Warmth. That was the first thing Yuma felt as he woke. Woke? Had he fallen asleep? He didn't really remember. His eyes weren't open, but he could feel a warmth pressing down on him. He was laying down, he could tell that much as well, there was grass below him. Falling asleep outside was kind of strange right? But there was definitely no grass inside his house. After a few moments, Yuma became aware of an ache throughout his body. As his eyes slowly opened and let in the day's light, a spell of dizziness washed over him for a few moments, and he quickly squeezed his eyes shut once more.
What had happened to him? He couldn't really remember much before he'd fallen asleep. Fallen unconscious? He wasn't sure. Either way, he knew he'd started the day at home and gone out for a walk after having breakfast. That was the last thing he could remember.
Letting his eyes open once more, slower this time, Yuma took the time to sit himself up. His brown eyes blinked several times, and he turned his head from side to side, taking in his surroundings. "Where… am I?" he murmured to himself.
Yuma was sitting in a clearing full of flowers, bordered by massive pine trees that were several metres tall at least. A narrow creek ran through the clearing to the left of where he was sitting, disappearing into the trees. Yuma rose to his feet, wobbling for a moment or two as he regained strength in his legs.
This had to be a dream, right? There was nowhere like this in the city he lived in. Yuma walked slowly towards the creek and looked down. The water flowing over the various coloured rocks and pebbles in the creek bed was crystal clear, gurgling away as it travelled. Yuma looked at the reflection that stared back up at him.
Wavy, blonde hair that hung down near his shoulders and left his forehead exposed. Brown eyes that looked a little sleepy. A slim figure covered with a pair of blue jeans and a grey, long-sleeved shirt with the katakana characters for "victory" down the left-hand side in red lettering. Well, the reflection was himself at least. Reaching down, he placed the tips of his fingers into the running water. It was cold, he could feel the icy water rush around his fingers, stinging the skin ever so slightly. Maybe… this wasn't a dream?
Yuma slid down to his knees and placed his hands into the water, using them to form a bowl shape and then lifting them up. Water ran over the sides of his hands and between his fingers as he lifted them higher and splashed the icy liquid onto his face. He let out a small gasp and shook his head a few times, water droplets flying left and right as they were shaken from his face and fringe. The action at least sharpened his fuzzy senses and let him sit back, his backside resting on his heels as he gazed around once more.
He tried to take in more details now, the way the branches of the pine trees swayed slowly in the breeze. The only scent in the air was a mix of pine and a sweet, unfamiliar fragrance that he assumed were coming from the rainbow of flowers that filled the clearing. Yuma rose to his feet and stretched his arms above his head, pushing the last of the drowsiness from his body. He didn't know how long he'd been out for, but he felt like he'd had a solid night's sleep.
"I guess staying here won't do me any good."
Voicing that thought, he looked around once more before beginning to walk. He didn't know where he was or where he should go, but he couldn't just sit around, right? He couldn't hear any sounds of civilisation, so he simply decided to follow the creek, he didn't have any better ideas and it seemed better than wandering aimlessly. At least this way he had something to help find his way back if he ran into a dead end. Or something dangerous.
So, with that, he began to walk step by step, crossing the clearing in no time and then heading into the pine trees.
He continued to walk, unsure of how long he'd been doing so. Each step took him further and further into the never-ending sea of trees. The undergrowth beneath his feet thinned out the further he went in thanks to the scarce amount of sunlight the canopy of the trees allowed through. The lush grass of the clearing had quickly turned into soft dirt littered with branches, leaves, and moss. He could even see the occasional mushroom growing around uplifted roots of the mighty trees around him.
At least the creek didn't seem to be ending any time soon. Yuma silently decided that if it did, he'd turn around and follow it back the opposite way.
The thing that stood out to Yuma most was the lack of noise. Surely in a forest like this there should have been birds or insects or… something making noise. But there was none of that. The only sounds he could hear were his own footsteps and the running water to his left. It was eerie.
He couldn't help turning his head left and right as he walked, looking for any signs of life that weren't plants. But as far as he could see, there was nothing. Just what was this place? The idea that he was dreaming was growing stronger in his mind again. Maybe it was just one of those super realistic ones? That was what he thought as he walked, until a familiar pang of discomfort made itself known in his belly, followed by a quiet growl from the same spot.
"Never been hungry in a dream before…," he mumbled as he continued to put one foot in front of the other. He couldn't do anything about that right now though. He could only see those mushrooms here and there and he wasn't about to go eating them. Letting out a sigh and hanging his head, he simply continued to walk. That was all he could do.
After what seemed like an eternity, Yuma finally heard something different. Footsteps. Not his own ones, though he almost didn't realise. He'd been spacing out and almost missed the quiet footsteps that were ever so slightly out of sync with his. He was about to stop and look around; but his instincts told him to keep moving. He was in a strange place, and this was the first sign of any life he'd heard. Maybe it was someone looking for him? But surely, they'd have called out by now. Plus, they only sounded faint, maybe it was some kind of animal trailing him?
Yuma took a deep breath and kept his eyes forward, increasing his pace a little and listening intently. His heart rate began to increase when he heard the footsteps behind him speed up too. Whatever it was he heard was following him, no doubt about it.
He wasn't sure what to do now. Should he keep following the creek and hope whatever was following him was just going to watch him? Maybe he should run into the sea of trees to try and lose it. But if he did that, he'd lose the little bearing he had in this strange place. For now, he kept up the faster pace for a few more minutes, hoping maybe they would give up on him.
That hope, however, was dashed away as the footsteps kept following along behind him the whole time. "Just leave me alone…," Yuma whispered to himself. As if hearing him, for a moment, the footsteps stopped. Yuma's breath caught in his dry throat. Should he run? This was a chance, right? He had to take it. So, he ran.
Yuma's legs protested from the sudden workload imposed on them, his feet now pounding through the soft earth as he ran. Chunks of dirt and mud flung about with each heavy stride he took to get away from his mysterious follower. He didn't care to look behind himself to see if they were following him, and with his heart pounding in his ears he couldn't hear if they were either.
The water of the creek raced past him now as he went, his breath coming out in heavy pants as he tried to keep pulling the air into his lungs. Soon enough, the creek took a rather sharp turn to the left and he followed it, not noticing how the scenery began a gradual change as he did so.
The creek itself began to narrow and the rocks that made up its bed darkened in their colours, becoming a simple floor of drab greys and blacks. The pine trees that had looked so tall and mighty just minutes ago were replaced with cracked trunks and weeping branches, even the mushrooms around their roots seemed limp and lifeless.
It was the taste of the now stale air filling his lungs that made Yuma slow from his run, panting hard as he came to a stop and put his hands on his knees. He turned his head left and right, looking at the barely trickling creek beside him to the still trees that surrounded him. His whole body felt cold as he gazed around. Even looking behind himself he couldn't see the area he'd come from. He hadn't run that far… had he?
"What is this place?"
He made his way over to the nearest tree, his legs shaking now from the sudden sprint he'd done. Slumping against the grey bark, he felt his back slide down the trunk until he was sitting on the hard dirt. Even though it had been so empty, the forest before had held a beauty and tranquillity. Now it was just creepy and eerie.
At least he couldn't hear those footsteps anymore. For the time being he'd shaken his pursuer.
"Just gonna close my… eyes…," Yuma began to say as something caught his attention. Descending from one of the branches above him was a spherical… something, about the size of his head.
The object was black with purple stripes. Purple with black stripes? It didn't matter. It was a striped ball with pale purple fur on two ends of it. The ball swayed slightly as it lowered down and Yuma glanced up, noticing it was being suspended by a thick, white string. The young man couldn't even blink as the strange object came level with his face and finally stopped descending, simply bobbing about on the spot for a moment.
Then it began to rotate.
The motion was slow, but once it had gone one hundred and eighty degrees, it became apparent to Yuma it was not a ball. It had a head on the side that had been facing away from him. A half yellow, half grey head adorned with two little yellow horns and nine round green eyes. Three on the front and three on either side, with each one blinking out of sync with the other eight.
Yuma's two eyes stared at those nine for what seemed like an eternity before the grey, lower part of the strange creature's head split open to the sides from the centre, revealing a horde of razor-sharp teeth and let out a hiss.
Yuma screamed, a noise of pure fear, as the creature swung at him, six legs extending out of its sides and two hands unfurled at the front, each one wearing a bright red glove with three vicious, grey claws extending from them.
He threw himself to the side as the creature collided with the tree, those claws gouging into the bark where his head had been a second before, leaving behind six deep wounds in the tree, each one dripping with a viscous, purple fluid.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Yuma shouted, shuffling backwards along the ground with his hands before launching to his feet.
The spider-like creature detached itself from what Yuma now realised was a web and landed on the ground with a heavy thud. Each of those furry legs stretched and tapped one the dirt, just as out of sync with each other as it's eyes, before it turned Yuma's way and hissed again. Its mouth clicked open and closed several more times with a sickening clacking noise as it stared Yuma down.
Now that he was on his feet, Yuma was taller than the creature, but it didn't make him any less terrified of it. He knew there were big spiders, but nothing this big. That thing was not normal. It was a monster. There was no other word for it.
Yuma wanted to run, but he still hadn't quite recovered from his previous sprint. His lungs were aching, his legs shaking, and adrenaline was coursing through his body. Whatever that thing was; if it got hold of him, he was sure he'd be dead.
Glancing down, he noticed a branch within reach, and he quickly bent over and grabbed it, waving the gnarled piece of wood at the spider. "Stay the hell away from me!" he shouted, his arm flailing about. He grit his teeth and didn't take his eyes off the creature for even an instant.
Wherever he was. Whatever that thing was. It didn't matter. He didn't want to die. That was the only thought filling his head in those moments as he stared the monster down. If he didn't have the energy to run, he'd fight. He'd swing that stick. He'd kick and scream. Whatever it took.
As if sensing Yuma's determination, the spider charged. It skittered across the ground on those six legs, letting out another hiss as it came at him. Yuma let out another scream as he backed away, swinging and jabbing the stick he held down at the creature. The spider weaved its way around each of the adrenaline-driven attacks, slowly gaining on the young man, it's claws dripping with purple fluid.
Yuma had a feeling it would only take one blow from those claws or teeth and he was done for. He let out a shout and swung the stick down with all his strength when the spider was close by. His target quickly jumped backwards though, causing the stick to strike the ground and break in half with a loud snap. His attacker wasted no time charging in again, clearly growing angry that its prey was resisting so much.
With his weapon gone, Yuma's panic rose once more and he quickly tried backing away, only for his heel to catch in a raised tree root. Before he could try to steady himself, Yuma was falling and his back collided with the hard ground, shooting pain through his whole torso.
Lifting his head, he saw the spider, so close to him now. Tensing its legs for a moment, it launched into the air, flying towards him with its mouth wide open. Filled with fear, Yuma couldn't even close his eyes, watching in slow motion as certain death fell towards him in the shape of a black and purple spider.
"Vee Headbutt!"
The male, childlike voice came from behind Yuma, screaming those words and snapping Yuma out of the fear that stunned him. Right before the spider was on top of him, something collided with it and sent it flying away. A blue object moving at high speed.
Yuma's saviour landed by his feet, sliding to a stop from its flying momentum in a cloud of dust. Sitting up, Yuma managed to get a brief look at what had just saved him. A small, blue creature. Maybe a dinosaur or dragon? It wasn't very tall and Yuma could only see the view of it's back.
He saw a thick tail shaped like a lightning bolt and two long ears sticking out the back of its head. Two five-fingered fists were clenched at its sides and the three long claws on each of its feet had dug into the dirt slightly when it had slid to a stop. The creature turned back towards Yuma for a second, giving him a view of its face.
Large, red eyes that were filled with determination, a white jaw and a large, yellow 'V' between its eyes. The creature flashed what he could only describe as a grin, and then it spoke.
"Just leave this guy to me, Yuma!"
"How do you know my name?" Yuma asked, slowly getting to his feet, but the creature had already turned away. The spider was back.
The two creatures faced each other, the spider hissing angrily at the little dragon before curling itself into a ball and rolling at high speed towards its new opponent. The blue creature crouched and jumped into the air, making the spider pass beneath him and slam into the trunk of a nearby tree.
Yuma winced slightly as he heard the impact. That sounded painful. Extending its limbs back out, the spider shook itself and turned back to face the dragon that was now charging at it before it could fully recover.
"Vee Punch!" the blue monster called out. He began spinning his arms in circles as he ran, charging into the spider and slamming it with both arms at high speed. The spider let out a cry and was launched through the air, though the dragon didn't stop there. "Watch my finisher, Yuma!" he called out, flashing the young man another grin before it took off running after the airborne spider.
"Y-yeah, go for it," Yuma said in response. He had no clue what was happening. He had no idea how this creature knew his name, or how it could talk for that matter. But it was fighting to protect him. That was something he could understand.
Spurred on by his words, the little blue dragon clenched both fists and crouched for a moment before springing upwards with all the muscles in those short legs. He soared upwards at an impressive speed; arms stuck to his sides to streamline himself. Eyes locked on target, he rapidly closed in on the spider.
"Hyaaaaa! Vee Headbutt!" the little dragon cried out and Yuma was sure he could see the air rippling around his body before he collided with the spider. The two creatures seemed to pause in mid-air for a moment before the spider suddenly exploded into a mess of… numbers and particles?
Yuma shook his head and blinked a few times, but the scene didn't change. This place was so weird.
As the spider was vanquished, the blue dragon began to move again, his momentum returning. Yuma was sure he heard him say "oh no" before he started flailing his arms and fell from the sky. Yuma tried to run over, but he didn't get there in time and the blue creature face-planted the ground in a cloud of dust and dirt.
"Are you okay?" Yuma asked, trying to wave the dust away with his arms, looking at the monster that had saved him, now lying facedown in the dirt. The little dragon pushed himself up and gave a small nod.
"Gya… yep, I'm okay. All good," he said, brushing himself off with his hands. He stood up straight and turned to face Yuma directly now, staring straight up at his face.
"Th-thanks for saving me from that thing. But… who are you?"
The dragon tilted his head to the side for a moment, blinking those big red eyes for a moment as if the question made no sense. He quickly righted himself though and flashed a huge grin at the young man, holding out one hand and showing a 'V' sign with two fingers.
"That's easy, I'm Veemon!"