A/N: Before we begin I want to apologize for taking so long to get another chapter out, I got hit with writer's block again and decided to take a little break from writing to get some ideas going. Sometimes I need to take a step back to get some interest back.

Chapter 10: Wrath of the Ninjamon

God was I ever glad to be out of that insane hotel, after me, Jason, and Ross woke up, Kate explained everything, Rosemon's deal with The King, the hotel burning down, and the fact that Psychemon, the neurotic bellhop, was now her partner. So now we had a complete set of Digimon at least, but now we needed to figure out where to go next, Jason being the one with the map, decided we'd just head north and keep going until we happened upon something, and that we weren't staying at Inns anymore, after what had happened I didn't blame him.

But it didn't take long for the long trip began to take it's toll, everyone was getting tired and wanted nothing more than to just stop walking. "Dude, my legs are killing me!" I said, god I was really beginning to regret all those times I skipped PE class.

Ross simply rolled his eyes, "Will you stop whining? We'll never get this done with if we keep stopping every time your little legs start to hurt!" He snapped at me, asshole! Excuse me for only having so much energy!

I went to argue back but Gaomon held me back and shook his head, silently telling me it wasn't worth it. God did I not like Ross, he was such an asshole. It seemed every time someone suggested an idea he shot it down, and every time we had a legit problem, he'd mock us for it. To be quite frank, I'm getting kinda sick of it.

Jason suddenly stopped, "According to the map we should be coming up to another "Wind Guardians" village," Jason said, and sure enough, we happened upon a small village, it was kinda weird looking though, just like most things in this kooky world. The buildings were Japanese in design, like they had been ripped right out of an old samurai movie, and it's inhabitants? Pink brids… pink birds as far as the eye could see.

In the middle of the village was a statue of some kind made of what appeared to be brass, it was of a nine tailed fox, why they had this I had no clue but I'm sure I'd find out eventually.

It didn't take long for one of the villagers to find us, it approached with a warm smile on it's face, thank god, someone friendly for once. "Hello! And welcome to our village!" She greeted us. Soon enough the entire village descended upon us, their voices growing louder and more numerous as they surrounded us.

"Who are they?"

"I wanna see! I wanna see!"

"Maybe they can help us!"

All of us just sort of froze, what the hell were we supposed to do here? We were surrounded on all sides by pink birds! After the whole thing with Rosemon, I was a bit weary of other Digimon, especially the ones that seem a bit too happy to see us. However, suddenly the crowd grew quieter, as a new figure began to approach us.

He was about the size of an adult human, but he was clearly a Digimon as he shared the avian appearance of his little pink friends. He wore a red and gold kimono of some kind, and had a straw hat on that hid most of his avian face save for a crack in the had that revealed one of his golden eyes. He had two wings that jutted out his back like those of an angel, he had two katana strapped to his sides. His face was fixed in scowl that would give Batman a run for his money as he looked all of us over.

The bird samurai thing crossed his arms, "Who are you? And why are you here?" He asked in a slightly hushed tone. I tried not to show I was a bit intimidated, but those katana he had made if kind of hard for me to not be jumpy.

Jason decided to be the one to break the uncomfortable silence, "W… we were just passing through… we're kind of on a mission to stop the Digimon King," He explained, clearly just as intimidated as I was given how he stammered slightly.

The bird man's pupils shrunk a bit when he heard the Digimon King mentioned, "You must be the Digidestined then, I do hope you haven't brought that foul man's troops to our village, we have enough to deal with here already." He said, I saw him move one of his hands towards one of his katana, causing my heart to start pounding, I would rather not be sliced to ribbons by a bird man thank you.

Kate stepped forward, "What do you mean by that exactly?" She asked, I noticed the bird man tense slightly, oh god Kate's gonna get us killed isn't she?

The bird man seemed to think it over a bit, as if debating whether he wanted to tell us or not. "We've been having trouble with a local clan of Ninjamon, they've been raiding the village for food and even kidnapping a few of the Hyokomon from the village." He explained, "That's why you only see Biyomon here, the remaining Hyokomon are hiding in their homes hoping to avoid the same fate." He added, giving a name to the pink birds that currently surrounded us.

Ross then decided to butt in, "And what about you? Who are you exactly?" He asked, clearly not as cautious about this guy as the rest of us, but no less crass than he always was.

The bird man growled slightly, "I am Buraimon, I'm in charge of protecting the village from threats these rookie levels can't combat, there were others like me but, we lost most of them to the Digimon King's troops, leaving me and me alone to defend this village," He explained, it did explain why he was so tense with us, it was his job to protect the village after all.

We all sort of looked at each other, not entirely sure hot to proceed here, I didn't want to spend more time around samurai chicken man here than I had to, he seemed just as distrustful of us as we were of him given his body language, it was like he was waiting for an excuse to hack us to pieces. "I insist you eight leave now before you bring that man's armies here, I've worked hard to keep this village as safe as it is, and I intend to keep it that way," Buraimon warned us.

Fine by me, I'd rather not hang around here longer than I had to, ever since Rosemon tried to kill me with her pool drain I didn't like being around these Digimon, well at least, not the ones that weren't our partners. You never knew what these things were up to, they were like humans, some were good, others were assholes, except Digimon were assholes with super powers!

I went to leave but Kate grabbed me by the hood. "Hold on! We aren't leaving you guys to the mercy of those Ninjamon!" She said, oh come on Kate, leave it alone man! He clearly wants us to leave! Why do we have to poke the sword wielding bird man?

Buraimon's eyes widened in a mix of shock and anger, "It's not your problem! You endanger this village more and more the longer you stay here! I won't ask again, leave now or I will force you!" He said, unsheathing his Katana to show he wasn't screwing around.

However, Kate the ever stubborn girl, stood her ground. "Someone has to do something! Let us help you!" She pleaded with him, god Kate is going to get us killed isn't she? What did I do to deserve this? Was I a guy that kicked puppies, burned down the orphanage, and left the toilet seat up in a past life? Why is she arguing with the samurai bird?! He had swords! She didn't!

Psychemon seemed to share my concerns as he stood between Kate and Buraimon, "Kate please! You're only making him more angry!" He pleaded with his tamer, trying to get the stubborn red head to understand who she was messing with here.

Buraimon glared at Kate, "You should listen to your friend, I don't want or need your help, and all you'll get out of pushing me like this, is a few inches shorter." He threatened her.

However, suddenly the Biyomon decided to butt in, "Wait! Please Buraimon! Let them help us!" One said, "We can't keep going on like this! If they can help us it's worth it!" Another pleaded.

It took a moment of thinking before the samurai bird relented, sheathing his swords. "Fine… but if the Digimon King destroys this village, I'm holding you all responsible," He said. Great… just great, thanks Kate, now we have to stay in yet another place with a person who wants our heads on a pike! "Come this way, you need to be filled in more if we're going to do this right." He said, motioning for us to follow.

I went to do so, but Gaomon stopped me, "Can we talk?" He asked me, confused as to why he wanted to talk, I gave him a nod, "You seem tense Ethan, are you alright?" He asked me, was it really that obvious?

"Kinda, ever since Rosemon I kind of have an issue trusting these random Digimon we come across is all." I confessed, I don't know how Gaomon would take that statement, being a Digimon himself, but I was hoping he'd understand why I felt so uneasy.

Gaomon sighed, "I understand Ethan, but Kate's right, we can't just leave this village to the mercy of those Ninjamon. It wouldn't be right," He explained.

I shook my head, "I get that, but I don't want to end up getting into another situation like the one back at the File Inn." I said.

Gaomon looked back at the group then back to me, "Ethan, you don't have anything to be afraid of, I won't let something like that happen to you again, I promise," He said, I couldn't lie, that helped me feel a little better, knowing that I at least had Gaomon watching my back, This was the same Digimon that got over his inability to swim, just to save my sorry ass. "Come on, we should catch up to the others before they lose us." He said, and with a nod we rushed to catch up with the rest of the group.

Meanwhile…

Me and Okamon had spent all day tracking those damn kids, they had covered quite a bit of ground since we last met, they were quite deep in Wind Guardian territory, one of the many factions that had yet to give into the Digimon King's rule… I hadn't seen hide nor hair of Datamon or the D-Brigade since my search for the Digidestined began.

Okamon kept sniffing the air, trying to scent track the Digidestined, "They've been here, recently." He said, studying the ground, "They're close." He added before walking forward, me following closely behind. God I hope we find those punks soon, this was becoming annoying and I hated being in this stupid fake forest.

It wasn't exactly comfortable being in enemy territory like this, I kept expecting a member of Wind Guardians to attack us, I'd been ambushed by rebellious Digimon more times than I liked to admit, the last thing I needed was some idiot Digimon thinking they could get the jump on the queen.

But taking down these Digidestined had become a personal matter, I wasn't going to let some idiot computer program like Datamon take my spot at the Digimon King's side. Not to mention I needed to get back at that blonde kid for humiliating me with one of my own soldiers, I still couldn't believe he thought these things were real, it was all just a simulation, nothing more… he'd learn that eventually… one way or another.

Meanwhile…

Buraimon had sat us all down in one of the houses, the room illuminated only by the few lanterns that hung from the ceiling, giving the room a dark and intimidating hue. "The Ninjamon have been our enemy for many years..." Began Buraimon, "But because we had such strong defenses, they almost never attacked us directly, instead choosing to try to get us when we were out hunting for food. But that all changed when the Digimon King sent his minions to our village, they managed to kill most of my fellow Buraimon but we managed to drive them out… the others died from their wounds or where picked off by the Ninjamon during their first raids. Now, we're practically at their mercy, they send squadrons of at least eight Ninjamon every night, I try to fight them off but they always manage to make off with something… or someone," Said Buraimon with a hint of regret in his voice.

"Sound tactic," Commandramon commented, "Send a group of eight to raid, four to overwhelm the one Digimon that can fight back while the remaining four take what they want." He added, I would say it's more cowardly than anything, but I guess Commandramon was used to dirty tactics having been one of the Digimon King's lapdogs for so long.

Ross shook his head, "And you never thought to ask for help? Seems to me these Ninjamon have been kicking your ass for a while now," He commented, yeah go on and twist the knife Ross! Despite Gaomon's promise he wouldn't let anything happen to me, I still didn't want to risk Buraimon slicing us to bits, I just wish Ross would stop poking the bear.

Buraimon sighed, "You don't understand, I can't just leave the village, I'm the only real defense the village has. If I left, the Biyomon and Hyokomon would be helpless, and I can't send one of them out because there's no knowing what's out there, there are a lot of violent, feral Digimon out there who would make quick work of a helpless rookie, so I had no choice but to try to handle this myself," Buraimon explained.

"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore, we'll stop those Ninjamon," Said Kate, I'm glad she at least had confidence. Then again, if we couldn't take a group of puny Ninjamon, what hope would we have against the Digimon King?

Buraimon let out a sigh, "I hate having to entrust my village to a group of strangers, but it seems I don't have much of a choice here," He said, hanging his head down in shame. I guess having to rely on a group of humans to do your job was a bit of a blow to his ego, I felt kind of bad for the guy, all his friends were wiped out, leaving him alone to try to defend his village.

After that Buraimon told us we would have a home to ourselves for the night, and that he'd let us know when the Ninjamon would make their move. Under normal circumstances, having two nights in a row of getting a free roof over your head and real beds to sleep on would be a luxury. But after Rosemon when psycho killer on us, I couldn't shake the paranoia, visions of me fighting to not get sucked into the pool drain kept playing in my head over and over again. I tried my best not to show my anxiety, last thing I needed was for the others to start fussing over me, or in Ross' case, make fun of me for it.

I know Gaomon said he wouldn't let something like that happen to me again, but how much could he really do? He was just a little blue dog wearing boxing gloves, not exactly the optimum of badassery. God I hated this world, I'd take my dad any day over this deathtrap of a world, at least my dad didn't try to murder me!

The others didn't seem to share my fears, as they were all too quick to settle in, claiming a bed of their own, which naturally, to fit the Japanese theme this place had, were futons. They seemed so calm, you'd think after our stay at the hotel from hell they'd be less trusting of random Digimon giving them room and board, but it seemed I was the only one who was being sensible here.

I decided to walk out of the home for a bit to clear my head, the night was fast approaching, as the tiny bits of remaining sunlight began to retreat away in favor of the darkness of night, it always struck me how similar yet different the Digital World was to the real world, the outdoors felt every bit the same, but there was always that strange fakeness to remind you that you were far from home. It messed with your head so much, I guess this was what people in Lovecraft stories felt like when they gazed upon the horrors they inevitably saw, this gnawing feeling of wrong that mixed with the world you knew so well, creating an almost maddening contradiction.

I then began to wonder about back home, if my dad had even noticed I was gone or not, it had to have been at least a few days since I came here, I never really gave that much thought to how messed up it was that I had left my entire life behind in another dimension until now… how I was just ripped from my on home and dumped into this madhouse I barely understood, traveling with people I barely knew, god why me?

I heard the sounds of floor boards creaking from behind me, I turned to see Gaomon had decided to join me outside, "You okay? You left kind of abruptly." He asked as he sat down next to me, once again deciding to play therapist with me.

I shook my head, "I'm just… I've got a lot going on in my head right now, thinking about back home… if anyone even knows I'm gone." I admitted, I don't know why I felt so comfortable talking with Gaomon, I've only known him about as long as the other Digidestined and their partners. But I think I just wanted someone to talk to about my problems, a sympathetic ear to hear my woes.

"You never mentioned much about your world," Gaomon pointed out.

I sighed, "There's not much to say," I began, "I was just another skate rat living with his single father," I added. "The last time I saw him, we argued about my grades, he and I were always arguing about something… I'm actually surprised by how much I miss that..." I said, it was insane to think something I once used to dread could become almost nostalgic, something I longed for…

Gaomon looked off to the side before returning his gaze to me, "I wouldn't know much about fathers, we Digimon don't exactly have parents." He said, wait… what? How the hell does that work?! I decided against asking him, afraid I'd offend him, "You miss him though? Don't you?" He then asked.

I never thought I'd say it, but… "Yeah… I do, we may have fought, but we still loved each other… I never really appreciated how hard he worked to keep us in one piece after mom left until now… all he wanted was for me to make it in life, and I yelled at him for it… I wonder if… if he's still mad at me now… or if he even knows I'm gone?" I said more to myself than Gaomon, the old saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" was holding quite true for me, I came here to escape my life, only to want it back a few days later, the irony was quite hilarious from an outside perspective.

Gaomon put a gloved hand on my shoulder, "I wish I knew what to tell you, but I don't know your father, but I do know that if he cares about you as much as you say he does, if he hasn't moved on from that fight yet, he will by the time you see him again." He said, yeah if I saw him again.

I sort of curled inward, almost in a fetal position, "But what if I don't make it back? I've only been here for a few days and I've almost died twice!" I pointed out.

Gaomon shook his head, "I told you before, I won't let anything happen to you, Ethan you need to trust me and the others to have your back. You're not alone in this… we're a team, you need to stop letting your fears get to you… and trust we can keep you safe," Gaomon told me, seemingly almost offended given his tone.

I let out a small sigh, "I don't know man…" I said, burying my head in my hands, the stress of my situation was boiling over, and I knew Gaomon was trying to help, but words only did so much…

Suddenly we heard a crashing sound in the distance, Gaomon and I looked to each other, both silently agreeing we should check it out, Gaomon took point, making an effort to keep me behind him. We found a group of small head things attacking Burainon, they were all giant heads with legs and arms, each with a red hood over their faces save for their exposed mouths, a singular katana strapped to their backs.

I took out my Digivice to confirm my theory as to what they were, and lo and behold, they were exactly what I thought they were.

Ninjamon

Level: Champion

Type: Mutant

Attribute: Data

Family: Nature Spirits

Attacks: Ninja Knife Throwing, Iga-ryū Iaijutsu, Ninja Hopping, Iga-ryū Ougi Bunshin no Jutsu

Ninjamon are mysterious Digimon known for their stealth and technique, they often group in clans, some go of to wander the Digital World to train before rejoining their clans.

I guess the Ninjamon didn't want to wait to go about their raids at night, Buraimon was doing surprisingly well considering he had four Ninjamon to fight off, Buraimon slashed at the Ninjamon, sending them tumbling back before turning his attention to me, "Don't worry about me! I can handle these guys, go find the others before they make off with anything!" He said before going right back to the fight with the Ninjamon.

Me and Gaomon agreed and rushed off to try to find those Ninjamon, "God, they could be anywhere in this village! Where do we even begin to look?!" I asked, "Maybe we should get the others? I think having more numbers would help." I added.

But Gaomon shook his head, "No time, we have to stop them now before they kidnap someone." He said, not even waiting for an answer he rushed off, which told me he had zero interest in discussing it any further than that.

However, I decided to try to get the others anyway, I figured Gaomon would be fine for now, and it wouldn't take me that long anyways, so I darted off to do just that, heading for the house they were parked in. It wasn't too far as I could already see it in view, I was about to rip open the sliding door when…

THUP!

Something got me in the back, a throwing dart if I were to hazard a guess, I felt my knees buckle, and I collapsed, I then felt someone rip in right out, I managed to turn my head to see it was a Ninjamon, he'd gotten me from behind and I left myself open to it like an idiot! "Don't bother getting up, the poison should take hold in time human," He said in a surprisingly high pitched voice, which would have been hilarious if I wasn't currently dying on the floor.

I couldn't move a muscle, no matter how hard I tried not a single limb would obey it's command, "It's a paralyzing poison, it only lasts an hour or two, but by then… you'll already be dead." He said, it didn't take a rocket scientist to tell me I was about to either get my head lopped off or stabbed through the back.

But before either could happen, I saw a metal, teal foot step into view, "Back off!" I heard Commandramon say before he fired shots at the Ninjamon. I then felt his metallic, clawed hand shake me, "Ethan? EHTAN! Are you alright?! Where's Gaomon?!" He asked me. I tried to answer, but all I could get out was "Poison..." I felt Commandramon pick me off the ground. "MEDIC! WE'VE GOT WOUNDED!" He cried out… I was starting to fade, I could feel my eyes getting heavy, my wound must have been pretty bad, considering Commandramon seemed to be making it a point to keep his claw pressed on it… oh god this sucks…

Meanwhile…

I had searched the entire camp but didn't find a single Ninjamon, and worse Ethan seemed to have gone off somewhere, I was about to turn back to try to find him, but I didn't have to…

"MEDIC! WE'VE GOT WOUNDED!"

It was Commandramon, my heart skipped a beat… no… please no! He… he couldn't… I ran as fast as I could in the direction of Commandramon's voice. Why didn't he stay close?! He knew how dangerous the Ninjamon where! We were just talking about how afraid he was of not making it home!

I soon found myself back at the house we had taken refuge in, the sliding door was open, I rushed in and… my fears where realized… Ethan was on the floor, eyes closed and unmoving, as Jason and Commandramon tried to tend to a very bad looking wound on his back.

I just stood there in stunned silence… it was my job to protect him, I promised him I'd keep him safe… only for this to happen… I failed…

Neither of them seemed to notice I was there, too preoccupied with their fallen friend, "My systems say it's just a paralyzing agent, it should wear off in an hour, but that wound is pretty deep, we need to get it fixed before he bleeds out or gets infected." Commandramon said.

Jason then managed to notice me, "Gaomon! There you are! What happened out there?!" He asked me, he seemed more relieved to see me than angry I abandoned my own partner.

I rushed to Ethan's side, "I… we got separated, he wanted to come get you guys, but I didn't think we had enough time before the Ninjamon completed their raid, he… he must of gone off to get you guys anyway..." I tried to explain, knowing full well this was my fault… I should have listened to him! What the hell was I thinking?! Now he was hurt… and it was my fault…

Jason clearly noticed the guilt I had on my face, "Gaomon, it's alright… Commandramon says his injuries aren't fatal." He tried to reassure me, but that wasn't the point! He should have never been in a position to get hurt in the first place! Why didn't I protect him?!

I buried my face in my gloves, I couldn't bear to see him like this, a boy so full of life, a boy I was supposed to protect, helpless and paralyzed, he was probably terrified before losing consciousness, wondering where I was, and why I didn't keep my promise to protect him…

Commandramon began to dress Ethan's wound, "Gaomon your heart-rate is skyrocketing, you need to calm down!" Commandramon warned me.

My guilt quickly turned to anger, "CALM DOWN!? My tamer is injured! I'm supposed to protect him! How would you feel if it were Jason instead of him?! But then again, what should I expect from one of the queen's former lackeys?" I snapped at him.

Commandramon just shot me a glare, "You're letting your emotions overrun you Gaomon, I know exactly what I'd do if this happened to Jason, I would be doing what I'm doing now, you're no help to Ethan lashing out at us and letting yourself get eaten alive by guilt!" He reprimanded me, "Now… help me get Ethan onto one of the futons so he can rest..." He told me.

We both dragged Ethan's unconscious body onto the futon… he just looked so… lifeless… Commandramon put a hand on my shoulder, "He's going to be alright Gaomon, I got to him before the Ninjamon could finish him off, and for the record, I'm not unfeeling… I'm just trained not to let my emotions get the better of me." He said, he didn't have a hint of anger in his voice, just giving me that same, blank, robotic look he always had.

I couldn't muster a single word, I had a whirlwind of emotions running through my head, guilt, worry, sorrow, anger, so much negative emotion I couldn't even bring myself to try to justify myself to Commandramon, all I could do was just stare at Ethan's unconscious body, wondering what he thought of his partner now, the one who abandoned him… would he forgive me? I couldn't even really forgive myself… it was such a rookie mistake… but it almost cost me my friend…

What kind of partner am I?

A/N: Will Ethan recover from his poisoning? And how will our heroes stop the Ninjamon now that they're down a man? Tune in next time to find out!