Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I don't own "All You Wanted" by Michelle Branch. Heck, I don't even own a house, so please don't sue. Also, I don't make any money from these insane ramblings. Unfortunately. (Oh, and the name Cherith belongs to some Star Wars author or another.)
"All You Wanted"
Chapter 4
I'm sinking slowly, so hurry hold me
Your hand is all I have to keep me hanging on
Please can you tell me so I can finally see
Where you go when you're gone
Ken marveled at the natural beauty around him. He had been so busy being an emperor that he had missed out on the 'simple joys' available in the Digital World. They walked into a small clearing, and he frowned and stopped walking. Cherith also stopped beside him with a small gasp. There, to one side of the clearing, was a small green plant-like Digimon with large almond-shaped eyes and a pink flower on its head. It was tied up and hanging from a low tree branch.
"Oh, the poor thing!" she cried running over toward the helpless Digimon.
"Be careful," he admonished, but she didn't seem to hear him. He followed a short distance behind her.
Suddenly, the ground under Cherith gave way, just before she reached the captive Digimon. She fell into some kind of concealed pit, but Ken lurched forward, catching one of her hands.
The plant-like Digimon slipped out of its bonds, yelled, "It didn't quite work!" and ran off into the forest.
Ken ignored it, trying to think which of his slaves would be of the most help. "Gorillamon! Come here!"
Cherith changed her position, trying to gain some purchase in order to pull herself upward or at least stop slipping down. Ken managed to grab her other hand, but it was all he could do not to slide over the edge and fall with her. He heard a loud crashing sound in the underbrush, and called out, "Over here!" A huge gray-white gorilla with a large weapon in the place of one of its hands lumbered into his line of sight. "Gorillamon, pull her up." The monster reached down, took one of her arms in his huge hand, and pulled her up effortlessly. She stood up shakily and looked around.
"Oh, great."
"What is it?" Ken asked apprehensively. Something in her voice set off alarm bells in his head.
"Well, there are a bunch of Digimon heading this way. And...they look like they're attacking."
He whirled around and saw them. Five Digimon, and one of them was Agumon! He gave Cherith a sideways glance. She probably wouldn't stand for it. Oh well, I have to defend myself, and if Agumon gets taken prisoner in the process... He walked over to the ape-like Digimon and gave it some instructions. Gorillamon began lumbering around them toward the attacking Digimon, but the pink birdlike Digimon yelled, "Spiral Twister!" A spiral of green energy flew toward the two humans, and Ken pulled Cherith to the side, putting his arms around her to shield her. The green spiral missed them, and Gorillamon finally got between them and the attackers.
"Gorillamon, cover us until we're well away from here, then get out of here yourself." He took Cherith's hand and pulled her away with him. They ran for a while, then stopped. "Great, now we're lost."
Cherith smiled at him. "Call Airdramon." She checked the clock in her digivice. "We still have about an hour until we need to leave. This has been a lot of fun, by the way, except for the last few minutes."
He laughed. "Well, we can wander around for a while, until we need to leave. How does that sound to you?"
She smiled. "Great. You choose a direction."
"No, I chose last time. It's your turn now."
"Good point, especially considering where you took us last time." She chose a direction randomly, and they set off.
The rest of the excursion went by uneventfully, and at about 6:50 Ken summoned Airdramon. They located the portal and left the Digital World.
He took Cherith downtown and showed her a few famous buildings and a memorial so she could show her parents if they were interested. Then they went to a restaurant that Ken suggested she might enjoy. By the time they were finished, it was 8:15, and she needed to head home.
They took a trolley into their neighborhood, and he walked her home, dropping her off at he apartment building five minutes early.
He walked home and talked with his parents for a while, then checked his computer for messages from the Digital World. There was one that said that Gorillamon had captured Agumon. He decided he would take care of it tomorrow afternoon, and went to bed. He woke the next morning when his mom knocked on his door and called his name. He got ready and left for school. The first five periods went by just like usual, and he got his lunch tray and sat down by himself. Cherith came over and sat across the table from him.
"Did you enjoy yourself yesterday?" she asked with a smile.
"Yes," he responded slowly, "it was both relaxing and productive."
She glanced at him oddly. "Productive?"
He winced slightly. He hadn't meant to give that away. Unfortunately, she would probably be able to tell if he lied. "It's not really important."
"Well, then, it doesn't matter if you tell me, does it?"
He sighed. "I captured one of those Digimon that attacked us. One that I have been trying to catch for a while now."
She eyed him for a moment, then asked, "And what are you going to do with this Digimon?"
He shrugged. "Probably force him to digivolve to Ultimate. He would be my strongest slave! If I could--"
Cherith interrupted him, frowning slightly. "Slave?"
He turned to her in surprise. "Well, yes. Isn't that what Digimon are for?"
She looked at him for a moment, still frowning. "I doubt it, although I don't know what they are for. Slavery is morally wrong. I don't think anyone should be able to own or control someone like that."
He gave her a cold look. "Don't be naïve."
She gave him a hurt look in return. "I would have thought better of you, Ken. You seem like a nice person, but I guess appearances can be deceiving." She got up and took her tray to her other friends' table.
Ken sat alone and picked at his food. He had lost his appetite. Why do girls have to be so stupid? He got up, threw his tray away, and walked to the office. He called his mom and told her that he didn't feel well. She talked to the secretary, who let Ken go home. His mom met him at the door of his apartment.
"Oh, Ken, you look terrible! If I'd known you were that sick, I'd have sent your father to pick you up."
"It's okay, Mom. He's usually too busy to get off, anyway. I'm going to sleep in my room, so please try not to disturb me."
"Okay, honey. I'll make you some soup when you wake up."
Ken went into his room and closed the door. He got out his digivice and opened a portal to the Digital World.
***************
Cherith felt angry with herself. Why had she been so harsh with Ken? Sure, slavery was wrong, but she wouldn't convince him of that by being rude or mean to him.
Why do boys have to be so stupid? She sighed softly and tried to concentrate on taking notes.
She had first missed him sixth hour, when he should have been in biology. The teacher said that he had gone home.
No wonder, she thought bitterly. He told me himself that I was his only friend, and then I seem to turn on him. She tried to appease her feeling of self-loathing by promising herself that she would apologize to him as soon as she got out of school. The rest of school seemed to crawl by, but eventually the bell for the end of eighth hour rang, and everyone began filing out of the school. She put her biology notes in her bookbag so Ken could borrow them and copy down the ones he'd missed.
She stopped by her apartment and left a note telling her parents not to worry if she wasn't at home and then headed over to the apartment complex where Ken lived. She rang the doorbell, and Ken's mom answered.
"Oh, hi, Cherith," she said, smiling.
"Hello, Mrs. Ichijouji," Cherith answered politely. "Is Ken alright? He left school early."
"He'll be okay. He wasn't feeling well, so now he's sleeping in his room."
"Oh. Well, can I leave him a note beside his bed or something? It's kind of important. Also, I want to leave today's biology notes for him to copy down, if that's alright."
The woman in the doorway hesitated. "I don't know, he asked not to be disturbed."
Cherith smiled winningly. "Don't worry. I have a baby brother at home, so I get a lot of practice at being quiet."
She seemed to consider for a moment, then said, "Well, as long as you don't wake him."
Cherith smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry." She took a piece of paper and a pen out of her backpack and began writing.
Ken's mom kept glancing over at her, and eventually asked, "Just out of curiosity, what are you writing?"
Cherith hesitated for a moment, then sighed softly. "An apology."
The older woman nodded. "I see."
Cherith finished writing and folded the paper in fourths. She reached into her bookbag and got out her biology notes. Opening it to the last day of notes, she walked to Ken's room. She opened the door, stepped in, and closed it silently behind her. She turned and walked over to his nightstand. As she approached it, she realized that his bed was empty. He wasn't anywhere in his room.
She sighed softly. Oh, well. I can still leave these here. She set the notebook on the nightstand and laid the note on top of it. She turned and left the room, closing the door softly. She smiled at Ken's mom as she picked up her backpack. "Don't worry. I didn't wake him." Which is true.
She crossed the street and went to her apartment. She did her homework and ate supper with her family. As she lay in bed waiting to fall asleep, she wondered if Ken had come back and gotten her note. He had probably been in the Digital World, but she hadn't had the heart to go after him.
Anyway, she reasoned, he knows that's where I would expect him to go. He might have gone somewhere else, where he knew I wouldn't find him. She sighed and tried not to worry about him.
***************
Ken smiled to himself as he closed the portal to the Digital World. He had enjoyed his excursion greatly, and had put Cherith's and his argument behind him. As he turned away from his computer, he noticed something on his nightstand. He walked over and saw that it was a notebook with a folded sheet of paper on top of it. He picked up the paper and looked at it without unfolding it. His name was written on it.
He frowned. That's Cherith's handwriting! He dropped the paper back onto the notebook and left his room. If she told Mom that I was gone...
"I'm awake!" he called. He walked into the kitchen area, where his mother was making dinner. She didn't run toward him or ask him where he'd been, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Cherith had had the sense to keep her mouth shut. "Did Cherith come by?" he asked as nonchalantly as possible.
His mom turned and smiled at him. "You look a lot better. Yes, she came by and left a note for you. Didn't you see it?"
"Yes, I did." He sat down at the table as she handed him a mug of chicken soup.
She gazed at him thoughtfully as he began to eat. "She seemed to think it was important. She insisted on putting it in there herself."
Ken only nodded and continued eating, and she didn't press him any further. He finished his soup and slipped away to his room. He walked slowly over to his nightstand, picked up the note, and began unfolding it.
***************
Cherith looked around as she walked to school. She had decided to leave home early and walk slowly in hopes that she would run into Ken on the way. She sighed softly with disappointment. I'm almost there. Where is he? She had spent the walk taking a good look at her surroundings. She had never really taken time to become familiar with her neighborhood, and it was a good way to pass the extra time she had.
She turned a corner and was at the school. She looked for him as she walked to her locker, but she didn't see him in any of the main hallways. She put her algebra book in her backpack and walked to the algebra room. She sat in her seat, dropped her bookbag on the floor beside her, and put her head down on the desk.
"Cherith?" Ken's voice came softly from behind her. "Here's your biology notebook."
She sat up and turned to look behind her. Yes, it was him. She stood up, took the notebook, and set it on her desk.
"Thanks for lending it to me," he added.
She turned back toward him with her face full of concern. "No problem. Where were you yesterday?"
He smiled slightly. "In the Digital World. That's where I always go, especially when I'm angry."
Cherith nodded. "I've heard rumors of you disappearing for an afternoon or a day."
"I was probably in the Digital World," he said. "I like to go there whenever I can."
She stepped closer to him and took his hand. "I was kind of worried about you. What if one of those big Digimon you have were to hurt you by accident? What if something were to happen to you?"
He smiled at her. "Don't worry. I'm always pretty careful." He hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry about our argument yesterday. I definitely could have been nicer."
She smiled up at him. "It's all right. We were both to blame. I'm just glad it's over." Her smile turned shy. "You know, Ken--"
Just then, Mr. Jonsen walked in. Cherith dropped Ken's hand like it was on fire, and they both turned to face him, trying not to look guilty.
"Am I interrupting something?" he asked.
"Um, no," Ken responded, and Cherith added, "Nothing important."
"Ah, I see," he said, smiling slightly. He opened his mouth to say something, but just then the bell rang, and the two students went quickly to their respective desks, escaping any further scrutiny. The rest of the class filed in, and Mr. Jonsen sat down at his desk, shaking his head and smiling slightly.
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