Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or a few characters herein. Several belong to those people who suggested characters for Digimon Tamers: Generation 02. I also do not own several Digimon. The entire concept of Digimon belongs to TOEI and Saban.
Author's Note: Since you're all eager to read the sequel, which I'm just starting to write notes about (I like to write notes about a long fanfiction before I actually write the story), I've composed this short story that takes place the Christmas after the Tamers return from the Digital World with their Digimon. Yes, all of them will be there, even though several are not Christians. Yeah, this is unoriginal, but I couldn't do another play parody. So here's something for all of you who are dying to read some more about the new Tamers. Also, I use a few Japanese terms here. I've listed the translations at the bottom.
***
DIGITAL CHRISTMASBy Kurai Tenshi
(I've changed my pen name—I was once Torre degli Angeli)
Lina was strangely bored. She had played her video games all morning and had watched three TV shows while her brother hogged the computer. So, her energy was spent by the time lunchtime came and their mother called them to the table.
"What's wrong, Lina?" asked Takato.
"Dad, I don't know what to do."
"Read a book. Or do your homework," suggested Jeri.
"No way!" Lina almost cringed at the thought. "I've gotta do something fun today. It's the first day of winter break and you want me to do homework?"
Wormmon ventured, "We could go outside…"
Sytamon agreed. "Yeah! We can go outside!"
Takato shook his head at the two Digimon, giving them disapproving looks. "No, you're not. It's almost two inches of ice out there, covering everything. Henry called me earlier and said that the power was out at their house."
"I really wanted to play in the snow," complained Sytamon.
Guilmon pulled on Takato's sleeve. "But Takato, we're Digimon. We won't fall so easily."
"That's true, but we will fall," David stated. "Humans aren't as surefooted as Digimon are."
Lina slumped in her seat. "Damn ice…"
"Lina, don't use that language," reprimanded her mother. "And don't slouch, or you'll become a hunchback."
"No I won't, Mom!"
"Lina…"
The girl sat up as straight as a rod. "There! I'm sitting up! Happy?"
Takato gave his daughter a stern look. "Why are you in such a bad mood today? I'm sure there is something you can do. Why don't you give Riku a call? You're best friends, after all."
Lina stared at her plate. "I guess I could," she said slowly.
"Good." Jeri smiled. "Now that you've found something to do, eat your lunch."
* * *
After lunch, Lina called Riku on the phone. The other girl was sounded rather tired a bit annoyed when she picked up the phone.
"Hello?" asked Riku.
"Hey, it's me, Lina!" her friend exclaimed.
"Lina…? Do you know what time it is?"
Lina blinked. "Uhh…" She checked her watch. "Twelve-forty-five. Why?"
"You woke me up…"
Lina's eyes widened. "Sorry! I'm really sorry! Gomen nasai, Akiyama-san—"
Riku interrupted her. "Stop it. I'm up now."
"Oh, okay. So, what's up?"
"I just woke up."
"Oh, right. Er… Hey, I'm bored. Give me something to do."
Riku made a noise. "Like what?"
"…Well, that's what you're supposed to tell me."
"Did your parents say you could go outside?"
"No. Why?"
"There's a card game tournament going on in the mall. I really don't want to go because I floored everyone last time—"
"Like your dad used to do, huh?"
"Yeah. Maybe we could both go and register if it's not too late, but since your parents won't let you go and my parents won't drive… There's one last option."
"Which would be…?"
Riku sounded exasperated. "Think, Lina, think. Use your goggle-head already."
There was a moment of silence while the leader of the new Tamers thought hard. Then it came to her. "Oh! Our Digimon."
"Duh."
"Should we tell the others? It'd be all of us again, like old times."
"Old times were three months ago."
"…Still! Should we?"
"Well, maybe not now, but perhaps for Christmas…"
Lina was almost jumping up and down with excitement. "That's right! We could have a Christmas party at the biggest house! With cake and cookies and presents and mistletoe! …Wait—what if a Digimon and a human get caught under one?"
Riku's tone was dry. "Thanks for the thought, baka."
"Anyway, who has the biggest house?"
"I do."
Lina uttered a sound akin to that of a snort. "Huh. Rich girl…"
Riku pretended to ignore it. "I'll ask my parents if we can have that party, and I'll call Jessie, Riley, Daiki, and Riki."
"And I'll contact everyone else."
"Okay."
Lina was grinning. "Thanks for the idea, Riku! See ya—wait."
"What?"
"What's Naki's number?"
There was silence. "I don't know. She just appears whenever she's supposed to. It's freaky."
"Ē… Well, thanks again! Ato de!" And Lina hung up. She stared at the phone for a moment, barely containing her excitement. Then, suddenly, she rushed to where her parents were chatting in the kitchen, screaming, "MOM! DAD! I HAVE A GREAT IDEA!"
* * *
A week later…
It was Christmas Eve. Riku's mom Sakura had just finished preparing the sushi when there was a knock on the door. Petalmon went to open it and found Lina and David on the front steps with their Digimon.
"Oh! Come on in," said Petalmon, stepping aside to let them through. They shuffled inside, and once the door was closed, the two guests removed their coats and wandered the house. Actually, Lina and Sytamon wandered the house to look for Riku whilst David sat by the Christmas tree and observed his surroundings. Wormmon was speaking with Petalmon about the amount of food being served.
Moments later, Riku ran into the main room, Lina hard at her heels, and their Digimon chased after them, laughing. They abruptly stopped when Mrs. Akiyama gave them a hard stare, and to pass the time, the girls and their Digimon tried to figure out which present held what under the tree.
Mikara and Josh showed up minutes later, and after a half-hour, Compass, Riley, and Jessie arrived on the scene. Riki and Daiki managed to get lost, but they finally turned up a good forty-five minutes before six o'clock.
Compass was eager to get on with the party. "That's all of us, so let's start havin' fun!"
"What about Naki?" wondered Sytamon.
"Oh, I'm sure she'll arrive before anything big happens," Daiki replied.
And with those words, the whole house was suddenly filled with the sound of laughter, of yelling, and of a few off-tune Christmas carols that Lina and Mikara were teaching Riley. Riki and David were talking endlessly about what had happened since winter break started. Daiki, Josh, and their Digimon were already stuffing their mouths with food, but careful not to touch the desserts until everyone was ready. After trying to figure out where all the mistletoes were, Compass and Morglormon joined the younger boys in their feast. Jessie listened intently as Riku explained to her what Christmas was about, since, like Riley, Jessie was Daoist. Their Digimon were absorbed in a furious game of Unreal Competition on Riku's Xbox.
When everyone had at least eaten a plate of food, they all entered the room with the Christmas tree, for some people had brought present for everyone. Riku had bought everyone a small penguin doll wearing a red-and-white hat. Lina bought everyone something that reminded her of them (she got a pair of mini binoculars for Jessie, a small plush cat for Mikara, and so forth). They were all enjoying their gifts when there was a knock on the door. Sakura Akiyama, who was just passing by the door anyway, opened it. She spoke with whomever had knocked and let that person in.
It was Naki, and accompanying her was Strikemon.
"Hey, Naki!" greeted Riki. "I was kinda worried you might not show up. It'd be really boring without you…"
But his voice faded away, for Naki was not listening. She headed straight for the tree, stared up at the majestic symbol of Christmas, and took out a small paper bag. One by one, she took out ten identical packages, small and square and wrapped in colored paper that was the exact shade and tone of the other Tamers' D-forces. Their names were written in either white or black marker on the top. Naki handed each Tamer his or her respective gift, folded her now-empty paper bag, and walked back to the still-open doorway. Before she disappeared into the crisp winter night, she said softly, "Sorry I came so late, and I'm sorry I have to leave so soon. Pardon the size of my gifts, but they were all I could afford. Put them to good use. Merry Christmas."
And she headed out the door. Strikemon nodded his farewell to the group and vanished, and the door slammed shut on its own.
"That was definitely freaky," murmured Josh.
"Isn't it always when she's around?" Compass retorted. She stared at the tiny package in her hand. "Wonder what it is."
"Well, open it!" said Tetramon eagerly.
They obliged. When all the paper had been ripped from the gifts themselves, the ten Tamers stared at them. They each held a single golden tag, and each tag held a different symbol.
David received a symbol of the darkest purple, the Crest of Knowledge.
Lina received a symbol of the lightest mauve, the Crest of Heart.
Riki received a symbol of gold, the Crest of Wisdom.
Daiki received a symbol of storm gray, the Crest of Anger.
Compass received a symbol of silver, the Crest of Protection.
Riley received a symbol of sky blue, the Crest of Friendship.
Mikara received a symbol of the deepest sapphire, the Crest of Dreams.
Josh received a symbol of the lightest yellow, the Crest of Hope.
Riku received a symbol of pale green, the Crest of Sincerity.
Jessie received a symbol of jade, the Crest of Friendship.
"These are Crests!" gasped Riley. "I read about them in my dad's old files once. It says that Crests are items of legend, wielding great power. That's about all I read, though…"
"Well, if they're so great, then Naki must be able to afford a lot," cracked Daiki. He quickly ducked when he saw Riki raise his arm, giving him a glare he immediately recognized.
David suddenly thought of something. "Why do you think Naki gave them to us?"
"Because we're Tamers, that's why!" exclaimed Lina. "All right, enough of this silence." She pocketed the small yet powerful item and stood up. "I'm going out there to thank Naki personally." She threw open the door and stepped outside, but no one was there. She was facing an empty, darkened neighborhood. There weren't even any footprints to indicate where the eleventh Tamer had walked. Lina decided it was futile and went back inside to join the others.
* * *
Naki was perched on the rooftop of the house opposite that of Riku's. She had seen Lina exit the house for a moment, then go back inside. The girl smiled. While she wasn't Christian, she heard a lot about Christmas from her friend at her new school. Her friend told her that people gave present to each other during Christmas, for it was a time of giving. And when Naki had found the Crests…well, it all fit. She herself bore the fiery red-orange Crest of Judgment that hung around her neck on a golden chain.
After a moment of observing the house, Naki returned to the ground and walked through the empty streets of West Shinjuku. She stopped in front of one particular house, which just happened to be near Riley's apartment, and stared through a window. Inside, the family of three had finished dinner. The mother kissed the daughter good night, and the little girl piggybacked to her room on her father's back.
Naki continued her walk, smiling sadly at what might have been. But the past was the past, and when she finally stopped at a cemetery by the local temple, she made up her mind that she'd have to let go of the past. She sat herself down in front of a simple tombstone, took out a bundle of still-warm dumplings from another bag concealed in her parka, and put it on the snow in front of the gravestone.
"Here, Dad, I brought you some food," she whispered as she traced the carving of "Kane Sagano" on the stone's surface. "Merry Christmas."
* * *
Author's Note: Huh. I guess I can't help it. My short stories always have something to do with a novel fic of mine. You could say that this is a prelude to A New Dawn, since the Crests will be important in the fanfic. But that's all I'm saying now, so hush. And Riki, Riley, Jessie, Naki, and Daiki are all non-Christians, and so are their relatives, but they went anyway because it was an excuse to see everyone again.
Here are the Japanese terms:
Gomen nasai = I'm very sorry (used only between children and equals)
Baka = stupid, fool
Ē = yes (for those of you who use hai, it also means yes, but a better meaning is "Yes, I'm listening" or "Continue with what you're saying")
Ato de = See you later
Well, that's about it. One last note: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa!