"All right Floramon! There it is, just uh, be careful!" I heard the girl cry out to her partner. She looked pretty awkward, if I say so myself. She was definitely a newbie, probably only doing this for a week tops. I decided to see if she could handle this one. I just kept hidden on top the building, eyeing the empty parking lot below, waiting for the fight. This was not the Digimon that has been beating Hunters left and right this past week. I was surely disappointed.
"Should I go in and beat the dinosaur fast, Lieutenant?" The large, mechanical blue dragon with wings asked. My partner was rather impressive. A year of training definitely shows. It was a full year of death, tears, and blood.
"Nah, I think it'd be more interesting to see what this newbie can do. Let's try to keep our energy for the other Digimon that's been trouble lately." It's no fun just letting your own Mega level partner take five seconds fighting, right?
"I suppose… But I'd be able to clear it in two seconds, Lieutenant! " Darkdramon responded, begrudgingly. If not a little playfully disappointed. It was the first Digimon sighting in a few days, so I could understand his disappointment. I'd make it up with a good dinner for the both of us, anyway, in case he was still upset.
The girl proceeded to take out her Digivice, which I could see was a light green in color. It glowed, and soon enough, her partner began glowing too and began the Digivolution process.
"Floramon digivolve to… Sunflowmon!" The sudden change to a rather reptilian sunflower was not unnatural. Still, evolution to Champion level was mostly focused on making your partner bigger, in any case. Their opponent, a big, black, dinosaur with green hair in the shape of a Mohawk stood, eyeing his new prey.
"DarkTyrannomon. It's a Champion level Virus type. Special attack seems to be Fire Blast," The girl repeated what her Digivice told her. She kind of looked unsure of herself, or at least, that's what I could kind of see in the dark. It was almost 11PM. The lamp's brightness was all I had to look right. "Alright Sunflowmon, simple. Just aim from far away, and make sure to avoid its attacks!" she ordered her partner.
"No problem, Laura! This one doesn't seem as tough as our first one!" Sunflowmon said. Now I was kind of nervous. I've seen newbies get wrecked when they weren't careful, and now that it was clear this was only their second or third fight, I told Darkdramon to stay on the lookout if things got wiry. Just in case. I kept watch on the fight, with things finally starting up.
"Sunflow Beam!" Sunflowmon shouted while firing her ray of light at DarkTyrannomon. The black dinosaur looked harmed, but not enough to get off key of its attack.
"Fire Blast!" It roared. Soon enough, Sunflowmon went down from the intensity of the big fire ball that hit it right in the face.
"Sunflowmon! No!" the girl shrieked, and started towards her fallen partner. It looked like things would only get worse, and it was only hit by one measly attack. The duo needed work. I glanced over at Darkdramon, nodding. He started up, and became ready to attack the black beast. The dumb dinosaur didn't even look up, still walking towards the girl and her partner, ready to end the newbie's short lived career. Of course, I wasn't going to let it happen.
"Gigastic Lance!" Darkdramon shouted before charging though DarkTyrannomon's body before it cried out shortly before dissolving into data, which was absorbed by Darkdramon. The girl looked up at the savior. Unfortunately, she didn't see him as a savior, instead, a monster ready to kill her. Being in danger twice, the girl recalled her Digimon back into her Digivice, and tried to make a brave attempt at a hero's last speech. It was kind of funny, considering we just saved her life.
"D-Do what you w-want! Just don't h-hurt Sunflowmon!" She stood up to Darkdramon, obviously shaken and probably making some last second prayers. Geez, now I was starting to feel embarrassed for her. I got out of my hiding spot, and walked towards the commotion. She looked at me, clearly confused. Not that she stopped being scared; now she was a combination of both. I looked over at her, and laughed.
"You shouldn't be scared of the Digimon and Hunter that saved you." I added an extra laugh at the end. Now I was waiting for the obligatory, ego boosting thank you and praise.
"I-I could have handled that on my own!" She stuttered a bit at first, but then regained her composure. Definitely threw me off.
"You looked pretty much cornered there, actually. I was watching the whole thing." I replied sheepishly. Now she was looking embarrassed.
"Um, I'm not really good at this yet and that was ju-"
"I wouldn't worry. I was a newbie too at one point. Everyone was. You should have seen me running around like an idiot last year." I cut her off. She looked at me, and seemed more comfortable. And she laughed.
"Well, thanks for saving me back there, you were pretty cool, actually." She said completely ignoring me and thanking Darkdramon instead.
"Thank you." He replied. He was a curt and graceful one. At least as a Mega he was. He's much more klutzy and likeable as a Rookie. He cut me off my train of thought.
"Lieutenant. We should head back for the night." He said. Well, it was getting late, and I guess my parents would be worried.
"Okay Darkdramon. That sounds good." I looked over at the girl. Have to be courteous when leaving after a first meeting, right?
"My name is Sebastian, and this is my partner, Darkdramon. Nice to meet you…" I paused, since I didn't know her name.
"…Laura. My name is Laura, and same." She smiled.
"Alright, well, see you around. And try not getting killed. I'm not always available like this." I hate being snobby, but it looked like it was the right way to go around talking to Laura. I got on Darkdramon's back, and just as we were going to head off, she stopped us.
"I work at my parent's flower shop just a few blocks away. You can visit me if, you um, want!" she exclaimed. I smiled. This newbie was a lot better than the arrogant other Hunters around. If she would stick around me, I hoped that she wouldn't join the Hunter Confederation. It was the shadiest group of this whole city, and I was surprised myself that none of them showed up tonight.
"That sounds good to me." I said. Nothing else, and then I left on Darkdramon. It didn't take long at all, and soon enough, I walked in back home with a smaller dinosaur in army attire besides me. He was a lot more passable as a pet for my parents to deal with as a Rookie, I think. It took us quite a while before I could bring him out to my parents, but they slowly came to accept him as one of the family. Just took a few police calls, screaming, and threats to the adoption center. But that's pretty good, I think. I heated up the leftover sandwiches that my parents left behind. They were probably asleep by now. This is nothing new to them. They themselves learned that what I do was necessary.
"Lieutenant, so what are you going to do about that girl? You think that we can handle her?" Commandramon asked me. And it was understandable. It's been just the two of us for months now, and I knew what he was getting at.
"We'll go over to the shop tomorrow after school or something. She's new, so I think it'd be easy for her to trust us. If we manage to claim her on our side rather than those creeps of the Confederation, we'll be good. I don't want them to get another recruit. But, to answer your bonus question, we're stronger than before. And we know what we can and cannot do. Which makes us better than that day, I hope. I'll make sure we do." I gave a long response. But I knew I had to. Not just to calm Commandramon's doubts, but mine too. It's been a while since that day, but we're more prepared for anything.
"She reminds me of you back then, y' know? Commandramon poked, still eating his sandwich.
"Yeah, but her partner definitely trusted her more than you did back then. A more beautiful combination than us back in the day." I grinned and poked back. He took another bite out of his sandwich and looked defeated.
"Well then! Let's try that dynamic again, and see if it still works!" He exclaimed. Now he was just getting playful. He looks like he has to uphold a powerful atmosphere when up in the higher levels, but as a Rookie, he was always this happy and childish. He finished his sandwich. Then he started for another one.
"Yeah sure. Just don't come crying to me when you got the Confederation blockheads trying to gun you down from a quarter mile radius. Again." I joked. It was true, though. If a Digimon appeared without its human partner, they attack it like it's a wild one. And in large groups if it's a strong one. It was just how it was. Normally, I wouldn't have an issue with the Hunter Confederation. I used to be somewhat friendly with the previously leaders. That changed when the heads kept getting changed, reelected, and so on, which led up to much corruption from within. The only reason they still have members is because the members even know about this, and want a shot at power themselves. The prideful and greedy nature of the organization now was pretty messed up. And they boasted of these kinds of members, and tried to recruit many of them. Renegade teams, like Commandramon and I were normally looked down upon, and they would on occasion stage traps.
Too bad for them, having a strong Mega on your side easily defeats the Confederation Members' Champion and Ultimate leveled partners is pretty good leverage. In the whole city of Burken, you only have seven Mega Levels with partners. And you know not mess with them. Most of them hunt quietly, but others are loud and made themselves known in the Digimon Hunting world. Commandramon and I were a medium on that spectrum. And power-wise, we were on the middle as the 4th ranked team. But one thing that is followed is to never begin a battle between two Mega level Hunters. We don't mess with you, you don't mess with us, nor do we mess around with the other Mega levels ourselves. That's just how it goes. The Confederation is (currently) led by the 5th and 7th ranked Hunter-Mega level partner duos. The background story of the Confederation and the laws that the Hunters of this city follow are pretty unsettling to ponder over, and new Hunters quickly see that a fun, magical adventure with their precious partner Digimon just isn't possible. I personally don't know many other Hunters out there, but I can recognize when somebody is linked to Digimon, hunter or not.
Commandramon finished the rest of our set of sandwiches, and I took nice shower afterward. Commandramon doesn't have a bed, and usually stays asleep sitting in the corner. The military mentality just comes in his data, I figured. Except that the lizard part of his data also kicks in when it turns cold out and he usually ends up sharing my bed. As far as Hunter and Partner relationships go, we're pretty close. I wondered if Laura and her Digimon were like that too. I'd go visit her tomorrow, and that was the last thing I thought about before I fell asleep.
"Hey Rei, could I copy last night's History homework? I just couldn't do it." A boy with a rather large frame asked.
"Sorry Kanji, you know I don't condemn copying homework. You know me better than that!" Rei, a girl with long black hair told her cousin.
"Well you're not any help, ever. I'll just ask Sebastian. He's tons more help than you!" Kanji said frustrated. And thus he went over to his favorite classmate's desk during lunch. Rei followed.
To their shock, there was Sebastian, scrambling to finish his homework from last night during a measly 40 minute period.
"Problem, Sebastian? Didn't do any homework last night, like usual?" Rei asked me. Rather in a poking way, too. I nodded at her, without making eye contact. Not that I didn't want to, but I had to finish a good three hours of work in 39 minutes. Sounded reasonable, right?
"Looks like I'll be without any homework for History then. I couldn't even count on my faithful husband…" Kanji said, disappointed. And if I didn't have homework to complete, I would have given him a good socking or two for calling me husband. Kanji always did have that issue, being that affectionate towards somebody not interested. Of course, if I did, he'd easily beat me to a pulp, since he was bigger than me Instead, I tried focusing back onto the math homework.
"I'll help out if you want." Rei said with a serene voice. This was always pleasant, even though she'd just given me a hard time with homework. It was hard balancing schoolwork with Digimon Hunting, you know? Chances are that you don't know. Rei and Kanji didn't know.
"Oh wait, Rei. When should we go get Auntie her birthday flowers?" Kanji asked. Kanji's parents were always out on business and the like, so Rei's family took him in around three years ago. They were close as brother and sister. And they looked the part too, with their matching hair color and purple eyes.
"It's tomorrow, so I guess if we get them after school, they shouldn't start wilting until a day or two after tomorrow. " Rei replied. Logically answered as always. Or at least that's how she made herself sound.
"I heard that the flowers from downtown are amazing. Especially for weddings." He looked over at me and winked. Of course, I glared and glanced back to my work. In any case, I'm glad that as creepy as Kanji can get with me, he's doesn't bore me. Sure, I'd die before telling him that, mind you. Though, it did sound like the flower shop that Laura was talking about last night. This would make things less awkward, I guessed.
"Sebastian could come with us, though. If you don't have anything to do, of course." She invited me. Even easier access to the Flower shop, I thought. I accepted the invitation, and soon enough I only completed half of the homework I needed to, and got quite the scolding from my teachers.
We met up after school and went to the bus stop, heading down town like planned. We did a bit of homework on the bus, since it was a good fifteen minute ride over. We got off, and then we were soon enough at the door of the shop. It wasn't too big, but it looked big enough to hold a wide variety. Kanji and Rei went ahead to browse the flower collection, while I went to the register area. I found Laura conversing with some other girls.
Except that it wasn't just conversing, I noticed when I walked closer. Three girls were cornering Laura, who looked weakened from their words.
"-so next time, be careful when you get a price wrong. Especially be careful when you have us three as customers. We know quite a lot, Laura. Don't think we're going to yield to you if we ever end up going up against the same prey." The tallest blond girl, easily the leader of the trio, spoke menacingly. Of the last part of her threats that I heard, I wasn't going to take threats about Digimon Hunting. I went up to them. Laura's eyes widened and looked at me when she heard me counter them.
"Well, is there a problem here, ladies? From what I heard is that you three seem to be hunting the wrong kind of prey. Wouldn't it be really sucky if it just so happened that this young girl is affiliated with somebody of high power?" I said. I didn't imply anything about myself. I'd rather have them think about it, challenge it, and get knocked back from their thinking.
"Well, you seemed to be butting into the affairs of a large congress." A second, shorter, but blond like the leader said, looking heartlessly at me. She obviously implied the Hunters Confederation. And she was making it look like it was the biggest organization here. This was way off, in my book. And then I grinned. Apparently it was becoming a scene, with an audience. I saw many people, including Rei and Kanji around us. And then I began.
"You're picking on the wrong side here, ladies. I beat your levels in two seconds flat with a power that you most likely haven't witnesses yet. I'm guessing that you only have the Champion level down? Well, let me tell you something. A Mega can easily wipe down armies of you. If you want my name, I'll just ask you to call me 4th." I said, winking at the end. And thus they had their tables turned over. They were all quiet, and the leader looked pale. The shorter girl was quiet. The girl that hadn't talked at all, a girl with short brown hair didn't look phased. But she also gave the impression that she didn't seem to have registered what I said. Same with Laura. Actually, it was the same with everyone else paying attention to the small scene. I purposely didn't say "Digimon".
"U-um, I have to get back before my mom yells at me." The brown hair girl told her other two companions. She didn't really know what I meant, but she must have noticed she was the only one capable of ending the scene. She looked at me, but in a curious way, before walking out. The other two glared at Laura and me, before following her out of the store. There was a good minute of everyone awkwardly looking.
"Alright folks, show's over." Rei said. And in a snap, everyone went back to their shopping. She was good at that. Both she and Kanji went up to me and Laura.
"Geez, what was that, Sebastian?" Kanji asked.
"That's low, picking on a bunch of girls, you know." Rei added, even if it was a bit sarcastic.
I looked over at Laura, who was just beginning to relax herself.
"Thanks for that. Looks like you've been saving me a lot as of late." She grinned sheepishly, putting a hand behind her head. She then noticed the bouquet of flowers in Kanji's hand. "You, uh, want to buy those?" She asked. Kanji did so. Introductions were made, short and sweet. And then we headed over to a café down the street as Rei's treat for my company. Not that it really mattered, since I was going there anyway. We invited Laura too, and waited for her to finish her shift.
"So what would you like, sir?"
"I'll take a glass of lemonade, please" The waitress took my order and after getting everyone else's, walked away promptly.
"Did you know those girls back then? Bullying shouldn't ever be tolerated" Rei asked, concerned. She was always against bullying, and made sure everyone else knew about it too. Laura fidgeted a little in her seat.
"Well, they're just girls in my class. They never let anyone get in their way even by accident, without them… having the last laugh." She said rather cryptically. During the same conversation, we learned that Laura was a year and grade younger than us, and was attending her final year of Middle School.
"Well, I can assure you that if those other girls all come to our High School… they'll be ready for a whipping into more sensible, humble selves." Rei said with a smile. She was good at making unsettling comments with a smile.
"So what was up with them this time? I didn't really get to listen in, but there must have been something that ticked them off, right?" Kanji inquired.
"O-oh, w-well" she stuttered a bit. "I just took away a cake in the bakery down the block a few days ago, and they were mad at me, since they, um, have been eyeing it for a good while!" She nervously said. "Also, I kinda overpriced them by accident on some flowers they wanted to buy… Which was my fault…" she added guiltily. Which I directly translated into: 'I defeated the Digimon that they wanted to beat a few nights ago, and they were pissed at me'. A good hunter was good at these translations, substituting variables such as cake for Digimon. It was a gift, I know.
We stayed around a little longer, and exchanged numbers. It'd be easier to contact in case of emergencies. It would take only about a day or two for the word of a newbie hunter being taken under the wing of a Mega's Hunter to spread. I'd show her the ropes of being a Hunter, she'd be able to help me defy the Confederation's hold over the rest of the city's Hunter population, and no, I wasn't being a creep exchanging numbers with a middle school girl. Win-win scenario for everyone, I told myself.
After our goodbyes, we boarded the next bus over back to our neighborhood. Or at least, that's how it should have worked. My Digivice ringed during the ride while Kanji and Rei were doing some more homework, and told me that there was a Digimon on the loose somewhere nearby. And so I promptly left at the next stop, and received a text from Kanji, who finally noticed my absence, a minute later. I soon found an alleyway to start the usual Hunting procedure. Taking out my bold red Digivice was the first step of said procedure.
"Commandramon, realize!" I shouted, prompting the army lizard to materialize a foot away from me and the device.
"Is it a strong one today, Lieutenant? And where is our new fan?" He asked, looking excited. I guess last night's encounter with DarkTyrannomon and Laura's gratitude made him have an ego boost. This was a good thing. Commandramon was being a little mopey before.
"I sure hope so, Commandramon. And on that note…" I held up my Digivice, ready and reeling to go. It shone, and Commandramon began his Digivolution sequence.
"Commandramon Digivolve to… Darkdramon!" I quickly got on the bigger mecha dragon, and he flew us to where the Digivice pointed us. It was on yet another rooftop. Just where no one can see a thing and Digimon can roam freely. Except, that's where Hunters came in. And by the look of things, I was just getting to the party. A two other Hunters with a Gwappamon and Lynxmon were soundly defeated. I looked at the Digimon responsible. And it went straight at us before we could react. Well, me at least. Darkdramon took the winged-tiger like beast by the head, and tossed it back onto the skyscraper. I took out my Digivice, and began to identify it.
"Mihiramon. Ultimate level. Data attribute with a special attack of Vimohana, also known as Wing Blades. No wonder those two couldn't beat it. It shouldn't be a problem for you, though." I told my partner, getting off him to tend to other Hunters. Darkdramon roared, and went straight at the flying tiger. And then something happened that caught everyone at the scene off guard.
Before Darkdramon could launch his Dark Roar attack, a large, and I mean huge, red, mechanical Digimon came onto the scene and literally crushed Mihiramon to data. No saving grace on Mihiramon's part. Nor any respect to Darkdramon. Hell, I was insulted, since the mecha Digimon literally came on just to sit and crush the Mihiramon to death. I quickly withdrew my Digivice to identify the big thing. The boy with the Gwappamon looked at his, but the girl looked star struck at the damn thing.
"Jeremy, look! That's Chief Rod's Chaosdramon!" She was ecstatic. The boy, Jeremy, turned white as a ghost right after, and dropped his Digivice. I went to look at mine for the right data. I kinda felt scared myself. Darkdramon came right behind me for the same information. My face darkened at the given info.
"Chaosdramon. Mega level. Virus Type. Special attack is Hyper Infinity Cannon." I said grimly. This was one of the seven Mega levels of the city. Picking a fight with them was a good way to obliterate the town.
"Alright Darkdramon, we can't do this here, let's go." I was just getting on my partner to leave before.
"WAIT. PLEASE, PL-PLEASE DON'T LET HIM NEAR US!" The Jeremy kid was yelling at me, looking at me and Darkdramon and then Gwappamon, frantically. I didn't know what to say. The girl with him was curious too.
A boy soon dropped from Chaosdramon's back. He looked cold. Awfully, awfully cold. He walked over to us, causing Jeremy to scream like a child about to be scolded. The same 'end of the world' feeling was being emitted. That one look was all I needed. He was Chief Rod, the stronger out of the two current leaders of the Hunters Confederation. The 5th strongest Hunter of the city. I felt chills. The wild Miharamon was looking a lot more preferable to his Chaosdramon. He looked at me once, then turned away, neglecting my existence for what was about to happen. He looked straight at Jeremy.
"I believe you know about your… felony, Jeremy?" He didn't ask. He persecuted.
"S-sir! I was… I was just h-helping ou-"Jeremy was cut off quick and profoundly.
"You have violated one of our rules, dear member. You should have finished that Prairiemon back then. Instead you saved it. You saved a monster that could have endangered the population. On the count of that, discipline must be carried out." He said in a chilling way. It became clear that Mihiramon was just a bonus, and that his real target was Jeremy.
"Sir! Pl-please don't do this!" Jeremy squirmed and begged, but it all went to deaf ears as a Chief Rod snapped her fingers and Chaosdramon fired a shot. Gwappamon didn't have the time to help his Hunter beg for forgiveness. Gwappamon soon broke up and became no more, while Jeremy is screaming and the girl was holding him off from seeing his partner's final seconds of scattering into the air. Chief Rod went back to his Chaosdramon, observing the pitiful scene before him.
A small, light blue stone like crystal was left behind. While Jeremy was crying into the arms of the girl, I went to pick it up and examined it. The crystal wasn't particularly shiny, like I'd seen before. Still, I went up to Jeremy and offered it to him with my hand. He didn't notice me until the girl turned him to face me. He changed slightly at the sight of me and the crystal. His face became feral, with sadness, anger, and helplessness. He grabbed the crystal before going back once more to the girl, crying, with the crystal tightly grasped in his hand. I looked at her, and she shook her head slowly, subtly telling me that there was nothing more I could do. I looked over at the Confederation Chief, and he looked back, briefly acknowledging my existence once more. His phone rang, and he stopped including me and everyone else from the scene. He hung up quickly, after replying 'roger' to the caller. He walked back to Jeremy and the girl, and prompted the girl to tap him to look at his now former-Chief.
"I just got the call confirming the Execution Squad's success of finding and finishing off the Prairiemon you were hiding. So don't you worry about us coming back for you okay?" He said to Jeremy, eyes widening. And soon enough he went quiet. The girl looked at him further, but couldn't say a word. I, on the other hand, was over with this. I walked to him, having him look at me with full attention, rather than the terse glances he gave me before.
"You're the worst Confederation Chief I have ever seen. Before, the Confederation wasn't a contest about being the most methodological, coldest, remorseless, bastards." I spat. I was pissed. I have seen many Hunters and their Digimon having their careers ended by wild Digimon. But I have never seen another Huntercommitting the act. The Chief looked at me, and sneered.
"Aren't you quite upset? Its bleeding hearts like you that have a hard time understanding how business is done here." He said, before turning tail and walking towards Chaosdramon for the final time. I wasn't going to let him insult me by leaving me like that. I did have the power to confront him, and I wasn't going to miss the opportunity. I glanced over at Darkdramon, who seemed to understand my plight with ease.
"Dark Roar!" Darkdramon yelled, and shot bullets of dark matter past Chaosdramon, just to get their attention. This proved to be effective. Or so I thought. They turned over at us.
"I'm not done with you." I said. I tried to speak as loudly and assertive as I could. He laughed. And gave me an expression of mock before speaking.
"You… you can't be serious." He looked at me, with the most bewildered and astonished face. Then he continued. "You think that attacking a Mega level with another Mega level will do anything for your cause? You'll be looked as the most irresponsible Hunter in the city. Or at least in the former city, that would have been destroyed in the rumble that you may have caused. And all it would take is making me lose my cool due to your rashness. You are a moron. A complete moron." He glared at me, laughed, and Chaosdramon flew off, and Chief Rod of the Confederation was gone from the scene.
I exited the scene soon after, after looking sadly at Jeremy, who was just softly sobbing, while the girl was still holding onto him. The both looked at me with the most kicked expression I've seen, and I kicked myself mentally for being helpless in the end. I wasn't able to save anyone.
That night Commandramon and I went to sleep fast, and Jeremy's sobbing stayed my head for days on end.