Don't Fear The Reaper [Naoko] [Spirit Hunt]

The Angewomgnome nodded.
"Thank you. Again."

"What kinda test we talkin? Tell me, old man! I'd do anything to get Jiro back!"
Charon humphed at the "old man" comment, but did not say anything more about it.
"The test is simple. I must see if your soul can handle being inside a digital vessel. And if you can fight inside one. For this, I wish to engage you in combat. And I would like to ask Miss Titania if she was willing to trust me to help me out with this."
He gave Titania a hopeful look. Not a sign of intention of betrayal was found in those eyes. It was hard to believe that a demon lord could have such innocent eyes.

Charon gave Titania a gentle smile.
"Of course at an equivalent level. I wish to test her, not harm her."
Once Titania and Otohime stood next to each other, Charon nodded.
"What I want you to do? I ask you to forgive me...and to hold still."
He extended his hands, put them above the chests of human and Digimon, and then crossed his arms...
...and for a short moment, everything went black for the two. When they could see again, Titania felt significantly shorter, and Otohime felt strangely tall. Then, Otohime turned her head to the side...and looked at her own body next to her. She had somehow been transported into Titania's body. And Titania was now in Otohime's.
"A simple, temporary exchange of data. If I want to test how Otohime performs as a Digimon, I must make her one, and you are the only one here, Titania. I apologise for the confusion."
And Otohime sure was confused. She went "Whoa!", fell over, and degenerated Titania's body back to Rookie level.
"W-w-w-hat the heeeeeell?"

Charon chuckled as Otohime tumbled.
"Of course this is a fight between Rookies. I want this to be a test, not a fool's errand."
The Daemon was engulfed in a dark light, and his body seemed to shrink and twist. When the ling vanished, Charon had degenerated into a Tsukaimon. A Tsukaimon with a scar across one eye, just as his Daemon form had.
"I shall do battle in this form."
Even his voice had remained as deep and sonorous as it had been in his Daemon form.

Otohime, meanwhile, was slowly getting over the initial shock. She listened to Titania speaking from her body, as weird as it was that there was someone else in there.
"Oof, I'm tryin, I'm tryin!"
She managed to get back to her feet, and tried to make her wings work by thinking about it. Which worked. She flew. Right into a branch overhead. The many gnomes giggled at her plight.
"Aw shit...gotta focus!"
She seemed handy with the spear at least...as much as she was holding it like a baseball bat.

Otohime struggled with the spear.
"The fuck am I supposed to hold it like then? Like this??"
She proceeded to hold it like a javelin. Then she turned to the bean'd Charon.
"Whaaaa? He's all small and cute! I can't hurt tha-"
She promptly got tackled by the grizzled Tsukaimon.
"Focus. This is for Jiro's sake."
Being reminded of Jiro seemed to reignite Otohime's fighting spirit, as she grabbed the spear properly, and muttered to herself ""For Jiro's sake..."
She then looked up, determination glowing in her eyes.
"Alright, bring it, you oversized azuki bean!
Charon smiled.
"Now that's the spirit."

And so, the battle began. All the little gnomes gathered to watch, as Otohime tried her best to steer Titania's battle to hold her own against the Tsukaimon. While Naoko appeared to just watch, Titania coached the girl in her body, telling her what to do and what not. And while the girl was very clumsy at first, she eventually gained enough familiarity to actually land a few hits on the Tsukaimon. Of course, the Tsukaimon managed many more on her, but she never let those hold her back. Eventually, Charon stopped.
"Enough. That's plenty."
Otohime, who'd been mid-charge, tripped over and rolled in an attempt to stop herself.
Charon enveloped himself in black light, and returned to his daemon shape. Then he gently picked up Titania's body, put it on Otohime's body's shoulder, and quickly returned the girls to their respective bodies.
"There, now you are back to normal."
Otohime shook her own head.
"Uuuargh. Ok, so, how did I do, man???"
Charon looked her over, stroking his chin.
"Hmmm, your technique is amateurish, your strategic mind is nonexistent and you are clumsy..."
Otohime's face turned sour.
"...but I see definite potential in you, and the way you adapted was impressive. Plus, your tenacity is immense. Very well, you pass. You may use the Spirits."
Otohime looked at him, baffled. Then she smiled widely, and grabbed Naoko into the familiar bear hug.
"I did it! Holy shit! I did it!"

Otohime actually ruffled Titania's hair.
"Thanks fer letting me use your body! I owe ya one!"
But she then turned back towards Charon.
"Yeah, old man, what's happen now?"
Charon chuckled at Naoko's apology.
"Curiousity is a valuable trait, you should foster it, not apologise for it. As for what I will do now, I did mention I am a weaver of data."
He held out his hand, and the Jiro Gnome sat down. His shape began to distort, and he came undone, into an orange string of data.
"And as such, I shall weave data."
With his other hand, he made the two spirit totems come undone. Then, he closed his eyes, and moved them about, like a weaker working on a large carpet. Eventually, the strings of data reformed into two spirit totems: One resembling a Kazemon's with red hair and black armor, and another resembling a large, black insect.
"...the Human and Beast Spirit of Lightning, I see..."
And between the totems, a figure appeared. An orange Wormmon, with a brown beak. It was crying.
"Ryuko-san...I am back..."
With that, the Sprite Spirit Wormmon glomped Otohime, who immidiately embraced him, causing her to bawl her eyes out again. Charon chuckled.
"Ah, I do love a happy end. As for you two..."
He turned toward Naoko and Titania.
"...I wish to give you each a gift, as a token of appreciation that you trusted me. I know fully well that the history of my kind made suspicion a logical thing."
He waved his hand, and two items came flying: A golden sextant, encrusted with gems, and an old book.
"This sextant is for you, Titania, for allowing me to use your body for the test. I do not know if this came from the ship of your parents or not, but I feel it is apt for the Daughter of Sea and Sky."
The instrument landed before Titania. The book landed before Naoko. It flipped open...revealing old photos of her and Haru as children, in happier times.
"And to you, I give the gift of happy memories. Those, too, sometimes get lost and wash ashore here. See it as a thank-you for your loyalty to your friend."

Charon nodded at Titania, but looked concerned when he saw Naoko cry.
"Was...this not a good idea? I had hoped it would be a nice way to bring back happy memories...I apologise, I am not all that good at this sociality thing, I do not get many visitors, you see."
His face was one of sincere concern and slight embarrassment, a quite alien expression on the face of a Demon Lord.

As for Otohime, she was most delighted, to say the least. As the two Spirit Totems fused with her Digivice, changing its shape, she just hugged Jiro. She didn't even question that he was a Wormmon now. She only cared that he was back.
"Oh Jiro, I promise, I ain't ever gonna let you go!"

Charon did look relieved at what Titania said.
"Ah, I was most worried that my gift would hurt more than it would comfort. I do not get many guests, so sometimes I mess up still."
He scratched his head and tried to smile, which still looked intimidating due to his huge teeth.

The Angewognome landed back on Titania's head as the attention shifted to Jiro. Why he was a Wormmon now?
"Let him explain, himself."
"Eh? Oh, uh, well...this is my actual form. I...was only a Dracomon because my parents messed around with my data. Their goal was to create a dragon that could grow as fast as an insect. When I was destroyed, the only part of my that persisted was my original self, which Charon saved..."