"You hung up on me?" Zheng Fan was a little annoyed, but he was a reasonable man, and he soon let it go.
"Brother Zheng Fan, how did it go? Will Henry be all right?" Seeing Terriermon's expression, Ruki hurried to ask first. Heaven only knew what Terriermon would say if left to speak for himself.
"All right, you heard it yourselves. I'll put in a word with the people from the Celestial Empire. Henry will be fine." Zheng Fan looked at Terriermon and asked, "Terriermon, are you going to wait here, or leave with everyone else?"
"I... I'd better wait. I still have Henry's Digivice." Terriermon glanced about evasively, not daring to meet Zheng Fan's eyes.
"Right, Takato, Ruki-I got your names right, didn't I? You should head home early too. Your families will be worried." Zheng Fan spoke gently, threading strands of mental power through his words that the two children had no hope of resisting. Renamon gave him a suspicious look. But his words were so perfectly reasonable that Renamon could not figure out what had happened.
"Zheng Fan, do you know what I'm planning to do?" Only after Takato was out of sight did Terriermon reluctantly speak. He still did not dare meet Zheng Fan's eyes.
"Terriermon, of course I know what you want to do. Anyone with power would refuse to stand by and watch a companion suffer." Zheng Fan paused before continuing, "But you should know that Lee Henry will have to keep living on Earth, after all. While I'm here, I can give you one chance. But only one."
"Thank you, Brother Zheng Fan." At that, Terriermon changed how he addressed him too.
As though he had not heard Terriermon, Zheng Fan walked out of the alley without looking back.
The cold gleam