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A Journey Begins... The sun seemed to grow larger as it sank toward the horizon, filling the sky with fiery hues of red and orange, laced with the occasional twinge of deep violet or even periwinkle. The jagged black outline of the trees gave the impression of charred tinder. The feathery ruins of the baby block towers were like scattered ash, whilst thin, wispy seemed like light trails of smoke left by a dying campfire. As Riina and I reached the border of the forest, I gazed upward. How was it possible that we'd been gone nearly all day? I glanced over at Riina. She stood in a rigid, almost-military posture, and she fixed her gaze straight ahead, intent only on getting to our destination. Her canine form seemed devoid of its usual, elf-like grace. As I watched her, her earlier words continued to echo through my mind. "You should have come when I needed you before..." Like those words, the same question I asked earlier always followed. What had she meant? As far as I knew, neither Riina nor I had met up until the previous day. By the time I had screwed up enough courage to ask the questions plaguing me, we had reached Primary Village. Okami met us outside a red-painted home which, apart from sagging shutters, missing siding, and a few shingles absent from the roof, seemed in better condition than the rest of those in the village. He had, by this point, de-digivolved to his Rookie form of Gaomon, and he looked tired. Nevertheless, the wolf-puppy digimon kept firm vigil outside the home. "Shori is inside sleeping," he said plainly as we approached, "I would suggest that you do the same, Cheisu." "As should you, Okami," Riina said, "I will stand watch tonight. The Primary Village and the safety of its inhabitants are my responsibility for this one last night at least." I looked up at Riina, noting that she seemed saddened by these words. A single tear leaked from her striking blue eyes. I reached up to place my hand upon her shoulder, but she pulled away. "Get some sleep, both of you," Riina ordered, "We will leave promptly in the morning... and we have a long way to go in order to reach Server." "Don't presume to order me around, Riina," Okami warned, "I'm not the weak puppy I was when I left the village... In fact, if memory serves, I've digivolved and you-" "Digivolved or not, Okami, you are exhausted," Riina argued, interrupting his rant, "You will not do your partner any good if you are tired, and now is not the time to let your pride take control." She leaned close, eyes narrowed, "For once, do the responsible thing, and get some sleep!" Gaomon didn't answer, and for a moment tense silence sat between the two digimon. It almost seemed as if sparks flew from their eyes, threatening to set ablaze the earth around them. It was Okami, exhausted by his earlier fight, whose will finally broke first. He turned and moved inside, but he shot Riina a glare that said simply, "This won't be the last you hear from me about this." Riina nodded as he disappeared, obviously satisfied. I couldn't help but smile to myself. She was acting like the mother of a rebellious teen. It was then that she turned toward me. "You need to get some sleep too, Cheisu," she said, "I have a few things to take care of, if we are to leave by morning." The thought to protest entered my mind. Much as I hated being here, working alongside Riina, as her partner, was my best chance of getting home. I had to wonder what kind of partner I'd be if I let her go off on her own again, given what had occurred earlier that day. Still, the unpleasant fact was that it had been Riina who'd needed to save me... not the other way around... something for which I still owed her. Then again, I knew that if I protested, she'd probably face me down just like she had Okami. Given that, I was forced to acquiesce for now. "I'll see you in the morning then," I said, fighting back a yawn, "Please... be careful." The vixen digimon said nothing. Instead, she turned on one heel and headed toward the edge of the village once more. As I watched her leave, a pang of guilt lanced through my stomach. Compared to this morning, Riina seemed so cold... so distant, and a part of me missed the warm, smiling Renamon that had sat for much of the day, telling stories to the baby digimon, but that was far off now: a mere match's worth of warmth amid a cold winter night's worth of painful memories; a mere fleck of light amid the clouds of a gloomy present and an uncertain future. As the forest's shadows swallowed Riina's body, I turned to go inside. Although she had ordered me to get some sleep, I realized that so long as Riina's words haunted my thoughts, I'd not be getting any sleep this night. I paused before the door and turned back, gazing up into the stars; I turned my thoughts toward home... to my family, and to Kiken. I even briefly wondered how much homework Mr. Kyoshi would give me to make up, but always the golden furred digimon managed to dance her way into my mind again. The more my thoughts dwelled on her, the more I realized how familiar she was. Though I could swear I had never before in my life, so much as being near her brought back a twinge of recognition, and a caring I'd not felt in quite some time... It was then that I realized... part of me did not want to go home. Somewhere deep down, past the chagrin of the current situation, past the façade of a completely normal teen, I realized that this felt right, that I was supposed to be here, alongside Riina. Why, I still could not understand, nor would my mind recall why she seemed so familiar to me, but at least I was now beginning to understand that my being here was not by mere happenstance. "Wherever you are, Riina, be safe," I whispered. I turned once more and gently pushed open the door of the dilapidated home. I stood in the doorway a moment, allowing my eyes time to adjust. By the ghostly red sunlight still filtering in through the windows I could barely make sense of what I was seeing. Every detail of the home was in place as though it had just been cleaned. Standing in the entryway, I took note of the open archway to the right that led into what was obviously a small dining room. The table that dominated its center was set perfectly, the chairs pushed in so that it looked just right for a family to begin a meal. If I took a deep enough breath, I could swear I could still smell the aroma of freshly-cooking meat, tinged with the faint, sweet aroma of some exotic flowers. A wooden stairway in front of me led up to the home's second level, while the elegantly furnished hall alongside led to a master bedroom and what I assumed were two bedrooms directly before it. From where I stood, I could barely make out the silhouettes of Shori and Okami as they cuddled with one another. It was a cute scene... like a little girl cuddling with a big stuffed toy. I made my way closer to the doorway and peeked inside. They were sound asleep. For the briefest of moments, a smile tugged at my lips before I made my way into another bedroom, and there, I lost myself to sleep. * * *

V

• * * The thick haze of the dream world gave way, pierced by warm morning light. Groaning lightly, I opened my eyes, wondering briefly whether all that had happened in the past two days was merely a figment of my imagination, brought forth by my desire to reconnect with some part of my childhood. It was not. I found myself staring up at the white-paneled ceiling of the very room in which I'd slept the previous night, and into Riina's blue black eyes. "Do all humans snore so loudly?" she questioned without preamble. Shooting her a glare I forced myself to sit up. I reached up to rub my temples. "Good morning to you too," I said. The gold-furred digimon shrugged. "I fail to see what is so agreeable about it," she said plainly, "I am not looking forward to leaving this village defenseless, but even less so am I looking forward to traveling with Okami. I'd rather have a much more reliable digimon traveling with us." "It seems like he's proven pretty reliable with Shori," I pointed out. "Only until he grows weary of protecting her," Riina countered, "It is his way. He makes a commitment to safeguard those who cannot look after themselves, but after a time he gets bored and goes off on his own, leaving his charges with whomever happens to be present at the time." I stood, stretching briefly before I began to make my way outside. "Maybe he's changed from the digimon you knew," I suggested, "If he changed his name-" "I suspect that's all he's changed," Riina spat, "I will give him a chance, but that doesn't mean that I like or trust him." I sighed resignedly. For now at least, I supposed that was the best for which I could hope. Without turning her head, Riina's gaze focused on me, "We should hurry. Okami and his partner already wait for us on the eastern shore. I've made arrangements for transport." Primary Village seemed strangely devoid of life as we made our way through it toward the beach. I suspected that most of the young digimon were either asleep or hiding. For a brief moment, I regretted that, with Riina and Okami leaving, the village would be undefended. Anxious though I was to return home, the prospect of what could happen to these poor, young innocents was almost enough to make me suggest to Riina that we ought to stay put... but even then, I think I knew better. We had to do this, if any of us were to have hope for the future. The walk from Primary village was both silent and uneventful; a fact for which I was most grateful. My earlier conversation with Riina had put me in a rather foul mood, and I suspected I would stay that way for quite some time. I was wrong. When at last we made it to the shore from which we would be striking out, an incredible sight met my vision. The brilliant flecks of sunlight leaping off its rippling waters made the endless sea before us seem more vibrant, more lively than I had ever seen back home, but that wasn't even the best part. A group of five, fish-like digimon played amongst the waves, diving beneath the surface before breaching, leaping gracefully into the air. For a moment I tried to identify them. By their smooth blue backs and their white underbellies, I decided they must be dolphimon: friendly, sea-faring digimon known for their playful chatter and powerful underwater attaccks. At the water's edge, Shori and Okami worked together to build a raft. Several Bukamon floated overhead, grabbing vines from the forest's most outlying trees and bringing them to Shori, who tied them together into intricate cords. Okami put his fists to work, bringing down a number of trees and pummeling away at them until they were suitable for use in the vessel. With help from one of the Bukamon, he dragged the log into place. Pausing, the wolf digimon reached up to wipe his brow. "Glad to see the two of you finally made it," he commented, "The Bukamon are good little workers, but they can't do much more than carry things." I thought to ask how such small, low-leveled digimon could be strong enough to carry full-sized trees, but thought better of it. This world was something I felt I'd never understand. "Well, what can I do to help?" It took the rest of the morning, when we'd finished a good, sturdy raft had taken shape: Nearly a dozen thick tree trunks lined up side by side, with sturdy vine ropes binding them together. I took a few moments to walk over the top, checking for any loose or weak portions. "I think it's sea-worthy," I declared finally, "But it's not going to be very comfortable." "Comfort isn't the point, Cheisu," Riina said, "If all goes well, we will be at sea only a few days. The Dolphimon are fast powerful swimmers, and they've consented to take us." "Well, it's better than traveling via Whamon," I remarked, "Let's get going." It wasn't long before we were at sea. Pulled along by the dolphimon, and even several of the tiny bukamon (who had insisted they help Riina across the sea, feeling indebted to her for her long years of watching over them), we watched as the formidable land mass of File Island shrink until the peak I guessed to be the famed "Infinity Mountain" was little more than a little hill against the horizon. Ahead of us, all that we could see was the sparkling blue of the ocean. Beyond that, I knew, lay our destines... and my way home. The rest of that day passed uneventfully. For the first time I watched as Riina and Okami worked together, catching fish for us to eat, which Riina quickly cooked with her power paw. Shori and I passed the time by talking about home and playing with the card deck she'd brought along. I even gave her a few pointers I'd picked up during tournaments. That night, as the sun began to set, Riina stood watch whilst Shori, Okami, and I lay on our backs and looked up into the starry sky, serenaded by the gentle songs sung by the dolphimon as they steadily moved beneath the waves. By now, all thoughts of the previous day's encounter with Goburimon had faded from my mind, and I began to believe that, if he was the worst Riina and I had to face, I would be home in no time. I was wrong.