Toot Toot! [Shichiro/Takahiro]

Shichiro still couldn't believe there was actual paperwork involved with having a digimon. I mean, seriously. Way to take the wonder out of it. Still, when they actually sat him down and explained the organization's purpose to him, he could see why they were around. The officer even made sure to give him this little card and told him to call if he ever wanted to work with them. Turns out they recruited young. Shichi sat next to Takahiro, leaned back and comfortable. Next to him Gawain perched on the seat, little pawn legs kicking back and forth idly. He was like a toddler dressed as a knight.

"Will we feel it when we cross into the Digital World? What's it like there?"

"I can't believe I never saw that terminal before," Shichiro exclaimed not for the first time. His gaze kept wandering the train car as if looking for signs of the change. It was just a plain-old train car with two kids and a digimon in it; if you ignored Gawain it was like any other train car he'd ever rode in. He kept stealing glances back at Takahiro, still amazed at how the last twenty-four hours had gone. There was a crazy dream, magically appearing eggs. Detention, chess club, chess club with another person (thank you Taka), digital monsters hatching from said eggs. A new friend. Another new friend. He glanced at Takahiro again; maybe something more?

"So where does the train let off? What's the Digital World look like anyway? Is it all blocky, or pixelated or something?"

"Terminus City, huh. Is it like Tokyo, but filled with monst- er, Digimon?" Did Takahiro just glance his way? Was he noticing the way Shichi looked at him? It was kind of confusing, dealing with all this at once. On the one hand, he was excited to be on this great adventure. On the other, he'd finally found friends, and.. something. Where did one end and the other begin? How did he know? He glanced over again, that's how, at least attempting to be surreptitious about it. This boy, this quiet, shy young man that wandered into the chess room, had become his guide to a whole new world. And the first real friend Shichiro had had in years. Since-

No. Not that. Not today. Not with him. Just this once, let the past stay past.

"Oh," Shichiro said in a moment of understanding. "Okay. Mom went to Italy once for some kind of medical conference. Brought back a lot of pictures from some touring she did." Well, the Digital World in Shichi's mind now consisted of rolling fields dotted with orchards and Italian villas. That.. was probably not very accurate. Rolling fields, maybe. Would the grass all be flat textures, like in a game? Would there be a sky or a skybox? The quiet stretched comfortably as he pondered, watching the landscape pass by the windows. They were moving fast enough he couldn't quite tell where they were.

"That coat suits you," he said suddenly. "You look really good."

Shichiro looked down at himself and chuckled. "I'm glad you like the school uniform Takun." Since he'd stayed over the Evans' last night, he hadn't had a chance to change clothes. He was wearing his school trousers and shirt, though he'd rolled the sleeves up and left it untucked. After a little consideration, he'd even slung the tie back around his neck- though loosely. It was all just a little rumpled, but the boy carried himself reasonably well in it. It could look worse.

Comfortable and relaxed, Shichiro couldn't help it. He yawned. The train rolled in an easy, lulling motion and he'd only slept a little in the unfamiliar place last night. He leaned over to rest his head on the shorter boy's. It was an affectionate, companionable gesture he hoped his friend wouldn't mind.

"Thank you again," he said. "For explaining all this to me. Stopping in to play chess. I... I really needed a friend." Did his voice break a little?

The crossing was sudden, dramatic and so subtle it was gone in a blink. They passed through the world and an electric tingle crossed over Shichiro's skin, making their hair on his arms and neck stand on end. He could just barely see a sort of pixelation as they passed through, and then they... weren't on earth anymore. That much was abundantly clear. The light looked different. The air tasted different. "This is amazing," he whispered. "Are we data now. Ones and zeroes?"

"Perhaps as much as I am flesh in your world sire," Gawain responded from his place on the bench, still swinging those little feet happily. 

"So how long until we get there?" Shichi leaned forward to eagerly peer out of the windows, hungry for a glimpse of one of these cities. He'd never been in a city in another world before. But then, who had?

Taka had. Scout had. And they said there were others. It might not be a 'small step for man,' but certainly "This is the coolest place anyone had ever taken me," Shichi mused. He turned back to smile at Takahiro, eyes sparkling as he blurted out "I don't know how the second date will ever live up to this." Oh. Oh God, Shichi. Did you just say that? Did you mean it? Why is Taka looking at you that way?