Chapter Text
“So, I told my parents last night.” Kyle tried to drop it in conversationally as he offered up the copied USB sticks for his friends in the library before class.
“You… what? About Coyomon?” Bryan stared at him, wide-eyed.
“He did a good job!” came the voice from his pocket. “I even got to play games!”
“What…?” June was gaping now too.
Kyle giggled. “You did not. You watched us play games, and kept trying to eat my Carcassonne tiles!”
“They looked like crackers…”
Kyle shook his head with a sigh, still grinning. “But… yeah. You all remember I’m terrible with secrets right?”
“Did they freak out?” June asked.
“Less than I expected, honestly. But they’re going to talk to Dr. Clarke. So I bet that’s gonna be interesting for everyone involved.”
“My mom would totally freak out,” Bryan mused, apparently to himself. “My dad probably wouldn’t even notice though.”
June nodded in Bryan’s direction. “Yeah I guess I’m in the best position for this. I would not be surprised if Dr. Clarke tells my parents today. It’s a small institute.”
Kyle shrugged. “If they don’t freak out, it’s probably a good thing. I mean we’re supposed to train? And fight portal-crossers? That’d be hard to do without anyone noticing.”
“Yeah but like… what if they take the digivice away?” Bryan was definitely getting worked up.
“Rrrrr, like to see them try. I’ll come out and take it back!”
Kyle felt a spike of agreement at that; the idea of being separated from his digivice was truly alarming. “Well… mine aren’t talking about that at least.” He nodded to Bryan. “If you’re worried, maybe it’d be better to do it a bit farther away? I mean there’s an arroyo with a gate to guard right there close to your house, maybe we could get one closer to mine…”
Before Kyle could elaborate on his idea, the bell rang. “Crap. See y’all at lunch!”
“Sure!” said June, and “Digimon Research Team go!” said Bryan, as they all headed to class.
First period slid by, with Kyle half-listening to Mr. Stuart talk about the branches of government. He’d already read that part of the textbook, so he spent most of his attention writing out ideas for Digimon training in his planner, figuring that would at least help him look like he was being organized.
Second period was computer class with Mr. Neary, a high point of the day. He always enjoyed working out how to make what was in his head appear on the computer screen, and he also managed to sneak some extra time to do Digimon research.
Third period was the dreaded P.E. class, where he had to actually interact with other students, and try to act half as coordinated as everyone else in the gym or on the field. Today it at first seemed like they’d lucked out, since the sports teams needed both of those for “homecoming practice”, whatever that was. Sitting in the weight room and watching ancient films about fitness and diet was boring, but preferable to the alternative… until Kyle saw Rick walking through on the way to practice.
“Hey Kylie! You sure you’re on the right side of the gym?” It was a passing comment, one he’d heard before, and it still made him clench his teeth. He pressed his hand over his pocket, sure he could hear Coyomon starting to growl. Should he even bother to say anything back? ‘Just ignore them’, his parents always said. As if that did anything other than make him feel helpless. As if it actually worked. As if just his ‘ignoring’ reactions weren’t apparently hilarious themselves.
This time it was a moot point. Rick was out of the room already, and at least he got what seemed like a sympathetic look from Coach Larson (who he was pretty sure was gay herself). He did his best to focus on the cheesy, decades-old health film, as it was better than worrying about when Rick would pass through the room again. It was only when he was getting ready to leave for lunch that he realized there was another problem.
“Has anyone seen my backpack?” Kyle tried to control his breathing. He’d left it near the door, like everyone else’s. And his was easy to tell apart, with all the patches he’d added. And now it wasn’t there. His backpack, with his planner and notes and school books and more importantly his own books. His heart was starting to pound. The basketball team had been in and out more than once. Rick had been in and out more than once. A horrible idea started to form in his mind, and before he could think twice, he burst out onto the gym floor.
“Rick, what’d you do with my backpack?” he yelled.
The older boy paused in his drills. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Kyle,” he said. “I gotta practice. You probably left it in the locker room.” His words were calm; Coach Pribble was watching. But Kyle caught the head motion that went with them. Rick had made a definitive nod in the direction of the girls’ locker room.
Kyle was trembling as he ducked back out of the gym. Outside of the practice noise, he could hear the growling coming from his pocket, and feel that sense of static again. He ran right through the weight room and out toward the fields, curling up in a corner just outside. “Ugh, not again!”
“Need helping, Partner-Kyle?”
“Coyomon…” He worked on his breathing. “…Yeah… Come out real quick?” This seemed safe enough, out of view. Coyomon appeared quickly, and Kyle leaned into him. The Digimon pressed back, and Kyle felt himself starting to calm more.
“Someone bad?” Coyomon asked.
“Very. Rick is… He’s just always out to get me.”
“Rrrrrr. Zap him?”
“I wish. I dunno what would help. He’d probably turn that against me too.”
“Wanna help!”
“Yeah, I want you to help too, I just…” Kyle sighed. He realized at least that he was calming down quickly, just as he had last night. “You’re already helping just like this, really.” As his mind cleared, options started to become clearer as well. “I gotta go back in, you probably should too. It’s almost lunch though.”
“Okay! Lunch is good. And I can still zap him later if you want!” With a nuzzle, Coyomon disappeared back into the digivice.
A quick conversation with Coach Larson got him his backpack back, and also a promise that she’d talk to the boys’ coach about Rick’s behavior. Finally, it was time for lunch.
“I swear he’s getting worse,” Kyle said between bites of mediocre cafeteria pizza as they all sat in their usual spot behind the art building.
“Yeah, that sucked.” Bryan nodded. “I can guard your bag next time or something?”
“No one should have to guard my bag! No one else’s bag gets stolen. It sucks so bad, what if Coyomon had been in there?”
“Rrr, I would’ve shocked him!” Coyomon’s muzzle was covered in pizza sauce.
“Hah. Yeah, I guess you would.” The thought brought a slightly-guilty smile to Kyle’s face. “Huh… I wonder…”
June eyed him. “What, you want to let him steal your backpack with the digivice in there?”
“Oh no way. Not a chance.” Kyle shuddered. “But like… maybe we could do something.”
“Challenge him to a fight?” Bryan suggested. “Then reveal your secret ally?”
Kyle shook his head. “I think if folks saw me with an electric coyote, I’d be the one getting in trouble. Plus Rick’s not exactly the ‘beat you up’ kind of bully. Too risky to his sports-star-honor-student image.”
June nodded. “Yeah, but that’s something you could use against him.”
“I guess? I have no idea how to do that, though—Hey, Coyomon, that’s Bryan’s food. Here, have an apple.”
Coyomon sniffed the apple skeptically as June elaborated. “Well, let’s say he saw you with something impressive but inexplicable, and there wasn’t anyone else to back him up.”
“So like, he couldn’t tell anyone, but he still might think twice before hassling me more?”
Bryan grinned. “Oh yeah, totally! I bet he’s not half as brave as he acts!”
“But… how would we do that?” Kyle asked.
“He’s got more basketball practice after school, right?” June asked. “And you’ll be here late for game club anyway. And he can’t resist hassling you whenever he sees you. So just hang around and make sure you’re in sight when he’s heading out from practice.”
“Right, but where could I—Ooooh, I know. The bathroom! First thing I had to learn with Rick is to not go to the bathroom with him anywhere nearby. The stuff he says in there…” Kyle slumped, wrapping his arms around himself, and Coyomon gave him a reassuring nuzzle.
June and Bryan both nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, that sounds awesome!” Bryan added.
“So I get to blast him?” Coyomon said, just as excited.
“Err, not quite that extreme,” Kyle said. “Here’s what I have in mind…”
Kyle’s afternoon classes felt easy to get through after the ordeal of the morning. His favorite classes were all after lunch in any case, and it was surprising what a difference it made just knowing Coyomon was there with him. The excitement of actually having a plan to do something about Rick only added to his mood. Sure, there was anxiety in there too, those thoughts in the back of his mind saying “Will this work?” and “Is this even a good idea?” But they were easier than usual to ignore. Just having an idea for something to do gave him a wonderful rush.
Bryan had confirmed that Rick’s basketball practice lasted for over an hour past the last bell, which gave them plenty of time to relax in the game room first. They spent part of it discussing Digimon Research Team matters. Bryan was surprisingly open to Kyle’s idea of doing a sort of portal swap, trying to create his portal as close to Kyle’s house as Kyle’s was to his.
“You all are gonna have to cover mine when I’m at my Dad’s place though,” was Bryan’s only request. “No way is he going to drive me all the way back up from ‘Burque on his weekends.”
Finally, it was time to set the plan in motion. Kyle’s stomach was churning slightly as he leaned against a wall in the school’s front hall, eyeing both the gym doors and the bathroom near the main entrance. When the gym door opened and the players started to disperse, he made his way toward the bathroom, trying to act casual.
Following his hasty plan, he made his way into a stall, and whispered for Coyomon to come out. The Digimon peered around curiously, and seemed just about to ask a question when Kyle heard the door open again. He shushed Coyomon, and a familiar voice rang out as soon as the door closed. “Hey Kylie, meeting someone in here?”
“Why are you so interested in my bathroom usage, Rick?” Kyle asked, stepping back out of the stall and motioning for Coyomon to stay put. The question had been on his mind for weeks, and it felt great to finally get it out.
“You know why,” Rick said. His voice was filled with contempt now, in a way that he never dared in more public settings. Kyle’s chest surged with anger, and he felt a tingle next to him as Coyomon started to surge in a more literal way.
Kyle tried to keep his voice steady as he said the words he’d been practicing in his head all day. “Y’know, maybe you should mind your own business, Rick. You never know what’s going on in someone else’s life.” The harsh bathroom lights started to flicker as Coyomon built up more charge.
“I don’t want to know what’s going on in your life, you—“
The lights went out, except for the electric blue of the Digimon rearing up in the stall next to him. “Or what they might be able to do if you keep acting like an asshole.”
A growl filled the small room, and glowing eyes peeked over the stall wall. Bolts of electricity danced across the metal, illuminating spread claws and bared teeth. From Kyle’s vantage point, Coyomon looked pretty silly, balanced on the toilet and clinging awkwardly to the divider. But Rick’s reaction showed that he was seeing something much more impressive.
“What the hell?” The older boy’s eyes were wide. “Is that… What the hell? That cannot be real…” Nonetheless, he took a step backwards.
“Want to stick around and find out?” Coyomon’s sparks arced further and he growled louder. Kyle was impressed how intimidating the little Digimon could sound… and that he was keeping to the script and not getting distracted by food or curiosity.
“This is… I’ll get you! You can’t… have pets…”
“Rrrr… Not a pet.”
“Rick, I know you’re smart, use your brain. If I got him in here, do you think there’s ever a place I wouldn’t have him right nearby?” Kyle couldn’t help giving a big grin.
For once, Rick was speechless. He was still edging for the door, his hand groping for the handle. Once he found it, he backed out the door and slammed it shut behind.
Kyle let out a deep breath and slumped against a wall as Coyomon’s electric display faded. The lights flickered back on, and Coyomon hopped down off the toilet.
“I did good?”
“You did awesome.” Kyle leaned over to hug Coyomon. “C’mon, let’s find Bryan and June. I hope they got a picture of Rick’s face coming out of the bathroom.”