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The Very Late Start [Toki]
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Post by Nik & Brad on Mar 8, 2018 7:47:14 GMT
The city of Tauranga, New Zealand, by the last count, had a little over 130,000 residents. Meanwhile the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan had nearly 40,000,000 residents, so it was no surprise that the young but large Maori young man Niko Henare preferred the quieter areas of the city to hang around.
Indeed, the Shibuki Forest in Western Shibuya felt like a little slice of the beautiful wild forests back home that was placed in this enormous city. And Nik loved it here, even if there was the scent of diesel fumes in the air, the faint sound of traffic and the city around, well, the greenery made up for that.
How long had he been here in this city? Well, enough to learn enough of the language to not annoy the locals that he spoke to, but not long enough that he felt comfortable in such a place. Even if Japan and New Zealand, on other sides of the world, were similar as island chains, the culture couldn't be more different in his view. But still, Niko got by the best he could, just be kind to people, make them happy, and the friendships and bonds got in return would be rewards in themselves.
Yet... lately, Niko couldn't help but feel that he had overlooked something. A little over a year ago, something strange had happened. A light had appeared in front of him, and before he knew it, there was a strange little device before him. Yet, the device just... didn't work. Why though? Nik had fiddled with the buttons for quite some time afterward, but the screen still remained blank. Over time, it had slipped his mind, but, he still carried the device with him everywhere, just in case he'd find someone who could tell him it would work.
Not only that, there were rumours of things happening in Shibuya. Things involving the occult, or wild animals, depending on who he spoke to. Nik had hesitated to tell anyone about this device because of it, otherwise he might end up losing it. Somehow it felt way too important to be lost.
And thus, here Nik was, sitting on a bench on the many pathways through the little forest, examining the strange device in his hand, wondering what it was for. He would have thrown it out already, but, it was just so intricately crafted, and sometimes felt warm when he held it. Yet... what did it do? Sometimes he even felt like something was calling to him in his sleep, but when he awoke it was back to its usual state.
Either way, lately Nik was feeling like he should be doing something, but... what, exactly? He sighed, continuing to stare at the device.
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Post by Toki Akiyama on Mar 8, 2018 13:07:43 GMT
To wander through this forest at this hour was something many locals would say was a terrible idea due to rumors of malevolent spirits roaming the area. Toki, however, wanted to see if these supposed rumors had anything to do with Digimon who crossed over to the human world for one reason or another. "Toki, I appreciate your initiative, but if there really are Digimon here then we might be in trouble by ourselves. You have yet to spirit evolve into my current state, so I'm worried it will be too much for you." Toki's spirit said to him.
Toki smiled at his spirit's worry for him "Thank you for worrying. If there's any sign of trouble, I'll try not to be seen. Unless someone needs help that is..." he said. He hoped it wouldn't have to come to that. It would be bad if people with no concept of Digimon suddenly saw him spirit evolve. Maybe if he did that out of sight.
"You remind me much of myself. When someone was in need, I did not hesitate to do what I could. Though I vaguely remember that got me in trouble a few times." the spirit said as he reminisced.
Toki chuckled "Some people don't like it when you get in their business, but I think the effort is worth it. It's better to try as opposed to do nothing at all if it's within your power."
His spirit smiled "I like that. It's a nice way to look at it. Hm?" the spirit looked ahead and saw someone on a bench before he faded from sight. He learned his lesson from the incident at the park.
Toki looked at whoever his spirit saw and approached "Hey, you okay out here on your own?" he asked, worried for the safety of this stranger in a place like this. Though, in hindsight, he'd look suspicious here too since he was technically by himself.
In his mind, Toki heard hid spirit's voice "Look. In his hand." he said. Toki looked at the device in his hand "He has a Digivice, but I see no partner..."
He nodded slightly to himself before he continued speaking "My name's Toki Akiyama. Do you...know what you're holding?" he asked since he noticed the man seemed rather puzzled. If he really didn't know what the Digivice was, he would do whatever he could to ease him into this whole situation. It was the right thing to do.
Aside from the Digivice, the man's appearance also caught Toki's attention. Almost as tall as he was, but much broader and more muscular in build. Toki wondered if he was a foreigner, and if he was, thought about where he might be from.
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Post by Nik & Brad on Mar 10, 2018 5:04:32 GMT
Nik heard approaching footsteps. He looked up curiously to see a tall Japanese man about his age approaching. This was something that rather surprised him, he was used to being taller than most other Japanese people, but supposed that there was always exceptions. Still though, he turned his surprise to a smile as eye contact was made.
"Heya, bro" he said, his New Zealand accent fairly prominent. "Yeah, I'm fine out here, can take care of myself" he chuckled. "Just like to come out here to collect my thoughts and stuff".
The gentleman introduced himself as Toki Akiyama. "Hiya. I'm Niko Henare" he replied. Honestly he was glad of his name, it could be translated to Japanese fairly easily without any additional vowels added to it. "You can call me Nik for short though" he added. "Ah, sorry if I'm a bit hard to understand by the way, I'm from New Zealand if it isn't obvious" he chuckled. As evident through his use of vowels, he pronounced "isn't" as "uhsn't" for instance.
Then Toki asked if he knew what he was holding. Nik's brown eyes looked at his hand, then back at Toki. Was this the day he'd finally know what the device was? Did Toki know? Excitement built up within him, but of course he didn't want to scare him away. He was aware that Japanese culture was about keeping things polite and calm, and he had frightened his classmates a few times by sudden bouts of excitement.
"Actually now that you mention it, I don't know what this thing is" he said, holding up the device. "Do you know what it's for? I've been at kind of a loss for a year now, and, well, I haven't really been up to asking anyone in case they take it from me, so, if you could help that'd be choice" he grinned.
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Post by Toki Akiyama on Mar 10, 2018 9:00:16 GMT
Toki took a moment to adjust to Nik's accent, but he got the hang of it relatively quickly "This is a rather nice place to gather one's thoughts, though a lot of people here in Shibuya seem to be wary about this forest. Something about spirits of the dead haunting...I've been living in Shibuya for about a year now and I've still yet to understand a lot of the urban legends." he said.
He smiled when he introduced himself "It's nice to meet you, Nik. New Zealand, huh? What drove you to move to Japan? Isn't New Zealand across the world from here? It must be a tough adjustment. It was hard enough for me to move here from Ishikawa. I hope your time here in Japan has been okay so far." he said with a warm smile.
Toki thought for a moment when Nik wondered what the device was. He communicated with his spirit mentally for a moment "You're sure that's a digivice, right?" he asked. "Absolutely, go on. It would only be right to explain what is going on. Still...a year...I've been adrift as part of the Digital World for so long, but I have never seen a human partner in his situation." his spirit explained.
Toki nodded to himself "Well, what you have there is a Digivice. It's...a long story and you might not believe me, but someone very special to you has been awaiting your arrival. They're from the Digital World, a world parallel to our own...a world that seems to be tied to Shibuya for one reason or another. Now that you're here, it's time you went there and find your partner. Your Digimon." he said. He pulled out his scanner from his bag. "I know it looks different from yours, but this is still, for all intents and purposes, a digivice. How it works, though is...different from a traditional one. I can't show you just yet."
Deep down Toki was worried that this would just go over Nik's head and Nik would just think he was crazy or something. He then got an idea "Come on out." he said and his spirit made itself slightly visible. The Antylamon waved politely and looked genuinely happy to meet them. "Nice to meet you."
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Post by Nik & Brad on Mar 13, 2018 10:06:20 GMT
Nik smiled at Toki as he said that. "Heh, well, I haven't seen anything really threatening to me, so, unless the ghosts wanna show themselves to me, I don't have much reason to be scared of them" he said.
Toki then asked why he was in Japan. Nik supposed that was a reasonable question, given that he hadn't met any other New Zealanders in his time here. "Ah, well, Japan needs its English teachers it seems and my mum knows Japanese, so, that's a main reason why" he said, chuckling. "But, well, we decided to stay and make something of it, and it's gone pretty well so far I think". At least in his own circle of friends, Nik's kindness and his helpfulness of others learning English language and culture was what kept them happy with him, even if his Japanese manners were still a little awkward.
Nik then listened carefully as Toki told him what the device was. It was called a Digivice. And that someone special has been waiting for his arrival for all this time. This made Nik's face flush a little from shock.
"...my digimon?" he repeated. "You mean... there's been someone out there that's been waiting for me all this time?" suddenly Nik felt horrible. He'd been selfishly going on with things without regard for something like this. That he had someone waiting for him this whole time? Oh, god, he felt absolutely horrible.
Then he was proven that this wasn't some trick by Toki revealing his own 'partner', or at least digimon medium. That the Antylamon showed itself made him feel even worse. "...Oh my god, digimon are that cute?" he continued further. That he might have someone like this languishing in wait for him, he couldn't bear it. At once, Nik felt the need to atone for this.
"Toki... what do I need to do?" he asked, trying not to sound too desperate, but still seemed keen on fixing this. "How can I meet my digimon partner? If he's been waiting for me all this time... I need to find out where he is".
At this point, Nik wasn't quite lost to desperation, but was acutely aware that he had made some kind of long term blunder and needed to make it right.
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Post by Toki Akiyama on Mar 15, 2018 11:18:26 GMT
Nik's explanation on why he moved to Japan made perfect sense to Toki. English is an important language to learn, after all. "I've always struggled with English, I'll admit. I'm in university, but maybe from time to time you can give me some pointers?" he asked. It would give them something to do at the very least whenever nothing else was going on. "In any case, I'm glad life has been going well for you so far here. It's not always the case for foreigners, unfortunately..." he sighed.
Toki frowned a little when Nik began to feel upset over this whole situation. He couldn't blame him. He would feel the exact same way if it happened to him "Yeah...someone's been waiting for you, but soon their wait's going to be over." he said as he gave him a soft smile. "I'll admit I can't wait to see who your partner is. Digimon are just as diverse as us, if not more so. Because of that it's always fun to meet new ones."
The Antylamon spirit looked a little bashful when Nik called him cute "Oh, well you're very nice to think so. Yes, Toki is correct. Your friend's wait will soon be over and the two of you can begin your own grand adventures." he said.
Toki's smile grew a bit when he asked for his help "I'm glad you're taking to this so well. It was difficult for me when I discovered the Digital World since it was an accident on my part...so I want to help as many people as I can. Anyway, the first thing we have to do is get to the Digital World itself. There are a few ways to do this. There's a strange portal in the Shibuya River area...but there's also a way there through the old Shibuya Terminal. I do, however, have an option on my D-Tector, this thing..." he held the device up a bit "...that can open a rift big enough for the two of us to go there directly from here. If you ever want to go back, just ask me and I'll either open a new portal or guide you to the place in the Digital World where you can return to Shibuya directly."
He was excited. He felt this sense of accomplishment over helping Nik begin his journey. He just hoped it would work out well for him "Hey, Nik? I'll be with you every step of the way for this. I know you must feel like this is something you should do on your own, but I want to help as much as I possibly can. And don't worry...we'll find him. Your Digivice will help guide the way once we're there."
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Post by Nik & Brad on Mar 20, 2018 11:34:04 GMT
Nik grinned at the suggestion. "Of course, bro, I'd be happy to give ya some pointers in English" he said. "Although if you go by my exact pronunciations you might get some raised eyebrows, but, at the least you'd be able to know that, probably". He broke off, wondering how his mother was doing in school teaching Japanese children that the aircraft in question was the "Sivven-Sux-Sivven", but in the end, he preferred not to think about it.
The next statement Nik liked a bit better. "Ah that's okay. Shibuya's probably one of the better places for a foreigner to be" he grinned. "Probably best would've been Roppongi, but, Shibuya's close enough so I haven't really felt like that much of an alien".
Nik was glad of the next statement, that he was going to meet exactly the digimon he was meant to be a partner of. While he didn't yet completely know about digimon, he had had some very vivid dreams about what it involved. And he suspected that these dreams were meant to prepare him for the trials ahead.
And that Toki's 'spirit' replied to him, well, that was all just confirmation that all this was true. Nik was very excited to begin.
Nik then listened for the options about how to proceed in this. There was the Shibuya River, which he knew to be just a filthy concrete lined canal. Then there was the Shibuya Train Terminal, which he also disliked just because how crowded it was. But then his interest was piqued at the third option, which Toki said could transport the both of them there directly.
"Oh, heh, well, I don't have much to do this afternoon, so, if it's not so much of an inconvenience for you, I'd be really grateful if you could open up a portal in that last option" Nik said, honestly thinking that it would be the best option.
What Toki said next made Nik relax somewhat. "Heh, thanks. If all this means what you say, I'd be really grateful for all this". He wished he could think of something that such a person might want in return, but he couldn't.
So instead, Nik prepared for what would happen next. Transport to the world where his partner was. He only hoped that he wouldn't be too unhappy by the delay.
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Post by Toki Akiyama on Mar 24, 2018 9:59:37 GMT
Toki smiled brightly when Nik said he would help him out "Don't worry about that, I'm sure I'll figure something out. Besides, I'm not one to judge accents...that's just rude." he said. He always felt uncomfortable whenever someone mocked a certain dialect. It's the same language, just spoken differently.
"Shibuya's been a great place so far, that's for sure. I've seen plenty of tourists have a good time, so I think you're right about it. I've never been to Roppongi, myself. Anyway, let's see what we can do about getting us to the Digital World." he said. He looked around and made absolutely sure no one else was around "There's a bit of a rule. I assume it's to avoid the wrong people knowing about it or just to prevent a panic, but don't tell anyone about the Digital World if they're not involved with it, okay? It's for their safety and potentially yours." he said. He personally felt guilty to have to say that, but he understood why it was the case.
His spirit was delighted that Nik was so eager to get started and meet his Digimon partner "Your Digimon is very lucky to have such a kind man look after him. I'm certain the two of you will be the best of friends before long." he said.
Toki finished his look around the area and smiled "Good, no one else is around. Alright, Nik, if you have the afternoon free, then I have some good news for you. You can spend a couple of days in the Digital World. Time there works differently. Every seven days there is only one day here. Good if you want to get some last minute studying done." he said with a laugh.
He pointed the screen of the D-Tector in front of them and a rift in space began to open up in front of them. Streams of data swirled around the portal "No problem, Nik. It's my pleasure to help with this! Now, when we get there, your Digivice should react to your Digimon's presence. All we'll have to do is follow where it leads. Oh, and if you're worried about food, don't be. There's plenty of good stuff over there." he said. Whenever Nik was ready, he would follow him into the portal to the next part of his adventure, and to the first part of Nik's.
(Toki Exits.)
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