"You're ..." started Hirokazu, looking at the little amphibian-like digimon.
"Yes, I'm Gekomon," introduced the digimon.
"I remember you. How's everything?" asked Hirokazu.
"All good. I thought I saw someone familiar so... It's been a while, Guardromon!" greeted Gekomon turning towards the machine digimon.
"Indeed it has! Hope everyone is well?"
"Yes, they are! And this is..." asked the frog-like digimon, looking at Culumon.
"I'm Culumon, Culu!" greeted the little digimon with a sweet smile.
"You mean... Culumon as in the digimon with the key to evolution?"
"Yup! Yup!" said Culumon, glowing with pride. If Gekomon's eyes grew any wider, they would have popped out of his sockets.
"I-I can't believe our luck!" cried Gekomon.
"What do you mean?" asked Hirokazu. "Did something happen?"
"Well, our village was attacked by a Mamemon. We are now forced to be slaves to it!"
"Then Guardromon and I will drive it away, right Guardromon?" declared Hirokazu, glancing at his partner.
"But of course!" replied Guardromon.
"I wonder if you can... that Mamemon is insanely strong..." stated Gekomon, sadly.
"Don't worry! Now that we're here, we'll surely free your village! Now lead us to it, Gekomon!"
"Well, you tamers are our only hope..." Saying so, Gekomon lead the trio to the village. It took them 30 minutes to reach. What they saw made Hirokazu gasp in shock. The huts were razored to the ground, many Gekomon and Tamamon were all sprawled on the ground, all in chains. Some were beaten black and blue while others looked like they were starved. There a concrete dome in the centre were terrified screams could be heard.
"T-This is horrible!" said Hirokazu, shaking in anger. "That Mamemon is not gonna get away with this! Let's go Guardromon!" Together, they charged into the dome.
"Wait for me, culu!" said Culumon, running after them with Gekomon following closely.
Once they were inside the dome, Hirokazu yelled, "MAMEMON! WHERE ARE YOU? SHOW YOURSELF!"
"WHO DARES DISTURB ME?" boomed a voice.
"THE ONE WHO IS HERE TO END YOUR TERROR AGAINST THE DIGIMON OF THIS VILLAGE!" countered Hirokazu.
"Oh, really? Let's see you try and beat me!" sneered the voice.
A flash of light hurled in their direction. Guardromon managed to push his partner out of the way in the nick of time. Culumon ran up to Hirokazu, while gekomon stayed outside the entrance.
"Destruction Grenade!" yelled Guardromon while launching missiles into the darkness. Sounds of explosions followed soon after. A part of the dome caved in, allowing a stream of light inside the dome. It was then that they made out the body of the round metal ball-like digimon. It's eyes had a dark glow.
"You think you can beat me? Well then think again!" cried Mamemon, charging straight at Guardromon. Before the tank digimon could react, Mamemon began knocking him around with his 'One-Two Rush.' The punches were so fast that Guardromon was barely able to keep up.
"Guardromon!" cried Hirokazu. He pulled out a set of cards and slashed one.
"Card Slash! Brave shield!"
Wargreymon's shield appeared before Guardromon, shielding him from the punches. Mamemon ended up being rebounded by his attack. Hirokazu slashed two more cards. "Card Slash! Boost chip! Hagane no drill (steel drill)!"
As power surged through Guardromon's body, his arms turned into drills and he began his counterattack. "Go, get him Guardromon!" cheered Hirokazu.
"Leave it to me, Hirokazu!" said his partner as he pushed back Mamemon. He managed to knock the metalball against the wall. "It's over, Mamemon! You can't win as long as I have my partner!" said Guardromon.
"I'm not going to be beaten by a puny champion level digimon..." growled Mamemon, standing up. A dark aura surrounded him, sending chills down Hirokazu's spine. 'Something's not right... I know Mamemon's an ultimate but even the most notorious of them normal back down when cornered.'
"Smiley bomb!" Mamemon's huge arms aimed at Guardromon exploded on contact. Guadromon tried to stand his guard but Mamemon didn't give him time to recover. The metal digimon used 'strike upper' knocking Guardromon down with an uppercut.
"Guardromon!" cried Hirokazu running up to his partner.
"Hiro...kazu..."
"Please hang in there buddy!"
"How touching! For a pair of fools! Did you really think you could beat me, an ultimate with just a champion?" sneered Mamemon. "Try digivolving why don't ya? Oh, wait. You guys are the loser duo of the tamers who can't even do that!" Hirokazu felt a sharp pang inside. He had hoped that after becoming a teenager, entering digimon tournaments, he had become stronger. Not to mention that it was Ryo Akiyama, the legendary tamer, who was mentoring him! Hirokazu felt himself lose confidence. 'He's right... What have I been doing all these years? I wanted to catch up with Takato and the others but I always ended up having to be protected...Perhaps I am the one holding Guardromon back...'
As if on cue, Mamemon continued, "Such a waste that you ended up with this guy as a partner, Guardromon."
"D..don't you dare... bad-mouth... Hirokazu" said Guardromon, slowly standing up. "He will make me digivolve. I believe in him!"
"Guardromon..."
"It's not just me but your mentor too! Ryo believes in you too, Hirokazu!" assured Guardromon.
Hirokazu recalled the words of his mentor. It was a time when he had lost at the finals in the digimon tournament that year. His opponent had called him a loser and Hirokazu was bitter by the loss. He didn't know how to face his mentor again when Ryo clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't let the words of other people bog you down, Hirokazu. I have watched you grow and know how much stronger you have become. Believe in yourself and in your strength. I'm sure you'll win next year!"
As the words of his mentor reverberated in his mind, Hirokazu felt his confidence coming back. "We won't lose! Let's do this, Guardromon!" said Hirokazu.
"Culu!" cheered Culumon. The little triangle on his head began to glow, as did one of the cards on Hirokazu's deck. It changed into a blue card.
"Hirokazu!" cried his partner excitedly. Hirokazu nodded, slashing the card.
"CARD SLASH! MATRIX EVOLUTION!"
A/N: In most fanfics that I've read, Hirokazu is portrayed as an idiot and useless. Hence, I thought about tweaking his character a bit.