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: 36/ Impmon's Shadow

Every day, Masahiko prayed that his waking nightmare would end. Every day, it continued.

He wondered if he was crazy. In his cartoons, characters whose grasp on reality were labeled insane or bonkers and any number of names that meant the same thing: "You aren't right with reality." There were times, he found, that he feverishly prayed that he genuinely went insane. It sounded far better to be out of touch with the real world than to continue living in it.

Standing in front of the picture of his sister, Jeri, Masahiko clasped his hands together and once more prayed. Prayed with all his might that when he stopped and opened his eyes, Jeri would be there, alive and well. He wanted the last year – even the last few years – to be nothing more than a bad dream. Jeri would be back, helping their father throw out rowdy customers, and all would be right as rain.

Opening his eyes, he continued to see the picture in front of him. Jeri, smiling, looking like she had not a care in the world. The lie of lies.

Sighing, he turned away, hating the house of his grandparents, but at the same time not wanting to wanting to go home either.

"Why do you always do that?"

At the sound of the feminine voice, Masahiko turned toward the short, red-colored, catlike creature that Calumon brought home with him over two weeks ago to play. Coronamon, she called herself.

"Do what?" he asked, though he knew what she meant. Coronamon pointed at the photo in the small shrine.

"That. You pray every day in front of it. Is she a spirit?"

"It's nothing," Masahiko replied irritably. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he stomped over to the porch and there sat himself down with a heavy thud.

"She's your sister, right?" Coronamon asked, continuing after her. "Calumon said something about her being gone. It's been a long time. Is she not coming back?"

"Calumon doesn't know anything!" Masahiko burst out angrily. Seeing the wary, cautious look on the tiny cat's face, he slumped. "Sorry. She's dead. She killed herself. She's not coming back."

At that, a sympathetic look crossed Coronamon's face. Approaching, she placed a gentle hand on his arm. It felt so warm, and his skin seemed to draw it into him; into his heart where it settled itself in like a kitten nestling into a lap. He wanted to pull away and almost did, but he also found that he didn't want to.

"I'm sorry," she said. "That must hurt."

Masahiko shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant about it, as his departed father would be. His mouth twisted up, betraying him.

"Yeah, it hurts. So what?" he said instead. "She killed herself. She was weak and dumb."

Coronamon furrowed her brow slightly, but didn't challenge him. In the time they spent together, she had come to understand he didn't like having his feelings challenged or prodded. The death of his sister, she decided, was still too raw for him to properly confront.

I understand now why Calumon brought me here, she thought. This is something he can't do himself.

She would question the In-training digimon about the details later, when he came back. If he would answer her questions that is. Calumon, she found, could be rather evasive as well and frequently became distracted.

"Why don't we play a game?" she suggested with a smile, caressing the boy's back. Masahiko fumed, but nodded. She relaxed and let out a happy giggle. This was good. The boy became cheerful whenever they played one of his games. He always looked his brightest after a good game. It made her feel as though she were basking in sunshine.

I wonder if his sister had been like sunshine to him, she thought while they made their way over to the TV and turned it on. That must be why he's so sad.

The game they played was a fighting one involving giant robots, and plainly Masahiko's favorite. His experience showed in how his fingers flew across the controls with complete and utter confidence, triggering lightning quick combos. She couldn't yet compare to him, but over the last couple of weeks, she picked it up quickly. The end couldn't be disputed, but she at least now provide him with a challenge. She found he enjoyed difficult, hard-fought victories.

"That was great!" Masahiko laughed, collapsing to the floor. "You're so good at this!"

Coronamon smiled, enjoying seeing him light up once more. Moments like this let her see what he must have been like before the tragedy.

"I'm glad you're having fun," she smiled, and meant it. She loved hearing him laugh.

Her enjoyment of his happiness was soon interrupted by the growling of her stomach. Sitting up straight, Coronamon blushed madly in embarrassment.

"S-Sorry!" she squeaked as Masahiko sat up; eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Nah, don't worry about it," the boy laughed. "I'm kinda hungry too. I think Grandma has some pie in the fridge. Let's get some."

"B-But you'll spoil your dinner!" Coronamon protested.

"So? More for you later, right?"

Coronamon twisted her fingers about one another, wanting to argue but at the same time not wanting to turn down the offer of food. Unlike Calumon, he kept her a secret from his grandparents, which had the complication of needing to sneak food to her when the opportunity arose. He had yet to fail in this respect, and she liked his determination to not let her down in matters of the stomach. But she found it odd that he kept her a secret and not Calumon.

She wondered if it had anything to do with his sister. She saw the wary, sidelong looks Masahiko's grandparents gave the little In-training digimon and she overheard the commentary they made whenever the news reported on a digimon attack. Why, there had been one just recently in a residential neighborhood in Shinjuku.

"This is bad," she remembered the grandfather saying. "Targeting kids again. Why can't digimon just leave our children alone?"

"Come on," Masahiko said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Let's go eat."

"Ah, right," Coronamon nodded, standing up to follow him. As she did so, a shadow flitted across the sunlight that lay on the floor. Too large to be a bird and too fast to be Calumon, she looked about to see what caused it. Finding nothing but empty yard through the slide door of their living room, Coronamon frowned. She felt something in the back of her mind that reminded her of the way shadows felt on her eyes at night, darkening all about her.

"Hey! Coronamon!" called Masahiko from deeper within the house. "Where'd you go?"

There was a subtle undertone of panic in his voice. "Sorry!" she called back to reassure him she hadn't up and left. "I thought I saw something! It was just a bird!"

Coronamon shivered as she ran toward Masahiko. The June sun suddenly felt chilly.

###

Masahiko shrugged on his school bag silently while behind him his grandmother watched him with a small smile.

"Have a good day, Masahiko," she said kindly. "Will you be seeing Calumon at all?"

"I don't know," Masahiko replied stiffly. "He just does whatever he wants."

"Hmmm… Well, maybe it's for the best. After your sister… Well, I do wish he wouldn't sneak in whenever he wants something to eat. Did the two of you have a fight? I haven't seen him in a while."

"No. Who'd want to get into a fight with him? That's stupid. He just goes wherever he feels like whenever he feels like. You know how he is."

His grandmother sighed. "You're becoming too much like your father."

Masahiko grunted noncommittally, causing her to cock her head to one side worriedly.

"Did you two have a fight?" she repeated. "I know he sometimes goes off on his own from time to time, but aren't you worried?"

"He's fine. I'll see you later, Grandma."

Eager to avoid any further questions, Masahiko pushed open the door and dashed off down the sidewalk. He felt his grandmother's eyes on his back as he went and was greatly relieved to have their pressure disappear once he rounded the corner. Slowing to a walk, Masahiko looked about him.

"Coronamon! Are you there?"

"Right here."

The red-furred feline emerged from out of an alley, her tail swishing behind her. She smiled at him. Swinging his bag around, Masahiko dug into it and produced a bag of chips.

"Here," he said, shoving them into Coronamon's hands. "Sorry. I couldn't get anything else for you."

"Why don't you tell your grandparents about me?" she asked. "I've been wondering about that for a while."

"Because I don't want to!" Masahiko said.

"But why? Wouldn't it be easier?"

Masahiko shook his head. He didn't want to explain it to her. While his family tended to be polite toward Calumon, the digimon's presence was humored because he refused to let him go after his sister's death. While unspoken, the tiny digimon had become something of a bad omen to them. After all, his sister came back from the digital world changed, her father died trying to rescue her and some of her friends had been killed trying to rescue her. And then she herself committed suicide. Lots of bad luck befell her since she started interacting with digimon.

He himself wondered about it as well from time to time, but for some reason Jeri didn't think so. She never thought so.

But why did she kill herself if she liked digimon?

"Masahiko?"

He snapped out of his thoughts. Looking at Coronamon and seeing her curious, concerned expression, he scowled.

"Just eat your food," he said sternly. "I'll figure out something for you later."

Whirling about, he took off at a run, leaving the startled Coronamon behind. The question of what to do for her later hung heavily in his mind. He didn't make enough money from his allowance to treat her to Guilmon bread sold in Shinjuku, and there was no way his family would let him go that whole distance on his own. No self-respecting parent or grandparent would allow that for a seven-year-old, and if he tried, they would freak out and start asking questions again. That would lead to discovering Coronamon and then they would really freak out and try to take her away from him.

He already didn't have much in the way of friends as it was. Especially one who could play games as well as she could.

I need help! But how? Who would even bother?

An idea came to him almost as soon as he asked. It came so quick that surprise writ on his face for how he hadn't even thought of it in the first place.

"No. Not them. Not those weirdos!" he said out loud. He slapped himself to discourage the idea.

Some time later, he found himself at school during lunch, standing in front of a desk where sat a young, though slightly older girl, brown hair tied into pigtails and digimon cards splayed out in front of her. Clearly, the slapping had a negligible effect on his decision to meet with her.

"Um… Hi?" she asked. "Can I help you?"

Masahiko felt keenly aware of the stares he was getting from her surrounding classmates. Understandably so. He was in the wrong classroom for starters and dealing with older kids. Some of them recognized him by reputation and he heard their whisperings.

"It's the brother of the suicide girl."

"I heard her ghost still haunts him."

Clenching his fists tightly, Masahiko forced himself to tune them out. If he got sent to the principal's office for fighting again, it would ruin the whole point of his being here.

"You're the girl who likes digimon, right?"

"Uh…" The girl cocked her head to one side in confusion and then glanced down at the cards in front of her. Masahiko wanted to kick himself for his inane question.

"I-I mean you used to have a digimon, right?" he hastily corrected himself. He clutched at the hem of his shirt, feeling the heat in his face rise maddeningly. He saw something flicker in her eyes. A glint of interest, but also suspicion.

"Yes. What do you want?"

Masahiko's grip on his shirt tightened. I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. I don't want to…

"IhaveadigimonandIneedhelpcaringforthem!"

The words tumbled out of his mouth in one rapid dump. Blushing furiously, he didn't even wait to see what her answer would be. Instead, he spun around and tore out of the classroom, leaving the stunned girl sitting in her desk, eyes wide with surprise. So eager was he to escape, he didn't hear her calling for him to wait.

That was so stupid! he thought, hurriedly bumping past another boy at the classroom door. Now I'm going to look like an idiot! Everyone'll probably think I like that weirdo or something!

Upon returning to his class, he sat himself down and buried his burning face in his arms. He couldn't wait for the day to be over and done with.

###

Ai could only sit there in bewilderment as the strange boy ran off, bumping into her brother – Mako – along the way. Mako, no less confused, made his way over to her.

"What was that all about?" he asked. "Did he come to confess to you?"

"Uh, no, not that," Ai said while sweeping up her cards. She hesitated on one depicting a short, dark-furred digimon with a red bandana and a pale, white face. "I think he said he has a digimon and needed help with them."

"A digimon?" Mako's eyes brightened hopefully. "Do you… Do you think it's Impmon?"

Ai shrugged, becoming a bit crestfallen at the mention of the name. In the past, a digimon named Impmon had been their friend for a brief time, only to run away when her and Mako's endless fighting reached a fever pitch and nearly hurt him. His continued absence remained a bit of a sore spot for her and Mako, who realized too late why he left.

Not for the first time did Ai wonder if Impmon had been killed by the D-Reaper monster.

"We should help him!" Mako continued, looking at Ai intently. "I mean, it might not be Impmon, but that's what he would want us to do, right? Help instead of fighting! I mean, what if that digimon's hurt? I've never seen a digimon hospital! Do they have one?"

"There's that Hypnosis or whatever it's called," Ai pointed out. "Though they might send the digimon back to the digital world."

"No!" Mako protested loudly, earning them another round of looks in their direction. Blushing, Mako lowered his voice. "We can't let them send them back! Not if they've made a friend! W-What about the Tamers?"

"We don't even know who they are, Mako!"

"What about that bakery on the other side of town? The one that sells the Guilmon Bread Grandma gets. She says they have a digimon there! There's got to be a Tamer there!"

"Hold on." Ai held up her hands to slow her brother down before he got too carried away. "We don't know anything about this digimon and for all we know bringing in a Tamer might mean killing him! What if he thinks that they're a threat to the city?"

"Oh, right!" Mako bobbed his head up and down in understanding. "We should scope things out first."

"Right, so let's talk to that kid first and see what we can find out about his digimon."

"Who is he, anyway?" Mako asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Masa…hiko I think his name is?" Ai's brow scrunched up in thought. He looked familiar to her and her classmates recognized him on sight.

"Oh! That kid! I heard his sister was a Tamer who lost her partner during that red goo attack!"

Ai's lips parted as she remembered the boy now. She heard about him from time to time, usually from the fights he got into with other students. She didn't pay much attention to the rumors surrounding him, but the ones that floated around the most involved his sister, who committed suicide about a year before. If his sister had been a Tamer who lost their partner…

"No wonder," she mused quietly. Putting her cards away, she resolved herself. "Masahiko… Yeah, let's help him. I don't know what we can do, but let's see first."

"Yeah!" Mako pumped his fists excitedly.

###

Coronamon sat atop a roof, overlooking the vast expanse of the city below her, watching the bustle of people as they went about their day. Her senses instinctually stretched out, drinking in all the sights and sounds; searching for even the slightest hint of danger. Finding none, she relaxed a little.

The human world is certainly safer than the digital world, she thought. Even if it's not without its problems.

She thought back to Masahiko and a great sense of sympathy welled up within her.

"Too strong," she remembered a friend telling her once. "Your sense of justice is too strong. It's going to get you in trouble."

Her hands curled against her legs tightly. What's wrong with that?

Shaking her head, she dismissed such thoughts. There remained nothing in the digital world for her to protect now anyway. The clash of the Sovereigns saw to that.

Fire and lightning slashed through the air. Digimon all around her were screaming and running in absolute terror. And in the sky, a great bird of flames and a flowing serpent of chains and clouds clashed.

Why? Why are they fighting? Don't they know that we're down here?

A torrent of fireballs fell like meteors, nearly engulfing her. Would have, if not for her friend, who snatched her up in his steel claws.

"What are you doing, Pineapple Head?! Move unless you want to be deleted faster than you can say 'Is this the delete key?'"

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself," she said fiercely. Scrubbing at her eyes, she climbed to her feet. The past was past. She would look after Masahiko now. He needed someone to look after and needed to be looked after in turn. She wondered if Calumon recognized that and knew he wasn't good enough on his own.

Could that be why he invited me to Masahiko's home? The tiny creampuff of a digimon, without a doubt, was quite eccentric and in so far as she could see had no rhyme or reason to his behavior. His ongoing absence, for example, fell into this.

He plainly cares a great deal for Masahiko, so why has he yet to return home? I don't think even a shiny new game would keep him away for this long. He may get distracted easily, but it's been too long. Maybe if I should find him, it will help make Masahiko happy? He seemed rather upset this morning.

Yes, that struck her as a good idea. Once more, she pushed against her senses, extending them still further in the hopes of finding the tiny digimon. There were only a handful in the city, so locating him, theoretically, became a simple matter of process of elimination.

She felt one presence, but not Calumon's.

Hmmm… I wonder if he went to visit that bakery again. It's far out enough that I might not detect him there.

Suddenly, she shivered violently and a breath of cold air puffed from her lips. Coronamon whirled about in panic. Her eyes searched her surroundings, yet found nothing but sunshine and rooftop all about her. The chill receded quickly and the sun's loving warmth rapidly filled the void.

Strange. I could have sworn I felt… No. Perhaps it's nothing.

Her blue eyes caught sight of a golden figure leaping from rooftop to rooftop. A Renamon! And it was coming right for her!

Too late to hide, she thought, bracing herself for a fight.

The Renamon vaulted up and then landed on the rooftop. Her piercing blue eyes fell upon Coronamon, but she made no move to attack her. Instead, she nodded.

"Hello," she said in a strangely pleasant tone.

"Uh, hi," Coronamon replied hesitantly.

"You do not need to be worried," the kitsune assured her. "I am looking for someone, but you are not they." She tilted her head and Coronamon had the strangest sense of concern coming from her. "Be on your guard, there is an IceBeelzemon in the city and he is extremely dangerous to everyone. The Tamers are looking for him, but it might be some time."

"An IceBeelzemon?!" Coronamon's eyes widened at the half familiar name, but the 'ice' part dampened her hopes that it could be her friend from the digital world. "O-Okay. Thank you for the warning."

The Renamon nodded to her. "If you find anything about him, there is a building to the west of here that has two towers. Would you report there?"

Coronamon briefly hesitated, uncertain at first as to what the Renamon spoke about before remembering that such a building existed near the bakery Calumon took her too. She quickly nodded.

"Thank you," Renamon bowed politely. With one final visual inspection of her surroundings, she vaulted away and rapidly disappeared from view. Coronamon released a sigh of relief, but she still felt ill at ease. An IceBeelzemon! In the real world!

Well, I knew even the dangers of the digital world could find their way here. The Tamers are looking for it to preserve the peace and protect others. I should help do my part.

She furrowed her brow. Something nagged at the back of her mind. Could Calumon have been caught and absorbed by that IceBeelzemon?

"Calumon!" she cried out in horror. Immediately, she bounded off in the direction of the bakery.

7