Disclaimer: Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: The Bearers of His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

Author's Notes: Hi everyone! Here's something I haven't done in a while! Two author's notes in the beginning in a row. I'm a little surprised by the number of you who are still with me for this story as it continues. I love you guys for sticking with me and can't wait to hear your thoughts on the story as it continues. Here's some stuff I forgot to mention in the last set of author's notes - the story is going to have plenty of inconsistencies. That's normal. You'll pick up on them right away and that's intended because of the nature of the story; which I can't get into because spoilers. ENJOY!

The Tamer v2.0: The Bearers of His Name

Chapter 2: The School Monster

Hikari "Kari" Kamiya walked into the small noodle stall in a quieter end of Shinjuku and parked herself in the first stool she saw. Behind the counter, her childhood friend Davis Motomiya looked up with a smile on his bearded face, "Hey Kari! Usual?"

"Yeah," she nodded, trying to nurse a headache by massaging her temple but still managing a smile for him. Along with being friends since they were kids, they'd dated in the past but broke off their relationship after high school. Their relationship hadn't soured - rather they realized their lives were taking them in different directions. She wanted to be a teacher and was getting ready to go to school while he had made plans to open a small noodle cart that he'd run with his sister as a co-owner. They were still amicable and she'd often come to visit if she'd had a particularly rough day at work.

He slid a bowl of pork chashu ramen her way and asked, "So how's the class? You still having trouble with those two students? What were their names...Takato and Kazuhiro, right?"

"Yeah. Kazu's not interested in anything besides that card game and Takato's...well he's sort of like a weird cross between you and Takeru," she answered before sipping at the broth. Davis raised an eyebrow, "How's that?"

She scratched her head as she thought about how to phrase her answer and said, "It's like he's got TK's dumb luck and his mouth, but he's got your dress sense and attitude. Honestly, I think he has ADHD but I don't want to take him to a doctor on a hunch."

"That bad, huh?" Davis asked, busily wiping down the counter now but still finding the time to add, "But it sounds like he and I would get along. Maybe he's got my looks too."

Kari nodded in agreement, "Yeah, if you hadn't always tried to spike your hair. Today he came in late and tried to sneak in, but it was hard to miss how loud he was being. I caught him right away and then he tried to argue that he didn't do anything wrong - he tried to say we were early!"

Davis laughed at the story, "Damn, I'd sock him if he were my kid."

"Sometimes I want to smack him with the text book," Kari added with just the slightest hint of frustration as she confessed to a hard truth, "Man, I kinda feel bad for all the trouble we caused our teachers when we were that age: sneaking out of class, disappearing for hours at time. At least told our parents what we were doing."

"We had more important things to do," Davis reminded her. Then she fell quiet again. Davis and her stared into each other's eyes - both thinking the same thing but neither wanting to be the one to go there. Then Davis asked, "Do you ever miss them?"

Kari nodded quietly and answered, "Every day. But what good would come of worrying about it? Besides, if you think about it, not seeing them again is sort of a good thing. If we haven't seen them, that means that they're okay and everything's fine, right?"

"What makes you so sure that's true?" he asked. Kari shrugged, ashamed to admit what she truly thought, "Wishful thinking mostly. To be honest, there are day that I'm scared where the whole Digital World is going to hell and we're not there for them."

"Have you heard anything from TK?" Davis asked sheepishly, in his attempt to change the topic but realizing that he'd only brought up another sore topic. Kari paused at that question. She really hadn't - not since his last book came out. It took a while but his novelizations of their adventures became best sellers, spawning a TV show, and a card game that caught on with kids. Despite being a celebrity, he quietly disappeared into obscurity - some people thought he was just working on his next book. But Kari knew better than that - it wasn't like him to disappear, "Not in a while. I worry about him too. He always seemed a little paranoid after...well...but it wasn't like him to just disappear."

Davis stared back at uneasily. So she changed the subject, "How's the wife?"

"She and my sister hang out too much, but our son likes playing with his cousin," Davis answered quietly, "So I can't complain too much about it. Speaking of kids-"

"No," Kari stopped him there, "And we're not discussing that."

Davis paused, realizing he might've stepped too far. And yet, that did nothing to stop him from making it worse, "Then how's the ex?"

Kari wanted to be mad at first. He knew her last break up was also another touchy subject. Then she relented when she considered Davis meant nothing by it. Years after they'd first met and he still wasn't very good with this kind of thing. So she made a joke of it and talked about him instead, "We still talk. He makes me ramen every time I come over and it's always good."

Davis laughed and added, "And he gives it to you half price."

That evening, Rika went out with her new partner. Thankfully, they lived in a secluded neighborhood and it wasn't hard to get to the local park without getting noticed. Not that it would've mattered because Renamon had some uncanny ability to disappear and reappear at a moment's notice, like she was simply turning invisible.

She took a seat at a nearby bench and asked, "Renamon, why do you need me to become stronger?"

Her partner appeared beside her with arms crossed and explained, "Any digimon can be raised to greatness with a partner. And if your skill is as good as they say, then we can become unstoppable."

"But why?" Rika asked more seriously. Renamon paused as if considering the question before answering, "It is the way of the Digital World. The weak die so the strong may live. New life grows and challenges the strong. That is always how it's been."

Rika raised an eyebrow at that before pointing out, "You make it sound like the Digital World is some messed up game."

"Perhaps," Renamon answered, "But it has been that way for a long time. Since the gates closed and the Digital World was made truly free. There is some semblance of order - strong digimon create their own little kingdoms. But it's ever long before someone else comes along to destroy it. Then the new strong digimon start over with their own lands."

"Sounds rough," Rika nodded just as her digivice started to whistle. She looked down to examine it and jumped in surprise when she saw a new image on screen resembling a radar. And it was pointing her at something, "What gives?"

"I sense a digimon is entering your world," Renamon answered, turning her head in the direction that Rika's radar was beeping. Rika swallowed a forming lump in her throat, shaking from a mix of anticipation and anxiety, "R-right. Let's go."

The two of them ran further into the park, in the direction of a tennis court that was slowly being consumed by a dense fog. Rika pauses and looked at her partner, "Renamon?"

"A Digital Field," Renamon explained, throwing herself forward to defend her partner, "It's how digimon appear in the Human World. Be ready, Rika. We will have to fight!"

"G-got it," Rika nodded, nervous and just as easily excited for her first battle. As the fog grew thicker, her eyes began to sting and she needed to squint just to be able to see clearly. They saw the outline of a digimon that was just a head taller than herself, made taller by the spiky hair atop its head and long gorilla arms. Just by the outline, Rika recognized the digimon, "It's a Goblimon!"

"What should I do, Rika?" her partner asked quickly. Rika looked over at the fox with a stunned look on her face, "You're asking me?"

"You're the tamer, here. Tell me what I need to do to win and I'll do it," Renamon answered. Rika nodded her understanding and watched Goblimon stomp forward angrily. They were both rookies, and one hit would be all Goblimon would need to defeat Renamon. But if she could use that disappearing act of hers to her advantage, she'd be untouchable. She shouted, "Keep moving Renamon! Don't let him touch you!"

"Understood," Renamon took off just as Goblimon brought his club down. As Rika figures, he was too slow to actually keep up with her. And that meant she could put him on the ropes. Goblimon continued to swing his club wildly, chasing Renamon as she leapt around the park. A few times, she would let him get close so that she could kick him before leaping away. As fast as she was, Goblimon was just too strong for her to take down quickly.

She looked down at her digivice. It had been her card reader just last night. It may have changed shape, but there was no reason it wouldn't still work. She didn't have her deck but she did have a few spare cards left over from a booster pack she'd bought earlier that day. When she examined them for the one she needed and found it, she smiled with an intense glee she hadn't felt before. With a quick swipe of the card, Rika shouted, "Strength Boost Activate!"

Goblimon brought his club down on Renamon, and was dismayed to see her catch it between her palms. He was more dismayed as he watched her throw it back full force upon his head. The first hit knocked Goblimon silly. Then Renamon followed through by kicking hard into his chest to push herself into the air. Rika cheered and added, "Alright Renamon! Let's end this!"

Renamon complied and brought her hands together to summon a hundred crystals around her with. She shouted, "Diamond storm!"

The crystals shot themselves at Goblimon, ripping the rookie digimon apart until he disintegrated into a cloud of tiny data specks. The bits and pieces of data hovered in the air and Rika's jaw dropped. It was just like in the shows and books she'd read. Once the Goblimon was defeated, he'd become data. They hadn't mentioned that digimon could absorb it though, which was exactly what Renamon did as the data all coalesced around her. The yellow fox took a moment to steady herself once she finished, and noticed Rika staring at her. The fox put a hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright, Rika?"

"Yeah, just startled," she answered nervously, still trying to process what she saw. Renamon had absorbed the data from the defeated Goblimon. This was nothing like the show or the books. It took her a moment but she was able to steady her nerves and compliment her partner, "Great work."

"Thank you, tamer," she nodded. Rika suddenly felt drained despite not having done much. Maybe it was the adrenaline wearing off after being caught up in the middle of a fight. Either way, all she wanted was to lie down in her bed, "Let's go home."

Henry unzipped his backpack so that Terriermon could poke his head out to breathe. The little digimon gasped for breath, "Couldn't you have put in a few air holes?"

"Sorry Terriermon. We're in school now so you need to keep quiet," Henry reminded him only for the little digimon to frown, "Can't I make a little noise?"

"Do you want me to start leaving you at home with Suzie?" he asked back. He saw the look of terror on Terriermon's face as he recalled how his little sister had dressed him up in a pink dress and called him Princess Pretty Pants. Henry told him he'd have to hold perfectly still like a doll whenever his family was around. And having to endure his treatment as a doll for his little sister. would've been too much for the digimon. He sighed, "I'll be good. But I want extra helpings of food tonight."

"Deal," Henry answered. Then Terriermon's nose twitched and he turned his head to the side, "Do you smell that?"

"Smell what?" Henry looked around the half empty class nervously. He could smell the kids who'd obviously skipped baths that day but nothing else. Terriermon replies at above a whisper, "I smell a digimon."

Henry looked around nervously, unsure of where his partner would be smelling that that before asking, "Are you sure you're not smelling yourself?"

Terriermon nodded and said at just above a whisper, "Very funny. Wait. That's not good. I smell two."

Juri made her way to the nurse's office to lie down after a long and tired night left her unable to sleep. She could barely focus in class and Miss Asaji took notice right away. After explaining what happened, the nurse told her to take as much time as she needed to sleep.

Despite being dead tired, Juri found herself unable to fall asleep and ended up laying in bed for a while with her eyes closed. Part of her kept thinking back to that dream she'd had. The strange person who saved her from destiny, and the horrible monster that chased her. What could it all mean?

While she thought on this, she heard the nurse's foot steps as she stepped out for a minute. She was alone now. So why did she hear a rattling noise? Her eyes opened as she looked around the nurse's office. She was alone, except for the soft rattling. Juri raised a curious eyebrow as she followed the noise to its source - the medicine cabinet just above the nurse's desk. She continued on, trying her best to put on a brave face until she was in front of it.

The rattling grew louder inside, and her heart began to race as she considered what could be inside. In fear, she grabbed the first thing she found in reach and armed herself - with a broom. Whatever was in there would find itself in for a world of hurt. She reached out a free hand and slid open the cabinet only to find pill bottles, gauze, and boxes of band aids. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad to see it was just her imagination when she noticed something move just behind the pill bottles.

Something small, with big round eyes staring up at her. It let out a small squeak and flew out of the medicine cabinet - past Juri and scurrying along the floor until it was under the bed. Juri did the only thing she could think of and screamed at the top of her lungs, "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

At that exact moment, the nurse returned from her errand and rushed inside, "What's going on in here?"

Juri pointed under the bed, "A monster! It jumped out of the medicine cabinet and ran under the bed!"

The nurse's face soured, "A monster? Don't be ridiculous! It's probably a rat or something. Give me that!"

She snatched the broom away and made her way over to the bed, "Let's see. Where'd you go? Come out, come out, wherever you are. AH-HAH!"

She jabbed the broom under the bed and rattled it around until the little critter came scurrying out of the bed. It stopped in the middle of the room and seemed to glare at the nurse for a second. Then it spoke, "What was that for you big meany? That hurt!"

Juri's mouth fell open and the nurse dropped the broom in disbelief. Then they shrieked together at the same time, "IT TALKED!"

"RUN!"

Both ran out of the room and slammed the door shut behind them, terrified by whatever it was they just saw. Their screaming attracted attention from the surrounding classrooms and a few teachers came outside to investigate. The commotion even attracted the principal who came to investigate from his office, "What is going on out here?"

"There's a thing in my office!" the nurse explained in a panic, "This thing the size of my head! It crawled out from under the bed!"

"Calm down," the principal said, "It was just a bug. There's no need to cause a scene!"

"It wasn't a bug!" the nurse spat back angrily, "It was hairy!"

"Then it was probably a mouse," he reasoned only to be rebuked, "MICE DON'T TALK! It called me a meanie and it looked right at me."

The principal looked her square in the eye and instructed, "Calm down! Obviously you're stressed and imagined it. Just take a deep breath and-"

"Stressed? Then how do you explain this!" she slid the door open for the principal to look. He stepped inside and took one look around before answering, "I don't see anything. Listen. Why don't you take a break and get some water. Maybe clear your head with a small walk?"

"I didn't imagine it! Juri saw it too, didn't you?" the nurse insisted. The principal looked at Juri with a raised eyebrow before turning his attention back to the nurse, "This has gone on long enough. I order you to end this nonsense and take a break. The same goes for the rest of you! Return to your classes at once."

As the crowd dispersed, Juri looked back into the nurse's office - at the open medicine cabinet and the bed she'd been lying on. Something was off but she couldn't place it. And then she noticed one small detail the principal had missed - the window was open. The monster had gotten out. Before she could point that out, the principal had dragged the nurse into his office and left Juri alone in the hall. Except for one other person - Takato Matsuda.

There was something different about him today, although she couldn't quite place it. Then it hit her! He was wearing a pair of yellow goggles on his head now. When had he gotten those? As she mulled it over, he ran up to her and asked, "Are you all right Juri?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine Takato," she stammered, "I...guess I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

Takato's face twisted into a worried expression and he asked, "What did you see?"

"What?" Juri paused. Takato added, "It didn't happen to look like a dinosaur did it?"

Juri shook her head in surprise by the question, "No...what? Why?"

Takato's face seemed more relaxed but he didn't answer Juri's question. And that made her nervous, "Wait, Takato. Did you have something to do with this?"

"Huh, oh, just curious," Takato answered as he waved her off, "Don't worry about it. I have to um...go help grade homework. No, that's too ridiculous. You'd never buy that. Um...I have to go to the bathroom. I'll see you back in class."

And then he ran off without another word. Juri massaged her temple and looked back into the nurse's office one more time in case something else was there. Nothing. She sighed and made her way back to class, not at all rested and now certain she was losing her mind. Unbeknownst to her, someone else had been listening in on their conversation.

Henry poked his head around the corner in time for Terriermon to poke his head out of the bag, "What do you think? Are you going to follow the kid?"

"Will you please keep it quiet," Henry reminded his partner only to be asked more quietly, "Well, are you?"

"We should check it out," Henry answered quietly, poking his head out to make sure the coast was clear before following in the direction of the Takato kid. He'd heard of him before. He was something of a troublemaker in his class but never maliciously. It was more like he'd run into trouble and stumble his way out only to get into more trouble. He was sure it was rumors until he'd witnessed the boy lie to another student's face, admit it was a lie, and then come up with a less believable lie. All while talking out loud to the person he was lying to.

As he followed Takato's direction, he quietly asked his partner, "I love the digimon games Terriermon, but I've never heard of a red dinosaur digimon that could fit inside a school."

"Maybe it's a small Tyrannomon?" Terriermon offered.

"That can fit under a bed?" Henry shot back. Terriermon added, "A very small Tyrannomon."

Henry groaned and continued on until he found his way outside, towards the kitchen in a separate building where students would go to help make lunch for their classes. To his delight, and the cooks' dismay, all the food had been eaten for the day as well as several days worth of ingredients. Henry was satisfied to hear that, "I guess that means no stale bread or extra spicy curry for a couple of days. Remind me to thank the digimon whenever we find it."

"That digimon's gotta be as big as a balloon if he ate all that food. There's no way we can miss it," Terriermon added slyly. Henry shook his head, "You said you smelled two digimon, right? This one has got to be unrelated."

"How are you so sure?" Terriermon asked and Henry explained, "I'm supposed to believe one digimon went from the nurse's office to the kitchen, ate that much food and then vanished in the space of about two minutes? Yeah right."

"So where do we go now?" Terriermon asked. Right on cue, Henry noticed Takato sneaking by the kitchen and towards a box that was moving on its own towards the gymnasium. Henry blinked again. So not only was Takato bad at lying, he was bad at hiding his digimon. A large innocuous box that could move would definitely draw more attention. He pointed at it, "We follow that. If Takato has a digimon, we'd better go talk to him."

"This kid has to be terrible at everything he does," Terriermon reasoned.

He ran off and Terriermon yelped inside of his backpack, bouncing around and complaining, "Henry! Slow down! I'm hitting everything in here!"

"We can't lose either of them Terriermon," Henry answered, continuing after the boy and the moving box with a tail. He eventually caught up to Takato standing alone in the middle of the soccer field with one hand scratching the back of his head and mumbling to himself, "How did I lose a box? It's not like it's hard to miss, especially with his tail sticking out. Guilmon, where did you go?"

Henry stopped just short of Takato, noticing the boy still hadn't noticed he was there and tapped him on the shoulder. Takato jumped in surprise, turning to see Henry there and exclaiming, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Henry raised an eyebrow and folded his arms, trying to decide how to begin, "Hey, did you...lose a digimon?"

"Digimon?"

"Yeah, you said Guilmon," Henry added, "You have a digimon too, don't you?"

"I have a deck of digimon cards," Takato answered, retrieving a deck of cards from his pocket, "I lost one and I'm trying to find it. It was in a box if you see it."

Henry couldn't believe his ears. Takato was lying to his face. Then again, he had no reason to trust Henry so he tried a different approach and opened up his bag, "It's okay. I have a digimon too. This is my friend Terriermon."

Takato peered into the bag and seemed unimpressed. Henry looked inside the bag and saw Terriermon lying still. Unconscious, probably from having been jostled around inside his bag so much. Takato nodded, "That's a very life like doll you have there. Its cool. Where'd you get it?"

"No, he's just out of it," Henry answered, trying to write his partner, "Terriermon! Terriermon! Come on buddy, don't do this to me. Terriermon."

As he tried to wake his partner in vain, he noticed Takato's eyes shift into something behind him. Then they widened in surprise. He nodded towards Henry, "Must dash. I just saw my friend but we can talk about digimon later. Bye!"

He dashed off and Henry watched him disappear around a corner. Henry sighed and looked back down at Terriermon. He couldn't lose the kid so he slipped Terriermon out of his bag before giving chase again, "Hey wait!"

It was too late by that point. Somehow, he managed to lose Takato just as the boy rounded a corner. Henry had no idea how anyone could move that fast or disappear that quickly. He scanned the school yard again to make sure he hadn't lost them before sighing, and making his way back inside. At that moment, Terriermon jolted awake in his arms, "I'm up! What'd I miss?"

"Not much," Henry answered, "I caught up to Takato but he didn't believe you were real because you were out cold. Then he ran off and I don't know where he went."

"You're not great at this," Terriermon replied matter of factly. Henry groaned and quietly snuck back into the school to avoid drawing any more attention, all while whispering, "You're just as new at this as I am."

"Not really. In the DigiWorld, you'd be dead by now because you can't track and you can't hide," Terriermon replied. This only served to discourage Henry further. In truth, Terriermon was probably the only one who had any knowledge when it would come to this kind of thing. His nose was the one that began the whole tracking thing too.

"Moumantai," Terriermon replied. Henry blinked upon hearing that and looked down at the digimon poking his head out of his bag. He asked, "Where'd you hear that?"

"It's a thing all Terriermon way," he replied, "Some Terriermon a long time ago started saying it. It caught on. Now we all say it."

Henry blinked, recalling a similar line in the digimon books he'd read, "You do know that's a word in the human world, right?"

"Is it?" Terriermon asked curiously, "That sounds silly."

Henry crowned at his partner's carefree attitude, "It's not. It's Cantonese and it means relax. You don't happen to know where that Terriermon learned it, do you?"

"Nah," Terriermon shook his head dismissively, "That Terriermon was alive a long time ago. If they're still around, they'd be as wrinkly as your dad."

Henry stifled a laugh as he made his way back to the classroom.

At the end of the school day that day, Rika departed her school and wandered over to the nearest park. Mostly, she just wanted to get off the street so she could talk to her partner. She could feel her partner's presence all around her that day. And when her partner suddenly appeared beside her, Rika asked, "How do you do that Renamon? That whole disappearing-reappearing act. It's weird."

"You mean my leaping?" Renamon replied, "I suppose that's how it would seem to you. For me, I'm simply leaping from one place to the next. But it's possible it's too fast for you to properly perceive."

Rika nodded quietly and turned to her partner, "Great. You move so quick that no one can see you do it. That means our enemies will never see what they have coming their way. But that still doesn't mean much if you can't hurt your enemy. Yesterday, Goblimon would've taken you down if I didn't-"

She stopped when Renamon held up a finger and looked off to the side. Rika froze and turned her head in the same direction, unsure of what Renamon had sensed. Then Renamon answered, "Someone is coming. Not a digimon, the smell is different."

"Crap, hide!" Rika began, only to look back and see that Renamon had already vanished - leaving her alone in the woods. Then she looked back in the direction Renamon had stared to see a woman jogging her way. Despite the warm weather they'd had for a few days, this jogger was decked out in thick sweat pants and a sweater. And the heat showed on how heavily she was sweating. Rika stepped back to get out of her way, only to see the woman stop; jogging in place in front of her. She turned her head and asked, "What are you doing out here by yourself sweetheart? It's way too dangerous to be in a park alone."

"Whatever, mind your own business," Rika scowled, annoyed at this woman for even thinking to talk to her. She pocketed her hands and walked in the direction the jogger came down while the jogger continued her jog. Once she'd reached a more secluded area with a shrine, Rika spoke again, "I think we're safe, Renamon."

"Why was that woman running?" her partner asked. Rika mulled the question over and realized Renamon had probably only seen digimon running for their lives, "She was jogging. It's a thing people do. Some people do it for training; but if I had to guess, she was doing it for appearance's sake. She wants to look all pretty and runs to keep the weight off. It's stupid."

"So she runs to make herself appear more beautiful?" Renamon tilted her head in confusion, "Human behavior is weird."

"Tell me about it," Rika sighed in agreement.

The female jogger reached the other end of the park where an unmarked white van sat on the side of the street. She knocked on its door and it popped open a crack to reveal a blonde haired man in shades and a suit waiting for her. The man asked, "Is the park clear, Tally?"

"Mostly. One little girl but she should be out of there by now. I told her to leave," the jogger replied. The man nodded and slid the door wide open so that a team in full hazmat suits could step out. Three of them carried Geiger-counters while the other two were armed with assault rifles. The man in shades instructed, "Scan the park and secure the target. We need it alive so non-lethal shots only. And move fast. I don't want Burnt Leaf interfering in this operation again."

"Yes sir," the men said as they rushed into the forest. The blonde haired man removed his shades and massaged the bridge of his nose. The woman looked back at him and asked, "Are you alright, sir?"

"Yes, just another long night. And I think I see another one coming," he replied quietly, "Whenever we get back to headquarters, make some coffee."

"Of course sir," she nodded, looking back into the park and wondering what their chances were. They'd lost plenty of operatives in operations like this. Hopefully, they wouldn't lose another.

Author's Notes: Who are these strange men and what are they after in the park? Will Rika and Renamon be okay? What was the strange creature that Juri found in the nurse's office? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name which comes out next Friday January 18th at 8 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section - I love all your thoughts and constructive criticism too! Don't forget to favorite the story to show support and follow to keep up with all the latest updates! And don't forget, the story is now crossposting to Archive of Our Own if that site is more your style. That's all for now, so let's jump right into previews for the next chapter:

She paused, turning her head and stating, "Five more just entered the park. No, there's six."

"More digimon?" she asked. Renamon shook her head and began, "No. More humans. I think. This feels different. We should go."

"Why?" Rika asked just as her partner vanished. Rika stood up and looked around her, unsure of what her partner had defected to get her so worked up. The forest surrounding the shrine was coear and that made Rika nervous. Just as she was sure her partner had imagined things, she heard a rustling in the bushes behind her. She spun around and called out, "Who's there? Come out!"

When she got no reply, she called again, "I'm not kidding! Come out!"

Still nothing. She picked up a stone from the ground and threw it into the bushes. She heard a yelp and a short boy with a blue hoodie and khaki shorts poked his head out. What immediately struck Rika was the pair of yellow goggles he was wearing on his head. With tears in his eye, the boy massaged his head and grumbled, "Ow! What was that for?"