Finally, school is over and I have been writing for close to five days straight to get this chapter out XD I won't talk long because I'm sure the majority of you guys are sick of waiting for my slow butt, but I just want to say thank you to those of you who wait for each of these chapters (even if you're not patient haha). Now that summer is here and I've reached a pretty intense part of the story (or at least for me because I've been waiting for these next few chapters since the beginning haha) so I hope that I'll be able to get these next few out soon.

But anyway, please enjoy this chapter! Please leave a review if you've got the time, I always love reading them!

Chapter 11: Poor Unfortunate Souls

A dream about both everything and nothing haunted me for a few passing moments, before I realized that Dracomon was trying to get my attention. "Hm?" I murmured something incoherent as I sprung awake, the sound of various kinds of music confusing me. Where was I? Mrs. Sasaki never played this kind of classical music at home, unless she'd had a sudden change of heart regarding it.

Then, as I began to wake up a bit more, I looked around and my confusion faded: I was still at school. The music I'd been hearing both in and out of my dream had been made by the band members—all of whom were currently glaring at me with an unbelievable amount of disdain for having fallen asleep in their club room. Blushing, I sat up and tried to pretend that I had never been sleeping in the first place. Though, since some grogginess was holding on, my lie wasn't very convincing.

"I was asking if you were okay, until I realized that you weren't saying anything because you were sleeping," Dracomon told me, a slight teasing smile in his voice. I wasn't surprised that he had been trying to ask me that with what had happened today. Like always, everything I'd planned had gone down the drain, completely pulverized, but this time…I mean, it had taken me forever to actually figure out, so…

"…I just can't believe that he's not here today," I said, hesitantly this time, for what had to be the third time in the past hour. It made perfect sense, perfectly inhumane sense: the day after I decided for sure that I was going to tell Damon how I felt, he skipped school. Figuring I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up like I had, I sighed and looked down at my feet. Maybe he'd come tomorrow, and then…maybe…

Feeling my nose start to run again, I got up from my windowsill seat in the music room and went over to my bag. I had to dig around for a little bit to find some tissues, but after I found them I went back to my spot and blew my nose as quietly as possible. When I'd first gotten here, it had been made extremely clear that the music students wanted no part of me or my cold, but they were unable to think of a better way to get me out of their practice room other than by saying "Get out."

Unexpectedly, they were too 'kind' for that.

At the moment, they were having some issues with a new song, and had split up into several groups depending on their instruments to practice their various parts. It sounded a little odd when they were playing separately, but when they pieced everything together after some time alone, the tune sounded very promising. If my hunch was right, they would probably know every note and rhythm by heart in the next three or so practices.

But the music really wasn't holding my attention like I'd been hoping it would. Since Damon wasn't here, I obviously had no reason to hide like usual—however, since I'd apparently gotten myself all worked up over nothing, I had come here for a bit of comfort. I sighed again and leaned back against the chilly glass, a distant rumble of thunder threatening me from outside. Why isn't he here…?

I glanced at my Digivice again. "I have half a mind to call him, you know," I murmured to Dracomon, shaking my head at how foolish my decision had been from the start. But really, he was hardly ever gone and only had been maybe once or twice in the whole year I'd been going to this school. It wasn't DATS business either, or else I would've been called in, too. "And I mean, I would, if not for…you know…"

The biggest drawback to my little idea was that I wasn't completely sure if I would have the same painful reaction to hearing his voice over the phone as I would talking to him in person. Not to mention how horribly embarrassing it would be to stumble over my words and end up making awkward silences during whatever conversation took place. I shouldn't have even been talking to Dracomon right then because of all the other people around, but I couldn't help it…

Dracomon had started talking to me again this morning, as if nothing had happened to cause him to give me the cold shoulder. How could I not talk with him? Especially when I had no idea if something I said or did might drive us apart again.

"It's weird that he's not here, Sumi-chan," Dracomon responded quietly, trying not to draw too much more attention to us. Apparently it was better for people to think that I was crazy than for anyone to know Digimon existed. "Maybe a head-cold or something from not sleeping well, like what you have. I don't see why he'll be gone for two whole days though, so try not to feel too down about it." He nodded to himself as if his statement was some kind of undeniable truth.

I smiled briefly, but it was broken up by an unexpected round of coughing. This would've been all right, if not for the fact that I had to try to be quiet to keep from infuriating the music students too much more than I already had. I really didn't want to get kicked out so easily though, so I continued attempting to put up with it.

Dracomon, less used to seeing ill humans, was a touch more concerned than I was. "Are you okay? You sound like Raremon." I chuckled at his words, but was quickly silenced by another handful of coughs. Unable to speak, I nodded; however, the green dragon seemed unconvinced. "Okay, I guess, Sumi-chan. But when you're walking around with a vomit bucket like on the television, don't say I didn't warn you."

Shaking my head, I scolded the creature with a grin, "You watch too much TV." Dracomon and Mrs. Sasaki were both fans of several sitcoms and soap operas, and often spent their together-time watching their various shows. It was both amazing and annoying how many times a day he was able to reference something that he watched. I rarely caught these jokes, however, so he probably made even more than I realized.

"I watch just en—" He stopped abruptly, his head turning toward the window. For a moment I thought something very wrong had happened to the Digivice since it seemed like he wasn't moving a single bit, but this was not the case. After a moment or two, Dracomon murmured in a very serious tone, still staring hard at the window, "I think I feel something coming."

I stared at the Digivice, unsure whether to be afraid or not. "What do you mean? Like a…Digimon?" I glanced around to make sure that no one had heard me say that word, but they were all busy with their music. When I turned back to Dracomon, he was nodding his head in an ominous sort of way. "What?! But…where? Like…coming here?"

Again he nodded. "But I don't know for sure what it is. It's either a lot of normal Digimon or one really powerful one. And I don't know which one I'd want it to be. How about you?" He looked up at me, appearing far less concerned all of a sudden. I stared at him with my mouth slightly agape, wondering how it could be possible for someone to not see any danger in the impending situation.

"Wha—I—It doesn't matter which one I want! It's which one's coming that's important!" Without thinking about how odd it would look, I jumped to my feet, Digivice in hand, and stared out the window as if it had poked me with something sharp. Unsurprisingly, I saw nothing out of the ordinary—the clouds weren't even forming any interesting shapes.

Trying to seem inconspicuous, I went over to my bag and started to rummage through it for my phone. Maybe DATS was picking up on something and they just hadn't called yet. Unless they weren't getting any trace of it because of the Holy Ring interfering again. "Dracomon, are you sure you can't tell me what you're sensing?" I started to dig a little more anxiously. Why wasn't I finding my phone?

I heard the sound of the window sliding open and stopped dead. "Um, Gekomon, Sumi-chan. About five now—but I think I hear more." Spinning around, I couldn't believe what I saw. Five—way more than five, actually—green frog-like creatures with brass horns twisted about their necks had opened the window that I'd been sitting at and were streaming in like some kind of plague. Their bulbous eyes were filled with delight as they bounced about the room.

As these noisy creatures, with all their croaking and shouts of excitement, were impossible to miss, the students stared at them in shock and horror. A handful dropped their instruments and fled screaming from the room, while the others flocked together and tried not to stand out. Every person in the room seemed to be terrified that they would be eaten or mauled by the Gekomon, though I doubted that was the goal of the relatively small creatures.

My heart pounding, I watched as they ran from instrument to instrument and investigated them all with fervor. They argued amongst themselves from time to time, but they spoke too fast for me to catch what they were talking about. Each one tested out an instrument, but if they didn't like the sound they went on to another and whoever liked the sound continued to make it (though all the sounds they made were awful). The creatures even tried to get the music students to keep playing by making encouraging croaking noises.

In no time, the room was filled with the screeches of violins and the moans and groans of trumpets, tubas, and horns. The pianist, with a Gekomon on each side of him, was reluctantly poking the keys to keep from being harassed by croaks. It was becoming more and more obvious that the Gekomon had only come for the music—probably not all the way from the Digital World, though—and wanted nothing more than to hear it. I figured they might even be willing to chat with me as long as I didn't start any trouble or scare them any.

This would be really good for the Digimon-human friendship issue if everyone else wasn't so scared… I thought for few moments about what I could do to dilute some of their fear, but the solution I thought of was not one I was willing to follow through with. But with no other ideas, I went about making it happen, hating myself for even having thought of it.

Face hot and palms sweaty, I exchanged a glance with Dracomon. He seemed to sense that I was going to try to befriend the Gekomon, and the teal beast nodded. I bobbed my head once in return, then took a few steps forward and started to be musical in the only way I knew how. But I hadn't expected everyone to stop and stare at me the moment I started to sing.

I felt a strong urge to stop, but I forced my anxious self on despite how scratchy my sick singing voice sounded:

"I've heard there was a secret chord

"That David played and it pleased the Lord

"But you don't really care for music, do you?

"It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth,

"The minor fall, the major lift,

"The baffled king composing Hallelujah—

"Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah."

For a moment, while I was singing alone, I thought that my efforts were for nothing as no one was making any kind of response, not even the Digimon. I started to trail off during the 'Hallelujah's, but then the pianist and I locked gazes for a split second. Something passed between us that neither of us really understood, but then he set his jaw and began to play the melody for me.

I couldn't remember ever being so thankful for another human being before. His actions set the whole room into motion, and before I knew it, the other students were beginning to let go of some of their fear and join in on the song. The Gekomon, now less rowdy, gazed at the various musicians and croaked with delight, which actually made some of the students laugh.

Encouraged by this, I went on in a slightly stronger voice. After some experimental ribbitting noises, a few of the Gekomon even tried to join me in singing the melody of the song. My throat still felt scratchy, and I prayed that I wouldn't ruin everything by having a cough-attack. But something seemed to be holding it off, and everything was fine until the third stanza.

As I was finishing up the refrain, I heard the door open somewhere behind me. A very tense sensation came over me without warning. It felt as if whoever had come in was staring at me, and not just for singing in the middle of a room filled with large frog-monsters. I stumbled over a few of the words when whoever it was began to sing along with great gusto.

I spun around, only to see a rather normal-looking teenage boy wearing something similar to our male school uniform…but he was definitely not from around here. He was much taller than me, like Damon was, and built very much like said teen—uncannily so. His dirty blond hair hung in his eyes a little, but it didn't appear to bother him. His lip ring caught the light when he moved his lips.

Lacking all shyness, he came over to me and continued to sing along, but his addition felt different than when the others had joined in. Perhaps it was because he felt much more like a stranger than the others—after all, I'd never seen him before in my life, and yet he was acting as if we'd been friends for months. I only knew one thing for sure, and that was that he was really making me uncomfortable.

This nameless boy's strange purple eyes stared at me while we sang, but not like a normal person would. It was like looking at a painting of a person instead of a real one, the way that his eyes radiated emotion and meaning to me. The feeling was not as pleasant as studying a painting, not by a longshot, but it was impossible to get away from him without disturbing the Gekomon, so I did my best to ignore that he was there as the song drew to a close:

"Maybe there's a god above,

"And all I ever learned from love

"Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you.

"And it's not a cry you can hear at night,

"It's not somebody who's seen the light,

"It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah—

"Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

"Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah…"

While everyone else went on to sing another song and make a few more laughter-filled memories, I hurried over to my bag to try to find my phone again. I hoped that boy would join the others and leave me alone, that maybe he'd been staring at me for some little reason and I'd read too deeply into his inhuman gaze. But my wishes were denied.

My heart trembled when I felt someone standing behind me. Still on my knees, I turned partially around to look up at the same blond I'd been hoping not to see. He smiled when I glanced up at him, but his friendliness didn't make me feel much better. "Hey, I've seen you around a few times, and I was wondering…" My fingers abandoned the search for my phone, and I shot to my feet without it. "You're Masumi Nemoto, right?"

"Chano," I corrected without emotion. Stranger or not, I wasn't going to waste politeness getting that surname right. I let my voice become more pleasant as I responded, "I'm sorry, but I don't remember meeting you. What's your name?" He didn't seem very upset at learning that someone he could recognize well had no clue who he was.

Still smiling, he told me, "Call me Kouki. I've been here about a week or two…" He continued talking from there, and eventually led me over to sit with him at the window I'd been by before. Kouki told me a bit more about himself without my having asked, as if he wanted to be sure that I understood completely why I'd never seen him before, as if he'd been expecting it. Some of the things he said didn't make sense, but he went on too quickly for me to ask for clarification.

Whenever I could I threw in a question, ranging from where he went to school before to when his birthday was. I knew by now that he was not attending this school—he would've had a proper uniform by now if he'd been here for as long as he claimed. The blond had also told me his supposed class schedule three times, each one quite different from the others. It was obvious Kouki was lying, but why?

The way that he'd stared before paired with this current deceit, and his sudden arrival…it was not natural, and definitely not a coincidence. I wasn't sure what he was hiding from me or what he was trying to do, but I wanted to know, so I pushed back my initial discomfort and continued talking with him. But as our conversation went on, I began to regret my decision.

After telling me that some hobbies he enjoyed were running and bird—or people—watching, he asked the same of me, "What do you like to do? Other than judo, I mean." My stomach froze and dropped down through the floor. He can't know about judo…The only one here who should know about that is Damon! The boy, seated very close to me on the windowsill, watched my face like a predator—except I could sense no aggression, only intensity and a strange kind of awe.

Against my better judgment, I continued to play along. But I had to ask: "Where did you hear that I took judo?" I turned my eyes on him and searched his face while he processed my question. Kouki seemed taken aback, like he'd never thought that I would find that tidbit strange, or even pick up on it at all. I slipped my Digivice into my pocket and held it tightly. I could hear Dracomon growling.

"Huh?" Kouki cocked his head, his blond bangs flopping to the side. "What's with you getting all defensive? Anyways, if you have to know, I was talking to some girl about who you were when I first got here and she mentioned it." His expression sassily asked me 'Happy?', and I smiled, pretending to accept his explanation. But it was most definitely a lie.

My confidence in that faltered for a moment, though, and falling into another coughing fit gave me time to think. Maybe I had mentioned it to someone else, but just in passing so that it didn't stick in my memory. Or maybe Damon had talked about me to one of his friends—however unlikely that was—and that friend had tossed the tidbit of information elsewhere. Was I suspicious of him for no reason?

Kouki seemed to pick up on my moment of uncertainty. Something flashed across his face for a millisecond, but was gone just as quickly. Whatever it was, the thought or emotion brought him to grab my hand. Like before when he was staring at me, there was no real violence to be found in his face or gestures. But there was something very, very inhuman about the way he looked at me so resolutely.

And he had grabbed at the hand with the Holy Ring.

My fear bringing me to react quickly, I ripped my hand from his and started to back away. Kouki seemed confused by my unexpected onset of fear, and stood up to follow me like a puppy that didn't understand it had done something wrong. "What's the issue? Did I say something?" He seemed legitimately concerned, but I ignored that. I didn't like how he made me doubt myself; I wanted someone from DATS down here.

Was there a chance that this was some overly eccentric guy that really wanted to know me? Sure. But then again, I wouldn't put it past any Digimon to hide their true form like this in order to get closer to the Holy Ring. After all, Arukenimon had. Thomas had been right before, I did have to be more careful. And I was going to start by playing my cards as well as I could right here.

"No," I replied calmly, wandering over to the piano and putting it between the two of us. The pianist looked up at the two of us, appearing to share my discomfort. A Gekomon was sitting next to him, but the creature stared only at Kouki. "But I'd rather you didn't touch me without asking. And I have to go, too.

"But if you want to talk more, I'll go out somewhere with you. If you want." I watched his face carefully. My plan was to take him to that café that Yoshi, Megumi, and Miki had treated me at. There were normally a decent number of people there, and if I let DATS know what I was doing, a few officers might be able to hide away in the crowds as backup. I was sure that if Kouki and I talked long enough, he would slip up again, maybe betray his reason for being so interested in me.

There was no restraint in his eyes. Letting his guard down completely due to my compliance, Kouki readily agreed, saying, "Sure, yeah, that sounds good." He nodded and nodded and continued circling the piano with me, casting me a sharp smile as I explained where I wanted us to meet. Not once did Kouki try to convince me to go somewhere else, nor did he ask why I was so specific about where and when I wanted to talk.

I was about to pause and ask him to sit down with me for another quick minute when he gave a small playful laugh. Leaping up and sliding across the piano, he touched down barely an inch from me. I shot back with a gasp. Despite my moment of panic, I knew that Kouki had only been teasing me, but my heart was still beating uncontrollably fast.

Darting to the other side of the piano once more, I jumped back into the conversation to distract him. However, I didn't think about the next thing that I said until it was too late. "And if you want, I could bring a friend of mine along. If you've heard of me, then you should know that Damon guy I hang around with a little, and I think you two might—"

"No!" The entire room started when Kouki almost shouted. I locked eyes with him tensely, unsure exactly what part of my suggestion he was so incredibly repulsed by. He was staring at me with next to no clue as to my perception of what he had done. Apparently still feeling offended, the blond grumbled, "It should just be you and I, like you said before. Don't you think?" His gaze did not once waver.

If any Gekomon had remained when he came in, they had certainly disappeared now after his outburst. The window they had departed through was still hanging open, and the wind was creeping in to make itself at home. It blew sheets of music and other various papers around the room, as well as ruffling peoples' clothes and chilling the lot of us, but no one tried to catch the papers or made a move to close the window. All eyes were on Kouki and me.

"I don't care either way," I said with a carefree tone, or at least as carefree as I could manage at the moment. My heart was pounding deafeningly in my ears and my stomach ached, feeling sick and hot like I was about to vomit everywhere. I rubbed my sweaty palms on my skirt as inconspicuously as I could, but they still felt too warm and damp.

There was a moment of silence where even the wind had quieted, listening intently for Kouki's next response. "I didn't mean to get mad. I just don't think it will be as nice with anyone but the two of us." With that, he started to walk toward the door. He opened it and had just started to walk through when he paused halfway and called back to me, "You said you had to go before, so I may as well head out first. See you later, Masumi." A final doggish smile was shot in my direction before he disappeared.

Another few second of silence descended upon the now quite cold room. Everyone's eyes were still on me, but I hoped by ignoring them they would stop, just as I was hoping that if I waited long enough my trembling fingers would still. To distract myself, I tiptoed over to the window and gently shut it, feeling a bit more secure when it clicked closed.

…What in the world had just happened, anyway?

My closing the window must've triggered something in the other students, because the moment I shut it and started moving back to my spot to gather my things, everyone jumped at me at once. Surrounded by about ten frightened and chattering musicians all trying to get me to explain and give answers to forty different questions at once, I stuck myself to the wall in surprise and discomfort. Once again, I was hoping that time would bring everything some calm.

However, there was one thing that surprised me more than the fact that they had sprung at me like this. All their questions, no matter who asked or what the topic of the inquiry was, had some level of concern and worry over me in them. Had Kouki really freaked them out that badly that they thought he was trying to hurt me or maybe kidnap me or something?

I suddenly felt very, very ill thinking about that possibility, and forced it out of my head.

When they finally had talked themselves silly and were trying to catch their startled breaths, I began to mumble some responses, but the first thing I said had nothing to do with anything that they said: "Um…I thought you guys didn't like me. Why were you so concerned?" I hadn't thought that my question was that hard, but it certainly stumped most of them for a good minute or two.

Eventually a girl in the back of the pack spoke up. "Well, you're still a person even if you're annoying sometimes—and you know, while we're at it, you shouldn't be in here when we're trying to practice! Nonmembers aren't really allowed in here! Never have been!" For the most part, her voice held little conviction and I was quite sure that she wouldn't do anything if I were to come back. But the first part of her statement struck me, and despite everything else, I smiled a little.

Letting the question go, I explained to them a little bit about what had happened, but left the Digimon's appearances as vague as possible. I planned to let the students mull it over on their own time. I had no idea what they would come up with on their own, but it was still better than revealing everything. And I didn't have a memory eraser—nor would I ever use one—so that wasn't an option.

Several minutes had gone by before my fellow students had finally asked me all the questions they had and spilled out every worry and fear they experienced during my entire ordeal with Kouki. Apparently not one person from the whole group had ever seen him before, nor had anyone felt any comfort in his presence whatsoever. Someone even said that to them he felt more like another Gekomon than a weird stranger.

We talked for a bit longer and I shared a few of my fears during the entire happening as well. But after another few minutes all the students calmed enough that they could go back to working on their respective pieces. I wasn't surprised when, despite being a bit more open to having me in the room with them, several students suggested very heavily that I start getting ready to go home.

Taking the hint (like I could miss it), I went over to my bag and started to pack up. The process didn't take long, and I was out the door and heading down the hallway toward the staircase in the next five minutes. The moment I was out of earshot of anyone else, I took up my Digivice and murmured a little weakly, "I really wish that hadn't happened…"

"You should've let me out if you were feeling uncomfortable!" My Digimon scolded me immediately, his brows furrowed and pointy teeth showing. For a second, his ferocity surprised me. Had Kouki offended him that much? "He shouldn't have touched your hand, and I would've made him remember that if you would have let me out in time." I smiled for a second. But then, as my nose grew stuffy again, I buried my face in a tissue. Ugh, so much snot…

I sniffled and tossed the used tissue into a nearby garbage bin. "Yeah," I consented in an ill voice, "but you probably would've scared the others more than the Gekomon did." Even though, in my mind, it was hard to believe that a little dragon would be more frightening than a bunch of freaky looking frogs. I mean, the dragon would be a lot easier to get used to.

As I started to walk down the steps, I noticed Dracomon shrugging. "They'd get over it one day, I'm sure. You did, so I assume other humans would, too." I would've laughed at his little quip had I not felt a horrible, piercing pain stab into my skull like a dull blade. The unexpectedness of this nearly brought me to trip and fall down the rest of the stairs. Gasping, I dropped down on the closest step and grabbed at my head, panicked despite how familiar I should've been with this kind of pain.

"Masumi?"

I looked up with a grimace only to see Damon, Yoshi, and Thomas hurrying up the stairs toward me. The three of them were all dressed up in their DATS uniforms; Yoshi and Thomas had their Digivices in hand. Confused and with a hand still held to my pounding head, I stared at them, unsure what to ask and unable to get my mouth to move. They're here…? Why?

When they got to me, Yoshi and Thomas knelt at my side while Damon leaned down near my face. I stared up at him the entire time, fighting back the blinding pain so I could ask, "You…were at work?" After psyching myself up so much yesterday, staying awake half the night worrying about how I would get him alone, and how I might not be able to find the right words when I did finally get him to myself…and he was at work instead of school today?

Damon, completely missing the fact that I was actually very bothered by this, smirked and laughed a bit at my expression. "Missed me, huh?" Yoshi rolled her eyes and shook her head at the brunet's words. She cast me a 'just ignore him' glance that would've made me smile if Damon wasn't so close and hadn't been causing me so much unexplainable agony. Thomas wasn't even fazed by the brunet's taunt.

Miffed, I immediately responded, "No." Damon scowled, and that response made me feel a little bit better. "I guess, you…you just normally don't miss school and I didn't understand where you were." I had to admit, his little joke was beginning to sound more and more like the truth the longer I tried to explain myself. "I…I was just confused if I was supposed to be at work or what was going on…"

My face reddened when I realized that none of them thought I was being honest. Nobody came right out and said that they didn't believe me, but it was pretty easy to see on their faces. Thomas and Yoshi eyed each other with a 'yeah, sure' sort of glance, while Damon kept on smiling proudly. I wanted to be mad—and I was, for the most part—but it was difficult to focus on anything other than the intense throbbing in my head.

About to repeat my question in a more convincing manner, Thomas cut in and informed me, "We were all supposed to meet at headquarters for the greater part of the morning, mainly to discuss how there have been several short energy surges here and there within the city—meaning that Digimon have been appearing, but then leaving a few minutes afterward. I tried to contact you but you never picked up your phone."

My heart stopped. I stared at him. "But…" I had my phone in my bag with me, and had all day. I have it…right? Thinking back, I never actually did find it when I was looking for the little device before with Kouki. A sick, sinking sensation twisting my stomach, I dragged my bag over to me and began to tear through it again. But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find that cell phone. I uttered a small, frightened sound.

Throughout that whole episode with Kouki, I'd comforted myself with the knowledge that I could always contact one of the other DATS officers for some help, but…

Rubbing my temples and trying not to think about Kouki or his haunting grin, I completely forgot I wasn't alone. Yoshi laid a gentle hand on mine to bring me back to them, and I suddenly realized why they were here: the Gekomon. Knowing I must be correct and that there was really no other good reason for them to be here, I began, "You guys are here for those Gekomon things, right?"

While Thomas nodded, a little taken aback by my frightened face—since they obviously had no idea why I was scared—Damon knelt between him and Yoshi, elbowing his way closer to me. His eyes, which had been intentionally distant before, softened as the street fighter became aware of my fear. "Hey, what's with you?" His words didn't sound concerned, but his tone lead me to believe that he was at least a little bit worried about me.

My face grew hot and I looked away from him. I figured I should tell them; after all, I'd already started to by asking about the Gekomon. Knowing I couldn't back out anymore, I sighed and resigned myself to explaining everything that had happened. But I conveniently left out the part about asking Kouki if I should bring a certain hazel-eyed friend with me. I didn't want to give Damon another thing to tease me about.

However, the three of them reacted very strangely when I mentioned the name of the mysterious boy who had joined me in distracting the Gekomon. Their faces erupted into shock and even some horror, each of them exclaiming, "What?!" as if I had just said something entirely impossible. I blinked, wondering what the problem could be.

But Damon's reaction had to be the most surprising.

While Thomas tried to get me to describe what this Kouki guy looked like and Yoshi stared at my face blankly, Damon was making an expression that was very difficult to decipher. Not only was he glaring at me as if something I said had offended his deepest virtues, but his face was scrunched up and scowling like a dog that just smelled something intensely despicable. Never before had I seen him make a face quite like that. I was unsure if I'd seen anyone with such an expression.

Damon pointed a long finger at me. "Cover your ears right now." The three of us looked at him as he rose to his feet, that expression still on his face. Yoshi was about to ask what he thought he was doing when he held up his other hand. Still pointing at me, he said, "Just do it, all right? It's about to get very offensive and I don't want you to hear."

I reluctantly did as he asked. I wasn't sure I understood his reasoning or his purpose for having me do this, but I assumed based on that look alone that I should listen to him. But I should've asked him why before I complied because the second my hands were over my ears, Damon bellowed Kouki's name with such rage and indignation that I could've sworn the very walls of the school trembled in fright.

The moment he started shouting, I instinctively crumpled into myself as if bracing for a calamity. No one in the world would've known that he was going to do that—except Thomas, who didn't look surprised in the least—so I couldn't be blamed for not having anticipated this outcome. To be fair though, I wasn't quite as shocked when his shouting combined with some swearing. Well, a lot of swearing, actually.

That must've been the offensive part.

Unsure what else to do, I explained the rest of the Gekomon issue (as Damon had gone off on his hunt for Kouki without letting me go through everything—nor had anyone hinted at why he had gone looking for the strange boy in the first place). Out of habit at this point, I still held my hands over my ears. I could hear every word Damon shouted, of course, but it made me feel less violated to have my ears covered.

Thomas and Yoshi did their best to focus on what I was telling them, but it was hard when we could hear Damon encountering and bothering people every now and then. I even heard some girls make the mistake of telling him to be quiet, only to be growled at by the angry and intimidating teen. I could still hear them shrieking in fright as Yoshi mumbled to who I assumed was me, "Stuff like that makes it hard to believe that he's got a big heart."

"But yeah," I finished up after a minute more of rambling, "the Gekomon have been gone for maybe fifteen or twenty minutes now. Same with Kouki." This revelation brought the remaining two DATS members to sigh. Now that I was done I reflected on the conversation and figured I should've started with that, but I knew the majority of this would've happened either way.

Primarily Damon going off shouting about Kouki and Thomas being irritated over wasting so much of time.

Sighing again, Thomas got to his feet. "Well, that's not good. They can't be left to wander around the human world on their own; it'll cause a panic if they're seen or if they attack anything." The blond started up the stairs at a jog. My headache fading the farther away Damon got, I turned and watched Thomas go with a bit more focus. "I'll get Marcus and start taking a look around the vicinity."

As he disappeared in the direction of Damon's voice, I turned back to Yoshi. She was shaking her head slightly, and I smiled despite myself. The magenta-haired girl always seemed so unenthused by everything that her male companions did, and her responses to their various quirks often made me laugh. But my smile faded as quickly as it had come when I remembered Kouki once again.

I thought to ask Yoshi about him and why the three of them had reacted to his name so animatedly, but I was interrupted by another coughing fit, this one a touch worse than the others. I thought I heard someone asking if I was all right about midway through my little attack, but not only was I uncertain who had asked me that, I was also unable to respond for obvious reasons.

When I was able to breathe again, Yoshi took charge and stood up, saying, "You don't sound well enough to give us a hand with the Gekomon, so while those two are arguing about the proper way to look for a creep, I'm going to drive you home." Without another world, Yoshi took my light bag and flung it over her shoulder. She didn't even try to get me to follow, she just started taking it downstairs toward the main door.

"Umm…" I raised my hand as one would to get a teacher's attention, glancing back at the top of the stairs where I had last seen both of the boys. Should we really go without letting them in on what we were doing? Yoshi did drive pretty fast most times and the route back to my home wasn't too long, so maybe it was okay…? I wasn't sure. However, Yoshi paid no mind to me and kept walking.

Since I could no longer see her and only knew where she was by the sound of her heels on the floor, I figured it was best that I listen to her and let her deal with the others later. Jumping up, I stumbled down the stairs behind her after making sure that we hadn't left anything—other than the other two officers, I guess—behind. The last thing I wanted to do was make another mistake and forget something important like I had apparently done with my phone this morning.

We were relatively quiet until we got to the main door, primarily because I'd been thinking of the best way to ask her about Kouki. She seemed to have noticed a while ago that I was mulling something over and had resigned herself to waiting until I had decided on what I wanted to say. However, I took a while to find the right words, and finally began to conversations when we reached the squad car.

Not that it came out like I planned, of course. "Yoshi?" She looked over at me while turning the car key, the engine beginning to rumble, as if the storm had followed us into the car. "…Who do you think Kouki is that you all reacted like that?" My voice came out much weaker than I wanted, but in my defense, my head still bothered me from being so close to Damon for so long. That pain was definitely progressing, becoming worse and worse every time I encountered it.

But it was still a little embarrassing, so I busied myself with opening my window, grateful for the chilly breeze now.

Yoshi grew quiet for a minute, allowing the sounds of the engine and the wind blowing against the car to fill the silence between us for a block or two. Then she asked, "Did Marcus or Thomas ever tell you about the Bio-Hybrids?" I didn't have to think about it, I knew I'd never heard that word before. I had only been told the essentials of the fight against Kurata, Belphemon, and King Drasil, but nothing more, and almost nothing in great detail.

After I shook my head, Yoshi took a deep breath to prepare herself. "Well, to make a long story short, they were three people who Kurata gave the ability to turn into Digimon. One of them was named Kouki, and that was why Thomas wanted you to tell us what this guy you met today looked like: he wanted to know if they were the same person.

"And…" she gripped the steering wheel tighter for a second, "…it seems that they are." Yoshi paused for a few seconds, apparently steeling herself again, before continuing in a much harder voice, "Two of them, Nanami and Ivan, seemed to have 'decent' reasons for following Kurata's orders to hunt the Digimon. But Kouki…it was all like a sport for him or something. It was sick. They all were.

"And it wasn't just Digimon they were trying to kill either. They made several moves at the Commander—not to mention the rest of our team, people and Digimon alike." Yoshi took a few deep, slow breaths, the bad memories slowly getting her worked up. I watched her calm down with a mixture of concern and curiosity. Had those three really been so horrible as to bring about such emotions in Yoshi even after a year to recover?

Then again, I wasn't one to talk. Not with how most of my relationships, whether between family members or friends, had gone.

When the worst of her anger had subsided she went on, but in a way that I hadn't expected: "I assume you're a little more interested in why Marcus reacted like he did, though." She looked over at me to confirm her suspicions, and took my blushing as a 'yes'. "It would probably be better for him to talk to you about this, but since you can't be around him for more than ten seconds at a time I'll do my best. Mainly because his reasons don't make much rational sense and I'll have to translate.

"I don't know what really happened between them to cause this, but whenever we ran into those three Kouki always went after Marcus. Some kind of rivalry thing, or whatever. But because of all that, Marcus would know firsthand how dangerous and twisted Kouki is—how he'd go after Digimon and fight them just to cause pain. And when you said he grabbed your hand…"

A red traffic light stood out like blood against the black sky, and we slowed to a stop before it. I stared at Yoshi's serious face, hardly breathing. She turned to face me, a steely light in her eyes. As she began to speak, a small breeze came in through the open passenger window and ruffled our hair. "If someone like that was following Marcus around, what would you do?"

Face burning, I averted my gaze and angled it toward the floor. I wrung my trembling hands absentmindedly, wondering something I really never had before: what would I do if Damon was in that kind of trouble? Obviously I would do something, but…would I be brave enough, or bold enough, to go running after the offender the moment I heard his name? I wanted to be, but how could a person know for sure?

I drew up my legs and wrapped my arms around them. Nodding, I murmured as my heart went on throbbing with a mixture of adrenaline and embarrassment, "If I could…I'd like to think I would do something like what he did…" When we started to drive forward again, I rolled up the window for something to do. I didn't want to meet Yoshi's eye, too nervous to see her reaction to my response.

But when she spoke again, I heard a smile in her voice. "I think it'll be very interesting to see how you and Marcus get along when you get your memories back." Yoshi turned to smirk at my red face. "And just so you know, Miki and Megumi started a bet after leaving the café yesterday. It's to see which of you two will start saying 'I love you' first." I stared at her, barely comprehending what had been said to me.

When it really started to sink in though, I made a small terrified noise and buried my face in my knees, trying to pretend I hadn't heard. Yoshi laughed at me a little, but I wasn't in a state to fight back at this point. Just thinking about Damon and I ever reaching a point where that would even be a possible topic…I could hardly imagine it without my heart flying into a panic.

Hoping to get away from that conversation, I interjected between her snickers, "C-can…can we just talk about the Kouki thing? Because I was being serious about going to that café to interrogate him more." That definitely cut Yoshi's giggle short. She fell into thought again like at the beginning of our drive, her grip occasionally gripping the steering wheel a little tighter as she pondered over several things.

After she had thought for a few minutes more, Yoshi admitted with a small sigh, "It would be good to do, yeah…" She stared out the windshield, appearing conflicted. "But at the same time, it just seems too weird that he'd be all over you like that. He must be after the Holy Ring or something, because nothing else really makes sense, you know?" I nodded and added briefly that I had thought that as well when the blond had first appeared.

Yoshi thought for a bit longer, weighing all the pros and cons of going through with the idea—especially since the Commander wasn't back from his big meeting yet, so we couldn't throw it by him and get his thoughts on the matter. I tossed around the possible situations as well, wondering if Kouki could pose any threat to others if I accidentally angered him, or if he started to show aggression and DATS had to step in to detain him.

The two of us went over a number of different topics in our heads for the rest of the drive, but we came back to the conversations when Yoshi slowed to a stop in front of my house. I was the first to break the silence. "I think that as long as you guys are there as back-up then it'll go over fine. I mean, if he's after the Holy Ring then we have to figure out why, right?" I absentmindedly twirled that very same gold band as I spoke.

Reluctantly, Yoshi nodded. "I'll let the other two know." We quickly discussed a few more of the interrogation's details, including some of the questions I should ask and when it should be. However, we had hesitantly agreed on one more variable that should be taken out of the equation. The only question left was whether or not he would do as he was asked and stay away from the meeting.

"And Damon's not going to be there, right?" I murmured with some embarrassment into my phone. This was probably my third time asking that question throughout the entire conversation I'd been having with Thomas, but it was still an important one. If Kouki did something Damon didn't like and he flipped out, he could very well cost us the entire mission. Not to mention…well…

He might distract me. In more ways than one, really.

A gust of wind swirled around me, making my yellow summer dress flutter around my legs like a bird's feathers. The weather was still terrible, the sky just as dark and menacing as it had been two days ago when I had first met Kouki. I was beginning to realize that this storm, which had been gathering for what was probably a week, was most definitely Digimon related. Of course, we couldn't be completely sure, but it was as good of a guess as any.

I rubbed my arms with my free hand, still holding on to my phone in the other. My cold was still fogging up my mind too much for me to have remembered to bring a jacket, and goosebumps had claimed my skin as their territory. Even so, the knowledge that the warmth of the café was growing nearer didn't console me much, not when I knew what else—or who else—was waiting there for me.

Thomas and Yoshi were both there though, too, and I tried to keep that in mind as the café came into sight. "In the building? No. But I'm sure he's nearby," Thomas told me. I picked up on a little irritation in his tone for the brunet's stubbornness, but he seemed to be giving Damon an unusual amount of slack this time. "It's good to have an extra set of eyes, I suppose. And I doubt we'd be able to get him to actually stay at HQ anyway."

I nodded even though the blond was unable to see me. "I suppose…" Looking around, I caught myself hoping that I would run into Damon before getting to the café's door. However, part of me realized that I would probably feel the pain of his presence before I actually saw or heard him. I sighed before realizing that Thomas could hear me.

Sensing the blond attempting to take my sigh in a direction I did not want him to, I instantly pretended that I hadn't done anything. As I hoped to avoid any more awkward conversations about Damon, I made a beeline for the end of the call. "I'll be there in a few minutes, so…" I trailed off, drawing to a stop about half a block away from the little shop with its bright orange flowers, now dimmed by the dark sky above us all. Still rubbing my arms, I stared down at the pavement, my heart feeling lost.

Thomas gave me a few tips regarding the impending interrogation that I paid no attention to, and he hung up after I forgot to respond. Placing the phone in my clutch bag, I caught sight of my Digivice and took it out for a moment. Dracomon looked back at me with some confidence, but it transformed into concern when I broke into another coughing fit, my cold still persisting and worsening. "Are you sure you're okay to do this? You didn't sleep much last night…"

Sniffling, I blew my nose before responding in a voice that was very easy to doubt, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I just…it's just a little cold out, so it's making me seem worse than I really am." Looking off in the direction of the café again, a sense of dread and fear washed over me like a freezing rain. Raising a shaking hand to my forehead, I whispered, "…B-but I have a really bad feeling about all this…I-I don't know why I'm so scared all of a sudden…"

Dracomon cocked his head. "You won't be alone, if that's what you're afraid of. Thomas and Yoshi are there, so you don't have to worry." I nodded, but Dracomon could tell that I wasn't exactly convinced. "Besides, if he starts creeping you out, I'll scare him off for you." As if to give me an example, he started making growling and snarling sounds from within the device, finishing it all up with a loud roar.

I started to nod absently again, thinking that Thomas would probably get quite mad at me if I allowed Dracomon to make such a ruckus in the middle of a heavily populated coffee shop. But, after I had decided that I wouldn't feel it today, my head began to pound in that familiar—but unpleasant and quite painful—way. Turning about, I nearly gasped when I saw Damon striding up to me.

His hair was windblown and he was dressed casually in an unzipped vest and sleeveless shirt. Weirdly enough, as he approached, I became alarmingly aware of just how much taller than me he really was. "Hey," the brunet said as he sidled up to me. "There a problem or somethin'? You should be in there making eyes at that scumbag, shouldn't you?" I felt his eyes skim over my fluttering dress and chilled skin. Was his face a little pink, or was I seeing things?

Damon sounded irritated and mad as all hell, but I had been around him long enough now to be able to tell that he wasn't mad at me. It sounded like he was, but we both knew that this was by no means a meeting for me to 'make eyes' at Kouki. Making a small scoffing sound, I responded without thinking for even a second, "Yeah, you're much more my t—I mean, I'd rather—I…oh…" I trailed off into sounds of horror and humiliation.

Like I normally had to do around this boy.

My spluttering didn't seem to faze Damon, though. "I'm not much of a coffee person," he said with a teasing smile. "But maybe we can talk more about how I'm your type some other time." Covering my increasingly red face with my hands, I found myself wondering why he was acting so much more friendly toward me. I mean, I'd cried in front of him the last time we'd had a real conversation, and now he was back to poking fun at me as if nothing had happened?

Doing my best to ignore the pain, I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye while he was still chuckling over my reaction. I wasn't sure, but I thought that there was a kind of…difference in his gaze compared to when we'd last been alone together. Looking again with a touch more focus, I fought back the fog clouding my mind and worked to decipher the little light that shone dimly in his eyes.

Was it determination? A dedication of sorts? Or something more expected, like…resignation? As if he had finally come to terms with the fact that I could not remember him no matter how hard I tried. This last thought pained me, and even more so because the longer I looked at him and the more my mind throbbed, the more correct the premise seemed to me. Maybe I never would remember him…was this light teasing all we'd ever be able to do with each other? Was there nothing more for us?

Too lost in too many emotions, I ran my fingers through my hair and started in a shuddering voice, "Damon, I-I don't think I can do this…" The boy's smile faded as he watched me fall into a small panic. Images of Kouki's fanged smile flashed again and again in my head, and I couldn't imagine a person foolish enough to willingly go and sit before that grin for hours on end. Just thinking about it—

My thoughts were cut short by Damon sighing and shrugging off his vest. I stared at him with unrivaled confusion, but that was quickly burned up when the brunet flung the fabric over my shoulders. The touch of his warm clothes stung my mind some, but that was nothing compared to the sudden jolt my heart suffered when I realized that Damon, still holding the collar of the vest, was standing as close to me as he could without actually touching me.

As it hurt my mind too much to look Damon in the eyes—not to mention I was too embarrassed and my cheeks too red—I stared instead at his chest, wishing unconsciously that I could nuzzle my face against him and ignore everything but his heartbeat. I felt Damon tug lightly on the collar of the vest, making sure it was snug. "You're a strong kid when you wanna be. Just warm up a bit and it'll be fine."

Surprised, I turned my eyes up to meet his. My brain pounded with agony and my heart skipped beat after beat after beat until I doubted that it was even truly thumping anymore, but I held his gaze. The heat from his vest tickled my arms, and although having his hands so close to me was painful, there was something about that very closeness that made me feel…safe, and calm.

I hadn't felt this way because of another person for a very, very long time.

I tried to scowl a little. "D-don't call me 'kid'. I'm not that much younger than you." After all, I would be the same age as him in a little less than two months. So, thankfully, the brunet would only have that much longer to boast about how much more mature and grown-up than me he was. But, in the next few seconds, I would learn that there was something he would always be able to taunt me about.

"Yeah, but you're short enough to be." Damon grinned and laughed at me again when I uttered an annoyed sound, his fingers still lightly holding the vest's scarlet collar. My face continued to burn and I averted my eyes from him, imagining that I could feel the very warmth of his laughter on my cheeks. I had next to no idea why his earlier words had comforted me so, but I was glad that they had.

I wasn't sure how long we stood like that, but it was long enough that people around us started to give us funny looks and my phone began to ring. Finally, with a few embarrassed and uncertain sounds, Damon and I separated. While he ran a hand through his hair and tried to find something other than me to look at, I clung to his vest, wrapping it very tightly around myself. Nuzzling my face against it, I found myself thinking of how much I'd missed his scent.

Blushing and quickly pulling myself away from that rather odd and silly little thought, I stammered quietly, "I-I should probably…" Unable to finish, I gestured in the direction of the café with several jabs and a number of head bobs. Damon caught on pretty quickly—not that doing so was hard when I was as jittery as I was—and with another few nods, I started away from him feeling both elated and downcast all at once.

"Masumi," A touch surprised, I stopped and turned back when Damon called out to me once more. I cocked my head slightly when I noticed that his face had become a little red, and he seemed anxious about meeting my gaze. He cleared his throat a time or two. After a few moments of waiting on my part and some preparation on his, Damon finally admitted, "You, uh, make me think of spring in that." He nodded at my dress. "It's nice."

Face red, I hurriedly looked away from the brunet. I could almost feel my heart gallivanting back over to him, and it was all I could do to keep the rest of my body from doing the same. The wild and blissful dreams of my heart, on the other hand, were impossible to stifle, and so I let them fog my mind and scorch my face. "Th-thank you…"

With that, I reluctantly turned from him and walked the rest of the way to the café in a small veil of warmth, and a little twinge of pain. I was too lost in that bubble to realize it then, but later I found it quite odd that Dracomon hadn't said a single word throughout that entire ordeal, nor did he bring anything up about it afterward. Honestly, it was weird for him.

Walking into the small coffee shop, I was once again struck by the various scents of sweets and hot drinks. It didn't take long to spot the three people I knew would be here: Kouki was at the table us four girls had sat at the last time I was here, while Thomas and Yoshi were stationed close—but not too much so—to that third guest.

Thomas's eyes bored red-hot holes into my shoulder—obviously noting the familiar vest—as I walked over to Kouki, who stood up to greet me as I neared. I wanted to think that I could explain to the prodigy why I was so much later than what I'd said I would be, but…no, I was not about to tell him that Damon and I had gotten ourselves into an emotional little snafu. No, that was for the two of us only. And kind of our Digimon. But mainly us.

Flashing me the very smile that I had been dreading, Kouki said with a little laugh, "You're kind of late." There was something in that laugh that made me think the violet-eyed boy knew exactly why I wasn't on time, but I did what I could to push that ugly feeling away for the moment. "But I don't mind. The important thing is that you're here, right?" He cast the vest a quick loathsome glance, but it was gone in the blind of an eye.

"Sure," I agreed with the faintest of smiles, not exactly sure how to respond. But, as it was already quite late in the afternoon, time was of the essence. If there was one thing I did not want at all, it was to be out at night with this boy. And so, I jumped right into the conversation I had promised him the moment I sat down.

"So, where exactly are you from? You mentioned before that you moved here recently, yeah?" This question was on the forefront of all of our minds, and I had been instructed again and again that it was imperative that I pay mind to every word that Kouki used. It was doubtful that he would actually leave hints in his statements, but on the other hand, he may accidentally drop one or two for me to pick up on if I was attentive enough.

Returning my friendly smile and leaning toward me across the table, Kouki reached toward my hand again. Pretending that I hadn't seen him going for it, I ran that very hand through my hair, but not before noting that he had in fact been after the arm with the Holy Ring. Maybe he really is after it. But why, then? What could he possibly need it for? He doesn't have his Digimon powers anymore, Yoshi said so…

Kouki was undeterred by my avoiding his grasp. I felt his foot touch mine beneath the table, as if he needed at least some contact to confirm that I was truly there. He then told me in a slightly hesitant voice, "I don't know if you've heard of it or not, since it's sort of a world all to itself." I cocked my head, drawn in by a curious distance in the blond's eyes. He seemed to have forgotten me for a moment in favor of recalling his home.

I'd never seen anyone switch between dreams quite that fast before, and it both intrigued and frightened me.

"I used to live in the mountains, right by one that was so tall it was as if it would tear right through the sky. I would run up it just because I could sometimes," he added with a small, maybe even homesick, laugh. "And there was a forest nearby, where sometimes in the winter the leaves would freeze and clink together in the breeze like little sparkling chimes…"

He trailed off into thought, something I hadn't expected in the least. I'd hoped he would've given me a country name if he wouldn't give me a city, but…Kouki hadn't given me anything! What could I get out of that other than it was a secluded, beautiful strip of country? How many places like that existed on earth? It certainly couldn't be anything less than several thousand per country, that was for sure.

"Um," I started, still doing my best to keep a confident but inviting smile on my face, "does that place that you're talking about have a name, though?" Kouki took a minute to realize I had said something, but when he did he merely laughed at the suggestion. Unsure what to do other than wait for him to elaborate on why he found my completely reasonable question so funny, I went on waiting.

After a moment or two of occasional snickers while he pondered what I'd asked, Kouki informed me, "It takes away the beauty of the world to give it a proper name, so different people call it different things depending on whatever strikes their fancy at any particular time. For example, I just call it home, because that's all it is to me: a home." He smiled again, but it was a different smile than the one he kept casting me. This expression was much kinder and more thoughtful.

And a bit pained, if my eyes weren't deceiving me.

Since I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get much more out of him, I transitioned to a new but partially related question: "If you loved the place as much as you seem to, why did you move here?" Kouki, who had been gazing at the table, looked up at me now with unsure and slightly fearful eyes. My heart hammered. What the hell was going on with him? This jittery, daydreaming boy before me seemed like a completely different person compared to the one who had approached me at school.

The blond stared at me for some time, a slowly building determination setting his face like stone. I had steadily been drawing inward, growing fearful of whatever his mind was pondering over so fretfully. When the boy's eyes finally focused on me and were no longer clouded by his thoughts, he showed me another smile. But this—

I gasped. His teeth, which had been normal enough before, were now sharp and pointed as a dog's.

I made a move to get up, but Kouki grabbed my hand before I could. Again, he'd grabbed the arm that had the Holy Ring. "Please, just stay a minute," he asked me quietly, probably trying to appear non-threatening. The look in his violet eyes told me he was perfectly aware that his teeth were the problem. "They're part of my explanation. So, I'd rather skip the questions. We're on borrowed time here. Sorry.

"And, for the record," he added with a nod toward both Yoshi and Thomas, "I could smell you on them when they came in. The only thing I don't understand…" Kouki stared at Damon's vest with a hatred I couldn't understand. If this wasn't Kouki—I assumed that it wasn't since I'd been told he wouldn't have any powers while this guy was clearly displaying some—then why would he be disgusted by the sight of one of Damon's things?

I yanked my hand away from his roughly. In my haste, I knocked a small white tea cup onto the floor, where it shattered loudly. A few people around us started and gasped. I ignored them and the broken glass, glaring hard at Kouki's face. My hand instinctively held on to the vest still draped about my shoulders. "I was cold, and he gave this to me." My voice was as unfeeling at the wind outside, eyes boring into Kouki's without a single drop of fear.

But the boy—or who I still assumed was a boy of some kind—returned my harsh gaze steadily. Hadn't he said we didn't have time for all this banter? "I've heard he's a street fighter. Not exactly the best human company to keep around." A deep scowl had twisted his face. Though he was now staring at the table and not me, I felt more enraged than ever. Who in the world did this guy think he was?

Leaning forward to try to keep our argument between us and out of the ears of those happy customers around us, I hissed with deadly poison, "And what would you know about 'human company', Mr. Canines?" I waved a hand in the general direction of his mouth, but when I did he reacted in a very strange way. Kouki hurriedly sprung back when I angled my hand toward him, as if he expected me to shoot fire out of my palm or something weird like that.

He seemed to figure out that I wasn't going to do anything like that pretty quickly, and he went back to our conversation. Face close to mine, I heard him growl, "I could ask you the same, Dragon Soul. What are you doing in the human world when you're needed elsewhere?" Elsewhere? And again with that Dragon Soul thing? What, was he talking about the Digital World? Was he trying to get me to go there?

But I was still puzzled about his animated reaction to my hand, and in need of a quick experiment. So, the intensity of my curiosity brought me to act impulsively. While his face was still close to mine, I took my hand and pressed the tips of my fingers against his cheek, as if I was a child pretending my hand was a spider. Kouki immediately stiffened. "D-don't—" Using the same amount of pressure a butterfly's foot would've had, I forced his other cheek onto the table.

Eyes wide and totally submissive, Kouki stared up at me, awaiting some kind of explanation. A little surprised at such an intense reaction, I kept my fingers there for a little while longer. He really thought I was going to burn his face off or something, didn't he? Utterly confused by that, I strayed from the questions I ought to have been asking. "…What exactly do you think I'm able to do that's making you look at me like that?"

My inquiry seemed to surprise Kouki. I removed my fingers, allowing him to raise his head. Still quite shocked by the ordeal—I'm sure that most of the café was, really—it took the blond a minute to get his words out. "You…what? You don't know…How?" He shook his head and looked away, staring hard at the table. When Kouki looked back at me, he almost looked angry. "How could you not know?"

I furrowed my brows. What was he insulting me for all of a sudden? "How could I know? If you're talking about the Holy Ring, nobody ever told me how to use it or what powers came with it. My father was the only one who could've and he died before he could!" My emotions beginning to get the best of me, I slapped my hand on the tabletop. "If you want my help so badly, then you're going to have to explain in more than just riddles!"

The majority of the café was now staring at us, and I could feel Thomas glaring at me again for making such a big scene. Because of that, I rested my cheek in my hand and motioned for Kouki to wait until some of the people had looked away. The two of us poked at our cups and stared out the window for some time. After a while the other customers stopped staring at us and went about gossiping instead. I couldn't even imagine what they thought must've been going on between us.

"I would, but I can't," Kouki admitted with a sigh when we could finally talk again. Lava bubbled in my stomach at his words, but before I could yell at him again he went on to explain in a tense whisper, "The reason I can't tell you could be listening to us." He gazed at me imploringly, as if he were afraid that I wouldn't believe him, but needing me to with everything he had.

Fighting back another series of coughs, I sighed. So, this was a Digimon after all. "If you don't tell me, and you don't want my 'bad human company' to help, then I can't do anything. I mean, for all I know you could be trying to get me alone so you can get this—" I raised my arm and pointed at the Holy Ring. Kouki's eyes had widened in horror as he began to realize he had failed to secure my help. "So, if you can't say anything more, then we're done here—"

"Wait!" I had been getting to my feet when Kouki sprung to his and grabbed my upper arm with a horribly strong grip. Out of the corner of my vision, I saw the other two DATS agents jump to their feet. I thought that Thomas had taken something out of his pocket as he got up, like a pager or something, and almost immediately that awful throbbing began again in my head like a sick drum. Had he just called Damon?

As I began to hear some surprised and angered shouts mixed with bangs and the smashing of glass and other kitchen utensils coming from the back of the café, Kouki drew me close and whispered quickly in my ear, "Listen to me: your father's murderer will be waiting for you in the Digital World—" My heart stopped; his grip tightened on me. "And you have to believe me! When I can I'll tell you everything you—"

With the loudest shout that I had ever given, I twisted out of Kouki's grasp, snatched his arm in a vice-like grip, and hurled him over my shoulder. He landed on his back, right on top of an unoccupied table, the impact smashing it. The blond ended up in a pile on the floor with all the debris. I could hear Damon, who had apparently broken in through the café's kitchen door, egging me on and cheering for me with everything he had.

He was the only one, because everyone else in the entire place was either gasping or screaming in shock, horror, and fear.

But I paid none of them any mind, my eyes locked solely on the blond wheezing on the floor. His arm was still twisted in my hands, and I held it fast as I knelt down by his head. When he saw me draw near, Kouki opened his mouth to say something more, but I interrupted him with a cold murmur, "If you wanted my help, you wouldn't have said that. I wish you luck. Never come near me again."

With that, I relinquished his arm and ran out of the café as fast as my legs could carry me. I had to pass Damon to get to the door though, and I saw his smile disappear when he caught a glimpse of my face. I couldn't be sure without a mirror, but I probably looked as if I were about to relive the most horrible moment of my entire life. And, even though I could remember next to nothing about my father's death, I could feel the nightmare coming for me.

And so I ran, and ran, and ran, not looking back, not paying attention to where I was going—just running. The sounds of the city disappeared around me, my rasping breath and the tapping of my feet on the pavement soon the only noises my ears could decipher. My dress flapped about my legs as I raced on, the wind throwing my hair all around as if I were flying down the street.

All the while Kouki's last full statement repeated again and again in my head: "Your father's murderer will be waiting for you in the Digital World. Your father's murderer will be waiting for you in the Digital World. Your father's murderer will be waiting for you in the Digital World." Tears streamed down my cheeks and watered the pavement I rushed across. I didn't want to believe Kouki, but…did he really have a good reason to lie like that? He could've said anything about my dad, and yet…that's what he chose to say…

Was it true?

No! I shook my head, my tears falling from my face like small drops of rain. Don't think about that anymore! Don't think about it at all! Forcing my feet to move faster, I went on running, allowing the soreness and exhaustion and cold to wear out my mind. I couldn't think about that, not for one minute. I couldn't let myself go down that path again—But…who would want to hurt Dad?

I ran on and on for what felt like hours, and what really was hours. Breathing hard and feeling lightheaded, I finally stumbled to a stop in the middle of a park. My legs shaky and lacking almost all strength, I dropped to my knees on the path, a streetlight flickering on above me. Even though I knew it was dangerous to stop here and that I needed to get up and go home, I didn't move. I could hardly even think. Was I dreaming?

A cold breeze blew through the leaves, and I clung to Damon's vest again, my sweat chilling me to the bone now that I had stopped moving. "I should've given this back before I left…" I mumbled to myself, rubbing the fabric against my fingers unconsciously. Its presence still made my mind ache a little, but it was nothing compared to the thoughts still prodding at me from the shadows. "…I wish Damon was here though…"

I wouldn't have told him anything Kouki said, of course, but it would've been nice to at least hear someone else's voice. I didn't want to have to hear Kouki's anymore…Not when the only thing I could remember him saying was so nightmarish. "Why did he have to say that…? Dracomon?" I opened my bag and looked in, but even then my Digimon companion didn't respond to me.

My Digivice was there, but for whatever reason Dracomon just wouldn't say anything. I made a small whimpering noise as my head began to throb again; however, my mind was too cloudy to remember that meant Damon was close by. All I thought it must be was just another bad thing to happening to me tonight. But really, what else could go wrong?

A flash of gold caught my eye. Looking down curiously, I was unsurprisingly met by the Holy Ring upon my left wrist. Something was different about it now, though I would never be able to name exactly what that change was. Deep in my mind, maybe even in my soul, some part of me kept on saying that I should take it off now. That no other time would be better.

Dad was dead after all. Murdered. He would never know if I didn't listen this once.

But I didn't even reach for it, chastising myself for such vulgar thoughts about my father and his passing. It wasn't right to think that way about—well, anything. And so I only stared at it for what must've been another ten minutes, stopping only when I heard my name shouted out by one of my friends. Looking up, I was met with the sight of Yoshi sprinting toward me.

I heard her ask me several times if I was okay, but I couldn't find a way to respond. Seeing that she wasn't going to get much out of me, Yoshi said a few other things that sounded like worried reprimands before brushing away my remaining tears. The older girl helped me to my feet, making sure to get my bag in my hands, and led me over to the squad car. Damon and Thomas were both there, waiting to see how I was.

Yoshi helped me into the backseat beside Thomas, where I immediately curled up into a ball and covered my head with Damon's vest. I could hear them whisper a soft "Poor thing" now and again, and once a sympathetic "I told ya I should've punched his face in, no matter what you think, Thomas" from Damon. I knew they were hoping for me to react to something that they said, but I couldn't give them what they wanted.

I just waited in silence until we got to my home, until all of this was finally over.

The song that Masumi sang closer to the beginning was 'Hallelujah' by Rufus Wainwright (even though a lot of people sing that; he was just the one that I think I got the actual lyrics from haha). Thank you to anyone who read!