I don't own digimon.

Characters: Rei & Yuujin

Universe: Applimonsters

Series: Rei's Bonds

Notes:

The start of a new series. In which Rei learns that he's kind of an awful friend from the least trustworthy friend possible. Because what else were you expecting?

Chapter 90

Rei's Regrets

When he had brought Sleepmon home after everything that happen, it had felt like a weight had been lifted off Rei's chest. While it still hung over him, there was a chance of such doubts going away.

"Are you absolutely sure that this is what remains of your brother?" Hackmon inquired, getting a nod from his applidriver. "What if he's not? What if try as you might, he'll fade away from you and just die?"

Rei took a deep breath.

While the hacker didn't want to think about that particular outcome, that was still a possibility to be wary of. So he walked over to the window and grabbed hold of the drapes. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen proper sunlight. It was probably some time when he had been taking care of Hajime.

"It feels nice." he thought. Never in his life would he have thought that the feeling of sunlight hitting his body would feel so good. But after so long in the shadows of the world, that was to be expected. "Hackmon, want to come with me to the grocery store?"

The hacker watched his partner look over to him, giving a shrug. So carefully, he made his way over and scooped both the hacking Appmon and his 'brother' up. Awkward was a better best way to describe it, he could get used to this. Or her could just grab that old baby holder thing his dad for some reason hung onto.

"Mom, dad, I got Hajime back." he whispered, letting a faint smile form on his face. While the events of earlier still looped in his head. From the infiltration of Appliyama itself, to having to search through

After exiting his apartment and making sure that he locked up, Rei made his way down the stairs and into the lobby of the apartment building. He paid the receptionist little attention, taking a casual walk over to the door and headed on through.

Outside, it would seem that everyone and their brother had gathered in this particular part of Japan. One could hear a billboard advertising a mix of L-Corp branded products and the remaining CD's of Appliyama 470 now that the group had been forcibly disbanded.

"I might need to find a better way to do this." the hacker thought as he turned the corner, trying his best to stay out of sight. Which was more for the sake of the appmon than himself. Sure, most people thought they were stuffed animals, that didn't stop Dokamon from being creepy and shouting 'Eri-chan' wherever the idol went. How the heck she managed to not 'lose' him in a closet was something to be studied. Maybe.

But such a peaceful walk was not to be, if a certain gogglehead hadn't shown up out of nowhere.

"Rei!"

He turned around, finding Haru and Yuujin walking up. They too had their appmon along for the ride as well. Though, Gatchmon and his little sports jacket looked just more 'normal' than say… Offmon's oversized clothes. Makes one wonder where he got those in the first place.

"Hey…" Rei started, trying his best to keep Haru's friend out of his sight. While he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, something about Haru's friend just rubbed him the wrong way. It was probably the lack of emotions and stuff. Yeah, that had to be it. There couldn't be something darker held within, could there? "Yuujin wanted to come and properly meet you. Since you've been avoiding us and stuff." Haru explained and got a grunt from the hacker. "Oh. Are you possibly going somewhere?"

"Maybe." Ren muttered, watching Yuujin walk up. "Now what?"

He took a deep breath, watching Haru's friend hold out a hand. Reluctantly, Rei grabbed hold. It felt unnaturally cold, almost glacial to an extent. In this heat, is absolutely unheard of.

"Can I go with you, by any chance?" Yuujin remarked, getting looks from both Haru and Rei. While his remark came out of the blue, there had to be some logical reason for it.

"Uh…" Rei started and looked towards Haru. The gogglehead just shrugged, leaving him with little in the way of answers. Which felt like the normal state of these people at times in their battles with Leviathan. "Fine."

Yuujin perked up as Haru's gaze shifts over to his friend.

"You know the way back, right?" the gogglehead remarked and got a nod in return.

With that, he was off. A goodbye would've been helpful. But that was too much to ask for from Haru.

Nonetheless, Rei took a deep breath and turned his attention to his companion. Currently, Yuujin was just staring at him, not even thanking the hacker for allowing him to come along. Offmon gave a wave, but returned to the applidrive right after.

"Let's go." the hacker muttered, watching his companion follow behind. While the walk to the grocery store itself was quite uneventful, it didn't stop Rei from occasionally looking behind his shoulder to make sure that Yuujin was still following along. He was.

"So you are a friend of Haru, as I understand it?" Yuujin inquired and watched Rei turn around.

While an honest question, he had never put that much thought into it. Let alone in the regards of where he stood with someone else. In between all his hacking escapades and trying not to be caught by L-Corp and their various security agencies, such thoughts went dormant. Now though, he was going to have to face the elephant in the room. For better or worse.

"You could say that." the hacker responded and got a look from his partner. "What?"

"Are we really?" Hackmon countered and got a look from his master. "We sometimes just pop in and that's pretty much it."

Rei stopped, pulling his partner up to his face.

"We are now." he mumbled, trying his best not to attract attention from Yuujin. After, he set Hackmon back and shifted to Sleepmon. Still slumbering, even after all that happened. A part of him was thankful, another concerned.

But for now, he headed on.

Eventually, the grocery store silently came into view. A new question came with it, one that neither boy had thought of.

"Do you want me to drive the cart or you?" Yuujin inquired and watched Rei look towards the cart.

While a standard cart, there only looked to be room for one person to push.

"If you want." the hacker muttered, placing both Hackmon and Sleepmon in the basket. Then he handed control over to his newfound 'friend'. "Here you go."

Yuujin nodded as he grabbed hold of the cart. Which made for the perfect opportunity for Offmon to reload and join the pair of appmon in the push-powered vehicle.

The dup then made their way inside the grocery store, Yuujin hard at work pushing the cart.

"First up, vegetables." Rei explained as the cart was pushed to the right. Carefully, he grabs some peppers, carrots and some lettuce. "Is there anything in particular that you like… uh, Yuujin?"

All that got the hacker was a head shake.

"I'm fine with anything." Yuujin answered and cracked a smile. "Are you saying that you want to make me something~"

Rei realized the mistake of what he said a bit too late, but just ignored it for a moment.

"Don't count on it." he snarled and took control of the cart. Fruit came next on his list with a variety to boot: apples, bananas, grapes and by some miracle - strawberries.

But trouble was brewing between the two.

"I thought we were friends." Yuujin countered as he approached the cart once more. " Do I scare you, Rei Tatsura? I could know everything about you and you wouldn't know any better."

Rei didn't turn away, even as Yuujin placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Then what are you then?" the hacker countered and pushed Yuujin's hand away. "Some spy for L-Corp? An android?"

Yuujin just snickers.

"L-corp? Those are just small fries." Yuujin announced as Rei swore he saw the boy's eyes turn red. Not that such an occurrence would really be that weird. Just more evidence of something else. "Truly, you should be afraid of those beyond that, the ones feeding Leviathan all his orders and taking all the credit. People capable of wiping away the future in a single swoop."

Rei froze, feeling the entire world come to a stop.

"Just kidding."

Time returned to normal, resulting in a slap to Yuujin's face from the hacker. A part of him wanted to believe the words that had come out of his mouth. To accept that there was something more within this babbling. A different part wanted to dismiss it as useless garbage. But within, a different battle had been fought and lost in an instant.

He had lost control, letting his anger get the best of him. Now, the hacker was going to face the consequences of said actions.

"I'm sorry, Yuujin." he whispered, getting a new attempt at putting a hand on his shoulder. Rei accepted the gesture.

"It's alright." his companion whispered and got a look from Hackmon. "This sort of thing happens."

As they continued their shopping, Rei made an effort to be 'nice' to Yuujin. He let him grab some of the groceries, ask for his opinion about certain things. Stuff like that.

Not too much, since the hacker didn't quite trust him.

Then it was time to check out. Which was surprisingly painless for both boys. Yuujin bagged the stuff, while Rei handed it to him.

"Do you need any help carrying that stuff to your apartment?" Yuujin inquired and watched Rei shake his head. "Are we friends at least?"

For a brief second, the hacker froze up. He took a deep breath.

The weight from before threatened to come back, hanging by a thread.

"Yeah. We're friends." he whispered, letting that weight reduce slightly. After, it was back to the apartment for Rei and his appmon.