Bond of Hope and Light: Name's Takeru Ishida Chapter 9: Protection of a Friend, a digimon fanfic

Story by Green Garden

Bond of Hope and Light: Name's Takeru Ishida
Chapter 8: "Protection of a Friend"

The feeling of the heart - Love? I know it is... - All I want... - Is your company, to be there beside you that's all... - I won't hesitate in my answer I do to you - But it's more complicated than that! - Am I worthy to be yours? - Or are you worthy to be mine? - Are there others? - Hope? I always have it... - The question is the matter of choice... - In the end the option is completely mine... - Who would I choose?

Previously on Name's Takeru Ishida:

The family had a surprise visit from Catherine's family, who's from France. Floramon was with her, and while her parents and my parents were talking downstairs, the two couples along with Yamato remained downstairs while I and Patamon went upstairs to my bedroom with Catherine and Floramon. We only talked a little, and I told her about Daisuke, getting her interested him. She showed me her crest that she only had found recently.

Her family is only going to stay in Australia temporarily, and then travel to Odaiba, Japan. Derek and Catherine saw each other when Catherine's family was leaving. Soon afterward Derek and Crabmon went back home. On with the conclusion...

"Pardon me?" Hikari asked.

"You heard me well, Hikari." Daisuke replied.

Hikari's eyes glared dangerously and Daisuke had never seen her like that. She stood up and continued on glaring at Daisuke.

"There is absolutely no way I'll let you have me! I'm Takeru's girl and I always will be! No matter how long it would take, but I'll wait for my prince to return!" Hikari exclaimed.

She turned around and marched out of the Amusement Park, leaving Daisuke behind on the bench. He sighed...

It has been three months since the fateful date and Hikari hadn't talked with Daisuke since. If he called, she refused to talk and if she saw him on the street, it was like she never knew him. Taichi made matters worse, by literally beating Daisuke up sometimes and other times throwing him out of the building complex, into the street. Taichi had warned Daisuke about hurting Hikari more and Daisuke knew he had. Being thrown out was Daisuke's better days.

He tried hard to apologize to Hikari and explain, but she refused to talk with him and rejected him. Taichi didn't even want to listen and either Hikari or Taichi slammed their door in Daisuke's face. Daisuke usually returned home with a bruised up face. Expectedly, Jun teased Daisuke about the beatings that Taichi gave to him, and how Daisuke deserved them. Veemon was the most concerned and worried for his human partner.

He could understand how Daisuke felt. Daisuke was emotionally unbalanced and psychologically ill for the moment. To make matters even worse, Taichi called up the other DigiDestined -minus Iori and Takeru-, telling them of what happened between Daisuke and Hikari, with Hikari telling Taichi everything beforehand. Only Ken was supportive of Daisuke and was there for him, but the rest withdrew from Daisuke, including the Digimon.

With Ken being supportive of Daisuke, Wormmon was also supportive. Both could understand what Daisuke was going through, considering that Ken was the Digimon Emperor in the past and that Wormmon was his slave and servant during such a time. Unknown to Daisuke, he would eventually get over Hikari and better days would arrive for him. It all started on the first day of university for the junior DigiDestined in Odaiba.

Naturally, Daisuke and Ken shared the dorm, since nobody else wanted to share the dorm with him. Veemon and Wormmon also came along, but not normally, rather snuck in. Odaiba University had dorms and it was on campus, so Daisuke and Ken were going to stay away from their home for a good time. Daisuke didn't mind, since he'd be away from his mumbling sister and was rather relived that he didn't have to return everyday home.

Ken opened the dorm room and Daisuke was the first to walk in, with luggage in his arms. Ken left, to retrieve the last of the luggage. Daisuke dropped the luggage on the floor and glanced around at the dorm room. From what he could see, there were a study desk; two closets; a mini-fridge; two separate beds, and a phone. Remembering their Digimon, Daisuke opened up the luggage that had Demi Veemon in one and Minomon in another.

With the bag open, Demi Veemon gulped in huge breaths of air, before getting out. Minomon was more controlled, because once he was out, he breathed normally. Ken appeared with the last of the luggage and Daisuke helped him with them. Ken closed the door behind him. He shook the dorm's key in Daisuke's eyes, smiling.

"Our own dorm room key. Dorm room number K01." He informed.

"I'll need a copy of that." Daisuke stated.

Ken chuckled. "I've got that ready Dai." He nodded.

Daisuke looked up and saw Ken carrying a second key: a copy. Daisuke grabbed it and from that moment on, Daisuke decided that he would concentrate on his study, unlike his high school years. Demi Veemon was the first to look in the mini-fridge. It was empty and he turned to Daisuke and Ken.

"Where's all the food?" He asked.

Daisuke chuckled. "We'll have to buy it and fill it up on our own. I'll be the one to handle that." He decided.

Ken nodded. "That's fine by me. Care to do it now and I'll deal with the unpacking?" He asked.

Daisuke shrugged and turned to Demi Veemon.

"This is a dorm room and we're sharing it with Ken and Minomon. Behave." Daisuke requested.

Demi Veemon rolled his eyes. "Like I'm the one who messes up your room." He remarked.

Daisuke grunted, but then nodded slowly, confirming Demi Veemon's remark. He sighed and left the dorm, to gather up food, or snacks, in Daisuke's case, for the mini-fridge. He closed the dorm door behind him. Ken nodded and started opening up the luggage. Demi Veemon walked over to Daisuke's stuff and glanced at it. Minomon just floated around the dorm for awhile and eventually settled down in a spot.

The dorm had one large window to it, which looked out into the campus' yard. Ken thought of getting drapes for the windows, but decided against it since it won't be needed, yet and he also wanted to talk with Daisuke about it. Both Ken and Daisuke thought that they were the last to arrive at the university, but that was untrue. Ken opened up one of the closets, and right in front of his face, two crests appeared. Ken's eyes widened, recognizing his crest.

The second crest, Ken figured, was Daisuke's, but how was that possible? Did it mean that both Wormmon and Veemon had separate ultimate forms? There was no other explanation. Ken thought of picking his crest, the Crest of Kindness, but thought better of it.

'Not now, not when we just arrived. I'm telling Dai this though, when he returns.' Ken thought...

During the three months, Daisuke worked and regained the money he had used in the Amusement Park and even more. He had more than enough yen to get food for the mini-fridge in his and Ken's dorm room. The shop for the university was on the second floor and Daisuke headed towards the stairs, with his money ready in his pocket. He was close to the stairs, when he saw Taichi talking with a blonde girl.

Taichi noticed Daisuke and his eyes narrowed. Daisuke continued walking, taking his sight off of Taichi, passing from behind the girl, which seemed to be Daisuke's age. Daisuke walked up the stairs and went into the shop, buying a few full bags. While getting some food for the dorm's mini-fridge, the same girl Daisuke saw, entered and got some soda. For a moment, while Daisuke was picking his bags, he and the blonde girl shared a look: a quick glance.

After both paid, the blonde girl was the first to leave and Daisuke followed. When they reached the first floor, they took separate directions, with Daisuke heading back to his dorm, with his hands full. He did pay for the food. He knocked at the door of his dorm and Ken opened it. When Demi Veemon saw him carrying bags full of food, he smiled. Daisuke looked around and saw that Ken was still working on the unpacking.

"I'll just get these into the mini-fridge and I'll help you out. No touching Demi V." Daisuke warned.

He went over to the mini-fridge and emptied the food in the few bags into the mini-fridge, filling it up. Ken locked the dorm room's door and went back to unpacking. He had decided on telling Daisuke early the next day. Once finished, Daisuke closed the door of the mini-fridge and started helping Ken with the unpacking. Wisely, Ken chose the closet in which he found the two crests. He only touched Daisuke's crest and put it in a drawer in Daisuke's closet.

They were done by midnight and being tired, obviously went straight to bed. Minomon silently joined Ken at the foot of Ken's bed. Demi Veemon just slept on Daisuke's bed, at the end of his feet...

Next day and early in the morning, much was to be done and said. Ken was the first to wake up. He was careful not to wake Minomon though. Unsurprisingly, Daisuke was still in bed, dozed off. Ken shook his head at the site and went over to the phone to get some info he wanted and needed, which included his and Daisuke's class schedules, since Ken knew Daisuke wouldn't have time to do it.

Ken hastily got a pen and two papers ready. Minomon woke up and floated slightly above the bed, watching Ken. Ken nodded his head a few times, while speaking and he wrote down some stuff in both papers. With the schedules out of the way, Ken checked for other dorm rooms, checking to see his DigiDestined friends. From what Hikari told Miyako and from what Miyako told Ken, Ken only knew that Taichi was at home before, because it was vacation time.

Taichi was in his senior year, and Hikari; Daisuke, and Ken were only freshmen. From what Ken found out about the dorm rooms, Taichi Kamiya was alone in dorm room C02; Hikari Kamiya and Miyako Inoune were sharing dorm room L02; Joe Kido and Sora Takenouchi were sharing dorm room R02 and Koushiro Izumi and Mimi Tachikawa were sharing dorm room K02.

Ken found out that Catherine Fournier and Willis Starshine, both transfer students, with Catherine from France and Willis from the U.S., were sharing dorm room D01, on the same floor that he and Daisuke were on. By the time he was done, Daisuke had woken up. Ken grinned and handed the paper over to Daisuke.

"Here's your weekly schedule." He informed.

Daisuke, still sleepy-eyed, nodded his head and let himself waken up more. He glanced at his side and only took a moment at noticing his schedule there. Ken was moving around, preparing himself for the day. With the dorm room came a separate small bathroom, which had a sink; mirror; hygiene cabinet, and slide door shower. Ken went into the bathroom and Daisuke got out of his bed, waking Demi Veemon up.

He went over to his closet and swiftly changed into other clothes. He decided that he'd take a shower after his classes. Demi Veemon just watched from his position on the bed. Daisuke first chose his clothes for the day and got out of the clothes he was wearing, changing into the clothes that he chose. Ken walked out of his quick shower, drying his hair, with new clothes on him. Ken noticed that Daisuke hadn't found the crest, and decided going into a different issue.

"Are you familiar with the name Willis Starshine? Is he the "Willis" you've told me about?" Ken asked.

Daisuke turned to him, blinking.

"I don't know his full name." Daisuke simply replied.

"He did come from the U.S." Ken added.

"So? There are a lot of Willis' in the U.S. The specific Willis I know has Terriermon and most recently, regained Lopmon. He's from Colorado and is a quiet guy." Daisuke replied.

"So he's a good guy to get to know?" Ken asked.

Daisuke nodded. "Basically. Why do you ask?" He asked.

"Because there's some Willis Starshine here, a transfer student from the U.S. He's in dorm room D01." Ken explained.

Daisuke shrugged. "It probably could be him. Willis is a nice guy to have as a friend." He informed.

"Do you think Terriermon and Lopmon are with him?" Demi Veemon asked.

"You mean did he bring them along like we brought you and Minomon along?" Daisuke asked.

Demi Veemon nodded.

"Well, yes. That is if this is the same Willis we're taking about. Terriermon and Lopmon are his Digimon and he won't leave them behind in Colorado." Daisuke replied.

"What about you and Hikari?" Ken asked.

Daisuke jerked his head up, staring squarely at Ken. Hikari became a sensitive issue to Daisuke since three months ago.

"What about us?" He asked, quietly.

"What if you run into her here?" Ken asked, raising an eyebrow.

Daisuke shrugged. "I'd just ignore her... I'll have to contact Takeru and tell him." He whispered.

Ken shook his head. "Not a wise idea. Just deal with Hikari when the opportunity arrives, without pulling Takeru into it in anyway, like by telling him or mentioning him to Hikari." He advised.

Daisuke sighed. "I guess you're right... I'll need to be patient with this." He nodded.

Ken nodded. "The shower is ready for your turn." He informed.

Daisuke shook his head. "Not now, after my classes. When I come back, I'll at least take a shower and have Demi Veemon up to Veemon. After all, we did bring them in and they're in now." He reminded.

"I guess I'll do the same when I return from after my day of classes; to bring Minomon to Wormmon again." Ken agreed.

Daisuke gathered his bag and schedule and headed out the door, bringing the dorm room key with him, but leaving his D-3 and D-Terminal back in his closet. Ken did the same. He shook his head and finished preparing himself. He picked up his bag and schedule.

"Don't lock the door; I might want to have a stroll outside." Demi Veemon informed.

Ken raised his eyebrow. "I don't know. You'll have to talk with Dai about that. Besides, I'll close the door, but leave it unlocked." He decided.

Demi Veemon nodded and Ken closed the door behind him...

It was so unlike Daisuke, but when he entered his first lecture, he was early and he took an unoccupied seat. He looked around the classroom and noticed two familiar faces. One of which was a bit hurtful to him, but he kept his emotions in check. The other, he was more interested in; the blonde that he saw talking with Taichi the night before and the one that he shared a glance with.

He wanted so much to get to know the blonde girl, yet he wanted to talk with Hikari, seeing that it was an opportunity for him to try and fix or repair things. His mind struggled wanting to talk with both and when he eventually chose talking with Hikari, the professor had entered. Intend on keeping his decision and goal, he sat back down and listened to the lecture. The school days have started once again.

Daisuke did his best not to be distracted by Hikari or the blonde, which was a gamble that actually paid off. The professor caught someone else being distracted by the blonde and the professor warned the student, bringing him back to reality. The class laughed, but not Daisuke; Hikari, or the blonde. Daisuke ignored the whole thing, as did Hikari, but the blonde turned to check and see who was checking her out. Upon knowing who it was, she smiled and focused on the lecture.

While the professor was writing down the homework; some chapter reading, not big of a deal with Daisuke, he arranged his time for the day and also noticed the shy glances that the blonde gave to him.

'Is she interested in me or something? She seems nice and cute.' Daisuke thought.

Anyhow, he decided that after his classes were over for the day, he'd head back to his dorm room and first bring Demi Veemon up to Veemon and then he'd take a shower. After his shower, he decided that he would have something to eat and head to the library, maybe meet Willis there and this new blonde shy girl. Daisuke swiftly noted the homework mentally and decided to do it after he returned to the dorm room, returning from the library.

Too soon and the class was over. Daisuke hadn't taken anything out of his bag and so left the room without packing anything. Before stepping out, he saw Hikari packing some of her stuff and closing her bag, but the blonde was having some trouble. She had to pack some stuff, but a young guy was distracting her. Daisuke stepped backwards, letting the rest of the class pass by, keeping his sight at the blonde girl.

Hikari passed by and took only one glance at Daisuke and continued on her way. Daisuke noticed, but decided not to react, and to ignore it. The professor noticed the troubled blonde girl as well, but concluded that Daisuke would eventually intervene, so he stayed out of the way. When only the professor; Daisuke; the blonde girl, and the young guy distracting her were the only ones left, Daisuke walked over to the blonde's seat.

While nearing them, Daisuke heard the young guy mention stuff about pranks, and telling the blonde about them and how to avoid them. He also heard the blonde telling the young guy that she was from France. At that, Daisuke mentally realized something. He remembered what Takeru had told him and the name...

'Catherine Fournier and her Floramon, interesting. I bet she brought Floramon along with her, as I did with V.' Daisuke thought.

Daisuke took the book and notebook and put them carefully, neatly and gently into Catherine's bag, putting in her writing utensils in last, all the time staring at the young guy, cautious and alert. The young guy quieted down, noticing Daisuke. Catherine turned around and noticed Daisuke herself. She sighed. Daisuke gestured gently for Catherine to take her bag, which she did. The young guy was the one who was distracted by Catherine and the student who the professor warned.

Deciding that the young guy won't back down easily, Daisuke decided to warn him off, yet not to fight him if the young guy provoked or mocked him. With Catherine taking her bag, she took a step back and Daisuke took her place; positioning himself between Catherine and the young guy.

"Back down peacefully." Daisuke warned calmly, glaring at the young guy.

Obviously noticing that Daisuke wasn't some guy to fool around with; the young guy took his advice, gathered his stuff and left the class. Daisuke walked Catherine out. Both were silent and Catherine was shy, concluding that it was Daisuke who was with her, considering what Takeru told her and what Taichi told her the night before. She didn't know if Daisuke knew who she was or not, but she was too shy to say anything to him.

Thanks to the young guy, Daisuke was now aware and alert of any pranks that might be done on him, especially with that young guy being involved. Less than a day in the university, and Daisuke had already probably gained his first enemy.

"My dorm room is D01." Catherine commented.

Daisuke raised his eyebrow and turned to Catherine.

"So you then know Willis by now. Is he from Colorado?" Daisuke asked.

Catherine nodded. "Yes. Do you know him?" She asked.

Daisuke nodded. "Yeah. We have some history together." He replied.

"History?" Catherine asked.

Daisuke didn't know how to phrase it, but he didn't want to mention any Digimon stuff, or he'd know that she would know that he knows who she is. Daisuke didn't want that yet and it appeared to him that Catherine didn't know for now. She'd find out, eventually and through Daisuke himself.

"... It's sort of complicated, but we met in New York some time back and are basically friends and buds now." Daisuke replied.

Catherine nodded. Daisuke noticed that his next lecture was different from Catherine's, so he had to split up with her to head to his next lecture.

"I have to go in another direction to my next lecture. See you later on today in the library?" He asked, stopping with Catherine.

Catherine nodded, turning to him. Daisuke nodded and walked off, with Catherine watching him disappear. Returning back to reality, Catherine rushed to her next lecture...

Minomon noticed Demi Veemon staring at the closed door and exchanged glances with the closed dorm room door and Demi Veemon, eventually stopping himself, so that he won't make himself dizzy. Demi Veemon was staring at the dorm room door thoughtfully, rubbing his chin, trying to think up a way to open the door. He eventually remembered that the D-3s and digivices only helped in evolving the Digimon into their champion form.

But, an in-training Digimon could bring himself or herself up to rookie by themselves. With that in mind, Demi Veemon's eyes brightened up and he stood up straight on Daisuke's bed, closing his eyes, concentrating and relaxing. In a blue short flash of light...

"DEMI VEEMON SHINKA!"
"VEEMON!"

Minomon's eyes widened in admiration and awe. Veemon jumped down Daisuke's bed and rushed towards the door.

"Vee Head Butt!" Veemon yelled.

His head slammed into the door, with the door not budging. Veemon slowly slid down the door, with his stomach being the first to reach the floor. Minomon sweat-dropped. Veemon panted and mentally moaned from the pain he caused onto himself, from such rash plan.

"Why don't you just reach up?" Minomon suggested.

Veemon got to his feet and turned to little Minomon. He considered Minomon's suggestion for a moment and decided that it was worth trying. Effortlessly, Veemon reached up to the knob and turned it, opening the door. Veemon grunted at how easy it was, yet attacked it as his first plan. It was also Minomon's plan to just reach up. Veemon was glad to have his jogress partner and friend around.

"I'll come back before Ken or Dai returns." Veemon whispered, promising.

Minomon nodded and Veemon walked out, closing the door behind him. Veemon moved casually through the corridors and ducked under something or below something when someone appeared in the distance, being careful and cautious enough not to be noticed or seen. He was extra careful not to draw attention to himself, even if he was the only one in the corridor.

Veemon remembered Ken mention Willis, and if it was Willis from Colorado, the Chosen of Destiny, then Veemon was sure that Terriermon and Lopmon were with him. He recalled the dorm room's number, remembering that it was on the same floor... D01. Veemon and Daisuke knew of Lopmon returning, because hours later, Willis called him from Colorado and told Daisuke about Lopmon and regaining a Digi-Egg of some baby Digimon.

Daisuke had told Veemon about it and so they both knew. Veemon was eager to see Terriermon and Lopmon again. He did remember Gatomon from time to time and thought of giving her a visit, considering that Hikari was in lecture classes like Daisuke. The problem was that Veemon didn't know the dorm room's number in where Gatomon stayed in. Unlike Daisuke and Hikari, Veemon and Gatomon stayed friends, as did the rest of the Digimon with Veemon.

It was mentioned to Veemon by both Patamon and Daisuke about the beautiful female Digimon that Patamon and Agumon met in France. Patamon told Veemon that the Digimon's human partner was as beautiful as Floramon, in human terms and from what Takeru had told Patamon. Veemon wanted to get to know this extraordinary Floramon, but never knew that he was going to actually meet her soon enough.

He was walking down a corridor, realizing and eventually admitting that he was lost. He decided against going back because he might get more lost than he already was. Without warning, he tensed up, sensing somebody approach him from behind, sensing him before hearing his steps. Veemon knew that the person, whoever it was, hadn't noticed Veemon yet, but Veemon took no chance. He looked around the corridor to look for some place to hide and found none.

Slowly, he started to panic and backed himself into a dorm room door, unintentionally slamming into it. The person was getting closer and anytime now, Veemon would be easily spotted by the person. Fate intervened though, as the door opened and Veemon fell onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. He quickly panicked, thinking that a student was still in his or her dorm room still. Something pulled him in and something else closed the door.

"Do you two know him?" A feminine voice asked.

"Sure we do. He's Veemon. He helped me with saving Lopmon here." Another voice replied.

Veemon's eyes widened and he immediately recognized the voice, with it belonging to Terriermon. But who did the feminine voice belong to and why was Terriermon talking so openly?

"Veemon? This is Veemon?" The feminine voice asked, pointing towards Veemon.

Feeling insulted and slightly embarrassed, Veemon got onto his feet and turned around. He immediately recognized all three Digimon, with two of them being his friends: Terriermon and Lopmon, while the third was a female Tanemon. Veemon blinked, wondering if she would turn into Palmon. Was it possible that Izzy and Mimi were there? If they were or weren't, a lot of questions popped up into Veemon's head.

"Yeah. I'm Veemon, my friends call me V... Did you hear about me and do I know you?" Veemon asked, cautious.

Tanemon smiled and shook her head.

"I heard about you, but you don't know me." She replied.

"Really? How do you know me if you're not one of the DigiDestined Digimon?" Veemon asked.

Tanemon snorted and looked offended. Terriermon sighed.

"She is a DigiDestined Digimon, but not a DigiDestined from Japan; her DigiDestined is an International or foreign DigiDestined. Nice young lady actually. She and Willis seemed friendly together when they met." Lopmon explained.

"From where?" Veemon asked, out of innocent curiosity.

"It doesn't matter. Did you come in like that?" Tanemon asked.

Veemon blinked. "You mean like this? In this form? No, I came in while I was an in-training." Veemon replied.

"Really? Can you teach how to turn into rookie?" Tanemon asked, her eyes pleading.

Veemon sighed. "Just concentrate on becoming a rookie Digimon and relax. Know that even though you have a DigiDestined; you can turn into rookie without the help of a digivice." He explained.

Tanemon nodded. "I'll try." She decided.

She did as Veemon said and concentrated and relaxed. In a short beam of green light...

"TANEMON SHINKA!"
"FLORAMON!"

Veemon became speechless and backed away a bit, obviously taken off-guard. Terriermon and Lopmon stepped back too, but in awe and respect. Floramon looked at herself and smiled, staring up at Veemon.

"Thanks for your help. I was missing this form." Floramon commented.

"..." Veemon was speechless, yet too recovered for the initial surprise.

Floramon sighed. "This is the least I expected from you V. From what little Patamon had told me about you, I expected more." She whispered.

Veemon shook his head. "W-What?" He asked.

He realized that Floramon was the second Digimon to name him V and in the same tone. The first Digimon with the same tone was Gatomon. Reality sunk into Veemon as he understood what was going on, with Willis being Catherine's dorm roommate or vice-versa. He pointed at Floramon.

"You're from France and your human partner is Catherine Fournier. Wow... Pleasure to meet you ma'am." Veemon greeted, nodding his head.

Floramon smiled. "I see you know of me as well. The pleasure is all mine V." She nodded.

"This will surely surprise Catherine." Lopmon informed, bringing Floramon and Veemon back to realizing that they weren't alone in the dorm room.

"You turned rookie without Dai?" Terriermon asked.

Veemon nodded. "Dai doesn't know yet and... Geez. He doesn't know I left the dorm room. I need your help Terriermon. Do you have anything like a map of the first floor of this university, which would help me?" He asked.

Terriermon nodded. "There is. Let's study the map so you don't get lost again." He stated.

"You got lost?" Floramon asked.

"I intend to accidentally, when I'm not familiar with the area previously." Veemon replied sincerely...

"Well Armadillomon, you wanted to come to Texas and so here we are: The Hida Ranch." Iori explained.

A few generations back, before World War 2, Iori's ancestors came from Japan, but instead of settling in California, they headed to Texas and started their own family ranch. They were able to escape the government's attempt at capturing them, since the Hida family had their own land in Texas. Iori's grandfather from his father's side went back to Japan by himself in his youth and that was how the Hida family had returned to Japan, only partially though.

Iori had cousins; aunts, and uncles in Texas, on The Hida Ranch. Iori was in a cowboy uniform, complete with the cowboy hat and Armadillomon was wearing a cowboy hat. Armadillomon was speechless and in awe, walking side by side with Iori, heading deeper and deeper into the Hida Ranch, towards the home: The Hida Hotel. Iori hadn't informed his relatives that he was coming and neither did his mom or grandpa know.

Armadillomon looked around and noticed a herd of horses nearby, exercising their muscles, in a yard. There was a large barn nearby and plains were in patches around the ranch, but dirt roads were the most common. Iori continued on with Armadillomon to Hida Hotel in silence...

The classes were finally over and Daisuke knew his homework. He was eager in taking a shower and seeing Demi Veemon again. He knew his way back and so got back without any trouble, or without getting lost. Ken was there before him: waiting. Minomon was in sight, but Demi Veemon was no where in site. Daisuke blinked and eventually shrugged. He closed the dorm room door behind him and put his bag down beside his bed, swiftly entering the bathroom.

Ken was about to say something, but kept silent, noticing Daisuke enter the bathroom. Ken nodded and waited patiently. He decided to tell Daisuke about his past, and about the crest. Ken had yet to touch his crest. He just returned ten minutes before Daisuke and was in a quiet mood, which Minomon understood. Both were worried about Demi Veemon, but Minomon knew that Demi Veemon was Veemon now and both knew that he left the dorm room to explore the place.

Again, Ken would have to be the one to tell. Fatefully, Veemon returned and swiftly closed the dorm room door behind him, while Daisuke was still in the shower. Minomon sighed in relief, but when Ken saw Veemon, he was surprised and confused, yet quiet.

"Did Dai return?" Veemon asked.

Ken nodded. Veemon moaned.

"Where is he?" He asked.

Ken nodded towards the bathroom.

"Taking a shower apparently." He replied.

"Good." Veemon nodded.

Veemon took his seat on Daisuke's bed. After 15 minutes, Daisuke came out in the same clothes he chose for the first day. He took one glance at Veemon and stopped rubbing his hair, speechless. Upon his entering the room, Ken's; Veemon's, and Minomon's attention turned towards Daisuke. Daisuke's eyes narrowed and he lowered his arm. He hastily took a seat on his bed beside Veemon.

"How were you able to become this?" Daisuke asked.

Veemon smiled. "The digivices are there for champion and up. Minomon could turn into Wormmon, if he wills it." He informed.

Ken glanced at Minomon and nodded.

"Without your digivice?" Minomon asked.

Again, Ken nodded. Minomon sighed and closed his eyes. Moments later, a short black pillar appeared...

"MINOMON SHINKA!"
"WORMMON!"

Daisuke turned back to Veemon.

"Where were you?" He asked.

"Out of luck, in finding Willis' dorm room I mean." Veemon replied.

Daisuke raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? What did you see there?" He asked.

Veemon nodded. "Well, it all started when..." He started.

The story lasted for about 10 minutes. Daisuke; Ken, and Wormmon were all speechless once Veemon had finished. Daisuke held up a finger and stood up.

"Wait a moment; I'll come back." He informed.

He hurried back into the bathroom and returned the towel to its place. He combed his hair into his new style and walked back into the dorm room.

"Well, let's get something to eat and talk." Daisuke decided.

Wormmon; Ken, and Veemon all agreed with him...

"Well, I didn't get to what I wanted to get to yet, but it's coming in the next chapter, again on Daisuke and Hikari. I apologize but the chapter I mentioned earlier would be after the next one. Some interesting and exciting events are to happen, with some getting hurt. That's all that I can say. Sorry for the long delay by the way. Stay tuned for the next chapter."

STAY TUNED FOR CHAPTER 9: MOTOMIYA VICTORY