A/N: Prompt for this chapter is hallowed

Dripping Water
Chapter 17 - rivalry revival (Kiriha)

Kiriha saw them, Taiki and Akari, entering the track so he bypassed it and wandered aimlessly instead. MailBirdramon kept a bird's eye view out. MetalGreymon crowded his apartment because he had nothing better to do. The others did their own thing. Researching. Doing surveillance. Because even though there were only two Code Crowns that could return them to the human world, Wizarmon claimed to have been there before so there must be another way somewhere, and that meant there could be enemies.

Or maybe he just wanted an enemy because it was all good and well for Taiki and his team, but Kiriha had mostly just relaxed and twiddled his thumbs until he couldn't bear either of those anymore. Maybe he could have gone back to school, or taken the time to study. Or maybe Xros Heart shouldn't have been so sure nothing would get in the way of their exams. That was naïve, or maybe wistful thinking. Or maybe they had simply forgotten that Taiki had received his Xros Loader in the human world, and that meant there'd already been a passage open, independent of the two Code Crown pieces they held.

Which was unlike Taiki, but then again, Taiki had been dealing with two non-General humans and one of them had been pretty vocal, initially, about going home.

'Hey.'

And there she was now. 'Weren't you babysitting Taiki?' he muttered, turning to face her.

Akari grinned at him in reply. She didn't really grin like that in the Digital World, he mused. Maybe it was the Xros Loader that made the difference. Or maybe it was just them, the people who'd been selected as Generals, that were different. Hinamoto Akari and Zenjirou Tsurugi were both tagalongs, after all: just in the right place and the right time and dragged into a life-altering adventure.

'Taiki's got it,' Akari replied. 'And you? Were you worried too? How'd you even know we'd be here?'

'Good guess,' Kiriha muttered. 'Not hard to tell how sick he got from standing around like an idiot in the rain, and how long he could stand to sit still, especially with enablers like you involved.'

'Guess that's true,' Akari sighed. 'I do enable him, and that's why a different side to him came out when he met you, because you don't. But in the end, people need all sorts, right? People who support, who push, who enable, who downright repel… Does Taiki push you?'

'Taiki's not the only one,' Kiriha muttered, which was as good as an admission, but he'd thrown the bait as well and Akari bit.

'Like Nene?' she asked. 'You've sparred with Zenjirou too, haven't you?'

'Sure, if you call it a spar.' He had experience in fighting wars and businesses but not kendo clubs. 'And here's you who likes to have all these chats too, dragging things into the open.'

'Well, of course.' She grinned again. 'I have four younger brothers, you know. You have to be good at tearing things out of them, like who broke the glass vase in the entrance way or who stole last slice of cake and all.'

'Silly things like that…' And maybe there was something wanderoos in his tone because Akari's smile softened. 'Stepsiblings are different, I guess.'

'I wouldn't know,' she confessed, 'but they're your stepsiblings. You know best.'

'I guess.' He left it there. There was no need to go into the whole tale and he didn't even want to. It wasn't like they were friends. It wasn't like they would ever be friends. Their only association was the Digital World, was Xros Heart, was Taiki… 'You going back to the digital world?'

'I am,' Akari nodded. 'Aside from the fact that someone needs to keep an eye on Taiki, I made friends there too. Precious friends I want to protect.'

'Friends.' Kiriha snorted, but he couldn't really deny that himself. He'd collected his army like powerful tools but somewhere along the line, they'd become a little closer than that. Breakdramon chose him because of his "love", whatever he meant by that. MetalGreymon chose him back when he had no proof of his own prowess, when he needed something, anything, to become the seed of his Blue Flare army. Dracomon picked him because he was courageous. And they went out of their way, sometimes, to do unnecessary things. Like how Mailbirdramon played the umbrella so Kiriha could wander around unburdened with it… as though he'd had anything better to do with his hands. But in the digital world, they'd find food, find places to sleep, keep watch and it wasn't just about power because power could see him slaughtered in his sleep but he was still alive and in one piece. That was friendship, wasn't it: trust, and doing things without a hierarchy of power or a cost or expectation attached.

'Hmm…' Akari looked as though she wanted to comment, but didn't. 'Anyway, at first all I wanted was to get back to our world. The Digital World was scary, and I was just some random human who happened to be standing too close to Taiki when he got his Xros Loader and wound up sucked into this adventure. Zenjirou took it better. He was excited to be in an adventure. A little bitter at first, perhaps, to be bested by Taiki again but then Lake Zone happened. For both of us, that was a turning point.'

'Lake Zone,' Kirha repeated, because he hadn't had very much to do with that place. He'd offered help. Taiki had rejected it because the price was too steep. They'd gone on their merry way. 'Taiki didn't handle it?'

'He did, kind of,' Akari replied. 'You know how Taiki's prone to overworking himself, right? Does everything himself so everyone else faces a minimum amount of burden. Well, he'd passed out after coming up with a defensive strategy, so it fell to us to actually play that strategy out. So Zenjirou handled mobilising the troops and keeping the defence up until Taiki was up and moving again, and Bastemon swooped in and took care of Taiki and suddenly my one and only role in that was gone. So… hey, I'm not bearing my heart to you!'

'Didn't ask you to,' Kiriha shrugged. 'Really, I asked a yes or no question.'

'True, you did.' Akari laughed. 'Oh well. It's embarrassing but a turning point so I may as well say it. I was really homesick then, and Lilithmon used that. But I love my friends and that won out in the end and so we kept the Code Crown. But Lilithmon playing around with my thoughts like that also helped strengthen my resolve. I had friends, Taiki from before and Zenjirou and all the digimon now, and by staying with them I'd made a commitment to do my best in protecting them as well. And watching over Taiki isn't all I'm capable of. I've played shooting games, for example. That came in handy once.'

'Making up for lack of raw strength with creativity.' Kiriha shook his head. 'You're not going to punch me for that, are you?'

'I might,' she replied, 'if you give me a reason in the future to. But you're not comparing me to other humans so that's fine. You wouldn't go punch an Ultimate digimon like Neptnemon, would you?'

He wasn't that suicidal. And really, they all made up their lack of physical power by creatively manning their troops. That was the role of the Generals. Him and Taiki and Nene, all in the struggle to collect the Code Crown.

'Hey, Kiriha… what are you going to do with the Code Crown?'

Kiriha shrugged. 'I'm fighting for power,' he said. 'I'm making myself stronger and digimon are inspired by strength, but none of them are really the leading type. Maybe they'll duke it out and I'll give it to the winner. Or maybe there'll be a leader I'll get behind too. Or maybe there's someone who was taken off their throne. Someone who should be leading, who was before the Code Crown was shattered. Then I'll give it back to them.'

'There wasn't,' said Akari immediately. 'It was anarchy before the zones split. The Code Crown was basically a no-man's land. Digimon attempted to claim the Code Crown but they always failed. Apparently the Code Crown was split in order to get around that lock.'

'Interesting,' Kiriha hummed. 'Your source?'

'Ask Wisemon or Wizarmon,' Akari replied. 'Really, our sources and yours should compare notes at some point. Wisemon in particular loves exploring the mysteries of the Digital World.'

'I'll keep that in mind,' because it would be useful, and in the near future he would need to decide what he'd do with the Code Crown.

'Would you consider giving it to Shoutmon?' she asked.

'…maybe,' he replied eventually, 'if he and Taiki ever got their acts together.'

Which they were, he had to admit, but he was going to be stubborn till the end in regards to them and they were going to be the same regarding him, because they were rivals.

'I'll be waiting on the next battlefield for that,' he said, 'for when he's grown, and I've grown as well, and we'll see if we're at the point where we've crossed beyond mere rivals into something else.'

'Into friends?' she asked.

Maybe. Probably. But that hadn't been proven yet so they'd have to see, either in this world or the Digital one, either in what was left of their impromptu vacation or when they dove back into the fight for the Code Crown.