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: 07/ Choosing Roads
Yamaki's office was dark and the shades were drawn. In front of him was a screen on the wall, portraying a woman in her late twenties with stern, obsidian eyes and black hair that heavily contrasted her pale skin. Her expression was one of stark disapproval.
"The fact of the matter is, Mitsuo Yamaki," she said from the screen with a tone reeking of disappointment, "your Tamers program has so far produced negative results. Digimon are still entering our world. They are still causing damage to the city. In your most recent event, you had not one but two Megas bio-emerge, cause a mess and escape, taking a civilian with them. You and the Tamers seem powerless to properly contain these creatures."
Yamaki's fingers toyed with the lid of his lighter, but did not yet flick it open. At 28, Himiko Hata had made a name for herself with regards to Digital Intelligence. Her rapid rise in the last two years concerned him, as she could obstruct Hypnos' operations. Her heavy and vocal criticism of his methods had a way of getting attention as well, owing to how the final battle with the D-Reaper claimed the lives three children, to say nothing of Hypnos as a whole, and its role in giving digimon access to the human world. When the digimon began to reappear after nearly a year-long absence, power shifted in the government. Himiko rode those rapids better than he and it showed. Now he had to report to her and Himiko did not take challenges to her authority very well.
"I understand," he replied. "I have been giving thought to this situation. The Tamers are, unfortunately, lacking in the sufficient numbers and resources to continue operating as they currently are."
"Indeed. The psyche evaluation of one of them – Takato Matsuki – bears some concern. I have grave doubts about trusting the safety of Shinjuku in the hands of a boy who nearly destroyed another plane of existence during a fit of rage."
Yamaki ground his teeth together, feeling that his reports were being used to discredit the young boy whom he respected.
"What happened to Takato could have happened to anyone," he pointed out. "Takato was in a difficult situation and had little experience with how his emotions would affect his partner digimon. Nothing we had on file at the time would have been sufficient to prepare him for that."
On the screen, Himiko folded her hands beneath her chin. Her dark eyes regarded him like a bug she wanted seen squashed. Something told him she had already used this line of reasoning against someone higherup the food chain and got a result she wanted. Yamaki sighed mentally.
"Hypnos remains committed to supporting the Tamers, which is why to facilitate this, I am preparing a new program that, hopefully, will function as an extension of the Tamers."
"Project Sleipnir?" Himiko asked, her dark eyes deep and penetrating. Yamaki resisted the urge to flick his lighter open.
She's heard of it? He frowned beneath his sunglasses. Someone leaked information to her.
"It is based on the Grani program. Takato and his partner awakened the algorithm in the Ark and it evolved sentience."
"Which you then modified into a weapon."
"It was willing to assist us in the battle against the D-Reaper, and did so of its own free will. We gave it the tools to help in that."
"And you…what? Propose that we have a volunteer force of programs to fight any digimon that bio-emerge?"
"The algorithm would not be immediately sentient, but through exposure to humans, it will evolve it. My proposal is to partner them with adults and build a new security division around them specifically to deal with digimon. A new Tamers program, if you will, one where we can design an AI for its partner, and who will help guide it in safeguarding our world."
Something changed in Himiko's eyes. Whatever her feelings about him and Hypnos' operations, he caught her interest. Leaning back in her chair, she drummed her fingers on her table in thought.
"I will have to clear this with the chief of cabinets. In the meantime, submit your proposal. If you have anything that can be tested, begin them now. If you have good results, I may have to eat my words about you."
With that, the screen went dark and the room's lights flickered back to life. Yamaki finally flicked his lighter open, his expression one of uncertainty.
"So, it's come down to this," he muttered under his breath.
Drawing up the shades to his window, his thoughts drifted to Takato and the conversation they had late last night about Rika's story. In spite of things, he admitted to a certain degree of skepticism. Interdimensional travel to the digital world was one thing, but doing so to a mirror version of Earth was something else entirely. Science hypothesized about it for certain and it made a certain kind of sense, but to date nothing more than mathematical models existed. No solid proof had ever been obtained.
I can't discount it, he thought, gently thumbing the lid of his lighter while looking out over the city. If there's a possibility that some kind of threat is out there from another dimension, we need to be ready. And Takato… He and his friends need more help than ever.
Confirmation though. They needed confirmation. Not just the word of two digimon who came to the human world for their own purposes.
Taking out his cellphone, he hit the call button for Riley. She picked up.
"Status update."
"Sir, we've been scanning the digital world and going over our files for any anomalous readings. We think we might have something.
###
Did anything I do actually matter?
Takato sat at his desk in class, busily jotting down notes as Mr. Nakamura droned on.
It's like, because Rika wasn't there, Henry, Kazu, Ryo and Jeri were all destined to die.
Destiny. That word alone sent a chill up his spine. The D-Reaper spoke it often with Jeri's voice, and with good reason. Leomon's parting words to Jeri, while he died, had been about how his death was his destiny.
His pencil paused, refusing to go further. He closed his eyes, trying to blot out the memory of it all.
Destiny. Destiny. Destiny.
The memory of the Palates Head standing amidst the twisting ocean of red played out in his mind and Takato felt his breathing sharpen a little. His grip on his pencil grew tight.
Memory scan interrupted. Conflict encountered. Attempt resolution of inconsistencies. Attempt failed...failed...
Takato forced his hand to relax and, closing his eyes, he took in a slow, deep breath, just as Chou Sensei had taught him. It didn't banish the memory, but the boiling emotion within him stopped growing.
Destiny. Destiny. Destiny.
Were we fated to do badly without her? Opening his eyes, he drew in another calming breath. Alternate dimensions. Theirs took one path while ours took another. We both still beat the D-Reaper, but because of one person, we took a greater hit.
It didn't feel fair. It also felt too easy to blame himself for everything that went wrong. Those early days at first had been fairly easygoing by comparison to what came later. What wild digimon appeared weren't too bad. Gorillamon had been tough, but not insurmountably so. Musyamon had been where things began to get hard for them, as if the universe had been waiting to sucker punch them for their lax behavior – their confidence in their ability to keep things under wraps. In retrospect, Takato sensed an uneasiness in his fellow Tamer. Henry never said anything, but Guilmon's first digivolution to Growlmon during a previous fight affected him in some way. Takato couldn't blame him. Growlmon's savagery made him seem so different. Frightening even.
Had their Rika help him get through that? Had she done something earlier?
Whatever the case, after Musyamon, Henry became more withdrawn and prone to avoiding him. As a result, their first battle with a Deva went poorly.
Takato rubbed his shoulder, remembering Mihiramon's mauling of Growlmon and the pain accompanying it through their shared connection.
Up at the board, Nakamura the clattering of his chalk continued and he began to expound further from the text. Chemical reactions. The process of transformation from one set of substances to another. It all sounded so certain. So coldly defined and rigid. The absence of one part of the chemical equation changed irrevocably the entire process.
Rika. She's like a part of that equation. Without her, we were different. Less somehow. But why? What made her so important in that other world?
His pencil, itching for action as it so often did, began to move idly. Before Takato knew it, he sketched the rough outline of a face. His gaze flickered up instinctively to Nakamura. The man's back was turned to him, which gave him some minor comfort. He hadn't seen his attention waver. The sketch continued to develop along with his thoughts.
Who was Rika? Determined came to mind. She declared her intention to become a Tamer with or without his help, which certainly said something for how her visit to the other reality affected her, but what was so different about her other self that made her a Tamer to begin with? What was the equation she had?
He paused on the eye that had formed beneath his pencil tip. He pondered it for a moment before shaking his head with a sigh.
No, that's not right, he thought. His pencil flipped around and erased the eye. Flipping again, he started over and with a bit more concentration, formed the subtle, almost foxlike curve of Rika's eye.
That's better, he thought, moving on to the next one. Nakamura's droning became a distant thing as Rika's face became his growing focus. Before he knew it, he had lost himself in the sketch. Another eye joined its sibling, followed by her bangs and eyebrows. Her nose, small, with a bit of a round shape, emerged from the expanse of empty page, followed by her mouth, set in the same stubborn line as it had been last night. She looked like she would take on the whole world if it meant becoming a Tamer.
Yet, he found himself wondering if she had what it took. Something was off though. Something about her eyes. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he recognized it readily in his memory.
Could that be the missing part of the equation?
He pondered that while sketching out her ponytail.
"This is dumb," he muttered under his breath.
"And what, pray tell, is so dumb about my lesson that you decided to draw in it? This isn't art class, Takato Matsuki."
Aw nuts.
Takato's face went pale as he looked up at the man. At some point, he realized that he had ceased writing on the board and went into lecture mode, during which began his habit of walking around the room. All to check on who was paying attention and who was not.
"Uh…" Takato began, fumbling for words that would save him and knew none could.
"Come on, your pencil hasn't left your notebook since I started lecturing. This should be easy for you. What about this lesson is dumb?"
"I-I didn't mean the lesson was dumb," Takato began, all too aware of the eyes trained on him. Hearing a few snickers and giggles, his face began to heat up. "I was thinking about…" He coughed and decided to own up to the truth. "…other things."
"So, I see," Mr. Nakamura said, glancing down at the boy's notebook with an amused expression. "Indeed, I see another kind of chemistry in your notebook is much more interesting to you than my lesson is. Who's the girl, Matsuki?"
Another round of giggling and snickers followed. Takato's face began to darken with embarrassment.
Ah nuts…
"How long do I have detention?" he asked meekly. Detentions, it seemed, were destined to always feature in his future.
How am I going to explain this to Yamaki? I'm sorry, I got held up because I was caught drawing pictures of that girl?
Mr. Nakamura chuckled. Picking up the notebook he looked through its contents carefully.
"Well, since it seems like you were following along for quite a while before shifting focus, I'm going to let it slide this one time, Takato." Setting the notebook back down Mr. Nakamura gave it a warning tap. "Just try not to get distracted like that again in the future."
Takato let go of a breath he didn't know he had been holding.
"I'll do my best."
"I'm sure," Mr. Nakamura replied, resuming his patrol.
Takato did his best to ignore his burning ears and the laughter of his fellow classmates. This was easier said than done however. Self-conscious as he tended to be, his eyes panned around the room, taking in the grinning faces before settling on two that did not share their classmate's amusement and were all too familiar.
Both were girls and both had once been friends with Jeri. One of them, light-hair done up in a twin-tail style, had a slight, unreadable frown on her face. The other, with short, closely cropped, dark hair, regarded the other with concern. Reaching out, she gave her a tap on the shoulder to warn of Nakamura's approach. It came too late.
"Ayaka Itou, is there something about Takato you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" Nakamura asked. "You're staring at him awfully hard."
More laughter from the class, but less than what had been over Takato, and more awkward.
"Nothing, sir," Ayaka replied tersely. With that, she looked away. Takato sighed and shook his head.
Great. What's wrong with her this time?
###
The final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Getting up, Takato began to gather up his things and put them in his bag. Kenta hurriedly made his way over to him from the other side of the room. A foot stuck out in front of him and the boy, caught on it, stumbled a few paces before righting himself.
"S-Sorry," he muttered, looking over at the boy whose foot had got in his way.
"Watch it, Tamer," replied the boy before heading toward the classroom door. Adjusting his glasses, Kenta watched him go for a moment before joining Takato.
"Are you okay?" Takato asked, watching the other boy leave with a guarded expression.
"Yeah," Kenta nodded hastily. "So, what's the plan?"
"The plan?" Takato lifted an eyebrow, his eyes leaving the door.
"About that girl, Rika," Kenta clarified. "You were talking about maybe having a meeting with Yamaki about her. Should we bring her to Hypnos?"
Takato shook his head. "No. Yamaki says just my talking to her about what she went through caused some trouble. Something to do with the law. Anyway, he's not that big on having someone who's not a Tamer or working for the government at Hypnos."
Kenta lifted an eyebrow, concerned about what kind of law they could have broken by merely speaking to Rika. He didn't press it though.
"Okay…" he began carefully. "So, what are we going to do instead? Should we pick up Suzie and have her test that card?"
Takato frowned. Before he could say anything though, the sight of the two girls approaching caught his attention. He drew in a sharp breath.
"What's wrong?" Kenta asked, one hand going to the edge of his blue blazer. Before Takato could even respond, Ayaka's voice answered for him.
"Get yourself a girlfriend, Mr. Knight in Shining Armor?"
Aw nuts," Kenta groaned inwardly, a sentiment visibly shared by Takato.
"No," Takato sighed, closing up his bag. "What do you want, Ayaka?"
The twin-tailed girl in question came to a halt and crossed her arms together. Her gaze was judging and harsh. Takato remembered a time from four years back where she accused the boys in her classroom of terrorizing couples in the park.
"Just wondering about this girl, you were drawing in class," she said, a deliberate note of antagonism in her tone.
"We're worried about her," Kenta explained. "She was kidnapped by digimon." He glanced over at Miki for help, but the girl looked embarrassed to even be there. "She's not anymore, but, well, we're still worried."
Ayaka drummed her fingers on her arm, her eyes going back and forth between the two. Reaching out, Miki gave her sleeve a tug.
"We need to go," she said meekly. "We have clubs to get to."
Ayaka's eyes fell on Takato, who met them levelly. Kenta felt goosebumps break out on his skin. Hurriedly, he put himself between the two.
"Hey, let's not start anything, all right?" Kenta urged, his hands up in a placating gesture. "Do we have to do this?"
Miki gave Ayaka's arm another tug, but the girl didn't budge. Kenta felt cold looking into the girl's eyes.
"Kenta," Ayaka began. "You might want to give that girl a warning about how our knight has a habit of getting his friends killed."
Kenta felt – not saw – Takato's flash of emotion. It made his back go rigid and he drew in a sharp breath.
"That's not fair," Kenta said, trying to defend his friend. Takato silently jammed his things into his bag and zipped it up. "You know that's not fair!"
"Just let it go, Kenta," Takato said, shrugging on his bag. His red eyes were a mixture of hurt and anger. "Come on. We've got to go."
"No!" Kenta seethed, glaring at Ayaka. "I'm sick and tired of this! Why do you always have to run him down like that? He did everything he could to beat the D-Reaper and rescue Jeri!"
"Oh please!" Ayaka rolled her eyes. "As if he actually… Hey! Don't walk away when I'm talking to you, Takato!"
"Ayaka, let's go!" Miki urged, tugging more forcefully, attempting to reign in her friend as Takato brushed by her. Ayaka broke her hold and stormed after Takato.
"I said I was talking to you, Knight!" Her hand fell on Takato's shoulder. "I'm not letting you screw up another girl with your stupid little adventures like you did with Jeri! I…"
"Jeri's alive!"
Miki, Kenta and Ayaka all froze at that.
"Uh, T-Takato…" the bespectacled boy began, but when Takato turned around, his words died on his lips. Takato was furious. Even Ayaka took half a step back, sensing she had gone too far. Seeing the stunned look on her face, Takato blinked, and at once, his anger began to evaporate.
"S-Sorry," he began. "I meant another Jeri. That girl saw her in another reality. She, Henry and Kazu were all still alive there and…"
Ayaka swung at him. Her fist came hard and fast. So much so that no one had time to react before a loud, meaty smack echoed in the classroom. Takato staggered and his chair ground against the floor with a metallic squawk as his back was shoved against it.
"Oh shit…" Kenta said, eyes growing wide. Ayaka's mirrored him, freezing again in place as if realizing what she just did. Behind her, Miki stood aghast, her hands clamped tight over her mouth, her bag hitting the floor with a thud.
"Sorry," Takato began after a moment, his cheek starting to swell from the blow. "That was really dumb of me."
Ayaka's nostrils flared. She had a conflicted look in her eyes, but the anger didn't leave them. She first looked down at her fist, as if seeing it for the first time and then back at Takato.
"W-What the hell…?" she began, only to be interrupted by Nakamura's thunderous voice.
"AYAKA ITOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"I-It's okay…" Takato began. "It's not her fault. I was just being…"
"Takato," began their teacher, his tone like grinding ice. "Nurses office. Now. Ayaka. You stay."
"Come on, Takato," Kenta began, pulling at him. Takato resisted at first, but a stern look from Nakamura put an end to that. Miki took one look at her friend before hastily following after them.
"How long, Mr. Nakamura?" was the last thing they heard as they exited the classroom.
"What the hell was that?!" Miki hissed at the pair so that their teacher wouldn't hear her.
"I was being dumb," Takato replied.
"That I got when she clocked your dumb head. I meant all that about Jeri being alive? Were you serious?" Miki's eyes shone hopefully, but at the same time looked at the boy as if he had grown another head. "We were at her funeral! You saw her…her…"
"It's a different version of Jeri," Kenta said, speaking up for him. "Like, you know how in science fiction…"
"I don't read science fiction, Kenta!" Miki glared. "You of all people know that!"
"I-I'm sorry! I just…"
"I just wanted her to know that Jeri was still alive somewhere!" Takato interrupted loudly, causing both teens to jump in surprise. At that, Takato's shoulders sagged and he looked away. "Even…Even if it's not exactly the Jeri we knew. I don't know. I just thought maybe it might make her feel better. That she was happy."
Miki clenched her eyes shut and gripped the sides of her head.
"You two are nuts! Do you even hear yourselves talk? I don't know how you can stand all this digital world nonsense! After everything that happened…"
"There's no one else," Takato said softly, drawing one hand into a tight fist. Looking at his scarred hand, Miki opened her mouth to say something else, paused, and then turned and ran off into the crowd of students. Some of them, having heard the commotion between the girl and the goggle-wearing Tamer, looked at him curiously. Others, Kenta noted, did so with a bit of loathing and suspicion.
The fight at Gyoen park really has everyone mad at us, Kenta thought, swallowing back fear.
"Come on," he urged Takato. "We'd better get out of here."
"Huh? Oh. Right." He cast a look over in the direction of their classroom. "Man, I hope Ayaka's okay. I should apologize to her tomorrow."
"Yeah, and maybe she'll punch you again," Kenta said as they started toward the school exit. "You know, that's the first time she did that to you. You really upset her when you told her about what that Rika girl said."
"I wasn't thinking straight," Takato admitted. "Of course. Why would she be happy to hear that? It's not Jeri. Not the Jeri we knew. Nothing can change that." He sighed. "I'm such a gogglehead."
"Goggle-what?" Kenta arched an eyebrow. "Where'd that come from?"
"Rika. She called me that when we were talking yesterday. Though I think she meant it in a nicer way." His eyes were lost in thought. "It's weird, isn't it? All it took was one person and it made a world of difference."
"You know, we still don't even know if she's telling the truth," Kenta pointed out.
"Guilmon doesn't think so. Besides, why would she lie?"
"I don't mean to burst your bubble but why would anyone lie?" Kenta pushed his glasses up onto his nose. They were an older pair, Takato realized, and the frames were bent slightly out of alignment.
"Yeah, I guess you have a good point," Takato sighed. "Maybe she's like what we were when we started and thinks this would be a good way to get us to help her. But I don't know. Guilmon said he smelled different versions of us on her. His nose hasn't been wrong before, so why would it be now?"
Kenta found he had no argument against that. In the last four years, Guilmon's nose had been the most reliable thing in their never-ending battle to maintain the balance of the two worlds.
"Maybe we should get him checked out just in case he has a virus? Maybe Rika too. I mean, if she still has the smell of your other you, than maybe Alice might detect it?"
"Yamaki isn't too keen on having her in Hypnos," Takato pointed out. "But…maybe he'll be okay if we say we can confirm her story this way?"
"It can't hurt to ask," Kenta agreed.
Exiting the building, they made their way down the sidewalk leading off school grounds.
"Hey," began Kenta after a moment. "What was Rika doing to your alternate self that she's got his smell all over her?"
"Ah, geez Kenta…" Takato groaned. "Bad!"
8
