|_)Digimon: UPDATE(_| [IC]

[BANZAI!!!!]

~OOC Thread~

 

“YOU DAAAAAAREEE TRESSSSPASSSSSSSSSSSSSSS IN MY DOMAINNNN!” Orochimon hissed at the unfamiliar creatures and the digimon accompanying them. The stone covering his form briskly peeled off in large chunks, like sloughs of dead skin. His eight heads came to life one after another, each reptilian pair of eyes gazing ominously, shifting between his newfound prey. Each a new prospective meal to sate his hunger. For their part, the assembled tamers and their Digimon partners could, at first, only stand in a mix of shock and horror. Had they been called into some sort of trap?

The mass of heads slithered in place. Now completely free of his binding, Orochimon eyed the small beings with malice, sizing them up one by one. Stone cracked under the digimon’s weight as it advanced off of the massive pedestal that had moments ago supported its weight. “WHO SSSSSHHHHHHHALLLL BE THE FIRSSSSSSSST TO BE DEVOURED?” The eight voices bellowing in unison shook dust off the ceiling as they spoke, a few of the heads advancing dangerously close to the group assembled below.

True to form, Dracomon was among the first to recover from the shock of the statue coming to life as an actual Digimon, stepping toward the beast’s nearest head with his usual swagger, the gauntlet covering his right arm beginning to glow with a blue heat. “A VOLUNTEER… MY MEALSSSSSSS AREN’T USSSSUALY SSSSSSOO FOOLHARDY.”
 
A wide grin shaped Dracomon’s snout. “Hate to tell you, but I don’t go down so smooth.” His boast was immediately followed by a low, but audible groan from his Tamer, standing a few feet behind him. Dracomon’s terrible sense of humor was also in top form today, it seemed.

Unfortunately, the joke was lost on Orochimon, who instead of formulating a response chose to thrust one of his heads at the upstart before him. Dracomon and those standing close to him scattered immediately, split seconds before Orochimon’s snout impacted the floor, being struck by a retaliatory laser blast from a retreating Dracomon as it did so. After the half second or so it took for the dust to settle, it was obvious that Dracomon’s attack had no effect. Doubt and fear began to appear in the children’s faces again, which seemed to excite the monster staring down at them. Hunger and bloodlust dripped from its eyes.

“THAT’SSSS MORE LIKE IT! I DON’T MUCH CARE TO PLAY WITH MY FOOD, SSSSSSOOOO SSSSSSSSTANNND SSSSSSTILLL!”
 
 

                                                                                                                                                      ~A Zai and Mugen RP~

---

 
It had taken them close to a month of traveling, but the small group of tamers that Gallantmon had managed to contact had finally arrived at the designated meeting place: a massive ziggurat-like temple hidden deep within one of the Digital World’s jungles, far off the beaten path and certainly omitted from any known maps. Whatever it was they were hiding from, none of the children had admitted to know.

They all understood by this point, through their own experience or their companions’, that the Digital World was full of danger; now more than ever, with Hazard Zones spreading corruption wherever they lay. It was hardly surprising then that most inhabitants of this world had turned to focus on their own survival -some were rendered callous, others became outright killers. With every turn, the Digital World continued to show that the only ones they could trust with their lives were their partners, and when tempers were low, each other.

Adding to the oppressive atmosphere was the weather. Hot, muggy, and as uncomfortable as the jungle terrain could possibly make it, most of the tamers were visibly struggling to drag their bodies through the thick green. Still, relief came in the form of their destination and the clearing surrounding it; the lack of foliage allowed sunlight and some increased airflow to break through the otherwise uniform canopy.

One of the last out of the brush and into the light was Takeru Asahina, having fallen slightly behind the majority of the group during the long final slog toward their destination. He was sweating profusely and slightly winded, obviously still not quite accustomed to all of the traveling the digital world had forced upon him over the past month, though he was faring much better than he had when he’d first arrived. He wiped the sweat from his brow and dropped his gear on the ground, taking in the sight before him. “...Is… Is this it?” Takeru Asahina asked, almost pleading, to no one in particular.

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[Mugendramon]

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---

The first breath of clean air left Samuel Lahônte’s lungs with a relieved sigh. When he stopped to think about it, his whole body was really sore, his eyes were heavy with lack of sleep from the previous night, and the mud in his pants would likely not leave them until he left them. But what was he going to do, cry about it?

He cocked his head slightly then; Betamon had no sooner released the grip on his back and rolled to his feet. The little green critter spidered about: invisible underneath the digimon’s clawed feet, Sam’s ZERO-ARMS Chthus helped him overcome the inherent disadvantage of being a sea creature on land. The idea always amused Sam; even a sea creature like Betamon could make his way wherever he wanted with the right tools. Looking over his shoulder now with a hard chiseled expression, the kid now hoped the others saw in him what he saw in his partner.

Instead, he saw Takeru clumsily climbing out of the foliage and wiping his sweat. Sam’s expression changed ever so slightly at the sight: his look of exasperation was briefly taken over by a content half-smile. Briefly.
 
“Yah, it’s here. If what Gallantmon said was vrai, he should already be inside.” Sam turned to the rest of them, looking at none of them in particular, as though they were an afterthought. “Everyone else alright?”

[Andx]

It's generally a good feeling to be first in something. Whether that was a game of football, or in this case first to see a stunning view, Eileen Sheridan always appreciated being first place. Where she got the energy to move quicker than the rest of the group given the heat and the thick vegetation growing everywhere confused even Labramon who did his best to keep up with her. Eileen covered in sweat, Labramon panting to stay cool as best he could, mud clinging to their collective six legs, the pair were amazed at the sight that was now in front of them. The first breeze for a long while greeted them and both did their best to breathe it in as long as they could.

 

"About damn time already!" the young girl let out with a cry for all the nearby world to hear. The temple they'd been called to and been travelling nearly a month to find was the quite the view. Almost worth all the unbearable heat and sweating and mud and just all around unpleasant experience this recent leg of the journey had brought with it. The others slowly emerged into the clearing as well while Labramon sat down to try and relax a little bit while he could.

 

"Aw what's the story Labby? Tired out already?" Eileen teased though she was breathing fairly heavily herself. Through his panting Labramon managed to make out his reply. "Keeping up with you's a full time job as it is. Gotta rest where I can." the dog replied. Eileen quickly swooped him up to give him a hug. "I said I'd carry ya if ya got tired though. And man look at all this mud on ya. It's gonna take me forever to clean ya off." Labramon returned the hug and licked his partner's face for good measure before jumping back down as they both giggled a little. This was a pretty common place interaction for the two and they seemed completely oblivious to the others around them when they got like that. Whether it annoyed the others or not it happened a lot so they'd at least be used to seeing it.

 

Turning around to face the others she saw a group of very tired kids and digimon, Takeru emerging last into the clearing. Sam was checking up on everyone. Good old Sam, always reliable for this kind of stuff. Takeru actually speaking was something though. Of course everyone had the same question on their minds. "This has to be the place! If yee all need to take a break here I totally understand. Labramon and I will scout ahead" she declared. But it wasn't long at all before she felt a tug at her hand that almost pulled her over. Labramon wasn't so on board with the idea. "You need a break too Eileen. Just wait a bit for the others and we'll all go together." This was met with a slightly exasperated "fine" from Eileen. This had to be the place though. She was sure of it. Or she wanted to be anyway. Either way she had no idea what to do next after finding the place.

[Ｄｈａｒｃ]

---

  

---

I'm dying.  That was the thought at the forefront of Kazuto's consciousness as he trudged wearily through the jungle.  And to be fair, he looked the part: he was drenched with sweat, his eyes staring off into the void, back hunched...And none of this was in any way helped by the nine-year-old perched atop his shoulders, kicking her feet gleefully.  This is the end for me...I can feel it...

And when it seemed that all hope was lost of ever exiting the jungle or reuniting with the others, he finally set foot in the clearing, without a doubt the very last of the group to leave the treeline.  The hard part now over, Hotaru saw this as a good time to hop off of Kazuto's shoulders and just stand beside him.  The two of them looked at eachother over.

Kazuto wasn't looking much better without his sister sitting on his shoulders.  His posture was only moderately improved, though he still stood taller than nearly everyone else in the group.  His dark brown hair looked almost black due to how sodden it was with sweat, and the collar of the shirt he wore beneath his navy sweater was now decidedly off-white.  Speaking of which, the only reason he had not removed the sweater was because Hotaru had scrambled up his back before he even had the opportunity; all he could do to ease the experience for himself was roll up his sleeves about halfway..

Meanwhile, Hotaru looked no different from normal: not a hair out of place (or at least, not any more than usual), and she had the same excited twinkle in her eyes as she always did.

Kazuto let out an exasperated sigh, and he turned to look toward the rest of the group.  "We're fine," he called to no one in particular, not even hearing Sam, his voice hoarse with dehydration and fatigue.  "Sorry about the holdup..."  As per usual, he did his best to not lead on how exhausted he felt; he didn't need everybody worrying about him.

"Jeez, took ya long enough!"  FanBeemon, who had been at the head of the pack with Eileen and Labramon, came buzzing over to Kazuto's side.  "If you'd taken any longer, I was going to go back there and grab Hotaru myself."

 

Hotaru let out a giggle.  "You couldn't carry me, FanBii-chan~!  But it's okay if Onii-chan was a little slow; he got me here safe, right?"

As Hotaru and FanBeemon started to chat about the trek through the jungle, Kazuto moved ahead, joining up with the rest of the group and standing beside Takeru.  He didn't say anything, though, instead finally taking the time to look around at their surroundings.  After a few moments of cursory observation, his attention finally rested on the ziggurat before them.  Looks like a dungeon...Or a boss fight, knowing my luck...Yeah, I'm definitely dying today...

---

[Mr. Hyde]

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---

 

"I want to go home..."  These thoughts always occurred in his head.  Although, these new found mates had been treating him better so far than his real family ever had.  Those thoughts always stayed in his mind, and were never made audible.  Gabe's button-up had been wrapped around his slim waist.  A tank top hung around his small and dainty frame, as he tried to cover up as much of himself as possible.  Due to the overwhelming humidity the forest area provided, Gabe and the rest were sweating and panting up a storm.  This heat wasn't comparable to the dry heat of the outback.  The fact that it was a wet messy heat made it all the more worse.  

 

Loki flew over the top of Gabe's head.  His wings were flapping air in a current towards Gabe.  "Heh, can't have you passing out on me eh boss?"  Gabe reluctantly smiled, Loki was never nice without reason.  It was soon clear when he plopped on top of Gabe's head, trying to hitch a free ride.  The Tsukaimon had grown weary and hot as well.  "Say boss...I scratch my back, you carry me on your head.  Deal?"  Gabe didn't necessarily want to be smacked with a wing right now so he nodded slightly, making sure not to drop his partner to the ground.  

 

Thankfully, they had made it to some sort of clearing, and in the middle of the clearing was a temple like structure.  Most of the gang had made it out of the forest, and were now staring at the building wondering what the plan was.  "I-I'm here....and I-I'll live..." he whispered when responding to Sam.  

 

"Hah!  Gabe, i'm surprised you've lasted this long anyways!  I hope you'll live longer but i'm not betting on it!"  The Tsukaimon started to cackle.  This was common though, and the other digimon pretty much resented Loki for always talking down on the others.  Loki wasn't here to impress, he was here to save the world...and then maybe take it over afterwards.  However, he was the one stuck with the weakest link on the team, and he resented Gabe for it.  Gabe knew how Loki felt, he frequently expressed it, but he still considered Loki his first friend in the digital world.  He just had to open that virus infected heart of his...

 

The question was...now what?  They were standing in front of a temple, and no one had gone to investigate.  Gabe wasn't going to be the first one to do so either, so he raised his hand and spoke.  "S-So...uhm....plans?"

 

---

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

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---

After hours of trudging through the jungle, all of the overgrowth, muck, and humidity finally broke as a peculiar sight burst into the clearing, stumbling a bit from the awkward load. At the bottom off the 3-meter-tall stack was a human, somewhat lanky but clearly fit, looking a bit awkward in a barely-fitting yellow plastic poncho. He reached through the straps of his battered military surplus backpack to remove the hood and allow for the sunlight to touch his green hair and eyes, gazing across the clearing at the sight they had been heading towards for about an hour, since seeing it poke up through the canopy.

The ziggurat looked pretty much like what the human had seen from pictures in school of a Mesoamerican pyramid, with a segmented series of rectangular brick structures on top of each other with a final structure on top and a staircase going all the way to the top on one side, while another side held an entrance into the temple itself. Statues and smaller structures littered the clearing, and some even could be seen poking out through the edges of the jungle, as if this temple was part of a complex that had been reclaimed by nature. In fact, the brickwork had decayed in a few places, and vines crept up the side, ensnaring the temple and threatening to bring it back to the jungle, if not for some force protecting it. However, what was of note were the statues and the carvings along the walls of the buildings and temple. They depicted various creatures and strange objects, and the creatures using the objects for various purposes. This was definitely their destination, and the human looked relieved that he might be able to set down his pack, get out his notebook, and take some notes as well as update his map. He might even be able to take charcoal rubbings of the drier reliefs deeper into the temple. However, a voice stirred from above him, to the top of the mess.

Awakening from her nap, protected from the elements by a tarp that she had rigged using some of the materials her partner used to make a tent, was a Floramon, stretching her flower-like hands to lazily look out on the temple, scanning the surroundings. "So we have arrived?" She asked groggily before adding in a more clear state of mine. "And this is what that dumb bee saw?" She asked indignantly. "A pile of primitive bricks that are clearly of more importance to archaeologists than us? I mean, we ARE trying to save the world, not poke around in some dingy holes."

The human below mused on the surroundings to himself. "..." He then started forward towards the base of the temple, causing the Digimon to nearly fall out of her makeshift larder. "Hey! Tell me next time you- Oh, right. You're still giving me the silent treatment." She huffed and crossed her arms, looking down at Eileen and Labramon as the two of them passed the other pairing. Glenn paused, looked at the young woman, and gave a slight wave of greeting before pointing at the temple, and heading to go find a relatively dry spot to place his stuff.

---

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

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---

 

"Are you sure you're OK with this?" Bearmon asked his human partner for what must've been the umpteenth time. Yusuke Fukunaga had had her right hand pressed hard into her temple, where she held it earlier due to a concussion that she'd been stricken with a month before. But she trudged deeper into the jungle that the two were in the middle of nonetheless; she wanted to get back the others as quickly as possible now that her lookout duty was complete.

 

"I'm... fine, I hope," she immediately shook her head, knowing this came out wrong the moment she said it, "I mean think. I mean...! funk it, let's just go."

 

And so they did go. Unfortunately, Yusuke quite literally had no idea where she was going, and the Bearmon that had been following her mindlessly wasn't about to be of any proper aid. While Yusuke would be too bull-headed to accept directions anyway, the fact that none were there to give wasn't helping their cause.

 

"Huh, I thought we'd find this temple by now," Bearmon noted, "Maybe we took a wrong turn?"

 

"Ya think, Bearmon?!" Yusuke retorted.

 

"Well I don't know! If only we'd gotten directions to the place..."

 

"And how the hell were we supposed to ask?! 'Oh hi, I'm a little lost girl trying to find my mommy, could you find me a temple in the middle of the woods?'"

 

"Um... maybe... describe the temple a little?"

 

"IT ALREADY SOUNDED RETARDED ENOUGH AS IT WAS, YOU DUMBASS!!" it was this one last scream at the poor Bearmon that finally did Yusuke in... well, at least her conscience anyway. All in all, she immediately regretted saying such a thing, and she opened her mouth to apologize, when suddenly...

 

"Oh, there's the temple," said Bearmon, as he turned to Yusuke, "C'mon, everyone's waiting."

---

[Ｄｈａｒｃ]

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---

 

"You know, you oughta go easier on him," FanBeemon suggested softly to Hotaru.  "He's not superhuman or anything...Can't you see how tired he is?"  He buzzed around near the girl's head as she stood near the edge of the clearing, away from the main group of Tamers.

"I know, FanBii-chan...But he insisted.  I told him I'd be fine walking, but he told me he didn't want me to ruin my outfit," Hotaru responded, just as softly.  "I just kinda gave in and accepted it..."

 

FanBeemon looked toward where his partner stood, staring intently at the back of his head.  "Geez...He needs to take better care of himself..."  With that last thought, FanBeemon slowly made his way over to where Kazuto stood, lighting gently on his back.

 

---

 

Kazuto felt a small amount of pressure pushing on his back, and he turned his head slightly to see FanBeemon.  "Hey," he said softly, giving a wan smile.  "Sorry, again, about the holdup...I oughta be in better shape by now."

FanBeemon shook his head.  "It's okay.  Just be careful."

 

The two of them turned their attention back to the assembled group, only to have it torn away once again upon Yusuke and Bearmon thundering into the clearing like a bulldozer.  Kazuto gave a small sigh that sounded like a mixture of exasperation and relief, smiling slightly at the sight of the duo.  Finally letting himself relax a bit now that everyone was present, he cleared his throat softly.

"S-So, uh..." he began, trying his best to speak up.  "What's the, uh...The plan, now?  Cause, uh, I'm getting kind of a funny feeling from this temple...I-It's probably nothing, but uh...N-Nevermind, forget I said anything, it's not important..."  Kazuto abruptly looked down, his face slightly pink now.  Clearly, the notion of everybody being safe and sound wasn't as much of a confidence boost as one might've hoped.

Now it was FanBeemon's turn to sigh, though there wasn't any sign of contentment.  "What my spineless partner is trying to say..."  He could feel Kazuto wince beneath his claws.  "...Is if we know what exactly awaits us inside there?  Cause I'm willing to venture in ahead, if that's needed."

"M-Me, too...I-If you need someone to do it..." Kazuto added in a weak voice.

---

[Mugendramon]

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---

 Now that the last of the group had come out of the thick of the jungle, there was one less thing to worry about. Sam turned away from the others and gestured Betamon to follow him toward the structure standing before them. A few steps later he stopped, then sat cross-legged, always facing the entrance. His body really couldn't take another step right now. Even his face likely showed tiredness at this point.
 
"We don't have trop to do right now. Literally the only one who hasn't tried to kill us in this fucked up world said to come this way, what choice did we have? I'm sure most of you need a rest," taking a deep breath and grabbing Betamon around one arm, he stood up without his hands; the pain nearly brought him down on his knees, but he held. "Would our canadian goose care to make some food for us first? Gallantmon's waited for a month, surely he can wait another half hour to get us lost in some ruins."

---

[Andx]

As Glenn and Flora passed Eileen did her best to not look at the plant princess knowing it'd probably lead to something stupid about her royal status and something either Eileen or Labramon should have done for her. Glenn sort of waved as they passed after a second of just sort of looking her direction. It was about all she'd ever come to expect from him seeing how little she'd actually heard him speak in their time together. She sort of awkwardly returned the wave not knowing exactly what all to do in the situation. Labramon was occupying himself by sniffing around the immediate area, likely just an excuse to not look at Flora but also honest curiosity as well. Soon the others began speaking and that provided a quick shift of focus for Eileen and Labramon both.

 

"See even Sam thinks we should take a break. And food sounds really good too!" Labramon said excitedly to his partner as if not convinced she was going to rest all that much. He kept on her about important things like that knowing she might not take as good of care of herself as she ought to otherwise.

 

"Labby I already agreed to one didn't I? Ya don't gotta keep worrying about me." Eileen replied. The constant concern for her was really touching when she thought about it but in the moment she felt more like she needed to calm Labramon down or he might have a panic attack over her not resting well enough.

 

"Then how come you're still standing? Sit down, stay a while." the digital canine replied tugging at his partner's hand until she finally sat down next to him. He quickly sat on her lap and made himself comfortable, tail wagging energetically despite the recent trek through the jungle. Eileen began casually petting him as she turned her attention to the group again and Kazuto's questions in particular.

 

"I think it'd be smart to rest and eat a bit first like Sam said. We're just after getting through that horrible jungle and I'm wrecked. I know I just said I'd scout ahead too but I think Labramon's right, probably best to go about this as a team. Safer ya know?" she said. She really had thought earlier to just charge on in with Labramon at her side but thankfully her partner helped her think things through a little better when it came to things like this.

 

"And if it is dangerous we'd want Sam and Betamon around since they can go Champion." Labramon added in still clearly paying attention despite how otherwise distracted he appeared to be.

 

"Hey we can do it too Labby, not like Betamon's the only useful one around here!" Eileen objected. The two continued passing little retorts to each other including various comments and pokes. It almost seemed like they were wrestling for a little bit before settling down some after a good laugh between them.

[Mr. Hyde]

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---

Kazuto and Fanbeemon had offered to investigate the place, but Gabe tugged on the back of Kazuto's shirt.  "O-Oi..Uhm...K-Kazuto...let's relax first okay...we just trekked for who knows how long!"  His face was now red alongside Kazuto's.  The two were both peas in the same awkward pod.  However Loki flew over to Fanbeemon and smiled.  

 

"Yo, we can go by ourselves.  Our partners are too useless for the task of a simple investigation, Gehe!"  Something derailed his train of thought, it was the annoying combination of cheery voices and hearty barks.  It was making him sick.  "OH MY DRASIL!  Will you two can it already!?"  Loki barked at the Labramon and Eileen.  Their chummy demeanor was getting on his nerves, and he was on the verge of puking.  

 

"Loki...calm down...y-you're just grumpy because you haven't gotten any rest lately..."  Gabe's hand was reached out, as if to try and pet Loki to calm him down.  Loki usually let it slide when the two were alone, but he smacked gabe's hand aside with his wing.  

 

"Yeah...you're right boss."  Loki glared at the pair, but then gave a mischievous smile.  "Sorry about that you two!  You heard the Boss, I'm just tired is all, Gehe!"  Loki stopped flapping his wings, and promptly plopped down to the jungle floor.  Gabe did the same, minus the whole stopping his wings from flapping thing.  Instead, he sat his butt down next to Loki and crossed his legs.  Apparently the whole group was for the idea of relaxing before investigating the ziggurat.  Good idea too, because Gabe was already on the verge of passing out anyways.  As he made himself comfortable, his stomach growled.  He wasn't going to comment about it.  He didn't want anybody else worrying about him and causing trouble.  

 

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[BANZAI!!!!]

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---

 

With confirmation that yes, the group was in fact where they were supposed to be and that everyone had more or less decided that now was a good time to rest, Takeru at last let his legs give out and dropped to the ground with a controlled plop. Though the air in the clearing was decidedly cooler than it had been in the thicket behind him, the mid-day sun and the remaining humidity still made their location rather uncomfortable. Takeru sighed, it figured that there wouldn't be much relief from the heat. He wiped more sweat from his brow as he glanced around their location.

 

He could see Glenn up ahead. As per usual he'd gone off on his own to investigate their locale, with Flora, thankfully. The rest of the Tamers were scattered around the southwest edge of the clearing, all having begun to sit down and unpack whatever gear they may have had, save Yusuke, who was just now rather loudly and angrily making her way out of the jungle with Bearmon. A little ways ahead, Takeru could hear Eileen and Labramon rather loudly playfighting with one another. After allowing himself the luxury of watching Eileen for a few seconds, Takeru pivoted while he sat to listen to Fanbeemon, Loki, and their Tamers discuss what the group should do next. He grinned slightly. Dracomon would have been off scouting the temple out already.

 

"Wait. Where is Dracomon?"

 

In his drive to get out of the jungle and the heat, Takeru had completely forgotten about his own partner. He couldn't even remember when they'd last been together. A worried expression came over his face. What if he'd gotten lost? Or attacked? Or wor-

 

"BY THE FOUR GREAT DRAGONS OF LEGEND ARE ALL OF YOU DEAF AND BLIND?!"

 

As if on cue, Dracomon appeared from the thicket, bellowing angrily at the top of his lungs. His scales were scratched, scuffed, and covered in muddy soil. There was a rope noose tied tightly around his left ankle, with about a foot and a half of singed rope trailing behind it. Buster Shell was glowing faintly, and seemed to be in the process of powering itself down after being used. Takeru, for his part, was equally relieved and confused. Thankfully (or perhaps not) the little dragon wasted no time before explaining the cause of his absence.

 

"YOU'D THINK THAT WHEN ONE OF YOUR COMPANIONS IS SNARED BY A ROPE TRAP, YOU'D NOTICE THEY WERE GONE! I HAD TO CUT MYSELF DOWN!"

 

Takeru had to try to keep himself from laughing. They'd all seen the decaying boobytraps that the jungle's ancient inhabitants had laid on their way in, but of course it was Dracomon who'd been oblivious enough to fall into one. Luckily, his partner didn't take notice of his snickering as he sauntered into the center of the group.

 

"Everyone else is alright I hope?" he asked, wanting to get a better grasp of the group's situation now that he'd returned.

---

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

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---

 

After all that effort, Yusuke and Bearmon finally made it to the temple with the others... although the former was starting to regret it already. By the time they got there, Dracomon had been jabroniing about a rope trap that he managed to get himself snared into, and he jabronied about it rather loudly. Takeru was trying his damned hardest not to outright laugh at him, whereas Yusuke slammed her open hand into her face. Bearmon on the other hand...

 

"Here... lemme get that for you," Bearmon went over and cut the rope loose from Dracomon's ankle with his claws, before holding the rope up high for everyone to see, and scratching his head, "Hmm... does anyone think this rope'll be long enough to be of any use to us?"

 

"Well if a certain someone needs to be strangled, it will be," Yusuke scoffed sarcastically, before anyone else could give a proper answer. Of course, she already had a few beings in the party in mind. Loki. Flora. Maybe Sam to-... naaah, Sam was just a little too valuable, with what him being the designated leader and all. Not to mention that Betamon would want a word with Yusuke should she even make the attempt, among others. But if Yusuke's sanity was to be maintained throughout the journey in the Digital World, then Loki and Flora would most likely have to go down... one way or the other.

[Ｄｈａｒｃ]

---

  

---

Kazuto's head continued to hang as the others talked around him.  He clenched his fists, biting down gently on his lip.

 

"...you need a rest."
"...Betamon's the only useful one around here!"
"...Our partners are too useless for the task...!"

A small tremble ran through Kazuto's body as he stood there, until he managed out a low, shuddering exhale.  He seemed to be about to speak when Dracomon suddenly came out of the jungle hooting and hollering, catching Kazuto off-guard enough to snap him out of his internal self-deprecation.  "O-Oh, I'm sorry..." he murmured, barely loud enough for Dracomon to hear.  "I should've noticed..."

FanBeemon, meanwhile, had no intention of hiding his amusement.  He erupted with laughter immediately, and immediately darted over to Dracomon's side, playfully jabbing at his side with his stinger.  "You're such an idiot."  He let out another brief laugh, then buzzed around above Dracomon's head, just out of reach.  "C'mon, you can't be getting caught by stupid stuff like that...You have wings, after all, so use 'em."

"FanBii-chan, knock it off!  Quit being so mean to Draco-chan!"  Hotaru stomps up to the group now, cheeks puffed out in indignation.  She reaches up and pinches one of FanBeemon's wings, causing him to stop hovering and drop to the ground with a thud.  Sighing, she turns to Dracomon, frowning slightly.  "I'm sorry you got caught in that trap, Draco-chan...Are you okay?"


Meanwhile, Kazuto had turned his attention toward Sam by now.  "Hey, are you doing okay...?" he asked, the first words he's spoken to Sam in a long time.  "I-I mean, I appreciate you looking out for us, but, uhm..."  He paused, but that pause just turned into a drawn-out silence, and with no FanBeemon to bail him out, he eventually just withdrew into himself again.

---

[Mugendramon]

---

~OST~

---

Kazuto? Well honestly, thanks for coming to me. Thanks for giving a sheet.
 
Sam was really too tired to respond immediately. His drawn out stare must have looked really menacing, given Kazuto took back his question and even looked scared to a degree. Low self worth paired with the amount of shyness this guy carried likely made him easy to scare. For the time being, Sam's expression softened. It was Betamon who chose to break the silence in his place, which in turn brought a subtle crack of a smile to his face.
 
"He'll be fine Kazuto, but thanks for worrying about him!" Betamon spidered his way on top of Sam's head, roughing up his hair in the process. "Sam can burn himself out without realizing sometimes. I'd say he's just hungry right now."
 
"Ouais," Sam said with a sigh. Then, raising his voice; "I wasn't kidding about the food, Glenn! We have to make a good impression on the guy if he's about to put saving the world on our shoulders."

[Andx]

Girl and dog had become quite oblivious to the rest of the world while they were playing around with each other as they often did. Just as they were beginning to calm down some a rather irritating voice pierced the happy moment. Loki yelled at them for the noise, obviously annoyed. Labramon instinctively stood up from Eileen's lap and started a low growl while staring at the suspicious duo of Loki and Gabe. There simply wasn't anything trustworthy about them as it was and now they were getting mad at him for playing with Eileen? As Loki issued his excuse of being tired Eileen noticed Labramon was still rather worked up.

 

"Oi Labby, don't sweat it okay?" she said to try and calm him down.

 

"But Eileen he-" Labramon started in reply. He was interrupted by Eileen pulling him back some to break his focus on Loki.

 

"Don't ya get starting with me pup. We're all tired and and don't need to be yelling at each other." she said with a bit of assertion in her voice. She wasn't much happier about Loki's rude comment either but didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her upset with him at the moment and she didn't want Labramon in a sour mood from it. Labramon yielded but wasn't going to be forgetting any time soon. Thankfully his mind got quickly distracted by Dracomon's conspicuous arrival to the group. As he explained what had happened to him Eileen couldn't help but laugh.

 

"Serve's ya right ya little twerp! Maybe if ya ever stopped running off on your own ya wouldn't get into these messes." she managed to get out during the laughing.  Labramon however was already on the move to go check on Dracomon. However he felt about anyone in the group when someone was hurt Labramon was there and honestly concerned. Bearmon had cut the rope from off his leg and he seemed energetic enough. Giving him a quick look over he was dirty and scratched up a bit but nothing too serious to speak of. Still he wanted to be sure and soon a soft glow was appearing around his front paws. A small dose of Cure Liquor as the healing move was called to patch up the scratches. Labramon gave Dracomon a sort of pat on the back to distribute the power so it could get to work.

 

"There you go. Wouldn't do to have our fierce dragon all scratched up. Can't do much about the mud of course. Be sure to tell me if anything's still hurting." the canine said with a smile. Eileen would probably tell him to stop patching up Dracomon's little scrapes every time he got himself hurt, something or other about how he deserved it, but if she was thinking it she didn't comment.

[BANZAI!!!!]

 

"You're such an idiot. C'mon, you can't be getting caught by stupid stuff like that...You have wings, after all, so use 'em."

 

Dracomon took a few open-claw swats at Fanbeemon with Buster Shell, missing each time as the insect digimon flew in and out of arm's reach. "You know I can't fly you buzzing buffoon!" Dracomon growled as he continued to swing at Fanbeemon in vain. Thankfully, this spectacle didn't go on for too long before Hotaru and Bearmon sauntered up to them, with Hotaru knocking Fanbeemon out of the air and Bearmon cutting the rope off of Dracomon's ankle. The little dragon gave Bearmon a nod of appreciation before turning to listen to Hotaru.

 

"I'm sorry you got caught in that trap, Draco-chan...Are you okay?"

 

Dracomon's expression softened. Hotaru was one of the few members of the group for whom Dracomon usually abandoned his usual gruff, blunt manner of speech, even if her nickname perturbed him slightly. "I'm fine little one. Nothing but a few cracked scales and scrapes."

 

"Well that's certainly a relief." Takeru said as he walked toward his partner, grinning. Dracomon made what passed for a pout and gave Takeru the stink eye, knowing full well from his partner's expression that he found his plight humorous. Before he could lay into Takeru for forgetting about him though, Eileen caught both partners' attention.

 

"Serve's ya right ya little twerp! Maybe if ya ever stopped running off on your own ya wouldn't get into these messes."

 

Takeru looked like he was about to open his mouth to respond, but before he was able to utter a word he made eye contact with Eileen instead, his gaze rapidly shifting toward the ground and his cheeks becoming ever-so-slightly rosy. Dracomon, however, had no such difficulties, though he did temper his words some for Takeru and Hotaru's sake.

 

"Excuse me, human, but while the lot of you were busy being on the brink of exhaustion, I was busy scouting the surrounding area! Goldramon-knows what would happen to you all if we were to be surrounded here! Why, I oughta-" Luckily, Dracomon's yelling was interrupted as he felt Labramon's paw on his back. Having not noticed him approach, Dracomon jumped slightly before realizing what was occurring before he felt the cool sensation of his injuries magically closing themselves. He sighed and turned to Labramon. "I appreciate it, Labramon, but I'm fine, really. You might be better off checking to see if anyone else here is in need of assistance." He turned back to Takeru. "And you better not do that again, ya hear!?"

 

Dracomon's voice broke Takeru's train of thought. "Sorry Dracomon. I uhh... I'll pay better attention from now on." Dracomon nodded, and then proceeded to stretch out his leg as the blood flow returned to his foot.

---

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

---

---

"So, this is the temple that we were supposed to reach. Doesn't look all that impressive, to be honest." Flora commented, her partner below her scanning the area, before noticing an area of the complex that was relatively clear of creeping grass and vines. He went over and started to set down his gear, causing his Digimon companion to protest. "Wait! Let me know when you're doing this so I can get-" Her attempt to reason with her human fell on deaf ears, and he unceremoniously plopped down his stuff, causing her to fall out of her self-made litter and land on some grass. He proceeded to clear an area before pulling out a small waterproof box, and frowning at how little tinder they had left. He would have to make some more soon, but for now, this would be enough for a small cooking fire. The area he was in was clearly some sort of fire pit, as indicated by the faint traces of ash and the fact that it was sunken slightly into the stone. He placed the tinder down in a little pile before pulling out his Digital Armory, or D-A, a smartphone-like device that he turned on and selected one of the stored ZERO-ARMS within. A bright light radiated from the screen, and in his hand was a golden chain seemingly made out of flowers. He handed it to Flora, pointed to some nearby vines, and then to where the fire was going to be.

 

She groaned back at him, taking the chain. "Ugh...such a barbarian...using plants for your cooking...using plants for your food...such a brutish creature...but you'll keep insisting and annoying me if I don't, so I don't see any other choice." She had lengthened the chain now, and placed it around her neck to dangle across her chest like a lei. "Daisy Chain!" She cried out, causing the nearby vines to stir, and begin growing towards her...in a very stunted and dry manner, the vines eventually dying just short of their destination. However, Glenn seemed to have anticipated this, cutting the dried-out, twisted vines with a Swiss Army Knife and bringing them to the fire he was forming. They wouldn't grow properly, no thanks to Flora, but he would use what he could. He pulled out a lighter to start the fire, setting up a cooking stand over it so he could place a pot on top. Flora turned away in disgust, muttering about "murderers" and "barbarians" and "eaters and destroyers of her kind" as he put in some seeds and a bit of oil into the pot, then walked off towards the ziggurat.

He bounded up the stairs, glancing back at the fire as it built in strength. By the time he had reached the top, a telltale POP-POP-POP was beginning to resonate through the clearing to attract the attention of the rest of the group. The pot was beginning to be filled with Glenn's sweet kettle corn, and as they knew, if they didn't hurry, either the popped corn would start to fall into the fire, or others would take the delicious sweet and salty, yet nutritious, snack. As he settled down against one corner of the ziggurat, he pulled out a compass, a pair of binoculars, and a worn sketchbook with some pens from various companies.He opened the sketchbook and flipped to a dog-eared page to reveal a rather detailed map of the path they had blazed. Based on what he had drawn, Glenn had started in a forest, scouting out the surroundings heavily and establishing a base camp before he ran into Gabe. They proceeded together and met the rest of the party at the base of a rugged mountain pass. Continuing east through the mountain pass, they spotted the temple, and made their way through the jungle, across several rivers to reach this place. Using the binoculars, Glenn could just barely make out the mountains in the distance, which proved that this place was not round, but he felt like it wasn't a flat world, either. It seemed to defy geological description, especially how a tropical jungle and a temperate forest could be separated by a relatively small mountain range. Still, he began sketching in anything he could see around him with the binoculars that could serve as a reference point. Maybe something he could see would point them in the next direction they were to go...

[Andx]

Arguing with Dracomon got Eileen fired up as it usually did. And as the little dragon was spouting back a response to her initial taunt she was just focused on the next thing to jab him with. It was almost like she was just waiting for him to finish so she could pounce again. But Dracomon was interrupted by Labramon tending to his minor injuries and didn't finish addressing her. With the momentum of the moment halted as it was she didn't much feel like trying to get it going again. She had noticed a quick look from Takeru, eye contact even, but he quickly turned away. For a moment she even thought he might have wanted to talk to her but that seemed unlikely knowing Takeru.

 

Satisfied that Dracomon wasn't more seriously hurt, Labramon did recall he hadn't checked up on the others since coming into the clearing. His mind had been a little preoccupied with Eileen. He made a quick round to each of the other members of the group, not really stopping to chat or anything just looking for cuts, scrapes, or anything of that nature. No one else seemed to be in need of his help so with that he casually worked his way back to Eileen's side. She had that look on her face like she was going to say something and sure enough she did.

 

"Why are ya always so nice to that little punk Labby?" she questioned in regards to Dracomon. Labramon couldn't help but smile as he turned a question on her.

 

"Why are you always picking fights with him?" he responded. This flustered her a little and led to her typical responses about how much better he viewed himself as being compared to everyone else and just how annoying he is with it.

 

"He's really not all that bad of a digimon. Maybe he thinks a little too highly of himself, maybe he's a little hot-headed. But he's nice at heart. Or he seems like it anyway. Reminds me of someone I know." Labramon responded dropping quite the hint that Eileen wasn't registering immediately. Just as she was about to question her partner she heard a strange popping sound. Looking over to where Glenn had started making kettlecorn and then promptly abandoned both the food and fire. With an aggravated sigh Eileen hustled over to ensure nothing would burn with Labramon at her heels eager to eat.

 

"So we ask for something to eat and he makes..." Eileen started as she casually tossed one of the popped kernels into her mouth. "Kettle corn. A damn snack that doesn't keep ya full the moment ya stop eating it!" she exclaimed. Before she could continue yelling she felt a paw patting at her reaching up for some of the snack. "Hold your horses Labby I gotta see who all wants some so we all get a fair portion. Doubt our 'master chef' is gonna bother to come make anything else for a while yet." she said still clearly annoyed. Labramon relented a little with a bit of a sad whimper accompanying it. Eileen then brought the supply of kettle corn over to the rest of the group and let out a call.

 

"Well come on then everybody, this is all we're getting before heading off!" she said setting the pan down in the middle of the gathering, Labramon staying close by to make sure he could get to snacking as soon as he could. As she did so she remembered thinking Takeru had wanted to talk to her and even though she felt fairly certain that wasn't the case she thought she'd better go check. She began casually walking over, sort of mentally bracing herself for another round with Dracomon. After a brief moment of silence she addressed him.

 

"Hey Takeru, call me crazy but I thought maybe ya were wanting to talk with me a little bit ago?" she asked unsure how the boy would respond to her.

[Ｄｈａｒｃ]

---

---

Kazuto gave a small, polite nod at Betamon's response.  "Okay, just making sure...Can't exactly keep pushing forward without you, huh?  I mean, who would we be depending on then?  Me?"  He let out a sheepish laugh at his own self-deprecating joke, then shook his head.  "Anyway, uh...I gotta go see what my two are going on about, so...T-Take care, I uh, suppose."  And with that awkward end to the conversation, Kazuto started his way back to FanBeemon and Hotaru.

---

 

---

"H-Hey, Hotaru!  Don't do that, I could seriously get hurt!" FanBeemon whined, shifting his wings and inspecting them.  "My wings are delicate...You coulda torn it and I wouldn't be able to fly."

Hotaru stuck out her tongue and pulled down her lower eyelid.  "Well, then you'd be just like Draco-chan then, FanBii-chan.  You shouldn't be making fun of him just cause he can't fly!"

"I wasn't trying to be mean, I was just playing with him, geez...Friends say that kind of stuff to eachother, you know.  Ever heard the saying 'acquaintances agree, friends argue?'"

"Well, then I guess we aren't friends, in that case."

"Alright you two, that's enough fighting," Kazuto finally sighed, breaking up the argument.  The two of them had moved away from the main party yet again as they bickered.  "That's not worth getting worked-up over.  C'mon, Glenn made some food, so you should head on over and eat."

 

FanBeemon's antennae twitched, and his eyes widened at the sweet scent of the kettle corn.  He immediately darted over, leaving Kazuto and Hotaru alone.  Kazuto was about to speak again when Hotaru took hold of his hand, causing him to fall silent.

"What about you, Onii-chan...?" Hotaru asked.  "You only said: 'you should head over and eat,' not 'we.'  You're hungry too, aren't you?  You carried me the whole way, after all..."

"Nah, I'm okay, really.  Besides, if I eat any of it, then that just means less for everybody else, right?  And I can't be the reason that everybody else doesn't get enough..."  He gave a small smile in an attempt to assuage Hotaru's worries.  "It's more important that Sam and Eileen and all the Digimon eat, anyway; they're more useful if we run into any trouble, after all.

"But you can't say that!  Cause you have FanBii-chan, and I don't have a partner, so you're still more important than I am..."

"That's not true.  You're important to me, and to FanBeemon.  It's our job to keep you safe and happy, and that includes making sure you eat.  So please, go ahead and eat.  I'll be fine, really.  And besides, I don't even like sweets all that much, you know that."

Hotaru puffed out her cheeks and pouted, but she didn't say any more on the matter, instead slowly working her way over to the pot of kettle corn now.  She sat down next to FanBeemon, who was already greedily munching down the sweet corn.  Despite how pouty she had just been, she couldn't totally suppress a giggle at the sight, and she began to partake as well.

Kazuto smiled as he watched Hotaru and FanBeemon eat.  However, his stomach whined and he felt it twist inside of him, as though desperate to scrounge up anything.  In truth, Kazuto was probably the hungriest out of all of them — he had barely eaten anything the last time they had stopped, and that was only at Hotaru's insistence.  He let out a small sigh, then made his way over to the food as well.  He took a seat behind Hotaru, then lay down on the grass, closing his eyes and allowing himself at least a brief moment to rest.

---

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

---

---

"Well come on everybody, this is all we're getting before heading off!" Eileen called from the distance. Sure enough, Yusuke and Bearmon came to see what is what exactly that they were supposed to be collecting. Of course, Bearmon only needed to see the pot before all of a sudden...

 

"FFFFFFFFOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!" and so Bearmon ran straight for the pot, taking it just before Eileen finished serving up, and began chowing down on the kettle corn that had been cooked within. Thankfully, Bearmon didn't get much more of the kettle corn than anyone else, so it was probably a good thing that he got to eat straight from the pot; it meant there'd be fewer dishes to wash later. In any case, Bearmon was happy, but Yusuke...

 

"...the funk is this sheet?" Yusuke scratched her head as she asked this. Hailing from Japan, Yusuke had never seen or heard of kettle corn. She could only assume that it was apparently edible... and only because Bearmon was scoffing it down like anything else he was given to eat. Nonetheless, Yusuke took a bite and tasted the kettle corn, only to promptly spit it back out again. If she was to eat that crap ever again, it would be too soon.

 

"That's it; I'm going off ahead," said Yusuke, "Hopefully something's there that can wash the taste of dry wall and sugar outta my mouth."

---

[Mr. Hyde]

---

---

 

"Well come on then everybody, this is all we're getting before heading off!" Glenn must have cultivated some food, after all he was the only one that could do it unless the others were to scavenge.  As he walked up to the pot, the sound of popping could be heard.  Each pop made Gabe flinch.  One piece of popped corn had flung out of the pot, and Loki managed to catch it with his Beezlebub Band.  

 

"HAH!  Are you serious Gabe?  A heated vegetable can make you flinch?  That's truly pathetic, gehe!"  Gabe turned red.  Somehow he managed to get a handful of kettle corn despite the embarrassment.  He plucked one piece at a time and placed them on his tongue.  There wasn't much of a flavor, and the fluffy texture didn't leave much to be desired.  However, it was good, so Gabe wasn't going to complain anytime soon.  The others voiced their obvious displeasure, but in his mind, Gabe was thanking Glenn for the meal.  He wasn't going to disturb his sketch time to just thank him.  Perhaps later.

 

Bearmon was the only one chowing down directly in the kettle.  Loki had only gotten one piece so far, so the fact that the big lug was mowing the rest of the snack down irked him.  "Hey you jerk!  Lemme in on some of that food, gehe!"  Anything that flew out of the pot and wasn't completely drenched with bear slobber was fair game for Loki, so he used his Zero-Arms to grab any piece he saw fit for consumption.  "Blech!  This stuff tastes like packaging peanuts!  Make it Tomatoes next time huh Flora?"  However, the fact that the rest of them were eating what Floramon would probably consider her children made her reel in disgust.  Before eating another piece he snickered.  "I think I'll name this one Jerry!"  He then swallowed the piece, coughed as it went down roughly, and snickered again.

 

"That's it; I'm going off ahead.  Hopefully something's there that can wash the taste of dry wall and sugar outta my mouth."  Yusuke was about to trudge off, and Gabe reluctantly stuck his hand not full of kettle corn to try and stop her, but he didn't want to be a bother.  

 

"We should just....stay together..." he whispered to himself.  

---

[Mugendramon]

---

---

Popping noises from the corn reached Sam and Betamon just as Kazuto left them. Sam's eyes sparked for a moment; every worry on his mind disappeared with the increasingly frequent sound of ready food.
 
Until he tried standing up to get it. A sharp pain on one of his calves told him he really had overdone himself -his mental fortitude alone could only carry him so far. His look became troubled and he cast his eyes down, as though considering a difficult choice. He held this pose for about five minutes, Betamon staring without that much concern from the top of his head. Eventually a sigh let the digimon know that the human had made up his mind.
 
"Will you fetch me some of that food Betamon? I'm really at my limit," Sam said quietly. He immediately felt the weight of Betamon loosen up, almost slouching. Feeling lazy too? Probably. Land dwelling isn't the easiest thing for him, I was built for it. Why am I complaining?
 
Before Sam could act on his brief empathy however, Betamon had leapt off his head and was standing before him. There was no sign of any slouching, and he showed the same calm grin he always wore. It was at times like this that he understood Betamon with no words. I'm fine with going an extra mile if you need it, he was saying. The thought brought the same calm grin to Sam's face. Without breaking eye contact with his partner, he got on his feet with a wince.
 
"You're right. I'm not gonna let a little trekking stop me. Let's go eat some."

---

Admittedly, the food before the two did not look nearly as good as it had sounded. They saw mixed reactions in those eating: Bearmon was clearly enjoying his meal with abandon, though his partner seemed to prefer to curse at it. Betamon opted to do the same as Loki, spidering his way under Bearmon's rampage and biting a few pieces of corn off the ground. He spat them out with discretion, though not without disappointment.
 
Looking Sam's way to see what he thought, he instead found Sam giving Gabe a hard stare. There was hesitation in his look, but Betamon knew exactly what it said. Just as well he understood that Sam would likely not bring himself to say what he wanted to. The green digimon crawled his way to his tamer's side again, then shook his head at him without particularly trying to say anything. Sam would try to read into it anyway.
 
"Je sais, je sais," he admitted blankly. "But he's right to be worried. We really can't leave her on her own, she'll get herself killed.
 
"Yusuke you moron!" Sam yelled. "Don't go in there on your own! We don't want you to be our first impression!"

---

[BANZAI!!!!]

 

"You uhh... you are ok though, right?"

 

Dracomon looked up from his stretching, raising one of the ridges on his head that served as an eyebrow in an attempt to approximate a humanoid expression of incredulity. The message got through: Takeru nodded and looked away. He was still a bit flustered, the combination of Dracomon and Eileen having throw off his momentum. This wasn't uncommon, but his partner, ever eager and forthright, found these episodes disconcerting. Dracomon sighed. "Don't worry about it too much Takeru. That does you no good."

 

"I feel bad about it though.... I should have realized something happened to you." Before Dracomon could respond, the sound of crackling flames and popping caught their attention, followed by Eileen.

 

"Well come on then everybody, this is all we're getting before heading off!"

 

"Forget it. A little rope trap is nothing for the likes of me. C'mon, lets get some food. Dracomon gently tapped him on the leg with his claw.

 

Takeru grinned and nodded. Maybe it was just Dracomon's stomach overriding his temper, but it was reassuring to have the little dragon be understanding for once.

 

---

 

Since they'd been talking to one another, Takeru and Dracomon were some of the last to get their share of kettle corn. Naturally, Takeru had taken a relatively small portion, partially because he was in slightly better shape than some of the others (Sam had conspicuously limped his way to the fire pit, and Kazuto had decided to simply sit nearby, forgoing any nourishment, both of which Takeru took stock of). Dracomon, on the other hand, had taken the lion's share of what was left, snarfing it down by the claw full. As they both ate, Yusuke, being her usual self, decided to leave and got up with a start. Apparently the thought of rest and food didn't quite appeal to her at present. 

 

  "That's it; I'm going off ahead.  Hopefully something's there that can wash the taste of dry wall and sugar outta my mouth."

 

Sam called after her. "Yusuke you moron! Don't go in there on your own! We don't want you to be our first impression!" Dracomon laughed a little at this before nearly choking on kernels that got caught in his throat, causing quite the coughing fit as he bashed on his own chest with Buster Shell in an effort to get the food un-stuck. Thankfully, he was successful after a second or two, and after catching his breath he continued gulping down his share of kettle corn. Takeru took little notice and instead sat himself down near Kazuto, though he didn't say anything since it seemed that his friend was trying to recuperate. Best not to disturb him.

 

"Hey Takeru, call me crazy but I thought maybe ya were wanting to talk with me a little bit ago?"

 

Takeru looked up from his handful of popcorn, quite surprised the Eileen had decided to come over and talk to him. Once again, he made eye contact. Then, almost reflexively, he shifted his gaze away, his cheeks rapidly assuming a shade of red quite similar to Eileen's hair. It took him what seemed like an eternity, but after a second or two Takeru at last forced himself to speak, though he still couldn't bring himself to look her straight in the eye. Too obvious.

 

"Uh-uhmm... N-not really Eileen... You uhh... just k-kinda caught me staring into space, That's all." Flimsy at best, but it would have to do. After all, what would she think of him if she found out that he was simply to nervous to actually hold a conversation with her. Still,Takeru managed to put together another couple of sentences, mostly so that Eileen wouldn't think he was brushing her off. "Are uhh... a-are you and Labramon doing ok? The hike up here was kinda rough..." Stupid. Obvious small talk wouldn't do him any good either.

 

 

 

[Andx]

Labramon had been sure to reserve his and Eileen's portions of the kettle corn out while the others began eating. He was happily munching away on the sweet snack which occupied most of his attention while Eileen went over to speak with Takeru. Quickly finished with his own share he brought Eileen hers as she finished asking Takeru her question and she began to casually eat it as Takeru fumbled through his responses. Supposedly she'd only caught him staring off at nothing which honestly was what Eileen had thought it was the fact they kept making eye contact had her wondering still. And she thought for a moment he was blushing but that might have just been the heat getting to him. Then Takeru asked how she and Labramon were doing given the trip through the jungle.

 

"Oh is that all ya were worrying about? Well thanks but no need to worry about me. That was hardly comparable to some of the drills on the football team... though I guess it's already been a year or so since I quit." Eileen said ending with a bit of a laugh. "And Labby's a tough pup so no worries there." she said as she finished eating her snack and knelt down briefly to pet Labramon's head. He returned the gesture by licking the sugar off her fingers. Figuring she'd put Takeru on the spot enough Eileen stood and then turned her attention to the rest of the group. No sight of Glenn, Yusuke or Kazuto. Just what they needed.

 

"Labby where'd everyone run off to?" she said with a sigh. Labramon seemed to be going through everything in his head just to make sure he had it all right before responding.

 

"Well uh you know Glenn and Flora went ahead after making the food, Yusuke didn't like the food very much and ran off and Sam yelled at her a bit." Labramon started. Then he pointed over to where Kazuto was lying down nearby. "Not sure how you missed Kazuto though." He finished knowing that given her mood Eileen probably wouldn't like having overlooked something right under her nose. Sure enough the report only prompted more exasperated sighs from her with a slight bit of embarrassment to it that only really Labramon picked up on.

 

"Honestly what am I gonna do with these people?" she said turning toward the temple ahead of them. Regaining her composure somewhat she decided it was time to get the group moving. "Alright everyone let's get a move on! Gotta catch up with our dummies!" she called out to those still nearby. Kazuto being off somewhere napping was probably going to be an issue but she was confident Fanbeemon and Hotaru would get a handle on it.