Act 1: Beating Heart

Segment 2: New Year, New Life

Chapter 2-3: Six

"Ahhh, finally, winter break is in a few weeks," Takaharu sighed. The constant studying and the cram school was taking its toll on him. "I guess the rest of you don't really care too much for Christmas, eh?"

Takaharu, Kazuhiko, Asuka, and Satsuki were in the club room. "Did Yuuka say where she was going?" asked Kazuhiko.

"Nope," replied Satsuki. "Maybe she was asked to work again."

Right at that moment, Yuuka walked back in – with someone behind her. "Yuuka! Oh, and Ryuta too. Hey!" Takaharu waved.

Ryuta looked around, and then sat at the edge of the room. "There's a lot more people here than I expected."

"Yeah, I was surprised by how popular it got. People are really getting into this game now!"

"So Ryuta, have you been playing for a while?" asked Asuka. "A lot of us are beginners."

"Maybe just a few months, about since the end of August. Truthfully," he admitted, "I've been more engrossed with the model kits than the card game."

"Ah, you do Gunpla too," Kazuhiko guessed.

"When I can." He shrugged. "Though I've been doing the Digimon figures more recently. I think doing only Gunpla has gotten a little … samey?"

"Mmm. New things are always good," agreed Satsuki. "Hey, glad you're alive, by the way."

"Really? That's unexpected."

"Living or me being happy about it?"

"Yes."

Asuka snickered. "Satsuki, you have competition!"

"I try my best," replied Ryuta. He hefted his backpack. "Well, since I'm here, I figure I should break this out, shouldn't I?" He had assembled a mixed green and blue deck.

"Mixed deck? Daring," commented Kazuhiko.

"Actually? I thought it worked out pretty well."

"You want to put that to the test?"

Ryuta seemed to get a glint in his eyes. "Of course."

Takaharu slid next to Satsuki, Asuka, and Yuuka. "I hope Kazuhiko knows what he's getting himself into."

"Hasn't Kazuhiko been playing this game from day one?" asked Asuka.

"Yeah, but… you remember, Yuuka." She nodded silently. "I get the feeling Kazuhiko's going to be nastily surprised in about five minutes."

Ryuta stared at Kazuhiko's opening move. It looked like this was going to be a red deck, presumably to end the fight before he could entrap and paralyze Kazuhiko's Digimon. "Okay, I see how this is going to go."

He looked at his own cards. He had plenty of options. After all, he didn't anticipate drawing to the end of his deck any time soon, and he could easily just start stacking options and Tamer cards. A few cards of his own went down.

"Y'know, I expected something more aggressive from you."

"Oh, really?"

"You have a reputation for it."

"I see."

Kazuhiko had a bit of memory to work with; he was looking to get a Digimon out of the breeding area instead and save the memory for something else. Another Digimon card went down. "Security, please."

Ryuta flipped the top card of his security deck over and smiled.

"What?! Ah, I should have expected that." A retaliation effect. It put Kazuhiko behind tempo all of a sudden.

"Aggressiveness, Kazuhiko, is just a front." Ryuta drew a card and then discarded it. "One sec, two more." A snort escaped Takaharu's nose. "Amused, Takaharu?"

"Kazu, I think you're more boned than you realize."

"I'm… starting to wonder that."

"And a Tamer card, allowing me to replenish security."

"Oh, hell."

"Then, another Tamer card. I take back three memory, and evolve this Digimon to level 5." Another Digimon card went down onto the table. "It has piercing. Security, please."

Kazuhiko's top security card was just level 3, and was instantly trashed, along with the level 4 that had been on the table. Kazuhiko gulped. This was just turn two! Ryuta was out of memory, to be sure, but now he was wide open and down a security layer, with nothing on the table.

"See?" laughed Takaharu.

"Aggression," remarked Ryuta, folding up his hand in his lap, "is merely the state of mind one pursues when one is ahead in the battle. That is, when the time is right, the advantage should be pushed. Until then, there are two main strategies: exhaust the opponent by forcing them to waste their energy, or blow past them with speed. I picked the latter this time." He cracked open a can of soft cider and took a sip. "Though I'm sure you're aware of that."

"Uh, yeah, let's go with that." Kazuhiko hadn't even thought about that. He'd been so caught up with planning his own deck that he hadn't really thought much about using the opponent as a tool for strategizing.

Two level threes entered the table, along with a graduated Digimon from the breeding area. At least Kazuhiko had numbers, but it was three Digimon, all level 3, against a level 5 and 4.

Ryuta drew another card. He hatched a Digimon of his own by playing an option card that allowed him to cut the cost down to one memory, sending it straight to level 4. It let him bump up the DP of his other two Digimon already on the table. Another option card went to the table. He took the existing level 5 and returned it to his hand, gaining memory in the process – only to result in him evolving both Digimon on the table to level 6.

"Yikes," Kazuhiko chuckled nervously.

"Indeed," Ryuta murmured. "A Tamer card, allowing me to attack twice." Now, not only were the attack values of his Digimon increased, he could attack twice with them. The three level 3s on Kazuhiko's side quickly disappeared, and then so did the next security layer. The effect on it had no target, so it harmlessly went to the trash as well.

"Incredible," whispered Asuka. "Hey, Ryuta, how long have you been planning this one?"

"A few weeks."

"Wow, that's… some dedication."

He laughed. "Ah, it looks impressive, but it's a one-trick pony."

"Really?" asked Satsuki.

"Kazuhiko," he said, "if you had played a yellow and black deck, I think you could have easily beat this deck down."

"Oh? That's… well, I didn't find anything in strategy books for that."

"See, I asked Takaharu for them, not so I could use them to plan, but so that I could plan against them." He grinned as Kazuhiko despaired at his hand. The cards were too high level to really think about playing now, but he had to. He could only put down a single level 4 and it ticked the memory gauge all the way to the other side. "I figured a lot of people would be banking on those books, so planning against them seemed the better option."

"Ryuta? You're a little frightening sometimes."

"What's wrong with being against the grain?"

Takaharu put his arms on Ryuta's chair. "Holy hell, Ryuta."

"I know."

"Kazu, you might want to save some face."

"Is it that bad?!"

"Do you want to find out?" warned Ryuta.

"Uh, kinda, heh," Kazuhiko laughed.

"Alright." This time, a level 3 went to the table. An option card allowed him to draw out of his trash. He brought back the card that had previous been in his security layer and used it to evolve the level 3 to a level 5, but it pushed the memory gauge all the way. "Blitz," he said. It knocked out Kazuhiko's sole Digimon on the table.

"Kazu," said Takaharu, "you know the game's over, right?"

"Hm? Oh, oh right. Yeah, the double attack. Geez, Ryuta, you were really stacking the effects there." Ryuta and Kazuhiko flipped over their security stacks, showing what was in queue. "So I guess this is why you have some big Digimon and two Tamer cards in your security stack."

"Yeah, I figured knowing the green deck that you would want to go as quickly as possible to prevent me from evolving any Digimon, otherwise the chain would start. Which it did."

Asuka and Satsuki were stunned. Was that five turns? Most rounds they had seen went ten or longer. "Are all rounds with you this fast?"

"Ah, no," Ryuta admitted. "I got lucky with the opening hand. Everything after that was just good planning. If I hadn't gotten the cards I had to start, I would have had to be a lot more patient. It probably still would have worked."

"Hey, are you going to challenge the others?" Takaharu asked.

"Me? Nah, the kids are enjoying themselves casually. I'd rather not."

"I thought you enjoyed clowning on people."

Ryuta sighed and gave Takaharu a look. "That guy from tennis that time?"

"Geez, you remember that?"

"I would. He was doing the same thing to a few others before summer break, so I figured I would give him a sense of what it feels like."

Everyone stared at him. "Ryuta…" started Yuuka.

"Was that too much?"

"What did he say after that?" asked Yuuka.

"I told him that it's fine to go racking up the score on people, but don't go bragging about it after. You know, have some class. You would know, Asuka, he was doing this in soccer club at some point."

Asuka pulled a disgusted face. "Oh, I think I know this guy. Yech, you're right. He was kind of a prick."

"Exactly." Ryuta shrugged. "I just wanted to humble him for a day."

"Geez, Ryuta," said Kazuhiko, "you're…"

"Not the person you thought I was? I get that a lot."

"I wonder why," sidemouthed Takaharu.

That same night, Hideaki had come home from work "on time", or as on time as he could be. What he'd seen some days ago was keeping him up at night. It was also keeping up his wife, Kanae.

"Hideaki," she said over a simmering pot, "you recall the dreams I had before Ryuta was born, right?"

"I do." He put his tea mug down on the table. "I didn't think for one moment that, one day, that would be following him around."

"You seem disturbed by it."

"Of – of course I am! Kanae, it's – it's a full sized dragon! With fangs and claws and all that!"

She sighed, lost in thought. "And he said it was, what, an… Adramon?"

"Amedramon."

"Huh."

Hideaki sipped his tea again. "Said it was a Digimon. Look, Kanae, they're not supposed to be real."

"But it's right there. And… that Yuuka girl was travelling with one, too."

"Falcomon? I was told."

"And you still don't believe them?"

Hideaki slid down in his chair some. "Look, this – this isn't supposed to be a good thing. Monsters come into this world and cause a massive headache for all of humanity. They should have stayed in the story books."

Kanae gave Hideaki a look. "So you'd ask Ryuta to send it away?"

Hideaki pressed his lips together. Despite his fear and annoyance, he still could not manage to look disturbed. He had a sort of happy-go-lucky appearance that belied the anxiety beneath. It was, honestly, the exact opposite of his wife. "No, no I couldn't do that. He… seems genuinely happy again."

"That's what I was thinking, too."

"But what about Haru?"

"Haru will be fine with it around. She's even started drawing it in her sketchbook."

Hideaki exhaled. "Did he submit his application to UBC yet?"

"Yes, he did. Last night, in fact."

Hideaki rubbed his temples. "He knows Haru gets distraught when he's gone."

Kanae sat down across from him, holding her own mug of tea. "It's a worry for all of us."

"Does he realize this?"

"Of course he does!"

"So then why is he going off to the other side of the world just to study university? It's cheaper and easier for all of us!"

"Hideaki," Kanae said, "Haru will hear you."

Hideaki squeezed his eyes shut and pinched his nose bridge. "This kid is so incredibly selfish-"

"Is he?"

"What?"

Kanae stared out the window. "Maybe you've never seen it, then."

"What do you mean?"

"You've never seen how he helps Haru with her homework, or his classmates. He went off a few times, now, to help cover a classmate's work shift so she could study. He's been pulling back from his clubs so that Haru can have more time with him. Hideaki," Kanae pleaded, "there are so many things you've missed."

Hideaki shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "And I've been supporting them financially. We're better off now than we've ever been, so much so that we can afford to send him off like this."

"Does that matter, if they don't even realize they have a father that cares about their lives?"

"Kanae, we've talked about this before. I don't want to talk about it again." He stood up and drank the rest of his tea, then went to rinse it out.

The six Tamers and their Partners were once again in the closed bakery. "So this is where you guys would hide out after club, huh?" Ryuta remarked.

"Yep!" cheerily replied Asuka.

"That would explain why Amedramon got its scales up one time."

Four of the Tamers had no idea, still. "Ryuta, I haven't told them," said Yuuka.

"Oh, I see." There was a burst of light next to Ryuta.

Asuka stumbled backward and put her hands over her mouth before she could alert the entire block to their presence. Takaharu and Kazuhiko stared in awe. Satsuki remarked, "Ryuta, we're out of space."

"I can't help it," Amedramon complained. "I'm not too big, am I, Ryuta?"

"You do take up a hundred gigs on my phone, but that's fine."

"See? I'm not that big." Falcomon, Lomamon, Gabumon, Hawkmon, and Monodramon appeared.

"Wha? An Amedramon?" Monodramon wondered. "Gee, even I thought you guys were legendary."

Kazuhiko blinked. "Why is that?"

"Lomamon and Amedramon are rare sightings. That's why I was surprised to see both of them," Monodramon explained.

"Heh, you hear that, Ryuta? We're special," Takaharu elbowed Ryuta.

"They said the Digimon, not us."

"Sheesh, talk about a downer."

"It's not about us, Takaharu." Amedramon paced over to Ryuta and grumbled happily. Ryuta reached up and scratched the underside of its chin. Its tongue came out.

"Amedramon," Gabumon started, "what are you doing?"

"Hee, I can't help it."

"Ugh… of all of us Digimon here, you're the one that acts the most like a dog. I can't believe this."

Satsuki opened the shutters again. "Hey, guys, food?"

"Right! Guys, let's go!" said Asuka.

The six humans snuck through the shutter's gate and disappeared into the store. Lomamon sighed. "Can't wait for the day when we can just do that ourselves."

"What, so you can go tearing up the place?" Gabumon remarked.

"No, Gabumon!"

Monodramon snickered. "Satsuki really rubbed off on you, huh?"

"I… I guess," it admitted, chuckling. She really had.

"So Lomamon, where did you come from in the Digital World?" asked Hawkmon. It was curious to know if all of them came from different Sectors or the same Sector, maybe even a different Realm. Perhaps it would help pin down if they had experienced a local event or not.

"Bleh. It's been too long and I've been in too many places. I can barely remember. Keteson Realm, Zarka Sector? I guess? I don't even remember which city or town. I've moved too many times."

"Oh hey, that's not far from me! I was from Anchioba Sector," Gabumon remarked.

"Huh! We could have taken a Trailmon ride to each other!"

"Wow, you both are from far north," remarked Monodramon. "I was from the south-east, Waitarō Realm. But I wandered a lot. I think I grew up in Chirasto Sector, though."

Gabumon seemed uncomfortable. "Isn't that place super dry? Like almost a desert? Ick, the thought of all that sand in my pelt…"

"It is a desert!"

Hawkmon sighed. "So it wasn't a localized event."

"Hmm?"

"I was just curious if it was just a single area in the Digital World that was experiencing what we experienced, but it seems like we're from all over the place. I wonder why?" Hawkmon scratched its head.

Falcomon sat up and leaned its wings on the table. "Hawkmon, I've been wondering too. I wonder – you know how we can hide in the Tamers' phones? I think that has something to do with it."

"How so?"

"Well, we are Digital Monsters, but I never really understood what that meant other than that we're all made of code and data. But if you think about it, if we can just hop in and out of their phones, which Yuuka told me is a digital device, then…"

Nobody seemed to know where this was going. Then Hawkmon raised a claw. "You're suggesting their devices are the gateways between the Human and Digital Worlds? But we just popped out into random places in the city."

"I don't know for sure, it was just a theory. We should ask and see if they have ideas. Anyway, on the subject," Falcomon continued, "I was from Abiāto Sector, naturally! The humble floating city of Sunrise."

"Same here, of course," added Hawkmon. "What about you, Amedramon?"

"Arboria Sector."

"Where? Sorry, I've never heard of it," said Falcomon.

"Yeah, me too," the others agreed.

Amedramon shook its head. "I didn't think many Digimon would. It's not really populated and it's tiny. There's just one little town there and a few villages, because the Ratur Mountains run right through it. There's this island off the west coast called Obsidia. It's got this beautiful chain of old glacial lakes that are super clear and light blue."

"Hey, Takaharu told me about something like that in the Human World! Somewhere near a place called Banff."

"Where?" asked Hawkmon.

"You know, Amedramon, right?"

It nodded. "Canada, somewhere. Alberta?"

Hawkmon sighed. "Ah, there's so much to explore here too. Even Japan seems so interesting!"

"I know!" Amedramon hopped up and down. "I can't wait! Ryuta said he was going to go to Vancouver in September!"

"What?!" exclaimed Lomamon. "He's leaving Japan, too?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"U-uh, it just caught me by surprise."

Falcomon was downcast. "So… we all only have eight months together, huh? Then three of us are going our separate ways for a while."

"We can always meet up from time to time!" Monodramon replied. "But I kind of wish I didn't have to rely on Kazu to text for me. Ah… everything feels so hard around here." Hawkmon and Gabumon agreed. "There's got to be something anyone can do."

"Eh…" Amedramon started. "I would ask Ryuta, but… he's got a lot to worry about."

"Hey, guys, I can ask Satsuki if Makoto can pitch in," Gabumon offered.

Hawkmon added, "Oh, right! Rei might be able to help too!"

Falcomon piped up. "Wait. Amedramon, what was that island called?"

"Obsidia."

Falcomon cocked its head. "Hang on. Obshijia… Ratsur…. wait."

Amedramon let out a puff of air. "I know. I have a 'feral' accent. I've heard it before."

"That's not what I meant!"

The gate opened. "You all know we could hear you from the other side, right?" commented Yuuka. "One of you was stomping around."

"Ah! Sorry, we got excited," apologized Hawkmon.

"And by we," Gabumon said, "I think we mainly mean Amedramon."

"Mmmh… I jumped around a bit. Sorry guys," it apologized. It laid its head on the table and laid its paws over top its snout.

Ryuta laid down a bowl of something hot in front of it. "You told them, didn't you? That we were leaving in September."

"I did."

"Wait, Ryuta, you're going abroad too?" asked Kazuhiko.

"I guess I never told anyone. Yeah, back to Vancouver. I… I kind of miss the city, to be honest. And I want to see what's changed since."

"Wow, so we are really going our separate ways in several months. Asuka will be travelling all the time for her club wherever she ends up, Satsuki is going to America somewhere, I'm headed to Europe, you're going to Canada… geez," Kazuhiko said, "we really better make the most of our last eight months together."

Takaharu made a cry of anguish as he put down two boxes of food. "I can't believe you're headed to Canada! Aw man, I should have applied for U of T."

"What's that?" asked Asuka.

"Oh, University of Toronto. Sorry, I keep forgetting most people have no idea. Hey, where are you applying, Satsuki?"

"UCLA." Everyone gasped. "Yeah, I know, I don't know why either. I just wanted California somewhere, I guess." She shrugged. "We'll see what happens."

"Any backup choices?" asked Takaharu.

"No idea just yet. I'm still debating if I'm in over my head."

"So, Kazu…"

"Ah! I've gotten interviews with a few universities, but I was really looking at a London university somewhere."

"Whoa, not UCL, right?" asked Satsuki.

"Heh, no, I didn't quite make the cut. But there's a few that I did. We'll see. If not London, then probably Vienna or Madrid. Hey, what about you, Ryuta?"

"Ah… the boring choice. Just UBC."

"Huh?"

"University of British Columbia."

"Oh, hey, I've heard of that!" exclaimed Kazuhiko. "That's… not that boring actually, that's a pretty good school too."

Takaharu folded his hands behind his head. "Wow, look at you all," he sidemouthed. "Aiming so high. Now I feel kinda bad for doing veterinary studies around here."

"Nothing wrong with taking it easy. Besides, that's kind of like you, you know," Satsuki said.

"Yeah, I guess. Ryuta, what the hell?!" Takaharu leaned forward.

Ryuta had produced a bottle of something from his backpack. "What?"

"Is that a bottle of hot sauce?"

"Yeah, habanero."

Lomamon tugged on Takaharu's sleeve. "What's a habanero?"

"It's a spicy pepper. Like super spicy. Ryuta!" Takaharu yelled. Ryuta snorted and smiled. "Holy shit, guys, he's smiling."

"That's not that rare!"

"Mmm, I dunno," said Asuka. "I think we can all agree we haven't seen this in a while."

"You people, I swear." He opened the bottle of bright orange liquid. "I'll put this in your food when you're not looking."

"Ryuta," Takaharu motioned wildly with his hands, "why – how – okay, but seriously, why?"

"What's wrong with this?" Ryuta asked innocently. He put a few dashes in his own bowl, and then handed it to Amedramon, who put even more in its own.

"What? Amedramon too?" Gabumon was incredulous.

"You want to try a tiny bit?" Amedramon offered the bottle. "Anyone?"

"Nope." "Pass." "Nah." "This thing looks evil, Amedramon." "Nope." "I'd like to keep my taste buds, thanks." "Ryuta, you've been ruined by Vancouver!"

"Yeah, I guess," he agreed. "Nobody, huh?"

"Uh… maybe a bit," said Kazuhiko. Amedramon passed him the bottle. He dabbed a dot on his rice.

"Kazu? Your funeral," Takaharu warned.

Kazuhiko stared back, face pulled into a grimace. "Is it that bad, Ryuta?"

"No, not really."

Takaharu guffawed. "Dude – you're used to it, of course it's not that bad for you!"

"But it's not!" he insisted. "That's literally a single dot. He can handle it. So Yuuka, I guess you're studying here too."

"Mm. I didn't want to stray far, since… well, I was intending to start my own business."

"I figured you were angling to start something a bit more upscale than this."

"Right, I did tell you once." She nibbled on an onigiri. "Also, mom was encouraging me not to do the same thing as her, but I liked helping her make pastries in the bakery. I figured I should try taking those ideas up a level."

"Did you have an idea in mind, then?" asked Satsuki.

"I was thinking about a more refined café, like the kind you'd see on social media. You know the ones, quartz table top, croissants, single-origin coffee, that stuff."

"Good god, Ryuta – cough – how the hell do you – cough – oh fuck-" Kazuhiko gulped his milk tea. "Thank god this – cough – is here!" Monodramon collapsed into a laughing heap in its chair while the others besides Amedramon and Ryuta stared in horror.

"Was it really that bad? It was just a little drop, like no bigger than a quarter-teaspoon," Ryuta commented. The coughing continued.

"Kazu, if you need medical assistance, Asuka and Yuuka are right here. Kazuhiko, you're turning really red," remarked Gabumon. "Is he okay?" it asked Satsuki.

"Describe it for me, Kazuhiko."

"cough – I think I ate the sun."

Satsuki grinned at Gabumon. "He'll be fine." It wasn't convinced.

"Amedramon, Ryuta, how are both of you fine with this?" asked Yuuka.

Ryuta shrugged. "Do it enough times and the pain gets so familiar, you start to miss it." He wiped a streak of neon orange sauce off his mouth and became aware of people staring at him. "What?"