Okay, everyone, for starters this is my first fanfic, so be nice. Secondly, this is kind of a rewrite of Tamers in some sense. You will see that once I stop babbling and start writing, which I shall. Thanks to Shizuki Tsukihama for betareading the chapter.

Couples will be Jurato, Jenruki, KazuSuzie, KentaAi, RenaGuil, TerrierLop, and ImpCalu. Well, they'll all be hinted at least, but at ten years of age, you don't actually have romance unless it's the Digimon.

Chapter One: Taking a Risk

Henry couldn't do anything to stop it when Impmon chucked a fireball that hit his father's shoulder.

"Dad, no!" Henry cried as the man, Janyu, grunted in pain and fell to his knees.

Okay, that does it!Terriermon thought, quickly placing himself between Impmon and Henry's father.

"You wanna play? Come play with me!" Terriermon challenged, glaring harshly. Impmon looked confused.

"Why you defendin' him? He's not your master!" the purple Digimoin spat, getting increasingly annoyed with this human-loving rabbit-boy. Terriermon stood his ground, eyes blazing.

"What do you think I am, a puppet? Henry's my Tamer and my friend, not my master!" Terriermon deflected.

Impmon smirked with pride at the irritation in his rival's voice, only for the satisfying feeling to be almost immediately replaced with a boiling anger. How dare that little bunny challenge him? Ooh, how he wanted to make him pay! The little rat always thought he was so smart, telling everybody else what to do!

Letting out a roar of rage, Impmon lunged at Terriermon, tackling him to the ground. The bunny-Digimon was surprised at the sudden attack, but when he tried to counterattack the troublemaker reached for his throat.

"You'll regret it!" Impmon taunted, enraged as he pressed down on Terriermon's windpipe.

"Terriermon!" Henry screamed desperately, his eyes wide in shock. Frantically, he began scanning his cards, praying he could help Terriermon somehow. He couldn't let him be deleted! Bearing that thought alone was too much…!

"Impmon, let him go! He didn't do anything to you!" Takato yelled, his own fists clenching. It wasn't a fair fight if Terriermon didn't even have room to breathe!

At last, Henry had found a card. "Digi-modify! Strength, activate!"

With the extra strength lent to him, Terriermon finally managed to push the other Digimon off. The white rabbit-Digimon felt somewhat weary after almost being deleted, but he knew he had to keep this up.

"Bunny blast!" he cried and aimed at Impmon, but was stunned when the other Digimon simply knocked the attack aside.

Impmon smirked devilishly, and it was then that Henry noticed a red glint in his eyes. His heart in his throat, the indigo-haired boy knew he couldn't stand just watching anymore. He ran forward, placing himself between Impmon and Terriermon.

"That's enough, Impmon! Why are you always picking fights with Terriermon? He's never done anything to you, and I won't let you hurt him!" Henry expressed nobly, extending his arms to his sides and effectively using himself as a shield to protect his Digimon.

"Henry..." Janyu uttered, still in shock that Digimon were in fact living, breathing creatures with actual feelings, but even more so at how much his son seemed to care for the little rabbit creature which had defended him.

"Why bother protectin' him? You can always get a new pet to control after I absorb his data!" Impmon shouted, sounding almost personally hurt. Henry clenched his fists. He was normally a very calm kid—the most level-headed of the Tamers, Rika had even admitted—but he wouldn't allow anyone to talk about Terriermon as if he were just some slave.

"Of course I'll protect him! That's what comes with being 'friends' and 'partners!'" There is something of a sneer here, though he can't bring himself to care; it hurt him deeply that anyone, Impmon or not, would imply that Terriermon was anything but his companion. "Terriermon isn't my pet or my slave—he's my best friend! I could never replace him, not that I'll ever need to! Just leave us alone!"

Takato took this chance to run over to the two, examining Terriermon carefully. The poor Digimon appeared worn out, but thankfully seemed fine otherwise.

"Fine, I'll leave! But remember, your pet and I have a score to settle!" Impmon called, leering evilly before he disappeared into the ocean of trees.

Henry sighed heavily, glad that the uncalled-for battle was finally over, peering at his father. The fact that the man had witnessed this battle was worrying in and of itself, but during the fight the threat of losing his Digimon had topped that priority.

"Dad, you should get out of here, get that wound taken care of. I know you have questions, but I can't tell you anything right now. I have to go."

He picked up Terriermon gently, touching Takato's shoulder meaningfully. The younger boy nodded in silent agreement, and the two of them ran off before any further questions could be asked.

Henry and Takato were aimlessly walking through the city. Henry had Terriermon perched on his shoulder as per usual, but he was holding one of Terriermon's paws to offer extra support.

"Are you sure you're okay, Terriermon? We can always go home and rest if you're tired," Henry inquired quietly, eyes gliding up to his best friend. Terriermon shook his head.

"Momentai, Henry. I'm fine. Besides, we need to find out more about that Blue Card." Abruptly, though, his smile faded, and his ears drooped a bit. "The only thing is...I thought…"

But Terriermon trailed off before he could finish, and Henry frowned. Since when did his loud-mouthed partner hesitate...?

"What's wrong?" the older boy asked seriously. Takato was watching Terriermon, too, feeling uneasy about the Digimon's sudden apprehension.

"It's just…I thought I was stronger than that. Impmon kicked my butt back there!" Terriermon confessed ashamedly, humming sadly before looking away.

Instantly, Henry stopped walking, pulling Terriermon into a warm embrace. Takato stopped beside them, eyeing the tiny Digimon with concern.

"He surprised all of us. It's not your fault," Takato attempted to comfort.

Despite their differences, Takato felt close to both Henry and Terriermon, considering they had been like mentors to him and Guilmon when they'd first started out as Tamers.

Henry gave Takato a grateful smile prior to turning to Terriermon.

"Takato's right, Terriermon. Whatever that was, for Impmon it wasn't just a friendly fight. He…he wanted to kill you…!" Henry muttered darkly, anger rising up inside of him as he remembered what the troubled Digimon had tried to do.

Terriermon sighed again, but nodded to show he was feeling a little bit better.