Digimon Gardens of Babylon

Daneel Rush

Well-Known Member
#1
Well excuse me for having a seemingly unrelenting man-crush on that incredible goggle-head.

I admire him, and his world, the way a painter admires a white canvas.

With no further ado, let's see where this takes me. It's awfully short for now, I know. Just a tiny snippet short of 500 words. It's not even a fully-fledged Project like my other works...at least not yet.

I just wanted to take this first step. More will come.

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The irreverent night, clad in black, purple and gold; the night of a city that refuses to sleep.

Night belongs not to virtue or innocence. Night is the time for sin, for those who wish to indulge the way they cannot allow themselves to do under the light of the sun. Darkness belongs to the tainted. Darkness, hued with the pale artificial lights of the ever-busy metropolis, but darkness nonetheless: fluorescence cannot conceal the murky depths of human decadence.

It is the nature of humans to sin. Nonetheless, hopeless parents hurry to tuck their children in their beds every night, silently praying the darkness will fail to claim their childrenÆs innocence if only for a little longer.

Yes, good parents make sure young children do not stay up late. However, once they tuck their children in bed, kiss their foreheads and close the bedroom door behind, they somehow assume their job is done for the evening.

What about this child, then, who quietly watches the dark ceiling of his bedroom every night?

He is slow to sleep, which causes him no little trouble every morning.

Light sweeps in from the window and past the translucent curtains, drawing alien shapes on the featureless ceiling. Shadows dance a wicked ritual; a libidinous mating of amorphous celebrants like the festivals of a time before civilization.

The boy watched the shadows dance with empty, tired eyes.

He had a headache.

It was an intense palpitation, as if someone were hammering nails deep into his white matter. Then again, he remembered reading somewhere that the brain had no pain receptors, so poking it directly would not hurt at all.

The boy sighed and licked his dry lips. He needed to sleep. He had school the next day, and it was not just any school day.

But, it was quickly becoming apparent to him that sleep was not an option that evening.

ôHaaàö

Nobody heard his dejected sigh. The shadows continued their shapeless fornication on the ceiling, unbothered by the boyÆs tribulations.

ôSo itÆs really you guys againàö

He spoke with his eyes closed, addressing no one and expecting no response.

ôàitÆs been a while.ö

A car honked in the distance. Twoùno, threeùgirls laughed shrilly. A cat shrieked after a poor landing on a metal trash can, causing to topple down and roll around on the closed alley behind the boyÆs residence.

ôàdo whatever you want.ö

A sliver of nightlight made his honey pupils flicker. There might have been a hint of vermilion, but with nobody to see it, it might as well not exist.

ôàI'm here.ö

The rubbing and rustling of thick sheets dispelled the gloomy silence of the bedroom as the boy turned his body towards the window. His pupils danced almost imperceptibly, excited by an evanescent shower of lingering photons from the world of sin outside his four walls. The meaningless sound pollution of the urban nightlife made for a poor lullaby, yet somehow he found it suitable.

It was a quiet, sleepless night for Matsuda Takato.

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DANEEL RUSH presents:

DIGIMON TAMERS: GARDENS OF BABYLON
Prelude
Morning Mayflower
 
#2
A new Digimon fic from you? I'm impressed. I'm assuming this is completely separate from the GOSPEL universe, but I might be pleasantly surprised.
 

Epsilon

Well-Known Member
#3
Oh, sweet! Good to see your Digimon muse back, Daneel!
 

Daneel Rush

Well-Known Member
#5
Makino Ruki was a strong girl.

With a steady gait and a steely expression, she could weather whatever the world would throw at her. And the world had so far had put a lot of effort into throwing stuff at her.

Makino Ruki was a headstrong, determined girl.

She was proud of herself, and her attitude showed it. She did not put herself on a pedestal, but she understood her worth and did not tolerated being looked down upon.

Makino Ruki was a strong girl.

Some ignorant bimbo had brought up the fact that the entire world had seen her in her birthday suit when she fought against the digital entity, D-Reaper, in some pathetic attempt at embarrassing her and humiliating her.

How many teeth did that girl have to replace? Two? Three?

Makino Ruki had a nasty right straight.

Her reputation at her elementary school did not change much after her ôsecond lifeö as a Digimon Tamer was revealed to the world. If anything, it made her even more untouchable. She was still kept at a distance, only it had become as much awe and respect as it used to be fear and contempt.

Makino Ruki was a strong, independent girlàexcept for a number of days every month.

ôUghàö

ôRuki, you have to get ready. School begins today.ö

Groaning, the twelve-year-old girl turned around in her sleeping bag; groggy eyes easily finding a smooth, oval-shaped head covered in platinum blonde fur and sharp, narrow spring-sky blue eyes.

ôàRenamonàö

ôCome on, Ruki. Breakfast is ready,ö the fox-like creature, kneeling to her human partners left side, gently prodded at the larva-like body wrapped in the synthetic sleeping bag. It was an odd quirk of the female Digimon Tamer; her preference for the camping implement over a futon or an actual bed.

ôàshut up.ö

There was no outward reaction from the Digimon. There was a time, long ago, when those words would have bothered her.

But she was not the same Renamon from back then. And her Tamer was not the same Tamer from back then, either.

She just had a bad morning.

ôRukiàö

ôCramps,ö was the young girlÆs only response. RenamonÆs expression still remained unchanged, even if she actually pitied her Tamer a bit. RukiÆs grandmother had explained to her the series of strange, uncomfortable physiological phenomena female humans have to overcome as part of physical maturity.

Why girls have to suffer so much to make their bodies suitable for reproduction was beyond her.

ôI will bring your medicine, then,ö Renamon acquiesced. ôI expect to see you out of that bag when I return. Understood?ö

ôàyes, mom.ö

The vulpine DigimonÆs right eye actually twitched a bit at that. It was a particular brand of human humorùsarcasm, it was calledùshe did not particularly like.

Ruki moaned some more when Renamon ôforgotö to close the bedroomÆs door behind her, allowing the morning sun to shine unhampered on the suffering girlÆs round face.

It was the first day of middle school for thousands of children in the land of the rising sun.

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ôI went to the Digital World. DonÆt wait for me! ûTakato.ö

She had kept the note for some reason. TakatoÆs mother had found it on his desk one morning he was late for breakfast, and somehow it had ended up in her possession. She had stuck it on the bottom side of the photo frame on her desk, the one with the picture of the whole team, taken on that incredible day some eight months earlier.

On a basket near the corner of her bedroom, Culumon snored peacefully.

Katou Juri tied a rather big green ribbon on the back of her head. She had allowed her hair to grow into a ponytail in the last two years; her friends agreed long hair suited her. Of course, Takato had showered with praise.

That boy would probably speak wonders of the way she puked.

The idea made her giggle, and her eyes gently fell on the picture. They were standing next to each other in the very center of the picture, and she had Culumon in her arms, pressed against her chest. While her smile was drowned by the sheer joy in the othersÆ expressionsùyes, even RukiÆsù, it was there.

That day was a happy day for everyone, including her. Her friendsÆ happiness was most definitely her own as well.

And in the middle of the picture, just like he deserved, that boy. He was in the middle of everything, was he not?

In the picture, he looked haggard, and his clothes were a mess, but he, too, offered the camera a rather awkward, tired smile. Juri guessed he just was not photogenic.

She glanced at the sleeping Digimon. Culumon was not her partnerùshe doubted it even had any combat ability at allùbut that did not matter. The time for fighting was over.

She was happy. They were all happy, reunited with their precious Digital Monsters.

ôThanks to you, Takato-kun.ö

After smiling one last time at the boy in the picture, she grabbed her bag, hung it over her shoulder and left the room.

It was the first day of middle school.

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Many children like to believe themselves to be special, unique, different from the others.

Necessary.

Maybe it is a natural need to find a place, a role in this world. Maybe itÆs a psychological effect of natural animal competition. Maybe itÆs just another element of a childÆs blatant need for attention.

Humans daydream all the time, and children are particularly good at it.

Matsuda Takato was a normal kid, born of normal parents, living in a normal house which also acted as the location of a normal family business.

And since he had memory, he daydreamed about being special: having a special, unique talent, for example. Or maybe his parents were actually former secret agents hiding from their bloodstained past. Or superpowersùthose were always cool.

Matsuda Takato was a dreamer. But he was also normal.

A miserable speck in the unfathomable whole that is ôhumanityö: Matsuda Takato.

Until a certain day.

So, he lived on, normally, the way normal kids do: he went to school, made friends, fooled around, did his homework and helped his parents like a good boy. He lived as he was expected to.

He did not dream anymore.

He did not need to; he no longer needed dreams to repel the monotonous normalness of his everyday life.

Because he was special.

Takato checked the time on his alarm clock as he tightened the belt around his navy blue pants. He would have to get used to wearing a uniform to school.

ôAlright,ö he muttered to himself as he grabbed his bag. ôThis should be interesting, at least.ö

It was the first day of middle school.
 

Coelacanth

Well-Known Member
#6
I don't know where you are going with this. But I am excited. This out to be good.
 
#8
Well as far as I can tell, Takato just got even more special. Maybe he's talking to ghosts or something?

And it's interesting to see that Daneel is using the Japanese names for the Characters, considering his old Digimon stuff used their American names.
 

Daneel Rush

Well-Known Member
#9
To be honest, I'm not sure myself. I know how it begins, and I know what the main plot point is, but I'm still not sure how to build a story around it.

My notes so far are limited to:

- Takato being (extremely/consistently) AWESOME. Yes, I'm a fanboy.

- Bad guys: Nanadaimaou. I've never used them before, so I want to try something with them. I mean, I used the individual members in GOSPEL, but, considering the powers levels that series handled, they were pretty much high-level mooks.

- LUCEMON TROLLS (almost?) EVERYONE. I want to see what kind of villain I can make of Lucemon. Moloch was undeniably evil, extremely so, but he was a bit too straightforward, after all. I want to see if I can write something closer to the chessmaster archetype.

Of course, I'm a planet-friendly person. I recycle: ideas, characters, the title. And I would have probably never started this without four things:

- The latest "Takato as Lucemon" discussion.
- Ryuugi's Digimon fic spam.
- Dvorak's New World Symphony.
- Kingdom Hearts' OST.

So there. This is still a big blur in my head. I want to see what I can make with it.

EDIT: yeah, switching to pure Japanese. It's gonna take a while. Bad habits don't go away easily.
 

Epsilon

Well-Known Member
#10
Lucemon being a troll? Will he be borrowing tricks from Hazama/Terumi of Blazblue? Will he use the MODOK Theme (Marvel vs Capcom 3) which goes with trolling?
 

sytang

Well-Known Member
#11
Lucemon trolling EVERYONE?

Hmmm...

Takato: "I must defeat Lucemon!"

Yggdrasil: "No Takato, you ARE Lucemon!"

And then Takato trolled everyone. (including, no, ESPECIALLY himself)
 

Daneel Rush

Well-Known Member
#12
ôSo, you got everything in your bag?ö

ôYeahàö Lee Jianliang muttered distractedly as he tried to fix his hair in front of the mirror.

ôPencil?ö

ôHmm.ö

ôEraser?ö

ôHmm.ö

ôCondoms?ö

ôHmmùwait, what?ö

Terriermon placed his tiny paws together as if in prayer. ôGood to see youÆre paying attention, grasshopper.ö

ôàwhat?ö the boy repeated, still trying to compute.

The door opened, revealing a smiling young girl and a Digmon perched on top of her head.

ôNii-san, youÆre gonna be laaate~ö

ôNo, I am notùô Jian glanced at his little sister. ôXi?och?ng,ö the boy began his scolding, switching to Chineseùsome people have a scolding tone; Jianliang has an entire languageùfor emphasis. ôYou canÆt take Lopmon to school with you.ö

ôNii-san!ö The nine-years-old girl refused to switch languages, however. ôIf he changes into Kokomonùô

ôNo means no, Shao,ö Jian insisted. ôDonÆt make me bring mom.ö

ôMuuùaaah!ö The girl suddenly pointed at something on the boyÆs bed. ôThen, why is Terriermon going with you? Nii-san, you cheater!ö

ôWhaù?ö

The small whitish rabbit-dog-thing-like Digimon had the decency to look guilty as he was caught sneaking into his TamerÆs schoolbag.

Jienrya raised an eyebrow. ôYou do realize I would have noticed the moment I lifted that bag, right? YouÆre not that light. Or small.ö

ôTch.ö

While his sister walked away gigglingùand still carrying her own Digimon, Jienrya gave up on his hair and reached for his wallet and cellphone on the desk in front of the computer.

His eyes then fell on a particular photo. The one from that day; the day they were reunited again, Tamers and partners.

His pupils flitted from face to face, basking in the fond memories they brought to the forefront of his mind.

ôIÆm gonna miss them,ö he realized.

His father had offered him the choice to attend the same middle school as Takato, Hirokazu, Kenta and Juri. The latter three appeared visibly excited when he brought it up, butà

ôWhy would you do that? You can do so much better!ö

ôThat guyàö Jien muttered, his eyes falling on the tired-looking boy in the very center of the picture.

ôCome on; donÆt let us hold you back, Jen. ItÆs not like weÆll never see each other again, right?ö

With his smarts and his parentsÆ efforts, Jianliang could attend a top-class junior high school, cleanly stepping onto the road to a top-class university, maybe even abroad.

ôYou have to get some quality education so you can knock everyoneÆs socks off with that brain of yours, huh? So go! Go, I say! I RELEASE YOU!ö

Jenrya chuckled at TakatoÆs weird attempt at drama. But, still, for Takato to say such thingsà

ôHeÆs a cool guy,ö Terriermon spoke in an amiable tone, having noticed the focus of his TamerÆs attention.

ôHmm,ö Jenrya agreed, not taking his eyes off the photo. ôYou said it, didnÆt you? What was the wordà?ö

ôDunno, IÆve used many adjectives to describe Goggles: Awesome? Amazing? Bad-ass? Unbe-fucking-lievable?ö

The dark-haired boy chuckled. ôYeah, yeahàö

Grabbing his bagùdevoid of Terriermon, of courseùJenrya allowed himself one last look at the photo; at their unofficial fearless leader. At the person who stood aside for the sake of his, Lee JianliangÆs, dreams.

I have to do my best, right? His smiled widened just a bit. Takato.

It was the first day of middle school.

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The sheer size of her bedroom spoke leagues of her upbringing: a room large enough to house an entire family, at least within Japanese living standards.

She tried her best at hiding her disgust as she carefully got dressed. It was by far the most plebeian set of clothes she had ever worn, thisàuniform.

But this was what she had asked for, right? All of things, she assumed happiness was worth a few sacrifices. Still, she had done right by having breakfast before getting dressedùshe would only wear such horrendous clothes the absolute minimum time it was required of her to do so.

They did not flatter her body at all!

Considering her body was small, undeveloped and, admittedly, utterly flat, the disgusting plainness of the white shirt/navy blue skirt combo made her look drab.

Still, she spun in front of the mirror, allowing her long, lustrous light brown hair to sway and catch the sunlight leaking through her curtains.

ôBeautiful, if I may say so myself.ö

She was proud of her hair, and she devoted lots of time to it every day.

The wisp-like girl watched her reflection, for once ignoring the boring uniform.

ôSchool, huhàö

So far she had enjoyed a very thorough private, home-based schooling, with the very best instructors her pompously wealthy family could afford. Replacing that with the overly standardized and somewhat oppressive Japanese schooling system seemed almost an outrage. Her parents had complained very loudly, indeed.

Of course, she was not interested in the quality of Japanese public education.

She was looking for a social experience.

Yes, that sounded good enough. Her parents bought it, after all.

Two knocks on her door caught her attention.

ôTakako-sama,ö the maid, Mariya, called from the other side. ôThe car is ready.ö

ôWonderful,ö the girl responded. ôI will be there in a minute.ö

ôUnderstood.ö

The young girl, twelve years old, looked at herself in the mirror one last time.

ôAlright,ö she whispered, allowing her lips to curve into a mysterious smile. ôThis will be interesting.ö

It was the first day of middle school.

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ôGigimonàdid everything Gigimon had to do. So, now Gigimon has to say buh-byeàö

ôWaiùGigimon! What are youù!?ö

ôItÆs okay. Gigimon was happy to be TakatoÆs partner. Gigimonàwas happy to be friends with everyone. So, this is good. Gigimonàis really, really happy now.ö

ôGigimon!ö

ôHafta go back to Takato now. Buh-byeàö


Renamon opened her eyes focusing them on the high road ahead. It would be embarrassing to crash on a lamppost or something.

It had been so long since that day, when Guilmonùno, Gigimonùdisappeared before their very eyes, disintegrating into a feeble cloud of meaningless data.

The day D-Reaper was stopped; the day Shaggai closed the boundary between the Digital World and the world of humans; the day they were separated from their human partners.

That day, Gigimon never made it to the Digital World.

Invisible to the eyes of humans, she followed Ruki to her new school. She tried to pretend it annoyed her, but Renamon knew her Tamer appreciated the company, even if it was solely within the shadows.

ôSo, Ruki, have you thought of which school youÆd like to go to?ö

RukiÆs mother, Makino RumikoÆs, words from several months earlier.

ôàdonÆt care.ö

RukiÆs response.

ôIs that so~?ö

Her partner would never admit it, but she and her mom were very similar, if only at times.

Renamon was fairly that, had he seen the smirk Rumiko-san displayed that time, Matsuda Takato would wholeheartedly agreed with her.

Matsuda Takato.

The vulpine Child Digimon did not think often of the unofficial leader of the Tamers but, when she did, she did so intensely.

Some time ago, during dinnertime at the Makino household, she had brought this up before the rest of the family, meditating on the fact and pondering whether it meant she had a romantic interest in Takato.

If anything, it was worth the look on RukiÆs face.

But, still, that boyà

Renamon loved Ruki; she knew this with utmost certainty. The desire to follow her, to stand by her side and support her whenever she was needed or not; this was most definitely the sentiment humans called love.

She wanted to be part of RukiÆs ôfamilyö, like RukiÆs mother and grandmother.

So, yes, she loved Ruki.

She respected Lee Jianliang, and acknowledged his intellect and maturity, for a human so young.

Takatoà

He impressed her. He awed her. She admired him.

When they fought the Devas and D-Reaper, she found him a good person and a good companion; he loved his Digimon partner, and he was willing to risk himself for the sake of the world he had to protect.

But he was still ôjust a normal guyö. Somehow, Ruki and Jenrya feltàbigger to her eyes. Whatever that meant.

When did that change?

Why did that change?

She was not sure, but whenever she looked at Matsuda Takato these days, she felt like she was looking at a titan.

Renamon somewhat understood why Lopmon had taken to call him ôTakato-sama.ö

Terriermon and Suzie also used ô-samaö, but the Digimon only meant it as a joke and the girl did it to go along with her partner.

ôGigimonàdid everything Gigimon had to do. So, now Gigimon has to say buh-byeàö

GigimonÆs last sentences lingered in her head.

What did he mean by that? It was almost likeà
 

Coelacanth

Well-Known Member
#13
A few things:

1) Who is Takako?

2) When did Guilmon ever dedigivolve to gigimon?
Scratch that, just found it. Sorry.

3) So Guilmon is gone... for now.
He was the only one to disappear along with the destruction of the D-Repear. However, the other digimon remained.

I hope you are gonna get into this in the story. Otherwise, mind filling me in?
 

Coelacanth

Well-Known Member
#15
<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acIKv26-q1U' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>The Last Good Bye</a>

:(
 

Daneel Rush

Well-Known Member
#17
SeiyaxUsagi said:
Daneel, you keep changing Jenrya's name with each line was that on purpose?
Yes. None of the names (or abbreviations) are wrong, as far as I know. It's just nice to have so many ways to address a single character.

Takako again...

Mixed feelings abound.
I know opinions vary among readers, but I've always considered Takako the best OC I've ever written.

Besides, I needed a creepy bitch for this story, and she works just fine.

EDIT: on another note, I just wrote a scene with Takato and Ruki.

Good gods, I missed that.

Before anybody asks or complains, though: there will be "hints" all over the place (because they amuse me), but I have not put any thought on pairings nor intend to do so any time soon.

I have a disturbing story to weave. Love gets in the way of that.
 
#18
Yes she's a perfectly fine character, but she still has a creepy brother complex. She just feels out of place because as of now, she had no justification for being there. Obviously this is just the intro, so we don't have the backstory, but in GOSPEL, she had the reason of being Takato's clone sister and Lilith, a driving force of the whole event.

This being based more closely off the shows as far as I can tell doesn't seem to work here. She's just following the Ojou archetype.
 

Daneel Rush

Well-Known Member
#19
A Curious Stranger said:
Yes she's a perfectly fine character, but she still has a creepy brother complex. She just feels out of place because as of now, she had no justification for being there. Obviously this is just the intro, so we don't have the backstory, but in GOSPEL, she had the reason of being Takato's clone sister and Lilith, a driving force of the whole event.

This being based more closely off the shows as far as I can tell doesn't seem to work here. She's just following the Ojou archetype.
Patience, young padawan.

Her business in this tale will be explained within the first two chapters.

...poor Takato. He doesn't get a break.

And don't diss the brother complex. It's awesome because it's creepy!
 

Coelacanth

Well-Known Member
#20
Daneel Rush said:
A Curious Stranger said:
Yes she's a perfectly fine character, but she still has a creepy brother complex. She just feels out of place because as of now, she had no justification for being there. Obviously this is just the intro, so we don't have the backstory, but in GOSPEL, she had the reason of being Takato's clone sister and Lilith, a driving force of the whole event.

This being based more closely off the shows as far as I can tell doesn't seem to work here. She's just following the Ojou archetype.
Patience, young padawan.

Her business in this tale will be explained within the first two chapters.

...poor Takato. He doesn't get a break.

And don't diss the brother complex. It's awesome because it's creepy!
You had me chortling right there. Gwahaha.
 

sworded

Well-Known Member
#21
Daneel Rush said:
A Curious Stranger said:
Yes she's a perfectly fine character, but she still has a creepy brother complex. She just feels out of place because as of now, she had no justification for being there. Obviously this is just the intro, so we don't have the backstory, but in GOSPEL, she had the reason of being Takato's clone sister and Lilith, a driving force of the whole event.

This being based more closely off the shows as far as I can tell doesn't seem to work here. She's just following the Ojou archetype.
Patience, young padawan.

Her business in this tale will be explained within the first two chapters.

...poor Takato. He doesn't get a break.

And don't diss the brother complex. It's awesome because it's creepy!
So Lucemon should troll Jian by somehow inspireing Shao to have a brother complex, too?
 

Coelacanth

Well-Known Member
#22
I'm not getting the references though.
 

Daneel Rush

Well-Known Member
#24
ôOoooi! Takato!ö

ôKazu,ö Takato greeted without bothering to turn around. He continued his slow-paced walk until his friend, Digimon Tamer Shiota Hirokazu, caught up with him. An additional set of steps told him that Kitagawa Kenta was with him as well.

ôYo!ö The taller boy greeted, slapping TakatoÆs back and making him stumble, which elicited a grimace. ôUgh, damn, man.ö

ôExcuse me for being small and frail,ö Takato uttered with mock-irritation.

ôYeah, yeah, like anyoneÆs gonna believe that crap from you.ö

ôHuh?ö Takato frowned. ôI am small and frail.ö

ôNo offense, Takato, but thatÆs bullshit,ö Kenta intervened. ôAnd good morning, by the way.ö

Takato returned the other boyÆs smile with a weak one of his own, and then glanced at the shifting bulge on KentaÆs navy blue blazerÆs pocket.

ôHello to you too, MarineAngemon.ö

A muffled trail of chirps implied the little Ultimate Digimon acknowledged the greeting.

ôMake sure the teachers donÆt see him, okay?ö

Kenta stopped in the middle of the walkway to make a rather exaggerated salute.

ôYes, fearsome leader, sir!ö

Takato stared at the stiff boy for two long, silent seconds.

ôàwhat the hell?ö

Deciding to ignore KentaÆs oddities, the goggled boy turned his attention to his other friend.

ôCan I hope Guardromon is not following us?ö

Hirokazu actually looked miffed.

ôTakato, IÆm not that stupid.ö

ôGood to know.ö

ôRightùeh, I mean, oi!ö

The three friends walked together, gradually becoming aware of more and more young boys and girls in uniform as they approached their new school.

ôMan, I donÆt like wearing uniform,ö Hirokazu declared. ôAnd the pants are itchy.ö

ôI like the color,ö Takato muttered idly, seemingly more interested in finding landmarks in his route to his new school. It was a part of the city he had not visited often before. He would have to get acquainted with it quickly.

But, now that he thought about it, wasnÆt this rather close to RukiÆs place?

ôAnd we have to take the subway!ö The other boyÆs complains continued. ôI have to wake up earlier than before!ö

ôItÆs just two stationsàö Takato muttered.

ôI miss elementary school already.ö

ôYou cannot possibly mean that,ö Kenta argued. ôItÆs a new school, Kazu; you do realize what that meansàö

As if performing an arranged script, HirokazuÆs expression immediately brightened at those words.

ôRight! No more Asagi-sensei! Woo-hoo!ö

My deepest apologies, Asagi-sensei.

TakatoÆs mind sent compassionate words to his former teacher.

ôYeah!ö HirokazuÆs sudden bout of euphoria persisted. ôNobody can stop us now!ö

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A meeting at the schoolÆs front gate.

ôBuh!ö HirokazuÆs reaction.

ôGeh.ö KentaÆs reaction.

Takato glanced from side to side, at his two friendsÆ horrified expressions, and shrugged.

ôHmmàugh?ö

Ruki held back on facepalming.

ôYou donÆt have to follow up, idiot.ö

ôAhaha, my badàö Takato apologized, chuckling uneasily. ôMorning, Ruki.ö

The red-haired girl raised an eyebrow in suspicion. ôYou donÆt look very surprised.ö

ôAhànoàI guess IÆm notàö Takato went for a conciliating grin. ôItÆs the kind of thing Rumiko-san would do, yeah.ö

RukiÆs eyebrow shifted just a little higher. ôÆRumiko-sanÆ? Since when are you in such good terms with my mother?ö

The left corner of her mouth twitched in a disturbing manner.

ôAnd you know her so well, it seemsà? Oh, such good friends, arenÆt we?ö

ôAhàahaàahahaùplease donÆt hurt me.ö

That bothered Ruki somewhat. Just what kind of person did this boy think he was?

ôMakino,ö Hirokazu muttered.

ôItÆs Makino-san,ö Kenta muttered with about the same amount of fear.

ôSheÆs here.ö

ôYeah.ö

ôAnd sheÆs wearing a skirt.ö

ôItÆs like a part of my soul just died.ö

ôWhat kind of strange world have we just stepped into, Kenta?ö the taller boy moaned, clutching his best friendÆs hands desperately.

ôI donÆt know, Kazu, I donÆt know!ö

ôItÆs called æschoolÆ, morons.ö

Takato looked up, at the top of a pole some five meters behind Ruki.

ôGood morning, Renamon!ö

The fox Digimon almost lost her footing on the spot. By the time she was done re-phasing into existence, though, she was her usual regal, immutable self.

She acknowledged Takato with a nod, and the boyÆs smile gained a few watts.

Ruki turned her head to look at Renamon for a moment, ignoring the poorly disguised awe of people around them as they looked up at the vulpine apparition. Some idiot was already readying his cellphone camera.

ôHow did you know she was there?ö

Good question, Ruki.

Renamon also wanted to know.

ôLucky guess,ö Takato immediately replied. He did not notice how RenamonÆs eyes narrowed even more at those words.

ôHow did you even know she came along?ö

TakatoÆs expression went completely flat.

ôPlease, Ruki. SheÆs always along. I already pity your non-existent boyfriend, and I canÆt believe I just said that.ö

Renamon had to shove her paw in her mouth to keep all sounds within.

Hirokazu and Kenta gasped in unison.

Rukiàwent awfully stiff.

ôWhaàwhaàyouàwhaàö

And red.

ôYou piece ofàhuh?ö

ôGuhàarghàuhhhàö

Many eyesùa little audience was forming around the TamersÆ sceneùturned towards Kenta, who appeared to be struggling to stay on his feet, the soles of his shoes rubbing against the concrete underneath as he leaned closer to Takato.

ôKenta!ö Hirokazu exclaimed in obviously faked alarm. ôKenta, whatÆs wrong, man?ö

ôCanÆtàresistàugh!ö A trembling feebly attempting to get a hold of KazuÆs blazer. ôTooàstrongàthe pullàof TakatoÆsàcolossal...balls!ö

ôYouÆre embarrassing me, Kenta,ö Takato muttered half-heartedly, doing his awful best to ignore the round of chuckles and giggles from their audience. He would rather focus on Ruki.

ôCan I hope you will direct your anger towardsùoof! Myàkidneyàö

Ruki stepped past the boy clutching his left side in pain to properly stand in front of the other two stooges. Since unlike the three boys, she was already into her puberty, the girl was in fact the tallest of the group, which only added to her intimidating factor.

ôAlright, letÆs set up some rules. First, there will be no further mention of my wearing a skirt. We clear?ö

ôUghàbuhàuhhàö this could be either of the two, really.

ôJust nod if you get it.ö

Hirokazu and Kenta nodded eagerly.

ôGood. Second: donÆt pretend weÆre all buddy-buddy and crap; I donÆt want people to think I favor the company of idiots. We clear?ö

More nodding.

ôWonderful. ThirdàumàIÆll come up with more rules later. Be good, boys.ö

ôYes, maÆam.ö

ôUghàö Takato pouted. ôHow come you donÆt hit them?ö

ôDonÆt be ridiculous, Goggles, that would be bullying.ö

Takato could only gape at the girlÆs audacity. ôThen, whyù?ö

ôBecause youÆre a friend of the family,ö Ruki promptly responded, all the while wearing a diabolic smirk. ôThat gives me punching rights.ö

ôI bet your mom doesnÆt have many friendsùoof! My pancreas!ö

ôPancreas?ö Ruki muttered.

ôRuki! Everyone!ö

ôJuri,ö the taller girl turned to look behind her and then voiced the name of the newcomer. ôThank God.ö

She would not have to spend the next three years alone with the Three Stooges.

Takato was mock-pouting for some reason.

ôSo IÆm just part of æEveryoneÆ now. IÆve fallen so lowàö

ôAbout time you realize the opinion the rest of the world has of you, Gogglehead.ö

ôYouÆre a horrible human being and I hate you,ö Takato deadpanned just before the other girl reached them at the school gate.

ôAhaha, what are you saying, Takato-kun?ö Juri giggled, knowing better than to take TakatoÆs words seriously. Her assumption was confirmed when both boy and girl smiled at her. Of course, the boyÆs smile was far more noticeable than the girlÆs.

ôGood morning, Katou-sanà?ö TakatoÆs greeting ended as a question when the girl pouted most noticeably, her cheeks inflating in childish frustration.

ôMou, Takato-kun, really! I keep telling you: itÆs Juri! Juuu-ri!ö

Takato promptly ignored the amused glances from the girl next to him.

ôAhahaàsorry.ö

ôReally.ö The ponytailed girlÆs pouted receded into just her lips poking out, which Takato found amazingly cute. ôKazu-kun and Kenta-kun have no problems calling me by my first name.ö She quickly looked over TakatoÆs and RukiÆs shoulders. ôGood morning guys!ö

ôGood morning, Juuuu-ri-chaaaan~!ö

ôPlease donÆt compare me with the likes of those shameless two, Katou-san.ö

ôBuuàö

However, in that very moment, JuriÆs smile caught a mischievous undertone.

ôTakato-kun, youÆre not fair.ö

ôWhaùwhy?ö

ôYou have no problems calling Ruki by her nameàö

ôOoooh~!ö

Takato and Ruki rolled their own at the impromptu chorus from the two boys behind them.

ôWithout my permission, if I may add,ö the former Digimon Queen commented.

Juri ignored the other girlÆs comment. She was waiting for TakatoÆs answer. The boy was aware of that.

ôBuhùwha-why does that even matter? ItÆsàlike, a completely different thing.ö

ôHow is it any different?ö Juri countered. ôWeÆre both girls.ö

ôYes, Gogglehead, how is it any different?ö

Takato would have glared if it had made any difference. Instead, he could only blush and look away nervously.

ôWellàI meanàitÆsàshe isàö

ôShe isà?ö Juri insisted, her smirk most unsuitable for the normally very sweet girl.

ôI amà?ö

ôShe isàanyway, sheÆs just Rukiùguh!ö

Even the surrounding audience winced at the harsh blow that brought Takato down on his knees.

ôUghàlostàbothàkidneysàneed transplantàö

ôàjerk,ö Ruki spat in disgust before walking into the school grounds. Even Juri had a frown on her face.

ôThat was awfully rude, Takato-kun. You donÆt know how to talk to girls at all.ö

ôMust haveàmissedàthat lectureàugh.ö

ôSaa, we have to hurry. LetÆs hope we are all in the same class!ö

Like that, Juri hurried to catch up to the other female Tamer.

ôThanks, guysàö Takato whined to his two friends who helped him get back on his feet.

ôTakato, I really donÆt know whether youÆre ballsy or just plain stupid,ö Kenta stated. ôSeriously, what the hell were you thinking?ö

ôNot helping, Kenta.ö

ôTakato, buddy,ö Hirokazu patted the Tamer captainÆs right shoulder almost affectionately. ôDo the rest of us guys a favor and marry Makino. Seriously. The worldÆs men will thank you forever. WeÆll build you a statue or something.ö

ôWe can give your name to a street.ö

ôOoh, nice idea, Kenta!ö

ôWhy are we friends againà?ö
 
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