Act 1: Beating Heart

Segment 2: New Year, New Life

Chapter 2-7: Our Spring of Discontent

A golden claw raised high glinted and slashed downward, severing a black trunk. Ryuta winced as the abnormal space raced shut, spilling him and Amedramon back into the Human World. Amedramon immediately jumped back into his phone to hide from potential passersby. Ryuta looked around. He was in Marui Kinshicho, but a small side branch inside the mall. Nobody seemed to notice.

"That's the only one," Amedramon said from his phone. "Is it just me, or are these getting thicker?"

Ryuta replied into his earbuds' microphone, "I've noticed it too. It's not good. Have you sensed anything different about them?"

"No, they're still the same. I don't know what they are, but it seems to be some kind of program. I can't tell what it's doing or why it's here."

His brow furrowed. If he stayed here any longer, it might start looking suspect. He walked through the hall. "I wish you weren't the only one who could sense these from afar."

"Same. It's tiring running around like this." They, unfortunately, were usually the first to respond, because none of the other Digimon had senses as keen as Amedramon's. Not that they didn't, of course; on a few occasions, the others had found and closed an abnormal space on their own, but that was merely because they happened to be there.

And there was no telling if this was happening anywhere else in Tokyo, let alone the world. They figured it would be pretty much impossible to do that, and pretty pointless too. They couldn't cover that distance in meaningful time. But by now it was mid-March, and although they were only coming across these once every several days, it was still disturbing that they were appearing with such regularity. "There has to be some reason we're completely missing here," he muttered, partly to himself, partly to Amedramon. "But what on earth would possibly have the power to trigger these to open?" He shook his head. It didn't make sense. "What if it is related to how you all came over from the Digital World?"

"Gabumon, Falcomon, and Hawkmon already said the timing wasn't right. Besides, it isn't the first time it's happened."

"You were around for one before?"

"Only once. It wasn't as bad," Amedramon confessed.

Ryuta paused in front of a food market suddenly. He had a thought. "Hey, what if…"

"You have an idea?"

"I don't know too much about this stuff, but what if they're wrong?"

Amedramon made a noise of surprise. "You really think so?"

"It could be a coincidence that these portals opened at the same time as the Dark Digimon invading the Digital World, but you said you'd never seen anything this bad."

"Mmh," Amedramon growled. Ryuta hid a smirk. He knew Amedramon was burying its face in its paws again. "I don't know, Hawkmon and Falcomon have been around for a long time."

"Ah, well… still. It's worth wondering. We don't know for sure that they're not linked, after all." Ryuta picked up the pace. Some people were starting to wonder what he was talking about on the phone.

"How is the app coming along?" asked Amedramon.

"The visualization app? It's almost done. It was weird, you know? We weren't entirely sure how to ask the phone to visualize your data, so I don't know how it'll turn out." He glanced at some passersby. They were too engrossed with a shop's books to notice what he was saying. "Hopefully now that school is winding down," he added, "everyone can have a bit of breathing room."

Amedramon cheerily replied, "And you'll have some spare time! A lot of it, actually." Ryuta had taken the conditional offer from UBC, but his term didn't start until September. He wasn't entirely sure what to do with five whole months off, but the abnormal spaces and the visualization app were probably enough work. It was also good practice. He was admitted to the computer science program, after all.

"Right, but that's just me, Kazuhiko, and Satsuki. Asuka has until July, and then she's in full-time training." He stopped by a cake shop. It was appealing, but there was nothing to celebrate. He figured better of it. There was always later. Plus, Yuuka had been trying out her own skills lately, and she turned out to be naturally skilled in the ways of pastry. He figured he might as well ask her for something instead.

"Oh, the others don't get a break from school? That's a bit harsh."

"They get a week or so, maybe two, but it's not much," he replied. "It's just the way the schedule works out here. They'll get a break again in summer."

"Ehh… I guess that means we'll be at this for a while longer then."

Ryuta agreed. He wished they didn't have to be the ones doing the leg work, but it was tough to rationalize anyone else to take their place for a while. He walked out of the shopping mall. Plants were starting to bloom and bud again. There should be some sakura near by, so hopefully they would all have some time to show their Partners the blooms.

"Ryuta!" called Yuuka. She waved, hands over head.

He walked over to her. "Oh, hey. How are things?"

"I got into college!"

"Nice."

"And you?"

"I'll be going to Vancouver in September." Yuuka stared intently at him. "Something you want to say?"

"How are your parents? Happy? Proud?"

Ryuta made a noise of disgust, leaned against a post, and looked away to the passing cars. "They're not trying to hide their disappointment."

"I thought they would be happy that you got in." Yuuka implored.

He shook his head. "Kanae wants me to stay to watch Haru grow up, and Hideaki is adamant he's not going to help with my expenses." He grunted and fixed his hair. "Kanae managed to convince him otherwise, but… it won't be much." He watched a few cars pass by. People walked past, blissfully unaware of the Digimon within their phones. Yuuka seemed to be nervous. "Don't worry," he added, "They and my savings should cover my living expenses, and I'm also taking a co-op program, so I should be able to make some money that way. Still, I wish they'd at least show that they're pleased with it. It's not like UBC is an easy university to get into."

Yuuka met his gaze. "Let me talk to them."

"Why?"

She smiled. "I think they need someone gentler to make your case."

Ryuta snorted, half-amused, half-annoyed. "You're saying I'm too rough with them?"

"They may not trust you anymore, Ryuta. You've been distant from them for too long."

He blinked at her. Why did she want to get involved in his family? There were plenty healthier places to be. "With good reason," he replied.

"Ryuta… you may not get a good chance after this to make amends with them."

"And tell me why I would want to do that."

Yuuka inhaled, squeezing her eyes shut. He really could be boneheaded sometimes. "Because I think you're missing what they're thinking." She took his hand. "C'mon, let's go."

"So soon?"

"I might not have time for this in a few weeks." She started pulling him along.

"Yuuka, please-"

"No complaining!"

"Why me?" He was genuinely curious. What was up with her?

She turned around, looked around, and whispered, "Before my school starts, let's go see the sakura together, just you and me, okay?" A grin cracked her face. "You get what I mean, right?"

Ryuta broke into a nervous smile. Seriously? Him, of all people? "I get it. But seriously, why me?"

"I think, somewhere in that heart of yours, is a kid who's just wanted to be free." She kept pace with him. "And honestly? You're cute when you smile like that."

"Is that… is that it?"

"Do I need more of a reason? Seriously, Ryuta?" Yuuka flicked her hair aside. "I've been wondering, honestly, of all the guys I've met so far, who would let me live the life I want to live?" She turned to him. "The only one I could think of was you."

"Really? And none of the others?"

"They have too many plans. I don't like it when people plan too far ahead."

He blinked in surprise. "I don't?"

"You tell me. What are you going to do after graduation?"

"Uh…" he fumbled, looking for something. He truthfully hadn't thought about it. He was so laser-focused on getting away from his family that he hadn't bothered to consider what came next.

"And you know, when I told some people that I wanted to open a patisserie some day soon, people told me it was a waste of my money skills." She shrugged. "I've heard from my older cousins what the financial world is like. I couldn't bear it."

"Who said that?!" He was astounded. She had learned so much from her mother and the others working at the family bakery for so long, it made no sense. Had they seen her at her craft?

"Classmates, even a few teachers, my cousins' parents. Mom and Dad are super supportive, but I'm disappointed not many others are."

"What do they know?"

"Ryuta," she smiled, "now you see what I mean."

"I – you got me," he admitted.

"See? Let's go. It's a long walk from here, right?"

"Mmhm. But we have time."

"Yes! Yes!" Takaharu fistpumped. He, Satsuki, Kazuhiko, and Asuka were enjoying a day out in an arcade. He had just set a personal best on a dance song he'd been trying at for months. "I am so happy I finally got this in!"

Kazuhiko and Satsuki were standing on the sidelines. Asuka was sweating herself off next to him. "I thought this would be easy," she remarked, "but I guess it's not the same as running up and down a pitch, huh?"

"Nope, it's all about watching carefully and reacting to the beat," Takaharu replied. He wiped sweat from his face. It was still a bit chilly outside, so this was a good workout. "Satsuki, Kazu, not gonna get up here?"

They looked at each other with wry smiles. "Nah," Satsuki said, "I've never been one for this."

"You know me," Kazuhiko said with a laugh.

"Dude," Takaharu replied, "Monodramon is gonna be waiting for you at every turn."

"Hey, I'm not that out of shape! Right, Monodramon?"

There was silence from his phone for a while. "I think I'm going to withhold judgement," came the reply.

"You – grr!" Kazuhiko leaned back and looked skywards. "Alright! I'll pick something between now and flying."

"You still have that bike, right?" asked Satsuki.

"The tires need some air, but yes."

She leaned against the dance machine's railing. "We could go for a long-distance bike ride around Tokyo from time to time. We have a few months."

"Sounds good," he replied.

Asuka smirked and put her hands on her hips. "Are you two lovebirds?"

"U-uh, well, you see-" started Kazuhiko.

"Yes," Satsuki replied simply.

Asuka and Takaharu doubled over with laughter, struggling to vacate the dance machines for the next set of people. "What's wrong with that?" asked Kazuhiko.

"I – I can't believe it's you two! You do not seem like the kinds of people that would be together!" Asuka gasped between bursts of mirth.

"Kazuhiko? Shall we prove some doubters wrong?" Satsuki grinned.

"Let's do our best," he replied.

Takaharu tapped into his phone. "I'm going to set a reminder for myself one year from now. 'Are Kazuhiko and Satsuki still dating?'"

"Rude, Takaharu," commented Satsuki with a wry grin. "It's been over two months." He simply giggled mischievously.

They moved on from the dance machines. A whole other party was coming in and they had been there for quite some time already. The four of them wandered about the arcade. "By the way, how are Makoto and Rei doing?" asked Takaharu. "Aren't they in fourth year now? This is their last one, right?"

"Yeah, Rei says it's bittersweet. She has to leave her post as women-in-engineering chair after this year, unless she returns for graduate school, and if she does that, she wants to go abroad, like the US," Asuka answered.

"Oh? Los Angeles too?" he asked in response. Asuka shrugged in return.

"Hey, Makoto was thinking the same thing," Satsuki added. "But there's a professor around here he's been following for a while. He said he'd reach out at the end of summer about becoming a grad student for him."

"Who's that guy?" Kazuhiko asked.

"A foreign professor, actually," Satsuki replied. "I think his last name was McCowan or Mackenzie or something British like that. He's American, though."

"Oh, hang on. This man is here, in Tokyo?"

"I think Makoto didn't mind moving, but he's here now, yeah." Takaharu pulled them over to a racing game. This, too, was also something he'd been perfecting for a while. "I didn't realize you were into motorcycling, Takaharu."

"Not the real ones, but I really like the arcade games." He swung a leg over the saddle.

"Hang on, Satsuki, I think I heard Rei say something about this guy too. I don't remember what his research subject was, but it was pretty impressive. Something with computing and simulations. Hey, you think he'll know if anything serious is going on in the academic world?"

Satsuki blinked in surprise. "You think the things we're coming across are because of an academic experiment?"

"It could be anything, I guess, but so far Rei and Makoto have been looking for commercial enterprises or government stuff, and that's not very easy to get details on." Asuka seemed earnest about it.

Satsuki shrugged. Perhaps she was right. Academic experiments were usually smaller scale, but it wouldn't be the first time she'd been surprised by what Makoto had heard from grad students. The two of them suppressed a giggle as Kazuhiko snuck up behind Takaharu and suddenly put his hands down on the plastic model bike, making it tilt. "Ahh, geez, what was – you! I swear I will cut you!" Takaharu yelped and flailed, and glared at Kazuhiko, who was evidently very pleased with himself.

"Takaharu, what's going on, I wanna see…" Lomamon complained.

"Ah, one sec - here!" he muttered, getting his phone out of his pocket. He turned around. "It's an arcade! I guess I should have shown you around earlier, eh? My bad."

"Can I come out?"

"N-no, there's too many people here!"

"Awwwh…"

Takaharu grimaced. This couldn't continue, but… there wasn't much option, was there? Trying to get Lomamon to hold still for a while was terribly hard as it was, and letting it fiddle with some machines would totally attract unwanted attention.

"You know what? Never mind. Let me find a quick place with nobody around. Just try not to move a lot, okay? Guys, I'll be back in a few seconds." He hurried off to find a photo booth. That would work. He flicked the curtain away and stepped in. "Alright, Lomamon, the coast is clear."

"Sweet!" Lomamon's form assembled in front of him.

"I gotta hold you, you know," Takaharu said. "You can't be seen walking about."

"If you're going to do that," it grumbled, "can you at least be gentler than Izumi?" Lomamon implored.

"Wait, what?"

"She squeezes really hard."

"Oh." He hefted Lomamon in his arms. The Digimon was a bit large, but he could manage. Probably. "That okay?"

"Yep!"

He exited the photo booth and returned to the three other Tamers. "Man, you're lucky Lomamon fits in your arms," said Kazuhiko. "Monodramon is just way too big for that."

"Kazu, just barely. Lomamon, I think you could do with eating a bit less."

"What?!" it hissed. "N-never! Waffles are too tasty to give up!"

"Ahh, people are looking…" Kazuhiko whispered, trying not to meet their gaze.

Takaharu assured him, "They probably think Lomamon is a stuffed animal. I mean, they're not that far off."

"Rude!" Lomamon whispered. Takaharu snorted.

"C'mon, let's hop, there's a level above and it should be less crowded there." They piled on the escalator. A passing person going the other way gave Lomamon a curious look. "Yikes, they really are interested in Lomamon."

"Why wouldn't they be?" Satsuki commented. "Raccoons aren't a usual thing around here."

Takaharu put a hand over Lomamon's mouth before it could yell a response back. "Satsuki! You know what happens when you call Lomamon a raccoon!" he hissed. Her shoulders shook up and down.

They alighted from the escalator. There really were a lot less people up here, but also, the games up here were a bit older and slower-paced. "Right, I forgot," Takaharu said, a bit disappointed, "the stuff up here is for the older crowd."

"It gets us away from most people, at least," Asuka said. "Though there's a lot of coin pushing and luck games up here. Hmm." It really was a lot less energetic up at this floor. They couldn't go anywhere else, though – they were as high as the arcade went. They browsed around for something that would catch their attention.

But instead, it was Lomamon who had its attention drawn first. And not to a game. "Takaharu – quick!"

"Wha-"

"Forward and to the right!" Lomamon seemed bothered.

"Is this an abnormal portal?" he asked.

Lomamon's nose wrinkled. "I… I think it is!"

"Ah, why here?!" he complained. The four of them ran forward.

"Gabumon, sense anything?" Satsuki asked into her phone.

"Faintly. If you let us out, maybe we'd have more acute senses," it responded.

Satsuki looked around. Their plodding feet hadn't seemed to attract any watchful eyes. "The coast might be clear, guys. Lomamon, exactly where is this portal?"

"Just around the corner!" They turned the corner around some claw games and were greeted with a shimmer in the air. "Is the air shimmering?!"

Takaharu shook his head. "I can't believe this. Normally it happens on some kind of hard surface, but this… this is weird." He looked around. "Anything we can toss at it?"

Asuka handed him a little keychain she had won off a game earlier. "This will work." She gently tossed the plastic piece into the faintly distorted air. It disappeared.

Kazuhiko gripped Satsuki's arm. "Ow. You okay, Kazuhiko?" she asked.

"I, uh, I'm fine." He let go, but he was definitely red in the face. "Let's go in, guys." He was the first one to walk in, followed by Takaharu, Asuka, and Satsuki.

Takaharu nearly bumped right into Kazuhiko. He had frozen in place. "Dude, why did yo – what the ever loving fuck is that?!"

"Ick." Satsuki pulled a face of disgust. Gabumon appeared next to her and was similarly disgusted.

Monodramon and Hawkmon also appeared. Hawkmon immediately shrank back. "W-what in the name of the Four Gods is this?" it exclaimed.

Monodramon prepared itself for a fight. "Whatever it is, I'm gonna punch it-"

"Hang on!" Kazuhiko pulled Monodramon back. It wasn't easy – the Dragon Digimon was about the height of a twelve-year-old and much more muscular. "This could be a trap!"

"Set by who?"

"Uh… we'll find out, eventually." Monodramon grumbled, but Kazuhiko was right. It was a bizarre entity in front of them. In fact, it wasn't just some strands or webbing of solid black material, but a whole glossy black heart, complete with veins and arteries leading to somewhere else beyond the confines of the abnormal space. The only thing that wasn't piped to some unknowable place was the aorta.

The black heart was about as tall as any of the Tamers were. And it beat. A black fluid, similar to the goo that the strands would disintegrate into when they cut them apart, leaked out of the disconnected aorta.

Satsuki held in a retch. It was incredibly disgusting, incredibly alien, and most certainly should not exist. "I think I'm going to be sick," Lomamon commented, equally as disgusted.

"Hawkmon? You've never seen something like this, right?" Asuka asked. She was trying her best not to look at it while it beat. It made her skin crawl. It shook its head silently, staring intently at it, warily watching for something to change.

"Guys, we should… do something. Anything," Gabumon pleaded. "We can't just leave it like this."

"I… I'm not sure what to do," said Lomamon. "What if that fluid gets on us?"

"Monodramon, you can't-" Kazuhiko yelled, but Monodramon had enough of waiting around. It didn't want to find out. It raced forward.

"Haaa – what?" Just as it was about raise a fist and punch the heart, it suddenly shuddered and gave a great heave, as if squeezing something out. Indeed, something did squeeze out: a massive blob of black and red goo squirted into the air and landed on the faintly glowing light bridge. Monodramon backed up. "Oh, okay, this is different," it said. "I think we have company."

The glob of goo stretched and assembled itself into a loosely humanoid form, about three feet tall, with clubs for arms. It wasn't very complex, but it did not seem to enjoy their presence. It whipped its club arms around and crept its way on its loosely formed feet towards Monodramon. "Ehh… Gabumon?" The blob suddenly lashed out at Monodramon. "Nice try!" it yelled, deflecting the punch.

"Petit Fire!" The fireball knocked the alien form sideways, giving Monodramon a moment to prepare a counterattack. "Beat Knuckle!" Monodramon smashed its fist into the alien form's barely-shaped head. It let out a wail and dissolved into a pile of goo, which itself dissolved into data.

The eight of them stared as it slowly evaporated. "Well," Takaharu whispered breathlessly, unsure what to think of what he'd just witnessed, "that escalated quickly."

Hawkmon yelled out, "On your guard, another one!" A black and white glob had spewed out too, though it almost seemed identical, if it weren't for the blade-like hands instead of club hands. Now that they knew what to do, though, its slow speed was a great hindrance to it. "Feather Slash!" Hawkmon's headband feather cut through the air, striking the blob on the side of its head, and returned to Hawkmon's hand. The alien lifeform reeled and hissed, as if in pain.

It was Lomamon's turn. "Stripe Fire!" A red quill launched from its tail and struck the amorphous blob directly in the chest. It wailed, flailed, and slashed violently as it evaporated.

"Guys, we don't have a choice – we have to get rid of this heart!" Monodramon yelled, running towards it. "Hyaaa – Slash Nail!" Its claws stroked across the heart's atria. The beating heart wobbled and fluttered.

"On it! Digger Claw!" Lomamon followed up with a slash of its own, tearing the alien heart's ventricles open. Black fluid spewed out, and the abnormal space began to pull back in the direction they came. The heart rippled, shuddered, and vibrated, and then with a disgustingly viscous sound ripped itself apart.

The abnormal space abruptly closed. The eight of them were sent back to the arcade. It seemed nobody had seen anything, but the Digimon hopped quickly into their Tamers' phones when someone walked past.

"Are you guys okay? You're all lying on the ground," asked the staff member. The four Tamers looked at each other, wondering what to say.

"U-uh – we were rushing a bit and walked into each other, heheh," Kazuhiko managed to say, hoping that was a good enough lie.

"Mmm, be careful." The staff member walked away.

Takaharu exhaled. "Why was that more stressful than destroying whatever that thing was?"

Asuka gave Takaharu a look. "You have a weird sense of danger."

"I – I can't help it! I can't just make things up on the spot like Kazu!"

"Really? I thought you were good at that."

"No!"

"We should tell Ryuta, Amedramon, Yuuka, and Falcomon about this," said Hawkmon from Asuka's phone. "Maybe they've seen one of these already?"

Satsuki replied, "If they have, they didn't say anything." She still seemed a bit nauseous. The heart tearing itself asunder was a disgusting sight on its own, but the ripping and tearing sounds it made were far worse.

Takaharu got to his feet, followed by Asuka and Kazuhiko, who helped Satsuki up. "Maybe we should find them in person. This seems important enough," added Gabumon.

"In person, huh. Anyone know where they are right now?" asked Kazuhiko.

Everyone shrugged. "Yuuka might be helping at the store, and you know Ryuta. He wanders a lot if he's not at home," replied Asuka.

"I'll text them," decided Takaharu, tapping at his phone.

• • • • • • •

Dragon Boy

wwww I can't believe Amedramon
what a goof
10:05

It is indeed a goof
No birds were hurt in this misadventure
10:18

But I hope management doesn't have cameras in the garden
It's an impressive mess
10:19

Hey, we had something urgent come up.
Can we chat in person?
18:46

• • • • • • •

Yuuka

Nah, still can't come… I have responsibilities
Need to check on someone
11:12

Hope they're doing well
11:14

Hey, we had something urgent come up.
Can we chat in person?
18:47

• • • • • • •

They hung around for a minute. "Any response?" asked Kazuhiko.

Takaharu shook his head. "They haven't even read it."

"Are they busy?"

"Pfff. With what? We're all on break." His shoulders slumped as leaned back against a wall. "Please read that. Well, anyone else want to keep at it?" The other three seemed a bit too disturbed to keep playing. After all, what if another one came up somewhere they couldn't know about it? "Yeah, me too, I guess."