Authors Note: For chapter 29, we will be starting our fifth Google document. We are now at 534 pages and finally to really start getting into things. Also I would like to thank you all for reviewing and keeping up with us! We have reached 102 reviews, and I want to give a special shout out to Pokebreeder for being our 100th review!
Chapter 28: The Storm of Friendship
Takato leaned against the side of his desk as he stared out the window, his eyes in deep thought as they took in the deep blue sky. Here and there were clouds, thick and muscular, threatening looking, but fragmented. A bird flew across his vision and he followed it for a moment before dropping his gaze down to the cell phone in his hand. Tapping it once more, it lit up, revealing a picture of a red-haired, violet-eyed girl playing a game, a fearsome smile on her face.
He blushed, and smiled back, but it was a grim smile, and his heart beat painfully hard in his chest. Swallowing, his thumb hovered over the call button before retreating. Leaning his head back, he clenched his eyes shut. Taking a heavy, shuddering breath he pressed the phone to his forehead.
Rika… he thought. The memories continued to wash over him. He ached to call Rika… To talk to her about the memories and to know…how she felt.
I can't though, he thought. She doesn't remember. It'd be wrong of me to bring this up with her when she doesn't remember… The pressure that would put on her…
No. He couldn't do that to her.
My own feelings are messed up enough as it is. I've got to get a hold of myself before I can…
His phone suddenly buzzed in alarm and Takato squawked in surprise, nearly dropping it in surprise. After many flips and hand grabs, he hit the reply button.
"Uh…H-H-Hi?" he stammered. Who was it that called? He forgot to check.
"Takato," Rika's voice came over the phone, somewhat muffled for a moment before it became clearer. "Where are you?"
Rika! Takato groaned mentally as his heart beat half in pain, half in happiness at the sound of her voice.
"Home," he replied. "Where are you? Is everything okay?" He checked his mental calendar. Yes, they were supposed to meet up with the others today. When was that again?
Oh nuts… I lost track of time…
"Everything's fine," Rika assured him. "I just wanted to remind you that we're not meeting at the park due to IceDevimon but in Ichigaya. Wasn't sure if you got my text from earlier, and if you did, you remembered."
"Text…?" Takato lowered his phone to check and nearly kicked himself for not noticing it sooner. "Oh… Sorry, I missed it. Sorry about that. Anyway, I'll be there."
"Good thing I called then. Call me when you get here, so I can find you, OK?"
"I will," Takato nodded solemnly. He paused. "Hey Rika…?"
"Hm?" Rika's voice took on an inquiring hum.
Takato closed his eyes, fighting against himself for a moment before reopening them.
"Nothing. I'll see you when I get there."
With that, he hung up.
Lowering the phone, he took a deep breath and contemplated events for a moment before glancing at the time.
I've got to get going, he thought, grabbing his wallet. Everyone's counting on me. I can't afford to get lost in my head now of all times.
Exiting out of the picture, Takato locked his phone and headed out the door.
###
The clouds were getting greyer and Rika could feel drops of rain land on her clothes, causing the fabric to darken from the water. Opening up the clear umbrella her grandmother insisted she bring with her as she ran out the door, the rain began to beat down on the plastic in a steady tap.
Jeri had texted her - apologizing profusely - that she would be late. Apparently her father needed her to do something for the tavern before he would let her run off again. Rika assured her it was fine. Honestly, she wouldn't put it past the brunette to be on time despite that.
Pulling her phone once again, she pressed her lips together in annoyance when no new messages popped up on her screen. Patience was not one of her better virtues, and as the appointed time ticked closer, she grew more impatient.
Hearing footsteps approaching her, she glanced up, glowering on instinct, only for her facial expression to soften upon seeing Takato approaching her.
"Hey, you're actually on-" she paused in mid sentence, squinting upon realizing he didn't have an umbrella. "...Didn't you bring an umbrella?"
Takato paused to stare at her for a moment before glancing down at himself. A dry chuckle emerged from his lips and he shook his head.
"Ah...no," he admitted. "I was kind of worried that I wouldn't make it on time, so I...didn't think about it."
His eyes softened as they rose to meet Rika's once more. Another memory tugged at the corners of his mind, but he forced himself to focus. This was not the time for that sort of thing.
The heavenly sound of her laughter - so rare and beautiful; the soft feel of her lips pressed against his…
Stop it, he commanded himself. Please… Just...stop.
For now, his mind obeyed, but the memories hung back, waiting.
Giving an irritated sigh, she raised the umbrella up higher. It was so like Takato to forget his umbrella despite the weather forecast calling for rain.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" she asked impatiently. "Get under here before you catch a cold or something."
Making an eep sound, he hurried on over to Rika, opting to not argue with her, and ducked underneath the umbrella just as the downpour increased in intensity. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at the girl.
"Thanks, Rika."
"Don't mention it," she said simply, looking around the area to see if she could catch sight of Renamon, the vulpine wandering off for the moment to "canvas the area." She seemed increasingly tense as the days went on with no sign of IceDevimon or any further progress on stopping him, but Rika felt she should relax a bit more. She understood her partner's apprehension, but to get this wound up and paranoid was playing right into his hands.
And Rika refused to let the demon dictate anything about her life, to get the best of her. So she didn't worry about it.
Out of spite.
Turning her attention back to Takato, she frowned slightly recalling his rather abrupt hang up after his inquiry which he ended up waving off with a 'nothing.'
"Anyway, what was that thing you wanted to ask me earlier?" she asked, getting right to the point. Subtly was not one of her strong suits.
Takato blinked as he turned toward her, not expecting her to wonder about that as quite a bit of time had passed since then. He opened his mouth, all the denials ingrained into him starting to rise to the surface, only...he stopped.
Closing his mouth, he turned away. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he looked down thoughtfully, wondering if he should answer her, or how to answer her. Fear held him… The judging. The eyes watching him, gauging his reaction. The possibility of rejection, not just of his heart and feelings, but that he might be viewed as crazy held firm. He felt as though he were looking out over a vast gulf of ocean, and he were being expected to swim in its dark depths.
His breath caught in his throat as anger rose in him at himself...his behavior.
I haven't realized… he thought quietly. ...just how much of a coward I turned into.
"I just…" he began, deciding to open up just a little bit… To take that chance. "I just had a memory earlier. I guess I was...kind of bothered by it and I thought about talking to you but…"
He curled his fingers into his palms and he sighed in frustration.
"I don't know," he said after a moment. He looked back at Rika. "Do you remember anything?"
"Not really," she admitted, watching his expressions change curiously before shrugging her shoulders. "Not from lack of trying though. Apparently I have some issues regarding my father I need to take care of." She paused and pressed her lips together. "...That sounds even worse out loud than I thought."
"You always thought that," Takato nodded absently as he turned away, not quite thinking about what he was saying. Memories were again crowding close to the surface, and Rika's closeness caused his mind to move too quickly - a flicker of an image and a conversation, and he seized on it reflexively. "It came out when you sang. You said you hated singing because of him."
"I sang?!" she asked aghast, seizing on that more than the fact this apparently wasn't the first time they had this conversation. If only because she was used to her friends by now knowing her more closely guarded secrets she held, if only because she told them in the past.
Singing though … she didn't sing.
Takato winced, wishing he would pay more attention to the things he said, before nodding reluctantly.
"It was just a verse or two," he said, not meeting her eyes. The memory rose up and he flinched, taken aback by how powerful it was. For an instant...he was actually there.
"You unexpectedly dove into my lonely heart," his lips moved unexpectedly as, in his mind's eye, he saw himself wandering through Rika's yard and finding her seated by the koi pond, her back facing him, singing softly to herself. "You kindly wrapped up the things that hurt a little…"
The words died off as the memory faded, and he raised one hand to his face, his head throbbing a little. The only sound that he could hear now was that of the rain as it pummeled Rika's umbrella.
"Kami," Rika groaned, burying her face in her free hand. She didn't know what to make of it - she wasn't quite sure how to feel that people knew the things she kept - or believed she did - close to her heart for so long. It felt like part of her soul was exposed, and she felt … weak.
To make it worse, it seemed like today was just one huge blow in letting her know everyone was quite aware of her daddy issues.
She didn't know how to react to that - if only because she didn't remember lowering her guards. It wasn't like she minded her friends knowing it just … she didn't know quite how to put it into words. Like that because she couldn't remember any of this, there was a loss of agency. That and her increased vulnerability may have opened her to something far worse - pity.
"What else do you know?" she asked quietly, not sure if she wanted to know.
Takato lowered his hand and looked back at her, and felt horrible. The way she sounded… The way she looked almost seemed to tell him that she was afraid of him. Of what he knew. Feeling his heart sinking into his stomach he again turned away.
"I…" he began, hesitantly. He looked up toward the heavens, beseeching them for some kind of answer that would help him, only to find Rika's umbrella, splattered with raindrops, obscuring the view.
Lie, a part of him said from the deepest parts of himself. Don't you dare hurt her…
Takato closed his eyes. Rika would never forgive him if he did that to her.
"I know that your dad divorced your mom and that you haven't seen him in a long time," he said in a hushed voice. "I guess we talked a lot that day. You were pretty upset when you saw that I heard. You said some things about your family. I...don't remember them all too well right now, but I know they're all pretty...influential I guess? Old families."
"That's a nice way of putting it," she said dryly, lowering her hand wondering if she should just tell Takato the rest before he remembered. To regain some control - however miniscule. That and if it somehow came out she told Henry and Jeri and not him … something about the thought made her insides squirm.
I need a way to say no to Jeri, she thought grumpily.
"The Hatas and the Makinos. Mom married young, families approved for political reasons. She had me. Everyone was upset because the Hatas wanted someone who looked, well, Japanese, and the Makinos wanted a boy. When it was clear that neither side was getting what they wanted, my dad bailed and since then both sides of the family haven't quite forgiven me for messing things up. The end, now you're caught up and let's change subjects," she said, getting it all out in one impressive breath.
Takato grimaced, knowing what this had cost her. "Sorry," he apologized. "So...uh… What...would you like to talk about instead?"
He felt awkward saying that. Now they had a white elephant in the room with them and the others still hadn't arrived yet.
Maybe we shouldn't talk about anything at all?
He fidgeted for a moment and forced himself to be still. For the most part. His mouth, as usual, didn't know when to stop moving.
"Sorry for upsetting you," he repeated. "I didn't mean to."
"Stop apologizing. It's fine, and I know that already," she snapped, her irritability increasing, falling back on her tried and true defensive - threatening violence even though she mostly didn't mean it. "And if you're thinking about pitying me - don't. If you do, I don't care how much I like you, I will punch you."
Takato chuckled at that. "You actually did once. Can't remember over what, but…" He tapped his cheekbone. "Clocked me pretty good."
He felt a little better now. It was good to see that the same-old Rika was still there in spite of all the memory wipes that occurred. In a lot of ways, she stayed more together than he did.
"Could have been worse I guess," he shrugged, looking around to see if the others were arriving yet.
"You probably deserved it if I actually did punch you," she muttered under her breath. Even if she never expressed it out loud, hitting Takato was like kicking a puppy as well. Not as bad as Jeri - you'd have to be a devil to even think about raising a hand against her, but that was just something in her whole personality. Still, he must have seriously pissed her off which was saying something considering the allowances she made for him.
Pausing for a moment, she peeked at Takato, feeling glad he didn't linger on her father issues and let them drop easily enough.
"But if we're on the topic of memories, what about that one from earlier bothered you so much? Did something happen?" she asked. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to but … I am curious still."
Takato felt a blush crawl across his face again and he stiffened up. "Um…" he began. "It's…" He paused and ruffled his hands through his hair in agitation, letting out a loud groan.
"Sorry," he said, dropping his hands from his now messy hair. "I just don't know how to say it or if I even should. It… It would probably just make things awkward between us." He frowned ahead of him and continued in a quieter tone. Despite that, his voice sounded different. He was uncomfortable, but he was weighing the situation. "I don't think we need that right now with everything that's going on."
Rika studied him for a moment, pressing her lips together so they formed a thin line. She noticed how his face light up and his voice changed. She could only think of one thing which could make things awkward, and suddenly, there was this twisting feeling in her gut.
Guilt.
"Alright," she said, shrugging after a moment, her face relaxing into a well-practiced neutral expression. "We need to work on your skittish behavior around me as is. You act like I'm going to eat you or something."
At that, instinctively, Takato reached up to his shoulder and massaged it, as if his hand remembered an old wound.
"Sorry," he replied. "It's just...Mnemosyne. I've got memories returning and things are different. I'm still trying to deal with how I am now and…" His hand rose to his head and he pressed his palm against his skull. "Feels like my brain is splitting into ten me's and they're seeing ten you's. I don't know how to act around you right now."
"What did I tell you about apologizing?" she chided before smirking at him, unable to pass up an opportunity to tease him. "And just act natural. We're best friends, right? I already know you are a dork, so you missed the boat if you're trying to impress me."
"Me acting natural also included kis-" Takato snapped his mouth shut with a loud click, accidently biting his tongue in the process, as he realized what he was about to say.
"Owww…"
"You OK there?" Rika asked, her voice taking on a concerned tone as she ignored the fact he was just about to say 'kissing.'
"Fine," Takato mumbled in annoyance at himself. "Just...me being a Gogglehead, that's all."
He glanced at her and smiled. "You know, it was you who gave me that nickname, not Ayaka."
"I can see that," Rika grinned back. "I have good taste in nicknames after all. Still, you've always been clumsy -" suddenly the image of a sad-looking dinosaur coated in camouflage flashed in her brain and she burst out laughing. "Like the time you decided to paint Growlmon in water-based paint? I thought you had gone insane you know."
Takato cocked an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Growlmon…?" he asked. "I...don't remember a digimon with that name."
"You don't?" Rika asked, suddenly wondering where the name came from and if she was finally losing it. Still, the image felt … right.
"Growlmon was Guilmon's champion form." Rika turned around to see Renamon - a few feet away keeping dry underneath a tree and suddenly she felt bad for the fact there wasn't enough room underneath the umbrella for her - the kitsune's blue eyes wide in shock. "Takato, Henry and Terriermon painted him in an … admittedly poor attempt to hide him from prying eyes the first time he digivolved."
She kept staring at Rika, a sense of hope and elation rising from her core. She thought that her efforts had once again been in vain, but …
I never told her about the incident, and I never saw her interact with any echoes regarding it either, she thought, a smile beginning to crawl across her muzzle. Takato truly is good for her after all.
"That… You must have remembered something!" Takato exclaimed, a smile breaking across his face. Grabbing hold of her hand in excitement, he spun her around so that she was facing him more fully. "Think! What else happened? You said I used water-based paints. How'd you know that?"
Excitement welled up in her chest at the realization she finally, finally remembered something, a smile blooming across her face. She supposed she would have to tell Jeri later that she was right - in private of course, if only because of her pride.
Closing her eyes, she pulled at the image again. It became slightly clearer.
"Because … the paint was running in the rain," she said slowly. "I could see his red skin under the brown, green and grey."
"What else?" Takato pressed eagerly, tightening his grip ever so slightly around her hand.
She racked her brain for more details. There was the rain, and the pitiful expression of Growlmon. Her attention in her memory shifted back towards the ground, Henry and Terriermon standing protectively of Takato, whose eyes had turned red.
"... I think I made you cry." She turned to Renamon for confirmation who coughed awkwardly and looked away. "... Yeah, definitely made you cry."
Takato's smile softened and he pulled her into a tight hug.
"That's awesome," he whispered happily.
"Am I … uh, interrupting something?"
And for the second time today, Rika found herself caught in an embarrassing situation by one of her friends - and as her eyes flickered over, this time it was Jeri whose face was stained red.
Breaking away, Takato smiled at the brunette, so caught up in his happiness he couldn't even think about the implications of the scene.
"Rika remembered something," he replied, barking a laugh. "Apparently she made me cry. Isn't that cool?"
Jeri squealed in delight, and dropped her umbrella as she launched herself forward to envelope Rika into a tight hug ignoring Rika's yelp of, 'Wait, I don't have enough room!' After the heavy discussion from lunch, it seemed almost like a miracle that she remembered something so soon after finally confessing her issues surrounding her father.
A small part - a dark part - tinged with jealousy that it was Takato who helped coax the first memory out. Still that was quickly crushed with her own tight squeeze of the taller girl, just happy that something seemed to be going right for a change.
"I'm so happy for you!" she beamed before taking on a more chiding expression, although her eyes sparkled with impishness. "But of all things you remember, you remember making Takato cry? What gives, Rika?"
"Don't be mad at her, Jeri," Takato laughed. "I'm just glad she remembers something again that was taken by Mnemosyne." Stepping back a ways into the rain to give the two girls room, he smiled. "So what else do you remember? Anything?"
Rika rubbed Jeri's head - purposefully messing up her hair in "revenge" for her little jab - but completely missed her blush and ignoring the irritated huff as she looked up thoughtfully, Renamon walking over to pick up Jeri's fallen umbrella and held it over her and Takato.
"No … nothing," she admitted as she desperately tried to recall something - anything else. It seemed forcing it wouldn't help, and she looked down at Jeri, who looked slightly crestfallen at that. Poking the girl's forehead, she smiled at her. "I should listen to you more often."
"Mn, I know," the smaller girl hummed as she let go of Rika and took a step back, brushing off some invisible dirt off Rika's black jacket before fixing her own hair. While a part of her was glad that she was right - that she ended up helping her friend in the end, despite Rika dragging her heels - something about it … stung.
Get a hold of yourself. Rika and Takato have always been close. That's why you told her to talk to him at lunch, she reprimanded herself, noticing the umbrella floating slightly even though the handle was near Takato's hand.
"Switch back?" she suggested to Takato, taking a step into the rain and holding her hand out for her umbrella. Renamon - for who else could it be - handed her back the umbrella.
"If Rika's okay with it," Takato chuckled. "I mean, there are two umbrellas here now, so she doesn't have to."
"Two umbrellas and four people. Either way I'll be sharing, so I don't really mind who I share with," Rika shrugged.
Takato glanced at Renamon and nodded to her.
"I don't think I'll be switching out anytime soon," he smiled at Jeri, rubbing the back of his head. "Renamon needs some cover too."
Jeri nodded as Renamon stepped out from Jeri's umbrella and stood next to Rika, who held the umbrella a bit higher to make room for the kitsune. The brunette really didn't mind sharing the umbrella with Takato - her cheeks flushed slightly against her will as her imagination briefly seized on the romantic connotations before she shoved the thought violently to the side. She had given up on him after all.
"Why are you so tall?" Rika asked the vulpine, who merely smiled in response.
"Would you prefer me to hold the umbrella?" she asked amused, only for Rika to shake her head.
"Just asking," she hummed, pulling out her phone and checking her messages. "OK, so Takato was actually early, Jeri was on time, as always, so we're waiting for Henry and Ayaka. You two hear anything from them?"
"I didn't hear anything," Takato shook his head. "Then again, I seem to have a hard time hearing anything today so…yeah."
As if on some signal, there was a splash of a puddle as a copper-haired girl stepped into view, scowling at the group.
"Someone care to explain to me why we're meeting in the rain and not in a cafe or something?" Ayaka asked in what could only be called utter annoyance. "I mean, really?"
Not expecting an answer that would satisfy her, she glanced back and forth between Rika and Jeri, noting whose umbrella the boy was currently hiding under.
"You keep your mitts off of her, Gogglehead," Ayaka glared at Takato, who looked at her in confusion.
"Huh? What did I do?" he asked, flummoxed.
Rika snickered as Jeri's blush grew brighter as she protested with an, "Ayaka!"
"Don't 'Ayaka' me, Jeri," the girl snorted. "All right, who else is left? Just Henry?"
"Yeah," Takato nodded, still trying to figure out what the girl had been getting on his case for. "I'm sure he'll be along." He glanced at Rika. "I mean, he got your message about the park, right?"
"Considering he was there when I was informed myself when Renamon picked me up from school, yes," Rika said bluntly before glancing up at the kitsune with a slight smirk. "I swear to god, you were practically channeling my mother." She coughed slightly, changing her tone to match Renamon's. "You're not going to the park anymore, Rika."
"She's practically your big sister," Takato pointed out while Ayaka smirked.
"Yeah, and you need someone to tell you these things anyway since you do nothing but get into trouble," she added. "Demon Queen, remember?"
Rika huffed irritably as Jeri giggled, feeling slightly bad for Rika but not enough to rise to her defense - after all, it was true. While she may not deserve the moniker of Demon Queen, she definitely more than earned the title of troublemaker.
There was another splash as now Henry came into view. He smiled, having heard the last jabs at the fiery-haired girl.
"They're right, you know," he said. "You do need someone to look out for you. Anyway, looks like everyone's here. What's the plan for today? Where are we hanging...out?"
He blinked as he zeroed in on Rika's umbrella, and a hand raised in the girl's direction. Beneath the umbrella, slightly hunched over, was a certain, golden-furred kitsune. She looked ghostly and fuzzy at the borders, but otherwise he could see her!
"I...can see Renamon," he said before looking at Jeri and Ayaka. "Am I alone in this or can you two see her?"
"I just see Rika holding her umbrella awkwardly," Ayaka said, planting a hand on one hip as she looked the girl over. "No fox though."
"You can see Renamon?" Rika asked surprised, turning to her partner who looked equally as befuddled. It seemed today was just ripe for surprises.
"I can't see her," Jeri complained, her lips pulling into a frown as jealously once again stung her. While she had gotten pretty good guessing where she was based on little things - where Takato and Rika looked, or things Renamon herself did - she still needed a cellphone to see her.
"Something changed," Henry said, rubbing a hand on his chin as he drew closer. "Did anything happen earlier?"
"Ah… Well, Rika remembered something," Takato said. "Maybe that had something to do with it?"
"Wait, what?" Ayaka cocked an eyebrow at the red-haired girl. "You remember something all of a sudden? When did this happen?"
"Before you guys came. Takato had bit his tongue, and I was telling him he was always clumsy, and all of a sudden this image of Growlmon looking like some sort of kicked puppy covered in running paint from the rain popped into my head," Rika explained.
"Oh so it just wasn't a random memory of you making Takato cry," Jeri smirked, causing Rika to stick her tongue out at the girl only for it to be returned in kind.
"Wow," Ayaka said. "Either Takato's got to bite his tongue more often or Rika should try remembering making him cry more often."
She narrowed her eyes at Rika. "I bet you made him cry a lot."
"Uh… What are you trying to say, Ayaka?" Takato asked, tilting his head to one side, once more unable to understand her hostility to Rika.
"Forget it," she grunted. "Anyway, now that Henry's a little less blind now, can we please find a place to set up shop so we're not getting rained on?"
"I know this cute little coffee shop just down the street," Jeri said, hoping to stop any fight from breaking out before it started. She wasn't sure either why Ayaka was so hostile toward Rika - not that the redhead held back in her own snarky behavior. Still, they had yet to break out in a fight yet, so things were still going pretty well. "Why don't we go there?"
"Sounds good," Takato nodded. "Let's go."
###
Kazu stabbed his pencil into his eraser gum, glaring at his notes as if by doing so they would magically make sense to him. Ripping the pencil out, he held it between his fingers again before jamming it back in. The eraser bucked and jerked ever so slightly at the impact, its open, blackened wounds – of which there were many – bled eraser dust.
His eyes flickered up to Kenta, who sat across from him and he felt a flash of anger before dropping his gaze back down. He wished he didn't feel that way, but try as he might he couldn't get the fire burning inside him to settle down and back off.
He's a good friend and all… The only real, honest one I have left, but…
Lifting the eraser by his pencil, he brought it back down onto the table, twisting the needle-sharp tip a little bit deeper. In his mind's eye, he saw a pair of warm, amber eyes and a loving smile beneath them. His heart ached at the memory and he tightened his grip.
If she had really cared at all like she said, she would have called, he thought. We could be talking about this instead of…this.
"You aren't going to learn anything if you keep killing your eraser," Kenta said warily, his dark eyes watching Kazu. Ever since his breakup with Jeri, his … friend's mood had darkly increased. His angry outbursts were more frequent now, and more than once Kenta was reminded he was "my only real friend."
It made him feel worse for his own increasing traitorous thoughts, but as far as he was concerned, Jeri had the right idea.
"Why don't you just teach me to learn this stuff instead of talking about my erasers," Kazu growled in annoyance. "I do what I want to the damn things."
To emphasize his point, he stabbed it again, grinding the tip hard and deep. His fingers itched. He needed a cigarette soon. He tried quitting and had tried to keep it that way on the off chance that Jeri would come back to him, but every day was harder to resist the temptation than the last. His habit, which he reduced to once a day, was coming back in force.
Or maybe you could actually pay attention in class for once, Kenta thought, but didn't say anything. With Kazu's irritability and his own luck, he would get stabbed with the pencil if he was lucky - beat up if he wasn't.
"Well, what don't you understand exactly?" Kenta sighed, wondering what the point in all of this was. If Kazu got to college, he couldn't - wouldn't, he told himself - be doing this. He had his own studying to do, yet most of it was spent teaching Kazu.
I should get paid.
"Just...all of it!" Kazu exclaimed in frustration, spreading his hands out to indicate all the papers and open textbooks strewn out in front of him. Leaning forward into his hands, he buried his fingers into his hair and let out a strangled cry of frustration.
"I just don't get what any of this is supposed to do for me. History… Literature… English! What's the point of this stupid stuff?"
For you, who knows?
"We need it to get into a good college, which will lead to making good money, not to mention not shaming your family," Kenta reminded him before biting his lip, before tentatively pushing out hesitantly, "Although you can probably making a good living picking up a trade or an apprenticeship. The work won't be glamorous, but you could support yourself."
Kazu glowered at Kenta before getting to his feet.
"I need a smoke," he said, digging out his packet of cigarettes and patting around for his lighter. He frowned when he did not immediately find what he was searching for and stalked out of the room.
"Damn it… Where the fuck is it?" he grumbled. "You've got to be fucking kidding me…"
"Maybe it's in your desk drawer," Kenta said, looking up for a moment before returning his attention to his notes. He had seen Kazu squirrel many a things away in there over the years, and if his lighter was going to be anywhere, it would be there.
There was a stomp of feet as Kazu went over to his desk and he pulled it open. After looking through it fruitlessly for a few seconds he slammed it shut angrily.
"I bet Mom got a hold of it again," he growled, his fingers twitching in anger as he clutched at the sides of the desk in frustration. He could feel his skin clawing at him in desperation, needing a break from all the stress of the studies. Of constantly needing to be on his toes. To prove to his parents that he wasn't a worthless failure.
A break from the memories of her.
"Get out of here, Kenta," he said after a minute of glaring at the wall. "I want to be alone."
No need to tell me twice, Kenta thought as he grabbed his books and slid them into his bag with practiced ease. He had gotten better at packing up his school supplies - any extra minute in these "study" sessions alone with Kazu were an extra minute of Kenta's nerves popping.
"Whatever, man," Kenta grunted, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he stood up. "Bye."
"Yeah. Bye." Kazu dropped his head and tightened his grip on the desk. For an instant - just an instant - he imagined he heard a tone in his friend's voice that reminded him eerily of Takato and Jeri right before they left him.
Isn't he getting faster at getting his junk all packed together? a part of him whispered nastily, but he forced it out of his mind. Kenta was his friend! The only true friend he had left.
"Hey Kenta?" he asked as the boy started toward the door.
"What?" he asked, turning back around, his hand hovering over the door handle. He hoped the boy wouldn't ask him to go buy a lighter or something. Again. Kenta didn't want to be spending what little money he had - no matter how much Kazu promised to pay him back - enabling Kazu's bad habit. No matter how he felt about the boy, he did wish he would stop smoking - for his own health.
"Thanks for everything, chumley," he said, turning toward him and forcing a pained smile on his face. "Now get out of here."
Kenta felt his gut twist in guilt as he forced a smile of his own his face. It was times like these that he felt the worst for his own dislike of Kazu, since it was when his old friend shone through. The one who looked out for him, the one who never put him down and made him feel like crap.
The one he still clung to with a little more hope disappearing each day he would ever see him again.
"...Sure."
And with that, he left.
###
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
Cursing to himself angrily, Kenta ran down the street toward his home, using his bookbag as a makeshift umbrella as he tried - and failed - to dodge the pounding rain. His uniform within minutes of him leaving Kazu's house already stuck to his lanky body, and he cursed himself for not having the foresight of bringing an umbrella.
He just hoped he wouldn't catch a cold - even if it would be a good excuse to stay home from school. Yet if he was going to skip, he couldn't help but selfishly not want to be sick and miserable in bed instead of enjoying what could be a stress-free day.
"Kenta?"
Pausing when he thought he heard his name being called in the howling wind, he squinted his eyes, rubbing fruitlessly at the water-stained glass once again wishing he invested in contacts, when suddenly, out of nowhere, Jeri popped up. The rain which was pounding down on his body suddenly ceased as Jeri held her umbrella over the two of them, her forehead furrowed in worry.
"Jeri?" he asked before noticing for the first time there was other people - all of whom he recognized - standing behind her. Ayaka and Takato he wasn't too surprised to see, although the awkwardness clawed at him all the same. Despite knowing she now hung out with Rika, and was close friends with Henry - going to school with the two - he found himself a bit surprised to see them as well. "... Ah, uhm … uh."
Shit, what do I say?!
Ayaka tilted her head at the boy, half-remembering the conversation the two of them had at the playground that one day that now felt almost a lifetime ago.
Before I got caught up with the stupid craziness, she thought. Before...Akio.
She looked down and saw that he was soaked to the bone. "Jeez Kenta… What the heck were you thinking? You're as bad as Gogglehead here."
"Hey!"
"It's true though," she snapped, shooting the brunette a sharp glare. Approaching Kenta, she immediately started to pat him down in the hopes that by doing so she could wring some of the water out of his clothes. It was useless of course, as he was drenched from top to bottom. Stepping back, she made a disgusted sound and turned to Jeri.
"Is there a clothing store or something nearby? He needs something dry fast."
"Oh, uhm, that's fine," Kenta assured her, not quite sure how to handle her weird behavior toward him, or to handle the situation at all really. "I'm not that far from my house. I'll be home in the next five minutes or so hopefully."
That and I don't think I have money to just buy some dry clothes.
"Just five minutes?" Ayaka asked. "Fine, but I'm coming with you. Five minutes is five more minutes of you getting wet and probably getting sick."
She pushed her umbrella forward and Jeri's back. "We're pretty much done anyway, so it's not like you need me anyway."
Takato looked at Kenta thoughtfully for a moment before exchanging a quick look with Henry.
"Why don't I come too?"
"Gogglehead, this isn't a tea party!" Ayaka whirled about on the poor boy. "You don't have an umbrella and mine only has enough room for two. You two can play kiss and makeup later."
"Bu-wha…?" Takato gaped, blushing slightly in surprise.
"Why don't we all go?" Jeri suggested, trying to come to Takato's rescue. She hadn't really seen Kenta since breaking up with Kazu, and she felt bad for that. The spectacled boy really wasn't that bad - he was a sweetheart really, but his self-confidence problems just were worse than Takato's.
Not only that but he was a Tamer too. Part of her felt like he should be included in things and not simply … left behind.
Kazu is one too, she reminded herself, her gut twisting at the thought of her ex. While she was still rather upset about her break-up, the pain had pretty much dulled by now, and the fact she was able to throw herself fully into whatever mess this was provided a welcomed distraction.
"Eh? Why-" Rika began to protest, not quite understanding why Jeri suddenly wanted to escort this guy to his home when the said brunette rounded on her with a sharp look causing her mouth to snap shut.
"Good idea," Henry agreed while Takato looked about at the others, smiling at their support of Kenta.
"It's not a bad idea to hang out a little bit longer anyway," Takato added. Their meeting may be over, but there was no reason to just part ways so abruptly just because of that.
Ayaka rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. Let's just get a move on okay? I don't want to be out here all day you know."
"No worries," Henry chuckled, starting to move forward. Takato was quick to fall in behind him while Ayaka took hold of Kenta by the arm and began to push him along.
"Come on…" she sighed. "Before tweedle-dum gets himself lost or something."
"H-hey!" Kenta protested, his face blushing not quite sure what to make of the sudden appearance of everyone and their agreement to walk him home like nothing had ever happened between them in the past. The only person who even put up a fight was Rika, which was no surprise to him. What was surprising was that she stopped after one look from Jeri.
That's the girl who broke Kazu's nose? he wondered, falling in step with Ayaka, Jeri skipping all too cheerfully along with Rika lagging just slightly behind them all. Glancing at Ayaka, his eyes roaming to the others, they dropped down to the sidewalk as he held his bookbag close to his chest.
"Uhm … thanks though. You guys didn't have to walk me back…" he said quietly.
Takato silenced him with a light laugh and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "We're here because we want to be."
"Except Rika," Ayaka said, earning her a sharp look from the brown-haired boy.
"She's just not used to you. Anyway, how are you doing?" Takato rubbed the back of his head, looking a bit embarrassed. "Sorry about...well...everything. It's been a crazy few months, hasn't it?"
"Y-yeah," Kenta agreed, glancing at Takato. "I'm not mad though." Anymore. Just jealous you had the strength to do what I can't. "So don't worry about it. I don't blame you." He paused and pressed his lips together, and looked at Takato again. "What have you guys been up to though?"
"Crazy stuff," Ayaka said. "How badly do you want to know?"
Takato paused and looked at the others hesitantly. Should we tell him?
Rika frowned and shook her head. Jeri empathically nodded her head as Kenta, not noticing either of the girl's behavior just laughed.
"How crazy we talking?" he asked after a moment, finding that a conversation where physical violence in retaliation for whatever he said wasn't on the forefront of his mind was easy to slip into.
Takato closed his eyes. The hesitation to reveal what he kept from him all those months ago remained, and Rika felt it too. Still, Jeri seemed to think differently, and while he trusted Rika's instincts, he also trusted Jeri's.
"Well… If you really want to know," he began, "let's get you home first. You'll probably want to sit down before we tell you."
"Why?" Kenta asked before his eyes widened in worry. "You aren't caught up in something illegal, are you?"
His eyes drifted over to Rika as he said that on instinct, jumping when the girl scowled at him.
"What?" she demanded as he meeped looking forward, unable to hear the snort of amusement coming from the space next to Rika although he did hear Jeri's giggle.
What is this woman and being able to control vicious beasts? he wondered.
"Nothing," he whimpered, feeling her glare boring into his back.
Henry chuckled and shook his head at Rika. "Just like old times," he said, more to himself than to any of the others. "Maybe this time...things really will be different."
"Eh? What are you talking about?" Kenta asked, turning to the Chinese boy, not quite understanding what he was talking about as Rika glowered at him, Jeri telling her to "play nice."
Takato felt an odd tickle in the back of his mind at Henry's words, and he saw a flash in his head of himself and the others - Rika, Henry, Jeri, Kenta, Kazu, Suzie and three others he didn't recognize - looking up at the sky, watching small, round digimon fade into nothing, tears streaming down their face as, in their greatest triumph, they saw what it cost them.
The image was gone almost as soon as it came however, and the brown-haired boy blinked as he noticed a change in the weather. Sunlight shone down on them now, giving the area around them a golden sheen. Rain continued to pelt them though, but it was a cozy sound. It, coupled with the umbrellas, made him think that they were all in some kind of fort, hanging out.
"Hey," he began. "It's a sunshower."
"Guess a kitsune is getting married," Henry chuckled, winking in Rika and Renamon's direction.
Rika looked up at her partner with a smirk, who looked down at her slightly confused, not understanding why they would believe a sunshower means a kitsune was being married or why that would be a prerequisite for marriage in general. In her own experience, rain just made her smell odd, and after learning what marriage was, it wasn't something she would want to do in the rain.
"I am not getting married," the vulpine informed her only to cause Rika to burst out laughing, making Kenta look at her in confusion.
Talk about mood swings … Kazu was right. She is crazy, he thought.
###
"Make yourselves comfortable," Kenta said, grabbing some dry clothes out of his drawer, already drying off as best as he could with a towel when they entered his house. When they took off their shoes and stacked their umbrellas neatly in the doorway, the spectacled boy noticed he didn't see his parents shoes. A short inspection of the kitchen resulted in a note letting him know they'll be 'back later' and to 'reheat the leftovers' if he got hungry. "I'll be back in a minute with some tea and snacks."
Jeri did just that as Kenta left the room to go change, settling herself down on the neatly made bed. Rika on the other hand, feeling uneasy at being in a home of a person she really didn't know (or like so far), shoved her hands in her pockets and looked around.
It was relatively plain she guessed. A laptop with papers strewn on a desk. A bookshelf lining the wall filled not only with books and manga, but movies, video games and a couple of action figures as well. There was some posters on the wall from different animes such as Gurren Lagann, some video games she was sure Henry would recognize and a single old Digimon poster.
"I sometimes forget that it isn't normal to have a Spartan room," Renamon remarked dryly, glancing at Rika who only grunted in response. She didn't quite understand after looking into so many other rooms over the past three years why Rika's was so empty.
Takato chuckled, turning toward the girl he knew Renamon was referring to. "Well… We already know Rika's not a normal person. Not that that's a bad thing I mean, but...still."
He flushed lightly, wondering if he were overstepping the bounds he promised to steer clear of while Henry gave him a curious look before shrugging off as Takato being who he typically was, a Gogglehead.
"This is going to be a bit tricky," he said. "But...hopefully Kenta will be all right. He's been out of the loop for so long after all…"
"It'll be fine," Jeri assured him with a wide smile. After all, Kenta wasn't like Kazu - he would listen. Renamon was here as well, so they had a way to quickly qualify their claims. Kenta may have low self-esteem problems, but she knew that he was stronger than they gave him credit for.
"Your endless optimism continues to be unreal," Rika rolled her eyes, unsure how Jeri could be so certain that things would go well. The brunette just stuck her tongue out at her.
"I could say the same about your negativity," the lion-hearted girl retorted.
"Let's not go starting any arguments," Henry admonished. "We need Kenta to be open to us, not expecting like he's about to be attacked. He deals with that a lot already."
He turned to Renamon. "We'll need you to put on a little show when we reveal you. Nothing fancy. Just...do what you usually do to show that you have a physical presence in the world. Only...less scary."
"I'll try," Renamon said. "Although I'm not sure how an invisible being suddenly moving things wouldn't be considered 'scary.' He seems rather … skittish as is."
"You'll be fine," Rika assured her, patting her arm comfortingly. Renamon smiled at her, wrapping her tail around Rika in a hug.
"That would make a good picture," Takato smiled. "Should we take that one as evidence, or wait?"
"We lose pictures, remember?" Henry reminded, causing Takato to rub the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Oh… Right."
"Hey, sorry. I hope I didn't make you guys wait long," Kenta said as he came back in the room, balancing a tray with six glasses, a kettle and a package of cookies. Placing them down on the ground carefully, Jeri slipping off the bed to help him.
"So," began Takato as everyone took a glass, "about earlier… What do you want to know?"
Taking the kettle, he began to pour tea into glasses. Steam rose into the air from each one and Takato breathed in, feeling the warmth enter him and chase away the cold from his body. It made him feel a little bit better about what they were about to reveal. It was never easy. The risk of alienating Kenta felt so high.
"I really don't know what you mean," Kenta answered as he took a glass, nursing it slightly, feeling a sense of heaviness bore down on him. He wasn't sure how a simple question could lead to this tense atmosphere.
Are they doing something illegal? he wondered, once again glancing at Rika, only to look away hurriedly when she caught his gaze.
"I...don't think it's illegal. It's just...well, crazy sounding. I…" Takato glanced at the others before sighing. "You might want to take out your phone for this. Use the camera and aim it over there, by Rika."
A pause.
"You'd better put your glass down for this one."
"Uhm … OK," Kenta said, raising an eyebrow as he put his glass down and dug his phone out of his pocket. Feeling completely foolish as he opened the camera feature, he couldn't help but wonder if this was some sort of prank. Payback of some kind.
Takato isn't like that, he admonished himself, but it didn't have any real feeling to it. If you told him a few years ago Kazu would become into the person he was today, he would have laughed at them. People change.
Raising the phone and pointing it toward Rika, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to be looking at -
Wait. What is that?
His brow furrowed in confusion as there was movement and suddenly there was a large yellow fox which looked suspiciously like a Renamon - he may have stopped playing the game but he still remembered the creatures - come into view. Looking up and seeing nothing, he turned his attention back to his camera.
His head acted like a bobble head a few more times until-
"Ah. It waved." A pause, then finally as the implication sunk in as he dropped his phone and scooted away in shock. "Holy crap, digital ghosts!"
"Well… More or less," Henry said. "There's a lot to catch you up on."
With that, Henry laid out the story as he understood it. From when he first realized that their memories were being altered, and then taking it backwards to their own history as Tamers and what the world was like prior to the mind-wiping. He was methodical, answering any questions that Kenta had while trying to keep it as simple as possible. Once he was finished, he leaned back to take in the boy's reaction.
It's a lot to take in, he thought, drinking from his glass. The tea had cooled decidedly since he started, and he quickly added more from the kettle.
"I … I need a drink," Kenta groaned, feeling like everything he knew was a lie. His world shattered into a million pieces under the span of a half an hour. He wanted to believe it a lie - after all Digimon being real? A being which tried to end the world, using Jeri to do so? Another one which was continuously erasing their memories? It all sounded like something straight out of a science-fiction story.
Yet…
Yet…
There is no way all of them are lying about this. The talk about the D-arcs - his eyes flickered over to his closet where he kept his Digimon stuff. He had thought it was a limited edition card reader, but it was proof he was a Tamer, and to a Mega Digimon no less.
"We're underage," Rika frowned.
"And everything I know is a lie!" Kenta snapped irritably, before flinching realizing he barked at the wrong person. "So-sorry. I'm just having a hard time processing this."
"Take it easy, Kenta," Takato said, reaching out and massaging his back. "Take deep breaths. Um… Do you want to...I don't know...shout or anything? Maybe that'll help?"
"How will it help?!" Kenta snapped, pulling away from Takato. "Are you saying I should scream like I'm some kind of crybaby? How does that solve anything?!"
Clutching the sides of his head, he gave an extended, frustrated groan.
"Kenta…" began Takato again, only for the bespectacled boy to turn a fearsome glare on him. Takato's mouth snapped shut at the palpable rage boiling beneath the surface. Kenta quickly looked away, looking ashamed.
"This…Mnemosyne… It's way too big," he continued, his arms trembling in anguish and fear. "How can we stop it? It's…pointless."
"Speak for yourself," Rika snapped irritably. "Saying it's pointless without even trying - what sort of attitude is that? We've taken down bigger things with more of a threat. If you don't want to fight, go ahead and wallow in self-pity. I don't really care."
"Rika!" Jeri admonished, a bit surprised at the attitude she had taken up with Kenta. She knew Rika never was quite close to Kenta - even in the past - but still. She understood Kenta's fear - she found herself asking the same question day after day.
Kenta felt something snap in him and he turned his attention on the red-haired girl.
"Of course you wouldn't care!" he grated. "Since when did you care? You came in and broke up my friends and then you dragged them into this crazy…" Kenta flailed an arm around, grasping for something that would best describe what he felt. "...whatever this is! This...science fiction role play-thing! When we don't even have our digimon with us?!"
He was breathing heavily now, his face flushing as all the anger and frustration he felt in him - building up on his insides like a thick, toxic slime - came roaring out of him in one mad rush.
"This whole thing is stupid!"
Rika felt her anger rising. She was tired of everyone blaming this thing on her. She was tired of being blamed for everything. Why was it her fault? What exactly did she do? She didn't tell Takato about the echoes until she learned he could see them as well. She didn't start the fight between Takato and Kazu, nor whatever lead to the break-up between Jeri and Kazu.
"I'm so sick and tired of people blaming me for things," she snarled.
"Rika, calm down-" Renamon tried, placing a paw on her shoulder only for Rika to shrug it off. She wasn't really in the mood to be calmed down right now. Standing up, she glared down at Kenta, Jeri slowly getting to her feet as well recognizing the rage in her eyes.
She had seen it before, and it usually resulted in someone getting hit.
"Let's not do anything hasty here," Takato said, getting in between the two. "Look, I get that things are...not going the way we planned…"
"No shit," Rika snarked, clearly not placated, although Jeri was feeling slightly better there was a body between Kenta and Rika. Still she was ready to help Takato hold her back if necessary, and she knew Renamon was ready to intervene as well.
Takato grimaced, not at all sure how he was going to defuse the situation. Rika was pissed.
Here comes another black eye, he thought until the quiet sobbing of Kenta caught his attention.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
Turning, Takato saw the boy's hands underneath his glasses, pushing them up as he pressed against his eyes, trying to stem the flow of tears. With all the anger out in the air now, he saw the darkness for what it was. His anger, yes, but it was also Kazu's anger as well. All the vile, toxic frustrations, the ventings and harshness thrown at him whenever things didn't go his way or he came up short against an obstacle. Kazu had to know on some deeper level that his life was steadily coming apart at the seams, but he buried his fears and frustrations deep down where it festered like a disease, spewing out every now and then, worsening in frequency and virality as time wore on.
In recent times, Kazu saw a source to one of his frustrations; the loss of his friends. Takato and Jeri hit him the most, and behind them was always Rika and whatever was going on with her. When he wasn't saying anything about it, the issue was always the elephant in the room, unspoken but present.
Almost without realizing it, he allowed it to fester in himself as well.
"All of you left." His shoulders shook as he spoke. "I've been alone and all I'm doing is waiting for Kazu to snap for real. And all of you…" Lowering his hands from his tear-stained face, he looked around at everyone. "...you're together. With this fantastic story and it's like… Like…"
Kenta urped all and bent over, gagging and choking. Hot bile erupted in a thick stream from his mouth and spilled out onto the rug.
"Kenta!" Takato exclaimed, rushing over to him, grabbing hold of him. A pair of hands pushed themselves in front of him though, and Ayaka was suddenly there, warning everyone off with a sharp look. She had been watching silently the whole time, rather enjoying seeing the normally quiet and reserved boy actually cut loose for once - although she wished it was against the right person and not them - but upon seeing him start to vomit from the accumulated stress, she broke away from simply standing by.
Time to step in…
"I've got this," she said, wrapping her arms around Kenta's shoulders and helping him up. "Jeri, you want to clean up the mess? These bozos will only mess things up."
"Do you need a hand?" Henry asked, only to receive a shake of a head in response.
"I said I've got this. The rest of you putter."
With that, she steered Kenta out of the room and toward the bathroom.
The hostility had started to evaporate when Kenta started to cry, and completely disappeared when he vomited. There was no way Rika could be mad at someone so pathetic. Now she was just left with a vague sense of guilt.
Not that she was the only one.
While Jeri was glad the situation didn't end in violence, she couldn't help but feel horrible. She was part of the reason Kenta was alone - she didn't even reach out to him, try to include him when she broke up with Kazu. She only really hung out with the boy when Kazu was around honestly. He was always in the background.
"I'll … uhm, go get some paper towels from the kitchen," she stammered, not sure how to handle the situation.
"I'll come with you," Rika sighed, running her fingers through her hair. When Jeri turned to her in surprise, she looked away and scowled. "I hate standing around doing nothing. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"
"No," Jeri replied, smiling wanly at her.
"He'll be okay," Takato said. "I know it looks bad now, but...he's a lot tougher than you think."
"I'll hold you to that," Rika grumbled, following Jeri out of the room, shoving her hands back in her pocket. "I don't exactly like the feeling I just kicked some pathetic creature in the gut."
Takato's face softened.
"I'll do what I can," he said. "I used to be where he is now, you know. I wasn't much when we met for the first time again."
"Well let's just hope he's like you then," she said.
"Rika?" Jeri's voice called from down the hall, causing Rika to turn around.
"Coming! Jeez!" she called before running after the girl, Jeri's voice echoing in the hall with the retort of,
"Don't 'jeez' me! You were the one who wanted to come in the first place!"
###
Kenta and Ayaka returned to the room sometime later, Kenta looking pale-faced and sickly still, but he looked… Takato didn't want to say 'better,' but he definitely looked 'purged.' He looked up at Rika and flinched away at first, but caught himself. Forcing himself to approach the girl, he bowed to her.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, swallowing. "I…I didn't mean for you to… I mean… I'm…I'm a jerk. I wasn't fair to you."
"It's fine," she grunted, feeling even more guilty for snapping at him. Jeri had told her the circumstances of his situation in a hushed whisper when they were looking for paper towels, and she felt even worse. While she was annoyed at his general pathetic nature, she couldn't really fault him anymore. "Sorry that I … set things off I guess, even though that was never my intention."
"Don't…" Kenta swallowed again. "Don't apologize. It wasn't your fault. It…" He pushed his glasses up and massaged the bridge of his nose. "It's just… It's not your fault." Sniffing, he dropped his glasses back down and looked Rika in the eye. "I'll try not to treat you like that again. Okay?"
Rika shifted her weight uncomfortably. She never really got used to apologies to her - it always seemed foreign. While everyone was quick to blame or suspect her, for people to say they were wrong and tell her they would try not to do it anymore … how was she supposed to react to that?
"OK. Just … don't cry anymore. It makes me uncomfortable," she mumbled.
"She's socially inept, so just don't get bothered by her sour attitude," Jeri told Kenta, smiling at the boy, feeling the need to step in. She didn't want him to feel like he had to hide his emotions in front of Rika - he needed the release valve or else something like this might happen again.
Kenta nodded and held out a hand to Rika.
"I'll try," he promised. "I don't know what I can do, but...I'll do what I can even if it means serving everyone tea or even misou soup."
Staring at the outstretched hand, wondering why he wanted to shake her hand, she jumped something when Renamon helpfully elbowed her. Taking it, she noticed it was still clammy and she internally grimaced. This was the first time she caused someone to throw up - that she knew of.
"Yeah."
Henry glanced at everyone, a small smile forming on his face as he breathed a mental sigh of relief. Though they lacked everyone, they were now one more step closer to their team returning to normal.
Nominally, he reminded himself. Without everyone remembering the past, we might as well be strangers to each other. Hopefully that'll change.
His mouth set itself into a thin, grim line and he looked outside Kenta's bedroom window. Grey skies swallowed the blue back up, causing the golden light to disappear once more. It felt ominous and he shivered unconsciously as the sound of rain began to strike at the house.
It has to.
Authors Note: We had literally like two things planned this chapter. One of them didn't make it into this chapter. Everything else was literally us starting to write and then being like this is an excellent use of foreshadowing that we should capitalize on.
