Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Ruin ❯ New Futures ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"It's not much, but, you should get be able to sleep." Taichi showed the old sleeping bag to Sora, who was still very shaken. She simply nodded and took the ragged old thing. "Uh, if you need anything, feel free to raid the fridge, and the bathroom's over there." Again Sora wordlessly nodded. "Well, uh, I'm going to bed. You should too. Good night." Taichi went into his room.
Sora got into the sleeping bag, pulled it over her head then wrapped it tight around herself. She lay down in a corner on the hard ground, but it didn't matter. Her old house had no bed. Her house… her life… her mother… gone, all gone. Another wave of tears overwhelmed the homeless girl. She silently let the tears fall. For several minuets, she listened to the still night air. After several moments, she heard Taichi and Agumon talking.
"What am I going to do Agumon? I can't keep her with me. I can barely afford for the two of us. I'd be broke in a week with a third person."
"I thought we already were broke."
"Will you listen to me? I need to think of something."
"Well, uh, I guess you can try to get her a job?"
"Doing what? Selling flowers? I have to break it to her. If she's going to live with me, she has to pull her weight."
"Taichi, don't be too hard on her. She's just lost her home and mother."
"Yeah, I'll try. Just let me sleep on it. G`night." Sora heard blankets rustling, and gentle snoring.
After several minuets of deep thoughts, Sora finally decided. Quietly, she scrounged for some paper and a pencil. Hastily, she scribbled a note, then walked out the door.

Taichi woke early the next morning, at about six in the morning. He sleepily got out of bed, fumbled for a pair of clothes. When he walked out the door to see Sora gone though, his brain jump-started. Immediately, he grabbed the piece of paper and read it to himself.
"Dear Taichi,
I didn't mean to overhear you last night, but I did. You won't have to worry about supporting me, because by the time you're reading this, I'll be gone. Don't worry, I'll find a job. I won't forget your hospitality. Thank you.
Sora Takenouchi.
P.S. I took a little food, hope you don't mind.

Taichi placed down the note. He didn't know whether to be sad or passive. He only met her last night, so why should he care? Because she's like me, some person who's trying to survive. He suddenly remembered what Sora said before. That they were just a couple rejects in the city. Taichi sat down; his thoughts swirling like a tornado. After a moment, he got back up and decided to eat something.


That day, Taichi didn't have any delivery duties, so he decided to go around the city once or twice alone. Maybe that would clear up his head. He grabbed his jacket, and put on a pair of shoes, then went down the stairs and out of the building.
After only several minuets, the sky clouded up and it began drizzling, then all out raining. Taichi took shelter under a large pile of crates. "Climate gets weirder every day." He mumbled to himself.
From within the pile, an odd mechanical voice buzzed, "Yes indeed."
Taichi's adrenaline kicked in, and he leaped from the small cave and turned to face the speaker. A single red dot glowed back at him. Then a figure crawled out from under the crates. He was about the same size as Taichi, a bit shorter. He was completely shrouded in thick cloaks, and a faceplate covered three quarters of his face. A blue eye was all that could be seen of him. His voice seemed to be altered by an artificial voice box, but he was easily understandable. "You are called Taichi Kamaiya, correct?"
Taichi nodded. "That's me." The person or android seemed to be harmless.
"I have something for you." From a gloved hand, he produced a card. Taichi took it and inspected the card. On it was a list of instructions and a series of numbers and letters. "This will guide you to the Chimera Institute."
"Chimera Institute?"
"Yes, it's where Boss Zubla is."
Taichi shook his head. "You'll excuse me if I ask who the hell he his? Or you for that matter."
The strange person's voice buzzed in a strange, mechanical chuckle. "Have you been living with your head in the sand? He runs the biggest crime organization in Japan. He sees you as a possible candidate for his group."
"Let me get this straight. You're asking me to join a crime ring?"
"It's not my wish for you to join. I am only a right hand."
"Hmm," Taichi thought for a moment. "What's the pay?"
"Directly equivalent to your performance. The faster your shipping, the fatter your wallet."
Taichi considered this offer. He'd been living poorly for the last 4 years, and was pretty sick of it. A better room would definitely be a nice change of scenery. "OK, I'll join."
The figure nodded. "Very well. We'll be expecting you at 10 this night." He turned his back to Taichi and prepared to leave.
Before he could, Taichi asked, "Wait, could you tell me your name?"
For an awkward moment, the heavily robed person was silent. Then he finally said, "My name is of no importance." With that, he melted into the shadows.
Taichi looked at the piece of paper again. Then he walked out of the alley. By now the rain had stopped, so he continued on his previously scheduled walk around town.


That night, Taichi, with Agumon trailing behind him, headed to the local Pub. The instruction sheet said to tell the bartender that he was "The cleaning man, here to clean the back room."
As he entered the sleazy bar, Taichi made his way around the tables filled with strange people. He finally sat down on the stool while Agumon shimmied himself up after several tries. The old grizzled bartender walked up and asked, "What's your liking?"
Taichi said hesitantly, "I'm, uh, the cleaning man, here to clean the backroom."
The man's gray beard bounced as he nodded. "Right. Just behind that door." He indicated a closed door in the corner.
Taichi walked to the door. Cautiously, he opened it. Inside was a regular looking storage room with a single swaying light bulb illuminating it. Taichi checked the card. The next instruction said to look for a barrel with two X's on either side. Taichi pointed to on side of the room. "You look over there, I'll check this side."
After a moment Agumon called out, "Found something!"
"Yeah what?"
"A button."
"So… push it."
Agumon did so. Silently, a trap door opened at the back of the room. A ladder went down into the darkness. Taichi went down it, rung by rung, until he reached the soft dirt bottom.
A shiver went down the Dinosaur Digimon's spine. "Pretty cold down here. I don't like it."
"Oh relax, there's a door up ahead." A thick metal door with a number pad at its side. Taichi looked at the card once more then punched in the 10-digit code.
With a hiss, the door creaked open. The strange android-human thing was waiting. "Welcome Taichi." He saw that Agumon was behind him, and gazed sternly at the invited pilot. "I was not aware you'd be bringing a friend."
"He's just my partner. He'll take orders from me."
Agumon grumbled at Taichi's remark.
The person's voice buzzed, "Very well. Come with me."
The three walked down a long set of stairs. Before they were halfway down, Taichi and Agumon could hear music echoing around. When they reached the bottom, they discovered a large cavern. All around there was bustling and chatting. A large refreshment table sat to the left while a band softly played some odd, techno-jazz kind of music. Tables were scattered here and there, some occupied with pilots like Taichi, and others empty or with finished meals on them. In the back wall though, there was an enormous throne with a bulky man sitting on it. He was finely dressed in blue and black robes, and a large sheathed sword was hooked onto his diamond-studded belt. Taichi presumed he was Boss Zubla.
"Come, we shall meet Zubla."
Taichi followed the covered-up android person. They threaded their way through the crowd, and went up the steps to Boss Zubla.
The Boss's had a deep, reverberating voice. "So, this is our newest member. Welcome Taichi Kamaiya."
Taichi wasn't quite sure what to say. "Uh… It's… an honor to be a part of your group… sir."
Zubla's chuckle echoed through the cavern. "Please, just Zubla will do. I don't want my people to think of me as a total dictator."
"OK, so…" Taichi wondered what to say. "What do I do first?"
The enormous Boss snapped his pudgy fingers. Suddenly, Sora appeared from the shadows and asked, "Yes Zubla?"
"Take our newest member to his room."
"Right away Zubla." Sora turned to see Taichi, then silently gasped, but hid her surprise. "This way please." She quickly led Taichi and Agumon out of the enormous cavern through a small tunnel.
"Sora, I can't believe it! What are you doing here?" Taichi asked.
"Well, I was sitting in an alley, and this weird robot guy came out. He asked if I would be an usher in Zubla's Cavern. I needed some shelter and money, so I really had no choice. Since then, I've been down here, serving drinks and showing people to places."
"That's pretty cool. Did that robot guy have one blue eye?"
"Yeah, he was really creepy."
"He's the same guy who invited me here. Seems Zubla thinks I can be part of his pilot force."
"Well, I guess we've both caught a break." Sora stopped at one of the doors. "This is your room. It's small, but you get lights, a bathroom, running water, and a nice bed.
"Sounds good." Taichi exhaled loudly. "Wow, what a coincidence we should meet again."
"If you can call it luck…" Sora said softly.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing. I'm just, one of those believers in destiny."
"Destiny? As in… we all have some preplanned life?"
"Yeah, it's silly, but I still think it's real."
Taichi lightly laughed. "I don't. For me, everything you do is your choice."
"Yeah, well…" Sora sighed. "Good night Taichi."
"Night Sora." Taichi closed the door. His room wasn't much, but it'd do. Agumon was already inside, snoozing on one side of the bed. The newly hired pilot flopped down. His head was still a swirl of thoughts and emotions. "Am I ever going to know what it is that's eating at me?" He said to a blank ceiling.


Sora was about to walk away, when the odd android person said from behind her, "I see you're friends with Taichi."
Immediately, Sora whipped around in surprise, to see the speaker. Then she let out her breath and tried to ignore the adrenaline. "Why do you sneak up on me?"
"I have my reasons. You and Taichi like to talk with each other, correct?" His voice buzzed.
"Well, yeah, he saved me from being beaten by some thugs."
The person nodded. "Actually, I have something to do with him."
"You do?" Sora became curious.
"Yes, but it is not important right now. I must attend to other things."
"Wait! Stop being so mysterious! Why don't you tell me your name or something?"
"You may call me… Xantos."
"… OK then, Xantos, what do you have to do with Taichi?"
"It is not of your concern. Go, there's still tables to be cleaned." With that, the odd person melted into the shadows in his usual manner.
Sora felt a shiver run down her spine as she went down the hall.