~Reflection~ Disclaimer: Digimon belongs to someone else, not me. Gaia: Let's see if I can make this chapter any better. G: (mumbling sarcastically) Good luck. Gaia: *throws G out the window again* *** Chapter 2 A gentle breeze began to stir the delicate trees, showering the streets in a wave of cherry blossoms. All around people were chatting lightly as they walked along the busy streets of Tamachi. Glad to be set free from the prison they called school, hordes of children ran up and down the sidewalks, some chasing after their friends, others just eager to get home. Everyone under the afternoon sun seemed to be bright and cheerful… …that is, except one. Head hung low, Ken numbly dragged himself home from school. As he walked up the endless flights of stairs to his apartment, he pulled out his D-terminal and typed out a quick message. Hi guys, Sorry I can’t join you today in the Digital World. I’m not feeling too well. Hope to see you tomorrow. Ken Shakily, the dark-haired boy sent the message to his Digidestined friends, whom he had agreed to meet after school today to have some fun in the Digital World. He didn’t like having to do this, especially since his excuse was only half true, but he knew that he didn't deserve to have some leisure time, not after what had happened to him today at school. He finally looked down at the paper that he had absentmindedly clutched in his hand ever since he left Tamachi Elementary. D Ken Ichijouji, the famous boy genius, had received a D on his last history exam. Not only that, but his teacher was the type that returns tests and publicly posts the scores, so by now the entire school had heard of the boy’s failure to perform up to his usual A+ standards. He could still hear the shocked whispers of his classmates. "Ken got a D! Man, and I thought I was dumb. At least I managed to get a C+." "What happened to him? Did his brain explode or something?" "I heard that he’s been like this ever since he started hanging out with those kids in Odaiba." "Looks like he’s nothing more than a burnt-out former genius now." Just remembering those comments made him suddenly grow irritated, but more at himself than anyone else. By this time, Ken had unlocked the door to his apartment and was shutting it a little too loudly. "Ken, dear, is that you?" his mother called from the kitchen. "I thought you were going to meet your friends in Odaiba today." Taking off his shoes, Ken replied in as calm a tone as he could muster, "Yeah, I was, but I’m not feeling too well." Without even looking up, he made his way as quickly as he could towards his room. "Are you sure you don’t need a--?" "No, Mom, I don’t need one," he promptly interrupted her, recalling their pleasant conversation the previous night. Still upset about his performance, he thought, ‘This never would have happened back when I was the—’ ‘Digimon Emperor’ Ken froze in his tracks. He had just been passing by the bathroom when all of a sudden he heard that menacing voice again. Ken flipped on the lights in the bathroom and peered around warily, frustration over his failure that day momentarily gone. Indigo eyes stared at indigo. Deeper frown met deeper frown. Ken’s searching gaze didn’t land on a single soul, save for his reflection in the mirror. Scolding himself for jumping at shadows, Ken now turned his mind to the matter at hand: how to break the bad news to his parents. Turning off the bathroom lights, he resumed his trek to his room. As soon as he entered the dimly lit bedroom, he laid his bag gently down on the floor and lifted out a sleeping Wormmon. The green digimon let out a yawn and drowsily peered around. "Ken, what are we doing here? Did you forget something?" inquired Wormmon. Ken put his digimon partner on the floor and walked slowly over to his desk. Sighing, he answered, "No, it’s just that I don’t feel like joining the others today, that’s all." Ken shoved the accursed test underneath a pile of papers that were neatly stacked in a corner of the desk, as if trying to bury his mark of shame. Even from his position on the floor, Wormmon could clearly see the pain written all over Ken’s face. "Uh, oh. What happened today?" he asked. Unable to do anything else in Ken’s bookbag, Wormmon had slept through the entire incident. Ken didn’t say anything as he climbed the ladder to his bed and lay down. Not satisfied with the boy’s silence, Wormmon scooted over to the base of the ladder and repeated his question. Finally, after a long pause, Ken muttered, "Something I’d rather not talk about right now." He then sat up and leaned over to face the bug digimon, whose worried blue eyes looked up into his sad indigo eyes. "Wormmon, I need some time to think. Could you please leave me alone for a while?" Despondently, Wormmon choked out an "All right, Ken" before crawling under his partner’s desk to weep. It pained Ken as deeply as an icicle through the heart would to do this to his best friend, but he really needed some time alone to sort things out. He gently closed his eyes. The last thought that ran through his mind before he drifted off to sleep was, ‘I wonder how I would handle this if I were the Digimon Emperor.’ ‘You wouldn’t have to, young Emperor. You wouldn’t have to.’ *** Gaia: Oooo, who is this mysterious voice? Find out next time on Digimon: Digita—OUCH! All right, who hit me?! G: *quickly puts mallet in Gwen’s hands and looks away, whistling* Gaia: You’ve got a lot of nerve, Grammar Queen. *grabs Gwen by the collar of her shirt and drags her over to the window* Gwen: Wait! It wasn’t meeeeee…….! *gets thrown out the window* Gaia: *dusts off hands* (mumbling) Disobedient muses. G: Heh heh heh.