Tagiru's Bizarre Adventure
Disclaimer:
Digimon is owned by Toei Animation
The various guest characters appearing in every arc are owned by their respective owners.
So far, so good. Things are heating up as Tagiru is in a dilemma as he is unsure on what to do with the "cartridge" he received while unaware of the impending danger as he is about to be embroiled in a REAL-LIFE assassination attempt on his life despite having Gumdramon watching his back. This would be a suspenseful moment for this chapter.
So read up and enjoy!
Ch. 3: Ansatsu Misui
The scene shows that Gumdramon is walking the streets of Kyoto, a bit concerned about his partner as Tagiru is not himself as he is constantly staring at his bag where the video game cartridge is hidden, as the 16-year old teen is still in mental shock after witnessing a murder and that moments later the body disappeared and no one believed his claim about what happened after.
He wondered what was so important about the game cartridge that would warrant the need to bring it over to the Criminal Investigation Bureau, but recalling the dying man's wishes, he is now tempted to do what he is requested to do, yet he is unsure given the nature of the item, and the memory of the dying man kept bugging his head.
"Are you okay..."
"N-no...I won't...m-make it..."
"You will...hold on to me and..."
"N-no...you must...g-go..."
"B-but..."
"T-take this...with you..."
"A video-game cartridge...?"
"Take this...t-to...the Crime Investigation Bureau...give this...t-to them...n-no matter w-what...and...don't l-let them...take it f-from...you..."
"B-but...I can't..."
"P-please...the national security...of J-Japan...rest...i-in...y-you..."
"Why me?"
"Y-your...the only...o-one...I can...c-count on..."
"What does this tape have...?"
"C-complicated...c-can't explain...d-details...j-just...give it to th-them...t-tell them...contains...se-secret..."
"What? "Secret"...?"
"G-go...before they...g-get you...t-too...!"
"But..."
"Go!"
Tagiru's musing is interrupted when Gumdramon straddled onto his back and there he asked his partner what is wrong, assuming that the teen is upset over being late, which started a discussion between the two partners.
"Whoa!"
"Hey, Tagiru...you okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yes...I'm okay..I guess..."
"Are you upset of me being late...?"
"Oh, no...it's not about that..."
"So why are you...?"
"I...I'll tell you later...when we reach home..."
"Okay..."
By then the two reached Kyoto Mall and went to the video Game Shop where Mori is waiting and there Tagiru gave the collections and told him that he is going home and then report for tomorrow, which Mori nodded, unaware of what happened to the teen, since Tagiru is acting normal and then tend to his business as the teen and his Digimon partner left for home.
-x-
At the Akishi house, Gumdramon and Tagiru are having dinner and are discussing about what happened earlier and the Digimon was doubtful of his partner's claims until the teen showed to him the cartridge that was given to him by the late victim, which the Digimon glanced at it and asked what's so important about the video game cartridge, which Tagiru admitted that he is still baffled about the events, and is unsure of going to the Criminal Investigation Bureau given the nature of the item.
"...really...? That's what happened...?"
"Yeah..."
"Here...as proof of what I meant..."
"Whoa...this is...really a video game..?"
"It's a rare antique if you asked me...it's been there of three decades..."
"But why would someone give it to you...wait...you said that the body disappeared, right?"
"Yeah...but before that...the guy told me to give it to the Criminal Investigation Bureau no matter what..."
"So what next...?"
"Um..."
Since the Akishi family is out for a family visit, the house is pretty much quiet with Tagiru and Gumdramon being the only ones there, however, a pair of eyes can be seen glancing at the house, seeing only Tagiru and the unidentified stalker can be seen via a silhouette picking up a cellphone and is contacting someone, and can be heard relaying to the contact the address and the area of the neighborhood where Tagiru lives. The danger is then set for the Xros Heart member, unaware of what dangers would befall him soon.
-x-
The next day, Tagiru left the house and off to Kyoto Mall to attend for work, and with Gundramon leaving earlier, he is not seen by "prying eyes" as it only focused on Tagiru and there the stalker began to tail the teen and managed to stay hidden from the teen's sight and followed him towards the mall, and kept on following him until seeing the teen entering the video game shop and there the stalker stayed outside while keeping an eye on Tagiru, seeing him talking to Mori, though he failed to listen on the conversation, nor seeing the teen handing something over to his "boss".
"Here..."
"Whoa...A Nintendo 64 cartridge...quite rare..."
"I want you to play it..."
"Really? Sure...maybe i can spend some leisure time and..."
"Just play it until you finished...I'm betting there's something hidden there..."
"Really...?"
"Yes...and if you see that..."secret"...call me."
"Okay."
After that, Tagiru left as he is given the time off, while Mori glances at the cartridge that his friend gave to him, where he is told to play the game until he finishes it and if he does, call the teen. Mori realizes that this game is sort of an espionage-themed game, and is intrigued by it having played similar games such as "Metal Gear Solid", though he felt nostalgic since he owned a Nintendo 64 unit, and decided to try it out once lunch break is coming.
"Okay...time to test this out..."
The stalker kept his eye on Mori before leaving to follow Tagiru, though he seemed to have lost track of him as the teen got a head-start, and the stalker contacted someone to intercept the teen, assuming that Tagiru would be heading home and may be the only one who knew where the cartridge is hidden.
-x-
Several minutes later, Tagiru arrived home and is taken by surprise at the scene before him, in which the house appeared to have been thrashed, with the cabinet and drawers opened, the contents thrown around, and when he checked his room, it was also been thrashed, as if it had been ransacked, and then he checked his parents' room, where the cabinets and drawers have been "molested" yet the valuables are intact, and there the teen slowly deduced why this is happening as the memory played on his head once more.
"T-take this...with you..."
"A video-game cartridge...?"
"Take this...t-to...the Crime Investigation Bureau...give this...t-to them...n-no matter w-what...and...don't l-let them...take it f-from...you..."
"B-but...I can't..."
"P-please...the national security...of J-Japan...rest...i-in...y-you..."
"Why me?"
"Y-your...the only...o-one...I can...c-count on..."
"What does this tape have...?"
"C-complicated...c-can't explain...d-details...j-just...give it to th-them...t-tell them...contains...se-secret..."
"What? "Secret"...?"
"G-go...before they...g-get you...t-too...!"
The teen clenched his fists as he realized that the killers who killed the scientist have been here and deduced that they are after the cartridge and decided to head for the nearest police station to file a report, and left the house, thinking about whether to confide this matter to Taiki or not, as he felt that this situation is way different than being in the Digital World.
Sure, he, Taiki and Yuu have fought the Bagra Army, and Quartzmon, but something like gun-wielding terrorists...this is REAL-LIFE, and the stakes are higher than his previous adventures.
As Tagiru is on the road, he stopped as he sensed that he's being followed and turned around, seeing foreigners (about four of them) in business attires are eyeing him, and there he asked them using fluent English on what they want with him, and their responses further gauged his suspicions.
"Um...is there something I can help you with?"
"Yes you can..."
"Give it to us..."
"Right now."
"Which one? I have no clue as to what you are..."
"The cartridge...give us the cartridge."
"We know you have it."
"Give it to us now."
"Or you'll be sorry."
"Can you be a bit more specific on what you guys are trying to say? I don't know what you implying..."
While Tagiru claims that he doesn't know what they are talking about, one of the men drew a gun and opened fire, and the teen dodged it, but the misfire bullet struck an elderly woman on her head and she fell to the ground, blood seeping from her head, and Tagiru realized that he is now in imminent danger and made a run for it, with the suspects in hot pursuit, and the teen realized that they are indeed after the cartridge and is now regretting for not heading for the Criminal Investigation Bureau as told by the late scientist whom he met at the mall.
As Tagiru is heading to a corner, he was taken by surprise as more men, foreigners in particular, drew their guns and opened fire, and the teen narrowly missed them and took a shortcut and went to a park filled with thick trees and seeing a lot of people there, he was forced to get through them in hopes of losing his assailants so he can escape and call the police if he sees one, and hoped that the assailants are not foolish to open fire at a crowd full of people.
"Hope those foreign fools wouldn't try like causing a shooting spree here..."
However, the assassins opened fire and killed many people while others were dispersed, and Tagiru realized that they have no qualms in killing anyone as long as they get to him, and now he is starting to run out of options as he didn't want to drag any more innocent people in his mess and mentally wished that he would find Gumdramon and have him digivolve and deal with his assailants.
To Be Continued…
Hope you like this chapter...and now Tagiru is on the run...and with Gumdramon not around, he's easy picking...a sure way to "jumpstart" his "bizarre adventure" in a way he never would expect...
Preview:
Tagiru is slowly being on the run as he is being chased...by the killers who murdered a scientist whom Tagiru briefly met at Kyoto Mall, and the teen has to rely on his wits as he is being "shot down"...
But expect more danger to arrive as Taiki and Yuu slowly sensed the danger that has befallen their friend while the mystery behind the "Cloak And Dagger" video game slowly unravels...