Part 1: The Five Generals

Chapter 7: Home Truths I – To Reach an Understanding

Akari ran through the trees of the secluded forest, her eyes and lungs both burning, one from exhaustion, the other from pain. The horrible part was that the two afflictions could have applied to either. She didn't notice as her legs were scratched by low, barely seen brambles, cutting into her flesh. She didn't notice the awkwardly placed branch running parallel along the ground.

It was little surprise she didn't notice as she tripped over it and came crashing to a halt on the ground, her small cries of whimpering pain barely noticeable.

She didn't notice the time pass as she lay there, her imagination running amok, creating terrible scenarios in which Dorulumon would die, ripped apart by a gargantuan MadLeomon, his beady eyes alight with sheer pleasure; visions of Taiki, his chest pierced by MadLeomon's claws, a small, raspy, pitiable breath being heard before the light faded from his eyes; nightmares in which she, herself, would be struck down by a rampaging MadLeomon, who would absorb the data of all of their friends before finally putting her to death with a crushing final blow.

She didn't notice Dorulumon, nor how long he had been standing guard over her until she felt movement near her hand. She started at the feeling. "Stay away!" she cried out, her movements shaky, her breathing ragged, her body quivering.

"Akari," was all Dorulumon said as he came to a stop near her, settled himself and relaxed.

"...Dorulumon...I'm sorry..." she said with sincerity as she attempted to calm herself.

"...For what?"

She was quiet for a moment. Dorulumon was unconcerned by the lack of conversation. In fact, he expected it. He knew that she was facing an internal dilemma. He also knew from experience that it would be futile to force her to open up. If someone did not want to speak about a topic that distressed them, there was nothing that anyone could do that would force their hand.

He would not be the one that would try to force her hand. It would be a hypocrisy of the highest level if he were. There were secrets in his life, things in his past he was ashamed of, things that would forever stay buried if he had his way.

'The past should remain in the past.' That was his philosophy, an idealism that had served him well since he had adopted it. If anyone were to try and enforce their will upon him and his secrets, there would be a hefty price to pay.

The same was true for Akari. He would not force her to speak, but he also would not leave her alone to wallow in her thoughts. He would stay by her side for as long as was necessary.

"..For being so startled. I...didn't realise it was you..."

"...No need to apologise," he replied as they slipped into silence once more. The silence wasn't distressing to Dorulumon. For him, silence was as comfortable as breathing. He wasn't renowned for being a conversationalist, a fact Cutemon would quite easily attest to. So, he settled himself as best he could on the rough, pebbled ground beneath himself and waited.

Time passed them by. Akari remained silent, her thoughts keeping her awake. Dorulumon stayed by her side throughout, never straying. In his own mind, he was reliving the events that led up to this moment. His meeting her in that village, how easily she befriended Cutemon, the way she was so completely trusting of a stranger. So at odds with his own way of thinking. All things were potential threats until you thoroughly got to know them. He was wary of the two humans, even if they seemed friendly, yet there was something in his stomach, a feeling that things were somewhat different when they came to this girl. This frail, easily broken human child.

He had taken Cutemon away from the group. They had been travelling for a few hours in search of something. Something very important. Night had fallen over them and Cutemon's even breathing as he slept lulled Dorulumon into a stupor. Laying himself down, he closed his eyes, relaxed his breathing and was almost instantly asleep. It had been a long day, he had run far and he felt exhausted.

He could smell blood. It was rife in the air. His eyes jolted open and he was on his feet in moments. He could see the human girl, her body bent in impossible angles, the blood pooling. Her eyes were scrunched tightly, pain forcing her weak body to quake. "Help...me...please..." she begged as a harsh, peeling laughter assaulted his senses. He could not tell who or what it was, but he could hear the sound of whooshing as a dark shadow enveloped her and she screamed once more.

"Akari!" Dorulumon started as he awoke for real. Cutemon was nursing his behind, having fallen off of Dorulumon's head when he bolted to his feet.

"Dorulumon. What is the matter, kyu?" he asked concernedly. Dorulumon couldn't answer. He was breathing heavily, and there was something wet trickling down his cheeks.

"...Tears...?" he questioned quietly, noting how unfamiliar the sensation of crying was. He couldn't recall the last time he wept. "Why?" he continued, getting Cutemon to look at him in confusion. "Why am I dreaming about her?"

"Thinking of who?"

"...That human girl..." he admitted slowly, feeling ashamed of himself. He prided himself upon being independent and free, yet in his dreams, he was beholden to a person who was neither a Digimon, nor strong. It was at complete odds with his own perceived values.

Cutemon was quiet for a moment. "What happened?" he asked finally, settling himself against Dorulumon's strong hind leg.

Dorulumon sighed. "It doesn't matter," he said, though in his heart, it mattered so much. With every beat, a knife twisted as he thought of her as she was in his dream: bloodied, damaged and dying.

Cutemon was no deceived. "Of course it matters, kyu! You're crying. In all the time we've travelled together, never once have you woken up screaming with tears in your eyes, kyu!" he insisted.

"...Forget about it, Cutemon," Dorulumon said, perhaps more harshly than he meant. "We should get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us." Cutemon surprised Dorulumon by swatting him on the leg as hard as he could. "Cutemon, what...?"

"Why are you ignoring this, kyu?" cried Cutemon, his own eyes flowing with tears.

"I don't know what you're talking about," responded Dorulumon defensively.

"Don't lie to me!" Cutemon shrieked, breathing heavily, jumping to his feet. He walked away from Dorulumon to stand a short way from him. "I told you, didn't I, kyu?" he said quietly, his back to Dorulumon. "The night before my village was enslaved, kyu. I was away on a trip. I had to prove my worth to the entire village in a trial. It was a rite of passage for everyone in my village when they came of age, kyu. From the very start, I had reservations about it, but it was expected of me. The trip was going so well...but then, I had a dream, kyu. Everything was so vivid. I dreamt that my friends...my family...everyone that I love...they were all taken away from me, kyu..."

"...Cutemon..."

"I returned to the village as fast as I could, forsaking the ancient traditions. I didn't care, kyu! If there was even the slightest possibility that my dream was actually reality, it would be worth the looks of disappointment if it turned out to be false."

Cutemon turned to face Dorulumon, tear trails marring his face. "...The horrible part is that my dream came true, kyu. I saw the smoke before anything else. When I reached the village proper, buildings were left in ruins. Everything was smouldering, kyu." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Everyone was gone. The only thing I could hear were the crackling of the flames that had yet to burn themselves out. They were gone, kyu..."

Dorulumon turned his head from Cutemon's eyes. They were filled with a pain he couldn't bear to face. "I know now that it was a premonition. I don't know why I had it, but the fact remains. It seems to me that you've had a vision of your own about Akari. Now, it's your choice. You can either forget it happened, or you can act on it, kyu."

"Why should I care what happens to her?" Dorulumon snapped harshly. "She is a human. She is–" he started.

"Lost in a strange world, surrounded by danger," Cutemon succinctly surmised. Dorulumon looked at the ground, disturbed by Cutemon's acute observations. "Why don't we just go check up on her?" he suggested. "You don't even have to let her know you're there. If she's okay, then we can just as easily continue our journey after that. Wouldn't you agree, kyu?"

Dorulumon thought about it, Cutemon looking at him hopefully. "...Fine," he relented at last to a cry of pleasure from Cutemon. "We'll go, but only so you can see that she is okay, then we leave."

"No problem, kyu," replied Cutemon with a small smile.

Dorulumon now realised that he had never thanked Cutemon for his goading. If he hadn't...

Dorulumon didn't want to entertain the thought. Akari was alive, and that was all that mattered. "Thank you, Cutemon," he said breathily.

Akari murmured at his whispered words. "...Did you say something, Dorulumon?" she asked wearily.

"Oh, sorry," he apologised. "I was thinking out loud."

"No, it's alright." The silence threatened to rein in once more. "...Dorulumon?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you...for coming to save me," she continued, wrapping her arms around her knees.

Dorulumon growled inwardly at the sight of this girl looking so withdrawn and lost. She's so small and weak...I have to keep her safe, he decided. "Think nothing of it."

Akari shook her head slowly, as though clearing cobwebs from it. "It's a lot more than nothing. You nearly died, Dorulumon. I don't know how, but I swear that I will repay you for it someday." Dorulumon started to argue back his point, but Akari cut him off. "No arguments. I've said I will, so I will, okay?"

"...I understand," Dorulumon said stoically. He pondered his next words for a moment. "Tell me something."

She looked at him, eyes surprised. "If I can."

"Why did you want to save me?" When she simply looked lost, he elaborated. "When I was trapped in those rocks. Why were you so desperate to unearth me?"

"You saved us: Taiki, Shoutmon and I. Why would I not do the same for you?" When he didn't respond, she felt as though he was asking something much more deep than she had originally assumed. "Why did you come back to save us?" She turned his own question back at him.

Dorulumon smiled inside. Touché. "A friend opened my eyes," he said somewhat enigmatically. "This is going to sound ridiculous..."

"Go on," she urged.

He turned to her, his face lit up by an embarrassed flush. "When we first met, it felt as though I was...drawn to you, like gravity. I can't explain it. I just know that at that moment, it felt as though everything I had done with my life had been leading up to that moment, that time when you and I would meet. Suddenly, everything made an awful lot more sense. I sound so stupid..." he finished, beginning to move away.

Unseen to him, Akari's eyes had begun to shine as soon as he started speaking. By the time he was finished, her eyes were brimming and her heart was thumping madly in her chest. Before he got more than a handful of paces away, she had wrapped her arms around him and hugged him as tightly as she could. "You don't sound stupid. Never stupid."

Dorulumon smiled despite himself at the contact. For a weak human, she sure can hug tight, Dorulumon thought disjointedly before focusing on what needed to be discussed. "We have to decide what we're going to do next."

"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice somewhat muffled by his fur.

"Shoutmon was correct," he explained. "You are a General now, Akari." He felt her arms stiffen and her sigh against his fur.

"What if I don't want to be a General? Don't I get a choice?"

"I wish I could say you do, but I can't," he said with a heavy heart. "Out of everyone in the Human World, you and Taiki were chosen to wield Xros Loaders. Something about the two of you is so different to everyone else – so special – that you had to come to the Digital World." When she didn't respond, he swallowed his pride and did perhaps the most self-sacrificing thing he ever had in his entire life. He nuzzled his head against her. "Akari." She looked into his eyes, her own doe-like. "You were meant to come to the Digital World. You were meant to meet me. You and I were meant to be partners."

"What if you die...?" Her words were quiet, but the feelings that the words conveyed were deafening.

"Death is unavoidable."

Akari's felt her throat constrict at the blasé way Dorulumon addressed her worries. She was terrified for him, for Taiki, for everyone! Yet, he basically ground her worries into the dirt.

"Don't get me wrong, Akari. I don't mean to sound patronising in any way."

Could have fooled me... she thought.

"I simply mean that even if I were to die, I believe that you would rise above it. I believe that you will become an amazing General and you will be the one to lead this Digital World on the correct path."

"What is that path?"

"The path which leads to peace." He said the sentiment so simply, as though she were simply meant to achieve it. She wasn't sure she could live up to his expectations.

"What if I fail?"

"You won't. I'll be with you every step of the way. I promise."

"But you just said–"

"Akari," he laughed, his mirth at her getting so riled up over nothing overriding his usual stoic mannerisms. "Just because I accept that death is a natural part of life, it doesn't mean that I'm going to be a lamb at slaughter. I fully intend to survive this war." He nuzzled her once more when she started to become dejected. "Together, you and I, my General. We will bring peace to the Digital World and we will defeat Baguramon and end his reign of tyranny."

"I'm not so sure about defeating Baguramon, nor about bringing peace to the Digital World, but as long as I'm with you, I'll manage."

"Don't worry, Akari," he said as he lay back down. "One day, you'll realise that everything I said to you this night is completely true." Akari lay down next to him, using his fur to blanket her head. "For now, you need to rest. Tomorrow, we will head back to the others."

"Okay," she yawned as she closed her eyes, feeling her fears slowly dissipating from Dorulumon's presence. Before long, she fell into a peaceful sleep.

Dorulumon himself stayed awake a short while longer. He was simply looking up at the stars, feeling himself quite small under their watchful gaze. "I'll keep you safe, Akari," he whispered to the sleeping girl.

For her part, Akari didn't hear what he said, but she did reply anyway. "Dorulumon."

oOo

From a safe distance, Amano Nene watched the human girl and the wolf Digimon through her Monitamon. "Nene-sama, what do you think of them?"

She watched the girl shuffle in her sleep, and the wolf adjust himself so she remained comfortable and had to stifle a growl of annoyance. "Hmm, I wonder. Together, Red and Orange are strong. However, on their own, I don't know how Orange will fare. Perhaps a test would be in order..." The evil grin came unbidden to her face and remained there as a voice sounded from the darkness surrounding her.

"Nene. Do I get to destroy them?" There was no denying the lack of emotion to the voice, nor the way Nene's grin deepened at the words.

To Be Continued...

oOo

A/N: As Akari and Dorulumon come to an understanding of sorts, Nene hatches a most malicious plot. What is her problem with Akari? Why has she been singled out? Without Taiki, is she strong enough to weather the storm that is fast approaching? Or will she fall to the ensuing darkness? Answers in upcoming chapters.