Battle of the Shikigami

I don't own Digimon.

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"Talking"

'Thoughts'

"Spell Attacks"

-D Scene change and time change

K-O Different point of view

:-L Flash back

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Chapter 9

K-O Izzy

He watches the rainbow display that he's currently powering shimmer through the air before the window. Out of the group of seven, he's the one that has greater control over his element, though he's smart enough not to have his primary battle strategy, especially since his partner Shikigami's a water type. He often finds himself preferring to use the element wind and either shadow or spirit in most of his battles.

'It's surprising easy to thrown off balance my opponents just by using any element other then my primary one. Just because they use their primary element in battle doesn't mean their opponent will. It helps being a generalist when it comes to fighting since it's harder for your enemy to predict what kind of spells you'll be using.' He muses to himself as he allows the misty rainbow to disperse and he gets up out of bed.

He glances to where his partner, Kotaru, was resting. He smiles slightly as he watches Kotaru's sides expand and retract. The salamander has become as dear to him as his Digimon partner Tentomon and when this is all over, he knows he'll miss the teal coloured salamander when they leave this world behind. He brushes his unspiked bangs from his face as he stands up.

He heads straight to the bathroom in order to have a shower and to put his hair up in the ponytail that seemed to suit his style as Raiga Akio. Once out of the shower and when he's satisfied that his hair was dry, he then runs his hands through his hair, making sure that he grabs most of it with his hands. One that's done, he then uses his left hand to grab his hair tie and ties it up.

He then puts in his left eye brow earring as well as his right ear earrings; there were three in total for his right ear. Once that's done, he then takes some hair gel and begins to spike his bangs the way he wants them. He notices that his 'bad' boy look was fine and then heads into his room to put on the white tank top and his faded blue jeans. He stands in front of his bedroom mirror, making sure that his hair hadn't suffered much from putting on his tank top and then turns to leave his room.

He knew that before all of this, he wouldn't given too much thought to his appearance but like the rest of the gang, he wanted to try something different for a change, to see what it's like to act the almost opposite of what he normally would. Which lead him to give the typical bad boy look a chance and surprisingly enough, he couldn't help but find it easier to act the role of Raiga Akio, son of Raiga Waki and Raiga Kanami, partner of Kotaru of the Water Shikigami.

He's also tried different hobbies, like skateboarding, blading, and, ironically enough, acting. Through such activities he's been labelled many things but nerd, geek, or point Dexter weren't among his titles since few people know about his ability with computers or about his good grades. It's odd living a life style that's totally different then what he had pursued back in his first childhood and found himself changed by it, just like the others.

But the changes weren't just lifestyle either, he's current body was completely different then his original one. He's not among the short kids of his class, he stands about five and half feet and given time, he just might grow to stand a little over six feet. His build wasn't bulky but he's not skinny either, his balance was better then it had been but then, he needed it in order to do the kind of stunts that one does with a skateboard and on roller blades. His skin has a light tan on it from his many hours outside. He was stunned to find that more then a few girls thought him cute or ruggedly handsome, though Sora doesn't get too jealous now a days when she sees other girls flirting with him, he knows better then to flirt with girls since he's lucky that despite everything Sora and him continue to enjoy a close and comfortable relationship.

He smiles to his current mother and nods a greeting to his current father; they greet him warmly as he settles down at the table. There wasn't much in the way of conversation but he doesn't mind as he waits for the toast to finish popping out of the toaster. His mind was else where, reminiscing about the changes that occurred over the group since they got here.

Joe's been trying out for sports, believe it or not. This kind of makes Joe the jock of the group when such a title usually went to Tai or Davis or even Ken since those three are totally into soccer and were more then willing to talk about it whenever the topic of conversation made its way to sports. Joe's most notable sport was basketball with baseball being a close second. Joe's only a half an inch shorter then him but made up for it by having a much more athletic build then he did. Much like all of them, Joe's maintained high grades though like him, few of their peers would suspect it.

Takato's decided to try out being a Goth, which kind of clashes with his up beat attitude and his resistance to dying his hair black and using make up to make himself look pale or for anything. Out of the group, he's considered the shortest and scrawniest of them all but then, he does help that illusion by wearing baggy cloths, which hide his frame. Like him, Takato has piercing, though Takato's has two for his right eyebrow and at least five for both of his ears. Takato's also been wearing black leather armbands and more then a few chains on his person, though when Takato's out on patrol, he leaves the chains at home and he wears a bright red bandana over his forehead with black triangle markings on it that remind him of the kind of markings Guilmon has.

His thoughts land on Yolei, AKA Dotou Sen, who's world famous for being a bit of a super heroine as she's like the American cartoon show heroine named Kim Possible. Much like that cartoon heroine, Yolei's got a website that Gennai manages for her. It kind of started with someone left an E-mail at the site asking for assistance at this burger place that was currently being held up. Not only did she reframe from using magic to defeat the three criminals but the female populous loved her as a remould for girl power. It wasn't until her defeating one of the three humans rogues that had been partnered with a Shikigami but they had a huge falling out when the human began using his magic for petty crimes did Yolei solidify her career as a heroine for real.

'As for her 'side-kick,' well, we've all taken our turns helping her out.' He muses as he notices a picture of Yolei on the front with Mimi in the background; the picture was taken in New York, New York. The article most likely continues on a different page, detailing the events of how Yolei and Mimi folded some terrorist attack on a library, if he correctly identifies the building behind them.

Even as he observes the picture, he couldn't help but smile slightly as he studies Mimi's picture since it really helps to obscure her gender. It's more then likely that instead of putting Yashiro Suchin, the reporter put her nickname, which was Flash. She earned that nickname from her achievements in sprinting, mostly from 'gone in a flash' or 'it's a flash finish.'

'She goes from what someone would turn a 'girly-girl' to a total tom-boy. She even out does Rika and Sora's attempts by a good three miles. It's not surprising that she's not offended by being called a he instead of a she. But then, I think it amuses her, being considered one of the 'guys.'' He muses as he recalls just how far Mimi's gone to be the total opposite of acting dizzy and shallow. Though it's likely when they get back to their world, Mimi will most likely find a midpoint between her two lifestyle experiences. Though some people think that Joe and Mimi's relationship were a guy and guy relationship, though only those that are close friends know that Yashiro 'Flash' was Yashiro Suchin, a fourteen year old young woman.

He then focuses on his girl friend, Sora or as this world knows her, Yashiro 'Blue' Phailin. Out of the group of six Digidestine, she's the only one who's occupations haven't changed much from what she was doing back home, only she's more into computers then before. She arrived at her nickname from how depressed she sometimes got and the nickname stuck, though it seems that while Sora would have preferred a different nickname, she got over it and seems to prefer being called Blue then being called Phailin.

Then there's Gennai, the seventh member of their group, though he's not often involved in what they're doing. Over time, Gennai learning what it's like to live a human life, even if he's suppose to be gay and very wealthy. While they don't know what's going on between Gennai and Hayao now a days, it seems as if Gennai's come to accept the relationship that Hayao symbolizes and that's all they really want to know, they really don't care about what they're doing either since they're of the opinion that it's between those two and none of their business. Though they've all noticed how much more relax and laid back Gennai's become.

Soon breakfast is placed on the table and within the next ten minutes, he's done eating, he gets up and heads for the door to leave. He glances over to the stair case to find his Shikigami partner coming down the stairs. He nods to his partner as he grabs his knapsack once he's done putting on his runners. He exits the house with Kotaru trailing behind.

"So, do you have any idea where the tournament will be held?" He asks his partner, continuing the conversation they had last night. "Not yet, but hints will arrive through dreams in about a week to the tournament. Though if one's particularly sensitive to magic, they'll most likely get more detailed hints then the others, not that it matters much since everyone will be teleported to the spot where it'll take place." His partner says and he glances over to where Kotaru was, wondering why the salamander hadn't mentioned that bit of information last night so they'd be done with this conversation, but guesses that Kotaru had been that really that tired last night that his partner hadn't been thinking straight.

It's not long before Kotaru and him split apart as his partner wanted to spend the day at the local leisure center, to spend the day swimming in the pools they got there. He's got school today and it's also his turn to be Yolie's sidekick so he just might find himself being dragged out of school and into danger by the end of today.

It's not long before he meets up with Takato and Mimi by the entrance to the high school. Joe's likely busy hanging out with his sports crowd, Yolei's likely trying to avoid getting mobbed by fans, and Sora's likely helping Yolei with her hiding. "Hey, Flash-kun, Keiji-kun." He says, Mimi rolling her eyes slightly at the use of kun at the end of her nickname but that's about the only annoyed reaction he got.

"Hey Aiko-kun, got back from that extreme tournament alright?" Takato asks, reminding him of what he'd been doing for the last three days. He rubs his left arm, he had broken his wrist on the second day but as usual, it healed up by the dawn of the third day. He had made sure not to hint at the injury since people would want to examine it and when it got better, wonder how it could heal so fast.

"Did pretty good, just broken my wrist on the second day but it was gone by the next day. No much to tell if you've been watching it on television." He answers and Takato nods while Mimi sighs after examining his arm just to make sure. Mimi's learnt a lot from Joe, one of those many things was first aid, which helps since it's often better to have more then one doctor for the group.

They begin to head towards the building, since it's only a few weeks until the end of school, the dress code wasn't as strict as it usual is which was why they're able to wear what they want as long as it's with in reason. Though there were some people who wear the usual uniforms as it had become something of a habit then for lack of anything to wear. They passed through the cafeteria as they head towards the stairs that lead up to the library directly, it's likely that they'll find Yolei and Sora hiding out in there.

Takato reaches the door first and holds it open for them to enter. It's not long before they locate Sora and Yolei, they were in one of the meeting rooms of the library. "Thank God it's only you three!" Yolei says in relief as she gives then a group hug, Sora only looks on in open amusement.

He pulls himself away from them and gives Sora a peck on the cheek that she returns, though it was on the lips. They take the solo couch of the room; with him sitting down first with Sora leaning on his should with his arm around her shoulders. Mimi settles between Takato and Yolei, with Yolei chatting away about the horrors of news reporters and mobs of fans trying to get a bit of her time and maybe a few autographs.

Takato and Mimi made the right sounds at the correct times, either grunting in agreement or making the right gesture. Sora and him stayed out of it as they were pretty much enjoying cuddling with each other to really follow what's being said. Soon the clock on the wall was getting real close to when the first bell with ring, they all reluctantly get up from their seats and picked up their school bags before they head off to their classes. Since he has the same first class as Mimi, they head off together while Yolei and Sora heading off to their shared class, Takato heads to his shop class, it seems that Takato opted to take shop instead of an art class. Joe's kind of lucky since he's got gym first thing, since the gym teacher usually isn't wide awake this early, Joe's class wouldn't be that rough as his gym class, which was in the afternoon.

K-O Takato

He studies the cat skeleton that's in front of him, it's Biology and they're suppose to study the difference between it and the skeleton of a mouse. Though for the life of him, he can't remember why they're studying them since he's not suppose to have Biology right now, he's suppose to be having band now… or was it English?

His mind was in a whirl as he tries to think about his schedule, only to have someone say, "It arrives on the night of blackness, it is held by six elements. In the nexus of the northern sea, the spot it shall be." He jerks back as he realises that the cat skeleton was talking. The class room setting was vanishing and the cat skeleton was growing larger and in the eye sockets twin purple lights can be seen.

"To pass the entrance test, you shall need to put all your trust in your partner. Only then shall we see what kind of bond has grown between you." The voice says as the skeleton begins to grow organs, flesh, skin, and finally rainbow coloured fur. "Remember this, child, for if you wish to return home, you must trust your Shikigami, trust him as you trust your soul." The giant cat says and he bolts upright in his bed, panting as if he ran around the blocks a few times.

His mind whirling over the dream he finished having, he glances to where his partner Shikigami, Yukio, was sleeping. He hadn't waken the sleeping kirin, though it's likely that the kirin's getting his own vision or set of warnings as he's sleeping right now as well. "Trust him like I trust my soul? What does that mean?" He wonders out loud.

He frowns as he tries to figure out the puzzle that the vision had left for him. He hadn't heard a single word about an entrance exam but then, each tournament likely has different requirements. He sighs, by now, he's not sure if he'll ever work on his manga again when he returns home, to his proper body.

He lies back down, staring up at the ceiling, trying to think about the idea of trusting the shadow Shikigami in the same way as he would trust Guilmon, the Digimon he created so long ago. His heart aches as he pictures the bread loving rookie that sometimes feels like a younger brother. He remembers the time when they had to part company for a few months when the Digimon were forced back into the Digital world or they faced deletion if they stayed.

He sighs and decides to wait until tomorrow to try and piece the puzzle together, hoping that talking with the others about it would help, and that also includes the Shikigami. 'Trust Yukio… can I do that?' He asks himself, sure he enjoys having the kirin around, even if the kirin seems totally obsess with his magic training from the beginning of their partnership.

'It's like our roles are reversed, he's the Tamer and I'm the Digimon, kind of ironic but then, it seems to be how it is. Besides, the Digimon does trust their partners to steer them in the right direction, maybe I should be a good Digimon and trust in my Tamer?' He muses before he falls once more into a deep sleep.

The Word List:

Chan - a term of affection and often is found at the end of a girl's name

Kun – a term of affection and often is found at the end of a boy's name

To Be Continued…