So uh...yeah, I haven't updated in a while. A long while. I'm not sure what to say other than I'm really sorry. No, this does not mean I'm giving up on this story. I'm not. xD It's just been very stressful this past year. My boyfriend at the time and I broke up, my grandmother died, I tried going back to school for a different major but it didn't work out so well and depression has hit me harder than it did before. Not only that but the beginning of this year started off with me getting into a car accident and totaling my car. :\ I have an awesome new car now, but I also have a bunch of things to pay for now. Which means I'll have to go searching for a full time job to make more money.

Basically, life has sucked a lot lately. But I've gathered up the motivation to start writing more of this story. I'm so sorry for the wait!

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon Savers or its characters. Nor do I own Rosa, she belongs to my good friend. I only own my OCs.

A drawn out yawn escaped Rosa's lips, chocolate eyes drooping only to be forced back open. She was tired. Everyone was. It was nearly six in the morning and nobody had been allowed to leave headquarters. This was Captain Satsuma's orders, just in case the Drimogimon that got away happened to come back, though that was doubtful at best.

After being lectured by their superior about the dangers of going into the Digital Dive, nobody seemed to have a clue what they should do. So the exhausted and sleep deprived agents hung around inside the building, trying to find something to keep their minds busy in order to avoid falling asleep.

...Well, everyone except for Tohru. The brunette, after sitting down against the wall in the surveillance room, had fallen asleep within moments. Out of everyone there, she was the most emotionally drained so nobody protested against her taking a nap. Tohru held a sleeping Terriermon in her lap, her head tilted a bit to the side while it rested against the metal surface. Her chest gently rose up and down as she breathed steadily in her slumber.

Rosa glanced over at the sleeping girl, a feeling of guilt poking at her mind. Perhaps she should have stood up for Tohru, but because the boy she had feelings for had hurt this girl, Rosa hesitated to say anything back at him. But...what he said had seriously pissed her off. Rubbing her tired eyes, she raised an eyebrow as a certain hot headed boy knelt in front of Tohru.

He didn't say a word, instead Masaru laid a hand on her head and rubbed affectionately. A smile ghosted onto his lips while he admired her sleeping face. Moving his hand down a bit, the teenager moved a piece of hair from her face as his smile faded.

"Hey...shorty...don't listen to what that jerk said to you..." Though his voice was quiet, Rosa could hear every word, "I don't think you're useless at all...and...I'm sorry I didn't do anything...I should have punched the bastard, but I know you wouldn't have wanted me to." Masaru's voice trailed off into complete silence, the boy leaning down a bit closer to the sleeping girl. To Rosa, it looked as if he was about to kiss her. Instead, he just pressed his forehead against Tohru's and held it there for a few brief moments.

When he pulled away, his tanned cheeks were colored a light pink. He stood up and turned to leave, only to finally notice that Rosa and Coronamon were standing there the entire time. The blush on his cheeks darkened and he quickly retreated out of the room to avoid further embarrassment. The Spaniard's lips tugged up in the corners, but then defaulted back to the usual thin line of indifference.

Rosa moved from the wall and approached the sleeping girl and her partner, gesturing to Coronamon for him to come to her side. "Hey Coronamon...sit next to her and keep her warm." It was a simple command, but he understood why she was requesting this of him without even having to ask.

"That's really nice of you, Rosa." Coronamon commented, playfully teasing his human partner as a slight blush covered her cheeks. The girl crossed her hands over her chest, looking away from Tohru's sleeping form and pouting. The lion cub Digimon moved to sit beside Tohru and used his naturally warm body temperature to keep her from getting cold while she slept.

"I-I'm...only asking you to do this because I feel bad for not defending her. T-That's all.." Rosa stuttered, her voice much softer and girlish than it normally sounded when she talked. Clearing her throat, she turned back to her partner, "I'll be back. I have to...take care of something." Then she left the room in a brisk stride, knowing full well who she intended to find. She'd finally had enough of sitting back and letting Tohma say what he wanted to everyone.

She was going to do what she should have done a few hours ago.

Lo and behold, who should she find in the hallway but the very person she was looking for. Her pace picked up, hands balling into fists and teeth gritting as she came up behind the blond teen. She placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him in his tracks, and the moment he turned around to see who wanted his attention she swung her hand.

A loud smack echoed throughout the quiet halls of DATS, Tohma bringing a pale hand to his cheek where a red mark began to form due to the force of the slap. Cerulean eyes stared into angry brown hues in genuine surprise, mouth hanging open. Rosa's nostrils flared, as did the fire burning in her chocolate brown eyes.

"I used to have a lot of respect for you....I admired you for doing a lot of great things for DATS." Her voice started off quiet, but shaky, as if she were trying her damned hardest to keep control of herself. "But ever since you got here, you've done nothing but act like jerk toward everyone, especially Tohru...tell me, what right do you have to talk to her that way?!"

She suddenly shouted, voice cracking and thick accent coming out entirely. "In fact, why would you ever talk to anyone like that?! The poor girl was trying her best to be helpful and just wanted you to stop insulting her friend! You were being way too hard on Masaru, even if he can do some stupid stuff without thinking! Maybe you should have tried including all of us in your plans, then maybe he wouldn't have a problem with following your orders! Tohru just wanted you to let up on him, so she didn't deserve to get treated that way!"

Tohma couldn't even get a word in as Rosa started yelling at him all in what seemed like one single breath. She breathed in deeply before opening her mouth to continue, "That's why, if you ever bully Tohru ever again, I'm not going to stop Masaru from hitting you next time!" She finished, panting and composing herself with a flip of her hair as she turned on her heel. "I can't even stand to look at you right now...you make me sick."

The Spaniard stormed off, leaving a surprised and guilty looking Tohma in her dust. Now that she had finally stood up to Tohma and called him out on his behavior...she felt...great. She had felt such a rush from letting her anger come out like that. Though she did have feelings for him, that shouldn't mean she had to excuse his horrible attitude. She walked back into the surveillance room with a small smile tugging at her lips, taking her usual spot against the wall.

Coronamon, taking note of her sudden mood change, looked up at his partner. "What did you need to do?"

"Oh..I just needed to give Tohma a piece of my mind...for her." Rosa directed her smile at the sleeping girl next to Coronamon. He glanced over at Tohru, then back to his human partner and smiled proudly.

'I'm glad that Rosa is starting to open up a bit more...maybe its because of Tohru.' He rested his head on Tohru's shoulder, being careful not to disturb her slumber. Rosa let a yawn pass her lips and pushed off the wall again, deciding she was bored just standing there doing nothing.

"Coronamon, I'm going to go walk around. You can...stay with Tohru." Her Digimon partner nodded his head and with that, she left the room once again to wander the halls aimlessly. She came across the room containing the Digital Dive, Yoshino having just entered with Lalamon floating beside her. The Spaniard let out a breath of reluctance and walked in behind the magenta haired girl.

Yoshino heard a second pair of footsteps follow her in and quickly turned around, looking panicked for a brief moment, but relaxing her muscles upon seeing it was just her fellow agent. "O-Oh, its just you, Rosa." The older girl put a hand to her chest, breathing a sigh of relief, "You scared me for a moment there."

Rosa raised an eyebrow and flipped her hair as a smirk formed on her lips, "What'd you think I was? The big bad Boogeyman?" Her tone was almost mocking, making Yoshino frown in annoyance.

"No. I just wasn't expecting you to appear behind me like that." She explained, trying to make it seem like Rosa's rudeness didn't bother her. She took a seat at one of the tables and opened up a book that consisted of nothing but cute cat pictures. The younger girl took a look over Yoshino's shoulder, both eyebrows raising at her choice of reading material.

"...Cat pictures?" Rosa asked incredulously, giving her superior that look that practically said 'Really..?'

"Yeah? So what? Cats are cute." Yoshino argued, turning her gaze back to the pictures and sighing dreamily, "I wish I could take a nap like these kittens.." She had her eyes on a particularly adorable photo of three kittens snuggled up close to each other while they slept.

Rosa rolled her eyes, but kept looking at the photos with her. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but the pictures were pretty cute. She thought kittens were adorable, not that she was ready to ever say that to anyone she knew. Her thoughts of kittens doing cute things was sadly cut short by the sound of the door behind them opening suddenly.

Both girls looked over their shoulders, alarmed and alert. Yoshino stood and ran outside with Rosa and Lalamon following close behind. They glanced around, only to see that no one was around. This turned out to be a mistake as the doors closed, locking them out of the room.

"H-Hey! What the hell?!" Yoshino cursed as she started pounding her fist on the metal doors. When that didn't work (not that it would have), she started typing in the passcode to get the doors unlocked into the security system attached to the wall. "Who the hell got in there??"

"How should I know, Pinky??" Rosa retorted while starting to bang on the metal doors herself, "Hey! Open these doors right now!" The Spaniard growled, pounding her fist on the surface harder.

"Pinky?? Is that really the best insult you can come up with??" Yoshino asked in disbelief, managing to get the code right. The metal doors began to slide open.

"Oh shut it-" Rosa began, but went quiet as both girls witnessed someone using the Digital Dive. It was hard to tell who it was at first, but then...they recognized the male's silhouette as a bright light surrounded him. "T-..That isn't.."

The figure disappeared through the Digital Dive, being sent into the Digital World. Both girls knew exactly who that was, their eyes wide and mouths hanging open.

Yoshino was the first to speak, but Rosa joined in and they expressed their shock in unison.

"T-...Tohma?!"

Both females rushed inside the room in a panic, the older one sitting at the computer as her fingers flew across the keyboard. "What is that idiot thinking?! Captain Satsuma told us not to use the Digital Dive because going into the Digital World alone is dangerous!"

"H-He knew this and he still went?! I thought he was supposed to be a genius!" Rosa snapped, torn between being concerned for his safety and wanting to punch him in the face for being an idiot. "W-We have to go and get him back!"

"No, did you just hear what I said? It's not safe, Rosa!" Yoshino scolded as she kept trying to bring up Tohma's coordinates on the screen. Both females heard a shuffling noise behind them and turned toward the source, not seeing anything at first. Then Masaru and Agumon popped up leaning against the wall in a stealth pose, looking as though they thought they were being sneaky.

"Operation: Stealth is a success." Masaru stated with a sly grin, his Digital partner nodding his head in agreement.

"We're so smooth, Aniki."

"...What the hell are you two doing?" Rosa questioned, glowering at the duo with a sour expression. Masaru and Agumon jumped from being startled and laughed nervously in unison.

"U-Uhm...we were just..."

"Aniki and I were gonna go use the Digital Dive before Tohma did-OW!" Agumon rubbed his poor noggin where a bump was starting to form. "Aniki! That hurt!"

"Way to go, telling them our plan!" Masaru growled lowly while holding up a fist, but their soon to be bickering was interrupted by Rosa loudly clearing her throat to get their attention.

"So...WHY exactly were you going to use the Digital Dive??" The Spaniard asked, hands on her hips and a brow raised.

"To go after Drimogimon, duh!" Masaru stated, pumping a fist and grinning.

"...Well, Tohma already beat you to it. He just sent himself to the Digital World." Masaru's grin faded only to be replaced with a sneer of distaste.

"What?! Of course that bastard would try to take all the glory!" The street fighter pouted, arms crossed over his broad chest. He walked over to the girls and looked over at the screen, where Yoshino had brought up Tohma's coordinates.

"I've found him! Good, he's safe." Yoshino breathed a sigh of relief, as did Rosa. This feeling didn't last long, because just as quickly as she was able to find him, his signal was lost. Yoshino's eyes widened and an audible gasp left her lips, "W-What the? I lost his signal!"

"You lost his signal?!" Rosa shouted in disbelief, moving closer to the screen for a better look. Panic was evident in her brown hues as she pulled away with a huff. "That...that idiot!"

Masaru rolled his eyes, scoffing and pretending he didn't give a damn. "So what? I don't care what happens to that bastard."

Rosa snapped her head towards him, ready to shoot him the deadliest glare she could muster. However, she remembered she was supposed to be angry with Tohma and scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah, so what? Who cares if he gets lost in the Digital World. It's his own fault!"

Yoshino shot the two younger teenagers a scolding glare, her expression basically saying she didn't buy their words at all. "I know you two are angry with him. I am too, in all honesty. But right now we need to set that aside and figure out how to fix this mess."

"There's no way I'm helping him!" Masaru huffed stubbornly. Agumon imitated his partner's pose and nodded in agreement.

Yoshino's lips parted to spit out some retort, but caught herself. Her lips pursed together as she thought about what she should say to convince them. She knew sending these two through the Digital Dive was a terrible idea and she'd most likely be screamed at by Satsuma if he found out. But what other choice did she have? There was no other way to bring Tohma back to the human world unless someone else went in after him.

"You know...I bet Tohru would want to go and find Tohma despite how he treated her." The magenta haired female made eye contact with Masaru, who had perked up at the mention of the very obvious object of his affection. Good, she had his attention. Yoshino knew that if Tohru knew what was going on, she'd be the one convincing these two that they should rescue their teammate.

Tohru was that kind of person. She was willing to forgive those who have wronged her.

Both Masaru and Rosa were quiet for a few long moments, letting Yoshino's words sink in. They didn't want to admit it (especially Rosa), but she was right. No matter what, if Tohru had been the one that wanted to rescue Tohma, both of them would follow after her. It would be for Tohru's sake, really.

"...Fine. I'll...go through the Digital Dive." Masaru spoke up, breaking the silence. "But I'm not doing it because I like the guy! I just don't want Tohru to be angry at me if I don't."

Of course, Yoshino gave an knowing smile. His little crush was so obvious to everyone. She was surprised the only person who hadn't noticed was Tohru herself. Masaru's face flared up with a blush and he looked away.

"Someone's gotta keep this idiot in line, so I'm going with him." Rosa jabbed a finger in Masaru's direction, making the taller boy glower at her.

"Hey! Who're you calling an idiot?!"

"Yeah!" Agumon chimed in, standing near his human partner and imitating his expression.

"You, duh." Rosa simply smirked, arms crossed.

"Hm...what about Tohru though? Would it be a good idea to bring her along? She's...not in the best mental state right now." Yoshino pondered out loud, putting her hand to her chin in thought.

At the mention of the shy girl, the room went quiet. Nobody was sure whether bringing the green clad agent along would be wise. Not only was she emotionally vulnerable, but she couldn't bring out her Digisoul at the moment. Nobody wanted to endanger Tohru's life, but at the same time...they would feel guilty if they left her behind.

Masaru was the one to speak up on behalf of his best friend, his decision was clear and nothing would change his mind on the matter. He walked toward the sliding doors leading out of the room, stopping just at the doorway. His grin told them he knew he'd made the right choice.

"We're bringing her along, of course! She's a fellow agent, and I'm not leaving her behind! If she can't fight, I'll protect her!" He grinned proudly, jabbing his thumb at his chest. His forest green eyes were burning with the determination to keep Tohru safe. He turned on his heel and sprinted down the empty hallway back towards the surveillance room.

When he entered the room, he found that Tohru was still sitting against the wall, fast asleep. Coronamon glanced up at the teenager with a tilt of his head. Masaru knelt in front of the sleeping girl and gently nudged her shoulder until she began to stir from her slumber.

"Nn..." Tohru's emerald hues fluttered open, the first thing she saw was her best friend smiling at her. She immediately perked up and her cheeks flushed red as she began stuttering. "A-Ah! M-M-Masaru?" Why was he waking her up? Were they going home or something?

"Good, you're awake! The jerkface went to the Digital world by himself and we lost his signal. So now me, you and Rosa are gonna rescue him!" Masaru quickly explained while taking her small hand in his to help her up on her feet. Tohru took his hand and stood up, stumbling a bit since her legs were a bit numb from sleeping against the wall for so long.

Terriermon began to stir from his slumber as well, his eyes opening to look up at his partner. "What's going on, Tohru?"

"Um...Tohma went through the Digital Dive by himself and he's in trouble now." Terriermon made a face and tilted his head.

"But...he was mean to you. Why do you want to help him?"

"W-Well...I-I don't...know if I really want to...but...it's the right thing to do. So we're going to help find him."

Tohru was still vulnerable and upset, Masaru could see that clearly. Right now, she had no confidence in herself. He'd protect her from any danger. He already promised this to himself.

"Tohru...don't worry. If you're not ready to fight any Digimon yet, just leave the fighting to me." He beamed at her, giving a small wink. "I'll protect ya!" He gave her a toothy grin and gave her an affectionate pat on the head, causing the shorter girl to blush and look down timidly.

"T-Thank you...M-Masaru." Tohru felt tears come to her eyes, but blinked them back.

Masaru's smile softened and suddenly he leaned down, scooping the girl up into his arms and lifting her up with no problem at all. Tohru was shocked by his actions to the point where she didn't know how to respond. She just turned bright red and hugged Terriermon closer to her chest.

"U-Uhm, M-Masaru..?" Instead of getting an answer, Masaru began sprinting back down the hall, carrying Tohru the entire way without breaking much of a sweat. Coronamon followed after them and caught up as they entered the room with the Digital Dive.

"Sorry I took so long! I had to wake up the princess!" Masaru joked, putting the blushing girl down on her feet. She looked like she was about to faint, but he kept his hands on her shoulders to prevent her from falling.

Rosa and Yoshino looked at each other for a moment before staring at the two teenagers with sly smiles. "Are you okay, Tohru?" Yoshino questioned the still speechless girl. Tohru snapped out of her daze and quietly nodded her head. "You're...sure you want to go with them? You can stay here with me if you want."

"...I-I want to go. P-Perhaps...if we find Tohma I-I can...make ammends with him. I-I would like to try..." Tohru knew that even if they found Tohma and brought him back, she'd still feel uncomfortable being around him. She didn't want to abandon him, no matter how he treated her.

Yoshino's lips tugged up into a small grin, "I had a feeling you'd say something like that." She turned back to the computer monitor, her fingers flying across the keyboard. "Okay, I've set up the coordinates for where the gate will take you guys. Please...be careful, you three." She really did not want them to go to the Digital World. Nobody knew what could happen or how dangerous it could be. She didn't even know.

"Don't worry, Yoshi! Me, Agumon and Coronamon are gonna be with them. We're not weaklings, you know!" Terriermon piped up, raring to go. Sure, he couldn't exactly evolve right now, but he'd still fight to protect Tohru and the others as best as he could. He was small, but his attacks can still pack a powerful punch.

"Yeah! Terriermon's right! I'm no weakling either!" Agumon agreed, looking determined. Coronamon only nodded, but he was ready to go too. He'd do his best to protect them.

"You heard 'em, boss lady! We're gonna be just fine!" Masaru gave her a thumps up and a toothy grin. Yoshino sighed and reluctantly got the Digital Dive up and running. The three teenagers and their partners entered the machine and after a few seconds, a beam of light engulfed them. Then, they were gone.

There was no turning back now.

"I have a really bad feeling about this..." Yoshino muttered worriedly, turning her attention back to the screen.

"They'll be okay, Yoshino. I believe in them." Lalamon was a lot more optimistic about this than her partner was, but it did seem to make Yoshino feel a bit better. She just...really hoped nothing bad happened.

Going through the Digital Dive was an experience. Tohru felt like she was floating upwards and around her was a bunch of numbers and data. Her stomach did a flip and she held onto Terriermon for dear life. Again, the group was engulfed in a bright blinding light before they felt the ground beneath them.

Tohru sat up in the soft grass they'd landed on, then looked at her friends to see if they were okay. Rosa was already standing up and surveying the area and...Masaru was upside down. How he managed that is anyone's guess.

"Whoa...everything in the Digital World is upside down."

"Aniki, you're the one that's upside down..." Agumon corrected him, causing Masaru to quickly scramble to his feet and recompose himself.

"..I knew that." The street fighter stated awkwardly, his cheeks flushing pink when he realized he'd embarrassed himself in front of Tohru. He looked out into the distance, taking in their new and strange surroundings. "So this is the Digital World, huh?"

Tohru stood up as well and gazed up at the blue sky, a slight breeze rushing by. There were a lot of data chip looking patterns in the sky, mountains with metal running through them, digitalized rivers and grassy plains with strange looking plants and trees. It was...very unlike what she expected it to look like really.

"It's pretty.." She murmured to herself, her emerald eyes seeming to light up with wonder.

"Alright, enough sight seeing. We gotta find Tohma, remember?" Rosa spoke up, sounding a little annoyed about the lack of urgency these two had.

"Yeah, yeah." Masaru waved her off and started heading in the direction he thought was best to go in. The Spaniard had a vein popping on her head, but started following after. Tohru caught up to walk beside Masaru, feeling the safest by his side. She still had no idea how she'd even be able to help them out if they ran into danger.

Tohru couldn't help but feel like she was just a burden being here. Even if the others didn't feel that way, that tiny voice inside her head wouldn't let her forget it.

Useless. She was...useless.

"I swear Masaru will probably say something like, 'On second thought, let's leave him. He'll figure a way out on his own.'" Yoshino mimicked Masaru's voice, shrugging her shoulders. Sad thing is, she knew he would say something along those lines.

"I think you might be overthinking it, Yoshino.." Lalamon reassured.

"On second thought, let's leave him. He'll figure a way out on his own." Masaru said without really thinking about what was coming out of his mouth. He looked over at Rosa, who was glaring daggers at him. "A-Ah...never mind then."

"So...does anyone know where they're going??" Rosa questioned as they passed by a lot of Digimon that were just roaming. "Don't you guys know your way around the Digital world? I mean, you're all from here after all.." She asked looking down at Coronamon.

"I did come from here, but remember I came to you a long time ago...I don't remember much at all." The fire cub explained.

"And this is my first time here!" Agumon chimed in, "I've been at DATS my entire life."

"What about you Terriermon? You came from this world too, right?" Tohru asked the Digimon perched on her head. He looked a bit sad to be back, but he tried to shake the bad memories away.

"Yeah, I'm from the Digital World too. I came from here pretty recently...but I wouldn't know where to find Drimogimon. I always stayed with the other small Digimon."

"Well that was no help at all..." Rosa mumbled before walking ahead to take the lead. "Maybe if we head towards those mountains and cliffs, we might find him. I'll take the lead. If we follow Masaru, we'll just end up lost."

The street fighter sent her an annoyed glare, but huffed and followed behind the much shorter girl. "...Who died and made you the leader..?"

"What was that??" Rosa must have had some sharp ears on her.

"N-Nothing!" Masaru immediately shut up and just continued to follow her lead. Tohru couldn't help giggling a bit at his silliness, causing the taller boy to look down at her with a smile. "Glad to see you smiling again, Tohru."

The brunette blushed and twiddled her fingers timidly, a smile still plastered on her face.

As the group walked, they noticed a dome made out of pure crystal. It seemed out of place with the rest of the environment, but they didn't dwell on it too long. With Rosa leading the way, they started heading up the cliff side. The ground suddenly began to shake underneath them and out from the side of the large cliff came Drimogimon.

They watched in shock as the large mole Digimon fell face first into the ground and seemed to get stuck there for a brief moment. It's nose began to whirl around at high speeds, drilling him further into the ground with his limbs flailing.

"...Looks like we found him." Terriermon spoke up after an awkward silence filled the air.

"After him!!" Masaru and Rosa shouted in unison, the entire group jumping into the hole together.

Yoshino and Lalamon both stared at the screen in complete shock and disbelief. They...they had disappeared too...

"...T-This isn't good...this may be the worst..." Yoshino grit her teeth and got right to typing, trying desperately to find their coordinates. She knew she shouldn't have let them go. Being the oldest, she felt the most responsible for the younger teenagers.

And of course, all she could do was sit there and try to find their location. Why was she always so...so...

Both human and Digimon failed to notice Captain Satsuma walking up right behind them, they were too busy concentrating on the horrible situation they were in now.

"What are you doing?" His deep voice asked in a eerily calm tone.

"Searching for two girls and an idiot. This is the absolute worst!" Yoshino replied without thinking about who exactly had asked her that question. That's when both females noticed the tall man standing there, looking down at them menacingly.

"...C-Captain..."

"Looks like you two are searching for something...or rather...someone. So tell me...what are you searching for on there..." There was no fooling Kudomon. He could tell they had been breaking some rules here, it was written all over their faces. Or...at least Yoshino's face. Nobody could ever tell when Lalamon was emoting.

"Ah...um....a boyfriend?" The magenta haired girl lied, starting to sweat nervously while Lalamon started floating away from her. "L-Lalamon.."

"I think I'll stay out of this one..."

As their target continued drilling through the ground, the group was giving chase. Tohru was running out of breath, being the slowest runner and the one who was really out of shape. They came to a large clearing underground where Drimogimon started drilling through the ground again. As they tried to catch up to it, the mole Digimon popped up out of the ground in several different spots around them, trying to confuse them.

"Damn it...stay still already!!" Masaru shouted angrily, fists raised, only to find himself face to face with the much larger creature. It smiled mischievously at the teenagers and started pounding its clawed appendages against the unstable ground.

Cracks began to form in the ground and opened up underneath their feet, causing everyone to fall into the depths below. Tohru screamed and clutched Terriermon to her chest as she fell, squeezing her eyes shut and preparing to die as soon as she hit the hard ground.

She didn't expect a pair of arms to wrap around her smaller frame. When they hit the ground, Tohru found herself laying on top of Masaru, who had pulled her to his chest and broke her fall. She looked up at her best friend and it took her a few seconds to realize the position they were in before her entire face looked like a tomato.

"You're not hurt, are you?" He asked her, obviously concerned for her safety rather than his own.

"A..Ah...y-y-yes..." The timid brunette stuttered before getting off of him, "B-But are you okay?? Y-You must have landed pretty hard.." He just grinned at her and gave a thumbs up.

"Yup! I'm perfectly fine!"

"...You would be okay. You have a pretty thick skull." Rosa commented, standing up and brushing the dust off her uniform. He glared at her again in annoyance, but shrugged it off and helped Tohru up. "Gotta say though, we're pretty lucky to still be alive...seemed like a big fall..." The darker skinned girl glanced up, but couldn't even see where they'd just been standing a few seconds ago. "I can't even see the ceiling.."

A soft grunt could be heard just a short distance from where they landed. Looking towards the source, they found the exact person they'd been searching for.

"Tohma!" Rosa ran over to the blond who was leaning against the wall. "You're okay.." She glanced down at his leg, seeing some blood staining his blue uniform.

"Hey, what happened to you??" Masaru asked getting closer to look at the wound. Tohma tried to brush it off and act like it didn't hurt at all, but stumbled a bit and grimaced.

"Don't move, idiot. You're hurt!" Rosa scolded, getting out her first aid kit and making him sit down on a nearby rock. "Lemme patch this up real quick." She was blushing from being so close to him, but stayed focused on dressing his wound.

"Gaomon and I fell down here when we tried to face off against Drimogimon...I thought we had him, but then...he managed to trick us." Tohma sounded pretty embarrassed to be defeated so easily.

"So you were outsmarted by an overgrown gopher. What a genius." Masaru snickered, reveling in the thought of his supposed arch rival being outsmarted by Drimogimon. Tohma sent him a look of irritation, but he honestly felt too embarrassed to say anything back.

The blond male took a glance over at Tohru, who had kept her distance from him. He didn't blame her, with the way he's treated her. Perhaps it was his guilty conscious that caused him to lose to a mole with a drill for a nose. He felt horrible just seeing the hopeless expression on her face. Because of him, she thought she was useless as a member of DATS.

"Tohru..I-"

"Master, I've found a way out of here." Gaomon had been trying to open up a pathway after a cave in blocked it. With a little help from the other Digimon, they managed to clear an opening for the group to pass through.

"..Thanks Gaomon." Tohma stood up, but stumbled again due to his injury. Instead of falling to the ground, Tohru had come to his aid and put her arm around him to hold the blond up. He looked genuinely surprised. Didn't...she hate him?

"Um...I...I'm still upset about what you said to me...but...y-you're still our teammate...a-and helping you is the right thing to do." Tohru stammered, keeping her eyes on the ground instead of looking up at him.

He was speechless for once. Tohru was the last person he expected to help him.

"Well...since Tohru is helping you...I might as well too.." Rosa mumbled, walking to his other side and putting his arm around her shoulders, her other arm also helping to support him. She was blushing again due to the close contact and refused to look at him. She didn't want him to see her reddened face.

Masaru, however, wasn't surprised by Tohru's actions. She had a kind heart and always forgave someone, even if they really hurt her. That's just the way she always has been. It was one of the reasons why he liked her so much.

His cheeks turned bright red, and he shook it off. She was...she was just his close friend, right? Why did thinking that make him feel sad then? Actually, now that he thought about it...seeing her so close to another boy made him feel kind of...jealous?

No. He was not jealous. Why would he be?? Nope. He wasn't the least bit jealous of Tohma.

Masaru sighed in defeat and took over for Tohru and Rosa. He figured it would be easier for him to carry Tohma since the two boys were about the same height. Besides, the two girls looked like they were having a hard time keeping the blond up, probably since he was taller and heavier than they were.

"Masaru...you too?" Tohma was even more surprised when the guy he kept insulting all this time came to help him too.

"What can I say? A man knows when to put aside his differences and do the right thing." Masaru said while smiling proudly. Tohru walked beside them and glanced up at the auburn haired boy, the corners of her lips tugging up into a soft smile. She was happy to see the two of them starting to get along.

Tohma noticed the quiet girl looking at them, she was smiling. Why? Wasn't she still upset? "Tohru..."

Hearing Tohma addressing her, she moved her attention to him. "Y..Yes?"

"...I'm sorry."

She stopped in her tracks, frozen with a look of utter surprise. He...he was apologizing? "..Y-You are?"

"Yes..I'm really sorry. What I said to you...you didn't deserve it. I didn't mean what I said...you're not useless, Tohru." He admitted. Even if he didn't show it, the guilt really got to him. "That's why I ended up down here. I...I wasn't thinking straight because of how horrible I felt."

Tohru's heart began to swell as he gave her an honest and genuine apology. Tears filled her eyes and she looked down to hide that she was starting to cry.

"So....we should start over and try to be friends." As Tohma finished speaking he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. It was Tohru. She was hugging him. Not used to being shown such affection, the blond blushed a bit. Masaru, on the other hand, looked ready to shove Tohma away from her.

"I-Its...okay. I-It's true that what you said did upset me...b-because I always felt like I was weak and useless...I-I felt like I was just getting in the way-"

"Y-You're not getting in the way." Tohma interrupted her, trying his best to put on a smile. He felt awkward and kind of nervous talking to this girl...but for some reason, he felt like he could connect with her. That they could become friends.

Tohru started crying more and smiled through her tears, letting go of him. "O-Okay...l-let's be friends." She held her hand out for him to shake, and he did smiling back at her with a nod of his head.

They were able to meet halfway and make ammends. Tohru felt a strong burst of energy in her chest and looked down, seeing her Digisoul surrounding her heart. "M-My Digisoul! I-I can use it again?" She started crying more, she was so happy.

"Alright! See Tohru? You're not useless! You're a valuable member of our team!" Masaru cheered, pulling the girl into a big bear hug, picking her up and spinning her around while Rosa held Tohma up. She was smiling too, feeling happy that Tohru was able to overcome the doubt in her heart.

Tohru flushed dark red, but hugged Masaru back and cried into his uniform. Terriermon giggled and nuzzled against her cheek, hugging her head with his ears.

Masaru finally put Tohru back on her feet, giving her a warm smile. He was so proud of her and the progress she was starting to make. He couldn't help but notice how soft her lips looked. He wanted to just...lean forward and kiss her-

"N-Now that..we're all getting along...l-lets try to find a way out of here." Tohru suggested, still red in the face. Her Digisoul no longer glowed around her heart, but she could still feel its energy swelling up in her chest. With a more determined tone, she added,

"Let's go beat that Drimogimon and get out of here. Together."

Holy crap, I actually finished this chapter. It's a year late but uh...well, here it is!

Again, thank you to everyone who reads and comments on this story. You're all so nice and wonderful and I love reading each and every one of your reviews. Next chapter, we'll be finishing off the Drimogimon situation and starting a little arc that I came up with myself. I'm so excited!