AN: Alright! Not a long chapter, I grant you. Nor an amazing one. But I've got exams coming, and I'm pressed for time. Just a little intro into a couple more characters. Again, I am still a newbie when it comes to half this stuff, so if I get stuff wrong, just let me know. Here goes!

Disclaimer: If I owned Digimon, Season 4 wouldn't have ever happened. No offense to anyone who liked it.

"An Ogremon?"

"Just one Ogremon."

"An Ogremon?"

"And Kitinumon was Digivolved and everything."

"An Ogremon"

"A small one. Tiny. Tinier than a MarineAngemon. Tiner than a …"

"You're supposed to call me, Zi! You can't go alone into these DigiFields, you never know what could pop up in those things …"

"It was just an Ogremon!"

"And it was just a Roachmon! And just a Kiwimon! And it was just a LadyDevimon, too, was it?"

Two friends stood as far apart from each other as they could get in the small bedroom. One, a tall girl with pale skin and, was holding her hands out in placatory manner, her face screwed with guilt and anger. The other was a tan boy a little taller still. His hair stuck out of his head like sun rays, or a very yellow cactus. His ears were turning red with a boiling rage.

"You should know better by now. Nearly ten years we've been doing this, and here you are running out on your own, acting like you got your Digivice yesterday."

Zi snorted derisively, flipping her magnificent hair backwards in a sweeping motion that would've daunted anyone else; Jake was too used to it to mind. "I remember LadyDevimon as well as you do, Jake."

"Then you'll remember what happened, Zi," Jake replied evenly. "I almost lost you then."Just behind them, the bedroom door creaked open. Neither person had a chance to look towards the cause of the disturbance before a shot of blue streaked through the room. Seconds later, an oddly colored medium sized dog with pointy fox ears was sitting in Zi's arms.

At a leisurely, quieter pace, a large golden cat slunk through the open door and weaved through Jake's legs, arching his back and spitting at the pair across the room.

When the dog spoke, for the dog did speak, it was an odd growling voice; anyone not paying attention would mistake it for the bark of a terrier, perhaps, or one of the smaller hunting breeds. "It's been many years since then. We have grown stronger. And if had been a more powerful Digimon we would have called for you."

"So you say." The cat sounded as if it was hissing with every word. Its bottlebrush tale, thick with a white tip like a fox, twitched and swished with irritation. "So you always say."

"It always comes back to this, doesn't it? If we need you, we'll get you, but we never need you!" Zi scrunched her nose mulishly. "We haven't had a real challenge in forever. And every time we take down some two-bit Rookie you two think we're coming home in a box."

Kitinumon yipped in agreement. Sneezing forcefully, Humaomon's golden tail whipped and snapped to attention in warning.

Fists clenched and eyebrows twitching in time, the two friends stared each down, neither giving an inch. With a graceful elegance that his stubby legs hardly implied, Kitinumon bounded from Zi's arms to the desk beside her down to the floor. Humaomon yowled, showing all of her teeth, and flowed across the rug to meet her friend. It was apparent from their expressions that they were willing to literally knock sense into each other.

"Do we always have to do this?" Barreling through the Digimon circling each other on the rug, Zi scampered over to Jake and flung her arms around his neck.

Jake rested his chin on top of her head, a position he'd become used to since his last growth spurt a few years ago. "We just want you to be safe."

A muffled reply emitted from the top of his chest.

A smile cracked the tan face. "Can't hear ya, Zi."

The raven-black head turned just a few degrees. "I said, I know. You have to trust us."

"I know."

Zi sniffed forcefully and buried her head further into Jake. "You were going to tell me about a new DigiDestined, weren't you?"

Humaomon, still standing a good distance from Kitinumon, answered. "A boy in New York. He appeared on the radar a few hours ago."

Unraveling herself from her best friend, Zi grinned triumphantly. "A new DigiDestined!"

Jake nodded, grinning back. "An Ultimate Degidestined."

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

He was surrounded by something. That was the first thing he knew. He could feel it swirling around him as he lay in the wet grass. He breathed it in deeply; it tasted like something and nothing at all, like rain and computer data. The smell was a mix of an old world and a new one. Experimentally, he reached out his long tongue and tasted the air. It was completely unidentifiable, as far as he could tell.

This was interesting enough to warrant him opening his eyes.

Silver light, almost solid enough to be mist, flowed and eddied around him. It tickled his hair, making him giggle. The giggle surprised him. He wasn't sure he'd ever giggled before.

"Er … hello?"

He blinked rapidly to clear the silver from his eyes. In front of him stood a boy with brown spiky hair. Maybe something had exploded nearby.

"Look, I don't know you. Or what you are. Well, I think I know what you are." The boy looked down to something shining in his hand. "It lead me here. Weird, right? Everyone in school would think this is seriously weird. I think it is, too. I think. I don't know what I think anymore."

He tilted his head questioningly and let out another giggle. The boy smirked back.

"Guess you find me kinda funny, huh? Well, you're kinda funny looking. You're just a head and some ears."

This explained more than it didn't. He smiled at the boy to show he agreed.

"Not easily offended, are you? And you don't talk much. But you're my partner, if you are one. A Digimon."

That was definitely right. He giggled, happier and louder, and began to bounce slightly.

"Alright, alright." The boy chuckled. "That's so cool. A Digimon. So what Digimon are you?"

He had to think about that for a moment. He had a name. He knew he had a name. He poked around his mind for it, which felt about as sluggish as wading through mud. Wait! He had it. He cradled the knowledge for a moment, pleased immensely with his discovery. It was a very nice thing, having a name. He decided to share it with this explosion-headed boy.

"Chibutoumon."

AN: Not in love with it, but I've got work to do and cookies to bake for Christmas. Love? Hate? Review!