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Post by Ryu Yoshida on Aug 30, 2022 8:02:00 GMT
It was a normal day at another elementary school. Well, it was supposed to be normal until a rumor spread around the school grounds as students chattered about an incident nearby. Where several students were injured after visiting the alley near the arcades on Cat Street and they suspected a monster living there. Most students were scared of hearing the rumors while the teachers warned them not to visit Cat Street for their own safety. However, a certain young boy wasn't fazed at the rumors and warnings.
In fact, after school, he headed to Cat Street where he wore his hood up to avoid any attention from his classmates or any teachers passing by him. With him was Daten hiding in his bag, still in a form of Tsumemon. As much as he wanted to be carried by his Tamer with his arms, he tried to avoid any attention whatsoever under his instructions. However, as they walked through the street, he hummed in beeps just as he sent a message to Ryu's phone, which he noticed.
So why are we here in Cat Street again? I thought your teachers said it's dangerous to go here.
"I know, but I want to know behind those crazy rumors and how they hurt my classmates," Ryu explained. "I even heard that some of the victims were middle-school bullies who tried to drag a younger student in that alley to bully him."
What's a bully?
"Jerks who harass other kids just to show they are the strongest or something. I hate those kinds of people, hurting others and forcing them to do homework for their own amusement and to make them happy."
Are you a bully?
Ryu flinched at that sudden question. "Heck no! I never bully others to make me happy. The same goes for you, Daten. I may play pranks, but I never go so far as hurting them. So if you evolve into a stronger Digimon, don't forget you cannot use your powers to hurt others or worse. Only use them when we have no choice but to fight or protect me from any danger."
The Digimon stared at his Tamer with his head tilted, who seemed to be confused at his explanation.
"And also, if we defeat an enemy, we can't kill them."
Why not? Do the enemies who endanger your life supposed to be dead?
Ryu sighed. "Yeah, I get what you meant. But we're no better than the villains if we do. If you want to be the hero, you have to take the enemies to the police."
Daten hummed again. Alright, if that's what you want, then I promise.
Ryu smiled at Daten's answer. But before he could say anything, he stopped walking and looked up. "And we're here."
Ryu and Daten turned around, staring at the seemingly desolate alley near an arcade. As they slowly walked into it, they saw some stray trash and rubble scattered on the floor, random graffiti on the walls that he tried to ignore, and a wall behind a building right in front of them.
Looks scary.
"Yeah. Plus a perfect place for the bullies to threaten their victims without the worries of anyone helping the latter," Ryu explained. "No wonder why there are rumors of a vigilante hurting them."
Should we leave them alone then? They are hurting the bullies.
"Again, that makes us no different from them. We just need to find the source and make sure we convince them that they won't hurt them again. Although..." Ryu looked around the area for a while and when he couldn't find anything, he groaned. "It doesn't seem like this is a good place to ambush bullies. Maybe the rumors are just that. Rumors. A shame, though. I thought we might be able to make a debut as a Tamer-Digimon d-"
Before Ryu could finish, Daten's eye widened just as the former's phone let out a ringtone.
Someone's here! Someone's coming!
Ryu gasped when he heard several footsteps coming toward them. "Seriously?! If anyone sees us, we're done for! We need to hide!"
Unfortunately, unlike many cartoon shows from foreign countries he watched, there were no dumpsters in Japan. So he had no choice but to leave the alley before he could see whoever coming toward them. However, as soon as he ran out to his left, he hid behind the wall of a general store nearby behind the alley, and Ryu and Daten quietly peeked through it to see four kids walking into the latter.
"I know those three jerks with bandannas. They tried to beat me up two weeks ago for playing that battle royale FPS game," Ryu whispered.
Tried?
Ryu frowned when he saw Daten staring at him with his narrowed eye. "Okay, I kind of counter their beat-ups a bit and got in trouble for it," he sheepishly explained. "But at least they stop bothering me. Though with the price of my principal and Dad punishing me. Worth it, though." The Tamer quickly shook his head and turned his attention back to the kids in the alley. "What the heck are they doing here anyway? Aren't they usually hanging out at an arcade near Shibuya 104?"
Daten looked at the group of boys and noticed one of them was wearing glasses and holding his backpack tightly. Is the human boy wearing glasses part of them?
"No, he's more of a victim," Ryu answered. "Akito is my classmate and he's an urban legend nerd. He's weird, but he's an okay kid." He growled as he turned his attention back to the group. "But damn... I want to do something for Akito. Unlike me, he doesn't have the backbone to stand up to his bullies. I tried to help him, but he always refused because it might be a pain for me to do so..."
Daten beeped as he stared at his Tamer. But do you want to help him?
Ryu grew silent, shocked at his Digimon's question. He has a point. He wanted to help him, but he quickly gave up when Akito refused his help. Was he hypocritical of him giving up while trying to have another chance at companionship with Daten?
"Hey, what's the hold-up there, Aki-kun?"
Ryu gasped as he heard one of the bandanna boys push Akito to the wall and grinned as he glared at him. "We're here at the cursed alley. Now, how about you try to call out the vigilante hiding here?" The bandana boy leader slyly asked.
The boy in glasses sniffled, trying not to collapse upon seeing his bully's glare at him.
"What's the matter, Aki-kun? Scared that the hunter of the Cat Street Alley might hurt you?" Another bandana boy mocked.
"N-No... I-It's just that I c-can't call out the hunter so easily! A-According to the legend, the hunter will appear when someone hurts another in this exact alley," Akito explained.
"Oh? Is that easy? Alrighty! Kai, smack his face nice and clean for the hunter to see!" The leader ordered as the boy in a yellow bandanna on his right leg grinned while he cracked his knuckles.
"W-Wait! A-Are you listening to what I said?!" Akito panickly reasoned as he slowly backed away from the bandanna boys. "W-What if the Cat Street Alley Hunter might find us?! W-What if they won't let us survive?!"
"Who cares? Hunter or not, I still have an excuse to punch you like a bubble wrap!"
The boy with glasses squealed as the boy in a yellow bandanna slowly marched towards him while his friends cackled to see him about to be pummeled by him. Ryu, on the other hand, clenched his teeth as he watched this, and feeling his fists tremble, he narrowed his eyes and groaned. "I really hate it when you asked questions that force me to do stuff I don't want!"
Is that bad?
Ryu frowned, yet he sighed somehow in relief. "Probably, but it gives me an incentive to let my legs do the work!" With a yell, Ryu got out of his hiding spot and ran into the alley before he went in between the boys in bandannas and Akito.
"W-What the hell?!" The boy in a yellow bandanna exclaimed while the boy in red on his head noticed the intruder and gasped.
"Yoshida, what are you doing here?!" The boy in red screamed in shock. "Don't tell me you're trying to be a hero again? Haven't you learned your lesson after last time?"
"Yeah. Teach said that one more punch from you and you're suspended," the boy in a blue bandanna warned.
"Only because you jerks made me kick your butt after you tried to rip my textbook! Besides, I had enough being a spectator to your crazy tortures on my friend! Plus, let's just say my legs got a mind of his own."
Akito's eyes widened at what his classmate said. "F-Friend?" He nervously turned to stare at Ryu, and he noticed his narrowed eyes towards his bullies. "B-But I told you..."
"That you can take care of yourself? Yeah, right," Ryu interrupted. "I understand you want to take care of your bully problem by yourself. I've admitted you got guts, Akito. But letting yourself turn into a piñata isn't the right way to stand up a jerk like Watari and his bandana goonies."
"Who are you calling goonies, Yoshida?!" The boy wearing blue exclaimed in annoyance, but Ryu only responded by rolling his eyes.
"All I'm saying is that you did a lot to resist Watari's dumb favors. Leave these jerks to me until then."
Akito was speechless at Ryu's actions. He clenched his teeth at this, yet he dropped his shaking fist as his frown slowly turned into a small smile. "You look like a scary dragon, but you also have a heart of gold like some of them."
Ryu frowned as his face suddenly turned red. "At least it's better than being called a werewolf." He then turned to Watari and his friends. "Seriously though, this place is rumored to be dangerous. I feel this isn't a normal legend."
"Tch... Seriously?! Are you believing Akito's baloney?!" Watari scoffed. "They are called rumors for a reason! According to my pops, they are not real! So grow up, Yoshida! Unless you want to join Akito for a beat-up?"
Ryu sneered as he flashed a small fang-like canine in his teeth. "Do your worst. But if you want to hurt Akito, then you have to go through me first! No take-backsies!"
Watari growled as he cracked his fists and marched towards Ryu. "Okay, you asked for it, Yoshida!"
Ryu could hear his phone beeping like crazy. He knew he was making Daten worried about him. But he was right about one thing. There was no way he could abandon Akito. Not here, not now!
But just as Watari swung his fist...
A vine suddenly grabbed it and a voice rang above the boys.
"What did I tell you about harming another kid for fun?!"
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Post by Ryu Yoshida on Sept 14, 2022 11:41:07 GMT
Ryu's eyes widened as he heard a female voice nearby, but a vine suddenly grabbed Watari's fist just as he could punch him. Heck, were there vines hanging above this alley? How the hell could the alley even have vines in the first place?!
"Well, it seems I got another kid instead. Man, how many naughty kids are there in this human city?"
That voice... That was definitely not a human... He was scared of what he might find above him, but if he didn't, how would he be able to find out the source of the rumors? Just in case, he secretly took out his phone and checked his messages. To his surprise, there were surprisingly many unread messages and he could guess who despite the corrupted text on the sender. He was expecting him to send messages not to protect his friend but out of concern for his safety. But to his surprise, the message was written something else and was more serious than he imagined.
DIGIMON! I SENSED ANOTHER DIGIMON!
Another Digimon?! So all this time, the rumors about the Cat Street Hunter were actually...
"W-Who the hell are you?!" Watari suddenly exclaimed while trying to struggle out of his binding. "A-Are you the hunter from those dumb rumors?!"
"Hunter? Oh, you're mistaken, young human."
More vines suddenly crawled down the building walls. The remaining light of the setting sun eventually shone onto the culprit, revealing to be a humanoid plant who has a purple flower on its head and vine-like clawed hands. "I prefer the term, "disciplinary teacher" and it seems you need one."
Ryu was horrified at what he saw. It was a Digimon and it didn't seem to have a human partner like Colin and Ryuji. Still, he was shocked that a small Digimon made infamy over hurting bullies. Then again, Colin did say that even at the Rookie level, Digimon could leave bigger damage if he wasn't careful. Regardless, he has to act before they could hurt Watari and his goons along with Akito by accident. With no hesitation, he typed onto his phone.
On my signal, distract that Digimon. But do it until I get Akito, Watari, and his posse to turn their heads away enough for you to ambush them.
After that, he quickly approached the culprit Digimon. "Hey, you! Sorry to be rude, but what's the point of punishing Watari?! Don't you think you've gone too far with hurting the bullies passing by here?"
"Do you think I am doing this to amuse myself? Some of those "bullies" you speak of almost killed a human child I befriended! They are currently in your human hospital and I cannot forgive them for using her pain for their amusement and advantage!" The plant Digimon exclaimed. "It seems that you are like me, human. And a Digimon is known to be dangerous to others. Yet why aren't you taking advantage of your new partner to take revenge for harming your friend?!"
Ryu clenched his teeth. "Isn't it obvious? It's the right thing to do!" He answered proudly. "Sure, I'm not doing anything like beating back Watari, but doing so will make you no different to him. I rather take on Watari's punches than use Daten to get back at him!"
The plant Digimon scoffed. "I have no qualms against you, human. But if you don't move away from that bully, then I have to do it by force!"
Ryu narrowed his eyes at the Digimon. Then, he smiled before he pushed Akito and the boy in the yellow bandana out of the alley.
"Hey, what the heck are you doing, Yoshida?!" The boy screamed before Ryu pushed the boy in the blue bandanna out next, causing them to collide and fell to the ground.
"Just get out and don't return until it's safe!" Ryu ordered. "Unless you want to join your leader next."
"Ryu, you need to get out of there, too!" Akito screamed.
"Don't worry about me, Akito. Just get the police and don't go back until I deal with this mess."
Akito's eyes widened, shocked that his classmate was willing to stay behind. "But Ryu...!"
But as he ran towards him, a vine almost smacked him, which caused him to scream as he quickly backed away from the alley.
"Again, don't worry, Akito. We're going to take care of this wannabe vigilante and teach her a lesson or two! Right, Daten?!"
Suddenly, a black blur pounced on the vine Digimon's face and started scratching it. "AHHHHH!!! What are you doing, you little intruder?! Get off of me!"
Ryu grinned. "Alright! That was a nice ambush, partner!" His Tsumemon beeped happily before he continued scratching his opponent's face. Then, Ryu turned to Akito and the other boys. "Go! I'll get Watari! We'll get out of here alive!"
Akito stared at his classmate, still concerned about Ryu. But he shook his head and turned around to leave the alley. "You better, Ryu!"
As they started running away from the alley, Ryu turned around and narrowed his eyes as he glared at the Digimon, who quickly removed Daten off from their face and threw him to the wall. Seeing this, Ryu chased after the young Digimon and managed to catch him before he could hit the wall.
"Y-You little brat! I can't believe you're trying to save that brat who was trying to hurt your friend!" The vine Digimon screamed.
"Do I have to repeat myself? He might be a jerk, but I'm saving him because he needs a better punishment than you wailing him around like a ragdoll!" Ryu answered before he took out his Digivice. "Sure, not all of the adults can stop his rampage against other kids like Akito, but that doesn't mean they are useless. And like you said, if you're using force, Daten and I are going to do the same to you!"
Bring it on, scary vine Digimon! Daten called out through the text he sent out and Ryu's mouthpiece.
The Digimon huffed and glared at the pair. "Fine, have it your way, human! But you have made a very big mistake! Nemesis Ivy!"
Their claws started to grow out from their hands into extendable vines as they tried to grab both Ryu and Daten, but they quickly rolled out to their left before they could do so.
"Nemesis Ivy? So Digimon also have unique skills and attacks they can dish out, huh?" Before Ryu could say anything else, his Digivice's screen started to light up as he noticed it. "Huh? What's happening to my... GAH!"
Before he knew it, a circular holographic window came out of the screen, showing a picture of the vine Digimon and the information related to it.
"A-Aruraumon... Nature Spirits family? Virus?" He read it out loud.
"So you knew my name through your strange device, eh?" The Digimon, Aruraumon said. "All of the more reason I'm going to take you out!" She quickly swung her arm and released her vines at Ryu and Daten, only for them to roll out of the way again.
"What do you know? This Digivice does have some uses after all." Ryu then looked at his Digivice again, and he gasped at what he found in the window. "R-Rookie?! Wait, but last time I check isn't that..."
As he looked up, he gasped to see another set of vines coming toward him. Upon seeing this, however, Daten jumped out of his Tamer's shoulder and swung his clawed tentacles away from the vines. But when he did so, they quickly smacked the small Digimon away from them and crashed onto the wall.
"Daten!" Ryu called out in horror.
"I'm surprised. Not only a human dared to face my plants, but a foolish In-Training Digimon tries to be a hero, too," Aruraumon commented. "It's too bad it's still too weak for him to stop my plans against that human child!"
Watari screamed as soon as he heard this. "P-Please don't do this! I-I'm sorry I called the rumor stupid! I want my mommy!"
Ryu clenched his teeth before he rushed to Daten's side and gently picked him up from the crater that was created after he was thrown by his opponent. "Are you okay, buddy?"
I'm okay! But I'm very angry! That Digimon is mean! Let me at her! Daten said through Ryu's phone before he tried to jump at his opponent, only for Ryu to restrain him.
"Don't get her over your head. One, you're a level lower than Aruraumon. And two, I can't let you get reckless here," Ryu explained. "Come on, I'm going to..."
Did you say we're going to save that Watari kid?!
Ryu's eyes widened as he saw another message.
You said we can't hurt them, but we still need to save him. Besides, you got all reckless when you tried to protect your friend. Don't get all hypocritical on me, partner!
Ryu was speechless at what Daten said. But then, he chuckled at this. "Man, way the go, pulling my leg over this. Even saying big words like "hypocritical"." He then stood up, glaring at Aruraumon. "You're right about one thing, Daten. There is no way I ignore Watari no matter how much stupidity he made to Akito and I'm not going to leave you alone to fight this prissy wannabe. We're partners and we're going to get through this! Together!"
With those words, Daten suddenly flinched as blue light suddenly enveloped his whole body. At the same time, the screen on Ryu's Digivice suddenly glowed white as he noticed both of them. "W-What the heck?! Wait, is this..."
Aruraumon gasped as she slowly backed away from the glowing Digimon on Ryu's arms. "No! I won't let you!" The plant Digimon suddenly charged in with her clawed vine extended into whips.
However, Daten narrowed his eye and jumped out of his Tamer's arms. When he did, Ryu grinned as pumped his glowing Digivice up in the air and shouted, "Alright, partner! Show that wannabe Spiderman the results of your training!"
Daten beeped as loud as he could as the light completely enveloped him before his body started to change. His nail-like tentacles started to grow bigger as two of them transformed into large hands and his small eyeball grew into a round head with a yellow spikey-like collar with two green eyes and larger antennas. And just as the Digimon threw her vines to Ryu, a hand quickly grabbed them before they could reach his face.
"Don't you dare hurt my partner!"
Aruraumon and Ryu gasped at hearing a new voice. Then they turned as the light disappeared from the latter's body, something Ryu somehow recognized from their purple body and tentacles.
"D-Daten, is that really you?"
The Digimon cackled as he turned to Ryu. "Yes! I Digivolved again to Keramon because you showed your courage against that crazy vigilante wannabe! This time, I'll make sure that she won't hurt that bully as you wish!"
"Is that so?" Ryu grinned. "Glad to hear our training and my vow aren't wasted."
But Aruraumon growled as she glared at the newly Digivolved Digimon. "A-A Keramon?! D-Do you realize what you have unleashed?! I-I have to stop that...monster before he hurts everyone else!"
"Ask the same Digimon who tried to hurt Watari for the same thing!" Ryu countered. "Now I know what hurting someone as the payback is wrong. If you don't stop this, this cycle of vengeance and bullying will continue! And I'm going to show you that Daten can use his new form for good! Together as a Tamer and Partner Digimon!"
"And first things first... Tentacle Bind!"
Daten spread his tentacles out and quickly restrained Aruraumon's arms in a tight bind.
"W-Wha...?! What are you doing?! I told you to get off me!" Aruraumon screamed.
"Ryu! Now is your chance!" Daten ordered.
"You have to tell me twice!" Ryu quickly ran to Watari, who was trying to stand up after being knocked out. "Alright, Watari. Time for you to get out, too!"
"W-Why are you so calm with this, Yoshida?! Do you realize monsters are fighting against each other?!" Watari protested. "And one of them is trying to kill me!"
"Do you want to stay here and get killed then?!" Ryu countered. "D- I mean, that purple monster is giving you a chance to escape. So whether you like it or not, you better get your ass out of the asphalt and run!"
"But what about..."
Ryu quickly pulled Watari off the floor and forcefully pushed him out of the alley. "If I say "run", then run, you idiot!"
So Watari did, not even bothering to look back as he ended up crying in the street. Once he was out of the Ryu's sight, he turned to the Digimon and he narrowed his eyes, which he noticed that Aruraumon already broke through Daten's tentacles.
"Y-You brat! Owning a dangerous Digimon is one thing, but letting a guilty human child escape from my grasp before he gets his punishment is crossing the lines!" Aruraumon exclaimed.
"I doubt it. For me, you hurting Watari for the sake of "protecting" other humans is crossing the line! Sorry, plant lady, but we're stopping your vigilantism charade once and for all! And again, if you don't want to stop, then we're going to make you!" Ryu declared before he pointed at the plant Digimon. "Are you ready, Daten?"
"I will if you do, partner!" Daten answered while glaring at the Digimon. "I'm leaving it up to you on my attacks!"
"Attacks, huh?" Recalling what happened earlier, Ryu pointed his Digivice to his partner, revealing holographic information on his species. "Nothing about your attacks, though."
"Kekekekeke... Then tell me what to do and I'll show you."
Ryu smirked, realizing what he meant. As for Aruraumon, she growled and said, "Fine, have it your way, human! Nemesis Ivy!"
She fired her vines from her hands again towards the Tamer-Digimon pair. But as they went closer to them, Ryu and Daten smirked.
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Post by Ryu Yoshida on Oct 23, 2022 17:49:35 GMT
One minute, Cat Street was peaceful. But a minute later, there was a loud, but a small explosion in one of the alleys, startling some nearby shopkeepers and passersby.
What they didn't know was in one of the alleys, there was an ongoing fight between a small humanoid made of vines and a monster with tentacles as his legs with a cackling smirk chased her. Below them was Ryu as he watched the two creatures battle as he tried to follow their movements as best as he could. From the looks of it, he had a feeling that his Keramon won't go anywhere if he kept on chasing her while dodging her vines.
"Deal with her vines first! Tangle it and twist them together!"
"Ay-ay!" Daten jumped out from his Tamer's side and extended his arms. "Crazy Turn!"
He started to spin around towards Aruraumon and realizing what he was trying to do, she tried to pull her vines away from him. But it was too late. The strange Digimon grabbed her vines and continued to spin around, causing her to drag to him against her will.
"Y-You...You no-good brats! Gloom Dust!"
The purple flower on Aruraumon's head started to spread purple spores around her and Daten who was trying to restrain her arms. Ryu noticed this and gasped at what was happening. "Daten, get out of there! Those spores might be dangerous!"
As soon as Daten heard this, he gasped and quickly let go of Aruruamon's vine arms before he backed away from his opponent. "Okay... Any more plans, partner?"
"Well, another Tentacle Bind won't work..." Ryu wondered. "Let's try long-range instead!"
"Ay ay!" Daten jumped forward and opened his mouth as he cackled under his breath. "Scan Giggle!"
His mouth then fired off a green ball of light which flew to Aruraumon and exploded in contact, leaving a cloud of dust and smoke in the vicinity.
"Alright! Bullseye!" Ryu celebrated. "Nice job, Daten!"
However, Daten narrowed his green eyes and said, "No, don't celebrate just yet, partner."
Ryu raised his eyebrow in confusion. But when he turned around just as the cloud started to disperse, he gasped to see that the enemy Digimon was gone.
"No way! Don't tell me you killed her by accident?!"
"Hardly..."
Upon hearing that familiar voice, the two looked up and gasped to see Aruraumon was now on the top of the walls with her vine hung around the window nearby.
"You let that brat escape from my grasp, disrupted my attempt to dispense justice for harming another, and harmed me in the process! You will pay... You brats will pay for interrupting my justice!"
Ryu narrowed his eyes and frowned. "Ugh... I wish I could tell her why we are attacking her because of her, but it looks like she doesn't want to listen anymore," he muttered. "We have to incapacitate her so we can calm her down."
"Do you want me to strike her down after she tries to attack again?" Daten asked.
"I got a better idea..." Ryu then turned to see Aruraumon about to raise her vine arm.
"Poison Ivy!" Aruraumon declared before she extended her vines toward Daten. But just as they could reach her...
"Scan Giggle! Aim it at her vines holding the wall!" Ryu ordered.
Daten cackled before he fired a blue orb of energy at one of Aruraumon's vine arms, mainly at the one attached to the wall flag pole. When it exploded, the plant Digimon screamed in pain as her other arm just dropped to the ground before it could reach him or his Tamer.
"No!" Aruraumon screamed. "I'm not giving up like this! G-"
"Tentacle Bind!"
Daten jumped onto Aruraumon and with a cackle, wrapped his tentacles around her arms and clasped her mouth with his big hands. While her mouth was forced shut, they could hear her muffled rants and words they rather not know.
"Give it up, Aruraumon. Your little game of vigilantism is over," Ryu sternly declared.
Aruraumon quickly removed Daten's hands by shaking her head. "How can I?! Because kids like them, my friend won't see me again! We were about to become partners like you and that strange Keramon!" She defended. "You got hurt by bullies, right? So how in the world did you even survive and not use your Digimon to take revenge as I do?!"
Ryu huffed. "Simple. I just deal with it and stand up for myself."
Aruraumon's eyes widened. "Stand up...for yourself? How can you stand up without hurting those bullies as retribution?! Do you even know the point of justice anymore?!"
"I know what it is and it doesn't mean being violent to get your point straight!" Ryu countered. "As Dad would always say, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." I didn't understand at first, but the more I think about it, the more I understand."
"So what are you saying, young Tamer? That you're weak for not acting against your tormentors?!"
"I'm saying that you're no better than Watari and the other bullies you attacked. What will happen if you start attacking other Digimon bullying another one of their kind? What will happen if your human friend might become a bully or worse, a bully hunter just like you? Would you deliver that so-called justice of yours to them?"
With those words, Aruraumon's black eyes widened, stopping her struggle from Daten's tentacles, and grew silent. She never thought of that before and for all of her hostility against bullies, she would never think about letting her human friend become like her.
"N-No..." The plant Digimon muttered. "I-I would never hurt her... I just want...to make her smile again..."
Ryu sighed. "I know you do. I understand your motives, but if you keep hurting the bullies, you're no different than them."
Aruraumon stared at Ryu and Daten for a few seconds. Eventually, she couldn't bottle up her true feelings she started crying as loud as she could. Well, not too loud as they needed to hide their presence from the public.
"I-I just want to avenge my friend. I only want to protect others from people like her tormentors!" Aruraumon wailed. "All I want is to see her smile again! To play with her again! But how can I after I did all of this for nothing?!"
Ryu and Daten looked at each other, now concerned about the distressed Digimon in their grasps. Ryu hummed for a while before he turned to Aruraumon again. "It's not too late to atone, Aruraumon. Sure, hurting bullies is wrong despite your good reasons, but you can't just give up all because of that."
"I-It's not?"
Ryu shook his head. "Nope. You might not get some acceptance for your apologies yet, but it takes time. I had to learn that the hard way when I accidentally broke my Dad's first laptop. Had to take a month to pay him back with chores and his forgiveness."
"He's right," Daten spoke up. "Just seeing you makes me realize Ryu is right. But you don't have to be alone. It's too sad and depressing if you keep this all to yourself. And maybe your human friend feels the same way, too."
"Yeah. Forgiveness is a long way to go for you, but small steps should be good. And as Daten said, you don't have to be alone. You have us."
Aruraumon stared at the pair. "E-Even after I tried to hurt both of you?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Daten answered. "Looking at you now, you don't seem to be a bad Digimon when you're not attacking us! We can be your bestest friends until then!"
Ryu grinned. "So what do you say?" He stretched out his hand to Aruraumon. "Ready to give up your vigilante ways and restart?"
Aruraumon stared at the two for a few more seconds with tears still in her eyes. She was reluctant to accept, but from the looks of their faces, neither Ryu nor the Keramon, who was known for their data-eating tendencies showed any hostility in their eyes. Her clawed vine arm was shaking, yet there was no reason to fear. They were only here to do the right thing after all.
Eventually, she accepted Ryu's hand and spent a few more minutes crying and releasing her sadness and frustrations of her guilt.
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Post by Ryu Yoshida on Oct 24, 2022 17:36:27 GMT
After Aruraumon calmed down for a few minutes, both parties left the alley and transferred to a nearby small park near CAT Street where Ryu bought three mint chocolate ice cream cups and walked to the bushes where she and Daten were hiding. As for the newly-evolved Keramon, he frowned as he looked at himself while trying his best to hide from the public as his Tamer told him. "I know I want to Digivolve so I can protect Ryu, but I wish there is some way I can go back to my cute Kuramon form," Daten bemoaned. "Huh? You don't like your stronger form, Daten?" Aruraumon asked in confusion. "I like it, but I can't sleep very well if I'm like this," Daten explained. "Plus, I might not able to tag along with Ryu inside his backpack..."Aruraumon started to chuckle after hearing this before Daten stared at the plant Digimon with his eyebrow raised. "Did I say something funny?""Mmm..." Aruraumon shook her head. "I heard Keramon often eats data to evolve, but you might be the first Keramon I know who wants to devolve back to your Fresh form.""Oh, really?" Daten tilted his head. "Is that a good thing?""It depends." Both Digimon turned to see Ryu approach them before he gave them ice cream cups and said, "I don't know much about Daten's species, too. But I know he's a dependable Digimon when it comes to scam mail defense."Ryu quickly sat down next to the Digimon and joined in eating their mint chocolate ice cream. "T-Thank you very much," said Aruraumon before she started eating ice cream. "Though I don't know if I deserve this after I hurt your friend and those bullies, including you two.""Don't worry. Most of the kids you hurt are still alive and resting at the hospital while Watari and his goons got off with a few scrapes," Ryu explained. "As long they are still alive, all you can do to atone is to learn from your mistakes and move on.""I see." Aruraumon hummed. "I should take your suggestion then. Besides, even if I find my way back to the Digital World, I am still ashamed of coming back to my clan after what I did.""Clan?" The Tamer and his Digimon repeated. "Yes. Before I arrived here, I lived with my clan in a small village located in Server Woods. However, I didn't leave the village by choice.""What do you mean?" Daten asked. "I wasn't all Aruraumon before I arrived here. Before I devolved, I was one of the Kiwimon who guarded the village. However, something attacked it and we were forced to flee the village to escape. While we found refuge in your world, I, unfortunately, split off from my fellow villagers and found solace with the human. After that, you know the rest.""Do you know what kind of a disaster had fallen to your village?" Ryu asked. "I only recall vague details. It happened so fast," Aruraumon muttered. "However, I only recall fire almost consumed the village and we saw several figures marched toward us. I didn't even know what they were chanting about. Although, I might have an idea where they heading to.""As in your village is only an obstacle to their real destination?"Daten hummed in thought. "And where exactly are they going that made them destroy your village?""I only heard legends of it, but it's a small temple that is said a Digimental is rested there.""Digimental?" The pair's eyes widened when they heard the familiar word. "You heard of it?" Aruraumon asked. "Yeah, from another Tamer and his Digimon," Ryu answered. "But only the term. Do you know more about it?""Yes. It's a special item shaped like a Digi-Egg. It is said that Digimon used it to access Armor Digivolution, which is rumored to be an ancient type of Digivolution. But whether you are with a Tamer or not, you can't access it the moment you obtain it. There are conditions to fulfill and you need to prove yourself to access Armor Digivolution.""And by 'Digivolution', you mean the Digimon version of transformation or evolution, huh?" Ryu muttered before he regained his focus on the plant Pokemon. "But if that's true, you don't need to train your Digimon. That's really cheating when it comes to evolving them a bit faster. Guess that explains the requirement part of the Digimental.""But even so, does that mean those bad guys who destroyed Aruraumon's home might get stronger if they take the Digimental by force?" Daten asked. "Even if they try, I doubt the Digimental in the temple allows them to access it," Aruraumon guessed. "In a worst-case scenario, they might try to destroy it."Ryu gasped at this. "If that's the case, we need to stop them. Guess getting some awesome gear and Digivice upgrades at Terminus City will be our second task in our upcoming Digital World trip then.""Second?" Aruraumon's eyes widened once she saw Ryu and Daten's determined glares at each other. "Are you saying you're going to confront those cretins who marched through my village like bugs?!""That's the idea. Plus, we might try the Digimental test so it won't be in the wrong hands like those invaders," Ryu clarified. "B-But... You're just a human boy and your partner is still in the Rookie stage! You're no match against our attackers," Aruraumon reasoned. "Plus, how are you trying to help after everything I did in your world?!"Ryu smiled at the plant Digimon. "We can try. Because that's what a friend does."Aruraumon grew silent for a while and after that, she muttered, "F-Friend? B-But...""Look, I know what you're about to say next. I get what you did will take a while for you to atone, but you feel very lonely in my world," Ryu calmly explained. "Plus, I also want friends and we don't want you to go alone here repenting what you did by yourself. If anything, it's the least we can do so you can move forward and work on toning your sins without regretting too much of your past.""That's right! I'm here, too! So once you're done with those repenting stuff, we can play games and show you some awesome places Ryu and I have been to!" Daten added. "D-Daten..."Ryu could tell that Aruraumon was about to burst into tears again. After the anguish life she tried to endure in the human world, he was relieved that he and Daten were able to help her and stop her poor-planned vigilantism before anyone was gravely injured by her blinded justice. Regardless, they let her cry again for a brief moment before they stopped her and gave her some tissues before they finished their ice cream cups. "If you truly want to aid my village, I suggest you should bring this with you." Aruraumon produced some kind of talisman made of vines and leaves and gave it to Ryu. "This is a mark that recognizes my status as one of the guardians who safely escaped from the attack. Show it to the other guardians and the village chief and they will know you two are there to help us stop the invaders. It will also lead you to the village in case you're lost in the Server Woods. As for the Digimental, the trials are not the only thing you two should worry about.""What do you mean?" Ryu asked. "Some of the guardians can be...paranoid of strange Digimon and humans coming in and out of the village. If you want to gain their trust, you should listen to them patiently. I'm sure they will start to understand once you follow their tests. Or if some of them might be too stubborn, you are free to smack them if you want.""Okay?" Ryu said in confusion. "But considering what you have done to me despite my actions... I have a feeling you might be a perfect inheritor to our village temple's Digimental.""Huh? I know Ryu can be a great Tamer to me, but what makes you say that?" Daten curiously asked. Aruraumon only chuckled. "If I tell you, it wouldn't be a surprise for the two of you," she answered. "And if we want to be friends, then it's best if you two call me "Ferrost". All I ask in return is your safety once you come back from the Digital World.""Yeah." Ryu offered his hand to the Aruraumon, which she accepted with no hesitation. "We won't let you down, Ferrost. We're going to save your village. We promise."Daten nodded in affirmation and with that, the human and the wild Digimon shook hands to seal the deal. After that, they spent the whole afternoon exchanging stories and getting to know each other before they split up for the night, promising to see each other again before their departure to the Digital World. ----- Of course, he didn't go home after that. He met up with Akito again at a nearby police box so he won't worry about him. Besides, it only took him a few hours to finish this ordeal and Ryu didn't want to make him angry out of worry again. Regardless, everything went well and he knew that Akito won't be afraid of Watari again thanks to him. As for him and his goons, Ryu last heard of them going to the hospital for any injuries and their parents weren't happy to hear how much trouble they endured. He even wondered how would they take it after they told them a crazy story that a plant monster tried to capture them. Though that was another story for another time. But still, that was an eventful day, and that even gave him and Daten more information about the Digital World and some of it wasn't happy. Ryu wasn't sure if they could manage to stop the attackers from harming Ferrost's village any further or obtaining that Digimental they seemed to search. But in any case, he has a feeling that his upcoming first trip to the Digital World would be more eventful than finally stopping the Hunter of CAT Street's rage against the bullies and changing her for the better. |
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