Standard Disclaimer: This work is a non-profit derivative work. I claim no ownership to Digimon or its characters.

Through the Forest of the Night - First Part

The Third Day

On the morning of his third day in the other Digital World Kouichi woke bolt upright, sweating, and gasping for breath.

A quick glance around confirmed he was still in the bedroom on the second floor of Digitamamon's diner. Kouichi rubbed his forehead and winced. It was that dream again…

The young warrior had gotten used to most of the changes to his life he'd inherited over the past year, almost all of them actually, but still it was only almost all of them. He'd reaped so many blessings since he'd met his brother, but the last one, this one, wasn't something he would've chosen for himself.

Kouichi remembered his dreams.

His dreams no longer faded into the morning mist after waking up, they stuck with him beyond the veil of sleep. Since the Digital World, Kouichi remembered what he saw while he was sleeping and remembered them no differently than what he encountered while he was awake.

No doubt this was a side effect from accepting his charge from the darkness and garbing himself in shadows. Shadows, darkness, the night, the moon, reflection, dreaming, they were all connected, weren't they? And Kouichi kept watch over them. He stared into the abyss of the night, and in its depths he saw kindness, decency, understanding, and acceptance.

But he still stared. He still saw.

It was no surprise to his brother that Kouichi had nightmares. I mean, obviously, right? After everything that happened? And Kouji never asked about them, he never pressed Kouichi about his dreams, but that was also because Kouji probably thought he knew what those dreams were about and that meant he was mistaken.

Kouji probably thought it was about them- fighting... But no, mercifully that wasn't where Kouichi's mind went when he slept.

No, what Kouichi remembered with entirely too perfect clarity were his "predecessors" from the castle at the Rose Morning Star. They were ones who didn't make it, the ones who couldn't become the Warrior of Darkness. He remembered them, horrible flattened silhouettes. They were the ones reaching, broken, moaning, and screaming. And sometimes when he dreamed about them he was one of them.

Well that was an ugly note begin the morning on. It wasn't even like the bad dreams came all the time. Those dreams were never common enough that Kouichi had to dread going to sleep, but still, it meant that particular gift was a mixed blessing.

Kouichi cast his mind back over the last 24 hours, trying to tease out a reason he would have ended up back there... Was it digging through the newspapers? Meeting Hikari and remembering why he was here? Gazing out on the black ocean in that mournful husk of a world?

He shook himself and grabbed his phone. Something was going to happen today, Kouichi was absolutely sure of that. When he evolved to Lowemon that certainty grew. The shadows were quivering. When he closed his eyes and gazed inward, into the abyss, it gave him a sign.

As Lowemon headed out to get an early start on the day one last little question pecked at him: what kind of dream did Hikari have last night?

"You're going?" Taichi asked from the dining table. Hikari had diligently made herself an early lunch, just as she had been instructed, and had grabbed both her partner and her bag.

"Mm-hm, we're going to try and find out what happened with the Digimon the day before yesterday," Hikari said. Along with arranging her things she also had arranged her face in preparation for her big brother's question.

"Yeah I heard. And you're going to File Island too, it feels like it's been so long since we ended up there. I remember the first night we spent in the Digital World was on that cable car."

"You told me all about that. And that cable car is important to me too even if I wasn't there for with you, after all that was how we left the Digital World after our first adventure."

"Is that why you want to have your party there?" Taichi asked.

Hikari nodded, "there are a lot of important memories there, for all of us."

"Well, be careful. I remember I was really worried about you when we spent the night there. I thought you'd be worried sick about me when I didn't come home."

"But you did come home that day, big brother." Her words made Taichi laugh.

"Well, I'm still worried about you, after all you're my one and only little sister. Make sure you come back safe."

"You don't have to worry about that, that's what I'm here for," Tailmon said the front of Hikari's bag, "I'll protect Hikari with my life."

"Tailmon," Hikari said softly.

"I know you will, Tailmon. And remember, if anything happens give me a call and I'll drop anything to come help you guys. All of us will, you just have to ask and we'll all come help." Taichi's eyes and his easy smile radiated confidence, the same strength and courage Hikari had always looked up to in him.

"I will," Hikari gave her most practiced smile. "I know you'll always be able to come and help me if I need it."

As Hikari left her apartment she tried to figure out what she was lying about. The odd buzzing at the back of her skull told her that something she said had been even less true than she'd meant it to be. She shivered. She had a bad feeling about today.

"Alright then! Chosen Children, roll out!" Miyako shouted "Digital Gate open!"

And with that six humans and six Digimon left the computer lab in the Real World in a flash of light. The sensation was almost like falling; almost but not quite. Falling implied gravity and therefore solid ground and the possibility of landing, but there was no such thing in the space between spaces. At the same time, there was a rushing feeling, a buzzing tingling, ringing that vibrated from head to toe, and a sense like the world had fallen away and they were all dropping downward, whether or not there was a down at all for the seconds it took to cross between worlds.

For Hikari, at least, it felt like she was riding a streamer of light to the Digital World like a fireman's pole, but she'd never brought that up with her friends. It simply hadn't occurred to her that they might have experienced something different.

The landing was less serene, while Ken and Miyako managed to land on their feet they were bowled over when Daisuke crashed into them from behind followed shortly by V-mon and then Hawkmon. Hikari also stumbled coming out of the portal, but she was caught by Takeru, who was then tripped by the sudden emergence of Armadimon. Last through the gate was Iori, who immediately went to work tending to his seniors.

"I wish someone could figure out whether or not it's going to be a bumpy ride BEFORE we end up in a huge pile again," Daisuke muttered, as he tried to untangle his and Ken's legs.

"Believe me, I've tried," Miyako snapped, "OUCH! Not there!"

"Sorry," said Ken and Hawkmon simultaneously.

"Are you all right, Hikari?" Takeru said, as he leaned down to help her and Tailmon to their feet.

"I'm fine," Hikari said, even as she rubbed her elbow.

"If you're sure," Takeru's voice was, as always when he spoke to her, kind and understanding, "now that we're here we should probably head towards the Village of Beginnings, we might be able to ask Elecmon or one of the other Digimon who live around there if there've been any suspicious Digimon hanging around the island."

"You mean Lowemon," Iori supplied from the back.

"Right, but I was thinking it over and I think Daisuke might be correct, Lowemon could be working for another evil Digimon-"

"That's not what I said," Daisuke muttered.

"-so until then we should stick together. The Village of Beginnings should be over there," Takeru gestured as he turned, "right on the other side of that- that... City." He just stared.

"All right, since you know the area do we go around the city or is there some path through-" Miyako paused, reading Takeru's bewildered face. She glanced between him, an equally puzzled looking Patamon hovering next to him, the city and back. Then she turned to Hikari, "that city wasn't there the last time you two were here, was it?"

Hikari shook her head. "No, the last time we were here, back when we took our picture together, the Village of Beginnings was much smaller."

"I guess a lot can change in a few years," Ken said.

"Well, if that's the place we're supposed to go, what are we waiting for? Let's check it out!" Daisuke called.

"Hold on a minute-" Takeru started as Daisuke bounded off, but stopped when Miyako and then Ken (with their Digimon in tow) raced after him.

"We'll cover more ground if we split up! Keep in touch by email!" Shouted Miyako, waving an arm as she ran.

Takeru blinked, then he laughed and shrugged. "I guess we'll split into two teams then?"

And, as he, Hikari, Iori, (Patamon, Tailmon, and Armadimon) came in from the outskirts of the city Takeru smoothly pointed out that really, Daisuke probably had the right idea and moreover he and Ken could probably handle things if worst came to worst and Miyako knew how to manage in a crisis. Hikari, smiled politely and nodded, but she did so on autopilot. She almost didn't hear him talking as she stared all around her in wonderment.

The Digimon city was almost overwhelming. Building after mismatched building, Digimon after Digimon, there were so many different buildings and so so many Digimon packed together... It was enthralling. Sight and sound and smell, it made her head spin. But beyond the dizzying, even overwhelming sensations coming in from every direction, beyond the overload, beyond everything else, the city was inspiring.

For so long going to the Digital World meant fighting. She, Hikari and Tailmon and all the others, had struggled for their lives so many times, many more times than she could remember off the top of her head, and sometimes thinking about that made her want to cry. Here it was, an entire other world full of splendor and wonder, so why was it that it had to be filled with such sorrow? Why was there always conflict and fighting and killing? Why did this beautiful world have to be tarnished by grief? It always felt like a miracle to find a place in the Digital World that was peaceful, even now on the other side of their adventures. And yet, here was an entire city full of Digimon living together in peace on a scale Hikari had felt scared to imagine.

Hikari had seen a vision like this in a dream once, half a year ago on New Year's Eve at the end of 2002, and it was even more painful for being an illusion. This, this was so close to it that she caught herself pinching the back of her hand through her gloves (more than once even!) to make sure it wasn't a dream.

Everywhere she looked Hikari saw another new Digimon. There was one in every building, around every street corner, moving alone or in crowds. There was a Centarumon, a Minotarumon, a group of Geckomon, a Veggiemon, a Flare Lizamon, a Tankmon, a Tyrannomon, a green Shellmon, a blue Agumon, a brown Yukidarumon, a striped Unimon, and dozens more she had never seen before in all her time around Digimon.

As they passed by all of these Digimon, living together in peace, treating each other as friends and colleagues and neighbors Hikari had to keep on poking and prodding herself make sure she wasn't sleeping because this was it, this was the city on the hill she'd always been chasing. This was the place she had always wanted to see. Here it was in front of her, a glimpse of the better world to come full of peace and harmony and understanding between humans and Digimon. A world where they could live side-by-side as friends and equals.

Hikari knew all of her friends wanted something like that, a world of harmony, but she also knew this vision was so much more prominent in her soul. It meant more to her than it meant to anyone else. That fact wasn't a black mark against them, not at all, but it was still a fact that all the other Chosen Children had something they wanted to work towards, be a career or a goal or something else, something in the forefront that pushed this vision into the backdrop of their dreams. Hikari was different though, this WAS her dream, this WAS her career and her goal and her ambition and what drove her all at once. She wanted this, for the Digital World, for the Real World, and everywhere in between.

This vision was everything for Hikari. It was perfect, and she would give anything to see it grow and endure. Anything.

And as she thought this, as Hikari turned all around staring at building after building, Digimon after Digimon, her thoughts turned to Kouichi. For some reason, whenever she thought about him that deep desire for a better world seemed to twinge and unwind. Being around him made her dreams feel a little bit closer. And yet she still struggled to say why. Even if her partner was right, even if he was connected to the Digital World, what was it about him that made her overwhelming feelings settle down?

Lost in thought, Hikari didn't hear Takeru saying something until Tailmon gently poked her ankles with a glove.

"Hikari? Earth to Hikari?"

Hikari jolted back to reality, "What? Sorry, what happened?"

"I was just saying that maybe we should start asking some of the Digimon living here if they know anything about Lowemon. He might even be hiding out around here somewhere, lurking in the shadows."

"Oh, I see. I hadn't thought about that…"

"With a city this big, it's got to have some rough neighborhoods. I mean, it stands to reason right?"

"Does it?" Hikari asked, suddenly afraid of the answer.

"Well obviously, it comes with the territory. If you get this many people, or Digimon together in one place there's always going to be some kind of criminal underbelly," Takeru said.

"Unfortunately, Takeru is right," Iori affirmed solemnly, because Takeru was right, of course, as always. "Justice only becomes necessary when people gather. My father said that once, a long time ago." The younger boy looked up at her strangely, "is something wrong, Hikari?"

"No, I'm fine," she was holding her voice as steady as she could. She was surprised Takeru and Iori didn't hear the tinkling of glass as she stared around at the white city with a surge of fear. "I'll be just fine."

As Lowemon stepped down into the dining room of the restaurant and turned to the piano he reflected that maybe this city was a little bit too much like a human city.

He didn't need to be a hypervigilant Warrior Digimon to note the way all eyes in the patio swiveled towards him as he stepped out from the hallway. He was the wrong kind of Digimon in the wrong kind of place, and all the patrons had tensed up as they noticed his presence. A quick guesstimate said about 60% of the Digimon in the room were leaning towards flight, and the other 37% were angling towards fight. The sole exception was a Vegiemon who had been there two nights ago and whose vines were twirling with anticipation.

When it's time to perform, all there should be is you, your instrument, and the music.

Those were more of his teacher's words. And then he'd smiled that overly wide smile of his and said he knew it was easier said than done, but that once you'd gotten to that level and were focused on the music the rest of the world just faded away, like all the lights had gone out everywhere but over you and the piano. He said the goal was to be comfortable enough in the moment, confident enough in your skills, and passionate enough about the music that having an audience didn't matter; you were your own audience so perform for yourself and for the act itself. Do it to the best of your abilities for no other reason than your own passion and for the sake of doing it.

Well Lowemon could get behind that, and he'd even experienced exactly that kind of Zen state playing back home (once), but that was then and this was now. The problem was the same as that first night, when he was a Digimon he could go through the motion of the music without even trying. It wasn't something he even needed to focus on, and so his mind wandered.

The dining room was a couple of heads shy of 30 Digimon, and with the exception of the returning Vegiemon every single one of them had immediately read him as a threat. They had all sized him up and estimated their odds if a fight broke out, but to someone or something's credit (the reputation of the diner? Curiosity coupled with the word-of-mouth about the mysterious "master pianist Digimon"? The unspoken understanding of how to live in a city?) they had all stayed at their tables and let him begin to play. Lowemon wondered darkly what would've happened if the Digimon patrons had been able to get a better read on his power, no doubt having an abnormal level as a Hybrid and a Variable attribute made it hard to pin him down.

And yet, while it was frustrating that he was immediately a subject of scrutiny and concern Lowemon couldn't be all THAT angry about it. After all, he'd done the exact same thing as he'd stepped into the room; Lowemon had done his own quick, reflexive, threat assessment of the Digimon in front of him and concluded he was in no immediate danger. Perhaps it was sad to say but that was just something inherent to Digimon. A Digimon who was a Combat Species like him was perpetually on the lookout for potential enemies, and Digimon who weren't were constantly scanning for potential threats. Some Digimon were predators and some were prey, and Lowemon was cast in the image of a lion.

Of course that wasn't the whole story. Digimon were more than wild animals or fighting machines. That fact showed itself by the way they were able to come together to create a city and more immediately in Lowemon's attentive audience. By the end of the third verse the Digimon in the diner had all begun to murmur to each other about how the music was brilliant or marvelous or sublime or magical.

Humans didn't do that, not like that. Humans rarely read each other for fight or flight and likewise seldom did they enter a crowd on the lookout for enemies that they might have to battle to the death. Instead when they gathered in groups humans saw those with them and above them, and dismissed those below them. There were some people that humans paid attention to, people with the presence and authority and importance to command all eyes and all ears. And there were some people that humans put out of their mind, the waiters, the servers, the people behind the desk, the person in the corner, the child staring hungrily through the window, the kid in the worn out clothes sitting at a lone table behind the screen, the boy staring in from the adjacent train car…

For all the flaws Digimon had in their fighting instincts, Digimon paid attention to each other. Digimon were aware of other Digimon who existed. Digimon could be moved by love and art and sorrow and fear, no different than humans, but what was different was the way Digimon accepted each other's existence as a baseline. If a human was surprised by those they reviled and ignored, too often they found a way to excuse those feelings so they could keep nursing their grudges and keep looking down on others and treating them as less than human. A human could push forward believing a hatred that was pleasing to them and carry it through thick and thin. Digimon didn't, just as Lowemon remembered his dreams so did Digimon remember their experiences.

Digimon could be violent or foolish or bizarre or stubborn or corruptible or wicked, but a Digimon was always a Digimon to a Digimon, even an evil Digimon. The same thing couldn't be said for most evil humans.

Lowemon carried that lesson with him even when he was a human, so did Agnimon and Wolfmon and all the rest of them.

Maybe Hikari and her friends had the right idea after all, she could learn from her Digimon friends and her Digimon friends could learn from her and the other humans they fought for. They really weren't all that different from the Legendary Warriors.

And that thought ended the Coda of the first song for the afternoon. There was a small smattering of applause as Lowemon turned the pages of the songbook to find another piece to play.

It wasn't much of a surprise when Daisuke sent an email complaining he was hungry and hadn't eaten.

Hikari had giggled at the message. Iori had frowned. Takeru had tilted a hand and rolled his eyes in amused disbelief. "Same old Daisuke."

*I did warn you. You have been keeping your eyes open for Lowemon, right?* Takeru's reply said.

*Of course I have!* *We've been over at the shopping district!* *I was looking for ingredients for my birthday present!* Came Daisuke's replies in a flurry. *Wait! Forget I said anything!*

Hikari and Takeru shared another amused look.

"Daisuke is really serious about becoming a Ramen chef, huh" Takeru said approvingly. "Knowing him he's going to go all out with it."

"I'm looking forward to it," Hikari said.

"Only four more days," Takeru muttered as he started typing something into his D-terminal.

"Has your family finished the preparations already, Hikari?" Iori asked.

"Dad and my big brother already made all the arrangements for it. I want to go over to see it again tomorrow, assuming everything works out."

Hikari's D-terminal chimed with Takeru's group reply: *Well, did you find anything out while you were there? There must've been a lot of Digimon around*

A half minute later a response came, but from Ken instead of Daisuke.

*We met a couple of Digimon who had seen Lowemon around, they told an interesting story about him. We should probably meet up and discuss what we've learned.*

*Yeah! For lunch!* Daisuke agreed.

*Have you got an idea where we should meet up?* Iori sent.

There was a tellingly long pause before Daisuke's response came in, *I'll get back to you on that*

"I guess we have something else to look for," Hikari said hopefully. Maybe looking for a restaurant would give her time to breathe.

The investigation had so far been a challenge for her poker face, not the least because Hikari honestly wasn't sure if she even wanted to find the mystery Digimon Takeru was hunting for. On one hand, Takeru said Lowemon was dangerous and of course he was right about these kinds of things, and there was no getting around the fact that Lowemon had attacked them. On the other hand, the Digimon he described, it was the one from her dream, right? The black lion warrior? But that Digimon had saved her, right? But how could he have been there in that dream in that place and then appear in the Real World and then be in the Digital World again? Maybe if they found him they could find out, but if he was that strong Lowemon could be just as bad as the creatures from the dark world. But if he was fighting against them maybe they could figure out some way to use that to their advantage, but would it work? And if so, then what?

Hikari wanted to know, but Hikari was afraid of finding out. Even worse she couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling she was missing something…

If Takeru noticed that her head was spinning and pounding he didn't comment on them, so it was as good as certain he hadn't noticed. Maybe her smile was holding, or maybe he was too caught up in his own crusade to pay attention to her. Had he looked her in the eye since they had set foot in the city?

Hikari forced a smile, slowed her pace by a step, shifted slightly to the side, pulled her arms in, and tried very hard to not attract the attention of her friends as she did it. And it seemed like it worked, Takeru and Iori didn't turn their heads as she fell behind, though regrettably Tailmon caught on quickly and turned to give her a worried look with her big blue eyes and that just made her feel even more guilty.

There wasn't any winning here, was there? Whether they found Lowemon or not Hikari was stuck. If he was that Digimon, if he was from her dream, she had been called. Even after what she had said to Miyako, she'd let her best friend down.

Turning off a sprawling main street, the group stepped into a little park full of telephone poles that popped into existence in the middle of what had previously been a street of storefronts. As usual, Takeru led the way casually walking up to the various Digimon to ask for restaurant recommendations that took Japanese Yen. He struck out on his first two tries until he got to a white-and-green beast Digimon wearing a hat and carrying a little bag was sitting on a bench splayed out in a random spot between three telephone poles.

"Hey, that's a Terriermon, like Wallace's partner," chimed Armadimon.

"That's right, I wonder if that Digimon is a courier?" Iori said observing its attire as they stepped closer.

"So you say you lot are all looking for a kip you can pay for right and proper?" The dog Digimon spoke with an exaggerated accent, "well can't says I blame you given the time of day. Right head on your shoulders I tell you what!"

"So, um," Patamon, flapping in the air, turned to look at Takeru, "did you get that?"

"More or less. What sort of places you recommend around here?"

"Well, the red bistro is a classic that trades in any kind of coin, but it's going to be jampacked on account of the noon. And if you've only got coins with holes in I can't very well send you off to the fish shop, or the burger coaster. We got a nifty noodle shop just hop skip and a jump away, and I won't know if it strikes your fancy, but Digitamamon's diner is an unsung champ and they've got a whopper of a musician Digimon playin piano for the lunch rush-"

"Oh that sounds nice," Hikari said, catching herself by surprise.

"It does sound interesting," Takeru said turning to look at her, "but I don't know… Digitamamon again? Even if he has turned over a new leaf since what happened my brother, we haven't exactly had much luck with his last few restaurants."

"'His last few'? You all right mate? Not got yourselves confused? Digitamamon only started in on the grub business a couple months back, he hasn't ever got any other restaurants to his name."

"Are you sure about that?" Iori asked.

"Course I am!" The Terriermon chirped. "I remember carrying his registration forms when he opened it up!"

"I guess we haven't met this Digitamamon then," Takeru supplied, "well, I guess it's worth a shot then. And you DO know we can pay in Japanese yen, right?"

The answer was yes and so with directions in tow and an email sent the three children and their Digimon crossed the park, took a path to the left through an arch, hopped over a tiny stream, and walked down a gentle slope into a thicket of buildings. The path was a straight shot as a bird would fly, but on the ground the alley was thin and awkward full of boxes and detritus and strangely placed streetlights and old electronics and other forgotten things. The disorderly buildings standing tall in every direction cast strange shadows downward creating a facsimile of dusk across the path. Hikari had to steady herself at least once as she trailed behind Takeru and Iori on their descent.

First came the sound, then the smell. The smell was of American-style diner food, hamburgers, meatloaf, hashbrowns, homestyle French fries, salad dressing, and fried chicken. The sound was of the rich, deep tones of a piano; notes ringing out with a tight rhythm rising gently and falling gracefully in gorgeous waves. It was the music of a refined dance: two notes going back and forth upwards like steps on a ballroom before twirling into a rising spin of notes, then the inverse as the two notes danced forward and then fell down. The music came in a spiral inward and outward, up in a spin and then down and around to unwind.

For a moment, the six just stopped to appreciate.

"It's really good…" Takeru said to himself.

"It is, isn't it?" Patamon said next to his head.

"The hardest thing to do is to make it sound easy," Tailmon supplied from below.

"It almost sounds like it should be sad, but it isn't," said Hikari distantly.

"We should go head on in them, right Iori?" Armadimon chirped. Even he was taken by the dance carried on the wind.

"Right, there's no reason just stand around," Iori agreed.

Down a little further and a left turn and the Chosen Children stood in front of Digitamamon's eponymous diner standing where the shadows converged. Takeru remained in the lead walking up to the restaurant's glass patio as the unseen pianist finished one song and began in on another, this one light and upbeat.

The notes this time tinkled with innocent joy in a gleeful dance through the air. This was music for frolicking, music that called sunshine and bright smiles and gorgeous days where children laughed and played without a care in the world. It was music that made Hikari's real smile leak through her carefully polished mask.

"It's amazing how fast music can change," Tailmon said. "It's the same piano, but you never know what it is until it gets played. It's like a Digimon." Hikari looked down at her partner curiously, to which Tailmon just held up her gloved paws in a kind of shrug. "It was just a thought, depending on how you play it an instrument it can turn into a lot of different things depending on who it is."

"Then it's all about how it's used?"

"It's about who's using it." Tailmon gave her partner a searching look. "What's wrong Hikari?"

"I-no, it's nothing," Hikari said shaking her head as she tried to patch her smile. "We should go on in, Takeru-"

But what she was about to say about Takeru fell dead away when the boy shouted, a wordless cry of rage.

"You!" It was the only word clear word that emerged from his fury. One finger, dripping in accusation, thrust outward casting a long shadow under the hanging lights. Takeru held it outwards, out towards Lowemon.

The black Digimon barely seemed to notice the boy glaring at him. If the brown eyes under his crested helmet hadn't flicked once to the side it would have seemed like Lowemon had completely overlooked the Chosen Child, but beyond that slight motion there is nothing else. Lowemon simply continued to sit quietly at the bench before the piano, the fingers of his ebony gauntlets nimbly dancing across the ivory keys.

The cold shoulder made Takeru hesitate, but then he redoubled his rage in a new outburst. "I knew you had to be here somewhere around here, turn around and face me!"

"I can see you quite well from here," Lowemon said quietly, the eyes under his helmet remained focused straight ahead at the gray spread of sheet music. Takeru turned his blazing eyes from the Digimon's face to the lion heads mounted on his helmet and shoulders. Their eyes gleamed faintly with an eerie red light.

Overhead, a ceiling fan spun around and around, the whirling shade cast by the fan blades were lengthened and exaggerated by the midsummer sun.

"You got away easy last time, but this time it'll be different. You have A LOT to answer for…" Takeru pulled his hands back, fists were clenched. His voice was lower now, but it still leaked unconstrained contempt.

"What do I have to answer for?" Lowemon said as he continued to play his piano. The song had crossed over the bridge into another colorful verse, but the Digimon's voice had sharpened.

"Don't play dumb, it's for the problems you caused in the Real World the day before yesterday. I know you're the reason those Digimon crossed over!"

Lowemon closed his eyes and shook his head. With so little of his face exposed the warrior Digimon's expression was unreadable in the penumbra of his black helmet.

"So? Have you got anything to say for yourself?" The Digimon in the dining room had all started to back away when he began, now there was a void space in the restaurant around the piano's alcove.

"What would you like me to say?" Lowemon said, still sharper. The song was moving towards its end. There were only about 15 bars left on the song, after that-

"That you came to the Real World, and you're the reason all those Digimon were stranded."

"I had nothing to do with those Digimon traveling to the Real World." 11 bars. The windows at the back of the restaurant opened easily and were large enough, but that led to a narrow alley. The side door was a straight shot, but that led to a footpath with more traffic, more Digimon to be caught up in the fighting. Straight up?

"But you DID come to the Real World," he sneered. The boy's words were triumphant and venomous in equal quantities.

"Even if I did, why do I have to 'answer' for it? I have the right to choose how I live, no different from you or your Digimon partner." 6 bars. A grim specter fast approaching.

"We are nothing alike," Takeru said, with sudden, deathly calm, "you won't be able to insult me anymore. I'm going to put a stop to you before anymore innocent Digimon get caught up in your evil."

"I told you the last time we met that I didn't like fighting, but if you're going to attack me I will defend myself. I'd prefer to fight somewhere besides the city, but I don't think you're interested in finding another place to do this." 2 bars. You could really stretch out the last few measures of this song, it didn't last forever but it gave few more seconds to try and figure something out. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried Lowemon kept hitting the same wall, Takeru was here to fight and nothing else. He meant the world to Hikari, seeing him twisted this far by rage was, well uncomfortable. And uncomfortably familiar.

"Not after you played a trick on us last time. We have to stop you here and now." And that was final.

The cheerful song reached its last three notes, then two, then one and tapered off into a final falling chord. Lowemon stood up and turned to look down at the blonde haired boy. He had pulled his green digivice out of his pocket, the Patamon hovering next to his head had been giving him a worried look, but when their eyes met the little Digimon nodded.

"Takeru? What happened? The music stopped and-" Hikari rounded the corner towards the alcove with her Tailmon in tow. Her steps were slow, even fearful and her voice quivered ever so slightly. As she turned to face him, Lowemon's sharp instincts noted all the things in her features that said plainly she did not want to be here. It was in the way her lips twitched, the way her smile didn't quite make it all the way to the corner of her eyes, the way she held her arms tight over her stomach, the way she paused a quarter of a second too long before every step, the way her posture was pulled back and tight, and the way her gaze was tilted downward instead of looking ahead.

And when her downward gaze caught side of Lowemon's knee she pulled back suddenly, like she'd been punched in the gut.

Hikari stared up at Lowemon in frozen horror. She took a step back involuntarily, her mouth dropped open, the whole of her face crumpled into numb despair. Their eyes met, in them Hikari once again saw, what? Concern? Dismay? Fear? Maybe even sympathy?

Whatever it was, the Chosen Child of Light turned from it and ran, down the hallway, left, right, left, straight, and then down, down, down, she was falling without gravity, falling without a bottom, falling without end through white and black into gray and ash and cold and sad and dead.

"Did you get what pages we had to do for homework?" Maki asked from the next seat over.

"It was 67 through 73," Hikari answered, without looking as she slotted her schoolbooks into her bag.

"Yeah, 67 through the end of the chapter; there isn't much left after all," Reika said, fanning herself.

"Well I heard it wasn't going be on the test, so it shouldn't be too hard," Maki said leaning back.

"You should still make sure you get it right," Hikari replied.

"You never know, the teacher might throw it in as a bonus question," Reika added.

The bell rang. School was officially over. Hikari picked up her bag and as her classmates passed called out, "Did you see-"

"Are you busy after school, Reika? The new accessory store right by the station finally opened!"

"That's the one that-"

"That's the one that they started building last fall, right? Why do you think it took so long?" Reika said, shouldering her bag.

Maki shrugged, "no idea, want to check it out?"

"You know it!" Reika replied. Hikari tried to protest something, but the two girls walked out laughing leaving her at her seat. For a moment she stared before she looked around.

"There you are!" Hikari's smile returned as she turned to the door, that loud confident voice could only be Miyako.

"Miyako, did you hear about-" Miyako kept going past her to the next row of seats.

"Coach Iwakura wants you for something, Daisuke," she said testily.

"Me? Why? And why'd he ask YOU?" Daisuke's own loud voice and breathtakingly honest features suggested it was the last part he found most objectionable. Being called by the high school soccer coach suddenly was fine, but getting the news from Miyako was obviously a bridge too far.

Miyako rolled her eyes behind her glasses and theatrically held up her hands, "well I don't know! He came by the computer lab for some reason to tell me. Who knows why, it's not like you're even a member."

"Like that's the problem," Daisuke muttered. "Well fine, I better go see him. And thanks I guess."

"Yeah yeah," Miyako said as she headed to the door with him.

"Daisuke, I-" but again, Hikari's words fell on deaf ears as the two of them left.

At first, Hikari made to follow them, but as she crossed to the classroom door Hikari turned around and blinked. A moment ago she'd thought- but there was no one here anymore. Everyone must've left already, but she could have sworn…

Hikari shivered.

Stepping out into the hallway, Hikari forced herself to breathe. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. There was probably some ordinary reason for what was happening. Something she was just overlooking. Something that had slipped her mind. Maybe there had just been fewer people in class than she remembered. Maybe some of them slipped out early. Maybe she'd been too quiet. Maybe they'd just been really focused on something else.

Takeru. She had to find Takeru. Takeru would never overlook her, he'd always pay attention to her. It was right after school and today he was on cleaning duty, that meant that he'd be on the first floor at the janitor supply closet.

Hikari tried hard not to run in the halls. She'd been taught years ago it wasn't safe to do that because you might slip and fall or run into someone and get into an accident and that had always been good enough for her because Hikari had already had quite enough of hospitals, thank you very much, but today? Today was a challenge. Hikari managed to not run, but she did walk only a few steps short of a jog.

Hikari looked left and right and left and right as she crossed the hallway driven by a nameless dread. Fear and uncertainty made for miserable company. Fear and uncertainty locked themselves in your guts and gnawed away at your spine. They made you question everything, and worse than everything else fear and uncertainty made you question yourself. Had this floor always had so many classrooms? Were there always that many fire extinguishers? How far along were the restrooms? Was the stairwell that far down? Had the sky been that color of gray earlier today? Could you always see that building from the side of the school? Did she know that girl over there? Was there someone else she could ask who she was forgetting? Shouldn't there be more people around? Where were the teachers? Should it be this quiet? Was there somewhere else she usually went after school? Something she had to do? Actually, what had happened today? What day was it? How did she get here? How long had she been here? Had something happen to her? Was she losing her mind? What was it she was forgetting?

Hikari's heart was beating uncomfortably fast as she descended the stairway. Her skin felt cold and clammy. By the third flight of stairs she knew something was wrong, even if she couldn't remember all those other details, she knew how many steps it took to go down a floor in her school.

By the fifth flight of steps Hikari finally broke out into a run. It was dangerous to do that down the steps, but she was long past that point and she was certain she was already in danger.

By the eighth flight of steps Hikari was panting. Her heart felt like it was exploding, she was gasping barely able to keep up with it. Her head was pounding, her knees were trembling, her vision blurred with panic and tears.

By the thirteenth flight of steps Hikari was shouting, crying out for someone, anyone, everyone! Takeru! Daisuke! Taichi! Miyako! Takeru! Takeru! Her feet clattered, the metal railing dug into her hand, the whole world was shaking.

Around the corner, down down down until, there! The door! Hikari left the last three steps, stumbled, clambered pulled herself forward and crashed through it out onto the ground floor hallway.

Hikari shook, and finally broke down into terrified tears. In every direction were gray hallways, dim corridors with lights turned off. Endless closed windows gazed out over nondescript gray concrete buildings under a gray cloudy sky. An endless length of classrooms and closets and restrooms; of school.

Even as she shuddered, Hikari started to move. It was nothing conscious that drove her, no deep thought or plan pushed one foot in front of another, nothing but raw fear.

Hikari ran. She ran until her lungs burned, until the blood pounded in her ears, until her feet were blistered, until her eyes ran out of tears. She cried out again and again, name after name of her friends, her family, her companions, Taichi! Takeru! Miyako! Daisuke! Takeru! Takeru! She called out to him, again and again and again until her throat was raw and her mouth was dry, and still she called out any name she could think of, any person she could imagine, anyone she remembered.

The hallway kept going, and going and going. She turned down crossings at random, right and left and right and straight and left and left, but the empty building never ran out. She turned and turned and turned, but all she found was more gray nothing.

And, as her knees buckled, Hikari cried out for someone, anyone, anything real here. A light in the dark, something real in the endless web of shadows...

Instinct alone drove her to turn left suddenly and push through one of the doorways to nowhere and to cross into a new lightless hallway going downward. Here it was black, not the endless empty gray, black. Dark. Hikari slowed, panting. The same survival instinct that had pulled her in here was now pushing her to leave, but that instinct grappled with her fear and her desperation, and those forces wrestled it into the ground.

"Hello?" Hikari called with a voice still quaking with fear. There was no reply. Hikari looked behind her at the world in gray. She gulped, stepping forward slowly.

To her own surprise, after three classrooms the dark hallway came to an end. To her own horror, there was a shape near the wall.

"Takeru?" She pleaded.

The shape came closer. It was a boy, and it wasn't Takeru. It was...

She knew him, Hikari was absolutely certain she'd seen this boy before, but where, she couldn't remember where she'd- what couldn't she remember? Why couldn't she remember? Who else couldn't she remember? Looking into his face Hikari was suddenly overcome with a sense of grief. She was crying all over again, like she'd found new tears to shed for all the people she'd just now realized she'd forgotten and lost.

The familiar boy took another step forward and reached out a hand. Hikari held hers out, but as they were about to meet she suddenly saw the boy's eyes.

They were pitch black.

As the world rippled around her like water in a pond, as Hikari fell ever downwards her last thought, a thought that bubbled up like from that moment at the edge of sleep, was that it wasn't his eyes that were black, it's that the inky blackness she saw was merely a reflection of-

But she got no further and thought no more.

And with that, welcome to day three of Black Stranger, where a lot of stuff happens.

As is transparent from the cliffhanger, this is merely the first part of the chapter. In my initial outline I somehow assumed that all of day three would be able to be done in one chapter, and in hindsight I have no idea what the heck I was thinking. If I've learned anything from working on this story and others it's that I vastly underestimate how much time and how many words are necessary tell my own stories (Digigamigakari probably should have been four chapters for instance). Going into this portion I imagined it would be the first of two parts, but I'm starting to suspect it may take three... Oh well, you live and learn. And hey, if I can update more frequently that's only a good thing for all you and the audience, right?

And for what it's worth this wasn't exactly where I anticipated leaving off. I had planned the first part of the chapter to end a little further along, but when I sat down to do another session of writing I realized that actually where I left off before was also a perfectly fine place to leave off and makes an interesting mirror to the point I originally planned on ending it. I'm a little bit concerned it under plays a thing I was trying to do, but I think this will still work.

As always, thank you to everyone who is chosen to favorite and follow the story, and everyone who chose to leave a review including Blackdrake, Moonstruck-Dreamo, TobiGB, Imtesfa11, and Laala14. You don't know how much it means to me to know there are people out there who care enough to follow my work.

To Be Continued