Chapter 2

Author's Note: Please vote in my poll for The Red General and the Ultimate Fighter Reborn.

This is word emphasis, titles of books, movies, and songs.

Usagi rolls her shoulders as she races after her next target, twirling through the kawaii otaku's traps like they were mere child's play, Impmon was catching up to her target, ShadowWereGarurumon, " Impmon, Cho Shinka! "

Usagi had let Taiki know about her hunt before shifting into the DigiQuartz, no way in hell was she missing a virus type like this. She knew Tobari-san and Mogami-san would go after this one, Airu would only help, she only wanted cute digimon. The blonde cousin of Kudo Taiki was having the time of her life hunting digimon. Once she started living with her aunt and cousin she thrived, the wonders of positive reinforcement in her life. She leaps over another trap and sets up another Digi Fusion, " MetalPhantomon, Guilmon, DarkTyrannomon, Digi Fuse! "

Her fingers spin the dial and press the button, MetalPhantomon now had Guilmon's fire power and DarkTyrannomon's stamina, along with his own speed. As MetalPhantomon clashes with ShadowWereGarurumon Usagi is still setting off and then getting out of Airu's traps. Usagi did not like those traps and she set them off whenever she could to annoy the kawaii otaku mostly. After she successfully captures ShadowWereGarurumon Mogami's team leaves and Usagi is taken off guard when a BlackKnightmon rams his sword through her left shoulder. MetalPhantomon kicks him off but the sword remains.

Usagi bites back the scream that wants to make itself known and reaches for the Squawker that Taiki had Ballistamon make her, " Taiki. "

Kudo Home:

Taiki's gray eyes slit open and he looks around blearily, wondering what woke him up, until his brain makes the connection to his squawker, " Usagi, what…"

" Dammit all, wake up and help me out here! "

Taiki bolts upright and slips his shoes on, he had on a red tank top and black shorts at the moment before shifting into the DigiQuartz. He reloads Cutemon when he sees his cousin with that sword through her shoulder. Gray eyes show concern as Taiki pulls the sword out at Cutemon's direction. Thirty minutes later Usagi's healed, " Help MetalPhantomon, Itoko. "

" Cutemon, she good? " Taiki asks.

" Yeah, she's good. "

" Download, Cutemon. Reload, Shoutmon. Shoutmon, Ballistamon, Dorulumon, Starmon, Pickmonz, WhiteKnightmon, PawnChessmon, Digi Fuse! "

" Shoutmon times four K! "

Shoutmon times four K blitzes in and helps MetalPhantomon with BlackKnightmon. Taiki helps Usagi to her feet and his blonde cousin smiles weakly, " Bastard snuck up on me, I get to capture him, Itoko. "

" Naturally. " Taiki says, while not thrilled she had been hurt Taiki knew Usagi would not stop hunting besides she did happen to be a fully licensed and accredited demon huntress, so he'd have to get used to it eventually, might as well be now.

Once BlackKnightmon has been captured Taiki gets them home and Usagi just curls into her cousin, resolving to get a healing Digimon sometime in the near future. Taiki sighs and slips their shoes off before slipping into bed with his cousin. Usagi was a cuddler and most nights he'd wake up to find she had crawled into bed with him anyhow. Taiki and his mom had grown accustomed to this, realizing she had probably never been allowed to cuddle with anyone much when she was younger except for Taiki.

Usagi yawns as she stares at the board at the head of the class, she was in the same homeroom as Tagiru and Ewan. The pair got along about as well as Taiki and Christopher had at the beginning. Taiki had followed through on the stories as even Ewan didn't know about his early adventures. It was one way to help them learn and Taiki was a damn good strategist and tactical genius. Even Christopher admitted to the fact that Taiki saw connections where he didn't. Taiki admitted that Christopher had only grudgingly owned up to that.

Usagi heads over to her cousin after school is out, leaving Ewan and Tagiru to work things out themselves. Taiki shakes his head at this, even as he gives his cousin a one armed side hug, " They seem to be getting along, don't they, Usagi-itoko. "

Ewan and Tagiru both exclaim at the same time, " Me, get along with him! " While jumping away from each other and pointing.

Usagi sighs, " Tagiru, we have time for one more spar before your test. "

Tagiru gulps at this, " Remind me why I thought this was a good idea, Usagi-chan? "

" Because Bāchan adores you, seriously if she has to name a male heir it's between you and Itoko. "

Taiki blinks and then turns to address his cousin, " I have no formal training. "

" Maybe not but you have watched me train and don't think I haven't noticed you working on spirit energy manipulation, Itoko. " Usagi states.

Taiki curses under his breath at this, " Tagiru can have it. "

" I can feel the love, Taiki-san. " Tagiru states blandly.

" When did you master bland statements? " Taiki asks him.

" You try dealing with some of those arrogant green horn demon hunters and huntresses, I'm still considered an apprentice and I've pulled several of their asses out of the fire because they took on something they couldn't handle. One thing you can say for Umika-sama, she knows how to train a person. " Tagiru retorts.

" I can generally keep him from getting to single minded about a task but, like all of you goggle heads Tagiru is stubborn. Between you and Tagiru, dear cousin, I have a full time job keeping you both in good health. Dammit, I miss Angie, she could help me keep you from overdoing it. " Usagi says, sighing in resignation.

Both goggle heads deny that loudly while Ewan just shakes his head, even he knew Taiki had a tendency to overdo it. Tagiru was the sort to charge in head first though if he had been trained then he could probably at least think things through while doing so. Ewan and Taiki decide to watch their training spar and then Usagi gives Tagiru the location for his test while also taking his Fusion Loader. Tagiru winces at this, he couldn't have Gumdramon's help, damn.

" Is it a good idea for him to not have his partner with him? "

" He'll be fine, he'll be tested at Bāchan's place. "

Taiki nods at this, Tagiru, if he was being tested, should be able to defend himself until they could get to him. Taiki had given him and Ewan squawkers as well, this way Tagiru could call for help. Usagi looks at her fellow teammates, " We are going hunting. "

Ewan and Taiki gulp at the look she is sending their way and just nod. Ewan had learned the hard way that you just went along with what girls wanted, his older sister could be scary when she wanted to be. They time shift and Usagi grins as she races off, flipping out of a window and onto the roof, " Taiki, what kind of training does Umika put her through? "

" Oh, she'd be at an expert level…in Nerima. " Taiki tells Ewan.

Ewan blanches at this information, he'd seen Neriman style show downs, " Taiki, I am just going to go along with what your cousin says and only help her when she asks for it. "

" You learn fast, Ewan. I can get away with helping her because I've been doing so since we were little and I generally know when she does need help. " Taiki says, shrugging as they follow Usagi's path on the ground.

Shoutmon looks at his partner, " Taiki, why is she so enthusiastic about hunting? "

" She loves the rush it gives her, she goes free running for that same rush. You saw what she was like when she was sparring with Tagiru, she feels alive when her adrenaline starts pumping. Mom and I are slowly getting her to realize that she does have family she can count on, currently Tagiru and Impmon are her only friends. " Taiki says.

" How did she end up living with you anyhow, Taiki, if you don't mind the question? " Ewan asks.

" I walked in on her parents re-educating her physically, taped it and called Umika. Umika gained custody but asked if mom would take her in. Umika figured I might have the best chance of getting her to talk. " Taiki answers.

" That would explain the trust issues and lack of friends, plus her inclination towards virus types as well. " Ewan says.

" You got it. " Taiki says.

Impmon drops down in front of them and springs the kawaii otaku's trap, " Be careful, the kawaii otaku is a trap mistress. "

Taiki smirks at this, " It's on, if I can match my cousin in a prank war then I can handle this. "

Impmon shudders, he'd seen that look in his partner's eyes, who would have thought it was a family trait. Even Ewan was looking a little worried and took a step back from the Red General. Taiki then sprints forward, setting off the kawaii otaku's traps, and getting out of them all at the same time while also reconfiguring some of them as well. If she wanted to play this game Taiki was more than willing to oblige her. Shoutmon gulps as he looks at his partner, he'd forgotten what Taiki got like when in the presence of traps.

Tsukino Umika's Residence:

Tagiru rolls his shoulders and his eyes narrow before he sprints into the woods surrounding the manor home. He dives forward into a somersault and angles it to behind one of the trees. His objective was to get to the other side without getting hit. He takes one second to assess his situation and dampens his spiritual presence before employing stealth. Usagi had worked hard with him on this over the years. He had no way of knowing that Taiki was a hidden trap otaku and was messing with the kawaii otaku's traps or just setting them off for kicks.

Umika narrows her eyes, well, her magomusume trained her apprentice well in the art of stealth. She'd have to track him the old fashioned way. Little did she knew that Tagiru was laying several false trails for her while steadily making his way to the end of the woods. He knew he had to conserve his strength for the end of his test.

DigiQuartz:

Usagi dodges another attack from a rampaging Sorcermon, generally she wouldn't hunt one but they could heal dammit and she needed a medic for her team. Thankfully her trap otaku cousin was keeping Mogami's team's attention elsewhere so MetalPhantomon had a clear shot at capturing Sorcermon. The blonde cousin of Taiki smirks as she dodges another attack and fires off one of her own at the same time her partner lands a hit. " Yes, digimon capture complete. "

Taiki is grinning like a loon as he runs the trap gauntlet and resets several of them as well. Shoutmon and Ewan just watch him go, shaking their heads in wonder and some fear. The male blonde looks at the Digimon King, " I never would have guessed that Taiki of all people is a trap otaku. "

" It's not often he gets like this, when he does, it's best just to let it run its course. " Shoutmon says.

" Agreed, cous is a serious trap otaku. Kawaii otaku's gonna have some trouble in the near future, he views this as a challenge. "

Taiki rejoins them and he grins, " Usagi-itoko, thank you for informing that someone is challenging my trap mastery, I am the King of Traps, I cannot have someone coming in and usurping my throne. "

Up on a roof Ryouma, Ren, and Airu all stare at Kudo Taiki, " He's a trap otaku, did not see that coming. " Ryouma admits.

Airu is shaking though, in fear, " Kuso, I've been operating in the trap king's territory without a formal challenge or notifying him that I'm here, I'm so screwed. "

" It can't be that bad, can it? " Ren asks.

" The last trapper to operate in the king's territory without notifying him became a gibbering moron after the King set a master level trap. " Airu states in a trembling voice.

Airu drops down to the ground and faces Taiki before bowing, " King, forgive me for not notifying you I would be in the area. I didn't know this happens to be your territory. "

Taiki stands up taller, eyes narrowing, " I'm glad you have realized your error, still, I have reset several of your traps, get through them if you can, after this notify me of any traps you set and have set already, otherwise this will get messy. " Taiki states, his tone cool.

Shoutmon and Ewan shudder, damn Taiki could be scary when he wanted to be. Usagi chuckles, " Kawaii otaku, his traps I actually have to work at to evade, yours are mere child's play compared to his. "

Airu pales at this, her blue eyes widening in terror, " Ignore my cousin, I set them at low intermediate, for me anyhow. " Taiki says.

Airu leaves the DigiQuartz immediately and her teammates follow her lead, neither one having expected that Kudo Taiki could be that scary. Usagi just starts laughing at this, barely able to stay standing in her mirth, " Dammit, if I had known that was all it took to scare Mogami and his crew I would have brought you in ages ago, Taiki. "

Taiki smirks, " I do what I can, Usagi-itoko. It is fun to terrify the subjects occasionally. I am the Trap King and I will not be dethroned quite so easily. "

Tsukino Manor:

Tagiru waits for his sensei in the demon fighting arts, he'd made it through the woods before she had found him, avoided all the traps, and avoided the low level demons seeded in there as well. Umika sighs, " My magomusume has trained you well in the art of stealth, Tagiru-kun. I will notify the proper authorities that you are in fact a proper demon hunter now, let's get you your license. "

Tagiru smiles at this, he'd done it, now he could go about Digimon Hunting without worrying about this hanging over his head, " Oh, Taiki-san said that if you need a male heir I can have it. "

Umika outright laughs at this, " I should have known, Taiki is not one to be tied down by the likes of me, he is a true wild child, he's just a lot more subtle about it than you are. "

Umika laughs again at the expression on Tagiru's face as he takes in what she had said, true, Taiki did not act overtly wild, no one would believe he happened to be a wild child at heart except for Usagi and Angie.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or Sailor Moon. I also do not own Nerima.