I watched disinterestedly as the sunlight fell on the horizon to give way to moonlight. The day felt much, much longer than I thought it would be originally. One moment we were fighting a strange mechanized mass and a legion of flying insects; the next we were investigating a forest to find an Emblem, and then I was in a pocket dimension created by a fairy with the power to possibly turn a soccer stadium to ashes if she wanted to.
And now I was here, sitting by a small lake.
After the disastrous meeting, each of us had decided to take some time alone. Or rather, it was Sora who had proposed postponing the meeting until we were all ready to face the situation at hand.
Which was a subtle way of calming everyone down, including her.
I was pretty sure Matt was about to punch Gennai right there just to get some answers.
'I don't blame him; everyone's hope is quickly running out...' I hummed thoughtfully as I dipped my fingers lightly into the lake water. As expected, it was cold, but it was the feeling I was looking for.
"Are you okay?" Herissmon asked, sitting not far from me, a worried expression on his face.
I'd been so immersed in my head, tossing and turning everything that had happened today, that I'd barely had time to talk to my partner properly. It almost made me want to mentally kick myself, but I didn't even have the strength for that.
"Noah?"
I let out a sigh as I scratched my head; I felt a strange heaviness in the back of my head that was starting to seriously bother me.
"I'm..."
He searched for the words for a few seconds before shaking his head.
"I don't even know how I am; I just have so much going on in my head right now that... I don't know what to feel or what I'm supposed to feel."
I took a deep breath as a familiar but nostalgic scene replayed in my mind, causing my eyes to glaze over slightly.
"Mom used to say that sometimes there were so many things to do that made her feel overwhelmed. I could never really understand that feeling or what she meant..." I mumbled wistfully as I watched the ripples of the lake warp my face. "I think I do now."
We both fell into an awkward silence, not because of each other's presence but because of the clear lack of words and the pessimistic mood there.
Finally, Herissmon broke the silence as he ruffled his quills slightly. "What are we going to do now?"
"...I don't know" I replied listlessly with a shrug. "Today has been a long day, I think... I think I want to sleep."
That caused a small smile to form on Herissmon's face, which also made me smile slightly. But even then, I was thinking about what to do next.
Many pieces on the board had revealed themselves, and even if they weren't all useful right now, they might be useful for later. The others seemed to overlook it, but I knew that not everything Gennai had said was true, or only partially true.
For example, when he talked about Yggdrasill, he only talked about him in passing before changing the subject. He also didn't say what happened to the other Sacred Forces or why they can't take care of Vamdemon.
The others may not know why; I don't know either, but I can get an idea.
[-Hazard Archive: The Fall of God-]
...and it wasn't a very encouraging idea, to say the least.
I realized that Gennai was quite a bit more cunning than I thought, and if his reaction to Matt's explosion was anything to go by, he wasn't easily intimidated. It just made me wonder how much more dirty laundry or secrets he kept hidden behind that facade of serenity and calm.
'Or maybe I was just overthinking everything, and he really is a kind and calm old man' I thought wearily before putting those thoughts aside. Instead, I turned my gaze back to Herissmon.
I watched as the hedgehog opened and closed its claws, generating small arcs of yellowish energy, making me realize that I never got to try the new attack we got from the Achievements.
Instead of adding another thing to the list, it made me realize how much the hedgehog has helped me since I came to this world. It may have been destined, or it may have been part of a convoluted plan of the World, or just a coincidence.
But I'm glad it happened either way.
"I don't think I ever said..." I started to speak lightly before stopping and coughing into my fist. "But thank you so much for, well, everything, no?. I mean, if it hadn't been for you, I would have died against this Goburimon and... whatever..."
...
..
.
'Because I feel like I just lost something...' I thought embarrassedly as the hedgehog turned to look at me in surprise.
A big smile formed on his face, showing me all his sharp teeth. Before I could say anything else, the hedgehog was already hugging me tightly as small arcs of energy appeared on his back.
"Awww! Herissmon said something cute!" The sound Herissmon produced didn't help calm my embarrassment either. Forget what I said; I hate this hedgehog. "I'm glad to have you here too! Everything has been so much fun when I'm with you or the others! If it weren't for you, I would have never met BlackGarurumon or TK and Patamon!"
I muttered a curse if I understood as my face grew hot. "You spend too much time with Palmon-"
Herissmon let out a cheerful but mocking smile that only made me want to throw him in the lake and run away even more.
Instead—
"-dwarf"
"Hey! That's low!" Herissmon said, breaking the hug, pouting as he pointed his finger at me and frowned. I just smiled innocently as I went back to playing with the lake water.
"Not as low as you."
"HEY!"
***
I closed the door behind me, careful not to make noise and wake up Piyomon.
I let out a sigh as I turned around only to freeze in shock momentarily.
Joe was standing in the middle of the hallway looking at nothing; his posture was hunched, his face was pale, and his eyes had small dark circles under his eyes. I couldn't tell if they were there before or if I just noticed them now.
He seemed oblivious to my presence, which is odd considering how observant and attentive Joe is in most situations.
"Hi Joe...are you okay?" My words seemed to snap him out of his trance, making him jump slightly and look at me fearfully before acknowledging me. "You look very pale."
"I'm—I'm fine..." Joe took a deep breath as he rubbed his arm before suddenly stopping and rubbing his nose. "Just thinking about what Gennai said, you know?"
"Y-Yeah, I get it" I nodded sympathetically.
We both stood in awkward silence as we watched each other. Joe looked like he wanted to run away and hide, but at the same time he was looking at me with his usual concern.
Suddenly I realized how tired his face looked.
I felt my expression soften with kindness as I let out a whisper low enough for only us to hear. "But if you need someone to talk to, I—"
That seemed to upset Joe, as his eyes went wide as he looked around the room quickly.
"I—I'm fine! Don't w-worry!"
"But—"
"I said I'm fine!" Joe exclaimed loudly, making me take a step back from the sudden explosion.
Before I could do anything, Joe forced his way out of the way and sped away, leaving me standing in the middle of the hallway feeling very confused and worried.
"It's his arm" Said a voice next to me.
I quickly looked in his direction to realize it was only Gomamon; the little aquatic Digimon was anxiously looking in the direction where Joe had fled.
"His arm?" I asked, confused; his arm was already healed; there shouldn't be any problem with that.
Gomamon nodded with slight concern before looking into my eyes with worry and confusion. "Ever since Joe recovered from his injury, he's always rubbing his arm as if he's feeling some kind of pain or something; sometimes I even hear him mumbling things in his sleep."
I felt as if a lump formed in my throat. "Wh-what things?"
"Something about Nanomon, brother, and... what was his name" Gomamon frowned thoughtfully before giving up with a shrug. "Ah, I forgot, but that's pretty much it."
My head was throbbing again.
'Calm down, Sora... you're a strong girl... breathe... inhale... exhale...' I thought wildly as I did just that, breathing and maintaining a strong facade.
I nodded towards Gomamon, giving her a fake smile. "I'll see you somewhere else, Gomamon; take care of Joe in the meantime, okay? Come see me if anything happens."
Gomamon nodded with determination before leaving the same way Joe took. I watched the aquatic Digimon walk away as gloomy thoughts gnawed at my mind.
...Tai, Matt, Vamdemon, Gennai, home, Joe....
My head was spinning round and round, I felt like throwing up, like the world was falling down around me and no matter what I did, I couldn't put it back together again.
The group was falling apart.
I... I didn't know what to do anymore.
...
__________________________________________
Thank you very much for reading! If you liked the chapter you can leave a Power Stone or a Review! You can also join my Patreon to support me!
https://www.patreon.com/rTem