He sighed, sitting up in bed.  Another restless night.  He shook his head and wiped the excess sweat from his brow.  Anxiety?  From what?  He sighed again.
         The door opened.
         "Kei!  Wake up!  It's already the afternoon!"
         "E-eh?!"  He looked at the door.
         Kasumi walked in, looking as pleasant as ever, that sweet smile on her face.
         He yanked the sheets up over him.  He wasn't dressed yet.  He flushed.
         "G-get out!  Let me get dressed first!"
         "Oh!!"  She blushed as well, and turned, her hand went to her cheek. "... Sorry!"  She walked out of the room.
         He sighed.
         "... That girl.  Sheesh."
         He slid out of bed and walked over to his drawer.  He slid it open.
         "... Guess I'll wear my usual."

         He stepped out of his room, and brushed off his shirt.  He was wearing his usual red shirt with black pants, a strip of red cloth tied around his waist to keep his pants up.  His lucky blue scarf was around his neck.  Kasumi was waiting there, standing next to the doorway.  She bowed.
         "Uh... please forgive my intrusion."
         "... H-Hey... that ain't nessecary."
         She stood up and her smile returned.
         "The elder wants to see you.  He doesn't look very happy about yesterday."
         He flushed.
         "Gah... it's not my fault that those chickens went crazy!"
         She giggled.
         "You did look funny with all those feathers... though you did break a few things, I hear."
         "... Bah."  He sighed, and she nodded.
         "Oh!  Today is the day of the Crystals!  Go look outside!"
         "Really?"
         She nodded.
         "Wow.  I'll have to see."
         "Well, I must be off.  Still have work to do."
         "Okay, Kasumi.  See you around."
         She quietly walked out of the room, her lengthy, rather extravagant dress seemed to suck the detail out of the room.   He grumbled under his breath and shook his head.  He turned and passed through the doorway into the main room.
         A few people sat, crouded around a table, a single candle flickered.  They talked amongst one-another.  As he approached the elder's door, one of them grabbed his arm.
         "Hey... Kei."
         "What's up, James?"
         "Not much, man."
         The other two men waved to him.  He waved back, nodding to them.
         "... Did you hear anything when you walked by that door?" said James.
         He pointed to the blue door that was close to the door to the elder's room.  Kei shook his head.
         "Nope... didn't exactly stop to listen," said Kei.
         All three shivered.
         "It's creepy.  It's like... someone's calling for help!" shouted one of the guys.
         The one next to him shoved him.
         "Shh!  The elder said that that room is forbidden!" said the other.
         Kei shrugged and quietly walked to the door.  He turned the knob.  Locked tight.  He froze as he heard something faint.
         "... help... help me..."
         "... Okay, I'm officially creeped now," said Kei
         Kei giggled and shook his head, turning to the group.
         "Good joke, fellas."
         His hands went to his hips as he smirked.
         "Almost had me."
         ... They didn't seem to be laughing.  Kei coughed.
         "Well... the elder's expecting me, so..."
         He turned, and walked into the elder's room.  It was only a few moments before the old geezer spoke to him.
         "... Well?  What do you have to say for yourself?"
         His usual dignified voice.  It urked Kei.
         "... Well... it happens, sometimes, okay?  I'm sorry."
         He shook his head and bit his lip.  It was hard for him to do things like this.
         "... Kei.  You have done something wrong.  Do not apologize to me.  Apologize to those you have wronged."
         A knot formed in his stomach.  Now he had to go apologize to them?  Well, whatever... at least he would be able to see Kasumi again.  He bowed to the elder, the elder nodded back to him.  He was dismissed.  He walked quietly out of the elder's room.
         He re-entered the room, and the three men still chatted amongst themselves over what was behind that door.  Kei shook his head and rolled his eyes, continuing by them and walked out.  He nodded to the maid as he walked by her in the foyer of the wooden house, and exited through the front door.
         The Day of the Crystals.  It was a once-in-a-random-few-years event.  Shimmering prismatic spheres of light filled the daytime sky, and floated around freely.  A smile spread across his face as he watched.  They were definately pretty.
         His town was small.  Very small.  It was a secluded place in the middle of a forest.  No one had seen what was outside; no one could.  There was no gate constructed to leave this place.  No one sought to know what was outside, either.  Life was fine the way it was in the little town of Zuishou.  There was no need to question what was outside.  It was a self-sufficient hamlet.  Two farms, a general store, a tailor shop, and a few homes.  There was always enough to go around, and the weather always seemed to be the way it needed to be.
         He darted up the path.  If he was going to do this, he wanted it over with as quickly as possible.  It wasn't long before he had arrived at his destination, the tailor's shop.  He walked in, and shut the door behind him, almost immediately, that overweight Betty almost knocked him back out the door.
         "What do you think you're doing here?!  You have some nerve showing up after breaking that window and not even bothering to help clean it up!"
         "... Uh... I'm..."
         He looked away for a moment, then bit his lip.  Kasumi walked up behind Betty, and smiled at Kei.  He felt a renewed sense of confidence fill him.
         "I'm sorry."
         A smile spread across Betty's face.
         "... There, now, was it really that hard?"
         He shook his head.
         "That's called responsibility," said Betty, her hands going to her hips.  "It's part of being an adult..."
         After that point, Kei zoned out, looking back at Kasumi, and smiled to her.  Must have been two minutes that passed before Betty finished.
         "... and all I really wanted was just sorry.  Thank you, Kei.  Well, I must get back to work."
         She turned and headed back to her loom, and immediately resumed her work.  Kasumi walked to him, leaned forward, and gave him a light kiss to his cheek.
         "That was very big of you," she said in a chldish tone.
         He grinned, and scratched the back of his head.  He felt flustered as usual.
         "Well... I suppose so... so... y'wanna watch the crystals tonight?" asked Kei
         She nodded, her face brightening up.
         "Of course!  I would love to!" she said.
         "Great!  I'll see you when you get off work!" he said cheerfully.
         She waved to him as he exited through the door.  He jogged back to the elder's house, a newfound lightness to his step.  He had known Kasumi for as long as he could remember, and he had never the courage to ask her what he had just asked her.  It felt good.
         He made it as close as to the meeting room before he was stopped by James and his two friends again.
         "Kei!  C'mon, you gotta help us!" said James.
         "Yeah, we're dying to know what's in there!" said one.
         "The three of us together couldn't even budge that door!  C'mon, give it a shot!  Maybe you can help us," said the other.
         "Uh... well... I'll give it a shot.  Was locked earlier."
         All four walked to the door.  Kei scratched his head, and turned to the other three.
         "... Which one of you has the hardest head?"
         "... Not funny, Kei," said James.
         "Hmm..."
         Kei suddenly felt himself lifted and turned on his side.
         "W-what?!" said Kei
         "But it's a good idea!" finished James.
         Two more sets of arms grabbed him, holding his arms and legs in place.
         "Oh, COME ON!" he screamed, squirming hard.
         "One..."
         "Come on!  Don't do it!"
         "Two..."
         "... you guys are so dead..."
         "THREE!"
         With that, the three guys took off towards the door, and slammed Kei's head into the door, his thick black hair not nearly enough to cushion the blow.  The door groaned, and bursted open.  The three dropped Kei and let out a cheer.  The door was opened!  Kei laid there for a few moments, then sat up, rubbing his head.  He looked around for a moment.  The three others had pale faces.
         "... What's w-..."
         He turned around.  There was a light that came from the now-open doorway.
         "... please... someone... help me... free me..."
         The light faded.  The three men stood there, Kei still on the floor.
         "... Uh... well... the door's open... you go check it out, Kei... I'm suddenly not feeling very good."
         "Yeah, man... me, too.  See you later."
         "I'm with you guys... uh, good luck, Kei."
         The three turned, and walked out.  Kei sighed and shook his head.  He stood up and leaned in the doorway.
         "... Hello?  Anyone there?"
         No response.  He leaned in.  There was a staircase leading down.
         Well... why not?  He followed the staircase down.  The light quietly dimmed.  Further and further down.  How far down did this staircase go?  He sighed as he had started counting the steps after trailing down them for what seemed like ten minutes.
         "... sixty-five... sixty-six... sixty se-" he was cut off.  That was the last step.
         He lept down into a small cave.
         "... Creepy place.  Why was there a need to seal this place up?"
         His shoes quietly grinded the gravel as he walked down the cave.  He squinted and leaned forward.  There seemed to be a light in the back of the cave.
         "... help me... get me out of here..."
         He stopped dead in his tracks, feet kicked up some of the gravel.
         "... Who are you?"
         ... No response.  Maybe... that light?  He nodded and took off in a jog towards the light.  It was only a few moments before he skidded to a halt.  Yes, there was a light.  A small object was hovering in the air infront of him, a thin halo of light around it.
         "... touch it... set me free..."
         "... Well..."
         He looked to his left.  Then to his right.  He brushed his hands off on his pants, wiped the back of his hand along his lips, and reached forward...
         ... and was quickly launched back.
         "... no, no, no!... with a calm mind... touch me... calm your soul..."
         "... Yeah... NOW you tell me..."
         He stood up, and brushed the dirt off of his hands.  He brushed his rear, gravel falling off of his pants.  He shut his eyes, and walked towards the object again.  He reached out, his hands around where he knew it was.  He could see it in his head.  He took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.  He opened his eyes and closed his hands around the source of the light.  A bright light quickly blinded him.
         Once again, on the floor.  He sat up... and immediately jumped ten feet back.
         "AAAAAAHHHH!  Wh-..?!"
         It must have been three feet tall.  It's entire body was black, and had almost a sheen to it; it was shiny, even in the darkness.  Two golden hues peered at him through the opening in it's helmet.  It looked human, but was most certainly not.  The long talons that protruded from it's hands said that.  It's head had a humanoid oval shape, but no human could be looking from underneath that helmet.  It leaned forward.
         "... Did you free me?"
         "... Yeah... I did..."
         It quickly glomped him, and he fell over backwards against the dirt.
         "Thank you!  Man, that thing was SO CRAMPED!  You have no idea how good it feels!"
         It sat up on his stomach and stretched out it's arms and back.
         "... Inside what?"
         It pointed to his right hand.  A small device sat in his hand, clenched in his fingers.  He didn't even know it was there.
         "That," it said.
         "... What are you?!"
         "Me?  I'm a Digimon!"
         "Digi... mon?"
         "... Probably the last one, too.  Digital monster... it's hard to explain... well... let me show you something."
         Before Kei could get a word out, the creature leaned over and pushed a button on the device.  It hummed for a second.
         "Uh..." Kei looked at the device, holding it infront of his face.  "What did you ju-"
         He never finished that sentence as he was sucked into the small device, the creature pulled in with him.

***************



         "This is where I've been stuck for... well, I dunno how long!"
         "... You mean... ALL OF THIS... is in this teeny, TINY thing?"
         He looked down at the device in his hand.
         "That's just a mock-model.  You can use that to leave."
         "That's good."
         He held it to him, left index finger lowering to push a button, just before those two black hands grabbed his hand.
         "Not yet!  At least lemme give you a tour!"
         He gave a fustrated sigh.
         "... Whatever."
         He looked around.  Wow, it was big.  Was most certainly larger than his room.  Most of it was empty.  A bookshelf complete with books of various types adorned a wall.  Chairs, couches, and a table decorated the room.  Even the floor had soft, dark blue carpetting, and the walls were dark blue to match the carpet.  Two chairs sat near the left wall, a clock above it, and a chessboard there.  He quirked a brow.  The Digimon looked up at him and followed his glance.
         "Up for a game?"
         The creature giggled.
         "I'm rather bored of playing against myself."
         "... Nah... not right now."
         "Alrighty, well, this is my home."
         He pointed to a door.
         "Bedroom's in there."
         "... Okay.  Done?"
         The creature's eyes said it all.
         "... What's wrong with you?"
         "Well, isn't it obvious?  I break down a door that leads to a strange device that has it's own monster and room in it.  No, this is just so easy to understand," Kei said, a fustrated tone in his voice.
         He took his head in his hands and shook his head.  The creature looked around usnteadily.
         "What's up?" Kei looked down at it.
         "Someone's coming.  Let's go!"
         Once again, before he could say anything, the creature leaned up and pushed a button on the device.  The area around them shifted and twisted, fading into a light.  The light quietly faded, replaced with the cave.
         "... You need to warn me before you do that from now on, okay?"
         The creature nodded.
         "Agreed.  Oh, and by the way, my name is Tuskikagemon."
         "Tuskika... wha?"
         "... It means shadow of the moon."
         "... Oh... well, I'm Kei.  Nice to meet you, Tuskika-... ah, uh..."
         "Call me Shadow if you want," the creature grumbled, shaking it's head.
         Kei shivered as he heard a voice.
         "Kei!"
         Kasumi exited the staircase and into the cave.
         "Kei, are you okay?!  James was so pale when he told me about what happe-..."
         She leaned over and glanced at Shadow.  He sheepishly raised his hand and waved at her.  Kei followed Kasumi's stare... and quickly jumped, waving his hands.
         "Don't worry!  He's okay!  He's, uh... nice..."
         Kei turned and looked down at Shadow.
         "Uh... you don't eat... meat... right?"
         Shadow shook his head.
         "Nope."
         Kei let out a sigh of relief... as did Kasumi.
         "Kei..." Kasumi's voice seemed to sink.  "... I've a... terrible feeling now..."
         He blinked and stared at her.  He walked to her and tilted his head to the side, stopped, and stood no more than a foot from her.
         "Yeah, James was complaining of not feeling too well, either..."
         "... Kei... I'm... I'm scared... something.. is happening..."
         Kei blinked and quietly glanced around, glancing down at Shadow.  Shadow shrugged and looked around.
         "Nothing's wr-..."
         He didn't finish his sentence as he looked at Kasumi.  It took him a few moments for it to sink in.  He brushed his hand along her cheek.
         "She's... stone..."
         He turned to Shadow, and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him.
         "W-what happened?!  What did you do to her?!"
         Inbetween the shaking, Shadow managed to plea.
         "I-I-I di-idn't do anything!  Really!  It's not my fault!"
         Shadow quickly squirmed free of Kei and lightly shoved him aside, walking to her.
         "Lemme see here..."
         He leaned forward, examining her, and lightly brushed a straightened talon along his chin.
         "... Her soul is gone."
         "WHAT?!"
         "... The whole villiage is probably like this right now."
         "... How in blazes do you... forget it, let's go, NOW!"
         With that, they both darted to the staircase, bolting up it.  What was a 2 minute journey down was done in 30 seconds on the way up.  Not fast enough for him.  He ran into the meeting room, and was greeted by a few more statues, amongst which was James, a horrified look on his face.
         "... The elder!"
         Kei quickly bolted into the room, nearly knocking the door down.  The elder was normal, and looked up at Kei as he entered.
         "... You broke the seal, Kei."
         "W-what...?!"
         Shadow walked in behind him.
         "H-hey, I was the one sealed away.  Why would someone make people turn to stone for freeing lil' old me?"
         "... And I see the creature that was sealed away is free as well."
         Shadow jumped.
         "HEY!  I'm not a creature."  He stuck out his chest.  "I'm a Digimon!"
         "... Kei..."
         "... Is there a way to save them, elder?  Is there a way to bring back their souls?"
         "... Yes... there is... but you must venture outside the villiage to do so..."
         ... Venture outside the villiage.  Somewhere no one else has gone before.
         "Outside of this villiage... there are seven towers.  Each tower contains their souls... if you want the villiage to return to normal, you must seek out the Guardian of these towers.  He can help you..."
         Kei remained silent, absorbing all of this.  This was all alien to him, and he wasn't very good with new concepts.  An "outside world" was a completely new thought to him.  He stood for a few moments, lost in his own head.
         "... The gates have opened for you, Kei..."  The elder stood, and made his way to him, wobbly ancient body leaning hard on that cane.  His arm reached underneath his cloak and drew out a pair of goggles.
         "... The winds outside the villiage can blind.  Wear these to protect your vision."
         Shadow nudged him.  Kei shook for a moment as he snapped back to reality, and bowed.  He took the goggles and brought the strap around his head, letting the eye pieces rest on his head.
         "... Kei... I sense a long journey has been laid before you... fate will test you at every turn... but if you believe you can do it... then you can restore the villiage.  I believe in you, and everyone is counting on you now.  Good luck."
         "Yeah, yeah, thanks, old timer.  What, nothing from me?"
         The elder glanced down at the creature.
         "... You don't need anything from me."
         They stared at one-another for a few moments, and Kei lightly bopped Shadow in the back of his head.
         "Let's go."
         Kei turned, Shadow staring for a few more moments before he turned and walked out behind Kei.  They exited the elder's house, and Kei stopped, staring at this... change.
         It wasn't there before.  There was now a gate.  A large, wooden gate that lead out of the town.  It was a complete enigma.  Where did it come from?  It was almost as if... it was there the whole time... or it wasn't there and someone just made it or... who knows?
         His trail of thoughts were interrupted by Shadow.
         "... Kei?"  Shadow looked up at him.
         "... Let's go, Shadow."
         He slid the goggles down over his eyes, and pulled the scarf over his face.  He walked towards the gate and stood underneath it.  He took in a deep breath, shut his eyes, and placed one foot out, letting it drop to the ground, his eyes opened as it met the dirt.  He then took another step.  And another.  This was all really happening.  He was... leaving the villiage.  Shadow stood quietly, watching him, giggling.
         "... Keep going that slow, and you'll be old and dead before you save them all."
         He threw Shadow a glare, but sighed, and shook his head.
         "... Sorry.  This is just all so... weird.  Well, let's go."
         Shadow nodded and giggled, quickly darting up next to Kei.  They both walked out of the town, disappearing into a thin mist.
         They had left the town.