II.
They fought in a tournament once.
Back when he was just an ordinary Tamer and his black and orange digital device signaled nothing other than his permission to use the Burst Program in case of an emergency like being trapped in a landslide. It had happened once. That was the last time he went to Task Canyon without the backup numbers in his digivice.
Simply put, that was not a mission clear.
But he met her on the battlefield, where it was just simulation play and nothing but pride was at stake. She had looked at him with mild interest and little more and it made him squirm and get angry because you just didn't do that, not after half your fellow rookies were smoked by this newcomer (him) in a matter of minutes.
Even knowing that, she didn't react with very much other than adjusting the gloves she wore, the gloves with peacefully smiling crescent moons that even before she had punched the daylights out of him weeks later, made his cheek throb.
She struck at him then, him and his Digimon with herself and her Digimon and it didn't make sense because the two of them were blindingly fast and in sync in a way he hadn't seen since...
Well, since himself.
And it scared the hell out of him.
So he got angry, because that always worked with his partner. He responded best to anger and together they swung heavy blows that would knock anyone else at this level to their knees but at best was danced around like a ballroom waltz.
Needless to say, he lost that fight. He lost it badly.
"Nice moves," he panted, reaching to shake her hand.
She raised an eyebrow and shook it, small fingers clashing against his heavy palm like ballet shoes tapping on a floor. "I was clumsy," she replied. "Not quite as badly as you," she amended as she pulled her hand away. "But a klutz never the less."
"Do you always take compliments like a Tankdramon?" he hissed, amused and irritated with her.
She smirked in reply. "Wouldn't be me if I didn't." She touched her Digivice to her right hand and held it out to him. "Sayo."
He mimicked the gesture with his left and grinned. "Koh."
He could get to like her.
