Afternoon came in a gust of cheering and a chorus of excited cries as students welcomed the open air, running out of the school building with friends. Many laughed and joked with each other as they began to enjoy their newfound freedom. A teenager with short, messy brown hair and blue eyes stood at the bottom of the steps, casually leaning against the stone wall lining the entrance stairs as others walked past. She wore a casual outfit consisting of a vest, a t-shirt, shorts, and tennis shoes. Book bag dangling in one hand, cell phone in the other, she looked to be waiting for someone.
That was, in fact, what she was doing. Her friends had come to an agreement to meet outside the school at the end of the day to make plans for summer break. It was an important time for them, as oldest of their group, Daiki, would be graduating the next year. All of them planned to make it a summer they would always remember. It was their own way of saying farewell for however long it took him to graduate college. That wasn't to say that they wouldn't see him during that time, but he was probably going to be too busy to hang out with them.
"Mikami!"
Turning, she glanced over her shoulder. Yoko hopped down the stairs, cherry red hair framing her face. Her green eyes instantly lit up at the sight of the other girl, a smile splitting her face in two. The thin white jacket she was wearing did little to hide the yellow tank top she wore. Her white skirt billowed outwards as she skipped the last two steps. How she managed to safely land while wearing white heeled shoes was beyond anyone's understanding, though the girl seemed unaffected by the near impossible thing she had done.
She giggled, dusting off her skirt though there was an absence of any dirt on it.
"You weren't waiting long, were you?" Yoko asked.
Mikami shook her head, mirroring her friend's smile. "No, I haven't been here long."
"Well, that's good!" Yoko declared.
"Hey, there's my two favorite girls!"
Both girls looked up to see to Daiki walking down the steps with a grin. His own book bag was slung over his bare shoulder, thumping against his back. His medium-length silver hair hung in his face, partially obscuring the view of his pale gold eyes. The eighteen year-old's attire made him seem like a typical "bad boy." The clothes in question were a black sleeveless turtleneck and a pair of ripped black jeans stuffed into his leather boots. On his hands were long fingerless gloves that stretched up to end at his elbows. As he came to a stop by the duo, he looked down at them.
Of the three, he was the tallest, standing over six feet tall. Mikami was taller than Yoko by nearly half a foot, standing at five foot eleven inches. Both girls knew Daiki found pleasure in being able to look down at them. The shortest of the trio look up and smiled.
"So, we gonna go?"
"Where's Tadashi and Shizuka?" Mikami asked, glancing towards the doors.
"Ah, they said they'd meet us at the park," he replied. "Speaking of missing people, where's Munchkin?"
"Don't call him that!" Yoko protested. "Just because he's short doesn't mean you have to be mean!"
Daiki sighed and rolled his eyes at her complaint, but found it necessary to apologize. "Sorry. But…he is kinda short."
"I agree," Mikami said. "Still, you shouldn't be calling him names, so stop. I would hate to see what happens to you."
She glared over her shoulder at them. The action made Yoko freeze in place. On the other hand, Daiki found it to be a mixture of amusing and worrying. It wasn't the first time she had given him that look. Sometimes it was meant to be playful, and other times it was a warning. He simply nodded to her. Better to be on the safe side; after all, Mikami had a tendency to aim for more sensitive spots. Satisfied, Mikami looked away and began to walk down the street. Realizing that they would ultimately be left behind, the duo glanced at each other and dashed after their friend
"Slow down, Mikami!"
"Wait for us!"
In response, she walked faster, all the while laughing at their predicament.
Huh, they're falling behind pretty quickly. I thought for sure they'd catch up more quickly, she mused.
With Daiki's long legs and Yoko's tendency to be hyperactive, she had figured they would be walking beside her before they were halfway to the park. When she glanced forward, she realized they were almost to the park. The familiar trees stabbed into the air from behind a stone wall. From where she was, she could see the entry arch. Pausing, she turned to look at her friends. Daiki was wincing, walking oddly as he rubbed his ribs. Yoko stuck her tongue out, pulling at her shirt with a sigh, having unbuttoned her jacket.
As they trudged towards her with a clear lack of energy, she placed her hands on her hips and smiled.
"Sorry, walking too fast again," she apologized.
"Walking? More like full force running!" Daiki said, gasping. "Seriously, I pulled a muscle trying to catch up with you."
"And I'm all sweaty now," Yoko moaned.
She had been running? Sheepishly rubbing the back of her head, Mikami grinned, chuckling. "Didn't realize I was running. Sorry, again. You know how Andre does his best to make sure I'm in shape."
"Nah, it's okay," Daiki said, standing straight. "Besides, I need a work out."
"I don't," Yoko muttered.
Daiki playfully pushed her, causing them both to smile. After a moment of the duo shoving each other, Mikami cleared her throat and gestured to the park.
"Come on," she urged. "I won't run this time."
Yoko craned her neck upwards to exchange a brief glance with Daiki, both debating whether to believe her. They nodded a moment later. Mikami grinned and grabbed Yoko's hand as she began to walk. Daiki folded his arms behind his head as he followed them, whistling a small tune that made the girls bob their heads back and forth.
"By the way, while it's just us three," Mikami said, frowning, "there's something I've been meaning to ask, Daiki."
He blinked, grunting, "Hmm?"
"Most of the time you're a sourpuss. When it's just you, me, and Yoko, you're cheerful. What's up with that?" She asked, looking back at him. "Not that I don't mind, but…you're an ass to everyone else, even our friends."
Instead of being insulted, or lashing out as she expected him to do, he simply stared at her before nonchalantly shrugging. He acted as if it was a normal thing, instead of being rather odd for a teen his age to do. "To be honest, I have no idea. Guess you two bring out the soft side in me. I kinda like it though. It's hard to be nice to anyone else, but it's easy with you two."
"You do act like Yoko is a sister to you," Mikami mumbled thoughtfully.
"And I know why you treat Mikami—"
Before Yoko could finish the sentence, Daiki lunged forward, lowering his arms to wrap his hands around her mouth and silence her. Mikami jumped, letting go of Yoko and partially glaring at the eighteen year-old. Frowning, she folded her arms, stopped walking, and moved to stand in front of the muffled Yoko. Daiki looked at her with conflicted eyes, obviously going through an internal debate.
"What am I missing here?" she demanded.
"Nothing!" Daiki shouted in response. "Absolutely nothing! Isn't that right, Yoko?"
Yoko quickly nodded, sucking in a deep breath as he finally let go of her. Blushing furiously, he dashed around the two and took off for the park. Staring, Yoko blinked as Mikami slowly put two in two together. Blushing after cutting off Yoko, who was saying something about why he treated Mikami so nicely… His treating Yoko like a sister, but not her…
"Oh. Oh! I'm such a blonde." Mikami slid her hand down her face. "Wow."
"Yeah," Yoko said, tilting her head to the side. "Why did he run away, though…?"
"I have no idea. We should hurry up, though. Daiki needs supervision."
Yoko snorted, trying to keep herself from laughing. She followed after Mikami as the brunette crossed the street. Peering through the entry arch, she could see Daiki in the distance, sitting on the edge of one of the benches. On the other side was someone else, much smaller than the giant of a teenager was. As they neared the quiet duo, Mikami could see it was Judai.
The youngest member of their group of misfits, he was also the shortest, causing him to have to look up to lock eyes with Yoko. His dirty blond hair was quite messy from a lack of brushing. The clothes he wore were simple enough, consisting of a black jacket, grey t-shirt, grey shorts, and bright orange tennis shoes.
His arms were draped over the back of the bench as he dozed. Daiki was glaring at him from the corner of his eye, though it failed to affect the napping boy.
Mikami sat down beside Daiki as soon as they neared them, stretching her arms around his shoulders, causing him to cough uncomfortably. Yoko took a seat between Judai and Mikami, shaking the still sleeping boy. After a few attempts, he groggily opened his eyes and grunted a sleepy greeting at the older teenagers.
"Didn't sleep last night, did you, Jay?" Yoko asked, giggling.
"Video games," he mumbled in reply, yawning.
"I keep telling you that if play video games all night, you'll fall asleep during the day," she reprimanded, shaking a finger at him. "You never listen."
"Better than school…"
"Jay, you need the education as much as the rest of us," Mikami stated, turning away from the flustered Daiki. "You can't buy video games without money. How do you plan on getting money without a good job? To get a good job, you have to at least graduate high school!"
"Point taken," he said. "Can I get back to my nap?"
"No," Daiki interjected, "because this is a very serious issue. Plus, if you sleep now, you'll be awake all night and miss out on all the awesome adventures we're going on."
"Adventures?" Judai asked, sitting straight. "Like the ones in video games?"
Daiki roughly slammed his palm against his face at the same time as Mikami, causing a slight echo, while Yoko let out a sigh. Of course the boy would immediately connect it to video games. Shifting, she shook her head.
"What are we gonna do with you?" she whispered.
"Dunk him in the pond," Daiki suggested.
"Hey!" Judai shouted indignantly.
"Boys," Mikami said. "You're not five."
Daiki rolled his eyes and was about to retort when he stopped, looking over everyone's heads. Following his gaze, Mikami watched as two teens of the same height entered the park together. She couldn't help but grin.
It was the Duo of Disaster, twins Tadashi and Shizuka. Both were only a few inches shorter than Mikami, standing at the same height as each other. Even though they were twins, they did everything they could to make themselves look different.
Tadashi kept his hair a shade of dark blue cut short to his jaw line and made sure to brush it on a regular basis to give himself a neat appearance. His shirt and pants were both white with green, blue, and red splatters across them. He wore specially made tennis shoes with his own fan artwork of the Digimon show, displaying a snarling MetalGarurumon.
Shizuka's hair was dyed light purple, a shade close to lilac. She styled it so that it spiked up slightly to the right with most of her bangs swept out of her face and tied up in a ponytail. She wore a white shirt with a black bird surrounded by falling feathers. Her jeans were light blue and torn near the thighs and down around her ankles. Her tennis shoes featured an illustration of WarGreymon, which was drawn by her brother. Slung on her back was her guitar.
"Hey!" Mikami shouted, raising a hand to wave at the twins.
Shizuka returned the wave enthusiastically, a wide grin on her face, while her brother simply raised his hand in greeting.
"Gang's all here, then," she said as she stopped in front of Mikami, smirking. "Good. Then we can talk plans."
"Do what you will. I plan on studying throughout vacation," Tadashi said, looking away. Shizuka slapped him on the back, earning a low, "Ow."
"Buzz kill," Daiki hissed in reply.
"Excuse me?" Tadashi asked in an insulted tone.
"You heard me, nerd."
"Delinquent!"
"Dweeb."
"You insolent, ignorant—"
Before Mikami could snap at the two males, Shizuka swung a fist, punching her brother in the face with enough force to send him toppling over. The hit was followed by her kicking Daiki in the stomach, making the elder boy double over. Standing straight again, the girl fixed her guitar strap and let out a loud huff, an annoyed look on her face. Daiki, wincing, looked at her through one half-opened eye. Tadashi let out a groan that was muffled by having his hands on his face.
"Honestly, day after day with you two," she muttered in annoyance. "Next time I have to hit you two, I'm going to hit you even harder."
Judai was staring with wide eyes, now fully awake. Yoko had a similar expression on her face. Mikami rubbed Daiki's back sympathetically; having been on the receiving end of one of Shizuka's kicks herself, she knew how much it could hurt. Though Shizuka was small framed, she packed a lot of power. Daiki turned and smiled at Mikami thankfully, rubbing his stomach with a grimace.
"Now, are you two done?" Shizuka asked.
"Yes," both of them groaned.
"Okay. Now, onto business," she declared. "We never decided where we're going first for our vacation."
"France," Mikami offered.
"Alaska," Yoko suggested.
"No," Daiki replied with a frown. "Too cold."
"Tokyo would be nice," Judai stated. "There's all kinds of stuff over there dealing with video games."
"Absolutely not," Tadashi snapped, standing. "If we are to go on a vacation, we are going where we can enjoy ourselves away from most electronic devices."
"First sensible thing you've ever said," Daiki said. "But I agree. I say we go to Hawaii. And then we can go to the Caribbean."
"Indeed," Tadashi agreed, nodding. "Is it settled then?"
While the others nodded, Judai muttered under his breath about going to Tokyo. Mikami laughed, patting him on the shoulder.
~0~
Digital World - Forest Zone
"Come on, hurry up already! We ain't got all day for ya to be draggin' yer feet!"
He snapped at them with more anger than usual, mouth pulled into an angry sneer as his ears drooped. The purple Digimon was on edge, just like the rest of them, but even more so. What could he do, though? He was supposed to be leading these guys and he couldn't even properly protect them. How was he supposed to do anything related to leading them? Why couldn't Renamon be their leader? Fox Face was far more level headed than he was, and definitely smarter than he was. No, she forced him to take charge of their group.
Said fox Digimon was standing a few feet away with Salamon, who looked on in concern. Looking at Gabumon, he let out a breath. There was no point in forcing him to help Biyomon walk and carry Dorumon at the same time, no matter how pissed off the imp was.
"Snapping at everyone does little to help," Renamon reminded him as he helped the limping bird.
"Shut up, Fox Face!" Impmon snarled. "I don't need advice from ya."
Renamon shrugged, folding her arms as Impmon assisted Biyomon in sitting down beside a tree. She leaned back and smiled gratefully, causing the imp to blush. He coughed and dashed over to help Gabumon, picking up Dorumon. The fur-draped reptile looked at him for a moment before trudging forward, trying his best to keep up with Impmon's pace. The Virus type was in one of his usual, often daily bad moods, and Gabumon knew better than to lag behind and make his friend mad. As they reached the others, the two set the unconscious Digimon down. Gabumon, sighing tiredly, tumbled to the ground beside Biyomon.
"If I have to keep carryin' all of ya, I just might quite all this dumb business," Impmon said, pacing back and forth. "There's no way we can keep on the run anyways."
"You want to let our world fall to the Digimon we're trying to stop?" Salamon asked, eyes shiny with unshed tears.
Impmon winced, briefly closing his green eyes. Curse her and her ability to look cute even when she didn't mean to! She was always doing that, almost crying so that it made her eyes look glossy and making him feel bad for it. Looking her in the eyes was hard, but he did anyways and contemplated their choices. Fighting against an entire army and their allies was near impossible, but if they didn't, they'd just be deleted immediately anyways. Besides, he liked a good fight, and he wasn't going to back down to some stupid Digimon who thought they could rule the world, Demon Lord or not. Letting out a sigh, he huffed and turned away.
"Whatever," he grumbled, though the hopeful look on Salamon's face made him want to smile. "I'm only doin' this 'cause of you guys."
Renamon made a soft 'hmph' noise that made him glare at her, eyeing the pleased look on her face. She knew he wouldn't just leave them because he actually did care, even if it was only a little bit. They all knew, actually. An odd sight they were, a bunch of normal Digimon running around with a Virus leader, but none of them actually cared what others thought. He didn't either. Just because he was a Virus Digimon didn't mean that he couldn't care about these bozos he hung with. They had each other and that was it. He kinda wanted to keep it that way.
"It's cute when you get flustered," Biyomon teased, smiling when he turned his glare to her. Unaffected, she sat up. "Trying to act like you don't care."
"It's funny, to be honest," Gabumon added.
"Would ya just shut yer traps already?" Impmon demanded, turning his back on them. "I don't care what ya say. Seriously, I don't actually care. I'm just stickin' with ya for now."
"Lie all you want, it won't change our opinion of you or how we see you," Salamon said as she smiled.
Blushing furiously, Impmon stalked a couple feet away and firmly sat down with his arms and legs folded in protest. Renamon watched for a moment before laughing quietly as she followed after him. She slid down to sit beside him without glancing at him. He stared forward, tapping his fingers against his arm. They knew how to pull his strings, all right. So what if he cared about them? They didn't have to joke about it. They were just trying to make light of the situation, but they didn't have time for this. After a short rest, they'd have to be back on their feet and running. Their enemy wasn't far behind them.
"Concerned?" Renamon asked quietly, looking over her shoulder at the others.
Impmon did the same, feeling his heart drop into his stomach as his annoyance faded. Eyes on Dorumon, he grumbled, "Yeah. Not much I can do right now, though."
She placed a paw on his shoulder with a nod. "I know how you're feeling," she said, "but you're doing the best you can."
"My best ain't good enough," he muttered. "I mean, just look at poor Dorumon. He…It's my fault he's hurt in the first place."
"He was simply trying to protect a friend," Renamon replied, lowering her head slightly. She closed her eyes with a sigh. "Lamenting over it does nothing to help him."
"I—I know that, Fox Face!" he growled, drawing the attention of the others. "I know that doesn't help, but it's still my fault! We wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for me!"
"Are you always going to blame yourself?" she asked as she stood. "Are you going to keep doubting your decisions and your judgment?"
He stared up at her while she narrowed her eyes at him. He knew what was coming next, wincing when she opened her mouth to berate him. When he heard nothing, he peeked to see what was going on. She was shaking her head, gripping her snout tightly in irritation. Uncoiling himself, he slowly stood, swallowing. She was right, as much as he hated admitting it. The stress was getting to his head. He just needed to clear his thoughts and get his act together. Ranting and raving wouldn't be of any help to anyone, so there wasn't a point in doing it.
He froze. Renamon's ears twitched as her gaze swiveled towards where the noise had come from. Dread settled on him like a blanket. The others were silent as they all strained to hear what the two were listening to. A loud crash echoed through the air as the ground began to rumble.
They had been found.
"Get up and run! Go! Salamon, take charge!"
Salamon looked startled but nodded, helping Biyomon to her feet. Gabumon slid Dorumon onto his back, holding the unconscious Digimon carefully. After a moment, Salamon nodded and ran as fast as she dared with Biyomon by her side. Gabumon glanced over his shoulder at Impmon before dashing after the two, struggling to keep his passenger on safely. Turning, Impmon looked at Renamon and frowned.
"You outta go too," he said, eyes narrowed. "This is gonna get real ugly."
She shook her head defiantly, muscles tense. "You're not staying alone this time."
Impmon smirked, looking forward. "Thanks, Fox Face. Appreciate it."
The trees in front of them parted, falling to either side and slamming into the ground. Dust and dirt rose into the air in the form of a cloud as a massive Greymon loomed out of the shadows of the forest, roaring. Impmon sneered, gripping his fists tightly. The Greymon swung its head around, eyes locking onto the two Rookies. With unnatural speed, the massive Digimon swung its tail around to sweep the two off their feet. Renamon leaped into the air while Impmon dropped down, rolling underneath the heavy appendage. Stopping on his stomach, he pushed himself to his feet. The tail came around for a second swung, barely missing him as he jumped up.
"Diamond Storm!" Renamon shouted.
She flung her arms open as she said the attack name. Leaves gathered around her, sharpening and then raining down on the Greymon. The Champion simply looked up, the attack barely scratching it. It lashed out with its claws, catching Renamon and sending her crashing through a tree, causing it to snap in half as she disappeared. Impmon yelled out in concern, only to dig his feet into the ground and push backwards as a foot stomped into the ground where he had been moments ago. He looked up, furious, as he flicked his fingers upwards, fire gathering into small orbs above his fingertips.
"Bada Boom!" He yelled, throwing the fireballs. They bounced off harmlessly as he watched. "Damn it…!"
The tail smacked against him, slamming him into a nearby tree and pinning him. Grimacing in pain, he glared up at the tall Digimon. The Greymon roared, opening its mouth. Eyes wide, Impmon struggled to push the tail off to get out of the way of the coming attack. This can't be the end of me! What're the others gonna do without me? Frantic, he shoved forward with his hands, kicking the tail as hard as he could. He wasn't going to die here after getting so far! He didn't care what he had to do!
"Nova Blast!"
"Power Paw!"
Blinking, Impmon watched the blue and gold blur whack the Greymon's chin hard enough to make its head angle upwards. The massive fiery blast meant to kill Impmon set the treetops ablaze, causing an inferno that raged around them. Distracted, the Greymon loosened its grip on him enough for Impmon to wiggle out from tail. He dropped down and dashed forward, eyeing Renamon as she landed nearby. Happy that she was okay, he turned to the Champion and raised a fist.
"Thought ya could kill me that easily, eh? No way, bub!"
"Impmon," Renamon muttered.
Nodding, he threw up his hands and yelled, "Pillars of Fire!" Flames shot upwards in columns, surrounding the Greymon and obscuring its view of them. Renamon seized hold of Impmon, causing him to yelp, and dashed farther into the trees, putting distance between them, the enemy, and their friends. Slung over her shoulder, he could see the Greymon stretched its head over the flames, but by the time it swung its gaze around, the trees hid them. She continued to run silently even when Impmon pounded on her back for her to stop.
"If ya keep goin'…we won't be able…to find our friends!"
"Be quiet," she said. "I know that. Surviving is more important right now. They can take care of themselves until we can regroup."
Letting himself go limp, Impmon sighed. "I hope yer right, Fox Face."
"Are you doubting me now?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No, I ain't doubtin' ya…"
She nodded, paws barely making a sound as she rushed through the woods.
~0~
When Gabumon began to gasp for breath, Salamon called a halt, locating a small cave in a nearby cliff wall. While Biyomon and Gabumon nestled together, Salamon eyed Dorumon with a frown on her face. The furry Digimon mumbled something before blinking his eyes open to see her hovering over him. She let out a relieved sigh, gently pushing him up with his head. Once he was sitting up, he looked at the other two and glanced around, confused.
"Glad you're alright," Salamon mumbled.
"Yeah, you've been out a while," Gabumon said.
"Feel better?" Biyomon asked with a smile.
Dorumon nodded, still glancing around. "Yeah." He hesitated, conflicted. "Where's Impmon and Renamon?"
"They're…" Salamon trailed off, unsure of how to tell him.
She wasn't sure if they were even still alive. A Champion had been after them, and even though they were together, two Rookies couldn't take on a Digimon that much stronger. How could she explain to him that their friends could have been deleted already? Shaking the negative thoughts out of her mind, she looked at Dorumon. No, she couldn't think that way. Impmon had put her in charge. If he trusted her with that responsibility, she trusted him and Renamon to live.
"They stayed behind to draw the Greymon away," she explained, voice lowering. "And…I'm sure they're okay…"
"Of course they are," Dorumon replied, smiling suddenly. "Impmon and Renamon make a great team. They can get out a pinch anytime."
"Yeah. Impmon might get into a bit of trouble, but Renamon's with him," Gabumon said in agreement, nodding.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Salamon smiled. At least the two boys were being a bit more optimistic than her. She glanced over, catching Biyomon's eye. The pink bird smiled and nodded encouragingly. She could feel her spirits rise. As long as all of them had faith in their two friends, then Impmon and Renamon would be fine. After all, it wasn't like they could actually help, so the only thing they could do at that point was have hope. She sat down beside Dorumon, looking at him and Gabumon. They were right, because Impmon and Renamon were an unstoppable duo. It didn't matter if it was a Champion they were up against, they'd just find a way to survive the battle. She knew that much. They just needed to hold onto their faith.