Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Ethereal ❯ Sensei Returns ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter XI

"Well, it's official. I have gone insane."

Hikari shook her head at the purple-haired girl beside her. "Miyako," she began before being cut off by a loud shush. Hikari shut her mouth and watched in silent amusement as Miyako rubbed her temples in obvious frustration. "Now that we're here, is it really that hard to believe?"

Miyako opened one eye to stare Hikari down. "I guess I have to, don't I!" she snapped annoyingly. Hikari smiled to herself and winked at Koushirou. It was normal for Miyako to act so stubborn and angry-it was her way of acknowledging something she didn't want to. Her acceptance was pretty much forged out of the sheer fact that they were standing amidst the Digital World itself and not even a computer genius like Miyako could figure out an explanation for the occurrence.

"I don't get it, though. Jyou remembered everything pretty easily. Why is it that we can't remember so quickly?" Sora sounded aloud. Everyone looked at the fiery girl in surprise but the surprise was more in effect of her question and the fact that she even asked it when no one else really gave it much thought.

Jyou faced her and shrugged casually. "I really don't know. But I think it has something to do with our crests. In any case, I don't think it's of much concern," he replied lightly. Sora eyed him thoughtfully before crossing her arms.

The entire group was made up of them seven-Jyou, Hikari, Koushirou, Ken, Miyako, Sora, and Mimi. Through all hell and turmoil, Koushirou had managed to track down Miyako and Sora in Japan while Mimi was found in New York of all places. The trip to New York had been a difficult one to plan considering the fact that it was very hard to convince Mimi that they were indeed good people and to download a program and open it on her computer. The program, of course, had been a gateway to the Digital World but was also used for their traveling convenience. The girl nearly had heart attack when she saw six people emerge from her laptop. And she was almost reduced to a faint when they entered the Digital World. Luckily, her nerves were steadier now than they were in the past and she managed to stay conscious.

After nearly an hour of sitting by a peaceful field in the Digital World and discussing events of their "forgotten history" they were finally beginning to grudgingly agree with the facts Jyou gave them. Out of the three, Miyako proved to be the most stubborn but Mimi was very close after. Only Sora seemed to take in the information quietly and critically without any questioning. Miyako and Mimi had done quite enough of that.

"So you say the others are here now?" inquired Sora.

Jyou nodded and crossed his legs over the soft grass. "Yeah. I suppose we ought to meet up with them soon. We've been gone for two days now tracking you guys down," he said, looking at his watch. "I really didn't think it would take so long to find you."

As if on cue, everyone stood up, even the reluctant Mimi. "Let's go then!" she exclaimed in a would-be enthusiastic tone except for the intimidation in her eyes. Hikari put an arm around her reassuringly as they began walking on in silence. Koushirou and Ken murmured amongst themselves in the corner while the girls began having their own discussion. Jyou remained in the front and resumed his quiet disposition.

"Umm…what is that thing?"

Instantly everyone looked up to see what Mimi was talking about and was greeted by the sight of what appeared to be a pinkish ball heading towards them. After a few moments, Jyou exclaimed loudly, "Piximon!"

Hikari and Koushirou brightened considerably while Ken shot Jyou an inquiring look. "Who's Piximon?" he asked just as the digimon approached them.

"I am the one that trained the original Destined, yup! And now it is your turn!" the digimon answered in a bright tone, his eyes glowing. Ken stared at the fluttering digimon in mild surprise before turning to Hikari.

"Are you serious?"

Hikari laughed and shrugged. "We can only assume," she replied lightly just as Piximon threw a sharp look at Ken.

"Who is this scrawny boy? I don't remember ever seeing him before!" he exclaimed loudly before looking at Jyou suddenly. "Ah! Now there's a face I remember! Where are the others, Jyou?"

Jyou look startled for a second before recovering himself to answer Piximon's question. "They're around here…with Daisuke I think."

Piximon flew a few feet higher in his surprise. "Daisuke? Now I am confused. When did you all come back?" he demanded forcefully. "You all disappeared four years ago and boom! You're all here again! Do you know how hard it is to deal with a stubborn little Destined like Daisuke for four years? Now I understand all your memories were erased when you went back to the real world but where is Takeru? I know he at least escaped all right."

The rest look rather perturbed and stunned as to what to say. Finally, Hikari took the liberty to answer Piximon's questions.

"We all came back a few days ago. Takeru is here as well-with Daisuke. Last we saw them they were going to attempt to jog up Taichi and Yamato's memories. That was two days ago, though, and we went back to the real world to look for Miyako, Sora, and Mimi," she said, gesturing to the three girls. "Obviously we found them and now we're meeting up with Takeru again."

Piximon studied her carefully. "Wait, so how is it that you remember?"

Hikari sighed and shook her head. "It's all too long of a story to tell right now. I think we should meet up with Takeru fist. He might be able to tell you everything cause I'm still unsure of all the details," she replied.

The small digimon blinked several times before flying a few feet ahead of them. "Well, come on then! I sense trouble at Daisuke's hideout," he remarked mysteriously yet with a tone of urgency. "I was heading there myself when I felt all of you here."

Hikari looked distraught. "Trouble? Do you think any of them are hurt?" she queried in alarm as they began to walk in a quick pace. The rest of the group followed behind silently as they awaited Piximon's reply. But the digimon remained quiet and did not look back at Hikari or the others. The Child of Light began to worry. "Piximon?"

"I am not sure of it but, yes, I think someone is hurt and very badly. I sense great pain."

"Takeru."

"What?"

Piximon turned around immediately but resumed in his flight as he cast a long gaze on Ken. The dark-haired boy blinked several times. "Before we left Takeru was hurt. We were heading towards Daisuke's place when we entered the Dark Plains and were attacked by ghosts," he said, pausing as Piximon hissed loudly. "One passed through Takeru's arm and it began bleeding pretty badly," he finished, staring at Piximon seriously.

The red digimon closed his eyes thoughtfully for a moment and turned around again. "Takeru's arm will never heal," he finally remarked after a long break. Ken looked alarmed and even Sora, Mimi, and Miyako appeared concerned. Piximon turned to face Ken again. "That is a ghost's only attack. Takeru's arm right now is probably causing him great suffering and there is no cure for a ghost's poison. Eventually it will immobilize his entire arm until he will never be able to use it again."

"My God," muttered Jyou as he shook his head in obvious horror. He stared at Piximon's back. "There has to be something we can do to help him," he suggested worriedly.

"He could overcome the poison," Piximon stated mysteriously, "but no one has ever accomplished that feat."

Jyou and the others listened apprehensively and sighed deeply at Piximon's words. The walk continued on in silence. The road they had taken was uneven and through a seemingly endless forest. Trees of all kinds stood around them and there was no sign of life anywhere. The only sound heard was their feet as they scampered along the area and the soft fluttering of Piximon's wings. It created an uneasy feeling among the Destined and they all walked clustered together without a single word exchanged. The scenery changed gradually as they trekked on until the suffocating trees cleared out to a wide field where a few tall trees stood scattered about. The air was fresher and the group felt their hearts lighten considerably.

"Ah, here we are!"

A small village filled with small huts up to their shoulders appeared before them. The sound of voices was heard and the group paused briefly at the entrance to take in the sight. A dozen or so Koromon were rushing about through the village and none stopped to greet them. Piximon's gaze on them hardened and then switched onto another hut, this one much larger than the rest. He blinked once and began flying towards it, gesturing for the others to follow.

"This is where Daisuke lives along with the rest of the digimon. The only reason Pathogen hasn't been able to get his hands on this village is because of its remote location and the fact that they are protected by the Wilderness and the forest we just went through," he explained thoroughly.

Koushirou arched an eyebrow. "But we weren't attacked," he pointed out. Piximon turned to him and winked.

"That's because the digimon sensed you were with me!" he exclaimed boastfully, throwing out his chest for extra show. The rest of the group shared exasperated looks.

"I think I'm beginning to remember some of this stuff," Sora murmured suddenly.

Hikari grinned. "That's good. I would hope hanging out with all these digimon would spur something to pop up," she remarked brightly.

They all walked until they reached the entrance of the large hut and stared at the door dubiously. The Koromon continued rushing around them and still hadn't acknowledged their presence. Piximon fluttered near Jyou and stared at the blue-haired boy scornfully.

"Well, aren't you going to open the door? We haven't got all day!" he snapped. Jyou jumped and reached for the door instantly before pausing to stare at Piximon confusedly.

"Why didn't you just open it?" he inquired.

"Well now that your hand is on the handle you might as well do it."

"Uh…"

Jyou looked torn between amusement and exasperation before finally turning the handle. The door swung open creakily and the rest of the Destined stared at the darkness before them worriedly.

Miyako cleared her throat. "You are sure this the right place?" she inquired as casually as she could muster. Inside, she was trembling with absolute fright. Koushirou shot her a reassuring glance.

"Yes, don't worry. I'm sure Dais-"

"Where the fuck were you?" a new voice interjected loudly.

The entire group turned to see a seething Daisuke before them. Mimi jumped slightly and cowered behind Jyou fearfully. The blue-haired boy sighed and looked at Daisuke. "Sorry we took so long," he began before Daisuke turned his sharp gaze on him. Instantly, it melted into one of surprise and then happiness.

"Jyou!" Daisuke exclaimed before hugging the older man. Then he turned to see Miyako, Sora, and Mimi staring at him like he was insane. Daisuke didn't even seem to notice as he hugged all three of them at once. He then pulled away to grin widely at Miyako. "Never thought I'd be glad to see you again!"

Miyako stared at him dumbly before Piximon cut in.

"How is Takeru?" he prompted.

Daisuke's expression turned serious as he looked at Piximon. "It's good you came. He collapsed two days ago. He's all right now I suppose but his arm won't stop bleeding and he's getting weaker by the day," he answered as he ushered them all inside.

Closing the door, Daisuke began heading towards the main room and the others followed. "We've bandaged his arm up as well as we could but blood just seems to seep straight through it and we have to keep changing them. At this rate, he's going to use up all our medical supplies," Daisuke remarked as they entered a small round room where a long couch was pushed up against the wall. One bright bulb lighted up the room and two mini windows stood by the left side. Overall the room gave a sense of dread and secrecy and on the long couch, a figure covered in a thin blanket could be seen.

"Takeru?" Ken asked. Daisuke nodded and the figure stirred slightly and sat up slowly, revealing a very bedraggled blond staring at them with wide eyes. Ken and Hikari rushed forward. "Hey, how you feeling?" Ken inquired while Hikari placed a hand on Takeru's shoulder.

Takeru blinked several times before turning his gaze to Piximon. "Can you help?" he asked, completely ignoring Ken and Hikari's gestures. The digimon looked surprised for a moment before covering it up.

"There is no cure for a ghost's poison, Takeru. Your arm will cease to move soon. You could either keep it or just amputate it seeing as how it won't be of any use to you," Piximon answered coldly, yet a strange glimmer remained in his eyes. The others all threw scathing looks at the digimon's lack of sympathy. Takeru narrowed his eyes slightly and scrutinized Piximon.

"You're not telling me something but I can assume what it is," he said suddenly before closing his eyes and leaning back against the couch tiredly. Piximon stared at Takeru coolly, but a spark of light was seen in his eyes at the blond's words.

The others remained positively still and unsure of what to do.

"Um…whoa, where did all of you come from?"

Everyone looked up to see Taichi and Yamato suddenly emerge from out of nowhere and into the room, looking quite baffled at the audience before them. Daisuke sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"There is no room for all you guys here. Everyone out!" he ordered suddenly as he raised an arm pointing to the exit. Everyone stared at him in shock and Daisuke only began to tremble in suppressed annoyance before Piximon finally took command.

"You heard him, people! Out, out, out! Everything will be explained by him outside!"

The entire crew of Destined marched out unsurely, all casting each other strange looks considering each one was trying to register another's face. Ken and Hikari lingered by Takeru's side for a bit before heading out with the rest. Once outside, the crew stood facing Daisuke and Piximon.

The dark-haired boy sighed and placed his hand over his face in frustration before lowering it to look at the rest. "I'm really glad to see you all, honestly. It's just that…I really hate explaining things and I am fucking exhausted from having to deal with blondie in there whose arm is like a bleeding Niagara Falls. If you have any questions please save them for tomorrow, okay? I really want to just sack out for a while."

A pause ensued before Taichi cleared his throat. "Yeah, I think we can do that," he said. "But…um…where the hell do we stay?"

Daisuke groaned loudly and hit his head with his hand. "Yeah, um…I forgot about that. Okay…a group this big…arrg…" he muttered before looking up at the sky. "Aero! Aero, get down here right now!"

The group stared at Daisuke in shock before a swoop of air caught them off guard. A long, silver dragon glided down amongst them quietly and remained floating beside Daisuke. Both Mimi and Miyako screamed and hugged each other tightly. Daisuke shot them an amused look.

"It's all right. He's safe," he reassured before turning to the dragon. "Aero, you know if Leomon has any space at his place?" he inquired. The dragon blinked and shook his head slowly. Daisuke cursed to himself.

"You can all come to my place!"

Daisuke snapped his head up and looked at Piximon in surprise. "Your place? Piximon, I wouldn't go to your place if my life depended on it," he shot back suspiciously. The red digimon laughed merrily and tapped his shoulder with his staff.

"I have been waiting for the day you all would come back to the Digital World. Now I can start training you!" he exclaimed joyously. The others stared at him strangely and Daisuke glared at the digimon.

"Training? What training? You never trained us before when we first met you!" he accused harshly but Piximon didn't seem fazed at all by his comment. The red digimon just continued laughing and twirling his staff.

"Well, you never needed it considering all our enemies before were weak. I was about to begin training you all when Pathogen showed up, remember? But then you just rushed into battle with all the confidence in the world and then the next thing I knew, you were all sent back to the real world save Daisuke!" he explained before taking his staff and flying higher into the air. He used the staff and shaped an invisible circle in the air before lowering it. The circle appeared in a bright blue outline before opening up to a green portal that seemed to rip straight through the fabric of time and space. Piximon twirled his staff like a baton again and waved to them. "Come now through the portal! Your training will begin very soon after!"

The others stared at the portal in amazement before Yamato finally ripped his gaze to face Piximon. "What about Takeru?" he asked quietly. Piximon laughed again and crack, the blond appeared in Yamato's arms. Yamato stared at Takeru in surprise before Piximon pulled on his arm.

"Go on now! Go through!" he goaded as he pushed a stunned Yamato through the portal with Takeru in his grip. The rest watched in silence as the green engulfed them. Koushirou looked at Piximon uncertainly.

"Is this safe-?" he started before Piximon suddenly raised all of them with his staff. They all hovered in the air in shock as the red digimon laughed. He turned to face the Koromon that had finally noticed them.

"Don't worry, my friends! They will be back before you know it!" he shouted before making them all go through the portal despite the protests. Piximon bowed once to the applauding Koromon and headed into the portal straight after. With a loud crack, the portal disappeared and the Koromon resumed in their daily work.

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TBC

Gosh, is Daisuke harsh or what? ^^ And yeah, the romance will eventually come…eventually. First up will be Jyou and Yamato without a doubt. Daisuke and Takeru's relationship won't be appearing until quite some time has passed. But that's what it makes it so much more exciting, no?