Digimon: Distorted Souls
Chapter 3: Soul Searching
I thought for a second on what I needed to know. Then a question appeared in my head, but it wasn't something I thought I 'needed' to know.
"If this is Drekenmon, why can't he speak to me like he did before? Or explain all this stuff to me himself?"
"Well," Phoenixmon began, "That is Drekenmon he's just in another form at the moment. You see, he hatched from the Digiegg as a baby Digimon which is known as the Fresh form. Somehow, he was then able to 'Digivolve' into his In-training form right before our eyes." She finished speaking with a hint of disbelief in her voice.
I tried to understand since all this was new to me, and I realized I just had to put 2 and 2 together. "Yeah, I noticed how surprised you were when he started to glow. I'm guessing that's when he 'Digivolved', Was that not suppose to happen?" I asked her.
"No, it was supposed too. I've just never seen it happen at that rate. 'Digivolving' is a process that Digimon go through to get stronger, to grow. It usually takes a lot of time, effort, and energy. So your Digimon 'Digivolving' at that speed, as soon as he hatched, is a remarkable feat."
"Really...?" I was a little bit interested.
"Yes. You see, when Digimon are destroyed their data is reconfigured so they can be born again. So it takes time for their memories to be restored and for them to be rebuilt, so to speak. Regaining memories for a Digimon also spans over its Digivolutions, meaning when it returns to the level it had previously achieved its memories will be intact." She finished with a slight sigh. It seemed like she was keeping something from me, but my mind was on other things.
So basically a Digimon is deleted and restarted like a computer. That's strange... I'm guessing that's how the term Digital World came to be. This brought me to my next question, "What exactly are these Digimon?" She answered promptly, "They're Digital Monsters." I felt stupefied," Okay, so I'm in a 'Digital World' with 'Digital Monsters'. Is this some sort of crazy dream? Or am I in a virtual reality video game?" That last question didn't even make sense. The last place that made sense was the school roof and that didn't seem like a dream. I wouldn't be able to play a V.R. game up there either; no computer was on that roof.
"I'd have to say no to both of those questions, for this is now your reality. You are as alive as you would be on Earth." I could tell she was being serious. Her voice seemed to harden over something. She slightly cringed when speaking of it. "Earth for you is no more. What Drekenmon said to you before now is all true. I want to tell you more about the situation you have been brought into, but I cannot. I only know so much. Now, it is time for you to leave this place."
My eyes shot open, "But where am I supposed go? I don't know this place." I could hear the panic in my voice. How could she just send me away like this?
"You have to go to the Enigami Dleif. Don't worry you'll be back." She looked away from me.
Why did it sound like she was unsure of that? Like this might me the last time she saw me. "You don't sound like you mean that, will I actually return? Where is this place you're trying to send me to and why do I have to go there?"
"You ask too many questions," she replied speaking more to herself than me. Apparently I had humored her, because she seemed tickled by my words. "You were brought here for a reason, your arrival long over due. You've changed over the years and the strength you once held is now gone including the strength you once held in your heart. You must prove you can still do this, and you have to do it ALONE."
I stood up from the ground, a little angry I think. My fists were clenched and my heart was racing. I stared at the ground feeling as if I understood her and at the same time not having an idea what she was talking about at all.
"Nrohmon and I will be waiting here for you." She spread her wings, "You must now...GO!" She flapped them and a fury of flames came blazing towards me, just as I looked up to see her, I was engulfed. After blinking, she was gone along with Nrohmon.
In front of me now, stood a giant silver gate built of a grand design. It was kind of creepy. There was a fog flowing across the ground. I walked up to the gate as it slowly began to open. Wouldn't you know it, something started to appear in front of my eyes. It seemed to be forming from the fog. A chill set over me; it was getting cold. Since I've been here, I've seen some pretty weird stuff, but this thing took the cake. The figure of a man came into view, but this thing was no man. It was a blue; see through thing, for lack of better words. I took a step back when it turned its head towards me. It had no eyes, which was freaking me out, just two eyeholes. One was darker than Darkness itself and the other brighter than the brightest Light. It took a step towards me, and I was about to run for it, but then it spoke. This stopped me dead in my tracks.
"Wait, don't go."
I was thinking of something, Phoenixmon sent me here. She said I was brought to this world for a reason and then sent me to this place. Maybe I was supposed to meet this guy, I didn't know for sure, but I was scared. You definitely don't see things like THAT everyday. I turned around to face him, but I dare not look him in his eyes, I stared down at the ground.
"Phoenixmon sent me here, are you a friend of hers?" I inquired.
"I know of her, but unfortunately she is no friend of mine. I have no friends."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." His voice was making me feel uneasy, and his answer didn't help, "Then how does she know of you? How did she know to send me to you?"
"That is because we are one in the same. We are Digimon with higher powers than those of regular Digimon, created for higher purposes. You already know of hers, bringing back Digimon from deletion. But can you guess mine?"
"You don't even look like a Digimon I've seen so far, I'm sure I couldn't guess what powers you may have. This whole place is new to me." I explained to the ghostly figure.
"Well, I assure you, I am a Digimon with special abilities, but before I get into some of the matters at hand, I should introduce myself. I am called Spiritumon, the Soul Reading Monster."
You can imagine my mouth dropped open, and I know that the words he spoke got me to avert my gaze from the ground to his face.
"The Soul Reading Monster?!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, I was created to read Souls." Boy, was that a mouthful. I tried to look him in his eyeholes, but he turned away from me. "Sorry you cannot see my eyes yet."
I frowned, what did he mean by yet? "Okay, but I'd like to know why you are called the Soul Reading Monster."
"Isn't it obvious?" he asked of me," It is because I am able read souls. I can tap into memories, thoughts, the being of a person. That's what I was created to do."
This really didn't make sense. "But for Digimon? You're a Digimon and you all are just data, right?"
"No, we are real monsters of another world and who ever said it was for Digimon. I am able to read the souls of humans, more specifically yours." He informed me quite hastily.
I didn't know what surprised me more that Spiritumon called Digimon real monsters or that he could read human souls and he was going to read mine. "So you're going to read my soul, but why?"
"Why? It's because you were brought here to help us, but you've changed. Drekenmon has watched you change. Now, we need to know if it isn't too late to bring you back into the light."
"Yeah, Phoenixmon said the same thing. I guess, I never really noticed. I mean I knew I had changed, but I never thought I had changed that much. It just happened gradually over time, little by little. Most of the people I cared about were gone, and nothing was quite the same without them. In a way, I knew that I was drifting away, but I ignored it. I dwelled on everything negative in my life instead and eventually there was only darkness." I bowed my head and closed my eyes. I didn't realize just how much my brother and friends' disappearances had affected me.
"Looks like you've already gotten a look at my eyes" He said with a smirk on his face, at least I thought it was a smirk.
"Your eyes must be the source of your power." I replied. Where'd that come from? My brain understood faster than I did.
"You would be correct. Once you get a look, you start to read parts of your own soul, but once you get a good look into them..." he paused.
"Yeah, you can continue."
"Your soul becomes an open book: The good, the bad, and the ugly. You might not like what you see or remember. You might not like the looks of your own soul." He spoke slowly and quietly bringing a chill to the air.
"Is that all?" I asked nervously," Do you think I'm ready for this 'soul reading'?"
"No, to be honest, I don't think you're ready." His answer shocked me.
"Well then, why I am doing this?" I couldn't believe what he just said.
"Because you know as well as I do that this has to happen. You have to see what I'm seeing of you now, a guy who has lost all hope. In reality, you want to see what has happened to you too."
When I thought about it, he was right. I wanted to know why the last four years of my life had become so miserable. Well, I knew that, but I didn't know why I didn't try to fight the darkness, the depression, the pain.
"I'm ready then." I replied shaking a bit.
He nodded his head, "Then look directly into my eyes."
I stared into his eye sockets and he stared back. I felt cold as ice before feeling like I was on fire. I immediately yelled in pain. I saw the darkness, the light. I could hear his voice whisper in my ears, "Second Sight!" Unbelievable pain consumed me and then there was nothing...
Blurry images started to appear before my eyes so I rubbed them to get a better look at what I was seeing, and I couldn't believe it. I was seeing me from four years ago.
"Isn't it hard to believe that laughing, smiling kid is actually you?"
I turned to my right to see Spiritumon standing next to me. I turned back to watch myself.
"Yeah, it is."
I saw one of my memories of Zeek. We were on the school soccer team together, the Grey Foxes. I was on it for fun, he was on it by force, but I won't go into that now. Let's just say Zeek had some issues at home. We were practicing for an upcoming game at the park and Zeek, being the best goalie on our team, was blocking all my shots.
"Why are you showing me this memory? All that happened was that fight."
"I chose this one because it will show you one of the traits you have lost." He explained.
"And what's that?" I retorted.
"Friendship, you lost the ability to be a good friend."
'Huh?" I searched his face for an answer.
"Just watch..." he replied. I watched for the memory to play out.
"I'm the best forward we have; I should be able to get a shot past you. This is unbelievable! What are you, the Great Wall or something?" I shouted while Zeek laughed his head off.
"Yep, that's what they call me: The Great Wall. I thought you knew."
"Don't get smart with me. You haven't even seen my new technique: The Firecracker!" I exclaimed.
"Uooh, I'm shaking in my boots. Bring it on." He always spoke low, people would always have him repeat himself, but I could always understand him. I guess I knew how to read lips better than most people.
"You asked for it."
I ran with the ball towards the goal. He would never be able to catch this. I kicked it up in the air as it flew towards the net. I jumped up, twisted sideways, and power kicked that ball. Well, he managed to catch it, but not before the ball knocked him back into the goal. He caught it after it fell into his lap.
"What was that!?" He whispered, and when I say whispered I mean he actually just mouthed the words.
"I told ya, The Firecracker."
That's when the two of us heard a familiar voice," Is that all you've got?!"
We looked in the direction of the shout. It was Shindiku Yukaedo, the captain of the Silver Fish. He brought a couple of his flunkies along with him.
"What do you want Yukaedo?"
"Nothing, I just came to see the competition in action, but there's nothing to see here. The goalie can't even catch and the forward names his kicks." He and his flunkies started laughing.
"I name them so the teams I dominate can know what they lost too." I shouted in response, even though I knew it was kind of lame, but I couldn't let him know that. I noticed I had quite a temper back then.
"Bet I could catch anything you could kick." Zeek replied.
That calmed me down; it made me smirk a bit.
"Huh Zeek, did you say something?" Yukaedo asked him, "Could you speak up so the whole group can hear?"
"I don't need to repeat myself." I was still the only one who could hear him with his barely audible tone.
"Did you forget Yukaedo, he's slow." Tanoki snickered.
"What?" This was our response. Uusaki Tanoki was one of Yukaedo's teammates, one of the team's fullbacks, a real bonehead if you ask me.
"That's what my mom said his teacher told her when they were on the phone. He's to dumb to learn to raise his voice when he talks." He added.
"What a bunch of crap!" I saw myself getting angry while Zeek was as cool as a cucumber.
"My dad said his dad's a good-for-nothing drunkard." This time it was Oni Sojui, one of their team's midfielders. "That's why his mom left them."
From the corner of my eye, I saw Zeek clenching his fist.
"Shut up! Get outta here! Beat it!" I yelled.
"What's the matter Zeek? Don't you care that we're talking about your folks." Yukaedo opened his trap.
I couldn't do anything because it wasn't really my place. If Zeek wanted to fight, I had his back he knew that. If he didn't, we would back off it was his choice. After all, they were insulting him not me, but that didn't mean I couldn't say anything.
"Don't you three have anything better to do?"
"Nope cuz we're doing something fun right now: Messing with the retard." The three of them were beside themselves, laughing it up like a bunch of idiots.
I was twitching I was restraining myself so hard. There was one thing I knew though, and that was that Zeek didn't fight. He never fought because he hated fighting. He was a pacifist, but at times like these I wished he wasn't. I thought he should stand up for himself and fight, but he would never do it. He even hated when I fought, but he knew I only fought with people who disserved it never to hurt them. I always waited for the day when he would fight back, but I realized today wasn't that day.
"If you three say one more word..." my whole body was shaking with anger.
"Let's just go Reth. They're not worth it." Zeek tried to persuade me.
Zeek picked up the ball. He was ready to leave.
"Where do you think you're going?" Yukaedo asked.
"Yeah, we're not done with you yet." Sojui exclaimed.
Tanoki swung his fist to hit Zeek, but I wouldn't allow that. "I'm sorry Zeek." I whispered.
It was going to be three against one, but I didn't care. No one disrespects my friends and then tries to hurt them. "Stop it, you stupid jerks! AHHH!!!"
When it finally ended, I was pretty banged up, but they were running home with their tails between their legs.
"You didn't have to do that." Zeek told me after helping to get me up from the ground.
"I know, but somebody had too."
He nodded, "Thanks."
"No problem, what are friends for? I know you'd do the same thing for me." I saw a frown come across his face.
"Well, you will one day. Until then, let's go to my house to get some ice. I think I broke my kneecap."
"Is that possible?" Zeek started to smile a bit.
"I don't know I just want some ice." We laughed together as we headed for home.
"You used to fight for Zeek because you knew the secret he carried. He would get picked on all the time, but you wouldn't let people mess with him because you knew his reasons for being so passive. You were a true friend and you would do anything for your friends, even if that meant getting beat up yourself."
I had zoned out from everything he was saying because it was hitting home, it was the truth. "So when Zeek disappeared..." I breathed.
"You began to think friendship was a terrible thing that could be ripped away from you at any moment. It was something that couldn't last and wasn't worth your time. You also stopped fighting. With no 'real' reason to fight anymore, you just stopped doing it suffering as a result of that decision. The countless fights with Ketezen would be more recent examples."
It didn't surprise me at all that he knew about those fights. He probably knew more about me than I knew about myself now. Understanding what had happened to me was making so much sense. It made me wish that I had never changed in the first place.
"If there's more, can we move on?" I asked him.
"Of course"
The scene of the memory I had just witnessed disappeared from sight. What appeared next were the familiar insides of the Rimata residence. It was Kiyo's room to be exact. I wondered what this memory would represent.
"I know you remember this."
"Yeah, I do, but what does this memory have to do with anything?" I questioned.
"I guess you don't remember this." He sighed.
I thought about it for a second and realized something. I had been in this room so many times that this could be a memory about anything. I wouldn't know what was going on until it actually happened. I had to sigh in return, "Just tell me what it's about?"
"The trait this memory stands for is Love; you lost your ability to love."
What...? I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I didn't realize I had fallen to my knees. Love...I lost my ability to love? He was kidding right?
"Sh-Show me then!" I choked up. He nodded in return.
"Reth, don't hold it like that! It might roll out of you hands onto the floor." Kiyo was overdramatic about anything that had to do with animals. The little baby bird we found on our way home from school that day was no exception.
"Kiyo, I think I'd know how to handle animals. I've dealt with enough of them." I told her bluntly.
"I know, I know, but this little bird has a broken wing. I just don't want anything else to happen to it before we fix it up." She was all in a panic.
"Just calm down, this bird will be fine... Wait a minute, fix up? We!? Sorry, but I'm not a vet." I said as I laid the bird on her bed.
"You're not even gonna help me?" She asked with a hint of attitude in her voice.
"Nope" I simply replied.
"Reth, you know you can't say no to me. It goes against your nature."
With her short, sweet smile she got me, hook, line, and sinker.
"Fine, I'll help. What do you want me to do?"
"I knew you'd come around." She told me, "I'm going to get some of my emergency animal supplies, talk to the bird while I'm gone."
"Do you know how crazy that sounds?" It didn't matter to her. I didn't know why I was asking her a question like this.
"Talking to the bird will calm it down, make it feel more comfortable. Just show it you care and it'll warm up to you." This was the answer I got in return, I figured as much.
"I'll have to see it to believe it." I said. "You'll see what I mean, just try it." She replied and exited the room.
I'm about to talk to a bird, I thought to myself. The bird was apparently afraid of me. When I tried to get close, it would make all kinds of noises and hop around out of reach.
"It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm friendly and here to help you."
All his little bird sounds just got louder, this wasn't gonna work, but I wasn't gonna give up either. So I sat my hand down near the bird, but not so close that it would feel threatened. It looked at my hand and then stared up at me with its beady little eyes.
"I told you I'm friendly." The little bird started to quiet down as it became more interested in my hand. Hopping forward then hopping back, a cautious little thing. When it saw that I wasn't moving a muscle, it began to investigate further by actually jumping in my palm then back out. After a couple minutes more, pecking became its main priority. Finally, it rested in my palm and looked up at me again. I couldn't help but smile. "See? There was no reason to be afraid."
Kiyo returned to the room carrying a giant box decorated with pictures of birds.
"Is everything going okay? How's our patient?"
"Yep, in fact, you were right, it warmed up to me. "I answered in response.
"I told ya."
I nodded," I have a question for you."
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Is this a boy or a girl?"
"A boy." She said taking supplies out of the bird box. I didn't even wanna know how she knew that, "Then you think we should give it a name?" I asked in return, "I mean he will be staying with you till his wing heals."
"Um...you're right. What should we name him?"
"I don't know what do you name a bird?"
"How bout Reth Jr.?" she piped up with a giggle. I just stared at her with the you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me look.
"Alright Wing, because he broke his wing." She said with a smile, and I agreed even if it was kind of corny.
Kiyo knew what she was doing. If you asked me, she could be a vet right now, but she would have to get her degree to follow that dream. After five minutes she was done, fixing the bird right up and placing him in her spare cage.
"That was easy." She told me. I nodded in agreement.
"Ya know it's remarkable how much you care about creatures and people. I think you have the biggest heart." A short smile crept across her face. "I couldn't do it. You always try to be kind to others even the people who despise you and you're always smiling, so happy...Isn't it hard to be that way all the time?"
I was sitting on the bed and Kiyo came to sit beside me. She grabbed my hand and said to me, "Yeah it's hard, I won't say it isn't, but that's just how I see myself. I believe that you should love life, people, and animals, basically everything. It's too depressing to let things bring you down." I smiled at her.
"With you around, I know nothing will ever bring me down. You're like my ray of sunshine." She giggled, "Yes, I'm everybody's ray of sunshine. I'm so special." She jumped up and started twirling herself around.
"Yeah and you're modest too." She gave me an evil glare, "I was just kidding."
The two of us started laughing.
"Kiyo happened to be your first love, but as time passed you thought of her more as a sister than a girlfriend or friend. She taught you a lot, including how caring for another person was a great gift and showing other people love was showing you have a good heart. It wasn't just caring for others either; it was how she cared for everything and she passed that on to others who were willing to except it."
"And so when Kiyo left, I dug myself into a hole. I closed myself off to the people who did still loved and cared for me. I wouldn't let them love me so I wouldn't have to love them in return. I shut down and stopped caring, which I am realizing now was the wrong thing to do.", I stood myself up finally understanding some of the stuff I'd been through, "There were other people hurting too. I wasn't the only one. The families of my friends suffered too, and I didn't even take them into consideration. I was just heartless!"
I was so mad at myself. How could I let depression take me for such a ride!? For 4 years, I let it haunt me and that was something I shouldn't have done.
"It seems to me that reading your soul is accomplishing my goal." Spiritumon announced breaking the silence that had settled.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Hopefully, we'll see in a minute. Right now, I have to say I'm glad you're finally coming to your senses about your life. It will make what I have to say less of a shock to you."
Confused about what he may be hiding from me, I had to think what all this was leading too. He must have seen the expression on my face, don't ask me how.
"It seems you're uneasy about something." His voice hinted some concern.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I kinda am. How'd you know?"
"I'm reading your soul remember." I nodded in return.
"I just wonder what you are trying to accomplish. I mean, what is all this for?"
"We won't know until we watch this last memory."
"Okay. What will this memory represent?"
"This happens to be the last one we will watch. It will probably be the most important to you, even though four years have passed, because this trait and this person have always been on your mind."
When he spoke that last sentence, I knew it was concerning Haruko. I didn't know if I could handle it. I thought of him a lot that was true, even today when all this stuff started to happen, but I didn't want to face the fact that I had let him down. I knew the trait I had lost because of his disappearance, it was as plain as day.
"This memory represents-," he started and I finished, "Courage."
"Are you ready?" Haruko asked me.
This memory was little farther back in time. It was right around the time I was 9 when my brother began to teach me the martial arts, but I won't say he actually taught me. It's kind of complicated, but he helped me in the process of learning my skills while he learned his own.
When we were younger, my mother thought we should do something worth while with our time. She thought we were too rowdy and needed some discipline so our father recommended martial arts. He told her he use to practice Tai Chi to relieve stress and learn some discipline. Haruko thought it would be fun while I on the other hand thought it would be boring and painful. My mom was with me, but she quickly folded when my dad said he would attend some cooking classes with her. He persuaded her to let us do, in my opinion at the time, this violent act of learning how to hurt other people. When I told my father this, he told me I needed to toughen up. His exact words were, "You need to learn self-defense, self-respect, and most of all self-discipline so your mom will get off my back."
Next thing I knew, my brother and I were both enrolled in the High Rise Tree Heart School of Martial Arts. We attended the first day of school and were placed in our respective Karate classes. Haruko was placed in a different class than mine because of the test we took when we first arrived. We were asked to try and hit our Sensei and however we went about doing it that was how we were distributed.
Haruko was selected before me, and I was able to see him fight. He was wild and aggressive; he really seemed to enjoy it. Our Sensei said he had great strength and power in his swings. Nobody ever actually hit him, but that wasn't the point. Haruko was placed in the Kyokushin-Kai Karate style class, a power style that emphasized breaking, breathing, and multiple attacks in quick succession. I knew that style wasn't for me.
After a while, it was my turn. I was so scared when I went up to the front of the class, but my brother still cheered me on. I was shaking and then Sensei said, "Begin". We both stood there looking at each other.
I didn't know what he was doing, but I was thinking. I realized this guy wasn't going to hurt me. I just had to try and hit him. So after a minute of waiting, I jumped low to his left side and tried to hit him in the leg with my forearm. He jumped and I missed, but I spun so I could trip him with my left leg. He flipped on the other side of me so I tried to uppercut him, but he grabbed me as I jumped up. Needless to say, he tossed me onto my back. He ended with his, "Finished". I was trembling. I couldn't believe what I had just done.
I was placed in the Shorin Ryu style class. He said it was known for its emphasizing light, quick, and agile techniques. I accepted it and was on my way. That was how our training began. After a couple weeks of practicing, we were told that we would start sparring, which is like practice fighting. I wasn't to keen on the idea because back then I had an issue with feeling physical pain. I loved learning in the class, but every Friday I came up with some excuse to get out of it. My brother on the other hand loved it and he did very well. His love for fighting grew and he always wanted to fight me. He said he wanted to test my skills, but I was too afraid of getting hurt. He would beat on me, telling me to fight back. Mom was usually on my side, but dad would tell her I needed to toughen up. I thought, just because I wasn't as rowdy as Haruko didn't mean I needed to toughen up. Meanwhile, Haruko continued to beat on me all the time. Then I slowly started to fight back, I mean, a person can only take so much abuse. After a while, fighting started to be a lot of fun, especially when you beat people. Of course, I could never defeat Haruko. Until one day, I almost did, which brings us to this memory.
When I was 9 years old, we decided to go all out. My fears over getting hurt were still lingering, but I really wanted to accomplish this goal and this goal was to finally defeat Haruko. I wanted to show him up, and I wouldn't give up until I did.
"Are you ready?" Haruko asked me.
I nodded, "Yeah, I'm ready."
Haruko replied with a slyness in his voice, "Then show me what you got!"
I ran towards Haruko into a high jump kick, but he easily stepped to the side to evade it. As soon as I landed, I tried to side kick him in the chest. Haruko had a way of ramming people unexpectedly, and I didn't want to give him that chance. He grabbed my foot and turned so I spun and tried to kick him with my right leg this time. He let go, jumped back until I hit the ground, and then bulled me over onto my back as I tried to get up again. He wasted no time going on the offensive, playtime was over.
"Is that all you got? You'll never beat me that way." He taunted.
"Don't worry about me. I'll show you what I can do." I responded as I dodged a roundhouse kick.
I rammed him this time, and he seemed a little surprised. "I guess you're really serious about beating me."
I just looked him straight in the eyes.
"Well, as your older brother, I can't allow it."
He jumped at me to his side and went for a sharp elbow blow, but I managed to block it. I pushed him back, making a fatal mistake in the process. I left my chest wide open and being all about power, he took advantage of the situation with a slew of punches to my chest and stomach. With an elbow to the gut, I fell to the ground. The front of my body was aching, but I rolled back up. He grabbed me and then hip checked me to the ground. I turned over and rushed him, taking him down by the legs. I got in two face shots and then he flipped me over him.
"Can't you understand Reth; you'll never be able to beat me." He half-shouted as he picked me up and tossed me again.
I rolled a couple seconds and then struggled to get back up yelling back, "Why is that?!"
"Because you're holding back, I can feel it. You don't want to hurt me; you don't want to fight too hard because if you do, you know I'll fight back even harder. Because the truth is,-"
"Don't even say it!" I shouted as I went into a front flip. Touching the ground, I spun to throw my leg and trip him, then before he hit the ground I got up to kick him dead in the chest.
I stood there looking down at him. He had his hand on his chest and whispered just loud enough that I could hear, "You are afraid of me."
It stunned me. I had to think a second, was I really afraid of Haruko? He took that moment and ran up to me. The First Punch, "Learn To Give It Your All!" Second Punch, "Don't Be Afraid!" Third Punch, "I'm Your Brother!" I flew to the ground.
"Believe it or not, I don't fight with you just because I want to be better at what I do. I fight with you to teach you that you have to stop being afraid. Have some Guts, some Courage! So you can stop making excuses for yourself."
"But-"barely escaped my mouth.
"But nothing, just listen to what I say alright." He offered me his hand to help me up.
I reluctantly took it.
"I'm your brother and only want you to trust me on this if nothing else..." He said these words while walking towards the house.
"Yeah?"
"Never let Fear be an excuse."
After a minute of thought, I breathed, "Okay..." and followed behind him.
"Haruko wasn't who you thought he was I have to say. He was very mysterious in some ways, and also an open book in others. Even though he didn't always show it, he did care about you. He worried you wouldn't be able take care of yourself if anything ever happened to him. He wanted you to look up to him, not fear him as you did. He showed you that having Courage was a great asset, and it helped you conquer a lot of your fears. Haruko made you strong and kept you together."
"That is why when he left I fell apart. There was nothing left for me to hold on too. I felt connected to my brother all this time. Self-consciously I have always remembered this day. Even when I got in the fight with Ketezen before I came here, I remembered Haruko and having Courage. I missed him. I missed everyone. I shouldn't have let the memories of my friends fade away. I wanted to forget them because they were gone, but that wasn't the way. My memories of them would have gotten me through the troubled times. Spiritumon I have to thank you for helping me see the past and the error of my ways.
I think it is time for some change. I won't let the loss of my brother and friends plague me any longer!"
Spiritumon nodded and a warmth passed over me. "You've realized that your way was not the right way, correct?"
"Yes, I have."
"Then you are worthy to become a Digital Destined. We now understand that you experienced a time of despair, but we know now that you can do this."
"Huh?"
"Reth, you will be the one to help set things right in our world. All you have to do is remember everything you have seen and hear here. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I think I do. You can count on me!" A shining red light burst forth from my chest.
Spiritumon nodded once again. He was fading away. "Good luck then and goodbye."
"Goodbye Spiritumon and thanks for everything."
A sphere of red light appeared from my chest and it hovered in front of me. I grasped it with my right hand.
I suddenly heard Spiritumon's voice, "A gift. Use it well. Your Digivice..."
A blast of light from my Digivice and I was once again surrounded by the scenery of the Valley.
"You made it back, wonderful." Phoenixmon cheerfully greeted me.
"Yeah, I did and I'm glad." I replied.
"That's great." She said with a smile.
Nrohmon hopped to me, "What happened to you? What did you do while you were gone?" he asked.
"Well Nrohmon, I guess you could say..." a short smile appeared across my face as I eyed my Digivice. Then looking to the sky I said, "I did a little Soul Searching."