Me: The third chapter, and response to reviews!
Drummaboy: You're still with me? Thanks! Merry belated Christmas! More Rukato, huh? Usually I don't plan on going with the type of fanfic where they're a couple, or all loved-up (that is so not a word), so…I guess we'll just see!
digimaniac (falkor3: Doesn't she! Yeah, I like Ruki too! I went so far as to making her a shrine-type thing on my website and stuff! It was crazy! Even my mother said so. It's weird how she went from being my least favourite character to my most favourite. I'm glad I like her now, though! ^_^ I was planning on actually finishing this before the new year, but as you can see, it didn't turn out that way. I've also been distracted by FFX. Oops! ^ ^;
Me: Well, this took a while! I had to dwell on how to write this, and I guess it's pretty obvious how this fic is not on schedule. -_-; Just think of it as Christmas/holiday/winter-type fanfiction.
Disclaimer: *sings* I don't own "Digimon"! *end singing* I have a bunch of "Digimon" merchandise however. Including "Tamer" bedding! Which, btw, features Takato, Ruki, their Digimon, Terriermon, and Culumon! Uhh…where's Jenrya? With a nice, Shinjuku background, bathed in a sunset/sunrise, including the Hypnos building! Wait, why am I telling you this again? .
Search for Santamon!!
Chapter 3: Find Santamon!
The Tamers and their Digimon were on their way to Guilmon's, along with Santamon. At least, that's what they had thought. While the they were playing around with Takato, Santamon somehow slipped away from their sight.
"How in the world did this happen!?" Hirokazu yelled. The Tamers were searching all around the surrounding park, for any trace of the missing Santamon. However, they were coming up short. "He was just here with us!"
"Yeah, well now he's not." Ruki emerged from her investigation of some shrubbery.
"How did this happen?" Jen placed a hand under his chin in thought. "It didn't seem like there was anyone around here; no one could have kidnapped him. There has to be some explanation…"
"I can't believe we lost Santamon!" Takato cried from up a tree. "I we don't find him soon, Christmas in the Digital World is ruined!"
"This 'no Christmas' stuff again?" Terriermon said. "If I know my Christmas specials, we should find him in no more than an hour."
"I hope so, Terriermon," Jen replied to his long-eared friend.
"Moumentai."
"There's so many footprints because of the kids who come to play in the snow," Kenta said as he examined the ground. "I can't tell which set of footprints belong to Santamon."
"Guilmon's nose is cold," Guilmon complained, rubbing his chilly snout.
"He must have wandered off farther away if he can't hear us calling him," Ruki thought up.
"In that case, maybe we should split up and look further into town," Jen suggested.
"Alright, I'll decide who goes where!" Hirokazu announced.
"What? Since when - ," Ruki started, but was interrupted by Hirokazu's voice.
"Guilmon will stay here near his shed in case Santamon comes back this way, while Renamon will do an aerial search from above. That leaves the rest of us to split up into pairs. I think we should just go off with our respective Digimon."
"Well, that makes enough sense," Kenta agreed with Hirokazu's logic.
"Wait a minute," Ruki had just thought of something. "If Guilmon's here; Renamon is searching from above; and the rest of you are going with your Digimon; then that means…"
"Yep!" Hirokazu grinned. "You and Takato will be searching together!"
"What!?" At that precise moment, Takato's body lost all sense of equilibrium, causing him to fall off the tree branch he was sitting on. He landed flat on his back in the snow. Slowly sitting up, he rubbed his sore back. "Ow…"
"Well, see you guys later! Good luck searching!" Hirokazu cried out to them, as he dragged Kenta, Jen, and their Digimon away from the two.
"Hey, hang on!" Ruki yelled, taking a step forward. "Get back here!" By the time she had finished that last sentence, they had already disappeared from her line of sight. Ruki sighed, and slowly turned around to see Takato get himself back up.
"Guilmon will go and look now!" Guilmon cried happily, and he bounded off onto the snow.
"Ruki, I'll start my search too," Renamon said to her Tamer.
"Wait, Renamon – ," but Renamon had already disappeared before she could finish.
"Uh… well, I guess we'll be looking together," Takato said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah," Ruki replied.
"So…" Takato was at a loss for words. "Um… where do you want to look first?"
"No where."
"Eh?"
"I want you to take me home."
"Ehh? But Ruki, what about Santamon? We need to look for him, or Christmas - "
"I know that, Takato! I just want to change out of these clothes."
"What? Since when did you care about - "
"I'm not walking around in damp clothing!" she said matter-of-factly.
"Oh! Of course! Eh heh heh heh!" Takato thought about how dumb he was being. He was the one who got her like that in the first place.
"Come on, let's go." She started to make off for her house.
"Yeah," he said before following after her.
***
Jen, Hirokazu, Kenta and their Digimon, were going down the snow covered street. Wait a second; weren't they supposed to have split up?
"So, Hirokazu," Kenta started, looking at his visor wearing friend. It was weird how Hirokazu wore his visor in any kind of weather.
"Yeah?"
"Was there any particular reason you split us up the way you did?"
"Eh? What do you mean? I thought it was brilliant! Who else would have thought of Guilmon staying with his short legs, Renamon searching from above because of her capabilities, and then us simply going with our Digimon?"
"I think he means the Takato and Ruki set up," Jen clarified for him.
"Oh, that…" he grinned.
"'Oh, that?' So, you did have something planned all along, didn't you?" Kenta asked him.
"Wow, Hirokazu," Terriermon admired his sadistic side. "Spill the beans!"
"Well, it was just that whole scene we saw just now," he thought. "I thought it was fun to see those two going at it like that, you know? So, I thought this chance would bring up even more insanity!" he cackled with glee.
"Um…okay…" Kenta sweat dropped, "but what's the point when we aren't there with them to see it?" Hirokazu was silent.
"Maybe Hirokazu wasn't as smart as I though," Terriermon murmured.
"Terriermon!" Jen scolded.
"AUGH! Oh no! We have to find them and follow them!" Hirokazu cried out in a panic. He began to run off, but Kenta and Jen grabbed his jacket.
"We can't do that!" Jen said firmly. "We have to look for Santamon! Besides, it's unethical to spy on our friends like that."
"Oh, come on, Jen!" Terriermon said playfully. "Where's your sense of fun?"
"Terriermon, we can't! What about Christmas?"
"Oh, right." Terriermon had nearly forgotten that amongst all the excitement.
"Ahhhh, I can't believe this…" Hirokazu moped as Jen and Kenta dragged him away.
***
"Grandma, I'm home," Ruki called out as she stepped through the door.
"Welcome back!" her grandmother called after her. "How was your walk?"
"Short-lived," Ruki replied, slipping off her boots and outdoor clothing. "A Digimon realized and I had to go after it."
"Are you okay?" Seiko came in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "Oh, Takato. Hello there," she smiled at him.
"Hello, Hata-san," Takato greeted the elderly woman.
"It turned out to be Santamon," Ruki continued on about the Digimon which appeared.
"Santamon?" Seiko questioned.
"I'll let Takato tell you about it," Ruki said, walking down the hallway to her room. "I'm going to change my clothes."
"Your clothes? What happened to the ones you're wearing now?" Seiko asked with interest.
"Takato can explain that too." Seiko turned towards Takato, waiting for an explanation
"Uhh…"
Ruki went straight to her closet when she entered her room, and threw the door open. She looked around for anything to wear. Anything would do really, as long as it kept her warm. It had to have her Ruki seal of approval though. Actually, maybe today she would take some time to think. Something in her favourite colour maybe? She simply decided to change into a dark blue sweater with a turtle neck and cords going down the front, and black corduroy pants. She picked up a pair of black socks too. Dark clothing during the winter was always good to keep warm. She wondered why some clothing companies made brightly coloured winter clothes. That didn't make much sense to her. Whoa, was Ruki Makino actually thinking about clothes? Maybe her mom and she had more in common than she thought. Ruki quickly shook the idea out of her head. She was just over speculating things. She tossed them onto her futon, and closed her door. She began to undress facing away from the door, throwing her clothes into the hamper.
Takato couldn't believe the situation he was in; the situation Ruki left him in. Then again, she was Ruki. His explanation of why and how Ruki got wet, was about to start; as much as he didn't want to tell it. Maybe he would just skip the part about hugging her? That wasn't really necessary, right?
"Uh…well…you see…" he stammered, wondering how to start this off. Seiko waited patiently for him to continue. Takato just sighed. He might as well get this over with. "Well, you see, I – ," but was cut off short by a young woman, bustling through the doorway.
"Phew, it sure is chilly out there!" It was Ruki's mother of course; the one and only model Rumiko Nonaka. "I just had to go pick up these sweaters, though, they were- Oh, company?" Rumiko just noticed Takato's presence.
"Hello, Nonaka-san," Takato slightly bowed. "I'm not staying long; I'm just waiting for Ruki."
"Ruki-chan?" Rumiko looked a bit puzzled. "I thought she went on a walk? That was around the same time I left home."
"Well, she came back home with me," Takato explained. "She just went for a change of clothes."
"Clothes?" Rumiko continued to look confused. Why would her daughter want a change of clothes? She never really cared about that stuff. She came up with the only thought she could think of to make her daughter want to do something like that. "So, you found her; asked her to go out somewhere nice; and she wants to dress up for it?"
"What!?" Takato was taken completely by surprise. How in the world did she come up with something like that? Was she trying to imply something? "No, she just got wet in the snow!" he said quickly.
"The snow? How did that happen?"
"Oh, er…"
"Oh! I know!" Takato looked up at Rumiko's sudden exclamation. "Can you bring this to her?" She rustled around in the shopping bag she was carrying, and brought out what looked like a light blue sweater. "If she's changing, she might as well try this on for me!" she said cheerfully.
"Uh…oh…okay," Takato said, wondering why Ruki's mother didn't decide to do the task herself. He took the soft clothing in his hands, and headed to Ruki's room.
"He's a nice boy," Rumiko thought out loud.
"Yes," her mother agreed with her.
Takato walked down the hallway to Ruki's room, listening to the padded sound his feet made on the wooden floor. His thoughts traveled back to the sweater he was holding. He rubbed the material between his fingers. It really was soft. It reminded him of the kind of material stuffed toys for babies were made out of. Ruki was most definitely not a baby though. He thought she was quite mature for her age. Then again, there were times when she would act childish herself. Takato smiled at that. A childish Ruki; what an amusing thought. He liked that side of her though; he liked all the sides to the Digimon Queen.
He reached the door to Ruki's room, and was about to knock, but then he noticed that the door wasn't closed all the way. He decided to just call out for Ruki through the crack, so he placed his head closer to it. That's when he accidentally peered inside, seeing something moving. Looking more carefully at the figure, he realized that it was Ruki (A/N: Duh!), and she was… changing her clothes! Takato nearly gasped when he saw her bare back, and was beginning to work on her lower half. Blushing deeply, he quickly spun around to avert his eyes. The lack of friction caused by his socks however, made him crash into the door, pushing it wide open. Ruki whirled around, covering herself quickly, to find Takato laying in her room's entranceway. Takato tilted his head up to see Ruki, half-dressed and blushing like mad.
"TAKATO!?!?!" Everything after that was a blur, as Ruki screamed, beat him, threw him out of her room, and slammed the door shut. Takato ended up facedown in the snow, still clutching onto Ruki's new sweater.
A small, "Ow," was all he could muster, as he lifted his head up, then let it fall in the snow again.
***
Jen and the others were wandering around a sort of sweets store. It was warm and bright inside, the place smelling of spices and freshly baked goods. It was quite quaint, with its wooden floors, and the candy bordered around the whole room. In the middle were pies, cookies, and tarts, reminding Jen of Christmas, and how his mother would try to bake goods as delicious as these. The scent filled his senses and felt at one with the place. That wasn't to say that he had forgotten his real objective though.
"Guys, why are we here?" he asked the others. After Hirokazu had gotten over his "mistake," they passed by this store and convinced the others to go in with him.
"To look for Santamon of course!" Hirokazu stated clearly. "Isn't that we're supposed to be doing?"
"Why a shop like this, though?" Kenta inquired, picking up a mince meat pie. MarineAngemon flew next to him, observing the food he held.
"Well, you know that tradition of leaving out cookies for Santa?" Hirokazu said. They both nodded. "Well, I thought that Santamon might be interested in some of the stuff here," he replied, spreading his arms out.
"He doesn't look like he's here to me," Jen stated. "I'm sure there would be a fuss over a Santa being here."
"Can't be too sure," Hirokazu responded, eyeing the free samples. "I'll go deeper into the shop," he said, before taking off with Guardromon to the back of the store. The others just stared after him. Jen sighed.
"I'm going to check some other place," he informed Kenta.
"Alright," Kenta understood. "I'll go look with Hirokazu, and we'll leave as soon as we don't find anything." Jen nodded.
"Aww, can't we stay just a little longer?" Terriermon whined, as he lifted up a candy cane with one of his ears.
"We'll come back some other time," Jen told him, turning to head for the door. Kenta took a step forward to look for his friends, as the bell on the door rang, signaling Jen and Terriermon's departure.
***
Back at Ruki's house, Takato was sitting at the table, gingerly tending to his wounds. Sitting there, he realized how beautifully decorated the home was. It was quite festive. There were wreathes and tinsel hanging on the walls; candles placed in strategic areas, and ribbon tied around the stair's railing. It amazed him how this family could do all this.
Behind him, the Christmas tree was situated in a corner, decorated with ornaments of all kinds, and tinsel was strewn about it. On the top sat an angel, dressed in a white gown. The angel held a horn, ready to announce the reason for the festivities. Below the tree, he saw the presents Ruki and her family had wrapped that same day. Curiously, he wandered over to the gifts, wondering if there was one for him. Sure enough, he scanned over them, and found his name on one of them. Taking a closer look, he found that it was from Ruki. He smiled, but then his face fell as he remembered what had just happened.
"Geez, I'm such an idiot!" He banged his head on the table, immediately pulling his head back up from the instant pain. As he rubbed his forehead, he looked at the top of the doorway, noticing something dangling from it. 'Mistletoe…' he thought. He thought about what it would be like, seeing each of the Tamers' parents caught under there. Husband and wife… that would be fun to see. Well, Ruki's mother wouldn't be there with her father. Ruki actually never told any of the other Tamers about her father. Was it because she didn't know much about her father herself, or did she just plain not want to talk about it? Well, he didn't want to pry if she didn't want to tell; and that was fine by him. Just then, Ruki's grandmother came in.
"How are you, dear?" she asked him. Rumiko and Seiko had rushed over, after hearing Ruki's cry. When they got there, they found Takato in the snow, bruised and sore. They thought about asking him what happened, but the obvious came to mind. Oh, dear. Hopefully, things would work themselves out.
"I'm fine," Takato answered her, placing his arms on the table. "How's Ruki?" he reluctantly asked.
"She's talking with her mother right now." Seiko sat herself next to the young boy.
"Oh," was all that came out of his mouth. Seiko looked at Takato thoughtfully.
"Ruki wouldn't stay mad at you, you know?" she assured the goggled youth. "She's not like that. Even when she resented her mother she still cared about her. I could tell."
"Really?" She nodded. "Well, I know Ruki's not like that. She's actually a really caring person, like when she rescued Impmon in the Digital World. None of us thought about him, but she did. She went after him, risking her only chance back here to get him. I made sure she got back though. I waited, and she came, pulling me up with Kyubimon." He lowered his head slightly. "But I still feel bad; I should have been more careful." Seiko's look was showed that she felt sorry for Takato. She knew things would be fine in the end though. These kids could get through anything. She noticed the sweater her daughter had bought for Ruki, sitting on the table.
"Do you want to help me wrap Ruki's sweater?"
"Eh?" Takato looked up. "Are you sure that's okay?"
"I'm sure my daughter won't mind," Seiko assured him.
"Takato's such a moron!" Ruki yelled. She was sitting on her futon with her comforter wrapped around her. It was her shield in case anything similar to what just happened, happened again.
"Dear, it was just an accident." Ruki's mother sat in her room with her, trying to be reasonable with the young girl.
"I don't care! He saw!" Ruki pulled her comforter in tighter.
"It was still an accident. Besides, I'm sure he'll forget about it sooner or later." She moved to touch Ruki's comforter, but Ruki quickly tugged it away in protest.
"No he won't! He's a boy! Boys don't forget stuff like that!"
"But he's not just any boy, is he?" Ruki took a moment to think about this. She thought about Takato, how he acted, and everything they went through together as Tamers. Takato was… different. Ruki slowly lowered her comforter, revealing her clothed self to the world.
"I guess not," she decided. Her mother smiled at her brightly.
"So, do you forgive him?" she asked, still smiling.
"I suppose," Ruki replied through a slight blush.
"Great!" Rumiko rose from the floor. "Let's go see him then!" she said, sliding the door open. She let Ruki through first, and followed after her. As they walked down the hallway, Rumiko thought up a little question for Ruki. "So…" Ruki turned to face her mother, "is he the kind of person you're looking for in a boyfriend?" Ruki's eyes widened at her mother's question.
"MOM!"
Takato and Seiko looked up. They thought they heard a noise echoing down the hall. They turned and saw Rumiko and Ruki through the doorway. "Rumiko, did you hear something?" Seiko asked her daughter.
"Hm? Not me," she simply said smiling. Ruki redirected her eyes to the side of the room. Takato thought she looked a bit flushed. Ruki noticed him staring at her, so turned her gaze on him.
"Erk!" Takato squeaked, looking to where she previously was gazing.
"Oh, wait!" Rumiko said all of a sudden. The others looked at her. Rumiko faced Ruki, then gestured upwards. Ruki looked up, to see the mistletoe hanging above the doorway. After that realization, she felt her mother hug her and kiss her on the cheek.
"Mom, cut that out!" Ruki broke away from her mother, feeling rather embarrassed. Don't forget that Takato is there too!
"Can't break tradition!" Rumiko smiled at her. Ruki just stared at her, rubbing her face. She sighed.
"Takato," she called for him. Takato sat up straight at the sound of his name. "Let's get going," she said, and walked out of the room.
"Er, right!" Takato said, and went after the auburn haired girl.
Rukato– *cough* I mean, Takato and Ruki, were strolling through the snow, on their way to begin searching for Santamon. Takato thought Ruki would start showing her anger at him after they left her house, but she didn't. She was silent. He looked at her but her face was impassive. Okay, so he would have to start something.
"Um, Ruki," he hesitated.
"Hm?"
"Um, about what happened-," but Ruki cut in before he could finish.
"Forget it."
"Eh?"
"It's okay," she paused, slightly tilting her head downwards. "I forgive you."
"Um, are you sure?" She nodded. They walked a little further until… "I still want to say sorry!" Takato stopped in his tracks and turned to face Ruki. She stopped as well, looking at him curiously. He slapped his hands together, and bowed over. "I apologize so much! Please forgive me!" Ruki continued staring at him. Not hearing a response, Takato slowly opened one of his eyes. When he lifted his head up, he was met with a block of snow dropped onto his head. "Augh!" He stooped over, since the weight of the snow forced him down. Vigorously brushing the snow out of his hair, he looked up to see Ruki smirking at him.
"I already told you that I forgave you," she said. "How about we just call it even now?"
"But- "
"Do you want another one dropped on your goggled head?"
"N-no! That's okay!" he quickly replied, getting back up.
"Let's go then," she smiled. Takato stared at her, but then returned the smile.
"Alright, let's!" he cried, bounding off ahead of her.
"Hey!"
***
Taking Hirokazu's idea of Santamon's interests into consideration, Jen found himself wandering around a toy store. He wasn't sure if he was going to find him here. The place was crowded with last-minute shoppers, bustling about with their carts, grabbing various products from the shelves. He had already gotten shoved around a couple of times; no way Santamon would want to be here. The walls were pretty bare, and Jen's doubts began getting stronger.
"Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all," Jen said. He subconsciously kept an eye out for anything Digimon related.
"You mean your idea sucked? That's a first!" Terriermon was in Jen's arms, so as not to be toppled over by anyone who brushed by.
"Terriermon!" Jen scolded his Digimon, not noticing that he drew some attention towards himself.
"Oh, my!" Jen looked up to see a woman come up to him, paying more attention to what he had in his arms. "That stuffed animal looks so real!" she exclaimed with giddiness. "Can I see?"
"Um, well…" but the woman had already lifted Terriermon out of his arms.
"It's so soft and warm!" she hugged Terriermon to her body, squeezing the life out of Terriermon. Jen looked worriedly at his Digimon partner. He hoped he would be able to hold out. Well, he had enough experience with Shuichon, so…
"Oh!" Before either of then knew it, a whole group of people were surrounding them, examining Terriermon. "Is that one of those plush Digimon things? My nephew is crazy about them!" one woman exclaimed, rubbing one of Terriermon's ears.
"Yeah, especially since that thing with the D-Reaper," said a man with a beard.
"I know, those kids were so brave," said another woman.
"Where can I get one of these?" Jen was so overwhelmed, and people kept passing Terriermon around. He hoped he wouldn't lose track of him.
"Um, actually…" Jen started, "the thing about that 'plush toy,' is that-"
"Wait! Aren't you one of those kids who were involved with D-Reaper?" someone recognized him. Jen froze, his eyes searching frantically for Terriermon.
"Um…" When he caught sight of him being hugged at the neck by a teenage girl, he rushed over and seized him back. "Er, sorry, gotta go!" he quickly said over his shoulder, running for the door.
"Hey, wait!" The people wished that he would come back, but their commotion had apparently scared the boy off.
Outside the store, Jen jogged down the sidewalk, in case anyone was following him. When he was sure no one was, he slowed down into a walk. Catching his breath, he asked Terriermon if he was okay.
Looking a little dazed, Terriermon responded, "I'm fine… it just felt like I got the Shuichon treatment when she was on sugar." Jen laughed at his friend's statement.
"I'm sure Lopmon's keeping her busy right now," he thought out loud.
"Yeah, lucky Lopmon," Terriermon said sarcastically.
"Come on, let's look somewhere else."
***
Takato and Ruki seemed to be wandering around aimlessly about the snow. Absorbed in each other's company, they just passed by various spots, glancing as they went by. No solid plan of action… which was weird, considering they were Tamers and who they were.
"Um, where are we going?" Takato broke the silence.
"What? I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"Well, you're 'Mister Creativity'. Shouldn't you know where Santamon might be?"
"Well, you're the Digimon Queen, strategist extraordinaire. Shouldn't you have a plan?"
"You didn't exactly ask me to think of one."
"Why do I have to ask you? Just say it! You're usually like that anyways, Miss Aggressive."
"Aggressive? I'll show you aggressive!" Ruki started stomping towards Takato. Slowly backing away, he wondered if he shouldn't have said what he said. Before he could think of the things Ruki might do to him, a white blur whizzed past him. Regaining his sight, he saw that the white thing had attached itself to Ruki's face. Takato smiled as he realized that the 'white thing' was actually a familiar Digimon friend. Yep, it was Culumon, rubbing his nose against Ruki's. "Culumon!" Ruki exclaimed, pulling the hyper Digimon off her face. "What are you doing here?"
"Visiting before Ruki's party, culu!" the former catalyst happily replied. "Your nose is cold; maybe Culumon should rub it some more?" Culumon started to rise himself up, before Ruki brought him back down.
"Hey no; it's fine. You are warm though," she responded, looking down at him kindly.
"Then Culumon will stay here to keep you warm!"
"Alright, then," she smiled. "Doesn't Juri wonder where you are though?"
"Nope, culu! Juri let's Culumon roam free, culu lu!" he spread his ears out like a bird about to take off. He wrapped them around Ruki, and she giggled. Takato just continued to look on. 'She really is the Digimon Queen,' he thought to himself. Ruki looked up, startling him.
Quickly thinking, Takato said, "Um, how about we go in here?" He gestured to the place they were standing in front of." Ruki turned around to see that they were in front of a mall.
"The mall?" she gazed up at the towering structure.
"Yeah, why not?" Ruki didn't really like malls; too claustrophobic and dull for her tastes. Might as well give it a shot though, right?
"Fine," was her reply, and they made they way inside.
***
As Ruki expected, the mall was crowded. That was the bad thing about the holidays. Everyone was off work or school, so they all go out. She sighed as she tried to make her way through the crowd, avoiding crashing into people. Culumon didn't seem to enjoy the chance of being squashed either, so she tried her best to protect him. Takato was trying to stay close so as not to lose her. Maybe a bit to close… As he strode to one side, he bumped into her, getting in close enough to take in her scent.
'Whoa, she smells nice,' he thought. 'Like fresh flowers… or something like that. What do I know? I wonder what kind of shampoo she uses…'
"Takato!"
"Ahhh!" he shouted, being knocked out of his thoughts.
"Watch where you're going," Ruki advised him.
"O-oh yeah. Sorry about that. Eh heh heh…" Takato rubbed the back of his head.
"Takato! Ruki!" a new, yet familiar voice called. They searched for the owner of the voice, finding it to belong to Hirokazu. He came running up to them, with Kenta close behind. "Good, it is you," he panted once he got to them. "For a second, I thought you were some couple with a baby," he grinned. "Hey, Culumon!" Culumon beamed. Takato and Ruki blushed, but Ruki soon threatened Hirokazu. "Hey, hey, what? I just said 'thought'," he sweated.
"We found Santamon!" Kenta interrupted the scene.
"You did?" Takato said surprised.
"Yeah, Jen's with him now, come on!" Kenta and Hirokazu took them to the center of the mall, where sure enough, there was Santamon. He was seated at Santa's Village, where there was a long lineup of children, waiting to tell 'Santa' what they wanted for Christmas. He seemed to be quite a hit, especially whenever he pulled treats out of no where for them.
"Jen!" Takato caught sight of his best friend. Jen waved over to him. "What happened?"
"Apparently, Santamon's taking the place of the regular Santa, who got sick. He overheard in the park some kids talking about how they couldn't meet him because of that. Being Santamon of course, he came here to volunteer to take his place," Jen explained to them.
"He should of told us before he left," Terriermon complained.
"No time to explain when a child's wishes are at stake I guess," Jen replied back.
"Well, we have to get him back to the Digital World soon," Ruki said urgently.
"Just let him finish this," Takato responded. "It is Christmas after all," he smiled.
"Oh, please," she waved her hand.
"I know you agree."
"Maybe…" She smiled, as did Culumon.
"Culu!"
***
"Sorry for making you all worry," Santamon apologized as they reached the portal in Guilmon's shed. Guilmon had fallen asleep in his search, and was curled up inside his home.
"Oh, it's alright," Takato assured him, waving his hands in front of him.
"Yeah, we really needed the extra holiday stress."
"Terriermon!"
"Nothing like a little holiday peril-"
"Terriermon!!"
"Well, I still wish to make up for the trouble…" Then the thought came to Santamon. "Oh! A wish!" The Tamers and Digimon looked at him curiously. "I'll give each of you a wish!" He reached into his sack, but Takato put his hand over it.
"It's fine, Santamon. We're all quite happy with what we have now. I don't think there's anything we could think of to make us happier than we already are, so there's no need for a wish." He smiled up at Santamon, and Santamon smiled back.
"Well, if you all agree." The others nodded with contentment. "Alright!" Santamon slung his bag over his shoulder. "I'll be off then; have to make it in time for Christmas in the Digital World!"
"Gee, really? We didn't know that…"
"Terriermon!"
With a tap of his nose, Santamon stepped into the portal, back to the Digital World.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Me: Well, I found that chapter pretty bad, but I couldn't really think of anything to write. Nevertheless, review onegai!