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Ninety Percent Timidity (Rebecca)
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Post by Alan Pantell on Oct 16, 2018 0:38:07 GMT
Alan stepped out of the train station, and into the busy square above. Here it is, he thought to himself, just like in the games.
He already knew that any Japanese developers took care to make environments as accurate to the real versions as possible. Still, it was almost eerie. He had never been to the square before, but he recognized almost all of it. The idea was funny to him: even after all he had been through, this still felt "unreal" to him. Though the square was busy, it wasn't quite as busy as usual. He was able to find a seat near the Hachiko statue and place his backpack on his lap, facing it towards him. That way, he was better able to hear Levi speak to him.
"I thought we agreed we wouldn't be doing the bag thing again."
In response, Alan rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "I was being optimistic, but... at the moment, it's remains our only option. Sorry."
He took a minute to admire the surrounding scenery, but found himself unable to fully enjoy it, with everything that was weighing his mind down at the time. In an attempt to relax and gather his thoughts, he put his head back, and breathed out slowly.
"Still worried?" asked Levi, audible concern in his voice.
"What am I gonna do about this? We've only got a few more nights left in that hotel, and after that, I've got a flight booked. For one. I seriously doubt you're making it through security."
"You've got that Digi-port, right? Can't you drop me off in the Digital World, and pick me up afterwards? You can even use it to come back here whenever you want once you're home!"
"Levi, remind me what the time conversion is between the human and digital worlds. You'd be stuck there alone for weeks, at least! Plus... I don't want this to be about secrecy. I don't want to have to sneak out all the time. I've... found a good place for me here. If I can just convince my parents that I'm staying safe, I'll be willing to go back once we have a Digi-port that can bring other people. That would at least make things a bit easier."
Alan took out his phone, and opened the messaging app. He stared at the empty messaging box. What do I even say? Eventually, he closed the app, and put his phone back into his pocket. I've still got a few days before I have to worry about this. Maybe if I wait until I miss my flight, it'll make it harder for them to refuse.
Levi hated seeing Alan like this. "Alan... do you miss them? Your family?"
Alan shook his head slowly. "That's the thing, Levi... I don't. Nothing against them, I just don't. Somehow, I doubt they feel the same way."
After staring at the ground for a few seconds longer, Alan decided to shake himself back to the present, forcing his demeanor back into cheeriness. "But let's not think about that stuff for now, right? One way or another, we're both here to enjoy ourselves! Whaddaya wanna do? …Next to getting out of the bag, of course."
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2018 1:05:03 GMT
Man, I wish I could be White Wolf everywhere... it would sure make walking around the city a lot better. This is what a young teenage girl named Rebecca Story thought as she traversed through Hachiko Square. Accompanying her were her two best friends, a blonde man named August, and a white-haired man named Gabe. Unbeknownst to anyone, these two were actually her Digimon, Agumon and Gabumon respectively.
"Where do you wish to go today, Rebecca?" Gabe asked her, noticing that she was about to go full-on panic in front of all these people.
"Well, I think we should go to the market. My grandmother needs some ingredients for dinner tonight. You both enjoy spicy curry, don't you?"
"Spicy curry?! Hell yes!" August cheered. Spicy food was his jam.
"I do not know... spicy things usually upset my stomach."
"O-Oh... well, uh... we could pick up something for you too, Gabe."
As they were talking, all three of them paused as their eyes widened. The group then began walking backwards and stopped beside an American boy sitting down, looking at him with confusion. Was he... was he talking to his backpack?
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Post by Alan Pantell on Oct 16, 2018 1:34:32 GMT
Levi spoke again in reply to Alan's last question. "Look, I know I don't need to tell you how I feel about the backpack thing, but as long as I'm in here, there's nothing I can really DO. I can't even see anything. But I understand. I'm not mad at you. Just do what you feel like for now. It's not like a V-Pet is that expensive."
Alan thought about this for a moment. "Yeah," he said, "you're right. It won't be that much lo-"
In the corner of his eye, he swore he could have seen some people staring, so he moved his head to check. Yep. They were staring. It didn't take a genius to know what they were wondering, so he looked them straight in the eyes, and gave them their answer:
"Yes. I am talking to this backpack." He gently placed his hand on top of his backpack as he said this to emphasize his point.
Alan wasn't even embarrassed. If others wanted to think we was plain weird, they'd be right. And if someone figured him out, well, it at least served as an excellent conversation-starter.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2018 1:58:55 GMT
Not only was the American boy speaking to his backpack...
THE BACKPACK WAS TALKING BACK TO HIM!
Not only that, but August and Gabe were detecting a very strong Digimon signature. It was obvious that this kid was trying to hide a Digimon in public. Emphasis on the word "trying."
Rebecca would look back and forth, wondering if anyone was watching the group. When she was positive they weren't being watched, Rebecca would reach into her schoolbag and pull out a yellow and white D-3 Digivice. She smiled a little bit, trying to let the kid know that she was a friend... or at least, she would be, if she weren't so unsure of herself.
"You really should invest in a holosuit or a V-Pet," Gabe tells the boy.
"What kind of Digimon is horrifically stuffed into your tiny backpack right now?" August blatantly asked, earning looks from Rebecca and Gabe.
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Post by Alan Pantell on Oct 16, 2018 2:41:06 GMT
When the girl showed him her Digivice, Alan smiled and showed her his: another D-3, blue, white, and gold. He did this without hesitation. Digivices didn't exactly look all that out-of-place in Tokyo. He stood up, putting his backpack back on.
"Ha, I know, I know... I haven't done that much shopping," said Alan, responding to the white-haired man's advice.
As for the blonde man's question, he couldn't help but laugh, albeit with a tinge of sadness.
It is pretty horrific, isn't it?
Though he laughed, in truth, Alan had immense respect for those who were willing to ask questions so bluntly. Oftentimes, he would focus too hard on not sounding rude, and it would end up stifling his ability to get his points across. He returned the frankness in kind.
"That would be Veemon. Beyond that, if you're not in a rush to get anywhere, I'm sure we would both prefer that we take this conversation somewhere... safe?"
Only then did it occur to Alan that the first time this had happened, he had been in a much more convenient location, much closer to a method of escaping from the public eye.
"Hmm... is there really anywhere that can be considered 'safe' nearby? Oh, before I forget: I'm Alan. I mean, I won't be forgetting my name anytime soon, but, I might have forgotten to introduce... you know."
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2018 2:59:19 GMT
Rebecca had a good feeling about this guy. He seemed very similar to herself, which was very anti-social and awkward and afraid of any confrontation. Which was a wonder how they were both overcoming that fear right now.
Well, Rebecca had some experience in that regard as White Wolf, but that was beside the point.
"Well, I at least got some holosuits for the twins here," Rebecca states. She immediately stopped smiling and stepped back, as if realizing what she was doing.
Gabe laughed. "If you wish to know I am a Gabumon. My brother here is an Agumon. You know what those species are, correct?"
The American then began to laugh at what August had said, revealing that the Digimon inside was a Veemon. Rebecca decided to pull out her D-Terminal and begin to scan the backpack for information on Veemon.
"Our partner's name is Rebecca, by the way," August said. "Also, I think there's some alleyway or dark corner of somethin' for us to... y'know... actually talk."
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Post by Alan Pantell on Oct 16, 2018 4:14:06 GMT
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Rebecca, Agumon, Gabumon." Alan gave a slight bow to each of the three as he said their names, both for politeness, and because he felt like it at the time.
"To be honest, although I've seen all kinds of Digimon at this point, most of 'em I haven't been introduced to by name."
Alan gave another look to their surroundings.
"Well, if what little I know about this area from video games reflects real life at all, there should be some seedy alleyways in.... that direction." He started walking to the place he had known as "Central Street."
Back alleys are common in this city, but the issue was finding one that didn't seem to be getting any traffic. Eventually, Alan managed to find a suitable location that hid them from any passerby.
"Alright.... I'd like you three to meet Levi."
A Veemon wearing a grey ivy cap appeared over Alan's left shoulder, with an exaggerated gasp for air.
"H... hey, Levi, I know it's cramped in there, but I wasn't suffocating y-"
"Oh, lighten up, it was a joke!" said Levi, giving him a rough pet on the head, moving Alan's baseball cap around somewhat. Alan's face scrunched up a little in reaction. Levi then turned to greet the trio of new acquaintances. "What's up? Hey, Alan, wake up!" He tapped Alan, who was suddenly being distant, to bring him back to reality.
"O... oh!" Alan adjusted his hat and picked his head back up.
"Don't mind my friend here! He loses focus whenever I show him affection! It's really funny!"
"Wait, where did that come from!? Um, sorry about that, but... I guess that's our friendship in a nutshell, heh..."
Alan was burning bright red at this point, but still attempted to keep the rest of his composure in front of yet another Tamer.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2018 15:51:21 GMT
"You will have to tell us of your adventures sometime then," Gabe responds to Alan. "... you know, there have been a lot of Americans coming into contact with Digimon here."
"Why can't people stay where they came from?" August rudely asked, earning more glares from Rebecca and Gabe. He would then say that he knew the area from video games, which... kind of miffed Rebecca a little bit.
"I... I don't know if... well..." she tried to say, but gave up and just followed Alan anyways. He eventually led them to some alleyway that was hidden from public view. From there, Alan lets Levi the Veemon out, and the twins turn off their holosuits, becoming Agumon and Gabumon.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Levi," Gabumon says as he extends a hand towards him.
"WAAAAAUGH!" A scream suddenly rang through everyone's ears, followed up by a loud "THUD" sound. Agumon turned around to see... another human? He couldn't detect any Digimon in the area besides his brother and Levi.
The red-headed human slowly got up, rubbing his head in pain. "That's the last time I observe from this alleyway... I should start taking the rooftops instead."
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Post by Alan Pantell on Oct 16, 2018 16:37:27 GMT
Alan wasn't offended by August's comment. He simply raised an eyebrow and retorted with "That's a pretty hypocritical thing to say, Agumon."
"Of course I know that no depiction of the area in games is going to be one hundred percent accurate," Alan assured Rebecca as they walked, "but what it tells me isn't that there is definitely a suitable alleyway in that direction. It tells me that this general direction contains a place where we might find some suitable alleyways."
Leave it to you to over-justify everything you do, Alan. Nice.
Alan watched as Agumon and Gabumon revealed their true forms. All "d'aww"s were kept purely to his own thoughts. Yes, he believed he may have seen some like them walking around Terminus, but he wasn't sure.
"Same to you, Gabumon," said Levi, lowering himself from Alan's shoulder to extend a hand back. However, a deafening scream interrupted their handshake.
Oh, man, thought Alan, did I mess up for real this time? He was referring to the possibility that someone truly unrelated to Digimon may have stumbled upon them. I couldn't care less about keeping this secret, but who knows what kind of crazy government organizations would come after me?
To Alan's partial relief, the cause of the scream could have simply been the boy falling from... wherever he had been.
He stepped towards the newcomer, while Veemon tentatively stood back.
"Are... you all right?"
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2018 12:48:14 GMT
Agumon blushed a very visible red when his hypocrisy was called out on, causing Gabumon to laugh and Rebecca to turn around and giggle a little bit. "S-Shut up..." Agumon whimpered.
The handshake was indeed interrupted by a loud yell. The source of that yell was seemingly a teenage boy, getting up around some knocked over garbage cans. Well, at least the reason that he fell over was clear. Alan had asked the boy if he was alright, to which the boy immediately sprung up, all chipper.
"Oh yeah, I'm better than fine!" The boy says, smiling. "I'm new here so I was just observing all the-" The boy was interrupted by himself when he saw the three Digimon standing there.
"Well this is... problematic," Gabumon said as he gulped. The reaction they got next was not what they were expecting...
"No way! Other Digimon!" The boy cheered. He would immediately turn off his holosuit and turn into a mammalian creature with a red cap and metal claws. "See?! I'm a Digimon too!"
This revelation in turn stunned Rebecca and the Digimon, to the point where all three of them fell over as if they were in an anime.
"Why couldn't we sense him BEFORE?!"
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Post by Alan Pantell on Oct 17, 2018 18:59:47 GMT
Before Alan could begin to wonder what the boy meant by "other," he had already turned off his holosuit.
"H-WOAH!" shouted Alan, as he too was pushed back by the sheer force of the revelation. Thankfully, he was able to use his heels to prevent himself from falling for real, remembering that Levi was standing behind him.
I've met a few humans who turned out to be Tamers at this point, but now I'm seeing humans revealing themselves to be straight-up Digimon!
Alan examined this Digimon for a short time before reaching his verdict:
No way... this one's cute, too!
He knew better than to let this show on his face, though. At the moment, Levi was the only Digimon upon which he had permission to dote. Given how they had both acted in the days after they had first met, this was still rather surprising.
Alan turned to Levi to ask: "Were we supposed to be able to sense him before?" Levi shrugged, acknowledging that a lot of information, even that which was supposed to be common knowledge, remained lost on them.
"I'm Levi," said the Veemon, stepping towards the red-capped Digimon, "what's your name?" Levi began to raise a hand for a handshake as he said this, hesitating as he noticed the sharp metal claws on both of the Digimon's hands. Levi now stood one foot forward, one hand slowly rising, unsure whether to go through with the handshake.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2018 15:39:20 GMT
Chenjin sweatdropped after he witnessed the reactions to his reveal. "Um... did I do something wrong?"
"Oh no, little one, you're perfectly fine," Gabumon said to the little Gatchmon, patting his shoulder. "We were all just a little bit surprised. My name is Gabumon. The orange Digimon there is Agumon, and the human girl is Rebecca, our Tamer."
"I knew it! You guys are Tamers! You're the first Tamers I've seen ever since coming here!" Chenjin cheered, jumping up and down some more. The Veemon then introduced himself as Levi, extending a hand out to Chenjin, which he accepted. "My name's Sir Chenjin, but you can call me Chenjin, or Chen if you prefer."
"Yeah yeah, good to meet you Jen," Agumon groans, rolling his eyes. "Rebecca, weren't we supposed to be going to the grocery store for dinner tonight? I want that spicy curry."
Rebecca had forgotten all about what they were doing. She bowed to Agumon and apologized. "Sorry... yeah, we should be going. Put your holosuits, guys." Rebecca turned to the others. "You can join us too, if you want."
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Post by Alan Pantell on Oct 18, 2018 15:58:39 GMT
"Ah, yeah, sure, I'll come with." Alan looked around and patted his pockets before realizing that he wasn't actually looking for anything. "Erm… it's nice to meet you, Chen."
I really, really should get a holosuit sooner rather than later. I can't keep treating Levi like this.
"I... I guess it's back in the bag, Levi."
Levi climbed back into the bag without a complaint. Alan glanced over at Chenjin again, feeling that he should clarify:
"I'm not very experienced at being a Tamer. I don't have the equipment that others have for keeping their digimon partners from the public eye. So until I get some, I have to resort to this."
With that, Alan began to follow after the trio, catching up with a light jogging pace. "I don't think I've ever had spicy curry. I should get some supplies for myself while we're there," said Alan, as if he had access to the means with which to prepare a meal for himself.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2018 16:07:38 GMT
After Agumon, Gabumon and Chenjin put on their holosuits and Levi was back in the bag, the group was ready to set back off... with Rebecca tailing in the back behind everyone else. She still wasn't comfortable with new people.
Gabe heard Alan say that he didn't really have any access to some equipment that could help hide his Digimon. "You know, if you really wanted to, you could just dress Levi up in something like a hooded sweater. That way humans will think he's just a little human child. Just a suggestion, though."
August noticed something too: Alan and Rebecca would make a PERFECT couple. They both act awkward and self-conscious, it was like a match made in heaven! Too bad Rebecca was just tailing behind everyone else, otherwise August would've acted.
Before long the group reached a small grocery store, packed with everything a typical shopper needs. Rebecca had let everyone else walk in first, though, before going in herself.
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Post by Alan Pantell on Oct 18, 2018 16:51:43 GMT
"Huh. I suppose I have considered that, by maybe I just forgot to act on it. Thanks for the tip. Maybe I can stop by a clothing store at some point; I'll look for something small enough."
It was strange for Alan to be walking alongside the digimon. He would make frequent glances over his shoulder to make sure that was Rebecca was still there.
It's not a problem, I understand if she's not comfortable.
The reason that this was so awkward for Alan: he was usually the one who always trailed behind. He preferred to be able to see everyone else with whom he was in a group. Furthermore, the people in front tended to be more confident in where they were headed, and he liked keeping to his own thoughts, staring mostly at the ground, and following the shoes in front, making sure not to step on them.
Alan entered with the others as they reached the grocery store. "I'm sure there are some things I'd like to buy for myself here. Not sure how much I'd be wiling to carry around though- wait a minute."
He checked his wallet to make sure the Infini-Store was right where he had left it. Right. He had the Infini-Store. He had to be discrete when using it, but he had an Infini-Store. He may still have to worry about explaining his new digital-centric life to his parents, but that was almost negligible compared to just how worth it it was.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna just throw groceries in there while in plain sight."
You know... this thing would be terrifying in the hands of a shoplifter. Luckily, I'm not one of those.
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