Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, nor do I own When the World's Not Ending, by Smartalec121 or any of their associated works.
Off the Beaten Path
Chapter: 11/ Coming Storms
Birds chirped and leaves rustled from the gentle breeze flowing through them. They gave the park a musical quality to its ambience that made Kuzuhamon almost forget the tense air building between the Tamers and the redhaired girl she watched. She didn't forget though, nor could she as her gaze flickered back and forth between the group. They were seated around a stone table within a hexagonal-shaped building, its roof supported by concrete pillars. On one side, sat Rika, her expression cool and devoid of emotion. On the other was Kenta. He was worried and it showed in the way his brow creased in growing alarm and concentration. He stared at the playing cards in his hand, occasionally glancing at the table where more cards were set.
Kuzuhamon tilted her head, taking in the game. She heard of such things before, how the Tamers made use of cards to modify their digimon partners when they weren't biomerged. She knew her compatriots considered it odd; with one even suggesting it was some attempt to commune with digimon! But she saw the game for what it was meant to be: a means to train potential Tamers through simulated combat. Once a Tamer received their digivice, they would already know how to best utilize their cards to augment their partner when real fighting began.
And Rika, she saw, was leagues above the Tamers in this arena. Whatever doubts they had about her before, they knew the truth now.
How did she not become a Tamer with this level of skill? Kuzuhamon wondered.
"Well?" Suzie asked, breaking the tense silence.
"I'm thinking," Kenta replied.
"Well, think faster! This isn't how I wanted to spend my afternoon! I've got homework to do!"
Lopmon raised an eyebrow. "You desired to spend your afternoon working on homework?"
"It's better than watching these two lose over and over."
"Suzie…"
The girl sighed.
"Sorry, Lop. But I'm just tired of sitting here! I wish he'd hurry up!"
"She's got you," Takato said, peering closer at the battlefield. Kenta waved a dismissive hand while across from him, Rika shot Takato an appreciative smile. It was brief, but it didn't go unnoticed. Across from her, Suzie rolled her eyes.
"Maybe if I…" Kenta began, glancing up. Kuzuhamon saw him hesitate. Rika's expression remained as blank as ever and her eyes didn't waver once from Kenta's. Within those violet orbs, Kuzuhamon saw steel confidence. She wasn't going to lose no matter what he did.
Kenta eventually did play his card, and Rika played her counter. The boy's shoulders slumped in defeat.
"I'm sunk."
"Finally!"
Suzie hopped up from her seat and started toward the stairs. Alarmed, Lopmon, joined her.
"S-Suzie! Where are you going?"
"I'm heading back to Hypnos!" the girl proclaimed, plainly irritated. "I'm tired of sitting around and watching these two bozos get creamed."
"Suzie…" Kenta began, his tone carrying meaning. Kuzuhamon smiled knowingly. The girl halted, huffed, and then moved away from the stairs.
"It's been three days!" she grumbled, beginning to stalk around the building. Everyone's eyes followed her. "If they were going to do something, wouldn't they have done it by now?"
"Maybe they're just keeping an eye on things," Takato suggested. Suzie rolled her eyes.
"You're just grasping at straws. You don't know any better than me."
"Why is this bothering you?" Rika asked while shuffling her deck. Kuzuhamon watched as Suzie shot Rika a sharp glare, not slowing down in the slightest.
"Are they that interesting to you?" Kuzuhamon heard Gaiomon ask through their link. "I am not sure why. With such animosity and discord, their world is not unlike the digital world."
"I am certain we get that from them," Kuzuhamon replied. "We are humanities children."
"You almost sound defensive of them."
"No. Merely stating a fact."
"Yet, I've seen you smile when observing them."
Kuzuhamon nodded reluctantly. "Yes," she admitted, continuing to watch as Suzie glowered at Rika, yet didn't respond to her. Rika frowned in return, clearly unhappy with the response but not sure how to go about dealing with it.
"Why is this, if you don't mind my asking?"
Kuzuhamon frowned beneath her mask. "I am not sure myself," she said after some seconds passed by without any further response from Suzie or Rika. "But their relationships are different from ours, and I find that interesting."
Her gaze fell on MarinAngemon, who presently snuggled up to Kenta. She moved on to Guilmon as he scarfed down a piece of bread Takato gave to him. The dinosaur's big, golden eyes looked at the boy adoringly and Kuzuhamon wondered what it might be like to receive a gift from someone else. The closest she remembered experiencing was the light that first transformed her into her current Mega form. Its embracing warmth had felt odd. Frightening at first, but hugely powerful. And also…disappointingly brief. There and gone before she even knew what happened. She replayed the memory over the years, struggling to understand it and coming away feeling empty. None of her compatriots understood it either. Gaiomon had given up on it and so did the third of their triumvirate. Zhuqiaomon revealed no wisdom about it either and discouraged discussion on the matter.
None of this stopped her from questioning the meaning of that light, nor did it quell the growing desire to experience it a second time.
The Hazard looks upon his Tamer with…with… She fumbled for the words. She had the sense that Guilmon and Takato's relationship and what they felt for one another was related to something human. An emotion or connection that they shared. Was that the nature of the light?
Kuzuhamon cast her attention over to Rika, who was observing Takato and his partner with a soft gaze and a smile. Similar, but different. Not as strong. Or rather, perhaps, not as developed.
She tilted her head in thought, remembering when Rika asked her whether or not all Renamon sounded alike and thinking on her desire to become a Tamer. A rather 'sudden' inspiration, from what she overheard in the girl's conversations.
She went to that other world. One where she was also a Tamer. Does that mean her partner was…?
"Titamon desires a report from you," Gaiomon said, unknowingly interrupting her thoughts. "He insisted."
Kuzuhamon felt herself grow tense and her lips set themselves into a hard line. She did not like dealing with Titamon.
"Very well," she said nonetheless. "One moment."
Taking a deep breath, her view of the world shifted, becoming darker. The Tamers' conversation became dull and muffled, and their movements slowed. She saw Suzie, having picked up a rock, was now in the process of unknowingly throwing it in her direction. She paid it no mind. Already, she felt Titamon's presence forming within the back of her mind. A heavy sensation that pricked at all corners of her attention like spikes. And something more. Something deeper and fiery that made her feel ill. Something smoldering, like buried embers.
"I am here," she said to the new connection. "There has been no indication that the Deva, the Hazard or his Tamer, or even the Digimon Queen, are capable of traversing realms." She paused before adding, "I believe our time here is close to its end. There is nothing more to be gained from our being here."
"And yet, there is," spoke up Titamon, and Kuzuhamon winced beneath her mask. His voice was harsh and the fire within it licked eagerly at the corners of her mind. "There has been a new incursion."
"How? We have seen nothing so far."
"That you are aware of. They know of your presence. They know you are watching them. Surely, they may know how to hide their activities from you."
Kuzuhamon didn't feel certain of that. Her spells penetrated Hypnos' firewalls after all. True, it hadn't been easy, but there was very little that they could hide from her even though she wasn't as strong as a Sakuyamon.
At the same time, she couldn't deny Titamon's words. A new incursion meant something. Had she slipped? Was it the dark Gallantmon that had been detected before? Or was there a new player in the game? Or could it be something else? Had all the interdimensional movements caught the attention of something?
"The Sovereign has not yet determined the causal source," Titamon said, replying to Kuzuhamon as she voiced these questions. "Only that it has occurred within the human city you are in. Our master believes the humans have learned how to travel to other worlds."
"If this is the case? What do we do then?"
"I am ordered to join you once the incursion has been located," Titamon replied. "Upon my arrival, we will deal with the incursion. After which, the Sovereign will give us orders on how to proceed further with the humans and their pets should they be involved. I do not expect that we will be instructed to talk."
At his words, Kuzuhamon felt as though a great fire had flared up around her. She jerked reflexively.
"I understand," she said. "I will have Gaiomon scout around the city to locate the newest incursion and determine its threat level. Perhaps then, we can also discover the source and deal with it before your arrival."
"Perhaps. But perhaps not. Stand ready upon my arrival."
With that, Titamon's presence faded, and the world around Kuzuhamon returned to normal. Suzie's rock sailed through the air, and the shaman priestess caught it in her gloved hand without missing a beat.
Lowering the rock to the ground, she observed the Tamers as they began to pack up their things. Rika gave Guilmon's chin a friendly scratch and the dinosaur all but melted into her touch. In spite of the sadness of her impending orders, she found herself smiling a little at the sight.
Looks like they're about to move out, she thought before fading out of sight.
###
"Man, you're good."
Looking up at Takato, Rika smiled at his compliment.
"Told you," she said, pocketing her cards into her school bag. "I wasn't kidding when I said that I'm the real thing."
"Listen to Ms. Humble there," Suzie muttered under her breath. Rika shot her a sharp look, but bit her tongue against a reply.
"Hey, I didn't say I didn't believe you," Takato laughed, putting away his own cards. "I guess I just didn't expect you to be that good. I mean, I know you said you won a few tournaments, but some of the combos you pulled…"
"Hang on! She won tournaments?!" Kenta's eyes were wide as saucers as he looked at Rika. "Are you…? No way! You're the Digimon Queen?!"
Rika nodded cautiously, unsure how the Tamers were about to react to this news. "Yeah, that's me," she replied.
Wavering on his feet, Kenta looked as though he were about to faint.
"Um… Is he okay?" Rika asked Takato. In answer, the goggle-wearing boy took hold of his friend's shoulder and gave it a light shake. Kenta snapped back to attention.
"Ah! S-Sorry! What happened?" Adjusting his glasses, Kenta blushed in embarrassment. "Oh. R-Right. You said you were the Digimon Queen." Kenta suddenly looked at Takato. "This is so weird! She's the one you said you needed!"
"Excuse me?" Rika asked, both eyebrows going up while off to the side, Suzie tripped over the stone floor.
"When did I…?" Takato began, and then recollection hit him. "Oh! Right." Scratching the side of his cheek, he gave an awkward laugh. "Yeah. I wanted to get better as a Tamer because I didn't know much at the time. We were talking about the upcoming tournament and Kazu…" There was a brief pause at the name. "…Kazu mentioned how you… Well, I say 'you' but we didn't know it was you and…"
Takato caught an impatient glint in Rika's otherwise amused – and curious – eyes and quickly put himself back on track.
"A-Anyway, he said how you won the last couple of tournaments and I just got this weird feeling that…" He hesitated again and frowned. Rika could see him working through his thoughts, trying to sort them out. "I…don't know." He scratched the back of his head. "It was weird. I just remember feeling like I had to find you." He gave an apologetic shrug. "Sorry if that sounds weird. And unhelpful."
Rika gave him a small smile in return. "Don't worry about it. I can kind of see where you're coming from. Not sure how much help I would have been in reality though."
"You probably would have helped him figure out how to use the cards."
All eyes turned toward Suzie. She arched an eyebrow at the sudden attention.
"What? Gogglehead was never really great at them."
"Well, she's not wrong," Takato admitted. "If I were, then maybe Jeri…"
He trailed off and Rika saw a cloud fall over his face. Approaching him, Rika placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Why don't I teach you a few tricks?" she offered. "If I can't be a Tamer right now, then maybe I can help shore you guys up in a few other areas. It's the least I can do for you."
She gave Takato's shoulder a gentle squeeze.
At first, she thought he would refuse, but Kenta stepped in.
"Actually, that's a good idea," he said. "I know I could use some tips to help MarineAngemon out in a fight. And until Lopmon can digivolve to Cherubimon normally, she's stuck at Antylamon."
"Why is that?" Rika asked, turning to the younger girl in question. Crossing her arms, Suzie gave Rika a dark scowl.
"Don't want to talk about it, huh?" Rika acknowledged aloud. "I get that." She turned toward Takato. "When would be a good idea for training you guys? After school again?"
"Actually, I've got martial arts practice," Takato admitted reluctantly.
"So do I," said Suzie, kicking lightly at the ground. Takato winced.
"Ouch."
"I can train with you!" Kenta said, a little too enthusiastically for Rika's tastes. She looked at the bespectacled boy curiously. He positively beamed at her and there was a faint blush in his cheeks. Rika felt something tickle the back of her mind, but she brushed it off. In her dealings with him the last few days, Kenta had been polite and earnest, but not alarming.
Although I think he might have a crush on me, she thought, feeling her stomach sink into a dark pit at that potentiality. She felt bad for feeling that way, but she could already see the complications such feelings, if true, would bring, none of which were good.
I'll just have to be upfront about my feelings and hope for the best. Hopefully I won't have to let him down too hard. Or hit him. I'd hate to have to punch Kenta.
"Sure," she agreed with a nod, and for good measure she returned Kenta's smile. "You can show me how the cards work with the digivices and we'll go off from there. It should make things easier when I work with the others. Meet here tomorrow too?"
"S-Sure!" Kenta bobbed his head up and down.
Rika thought for a moment before adding, "Might as well give me your number too," she said, pulling out her phone. "In case your plans or mine change. That way, we're not stuck standing around and waiting for nothing."
Kenta's blush deepened ever so slightly. Silently nodding, he hurriedly took out his cellphone. Suzie rolled her eyes.
"Barf," she said sarcastically. Guilmon raised a claw to his chin with concern.
"Are you feeling sick?" he asked. "Maybe MarineAngemon can help you."
"Don't even bother," Suzie said. "It's not something his hearts can fix. Look, can we go now? I've got homework to do and I'd like to talk to my mom sometime this century."
"All right, all right," Rika said, pocketing her phone. "I'll see you all when I see you." She glanced at Takato and her expression softened. "Take care of yourself out there." Her eyes swept across the other Tamers and the digimon next. "All of you."
After a quick wave, Rika started off and headed down the stairs, leaving the Tamers behind. She heaved a deep sigh.
Tomorrow's going to be…interesting, she thought, feeling a little worried about Kenta's apparent crush on her. Kind of ironic, I guess, given how I'm feeling about Takato.
She frowned at herself, remembering Kayoko's words to her from a few days ago.
Why am I feeling this way about him? It's just so… I don't know. Am I rushing things because of Other-Me? I mean, I don't even know how those two versions of us even fell in love in the first place. With her attitude, I'm surprised he could even stand her.
She felt a faint smile touch her lips as she thought of the boy.
Well, maybe not too surprised. Takato is a sweetheart after all. Both there and here. I bet he saw through her act pretty quick.
She shook her head suddenly, feeling irritable with herself.
Get a grip on yourself, stupid, she berated herself. You're training with Kenta tomorrow. You've got to make sure your head is in the game. This is not the time to be thinking about this sort of thing.
She could already hear Kayoko now. "Can you really say you want to be a Tamer if you keep thinking about how you want to be boning one?"
"Shut up," Rika growled, rubbing her cheek instinctively. Still, even Imaginary Kayoko hit pretty close to the mark and she could see her attraction to Takato causing problems down the line for her.
I've got to focus on being a Tamer. I can't let myself be distracted. Because if I let myself get stupid and it turns out Takato doesn't feel the same way, what then? I just stop helping? Stop trying? That'd be rich. My whole reason for helping is because I only wanted to get with Takato? At any rate, I'm not sure he'd be open to that sort of thing. It sounds a little bit like he already loved someone and lost them.
Jeri. That name had come up before from him and each time she caught a sense of weight that was different from the others who had died. She felt sure now that Jeri meant something more to him than 'just friends.'
Calumon mentioned her too… Her eyelids dropped a little, wondering how the little digimon was doing. She hadn't seen him in a while. Her thumb rubbed at the strap of her bag anxiously.
"Things are quite the mess here," she reminded herself. "I need to think about how I can fix things."
She ran through each of the Tamers in their turn. Even after nearly a week, she still didn't know much about them beyond the most superficial. Takato was the only one she knew in any great detail because she went to his place and spent considerable time there. But what Takato spoke about willingly had a limit for the present, and she felt reluctant to press him on specifics.
Well, training with Kenta is a chance to branch out and figure things out. She adjusted her bag. Maybe he'll be more willing to tell me what happened with Jeri and maybe what Suzie's deal is with Takato. She had a bit of an attitude in the other world too, but I'm pretty sure because of her brother the reasons here are different.
Her cellphone buzzed, interrupting her thoughts. Taking it out, she saw Kayoko had messaged her, asking if she had an opening for karaoke tomorrow. Rika felt a pang of regret and typed it in her response. Kayoko's response was one of understanding and that she'd see her tomorrow.
I don't deserve her, Rika sighed, pocketing her phone. And I especially don't deserve Toshiko.
###
"Why are we still indulging her?"
Takato turned toward Suzie as the trio made their way back in the direction of Hypnos. Takato frowned slightly.
"What do you mean, 'indulging her.' Indulging who?"
Suzie's eyes narrowed unhappily at the taller boy.
"Don't play dumb, Takato. I'm talking about Rika. Who else would I be talking about? I'm the only other girl who hangs out with you guys!"
"What's the big deal?" Kenta asked, adjusting his glasses. "She's nice to hang out with and she offered to teach us how to use our cards better. You were even up for it."
"Kenta, you just want to date her. Your opinion doesn't count."
"Suzie, you really shouldn't say things like that," Lopmon scolded as Kenta's face bloomed bright red.
"Am I wrong?"
"I don't think she's going to give us much of a choice," Takato pointed out, moving attention away from his friend. "She seems pretty set on helping us whether we want her help or not."
"That's only because you're too much of a wuss to say no and hurt her feelings."
"Suzie!"
"Besides," she continued, crossing her arms, "the Ophanimon card didn't work, so it's not like her story checks out."
"But Alice is still looking over her scans," Guilmon pointed out. Suzie huffed in annoyance.
"Sure is taking her sweet time with them."
"Look," began Takato, "just because the Ophanimon card didn't work, it doesn't mean that Rika's story's not true!" His tone was starting to become exasperated and he shot Suzie a warning look to drop the subject.
Suzie, however, merely rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. It's my fault." She paused and scowled down at the ground. "I mean, it is my fault. I can't digivolve Lopmon right, so it only makes sense that the card wouldn't work." She shook her head. "Sorry. I know I'm being a pain here, but I'm suspicious about her. That Kuzuhamon kidnaps her and lets her go, and then sticks around doing…what? Watching us? I can think of better things to do with my time."
Takato's expression softened as the group continued on their trek.
"I'm just wondering why Rika's still around."
"She wants to help."
"Yeah, and you don't like that. You made that plenty clear, remember?"
"Yeah…" Takato admitted. "But you saw her with the cards today. We need all the help we can get and it's not like there's a line of people wanting to do that. I guess I'm just going to have to live with one more thing I'm not comfortable with as long as it helps us keep the city safe."
"But if Yamaki's new project works, then maybe we won't need her help," Kenta pointed out. "Speaking of which, we've got that test today too. Anybody know what to expect?"
"Not really. Yamaki's going to upload it to the danger room and we'll see what happens there." He grimaced. "Hopefully nothing bad happens. We really need a break with our luck."
A pall of silence fell over the group as they continued on their way. Guilmon and MarineAngemon hung in the back, watching them. Not for the first time did they feel how frayed the threads of their team were. Guilmon dropped his eyes, worry plastering itself across his face.
Momentai, he thought to himself, but the phrase didn't have the strength it did for him in the past.
Terriermon… Henry… What would you say at a time like this? I mean, something other than Terriermon saying something that would make Henry say his name.
He thought back to that odd time when the flood tunnel almost rubbed him away. Nothing more happened after the one incident as they avoided the tunnel, but it had gotten under Takato's skin. He remembered his partner talking to him about Henry and how he said that nothing lasted forever. Surely that meant sad times as well. Takato's father said something similar, but he wondered about that.
Jeri's sadness never went away and she died from it, and it never seems to stop for Takato, Kenta and Suzie. How do you fight sadness? I've tried playing tag and rescuing him from his nightmares, but they don't work. I've tried talking, but he has a hard time talking about what happened. Rika…
He put a pause on that thought. Rika had so far had one of the strongest effects on him. Takato still remained sad, but now that he thought about it, his partner slept better than he remembered in a long while.
Maybe I should talk to Rika more? Maybe she can help? She seems nice and I know she's telling the truth about what happened. Maybe…
His nose twinged. Stopping in place, he sniffed the air.
"Hm?" he murmured, his nostrils flaring more and more.
"Something the matter, boy?" asked Takato, coming to a halt a few steps away.
"I don't know. I smell something weird." Crouching, he approached some brush. Within its shadows, a pair of glowing, yellow eyes lit up. Guilmon cocked his head, feeling suddenly apprehensive. Something about those lights…
With a sudden bark, a yellow-furred puppy leapt out of the brush and landed in front of Guilmon. It had a collar and leash attached to it. Its tongue hung out of its mouth and it barked excitedly.
"Hey, it's a cute little guy," Takato laughed. Dropping down to one knee, he held out his hand for the animal to sniff. "Don't worry. We won't hurt you."
The dog's wet nose traced along Takato's hand and then gave it a happy lick. Taking this to be a good sign, the boy reached out and picked the dog up. Leaning forward, Guilmon drew in a deep whiff of the animal's scent.
"What's wrong, Guilmon?" Takato asked. Guilmon, frowning in confusion, drew back.
"I don't know. It smells like a doggy, but…"
He cocked his head as the puppy looked up at him with great big, dark-brown eyes. It licked its nose and made a nervous whine.
"Let's have a look at you," Takato said, angling the puppy's collar. "Huh. There's no name or address on you… Oh! Wait! Here's a name!"
Fiddling with the collar, Takato shifted it about.
"Shishi?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "That's a weird name."
"Chinese too," Suzie said, leaning forward next to him. Reaching out, she took one of the puppy's ears into her hand and began to massage it. The fur was pleasantly soft and invited her to rub it more. The puppy leaned into her grasp and immediately began to lick her wrist. Suzie, unexpectedly, found herself giggling. "Doesn't exactly fit either."
"What's it mean?" Kenta asked. Suzie was about to reply when the puppy abruptly began to struggle.
"Whoa! Hey! Calm down…!" Takato began, but the puppy swiftly broke away and ran off down the park path. Before anyone could react, it disappeared into the brush.
"Hey!" Takato called. "Guilmon! Can you…?"
"Takato, we've got to get to Hypnos," Kenta pointed out.
"We'll be along," Takato said as he quickly started off in the direction the puppy's escape. "Are you coming, Guilmon?"
"Ah… Yeah, I'm coming," the dinosaur said, falling into step beside him. "But Takato, there was something weird about that puppy. I think maybe it's a little bit like what I smelled on Rika when we first met her."
"You mean… It's from another world?" Takato asked. "Oh, man. That poor little guy. Now we have to find it! Guilmon! Can you track it?"
Guilmon bobbed his head up and down.
Suzie sighed and pulled out her cellphone. "Better let Yamaki know that we're going to be late."
Firing off a quick message explaining their situation, she swiftly fell in after Takato and Guilmon as they pursued their quarry. Pushing up his glasses, Kenta looked on with worry before joining them.
Behind him, unnoticed and out of sight, the puppy in question now sat on a tree branch. Its brown eyes followed them with a look of deep intelligence and curiosity. Zeroes and ones played along the surface of its iris and in response, the puppy's expression changed, appearing sad and compassionate.
When the Tamers disappeared from its view, its form began to shift and alter.
9