Digital Wizard
Disclaimer:
Digimon is owned by Toei Animation
Kamen Rider Wizard is owned by Ishimori Productions
The various guest characters appearing in every arc are owned by their respective owners.
Last chapter shows that Tomoki is in the midst of doing a "magic show" while the unidentified TV host offered to have the youngster's "magic show" go live on TV, just as Takuya arrived and there the two would meet again, in which Tomoki intended to show him his "new-found talent" so as to give Takuya the reason to make him his "assistant". See below if Takuya would be willing to do so or not, while at the same time this marks the conclusion of this arc.
Well then, other than that…it's SHOWTIME!
Previously...
At the park, the man in a businessman attire turns out to be a TV host and executive producer and is now standing in front of a cameraman doing a "report" about a "young magician", and the footage from the camera shows Tomoki doing his "magic trick" in front of so many observers, marveling at the feat the young boy has displayed, and as the minutes passed by, more and more watchers flocked the scene and Tomoki is pleased to share his "talents" and is hoping that this would make Takuya noticed him.
After 30 minutes, it was over as Tomoki is taking a rest, and the TV host and producer approached him and gave him a rather "lucrative" offer which made the young boy beamed with excitement.
"Thank you, Mr. Himi..."
"Ahh...sure."
"You surely brought hope to everyone..."
"It's nothing...really..."
"Then I have an offer for you..."
"An offer?"
"Yes, an offer."
"Really?"
When told that he is to appear on live TV to display his "magical talents", Tomoki eagerly agreed and was given a card where the TV station is located, and as the TV host thanked him for the response, he seem to act oddly upon seeing Takuya on sight, and left abruptly along with the cameraman, and there Takuya found Tomoki being flocked by a lot of spectators and decided to approach him to see how he is doing after nearly got hurt by Hellhoundmon and his minions, seeing that the young boy appearing to be in high spirits.
Likewise, Tomoki saw Takuya approaching and is overjoyed, as he now gets the chance to show him that he has magic powers, and is hoping that Takuya would see this and accept his request to make him his apprentice so that he too would become a "wizard", and the next several moments will decide the outcome of the upcoming conversation between the two.
Now...
As Takuya approaches the scene where Tomoki is being greeted by admirers, the unidentified TV host boards a van and is about to leave, glancing at Tomoki, but for some reasons, he is glaring at Takuya, as if he knows him, but then decided to leave for now as he picked up his cellphone and called the studio to make arrangements to have Tomoki appear tomorrow as he intended to have the youngster appear live on TV.
"Hello...yes...I'd like to have someone to appear live tomorrow...yes...it'll be a huge hit on the ratings..."
"The Wizard's magic rings
contains magical powers...
A young man, who is a modern-day user of magic,
who uses their power on both of his hands...
So that he can turn despair...
...into hope..."
Life Is ShowtimebyShō Kiryūin
(Opening Song from Kamen Rider Wizard)
Maji ka maji de magic da Show Time!
maru de tsuki to taiyou
kasanaru toki no shougeki
dare datte kiseki wo shinjitemitai
kitto hitsuyou fukaketsu no energy kokoro da ne
yume to yosuo ii ima de uragitte kureru mono
3 2 1 Show Time!
magic time trick janai
mahou hero hanpa janee ze
kioku no roots mogurikonde
kibou wo tsukuidasou
Show Time!
life is Show Time tobikkiri no
unmei no life mucha shitemo
kinou kyou ashita mirai
subete no namida wo
Show Time!
houseki ni kaeteyaru ze
maji ka maji de magic da Show Time!
25: Gimon to Jishin
At the park, Takuya saw Tomoki being flocked by admirers and is baffled at what is going on, and decided to approach him to see how he is doing, and to ask what was all that about, unaware of what the young boy did earlier, or how he fended off the Ghoulmon earlier before his battle with Hellhoundmon. Takuya is also unaware that the Digimon is still alive and that Hellhoundmon is setting his plans in motion, which neither Tomoki or Takuya are aware of.
"Hey, Tomoki Himi!"
"Takuya!"
"You seem to be having fun..."
"Yes, I am! And glad you came!"
"Huh?"
"I have magic...I'm a wizard now!"
"Eh?"
"Once you see it...you now have a reason to make me your apprentice!"
And so Takuya and Tomoki left the park and are heading somewhere where they can talk in private, and that's where the "moment of truth" is about to take place.
-x-
At another park, the scene shows that Takuya and Tomoki are sitting on a pair of chair, a table in front of them, and are eating doughnuts, in which the Doughnut Hungry Shop van happened to be there, and in the midst of their discussion, Takuya is taken aback at what he was told, and is in a state of disbelief that Tomoki possesses magic, since he hasn't seen Tomoki despair and survive, so he had his doubts about the boy's claims, and there Tomoki sees this as his chance to prove that he has actual magic powers.
"Seriously? You have magic powers?"
"Yes...and I managed to fend off one of my attackers!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
Takuya was suspicious of this. as he didn't see Tomoki falling in to despair and survive, and he wondered if there is something amiss here, but snapped back to reality as Tomoki is pestering him.
"Takuya? Takuya!"
"Eh?"
"How about I show you proof that I do have magic powers?"
"Eh?"
Standing up, Tomoki does his chant while pointing his finger, but to his surprise, no "magic flame" emerged, and tries chanting again, in which nothing came out. As Tomoki wondered what is wrong, Takuya sensed that something is amiss, as he recalled how Hellhoundmon is stalking him, and recalling about the boy's dream of having "magic powers", he slowly deduced that someone is playing a trick on him, and realized that someone is planning to make Tomoki despair, so he has to take initiative and save him.
"Huh? That's odd..."
"I see...someone is playing tricks on him...so that he would fall i9n to despair once he realizes that he has none...!"
"I wonder..."
"Tomoki...snap out of it!"
"Huh?"
"Someone is playing an illusion on you! You really don't have any powers!"
"What...? Wait...are you trying to bring me down? You said there should only be one wizard...so that's your game, is it...?"
"Wait...you've..."
Tomoki took offense at this and is thinking that Takuya is simply "bringing him down", discouraging him from reaching his dreams and berated him before storming off, and while Takuya is surprised, he slowly started to regret his actions as he sees himself "ruining" someone's dream and hope, and slowly heads back home, feeling guilty of what he just did to Tomoki and questions himself if he is doing the right thing or not.
-x-
Later that night, Tomoki sneaked out of his house and went to a nearby park, wondering if Takuya is telling the truth or not, as he wondered why his magic failed, and wanting to know the truth, he waved his finger and chanted a spell.
"Is he really...I better see if this is the case or not...Chi-pui-pui!"
To his surprise, flames appeared and the youngster realized that his magic didn't failed as he thought, and he is overjoyed that his dreams and hope are there, so he hurried back to his house to prepare himself for tomorrow, not noticing that a silhouette is watching Tomoki, a smirk is shown while glancing at the young boy.
-x-
At the Omokagedo Antique Shop, the scene shifts to the lobby area where Junpei is finishing his work crafting new magic rings while Takuya appeared to be sulking, as he felt that he is doing to Tomoki is like what the Digimons do to their victims in order for them to lose hope, and he really took it hard, recalling what the youngster told him about his dreams and hope, and after telling him that Tomoki's "magic" are due to a Digimon trick, Tomoki felt that Takuya is simply holding him back and stormed off. The youngster felt offended and Takuya couldn't blame him.
"So he really wants to be a wizard..."
By then Junpei was finished just as he heard Takuya, and he approached the teen to comfort and offer him some advice on what he should do.
"Takuya..."
"Huh?"
"You okay? You seemed to be down..."
"I told him earlier that a Digimon is playing tricks on the Digi-Gate...and after telling him...he got upset..."
"I see..."
"And the way things went...I felt that I'm doing the same thing the Digimons do to their victims..."
"Now, now..."
"I didn't ask to become a wizard in the first place...yet I..."
Seeing Takuya sulking like this made Junpei recalled the events from six months ago, and decided to remind him of who he is and should not let this keep him down and there he spoke to the teen.
"Takuya...do you recall when you and Izumi first set foot on my shop months ago...?"
-FLASHBACK-
One rainy day, the scene shows you where an antique shop is introduced, with several customers coming here to buy some antique items at a reasonable price, and the scene shifts inside the shop where you can see who is in charge of that shop - a 21-year old person by the name of Junpei Shibayama. Junpei appeared like a youth despite his age, but his rather overweight-like appearance makes him pass up for a married man with a family, although Junpei is single and unattached. Because of that, some of his customers referred to him as "pops", even though he slightly resented that.
"Hey, pops...I'll buy this one..."
"I'll buy this one..."
"Glad your shop sure antiques in a reasonable price..."
"Hey pops...when are you going to get married...?"
"Come on...I'm in my 20's...I'm not that old..."
"Well...you looked like one...after you inherited this place..."
"He's right...lucky you got this shop and you know how to run things here..."
"All you need now is a wife..."
It turns out that Junpei inherited the shop from his grandfather who passed away, but not before giving his shop to Junpei so he can run the business and he now has no regrets, though Junpei missed his grandfather who is quite close to him, but he had no regrets and he is running the business well with no problems so far.
As the day went on, things are pretty peaceful, despite the heavy rain, but underneath the shop's interior designs, lies a secret that Junpei tried to hide as much as possible, and later in the night he is putting his advertising signboard inside, some strangers came to him and this set the wheels of fate rolling in, changing their destinies forever, and the secret that Junpei has been hiding to be revealed.
"Junpei Shibayama...?"
"Yes...that's me..."
"..."
"What can I do for you two..."
"I was told...that you made...this..."
"That's...!"
"Can you accommodate us...?"
"Ye...yes...come inside..."
The two strangers turn out to be Takuya and Izumi, who has then regained consciousness, but their clothes are still the same (bloodstained and tattered due to their surviving the ritual), but are drenched in rain as they have traveled back to Shibuya from Sado Island by foot, as the two teens pass by the Kanbara house, which is now reduced to ashes and rubble, with Takuya realizing that the Kanbara family are already been killed, which gave him another reason to be stronger emotionally.
After Takuya showed the magical ring worn on his left middle finger, Junpei gasped as he recognized them but not wanting to make a scene, he invited them inside his shop, which is identified as the "Antique Shop Omokagedo", and there he offered them warm drinks and snacks as well as towels seeing them having been on a "journey". By then Takuya showed to Junpei the other magical ring and revealed that the Belt Buckle that the White Wizard gave to him has been magically attached to his waist and told them everything that has happened to him and Izumi, and in turn Junpei told them his secret.
"That belt..."
"Yes...someone saved me and gave me this belt...and the rings..."
"I see...so it was him..."
"So you craft rings like these...?"
"Yes...but since at that time I was wary of that...stranger...and seeing how he uses them...I chose not to make more rings...but after the story you told me...and how you survived..."
"Will you...?"
"Sure...feel right at home...you two can stay here as long as you need..."
"Thank you..."
It turns out that Junpei is, aside from being the owner of Omokagedo, he is a skilled ring maker who created the Flame Ring. Several months ago, the White Wizard (using a human guise), approached and commissioned in making a magical ring via some magical stones, and claimed that he will use it to "fight evil". After the disguised White Wizard left, Junpei felt suspicious and became more careful.
Initially, Junpei didn't any more make rings because of fear that he might get innocent people involved. But now, when Takuya came to him after receiving the Flame Ring from the White Wizard, Junpei's resolve was renewed and he began to offer his aid to Takuya by creating more magic Rings for him to use in his fight with the Digimons. He even offered to let the two teens to stay in his shop which now became their base of operations.
The next day, Junpei became more concerned after reading the newspaper about the mass abductions and about the deaths of the Kanbara family after their house "blew up", and there Takuya told him about what happened, and after recalling the information about Takuya and Izumi surviving the ritual, he started to go to work and began to craft rings for Takuya to use, using the remaining "magical stones" that the disguised White Wizard left to him six months ago.
"It must have been hard on you...losing a family and forced in to that kind of...ritual..."
"Indeed..."
"So now you have to..."
"Yes..."
"But...what about school...surely you're going to have a hard time..."
"After I finished 2nd year...I'll skip the final year...I will concentrate in defeating the Digimons..."
"Are you sure? Surely you..."
"It's fine. I don't want other people to suffer like I did...be it the elderly or the children..."
Junpei is rather surprised that Takuya stated that he'll have to forego his school as he is going to deal with the Digimons full time, and Junpei can feel that Takuya had to endure a lot of sacrifices just to prevent a repeat occurrence of similar rituals involving innocent people that involves making them lose hope and fall in to despair. He even glances at Izumi, seeing her sullen look especially when told about her situation.
After that, the next few days signals the start of the first month, where Takuya went to a lot of things that would help him prepare for the next six months in his fight against the Digimons.
-END FLASHBACK-
Being reminded of that event appeared to sooth Takuya, and the teen now felt that he knows what he should do and see if he can convince Tomoki that he doesn't really possess magic powers, and how to convince him without making the youngster fall in to despair, and seeing Takuya back in high spirits, Junpei decided to give him the magic rings he just crafted, which is a blue transformation ring and another offense/defense-type ring, and there Takuya glances at them.
"Feel better now?"
"Yeah...thanks..."
"Here...I just finished it..."
"Wow...another transformation ring...and another ring..."
"And here's the other one...I think this would help you light your way..."
"Hmm...how would I know it won't backfire like last time?"
"Well...can't tell...I didn't ask to become a jewel maker for magic rings..."
"I see...thanks."
And so the two decided to retire for the night and so that by tomorrow they are refreshed enough to do what they should do for tomorrow, Takuya intending to confront Tomoki and try to convince him that he has been victimized by one of the Digimons' "illusion" without trying to drive him to despair. And in case that Tomoki is convinced and "broke down", he'll simply just enter his "underworld" and extinguish the "inner-Digimon" so that the youngster would be saved.
To Be Continued…
Hope you like this chapter, and though it focused on Tomoki and his status for being an apparent "wizard", only to have him get in to a fight with Takuya, it did show Takuya getting some screen time and how he managed to get his confidence back after feeling that he may have acted like the Digimons making someone lose hope, and thank goodness Junpei is there to give him some good advice.
Also, Takuya gets a set of three new set of rings, yet you'll have to see the next chapter on how those rings work. Nevertheless, the character development makes up for it before the story comes under way.
Preview:
The next chapter will end this arc, as Tomoki goes live on TV, and see if his "magic" can really be there or not, while Hellhoundmon makes his move and Takuya confronts both of them.
Yup, it'll be a brawl live on TV, and there you'll see what becomes of the wizard-apparent…