I don't own Digimon or these Daemons are kind of based off of the ones in His Dark Materials trilogy.
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There's a strange phenomenon that occurred nearly fifteen years ago. Spacial Rifts began intruding throughout the world and caused certain people to go through a process called Dividing, in which caused a entity that became termed Daemon to appear next to said person. Once more, these Daemons could speak and were generally the opposite gender of their human.
The Dividing also means that the humans could enter into these Spacial Rifts, nicknamed Dungeons, and found they interacted within said Dungeon in a game like fashion. Only within these Dungeons could the humans be able to use unusual powers and access a feature called Inventory without limit, outside of the Dungeons, there is a limited times that this Inventory could be accessed outside of Dungeons, which refreshes every two days. As the Governments of the world would learn, only these Divided individuals, these Players as it they could be called, could deal with the monsters that lurk within the Spacial Rifts.
Through tragedy called the Raid Wave, a month after these Dungeons appeared and those affected by the Dividing, in which a lesson was learnt as those monsters lurking within those spaces surged out under the so called 'leadership' of a Boss Monster. Many people lost their lives in the ensuring event and the usual weaponry welded by Man-kin proved to be able to dent or scratch upon the monsters. It was in Japan that the means in which to counter the Raid Wave was officially discovered when one Kita Nariko, a sixteen year Kendo student who experience Dividing, ending up with a Daemon by the name of Koji that would go through the phenomenon termed Settling in the form of a wolf-dog.
None know how, but in the end, Kita Nariko managed to get her hands on a live steel katana and succeed in defending a group of panic civilians who had been in the process of robbing a mall. Someone had the presence of mind to bring out their cell phone and would record the famous four minute video of Kita Nariko and Koji causing not just damage but death to large, spiny shelled turtle monsters about the size large dogs.
This video of her and her Daemon's success in killing said monsters went viral within a minute of it getting uploaded on YoTube.
Thus the beginning of the end of the Raid Wave would begin, with anyone who had gone through the Dividing had been given weapons of any sort. It was soon proven that weaponry of older times prove to be more effective against the rampaging monsters along with the attacking Daemons being able to cause damage, perhaps more damage then their human partners. Swords, axes, hammers, bows, daggers, crossbows... All proved themselves invaluable and would come to staples of a Player's armory.
In this counter-defensive it would become known that if a Daemon dies, so does their human but it is also flipped, if the human dies, the Daemon vanishes in a cloud of golden dust. Each country mourned the dead in their own way while the intellectuals would toss around the cause behind the Raid Wave. It from sending in Divided, as they had been mostly been called by then, and their Daemons into the Spacial Rifts that would give the investigation much needed answers. Which is why these Rifts would earn their nickname of Dungeons due to how game like the nature of it proved and, in particular, how to close them.
Time marches forward and there have been babies born with a Daemon, their age tend to match their human. One in three babies have been born with a Daemon and it's unknown if the other two thirds would go through Dividing when they are older. There's varying degrees of discussions about what this means for the future, particularly the ethics of raising these born Dividers, these future Players, as defenders of humanity, as child soldiers.
Regardless how much people wish it, Daemons and Dungeons seem here to stay.
x _ W v W _ x
With Chinbo weaving about his ankles, Henry does his best to not step on the current ferret Daemon who's clearly excited over the idea of a field trip through a Rank 1 Dungeon. He almost stumbles when Chinbo shifts into the form of a large house cat and he can't help but send an annoyed glare at her. Not that it seems to deter his Daemon as she leaps up at him and he manages to catch her in his arms, the fuzz ball is purring while rubbing her head about his chin and jaw line.
The permission slip that he'd been holding onto crumpled under the weight of the current feline Daemon in his arms, who's being overly affectionate towards him. "Chinbo..." He sighs out and she replies, "Yes, Hen-kun?"
"Can't you be something... smaller?" He asks after looking at the face that Chinbo gave him along with her use of her nickname for him. The Daemon chuckles before turning into a more leggy feline that sports a coat is a dark yellow tan with black markings upon the fact along with spots upon the sides. So much longer and harder to keep in his arms, it takes him a bit of effort to keep his balance while Chinbo's head moves along his right side of his jaw before getting a face full of furry shoulder as the Daemon moves to his shoulder, rubbing her body against his face.
Chinbo continues on showering him with affection on his right side of his face. With a soft sigh, Henry reaches up and scratches behind one of her ears. "Must you be so contrary?" The teen mutters and gets a tail hitting him near his left eye.
And so, he makes sure that he has the letter concerning the announcement of the trip. With his Daemon purring in his left ear, Henry makes it to the apartment door not long after a few minutes. Unlocking the door, he finds his father seated at the kitchen table with a number of papers on either side of a laptop. "We're home!" He calls out as he closes the door while Chinbo leaps from his shoulder, shifting into the form of a Snow Monkey, she races to the table, pulling out a chair before getting up onto the table.
"Welcome home, Henry. Chinbo." His father says upon looking over at him and then at the clock. "I didn't realize it's... Ah, what do you have there?" His father notices the letter upon pushing up his glasses.
"There's to be a field trip in a Rank 1 Dungeon." Henry tells his father as he approaches the table. "It should have the needed information within it." He adds, offering the letter to his parent, who takes it from him.
He walks over to the chair that Chinbo pulled out and sits in it, watching as his father pull out the contains of the envelope. He notices Chinbo peeling an lychee with draft fingers before taking a bite out of the fruit. Although Daemons don't need to eat, it doesn't mean they can't. Chinbo consumes food for the experience of the taste of it then because she needs too.
Noticing his attention on her, Chinbo puts down the fruit and goes through the fruits in the bowl. Then she hands him a Dekopon, with a slight smile from him that the Daemon returns, she returns to eating that lychee while he holds the fruit in his hand, turning it around as he tries to find purchase of where to start peeling the Dekopon.
Henry waits for some reaction from his father and a slight sigh does escape from him. He knows his parents have come to terms with him being born with a Daemon, with him being Divided, a Player, and given that Suzie had been born with one as well, the Daemon has been given the name of Eiji. It doesn't mean they weren't worried about him or for Suzie. With the danger of Dungeons and the dangers of another Raid Wave happening...
The world doesn't work the way it once did when his parents were kids themselves. Henry looks at Chinbo as he tries to picture his life without her and finds it rather impossible. He knows his schooling is different then those who aren't Players but he's found parts of it to be enjoyable. There's plenty of kids who are envious of him for just having Chinbo at his side, always there for him, keeping him company.
"I'll inform your mother later." His father assures him and Henry does a single nod before he pushes the chair back. Once he's standing, he walks over to retrieve his book bag and as he heads for his room, waits for Chinbo to enter in first, her form that of a corgi sporting white with dun blue splotches.
x _ W v W _ x
With Yoshimi sitting at her left side, Rika looks at the entrance of the Dungeon, often called a Gate. Her Daemon is in the form of a wolverine, which means that most of the milling students and their Daemons take as a warning of her mood, thus giving them both a wide berth. Everyone is either sticking to kids they know from school or are busy trying to get to know some of the newer faces, after all, this trip sports students from three schools.
"Eh? Huh? Oh? OH!" Blinking at the masculine voice, Yoshimi snorts and she looks down to find a reptile Daemon looking up at her with seemingly wide eyes.
"Tatsuo? Tatsuo!" And a boy comes into her buffer zone, going right for the geko, only the Daemon shifts into the form of a barn owl, taking to the air. "Tatsuo!"
She can't help it but stare up at the now circling Daemon before looking down at the boy. "Tatsuo?" She can't help but voice in a flat tone.
"Yea, I know, I know, but he's a he and he is mine." Admits the brunet that sports reddish hazel eyes. "Takato." The boy introduces himself after taking a few seconds to stare at her then back up at the now Raven Daemon. "Nevermore! Nevermore!" Getting crowed out softly by the flying Daemon.
"Never seen anyone with a Daemon the same gender before." Yoshimi remarks and she glances down at the wolverine Daemon, rather surprised, after all, Yoshimi rarely talks when there's others around, let alone to another human besides her. Not that she doesn't agree with her Daemon but she didn't see the point in talking further with this boy.
Takato smiles softly and for a second, she finds her cheeks heating up at the sight. He's not looking her way, so she is certain that he doesn't notice her reaction. Looking away from him, Takato replies to Yoshimi, "There are some rare cases reported, they have proved themselves to be rather unique? Like, having a longer stretch distance..." The boy trails off.
Rika's gaze lands on Takato before looking up at the crowing Raven Daemon. The Daemon shifts into a butterfly before coming down to land on Yoshimi's nose. "Hey!" She shouts and finds that Takato seems to jerk before looking to see where Tatsuo is.
The butterfly Daemon moves off from Yoshimi's nose before turning into what appears to be a crimson fox, only it's far too big and sports a black mane. Tatsuo walks in a circle around Takato as Takato seems to study Rika. She isn't sure what to make of the emotion that seem to shine in those hazel red eyes.
"You... might want to pick a staff out." The boy tells her. "I think it'll suit you plus it's got a lot of uses, like triggering traps from a distance!"
"What...?" Just as her brain catches up to what he suggests, the kid and Daemon are quick to say, "See you later Rika! Yoshimi!"
"We didn't give him my name." Her Daemon comments and with pressed lips, Rika watches as the brunette vanishes into the crowds of students. "Forget about them. We won't be seeing them." She states, although her thoughts linger on what he meant by a staff being suitable.
Never mind that she's had minimum training with one. Yes, she hasn't picked out any particular weapon to focus on but she never thought about staffs being something she'd find to be her thing. "We're... not getting weapons for this... Right?" Yoshimi voices and she frowns as she looks towards the Dungeon Gate.
"We're students. We aren't going to be doing any fighting." We shouldn't be expected to do any fighting.
The strangeness of the meeting with Tatsuo and Takato causes her to feel a bit concerned but also kind of excited. Then she does her best to push the matter and the feelings from her mind, after all, there's been plenty of field trips through Rank 1 Dungeons before. She doubts that this one will be any different.
x _ W v W _ x
They're different. Takato and Tatsuo are both the same gender, it's a rare occurrence and kids never really accepted either of them, once the fact that it's far more common for a Player and Daemon to be of opposite genders. They're freaky in the eyes of their classmates, almost unnatural, even in their eyes while the adults are wary but also sporting expectations of studying them, of gathering data about why they are who they are.
"As if such studies could ever help them understand, never mind explain us!" Tatsuo scuffed when they'd been eight. "We're who we're meant to be." He'd agreed back then.
'We're growing into ourselves.' Tatsuo chimes mentally when they'd been on the bus heading to this Dungeon. They've had this Feeling ever since the announcement of this trip and then dream snippets, lingering impressions of a weight in his right hand and something heavy resting upon his left arm. Savings spent on supplies such as bottled water, food, and medicine, any he can find.
They'd sneaked through a Dungeon Gate just to put all of it into his Inventory. With Tatsuo having been the one who had packed up a bunch of his cloths along with some towels and blankets. Tatsuo had given him a very flat look and he felt sheepish about having forgotten such important stuff but the other had huffed softly at him. He's thankful his parents were busy with the Bakery, else they'd have noticed how empty his dresser drawers have become along with missing a number of other things, minor things but a lot of it having been packed up by Tatsuo in the end.
Before leaving in the buses, Tatsuo had them run into Chinbo and Henry. Before entering this Dungeon Gate, Tatsuo had stumbled upon the final members of their 'Trinity', Rika and Yoshimi. He doesn't know why he thought it a good idea to mention her picking the staff before they left, maybe to nudge her into picking it when the time came? It hadn't mattered all that much, at first, if she hadn't chosen it at the beginning?
Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, he notices that Tatsuo is in his favorite form, a Maned Wolf. The grips of Knowing fades away and it's not long before Tatsuo shifts into a red squirrel and climbs onto his right shoulder then begins to move about his shoulders, excitement surging within the currently tiny Daemon. An excitement that he shares, in fact, as everyone around them is excited about this trip through the Dungeon, although they know that this is the beginning of something different for them and for a few others, neither Tatsuo or him know the exact number of people who'd end up with them besides Chinbo, Henry, Rika, and Yoshimi nor if any of them will be counted among the adults escorting them into this Dungeon.
Soon enough, the adults begin to exert control over the mass of students. While Tatsuo shifts into the form of a red panda and with a paw upon his head, the Daemon listens while Takato's attention is on the adults wearing protection and carrying weapons out in the open. It's the sight of such protection upon their person along with weapons that's meant to cause feeling of safety and security. They didn't need to have it out as they weren't through the Dungeon Gate as of yet and it would be a simple thing to Equip it all, the swapping of gear within the Dungeon is rather simple for those that are Players, after all.
As they get into line, Tatsuo's form shifts into a far more imaginative one. Crimson scales cover the body, bat like wings, a long neck and tail plus black spines and a set of black curly ram like horns. He doesn't need to see the white scaled belly to know the bio-like hazard symbol is affixed there as a warning. There's a number of people looking at Tatsuo with a bit of awe and bewilderment, after all, dragons don't really exist, never-mind why it would be a western dragon of all shapes.
'Nether did Dungeons, once upon a time.' He mentally remarks to Tatsuo as he reaches up to scratch under the tiny dragon's chin. 'Indeed.' Tatsuo agrees as they move with the crowd of students towards the Dungeon Gate to enter the Dungeon proper.
They are eager for their adventure to begin, to come face to face with what they've dreamed of for these pass two months. As they enter through the Dungeon Gate, he wonders what kind of condition they'll find their starting weapons in along with which routes they'll take. The future isn't set in stone, only the past is. Some things are more certain to come to pass while not so with everything that they've caught glimpses of within their dreams or linger periods of Knowing.
Ending it Here!
Happy New Years people!