Chapter 13 - Coming Together
MarineDevimon leered down at me, then shot into the air as the ground below him exploded, twin black beams shooting out. He exploded into data in mid air, and BlackWarGrowlmon rose out of the rubble. I smiled.
"Good job boy."
"Thanks Takatomon!"
"Dedigivolve to BlackGrowlmon, and let's get ready to get out of here boy."
He did as I asked, and we prepared to leave. He crouched down and picked up the ice pillar Gatomon was trapped in, and I climbed onto his back, Kari positioned in front of me. I drew three cards.
DIGI-MODIFY! Recharge Activate! Aero Wing Activate! Hyper Speed Activate!
BlackGrowlmon gave out a victory roar, and we shot off though the air like a rocket, back to Azulongmon's camp.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was sunset when we came back to Azulongmon's valley. Biyomon had recovered physically, but she had secluded herself in a shallow cave and wouldn't speak to anyone. I had wanted to push on and go after Sora, but I knew that the others were beat and needed to recover. Izzy was acting funny- even for him.
Something's up with him, but I'll figure it out later. I've got enough on my mind.
Which was true enough. I sent them all home, and waited there with Azulongmon, for Takato and Kari to show up. It had been a long day, and I wanted something to show for it.
Please let her be okay…
I heard a noise behind me and spun around. TK walked out of the brush.
"I couldn't concentrate on anything else, so I thought I'd come back here."
I nodded. No one really knew what I was going through, but TK was probably the closest to understanding. I couldn't get Sora out of my head, I knew that she was my friend, but I wanted more from the relationship.
She never seemed interested though. Not in me anyways.
I thought back to the concert that was interrupted. I had known then that she was interested in Matt, but even after that never happened she never expressed any interest in me.
Though Agumon and I did receive a really big plate of cookies for Christmas that year.
That thought turned my mind to a lighter mood as I looked out at the setting sun. I smiled, remembering Sora's laugh, and the way she hummed as she combed her hair, even back when we were still traveling through the digital world as kids. The knowledge of where she was now brought a tear to my eye, and I wiped it quickly away.
And Kari's missing too. I'm just glad someone is out there after her. Bet TK still wished he were out there.
I glanced over at the young man in question and grimaced.
Poor guy. He's certainly not taking this well.
I suppressed the very large 'big brother instinct' running through my viens. As much as I didn't like the idea of Kari dating, TK was a good choice for her. At least I knew I could trust him.
"TK?"
He snapped out of his private, and probably very remorseful, thoughts and looked at me.
"Yeah Tai?"
"How are things with you and Kari these days?"
I winced internally at the question, but I needed to ask, just to get his mind off the current situation if nothing else. He smiled a bit, no doubt remembering Kari and not her predicament for the moment and answered.
"Great… She's perfect… everything a guy could want. Her voice is like music, and she's funny when she wants to be…"
I arched an eyebrow at his description.
Some one sounds a little obsessed…
I was trying to look at this objectively, but some of that protective instinct was still there. I buried it once more.
You don't see it because you're her brother Tai, but she's beautiful, cute, and hot at the same time. When she walks I can't keep my eyes off her…"
I decided enough was enough, and that for my sanity's sake, as well as TK's health, I should leave well enough alone.
"Ok. TK, you're a friend, and you're almost as much my little brother as you are Matt's, but if you ever talk about Kari like that in my presence again…"
I trailed off, searching for the right words.
"…well, I won't be happy, that's certain."
TK looked a little nervous.
"Sorry, Tai, won't happen again."
I waved away the apology.
"It's okay, I should have known what I was getting into when I asked the question. Let's just leave it."
Tk nodded, then his expression changed to something a little uncertain, and he pointed at something.
"Tai, what's that?"
I looked out into the North and sighed in relief. I grinned at TK.
"BlackGrowlmon…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I groaned as I woke up. I was lying on something soft and there was a definite sensation of movement.
"Glad you're up. I was starting to get a little worried."
I jolted at the voice behind me a tipped for a second before a black-gloved hand caught my arm, gently pulling me upright.
"Careful, Tai and TK would never forgive me if I let you fall."
I turned to see Takato's smiling face. He continued.
"We're almost back to Azulongmon's valley. It won't be long now."
"Where's Gatomon?"
He smiled some more, and I almost couldn't believe that this was the same person who was staring down IceDevimon in the cave.
"BlackGrowlmon's carrying her in his arms. The ice melted in the desert, but she hasn't woken up yet."
I looked down at the inky black neck below me and realized we were riding on his digimon.
BlackGrowlmon's hair is surprisingly soft…
"What happened to IceDevimon?"
"Deleted. Gone. Hopefully for good this time."
"This time?"
"He kidnapped a friend of mine before I came here. I thought I deleted him then…"
Takato chucked then.
"Maybe the partial deletion was what scrambled his marbles like that. He was certainly raving more than he used to."
So that was it. Revenge…
"Revenge isn't always a good thing Takato…"
His face changed from lightly amused to a pale, haunted expression.
"I know. Believe me, I know."
"KARI!!!"
I looked down and smiled, despite my fatigue and the fact that I felt horrible.
"Tai! TK!"
"Let us down BlackGrowlmon."
He nodded and kneeled, making it a very short drop to the ground. I slid off and into TK's waiting arms. He kissed me, and Tai cleared his throat. TK blushed.
"Sorry Tai."
Takato hit the ground with a thud behind me, and TK stood me on my feet. BlackGrowlmon laid the still unconscious Gatomon on the ground, and I rushed to her side.
"Wake up Gatomon, wake up…"
I shook her gently, and she opened one eye a little lazily.
"Can't I sleep some more?"
I laughed and clutched her to me. I laid her back down and stood up as BlackGrowlmon dedigivolved to BlackGuilmon. I walked over to where Tk, Tai, and Takato stood talking and slid my arm around TK's waist.
"…completely off his rocker- even more than he was before. You have any luck?"
Tai's appearance took on a grim cast.
"Not much, just that the fortress she's kept in flies."
Takato grimaced as well.
"That can't be good. It's a lot of effort to track something flying."
I got a sinking feeling. I whispered to TK.
"Who's 'she'?"
TK's fists clenched and his eyes closed tightly.
"Sora…"
I gasped.
No wonder Takato came alone. Everyone one else was searching for Sora… At least they knew where I was…
I cast my eyes down.
"Poor Sora…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I lay on my bed, mind running a million miles a minute, panicking.
Why did I say yes? I have the room to let Mimi move in, but why was I bone headed enough to say yes? This is not the smartest thing I've ever done. In fact it's one of the stupidest. Mimi's my friend, but I keep thinking about it the wrong way!
I got up off of my bed and checked my mail. There was one there from Mimi.
Hi Izzy!
In the confusion today, I completely forgot to tell you. I'm coming in on Sunday; I'll mail the flight information later. I'm really looking forward to being in Japan again. I'll get to hang out with you guys much more often! I'm just glad I got a place to stay. I would have hated to have gone to a hotel for those first few nights until I find a place. Housing in Japan is really hard to find compared to here, especially when you have to do it from overseas. Say hi to the gang for me!
Your friend,
Mimi
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Mimi's coming, but is that good or bad?
I sighed. That question was a moot issue, because it was happening now whether I liked it or not. I got up and went to the second bedroom of the apartment. It was a mess. I sighed again and decided to leave it for tomorrow. It was the beginning of the week after all. It would hold another day of two. I reheated some of the pasta Takato had made for the last tutoring session and sat down to think.
What exactly have I been feeling lately?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We kept looking for the flying fortress over the next few days. I set Grani on it as soon as we got back the next day. But no matter how hard we tried we could never seem to find it.
Tai took over Sora's position at the flower shop in addition to his other job and searching for Sora. No one laughed or teased him, we all knew why; but we did occasionally try to get him to slow down, he was pushing himself to hard. But in the end, Tai's will prevailed, and we went on with our daily lives when we weren't searching either. And so it was I found myself outside Koushiro Izumi's apartment that Wednesday.
I rang the doorbell, dish in hand. I had made Izzy some baked pork chops, and I was eager to learn. Especially math. My algebra 2 class was kicking my butt, and my work left something to be desired. Izzy answered the door with his usual grin at the sight of food, and ushered me in.
An hour or two later, pretty sure I had this 'quadratic' thing down, Izzy and I munched on the pork chops I had made and talked a little. Izzy looked a little nervous then asked a question.
"Takato, can I ask you for a favor?"
I blinked.
Izzy wants my help?
"Sure, what is it?"
He sighed.
"Mimi is coming back to Japan, and she'll be staying here until she gets her own place. Can you help me clean out the spare room?"
I grinned, wondering how Kazu and Kenta would react.
They would probably collapse and flop around like fresh caught fish.
"Sure, I'd love to help. It would go a long way towards paying you back."
"You do a lot of cooking that I don't have time for, Takato."
"Yeah, but it doesn't seem like too much effort on my part. Besides, debts between friends are not truly debts."
He looked at me as he opened the door to the spare room.
"That's pretty profound for you Takato…"
I grinned as I entered behind him.
"I know. I read it some place. But that doesn't mean it's not true."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was much later, and I was laying back in my bed, thinking about what had happened earlier that week.
I failed…
I sighed.
Rika wouldn't have failed. She doesn't like people who fail…
In the darkness, I smiled a grim smile devoid of any humor. When we tracked down the idiots who kidnapped her, I would not fail again.
ChaosGallantmon would not fail.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The door to my cell opened, but Mummymon was not outside. Datamon was, floating on that stupid flying control panel of his. He grinned at me. His usual leering grin.
"I thought you might like to see my handy work…"
I spit at him again.
"No thanks you freak."
He just kept grinning.
"I knew you would…"
He pressed a button on his floating console, and the floor of my cell opened. I fell through. I hit the ground with a hard thump, a small tinkle hitting the ground beside me. I grabbed at it, my hairclip, and put it in my hair so I wouldn't lose it again. I heard a couple of small splats and grimaced at the smell.
Yuck.
I got to my feet and looked around, my face slowly converting to horror as I looked. The room was absolutely huge, and there were copies of me everywhere…
MarineDevimon leered down at me, then shot into the air as the ground below him exploded, twin black beams shooting out. He exploded into data in mid air, and BlackWarGrowlmon rose out of the rubble. I smiled.
"Good job boy."
"Thanks Takatomon!"
"Dedigivolve to BlackGrowlmon, and let's get ready to get out of here boy."
He did as I asked, and we prepared to leave. He crouched down and picked up the ice pillar Gatomon was trapped in, and I climbed onto his back, Kari positioned in front of me. I drew three cards.
DIGI-MODIFY! Recharge Activate! Aero Wing Activate! Hyper Speed Activate!
BlackGrowlmon gave out a victory roar, and we shot off though the air like a rocket, back to Azulongmon's camp.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was sunset when we came back to Azulongmon's valley. Biyomon had recovered physically, but she had secluded herself in a shallow cave and wouldn't speak to anyone. I had wanted to push on and go after Sora, but I knew that the others were beat and needed to recover. Izzy was acting funny- even for him.
Something's up with him, but I'll figure it out later. I've got enough on my mind.
Which was true enough. I sent them all home, and waited there with Azulongmon, for Takato and Kari to show up. It had been a long day, and I wanted something to show for it.
Please let her be okay…
I heard a noise behind me and spun around. TK walked out of the brush.
"I couldn't concentrate on anything else, so I thought I'd come back here."
I nodded. No one really knew what I was going through, but TK was probably the closest to understanding. I couldn't get Sora out of my head, I knew that she was my friend, but I wanted more from the relationship.
She never seemed interested though. Not in me anyways.
I thought back to the concert that was interrupted. I had known then that she was interested in Matt, but even after that never happened she never expressed any interest in me.
Though Agumon and I did receive a really big plate of cookies for Christmas that year.
That thought turned my mind to a lighter mood as I looked out at the setting sun. I smiled, remembering Sora's laugh, and the way she hummed as she combed her hair, even back when we were still traveling through the digital world as kids. The knowledge of where she was now brought a tear to my eye, and I wiped it quickly away.
And Kari's missing too. I'm just glad someone is out there after her. Bet TK still wished he were out there.
I glanced over at the young man in question and grimaced.
Poor guy. He's certainly not taking this well.
I suppressed the very large 'big brother instinct' running through my viens. As much as I didn't like the idea of Kari dating, TK was a good choice for her. At least I knew I could trust him.
"TK?"
He snapped out of his private, and probably very remorseful, thoughts and looked at me.
"Yeah Tai?"
"How are things with you and Kari these days?"
I winced internally at the question, but I needed to ask, just to get his mind off the current situation if nothing else. He smiled a bit, no doubt remembering Kari and not her predicament for the moment and answered.
"Great… She's perfect… everything a guy could want. Her voice is like music, and she's funny when she wants to be…"
I arched an eyebrow at his description.
Some one sounds a little obsessed…
I was trying to look at this objectively, but some of that protective instinct was still there. I buried it once more.
You don't see it because you're her brother Tai, but she's beautiful, cute, and hot at the same time. When she walks I can't keep my eyes off her…"
I decided enough was enough, and that for my sanity's sake, as well as TK's health, I should leave well enough alone.
"Ok. TK, you're a friend, and you're almost as much my little brother as you are Matt's, but if you ever talk about Kari like that in my presence again…"
I trailed off, searching for the right words.
"…well, I won't be happy, that's certain."
TK looked a little nervous.
"Sorry, Tai, won't happen again."
I waved away the apology.
"It's okay, I should have known what I was getting into when I asked the question. Let's just leave it."
Tk nodded, then his expression changed to something a little uncertain, and he pointed at something.
"Tai, what's that?"
I looked out into the North and sighed in relief. I grinned at TK.
"BlackGrowlmon…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I groaned as I woke up. I was lying on something soft and there was a definite sensation of movement.
"Glad you're up. I was starting to get a little worried."
I jolted at the voice behind me a tipped for a second before a black-gloved hand caught my arm, gently pulling me upright.
"Careful, Tai and TK would never forgive me if I let you fall."
I turned to see Takato's smiling face. He continued.
"We're almost back to Azulongmon's valley. It won't be long now."
"Where's Gatomon?"
He smiled some more, and I almost couldn't believe that this was the same person who was staring down IceDevimon in the cave.
"BlackGrowlmon's carrying her in his arms. The ice melted in the desert, but she hasn't woken up yet."
I looked down at the inky black neck below me and realized we were riding on his digimon.
BlackGrowlmon's hair is surprisingly soft…
"What happened to IceDevimon?"
"Deleted. Gone. Hopefully for good this time."
"This time?"
"He kidnapped a friend of mine before I came here. I thought I deleted him then…"
Takato chucked then.
"Maybe the partial deletion was what scrambled his marbles like that. He was certainly raving more than he used to."
So that was it. Revenge…
"Revenge isn't always a good thing Takato…"
His face changed from lightly amused to a pale, haunted expression.
"I know. Believe me, I know."
"KARI!!!"
I looked down and smiled, despite my fatigue and the fact that I felt horrible.
"Tai! TK!"
"Let us down BlackGrowlmon."
He nodded and kneeled, making it a very short drop to the ground. I slid off and into TK's waiting arms. He kissed me, and Tai cleared his throat. TK blushed.
"Sorry Tai."
Takato hit the ground with a thud behind me, and TK stood me on my feet. BlackGrowlmon laid the still unconscious Gatomon on the ground, and I rushed to her side.
"Wake up Gatomon, wake up…"
I shook her gently, and she opened one eye a little lazily.
"Can't I sleep some more?"
I laughed and clutched her to me. I laid her back down and stood up as BlackGrowlmon dedigivolved to BlackGuilmon. I walked over to where Tk, Tai, and Takato stood talking and slid my arm around TK's waist.
"…completely off his rocker- even more than he was before. You have any luck?"
Tai's appearance took on a grim cast.
"Not much, just that the fortress she's kept in flies."
Takato grimaced as well.
"That can't be good. It's a lot of effort to track something flying."
I got a sinking feeling. I whispered to TK.
"Who's 'she'?"
TK's fists clenched and his eyes closed tightly.
"Sora…"
I gasped.
No wonder Takato came alone. Everyone one else was searching for Sora… At least they knew where I was…
I cast my eyes down.
"Poor Sora…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I lay on my bed, mind running a million miles a minute, panicking.
Why did I say yes? I have the room to let Mimi move in, but why was I bone headed enough to say yes? This is not the smartest thing I've ever done. In fact it's one of the stupidest. Mimi's my friend, but I keep thinking about it the wrong way!
I got up off of my bed and checked my mail. There was one there from Mimi.
Hi Izzy!
In the confusion today, I completely forgot to tell you. I'm coming in on Sunday; I'll mail the flight information later. I'm really looking forward to being in Japan again. I'll get to hang out with you guys much more often! I'm just glad I got a place to stay. I would have hated to have gone to a hotel for those first few nights until I find a place. Housing in Japan is really hard to find compared to here, especially when you have to do it from overseas. Say hi to the gang for me!
Your friend,
Mimi
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Mimi's coming, but is that good or bad?
I sighed. That question was a moot issue, because it was happening now whether I liked it or not. I got up and went to the second bedroom of the apartment. It was a mess. I sighed again and decided to leave it for tomorrow. It was the beginning of the week after all. It would hold another day of two. I reheated some of the pasta Takato had made for the last tutoring session and sat down to think.
What exactly have I been feeling lately?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We kept looking for the flying fortress over the next few days. I set Grani on it as soon as we got back the next day. But no matter how hard we tried we could never seem to find it.
Tai took over Sora's position at the flower shop in addition to his other job and searching for Sora. No one laughed or teased him, we all knew why; but we did occasionally try to get him to slow down, he was pushing himself to hard. But in the end, Tai's will prevailed, and we went on with our daily lives when we weren't searching either. And so it was I found myself outside Koushiro Izumi's apartment that Wednesday.
I rang the doorbell, dish in hand. I had made Izzy some baked pork chops, and I was eager to learn. Especially math. My algebra 2 class was kicking my butt, and my work left something to be desired. Izzy answered the door with his usual grin at the sight of food, and ushered me in.
An hour or two later, pretty sure I had this 'quadratic' thing down, Izzy and I munched on the pork chops I had made and talked a little. Izzy looked a little nervous then asked a question.
"Takato, can I ask you for a favor?"
I blinked.
Izzy wants my help?
"Sure, what is it?"
He sighed.
"Mimi is coming back to Japan, and she'll be staying here until she gets her own place. Can you help me clean out the spare room?"
I grinned, wondering how Kazu and Kenta would react.
They would probably collapse and flop around like fresh caught fish.
"Sure, I'd love to help. It would go a long way towards paying you back."
"You do a lot of cooking that I don't have time for, Takato."
"Yeah, but it doesn't seem like too much effort on my part. Besides, debts between friends are not truly debts."
He looked at me as he opened the door to the spare room.
"That's pretty profound for you Takato…"
I grinned as I entered behind him.
"I know. I read it some place. But that doesn't mean it's not true."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was much later, and I was laying back in my bed, thinking about what had happened earlier that week.
I failed…
I sighed.
Rika wouldn't have failed. She doesn't like people who fail…
In the darkness, I smiled a grim smile devoid of any humor. When we tracked down the idiots who kidnapped her, I would not fail again.
ChaosGallantmon would not fail.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The door to my cell opened, but Mummymon was not outside. Datamon was, floating on that stupid flying control panel of his. He grinned at me. His usual leering grin.
"I thought you might like to see my handy work…"
I spit at him again.
"No thanks you freak."
He just kept grinning.
"I knew you would…"
He pressed a button on his floating console, and the floor of my cell opened. I fell through. I hit the ground with a hard thump, a small tinkle hitting the ground beside me. I grabbed at it, my hairclip, and put it in my hair so I wouldn't lose it again. I heard a couple of small splats and grimaced at the smell.
Yuck.
I got to my feet and looked around, my face slowly converting to horror as I looked. The room was absolutely huge, and there were copies of me everywhere…