Frontiers Unexplored

19) Dissociated

Time continued to crawl on at an unsatisfactory slow pace for the remainder of the night, and Takuya and Chihiro stayed where they were as the three Digital World moons sunk over the horizon, unknowing of the tragedy they had just witnessed. When the sun began to creep over the skyline to the east, Takuya barely noticed, instead continuing to stare out at the water. His gaze had barely left the whirlpool since Izumi fell inside. His body prayed for the release of water, and his eyes longed to finally slip closed in sleep, but he allowed for neither. Instead, all he did was focus on the whirlpool, praying more and more with each second that Izumi was going to find a way to break through the surface. 

Takuya didn't even realize that he and Chihiro had gained company until after someone delivered a tap to his shoulder. He turned around, but only for a moment, seeing Koji, Tomoki, Junpei, Bokomon, and Neemon standing behind him. As soon as he had registered who they were, Takuya whirled back to face the beach, his eyes narrowing. He didn't want to take his eyes off the pool for even a moment in case Izumi wormed her way through. 

Takuya didn't bother thinking about how the rest of the group knew where he and Chihiro were, figuring that if it was truly important, he would figure out the reason later. He had forgotten that the building they were staying in overlooked the beach, and one look out from the balcony would have shown Takuya hunched over in the sand as he was soaked with the spray of the crashing waves nearby. Chihiro had remained at his side ever since Izumi disappeared, silent yet still supportive as every tear that he had to cry came rushing forth from his eyes. 

"What happened?" Koji questioned, his voice oddly strict and even. Takuya didn't need to face him to know that he was likely feeling something akin to disappointment as he realized that half of the group had snuck out without even bothering to leave a note behind. 

"Where's Izumi?" Junpei asked next. There was a slight shake to his voice, and Takuya wondered if perhaps the Warrior of Thunder had already figured it out. Takuya somewhat wanted to turn and share his gaze with Junpei, but doing so would mean looking away from the water, from his hope that perhaps the Warrior of Wind was alive. 

No. She had to be. She couldn't be dead. 

Right?

Takuya felt another tear slip down his face at Junpei's words. How was he going to break it to them? The rest of his team had to hear about what had happened, but he didn't know how he was meant to tell them. He didn't want to believe that Izumi was gone, and he wasn't going to declare such as the case until he had run out of hope. His optimism had managed to burn throughout the rest of the night, so he was convinced that it could survive anything. 

But is Izumi strong enough to survive this?

"Come on," Koji suddenly said, snapping the Warrior of Fire out of his thoughts immediately. His fingers curled around Takuya's upper arm as Chihiro retreated with a masked scowl. Takuya was being dragged to his feet before he figured out what Koji was trying to do, and he nearly stumbled under the weight of the sudden action. 

"What are we going to do?" Tomoki asked. He had come up to stand beside Takuya, his gaze locked unflinchingly on the whirlpool in the distance. Had he always been that pale, or had he figured out the truth behind Izumi's assumed fate as well? Did Takuya really want to hear the answer?

"We have to save her," Takuya whispered numbly. He didn't recall giving himself permission to speak, but the words leaked out anyways. Their sudden arrival reminded him of the waves of tears he had been subjected to all night, curled against Chihiro's body as he tried to banish any panicked thoughts of blood and death. 

"Did you see any Fractal Code rising up from the ocean?" Neemon inquired. He sounded uncharacteristically serious, and Takuya would have been surprised by such if he was not already in such a delicate state.