Sometimes I need you to stay away from me
Sometimes I'm in disbelief I didn't know
Somehow I need you to go
Don't stay
-Linkin Park
Guilmon, who hadn't seen his Tamer at all that day, snuffled disconsolately around Shinjuku. The small red dragon was stared at a lot, but most people had become used to the idea that there were Digimon amongst them and Guilmon was able to go his way unchallenged.
Guilmon looked up a moment before the air beside him seemed to ripple, and Renamon suddenly phased into existence. The passers-by jumped in startlement, but neither Digimon paid them mind.
"Hiiii Renamon!" Guilmon chirped. "Have you seen Takatomon?"
"No, I have not," Renamon replied in her quiet voice. "I am going to seek Ruki at her school. She is late coming back home, and she has not told me any after-school plans."
"Ohhh-kaay!" Guilmon said, waving a claw 'bye-bye'. "I going to go look for Takatomon then!"
"Goodbye, Guilmon," and they took their leave of each other, Renamon phasing back into invisibility. Guilmon continued to trot through Shinjuku, muzzle in the air, sniffing for a trace of Takatomon. Golden eyes widened in delight as he finally found it. He began to race down the streets, following his nose, his heavy footfalls causing tiny vibrations to travel down the bones of by-standers.
He skidded to a stop in front of a restaurant with a sign in front of it proclaiming 'Ucchan's'. "Takatomon!" he cheered, pushing the door open with his nose and peeking in. The various patrons inside stared as the sound of the door-chimes announced Guilmon's entrance.
Several yelped in surprise at what very much appeared to be a dragon-velociraptor hybrid, but most – longtime patrons of Ucchan's and therefore used to strangeness – just shrugged and returned to whatever they were eating.
Guilmon entered the restaurant completely, with a friendly wave to the brown-haired owner, who usually had a tidbit for him. Takato and Yana, who had been seated towards the end of the bar, hadn't noticed Guilmon's arrival.
***
Takato was still perched on the very edge of his stool, trying to keep as much distance as possible between himself and Yana.
"…for babies and people who have no lives!" Yana was just proclaiming, causing Takato's face to pale, turn red, and then pale again. His mouth dropped open just slightly as he stared at the girl next to him.
As his friends could tell you, Takato was almost unnaturally easy-going. Years spent in Ruki's company, not reacting to her jibes and competitive streak, had heightened this trait even more, to the point that angering – really angering, not just annoying or play-acting anger – the Tamer was considered to be a major undertaking.
His friends could also tell you that if ever he did get angry, it was not pretty. It was not exactly that he kept angry feelings to himself, letting them build up and fester like other people – it was more that when he finally let go and succumbed to rage, he did so completely and totally, to a degree unachievable by most others. There was no fear, no second-guessing, no wondering. The unleashing of Megidramon, in the Digital World, was just a more dramatic manifestation of this trait.
Yana had just managed to get him angry.
Let's examine this phenomenon more closely, shall we?
In the first place, Takato was a true fan of Digimon. He couldn't even really remember a time when he hadn't been enamored of the game – he had been hooked young. All his best friends, save Jeri, had become his friends because of Digimon. It was his hobby, his interest, his extracurricular.
It didn't matter that he wasn't one of the best, the way Ruki or Ryo were. He didn't play to win – he played to have fun, and that was all that mattered.
So…his was the frustration of the Star Wars fan when people ask if Luke Solo piloted the Enterprise. His was the annoyance of a golfer when people snickered over the game. His was the rage of an RPG freak when people called Final Fantasy too boring. His, in short, was the anger of the otaku. (1)
And many will attest to the power of the otaku's love for his domain.
Now, his best friend was Ruki. No question about it.
That was because 'friends' did not adequately describe what he shared with Guilmon.
It is an oddly freeing experience, one he realized he was very lucky to have, to know there is someone who will always, always have your back; to have someone who you can talk to about anything, anytime, anywhere; to trust in someone else so completely that you can let even your very consciousness be melded with his. Guilmon…there was almost no difference in Takato's mind when he thought of himself and of Guilmon.
***
Well, except for the fact that Guilmon can breathe fire, Takato thoughtfully reminded the author. And that he's reptilian and I'm a mammal. And that he can evolve into a red sort of Gojira and cyber-versions thereof…
"THANK YOU, TAKATO," the author loudly proclaimed.
***
It wasn't that he and Guilmon were around each other every minute of the day. Takato had his life as a Japanese teenager, and Guilmon had his…well, Guilmon had his playtime. It was just that…
He thought in terms of 'we' a lot. He imagined it was a lot like how twins thought; always including one other in your plans and dreams and aspirations, and never forgetting to because…well, because it was natural to do so.
So, when someone insulted what Guilmon was, and the game that had been the reason they'd become partners…well, it wasn't pretty.
Yana was staring at him, a tiny part of her that wasn't totally obsessed with fashion, boys, and herself – the part that still had access to survival-type things like instinct and common sense – screaming 'Fear! Fear! And run, for heaven's sake, run!' at the look in Takato's eyes.
Then the tiny part remembered that Yana never listened to it about Ruki, so why should she start now? It went off to sulk.
Takato opened his mouth to speak, anger finally making its way onto his expression and thinning his mouth into a hard line. But before he could say anything, a growly yet somehow cute voice interrupted him.
"Takatomon?"
Both teenagers turned in their seats (the movement almost causing Takato to fall off his precarious perch) to see a large red dinosaur-dragon looking at them curiously.
"Guilmon!" Takato exclaimed.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" shrieked Yana.
'Blink blink' went Guilmon.
***
Yana was still looking wonderingly at Takato's face, feeling a little uneasy as his eyes went absolutely flat with anger. It couldn't be at her, could it…?
And then a figure from her nightmares chose that moment to make itself known.
"Takatomon?" growled a hideous demonic voice. Yana turned to find a large red – like blood! – dinosaur, no, dragon, no, some horrible mutated mix of the two. It had powerful limbs – to hunt prey down! – and fangs, and claws, and these things that looked like demon wings sticking out of its head! And it had…oh, the shuddering horror of it…it had these unnatural golden eyes, like a wolf's or a hawk's or something…
As if to pound in the fact that the thing was dangerous, there was a huge hazard sign emblazoned on the white chest.
Not many people knew it, but when Yana was small her parents had taken her to watch Jurassic Park. She had come out of the experience horribly traumatized and possessing a phobia for reptilian creatures of any type, and most especially dinosaurs. She had always thought that this was a fairly manageable phobia, since when do you see dinosaurs in real-life anyway?
Then…this…this thing showed up.
Yana shrieked. And shrieked. And shrieked. Ukyo cursed as several glasses shattered. Takato covered his ears with his hands, as did most of the other patrons. Guilmon, with his more sensitive hearing, was in agony, and couldn't help giving a little roar of pain.
At that Yana jumped to her feet and took off, running as if all the demons of Hades were on her heels.
***
Ruki, sighing as she glanced at her watch, began the five-minute walk to where the Ucchan's was. When detention finally ended, she had reclaimed her cellphone only to discover that the battery had died, so she couldn't phone Takato. She would just check Ucchan's to see if he was there, and if not just call him later to apologize…
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up a second. Did I just contemplate _apologizing_?
Renamon's sudden appearance at her Tamer's side broke off Ruki's train of thought. "Hey Renamon."
"Ruki," Renamon replied. "Are you alright? You are late coming home."
"It's nothing. I just had detention again – I smashed my lunch onto Yana's head."
Renamon, who knew of Ruki's abiding dislike for the other girl, nodded. "So you are going home now?"
"No, I have to meet Taka…goggles at Ucchan's."
"I see."
Ruki glanced suspiciously at her Digimon. Of course Renamon was the most expressionless of the Digimon, but after five years of association Ruki could gauge her mood well. And had that been a smirk behind her tone?
"And what do you mean by that?" she demanded.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Renamon said in a too-innocent, too-expressionless voice.
Ruki's fists unconsciously clenched. The whole day had been stressful and strange, and to realize that her Digimon had been hanging around Terriermon too long…
A patter of running feet reached their ears and both girl and fox-Digimon looked up sharply. Renamon phased into invisibility, jumping to the top of a nearby streetlight – giving Ruki a clear field yet close enough to leap to her Tamer's aid should Ruki need it.
And then Yana came into view. Her jet-black hair was in disarray, and her wide brown eyes were dilated due to fear. Her face was flushed and sweaty, and she clutched at her side as if she had a stitch there. Altogether not as poised and in control as Yana liked to appear.
Ruki only had time for one astonished "Lang?" before the other girl was shaking Ruki by her shoulders, screaming something about impending death, ripping teeth, and Jurassic Park come to life.
Renamon, seeing her Tamer being physically assaulted, prepared to bodily remove Yana from the vicinity, but before she could leap Yana glanced behind her, shrieked shrilly enough to make Renamon's fur stand on end, and took off again.
Ruki and Renamon were startled to see Guilmon turn the corner. He ran to them, smiling. "Hi Ruki, Renamon!" They only stared at him with sweatdrops.
"Guilmon," Ruki demanded, "What on earth are you doing?"
"Chasing girl with painful voice. Takatomon said to. He said to run after girl until she is – " Guilmon's face scrunched up in thought as he recalled his Tamer's exact words. " – until she so far away Takatomon cannot see her through binoculars, or hear her either."
Guilmon's face brightened. "She scream like Bansheemon, but it's fun to play tag!" His tail wagged.
Ruki could not help a very large smirk curving her mouth. Familiar as she was with the mindsets of Yana and her ilk, and considering the way they had stared at Takato that morning as if he were a piece of meat and they were starving dogs, she could guess what Yana had been doing near Takato.
And apparently she had succeeded in irritating Takato almost as much as she irritated Ruki. It was always so nice to have people you liked hate the same things you do. (2)
"Okay, I see. Go on, Guilmon. Renamon, why don't you go with him? Make sure Yana enjoys…the game."
Renamon nodded. "Yes Ruki."
Guilmon waved good-bye as he ran off again, Renamon flashing on the rooftops beside him.
Ruki's smirk widened even more until it was nearly a grin, as she set off towards the Ucchan's, in a much better mood than the one she'd been in all day. It was good to be a Tamer. (3)
***
AN: Phew! Done. I didn't expect university to be so draining – or that it would take me so long to finish this. (grins sheepishly) Sorry. (especially to Archangemon, Black and Neverwhere, who've been updating their stories while this just sat around on my HD) This chapter kinda ran away with me, though, especially on the part where Takato is thinking about his relationship with Guilmon. It isn't as nicely written as I want, and a monologue on Tamer-Digimon relationships certainly wasn't in the plan, but…eh.
I hope to end this series soon, within two chapters. In the first place, aside from one last plot twist I don't have anything I really want to do with this…and secondly, I want to finish this so I can start work on another Digimon fic project, a less humor- and romance-based one.
Chapter Notes
(1) Yes, this happened to me. (well the golf thing happened to my brother, but I was there to see it anyway…) I got really upset and began to sob hysterically about heathens and the lack of regard for the classics.
(2) What? It does! I bonded with one of my current best friends cos we both really hated our high school. ^_^
(3) What's the use of having Digimon if you can't ask them to do a little terrorizing on your behalf? I would do that! ;)