Mho-Man-Tie
It was
no secret that children disliked school.
Lesser known, however, was that digimon didn't like it either. Nearly the moment you try to just stretch a
bit, it seemed, your Tamer would do that whisper-hiss thing, saying something
like 'How many times do I have to tell you to stay hidden?' or 'Don't move.'
Some
digimon had more trouble staying hidden than others. Guilmon, for example, couldn't come any where near the school
after his first adventure there.
Renamon, on the other hand, was quite skilled at staying out of
sight. Others weren't so lucky.
Pretending
to be a stiff, stuffed toy was not the easiest thing in the world. Can't blink, can't move, can't comfort Henry
when he has trouble during a pop math quiz.
Terriermon disliked school a great deal. After school wasn't that great either. It wasn't that Terriermon didn't like Susie, it was that Susie
liked Terriermon a lot. If he had thought trying to keep still while
in school was tough, well, then staying still while a little kid was pulling on
his ears was much more tough. Almost as tough as de-digivolving from
Galgomon, but not quite. The fact that
he sometimes suspected that Susie knew more than she let on didn't help. Surely she noticed he was breathing...
So, one
day after dealing with three stiff class periods, Terriermon thought maybe if
he was really careful, Henry might
let him go to the park by himself to play with Guilmon instead alternate his
time between the inside of a desk and the blue-haired Tamer's shoe locker.
When
the fourth grade classes went outside for a short recess, Terriermon knew that
was the perfect time to ask. Takato
would be out, too then, and surely he would help convince Henry. He always delighted in seeing Guilmon and
Terriermon play, after all.
When
Takato did join them that afternoon, Terriermon was in his third round of
"Please, please, please" and Henry appeared quite torn. As predicted, Takato thought it would be a
great idea for another digimon to keep Guilmon company.
"Well,
okay," Henry finally said. "But you
have to be extra careful that no one sees you."
"I
will, I will, I promise," Terriermon said, lying atop Henry's head with his
ears flanking those of the boy.
"And go
straight to the park."
"I
will!"
"And if
another digimon appears, just run away, don't try to fight."
"Aw,
Henry, I won't," the little digimon said.
"Mho-man-tie."
"I am
taking it easy," Henry defended. He
sighed, realizing he was being a tad over-protective. Terriermon just wanted to play.
"What's
your definition of easy?" Terriermon
queried.
"Just
let him go," Takato said. "He can help
keep Guilmon out trouble for the day.
There's nothing to worry about."
"Yeah,
see?" Terriermon asked.
"Mho-man-tie! No worries!"
"Just
be careful, Terriermon," Henry requested as he hopped to the ground. The digimon looked up at his Tamer and
winked.
"I
will!" he called as he scampered off.
Even as the students filed back into class, Henry couldn't help to look
over his shoulder in the direction that Terriermon disappeared into.
**********************
While
he had every intention of going straight to the park like he had promised
Henry, Terriermon found himself just slightly deterred. The trip up to that point had been a quick
one-in the shadows here, run while no one is looking there, pause and look
stuffed here, wave at an infant there.
But when he heard the word 'digimon,' Terriermon froze.
Wherever
he was, he hadn't been there before, Terriermon recognized it as a play yard,
much like the one at Henry's school. It
didn't look like the children had as much fun at this place, though. In fact, to Terriermon's dismay, he saw
several sad children. Sad
children! On a playground, no less.
Naturally,
he had to stop and see what the ruckus was about. Twitching his ears, Terriermon listened, trying to see what was
going on. It was something about
digimon, he knew that much. He felt
like he should be running; Terriermon didn't want to break another promise to
Henry.
But
after picking up a few more snippets of conversation, Terriermon gathered that
they were talking about the Digimon Collectable Card game. The urge to run faded and now surrounded by
people who would undoubtedly be able to recognize him, Terriermon's journey
became slow and careful.
"...How
can she be that good?"
"Knew I
shouldn't have played for keeps!"
"I lost
all of my best cards, too!"
"...Digimon
Queen..."
Sad,
angry children, they were, Terriermon thought.
But that's what they get for playing for keepsies! He would have told them so, too, but Henry
says that's rude. And that he can't be
seen, anyway.
"So
where's the Goggle-Head you're always with?"
When
the voice spoke the first time, Terriermon didn't think anything of it. Surely she wasn't talking to him. Of course, when she pelted him with a stone,
he felt differently.
"That's
right, Bunnymon, I mean you."
Terriermon
scowled as he turned around. He wasn't
scared of Rika; if anything, she
should be scared of him. He wasn't scared of Renamon, either. She was mean and nasty, but Bunny Blast was
a match for Diamond Storm, after all.
Throw Terrier Tornado into the mix and the cards were in his favor.
"Henry," he said, conscious of all of his
broken promises, "Doesn't wear goggles. That's Takato."
"It's
all the same to me," the girl snorted.
"But a fight's a fight and Renamon should have problem with you
today. You can't even Digi-Modify."
"I'm
not fighting!" Terriermon spat. "I
promised Henry I wouldn't! And look at
all the people! They'll see us!"
"You
can't be serious," Rika said, deadpan.
"It doesn't matter if they see, they can't help you. All that matters is Renamon will grow
stronger after she downloads your data."
"I
won't fight!" Terrier reiterated.
"Then
it just won't be any fun for us," Rika said simply. "That won't save you, though.
Boring battles end quickly."
"That's
not fair!" Terriermon protested. "You
fight dirty!"
"If
you're going to be a coward and run away," Rika began, "you might want to get a
head start before Renamon is ready to fight.
Who knows, you might even outrun her. I wouldn't count on it, though."
"I'm
not a coward!" Terriermon shouted.
Rika
had only one reply.
"Renamon,"
she sing-songed, calling the digimon seemingly from thin air, "Walk all over
him."
"Of
course, Rika," the fox purred. She
advanced towards the smaller digimon.
Terriermon dodged the first attack.
From the sidelines, he could hear Rika scoffing. His black eyes narrowed at the accusation he
was pathetic. Didn't she remember how
his Galgomon form had frightened her so much?
Terriermon dodged the next attack as well.
Children
from all over the playground watched the fight with frightened expressions,
some reaching out to one another or clutching toys. A second grade girl began to cry. As though she was unaware of anything but her opponent, Renamon
continued to charge, hurling the occasional Diamond Storm at the smaller
Rookie.
Terriermon
ran almost blindly until a flash of insight from Renamon's battle with Guilmon
hit him. He leapt and landed on Rika's
head. The same affectionate stance he
favored Henry with caused Renamon to stop in her tracks. Beneath him, Rika tensed.
"You
fight dirty," she whispered, his own words filtered back to Terriermon. Around them, Rika's classmates murmured and backed
away.
"You're
mean," Terriermon replied. "And you're
always mad at stuff. But you're just a
kid like Henry. You should just take it
easy for a while. I bet you'd like that
better. Mho-man-tie, Rika."
Terriermon
jumped straight up and shot a Bunny Blast at Renamon. After firing, he spun around so that he landed behind the female
Tamer. Without looking back or even
pausing to take a breath, he ran.
Terriermon
arrived at the park out of breath, a bit shaken and hungry. Guilmon was curled asleep in the bunker
Takato had found for him, but that didn't much matter to Terriermon.
Somehow,
he didn't feel like playing anymore.
~*Owari*~
Disclaimers: I don't
own Digimon Tamers or any of the characters represented in the preceding fic.
Author Notes: On the
spelling I used for 'mho-man-tie' it's supposedly the way Toei's website has it
written. *Shrugs* Closed captioning spells it as 'momentie'
and my spelling of choice is 'moumontai,' but whatever.