Digimon Tamers (IC)

[Xylime]

It was a Saturday night in May, 2100 hours to be precise. A woman in a white lab coat hovered over a black-suited man, her glasses reflected the light of the computer screen. She pushed her frames up as she addressed the man. "Is everything ready?" The man gave a nod. "Everyone is in position and the data is in standby." The woman smirked to herself before placing her hands on her hips. "Send." The man clicked his mouse and the deed was done.

Nine individual phones reacted to a text message in their own ways. Some may have vibrated, others sounded a jingle. No matter the method, the cell would gain the attention of its owner. Upon opening the text, a note would appear, the same one to each person.

ARe yOu dEsTiNEd FOr gReaTneSs?

Mere moments after reading the message, random numbers would scroll horizontally across the phone's screen. A flash would blind its owner and a beam of light would shoot from the screen. Landing in the vicinity, a small device would be resting within the room, its color dependent on its holder. To those faithful to the franchise, it would appear to be an odd-looking Digivice. To those unfamiliar with it, there was no telling what it was.

This was the beginning. Whether they knew it or not, these nine individuals were now...Digimon tamers.

 

[Lady B]

Haruka got home late saturday night. His parents had forced him to go to some charity benefit event, and then just left him alone when they arrived to go talk business. So for a couple of hours, Haruka had been surrounded by strangers with absolutely nothing to do. When he finally found his parents again and told them he wanted to go home, they just told him to ask the chauffeur. He sighed as he undid his smothering necktie, walking up to his room where he took off all his clothes. Once he was down to nothing but underpants, he threw himself onto his large bed, making the duvet covers bubble up around him and making some of the larger stuffed animals on his bed fall over. He huddled up a bit, before noticing a faint flash. He had left his cellphone on his nightstand, and it was now flashing occasionally to signal a message had been received. He picked the phone up and looked at the screen. "Message received: 21:00..." An oddly precise time to receive a message, thought Haruka, and he wasn't exactly the one who received messages on saturday nights. He usually didn't receive any messages at all. Opening it, the contents of the message were revealed to be a very strange sentence, followed by random numbers scrolling down the screen. "What the-- a virus!?" Had someone intentionally sent him a virus? Was someone really that cruel? Well, it wouldn't really surprise him considering some of the other things he had to put up with, but on the other hand, was sending a virus through a message like this even possible? Suddenly there was a bright flash, and Haruka dropped the phone as he tried to cover his eyes by reflex. The phone slid under his bed, and he sighed heavily again. He bent down to have a look, and it seemed like it had gone in pretty far. He had to crawl further in in order to reach it. When he did, he also noticed a strange object next to his phone. He pulled them both out, and examined the strange object. "What is this?... Some type of beeper, perhaps? I don't remember ever owning one of those, though..." Just thinking about it made his head swirl, and he remembered just how tired he was. Exhausted, he threw himself onto the bed once more, leaving the phone and the other object on his nightstand. He fell asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, Haruka woke up by the sunlight hitting his face. He had forgotten to pull the curtains last night. Looking at the clock on the wall, he realized it was already past 11 AM. His parents never woke him up, and there was no noise signalling they were even at home. Either they didn't come home at all last night, or they left again this morning without telling him. Getting dressed, he noticed the strange object next to his phone on his nightstand. "Oh yeah, I had completely forgotten about that." He picked it up to examine it closer. It was actually kinda cute, at least the colour of it. Pocketing it, he continued to the kitchen in order to eat breakfast.

When he was finished, it was already well past noon, and he didn't really know what to do. The weather was nice, so he decided to go out to the garden. He stepped out through the french doors and had a nice, deep breath. The fragrant scent of flowers surrounded him, envigorating his soul. This was really his favourite place to be. He bent down in front of the roses, smiling at them. "Good day to you, Mrs.Rosebush, how are you today? Oh, that's wonderful! I'm doing fine, thank you. Yes, I had to go to another one of those dreadful parties last night, they're really no fun at all. Oh, is that so? Well, let me tell you, it's...." Haruka continued his conversation, and moved on to some of the other plants. He then noticed a large, bulbous plant he had never seen before, and decided to greet it. "Hello there! I've never seen you before. In fact, I don't even recognize you from any of the books I've read. Who might you be?" He was about to answer in his mind, deciding for this new plant to have a mysterious personality to fit the fact that he didn't recognize it. But before he could do that, the plant answered for him. "Hi! I'm Tanemon, nice to meet you. Actually, I've been waiting for you. The plants in this garden have told me how nice you are and how well you've been taking care of them, so I just had to meet you myself." Haruka smiled. "Oh, is that so?" His jaw dropped as his mind slowly began processing what was going on. "Wait, you, the plants, you talk?..." The green thing laughed at Haruka's flustered state. "Yes, silly! Now tell me, what's your name? I've already told you mine, and I'd like to be able to call my partner by name." "Uh, my name's Haruka. You... You said you were Tanemon, right? Sorry to ask, but what exactly are you? And what do you mean by 'partner'?" "I'm a Digimon, of course. Have you never heard of us? Anyway, long story short, you're a Digimon Tamer, and I'm your Digimon. Together we'll be able to grow strong, and save both your world and mine, the Digital World." Haruka vaguely recalled a hit kids TV show with the same name. He was never that interested in it, since almost all they ever did was fight. "Grow stronger, save worlds... Do you mean we have to fight? Because, I really don't want to..." "I know you don't, that's why you were chosen. Your ideals are important to the success of our mission. Now, you've already received your Digivice, am I right?" "Digivice? Oh, you mean this thing?" Haruka pulled out the strange object from his pocket, showing it to Tanemon. "Yes, yes, that's it! Now, concentrate, press that button, and point it at me." "Like this?" He did as he was told. Suddenly, a beam of light appeared from the digivice, enveloping Tanemon until it was nothing more than a shiny silhouette. The silhouette grew larger, and with a final burst of light, Tanemon's new appearance was revealed. "Haha, see, that went well! What just happened is called Digivolution, and it allows me to become a stronger version of myself, although I'm far from my final stage. By the way, I'm not Tanemon anymore. In this form, you can call me Palmon!" Haruka was needless to say very confused, but also intrigued. He wondered what would happen if Palmon digivolved further? He supposed the answer would come eventually.

 

[Wolfsbane706]

Mysterious messages were something Satomi thought could only happen in a book. And yet, when she'd checked her phone before grabbing a book to read, she'd found exactly that. The resulting flash of light had sent Satomi stumbling around her room in a blinded daze, only stopping when the dancer tripped onto her bed. That wasn't the strangest thing to happen, though. When the ballet student regained her eyesight, she noticed a fading glow coming from her closet. Grabbing a pillow in case the glow was a monster and not a fallen glow stick, Satomi slowly made her way to her closet door, pillow held high. With a soft "Hello?" Satomi slowly opened the closet door . . .

. . . And brought her pillow down with a high-pitched but short scream when the little green beast in the closet replied with a cheerful "Hello!" The beast didn't get a chance to explain further, seeing as Satomi wouldn't stop hitting it with a pillow. "Stop, stop! I'm your partner, not whatever it is you think I am!" the beast yelled.

"Why would I have a monster for a partner?!" Satomi asked, pausing in her assault to give the beast a chance to explain.

"I'm not some monster, I'm Terriermon!" The beast retorted. "The Digivice on your nightstand proves it." Satomi turned around curiously, pillow still held high. Sure enough, there was a strange looking device on her nightstand, just like Terriermon had said.

"That still doesn't explain why you're in my closet."

"I don't know why I'm here, either. All I know is that you're my Tamer." Terriermon hopped out of the closet and passed Satomi. "So what's your name, Tamer?"

"Satomi. Satomi Kurosaki."

 

[Merry Berry]

It was saturday evening, and Megumi was getting ready for her favourite weekend activity: Sleeping. She had just taken a bath and was nice and steamy. She put on her oversized pajamas, the fluffy kind she liked best, and plopped down on her bed. With a serene smile on her face she was about to fall asleep, when she was suddenly disturbed by the sound of her cellphone going off. "Oh my, did I forget to turn it off? It's awfully late to be sending messages, anyway..." She flipped up the lid to her phone in order to read the message, and was surprised by it's contents. Random numbers started scrolling across her screen, followed by a bright flash. Once she regained eyesight, she saw that some strange device had seemingly fallen out of her cellphone. "Oh my, what's this? How very peculiar. Maybe I'm already dreaming?" She pinched herself. "Ouch! Looks like I'm not... I wonder what this thing is. I guess I should sleep on it." She placed the cellphone on her nightstand, which she had turned off, along with the other device, and then went to sleep.

Her dream was very serene and warm. She dreamt that she was falling slowly through a seemingly endless space, bouncing on large bubbles on her way down. She closed her mind's eye and just allowed herself to be whisked away by the soft feeling enveloping her. As Megumi continued drifting, the sound of water dripping began echoing throughout the space of her dream. She ignored it at first, but as it grew louder, she opened her eyes to see what it was. Above her, what looked like a large drop of water was falling through the bubbles she had prevously bounced off, breaking them in the process. She wondered what would happen if it caught up with her. Gazing lazily at the strange drop, she saw it come closer and closer. When it finally burst through the bubble just above her, it fell down next to her head before slowing down, keeping the same pace as Megumi. The drop seemingly crystalized, and gained a face. Megumi looked at it with a calm expression. "Oh my, hello there little friend. Who might you be?" "I'm Moonmon, a dream wanderer Digimon. I've wandered through the dreams of countless humans, looking for the one destined to be my partner." Megumi smiled. "Oh my, how interesting. Tell me, uh, Moonmon, was it not? Have you had any luck on this search of yours?" "No, not until now. But I believe I've found the one I've been looking for. I think it's you, Megumi." With a surprised look on her face, Megumi continued drifting for a while before answering. "Oh my, what makes you think that? And how do you know my name?" Moonmon circled around her, positioning itself on the other side of her head. "How I know your name is not important. But, you should have received a Digivice earlier, correct?" "A Digivice? Oh, you mean the thing that fell out of my phone earlier?" Suddenly, there was a bright light, and the Digivice appeared in front of her. "Yes, that's it! With the help of you and that Digivice, I'll be able to Digivolve and become stronger!" "Digivolve? Become Stronger? Why would you need that?" "Well, you may not know it yet, but both your world and mine are in great peril. That's why me and several other Digimon have been sent to the human world in order to find those destined to help us, known as Digimon Tamers. You, Megumi, are one of those Digimon Tamers. But, I need to know if you're willing to become my partner." She thought about it, and then gave Moonmon and big smile. "Of course, I can't very well turn down a cute little thing like you, now, can I?" As she said those words, she landed on a bubble that was bigger than the ones from before. But this time, rather than bouncing off it, she slipped through, sinking through what felt like some type of gel until her vision faded.

When she was finally able to open her eyes again, she was back in her bed, sun seeping in through the curtains. "Oh my, seems like it was all just a dream... Well, I knew that from the start, but it still felt oddly real." She stretched her body out and was about to step out off bed when she noticed something squishy next to her elbow. Looking over, she saw that it was the Moonmon from her dream, sleeping calmly. Apparently, it hadn't just been a dream after all.

 

[Mundane Monster]

"You just think you're so awesome and strong don't you, Etsuko?" The piggy nosed boy yelled at her, dragging his arm across his sweaty and snotty face. His evil henchmen grunted in agreement as they held Etsuko's arms to her side so she couldn't defend herself from the piggy nosed boy's punches. "You think that just because" PUNCH "you're the digimon fan club leader" PUNCH "that you can do whatever you want! Well I like" PUNCH "pokemon and I think digimon is stupid and so are you!" PUNCH!! That last punch was purely psychological because who the hell preferred pokemon over digimon?


"You piece of shit pokemon can't compare to how awesome digimon is! Can pokemon talk? No! They can only say their names because they're glorified parrots! And Ash is a whisy washy wimpy little bit--" Etsuko would have finished with a word that rhymes with witch and usually gets her a chorus of 'Ohhh she said a bad woooorrd!' but before she could, the stupid swine boy punched her in the face.


It hurt like hell, but Etsuko wasn't about to cry. Well...Actually she was cause it really really did hurt, but she would definitely only cry angry tears. As the cursed salted water began to trickle down her cheeks, swine boy's friends released unsure noises but swine boy silenced them with the threat of not going for ice cream when his mom picked them up. That shut them up really quick. Ice cream always trumped morals after all.


"You think cryings gonna help you cause -- DI DI DI DIGIMON DIGIMON, DI DI DI, DIGIMON DIGITAL MONSTERS, DIGIMON ARE THE CHAMPIONS!


When Etusko's phone began to ring, the boys holding her arms jumped and their hold laxed temporarily. That was all she needed to slip out of their hold, grab her phone and take off. She wasn't going to be stupid and stay behind and try to fight.


But she didn't make it far. She had only glanced down to see who had texted her but when she did and read the message, her phone began to bug out. And then it blinded her. Well, only temporarily, but it impaired her vision enough for her to trip and pitch head first into a bag of trash. And that was enough for the boys to grab her and yank her to her feet.


As they pulled her upright, Etsuko could have sworn that she saw a dark blue digivice peeking out from under one of the dumpsters. But that was--


"You thought you could run, huh? Well you were wrong! I'm gonna--AAAAHHHHH!" Swine boy's threat soon turned into a scream of horror when his eyes landed on something behind her. His henchmen let go of Etsuko's arms and began backing away, the whites of thier eyes showing in fear. A wet spot flowered on the front of swine boy's pants and he began to cry.


"Step away from her. Right now." A male voice ordered.


The boys let out one last unanimous scream and high tailed it out of the alley. Etsuko turned around to see her savior and nearly went into junior cardiac arrest.


"R-r-ren-renamon. Renamon. Oh my Digilord." She spluttered as her absolute favorite digimon stepped out of the shadows, the digivice that she had seen earlier, in his hand--er paw.


"Hello, Etsuko, I am your partner Renamon. I believe this belongs to you." He said, holding the digivice out to her. And that's what did it. The excitement was too much, and she passed out.



When she woke up the next morning, she was in her bed, and Renamon was sitting at her desk.

 

[Freedom]

Haruko wandered the halls of the museum again and again. This was probably the fourth or fifth time he had seen these exhibits, but he hadn't gone home all day. School had ended and Haruko went to the only place that was normaly very quiet and calm: the local museum. He had been wandering around these same halls for hours now as the sun had long gone down and this particular one was open until quite late at night.

Currently walking through the Ancient Japan exhibit, Ruko's phone suddenly vibrated in his jeans. He stopped in his tracks and pulled it out, a bored expression on his face. Normally, he would have just ignored his phne going off, but he had already practically mapped out the entirety of the museum and commited it to memory, so he checked it. His brows furrowed together as he read the odd message. Rolling his eyes, thinking it was just a message meant for someone else, he went to delete it. Just as he was about to hit 'Erase,' a bright flash burst from his phone as numbers began scrolling across the screen, slightly blinding the boy.

Gasping and covering his face with his free hand and almost dropping his phone, Haruko felt something in his hoodie pocket. He shouldn't have anything there... He placed his phone back in his jean pocket and reached into his hoodie, his face contorting in confusion as he pulled out some odd device. After a moment of studying it, Haruko realized what it was. It was a Digivice that was on that show Digimon. Yes, Haruko is a closet nerd and he knows it. Having no idea how it got in his pocket, he shrugged and walked on, deciding to look again at the various peices of equipment in the armour exhibit.

About to walk on and possibly leave the museum, something different caught his eye. In one of the exhibits showing a full suit of Samurai armour, ther was something that Ruko hadn't noticed before... It looked to be... like a furry beast wearing armour, like it was a warrior. Haruko was incredibly confused and walked closer to get a better look at this thing. How could he have missed this? It stood out so much against the rest of the exhibit... When Haruko got against the rope that outlined the showcase, the creature turned and grinned before speaking.

"Hiya, Ruko! I'm Ryuudamon, your partner Digimon!"

The creature claiming to be a Digimon was kind of frightening to Haruko and he just stood there wide-eyed.

"You aand I are destined to be together as partners and fight the forces of- Hey!"

Not giving this creature time to speak, Haruko just shook his head and turned and walked away. He was dreaming. That's it. This was all a dream. He had fallen asleep in one of the halls of the museum and he would be woken up any time now. Finding it odd he wasn't being woken up, Ruko just left the museum and reluctantly went hom, heading right to his room and avoiding the family room that he knew his father occupied.

Ruko went right to his bed and set his phone and apparent Digivice onto his bedside table and fell asleep.

When he awoke the next morning, he glanced over at his bedside table and only saw his phone.

I was right... It was a dream...

"You know, this thing is pretty cool! I mean, you can keep track of me with it and you can even power me up with it! Let's try it out now!!"

Haruko's eyes widened. His head slowly turned to the voice like how one would turn to face the serial killer in a horror movie. There, at the foot of his bed, was the thing claiming to be Ryuudamon holding out the Digivice to Haruko with the biggest smile on his face.

So... it wasn't a dream...

 

[Liam van Alkema]

Kazuki sighed as he leaned back in his chair. Having spent the last hour and a half moderating an argument on his Digimon fan website, he was tired from trying to keep the peace. He had to take a firm stance, upholding the rules of the site, and meting out punishments to both parties. And that had lead to another argument about whether or not they had broken the rules. Kazuki had made the rules for the site, so in the end he felt that his interpretation of the rules was the correct one. So he stated as much on the site. It felt good standing against injustice, something he wasn't able to do in real life. He didn't have to worry about making himself a target online, which he was very worried about in reality

He glanced at his phone, 8:59 PM. It was getting late. His parents had been gone when he came home, off to see his younger twin sisters perform in their school play. No doubt they're all going out to celebrate, he thought. His older siblings were both out on the town too, leaving him alone in the house. Kazuki was determined to be in bed before they got home. The last thing he needed right now was the only attention he received to be a lecture about how much time he spent online.


His phone beeped. He picked it up. "One new message?" he read aloud, partly because it was weird that he would even receive a message. He knew no one at school that would be messaging him at this time of night and his parents definitely would not be messaging him. So, curious as to who would be trying to contact him, he opened it. "Are you destined for greatness?" Gotta be a joke mail, or a virus, I hope it's not a virus I don't have enough money to get my stu--, Kazuki didn't have the time to finish his thought, because he phone started streaming 0's and 1's across the screen, and then flashed blindingly bright. Kazuki felt something smack him in the face as he dropped his phone and fell off his chair. As he blinked to shake off the effects of the light he re-adjusted his glasses and examined the object that now rested on his chest. It looked familiar, but Kazuki's head was pounding, so he couldn't exactly place where he had seen a device like this before. Guess it was a good thing no one was here. I would have had to answer a lot of questions, he thought to himself as he got up.


"I didn't say you could get up." A high-pitched, condescending voice reached Kazuki's ears. He turned to see a purple and white creature with wing-like appendages on either side of its head sitting regally (as regally as it could anyway) on his bed. "Sit. I can't look down at you if you're standing!" Kazuki didn't move. Or rather, he couldn't move. His mind was stuck processing the creature before him. "Argh, fine have it your way," the creature said as it flapped its...ears? It flew around the room before alighting on Kazuki's shelf, knocking the books out of the way to make room. "First rule, human. No one looks down on me, ever! I am Tsukaimon! The finest Digimon ever to exist ever! You should be honored to be in my presence! Also, you're a Tamer, but that's not important right now. Your job is to make me stronger, and if you do it well, I'll reward you by training you to be ash gewd ash mweee, Stahp squeeeshing mai cheeeks!" Halfway through Tsukaimon's speech Kazuki had reached up and picked the little guy up off the shelf, set him in his lap and starting poking and prodding him. This had eventually led to the squishing of the cheeks. Angrily, Tsukaimon fluttered above Kazuki. "Hah! So you've got a little spunk in ya! Think you could get away with messing around with the great Tsukaimon's adorable facial features, did ya? Well, it's only to be expected that my Tamer would have a little spirit, but you need to learn your place!" Tsukaimon perched on top of Kazuki's head, nestling in his hair. "Yes, this is a comfortable spot, fitting of a Digimon of my stature. I will sit here and you will carry me around. What is your name, human slav-, er, Tamer?"


"Um...Kichida Kazuk--"


"Too long, I'll call you Kaz. Now Kaz, you should get to bed, because you need to show me around tomorrow. I must know everything about my new dominion!" Tsukaimon started to tug on Kazuki's hair, trying to steer him to the bed. Kazuki didn't resist. I hit my head really hard, so I'm probably just having a hallucination. Maybe I have been spending too much time arguing about Digimon online. Kazuki hoped that things would look better in the morning.

---------------------------​

Smack! Kazuki awoke in pain as he found the oddly familiar device he had been hit with last night lying next to him in bed. "You sleep like a log." Tsukaimon said. "Come on, get up. Feed me! Take me places! Entertain me! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" The small Digimon zipped around the room. Kazuki looked at his phone, 5 AM. He was going to argue that it was too early to actually do anything with the little guy, but suspected he'd get brained with the Digivice again. That's what it was. The kids who played the card game had something similar to it. He watched the show but didn't get the hype behind all the cards and collectibles that came with it. He sleepily got dressed and quietly exited the house. His family was probably sleeping now, not that they would care he was leaving the house so early, but it was better to not disturb them. "I'm heading out," he mumbled to no one in particular as he left. Tsukaimon perched happily on top of his head, trying to steer Kazuki again by tugging his hair.

 

[Xylime]

Yoko scribbled in her notebook, making final notes for the up-and-coming dance that was being held tomorrow night. "Remember to get beverages, text Taki to remind her to buy chips, email the music club to finalize performance plans." With the notes finished on paper, she grabbed her phone and began transferring them to her electronic calendar. She could never be too careful. The more places she had her notes, the better. As her Digimon desk clock's hour hand inched towards the nine, Yoko leaned back in her chair and stretched. Her day had been filled with planning, not that she'd ever complain. She loved organizing, it was pretty much her favorite hobby next to gaming. Yoko slumped back onto her desk, her eyes level with her clock. Now thinking of Digimon, Yoko opened one of her drawers and pulled out some of her cards. She slowly flipped through them, looking at the pictures, reading their descriptions for what had to have been the hundredth time. The last card was Dorumon, her favorite. What's better than a dragon? A furry dragon. She smiled at the card as her mind thought up stories of grand adventures with her digital partner.

The sound of a Digimon jingle jolted Yoko out of her imaginary journey. She grabbed her phone and flipped it open. "This better not be Taki bailing on me." With the push of a button, the text popped onto the screen.

ARe yOu dEsTiNEd FOr gReaTneSs?

Yoko cocked an eyebrow. "What the..." Before Yoko could finish her thought, her screen began to scroll random numbers, and she began to freak out. "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!" She tried hitting the clear button, the end button, but she couldn't get it to stop. Yoko went to put her phone down when a bright light came from the screen, and she shielded her eyes with her free hand. As she peeked from in-between her fingers, she saw a ray of light bounce around the room before landing on her desk. A shape formed from the light, and eventually a small yellow device rested in the beam's place. Her phone's screen turned black for a moment before sparking to life again, the earlier message still on her screen. Yoko exchanged the phone for the new device on her desk, examining it. "It kinda looks like..." She ran a finger over the slit on the side of the mechanism, and her eyes looked to the card of Dorumon on her desk. Holding the object in her left hand, Yoko grabbed the card with her right and rested it over the slit. She slid the card quickly between the slit and pulled her right arm up to shield her eyes from any impending flash. However, not even a spark came from the device, and Yoko tossed the item onto her desk. "Yeah..I didn't think so." Disappointment, mixed with confusion at the entire situation, prompted Yoko to go to bed for the night. As she placed her glasses on her nightstand and climbed into bed, Yoko took one last look at the device on her desk before drifting into a deep sleep.

Yoko awoke to her phone ringing on her desk, and she literally rolled out of her bed. Hitting the floor face-first, Yoko groaned as she dragged herself to her feet using the nearby chair. Her hand sleepily fumbled for her cell phone and finally made contact with it. She flipped it open and pushed a button. "Hhhhellooo?" Her words came out slow and dull, her drowsiness still lingering. A familiar voice responded. "Oh come on Yoko, it's already ten! You shouldn't be so sleepy. Were you gaming late into the night again?" It was Taki, Yoko's schoolmate and friend. Yoko reached for her glasses and placed them on her face. "Nooooo...not this time anyway." Yoko walked to her closet and pulled out a cream tank top and a short-sleeve baby blue cardigan. "Uh huh. Well I just wanted to check with you. I just need to buy chips, right? How much?" Going to her dresser, Yoko picked out a white, lacy, knee-length skirt and threw the clothes onto her bed. "Umm...based on the RSVPs, the faculty, and assuming that there may be a few people who will show up regardless of the fact that they didn't say they were coming...please buy ten bags. Keep the receipt and I'll reimburse you at the dance." Yoko placed her phone on the bed and pushed speaker phone so she could get dressed. "Do you have enough in the budget for that much?" Yoko lightly grunted as her pajama shirt tugged at her chin before coming off. "Of course I do Taki. Ever since I convincing the art club to 'donate' some of their works to school events, we've saved a bit of money. And besides, if we have extra, we just save them for the next event." With her last button fastened, Yoko grabbed the hair tie on her nightstand and pulled her hair into a ponytail without brushing it. "Okaaaay, you're the boss. I'll see you at the dance Yoko." Yoko unconsciously nodded. "Yup. See you there Taki. Thanks for the help." Yoko ended the call and grabbed her purse. She went to her desk to grab her notebook when her eyes fell on the small yellow device from last night. She stared at it for a few seconds before shrugging and placing it into her purse. Slinging the purse over her shoulder, Yoko left her room and went straight for the apartment door. Yoko's mother peeked out from the kitchen. "Aren't you going to eat dear? I made some scrambled eggs." Yoko shook her head as she slipped into her light-brown flats. "I'm not hungry. I'll eat later. Thanks anyway mom." Giving a shrug, her mother returned to her activity and bid Yoko farewell as the teen exited the apartment.

Yoko left the building and noticed an orange cat cleaning itself nearby. It was McFluffinstein, or at least that's what Yoko called him. He was the building's cat of sorts, as he would often sleep in the lobby at night. Yoko got within a foot of him and crouched down. "Good morning McFluffinstein, how are you doing today?" The cat continued to clean itself, completely ignoring Yoko. She reached out and pat its head. The cat stopped cleaning itself to stare at her before getting up and walking away. "Oh...okay. Later McFluffinstein." Yoko rose and continued down the sidewalk, a disappointed pout on her lips. "What is it about me that makes animals ignore me?" Pondering on this thought, Yoko made it to the bus stop and awaited transportation. She pulled out her phone and began typing an email to the music club, ensuring that they would be there to perform tonight. As Yoko hit the send button, the bus rolled into place. She promptly hopped onto the bus and took a window seat near the back. As she stared out the window, Yoko caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Assuming it was another passenger taking a seat, she continued to look out the window as the bus began to move.

A few minutes away from her stop, Yoko felt like she was being watched. Slowly, her head turned away from the window to see who was sitting beside her. However, no one was there. Cocking an eyebrow, Yoko looked down at the seat to find a blue, furry creature with a white muzzle staring up at her. It wagged its stumpy tail slightly. "About time you saw me. I was beginning to think you were ignoring me on purpose." The critter crawled into Yoko's lap and sat down facing her. "I'm Dorimon, and you," Dorimon lifted his paw and poked Yoko in the chest, "are my Digimon Tamer." Yoko would have questioned her sanity if it weren't for a nearby kid staring at Dorimon with wide eyes. Yoko placed her hand on Dorimon's head and began rubbing it, enjoying the feeling of his soft fur. "Hey, cut it out." Dorimon verbally rejected Yoko's actions, but he didn't make any move to get away from her. Filled with happiness that there was finally an animal that didn't walk away from her, Yoko swept Dorimon up in her arms and gave him a hug, nuzzling her cheek into his head. Again, Dorimon spoke up without moving. "Sheesh, what an embarrassing human. I just haaaad to get a snuggler." As the bus came to a stop, Yoko stood up and exited the vehicle with Dorimon still in her arms.

Reaching a small plaza, Yoko found a bench to sit on and placed Dorimon in her lap. Dorimon poked Yoko in the chest like before. "You need to tell me your name too you know." Yoko nodded. "Oh, right, sorry. I'm Yoko." Yoko smiled at the Digimon and gave a small bow of her head. Dorimon returned the gesture. "Rightio Yoko! We're partners now! We're going to get along great!" Yoko nodded in agreement, still reeling from the delight of having a Digimon, and a cute furry one at that. "So what's our first order of business? Scope out the area for stray Digimon? Do some training? Eat?" Yoko pulled out her notebook and flicked it open. "Shopping." "Shopping?" "Shopping." Yoko put her finger on the page. "I need to buy plastic cups and drinks." Dorimon hopped off Yoko's lap and onto the ground. "Why?" Yoko closed her notebook and rose from her seat. "To finish up preparations for the dance tonight." "Why?" "Because it's my responsibility to make sure the dance has everything it needs." "Why?" "Because I'm the one organizing it." "Why?" "Because I like to organize things." "Why?" "Because it gives me a sense of accomplishment." "Why?" Yoko began walking towards the store. "Because...human nature?" Dorimon obediently followed. "Oh. I knew that." Yoko rolled her eyes but smiled to herself. It wasn't much of a conversation, but it was still longer than the ones she held with most people. She wasn't good at small talk, but she was good at answering questions. It seemed like her and Dorimon really were going to get along.

Halfway to the store, Yoko stopped in her tracks and Dorimon bumped into her legs. She had a bad habit of looking down as she walked, and had missed the strange looks she was getting. However, she had heard the last person mention something about Dorimon looking like a weird dog, and she whirled around. Lifting Dorimon up, Yoko blushed from slight embarrassment at not realizing it sooner. She moved to a small alley nearby. "Dorimon, you need to stop talking and moving." "Why?" "Because Digimon aren't common place here, so you need to act like a stuffed animal." "Why?" "Because your existence could cause a panic." "Why?" "Because people would think you're an alien or monster and think you were going to hurt them." "Why?" "Because people are afraid of things they don't understand." "Oh. I knew that." Yoko began walking towards the store again. "Uh huh. This isn't going to become a running gag, is it?" Yoko felt Dorimon tense up as he resisted the urge to respond. Probably with another question.

 

[Xylime]

It was nearing 2000 hours when a woman in glasses entered a dark room, adjusting her white lab coat as she did. Reaching the center, she turned to face the wall of bright computer screens. "Status?" A man turned his head to address the woman. "Ma'am, we've done it! Every subject received a digital monster. Our project is a success." The woman crossed her arms. "No, our project has only just begun. Though I have to admit, it is nice to see some results for a change. Bring up the files." After clattering on his keyboard, the male assistant opened the profiles of all the new tamers, each having their own screen. "An odd bunch to say the least. It's a shame the last batch didn't get the proper code." The woman eyed the data, resting on Etsuko's the longest. "Some of the children aren't well suited to the task at hand. Regardless, they are merely test subjects. We will replace them soon enough." The woman looked to the watch on her wrist. "It's almost time. We need to get the children together. Send out another text." The woman walked up to her own computer and typed a sequence of numbers. A mini map appeared with a collection of dots scattered on it. "Tell them to meet at Natsu Park by 2100 hours. That will be the general area of our visitors tonight." She returned her gaze to the wall of screens. "Was our prediction of their digital monster accurate?" The man turned in his chair. "Some of them, yes. However...there were a few who got...unexpected partners." The glasses-clad woman closed her eyes to ponder on this response. Finally, she nodded. "I suppose the important thing was to first acquire the monsters. What they are and how they act are irrelevant as long as they obey their tamers. Keep an eye on the children and their 'pets'. Any data we obtain from them will be necessary to fulfill our goal." The man gave a nod and returned to his duties as the woman left the room.


At 2000 hours, a text was sent to all the new tamers. A simple message was within.

Meet at Natsu Park by 2100 hours.

It would be up to the recipients if they followed the direction or not.