Yay, new chapter! :) I spent a lot of time thinking about what was going to go on in this one, and I'm really happy with how it came out. I got a bunch done in it yesterday because I was so inspired to work on my stories, and I'm just psyched about it! I have a game-plan for the next chapter written down somewhere, so I'm gonna try and get that more detailed and start on that right away too :)
But, without further adieu, please enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 7~
I stared up at the gray sky unblinkingly, my eyes remaining unbothered by the falling rain. The cold droplets felt like gentle caresses as they slipped across my face, leaving little wet trails down the sides of my face. I assumed that this was what it felt like for humans when they cried, the seemingly harmless grace that this sensation gave off. But I wouldn't know. I hadn't cried in years.
The wet, lively green grass tickled my skin slightly as I lay on the ground, the pitter-patter of the precipitation landing in the small pond beside me the only company I had. There were no humans around, for which I was thankful. I didn't get to spend much time outside during the daytime (if you could consider this gloominess as 'day'), and not have to be in hiding.
Well, I don't have to hide from everyone now… I snarled at myself, angry that my mind could be so foolish as to think that he could be an excuse for feeling…all right…for once. I knew the mission; there was never a moment that went by that I wasn't thinking about it. But something didn't feel quite so perfect about it anymore. It made me uneasy to think in such ways, however. Master had never been wrong before, so why would he be wrong about the great honor and joy that the success of this would bring?
I groaned, exasperated as I sat up, tiny drops of rain twinkling down from my hair as it swung over my shoulder due to the motion. I'd gone over these same thoughts all night long; I never slept, so I had more than enough time to think. Lord Devimon and his plans had re-run themselves over and over again in my mind's ear, drilling the directions until I knew them word for word. Everything I had ever learned about humans had gone through my head in order to help me make a plan for the rest of the 'assignment', but even with all these other distractions…
Davis Motomiya was the one occupying my mind the most.
I didn't understand what the issue was with him. He was not really different than any other human, aside from his bouquet and his odd acceptance of me. His protective nature regarding me. For whatever reason, he enjoyed my presence in his country, his city, his home. His life. While every single one of his friends feared and hated me, perhaps sensing that there was something off about me, the way that I conducted myself, the devious and threatening glint that existed within my eyes.
I couldn't blame them for being cautious, of course, and to be honest, I would've been more surprised if they hadn't worried for a little while before beginning to trust me. And, as long as I succeeded in the end, I didn't care how long they wanted to take to think all of these through. I was nowhere near their position and I was having troubles getting through disassembling my own thoughts.
Wanting to try and change the subject, or at least focus on something long enough to give my mind some kind of rest, I turned and glanced over at the pond. Despite the colorless glow that illuminated it like a fortune teller's crystal ball, it was quite lovely as the rain constantly barraged its usually tranquil surface. I liked it better that way, when I wasn't able to see my reflection. Remember what I was.
Especially after last night.
I bit back a moan of internal pain; for whatever reason, killing DigiDestineds plagued my 'soul', 'conscience'. I never had been…okay with it, but now…it seemed more wrong than ever before. Of course, I was superior to them, and it should feel all right to show my superiority through my strength, speed, cunning, and extraordinary senses. But battling something that couldn't put up any kind of fight? Killing something that couldn't even hope to protect itself?
It all felt…wrong. Incorrect. Sinful. Terrible. Like something a true monster would do.
But that's exactly what I am. I am wrong, sinful, terrible, horrible, wretched, evil, dark, malevolent, violent. I'm the world's most dangerous, unstoppable killer. Both worlds', to be specific. And that's just how things are. Letting out a sigh through my nose, I rose swiftly to my feet. I couldn't sit and do nothing, be alone with my thoughts until I came close to wanting to strangle myself in order to stop thinking. Usually, I liked to be alone and think. But not like this. Not like this.
I left the quaint little park in rather a large rush, the water from puddles spraying up around my legs as I dashed through them. I had to get away from anything that would trigger any kind of harmful, perplexing thoughts. But in this world, there was nowhere that I could go to get away from such things. Everywhere I looked, I saw Devimon, Davis, everything and everyone. In the shadows, in the precipitation, the clouds, everything.
"Go, Davis!"
I slid to a stop on the slippery black top of the street at the sounding of that antagonizing name. There was no one around me, but my extraordinary hearing allowed me to hear certain, important words even if I was miles away from whoever was speaking. That was one of few perks about being Master Devimon's creation: He knew how to make a Digital monster lethal. He knew how to make a good murderer.
I recognized the voice to be that of the brown-haired sister of Tai Kamiya's, Kari. I could still remember the warm glow in Davis' eyes when they gazed upon her—I shook my head to rid myself of such a thought. Why should I care about something like that? I didn't care, of course, but still, one had to wonder why in the world it would even think of popping into my head at any time. It certainly wasn't related to my near-obsession with the boy—
A snarl tore through my core as I silenced my own thoughts. There was no need for me to be confusing myself over such unimportant, trivial things such as human emotions. I wasn't human, and I never had been. It didn't matter to me what they felt, and it never would. All I really did care about was their trust, and even then that could hardly be considered something that counted as anything. It was all for the sake of killing them in the end, betraying said trust with a fatal stab of my claws through their backs. I had to get a hold of myself.
I focused on the reverberations that I could still feel bouncing off of the buildings and the concrete, trying to sense about how far the voice was from me and which direction it had come from. When I was certain that I knew, I turned that way and took off running for wherever they may be. I wasn't sure why I felt that it was necessary I find them, but I knew I had to. Maybe so I could get some more trust-work in? I wasn't sure.
It only took me a few minutes to get to my final destination. I stopped and looked around me; the school that I'd been to a couple of times now was before me, and I was standing just outside the wall of its courtyard. However, I'd never been over to this section before unless I'd just been passing by, and this was about where the voice of Kari had come from. Now I could hear many more voices than simply Kari's—maybe thirty or forty could be witnessed to. There must be some kind of human-meeting going on. I need to see more.
Without a second thought, I leapt up and caught the top of the wall with my claws, quickly pulling myself up so that I could catch a glimpse. I'd been half right; there was a gathering here, but it was not a meeting, per se. It seemed to be like what had been going on in that physical education class I'd dropped in on before, except this was a different sport. This time the ball was black and white instead of orange, and the teens weren't using their hands at all.
I watched from my hiding spot on the wall for a moment longer before deciding to get a bit closer to the other watchers who were residing in bleachers opposite me. I dropped from the wall without any sound at all, and whipped around the field in a matter of seconds. It was about then that I got myself stuck: where was I supposed to go to watch where I wouldn't cause some kind of a scene?
It would be possible for me to find a place underneath the bleachers, but was that really the best idea? If someone saw me, I would have enough time to get away before they could alert anyone else. Other than that, I really had nothing to fear, so I supposed that if I was going to stay, that was going to be my best bet at keeping the 'visit' low-key. I would be less noticeable underneath the people than in front of them like I had been at the wall.
I snuck over to the side of the stands, avoiding the wandering eyes of the crowd as they waited for the warm-ups to end and the actual game to begin. Escaping from their eyes, I crept into the intricate metal, wood, and plastic that made up the edifice, making my way through until I found a spot where I could peer out onto the field between the many pairs of shoes. I took a quiet but deep breath to calm myself; I hadn't been detected, I was all right.
But that breath in itself betrayed me.
"Tai, you've been helping Davis' team during practices. How are they doing? Any difference compared to last year?" A young male voice I didn't recognize sounded above me, directed at a person that I did actually know. But both were DigiDestined-scented. All of the feet that were currently surrounding me had that distinct smell, though each had a tiny kick to it that was different. No DigiDestined was alike, so why would their scents be?
A small giggle broke out a little to my left. Female. "Well, they do have Davis on their team, and he's a natural." I wanted to let out a small whine at the sound of his name. I'd been trying so hard to get my mind off of him, and here this girl—Kari—set me all the way back to the beginning. If I had a touch less self-control, the pitiful noise would've escaped my throat too, thus giving away my presence, but it remained a mere rumble residing quietly in my chest.
But now that my mind had refocused on him, I unconsciously focused my attention on the field, searching each face for the only one that I wanted to bear witness to. The only human in what seemed to be the whole world that could capture every sense I owned, every beat of my Digimon heart, bending every theory that I'd ever had about life and hunting and blood and beauty and—
My entire being recoiled at my almost repulsive thoughts. I was one of the most powerful fighters that Master Devimon had ever had. I should not be this…this…overwhelmed by my prey. I mean, physically I could deal with; there always seemed to be someone a little bit stronger than you. But mentally, spiritually, emotionally…I should not be affected in those ways, and especially not by a human I was destined to kill!
My fists clenched involuntarily at the thought of murdering that precious human, Davis—Wait. Precious? My once hushed breathing caught in my throat with a sharp hiss, as if in pain. I grimaced at my own thoughts, nauseated, but with no idea why or how this was happening. Master had never warned me of anything like this; did he know what was going on? Was he letting it happen? Was it some sort of test?
What is wrong with me?
The conversation going on above me was continuing smoothly, none of them having realized that I was there despite how much noise it felt like I was making. Perched there in the rafters of the bleachers, staring out at the field but finding no trace of the one I sought, I felt as if my chest was going to implode. A fire had been set within me, far too deep for me to reach in and smother it—if that was even possible. It was more agonizing than anything that Lord Devimon had put me through before.
To try and ease some of the pain, I unthinkingly gripped the metal that the DigiDestined teens were resting their feet on, my claws digging in as my fingers searched for release. Anything. Anything that would stop the burning that scorched my insides, leaving no part of me untouched, not even the parts of me that I tried to hide. But not matter how hard I grasped at the metal, no matter how badly I tore at it, it did nothing to stop the scorching sensation, nor did it shed light on what was going on.
Despite my resolve and strong will, a small whimper of confusion and pain was able to break through my pale lips, past my vicious teeth and bloodstained tongue. It did not go unnoticed. "Hey, did you guys hear that?" Before I or anyone else could react to either the strange noise or the girl's words (I couldn't recall ever hearing her voice; she may've been one of the DigiDestined that they'd wanted to wait for before making any final decisions regarding me), a face owning light honey-brown eyes and lavender hair held back by a bandana appeared a ways to my right.
Honestly, she seemed calmer than me—not to say that she wasn't terrified or astonished, just that she was a bit more composed inwardly than I was. And I didn't have to be a mind-reader to know that, I just assumed so judging by how I was absolutely, positively freaking out on the inside though my eyes remained wide and blank.
My first reaction was to run away, to do everything that I could to flee and pretend that I'd never been there at all. But I couldn't. That kind of behavior would ruin what little progress that I had made; the other DigiDestined didn't seem to want to be as cooperative as the Motomiya boy, and even then I wasn't sure why he was acting the way he was. Perhaps that was intertwined with why I was acting so strangely when he was mentioned in my thoughts…
"Um…hi," Pale yet bold and deadly eyes locked onto the unknown human's, and the fear that should've been within her this whole time finally surfaced. But she could not be afraid. No matter how much I would rather be feared than befriended, she had to trust me. She had to trust her soon-to-be killer. "…My name is Yolei, um…so, who are you?"
Her trembling voice seemed to grow a bit stronger as the tense, confusion-induced rage faded from my eyes and tight jaw. Other heads began to grow curious and snuck glimpses at me—I could only imagine what the might look like from another human's perspective. I recognized most everyone else, though there was a little boy amongst them now that did not register with my memories. I assumed that he was the young one that had spoken a few moment ago.
Izzy, the ginger with eyes as dark as Master's heart—but kinder, a gentle dark—was the first to either remember who I was or care enough to properly address me, albeit his tone betrayed his bewilderment, "Moroamon? How long have you been there?" He seemed almost…concerned at my uncaringly blank expression, like he could sense that my true self was anything but calm and unfazed. Like he could smell my intestines burning from that odd, inner fire.
Matt was next to speak, but my eyes were immediately drawn to his brother instead of him. TK was practically snarling at me, obviously not pleased that I was so close to them. And that if I hadn't made a noise, I wouldn't have been noticed there at all. "Oh, hey, Moroamon," TK's older brother, on the other hand, didn't seem completely bothered by my presence. A smile appeared on his face, lighting up his cerulean eyes ever so gently. "You know, you are our friend now—" TK didn't like that part. "—so you can come up here by us. If you want, that is." …So, they've made their decision, then.
They're going to trust me.
I had to hold back my malevolent grin; I couldn't believe that it had been this easy to gain unquestionable access to their lives. Of course, I still had to be irritably cautious since one false move and my cover would be blown, but still. For the most part, this mission was as good as over. Lord Devimon, his mistress…they would be so pleased with my progress, maybe they would overlook the multiple mistakes that I'd made. Maybe.
Doing my best to ignore the wonder and worry in some faces and the glare upon one, I nodded and slowly inched my way out from under them. And into the drizzling atmosphere once more; I was a little astonished that the weather didn't seem to bother anyone, on the grassy field or not. In fact, it seemed to psych everyone up for the game that was about to take place.
I wasn't sure who I should go by, so I chose a random spot between two of the DigiDestined: the little boy that I still did not know, and Kari (TK seemed none too pleased about that, but Tai didn't seem to even notice my close proximity to his sister). The girl's amber eyes smiled at me as the corners of her mouth pulled up in a friendly manner, and I tried to mimic her. I felt that it didn't appear believable, but she seemed to classify it as genuine, so I let the fleeting feeling slip from my brain.
TK, on the other hand, didn't seem to buy my unsure yet gentle act. He was sitting on Kari's other side, and his hard, cold eyes never left me once. I stared back at him for a moment, searching his eyes for the hurt that he had faced to make him so wary of that which he didn't understand, the creatures that he believed to be liars, evil and dark. I picked at his brain as he bore into mine, both of us trying to find what was true about the other. The backstories, the reasons and rhymes behind the other's actions.
But I didn't have to worry as much as he did, so I turned away before he did, allowing myself to give him a small, I'm-not-evil-like-you-think-I-am smile that felt more threatening than reassuring. I wasn't the one who had to consider what might happen if the being that I refused to trust was going to try to kill me somewhere down the line. I didn't have to wonder what my family would do when they found me dead.
"Hey, the game's starting you guys!" The dark-haired but bright-eyed boy sitting on my opposite side chimed as the referees blew their whistles, thus calling the two opposing teams to attention. But before I could focus too heavily upon the recreational sport about to take place before me, my attention was brought to the owner of the voice that had just sounded.
His tone was level and rather cheerful as he addressed me, his words coming out in a manner that seemed much too mature for someone of his age, "I don't believe that we've officially met yet, but I've been told a bit about you, Moroamon. My name is Cody Hida, but you only have to call me Cody." He offered me a serene, sweet smile, a gesture of kindness that my face wasn't able to return. So, I gave what little a smile I could and bobbed my head once in recognition. It felt pitiful to me, but I wasn't sure what else to do.
Trying to pretend that my Digimon form made me socially awkward—I had told that them I used to be human but someone evil made me this way, so I may as well play the part a bit—I turned to tune all of my senses into the game as it neared its beginning. It was then, at one of the most inopportune times, seeing as I was surrounded by his friends, that I saw him. Davis Motomiya. His brilliant brown eyes exhausted any attempt that the rain made to make the day dull or dark; they were brighter than the sun in any and all ways possible.
And they'd found me sitting there in the stands.
My breath caught in my throat when I realized that he'd seen me, he now knew I was here. Maybe he thought that I was following him all over the place now, and not just because I was a curious creature that 'used to be human' and didn't remember much about how to interact with another humanoid. Maybe he was beginning to wonder if I was lying to him about being on the side of good. Maybe he—
All doubts regarding his trust of me vanished when that beautiful smile lit up his face and he waved up at the crowd. At his friends. At me. Only me. I stared with my mouth slightly agape; did that really just happen? Had that crusader of light and what was right really…waved at me? Why…why for the love of both worlds would he do something like that? Why was he so friendly, so trusting, so…so…so…
I groaned inwardly; there was no possible way to describe how scrambled my brain felt right about now. I'd never felt this lost before—well, that wasn't true. I'd gotten myself lost in both the human world and the Digital World and number of times, but those instances were nothing compared to this. Nevertheless, my perplexed mind had stopped me from doing something else that I realized now had been very important: Waving back.
I nearly face-palmed for allowing myself to get so distracted by my emotions. They had cost me an opportunity to at least try to appear somewhat normal in front of the DigiDestined, especially Davis (and TK since I could tell that he was still staring at me out of the corner of his eye every now and then). If I didn't get a hold of myself, and quickly, then it was going to end up costing much more than a simple friendly gesture. That I knew for sure.
But instead of letting my mind go wild with all of the possible things that could go wrong or what Master might do to me if they were to occur, or allowing my emotions to continue in their mission of messing up my mission, I did everything I could to keep all my senses on my surroundings. There were so many people in the crowd around me, and so many different scents. Nothing was the same.
The grass had been freshly cut sometime before the game when it hadn't been raining cats and dogs, and parts of the field were starting to turn into mud puddles. The wet earth almost smelled heavenly to me; it was hard to describe how lovely such common bouquets could be. The rain was chilly as it steadily drenched me and everyone else that wasn't protected by an umbrella of some kind, but it didn't bother me. It made me feel more connected to that which enveloped me, the world that I was trespassing in, and I liked that.
Glancing around me, I noticed for the first time since I'd arrived that, despite their silence, the little In-Training Digimon were all here. Some were hiding from the rain by seeking shelter under a poncho on Tai's lap, while others had smuggled themselves into some of the DigiDestineds' coats. Perhaps they weren't as worried about me now since their humanoid partners no longer seemed to mind me. Maybe DemiVeemon had convinced them that they had nothing to worry about.
Whatever the reason, I was happy to be having such luck with this group. I'd never taken part in a mission that was quite like this—I'd never had to fret about gaining my enemy's trust before going in for the final strike before. It felt…weird to me to have to spend so much time on such specifically chosen people, like there was something that I should be realizing about this that I wasn't.
But my mind was just enjoying its free time by going on a rampage of foolish thoughts. There was not one single mental-statement that made much of any sense to me at all. Aside from every time that I mentioned how all of this was so strange and new, how I couldn't understand what was going on even if I really wanted to know. And part of me didn't want to know for fear of the reason somehow screwing up all of Master's plans.
That obscene notion was just as foolish as every other thought in my head, though. I mean, really, how in the world could Master Devimon—the glorious being that had made me what I was this very day, the incredible genius that had created me to be the best of the best—possibly have made a scheme that would have any kind of flaw on which those do-gooders could act upon? It was downright stupid to think that my Master, perfect in every way, could've messed up this time.
My mind seemed to draw a blank, every though suddenly ceasing as if waiting for a storm to escape from the calm of the pounding rain and kill everyone in the vicinity. But this was nothing like that. Well, for the humans, anyway. That one word, 'perfect', that single, indescribable word, the word that really had no physical representation…somehow, I'd found the very human who'd been born to show the world what 'perfect' was. And my eyes had been drawn to him again, despite my best efforts to keep myself occupied.
I could hear Davis' friends offering supporting comments and praise to the team he was on, calling out this and that and the other thing. They also spoke to one another quickly every now and then, usually after some player did something that was apparently quite impressive. But I didn't care. I didn't care that they were there with me, I didn't care that there were other people on that field, in these stands, in the whole world.
I couldn't see them. I could only see Davis. And I was trying not to.
Attempts to convince my eyes to find something else to focus on failed. I tried again and again to stop searching for his scent; one single breath of it was too much effort just to be able to feel that it was there in the air. My ears refused to hear anything but his breathing, coming heavy as his lungs worked hard to fuel his muscles with oxygen. The cold skin that made me appear somewhat human—aside from my wolfish ears and the claws on my slightly paw-like hands—ignored the heat that came off of the Digimon and people around me, but tried instead to hone in on the warm beat of Davis' heart.
It was absolutely incredible how close I could be to him without him being aware of it. I'd never felt the need to be this…connected…with a human before. Heck, I'd never wanted to be this close to anyone else, be it human or Digimon. But here I was, chasing madly after this one boy as if he were the one thing that my existence depended on, as if Master and his plans didn't even matter anymore—
An unnaturally fast movement by the brick wall I'd been peeking over about an hour or so ago caught my eye, somehow dragging me away from Davis. My ears pointed straight up, straining to hear what I could not see anymore. But they didn't have to strive for very long. The odd sight that had caught my attention made its presence known without another moment passing by. The sight was a bit surprising to me, and it was hard to catch me off-guard in such a way.
A Dokugumon was creeping stealthily over the wall, apparently having sensed the same commotion that I had, and was coming to investigate. I wondered for a short few seconds about how he got to the human world, but answered my own question rapidly: Devimon had other minions besides me, so I wouldn't be the only one to know that certain bodies of water had portals to the Digital World hidden in their darkest depths.
But another couple of questions popped into my mind, each one coming and going so hurriedly that I barely had time to think of a possible explanation. Why was Dokugumon here? Had he come because he smelled the DigiDestined, or just because of the noise of the crowd and the game? What would happen if somebody noticed him? Why didn't that possibility even seem to bother him?
Was he here to kill?
That inquiry was, most likely, the one that I wondered about the most. None of the other unknowns, most of them, at least, really wouldn't affect me, but if he were here to get the DigiDestined without any kind of direct order from Master…he would become my problem in a hurry. But what could I really do if he were to go after one of them? Did I expect myself to really and truly consider the notion that I would risk exposure to save one of them—
A woman's deafening scream pierced the crowds' ears, and it became incredibly obvious to everyone that something was clearly wrong. I could sense the movement as she jumped onto her feet, feel the motion of the air as she swung her arm to point over at Dokugumon. "It's a spider!" She shrieked, her voice breaking on some of the words. Perhaps she had arachnophobia. "It's a giant. Spider!"
An uneasy silence settled over the people as all of them turned and saw what she was talking about, but nobody did anything for the longest time. They only sat and stared at the currently motionless Digimon. Pretty much everyone erupted into total and utter chaos when the foolish black, yellow, and red spider-Digimon let out a kind of roar and came up over the wall, heading straight for the players on the muddy soccer field.
I knew exactly what was going to happen here; I was completely unruffled while the humans leapt up from their seats and ran to get away from the beast. It was obvious that this Digimon was a follower of either Devimon or one of his brothers. They had a distinct…aroma to them, just like the DigiDestined did, except in this case—in a way, my case—you could smell Devimon on the Digimon in question. It was…permeated in them, locked away in their skin forever, it seemed.
Nevertheless, it was clear to see that this Dokugumon was here for basically the same reason that I was: Sent by one of the Devis to wreak havoc on the human world in the form of murders, preferably of DigiDestined people. I had to admit, though, it was odd that this one would choose to attack during the day, no matter how dark the rain clouds made it seem. I, myself, rarely even went out during the day. But, in order to gain the acceptance of my new, strange prey, I had to make exceptions.
Watching indifferently, my gaze wandered to a group of red-jersey-wearing soccer players as they ran from Dokugumon. It was hard to keep my attention on them due to the screaming of the people rushing to flee, and the frightened voices of the DigiDestined around me as they tried to figure out what to do, strived to find a way to get their Digimon to evolve and fight this evil-doer. But every one of my senses fell away from them and zoned in on that group when I saw that one of them tripped, and was quickly caught by its Poison Web.
Every fiber of my being tensed with a fear that I'd never felt before—heck, I barely felt fear at all! But I knew that this time, and all because of that human—if only it had been someone else! I wouldn't have cared then—that my world was going to end up falling apart somehow. Master was going to demand why I would even think of acting in the way I was about to, why I would stand in the way of one of his minions.
But I refused to let that creature even touch Davis.
Rage filled me at the thought of such a thing, and the raw emotion lent me extra power for a reason I wasn't entirely sure about. Not wanting to waste time wondering about it, I shot out of the bleachers without another thought, rocketing through the rain and shadow like a lightning bolt from hell. I hit the ground with a small thump, watering spraying up around my legs as I did, though I took no time to stop and take any real notice of it. Dokugumon was too excited to be able to keep himself from rushing towards Davis.
A deafening, malicious roar tore through my throat as I sprinted towards the two of them, hitting my top speed right before slamming into Dokugumon's side like a snarling freight train. The stunned Digimon was sent flying across the field, slamming into one of the goal posts and ending up tangled in the netting. I was tempted to go and keep beating on the creature right then and there, but I had to make sure that Davis was safe first. For a reason that I could not name, he was my first priority.
I turned towards him, wondering with a touch of anxiety what he might've thought about that whole little show, the bestial way that I'd almost possessively defended him. He'd never seen me act so outrageously before; he'd only ever witnessed the calm and collected version of me, even when I'd come to try and kill him that first night. I couldn't stop my brain from running through all kinds of horrified looks he might give me, the complete and utter terror exhibited in his eyes being enough to tear me in two.
But there was no fear in his eyes. At least, not directed towards me. It wasn't astonishing that he'd been scared of Dokugumon since he had almost been killed by the thing, but it was the way that he actually was looking at me. There was unprecedented awe in those dark, inspiring eyes as he gazed upon me, standing crouched slightly before him, ready to defend him at any cost. I thought for a brief moment that I saw a faint blush creep across his face, perhaps pondering what would make him so important that I would act so out of character.
I stared back at him; my eyes were cold and hard, while his teemed with life and its beauties. I could feel the ground pulsing dully beneath my feet as his friends were racing down the bleachers towards us, while Dokugumon struggled to escape its ironically web-like prison and figure out exactly what hit him. But I couldn't focus on anything else; Davis had my full attention, and a strange part of me knew that I was doomed to feel this strange, inexplicable emotion for a very, very long time.
At least until I figured out how to destroy it.
Dropping to one knee in front of Davis, trying to hold my breath so that I wouldn't be tempted to take up where Dokugumon was forced to leave, I touched my claws to the strong, sticky web that bound his arms to his sides. "Hey! Don't you touch him!" I ignored TK's belligerent shouting and proceeded to dig my talons into the webbing and slice the mahogany-haired boy free from its grasp. TK and his fear of the unknown, his fear of that which was dark, mattered little to me at the moment.
I paused before standing, daring to glimpse once more into those hypnotizing eyes, tempted by them as an alcoholic to his drink, threatened by them as a hero to his kryptonite. His mouth was hanging open slightly, trying to form words as best he could under the circumstance, but none would cooperate with him. A smile forced its way onto my lips without my permission; it made me feel…fuzzy inside, watching him struggle against this fluster.
Despite how much I…liked this, how much I wanted to remain here with Davis, I could sense that Dokugumon had finally decided to make his own exit and had crawled out of the net. He was slinking away as quietly and quickly as he could, trying to avoid capturing my attention—which had obviously failed. Knowing that I had to deal with that creature first, I rose from the soggy ground and started walking rather calmly toward the spider-Digimon. Judging by his reaction, one would've thought that I'd had a loaded gun pointed at him. Or a really big fly-swatter.
He let out a pitiful cry of fear before catapulting himself over the brick wall, attempting to make a run for it. But no Digimon could outrun me. He would not escape. I broke into a slow jog—it was slow to me, anyways, and probably made me look like I was the top sprinter on some track team—and stalked my fellow follower of Lord Devimon.
He tried to cut through an alley to get away from me, but I was far too fast for the thought of escape to even appear reasonable. I could hear his whimpering breaths as I leapt in front of him, blocking his path time after time. "Who sent you?" I questioned coldly, the downpour of rain starting to lessen so I didn't have to speak quite as loudly as before. "Why did you come to this city, of all the places that you could've gone?"
This Dokugumon's attack back at the school had obviously not been as threatening as my imagination had brought me to believe. I could see that now while I watched the pitiful thing tremble before me. It made me feel a tad bit foolish when recollecting my actions. "P-p-p-please, don't hurt me! I didn't know you were here already—I wouldn't have come if I knew that such a respected and marvelous Digimon, held so highly by Lord Devimon himself, had already claimed those children! Have mercy on my ignorant head, please—"
"Enough!" I snarled over its silly pleas, shocked that any brother of Devimon would allow such a pathetic being to even be a part of his army. We were a league of highly intelligent and powerful beings. My Lord's dark military was no place for the faint of heart. "Who. Sent. You?" I asked the question very slowly, over-enunciating each word as a parent might as they try to teach their toddler to speak properly.
The Dokugumon shuddered at the sound of my voice before finally giving me the information I'd been wanting all along, "N-NeoDevimon told me that I could come to the human world and take revenge on the DigiDestined for what they'd done to all of us, but he didn't tell me where I was supposed to go specifically, so I just came here because I sensed that there was a great group of those special people here—but I had no idea that you'd already claimed them, Moroamon! I wouldn't have—"
I waved my hand a single time, effectively silencing the chatty arachnid. "I don't care. Go back to NeoDevimon, or go to a different city, it doesn't make any difference to me. As long as you get out of here and never. Come. Back." I allowed one final snarl, accompanied by a harsh growl, to ripple through the pattering rain, frightening Dokugumon quite simply.
Without another word, he turned and raced away from me, disappearing into the cloudy, wet day before I could change my mind and come after him. Judging by the direction he was going in, he was heading to the pond that I usually used to get in and out of the Digital/human world. I wasn't that surprised; perhaps he had lied about following the DigiDestined and had really followed me. A lot of lower minions liked to do that for whatever reason. It wasn't like I was gentle with them, nor did I ever show them any kindness since Master taught us that such things proved to be traits only the weak had.
I stared at the invisible path of retreat that the spider had made, wondering to myself for a moment which theory was the correct one, but it soon became a foolish thing to waste my time on and I dropped it. But I did not yet leave the alley that Dokugumon had lead me into; it seemed so…familiar to me. I wasn't sure why, exactly, but…it just did.
I probably passed through here on a hunt one night. Nothing important. Shrugging off the strange incident as something that I didn't need to waste my energy caring about, a started tracking the Dokugumon again, this time completely sure where he was going: back to the Digital World. I wasn't planning on leaving the human world quite yet, but I did want to make sure that that fool of a Digimon hadn't tried to outwit me. If he had, he was going to have to pay for his stupidity, because no one could trick me.
It was easy to follow the Digimon's scent despite the rain's attempts to wash it away, so it wasn't hard to let my mind wander elsewhere. Back through the city. Back to that school. Back to Davis sitting in the rain on the grass, looking up at me like I was some kind of hero. His savior. The thought made me laugh, though the hushed noise had a hint of bitterness to it. Yes, I saved him. So that I can kill him later.
But that thought still bothered me, made my fiery soul chill in a way that made me shudder violently. Every time that I thought about bringing the mission back to his doorstep, I felt anxious, nervous and sick and unsure. I'd never felt such things about any of my DigiDestined prey before, and I didn't want to have to be feeling it now. I would try and stop it, decipher it and kill it before it had the chance to get any worse, but I had no idea how to go about doing such things.
The notion of asking Master about what was going on was an option I had no intention of considering. My malevolent lord wouldn't be pleased that there was no something wrong with his once nearly perfect creation—something had infected me. I could only imagine his outrage at learning this—actually, I didn't want to think about that. It would probably be better if I assumed that there was some kind of virus or something in the blood of one of the last humans I'd attacked, and leave it at that.
Nobody but me had to know about this.
I gently shook my head, trying to convince myself that I should just forget about what had happened at that game entirely. If I ignored the incident with Dokugumon and the odd…burning sensation I'd felt within me, then maybe it wouldn't cause as big of a problem as what I'd originally thought that it might. In a way, it felt like one of those 'if-I-can't-see-you-you-can't-see-me' moments. Except, in this case, it was more like 'if-I-ignore-you-you-can't-ruin-my-life'.
However, no matter how hard I tried to keep my mind occupied by focusing all my brainpower on that pathetic Digimon's trail, I found my mind wandering back to the exact place I wanted to stay away from. Maybe I should go back and make sure that they got everything settled down okay back there. The crowd was pretty freaked out, and I'm sure that the media got into it as well—What the hell am I thinking? I don't want to get that close to those DigiDestined! I can't!
I growled angrily, exhausted by my incessant thoughts regarding—I didn't even want to think about it. It was so…just, no. No, no, no, no. Fisting my hands to keep myself somewhat under control, I took off running as fast as I could for that pond. I had to get out of the human world and away from the smell of DigiDestined flesh, if only for a few hours. I just knew that I would do something foolish if I ran into them anytime soon.
I just…I needed to be alone to re-collect myself. To forget about…him.
