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.