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He had never allowed himself to cry like that in front of someone before.
Certainly, he had cried when he was a kid and he had fallen off the monkey bars.
The physical amount of pain he had felt was just too much for his little self
back then.
Certainly, he had cried amidst the rain when he'd come so close to losing those
dear to him. Shouting at his own weaknesses, his own desires to be stronger...
Certainly, he had cried in joy to see his fighting partner back with him both in
body and spirit. That moment was short-lived and he had just laughed those tears
off, calling them sweat from his heart.
He'd had another bout of the second situation, intensified by the number of
years he had anticipated a different outcome.
Moments when he felt so powerless that it was as if the whole world was against
him and he couldn't do anything about it...
But it wasn't. It was anything but...
This time, Tohma was there.
----
He still went to the Norstein mansion the next day to report in to DATS, and
also to give back the suit that he had borrowed from Tohma. The operators
Kurosaki and Shirakawa noticed the change in Masaru's attitude and asked if
something had happened, but he couldn't find it within him to tell them the
details yet.
It all felt so surreal, knowing that he no longer had his father to search for.
He was finally fully-fledged back in DATS, but nothing felt the same as before.
Nothing felt the same, especially when Tohma came in and saw Masaru in the
headquarters with the borrowed suit folded up in a bag.
Remembering the day before, Masaru sensed heat rising up his cheeks as he saw
the familiar sight of the blond in his blue DATS uniform. Tohma looked back at
him as he usually did, however... that unreadable expression.
" Thanks, Masaru. I'll go take that up now."
Masaru passed the bag over to him and then stood there, unsure of what to do
next. Tohma paused and passed a quiet sigh.
" Come back in a few days. We'll be fine handling things here until then. I
think we all need some more time to ourselves," he told the brunet.
Masaru could see the reasoning behind his suggestion, but he didn't feel he was
so down anymore to need it. He was just... a little lost at that point. " Tohma,
I..."
But Tohma had already left.
...What was that about?
' Ehhh?' he thought to himself. Just yesterday, Tohma was so eager to be by his
side, but today he was doing a complete 180?
And what did he mean "we all?" As far as Masaru could tell, all of the older
people like Captain Satsuma and the girls were completely ready to go about
business as usual.
What the heck was that... that tonma thinking?! Masaru was tempted to just chase
after the noble upstairs into the Norstein mansion.
Yoshino came up to him just then, thumping some papers on his raised shoulders.
" Well, I won't ask why you need a mini-vacation since Tohma said he'd cover for
your absence, but there's some paperwork you need to fill out before that."
" Ehhh," he said out loud this time. Even if he was objecting to Tohma's
unnecessary concern, more paperwork was the last thing he wanted. " Can't I do
it later?"
" No. It's time-sensitive material. I think. But seriously now... just take my
sisterly advice and DO IT OR ELSE."
" Geh."
It sounded more like a death threat than sisterly advice, so he obediently went
to sit down with Yoshino and the papers at their work desks. Lalamon floated
over to rest on top of Yoshino's desk as she drank some tea, and Agumon came by
as well. Glimpsing across the top of the papers, Masaru read the headline that
said "Employment Data."
" Employment?" he said blankly.
" Well, do you intend to go back to school next semester? As a ninth grader,
assuming they'll even let you go on, all you'd be doing is preparing for high
school entrance exams anyway," Yoshino stated. " Captain Satsuma did some
talking about your achievements for this Demon Lord incident and pleased the
higher-ups, so the government's made an exception for you. You're a really
special case, you know? Letting you skip a year of compulsory school..."
" So... basically with this, I don't have to go to school anymore?"
" Nope. I mean, come on, you're a savior of the world! Of both worlds! And
apparently, it's what you're good at doing, so the government wants you to keep
focusing on that. And wouldn't you rather be fighting Digimon instead of
sleeping at school?"
" Hey, I'm not ALWAYS sleeping at school."
" But Aniki, didn't you say that there're tons of people to fight in school?"
Agumon suddenly joined in the conversation.
" Sure, but..."
Agumon stared at him with his giant, yellow Digimon muzzle.
And that's when it came to him. Even with his father gone, in a way, he was
still chasing after him by being with the Digimon. But now, no matter how much
he chased, he wouldn't find his old man anymore. His father had moved on.
He wasn't ready to give this up, however.
As long as he still had his feet to run on and his fists to punch, he'd keep
fighting. It wasn't just for his father. Masaru was fighting for all of THEM
too.
Looking back, he felt a strange distancing from himself remembering how
powerless he felt when he had learned of his father's death. He still felt
regretful that he hadn't known about BanchouLeomon until it was too late, and
for a while, he didn't understand why Daimon Suguru had decided to move on.
But now he understood, and now he felt like he could finally concede with his
father's decision. His father was proud of him. Suguru had said that Masaru had
proved himself plenty...
It was as if he'd been given permission to focus on goals beyond his old man.
His other goals... His goals for the Digimon, his goals for himself.
And even then... it was probably what his father would have wanted him to do.
" There are plenty of guys to fight here too, Agumon. And I definitely like this
place more than school. The fights are more interesting, and I've got you," he
finished, cracking his partner a smile. He started filling out the papers.
" And Tohma too, right?"
Masaru froze his grip on the pen. Yoshino's eyebrows rose curiously in response
to Agumon's statement.
" Hey, so did something happen between you two yet?" she asked Masaru, dripping
with casualness in her tone. " Even someone like Agumon's caught on."
" What do you mean, 'Even someone like Agumon?' I only mentioned Tohma because
yesterday-"
Masaru smacked a hand on the giant, frog-like face, muffling the rest of
Agumon's words.
" Don't talk about other people's business like that!" he warned quickly, a
little too frantic to quench Yoshino's curiosity. She raised her eyebrows again
as Masaru turned to face her. " I'm still working on it, all right?"
" Working on it," she repeated.
" Yeah..."
" About your own feelings?"
" Err..." He flushed red again, but he stopped caring by then. " There're
complications..."
" You said something like that last time too. You're still going on about that?"
" Mmmmmm..."
Yoshino suddenly leaned back on her seat, making a big shrug. " And this is
exactly why I offered counseling, you know. Hmph, I should've known."
Masaru pouted shortly and then went back to filling out the papers.
" You know, it'll be really troublesome if we go back to everyone being here at
the same time and you guys end up dodging around each other like magnets with
the same charge."
" Hey, do you want me to fill these papers out or not?"
" Ah, sorry, sorry."
When Masaru finally finished the papers, he handed them to Yoshino with a bored
frown.
" Thank you very much~" she said in similar fashion to his expression, taking
the papers, " So I was thinking..."
Masaru stood up and hinted at leaving as he bundled up Agumon into his Digivice.
" Just give him a chance."
He stopped in his steps as he was heading towards the doorway. " Huh?"
" Why don't you just give him a chance and see what happens? Now that this whole
crisis is over, isn't it a good time? You said yourself you wanted to get rid of
the Demon Lords first or something before doing anything about it, didn't you?"
He turned to face her.
" Or is there something else really so complicated that's stopping you?"
" Err....." He gave it a long thought, mostly considering what had happened
yesterday. Honestly, all he could remember was comforting his mother and Chika
after telling them the news the night before, and sharing a few moments with
Tohma...
He didn't want to dwindle on the time he was pathetically escaping the truth, so
he didn't put a drip of effort into remembering some things about the day
before. After he factored that out, along with other similar things...
" Maybe there isn't anything that complicated..." he muttered.
" That's just the thing with you boys, you don't even know what's going on
yourselves," Yoshino said in an almost forfeiting voice. " Well, do what you
want. It's up to you. Just remember my advice, okay? And I guess Tohma's advice
to take a break, too. It'll give you time to think if you're up for it."
" Sure, whatever."
He wasn't too happy with Yoshino claiming that he didn't know what was going on,
because he was pretty sure he knew by now...
But she was exactly right otherwise. It was up to him...
----
In the end, he did take Tohma's advice first and stayed home for a few more days
to spend some more time with his family, keeping them company while they tried
to gain peace of mind from the loss of Daimon Suguru. Masaru's mother had
informed Captain Satsuma about the incident and left it to him to inform the
rest of the DATS members.
During that time, Masaru thought about everything that had been going on around
him, with a renewed sense of what he could do about it all.
It was almost August, and the excess of warm, sunny days truly helped keep their
spirits lifted, he felt.
One of those days, when he was out doing shopping errands for the family at the
local convenience store, he came across his old schoolmates. He started off with
some awkward conversation with them, as they obviously had been wondering about
his long disappearance after showing up on national television. He told them
about how he had broken both of his legs during a mission, which made the others
blink dumbfounded because they couldn't tell a difference, and he had recovered
so quickly...
Eventually, he was able to tell them that he wouldn't be coming back the next
semester, and he watched them as they nodded back in full understanding, much to
his surprise. They even gave him pats on the back and all sorts of other cheer
for him. " We won't forget you!" they said. " You'll always be Japan's number
one fighter to us."
" We probably won't be able to hang out anymore and we'll grow farther apart,
but no matter what happens, we'll still remember you. You'll be in our
memories."
Memories. Even though they had used the word in such a casual and corny way, it
touched him now more than he would have ever imagined before.
And then he gave them playful punches.
" Idiots, it's not like I'm moving away. Invite me when you go to the game
center some time, got it?"
On the day he came back to DATS, Minervamon had finally come out of her room.
She seemed to have come to her own resolution, as she came out carrying
BanchouLeomon's unhatched Digiegg.
She was even willing to let the rest of the DATS members read her letter from
BanchouLeomon. Inside, her friend had given her a request to seek out the other
Olympian Gods and Mercurimon, since he was bound to be coming back some day.
In reality, she had been consciously avoiding the rest of the Olympian Gods
because her personality in particular was unlike the rest of them. She had only
managed to stay close to Mercurimon because of his exceptionally protective and
kind nature, while she avoided anything to do with the others whenever she
could.
She realized how lonely she was making herself by avoiding her fellow gods, and
BanchouLeomon had given her a sign of hope by leading her to where she could
find them. From there, she decided to take BanchouLeomon's Digiegg with her back
to the Digital World, where she'd stay by his side and continue seeking her
comrades.
Masaru and the others found it an admirable thing to do, and everyone at DATS
wished her luck as they sent her back to the Digital World.
Before leaving, Minervamon confided a moment with Masaru, telling him that her
hexagonal pin had been given to her sometime after Suguru had become a part of
BanchouLeomon, and it wasn't just a coincidence that it was similar to Masaru's
tag.
Even if there was the slimmest possibility of seeing his father's soul in the
new Digimon to hatch, he would still be a lone Digimon bound to his own
Digisoul, and no longer human, and his rightful place would remain in the
Digital World.
Masaru was ready to move on too.
He had a lot going for him back in DATS. Although they had solved the crisis
with the Demon Lords, Digimon were still drifting into the real world by
accident and it was still up to their tactics squad to stop further crisis from
occurring. Their location in the Norstein mansion had grown incredibly
convenient for them, and Tohma had no qualms with them continuing their
confidential operations there.
Satsuma called the crew in to congratulate Masaru in joining the squad as
officially as could be. Thankfully, Yushima and Satsuma had recognized the
negative effects from the publicity they had forced on their young members, so
they revised their outlook where slowly, but surely they could work towards
their goals of harmony between humans and Digimon. They would still have to pull
through a lot of misunderstandings and mishaps, but they were more than ready to
face them.
And Masaru knew he had to face his own...
Yoshino came over and gave her condolences to Masaru when they had the moment to
themselves. It seemed she was feeling guilty about bringing up the subject of
Tohma when she hadn't known what had happened to Masaru's father, but Masaru
just gave her a smile and thanks in return.
" I'll get you some of that special manju sometime. I owe ya."
" Eh?"
----
Later on that day, Masaru went up to Tohma while he was in the area of the
mansion that had been turned into a research lab.
" How are things going on the research?"
" Oh, Masaru," the blond turned around, slightly startled from the other's
entrance. It was the familiar sight of Tohma in his lab coat, carrying a
clipboard. " It's still a lot of trial-and-error testing at this point. The only
thing I can do right now is wait for results, and it's a little frustrating, but
things are looking good overall."
" Great. How long's it going to take?"
Tohma gave a mild grunt, not sounding all too pleased. " It's hard to say...
It'll likely take years. Maybe even a full decade."
Masaru grunted as well, but his was of the haughty nature. " Then I'll say it'll
take less than half of that."
After staring for a moment, Tohma just shrugged.
" Oh yeah, good timing. I've finished a new model of the communication device.
Let me check to see if it fits."
From his back pouch, he brought out the brand new device and handed it over to
Masaru. It fit just like the old one, much to his satisfaction.
" Wow... Thanks, man."
" Go ahead and take it with you. By the way, it's made out of special material
this time, so even someone like Minervamon won't be able to break it so easily.
Of course, that includes you too."
" Hey...!"
Tohma just gave a light chuckle as Masaru glowered at him. That smile...
" ...So you really are staying in DATS."
" What, did you think I'd leave?"
Tohma shook his head. " I suppose you wouldn't with Agumon still around."
Masaru made a significant pause before he said, " He's not the only reason..."
Tohma looked at him, mildly surprised.
But the brunet didn't let him say anything about it. " I'm not letting you guys
get all the action here! Japan's still MY turf, after all."
" A-Ah..." With that subdued response, Tohma went back to his clipboard for a
moment, but he only seemed to be paying casual attention to it. " We'll finally,
really be working together again. It's so strange..."
Silence fell upon the two. Indeed, it was so strange...
Masaru idly played around with the communication device dangling on his ear. It
was back to that old habit of Tohma... going out of his way to do things for him
and not saying anything about it, but Masaru was clearly aware of the reason
behind it now.
" You know, before all this happened, I thought everything would go back to how
it used to be before Kurata showed up... but it didn't. Not at all," Masaru
said, giving Tohma a firm gaze. " And even now, a lot of things are going to
feel different... We've been through a lot."
It was an indirect question.
Things had happened between them that he still didn't have answers for, but for
the longest time, he didn't even know what questions he wanted answered. Now
that he knew, it was just a matter of addressing them...
Tohma stared back at him for a while.
" We've been through a lot... but 'because of all that, I've come out stronger
than ever before!' is what you want to say, right?" he said with a smirk.
" Hell ya, of course I have! ...I mean, NO! Something else!" Masaru gave the
blond a mild punch, which the other hardly reacted to. " What I was trying to
say was... nevermind."
Of course he knew he was stronger. But that wasn't what he was trying to say at
all...
He knew a lot more than that. That missing link he'd noticed between the two of
them wasn't really there at all. They'd been connected the whole time... He just
hadn't been acknowledging it. And... Tohma was probably doing the same thing.
That was all there was to it in the end.
He felt the same as Tohma...
He didn't just want to give Tohma punches at that point. He wanted to...
......
He gave a long sigh through his nose as he remembered Yoshino's advice about
giving the blond a chance... He didn't want to admit it out loud right there,
but he knew he had to be the one to bring it up if they were ever to get
anywhere, with the way things were. He just needed a way to make sure he didn't
turn back.
No more turning back...
" Tohma, I was thinking we could finish up that sleepover from a long time ago.
I'll let Agumon stay home to watch over the house. Are you free after dinner
tonight?"
" ...Yeah."
" Then whaddaya say? I'll head back here on my bike."
The blond gave him a strange look, as if suspicious about something. " I suppose
it's all right..."
" Sweet, I'll come back after dinner! See you then!"
" Ah..." It looked like Tohma wanted to say more to him, but it was Masaru's
turn to have the last word. He had already left the research lab.
----
Even though he was the one who had asked, even though he knew Tohma would be
fine with the sudden arrangement, why was he feeling so jittery inside?
There had been a rain shower earlier in the afternoon which had cooled off the
rest of the sunny day, so Masaru put on one of his long sleeves and went to
Tohma's place on his bike after dinner.
And when Tohma went to greet him at the door (and he really did answer instead
of the usual butler), he pulled the nobleman out of the mansion, much to his
confusion.
" We're going on a bike ride."
" Eh?"
" I'm gonna prove to you how well I recovered by riding us both up and down that
blasted hill near the mansion. Just sit back and watch!"
" Huh? You've already... W-Wait, Masaru!" He didn't give Tohma much room to
argue as he pushed him over onto the back seat of the bike and got in position,
and soon they were both setting off to the gates where Masaru had just come in.
Tohma had no choice but to hold onto Masaru's waist as they rode off.
The downhill ride was easy, naturally. Masaru just warned Tohma to brace for the
speed as they cruised their way down the steep hill. The breeze felt nice and
cool against them, relieving them for those few short moments.
There was one corner to turn a little after the hill. He continued on from
there, sailing through the streets and breezing past random people who were
walking along. He probably knew some of the people he passed by, but he just
sped on, not even having to stop for traffic.
Eventually, he turned back before reaching the end of the long road, repeating
the path and this time waving to those he had seen just moments earlier. Tohma
just hung on as usual, watching the passerbies, watching Masaru...
Masaru stopped when he reached the bottom of the hill to look up at it, awing at
the sunset that was visible behind it. Bright red and orange rays of light
seared across the peak of the hill and reflected against their skin and clothes,
giving everything a warm glow.
The rest of the street view was empty at that point, as people rarely came
across the Norstein mansion on the outskirts of town.
" Just as selfish as ever, doing whatever you please..." Tohma said when the air
finally got quiet around them, leaving aside the muted noise of the cicadae
chattering in the background. " Quite the character as always."
" Hmph. I said I'd repay the favor to you that other day, didn't I?"
Tohma blinked. That day in Masaru's room... " So being selfish is a favor to
someone now?"
Masaru shook his head. " Uh... that's not what I meant. Whatever!"
" Whatever..." Tohma repeated.
" Oh, just shut up," Masaru said, relinquishing defeat in his logic. " Say, is
your father still at the mansion?"
" No, he went back to Austria the day after we came back from the Digital
World."
" Oh..."
Silence fell over them. They hadn't brought up the subject of their families
since that day in Masaru's room...
" It'll be August soon..."
" Yeah..." Tohma said quietly.
" That means festival time."
" Festivals..."
Masaru didn't know exactly when Tohma lost his mother in that accident, but with
the way Tohma was responding, he knew it must've been around that time. Maybe it
had something to do with the reason why Tohma didn't let anyone else know his
birthday had just passed too...
" So in the end, you've never been to a festival, have you."
" ......"
" I'll take you to one next month. For Tanabata."
A familiar hollow throat noise came from Tohma as he slowly pulled back to relax
his grip from Masaru's waist. " ...I appreciate the invitation, but..."
" And THAT's where it is."
" Huh?"
" You're always doing stuff on your own when it comes to other people, but when
it comes to me doing something for you, you always turn me down if I don't punch
it out of you first!"
" It's nothing against you, Masaru. It's just..."
" It is to me! Especially when you go off and... and..."
Masaru let the silence overcome them again, but this time it was to keep his own
thoughts straight.
' Give him a chance.'
He knew by now he was blushing furiously, but he had to face up to it.
" Can't you just be more honest..."
Tohma blinked in confusion. " Honest? It's not like I've been lying to you,
Masaru. I've told you once before that I trust you... So you don't trust me?"
Masaru grit his teeth. ' That tonma really did remember...'
" No, I do! But that's not what I'm talking about..." Trust... that was way back
in ElDoradimon, those fleeting moments Tohma had asked the both of them to
forget. It was TOHMA who asked, yet... " Not being honest with YOURSELF isn't
being a man either."
Masaru turned around and Tohma was looking at him like he'd been accused of
something. Which in essence, he was. " I don't care all that much if you lie to
me, Tohma. Just don't... don't lie to yourself. I'M the one not getting trusted
when you're not being honest to yourself around me."
Tohma was still silent, but it seemed that his mind had been jump-started at
least.
Masaru just had to find it in himself to say it, to turn things around...
He took a deep breath.
" I gotta admit, I wasn't honest to myself for a while either..." Masaru started
off slowly.
He looked straight into Tohma's eyes, slightly on the downward gaze since the
bike was parked on the ascending angle. Tohma returned the gaze, intrigue
reflecting off his subdued blue hue.
" But back then, when I read that letter from my dad... you stayed there for me.
I wanted you to be there."
" I thought that was all my selfishness..."
" Part of it was," Masaru cut in. " But did you think I would've let you come
with me if I didn't want you there?"
Another hollow sound came from Tohma.
Tohma's preoccupied expression...
Ah, an opening.
' Honest with myself... as a man...'
" It's fine, Tohma. You can... You can be a little more selfish with me. I want
you to."
Leaning closer, Masaru gently rested his lips on Tohma's bangs. He didn't put in
any pressure, but he stayed there long enough to show what he had been going
for.
Tohma blinked hard. He continued to sit on the bike with one leg propped to keep
the bike standing, yet the look of surprise on his face was as if he'd been sent
tumbling through another galaxy by accident. It was followed by a late reaction
in the form of a rare, deep blush.
" ...Am I that obvious?"
Masaru couldn't help but chuckle a little at Tohma's dumbfounded appearance, and
he returned the blush. " Hell ya. It's old news even to a dull-head like me,
pal. I had you figured out way back in rehab, but of course, it all started back
in ElDoradimon."
Tohma frowned. " I thought we promised to forget-"
" I still can't! I still can't..." Masaru cut in again. He could feel the blush
on his face getting worse. " I tried so hard to forget for a long time after
that, but it just kept coming back... And obviously, you can't seem to forget it
either."
" ......"
" I'm not going to bother trying to forget that anymore. Just think of it as
another selfishness of mine, got it? Like... Like I said, you're free to repay
the favor." Mostly to hide his ever-increasing embarrassment, he turned back
around on the bike to face the slim glimpse of the sunset over the hill. " Show
me what you've got."
Tohma didn't answer at first.
Neither of them said anything or moved from their seat on the bike for what felt
like several minutes.
But slowly, the hands that had been loosely resting on Tohma's sides made their
way back to Masaru. He simply embraced Masaru from behind on the bike, bringing
his forehead to lean against the brunet's back.
He hugged so tightly, yet with so much care... Masaru could just feel the
respect and gratitude pouring out of Tohma's grip, and it was overwhelming his
senses.
" Masaru... If you're asking for it so much, then hurry back so I can show you
how selfish I can be."
Overwhelmed... he couldn't stand still any longer.
That was the answer he'd been waiting for.
He nearly slammed his foot on the pedal to start their uphill climb. He hadn't
even gotten much momentum to start with, but he didn't need it. The warmth
surrounding him from behind was fueling him plenty. He gripped the bike handles
with more friction and pushed forward, one step at a time, non-stop. Gravity
worked against him more than ever before, but he refused to give in.
At the top, when he finally made it, he nearly collapsed with his whole body.
But Tohma was still there, holding him in place. He was still there, supporting
him.
Masaru couldn't steady his breath, however. He quickly recovered and started
pedaling again, zooming back to the mansion. After an impatient bout of security
checks at the gate, he dashed up to the building, parked his bike in a rush, and
then scuttled straight inside the building. Tohma followed him not long after,
and without another word, they raced each other up to Tohma's room. On the way,
they ran past the butler and various maids who could only stare in bewilderment
at their after-dust.
It seemed that they tied, for both of them reached out for the door handle at
the same time. They took only faint notice as their hands made contact and they
opened the door together. Tohma was panting slightly, but not nearly as much as
Masaru, who wobbled onto the nobleman's plush carpet in exhaustion and let
himself collapse onto it.
He laid there, collapsed for a while, just catching up with his breath as Tohma
closed the door. Then he turned to face up at the ceiling, arms stretched out
onto the thick, soft plush. He let out a long breath and closed his eyes. When
he opened them, Tohma suddenly came into view overhead. Tohma was leaning over
him.
And then Tohma leaned forward and sealed their lips. He'd come in so naturally
that Masaru couldn't help but tilt his head in response, allowing the
opportunity for the blond to press in more comfortably. It seemed Tohma had
intended for the kiss to be a short one, as he tried to pull back... But Masaru
dived forward and recaptured those lips, and their kiss continued.
Masaru's arms slowly made their way around Tohma's back. He could feel every bit
of affection sweeping through Tohma's movements, and his senses were getting
overwhelmed again. His eyesight fluttered and lost focus.
It was his first kiss, and already he could feel so many new emotions want to
burst out of him. Even though his mind was swirling in a frenzy, it felt so
right...
Tohma finally pulled himself up with his arms and the two stared at each other
for a moment. It was almost unbelievable, somehow, yet Masaru knew there was no
doubt about what had just happened.
" Sometimes, I'd think..." the blond muttered as he continued to contain
himself. " The things I did when I was with Kurata were beyond redemption. Even
when you said all those things to me, even when I told you to forget it all, it
was more like I wanted to forget it all myself. But I couldn't stand myself like
that..."
" Hmph, that's more than enough to set me off, you know? Whack you a good one to
knock the senses back in ya."
" You knew, didn't you? Then why didn't you? You just went along..."
" W-Well, I had trouble figuring things back then too," Masaru muttered back,
flushing in his own disgrace. " And besides, a lot of things were changing
around us."
" Around us? How about between us," Tohma stated somberly.
" Bah... so what about those little details?" rolling his eyes quickly, Masaru
tightened his grip around Tohma. " At least we're here like this now. Don't
worry, man. I was just losing my own sense of mind when I said all those nasty
things to you, and I've long forgiven all those things you did while playing the
bad guy. Didn't that punch I gave you back then tell you enough?"
" In most aspects, yes," Tohma answered. " But Masaru, don't you ever wonder
exactly WHY I went through with Kurata?"
" Whatever it was, it led to us being able to defeat him, didn't it?"
Tohma sighed at the blinking Masaru. " That hardly scratches the surface..."
Masaru gave him a look, intending to say "So what?" which the blond didn't seem
to want to take silently in return.
" Part of it had to do with my family, but another big part of it had to do with
protecting you guys."
" Protecting... oh, like you did with Ikuto when you dumped him in the sea?"
" Do you have to put it that way... but yes. Even going against you was to
protect you. I had the intention to disable you from fighting one way or another
back then... even if I had to do this."
Tohma brought his hands up against Masaru's face, pausing as he brushed the
brunet's cheeks, then he wrapped them carefully, yet firmly around Masaru's
neck.
The contact sent a chill down Masaru's back.
" I didn't want to do it, of course..."
That grip was so familiar... Masaru knew the blond was expecting him to flinch.
He almost did... but instead, he brought his own hands over Tohma's before the
blond could react.
" You were able to break out of that control... both times," Masaru said calmly.
" I haven't forgotten. I haven't forgotten any of it."
" ......But when I was with Kurata, I was fully prepared to do this under my own
volition. Even then..."
" That's your strength, Tohma... Me? I was the opposite. I gave into that
control so easily... both times."
Control over his own upset emotions, the Demon Lords' control... they were one
and the same.
" If it weren't for you... I wouldn't be here, Tohma. That's just why I'm glad
to have you," Masaru continued. " My trust in you hasn't changed. It's only
gotten stronger."
" ......"
" And besides... you know firsthand what happens if you try going too far with
me. Quite literally." His grip on Tohma's hands tightened as his voice pitch
lowered dangerously.
Tohma only stared down at him, eyes opened wide.
And then he smiled that natural, nostalgic smile.
" Of course."
Although he said it as if it were obvious, it seemed that finally at that
moment, he realized the utter meaning behind Masaru's words and grip.
His own grip on Masaru's neck loosened and he raised his thumbs to press against
the brunet's cheeks as he bent down for another kiss.
Again, the first one was relatively short, but with Masaru returning the
passion, it seemed he couldn't help but go for another... and another, and
another.
Masaru was basking in the warmth within the flurry of kisses. Every time Tohma's
lips parted from his, the cold would come and he'd seek them to come back, and
Tohma's own body was slowly warming the rest of him up...
When they finally released each other long enough to find that they were both
breathing rather heavily on each other, Tohma spoke.
" Love..." Tohma said almost inaudibly at first, his lips slightly quivering
against Masaru's. His next words rang clearly. " I love you, Masaru."
Masaru had been ready to hear it. " Same here... I love you too, Tohma," came
the slow, straightforward reply.
A wet drop hit Masaru's cheek. He nearly jerked at the sudden, pinging chill.
" Tohma...?"
The blond moved back and hurriedly wiped his palm over his eyes. " Huh? I'm
not..." He didn't finish his sentence.
Masaru blinked. Mr. Perfect Genius was... crying? ...No, now wasn't the time to
think like that. Just who was the one letting himself get carried away by that
perfect genius...
Tohma swiftly brought his hand away, as if pretending that he hadn't wiped his
eyes in the first place, although it'd been so obvious. His eyes were still
watering up, but the moisture stayed contained within them. Masaru let out a
short, voiceless "heh." No wonder...
Those tears... It was just sweat from Tohma's heart.
Masaru wiped the moisture off his own cheek and brought Tohma back down against
him.
" Hey, weren't you going to show me how selfish you could be? What's with all
the confessions now, huh?"
Tohma... he felt so warm, both physically and how connected he felt spiritually
right now.
Tohma sniffled into Masaru's shoulder. " Mmph. You asked for it..."
----
" Good morning, Master..."
The next morning, Gaomon appeared before them in rather... unexpected attire.
Various maids were going about the hallway, doing business as usual with opening
curtains and cleaning up areas, although they had suspiciously large smiles on
their faces.
Masaru made a rather obvious snort and covered his mouth when he saw the
Digimon, while Tohma stared in horror.
If it weren't for his bright blue fur and red gloves poking out, Gaomon might
have blended in with the rest of the maids somehow... He was wearing a
petit-sized maid outfit, covered head to toe with white and pink decorative
lacings.
" Ah... I'm so sorry, Gaomon."
" Th-There's nothing you need to apologize for, Master..."
It seemed that Gaomon had been asked to sleep with the maids the night previous,
and they had had their fun dressing him up... He was in so many tight dressings
that he was unable to take any of it off on his own, especially with his gloves
on.
" D-Did you at least get any sleep?"
" Yes, Master. They did this only a short while ago..."
" Here, let me take that off..."
Tohma took his time to take off all the dressings (but not before taking a
picture without the Digimon's notice).
Masaru stood by and watched. " So Tohma... you had a birthday a short while ago,
right?"
The blond blinked a few times as he continued undoing the lacing. " Yeah... what
about it?"
" How old does that make you now?"
" Fifteen."
" Then that means I'm older than you."
" Yes, it does."
" Well, then..." Thoughts about the previous night ran through Masaru's head and
he found himself blushing, unbeknownst to Tohma. " Since we're on pretty even
grounds at DATS now, this makes me your Senpai in a way, so..."
Tohma raised an eyebrow, realizing what the other was getting at. " It's only a
few months difference, and I've still got the upper hand when it comes to a lot
of things, Masaru. Just keep leaving it to me from now on."
" Ah?" Just like that... " Things won't always be like that! I'm gonna get you
one day, just watch!"
" Hmm, we'll see about that."
Gaomon just kept to himself as Tohma tended to him. As Tohma took off the
numerous pieces, he made a blushing and grumbling Masaru hold them.
" It must've been hard to move around in all that clothes. There, you're all
set."
" Thank you very much, Master."
Tohma called one of the smiling maids over to take the clothes back.
" So what's the schedule for today?" Masaru asked.
" Well, normally, I go to check my experiments after breakfast, then I report in
to DATS until lunch if I have nothing else..."
" We don't have to be at the headquarters all the time, right? Why don't we go
around town a bit?"
" You just got back, though... you should probably spend some more time in
headquarters for the transition first. I bet Captain Satsuma's going to give
some new motivational speech to us today."
" Muh..."
Tohma sighed and grinned. " We'll have plenty of other opportunities for dates
later, Masaru."
" D...Da... I was thinking about going to the boxing gym or something, you..."
He was going to go off with some insults, but Tohma's smile stopped him again.
' Bastard...'
Gaomon looked up between the two boys. " Master, I have already eaten breakfast,
so I'll head down to headquarters and prepare some tea for you if you'd like."
" Thanks Gaomon, if you would."
While the Digimon trotted off, Masaru gave Tohma a questioning look.
Tohma just indicated him to come over. " Come, breakfast is this way."
" So about Gaomon..."
Tohma seemed to be hiding his own blush, but it didn't work well as Masaru
overstepped him for a closer look. The noble didn't need to say anything, and it
was apparent that he KNEW he didn't have to say anything, yet that didn't stop
Masaru from giving him a smug grin.
Tohma looked like he wanted to pout, but he wouldn't. So instead, he sighed,
straightened his stance, and lightly took Masaru's arm as he led them towards
the breakfast room.
----
In the end, Masaru made Tohma go to the boxing gym with him after DATS anyway.
They shared a good multitude of revenge punches against each other and cleared
out any of the other gym-goers who happened to come across them on the way,
except for Hayase's ol' coach, who still remembered them.
" Hyaaa! It felt so nice to loosen up after all that time."
" I honestly wonder where you get all that energy sometimes, Masaru," Tohma told
him when they had come back to the Norstein mansion afterwards. Masaru had
ridden them to the gym, once again on his bike. " If a Digimon shows up later
tonight..."
" Pure manly guts. If it comes, it comes. And YOU're one to talk, keeping up
with me on all this. What about YOU?"
" I'm just maintaining my upper hand. I can't let the likes of you catch up to
me, after all."
Masaru rolled his eyes.
" Say, since so much has been renovated in the mansion already, why don't you
put a little boxing gym in there too? The old DATS headquarters had one, after
all.
" Ah... I hadn't thought of that. That's a good idea."
" 'Course. All you think about these days is whatever's related to your research
and me, isn't it."
Tohma just stood there on the front porch, shaded from the sun, unwilling to
answer.
Ah... Masaru didn't mean to hit the bull's-eye with that. " Well, then this
one's for you."
" Hmph, more like for the both of us..."
" All the better."
" ...Ah," Tohma agreed. There was a moment of pause in the empty lot in front of
the Norstein mansion. " Thanks, Masaru."
" Nn? For what?" Masaru said nimbly.
" For being you."
He wasn't actually so surprised to hear it. Still, hearing it left an
exhilarating tingling in his chest.
" Hey, same back to you. Or at least... thanks for being yourself when you're
not being an asshole."
Tohma sighed. " The same back at you, for that."
Another silence, and they both started chuckling a little at the same time.
It truly was a good feeling, having Tohma with him like this. And to think it
was just their beginning...
" I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night."
With that, Tohma turned around and went up to the doorway, bidding farewell with
his eyes.
Masaru blinked back.
" Sure... see you."
What, no goodbye kiss? It was just... no one else was around, so he thought it
was a good opportunity... Of course, he wasn't going to admit to having such
corny expectations. And not that he was really having those expectations in the
first place.
He mentally laughed to himself. Of course not, it WAS just their beginning,
after all...
He walked back to his bike on the pavement, ready to depart. Unlike the porch,
the late-day sun was blaring upon him and the pavement, and it was a pretty hot
day, so he kind of wanted to get going. He was just about to kick up the
stand...
" Masaru."
Masaru turned around to suddenly see Tohma right up next to him, grabbing his
arm and moving in closer... and all thoughts of the weather went straight out of
his head.
A simple pressure against the lips, an abrupt display of longing.
The blond's other hand whisked up into Masaru's hair, touching the ponytail and
then settling onto the brunet's neck for a brief moment until he pulled back.
Masaru couldn't take his eyes off the lingering affection in Tohma's stare.
But he didn't have to do it on his own, as Tohma just as quickly brought his
hands back to his sides and said his real goodbye. Until the door shut behind
the blond as he went inside, Masaru just stood there, one hand still gripping
the handle on his bike.
There was nothing left but to head home for the day.
He'd see Tohma again tomorrow. Tomorrow, Tohma would probably be back to his
usual cold, calculating self, and Masaru would have to chip away at the ice
block to get anywhere with him again. But somehow, he didn't mind that one bit
now. In fact, he looked forward to it. In a way, it was just more fighting to be
done, more walls to smash down with his fist.
Because when all was set and ready, Tohma would be there to give him the warmth
and support he needed to carry on, no matter how distant or intimate of form
they came in. And how much Masaru treasured that...
A relieving breeze sped through him as he sailed downhill from the Norstein
mansion, and he greeted some of the familiar faces on his way home.
When he turned the corner to his street, an unusual wind blew past him, and he
braked when he realized the white noise of the cicadae had vanished momentarily
with the wind. He stood there in wonder for a while, staring at and listening to
the trees nearby, swaying with his ponytail... as if something or someone had
passed by.
But then the wind calmed down, allowing the cicadae to start chattering again,
the intensity of their song matching the heat of the air. The atmosphere was the
same as it was in any summer there.
The slightest of smiles arose on Masaru's face, and he pushed the pedal once
more to continue on his way.
----
Cycle
End
----
----
Author blab
----
Yes I now claimz longest non-crossover Savers and ToMaTo fic!! w00t! Now if only
there were challengers...! orz
Reminder that there are some sketches for certain scenes in the fic on
tomato_pmsinfirm_org (change _ to periods), as well as the lyrics/song this is
based off... as well as the proper formatting for this fic as a whole.
Tohma's "July" birthday... Completely fictional for this story! Don't take it as
official.
So it's not a completely happy ending for Savers... yet... honestly closer to
the ending I had been imagining for Savers as a whole (just the whole Suguru not
coming back part). Of course, I knew Toei would go with some kind of happy-happy
end as it did, but at the same time, I was still heavily contemplating this more
bittersweet kind of happening as a possibility.
I can't resist, so I'm thinking about doing a one-shot sequel in Tohma's
perspective to make up for all the irritation of not being able to do it in this
fic. I haven't even started writing it though, so I have no idea when I'll
actually get to it. I'm just pretty set on some of the events and that it's
going to take place a year after this fic's ending.
Sorry if you were expecting the rest of the details of that one scene... xD I
won't even let you know how far they went... yet. If people want it enough, I
could avenge for it in the sequel? Lemon certainly won't be the main course for
the sequel either, but it could make a nice dessert? LET ME KNOW PUREAZE...~
If you want to be all sneaky and ninja-like (but I do like it best hearing from
you personally), I have a poll up on my ff.n profile. As long as you have an
account, you can vote, and I won't know who voted, just the totals.
In the meanwhile...
*hugs the pair* TwT
Reviews are much loved.~