Rival of Takumi! Miyu!
Takumi lay on his living room sofa. He twiddled the mysterious chip between his index and middle fingers. Ereki stood by the side of the couch with a cold drink in his hand. "Here you go, senpai," he said sweetly, offering the glass to Takumi.
"Thanks, Ereki," Takumi said. His hand wrapped around the drink, and he took three quick sips before placing it on the wooden coffee table, along with the chip. His eyes wandered. The digital clock on the wall read 21:14. Night was passing by and Takumi had no urge to sleep. Ereki stared at him blankly.
"Anything wrong, senpai?"
"That kid… Hikaru…" Takumi began. "He says my dad cheated at the D-1 Tournament."
"Yes?"
"But I've never heard about any tamer getting away at the D-1 Tournament for hacking or cheating…"
"That's because we'd only know if they actually got caught, senpai," Ereki said innocently.
Grunting, Takumi leaped off the couch. "I'm going to bed. If you stay out of the Digivice, please don't raid the fridge."
"Yes, senpai!" Ereki the Thunderballmon bowed respectfully. Takumi directed himself to his room. Ereki hopped onto the sofa and grabbed the remote, turning off the television that had only served as white noise for the pair. Moments passed until Ereki got off the couch and snatched the mysterious chip from the coffee table. Its square shape fit perfectly in his fist. He examined it closer. The tiny green light in the corner still remained strong, even though Takumi had already used it.
His eyes shifted left to right. Ereki spotted the family's computer near the front of the room, and inspected it thoughtfully. A tan, rectangular apparatus sat near the CPU tower. It contained a slot on one side and a card swiping slit on the top. The chip seemed like it would fit, and Ereki was curious.
Sitting down in the comfy, turquoise swivel chair, Ereki booted up the computer the only way he knew how; he placed his hand on the CPU and charged it with electricity. It proved about as effective as smashing the monitor with a hammer. The computer completely went on the fritz, and the monitor's screen exploded.
Ereki panicked. He'd hoped Takumi or his mother wouldn't wake up from the noise…
- - -
The black-haired man cringed. The top frame of his sunglasses fell just below his eyes, almost deviously. The red device on his left wrist was beeping in an inoperable fashion. His white jacket lay over a black T-shirt, and fell just below his belt.A dinosaur creature kneeled on the cold battle stage; his mechanical left arm was injured. His dark blue skin was rough, yet sturdy. Metal plates covered his breasts. The muscles in his abdominal area and his right arm were well defined. A steel helmet covered the upper part of his head and three horns, one on his snout and the other two where his ears may have been. Tattered dark wings sprout from his back like a bat's.
"You have to win! Shiro!" the man yelled at his Digimon. He had selective hearing to the point where he blocked out everything the announcer was saying.
"Can MetalGreymon withstand another attack from CyberDramon?" the announcer boomed.
"I doubt it," the opponent snickered. Shadows covered the majority of his appearance, but his height was noticeably not much to speak of. "Finish him off, Cybryu!"
"ERASE CLAW!" CyberDramon roared. His red wings glided him to Shiro the MetalGreymon, where he slashed at him with one of his hands. It sent a shockwave that attacked Shiro, who was defenseless. The shock of the attack sent him skidding backwards, still kneeling.
"Don't lose!" the man demanded. He reached his hand into a brown pouch on his belt. The contents were nearly useless, except for the rare chip he'd acquired in a trade earlier.
"The Evolution Chip!" he exclaimed, holding it in the air. It soon found itself in the slot on his Digivice. "Engage!" The man aimed his Digivice at Shiro and a laser light shot at the Digimon. The MetalGreymon began to glow, and suddenly the whole stadium lit up.
"METALGREYMON SHINKAAAA! WarGreymon!"
Shiro shrunk in size, but appeared considerably more intimidating. His armor was a goldenrod shade. Large, twin claws were held in each hand. A pair of wings on his back formed an impenetrable shield, one of the sturdiest known among Digimon.
"What's this?!" the announcer inquired. "MetalGreymon has evolved during battle!"
"But…" the childish voice from across the octagonal battlefield trembled, "how can a Perfect evolve any further?"
The man was surprised as well, but he contained his excitement. "Shiro! Destroy CyberDramon!"
Shiro's wings led him into the air where he harnessed a great ball of energy in his arms. He pulled them back behind his head and threw them forward at the battlefield below. "GAIA FORCE!"
The ground exploded. All noise turned mute for a few moments that felt like hours. Smoke cleared, and a defeated CyberDramon lay in a great crater formed by the explosion.
"CyberDramon has fallen! Masakazu Sugiyama and MetalGreymon are the winners!"
- - -
"Ereki! You couldn't use the button on the tower?!" Takumi angrily whispered. His loosely fit rocket ship pajamas made it hard to take him seriously.
"I didn't want to break it, senpai!" Ereki responded timidly.
"So you zapped it?!" Takumi forced. "Ridiculous!"
"Should we get your mother?"
"Are you serious? She'll freak!"
"Well, what do you suggest?"
Takumi's mind raced irrationally. "I don't know… we can't just throw it out. Maybe the CPU still works…"
"How would we test that, senpai?"
He walked over to the coffee table and slid the chip into his hand. "If the Chip Reader can pick this thing up, then it should still function." Takumi slid the chip into the tan device on the table. Three green lights flashed in rapid order and it made a "beep." This turned out only for the worst when the Chip Reader malfunctioned as well, first electrifying and then smoking.
"I don't think it worked, Takumi-senpai…" Ereki pointed out blatantly.
Takumi jumped when he noticed his chip eject from the machine in small plastic pieces. "Unbelievable!" he nearly shouted. "That was my only useful chip! What am I gonna do now?!"
"We can just buy more."
"I'm broke, Ereki!"
"I apologize, senpai," Ereki backed up.
"I guess the only thing we can do," Takumi began, "is go to bed and let mom find out for herself." He slid the pieces of the destroyed chip into his left hand.
Ereki nodded, and the two went into Takumi's room to sleep. As usual, Ereki slept in his Digivice, which sat on the desk next to the bunk bed. Takumi had never forced him to sleep in it, but Ereki insisted anyway.
- - -
"Takumi, you forgot your notebook!"
Mrs. Sugiyama's call fell on deaf ears. Takumi was already late for school, he figured another thirty seconds weren't worth a notebook.
Takumi dashed down the sidewalk toward his elementary school. Stuffing his Digivice into his right pocket as he ran was hard. He couldn't wear it on his wrist, as Digimon were not allowed at school. Battles seemed to break out in the middle of recess at times, so the faculty had them banned.
Senpai! Takumi-senpai! A muffled voice said. It was Ereki, but Takumi ignored it.
Five minutes of sprinting later, Takumi kicked open the main doors to his school and ran to class. It had already started, but this did not bother him. He shoved the door out of his way anyway.
"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Sugiyama," the teacher said. He donned Coke-bottle glasses and a gray receding hairline. A white lab coat hung below his feet, with enough length for him to step on and trip on himself.
"Yeah, sorry, Mr. Ito," Takumi suppressed his panting and took a seat in an empty desk at the front of the room. Miyu, the girl he'd met yesterday, sat several seats behind him.
Takumi-senpai!
Takumi ignored his Digimon, hoping he'd stop.
Senpai!
He dug in his pocket and pulled his Digivice out, holding it under his desk as he whispered, "Shut up, Ereki! I'm in class!"
But I have to poop!
"So do it!"
But you'll get mad at me!
"I'll be even more mad if you—"
A throat cleared and a metal pointer slammed on his desk. "Playing your Game Boy, Mr. Sugiyama?"
"No, Ito-sensei," Takumi nodded and attempted to sneak the Digivice back into his pocket.
The pointer pointed at his busy hand. "Hand it over, Mr. Sugiyama."
Takumi pulled out something conveniently different from his pocket, a metal paper clip. "You mean this, sensei?"
Mr. Ito stared at him for a moment with glaring eyes, then walked back to the front of the room. A snicker from Miyu could be heard from the back of the room, and a wad of paper flew at Takumi's head from the same direction.
- - -
The bell for recess rang, and the fifth graders ran out of the building to the playground like flocks of sheep. Takumi caught up with Miyu and bragged, "I was pretty slick with that situation back there, eh?"
"Don't flatter yourself, boy," Miyu scoffed. Her Digivice rested on her left wrist, hidden under the black sweater she'd been wearing that day. "I've got better ways of handling it."
Miyu chuckled and continued on to the play structure, but Takumi persisted. "Since when do you go to this school, anyway?"
"I just started here today. If you were here for the first fifteen minutes of class, you would know that." She continued walking, but noted mockingly, "By the way, we have an open-note quiz on Section Two of our history books today. Hope you brought your notes."
Takumi stopped in his tracks and raised a figure suspiciously, mouth agape but words failing. How would she know that he'd forgotten his notebook? He decided to ask, "Where did you go yesterday?"
"Home. You're the first guy to every beat me in a Digimon battle, you know."
"The first guy?"
"I'd rather not talk about it," Miyu turned away, dismissive. Her ponytail flipped with her head movement.
She sure is strange, Takumi-senpai.
"Idiot! Shut up!"
Unluckily for him, Takumi's eyes met another child's when he said that. Hikaru.
"Sugiyama!" he yelled. He charged at Takumi, who trembled in place. Holding his cowboy hat down with his right hand was the only thing keeping it from flying off.
"Stop!" Miyu exclaimed, holding an arm in front of Takumi. "Don't hurt him! He was talking to his Digimon!"
Hikaru stopped in his tracks and scoffed. "His Digimon? He brought that puny Elecmon with him to school?"
"What's it to you?" Miyu answered for him.
"I think we should battle! Look, no sensei in sight!"
"He doesn't have to ba—"
"I accept!" Takumi interrupted. He attached the Digivice to his wrist in a quick motion flawlessly. "Iku ze! Ereki!"
Ereki realized in a beam of light from Takumi's Digivice. A piece of poop did as well. "Err… I warned you, senpai!"
Takumi grumbled. "Forget the crap! Ready yourself!"
Hikaru scoffed at the Thunderballmon. He hadn't seen it in its evolved state yet. "Did your Elecmon devolve or something, Sugiyama?"
"He evolved, thank you!" his face screwed up. "Let's see Igamon!"
"Not today, my friend," Hikaru chuckled. He pulled the Digivice out of his pocket and aimed it nearby. "Kentarumon, realize!"
A centaur creature materialized nearby. His head held a metal helmet with a pointed fin on the top. A metal contraption was where his hand should have been on his right arm.
"Wha?!" Takumi and Ereki gasped simultaneously, but only the former continued. "That's not the Igamon you had yesterday!"
"Surprise, surprise, Sugiyama," Hikaru mocked. "Now ready yourself!"
