DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story (except where stated).
DEVIATIONS
Chapter 4
I Hate Cute
The sun once again dawned on Shinjuku Ward and lit up those going to work, to school, and those who'd rather not be doing so.
Although this day would turn out to be somewhat different to others.
"What the…?" Takato began, staring on at the strange sight that had gathered all the students and teachers, something Takato was thankful for because he was later.
"Were you going to swear Takato?" Mrs Asagi interrupted, stepping towards him.
"No ma'am…" Takato replied quickly and nervously. "What caused this?" he asked, looking out at the random assortment of chalk lines that had replaced the normal cleanly marked out soccer pitch of the school, the line drawing equipment left on its side with the shed un-padlocked nearby.
"The principal has no clues, it better not have been you Takato…" Mrs Asagi warned, looking into the brunette's eyes, something which worried the boy.
"Why would I do it?" Takato asked gallingly, although he had an inkling that a certain red dino that enjoyed escaping the park could be involved. He frowned, hoping that wasn't the case. Guilmon seemed to have a nasty habit of getting in trouble. He only hoped that Rika hadn't taken the day off school to hunt him down.
"Well whoever did it is going to be in a lot of trouble…" Mrs Asagi noted, walking away.
"Late again?" asked a voice, and Takato panicked, turning around to see…
"Henry, thank goodness…I thought it was the principal or something, I thought I was in big trouble…"
'At least he's alive, I though Hypnos was going to make him 'vanish'…' Henry thought, knowing that it was only a half joke.
"So do we have class or what?" Takato asked.
"Why would they close the school because of some lines on the soccer pitch?"
"With the way the principal's been acting, I hoped he might put it down to aliens…" Takato joked. Henry chuckled.
"Wouldn't put it past him…"
Guilmon sat patiently, tail moving up and down occasionally, inside the hideout, looking out of the opening at the occasional people who walked past, but looking for one person in particular.
"What are you waiting for?" asked a voice, and Guilmon turned to see a small white digimon with purple-rimmed ears, looking curiously at him.
"I'm waiting for Takatomon to return so we can have fun!"
"That's silly; I have fun without needing a Takatomon!" Calumon cheered, leaping up and down happily.
"Takatomon's a person..." Guilmon replied.
"Really? What's a person?"
"I have no idea…" Guilmon replied.
"You're funny…what's your name?" Calumon asked.
"Guilmon, what's yours?"
"Calumon!" Calumon cheered, literally leaping up and down several feet by now, a movement that was beginning to make the dinosaur dizzy.
"Neat…" Guilmon replied. "Do you want to play?" he asked.
"Yeah, we can go and jump in the fountain!" Calumon cheered.
"I'm not allowed to leave this box thingy…"
"Aw…not even for me?" Calumon asked, eyes widening, a move that some would call cute (and others, such as one particular redhead, would reply that they hate that sort of stuff). Ironically, the move that Calumon used to get others to do what he wanted, albeit an unintentional tactic in most cases, failed to work on Guilmon.
"No…"
"Aww, you're no fun…"
"I can be fun!" Guilmon cheered, as Calumon flew away, continuing on his cute rampage through the city, confusing those who kissed by suggesting how they could eat each other, and being confused by the simplest of concepts, for example, the revolving door.
"What do ya wanna be fun for?" asked the teasing voice from the previous day, and Guilmon looked up as Impmon dropped down from the roof in front of him. "Fun with him ain't no fun, real fun involves BADA BOOM with Impmon!" he joked, throwing a small fireball at Guilmon's snout.
"Owie…" Guilmon complained.
"Aww, whatta matter, did I hurt ya? Ya big dumb-ass cry-baby…"
"Yeah, you did…that wasn't very nice…"
"I don't care…" Impmon replied, turning away. "You're not much fun anyway, you and your Tamer…I'm going to chase the white blob thingy and load his data!" he decided, running away from Guilmon.
"Come back!" Guilmon called, but it was too late. "Aw…Guilmon bored again…"
"I'm sorry but the school playground is off-limits for the whole of lunchtime…" Mrs Asagi apologised, in a completely unapologetic way, as she blocked the main exit from the school building. Her words were greeted with a multitude of moans, at the concept of having to stay inside for the next hour. The lunch hall was normally packed as it was, let alone with more people in it.
"Why?" Takato asked curiously, as the other children strolled away, leaving just him and Mrs Asagi.
"Apparently the school headmaster thinks that this is something to do with aliens, and he contacted the police, who sent a bunch of operatives of some government agency round…some days I think the world has gone nuts…" she moaned.
"So you don't think it's anything major then?"
"Probably just some kids playing a prank; it better not be you Takato…"
"Again, why would I do such a thing?"
Mrs Asagi sighed. "Run along Takato…" she told him, exasperated, as she took two headache pills. Takato nodded nervously, before walking away down the corridor.
"Hey Takato…" a voice sounded from a hallway off to the side, attracting Takato's attention to the now-familiar form of his friend Henry, although he wondered if he even had a chance of being friends with the boy after he didn't turn up to their game the previous day.
'Mrs Asagi's right, I am antisocial…' he thought as he greeted the boy. "Hey Henry…"
Henry was distracted by something as he peered out of the window, Takato arriving to see a large group of black-suited operatives standing around looking at the lines. They looked all too familiar, and they were led once again by the strange blonde man from the previous day.
"Who are they?" Takato asked, knowing that he knew more about them. If they thought this was related to Digimon then…well, the thought made Takato's stomach churn, and his yearning to see his partner again after school increased.
"No idea…they seem to be looking at the lines and using strange scanners on them…"
"Wow…" Takato said. "Oh, by the way, sorry for missing our game yesterday…" he noted, looking across to Henry.
"Get down!" Henry said, the pair ducking just in time as the blonde's vision swept across them. They ducked below the windowsill, Takato keeping low in particular. The concept of being spotted after his escape yesterday was risky. Then again, so was Henry's risk if they had spotted him on any security cameras, although he hadn't seen any on the particular one he'd used. They continued their conversation in their ducked position. "Don't worry about that, but where were you anyway?"
"Um…I had…to help out at my family bakery!" Takato replied, noting afterward that he should've been a bit less enthusiastic in tone in his response.
"Uh-huh…" Henry replied, knowing that it was clearly a lie. Even if he didn't know about where Takato really was, he'd believe it was a lie. "So do you want to have that game this evening then?"
"Yeah, that'd be great…" 'Although Guilmon really was looking forward to playing with me…I suppose we can do something afterwards, I do owe Henry a game now at least…'
"Great…" Henry replied. "Same place?"
"Yeah, I have to do something first, then I'll be right there, okay?"
"Sure…"'What exactly does he do? Does he just go to see his Digimon? And how did he get a Digimon?'
Henry peeked over the top of the window-sill again, noticing the crowd of agents now beginning to leave.
"They're going…" Henry said, attracting Takato's attention to look over the windowsill, noticing their headmaster talking to the blonde, almost pleadingly. The blonde seemed to dismiss him, and walked away.
"Geez, the principal has gone nuts…" Takato noted.
"Yeah, looks like he wants them to stay and protect this place…"
"Should I ask?" came a voice from behind, Takato and Henry turning to see Mrs Asagi watching them where they were crouched behind the windowsill, arms crossed and an exasperated look on her face.
"No, it'd be better if you didn't…" Takato replied, Henry nudging him in the stomach. "I mean, it's nothing ma'am…"
Mrs Asagi sighed, Takato seemed to have a habit of talking to teachers in a way that he just shouldn't. Not as bad as some, but he still seemed to think too much after he's said something than beforehand. Plus, the way he said ma'am made her sound old. "Go away Takato…" she told him, and he took the chance straight away to dive off along the corridor, Henry following.
"You really know how to get people on your good side eh Takato?" Henry asked when they were out of sight.
"Meh, I think she just has a grudge on me…" Takato replied.
"So I'll meet you back at the dinosaur after I've…"'…gone to see a dinosaur…' "…done what I have to do, okay?" Takato asked.
"Sure, it'll give me time to do Mr Mori's homework and have this whole weekend off" Henry replied, as the pair exited the school gates.
"You're lucky; your teacher doesn't give you as much homework."
"Yeah, he's too busy fawning over Mrs Asagi…" Henry joked, Takato laughing in response.
"I think she just sets us homework to relieve her stress…she'd set us it at the weekend if she could…"
Calumon watched from a tree. "What's homework?" he asked no-one in particular. "Is it fun?"
No one replied, and he began to here the sound of a game of soccer being played on the school playground. He watched the game, imagining himself playing, while a purple Imp arrived, gasping for air.
"God you move fast…" he noted, before noticing that, as a rarity, Calumon's attention wasn't on him. "Wat'cha doing?"
"Watching them play, and playing along too!" Calumon said happily.
"How?" Impmon asked, before looking back to the game. "Geez, humans are stupid. What the hell are they doing?"
"I have no idea but it looks fun!"
"See ya later bozo, enjoy your game!" Impmon taunted, leaping away and leaving the fairy-like Digimon to watch the game.
As the players left the pitch, Calumon noticed something that irritated him, although not for long.
"Aw, the games over…hey, they rubbed out my lines…" he complained, leaping down and running across to the shed. "I'll make new ones then! And I'll win the games every time!" he cheered.
"And that makes 21 games to 3…" Henry declared as the sun finally set, prompting the pair packing their cards away. Takato groaned, falling back. "Looking forward to more wins at the weekend…"
"Even with a real Digimon I'm still rubbish…" Takato muttered.
"Pardon?" Henry asked, hearing but wanting to see if this was his chance to learn more.
"Nothing…" Takato replied. "Do you want to play at the weekend?" he asked, sitting up.
"Sure, see you here about 10 o'clock?" Henry asked.
"Do you mind if I turn up a bit later, I have to feed the rabbits at the school first? Say 11 o'clock?" Takato asked, not actually lying this time round. Mrs Asagi enjoyed continually punishing him it seemed, all he seemed to do was fail to do his homework, or turn up late. What was wrong with that?
"Sure, see you then…" Henry replied, standing up and walking away, taking his cards with him. Takato sighed, although it had been fun to play cards and casually chat with someone, he'd missed an entire evening of being able to play with Guilmon. He decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but he decided to see Guilmon before he had to get home. His mother would freak soon enough that aliens or kidnappers had taken him, so he'd also have to make it abrupt.
The yellow orb rose over the new day, and soon enough, the goggle-headed brunette was to be found enjoying his Saturday by….heading to school.
It wasn't like that one time when Mrs Asagi made him come to school on a weekend as a punishment, but it wasn't exactly enjoyment either, although it wasn't hard work to feed the rabbits. Still, the boy had his red dino-like partner by his side, and the streets were pretty much empty, any problems being met by the 'Halloween costume' excuse. He wished he could use that on Henry in order to save him a lot of trouble juggling human and Digital Friends, but it only really worked on momentary encounters with young children, who believed anything, or adults, who couldn't care less. At the moment, however, most people were taking the Saturday morning as a chance to lie in after a long day of work, an opportunity Takato would've once taken until he met his partner, and was forced to feed the rabbits.
Some people weren't lying in though.
"I told you the aliens are back again!" the headmaster insisted, as Takato and Guilmon rounded the corner, standing back upon seeing the teachers.
"I think you may need to see a psychiatrist sir…" the other man, a teacher of one of the upper classes, replied.
"But you can see the lines too, can't you?"
Takato gasped upon seeing the new lines, which filled up pretty much the whole of the playground, far more than the previous day.
"Yeah, but it's probably just some kids messing around…"
"I should call Hypnos again…" the principal muttered.
'Hmm…is he talking about those guys yesterday and the guys who kidnapped Rika and me?'
"Anyway, just try to enjoy your Saturday sir, and please see a psychiatrist…" the other teacher said as they walked past Takato, who ducked against the wall, pushing Guilmon back by his nose to match.
"Takatomon, that hurt…" Guilmon complained, rubbing his sore nose.
"Sorry boy…"
He breathed a sigh of relief when they didn't turn round, and headed to feed the rabbits.
'Thinking of Rika, where has she been? She said she was going to get Guilmon, but she didn't turn up at all yesterday…maybe she's become more friendly…maybe pigs can fly…'
The food tipped into the tray, as the animals began to eat, Takato having to remind Guilmon not to eat the food himself.
"I can't eat rabbits, can I?" Guilmon asked.
"No…" Takato replied. 'Now that would get me in trouble!' he thought. Guilmon became distracted from the rabbit he was sniffing through the bars of the cage as he began to sniff the air.
"Hey, I smell a Digimon…" he said, running off to one side.
"Really?" Takato asked, following his partner. 'It better not be Renamon again…'
"In here Takatomon!" Guilmon said, a little too loudly and waking whatever was sleeping in the fallen-over garbage can as the bin liner began to ruffle, Takato looking on nervously.
"Hey, new friends!" Calumon cheered, leaping from sleeping to being fully awake without the usual step of grogginess in-between. "Yay!" he cheered, leaping around the pair, before coming to rest on Guilmon's head. Guilmon looked up curiously, as Calumon tugged on his ears. "Go horsey go!" he cheered.
"Takatomon, Calumon's hurting me!" Guilmon complained to his partner.
"Huh? How do you know his name?"
"I saw him yesterday…"
"You didn't get out again, did you?"
"No, he came to the hideout until a purple thing scared him away…"
'Huh? What could that possibly be?' Takato thought, trying to figure out what Guilmon could've seen that he didn't know the name of. "What was it?"
"He said his name was Impmon…" Guilmon replied.
"A Digimon?"
"Yeah…"
"They're popping up everywhere…" Takato noted.
"Impmon's a meanie…" Calumon complained, covering his eyes with Guilmon's ears.
"Ow, that hurts even more…" Guilmon complained.
"Let's play!" Calumon cheered, his fear and complaint about the purple imp vanishing instantly.
"Maybe this guy needs a Tamer…" Takato pondered. 'Would give me some backup against Rika…' he thought.
"A Tamer?" Calumon asked, tugging on the corner of his mouth cutely.
"Yeah, you know, a human partner…"
"To play with?"
"Yeah, and to fight alongside…"
"Fighting?" Calumon asked. "I don't like the sound of that…" he added, bouncing away.
"Come back!" Takato called, frowning as the white fairy vanished from sight. 'Great, I screwed up again with making a friend. Is it just me or is it only Renamon and Rika who want to fight at all?'
Guilmon frowned, as did his partner. "He got away…" Guilmon complained.
"Don't worry boy, I'm sure he'll turn up again…maybe he'll find a partner before then…" 'Not sure who, he seems a bit much to handle…'
Henry strolled through the park, heading towards the dinosaur. It was quiet, as always, and the questions about Takato and Digimon still plagued his mind, but with a new question.
Some internet research he'd done had told him that the Digimon Queen they had mentioned was the same girl he had seen with the Renamon for a partner. He realised the irony that if Takato had actually gone to see her, he'd have found this out, and by what he knew of her personality, would probably end up knocked out.
Henry sat down inside the dinosaur structure, taking out his deck and beginning to look at his cards.
Whether Takato would actually need to open his mouth or not first was another question. In all likelihood, he'd only make things worse, particularly if he were to speak in the same way that he did to Mrs Asagi.
He noted the lack of the redhead the previous day, and wondered if Takato was the only one to escape the building, along with his partner of course. Then again, Takato wasn't exactly the kind who wouldn't be affected by that, and he seemed his normal, cheerful, goofy self the previous few days. Then again, he'd only been friends with Takato for those few days, and he couldn't be sure on what he was like before that.
"Hi!"
The voice interrupted Henry, who recoiled back in surprise as he looked up to see a white fairy-like thing with purple tipped ears.
"Waah!" he exclaimed in surprise.
Calumon laughed. "That was a funny noise…"
"Are you a Digimon?" Henry asked, his voice heightened from his surprise.
"Yeah…" Calumon replied, before going into curiosity mode. "Are you?"
"No, I'm a human…"
"Really?"
"Yeah…my name's Henry…what's yours?"
"Calumon Calumon Calumon!" Calumon cheered.
"Calumon, Calumon, Calumon?" Henry inquired, not entirely sure what he was meant to get from it.
"No, just Calumon, but I'm really happy!"
"Why?"
"Because I just found a new friend!" he cheered.
"A friend?"
"Yeah! Let's play!"
'This is getting very surreal…' Henry chuckled. 'He's like a hyperactive version of Takato…' he added. "What do you mean, play?"
"Run around, play tag, do silly things!"
"But you're a Digimon, right?"
"Yeah! Why?"
"A real live Digimon?"
"What's your point?"
"Henry?" asked a confused voice, as Henry glanced up to see Takato, sans-partner at the moment. He presumed that Takato had returned Guilmon to…wherever he had hidden him, a location he was hoping to find out about soon. "It's Calumon!" Takato exclaimed.
"Yeah, I know…" Henry replied, noticing that at some point Calumon had jumped onto his head, and was now flailing his ears about wildly. Henry's eyes narrowed. "How do you know?"
"I've…seen his card before…" Takato replied, making up an answer.
"I've never heard of him…"
"Never heard of me? Aw, that's sad…" Calumon told him.
"Geez, this guy is the epitome of cute, isn't he?" Henry noted, taking the fairy off of his head.
"Yeah…"
"I'm surprised Takato, I'd think you of all people would've freaked out about seeing a real Digimon by now…"
"Oh…yeah…waah!" Takato faked, sounding unconvincing to the point where even Calumon wouldn't believe him.
"That wasn't very convincing…" Henry noted.
"Okay, then maybe I bumped into him before then…"
"Maybe?"
"Does it matter Henry? It's a real, live Digimon! It's so cool!"
"What do we do with him?" Henry asked, ignoring that he already knew Takato's 'secret' for now, and hence he knew why Takato was lying repeatedly.
"I have no idea…"
"Let's play!" Calumon cheered, leaping up and down.
"Play?" Takato asked.
"Yeah Takato, where's Guilmon? He was with you a moment ago?" Calumon asked.
"I have no idea what you're talking about…" Takato replied.
"How does he know the name of your imaginary Digimon then?" Henry asked.
"Um…I mentioned him when I was surprised at seeing a real Digimon…" Takato replied.
"No, he was right by you! A big red dinosaur!" Calumon cheered, jumping up and down in front of Takato. Takato grabbed him and covered his mouth with his hand, laughing nervously.
Henry sweatdropped, Takato really wasn't good at covering anything up. However, he didn't want to ruin his chance of finding out more about the Digimon, so he decided not to point it out for now. "Maybe there's more Digimon?" Henry suggested.
"Yeah, maybe…maybe we'll both get partners!"
"What, and Calumon couldn't be a partner?"
"I mentioned it to him; he said he hates fighting…"
"I do…why fight when you can play?!" Calumon cheered, leaping out of Takato's hands once again. "Come on!" he cheered, running away.
"I'll get him!" Takato said, chasing after while Henry sweatdropped.
'They're both nuts…' he thought. 'Why's Takato hiding Guilmon from me still, I'd think that once I knew that Digimon are real he'd tell me?' he thought, concerned.
"Calumon, this is where I hide Guilmon, you can stay here and play with him, but he's not allowed to leave this place, okay?" Takato replied, putting a now captured Calumon down on the floor of the hideout.
"Okay…yay, we can play!" he cheered, leaping onto Guilmon's head and yanking his ears again, Guilmon moaning about the pain.
"Have fun you two…" Takato noted, walking away. "I'll be back later Guilmon; I'm going to play cards with Henry…"
"Okay…" Guilmon replied, waving to his partner as he walked away.
"He got away…" Takato said, faking exasperation.
"Don't worry, by the sounds of it, he'll be back soon enough…" Henry reassured.
"Right. Now, for our game…" Takato said, sitting down opposite Henry.
Henry lay out his cards in the correct positions for playing, while Takato did likewise. They began the game, idle chat beginning at the same time.
"So where do you think Calumon came from anyway?" Henry asked.
Takato shook his head, not looking up from his study of his hand in order to not give away that he was lying. "No idea…"
"You do realise that this changes everything?"
"Why?"
"If Digimon are real, then that means that there could be more of them. People could have Digimon partners…they'd be sorta like Digidestined…"
"Maybe, although when I was imagining Guilmon I preferred the name Tamer…"
"Hmm…"
"Let's go Guilmon!" Calumon cheered.
"But I'm not allowed to leave the hideout…" Guilmon replied.
"Aw, that's no fun…"
"I'm only allowed to leave with Takato or if Renamon attacks…"
"So what if Renamon were attacking?"
"But she's not…"
"Look, she's over there!" Calumon cheered, pointing.
"Where?" Guilmon asked, looking out. "There's nothing there!" he replied.
"You can't be sure of that!" Calumon cheered. "Come on, let's go…"
"Okay then…"
"Oh man, they're gone!" Takato complained, arriving in the hideout after the sun had almost completely set, their games ending only a short while prior. "I told him never to go…he never listens to me…what if Hypnos got him? Or Rika?" he pondered in growing alarm, before his D-Arc began bleeping, and he took it out, noticing the compass once again. "Maybe I can find him, or whatever this thing is taking me to…" he noted, before leaving the hideout.
Henry walked around the park, looking for some sign of Calumon or of Guilmon's hiding place before he had to return home for dinner, but to no avail. His eye caught on to a flash of blue, and he quickly pursued, taking his distance.
'I'm going to get sick of doing this…god he can run fast…why is he ever late for school?'
"Wow, pretty fountain!" Calumon cheered, his evening of line drawing fun with Guilmon interrupted by what Rika would identify as a light show and a fog which data for Renamon to absorb came out of, and what Hypnos would identify as a Digital Field which 'wild ones' came out of.
"Looks pretty weird to me…" Guilmon noted, as the fog descended.
"Guilmon!" called an anxious voice through the fog, and Guilmon turned, running over to and jumping on his tamer.
"Takatomon!" he cheered happily.
"Once…again…get…off…too…heavy…" Takato complained, as Guilmon got up.
"Hi!" he cheered.
Meanwhile, Henry frowned. His attempts to pursue Takato had been hindered by this fog, which he daren't enter in case Takato saw him. He hid behind a wall, hoping that the fog would die down soon.
"Guilmon, you ignored me again!" Takato scolded.
"But Calumon said that Renamon was attacking!" Guilmon replied.
"I had to pretend that she was, you weren't leaving otherwise!" Calumon cheered, not noticing the severity of Takato and Guilmon's voices.
"What are these hideous creatures?" a voice said, and Takato, Calumon and Guilmon turned to see a small ugly greyish Digimon that looked like an odd cross of a bat and a goblin.
"A new friend!" Calumon cheered, leaping over to the digimon from his place on Guilmon's head.
"Stay back hideous creature, and fear my wrath!" the creature warned.
"You're not very friendly…" Calumon complained, as the creature slammed his hand into the fairy, throwing him aside. "Ow…" Calumon moaned as he landed.
"Hey, what did you do that for?" Takato asked, looking at the digimon in anger, and running over to pick up Calumon into his arms.
"I am Vilemon and I will destroy you!" he declared.
"Attack!" Guilmon yelled, leaping forward and tackling the digimon.
"Guilmon!" Takato yelled. 'He's doing it again…' he thought sadly, as he took out his D-Arc, looking at its screen. Guilmon had by now turned around to face him, hearing his orders.
"Yes Takatomon?" he asked.
Takato smiled. "Good, you're listening to me…"
"Should I fight him?"
"Hmm…"'He did attack us…and I don't think he's going to be very friendly…' "Yeah, go give it your best shot!"
"Okay Takatomon!" Guilmon cheered, turning around and racing towards the foe. Takato now noticed that his D-Arc was displaying something, in this case Guilmon's vision overlaid with details of the enemy.
"Wow, this is so cool…let's see, Vilemon, Virus Type, Champion Level, his attacks are Nightmare Shocker and Demon Darts…"
"NIGHTMARE SHOCKER!" Vilemon yelled, an energy wave hitting Guilmon who fell back.
"Owie…" he complained. "That was a lot for a short guy…"
"I'm not short; I'm just overdue for a growth spurt!"
"Need any help?" Takato asked his partner, unknowing that by now, Henry could see him and the battle.
"Yeah…" a dizzy Guilmon replied.
"Right…let's see…" Takato replied, fumbling through his cards. "Here goes nothing…DIGI-MODIFY…Targeting Activate!"
Guilmon's vision became refined on his opponent, and he aimed. "PYRO SPHERE!" he roared, the fireball propelled from his mouth and colliding with Vilemon, who groaned in pain and fell to the ground.
"It worked!" Takato cheered, before noticing whimpering. He looked down into his arms to see Calumon, fearful of the battle.
"Why are they fighting?" he asked.
"ROCK BREAKER!" Guilmon roared, slashing through Vilemon with his claws, breaking the foul beast into data, which he instinctively prepared to absorb.
"Guilmon, don't absorb it!" Takato yelled, causing Guilmon to turn around in confusion.
"Why not?"
Takato had now turned somewhat emotional, his eyes tearful at how he had seen Calumon react, and his mistake. "If you do that, we're just as bad as Rika and Renamon…"
"Oh, okay!" Guilmon cheered, stopping.
"If you won't take it then Renamon will!" said a new voice, Rika stepping forward as Renamon leapt into the air, drawing Vilemon's data into her.
"Aw nuts…" Takato complained. "I didn't mean you were bad, I just…"
"I don't care what you think…" Rika replied spitefully, as Renamon landed. "Time for round three…" she declared. "Renamon, attack!" she ordered.
"Hello!" Calumon cheered, leaping onto Rika's face. Takato noticed that he had escaped from his arms at some point.
"Get off!" Rika said, pulling the giggling being off of her face. Renamon watched with confusion and bemusement, was she meant to be attacking or what?
"Yay! I'm Calumon!" Calumon cheered, landing on the ground.
"Pathetic lump of data…" Rika cursed, kicking him aside, he moaning in pain.
"Ow…" Calumon complained, rubbing his head.
"I hate cute…" Rika muttered.
"Hey, what did you do that for?" Guilmon asked.
"Data?" Takato asked, anger in his voice. "You kill living creatures for no reason but just to make you stronger! You're horrible!"
"Did I ask for your opinion? Digimon are simply nothing more than data…not living things, not friends, just data…"
"I am getting sick of you…you do the most horrible things and you don't even resent what you've done…you don't even care about your partner…isn't she even your friend?" Takato asked angrily.
Rika's mouth turned into a thin line, as Renamon looked to her, eager to find out how she would respond, particularly to the last bit.
"Congratulations Gogglehead…for trying to stick up to me, you're off the list of enemies I think twice about before attacking, which means that list is now blank…" Rika replied spitefully.
"Huh?" Takato asked, confused. 'She thought twice about attacking me?'
"Next time Renamon finds Guilmon, she is attacking without warning, got that?"
"Hey, that's not fair!" Takato complained.
Rika smirked. "See you later losers…" she replied, turning and walking away, Renamon quickly following.
Takato frowned, watching her walk away. "Can't we be friends?" he called out, but to no response except for the one finger treatment.
"Takatomon, what does that mean?" Guilmon asked curiously.
Takato groaned, not giving a response. None of his problems were getting any easier. He noticed Calumon running away.
"Hey, where are you going?" Guilmon asked.
"I'm going to find somewhere where no-one's fighting or arguing or hitting me in the head!"
"But that's with us! You're safe with us!" Takato said.
"Not from what I've seen!"
Takato frowned; Calumon was gone from sight now, and it had become a futile cause. He turned to Guilmon.
"We're going to have to be a lot more careful from now on…" he noted. Guilmon frowned, and Takato matched his expression, as they began to trudge away back to the playground entrance.
Henry realised he had to move before they saw him, and began to run away.
'Looks like I'm not going to get any answers any time soon…and I keep getting more questions…' he thought morosely.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A slightly different version of 'Dream A Little Dream', the plot not working the same way without Takato not knowing about Henry knowing about Digimon. Please review.
Next time…
Will Renamon attack Guilmon again without warning? Will Rika stop treating Digimon as data? Will Henry get any answers to his questions?
Find out in 'The Partner Puzzle', Chapter Five of Deviations.