Chapter 1

"I want to become strong, so I can go to the Gourmet World. And when I get there, I'm going to find you … because I want you to be my combo partner."

It's been 8 years since he told me that but I know he hasn't forgotten. He isn't that kind of guy. He's kind, smart, and even though he doesn't want to admit it, very protective over his family and friends. He is my best friend and I wouldn't trade him for the world.

I gathered the things to trade with the Human World vendors. I walked out of the cave and helped Ryuu, my dragon friend, put his harness on. I loaded everything onto his back and prepared to leave when I felt a slight pain in my head. Ryuu looked at me with concern.

"It's okay," I reassured him in beast talk. (Beast talk is the language that all beasts speak).

"Is it a telepathic message?" Ryuu asked curiously in beast talk. Thinking back, it sounded like someone was crying for help.

"Maybe. Let's take a little detour and check it out," I said slightly worried. I jumped on Ryuu's back and we headed towards the three way road. By the time we were almost there, I smelled the blood. Ryuu swooped down to land at a safe distance from the border of the Human World so as not get killed by Guemon. I saw something just ahead but when I finally got a good look at what it was, my heart sank. I slid off Ryuu's back and ran to the body. His soft rainbow-colored hair and smooth white skin were no longer as they once were for now, his hair was matted with blood and his skin was covered in cuts. His clothes were torn in several places and he didn't seem to be breathing. I pumped his chest and gave him air, hoping that he would finally open his eyes. And that he did, along with a jump in surprise and a grimace as he remembered he just had his ass handed to him by a young mother snake. Of course he was surprised to see his best friend, giving him CPR. That was embarrassing.

"T-Takeshi! I never thought I'd see you so fast!" he said, rubbing his head. He hoped to play it coolly.

"Well, it's good to know you're not dead," I said with a warm smile. It was a bit of a surprise to see Sunny here and even more so that he got his ass kicked only minutes after he had stepped into the Gourmet World. Now that I think about … I thought. I looked around.

"What is it?" Sunny asked curiously.

"What was it that attacked you?" I asked. Sunny obviously didn't want to remember that embarrassing moment. I sighed. Then she heard a hiss from behind her. Sunny stood up and faced the mother snake. I couldn't help but laugh. Sunny looked at me with confusion.

"Takeshi … Are you okay?" he asked.

"You got your ass handed to you on a silver platter by a baby snake?! Hahaha!" I said, laughing. Sunny rolled his eyes and turned to the serpent. I stopped laughing.

"Sorry I attacked you like that. No hard feelings?" he apologized as he held out his hand. There was a moment of silence. Then the snake did something very unexpected: she flicked her tongue and licked Sunny's face.

"Awwww! Sunny, she likes you!" I said. I was dying from laughter on the inside. Sunny turned to me with a skeptical look on his face but before he could say anything, the mother snake bolted forward and Sunny, Ryuu, and I were bucked up into the air. I quickly got on to Ryuu's back and he flew to catch up with the snake. Sunny, however, was clinging to a raised scale on the back of the serpent's head. Ryuu flew at top speed to meet Guemon at the border and tell him that Sunny and his "animal partner" were coming in from the Gourmet World. Luckily, an intuitive Yosaku already told him what was going on and Guemon let the two hooligans go through. Sadly, Yosaku had set up a trapping plant to catch them and they were stuck there while he chewed them out. Ryuu flew down to the ground and I hopped off his back, joining Yosaku and Guemon. I turned to Sunny and looked him in the eye.

"Now that the mother snake has trespassed into the Human World, you have two choices. Either she is to be killed … or to save her from that fate, you can take her as your animal partner and train her to live in this world. What do you choose?" I asked seriously. Sunny's eyes widened with surprise. He looked at the young snake. He explained the situation to her in beast talk and asked, "What do you choose?"

The snake seemed surprised that Sunny asked her opinion when he could have chosen for her. There was silence as she weighed her options.

"I know nothing of this world but … will you accept me as your partner?" she asked politely.

"Hell yeah!" he yelled with excitement. He then began to rant on and on about how beautiful she was.

"I'll take that as a yes," I said as I cut down the vines of the trapping plant with blades of wind. This pissed Yosaku off a bit.

"Hey! Do you have any idea how long it took to get that plant?!" he yelled. I ignored him and turned to Guemon.

"They've decided to become partners," I said. Guemon looked past me with a spaced out look. There he goes again, I thought. I sighed as I walked back to Ryuu.

"Hey, Sunny! Do you and your new partner want to go with Ryuu and I to the market?" I asked. It's been 8 years since we've seen each other. This will be a good time to catch up.

"Hey, Takeshi! You're not allowed to do that! That thing ain't trained yet!" Yosaku yelled.

"I never was one for rules," I said. He smirked.

"You go, girl! Break those rules!" he called out as the four of us left. Along the way, I taught Sunny's partner how to behave among the humans. It seems that Ryuu has become a role model for her. After all, he is also a child of his species and he has only been here a couple of times to help me bring things to the market. I noticed that she had become very docile and was trying to fit in. We reached the market by about 2:00 in the afternoon and met with Tom. He bought the ingredients from me and I walked out to meet up with the other three. We were going to go on to Biotope 1 when I remembered something.

"Hey, Sunny," I said.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Have you thought about a name for her yet?" I asked. He froze.

"What?" he asked.

"A name. You can't just say 'Hey, you over there with the forked tongue,'" I said. Ryuu and the snake flicked their forked tongues. Sunny laughed.

"Sorry. I guess that wouldn't work either," I said, trying not to laugh. Man, you guys sure are sassy today, I thought. Sunny turned to the snake.

"Do you have a name we can call you by?" he asked in beast talk. She shook her head. She had never been called anything but brat, kid, or the nicer term, young one. The thought of having a real name never crossed her mind. Sunny and I thought for a while.

"Well, she is the descendant of one of the eight beast kings. Maybe that will spark an idea," I said. Then we stopped and looked at each other. We turned to the snake with a big grin on our faces. She seemed to be somewhat intimidation by this and backed up a little bit.

"QUEEN!" we yelled at the top of our lungs. The look of confusion on her face was priceless. Sunny and I burst out laughing. Ryuu looked at us like we were idiots and continued to walk ahead of us. I had to run to catch up with him. When we finally got to the Biotope 1 main building, I was tackled by a small figure and pushed to the ground. When I looked again, I saw bright blue eyes like Sunny's and short black hair. I smirked when I recognized who it was.

"Who are you?" she asked as she studied my features. Sunny grabbed one of my legs with his hair wires and dragged out from underneath the young girl.

"Thanks, Sunny! Oh, and nice panties, Rin!" I said with a laugh. Rin blushed as she put her legs together and attempted to pull her skirt down a little.

"You perv! Wait a minute! Who the hell are you and how do you know my name?" she asked angrily. Sunny and I looked at each other, trying to hold back laughter.

"Wow. You don't recognize your own teacher?" I teased. Rin had a moment of realization.

"TAKESHI-CHAN!" she screamed as she ran towards me with her arms open to hug me. I yelped at the force of her body colliding with mine. Momentum caught up with us and we were flung into the wall. With all the noise, I wasn't surprised to see Mansom coming up the stairs to see what was going on. I struggled to get free of a clingy Rin.

"Mansom! Sunny! Help me!" I begged. Mansom looked at me with a smirk.

"Did you call me handsome?" he asked.

"Yes, I did," I winked, pointing finger guns at him. (Beast Mode Activated) He pulled the two of us apart and unintentionally threw us in different directions. Luckily, I was fast enough to run to the other side of the room and catch Rin just in time. Sunny and Queen held Mansom down while Rin went to get help. I hit a pressure point and knocked him out temporarily. Chief Ray and some others helped Mansom back to his quarters and asked some questions on what happened. After a report was taken, Sunny, Rin, Queen, Ryuu, and I walked downstairs to the lab. Queen and Ryuu went to a special room next to the bedrooms to rest from their long trip. Sunny and Rin went to their rooms for the night. I went around and visited some of the cloned beasts I had been friends with when I was younger and then went to my room. But I didn't go to sleep. Instead I went out to the balcony and surveyed the biotope below. I thought about all that had happened today. Normally, I would go back to the Gourmet World after a couple days but something is telling me to stay longer. Was it instinct or intuition? Was it my fortune teller blood? Or … was it her?