Chapter 6: Fear
After much deliberation, Henry had finally decided to ask his father for help with Terriermon, considering certain secrets about each other were now plain as day.
Today, Janyu came home with a strange item called a Data Ball, which he claimed would help Terriermon sleep dreamlessly. A few minutes ago, Henry convinced his best friend to take it, and much to the boy's relief it worked like a charm.
Silently, he lowered himself down beside his sleeping Digimon.
"Oh, Terriermon...I wish I could take back what he did to you." Reaching down, he slowly stroked the little one's head.
He had always been reluctant to let his Digimon fight for fear of losing him. And now, though he hadn't truly fought and Henry hadn't literally lost him, Terriermon had gone through something so traumatic that it made the boy wonder if he would ever heal.
Tears filled his eyes at the thought. He would never forgive Impmon for this...
"Henry Your friend, Takato, is here to see you!" Mrs. Wong called.
"Send him up to my room, Mom!" Soon footsteps were heard on the stairs, and Takato entered the room.
"Hey," the Gogglehead greeted softly, coming to sit beside his best friend.
"Hey, Takato," Henry replied, giving a weak smile. "Where's Guilmon?"
"I left him back at the hideout. I don't want him to scare Terriermon more than he has already," Takato explained, glancing down at the sleeping Digimon thoughtfully. Henry nodded and sighed, laying his head in his hands. Takato scooted closer, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"It'll be okay, Henry," Takato assured softly, but tears brimmed in the older's eyes.
"It's my fault, Takato… I'm such an idiot! I-I let him down…!" Henry choked out shakily, and Takato shook his head.
"Henry, that's not true at all! Like Rika said, you couldn't have known what would happen! We—" he softened here, regretful and haunted and voice cracking, "—no one could have guessed something like that would happen…"
He'd always seen Henry and Terriermon as such strong partners, person-and-Digimon in general, and seeing them like this scared him. Henry was always calm and collected, Terriermon his far more lighthearted counterpart.
Just then, Terriermon stirred slightly and opened his eyes. Almost immediately, he began trembling.
"H-Henry...he's...he's not here, r-right?" Terriermon looked around frantically, his tiny eyes filled with fear. Henry wiped away the tears quickly and picked his Digimon up with all gentleness.
"No, he's not. I promise, Terriermon, he will never touch—" his friend flinched, and Henry quickly caught himself, "—err, lay a hand on you ever again!"
The white-and-green bunny seemed to relax at last and turned to Takato. He offered the smallest of smiles.
"Hi, Takato. Where's Guilmon? He's not mad, is he? Because I got scared of him the other day?" Terriermon questioned a little worriedly, and Henry gazed at Takato with curiously-tilted head.
Takato smiled weakly, shaking his head. "He's not mad. Guilmon could never be mad at his friends. I left him in the park, just to be safe," Takato told the creature, glancing at Henry and keeping his hand on his shoulder for support. Terriermon smiled a bit sadly.
"I'm sorry. It's just that when any Digimon comes close, it triggers memories of—of what happened with..." he shudders, struggling, but edges past it, "…with Impmon..."
Henry hid a smile at that. The fact that he even said the enemy's name, even while stumbling, was a good sign. It showed that Terriermon had a chance of recovering as long as he had support. The boy cuffed his Digimon's head feather-lightly, lovingly.
"How do you feel?" he asked softly. Terriermon closed his eyes for a moment, assessing, then opened them.
"Henry, I'm fine," Terriermon rasped quietly. He gave a tiny smile, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. He glanced at Takato. "Did you find out anything about the Devas?"
Takato shook his head. "Ever since those last two came, there haven't been anymore," Takato answered. For having to save the world, they sure were always a step behind everyone else.
Henry smiled softly. "Don't worry. I'm sure we can beat them!" he said confidently, peering down at Terriermon.
But I won't let you fight anymore. I should never have relented in the first place. I won't make that mistake again,Henry thought. If he had never let Terriermon fight against that Deva, Impmon wouldn't have been able to trick him into lowering his guard, wouldn't have been able to hurt his best friend.
He stared up at Takato, asking urgently, "Do you have any idea where Impmon is right now? Did he go back to the Digital World?"
The Gogglehead averted his eyes, refusing to look his way; he couldn't answer that question without upsetting both of them.
Henry laid both hands on the younger boy's shoulders. He leaned in so only Takato would hear what he would say.
"He's here in Shinjuku, isn't he?" Henry asked in a low voice. The child nodded, still looking down at the floor.
"It's okay, Takato. We won't let him win," Henry reassured before dropping his hands and turning to Terriermon.
"Hey, do you wanna head over to Guilmon's hideout? We can call Rika and Renamon. After the last few days, it'll be a nice change of pace for you." Seeing his Digimon's hesitation, he grins encouragingly, firmly. "I know you're scared, but I won't let anything happen to you."
And truly, his eyes showed the deepest sincerity. He would die before he let anything happen to his best friend again. Glancing between Takato and Henry, he finally nodded. It couldn't hurt… Besides, his friends would never hurt him.
Takato smiled softly now. Swiveling, he ran out the door, followed by Henry and Terriermon snuggled in his arms. On the way over, Henry and Takato called Rika and Jeri, respectively.
They only had to wait an extra minute or so for the girls to get there, and as soon as they did, the four sat around in a circle.
"How are you doing, Terriermon?" Jeri asked, kind eyes shining caringly. Terriermon gave a weak smile.
"Momen...—" he began before abruptly realising he couldn't finish; it sounded too out of place now, like the word wasn't his anymore. Quickly, he mended, "I-I'll be fine!"
Henry winced. He knew what Terriermon had been about to say before he stopped, and that scared him. 'Momentai' had always been Terriermon's catchphrase, the easy-going tag that practically defined him, and the fact that he thought he wasn't worthy of it anymore...the indigo-haired boy clenched a fist and looked away.
"Henry..." Renamon spoke up, and the boy turned to face her, "…this might be difficult for the both of you, but I'm going to ask that you don't hold what happened against Impmon. I have a feeling it wasn't entirely his fault."
Henry's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. How could Renamon still defend Impmon after what he'd done?
But before he could say anything, Terriermon's angry voice cut through the tense air.
"You're still protecting him? So does that mean I deserved that, being attacked and abused? Are you saying it was my fault? You have no idea what that felt like! It would have been better if he'd just absorbed my data—" his voice started to crack here, and the tears were already beginning to cascade down his cheeks, "—because what he d-did was like dying a th-thousand deaths! E-everywhere I look I s-see him tau-taunting me, telling me he's wo-won, and you know what? H-he's not wrong! He's br-broken me to a p-point where I can't e-ever be h-healed!"
For a moment, Renamon didn't dare breathe, taken aback by his outburst. Rika watched the little bunny sympathetically, Takato's eyes were wide, and Henry and Jeri had tears in their eyes.
Without another word, Henry reached forward and pulled Terriermon into his arms, cradling him lovingly.
"Impmon will never win, not if I can help it. And youwillheal, Terriermon. You just need a little time," Henry heartened quietly, strongly, keeping the small Digimon close while turning his back on Renamon.
She had never been more ashamed.