The sun beamed warmly down on the young soldier, who was stretched out full-length on a conveniently flat rock he had found. A few yards away, his Digimon partner was gnawing on the remains of dinner. The other Digimon were scattered around, some taking a peaceful evening nap, or just admiring the scenery. Most of them weren't, though. They had already seen this scenery a few times before.
"I'm telling you, we're lost!"
"I know we're lost, dammit! I was the one who said we'd already passed that boulder, and you said you knew where you were going..."
Most of the group was either listening to the argument Ruki and Jenrya were having, or were actively participating in it. Hirokazu in particular seemed to be enjoying watching the fiery mage and the normally calm prince, both of whose nerves seemed somewhat frayed by their near escape from Mainboard City. Now they were both rather tired after a long and brisk hike through the countryside, avoiding the main roads and hacking through the underbrush. Now everyone was tired, footsore, a bit scratched and in some cases bruised, and in the case of Ruki and Jenrya, also rather red in the face from shouting at each other.
"You know," said Takato, "I'm not the expert here or anything, but if you're worried about not being found, maybe yelling at the top of your lungs isn't such a good idea."
Both Ruki and Jenrya became silent at once, and turned to fix him with identical cold glares. Takato looked sheepish. He had tried to sound non-accusatory, but...
"He's probably right," said Kenta quietly. "Princess Shuichon can't protect us all the time."
He nodded in the direction of the young princess. Worn out by the excitement of the day, she had fallen asleep against the base of a tree, with her arms wrapped tightly around her new partner. The former Antieramon, now Lopmon, was still awake, and accepting this peculiar treatment with his usual dignity. As one who had lived most of his life as a warrior for one cause or another, the condition of being snuggled by a teenaged princess was a strange one for him, and the expression on his face was that of someone who really didn't comprehend what was going on but was not far from deciding that it could be worse.
Jenrya managed to look contrite.
"I guess we have pushed her a bit hard today," he said. "We should be more careful."
"Humph," said Ruki. She looked a bit sorry to have her argument called off just as she was starting to enjoy it. "Well, if anyone has any calm, sensible suggestions, I'll listen to them, but seeing as how everyone here is as lost as I am..."
"You got me," said Takato. He got up off his rock and started picking bits off moss off his armor. The rock had been covered with a great deal of dry, half-dead plant matter, and he was dismayed to find that most of his back now appeared to be growing greenish fur.
"Maybe we oughta just camp out here for the night," Hirokazu suggested. "Start fresh in the morning and all that stuff. Maybe it'll look better when there's more light." He glared up at the sky, which was now turning deep blue at its eastern edge. Clouds were sweeping in from somewhere, putting in the framework for a dramatic sunset.
"This would be a reasonable place to stay," said Renamon, "provided none of us are bothered by the prospect of sleeping in the rain."
"Rain?" Kenta squawked. "Who said anything about rain?"
"I did," said Renamon, "and I'd wager I know more about it than you. I can smell it on the air - there is going to be a rainstorm. Those clouds are moving in quickly. By midnight, we'll all be soaked to the skin unless we can find or create some kind of shelter."
"Rats," Hirokazu muttered. He looked at Ruki and Jenrya. "No chance of making it go away, is there?"
"You're asking the wrong girl," said Ruki. "Weather magic isn't my specialty."
"I might be able to coax it away," said Jenrya, "but it might cause a tornado or a flood somewhere further down the road. Messing with weather systems is trouble any way you go at it."
"I figured," Hirokazu said with a sigh. "Man, magic isn't good for near as much as I thought it was."
Ruki flashed a Card at him; it shot off a few reddish sparks. "D'you want to see just how much this is good for? Do you?"
"Easy, easy!" said Takato. "These trees are all we've got right now. We don't want to burn them down."
"At least then we'd be warm," Ruki muttered, but she put the Card back in its pouch. Hirokazu gave a sigh of relief.
"This is getting us nowhere," said Jenrya. "We'd almost be better off closing our eyes and picking a direction than standing around fighting like this. Its wasting time."
"Let's make Renamon do it," said Terriermon helpfully. "She can do that disappearing thing she does and run around until she finds someplace to hide."
Renamon gave him a cold look. "Why don't we prop you up on sticks and use your ears as a tent?"
"Why don't we follow the sign?"
Everyone looked at Guilmon. He looked back, blinking innocently.
"What sign?" asked Ruki at last.
"The one Takato was sitting on," said Guilmon.
"Huh?" said Takato.
He walked back to the rock he'd been resting upon. His sitting on it had dislodged a good deal of dying moss, and now it was plain that there were letters carved into its surface. Takato took out a small knife and began slicing the rest of the plants away so that the message could be plainly seen. At last, when all the dirt and moss had been cleared away, all could see that the rock was marked with the following message: Weary travelers may find rest and healing at the hospitable temple of the Flowing Tree, located three and one-half miles east of this stone. Everyone looked at it for a long time.
"Does anyone but me," said Jenrya, "think this is much too coincidental to be good?"
"It's not coincidence," Ruki muttered, "it's in the script."
"Funny name for a temple, if you ask me," said Hirokazu. "Trees don't flow. That's rivers that do that."
"Flowing Tree, Flowing Tree," Takato said thoughtfully. "Place sounds familiar. I think I've been there before. Yeah, that's right. Two or three years ago, I think. They were having trouble with wild Digimon pestering the place, and I was stationed there for a while. Real nice bunch of people down there."
"Well, that settles it," said Jenrya. "If it's a choice between sitting out here in the rain or holing up at this temple, I'll take the temple."
"Me too," said Hirokazu.
Kenta was scrutinizing the rock. "Do they have Healers there, do you think? Real ones? Like me? Do you think they could teach me anything?"
Ruki hesitated. Her recent experiences with priests and temples had not particularly endeared either of them to her, and she was not in any rush to meet any more. She crossed her arms and frowned, and the movement drew her attention to the box concealed beneath her cape. It held just one more Ark, the one labeled priest. It seemed fated that she was going to have to run into one sooner or later.
*Much too coincidental, Jenrya said. I wonder if he knows how right he is?*
"I guess so," she said. "All right, folks. Let's go have a look at this temple."
The trip to the Flowing Tree temple turned out to be a good deal easier than any of them would have expected. About a hundred yards beyond the first stone, they happened onto a track - little used except by animals and almost completely overgrown, but it was more grass than trees and brambles, and wide enough that even Guardromon could traverse it with ease. Along the way, they found several more signs carved into convenient stones or trees, making the whole earlier episode feel somewhat less like a wild coincidence, but Ruki was not fooled. Personally, she thought it was a little rude of Fate to treat her like she wasn't smart enough to know it was there.
At the end of the promised three-and-a-half miles, they found themselves standing on the edge of a grassy verge - not a polished, manicured lawn as they would have found near a manor or palace, but simply a place where the trees had been discouraged from growing. Instead, there was a good deal of grass of a more-or-less manageable height (Culumon couldn't walk through it, and took refuge on top of Ruki's head) and a smattering of late-blooming flowers, mostly dandelions. Standing at the center of the grassy area was a stone building, rather small for a full-fledged temple, built of crumbling white stone and partially covered with ivy. It was cylindrical in shape, with a large dome on top, and its sides were lined with columns that were cunningly carved to resemble trees, no two alike. Leading up to the entrance was a pathway lined with ancient willow trees, majestic in their size and age.
"Yeah, this is the place," said Takato, as cheerfully as if he'd discovered it and led them all there himself. "Hasn't changed a bit."
"Well, let's get inside, then," Hirokazu replied. He began sprinting across the grass in the direction of the path.
"Don't you think it's a little rude to just go barging into a temple?" Jenrya asked his retreating figure.
Hirokazu stopped long enough to look back at him and shrug. "Hey, they invited us. If they don't want visitors, they shouldn't have posted all those signs, should they? Come on, Guardromon! Let's get inside before you get rained on and rust or something."
The logic of these arguments apparently made sense to Guardromon, because he fired up his rockets and rushed off to join his partner. The others looked at each other.
"Let's wait," said Ruki. "If he makes them mad, better just he gets it than all of us."
"I don't know," answered Jenrya. "If they threaten Hirokazu, Guardromon's likely to blow the whole temple to the Ocean of Chaos."
There was a short pause.
"Let's go in," said Ruki.
They trotted across the grass as quickly as their tired feet could carry them. Even as they reached the shade of the ancient willows, they felt their strength restored, and Ruki relaxed a shade. This place was obviously all right, the kind of place where generations of Healers and White Magicians had been doing their work for so long that good magic was sunk right into the earth and flowed in the veins of the trees. White Mages were generally all right sorts of people. They never did much that was interesting, unless you happened to catch them in the middle of a plague or some other disaster, but they weren't a lot of trouble either.
As they reached the front door, Hirokazu put his head out and gave them a "What's taking you so long?" look.
"Come on in," he said. "There's room for everybody, y'know."
He shoved the door open a bit wider, and everyone filed into a short hallway. Beyond that was another, grander door. Guardromon pushed through, and everyone moved forward to get their first look at the inside of the temple. They stopped and stared.
"Ooh!" said Shuichon approvingly. "This is nice!"
It was not in Ruki's nature to go "Ooh!" at anything, but that didn't mean she wasn't impressed all the same. The floor of the building was made completely of some kind of black stone, highly polished, so that everyone could see their reflections in it. The walls were made of dark wood, with lamps hung high on the walls, covered by cunning shades of gold and green glass, so that the room seemed to be lit by sunlight filtering through leaves. The domed ceiling was as black as the floor, save that tiny lights had been set in it that copied the constellations outside. At the center of the room stood a fountain the size and shape of a small willow tree, filling most of the room. Water flowed up from somewhere in its trunk to trickle down its drooping branches to fall into a network of channels in the floor. They carried thin ribbons of water around the room in a complex pattern that the mages in the group recognized as a sign for healing and protection. The water shimmered even in the muted light, seeming almost to glow.
As they watched, a small door in the back of the room opened, and someone stepped out. It was difficult to tell the figure's gender, as their features were completely concealed by a hooded robe of deep blue trimmed in forest green. Everyone immediately tensed, but the newcomer took no notice of visitors to the temple. Instead, they walked reverently up to the statue of the tree, bowed slightly, and then slipped a wooden flute from their sleeve and began to play. It was a soft, flowing melody that brought to mind water flowing over stones and trees swaying gently in the wind. As they played, the flutist walked slowly around the room, tracing out a complicated pattern that seemed to be in some way dictated by the patterns on the floor. Those with the sight to see it noticed that a pale blue-white glow had started to rise up from the fountain and the water until it gradually suffused everything like a fog. The flutist finished the song, stopping back in front of the tree and bowing once more. The web of magic that had fallen over the room seemed to writhe a bit and then settled into place like something curling up to go to sleep.
Ruki nodded in appreciation. It was a nicely worked spell - the combination of the music, the movements, the flowing water in the set pattern... it had obviously been perfected over a long period of time, with every step and note in its place. The resulting magic, whatever it was for, was likely to be both strong and resilient. Takato, who, after all, couldn't see magic, seemed to think it was all just a performance, and applauded politely.
The musician jumped, and nearly dropped the flute into the fountain. The hood fell back, revealing the face of a young woman with long brown hair and matching brown eyes. She looked at her visitors with an expression of shock that made Ruki fleetingly think that they were going to be thrown out, after all. As it turned out, the problem she was about to end up with was something like the reverse.
"Takato!" she squealed happily.
Forgetting all priestess protocol, she rushed across the room to throw her arms around the startled young soldier. He returned the embrace somewhat awkwardly.
"Uh... Hi, Juri," he said. "Long time no see."
"Friend of yours?" asked Ruki dryly.
"Uh, kinda," said Takato. He seemed to be trying to find a polite way of disengaging himself from the priestess's embrace, but couldn't seem to figure out just how it should be done. "Guys, this is Juri. She's... kind of a friend."
"I can see that," said Hirokazu, with a leer that Juri thankfully didn't see. Takato, however, blushed and glared fiercely at him.
Juri finally released him, and turned to have a look at the rest of her visitors.
"Hello," she said. "Welcome to the Temple of the Flowing Tree. I'm Juri, the chief acolyte here. Please, allow me to extend the hospitality of the Order."
"You aren't going to ask us who we are or anything?" asked Jenrya.
"Of course not," she said, looking at him as if he was being rather silly. "I took an oath of hospitality. All travelers in need are welcome here. Besides, any friend of Takato's is a friend of mine."
"So you're not worried that we're dangerous vagrants or something like that?" asked Hirokazu.
"Why? Are you?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Then that's all right, then," she said.
"The truth is," said Jenrya, "that we're kind of in a tight spot. There are dangerous people following us, and you might be in danger if you shelter us."
"Oh, I don't think so. You'll be all right here," she said. "This is a protected place. I've just put down the wards for the night; you should be safe until morning, at least. I've gotten very good at them, by now."
"Hm," said Jenrya. He closed his eyes a moment, testing. Now that he thought about it, he realized that there were wards set. They were just very, very subtle - they felt so much like a part of the trees and the water and the earth and the building itself that they were nearly impossible to detect. Within this sacred space, anyway, he imagined that he and his friends would be completely invisible to a magical search. Unless someone actually came and peered in the windows at them, they should be well-protected.
"I guess you're right," he said. "All right. Thank you for your hospitality."
She smiled. "You're welcome. It's nice to have company. Is there anything I can get you? Something to eat, maybe?"
"Yeah!" said Hirokazu.
"Me too, me too!" said Guilmon.
"You ate already. I saw you," said Takato.
"I'm hungry again!"
Ruki put her hand to her face. It had been a long and stressful day, and that plus the impending rain was giving her a headache. Even a Healer couldn't do but so much for weather-headaches. She thought about asking if she could just be shown to someplace to sleep, but the sudden patter of rain on the roof was making her feel chilled inside. It wouldn't hurt to have a quick chat with this priestess, either.
"I could go for something hot to drink," she said.
"I'll put on a pot of tea," said Juri.
She turned and headed for another door, waving for the rest of the group to follow. Ruki, not in as much of a hurry as the others, found herself walking in the back with Jenrya.
"So, you're the expert on temples and things," she said. "What have we walked into?"
"I thought you were an expert," he replied.
"Not on the ceremonial stuff. I just clean 'em out when their occupants decamp."
"Oh. Well, this is a temple dedicated to the forces of Nature. No particular deity involved - they just pay their respects to the air and water and earth in general."
"Ah," she said dismissively. "Tree huggers."
"I wouldn't say that to her, if I were you. From what I understand, they have their own system of magic that's very old and very subtle. Not many people know much about it. She might pull out a surprise, and then you'd be sorry."
"I wasn't going to say anything to her," said Ruki. "Not while it's still raining, anyway. I'd rather stay here tonight if I can get away with it." She looked around a little. "It's a nice place, if it comes to that."
Jenrya nodded. "It is nice... They're a dying breed, you know."
"Yeah. Seems like all the old temples are drying up."
"It's kind of sad."
"Yeah."
"It makes me wonder what we'll replace them with."
"Who says we have to?" asked Ruki.
Jenrya shrugged. "Well, everyone has got to believe in something. Gods or demons or Nature... something bigger than themselves. It gives them perspective. And hope."
"What do you believe in?"
"Me? It's hard to say. I guess... honor, maybe. Or maybe you'd call it integrity. Being true to myself and others. What about you?"
"I don't know and I'm too tired to think about it."
"Oh, come on. You've got to have something. What keeps you going?"
"I dunno. Just knowing there are still things out there I haven't seen yet, I guess," she answered. "Right now, the only thing I believe for sure is that I want a hot drink and some sleep."
Eventually they turned up in a kitchen. It was not nearly as elaborate as the main room, which would have been an oppressive atmosphere to eat in, anyway. This was a genuine, ordinary kitchen that had obviously seen much use. The counters were stained, scarred, and burned by generations of cooks, and the walls were hung with battered pots and pans and bunches of herbs. Dominating one end of the room was a sizeable oak table, equally scuffed and battered but too large and solid to look truly dilapidated. The rest of the group was getting itself situated, either seating themselves on one of several mismatched chairs, or settling down on an empty patch of floor. The smallest Digimon sat on the tabletop itself. Juri was busying herself with a teakettle and going through the cupboards for foodstuffs.
"...to have visitors again," she was saying. "It's been awfully quiet around here."
"No more Digimon troubles?" asked Takato.
Juri blushed. "No. No problems at all. It's been very quiet, actually."
Hirokazu leered again. He hadn't missed the fact that Juri had suddenly gotten very nervous when Takato addressed her. "So, you and Takato are pretty good friends, huh?"
"Oh, yes," she answered brightly. "We met a few years ago when he came to defend the temple from a bunch of Vilemon. They were pulling up our gardens and attacking the sacred trees and all kinds of nasty things! Takato fought them off single-handed and drove them away! He was so brave! I've never forgotten it... I always hoped you'd come back and visit again, Takato."
He colored slightly. "Yeah, well... Here I am!"
"I'll tell you, it's good to be here," said Jenrya, picking out a seat at the table and settling in. "After everything that's been going on, it will be nice to have a chance to enjoy some peace and quiet."
"It is quiet around here," said Kenta. "Where is everybody? Are they asleep, or what?"
"Um, well," Juri said, "there... aren't any."
"There aren't?" Ruki repeated blankly. "There aren't any whats?"
"Any others," said Juri. She bowed her head, suddenly very occupied with the bread she was slicing. "Just me."
There was a general exclamation.
"What happened?" asked Takato. "Last time I was here there were like a dozen of you. Where'd they all go?"
"Different places," she said. "The chief priestess died - old age. After that, the Order just kind of lost heart. Some of them went off to join other Orders. Some just wandered off. I was the only one who really wanted to stay, so..."
"That's so sad!" said Shuichon.
"Oh, I'm all right," Juri replied, fastening her bright smile in place somehow. "It really isn't so bad. I know all the rituals by heart, and it doesn't take much to fix food for one, and there are so few travelers that I don't really have much else to do but keep everything nice and tidy."
"Doesn't it get ... well, kind of lonely?" asked Takato.
She glanced away. "Not usually. I walk in the forest a lot. The animals there are friends with me. That's enough. But it's nice to have human visitors again."
"And Digimon," Shuichon pointed out.
"Yeah, that's right," said Hirokazu, eyes narrowing. "How come you're so cool around them? Most girls would jump thirty feet in the air if a Digimon tried to get near them."
"Oh, I used to," she said, walking over to the table with the teakettle. "If you walk in the forest enough, though, you see them all the time. They've never bothered me, so I've kind of gotten used to them. Some of yours are actually cute. Where did you get them?"
"They just tagged along for the ride," said Ruki.
"They're our friends," Shuichon clarified. "They're going to help us find my dad."
"That's strange," said Juri. "I had thought most people were frightened of Digimon. I don't see why. Most of them are very nice, once you get to know them."
"Yeah, well, times are changing," said Ruki dryly. "Won't be long before they're downright fashionable."
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Terriermon said.
A few people laughed, and the group was able to settle in for a more-or-less comfortable discussion. The young soldiers and their Digimon partners offered little in the way of conversation - it was a general fact of life that they were usually ready for a meal of some sort. Juri struck up a friendship with Shuichon, and the two of them were soon chatting happily about the latest fashions and assorted bits of gossip. Those who were left over had a debate over which direction they ought to go from there. Kenta was of the opinion that they might do better just to find someplace quiet and well-hidden and hope that all of this might blow over. The others, rather more practical, overruled him.
"There's nowhere we can hide," said Jenrya, "not forever. The best we can do is cover our tracks a bit, but sooner or later, we're going to be found. Sooner or later, someone is going to see us, or else someone will find a way to trace us magically."
"Which leaves only one other option," Ruki said, nodding her agreement. "We go straight to the source of the problem - and hope the twelve of us is a match for one sorcerer."
"Aren't we?" asked Kenta.
Ruki frowned. "That's a big 'maybe.'"
Hirokazu gave a debonair shrug. "Hey, at least you'll get to see New City before you peg out. It's a sight!"
"'Peg out?'" Juri repeated quizzically.
"Yeah," said Hirokazu. "You know. Peg out. Buy the farm. Bite the dust. Cash in your chips, game over, thanks for playing."
She shook her head. "You soldiers use the most picturesque expressions."
"You don't know the half of it," Takato said.
When everyone was feeling properly fed and watered, Juri escorted the group to a hallway where the other priestesses had formerly resided. They were all long gone now, without so much as a stray sock left in a corner to show they'd been there, and the rooms were rather painfully bare. Nevertheless, they were better than sleeping outdoors in the rain, which was currently coming down noisily and echoing on the domed roof. Everyone retired to their new quarters with words of thanks to their gracious hostess.
"You know, I could almost be thankful to Takato," said Ruki, as she settled down on her bed. She had already noticed with approval that it was a good deal cleaner and better cared-for than the beds she found in most of the wayside inns she slept in. It didn't have bugs in it, either. "He put us on a pretty good trail this time."
"Mm," said Renamon.
Ruki rolled over to look at her partner. She was standing by the room's only window, a round porthole that looked out on the grassy lawn. Lightning flickered outside, illuminating her briefly and making her eyes and fur gleam. For a moment, Ruki was strongly reminded of the first time she had seen her - solemn and mysterious, something straight out of a dream...
"What's eating you?" she asked.
"There is a Digimon watching us," Renamon said.
Ruki sat up in bed. "What kind?"
"It is difficult to tell, at this distance," answered Renamon. Her ears flicked back and forth. "The storm interferes with my senses. It is powerful, though. Stronger than I am, possibly."
"But not stronger than all of us put together?"
"I would think."
"Then we won't worry about it too much." Ruki rolled over and prepared to go to sleep. Then she had another thought. "Do you think it's going to try to attack us?"
"That is also difficult to tell. The most I can say is that it is watching us with more than usual interest. It is... studying us, attempting to discern our intents and abilities. I suspect that if we do not threaten it, it will leave us alone."
"I'll keep that in mind. Useful to know, though..." said Ruki. She yawned. It had been a long day, and she was tired. "Thanks for telling me, Renamon. You're good to have around."
"So are you," said Renamon. "Sleep well, Ruki. I will guard you until morning."
Ruki thought about saying that she didn't really need guarding, not while she was in a magically sealed temple in the middle of nowhere, but the words never quite made it out of her mouth. By the time it had occurred to her that what Renamon said and what she meant were possibly two slightly different things, she was already too close to sleep to think any more about it.
It was a wonderful morning. Sure, it was a little muddy in places - particularly in places near the road, where the dusty earth had turned into a river of slop and the ruts had turned into actual rivers - but the air had a washed-clean feeling, the sun was gleaming, and a warm breeze was already at work drying things off.
Partaking of all this natural glory were three small travelers. Two were obviously human - twin children in travel-stained clothes. Their companion, though, couldn't have been any such thing. He had horns, for one thing, and the tail was another giveaway, as was the fact that he was predominantly purple and had slitted green eyes. Ai and Makoto, along with their newfound Digimon partner, were on their way to the village known as The Hub. It was the furthest the children had ever been away from home. They were wildly excited, despite the mud in their shoes. Impmon was somewhat less enthused.
"I still dunno why ya wanna go to some dumb town, anyway," he muttered. "It's just gonna be full of stupid humans."
"We have to sell our treasure," Mako explained patiently. "That way we'll have money to travel on."
"Whaddaya think we're doin' now? Kickin' back watchin' the grass grow?"
"Well, we aren't going to travel very far without more money," Ai pointed out. "We're almost broke. Once we sell this thing, though, we can go wherever we want!"
"Where do we want to go?" Impmon asked.
Mako shrugged. "No idea! Guess we'll find out when we get there."
"Great," Impmon sighed. "Lucky me. It sure was my lucky day when I hooked up with you two."
Ai and her brother exchanged glances and tried to stifle their giggles. Impmon had done almost nothing but complain since he'd joined their traveling party. In spite of that, every morning when the pair struck camp and set out again, Impmon trotted obediently along behind them.
In the distance, there was a crossroads. Impmon's eyes were rather sharper in the dark and semi-darkness than they were at full daylight, but he could still see it clearly up ahead. Two muddy tracks intersected each other crookedly, with a wooden signpost jabbed into the earth at one corner. Some weatherbeaten carving could just barely be discerned, but since he couldn't read, it didn't tell him much. He was far more interested in the fact that there was a man standing there. He was dressed simply in black breeches, a neat white shirt, and a black cloak. The sun glinted off his dark glasses... and also off of his polished black boots, which did not have a speck of mud on them.
"Hold up!" he said. "Do you guys see what I see?"
Mako shaded his eyes and peered off into the distance. "It's just a guy standing by the signpost. So what?"
"Somethin' ain't right about him, that's what," Impmon said. "It takes one to know one, and I am one."
"One what?" asked Ai.
Impmon held his head up proudly. "Someone who can't be trusted, that's what."
"Oh, Impmon," she sighed. "How can you tell he can't be trusted or not? You can barely see him from way back here."
"I don't care," said Impmon. "I don't like him and if ya knew what was good for ya, you'd leave him alone."
"I don't see why," said Mako. He was also squinting into the distance. "It doesn't even look like he's carrying any weapons. Maybe he's just waiting for someone to give him a ride to town. Anyway, we've gotta walk past him to get where we're going."
"So we might as well talk to him," Ai finished. "Come on, let's go!"
The twins squidged up the muddy road, splashing through puddles. Impmon rolled his eyes.
"Kids!" he hissed, and dashed along after them.
Meanwhile, Yamaki waited patiently. Things had not gone well for him thus far, but he was certain his luck was about to change. He had awakened this morning from uneasy dreams, the contents of which he could only half-remember, but it seemed to him that he'd been arguing with someone over something. The memory still disturbed him slightly, as if there had been something important in his dream that he had missed. It was a possibility. Most magic-users had at least one true Vision in their lifetimes, even if it was only a premonition about running out of potatoes for supper... but most of those kinds of dreams tended to be shockingly real and indelible from the dreamer's memory. Yamaki had never had a vision and not been able to remember it later. He chalked it all up to nightmares induced by too much stress and concentrated on the matter at hand.
Now he had a plan. He had lost the trail of Ruki and her companions, making him think they had found a way to set up powerful wards. A few inferences had led him to guess that they had enlisted Princess Shuicon's help. He kept tabs on every magic-user of note, and he was well aware of her gifts with wards. However, wards only went so far - they would only protect a person from active seeing- spells. There were other, more subtle magics that could be used, and he had come up with just the one. It was a simple spell, really, of the kind that all juvenile mages learned in their first year of study. It allowed a person to track down related magics. For example, if one wished to find magical swords, the spellcaster could take a known magic sword and cast the spell on it, and it would seek out its bretheren like a compass. Of course, the uses of such a spell were limited, and it was viewed as primarily a curiosity. After all, most spells were so common that unless you were looking to collect a good number of the same sort of thing, it was absolutely no use as a finding spell, but if you were looking for an item that was nearly unique in all the world....
It had bothered Yamaki, for a while, that he had never seen magic quite like the magical ties between these ragtag humans and their Digimon friends. Now, though, that magic was going to be turned to his advantage.
"Good afternoon," he said pleasantly, when Ai and Makoto were within speaking distance. "Where are you off to this fine morning?"
"We're going to The Hub!" said Makoto.
"What a coincidence. So am I," he answered. "Unfortunately, I seem to have lost my sense of direction, and I'm not quite sure where to go from here."
"It's written right there on the sign," Ai pointed out.
"Ah, but you see, I'm unable to read it." He indicated his dark glasses.
"Oh!" said Ai, in dawning understanding. "Well, do you want to follow us for a while? We'll show you the way."
"I would be most grateful if you'd accompany me," he answered politely.
Meanwhile, Impmon watched from his vantage point in the treetops, scowling. The more he heard from this shady stranger, the less he liked him. If this was your typical blind beggar, then Impmon was a squirrel! What kind of blind man could walk all the way to a crossroads in the middle of the woods on his own, and suddenly not be able to get any further without help? There was something suspicious about all this, but Impmon didn't dare say anything to his Tamers while the mysterious stranger was close by. Cursing inwardly, Impmon scampered through the branches, listening in on their conversation.
"So, what brings you in the direction of The Hub?" the man was inquiring.
"We're headed to the marketplace," said Makoto. "We're going to sell some stuff so we'll have money to travel with."
"You aren't worried you'll be attacked? There are vagrants and wild Digimon on these roads. Your voices sound young; are you sure you're up to the challenge?"
"Oh, we can take care of ourselves," Makoto answered blithely. "We've got a-" He broke off suddenly as Ai stomped hard on his foot.
"Don't tell him everything," she hissed.
Yamaki heard the conversation clearly; people often forgot how sharp a blind man's hearing could be. He smiled slightly and pretended not to notice.
"What were you planning on selling?" he asked instead. "I'm rather a collector of magical curiosities - you might have something that interests me."
"Well, there's this," said Ai.
She reached into her pack and withdrew the tin carousel, now clean and polished, offering for the blind man's inspection. He ran practiced fingers over it, taking its measure.
"Interesting," he murmured. "A rare antique, to be sure. It would make a nice addition to my collection. I could offer you, say, three hundred gold pieces for this."
The twins exchanged glances. Three hundred gold pieces was more money than they'd ever seen in one place before in their lives. Greed momentarily overtook caution.
"Sold," said Ai.
"Lovely." Yamaki took out a money purse and counted out thirty ten-piece coins into Ai's outstretched hands. She made them disappear into her satchel with a speed that was almost magical.
"Thanks!" she said, remembering her manners.
"You are welcome. It is a good deal for both of us... except now you have no more reason to visit The Hub, now that you've sold your wares. Unless you've picked up anything else interesting on your journeys."
"Well, not really..." said Makoto slowly.
"Nothing we could sell, anyway," Ai said.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we've got this thing," said Ai. She fingered the Ark, where it hung from a leather strap around her neck. "It's special, though. We've got a - a - a sandymetal attachment to it. We can't sell it."
"Ah, I see. I understand completely. There are some treasures that no treasure hunter will part with, no matter what price is offered. Nevertheless, I would like to examine it, if you'd be so kind."
Ai hesitated a moment. She had the sudden suspicion that it would be a very bad to offer the Ark to anyone, and an equally strong feeling that it was against her best interests to refuse this man anything he wanted. Feeling torn, she slowly undid the ties that held the device in place and pressed it into the man's outstretched hand. He took it a little too eagerly and cupped his hands around it.
"You can't keep it," Makoto reminded him. "We're just giving it to you to look at for a minute!"
The man didn't appear to hear him. He was staring - staring? Could he do that? - fixedly down at the device in his hands, his lips moving as he whispered something inaudible. Then, suddenly, he raised his head and stared off into the distance as if he'd heard a cannon go off. He smiled suddenly.
"Take it," he said. "I don't need it anymore."
He flung the device at them, and Makoto had to make a dive to keep it from being lost in one of the bottomless mud puddles. When he looked up again, the man was gone.
"Where did he go?" he asked.
"He disappeared," said Ai. "There was just a flash, and he was gone."
"I told ya!" said Impmon, jumping down from the trees. He landed with a splat in the mud, grimaced, and continued ranting. "I told ya that guy was trouble, and ya didn't listen to me!"
"Now I think you're right," said Ai, helping her partner out of the puddle. "He was up to something bad."
"He was really interested in this thing," said Makoto, frowning down at the Ark. "I'll bet this is what he was after all along... but why did he give it back?"
"Didn't you see him?" asked Ai. "He disappeared. He was some kind of magician, I bet. You know magicians can find stuff just by touching things. He did some kind of a spell, and then he looked up, and then he left."
"I wonder what he was looking for," Makoto muttered.
There was a long moment as all three of them racked their brains.
"Wait a minute," said Ai slowly, "didn't the others sort of say there was someone looking for them? You know, all those other guys with the Digimon?"
"Yeah!" said Makoto. "I bet that's what he's after! He's looking for them."
Ai looked crestfallen. "And we just helped them."
"Oh," said Makoto.
"Wouldn'ta happened if you'da listened to me," Impmon said.
"We're sorry, Impmon," said Ai, genuinely contrite. "We'll listen next time, won't we, Mako?"
"Yeah," Makoto agreed.
"Well, that don't help nobody much now, does it?" said Impmon, somewhat mollified.
"Yeah," said Ai.
She frowned. This much could be said for the twins - they were young and rather immature, but they didn't lack for courage or determination. Now Impmon could see a matching steely glint coming into both sets of eyes, and he began to wonder if perhaps he shouldn't have kept his mouth shut about the whole thing.
"We'll just have to warn them," said Ai at last.
"Right. Got to," Makoto agreed.
Impmon narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
"Well, it's only fair," said Ai. "We put him on their trail. Now we have to help them."
"They already know he's looking for 'em," Impmon pointed out.
"But they don't know he knows where they are," Makoto persisted.
"We don't know where they are," said Impmon.
"We have to try," said Ai. "Fair is fair."
"Maybe we can get someone in The Hub to help us," Makoto said. "Come on, let's go!"
He turned and began hurrying up the road.
"Hey, come back here!" said Ai, dashing after him. "You've still got the thing, and it's my turn to carry it! Come back!"
Impmon sighed deeply. He would have to get stuck with a pair of naive do-gooders. Sill, he had to admit, the kids had guts. Couldn't keep them down, no sir... Feeling absurdly proud of both of them, he hurried to catch up with his partners.
It was Ruki's custom to wake up early if she could at all manage it. She could, if necessary, get by on as little as four hours of sleep - one of the benefits of being such a powerful mage. After a restful night in the safety of the Flowing Tree Temple, lulled to sleep by the rhythm of the rain, she was now refreshed and relaxed, even though the sky was barely more than grey with the coming of morning. She let her eyes blink open, then stretched luxuriously and pushed her covers away to have a look at the new day.
As it turned out, she wasn't the only one who was awake. Though there were signs that Renamon had made a bed out of a rug on the floor, the vulpine Digimon was now awake and leaning almost casually against the wall, peering out the window at the rising sun. The tip of her tail twitched ever-so-slightly in the manner of a cat who is about to pounce on something.
"What are you staring at?" asked Ruki with early-morning brusqueness. She brushed a few stray strands of hair out of her eyes and peered out the window, but saw nothing but the sky, some trees, and wisps of fog.
"I'm not staring. I'm sensing," Renamon answered mildly. "That Digimon is still out there - the one I sensed last night. It is much closer now. I am beginning to detect whiffs of hostility from it. I think it best if we leave quickly before we anger it any further."
"Are you sure?" Ruki asked. "I get the feeling we're a whole lot safer in here with Juri's spells around us than we are out there with Yamaki hunting for us, Digimon or no Digimon. I've taken out a few Digimon in my time. I can't say I know that I could take out Yamaki."
"As you will," said Renamon with a swish of her tail.
Ruki glanced out the window again, as if she expected to see the mysterious Digimon peering back in at her, but there was nothing there that hadn't been there before. With a shrug, she began dressing and grooming herself for the day. It was always part of her routine to make sure her weapons and Cards were all in good working order and in their proper places, but today she took a little extra care all the same.
Upon opening her door to face the world, the first thing she noticed was another scrap of evidence that she was not the only one awake right now. Actually, it was a scrap of parchment with a homemade look about it, with a neatly written message penned across it in an unusual pinkish ink.
Ruki, if you wake up and can't find me, I've gone to the woods to pick berries for lunch. Tell the others not to worry. I've already made breakfast for you all - it's in the kitchen. I'll see you later! It was signed, Juri Katou.
"Well, that's friendly," said Ruki with a slight shrug. "Though we may not be seeing her. We can't hang around all week."
She walked down the hall, knocking on doors and rousing people from their beds. Some members of the group took more waking than others. Jenrya and Kenta woke up almost instantly, while Takato and Hirokazu rolled out of bed and got moving without ever seeming to open their eyes. Shuichon, being a royal princess, was used to sleeping in, and she was still yawning and blinking sleepily when the entire group had gathered around the breakfast table... or in some cases, under the table.
"It is still very strange, being small," Lopmon said, looking wistfully at the laden table whose surface was well above the top of his head. Jenrya smiled in faint amusement and lifted him up to the table.
"You've gotta learn how to get around," Terriermon told him. He and Culumon had scaled the table with no problems and were already tucking in voraciously.
"It requires an adjustment," said Lopmon. He picked up a fruit roll and began nibbling daintily.
"Has he always been like this?" asked Shuichon.
"No," said Jenrya. "Actually, he's loosened up a lot since you found him. He's getting downright talkative."
"So, what are we going to do today, huh?" asked Takato. "More roaming the wilderness dodging monsters and things?"
"Probably, yes," said Ruki.
"Aw, nuts," Takato said. "I was hoping we could stay here a while."
"Why?" asked Hirokazu with a leer. "Planning on spending some quality time with your girlfriend?"
"Juri's not my girlfriend, Hirokazu."
"Hey, I didn't say it! You're the one bringing her into this," said Hirokazu, laughing.
"I know who you meant!"
"Quiet, both of you," said Jenrya. "What would she think if she heard you talking about her like this?"
Takato colored slightly. "I didn't start it - he did."
"She won't hear you anyway," said Ruki. "She's gone out berry-picking."
"No, she hasn't," said Kenta.
Everyone turned to look at him. It was unusual for the deferent Healer to speak with such conviction, or to contradict anyone.
"How do you know?" Ruki asked.
"It's the wrong time of year for berries," said Kenta. "They're all still in flower this time of year. There won't be any berries worth picking until sometime in summer, at least."
"Well, that's what she said she's going to do," Ruki said, but with a trace of doubt in her mind. Now that she thought about it, it was a little early in the year for berries...
"Maybe we ought to go look for her?" asked Shuichon. "What if she's in trouble? We could go save her!"
"She's a nature priestess," said Jenrya reasonably. "She probably knows this forest and its inhabitants like the back of her hand - and for all we know, nature priestesses have some way of making plants put out berries whether they're in season or not. There's no reason to worry."
"Perhaps," said Renamon, "and perhaps not. I have been sensing a hostile presence since sometime last night. Being unfamiliar with the magic of nature priestesses, I am not in a position to judge whether or not she would be able to defend herself from such a creature, but..."
"You mean you knew there was something dangerous out there and you never told her?" asked Takato, outraged.
Renamon lowered her head in acceptance of the blame, and said nothing.
"Well, we've got to go find her!" Takato said. He jumped to his feet and dashed toward the door, with Guilmon loping after him with a puzzled expression on his reptilian face.
Ruki rolled her eyes. "Oh, for crying out... Come back here, you idiot!"
She got up and hurried after him. After some hesitation, the others got up and followed after her. Culumon stared at them and blinked.
"Where is everyone going, culu?"
Terriermon doubled back and grabbed him by the ear. "Come on, kid, let's make some tracks!" Culumon squeaked as Terriermon dragged him away.
Meanwhile, Takato was barging recklessly through the nearby trees without any plan or purpose, hacking at brush and branches to clear a path.
"Where are we going?" asked Guilmon. "Don't you want the others to help?"
Takato stopped what he was doing with his sword half-raised. "Um. I guess..."
"What are we going to do?"
"Um," said Takato again. "I dunno, really. I just thought... well, Juri's my friend, and she's kind of naive. Thinking that there might be some nasty Digimon out here that's out to get her, well... makes me pretty mad, you know? But I don't even know where she is right now..." Then he slapped his forehead. "I'm an idiot. You know her scent by now, don't you?"
Guilmon nodded agreeably.
"Is she anywhere nearby?"
Guilmon considered this a moment, stretching high up on his hind legs, nostrils twitching. His ears pricked up.
"She's that way," he said, pointing.
"Great," said Takato. He considered a moment. "Are there any other Digimon over there?"
Guilmon sniffed again. "Uh-huh!"
"Big ones?"
"Uh-huh!"
The swordsman pressed a hand to his face. "Great. Well, let's get going."
They set off again, this time at a more careful pace, picking their way through the shrubbery, stopping every few yards to check for danger. If there had been anything larger than a rabbit moving in that forest, it wouldn't have escaped their notice. However, they went a fair distance, perhaps a quarter of a mile, without seeing anything but birds and bugs. Finally, they reached a clearing near a stream and stopped. Juri was sitting there on a convenient stone, her back turned towards them, dangling her feet in the water. She was intent on playing her flute and not noticing anything else. Takato opened his mouth to say something, but Guilmon clapped a claw over his mouth.
"Shh!" he hissed. "The Digimon!"
He pointed, and Takato looked. Deep in the shadows of the forest, something big was moving. Its footsteps were silent on the soft ground, and its movements were sure and graceful, but even from a distance Takato could tell that it had to be something large - ten feet high, or maybe more. The swordsman tightened his grip on his sword, tensing himself to fight or flee...
...until it struck him that the creeping beast was making its way directly towards the unsuspecting Juri.
"Oh, no you don't!"
The Digimon looked up - too late. Takato was already descending on him with sword drawn. Swish! The blade came down at just the right angle to completely disembowel the beast - that is, if it had stood still to take the hit. For all its size, the creature moved with surprising agility. It bounded to one side and landed on all four paws, eyeing Takato warily and awaiting his next move.
Takato looked at the Digimon. What he had originally taken for a beast was actually more human than animal. It was obviously built to walk on two legs, not four, and its limbs terminated in hands and feet instead of paws. It even wore clothing, in the form of a pair of loose black trousers. A necklace of red beads was strung around its neck, and the scabbard of a sword was slung over its back. The only parts of it that were thoroughly animal-like was a tail that sprung from the base of his spine, and his face, which was like that of a lion. Still, there was something human-like about those intense blue eyes. That worried Takato. So did the muscles on the creature, which were roughly the size of watermelons. Takato had no doubt that if this thing got its hands on him, it could snap him in half without thinking twice about it.
"Intruder," it rumbled, "what are you doing here?"
"None of your business, fur-face!" Takato snapped back. "Get out of here before I make you!"
The Digimon chuckled. "You think you can drive me off with that little pin?"
He drew the sword on his back and brandished it at Takato. It was only a little shorter than the swordsman himself was.
"This is a sword!" he said. "I'd like to see you block a hit from - argh!"
While he had been talking, Takato had lunged forward, and by the element of surprise, had managed to land a glancing blow across the Digimon's thigh. Takato stopped and turned around, bracing himself for retaliation.
"Little pin hurts, huh?" he said.
"Why, you little...! I'll chop you to ribbons for that, you-"
"Now, both of you boys just stop."
Both of them stopped. They stared at Juri. In all the hubbub, they had forgotten she was there. Now she was standing and glaring crossly at both of them.
"You're both being very silly," she said firmly, "and I want you to stop it. What in the great green world to you think you're doing?"
"Protecting you!" they said in unison, and then, "Huh?"
"Uh... come again?" said Takato.
"Juri, do you know this person?" asked the Digimon.
"Yes," she said. "Leomon, this is Takato. Takato, this is Leomon. Leomon, listen - Takato is one of my old friends. He didn't know I was waiting for you - I told him I was going berry-picking. It's not his fault."
"Oh," said Leomon, looking distinctly chagrined. "Well, he shouldn't have attacked me, anyway."
"Let me get this straight," said Takato. "This is one of your Digimon friends? Geez, I was thinking you were talking about something little and cute, not something like - like..." He waved vaguely at Leomon, who glared at him.
"Leomon has been protecting me," she said. "Ever since I was attacked in the forest one day by a Flymon. He saved my life." She smiled warmly up at the Digimon. "He really startled me! But he was so brave and so gracious... he's really such a gentleman, once you get to know him, and, well... we've gotten very close, these last few years."
"Aw, Juri..." said Leomon, looking embarrassed. "Really, do you have to tell people?"
Juri ignored the question. "Oh, and look at your leg! You're bleeding."
"It's just a scratch, Juri, nothing to worry about..."
"Really Takato, you should be more careful," Juri scolded. "Hold still, Leomon, I'll take care of it."
"It's all right, I don't need you to-"
"Er, did we come at a bad time?"
Everyone looked up. Jenrya was standing at the edge of the clearing, looking at Takato with his bloodstained sword, Leomon with his battle scars, and Juri stubbornly clinging to the Digimon's leg. The rest of the group was filling in behind him, looking equally bemused.
"No, you came at exactly the right time," said Takato, glad for the distraction. "Hey, is Kenta somewhere nearby? We need MarineAngemon to fix this guy up."
The little angel-Digimon was brought forth, and he hovered over Leomon's injured leg, chirping to himself at the silliness of people who felt the need to get into fights with each other. Then he puffed out a stream of blue bubbles, and the gash in Leomon's thigh healed up neatly. Even his clothing mended itself.
"Ooh!" said Juri appreciatively. "I didn't know he could do that."
"It's one of his talents," said Kenta.
"Yeah," said Takato. "Sorry about that, er, Leomon. I wouldn't have attacked you if I'd have known you were a friend of Juri's. Renamon here said there was a hostile Digimon around, and when I saw you coming up behind her, I guess I just jumped to conclusions. Sorry. No hard feelings, I hope?"
"Well..." said Leomon thoughtfully. "For one of Juri's friends, I guess I can forget about it. No hard feelings."
"Whew!" said Takato, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "You had me worried for a minute there. I'd really rather have you as a friend instead of an enemy."
"And that reminds me," said Ruki, cutting into the conversation. "Reading between the lines here, seems like Leomon and Juri are pretty tight. Am I right?"
Juri colored slightly. "Something like that."
"Right," said Ruki. She glanced at Jenrya. "Mind if I borrow your Ark a second? I want to give her the test."
"Her?" Jenrya asked, puzzled.
"Why not? I wanna get these things parceled out, and the writing on the last one does say 'priest'... or maybe 'priestess'. It's gender-nuetral in the old writing."
"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt." Jenrya handed over his Ark without complaint, while the others gathered around to watch the familiar game begin. Ruki set out his Ark, plus her own and the one yet unclaimed and covered them all with handkerchiefs, while Juri looked puzzled.
"What are we doing?" she asked.
"It's a test. Don't worry, it's an easy one," said Ruki. "Just touch them, and tell us which one you like best."
Juri considered a moment, then ran her fingers over each of the Arks in turn. No one was surprised when they stopped over the last unclaimed box as if she was magnetically attached to it.
"Oh!" she said. "It's purring."
"That means it likes you!" Terriermon piped up.
"It's a sign," said Jenrya solemnly, glaring at his partner. "It marks a special bond between you and Leomon."
"Oh," she said, laughing a little. "We knew that already."
"Juri," Leomon protested. "This is embarrassing."
"Hold it, hold it, hold it," said Hirokazu. "I'm starting to get this weird idea... Juri, you and him... you aren't an item or something, are you?"
Juri blushed again. "Well, now that you mention it..."
"Geez!" Hirokazu exclaimed. "And here I thought you had it for Takato."
"Now, what gave you that idea?" she asked, looking perplexed.
"Well, you got all blushy whenever he talked to you and stuff."
Juri shrugged. "Well, he kept bringing Digimon into the conversation and asking what I'd been doing... I mean, this is a little irregular. I thought I might be able to keep it secret..."
Hirokazu glanced at Jenrya. "Are priestesses allowed to have boyfriends?"
"She's a nature priestess," Jenrya answered with a shrug. "They're encouraged to follow their natural inclinations. They're a surprisingly open-minded group." He glanced at Leomon. "Not usually this open-minded, but I guess there's a first time for everything..."
"Well, that's it, then," said Ruki. "I've got all the Arks accounted for that I could. I did my job. Whatever's going to happen next is going to have to happen by itself."
"Please don't say more weird stuff is going to happen," said Takato. "Everything is weird enough as it is."
"Then maybe nothing will happen?" suggested Kenta, without much hope. "I mean, maybe our part is done..."
He trailed off and stared at the air in front of them. It was shimmering wildly, all of its own accord... well, perhaps not. Air didn't do that kind of thing on its own. The more likely explanation was that someone was making it behave that way, and judging by the steadily enlarging and brightening shape in the center of the disturbance, they were about to find out who it was.
Yamaki appeared in a clearing in a forest and took stock of his situation. His immediate reaction was disgruntlement; this was one of those situations where having mundane eyesight would have been quite useful. He had definitely found a high concentration of the peculiar magic he had been seeking, but now it lay over the landscape like a heavy purplish fog, through which everything else could only be seen as dim shadows. He strained against it, trying to make out something for certain against the general chaos.
"Hello," said a voice from somewhere in front of him. "You'll be Yamaki, isn't that right?"
Yamaki turned sightlessly toward the voice. It was not one he had heard before, but it was young, male, confident, and he did not like it. He turned a sightless glare in the direction he guessed the speaker lay.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
The voice in the fog laughed. "That is a secret!"
"I'm warning you," said Yamaki, "I am no one to be trifled with."
"What a coincidence," the speaker replied. "So am I."
"Is that a challenge?"
"No," said the voice. "Not yet. Not now. Do you want to know who I am? I am a priest. A most unusual kind of priest. I've been reading the portents, Master Yamaki, and all signs indicate that you are to bring about something very interesting, something I've been waiting a very long time for. So I am not going to get in your way... yet. Let me guess - you came here thinking I was Ruki and her friends, correct?"
"You know about them?"
"Yes. I know a great deal about them, in fact. And you aren't going to find them right now, no matter how much you look. They're in hiding - gone to earth, in a manner of speaking. As a matter of fact, there's only one Digimon Tamer left in the open... and that's me."
There was a rushing in the streams of magic, as if all of them were running down a drain. When they were gone, the scenery was suddenly clear as could be. In the middle of it was a young man who positively radiated that strange energy. Lurking behind him was a massive Digimon of the sort even Yamaki would have thought twice about annoying. He suddenly realized exactly how close it had been standing to him all this time without him noticing it, and felt mildly alarmed.
"Don't worry," said the strange priest. "He's not going to attack you. Not if I don't give the word. And I won't, because I'm leaving. Ruki and the other Tamers are going to need my help in a minute, and I'd hate to not be around to give it to them. Goodbye, Yamaki. Give my regards to your lovely assistant."
The currents of magic shifted again, and Yamaki felt the beginnings of a transportation spell falling into alignment. He cursed himself for a fool, realizing belatedly that this person, whoever he was, had lured him onto a false trail for some nefarious purpose of his own.
"I'll get you for this," he said. "You'll pay for making a fool of me! How do you know all these things, anyway?"
The stranger laughed playfully, and vanished, leaving Yamaki to contemplate his cryptic last words.
"Because... I read the script!"
Ruki and the others stared as Ryo materialized in front of them. A few seconds later, something big and black and menacing appeared behind him. Shuichon gave a shriek and ducked behind her brother, and Juri paled slightly. The warriors in the group reached for their swords. Ruki just sighed.
"Showoff," she muttered. "What are you doing here?"
He grinned. "Sore wa himitsu - ow!"
"I told you I'd slug you if you tried any of that stuff on me," said Ruki.
Ryo rubbed at his face where she'd slapped him. "Some gratitude. And I've been so helpful today, too."
"What are you talking about?" asked Jenrya. "We haven't even seen you since we left Mainboard."
Shuichon stared at Ryo curiously. "Who is he? Is he a priest, or what?"
Ryo bowed. "For those who missed it last time, I'm Ryo, the Mysterious Priest. Pleasure to meet all of you. And as for being useful... you're aware that you just had a narrow shave, aren't you?"
He was met by a collection of blank looks, which was more or less what he'd been expecting. He shrugged.
"I thought not. Listen, your friend Yamaki paid me a visit a minute ago, but he was looking for you."
"I'm surprised you didn't give him a point in the right direction," said Ruki sourly.
"That would have been interesting," Ryo replied, "but lucky for your, it's in my best interests to keep you alive for a little while longer. Perhaps this is the easiest way to explain it."
He reached into a fold in his robe and withdrew his Ark. It glowed softly to Ruki's magic-sight, and she suddenly realized that Ryo and the Digimon with him both shone ever-so-faintly with the same purplish light. Feeling an odd surge of energy nearby, she looked around and realized that the other Arks were glowing faintly now, as well.
"That's right," said Ryo. "The circle is completed now, and the true power of the Arcs can begin to show. I've been waiting a long time for this, so don't disappoint me."
"But what do they do?" asked Kenta, staring down at his Ark in puzzlement. "I mean, what do they really do that you're so interested in."
"That's not my story to tell," Ryo answered cryptically. "But I know someone who can. Would you like me to show you?"
"And lead us into another trap?" asked Ruki.
"I led you to Ai and Makoto," Ryo answered. "I told you, I want the magic of the Arks completed. That was the best way to do it at the time. Either you trust me now or you don't... or you wait and see if you trust my friend."
"And who might that be? Auntie Aqua?" asked Ruki sarcastically.
Ryo smiled faintly. "Not quite. Would you like to meet him?"
"Can you tell us who he is first?" asked Jenrya.
"Of course," said Ryo. "I was hoping you would ask. It's the great sage Shibumi."