Frontiers Unexplored

14) Earthen Tundra

The same trigger warning regarding abuse from a sibling applies to this chapter (verbal, physical, and emotional). The content is far less graphic, but it is still an underlying theme. Please stay safe and proceed with caution.

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The hour after the Blizzarmon fight passed by in a blur. Takuya had carried Tomoki back to the city, and with the money the group received from Bucchiemon, they were able to rent a room at the nearby inn easily. Koji had brought back many of the berries from the mountain, and he split them between Bucchiemon and the group. Silence had fallen over the group since then, and the only sound that could be made out was the chewing of the party members as they enjoyed the berries. 

Takuya sat at Tomoki's bedside, his hand in his hands. Tomoki had fallen unconscious shortly after he started sobbing on the mountain, and he was still sound asleep. It was unsettling to see someone so young, small, and fragile looking that sickly and unwell. Tomoki's exhaustion had only grown worse, and Takuya wished there was more he could do about it than just stare at his friend. Unfortunately, he didn't have the power to remove Tomoki's injuries, so he instead paid attention to his right leg, which he bounced furiously as a way of passing the time. 

Koji was silent as well, and Bokomon and Neemon seemed too afraid to speak. Izumi and Junpei stood nearby, and they were looking down at Tomoki as well. The berry supply was slowly draining, but at least they were all feeling better. Takuya's throbbing muscles were starting to recover, and he closed his eyes for a moment. He wished that he knew what to do, but nothing came to mind. 

"What are we supposed to do now?" Bokomon questioned. He was the first one to speak up since the group had arrived back at the hotel room. He had opened his book and started flipping through it, hoping to find any clues as to what would make it easier to control Blizzarmon. He hadn't found anything yet, shown by how he continued to press on through the pages wordlessly. 

"There's nothing we can do until he wakes up," Koji answered with a sigh. He pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning up against. The hotel room was crowded enough as it was with all seven of them cramped inside, and gathering around Tomoki only made the tight space feel smaller. That was what led Koji, Izumi, and Junpei to keep their distances, but it was clear that none of them really wanted to. 

"He could control himself," Takuya murmured. "It was so obvious by the way that he was acting. His body took over before he had the chance to fight back, and while he did fend off Oceaniamon..." He couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence, instead letting his gaze fall back on Tomoki's sleeping form. "Damn it."

"You thought this wouldn't happen," Junpei commented. Rather than targeting the blame in Takuya's direction, it was more of a general remark, and Takuya couldn't bring himself to say anything in his own defense. After all, he had been sure that Tomoki would be able to handle it. He had been positive that every member of the team was more stable than Aeoelmon. Takuya had thought that they would be able to overcome whatever their Beast Spirits threw at them, but it was becoming increasingly clear that this assumption was far from a wise one to make. 

"I think he needs to talk about it," Izumi suggested. "Think about it, everyone. He lost control of himself for reasons that we couldn't see. That must mean that something was going on in his head, and if he's able to get all of that emotional trauma out in the open, maybe it won't bother him as much anymore. Repressed emotions can lead to terrible things if one isn't careful, and this is the least he can do for himself. We should do what we can to listen and help him through it."

"We knew that Beast Spirits weren't going to be easy to control. We shouldn't have made it our victory condition," Takuya grumbled, his hands clenching into fists. "This sucks... Beast Spirits have so much raw strength, and i don't know what we're supposed to do if we can't find a way to harness that power."