A/N: This chapter's using prompt #004 - milky.

Dripping Water
3. distant dreams (Zenjirou)

Sunday was supposed to be a day to sleep in, Zenjirou thought. But all three of them were sprawled on his bedroom floor by ten. That wasn't ridiculously early for a Sunday, in his books, but it wasn't particularly late either. Especially since Taiki and Akari had to get to him first.

The digimon were lucky, not having to worry about school or, really, any responsibilities in this world.

On the other hand, that gave them more time to worry about the state of their own world.

How much longer till exams? A week and a half, and then their own brains wouldn't be cramped with nonsensical facts, a good deal they'd never look at again. It was pretty selfish of them; he knew that. Even now, they were studying, and the digimon did whatever they always did inside the Xros Loader.

He couldn't focus on it, though. He's never been the studious type, though he's hardly the typical jock who's flunking school. He was heading for a sport's scholarship anyway. He was heading for a life of competition, and then maybe coaching once that was done.

Taiki had once offhandedly mentioned that his father was a sport's trainer. Zenjirou wondered if that was why he picked things up so quickly. Because it hurt, having lost to an amateur. It hurt that an amateur had gotten so good so quickly. But then again, it was Taiki who'd picked up being a General with ease, who'd grappled with Kiriha and Nene like he wasn't lacking a whole two months of experience, and who didn't even bat an eyelash when he'd switched from helping sports teams and kids getting picked on to helping digimon in a war-torn world.

He was jealous and grateful all in one. He didn't exactly sign up for the digital world, and he wasn't signing up to be a General either (though he would, if it helped anything). But he'd made friends there, and not just Taiki and Akari. He'd become committed to something. It wasn't a dream, per say, but one couldn't singlehandedly chase after dreams. And he'd learnt some things along the way, as well.

His practice kendo stick leaned against the wall, now, by his desk.

He straightened up, stretching. 'Let's have a break. Taiki, spar with me some?'

'Sure,' Taiki replied, before Akari could interrupt.

That didn't stop her from lecturing them both as they went outside. 'Take it easy! Taiki promised the judo club he'd help them out after lunch, and that's not to mention how you've been running around since elementary school!'

'That's a bit of an exaggeration, Akari,' Taiki replied, though Zenjirou played close attention because their time in the digital world had been enough to tell him that Taiki tended to severely underestimate his stamina. 'I doubt it's possible to run more than three days without sleep. Not to mention the other stuff.'

'You know I don't mean literally,' she sighed. 'But really. You're sore. You're tired – though, honestly, you're always tired. And you never rest enough. Like the world will fall apart if you're not doing something.'

Taiki frowned at her. 'Inaction is not an excuse.'

They'd had this argument before, it looked like. But not in front of Zenjirou. He watched them both: the tight expression on Akari's face, and the impatience on Taiki's like he thought he still wasn't doing enough.

Finally, Akari sighed. 'Go on, then. You know I'll watch out for you.'

And maybe that was the problem, Zenjirou thought as he followed Taiki into the backyard. Because Taiki knew there were others to pull him back if he fell, he could push himself to the very edge. But people weren't machines. They couldn't calculate to that pinpoint accuracy. They could miss, and he'd tumble off the cliff. Or they'd pull him back too often and he'd never actually reach the edge and somebody else could suffer for it.

In the digital world, that could mean somebody else's sacrifice, or the loss of a piece of the code crown, or worse, the world. In the human world, it meant something else. Sure, Taiki was the kind of person to leave into traffic to save a cat, but helping out sport clubs wasn't interfering with life or death situations. For some of them, it was just a way to make friends and commit to something other than studying while at school. For others, it was a pathway to a longer and larger dream.

Like he who wanted to be a master one day. It was important for them to train and win and build up reputations, whether that be part of a team or alone, or both of those things. But that was them. And maybe that was why Taiki chose to help. He did say he hadn't any definite plans for the future himself. And he'd liked Shoutmon's dream to unite the digital world under a peaceful banner and so he'd helped. There wasn't anything wrong with that?

Except when he overworked himself, right? Except when he pushed himself too far and collapsed, and everyone else buzzed around with worry niggling at them, and a lack of understanding as to why, as to what's so urgent…

'We don't have to…' Zenjirou said awkwardly, but even before the words were out of his mouth, he knew they'd do no good. They were too weak.

'It's your dream to be a master swordsman, isn't it?' Taiki replied. And, just like that, the conversation was over.

.

Taiki and Akari left together after lunch. Zenjirou's mother commented on how cute a couple they made, except they weren't really a couple. Akari had commented, at some point, that Taiki was like her fifth little brother (or first, really, since he was older than all her blood-related brothers).

Zenjirou had been tempted to go along, but in the end he didn't. He did need to study, after all. It was the whole reason they'd delayed finding a way back to the digital world.

The digimon had been quiet in the Xros Loader all morning. How did they feel, cooped up in there, he wondered? He should've told Taiki to let the digimon out. Except his parents were home, and they would have had a job explaining that.

Somewhere else, then. Somewhere quiet. School would be pretty empty on a Sunday, except for whatever clubs had requested access. It was too bad they weren't to a different school.

Maybe Taiki had let the digimon out into one of the empty classrooms while he helped out with the club. Judo, huh, he thought. Taiki really did dabble in a lot of different sports. That helped him strategise, probably. He had all that experience to draw upon… and yet, frantically learning new styles didn't make him an expert at any of them. He was an all-rounder, instead: jack of all trades, master of none.

He wondered what sort of job Taiki would wind up in, in the end. A sports trainer like his father? He could sort of see that happening. Or maybe he'd go into the police force or be a paramedic… Zenjirou was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to stomach being a paramedic himself. He didn't do too well with blood or heights, after all.

And that made him wonder what sort of things Taiki didn't do well with. Because everyone had weaknesses as well as strengths, but Taiki portrayed himself as a solid well-rounded person, so it was hard to spot either of those things. His strategic ability was probably a strength, one he'd honed by dabbling in various things. His inability to recognise his own limits… was that a weakness? Or was it a strength? Or both, or neither… he didn't really know. It all depended on that fine balance they danced on, he supposed. It would be different if no-one looked out for Taiki, but Akari did.

He did too, didn't he? In a different way to Akari, of course. She watched from afar and swooped in when he fell. He could take a bit of the workload from Taiki, so he didn't have to do as much. In the digital world, that was easier. Everything was so direct: they had the enemy they were fighting, and the army to fight them with. Here, they were chasing more intangible things: dreams, aspirations, a future that was still pretty far away from them except they were all children and impatient…

Didn't Akari say something about the kendo club on Monday after school? He'd never actually been to their school before… but why not. Practicing with another school's club would give him more experience, and it wasn't like his school was playing theirs again this year. Taiki had already knocked them out of the running.

A/N: Taiki says three days, because that's thought to be the limit of how long a human can stay awake for without some semblance of sleep. Of course, there's other practicalities like eating and toileting, but having read The Long Walk by Stephen King, those things can be kind of be done on the go… Anyway, practically the barriers are energy (food, sleep), hydration, lactic acid buildup in the muscles (which is what causes cramps and stuff…) and the psychological side of things are all potential barriers. I think the record is 80hrs without sleep, but idk if there were other sorts of breaks in there or not.

And Zenjirou took this chapter and ran away with it. Oh well; it is going somewhere, just not where I thought it would. And this means Akari's got the next chapter. Now when is Kiriha going to show up…