Author Notes:
And here's the third episode of Ghost Strife, now caught up to other sites where I publish it!
I'll start using the Author's Notes to answer to Reviews if there is any, so if you don't have a Review to be answered or simply don't care, feel free to ignore this section!
To fangs of death:
Thank you!
I'm not sure if I'm doing my very best, but I'm trying!
I hope this chapter doesn't drop in quality for you!
And if it does, feel free to slap me and tell me what I did wrong!
To baraka108:
Que bueno que te hayan gustado!
Ciertamente me preocupa que a la gente no le guste, incluso si lo escribo simplemente porque quiero hacerlo XD.
El inicio será bastante similar, y planeo usar cuantos elementos del original pueda para mi Rewrite, si simplemente hiciera lo que me da la gana bien podría escribir una Visual Novel de Digimon en lugar de escribir un fanfic largo de Ghost Game XD.
Pero la historia también acabará viendose muy diferente al final, con un diferente conflicto principal y Final Boss.
A quienes adivinen en las Reviews quien o quienes serán el Final Boss antes de que lo revele, les dedicaré un espacio en las notas de autor del ultimo capitulo XD.
Habrá romance. Más o menos. Creo. Seguramente no. Probablemente si. Que es el Romance, y como podemos definir interacciones románticas entre individuos?
…Creo que alguien más aparte de mi tendría que ser el juez de si lo que planeo cuenta como romance.
Si por amigos de Hiro te refieres a Kotaro, el hecho de que lo tenga en coma en un hospital lo dice todo, el tipo es muy útil para avanzar la trama y forzar a Hro a moverse XD.
Si te refieres a Ruli y Kiyo, no te preocupes, aunque Hiro es el "Protagonista", planeo hacer que los tres sean protagonistas de su propia historia, todos tendrán sus propias historias con las que lidiar que individualmente los lleven para adelante, no siempre involucrando a los otros.
Si todo va de acuerdo al plan, cada par de Tamer-Digimon debería tener una porción similar de pantalla, historias específicas de ellos, y hazañas.
Por ultimo, espero que este capítulo no te decepcione XD.
Digimon Ghost Strife
Chapter 3: Eye Harvest
"Uh, whats this?"
"What's what?"
"It's the photo. Look."
I passed him my phone. In the photo we just took alongside our new mini-robot, there were strange red gibberish. It was all over my face.
"The hell? That's creepy man. Don't pull those pranks on me."
"Oi, I did nothing!"
My shoulders felt weird. They didn't hurt, but it really felt like there was SOMETHING wrong with them.
But… What?
They move fine, they don't hurt, they look completely normal. But for some reason, I have a feel of… Dread, about them, as if something is about to happen.
I remember that photo.
Just a silly photo in a weird pose after a long session of training. But for some reason, my shoulders were covered in weird red gibberish.
…I'm thinking about it too much.
What was it called…?
Placebo Effect?
Must be that.
"Ahhhhhhhh!"
My hands are stopped in mid-hair. Around my wrists, strands of hair painfully wrapping around them.
I drop the scissors I was holding, making a 'clank' as they fall to the floor, and slowly, very slowly, the hair tangled around it lets go, leaving a faint trace of blood behind, having done shallow cuts on my skin.
In the mirror in front of me, over my lightly glimmering in green eye, I can see my hair.
My hair that yesterday barely reached my shoulders.
My hair that now reaches the floor.
My hair that is quickly, very quickly, wrapping around my neck, as if warning me to never try that again.
"Ughh…! This, this must be a curse! I should have destroyed that phone!"
I should have thrown that phone and the photo inside into an industrial crusher, and burned the remains!
It's all that photo's, that red gibberish fault!
I press on the accelerator.
I need to go to the hospital, right now.
Sleeping it off, didn't help.
Why the hell did I think it would help?!
HOW the hell did it get so much worse in just a night?!
My left leg… Was now slowly being covered by bone.
It was protruding from the inside at points, and spreading from there.
I couldn't think clearly anymore because of the pain.
I could barely talk, constantly gulping down cries of pain.
I should simply call an ambulance.
Why didn't I do it?!
Why didn't I ask someone else to do it?!
I look into the mirror in the middle of the car.
An eye that had turned red, shinning back at me.
…I'm scared.
I don't want to sound crazy.
Nobody will believe this.
I have to go there myself!
I remove my feet from the accelerator, the traffic light changing to yellow, and then red.
My leg doesn't move.
I desperately try to raise it, but I can't move it anymore.
As I see the side of that truck, just s few meters away from my car, I remember the photo that started all this.
And for a single, very short moment, I stop containing my screams.
I lie on my side, wasting my time in the hospital bed, looking at the ceiling.
It's silent, very silent.
I wish I had someone to talk to, or anything to do.
But I don't have the energy to do anything.
I can't talk either.
I don't have a mouth anymore.
Only a flat wall of skin and muscle where a mouth used to be.
I try to get up, but I don't have the energies for that.
My stomach grumbles, as it hasn't received any food in 5 days.
The nutrients I'm receiving intravenously are keeping me alive, but they don't make me feel like I have eaten.
Though, if I had come to the hospital immediately instead of holing up at home fearing what they would say, without me being able to say anything, I wouldn't be in this deplorable state…
A feeling of dread suddenly and with no apparent reason starts feeling me. My left eye starts throbbing, as if to signal that something terrible was about to happen.
"Kukuku!"
I open my eyes wide at the sound.
My instincts are telling me to run, but I can't get up, no matter how hard I try.
"Looks like it's ready."
I slowly, with a lot of effort, turn my head to the side, trying to look at the source of the sound.
And there… It stands.
A bright purple ghost, only a bit taller than the bed, was smiling at me, a smile so wide that it felt disturbing.
A… Child Ghost?
But it didn't look… Human.
Its skin was light blue, its hands were way too big, and its head was covered by a leather hood with one red and one green eye painted on them. On its hip, two small wings wrapped over its black leather pants.
My instincts told me to run.
But my body couldn't obey.
It raised its hand, placing its fingers around my left eye. The eye that had turned green, shinning with an eerie light. The only eye that could see the ghost, as it appeared to be invisible to the other one.
On the palm of its hand, I could see en eye, looking back at me with its green iris.
"I'll be taking it now. I'll come next week for the other one."
It said with a cheery voice, its smile wide and perturbing, big fangs in front of my face.
And then, it plucked its clawed fingers around my eye.
I screamed to the top of my lungs, asking for help, for anyone to come save me.
Or at least, I wish I could do it.
But I have no lips from where my crying could escape.
So I whimpered and cried in the bed, until I couldn't see the ghost anymore.
My fingers move through the keys. I don't look at the partitura in front of me, instead closing my eyes to let my fingers go by memory.
Key by key goes on without making a mistake, pleasing me as much as the sound itself does. Highs and lows pass by, moments where I let my soul out and others where I can take a small rest.
It goes on until, eventually, I reach the end.
I open my eyes, and after letting out the breath I was holding by the end, I mutter to myself.
"Fragment eines Klavierstücks… By Arnold Schoenberg."
I fall back on my seat.
"Ahhhhhhhh…"
A big exhale goes out of my mouth, as I stretch my arms. This one was HARD. Not the hardest I have done, but with my eyes closed it's a different story!
"Well, that's enough practice for today… The phone… The phone…"
I turn around the room trying to remember where I left my phone, until I find it over my bed. Its fuchsia color and green stripe contrasting a lot against the pale green bedsheets. I grab it quickly, grappling my fingers on the pink bow at the back, to check and make sure it hasn't become too late, but I still have plenty of time. Good.
I check my messages and notifications on Utopi, and after seeing too much to check it all, I decide to leave it for later as I send a message to the group chat with Mika and Aoi. They were already talking there.
「Lirurun」: 'Finished morning practice! I'll go get ready to go. Where do we stop to have lunch? I feel like having something italian~.'
The answers came just a few seconds later.
「Mikakami」: 'Good job! I want some ramen.'
「Blue World」: 'Ehhhh, lets have some street food. There was a spanish place selling those things that were like big gyoza that we saw last week, but didn't get to try! Let's get that~."
「Lirurun」: 'Ehhhh… I really felt like italian… Come on!'
「Mikakami」: 'Let's decide like always. Who was the last to choose where to eat?'
「Lirurun」: 'It was me…'
「Blue World」: 'And before that it was me...'
「Mikakami」: 'Victory~'
「Blue World」: 'Damn!'
「Lirurun」: 'See you one day, my dear gnocchis…'
I throw the phone into the bed again, and go to the bathroom. I take my time on the shower, since I still have a lot of time left. And it appears like I needed it, the bed hair I got must have been more severe than I thought, as I needed more time than normal to untangle it.
I get out out of the shower, put on a bathrobe and stand in front of the mirror as I blow and style my hair, humming some songs in the process. Then just a bit of cream for my face and its done.
I go back to my room and, after checking the time again, open my wardrobe.
"Mmm, what to wear today…"
I open and close drawer after drawer, going back and fort between things I already passed by, until I decide on a green dress with wide sleeves and rows of bows on them, a pair of blue leggings, and some simple brown shoes.
"I still have some time… So…!"
I go to my vanity, and pick up some nail polish.
"I'll go with green today~."
I put on some music, a playlist of an old foreigner idol called Mori Calliope, and start painting my nails to match the dress. I start singing along the music, but as the song was in English, I probably butchered it. If it was one of her songs in japanese, I probably would sound good!
As I finish, I move to the piano to do some more practice while my nails dry.
"Let's do some of the old and reliable Mozart!"
I sit down, and set my fingers on the keys while thinking what to play."
"Mmm… Let's start with something easy, Minuet in D major."
And so, I play a few songs, as my nails dry. Once they do, I play another song just because, and move to my vanity.
I take the pinkish red ribbon hanging from the side, and tie the bottom of my hair. I fix my bangs and side locks, and take the mascara to apply a bit.
"Perfect!"
I do a small pose, satisfied.
Checking my phone again, I still have a few minutes before the time set to go out. Perfectly timed, as always!
I throw my phone inside my bag and the bag over my shoulder, and exit my room. I pass by the kitchen to get a glass of melon juice before going out.
Though, when I open the fridge, there is no more juice. It's also pretty empty.
"Right, I was going to fill it tomorrow…"
Dad sent more money to my card since he was going to be out another week, with quite the generous bonus since it has already been two months with both him and mom not coming home. Not that it's so unusual for them, but hey, extra pocket money!
"I'll eat out today then!"
I'll buy some melon or grape juice in a store on the way.
And so, I move to the door.
The day started great like usual, so now, let's do something unusual and hunt some mummies!
…
I look up from my phone as the train starts slowing down. This is my stop.
I close the phone and the book I was reading on it, 'Artist's Master Series: Color and Light', and walk out the door.
The walk from here is pretty short, just 5 minutes later and I can see Mika waving at me.
"Oiii, Ruli!"
I fasten up my pace, lightly jogging to her. Her black hair was done like always, bangs gathered over one side and the other kept in place behind her hear with an hairpin. It barely went past her shoulders, gathered into a cute pigtail. She was wearing an oversized cream sweater that hands from her shoulders, kept in place by thin straps going over them, a long white skirt, and cute white mary janes.
"Mika! Were you waiting for long?"
"No, I just came a few minutes ago. Now we simply have to wait for A- Ah, there she comes."
I turn back, and see Aoi running towards us from the other street.
"Sorry I'm laaaaaaate!"
She almost collapses in front of us, hands on knees and panting heavily. Her light brown shulder-length hair was disheveled from running, though it always looked a bit wild. She was wearing a small brown vest over a white plain shirt. Below it, a pair of jean shorts, and brown boots with a small heel that reached just below her knees. She had a cute chain necklace with some shiny red stone.
"I… I made it…!"
"…Damn girl, you got us waiting for hours!"
Mika says the complete opposite to what she just told me.
So I join her.
"Seriously, we decided on an hour to meet up, so you should arrive at least fifteen minutes early!"
"Yeah, like Ruli said! Be more considerate!"
"I- I'm sorry!"
I should really try to learn some acting, but she's so panicked that she bought it. Now, for the punchline…!
"We waited for an eternity, right Ruli?!"
"Yes, we waited almost 2 minutes!"
"I'm sorr-… Eh…? Oh, you two pair of…!"
She lightly punches me in the arm, a grin on her face, laughing. So we laughed together, and fooled around while we walked to the ramen store that Mika wanted to check.
It looked like a nice place. Very traditional in and our, though the staff looked pretty young. There were various clients already with little spaces left, so they were doing well.
We seated in some of the few spaces left, and looked at the menu.
"Let's see, what to choose~."
"I'll take some miso ramen~."
"I want some pork!"
Those two already have a good idea of what they want. What should I… Oh!
"X3…! Let's try this one!"
"…You are going to die."
"Have you gone insane?! I haven't even seen you try anything really spicy yet!"
"Exactly! That's why I want to try it!"
Mika makes a small praying pose at me, asking for my soul to reach heaven. Aoi facepalms, and goes back to her menu.
Let's see how spicy it is!
…
"Ugh… Ugh…"
Tears fall down my eyes as we leave the ramen store.
"We warned you."
"How the hell did you even finish the entire bowl?"
"Wigh Willwower…!"
It's too spicy… It's still hurting…!
"Lets go get a parfait, it may help with the pain."
"Yeah, that may be a good idea."
"Ughhhh…! Miwaaaaaa, I wove youuuuuu!"
"Yes yes, you love me very much. I'm your god."
…
"Aaaaahhhhhh, that really helped out!"
The pain's gone!
"You gave us a great excuse to come eat some parfaits."
"Though try not to get yourself killed next time. If you can't handle the spicy stuff, don't get it in the first place."
"How will I know if I can't handle it if I don't try it first?!"
"Don't go to the spiciest you find just to try!"
Mika is browsing her phone, having finished first as always. Aoi looks like she's fed up with me, but soon returns to her parfait.
Seeing her continue her's makes me want to order another…
"Huh…? Hey Ruli, there is something weird with this photo."
"Something weird? Wait, what photo?"
"It's the one we posted last week after going to get a manicure."
Mika shows me her phone, at last week's post on Utopi. It was a front picture with my elbows on a table and my fingers intertwined to show my nails. My upper face obscured as always. It apparently got quite a lot of Likes, almost 40.000, considerably more than usual. But…
"…Huh? What's that?"
My fingers in the photo were covered in red scribbles. That was not there before.
"Did… We get hacked?"
"Wait, hacked?! What happened?!"
Aoi left her parfait and almost jumped at us, Aoi letting her see the screen.
"Someone scribbled over Ruli's photo and replaced it on our page."
"Oi oi oi, that's really bad, isn't it?! What do we do?!"
"Aoi is right, we can't leave it like that!"
"Even if you say that… It's not like I can change a posted image, and a lot of people already saw it and commented. It made the post explode. I'll change our passwords, and make a post explaining that we got hacked. Not much else I can do…"
"… I don't like it."
We put a lot of effort into that account, thinking that we may lose it to some hacker is infuriating! Also…
For some reason…
Those scribbles make me feel uneasy.
"W-Well, no point worrying about it now, right? Let's continue our day and hope this ends at this dumb prank!"
"Y-Yeah, Aoi is right. A Hacker could have also done worse things than this with our account without us ever knowing. They made themselves very visible with this, so it's probably a prank."
Yeah… Aoi and Mika are right.
"That's true…! Let's not let it ruin our day, and let's go find some mummies!"
I got up from my seat, and threw my bag over my shoulder. Time to go to the museum!
"After I finish my parfait!"
I down my bag to the ground, and go back to my seat to wait for Aoi.
…
'That meant eternal life for them, and the people tried to preserve the body by turning it into mummies."
"Mmm…"
I look into the golden sarcophagus on the other side of the glass. It was an amazing piece of art, and so well preserved and shiny that makes me doubt if it's even real. A totally normal sarcophagus, what anyone would imagine when hearing the word.
There was nothing apparently unusual about it.
"I had my hopes up, but they're rather normal mummies."
I walk by the side of the stand, looking at the sarcophagus and the ancient artifacts carefully placed around it. I turn around, and see the file of standing mummies on the other side.
"They don't look scary at all."
"Now, bow to me!"
I look at Mika and Aoi, which where looking at ancient headpieces.
"Bow to the great pharaoh Mika!"
"Yes, my pharaoh!"
Aoi knelt to Mika, following the same pose as illustrated on the paintings of the pieces of stone we saw before.
"I order you to bring me Ruli's head!"
"As you wish!"
Oh oh.
…
"I heard from one of our followers that there's an awful strange mummy showing up around the Ueno area lately."
We walk down the spiral stairs, after checking the top floor of exhibitions. Always start from the top!
"And?"
Aoi looked pretty curious, as she walked with her hands behind her head. Though it looks like she's interested in the entire exhibition than in the paranormal this time, even if she tries to act as usual.
You can't fool me, there was a glint in you eyes when we decided on coming to the museum!
"The mummy walks around glitchy!"
"Glitchy?"
"The heck that means?"
"Dunno. It's the same that's said about all Hologram Ghosts. Maybe the ghost of a mummy entered the holographic displays to show itself~?"
"Ah! Maybe that's how they attained eternal life?! They slept thousands of years to come serve me as robot ghosts… No, I'm not ready to be a real pharaoh!"
"No, I kinda doubt they would know you were even going to be born. Anyways, what do they saw about that mummy? Is it doing something in specific?"
"Well… Oh!"
As we walk through the floor below, I see an employee walking around.
Good, I can't ask the questions I want to the robots!
"Wait a moment!"
I lightly jog to him, and he turns around noticing I was coming.
"Sorry, can I ask a question?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"There have been rumors about a mummy walking around the area, do you know something about that?"
First step of any research: Ask the people more likely to know!
"A walking mummy…? No, that's some pretty strange rumor."
He tried to change his tone instantly, but I clearly saw he gulp nervously.
…He SAW it.
His expression says everything, he SAW the mummy.
…But won't talk about it, so I can't ask him directly, he would simply insist he knows nothing and say to excuse him since he has some urgent work to do.
In that case~.
"It's pretty dumb, right~? But I'm a bit superstitious, so it scares me… Say, if I had to avoid coming across it, what should I do~?"
"Oh… Well… In the very unlikely case that was real… As long as you don't wander near the museum after closing hours, you wouldn't have anything to worry about."
So easy~.
"Thank you!"
I go back to Mika and Aoi, and grab their hands.
"Let's go!"
It wouldn't be good to continue the conversation near that man.
…
"I hear people are attacked near the museum at night, and they get wrapped by bandages!"
"That sounds fake!"
"But that employee that Ruli talked to looked like he saw a ghost when she brought the subject, didn't he?"
We walk by the rows of mummies. I stop, and face one of them, extending my hands to it.
"Move… Move…"
I retract and push my hands forward time after time, telling it to move. But there was no reaction from it.
"I don't think any random mummy will be the one."
"I'm going to go ahead."
Mika walks away, and Aoi follows here. I do a last silly chant before following them.
"Move…!"
As I extend my hands forward, the fingers of my right hand have disappeared.
"…Eh…?"
My heart sinks and my voice gets stuck in my throat, as I see a fingerless hand in front of me. No, it's not fingerless, but the fingers have become transparent, to the point I can barely see them.
"Ruli, you coming?!"
I look at Aoi as she calls for me, and back to my hand.
All the fingers are back.
I stand there for a moment, looking at my hand, and slowly flexing the fingers.
They are all there, and I can feel them like normal.
Was that… My imagination…?
"Ruli"
"Ah, yes! Wait up!"
I hurriedly walk to Aoi and Mika.
"It's be scary if they really moved!…Uh?"
I squeeze my hand, trying to feel my fingers. Again, it feels completely normal.
"Aoi, what are you waiting for? Come on!"
"Ah… Sorry, I'm coming Mika!"
It must have been my imagination.
But, for some reason…
I get a really bad feeling.
…
Getting out of the museum, the sun is already going down. It's starting to get late.
"Should we call it for today? Aoi, Ruli."
"Yeah, it's getting late, so it may be a good idea."
Calling it for today?
According to that employee, the mummy only goes out at night… But I can't ask them to remain out that late, their parents would worry.
"Let's call it then. Though how about we finish it with some donuts?"
"Oooooh, I like the idea!"
"Your goddess appreciates your offering."
"You are paying your own!"
"Ehehehe, had to try."
It's barely a few minutes from the donut place we went to a few months ago, so it doesn't take long until we are seating down, enjoying a pair of donuts each, while talking and checking on our phones.
White chocolate with nuts and a strawberry covered and filled donuts, what better way to end our outing?
"…Mmm?"
"What's it, Mika?"
"You found something?"
Mika was looking closely at her phone, a serious expression on her face.
"I found something about the red scribbles."
"The red… Ah, you mean my photo that got hacked?"
"Did someone know about the hacker?"
"No, it's…It's this, right?"
She showed her phone to us. There was an article on one of the forums we frequent for rumors. She summarized the contents.
"Scribbles suddenly appear on digital photos. The part where the scribbles appear on your body will begin to act strange, and this strange feeling will get worse within two days!"
There were a multitude of photos of people fishing, riding bikes, posing in front of statues… In all of them, their arms, legs, heads… Everyone had different parts of their bodies covered in red scribbles.
Aoi started reading the last part of the article, interrupting Mika.
"And in 48 hours, something even more disastrous happens to their body!"
My stomach sinks, and I start flexing my fingers.
…No, nothing happened there. I must have imagined it.
"So… What should we do with this?"
Aoi looks at me worried, and Mika joins her too.
"…What are you two getting so serious about? It's just another weird rumor, isn't it? We have chased paranormal stuff for more than a year, and suddenly one would come at me instead?"
"Yeah… Yeah, that's right. I got too into it! Hahahha!"
"Sorry, I saw the article and worried unnecessarily!"
"Though it would be funny if something really happened to my hand, don't you think? That would be direct proof of the supernatural!"
"Ohhhh, Ruli is right! Maybe her nails will rapidly grow in front of our eyes!"
"If we cut them and film as they grow, we could probe that it's real!"
We share a laugh and continue talking about the mummy and sometimes about the red scribbles.
During the entire time, I'm unconsciously gripping my right hand.
…
We part ways, as the sky starts turning dark. Mika and Aoi go to the train station to go home. I walk back towards the museum, and enter a restaurant with windows looking at the entrance.
I'm not really hungry after those donuts, but I had already decided to eat out, so a light early meal shouldn't be a problem.
I seat by the window, and order some chicken. I keep my sight on the museum's entrance as the lights go out. If the mummy will come out, it should happen from now on.
Eventually, the food arrives, and I dig into it. It wasn't anything special, but I eat it slowly and enjoy it.
By the time I finish, nothing has come out of the museum.
"Well, it was to be expected…"
'Ring' 'Ring' 'Ring'
I'm distracted by my phone. I have my notifications set to silent, so it can only be a call.
Who could it be?
But as I grab the phone, there is no call incoming.
"Uh?"
'Ring' 'Ring' 'Ring'
The phone continued ringing. But, if it's not a call, then what's it…?
I turn the phone on to stop the ringing.
And I'm greeted by a photo. A photo of me, with my fingers covered in red scribbles.
"What…?"
And then, I notice it.
I'm not holding the phone. Or more like, I can't see the fingers holding my phone.
My heart sinks, and I drop my phone, letting it fall to the table. I gulp down a scream.
Without the phone in my hand, I can see it very clearly. It looks like a fingerless stump, but when focusing I can see the transparent fingers coming out of it.
With a trembling left hand, I try to touch my fingers. They are still there, I can touch them. I can feel them. I pinch at them, and I feel the pain. But when I hold it, I can see my left hand through the fingers of the right.
I almost shout 'What is this?!', but stop it as I see in the corner of my vision other people having dinner.
…No. I don't want to make a scene. I don't want other people to see… This.
I get up, grab my bag, and go pay for the food.
I take out my phone to pay for it with my left hand. It's uncomfortable and a bit hard. But I keep my right hand behind me. The clerk looks at me strangely, but I ignore it, and get out the store.
I walk towards the station, my main priority getting home to try to research what is happening. As I do, I look at my right hand, to verify that it's not going back to normal like before.
My fingers are still transparent.
I run towards the station, my main priority getting home as fast as possible to calm down.
As I reach the station, climb its stairs, I look in every direction, as if someone was pursuing me. But, of course, there was nobody suspicious, only people going about their day.
I don't know why I looked around.
No, I know it, I just didn't think about it until after doing it.
If this is happening, then someone… No, someTHING, must have done it.
And that something… May be close.
I run into the station, and get into the next train as fast as possible, trying to hide my hand from any onlookers.
I seat in a corner of the cabin, hiding my hand. The curious stares at my actions feel like incriminating gazes, of people that know what happened to my hand.
I don't know why that would be a problem, but I don't like it.
I don't like it even one bit.
…
I throw my bag in my desk, and start walking in circles around the room.
What caused this?
Who caused this?
What… THING caused this?
Why did it do this?
How do I reverse it?
Where do I start researching it?
Is it only temporal?
Can I HIDE it?
Has it stopped, or will it… Get worse?
Will my entire body follow?!
…I need to calm down.
I sit in front of my piano.
"The Six Little Preludes… By Johann Sebastian Bach…"
I set my fingers on top of the keys. I can't see well my right side, but that doesn't mater. I have done this with my eyes closed.
"C Major."
Rough.
My mind is unfocused, my fingers are trembling, my tempo is a mess. Next.
"D Minor."
Rougher.
I'm panicking, my fingers are freezing, I don't remember the order. Next.
"D Mayor."
A bit better.
I take a deep breath, grit my teeth and force myself to focus, my fingers are moving again, I'm starting to get into the tempo a bit. Next.
"E Major."
Almost decent.
My breath is stabilizing, my mind focused on the music, my fingers are starting to listen to me, I'm properly following the song. Last One.
"E Minor."
Like I practiced.
I can breath normally, I don't have unnecessary thoughts, my fingers are dancing over the keys, each note harmonizes with the others.
I raise my fingers from the keys, and take a deep breath.
"Now, focus. You have to solve this by yourself, nobody will suddenly appear and do it for you. You spent over a year researching supernatural rumors, you got what you wanted, now learn how to fight the consequences."
Getting up from the piano, I grab my phone and throw myself in front of the computer. Time to do a deeper research about this.
"Red Scribbles…"
It takes some time to search. The basic rumors about them are easy to find, a quick search does it. But not everyone talks about their experiences, some calling the phenomenon by a different name, and some stop after their initial posts. Maybe because they were simply acting as if they went through it and got bored, as it's normal in this case, or maybe because… Something bad happened to them.
Deciding which sources sound credible or not is… Hard. There is a clear theme going on how this start, but the symptoms are all wildly different. I can barely go on by gut feeling, and how they found the scribbled photos.
No… I'm wasting my time with most of those!
Even if they are real, a lot of those are recent, from today or yesterday. Even if they are real, they won't know more than me. I have to search the older ones!
The oldest one must be real for sure!
…
3 Hours after starting, I have a list of names on my computer.
They all look credible, and they range from 5 days to 16 days ago at the latest. And they all stopped posting afterwards.
I spent time checking the activity of each one. They all were decently active on the Internet, but after approximately 3 days of their first encounter with the photo, they all stopped posting.
Now, is when the real research begins.
"But first…"
I get out of bed, and go to the kitchen. I stretch myself as I start preparing some tea. It's almost midnight, but I have no time to waste. I don't know how bad this can get!
I take out some snacks as the tea is made. Chips, chocolates, slices of cheese, whatever was left. I put it on a tray alongside the tea once it's done, and bring it to my room.
Setting it up on the desk besides my computer, I take a sip of tea and open the bag of chips. I much as I search the first name.
"Michozuki Mana…"
Researching a person is harder than simply checking their posts talking about the rumor of the time. Who they are, where they studied, where they work… All that information can be either easy or hard to find, but it's always there. Few people go the extra mile to hide themselves on the Internet.
I don't enjoy this part of a research, but it has to be done.
After some time, I have their address and workplace. I'll call her or try to visit her home directly tomorrow.
Now…
"Next…!"
…
"Next…!"
…
"Next…!"
…
The sun is already starting to rise, visible through the window.
My hands are trembling looking at the article about one of the victims.
Dead in a traffic accident.
"Did it… Have something to do with this…?"
It had finally dawned on me.
This isn't as simple as something strange happening to our bodies.
This can get us killed.
If I don't find how to revert this, I won't survive.
"N-Next…!"
I try to force my hand to stop trembling as I go search for the few remaining ones.
…
I turn off my PC, the list of names and addresses transferred to my phone.
I couldn't find any information about what happens after the initial 48 hours, but what was said about what happens at that time… Is not good.
If things can get even worse after that… May be why I can't find any of that.
Gulping down, I move to my piano and sit down, trying to calm me nerves. Positioning my fingers over the keys, I decide on what to play to calm myself.
"…Visions Fugitives… Lentamente… By Sergei Prokofiev…"
I press on the first keys, and…
I don't feel them.
I look down, and see the transparent fingers of my right hand passing through the piano, as if they weren't real.
My heart sinks, my breath becomes laborious, my hands tremble.
I hurriedly get up, grab my bag, and get out to the first address.
"Kukuku!"
I see the human child run off her room.
Very nice, very nice indeed!
All her fear, all her distress will create a wonderful Evil Eye…
And the tears on her face as she runs are a great added bonus…
"Kukuku"
I stand in front of the doors of an apartment complex. After doubting for half a second, I press with my left hand the button to call for a very specific house.
The house of Michozuki Mana.
'Ring Rong'
She didn't answer her phone, so I had to come directly. I worried that she wouldn't answer here either, but after a few seconds, a voice answered.
"Who is it?"
The screen remained off, she only answered through voice. I gulp down, hoping I got the right place.
"Um… Are Michozuki Mana…? Could the Red Scribbles-!"
"Go away."
An immediate rejection. But it wasn't from me mistakenly coming to the wrong place, or she don't wanting to answer to a stranger.
There was venom, and frustration, in her tone of voice. It was because of the Red Scribbles!
"I'm sick of all these visitors like you."
"Please, I just want you to tell me!"
I can't lose this chance! I can't let she simply turn me away! She may know something!
"Well, ehm…! I know I'm acting crazy, but do you know how to stop it?!"
"That's what I'd like to know!"
I almost staggered back, by the sheer despair in her outburst. It could be felt even through the speakers.
"Um… What happened to you?"
"…My hair… Grows…"
"…What?"
The screen turns on, and my heart stops for a moment at what I see on the other side.
A woman was standing there. She looked extremely tired, pale, weak. And from her head, dozens of strands of hair went in all directions. They climbed the walls, the ceiling, wrapped themselves around the furniture. They wrapped themselves around her neck, visibly very tightly, her skin around it red.
"I'm gonna be killed by my own hair."
"…?!"
She looked at me with hat, frustration, pain. The raw mix of emotions paralyzing me. Focused in her hate-filled eyes, I noticed something. Her eye color was mismatched. Her left eye was a bright green… No, it wasn't simply bright, it was glowing.
"Something worse is going to happen to you too."
The screen and speakers turned off, and I could only see my reflection in the black screen. But from there, the same green eye looked back at me.
I raised my trembling hand to it, and stared at my reflection.
It's not glowing.
Yet.
That means this will still get worse.
As bad as it has gotten for that woman.
I look at my right hand. It was covered in a pink glove, limp to my side to not make evident that the fingers were passing through it. I slowly raised it, and carefully took the glove off… To be greeted by a transparent palm.
"…It has spread more!"
My hands tremble as I touch it with the other. The palm is still physical… But if it changes at the same rate as the fingers, that will change by the time the sun goes down.
…And then, it'll spread further into my arm…
"…No!"
I run.
I don't check the next address to go to, I simply run.
"Kukuku! Fool…"
My heart sinks as I hear a small laugh in the distance. I don't know where it came from or who it was, but my instincts tell me all I need to know.
I'm being observed. By the thing that did this.
It's… Laughing at me.
For how long… Has it been observing me…?
…No, don't panic!
This is not the end, it hasn't even been 24 hours yet!
The 48 are still away!
I have a list of possible victims, and I have confirmed the first one as real!
I can get as much information as I can from them, and from there, seek a way to solve this!
If this is an evil spirit, then an exorcist may be able to help me… Us!
I won't let that thing win!
I put my glove back, and take out my phone.
"Where's the next address?!"
But as I turn it on, I notice something. I received a message.
That on itself is not unusual, but it's not from a follower in Utopi, it was sent directly to my Email account. And the title is…
"…Has something paranormal, possibly life threatening, happened to you?"
…Gulping down, I open the message. It sounds way too convenient, way too well timed, but I let myself have a shred of hope. Even the tiniest bit of information may help.
The sender is someone called 'Amanokawa Hiro'.
'I'm sorry for the sudden direct message.
I'm Amanokawa Hiro, a first-year at Hazakura Academy.
Is there anything strange happening around you lately?
It could be the doings of a Digimon.
I may be able to help you somehow.
If you want to meet, send me a message, any time is good for me today.'
I have trouble processing the message. It looks way too suspicious, way too convenient, but there is a term I have never seen before.
"Digi…Mon…?"
I have never heard that before. But someone trying to fool me could have said anything else easier to understand, like en evil spirit, a youkai, a curse…
…This is worth a shot. And I don't have the luxury to ignore any leads!
I answer to the message, setting a time and place.
…
I arrive at the point of meeting. On top of a small bridge over the street. Very visible from all directions, in a transited area. Going down and escaping into an alley would take time. Any suspicious activity would be noticed before he can escape. And I'll refuse to go from here anywhere else if this doesn't look like it'll help.
I climb the stairs, and on the other side I can see a boy, apparently about my age, wearing a backpack with an hologram… Robot? Of a tiny dinosaur on it. He's… Talking to the air? He was facing to the side, and looking up while talking.
…With doubts in my mind, I walk forward, as he hasn't noticed me yet, and listen to what he's saying.
"…have a deal. I'll get you those when you bring me info about Clockmon."
He then waited for a moment, as if listening to something, and then nodded.
"See you later then!"
And suddenly, a blast of wind assaulted me. Coming right from where the boy was looking at. This was not a windy day. It almost made me fall to the ground.
The boy appears like he expected it.
Before I could stop myself, the words escaped my mouth.
"What… Was that?"
"Uh? Yup, something's there."
"Whoah, big!"
The boy looked at me, finally noticing me.
"Ah… Uh.. You are Lirurun, right…?"
Did he ignore the question…? No… He's looking behind me, as if someone taller than me was behind me…
…I'll press it.
"What were you talking to? And what was that sudden gust of wind?"
"Oh… You felt it…? Well, I spotted a… Flying one, so I kinda took my chance and called it down to ask for a favor…"
A flying one…?
…I felt that gust of wind. There WAS something there that caused it.
If that's the case… Does this boy SEE… Things that people normally DON'T?
…Digimon.
"…Was that a Digimon?"
He looks surprised for a moment, before going back to his aloof expression.
"Let's go talk to the ice cream shop over there. You look like you need to sit down."
…This may be the best lead I could have asked for!
…
We sit down at one of the tables. We both got an ice cream cup to not occupy one of of their tables for free. He got two.
He unstraps his backpack, and places it on another seat, in front of his second cup. The… Hologram? Robot? Dinosaur looks at it… And talks.
"Oh, it looks tasty."
"It's an ice cream. There are a lot of different flavors, but this one is of chocolate."
"Ohhhhhh, champion!"
It then grabbed a spoon… And ate some of it. Very happily.
"Mmmmmm!"
"Don't eat too fast, it'll freeze your brain."
…That's not an hologram. That's not a ROBOT.
…No, I have to focus. As we talk my hand could be getting worse. Whatever that dinosaur is, is proof that this boy knows about things I don't.
"What do you think of this situation… Of all the incidents?"
He looks away from the white dinosaur, changing from a friendly to a serious one, the phone with all my research on his hand.
"They are probably the doings of a Digimon. No, I'm sure they are."
"What are this Digimon?"
"Well…"
He suddenly looked unsure himself.
"There's a lot I don't know myself, but…"
He placed his hand on top of the tiny dinosaur's head, who was still happily eating the ice cream.
"This is a Digimon. I can only go by the very little my dad told me, and I have only known about them for about two days. For what I know, you can think of them as AIs that live in some sort of simulated world, that somehow escaped into the real world, and can influence it in weird ways."
"Ohhh, I'm a Digimon! Gammamon!"
…
"…Are you serious?"
Did I ask the right person?
"Would that be harder to believe than a youkai doing it?"
"…Fair."
I take back my phone from him, having to accept that crazy explanation.
"There's one besides you too."
My breathing stops, and I try to look behind me, but there is nothing.
It is besides me….? Is it… The one behind everything? Has it been following me right behind all this time?!
"The big one went inside that!"
The white dinosaur… The Digimon shouted, and boy suddenly stood up from his seat. Soon after, the small Digimon jumped towards the phone, tackling me to the ground.
"Ay, oi!"
"Then, that must be…"
The boy and the Digimon… Gammamon, was it? Looked up, ignoring that he threw me to the ground.
"Oh, the big one 's back!"
…If they can't help after this, I'll be very angry.
I slowly get up, as the two look into empty air.
"Angoramon?"
"I'm Gammamon!"
It looks like they are talking to it…?
Wait… Why can I see Gammamon, but not this other one…?
"Hey, who are you talking to?"
I pat the boy on the back, while I clench my right one to stop it from trembling.
They look very calm, way too calm for this to be the culprit. But if it really was it…
"Tsukiyono-san, calm down."
He turned to me, and answered seriously, before turning back to the open space, asking it to continue a conversation I can't hear.
"And?"
Did I pushed it at a bad moment…?
Damn, I can't even know if it's good or bad!
"Dracumon?"
Dracumon.
Another name.
Gammamon, Angoramon, Dracumon. A very clear naming convention connecting all of them.
"Tsukiyono-san's hands too?"
My hands. Is he being told what happened to them and why?
"This sounds like it's way more serious than pranks. Why do that?"
…Pranks…?
All of this is… A prank…?
My blood starts to boil, but I force myself to calm down.
I'm only hearing one side of the conversation, I can't even hear the source of this anger, I have to wait until they finish to ask more.
"Will that Dracumon be able to materialize doing all this?"
They wait for a bit more, as if listening to someone. The boy gets comfortable sitting on a nearby rail, and the Digimon… Jumps towards the space they were looking to… And ends suspended in mid air.
As if it was hugging something I can't see.
"Like how you dove into the smartphone?"
…I have waited on the sidelines long enough.
"What are you guys talking about?!"
As the boy turned to me, he looked as if he forgot for a moment that he was making me wait.
…I'm starting to want to punch him.
"Well, to summarize… Angoramon is trying to protect you. The one making your hand banish, and behind everyone else's problems is called Dracumon. I don't understand it very well yet, but apparently he's trying to 'materialize', become visible and tangible for Humans like Gammamon is. Though I don't really know how this is going to make it happen, if he does then he'll cause a lot more damage."
"…What?"
It has been… Protecting me?
I clutch my right hand, my fingers passing through my glove.
…It's hard to believe it's being honest. Things seem to be progressing like with every other victim.
"Mmm, if we can catch Dracumon somehow…"
"Wait, we can catch it?!"
He then ran away.
"I promise I'll be back, wait here!"
"Hey- Wait, where are you going?!"
…And he's gone.
Looking behind me, he left behind his things… And the Digimon.
…He's one of the most frustrating people I have ever met.
And now, I have no option but to wait for him, for an unspecified amount of time, looking over his things and Digimon, and can't even call him because he left his phone on the table.
…
After about 5 minutes of waiting, I look towards the Digimon. They appear to be talking… But I have problems understanding Gammamon, and it's made worse from having only one half of the conversation.
…But he's my best chance to get some answers.
"Hey, Gammamon."
"Uh? Yes?"
"Why is it… Why is Angoramon trying to protect me?"
Instead of answering, he looks towards the open space where I assume Angoramon is. It looks like he was waiting for the answer.
A moment later, he looked back at me.
"He likes your music!"
…What?
"My music?"
"Yes!"
He went back to looking at the open space.
I see how this is going to be. Each answer will take quite some time.
"He says that he enjoys your piano! It helps him relax!"
…That's not… What I expected to hear for a reason.
Though I don't know what I was expecting in te first place…
"…For how long has he been listening to it?"
Another moment of waiting, before the answer arrives.
"A month!"
A shiver goes down my back.
I have been being observed, my daily practice spied on, for an entire month.
"…If he's been observing me for a month, how did Dracumon get to me?"
This thing isn't trustworthy. I have to be careful.
Gammamon listens for longer than before, the thing maybe giving longer explanation for this. A few moments and hums from Gammamon later, he turned to me.
"He was out when it happened! He's sad he wasn't there!"
Suspicious.
I don't know how much he can be trusted. His answers sound way too convenient. I'll wait into that boy, Hiro, comes back.
I need to learn more about this Digimon before I believe the words of something I can't see.
…
"He did tell me to wait, but…"
Half an hour has passed. I moved the stairs of a small temple that was pretty close to the shop, perfectly visible from there. I sat there, going through Utopi while hugging Gammamon as a stuffed toy.
I stopped asking myself where that boy was about 10 minutes ago. So now, I'm simly spending time looking at comments on my posts.
I want to read something useful while I wait, but I have to watch over that boys things, his Digimon, and over a thing I can't even see. I can't focus on doing something useful, and it's getting on my nerves.
"Tsuchiyono-san! I'm back!"
I look in the direction of the voice, and she the boy running towards us. I get up as he get to us. And the first thing he does is taking my phone and giving it to Gammamon.
"One second!"
…The urge to punch him is becoming greater and greater.
"Dracumon, do you hear me!"
He called for the culprit, raising something on his left hand. It looked like a blue electronic wristwatch… It look like the white one he's wearing.
"This is a Digivice! It's one of those that materialized Gammamon!"
He turned towards me.
"Now, Tsukiyono-san!"
"What?"
So that's why I can see and touch Gammamon, unlike the others…?
The Digigivice.
"We're going to materialize Angoramon who is protecting you right now!"
He takes a moment to look into open space, and then back towards me.
"You can do it if you just put this on your wrist, and insert the chip."
He said while holding a small USB drive on his other hand. He looks at Gammamon, and I follow his line of sight to him, who was holding my phone with the screen towards us.
…I see. So that's how he plans to do it.
I nod, and extend my right hand towards the boy.
"Put it on!"
He slowly walks towards me, the wristwatch… The Digivice, on his extended arm. As he approached, he was taking glances of my phone.
Step after step, I get an increasingly feeling of dread I can't explain. No, it's not exactly dread, it wasn't coming from me, but from something set on me.
My left eye was throbbing. The eye that had changed by whatever curse this is.
He's coming!
"Give me that!"
In a flash of light, a transparent and glitchy creature surrounded by a bright purple light emerged from the phone, lunging towards Hiro. He staggered back, and Gammamon jumped forwards, but this thing, Dracumon reached him first, and… Passed through him, landing on the ground, and looking back at us.
"Jeez, this sure ticks me off! I go through everything except the ground!"
A set of red and green fake eyes painted over a black leather hood looked at us. He was unexpectedly small, his bare chest exposing blue skin and a very slim body. The only things truly strange about his body were the abnormaly big hands, and a pair of small wings sprouting from his back and being 'tied' at the front by a golden medallion.
But most of all… It hurts.
Looking at it HURTS.
And I can perfectly see why. My right eye can't see it, only my left one, the one that has been affected, can. And my brain is giving me a headache trying to fit the image together.
But the pain doesn't matter!
What matters, is that I can see him right in front of me, the culprit behind everything!
Suddenly, the creature… Dracumon, jumped high, escaping into the alleyway behind the trees of the small shrine.
"You're as slow as always! You won't ever be able to catch me!"
"You give off bad vibes!"
Gammamon rushed forward, quickly disappearing into the alleyway, Hiro running behind him.
I take a moment to collect myself as the headache recedes, and run after them.
I quickly reach the boy, and tail Gammamon and Dracumon.
"I swear I'll make you go kaboo-!"
As we turn on the corner, we see an angry Gammamon rushing forwards, but no sight of Dracumon.
'Snap'
…That is, until he suddenly falls from the sky, bitting Gammamon in the neck.
"Gammamon!"
We stop, Hiro shouting at the scene, Gammamon going limp in Dracumon's fangs.
Wait, this is bad, isn't it?!
Now that I think of it, that thing has shown inhuman physical abilities! How will we deal with it?!
"If you don't give me that, I'm gonna suck up this Digimon's data!"
Hiro flinched, though I don't know if it's because of the danger Gammamon was in, or what would happen if he did give it to him. Maybe it was for both.
"I wanna materialize! No matter how much I can mess with a Human's body, it doesn't feel the same as doing things with my own hands! It takes a lot of time and effort to make it possible for me to touch them, and rip their eyes out myself!"
Rip… Their eyes out?!
"What the hell do you mean by ripping their eyes out?! What have you been doing all this time?!"
The words escaped my mouth before I could process them. The fear dwelling in my stomach could only be compared to the anger boiling my blood.
"By ripping their eyes out, I mean ripping their eyes out, of course!"
He then raised a hand, and opened it to reveal his palm. A green eye was in the middle of it, blinking, and looking at us. And suddenly, another popper out, squeezing against the first one in the tight eye-hole of his hand. And another, and another.
My boiling blood goes could as the four tightly squeezed eyes looked at me.
"Humans are an excellent material to create new Evil Eyes. I just need to mess with your bodies in the first place, and then your own souls will provide the energy to further the changes. And from there, all the fear, distress, and pain will gather in your eyes, birthing a new Evil Eye and aligning you with me enough so I can touch you, and rip it off to add to my collection!"
I raise my hand to my left eye, instinctively trying to protect it. But the instant I do, I can't see Dracumon anymore, so I grit my teeth, take a deep breath, and take it down.
"Kukuku! You are still a long time away from creating a good Evil Eye, so don't worry too much about it fool… We'll meet in 2 weeks."
My blood goes cold and boiling at the same time. My brain can't decide if fall into terror at the future prospect, or into rage about the idea of from who those eyes must have come from.
As I stood there, frozen in place, Hiro shouted at Dracumon.
"Even if you got it, Digivices are only used by Humans! Even if you had this, you can't materialize!"
"Fool! There's tons of bad guys in this world too! I'll find a crime partner right away! Especially since I don't need the rest of their bodies once I take their eyes!"
My brain took a decision. The prospect of this thing working alongside a psychopath is unacceptable! I can't run in fear, we have to stop him!
"And how are you going to bring this to that bad guy? …You can't touch anything, right?"
"…Kukuku, then I'll make you do it!"
He got up, and raised his hands towards us. My left eye started throbbing.
…I don't know what he's doing, but it's not good!
I jump back towards the turn we came from, as I hear Dracumon shout.
"Eye if Nightmares!"
There was a moment of silence, as if nothing happened. But my moment of confusion was interrupted by his next words.
"Now, materialize my body!"
I poke my head through the turn, trying to see what happened.
"Yes, Dracumon…"
Hiro's body was hanging limp, his voice lifeless.
What… Is this?
"I just need to materialize you…"
He took a step forward, getting closer to Dracumon.
Wait… Sucking Gammamons 'Data'… Eye powers… Dracumon…
He's a Vampire!
He's got Hiro under his control!
I run towards him, the urgent need to stop him before it's too late welling in my chest.
"Hey, you, stop! Come back to your senses!"
I grab him by the arms, but he shrubs me off, completely ignoring my words. I grab unto him again, and start pulling him away.
Enough physical contact, or letting the charm run its course, may release him!
"Get out of the way, fool!"
My eye throbbed, and I raised my hand at the same time as Dracumon raised his. There appears to be some light going around my arm, but it passes away in an instant.
"You can avoid the charm of a Vampire by not looking at them in the eyes!"
"Tch, crap! Well, how do you like this then?!"
He dropped Gammamon, and pointed his hands at his face.
"…Oh damn."
"You, hold that fool back!"
In a moment, Gammamon is already jumping at me, his adorable and friendly expression now changed into one of anger, eyes a bright red, baring his rows of fangs at me.
But suddenly, he's blown back, hitting the ground hard.
What was… Ah, that's right, Angoramon!
I forgot he was here too!
"Ohhh? I'm Gammamon."
Gammamon's expression returned to normal. Did the blow released him from the charm…?
In that case…!
I forcefully throw Hiro back, so he stands right in front of me, and throw my left fist back.
'Pump!'
My fist clashed with his left cheek, throwing him to the ground.
"Ow!"
"Hiro!"
…That felt incredibly satisfactory.
"Huh? What was I…?"
I quickly take the Digivice and USB Drive from his hand, and run near the turn before stopping and showing it to them.
"What am I supposed to do with this?!"
"Tsukiyono-san!"
"Crap!"
Gammamon ran towards Hiro to check if he was okey, meanwhile Dracumon jumped backwards, apparently trying to void Angoramon.
"Put on the Digivice! And once you insert the drive, press the button!"
I look at the Digivice and the USB Drive on my hand. It's not really an USB, but that makes it easier to understand.
"That thing is…!"
I raise my gaze towards Dracumon. He was high in the air. He twisted and kicked at open air, and suddenly the wall of the alleyway got cracked.
That must have been Angoramon!
"Mine!"
My left eye throbbed as Dracumon darted towards the ground. I raised my arm, and right after it was surrounded by a red light.
Hiro and Gammamon slowly turned towards. Their eyes had turned red again. Without lasting any time, Gammamon came rushing back at me.
…Damn!
I try to put it on, but I'm not fast enough. But as his open maw is centimeters away from my face, he's once away blown away. But this time, he appears to have fallen unconscious.
But Hiro was getting closer, and nothing was stopping him.
"Come back to yourself before I throw another one, jeez!"
I try to snap the Digivice around my left wrist out of habit, but as my fingers pass through it and I almost throw, I move to put it around my right wrist.
Thank god my wrist is still physical!
As I snap it around my wrist, it's screen lights up, and in front of my eyes, another transparent figure slowly appeared in front of me. It looks like I was looking at its back, as it looked like a giant ball of yellow fluff, with two big ears, arms, and feet, with leather belts around his shoulders and trying his ears.
"I can see now!"
It looks…Fluffier, than I thought.
He turned to me, showing a brown face with a rabbit nose, a wide mouth under eyes completely covered by his fur.
"Ruli, materialize my body!"
"You're…"
"Angoramon. I'll protect you. Please, believe me."
I raise the drive in my hand, but before putting it on, I stop.
Can I really… Trust him?
He's protecting me now, but he has been stalking me for a month…
As Hiro walks closer, Angoramon tries to stop him, but he passes through him. He looks to be able to touch other Digimon, but not Humans.
"Ruli, get back!"
I walk back, Hiro still walking towards him. Angoramon tries to grab him again, but once again he passes through.
I could stop Hiro myself, but as irritating as he can be, I don't want to hurt him!
But… Should I really materialize Angoramon?!
I don't know if I should really believe in him, I barely know about him more than he stalking me for a month!
But… Letting Dracumon win would be worse!
"What's with that pitiful state!"
Dracumon came and kicked Angoramon away, who quickly came back to futilely try to stop Hiro.
"You sluggish fool! You couldn't even catch me once and now you're helpless against a Human?"
Dracumon…!
I insert the drive into the USB, as Angoramon once again lunges at Hiro, and Dracumon kicks him into the ground, standing over him.
"It makes me sad to think I was chased around by someone like you! Kukuku!"
But, before I do it, I have to ask him something.
"Angoramon, why do you go that far?"
Why is he so determined to protect me?
Why did he stalk me for a month?
I keep my finger over the buttons of the Digivice, the palm hiding that I inserted the drive.
He punched Dracumon away, and tried to grab Hiro again.
"I… Like listening to you play your piano. Please… Materialize me… I swear I'll pro-"
Before he can finish that sentence, I press the button.
I'll need to have a talk with him about stalking people, but… He's not Human. He probably didn't even know he shouldn't do it. So… I'll ignore it for now, and believe in him!
Suddenly, the screen of the Digivice lighted up, showing a yellow symbol over an orange screen, composed of a hollow arrow pointing down and two triangles at it's side. A wave of energy passed through the Digivice, changing it's color into a yellow and green pattern. And alongside it, a wave of orange-yellow light passed through Angoramon from bottom to top, releasing transparent cubes as his body became solid in front of my eyes.
"Then, starting next time… Don't hide around to listen and show yourself!"
Angoramon looks surprised at his hands for a moment, but immediately rushes forward and shoves Hiro away… But slamming him with his trunk of a hand and sending him flying, crashing harshly against the ground.
"Ooooow!"
…Did I make a mistake?
Hiro grunts in pain, slowly raising his head and opening his eyes. They were back to normal.
Angoramon was looking surprised at his own arm. Then he set his sight on Dracumon. And as seen as he did, the coward tried to escape upwards, passing through a highway. But…
"I told you you are slow!"
Dracumon looked down, floating above the highway, trying to mock Angoramon. But he was already above him, standing over a light pole. While before it looked almost as if I could run circles around him, now he was fast and nimble.
"Power… Is flowing withing me!"
Angoramon murmured to himself. I don't know how I could hear it… No, I didn't. I simply know what he said.
Dracumon looks back to Angoramon. And as far as he is, I can see the panic on his face. He tries to float away, losing altitude and aiming for a building.
He's trying to escape through the buildings!
I run towards them, and the Digivice in my wrist warms up as words start appearing in my mind. And my instincts tell me to shout them.
"Double Lariat!"
Angoramon jumps towards Dracumon, reaching him before he can pass through the wall, and backhanded him in the stomach with that thunk of an arm, while holding him in place with an ear. Dracumon is almost send flying, but the ear grabbing his head keeps him in place, and as they both rotate in the air he follows it with another backhand right at his face, sending him flying towards the ground.
'Rumb!'
"Aggghhhh!"
Angoramon lands on a wall, and starts jumping upwards through it, as more words appear in my mind.
"Pyon Dump!"
Reaching the top of the building, Angoramon jumps high, and twisting in the air, he starts falling at high speed towards the stunned Dracumon in the ground.
"Guahh!"
He quickly tries to scatter and drag himself through the ground, away from Angoramon, but he's not fast enough.
'Bumb!'
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
A cloud of rust raises as Angoramon falls into the ground, cracking the ground below them. Dracumon screams in pain as he spits blood, his body being crushed under Angoramon.
He falls limp to the ground, breathing hardly.
"You… You win…"
…
"I'm sorry…! I'm really sorry…!"
Dracumon is kneeling in the ground, bowing his head. His legs were tattered, clearly broken, and was breathing very hardly. He was severely injured.
"Just turn my hand back to normal already!"
I extend my hand towards Dracumon. And look at him threateningly.
"And if you try any funny businesses, the next thing crushed is your head!"
"K-kiiii! Y-Yes, right away!"
He raised his hand and set his Evil Eye right in front of mine. After a small light, my hand slowly became less and less transparent, until it was completely physical again.
I couldn't describe the happiness I felt as I saw it.
"I'm back to normal!"
"Your eye is back to normal too."
Angoramon looked at me, a smile on his face. I raised my left hand to it, happy. I almost teared up.
And then, I remembered.
"What about all the eyes you stole?!"
"K-Kiii! I'll return them! I'll return them! I left them alive to go get the second one later! As Evil Eyes they can be set back with no issue!"
Wait… As Evil Eyes?
"Will the eyes remain as Evil Eyes?!"
"Y-Yes! I can't remove the power from them! But don't worry, they work as their old ones as they should, and yours only had two days to develop, so it should be back to a normal one! Probably…"
"…And what about the people that died because of this…?"
"… I… I'm sorry…"
'Slap!'
I slap Dracumon across the face, ignoring Hiro flinching back as I grab Dracumon by the neck.
"You'll go with us to return all the eyes, and cure everyone of what you did to them. And if I ever hear you tried something like this again…"
"W-What…?"
I throw him to the ground. I don't know what I would do. I don't what I would do right now if I wasn't trying to contain myself to help his victims.
"Angoramon, can you carry him while we go through each victim?"
"…Ah-! Yes, of course! But, um…"
He looked a bit skittish… Ah, damn, I'm basically giving him orders out of nowhere. He never agreed to go around helping people.
"I think it would be better if I went alone. I can go flying, and do it faster if I only have to carry him. Also… After what you went through, I don't think you should see what he did to the others."
Oh… He was… Being considerate of me.
"I- I see… Then please, I trust this to you."
"Trust… Yes, of course! Leave it to me!"
He hit his chest, a proudful smile on his face.
"…Thanks."
A smile naturally comes to my face. I still don't know him well, but in the end, he looks like a good guy.
I look to Hiro. For some reason he flinches, but I'll ignore that. I make a bow to him.
"Thank you. You really saved me today. Also, about the Digivice…"
"Ah… No, I did nothing… You ended doing everything yourself. And you can keep the Digivice, it's only a spare I had, and it looks like you'll need it from now."
"Still, thank you. If you need help with something, feel free to call me, I'll help however you can."
"Ah, there is something. I'm searching for…"
…
"Adagio in G major, by Johann Sebastian Bach."
I let myself be swept away by the music. Song after song, I play for what it felt and probably was hours.
It was a short period of time, but thinking that I may never be able to play again really got to me. Now that I calmed down, I see that I was a bit too much on edge during the day. It looks like I even ended scaring poor Hiro!
Well, I can always apologize later.
As for Angoramon… Looking back, he was a really good guy from the beginning, he simply needs to learn a bit more of Human culture. And thinking that I have an audience enjoying my music feels good.
I shouldn't have been so distrustful of him him, I ended letting him b kicked around until I materialized him!
My fingers dance the last steps of the song, and I raise them, releasing my breath.
'Clap' 'Clap' 'Clap'
I look towards the open window, and see Angoramon clapping at me.
"We already finished removing all the curses and returning all the stolen eyes. And I left Dracumon with the doctor that Hiro recommended."
He stepped forward, putting his hand on his chest.
"Let me reintroduce myself. I'm Angora-"
I jump to Angoramon, hugging the big ball and fluff and shoving my head into it.
"So fluffy! I think I like you!"
Author Notes:
This chapter was very fun to write.
I found out that I enjoy pushing my characters nearly to the breaking point, watch how they try to keep themselves together before they miserably fail, forced to deal with the situation or be doomed.
I'm worried about myself XD.
Hope you enjoyed reading this at least a quarter of as much as I enjoyed writing it!
See you next week!
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