A/N: Didn't mention it before, but since I am using it now, I will say that bold print are things like telepathic or just normal messages.
Chapter 10: Direct Confrontation
Takato quietly sneaked into his house and took off his shoes. He tiptoed to avoid his parents since he was late coming home, but his mother waited in him in his room. Opening the door, Takato knew it was inevitable to have a talk with his mother.
"Takato..." Yoshie said in a serious tone, hinting for Takato to sit down.
Very slowly, Takato sat down, knowing that the conversation may very well be about staying out too late and getting beat up again. However, Yoshie only took out a picture and handed it to Takato.
"Can you explain what is going on?" She asked, demanding an answer.
Takato's eyes widened again, it was that picture again--the one that caused him many problems. Did this fall out on my way to the door? Umm how should I explain this... Takato thought, not lowering the picture to see his mother's face. Yoshie broke the silence by speaking again and asking the same question.
"Takato... I won't criticize you, but really, are you..." Yoshie said, continuing her questions.
"It's not like that!" Takato said in defence, knowing that he and Ruki were not dating or anything of the sort. For the next few tens of minutes, Takato quickly thought of quick and reasonable excuses that would get him out of the mess. The process was successful and Takato managed to break free from suspicion, even though his reasoning of the whole story behind the picture was on the borderline of being acceptable.
Takato let out a sigh of relieve as his mother left, buying his modified story. Phew! That was a close one... Maybe Ruki was right, I should dispose of the picture soon... but then Renamon mentioned to keep it, for what though? Oh well, I guess I will just have to hide it better until I find an answer... Takato concluded, tucking away the picture that caused him undeserved pain.
Next morning came and Takato reached school in time and sat down in class thinking. I haven't heard anything from Hirokazu or Kenta today... However, will they understand even if I do explain it to them? Ok, first, maybe I should talk to Juri, she might understand this better then those two...
As the bell rung, all of Takato's friends rushed into class late. Takato made a huge grin as Hirokazu and Kenta gets in trouble with Asanuma while Juri made it just in time. At the short break, Takato walks slowly to the exit of the classroom to avoid both Hirokazu and Kenta from bugging him since those two rushed out of the class before him. On his way out, Takato leaped backwards in surprise as a sock-puppet appeared and followed by a "woof!"
"Are you still scared Takato?" Juri asked, appearing with her joyous smile.
"Don't do that..." Takato said in a defeated voice as he regained himself. Well, at least she found me, so how would I explain this now?
"Oh, and about yesterday Takato..." Juri started, remembering the event.
"Umm, yeah about that... It's not what it looks like... you see... a few people from Ruki's school took that picture and then developed many pictures" Takato quickly explained, hoping to do this quick and fast.
"Really? Then about yesterday..." Juri questioned again, going deeper into the truth she wanted to know.
"We're not... doing anything, we're just keeping watch of that certain thing that's been around lately" Takato replied quickly again, avoiding and shortening the conversation.
"Arf! Maybe you should relax for a bit. We're all here to help you know" Juri's sock puppet said, releasing the tension.
"Yeah ok, thanks..." Takato said, relaxing his tenseness from the whole conversation.
Juri smiled, bringing happiness to the scene again, and then walked to the direction that her friends called her and took her leave. Takato rested on the wall to cool down and relax. For him, Juri was easy to talk to and understand him, but Hirokazu and Kenta would be a completely different story that he will not attempt until later. The rest of the school day went by at a medium-pace for Takato as he went through his classes. Finally, the final bell for school rang and everybody was rushing out. Arriving at the usual meeting location, Takato hid behind the bushes of the area to avoid his two friends. He did not know why he would still be walking around with Ruki at the daytime when it is clear that 'he' would be lurking around during the night.
Takato slowly crept out of the bushes as Ruki approached, and Takato only focused on moving away from the area, as he knew that anytime his friends might show up. Hiding in the darker areas of the park was the best option as the sun's light shined over Shinjuku.
Ruki caught Takato's panic-wave and questioned him. "What's the rush? There is no need to hurry," She said, not knowing Takato's thoughts.
"Look! There they are!" Said a voice from nearby, as three figures emerged from the side area.
Ruki immediately knew exactly why Takato was in a rush and walked up to both Hirokazu and Kenta and getting hold of their collars.
"Listen you two, if you mention anything about that picture or say anything about this, I will make sure that you will not see a tomorrow. Because it is not what your little minds think it is," Ruki said, striking fear into the boys as she let them down.
Without saying anything, Hirokazu and Kenta left the scene quickly. Juri greeted Ruki as the scene changed in tone.
"Hi Ruki! It has been some time now hasn't it?" Juri asked, putting on a smile as she stepped up to Ruki.
"Yes, I have been busy, so excuse me" Ruki replied, getting into a conversation with Juri.
Seeing the situation cleared and not needed at the current moment, Takato entered Guilmon's shed and was surprised when his Digimon partner jumped at him.
"Guilmon, maybe you really should go on a diet," Takato said as he got up form the fall and unloaded some bread.
"Diet? Is it tasty?" Guilmon asked, thinking of food.
"No, well, how should I explain it..." Takato said, thinking of some way to explain while hearing two figures coming into the shed.
"Hey look! It's Takato!" Said Culumon who flew in and landing next to Guilmon.
"Ha, don't know what you find so fun within this little house. After all, it's full of dents and holes!" Impmon said, examining the shed that is half-broken from Guilmon's digging.
"Hey guys, did you drop in to play?" Takato asked as Culumon jumped onto Guilmon's head.
"Play? I don't know if we can have any fun with this kind of playing, but if you want fun, then you come to try and get us!" Impmon taunted, as he ran out of the house.
"Hey, sounds fun. Let Takato catch us!" Culumon cheered, running outside with Guilmon.
The three Digimon ran outside past Ruki and Juri, and Takato followed slowly behind as he struggled to keep up with the pace. Juri laughed a little upon seeing the Goggle boy playing games with the Digimon while Ruki only watched out of amusement. Ruki and Juri continued to talk in the park about Digimon cards while Takato kept on the struggle to play Digimon tag. Evening soon approached and when Juri left and the Digimon went back home, Ruki walked Takato home to their break before the real event.
Takato lay down on his bed; the homework that was assigned today had been a lot of work. Hearing a faint sound, Takato sat up and looked around the room. Finding nothing, Takato lay down again. Must be my imagination... Takato thought as he yawned, and then hearing a louder and notable sound by his window. Getting up, Takato went up to his window and looked outside. Seeing nothing, he opened the window and stuck his head outside for a better view. At the bottom floor near his house seemed to be a note under a rock. Retreating back into the house and looking at the clock, Takato saw the time and it was almost about time that Ruki would drop by. Running downstairs, Takato zipped through the kitchen, ran for the door, and announced his leaving.
"I am going out for a little bit!" He said, running out the door.
"Takato, Wait!" Yoshie called after him, but Takato had already run out the door.
Outside, Takato removed the rock, picked up the note, and read it.
Takato,
As you read this, Guilmon is in my hands.
Drop by at his little hiding place and we will talk.
Come immediately; do not think about bringing Ruki.
Or there is no telling what will happen to Guilmon.
Takato held the paper tightly as he finished reading it, the feeling of horror overtaking him. Takato rushed to Guilmon's place, forgetting that Ruki was coming. Oh no, he's got Guilmon... what am I going to do... Takato thought, with many thoughts and images going through his head as he hurried to where Guilmon was. Entering the park, Takato stopped to take a breath from the running. The park felt cold in the night, accompanied with darkness and winds blowing from one side to the other.
Guilmon, please be safe... Takato thought once more as he rushed in to where Guilmon's shed. Entering the shed, Takato immediately noticed Guilmon tied up with ropes near the corner. Near his Digimon was the very same figure from yesterday--the target person or Digimon. Being out of breath from running and anxiety, Takato froze at the sight to catch his breath again. At the same time, the dark figure turned around to face Takato.
"Good. You've decided to come" The dreaded voice belonging to the humanoid filled the air.
"What do you want? And what are you anyway?" Takato questioned.
"Slow down there. First you disobey a command from earlier and now you expect me to answer questions? Don't you think you're going too far?" The enemy counter-questioned Takato.
Takato stood still for a time, thinking about the current issue before answering. "It's not that... Ruki only followed me around because of you! It's you who is causing trouble..." Takato spat out, getting nervous at the confrontation with Guilmon still bound up.
The figure did not move at Takato's comment. "Really now? I suppose then she'll be arriving soon. I guess I have no choice then..." finished the reply comment and reaching out a hand towards the tied up Guilmon.
"Takato..." Guilmon said, trying to squirm out of the bounded position.
"Stop! What are you going to do?" Takato asked, stepping forward.
"I really don't have much time to explain, perhaps after I..." The evil figure said, trailing off as Takato said something after him.
"No... Don't harm Guilmon..." Takato said, horrified at the thought of losing his friend. Gulping, Takato gathered his will to speak and making a decision. "...Take me instead"
The dark stalker stopped and gave Takato an interested look behind his covers and considered it. "Can't bear to lose your partner huh? Very well, this will give us our much needed time to talk and don't worry about Guilmon, I'll release him after this." At once, the figure standing before Takato brought out a large piece of cloth and threw it over Takato's face.
Within a few seconds, Takato felt a heavy pressure being pressed onto him as he slowly lost consciousness. Takato could hear Guilmon yelling for his name as he slowly fell to the ground, still having his eyes covered by the piece of cloth. Guilmon... Takato thought, before losing consciousness completely.
Meanwhile, Ruki was taking her time in walking to the bakery. She kept alert just in case if there are any strange noises coming from the area around her. Renamon followed behind and suddenly felt a faint rise of energy somewhere further away. Appearing in the shadows but in Ruki's sight, Renamon spoke.
"I sense something from further away, looks like some kind of struggle," Renamon reported as she and Ruki continued their progress slowly towards the bakery.
"Is it a Digimon?" Ruki asked, alerted at the fact that it might be their target.
"I am not entirely sure, but it was very small" Renamon replied.
Noticing that they arrived at their destination, Ruki ran up to the side door of the bakery and knocked on the door instead of waiting for Takato. Takehiro opened the door and recognized Ruki's immediately.
"Are you looking for Takato? He went out just awhile ago," Takehiro, informed.
"What!? To where?" Ruki asked, surprised that Takato wanders at this specific time.
"I think he may have gone to the park, or at least it looked that" Takehiro replied, and then seeing Ruki speed off.
What's he thinking? That place is where he lurks the most. Does Takato have a death wish or something? Ruki thought to herself as she ran towards where the park is. Renamon followed behind without question, knowing that some issues are better explained later. Arriving at the park, the two stopped to think of where Takato would exactly be. Renamon felt a stronger feeling of the faint energies from earlier and came into existence in the clear night, as the park was empty.
"Ruki, it's that same feeling from earlier. Looks like it's coming from Guilmon's place" Renamon said, clearly noticing the strange aura of feeling.
Without saying another word, Renamon and Ruki rushed towards Guilmon's shed and entered. Inside, Renamon stood before Guilmon and examined the red dino's unconscious body. Ruki looked at the surrounding area, but Takato was nowhere to be found. Renamon awoke Guilmon, who slowly recognized his surroundings.
"Guilmon, what happened here?" Renamon asked, knowing that something happened.
"Oh, some evil-looking pile of clothes tied me up while I was asleep, and then Takato entered and they talked. Takato tried to rescue me, but then this pile of clothes took Takato away and then I fell asleep," Guilmon explained, to the best of what he could understand from the situation.
It did not take long for Ruki and Renamon to figure out whom the "pile of clothes" was. Ruki saw a note near where Guilmon was lying down; she picked up the note and inspected it. The piece of paper contained a sketch-map of the current location of the shed and directions to somewhere else.
"This is... Renamon, we have to go now," Ruki said, after interpreting the inviting directions on the map.
Walking out with Renamon, Guilmon followed along. "Hey wait, where is Takato?" Guilmon asked, still not understanding much of what just happened.
"Takato seems to have been taken hostage, we are going to find him" Renamon responded, and Guilmon only followed even though he lagged behind.
Arriving at the target location, the three of them noticed the giant warehouse that was in the area. It was an abandoned warehouse, but seem inviting to their situation.
Ruki tried to open the door from front but she noticed the doors were locked" It's locked, there must be another way in" Ruki said, looking around the area for ideas or ways into the building.
Guilmon only knew one solution: If Takato was in the building and needed help; he would do whatever to get in. Opening his mouth, Guilmon shot a crimson ball at the entrance doors. The fireball blasted through the doors, creating a huge racket of sound in the area.
Takato slowly open his eyes to the surrounding darkness around him. Realizing that he was inside a building, he wondered what happened while he was out. Trying to get up from his sitting position, Takato realized he was held back. Turning his head a little, Takato noticed his hands were tied around his back and to a metal pole. Behind himself and the metal pole was a large stack of crates, and there was little light from the moon reaching in as the room had small windows up high on the side walls only. The front walls looked gray and almost what looked like an old door.
"So... you're awake now I suppose..." came the voice emerging from the shadows.
Takato looked straight and saw his captor, and continued to struggle in his bounded position. The struggling proving to be no use, Takato only looked at the figure in front of him with helplessness in the dark room. "Just... who are you?" Takato managed to say in a low voice.
"Well, I guess there is time right now. Very well, I shall answer some of your questions quickly before telling you why you're here. First, get this straight: I am no Digimon; I am the same as you are. There, you happy now? Good. Now let's get onto the real thing..." Trailed off the stranger, as he took a breath from the long line. "Now, what about what I said earlier? You seemed to have completely ignored me on that command... in fact; you did the exact opposite, what's up with that?" The person finished, pointing a finger at Takato.
Takato thought for a moment, and then responded. "Why does any of this matter to you anyway!? And why did you even try stalking everyone and causing so much trouble?" Takato shot back, unsatisfied with the stranger.
"Oh, don't be mad, I know all about the truth, especially this," Said the figure, smirking behind his mask and holding up a certain picture in the light where Takato could clearly see.
Takato froze again; the picture had proved to be a hindrance to his life once again. Yet Takato could only think of why he kept the picture in the first place. After being bitten by the strange long silence, Takato replied with his usual excuse for the picture again. "It's not like that, that picture was taken by Ruki's schoolmates. And... Why does it matter to you anyway? You're just a stalker who's up to no good!" Takato said in an angrier voice, knowing that this person is clearly full of bad intentions.
The figure laughed at Takato's remark and stepped forward along with lowering his body a bit. Reaching out a hand that caught onto Takato's neck, he looked at the Goggle by with a pair of striking eyes under his cover.
Takato closed his eyes as he felt a slight squeeze from the person and trying to resist the predicted-pain that was to come.
"I have my own reasons, along with my own business to take care of. And as for you..." The dark figure trailed off, as a large explosion was heard on the wall.
Takato was released as his captor pulled away the hand and Takato slowly opened his eyes to see a familiar figure standing at the hole that the explosion caused. The new hostile figure stepped forward, revealing his red and black colours along with angry yellow eyes.
"Guilmon..." Takato whispered as he sees his Digimon slowly advancing towards himself.
"Looks like our time is up... but don't think that you're going to be let off that easily," Said the stranger as he fled behind Takato only to stop as Renamon appeared.
Ruki opened a rusty wall from the wall to the right side and successfully blocked the target's way of escape.
"Play time is over. I don't care if you're not a Digimon or not, but you are way overdue for some sense being knocked into you for the non-sense that you have caused!" Ruki said, eyeing the dark figure with much digest after eavesdropping on most of the conversation.
At the same moment, Renamon fired off Fox Leaf Arrowheads and Guilmon fired a Fireball at the enemy. The figure, rolled away and the attacks damaged the surrounding areas.
"Humph, it's far from over" The figure said, running towards the fourth wall and ramming it open, escaping into the night.
Guilmon looked in the direction of where the 'pile of clothes' escaped. Renamon jumped outside and saw the figure still running away at high speed. Turning around to face Ruki, she waited for some sort of instruction.
"Renamon, track him down. We'll be out in a moment," Ruki said, running to Takato and crouching down to untie the knots holding Takato down.
"Ruki, I..." Takato tried to say something, but could not finish because he thought he looked too ridiculous being kidnapped.
"Just keep quiet Gogglehead" came Ruki's immediate response, ripping through the knots of the hard ropes.
Untying the last knot, the ropes were release and Takato slowly stood up into freedom. Guilmon rushed to Takato and smiled as he saw his Tamer in one piece. At the same time, Ruki noticed a sheet of faint white on the floor and picked it up. Examining the contents, she remembered the whole picture issue. Although hearing it from the eavesdropping earlier, Ruki wondered why Takato still had the picture. Turning around to face Takato, she tried her best not to give in to her faint bit of rising anger.
"So why do you still have this?" Ruki asked, remembering that she dreaded the sight of such a picture as she questioned Takato.
"Oh that? Umm... I can explain..." Takato said, knowing that he was truly in trouble now that Ruki got hold of the picture. I need to think of something fast, what should I say? Huh? Takato questioned himself as he felt the picture being shoved towards him. Taking the picture back into his own hands, Takato looked up and saw Ruki leaving for the exit.
"You better have a good explanation Gogglehead, but right now we have a target to catch" Ruki said, running out of the old rusty building.
Takato quickly pocketed the picture and turned to Guilmon, who looked onto the scene with confusion as the Digimon did not know anything concerning the picture either. "Ok Guilmon, let's go... and thanks for saving me" Takato said, giving his partner a hug.