A/N: So recently while double checking Shinjuku on Google Maps I found that the park area where the Tamers hang out had changed from Chuo Park to Shinjuku Central Park. Not like the park was renamed or anything, just how the translation was applied this go around, I guess. Kind of not sure how to approach this now since Chuo means central, so the writing is still 'technically' right, but I feel awkward because the flipflopping led me to go with Chuo when there doesn't appear to be a need for it (Shinjuku chūō kōen – literally Shinjuku Central Park. I want to smack myself for not noticing sooner). I don't know. I'm probably being silly, but I was aiming for greater authenticity in my writing with regards to locations and place names. When I first started writing, it was always just 'the Park' or 'Shinjuku Park' without concern for other similar locations like Gyoen and it became habituated until the last few years. So now I just feel awkward about it. My apologies to any native-Japanese readers or anyone with greater familiarity with Japan.
Learning experience. Move forward. Get better.
The statues referenced in this chapter and in chapter 4 are a bit trickier, as I can't find much information about them at all. The name of 'Statue of Eternity' (Kuon statue, Kuon meaning 'eternity') looks to be correct, but any historical background and translation of the plaques were few and far between. What translations I attempted were…rough. Passable, but they didn't really tell me much. The most I was able to find outside of that was a separate artwork depicting a similar scene with the warrior Ota Dokan Sukenaga receiving yellow mountain roses, yamabuki, on a fan from the daughter of the owner of a rundown mill.
Ota Dokan is known for having been falsely accused of disloyalty during a time of political struggle. His death poem goes something like this:
Had I not known
that I was dead
already
I would have mourned
the loss of my life.
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: 08/ Torn Fabric
Yamaki frowned beneath his sunglasses as he read over the information on the screen. Next to him, Riley watched him, her eyes gauging his thoughts. On the screen was a pixilated representation of the digital world's uppermost layer, littered with yellow dots around which swirled colors of red and purple, with red at the leading edge of each dot.
Yamaki's lighter snapped open. To him, each one of those dots looked like gaping wounds.
"So, this explains all of the anomalous readings we've been getting from the digital world. I guess that we can throw my theory about them being residual effects from the D-Reaper and Juggernaut out the window."
"They may still be," Riley said. "While we've been scanning the digital world, we've only been doing so with the surface layer. That area hasn't been stable since Operation Doodlebug."
"These 'breaches' might not be helping things." Yamaki closed the lid to his lighter. "From our scans, they're causing deleterious effects on the surface layer's structure. Is there any chance that the Nonaka child's experience could have the same effect here?"
"That's the interesting thing." Reaching over, Riley tapped on the screen and brought up a new map, this one an analysis of the three layers of reality as they knew them – material, analogue and digital. Next to it were three charts showing the first breach and its effect on the environment. Yamaki's frown deepened. Only the second of the three charts showed that anything had occurred. A blip on the sensors.
"Nothing?"
"Like I said: interesting. We didn't look into it at the time because the breaches were there and gone so quickly without leaving any trace. Tally suggested that it was the system hiccupping, but now that we're looking at it more closely, it's almost as if whatever was going on immediately healed itself."
"But not so in the digital world," Yamaki remarked.
"Separate incidents?" Riley suggested. "But even the breaches in the digital world have been more or less repaired. From our most recent scans, they're lingering, but they're definitely being closed. Likely by the Sovereigns."
"And this is just the surface layer." The metal click of Yamaki's lighter echoed in the room as he switched to another chart. "What about this one?"
On the new image, the map of the digital world's desert changed abruptly, with numerous smaller pixels of yellow dotting its surface like a field of fireflies. Yamaki looked at the date.
"That's when the digimon became able to stay indefinitely in the real world again. Interesting."
"It's also when the anomalies suddenly stopped," Riley pointed out. "We're still sorting through the data, but we're getting a better picture now. Going by the testimony of that girl…"
"Rika Nonaka," Yamaki supplied.
"Right. Going by her testimony, something huge happened in one of the other realities and it affected ours as well."
"For the better it seemed."
"That's what it looks like."
Yamaki caressed his lighter in thought. "I doubt our superiors will see it that way. Especially if we don't know what the long-term effects will be. Have McCoy look further into this."
"Not me, sir?" Riley raised an eyebrow.
"No. I'm going to need your help with Sleipnir. It might be a little early but Director Hata has requested that we begin tests with the program. I want to make sure that there won't be any problems."
Riley nodded. "Yes sir."
"Is there something else?" Yamaki asked, seeing her troubled expression.
"It's just… I was wondering if there's going to be any legal trouble. Because of Takato talking to Nonaka. We were having trouble initially with an interview because of that, weren't we? There's that law that's been giving our lawyers a headache for the last few years. Takato is technically a Hypnos agent after all."
"It will be handled," Yamaki said, though his tone didn't sound certain. The government's expansion of The Act on the Protection of Personal Information was most certainly troublesome for Hypnos once they became a public agency. He wasn't sure how it would go down, especially given Rika's relation to a high-profile public figure like Rumiko Nonaka.
From Riley's face, he could see that he hadn't reassured her. Before he could say anything more though, his cellphone buzzed. Taking it out, he saw Takato's name on the caller ID. Grateful for the distraction – and feeling trepidation over the reasons for Takato's call – he hit the reply button.
"Yamaki," he said tersely. He listened to the boy on the other end for a moment before nodding. "Very well. Bring her here."
Hanging up, he turned to Riley. "Contact Janyu. He's about to have a patient shortly."
###
"Hey! Nonaka! Are you listening?"
Rika yelped as Kayoko's fingers gripped hold of her cheek and gave it a sharp pinch.
"Ow! Hey! What the hell, Kayo?!"
"Sorry," Toshiko apologized in their friend's stead as Rika glowered, demanding answers. Kayoko, completely unperturbed by Rika's normally deflating gaze, planted her hands on her hips like a scolding mother.
"Apologize nothing! I was asking you a question and you were off in Lala land. Did a digimon snack on your brain or something, Nonaka?"
Rika's glare softened while she rubbed her cheek. "Sorry," she said. "I've got some things on my mind."
Kayoko and Toshiko both looked at Rika with growing concern.
"You know," Kayoko began, her voice softening, "you've had things on your mind a lot these past couple of days."
"A-Anything important?" Toshiko added, her voice slipping between various volumes. Anxiously, she looked around to see if anyone was close enough to hear them. School having just let out, there were plenty to choose from. So far, everyone, by appearances, were either engrossed in their own private conversations or were focused, like them, on the school gate. Rika doubted anyone paid them any mind.
"She's probably worried about how I'm going to beat her in karaoke this time," Kayoko said with a sarcastic smirk. "Make way for the Karaoke Queen, Nonaka. Bow before me!"
Rika allowed an answering smirk to touch her lips ever so slightly, an open challenge to her friend's boastful claim.
"I don't worry about losing to you," she said matter-of-factly.
"You say that now, but I've been practicing. Just you watch. Or listen, if you want to get technical."
"It must be nice to have a dream."
Laughing, Kayoko swung her schoolbag like a flail at Rika. It didn't come close to hitting her.
"You want to make things interesting?" she asked. "A bet?"
"Like what? I get to pinch you for once? Forget it. I'm not making your boyfriend jealous. Leave the pinching to him."
Kayoko's face flooded red at that and she stammered and sputtered, unable to mount a proper response.
"Good one, Rika," Toshiko giggled. "I think you broke her."
"Another win for me then," Rika said with a fake, bored sigh.
"Y-Yeah, well, at least I have a boyfriend to pinch me," Kayoko muttered, still blushing. Toshiko and Rika both raised an eyebrow at her.
"That's your best shot?" Rika asked.
"Not a very good one," Toshiko added. Kayoko huffed.
"Yeah, you're right. I forgot, Nonaka has about zero interest in boys."
"I don't have zero interest in boys," Rika scowled. "I'm just…" She trailed off, Takato's face coming to mind. "…particular about them." Seeing the curious and interested look on her friends' faces, she hastily added, "And I don't like making them the topic of every conversation!"
Kayoko raised an eyebrow at her.
"Are you all right, Nonaka?"
Rika felt a sudden tension in her arms and she abruptly picked up her pace.
"I'm fine! Why are you always picking at every little thing I do?"
"Hey, Nonaka! Take it easy! We were just poking fun, like we always do. Relax. We were, weren't we, Toshiko?"
"That's what I thought," Toshiko said, adjusting her glasses. At the shier girl's worried, tone, Rika's stride slowed and her shoulders sagged.
"Sorry. It's like I said; I've just got a lot on mind."
Concerned, Kayoko fell into step by her side and placed a hand on Rika's forehead.
"Well, your brain's not burning, so it can't be too bad."
"Not funny, Kayoko," Rika glared. The dark-haired girl raised a placating hand.
"Okay, sorry. But do you mind telling us what's going on? You're usually not so closed off when something's bothering you. I mean, sometimes you are, but not about something like this." Kayoko tilted her head. "Is it something involving your folks again?"
"No, and thank goodness for that," Rika harrumphed.
"Then what's the deal?"
At that, the memory of her holding Takato yesterday played through Rika's mind once more, as it had for a good portion of the day. She couldn't explain it, but something about his presence, so close to her, the desperate storm of emotion she felt as his trembling arms clung to her, tugged at her. There was something more in that memory that went beyond a simple desire to help. Something awoke inside her. What it was, she couldn't put a name on. The only thing that felt certain was how holding him felt oddly right. Like it had been the most natural thing in the world for her. A part of her wanted to hold him again; help shoulder his burdens.
Takato… His name echoed softly in her mind and she found herself beating back an urge to check her cellphone for messages. They had a brief back and forth last night after she got home, and a promise to talk later when time allowed. She brushed at the strand of hair hanging by an ear, feeling oddly self-conscious and suddenly uncertain about what she was doing. Not sure what to do about these feelings, she filed them away for later consideration and turned back to her friends, finding them sharing a glance and a grin. Rika looked back and forth between them, not liking their silent exchange. She felt like there was a conversation going on between them that she was being excluded from.
"What's that look for?"
"Funny you should say that," Kayoko laughed.
"You had a look," Toshiko said quietly, pushing up her glasses.
Rika gave them a flat stare as they exited the gates.
"I've always got some look to you two. Would you mind narrowing it down for me?"
"Okay, Genius Nonaka, since you need to have it spelled out for you." Dancing in front of the fire-haired girl, Kayoko wagged a finger in front of her nose. "You. Have a crush on someone."
Rika opened her mouth, the start of a denial on her lips, only to squash it when the memory of her Other-Self and all of her denials about her relationship with her Takato came to the fore. Closing her mouth, she gave a heavy sigh.
"So, I was right," Kayoko grinned. "Is this a win for me?"
"Yeah, sure, fine." A pause. "Maybe."
"Maybe?" This from Toshiko, adjusting her glasses again.
"She just doesn't want to admit defeat," Kayoko crowed triumphantly. Rika glowered and adjusted her bag.
"Yesterday, I went to see someone and wound up helping them a little," she said. "I think. I'm not sure. But they've been upset for a long time and…I don't know. I'm still processing it."
Kayoko and Toshiko's gazes on her felt almost oppressive. Looking away, Kayoko tapped a finger on her chin.
"You went to see someone and helped them a little… This is someone you know?"
"Kayoko, please don't try to figure out who she likes," Toshiko urged. A blush suddenly rose on Rika's cheeks.
"Why not? It sounds like Nonaka's going to need advice." She clapped her hands together. "It's got to do with those digimon attacks you were in, right?"
"Oh, for goodness sake!" Rika began. "Kayoko, I don't need your help with this! Besides, I'm not even sure you could…"
Her cellphone buzzed, causing her to jump in surprise. With a speed and urgency that surprised even her, she snatched it out of her bag and flipped it open.
"Takato?" she began after a quick check of the caller ID. "Are you…?" She froze and mentally cursed at her slipup. Turning, she saw Kayoko mouth Takato with what had to be the widest smile she ever saw on the girl's face. On the other end, the boy began talking, not sure what to make of her sudden hesitation.
"Uh, hello? Are you still there?"
"Yeah, I am." Turning away from her friends, she picked up her pace so she pulled ahead of them. "Is everything all right?"
"Yeah. At least I think so. Hope so. I just wanted to see if you had time this afternoon."
"This afternoon?" Rika felt her heart skip a beat. He wanted to see her?
"Yeah. I was talking to a friend of mine about what happened to you and we got to worrying about what you went through and that maybe we should have you checked out at Hypnos just to be on the safe side. Ah, Hypnos is the name of the government organization that supports us, so…"
The boy trailed off, clearly not sure what more to say. Rika nodded, needing no further explanation.
"All right. I'll be there," she said. "Where do you want to meet?"
"Chuo Park, okay?"
"Sure. By the Statue of Eternity," she said, remembering the landmark. "Is that fine?"
"Sure!" Takato chirped and Rika could hear the anxious tension bleeding out of him. "I'll see you there!"
"Okay, see you there."
Silence fell as they remained on the phone, both hesitant to be the first to hang up.
"Um, okay," Takato began, a kind of cute awkwardness emerging in his voice. "Bye?"
Rika felt a small, warm smile cross her lips. "Right. See you in a little bit, Gogglehead."
With that, she hung up.
Too cute, she thought, still smiling. The sound of a throat being cleared brought her out of her thoughts and she turned, remembering that her friends were still there. She felt her cheeks begin to warm up again.
"Gogglehead?" Kayoko asked, still grinning widely. Rika's blush deepened.
"H-He wears goggles sometimes," she explained lamely. "He's a bit of a dork like that."
Toshiko pushed up her glasses, her eyes thoughtful. In a rare moment, Rika found herself unsure about what the girl was thinking. She could see the gears turning in her head though, and she felt certain she didn't like the direction they were going.
"So, when you said you're particular about boys, you were referring to complete dorks?" Kayoko laughed. "Jeez, Nonaka. Now I want to see who caught your eye."
"File that under never," Rika harrumphed. "And he didn't 'catch my eye.' He just needs my help with something. Anyway, I've got to go. Sorry about skipping our karaoke match."
"I'll file that under 'another time,'" Kayoko beamed. "This is well worth the delay. Have fun with your date!"
"It's not a…!" Rika rolled her eyes and gave up protesting. Nothing she said would convince Kayoko otherwise. "Never mind. Later."
With that, Rika took off at a run. Kayoko shook her head in amazement.
"That girl sure can sprint when she wants to," she said, looking at Toshiko. She frowned, seeing the furious gear-turning in her friend's eyes. "What's up?"
"Goggles…" she murmured. "Isn't there a Tamer who wears goggles?"
Kayoko's lips parted. She didn't pay much attention to anything digimon or Tamer related, but even she knew heard something along similar lines. A mixture of alarm and excitement formed on her face. Turning, her dark eyes tracked Rika's retreating figure.
"Okay. Now I've got to know who caught her eye."
"Kayo…" Toshiko began. "If she finds you following her, she won't be happy."
Kayoko's lips set themselves in a thin line. "No. No she won't. But she's hiding something, and I haven't been happy about that. If she's in trouble, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. If she's going to be mad at me for being a friend, well…" She shrugged. "I hope she's mad at me for a very, very long time."
Adjusting her bag strap, she drew in a deep breath.
"The Statue of Eternity in Chuo Park, was it?"
"I… Y-Yeah."
"You don't have to come along."
Toshiko looked down at her shoes. Anxiously, she rubbed them against one another.
"We're Kagurazaka Girl's Academy students," she said, looking back up at her friend. "We don't leave a friend alone if they're in trouble."
Kayoko beamed at her and took her hand.
"To the end?" she said, giving her friend a gentle squeeze. Toshiko nodded.
"To the end."
###
Suzie stood next to the Statues of Eternity, her expression a mixture of boredom and irritability. Lopmon was gazing at each in turn – the samurai and the kneeling woman with a fan – frank curiosity in her round, dark-eyes.
"Suzie?"
"Yeah, Lop?"
"Can you tell me what these are supposed to represent?"
"Two people from another time as far as I know," Suzie shrugged nonchalantly. She glanced down at her partner. At once, guilt tugged at her and she sighed. "Sorry, Lop."
Giving Suzie a sympathetic look, she made her way over to the girl and hopped up onto her head. Suzie grunted, but otherwise didn't complain.
"Are you sure you don't want to talk about how your day went?" the former Deva asked. Suzie shook her head, causing Lopmon's ears to flap a little.
"It's not worth talking about. People are stupid. That's all there is to it."
"At least it's nice and quiet here."
"I'm sure that'll change once Takato gets here." Suzie clenched her fists tightly. "I always make a mess of things whenever he's around."
A lump formed in her throat and she turned away from the two statues. Folding her arms together, Suzie leaned against the railing along the park path. Atop her head, Lopmon was silent, and Suzie could feel her uncertainty on the subject of the goggle-wearing Tamer. She couldn't blame her. Her ongoing antagonism toward him was a bone of contention between them. Though Lopmon tried to be supportive and patient with her feelings regarding Henry's death, the fact that Takato frequently bore the brunt of her grief – to the point of nearly killing him on one occasion – was plainly unfair.
I wish I didn't act like this with him, she thought, squeezing her arms tightly. But every time I see him, I just can't help it. I know he was just doing what he had to do in his part of the fight, but all I can think about is my brother.
Raising an arm, she rubbed at her face and sniffed.
"T-The standing guy," she began with another sniff, gesturing to the samurai, "is Ota Dokan Sukenaga. He got caught in a rainstorm and went for shelter at a rundown mill. The owner's daughter, instead of bringing him a raincoat, brought him rose flowers on a fan. Supposed to be some kind of reference to his family crest."
"I see," Lopmon said, looking back at the statues curiously. "What is the importance behind the flowers?"
"The flowers are Yamabuki," Suzie continued to explain. "They're supposed to mean luck with money or elegance. They bloom around mid-April, right after the Sakura. Kind of tells you when spring is about over, I guess. I don't really get the meaning, but the mill was rundown so maybe it was something about the importance of offering fortune during bad times?" Suzie shrugged again. "I don't know. I'm not really good with stories anymore."
I haven't been since Henry died.
Taking out her cellphone, she looked at the time.
"Where are those bozos?" she grated. "Did they get lost or something?"
"Maybe they don't know where the statues are?" Lopmon offered.
"Then why did they choose them for a meeting place? It's so stupid!"
"Takato didn't tell you?"
Suzie huffed. "He said he'd explain once he got here."
Minutes continued to pass, during which a figure came into view. She wore a grey school uniform with a short skirt. She was pale of skin and had her red hair tied back into a spikey ponytail. Suzie watched her approach for a minute before giving a sudden start in realization.
"The model girl!" she exclaimed loudly, getting the girl's attention. "Ru-Ri…!" She clenched her eyes shut, wanting to smack herself. She knew who she was, yet her memory was flaking on her in its surprise.
"Rika," the girl said for her as she drew to a halt. "You're Suzie and Lopmon, right?"
"Ah… Ah…" Suzie could only stammer out at first. "Yes."
"Nice to meet you," Rika continued with a polite bow. "How do you do?"
Hopping off Suzie's head, Lopmon stood at attention and returned the girl's bow. Suzie hastily followed suit.
"I should be asking you that question," she said. A thought occurred to her. "Are you here because of Takato?"
She was a tall beauty, Suzie noted, and her small smile, already forming on her face at the mention of Takato, had a certain elegance to it that made her light up.
"Yep! He said that I might need to get looked at or something because of what I went through."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Suzie nodded. "I guess he'd want to make sure that the digimon who kidnapped you didn't slip you a virus or something."
Rika tilted her head to one side, thinking it over before nodding.
"Yeah, that tracks," she said.
Silence fell between them. Feeling uncomfortable, Suzie gestured about her.
"Sorry he and Kenta aren't here yet. Takato has a habit of being late, but it's usually not a big deal. He's probably picking up Guilmon. Kenta's probably late because he's with him. They go to the same school."
"That's fine," Rika shrugged, opting to lean against the park railing. A thought occurred to Suzie.
"Hold on, you and Takato talked."
Lifting an eyebrow, Rika nodded. Suzie scowled and joined her on the railing.
"So, I was left out."
"Suzie, I'm sure he had a good reason."
"Yeah, he always has a good reason."
"It was pretty late when I left his place," Rika added, eyeing the girl warily. "And I…kind of upset him. He probably wasn't in a good place to really talk about anything after our chat."
Suzie saw a look cross her face that she thought of as shame.
"Yeah? What'd you do? Make fun of his goggles or something?"
The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Rika's eyes snapped over to her, detecting the acidic tone in her voice.
"No," she replied, sounding both confused and a bit annoyed. Lopmon looked up at Suzie, perturbed.
"Did you make fun of his crummy drawings then?"
"Suzie…" began Lopmon, hoping to head her off, but Rika was already replying.
"You want to explain to me what you're going on about? Because I didn't make fun of anything with him. We just talked about what happened to me. That's it."
Turning to face Suzie more fully, she locked eyes with her. The smaller girl found herself unexpectedly swallowing anxiously. Looking into her violet gaze, Suzie had the feeling she was gazing into a carefully contained fire. She didn't flinch away though and her ground. Rika nodded, as if confirming something.
"You don't like him, do you?"
Suzie found herself bristling at Rika's sudden defensive tone.
"So, what if I don't? What are you, his girlfriend?"
"Suzie!" began Lopmon suddenly. Stepping between them, she spread her tiny arms out in a warding gesture. "Stop! This isn't right and you know it!"
Suzie felt the bitter tang of anger burning in the back of her throat, but the truth in her partner's words struck true. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she attempted to calm down.
"Sorry. Yeah, I don't like him, but it's…complicated." Scowling at herself for her misplaced anger, she added, "It's also not his fault either, if that matters to you."
She shot Rika an angry look and, much to her surprise, found only understanding and sympathy in her gaze. Feeling ashamed, she looked away. Silence fell between them again. Suzie could feel the awkward tension hanging in the air between them.
I sure made a great first impression, she thought. I know Takato's not a bad person and all I did was badmouth him after she met him. I bet he was a proper gentleman and…
"Hang on," she began, suddenly perking up. "How'd you figure out where Takato lives in the first place? Are you stalking him or something? You didn't fall in love with him and go over to his place to confess, did you?"
Rika looked at the girl with bewilderment, a faint red discoloration rapidly forming on her cheeks. Much to her surprise, Suzie felt a smirk play across her face. She hit close to a mark, it seemed. What mark that was, she couldn't be sure, but a mark nonetheless.
"You know," the girl began, "I can see why Other-Me and Other-You didn't get along."
Suzie blinked, quite taken aback by that response. "Uh, what?"
Rika's expression shifted again, appearing as though she had said something she shouldn't have. Before she could respond however, a clear, loud call broke across their conversation.
"Heeey! Suzie! Rika! Sorry we're late!"
"And there they are," Suzie saw Rika smile with relief. Pushing off from the railing, Rika planted her hands on her hips authoritatively.
"It's about time," she said as Takato, goggles strapped on his head, approached with Guilmon, Kenta and MarineAngemon in tow beside him. "Suzie was telling me you have a habit of being late."
"He does," Suzie began, and then bit down on her tongue to keep from saying how frequently it involved girls.
"Sorry," Takato replied, rubbing the back of his head. "I had to swing by home and get Guilmon." He looked back and forth between the two, sensing something amiss. "Is everything all right?"
"Your girlfriend said something weird about an Other-Her and an Other-Me not getting along."
Takato's hand froze and he looked over at Rika. The girl blushed, but nodded apologetically.
"I didn't say much. I figured it would be best to let you handle that, but it just kind of slipped out. Sorry."
"What's going on?" Suzie demanded, not even bothering to hide her growing frustration with being kept in the dark.
"Well, it's why I messaged you about joining us," Takato replied. "Did you bring your cards with you?"
"Don't I always? Now what's this all about?"
Takato and Kenta exchanged looks before returning their attention to Suzie. The smaller girl could hear her heartbeat growing louder in her ears. She didn't like the way they were beating around the bush with her. At the same time however, she didn't trust herself to speak without throwing a jab at either of them.
"Takato?" Lopmon pressed for her.
"Right." Takato nodded. "I guess there's no easy way to say this. But the reason why Rika was abducted in the first place was because a couple days ago, she had been transported to another dimension like ours. Only different."
"That's it? That's the big…?" Suzie froze as a thought occurred to her. Narrowing her eyes, she turned toward Rika. "How different?"
She saw Rika's eyes grow uncertain, memory flickering behind her violet orbs. She thought about what she said earlier about upsetting Takato. Something clicked into place. She didn't know what it was. Felt scared to even consider what the possibility could be, but at the same time she felt she knew without even needing to be told.
"It was just like ours," Rika began carefully. "Only there were more of you around. I-I met your brother there. And Terriermon."
Rika's gaze didn't break even once. Suzie found unexpectedly herself liking her for that, though it only made her angrier, especially with the tale about meeting her brother.
"Yeah, right," she scoffed. "That's a good story."
"I don't think she's lying," Takato said.
"Of course, you'd say that." Suzie shot Takato a meaningful look. The boy frowned.
"What do you mean?" he asked softly.
"H-Hey!" Kenta stepped between them. "Look, we called the two of you here so we can confirm a few things. There's no harm in that, right?" He looked back and forth between everyone, hoping for some kind of support. MarinAngemon and Lopmon both nodded, but their open anxiety spoke volumes.
Anger still stewing within her, Suzie shrugged and gave Takato a dark look.
"Sure, why not? Might as well, seeing as how Takato couldn't even tell when Jeri…"
"Don't!" Lopmon interrupted loudly, clenching her tiny paws. "Suzie, do not go any further! Please!"
Suzie stiffened and her swirling anger froze, be it ever so briefly. Realizing what she had been about to say, her shoulders sagged. Nervously, she looked over at Takato and saw he guessed it as well.
"Sorry," she said, wishing she could hide the begrudging tone in her voice.
"Let's start over," the goggle-wearing boy began, holding his hands up. Her face flushing, Suzie nodded reluctantly.
"Model-girl says she went to a world where my brother was alive. I'm following. I don't buy it, but I'm following."
"I smelled us on her and we've never even met," Guilmon said, trying to be helpful.
"Guilmon, if she broke into your home and stole his underwear, she could smell like you without even meeting you."
"Hah? Why would she…?"
"Seriously, what is your problem?!" Rika exploded suddenly. "You were a brat in that other world too, but this is beyond… Just… Just…" Red-faced, she sputtered, straining to find the right words as her knuckles went white from tension. Looking back and forth between them with growing alarm, Guilmon said the only thing that came to mind.
"Ah… Momentai?"
Suzie whirled about on Guilmon and the Rookie blanched, taken aback by the fury the smaller girl barely contained. Takato stepped in front of his partner.
"Look, we just need you to test an Ophanimon card with Lopmon. Rika said that was all it took for her to be drawn into that other world. If it works for you like it did for your other self, it would go a long way to confirming her story. Is that fair enough?"
Suzie glowered at the others, wishing she didn't feel the way she did right now. More and more, she didn't want to be here. Not around Takato and especially now with this new girl, Rika, who came in with some cockamamie story about going to another dimension and meeting her dead brother.
Digital world or not, that sort of thing just doesn't happen.
"This is stupid. I already used that card during our big fight with Gaiomon. It didn't do anything then, so why would it now?"
She shot a challenging look at Rika, demanding an answer.
"Takato brought that up when I talked to him yesterday," she said. "I don't know why it happened over there but not here. I just know that it did."
"We think it might be because of your problem digivolving to Cherubimon," Guilmon suggested, coming out from behind Takato. "That's why we should go see Alice. Maybe she can help. If we can fix Cherubimon, then maybe you can go to other worlds too."
"Let's…table that for now," Takato said delicately. "We don't know what the consequences might be, so we should talk to Yamaki first before we try something like that."
"Yeah," agreed Kenta. "Who knows, we might end up accidently transporting an alternate D-Reaper into our universe. That'd be bad."
Suzie watched Takato and Kenta exchange uncertain looks at Guilmon's suggestion. She wasn't sure about it herself, especially since all she heard from it was how the situation with her partner's Mega form was once again her fault.
And it is my fault, she berated herself. Squeezing her eyes shut, she wrestled with her emotions. If I wasn't so mad at Takato, Lopmon would never have digivolved the way she did! Takato wouldn't have nearly died and Jeri wouldn't have…wouldn't…
Suzie felt something crack inside her.
Henry! Terriermon!
She could hear her brother's voice, clear as day. Hear Terriermon saying something rude before being scolded, and then following it up with his classic momentai to blow it off. Their laughter. Their cries of pain and terror as the D-Reaper clove through them with its scythe-like arms.
She saw Henry, lying in the park, the last of Terriermon's data floating away from him, blood staining his clothes from a deep wound running along his abdomen. Staining her clothes as she desperately shook his cooling body. He looked so pale and his blood stuck to her hands like slime.
"Henwy! Henwy! Wake up! Why won't he wake up? Why is he so cold?! Someone! Someone help him! I-I can't…! No! I-I'm Doctor Suzie! Doctor Suzie can fix him! Nurse Lopmon! Help me fix him!"
She heard other voices now. Ryo's. Kazu's. Their bodies were beside Henry's as well. Jeri sobbing by their side, like she had in the digital world when Leomon died. She didn't know how she reacted when she found out about her father. She didn't want to know.
Except, she already did. A vision of Jeri lying in a coffin came to her. She hadn't been there for it, but she saw it in her mind as clear as day. It couldn't have been all that different than it had been with Henry after all. It was easy to imagine it. Her hand went to her cards and drew out the Ophanimon card, still on the top of her deck from her last use of it. Opening her eyes, she gazed at it. Her hand was unsteady, but just then Rika's story held her thoughts. If true, then it meant she might see her brother again, or some variation of him. All that potential held in a single card. And all she had to do was slash it through her digivice to see if Rika's story held merit.
She swayed on her feet, feeling suddenly lightheaded. She tried to right herself, only to find herself falling backward.
"Whoa! Easy there! Takato! I think she's about to faint on us!"
Rika's voice and grasp snapped her back to attention. Feeling a sudden revulsion, Suzie lashed out, smacking Rika across the face. The girl gasped in surprise and fell back, accidently losing her grip.
"Don't touch me!" she shouted, scrambling away. From out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lopmon, Kenta and Takato start toward her. Recoiling from their concerned looks she surged back to her feet. "I said don't touch me! Everyone just leave me alone!"
Whirling about, she tore off into the depths of the park, ignoring everyone's calls for her to stop.
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