Frontiers Unexplored

8) Rising Thorns

A few hours had passed since the battle with Cybelemon had drawn to a close. Izumi and Junpei were walking along the river that had been revealed to lurk beneath the mountain. Bokomon and Neemon walked a few feet behind them. None of the four dared to speak a word. 

The rain had cleared up, but the area was still soaked. Junpei was inwardly thankful that the area next to the river wasn't grassy, instead being covered in rocks. He didn't think he could deal with mud on top of everything else the day had thrown at him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and focused on taking steps toward their destination.

The sun had started by slowly creeping its way over the horizon, and even though it was now shining brightly overhead, there was something about it that seemed ominous. Junpei watched as jagged shadows passed him by, and a sigh escaped his lips. 

He looked upwards to where Izumi was a few paces ahead of him. She hadn't spoken a word since the group set off hours prior. Junpei had pointed out that if they remained in the city, danger could find them again. What if Cybelemon returned? The risk was too great. Luckily, she seemed more than happy to start walking in the direction that Takuya, Tomoki, and Koji had been swept away. 

However, she was oddly silent. Junpei still didn't know the other members of his group all that well, but he was positive that it was strange to see Izumi so quiet. She was talented when it came to putting on a mask and seeming as if everything was fine despite her true feelings on the matter. Getting through to the real her that rested beneath that was a difficult task though, and Junpei wasn't sure how he was supposed to probe any deeper when she was so resistant to it. 

Izumi's first action in ages aside from simply walking was to swing her hair over one shoulder. She squeezed it out, letting a cascade of raindrops fall to the ground beneath her. The rocks below were splattered instantly with the liquid, and Junpei watched the spot where her hair dropped the water until he could no longer stare at it. 

Junpei let out another sigh and tore his eyes away from the ground and up to Izumi once again. "What's wrong?" he questioned. "You haven't said anything since we left the city."

"I'm starting to get a bit worried myself," Bokomon declared. When Junpei looked over his shoulder at the short Digimon, he saw that Bokomon was flicking through the pages of his book as he walked. Even if he was worried about Izumi as Junpei was, his first priority was to figure out more about Cybelemon, it seemed. 

"I'm just worried about them," Izumi finally answered. Junpei halfway expected her to continue, to explain herself further, but her lips remained firmly sealed. She tossed her blonde hair, which was still darkened by the rainwater, back over her shoulder. The action caused another splash of droplets which Junpei only narrowly missed being hit by thanks to being a few feet behind her. 

"We all are, but you're clearly hiding more than that. Why don't you talk to us about it?" Junpei questioned. He hadn't ever been the best when it came to coaxing emotional information out of people. Junpei in general wasn't amazing when it came to navigating the minefield that seemed to be human feelings, and this situation was only proving to him once again why he tended to avoid subjects of this nature. 

Izumi let out a sigh and stopped walking for a moment. When she did, Junpei could see that she was shaking lightly. He couldn't tell if it was because of the rain or her concern for the rest of the group, and in the end, he settled on it being both. After a few seconds, she shook her head and started walking forward once again. 

"It's nothing," Izumi told him firmly after a few more steps. "I don't want to talk about it, okay?" As if to assert that she was finished having the conversation, she sped up in her walking, causing the distance between herself and Junpei to only grow larger.