Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ An Absence of Light ❯ Say Hello to Pepper ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6: Say Hello to Pepper

 

 

Impmon carefully slid the window up and signaled to the ground.

 

Growmon slowly stood up, being careful to keep his nose level so Shuichon wouldn't slide off.

 

Once she was close enough to the second-story window, Impmon boosted the girl into her room.

 

Shuichon quietly removed her shoes and crept over to a pile of pink blankets on the floor. “Pepper?” she whispered. “Are you still up?”

 

There was a quiet snuffling sound, and a black snout poked out of the blanket, sniffing the air.

 

She went back to the window, where Impmon grunted as he awkwardly passed her the bag of food. Shuichon shushed him, getting a glower for her efforts. She turned to the blankets and pulled out a ham sandwich.

 

The nostrils on the snout flared, and the mouth opened, revealing several sharp teeth.

 

Shuichon tossed the sandwich in, giggling as loud chewing sounds followed. “You're a messy eater, Pepper,” she teased, petting the snout affectionately.

 

“Hey, you're supposed to be letting the others in,” Impmon reminded her.

 

“Oh, right! Impmon, can you feed Pepper?”

 

Impmon stared at her. “I knew you were crazy. I didn't think you were STUPID.”

 

Shuichon frowned at him. “Why are you being so difficult? All you have to do is toss sandwiches in!”

 

“I ain't goin' nowhere NEAR that thing while it's hungry. What do you think it ate BEFORE you started feedin' it?! OTHER DIGIMON!!!”

 

“You don't know that!” Shuichon cried. “Pepper would never eat you! You probably taste yucky, anyway!”

 

Impmon's left eye twitched. “Oh, you're askin' for it, kid…”

 

Alice's head appeared at the window. “I know we agreed to wake up your parents, Shuichon, but we didn't mean for you to do it by shouting.”

 

“He won't help me feed Pepper!” Shuichon whined.

 

“I can sympathize, Impmon, but if it'll stop the yelling, I'll do it,” Alice sighed as she began to climb in. “But you'd better go stop your parents before they wander in, Shuichon.”

 

At that moment, Lee Janyuu opened the door, stuck his head in, and blinked. “Shuichon?”

 

“Yes, Papa?” Shuichon asked nervously.

 

“…is everything okay in here?” His voice wavered as his gaze landed on the snout and then Impmon. All things considered, he only glanced briefly at the girl dressed in all black slipping in through the window.

 

“Yes, Papa.”

 

“Glad to hear it.” Janyuu closed the door and headed back to his room, determined to tell his wife that their daughter had just had a particularly loud dream.

 

* * * * *

 

Takato was actually glad that Shuichon's parents were in complete denial. He doubted his own would take the destruction of the family business so well once their vacation ended, anyway. They'd probably be worried enough when no one answered at home, but he was definitely not going back there to find another XV-mon—or something far stronger—prowling around, itching for a fight.

 

His arm had stopped throbbing, at least, which was good. But a numb arm wasn't going to solve all his other problems, so he could hardly be happy about it.

 

“Do you just not like tea, Takato?”

 

He blinked and realized that Juri was staring at him. “What?”

 

She motioned at his cup, which he hadn't touched. “Everyone likes my tea. Comes from living over a bar.”

 

“Oh. I guess I'm not really hungry right now. Nothing personal, I swear.”

 

Juri frowned. “I know. But I want to know what's bothering you.”

 

“Do you? Do you, really?” he asked. “I don't think you know what you're asking, Juri.”

 

“Tell me,” she insisted.

 

“Okay, fine. A Digimon destroyed our bakery, Shuichon's hoarding one in her room, she can open portals to the digital world but can't control them, scary strong Digimon are popping up everywhere, and on top of it all, YOU walk back into my life like it's no big deal, and you have a perfectly good excuse, since we're in the middle of a crisis, so I can't be mad at you.”

 

Juri blinked. “Oh. That.” She fidgeted with her dress.

 

“Yeah. That.” Takato slumped in his chair and shook his head. “Sorry. I shouldn't have dumped all that on you.”

 

“No, I asked you to. I already suspected…that I was bothering you.” She bit her lip. “Is it Ruki?”

 

“No, I'm fine with that. It's just…you, being here. I was…starting to…or at least, trying to get used to you not being around. But here you are. It's…really awkward. I thought you'd still be mad, but you're acting like…like you used to, before…everything. Like you never told me you didn't want to see me anymore.”

 

Juri looked away. “I am sorry about that, Takato. I thought it was best at the time.”

 

“How? Who was it better for? The fact that you could cut me out so easily made me think I was never that important to you in the first place. But the fact that now you're acting like it didn't happen makes me think that I do matter to you.”

 

“Of course you do,” Juri said at once. “I stopped seeing you because I didn't want you hurt because of me.”

 

Takato chuckled softly. “Juri, I got hurt because I was a Tamer. It had nothing to do with you.”

 

“You got hurt because the Reaper used me to get to you,” Juri snapped.

 

“You think I never got hurt before the Reaper came along? Being a Tamer has ALWAYS been dangerous. I probably made it worse by creating Guilmon. He literally doesn't have any limits.”

 

“But I made it worse for everyone!” Juri cried. “If I hadn't gotten taken-”

 

“Then it would've been someone else I cared about in the end,” Takato interrupted. “I don't blame you for that, Juri. I never did. I blamed myself for ever telling you Digimon were real. When you pushed me away, I thought you were angry.”

 

“I told you that you hadn't done anything wrong!”

 

“But you treated me like I had!” Takato replied. “What was I supposed to think? I risked my life for you, and you repay me by telling me to get lost?!”

 

“I never meant it that way,” she whispered, tears spilling down her face. “I didn't want to hurt you…”

 

“Did you think not having you in my life would help me?” He reached across the table and took her hand in his own. “At the very least, you were my friend, Juri. Didn't you even think I'd miss you?” He squeezed her hand until she looked at him. “Didn't you miss me?”

 

Juri nodded, wiping at her eyes with her free hand. “Of course. But…I thought I was keeping us both safe…”

“Maybe you really were. But that all ended the day Shuichon started opening digital fields. So I hope you're not going to stop showing up when this is all over.”

 

“You…you really don't mind that I'm with Ruki now?” she asked softly.

 

“No, Juri. If that's what makes you happy, you should stay with it.”

 

“Then…you really are seeing Alice?”

 

Takato blinked. “Yeah. We've gone out a few times…”

 

“Can I ask you a really unfair question?”

 

“…I guess so.”

 

Juri took a deep breath. “Are you seeing her because you like her…or because you missed me?”

 

He smiled in relief. “I really do like her. I thought you were going to ask the OTHER question.”

 

“Well, as long as we're on the subject,” she began uneasily.

 

Takato shook his head. “Juri, think about it. Is this something you really want to know, or something you'd be better off just not thinking about? I would never ask what happened between you and Ruki, since it is between you two.”

 

“But…I thought boys liked seeing two girls together?”

 

He blushed. “Ah…well…yes, usually…but I'm not really comfortable picturing Ruki that way. I'm too afraid she'd find out somehow and beat me up.”

 

Juri smiled brightly. “So…you have no problem picturing ME that way?”

 

“…um,” Takato replied nervously. “What…?”

 

She giggled. “Takato, you naughty boy.” Juri stood up and put her cup in the sink. “Don't worry, I won't tell anyone…as long as I can think of you that way.”

 

“Um…I thought you liked girls now?” he asked lamely.

 

“Oh, I do. But I've always liked you, Takato-kun,” she replied, beaming at him.

 

“…oh.” He blinked a few times. “You never said anything…?”

 

“I didn't want to scare you off. You were still worried about cooties and girls being icky then.”

 

“Even THEN?” he asked in disbelief.

 

Juri nodded. “You were awfully cute. Anyway, you got me free cream puffs. How could I not like you?”

 

* * * * *

 

Jenrya was doing his best not to think about Terriermon.

 

They were not exactly on speaking terms since their last argument, or that was what Terriermon seemed to think. The quiet actually did wonders for Jenrya's meditation, but it also disturbed him just a bit. Especially when he would open his eyes to find Terriermon glaring at him for no reason that he could discern. It got so bad that Jenrya finally took to meditating in outside in the gardens, just so he wouldn't have to see Terriermon scowling at him.

 

They'd had their disagreements before, but none had ever really lasted this long. Just the one about fighting itself, which had never really ended as much as it had been pushed aside to deal with the Reaper.

 

Jenrya was still firmly against violence in any form, and Terriermon was just as good as it as he had always been. It was in his data, after all, so it wasn't like he had a choice about liking to fight (as he'd pointed out repeatedly). Jenrya, however, was of the belief that any Digimon could suppress their like of fighting, given the right influence from their Tamer.

 

Though he was against violence, Jenrya had a habit of subconsciously carrying his D-Arc everywhere he went. He had been in far too many unexpected encounters with wild Digimon not to, even if he wasn't truly aware of it.

 

That habit turned out to be a real lifesaver one night as he was deep in meditation.

 

Jenrya had never actually seen a Metal Greymon outside of the Digimon Adventures TV show, so he was more than a little startled when one interrupted his meditation by sniffing him. He knew at once that there were only so many ways this encounter could go, and without Terriermon, none of those outcomes looked too good for him.

 

The Metal Greymon seemed content to sniff him for a while, until it suddenly caught a whiff of something it didn't like. With a loud growl, it raised a foot to stomp Jenrya into the ground.

 

“Get away from Jen-kun!” a familiar voice shouted.

 

Jenrya looked up in shock to see Galgomon racing at them. He wasn't surprised to see his Digimon partner…but he was surprised to see that Terriermon had managed to evolve without his knowing. Somehow, that disturbed him more than the appearance of the Metal Greymon.

 

Galgomon leaped between them, and with a shout of, “Dum Dum Upper!” delivered a huge uppercut to the battle dragon's chin that knocked it back…but only a few feet.

 

The Metal Greymon roared in anger charged forward. “Metal Slash!”

 

Galgomon blocked the blow with his right Vulcan barrel. “Ha! You're gonna have to do better than that!”

 

With a sneer, Metal Greymon replied, “Metal Slash Modified!”

 

The heavy metal claw caught Galgomon in the side of the head and sent him tumbling to the ground. “That was…pretty good,” he admitted dizzily, shaking his head to clear it. “Now, eat this! Gatling Arms!”

 

Jenrya winced as Metal Greymon was peppered with high-powered Vulcan fire…not that it seemed to do anything other than annoy him.

 

“Giga Destroyer!” Metal Greymon shouted as panels slid open on his chest, revealing twin missiles.

 

“Oh, boy.” Galgomon turned and ran, tucking Jenrya under his arm as he tried to put distance between them. “Jen-kun, I could really use WarGreymon's Shield right now!”

 

Jenrya searched his pocket and quickly found the desired card before slashing it through his D-Arc. “Do you really think it can block this, though?” he asked as the huge shield appeared under Galgomon's other arm.

 

“Who said anything about blocking?” Galgomon suddenly stopped and turned as the two missiles screamed towards them. “Ten bucks says the big guy's never seen a Frisbee!” Galgomon spun the shield at the missiles, grinning when they bounced off and headed back towards Metal Greymon. “Might wanna cover your ears, Jen-kun.”

 

Jenrya ducked and did so as Metal Greymon, the missiles, and the shield disappeared in a huge explosion. He didn't notice Galgomon heading towards the center of impact a few seconds later, Vulcans blazing.

 

By the time the smoke cleared, only an exhausted Terriermon was left. “Man, I'm outta shape,” he gasped, flopping to the ground.

 

Jenrya scooped him up and quickly ran back to his room, being sure to lock the door behind them. “What were you thinking?!” he scolded as he put Terriermon on his bed. “The whole monastery probably heard that explosion! How could you be so reckless?!”

 

Terriermon took a deep breath, but didn't seem to be angry. “Your life was in danger. What was I supposed to do, stand back and watch you bore him to death with a speech on non-violence? Oh, wait, no, he would've squished you before then.”

 

Jenrya glared at him. “It's clear to me now you don't understand anything about me.”

 

“Really? I think it's YOU that doesn't understand me, Jen-kun.” Terriermon dusted himself off and stood up. “If you knew your heart was about to stop beating, what would you do?”

 

Jenrya frowned. “Do whatever it took to keep it beating, I guess.”

 

“Well, THAT'S why I took out Metal Greymon. He was gonna stop YOU from beating.”

 

It took Jenrya a few seconds to realize what his Digimon was saying. “Terriermon…”

 

“Look, dummy,” Terriermon sighed, hopping onto Jenrya's head. “You're my heart. It's not my job to protect you, it's my instinct. If you die, I die. That's why I fight so hard. If a Digimon ever deletes me, it'll come after you next. We're too connected for it not to.” He patted Jenrya's cheeks with his ears. “I know you don't like it when I fight, but that's how I've survived. That's the only way I know to keep you alive. That's the whole reason Digimon exist: to protect by fighting. When you tell me not to fight, it's like saying you don't trust me to protect you anymore. And since you don't have any other Digimon, it's more like asking me to let you take on that Metal Greymon by yourself. Would you do that to your heart?”

 

“No,” he said quietly, tears in his eyes.

 

“Hey, don't cry,” Terriermon scolded gently, brushing the tears away with his ears. “I'll make you a deal, Jen-kun. I promise I won't fight unless it's to protect. Deal?”

 

Jenrya nodded. “You…you really think of me…as your heart?”

 

“It'd be hard not to. You feed me, you make me stronger, and you give me problems from time to time, but in the end, I couldn't make it without you. And if you stop working, so do I. Gotta take good care of you.”

 

“You know,” Jenrya sniffled, “we could've avoided fighting over this if you'd just told me that from the start.”

 

Terriermon shrugged. “It's like the way you love Shuichon, but you never actually tell her. You just hope she figures it out on her own, because you're family.”

 

“Yes,” Jenrya said softly, staring sadly at the ground. “Family…”

 

* * * * *

 

“I can't believe you're so comfortable with one after nearly getting eaten by a Greymon,” Ruki murmured.

 

Alice shrugged as she continued to stroke the head of sleeping Black Agumon known as Pepper. “Did you stop playing the card game after you went to the Digital World?”

 

Ruki scowled. “That's different. I was never attacked by a Renamon.”

 

“Well, it's not like he's mine,” Alice noted. “I've never really had a Digimon to call my own, so I guess I like all of them…unless they try to eat me or my friends.”

 

“It tried to eat ME,” Impmon grumbled.

 

Ruki patted his head. “You just got too close while he was hungry. He hasn't tried to bite anything else.”

 

“You do kinda look like a gumball,” Guilmon added.

 

Impmon glared at him. “Don't make me come over there, wise guy.”

 

Takato walked in, followed by Juri. “I have good news and bad.”

 

“Bad first,” Ruki said at once.

 

“I have no idea how the Digimon are getting through or how to stop them from doing it.”

 

Ruki sighed. “Then what's the good?”

 

“I know how we can at least protect ourselves.” He nodded to himself. “I'm going into the Digital World to get Renamon, Lopmon, and the others.”

 

“Not by yourself, you're not,” Alice replied calmly.

 

Takato blanched. “But…you can't go. You don't even-”

 

“Have a Digimon?” Ruki finished for him. “Well, there's no better place to GET one, Gogglehead.”

 

He blushed. “But it'll be really dangerous. Especially if it's as bad here as it is there.”

 

“I'm not much good in either place,” Alice pointed out. “At least there, I might get lucky and find a Digimon that can help us. Here, I'm just bait. And like I said, you are NOT going alone.”

 

“I was gonna take Guilmon,” Takato pointed out. “Impmon has to stay here and protect everyone else. I don't think Pepper's in any condition to fight yet.”

 

“What about Culumon?” Juri asked, holding the little Digimon up.

 

“I think he should stay here with you. The Digital World might be more dangerous for him especially.”

 

“More like more dangerous for you,” Ruki pointed out. “We're just facing a few strays. You're going into their hometown. What happens if you run into an Ultimate?”

 

“…I was trying not to think about that, actually,” Takato sighed. “But I am NOT taking Culumon. There's no point in me going if I come back to find you all…dead.”

 

“You're starting to sound like me,” Ruki quipped. “Just hurry and get back, Takato.”

 

Takato nodded, sighing again as Alice stood up to go with him. “You were serious?”

 

“Of course. If I'm going to get attacked anyway, I might as well try to get my own Digimon.” She leaned closer to him. “There's no way I'm going to let my boyfriend get eaten.”

 

He turned bright red. “I didn't realize I'd gotten promoted.”

 

“The Greymon put things into perspective,” Alice replied simply, patting Guilmon's head. “So, let's go to the Digital World, Takato.”

 

“Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you…”

 

* * * * *

 

Next Chapter: Guilmon gets some action, Pepper makes progress, and Alice attracts some unwanted attention.

 

 

Galgomon's guns are called Vulcans in the card game, so that's the name I'm using for them.

 

The Ultimate level Ruki referred to is the NA equivalent of Mega. In fact, I'd better do the conversion chart now. Keep in mind I'll be using the Japanese levels.

 

Japanese - American

Baby - Baby or Fresh

Infant - In-training

Child - Rookie

Adult - Champion

Perfection - Ultimate

Ultimate - Mega

 

As far as I know, there is no official distinction between an average Agumon and a Black one save color (based on the one in Battle Spirits, I'm guessing they're fiercer). Black/Chaos versions of Digimon usually have the same attacks, but some do vary (Black WarGreymon had slightly different attacks from WarGreymon), especially in terms of power and personality, but that's about it.