Two On The Town


The wet hair of the toppled passengers on the subway train stunk from the rain and they stuck right to Neommi Kinoui's face. All the passengers were in an acrimonious mood and constantly grumbling about how horrid the weather is after being clear skies for most of the month. Others complained about the excessive work hours they have received over the pass week and how children these days want way too much from them which will inevitably drive them to the poor house. Neommi disliked hostility directed towards the ones of her own youth and generation, but there was nothing for her to say against them. It wouldn't have just been respectable to talk to elders that way, so she stayed quiet and fidgeted in her seat.

The train came to a boisterous halt that almost caused Neommi to fall out of her seat. A voice came over the intercom that announced that they have arrived in Nerima. Many of the commuters hurriedly rushed off the car and Neommi was relieved for a second… though only a second. Countless others, more than before, had hastily pushed their way on board—all yelling and dodging each other for a seat before they had to stand for the whole trek until they got to their own destination. Someone almost knocked Neommi out of her seat just to sit there.

She sat in the far corner of the train, leaning on her mother's arm. Neommi--of the age eleven--was quite exhausted. "Okaa-san… How many more stops, this is rather monotonous…" Neommi said wearily. She looked behind her shoulder to see the distant subway as the train began to start moving again. It was almost midnight and the stars in the sky twinkled so brightly that it lit up the night sky to the point where it looked as if morning were coming.

"A few more, just try and go to sleep. We'll be in Odaiba soon okay?" Her mother said as she stroked her daughter's hair back. Neommi shifted around a bit. They both seemed identical; you could mistake them as sisters, more like twins. Besides the fact that instead of blue, her mother was wearing purple on her dress and shirt, and how her hair was darker than her daughters. And of course the age-factor.

"This is taking too long." Neommi whined.

"Hush now." her mother cooed. "Just rest my darling, it's almost 11:55pm. I'll wake you when we get there, hai?"

"…Hai…" Neommi yawned as she closed her eyes and leaned on her mother's arm once again. At least these passengers weren't as noisy as the other ones—they had calmed the scenery for Neommi, made it much more tranquil than before. This time she drifted off to sleep and to her dreams. She drifted off to the grumbling sounds of passengers and the drizzle of the rain. She drifted off to the sloshing of water on the bridge the train crossed, the water that no longer reflected the stars in the sky, since there were none anymore.

"N-Nani?" Neommi was knocked off the seat. She quickly turned in every direction, no one! Silence. "Where is everyone? Okaa-san?" Neommi shouted as she got to her feet and looked out the window. As soon as she took a peek she began to scream. The subway car was still moving, and speedily might I add. It was zooming down the tracks with unbelievable celerity, running over numerous bumps that caused Neommi to gyrate all over the place. She couldn't see the buildings anymore, for they were just blurs. The water looked more like a treacherous black hole. "Hey!! Slow down!!" The topsy-turvy Neommi screamed, but no one was there to hear her.

It was a matter of staying put and getting killed once the subway car comes to it's dead end--no pun intended. Or it could just blow up or catch fire from such speed it had been experiencing. And then there was finding out why the conductor is going so fast. Of course, curiosity kills the cat, too bad there's no cat around. Neommi decided to do the right thing as usual.

"Oi!! Slow down!!" Neommi yelled, running—well, swerving—awkwardly towards the door and beginning to bang her fist on it as hard as she could. "What's wrong, can't you hear me?? Oi!!" Neommi yelled as the door jetted open. Neommi flew right out onto the floor. "AHH!!" she screeched. She could hear the 'Whisk' sound as her shirt was blowing in the wind. In the wind? She saw that the engineer room's windows were all smashed open—a chorus of hushes came from every direction, inviting cool air inside. Neommi trembled.

As afraid as she was, she headed to the front of the sub car. "I will never do this again… Next time I'll talk Okaa-san into having us take a taxi cab…" She said in a hushed tone while the raspy wind seemed to have been laughing and mocking her. "Why did I ever do this in the first place? I could've just stayed home!" A theory that everyone had probably disembarked at one of the stops while she was asleep made her a little bit better. But when her mother told her she would wake her up when they got to their destination, she began to worry again. 'If my mom said she would wake me up, why didn't she? All I wanted to do was spend a week of summer with my cousins until the camping trip.' Neommi thought sadly. "And of course, get away from my uncle, he doesn't let me do chores. Oni. How can a child live without chores?" Neommi chuckled at her sentence a bit.

Since the speed was increasing more rapidly, it made Neommi begin to whirl on the floor again. She finally scrabbled to her feet and looked around. No conductor, no engineer, no anyone! "For the love of-" Neommi cut her self off when she looked at the lever to operate the trains velocity. It was switched to one side that must have been the "Full-Throttle" side. She quickly leaped towards it, trying not to lose her balance again.

She pulled, pulled, and pulled some more. It didn't budge!! It was jammed!! She was going to die!! "I'm gonna die! Die when the train crashes into the dead end wall, Die if it flies off the track! Die when it catches on fire! Die if-"

---

"Uh, I get it okay…" a familiar voice said cutting Neommi off. It was Iris!! They were both sitting at Iris's island-table in her kitchen. Neommi was trying to tell Iris a recap of what happened to her before Iris found her running on the road. Iris was nibbling on a peach she found in the refrigerator while Neommi was too busy regaling Iris on her tale to eat her own peach. "Um, okay, where was I" Neommi said beginning again.

---

With all my might, I pulled so hard… It broke!!

---

Iris fell off her stool.

"Um, are you okay?" Neommi said confused.

"Si… Si... Keep going" Iris said getting up.

---

Neommi began to cry as the lever was embraced in her hand. She clenched her eyes closed. "Where is everyone!! Why!! Why!!" Neommi peeked one of her eyes open and blinked away the tears. The train was about to go off the track and plunge to the river below! "AHHH!!! No!! Please, please!! Someone!!! Help Me!!!!" Neommi cried looking out the conductor's window. The train rammed off the tracks. It hit with a violent collision as it blew away the fencing. It was periling to its doom. The water would be the train's watery grave, and Neommi's as well. "Someone!!! Help ME!!!!!!" Neommi shouted. The last thing she ever saw being that of a blur of a green creature, hanging off the shattered window glass.

---

"And that's all I remember after that…" Neommi said slumping in her chair. "Neommi fell into a watery tomb."

Iris was boiling water to make hot chocolate for the both of them. "Quit talking like that. How did you get here then? If the train went off the tracks, and you with it, you should be dead in front of me." Iris said confused as she backed away from Neommi.

"The thing is…" Neommi whispered as Iris leaned in to hear. "… I really can't remember what happened after going off the tracks, actually, I think I made that part up about going off the tracks just to make my story more dramatic." Neommi giggled.

Iris watched Neommi for a long time before she turned back to the pot on the stove. Her mouth hung low and her eyes grew into daggers. "You're strange... That was not funny." Iris said pouring the water into two cups.

"Aww, where's your sense of humor." Neommi laughed louder than before which provoked Iris. Her cousin threw a salt shaker at her but Neommi leaned to the side before it hit her. She cleared her esophagus and started to finish her story. "It's like this…"

---

Neommi woke to the clashes of water. At first she thought people were talking, until she opened her eyes. No one was still there. "Wha… Nani!!" Neommi said dreary as she jumped up, she was lying on a sandy beach.

---

"No more third person…" Iris pleaded a little annoyed.

"Nani? But it sounds so much better this way!" Neommi cried.

"Eck, whatever."

---

She didn't really know how long it had been. But when the sight of Odaiba caught her eye, she began to laugh. "It's here!!! I'm alive!!! People!!!" Neommi yelled running towards the city. Just when her hopes were up, they shot right back down. "Ohayo?! Ohayo!!" Neommi called looking around. No one was in the city at all? Cars thrown everywhere, no shop owners outside, no people on sidewalks, not even a commonly dog doing his business! The whole city was cleaned out, Neommi couldn't accept that. She ran through the street, tears streaming down her face. Could she really be the last one still here as well?

"No… No, it's not real. This is some crazy--Whoah!!" Neommi could barely finish her sentence as she tripped and fell to the ground. She could taste the disgusting asphalt as she scurried to her feet. She dusted her self off and wiped the tears away. She turned towards one of the windows of a toy store across the street. What she saw made her quiver. She quickly bolted over to the window to see if what she saw was true.

Neommi's eyes widened, her pupils half seen, her hands pressed up against the window. Any harder and the glass would give way. There, on a pedestal, was a stuffed white rabbit. This white rabbit was wearing a green bow that was mainly multi-colored. The bunny with the yellow eyes, the one and the same, Beanamon?! But, the thing that made Neommi cry was how, the little stuffed look-alike, was bleeding from the neck! It was smiling at Neommi while the blood dripped down her once pure white throat!!

'… Why, Neommi? Why did you kill me?' Neommi heard something, something in her mind!! If she stayed here looking at the bleeding stuffed animal any longer, she would puke!! Puke out her guts!!

"IIE!!!!!!!!" Neommi yelled running away. "HELP ME!!!!!!!" Neommi shouted and the first thing she knew, she found her self in her cousin's apartment…

---

"That's basically it, that's when I found you Iris…" Neommi said sipping her hot chocolate with her hand under her chin as if she were like a detective.. Iris stared at Neommi dumbfoundly.

"You saw a stuffed animal bleeding?" Iris said confused.

"Hai!!" Neommi said shooting up from her seat. "It looked so much like Beanamon! Right down to the last detail! Eghuu—" Neommi shouted running into the bathroom feeling as if she were going to vomit from remembering the stuffed animal.

Iris just sat there, sipping her drink. She got up and followed her cousin. She found Neommi looking at the sky. Iris placed her hand on Neommi's shoulder; they both shared looks with each other.

"It's strange, how me and you are the only ones left…" Neommi said shaking.

"Maybe it's the fact we're digidestined?" Iris said coolly.

"No, maybe it's because, we have a purpose! Something more than just being a digidestined. Something more than just being just real… If it were because we were digidestined, then everyone would be here, the whole team!" Neommi cried.

Iris didn't know what to say. Was Neommi right? What did she mean by just being real? She was right about one thing, the rest would have been here if it were for the fact they were digidestined… Taichi, Yamato, Takeru… All of them would have been there. Neommi's sobs broke through Iris' train of thought. What could Iris do to comfort her cousin? Did she really have to? She didn't like showing her sympathy towards others, but Neommi liked when she did. Why was it that Neommi could bring out a different Iris?

Iris sighed. "Don't cry anymore." Iris hugged her.

It was only 11:05am when Neommi surrendered her self to resting on Iris's couch. Neommi had done all of Iris chores and was now ready to take a quick nap. Iris on the other hand, was sitting at the kitchen table again with the cordless phone in her hand.

She began to dial a number and waited for a response. Nothing but a busy signal. "Okay... Jyou." She hit the receiver and waited for the dial tone. Iris flipped through the phone book and dialed another number but got the same signal. "Koushiro..." she proceeded with the sequence once again. "Mimi." Once again. "Yamato." And again. "Takeru." And again... "Taichi... Hikari."

Iris swept the phone book from off the table with her arm and slammed the phone so hard on the table that it cracked at the sides. "Damn... Neommi's theory was correct... We must be meant for something more..."

She thumped her forehead down on the table. 'Neommi said she saw a green blur of something small from her last memory on the sub car? But she said she made that part up? What if she didn't but believes she did… If she really did saw it, it must've been the chameleon?!' Iris figured as she shot up from her seat. 'No, it's impossible, that Chameleon is too small and not even a bit capable of making the sub car speed up, Neommi said it her self that the lever was too heavy to pull… It couldn't have gotten all the way there anyway, it was here in Odaiba last night… here at my house?' Iris thought pacing the kitchen floor. The clock was now 11:10am but Iris was too lost in her thoughts to notice.

Neommi's eyes shifted open once the sound of static came from the television set. Neommi sat up and watched as an image faded in.

"Iris? Iris!!" the image became more clear to Neommi. It was Giuramon!

"Iris!!" Neommi shouted as Iris ran into the living room. "Iris look!! Giuramon's on T.v.!" Neommi said amazed.

"Giuramon!! There's so much I have to tell you! Look, Neommi will be coming with me to save the digital world." Iris said as she knelt down and placed her fingers on the television.

"NANI?" Neommi and Giuramon gasped in unison.

"Both of us can help save the digiworld!! We're ready when you are! Where's the portal?" Iris said triumphantly.

"What port—Oh! Well, um, it can only take one person at a time." Giuramon said as her feathered ears twitched. "So Iris, you should be the first to come. And Neommi should just stay here for the time being." Giuramon said as the static began to take over again.

"No way, I won't let Neommi stay here alone." Iris said confused.

"Gomen… But there will have to be a little bit more time, the energy is relinquishing from the gateway. If only you had your digivice." Giuramon said angrily.

"Hold on a sec." Iris said about to run to her room but Neommi stopped her. Neommi reached in her pocket and took something out. Her digivice.

"Here, all the energy you need." Neommi said as she held hers to the screen.

"Nani.." Giuramon gasped as the energy from it glowed. Most of it was being drawn into the television set to Giuramon. Suddenly, a white void appeared to the side of the television set.

"Is that the portal?" Neommi said confused.

"Uh… hai." Giuramon trailed off, "Quick Iris, go get your digivice now! We'll need its power until you two get here." Iris did as she was told, but Iris couldn't figure out why Giuramon said 'we'? Foxiemon and Tsukimon were, well, deceased. Iris was back in a flash as she held her digivice up in the air.

"Got it!" Iris said jogging towards the portal.

"Quick now! Iris, you first." Giuramon said as a wicked smirk crossed her face as her eyes grew dark.

"Giuramon?" Iris asked a little suspicious.

"Hurry Iris." Neommi said not looking at the television set.

"Si.." Iris said walking towards it, but suddenly, something swiped the digivice from her hand! The chameleon was scurrying away with Iris's digivice clenched in his mouth. "Hey!!" Iris yelled as her fists tightened.

"Hugh!! Iris, get your digivice now!" Giuramon shouted. Iris was chasing all over the apartment after the green reptile. It slithered its self into an air vent and vanished.

"Oh No!" Iris shrieked as she tore the vent apart and began to squeeze through it.

"Iris, don't!" Neommi said looking into the air vent. How could something as big as a chameleon, go right through the slits of the air vent?

"This air vent goes straight to the ground-floor entrance, we gotta out run this thing!" Iris shouted, sliding out of the air vent and to her front door, slinging it open.

"But what if it turns around?" Neommi questioned.

"I have a feeling… That it'll be waiting for us…" Iris said disappearing into the hallway.

"Iris! Chotto matte!" Neommi screamed about to run after her but Giuramon yelled something first.

"Neommi!! You have until twelve this afternoon!! The portal can't stay up this long hurry back." Giuramon said as the image on the screen disappeared, leaving the void of a black screen once again.

"Neommi, turn off the boiling water!!" Iris ran back to the front door and almost slid on the floor as she shouted her command before she resumed her pursuit of the reptile. Neommi quickly ran into the kitchen and turned off the pot. Her eyes on the other hand caught a glimpse of the memo Iris's mother had for her daughter to do today. She quickly skimmed the note. Took it off the refrigerator. And ran out of the apartment.

Once Neommi got to the bottom of the apartment, Iris was already long gone down the road. Neommi had to catch up and fast, to warn Iris about the time limit on the portal. It only took her a few minutes until she found Iris raiding a local grocery store. Neommi ran in amazed as Iris was shifting through milk and juice cartons.

"Iris…" Neommi admonished.

"Hey! Stop standing there, help me find that little thief!" Iris shouted throwing the milk jugs on the floor. As they broke, Neommi looked at the cash register to the left.

"Iris, you're going to have pay for that…" Neommi said warning Iris. "And you have some things your Kaa-san wants you to pick up today…" Neommi said placing a hand on Iris's shoulder.

Iris jumped up and shoved Neommi's hand away. "My digivice is missing, the whole world's civilization has vanished, and you're worried about paying for broken products and doin' chores!" Iris yelled. Neommi backed away. Iris's eyes peered at her cousin, glaring at her. Neommi's eyes began to well up, but no tears fell. Iris quickly grew a pointless expression and walked off down another isle.

"Iris? Matte!" Neommi said running after her. To her surprise, Iris was taking wasabi and curry powder from the racks.

"Neommi… Could you go get some milk, one of the ones I didn't break, and some eggs…" Iris murmured. Neommi was so surprised to see how Iris changed her expression so quickly that she couldn't move. "Now would be a good time…" Neommi did as she was told. Just when Neommi was heading back towards Iris, she was already at the counter; taking candy bars!

"Iris? What are you doing?" Neommi nagged. Neommi noticed that Iris had a bag full of junk food and what looked like liquor! "Iris, you can't just take that! And that! That's a terrible thing to do! Alcohol is taboo for you!" Neommi said.

"Why can't I? No one's around, no one will know." Iris said slyly taking the eggs and milk and putting them into the bag. The old Iris came back. "Live on the wild side Neommi." Iris said walking out the door.

Neommi just stood there for a second. "Iris! Alcohol is still wrong!" Iris turned towards her cousin. Neommi was speechless.

"It isn't alcohol, it's the new containers energy drinks come in now, calm down." Iris walked out of the store. Neommi turned towards the cash register again. She reached in her pocket and left something on the counter. As she ran out the store, a 20,0 piece was left deserted on the counter.

"Iris, we've been everywhere around town, it's twenty minutes to twelve. We should get home…" Neommi said in boredom and stopped for a minute.

"Why? We have all day to find this thing." Iris said walking onward, the bags in her hand bouncing around as she walked. "I say we take the day off, do things we never got to do, like skateboarding in school. Or going into one of those gentleman's clubs, I don't see why guys flock around them so much, there must be something good in those kind of organizations. Like endless physical activites and sorts."

"Um, there's a problem… We have until twelve." Neommi murmured.

"What!"

"The portal has a time limit, it'll only stays up till twelve." Neommi said as she hung her head down.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Iris yelled. "This isn't gonna work! That damn chameleon has got away with my digivice!! What do ya think will happen now?! My digimon, well what's left of them, can't digivolve! I'm useless!!" Iris yelled flopping on a bench, the bags falling to the ground beside her.

"Gomen… I should've told you sooner." Neommi said sadly as she was about to walk back to Iris's apartment.

"Damn straigh—huh?" Iris gasped as Neommi was about to walk right pass the chameleon that was just sitting on a nearby postbox. "Neommi!" Iris tried to say softly but it came out really loud. Neommi turned around to see it looking right at her. Neommi was about to scream when Iris made a hand sign. It seemed to be saying: 'Don't yell, distract it.' Well, that's all Neommi could see from the waving arms and jumping up and down. Neommi just stood there looking at it and smiling, while Iris, was creeping up behind it.

The chameleon just stared at Neommi, like he did with Iris last night. The digivice was clamped in its mouth. Iris suddenly leaped forward and finally grabbed hold of the lizard. Expecting the digivice to still be in its mouth, it fell into the mailbox.

"Neommi! Get it!" Iris said as she stared angrily at the chameleon.

"HAI!" Neommi yelled as her whole upper body dove into the mailbox.

"You know, you caused a lot of trouble, I should—Hugh?" Iris cut herself off once she saw the chameleon looking dead at her. Not with those pure white eyes, but now with eyes of red. "What the—" Iris wheezed as the lizard's entire body began to seem hot. Iris couldn't put it down for some reason, it burned her hand! Any longer and her bones would be shown from the skin that would burn away. "NO!!" Iris shrieked in a panic as the lizard began to shock her instead of burning her. "AHHH!!!!" Iris shouted as she clenched her eyes closed. Her hands finally felt free, but the shocking persuaded. She fell to the ground as Neommi still couldn't hear a thing since she was still shifting through the sea of mail deep down in the mailbox. Iris could hear her self screaming as the crackle and snaps were heard through out her body. How much longer will it be until it happens, until she goes too. She wanted to kill her self because no one else was there for her. But Neommi was there and she didn't want to die anymore, she wanted to stay with Neommi. She wanted to fight whatever evil this chameleon was spawned from. But that wish will go unachieved. She will join her friends, her family, who were gone as well. She couldn't protect Neommi.

And then it was dark...

"Hey Iris, I found it! Some how it got to the bottom of the mailbox." Neommi laughed as she jumped out of the mailbox. "I also found a letter I sent you a year ag—HUH?" Neommi gasped as Iris was lying there motionless. She dropped the letter and the digivice. Iris had black smudges around her cheeks and tarnished clothing. "Iris? Iris!" Neommi yelled running by her cousin and falling to the floor. "Oh Iris, please don't be—" Neommi said arching Iris up forward as she began to cry. "Iris, please wake up." Neommi said as the chameleon scurried off from beside them. Neommi looked at it for a second and diverted her attention back to her cousin. "Iris listen, you can't leave yet! We just started out, I can't go back to the digiworld alone! You have to help me! Iris!!!! I can't go on then… don't leave me… HELP! Someone! PLEASE! IRIS!" Neommi heard her self scream out into the deserted city of Odaiba as she began to cry, cry even harder than she had ever cried before. Iris couldn't be gone, not for good.