Frontiers Unexplored

24) Frozen Flower

This chapter complains implicit mentions of sexual harassment and assault. It is far from being graphic, but I still wish to mention it so that you are all aware of it. Please proceed with caution, and take care of yourselves always. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tomoki had lost count of how many minutes the group had been walking for quite some time ago. He wasn't sure of when he had plucked his D-Tector from his pocket and pressed it into his hand, but he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he couldn't bring himself to look away from it. The device wasn't even showing him where the next Beast Spirit was going to be; it simply gave him something to stare at aside from his surroundings. 

The sea of trees surrounded Tomoki and the rest of the Legendary Warriors on all sides, stretching in each direction endlessly. It was dizzying, to say the least, and Tomoki didn't know exactly which way they were meant to be going. His feet took him in the path outlined by Yumiko, who had taken her place at the front of the party, but there wasn't anything else he could bring himself to do. Numbness had seeped into his mind, and he was vaguely aware of a headache pounding at the back of his head. The sight of the trees around him made Tomoki feel nauseous, but he forced himself to keep walking out of fear that he wouldn't be able to start moving once he stopped. 

Tomoki managed to steal a brief glance at Yumiko, catching sight of only the back of her head. Even if he had been able to see her face, he doubted that he would have noticed anything. She had been trying to hide her true emotions since the start of the journey to find her Beast Spirit, burying her guilt and rage at herself beneath meek apologies and false smiles. Tomoki hated to see her this way, knowing that she was falling apart beneath the facade. Even if they hadn't known each other for too long, Tomoki was too perceptive to miss Yumiko's blatant lies. He bitterly wondered if this was how he was going to make it up to the universe for missing all of Izumi's obvious signs about her own crumbling state in the hours leading up to the discovery of Zephyrmon. 

He peered over his shoulder next, and he saw Takuya engaged in conversation with Chihiro, Mayumi, and Haroi. All four of them were buzzing with smiles on their faces, but Tomoki couldn't make out what they were saying. He was certainly in range to listen to them if he wanted to, but the ocean of greenery around him demanded far more attention. Their discussion was little more than white noise to Tomoki, but he lacked the focus to bring it all into clarity. 

Izumi and Junpei were sharing a casual conversation of their own nearby. Tomoki couldn't tell what they were saying either, as their words were being buried beneath the fuzziness of his own head and the louder chat between Takuya's group. Still, they seemed to be having a good enough time, and Tomoki didn't want to ruin that. Just because he was suffering didn't mean the rest of the team needed to. A small headache didn't merit bothering everyone else, and he was sure that the light pounding would leave as soon as they were out of the forest. 

The only person aside from Yumiko and Tomoki that was walking alone was Koji, and he had his hands shoved roughly in his pockets as he made his way through the grass. His expression was distant, his eyes glossed over with silent contemplation. Tomoki had seen Koji and Takuya speaking earlier on, but he hadn't wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation. It had seemed like a private discussion unlike the playful banter being shared among the group's members in that moment, so Tomoki minded his business and left it to the older boys. 

Still, Tomoki couldn't help but wonder what they were discussing. It regularly wouldn't have bothered him so much, but Koji had been left with such a peculiar expression on his face, and Tomoki couldn't unsee it as soon as he noticed. He was sure that their conversation had been intense based on how both Takuya and Koji had spoken in hushed words with their eyes narrowed, but he didn't know anything beyond that. Part of him longed to ask Koji what was going on to at least offer him the chance to open up about what was bothering him, but Tomoki ultimately decided against it.