Ok, thank you for waiting!
Thanks to LightRiver33 too for the editing!
Thanks to you for comment/faves/follows!
Weeks passed…
The girls have finally completed the house, both exterior and interior. It took a long time to complete each of the rooms and finishing the basic bedroom for each of the girls was harder than they thought. Honoka's room was especially difficult because she kept changing her mind about how she wants the room to look like.
"Hnnnn….Maybe I want the bed to be in the corner, it feels like I'm going to fall down anytime when I can't feel the wall against me." Honoka said to Agumon.
"Nnngh….Honoka-chan, you've changed your mind for the 10th time. I'm tired of pushing it around!" Agumon complained.
"E-eh? Really? I didn't count!" Honoka replied.
"Gweeh… you didn't even realize you've changed your mind that much? Hhnnnrrggh…alright, I'll move it again, but it should stay like that for the whole year, ok?" Agumon said.
"W-whoa? You are only giving me one last chance?" Honoka said.
"Yep! So you won't move it around too much!" Agumon said.
"That's so unfair Agumon!" Honoka complained.
"It's not! You're making me work so much just to move your room stuff! I want real practices!" Agumon said.
"Ugwwaaah! Fine! I'll think about it first, ok? I'll tell you when I finally decide!" Honoka said.
"Now, what is this noise all about?" someone said from somewhere behind the two. A black haired girl along with a little devil Digimon flying near her came into view.
"Ahh! Niko-senpai! Nice Timing!" Honoka said as she ran to her little senior.
"Huh? Why? What's wrong?" Niko asked.
"Please help me decide!" Honoka said
"Is this about your room again?" Niko replied with one of her eyebrows raised.
"Yes!" Honoka replied energetically.
"Ok, the answer is no. This should be your 10th time asking about the same thing, right?" Niko replied.
"See? Everyone is saying the same thing …" Agumon said.
"Hweeehh!" Honoka groaned.
"Seriously, every time I come to visit you, your first request is to help you arrange your own room. Don't you have anything better to do?" Niko said.
"Like what?" Honoka asked.
"Cook! I thought you wanted to take up the chef profession? You've been ditching your registration quest!"
"It's not that I'm abandoning the plan! It's just….well…every time I cook, Agumon always eats it all!" Honoka said as she points to Agumon.
"Huh? Me…?! But you keep asking me to try it!" Agumon said.
"Sheesh, no excuses. Just get your cuisine ready today and let's go to the city. I'd like to have a companion when I return my quest, you know!" Niko said.
"Ok! Got it!" Honoka replied cheerfully.
At the other side of the house.
Eli and Nozomi stood in front of their room. The size of the room is twice that of the regular room since it is also occupied by the two of them. Though, since Nozomi wanted to prepare a surprise for her girlfriend, Eli had to sleep in the guest room until Nozomi finally finished with her plan.
Just about an hour before noon, Nozomi finally declared that she is finished with the room. Eli was called to take a look at it and it was Lady and Angel who dragged her to the entrance of the room while Renamon followed them out of curiosity.
As soon as Nozomi and Eli's eyes met, the former smiled proudly and welcomed Eli with a flirty gaze. She beckoned to her and gently pulled the blonde into the inside of the room while their Digimon has to stay outside because the door closed tightly.
A few seconds passed in silence before a very loud shout is heard from the room.
"N-Nozomiii!"
That doesn't sound friendly.
"What on shattering earth you are doing?! This room is too obscene!" Eli complained.
"Eeh? You don't like it?" Nozomi replied.
"It's not that I don't like it! It's just….."
A pause,
"—….what if the other girls come over to visit?! What kind of image will we get-Huh!?"
"Well, it's Exotic though, right?"
"It….It is! But still! This is too obscene! You better change it into something less vulgar!" Eli complained loudly before she walked out of the room with a bright red face.
"Alright, Ericchi, anything for you!" Nozomi said.
Lady and Angel watched Eli walking away with Renamon following her.
"Hngg… we worked hard for that one room." Angel said a little sadly.
"Well, I've already said that the room seems a little too much, but you two wouldn't anyway…" Lady said.
"Now-now, Lady, we always need to go for broke. That's my motto." Nozomi said.
"Huh? Alright. But now, Nozomi-chan, since she rejected it, what kind of room do you want to make?"
"Hmm….right now, I don't really have ideas… what about you, though?" Nozomi asked.
"I'm thinking of something exotic but not…uhm…vulgar…" Lady said.
"Lady, you're classy!" Angel said.
"Not really? W-wait, is that a compliment?" Lady said.
"Well, Angel, tell me what you have in your head." Nozomi said.
"Hehe, let's make something natural and bright?" Angel said.
"Wouldn't it be hard for you two to sleep in a bright room, though? I mean, I find myself to be more at peace when it's dark." Lady said.
"Well, I get tired when it's dark!" Angel said.
"So basically, perfect for sleeping, right?" Lady said.
"Ohh! Now that you mention it, you're right!" Angel said.
"Huh? I thought that was what you intended to say." Lady replied.
"Hmm…so it's a dark room, huh? Maybe we can make it a dim room instead? Ericchi isn't that good with darkness." Nozomi said.
"Ah, true, she hates darkness. Then we just need to get a night lamp." Lady said.
"I have a lot of night lamps!" Angel said.
"Yes, that's true, but those are yours, Angel. We should get a new one for her." Lady said.
"Hmm…actually, I have a better idea…" Nozomi said.
"You do? Then tell us." Lady said.
"Alright, here we go…!"
Outside the house.
A huge garden is situated next to a medium sized house which was finally built using a variety of house styles combined. It is so close to the look of a fantasy home and is decorated with cute items that fit the classic color of the house— thanks to Niko for the idea and Maki for the sponsorship. The house would've been simpler if the girls weren't so dedicated on making money in the game.
Since the girls didn't have to go to school, they had more time to spend on their own businesses. Kotori spent more of her time tailoring clothes and selling them in the marketplace as always, though she is mostly seen sitting on the balcony near the garden and weaving her art. Hanayo cultivated food ingredients. Some are stored in the house while the rest are sold in the marketplace since she used the biggest plot of the garden to grow rice and some fruits. Rin wanted a job that involved a lot of moving and running so she just took a job as patrol guard with her Gaomon. They may rarely be seen inside the house but, whenever they returned for their break, they are always seen near the pond with Digi-Ramen in hand and sitting on the cat and dog cushions which were left on the same spot every day.
Umi, who took a trainer profession, spent most of her time training her Penguinmon along with the other Digimon and she took a part of the garden as a training ground. Right now, she doesn't have any machine to help with training so a traditional punchbag and a small running track are all she had in her area.
Maki, even though she doesn't really appear to be working that much, is often called to be a musician in some places. Other than that, she studies the Digimon Health as part of her plan to become a healer. She received a lot of help from Angel, Nozomi's Angewomon who, in spite of her talent, isn't quite helpful when it comes theories. Maki had to research on her own to find her answers.
As for Lunamon, ever since the incident, she rarely speaks of anything but practice. Along with Lalamon, she studied magic and the wisdom of it. But since Lady—who is usually their teacher— isn't available today, the two of them studied on their own and read books in the small gazebo built in the middle of the rice field. At times, they stopped to help Hanayo with whatever task she is needed to do.
Close to the Gazebo, there's also a small door that leads underground and there were two rooms below. One is Eli's workshop and the other is the bathroom. Most of the time, the girls always find Eli inside the workshop or sitting on the bench in front of the bathroom door but Eli seemed to be somewhere else along with her Renamon for now.
The house is quiet—or at least it was until the sound of Honoka and Niko's voices were heard from the entrance.
"W-wait for me, Niko-senpai!"
"…Hurry up, you slowpoke! We can do one more quest if we are quick!" Niko said as she beckoned to Honoka and Agumon. The scene took everyone's attention for a while, except for Penguinmon and Umi who have been quietly meditating. Maki seemed to have her attention on Niko and Honoka, though after a few seconds, she decided to ignore them and continue with her activity.
The two ran out of the house along with their Digimon as Kotori and Hanayo paused their activity before turning to each other and giggling at how lively the two seemed. They were about to continue their activity but someone appeared from the house.
"Hah—guess I'm too late." a blonde said.
"Eli-senpai? What's wrong?" Kotori asked.
Eli sighed and turned her sight to the ash brunette.
"I was about to call them back to listen to my briefing."
"Eh? What briefing?" Kotori asked.
"Of course it's about your training. We're set on the housing and food so we need to make a schedule for our training."
"T-Training?!" Hanayo and Kotori exclaimed.
"Yes, that's my real purpose being here with you all, right? We need to raise our power and get an S-Rank, then we will go to the depth and cross over to the real world to help out."
"W-what? S-Rank? We just started playing this game!" Hanayo said.
"Didn't you get your Rookie badge?" Eli crossed her arms.
"Y-yes…"
"…and isn't Lalamon capable of becoming Sunflowmon already?" Eli asked again.
"Y-yes…."
"See? Don't play that kind of excuse with me. If you want to get out of this Digital world, you need to practice. I doubt the official will be able to solve this problem soon. You might have to stay for more than a year if all you're doing is waiting." Eli said.
"O-ok!" Hanayo replied nervously.
"Now, since those two are gone, can I trust one of you with this?" Eli offered a memory card.
"M-memory card?" Kotori wondered.
"Yes, each of you should write down your daily schedule in detail, then I will have it read and discuss this at the dinner after you are all finished with it. We will start the practice a week after we decide the schedule." Eli replied.
"O..ok?" Hanayo replied.
"Alright, please hand it to Umi-chan!" Kotori said.
"Huh-what?" Umi snapped out of her concentration. Eli didn't question the decision, instead, she just walked to the bluenette and handed the memory card to her.
"Oh, right, about your deadline for returning that memory card to me… I want it returned by the end of the week before the midnight. If not, everyone will get punishments from Nozomi." Eli said.
"W-what? Punishments?" Kotori, Umi, and Hanayo were surprised.
"Well, Nozomi is the one who gave me that idea and I agreed that something needed to be done to whoever is not disciplined." Eli replied.
"Heh~ if that's the only thing you need us to do, I doubt we need more than a day to do it…" Maki said as she stood up from her seat, taking her laptop and approaching Eli and Umi.
"Give me that, I'll take it." Maki said. Umi handed her the memory card and Maki immediately set up her laptop and quickly operates it. Kotori and Hanayo decided to join them to get a closer look.
Maki started to fill the form and it seems that she has no difficulty accomplishing it.
"Well then, I'll leave this all to you. If you happen to finishby the end of the day, then just hand it over to me, Nozomi or any of our Digimon." Eli said.
"Alright, got it! Just leave it to us…" Maki replied calmly before the blonde smiled faintly and left.
The City of Memory—Digi-Cooking Guild;
Honoka and Niko stared at the huge crowd, gathered by the restaurant in the building next to the guild. They wondered what caught the crowd's interest—other than the food, of course.
Currently, Honoka and Niko were waiting for the Guildmaster to call them. Honoka brought a medium sized wooden box while Niko brought a cute looking plastic box as they waited for their cooking to be judged—though they're not quite sure of how things will work out for them. After all, they're joining the guild to learn how to cook in the digital world, not to show off their cooking skills.
"Pathetic!" A male's loud voice is heard from the door of the guild. A middle aged man is thrown out onto the rough ground.
"If it is all you believe about cooking, then you are not worthy to learn the art of cooking!" the male voice shouted again.
As soon as they saw the owner of the male voice, their eyes opened wide. A digimon is running the guild—a tall digimon with a chef's hat and apron.
It was a black humanoid Digimon with long metal claws, armored dinosaur-like head and a pair of yellow eyes, short yellow hair and tough-looking body.
"B-Black War Greymon is the Guild Master?!" Niko smirked. It's lucky that her statement isn't heard by the angered Digimon, else it could've been a problem. Demi Devimon cowered behind his owner while Agumon appears to be somewhat relaxed just like Honoka.
"Who else wants to show me their cooking?" he asked with a voice filled with anger.
One by one, the candidates changed their mind and left the place for their own good. Niko was about to do it too but…
"I want to!" Honoka said fearlessly as she energetically waved at the angered Digimon.
Niko's face showed that she is screaming Honoka's name in her mind. Now she can only hope that this angered Digimon isn't going to maul them.
The angered Digimon approached her as Agumon staring at him calmly. The angered Digimon demanded the wooden food box that Honoka brought and she handed it as if she had full confidence over her work.
Black War Greymon opened her box and found a few small, round and white steamed buns, neatly shaped and still giving out its lovely scent. Black War Greymon blushed when he saw it.
Though he shook his head off as if trying to resist an urge then he ate those buns in the box in one go.
"This…" his voice is small.
"…is the best steamed bun I ever had…do you have more to present?" he continued.
"Ehehe, this is all I can make in two hours. Though, usually, I'd have to wait for several hours and knead it over and over to gain the extra fluffiness. But it seems that the cooking system here is much different than the one in the real world. It allows me to get the maximum fermentation result just in a few minutes!"
"No, I mean, do you have more of those now?" he asked again.
"Ah... that—hehe, I left them at home?" Honoka replied.
"UGRAAHHHH!" Black War Greymon shouted.
"W-whoa?!" Honoka and Agumon were surprised while Niko quickly distanced herself.
"I want more!" he said loudly.
"E-Ehhh…uhh….Well…I only brought some to fulfill requirements for joining chef guild?" Honoka replied.
"Then, you are accepted! Get your ass in the guild and start cooking for your next quest!"
"O-ok?" Honoka blinked, surprised at how quick the decision was made.
"Now!" Black War Greymon said loudly.
"Y-Yes, sir!" Honoka replied before she and Agumon ran in to the guild.
"O-Oi! Honoka! Don't leave me alone!" Niko said.
"You!" the Guild Master said.
"Y-Yes..!?" Niko replied nervously.
"I can smell it. You must be the one named Niko Yazawa, right?!" he said as he glared at Niko's plastic box.
"Yes?" Niko nodded with fear all over her face.
"GIVE ME MY CURRY!" He shouted loudly.
UTX High School—The Real World;
The school has turned into a headquarters, thanks to the headmaster for allowing such a thing to happen, and to A-Rise who persuaded him to do so. Small clinics for Digimon and people were built on the first and second floors, a shopping hall on the third floor, and houses the rest of the floors. The café were always busy, though A-Rise's discussion room was kept as the discussion room.
While A-rise took a break from their guard duty, a few others took their place.
"This is ridiculous…" Erena said as she tended to her Ryuudamon's armor, brushing it gently until it shone.
"What is…?" Anjuu asked as she prepared a seed porridge for her Lalamon.
"I've been trying to follow clues on where those Digimons came from but not a single portal is found… and those Digimon keep appearing anyway."Erena said.
"Hmm… certainly, Lalamon told me the same. She said that she witnessed a digimon appear from the ground though. It's like they are rising up from the ground…" Anjuu replied.
"Yeah, but not only that. I've also seen one appearing out of thin air. It's like someone programmed the real world to spawn them. Just like how one programs an area to spawn the wild Digimons over and over." Lalamon added.
"Hng… could it be that the real world has copied the Digital World's problem as well?" Ryuudamon asked.
"Now that you mention it, Ryuudamon… perhaps that is the exact case. Has the Digital world experienced copy pasted objects as well?" Erena asked.
"It has never been that much of a problem to us. We've been living with nature so whatever nature gives us is what we work with…" Ryuudamon said.
"Say, do your memories purely come from yourself or does the data that I collect tell you that?" Erena asked.
"We Digimon are born from one source of data So, whatever we are, we will already know from the start. Except, some Digimon decide to neglect those memories and build their own and some also decide to use such knowledge as their base to be evil or good." Lalamon explained.
"Hmm…just like what we know about how Vaccine, Data, Virus and Free-type work." Erena said before her thoughts drifted.
"Why did you even ask, though? I thought you knew that…" Anjuu said.
"I do … I was just trying to make sure because…perhaps… the way to solve the problem might have been there the whole time—with our Digimon." Erena said.
"But…If it is as simple as that, we would never have contacted human beings to help us…" Ryuudamon said.
"You're certainly right, Ryuudamon. But still…maybe there should be a way to salvage one memory and find out what exactly the problem is…" Erena said.
"Have you read the news, Erena-chan? We've got an update that this immortal creature is going to be shot with a very powerful canon. They will show it live on the Digi-channel in about an hour. We should get our digivice ready by then." Anjuu replied.
"But, didn't our digivice lose its ability to connect?" Erena asked.
"Well, didn't I tell you it's just a temporary shut down? My guess is that they're just limiting its connection to save the server memory. After the canon shot, it should return back to normal." Anjuu said.
"Really?!" Tsubasa who has been quiet the whole time finally spoke up. Her Black Agumon was sitting next to her, eating his meal and doing something with Tsubasa's Digivice.
"There, Tsubasa-chan… I know why you're excited. You wanted to contact your dear crush, right?" Anjuu said with her playful smile.
"Of course! I've been so worried!" Tsubasa said energetically.
"Say though, Tsubasa, do you think she is thinking about you now?" Erena asked.
"Of course she is! I'm sure she is thinking about me right now!" Tsubasa said.
"You're very confident. I mean, as I always say, she barely knows you…" Erena said.
"Now-now, Erena-chan, stop making sense. Let's just hope that's the truth…" Anjuu said.
"Yeah! What Anjuu said! Stop being a spoilsport!" Tsubasa added.
Erena sighed.
"Fine, whatever… but for real, Tsubasa, don't regret your decision." She said.
"I'm sure I won't! How many times I have told you that?" Tsubasa replied confidently.
Meanwhile, in the Digital World;
Honoka finally got inside the guild and was being guided by a big red Dinosaur Digimon— a Tyranomon—as she sat on his shoulder along with her Agumon. She also learned about the many tools that she can use as a Digi-chef. The current tool is big—so big that she don't even know how she will be able to reach it But, apparently, the sample tools are just designed for the Tyranomon who was explaining to her and the tools that she will use will be designed just for her and be given later on.
His explanation is basically about how tools work and how each food will react to it. Honoka put all of her focus on listening to the explanation and she actually learned so fast. She understands the basics of each item but she was thinking of how she could use it for anything else other than its actual purpose. Some of the tools are also familiar to her since Niko helped her with it before and those items were the digi-fermentation machine, digi-knead machine, and the digi-oven.
While listening, she could also see a few people and Digimon working together in their own cooking rooms. She wondered if she will get the same thing but, alas, she would prefer to think about her own ingredients than places right now.
She looked over each person in their rooms and she just knows that they all have so many ingredients stocked inside. From the smell of cooking too, she judged that this place will be full of incredible chefs.
After the long explanation finally came to an end, Honoka wass set back down to the Guild's Lobby. Niko has been waiting there and she doesn't look good. Demi Devimon seems to be trying to soothe her, though she doesn't seem to feel his attention.
"Niko-senpai!" Honoka called her energetically. Agumon followed and he waved cheerfully at Demi Devimon.
"Oh…you're finally back, huh?" Niko said—her face was gloomy and her smile isn't happy either.
"Hehe, well, I got accepted and they will send my tools after a few days. Thanks for lending me your tools before! I would'nt have any idea how to make the food without it!" Honoka said.
"Huh? Well… if you don't have the tools, they will allow you to use the public cooking room…"
"E-eeehh!? So those are public cooking rooms?!" Honoka said.
"Yep, they may have been completed with ingredients, but they are expensive so, if you're not a rich merchant or good at making money, you will feel the dent in the economy." Niko replied.
"Wh-whoa…! I totally thought that we will get our own rooms when we join!" Honoka said.
"That's impossible! Besides, wouldn't it be more convenient to cook at home?" Niko replied.
"Eh…well, I wouldn't mind being somewhere else. I'd like to watch how people are doing it from time to time…" Honoka said.
"Huh? Well, tell you what. People who are cooking in guild are usually starters or the rich ones so you wouldn't learn anything from them. If you want to meet the professionals, you should go to the culinary festival each month. Aside from improving your knowledge, you can also raise your popularity." Niko said.
"Is that so? Then, hmm… when is this festival usually held?" Honoka asked.
"Every 18thof the month in the City of Memory middle Town's square. You probably missed this month's festival but you can try to go to the next month's festival." Niko said.
"Ooh, ok! Then I'll make sure to go to the next one!" Honoka replied.
"Weeelll, other than that, though… you can also watch me hailed by everyone—I'm like…the queen of cooking…" Niko said proudly.
"That's great!" Honoka replied.
"Yep-yep, and you wouldn't believe that I've been living off from my popularity as the cooking queen…" Niko said.
"Ooo…! Nice!" Honoka appreciated her again.
Suddenly, a somewhat loud static is heard in the lobby. Honoka, Niko, Agumon and Demi Devimon turn their attention to where the sound came from.
"Did you hear that, Niko-senpai?" Honoka asked as she stared curiously at the screen. It looked like a television that was specially set in the guild lobby to show cooking tutorials by digimon and humans.
"Y-yeah…." Niko replied.
For a while, they looked around and it seems that not many people heard the static sound—or they may have ignored it.
Agumon began to sniff while Demi Devimon began to feel agitated.
"Honoka-chan, I smell an enemy…" Agumon said.
"E-eh…?" Honoka wondered where that enemy might be.
The static sound is heard again and louder this time, followed by a glitch from the television.
"A-A glitch…?" Niko smirked.
"I wonder if the television is alright?" Honoka asked. Agumon doesn't look calm—he is set on his battle position and his eyes show his courage.
"Watch out, I still smell the enemy coming from there, Honoka-chan!" Agumon said.
Honoka, Niko and Demi Devimon were on alert, though they still have no idea what kind of enemy would come up to them.
Before they knew it, a large white tentacle appeared from the television and nearly grabbed both Niko and Honoka, but Demi Devimon was quick to pull his tamer away while Agumon and Honoka….
"W-whoaaaaa!" they shouted as both of them were dragged in to the television.
When they were almost fully sucked in, Niko and Demi Devimon quickly tried to pull them back out, but even with their combined strength, they both got sucked in along with Honoka and Agumon.
The Housing Area—Digital World;
A lot of people were gathered in the Housing Enthusiast Office hall. They have never been invited, though they are there to watch the huge screen set in the hall. Each of the players received a notification that they will be able to watch through any screen, including their digivices, but they preferred to watch on the big screen.
How can we know the details of the event if it is not through a big screen?
One said.
We want to know the form of the immortal creature.
The other said.
While the crowd surrounded the screen, Lucemon and a few other official members, including Lucemon's partner, are forced to manage them. They would have said that the show will contain violence but, alas, they can't really be sure since the creature's true identity is still unknown.
As soon as the show is officially announced to begin, the screen showed a giant white squid-like creature from a bird's eye-view and another creature that looked like a metal skeleton with metallic muscles wearing broken white armors stood on top of it.
Then, what suddenly become the center of attention in the screen are the two people who totally look human in the screen.
"Are those two… humans?" said one of the Digimon—a plant-like Digimon with a pink flower on its head that may have been owned by one of the audience members.
"Wh-Who are they?! Isn't that the place that will be nuked?!" said one of the audience.
"Stop the nuking! Two people are there!" said another.
They began to panic and the officials began to attempt contacting those who are working in the Bridge Domain.
Meanwhile, The Bridge Domain;
"How long until the canon is ready?" Lord Knightmon asked.
"All going according to plan, mam." An official said.
"So that should be in thirty minutes?" Lord Knightmon asked to confirm.
"Yes, mam. Thirty four minutes to be exact." The official replied.
"W-wait there! Are those humans?!" Omegamon said when he look at the screen.
"Those are humans!" Dukemon confirmed.
"Stop the canon!" said another Digimon—a Digimon equipped with a black armor with gold lines and a white robe.
"I'm sorry Alphamon, but we can't stop the canon right now. If we do so, the canon will explode and we will have to do this all over again. Plus, we just received a report that the Eater we sent has begun its attempt to travel into another dimension, we need to nuke them." Craniumon said.
"We need to find another way!" A blue Digimon with V carved on its chest plate said.
"Let's get them…" A centaur-like Digimon said.
Omegamon, Dukemon, and Alphamon turned to them.
"Please do that. We still have thirty minutes so it should be enough to get them and create distance before the nuke happens." Alphamon said.
"Don't be ridiculous, do you think the Eaters will sit prettily there?" Lord Knightmon said.
"I'll come With Ulforce Veedramon and Sleipmon, I'll make sure to defend them." Dukemon said.
"Just hurry up, we don't have time to argue. Move first, think later." The centaur-like Digimon said.
"You're right, Sleipmon, we better hurry." Ulforce Veedramon replied before Dukemon jumped into Sleipmon's back and the three ran as fast as they can.
Lord Knightmon scowled and she shook her head before she announced,
"Slow down the process! We need to buy them as much time as possible!"
The deeper depth of the Bridge Domain;
Honoka and Niko have no idea how to get out of this place. The only things they could see are the huge, white, squid-like monster along with the smaller one which they can't identify since their Digivice stopped working, somehow. Their Digimon are still trying to protect them from the said monster which seemed to be in a strange state of alert.
It was lucky that when they got dragged into the doomed place, Agumon was biting on its tentacle, which prevented it from functioning so Honoka is not harmed. Right now, with the number of squid-like Digimon everywhere sticking themselves into the invisible walls— and some even attempted to get themselves through broken cameras— Honoka and Niko tried to stay as calm as possible and not make a single movement or sound which may attract these creature. When Honoka and Niko finally decided to look behind them, they saw a broken camera under a big squid-like monster which was sticking on the nearby wall. Could it be the monster that went into the camera before and pulled them in?
Putting all that aside, now there is another danger threatening them. The Metallic Skeleton's eyes met theirs, and it looked so creepy as it walked towards them. The sound of its strong feet made their hearts beat faster and its diabolical look made them feel like cowering in fear.
Whenever it passed through a squid-like monster, it absorbed the monster into its body and even the biggest ones have started to shatter into data and were absorbed into this creature.
As it got closer to the two digimon and humans, this creature crossed its arms and stood in front of them.
"Stuck in the chaos?" a female-like voice came from the metallic skeletal creature.
Honoka could see the texture of its body. It resembles a female human with mechanic icy blue eyes and feminine muscular features. Its face has a set of white teeth that resemble actual human teeth and some parts had some dark red stains. Some parts of her body were covered with broken white armor and a remnants of a black rubber suit. Niko couldn't pay attention that much since it's scary enough for her to be stuck with those disgusting squid-like monsters and staying there as quiet as possible is the only thing she wanted to do right now.
"Yes, can you help us?" Honoka asked innocently.
Agumon stood in front of her and remained silent, ready to fight if necessary.
The creature remained silent before it offered its hand to Honoka. At that time, Honoka thought that this creature might not have been a threat to them. The creature's hand is covered with a strange, futuristic looking glove with a Sapphire attached to it.
"Hhrrnngh!" Agumon stand in front of Honoka, blocking the creature from touching her.
The creature walked back then faced another way.
Honoka was flustered but she couldn't say much until the creature decided to jump away from them—far away from them. A few minutes of silence and the squid-like monsters didn't make any movement at all. Honoka and Niko still remained alert while Agumon and Demi Devimon kept looking around to make sure that no one can sneak attack them.
Their senses might've been up at the maximum but none of them expect some Digimon to snatch them from the ground and fly them far away from the chaotic place full of squid-like monsters.
Honoka and Niko now realized that they're being carried by two unfamiliar creatures and seeing them made Honoka slightly panicked but luckily…
"Wh-whoa? Dukemon? Sleipmon? Ulforce Veedramon?" Niko said.
"You recognize our name, that's good…" Ulforce Veedramon said.
"Of course, aren't you guys the Royal Knights?" Niko said.
"Aye! The real one, not the copies!" Dukemon said.
"Put that detail aside, my friend, what brought you two in?" Sleipmon asked.
"Uh, we got dragged in by tentacles…through the television…" Honoka said.
"Television…? Where…?" Dukemon asked.
"The Cooking Guild…" Honoka replied.
"Cooking guild?" Dukemon replied.
"Ah, right, that place, the lobby is pretty cramped so it's no wonder that weren't able to dodge the tentacles like how a few other people did." Ulforce Veedramon said.
"From what I remember, it's not quite a cramped place. It is normal sized, I say." Dukemon said.
"They are just in luck." Sleipmon said.
"No kidding, but now that you all are safe with us, would you like to witness the great explosion?" Dukemon asked. Honoka, Niko, Agumon and Demi Devimon nodded.
They turned around and looked at the nightmarish view of Eaters piling up in one area. A few second passed and the sound of a canon being shot, followed by an explosion, is heard from a distance. The bright light could've blinded Honoka and Niko but, thank goodness, they wore their Digivice on their heads and it automatically covered their eyes with a goggle as it detected the amount of lights shining from the distance.
The explosion is huge and it looked so powerful. The three Royal Knights stopped and, when a smaller round was shot, each of them shot their own powerful blasts. It seemed that they agreed to sync their attack to match the canon's potential.
"Now, we can only hope for the best…" Sleipmon said.
Dukemon and Ulforce Veedramon nodded in agreement before they returned to their camp.
The Housing Enthusiast Office;
The audience seemed to be relieved when the news said the royal knights rescued the humans before they shot their powerful beam to the ridiculously powerful creature. They never saw what exactly happened since all their focuses were taken by eaters scattered on the screen.
When the timer was almost up, the audience began to see the light beam approaching the screen. The beam flared up on the screen and hindered the view and, finally, the beam reached its target. It was all white and no one can see a thing or hear an explosion.
"Is it muted?" one of the audience asked.
The official tried to check but the volume seemed fine.
A few minutes passed and the view cleared up. Eaters were still piled up and none of them are harmed—at least not before they saw the creature slash the eaters into pieces with an invisible blade before all of them were absorbed by the creature which now began to grow a few more parts of its body.
Four pairs of wings on its back, human-like skin seemed to cover its metallic muscles and bones and some parts of its armor returned were pieced together.
The audience was dumbfounded as they wondered what may have been happened when the screen went bright. Their curiosity is sated when the creature finally flew to the camera and spoke.
"That was nice, thank you for all the light you gave me…" it said with its female-like voice.
"W-what?! It absorbed the beam?!" one of the audience said.
"R-Ridiculous!" the other replied.
"Let me tell you something about me…" the creature said.
"I shall never die as long as the light still shines upon the world… and my mission is to regain my power—all of those who sit on the throne shall be aware of me because I shall not spare them. Not at all…" it continued.
"W-what the heck?! Is that a threat?!" said one of the audience again.
"Or… actually... never mind… the faster it is, the better, right? One of the worlds shall sacrifice for my power …" it continued.
The audience roared.
"Go! Go pick your favorite world and enjoy the last of your time…" the creature laughed evilly before it broke the camera and cut off the connection between them.
The City of Memory's Lobby—Digital World;
Honoka, Niko, Agumon and Demi Devimon received a gift from the official as an apology for what happened to them. They were also given with extra voucher which can be traded for some Digi-Food.
"Aahh—this is nice. Maybe I'm not that bad with luck after all!" Niko said as she received the notification about the gift.
"Hehe, who would have expected things to turn out like this?" Honoka said.
"Right, huh? At least Chibby will have more food for the rest of the month." Niko said.
"Chibby?" Honoka wondered.
"That's my nickname. Cute isn't it?" Demi Devimon said.
"Nickname…?" Honoka and Agumon wondered.
"Heheheh—every good tamer will give their beloved Digimon a nickname, but we have to make sure that they like it." Niko said proudly.
"Well—I should say that my nickname should've been something scary, but I guess I started to embrace myself as the cute little devil." Demi Devimon said.
"Hnng…Just like Angel and Lady?" Honoka asked again.
"Yep, just like those two!" Chibby replied.
"Whoaa…. Now I feel like I should give Agumon a nickname!" Honoka said.
"Uweh…. What kind of nickname are you going to give me?" Agumon asked.
"Hmm….what about… Dino?"
"Dino….? That sounds lame!" Agumon replied.
"G-gah! You're pretty blunt!" Honoka said.
"Can you think of a better name?" Agumon asked.
"Hng…what about… T-Rex?" Honoka suggested again.
"Meh—but if I'm evolving into Tyrannomon, then I'll take that."
"Ggh…I don't even know what you will turn into." Honoka began to think again.
"Huh? Don't tell me, you haven't joined any rookie tournaments?!" Niko asked.
"Uhm…No? I promised with Umi-chan that we will take it together. She said her Penguinmon isn't ready yet, so… I have no choice but to wait, right?" Honoka replied.
"That's stupid. But, alright… not really. Those three juniors told me that they have taken them together. Rookie tournaments are not that uncommon anyway. But you can't do something like that for the other tournaments, unless you want to fight your own friend." Niko said.
"Uh…ok? Honoka replied.
"S-ranked match, especially! You may be able to register, but the elimination round is always hell and no one will want to play poorly, you know. They will be serious and it will be hard to get up to the real match!" Niko said.
"So, you are saying that…I shouldn't wait for anyone next time?"
"Of course you shouldn't! Just practice and get your own ass there! I swear if you do that and Eli finds out, she will kick your ass!"
"E-eeeH!? D-Don't kick me!" Honoka said.
"Yep, if you don't want that, you better really have the urge to work it out. Heck, is there any reason why you're playing this game?"
"Uh…why huh? Well…it started out when someone registered me for this game… then, uh...it looks fun so I play it?" Honoka replied.
"Huuh? What the hell? Don't you have any other reason?" Niko asked.
"No…?"
"Ridiculous! How could you not! You should at least aim for something, you know…!"
"Uhhmm…to be…an S-Ranked player?" Honoka doubtfully answered.
"Too Naïve! That kind of ambition will not motivate you! If you don't trust me, just duel Eli's Renamon. I bet you won't even lay a hand on her and all of your hope will scatter!" Niko said.
"E-eeh? Then…uh….uhm…. Mega-Ranked player?" Honoka replied again.
"No way! You will get that easily. Try to aim for something much higher but still realistic…"
"Uuhh… A master chef…?"
"What? Why are you even playing Digimon online if all you want to be is a master chef!"
"Uhhh… then…what should I do…?" Honoka asked with an innocent expression.
"Hmmph! I guess it can't be helped, huh? But let me tell you what you SHOULD do!" Niko said with pride in her voice.
Honoka remained silent to listen to what her senior has to say to her.
"You see, Digimon online is a worldwide online game and, if you're popular in it, you might as well be popular in the whole world. So the best use of playing Digimon online is to gain fame! Just like what A-Rise says, be the idols and be popular!"
"Ooohhh!" Honoka responded.
"So, in other words! The most realistic dream is to become famous!" Niko continued.
"Uuuohhhh!" Honoka responded to her again.
"Uhhnn…what's the use of being famous again?" Agumon asked.
"W-what? You didn't know?! Just imagine if everyone knows you and they all adore you!" Chibby the Demi Devimon said.
"Now-now, I knew you will ask that, and I surely have the answer. By being popular, people will give you anything you hope for! Free food in every restaurant, Discount in every shop and, most importantly, anywhere you go, their eyes will be on to you! Then… a soulmate? Check that one… you can get anyone you want! Dresses, training, just anything!"
"Uhh…but… I have Umi-chan and Kotori-chan…" Honoka replied.
"Naaah—they won't stand a chance! You can have a millionaire best friend or a famous celebrity!"
"Uh…Like, Maki-chan and Tsubasa-chan?"
"G-Gh…uh…a luck hoarder or a great tamer!"
"Like Nozomi-Senpai and Eli-senpai?"
"Hmm…well you still need the free food or the friend that will always cheer you up!" Niko said.
"Hehe, I feel like Hanayo-chan and Rin-chan has that part covered!"
"Bah! Fine! Then, what about a chef? Huh? Or just a jester!"
"Hehe, Niko-senpai, you look like you fit both roles!" Honoka replied cheerfully.
"G-Gaaah! You are impossible! Too simple minded!" Niko complained.
"Hehe, but, I get what you mean. Maybe I should really go after the idol thing after all! Since…you know, Tsubasa-chan suggested it and everyone told me that it's the best way to gain fame!" Honoka said.
"Yes, I'm glad you got it…" Niko sighed.
Then, suddenly, her digivice started ringing.
"Wh-Whoa! That's surprising!" The ginger girl said loudly.
"Huh? A call eh?" Niko said.
Honoka accepted the call.
"Aaah! Tsubasa-chan! I've been wondering why you didn't respond to my text!" Honoka said.
"G-gh…this girl…" the black haired girl smirked with envy written all over her face.
"Oh? The connection between worlds was cut off? I didn't know!" Honoka replied.
Niko wondered what their topic was… she wished that she is in their conversation somehow.
"Hehe—we certainly did! But we were saved by the Royal Knights!" Honoka said cheerfully.
The little girl couldn't really hear them but the sound of excitement seems to color their conversation.
"I know right! Hehe! They also told me that they're sorry for what happened!" The ginger girl replied.
Niko could hear that the girl on the phone speaks something for a while.
"Uhhnn….well… so far….we have a medium sized house—it took a while for us all to be able to fill it with what we need. Some of us had complete needs but not all. The best thing is that we don't need to think too much for our daily needs! Hanayo-chan supplies our food, Rin-chan and Kotori-chan always brought back snacks whenever they visit the city, Umi-chan lets our Digimon join the practices she holds everyday, Maki-chan and Nozomi-senpai are always ready to heal when we need it and Eli-senpai…uh…she is the one who manages the household…" Honoka explained.
The black haired girl touched Honoka's shoulder, expecting to be mentioned in their conversation.
"Haha! I cooked my food by myself. The others are doing the same too!" Honoka continued.
Niko smirked but felt totally defeated and felt like she has been forgotten.
"Hnn…? What? uh… I think we are fine! You can stay there and take care of our world! I'll be joining there once I can leave. I heard from Eli-senpai that we can go there once we are S-Rank! Though, actually, I would prefer to be able to log out normally!" Honoka replied again.
Niko still trying to get Honoka's attention but the ginger seems to not care about her.
"Hehehe! For sure! Eli-senpai is like the daddy! She knows so many things and she also takes care almost everything in the house! Though, she is a bit scary sometimes! Just about a week ago, she scolded me because I took her shampoo and soap!" Honoka continued to talk with Tsubasa on the phone.
"Eh? You think that anyone will be pissed off? Hehe, I was just borrowing them, though, and I just forgot to return it!" Honoka said again—still ignoring Niko who's now pointing to herself.
"W-whaaat? Potential criminal? T-there! Tsubasa-chan! You're a bit blunt sometime! But really! I just forgot to return it! I also forgot to ask for permission but I was already naked when I remembered that I didn't bring any shampoo and soap. Her room is the closest since she was staying in the guestroom." Honoka said.
Niko sighed and she began to pout.
"Hehe, well, I don't really know why, but, I think I heard from someone that she said, she needs to try the guest room and see if it is comfortable enough to stay in with the arrangements she made!"
The little black haired girl rolled her eyes and she decided to wait while crossing her arms.
"I know right! Hehe! The only person who can make her do something else than her responsibilities is Nozomi-senpai! She is like the mommy! She also protects us from Eli-senpai's wrath! The last time she was really angry at us was when we decided to mess around instead of working on our own rooms! Nozomi-senpai dragged her away and I don't know what happened next but Eli-senpai is suddenly very calm and friendly when she returned!"
The conversation went on and Agumon seem to be have already fallen asleep from waiting while Demi Devimon is trying his best to stay awake to keep Niko company.
In their home—The Dining Room.
The room is styled with a modern design and a decent-sized television was set near the dining table. Umi, Kotori, Maki, Rin, Hanayo, Nozomi and Eli are sitting with their digivice placed on the table. Their Digimon were switched on training mode with each other.
The girls have been worried sick about Honoka and Niko. They sent them texts and calls yet none were going through so they decided to drop their attempts and try again later.
"Honoka… how could you be there…" Umi said very sadly.
"Now-now, Umi-chan, don't be like a daddy losing his daughter. Didn't you hear that the Royal Knights saved them?" Nozomi said.
"I did hear that but…why did she not reply to my texts or my calls? Why she didn't call me back? Is she ok?" Umi asked.
"Umi-chan…. Why don't we just go to the lobby?" Kotori suggested. She seems to be very concerned as well.
"Heh—I think we should just stick in this place and wait her to return. It's no use for us to look in the lobby." Maki said.
"Yeah-nya. When I was patrolling before, it seems that the crowd has started another argument… I don't think the streets will be a good place to hang out." Rin said.
"Uhmm… if we think about it a little, why did this creature attempt to start a war?" Hanayo asked.
"Clearly, because she need the power. Using her logic, she needed to destroy one world to regain her power. I don't know her maximum limit but, seeing how she blocked the beam, she might actually need one powerful world. If war is started, everyone in the world will see a reason to raise their power. Once the world achieves the amount of power she needs, she will devour it…" Eli said.
"T-that means… she was tricking them to create more power for their favorite world?" Kotori asked.
"Exactly. Though, what I'm curious about is… The Digital world obviously has an almost unlimited power. At least that's what I think since the concept of Digital World is a universe of data created with unique inhabitants. This creature realized the existence of this world so why did this creature decide to start a war if all she wanted is to devour one world? She can have what she needs right now if she wants. There must be something else that this creature is thinking about…" Eli continued.
"W-whah! T-That's pretty scary! I mean, to think that we all live in the Digital World right now…" Hanayo said.
"Hmm…come to think of it Ericchi… the creature said that she wanted to devour one world, though she started a war and this will lead to stronger inhabitants, either human beings or the digimon—then, if we connect it to how S-Ranked players will be able to go back into the real world..." Nozomi's voice drifted away.
"Stronger inhabitants in the real world..." Eli said.
"That means, this creature is trying to enhance the quality of inhabitants in the real world…" Maki said.
"And as a creature like that, I believe she will be capable of devouring both worlds then, perhaps, creating a new world as well?" Eli said.
"S-Scary-nyaaa!" Rin said loudly.
"Hey, anyhow, since when we called this creature as a 'she'…?" Maki asked.
"That creature's voice sounded female so we assume this creature is a female…" Nozomi said.
"Huh? Alright I guess… but, with that shape… it's pretty creepy. It's like I can see through her body…" Maki said.
"Did you want to hear about this creature's history?" Nozomi asked.
"W-what? Not really..." Maki replied.
"From the beginning, they said that this creature was found in an invisible object form. Then eventually it took form from the junk data and the Digimon that attacked her—so basically, her body right now are parts of other Digimon and data…scary right?"
"I… I said I didn't want to hear it…" Maki smirked.
"Can you just imagine a woman that made of Digimon and Data? A creature created by its combined power? It will be like an absolute destroyer—Oh! We should name her the Absolute Destroyer. Sounds good?" Nozomi continued again.
"A-Absolute Destroyer!?" Kotori, Hanayo, and Rin showed fear in their faces.
"Yep, I should spread that name everywhere. The AD… a good name huh?" Nozomi confirmed.
"Th-that sounds so close to Attack Damage…" Maki said.
"Ahh, I see you been remember a video game term. AP for Ability Power and AD for Attack Damage. But now-now, since you have pointed it out, maybe I should pick a different name. What about… Abomination?" Nozomi said.
"Y-you're saying it like you will be the trendsetter." Maki replied again with her eyes averted.
"I am! In fact, I can speak of your name and advertise anything for you and people will flock to you in instant. I have been the most trusted merchant in the entire Digital World, you know." the purplenette grinned.
"W-what…? Impossible. I have never heard of a single person capable of doing that." Maki smirked.
"Well, since you don't believe me. What about an advertisement about you looking for some kids to play with?"
"W-what?! Why would I play with kids?" Maki smirked wider at her.
"It's just going to be for a day, trust me…"
"N-No! Can you just advertise my music or something like that?" Maki said,
"Your music? Hmm…alright, expect to receive a lot of calls later…and don't make me regret it." Nozomi replied.
"W-waaait-wait-wait-nyaa!" Rin suddenly joined the conversation.
"E-eh? What's wrong, Rin-chan?"
"I think-nya, you shouldn't advertise her music without us-nya! Didn't we all want to make an idol group-nya?" Rin said.
"For real…?" Nozomi asked.
"R-Rin-chan! I told you it was just Honoka's plan!" Hanayo said.
"Yep! Kayo-chin want to do it too, right-nya?" Rin said.
"Heh, was that really a serious plan though?" Maki asked as her eyes set on the timid girl.
"U-uuh…I… I don't know!" Hanayo blushes madly.
The girls went quite for a moment, wishing that someone would speak up to confirm it. The dining room is awfully quiet until Umi 's digivice received a phone call...
"Ah! Honoka!" Umi said. The girls hyped up, except for Eli who seemed unamused.
"Hmm… what? Where are you?" the bluenette asked.
"Lobby? With Niko-senpai? Thank goodness, we've been so worried when we saw you on the live stream. How did you even get there? I thought you went to the cooking guild!" she continued.
Honoka's loud voice could be heard even without the loud speaker, though, none of them but Umi is able to hear it clearly.
"I'll listen to you later then but, can you get back home or do you want us to pick you up?" the blunette asked.
Kotori, Hanayo, and Rin curiously try to grasp the idea of how the conversation was going.
"W-what?! A riot in the city?! W-what caused it?" Umi exclaimed.
While she listened to what Honoka was saying to her, Hanayo seemed to be down.
"So the war has really started…" she said sadly.
"I-it's ok, Kayo-chan, we will be fine!" Kotori tried to cheer her up.
"Who would've expected this to be so serious?" Maki said with a sigh at the end of her remark.
"We have no choice but to pump our Digimon harder in their training. Also, we might not be able to go out of this home without our Digimon anymore…" Eli said.
"I swear it was alright before-nya…" Rin said sadly.
"Say, Ericchi, do you think they will mess with our home somehow?" Nozomi asked.
"Each land is equipped with security system which no one else other than the residents of the estate, special officials, and allowed guest will be allowed entry. People will only be able to see our outdoor activity but they will never be able to enter without permission." Eli replied.
"Just works like a gate, huh? Then I suppose homes will be the safest place for anything these days…" Maki said.
"But what about those poor people who live in the lodging house? Wouldn't that mean that they will be in danger of getting attacked?" Hanayo asked.
"Most of the people who live in the Lodging house are people without Digimon—and they can't be attacked by any Digimon, thanks to the security program. Also, they're protected by the official so we don't need to worry about them." Eli replied.
"Everyone! We need to go to the lobby together!" Umi suddenly said after she finished her call with Honoka.
"Wait, why do we need to? There's a teleporter in the lobby, tell her to use it." Eli said.
"The teleporter in the lobby is malfunctioning. It teleports you to a random place instead of your actual destination so they closed it for maintenance." Umi explained.
"Then use the one near the marketplace." Eli said.
"Honoka and Niko said they went there but a group of people have claimed it." Umi replied.
"How about the rest of teleporters in the city?" Eli asked again.
"They can't go anywhere else at the moment. As I said, a riot began in the city. Many people are fighting each other right now." Umi replied.
"And where's the wisdom in going to the city just to look for them? They have to somehow stay low and sneak to any possible teleporter. It's better than charging in to a place with a lot of battles happening." Eli said.
The girls seems to be putting their thoughts into it.
"If you truly want to save her, then let's do it in a smart way." Eli continued again.
Umi nods.
"Do you have any plan then?" Umi asked.
"Of course I do. It's pretty easy to sneak through the city, especially when everyone around might be busy with their own battles." Eli replied.
Nozomi giggled to Eli's response.
"I can't deny that it was easy for us, though, we may need a little more work with Honoka, don't you think?" she said.
"E-eh? Did anything that happen before that caused you two to sneak through the city…?" Kotori asked.
"Long story but let's focus on the task at hand, shall we?" Nozomi replied.
"Yes, but first of all, I need some of you to wait in our residence's teleporter. I set that up near the gym." Eli said.
"Eeh? We have a teleporter?" Umi asked.
"We just bought that today." Maki replied.
"And it took a while for me to set it up properly since they didn't give me any leads…" Eli said.
"I see, so…I what exactly can we do?" Umi asked.
"As what I've said, just stand guard around the teleporter. We will add to the plan later. Someone should also have at least a little knowledge about programming." Eli replied.
"Then, Kayo-chin should be able to do the job-nya!" Rin said.
"E-eeeh?! M-Mee…?" Hanayo said loudly.
"Can you?" Eli asked to her.
The girls went quiet for a while as they stared at the timid girl. They didn't need any words to convey how they all wished for her cooperation.
"F-Fine… I'll do it! P-Please wish me luck!" Hanayo said.
"You'll be fine-nya!" Rin said cheerfully.
The City of Memory—Near the lobby;
Honoka and Niko stood near the lobby as they waited for the right chance to jump out. The crowd seemed to be angered and some have started a Digimon battle. The officials are overwhelmed by the number of fighting players and now they're falling back to their office to draw up a plan.
While Honoka and Niko waited, the two tried to find other things to occupy themselves with. Niko spent her time looking around the city through the Binoculars placed in the lobby's garden for a tourism. As for Honoka…
From : Kira Tsubasa
Honoka! How is it? Did you get to contact your friend to help you?
To : Kira Tsubasa
I did! Umi-chan said she wanted to pick me up!
From : Kira Tsubasa
That's not quite the right decision but Umi is like Erena, right? Then I bet she said that out of worry for you! Hahaha…!
To : Kira Tsubasa
Eeehh? Then she isn't supposed to pick me up?"
From : Kira Tsubasa
There should be a better choice, but I'm not quite sure. I'm pretty good at programming and hacking, but I can't possibly do that since I'm too far away from you. If only we're at least in the same world…
To : Kira Tsubasa
Hehe, it's alright! I'm very sure that my luck will give me something good today!
Then right after Honoka sent that text, Umi called her—which she quickly accepted.
"Honoka! Are you still near the lobby?" she asked.
"Yep!" Honoka replied.
"Good! Eli-senpai is going to give you a call so you better obey her, ok? This is for your own sake! Also, make sure Niko goes with you! We wouldn't want anyone to be left alone!" Umi said.
"Ok!" Honoka replied cheerfully.
The call ended right before a new call came to her digivice.
"Honoka…" A gentle voice. It sounded like the voice that could make anyone's heart melt, except Honoka doesn't take any interest to that.
"Ahh…Uh… Who is this again?" Honoka asked.
"Eli…." The voice replied.
"W-whoa! So-Sorry! Eli-senpai! I have never heard you on the phone before! You sound… different!" Honoka replied.
"I thought Umi informed you about who will call you. Anyway, let's just get down to the business, shall we?" Eli replied.
"Ok!" Honoka replied—a little too stiffly.
"First of all, can you give me your coordinates?" Eli asked.
"Uh… what's a… coordinate?" Honoka asked back.
She couldn't hear anyone speaking after that but she heard Eli's sigh. The two remained silent for a moment as Honoka waited for an answer and Eli tried to figure out how to explain to the clueless girl.
"What's wrong, Ericchi?" Nozomi's voice is heard from the phone, but she seemed a little far from the microphone.
"She doesn't know what a coordinate is… put aside understanding what I say in the future." Eli replied.
"Oohh… that's a problem now, huh? Well… I have an idea here…" Nozomi said.
"Talk to her…" Eli said.
"Alright, come a little closer darling, let me speak through your digivice's microphone."
It took a few seconds for Honoka to wait for the next command but at least, Nozomi's voice somewhat soothed her worry about not being treated gently.
"Hello, Honoka-chan, since you don't know what a coordinate is and we do not want you to make even the slightest mistake…"
Honoka swears, her heart jumped slightly as she heard the last point of Nozomi's sentence. Not making the slightest mistake isn't her thing.
"…we want you to get Nikocchi to invite us all into her club, for real now. No more slacking." Nozomi said.
"U-Uh… ok?" Honoka replied.
Lucky for her, Niko was just about to approach her and she only needs to beckon her in order to get beside her.
"What's up?" Niko asked.
"Uh… Niko-senpai, can you… invite us all to your club?"
"Huh? What? But I haven't post the new form!" Niko replied.
"That's why I said 'Invite us to the club for real,' no more slacking!'" Nozomi said a little loudly.
"W-whoa…Uh…. N-Niko-senpai, she said, that's why she told you to not slack on it!" Honoka said.
"W-What?! A-Alright, I'll go to the lobby to post it!" Niko replied before she quickly operated her own digivice and printed a digital paper from her screen. She ran up to the lobby quickly while Honoka watched from a distance.
After about fifteen minutes, Niko finally returned from the lobby and ran up to the ginger girl. Next, she quickly operate her digivice's screen again before a notification for invitation came up on Honoka's digivice.
Would you like to join µ's— The School Idol Research Club?
It said.
Honoka immediately accepted the invitation.
"Ok! I did it now!" she said.
"Good job, Honoka-chan!" Nozomi said through the microphone.
"I can see your position in the map now…" Eli said— and her voice is just as clear. It's like both Nozomi and Eli are really close to one microphone.
"So, what should we do next?" Honoka asked.
"Hmm….Ericchi, don't you think that position is familiar…?"
"Yes, I'm very sure that place is where we had that…." Eli replied.
"I wonder if it is still left around there?" Nozomi said.
"Should be." Eli replied.
"Alright then, Honoka-chan, Niko-chan, you two should move to the garden right behind you."
"Uh…ok?" Honoka turned around, seeing nothing more than a garden full of strange looking flowers and trees. Niko wondered what might be interesting behind them.
"Hey, put it in loud speaker, I can't hear…" the black-haired girl said. Honoka nodded and placed the call on loud speaker.
"No-No, Nikocchi, you're surely a curious girl but let us talk with Honoka-chan only." Nozomi said.
"Huh? Alright, but how am I supposed to know the things I should do?" Niko asked.
"Just listen to Honoka, you'll be fine." Eli said.
"Meh—fine…" Niko replied before the loudspeaker was turned off.
"Alright now, Honoka-chan, try to look for a bush with light blue and purple color… and yes, the branches should be the same color too." Nozomi said.
"Eh…uh…well…there are so many here that are colored with light blue and purple… even the official flag is in those colors. It might take some time to look for them…" Honoka replied.
"You shouldn't step on the grass. Just follow the path and you will figure it out easily…" Eli said.
"Uh…ok? Uhm…where should we start?" Honoka asked again.
"If you step on the grass, the official gardener will chase you down so it's better if you start from where the entrance is. It should be just a few meters away from you. Try to look to your left…"
Honoka looked to her left And saw that a few people are standing close to where she believes the entrance to the garden is.
"T-There are a few people there…" Honoka said.
"Just sneak in and hope they don't see you." Nozomi said.
"Actually, no, we can't risk making contact with anyone right now. Let's try to find another way…" Eli said.
"Hmm… there's no other way, the other entrance should be somewhere near the marketplace, right? Many said that the riot is mainly happening there…" Nozomi replied.
"Do you remember, Nozomi? The official gardener always steps on the grass and the alarm doesn't sound off when they do…"
"Ah—you mean, Digimon should be able to step on them?" Nozomi clarified.
"Probably. I've never tried but if my memory serves me right, all the gardeners are Digimon and they don't seem to mind when Renamon and your Salamons steps on the grass…"
"You're right… After all, what caused us to stumble into that problem is because we thought it is fine to step on the grass…."
"W-wait there, Senpai! Is it really that bad to step on the grass?" Honoka confirmed.
"Yep, extremely so…." Nozomi replied.
"O…Ok….." Honoka smirked.
"Now, put that aside. Tell Agumon to jump over the short fence and carry you until you reach a nearby path… as for Nikocchi, she should be able to make Chibby carry her." Nozomi said.
"Uh…ok, Niko-senpai, she said Chibby should be able to carry you to prevent you from stepping on the grass…" Honoka said to the black haired girl.
"Huh, sure… we can do that easy. But what are we going to do again?" Niko asked.
"To get to a bush with light blue and purple color…" Honoka said.
"That's it? I know where they are…maybe… I've gone to the garden a few times now…" Niko said.
"Really? Then that should save us the trouble of searching for it!" Honoka said.
"Sheesh, why can't I listen to your conversation anyway when I've proven that I know a lot about this city…" Niko said.
"The problem is that she always make her own plan even if I tell her how we need her to work." Eli said.
"Yep, you don't need to tell her what Ericchi said, but just keep that in mind—If Nikocchi tries to make you work not according to the plan, just brush her off and obey us." Nozomi said.
"A-Alright…." Honoka replied.
Meanwhile, at home;
Umi, Kotori, Rin, Hanayo, and Maki are waiting near the teleporter shaped like a crystal with light blue and purple gradation. The crystal is very small and anyone can miss it if they're not sharp enough to notice. The crystal is placed on a bush with strange light blue and purple flowers, leaves and branches.
"Hnn… this teleporter is very hidden…I wonder why they have to do this…?" Hanayo asked.
"I'm not sure either but, perhaps, they wanted it to be exclusively used by us?" Maki said.
"Hehe, I'm sure we don't need to do that. I mean, even if we have our own teleporter, we still need to enter the address and password to enter one private place like this estate." Kotori said.
"Maybe it has a specific durability? I wouldn't want a stranger to break it." Umi said.
"Eh… but, who else can go into this place but us? Unless you're talking about a guest who might try to use it…" Maki said.
"Ehehe… maybe… but…that reminds me, Honoka-chan broke my shower before…" Kotori said.
"Your shower?" the girls wondered.
"Yep, she was new to my home that time. I think she have never seen some objects in my house and… well, that time, we had a stay over. She took a bath with and Umi-chan too!" Kotori said.
"I totally remember that day, Kotori. She was running around with shower in her hand and accidentally detached the whole pipe off the wall." Umi said.
"W-wow…. Just how powerful is she…" Maki said.
"Hehe, we also had no idea that she can do that. It was fine for a few minutes…" Kotori said.
"Did your parents get mad at her?" Maki asked.
"Uh… no, my mother said that it's alright. Honoka also felt bad that time and she already apologized a lot of times!"
"Hehe, at least she is willing to admit-nya!" Rin said.
"Yep! Hehe, Honoka-chan, even though she can be very mischievous and unstoppable, she is always willing to take responsibility to fix what was wrong." Kotori said.
Yes, and the next day, I remember that she brought a lot of manjuu from her shop to make up and also some cash to pay for repair fees…" Umi said.
"Yep-Yep! Hehe…" Kotori nodded.
They are about to continue their conversation but Penguinmon appeared from the gym's door and approach Umi.
"Umi! We're done with today's practice!" he said as he saluted at her.
"Good job, Penguinmon!" Umi commended.
Then, just a few second after, the rest of Digimon— Renamon, Lunamon, Double Salamon, Lalamon, and Gaomon walked out of the gym and fell from exhaustion.
"Merciless… he is merciless!" Lalamon said.
"This is a good practice… I admit…" Renamon said.
"It was not!" One of the Salamon said.
"I can't… even heal myself anymore!" the other Salamon said.
"I've never been so worked out…" Gaomon said.
"Oh—come on, everyone! This is still nothing!" Penguinmon said.
"Now-now, Penguinmon. Why you didn't take the rookie championship already? I swear, if you said that was nothing, then you should be able to win it easily!" One of the Salamons said,
"Yep-yep! What she said! I'll cheer for you!" the other Salamon said.
"He is about to but I promised with Honoka that we will take it together…" Umi said.
"Waiting for her? Meh, that's not quite a good decision, you see. I rather take one on my own— unless I want the chance of fighting against her in final round…" One of the Salamon replied.
"Though, in this state, do they still hold the championship?" Maki asked.
"Good question, do they?" Umi asked.
"The championships have nothing to do with the political issue. They will most likely use it to boost people's motivation to fight in the arena." Kotori said.
"Yeah… and I trust we just need to use that teleporter for a shortcut." One of the Salamon said.
"Ohhh! That one teleporter where Nozomi-chan left her bra!" the other Salamon said.
"T-There! Angel! Why did you remember that part?!"
"Ehehe! Because, that's the only thing that interests me!"
"Huh? Leaving her bra? Seriously?" Maki asked.
"Hehe, because the teleporter crystal itself always shines and they don't want to risk being found by the official or anyone else, so they needed to make a pocket and hang it inside bushes with similar colors!" Angel replied.
"C-Can she be more absurd than that….?" Maki smirked.
"I believe so!" Angel replied cheerfully.
"There's also the time when she decided to hunt in bikinis! It was fun because she also had—….!"
Before Angel able to finish her word, Lady covered her mouth.
"Nowwwwww! Angel! You are tooooo loud! Ahahahaha!" she said.
"Uhm…don't you think Angel is kind of… inheriting the same absurdness…" Hanayo whispered to Maki.
"I'm sure she is… but heck, what did she have…?" Maki replied.
"Barbeque-nya?" Rin said.
"Ice cream?" Kotori said.
"I... I'm thinking of something. But I swear I'm trying to not to think that way…" Umi said.
"Leettt'sss put the topic away, shall we? Ahahaha…!" Lady said.
At the garden near lobby;
Niko and Honoka managed to get to the path without getting chased by the gardener for stepping on the grass. Agumon and Chibby the Demi Devimon followed them as they browsed around the area.
Still on call with Eli and Nozomi, Honoka tried to keep her eyes open for any details that she is supposed to notice.
"Uh… So… we need to keep moving along the path?" Honoka asked again to confirm.
"Yes, then stop at the branched path— look at the center for the bush we described to you." Eli replied.
"We will have to hang up and work on adjusting the teleporter for you two. So you better keep yourself on track, ok?" Nozomi added.
"Alright!" Honoka replied cheerfully.
The call ended. Niko took a notice and she decided to ask the question shewas thinking of since they entered the garden.
"Did they tell you to get to the teleporter at the branched path?"
"Yep! Hehe…" Honoka replied.
"Huuh…? Alright… we will get there soon enough…" Niko replied.
"Great!" Honoka replied again.
"Do you not want to try to travel to the branched path though? They have some nice stuff kept there from time to time…"
"But…Nozomi-senpai and Eli-senpai said, we should stay on track…" Honoka said.
"Are you sure? One of the branched paths will lead you to a meat farm…" Niko said with a mischievous smile.
"M-meat farm!" Agumon said.
"Yep, a meat farm. They give free meat every day to players. It's an amazing place, I tell you!" Chibby said.
"T-that sounds interesting…" Honoka said.
"We can always return once we get them. It's totally safe, I assure you!" Niko replied.
"Yeah, it won't even take longer than ten minutes." Chibby said.
"I'm not sure…" Honoka said.
"H-Honoka-chan! Agumon want fresh meat! Agumon tired of eating veggies or bread every day!" Agumon begged.
"A-Agumon!" Honoka began to doubt.
"Poor thing, I bet someone is putting you on a diet!" Niko said.
"Yeah! The merciless Penguinmon always keeps track of my food! He said too much meat is bad so I must eat lots of veggies to maximize my training potential!"
"See? This should be your opportunity! To the meat farm, my friend!" Chibby said before Niko, Agumon, and Chibby continued to walk.
"W-whoa! W-wait! Agumon! Niko-senpai!"
See you next chapter ^^
Hope you're still enjoying it!