Thank you for the reviews!
Here we have chapter two. It's majorly focused on Sora and her inner struggle as she is confronted by a reality that forces her to think about her family problems. Can she keep her cool or will her insecurities strain her relationship with her digimon partner? Also, Sora's parents are not divorced but her father is mostly absent due to him working in Kyoto. I'm not sure if they were still married or not in the original anime (but this is a canon divergence, so it's okay).
As always, reviews are appreciated. :)
Chapter 2: Sora's stand
"Finally we can rest!" Mimi celebrated, sitting on a fallen tree trunk.
"We rested less than an hour ago." Jyou retorted, panting. "It will be troublesome if we stop every time you get tired, Mimi-kun."
"I'm not going to take advice from someone who didn't even apologize properly." Mimi pouted.
"Hey, I did apologize to both you and Koushiro-kun!" Jyou defended himself.
"You apologized for yelling but you didn't acknowledge that it was wrong of you to tell us what to do with our time!" Mimi explained. A vein could be seen in her forehead.
"Why should I apologize for giving solid advice?" Jyou made a rhetorical question. "You should thank me for worrying about your future."
How long are those two going to keep arguing? Sora wondered. She was getting more tired at every second. Jyou-sempai is supposed to be in charge because he's the older one, and yet he's the most immature person here.
Sora was leaning against a tree that had not been torn down by the gear rain. The sun was going to set in less than an hour and the Pyokomon Village did not seem to be getting closer.
The girl looked at the bird digimon at her side that was now named Piyomon. She and the other digimon had explained that they all had evolved and, because of that, they had new names. Pyokomon became Piyomon, Motimon became Tentomon, Tanemon became Palmon, Tokomon became Patamon and Pukamon became Gomamon. They said they were digital monsters. Sora wanted to ask some questions but was interrupted by Jyou, who started a tantrum about how evolution was a process that takes hundreds of years and could not possibly happen in a couple of seconds. Sora was getting tired of Jyou finding new things to complain about. He was sounding an awful lot like an adult.
"Anyway, we're getting out of topic." Jyou sighed. "If we continue to stop and rest any time you want, it'll get dark before we reach the Pyokomon Village!"
"Aren't you being harsh, Jyou? I mean, you seem to be way more tired than her." Gomamon pointed out.
Jyou blushed furiously, adjusted his glasses and tripped on his words:
"I-I-I was j-just worried about the group's morale!"
"I thought you were just trying to look cool." Gomamon chuckled. Sora smirked and heard some laughs around her. She looked at Takeru, a few steps in front of her, and saw him laughing along. That warmed her heart.
Takeru sat on a tree truck across from Mimi's, Patamon was on his lap. Jyou sat next to Takeru; his face was still red, and Gomamon lay close to the sixth grader's feet. Koushiro sat on a rock by himself and Tentomon sat on the grass nearby it. Palmon was on the tree trunk, by Mimi's side.
Sora walked to Mimi's trunk and sat next to her. The 5th grader smiled as she observed Takeru. The little boy did not look as scared as before.
"Children are pretty tough." Mimi told Sora in a serene voice. "You don't need to over worry about Takeru-kun."
"He's still a kid." Sora murmured, frowning. "A little kid whose family is torn apart and who doesn't have anyone he can talk to."
"Takeru-kun has us all. He's not alone." Mimi was trying to make Sora feel less gloomy but it wasn't working. The older girl was lost in her thoughts and, from her expression, they were not happy ones. The fourth grader had noticed already that Sora was a serious person who worried a lot about others but now she wondered if there was more to that than just empathy.
"Pukamon!" Jyou's voice caught the attention of the girls. The older boy was trying to force his partner out of the big bag he had been carrying. "We already ate part of the rations an hour ago, we must save them!"
The white seal took his face out of the bag as he swallowed a big portion of food.
"I'm not Pukamon anymore. I'm Gomamon now!"
"Right. I forgot you changed your name." Jyou muttered.
"Does that mean that those are species names?" Koushiro asked Tentomon.
"I don't know what species are." Tentomon replied. "But there are more than one digimon of each kind in the world."
"Like the Pyokomon from the village we're going to." Piyomon added cheerfully. The bird digimon jumped on Sora and hugged the girl tightly. The human felt discomfort from the uncalled demonstration of affection. She did not understand why Piyomon was so clingy. "They'll be so surprised when they see we have evolved."
"I wonder if we're going to find adults in that village." Jyou wondered in loud voice.
"I don't think our chances of finding other human beings in this place are very high." Koushiro commented. "Perhaps that aurora opened a gate to a different dimension where the digimon are the dominant living forms. I do wonder, though, why they call themselves 'digital.' The name implies non organic life but Tentomon and the others don't seem to be mechanical or electronic."
"If you want electricity, I can give it to you." Tentomon said jokingly, letting a few electrical sparks fly.
"Even if I were to believe in that, it doesn't mean there aren't adults here. I mean, aside from humans, digimon have parents, right?" Jyou questioned.
"Parents?" Palmon sounded confused.
"What are parents, Sora?" Piyomon asked.
Sora stayed still. Memories flashed before her eyes: her mother spending most of her time on flower arrangements and telling Sora about the importance of her heritage; her father being absent most of the time, showing up a few times each year and telling the little girl that he loved her and she should obey her mother while he was out. And yet those brief moments he spent with his family were the only moments when Sora saw her mother smiling happily.
The older girl's attention was captured by Koushiro's voice. The boy had apparently made the decision to answer Piyomon's question, probably due to Sora's silence.
"Parents are very kind people who love you and take care of you." Koushiro said with a sparkle in his eyes. Nevertheless, Sora noticed a subtle tremor in his lips as he smiled.
Kind people who love you… those words resounded bitterly in the 5th grader's mind.
"They work very hard to buy you things like food and clothes. " Takeru added. "And my Mom reads books for me sometimes."
"My parents encourage me to express myself and do what makes me happy." Mimi said, cheerfully. "We watch old movies and TV shows and have a great time together."
"Parents are biologically linked to you." Jyou informed didactically. "They teach you the right values and expect you to honor your lineage and your ancestors."
"Jyou, I didn't understand half of the words you just said." Gomamon made a sheepish comment which embarrassed his partner. Everybody laughed, except for two people.
Koushiro's smile vanished from his face after Jyou spoke the first sentence. The boy's melancholic eyes were not focusing on any specific spot.
Sora had the feeling that something had squeezed her heart. Mimi's and Jyou's remarks hit her like sharp swords.
Jyou stood for things that could make Sora shriek in horror. And he talked about those things with so much pride in his voice that he made the girl feel sick. How could he not be bothered by that? How could the notion that his reason to exist was to fulfill the roles that other people determined for him satisfy the boy? However, in spite of Sora's strong rejection of the 6th grader's world view, she could not stop the envy from filling her heart. Jyou should be such a happy person. He should make his parents so proud. What parent would not love a child with rebellion aversion?
Mimi's words, on the other hand, provoked a more visceral sentiment in Sora. The smaller girl had stated that her parents encouraged her to express herself and that they wanted her to do things that made her happy. Mimi did not have to live with the constant reminder that the soccer practice she enjoyed so much was a waste of time and that she should be dedicating herself to Ikebana. Mimi did not know what it was to be told every day that she should be more feminine. That she should behave in the way that was expected from her.
To be delicate, to be gracious, to be like a flower.
Sora felt that she could start crying right then and there. But she would not allow it.
Out of nowhere, a flower of the size of a soccer ball was thrown in the space between the tree trucks. The flower had not blossomed yet; its purple petals were still closed.
"A dream flower!" Piyomon exclaimed, surprised.
"Why does it have that name?" Mimi questioned. "Is it because it's pretty?"
"No. It's because when the petals open a sleep gas is released." Piyomon replied.
The flower petals opened and liberated a lilac gas that rapidly covered the area. Sora tried to cover her mouth but it was in vain. The last thing she saw before collapsing was the silhouettes of several small plant digimon.
When the older girl woke up, she found above her a metallic ceiling. Sora sat up and looked around. Piyomon was attached to her arm. The other children and digimon were also sitting on the floor, close by.
The floor was made of metal too and had a thin layer of dust covering it. Behind them, there was a cold wall. In front of them and occupying most of the large room there were more than 100 Pyokomon. The only illumination came from a big bonfire lit on a counter at the other side, in a distance of 15 meters from where the children were. The only entrance and exit Sora found was a fissure on the right lateral wall, which was being blocked with rubble. There was a flight of stairs a few meters on their left that led to an opening on the ceiling.
"What happened?" Sora asked Koushiro, wondering how long after everyone else she had woken up.
"For what I understood, the Pyokomon kidnapped us and brought us to a ship half buried in the sand. But they have not really told us anything." Koushiro replied.
"12-sama, they are all up now!" One of the Pyokomon closer to the children shouted.
"Oi, did she just call someone '12?'" Jyou whispered to Gomamon.
"They are all Pyokomon, it would be confusing if they called each other 'Pyokomon.'" Gomamon explained it as if it was obvious.
"But why numbers?" Mimi asked. "Why don't they use normal names?"
"There's an old popular story about a digimon called Zero. I think that probably inspired the idea." Tentomon informed.
The Pyokomon in front of the children started to move around in order to give space for another Pyokomon, who was jumping towards the kids. She stopped one foot away from them and took a long look at Piyomon.
"123?" She asked.
"I'm Piyomon now, 12. No need to call me 123 anymore." Piyomon replied joyfully.
"So these other four are your companions? You all evolved." 12 murmured, sounding intrigued. "And what are those pale creatures with you?"
"They are our human partners." Piyomon replied happily, pulling Sora close. "This is Sora, she gave me the power to evolve! And she's so intelligent and responsible and I love her so much!"
Sora felt something cold in her guts. She had an urge to let go of Piyomon but was being firmly held. What is she saying? How can she say something like that?
Sora's annoyance was unnoticed thanks to the repercussions of her partner's statement.
"The human beings can give us the power to evolve?" Someone in the crowd asked.
"See? I told you that if we brought them here they'd show us how to evolve!" Another voice said.
"Wait a second!" Sora shouted, standing up and letting go of her partner by force. Every pair of eyes in the room stared at her. "We don't have any power to make digimon evolve, this is madness!"
"That's not true, Sora!" Piyomon opposed the human's statement. "I felt your energy inside me! Your heart gave me power!"
"Ridiculous." Sora felt as cold sweat covered her face. The bird digimon's eyes were locked on hers. They seemed so honest but they could not be. Those words had to be false. "My heart can't possibly do that."
"Why don't you believe me?" Piyomon's voice sounded hurt. "Do you think I would lie to you?"
"Why wouldn't you?!" Sora inquired bitterly. Her eyes felt like they would burn from the inside at any moment. Her mind raced back to the times when her father visited her: the days when her mother was so happy that she even left aside her precious flowers, so happy that she even complimented Sora and told her she was beloved; and the days after his departure, when the woman barely talked to the little girl and got irritated when Sora distracted her from the Ikebana. "People I've known my entire life have done that! Why wouldn't someone I met a couple of hours ago do it too?"
Piyomon's blue eyes got very wide and wet. She flew to the opening on the ceiling and disappeared. The girl felt nothing, as if someone had forced her heart open and emptied it completely. Sora sunk back to where she had been sitting and hugged her knees, facing down. She could tell everybody was looking at her but did not care. They had better not say anything about her being too harsh to Piyomon. That had been the digimon's fault. Because she was being so mushy and was saying those thoughtless things! Who could possibly love Sora right after meeting her? What could the bird possibly know about the girl? How could she say that Sora's heart gave her the strength to grow and become more powerful? Those things could not be true. Piyomon was either a liar or a delusional digimon.
"Mimi-san." Takeru called the fourth grader girl in a concerned whisper. "Shouldn't we do something?"
Mimi felt lost and did not know what to reply. She would never expect Sora to act that way towards Piyomon. The older girl seemed to be so patient and mature, why would she lash out at someone who was only saying wonderful things about her?
"So…" Jyou turned to 12; probably trying to dissolve the awkward atmosphere. "Why did you bring us to this ship and not the village?"
"There's no village anymore." 12 answered darkly. Everyone, even Sora, stared at the leader of the Pyokomon with surprise. "Earlier this day, Meramon destroyed our houses and ordered us to leave his land before the moon appeared in the sky tonight."
"Meramon?" Palmon gasped in shock.
"That can't be right! It must be a mistake!" Patamon added, astonished.
"Who is Meramon?" Koushiro questioned Tentomon.
"He has been the protector of the Pyokomon village since before we were born. He always seemed to be so kind and loving." The insect digimon replied, letting his confusion manifest in his voice.
"Meramon is an adult level digimon with a body made of fire." Gomamon pointed out. "He could have killed everybody if he wanted to."
Adult? The word echoed in Sora's mind.
"It is possible that this was a misunderstanding. Maybe Meramon had an unknown reason to-" Mimi started to say but was cut off by Sora.
"Don't you dare defend the guy!" The older girl spoke with rage.
"S-Sora-san?" Mimi stuttered, nervously. Sora stood up again, trembling in anger.
"This Meramon is an adult, right? He was supposed to take care of the Pyokomon and acted all nice for a while but the moment he didn't feel like doing it anymore…" Sora felt she was about to cry but stopped the tears. "He turned against those who loved him and scared them to the point to kidnap strangers for help. Meramon is horrible… they're horrible"
"Why are you still in this place?" Jyou asked the Pyokomon. "The flame digimon told you to leave, right? Why haven't you run away yet?"
"This is their home, Jyou-san." Takeru spoke softly. "They don't want to leave their home behind."
"But their village was burned down! They should be glad that everybody is safe and go to a place where they can live in peace!" Jyou protested.
"Not everybody is safe." 12 lamented. A sad murmur spread across the room.
"Meramon…" Koushiro muttered to himself. Comprehension filled his eyes. "They have not given up on Meramon."
"He always took care of us." One of the Pyokomon stated in a crying voice.
"We don't even know what is wrong! It was too sudden of a transformation!" Another added.
"We can't leave before understanding what happened. That's why we brought you here." 12 explained. "You may be child level digimon but you are stronger than us. We ask… we beg your help to immobilize Meramon so we can talk to him."
"THIS IS RIDICULOUS!" Jyou shouted. "YOU BROUGHT US HERE BY FORCE AND NOW YOU ASK US TO RISK OUR LIVES SO YOU CAN CHAT TO THE DIGIMON WHO ATTACKED YOU?"
"But if they don't talk to Meramon they'll never know what caused the change!" Mimi took the side of 12.
"The Pyokomon would live their lives believing that the one they loved so much hated them when we don't know for sure if that is true." Takeru supported Mimi.
"It is meaningless to try to talk to Meramon, he doesn't care about you! He hurt you and he'll do that again if you let him!" Sora told the Pyokomon, angrily.
"The logical thing to do would be to run but…" Koushiro had an evasive tone of voice and did not seem to be talking to anyone in particular. His half closed eyes apparently reflected sorrow or doubt.
"But what?" Sora questioned, irritated.
Koushiro looked up startled. He had not realized that he was saying those things aloud. An anguished and embarrassed expression crossed his face and he stayed silent for a few seconds. Then, he gave in and finished his sentence in low voice:
"If the adult who was once so kind as to take care of you, despite lacking any obligation to do so, suddenly has a change of heart and attacks you with no reason… if such a thing could be easily acceptable or even expected, the world would be a horrible place."
Sora, Mimi and Jyou froze after Koushiro said that. It was completely out of character for the younger boy to talk about his worldview. None of the three children had ever heard the kid with red hair speak about his feelings at all. While they were left dumbstruck, Takeru smiled at the 4th grader and said:
"I think the same way."
Koushiro's face became completely red and he turned around. Then, he asked the Pyokomon a question. His voice made it clear to the others that he was embarrassed.
"D-did something unusual happen before Meramon's attack?"
"Some black gears fell from the sky. They didn't cause a lot of damage in the village, though." One of the Pyokomon replied.
"The same gears that hurt that Kuwagamon! Perhaps there's a connection between the events!" Mimi suggested.
"Do you mean that Meramon could have been hit by a gear and turned evil?" Takeru asked.
"We don't know what the gears are made of." Jyou pondered. "Let's say that there's a substance in its manufacture that could lead to a psychotic-"
"Stop it!" Sora interrupted. "What are you doing? Why do you keep making excuses for him?"
"We are trying to understand the situation, Sora-san!" Mimi was starting to get annoyed with the older girl.
"What is there to understand? Meramon attacked the Pyokomon! He hurt them! What other proof do you need to accept that he's just horrible and doesn't deserve a second chance?"
"Sora-san, you don't even know Meramon." Takeru pointed out.
"I don't need to know! They are all the same!" Sora was shaking. "You can't just forgive them! You should know that, Takeru-kun!"
"Then Piyomon shouldn't forgive you either!" Mimi shouted. She had lost her patience with Sora. The 5th grader, who was consumed by anger until that moment, turned to Mimi in absolute shock.
"What are you… talking about?" It was like Sora had difficulty in organizing her thoughts. "What does Piyomon have to do with this?"
"Sora-san, you told Piyomon horrible things!" Mimi could not believe that Sora was unaware of what she had done. "She flew away crying and you didn't even go after her!"
"I made Piyomon cry?" A horrified expression took over Sora's face. "No, that's not right! We were arguing… she started everything!"
"All that Piyomon did was praise you! She was so proud of you, so happy to have known you! And you stepped on her feelings and called her a liar, Sora-san! How could you?" Mimi was shaking and a couple of tears fell from her eyes. "How could you be so cruel to her?"
Cruel? I was cruel?A wave of panic made Sora jump. But I can't… I can't! That's not what I wanted to be!
A conversation with her mother from when Sora was still a small girl showed up vividly in her memory. She could almost see her mother's back while she worked on her flower arrangement.
"Mom, when will Dad come back again?"
Silence.
"Mom, I already miss Dad."
Silence.
"Why does he have to work in another city? Why can't he be with us?"
"Be quiet, Sora!" The woman replied, coldly. Her usual firm hands were trembling. "You are upsetting the flowers."
Sora ran to the stairs and climbed them quickly. Mimi smiled brightly at this action but Sora did not notice it. The only thing in her mind was Piyomon.
The girl came to a dark corridor. She could not see anything.
"Piyomon?" The 5th grader called. "Are you there, Piyomon? I'm sorry!"
The digimon did not reply and Sora became increasingly afraid. She hates me now. I made Piyomon hate me! I'm so awful!
"I'm so sorry Piyomon." The girl kneeled on the dark corridor. "I wasn't really angry at you. I was angry because of something else and I just dumped everything on you. I didn't want to call you a liar. You must've been so confused… so scared."
"Don't go, Dad." Sora remembered telling that to her father on one of his departures. "Mom gets so sad when you leave."
"I need to return to my work, Sora-chan. But your Mom will be fine. You'll be here with her."
"She doesn't like me!"
"She loves you, Sora. Just as much as I do. She might not be very good at expressing that but if you're patient-"
"No, she doesn't like me! She just cares about you and the flowers!"
"That's not true, Sora!"
"Stop lying to me!"
"I'm such an idiot!" Sora sobbed. Big tears washed her face. "I'm so stupid! And now you know that… and you hate me. Of course you hate me! How could you not? I always mess everything up! I wanted to be different but I'm just like them! I'm just as terrible as them!"
Sora felt a gentle hug wrap her. The soft feathers dried her tears.
"I thought you hated me, Sora." Piyomon was crying too. "It made me so sad."
"I'm so sorry, Piyomon. I don't hate you. Of course I don't hate you!" Sora apologized, crying more.
"It's okay, Sora." Piyomon's voice had regained part of its usual joy. "I'm glad to hear that. I still love you. I'm going to love you and protect you forever."
"Why?" Sora asked in confusion. "I hurt you, Piyomon! I was cruel! I acted like the kind of person I-"
"I've already forgiven you."
"BUT YOU SHOULDN'T! After what I did I don't deserve-"
"Sora, please listen to me." Piyomon asked. Sora bit her lips and listened to what the digimon had to say. "You made a mistake. I don't think it was your first or it will be your last. And I'm sure that I'm going to make mistakes too. But it's okay. As long as we acknowledge them and apologize, it's okay to make mistakes. You're not less of a good person because of it and neither are you less deserving of love."
Sora's arms had been down the whole time. But at that moment, she lifted them, slowly. And she carefully put them around Piyomon's body. At that moment, she thought she could feel her friend's heartbeat. Piyomon genuinely loved her and was not driven away by her true self. That was the first time anyone had shown affection to Sora in such an open and honest way. A demonstration of love that could no longer be denied nor refused by the girl.
"Thank you, Piyomon."
A big explosion was heard below and the ship was shaken so violently that Sora would have fallen into the entrance of the second floor if Piyomon had not grabbed her arm. The two of them began to descend the stairs and saw what had caused the explosion. A huge man made of fire had destroyed a big part of the ship's hull in front of them. It was night outside and the full moon was visible.
"Meramon, why are you doing this?" 12 jumped to the front and inquired. "We deserve an explanation!"
Meramon formed a fire ball in his left hand and threw it in her direction. Luckily, Palmon used her ivy to take 12 out of danger in time.
"We can't possibly hold that thing down!" Jyou screamed. "We must escape!"
"We can't run away without Sora-san and Piyomon!" Mimi contested.
"Mimi-chan! Guys!" Sora called, running to them with Piyomon flying by her side. "I'm sorry."
"It's good to see that the two of you made amends." Mimi said, cheerfully. "That's all that matters."
"We have more urgent issues right now; care to talk about that later?" Jyou cut them off.
Sora walked in Meramon's direction and stopped a few feet away from him. Piyomon followed her.
"What is she doing? It's dangerous!" Koushiro voiced his concern.
"Why are you doing this, Meramon?" Sora inquired. "Don't you realize that you're hurting and scaring the Pyokomon? Don't you know how much they care about you?"
"I'll burn you all!" Meramon threatened as he formed more fire balls in his hands. "You'll all turn to dust!"
"Sora-kun, get out of there!" Jyou pleaded.
"Sora-san!" Takeru cried.
"I won't let you do any harm to anyone in this place!" Sora had ferocity in her voice. "As long as I'm here, no adult is going to mistreat children."
"Nonsense!" Meramon laughed, getting ready to attack. "What can you do against me by yourself?"
"I'm not by myself." Sora declared and a smile appeared on her lips. Piyomon, who was behind her, flew and hovered in front of Sora.
Bright white light came out of an object stuck in Sora's belt: one of the little machines that had fallen on the camp before the tide took them to File Island. A machine whose importance they had not figured out yet. The light wrapped Piyomon.
"Piyomon evolves to… BIRDRAMON!"
A giant and majestic orange flame bird appeared where Piyomon had been a few seconds before. Birdramon pushed Meramon outside and they initiated an intense combat. His fire balls did not affect the huge flying creature a lot. On the other hand, when she shot fire meteors from her large wings on Meramon's chest, a black gear was expelled from his back and destroyed.
Meramon's size decreased and he fell to the ground.
"What happened?" He asked, confused and horrified. "What was I doing?"
Birdramon returned to her previous form and flew to Sora's arms. The girl hugged her tightly and twirled happily.
"You were incredible, Piyomon!" She said, beaming.
"You were incredible too, Sora!" Piyomon replied.
"These machines…" Koushiro began to talk, picking up the device that was stuck in his computer backpack. "Five of them fell from the sky and we were brought to this place. And now, when Piyomon evolved, the one with Sora-san shone."
"Did all of them shine when the digimon evolved the first time?" Mimi wondered.
"I don't remember." Jyou sighed.
"So these machines make the digimon evolve?" Takeru asked, curious.
"No." Piyomon denied. "They might have some influence but I know what made me evolve."
She looked at Sora, who gave her a warm smile.
"Yeah." The girl agreed. That time she really could feel the power inside her. And she knew she had been the force that pushed Piyomon forward, just like the digimon had done for her.
12 jumped towards Meramon.
"Will you explain now?" She inquired. The flame digimon bowed and touched the ground with his forehead.
"I am so deeply sorry. The last thing I remember was feeling a piercing pain in my back. And then it was like I had been filled with rage. I couldn't control myself." His voice was overflowing with sorrow. "I caused so much damage… I could've killed you all…"
"We want to forgive you." 12 said. "But for you to earn our trust again it will take time and effort."
"Of course. I wouldn't accept any less." Meramon agreed.
"You could start by getting us something to eat. We lost all of our seeds during your first attack." One of the Pyokomon suggested.
"YES!" Mimi shouted, excited. "I can't stand to eat emergency rations anymore!"
"Mimi-kun, don't be so ungrateful!" Jyou complained. "To think that I've been carrying this heavy bag around and you… wait! I just remembered! You were the one supposed to carry the bag!"
"What?" Mimi pretended she did not know what the boy was talking about. "I'm already carrying my own bag!"
"According to the camp's rules it's your turn!" Jyou accused.
"Okay." Mimi gave in. "I'll carry the heavy bag once we return to the camp."
"CARRY IT NOW!" Jyou screamed in frustration.
"They're fighting again." Takeru lamented.
"It's okay, Takeru-kun. There's no need to worry about them." Sora consoled the boy.
"I don't like it when people fight." Takeru murmured, looking away. The older girl remembered that Takeru's parents had divorced and deduced that his trauma probably derived from that. She felt guilty imagining what must have passed through his mind when she argued with Piyomon. However, the 5th grader knew that she had to make him feel better.
"It's true that fights are not pleasant and that during them people you care about get hurt. But there are times when it's important to have arguments."
"Why?" Takeru asked.
"Disagreements force us to open our hearts. Because of that they have the power to make us get closer to each other and understand each other better." Sora said, glancing at Piyomon. "And that's a good thing."
Koushiro listened to their conversation but did not make any commentary. He looked up to the moon, lost in thoughts. The voices around him seemed to become less loud.
Meramon brought many fruits to the Pyokomon that night; the children and their digimon had a good feast too. Sora and the others spent the night in the ship and rested well. The next morning, they decided to part.
"There's plenty of room for you. You can stay for how long you desire." 12 told the children.
"Thank you. But we need to find a way home." Sora said, smiling.
"And thank you for giving us so many fruits!" Jyou added, trying to lift the bag that was now a lot heavier than before. Mimi grabbed the bag from below and helped Jyou to put the strap over his shoulder.
"We can take turns carrying it." Mimi suggested, blushing. "When you get tired I can take over."
"Thank you so much, Mimi-kun!" Jyou was so happy to hear what Mimi had said that small tears of joy appeared in his eyes. Takeru and Sora beamed at each other.
The children and the five digimon walked in the direction of the rising sun. To Sora's eyes, File Island seemed to have become brighter.