Chapter 15

Written by: Juggalomalice

Rika stumbled backward and fell. Panicked, she desperately looked around for a means to escape. She turned towards her partner, Renamon, who was also being ruthlessly pinned to the ground by her own opponent and could offer her no salvation. She heard the heavy footsteps close in behind her as she looked up to stare down the barrel of a gun. The finger around its trigger squeezed and she closed her eyes, unable to stare her defeat in the face. A light 'pop' sound was heard as a warm liquid splattered lightly on the side of her face.

"Really, I guess I'm a bad teacher if you folded that quickly at the sight of a paintball gun," Tai smirked as he lowered the toy gun.

Rika sat up as she wiped the specks of yellow paint off her face and regarded the yellow splotch mark on the ground from where Tai had shot. "Can you blame me? You said this was a training fight. Didn't expect you to come at me with a gun."

"It's a rookie mistake to think a Digimon battle involves just the digimon," Agumon chimed in as he released Renamon from his hold and helped her to her feet. "You two are a team and just because Renamon is fighting the enemy digimon doesn't mean you'll be safe either. Environmental dangers, collateral damage, enemies that are not engaged, and in this case even the enemy trainer can target you and pull your life at risk. You need to learn that if you die, your digimon will likely die with you." "And the reverse is also true if your digimon dies there's a good chance you're going to be following them. Noticed how the moment I started shooting at you Renamon's concern shifted immediately to your safety and away from Agumon. In that one moment of distraction Agumon completely disabled her," Tai concluded.

"Yeah, but you shoot at me. With a gun, a fake gun or not. What did you expect her to do?" Rika countered.

"Don't blame Renamon for this one Pineapple. This is your fault. Yes, Renamon should be concerned with your safety, but that doesn't mean you get to stand there like an idiot and make yourself a target. Your job is more than just shouting orders. You need to not only constantly be aware of your surroundings, but you need to take initiative to protect yourself as well. Your safety is also your topmost concern because if anything happens to you, Renamon loses. Understand?"

"Wait, so I need to analyze my opponents, be aware of my surroundings, make and adjust battle strategies on the fly, and keep track of everything that might hurt me while being proactive in my own protection? Isn't that a bit much?"

"I thought you said you wanted to be the best?"

"I do!"

"Than that is exactly what you're going to do. You're going to do it, you're going to get good at it, and then you're going to do more because what you listed is the bare minimum of what you need to do if you want to survive in this game. Remember, Rule One: Be constantly aware of your surroundings."

"I know and Rule Two: You won't always be there," She mocked.

"Rule Three: You and your digimon are connected. You're digimon can't fight if you're dead, stay safe."

"Stay safe, got it." She committed the new rule to memory.

"Rule Four: Remember that at their core digimon are or were once computer programs. Most, especially wild ones, have preset patterns, routines, and weaknesses programmed into them. Exploit them when you can. Have you been reading that guide I bought you?"

Rika nodded, "Yeah, I'm surprised there was so much I didn't know."

Agumon nodded at hearing this. "And here I thought she would never learn. How about it Tai? Share with her Rule Five or as I call it, the Fun Rule."

Tai smiled as he thought about it. "Alright, Rule Five. You ready? Rule Five states that when fighting other Digi-Destined everything that applies to you, applies to them."

"I don't understand why that's called fun. It seems pretty obvious to me. Like if you can see your enemy chances are they can see you."

"Well yeah, but it means if your opponent isn't taking steps to protect themselves you can take advantage of that. Remember how quickly you lost the moment I started taking pop shots at you. The same thing applies to them." Rika rubbed her chin in thought. Something about that rule seemed off, but she couldn't quite figure out why just yet. So she shrugged and listened. Say what you want about Tai, his methods worked

They did a few more training matches afterward. Though the young trainer did find herself being slightly overwhelmed by all the additional information she was being asked to process the practice did help and soon she found everything was just a tad bit easier. Soon the orange glow of sunset was upon them and after checking a message on his phone Tai signaled for them to wrap up their practice and call it a day.

"Hey, now that I think about it, where are Takato and Henry?" Tai asked as he looked around.

"They out of town on a school field trip or something. They'll be gone the whole weekend," She answered.

"Oh, well that's a shame."

"Yeah, but it means the two of us will have more time for my lessons. Maybe I can even join you on one of those patrols you tend to complain about all the time."

Tai scratched the back of his head and he laughed a bit. "Yeah, about that. I don't want to rain on your parade, but I've kind of been grounded. So no patrols for a while."

"Grounded? By your mom or what? Well, I can still hang out at your place." "Yeah, about that too. I'm going to be kind of busy so I'm going to have to ask you not to stop by my place for a few days, okay."

"What the hell? Care to explain what's going on Mop-Head?" She cynically asked.

Tai shrugged again as he looked away from her. "I got a hot date coming over and I can't have a little girl messing up my mojo. You understand, right?"

"Go jump in the river, Mop-Head!" She shouted as she prepared to storm off.

"Hey Rika, one other thing."

"What!" She shouted as she turned back towards Tai only to be surprised by the sudden serious face the young man had.

"Whatever you do, don't go hunting any digimon for the next few days either, OK? In fact, no digimon activity at all am I understood? Stay home and keep to public areas where you can be seen and when Takato and Henry get back I want you to stick to them like glue until I contact you. Same rules apply to them so let them know."

The young girl clenched her fists as if she could physically feel the tension in Tai's voice. "Is there something you want to tell me, Tai?"

"No, and if things go the way I want them too I won't have to tell you either," He coldly replied as he walked off. Despite how many times Rika called him back he didn't stop and he never answered back.

It had been almost a week since Rika last saw or heard from Tai. As promised she didn't call him or stop at his place and once Takato and Henry got back she stuck with them and relayed what Tai said. Though the boys did have questions they both acknowledged Tai's experience and strength so they were willing to accept his rules for the time being. On top of that, they had just finished fighting one of the Devas, Sinduramon, while on their trip and were willing and eager to take some time off from anything too dangerous.

Overall it seemed like it would be a boring week with no real digimon activity. At least it was until Henry told them about the blue card he got and since it didn't involve hunting digimon per say they all agreed that it wasn't going against Tai's orders. It's not like they could sit back and do nothing after all. No one would expect that their search would lead them into a fight with the two Devas, Vajramon and Pajiramon. The former who would survive the encounter resulting in a rematch the following night at the baseball stadium.

None of the children or their digimon partners would deny how amazing and tense the fight with Vajramon was. The Ox digimon seemed unbeatable until Renamon, with the help of Rika, managed to digivolve into her ultimate form, Taomon. Only then were the tides turned and Vajramon was defeated for good this time. It was an amazing triumph and Rika, ecstatic from being reunited with her partner, didn't think to realize that both her friends just rode off in the opposite direction of her leaving her and Renamon alone. Indeed, Tai's warning seemed like a distant and unneeded concern and as she peddled her bike home she didn't quite realize the danger she was heading into.

For a short distance from the stadium, Rika came across a peculiar sight, standing smack dab in the middle of the sidewalk blocking her way. For before Rika stood a beautiful, western woman with golden locks of hair the likes she had never seen. The beautiful woman wore a western black and red dress, perhaps of French Lolita style, and carried a black parasol. Her deep blue eyes stared directly at Rika, unblinking. An unnatural feeling of danger slowly crept up Rika's back as she drew closer to this unearthly woman. Part of her felt she should just veer sharply off course and cycle as fast as she could away from her, but the other part of her noticed the small little figure next to her. A digimon with purple blossoms for hands and a red petal-like helmet. "A Floramon?" Rika questioned quietly as she slowed down to a halt but 10 feet away from them. The warning lights in her brain were going haywire, but her curiosity pushed her forward. Another adult with a digimon. Someone like Tai, but why here? Why now?

"Good evening, little girl. May I ask you where you're coming from?" The blonde woman asked in a unique accent that was not American, but was perhaps… French? Rika didn't know any French people, just those she's heard in foreign films.

"I said good evening," she repeated once more sounding a bit peeved.

Rika finally remembered herself and replied, "Good evening."

"Oh good, I was afraid my Japanese was rusty. May I ask, why is such a young girl out by herself at such a dreadful hour like this?"

"I'm heading home if you excuse me," Rika answered cautiously.

"By yourself?"

"Yes."

"Such a bold little girl to lie straight to one's face. Your partner is nearby are they not? You don't need to answer that. I know they are. It is my job to track them after all," The French Woman happily replied with a laugh and twirl of her parasol. Rika physically flinched at the sound of her laugh. Though it rang beautifully, just like the woman's voice there was an unnatural coldness to it.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Oh, dear girl, let's drop the charade shall we. Now you're going to be a good girl and come with me, understood?"

Rika's hand tighten around the handles of her bike as she prepared to flee. "And if I said no?"

Again, the cold laughter rang out like a bell in the dead of winter as the French beauty reached behind her back with her free hand, pulled out a small gun and pointed it right at her. Something told Rika that this wasn't a paintball gun. "Oh, my sweet little dear. You misunderstood. I wasn't asking and I assure you, the alternative is much worse."

A loud click, perhaps the loudest click Rika ever heard in her life, sounded from the gun as it was cocked and aimed at her. Rika froze. There was just something 1000% more terrifying about having a real gun pointed at you over a fake one. The French Woman was talking. At least Rika thought she was talking. She couldn't hear what she was saying though. Her face was strange though. After a few moments, it didn't look like she was looking at Rika anymore. She seemed to be looking at something behind her. There was a light shining on her from some unknown source and her gorgeous face was slowly being overtaken by panic. Her aimed jerked to the side at an unknown source as she finally pulled the trigger.

BANG BANG

Several shots rang out like thunder as the world once more resumed motion in Rika's eyes. She felt Renamon push her to the side out of harm's way as a familiar white moped came flying out from behind her straight at the French Woman almost taking her head clean off. She and her digimon dived to the ground to avoid the wayward motored bike, her gun sliding away from the dive, as two more bodies dived and rolled onto the ground next to where Rika and Renamon laid.

"Who the hell drives a moped into people?" The French Woman shouted as she stood up and glared at the two new interlopers.

"Fuck you, that's who!" Tai shouted back as he and Agumon stood up to face her.

"Tai?" The French Woman asked.

"Catherine?" Tai replied. Catherine laughed again, though it seemed a bit sweeter this time.

"It's been a long time, Tai. Has it not?"

"Not long enough in my book?"

"Tai," Rika shouted as she stood up next to him, "What the hell is going on? Who is this woman?"

"Hey Rika, I thought I told you to stay close to your friends. Well to late for that now. It is my great displeasure to introduce you to Catherine Deneuve. One of the original French Digi-Destined, but now she's what we in the business like to call..."

"A Destiny-Hunter."

End chapter 15

First an apology. For some reason, my email started blocking all mail from Fanfiction so I wasn't getting any updates. No notices, no follows, no reviews, and no messages. So I thought all interest in this story was lost so I put it off. Recently I checked the filter and noticed a follow for this and that got me to investigate again. So I'm back for now. As for how long, well let's just say my life as a lot of problems, but I'll be honest, writing this did feel good. So here's hoping I can overcome my crippling depression.