A/N: Hello~ This is one of my new fics that I've decided to upload ^^ Earlier this year, I've finished watching Digimon Xros Wars and it really made me feel nostalgic! Although Xros Wars (or more specifically, Young Hunters) isn't the best digimon anime series in my opinion, it still brought up many things that paid homage to the past sesons (from Adventure to Savers) and a crossover too~ (but not all the past characters appeared though...=( ). Furthermore, I wasn't really satisfied with the 'open-ended' finale for Xros Wars..thus I've decided to write this fic ^^ This would be my take on what happened after the ending of Young Hunters..
If you're wondering if this fic may or may not become a crossover (from Adventure to Savers), read to find out~ ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, if I did, Young Hunters would definitely have a very different ending.
Chapter 1
Summer hung overhead over Tokyo, bringing about a constant heat along with an occasional breeze, trying to minimize the heat as much as possible. Despite the heat, summer was one of the seasons that brought the promise of fun, enjoyment and of course, vacation. Recently, summer could also bring about an adventure, one where Digimon are involved, however, only a certain few knew about it. And three of them are currently focused on a street basketball match...
"Taiki-san!" Amano Yuu called as he made a pass to the latter.
Taiki received the ball and began dribbling it towards the goal, skilfully dodging the opponents as they tried to intercept the ball. Constant cheering from the spectators could be heard as the game went on. It was yet another tournament and team Xros Heart was in the midst of their toughest game yet. Unlike most of their games, the opponents this time were stronger in terms of defences.
Looking left and right, Taiki noticed that his opponents had blocked any possible opening which could lead to a point score for team Xros Heart.
"Damn...Both Tagiru and Yuu are being blocked...looks like I'll have to shoot from here." Taiki thought as he raised the basketball over his head and threw.
A whistle could be heard throughout the basketball court. For a split second, the court was deathly quiet before cheers erupted, signalling the end of a street basketball match.
"36-33. Team Xros Heart wins!" the referee shouted over the thundering cheers and clapping. Like all friendly matches, the players from both teams bowed politely.
"Thank you for the game." The players said in unison before breaking off to their respective groups.
"Man...That was a great game, isn't it? This is officially my 75th victory!" Akashi Tagiru boasted to Yuu who merely rolled his eyes.
"You mean OUR victory. Besides, most of the shots in this game were made by Taiki-san" he sighed, wiping the sweat from his face.
"Now, now, you two..."Taiki began, hoping to calm the two juniors before another argument could erupt. "We've won, and this calls for a celebration!"
"Let's go for some takoyaki!" Tagiru suggested excitedly.
"I agree. I know of a shop not too far from here that sells delicious takoyaki." Yuu added.
"Sure. But now, I'm kinda feeling thirsty..."
"Here you go." A familiar voice said.
"Ah...thanks Akari..." Taiki absentmindedly accepted the drink, "Akari? W-what are you doing here?" he spluttered as he realized that the girl was there.
"I came over to support you guys on your game. It the weekend and I happened to be in the area. Besides, what if you fell unconscious again due to overexertion?" Akari pouted, folding her arms.
"I'm just joking. Want to join us for some takoyaki?" Taiki laughed.
"Sure!" the redhead nodded.
"Taiki-san! I've just remembered! Tagiru and I are meeting Hiroya* for a card game." Yuu interrupted as he pretended to check his phone.
"I don-!" Yuu quickly elbowed his stomach and gave him a quick glare, "I mean, yeah, so I'll guess we'll see you around another day for takoyaki!"
"See you, Taiki-san! Akari-san!" Yuu waved and took off along with Tagiru.
"S-Sure, see you then." Taiki waved, slightly bemused by the sudden behaviour change from the two boys.
"Well, looks like it's just you and me then." Taiki turned to Akari, "So, still up for takoyaki? Or do you have something else in mind?"
"How about some seafood?"Akari suggested, "We can have takoyaki with the others another time."
"Seafood sounds great. So which restaurant are we going?" Taiki and Akari began strolling down the path, oblivious to two pair of eyes spying from the bushes not too far away...
"They're really acting all lovey-dovey. Finally, I got my chance to catch Taiki-san all flustered." Tagiru grinned as he peered over the bushes where currently he and Yuu are hiding.
"Geez, if you do it this way, don't come running to me when Taiki-san gets mad at you." Yuu sighed, "I'd rather we keep watch from here and tease him about it later."
"Yeah, tried telling him that the previously...apart from the last bit" Gumdramon's voice floated out from the xros loader.
"Busting a date is really dame dame" Damemon added from Yuu's xros loader.
"But it's really rare to see Taiki-san in this mood..." Tagiru whined.
"Ah! They're getting too far ahead. Let's go!" Yuu paid no attention to the gogglehead's whining and left his hiding place in the bushes, oblivious to the surprised stares that the passer-bys gave.
"W-wait up! Yuu!" Tagiru called as he too left his hiding spot, causing more surprised stares.
"I'm stuffed! The seafood here is really great!" Taiki stretched his arms as both he and Akari exited from the restaurant.
"Told you so! Never underestimate me when it comes to finding great food to eat!" Akari replied cheerfully.
"As expected from you," Taiki joked, earning a playful smack on the arm. The teen relaxed and looked around, earlier he might not have realized it but the surrounding seemed all too familiar and at the same time, nostalgic.
"Taiki, what's the matter?" Akari turned to her best friend, having noticed that he had gone quiet.
"It's just been six months and yet it feels like only yesterday that we fought against Quartzmon." Taiki answered, his gaze lingered over to Rainbow Bridge where the battle took place.
"Yeah, I'm glad that it's all over." Akari agreed, "That battle nearly scared me half to death..." she added in an undertone.
"What did you say?" Taiki turned, raising his eyebrows.
"Nothing! Nothing at all! Just only agreeing with you," The redhead teen frantically replied, hoping that this will cover what she had just muttered seconds ago. However, she was unable to hide the light blush that surfaced on her cheeks.
"Oh, ok..." Taiki replied, slightly disappointed. He was hoping that his childhood friend would give some hint about her feelings. Taiki had realized quite some time ago that he was falling in love with his best friend. Despite being one of the legendary heroes, the brown-haired teen was still nervous about revealing his feelings to her, for fear it would jeopardize their friendship.
"Look Out!"
Taiki turned around quickly and barely registered what the large object that was flying towards Akari and his direction. Immediately, he pulled Akari towards him and jumped out of harms' way. The two landed at a distance safe from the point of impact. Deciding that it is finally safe, at the moment, Taiki opened his eyes, only to find that a damaged car had been where he and Akari had stood earlier. Cars naturally wouldn't simply fly in the air, even in an accident. There was only one possibility: Digimon.
"Taiki..." Akari had also caught on and had her hand on her xros loader.
"Let's go, Akari. Most likely a digimon got lost here and judging by the car it threw, it's definitely a big one." Taiki swiftly brought out his xros loader and reloaded Shoutmon.
"Let's go! Shoutmon!"
"I'm right behind ya!" Shoutmon smirked and sprinted towards the source, his partner following closely behind.
"Reload, Dorulumon!" within seconds, a wolf-like digimon with orange fur materializing. Surprisingly, no one near the place could see the digimon, apart from Akari and Taiki, of course. After the battle with Quartzmon, Digimon had become invisible to the humans, except for those who weld the xros loaders. Akari was thankful for that. She couldn't imagine how the people would react after seeing a giant wolf-like creature appearing out of nowhere.
Dorulumon wordlessly gave chase, with Akari following closely behind. The digimon purposely slowed his pace in order for her to catch up. Though it would be better that Akari ride on his back, he knew that it would be a bad idea. Yes, he may be invisible, but Akari wasn't and a girl sitting on something invisible would attract lots of unwanted attention.
The group ran across the street closer to the source of the attack. There, a snake-like digimon was wreaking havoc. Its eyes darted wildly from side to side, uprooting anything that stood in its path, oblivious to the blazing flames that surrounded it, mainly caused by the objects it had thrown.
"Soul Crusher!" Shoutmon unleashed his attack upon spotting the attacker. The attack made its mark, successfully getting the digimon's attention.
"That's Sandiramon!" Dorulumon recognized the digimon as he stood protectively in front of Akari. "Be careful. This digimon is rather smart..."
"Time for a change in the human world...a new order must come into place." Sandiramon hissed and returned with an attack, which would have hit its desired target if not for the digimon and their partners narrowly dodging out of the way.
"W-what do you mean?" Taiki asked, however, the snake digimon merely attacked again, causing the group to dodge away.
"Amazing...I expected that it would attack us but the speed of it is another thing." Taiki commented as he helped Akari up with one hand while the other dusted off the debris that landed on his clothes. It was obvious that Sandiramon would not let out any other information and to get any out, their best chance was to attack and win.
"Looks like this will be a tough one to beat." Dorulumon shrugged off a small boulder that fell on him.
"Are you scared? Dorulumon? If you are, you can always go back to Akari's xros loader." Shoutmon smirked as he kept his eye on Sandiramon, in case the latter decided to attack again.
"Right back at ya. Let's finish this quickly." Dorulumon leapt forward and charged towards the snake-like digimon, baring his fangs, closely followed by Shoutmon, who had his staff raised, ready for any oncoming attacks.
"Dorulu Tornado!"
"Rowdy Rocker!"
"Do you think this can really stop me?"
With a flick of its tail, Sandiramon swatted off the attack as if they were mere flies. Although its tail did not come into contact with either digimon, the force of it was strong enough to blow the two to a considerable distance, leaving Taiki and Akari open and defenceless.
"Taiki, any ideas?" Akari gulped nervously as she glanced at teen.
As much as Taiki wanted to reply and assure her that he's got a plan, he couldn't think of any. With his eyes focused on Sandiramon which was currently attacking Shoutmon and Dorulumon, the teen racked his brain for any ideas that may give them an advantage over the snake. Shoutmon could evolve to Omegashoutmon and be on par in terms of power; however, Sandiramon had an advantage in terms of speed. Other ideas also surfaced, Shoutmon X4 could take him down. However, he reminded himself that Ballistamon was no longer in his xros loader and dismissed the idea. The only other digimon that is currently in his xros loader were the starmons. Taiki thought of reloading them but soon dismissed the thought as well. Although the Starmons were in great numbers, it still wouldn't be enough. Sandiramon would be way too powerful.
"If only Yuu and Tagiru were here..." Taiki thought.
"Taiki-san!" Tagiru's voice could be faintly heard a little distance away.
"Tagiru?" both Taiki and Akari turned their heads and spotted the boy running over to them, with a purple digimon and a blond teen with his partner in tow.
"Let's go, Gumdramon! Chou-shnka!" Tagiru raised his crimson xros loader. Seconds later, a larger dragon stood in place of the tiny dragon.
"Attack! Arrestadramon!" Tagiru yelled, eyes burning brightly with determination.
"Prism Garrett!"
Arrestadramon's attack had hit its mark straight on, causing Sandiramon to fall. The digimon cried out in pain and hissed angrily after recovering from the attack. Seeing this as an opportunity, Dorulumon jumped onto the snake digimon, in an attempt to hold it back down while the young hunters could capture it. Unfortunately, this proved futile as Sandiramon swung its body with great force, causing Dorulumon to lose his grip on the latter and was sent flying to about a few feet away from where the others stood.
"Dorulumon! Are you alright?" Akari cried. Before anybody could stop her, she had rushed over to the fallen digimon; completely disregarding the fact that now she's out in the open.
"Akari! Stay back...!" Dorulumon managed to gasp as he tried not to mind the steadily increasing pain at his side. Unnoticed by the pair, Sandiramon swiftly flicked the spear it was holding towards them.
"Akari!" Taiki cried, desperately trying to warn the girl of the impending danger. He sprinted towards her as fast as his legs could run. His legs were screaming in protest, mainly from the earlier basketball match. The teen ignored it and pushed on, saving his friend was more important. He could worry about aching feet after the fight.
"Tagiru, let's get Arrestdramon and Damemon to attack Sandiramon." Yuu said swiftly and Tagiru nodded in reply before giving the command to attack.
Both Akari and Dorulumon noticed the spear a moment too late, the digimon tried to push himself and his partner away from the path of the attack but his injury was preventing him from doing so, leaving both of them vulnerable to the attack.
"Go, Akari, get out of the way...I'll be fine." Dorulumon coughed as he nudged her with his snout. Akari merely shook her head, words unable to form in her mouth. Although she was scared, she still wanted Dorulumon to be safe. If anything were to happen, she was not sure how would she react, not to mention, Cutemon as well. Closing her eyes, the girl hugged Dorulumon tightly and braced for the impact. Surprisingly, it never came. Instead, she felt a pair of arms wrapped around her body protectively.
"Rowdy Rocker!"
"Thanks! Shoutmon." Taiki heaved a sigh of relief, as he lifted his head. "Maybe you can go help Tagiru and the others?"
"Nah, the juniors are handling themselves quite well. No need for me to interfere."
Exactly, as Shoutmon said, both Arrestadramon and Damemon were handling Sandiramon easily. Within seconds, the snake digimon was defeated, seemingly dissolving into thin air and reappearing in Yuu's xros loader, for Damemon had delivered the final blow prior to its capture.
"Digimon capture complete!"
"Yuu! I wanted that digimon" Tagiru whined, pouting.
Taiki smiled before turning his attention towards Akari, "Are you okay?" he asked as he pulled her to her feet gently.
"I'm fine. Just a little shaken up, I guess..." Akari replied as she got Dorulumon back into her xros loader to recuperate.
"Don't ever do that again. I was scared that something would happen to you." Taiki hugged her tightly.
Akari gasped in surprise as Taiki hugged her. He rarely does this, even in their adventure in the digtal world last year. Still slightly shaken up, Akari could merely nod and agree, returning the hug at the same time.
"Hey...lovebirds..." Tagiru teased as he and Yuu made their way towards them. The comment made both Taiki and Akari to jump apart and blush furiously.
"S-Stop it! Tagiru. We're n-not l-l-lovebirds..." Akari sputtered as she tried to minimize the blush that has crept onto her face.
"Shoutmon, get Tagiru." Taiki smiled. That smile on his face was way too suspicious to be even considered as an innocent one.
"Eh? What?" Tagiru was about to further tease the couple when he heard Taiki's words. Before he could reply, an angry red digimon came up and hit him with his mic. Tagiru managed to dodge at the last moment, thanks to his fast reflexes. Without further thought or comment, Tagiru sprinted down the street yelling, with Shoutmon close behind and also with Gumdramon berating him along the way.
"Well...don't mind me. I just happened to be passing by." Yuu laughed weakly before running off in the opposite direction.
"Let's go, Akari." Taiki turned and walked down the street.
"T-Taiki, are you sure Tagiru will be alright?" she asked nervously as she glanced over at the direction where Shoutmon had chased Tagiru.
"Don't worry. I'm not chasing Tagiru. That was merely a hologram that you saw earlier." Shoutmon's voice chuckled through Taiki's xros loader. "A new xros loader function that Taiki found out about not too long ago." He added.
"Tagiru will be really mad if he finds out about this." Akari laughed.
"It'll be more likely for him to ask how I did that." Taiki smiled as he and Akari strolled down the streets. "Come on, let's get you home." The teen and his childhood friend chatted along the way, catching up on lost time.
A/N: And that concludes the first chapter for now...More characters will appear as the story progresses, so stay tuned~ =P
Please read & review~! :)