In The Rough [DLC] [Hunt]

It was certainly true that Rinji's own budding charisma was a far cry from what he used to be. Yet he had his best friend to thank for that, didn't he? Not to mention all the friends and... experiences they'd had on their journeys together. When you put yourself to the test like that, you develop respect for yourself.

Who knew? Perhaps when this entire project of starting a city is done, failure or success, he'll be changed even more. Change: that was life.

And they were still going to change the Dark Area, no matter how crazy it sounded. Evie's quote at least demonstrated that she was willing to listen to their ideas. Rinji laughed, "I promise it won't sound as crazy once we fully work out the plans. Rome wasn't built in a day." In fact, the steps of what they'd have to do first were carefully laid out in his head.

"After all, I do have some contacts that are probably more knowledgeable than me on this sort of thing. They kind of helped advise us. I'm sure they'd even be here helping us if they weren't already busy with their own lives," he explained. Amelie would know who they were.

Of course, he knew what at least one of them would say in this situation: an excellent opportunity to expand the workforce. The thought of expanding their team was bitter and sweet; he and Amelie's special relationship in building the city would be intruded upon, but they'd be magnitudes closer to their goal.

At least two of these humans seemed like decent picks, although the other was somewhat reluctant whereas her partner was all too eager. The latter of which was unsettling. He'd been suspecting it, but could a small digimon so eager to work at the click of a finger really pull through on the weight of that decision?

Amelie, being the ever constant mediator, was the first to step in and talk. Oh dear, he knew what that expression and tone of voice meant. She was going to do the Terms & Conditions speech. Just like she'd done to him, so long ago.

"That brings back memories," he said quietly when she was done. "She said something similar like that to me once, but it was about something else." Had it really been so long ago? Good thing he was a stubborn 'mon.

Nostalgia over, he abruptly continued. "Amy is right about this being a serious project though. For now it's as simple as blasting some DexDorugamon into next week, but after... well, we have to sort out the infrastructure and agriculture." For that, he did have some plans and a certain person who could help in mind. But that was information for people he could trust. Yet he did believe that Amelie might've been expecting too much, too soon. These people were still effectively strangers.

They'd only known each other for... what, fifteen minutes?

He turned to her. "Amy, I don't think we can expect them to be that enthusiastic right away. How about for now we just let them help us fight off the feral digimon? If they decide they really want to help us, and we all mesh well personality-wise, then we can accept them permanently."

Normally he'd dislike telling others what to do, but this was a group effort for a shared goal. It wasn't like he was attempting to undermine her, far from it. A gradual integration process was required. A gentle approach. Then they could separate the wheat from the chaff.

He almost had to shake off the final thought. That was cold-hearted. Other people's personalities must've been rubbing off on him. It was starting to get disturbing. Maybe he shouldn't have been spending so much time around certain characters...

Rinji continued, his thoughts having passed by in only a moment. "This isn't really the sort of decision you make without a good night's sleep, at least. So this would be a good trial period, wouldn't it? We can get to know them better, too. A job's only as good as the people you work with." With his little sales pitch finished, which honestly wasn't as inspiring as it could've been, he turned back to the new potential 'recruits'.

"How's that sound to you guys? You don't get to make the decision to sell your souls right away." The last part was said in good humour and a gentle smile, although maybe they'd be more than a shred of truth to the phrase.

"In the mean time... even if you decide it's not for you, you get to fit in some target practice. It's always safer to train with friends." The centipede got off from the ground, as he had been sitting. "Want to start now?"

    Evie had to admit, she had no idea what DexDorugamon were! Or anything about the Dark Area. Or what Luminas was. Or much, when it came to the whole Digital World thing! But, what she did know? There was the opportunity to be part of building a city that may actually place impact on this world, and she had the chance to make sure her name was one of those that had assisted in the creation of it! Were there benefits to such a thing? Perhaps, it would only result in minor bragging rights, but anything was a step forward!

    And if the city failed to be built? At least the teen would have learned a few things in the process.

    She'd let everyone else discuss the subject, slowly consuming her stew while listening. After all, if it seemed her mouth was full, her silence wouldn't be noted as off. "One could say that Rome's still being built," she hummed, in a somewhat joking manner, before returning to her food and silence.

    Elsie had managed to remain quiet too, red eyes flickering to look toward Anzu. Did she know they were racing? Judging from the speed of her consumption, the answer was also yes. After Anzu's focus was stolen by the topic, the blonde took the opportunity to completely finish her food, before looking at the duo that had intent of starting this project. "Evie can probably help with that infrawhatever. City building. Thing. She's pretty good at learning about stuff and, uh, applying it." And what was Elsie good at?

    Considering her empty bowl, eating seemed to be one of Elsie's strong suits! "Doubt we need a night of sleep to think on it though. If Eve's offering, it means she already thought it all through. I get what'cha mean though. We can totally bond over target practice." In fact, that sounded kind of fun!

    But, considering the twins still didn't know what in the Digital World a DexDorugamon looked like, it was also slightly concerning!

Rinji nodded to Amelie. "It's more that..." He rephrased his words. "I was just a bit worried you'd put them off," he admitted with a light-hearted smile. Sometimes Amelie's passion could come off a tad strong. On the other end of the spectrum, he could come off as somewhat of a push-over. Or maybe even too lax.

In a roundabout way, they covered each other's weaknesses.

Still, Amelie was an eloquent and strong-willed speaker. And he much preferred to let her do the talking. Now that they were on board, the others would follow her.

Hearing her mention the antics of both Elsie and Anzu did make him pause and stare. Then he let out a loose laugh. They had some character, didn't they? Maybe it was hoping for too much, but with these extra 'apprentices' on board, things might be more fun.

While they waited for the two to hand their bowls over, Rinji didn't even blink an eye at the underground proposal. They'd discussed this together beforehand. At first the idea had surprised him, but afterwards it became the obvious superior choice.

"I'm ready." Rinji said gently after Amelie had finished. He made sure to address the others too. "Building a city underground provides us with a lot of benefits as well. We'll be protected from the elements and from being discovered too early. And we can still expand in all three directions without worrying about encroaching or claiming new land. A bit like Hardware Den."

There was also probably a reason why the DexDorugamon were nesting underground too.

"We definitely pinpointed the spot to this area, which was why we were hanging around here. So... let's get digging!" With a tilt of his head, the Scolomon smiled. For such a dark, depressing region, it was a very cheery gesture. 

After backing up a few meters, Rinji gently glowed red again. The reason why he'd moved away became apparent as he began growing in size. At about 5 metres wide and who knew how long, it was a sensible decision. The Mukademon appeared to weave and wave his antennae over the ground, until he turned his head to a particular spot, signalling that he'd found something with his senses.

"The earth smells softest here," he growled, voice once again far deeper than his rookie form. 

    For some of the prospective members, such as Elsie, moderation to the terms and conditions may have been desirable! But, it didn't really matter, since she had been far too focused on inhaling her food instead! And because Evie was joining anyway, and Elsie wasn't just going to let her sister join in on a project without her!

    "Right, uh," Elsie drew out, with an awkward pause. Holding the bowl out, the teen flashed a half-grin, "here you go. Thanks, again!" At least there were some manners in there!

    Still, they had to move onto the next part soon enough! Leaving the surface of the Dark Area behind! Trying to play off the interest in the Scolomon's sudden change of appearance as more of interest in assisting, Evie leaned forward a bit. "Admittedly, I'm not the best at digging," she stated, the pitch of her voice raising slightly in a display of shyness. Ah, if only she had a bit more experience under her belt! Then, maybe, she would have unlocked a form that would have been designed more for such a thing!

    Amelie and Rinji wouldn't happen to have some shovels tucked away somewhere, would they?

    Elsie remained as distracted as ever, instead completely focusing on the Mukademon. "Hey, Rinji. Has anyone ever told you that you're, like, the cutest 'creepy' looking thing ever?" Was that a compliment? The way that the red eyed girl had inquired seemed genuine enough that it hopefully wouldn't prove to be offensive! "Like, centipedes are kind of creepy, but I kind of want to hug you."

    "Please don't hug someone you've just met," her twin was quick to request. It was incredibly rude, after all! And, some people didn't like hugs! Rinji could be one of those!

    "I didn't say I was gonna! I said I wanted to!" Close enough!

    Though, in all fairness, that purple bean with wings looked pretty huggable too!

    Evie let out a small sigh, trying not to let her sibling derail the plans too much with her strange thoughts. After all, the green eyed twin was far more interested in hearing a potential estimate for any aggressive company!

Digivolving was always a strange process, considering the leaps in maturation that occurred from it. Though Rinji was now technically the human equivalent of an adult, Elsie's comment was somewhat humbling.

With no particular memory of ever being called cute springing to mind, his reply came out surprisingly bashfully. "Um, I don't... think so?" A confused expression laid itself on his face. The compliment was a sort of double-edged sword, though the centipede was well used to being thought of as creepy by now.

In fact, his antennae waved thoughtfully at Evie's own apparent interest in the digging site. Had she also been... checking him? It was doubtful, considering her reserved and logical manner, especially in contrast to Elsie. Though it didn't mean she couldn't have a sense of curiosity.

Despite the eerie sense of being studied under a microscope, the extra positive attention from Amelie and the twins both, were starting to have an effect. Amelie's comment about frizzy hair didn't escape him, either.

He laughed cheerily. "I'll try not to zap you if you do want a hug." With that, it was clear that he didn't really mind being hugged. "But I'll take no responsibility for any new resulting hairstyles." The Mukademon grinned, flashing a display of pointed white teeth. This form was far more powerful than his rookie form, enough to bring a whole new meaning to the words 'bug zapper'.

After patiently waiting for Amelie to finish her explanation of their digging plan, Rinji sprung to life at her command. His antennae swept back and his forelimbs began the rapid scraping frenzy that was an insect raring to dig. As the first set of legs broke up the earth, the ones to the back worked to pull them away. The process was so efficient that two separate mounds of loose dirt and stones, utterly symmetrical, piled up beside both flanks of his body.

The hole began to curve down into an upside-down 'J' shape, with Rinji's long body following into it. With his front half disappeared into the ground, the upwards movement of dirt began to resemble a chaotic conveyor belt of legs and loose earth. 

Soon enough, just his tail end stuck out from the hole. Without warning, he suddenly, and fully, entered the tunnel, as if he'd dropped into an existing shaft. Looking down the hole would reveal only darkness.

Just half a minute later, the massive centipede poked his head out of the tunnel again to see his compatriots. "I found some sort of drop shaft, just slightly larger than I am. I used it to turn around," he explained briefly. He gave a brief glance to each member of their party. "I think it might be our quarry, but it's a bit caved-in. It's not anything I can't dig through, though." 

Rinji paused, somewhat hesitantly. "If you're all alright with it, I can take you down on my head while I dig." If anything, it was a bit of an awkward suggestion, but it was the most efficient way he could think of to bring everyone down while keeping them out of the way of his digging. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally hurt anybody.

    It was pretty nice that Rinji and his partner were surprisingly accepting of Elsie's feelings toward the insect-mon! In fact, it seemed like it was definitely keeping everyone's moods chipper! Then again, who didn't like to be complimented about being cute? On top of that, it seemed that Elsie was given the green light to give him a hug! It wasn't like she was worried about her hair, anyway!

"Maybe you should wait until there's less chance of static," Evie commented, quick to stop her sister from a hair disaster. "I'm the one that will have to brush all the knots out later, if her hair gets messed up." Buzzkill? A bit. But Evie wanted to explain her reasoning to not hug the bug! "Maybe after all the digging is done?" Seemed like a fair suggestion! And, it prevented Elsie from making any knots she'd accumulate any worse!

    Puffing her cheeks a bit, the red-eyed sister decided to agree. "Fiiiine. Can I hug you afterward, Rinji?" After all, Elsie really didn't want to be left with knotted hair if Evie decided not to help her take care of it! "It might be too early in the day for a new hairdo anyway," she joked, cracking a smile.

    Though, Akemi's audible wondering hadn't gone unnoticed! Smile soon shifted to a grin, as Elsie looked toward her, "we could group-hug Rinji and find out together!" Bad suggestion! Bad!

    While Elsie debated how helpful her own form was for digging, it seemed Rinji was already working away fast enough that he really didn't need any help! So, instead, she watched with the rest of the group until he poked his head back up! "Sure, sounds fun," she stated to the suggestion that was offered. After all, it wasn't like she wanted to walk directly behind someone who was digging or anything!

    Evie seemed to be thinking similarly, as it didn't seem there was any easier method of travel! "Alright," the blonde responded, after a second of thought. Hopefully having passengers wouldn't cause Rinji any stress or anything!

It seemed everyone was in agreement; a small relief, considering claustrophobia wasn't an uncommon fear.

Because things were about to get dark. And cramped. Still, Rinji dutifully lowered his head for his human compatriots. "All aboard," the Mukademon repeated after Amelie with just a small tinge of good humour. It helped to keep things light, a job much easier with the enthusiasm of Anzu and Elsie.

Speaking of which... "Well... " He started awkwardly, "this is the chance to hug me, if you still want to." Though wilfully or not, they'd still technically have to hug him just to hold on, even if it was just grabbing onto the base of his antennae.

What was waiting at the deep end of the drop shaft was starting to edge on Rinji's mind. It was a difficult location to turn around in, let alone fight. There again, there was a good chance it'd widen out into some sort of mining complex where they'd be more manoeuvrability.

His fears somewhat settled, he prepared to re-enter the tunnel by turning around whilst on the surface. "Going down." With that, the centipede plunged back into the earthy depths. Where what would be a perilous drop from the entrance tunnel to the drop shaft's floor was simply a slanted, vertical crevice for the Mukademon to slink down through.

"Here it is," he said, stopping abruptly. "I'm not sure if you can see, but there's dirt and some rocks blocking it. I'm going to start digging now." His voice was terse, but he began digging anyway, mindful of the fact he now had passengers on his head.

Although a dark thought crossed his mind... that, as the one digging, the 'cave-in' seemed suspiciously purposeful.

The worrying thought was interrupted. He'd broken through. He paused, hit by an overwhelming sensation. "I can smell them," he said. In fact, he'd be surprised if the humans couldn't. "They stink."

Of course, where they were was deeper into the drop shaft. And underground, it was surprisingly warm. Which didn't help the suffering Mukademon all that much. He seemed to slacken, sickened by the odour.

Then he sprang to life, raised his head a few meters from the ground and fired a weak Incinerate Laser into the darkness. Though it was risky, the humans on his head were safe from the beam. It lit up the underground like a firework.

They weren't in a drop shaft anymore. They were in a dome-shaped , football stadium sized cave. And attached to walls and ceiling were a nest of DexDorugamon. Or maybe more accurately... a swarm. 

"Nobody make a sound," Rinji whispered to the group as the beam fizzled out and plunged them back into darkness. He didn't know why the dragons were in such a deep sleep, but as far as he was concerned, anything could wake them up.