Ch17

Inhale.. exhale.. doing that once more as he stretches his arm helps him relax. Everything is just perfect, the breeze, the crackling fire, it's right in the middle of his comfort zone. Never mind that he's not on the bed, he can just lean on the log behind him and close his eyes until morning. So he did that, closed his eyes and leaned on the big log after he took off his glasses. But then.. poke! Something touched the side of his belly, startling him when he was almost falling asleep. He quickly put on his glasses again, only to see his friend's annoyed face.

It took Kenta a few seconds to finally grasp what was going on. "The hell is your problem man? I'm trying to rest here." He grumbled while poking him back. Now his mood is ruined, he can't just close his eyes and fall asleep instantly, even if he's tired.

Kazu huffed with an annoyed face. "Geez, you gonna sleep like that? Don't leave me alone." He still got that annoyed stare from Kenta and rolled his eyes. "Heh, still acting like you did something big? come on now~"

"Ha? But I did that though~?" Kenta smirks at Kazu, then leans his head closer. "I'm not the one who sits around with girls while babysitting a big boy." Before Kazu could even reply to him, Kenta started talking again with a fake tired face. "It's.. it's a hard journey out there, even with Vajramon and that chicken. Well I still can't blame you man, you got a harder job than me~ Sorry, I was too full of myself~"

Watching his little teasing backfire so badly ruined Kazu's mood, too bad he can't complain much about that. All those things that his friend said were true and it made him even more annoyed, he lightly punched his friend's side, though it's not going to stop Kenta's laugh. If only he could go inside and close his eyes, he would've done that. But right now this annoying thought is forcing him to stay up.

"Life is unfair.. Why does nothing good happen to a good person? I thought we're heroes here." Kazu muttered out of nowhere, confusing Kenta and Ruki. No one gives a response and they only hear the sound of fire crackling, then Kazu starts talking again. "Really?" He frowns at Kenta, his friend shrugs it off. "Oh my g-.. Our partners man! Come on, why are we the only ones without our partners?"

Ruki sneered at him. "Watching too many movies again, Hirokazu? Heroes? Oh please.." She followed it with a giggle. "The order isn't wrong, you two met them last, old man."

"Hahh!? You better check your own words, granny. We've met Ai and Mako after we went to Digital World, something got mixed up in your head there~?" Kazu replied while shaking his head. Along with a proud smile plastered on his face.

"You-tch, do I really need to spell it out like you're a newborn baby?" They looked at each other and chuckled, then back at Ruki. "He came first, even park goers knew him before we even came to this place."

Once again, only the sound of crackling fire could be heard as they became quiet. Both Kazu and Kenta couldn't argue that fact, but one of them noticed something else that she hadn't mentioned. Something that they only knew about after they got separated from their partners.

"Then what about their D-Ark?" Said Kenta. "Mako told us he got his when we were fighting D-Reaper."

"SO!? That source of trouble still came to our city first. Is that so hard to-" Ruki huffed. "Look, it doesn't matter. Just be patient, we'll meet them again soon enough."

"Sure, must be easy to say that huh."

The reply from Kazu is a bit different, especially in his tone. He stared at her side a bit yet Ruki didn't really pay much attention to it. Then, her left shoulder tapped lightly. It was Renamon, who's sitting on her right and putting her arm around her back, that made Ruki glance at her. Renamon shook her head, it was more than enough to give Ruki a hint.

With a sigh, Ruki nods silently. "Hey." He called them. "Sorry."

They're confused at first, not expecting that to come from Ruki so suddenly. It doesn't take long for Kazu to smile, he then chuckles at her. "Ehh~ What happened just now? Did I hear that right?" That was very short from her yet they can tell that it's a genuine one, not just because Renamon told her to. "Ruuki~ I didn't hear that, can you repeat that again~?"

A little more push would be enough to send her off, she quickly takes a deep breath. They're always like that and it's better this way, it's annoying, but their laughter put more ease on her mind than those dejected faces before. She mutters a low thanks to her partner, then leans on her a bit more. For the next ten minutes, she watched them talk about various things, this time she wasn't bothered by them.

The chatter stopped by the sound of steps that's coming to them, it's none other than their friend who's coming back from a night walk. His partner is on top of his head, snoring quite loudly for his size.

"Why you guys still here?" Jian asked all of them, although his main concern is Ruki.

"Huh? Well, why are you still here, Jian? You didn't sleep walking, did you?"

That made Jian chuckle, he joins them and sits near the campfire. Carefully, he puts Terriermon on his arm, holding him a bit tight like a plush. "Terriermon asked for a night walk, not that he's walking by own, haha. And.. I've talked with Yamaki, few hours ago." The last topic made them sit straight, expecting something serious from him. Which confused Jian. "Huh? Nothing bad alright, calm down. He said he wanted to visit Lekismon, Sinduramon was with him."

"And you called that nothing bad?" Ruki huffed. "Sure, she's.. hahhh, are we really trusting someone we just met now?"

Jian frowns. "I recall we trusted our partner instantly though?" That invited a glare from Ruki, but quickly soothed by his laugh. "He wanted to give her knives back, he's gonna be okay. It's not like he's alone."

"Oh, you've got nothing to complain if it's Yamaki?" Kazu said teasingly. "Well, I feel bad for Lekismon though. Let's just hope Yamaki just gets in and out, otherwise he bore her to death with his robotic blabbering."

Fwish~ Fwish~ Flipping those knives on her hands hardly helps her boredom, instead they're bringing bittersweet memories to her. They remind her of the one and only beloved old friend, but they also remind her that she lost him a few hours ago. She moves both knives onto one hand, holding both blade parts in between her fingers. After closing her eyes, she tosses them up and then looks down. None of them fell to the floor even though her hands stayed in their places, both caught by her tentacles. Catching both of them feels oddly natural for her and that makes her even more sad, she shouldn't be able to 'feel' them like they're her own limbs, it should be him who's able to do that.

Both knives put on her side with care, all while she blankly staring at the cell's bars. All she wants right now is sleep, she wants to turn off her head for a while and forget everything she saw this day. If it isn't sleeping, then she hopes that he wakes her up as soon as possible, then listens to his rant about how he lost against Renamon. Sadly, she knew that wouldn't happen. She takes a deep breath before glancing to her left.

"Heh, now look who goes silent." Her flat, uninterested tone didn't get any reaction whatsoever. It's also hard to tell if the human beside her is sleeping or awake, her bet is that he closed her eyes and just opened them again when she called him. "Worried about someone on the other side? Guess you have that side too, even with your look." Now her tone has changed a bit, sounding a little bit more lively.

That last comment made Yamaki turn to her. "I don't need to." He staring back at the bars in front of them again. "They knew their jobs, losing me won't be much different over there."

It raised more questions in her head and she wanted to ask further, maybe out of boredom, or to distract herself from anything that happened today. In the end, she kept herself from asking any more questions about that topic. Instead one of her tentacles slowly creeped toward him, then poked the side of his belly, startling him. "Hihihi~ Come on, you said you wanna talk?" She tilted her head while giggling, then grabbed one of her knives. Flipping them on her hands. "Finally get your senses together? Your scream still reach that deva, don't worry too much about it~"

Yamaki can't hide his surprised face. "Pfft~! Hah, hahahah.." It was a short laugh but enough to blow his stress away, he shook his head before letting out a long sigh. "Where did that come from? Getting too comfortable aren't we?" He poked the tip of her tentacle a few times, it seemed like a little joke since she doesn't give any follow up, so he let her be.

"It was you who wanted to talk, not me. And now.. this?" She put her knife down again. "Looks can be deceiving, and you.. you seem to keep everything yourself. I thought well.. maybe your mask slipped a bit~ Guess not, hahhh..." She shrugged before looking up.

A smile can be seen on her face with that long sigh, somewhat reducing the earlier tension. "You really thought I.." Yamaki chuckles, he takes his glasses off and closes his eyes. "I came here knowing the risk, if it just because Zhuqiaomon, then I would be standing there while asking tons of things." There is a pause and he still keeps his eyes closed. "You seemed to be the one who wanted that now. You're afraid, aren't you? This night won't last forever." He opens his eyes, then looks at her with a teasing smile.

Without any hesitation, she nodded slowly. While her smile is still there, he can tell that it's just a thin mask, and now it's turning more transparent. Both looked at each other for a moment, then back at those bars again. "What did you expect anyway?" She sighed, her body also slumped down a bit. "Nothing could make you think otherwise, like.. come on, we knew what's going to happen in few hours." Her eyes narrow a bit. "I.. don't know, Yamaki. I.. heh, I don't know anymore."

A soft chuckle fills the quiet room, it slowly but surely dies down. Then, another long, heavy sigh. No one says a word after that sad chuckle, only the sound of wind from the distance and crackling fire on the torch outside can be heard. Lekismon glances at him and their eyes met for a moment, she smiles. That surprises Yamaki, but the truth is she doesn't even know why she did that.

"It's the same, you know, like this." She starting to recall memories from a few days ago. "Every time I get into trouble, he's there for me." Her smile is back again. "Not like he help much, like... hahh.. you won't believe what's inside his head, most of the time he makes things worse." Now not only smile, but also a little chuckle. "But he's there, he's always there for me. We push through, that.. virus, battles, anything! But.. but.. for what!? It's all just.. all of it for that-.. wait, why I can't-arrrgh!"

Lekismon's scream surprised Yamaki and the deva, they rushed to help her. Fortunately she's only got a strong headache and fell on the floor, she waved her hands, telling them it's fine. Yamaki also gave a nod to the deva, so they were left alone once again. He helped her get up again.

After a few minutes, Lekismon started to speak again. "What, hahh..what is wrong with me? I doomed them." Lekismon's eyes widen when Yamaki holds her left hand, there is not a single word coming out of him, and it's more than enough to calm her down. Her headache quickly sidelined thanks to his simple gesture. "Geez, you keep.. doing it. You and them keep helping me, after.. after all of that." The grip on her hand tightened, she stopped talking. It's oddly calming, even if he's not solving her problems or anything like that. "Looks really can deceive someone eh, who would've thought you can do something like this."

"Huh? I just.." Yamaki isn't sure about it, he just did something that feels right for him. "I'm not good at this, those brats are better. Uhh.."

The sudden turn of their conversation makes things a bit awkward, they are instinctively pulling out their hands slowly. Strangely, she feels like it's better to hold his hands, because there is no one who's there to help her. Still, she can't ask for more. "Sorry about that." Yamaki shook his head, which makes her feel bad. "Don't, don't do that. Stop it, all of this won't happen if I-"

"Didn't make that choice? Do better?." He looks at her, eyes locked into hers. "Look, you're not the first one. Is it still your fault? Yes. Look. You locked me up, wasn't the worst thing that happened to me, but still.." Yamaki took a deep breath, then sighed. "I'm not clean either, and one of them also did some.. let's say bad things. But I believe in second chance, not always. In your case, yes. So, I'll do my best tomorrow."

"What? You don't need to-"

"I, will help you." He's pointing at her head. "Something still isn't right inside there, you know it better. Besides, you wanted that bird to grill you alive? No, right?"

Hearing all of that, Lekismon can't help but laugh. Over all of them, Yamaki isn't the one who comes to her head when it's about the chance to help her, not like she thinks that any of them would offer her any help. "I got no one at this point, so sure.. if you insist." She's smiling again. "If that so, wouldn't it be better if you go back for now? You know, at least rest."

"Oh, you gonna kick me out after getting what you want?"

"What!? No, I-" Her shocked face turned into an annoyed one when she saw his smirk. "You-" One of her tentacles pokes his cheek.

Now it's Yamaki's turn to laugh. "Okay okay, I'm just scared to turn my back on you. I'm not risking myself to get ki-"

"Oh I'm going to kick you so hard right now! Screw your help! I don't care!" Lekismon stop poking him and now trying to get him, she really wanted to smack his face so bad now. "Don't you dare run now! Yamakii!"

The room doesn't feel like a prison anymore, more like a place to throw away their stress. It filled with shouts and laughter, even if it wouldn't last more than a few minutes. It's weird when they look back on what they did a few hours ago, but right now, it's better than nothing.

A few hours later, in another place, or in another world to be precise, a teen is sitting in the park with some Digimons. It's still very early in the morning as well, the sun isn't up just yet. A phone rests safely on his hand, the light from its screen illuminating his face. In a minute or two, it turned off, and the boy leaned his back on the bench, trying to find peace inside his mind. It's only been a day since he's been back in this world and he didn't enjoy it very much, his mind keeps wandering somewhere else instead of what's in front of him.

About an hour ago, he woke up earlier than he thought. It's not because of a nightmare or because someone woke him up from an emergency, he just woke up early and that's it. It wasn't a problem at first, but because of that he started thinking about everything that happened in the last few days. He's sleeping inside Hypnos's base and it's not helping him to think clearly. It's hectic there, everyone seems to have tons of tasks even when there is no emergency situation. He asked for a phone to get in touch and said he's going for a walk, incidentally, his Digimons friends woke up because of him and tagged along with him.

After putting his phone in his pocket, he hears a voice, yet he isn't paying attention to it. "Piii.." Again, not bothered to check because his mind still trying to make sense of what happened yesterday. Suddenly, a heart shaped bubble flies in front of him, grabbing his attention. "Piii!" Pop! That snaps him back to his surroundings and makes him turn around to see the small Digimon near his shoulder.

"Ah, oh.. sorry, something wrong?" MarinAngemon shook his head, giving Ryo a clear hint. "No, I'm okay, really."

Ryo's smile calm down the mega-level Digimon. "Piiii." He smiles back at Ryo, and he gets a head shake from him. "Piii!"

It's hard to tell what's going on in this Digimon's mind, his best guess is something about him looking at his phone. If they're in the middle of battle then it would be easy to guess what he meant, seems like this isn't about snacks either. "Sorry, I can't.. haha, I'm sure we'll meet Kenta in no time. Don't worry about it, okay?" MarinAngemon nodded happily. That put a smile on his face, Ryo is glad that MarinAngemon seemed to act like a kid. He only needs a little reassurance to calm him down, unlike the long talk he had with grownups on that base.

Tap tap tap. The sounds of Monodramon's footsteps caught their attention, he's chasing a butterfly. The little purple dragon is unable to catch it because of its height, that butterfly also keeps flying around and refuses to stop even for a bit. That made Monodramon annoyed, he keeps chasing with a grumpy face. Ryo chuckles, he's adorable when in his rookie form, in contrast to his ultimate-level form. If all of tamer's partners are here, he could be compared to Guilmon.

Left right left right, the funny thing is Monodramon won't jump to catch it. So the chase continued for a few minutes, only stopping when Monodramon was too annoyed to continue. He walks back to Ryo's side with a worse expression, like a kid who's demands are outright refused by their parents. Ryo pats his head as he sits on his side again, Guardromon does the same. Suddenly, that butterfly lands on Guardromon's head. It stays there without any fear, even when Guardromon's tilting his body left and right. This only makes Monodramon even more pissed.

Monodramon grumbled. "R-Ryoo.." He is pulling his partner's hand, begging like a kid.

Before Ryo could even grab that butterfly, Guardromon brought it in front of him. He let the small insect cling to one of his metal fingers. "Here, friend." The moment Monodramon is about to grab it, Guardromon pulls away his finger. "Thou will scare it again." He then moves it closer after Monodramon nods. They all focused on that little creature, except Ryo, who's amused by their curiosity.

For the first time since he got back into this world, Ryo can put those problems aside and relax. Unfortunately, that won't last very long as he hears some footsteps coming from their back. Ryo quickly looked back only to mutter a silent 'Oh.'. It turns out those sounds are coming from a couple, they seem to be in their mid thirties and wearing a simple outfit for running. He let out a sigh of relief, then turning back to his partner.

"Hey, you see that?" Now he heard that from the same direction as that couple, but he's not paying too much attention to it. "There, those.. monsters? Honey?" Said the same person, then he heard someone else. "What nonsense are you spouting, dear? Our kids got into uhh.. that cosplay thing as well.. Come on, if they are those things from years ago, that boy would be done for." Those voices quickly gone along with the footsteps.

Ryo stays silent for a moment, then waves his hands near the butterfly, scaring it so it'll fly away. "Time's up, let's go." A pout can be seen on his partner's face, clearly wanting to stay longer.

"Something's dire? Or a thing with acquaintance?" Guardromon asked.

Ryo shook his head. "No, it's.." He glanced back, then back at them. "They might need our help, better not make them wait, right?" The only one who's disappointed is Monodramon, he's pouting, and Ryo is trying his best to cheer him up as he gets up from the bench.

They start walking back to Hypnos's base, the difference is that they're taking a different route this time. The route that Ryo chose is more quiet than before, he hoped that they wouldn't meet people on their way to work. It's not only saving him some trouble, but also giving them some new places to see. To him, this is a good chance for them to see some streets that they might not be able to see again.

Ten minutes pass like it's nothing and Guardromon finally notices something, they're taking a longer route. Not that he's complaining because he wanted to see more obscure spots of this city, but he's sure that Ryo said they can't spend too much time outside, that portal from Digital World might pop up anytime and they should be ready to fight. Despite that, he puts his trust in Ryo, if he isn't saying anything then it's fine. Guardromon keeps looking at houses they pass by, or any street signs that he doesn't understand. He keeps looking around and notices something strange, not the house nor his Digimon friends. It's Ryo, he keeps glancing right and left. He's very subtle about it, but still a bit off for someone who's quite close to him.

The longer Guardromon watches Ryo, the more he realizes that he's not in the same place with them. With not many choices, Guardromon wants to shake Ryo's arm, but someone interrupts him first. "Boy." Everyone's attention shifted to an old man in front of a shop that's right beside them, he's noticibly old from his white hair. "Boy, are these.. your friends?" The old man asked.

Since they're very close to this man, Ryo doesn't have any choice. "Yes, these are.. my little brothers, . They like to cosplay, umm.. those children TV shows and stuffs." He chuckled with a calm expression, and the old man did the same.

"Oh, don't be like that, boy. This old man still moving forward just like you, not glued to a bunch of papers. These guys came from that.. pink blob thing, right? You really trying to pull something with that little guy on your shoulder, heheheh."He said it while pointing at MarinAngemon. His eyes are locked into him and Ryo can tell that it's pointless to continue, so he nodded. The old man reached out his arm to Guardromon, he couldn't help but smile when the robot shook his hand. "Oh my, oh my. What a polite gentleman, I-.. Did you called me by my name?"

Ryo nodded, pointing at the sign above him. It's a wooden sign saying 'Watabane's Slippery Pond'. "I'm sorry for being rude, sir. I'm too quickly to assume things, but-"

"Don't be, hahahah." He waved his hand and smile. "Just like my grandson, it's not a bad thing to be perceptive.."

"Ryo. Akiyama Ryo, sir."

The man nodded, he continued to ask them some light questions. They just met yet Ryo is surprised that this old man befriending them very quickly, he brings back Monodramon's smile with some rubber band trick on his hand, then makes Guardromon interested in his restaurant.

"Breakfast for four won't be a bad thing right, Ryo?" opens wide the door behind him. "My treat, beside.." He leaned his head closer to Ryo. "I wanted to give granny a little surprise, please?" Ryo chuckled then nodded, this wasn't planned yet he can't refuse it. His partner seems to like this old man as well, more reason for him to accept those free meals.

The inside of the restaurant is very cozy, it has the feel of home because there are some private rooms where you sit on a wooden floor with one table in the middle. There's still an open counter where they can see the chef cooking, but Ryo asked for a private room. They wait for at least fifteen minutes before an old lady enters the room, she brings four bowls of rice topped by grilled eel. The moment they open the cover of their bowls, a pleasant smell instantly tickles their nose.

The granny doesn't leave immediately, instead she takes out her phone. "Oh dear, oh dear, I thought you're lying." She giggled, then had a little chat with Guardromon and Monodramon. "Thanks for letting this old lady have a time of her life, Ryo."

Ryo nodded. "I'm happy that you aren't scared, grams. But if it's a photo.." He wanted to let her take some photos, but there is another side of him that screams that it's a bad idea.

"Why would I scared of these cute little guys?" She pinches MarinAngemon's cheek gently, and he floats near her face in response, enjoying her nice gesture. "And I promise it's for my own, it's not like I have much time for them to notice anyway, hihihi~" That makes it even harder for Ryo to refuse.

Finally, Ryo agreed to her request. "I'll come back with them again when I can."

"Don't sweat it, Ryo. You have things to do, this is more than enough for me at my age. Never, I never believe I could see one of them this close, yet god seemed to grant my humble wish." She gets up and notices that Monodramon's bowl is already empty. "Oh! More coming right up, just a moment." When the old lady left, Ryo got a glimpse of the outside of this room. There is someone who just arrived at the room next to theirs, there seems to be a loyal customer at this hour.

Ryo started eating as well, but abruptly stopped. "Ryo?" A metallic hand waving in front of him, trying to get his attention.

"You guys stay here." He replied.

"Something wro-"

Ryo raises his hand. "Shhh.. if I shout, blast this wall open. The rest of it comes later."

They were thrown into confusion, especially Guardromon. That vague instruction is too dangerous for nearby people, making him even more worried because Ryo said it without any hesitation. Ryo left the room and entered the next one with confidence, confusing the lone man who's using it. "Excuse me? I came first, kid. Plenty empty rooms in here, or you asking for trouble?" Ryo didn't heed his warning, he sat right in front of him with a stern expression.

"Drop it, what's the meaning of this?"

Aight, this chapter out very late. A bit problem here and there. Still cooking the next one, and trying not to burn it to the ground, it should be up in two weeks.

Talking about the story, it's finally reach the other side of the team. What comes next? You can guess yourself.

See you in next chapter!