Frontiers Unexplored

51) A Heart's Evolution

Takuya wasn't sure of how long he had been lost in his own dreadful thought process when he heard shuffling off to his right. He glanced up, snapping free of his trance, and saw that Chihiro was sliding into a seated position beside him. They removed their hat once they were sitting down, and they pulled their ponytail free before starting to run their fingers through their darkened brown hair. "You sure seem distracted," Chihiro commented. They winced upon finding a tangle in their hair, but they didn't let it deter them from their mission. 

Takuya did his best to not cringe at Chihiro's words, but he failed miserably, prompting him to let out a resigned sigh. "You could certainly say that," he said softly. He leaned backwards, and his palms kept him from completely falling into the sand. "I've just been thinking about what Saki said. They seem pretty damn convinced that it isn't over even if the Royal Knights are gone."

Chihiro finished combing through their hair and slid their ponytail free of their wrist before starting to retie it back into their hair. "They're probably right," Chihiro admitted. "I don't say that because I want to, but I'm not about to try and spew some pretty words that will make this all better. I don't think that you can do that given the circumstances, and I know better than to try and fool you that way. It's not like you would have bought it in the first place."

Takuya let out a humorless chuckle as Chihiro pulled their ponytail tight and put their hat back on. "You can say that again," he agreed. He paused for a moment before pressing himself to continue. "I think that we're going to be fine no matter what happens next though. We managed to take out both Cherubimon and the Royal Knights, and we thought those were pretty damn daunting obstacles at the time. If Lucemon has anything else to throw at us, then we'll do what we can to power through that too."

"We managed to come together after we were separated by Cherubimon's influences too," Chihiro reminded him. "I don't think that we would have been able to pull that off if we weren't meant to keep fighting. I'm not one for sappy words or any of the shit related to destiny, but... We've come a long way, and we're going to keep fighting until resolution or death do us part. That much I can say pretty damn confidently."

"You're right," Takuya nodded. "I guess it's just a bit easy to be caught up in all the things that could come next as opposed to remembering how far we've come... It's strange to think that we haven't been there for so long in the grand scheme of things, but now that I've been here in the Digital World, I don't think I could imagine my life without the Spirits or being a member of the Legendary Warriors."

"That's how change works," Chihiro shrugged, adjusting their hat until it sat comfortably atop their head. "Things evolve and shift constantly, and then you can't remember what life was ever like before. I mean, you can reminisce about it all that you want, but I don't think that you'll ever be able to understand it the way that you once did. We'll never be able to comprehend how things were before we became Legendary Warriors now that we've changed, but... That isn't exactly a bad thing. I don't think we should think of it that way either."

Takuya let out a shrug. "Everybody's going to wonder what happened to us when we go back home. We're nothing like how we used to be, and people are going to pick up on that. There's no real way to explain what happened without people thinking that we're being ridiculous or lying, but... I don't think I mind it all that much."

"I wonder how much time has passed back home," Chihiro murmured. "I mean, we've been gone for so long. I doubt that people will even think of connecting us to the sudden wave of phone calls that took place the day we left. It's been so long since we were last back on Earth."

"I'm sure everything will work out fine," Takuya said, though part of him wondered if perhaps he was lying for the sake of keeping himself calm. Takuya had always been one for endless optimism, a stark contrast from Chihiro's natural bluntness.