Finding Strength Within || Digimon Savers/Data Squad
.::|| Chapter 14: Love and Insecurities ||::.
Welp, so much for doing a bi-weekly update. I'll keep trying though.
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon Savers or any other OCs that appear in this story other than my own.
Neon Hanamura. It's a name that Tohru had been hearing a lot of for the past month. All she knew about him was that he'd become a hit pop sensation overnight one day. His songs were being downloaded and listened to across the country. His songs had thousands of views on video sharing websites and his pictures were popping up in newspapers everywhere. At school, Tohru would hear almost every female student talking about him. Squealing over how handsome he was and how he's an amazing singer. So Tohru used one of the school lab computers to look him up, maybe listen to one of his songs.
She didn't understand what all the hype was about. Sure he was...good looking and was a good singer, but...he just didn't appeal to her. He wasn't the type of guy she'd go for. Her type was...well…
"I'm ready to dig in!" Masaru exclaimed with much excitement as he split his chopsticks. His mouth watering as he stared at the delicious looking bowl of ramen right in front of him. The street fighter began to wolf down the slippery noodles, while Tohru watched him eagerly enjoy his meal.
She split her own chopsticks and quietly slurped up her own ramen noodles. The broth warmed her body immediately, the chicken flavor on her taste buds. The brunette glanced over at Masaru, who was solely focused on his own bowl of ramen. He seemed to notice and stopped mid-slurp to meet her gaze. Some noodles hanging from his lips as he blinked.
"U-Um...e-enjoying your ramen?" She stuttered, a blush on her cheeks. Tohru realized he must have caught her staring at him. Masaru finished slurping up his noodles and grinned at her.
"Yup! They're great! How about yours?" He asked before shoveling more noodles down his throat. Tohru did the same, smiling with delight.
"Mine's good too. T-Thanks for treating me." She avoided looking at him so he wouldn't see her blushing. Masaru kept grinning and ruffled her head before going back to eating.
"No problem, shorty." His affectionate nickname for her never ceased to make her smile uncontrollably. She fixed her beanie and glanced up at the tv, and of course Neon was being talked about in the news. While her eyes were glued to the tv, Masaru's attention was stolen by a girl wearing a hat running past the place they were eating in. She was being pursued by a bunch of guys with cameras. He shrugged, thinking nothing of it before going back to his ramen. He too ended up setting his forest green eyes on the tv screen.
What both teenagers saw shocked them enough they spit out their ramen. Their magenta haired coworker was walking out of a building next to Neon Hanamura, appearing as though the two were...on a date?
"Y-Yoshino?!" The pair exclaimed in utter surprise, mouths agape. Just what the heck was Yoshino doing with this Neon guy? Were they dating?! Tohru and Masaru slowly looked at each other, both wearing shocked expressions. They quickly finished their bowls up and rushed over to DATS, more than a little bit curious to know why she was on TV.
Exhausted from all the running she just did, Yoshino walked into the surveillance room completely and utterly annoyed. When she decided to take on this mission, she had no clue what she was really getting herself into. The paparazzi were absolutely relentless in their pursuit to get a photo of her for their tabloids. Didn't they have better things to do than harass celebrities and anyone involved with them?! As much as she hated being chased around by a dozen cameramen, she had to endure it. The success of this mission was riding on her.
She would make sure she was the one to successfully complete it. Yoshino refused to let Masaru and the others do all the fighting while she remained on the sidelines. She wouldn't feel completely useless this time. That's what she kept repeating to herself as a way to motivate her. Plus, this mission was personal for her, so she felt she was the one who should do it.
As long as no one interfered, she could prove to herself that she was a good DATS agent.
About a month ago, a Digimon sighting was detected and identified. A rouge Keramon had gotten into their world, and ever since that point Neon had become a hit sensation. The RPG building where he lived was where it was first detected, but because this Digimon could travel via the internet it was possible that it had just ended up there by chance.
Her mission was to pretend to be Neon's girlfriend to get close enough to him, then retrieve the Digimon when she had enough evidence he was the one harboring it. Easy right? Well...you'd think so. It was a lot more complicated than that.
All Yoshino wanted to do was report to Satsuma about her progress, but the moment she walked into the room she was greeted by almost every Digimon in the room staring at her.
"What do you want?" Feeling annoyed and awkward from all the staring, she pushed her way through only to be stopped by Miki and Megumi. They did not look happy with her.
"Yoshino! Explain yourself! How did you, the meekest out of all of us—" Miki was swiftly cut off by the magenta haired female's interjection.
"Actually, Tohru's the meekest—"
"—SECOND meekest out of all of us, manage to snag a hottie like Neon Hanamura?!" The purple haired woman narrowed her brown eyes at her friend.
"Yeah! You better start explaining yourself, Yoshino!" Megumi added, glaring with her big, brown eyes and a pout on her lips. Yoshino held her hands up defensively, taking a step back.
"Who the hell cares who she dates?" Masaru commented as he walked past all the commotion, taking a seat beside Tohru. "Not like it's messing with our missions or anything."
"YES IT IS!" Both older women yelled at him, causing the usually tough male to flinch. Which in turn, startled Tohru.
"We've been getting phone call after phone call since this morning! Not only that, we've received a lot of hate mail from his fans!" Miki explained angrily, getting up in Yoshino's face. Clearly this whole mission had become a huge problem for her coworkers.
"They're all demanding to know who Yoshino Fujieda thinks she is!" Megumi also got up in Yoshino's business with a similar angry expression. Her eyes widened, wondering how Neon's dedicated fans could have gotten her name.
"B-But my name was never mentioned on tv, right?!" She couldn't believe this was happening.
"Nope. It's all right here." Tohma spoke up, and everyone curious enough gathered around him. Rosa was seated beside him, not really caring about this whole Neon situation. He wasn't all that interesting to her, she preferred the blond genius right next to her.
Tohma brought up an article online with a photo of her, looking taken by surprise. "Everything about you is exposed here. Your name, birthday, the address of where you work, and even your blood type." Tohru blinked as she stared wide eyed at the article. Neon's fans were terrifying.
"I cannot believe this is happening…" Yoshino groaned in frustration, nearly face palming. She knew she had goofed up at some point during her investigation.
"That's not a very flattering picture of you." Lalamon commented bluntly, and Yoshino narrowed her eyes at her partner.
Miki and Megumi continued to pester Yoshino about her apparent relationship with the pop star. But hearing the voice of the meekest person in the room trying to speak up, they ceased pulling on their friend's arms.
"Um...I-I don't really...understand what's so great about Neon. You guys seem to like him, the girls at school and online all go crazy for him...I just don't see the appeal." Tohru stammered, but shrunk in her seat when the two older women got in her face.
"How can you not like Neon?! He's handsome and dreamy, and he has the voice of an angel!" Miki sighed dreamily, clasping her hands together.
"Haven't you ever listened to his music?" Megumi questioned, to which Tohru shook her head. Earning a sharp gasp from the fangirls. "Not even once?!"
"I-I looked him up but...I don't listen to music really. So I wasn't sure how to feel. B-Besides, he's...not my type at all." Tohru explained with a nervous quiver in her voice. She felt like she should be listening to this guy now just so nobody would tear her head off.
Miki and Megumi both wore sly grins on their faces. "Oh that's right. Your type is…" They paused seeing the desperate look on Tohru's face, pleading with them not to blurt it out in front of everyone. Masaru's head perked up at the sudden topic of who Tohru's type of guy was.
"Who's Tohru's type?" The brunet male questioned, jealousy laced in his tone. Not that he even realized that's how he came off as. The older women giggled and he stared at them in utter confusion. "What?"
Megumi waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it."
"Man, you're so dense." Miki added, shooting him a disapproving look while crossing her arms over her chest. This only confused the street fighter more so, his brows furrowing in frustration. Tohru, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to run and hide out of sheer embarrassment.
"C-Can we please change the subject?!" Tohru squeaked, grabbing Terriermon's long floppy ears and hiding her reddened face with them. Masaru couldn't keep his eyes off of her as she failed miserably at hiding her flustered expression. She just looked so cute and…
God! What was wrong with him lately?! Why did he keep thinking of his best friend like that? Sure, Masaru had always thought she was cute and nice, but isn't that how any guy would think about a girl if she were a close friend? Just the thought of Tohru being with another guy pissed him off and he couldn't figure out why. Damn it, he shouldn't be thinking of all this mushy crap! It just wasn't manly at all!
While Masaru was having an internal crisis with his own feelings, Yoshino was finally able to give her report. As far as she was concerned, Neon hadn't shown signs of harboring a Digimon yet. Though it was a bit strange that he'd always cut their dates off so early to rush home. He could be hiding something there, but until she actually goes there herself she wouldn't really know.
"Keep up your investigation, and be careful." Satsuma told her and dismissed the group, allowing them some free time to do whatever they wanted. Other than the ongoing investigation on Neon, there hadn't been any other Digimon activity. The group headed outside to get some fresh air.
The moment Tohru stepped outside she shivered and hugged herself, rubbing her arms. The seasons were changing from autumn to winter rather quickly, so it made sense that it would be chillier outside now. Still, it was a fairly nice day outside. They decided to hang out around the front of the DATS building, everyone crowded around Yoshino. Miki and Megumi were still curious about her new relationship with the pop star, that much was obvious.
"Well...I met Neon when we were children. We went to elementary school together." Her answer had made Tohru's head perk up, surprised at the fact that Yoshino and Neon were childhood friends. Just like…herself and Masaru.
"What?! You and Neon are childhood friends?!" Miki and Megumi sounded so shocked at this new bit of information. "What was he like?!" They questioned further, leaning in closer with intense expressions.
"Hitoshi...er...that's his real name, was pretty shy and not very confident in himself. He was short and fat back then...but he grew up to be very handsome." Yoshino spoke in a softer, almost affectionate tone. A smile starting to form on her lips, though her eyes seemed kind of sad. Miki and Megumi's jaws nearly dropped open.
"So...are you in love with Neon?" Tohru asked, making Yoshino blush. The magenta haired girl quickly shook her head to deny it.
"N-No! This is strictly work related, alright?" Yoshino stammered, though the blush on her cheeks only reddened as her face began to heat up. The honk of a car horn drew her attention away from her coworkers and over to a familiar expensive looking car. Stepping out of the shiny, white vehicle was a tall blond, handsome man wearing a purple over shirt similar to Masaru's usual outfit.
Everyone immediately recognized this man as the very person Yoshino had just been talking about. He was waving at her, a warm smile on his face and his eyes solely focused on her. She felt her heart beat a bit faster and waved back, breaking out into a run over to her 'boyfriend.' They shared a small kiss on the lips, which warmed Tohru's heart. She imagined herself and Masaru being all lovey dovey like that, while Rosa was busy making gagging noises behind her.
"You're at work now, right? We still up for dinner tonight at my place?" Neon asked leaning against the hood of his car, hands in his pockets. He noticed the other DATS agents watching them, but paid them no mind.
"Of course. I'll stop by when I get off." Yoshino responded with a bright smile, a blush still on her cheeks. "Around 6, right?"
Neon nodded and glanced down at his phone to see the time. "Well, I have to get going. I just really wanted to come and see you." He leaned in to press another kiss to her lips before waving and getting into his car. "See you later, Yoshi." He winked at her, using her nickname from elementary school. She felt her heart skip a beat and waved back with a dreamy smile plastered on her face.
"See you later." She watched him drive off and sighed softly. Yoshino, in her dazed state, failed to notice her friends all surrounding her with varying expressions on their faces. Masaru and Tohru staring at her with pure curiosity, Tohma was indifferent to the whole matter, Rosa didn't seem to care all that much while Miki and Megumi were smiling slyly.
"Are you sure you're not in love with him~?" Miki asked, and once again Yoshino blushed bright red. She quickly denied it and headed back inside to cool her head off. The group followed suit, since they figured it was about time to start heading home anyway. Tohru, however, broke away from the group to go find Yoshino.
She found the magenta haired girl in the changing area, sitting on one of the chairs with her hand to her chest. Her cheeks still flushed a shade of pink.
"Yoshino?"
Tohru's voice managed to startle the older girl, her head snapping up as she jolted. Eyes wide only to soften when she noticed it was only Tohru. "It's just you...what's up?" She watched the younger teen walk in and sit beside her, Tohru fidgeting as if she had something to say.
"Um...y-you said that Neon was your friend as a kid, right? D-Did you ever like him back then?"
Yoshino felt a bit annoyed that she came in here to ask her more questions about her relationship with Neon. But this was Tohru, so she figured her secrets were in good hands. "No. Not particularly. He was a huge crybaby back then. Definitely not the cool, handsome popstar he is now. He liked me though...and we had been friends. So it's not like I hated being around him."
She paused, thinking she was just being incredibly shallow for liking his looks. "I guess after seeing him again...and seeing him looking like that sparked my interest in him. I enjoy talking to him too...ugh, sorry. I sound so shallow, don't I?"
Tohru quickly shook her head. "N-No! O-Of course not! I-If that's how you feel, then there's nothing wrong with that."
Yoshino smiled, a bit reassured thanks to Tohru's honesty. "By the way...I've been wondering something. How did you become friends with a bonehead like Masaru?" The two were polar opposites in every aspect. Tohru is calm, level headed and timid, lacking the confidence that Masaru emanates in spades. He's loud, obnoxious and hot headed, never listening to what most people tell him and acting purely on instinct.
Yet, somehow, the two were such close friends that Yoshino couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of their tight knit friendship. Heck, to everyone around them, they were clearly more than just two really good friends. Both teenagers were far too oblivious for their own good.
Tohru twiddled her index fingers together, smiling softly at the memory she was recalling. A day she'd cherish for the rest of her life.
"Well...um...I-I guess I can tell you. It all started…"
10 years ago
Tohru, only four years old at the time, clung to her stuffed rabbit in one hand while her other held onto her mother's. Her mother and father were dropping her off at her grandparents' house, telling her that they had somewhere they needed to go. Though the little girl was happy to see her grandparents, she didn't want her parents to leave.
The door opened and the elderly couple smiled, greeting their son and daughter-in-law. Haruka bent down and scooped little Tohru up into her arms, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
"Thanks for looking after her." Hiroshi, Tohru's father, rubbed the back of his head and gave an apologetic smile. "Where we're going, we can't exactly bring her with us."
"It's no problem at all, Hiroshi. We'll make sure to take good care of her. But please, don't be gone too long now. I don't need to remind you of when you ran away as a child, do I?" Haruka poked fun at her son, who laughed nervously recalling how she'd gathered a damn search party just to go look for him. Why'd he run away? Well, her grandparents told her it was because he wasn't allowed to have sweets before dinner. So he got mad and ran off. It was pretty silly and dumb, but according to them, he always said and did stupid things. He was a natural born hot head, and was quite the little punk as a teenager.
Kinda like Masaru.
"So your dad is...just like…"
Tohru slowly nodded her head, letting out a nervous chuckle. "Y-Yeah."
Tohru began to tear up as she had to let go of her mother's hand. "You promise you'll come back soon, mommy?" She asked in a small voice, trying to wipe away her tears.
Michiko smiled warmly at her daughter and nodded, reaching behind her to take off the locket she wore around her neck. She put it around Tohru's neck, the little girl watching her with curiosity. "Of course we'll come back, Tohru. It'll be a few days, but soon all three of us will be back home together. In the meantime, if you start to miss us just look at the picture inside this locket. It'll remind you that we're always here with you."
Tohru held the locket in her small hand, but wasn't sure how to open it. Michiko clicked it open for her and inside revealed a family picture of Tohru with her parents.
"O-Okay, mommy. I'll...I'll wear it every day." She held it close to her chest as her mother kissed her cheek. Her tears fell down her soft cheeks, but she tried her best not to break down sobbing. Hiroshi smiled and ruffled Tohru's short brown hair.
"Be good for grandma and grandpa, squirt. We'll be back soon enough and then you and I can play all you want." Hiroshi kissed the top of her head and she nodded.
"Okay, daddy!" With her father's words reassuring her that they would indeed come back, Tohru could smile. "Bye mommy! Bye daddy!" She waved goodbye to them as they began to walk away, leaving her in the care of her grandparents. Slowly, her arm lowers and she goes right back to hugging the stuffed rabbit in her arms.
"Tohru, would you like to have some tea and cake with me?" Haruka asked her granddaughter, whose face lit up at the very mention of sweets and tea. She nodded vigorously making the elderly woman laugh as they went inside. She put Tohru down, the small brunette walking beside her into the kitchen.
"I waited...and waited. Days. Weeks. Months. A year went by and still my parents never came back. I never heard anything from them either."
Yoshino looked at Tohru sympathetically, placing a hand on her shoulder. The brunette glanced at the girl she thought of as a big sister and smiled.
Two years passed, Tohru had just entered first grade. She'd spent Pre-K and Kindergarten by herself in class. She didn't talk or play with anyone due to her parents' absence in her life. The other kids began to think she was 'weird and quiet.' Sadly, this led to the other children making fun of her. They would talk about her, point and laugh when she sat by herself wishing she had her bunny to cling onto. When she actually tried to play with others, they would tell her she wasn't allowed to be in their group.
She felt so completely and utterly alone.
One particular day, she sat alone outside during play time. Her presence there went ignored, that is, until a boy with short auburn hair and forest green eyes walked up to her. With a friendly smile on his face, the boy began to talk.
"You wanna play with me?"
Slowly did Tohru look up at him. At first, she felt like she couldn't believe what was happening. Someone actually wanted to play with her? They wanted to be friends? But then the seeds of doubt began to spread in her mind.
'No. That couldn't be it.' She thought to herself. 'He must be tricking me so he and the others can laugh at me.' She had already convinced herself that this was true, even if she was only running on assumptions.
"...Go away." Was her answer, her body curling up as she hugged her knees to her chest. The boy stared at her in confusion, wondering what he'd done wrong to make her angry at him.
"But aren't you lonely? It's no fun sitting here by yourself." He persisted, but she glared at him and shook her head some more.
"Please...just leave me alone. Y-You're just tricking me…" She got up to walk away, but the boy grabbed her wrist.
"I'm not tricking you! I just wanna be friends!" He argued, but she struggled in his grasp. She managed to pull her arm free and pushed the boy back. He stumbled, but kept his footing. Now it was his turn to glare. "What was that for?!"
"B-Because you won't go away! I-If you're just gonna make fun of me with the others then go away!" She shouted louder, garnering the attention of the other children. They gathered around the pair, and one kid began to chant.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" The crowd of first graders joined in, thinking the two were going to fight each other. Another student who had seen Tohru push the boy came over with a teacher.
"Teacher! Tohru started a fight!" He pointed at her and she shrunk at everyone's gazes on her. Tears pricked her eyes, a guilty expression on her scared face. Their teacher glanced between the two bickering kids before her gaze settled on Tohru. She felt so small under her teacher's stern look.
"Is it true, Tohru? Did you push Masaru?" The little girl looked down at the ground to avoid her teacher's gaze. Quietly and guiltily, she nodded her head. But a voice got everyone's attention.
"She didn't start it! I did!" The boy, named Masaru, piped up making Tohru look over at him in shock. Why was he taking the blame? Their teacher let out a tired sigh and gestured for them both to follow her.
"It's time out for both of you, then." The two children frowned, but did as they were told. They were made to stand outside the classroom until the rest of play time was over. Masaru was strangely quiet standing beside the girl who couldn't stop sniffling and choking back sobs.
…
"I really did just want to play with you." Masaru suddenly spoke up, and for a moment Tohru stopped crying to look over at him. "You always look lonely so I wanted to be friends!" His smile was so carefree that it calmed her.
"F...Friends? With me?" It felt like such a strange thing to hear. Nobody wanted to be her friend until now. He was a boy in her class, but she couldn't even recall his name.
"Yeah! I wasn't trying to trick you or anything. So let's be friends!" He smiled from ear to ear, and her tear stained cheeks flushed bright red. She went silent, thinking it over as she fidgeted.
Then, nodding her head she smiled back at him. "O-Okay. L-Let's be friends….um…"
"Masaru! Masaru Daimon! You're Tohru, right?" He took her hand in his and shook it, making her blush some more.
"U-Um, yes. T-Tohru Harima." Gently did she grasp his hand in hers, looking down timidly as his bright smile was making her heart beat faster in her chest. None of her other classmates had ever smiled at her like that before.
"We're friends now, Tohru!" Masaru excitedly jumped up and down, then pulled her into a friendly hug. Not used to boys being so nice to her, Tohru's face darkened a few shades at the sudden gesture. He pulled away, leaving her a bit dazed. He failed to notice how flustered she was and continued to grin ear to ear. His big forest green eyes shining with pure joy.
It was in that moment that Tohru's crush on him began to bloom. What once started off as puppy love blossomed into genuine romantic feelings as they grew older.
"...So that's how you two became friends. What a cute story." Tohru nodded, smiling timidly. "That's so like Masaru, making friends because of a fight." Yoshino laughed, shaking her head. It was to be expected with the auburn haired teenager. That seemed to be the way he made friends, and the story Tohru told was strangely fitting.
"Awww~! That's so sweet!" Both female agents jumped and turned their heads to the doorway. Miki and Megumi stood there squealing over how "cute" Tohru and Masaru were together.
"H-How long were you two standing there?" Tohru asked, face turning bright red in embarrassment. Their knowing smiles told her exactly what she needed to know, and this fact only made her blush worse.
"The entire time~ You just didn't notice~" Megumi sang, both girls making their way over to the green clad agent. Their eyes scanning over her as they seemed to ponder something intently.
"U-Um...w-what?" Tohru stuttered, unsure if she liked the looks they were giving her currently. The older girls gave each other a nod, Miki pumping her fist with a hand on her hip.
"Tohru! We're taking you out shopping! You need a cute outfit to make Masaru notice you!" The dark haired female announced, and Tohru swore she nearly choked on her own saliva.
"E-Eh?!"
"Great idea, Miki!" Megumi commended her best gal pal on what she considered to be a great plan. "Don't worry Tohru, we're great at picking out cute clothing! So you're in safe hands!" She smiled with a wink at the younger girl, who had started to go pale in the face.
"Guys, I don't think Tohru wants to—" Yoshino tried to reason with them, but they turned to her with mischievous glints in their eyes.
"You're coming with us! You need something for your date tonight with Neon!" Yoshino tried to protest, but both her boy crazy friends weren't having it.
"Meet us outside the building in ten minutes!" Miki told them, and both female agents had no choice but to go along with it.
"B-But...um...I'm supposed to sleep over at Masaru's house tonight.." Tohru spoke up weakly, leaning back when Miki and Megumi got in her face. Their eyes lit up and they squealed even louder.
"Really?! Guess we should get you some cute pajamas too~!"
"N-NO!"
Masaru scratched his head, an eyebrow raised with a hand resting on his hip. Forest greens glancing around the empty hall and his brain trying to figure out where his friend had gone off to.
"Where'd she go? We were gonna walk back to my house together…"
Agumon, who stood right beside him, tried to pick up on Terriermon's presence in the building. For some reason, Digimon had the ability to sense when another of their kind was nearby. Masaru had no clue why, but it did come in handy.
"Nope. I don't sense Terriermon anywhere. She must have left already." Agumon informed him, followed by a stomach only his stomach could make. Masaru frowned, wondering why she'd leave without him. That's when his communicator began to go off and he quickly pressed the little button on the device.
"I'm so sorry I left without you! I...um...kinda got dragged out to the mall by Miki and Megumi." Tohru's voice apologized on the other side of the communicator. "I promise I'll be at your house by dinner time—"
From the sound of it, Tohru's communicator had been taken away from her abruptly.
"Don't worry, we'll get her back to you safe and sound~" Megumi giggled, and Masaru raised an eyebrow. He could hear Tohru in the background begging for her communicator back. It was handed back to her as quickly as it was snatched away, her panicked apologies were kind of adorable to him.
"Its fine, Tohru. I'll see you and Terriermon later. Go have fun at the mall!" He laughed and after exchanging goodbyes he hung up. A smile lingered on his lips, but once he glanced down to see Agumon snickering his face heated up.
"Aniki, when're you gonna tell her—"
Agumon received a bonk on the head from his incredibly flustered looking partner. "I-I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" Masaru protested, his hand balled into a fist while Agumon rubbed the bump on his noggin. "We're just friends, okay!" Clearly, Masaru was in denial and tried to play off his obvious affection for her as "that's just how friends act."
But even Agumon, simple-minded as he may be, could see through his partner's words.
"Okay. Whatever you say, Aniki."
The three older DATS agents walked into the crowded mall with a very timid and nervous Tohru following close behind. Miki and Megumi were pretty much in their natural habitat, walking with a confident stride in their feminine and stylish outfits. They led the way, knowing exactly which stores to take their coworkers to. Yoshino, being the calmer one of the older girls, walked casually beside them in her pink halter top, short denim jacket and capris. As much as she wanted to argue she didn't need any new outfits for her date with Neon, her friends weren't going to listen. So she didn't bother protesting.
Tohru kept her head down as she followed close behind the other three females. Being surrounded by so many people she didn't know made her feel incredibly anxious. What if people here judged her like the kids at school do? Tohru couldn't even remember the last time she even went clothes shopping. Normally she'd just go the local clothing store with her grandmother, never once taking a step into the shopping mall.
"Over here!" Megumi excitedly ran ahead, pointing out a particular clothing store. It was filled with plenty of young teenage girls and women looking through the racks. Many of them thin and pretty, which made Tohru want to avoid going in there. Unfortunately, Miki took her hand and dragged the teenager in there.
Tohru would admit there were so many cute clothes, but she felt she wasn't thin or pretty enough to wear them. That she could never pull it off as well as they all these other girls could.
With much reluctance, Tohru stepped into the store. Her senses overwhelmed by many different things going on at once. Teenage girls chatting with each other and laughing as they picked out clothing. The bright lights overhead that seemed almost blinding to her. The many different selections of clothing. A catchy, pop song playing throughout the store. She just wasn't used to this kind of environment.
Miki and Megumi immediately started picking out different outfits and shoving them in Tohru's arms. All she could do was stand there, unsure of what to do or say. Yoshino gave her a worried glance, sensing how overwhelmed the younger girl must have been feeling.
"Go and try these on!" The older girls chirped, watching her with expectation. But...looking at what they'd picked for her, she wasn't so sure she even wanted to. With much reluctance, Tohru trudged her way over to a changing room and closed the door behind her.
"We'll be waiting out here! Make sure you come out and show us!" Megumi called to her. Tohru didn't answer, instead hanging the clothes up and staring at them. She took an outfit off their hangers and started to change into it. Refusing to look at herself in the mirror as she did. Every time she saw her own reflection it was a reminder of how much she disliked her own appearance.
The first outfit she tried on just didn't look good on her. She frowned and quickly threw it off, moving onto the next one. Each one just felt uncomfortable or didn't look right. A knock on the stall door brought her out of her self-deprecating thoughts.
"Tohru? You okay in there?" Yoshino asked on the other side. "Can I come in?"
Tohru quietly opened the door, allowing her to walk in and closed it again. "I didn't like any of them…nothing looks good on me." Her lip quivered as her eyes filled with tears and she hugged herself. Yoshino put an arm around her shoulders, magenta eyes filled with worry.
"Why don't I find something for you? What's your sizes?" Tohru appreciated the sentiment, but she still wasn't so sure she wanted to do this.
"I-I normally only wear stuff from the boy's section to cover up….except to school." She tried to remember her sizes and gave that information to Yoshino, who went out of the stall with all the clothing Miki and Megumi had picked out.
"Yoshi! What're you doing?" Miki questioned.
"Putting these back. She didn't like any of it. Let me try to pick something out for her." Miki and Megumi pouted, but agreed to let the magenta haired girl take charge of the situation. Yoshino returned all the rejected clothes to their individual racks and spent some time searching for something she thought Tohru might like.
It proved to be tougher than she imagined as Tohru only ever seemed to wear things like hoodies and cargo shorts. She needed something more feminine, something to match her innocent personality. She spotted a pure white strapped dress and looked it over. Ruffles at the top and bottom, and a cute little bow underneath the bust area. It seemed long enough that she wouldn't be too self-conscious about showing off her legs.
Yoshino checked the sizes and picked the one she felt was closest to Tohru's. Next she found a green long sleeved cardigan, finding it a perfect alternative for hoodies and sweatshirts. She picked one out and brought the selections back to Tohru's stall. Hanging them on the racks, she turned to Tohru with a smile.
"Try these out and see how you like them. I promise if you don't, we won't force you to try on more."
Tohru hesitated, staring at the articles of clothing as if they'd just vanish into thin air and stop mocking her. But she gave in, changing into the dress. The material was light and not too snug against her chest, the dress narrow at the smallest part of her waist before flowing out to a bit above her knees. It looked far more flattering on her than the clothes she normally wears, though Yoshino wasn't about to say something like that.
Tohru slipped on the cardigan, which suited her far better than a hoodie. She looked at herself in the full bodied mirror, staring at her reflection with a surprised expression.
She looked...good. Better than she'd expected. Tohru almost couldn't believe what she was seeing.
These clothes were comfortable and hid what she was self-conscious of while making her look more feminine and cute. She...looked cute. Yoshino smiled as she proudly admired the good job she did, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You look cute in those, Tohru. What do you think?"
"Um...I-I like it." Tohru admitted quietly, a blush on her cheeks, fingers fidgeting with the material of her sleeves that covered most of her hands. "I-I want to get this outfit." She kept staring at her reflection, smiling timidly, unable to fully believe what she was seeing but feeling incredibly happy something fit her.
"Great! I'll pay for it." Tohru tried to protest against Yoshino spending her own money on someone else's clothing, but the older girl kept insisting. "Think of it as a gift from a big sister to her little sister." She left the stall with a wink, leaving Tohru standing there in shock.
At the same time though, she was filled with so much joy at the prospect of having someone who acted like a big sister for her. Being an only child got lonely, at least, until Terriermon came along. Still, she wished she could have had a sibling. Tohru wondered if she would have ended up with one had her parents never left.
She quickly changed back into her normal clothes and joined the older girls to do more shopping, finding a new outfit for Yoshino and getting something to eat at the food court. After a few hours of roaming around having fun, Yoshino took the other three girls home before heading to her own place to get ready for her date.
Dressed in a cute pink blouse and a white skirt, Yoshino rang the doorbell to Neon's home. As she waited for him to answer the door, she made sure nothing was out of place. Sure, this was a chance for her to do some investigating on her own, but it was also still a date. She had to look her best. The blond popstar greeted her at the door with a fond smile on his face.
"Hey Yoshi, come in." Neon stepped aside and allowed his date to walk in. She thanked him, stepping into the warmth of his home. As he closed the door, she stood on her toes to place a kiss on his cheek.
"Thanks for inviting me for dinner." Yoshino giggled when she noticed the slight look of surprise on his face. But he quickly recovered and laughed, leading her to the dining room.
"No problem. I've been wanting to just have more alone time with you." He pulled a chair out for her like a gentleman and she took a seat, then pushed it in and sat across from her.
'So have I…' In more ways than one. Yoshino couldn't help but feel a bit guilty that she was tricking her childhood friend like this. But her job came first...right? So why did the thought of her suspicions about him being true hurt so much? "Yeah, the paparazzi has been pretty annoying lately." Yoshino agreed, eating some of the vegetables on her plate. She stopped and picked up a small chunk of carrot with her fork. "Hm.."
"What's up?" Neon questioned, mid-bite.
"You're actually eating carrots. I remember you hated those when we were little." The magenta haired girl grinned as he chuckled.
"I still do, but I put up with it." They both shared a laugh and continued their conversation. Exchanging playful banter back and forth and catching up, sharing memories of old times long since past. Yoshino got so into it she'd completely forgotten about her mission.
That is, until they'd finished dinner and Neon had excused himself saying he had to get back to work. Yoshino waited until he left to stand up, putting on a serious face. Now it was time for her to get back to her mission. Opening the door slowly and quietly, she poked her head out and glanced around before tiptoeing out. The door at the end of the hall was where he usually "recorded" his music.
Carefully did Yoshino sneak over to the closed door and put her ear to it. Trying to figure out what could be going on in there, but she couldn't hear any music. Strange.
'What could he be doing in there…?'
After leaving the mall, Yoshino had dropped Tohru off at Masaru's house. She now sat in her pajamas, a simple white t-shirt and a pair of comfortable pajama pants, watching tv in the living room. Terriermon sat in her lap, confused by whatever popped up on the screen.
Masaru walked into the living room in his own white t-shirt and a pair of long jogging pants. Around his neck was a damp towel, his hair just as much from the bath he'd taken. In one hand was a carton of milk, and in the other was a glass that he handed to Tohru. He sat beside her on the couch when Chika came in with a notebook clutched to her chest.
"Hey, hey! Yoshino is going out with Neon right? Can either of you ask her to get me an autograph?" Chika begged, giving the teenagers her best puppy dog eyes.
"Um...well...I-I don't know if that'd be a good idea. I don't want to bother Yoshino or Neon." Tohru nervously tried to resist the younger girl's big seafoam green eyes.
"Yeah, exactly. You'd just be bothering Yoshino." Masaru added, waving his sister off while taking a large gulp from the milk carton. Chika puffed out her cheeks in a pout and huffed before walking away. Tohru frowned, feeling bad about turning Chika's request down. But it felt necessary if it turned out that Neon wasn't who his fans thought he was.
Tohru heard static coming from the tv and looked up, blinking in surprise as the cartoon they'd been absentmindedly watching was interrupted. The screen showed nothing but static for a few brief seconds, then a familiar face popped up on the screen.
"Neon…?" She muttered in confusion. Masaru raised his eyebrow at her and she pointed at the television screen. He glanced over and as he was taking another gulp only to nearly spit it out.
"What the hell?! What's that guy doing on tv?!" His eye twitched.
"Yeah! I was watching that show!" Terriermon exclaimed angrily, clearly ticked off that Neon interrupted the cartoon he was enjoying.
Tohru and Masaru looked at each other, realizing something was up since this normally never happened when watching tv. Masaru had no clue how Neon's performance got on tv, but Tohru suspected it might have been a broadcast hijacking. She remembered her grandmother telling her about those happening a few times before.
"If Neon is working with a Digimon...he must be using it to hijack the web to broadcast his music. I'm not sure how or why, but we should head over to DATS." Tohru suggested, her expression more alarmed now. They quickly changed into their regular clothes and ran out of the house despite how late it was. Even from Masaru's house, red and black bolts crackled through the sky.
"I hope Yoshino is okay! She had a date with Neon tonight!" Tohru called out as she ran, but quickly she was running out of breath. She just hoped Yoshino would be back from her date already. What if she was in danger?
Masaru glanced back at Tohru and grabbed her wrist, pulling her along. Running as fast as their legs could carry them.
Arriving at DATS, Masaru burst into the surveillance room with Tohru in tow. The shorter teenager being practically dragged along by the wrist, looking out of breath with reddened cheeks. Satsuma, Miki and Megumi all looked up at the two when they came barrelling inside. Up on the monitors was the same footage of Neon that had started playing on Masaru's tv and on probably every electronic device in the city.
"Where's Yoshino?!" Masaru questioned hastily, noticing the absence of their magenta haired team mom.
"She's still on her date with Neon, I'm guessing." Miki responded, shock evident on her face. Megumi shared a similar expression while Satsuma remained stoic and calm.
"Where does he live?!"
"Wait, you're not seriously going to go there, are you? What are you thinking, Masaru?!" Megumi retorted, but it was no use trying to change his mind. Once he set his sights on something, nothing was going to stop him.
"We have to! She could be in danger!" Masaru argued, refusing to listen. Even Tohru thought rushing over there without some sort of plan was a bad idea, but she usually just went with whatever stupid ideas Masaru came up with anyway.
"Ah jeez...fine!" Miki gave them the address and watched Tohru get dragged off by Masaru again. Shaking her head, she pulled out her phone to try and get in contact with Yoshino but to no avail. Her phone must have been off since it went straight to voicemail. "She has her phone turned off...I hope she's okay by herself."
"I'm sure she is. Yoshino's capable of handling a mission on her own, right?" Megumi tried to be reassuring, but even they seemed to notice ever since the younger agents came around Yoshino had less and less missions to take on herself. Nor was she really given the chance to take on a Digimon by herself without the help of the others.
"We should have told Masaru not to interfere…"
"Not like the hot head would have listened anyway." Megumi sighed, shrugging her shoulders.
Yoshino took out her Digivice, Lalamon's face appearing on screen. "Do you detect anything?" She asked her partner quietly, but unfortunately Lalamon still couldn't detect any life forms on the other side of the door. Neon had been in there for quite a long time.
'This is seeming more and more suspicious...maybe if I…' Yoshino slowly took hold of the doorknob, just about to open it when she heard the doorbell ringing furiously. She let out a gasp of surprise, backing up from the door and frantically glancing around. 'Damn! Who the heck ruined my chance?!' Before Neon could open the door and catch her snooping, she ran down the hall and around the corner towards the front door.
"What are you two doing here?"
"Let me go!" Yoshino gasped out, realizing that voice belonged to Masaru, who was furiously pounding on the door and demanding to be let in.
"O-Oh no…" And that was Tohru's voice. What the hell were they doing here? Yoshino listened to the commotion going on outside Neon's apartment, her eye twitching.
"This is breaking and entering!" The security guard had a hold on one of Masaru's arm, attempting to get him away from the door. Masaru struggled while Tohru stood there panicking. She didn't like the idea of the two of them getting in trouble with security or worse, the police.
"M-Masaru, we should just leave—ah!"
Tohru's hands flew over her mouth, eyes wide when the auburn haired teen flipped the security guard over his shoulder effortlessly and went back to banging on the door. "Yoshino! You in there?!"
"Masaru, why did you—I-I'm so sorry, sir!" Tohru apologized frantically, bowing over and over to the very pissed off security guard.
Yoshino answered the door, being greeted with a relieved Masaru and a very apologetic looking Tohru. She, on the other hand, couldn't appear anymore annoyed if she tried. "What are you two doing here?"
"Oh good, you're safe! We thought you might have been in danger!" Masaru smiled, completely ignoring the way she was frowning at him. His smile faltered once he saw Neon come around the corner, immediately launching himself at the blond male and grabbing him by the front of his shirt.
"Hey, who are you—?!"
"What the hell are you scheming, huh?!" Masaru shouted, anger burning in his forest green eyes. "What are you using that Digimon for?!"
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about! Let go of me!" Neon struggled to say while attempting to get out of Masaru's tight grip.
"M-Masaru, stop! This isn't right!" Tohru tried to get through to him, even grasping his shirt and trying to pull him away from Neon. The two boys backed up into the hallway during their struggle.
"Masaru! Knock this off now!" Yoshino raised her hand up and slapped Masaru right across the face, effectively making him let go of Neon. The pop star stumbled back a bit and Masaru put a hand to his now stinging cheek. "Don't you know not to intrude in other people's homes?! What the hell is wrong with you?! You even dragged poor Tohru here, didn't you?"
"H-Hey, hold on! We were just worried about you!" Masaru argued back, but Yoshino glared at him, which caused the younger teen to shut up. She turned to Neon with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry about him, but I have to get going now. I'll see you tomorrow." She moved closer and pressed another kiss to his cheek. Tohru blushed watching her magenta haired friend kiss someone right in front of her. She wished she could have been that brave around Masaru.
Yoshino then walked away with an angry stride, the two younger teens going after her. No matter how much they asked her to wait up for them, she kept walking.
"Yoshino, please wait!" Tohru pleaded, and while Yoshino wasn't nearly as angry at her, she was still a bit annoyed that the younger girl went along with Masaru's idiocy instead of trying to reason with him.
"What're you so angry about?!" Masaru questioned as Yoshino got into the elevator.
"You want to know why I'm angry? It's because even when I'm given a mission that I know I can handle on my own, you all still feel the need to come and rescue me! So please, don't interfere and blow my investigation!" And with that, the elevator doors slid closed leaving the two teens standing there stunned by her words.
'Yoshino…' Tohru couldn't help but wonder what the older DATS agent could have been feeling. She started to feel guilty for having interfered with her investigation, but didn't have much time to dwell on it when the security guard from earlier tapped Masaru on the shoulder.
"Uh…" Masaru smiled nervously while the guard put his hands on his hips, glaring at them both. "Run Tohru!" He quickly grabbed her wrist and dragged her behind him down the hallway to the exit.
'Not again!'
Yoshino was more than a bit pissed off the following day. She was absolutely livid at Masaru for assuming she couldn't handle this herself. She once again reported to Satsuma about her suspicions during her date the night before. However, due to the lack of evidence it would be hard for them to just go and infiltrate Neon's apartment right away. At least, that's what she kept saying to herself. In her heart, she knew for a fact that he was guilty of harboring a Digimon. His behavior that night had been far too suspicious for her to not come to that conclusion.
But...did she really want to believe he was anything but innocent?
"You said the Digimon was detected a month ago, correct? And that's when the downloads for Neon's new songs began to rapidly increase…" Tohma went over the information in his head, coming to the same conclusion that everyone else did. "I think that the Digimon might be manipulating things in some way." He stood, walking to the captain's desk.
Satsuma nodded in Tohma's direction. "Yes, I agree. That seems to be the case, judging from what Yoshino has reported so far."
"I think we should take immediate action if we're so sure that Neon is the culprit." Tohma suggested.
"So we're breaking in?!" Masaru was far more excited about breaking and entering than he should be.
Yoshino, however, was quick to protest. "We still don't have much evidence though!" Her voice went ignored, and she squeezed her eyes shut, gritting her teeth. Why? Why can't they let her prove that she isn't the useless member of their team for once?
Miki and Megumi briefed them on Neon's schedule for the day. Appearing on a live TV program at 12 PM, professional work at 3 PM, and plans to appear on a radio talk show at 12 AM. Tonight they would break into Neon's apartment while he's guest starring in the radio show, Satsuma had decided. Once again, Yoshino tried to tell them she needed some more time to get concrete evidence when Tohma spoke up.
"One more thing...I think Yoshino should be taken off this mission. Her personal feelings will only get in the way." Her eyes widened, his words shocked her. Though he probably didn't mean to sound so harsh, the fact he didn't think she could do this on her own offended her.
"That's kind of hypocritical to say, don't you think? What about when you let your own feelings lead to disobeying orders not too long ago? When you babysat Masaru's sister for the day?" Yoshino rebutled back, putting her hands on her hips and smirking when the blond genius went quiet. He had no comeback this time, since it was true that he disobeyed the captain's orders and let his personal feelings take over.
"Well...that's…"
"She has a point there, Tohma." Almost everyone agreed, though Masaru looked mostly confused since he had still been taking that stupid makeup test at the time.
"We're keeping Yoshino on the mission, however we will still be commencing the infiltration tonight. No objections." Satsuma's commanding voice and authority could not be argued against. Not unless they wanted his booming voice scolding them for their disobedience. This time, Rosa was the one to speak up.
"I still agree with Tohma that she should be taken off. I mean...it's not like she'll be able to fight him on her own. She'll just get in the way like usual." Rosa remarked in that haughty attitude she'd become known for, flipping some of her long wavy hair over her shoulder.
Yoshino's voice caught in her throat, a heavy feeling in her chest. Her bottom lip quivered when she tried to part her lips and argue back. But she couldn't say anything to refute that statement. Deep down she knew this was true, but it hurt to hear it come out of someone else's mouth. Squeezing her hands into fists and fighting back tears, Yoshino turned heel and ran out of the room. She didn't want everyone to see her moment of weakness.
Tohru, who was also shocked by Rosa's harshness, turned to glare at her. Everyone knew she'd gone too far when even Tohru, who never gets angry, looked at her that way. "How could you say that to her?! Do you even know what it's like to be called useless?! I do!" She realized how much she was raising her voice and noticed the stunned expressions on everyone's faces. The usually timid girl calmed down and turned to go after her friend.
"Tohru, where are you going?" Masaru asked, taking a few steps towards her.
"I'm...going to see if she's okay." Tohru didn't look back at him as she ran out and down the hallway. It didn't take long for her to find the magenta haired girl standing in the middle of the hall with her head down. She slowly got closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, emerald eyes full of concern. "Yoshino…? Don't let what Rosa said get to you…"
"It's true though…I'm just getting in the way on missions. You all do a far better job than I do. I'm just so...so useless!" She grit her teeth, clenching her fists as tears fell down her cheeks. Tohru had flashbacks to the night they went after Drimogimon, when she had called herself useless. She moved to stand in front of Yoshino and placed her hands on her shoulders.
"That isn't true, Yoshino! You're not useless at all! You've been nothing but kind and helpful to me. You were the one who made me feel welcome here! You're...like my big sister. It really hurts me to hear you say that about yourself." Tohru's words were nothing but genuine and sincere. Yoshino lifted her head a bit to meet Tohru's worried gaze. "Is there a reason you would think that?"
"...I...when you all joined DATS, I began to feel really...inferior to all of you. I thought I'd escaped all those feelings when I moved out of my parents' house." She paused to wipe away some of her tears. "See, I have two older sisters who were always better than me at everything. They had all the talent and I lived in their shadows. Mom and Dad always praised them, and whenever I tried to do what they did...it just never turned out the same way."
Tohru lowered her arms to her sides, listening to Yoshino's story. "I didn't know you had sisters."
"Yeah. Two older ones. They were amazing at everything they did. I was just….never good enough. Even now, I'm still being pushed onto the sidelines and I feel like I can't even handle a mission on my own. You guys always have to finish the job." Yoshino was all but ready to just give up on this mission, and just let the others handle the rest. If she really was that useless, maybe it would be for the best.
But Tohru pulled her into a warm embrace, and looking down at the younger girl Yoshino could see she was fighting back her own tears. "I...I know what it's like to feel useless. You know that already...when Tohma first came along I felt like giving up. He made me feel like I wasn't meant to be here, but now I know he was wrong. I don't feel that way anymore...it's all thanks to you and everyone else who believed in me."
Yoshino felt tears fall down her cheeks and attempted to wipe them away. 'She really is a sweet girl.'
"You've believed in me since the day we met, and I believe in you too." Emerald eyes full of determination and kindness looked up at the insecure young woman, a smile tugging at Tohru's lips to reassure her.
'Yoshino...you've always helped me when I needed it...now it's my turn to help you.'
The magenta haired DATS agent snuck through the halls of Neon's apartment, keeping her breathing steady as she approached his door. Trailing behind her were Masaru, Tohru and Rosa while Tohma was nowhere to be seen. However, he was giving them orders to them through their communicators. After getting lectured by Tohru, everyone agreed to let Yoshino and Lalamon take care of Keramon, while they would back her up.
Yoshino's heart was pounding faster than she expected, anxiousness coursing through her. As much as she didn't want to do this, there was a very high possibility Neon was involved. She just needed to see what was behind that door he seemed so secretive about. She signalled to the teenagers behind her to stay back, grasping the doorknob and turning it slowly.
She snuck in, quietly approaching that door Neon had gone through the day before. Swallowing hard, she reached a shaky hand for the doorknob. The three teenagers behind her stayed out in the hall, peeking in to make sure she'd be okay. They weren't too worried about Neon catching them since he was away at the moment—
Before Yoshino's hand could grab the knob, it turned on it's own. Visibly startled and confused, Yoshino took a step back. Lalamon, who was floating beside her took on a defensive stance immediately. They expected to see their target on the other side of the door, but instead…
"Hitoshi?" But wait, shouldn't he have plans right now? Why was he still here?! Yoshino felt her heart sink, realizing he is involved with the Digimon and he tricked her. Neon smirked, turning his gaze from Yoshino's hurt expression to her partner.
"That your Digimon? She's pretty cute. I've got one too, but...I suppose you know that already." The corners of his lips tugged down as he shot her a glare and opened the door a bit more, allowing her to peer inside. The uncanny, creepy face of Keramon stared back at her. It's cackle was just as unsettling as its appearance. "Cool, huh? Ever since he came to me, Keramon has been helping my music career skyrocket."
"How...how did you know what I was up to?!" Yoshino questioned, frozen in fear from Keramon's stare. It's pupiless eyes seemed to stare right into her soul, but that's not what had her so paralyzed in terror. It was the fact that, even though she should have seen it coming, she felt betrayed by Neon. Had he been acting this whole time?
Did he really not feel a single thing for her?
"I looked into DATS and what they do, and realized you were only going out with me just so you could investigate me. Isn't that right, Yoshino?" Neon glared at her, a similar look of betrayal in his own eyes. To him, she had been the one who had only acted as if she had feelings for him. But that couldn't be farther from the truth.
"No, I—"
"So I made up a fake schedule today so I could catch you and your comrades off guard. Looks like it worked." He turned to Keramon and as if the Digimon had read his mind, the nightmarish creature cackled.
Sensing that it was going to attack, Lalamon got in front of her partner and shot seeds out at Keramon. Unfortunately, it shrugged off the attack and grabbed Yoshino around her neck with one large hand and Lalamon with the other. It's shrill cackle sent shivers up her spine as she was lifted up off the ground. It's hand squeezed around her throat, making it hard for her to breathe.
"Hitoshi...stop…" She choked out, tears filling her magenta eyes.
'I knew it...I am useless…'
"Baby Flame!"
"Petite Twister!"
Agumon's fireball attack smashed into Keramon, causing the creature to scream in pain. Terriermon spun himself around, creating a small twister that crashed into it immediately after. Both attacks combined got Keramon to release its grip on Yoshino and Lalamon. Neon grit his teeth, looking over at the teenagers that interfered.
"Yoshino! Are you okay?" Tohru knelt down beside her older friend as Yoshino was coughing to get air back in her lungs.
"Yeah...I'm okay." The magenta haired girl stood with Tohru's help, just in time to see Masaru punch Neon square in the jaw.
"Why are you doing this?!" Masaru growled, fists still clenched tight as if he was going to go in for another punch. Neon held his throbbing cheek, targeting his glare at the hot headed teenager now.
"Why? Because Keramon is amazing! He distributes all my songs around the world and can even rewrite the rankings!" He boasted proudly. "Now my name is known throughout the world, and it's all thanks to Keramon!"
Rosa clicked her tongue in disgust, crossing her arms over her chest. "How despicable. Using Keramon to make you famous? How low can you get…"
"Yeah! You didn't even do it through your own efforts!" Masaru agreed, pushing Neon aside as he was about to rush at Keramon to activate his Digisoul. Tohru grabbed onto his arm, tugging him back and causing the street fighter to glance down at her.
"Don't. This is Yoshino's fight."
He remembered what she'd told them all before. Back Yoshino up, but don't push her to the sidelines. His angered expression softened and his muscles relaxed a bit, fists no longer balled up. "Right."
They heard the sound of glass breaking and in rushed Tohma and Gaomon. Tohru gave him the same look, as if telling him to stay back.
With this chance, Yoshino stepped forward. Her serious expression hiding how hurt she was. But she had a job to do, and if that meant fighting Neon and erasing his memories, then she'd go through with it.
"Hitoshi...what you're doing isn't right and you know it. I'm...I'm really disappointed in you. I thought you could be better than this. Masaru's right, you cheated your way to the top instead of putting in the effort and hard work."
Her words hit him hard, and she could tell she had gotten him worked up. "Now, step aside and let us take Keramon. I'm sorry, Hitoshi. I can't let this continue."
"No! I won't let you!" Neon stood in front of Keramon, holding his arms out to protect it.
"Hitoshi! If you really want to change yourself through your music then put in the hard work and effort!" Yoshino argued while Neon started grabbing at his head, overwhelmed as memories of being bullied as a child ran through his head.
"I just wanted people to like me! Stop making fun of me!" Neon screamed, his voice in agony remembering when no one liked him. When everyone made fun of his weight and called him ugly. Everyone...except Yoshino. She was the only person who didn't make fun of him back then.
"I thought you liked me, but I guess I was wrong!" As he began to tear up, a dark aura surrounded Keramon. Its unnatural looking body writhed, the nightmarish Digimon growing bigger in size in response to Neon's rage and despair. It began to grow so big that it crashed right through the roof of the apartment. It then evolved into Chrysalimon, a cocoon-like Digimon with a tough outer shell and tentacles on its back.
"No, that's not true!" Losing control of her emotions, Yoshino felt her own tears fall down her cheeks. "I've always—"
One of Chrysalimon's tendrils wrapped around Neon's body and escaped up onto the roof. "Hitoshi!" Yoshino cried out, jumping out of the hole with Lalamon floating at her side. Everyone else followed suit, ready to back her up if she needed it. Taking out her Digivice, she swiftly activated her Digisoul and scanned her pink aura over the device.
"Digisoul, charge!"
Lalamon was engulfed in data, her form changing into that of Sunflowmon. The sunflower Digimon lunged for Chrysalimon, but was smacked away by one of its tendrils. Quickly recovering, Sunflowmon dodged a scrap of metal that her opponent had thrown at her. Yoshino and everyone else jumped out of the way to avoid being hit. If this hadn't been such a dire moment they would have teased Masaru for the way he shielded Tohru with his body, and would have teased her for how red she turned.
Sunflowmon moved in closer and swung at the cocoon-like Digimon with her dino tail, landing a hit on it. It let go of Neon, who was falling to the ground. He squeezed his eyes shut, ready for the impact. Yoshino, thankfully, caught him and fell right to the ground with him. Keeping her arms securely around him, she helped Neon up and moved back away from the fight.
Chrysalimon easily dug its tendrils through the roof, breaking off some pipes and aiming the gas at Sunflowmon. She squeezed her eyes shut as thick gas fumes kept her from advancing closer.
"We should help Sunflowmon out!" Tohru took out her Digivice, evolving Terriermon into Gargomon. Masaru, Rosa and Tohma followed her lead and evolved their Digimon as well.
They each launched an attack on the enemy Digimon, ceasing its onslaught on Sunflowmon momentarily and giving her enough time to attack it head on. The sunflower Digimon lunged for Chrysalimon, tackling it to the ground and pinning it down. She charged up her attack, but winced in pain as its tendrils stabbed into her backside.
"Sunflowmon!" She could hear Yoshino's voice call out. She was in pain, but she endured it. She had to, for her beloved partner and friend.
"Don't worry, Yoshino. I'm fine!" She finished charging her attack, opening her mouth and unleashing a ray of light right at Chrysalimon. "Sunshine Beam!" The cocoon Digimon screeched in pain before turning into bits of data and becoming a Digiegg once again. Sunflowmon devolved back into Lalamon before plopping to the ground, injured and exhausted.
"Lalamon!" Yoshino rushed to her partner's aide and picked the flower bud up in her arms. "Are you okay?"
Lalamon could see the concern and worry in her human partner's eyes. "I told you, Yoshino. I'm fine." Despite that, she struggled to speak. But she would be okay after some well-deserved rest. Yoshino's lips tugged into a relieved smile and she returned Lalamon to the safety of her Digivice. Standing up, she walked over to a shaken up Neon who was still recovering from the shock of what just occurred.
"Hitoshi...I...it's true that I was investigating you, but...I wasn't acting when we were dating." Neon snapped his head up to meet her soft gaze, surprised by her words. "I do like you a lot. It's just that...my duty as a DATS agent comes first."
The blond popstar wiped the tears falling down his cheeks, feeling embarrassed that he was crying in front of Yoshino and her friends. He was filled with a sense of relief knowing that she did return his feelings.
"I wasn't acting either...I like you a lot too, Yoshino." Neon smiled softly at her. "That's why I felt hurt when I found out you were investigating me."
Yoshino's eyes widened for a brief moment, realizing she'd been wrong about him. She smiled back at him, but it faltered as she glanced down at the device in her hand. With that, his memories would be erased and he would forget everything about the Digimon he's encountered, about DATS…
But...but he'd also forget about the time they'd spent together over the past month.
"I'm happy to know you return my feelings, but...I-I'm afraid I have to follow protocol. Anyone who isn't associated with DATS can't know about the existence of Digimon. No exceptions...so...I have to…"
"Erase my memories?" Neon asked, smiling sadly. "I understand, Yoshino."
The magenta haired girl felt tears begin to form, but fought them back. She nodded, her expression matching his. "I'm sorry, Hitoshi. You'll forget about the past month….but I'll remember for the both of us."
"It's okay. Go ahead." He spoke in a softer tone. Still smiling. It hurt to see him look at her like that knowing they'd go their own separate ways. Possibly never to speak to each other ever again.
This was her job. She knew what took more priority, and he did too.
Yoshino lifted up the memory erasure device, the tears she'd been holding back falling freely down her cheeks. "Goodbye, Hitoshi."
"Bye, Yoshino."
A click. A flash, and Neon was put into a daze and fell into her arms, unconscious. With help from the boys, Yoshino got Neon into his room. She walked back onto the roof and looked up at the starry night sky above her.
Her teammates stood off to the side, watching her. Tohru was the first one to walk up to her, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder and looking up at Yoshino with a concerned expression. "Yoshino? Are you okay?"
Yoshino didn't answer at first. Sure, she'd handled herself well fighting against Keramon and won. But...the victory felt so bittersweet. Looking down at Tohru, she smiled sadly and nodded her head.
"Yeah. I'll be okay. Thanks for being here for me, Tohru."
Rosa kept her distance, still feeling guilty about what she'd said and realizing the irony of her harsh words when she'd snapped at Tohma for saying the same thing to Tohru. How could she have been so...bratty? Even for her, that was going too far.
She didn't want to admit it out loud, but...she admired how Yoshino was strong enough to erase the memories of the person she cared about. If Rosa had been in her shoes, she wouldn't be able to go through with it.
As the group left Neon's apartment and headed back to DATS HQ, Tohru and Masaru were both strangely quiet as they sat next to each other. Both of them thinking about how Yoshino had to sacrifice her happiness to keep Neon from knowing about them. It had to have been incredibly difficult for her to do, but she went through with it. She endured through the pain she felt in her heart.
Both teens had the same thought running their heads. Masaru would never want Tohru to forget about him. She was his best friend, the one person he looked forward to seeing every single day. He didn't realize yet just how much Tohru forgetting him would really hurt.
Tohru took Masaru's hand in her own, squeezing it so she would be comforted by just knowing he's still there. The street fighter glanced down at their fingers intertwined with each other, then at the girl sitting beside him. He felt her hand shake, so he gave it another gentle squeeze.
She wasn't as strong as Yoshino was. For her, if Masaru were to reject her or worse, forget about her entirely…
She was sure her heart would shatter.
I'm rather pleased with how this chapter turned out. I wanted to give some justice to Yoshino since she gets shafted so much in the show. I hated how she had little to no presence in the anime or got shoved off into the background when she was a main character. Her inferiority complex kind of comes out of nowhere and then never brought up or explored any further again. So I'm establishing it much earlier so it makes sense later on when it comes up again.
Also, what did you all think of the little flashback to how Tohru became friends with Masaru?
Let's hope that 2019 will be a better year than last year! Stay safe everyone!
-Bean