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AoM: Here's another story that I wanted to post. This one seemed to be on my mind a lot during these past two weeks, so I decided, hey, why not type whatever I had in my mind?
Henry: You seem to keep putting your fics on hold for a while only to end up writing another story.
AoM: Yeah I know; that and having to deal with school all the time. They never seem to give me time to update them. Anyways this fic mainly revolves on Takato's depression and how he fixes it along with the others and has somewhat an important meaning to me. For what reason, I don't know. I was actually depressed when I started writing this. I do not own digimon as most people know. If I did, I wouldn't be here in the first place. Tell me what you think of it by reviewing.
:::: As for my other fic 'To Earn Your Trust', I'll have chapter six up probably this week depending on how much work my goddamn teachers give me. (Sigh) Only a few more months till I graduate, then I'll have all the free time I can get. ::::
NOTE: "I don't know whether to make this a one shot or a small epic. I'll let you decide."
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Thoughts italics
Actions ( )
Dialogue " "
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In the Wake of Sakuras
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Chapter 1 It Starts with a Seed
"I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Like is any of this for real…or not?"–Sora: Kingdom Hearts
There were many things that could bring sadness to a child's face. Two of them, whether it had to do with something that was lost and never found, or the fact that you were forced to give up something you cherished as a part of your life.
Takato Matsuki sighed as he sauntered down the sidewalk on a chilly afternoon. School was finish for the day so there was nothing to do but head for home. It was nearing the end of winter as the ice and snow melted on the ground with each passing step he made; both hands in his pocket. Spring would be here soon, but even that wasn't enough to cheer up our favorite goggle-head.
"Two years," He sighed out loud.
It had been a long while since the defeat of the D-Reaper. The destruction was moderate, nothing that people would mainly complain about. Everything was back to normal. After the small event, the digimon were forced back into the digital world, something that terribly left a mark in the Tamer's lives.
School was something he wished he didn't want to come to. There were many kids there he didn't recognize before. All of a sudden, he was noticed by a lot. They either just confronted him to start a conversation about pointless things, or just waved a "hello" to him when passing down the school halls. It was somewhat strange in a way and slightly uncomfortable that one event such as the D-Reaper would give you this much attention.
"I wonder what the others have been doing now." He wondered.
Kazu and Kenta were the same as always. They continued to play the digimon card game, though now it just seemed less interesting than it had been after their partners were gone. He just lost contact with them after a few weeks. It just didn't appeal to Takato anymore, but he still carried his D-Arc and cards as a memento of some sort.
Guilmon.
It was a really long while since he saw his face. His innocent childish eyes, those naïve questions he would shoot off when he was confused, and all the bread he ate in the Bakery. Takato had to smile at the thought. But that was just a thing in the past now. He was gone. Forever? He didn't know. He wanted to see him again.
Guilmon leaving was like a part of him just fading away. He felt empty, like he was missing a piece to a jigsaw puzzle. Everything just seemed pointless now. Life seemed pointless. What was even more disturbing about it was the fact that he actually considered dying right now. It wasn't something that would just suddenly pop into your mind. He became more and more depressed just thinking about it. Even more so that it wasn't just him.
He managed to see Henry once in a while during school, but that was it. Henry usually focused more on his studies probably as an excuse to keep himself locked away at home. It seemed that without the digimon biomerging into the world and such, they drifted further away from each other. It was then he realized that it was the digimon that kept them together all this time. But he didn't want that.
Takato looked up, walking as he found himself moving into the park. He frowned.
"So many memories here," he thought. "Hard to believe that everything that happened was real. But now...it's like it never happened before."
It wasn't fair. Everything he had hoped for was disappearing. Having his very own digimon, going on adventures, meeting new friends. It was all fading. It was like some dream that you suddenly wake up from.
"Is that it? Was this all some big illusion?"
For some reason he didn't feel like going home right now. He needed to go somewhere…away from this place, away from everything. Nothing ever went his way, he simply thought. He sighed as he felt traces of tears falling down his face. Feeling the slight chill on his face the crying gave him, he wiped it away with his forearm. With a start, Takato stopped walking and stood in front of a small, familiar, closed off structure. He knew it too well as the markings on the small building proved it.
They were drawings in white chalk of Guilmon and the other digimon spread throughout the entire wall. Takato made a motion to touch it, but thought better not to smudge them. Terriermon, Renamon, Monodromon, Gaurdromon, MarineAngemon, Calumon and even Impmon were all drawn side by side in different shapes and sizes. But there was one missing digimon though that suddenly popped into his mind.
Jeri's Leomon.
"… I wonder how Jeri's doing?"
Unlike Henry, Kazu and Kenta, he hardly had seen Jeri for the longest. Even at school, there were many times he didn't see her. Come to think of it, he never noticed her at all. Does she still even go to the same school? If not, what is she doing now? The more questions Takato asked himself, the more ashamed he became. He needed to see her.
With a new destination in mind, he walked down the steps.
"I've practically known her my whole life. Why is it now that we never see each other again? I could have looked for her, asked how she was doing. I mean, what kind of friend am I?!"
He couldn't take any of this. Takato shut his eyes, forcing himself to control the tears that flowed freely off his face. He didn't care anymore if it was cold. He wanted it the way it was before. He wanted Guilmon back. He clenched his fists.
"Why is this happening to me?!" he yelled.
"Sorry, but that's something you have to figure out yourself."
Takato blinked in surprise. He wasn't expecting someone to answer his question. He turned around coming face to face with another boy his age. "No," Takato thought. He looked a bit older, probably around a year or so. He had brown hair which stood up to the side. His right hand was on his hip while the other was dangling on the side; he was looking back at him, smiling. If anything the way he just stood there, he almost looked cocky.
It couldn't be…
"Ryo?"
Akiyama beamed. "The one and only."
Takato was left speechless for a while. Of course he hadn't seen Ryo in almost two years, though he hardly knew him that well. It was still nice to see a familiar face even if it was a long time. He was still somewhat a mystery to Matsuki, but he wasn't about to speak his mind about him.
And he wasn't going to ask where Ryo got that strange bruise on his face neither. Not yet anyways.
"Ryo! Hey, it's been a while. What have you been doing?"
"Ehh…nothing much, everything's been so…normal."
Takato sighed, knowing what he meant. I guess Ryo missed those times with the digimon as well.
Well duh Einstein, what did you expect?
Takato rolled his eyes, ignoring his subconscious sarcasm.
"Yeah…I guess so."
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Takato and Ryo started walking out of the park, looking ahead. The sun was almost setting, and it got colder when it began to snow somewhat, but not a lot. Takato tightened his arms around his jacket, preventing any heat from escaping. They remained silent for a while, only gazing at the snowflakes that fell.
"You miss him, don't you?"
Takato snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at him.
"Yeah I do. Too much. I've always thought that I would see him again, but now…I just don't know."
"Hmm. It's strange though, everything that happened, what we've gone through…it was like a dream. I always wondered what Monodromon was doing now in the digital world. I mean, we've been there together for months, but I never thought I'd be back here again."
Takato perked up at this. He did remember on the news that day that Akiyama disappeared. It was right after the Digimon Tournament. As always, curiosity got the better of him.
"What happened back then? You were gone for so long, people actually thought you died. All of us did."
Ryo sweat dropped at that. "Yeah…well, I had my reasons for not staying here. Besides, I thought it would be more fun being in the digital world. Shame though, I could have stayed, but…ah I don't know. I guess I was an adventurous type back then. Still…it's nice to be home."
Well part of it was true…just that it wasn't the real reason he left to the Digital World, but Ryo didn't want Takato to know that. It wasn't that he didn't trust him, he just hasn't told anyone why he left, and he wasn't going to start now.
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Streetlights illuminated the area, but it wasn't strong enough to ease the fear of the lurking shadows of his mind. Takato yawned, tasting the bitter cold wind. To ignore his subconscious torture, he turned to look at Akiyama, who had been quite quiet for the past fifteen minutes. It was then that Matsuki asked a question that took him by surprise.
"Hey Ryo?"
"Hmm?"
"Have you ever had a sudden thought about dying?"
Ryo keeled over down the curb of the sidewalk. Takato raised his eyebrows at him on the floor as Ryo rubbed his head from the fall. Ryo grinned.
"Too many times to count in fact. I can't really say what got me to thinking of something like that; I guess it could be a phase we're all going through. Of course I never mention it to anybody. Who knows what they might think about you."
"Yeah, it's weird though that all of a sudden people walk up to you and act as if they knew you for so long after the D-Reaper. There was this one crazy guy who thought I was related to him!"
"Ha! You mean you get that too! I thought I wasn't the only one!"
They both shared a laugh at it for a while before calming down. Getting up and dusting himself off, Ryo slowly walked down the sidewalk along with Takato.
"I better get going. Ever since we came back my parents have been running me down to stay in the house. Jeez, can you believe they gave me a curfew?!" he groaned.
Takato smiled.
"Oh well…anyways I'll be seein ya."
"Yeah…uh wait Ryo? Something's been bugging me for a while."
Ryo stopped walking and turned to Takato. "Oh?"
"Yeah." Takato pointed at him, more so at his head. "What happened to your face? You look like you got slapped from somebody."
"Huh?" Ryo unconsciously moved hand to touch his cheek. Indeed there was a strange red hand mark printed on his right cheek. He almost flinched when he poked at it. He smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
"Oh…that. Ehh, I ran into Rika two hours ago today and well uhhh…you could say I kinda got on her bad side."
"……"
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Takato shook his head. "Ryo sometimes I wonder."
"What?!" he pouted.
Takato smiled and waved. "Nothing…See ya."
He walked off while Ryo was left to ponder about it…only to sigh. He decided he'd better go home. It was getting colder by the minute and he didn't want to freeze his butt off in this weather.
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Takato walked down the less busy streets of Shinjuku at a quick pace, nearing his destination, his thoughts going back to Ryo. It was strange seeing him in a way. Not only that, but awkward as well. Usually Ryo was never around unless you needed him, in Takato's opinion. That or he just pops up out of nowhere for a while then disappears. I mean when was the last time that he and Takato ever sat down and talked? Hardly.
"Come to think of it, when was the last time any of us had ever talked?"
It was true they haven't seen each other for a long time, but that didn't mean they couldn't stop by and chat or a least say a hello. Takato stopped walking as he noticed he made it in front of a house. It was actually more closely related to an apartment if you saw these homes connected together. They were all bunched up in a neat row like some monopoly game…or maybe dominoes. Takato shook off his thoughts and walked up the stairs standing in front of Jeri's door. But there was one thing he couldn't shake off.
For some strange reason Takato was nervous. He didn't know why but his mind kept telling him that coming here was not a good choice right now.
"What am I so nervous about?" he thought. "I'm only seeing Jeri. So why do I feel like this?"
Takato tried to shake away the feeling he was having, determined to see how Jeri was doing. He made a motion to knock on the door. His fist froze at the tip of the door. Then one of the most bizarre things happened to Takato that he never thought possible.
He didn't want to see her anymore.
It was weird. I mean he came all this way just to see her! But he couldn't. He didn't want to. What was wrong with him? Just a simple "hello" or "how are you doing." But he couldn't even do that. Takato cursed as he ruffled his hair in frustration.
"Argh!! What the hell is wrong with me-?!!"
"Will you hold on Shiru? I think someone is at the door."
"Eeep…"
Takato clamped both of his hands on his mouth in surprise. Someone was coming. He couldn't see her, he didn't want to see her. Not now! He could hear faint steps drawing closer to the door. He had to act fast.
"Damn, what do I do what do I do?!" He panicked.
He couldn't run now. If he did, he would be spotted for sure. Takato gulped as a few clicking sounds were heard before the doorknob slowly turned and the door opened.
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"Will you hold on Shiru? I think someone is at the door."
"Okay Jerwi!"
Jeri Katou sighed as she headed for the door. A while back she was playing with her little brother when she heard someone outside. She didn't know whether they were yelling or were just calling someone to open the door. It was strange that they didn't even bother to let them know they were at the door. These days it was much simpler to just knock.
Jeri stood in front of the door and looked through the peephole. It was somewhat hard to look through the thing, and she couldn't make out the figure standing outside. Whoever they are, they're standing too close to the door. But she did notice something. On top of the person's head was a pair of bright yellow…goggles?!! Jeri gasped.
Only one person would wear something like that…
Jeri quickly tried opening the door, cursing for having so many locks. She sighed in relief when she reached the last one and swiftly opened the door to see…
Nothing.
Jeri blinked in surprise.
"What?"
Jeri stepped outside the house on the steps as she looked around. She could have sworn somebody was standing in front of the door. There wasn't anybody else on the sidewalk or on the street except maybe for a few parked cars. Jeri scratched her head in confusion. She knew somebody was there. If anything it could have been…
"Takato?"
"…"
"Hmm…I must be seeing things." With a sigh, Jeri walked back up the steps feeling the winter chill crawling up her skin, but not before taking one last glance and walking back inside. Believe or not, she wasn't seeing things.
Takato let out a large sigh as he let his back off against the wall right on the side of the steps.
"That was too close."
Indeed it was. It was still strange to him that he didn't want to see her. He was still so nervous. His heart was beating so fast that he actually started panting. Takato stood there for a while trying to calm himself down.
"What the hell is wrong with me?" he muttered.
Takato shot another glance at the door before quickly running down the sidewalk in case he was spotted again.
"I'm sorry Jeri."
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Unknown to Takato, a small glowing figure watched the scene unfold before him in sheer curiosity. With its large bright beady glowing eyes, it stared down at the goggle-head as he hid behind the side of the steps. The strange creature looked on when a girl came out the door stepping outside.
To it, it looked like the strange human in green was looking for something, or so it thought. The glowing creature continued to watch shaking off the strange white phenomenon called snow. As Jeri went back inside, Takato let out a sigh of relief. Little sparkles of light followed by a light jingle, the creature giggled at the sight thinking that they were playing a game. It immediately stopped when it noticed Takato burst into a run.
Curiosity again got the best of it again. Another light jingle was heard as it soon started floating off after him. The creature giggled again as it thought the human he was following was playing another game. The light jingle heard from the creature was a strange looking metal string that hung around its neck. Right at the tip was a pendant with a familiar looking symbol. But it was far more than some metal string.
It was a Keychain.
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AoM: Well that's about it folks. Sorry it is so short, but I can't seem to balance my time with the schoolwork and these fics. 'To Earn Your Trust' may be updated this week depending on my spare time from school, not to mention nervously waiting for my acceptance into a University or College. Hopefully though I'll come back to this and make it longer before updating another chapter. Oh and I've finally decided how this fic will go. This will definitely be one my favorite epic fics (Second to Earn your Trust) that you may find surprising when I update it more and a sequel!!
Read and Review!!
Next Chapter: It Begins to Show
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