Keisuke Chapter 23—Behind the mask—
I then spent the next few days researching Arcadiamon and taking cases. One day after I completed one and was headed back to the hospital though, I got a call! I checked my phone and saw it was Erika calling! I then answered it and said: "Hello?" "Hey Keisuke, it's me. I've just had a breakthrough in locating Arcadiamon." Erika said. "So you know where he is?" I asked. "Well I suppose it would be more accurate to say I know where he was… he was seen in the Demons' old base, the Demons' Den, a few hours ago." Erika replied. "Huh? Wait a minute—I thought the Demons broke up?" I asked. "That's what I heard too, but… it looks like those sources were wrong. They must have been continuing to operate this whole time in stealth." Erika said back.
"Hmm… I'm not sure why Arcadiamon would target other bad guys, but… okay! I don't have the URL to the Demons' Den though…" I said. "Not a problem. Fei gave it to me at my request. I'll send it to you now." Erika said. I then felt my phone vibrate and I said: "Great! I'll go look for Arcadiamon now then!" "Good. Just be careful, okay? Both of the factions you're going to be dealing with have villains." Erika said. "I hear ya! See you soon!" I said.
We then said goodbye and hung up. Soon I arrived at the hospital and I prepared to log in to the Demons' Den, but then I decided to come a bit more prepared and determine what Digimon to take in the Digilab first. I then logged in and when I arrived, Mirei looked at me and I said: "Hi, Mirei. How are you today?" "I'm doing well Keisuke, thanks for asking. Conversely, do you have a minute? I had something I was hoping to talk to you about." Mirei replied. "Of course I do. What is it?" I asked. "I just developed an update that will increase your phone's memory! I was hoping you'd have the chance to install it, given the times." Mirei said. "Really? That's great! Let's do it!" I said.
Mirei then sent me an E-mail and I opened it and installed the update and (sure enough) the memory on my phone went way up! "Looks like it was a success! Thank you, Mirei!" I said. She smiled and said: "No problem. With it, you should be able to fit all 11 of your Digimon into your phone, so you won't need to come back and keep swapping them in and out of farm islands anymore." "Wow, that's great! It's been so long since I was in that position…" I said. "I suppose so. Even so, I hope you'll still come by every once in a while." Mirei said. "Of course! I'll still need to heal my Digimon and it'll be nice to catch up with you, Mirei." I said. She then grinned and said: "Thank you, Keisuke. Well I'm sure you'll enjoy the extra independence too. Now you'd best be off to put that update to good use—and keep being so good to your Digimon too." "Of course! See you soon!" I said.
I then added all my Digimon to my phone and logged out, then logged into the Demons' Den. When I arrived though, I saw a bunch of guys doubled over… they looked hurt! I then ran forward and said: "What happened here?!" they all then turned to me and one said: "Huh…? Hey, how'd you get in here?!" "Relax, okay? I'm not here to hurt you. What happened?" I asked.
"A hideous monster like a humanoid beast with wings suddenly appeared. We tried fighting it, but it walloped us. Then it ate our Digimon and attacked us… and then that damn traitor K abandoned us and fled through a backdoor, leaving us to fend for ourselves—" one began, but then I said: "HUH? K was here?!" "Of course! He's our leader!" another tamer said. Another then went on: "…Or he was, before he abandoned us. Tch… I can't take this anymore. If our leader is going to give up on us, then I'll give up on HIM!"
The other tamers then agreed one-by-one and logged out. I guess the Demons have truly disbanded now… nonetheless, I started looking around. One of them had mentioned that K had fled through a backdoor… maybe I could find some trace of it… I looked around until I went to the upper-right hand corner of the Demons' Den, where I saw a crimson oval with two crimson circles around it! This looked like it could be it… I then tried to access it and felt myself being warped to where it led!
I then was dropped off in a server with many dark red, brown and yellow platforms with purple and magenta blocks in the distance… I looked around, but I didn't see K anywhere, so I decided to proceed further in. I called out Blanc, Dianamon and Ciel. When they saw where we were, Ciel said: "Well, this scenery is certainly out of the ordinary… where are we, Keisuke?" "We're in a special server. I'm here looking for K and Arcadiamon—" I began, and then Blanc said: "Those losers again?" "You know them, Blanc?" Dianamon asked. "…Yes I do. K is a bloodthirsty tamer whose Digimon I fought a while back and Arcadiamon is a horrible Digimon who eats other Digimon." Blanc said. "Neither sound like any decent sort to associate with… this will be a dangerous mission, so we'll have to proceed carefully." Dianamon said. "My thoughts exactly, Dianamon. Make sure you're all watching your backs." I said. "Of course! I'll be looking out for everyone, rest assured!" Ciel said. We all smiled and then proceeded further in.
As we went through the server, we had some battles with other Digimon, but things eventually quieted down, so I called Blanc, Dianamon and Ciel back. I soon saw why the security was lax though—there were all these weird hidden puddle-like traps that sent me from where I was to a different part of the area whenever I set them off! At least they stayed visible after I set them off though… I had to make jumps from one place to another by going through the traps again and again and again until I figured out how to advance.
I then kept going in and soon came to an area up ahead and I saw what looked like… a glass case suspended up high in the distance! I made my way up to it (through more traps, of course) and when I closed in on it, I saw what it was… my avatar, the one that had been stolen so long ago, was inside that glass case! I was shocked, but at the same time, this didn't feel right… security had been (relatively) lax up until this point and now here was something I wanted, right in front of me… I decided to turn around and look behind me and at that moment I saw K sneaking up!
"Hmm-hmm… I didn't think you'd look behind you in time. You are a smart one… Keisuke Amasawa." K said. "So YOU'RE the thieving bastard who stole my account…" I said angrily. "Heh-heh… a simple deduction, but a correct one nonetheless." K said back. "Well why don't you tell me this: if you're the lowlife who stole it… why? We never even knew each other." I asked. "Why? It's simple… I hate you! I wanted you to squirm." K said. "You hate me? When did that start? We didn't even know each other for a long time." I asked.
"Hmm?" K said before he paused and went on: "Ahahaha! Well truth be told, I was only trying to provoke you when I said that. But once again, you didn't take the bait I set out… you have impressed me again. Hatred may not have been the reason I stole your account, but… I still hate you. That much wasn't a lie. When you fought me in Shibuya in order to stop me from attacking any more people… that was lame." He then paused before he went on: "After all, the worlds of ordinary society and hackers can be—and are—separate worlds. Hackers like us belong in EDEN and they can have Earth. But they try to persecute and attack us, no matter where we are! I don't take to being prey well, and neither should you! But you still defend them anyway!" He then shook his head and walked up really close to me, invading my personal space as he said: "That makes you one of them: a xenophobic engine of hate who should die!"
I finally felt the anger welling up in me as I said: "You…!" and I punched K in the face as hard as I could and he recoiled, but the force of the punch actually dislodged the mask he was wearing… it fell to the floor and when I saw his face, I backed away… "No… no way…" I said. His face… it was Yu's face behind that mask! Yu then said: "Keisuke… help…" "Yu?! What is going ON?!" I asked.
But then I thought I heard flames… my head immediately turned to the sound and I saw the mask had caught fire! It continued to burn until a smoky explosion occurred and a Digimon popped out of it! It looked humanoid and walked on two legs. It wore a black and gold vest with magenta sleeves that were extremely long, almost as long as it was tall! Five silver claws were coming out of the ends, too. Its midriff was also visible under the vest, although its skin was an ugly, bluish-gray color, like a zombie. It had a green sash around its waist and red pants with black circular markings on the sides like the mask's and had cloth boots. It had a silver colored, steel u-shaped jaw that was very large and purple pointed eyes with black slits for pupils. It had spiky blond hair and looked 6'2 tall.
"Huh?! A Digimon?! Where did you come from?" I asked. Yu then fell to his knees as he said: "He… he was sealed inside it…" the Digimon then said: "That's correct! I merely helped make his dreams of being a hacker who could command respect come true! You could call me a helper of sorts." "What the hell are you talking about?! You made him into a hate-filled hacker… and you would call yourself a 'helper'?!" I asked. "Hmm…?" The Digimon said before he paused and said: "Ahahaha! Well isn't this interesting! He stole your account and caused you all that distress… and you still side with him?" I'm only doing what I can until I understand more!" I said. "Ahahahaha! How funny! You won't accept the ugly truth because you don't want to believe it! Well come on! I'll subject you to a tormenting like you've never known!" The Digimon said.
He then ran at me and (since I didn't have time to check my phone) I hastily called out Slayerdramon, Plesiomon and BlackWarGreymon. I then felt my phone vibrate and I checked it and it said: "Matadormon scan data: 10%". It also said Matadormon was a virus type. I should have called out more vaccines… Matadormon then said: "Vampiric cajolery!" and then made red wisps spin around my Digimon… after that, they looked flustered and nervous… a sign they had been afflicted with the panic status condition… Slayerdramon then swung his sword at BlackWarGreymon, while BlackWarGreymon swung his arm at Plesiomon and Plesiomon swung his flipper at Slayerdramon! "Ugh…" I said as Matadormon laughed madly and then I saw some waves appear around him… my Digimon then all attacked each other again before Matadormon said: "Earth-shattering stomp!" and he leapt at Slayerdramon and stomped on him a few times before he sprang off and ran back.
My Digimon then attacked each other for a little while (while Matadormon continued to attack them unopposed) until they finally snapped out of it. I then said: "Slayerdramon, teach that coward who's boss! Divine dragon slash! BlackWarGreymon, join in with black tornado! Plesiomon, use hydro water 3!" and Slayerdramon said: "Divine dragon slash!" and leapt at Matadormon before he spun downward and finally slammed his sword on him! "Dyah!" Matadormon yelled. BlackWarGreymon then said: "Black tornado!" and started spinning like a drill before he crashed into Matadormon and then flew back. Plesiomon then said: "Hydro water 3!" and splashed Matadormon with a forceful stream of water. Matadormon then got up and said: "Vampiric cajolery!" and afflicted them all with panic. Not again…
They all then attacked each other again and Matadormon said: "Hell crusher 3!" and made purplish-pink wisps spin around all of my Digimon and hurt them! They then attacked each other again and Matadormon made the waves appear around him again. They attacked each other on the next turn too and Matadormon then said: "Hell crusher 3!" and attacked them with it… and they all were down after he finished!
I called them all back and Matadormon laughed and said: "Why what's the matter, Keisuke? Where did all of that power that everyone talks about go?" and then he laughed madly. I wasn't paying too much attention to what he was saying though… the secret to his power was making all three Digimon panic and weaken their defenses… it looked like he was boosting too whenever he used those waves. Which meant…
I then called in Kuzuhamon, Angewomon and Ouryumon. Matadormon then laughed and said: "More Digimon, huh? Well sure! We can do this as many times as you want! Vampiric cajolery!" and then the wisps spun around my Digimon, but this time my Digimon looked completely calm. It looked like Kuzuhamon's support skill was working…
Matadormon then looked shocked and said: "Wait… WHAT? How did you…?!" and then I said: "Heh-heh-heh… while you're stuck scratching your head over why that didn't work, I'll wipe that smirk right off your ugly face! Kuzuhamon, use status barrier on yourself! Angewomon, nail him with a celestial arrow! Ouryumon, use attack charge on yourself!" Kuzuhamon then said: "Status barrier!" and cast a spell on herself that stopped enemies from inflicting status conditions or lowering her attributes. Angewomon then said: "Celestial arrow!" and conjured a white bow on her right arm's glove and shot a shining arrow of light from it at Matadormon! "Uwah!" he said as he fell over. He got up and then Ouryumon said: "Attack charge!" and boosted his damage output with non-magic attacks.
Matadormon then leapt into the air and said: "Earth-shattering stomp!" and as soon as I could tell he was intending to come down on Kuzuhamon, I said: "Kuzuhamon, get ready to block!" and she assumed a defensive position before he stomped on her and ran back, but she didn't have much trouble recovering from it. Matadormon also looked a little revitalized after he attacked, although not by much. "Angewomon, use aura! Ouryumon, use Eiseiryuoujin!" I said. Angewomon then said: "Aura!" and healed herself, Kuzuhamon and Ouryumon. "Argh! She heals too?!" Matadormon said. "What's wrong, Matadormon? Do you not like it when you can't cheat?" I asked. Ouryumon then flew over and said: "Eiseiryuoujin!" and slashed at Matadormon with his cutlasses. "Uwah!" Matadormon said. He just barely managed to get up and then said: "Earth-shattering stomp!" and leapt at Kuzuhamon again before I said: "Block it out, Kuzuhamon!" and she did so before he attacked. I then said: "Finish him off, Ouryumon! Eiseiryuoujin!" and Ouryumon said: "Eiseiryuoujin!" and slashed at Matadormon again before he fell on his back and couldn't move.
"Dyaaah! So strong…" Matadormon said. Kuzuhamon, Angewomon and Ouryumon all then celebrated before Ouryumon said: "Well… what should we do with him?" "W-wait! Please, spare me! I can see I went too far! I won't do anything like that ever again!" Matadormon said. My Digimon all then looked at me and Angewomon said: "Keisuke?" I then brought up a screen of data as I began typing on it and I said to Matadormon: "There is no salvation for you… you've given up so much of your soul and decency, that there is no point in letting you go… but don't worry, I'll still give you a second chance."
"What…? What do you mean?" Matadormon asked. I didn't answer him and then pressed a key and he said: "Gak!" before I made his body disappear and turned him into a digiegg! All three of my Digimon looked shocked before Angewomon said: "You… you figured out a way to turn him into a digiegg, Keisuke?" "It was a hunch… I'm glad to see it worked. Now he may become a more decent Digimon in his next life when he hatches." I said back. "But—to a Digimon—that level of power is a little scary." Kuzuhamon said. She then turned to me and said: "I know we can trust you with it Keisuke, but it almost feels like we've gotten a glimpse of your dark side…"
I then saw Yu stand up and he said: "You… you really did it… you slew that demon…" he then walked up to me and said: "Keisuke, thank you… now I'm finally free. Could I shake your hand? As an act of thanks?" "…Before you do anything, you've got some explaining to do! Did you really take my account?!" I asked. Yu then shook his head and said: "No… Matadormon was lying… let me explain. First, about your account: I didn't steal it… when you told me it had been stolen—and I saw how distressed you were—I did some research to find it… I had to dig really deep, but in the end, I found who stole it—Akira Hosaka. So I found him as fast as I could and… I bought it back from him."
"Hang on. If what you say is true, you should be able to bring that avatar up there down here to show me." I said. "Of course. Here…" Yu replied. He then used his phone for a minute and the glass case opened and the avatar floated down, right before me! Yu then said: "You should take it, Keisuke… it is yours after all." I then smiled widely and said: "YES!" before I saved it to my phone to replace the temporary one I was using now at a later time. I was happy, but also mystified—it looked like Yu's story had to be true and I wasn't sure how that could be… finally, I said: "I can't believe it… how much did you have to pay for it?" "10,000 yen." Yu answered. "10,000 yen?! Where did you get that kind of money?!" I asked.
Yu then sighed and said: "Do you remember the student lottery?" "Well sure. It was for the top five students at our high school. The winner was supposed to receive—" I began before I paused and said: "10,000 yen… and you won it…" Yu then nodded. "You spent that money on my account? I remember when you won it, you came to me completely ecstatic, saying how it would help you get into a university like you always wanted…" I said. "Yeah." Yu said back. "Why did you do it?" I asked. Yu then frowned and said: "Come on, Keisuke! I couldn't just sit around and watch a good friend suffer like that!" and then he suddenly looked down as he said: "Even now… it's okay. I know I won't get to go to a university… but the chance to be a true friend was enough." "Yu…" I said.
And then he went on: "And now second, about Matadormon; I meant to give you back your account right away. One time I went to Kowloon looking for you, but… I stumbled across that mask instead… it made me feel inspired when I saw it and… I put it on. When I did that, I gained an astronomical boost to my intelligence and hacking abilities, but… it came at a horrible price. From that moment on, I was possessed by Matadormon. He could even control me when I wasn't wearing it… but now that you've wiped him out, I'm free again. For that, you have my sincere thanks." "Thanks Yu, but… you really helped me too. I guess we saved each other." I said. We then laughed.
Yu then went on: "Even with Matadormon's abuse, this has been fun though. I always wanted to be more involved with you as a hacker, even from the very beginning, but getting the chance to help you during that one time where you needed to get that officer's account data was really fun. Truth be told, I'd like to be a part of Hudie too, but because Matadormon was possessing me when I was involved, I missed my chance and it's too late now…" "I don't agree." I said back. Yu then said: "Huh?" "You may not know it Yu, but Hudie is a small team with a small staff. Truth be told, we only have five hackers on staff—and now one has EDEN Syndrome and another is injured and unable to help. We're having trouble getting enough done with only three hackers. Between that and the fact that you have helped us before, this may be the perfect time for you to get your foot in the door." I said back. Yu then smiled and said: "That's fantastic! Well if there's any way, then I'd love to give it a try!" "Sure. Hold on one moment." I said.
I then called Erika and she answered and said: "Hello?" "Hi Erika, it's Keisuke." I said back. "Ah, Keisuke. Did you find Arcadiamon?" Erika asked. "No, but I do have some consolation: I have someone who wants to join Hudie." I said back. There was a pause before Erika said: "…That's great! Who?" "Do you remember Yu?" I asked back. "That guy who helped us when we were trying to get Makiko's account info, right? I remember him. He wants to join up?" Erika asked. "Yes. Do you have a good time when we could talk to him?" I asked. "Unfortunately, I'm a bit too busy for the rest of the day… can he come to the hospital tomorrow at 11:00 A.M.?" Erika asked. "I'll ask him. I'll text you when I know." I said. "Okay. Bye then." Erika said. "Sure thing. Thanks." I said.
We then hung up and I turned to Yu and said: "Erika can't meet for the rest of the day… can you meet us at Central Hospital tomorrow at 11 A.M.?" "You bet!" Yu said. I smiled and said: "Great. Then I'll see you there! I'll be waiting in the lobby to take you to the right room." "Sure. See you then!" Yu said. He then logged out and I texted Erika, letting her know the meeting was on. I then trained my Digimon for the rest of the day.
The next day, I researched Arcadiamon in the hospital until 10:30 A.M., when I went down to the lobby and waited for Yu… only to find he was already there! I grinned and approached him as I said: "Welcome, Yu. You're as punctual as ever, I see." "Of course! I don't want to squander this opportunity!" Yu said. I smiled and said: "I'm glad you're still excited. Okay, let me text Erika to let her know you're here." I then texted Erika to let her know Yu had arrived and she said he could come up now. I then texted her back saying I'd bring him and I said to Yu: "Erika can meet you early, so let's get going—there's no time like the present." "Works for me! Let's do it!" Yu said back.
I then took him up the elevator to the 12th floor and I went to Erika's room and knocked on the door. "Is that you, Keisuke?" Erika asked. "Yes it is." I said back. "Then come in." Erika said. I then opened it and entered before Yu followed and as soon as Erika saw him, she said: "It looks like you're back, Yu…" and then Yu said: "Long time no see, Erika! It's good to be back!" Erika then nodded before she went on: "Go ahead and have a seat on one of the stools here—Keisuke and I are going to be interviewing you to make our decision." "Alright then…" Yu said as he got seated on one (and I sat on one next to Erika).
Erika and I then started interviewing Yu, asking about his experience hacking, about kinds of moments that would help us decide if he had other skills that we were looking for and even his weaknesses… when we were done, Erika and I shook Yu's hand and I said: "Alright, go on ahead and go down the hall, Yu—I'll come back and let you know what we decide." "Alright. See you soon!" Yu said.
He then left the room and Erika and I waited for a bit before I turned to her and said: "So what did you think?" "He's definitely a mixed bag… on one hand, he doesn't have very much experience and he's a true greenhorn when it comes to hacking with Digimon. But on the other hand, his researching abilities already rival those of Chitose's and we know he's very loyal, brave and worthy of our trust. Based on what he said, it's also clear that he's a quick thinker and a fast learner." Erika said.
And then she went on: "That's why I think we should hire him. Even you weren't that experienced at hacking with Digimon when we first hired you, but now look at you—you're one of our best regulars. I think Yu will turn out the same way, as long as we give him some additional supervision at first." "I agree! I'll give him the good news then!" I said. I then stood up to go, but then Erika said: "And Keisuke?" I then turned around and said: "Yes?" She then smiled before she said: "Thank you for bringing someone new into Hudie. After all that's happened, a moment like this where we can prove Hudie is still growing is enough to brighten my day." I smiled and said: "My pleasure. Alright, I'm off to tell the newbie!" Erika nodded and I left. I then went around the hall and saw Yu looking a little nervous further away before I said: "Yu!" and he turned around and said: "Oh Keisuke! So… what'd you decide?"
"Erika and I both approved of you joining, so you've been hired—you're one of us now! Welcome to Hudie!" I said. Yu's face then lit up and he said: "YES!" and ended up drawing the attention of everyone nearby. One of the nurses even said: "Young man, please keep your voice down!" Yu then turned to her and looked self-conscious as he said: "Er… sorry." I then smiled and said: "Anyway, let's go. It's time to teach you what we do here and how to do it… I'll be your mentor for the training." Yu smiled and nodded as I took him back to teach him about the BBS to start.
