Author's Note: Okay after this one last chapter of Naota adjusting, I think we can start focusing a bit more on the Digimon. Naota's still the MC of course. But the Digimon will be there and there will be more butt kicking and action and stuff.
Also, AA is another character who belongs to Twilidramon. I forgot to mention him before.
Also since I'm at it, I suppose I should note that this version of Lucemon has some influences from her version.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. If I did then Chris would have been kicked in the nuts, Luke and Lorelai would have been together for most of the last season, Marty would not randomly Digivolve into an asshole, and Rory and Jess would end up together again.
I don't own Digimon either.
Anyway this story is filled with Chrono Cross references. Can anybody spot them?
Fourteen-year-old Loaño Ishida frowned as she got dressed that morning. Her black leather jacket went well with her blue T-shirt and black jeans, and the goggles resting on her head struck a perfect balance between tough and cute, not that she really cared. Her problem had nothing to do with her clothes. She just hated being dead tired.
She tossed and turned until 5:00 in the morning before finally falling asleep. Then the neighbors woke her up at 6:30 with their chatter. She tried to get a few extra minutes of sleep, but it was time for school now and their attendance policy insisted that she not miss more than five classes a semester.
She'd already skipped four. For a good cause of course.
'Little one, is something bothering you?' Asked a voice in her head. Definitely not her own. This voice was calm and mature and spoke with great authority.
'Hey AA, what exactly was Lynxmon babbling about? What does that Naota kid have to do with me?' She asked. Her lips didn't move and no words came out, she simply thought them and AA heard.
'I'm not sure.'
'Bullshit,' Loaño told him. 'You know everything. You're hiding something because you think I can't take it. And what was up with you yesterday anyway? Why'd you make me tell the kid the egg would be alright? I mean, he couldn't have been that concerned, could he?'
'Never underestimate other people's abilities to care more for things than we do, little one,' AA said vaguely. 'As for you and that child, I can sense that there is indeed something special about you two. I can't quite put my finger on it, but if you're up to the task I suggest we follow him after school today. I have the feeling we'll discover something interesting.'
Chapter Three
That morning Naota woke up with a yawn. After gathering some clothes, the teenager quietly tip toed to the upstairs bathroom. Careful exploration before bed time revealed that this house had two bathrooms. Sharing back home had been particularly difficult, but this seemed like it would make things easier, even with the increased number of residents.
Naota lathered up using the body wash to clean up before going to work on hair care, starting with the cherry scented conditioner and ending with the cherry scented shampoo. It took only a few minutes before Naota got out and got dressed, donning a pink top over a white undershirt and a blue skirt. She looked absolutely adorable.
"Okay I could get used to this openly gender fluid thing," she said to the mirror. She twirled around, trying to examine herself from multiple angles. Puberty had been kind to her so far, her voice still sounded young and high pitched, she didn't have any noticeable body hair, and she hadn't grown any facial hair yet.
The top looked absolutely adorable. There were a few buttons near the neck but she left them undone, revealing the white undershirt for a cute splash of pink on white that really pleased her eyes.
She quickly brushed her teeth, nearly gagging on the toothpaste, but she managed to finish without too much trouble. She took a second to rinse her mouth out with Listerine and prayed to Yggdrasil for the burning to stop.
'Well I'm integrating faster than anticipated.' Naota smiled as she remembered what she'd read last night about Yggdrasil, the ancient God of the Digital World. Nobody had ever seen him, but Digimon all swore he was real, each and every one, as if belief and piety were programmed into them. She couldn't tell if that was terrifying or beautiful.
Naota examined herself in the mirror one last time. Though pleased, she felt the need for something else to complete the fashion statement. So she ran back to her room, threw open the drawers, and searched until she found a fabulous periwinkle scarf.
She ran downstairs, past a brown and green feathered bird Digimon she'd met last night. Naota assumed that she was the Falcomon mentioned in her diary, but she wasn't quite sure. "Hello, Naota," said the bird Digimon Naota assumed was Falcomon. "It's nice to see you've recovered so quickly. I'm sorry I wasn't here to greet you last night, but I was away on business."
"That's okay. So, how are things?" Naota asked politely.
"Quite well. The library received the funding it requested to expand. We'll be building another floor soon. Your friend Haseo should be quite thrilled," the bird Digimon Naota assumed was Falcomon smiled.
"Yeah, he really loves the library," Naota smiled. "I'll tell him that, he said he'd be coming over before school today. I'm going to go wait outside for him."
"Surely you can't be planning on returning to class already? You've been missing for three days. Surely you need a day off to rest!" Protested the bird Digimon. "You'll only get sick if you overexert yourself."
"I'll be fine. I need to make sure I don't fall behind in my classes." Naota waved as she dashed to the door. "See you later." Her aunt and uncle had already gone off to work, Daichi and Dan were still asleep, but Hikaru shot a disapproving look from the table.
"You should at least have some breakfast," said Hikaru as she ate a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. "You really should be staying home, I can get you your make up work if you want." She grabbed a toasted Raspberry Pop Tart and dipped it in the cereal bowl. She broke off a piece to feed to Elecmon, who happily nibbled on the treat.
"Don't worry too much about it, Naota. I'm sure you'll do fine if you just miss a few days. But if you over exhaust yourself than you'll really be in trouble," Elecmon climbed onto the table to eat some of Hikaru's Cocoa Puffs, happily lapping up the milk.
"I'll be fine," said Naota as she turned the doorknob. "Haseo!"
She hadn't been expecting her friend to be waiting for her, but there he was, his eyes filled with tears. "I'm so glad you're okay. When I heard you were gone I freaked out. I looked everywhere for you. When they told me you were okay, I swear I was so relieved!" He hugged Naota tightly, but quickly pulled away. "Right, sorry, physical contact."
"No, it's okay, my friends can touch me," she said to him. Naota smiled. Haseo tried to sound calm on the phone last night, but she could tell he was relieved. Now, it seemed, he didn't want to bother hiding his emotions.
Haseo had pure white skin and naturally white hair, thanks to a bad case of albinism. He couldn't go out in the sun without putting on sunblock. So he normally stayed indoors reading all the time. He was very scrawny thanks to that, most of his clothes barely fit. Or at least that was the Haseo that Naota knew.
This Haseo looked like he at least ate a healthy diet. He wasn't muscular or anything, but he wasn't scrawny either. Absent were the glasses Naota came to know him for. Whether this Haseo wore contacts or simply didn't need them, Naota couldn't tell. It also looked like he'd cut his hair.
This Haseo wore a black long sleeve shirt, and jeans, just like the other one, but the shirt fit him better. It looked far more flattering on him. The Haseo that Naota knew looked like he needed a hug and a mug of hot chocolate. This Haseo looked ready to party in the dark.
Next to him stood a small dragon creature with purple fur. "Hang on a second," Naota told his friend. "I need to look something up on my phone." He quickly Googled Dorumon, confirming that this was in fact the Digimon standing before him. Then, scolding himself for not doing so earlier, he googled Falcomon. It seemed that his guesses were right! The bird Digimon inside did indeed go by the name of Falcomon.
Dorumon looked up at him quizzically. "Something wrong, Naota?" Dorumon asked.
"No, I just needed to check my email," he lied. "Except I can't get in. I switched my password recently and I can't remember what I switched it to." Naota let out a moan. It was a half-truth, he'd tried to log in last night but couldn't figure out the other Naota's password. "And I can't remember my security question either."
"Well, keep trying, I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually," Dorumon said. "I did that once. Spent half an hour trying to get back into my email because I forgot what I changed it to. Didn't help that these tiny arms aren't very good for the computer. Thank God my Champion form has actual arms." He turned to Haseo. "Speaking of."
Haseo grinned as he pulled out a small rectangular device from his backpack. Naota examined it closely. He knew it was a Digivice, it looked like the police officer's only this one was black and white. Actually, truth be told, it resembled a cellphone. In fact, Naota wasn't sure how he'd been able to tell the difference.
"You ready, aniki?" Haseo asked. Dorumon nodded as Haseo held the Digivice out in the air. It began to glow bright white, resonating with Dorumon as a second bright white light engulfed him.
'Aniki?' Thought Naota. 'He considers Dorumon more of a brother than a partner.'
"Dorumon Digivolve to- Dorugamon!" He grew in size, going from about half Haseo's height to a bit taller than the average human. His wings expanded, going from tiny an ineffective looking to a decent size. His arms shot out and his fur darkened to a dark blue with light blue stripes running everywhere. His voice deepened as he spoke. "You two want a ride?" he asked as he bent over.
Haseo climbed onto his older brother's back and held out a hand to Naota. "Come on, this will be much faster."
Naota gulped as he accepted his friend's hand. 'Well, at least he has a family he loves. He never had that in the other world. Maybe that's why.'
"What's wrong, you've been acting strange since I called you last night," said Haseo.
"It's nothing," said Naota emptily. He thought back to the last time he'd seen the other Haseo alive.
Naota quickly got dressed that morning, throwing on a red long sleeve shirt and black shorts. He hadn't slept well last the night before and it showed. His eyes drooped as he looked into the mirror. He squeezed some toothpaste onto his brush when a knock on the door nearly scared him to death.
"Hey, Naota, can I come in?" Asked Daichi. "I need to take a leak."
Naota opened the door for his brother. Daichi was dressed in red boxers and nothing else. He had a terrible case of bed head but he looked fairly happy. He rushed to the toilet and lifted the seat as Naota returned to his business. Daichi finished up quickly, flushed the toilet and ran off. "Thanks, man," he said.
Naota put the seat down, washed his hands and walked into the living room. Hikaru sat on the couch watching some early morning TV. She'd dressed in a black tank top and a red plaid skirt. "Hey, Naota, are you okay? You look like a zombie."
"I couldn't sleep last night, bad dreams," Naota told her. "Anyway I'm off to school. See you later."
Daichi walked out of his bedroom, scratching his head as he yawned. "Hey, want me to give you a ride? Just give me a minute to get showered and dressed," he said. "I was planning on meeting Skye before school today. I can drop you off on the way."
"No thanks, I like walking," Naota said as he opened the door. He found Haseo waiting for him quietly on the lawn, sitting on the grass as he watched the cars pass. Naota approached him slowly, so as not to startle his friend. "Hey, Haseo. Why didn't you come inside? You don't have to wait out here."
"No thanks. I'm fine. Don't want to be a bother." He was dressed from head to toe in black. An oversized long sleeve shirt hung loosely from his body. Messy white hair covered his face, making it nearly impossible to see his eyes. He held a book in his hands, though Naota couldn't see the title.
"Oh, new library book?" Naota asked.
"Yeah, Heart of Dragonfall, I just finished it this morning. It's about a princess who gets kidnapped by a dragon and then discovers that the dragon was sent by her future self. It's really interesting. The ending was sad though." Haseo spoke softly and carefully. He took slow and even steps as he walked, Naota had to slow down so that he didn't leave his friend behind.
"I'll have to read it sometime," said Naota. The two walking to school under the gray morning sky.
Haseo, though fifteen-years-old, was a ninth grader like Naota, having been held back a year. They'd been in the same grade for many years and often had classes together, but in high School things were different. Students were sorted into classes based on their own personal capabilities. This meant that ninth graders and twelfth graders could be in the same class. Naota heard that some schools did it differently, but he rather liked the idea, even if having some big muscular twelfth graders in his Geometry class felt a little intimidating.
The only class that Naota and Haseo had together was second period English. Luckily they had a bit of time before class began, so they hung out together in the school library. Though not nearly as well stocked as the local public library, they had a decent selection. Naota looked around for a bit, "oh cool I haven't read this one." Naota grabbed a Gilmore Girls book off the shelf. Novels based on TV shows were pretty entertaining but not often considered to be high quality reading material, so Naota was thrilled when he first visited the High School library and found a huge collection.
Haseo looked around at a shelf of fantasy novels. Both boys needed a new book for their independent reading. Well, technically not needed as they were weeks ahead. But still, better to keep that lead rather than give it up, right? Plus, they had their competition to worry about.
Haseo selected a book from the shelf and examined it carefully, while Naota just plucked books off the shelf indiscriminately. They had lots of TV based books including Sabrina and Charmed. "Okay I think I have enough for now." He turned to watch Haseo putting his book back. The library let you borrow books for two weeks at a time, and five books seemed like a decent amount to keep him busy for that long.
Naota checked his books out with Mrs. Takano, an elderly Korean woman, and then sat at a nearby table. The chairs weren't very comfortable, not like the ones at the public library, but they did fine. Naota stuffed his books into his backpack, while Haseo sat there silently. "Aren't you going to get anything?" Naota asked.
"No, I'll just go to the public library later on today," said Haseo. He sat silently as Naota ruffled through his backpack, pulling out a pencil and a clipboard filled with paper. "Oh, are you behind on your homework?" Haseo asked.
"Nope, I just wanted to get a head start on my English essay," said Naota. He looked at a worksheet of instructions and began scribbling some words. Haseo twiddled his fingers as he watched.
"Hey Naota, I, I really wanted to tell you that I," Haseo started to speak but the library doors slid open and broke his concentration.
Naota looked up to see a blond boy walking in. "Hey, Justin," Naota said politely.
Justin, fourteen, was in a few of Naota's classes. He had lightly tanned white skin, wore a white and blue baseball shirt, and cargo shorts. His hair stood up at the end in a way that looked a tad bit dorky but kind of cute. He was skinny even though he worked out a lot. He played baseball with some of the other guys in the park sometimes. He got along well with Ross, Yuki, Daichi, and Ham, and he had a huge crush on Hikaru.
"Hey, Naota," Justin glanced around with shifty eyes. "Hey Haseo."
"Hey," Haseo said with little enthusiasm.
"Umm, hey, Naota, I was wondering if you could uhhh, any idea what I can get Hikaru for Christmas? Something she'd really like a lot." Justin fidgeted. "Hopefully not too expensive, I think my mom would get mad if I spent more than a hundred dollars, but a game might be a good idea. Or should I not bother with that. I mean, her dad does own the best game store in town."
"I'm sure she'd love anything you go her, Justin," Naota said.
"Yeah, but I want to get her something really special. How about that new game coming out, Converging Hearts? Do you think that'd be a good idea?"
"She already has it. How about a book, those are cheaper," Naota suggested. "Get her something fantasy related, with a female protagonist if possible. Doesn't matter if it's high fantasy or urban fantasy, so long as it has an interesting concept."
"Wait, what are high fantasy and urban fantasy?" Justin asked.
Haseo buried his face in his arms, looking entirely disinterested with the situation. Justin gulped nervously. "Wait, never mind, I can look it up on Wikipedia. Thanks dude, you're a life saver." Justin's voice squeaked as he spoke.
Hikaru knew how Justin felt, the boy did nothing to hide his feelings. She'd never turned him down but she'd never given him any indication of how she felt in response. He had never officially asked her out so their relationship was in sort of an odd situation.
Naota turned to Haseo. His stomach felt queasy. "So, what were you saying before?"
"Never mind," Haseo grabbed his cellphone to look at the time. "I think I'm going to go see if they have the sequel to Dragonfall, the first book ended on a major cliffhanger and I don't want to wait until after school to go get it," Haseo said as he stood up.
"Okay let me help."
Naota felt guilty, her heart wrenched as the memory came back to her. Maybe if she'd paid more attention she could have saved Haseo.
"Something wrong?" Haseo asked. "You look scared."
Naota looked up at her friend. "I'm just you know, afraid of falling off." She looked down at the ground some twenty feet below Dorugamon. The Digimon flew at high speeds, zooming past the cars below. But he wasn't very big. Sure, he was bigger than before, but he was no vehicle.
"Hey, Dorugamon is safer than a motorcycle at least, and I know you've rode on those before. Besides, if you fall, he'll catch you," Haseo said with a smile. "Besides, we're almost there," he pointed to the school down below as Dorugamon began his descent.
Haseo helped Naota off then turned to his brother. "Thanks Aniki." A bright light surrounded Dorugamon as he reverted back to Dorumon. 'You're getting better at controlling it."
"Hopefully I can learn to Digivolve to Ultimate soon. Dad says it shouldn't be too hard if we keep practicing. Kind of wish we could find a tag and crest or something but those are so rare, too bad nobodies mass produced those yet."
Nobody seemed surprised to see Haseo and Naota arriving by dragon. Naota gulped. 'I just rode a dragon to school. I just rode a dragon to school. I just I,' she looked around and saw that nobody at all was looking her way, not even Haseo and Dorumon who were talking to each other. Her free hand shook with excitement and she smiled. 'I rode a dragon to school.' She sang in her head.
"You look happy," Haseo said to her with a smile on his face. "Maybe we can fly somewhere else after school. Any place you want to go?"
"Actually, I was hoping to go back to the park. I went missing there and I turned up there, maybe I can find some answers," said Naota. 'Maybe even go back,' she froze. Going back home hadn't even occurred to her. According to the rules of stories, such a resolution usually happened at the end. For some reason she figured if she went with the flow and started putting the pieces together, she'd get there eventually. But what if she returned before solving the mystery?
How maddening would that be?
Naota frowned at the thought, but she knew that she did want back either way, even if her home world wasn't quite as spectacular as this one. No dragons, still in the closet, and no Haseo. Maybe the magic portal would send her back in time and let her save her friend. Naota bit her lip at the thought.
Maybe the portal would remain open and she could freely travel back and forth between worlds. That sounded like a good option. So long as she didn't get caught up in some villain's master scheme to destroy the world.
What if she invited the evil Digimon into her home world? The people here could defend themselves, but what about the people back home?
"Really? Sounds good. We can go after school. Unless you want to skip today. I don't think anybody would blame you," Haseo said.
"Sorry guys but I have a test in Science," said Dorumon. "You two can skip if you want, but I need to stay. Anyway, see you two later. I promised my Art teacher I'd meet her to help set up for an assignment today." Dorumon dashed off in another direction.
Naota looked around, there were so many Digimon mingling with the humans. The campus seemed much fuller than ever before. She saw a few shirtless guys playing football with some Digimon. It looked like they'd divided up with humans and Digimon on opposite teams, and the humans seemed to be doing well enough for themselves.
"Hey Naota, Haseo!" Called out a friendly voice.
"Hey Justin!" Haseo shouted back.
Naota spun to see the teenage boy running toward them. He wore a blue sweater and cargo shorts, with a blue baseball cap on his head. His arms were also slightly more muscular. Apparently lots of guys in this world had better muscles for some reason. "I'm so glad to see you're okay," he said to Naota. "I was really worried."
"Thanks," Naota said as she rubbed the back of her head, unsure of what to say.
"Yeah," Haseo said, "Justin freaked out almost as much as I did. He went around town putting up posters everywhere."
Justin blushed. Naota quickly turned away. "Um, so," Justin began. "I'm really glad that you're safe. I got scared because I thought something had happened to you."
Naota gulped, feeling guilty. What if something did happen to the other Naota? How would everybody feel? Hopefully she could find the other Naota safe and sound, prove she was from another world, and then work together with everyone to find a way back.
'What if the other Naota is in my world? Well, at least it's safer there, I suppose.' Naota sighed. "Thanks Justin, that was really sweet of you." Naota watched Justin blush scarlet, just like he did around Hikaru. 'Okay, this is,' Naota fidgeted unsure of how to reach. 'Does he like me?' It seemed so unusual. Justin was straight in the other world, as far as Naota knew. So either he was in the closet, not straight in this world, or else he truly acknowledged Naota as a girl.
Which actually made Naota feel really happy.
"Anyway," Justin said as he grabbed his backpack and unzipped it, "I wanted to give this to you," he handed Naota a box wrapped in red wrapping paper. "It's a joint birthday and Christmas gift, sorry I know that's kind of lame but it's the best I could do. You should put in under your tree and open it on your birthday." Justin blushed even more as he handed the gift over.
"I, uh, thanks," Naota said as she put the present in her backpack. "I don't know what to say." She felt guilty because she had nothing for Justin. Not to mention she was broke. And she didn't want to spend any of the other Naota's money, because that would be stealing. "I feel bad because I don't have anything for you."
She bit her lips. Obviously the other Naota was closer to Justin than she was in her Home world. The other Naota might have already given him a gift.
"Don't be silly," Justin said with a smile. "It's a present. If I cared about getting something in return, I'd have saved the money and bought it for myself. I just hope you like it," Justin said. He adjusted his baseball cap. "Anyway I need to get going. Bye!" He said as he dashed off.
Naota stood there blushing. "You okay?" Haseo asked.
Classes went well. Things felt almost exactly the same, except for the fact that Digimon now accompanied the humans to class. There weren't as many Digimon as people, so the classes only went up by a few students, and none became overcrowded. Luckily for Naota, she still had the same locker, same locker combination, and the class schedule inside her locker confirmed that she did indeed still have the same classes. During English, Mrs. Raythrone discussed the essay and collected everyone's reading sheets which kept track of their independent reading.
"Good job you two," she said to Naota and Haseo. "Hey Naota, better hurry up, Haseo is catching up to you." Apparently Haseo's reading habits had kicked into high gear now that he apparently wasn't depressed. Naota smiled, losing a competition like this would be worth it if it meant Haseo was happier.
During recess Naota sat at her desk in her third period class, signed into the school's Wi-Fi with her phone. She quickly accessed her Facebook account and went through her pictures. Apparently she and Justin were pretty close friends, there were lots of pictures of them hanging out. Apparently they bonded during Little League practice, even though Naota was pretty much a benchwarmer.
She turned her attention to her email account and tried signing in again. She entered various passwords that she'd used on many sites. H4m137 failed. H1k412u failed as well. She sighed in frustration, refusing to give up. 4k1m070 didn't do anything so she tried Ju571n and Rh0d35 which got her nowhere. Naota groaned when M41d312355 didn't work either, even though it was one of her favorites on account of being so annoyingly 1337.
With a gulp she entered one last name. Her trembling thumb reached for the F. 'Would I really? Maybe in this world.' Naota gulped as she typed out the rest of the letters and numbers, 137ch312. She stared at the screen which was now full of asterisks. She bit her lip and pressed enter.
All that work seemed rather silly just to see that she didn't have anything important in her email, but at least she had access. She chastised herself for not guessing it sooner. She nearly put her phone aside when one last idea struck her. She checked her deleted mail for anything that looked interesting. She found one from Justin.
Hey Naota, I know you've been thinking about Yuu a lot. I mean, it's nearly the anniversary of the day you gave him the necklace, right? But try not to feel so down. There's going to be tons of people in your life and you'll have lots of friends. So you can forget all about him.
Naota sighed. Of course, that Friday had been the anniversary of the day he gave Yuu that necklace.
The ball rang and students filtered in, so she signed out and put her phone away to focus on class.
She sat next to Justin during fourth period, who got into trouble for not paying attention. Normally Justin had no problem listening to the teacher, but here in this world he seemed to be glancing at Naota a bit too often to focus on his work properly. The teacher once called on him to answer a question and he had no idea what to say.
For lunch, Naota glanced at the menu, saw nothing she wanted, and went to the library to wait for Haseo. Dorumon showed up first, his fur speckled with paint, but Haseo showed up soon after. He talked about the new library book he'd borrowed, Call of Ravenshadow, the sequel to Dragonfall. Apparently it was even better than the first, but much sadder.
She wished the other Haseo could have read it, but he'd died before he got the chance. Guilt clawed at Naota's heart, making her stomach sick. The taste of vomit rose in her mouth, but she fought to suppress it.
She remembered the day at the park.
The sky turned dark and gray as clouds covered the sun. Haseo liked days like those because he didn't have to worry as much. Sure the sunblock helped, but it was no miracle worker. He followed Naota quietly as the younger boy walked toward the swings. "Did I ever tell you about my distant uncle who runs a jewelry store?" Naota asked.
Haseo shook his head as he sat on one of the swings. The chains were rusting and the paint peeled off the metal, but it functioned just the same. "What about him?"
"He runs a fairly well known jewelry store that he inherited from his grandfather. It's been in business for ages. They make some really beautiful things. One of their most popular items is a crystal necklace shaped like a star. They say if you buy one and give it to somebody you really love, then you'll be together forever."
"That's really sweet," said Haseo as he pushed himself on the swings. The chains rattled and squeaked but neither boy paid it much attention.
Naota sat still as his feet dragged through the dirt. "It's silly. But, there's a tradition. It's a little outdated but, whenever a boy is born in the Yamaguchi family, they're given a necklace. One day, when they're older, they're supposed to give it to somebody they really love. Family legend says they always end up together forever.
"Usually they wait until they're older. Dad gave his to mom when they were in their thirties, right before they got married. Daichi gave his to Skye at their prom. I gave mine to Yuu right before his family moved away. I thought, I really believed we could be friends forever if I did that, but he hasn't called me or sent me any messages in years."
"Well, he's an asshole," said Haseo. "Who cares about him?"
"I know I'm being silly," said Naota as tears filled his eyes. "But I miss him so much. And all those news stories about him and his boyfriend," he pinched his thigh as hard as he could. "Sometimes I just get so jealous of his boyfriend I hate myself. I should be happy for him, right? That's what a good friend is like, right? You'd be happy that the person you love found somebody else."
Haseo shook his head. "Hey, don't worry, it's natural to feel that way." But his face softened a little, not with kindness but with resignation. He stared out with half closed eyes.
"I gave it to him by the slide," said Naota. "I know it seems silly, but that slide makes me think of him every time I come here."
"I understand," said Haseo.
That was the last time Naota saw Haseo alive. She started to shake when she thought about it. She told him how much she loved Yuu, and that she wanted to be with Yuu forever and nobody else. It wasn't like she always felt that way, there were other people catching her attention as well, but sometimes the feelings clawed at her chest until her heart wanted to implode.
Then Haseo killed himself and left that note. A combination suicide note and love confession written to Naota. 'If you hadn't told him that you loved Yuu, then he wouldn't have killed himself. You knew he liked you. You knew he got jealous easy. He hated anybody who came between you,' spat the voice in the back of Naota's head.
Naota turned away from her friend to hide the tears in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?" Haseo asked.
"She's probably just exhausted from everything that's been going on. Hey, I finished my test already. If you two want to ditch class I can take you to the forest," Dorumon offered.
"No thanks, I want to stick it out," said Naota.
So she waited for the bell to ring and headed to her next two classes. First was a simple science class, then came gym. Just as she stepped into the boy's locker room, the teacher called out with a quizzical tone in his voice, indicating surprise that Naota wasn't heading to the girl's locker room. The coach also informed her that, given her arm, she'd be allowed to sit on the sidelines of course.
Gym class usually separated the boys and girls, and Naota had more fun hanging with the girls than she ever did playing with the boys. And she smiled when she saw the showers. The girl's locker room offered privacy. The showers each had their own partitions and doors, whereas the boys showered out in the open together. At least, in the other world they did. Naota always changed into a wet suit in the bathroom stalls. Some guys showered in bathing trunks or wore towels for modestly, while others went completely nude. Naota looked forward to this in the future, assuming she ever came out in her home world.
The bell rang and Naota sprinted off to meet her friends. She waved goodbye to Justin as they passed each other and ran toward the parking lot, where Haseo waited on top of Dorugamon. "You ready?" He asked as he helped her up.
"Yeah, let's get going." She held on tight to Haseo as Dorugamon took off to the skies.
Naota watched the world below them fly by. It was amazing how they were up here in the sky all alone, watching the world drift by. If only they had more time to enjoy the sights. With Dorugamon flying so fast, they arrived at the park quicker than a car ride. Naota smiled as she enjoyed the peace and silence~
"Excuse me, could you please direct me to the library? I seem to be lost."
Naota nearly let out a shriek and lost her balance, almost falling from Dorugamon. A white angel with six wings and a golden staff flew in the air next to them. He had a helmet covering his eyes. Naota wasn't surprised to hear he was lost. How could he see with that thing on his face?
"Just head that way," said Haseo pointing.
"Thanks!" The angel said as he waved.
Naota laughed to herself as Dorugamon landed. "Okay, we're here. What next?" He asked.
Naota looked around. This place smelled so much cleaner than back home. He wasn't sure how they managed it, but this park's trees seemed more fragrant. Children and Digimon laughed as they played in the park. Shirtless boys played football and young girls skipped rope while Digimon pushed children in the swings.
"So, you came here alone on Friday, right? Any idea why?" Haseo asked.
"No, I can't think of any," Naota sighed. "Ugh I hate this."
"Don't worry, I'm sure your memory will come back to you eventually," said Dorugamon. "Now, you were found in the forest three days later. It's filled with wild Digimon, any idea why you'd go in there? Usually most of the Digimon here are tame, but it's still pretty risky."
Naota frowned as she thought it over. "I don't know. I apparently said I needed fresh air. But why would I want air. I had the outdoors." Naota sighed. She loved the idea of nature, but nature itself could go die. "I guess we should just go and look. Dorugamon, you can get us out if there's any trouble right?"
He nodded. "Yeah, let's go."
There were a few wild Digimon in the forest, some weird insect like creatures, one that looked like a caterpillar. She saw a few Tentomon, including one with a broken wing who scampered across the ground. Once a Lynxmon brushed past them. Naota shivered and hid behind Dorugamon, but she moved by without a second thought. The Digimon seemed interested in her, but not enough to say anything.
Branches snapped beneath their feet. "Did the team explore around here much?" Naota asked.
"They tried their best, but some of the Digimon got a bit hostile when large groups came in. They sent a few people in, but they couldn't get very far thanks to the hostile Digimon," Haseo explained. "Your aunt even tried coming in, but your uncle stopped her, saying it was best to leave this place to the authorities."
"I thought you said the Digimon here weren't too hostile," said Naota.
Dorugamon laughed. "Well, they'll leave an ordinary human alone most of the time, but you get those big flashy officers with their guns and Digivices and some of them get a bit rowdy. I know Ham came in here searching for you a few times, got attacked by a few Digimon when he accidentally got to close to some of their children. He said he couldn't find you though. So either you hid really well or you didn't arrive until later."
Naota bit back her fear and decided to go the most direct route. She turned to a nearby Tentomon and asked. "Umm, hey, have I by any chance been here before that you know of?"
The Tentomon squeaked and scampered away in fear. "That's strange. Was she scared of me?" Naota asked.
Haseo shook his head. "No, that's not it. Something's odd, they keep staring at you, then they look away." He frowned.
Naota felt her legs twitch. "Does this place seem odd to you, like something's not right?"
Dorugamon and Haseo shook their heads. "Not particularly," Haseo said. "Why what's bugging you."
Naota watched the Digimon flying around. "How can you tell one Digimon apart from another member of the same species?" She asked. If there was an obvious answer that she was supposed to know, she didn't care.
"You'd usually have to know them pretty well. But most humans wouldn't," said Dorugamon. "Unless there was something distinct about them."
"Like say, paint in their fur or a broken wing?" She pointed to a small Tentomon running across the ground. "Because that's the third Tentomon I've seen with a broken wing, and I don't think she's going around in circles."
"You think the forest has been warped or something?" Haseo asked. "Not too unlikely, a few Digimon could do that, but if that's the case, we're pretty boned."
"Hop on, no sense walking," Dorugamon said as he leaned over. "I should be able to manage flying through the trees. If we go by wing we can cover more ground than by foot." Haseo climbed on first and helped Naota up. Dorugamon snorted. "Okay, any idea what we're looking for."
Naota frowned, thinking it over. If the forest was distorted, that could explain why they never found the other Naota. Yet at the same time, the chances they could find her were just as slim. They needed some sort of clue, some sort of hint. Naota closed her eyes and bit her lip.
Too bad they couldn't just search from above, but the trees were too thick.
She sighed. There had to be a way. She opened her eyes and looked around the forest. "That way," she pointed to some trees she'd only just noticed. "Look, somebody marked a path. Those trees have chunks carved out of them."
Dorugamon flew toward the trees as instructed and easily spotted the next marked tree. It took very little effort to keep this up. Whoever marked the path had done a good job. Which raised the question, was it worth pursuing? Surely if this meant anything, then the search team would have followed the path already.
Naota watched as the world around her blurred. Pathways appeared between trees that previously left no room for travel. The world rearranged itself. She watched trees vanish and carvings appear from nowhere. 'It's like the forest is opening up for us. Or for me.'
"Okay, we're definitely dealing with a reality warper of some sort," Dorugamon said. He kept flying until they came to a small clearing. A large tree walked around a small blanket that seemed to be covering something lumpy. He had a scary face and long thick club like arms. He had no leaves at all, his head ended in a spiky stump.
Dorugamon came to a halt. "You guys can get off now, I have a feeling this is where we want to be," he let Haseo and Naota down. Dorugamon turned to the tree, "Hey, sorry to bother you, but do you have any idea what's going on in this forest?"
The tree smirked at him. "You've come for it, haven't you? The treasure." He reared back on his legs and swung at Dorugamon, who easily ducked. "Well, you can't have it!"
Dorugamon jumped backward and snorted. "Hey, don't tell me you're infected."
Haseo gritted his teeth. "Hey, Naota, we should stand back, Dorugamon can handle this. Woodmon's only a Champion and he's not particularly strong."
Naota nodded as she took a step back and tripped over a rock. Woodmon sped past Dorugamon and yanked Naota up by her scarf, choking the girl. "You, what are you?" He asked in shock.
"Power Metal!" Dorugamon opened his mouth and fired a large sphere of metal that struck Woodmon on the back of his head. Woodmon dropped Naota to the ground and she dashed to hide behind a nearby tree.
Woodmon turned to Dorugamon. "Branch Drill!" His arm shot out, creaking like a door as it stretched toward Dorugamon.
Dorugamon took to the air, circling around Woodmon until he had a clear shot at his back. "Power Metal!" He fired another sphere of metal that knocked Woodmon over, but the tree refused to stay down long. He flipped back up and dug his roots into the ground.
"Branch Drill," he fired an extending arm at Dorugamon, but the furry dragon easily dodged with his superior speed, until a second arm shot forward and struck him in the gut. Dorugamon let out a gasp as tiny vines grew from Woodmon's hands and pierced his side, draining him of his energy. Woodmon laughed as the energy began to visibly flow from his victim.
"Hey, watch it!" Haseo charged forward, leaning over to snatch a tree branch from the ground without stopping. He shouted a battle cry as he jumped at Woodmon and smashed his branch down on the Digimon's arm.
Woodmon howled in pain as he dropped Dorugamon and focused on Haseo. "You thieves can't take it. You can't have her, the treasure is mine! Her power belongs to me." He swung out at Haseo, who managed to duck easily.
Haseo grinned as he shot up to his feet and smacked Woodmon on the head. Dorugamon shook off the pain as he descended upon the wicked tree. "Power Metal!" he blasted Woodmon with another sphere of iron.
Woodmon swung and lashed out at Dorugamon, knocking him to the ground. Dorugamon grunted and spun around, smacking Woodmon with his tail. Haseo circled around and cried out as he brought the branch down on Woodmon's arm, making the Digimon yelp in pain.
Dorugamon tore at Woodmon with his claws. Woodmon grunted and cried out. "Woody Punch!" Naota thought the name was strange, but she grimaced when Woodmon hammered down on Dorugamon, knocking him into the ground. He spun and hit Haseo in the chest, launching the boy backward. Haseo smacked into a tree and cried out in pain.
"Haseo!" Naota ran forward to her friend, nearly tripping on a rock. She didn't get far before she felt Woodmon's hand on her back. He gripped her tightly and laughed. He began sucking Naota's energy. Naota felt faint as her body went limp. She couldn't move her arms or legs.
"You're just like her," Woodmon said.
"NAOTA!" Haseo cried out as he charged forward.
"Power Meta," Dorugamon stopped his attack when he saw Woodmon swing around holding Naota's body like a shield.
Woodmon laughed. "Branch Drill," his free hand shot toward Haseo at an alarming rate. Haseo tried to dodge the attack, but his momentum kept him on course faster than he could move. Dorugamon flew up and dove down, blocking the attack with his arms. Tiny vines shot out and wrapped around Dorugamon, once more draining him of his energy.
Naota wanted to cry out in pain, but her mouth refused to open. The world started to blur around her. She glanced at the blanket, easily guessing what she would find if she moved it.
'Looks like you'll end up killing two Haseos in the span of a few days,' spat the voice in the back of Naota's head.
Woodmon's face twisted and he let out a yell of pain as he dropped Naota. She collapsed to her knees, her face hitting the ground. She tried to lift her head but could only barely glance up. Woodmon panted and stumbled about. He let go of Dorugamon and bent over as if trying to catch his breath.
"Power Metal!" Dorugamon cried as he blasted Woodmon off his roots.
Haseo smashed through Woodmon's left arm. Wood splintered as the branch broke along with Woodmon's arm. The Digimon howled in agony as he tried to club Haseo, but with his shortened reach he ended up swiping bat the air. He swung his good arm and Haseo leaned back.
Haseo chuckled. "So tell me, who do you work for?"
Woodmon howled. "I work for nobody," he swung at Haseo again, but Dorugamon wrapped his arms around Woodmon's elbow and bent it backward, causing him to yelp in pain.
"We know you don't have the power to warp reality on your own," Dorugamon said. "So who is responsible?" He raised a claw and slashed at Woodmon's bark.
"The forest was warped by no Digimon. It's become this way because of the treasure." He pointed to the blanket. "And because of her." He pointed to Naota.
"What's Naota got to do with this?" Haseo demanded.
Dorugamon threw Woodmon forward into the ground.
"Please," said Haseo. "Just comply with us. We don't want to hurt you any more than we need to. I hate fighting but I won't hesitate to if you force our hands."
Woodmon chuckled. "Drill Branch!" His broken arm shot forward just as well as his good one. He caught both Haseo and Dorugamon off guard as he pinned them both to trees and started to suck their energy. They struggled to free themselves, but could do nothing.
"Stop it!" Naota cried. "Take me. You want me right?" She forced herself to her feet. "I promise I'll do what I want."
Woodmon chuckled. "You, are you her sister? Twin?" He tightened his grip on his prey. Naota heard them gasping for air. She shook her head no and waited for a response. "Your energy if very powerful, but also very dark. I have no need for you after all. You are not the treasure."
Naota felt a chill down her spine hearing a tree refer to a human being as treasure.
"I'll kill these two and leave you to the rest of the forest!" Woodmon laughed.
Naota walked forward and ducked under one of Woodmon's arms. Then, standing between them, she placed one hand on each arm and held tight, hoping her plan would work. Her injured arm ached but she fought through the pain. She felt the energy raining from her body very quickly and she saw Woodmon smiling with delight. So now came the hard part.
She summoned every dark thought she could muster. Haseo's death. A car accident. Yuu leaving. Jealousy toward Yuu's boyfriend.' She started feeling cried out in agony as he let go of Haseo and Dorugamon.
Naota dropped to the ground as exhaustion overcame her.
"How is it possible?" Woodmon cried out. "Your energy is so dark, so toxic. I have beaten prey to the ends of their life and their energy has never become as dark as yours." Woodmon spoke in low shallow breaths. "You are not the treasure yet you look so much like her. Who are you?"
"Power Metal!" Dorugamon cried out. With one final blast, he knocked Woodmon to the ground. Bright white light engulfed the tree as he turned into an egg.
Haseo helped Naota to her feet. "Are you okay? How did you do that trick with the dark energy?"
Naota collapsed into Haseo's arms. "I don't know she whispered."
Dorugamon slumped to the ground as a white light engulfed him and he transformed back into Dorumon. "That was exhausting." He said as he stumbled forward. "What was this treasure he kept talking about anyway? And what does he mean you look like her?" he walked toward the blanket.
Naota turned to Dorumon and tried to say something, but her voice caught in her throat. He reached down and tore the blanket off, revealing the dead body of the other world's Naota Yamaguchi. Dorumon jumped back in shock. Haseo let out a shriek and accidentally dropped Naota.
"What the Hell is going on?" Haseo demanded.
That's when they heard a branch snapping. "Sorry we took so long and missed the fight," said a young woman's voice. Naota looked up to see Loaño and Kidd standing side by side. "As for your question. It's simple really. Look, I really hate to tell you this, but that body is the Naota you know and love." She pointed to Naota. "And this girl is a different Naota from a different world."