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"Least Favorite Digital Monster"
It wasn't all that often that a fight left Agumon more confused than anything else. Fighting was pure instinct, something that thinking didn't play a part in. Some fights were tougher than others, naturally, and sometimes involved coming up with a strategy, but there wasn't much thought involved beyond that.
Watching the fight going on in front of him, however, Agumon was left with a mess of questions circling around in his brain. The day had started off simple enough, with him and Marcus catching a rumor of a lone Digimon who was making it his mission to become the next king of the Digital World. This wasn't anything new in the aftermath of King Drasil's fall, but was worth the two of them looking into at the very least.
After some searching, they found the subject of these rumors: a red Rookie that called himself Shoutmon. At first glance, Shoutmon didn't seem like much of a threat, other than being a bit rowdy. He was disturbing the local Digimon, however, so Marcus hadn't hesitated to step in and straighten things out. The only issue was that negotiating wasn't one of Marcus' strengths, so it was only a matter of time before fists were flying.
The latest in a series of punches pushed Marcus backward. He stayed on his feet, but paused to catch his breath.
"Are you sure you don't want me to tag in, Boss?" Agumon asked. His claws got itchy when they idled for too long.
"I got this," Marcus answered, much to Agumon's disappointment.
Shoutmon shot forward with his fist out, but Marcus didn't even try to move out of the way. When the punch connected, this time hitting his forehead, Marcus didn't so much as flinch. After pausing for a split second so the moment would sink in for Shoutmon, Marcus counterattacked, landing an uppercut that sent his opponent flying backwards.
Again, Agumon could not figure out what was going on here. Shoutmon clearly didn't pose a threat to the rebuilding of the Digital World, but had somehow managed to gain himself a reputation. Not only that, but Marcus seemed invested in this fight for whatever reason.
"That the best you got?" Shoutmon growled as he picked himself back up.
"Not even close." Marcus stood up straight and crossed his arms. "I've met In-Training level Digimon that hit harder than you."
Shoutmon somehow managed to get even redder as he stomped his foot on the ground. He ran towards Marcus and attacked again and again, though Marcus was able to block and deflect most of the strikes.
"Listen closely." Marcus caught one of Shoutmon's fists and held him in place. "You're not the first Digimon to try and take advantage of the power vacuum, and I'm not about to let you be the first to succeed."
"I'm not trying to take advantage!" Shoutmon yelled back. "I'm just trying to make my home a better place!"
Everyone went quiet for a few seconds, with Marcus locking eyes with his opponent. Best Agumon could tell, they were studying each other, sizing one another up to prepare for the next round.
"Oh yeah..." Marcus began slowly, a neutral expression on his face. "And what if I was trying to take advantage. What if I decided that, right now, I was going to take over the Digital World and make everyone in it my slaves? What would you do then?"
Shoutmon only grunted and shook at first, anger so plainly visible that there was no way for Agumon to miss it. After simmering for a few more seconds, Shoutmon ripped his arm away and jumped upwards so that he was eye-level with Marcus.
"Then I'd stop you!"
Shoutmon's fist connected Marcus' face, sending him crashing to the ground. The only thing that kept Agumon from jumping right in was getting a look at his partner's face.
As Marcus stood back up, he didn't even try to hide the grin on his face.
Marcus' commitment started to make more sense to Agumon. He couldn't be sure until he asked about it later, but Marcus seemed like he was taking a liking to Shoutmon. While chances were that Marcus wasn't about endorse him for the Digital World's next king, he was at least impressed by the Rookie's fighting spirit.
Marcus didn't say any of this, of course, instead just planting his feet and adopting a fighting stance that would let his fists do the talking.
Author's Note:
Played a bit more loosely with the canon on this one, as I was having a little trouble getting it started. Part of the problem is me really not having a least favorite Digimon (Shoutmon got the spot for being representative of the art style and gimmicks that have kept me from watching Fusions/Xros Wars), and I didn't make things better by deciding to make this a Data Squad entry (which as we all know by now, there are next to no legitimate ways of rewatching it nowadays).