Chapter 36:-

"Mi…Ki?"

The two armored brings didn't react for a few moments, just staring at Yoshi. Then the white one started to laugh. Maniacally.

"Good, good! So you recognized us, Yoshi!"

"...Megumi..?"

"Yes! Absolutely correct!" Miki was the one to cry out this time. "Hey, comrade, remember what you promised us before leaving to reunite with your oh-so beloved Lolamon?"

"Huh?" Yoshi was in a daze. What were those two doing here? Why were they wearing those armored suits? How were they able to fight toe to toe against Rosemon? As questions flooded her mind, she staggered back, and her knees buckled.

Keenan rushed to her side, placing a hand around her shoulders instinctively. His mind was muddled too, but he knew that if he gave in to questions now, Miki and Megumi would eventually find an opening to attack him and Yoshi. And their desire to kill them was not concealed in the least.

"Yoshi, what should we do!?" Rosemon yelled, her grip on her whip was so tight that her hands were on the verge of getting cut by the thorns. With their identities revealed, she too was now unsure of her next move. How could she harm those two? They were her comrades.

But Yoshi was in no condition to give orders herself, leaving Keenan to take charge of things.

But before he could say anything, Megumi threw herself at the dazed Rosemon, tackling her to the ground. Miki seized this opportunity to propel herself towards the humans.

Keenan reacted just in time, jumping out of the way, pulling Yoshi with him. Miki crashed into the trees behind them, unsettling a lot of dust.

"Yoshi! Keenan!" Rosemon called out desperately. She mustered up her strength and managed to push off Megumi. Cracking her whip she wrapped it around Miki's neck. With a yank, she pulled the girl towards herself, swung around, and made her crash into Megumi. The two cried out due to the impact.

Rosemon was about to go check up on Yoshi and Keenan when the former called out. "We're fine, Rosemon!" Yoshi called out in a reassuring tone. "Keenan got cut in the arm by the debris. I will tend to him. But you need to take care of those two!" Yoshi bit her lip as she gave her order. "Incapacitate them! It will be tough, but that is the fastest and most efficient way to end this. I…" Yoshi bit her lip. "I don't think I can talk them out of fighting us."

Rosemon kept looking at the direction where the voice came from for a while. Her admiration for her partner we grew leaps and bounds as she witnessed Yoshi fighting with herself to give the order. Then she should give it her all too. The mega turned around and took up a stance. She could not be more determined.

By this time Megumi and Miki were staggering to their feet. No matter to what extent they were strengthened, they were still humans. And crashing into a heavy full body armour with enermouse force gave them a big hit, even when they were protected from head to toe.

Recovering first, Megumi ran towards Rosemon. Expecting a punch, the mega got ready to dodge and counterattack. But to her surprise, the girl suddenly swooped down and struck her right leg out, her heel jamming into Rosemon's left ankle. Rosemon fell forward, right into Megumi's outstretched arms. They wrapped around her back, crushing her. The mega cried out, and writhed in the girl's grasp. Our of the corner of her e yes, she saw Miki rushing towards them and leaping upwards. Her right hand curled into a fist. Realizing what she was about to do, Rosemon pouted all her strength to one side, causing the two to roll over, now with Megumi on top. But before the girl could do anything by about it, Miki, caught by her moment, punched the girl in the back with such force that the metal surrounding her fingers cracked and so did the metal on Megumi's back. The girl let out a painful cough due to the impact. Seizing the opportunity, Rosemon pushed away Megumi. She immediately got up and grabbed the girl by the back of the neck and did the same with Miki, who was unsure of what to do, as she had just hit her own ally in the heat of the moment. Flexing her muscles, she banged their heads together and immediately tied them together with her whip before they could recover. Rosemon wasn't the best Hand-to-hand fighter, even when in her Burst Mode. But she was afraid to use even a bit of her powers on the girls, or even use her full strength. At least she was confident that the two won't be able to break through her whip.

Meanwhile, Yoshi was tending to Keenan's cut. It was pretty deep, and she was feeling pangs of guilt as she realized that he got hurt protecting her. While she had succumbed to the shock, he had taken matters into his own hands and reacted quickly.

As she pressed at the wound with her baby blue (which was now a shade of white red), Keenan was biting his lip. He squinted at Yoshi and noticed her sad expression. Forcing a smile, he tried to comfort her. "Thanks a bunch, Yoshi! I appreciate it. And don't get so stressed over this small wound."

"Small? Don't try to reassure me by telling lies, Keenan. I am the one tending to you, so I very well know how deep the wound is." She sniffed, her eyes watery. "If I had reacted, you wouldn't have had to shield me from that branch. Taking control of the situation even though I am the adult here. So pathetic! "

"Yoshi." The tone in Keenan's voice suddenly turned stern. "Can I ask you who issued that order to Rosemon just now?"

"M-me…"

"Then? Listen to me. You are not pathetic in the least. You were just shocked, that's all. And it was perfectly normal under the circumstances. Don't belittle yourself, okay?"

Yoshi was quiet for a moment, staring at Keenan. She always had thought of it, but looking at him now, she had no doubt that the boy was quite mature for his age. Well, given how much he had gone through when he was a kid, it was hardly a surprise.

"Well?" Keenan suddenly bit his lip in pain instinctively. Hiding it was getting increasingly hard.

Yoshi noticed this, and smiled warmly. She began to attend d to his wound once again. "Yes, you are right. Thanks, Keenan"

~x~

"-Mi."

Distant, almost inconceivable voices.

"-Umi."

Hm? Were they getting louder.

"-Umi!"

Wait. That sounded a lot like-

"Yumi!"

"-Huh?" Yumi blinked open her eyes. As her vision cleared, she was able to focus on the Angewomon kneeling down in front of her. Her back slightly bent, and ther palms of her hands resting on her knees. "W-What is it?"

"I was scouting the areas, and saw a digimon running in our direction."

"...That doesn't necessarily mean something." Yuri stood up and brushed herself down. Shit. She was the one who was most hasty to get a move on, but had herself dozed off. "Did you recognize the digimon?"

"Yes. It was a Weregarumon. And… I think I spotted a… Patamon on top of him? I don't know, I was pretty far off."

Yuri's eyes widened. He had really come after her. She bit her lip, her paws clenched.

"Is something wrong? Don't worry Yumi, we can take care of them if you want."

When she heard the Angewomon's statement, Yumi looked up at the sky and closed her eyes, sighing deeply. She stayed quiet for a moment or two and when she spoke up, her tone was calm and collected.

"No. I can handle him. You gather everyone and get going. I will catch up soon."

"Huh? We aren't leaving you behind, Yumi! I told you, a few of us will more be enough to-"

"I thought I told you to get everyone together and leave." Although her tone didn't change, Angewomon could feel the underlying strictness of the statement.

"...Alright. I will trust your judgement, Yumi." Her feet lifted off the ground. "Get back to us as soon as possible, okay?"

"...Yeah. Sure."

With a nod, the Ultimate flew off, leaving Yuri behind. Left alone, the Champion slapped herself on both cheeks simultaneously. "Get a hold of yourself, girl. You were prepared for this. And what can one measly rookie do to me, right?"

~x~

His grip around the cup ramen loosened and it dropped to the rocky floor. The hot soup splashed on his pants, some noodles stuck to them, but he didn't notice. The pain did not register. The sight infront of him was so shocking that his leg did not react to the pain.

Keiji wasn't the only one shocked, though. So was Thomas, who was gripping the door handle as tightly as he could.

How many years has it been? Six? It certainly didn't feel that short. To the both of them, it felt like their surroundings had vanished. They could only see the other person standing infront of them. Even though Gaomon and Gabumon were present in the room too. But sensing the heavy atmosphere, the two kept quiet. Finally, it was Thomas who broke the silence.

"You… really are alive."

"Duh. You really that slow on the uptake?" The response came at once, out of reflex. Keiji wanted to bite his tongue off. That was how he used to act around Thomas before all this happened, and he was in such a daze that he forgot to act out his hatred.

"I…Searched for you everywhere." Thomas really didn't pay that much attention to how Keiji had replied. He lowered his gaze, not able to keep looking at Keiji in the eye anymore. "...And when I came to know that your brother's body was found...I thought…."

"That I died as well? A victim to a calamity that you caused?" The shock was now being replaced by an almost uncontrollable anger. Keiji felt like his blood was boiling.

The blonde kept quiet.

"What? Feeling guilty?" Keiji spat."Feeling guilty that you caused the death to the only family I had. And ruining my life?"

When Thomas still did not reply, Keiji took a step forward, clenched his fists and shouted, "Answer me! Thomas!"

At this, Gaomon acted, trying to defend his partner. "It was not his fault! What happened back then was in no one's hands!"

"Haah?!"

Jojo shot a deadly look at the digimon. "Don't spout rubbish! Everything was his fault. And he is aware of it!"

At this, Thomas gulped, his head still bowed. And before Gaomkn could interrupt, Keiji went on. "It all started with Belphemon, right? And who was it that helped the scientist, huh? With whose help was it that he was able to awaken Belphemon and merge with it? Who was it that indirectly caused the space to be ripped?!" His whole face was red now, his breaths slow and deep.

"It wasn't on purpose!" Thomas cried out desperately in reply. "I didn't expect that to happen… And what he did. In the end… I played no part in it…"

At this point, Gabumon, who was cowering in fear, tried to slowly walk out of the room and escape. But Keiji noticed this and immediately reached for the remote which was kept on the office table behind him. He pointed it at the Gabumon and pressed a button. "I believe it is at these moments that you have to stay by your Master's side, you insolent wretch."

The Gabumon stopped in his tracks, breaking into cold sweat as he realized what Keiji had done. As anger slowly engulfed him, he swept around, his face contorted with a mixture of horror and wrath. "What have you done?!" He cried out and bared his teeth, starting to run towards the man. "You monster!" When he was a few feet away from Keiji, he tried to jump, when suddenly he started to feel pangs of pain in every part of his body. He tripped forward, skidding to a stop just a few centimetres from his Master's feet.

"I-I hope you die a terrible death, Keiji." He said with as much spite as he could in his condition. He began to emit an orange glow, and burst into data, not even screaming in pain as he went. He didn't want to give the boy pleasure by his last act. A digi-egg formed, which burst too, eliminating all possibilities of the Gabumon to ever revive and lead a better life.

Keiji kept staring at the spot where the digimon was lying a moment ago, feeling neither remorse nor guilt over what he had just done. But he did respond d to the rookie's last words. "I have never once thought in the past few years that I will die peacefully anyway."