Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Ethereal ❯ A Day To Celebrate ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter VI

The Koromon were always a lively village. They were small and easily loved, but when they were needed, they could be fierce and ruthless. Agumon was their leader and protector of some sorts, though his abilities weren't that much more advanced than the Koromon.

There were many other villages in the Digital World as well. Its most powerful member in the certain race led all of them as was with the Koromon village. However, they were all scattered far from each other and often rivaled against each other despite the threat of Pathogen taking over. This was where Daisuke came in. He was often the peacekeeper and held friendly relations with most of the villages. He was known to all and often called on when they needed help or his powers.

At the moment he was currently on the road down to V-mon's village. The blue fire digimon was among one of his closest friends along with Agumon and some others. He had received a message from him not too long ago asking him to come over. Something about a fire, Daisuke recalled as he sped up his pace of his Aerodramon, or Aero, as the flying dragon digimon preferred. The speed quickly doubled and Daisuke found himself launched back in his place as he tried to regain a firmer grip on his scaled friend.

"Aero! Damn, I didn't mean knock me off into the air!" he exclaimed as the wind rushed past his ears. He had forgotten the full potential of the speed of dragons for a moment. His counterpart only grunted in response and Daisuke couldn't help but laugh. Aero had only been trying to bring him back to reality. Perhaps he was worrying over something small. V-mon did have a knack for exaggerating things to an ungainly proportion.

Daisuke patted his friend's back. The digimon merely slowed down slightly so the boy could actually sit properly, or as properly as he could. Daisuke was half sitting, half lying forward on the dragon and hanging onto its two slim "tentacles", considering they did sway in the breeze. Aero called them tentacles; Daisuke called them two whiskery things. Either way, they made for good grip and kept Daisuke actually on the dragon and not slipping off the back. Daisuke looked down on his friend and wondered to himself. Technically, Aero was more like a snake dragon than an actual dragon. His body was long, smooth, and elegant with silver scales and some white hair on top of his head and yellow eyes. The fact was that Aero could talk, but he rarely did so for a reason Daisuke couldn't comprehend.

"Are we there yet??"

Aero responded with a grunt yet once again and Daisuke smiled as the sight of the small village came into sight. He eyed it and its surroundings carefully. What was V-mon talking about?? There wasn't a fire in sight the boy noted with some confusion. Suddenly Aero decided to dive straight down and Daisuke was pushed forward onto his chest forcibly. They landed on the ground gracefully and Daisuke sat up, gasping. He jumped off of Aero and glared at him.

"What the hell was that-"

But before he could even finish, the boy was knocked to the ground by an overexcited blue digimon. Before he could even register what happened, Daisuke found himself surrounded by digimon from all over the lands. He looked around in a daze and found himself worrying. What in the world could have made all the digimon who rivaled amongst themselves unite together in such a large group?

And the scariest part was that they were all grinning widely at him.

Daisuke looked up at Aero for help, but the dragon merely remained calm, though there was a glint of humor in his eyes. The spiky-haired youth stood up slowly, prying V-mon off of him. "Ummm," he began before he was interrupted once again by enormous cries. He staggered back in surprise as he realized what they were all trying to say at once.

"Happy birthday!!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"No, there is no such thing as the Boogie Man."

Takeru resisted a smile as the brown-haired girl walking next to him spoke. Ken had been most curious about the Digital World's creatures and had somehow turned that conversation to mythical creatures of the real world. Though some of the questions he did ask were a bit obscene, the fact that Ken actually seemed frightened of them was even more laughable.

"But Hikari, how can you prove that, huh? There isn't any proof that they don't exist," Ken objected. Even though he wanted not to believe they were real, he was still willing to defend their existence. Hikari shook her head in exasperation.

She had agreed to help Takeru with the search for the others and thought it would be easy at first. But after speaking with Ken for a few minutes, she realized exactly how much everyone had forgotten; and how much she had forgotten until Takeru came along. It was strange. When she first spotted Takeru, it was like a ray of sunlight. She knew she had seen him from before and suddenly memories flooded in. It seemed that wasn't the case for Ken, though.

"Ken, just be quiet," she replied, sighing. Normally the dark-haired boy was much more down to earth than this and even if he did have a deep fear for mythical creatures, he would usually keep it hidden and definitely wouldn't have made such a big discussion on it. Sighing again, the girl glanced at Takeru.

She was quite surprised when she received the call from him on Friday night, inviting her to go search for their other missing friends. Though it was a bit last minute, she did agree to go despite having plans to watch a movie with her brother, Taichi. She frowned as she remembered that he was also to be informed on the search later. Glancing at Takeru, she smiled slightly. It seemed they both were hiding quite the secret from their older brothers. Most likely Taichi would be able to grasp it better than Yamato, though. He was always easygoing in that manner. Yamato was a different case. He had been paranoid and overly stressed out when they first set foot in the Digital World. Hikari smiled to herself. Yes, those were happier times. Now, though, it seemed as if the spotlight shifted from Yamato his younger brother, Takeru. He had also changed dramatically over the last four years and she still had to wonder why he never came sooner to round up the others. Seeing the look in his eyes when he spoke, though, she figured it was something that one conversation wouldn't be enough for. She would have to speak to him soon.

"Eh, Takeru? Who is it again that we are looking for?" Ken's sudden voice boomed as Hikari jumped slightly. The dark-haired boy didn't notice however as Takeru answered.

"We're heading to Koushirou's university… And since when did you have so many holes in your head? This must be the third time I've said it at least," the blond replied, eyeing Ken strangely. It seemed that ever since Hikari joined in the picture, the boy had been acting more and more unlike himself.

Ken turned red for a moment before shrugging. "Don't blame me," he muttered before glowering at Hikari. "Blame her. She's been totally thwarting my theories on monsters existing in the real world the whole morning," he added with a mock sneer. Hikari laughed and Takeru arched an eyebrow.

"Still…" he murmured, before suddenly stopping and pointing ahead of them. "There's the campus," he announced as Hikari and Ken joined by his side.

The site was large and it ran a good few blocks down with a mowed lawn and trees lined up together. The school itself consisted of two fairly large buildings, the dormitory, and a gym in the distance with a wide space for parking and cars. Students walked in and out in groups, talking and laughing. Takeru eyed their surroundings blankly before turning to face his counterparts.

"C'mon, I imagine Koushirou is somewhere in the dormitory. Too bad the school isn't that organized, otherwise we would've been able to find exactly what room he was in through the computer…"

Hikari and Ken nodded in silent agreement.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You seriously were trying to give me a heart attack weren't you?"

"Aww…come on Dais! You can't say we didn't surprise you, though!" exclaimed V-mon as he latched himself onto the boy's arm affectionately. Daisuke looked at his friend, hiding his grin. In all honestly, he never would have though the digimon would have gone this far for his birthday. He himself didn't even remember the date.

"Cake!"

Daisuke rolled his eyes as his hyperactive friend suddenly leaped at the huge cake being brought forward. It was balanced by two jumping Koromon to Daisuke's dismay. The cake bobbed from side to side and the boy quickly hurried and helped them balance it out before it dropped to the ground. He laughed as the Koromon placed it onto a huge white table set in the grassy plain.

"Having fun?"

Daisuke turned around at the sound of the new voice and found himself grinning widely at the approaching blond. "Hey, don't you have school?" he remarked, arching an eyebrow in suspicion.

Wallace shrugged lightly and smiled brightly. "Oh please! One day of missing school isn't going to ruin my record!" he exclaimed while waving his hand around lazily. "And besides, I couldn't miss your birthday!" he added, winking at the blushing boy.

Daisuke quickly smiled and turned away before he could turn any redder and faced V-mon and Aero with his hands to his hips. "Well, how in the world did you two manage to get all these digimon together, hm??" he inquired suspiciously. He himself could barely get the feuding digimon to join together sometimes. It was quite a shock to see how well they were actually cooperating with each other, too.

V-mon shrugged and jumped excitedly. "All of us like you, Daisuke! That was enough to make us get together and plan something big for you!" he exclaimed in an almost child-like manner. It was enough to make the dark-haired boy shake his head in amusement. The digimon were more thoughtful than he originally thought.

"So are you surprised? Or was this all in vain?" Wallace inquired with a smirk.

Daisuke turned to face him and laughed. "Yeah, I'm definitely surprised," he replied while shaking his head in amusement.

The blond smiled cheerfully and grabbed Daisuke's hand, pulling him towards the large cake on the table. The dark-haired boy blushed immensely at this gesture as he tried to compose himself.

"Come on! You got to make a wish!"

Daisuke looked at the nineteen elaborately lit up candles and closed his eyes. This occasion had done more than surprise him, though. He felt for the first time in a long time that his life actually meant something. He opened his eyes for a moment and looked across at all his friends' faces. To an ordinary person who had never laid eyes upon digimon, would probably laugh at the scene. Two human teenagers surrounded by strange-looking creatures, both large and small. Daisuke grinned to himself. Yes, it was an amusing thought, but these creatures were his friends. And there wasn't anything anyone else could do or say to make think otherwise.

And then a flash of his old life passed before his eyes-the old friends he used to be so close to. Now he had to wonder how they were doing in the other world. For a fleeting moment, he grew angry at the thought. Yes, they were probably dwelling in the pleasantries of normal life while he was in the Digital World fighting off an evil invader trying to take it and its residents over. How quickly he was to grow in rage. Now he realized why he distracted himself from remembering so much. Once the memories flooded in, all the anger and pain came along as well. They were the feelings he kept hidden, even from Wallace.

"Dais, it's your birthday and you look like you're about to kill someone."

"What…?"

Daisuke suddenly blinked out of his reverie and looked embarrassingly at his blond friend. Wallace crossed his arms and shook his head as if in disappointment. "What are we going to do with you?" he remarked, feigning exasperation. Daisuke managed a smile and once again forced his feelings down as he picked up the knife.

"Well, let's cut this cake!" he exclaimed, his enthusiasm only partial. He cursed at himself as he cut the cake into slices. The day had started out so perfectly. And then he had to ruin it by remembering the others. He narrowed his eyes in frustration. They were gone now…and they would never come back.

He would finally have to stop lying to himself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

TBC