Frontiers Unexplored

30) Sea of Fragility

Her name was Hinoka Sakatami. 

Izumi, Tomoki, Junpei, and Hinoka had been standing still for a few minutes since the end of the fight, and the silence had been heavy until Tomoki asked what her name was. Hinoka had responded with the truth, and a frown crossed her features soon afterwards. Her gaze was just as haunted as it had been when she was Oceaniamon, and Izumi didn't think she would be able to get those eyes out of her head anytime soon. 

"I'm sorry," Hinoka said after a short pause, and her gaze dropped to the ground. "I spent so much time fighting against you recently, and I'm sorry that it ended this way. Thank you for everything that you have done to help me. I don't think I could ever thank you enough."

"You don't need to apologize," Tomoki told her with a light smile. "We understand that you weren't in control of your actions at all. Cherubimon was the one who forced you to do all of this, and we know that. You couldn't have helped what happened, and you don't need to blame yourself for it at all."

Hinoka didn't seem to be sure that he was right, but she didn't openly voice her objections. Instead, she simply looked down at the ground and took in a slow, shaky breath. "I..." Her uncertainty was clear, and she seemed to be struggling to find the words. 

Izumi didn't make her amble along in the wordless void. "How about you tell us about how everything has been going with you since you arrived in the Digital World?" she offered gently, raising one hand to allow her fingers to fall upon Hinoka's knuckles. "We're happy to listen."

Hinoka watched her for a moment before nodding. "Alright," she replied. She licked at her lips in an attempt to dispel her own nerves, but there was only so much that she was able to accomplish. A moment later, she let out another sigh before beginning to tell the story from the beginning. 

~~~~~

Mayumi, Haroi, Yumiko, Bokomon, and Neemon had finally arrived at their destination, and Mayumi was left staring at the horizon. There was a large glass dome that covered a pedestal. The altar was a simple one, comprised of stone beneath its gentle golden glow. It looked like a star when compared to the darkness of the rest of the area. 

Mayumi stole a glance down to her D-Tector, seeing that the signal was going crazy. That had to be it. She had arrived at her destination, and this was undoubtedly her Beast Spirit. "Well," she began, "I think we've found it." There was no doubt though, and she was fully aware of it. 

"Are there any guards around here?" Haroi questioned. He got onto his toes and glanced around the area in curiosity only to settle back on his heels when he found what he was searching for. "There are three guards nearby. We're going to have to be careful of them."

Mayumi was about to search for the monsters Haroi was referring to, but she never got the chance to. Bokomon spoke up before she could. "I've found the information that we'll need," Bokomon explained, pointing to a picture within his book. "This is Sheyumon, the Beast Spirit of Energy. It appears that we're going to be finding her Spirit here."

"Good!" Neemon chirped. "This means that we're only missing Koji's Beast Spirit, and Takuya and Chihiro are going to find him!" He was looking down at the page that detailed Sheyumon with curiosity, and Mayumi found herself following his gaze. She couldn't see the picture all that well due to the angle at which Bokomon was holding the book, but she figured that it didn't matter much given that she would be learning firsthand how Sheyumon looked in a matter of minutes. 

"How about this?" Yumiko started. "Haroi and I can act as bait for the three guards. You can go and find the Beast Spirit, and then you can join us as soon as you've recovered it. I understand that controlling a Beast Spirit isn't easy, but... You know that we're going to be here to help you through it. If you need to talk, all you need to do is say so after the battle is over."