21) Juri's Secret Revealed
Juri headed for the bakery, as she often did, but this time, for herself, not her mother.
"Welcome", Takato's father greeted.
Juri quickly made her selections: donuts, cinnamon rolls, and salty rolls.
"Here", she said as she approached the counter.
"Right away", Takehiro replied.
She got to the point: "Ta...ka...to?", she asked in a low, conspiratorial tone that was overly dramatic.
"He... went... out", he replied, mimicking the same tone.
"Thank you very much", he called out as she left through the front door.
"Juri!", someone called. She looked
"You lookin' for Takaro, right?", it was Kazu, and Kenta was with him, as usual.
She nodded.
"We know where he is", Kenta added.
They hustled her along: "Let's go!", Kazu announced. She wasn't expecting them to just drag her along.
"Wait!", she protested.
Hypnos
Dolphin was working in his cubical in the subbasement lab annex.
"In your youth, you couldn't imagine the power that would one day be able to control the 'Net. Now, I'm making sure it becomes a reality. Hurry up and bring me the data on the digital monsters' core program ASAP".
"Shibumi's research isn't quite that simple", Janyu tried explaining. "He did so much after the group broke up, after we all went our separate ways..."
"The digimon that materialize are a threat to yout children. For the sake of your children, solve the secret of Shibumi's research:, he ordered.
Janyu got back to work. He got the emotional black mail. He also recalled Yamaki's words about how he wasn't blaming them for their work on the artificial life project. They were beginning to sound a bit empty.
Chou Park
Kazu, Juri, and Kenta were near the steps leading to Guilmon's shed. They took a slight detour off the path, and into the woods to conceal themselves to spy on the shed.
"What're we doin'?", she asked.
"Shhhhh...", Kazu quietly hissed. It was now obvious they were spying.
"Are they?", Kenta whispered.
"They are", Kazu confirmed. Takato and Jen were there, along with Koichi and their partners.
"Let's get a few things straight, you little furball", Koichi was explaining to Calumon. "First off, you are not a digimon..."
"I am a digimon, culu?!"
"Really? Then explain how it is that you don't register on our digivices at all. Show me a 'Calumon' card. We both know you can't. You admitted to Impmon that you don't evolve and you had no attacks against him, and Impmon's just about the weakest Rookie ever. Even Terriermon kicked his little purple ass. Secondly, you're not as stupid as you let on, and I'm not buying the act. So just drop it..."
"Why are you saying these things, culu? What do you want with me, culu?"
"I was about to get to that. You are the only one who can get inside Hypnos..."
"I'm not going back there! Culu!"
"I understand how upsetting it must've been, seeing what Yamaki did to Darklizardmon. He tried doing the same thing to our partners. Now, he's up to something else, and we need to know what if we're to save our partners. You just might be saving your own life. There's something else for you to consider".
"Culu? Culu?", he said to himself.
"What do you need?"
Koichi handed him a few pen drives: "Download anything that looks interesting, specs on Hypnos' systems, anything related to the Wild Bunch and Shaggai, and bring it to us ASAP. It would be best to go tonight, late, when most of the crew's gone home".
"Takato and the others: they look worried", Kazu observed.
Juri was sitting on her heels, dress stretched tight. Kenta was also hanging back, admiring her nicely shaped ass.
"I envy them", Kenta finally spoke up.
"Why?', Juri asked.
"They have the digimon, and all that... You know, all the adventure, all the fun, and all we get to do is watch from the sidelines", Kenta explained.
"I wish I was a Tamer", Kazu admitted.
"And you, Juri?", Kenta asked.
"I... I don't even have the card game", she said, guiltily, as she looked away.
"If I were a Tamer", Kazu said, "I'd have Omegamon!"
"Me?", Kenta said, "Imperialdramon! Who would be your partner?", he asked Juri.
"I... I... don't even have the card game", she repeated. She shifted positions, and over a dozen Digimon Battle Cards spilled from her pocket. "Uhhhhh...", was all she could say.
Kazu and Kenta looked on, surprised, as she began to gather her cards.
It was that Battle of the Sexes thing that struck in force at their age. Digimon Battle Cards was a "boy thing", and no girl was supposed to like it because it was something boys liked. Juri had played her role very well, always joining in with all the other girls to ridicule the boys over this game. The pretending to be ignorant of the whole thing. Juri had even called the Battle Cards "Tarot Cards", when it was obvious she knew what they were. Now it began to make sense, why she, of all of Class 5-B, was the first to be introduced to Guilmon.
"I wonder what they were talking about?", Kazu said as he looked back towards Guilmon's shed.
"Huh?", Kenta and Kazu said. While distracted with Juri, and discussing possible partners, they missed it.
The trio approached Guilmon's shed. They'd missed seeing them depart, and the shed stood empty.
"Hell'd they get to?", Kazu asked.
"I'll bet they went off to fight another evil digimon", Kenta theorized.
"I bet they did!", Kazu agreed. "Maybe we can find them; they couldn't've gotten too far".
"Let's", Kenta agreed.
The boys ran off.
0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
"Sorry for keeping you waiting, I had to attend to a call".
"That's OK, after all, we're stealing some of your time", Rumiko, Ruki's mother, explained.
They were waiting in the photographer's outer office. Ruki, wearing a pink dress with a ridiculous amount of lacy frills, was sitting there, sipping a soda through a straw. The walls were decorated with photos of the various models his modeling firm had photographed, including a prominent one of Rumiko herself, done not too long ago.
"It's nothing", he replied. "We asked you to come, after all".
"This is Mr. Sugai", Rumiko introduced the photographer. "I owe a big part of my job to him", she explained. "So I hope you don't say anything strange, Ruki".
"Like what?", she asked. Ruki was less than pleased to be here, but so far, had behaved herself.
"You know, like 'Why are models always smiling? You can't believe those smiles are genuine', or 'I hate dresses'".
Rumiko could be quite clueless, Ruki thought, as she noticed the surprised look on Mr. Sugai's face, as if she had actually said them herself.
"I don't hate dresses", Ruki objected. She stood up, facing her mother with a look of anger in her eyes. "I just hate the dresses you make me wear!"
This was true. Ruki didn't object to the school uniform, and she wouldn't object to dressing as Takato's friend, Juri. Even though Juri's own sense of taste made her look like she was aging herself down, still, her jumper wasn't covered in gew-gaws, wasn't some garish colour, and contrasted nicely with her canary yellow blouse. It wasn't exactly practical for digibattles, but it didn't look like something someone piling out of a clown car would be wearing either.
"You see, that's what I'm talking about", her mother reprimanded, still clueless as to how she was embarrassing herself, as if Ruki had started it. "Please don't say anything like that".
"That dress is really pretty", Mr. Sugai lied. "Because you look good as well, you can wear a dress like that. It wouldn't look anywhere near as good on most other girls". She knew what he meant: it's a hideous dress.
"Here", Mr. Sugai handed her an even worse hat, "it's even better with that hat", as she put it on.
"I see", Ruki replied.
"We'll finish straight away", Rumiko reassured.
"It's just a photo test", he explained, as he led her into the photo studio, and had her stand behind a plain backdrop.
"You have nice eyes", he complimented, as one of his two photographers composed the shot through the view finder. "Would you like to have a job like your mother's?", he asked.
"No", Ruki replied flatly. Rumiko didn't like hearing that bit of honesty.
"First, we'll do a flash test", the photographer explained. Ruki flinched at the flash. The photographer took a measurement with an exposure meter.
"Now just act naturally. I'll take a few shots without the flash", he reassured. His camera clicked and whirred.
"Good, keep it like that", as he took more photos from various angles.
"Nice, now can you take off the hat, and look at the camera?", he requested.
"Good, OK"
Ruki flinched as he approached for close-ups: "Don't move", he ordered. "Now, I'll take some pictures with the flash. Don't close your eyes". She, somehow, managed to do that.
"Lift your chin a bit", he requested.
Ruki let the hat slip from her grip. As that one-eyed monster came at her, she finally pushed it away forcefully enough to tip the photographer off balance. She ran away. Ruki had discovered that she was camera shy.
"Ruki!", her mother called after her.
She walked all the way back home, in that hideous dress. All she could do was hope she didn't meet anyone she knew. Furthermore, going off to please her mother meant missing out on a materialization.
"Where did that girl go?", Rumiko asked Seiko as she folded the dress Ruki had dropped on the floor of her bedroom in a heap.
"She said she was going out for awhile, and be back soon", Seiko explained.
"When is 'soon'?", Rumiko asked, none too pleased. "Running off like that... she doesn't know the trouble she caused me. It wasn't easy, arranging that photo test... I should be the angry one here!"
"I'm sure she'll be back soon. Your daughter is more responsible than you give her credit for, so don't worry".
0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
"I'm goin' home", Juri announced to herself as she headed down the path leading out of the park.
"I smell something tasty, culu?", it was Calumon.
"Want some?", she asked.
They were sitting on a low stone wall that lined the path. Calumon was busy with one of Juri's cinnamon rolls.
"I think I'll join you", as she selected a donut.
Calumon was right in front of her before she could take a bite.
"Done already? You want some more?"
"More, culu?", as he reached out.
She handed him the sack: "Take your pick", she invited.
He did a little happy dance before taking out a donut this time.
"Maybe... we... Calumon and I...", she was thinking out loud.
"We're good friends, right?", she asked.
"Good friends, culu?", Calumon agreed.
"Right?", she asked.
"Right, culu?"
She stood: "Calumon, I think you're my partner", she announced.
"Partner, culu?"
"I'm your Tamer!", she announced with conviction.
He made an act of dropping the sack, donut, and did a fake faint, flopping on his back.
"What's with that?", Juri asked, slightly annoyed at the overly dramatic display. "It can't be that bad, being my partner. You don't like me as your Tamer?"
"No! No! No! It's not that! Culu!", he announced as he vigorously shook his head in denial.
"It's not that you ate all my rolls, but I don't think that's any way for a digimon to treat his Tamer", she lectured. "Still, I don't care..."
"Juri", they heard someone call her name, but with a very strange accent. They looked around. Calumon was the first to notice: the rattling of metal against metal. A manhole cover was rattling.
As they watched, a few white wisps drifted up from under ground. Then an explosion of a column of whiteness blew the heavy cover off. It landed ten feet behind the open hole from which erupted a tall column of white that began to spread outward.
"Culu! Culu! Culu!", Calumon called out, frightened.
Something like a black ball next appeared, bounced towards Juri and Calumon, before resolving into what looked like a cross between a rat and insect robot.
"Kunbiramon", the digimon announced his own name.
Calumon leaped into Juri's arms, as both cringed from the sight.
"Maybe...", Juri began, "...maybe you're my partner?", she asked.
"I am a servant of my God; I am a Deva", the rat looking thing explained. "Why would I enter into an alliance with an Outworlder like you?"
"That's a relief", Juri said. "I wouldn't want such a creepy digimon for a partner anyway". Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say: "Does... this mean...", she asked, "...you're here to attack a new Tamer? You're here to attack me?"
It just glared back at her with those blood red eyes.
"Calumon", she thrust the small white "digimon" forward, "do something!", she demanded.
He escaped her grip, and hid behind her head.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
They ran off, the rat Deva in hot pursuit. That strange boy was watching, unobserved, the whole time. Juri left the path, cut across a field of grass.
"Why aren't you fighting it, like all the other digimon?"
"Calumon doesn't fight, culu?"
She stood in front of a fountain in the form of a waterfall, hands on knees, as she bent over, catching her breathe. It looked as though she'd lost that Deva.
Suddenly, the thing jumped form the top of the waterfall to land with a splash in the pool. It just stood there, glaring at Juri.
"I... I'm... scared", she admitted.
It stamped a foot, sending up a plume of water powerful enough to lift it. It came back down, landing in the pool. Four more water spouts erupted. There was an effect like a rainbow, but it wasn't a rainbow: too substantial, too bright, and the light was coming in at the wrong angle. This was an unusual digital field from which another digimon materialized.
Juri looked on: "That's...", she paused to check her cards just to be sure, "...Leomon. I knew it was Leomon!", she announced. "could it be...", she asked herself, "...that my real partner has arrived?"
"Fuck're you?", Kunbiramon asked.
"I am one who fights injustice", Leomon replied. "One who defeats and loads the data of those stronger than I. That is how I choose to live my life".
"Aren't you one arrogant motherfucker!", Kunbiramon replied. "You're nothing but a minor inconvenience!"
Juri looked on worshipfully as the rat Deva threw himself at Leomon. Leomon drew a Roman sword from the scabbard he wore on his back. He slashed at the Deva, sending him flying deeper into the park. He disappeared behind a tree line.
"Leomon-sama!", Juri called out. "That was awesome!"
She came running, Calumon following. "Leomon-sama!", she called out again.
"Leomon-sama?", he asked.
"Are you... my partner?", she asked him.
"Partner?", he asked.
"I'm your Tamer", she announced.
"Tamer?", he asked.
"I've been waiting for you for the longest time", Juri explained.
Leomon turned to Calumon: "Is this Outworld female alright?"
"Usually, culu?", he explained. "It's that, today, she's acting kind'a weird, culu?"
"Calumon, you're not helping", Juri reprimanded. "Leomon-sama...", she looked up to the taller digimon worshipfully.
"Don't look at me like that", he ordered.
"Then how about this way?", Juri asked, as she did that sexy, come-hither look.
"Ummmmm... uhhhhh... Good bye!", he announced, as he began to run off. Juri was in hot pursuit. "Leomon-sama!", she called after him. She thought it cute, the way he played hard to get.
Leomon out paced Juri and Calumon, and took the opportunity to duck behind a tree. He watched as they ran by, and sighed a sigh of relief.
"Here, culu?! He's here, culu!", Calumon called out, pointing to his hiding place. Juri turned around and hot-footed it back. The chase was on once again, as Leomon ran deeper into the woods.
He came to the top of a structure, and jumped. Guilmon's shed looked like an ideal hiding place. This time, he grabbed Calumon, and hid behind the wall.
"Keep it down", Leomon admonished. Calumon didn't have much choice, with a massive paw clamped over his mouth.
Leomon didn't know what the shed was being used for, and so was startled to see Takato and Guilmon approaching.
"Don't you attack Calumon!", Takato warned.
"I wasn't attacking him", Leomon protested his innocence.
Calumon squirmed himself free: "Guilmon!", he called out as he leaped onto Guilmon's head.
"We'll protect you..."
"Who's 'we'?", the leonid digimon asked.
"Me: Takato, and my partner Guilmon... Guilmon!", he called out as he readied his digivice.
"I don't want a fight", Leomon warned, "but I will fight you if I have to". He had a hand on the hilt of his sword, the other made a fist. He dropped into a fighting stance.
"Takaro! Guilmon!"
"Juri?", Takato asked.
"I see you met my partner, Leomon-sama", Juri introduced.
"Your... partner?", Takato asked.
"Don't call me 'Leomon-sama', just plain Leomon will do nicely"
"I can do that", Takato replied, "Leomon... So you partnered with Juri?"
"What's this about 'partner'? I have no idea what you're talking about", Leomon protested.
"I'm your Tamer...", Juri began.
"Partner? Tamer? Again you use terms that I am unfamiliar with..."
"Don't worry", Juri said, "I'll explain everything to you, Leomon-sama".
"I said I didn't want you calling me that... Stop looking at me like that!".
"Leomon", Juri said, "I still prefer calling you 'Leomon-sama'".
"Fine. What the fuck ever", he said as he headed back into the woods.
"Huh?", Takato and Guilmon asked each other as Juri resumed her pursuit.
Takato and Guilmon found Juri chasing Leomon around a parking lot.
"Now what?", Takato asked.
"Call Jen, maybe he can help?", Guilmon suggested.
"The hell you say?", Jen said. "Juri's a Tamer?"
"That's what she said, but he's still running away from him".
"Chasing? Leomon-sama?", Jen asked. "Uhhhhh... could you ask her..."
"JURRRR!", Takato called out.
"WHAAAAT?", she called back.
"Were you ever in love?"
"Yes!"
"Jen, she said she's been in love", Takato relayed her answer.
"When was that?", Jen asked.
"Hold on... JUUUURI?!"
"WHAAAAR?!"
"When were you in love before?"
"In kindergarten! That all?"
"For now!"
"So it's not a case of first love... We'll be there", Jen promised.
"Jen says he's coming", Takato told Guilmon. "Just to be sure, I'm gonna call Koichi".
He had to wait for the call to be transferred to Koichi's cell, since he wasn't at home.
"Takato?", he answered.
"Juri? Tamer? Ask her if she has a digivice..."
"JURRRRIIII!"
"WHAAAAAT?!"
"You got a digivice?"
"No, I don't! Is that alllll?!"
"She says she doesn't have a digivice..."
"Then she can't be a Tamer... I'll be there shortly... I'll set her straight..."
"Koichi says he's coming too", Takato told Guilmon.
They watched as Juri disappeared down another nature trail. There was a scream, and Juri came back like a shot. She wasn't alone...
"Juri!", Takato called out.
Leomon and that rat digimon were going at one another.
"That digimon..."
"It attacked me earlier", Juri said.
"You... you were attacked?"
"Yeah, me and Calumon..."
Takato tried getting an ident. It was delayed
Kunbiramon
Holy Beast digimon
Ultimate
"It's another damn Deva!"
"Koichi, I wasn't expecting you..."
"I was in the neighborhood when I got your call", he explained.
"Renamon!", he called out and the anthrovixen "teleported" right away.
"Let's wait and see", Koichi told her.
Leomon had his Roman sword out, and he and Kunbiramon were circling, sizing each other up. So far it looked like a fairly even match, despite that this was supposed to be a Deva.
"What is it doing here?", Koichi asked.
"I have no idea", Renamon replied. It did seem like an incompetent excuse of a Deva.
"Leo...Mon! Culu! Leo...Mon! Culu! Kick his ass! Culu!", Calumon was cheer-leading.
"It will be different this time", the rat Deva said. "Hexaplication!"
He produced five copies of himself, all looking identical. It was no longer possible to tell which one was the real one, but they all ganged up for the attack...
He parried some assaults, but was still completely surrounded.
"Leomon..."
"Hold up!", Takato said as he blocked her way. "You can't help!", he warned her.
"Give it to me!"
"Wha..."
"Your digivice!"
"OK", he said as he handed it over.
"High Speed Plug-in H!", as she scanned one of her cards. It didn't work on Leomon, but did work on Guilmon, but he wasn't involved.
"They don't work like that", Takato explained. "Each digivice is keyed to one specific digimon".
"Then... then... I'm not Leomon's Tamer?", she said as she slowly dropped to her knees, barely holding back the tears of disappointment.
"That Outworlder...", Leomon thought to himself. "I will defeat you to stop you from harming Juri!", he declared to his opponent.
"Juri", Takato said.
"Renamon!", Koichi called out.
"Right", she replied.
"Super Evolution Plug-in S: digimodify!"
The red triangle on Calumon's head began to glow...
Renamon evolve! …
… KYUUBIMON!
"Huh?", that weird boy said, revealing that he'd been there, watching.
"You!", Takato began. He left, laughing in that insane manner.
"We'll take care of him", It was Jen and Terriermon who gave chase, now that it looked as thought their help wasn't required.
"Foxfire Dragon!", she attacked, wiping out all five copies in one go, leaving the original for Leomon. He whacked it with his sword, Kunbiramon dropped, bursting into data just as he was about to hit the ground.
"This battle is concluded", Leomon said as he sheathed his sword. "It is not my desire to make the Outworld female sad, so I shall leave now", Leomon announced.
"Juri...", Takato began.
"Could you... just leave me alone?", she requested.
"Juri..."
"Maybe we should go", Guilmon said.
"Us too", Koichi said as he and Kyuubimon headed back to Koichi's car.
"I'm going home too", Guilmon headed for his shed.
Juri alone remained, looking off into the sunset where Leomon had departed.
0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Supper time came and went. Sundown came, twilight faded into night: still no Ruki.
"I'm hoooo-me", Ruki announced, as she stepped through the door. Her mother was waiting.
"And where have you been?", her mother demanded. "You had me worried!"
"Out for a walk"
"A walk?", she asked, incredulous. "What kind of grade school girl takes a walk this late?!"
"This one", Ruki replied, as she pointed to herself.
"That's it!", Rumiko spoke very sharply. "I've had it with the sass, the back talk, the attitude. You're coming with me, young lady!", as she took Ruki roughly by the arm. "I don't know what else to do with you,", she threatened, as she led her to the kitchen.
"You are going to get a spanking..."
"That's a little kid punishment", Ruki dismissed, as she turned to leave.
"Oh no you don't!", Rumiko said, as she pulled her back. She picked up a thin branch she'd earlier trimmed from one of the trees in the garden. Brandishing it: "You can do this the easy way, or the hard way. If you insist on doing it the hard way, I will whip your ass until won't be able to sit down for the rest of the week. So what's it gonna be?"
"Granma!"
"Don't you involve your grandmother; this is between you and me".
Ruki just stood there, saying nothing.
"So what's your choice?", Rumiko demanded.
Ruki still said nothing.
"Well?!", she prompted, "make up your mind before I make it up for you!"
"Easy", Ruki finally conceded.
"Rumiko pulled out one of the kitchen table chairs: "Face that chair", she ordered. Ruki did as ordered.
"Drop those jeans".
Ruki reluctantly undid her belt, opened the front of the jeans, and slid them down to her knees.
"Bend over"
Ruki felt her jeans pulled down and bunched around her ankles, hobbling her feet; T-shirt pushed up into her arm pits. Her panties joined her jeans around her ankles. Rumiko open palm swatted Ruki's bare butt cheeks. She made sure to cover both, and was taking her time, letting the redness rise, the sting to set in between swats. Not the angry flurry of swats she expected. Her own mother was really trying to maximize the hurt.
Ruki defiantly refused to cry or make a sound. Perhaps if she had, it would have ended sooner, or the swats would have been lighter. After Ruki's ass was well reddened: "Stand up, pull your pants up and go to your room. Don't you come out until you are ready to offer a sincere apology. Am I making myself clear here?"
"Yes", she said as she gingerly eased her jeans over her burning butt.
"Yes... what?"
"Yes, mother".
Ruki went to her bedroom, but didn't stay there. Instead, she opened the door onto the breezeway, crossed the back yard, and climbed the tree nearest the wall: her usual method of sneaking out.
She walked until she found a flood diversion tunnel. This one rectangular, though the walls didn't come straight down to the floor. Instead, they slanted down, making a perfect perch. Ruki laid back against the wall next to where the tunnel curved off to the right. She slowly slid down the wall, her bottom stinging even more as she contacted the hard concrete, even through the denim.
She put her elbows on her knees, face in her hands, and finally sobbed quietly, given the acoustics of the tunnel. Here, alone and unobserved, she could finally let the tears flow.
It was the humiliation of being punished like a little kid, not the actual spanking itself. Her mother might as well have stripped her naked. And for what: a photo test she never requested and didn't want. She'd forced herself into her best behaviour, she'd worn that godawful dress for her mother without complaint. She waited quietly, and it was her mother, not her, who said all the embarrassing things she didn't want Sugai to hear. Her mother provoked her, perhaps deliberately? Could she help it if she was camera shy?
Betrayed. Where was the grandmother she loved? Where was her support when she needed it the most? In the end, she had sided against her. Betrayed, just like the father who had not visited her in all those years since the divorce. Betrayed just like that partner who would not evolve.
And she was the one who was expected to offer up a sincere apology?