Set long after the events of Adventure. A young boy struggles with accepting his partner.
AN: To anyone still interested in the Digimon Tabletop Roleplay, I still intend on doing it, but haven't had a lot of time to plan out stuff thanks to life. I'll probably make another post on it when I get more time (aka after my exams)
Anyway hope you enjoy ^^
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I still the stories from my parents. They were both very young. Mum lived out in the country at the time, but dad was in Tokyo. He and my grandparents were taken to the convention centre. You can still see the fear in his eyes when he describes staring at Myotismon while they were searching for the 8th child. But everything's different now. Digimon and humans live together. It's incredibly rare to find a Digimon without a partner, and almost unheard of to find a human without one. Despite this, I wish none of it had ever happened. I would be so much better off without my partner…
“In other new today, a robbery occurred last night in downtown Shibuya. The footage seems to show a man accompanied by an Astamon. Please report any information to-” with a static sound the TV switched off. “I swear some Digimon are made evi-” Dad stopped himself before continuing, “hey Gotsumon, me the knife?” Dad was cooking us breakfast since mum had already left for work. I held the remote in my hands, staring at my own face reflected on the TV.
“Hiroki… are you OK?”
No, I'm not ok, but I'm not going to tell him that. It's his fault, but I can't bring myself to fight with him about it. He is my partner after all, despite everything he's my best friend, or at least he used to be.
I still the day he digivolved. He was the last in my class. I always felt embarrassed, but everyone would tell me, “it's ok, the longer he takes to evolve the stronger he’ll be.” It was lunch time. My friends were all playing soccer, not me though. I enjoyed the game, but my team always lost thanks to my weaker Digimon,so instead I was watching.
“Hiroki, are you ashamed of me?”
“What? Of course not!”
“But we’re sitting here instead of playing with your friends…”
A cheer rang out as Ketsuo ed the ball to his partner Gaomon scoring a goal. I watched as everyone ran up and telling him how amazing the two of them were, how well they worked together.
“But you're my best friend. You’ll digivolve when you’re ready. Besides, no matter what, we're partners!”
“...Really?”
“Of course! I'll always be proud to stand by your side!”
I guess my words triggered it. Light seemed to gather around. Everyone in the vicinity ran over to check out the digivolution. I looked on in amazement, but when the light cleared, the hope in my eyes disappeared. The Digimon moved in front of their partners, while the kids stepped behind them in fear. The teachers and their Digimon stepped in, moving everyone away. There was noise going on everywhere, but I couldn't hear anything. All I could do was stare at my partner.
“Hiroki, are you heading off to school?”
“Yeah.”
“...Am I staying home again?”
“...yeah…”
“I know you don't like me there, but I want to be there just in case you get into trouble. I'm meant to protect you, but I can't do that if-”
“Just stay home!”
I picked up my bag and ran out of the house, slamming the door without saying goodbye to anyone.
Walking into school, I saw people staring at me, whispering behind my back. I ran up to my group of friends.
“Hey guys! Umm, how are you all going?”
Everyone looked down at the ground, avoiding eye with me. An awkward silence filled the air, one I attempted to remove, “Umm, he's not here, I left him at home so…”
“We don't want you hanging with us anymore Hiroki,” Gaomon stepped forward from the group, staring me directly in the eye, “You’re dangerous, we can't risk hanging with you.” The group muttered apologies under their breath as they left, leaving me all alone. His words reminded me back when I was younger, some of the earliest classes I've ever taken at school…
“It's important to recognise a dangerous Digimon when you see it. For some it's easy, they’re huge and threatening, while others may look sweet but are the most dangerous of all,” my teacher pointed to a slideshow of images, depicting many different types of Digimon, “A famous one is Damon. He was encountered back before the worlds had truly ed together, but luckily was stopped by some of the original digidestined.” Her Digimon, Mikemon continued the lecture, “If you ever encounter any of these Digimon, you should run immediately. there is no shame in running.” The slideshow flipped through some really nasty looking Digimon. “Uh, miss, is that one a mistake?” a girl raised her hand at the picture on the screen.
“No. If you ever see this Digimon, run. Although it looks kind and is classified as a ‘Vaccine’, it's incredibly dangerous. It's known for tricking people with its sweet appearance, so never be fooled by it.”
Was I fooled? Were all those times we would play together fake, just an attempt to gain my trust? It felt real, but was it really? I like to think not, but I guess you never truly know. Being without a partner at school felt truly lonely. I could get over everyone ignoring and avoiding me if he was here, but for everyone’s safety as well as my own he couldn't be here. Was I the one that caused his digivolution path? What does that say about me?
School continued as normal. I never really picked up on it before, but everyone seems to be so close to their partners. Whispering to each other, making jokes together, sharing a headphone as they listen to music. I walked through the halls alone. I guess this was my life now.
Gym class is a pain. The teacher always has no idea where to put me. Usually I get awkwardly added to a team. I could see him going through picking two sides for a dodge ball game, actively avoiding me when it happened. The sound was deafening, but then again that's what is expected from an explosion. Three humans stood by the rubble, along with their three Digimon. I recognised Astamon from the news earlier today, along with a Crysalimon and a Youkomon. The man in the centre stepped forward, followed closely by Astamon.
“Where is he?” he yelled, motioning to Astamon to draw his gun.
“Sagittarimon, protect the students,” my teacher took charge, but you could tell he wasn't prepared for this in the slightest.
Crysalimon and Youkomon darted forward to attack the armour Digimon before he could even draw his bow. Everyone seemed petrified, frozen in fear as the Digimon tumbled in front of us. Sagittarimon could barely fight back against the two purple Champions, struggling to defend their attacks let alone fight back.
“The rest of the school is going to find out you know. You can't beat all of the teacher’s Digimon,” you could feel my teacher trying to be brave, but it was obvious fear had taken control.
“Don't think so. We have a Wisemon on border patrol, separating everything that is going on in this hall from the rest of the world. To their knowledge, nothing is happening. Now, I'll ask one more time where-”
The man stopped and stared right at me, partnerless. I was petrified, but held my ground.
“It’s you isn't it? Where is your partner? Or are you too scared to bring him to school?”
I couldn't respond. All I could do was stand there, staring at him.
“Look, we have a little deal for you. You our gang and, well, that's it. We won't hurt anyone here, you don't have to go to school anymore and you'll earn more money they you can imagine. What do you say? Sounds pretty good if I do say so myself.”
“...no.”
“...What?”
“I SAID NO!”
My teacher and classmates were all yelling at me, but their sound was drowned out. All that existed right now was myself and this criminal.
“... Shame, but I guess in the end that makes it easier for us. After all, a Digimon with a dead partner is much more heartless than one with an alive partner. With nowhere else to turn, he’ll have no choice but to us.” the man raised his hand in the air, turning around to signify he was done, “Astamon, I'll leave this to you.”
The blue humanoid wolf pointed his gun directly at me. Time seemed to slow down as the barrel of the gun lit up. I closed my eyes tightly. As the last seconds of my life ticked by, all I could think about was him. All the fun times we shared, all the times he had stood by my side, and how I had treated him. He didn't do anything to deserve it. He doesn't deserve someone like me as his partner…
The sound of the gunshot echoed through my ears. I felt tears swell in my eyes. Staring at the ground, I watched as they dripped down, coating the floor in a light shimmer. Without thinking, my mouth opened, “Lucemon, I'm sorry.”
“I know.”
I turned my head forward. Standing in front of me, taking the blast head on was my partner.
“Lucemon, but I thought…”
“I'm sorry, but I couldn't leave you alone. I never could. Are… Are you angry with me?”
I shook my head, “No. Thank you Lucemon.”
The man turned in anger. He shouted at the other men, something about how they should've known Lucemon was here. He turned towards us, “Lucemon, if you us, we’ll do whatever you say. We’ll follow your lead. Together our gang will be the strongest. We could even be strong enough to take over both worlds! You don't have to stay with your partner, come with us.”
I looked at Lucemon in fear. If all the stories were true, Lucemon should take up this offer and leave with these men. But he didn't. Instead, he shook his head, “Hiroki said he would never you, so I won't either! And for even thinking about hurting a single hair on his head, I'll make you pay.”
Lucemon turned to me. His sweet angel eyes looked at me with kindness. “Hiroki,” he muttered, “are you ashamed to have a Digimon like me as your partner?”
I stood up and turned to my classmates, “Everyone! My name is Fumikazu Hiroki, and this is my partner Lucemon. I know many of you are frightened of him or think he's evil, but not me,” the volume of my voice softened slightly as I turned from my class to Lucemon, “I’m proud to be his partner.”
Light gathered around Lucemon. Everyone in the vicinity seemed to look on in awe. I myself couldn't take my eyes off it, but this time I knew whatever form he would take, he would always be my partner.
“Lucemon digivolve to… Lucemon Falldown Mode!”
I looked at my partner. His previous evolution still looked cute and harmless, but now he looked truly evil. Despite this, I smiled. Deep down, I knew he was still my partner.
“He made a fool out of us! Destroy him!” the leader of the gang, engulfed with rage yelled. Crysalimon and Youkomon stopped attacking the weakened Sagittarimon and ed Astamon, charging at Lucemon. Turning to me and smiling with a cocky grin, Lucemon muttered, “Watch this. DEAD OR ALIVE!”
A circle filled with what felt like limitless energy flew towards the oncoming Digimon. After reaching them, it expanded, seeming to trap them in a spiral of pain.
“Dead or Alive, I heard it has a 50% chance of killing the opponent instantly. That means at least one of these Digimon is going to die,” I heard Ketsuo murmur from the group behind me.
“No,” I boldly stated, “Lucemon won't kill anyone, because he's my partner and I trust him”
Lucemon swinged his arms swiftly through the air, causing the orb to dissipate. The three Digimon lied there, struggling to get to their feet from the intensive blast.
It didn't take long to round up the three men their Digimon along with Wisemon. Lucemon returned back to his child form as the police began questioning our teacher. I saw my classmates walk up to me. It didn't matter what they were going to say, nothing was going to make me shun my partner again.
“That. Was. AMAZING!”
“You are both so cool!”
“Lucemon can already digivolve? You’ve gotta help me and Salamon digivolve too!”
“Hiroki, Lucemon,” Ketsuo and Gaomon approached me from the crowd. Gaomon reached out his hand, “I'm sorry for how we treated you.” Ketsuo smiled, “I hope we can still be friends!” I smiled back, and Lucemon shook Gaomon’s hand.
It's been awhile since that day. Lucemon hasn't digivolved again, I guess because he hasn't needed to. The police dealt with the gang. Lucemon and I are now a model for all traditionally evil Digimon, showing them that it's not what they were made to be, it's who they want to be that's important. I wouldn't exactly call myself popular at school, more like an average kid, which is honestly all I ever wanted. Well, except when it comes to team events with our Digimon partners, because the bond between Lucemon and I is so strong, no one can ever beat us! And I'm glad that's the way it is, because no matter what, Lucemon is my partner and I know he will always be there beside me.
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