Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Doctor and the Debutante ❯ Desperately Seeking Civilization ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 3 - Desperately Seeking Civilization

By Time Lady

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"Please let this all have been a dream," thought Mimi as she lay with her eyes closed. "Let me open my eyes and find myself back on the spaceship, or better yet, back home. . . ." Slowly Mimi opened her eyes. The shimmering fabric of the survival dome met her eyes. A tear rolled down her cheek as she sat up. Catherine was asleep on one of the mattresses. Those two strange creatures, Floramon and Palmon, were asleep on the other. Mimi sat there a moment just looking around. "It wasn't a dream. I really am stranded on some strange planet," she thought.

Wiping away a tear, she crawled out from under her covers and staggered to the sanitary facility. Her stomach began protesting loudly. Mimi realized she hadn't eaten in God-knows how long. Quietly she finished her business and stepped outside.

The sun had already risen. Looking around, Mimi realized the men's survival dome had been collapsed. Jyou sat on a fallen log next to the remains of their fire. He appeared to be going over some of the packs. Mimi's face reddened. She realized she had been incredibly rude to the others the day before. Particularly Jyou. Biting her lower lip, she moved forward. Her plan to approach him quietly was interrupted by a loud and extremely embarrassing rumble from her stomach.

"You should have eaten something last night," said Jyou in a low, neutral voice.

"I know."

He handed Mimi a ration without looking up from his chore. She accepted the silvery package almost meekly. "Where is Iori?" she asked as she sat next to him on the log.

Jyou meticulously arranged the items in the pack. "He went with Gomamon and Armadillomon to fill the canteens. I've already tested a water sample from the stream nearby. It's safe to drink." Mimi noticed the coolness to his tone.

Inwardly sighing, she realized he was probably irritated with her attitude the day before. Mentally she cursed her aunt. "A lady never does what a droid or a servant can do," her aunt would say. Of course, her aunt never did an ounce of physical work in her life. A servo-droid carried the packages while a hover cart took her aunt shopping. And her aunt was never stranded on a backwater planet in the middle of nowhere.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday," she said softly as she opened her ration package.

Jyou tensed at her gentle tone. A wave of nervousness flowed through him. Women just didn't use that tone of voice with him. To hide his sudden discomfort, he reached for another of the packs and began arranging the contents.

Mimi sensed that Jyou didn't seem to want to talk. She stared at the tray she removed from the package. On the tray were several bars, meant to be picked up and eaten. Mimi tried not to grimace as she picked up a brownish looking bar. She bit into it. It was sort of moist and rubbery. As hungry as she was, she made herself chew and swallow. The bar had a faintly meat-like taste to it. Curiously she picked up a greenish bar and took a bite. This one seemed to be some sort of vegetable bar. At least this one was more edible texture-wise. It tasted strange, but she ate it anyway. The last bar was sort of a beige color. Eating it was like eating an inch thick cracker. The dry bar crumbled as she chewed it. Crumbs stuck in the back of her throat. Mimi began coughing uncontrollably.

At Mimi's first cough, Jyou looked up from his forced chore. When her coughing wouldn't stop, he reacted instantly. First he pounded on her back to clear any crumbs from her breathing passage. As her coughing eased off, he pulled a small pouch out of the pack he was arranging and tore off a corner. "Drink this," he said, holding the pouch to her mouth, his arm around her shoulders to steady her. Mimi complied, taking long drinks of some sort of flavored liquid.

"Th- thank you," she managed after a few moments. "I shouldn't have eaten so fast."

"No, it's my fault," returned Jyou, forgetting his arm was around her shoulder. "I didn't realize the bars might be so dry. I should have given you something to drink."

Wearily Mimi rested her head against Jyou's chest. "Still, thank you." She could hear his heart begin to race. However, she didn't even try to move. The position she was in was rather comfortable.

Jyou froze. The doctor started to feel like he was hyperventilating. His face burned, as did his chest exactly where Mimi's head rested. "This isn't happening. . . . this isn't happening. . . ," repeated over and over in his mind. His mind refused to acknowledge what his body was experiencing. A beautiful young woman was in close contact with him willingly. She didn't seem to want to move away. And Jyou didn't have the faintest idea what to do.

"Bonjour," came Catherine's voice. Jyou practically jumped out of his skin. Mimi looked up to see Catherine standing at the door of the survival dome. "Am I. . . interrupting something?" asked the younger woman with an uplifted eyebrow.

Mimi realized Jyou was starting to inch away from her. "Some crumbs went down my throat wrong," said Mimi by way of explanation. Catherine didn't seem convinced, but couldn't pursue the issue further as Iori and the two other Digimon returned.

"All of the canteens are filled," announced Iori. He looked around and found Mimi blushing faintly. Catherine had one of those "I know something you don't know" expressions on her face. Jyou's face was bright red with beads of sweat. "Jyou, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," managed Jyou. "I. . . didn't put any sunscreen on."

"But there's not really any sun here in the forest," said Gomamon.

"No one asked you," returned Jyou in a low voice.

"Touchy," responded Gomamon.

---

While Catherine ate her ration, Jyou decompressed the ladies' survival dome. He needed to keep busy. The less he thought about what happened about 15 minutes ago, the better. Of course, he knew he might be making more of it than it really was. "She's engaged," he thought. "She was just grateful for my help before," he reasoned.

"Hey Jyou," said Gomamon as he watched the human, "why is it taking so much longer to put this dome away? The other one was down in a couple of minutes."

"Go away," replied Jyou tersely. He picked up the compressed dome and packed it into one of the packs.

Jyou slung the pack over his shoulder and rejoined the others. Mimi and Catherine had changed their clothing, wisely choosing clothing suited to a long trek. He noticed that, while the clothing was more practical, it was also stylish and expensive. The women's low boots looked like they were designed for appearance, rather than for utility. The material of their stylish blouses and pants might not hold up if caught by branches. He had chosen for himself shoes that he normally wore on his rounds and held up to a lot of abuse, with sturdy clothing that would hold up under just about any situation. Iori was also wearing clothing that would hold up under their hike.

"Ready Jyou?" called Iori.

"Give me a sec." Jyou closed his pack and sealed it. No need to take chances on anything falling out. He hefted his pack up on his shoulders and slipped his arms through the straps. "All right. I'm ready."

Mimi looked at the pack by her feet, then the pack on Jyou's back. Her pack, and Catherine's, appeared to be about half the size of the packs Jyou and Iori had. Guiltily she realized that the men were shouldering most of the burden. Even the Digimon were helping, though they barely knew each other.

Armadillomon took the lead. He had been through the human village a few times and knew its location. Iori followed behind him, his eyes wide as he took in the lush flora. "This is amazing," he said in an awed voice. "I always lived in domed cities. The botanical gardens are nothing compared with this. Armadillomon, what is that plant over there?"

"Hey, watch the path," said Jyou as Iori stumbled over a rock.

"Lighten up," said Gomamon. "He's enjoying the view."

"And if he breaks a bone, I don't know if I have the equipment to set it," returned Jyou.

"Are you always so pessimistic?" asked Mimi after listening to the exchange.

Jyou adjusted his glasses. "I prefer to think of it as being safe instead of sorry." He blushed faintly. Mimi attributed it to the sun, which began to peek through as the foliage became sparser.

In fact, she began to feel warm as the morning wore on. Warm slowly became hot. Mimi made a conscious effort to not complain. If she felt as hot and tired as she was, she could only imagine that Jyou and Iori felt worse. If they weren't saying anything, she wouldn't. Catherine was another story.

"This is ridiculous," she said in her lilting French accent. "Are we not going to stop until sundown?"

"We probably should take a short break," agreed Jyou. "I just wanted to make sure we were going to cover enough ground. The further we go, the sooner we reach the village." He slid his backpack off and set it on a fallen log. Exhausted, Mimi sat down on a stump.

"Do we have to eat those horrid rations?" asked Catherine.

"No," said Jyou. "I have some energy snack bars I had packed for the trip. We'll probably be better off with one of those for now. Gomamon, let me get them out of your pack."

"You're awfully quiet," Palmon said to Mimi as she sat down on the ground.

"Is there something wrong with that?" returned Mimi.

"No. But you don't seem like the type to be silent for long."

"I'd rather save my energy for the hike." Mimi bit back any further response as Jyou approached her with two silver packets.

"Here. This is an energy snack bar," he said as he handed her the first pack. "And this is nutritional drink. This should keep you going for another few hours."

"Thank you," said Mimi with a smile. Jyou's face reddened. This exchange was not lost on Palmon. Or Catherine.

"Trés intéressant," thought Catherine.

Mimi watched as Jyou beat a hasty retreat to where Iori, Gomamon, and Armadillomon sat. "Jyou is a mystery, no?" asked Catherine as she sat next to Mimi.

"What do you mean?" Mimi asked as she absently opened one of the packages.

"One moment he is all business, next his face is red and he seems unable to speak to you."

"I think he's shy," admitted Mimi in a low voice. "I noticed that aboard the ship."

"Do you like him?"

Mimi blinked in surprise. "He's a nice guy, but I'm engaged." Boy does that sound hollow, she thought, not noticing Catherine's smile.

"Then your fiancee will be waiting for you."

"I should hope so." Part of Mimi didn't really hope that Yamato would wait. "It's an arranged marriage. There are legal contracts and such."

"Do you love him?"

Do I? Mimi asked herself. "We hardly know each other."

"Pauvre cher. But then, I am certain you would come to love each other."

"So everyone says." Mimi glanced at Jyou, who was in an animated conversation with Gomamon and Iori. Armadillomon dozed next to them. "But what does everyone else know?" she thought.

---

The party hiked on for most of the rest of the day. They were quiet for the most part, the silence broken occasionally by one of the Digimon to give directions, by Iori to ask a question, or by Catherine to complain about being tired.

"That does it!" said Catherine in the late afternoon. "I can not go further this day."

"Have we made much progress?" Jyou asked.

"We could go a little further," said Armadillomon. "I was hoping we'd make the hot springs by evening."

"Hot springs?" asked Mimi.

"Pools of water that are heated by an underground source," explained Floramon.

"There would not happen to be a resort, would there?" asked Catherine.

"Do they have resorts on this world?" returned Iori.

"We do have resorts," said Gomamon, "but these springs are kind of off the beaten path, far from any of the Digimon towns. We'll have to camp out."

"But it's still a good place to soak and relax," added Palmon.

"A hot soak does sound good. Think you two can hold up for a little longer," Iori asked.

Mimi and Catherine looked at each other, then nodded wearily. The promise of soaking in a hot spring instead of using the survival dome's sanitary facility outweighed their exhaustion.

They trudged on for another half-hour before Armadillomon called for a stop in a small clearing. "So where's the hot spring?" demanded Mimi, her hands on her hips. She glanced around at the forest surrounding them.

"Right over there," said Armadillomon, pointing to a group of palm-like trees and flowered bushes.

Excitedly Mimi and Catherine walked over and parted the foliage. A bubbling pool of water invitingly. Boulders and smooth rocks bordered the edges. "Mon Dieu, how wonderful!" exclaimed Catherine as she stepped forward and dipped her hand into the water.

"Is it safe?" asked Jyou as he adjusted his glasses.

"The water is perfectly safe, though it's warmer towards the center," said Floramon. "I've been here before. It's a good place to soak tired roots."

"All right," said Jyou. He didn't say anything about how much he might like to soak in the hot water himself. "Let's start setting up camp in that clearing where we first stopped, then you ladies can take first go in the spring."

Catherine and Mimi didn't have to be told twice. They returned to the clearing. Everyone set down their packs. The two women managed to contain themselves long enough for the survival domes to be set up. Jyou couldn't help but be amused at how much excitement the idea of soaking in the hot spring brought for the women.

"Don't you want to eat first?" he asked as they were walking into the survival dome.

"I'm too tired to be hungry," said Mimi. "There is a hot spring over there with our names on it." She and Catherine disappeared into their survival dome.

Mimi began rummaging through the packs. "Oh no," she exclaimed. "I don't have a swimsuit!"

"We do not need them. Jyou and Iori said they would wait and go later."

"I don't know if I feel comfortable in such an open place." Mimi pulled out a couple of towels from one of the packs, along with a short, satin robe she had brought as part of her trousseau. Catherine found an old, oversized robe left over from one of the other passengers. They undressed and slipped on the robes. Mimi blushed as she realized how short her robe was.

Catherine led Mimi back out of the survival dome. Mimi tried to hide her embarrassment as she followed the younger girl. She was very aware of Jyou's eyes on her. "Mimi, are you okay? Your face is red," said Iori.

"Um, it's a little warm in the survival dome. Could you be a dear and check the thermostat?" Mimi hustled Catherine along. Palmon and Floramon followed them. "Oh my God I am mortified," said Mimi as they reached the spring. "Did you see how Jyou was staring?"

"Well he was certainly not staring at this old antique," returned Catherine as she shed her robe and slipped into the water. "Mon Dieu, this is heaven."

"I don't understand why you two are acting like this," said Floramon.

"It's a human thing," replied Mimi. "There are certain acceptable standards about males seeing females in particular forms of dress."

"Oh," said Floramon. The Digimon watched as Mimi glanced back towards where the men were, then slipped off her own robe and entered the spring. "Did you understand any of that?" Floramon whispered to Palmon.

"Not one bit." Palmon and Floramon joined the two girls in the pool.

"This is wonderful," sighed Mimi. She sat on a smooth rock under the water. The heat eased her sore, aching muscles. The long hike had been worth it. Relaxing, she closed her eyes. The only thing that could have made it better would be some bath attendants for a massage. Still, this was better than nothing.

"Do you think we will arrive in the village soon?" asked Catherine.

"If we keep walking steadily, we'll be there faster," returned Palmon.

"Are there more springs like this?" Mimi asked, her eyes still closed.

"I don't know," admitted Floramon. "I haven't traveled much in this area previously."

"Me neither," added Palmon.

"There's another spring a couple of days walk from here," said Gomamon.

Mimi's and Catherine's eyes flew open. Gomamaon floated past them. The two women paled.

---

Jyou meticulously arranged the wood into a pile for a fire. Armadillomon had assured them that the trees were not Digimon, so it was safe to gather the deadwood. "Here's the lighter," said Iori as he rummaged through one of the packs.

A loud shriek cut through the forest. Jyou jumped to his feet in alarm. Iori looked up from the firewood. "Catherine and Mimi!" said Jyou as he paled.

The bushes in the direction of the spring began to shake. Gomamon burst through the bushes running as fast as he could. Armadillomon readied himself for battle.

"PERVERT!" shouted Mimi as she dashed into the open. Catherine yelled something in French that no one quite understood. "HOW DARE YOU COME IN WHEN WOMEN ARE BATHING!" The irate women threw rocks at the Digimon, who dashed behind Jyou. Mimi and Catherine froze when they saw Jyou and Iori standing there staring at them. In their haste, the women had hastily grabbed their towels and wrapped them around themselves. When they realized their state of dress, they gave a short shriek and dashed back into the woods.

"That was weird," said Armadillomon, scratching his head with his paw.

"What do you make of it Jyou?" asked Iori. "Jyou?" Iori turned his head to find Jyou had fainted.

"Get him offa me!" complained Gomamon, who had the misfortune to be in precisely the location Jyou's body collapsed.

-To Be Continued-