Kazu's Lunch Date?

AN: Well, due to popular demand, and I do mean demand (you people know who you are lol) its time for Tamers own dynamic duo to make their début! This chapter will deal with, you guessed it, Kazu! Kenta will havea small part, but the next chapter will focus on him. I want to give a special thanks to Blazing Chaos, Nolaquen265 and Crazyeight who helped me retool this chapter (though I still do my own editing, any faults you find are mine not theirs). It's been a royal pain, but I decided not to scrap this chapter and start from the ground up. Oh, and this chapter also has the first appearance of another well known face from the world of the Tamers, as well as a special guest from another series (hopefully obvious) and the next part in my epic mini series 'The Bag', which will also introduce a few other familiar faces from the Tamers universe.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, I own a DVD set of it now (03, the best season ever) but that's it. Digimon and its characters are the property of Bandi Namco Entertainment. Go Bamco!

With trembling hands, a pair of crystal blue eyes peaked over the edge of its owners shoulder.

"I can't believe this, this…this…THIS IS'NT FAIR!"

It was taking every ounce of self control Kazu had not to snort like an angry Monocromon at the site behind him. It was unfair, it was wrong; it was an injustice to all that was holy, and it was all happening less than ten feet away from him.

He knew that he had a tendency to fly off the handle sometimes. Not as bad as Rika or more recently Suzie, but he still had his outbursts from time to time. But even Ryo would have had to admit that this was just plain ludicrous.

"It's not fair," Kazu muttered as he twisted the torque wrench around one last time, using his anger to fuel his strength and fasten the lug nut into place.

The day had started out normal enough. An oddly high number of Wild Ones, but they had all bioemergedtoo far from him to worry about. The fact that they were all level eights or higher hadn't even registered with him, as he was now more or less on the reserve list due to how far he now lived from the city, and his lack of reliable transportation.

About a month after the Monster Makers had brought back their partners, he had moved out of his parent's apartment and into his father's auto shop. The reason being a lack of room for his partner. He hated leaving his best friend and partner in that place all night by himself, but their apartment was just too small for the large digimon. His parents had thankfully understood his request to stay close to his partner, and were supportive of his decision. He still spent plenty time with them though, and he saw his father practically every day since it was his shop.

It really hadn't taken much to refurbish one of the unused offices into a makeshift living quarters. He and Guardromon had actually done most of the work themselves, a feat they took great pride in and made no attempt to hide or deny.

Since then however, Kazu had become a bit of a different person. He was still cocky and headstrong to a fault, but he had also become a bit detached when compared to his former self of four years ago. This was due to the fact that he literally lived with machines twenty four seven now. Between helping out his father around the shop, and his partner's nature, he didn't really have as much interaction with other humans as one would consider 'normal' for his age. There was still school, that was true, but outside of that he tended to keep to himself. Kenta being the only exception as his friend literally lived right around the corner from him now.

Still, it hadn't been all that bad in the end. He had learned to appreciate hard work, and had picked up quite a few other bonuses along the way working with his father.

While he was still about the same size as Henry, he was actually a fair bit more muscular from working around the shop, and hours of tediously working with electrical wiring and putting engines back together had sharpened his ability to concentrate and focus almost to Ryo and Rika's level. Also, he had become much more serious thanks to the hazards he had to keep an eye out for while working on vehicles, along with four years worth of taming.

All around, at least according to Rika, it was a vast improvement.

A few of the others, (specifically Takato and Jeri) however worried about his new and quieter personality, citing that he was turning into a grumpier version of Ryo.

But, even though much had changed with him over the last four years, there was still enough of his former self remaining that you knew who he was. He was still a solid C student, and he was still very proud of it, he still told bad jokes whenever he thought someone would listen, and could still be found camping outside the local card shop the night before a new set of Digimon cards were released. The only major change however was that his 'clashes' with his seemingly eternal homeroom teacher Ms Asaji were no longer mild lunchroom chatter, but had now evolved to become the stuff of legends. The two now actually fought and bickered worst than Rika and Ryo would, sometimes nearly coming to exchanging physical blows.

Now, normally, arguing with a teacher was grounds for severe disciplinary action, but not once had anything been done to Kazu for his outbursts, not once. Even more surprising was the fact that Kazu actually won a few of their arguments.

Once when he had been caught daydreaming, Ms Asaji had warned him that if he didn't shape up soon, he wouldn't have a prayer of finding himself a decent well paying job. He quickly shot back that he already made more than she did, even though he only worked part time. From there it had escalated with her asking if he had ever even read something that wasn't published by Shonen Jump. Without blinking an eye, he listed off ten different mechanical manuals he had read cover to cover in the last month alone. When she asked if he actually planed on making a career out of being a mechanic; and he ended the argument when he replied with a simple 'yes', and asked if there was anything wrong with that.

Terriermon had of course given his own theories as to why this was, each of which had resulted in a massive lump on his head that lasted for several days. The others just chalked it up to routine, but were still watching and waiting for anything that might give them a clue to the reason behind the odd, almost daily ritualistic dual between the teacher and student.

"Stupid blasted fluffy little pink squeaky toy," Kazu muttered under his breath as he secured the last lug nut in place.

Rising from his crouch, Kazu wiped his arm across his brow to clear off the sweat so he could admire his handy work. Nodding, he smiled to himself for a job well done.

Behind him, MarineAngamon once again cooed, inciting yet another gush of awes from the three sisters that had come to visit their father who also worked in the shop. They stopped by from time to time, but had never once paid him or his partner a piece of mind. The one day Kenta happened to cross paths with them however; he was at the top of their list.

Taking a step back to inspect his work, Kazu felt a small bit of pride at having done so well in so little time.

Purr purr

"Awww he's so cute!"

And there went his sense of self satisfaction down the toilet.

"Why did I have to get the one partner that makes girls run away in fear? Even Guilmon isn't that bad…well, at least not when compared to Jeri's death glare…or Rika's doom glare…I wonder when he'll figure it out…"Smirking, Kazu shook his head at the thought of his still utterly clueless best (human) buddy. He might be a great Tamer, but he was still dumb as a doorknob when it came to girls.

"Like I'm any better," he thought with a sigh. Looking up he saw what time it was and smiled.

"Hey dad, I'm on break!" Kazushouted on his way out of the garage bay, grabbing an over shirt, he quickly buttoned it over his tank top and ran a hand through his short brown hair to flatten it out.

His dad nodded from his desk, not bothering to look up from his newspaper. "You've got thirty, any more and its coming out of your pay," the older man joked.

Snorting Kazu continued on his way out, not bothering to grab his 'busy' friend Kenta.

"Forty yen says he still can't get any of their phone numbers,"Kazu mused with a grin. He really did wish his friend the best, but he had an important lunch date that he didn't want to miss. Guardromon quickly caught up to him.

"You're not going to wait for Kenta?" he asked, surprised by his partners actions. Normally whenever his friend would come around they would eat lunch together or at least chat for a while.

"Nah, he's got a one in three shot back there, I figured he earned it after he saved your butt last week."

"You mean your butt don't you?" Guardromon corrected.

Eyebrow twitching Kazu growled. "Not my fault you forgot to make sure the way was clear before you come plowing through there like a girl at a shoe sale," Kazu defended.

"I thought it was the floor watches job to actually watch what was happening around the floor," Guardromon stated. Though his voice sounded even, Kazu could have sworn that there was a teasing undertone to it.

"I couldn't help it ok, I was distracted…and don't even say it!" Kazu shouted, cutting his partner off with a 'mild' glare.

"As you command supreme overlord," Guardramon replied with a fake bow before both he and Kazu broke into a fit of laughs.

While Ryo was the Digimon King, and Rika was the true Digimon Queen, Kazu was the undisputed lord over all that was mechanical, and had proved it several times over the last few years. He could tell what was wrong with a car's engine just by listening to it run, what size and type of bolt, nut, or screw was holding something in place at first glance, and could even tell both how old and where a part had been made just giving it the once over. In short, he had taken to the field of mechanics and the world of machines like a fish to water.

Turning around the street corner, Kazu scanned the area looking for his target, and grinned.

Living and working at his fathers shop gave quite a few little perks, but this was by far his favorite.

Less than two blocks from the garage was a noodle cart vender. Not only was the food cheaper than the school cafeterias and ten times better, but its owner had become something of a legend. One little cart was the entire business operation, but it was known as the best in Shinjuku. Kazu had joked that he should change the name to such on more than one occasion, especially given what its current name was.

"Let me guess, one chicken on pork right?" The young man in his early twenties asked rolling his eyes. The owner and sole employee of 'Noodle noodle come get your noodle' was a fairly average guy. A bit taller than Kazu, he was a lean and somewhat thin young man. But Kazu knew for a fact that the guy was in good shape, he had seen him chase down and 'detain' one would be pickpocket several months ago. The short fight had ended when he knocked the guy to the ground and sat on his back until the police arrived.

Holding his hands over his heart, Kazu acted like he had just been shot.

"How could you have ever guessed?"

The older male chuckled as he fixed up the order. "Oh I don't know, it couldn't have anything to do with the fact that it's the only thing you've ordered from me in the last three years. I do have others you know?"

Kazu frowned. "But what if I order something different and I don't like it? Then I wasted my money!"

Chuckling, the young man exchanged the bowl of noodles for Kazu's wad of bills. It was a routine they had performed so many times that the young man didn't even bother to check to see how much he had been given or bother telling Kazu how much the meal was, they both knew by heart.

"See ya around Noodle Guru!" Kazu said with a nod.

The young man chuckled and shook his head. Before he could respond however he noticed a small line forming up to order lunch, a small line that was quickly forming into a small army.

Or as he called it. Business as usual.

"Why do you eat the same thing every day?" Guardromon asked his Tamer curiously as he eyed the bowl of noodles. While he himself didn't eat, being a machine, he knew that this was not normal. Even digimon liked to have some variety in their diet.

"Meh, don't see any reason too. This is good, and it's not like its bad for me or anything."

"It has more sodium than a salt shaker," Guardramon quipped.

"Oh great, now you're turning into a dietician on me?" Kazu teased.

"You know what a dietician is?"

Kazu glared at his partner. "Of course I know what a…ok, you got me on that one, I'll admit it, but I'll have the last laugh next time you need an oil change," Kazu shot back with a knowing grin.

This time Guardromon opted to keep his…errr…mouth shut, lest he dig himself a deeper hole to crawl out of.

The two soon found themselves at a small park. It wasn't much, just a few shrubs, a bench, a statue and some flowers. It would have surprised anyone to find out that this was one of Kazu's favorite places on earth to be. It was relatively quiet, but it wasn't exactly silent either. It was a small oasis in the middle of upper Shinjuku where one or two people could relax for a few minutes away from the rest of the world, but still be in it.

"So you actually can be on time for something?"

Seeing that the other party was already here and waiting, Kazu beamed a wide grin.

"When foods involved, yeah, especially when it's from the Noodle Guru."

Rolling her eyes, the other person sighed when Kazu sat down on the opposite end of the park bench, leaving a respectable amount of distance between them.

"So, everything alright?" Kazu asked after inhaling several mouthfuls of his lunch.

The woman chuckled. "As good as can be."

"That bad huh?"

This caused the other person to snort.

"Its summer, what do you expect. I have to live on my savings until the fall. Things get pretty tight for me this time of the year," the woman replied as she took a small bite from her noticeably small sandwich.

Eyeing the small sandwich that apparently made up the entirety of the persons lunch, Kazu frowned.

"I could give you a loan, its not like I'm hurting for cash."

The woman raised an eyebrow before taking another small bite.

"What?"

Sighing the woman shook her head.

"Kazu, you're a strange one you know that?"

Instead of being offended the boy simply shrugged his shoulders. "Not as strange as you."

The woman put the remains of her sandwich on her lap and turned to the younger with a piercing expression.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

Taking another slurp from his lunch, Kazu answered her as calmly as though he was talking about the weather.

"It means you make no sense. You hate your job but you don't do anything to change it. There are other things you could do for a living, you know that right?"

The older woman huffed. "You don't know the first thing about me, what gives you the right to say anything about what I do for a living, grease monkey," she shot back. Her tone wasn't 'venomous' but it was clearly defensive.

"Grease monkey I might be, but at least it's what I want to be. And, I happen to know quite a bit about you actually."

The woman gave him a doubting look.

Slurping the last of his lunch, the boy wiped his mouth with his shoulder and put the small disposable bowl down between him and his lunch partner.

"Let's see, graduated with the highest marks ever seen in the history of Nakano, then you were accepted into the University of Tokyo where you finished your freshman and sophomore courses in the same year, then continued and earned a doctorate in Education. You finished the entire four year program in less than three years all the while being the varsity tennis team's star player. Quite the résumé I'd say. But why you settled for where you are now when you were only twenty three is beyond me."

The woman's eyes were as large as saucers. To her credit though, her mouth was only partially open.

"How…how did you…what, you get your friends at Hypnos to do a background check on me or something?" She asked accusingly.

Kazu chuckled. "Hypnos? Never heard of it, there's no such thing as Hypnos. It's a myth, like dragons, or well made American cars." Though he was half joking, he, like the rest of the Tamers knew Hypnos was nothing to joke about. They avoided talking about it in public or even when in private.

The woman remained silent until Kazu's chuckling stopped.

"Actually Kenta found it on Tokyo U's student database. He's pretty good with computers you know."

The older woman sighed and shook her head. "So, what do you want?" Her voice was mostly neutral, but it carried a sad undertone that a deaf person could have picked up on.

"Huh?"

The woman's face twisted into a scowl, but her eyes never once left his.

"What the heck!? She's looks angrier than…I don't think I've ever seen ANYTHING that pissed, not even Rika. And what did she mean about me wanting something?"

Several seconds of silence passed between them, but when the woman saw the confusion mixed with the boy's fear, her expression lighted.

With a sigh the woman spoke. "Never mind, forget about it. For a minute there I thought-"

"That I was trying to blackmail you or something? Why would I do that?" He asked, finally figuring out what she had been thinking.

He didn't know why, but the wistful look on his lunch partner's face made him feel like he was somehow being insulted without his knowing.

Wanting to steer the conversation back into safer waters, Kazu brought up his previous question.

"You still haven't answered my question though. Why don't you do something different? It's not too hard to tell that you hate your job. You keep going like this, you're just going to end up more miserable than you already are," Kazu pointed out.

The older woman closed her eyes and remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"Kazu, one day you'll learn that you can't always do what you want to in life, and it's not always your fault. Sometimes things happen that you have no control over…that's how you end up stuck at a low paying job you hate, with people who don't respect you."

Seeing that the boy was no longer frightened and confused, but only confused, she elaborated.

"You want to be a mechanic right?" She stated more than asked.

Grinning Kazu nodded his head. "Yep, and nothing's going to stop me," he replied firmly.

The woman shook her head sadly. "That's just it, there are plenty of things that can stop you, don't you realize that? What if when you're working on a car one day something happens and your hand got crushed?"

Kazu thought for a minute before responding.

"If it was just one hand, I would still have my other one wouldn't I?" He asked, pointing to one hand with the other.

The woman rolled her eyes and groaned. "You're not listening, what I'm trying to tell you is that sometimes things happen, and you-" before she could finish Kazu cut her off.

"That's a load of bull. If you really want to do something then you do it. The only thing that stops a person from doing what they want to is themselves. I wanted to be a Tamer, so I went with Takato and the others to the Digital World to get a partner and become one. If you wanted to do something else with your life you would have, end of story."

The woman's head lowered, and for the first time since they had started this discussion, she looked away from him.

"It's not always that easy. There are some things in life you just can't change, no matter how much you wish you could."

Kazu snorted. Looking at his watch however made him cringe.

"Hey look, my breaks almost up, and if I don't get back in time my old man's going to chew me up and I'll get stuck cleaning out the oil trap again for a week."

The woman chuckled as she rose from where she was sitting, sporting a small smile. "Kami forbid you having to do actual work because of me," she replied sarcastically.

Kazu grinned. "Well, you know how it is. Same time tomorrow Nami?"

The older woman shrugged her shoulders. "Not like I have anything better to do with my time."

Kazu frowned at the tone. "Hey, no getting all depressed during the summer, that's an unwritten law you know."

"That law stopped applying to me-"

Again the young teen cut her off. "It's not a matter of age; it's a matter of principle. No getting depressed during the summer you hear?"

The woman smiled gently and nodded her head before turning to leave.

Kazu watched her as she left, and once again frowned.

"I wish she would do something, anything! It's not good for someone to isolate themselves completely. Even Rika knows that. How can she not have any frie-"

"Is something wrong?" Guardromon asked, recognizing his partners worried expression.

"Nah…just thinking. Come on, I don't want to be cleaning tar out of my hair for the next month," Kazu said tiredly as he turned to return to the shop.

As Kazu and Guardromon walked in silence, the metal giant looked down at his Tamer for a moment, then back up to the sidewalk ahead.

"Something wrong Guardromon?"

The large digimon thought for a moment before speaking, wanting to make sure he didn't trip or stumble over his words.

"Why do you insist to…'hang around' her so often? I was under the impression that you despised her existence."

The boy raised his arms behind his head as he continued walking. Like his partner had moments before, he remained silent until he was able to gather his thoughts together.

"I don't…hate her. I never have. I just hate what she's doing to herself and the rest of us," he replied

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

"She hates her job, and it makes her miserable. Because she's miserable it makes the rest of us miserable. The reason so many people are so like that is because they do things they hate all the time instead of what they want to."

"But if everyone did what they wanted, would that not lead to absolute chaos?" The large digimon asked, now even more confused than usual by his partners way of thinking.

"Nah, that's just the bad stuff. I mean like jobs. If a person hates what they do, they do a sucky job and make everyone around them just as depressed as they are. Why do you think Rika was such an Ice Queen when we met her?"

"Because she had little in the way of social interaction with others, thus she lacked social skills, so she covered it with anger?"

"Kinda…look, the point is, if a person hates doing something, they shouldn't do it in the first place. I like what I do, so I enjoy it and I do a good job."

"But she does do a good job, and she hates it," Guardromon interjected.

Kazu sighed. "Buddy, just drop it ok?"

"Drop what?"

Kazu's groan was heard from miles away.

End chapter

AN: Ok, after two days of work and with much assistance from the three I mentioned before (thanks again guys, I owe you another one), this chapter has been resurrected. Its undergone a major overhaul from what it was, and its entire purpose has been changed. I'll go into and explore more of the characters dealings of the last four years in the future, but I want to get a few more characters out in the field before I really go in depth for any one of them. The Next chapter will be Kenta centric, but after that I'll once again be open to request.

Now, for some more fun!

Omake: 'The Bag' Part two

Takato and Guilmon were currently in the Tamer's hideout, hidden deep in the thick forest of Shinjuku park. The teenage boy was sitting with his back to the wall while Guilmon dug around the portal tunnel looking for any snacks he had hidden that Impmon had not yet found.

Across from Takato, resting against the opposite wall was a pink shopping bag.

"It's mocking me,"Takato thought as he glared at the offending object.

For the last hour, ever since he had run out of the mall like the Shinigami itself was after him, this was how it had been.

The young boy was trying to come up with a plan for what to do. After all, this was not something that happened to him everyday, nor was it something he wanted to happen to him ever day.

"I could just…throw it away…I mean, its Rika, she can afford…more," he thought with a gulp.

Five times he was about to get up to throw the bag in the nearest trashcan he could find, but every time he started to move some invisible force would shove him back down.

"Knowing Rika though, she's probably worried that someone found them…what am I saying?! Of course she's worried that somebody found them idiot!"

Banging his head against the wall behind him, Takato groaned.

"This is not how I imagined I would be spending my weekend."

From deep within the tunnel, Guilmon's voice echoed. "Really? This was how I hoped I would!" Guilmon's laughter came to a sudden stop, and then changed to a cry of triumph.

"Yay! Impmon didn't find my peanut butter banana bread!"

Takato shuddered. "How he eats that stuff I'll never know, bleck!"

Turning his gaze back to the bag, Takato weighted out his options and their merits.

"Ok, if I throw it away no one will ever know and I'll only have to deal with my conscience for a few weeks…and guilt…dang, that's out. Rika would get it out of me with one glare."

Frowning, the red eyed youth tried to figure out a way of returning the 'bag' without getting caught and then beaten within an inch of his life.

And that was only if he was lucky.

"I could stuff the bag in her mailbox!"Takato's newfound smile quickly died however.

"But Renamon would probably see me and tell Rika who it was that returned it. Then she'd track me down and hang me by my boxers on the school flagpole."

Ignoring the loud sound of his partner eating, Takato's frown became deeper and deeper as he checked off one by one each idea that he could come up with.

"And I couldn't get someone else to drop it off because then I'd be sending them to their death! This stinks! Why can't I just have one normal day in my life?!"

Sighing, he rested his head against the cool concrete wall of the hideout.

"Well, it could be worst. At least it's only me that knows about it. I'm glad that Hypnos gives us some privacy in our lives,"Takato thought bitterly.

Many, many miles away from the Tamer's hideout at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

Tally crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "He's a boy; of course he's going to keep them. They're all the same."

Riley smirked. "Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that. He's a good kid. Besides, he's surprised us before remember?"

Yamaki flipped his lighter closed for the umpteenth time and groaned.

"One hundred and forty billion a year budget and we're reduced to this? How did this happen?"

Silently thankful that his superiors had left after the third failed attempt of their own version of the Yuugoth program, the middle aged man was now helpless to do anything about the current situation. His operators had worked their fingers raw trying to repair the damage the 'higher ups' had done to the network trying to 'help' and had threatened to go on strike if not given a break.

To be more precise, Riley had threatened, Tally backed her up.

"At least they're happy…"Yamaki muttered. When the two were in a bad mood, everyone suffered, especially him. So if they were unhappy, he was unhappy, and nobody liked Yamaki when he was not happy, as an unhappy Yamaki usually meant someone would get fired before the days end.

"Fifty yen says he'll keep them," Tally shouted as she slammed the bill onto Yamaki's desk.

"I'll see your fifty and raise you twenty. The boys a good kid, give him a chance," Riley shot back, slamming her own bills on the table.

The two had patched the hidden camera from the Tamer's hideout onto the main monitor (the entire IMAX dome) and were sitting on Yamaki's antique wooden desk. He didn't mind, he knew they were nowhere near heavy enough to damage it, he had bought it specifically to withstand a lot of stress.

Namely, his fists slamming on it every time one of his superiors did something stupid, as they had several times this morning.

"One hundred yen and two days paid vacation says he returns them, but not until peaking inside the bag again at least once," Yamaki said with a perfectly straight face.

The two women jumped slightly, having forgotten that he was still in the room.

"Oh, sorry sir, I thought you had left for lunch," Tally said nervously.

"I did…an hour ago," Yamaki replied with his usual calm and stoic voice.

"And you're not going to yell at us for wasting government resources?" Riley asked suspiciously, indicating with her arm the viewer's current display.

"The government wastes enough of its resources on its own. Compared to what they flush down the toilet every day this is less than what he makes for an allowance," Yamaki replied indicating Takato with his head.

"Umm…I hate to interrupt, but were you serious about the bet sir?" Tally squeaked.

With a small grin, Yamaki pulled out his wallet and dropped several bills onto the small pile accumulating on his desk. "I'll even sign the vacation request today if you like."

Tally and Riley looked at each other, and then back at Yamaki with matching smirks.

Several more bills soon joined the pile before the group turned their attention back to the monitor.

Back at the hideout

"Should I or shouldn't I?"

As expected, his rhetorical question was actually answered.

"Are you nuts?! She'll tare you apart like a used tissue!" Kazu's voice shouted in his head.

"It's still the right thing to do. Like it or not, you are a knight, and knights have to abide by the code of honor and chivalry," Henry's voice shot back.

Takato groaned. "But I don't want to die!"

"Dude, you think she'd actually kill you? Remember who we're dealing with here people, the ICE QUEEN! She won't kill you; she'll just make you wish you were dead!"Kazu argued.

"You don't know that. Besides, she is your friend, and you wouldn't want to do anything that might hurt her would you? Remember how much she's done for us in the past? Isn't this a small thing in return?" Henry reasoned before cringing at his choice of words.

Kazu's voice laughed. "I'll say, its several 'small things' alright hahahahaha!"

Flushing red Takato tried to focus on the matter at hand and forget about his inner Kazu's train of thinking.

"Ok, this is Rikawe're talking about. She's my best friend; she'll give me a chance right? It's not like she'd fly off the deep end and attack me without giving me a chance to explain myself right?"

The image of himself as a beaten and bloody corpse in a ditch fluttered across his mind.

"I am so dead," the Tamer's leader thought as his shoulders sagged.

End 'The Bag' Part 2