrong with me?"

It reminded Rikuto how much Green'd grown in a few days when he said, "Is it about Ren?"

"No!" Rikuto whispered defensively. "Wait, are you…teasing me?"

Green giggled, and that was the last conversation they had before another day, with Rikuto's face always remaining pale pink.

"Told you she'd be back." Said LadyDevimon when Elsa walked into Kynan's patient room with a stocky bag on hand. Without even hesitating for a second she threw the package to Kynan and muttered, "There you go, sexy."

"It's not like I wanted to be like this." Kynan mumbled before putting on the clothes. In just a few minutes he'd changed into something Elsa commented "so much better", with a black jacket over an olive vest and a pair of dark trousers. Hurriedly, without even lining up the jacket's zip, he approached the door as Kudamon rested on his shoulders, peeking the surroundings.

"Now you owe me a favor." Said Elsa matter-of-factly.

"Not until you get me back what belongs to me." Kynan demanded, eager to escape the hospital.

"You'll have to wait." Elsa said, so uncaringly that she enraged Kynan. She simply walked towards the doors and waved her hands slightly as she said, "It's pretty late today, and I've still got a hotel room to check in." with that she was gone. She could see from the reflection on the door glasses that Kynan was not at all pleased, and might have killed her had she not been valuable to him. Still, she pretended that the tension didn't exit as she went.

It was the first time Kaoru traveled without the company of Mephistomon, at least he felt that way. He must act stealthily, since he was acting on his own –something Cyberdramon wouldn't have approved. Still, he had had an unstoppable desire to further investigate the world around him since he'd heard the name "Yuzuki"

In fact, he hadn't been totally honest to Cyberdramon, whom he obeyed very much. Everything had changed since he'd heard that name. It kept repeating in his mind, flashing with unrecognizable blurs during his sleep. He knew there was something wrong –some certain connections –between him and Yuzuki, though he'd no idea to whom that name was referring. He just knew that he needed to get this settled before he could get back to his old self and follow Cyberdramon's orders without questions. Somehow, he felt a sense of guilt weighting him down, making his heart felt heavy. Was it the feeling of betraying someone who'd been taking care of him?

The scene in front of him looked foreign. He knew this place –Rn –that kept showing up in his dreams. There really was not much to see besides blocks of buildings that were densely packed together. It reminded him of a village he'd visited in the Digital World, where most of the constructions were made of stone pillars instead of concrete.

The buildings reddened moments after his arrival. He looked up, and saw the sun descending from the horizon. It reminded him of the day he started having memories, when Cyberdramon had discovered him in a mess of debris. The sun –the one in the Digital World –had been just as beautiful as the one he was looking at. The guilt intensified as he watched, remembering how he shouldn't have acted disobediently.

I've taken a step forward. I can't back off now. He tried to convince himself. He took a few steps towards the forest of concrete. It was silent, with faintly audible noises from vehicles and people chatting. He was still at the outskirt of the city, so there wasn't much for him to notice, until several minutes later, when he'd gotten into the main districts in the city. There he saw people –lots of people –rushing back and forth between buildings and alleys, all wearing business suits or formally styled clothing.

He didn't care about those at all. He'd come to here to see if he could remember something, but that really wasn't working well. Within minutes of wandering he found himself in a park, alone, with nothing but blossoming flowers that were stained orange by the sunset.

Would he ever be able to get his past back? He wondered. Cyberdramon had suggested few evidences that were related to his past live, and wouldn't say much either, being in the dark corners as well (As Cyberdramon had claimed.) he sat on a bench, staring aimlessly at the children's playing facilities which were left with severely scratched paint coats and rust. He was alone, and he didn't know if that was a good thing. He remembered only since Cyberdramon had started to take care of him, believing that everything the Digimon said was meant to help him, but now he wondered. Why had he even been in the Digital World, when no one had been there?

He scratched his head as his thought intensified. There was just so much to comprehend, and he simply couldn't handle a thing on his own. Sighing, he closed his eyes for a moment, reminding himself that he was doing something he didn't need to. He could simply return to Cyberdramon, pretend that nothing ever happened, and continue to be his assistant, and live his life.

That was when he noticed a shaped around the trees, a human's shape. It didn't get his attention at first, simply looking like a generic girl. But when he looked closer into her features, he noticed, that the girl's long, straight black hair, brown coat, and silver necklace, met all the distinctive features that Cyberdramon had given him about an extremely dangerous target, the one he'd tried to get rid of back when he'd raided the train station.

Deciding that it could've just been a simple coincident, he followed her. It was easy to track a target without being noticed, especially when you were doing this in an area filled with trees. The trunks basically helped him hide.

As time flew, he got closer to the girl. He was now just a few tens meters away from her, and he could tell that she was the dangerous person that ought to be killed. Cyberdramon had never really given him a proper reason as to the threat the girl posted, but he had never questioned.

She occasionally looked back, but he'd hidden well that she could never find him. Approaching closer, he felt that it was becoming easier. Maybe he could simply eliminate her and get the credit, or maybe he could capture her alive to Cyberdramon, and hopefully have something spoken out of her.

But then he got a hit on the back of his head. Falling, he felt his vision going blurry before he hit the ground. The pain of hitting the ground was, however, not as great as that impact that made him feel like his skull had been cracked open. Now all he could see were color patches overleaping one another, and then a specifically black shape replaced all the colors, with a single call.

"Kaoru?"

When he could see again, he found himself seated on the grassland, leaning against a tree. In front of him was the girl, looking slightly concerned. It didn't make any sense, not to him, at least. He had been sure that he might get killed if he got into affairs with her, that's how dangerous Cyberdramon had described about her. But instead, there was a faint trace of joy on her face, with a subtle smile.

"Kaoru?" she said again, as she approached the boy, only to be stopped by a white-armored Digimon.

"Don't be risky." The Digimon –Jesmon, as Kaoru reckoned –said. The girl took a step back, but her eyes were lingering on him.

"Why are you here?" she asked again.

Kaoru didn't answer, simply taking a step back. It confused him, that the girl's face seemed simultaneously familiar and foreign. He could only do as much as to escape now that Mephistomon wasn't with him.

The girl stepped forward. "You really don't remember me, Kaoru?"

"Who are you?" he demanded directly. "And who is that Kaoru?"

"It's you!" said the girl, "Kaoru, that's your name!"

He stumbled a step back, keeping their distance. "I don't have a name." Kaoru said firmly. "And I don't remember you, except that you're too dangerous to live!"

The girl's face became perplex, her eyes purely inquisitive. "What?" she took a step forward, insisting on approaching Kaoru, only to be interfered by Jesmon, who stepped in between them.

"Be careful, Yuzuki." He whispered. "He's the one that raided the train station."

"I know!" Yuzuki uttered, almost in a yell. "But he's Kaoru!"

When she turned her attention back to Kaoru, however, he was the one with questions written on his face. He made his first step forward, slowly approaching Yuzuki while still hesitating, stopping in between steps. "Yuzuki?" he muttered. "You know that name?"

Yuzuki's mouth couldn't be more wide open. There was a second or two when she couldn't even think of something to say. The boy in front of her was clearly Kaoru, except his hair was a bit longer and more layered, and that he wasn't wearing a scarf. There was a moment of joy to hear that Kaoru really remembered the name Yuzuki, she could be certain, yet the pain of watching him spell out the name without recognizing she was the one. He seemed so close and so distant.

"You don't remember?" she asked, more mumbling than questioning.

"Tell me what you know!" Kaoru snarled, taking a step further forward. "Why does that name keep appearing in my mind?"

Yuzuki's face could not appear sadder. She was the one to take a step back this time, her lips motioning but could form any words. There was a simple horror in her eyes; Kaoru could see that. What troubled him was that the girl he saw didn't seem to fit Cyberdramon's description at all. Still, with a thirst to reacquire whatever linked to his past, he demanded again. "Tell me!"

"Stop it!" Jesmon said, stepping in between the two. "Don't push her that hard."

Yuzuki stepped up, her eyes avoiding Kaoru's. "It's fine, Jesmon." She muttered, sucking in a deep breath. Raising her head slightly, she could recognize Kaoru's face in her peripheral vision, just enough so that she could talk without much stress.

"It's me." She said lowly, not even knowing if Kaoru could hear her. "I am Yuzuki."

Kaoru would've said something, but couldn't. Before he knew it his jaws dropped as he stumbled backwards, eyes fixed on Yuzuki for a whole minute without blinking. He could only be stopped when he hit the tree behind him. "What?" he muttered. "It's…it can't be!"

Yuzuki's eyes seemed to have enlarged due to the tiny drops of tears accumulating at her eyelids. Suddenly the air felt heavy for the both of them, as if an incredible weight was exerted on their chests. They walked towards one another after a few seconds, moving so slowly as if the ground was filled with mines.

"It can't be." Kaoru mumbled. "Why, why would I know you?"

"You might not remember much, but I'm telling the truth." Yuzuki said. "You're the most important person I've ever met." Jesmon kept an eye on the entire conversation feared if anything would go wrong and endanger his partner, but he didn't interfere. He knew too well about Yuzuki, and believed that meeting Kaoru would be the only way she could ever get rid of her depression.

"Then why, why can't I remember if you're so important to me?" Kaoru started, his voice trembling.

"It must have been hard for you, to not remember anything." Yuzuki approached him. Hesitantly she reached out a hand, resting it on Kaoru's shoulder to pull him closer. She behaved as though the attack on the train station had never happened and that the Kaoru in front of her was the same boy she'd known instead of someone who'd tried to have her killed. She could see the pain in Kaoru's eyes; she knew he was, too, struggling to get things comprehended.

Kaoru sat down slowly, followed by Yuzuki. He leaned against the tree, eyes glued to Yuzuki's. It was simply impossible for him to even get a word said, but still he said between gasps, "But you…you're dangerous."

"What?"

"You're too dangerous to live, along with four others." He said. "That's what he told me, that I should eliminate you at first opportunity."

"Who told you that?" Yuzuki asked. It was the first time she'd spoken naturally since the conversation had begun.

Kaoru blinked, sucked in a deep breath and reached out a hand. He was actually getting close to Yuzuki, the one person he should consider enemy. Yet, there was a voice inside him that told him to do so, to embrace the girl before him, and he listened to that part of himself. Yuzuki held Kaoru's arms, pulling him closer. Strangely, he wasn't afraid at all, but rather, he felt safe, safer than he'd ever been.

Then he spoke. "Cyberdramon."