ôThis isàthis cannot be right!ö Lucemon loudly claimed.
ôIÆm not done,ö Takato quipped, reaching for yet another of his pawns.
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ôNo fair, Renamon!ö Terriermon moaned as he flew into the room, flapping his long ears. ôYou stole my heroic entrance!ö
ôSave it for later!ö Takato urgently called out. ôRenamon, carry me and get us out of here; Terriermon, my Digivice and cards are in the closet!ö
ôAye aye, captain!ö
ôYouÆre not getting away!ö the PerfectÆs voice roared from outside the room.
ôMove, move, MOVE!ö
ôItÆs easy to bark when youÆre not the one doing the moving!ö
ôNot now, Terriermon!ö
ôDarkness Wave!ö
Like a scene out of an action movie, two Digimonùone of them carrying a humanùleapt out of the hospital window just before it was flooded with obsidian bats which then burst and flooded the room with vile flames.
ôOh, yeah, just like the old times!ö
Takato rolled his eyes.
ôGlad to see at least one of us is enjoying himself!ö
ôTee-hee!ö
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ôAnd, like that, I have made it out of the hospital on my own, and not as LadyDevimonÆs hostage,ö Takato calmly declared. ôNow, if you intend to have her pursue and continue this round, please go ahead. IÆm ready for that as well.ö
A rather flustered Lilithmon stared at Takato with a hand on her voluptuous chest.
ôàoh myàö she whispered, fanning herself. ôàitÆs kinda hot in hereàö
Lucemon was still staring at the game board, as if trying to find something he had failed to see so far. After a long period of quietness, the angelic Digimon sighed and chuckled darkly.
ôSo, is that it?ö he began, fixing his unsettling stare on Takato. ôYouÆre finally willing to remove one of your handicaps?ö
ôNot in the slightest,ö Takato pointedly declared.
Noticing LucemonÆs slightly startled expression, the boyÆs own expression became determined and almost vicious.
ôI said it since the very beginning,ö he remarked, his right hand slowly moving to point at the fallen angel. ôI will defeat you without sacrificing any other piece but mine, Lucemon!ö
Of course, unlike Lucemon, to whom all pieces were disposable, Takato would cherish each and every single of his pieces, for they were also part of the world he wanted to protect.
However, Takato had not said ôwinning without sacrificing.ö
He was a realist: his opponent was Lucemon; there was no way he would be able to make it through this game unscathed.
Sometimes, in strategy, sacrifices have to be made. However, if that was to happen, he would be the one to make them.
If anyone had to suffer, then it would be him.
If anyone had to cry, then it would be him.
If anyone had to bleed, then it would be him.
LucemonÆs opponent was him, Matsuda Takato. Nobody else should have to suffer the weight of that burden.
That was the boyÆs pride.
ôThen explain yourself!ö Lucemon demanded. ôBy taking their partners away when confronted by an enemy Digimon, arenÆt you sacrificing your friends!?ö
ôDonÆt be silly,ö Takato chided. ôWhat would be the point of saving Renamon and Terriermon and letting their Tamers die, anyway? Digimon and Tamer act as a pair; there is no point in choosing one over the other.ö
He smiled at the fallen angel, but the smile was not really directed at him. It was a smile of fondness and remembranceàand maybe even a little pride as well.
ôYou know, Lucemon?ö the former Tamer said. ôThose twoàwith enough clues, they donÆt need 24 hours to figure it out.ö
Yes, Matsuda Takato was very proud of his pieces.
ôTheyÆre way smarter than me, after all.ö
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It had been a repetition of that day she tried to never remember.
Instead of random Digimon, she had found her fellow Tamers and their partners captured in prisons of ice, their forms emaciated and exhausted as their very vitality was sapped.
She had even seen her own partner in one of those ice prisons, which was simply stupid, having sent Renamon away just seconds before.
Seriously, if they intended to trap her in an illusion, they could at least afford to be consistent.
Though, she would admit, the twist at the end was interesting. Instead of the hateful Digimon from her past, in the center of this museum of frozen misery, calmly sat her best friend, mocking her with a positively vicious smirk.
For a second, Ruki believed Takato had finally snapped and wanted to get back at her for all the time she had beaten him.
It wouldnÆt surprise her, really; even she knew the only reason their friendship worked was because he was so damn accepting of her pushy, aggressive ways.
Then she mentally kicked herself. Of course this could not be Takato; she had just stated why. The silly Gogglehead would complain and mutter ill words under his breath, but it would be all just part of their game.
HadnÆt he said it at some point? He had fun when he was with her.
Even if she beat him on a regular basisùsometimes just for the sake of beating; it just didnÆt feel natural not to do so anymore.
The fake Takato said something at some point; she was not really paying attention. Probably some sort of taunt about how scared she should be or whatever.
Since her earliest Tamer days, she had gotten into the habit of placing the cards of her battle deck in a very specific order, which she then memorized. She thought it was an obvious strategy. Thus, she did not need to look at the stack of cards to pick the ones she wanted.
This is why, at about the same time ôevil Takatoö (she would have to make fun of her best friend with this at some point, seriously; it was fucking hilarious) finished his spiel, she slashed her Rosemon card.
ôIvy Hug.ö
She could not help but grin at the sight of the grunting ôevil Takatoö straining himself against the vine bondage.
ôI have to give you credit for the illusion; you look about as pathetic as I expected.ö
ôWha-what are you-let me go!ö
ôNo way~ö
The fake actually got noticeably paler when RosemonÆs Thorn Whip came into existence in RukiÆs right hand.
ôYou see, I always hold back with Takato; heÆs my best friend, and I donÆt really mean to hurt him.ö
Her grin became utterly diabolic.
ôA shame youÆre not him, huh?ö
ôNo! You! You-you wouldnÆt dareùhii!ö
She had not even touched him yet; she had just struck the concrete by her feet.
ôOoh, nice sound.ö The girl trembled with the excitement of a child before a mountain of Christmas presents. ôI bet it sounds even better when it hits you.ö
ôWhaa-noooooo!ö
Indeed, it made a most impressive sound when it struck soft flesh.
ôAhahaha! I swear; I had a dream just like this!ö
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ôàö Lucemon.
ôàö Lilithmon.
ôàallow me to point out: that girl sometimes scares the living shit out of me.ö
ôAmen, brother.ö
The two boys in the game room nodded in a strange form of male bonding.
ôàsheÆs holding it wrong.ö
Takato and Lucemon stared at the female demon lord with identical flat expressions.
ôLetÆsàö Lucemon finally spoke. ôàletÆs just check on Jenrya, alright?ö
ôPlease,ö Takato eagerly agreed.