NOVEL WEB -Chapter 18-
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<File Island / Beach> <Matt Ishida - POV>
"Oi Tai! Agumon! It's your turn to work on the raft!" I exclaimed as I forced open the door to the room, I looked at the lump hiding inside a sheet with annoyance before approaching and moving it slightly.
"Um...?" Tai's head slowly lifted before looking at me with sleepy eyes.
'Why do I have to be the one to wake the heavy sleeper?' I thought resignedly as I scratched my hair in annoyance.
When he finally managed to acknowledge me Tai let out a big yawn that could easily shake the whole house. "...So soon?"
"Yes" I nodded as I gave a blank stare to our all powerful and fantastic leader as the others called him, what nonsense. "You better hurry up and start working on the raft or Sora will yell at you for another hour for slacking off."
"Oh man, it was only once!" complained Tai in annoyance as he slumped back on his bed and covered his face with his pillow.
I could feel a small smile form on my face before forcing it to become a thin line.
"Anyway, tell the others I'm going to the Forest to get more berries before I take my break" I shrugged before turning around and starting to leave the room.
I was tempted to tease him a bit but considering how hard we've all worked over the past few days I feel like we deserve a break.
"Yeah yeah... Agumon get up..." I heard Tai's tired voice behind me as I closed the door and started to leave the room along with Gabumon who was waiting for me outside.
It had been over a month since I had been sent to this strange island-, no, that's not quite right. Ahem, it had been more than a month since we had been sent to this strange world.
It was a difficult month for everyone although I can't deny that it was also exciting.
Difficult because of the constant fights we were involved in, not to mention the constant worry of food for our large group.
Exciting because of how fantastical this world was, it reminded me of the stories mom used to tell me when I was a kid.
Finally though, the nightmare we had been involved in this month was finally over with Devimon's defeat... or not.
"Is something wrong Matt?" asked Gabumon worriedly as he fiddled with his claws, I had noticed he did that when he was nervous. "You're quieter than usual."
"..." I was silent for a moment as I sorted through my thoughts before I frowned, Gabumon was my fellow Digimon I might as well give him a piece of my thoughts. "I'm worried about what that old man said."
"Old man... you mean Gennai?" asked Gabumon as he tilted his head slightly and gave me a confused look. "Why?"
"I don't trust him" I crossed my arms as I felt a strange feeling puckering through my chest as I said those words. "I mean, he just shows up when we finally managed to defeat Devimon? Isn't that strange?"
"Now that you mention it... it's kind of convenient, isn't it?" Gabumon admitted as he paused for a moment before nodding his head.
"It is strange, not to mention the fact that he seems to be the only one with knowledge about the existence of the Server Continent, and for some reason knows that there are two chosen children on said continent" I snorted in annoyance as I recalled our first encounter with Devimon in an abandoned mansion.
The feeling I felt when Gennai spoke to us was exactly the same, I felt like I was falling into a trap of some sort and I didn't like it one bit.
"I don't like it, I feel like we are being set up with the carrot and stick" I muttered while grimacing.
"The carrot and stick?" Gabumon spoke slowly with clear confusion on his face, reminding me that Digimon didn't know about human sayings.
"Reward and punishment. Imagine you're working as a policeman and you're told that if you catch three thieves you can have all the food you want!"
"That sounds amazing!" Gabumon exclaimed with a little jump which made me blink in surprise.
I gave him a small smile before frowning again. "You're right, that would be amazing... but if you don't manage to catch the three thieves you won't be able to eat anymore."
"That's a bit..." Gabumon paused for a moment before giving me a complicated look.
"It's an extreme example but you get the idea" I replied dryly, I remember my father complaining about something like that at work so I guess it applies to this example as well.
"I have a feeling Gennai is doing something similar with us" I muttered absentmindedly before shrugging my shoulders. "I can't be sure about that though."
"Oh! it's about your brother, isn't it? TK was his name?" Gabumon asked with understanding in his voice, before squirming a little as he met my gaze.
"..." Taking a deep breath I let out a sigh to calm down, Gabumon wasn't Tai or Joe, I had no reason to get mad at him for no reason. "...Yeah, I'm worried about TK, if what that old man said is true then the Server Continent there are Digimon even more powerful than Devimon! That's crazy!"
"But we defeated Devimon, didn't we?" Gabumon commented with excitement at that statement that a few weeks ago would have seemed impossible but was now an exciting reality for all of us.
However...
"Gabumon, we literally barely managed to defeat Devimon without dying in the process" I reminded him as I gave him a deadpan look. And that was no joke, we barely managed to defeat the cunning demon which took a lot of planning, strategy and lots, lots of luck.
And even with all the preparation and help we got from the Digimons on the island we could barely beat him.
"If it wasn't for those gears making him dumb he would have annihilated us in the blink of an eye" I shuddered slightly as I vividly remembered how Devimon using his strange gears managed to turn himself into a strange giant metallic amalgam. "I still have nightmares about that thing..."
"Point" Gabumon nodded as he scratched his head sheepishly. "But, I guess you shouldn't worry so much, according to Gennai's words both children were together and if they are like you, then they sure are fine!"
"Maybe you're right but that doesn't take away that it was my fault that TK was involved in all this" I muttered out loud while punching a tree hard and grimacing from the pain.
"It's my fault TK is here, I was the one who insisted he come to camp despite our parents disdain" I spoke with annoyance as I looked down at my palm feeling the guilt creep up my back.
"Matt..."
"It's my fault that TK was sent to this dangerous World and now I can't even take responsibility for this mistake" I let out a heavy sigh that I didn't know I had been holding back before turning my head and motioning to Gabumon.
"Let's go get those berries so I can rest, I feel like I haven't slept in days..."
The berry picking was strangely silent to my regret, I didn't know if it was due to tiredness or if I had been really in my own head lately but I felt tense, as if someone would jump out at any moment to attack me.
When we finally gathered enough berries between the two of us we quickly made our way back to our base, which was basically a small campground with a house big enough for everyone. Not far from the house was an unlit campfire and next to the house you could see some clothes hanging out in the open for the breeze to dry after being cleaned.
I turned my gaze towards the beach to see how Tai together with Greymon were lifting large pieces of wood and placing them together with the other pieces of wood which would be used to finish shaping the raft and also for the bonfire.
Although Greymon was the one doing all the work basically while Tai cheered him on.
"Hey! Matt!" A familiar voice made me turn around to see Sora.
"Hey Sora" I gave him a lazy wave as I handed her the berries I had collected along with Gabumon. "Take, here are some berries."
"Uhhh... isn't this supposed to be Mimi and Palmon's job?" Sora blinked twice before carefully taking the berries, she gave me a confused look as she bowed her head. "Besides, you should be resting, your shift is over isn't it?"
"Yes but I needed to clear my mind and I wasn't tired enough to go to bed yet" I let out a yawn.
Sora looks at the berries with a raised eyebrow before giving me an amused, almost mocking smile.
I frowned at her expression as I shoved my hands in my pockets. "What?"
"You know it would have been better if you carried them in a basket right?" Sora spoke with an amused tone as she averted her gaze for a second.
...
"...Why didn't I think of that?" I asked myself feeling suddenly stupid eliciting a small giggle from Sora causing my cheeks to blush slightly. "Well, I guess that's my cue to go to sleep...see you later."
"Hehe... See ya!" I gave Sora one last wave before walking into the house feeling strangely silly.
Tiredly I walked into my room and collapsed on the bed next to Gabumon, who didn't seem to be tired but I could sense that he was just playing hard to get even though there was no need for that.
Lostly I turned my gaze to the ceiling as a few last thoughts popped into my mind despite feeling sleep taking over my body.
'Just a few more days and we can leave this island... I wonder how TK is doing... and I hope he can forgive me for leaving him...'
Since I had arrived to this Digital World I had lived thousands of unique experiences.
Many of which I would remember forever... but that didn't keep me from a reality that I knew deep down but refused to admit out loud.
I was a terrible brother.
***
<A couple of days later...>
"Very well! Let's set sail for the Server Continent!"
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