An Uncertain Arrival [KIZNA]

Things had been relatively peaceful in Kenny and Skadi's life for a while now. And, going into the new year, especially since the first anniversary of their entrance into KIZNA was starting to rear its not-quite ugly head, they knew that a whole set of new challenges would await them in the year ahead.

So days like these were plenty welcomed for the both of them, especially for Kenny, as he happily took advantage of the time distillation to ready himself for the university entrance exams. The cool air and the welcoming layout of Ys put their minds at ease, and, especially after a long gruelling mission, helped them to relax.

Of course, days like these still warranted their own fair share of surprises; take, for example, as Kenny and Skadi were out to grab some lunch. Nothing much. Everyone did need to eat after all. But as they walked, they could hear a voice mutter in worry near them, coming from the benches, making them stop and turn towards the source; it was a anxious looking Lopmon, just sitting on a bench and fidgeting about.

Skadi scratched her chin for a moment as she glanced at them, "That guy over there looks a little nervous. Maybe he got lost or something."

Kenny gave a quiet, self-aware chuckle, "I don't blame him. I remember when we first came here, I thought we would've been up shit creek without a paddle without Ryouta and Valt guiding us, honestly. You think we should we go help him?" After all, it just wouldn't be right to let someone who looked lost wallow in his own fears. It was of KIZNA members to help others; camaraderie was important, after all.

"Why not?" Skadi just shrugged, "He seems like a nice guy. And besides, I'm always open for a few new friends around here." Kenny just let out another chuckle, and soon, the two were close up towards the lost, fidgeting Lopmon on the bench in a matter of a few moments, Skadi happily keeping pace up with Kenny, as per usual, and even giving a friendly wave towards the Lopmon as she did.

Once they finally approached him, Kenny was first to speak, as he leaned down to get to the Lopmon's level, as Skadi gave the Lopmon a kind, friendly smile, "Are you OK, man? You look a little lost and confused. We can help you if you want." Upon finishing, Skadi nodded at him eagerly. Kenny's KIZNA badge could be seen glistening in the bright sunlight up above. It made do for days he didn't need to wear his uniform on casual days like this.

Well, that was quite the surprise. It seemed that Lopmon looked pretty keen on joining KIZNA himself. At first, Kenny and Skadi found themselves raising their eyebrows in surprise for a brief moment, but they were willing to listen to him explain himself and his reasons for wanting to join, taking in everything what he had to say. Interestingly, while he seemed to remember that he had past lives to begin with, they were basically fuzzy at best. But why though?

After the Lopmon finished his little speech, Kenny just smiled, "I'm Kenny, and that little Valaismon down there is my partner, Skadi." He gestured to the happily waving sheep Digimon, before lightly patting Malik on the head, "And don't worry about it. I tend to ramble a little too much for my own good, too. You're with friends here, man."

After letting out a light chuckle, he continued, "So, about joining KIZNA... We're more primarily focused on research and exploration, so expect quite a bit of walking and excersize for our team missions, for one. We tend to do that a lot." 

Skadi quietly gave Kenny a little nudge, "Of course, I could always digivolve to my Champion form and save you quite the trouble, you know." She winked at the both of them knowingly.

"I know, Skadi. I know." He lightly teased as he ruffled the giggling sheep's hair, before turning back to Malik, "Of course, we do have 3 divisions that could put any of your skills to good use. The Assault and Combat Division is mainly reserved for the more battle hardened members who help defend Ys and the Digital World when danger arises. The Research and Exploration Division is more or less exactly what it says in the title, while Craftsmanship and Development members are able to craft useful artifacts to help the team, among other things."

"...sorry, I just rambled off myself again," Kenny lightly joked as he rubbed the back of his neck, "So, what are your skills, exactly, Malik?" He finished off as Skadi tilted her head curiously.

Both Kenny and Skadi stood there, listening to Malik figure his out and determine his 3 options; before rationalising that Craftsmanship would be his strong point. And honestly? For someone willing to learn and develop their own craft, it just felt right, "Yeah, that does sound like a good idea, honestly." Kenny noted with interest, "It could easily be a good way for a learner like you to help develop your skills. After all, some people do learn a lot better by being a little more hands on, if you ask me." He chuckled a little. He was speaking from experience here; he honestly did much better when he learnt to do things directly rather than simply listening.

The mention of the two Meis, however, made Skadi's ears twitch a bit, and immediately, memories flooded back to Kenny. Honestly, that day on the beach taught him and Skadi a lot of valuable lessons, including how he had to conduct himself a little better, word himself a little better, and most importantly, that, as a Tamer, he was just as important in his bond with Skadi as his partner as she was to him.

It still lingered in his mind to this very day.

Still, he had to keep that in his head for now, and his focus lay more onto answering Malik's concerns, "Yeah, we can take you for an interview today in the Sanction Unionis." He said as he got up, and gestured the Lopmon to follow, "Honestly, if we could list off all the KIZNA members we know of, we'd be here all day; I'd think we'd be better off focusing on trying to meet up with at least some of the head honchos, at least."

As they walked along, Skadi turned to Malik and smiled at him excitedly, "My papa Hikaru is the king of Ys! He helps keep the city up and running with his tamer, Yuuki. Unfortunately, they're very busy individuals a lot of the time, considering the heavy responsibilities they both need to deal with. Still, hopefully someday you'll get to meet him!"

There was something about Malik that resonated within Kenny as he saw him look around the city on the way there. It felt like only yesterday when he and Skadi were the newbies being led around the city by a couple of way more experienced individuals. Now here they were, following in Ryouta and Valt's footsteps as they led Malik onto the Sanctuarium Unionis building for his faithful interview.

The tamer briefly rubbed his eyes; did he see that the Lopmon's legs shaking for a moment? He and Skadi stopped in place for a brief moment, with the tamer simply calling out to him to try and snap the Lopmon out of what seemed to be a trance, "Malik! You OK, man?" Once he caught up with the rest of the group, they could proceed as normal.

It was only natural to be nervous, after all.

Skadi raised a little eyebrow in surprise as she listened to Malik explain about his own parents - or rather, the lack of them. But on his concerns about her papa? She merely waved a hand dismissively to him, "Don't worry about it. Papa knows I can take care of myself. He loves me and trusts that I can always be relied upon to do the right thing. Isn't that right, Kenny?"

Kenny chuckled a little bit in response as he turned his head to the both of them, "Most of the time, anyways. Need, I remind you that you often keep making crazy bets with Valt behind my back. Without my permission, mind you." He lightly teased, ruffling the Valaismon's hair, "I prefer my clothes and your wool clean, thank you very much." 

"Aw, you're no fun, Kenny!" Skadi jokingly pouted, before turning back to her Lopmon companion, "Kenny can be a bit of a spoilsport sometimes, Malik. Don't worry about him."

"I heard that!" Kenny was quick to cry foul. Before he could continue further, the group would find themselves at the foot of the Sanctuarium Unionis, or at least, one of the two majestic ebony conjoined buildings that both loomed over the three below them, glistening in the sun gloriously. Their location.

Perfect.

"Well, looks like we're here!" Kenny smiled, looking up at his home. As he put his hand on the door, he turned over to Malik, "You coming in, man?" A look of concern started to spread across his face as he heard the Lopmon mutter worryingly under his breath. Was he nervous or anything? Especially since he had been going it alone so far?

Skadi just lightly pat his back, "Don't worry, Malik. You'll be fine. Just be yourself, I'm sure they'll like you for who you are." Her gentle tone complimented that reassuring remark to the Lopmon. Would it be enough to ease his worries, only time would tell. But they knew Malik would knock it out of the park. He had to.

They did have faith in him, after all.

In that moment, a shadow fell over them. Not a very big one, but if they looked upward, they would see a small furry dragon gliding down to their position. His fur was mostly purple, but for white on his underside and paws. His eyes, wings and scarf were yellow, and his sleeveless jacket bearing the KIZNA sigil on its back was red. Lastly his tail-tip resembled something of a war-hammer.

In the next few seconds, the figure would land near them on his hind legs, standing upright, albeit at a small height of 4'1". He smiled at them.

"Gudday there! I'm Bezil, one of the admins of KIZNA. Nice to meet you." he said brightly to Malik, speaking with a youthful Australian accent. He was already friends with Kenny and Skadi, so since he saw them speaking pleasantly to this new person, he assumed they were a good one.

"Heya, Kenny, Skadi, sorry I'm a bit late, was just finishing reading a story to our little brother Lewis." he explained to them, then turned back to the Lopmon. "So, what brings you here, mate? Anything we can help you with?"

If the Lopmon was here to hire their services for exploration, he'd be delighted to accept. He didn't yet know that Malik intended to join them, or indeed, what any of his intentions were. But he wanted to be helpful to him as long as he intended to be peaceful.

He relaxed a little bit as Kenny began to reassure him, but he froze up again when he saw the shadow overhead slowly descend on the group. He was panicked, but soon the friendly face of a Gumdramon greeted the group in an equally friendly tone. He watched Skadi excitedly go for a hug as Kenny pat his head. Bezil was his name, apparently, and was obviously good friends with the two.

Malik gave an awkward little wave towards Bezil as he was introduced "Y-yes. Hello." He said. He hesitated, but he was pat on the back by Skadi and stepped forward a little bit. "I-It's very nice to meet you, Bezil. My name...i-is Malik and I'm h-here to join KIZNA. I can't promise I'll be of m-much help but I'm more than willing to...t-to try." Poor thing was absolutely paralyzed with nerves.

"I'm a fast learner and I l-love to read. I'd like to help with research and d-development in your crafting division. A-at least once I prove myself, that is. I'll work as hard as I can to figure out the ins and outs of w-working here, I promise that." He gave an awkward salute with his usual stone-faced expression, but his legs were trembling from how nervous he was.

He let out a deep sigh "I-I'm sorry. I'm not used to t-talking with people l-like this. I hope it isn't a b-bother." He said as he worried he might have been more formal than was really necessary. "S-still my point stands and I will do everything I can to fit in!"

It was clear that there was no love lost between the tamer/Digimon duo, and the fuzz-covered drake. If at the very least, it was enough to telegraph to Malik that Bezil was nowhere close to being a malicious threat. The 'big sis' compliment was enough for Skadi to giggle uncontrollably and nuzzle Bezil affectionately, until Kenny went to pry her gently from the Gumdramon before it just became overkill.

With introductions out of the way and Malik stepping up to the plate to propose to Bezil about joining the team, all Kenny and Skadi could do was watch without interrupting either. Skadi, however, would quickly find her attention gravitate towards Malik as he stuttered his way through his introduction. Her normally perky ears would slowly start to fall limp as she twiddled her chubby fingers, "Poor kid." She whispered.

Kenny lightly bit his lip, "He kinda reminds me of me when we first started out here, honestly." He muttered, also glancing at the shaking Lopmon, "Y'know, worrying about how badly he thinks he's going to fail and embarrass himself and shit. That's not fun. I wish I could do something to help calm his nerves somehow. If you ask me, Bezil's already knocking it out of the park." After all, Bezil didn't earn the title of admin by just sitting on his hands and waiting for the opportunity to come knocking, and the two would nod to Malik to help hammer the Gumdramon's words in just a little more as soon as he finished.

Casually shuffling his hands into his pockets as Bezil addressed the two now, Kenny's eyes widened a little in surprise, before he rubbed the back of his head with a chuckle, "Oh, yeah! The expedition. We were so busy trying to help Malik I almost forgot about that it was today... wait... Malik..."

His eyes drifted over to Malik once more. He did say he loved to learn, right? And they did bring up that some people did learn a lot better when they up and got their hands deep and dirty into the nitty-gritty of things. Slowly but surely, as everything started to click together perfectly in his head, a knowing smile grew on Kenny's face; a little titbit that wasn't lost on Skadi too easily.

"Kenny, what're you thinking?" She tilted her head up towards Kenny with a hint of curiosity. One subtle ear twitch later, and a similar smile would follow suit upon the sheep-goat's face. He knew what to do here. She knew what he had in mind. It would be bloody perfect for someone willing to be as so hands-on (or, giant floppy ears-on) like Malik.

"Hey Malik," Kenny shot a glance over to the worrywart Lopmon, "Why don't you join us on the expedition today? It could be a good chance to show us what you can really do. After all, like I said earlier, some people are just better learners hands on. Hell, who knows? You might even be able to blow us away, too! Sound good to you guys?"

Skadi gave an all-too eager nod to both Malik and Kenny, throwing an arm around his shoulders, "So what do you say? You want to join us on the expedition?" She winked.

Stifling a chuckle, Kenny turned back to Bezil, "Don't worry, we got ourselves packed earlier."