I don't own digimon.

Characters: Airu & ChoHakkaimon

Universe: Hunters

Notes:

A little something or other.

Chapter 76

Crossing the divide

The worst day of Airu Suzaki's life came when she had to say goodbye. Normally, this wouldn't be the end of the world. But this was different.

"Will I see you again?" she cried out as her partner was pulled by a bright light.

"Of course, Airu." her partner answered back and let her lips touch Airu's. "I promise."

The hunter's face glowed a bright shade of red as the armored woman floated up. After, she took a deep breath and held back the tears.

"I can do this." she thought, finding herself back in the real world. All that was to do now was to make her way home. Of course, that was easier said than done. "Why did she do that?!"

That one single moment seemed to loop through her head without a second thought, almost taunting her to some extent. Every step seemed to pound it even further into her head and refused to let her free.

"Enough!"

She took a deep breath, only for it turn into a sigh. After, Airu attempted to clear her head as her home came into view. From the looks of things, her parents had returned from being eaten. But so was her brother. That somehow balanced it all out in her book. On the other hand, she had just got a kiss from the one person who ever really cared about her on a much deep level.

Sure, her parents and brother loved her, but that was a maternal sort of love. What she and Opposummon had was a platonic sort, almost reaching even deeper than that at times. Sure, there were moments where this was less than ideal, but they were a rarity as they got know to each other.

"Airu?"

She perked up, finding her mother looking her over.

"Yeah?" she inquired and watched her mother look her over. "Is something wrong?"

Mrs Suzaki shook her head and let her arms wrap around her daughter.

"I'm just glad to see you're alive!" she announced and broke away, only for her expression to shift. "What happen to that opposum doll you liked to carry around?"

But no answer came to the mother. Especially with Airu making a break for it. She made her way up the stairs, not even taking the time to acknowledge her brother and father. No, she had just one goal in mind in that moment. And it was just in her sight.

But right as her hand touched the doorway, life just seemed to have other plans for her instead.

"What happened sis? You look like you went through a bad breakup."

Airu turned around, finding her brother standing before her.

"I don't want to talk about it." Airu muttered and twisted the knob, heading through right after. Inside, her room had been the same as it always been. Traps designed for catching digimon sat unused on a table with a variety of plushes beside it. A bed sat up against the right wall, seeming just a bit more empty than it usually been. She sat herself down and took a deep breath. "Why?"

Her head hits the pillow as her eyelids slid shut. But all she seemed to see was her partner.

"Why can't I just let her go?"

The rest of her day she spent in this room. The next day was a similar story. And so was the day after that. She felt drained, restless and worst of all, broken. It was if a major part of her had been ripped away and left in a place she could never reach.

So she looked backwards, trying to find the point where the spark came.

They had met in a toy store.

At the time, Airu had managed to break away from her mother after an argument. It had been over something pointless, possibly over going to the toy store before the shoe store and vice-versa.

The adolescent's attention had been on the plushies. She was searching for something different from the usual teddy bears, dogs and cats. Occasionally, her gaze would fall on one of those pikachu plushes or perhaps an eevee, but it would never last. But then she saw her.

It had been an opossum, holding a bunch of balloons. Airu had probably passed that particular who know's how many times beforehand, always finding her attention drifting right over her.

But not the opossum.

From the moment she had been placed on the shelf, they knew. All it would take was the right situation.

In this case, that was the meeting of their eyes, refusing to let go as Airu's mother pulled her daughter away. Inside, they had felt each other's heartbeats, both of which seemed ready to skip about.

Airu made a decision in the seconds after that moment. She would get her hands on that plush. Then, she get to the bottom of this strange and unknown feeling that was felt within.

Of course, that was easier said than done. There was always some temptation right around the corner (usually sweets), but the adolescent persevered. And now, all that was left to do was to pay for her prize and be on her way.

There was just one problem. Sometime in between seeing that plush and saving up the necessary money, the plushes had been moved to a place just out of her reach. Which was kind of dick move in the eyes of a child. Nonetheless, Airu accepted this particular challenge and just climbed up. Which is great and all, if not for the fact that her weight nearly knocked the shelves down. On the bright side, it did get her the opossum unharmed.

"Is that all?" the cashier asked. Had Airu been paying a bit more attention, she might've noticed that they had given her back the wrong amount or that they slipped something extra. Better yet, maybe the fact that this man looked nothing like any of the other employees.

"Yep!"

But back then, such detail meant little to her. She had gotten the plush and could be on her way.

"There you are!" her mom had announced, only to notice the bag in Airu's hands. "What do you have here?"

Carefully, Airu had pulled out the opossum plush from the bag.

"Oh. Does she have a name?"

The question seemed to catch the new christened hunter off guard, but she took a deep breath.

"Opossummon."

Her answer seemed to catch her mother off guard, but she cracked a smile to hide it. After, they made their way out of the mall and down the long path home. Once there, Airu made her way upstairs to her room and gave little thought to her baby brother. She pulled the door open and set the bag down on her bed, pulling her plush out.

"Oh, it's you!" the plush announced and watched it's hunter fall to the group. "Sorry."

Airu carefully pulled herself up and did a double take.

"You can talk?" she remarked, getting a laugh in return.

"You knew my name, so I guess you knew what you were getting yourself into." the opossum continued and watched Airu shake her head. "I'm a digimon and your my partner, a hunter."

"Hunter?"

Opossummon let out a deep breath.

"Through our bond, we will grow." Opossummon continued. "Of course, this isn't my only form."

She closed her eyes and concentrated, with Airu watching her partner turn from a stuff animal to a full-on human girl.

"She's beautiful." Airu thought and placed a hand on her chest.

"Someone's frisky."

The hunter pulled it away, unaware of she had done wrong. It was only now that it occurred to her what she had done wrong.

If anything, the following years leading into her teenager years were like on cloud nine. Then the hunt came.

Had they been given the choice, the lovers would have played no part within this mess. But that was not what destiny entailed for them. If anything, that was probably the most frustrating thing about all of this.

"Ugh." Airu thought and began squirming around in her bed.

The cherry on top of this crappy sundae was Quartzmon. Just thinking about him made her want to just choke Ryouma out.

Almost on cue, her phone went off. Thankfully, it was not that idiot. She took a deep breath and let sleep take her in.

The next couple years were a rollercoaster for the former hunter, with her making an effort to move on with her life while at the same time keeping the option open of her partner coming back.

It was not without it's heartbreak... on the part of many boy's mind you.

"Have you really forgotten?"

"Maybe?"

"She has her eyes on one person and it's not you."

That didn't stop the boys from dancing the same moves in the hopes of insanity paying off. But it never did.

But outside of that, the world felt grey to Airu. Everything constantly felt off within and nothing seemed to soothe her soul. But as she stood under the starry night, something felt different.

"Oh a shooting star." she thought and closed her eyes, ready to make the only wish that seemed to vibrate about her head. "Please let the one I love come back to me."

After doing that, she casually made her way back inside to her apartment's bedroom. In the time that passed since her time as a hunter, the decor hadn't really changed that much. Sure, she had added a couple of girl band posters on the walls along side her plushes. A larger bed hung against the wall, built more for two than one. The final addition, was probably the most personal out of anything.

It was a suit of armor, modeled after the one her partner would wear. But unlike that one, Airu's had gone for a lavender color scheme with a feline face and ears on the helmet. Catlike paws served as her gauntlets, with the lower half being a similar story. She had debated adding a cat tail, but decided against it. A long rod with a cat paw had been placed beside it, awaiting the day it would get a proper use.

"One of these days." the former hunter thought and laid down, letting sleep take her in. She dreamed of adventures once more in the DigiQuartz, going about and hunting down the cutest digimon she and ChoHakkaimon could find. If this had been an actual hunt, it would have been the best hunt the duo had completed. And after it was done, they went out to diner. While the restaurant was not on the high end of luxury, it was more than affordable for the two.

They talked about everything under the sun, from their opinions on their teammates to the meaning of life itself. You know, the sort of stuff two friends on a date would chat about.

And when their meal reached it's end, they paid for the meal and went to the nearby park. There, the stars seemed to shine brighter than ever before. They watch them for as long as they could, or until they got cold.

Right around the time they would've left, the two girls leaned in and welcomed each other into their embrace. Their lips and energy seemed to dance about within their bodies. It made Airu want her partner even more, for just a little bit longer.

But just as they broke away, her eyes opened up.

"Ugh..." she thought and carefully got up, getting herself dressed right after. A bowl of cereal and a glass of juice later, she grabbed her bag and headed out.

The ride down the elevator felt different than usual. Airu couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly that it was, but her thoughts seemed to be focused on that dream.

All that was left to do was to make the short walk to school. Nothing possibly weird or out of the ordinary could poss-

Right on cue, the former hunter managed to bump into someone. Carefully, she pulled herself up and let her attention focus in on whoever she bumped into. But somewhere in the process, her heart had managed to skip a beat.

The person in question appeared to be a girl around her age, dressed in a black Qi Pao with pink flats and matching gloves. Her green hair had been cut short, with a pink pig hairpin included for some reason. Finishing off the look,

"Oh sorry." Airu remarked. "You just remind me of someone, that's all."

"Oh." the girl answered and cracked a smile. "I'm Chi. Today's my first day."

Her answer seemed to catch Airu off guard, but she took a deep breath.

"I can help you if you want." she suggested and watched the girl perk up.

"Really?" Chi asked.

"Really."

For some reason, Airu felt slightly warmer.

"So where do you come from?" she continued and watched her newfound friend freeze up. "Chi?"

"Uh... China! Yeah, China!" Chi answered and took a step back. For some reason, her gaze was focusing on Airu's purse. Which had a bright ball of light within it for some reason.

"Where are you actually from?" Airu inquired, letting out a deep breath right after. "No matter what you say, I'll believe you."

Chi let out a deep breath, her gaze falling to the ground. A million different things seemed to bounce about within her head, some of them good, some of them not so great.

"Can you keep a secret?" she whispered and carefully sat herself down.

"Yeah." Airu answered, sitting herself beside Chi.

"I'm not actually from this world, Airu." Chi started, ignoring the confused glance she had gotten from her friend. "It was like this world, but everything was covered in vines and/or overgrown."

For a brief second, Airu closed her eyes. She went backwards, looking upon her adventures back in middle school to find such a place. Her hands on the other hand, decided that now was a good time to dig through her purse and pull something out.

Her eyes opened up, finding the X loader in hand. If this was a sign, she would just going to take it.

"I'm sorry." the hunter whispered and tapped the device onto Chi. "This might hurt a little."

"It's alright." Chi answered as a grin formed on her face. "You're still as sharp as ever."

She planted a kiss on Airu's cheek right as the device lit up.

Beginning update process...

Chi began to grow transparent, with what appeared to be her data getting sucked up.

"Look on the bright side, I've returned." she joked and let a tear fall down her face. "I kept our promise."

Carefully, Airu wrapped her arms around the ultimate and grabbed hold.

"Yeah." the hunter answered and let a smile form on her face. "I'm glad that you did."

Chi faded away and Airu let her gaze focus on the X loader's screen. Carefully, she gave the screen a slight flick, bringing up Chi's image.

"I'll reload once we get to school." Airu explained. "You at least have your armor on hand, just in case?"

Chi gave a nod.

"Good. I have something to show you after school."

The walk to the school actually went quite well. Once there, Airu ducked into a nearby alley.

"Reload, Chi!"

Chi reappeared, collapsing on the ground.

"Ow." she whispered and dusted herself off. "Thanks."

"No problem."

What followed, was a quick walk to the girl's first class, which was math of all things. For both of them. Same teacher and everything.

"You rigged this, didn't you?"

Chi gave a nod.

"How else would I get to spend my time with you?" she remarked and blew a kiss. Carefully, Airu blew a kiss back as class began.

Right away, it was painfully clear that Chi had no place when it came to math. Or reading. Even World History was a pain in butt, unless it was on Journey to the West or just China in general. Though, she could make a mean meal if you gave her the right instructions.

"I'm guessing I need to act as your tutor?" Airu inquired and got a nervous laugh in return.

"Probably." Chi answered as they headed into the final class of the day, gym. "Though, I think I'll do well here."

Airu let out a sigh and made her way over to the girl's changing room, only for Chi to stand there.

"You need to change out for gym."

She watched the ultimate freeze up, which forced her to turn around and pull Chi in.

"I'll make this quick."

What followed, was the two girls getting changed out of their regular school clothes and into their gym equivalents. After, they returned to the gym to join their fellow students in a mix of aerobics and general fitness.

"Ugh." Airu whispered as the teacher went into the next round of splits.

"Something wrong?" Chi inquired.

"I just don't care for this particular exercise." Airu answered as she bent down, letting her legs slide across the ground. Chi copied her, to less than stellar results. "Are you alright?"

Chi gave a nod, getting a sigh of relief from her partner in return.

"Definitely not trying that anytime soon." the ultimate whispered as gym continued on, going through a variety of different activities. Eventually, the focus shifted away from exercises and to dodgeball, which was a far more enjoyable experience for both girls. Especially since it let them blow off some stress of today's events.

"We're almost done." Airu whispered as they made their way down the hall. After gym, they had switched back and were now making their way to the last class of the day. "How well are your acting skills?"

Chi put a finger on her lower lip, as if the words were just on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't push them.

"Uh..." the ultimate started and focused on Airu. "Not that good."

Airu let out a sigh and placed a hand on Chi's back.

"Same."

Both girls let out a chuckle and made a left, finding themselves right at the door to their next destination.

"Here goes nothing."

Carefully, the door was pushed open and revealed a large stage with bleachers opposite of it. A handful of boys and girls stood in a circle, talking among each other like old friends. The duo made their way over and pushed themselves in, right as the teacher made their appearance.

"Now that we're all here, let us begin." the teacher explained as their attention turned to Airu and Chi. "How about you two?"

"Crud." Airu whispered and let her gaze turn to Chi. Chi gave a nod back and their focus turn to the teacher. "What would you like from us?"

The teacher let out a laugh.

"A short scene, if you will."

Before Airu had a chance to react or even plan, Chi pulled her in and their lips met. What followed was a bit of a 'fun time' that one could argue was in fact real, not something scripted out of a play or movie. Energy seemed to surge between the two, with the taste of both cherry and orange seeming hang in between them for a couple seconds.

"Chi..." Airu whispered as they broke away. She took a deep breath, finding herself wanting her lips to be back on Chi's.

"Sorry." Chi answered, making an attempt to keep herself quiet so only she and Chi could hear it. "But we did give them a show."

She got a slight nod in return, followed by a smile. Thankfully, the rest of the class passed without issue.

"We did it!" Chi announced and got a sigh from Airu. "What?"

"It was a close one." Airu answered back and took the lead in their walk. "But you did it."

Chi gave a smile, only to be reloaded into the X Loader.

"Boo!"

Airu took a deep breath.

"While you're waiting, get your armor on."

Chi let out a groan.

"Okay," Chi answered and disappeared off the screen. After, Airu made the rest of the journey back to the apartment, fighting her conflicted feelings along the way. Sure, she loved her partner quite a bit but, was the spark still there between them? Was that what Chi had been trying to get across to her?

She took a deep breath and cracked a smile.

Whatever the answer was, something told her she already knew.

A quick walk up the stairs, Airu came to her apartment. She pushed the key in and turned the knob, pushing the door open. Once inside, she dropped her bags off in the corner and made her way towards the bedroom.

"This is it." she thought and stripped all the way down, letting her focus turn to the armor stand. "I really hope she loves this."

The first article came in the form of the dark blue swimsuit. She carefully slipped it on, taking the time to adjust it to fit her assets. Next came the styling of her hair, which meant applying a whole load of hairspray to keep it together. This was then followed by slapping on a black half mask with eyeholes.

"Phew."

She attached two purple belt bracelets to her right arm and slipped her legs into the bulky boots. Which brought her the tricky part of the costume. While she had some experience in rope-tying, Chi had been far better at it. Nonetheless, she persevered and got it secured. Which just left the helmet and the gauntlets.

"Here goes nothing."

Carefully, she slipped the helmet on and carefully adjusted it. If something went wrong with her hair, there was no real way to fix it. A deep breath and some more tying later, it was in place.

Airu slipped the gauntlets on and picked her X loader up. Which was a bit of a challenge, but she managed.

"Reload, Chi!"

The device glowed for a couple seconds, eventually bringing Chi forth onto the carpet. Gone was her casual clothes, having switched to her armor and rake during the walk back.

"What was it you wanted to sho-" she started, only to notice Airu's new outfit and staff. "Oh my."

She pulled her hunter in, carefully planting a kiss on Airu's cheek.

"If I knew this was how much you loved me, I would have come back sooner." Chi remarked as she found herself getting pulled in. "Want to go hunting in a bit?"

A nod, followed by a whisper.

"You're right." Chi remarked and thought for a second. "How about Ai?"

For a few seconds, Airu thought it over.

"I like it." she answered. "When were like this you're 'ChiHakkaimon and I'm 'AiHakkaimon'."

Chi gave a nod as the two broke away.

"I'm guessing that means you're ready to go hunting?" the digimon inquired to her partner.

"Yep."

Carefully, AiHakkaimon picked her X Loader up and slipped into a safe place. Had she been paying more attention, she would've noticed the device had turned purple to match her outfit. It was also updating it's information from the name change.

"Time Shift!"

The world around them was engulfed in white light, giving away to a familiar overgrown apocalypse. It felt familiar to the duo, like a place special only to the two of them.

Digimon of all sorts wandered about, some cute. Some not so much.

"A shame we can't use Parasimon as a mount." ChiHakkaimon remarked and got a giggle in return. She turned around, finding AiHakkaimon slightly hunched down. "Let me guess. You want to give me a piggyback ride?"

"Yep!" AiHakkaimon answered and felt her girlfriend get on. "Hold on."

ChiHakkaimon complied as AiHakkaimon stood back up.

"Still on?"

ChiHakkaimon flashed a thumbs-up.

"Onward!"

Carefully, AiHakkaimon made her way out into the hallway and down the stairs. Sure, there were a couple times that she nearly dropped ChiHakkaimon, but she managed to gracefully catch her.

"My turn." ChiHakkaimon remarked and got down, picking up her partner bridal-style. "Better?"

"Yeah." AiHakkaimon answered, giving a kiss in return. It felt natural to some extent, like they had been together for such a long time. But that couldn't be right. ChiHakkaimon had just returned, right? Sure, the events of earlier still hung a bit in her mind, but not as bad as they had been before. That seemed comforting now, serving as a reminder of how close they had been before.

At the bottom of the stairs, she set her girlfriend down and the two made their outside.

"Which way do you think?"

Both girls looked their options over. The eastern end of town was more on the traditional side, with a variety of generic partner digimon. While some of them were cute, it was more effort than it was worth.

To the west however, a variety of toy and games shops awaited, with the rumors of a large teddy bear terrorizing the place.

"West." ChiHakkaimon answered and AiHakkaimon handed her the X Loader. "Oh my. What's the special occasion?"

AiHakkaimon let out a chuckle.

"I thought you wanted to give it a try." her partner remarked and ChiHakkaimon cracked a smile. "We can do it on the trip back."

ChiHakkaimon gave a nod back and waved the device across her girlfriend.

"Digixros!" She announced and watched AiHakkaimon's icon appear. This was then followed by Parasimon's icon appearing. "AiHakkaimon! Parasimon!"

The two icons slid towards each other, eventually combining and bringing forth a cocoon of light.

"AiHakkaimon (Parasimon)!" a new voice announced and the cocoon dissipated, revealing a purple drider creature. The upper body of AiHakkaimon had remained intact, with her swimsuit mostly covering her human body. Her armor was gone for the moment, not that seemed to mind for the moment. Her lower half brought with it eight arachnid legs and a large abdomen for at least one person to ride on. "What do you think, ChiHakkaimon?"

She got another kiss, which she returned without jabbing her girlfriend with her fangs. After, she let her on.

"So the game stores first?" AiHakkaimon inquired and got a nod. "Understood."

She headed off, knowing the route quite well. That didn't stop her from getting the most out of her new form, though. And by that I mean scale the sides of buildings, maybe shoot out a couple electric shock and perhaps spin a heart-shaped web.

"I get that your having fun and all, but we have hunts to get on to." ChiHakkaimon remarked and got a groan in return. "What if there's a rare digimon that's also really cute?"

"Fine." AiHakkaimon answered as the game stores came into view. "I think I see something."

She came to a stop and let ChiHakkaimon off. After, she reverted back to her regular form with Parasimon returning to the X Loader.

"I guess it's pretty clear."

Their gazes focused on a nearby Monzaemon wreaking havoc.

"You can go first." ChiHakkaimon remarked and watched her girlfriend charge forth, cat paw staff in hand. She followed right behind, her rocket rake at the ready.

Eye Beam!

AiHakkaimon sidestepped to the right, easily dodging the laser blast from their opponent. ChiHakkaimon did something similar with similar results. After, they pulled their weapons back and jumped into the air, slamming them down in a single solid motion.

Dadada Minchi x2!

They followed it up with a series of blows until the teddy bear digimon was finished.

"Hunt Complete!" AiHakkaimon answered and swiped her X Loader, collecting Monzaemon. "Want to give it a try?"

ChiHakkaimon gave a nod.

"Xros up!" AiHakkaimon announced, watching ChiHakkaimon's icon to appear. This was then followed by Monzaemon's. "ChiHakkaimon, Monzaemon!"
Once more, a cocoon of light appeared and engulfed her girlfriend. The two icons slid into each other, combining with a satisfying 'click'. That signaled the end of the cocoon's lifespan, bringing forth a very large pink pig plush. "Oh my."

The cat berserker perked up, jumping up and down with a smile on her face.

"ChiHakkaimon (Monzaemon)!" her partner announced and noticed how AiHakkaimon was reacting. "One snuggle. Maybe two."

She got a nod and watched AiHakkaimon jump up. Carefully, she let her arms wrap around the digimon and let the warmth seep in.

"That feels so good!"

ChiHakkaimon gave a smile and carefully set her girlfriend - no lover down. After, she reverted back to normal.

"My turn?" AiHakkaimon remarked.

"Yep."

AiHakkaimon perked up and handed over the X Loader.

"Digixros!" her partner announced as the AiHakkaimon's icon appeared once more, followed by Monzaemon for a second time. "AiHakkaimon, Monzaemon!"

The two icons slid towards each other, bringing forth more light. Once the icons had combined, the cocoon dissipated and revealed a large cat plush in the style of Monzaemon.

"AiHakkaimon (Monzaemon)!"

"Aww..." ChiHakkaimon remarked and scurried up onto her lover's shoulder. "You don't mind, do you?"

AiHakkaimon shook her head, following it up with a smile. After, she began scanning the general area for their next hunt. Not that far from here, what appeared to be a gatomon and a mikemon appeared to be playing.

"Want to go after them next?" she suggested and got a nod in return.

Carefully, the plush digimon slowly made her way over, making sure to not freak their targets out.

Once she was in position, ChiHakkaimon carefully walked to the edge of AiHakkaimon's body and jumped. Mid-freefall, she pulled her rake out and pulled it back.

"Here goes nothing!" she announced and slammed the weapon down, watching it slam into the ground and defeated their two opponents. She gave them both a swipe, "Hunt Complete!"

After saying that, AiHakkaimon reverted back.

"We did it!" she announced and gave ChiHakkaimon a kiss.

"Yeah."

She made a glance towards the X Loader.

"Want to try another xros?"

She got a nod, only for it to be followed by a whisper.

"I like the way you think." AiHakkaimon answered, not at all noticing that there was now X Loaders. Though, they were both bound to the same pair, so it was a minor upgrade than anything else. "Digixros!"

ChiHakkaimon copied her, watching her icon appear with mikemon's. In AiHakkaimon's case, it was hers with gatomon's. After saying their names, they were engulfed in light.

"ChiHakkaimon (Mikemon), AiHakkaimon (Gatomon)!"

With that, the cocoon disappeared and revealed a pair of catgirls. Strangely, both girls seemed ecstatic.

"Want to go home?"

She got a nod and the two headed off. Compared to the walk back, it seemed a lot faster. Eventually, they made their way back up the stairs to the apartment and headed through the portal in their apartment.

"You're still here." AiHakkaimon whispered and let a tear fall, only for ChiHakkaimon to wipe it away. "I thought you would leave me after we got married."

But her wife shook her head.

"I'll always be there for you." she whispered, pulling her wife in as they collapsed onto the bed. "Forever and ever."

And with that, the worst day of Airu Suzaki's life came to an end. If anything, it signalled the start of the best day of AiHakkaimon's life.

Notes:

Not quite Pears and Cactus, but I like how this turned out. Though, I don't think this is last time we'll be seeing Airu and ChoHakkaimon. Just give it some time.