Takato's Hatchling
By milesprower06
Chapter 8 – Park It
MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE
TUESDAY - 3:30 PM
Takato decided that it was probably a good idea to try and come in a little quieter than he did yesterday. He didn't want whoever was in the kitchen to drop what they were doing because Guilmon got excited. He was successful in his ploy, and wasn't noticed by Guilmon until he came into the kitchen.
Once Guilmon laid eyes on Takato, however, his calm demeanor was shattered. He was on his feet, at the edge of the box which was closest to his Tamer, and anxiously waited; ears standing on end, with that open-mouth smile on his face.
"Hey there, boy. How about you and me go get ready?" he said, picking up the box. Before going up to his room, he thanked his mom for looking after him, and she reminding him to be careful with him outside.
When he got up to his room, Takato set Guilmon and his box down on the floor, and proceeded to unpack his backpack as neatly as he could, setting his school supplies on his desk. When it was empty, he picked Guilmon up and set him beside the backpack, then taking the hoody and placing it inside. Guilmon came closer, curiously sniffing at the bag.
"Ready boy?" Takato asked. The dino gave his Tamer a brief glance before crawling into the backpack. Takato zipped it to where it was almost closed, and peeked inside to make sure he wasn't scared or anything. Guilmon simply stared back curiously. Confident that his partner wasn't afraid of being zipped inside, Takato, zipped it closed, and very carefully put it on his back. He felt Guilmon move around a bit to get comfortable.
Very carefully, he made his way downstairs. On his way out, he grabbed a can of soda from the fridge, and made his way out the side door. The park certainly wouldn't be empty, but he was confident he could find an area secluded enough where he could let Guilmon roam a bit.
--
On the adjacent side corner across from the bakery, the Digimon Queen stood, headphones around her neck. She had seen the boy arrive and subsequently leave. She grabbed her Digivice and saw that since it was tracking him as he moved, knew that the Digimon must be with him.
"Let's go Renamon."
--
SHINJUKU PLAYGROUND
Kazu slapped a System crash card down on his Modify Zone.
"Game Over, man."
Kenta dropped his hand of cards on his side of the field and fell onto his back, and groaned.
"That's the third time in a row" he whined.
"Well, who else am I gonna beat?"
"Why hasn't Takato been coming around these past few days?" Kenta asked, as they both took notice of the absence of their usual third player.
"Ah, who knows." Kazu said dismissively as he gathered up his cards.
"What if he wasn't just making stuff up, ya know?"
"Don't tell me you believe that mumbo jumbo."
"Well, where else could he be? He's always here playing with us. Besides, how awesome would it be if Digimon really existed?"
"Awesome wouldn't even begin to describe it."
--
SHINJUKU PARK
When one walks into Shinjuku Park, the world seemed to get a little more peaceful. The trees and gardens seemed to block out the downtown bustle that surrounded this serene place.
Takato sipped at his soda, as he walked down the cement path. He found a set of stairs that led to a secluded stone hut up on a hill.
'That'll do fine.' he thought. He carefully jogged up to the stone structure, opened the simple iron gate, and knelt down to remove his backpack. He unsung it from his shoulders, and laid it down on the concrete. As he began to unzip it from the center, Guilmon's snout poked out, sniffing the unfamiliar air. Takato unzipped the book bag entirely, and Guilmon stepped out onto the concrete floor.
All of a sudden, Guilmon stiffened up, his pupils contracted, and he began to snarl, staring out of the hut.
"What is it boy?" Takato asked, having never seen his partner like this before. He was then startled himself when a tall yellow and white vixen dropped down into the doorway from above.
"Wha-?" Takato said, shocked.
"So is the little pipsqueak ready to fight yet?" a voice off to the side spoke.
A tall girl with fiery red hair stepped into view from the right of the hut and stood next to the vixen. Takato felt trapped.
"No way, it's you…but how? I dreamt you…"
Rika raised an eyebrow.
"So people are dreaming about me now - is it time to fight yet, lover boy?"
"You're not serious, are you? He's just a baby."
"He's at least a rookie, right?"
"Uh, I think so. But he just came out of an egg a few days ago. Even so, I'm not gonna make him fight." Takato said, getting a little defensive.
"What do you think Digimon were made for?"
Guilmon continued to growl at the increasingly unwelcome duo.
"Guilmon, stop it!" Takato snapped. Guilmon fell silent, and looked back at his Tamer, ears lowered.
"See? Even he wants to fight."
"Well, I don't care. He doesn't know any better. I do, and I'm not gonna force a baby living creature to fight something ten times his size." Takato said angrily to the girl. He glanced over to the towering vixen.
"She's so beautiful, and all you care about is fighting. Isn't she worth more than that to you?"
Rika didn't looked phased in the slightest.
"They're just data."
Takato almost looked disgusted.
"How can you think that?"
Rika didn't bother answering. She turned to leave.
"Digimon are meant to fight, and when they win they get stronger, and when they get stronger, they Digivolve. But, if the coward doesn't want to fight with his dopey dinosaur, then I'll have to find a challenge. Let's go Renamon."
Renamon gave the duo a final look, then turned to Rika, and faded from view. After several moments, Takato fell back and sat against the stone wall. Guilmon, ears halfway down, approached his Tamer.
"Takato…?"
Takato picked up his Digimon and set him down on his lap.
"Sorry, boy. I didn't mean to yell at you." Takato apologized, stroking the dino's head, which is all it took get the Digimon's mood cheery again.
So that wasn't just some dream he had the other night. But what happened that made her viewpoint as such? That she only viewed them as a bunch of zeroes and ones? She seemed so…
Cold.
Takato tried his best to shake it off. He had come here to relax and let Guilmon explore a bit. He'd worry about that girl later.
"Alright, boy. Let's go see what we can find out there."
--
A/N: Thank you EVERYONE for being patient with me! I wasn't too sure with where I was going with this, and for the most part, I still don't, but I figured the next step was for Takato to take Guilmon out to the park, and finally have a confrontation with Rika. Hopefully more will follow! Hope you enjoyed this latest update!