Digital Shuffle
By famirad

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Digimon.
Author's Note: Third season, centered around Takato and Jenrya (and one more character). Switches to the other characters from time to time. Takes just before Yamaki sets forth his Juggernaut plan (like, a day or two before the Juggernaut is activated. Don't really know the exact episode, guess between Episodes 12 and 14) departs from canon from there and goes off in a different direction).

Italics for thoughts and emphasis and sound effect.

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Digital Shuffle
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(Chapter 2 – Absence and Delay)

Another sunrise.

Renamon hid a smile, the fox-Digimon leaning back as the first sliver of light cut across the horizon. She had a good view of the city from where she sat on the wall, her paws swinging against the surface, with Ruki's house only a few yards away. It was a morning ritual, sitting on the wall before everyone else was awake and watching dawn approach. The lightening sky illuminated the expanse of the city, reflecting off shingled rooftops.

So peaceful. It wasn't that she disliked being Ruki's partner (the exact opposite, actually), but sometimes she felt she needed to be alone to think about things she felt Ruki probably wouldn't understand. There were simply some things she knew she couldn't talk about with her partner. Renamon shook her snout. Still, most of the time up I'm up here, I don't think of anything. Guess I can't just admit I like watching the sunrise.

The Digimon drew up her long hind legs to her chin, wrapping her arms around them, Renamon's claws reaching up to scratch her neck. The sun continued to rise, a stray gust of wind rustling the trees within the courtyard. She glanced over at the rustling foliage, smirking.

"Are you quite done with sneaking about?"

There was a harsh bark of laughter from the tree. "I'm gettin' a kick watchin' ya get all angsty out here. Yer no better than that human of yers."

Renamon shrugged, her fur rippling with the movement, "I would hardly call this being 'angsty'. More like appreciating beauty."

"Yeah, right, call it whatever ya want."

Renamon turned back to watching dawn break. "Why don't you come out and join me? I don't bite."

Suspicious silence, followed by another rustling of leaves. The owner of the voice stepped out, the branch bowing under Impmon's weight as he hopped lightly from the tree to the top of the wall. The black virus-Digimon planted his gloved paws on his hips as he swaggered toward the other Digimon.

"I'd like to see ya try to eat me," Impmon sniffed.

"You're not worth the effort."

Impmon plopped down on the wall next to her.

"Ya still hangin' out with those dumb humans?"

"You still full of hot air?" Renamon replied pleasantly.

Impmon scowled at her retort, but said nothing in return. He rubbed absently at the face pattern on his stomach, staring at the rising sun. Renamon didn't attempt to pick up the conversation, her bushy tail swishing behind her. She didn't know why Impmon decided to drop in and she wasn't particularly interested in knowing either. She found him to be rather irritating, although she had (surprisingly) some fairly intelligent conversations with him in the past. At the moment, she didn't feel like bantering.

The sun was almost completely up. She was going to have to get down off the wall before people started going outside. It wasn't a good idea to let people see her.

"I don't suppose ya got the brains to ask me why I came here, d'ya?"

"I can't say I care what you came here for."

Impmon kicked his feet against the sloping shingles, wearing a smug expression on his face, "Oh, I wouldn't get yer fur coat all bunched up just yet, Renamon. I just thought I'd share with ya something interesting I saw last night, but I guess yer not interested."

Renamon was sorely tempted to roll her eyes at this. Oh, let me guess, this is probably something that will supposedly convince me to abandon Ruki. Doesn't he ever learn?

"Surprise me," she said dryly.

Impmon crossed his arms across his chest. "Well, well, well, so ya are interested. Ya plannin' to pay me for this information? It ain't free."

"Pay you? What could a Digimon like you possibly want money for?"

Impmon got to his feet huffily. He glared at Renamon.

"Money? Who said anything about money? I'm talkin' about bringin' me some grub!"

"You can't get your own food?"

Impmon sneered. He was starting to lose his patience. "Look, d'ya wanna know or not?! I think this is something you or rather, that 'Tamer' of yours, are goin' to really want t'know!"

Renamon considered this. Her curiosity was starting to get the better of her and she wondered what exactly Impmon had to tell her that was so important. What did he have to say that could possibly interest Renamon or Ruki? Maybe I should hear him out. At least his ramblings should prove to be amusing at the very least. Besides, Ruki's grandmother had made a huge dinner for the family last night. Renamon was sure no one would mind if some of the leftovers were gone.

"I don't suppose you happen to be partial to shrimp dumplings," Renamon glanced sidelong at the other Rookie. "Do you?"

"I might be." Impmon turned away indifferently, but the growling of his stomach betrayed his true feelings. He froze.

"Might be, huh?" Renamon stood up, bearing her small fangs in a grin. "Sounds like it's more than a 'might be'."

Impmon only grunted.

"Wait here."

Renamon hopped down from the wall and vanished. She reappeared in the house's pantry, her paws landing lightly on the polished wood. Where did they put those dumplings? She struggled awkwardly with the doors, her large paws and claws proving to be unwieldy with the small human handles of the cabinet. No, not here. The fox-Digimon turned and began searching through the darkened room, her keen eyes having little trouble seeing her surroundings. What about that cold box? What does Ruki call it - the "re-frig-er-a-tor"? Yes, I think that's it. She turned and opened it.

"Ah." Renamon pulled out the small plate, spotting the familiar shape of the dumplings through the plastic wrap.

She vanished again, reappearing behind Impmon. His eyes visibly lit up at the sight of the shrimp dumplings

"Here." She held out the plate.

Impmon snatched the platter from her, tearing through the plastic wrap. He began to shovel cold dumplings into his mouth. Renamon crouched down beside him, waiting, until, with a satisfied burp, the smaller Digimon handed back the empty plate. He wiped his mouth with the back of one gloved paw, brushing away the crumbs.

"Well? What is it you have to tell me?"

Impmon let out another tiny belch. "Hold yer horses, I'm gettin' to it."

He stood up, taking his time as he stretched his black limbs lazily.

"Just a little bit of advice. Ya might wanna check out that building those humans call Tokyo Tower. Might find something interesting there."

"Like what?"

Impmon shook a finger at Renamon. "Oh, I'm not gonna spoil the surprise. Just sayin' ya should check it out. Might want to call those other loser 'Tamers', if ya can find all of 'em." He smugly made it obvious he knew more than he was letting on.

"That doesn't help."

"I ain't here to help ya." Impmon pushed himself of the wall and down onto the pavement below. "But thanks for the shrimp."

Renamon watched him saunter down the sidewalk, bewildered. What could have happened at Tokyo Tower? She knew the building had been closed for several months for renovation (Ruki made a remark about it a while ago – as far as she knew, no one had entered or exited the building for months and there was no work being done whatsoever) and now there was something having to do with repaving the roads, which further closed off the Tower.

Besides, from what I know of Impmon, he usually doesn't try to help us out unless it's really something important. He may be tiresome, but as far as I know, he hasn't lied to us…

Maybe I should tell Ruki about this. If a Digimon's running about, it could get messy.

Jenrya quickly glanced down at his watch. Almost eight. Shoot, I shouldn't have overslept! He needed to pedal a lot faster if he wanted to make it to school on time. It didn't help Terriermon was riding in his backpack. The boy leaned forward as his bicycle careened down the sidewalk.

"Hey, could you slow down? I'm about to get carsick back here!"

"Sorry, Terriermon, but I'm gonna be late for school. Besides, you can't get carsick. You're not even in a car."

"Fine, then I'm gonna get bicycle-sick."

"Look, I can't slow down. Being late for class is one thing, but being late for school is totally different!"

He could see his school in the distance. Terriermon mumbled something in response and slid further into his backpack. He was still sleepy and looking forward to taking a nap in the warm backpack, a luxury his human didn't have. Jenrya took another glance at his watch. At least ten minutes before the bell rang. He'd have enough time to get to class and in his desk, though he'd be pulling it really close.

What was it with pulling things really close these days? First the Digimon battles, and now school.

He wheeled his bicycle through the gates, heading where other children with bikes were heading.

" 'Morning, Jenrya."

Jenrya got off his bike and nodded to the other student. " "Morning, Kenta."

The Tamer bent to snap the lock of the chain around his bicycle, as Kenta stepped back. Jenrya didn't really know Kenta that well. Sure, he had some classes with him, but other than the fact Kenta was one of Takato's other friends, Jenrya couldn't say he knew that much about him.

After a minute of Jenrya fiddling around with the lock, Kenta cleared his throat.

"Hey Jenrya, uh, I don't suppose you've seen Takato, have you?"

Jenrya looked up from the lock. "No. Why?"

"Well, he was supposed to meet me and Hirokazu in the park today to return my Power-Booster card. He didn't come so I was wondering if you walked with him to school or anything."

"I haven't seen him." Jenrya said. "Maybe he slept in on accident."

"Oh, shoot." Kenta frowned. He suddenly brightened, "Hey, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Could you tell Takato to meet me and Hirokazu at the park after school? Kinda need that card."

"Sure."

Kenta took off then, freeing him up to book it to class. Jenrya hurried to his desk near the back of the room. The other students were slowly drifting toward their seats. He pulled out his notebooks from his backpack, almost grinning at the sight of Terriermon snoring softly among his folders and the sweater he packed. Aw, just like a big teddy bear, if teddy bears suddenly turned green and sprouted rabbit ears. A glance out the window showed a sky that was cloudless, with only a light breeze.

Jenrya turned his head to look at Takato's empty desk a few seats away. He swiveled forward as the bell rang. Okay, Takato was officially late.

"Class, quiet down!" The history teacher stepped in, closing the door behind him. He pushed up his glasses to the bridge of his nose, and moved behind his desk. The laughter died down as he glanced about the room, "Hmm, looks like everyone's here except for Takato. Who has their Meji timelines? Let's see a show of hands."

Most of the class raised their hands. The few who didn't looked sheepish or panicked: they probably procrastinated or forgot about the assignment altogether.

Mr. Mori counted the hands and nodded with approval.

"Good. That's most of you. I want you to pass them up to the front of your row. As for you who didn't do your timelines, I'm disappointed. I gave this project out a week ago and said repeatedly it'd be due next Thursday. I'll be giving out extra credit, but I don't want you thinking you can all slack off because I'm doing this. I'll let this go for now, but I want all of you that didn't turn in this project to start writing your assignments down in your homework folders from now on. I know you're still kids, but you're going to be teenagers, so you're going to have to treat school seriously."

He gestured to his desk. "Please put the timelines up here."

As soon as the boys and girls in the front row set the packets of paper on his desk, Mr. Mori rubbed his hands together.

"Class, turn to page seventy-five. I'll give you until eight-thirty to finish the section and then I'll answer any questions you have." Mr. Mori sat down in his chair, the wheels squeaking as his weight settled into it. He picked up a marker and picked up the first paper from the stack.

Jenrya reached under his desk and pulled out the history book. As he started reading on the chapter, he couldn't help glancing over repeatedly at Takato's empty seat. Where is he? Jenrya's eyebrows furrowed as he turned the page. Takato was rarely, if ever, absent from school. He seemed perfectly fine the day before, so he probably wasn't sick.

Jenrya looked up as the door to the classroom slid open and one of the women he recognized as security let herself in. He wondered who was in trouble now, because the Ms. Hanatora only came into classrooms to talk to problem children. At least, that was what he heard.

He watched out of the corner of his eyes as Ms. Hanatora tapped Mr. Mori on the shoulder, then ducked his head and pretended to look busy as the history teacher scanned the room.

"Jenrya, please come up here. Ms. Hanatora wants to talk to you."

He froze. At first, he wasn't sure he'd heard right. Did Mr. Mori just say security was here pull him out of class? No, that couldn't be right. He was pretty sure he hadn't done anything wrong. Unless…maybe it's about the wild Digimon? They might think I'm the one at fault! How am I gonna explain all this? He stood up despite his doubts, and made his way to the front of the classroom, ignoring the giggles and sniggers and whispered questions.

"Way to go, Jenrya!"

"Good one, Lee!"

"Hey, what'd you do?"

Jenrya tried to control the burning flush of embarrassment he could feel rising on his face. He turned his back on the rest of the class, hoping vaguely that if he couldn't see them, they couldn't see him. Stupid theory, actually, but it made him feel a little better.

"You're Jenrya Lee?" Ms. Hanatora, a short woman wearing her trademark French braid, asked.

"Yeah."

"I want to ask you a few questions outside, okay, Jenrya?"

"Okay. Sure."

"Follow me." She turned on her heel, opening the sliding door as he shuffled warily after her. The woman closed the door after him and turned to face him. The indoor corridor was empty, leaving only her and Jenrya.

Her stern face relaxed slightly as she saw the stiff expression on his face, "Relax. You're not in trouble."

Ms. Hanatora continued, crossing her arms across her chest, "As I said before, I want to ask you some questions. I've been told you know Takato Matsuda, Jenrya. You're best friends, right?"

"Yeah."

"Did he ever say anything about going to someone's house? When did you last see him?"

"No. Um…yesterday, right before the last class." What's going on?

"His gym class. Did he say anything out of the ordinary?"

"Nope. I mean, I don't think so. We talked about homework."

"So he wasn't acting strange or doing anything he wouldn't normally do?"

"No."

Ms. Hanatora nodded, "So he was perfectly fine… he didn't talk to anyone you didn't know?"

Jenrya shook his head.

"You didn't see any strangers watching him, did you?"

"No." Jenrya frowned, "Uh, can I ask why you're asking me all these questions?"

The security guard stared at him for a long moment with an expression that was clearly wondering if she could trust him or not. He did his best to look trustworthy. She sighed, giving in.

"Takato Matsuda's missing. His parents just called in."

"He's missing?!" Jenrya gaped. This was the last thing he expected.

Hanatora ran a hand through her bangs, showing her stress for the first time. "...Yes."

"When?" His heart felt like it was skipping all over the place. Missing? Like, run-away missing?

"Since last night." Ms. Hanatora started to massage her temples. "But his parents aren't completely sure what happened. They had dinner with him and his mom said she even tucked him in bed, but when she went to wake him up this morning, the window was open and he was gone."

Jenrya couldn't say anything, too stunned to come up with a reply. He had to remind himself to breathe. This news hit him harder than he would've thought, and his imagination suddenly decided to run crazy, bringing up all sorts of unpleasant images. Ms. Hanatora noticed his expression and placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Jenrya. He's probably just gone to a friend's house or something. We'll find him."

She turned him toward the classroom, both hands steering him. "Look, I want you to go back to class. Keep this to yourself. If there's any more news, I'll come for you, okay? He sounds like he's a smart, stable kid."

"Yeah…"

"Exactly. He's not going to do anything stupid. His parents have called the police. Everything's under control."

Hanatora opened the door. "Don't worry. It's Going To Be Fine. Just concentrate on doing your school work, okay?"

Jenrya was propelled back into the classroom. Dazed, he slipped back to his seat, oblivious to the questions of the neighboring students. He was having a hard time comprehending what was happening. Takato, missing? Had he run away? Or worse? A sudden thought. Ms. Hanatora said the window to Takato's room had been left open. Had he…jumped? No, the logical part of Jenrya's mind answered, otherwise they would've found a big mess on the sidewalk. They wouldn't bother looking for Takato if he was a splat on the ground. So where was he?

He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. One thing at a time. Count to ten. Calm down. He's not dead. He's just missing. Knowing Takato, he wouldn't be surprised if he'd wandered over to someone's house. That or he'd probably run after some wild Digimon and ended up on the other side of the city. That's probably it. That's what happened when Growlmon digivolved, wasn't it?

Wait a minute, what about Guilmon? Takato wouldn't have done anything without him. Maybe he knew where Takato was. Jenrya glanced again at Takato's empty desk as the teacher began to drone on about the changes in culture during the Meiji era. No goofy, goggle-headed kid hunched over his desk and doodling pictures of Digimon. No notes filled with funny pictures of the Tamers in battle being tossed onto Jenrya's desk.

Again, Jenrya told himself to be calm. I have to think of this on another level too…if Takato's missing, this also means we're short one Digimon as well, because I don't think Guilmon's going to want to fight without Takato. The wild Digimon we fight only seem to be getting stronger – we need all the help we can get. Jenrya pretended to pay attention to Mr. Mori's lecture, still wanted to bury his face in his hands and push away his frustration. He couldn't ignore the fact Takato had, more than once, saved both Ruki and Jenrya when things seemed hopeless. It was partially due to Takato's pushing and prodding that he'd been able to trust Terriermon and allow him to digivolve to Gargomon. Guilmon, when he digivolved, was extremely powerful as Growlmon as well. Jenrya could always count on Takato and Guilmon to back him up if Terriermon couldn't handle the situation by himself.

Now Takato was missing – he wasn't sure how long.

"You're all going to need to remember these ten important similarities between the Meji era and our time." Mr. Mori was pointing at something he had written on the whiteboard, twirling the dry-erase marker in his hand. "We're going to be wrapping up our section on the Meji era by Wednesday. Be prepared for an exam on chapters fourteen to sixteen."

Jenrya looked up at the clock. The class – to his surprise – was almost over. He'd been so preoccupied that he hadn't noticed the time go by.

"No homework tonight." Mr. Mori waited until some of the cheers died down, turning around and eyeing the clock. He swiveled to face the class again, and smiled. "See you all tomorrow. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Jenrya stood up and followed the other kids out, his eyes downcast. For the first time in his life, he was completely unsure what he was going to do next. How should I deal with this?

All I know is that I'm going to have to tell Ruki and Guilmon, but then what?

A question he knew he didn't have an answer to.

Yamaki fought to keep his face impassive. If he had a choice in the matter, he wouldn't have to deal with these squabbling fools. They knew nothing about the importance of Hypnos, and rarely, if ever, took his warnings seriously. It was a pain to deal with them, but Yamaki already knew he didn't have much of a choice. They did, after all, have a heavy hand in his funding. If it hadn't been for their reserves, Yamaki knew he wouldn't have been successful in managing the organization. Hypnos wouldn't have even gotten off the drawing board if he hadn't gone to the four for sponsorship.

He had been inside Hypnos for only an hour and already he'd been called into a meeting. Normally he would take his time but he was told the meeting would be dealing with his request to change the Juggernaut initiation schedule.

Which was why he was struggling now to keep a neutral expression as Hypnos's sponsors bickered back and fourth on the large screen in front of him. He'd been sitting in front of the conference screen for half an hour now without any actual answers. His fingers drummed on the armrest.

" – it's always golf, golf, golf!" The woman said in her grating, high-pitched voice. Yamaki never bothered to attach a name to her face, and so he now tagged her with a new name: Ms. B. He thought sourly. B for Bitch.

"Nothing wrong with enjoying my vacation," replied the other mildly. You're a fool, Yamaki said mentally at him, so you're Mr. F.

"Now's not the time for arguing," added in another, more chubby man from the bottom screen, fiddling with the tip of his scraggly beard. He had barely managed to squeeze his bulk into the chair he was now sitting in, dusting his suit with a layer of powdered sugar from the pastry he was holding in one hand.

Oh, this fat ass's easy. He has no clue what's going on. Yamaki could see that he had blundered his way through life. Completely oblivious to everything. No doubt he inherited his position, because Yamaki couldn't see how the man could have possibly risen to power on his own. He's more suited to stuffing his face than running a company, Yamaki noted, the Blundering Pig.

The fourth sponsor's window on the large screen was located in the upper left-hand corner. He leaned forward, adjusting the small glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. Besides the fact his face was completely forgettable, Nagamora was probably the most focused of the group, although he had a tendency to blend into the background. It wasn't an infrequent occurrence for everyone to forget he was there, ironic considering he was the one with the most hands in the Hypnos cookie jar. Yamaki never forgot who wielded the most power of the three sponsors. Without Nagamora, Hypnos would fold in on itself.

Nagamora was the only one Yamaki had anything that looked like respect for. He still owed him. Without Nagamora, he wouldn't be heading Hypnos.

"This isn't the place for petty bickering," Nagamora said. Before anyone could reply, he turned his attention on Yamaki. "Yesterday, you filed a request for a change in the Juggernaut schedule. What day did you want to change the initiation to? Tuesday?"

"Monday," Yamaki corrected him.

"Monday then."

"Monday?!" B exploded, her thin lips puckering. She looked ready to gouge out the screen with her manicured nails. "Are you crazy?"

"I don't think he's crazy, Lynn," interjected F calmly.

Nagamora ignored them. "Monday's just not possible, Yamaki." He held up his hand before he could demand why. "In fact, the original Friday date isn't going to be any good either. Looking at your reports, it appears the Juggernaut isn't 100% complete." He glanced expectantly at the screen square next to his.

B spoke up, taking the cue and slipping back into business. "I've gone over the reports as well, and I agree. With how much resources we've pooled into Hypnos it must be complete."

The other two representatives nodded.

Nagamora went on. "If we were to reschedule things, that means we would need to pour more funds into this little project of yours simply so we can get the Juggernaut fully operational. That means we'd have to hire more personnel for you to complete the Juggernaut. Sustaining the Juggernaut's power source itself is already costing us more than your original projection."

"From what I've seen, there hasn't been much of a threat from these digital monsters of yours," the Blundering Pig remarked. He dabbed at his scraggly beard with a paper napkin, dusting his pants further with sugar.

"We simply don't have the funds to speed up the work on the Juggernaut, Yamaki. We don't even have enough to meet the Friday deadline."

Yamaki frowned. "But –"

"It's already been decided. We're going to continue to fund Hypnos, but production on the Juggernaut must stop. It's eating up too much manpower and money."

Yamaki almost blew up at Nagamora. Somehow he managed to keep a straight face. He couldn't, however, control the small muscle that ticked in his cheek. "When can I expect the Juggernaut to be complete?"

"If we continue to run into these problems, probably a year or two."

"A year!" Yamaki exclaimed.

"But that's just an estimate, Yamaki. I personally believe it will only be a few months. We need some time to get our own matters back on track." Nagamora smiled, "Besides, what's a few more months? I'm sure you can handle any more of these digital monsters if they crop up."

B grinned snidely, "Maybe by then I'll finally be able to see one of these things for myself."

Yamaki said nothing, thinking this over. So that's how it was. They were having their own problems and decided to sweep his "little" organization under the rug until they dealt with their issues. There was no point in exploding at them, though he was tempted to. If the Juggernaut was completed and functional, then Hypnos would be obsolete because all the Digimon would be deleted, gone. They apparently didn't see it would cost more to continue to sponsor his organization then to just finish the huge machine.

To make it even more infuriating, he couldn't go to anyone else for sponsorship. Nagamora was the only one who took the threat seriously and he had all the right connections.

Still…if Hypnos could still receive money somehow, like through a third party, things could get back on track. If he kissed the right asses. Maybe it would be possible to complete the Juggernaut without their aid –

His idea was blown completely to pieces as Nagamora continued, "In the meanwhile, the Juggernaut is to be sealed up until then."

Yamaki stared, halfway out of his seat. No, he couldn't be serious! Didn't he see the Juggernaut was a weapon that would drive away those Digimon once and for all? And they didn't know yet about the Wild One that got through yesterday, that it passed through the Juggernaut. Yamaki's loud protest was on the tip of his tongue. Knowing them, I bet they're sealing it up right now. Despite the arguments, the four sponsors weren't slow to put words into action.

Nagamora knew him better than the other Four did and knew he would've attempted to disobey orders. So he's one step ahead of me. Yamaki should have known better. He cursed his own judgment. He'd assumed since Nagamora looked bland and forgettable, he would be happy to let this sit for a week or so. When the Four wanted to move, they could move and did.

They had to have someone in Hypnos keeping a close eye on him. Nagamora was obviously the leader of the Four: the other three were probably just cronies put in to fill the positions. Yamaki knew he'd be caught the moment he attempted to break into the Juggernaut's room to complete its construction. He was again reminded of the fact he hadn't been the one to hire all those security personnel watching the building. He didn't particularly care to be replaced by anyone else either, which was exactly what would happen unless he complied with orders. Nagamora, for whatever reason, didn't trust him for once. All that talk about saving Earth from the digital threat and now he was getting sidelined. What was more important than making sure the Digimon problem was solved for good?

He sank back into his seat, disgruntled.

Nagamora nodded again, still wearing the fatherly expression. "You have to understand this must be done, Yamaki. If your project drains the reserves, then where will Hypnos be? Nowhere, which is something I don't think you or I would look forward to. Hypnos can really go somewhere…with the right management, that is."

B only smirked, saying nothing. F eyed his bag of golf clubs longingly. The Blundering Pig finished off his pastry.

"Are you saying I'm not suitable for this position?" Yamaki asked.

"Oh, no, of course not. You were chosen for a reason. But we mustn't rush things." Nagamora said soothingly, "I have a feeling we can recover quickly. We will resume the completion of the Juggernaut. It's just now isn't the time. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good." Nagamora's screen flickered and shut off, followed by the other three. The conference room was again bathed in darkness, save for the tiny digital command line blinking at the bottom of the large screen.

Yamaki reached over and turned off the monitor. Leaned back into his seat again. He definitely wasn't happy with the way things were turning out, but it looked like he was going to have to comply. He didn't have much of a choice. Yamaki desperately wanted to get angry, to blow up at something, but he decided he was going to need a different approach. After all those times at losing self-control at those meetings, he hadn't managed to pound his warnings into their skulls. Even Nagamora wasn't backing him up like he used to. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out his lighter and a pack of cigarettes.

He hadn't smoked in years, but he needed to think.

Because unless he did something, more Digimon would cross into the Real World. He had carefully omitted from his reports that the frequency of the monster appearances was growing. The Yuggoth system alone wouldn't be able to deal with them if things kept at this rate, especially if the Juggernaut was out of commission. The data would continue to slip through his grasp into the Real World.

He let out a curl of smoke, staring off into the darkness meditatively. So he was going to have to rely on the Yuggoth system for a few more months, at least until he found a way around the obstacles closing off the Juggernaut from him and his goal. He was going to have to deal with the creatures until then.

The very idea that those obscene collections of data would be running around for a few more months already made his skin crawl.

"Something wrong? Come on, Jenrya, I'm asking you a question!"

Jenrya frowned, trying to wave Terriermon away. He started to reach over and tug at the boy's pant-leg, causing the Digimon to lean into view. Jenrya shook his head down at his partner. If he continued to try to rattle off questions at the Tamer, someone was bound to see or hear him.

"Hold on a second."

Terriermon huffed, flopping down to sit against the wall. He always got like that when Jenrya was busy and not answering his questions, leaving him out of the loop.

"Look, I'll tell you as soon as I'm done."

The Tamer stood in front of the payphone. Jenrya knew he should be in the classroom eating with the other kids. Skipping lunch was the least of his problems; he was more concerned with contacting Ruki. Jenrya balanced haphazardly on one leg, holding the phone book on his other knee. He checked his watch. Lunch break had just started. There was a little bit of time before he got caught, so he had to use his time wisely.

Ruki, Ruki…I think her family name's Makino.

Jenrya turned the page, holding the phone pinned between his ear and shoulder as he searched for the other Tamer's number. He wasn't expecting Ruki to actually pick up the phone, but he hoped her parents or someone would be able to give him her cell. It'd be just his luck if she didn't have a cell phone or had turned it off.

There it was. Ruki Makino. He slipped in his change and dialed the number. Hoped he hadn't called the wrong house.

The tone rang and was picked up after the second ring.

"Hello?"

Jenrya didn't recognize the voice. It was an older woman, deeper in tone and certainly more open and friendly then the other Tamer's. "Hi, this's Jenrya Lee. I'm a friend of Ruki's." Okay, so he was stretching the truth just a little bit.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jenrya, Ruki's not here, she's at school. I'm her grandmother."

"Is there any way I can contact her?" Jenrya asked. "I have to talk to her about something. It's sort've important."

"Well, she does have a cell phone…" Ruki's grandmother paused, and there was a rustling of paper from the other end of the line. "She sometimes turns it off though – she says it gets irritating."

"Is there any other way to contact her?"

"No, but I can still give you her number though."

"Thanks. That would really help."

More rustling of paper from the other end of the line. "Oh dear, I don't think it's here. Could you please hold on a minute, Jenrya? I think I left the phone number list in the kitchen."

"Sure."

Jenrya waited, turning away from the payphone and glancing around. The hall wasn't crowded – thankfully – so he probably wouldn't have to worry about anyone overhearing the conversation. One plus of the day: not only was Takato missing, but in all the rest of his classes, he had been either loaded down with homework and projects or made to participate in group work with partners who decided it would be better if he did all the work for them.

Ruki's grandmother picked up the phone again. "I'm sorry for making you wait, but I found the list."

She rattled off the cell number. Jenrya, glancing about, decided that his hand was the only available option, and began scrawling down the numbers on his palm.

"Do you need me to repeat it again?"

"No, I got it." Jenrya said, "Thanks. Sorry for making you go through all this trouble"

"Trouble? Oh, this isn't any trouble: I'm glad I could help," she trailed off, "It's just that we usually don't get that many calls for Ruk. Look, if you're ever in the area, please feel free to drop by. Ruki seems like such a lonely girl sometimes…I think she would enjoy the company."

I wouldn't know about that. But Jenrya only said, "Maybe I will. Thanks again."

"You're welcome."

She hung up after they exchanged good-byes. The conversation had been short, which was good, considering Jenrya probably hadn't put in enough change in the payphone for anything longer. He fished about in his pocket for more money, still holding the phone on his shoulder.

"Jenrya, come on, what's going on?" Terriermon asked, keeping his voice low.

Jenrya slipped his change into the payphone's terminal.

"I'm calling Ruki, Terriermon," he whispered back.

"Why?"

"Something came up," Jenrya hesitated, realizing something as he punched in the number he wrote down on the palm of his hand. "Hey, I don't suppose you could help me out?"

"With what?" The Digimon perked up. He was getting bored sitting around.

"Could you look for Guilmon? I want you to tell him something for me."

"Okay."

"Tell him to meet me in the tunnel right after school," Jenrya pulled off his watch as he spoke, "I'm getting out a little late because I've got clean-up duty today. Here, I'm gonna give you my watch: oh, and take my lunch, too. He probably didn't get any bread from Takato today, so he's probably gonna be really hungry."

Terriermon took the watch, looping it around one ear. He then pulled out Jenrya's knapsack from his backpack, carrying it around his smaller shoulders like a large satchel. He fixed a look and a frown on his partner.

"You are going to tell me what's going on, won't you?"

"Yeah. Just not right now," Jenrya glanced down the hall, listening to the dialing tone, "Look, the hall's empty – you better get going. Try not to let anyone see Guilmon or you, okay?"

"Gotcha."

Terriermon headed down the hallway as fast as his stubby hind legs could carry him. He rounded a corner and disappeared from Jenrya's sight. The Tamer turned back to the payphone, hand tapping impatiently on the plastic receiver. Come on, pick up.

Someone finally answered, "What?"

Oh, that was definitely Ruki, right down to the ingrained irritation in her voice. Jenrya felt a little better. "Hey Ruki. It's Jenrya."

"What're you doing calling me, Jenrya? And how did you get my cell number? Class is about to start – you trying to get me in trouble?" Ruki demanded.

"Your grandmother gave it to me, first thing," Jenrya said patiently, "And no, I'm not trying to get you in trouble."

"I weird out the teachers enough as it is, even if they don't know I associate with you babies."

Jenrya ignored her words, instead continuing, "Actually, it's about Takato –"

She interrupted him, "Oh, did Gogglehead tell you to ask me to go on a date with him? Why don't you tell him I'd love to?" Ruki's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "You can also tell him I hate babysitting."

Jenrya sighed. Things were getting off on a bad start and it looked like Ruki was in a bad mood.

"No, he didn't ask me. You also seem to keep forgetting we're the same age as you, we're not babies. Now could you stop for a second and just listen to me?"

"Spit it out. And make it fast. I've got a quiz this period."

"I just found out this morning Takato's missing, Ruki. He didn't come to school today, I think he was gone since last night. His parents were calling the police from the principal's office."

Silence from the other end of the line. Jenrya took this as a cue to continue.

"I sent Terriermon to go meet up with Guilmon. Unless Takato took him with him, he's probably still in the park. Maybe Takato talked to him about running away or something, I don't know. The thing I don't get is why Takato would run away in the first place. I don't know if he took his D-Arc or not, or his cards, so I don't know if he went out after a Digimon or something. I know you don't really like Takato that much, but I think you need to know what's happened." Jenrya finished, stopping for breath.

More lengthy silence. Jenrya wasn't sure if Ruki was even on the line anymore.

"Hello? Ruki? You still there?"

"…yeah, I'm still here." Ruki sounded slightly subdued, "Was he freaking out on you or anything? Say anything un-Takato?"

"Nope. Just perfectly normal stuff, complaining about homework."

Ruki paused, as if thinking of something extremely unpleasant, "Maybe he…uh…"

"Killed himself? Nah, I already ruled that one out. They wouldn't bother searching for him and pulling me out of class if he did," Jenrya replied.

"You know, if Guilmon finds out, he's going to go crazy," Ruki remarked.

"Yeah, I know. I'm gonna go look for Takato after school," Jenrya said, "Look, I'm worried. About Takato and what we're gonna do against those wild Digimon."

"..I…um…I'll help you look for him. I don't hate him or anything…" another awkward pause, "Renamon might know something since she's always out at night."

"Thanks. Can you meet me at the tunnel?"

"Is it the one I think it is?"

"Yeah."

"Fine." The girl hesitated. She blurted, "Don't you dare tell Gogglehead I had this conversation with you!"

"I won't."

At least he had Ruki's help now. That made Jenrya feel a little better, but not by much.

To be continued...

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10/20/12 - Went in to fix up the formating. Also did some minor edits. Thanks for reading.