A piercing scream echoed throughout the hollow halls and still air of the Temple of Earth. Kouji's back bolted upright out of his straw bed and he gasped, a chilling sensation of fear and sudden awareness taking hold of his body. His eyes snapped open, and he took in the daylight of the afternoon. The dark waters of great apprehension began to flood his mind, and this showed in his eyes as he hastily rose to his feet.
He had just woke up, and his throat and mouth were dry and it was as if they were coated with some thick sort of batter. Strangely, even though he had only been sleeping on straw on the floor, his back didn't feel cramped up in any way. In fact, it felt relaxed, as if he had been resting on the softest of mattresses.
When the wrenching sound reached his ears and reverberated over and over again, softer and softer down the halls, Kouji felt the urge from deep down inside of him to hurry up. With each passing repercussion of a past cry, cold drops of sweat silently crept down his body as made a tight knot in his stomach as it pained him a little. Kouji's hair must have started to stand on end just a little.
Kouji fearfully knew that it could only be Beliamon, the one other person... the only other in the Temple... or was she?
His mind still churning from waking up, Kouji didn't stop to contemplate the issue any more. He was on his feet and Kouji was pacing rapidly down the dark brown-tinged alleys, and Kouji secretly hoped he was heading down the direction where the cry had originated from.
Beliamon had just screamed, and Kouji knew it wasn't merely one made out of frustration from his behavior.
The echoes had faded so much now that Kouji could barely hear them, and now the only thing Kouji could hear was his own heavy breaths and footsteps. He was sprinting down the hallway now, as fast as he could muster, fatigue already beginning to take its toll on his body. He could even feel his small paunch bobble up and down in turn with his lunging strides. Hot beads of sweat from excercise started to join the cold ones formed by fear. It was getting terribly dark down in the cave halls, and Kouji hoped and prayed desperately that he hadn't become lost in the tangling web of halls throughout the Temple of Earth. He had only made a few turns, and he had at one point a hopeful feeling that he would find Beliamon's location...
Where ever she was... Kouji felt his fists tighten as he turned around and started to run faster down the tunnel, searching new pathways frantically with a dire newfound vigor.
Was she in danger?
What would he do if she was?
Was he too late?
...Then what would happen to him?
Making a sharp turn into a large yet unforseen hallway and making an entrance into a large chamber, Kouji gasped for the second time that day.
He felt tension build up in his body. His face felt warm and flushed. Kouji couldn't help it at all.
"Beliamon!" he called out, his voice echoing through the caves just as the scream had as he continued to search the caves.
***
"Kouji!" Neemon called out into the thick overgrowth of field and trees that surrounded the meat apple grove. The sounds of wings flapping and twigs breaking filled the air as few birdlike Digimon frantically burst out of the nests and trees in which they had been sleeping in response to Neemon's screeching calls. Once the birds had took to the air, a still silence distilled itself again over the thick brush of the forest.
"Oh, give it a rest, already," Bokumon scolded, grabbing his red suspender clad companion and dragging him back to the grove where the others had formed a circle around a former campfire ground.
After a full, fruitless, futile day of searching in the surrounding grounds and calling out for Kouji, the children were both exhausted and feeling a bit disheartened in their attempts. Tommy had almost ended up getting lost himself in the woods while looking for Kouji by himself the other day. Kouji hadn't responded to any of the messages they had sent to him via digivice, which was strange because Kouji was generally good about making detailed replies to any messages sent to him.
"Where could he have gone off to?" Takuya scowled, kicking at an ashen log from last night's fire, "I mean, it's not like him just to run off like that."
"You wouldn't have said that a few months ago," Zoe responded.
"What?" Takuya looked astonished as he blinked slowly with his mouth hanging open widely, "No, I wouldn't!" he protested almost automatically.
"Yeah, you would," Zoe insisted, crossing her arms, "Kouji used to always leave us and journey on his own for a while."
"Now that you bring it up..." JP nodded, "That does seem like something Kouji might have done a while ago... but back then, we didn't really know him that well."
"Maybe he got tired of just sitting around doing nothing," Tommy suggested.
"Nothing but eating," Takuya smirked, standing up with a sly face, rubbing his chin, "I think that's pretty smart of him, then. I bet he though if he went on a really long hike, he'd drop all the pounds he put on, so when he comes back, he'll be the slim, healthy one."
"Well, Takuya, it would all do us well to lose a few pounds," Zoe added before allowing herself to fall back onto the ground, relaxing on the wide spread of green grass.
Tommy sighed, hanging his head low, "I hope he comes back soon. I hope nothing bad's happened to him..."
"Wouldn't he be back by now even if he was on a hike?" JP asked, "I mean, how long can it possibly take?"
"Isn't it possible he might have recieved a message from Ophanimon on his digivice on the night he disappeared and has to go somewhere," Zoe proposed.
"So he just runs off without telling us?" JP questioned, "That sounds pretty irresponsible."
"Maybe it was a secret message, or a mission that only Kouji can know about," Zoe shrugged as she looked up at the clouds.
"What if he got hurt in the woods?" Tommy sighed curtly, "What if he needs help?"
"Well, we searched the woods all over yesterday. It's not a very big area, and if he was stuck, wouldn't he have called back when we called his name?" Takuya said.
"Yeah, and even if our buddy, Kouji, was in trouble outside the forest, he'd still be able to let us know by sending us a message with his digivice," JP added.
"So maybe he just wants to be left alone for a while... and knowing Kouji, that doesn't seem odd at all," Takuya said.
"But we can't just lounge about like this forever," Tommy cried, "Especially with Kouji gone. Maybe he..." Tommy sniveled slightly, "Maybe he needs our help."
"Well, we should stay here for one more night at least so he knows where to find us," Zoe nodded, "But Tommy's right. Maybe Kouji was kidnapped."
"If that's the case, then we're really in trouble," JP said cautiously, a small glint of fright in his eyes, "And again, if that's the case, I think I know who may be behind it all."
"Cherubimon," Takuya stated, spitting out the name like venom, "Alright, so we'll stay here one more night and continue to send him messages on our digivices. If he doesn't return by then... well, then we've got a problem on our hands... We have to leave the meat apple grove soon, though. Too much time's gone by," he smiled, patting his slightly larger gut.
"But where will we start to look if he doesn't show up?" Zoe asked.
"I guess we should start to look for clues and ask around... maybe we'll have to split up to cover more area- into teams, of course. We don't all want to get lost," Takuya said, "But in the meantime... I think a little more lunch isn't going to hurt."
The others sighed and rolled their eyes. Takuya would never know how much good leaving the meat apple grove would do to his figure. It was just too tempting for him.
***
"Hold still," Kouji instructed warily, his voice shaky and nervous as cold sweat dripped down his back. In his hands, he held a white, porcelein vase filled with cool water he had found in a basin and a damp cloth bandage.
"I am..." an irritated Beliamon who was in pain grumbled, sighing through clenched teeth, "You should really steady your own hand if you must insist on-"
"Don't worry, I can do this..." Kouji sighed, attempting to examine the damage on her upper arm. Quickly, Beliamon draped a fold of the black dress she was wearing over the area.
The digimon who was holding Kouji captive started to blush, "I would prefer it if I treated myself," she said stiffly, discomfort very apparent in her face.
Kouji humphed and crossed his arms while giving Beliamon an icy glare. Even though he probably despised her above all else, Kouji still felt compelled and wanting to help his injured captor. From what he gathered, Beliamon had been cooking dinner and something ended up burning her upper arm, what exactly, she declined to say. Kouji guessed scalding water could have burst out and landed on her arm, or maybe she had slipped and her arm briefly touched upon a hot cooking surface.
He couldn't just leave her like that... Kouji noted that now Beliamon's eyes were closed tight and she seemed to be in a lot of pain.
He remembered the long summer he had spent at summer camp a year ago. Every day, from dawn to dusk, he would go to a different activity or class with a break in between... and every bright morning was spent in a sterile room with an instructor wearing thick glasses. Every morning he had first aid class.
He could understand why Beliamon was resisting his help and attention... if she was his captor, why would she ever submit herself over to her prisoner's care?
"Beliamon... if you can trust me, I can fix up your burn," Kouji explained, struggling for words.
The golden haired looked cautiously at Kouji, her eyes wavering for a moment before she proceeded in removing her sleeve for Kouji. Kouji returned her action with a nod of gratitude.
Upon closely examining her arm, Kouji saw that it was red and blistered instead of the smooth, pale skin like on her other arm. He identified it as being a second degree burn. Carefully, he poured the vase of cold water down the burn area. He didn't immediately see any sinks where he could run cold water over her burn, so he quickly decided that it would have to suffice.
Within moments, Kouji had Beliamon's arm bandaged up, "That should be good for about a day-"
"I wouldn't worry about it," Beliamon smiled, leaving her bandage arm free, "I heal quickly."
"Well, uhm you should try to drink a little..." Kouji advised quietly, "So you won't be dehydr..." Kouji stopped and started to turn away. He never really was somebody who reached out to be helpful, but when he sensed someone was in trouble... or if cared for someone, he always tried his hardest to make sure they made it out alright.
Suddenly, Kouji's eyes met Beliamon's. He noticed that they seemed different, somehow... maybe just a glint brighter than before, although he could still detect that she was making an active attempt to conceal the pain from her face, "...Thank you..." she smiled, her voice soft.
"Yeah..." Kouji mumbled, not sure of what to say, knowing that his face was flushed.
"Although, do you have to be so melodramatic with your entrances?" Beliamon chuckled to herself as Kouji's light blush deepened even further.
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