Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Revival

Chapter: 12/ Morning: Part 1

Light raced over the digital world in one mad rush, and with it the massive claws of Cyberdramon dumped a pile of sand over the smoking embers of the groups campfire.

"That's that," said Ryo as the dragon digimon nodded towards him. Pulling out his digivice, Ryo activated the tracking program. "It looks like we can follow Urocyomon's trail again. It's a little bit faint, but we should be able to find him." Turning, Ryo looked over at his companions, a confident grin on his face. "Is everyone ready?"

A series of nods went all around, not least of all from Miki, who had to restrain herself from cheering out loud.

"All right. Kenta? If you and MarineAngemon would…"

"You got it," nodded the bespectacled boy as he adjusted his glasses.

"Pih!" added MarineAngemon with a fierce look on his face. "Kahuna Waves!"

The pink heart again materialized around Miki, Kenta, and Ayaka as Ryo climbed aboard Cyberdramon's shoulder. As soon as everyone was settled they took to the air, Cyberdramon at the front, the pink heart containing its charges in the center, and Crusadermon taking up the flank. A brilliant aura of white light surrounded the digital representation of the Earth hanging in the sky, illuminating the landscape as they resumed their journey across the broken and pitted landscape of the digital world.


Takato rubbed the back of his head as he sat up in bed, his mouth stretched out in a yawn.

I'm on time, he thought, glancing over at his clock. I'll have plenty of time to meet up with Rika and get to school after we've done some practicing. Takato smiled as he thought about his red-headed friend. I wonder how she's doing…

Unbidden, a vision of a beach illuminated by a sunset came to mind, causing Takato to laugh a little. He pushed the image out of his mind, out of respect for his friend.

She's still asleep, he thought, throwing aside his covers and climbing down. He chuckled again as he came across his partner, still snoring beneath his bed. Funny…Rika always gets up early. Since when did she get to be like Guilmon?

"I heard that Gogglehead…" came Rika's grumpy thoughts. Takato blinked.

"Uh…Rika?"

"Who else could it be?"

"It could be Renamon. She's used our link to talk to me before…"

"Ugh… You just have to have an answer for everything don't you? Your little snooping woke me up by the way."

"Hey!" exclaimed Takato, wandering over to his hamper, whereupon he began pulling out some clothes. "It's not like I meant to. I was still half asleep when I thought about you."

"Whatever. What are you doing up so early anyway?"

Takato grinned. "How come you're up so late?"

"…Are you actually talking back to me? I always knew you had a backbone in there somewhere."

Takato could almost feel Rika's grin on her face. He chuckled.

"Right. You know that I have school today."

"That's right. I actually forgot. Your school also has the same six-day schedule that I do. Ugh. I have to admit" Takato heard Rika yawn, "having a two day weekend would be nice. Especially before Golden Week starts up."

"Westerners sure have it nice," grumbled Takato. "I've heard that most of their schools have two day weekends regularly. Not to mention a longer summer break."

"Quit your belly aching," teased Rika. "Speaking of which, I think we should cancel our practice for today. You're still healing up from yesterday."

"Hey, I haven't missed a single one of our practices ever since we started doing them. I'm not going to let one bruise stop me from going out with you!"

Takato felt Rika's enthusiasm drop a little on her end of the connection.

"…Smooth Takato. We're not dating you know…"

"Oh, yeah," Takato nodded, laying out a long sleeved shirt on the floor. His own enthusiasm dropped a little too as he remembered his failed attempt to ask her out on a date last night. "But still…I just feel that our practice sessions are important. We promised we'd get stronger together, right?"

There was a beat as Takato laid out a pair of old pants.

"You have a funny way of fulfilling that promise. I'm not having you hurt yourself any more on my account, Gogglehead."

"Hey, I feel pretty good right now," said Takato, slipping off his shirt. "In fact, I feel better than…" Takato abruptly broke off as he looked down at himself.

"Something up, Takato?"

Takato blinked, remembering that he was still talking to Rika. "Huh? Oh…yeah. I…ah…guess you could say that. But…ah…" Takato coughed politely. "…do you think we could talk about it later? I'm…ah…changing."

"Oh?"

Takato swore he felt a malicious grin cross Rika's face through their connection. The devilish feeling that he knew for certain was coming from the girl felt like all the evidence he needed.

She's still there…

"Um…Rika. I…I can't really change until you…" Takato coughed again, starting to become a little agitated. "…until you close your blinds."

"Oh…I'm well aware of that."

Now he knew Rika was grinning.

"You're going to fight dirty aren't you?"

"Until you promise to take it easy today and just go to school, I'm keeping the shades open. Otherwise…" Rika's grin widened. "…you'll just have to let me enjoy the show."

Takato's face felt like it was ready to burst into flames. He sighed.

"Rikaaa…"

"Takato?" Guilmon lifted his head, his eyes fighting off sleep. "Could the two of you keep it down? Some of us are trying to sleep here…"

"You were talking out loud the whole time?!" Rika exclaimed in his head.

"Ahhh…oops?"


Renamon phased into Rika's room as the red headed girl finished putting on her uniform. Straightening out her necktie, Rika scowled at it in the mirror before grabbing her school bag.

"You're not going to practice?" asked Renamon, noting that Rika had not dressed in a used set of clothes as was the norm for her morning practices with Takato.

"I canceled it for today," said Rika, moving into the kitchen. Again she scowled as she pulled open the refrigerator and began to scavenge for something quick to eat. "Guess that means I'm going to have to do without his Miso soup this morning. Stupid Gogglehead had to go and get himself hurt…"

"I see," observed Renamon, following her partner. "If you believe it's necessary…"

"It's not that big of a deal," said Rika, grabbing an apple and slipping it into her bag, deciding to eat it while she headed to school. "One little day off isn't going to change anything. Besides, like I said, Takato's a little too hurt for any roughhousing. He's been pulled off of missions until he's recovered anyway, so that's his own fault for that."

Renamon tilted her head to one side, but otherwise did not comment further.

"Anyway," continued Rika. "He still wants to meet with me in the park." Rika frowned.

"Are you going to go to the park to see him?" asked Renamon.

"Yeah…yeah I will. It's not like I have anything better to do for the next hour and a half."

Shrugging on her bag, Rika quickly wrote a short note and tapped it on the fridge with a magnet for her mother and grandmother to see once they woke up. With that done, the two friends quietly headed towards the door, slipped on her shoes and left the house. Renamon disappeared into thin air once they were outside, keeping a silent vigil on her partner.

What is going through your mind? Renamon wondered as she leapt through the air, taking care to not be seen by any outsiders. She had noticed that Rika had been acting a bit…odd lately, though given these past few years that was hardly anything out of the ordinary. Her growing up was expected to bring changes to her, not just physically but also to her personality. Even so, it wasn't as though she did so all the time, or that she had changed in ways that were too noticeable.

Renamon landed on a telephone post, phasing back into reality. She paused to watch Rika make her way down the streets for a moment before leaping back into the air, disappearing as she did so.

She was hardly blind. Having lived in the real world for so long, she had grown to understand a great many things about humans, especially in regards to their interactions with the people they were infatuated with. She knew that the word did not apply to Rika, but she was well aware of the girl's feelings for Takato, and how they continued to endure these past three years, even growing stronger in spite of the rock waters that their mental connection generated for them.

Yet recently it struck her that Rika was making a conscious effort to push Takato some distance back from her.

She had easily noticed Takato's obvious attempt to ask the girl out on a date last night. It was difficult not to, and through the link that she shared with her partner she knew that Rika's reasons for not accepting were anything but.

Rika… I've known of your feelings long enough to know that you would have been happy…so why…?

Renamon sighed and shook her head. Although she had a greater understanding of humans than when she first came to the real world, there remained many things that she continued to not understand.

I won't push the issue, thought Renamon as she bounded off another telephone pole. But I wish I knew what was going through her mind. Hmmm… Renamon turned the thought around in her mind for a moment, considering her options. Perhaps a talk with Ms. Hata is in order…


"Good morning, Suzie!" exclaimed Terriermon exuberantly, stretching out the syllables in 'good' as he bounced up into a chair.

"'Morning," grumbled Suzie, digging at her cereal half-heartedly.

"She okay?" asked the long eared rabbit dog digimon to his darker furred twin, who sat in a children's highchair next to the girl.

"She had a nightmare last night," Lopmon replied. "She's a little out of sorts right now."

"It's not just because of that," Suzie chimed in irritably. "I have to go to school today. After what happened yesterday with that jerk, Atsuo, I don't think that I even want to go."

A coffee cup clinked on a plate as her father, Janyu set down his drink.

"Suzie…"

"Sorry, Dad," the girl said, her already glum expression becoming even more sullen. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Oh sweetie," said her mother, Mayumi as she approached the table and set a plate of eggs down in front of Terriermon. "Don't worry. I'm going to call the school today and have them deal with him."

"Like it's going to work," Suzie replied. Mayumi scowled.

"Suzie!"

Next to the woman, Jaarin finished eating her breakfast and swallowed.

"I kinda have to agree with her, Mom. This isn't the first time you and Dad have called the school about that kid and it hasn't gotten anywhere."

"If Ms. Asagi hasn't straightened things out by now, I think the kid is beyond salvation," added Terriermon, digging into his meal. "She used to teach Takato, Kazu, and Kenta. The way they describe her she's the next meanest thing after the D-Reaper. Even ol' Zhuq's doesn't hold a candle to her and he's a fiery bird!"

"Hmmm…" Janyu's newspaper rustled as he rubbed one hand against his chin. "…I wonder if I should talk to Yamaki…"

"Janyu!" scolded Mayumi. "We've already talked about this! We are not going to ask the government to solve every little problem of ours! We'll work something out." Mayumi turned a comforting smile towards her youngest child. "Don't worry."

Suzie did not look at all comforted and continued to munch on her breakfast despondently. The ringing of the doorbell cut through the gloomy atmosphere and Jaarin got to her feet.

"I'll get it," she said. "I have to get going anyways."

Quickly depositing her dirty dishes in the sink, the elder sister headed towards the door and opened it.

"Hey, Noriko. Lumemon," she said, smiling at their visitors and stepping aside to let her in.

"Hey, Jaarin," replied Noriko, stepping out of her shoes while Lumemon offered a small wave at the older girl. "Is Henry awake yet?"

"He always is around this time," chuckled Jaarin. "Though he's a little bit late getting up if Terriermon's timing at the dinner table is any indication. Terriermon!"

"He's up! He's up!" replied the long eared digimon between mouthfuls. "You can go look in on him if you want. He's already done with his shower and in his room."

Jaarin grinned and turned towards Noriko.

"Go get 'em, tiger."

Noriko gave a small smile as she made her way up the steps into the apartment and, after bowing to the family gathered around the dinner table, headed towards Henry's room. Still grinning, Jaarin tipped a salute to her family.

"See you guys this afternoon."

After a round of goodbyes, the door clicked shut, returning the quiet to the apartment. Mayumi smiled as she watched Noriko stop at Henry's door and politely knock before turning the knob.

Ahhh… she thought happily to herself. Young love…

Her gaze drifted away to give the two Tamers some privacy as they greeted each other, and latched themselves onto the pile of laundry that she still had to take care of. She had been letting it get away from her these past couple of days. She was going to need to get it done to…

Maymi froze as she took note of a particular pile of clothes sitting atop the rest. A dark colored school shirt folded atop a pile of pants.

"Ah! Noriko!" she called out as the door to Henry's room began to open. "Wait a minu—!"

But she was too late. The door swung open wide and Noriko stood there for a moment, her face changing between shades of ever deepening red while Terriermon fought to keep his laughter from being heard. Noriko stood stock still, every part of her frozen in place, save for her eyes which traced slowly upwards, ever widening in shock before finally freezing themselves.

"Um…Noriko?" coughed Lumemon from the kitchen. "Do you need some help moving?"

That did it. Snapping out of her paralysis, Noriko quickly shut the door and walked back into the kitchen. She was shaking badly, her face a perfect approximation to a tomato in terms of hue. Terriermon continued to laugh away.

"Terriermon…" frowned Lopmon, looking at her cream colored twin.

"What? I said he was in his room! I never said he was ready!"


"I'm so sorry," apologized Noriko for what had to be the hundredth time. Blushing, Henry adjusted his collar and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"It's all right," he replied, looking up at the digimon that lay on top of his head. "If anything it's him that should be apologizing…"

"Momentai already," giggled Terriermon. "I thought you two needed a push. You're all but a couple anyway."

The pair of humans blushed even harder, and Noriko fidgeted with her bag.

"What kind of 'push' involves Noriko seeing me… Terriermon!" Henry took a moment to calm himself. "You're lucky that I had already managed to get my boxers on before she opened up the door."

"Oh…" Terriermon sounded rather disappointed, but he quickly perked up. "Well…better luck next time then."

"T-Terriermon!"

"Um…A-Anyway," began Noriko, hoping to steer the conversation in a different direction. "H-How's your sister doing?"

Henry sighed.

"She's pretty upset. I'm going to be taking her to my martial arts teacher after school, and I'm going to partner up with her to help her. But…I just wish that I could do something more to help her."

"You can't be there for her all the time you know," said Terriermon. "She's got to grow up sometime."

"Gee Terriermon. Thank you so much for your wisdom. What would I ever do without you?"

"Sarcasm, Henry? I didn't know you had it in you."

"Terriermon…" scolded Noriko, frowning at him now. "He's just under a lot of stress. You know how he worries about Suzie."

"I know," replied Terriermon. "I live with him after all. Don't get me wrong though. I totally sympathize with him." Standing up on his feet, Terriermon puffed out his chest. "I don't take to kindly to anyone teasing Suzie…or trying to hurt her for that matter."

"I remember," said Henry. "You've gotten yourself into trouble with Zhuqiaomon and Chatsuramon that way."

"Hen~ry! Lopmon's too polite to take on a snotty brat like that Atsua kid! Hey, Henry! Can I take up body guarding duty? I promise I won't hurt him."

"No, Terriermon. You know that you can't fight humans."

"Ohhh…fine. But I don't see the difference between you teaching Suzie to beat that kid up and me taking care of it for her."

"Terriermon?" asked Noriko. "Just where have you been for the past four years? There are lots of reasons why you can't fight humans."

"That's just stupid though. Me, Lopmon, and everyone else can protect you guys from rampaging digimon, but we can't do a thing to protect you from rampaging humans because doing so might cause trouble for digimon? Where's the logic in that?"

Lumemon glanced over at Terriermon. "You can see logic?"

"You know what I mean!"

Lumemon looked at Noriko. "Maybe now would be a good time to run my idea by them."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "What idea?"

"Lumemon!" Noriko sighed. "It's nothing really."

"Doesn't sound like a whole lot of 'nothing'," said Terriermon. "Ol' Lumen here doesn't contribute ideas unless he thinks he's got a good one."

"Yeah, but there's no way that any of you guys are going to go for it, let alone Yamaki."

"Yamaki?" Henry raised an eyebrow.

"Lumemon…Lumemon wants to attend a human school."

Lumemon folded his arms behind his head.

"I look human when I hide my wings and dress in your clothes. All digimon age regardless of level. Not many people know about me being a digimon…"

"…Even though you fly about town sometimes," noted Noriko. "Crusadermon told me about your latest flight."

Lumemon squirmed a little under her gaze, but continued all the same.

"…But even so. I can work under cover if I'm put in Suzie's class."

"Why do you even want to go to a human school?" asked Terriermon. "From everything I've heard it sounds like a prison where they make you do slave labor and take up all the time that you would normally have having fun. And adults send you to these places." Terriermon looked down at Henry. "And you guys plan on going to another three years of it."

"And university," said Henry. "Still, I have to admit that it's an intriguing idea. A digimon going to a human school. Why do you want to attend school?"

"I…want to know more," replied Lumemon, looking a little uncomfortable. "I want to know more about humans, and the best way to do that is to live with them and do the things that they do."

"This from the guy who comes from a world created from a communication network where you can find just about anything if you look hard enough," said Terriermon, rolling his eyes.

"Terriermon…"

"Lumemon. You already do the things we do, and you've seen me, Daisuke, Mom…everyone every day. You live with us."

"I want to do all those things around people who don't know that I'm a digimon," replied Lumemon. "And a digimon that learns to interact with humans would be useful in interactions with the digital world, like a translator or a negotiator."

"I have to admit," said Terriermon, "that actually sounds like a bright idea. Right up to the point where I remember that it'd involve him going to school."

"You do have a point there," said Henry.

"Huh? I do? Since when did you think that school was a bad thing?"

"I didn't say that it was, Terriermon. What I mean is, is that having a digimon going to school with humans would be like having a weapon there. I don't see how anyone would go for it."

"Your teacher says anything can be a weapon with enough imagination."

"Except digimon are made to be 'purposeful' weapons. No offense Lumemon, but you can summon a sword of light and fire energy beams. That's pretty dangerous, and you're already stronger than an average human adult. I have to agree with Noriko. This would only cause trouble. Even if Yamaki would somehow support it…"

"…which is doubtful," said Terriermon. Henry ignored him.

"…There would be too many risks involved, and that would bring us right back to what I was telling Terriermon. I think it would be one thing if you were attending the same school and class as Noriko. That's why our partners can sometimes enter the school grounds to deliver messages or other things, but they can't spend the day there. Suzie isn't your partner either. As much as I hate to say it, Noriko where your focus should be. Remember that."

"I know. I know." Lumemon nodded glumly. "It was just a thought though."

"Maybe when the world is ready enough, Lumen," said Noriko, smiling gently at him as she clasped a hand on his shoulder. "Right now, it's already on a pretty hair trigger."

"Don't you mean, trigger happy?"

Noriko frowned at Lumemon, noting his sulking tone.

"Don't be like that, Lumen…"

"I'm not. I'm just…" Lumemon sighed. "…Sorry. There's just so much I want to do…to learn. And there isn't much to do really. I don't know if either of you guys realize this, but I'm not like Guilmon or Calumon. I can't entertain myself for hours on end doing nothing or sleep the day away, waiting to get fed. When we're not fighting digimon I feel like I'm in the way, taking up space and…" Lumemon patted his stomach, looking embarrassed. "…eating more than my fair share of food."

"Mom has you help out, right?"

"Yeah, but…" Lumemon furrowed his brow, trying to convey the sense of what he was trying to say. He raised one hand and closed his fingers into a fist. "…I feel too limited."

"Sounds like somebody needs a hobby."

"Terriermon…" began Henry.

"What? You've heard what he's been saying, right? He's bored out of his mind, right?"

"I didn't say bored," said Lumemon. "I just said 'limited.' But I think we're drifting away from the subject. I've said my piece, and you've given your response. Now what about Suzie? Do you think that there's anything the school can do about her predicament? She's a Tamer, and an official government employee in charge of defending the city. Wouldn't that carry some benefits?"

"I don't know," said Henry. "There are limits to what the government can and can't get involved in. And my Mom's not to keen on having Hypnos step into everything that happens."

"Which I find weird," noted Terriermon. "You know how protective she can be of Suzie. You'd think she'd be all over Hypnos going in with everything short of tanks and fighters to deal with that bully. Believe me; you don't ever want to make a mother angry."

"I know. And I think that might be what's behind it."

"Huh?" Terriermon, Noriko, and Lumemon all raised eyebrows and looked at Henry.

"Look, don't take this as truth, but I think my mother doesn't trust Hypnos anymore. She got into an argument with Dad back during the last time we all went to the digital world."

"Ohhh…that's right," whistled Terriermon. "I remember. The air was a bit chilly between them for a while. I can't say that I blame her. That time…it was really hard to momentai back then. You, me, Suzie, and Lopmon being taken back to the digital world without warning…Royal Knights blowing stuff up…the digital world nearly suffering a meltdown...your dad getting injured… Yeah. It's not exactly the nice, cozy, normal family life I bet she was expecting when she married your dad."

"They weren't thinking about divorce were they?" asked Noriko worriedly. Henry shook his head.

"No. They love each other too much for that sort of thing…" Henry paused. "…At least, I think they do."

"They still have sex in their bedroom at night on an average of once a week, so I think that's saying something positive…"

"Terriermon!"

"Momentai!"

"You should never have let him get a hold of your computer," mused Lumemon. "You reap what you sow you know."

Noriko looked at the angelic digimon with concern. Although he sounded indifferent, she knew perfectly well what was going through his mind.

Oh, Lumemon…I'm so sorry…


A/N: One thing that I've wondered about, authors like Nolaquen265 have touched on, and that Data Squad mentioned in its final episode, was how digimon deal with being alone when their partners aren't around and they aren't wiping the floor with rampaging, city-destroying digimon? What would they do in the event that they don't have to fight off the forces of evil or out-of-control sci-fi killer programs? Digimon like Guilmon and Calumon aside (as they tend to be pretty easily amused), I can't imagine it would be pretty keeping yourself entertained, and ultimately it would boil down to a digimon being reduced to pet status. And let's face it, unless you're a cat or allowed to have unprecedented freedom, being a pet isn't exactly the best choice of lifestyle, even if you get all the free food in the world that your owner can afford (often crunchy, unappetizing kibble, pellets, etc… Really, only the canned meat food looks remotely good) and don't have to work for a living. Some digimon get by without the need for many distractions or even needing a human around for it (like the ever awesome Renamon, Impmon, Terriermon, and Guardromon) but what about those who can't? It's definitely something to think about, and is on the mind of Lumemon, who wants to know more about people beyond what he reads, sees, and hears from other people. He wants to experience it all directly, and knowing that doing that would basically mean involving what's the equivalent of sticking a live bomb in a place that runs the risk of drawing all sorts of attention that causes things to become rubble isn't making it easier on him.

But that's mostly setup for Lumemon's part in the story. How that develops, we'll see as time passes.

Some minor stuff going on with Rika and Takato, and not much development with Ryo's search for Urocyomon, though that too will change as the story progresses.

'Till next time then. :P

-Crazyeight


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