Okay, on to Episode 2~ In case you guys haven't guessed (since this is only the second chapter) I'm going to try to make my updates weekly, kind of like how there's usually a new episode of something on every week. So, expect updates on Wednesday nights (unless something unexpected comes up. I'll try to stay on schedule as much as I can). Anyway, I don't own the Digimon themselves, but all the human characters are mine.
Chiharu looked up at the ceiling. She was laying on her bed, in her new room at Digimon Academy, where she'd been forced to enroll, because it turned out that she was a Digi-Destined. Her partner, Kiimon, didn't seem to like her too much, though.
Kiimon's stomach growled loudly. "I'm hungry. Dinner's going to be served soon! Let's go get food."
"You go, I'm not hungry," she muttered, turning on her side, away from him. She was away from her parents, in a school she really didn't want to be at, with a partner that really seemed to hate her. She just wanted to be left alone.
"Believe me," her Digimon started. "I would if I could. But I don't have any legs, remember? So carry me!"
She rolled her eyes at his demanding, but sat up. "If you're not going to shut it, then fine, I'll take you down." She picked him up, and headed down the stairs. There was another reason she didn't want to go down. Her uniform would be like a beacon, advertising that she was a Digi-Destined, giving her unwanted attention. It would make her feel really awkward, and she didn't need that right now. "I can't wait 'til you Digivolve and get your own legs. Then you can go down by yourself." Kiimon just glared at her.
When she opened the door, Dai and BlackSeraphimon were right outside, waiting for her.
"We figured you might not know where the cafeteria is," the human explained, "so we thought we'd come and wait for you to come down to show you."
"Oh, um, thanks," Chiharu said. Dai led her to the main building, down a hall, around a few corners, and finally, to the cafeteria. As soon as she opened the doors, all conversation stopped. Yep, she was right. Awkward. People stared at her, and after a moment, they all started whispering to each other. This must be what Harry Potter felt like when his name was called for Sorting, she thought, being an avid reader. She quickly made her way to the lunch line, got food for Kiimon, and then sat down, avoiding looking up at all the stares. Maybe she could just pretend that everyone else wasn't there.
Kiimon dug into his food, completely oblivious to his partner's discomfort (not that he would have cared anyway). Chiharu watched him eat, almost amused by how fast he ate. After the tray was empty, the girl stood up, about to take it back, when Kiimon started glowing. After a moment, he was completely enveloped in white light, and when it faded, a slightly larger creature sat in his place. It had very short purple fur, but its face was brown, and it had longer ears that were pointed backwards.
"What just happened?" she asked.
"I Digivolved," the creature told her. "I'm Yaamon now." He looked down at the empty tray. "Now get me more food. I'm still hungry."
As she went to refill the tray, she muttered, "He may have changed on the outside, but he's still a jerk."
People kept trying to talk to her, but she ignored them. She didn't want to talk to anyone. Part of it was because they only wanted to talk to her because she was 'special'. The other part was the fact that she already felt like she was a failure. From what she understood, a Digi-Destined should be bonded with their Digimon immediately after it hatches, but Yaamon seemed intent on hating her. After about three more trips for food, she finally brought Yaamon back to the dorm. He'd finally stopped demanding for food.
When she neared the building, she saw Nakayama standing outside it, with another teacher standing next to him. She looked very nice.
"I see Kiimon Digivolved already," she said happily. "How wonderful! You two must have a strong bond already!"
"No, I just fed him a lot, that's all," Chiharu admitted. She felt ashamed, but neither adult pressed the subject at all.
"Chiharu, this is Ikeda-sensei. She teaches Art and Team Battling," Nakayama told her.
"It's nice to meet you," Chiharu said, bowing. She looked back at her other teacher. "You're not here just to introduce another teacher to me, are you?"
"No," he admitted. "There's something important that I need to know." He turned to the In-Training Digimon in Chiharu's arms. "Yaamon, I have an important question."
"Yeah?" he asked boredly.
"Do you remember anything about your past life?"
"Nope," Yaamon answered. "Why would I? No Digimon ever remembers their past life."
"We just had to make sure," Ikeda said.
"Why?" Chiharu asked, confused.
"It's nothing," Nakayama said. He was hiding something again. "Well, have a good night." And with that, he and Ikeda left, and Chiharu entered the dorm. Once she reached her room, she set Yaamon down on the bed, and sat in front of him.
"You were lying to Nakayama-sensei. Why?"
"What are you talking about?" Yaamon asked, looking at her like she was absolutely crazy. "Digimon never remember their past lives, I just said that."
"But you do," Chiharu insisted. "Why? Is there something bad you did before?"
"If I did, that wouldn't be any of your business," he hissed.
"We're partners now, of course it's my business!" Chiharu said, scowling. But Yaamon didn't say another word about it.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x
"Do you think he's telling the truth?" Ikeda asked Nakayama as soon as they entered the teacher's lounge. The male teacher sighed.
"I'm not sure," he said honestly. "I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt, but with his history…"
"I feel bad for the girl," Ikeda said softly. "Right now, it doesn't seem like they're a very good match up. And, depending on future circumstances, they may have to be separated."
Nakayama gave her a weird look. "Since they don't like each other, wouldn't separating them be a good thing?"
The female shook her head. "No, it wouldn't. For one thing, they're supposed to be a team. It's their destiny, they were born for it. For another, they may end up becoming closer in the future. I just hope Yaamon really was telling the truth. It would be bad if he really did remember…"
Nakayama nodded. "But right now, all we can do is wait," he said.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x
Chiharu woke up the next morning, and went through the motions of getting ready for school. She remembered Asuka's words about how the Digimon go to class with them, and grudgingly picked Yaamon up to bring him with her. When she was outside, however, she realized that she still didn't have a schedule. She groaned and leaned against the wall. "I am so screwed," she muttered, causing Yaamon to laugh. "Shut up," she told him. Her first thought was to go to the front office, since she pretty much knew where that was by now. After receiving her schedule, she starting walking down the hall, following the map she'd also been given to find her class.
"Let's see," she muttered, staring at the schedule. Apparently, they didn't have all their classes on the same day. The morning was for regular classes, and the afternoon was for Digimon classes. Today, she had Art, English, Math, and then Science. After that was lunch, and then came Battle Theory, Team Battling, Battle Strategy, and Digimon History. Weird.
She stepped into the Art room, and, as expected, all eyes were on her. Ikeda smiled. "I'm glad you found your way here okay," she said. A large, orange Digimon stood behind her. "Oh, I never introduced you, did I? This is my partner, Apollomon."
"A pleasure to meet you," he said politely, and Chiharu nodded in response.
She took a seat at the table near the back of the room, where Asuka and Dai sat. Another boy sat right across from her.
"So," he said, popping a bubble with his bubblegum. "You're the Digi-Destined everyone's talking about."
"Um, yeah, I was at dinner last night, too…" Chiharu said awkwardly, wondering why he had apparently not noticed.
Dai laughed. "This is one of my best friends, Hiroshi. He's in C-Class. Half the time, he just skips dinner."
"What can I say?" Hiroshi asked, shrugging. "I'm usually not hungry." He motioned to the green insect like Digimon next to him, with what looked like sickles for arms. "This is my partner, Snimon."
"Yo!" he said. "What's up?"
"Not much," Chiharu answered. "I'm Chiharu, and this is Yaamon." The little Digimon, however, stayed silent. Chiharu sighed. "He kind of hates me."
"That's weird," Hiroshi said, popping another bubble. "I thought Digi-Destined were bonded to their Digimon. Doesn't that mean that you should get along?"
"That's what I thought when I heard," the girl said with a sigh. "But, hey, what can you do, right?"
Asuka looked at her for a moment. "Well, I'm sure he'll come around."
"I doubt it," Yaamon spoke up, making Asuka and Chiharu frown.
Dai poked the both of them. "Ikeda-sensei's ready to start class now." And sure enough, the young woman was in front of the class, demonstrating the different values and how they could be applied in art.
"So, since the Digimon have to come to class with us, what kind of stuff do they do during Art?" Chiharu whispered.
"Well," Hiroshi said, "the more human-like Digimon like Lotosmon and BlackSeraphimon do the same stuff we do. But Digimon like Snimon here, with no hands, are given projects of their own, that are more geared towards their talents. I'd bet you ten bucks that you wouldn't be able to find a better sculpting Digimon in this school than Snimon."
"I'll pass on that, I believe you," Chiharu said with a smile. "What about Yaamon?"
"Well," Asuka said, "until he actually gets some limbs, he's probably just going to watch."
The Digi-Destined girl laughed. "Good point."
They spent the rest of class watching Ikeda demonstrate the different uses of value, and near the end, they were give a sheet of paper to practice different values. Snimon was watching over Hiroshi's shoulder, but it was impossible to tell what he was thinking, because he had no eyes. After Art, the four headed to English, and right before they stepped through the door, Dai and Hiroshi grimaced.
"I hate English class," Dai muttered.
"Ditto," Hiroshi responded, popping his gum yet again. "Shimizu's more of a monster than any of the Digimon here."
"Oh really?" came a voice behind them. The group turned to see a yellow fox-like Digimon.
Hiroshi paled. "S-Sorry, Renamon. I-It was a joke…" The Digimon stared at the boys for a long time before seeming to disappear. They looked inside to see her reappear next to a stern looking teacher. As she whispered something to the teacher, Hiroshi looked at Dai. "We're so dead." The other boy simply nodded.
"What's up with them?" Chiharu asked.
Asuka looked around warily, probably to make sure that the Digimon wasn't there to hear. "Shimizu-sensei's really strict. A lot of kids are afraid of her. One step out of line, you immediately get detention. She has it in for Hiroshi, probably because he's always breaking the 'no gum' rule." She nodded towards the Digimon. "And that's her partner, Renamon. She's a Rookie, but she's capable of Digivolving all the way to Mega Level. A lot of Digimon are like that." They sat down, and class began.
Chiharu took careful notes, because she had to try to catch up on everything that she'd missed. She stayed quiet, because she didn't want to get caught and punished on her first day. When the bell rang, Hiroshi was the first one out of the classroom, not wanting to be held after class. Chiharu got the distinct feeling that Hiroshi was even more afraid of Shimizu than anyone else.
She followed her new friends to Math, where Nakayama stood at his desk, smiling at his students. She had a good feeling that she'd like this class.
The lesson began, and Chiharu took more notes, paying attention to everything that was said. Every once in a while, Hiroshi would pop his gum, but Nakayama didn't seem to mind.
There was an announcement about halfway through class: "Nakayama, you're needed in the front hall." All the kids watched him leave, but as soon as he was gone, their eyes snapped forward again. The new girl looked up to see a humanoid Digimon in white armor, with a few lilac details, now standing at Nakayama's desk. She picked up where he left off. So that must be Dianamon.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x
"You wanted to see me?" Nakayama asked, entering the front hall. The lady at the desk simply pointed at the door to the Headmaster's office. He nodded and entered the room, looking confused.
"If you're wondering why you're here, don't," the Headmaster said. "Ikeda told me about your direct questioning of him."
"I had to know," Nakayama said.
"Did you honestly think he'd tell you the truth?"
The teacher shook his head. "No, but still… I had to try. I also wanted to see how the two of them were doing as a team."
"You could have waited for a report from Ikeda."
"No, not just battling as a team. I wanted to see how they were getting along. She's already managed to Digivolve him to his In-Training Level."
"That could be a very bad thing," the Headmaster told him. "If he reaches Mega Level, he may be a very dangerous threat."
"I know that," Nakayama said. "But I want to believe in them. Chiharu Miura is a nice girl. Who knows? Maybe, being partnered with her, he'll lighten up a little bit."
"I doubt that," the Headmaster said. "But, we'll do it your way for now."
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x
After Science, which she'd had with a teacher named Nishimura-sensei, and his partner Minervamon, Chiharu made her way to the lunchroom with her new friends. There seemed to be some kind of disturbance.
Two boys were standing in the middle of the cafeteria, glaring at each other. One was partnered with a Digimon that looked like a star with legs, the other looked like some sort of knight. Suddenly, the boy with the star Digimon punched the other one, and all hell broke loose. People had formed a tight ring around them, egging them on to fight. They didn't need any help, though.
"Meteor Shower!" the star called out, and suddenly, rocks formed in the air, falling down on the other boy and his Digimon. The knight Digimon blocked them with his sword, and the boy dodged out of the way.
"Looks like Akihiro and Katashi are at it again," Dai said, sighing.
"When will they ever learn?" Asuka asked, shaking her head.
"Electric Slash!" the knight Digimon attacked.
Chiharu, who hated violence, couldn't stand watching this anymore. She set Yaamon down and pushed her way through the crowd. The boy with the star Digimon, in the blue uniform, went to punch the other, but Chiharu stopped his fist before it could make contact. "Stop it," she said angrily.
"And who's going to make me?" he asked, shaking her off of him. He took a second look, probably processing her uniform color, and immediately lowered his hand. The other boy, in the purple uniform, dove at the first, pinning him to the ground.
"I can't watch this anymore," Lotosmon said with a sigh, and BlackSeraphimon nodded. Both approached the fighting Digimon. Lotosmon planted her feet in front of the knight Digimon, raising the staves that Chiharu hadn't noticed before to keep his sword from moving.
"Seven Heavens!" BlackSeraphimon shouted, and seven spheres of light appeared, surrounding the star Digimon, making him unable to move. BlackSeraphimon looked back at Lotosmon, and they both nodded. They'd done well.
Chiharu had managed to pull the U-Class kid off the other one, but he was about to turn around and punch her when a large, golden sickle swiped between the two of them, creating a barrier. All three students looked up to see a woman walking towards them.
"How many times do we have to do this?" she asked, chastising the two who'd been fighting. "Headmaster's office. Now." After the boys had left, their Digimon with them, the teacher looked at Lotosmon and BlackSeraphimon. "Thank you two for helping." Then she looked at Chiharu. "Are you okay?" she asked, and the girl nodded. "Good. I'm Aoki-sensei. I teach Physical Education and Digimon History. Thank you for trying to stop those two. I don't know what's wrong with them." She sighed.
"It's okay," Chiharu said. "I'm fine. I just had to stop them, though. I hate pointless violence like that."
Aoki smiled at her. "This is my partner, Phantomon."
"Hello," he said, waving his sickle in greeting, which slightly creeped her out.
"Hi," she responded.
"Hey!" a voice from somewhere behind her yelled. "Are you gonna feed me?! I'm starving!"
Chiharu turned around to see Yaamon looking at her impatiently. She laughed, and walked back towards him. She wasn't as angry about it as she was last night, because it was a much needed distraction from the fight she'd just tried to stop.
After an otherwise uneventful lunch, she had to split off from her friends, since they had to go to their Level groups instead of age groups. She found the Battle Theory room without much difficulty, and entered to see Shimizu waiting for her. The strict teacher adjusted her glasses and said, "I heard you stopped one of the fights between Akihiro Taniguchi and Katashi Ishikawa." Chiharu nodded. "Very good. Those two are always at it." She sighed. "Anyway, before you start the rest of your classes, you're going to need this." She handed Chiharu a small device that was shaped like a cross, except that all the sides were equal. There was a small screen in the center, and there was a triangle pointing down each leg. The entire device was white, but as soon as she touched it, it turned black, and the triangles became a dark grey. She stared.
"What's going on?" she asked, watching while the device was slowly changing color.
"This is your Digivice," Shimizu told her. "This will help you when it comes to battle. You can communicate to your Digimon, no matter where he is, using this. Don't ever lose track of it." Chiharu nodded. "Now, onto class, then."
"Am I the only one here?" Chiharu asked.
"Well, yes," Shimizu answered. "You're the only D-Class student in the entire school."
"Oh," the girl responded softly. She glanced down quickly, wondering why Yaamon had been so quiet throughout the day. She got her answer when she saw him fast asleep. She rolled her eyes, and then started listening intently to what Shimizu had to teach her. In some ways, it was easier that she was the only student in the class, because that meant she was free to ask any questions, without having to feel embarrassed in front of other students. This one-on-one teaching was very effective, as she'd soon learn.
"Let's start with the basics," the teacher started. "Do you know why we train the students here?"
"Kind of," Chiharu answered. "It's so that people here, that want to become Tamers, can train with their Digimon. If there's some kind of Digimon-related threat to Earth or the Digital World, the Tamers take care of it, right?"
"That's part of it," Shimizu told her. "We also stop any human threat to the Digital World. But we don't train people here just to fight. The existence of Digimon is common knowledge, as I'm sure you already know." The Digi-Destined nodded. "Many people are afraid of Digimon. Part of what this school does is show that not all Digimon are to be feared. We want to teach people that humans and Digimon are capable of living in peace with each other. Now, do you know why you're here?"
"I was chosen by somebody, so I have to have a Digimon partner. There's some sort of bond between me and Yaamon."
"That's right. You, as a Digi-Destined, are different than any of the Tamers we teach here. Because you and your Digimon are bonded from the start, your teamwork is better. Also, because of this bond, your Digimon will be stronger in battle, making you very important if, God forbid, we are ever thrown into a war involving the Digimon. You would be a leader. In a sense, this is what you were born for," Shimizu explained. She continued teaching Chiharu these kinds of things until the bell rang. Now, on to Team Battling.
As expected, when she entered the room, it was only her and Ikeda.
"So," she asked, "how are we supposed to do team battling when there's just me and Yaamon here?"
Ikeda smiled. "That's why we have our battle simulation system," she told her. "First, we should show you how a Digimon and partner act as a unit in battle, since Yaamon isn't really suited for battle yet."
"Hey!" he yelled, having been woken up by the bell.
"It's true," Chiharu pointed out, and he said nothing more, having no argument to that.
Ikeda walked over to a panel on the wall, pressing a few buttons. After doing so, she led Chiharu into a smaller room, with a window to watch the other room. When Ikeda left and re-entered the main room, she pressed one final button on the panel, and immediately, it went from a classroom to open field. Chiharu watched as a large Digimon, that looked surprisingly real for a simulation, flew at the two of them. It seemed long and almost snake-like, despite its feathers and beak. Chiharu's new Digivice made a sound, and she looked down at it to see a 3D image of the Digimon appear over the screen. "Varodurumon," she read the words on the screen to herself. "Mega-Level, uses the attacks Purge Shine and Aurora Undulation." She looked back up to study her teacher, to see exactly how this was supposed to be done.
"Purge Shine!" it cried out, and teacher and Digimon moved out of the way to avoid the attack.
"Apollomon!" Ikeda yelled, and he nodded.
"Arrow of Apollo!" he yelled, and red arrows consistently flew out of his hand. Ikeda sent him another look.
"It's winding up for another attack," she said. But just when it hit its peak, she shouted, "Now!"
Apollomon moved so fast that it looked like he'd just appeared above Varodurumon. "Phoebus Blow!" He punched the Digimon square in the back, and it cried out before disintegrating, and the scene faded away to reveal the classroom. Ikeda turned towards the window.
"You can come back now," she said with a smile.
Chiharu re-entered the classroom, unable to keep herself from staring at the two in awe. Yaamon, however, seemed unimpressed. In fact, he yawned. "That was amazing!" Chiharu exclaimed, ignoring her partner's rudeness. "I don't think we'll ever be able to do stuff like that. I mean, he knew just what to do without you having to tell him."
"Well," Ikeda began to explain, "Eventually, the bond between you and your Digimon will be so close that you won't need to say anything at all. You'll both understand each other's plans just by looking at each other."
Yeah, right, Chiharu thought, but said nothing. She highly doubted that she and Yaamon would ever be that close. The bell rang again, and she made her way to Battle Strategy. When she walked in to see just Dianamon, she wasn't surprised.
"He forgot, didn't he?" she asked, and her Digimon teacher sighed.
"Most likely," she admitted. "Anyway, let's get started, shall we? As I'm sure you understood from Ikeda-sensei, a big part of Battle Strategy is teamwork. Without that, you've already lost. And there's one thing you must always remember: just raw power isn't enough to win a battle in itself," she said, giving Yaamon a pointed look, which Chiharu didn't understand. She decided not to question it, though, because knowing Yaamon, he'd just get in another mood, worse than usual. "You need to come up with tactics," Dianamon continued. "That way, you can't go wrong." Dianamon was explaining simple strategies to Chiharu ten minutes later when Nakayama finally walked in. He looked at them for a moment before scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I completely forgot we had class right now," he said, and Dianamon sighed.
"Well, in his defense," she said, "he hasn't had class this period in a long time, since we haven't had any D-Class students." And so the lesson continued, until she had to leave for Digimon History.
She was about to open the door when it swung inside first. She poked her head in to see that Phantomon had opened it for her. "Um, thanks," she said, and he simply nodded.
"Hello," Aoki said with a smile. "It's nice to see you again. Now, we have a lot to cover, especially to get you caught up, so I suppose I have to ask first: is there anything specific you want to know before we get started?"
"Yeah, actually," Chiharu said with a nod. "Everyone keeps saying how there hasn't been a Digi-Destined here in a long time. How long, exactly, is 'a long time'?"
Aoki seemed to think for a minute. "Oh, at least seventy years, I believe, but probably a lot more than that. Now then, maybe we should start with how Digimon and humans first came into contact…"
Phantomon looked at her. "Remember what the Headmaster said," he reminded her.
"Oh, yes, right!" Aoki said. "I was given special instructions to teach you about the Seven Great Demon Lords first. I'll only summarize them, though, because they're a much longer unit later. Basically, quite a while ago, there were seven Digimon that called themselves the Great Demons Lords. But, I guess you kind of figured that out already. Anyway, they each embodied one of the Seven Deadly Sins."
Chiharu looked down, surprised to see Yaamon not only awake, but listening attentively, with what looked like a small smile. She sighed internally. He would be happy to learn about super evil Digimon.
"They were Lilithmon, who embodied Lust, Leviamon who embodied Envy, Belphemon who embodied Sloth, Barbamon who represented Greed, Daemon who represented Wrath, their leader, Lucemon of Pride, and Beelzemon, who represented Gluttony," she started. "They ruled much of the Digital World, with the power of fear. They were tyrants, who were ruthless to anyone who stood against them. It took a lot to stop them. But, like I said, we'll get to them later. As I was saying, about when humans and Digimon first met…"
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x
"It's probably a good thing that Aoki's only briefly going over the Demon Lords right now," Shimizu said, sitting in the security room with her legs crossed, watching the camera that showed the Digimon History classroom. "After all, if he doesn't remember his life before, too much detail could make him remember, and at this point, that would be very bad."
"Yes," the security guard that had found Yaamon's egg moving said. "But, they'll be going into more detail later in the year. That would be a problem then."
Shimizu shook her head. "If those two have enough time to bond, then maybe that bond will be stronger than whatever he feels when he gets his memories back."
"That's assuming he isn't lying," the guard's partner, LadyDevimon said.
They both nodded. "Yes, if he isn't lying."
Next time:
Katashi: Hey! Thanks to you, I got written up!
Chiharu: Let go of me!
Impmon: Leave her alone!
Chiharu: You Digivolved again! But why are you helping me now?
Impmon: Just shut up and let me do this!
Alrighty, kinda slow here, but necessary at the same time. I think I may include another little 'extra' other than the 'Next time' stuff here at the end. Maybe a little Q&A, where you can review with a question, and any of the characters will answer it. Just please specify who you're asking. Oh, and Beelzemon (or whatever Level he is at the time) may or may not actually answer some questions. He'll probably try to avoid a lot of them (mostly to avoid spoilers, if nothing else), so be prepared for that.