Chapter 12: Circle of Friends
Ruki walked home slowly, thinking about the events just passed. What was he thinking? He must have gone insane... who knows, I don't care for now... I did say for Renamon to take Takato elsewhere, but where? Maybe they went home, I'll need to go see. Ruki thought as she picked up her pace and ran back to her house.
Renamon had explained the situation to Seiko and they had put Takato down in a vacant room to rest. Guilmon was also in the room, watching Takato's unconscious form. The front doors burst open as Ruki rushed in, Seiko stood up to greet her granddaughter.
"Ruki! You're home, what happened out there?" Seiko asked.
"A lot of things, I will explain later on. Did Renamon bring Takato here?" Ruki responded a little bothered at Takato's condition.
"Yes, it looks like that he'll be staying in the guest room for now and..." Seiko said, and then seeing Ruki run off into the direction of the room.
Arriving at the scene, Ruki noticed Guilmon, Renamon and the unconscious Takato. Observing Takato, the boy still looked in pain and Ruki only let out a small sigh as she felt a hand press on her shoulder.
"Ruki dear, he'll be alright; He just needs some rest right now. I called his parents; they are all right with this, Ruki? Are you alright?" Rumiko finished with the question after explaining the details.
"Yes..." Said Ruki bluntly.
Rumiko tried to speak again, but Seiko has stepped in and motioned for them to leave the two Tamers and their Digimon alone. Renamon quietly told Guilmon to take a rest now, sensing Ruki's need of quietness. Guilmon left the room and to lie down outside for his nap while Renamon disappeared.
Looking down at the boy, Ruki was in deep thought. Was this whole thing really all about me? Why didn't Gogglehead say anything, and now here he is, don't know if he's even going to wake up... Even so, Ryo should have been more sensible and not do something like this. Ruki thought, being disappointed at how everything turned out.
I think I will get a better explanation from both of them tomorrow. Yet, why am I sitting here worrying so much about Gogglehead? Is it because he was struck? No, there is something that I can't quite describe... well whatever it is; I am not going to bother in this time of the night. Ruki said to herself, getting up from the location and preparing to turn in for the night. Before exiting the room, she looked back at Takato, and then she sighed. After a brief moment's time, she came back into the room and looked at unchanged painful expression on Takato's face. Ruki then threw a short blanket over Takato and went out the room, closing the door.
Ruki went to her own room and lied down on her futon. The thought about the night's events and Takato still bothered her a great deal. This is getting ridiculous, no use thinking about what Ryo was thinking or about Gogglehead for now... Ruki thought, drifting off into sleep.
The next day came, and Juri had woken up from her sleep. She was still wondering about how everything went through last night, and if Takato was going to be ok after last night's events. Not pressing the matter too much, Juri quickly got ready for school and headed out the door. Arriving at the school area, there was plenty of time left, and she sat down on a nearby bench and reviewed some of her notes while waiting for her friends to arrive. Time passed by and Juri only saw Hirokazu and Kenta enter the scene, she hid the truth away for now because of the people involved. School started, and Juri did not see Takato arrive during the first class.
I wonder what happened, maybe the three of them are making up right now... Juri thought, seeing the emptiness in Takato's desk. Certainly, things like this would not be a worry, but she only hoped for the best as her friends literally clashed last night. At the first break, Juri was walking with her friends around in the outside areas, and in the corner of her eye, she saw Takato rushing into the school with his bag. Juri could not find an excuse to search for her friends and just left it alone for the time being. As soon as the second break started, Juri caught Takato running around the corner and stopped him with her sock puppet.
"Juri! You scared me again!" Takato said, taken back by the puppet as always.
Juri giggled at Takato's reaction to the puppet every time, and then her puppet spoke. "Takato, why are you so scared when you see me? I am only a dog"
"Ahhh ok... so what's up Juri?" Takato asked, not aware of Juri's intentions.
"Well, I think I need to speak to you about what happened during last night" Juri responded, in a more serious tone.
"What? How did you know about that?" Takato asked surprised to see Juri knowing about what happened.
"There is a lot to explain, I'll tell you as we walk to somewhere to sit down..." Juri said, leading the way.
Juri started by telling how she ran into Ruki and Ryo at the end of the park last night, and explained Ryo's story. Takato in turn exchanged information on what happened last night with himself and Ruki until he went unconscious. The truth was appalling to Juri, but she understood about the situation as they finished their conversation.
"Well, I didn't know about Ryo as a whole, he never said anything regarding that issue, so I didn't know... I guess I should see after school today..." Takato started, not knowing what Ryo was involved.
"I didn't either, but it looks like that he's not too bad when I talked to him... Takato? What do you think?" Juri asked.
"I can't much, this wasn't really his fault after all, it was what around him that made him like this, and still I have to go talk to him..." Takato finished, getting up from the sitting position and heading towards the school. He stopped when two familiar voices came into hearing range.
"Hey Takato! Why were you late this morning? Are you actually skipping school to go dating?" the voice of Hirokazu teased, as he and Kenta entered the scene.
"Yeah, and what was with that picture anyway?" Kenta mentioned, giving a grim smile at Takato.
Takato could not stop his own face from growing red as 'the picture' thing came up again. He had forgotten to tear the picture as he planned he would. The laughter from Hirokazu and Kenta increased as Takato could not formulate a response to defend himself and Juri smiled at the sight of the friendship among the Tamers. Juri knew that Ruki would be dealing with the two if she was here, but Juri understood that both Hirokazu and Kenta were merely being friends when they bug Takato in a joyful tone. The break was soon over, and Takato got his much-needed time away from his two friends. The rest of the school day went by slowly for the Tamers as their minds filled with different plans on how they were going to spend their day. Some thinking bugging others, another supporting friendship, yet another renewing a friendship.
The final bell for the school rung, and Takato rushed out as quickly as he could to get away from the two of his friends. There was a strange feeling for Takato, throughout the chaos of the past days, he still felt like he was under watch by someone and that he would have to rely on somebody else for protection, or Ruki specifically. It sure feels weird to be free again... but I think I can get used to it. Takato thought as he rushed to Guilmon's hideout place to drop off some bread. When Takato entered the shed, Guilmon jumped on him out of excitement and Takato once again, felt lots of pain.
"Yeah, I am ok boy, just get off, you're really heavy!" Takato groaned until the weight of his Digimon.
Guilmon continued to laugh after getting off; the dinosaur could not contain his excitement to see Takato again after worrying all of last night. There was a brief pause when Guilmon sensed another Digimon in the area, and turning around Monodramon appeared and jumped up in laughter seeing Guilmon. The two Digimon circled around in the shed a few times before running outside. Takato knew by Monodramon's appearance that Ryo was nearby. Exiting the shed, Takato looked left and right, there was nothing. He decided to walk down the steps of the park to look for Ryo instead. As he reached the bottom, Takato felt a hand on his shoulder, and turning around there was Ryo.
"Ryo! There you are" Takato said, a bit of fear growing inside of himself.
"Hey Takato... can we talk?" Ryo said, trying to brighten up the atmosphere.
"Yeah alright... so..." Takato started, leading the way as both he and Ryo sat down on the grass where they could see their Digimon running around.
"Alright, so I am sure you've heard from Juri already... and well, I really don't have much to say in this case... Looks like I made a horrible mistake, and I just don't know if any of you guys will look at me the same way as before" Ryo admitted.
"Ryo, we all make mistakes. This wasn't even your fault considering your conditions. Besides, you never told us about it, so we couldn't help you... Also, can I tell you a story?" Takato said in response.
"Well, alright..." Ryo replied, waiting.
The next few minutes Takato told his story of how he lost himself during the battle with Beelzebumon and the bringing of Megidramon. Finishing with how his friendship with Juri almost went beyond repair because of that one event.
"You're not the only one with mistakes, that one mistake I made back there still haunts me in some way" Takato finished.
"Oh is that so... Well, I guess we should just move on. Thanks for understanding though. Nevertheless, how is everyone going to believe me besides you and Juri? I mean, Ruki sure isn't going to believe this" Ryo questioned, unsure of the status of the other Tamers.
"Don't worry too much about it, Ruki may take some time, but I think she'll understand... And as for Hirokazu and Kenta... well, they still believe some Digimon is out there stalking me, so..." Takato trailed off, having an evil plan forming at the back of his head.
"So?" Ryo asked, unsure of Takato's motives.
Takato leaned over to Ryo and whispered into his ears on the solution for the two. Ryo leaned away and returned a smile, it was quite a plan that Takato had thought up. At that same time, Juri's voice entered the scene.
"Takato! Ryo! Are you guys..." She trailed off as Takato quickly interrupted.
"Yeah, don't worry about us, we just have something to do right now..." Takato said, following Ryo to where their Digimon were playing. Speaking to Monodramon, the small Digimon smiled and laughed as he ran into the bushes while Guilmon stood confused at what just happened.
"I think they're just about here, get ready Ryo" Takato said, as he stood relatively innocent beside Ryo.
Hirokazu and Kenta arrived at the scene, their attention swayed away by Ryo's appearance, and then Ryo and Takato's plans went into action.
"Hey guys, I think I hear something, it's him again I believe!" Takato said in a false voice that showed signs of him being scared.
Hirokazu and Kenta froze, then they realized what they must do, running in front of Takato, they put on big smiles as they started to search the area. Juri followed along with the four boys as their plan went into action. Around the corner, Jenrya appeared with Terriermon and questioned what the rest of the group was doing with their slow movements.
"Hey guys, what's going on here?" Jenrya asked, as Hirokazu and Kenta's eyes shifted from one end of the park to another.
"Oh, Takato here thinks that he hears the intruder nearby and we're just out looking for him" Ryo explained, drawing Jenrya into the plan, as he knew Terriermon would want to play along.
"Sounds like fun! We should help too!" Terriermon cheered, jumping around, while Jenrya went into thinking. Something doesn't seem right here though... how are they so sure all of a sudden that they can find this person? Jenrya questioned as he followed the leading pair.
Takato turned to face Ryo, and Ryo smiled and nodded. Takato smiled in return, knowing their plan draws two more victims. A huge rustle in the bushes became apparent to the nearby the Tamers, and both Hirokazu and Kenta looked in the direction alerted while Terriermon watched intently. A snapping sound ripped through the air and before the three unaware Tamers with the one Digimon could react, Monodramon and Guilmon jumped out yelling out loudly in joy. The action made Hirokazu and Kenta jumped away and fall onto the ground while Terriermon withdrew while Jenrya felt a heartbeat skip. Ryo and Takato burst out laughing as they lead their friends into the trick. Shortly afterwards, Jenrya turned to eye the two Tamers.
"You guys set this whole thing up all along didn't you?" He asked, knowing that it was no longer a big secret.
"Set-up what? We didn't do anything..." Takato replied, still trying to act innocent.
Terriermon sprung up on Jenrya's head in indignation. "How dare you guys do that, we have to teach you a lesson!"
Terriermon was joined by Hirokazu and Kenta as they stood up, knowing the whole thing was a fraud. Before any running could occur, Ruki's voice interrupted the scene.
"What are you all doing? Playing some sort of silly game?" Ruki asked looking at how ridiculous; everyone was as Juri followed behind her.
Hirokazu and Kenta retreated, knowing that Ruki would instantly mean bad news for them. Jenrya held on to Terriermon and retreated with the two as he held Terriermon down from doing unnecessary actions. While Ryo took in his courage and stepped up to Ruki
"Hey Ruki..." Ryo started, hoping not to make Ruki explode.
"What?" Ruki responded harshly.
Takato and Juri tried to intercept on Ryo's behalf, but he held up his hand for them to stop. "Look, what I did was a mistake, can't you just forgive me? We're all friends, aren't we?" Ryo said.
Ruki did not respond immediately, she turned around and started to leave. Ryo stepped up again and tried to speak, but Ruki spoke first.
"Whatever... just don't do that again..." She said, continued to walk into another section of the park, but stopped when Culumon jumped out of nowhere and laughed as Ruki flinched at the immediate appearance of the small Digimon.
Takato turned to Ryo and spoke. "Looks like everything is fine now... see? You've got nothing to worry about, you have us!" Takato said, smiling.
Ryo smiled himself, today he made good new and old friends. "Yeah, thank you... Anyway, lets all play a game of Tag with our Digimon, Ruki will be it!" Ryo declared, running away.
Ruki immediately turned to face Ryo, knowing it was some kind of sick joke. "Hey! What are you trying to pull?" Ruki said, as she noticed everyone running wildly away. Renamon soon appeared besides Ruki and faced her.
"Well, looks like everything is solved and everyone is just out for fun, so why not join in?" Renamon questioned, and then started to run in the general direction.
"Renamon!" Ruki called, but her Digimon only continued running. Giving in to the temptation, Ruki sighed as she ran towards the others. Oh well, guess it can't be helped... now, first up Gogglehead! Ruki thought as she gives off her own smile and aimed for the Goggleboy.
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Daisuke dropped down his pen, the work he had done throughout the night was intense, but he had done it. Looking at the clock, he noticed it was about half-hour before school started. Chibimon was also rising, and Daisuke knew that soon school would start. Packing his bag but leaving his notebook behind, we was ready to face the day.
As Daisuke reached the school, he felt exhaustion for the first time within three days he felt tiredness. I am... actually tired... Looks like writing those three chapters really drained me... oh well; all I have to do is act cool and get my well-deserved rest when I get home. Daisuke thought as he walked slowly towards his class.
In class, Daisuke faced the challenge of keeping his eyes open; his eyelids would keep falling over his sight. Daisuke's vision also blurred every once in awhile as he tried to push himself in taking notes. Break finally arrived and Chibimon noticed his partner's sluggish movements along with exhaustion.
"Daisuke, what's wrong?" Chibimon asked from the bag.
"Nothing... I just did not sleep as much as I want last night..." Daisuke lied, even though he was going to get some sleep tonight, he still had to keep his act just in case if any of his friends would catch him being unusual. I just need to make it through today, get some sleep and then everything will be all right... Daisuke thought as he started his way back into school with a smile of satisfaction from last night's work.
During the next class, Daisuke was able to keep his eyes from shifting away randomly, but trembling hands and headache were present. What's wrong? I can't even... Daisuke thought, as the teacher called him to read the next part of the textbook. Struggling to his feet, Daisuke took a deep breath and then read the paragraph with whatever strength he could muster. Daisuke's voice had every hint of exhaustion in them, but the class and the teacher only continued as Daisuke crashed back down into his seat. Looking downwards at the textbook, Daisuke tried to move his hands to pick up the book but his body did not react as he continued his hard breathing. Soon, dizziness started to surface, and Daisuke leaned over and gripped his head in pain. With the agonizing minutes seemingly like days for Daisuke, the moment of salvation came when the bell had rung.
Still breathing hard, Daisuke gathered his books slowly along with his bag and headed out the classroom. Outside, Chibimon popped out of Daisuke's bag and questioned the boy again. The environment around them was busy, as Daisuke took another route that would be longer with more people around, but it was safe from any unneeded conversations.
"Daisuke... you should have just gone home, look at you now... huh?" Chibimon noted, as Daisuke stopped moving suddenly.
Daisuke was silent; he could not move his body. The world around him seemed to shift back and forth, but he was not moving. He tried to open his mouth to speak, but he failed to do so. W-what's happening? Why is... Daisuke thought as he heard a thumping sound inside his head and shadows starting to cover his eyes. I am... were Daisuke's last thoughts as the shadows covered his vision completely and all thoughts had stopped.