Standard Disclaimer: If I owned Digimon, the music would've been done by John Williams.
Author's Notes: Behold; this is Mantarou's time in the spotlight!
Begin!
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Chapter 9: Bonding (Mantarou)
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/Davis and Mantarou's Room, Inoue Apartment, Odaiba, Sunday, November 21st, 7:03 AM/
"Davish! Wakie wakie!"
Davis opened one eye to see Demiveemon standing on his face. "Hey…what are you doing…?"
"You've got to wake up! School's at 8 AM everyday! Remember?"
Davis frowned. "Demiveemon…"
The tiny In-Training continued to speak. "You told me to wake you up whenever your alarm didn't work! It didn't even go off at all today! So I'm trying to wake you up, and I did!"
"DEMIVEEMON," sternly said Davis, his voice still sounding slurred from having just woken up. "It's Sunday…I don't go to school today…"
This caused the little Digimon to sweatdrop. "…oh. I forgot."
Davis resisted the urge to facefault. "Eh…since I'm up anyway, I might as well go eat breakfast." The Child of Miracles pushed away the blankets covering his body and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Demiveemon hopped down after him and scampered behind his heels.
Davis Inoue lazily walked out of his room, his hand scratching his scalp in silence. He pulled his goggles out of the pocket of his boxers and placed them upon his head. As he walked into the kitchen, a somewhat laidback voice called out to him.
"Morning goggle-boy."
Davis looked ahead to see Mantarou sitting at the kitchen table, leaning back in his chair. He wore a white T-shirt and white boxer shorts: his nightclothes. His glasses sat loosely on his nose. He glanced at Davis and asked, "Sleep well?"
Davis just nodded quietly. In the days since he and Jun had moved in, Davis hadn't quite figured Mantarou out just yet. The 20-year old was something of an enigma; he appeared at first glance to be something of a lazy bum. His demeanor and laidback attitude seemed to scream that sort of thing. Yet, he was a hard-working college student, and he worked at the convenience store…but his calm, almost slack disposition seemed to counter that. Plus, unlike the stereotypical adolescent, Mantarou preferred to spend all of his time at home.
To be honest, Davis couldn't quite wrap his head around Mantarou. He was like a living, breathing paradox.
These thoughts continued to pound Davis as he pulled up a chair opposite of Mantarou and sat down. He quietly glanced down at the table in front of Mantarou; there were no dishes there. "Why are you sitting here? Aren't you going to eat?"
Mantarou nudged his head towards the kitchen. "Yolei and Chizuru are making breakfast."
Davis couldn't help but notice the strange look of minute disgust that crossed the older boy's face. "…I take it that's bad?"
"…their cooking is…less than desirable…" replied Mantarou. He quickly leaned forward and whispered, "They're making scrambled eggs and toast. Avoid Yolei's toast at all costs. When selecting your eggs, choose from the sides on Yolei's pan, and choose from the center on Chizuru's. Trust me."
Davis arched an eyebrow. "And…why are you telling me this? To get me the sour bits?"
"Nah. You're the new guy. Newbies get the perks," cracked Mantarou with a chuckle.
Davis blinked out of slight curiosity. "Uh…thanks…I think…" Man, why is this guy confusing me so much?
"BREAKFAST IS READY!"
Davis and Mantarou tilted their heads toward the kitchen. Yolei smiled happily as she walked towards the table, a spatula in her hands. "Come on and prepare your plates!"
Chizuru then walked towards the table, her face contorted into her same disenchanted look. "Come on boys," she said in her usual monotone voice. "Or else it'll get cold."
Davis sighed as he got up. "I guess I'll go first…" He walked into the kitchen…and froze. "…dang."
"What? Davis, if you're about to make a crack about my cooking, I don't want to hear it!" roared Yolei.
"They work fast," finished the Child of Miracles.
This caused expressions of confusion to cross Yolei and Chizuru's faces. They turned around…and saw two familiar Digimon scarfing down on the eggs and the toast.
Demiveemon and Poromon.
"YOU TWO?" shrieked Yolei. "GET AWAY FROM BREAKFAST!"
"Uh oh. We've been spotted!" exclaimed Poromon, his beak lined with bits of crumbling toast.
"Running time!" yelled Demiveemon. The two Digimon hopped down onto the floor and ran at high speed out of the kitchen.
Yolei, Chizuru, Davis, and Mantarou were silent.
Finally, Mantarou said, "Maybe we should just have cereal."
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/Inoue Convenience Store, Odaiba, 11:09 AM/
"Welcome to the Inoue Convenience Store!"
"Please take your time, and take what you need!"
Davis tilted his head backwards to see Demiveemon and Poromon greeting a new customer. Although the female adult was quite perplexed at the sight of the two In-Training Digimon, she went about her business in the store.
Davis sighed as he glanced through the freezer doors, searching for a drink. Since there was nothing else to do around here, he felt like going to the Digital World. Just for nostalgia's sake.
Ah. Here we go. He grabbed a Pepsi out of the freezer door and walked towards the front counter, fishing his pocket for change all the while.
The moment Davis got to the front counter, he put the Pepsi down, as well as the change. "One Pepsi please."
"Sure thing," commented Momoe. As she opened up the cash register, Davis asked, "Where's Mantarou?"
"In the supply room with mom and dad. They're reorganizing some things," replied the eldest daughter of the Inoue family.
"Oh," muttered Davis as Momoe counted his change. "…I have a question about Mantarou."
"Shoot."
"Well…I'm sort of confused. Mantarou doesn't act like most older kids. I mean, judging from how most teenagers are, I would've thought he wanted to get out of the house by now," commented Davis.
Momoe was silent. Then, she leaned closer and asked, "If you were old enough to go to college, would you want to stay home or move into a dorm?"
"Dorm! Definitely!" Davis smiled at the thought; moving into a dorm would be perfect! He wouldn't have to endure Yolei's presence anymore! Davis then stared at Momoe's eyes, expecting to see some kind of disappointment etched onto her face.
Instead, he saw a smile. Momoe then calmly said, "I see…well, I suppose you know what you want."
This caused Davis to raise an eyebrow out of confusion. "…okay…" He grabbed his Pepsi and looked at Demiveemon. "Yo! You want to come with me to the Digital World?"
"YEP!" yelled Demiveemon as he suddenly appeared on Davis' shoulder.
"WAH!" yelped Davis as he flinched; how did Demiveemon move so quickly like that? "Please don't do that again…"
"Sorry," apologized Demiveemon as Davis walked back upstairs toward the apartment.
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/File Island, Andromon's Factory, 11:31 AM/
To Davis' surprise, he had not emerged in the all-too familiar cave upon selecting File Island as his destination (thankfully, Yolei had not been in her room at the time, allowing him access to her computer). Instead, he had emerged atop a large veranda that was situated on a metallic tower. That tower was only one of many in a twisted maze of pipes, walls, corridors, and cylinders. Also, from above, one could see a number of Guardomon and Mechanorimon walking about the city, doing menial tasks. It was like a tremendous factory…but the Digiport Davis had emerged from had provided him a nice view. Apparently, the Guardians had been making new portals for moving between worlds, since many of them had been destroyed during the destructive dominion of the Digimon Emperor, UmbraDevimon, and Darkheart.
Davis sighed as he gazed out towards the center of File Island. The immediate area around the large metallic factory was like the barren cliffs that the Forbidden City sat on; desolate, rocky, and empty. However, the further his eyes gazed toward the center, he saw fields of grass and forests rise up. They were lush and beautiful…but it still couldn't take away from the horrific picture that was Infinity Mountain.
Or rather, what was left of it. During a heated battle between Tai's Wargreymon, Shaun's (Wargreymon), and their opponent Blackwargreymon, the mighty mountain had been reduced to rubble. To see something so mighty and tall fall into shambles…
"Veemon."
"Yes Davish?" asked Veemon. Speaking of Veemon, he had digivolved to Rookie immediately after entering the Digiworld, seeing as how he was more powerful in his place of origin.
"Do you think that we did more good than the bad that we caused?" asked Davis, his tone somber.
Veemon smiled innocently as he plopped down beside his partner, his tiny legs dangling over the metal platform. "Of course Davish! You guys did tons of good stuff! You defeated the Digimon Emperor, you defeated Chimeramon, you defeated UmbraDevimon, you defeated the Gravemon, you defeated Darkheart, you defeated Demon and his Demon Corps, and you even beat big bad BelialMyotismon! And what do you mean by 'bad'? You didn't cause any bad at all!"
Davis smiled slightly at his partner's innocence. "Well, Demon was technically absorbed by Myotismon so he could mega-digivolve…and as for what I mean by 'bad'…I mean everything those bad guys did to get at us. I mean, look at Infinity Mountain…and look at what happened to Odaiba!"
"So? Huanglongmon fixed Odaiba!" happily countered Veemon.
Davis didn't say anything. He just sighed again as he leaned back and glanced down his shirt; the Crest of Miracles – which was lodged squarely in his sternum – glistened a golden sheen as he looked at it, as if responding to his gaze.
He could still remember the pain he went through to claim the Crest of Miracles.
He could still remember the pain of his heart being shattered by UmbraDevimon's dark devices in the Digimon's attempt to corrupt.
He could still remember the pain he had inflicted as Darkheart.
He could still remember the pain his soul had endured when he learned that his parents were dead…
He could still…remember…the pain…
Davis subconsciously brought a hand up to his cheek. His gloved hand returned with a tear.
A bitter chuckle escaped his lips.
"Davish?" asked Veemon. "What's wrong?"
"Look at me…the leader of the New Digidestined…crying…" Darn it, don't cry, thought Davis as he mentally scolded himself. You're supposed to be strong…you're not supposed to cry…even though there's no one around to see you…well, there's Veemon…but he's my partner…so it'll be okay…right…?
So he cried, much to the shock of Veemon. "Davish! What's happening?"
"Nothing…I'm just acknowledging the fact that I'll never know what it's like to be part of a family again." Davis angrily pulled up his shirt, pointing at the Crest lodged in his chest. "Look at me! THIS ISN'T NORMAL! The other Digidestined got tags to hold their crests, but I had to use my freakin' SKIN! And when I was Darkheart, I nearly brought about the end of EVERYTHING!" A clenched fist angrily pounded the metal floor of the veranda. "And earlier today, I find myself wondering why I can't even figure out Mantarou…"
Davis turned towards Veemon, who was shocked to see nothing but sorrow in the boy's eyes. "Don't you get it? I may be an Inoue…but I can't adapt…they're not family. They're like strangers to me…how can they compare to my real family? There's only Jun now…but she's already settled into her spot as an Inoue nicely…"
He angrily pounded both fists as he cried at the sky. "SO WHY CAN'T I? WHY CAN'T I ADAPT? WHY CAN'T I FORGET MY PAIN? WHY!"
"You're quite loud, you know."
The mechanical voice caused Veemon and Davis to whirl around. Standing in the door that led to a way down the tower was a tall Digimon that stood at ten feet high. With the exception of his right leg, his left elbow, his left kneecap, and his face, shimmering light gray metal covered his entire body. The metal around his abdomen was segmented to give off the illusion of a 'six-pack', and his shoulder guards looked like metal human skulls. His arms were completely covered by silver metal, but a flexible dark metal covered the right elbow, whereas the left elbow was visible, showing his lavender skin. Also, his long hands differed in appearance; the left was made of silver, whereas the right was made of the dark metal. With the exception of bands of gray metal around the ankle and kneecap and some loose red wires dangling from tattered remains of dark fabric, the entire right leg was visible. The same couldn't be said for the left leg, which was covered completely by gray metal. His feet ended in three toes; however, the left one was covered by a metallic boot, whereas the right one was visible, revealing his three brown talons. More red wires dangled from his back, and two black wires dangled from the back of his head. Also, a metal mask fashioned like a skull covered his face; only his red eyes and humanoid mouth were visible.
"Who are you?" asked Veemon.
"I am Andromon, the proprietor of this factory. I work here with fellow machine Digimon, creating spare parts for other machine Digimon that need them." His red eyes stared quietly at Davis; he could recognize the tears. "What troubles you human?"
"None of your business," huffily said Davis.
The Ultimate Digimon frowned. Those goggles…that hair… "Are you Tai Kamiya?"
"WHAT? NO!" retorted Davis.
"Then you must be Davis Motomiya."
"First of all, it's Davis INOUE." Davis mentally cringed; the name STILL sounded horrible. "And second of all, how do you know my name?"
"We Digimon love to gossip," replied Andromon. "Word goes around that the leader of the new Digidestined is a goggle-boy with puffy hair, like Tai Kamiya of the older group."
"Wait! You know Tai?" asked Davis out of bewilderment.
Andromon nodded. "Of course. I am a dear friend of the Digidestined. However, I was under the impression Digidestined traveled as a group."
Davis snorted. "Eh…I'm just here with my partner for a little while."
"Apparently," stated Andromon.
Silence.
Finally, Veemon asked, "So…why are you here Andromon?"
"I heard voices, so I came to investigate. Why are you here?"
Veemon shrugged in reply. "I don't know. Ask Davish."
Davis was silent.
"Davish? Why won't you talk?"
"Because it's none of his business," muttered Davis.
Andromon calmly raised his finger. "Actually, my audio sensors picked up every word of your conversation. I am quite curious as to what you need help adapting with, however."
Davis froze. …this just isn't my day… "Look, I said it's none of your business!"
"I'm only trying to offer help," replied Andromon.
Davis said nothing…that is, until he stood up and pointed at the ruins of Infinity Mountain. "My life is like Infinity Mountain right now: in shambles. I don't think anything I can do can return my life back to the way it used to be…so there's no use trying to help."
Before Andromon could respond, his red eyes suddenly focused in on the air above the mountain's ruins. "Wait…my visual sensors detect a Guardian Beast hovering over Infinity Mountain's ruins. It's Baithumon!"
"BAITHUMON?" yelped Davis and Veemon out of surprise. Baithumon was one of the four Guardian Beasts: the White Tiger of the West. Davis and Veemon stared at the little speck in the air. What was Baithumon up to?
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Baithumon's four eyes stared at the ruinous mountain base quietly. "The rest of the island is in harmony…now there is only one last thing left to accomplish."
He roared as the metallic shin guards on his front legs glowed with white light. "VAJRA!" Lightning bolts erupted from his claws, arching downward towards the ground at blinding speed. In mere seconds, the bolts had burrowed under the mountain.
Then, a massive quake could be felt at the base of the mountain's ruins…and with surprising suddenness, a massive spire of rock and stone arose. It was easily as tall as the Infinity Mountain of old, if not larger.
Baithumon sighed with content at the sight. "Infinity…the Mountain of Eternity is whole once again…and thus, so is the whole island."
With his final goal accomplished, the Guardian Beast set off eastward towards Folder. There was more work to be done.
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"Neat," commented Veemon.
Davis was in absolute shock; for such a tremendous mountain to be brought up so quickly…was that the power of the Guardian Beasts?
"Apparently, a mountain is not such a difficult thing to resurrect after all," said Andromon with a small smile.
At this, Davis could only smile. "…yeah. Maybe so…"
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/Yolei's Room, Inoue Apartment, 12:05 PM/
"Ah…nothing like a nice relaxing bath to soothe the body," commented Yolei as she walked into her room. Her lavender hair was soaked, and her body was covered by a red bath robe and nothing more. She had to get changed. "Okay…let's see, what to wear…"
In a matter of minutes, she had chosen a purple T-shirt and a red skirt to wear. She quietly disrobed and-
FLASH!
Yolei yelped as a sudden flash of light erupted from her computer's monitor…and when the light faded, Davis and Demiveemon were on her floor, their faces implanted into the carpet. The Child of Caring immediately flushed red. WHAT…ARE…THEY…DOING…IN…HERE?
Davis groaned as he tried to get to his feet. Mental note: land on your feet next time. As he got to his feet, he raised his head just in time to see a fist crash into his face.
POW!
SMACK!
BAM!
DOOSH!
Davis and Demiveemon yelped as they were roughly kicked out of Yolei's room. The female stuck her head out the door, roared, "AND STAY OUT!" and immediately got back in, slamming the door shut.
Demiveemon grimaced as he sat up. "What was that for?"
Davis grumbled as he rubbed his aching forehead. Truthfully, all he had seen was Yolei's fist, so he didn't know why. "Who knows…"
At least he didn't have to use pepper spray on his eyes again.
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/Davis and Mantarou's Room, Inoue Apartment, 12:30 PM/
Davis sighed as he sat on the bunk bed in silence. Demiveemon was sitting on his pillow, taking a small nap. Man…I know I can beat this 'adaptation bug'…but how the heck does Jun do it? She's gotten along no problemo…how does she do it?
"Yo."
Davis tilted his head toward the door to see Mantarou standing in the doorway. "What're you doing in here?" asked the Child of Miracles.
"I'm on break…and seeing as how you're looking a little down on your luck, I think I've got a remedy for that." Mantarou immediately walked over to his closet and started burrowing through its innards.
Moments later, Davis saw Mantarou pulling out a large black console with a green dot in the middle. "What's that?"
"An Xbox," replied Mantarou.
Davis blinked out of surprise as Mantarou began hooking it up to his TV. "Xbox? You mean the American console? I thought it stunk."
"Nah. That's just what other people say. It's just biased against; after all, not everyone trusts an American console in Japan," replied Mantarou.
Davis got off the bed and walked towards Mantarou, an expression of curiosity on his face. "So why do YOU have one?"
"Well, when I was given the choice to buy one last year, I chose this one. It was something new and different…besides, it's the underdog! I can't help but love the underdog aspect," answered the eldest Inoue child. "Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find anyone at my college who's willing to play it with me. Guess they're just too prejudiced to play it. Once I beat the only game I have for it, I didn't have much reason to play it anymore. But since you look liked you needed some cheering up…"
Davis only blinked as Mantarou turned on his TV, and this Xbox. "…okay…" He frowned as he picked up the unfamiliar Controller-S. "Why'd you buy two controllers?"
Mantarou only smiled as he inserted Halo into the disc tray. "For the very eventuality that I would be able to play with someone."
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/Davis and Mantarou's Room, Inoue Apartment, 3:34 PM/
BANG!
"HAH! STUCK YOU!"
BADDABADDABADDA!
"Revenge is best served with lead!"
"Aw MAN!"
KABOOM!
"FEEL THE WRATH OF ROCKETS!"
"Owch."
Three hours had passed.
And Davis had completely forgotten about his problems. He was having too much fun to care. Mantarou looked pretty happy as well.
Thus far, Davis and Mantarou had played only multiplayer matches during the entire time. It had been a furious competition of Slayer, Oddball, and King-of-the-Hill matches.
Flying bullets.
Soaring grenades.
Roaring rockets.
Searing plasma.
Satisfying punches to the back.
It had been a blast. Man! This is the bomb! thought Davis with glee. Why the heck do people dislike the Xbox? This is awesome!
CHOOM!
"HAH! SNIPED YA!" cheered Davis.
Suddenly, the disembodied voice in the game said, "GAME OVER."
Mantaoru chuckled. "Heh…looks like you beat me again. That makes fifty wins for you, and thirty-nine for me. You learn quickly."
Davis couldn't help but smile cheerfully. "Heh…thanks." His expression suddenly turned a bit sad. "Still…why'd you offer to help me like this? I didn't ask you for any help."
This got an expression of amusement from Mantarou. "Do I have to answer this? We're brothers now. You were down. I helped you out. That's what brothers do."
That's when it clicked. Davis suddenly realized why Jun had been able to adapt so quickly.
It was because of Momoe, her best friend. She was such a good friend, that the two were practically like sisters anyway…so she had been able to adapt quickly. But Davis had had no one similar to bond to…
"Oh, I'm sorry. You're not ready for the whole 'brother' thing yet, are you? I understand; I'll wait until you're ready," suddenly said Mantarou.
Davis resisted the urge to get all mushy…but he did let one thought slip. …thanks Mantarou… "Eh, no need to say anything…"
SLAM.
Mantarou and Davis looked at the door to see none other than Momoe. "Oh big brother…" she said in a sing-song voice.
Then, the inner demon that seemed to be a characteristic of females in the Inoue family appeared. "YOU NEED TO GET BACK TO WORK!"
Mantarou suddenly sweatdropped. "…oh. Yeah. Heh…" He glanced at Davis. "I'll have to continue this later. It's been great playing with you Davis." Mantarou started to stand-
"Wait. Momoe, I want to play one last match with Mantarou."
Momoe sighed. "Fine…one more." She then turned around and walked away from the room. Mantarou blinked out of surprise as he sat back down…but then he smiled again. "So…still want to play?"
"Yes…but this time with a wager." Davis smirked as cracked his knuckles. "Here's the deal…if I win, you have to call me Davis. If I lose…you get to call me your brother."
Mantarou actually arched an eyebrow out of surprise. "Huh…interesting wager. Okay…I'm game. What are the rules of the game?"
"Slayer on Hang Em' High. Sniper rifle and pistols only. First to 25 kills wins. Ready?"
Mantarou grinned at the sight of Davis' cocky grin. "Yeah. I'm ready."
And so they played.
And Davis ended up losing.
However…he lost on purpose.
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To be continued…
Next time…
Chapter 10: Weirdest. Dream. Ever.
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Author's Notes: FINALLY! I finished it!
Oh, and as for the next chapter…many of you think I'm the best Digimon writer on FFnet today. I don't think so.
However…what happens if I write badly…on purpose?
Prepare for Davis' weirdest dream ever, which will consist of bad grammar, horrible clichés, terrible puns, and so many fan fiction clichés you'll want to die!
See you soon and please review!