âEh, I didnât mean it like that, Haruka-chan.â He chuckled dryly, turning his head to where Harukaâs Tailmon laid. Takeru smiled, of course. It only made sense that Tailmon was as taken with the gogglehead as Haruka was, like human like partner, he guessed. Oh, he knew that Tailmon already dreaded the day in which Taichi would have to cut his hair, but oh well, there was nothing they could do about the future.Â
     He gasped quietly, not wanting to wake the others, but still feigning offence, âYou mean to tell me that Iâm not everything you need in all of the beautiful worlds out there? Wow, yikes. Never thought youâd break my heart like that.â The blonde chuckled, a familiar joking tone in his voice. So he nodded, paying attention to her words. There was a lot he still didnât know, âIâm sure theyâll be fine, especially if they donât have to worry about tracks or the Digital World breaking into pie-â
     Takeru stopped right there, narrowing his eyes just enough, thinking the unthinkable, âYou donât think that thatâs⊠whoeverâs behind thisâ evil plan, donât you? At most, it would be stupid, right? Itâs already been done.â
     There was something about thinking about their unknown enemy that immediately brought Takeruâs hopes down. There were a lot of things that would probably be easy⊠easier if they knew what they were up against, he had to admit. He sighed despondently, there was no use in thinking like that. Answers just werenât going to fall on their laps or something like that, so all they could do now was fight. They would fight whatever evil got in their way until the Digital World was safe, and he was going to make sure of that.Â
     Zoning back in to what Haruka was saying, he couldnât help but blink a few times, âHaruka⊠what happened in the Digital World a year ago?â
âOf course you are, my precious small blonde child,â Haruka teased, shaking her head with a small smile, playing along with his joking tone. âAs long as Takuya and Kouji donât bicker so much they get themselves killed they should be fine. Hereâs hoping they donât pull a Yamato and Taichi.â
She sensed the question before he even spoke it, her eyes glazing over slightly at the thought but she shook her head in an attempt to clear it. âI.... I really donât know, Takeru-chan. I wish I did,â she murmured, her voice barely a whisper as she curled up with her knees to her chest.Â
The child of empathy felt his hopes lower and she immediately reached over and grasped his shoulder tightly. If Takeru lost control then all of them would be lost, right now. He needed to stay grounded. âIâve got you, deep breaths. Now.â
Haruka sighed, rubbing her temples and shaking her head before she looked out into the darkness. âBefore the four of them disappeared... Iâd been having nightmares about war... Much like the war I had to deal with that summer I was taken from all of you,â her eyes reflected the centuries sheâd lived in the Digital World, her soul feeling much older than it should. âI had all these dreams and yet I brushed them off. We were living in peace, MaloMyotismon was gone, you know... And the next thing I know, Iâve lost Ken-chan and the others... I failed my brother twice in this life, Takeru. Once because I was doing a job Gennai gave me and this most recent time because I didnât. I donât deserve to be a big sister.â