Nanomon woke up in his cage, feeling that someone was watching him. He stood up with difficulty and turned in the direction of the bars. He did not find Kanda there.
"A Patamon?" He asked, confused, looking at the orange and white creature walking in his direction. That was probably one of the digimon of the chosen children. What was he doing there by himself?
The small digimon sat a few centimeters from the bars and studied the other attentively. He had a serene expression on the face.
"What do you want?" Nanomon inquired.
"Tell me how to get Sora out of the orb." Patamon demanded in a grave tone of voice. There was no shred of hesitation in him. What is the meaning of this? Nanomon wondered. Who does this child level digimon think he is to speak to a perfect level like this? It was not that Patamon had been rude. Strangely, that direct request seemed fit to him, somehow. Patamon emanated in the moment an aura of dignity that should not belong to him.
"Heh." Nanomon laughed, nervously. "A little insignificant thing like you wants me-"
"I know you were scared of Seraphimon." Patamon did not allow him to finish the sentence. The authority in the child level digimon's voice sent chills through the other's metallic body. When he actually came to think on what Patamon had said, the weirdness of the situation increased. How could anyone speak of Seraphimon, the greatest digimon that ever existed, without showing any sign of reverence or fear? Nanomon should instill respect for his deceased master in that creature. However, he found himself unable to do so. Something in Patamon's serene eyes froze him in his tracks. The mammal digimon showed an almost imperceptible smile and spoke again: "I know you wouldn't have created those prisons without thinking on a countermeasure to keep yourself safe."
Nanomon was becoming more and more disturbed by Patamon. Each word coming from the child level monster felt like a needle entering his heart, which was a sensation he had almost forgotten about.
"What can you possibly know about me?" Nanomon inquired. He could feel his heart racing and coldness spreading through his already cold body. "Someone like you can't understand my devotion to my Master! I didn't follow him out of fear; I followed him because I believed in his vision! Seraphimon-sama had been chosen by Fate to be the savior of the world! He should be reigning until today if that cursed woman-"
Nanomon suddenly stopped talking. Patamon was staring at him with so much intensity that he thought his heart was going to stop. He was not sure about what he saw beyond those wide blue eyes but it was enough to force him to take a step back.
"Who-?" Nanomon had only begun to voice his question when a human child opened the sliding door of Kanda's travel base and stepped inside it.
"Patamon! I was looking you everywhere!" The boy shouted, running to the mammal digimon and picking him up. "What are you doing here, alone with this guy? It could be dangerous!"
"Sorry, Takeru!" Patamon spoke in a childish voice, to Nanomon's shock.
Takeru glanced at Nanomon and noticed how harmed he was. That was certainly Kanda's doing. Kanda-san must've been extracting information to help Sora-san. This monster is the culprit for her disappearance. The human reminded himself, forcing his sight away from the digimon's wounds. Yet, his heart felt heavy. The boy gulped and walked away with his partner. After closing the sliding door behind them, Takeru remained in the same spot for a couple of seconds, looking down.
"I was trying to make him tell me how to save Sora." Patamon explained. His partner noticed that his voice was more serious than usual.
"He wouldn't tell you anything." Takeru affirmed. "Not even Kanda-san got any result despite doing that to him."
"Maybe Kanda isn't intimidating enough." Patamon suggested, showing a sheepish smile.
"And you are?" Takeru laughed. "You're the least scary living being in the world!"
Takeru noticed his partner's eyes getting humid and became afraid that he had hurt his feelings. But Patamon did not seem sad.
"Thank you." The digimon said, smiling broadly.
The human did not understand why his partner had thanked him. There was no time to ask about it, though. Koushiro had disappeared hours earlier and they had to keep searching for the boy.
Chapter 20: Oncoming storm
Several lines of Digimon were in the hall of the Academy's main base. They had all been assigned to different locations and were to leave immediately. Bastemon was keeping track of them from the computer in her counter, which showed the images of the cameras spread around. She noticed Wizarmon walking with a small digimon hidden under a yellow cape in one of the lines. Finding that strange, Bastemon left the counter and went to where they were. Without asking questions, she pulled the hood of the cape from the head of the smaller digimon.
It was a Tailmon.
"I didn't know we had a Tailmon as a recruit." Bastemon commented. "And I thought I had read in the Headmaster's orders that you should stay in the base with me, Wizarmon."
"Your memory is playing tricks at you again." Wizarmon spoke with serenity. "Tailmon and I were assigned to a mission elsewhere."
"What are you carrying in that box?" Bastemon inquired, pointing to a rectangular wooden box Tailmon was carrying. The small white digimon gulped and looked at Wizarmon.
"Her personal belongings." The mage digimon remained calm.
"I'll write what you said down and inform the Headmaster once he arrives." Bastemon said.
"You'd better hurry up, before you forget what we just talked about." Wizarmon advised.
Bastemon bit her lower lip. It was of general knowledge that she suffered from recent memory loss since she returned from her secret mission, long ago. The other digimon of the Academy treated her with respect and kindness but Wizarmon was different. The mage had become the Headmaster's right hand under mysterious circumstances. There were no records about him previous to the day a traitor named Nanomon killed most of the leaders of the Academy, except Gennai.
Bastemon had the impression that Wizarmon had nothing but contempt for everybody in the organization, which displeased her deeply. Nevertheless, she decided not to waste time on him any longer. It was plausible for the Headmaster to assign him a mission with an unknown digimon. Gennai was full of secrets, and there was a general consensus that nobody knew them better than Wizarmon. She walked away, intending to write down what had happened before the memory slipped away from her.
"This is a mistake." Tailmon thought. "The Headmaster is going to find us before we-"
"I've taken care of everything." Wizarmon told her through telepathy.
"I can't escape the Academy! And if the Sanctuary finds out about me…" Tailmon continued thinking.
"The Sanctuary won't find out about you." Wizarmon reassured her. "And by this time tomorrow, you won't have to worry about the Academy anymore."
Tailmon smiled after hearing that statement in her mind.
"Do you think she's going to like me?" She asked in thought
"Who wouldn't like you, Tailmon?" Wizarmon replied with another telepathic question. "Soon, you'll meet each other and live happily in the human world."
Thousands of kilometers away from Aurora Town, there was an isolated castle on a hill, which belonged to Vamdemon.
After the failure in Aurora Town, Picodevimon was forcefully dragged through a portal to Vamdemon's castle and severely punished. Covered in bruises, he was left chained to the external wall of the castle, a few centimeters above the wooden doors. He had been there for over a day with no food or water, suffering under the heat of the sun and the cold of the night.
Picodevimon no longer had the strength to keep his eyes open. Suddenly, he felt himself being released from the chains and gently held by someone. With great effort, he opened his eyes and saw Ladydevimon looking at him.
"Stop it…" Picodevimon muttered. "He'll get angrier at me…"
"I can take you away from Vamdemon." The female digimon said.
"Vamdemon-sama would never allow that." The little monster spoke, resigned to his fate.
"I will protect you." Ladydevimon promised. Picodevimon broke free from her embrace and fell to the ground.
"Nobody can protect me." He stated, crawling to the wall, where he later leaned on.
Ladydevimon looked at the small being with sadness but did not insist on picking him up. Instead, she forcefully opened the big doors and walked into the castle. Dozens of digimon of diverse shapes and sizes turned their heads in her direction. They were mostly adult level ones, with a few child level monsters among them.
"I'm here to talk to Vamdemon." She declared, stepping forward.
"Vamdemon-sama is already in an important reunion! He told us not to let anyone bother him!" A Nanimon, who resembled a tiny haired man, told her.
"Do you intend to stop me?" Ladydevimon smirked, getting in a combat stance. "That's kind of cute."
"There's no need for you to dirty your hands with these low lives, Milady." A grave voice came from the other side of the entrance hall. The monsters moved to the sides and let the digimon approach Ladydevimon. She was surprised and intrigued to see him there.
"What are you doing here, Piedmon-sama?" She asked.
"Although I like your affectionate nickname for me, it still feels wrong to hear you calling me sama." Piedmon commented, leaning in her direction and gently holding one of the woman's hands, kissing it.
"What's to do about it?" Ladydevimon smirked. "You were the first ultimate level among us siblings, even if I'm the oldest one. Nothing more natural than-"
The clown digimon frowned and straightened his posture.
"How many times must I ask you not to refer to us as siblings?" Piedmon looked down and let go of her hand. "How cruel of you."
"We've had this conversation before." Ladydevimon glanced at the floor. "To Mother, we-"
"I understand your devotion to her." Piedmon interrupted. "But it saddens me to see you holding yourself back in the name of that devotion… you who could be far more powerful than her now if only-"
"You'd better stop talking, Piedmon!" Ladydevimon hissed. "Your words sound like the ones from a traitor."
"I would never betray you." Piedmon stated. "You know that."
"Then, what are you doing in a conspirator's castle?" Ladydevimon inquired.
"Hey, hold on!" An Agumon wearing an afro wig shouted; he took two steps in the woman's direction, distancing himself from the digimon who were watching the exchange. "Vamdemon-sama is not a conspirator! He's a loyal follower of the Queen!"
"Punk-Agumon, you can't talk to a perfect and an ultimate level digimon like that!" A Blossomon reprehended.
"I was Punk-Agumon last week. Now, I'm Afro-Agumon!" The small dinosaur corrected her.
"Stop changing your name whenever you get a new wig, it's confusing and annoying!" Nanimon scolded him.
"Do you agree with that statement, Piedmon-sama?" Ladydevimon asked in low voice, glancing at the ultimate level digimon.
"What makes you think Vamdemon isn't loyal?" Piedmon inquired.
"He's creating an army to invade the human world. You know what Mother thinks about letting human beings know about our existence." Ladydevimon spoke darkly.
"Well…" Piedmon smiled. "It seems that you're about to have a pleasant surprise."
"What do you mean?"
"Follow me, Milady."
Ladydevimon followed Piedmon into Vamdemon's personal chamber, at the top of the highest tower in the castle. A chandelier illuminated the place, which was decorated with rich furniture. The vampire digimon was sitting on an armchair; in his front, there was a coffee table with a laptop over it. The clown digimon guided Ladydevimon to a sofa, where he took seat. She preferred to remain standing up.
"I arrived not long before you, attracted by the rumors of an invasion as well." Piedmon narrated, glancing at the woman.
"You came to check on him?" She questioned. "You weren't supposed to leave the battle field! Without you there, the other three won't stand a chance against the holy beasts!"
"There's no longer a battle field, Milady." Piedmon smiled, taking a large napkin from under his right sleeve. He put the napkin over the coffee table and a rectangular black box appeared under it. The ultimate level digimon removed the top of the box and revealed four dark orbs inside it. Ladydevimon took a step back.
"No need to worry." Piedmon had a calm tone. "They're already occupied. Besides, they've been programmed with specific targets."
"Targets? Don't tell me…" Ladydevimon gulped. "It's impossible… how?!"
"Our long war has come to an end, Milady." Piedmon told her. "The four holy beasts will no longer be in our way."
The holy beasts were captured? Ladydevimon was in disbelief. How can this be possible? How did Piedmon acquire those dark orbs? What objects did he use to program them to target the beasts? The only digimon I can think of who could've helped him with that… but wasn't he their ally?! How did Piedmon capture a cunning being like that and force him to cooperate?
"It hasn't ended yet." Vamdemon said, abruptly. "I haven't received my signal yet."
"Signal? What's going on here?" Ladydevimon was perplexed.
"The rumors you heard about an army for an invasion were right." Vamdemon admitted. "In a near future, I will conquer the human world."
"You admit it?!" Ladydevimon assumed a fight stance. "Mother will never-"
"She will let me do anything I want after I give her this gift!" Vamdemon cut her off, glancing at the laptop.
"Gift?" Ladydevimon did not understand.
"Not long ago, I was contacted by Nanomon, from the Academy." Vamdemon recounted. "He told me a very interesting story. He had cloned the original chosen children and his own creations betrayed him. Then, he had to run away and hide after the child of love murdered Gennai and all the higher ups of the Academy and took control of the organization, blaming him for the assassinations. No need to say that Nanomon wants revenge, and as soon as I receive his signal-"
"What…?" Ladydevimon was livid to hear that. "T-this is absurd! Clones of the chosen children?! Nanomon has been our enemy for ages, how can you simply believe what he says?!"
"It's true." Piedmon confirmed. "I've heard it from a different source as well. Those humans are still around… in a way."
Ladydevimon clenched her trembling fists. Those horrible creatures… we never got rid of them? Those invaders are still around, haunting our world? Fighting us, using the Academy? Why? Why didn't they leave? How much do they enjoy inflicting us pain?
"But not for long." Vamdemon smiled. "If everything goes according to the plan, I'll take control of the main base of the Academy before the sun rises."
"What is this nonsense you're talking about?!" The woman was getting exasperated.
"My army will raid that base and defeat all the chosen children in there, when the time comes." Vamdemon spoke with malice. "And then, I'll have access to the greatest database in the world!"
"We will have access to the database." Piedmon corrected him.
"Of course." Vamdemon sounded a little nervous. "That's what I meant to say."
"Are all of the original chosen children even in the main base right now?" Ladydevimon asked.
"We'll make them gather there." Piedmon had a malevolent smile as he grabbed one of the orbs. "My source said that those clones are connected to the holy beasts. They can feel if something happens to their partners. Even if they're spread around the world, if something does happen to those digimon, it's safe to assume that they would gather in the main base, where the Headmaster controls his global surveillance network."
"I see…" Ladydevimon was still processing all the information.
"Aren't you happy, Milady?" Piedmon asked, standing up. Then, he offered the dark sphere he had been holding to the woman.
"What about the new children who were brought to this world?" She questioned.
"Without the support of the Academy, they won't represent a problem for us." Piedmon explained. "If they don't do anything stupid, we might even show them mercy."
Ladydevimon took the orb from his hand and pressed it. If all that was really true, their long war would soon end. After thousands of years of loss and grief, it would finally be over. And those merciless chosen children would finally pay for their crimes. She thought about her Mother behind that door, bearing unimaginable pain for so long. Her misery would end as well, and all the mistakes from the past would be corrected.
The dark sphere was shattered in her claw-like hand and turned to dust.
Far from there, Tamaki fell from the chair in his control room, engulfed by pain. Gasping for air, he saw his crest tattoo being erased and heard, in his mind, his digimon partner screaming in agony.
"Xuanwumon?" He asked aloud. Tamaki knew nobody would reply. He had to go after the answers himself.
In Homura's base, the chosen children, their partners and Homura had searched for Koushiro and Tentomon for several hours, taking brief breaks. The adult had assured them that the boy could not have left the place while Kanda's travel base was connected to the entrance. At night, when they reunited in the kitchen to eat, they all had depressed looks on their faces. Jyou, Homura and Pukamon were on the left side of the table; Mimi, Tanemon, Takeru and Patamon were across from them.
"You don't think Koushiro-kun and Tentomon are inside the orb now, do you?" Jyou questioned, staring at a cup of tea he had in his right hand.
"Tentomon wouldn't let him go there!" Pukamon interjected.
"Besides, it wouldn't make sense for Tentomon to be absorbed." Tanemon opinionated.
"It didn't make sense for Koushiro-kun to be targeted either." Mimi affirmed.
"He wasn't in the travel base." Takeru informed. "Maybe Kanda-san saw him."
"I ran into Kanda-san in the dojo twenty minutes ago. He told me that he hasn't seen Koushiro-kun since the morning." Jyou sighed.
"What was Kanda-kun doing in the dojo?" Homura questioned, paling.
"He was just sitting there. I was in a hurry, so I didn't ask more questions." Jyou replied.
Homura stood up and left the kitchen in a hurry, muttering "I need to do something, wait here."
"Was it something I said?" Jyou was startled.
"I bet she's going to talk to Kanda-san!" Mimi told him.
"But I already said that he-" Jyou began.
"She must've figured out that he was hiding information." Mimi theorized.
"And she just couldn't tell us that…" Jyou sighed, frustrated. "Nobody tells us anything…"
The atmosphere became gloomier and no one was sure about what to say. Takeru decided to take action.
"I'm going to follow Homura-san and eavesdrop on her and Kanda-san." The youngest child said, leaving his seat.
"Takeru-kun-" Jyou was going to protest.
"Listen, I know how adults are." Takeru spoke gently. "Sometimes they hide things from kids because they think they're protecting us. But Sora-san, and possibly Koushiro-san as well, along with their partners, could be in danger now. We don't have the luxury to pretend that we don't know that the adults are hiding things from us."
"But eavesdropping is so…" Jyou murmured. "We should confront them directly. That's the right way to do things!"
"If we do that, they'll just keep lying to us!" Mimi did not support the idea.
"But when I confronted Homura-san, she told me-" Jyou started.
"She didn't actually say anything that could help us in the current situation." Pukamon interrupted him.
That's right… Jyou thought. She didn't actually tell me anything useful to help Sora-kun. I got so involved in her story that I didn't notice it… what's the matter with me? Is eavesdropping really the best we can do now?
Jyou looked at Mimi, silently asking for her opinion. The girl looked from him to Takeru and said:
"If you're going to do that, make sure that they don't notice you."
"Of course. That's the point of eavesdropping." Takeru smirked, leaving the kitchen with Patamon.
"Mimi-kun, are you suspicious of Kanda-san and Homura-san?" Jyou asked. There was no condemnation in his voice.
"We all know that they're keeping things from us." She replied.
"I don't know about Kanda-san, but Homura-san isn't a bad person." Jyou said. "She made many mistakes and has many regrets… and those led her to make more mistakes and regrets. She's an adult but I don't feel like she knows what she's doing."
"It's depressing." Pukamon commented, biting an onigiri over the table and glancing up at Jyou. "No matter how noble are your ideals, it's wrong to let them destroy you."
Jyou blinked after hearing that. He was not sure whether Pukamon was referring solely to Homura.
"I wasn't saying they were bad people." Mimi explained. "But the way they've been acting to us is wrong. To leave us in the dark and give us no explanation for what happened to our friends is disrespectful."
"They're probably trying to protect you." Tanemon pointed out.
"That doesn't make it less disrespectful!" Mimi reiterated.
"They don't tell us anything…" Jyou muttered. "They don't rely on us… am I that untrustworthy?"
The boy's heart ached. He should be so pathetic on the eyes of people. Of course nobody told him anything! Of course everybody kept him in the dark! He could not even live up to be the leader of the group and offered Sora the position. How must have she felt? He was just burdening her, wasn't he? He pressured her to the point of making Sora disregard her own safety. He felt sick at himself.
"It's my fault!" Jyou stated.
"What are you talking about?" Pukamon inquired. "How could any of this be your fault?"
"I should've been more reliable!" Jyou continued. "I should've been someone people could depend on! I should've been able to look after everyone! But I couldn't… I couldn't…" The boy's eyes got filled with tears. "I-I don't know what to do now… I can't do anything…"
Mimi held Jyou's hands over the table and squeezed them gently.
"There's no point in feeling guilty for any of that." Mimi told him. "Sometimes, things are simply out of our control."
"I h-had told Sora-kun that s-she should be the leader!" Jyou sobbed. "I thought that it made sense… b-but I ended up pressuring her, didn't I? I shoved my p-problems to her, didn't I?! I didn't mean to do that! I didn't want to overwhelm her! That's why she f-felt responsible and went a-after Koushiro-kun! That's why all this is happening!"
"Jyou, that's not how things went down!" Pukamon stated. "You told Sora that you would help her as much as possible and that nobody should carry too much weight on the shoulders! You did nothing wrong!"
"But Sora-kun still felt overwhelmed!" Jyou shouted. "But she wouldn't say it, don't you get it? She kept her feelings to herself and acted as if everything was okay! And I didn't… she was suffering and I didn't…"
"Of course I get it." Mimi said. "That's how Sora-san is… and Koushiro-kun isn't very different."
Mimi remembered about the times she had tried to get closer to Sora and Koushiro. How frustrated she was when they would not let her in. How she thought that happened because of her, instead of putting the blame on them. To see Jyou like that made things clearer. The two of them had done everything they could, but a relationship based on trust was not something that could be built by only one side. Sora and Koushiro had to put effort in it too. They had to make the decision to trust them and to be more sincere. They had to tell them when things were wrong instead of bottling them up and pretending that everything was alright.
"We can't blame ourselves for people hiding things from us!" Mimi spoke with no hesitation. "We can't blame ourselves for other people not trusting us! That's their issue, not ours! We don't read minds, Jyou-san. There's a limit for what we can do for other people."
Jyou paled after hearing that. What Mimi had said made sense, but it reminded him of something the Spirit of the World had told him, bizarrely while taking her appearance.
"In all the billions of years that I've existed I've come to a conclusion: you can only help yourself. You can cooperate with others for greater causes. You can share as many things as you like. However, in the end, you are all strangers to one another. Everybody is essentially alone."
Did Fate know that Mimi-kun was going to tell me this? He wondered, perplexed.
"You helped Koushiro in Raven's Canyon!" Pukamon reminded his partner. "You were only able to do so after you learned more about him!"
"But Koushiro-kun wasn't the person to tell me those things! He didn't want me to know any of that!" Jyou protested.
"Koushiro didn't hold any of that against you." Pukamon said. "And when it mattered, he let you help him. You're capable of helping others, Jyou! But the people you want to help have to accept your help in the first place!"
"You're right about that." Jyou muttered, not seeming to feel better.
"What happened to you and Koushiro-kun?" Mimi questioned, seriously. "I've wanted to ask the details since he talked about the Spirit of the World… but I thought it would be painful to him."
"I shouldn't tell you…" Jyou said. "It would be a violation of Koushiro-kun's privacy! It's wrong!"
"But I want to understand!" Mimi insisted. "I need to know… I can't stand not knowing it."
Jyou could tell that Mimi had the best intentions but was still torn. He felt that it was wrong to talk about someone's secrets without the person's permission. But would it still be wrong in that situation? What did respecting Koushiro's and Sora's privacy ever bring? Maybe it was time to better balance his values.
"Okay." The boy agreed. "But the two of us will have to apologize to him later."
Mimi nodded.
Takeru and Patamon followed Homura without being noticed. After she entered the dojo, the boy positioned himself close to the half opened door, in a way that would prevent the people inside to see him. Being extra careful, he peeked inside and saw Homura standing in front of Kanda, who was sitting on the floor.
"What are you doing here?" She asked.
"Thinking about life." He replied.
"In the only room of my base large enough to comport a portal created by one of those silver discs?" She was skeptical.
Kanda did not reply for almost one minute. He then smirked and said:
"You figured it out."
"Where did you send Koushiro to?"
What? Takeru was shocked. Kanda-san sent Koushiro-san somewhere? He lied to Jyou-san?!
"I sent him after someone who had information on the orbs." Kanda answered.
"If you knew someone who had that information, why didn't you go after the person? More importantly, why didn't you consult the person before this whole mess went down?!" Homura questioned.
"I didn't know where she was before yesterday." He explained. "And I didn't know that she had information until this morning. As for the reason I didn't go after her personally… I figured she wouldn't want to see me... I did break her heart, after all."
Homura's face became vivid and her limbs trembled. She opened her mouth but did not say anything immediately. Observing her, Takeru thought that she wanted to cry and smile at the same time.
"You're talking about Otae-san?" She muttered.
Kanda nodded.
"How long were you planning on hiding this from me?" The woman had an accusatory tone.
"What are you getting all worked up about?" Kanda's voice became cold. "If I remember clearly, you were shouting at her last time-"
"This is not fair!" Homura did not let him finish. "Don't act as if you don't know what I feel for her!"
"Why should I know about your feelings?"
"Because we both feel the same way for her!" Homura shouted. "We always did! We were even super competitive with each other when we were kids!"
"Heh." He chuckled, bitterly. "And we both lost."
Homura furrowed her eyebrows as small tears appeared in the corners of her eyes. Kanda looked down, without moving, and continued:
"I thought that if there was someone who could reach Tae, it would be the person who has her crest now. It's better than showing myself to her again. I don't want to hurt her anymore… I just want to know if she's alright."
"How could she be alright?" Homura inquired. "We can't forget anything… Shinsuke-kun's death is as recent to me as it was in the day Angemon sliced his throat open. I can't imagine how that must be for Otae-san."
Takeru gulped, glancing at Patamon, who was sitting by his side. A buzzing noise coming from the room caught his attention. The boy peeked and saw a portal being opened in thin air. Koushiro walked through it with Motimon in his arms. A woman with dirty gray hair and pale skin followed him.
Homura let out an exclamation of shock and covered her mouth with both hands. Kanda stood up, startled, as if not believing his own eyes.
"Kid, go do what you have to do." She told Koushiro. "The adults need to talk."
"Yes, Otae-san!" Koushiro spoke with determination and ran to the sliding door. He crossed it and found Takeru.
"Koushiro-san!" The younger child had many questions racing through his mind at once. The first one that made it to his lips was: "where have you been all this time?"
"Did Kanda-san not tell you?" The older boy seemed to be surprised. "Anyway, I'll have to explain that later. I must go meet Sora-san now!"
Koushiro ran down the corridor without saying anything else. Takeru was first startled. Then, he ran to the kitchen with Patamon, where he found Jyou and Mimi talking. The girl was crying.
"Mimi-san?" Takeru asked. Right away, he remembered that there was an emergency and he could not ask what had happened to her yet. "Koushiro-san is back! But he's heading to the orb!"
Without time to ask questions, Jyou led the way to the room where he had hid the metallic box containing the orb, with Homura, earlier. The children and their partners found Koushiro trying to force open the locked knobbed door of the room.
"KOUSHIRO-KUN!" Mimi and Jyou shouted at the same time. The redhead kid looked at them.
"Jyou-san, Mim-san, I'm in a bit of a hurry now but soon I'll explain-"
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! YOU'RE NOT GETTING CLOSE TO THAT ORB!" Mimi yelled at him, forcibly pushing Koushiro away from the door.
"It's okay!" The boy said, a little shocked by Mimi's behavior. "I've learned that I can go into the orb and return safely whenever I want! It's the only way to help Sora-san!"
"What?!" Mimi interjected. "What kind of risky plan is that?! You can't keep being self-destructive like that! Didn't you promise Tentomon you would take better care of yourself?!"
An expression of horror followed by one of anger took over Koushiro's face as he glared at Jyou.
"What did you tell her?"
"Everything." Jyou had an apologetic tone. "About you being adopted… about Fate torturing you with visions of your deceased parents… even about Tentomon's nightmare. I'm sorry, Koushiro-kun. Mimi-kun was worried-"
"You didn't have that right!" Koushiro interrupted. "We already had alerted them about Fate! You didn't have to trouble Mimi-san with those details!"
"DETAILS?!" Mimi roared. "THAT'S WHAT YOU CALL WHAT THE SPIRIT OF THE WORLD DID TO YOU?!"
"I didn't want to make anyone worried!" Koushiro had a defensive tone.
"WE WERE WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU!" Mimi kept yelling. "I'VE BEEN WORRIED ABOUT YOU SINCE THE TIME YOU ARGUED WITH TAKERU-KUN! I'VE BEEN WORRIED ABOUT YOU EVER SINCE YOU HAD A PANIC ATTACK IN FRONT OF ME AND NEVER EXPLAINED WHY! AND NOW YOU DISAPPEARED WITHOUT TELLING US ANYTHING! WE SEARCHED FOR YOU ALL DAY! WE THOUGHT YOU COULD HAVE ENTERED THE ORB! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW NERVOUS YOU MADE US ALL?!"
The sight of Mimi crying and trembling while shouting at him made Koushiro feel consumed by guilt.
"I'm sorry…" The redhead murmured. "I didn't think… I didn't want to-"
"You're not our problem, Koushiro-kun!" Jyou assured him. "You're our friend! We care about you! We want to help you but we can't do that if you're not sincere with us!"
Takeru approached Koushiro slowly. He looked sadly into the older boy's eyes and said:
"The people you barely remembered you had lost… they were your parents, weren't they?"
Koushiro recalled the conversation they had in Tamaki's base.
"I was raised by parents who adopted me." The redhead informed. "They're kind people and love me very much."
The children remained in heavy silence for a few seconds.
"I really need to go after Sora-san." Koushiro told them. "While we're talking, she's entrapped in an endless nightmare. I'm the only one who can go in there."
"It's dangerous!" Jyou remarked.
"But I can get out at will! Otae-san said-" Koushiro insisted.
"Otae-san?!" Mimi and Jyou asked at the same time.
"Kanda-san sent me after her." Koushiro explained. "She's the one who told me-"
"Kanda-san sent you away?" Jyou was startled. "He said that he hadn't seen you since the morning. He let us look for you and worry about you all day…"
"Seriously?" Koushiro was shocked to hear that.
"That person has no consideration for us!" Mimi spoke with bitterness. "To think that he had Sora-san's crest…"
"Please, let me go after her at once!" Koushiro pleaded. "I'll tell you everything you want to know later but I can't waste more time! I promise that if things get dangerous, I'll get out of there! Please, let me go!"
"You say that but you would still go after Sora-han even if they forbade you." Motimon commented.
"Are you okay with his decision, Motimon?" Tanemon inquired.
"Why aren't you trying to stop him?" Pukamon questioned.
"Are you alright with someone you treasure acting in such a reckless way?" Patamon asked.
"Koushiro-han has already made his mind. Also, it's the only way to help Sora-han." Motimon said. "I'd go with him if I could…"
"Motimon…" Koushiro smiled. The little digimon jumped from his partner's arms and gave him a serious look.
"Koushiro-han, listen to what I'm going to say. You made me a promise that you would get out of the orb if you were in danger. I trust you to keep your word."
"I understand." Koushiro said. "Thank you for trusting me."
"Have you put anything in your stomach since breakfast?" Jyou asked, picking a biscuit package and a bottle of water from his bag.
"I can eat later-" Koushiro began.
"If you're really sorry about worrying us, you're going to eat now!" Jyou was authoritative.
Koushiro gave in and consumed the whole package of biscuits and the water. Mimi gave Motimon something for him to eat from her bag. Then, she took off her hat and picked a hair clip, in order to use it to unlock the door.
"Scold Sora-san for making us concerned." Mimi told her classmate.
"I'm going to have a serious conversation with her." Koushiro said back. "I'll ask her to apologize to all of you as soon as she returns."
"Good." Takeru murmured.
Mimi succeeded in opening the door. Koushiro asked the others not to go into the room with him. Motimon protested at first but ultimately did as his partner wanted. Everybody reminded him to be careful. Koushiro entered the room and walked in the direction of a shaking wardrobe. A substance that resembled black smoke was leaking from it. The memory of the discussion Sora had with her mother invaded his mind.
The wardrobe was forced open and the dark substance advanced against Koushiro. At the other side of the open door, Motimon, by instinct, tried to run to him, but was stopped by Pukamon, Tanemon and Patamon. Mimi, Jyou and Takeru watched everything with apprehension, hoping that they were not dooming another friend.
Before being completely swallowed by darkness, Koushiro muttered to himself:
"It's time to be brave."
I would like to thank you all for the reviews. Special thanks to the sweet anon who gave me so many lately. You rock! :D