Author's Notes and Ramblings: Did you know that Ken calls Miyako(Yolei) "Miyako-san" in the original Japanese? I wonder if he uses the honorary "san" for everyone else. Probably. Also (of far more important note) there's a contest at the end of this fic. Read the story, then check it out!
His mouth felt and tasted like stiff cotton. That was the first thing through Davis Motomiya's head upon his waking up. The second thing through his head was that he was alive. That was surprising, since the last thing he remembered was flying through the air much higher than any human being should go.
With his eyes still closed, he recounted what happened that had him where he was. First, the group was all in the Digital World, looking for a disturbance in the woods that was apparently making all the surrounding digimon scatter. Everything was fine; no ground disturbed, not a tree destroyed, not even a leaf out of place. They were beginning to think the whole thing was a false alarm. Then, there was a loud crash to the right, and something hard had smashed into Davis before he even had a good look at it. Next, he was airborne, barely hearing everyone screaming for him. He had a pretty good view of the treetops, even if his eyesight was a little hazy from the attack. And then, he had landed. Hard. Hard enough to hear a sickening crunch before mercifully becoming unconscious.
So, why wasn't he dead? Surely, if the fall hadn't killed him on impact, the internal injuries would've. Davis liked to brag about how tough he was, but he knew for sure that a fall like that would've killed anyone. So, why was he still alive? And why didn't he feel like his body was broken into itty bitty pieces?
"Ugh," he grunted, swallowing a few times in an attempt to get the bad taste out.
"Ooo," something cooed next to his ear.
The sound justifiably set him on edge. Davis' eyes shot open, and he jumped up, prepared for an attack. But instead of some evil looking digimon ready to eat him, there was a small girl there. His age, he guessed, chubby faced and petite. Her skin was snow white, as well as her hair. She blinked at him with light blue eyes, and tilted her head, showing off the iridescent purple highlights in her straight tresses. For an embarrassed moment, Davis thought she was naked, but then he realized she was strangely covered with blue feathers in some places. Some important places, fortunately. A small purple dot sat on the middle of her forehead, and Davis was so absorbed with the feather issue that it took him a while to realize her ears were pointed.
"You're a... a digimon?" he croaked, not knowing what she was going to do.
The girl stared at him for a moment, then simply got up from her sitting position, and floated over to him. Floated. She swirled around him, small fingers curiously touching his bomber jacket.
"Definitely a digimon," Davis said, more to himself than her.
He didn't know what else to do but watch her silently as she wriggled her fingers in the fake fur of his jacket collar. She seemed to enjoy the feel of it, and giggled with a voice like a wind chime. With her wide blue eyes filled with wonder, she inspected his clothing, apparently having never seen anything like it. Davis stood, rooted to the spot, afraid that she'd attack if he made any sudden movement.
"Y-ya know, my friends will be here any second," he warned. At least, he hoped they were coming. If they even knew where he was. "And when they do, they'll attack you if they think you're hurting me."
The girl looked up at him, eyebrows knitted in confusion. Then, her face lit up with a smile, and she giggled again. With her feet still not touching the ground, her searching fingers went lower still, to the top of Davis' shorts.
"Whoa, whoa!" he cried, grabbing at her wrists. "There's such a thing as personal space, and that move definitely violates it!"
The girl's laughter was her only reply.
Davis glared at her, frustrated. "Well, aren't you going to say something?"
She gave him another confused look. Then, a smile brighter than the sun appeared on her face, and she wrapped her arms around him tightly, laughing all the way.
To say Davis was shocked would be a very large understatement. What was going on with this crazy digimon, anyway? Trying to be gentle but firm at the same time, he pushed at her. But her grip only tightened, and she made a strange, trilling sound in the back of her throat. Deciding that gentle just wasn't going to cut it, Davis pushed hard, this time successfully dislodging her from his person.
"Oh!" she sighed, looking at him in fondness.
"What do you mean, 'oh?'" Davis demanded, brushing himself off. "Can't you speak?"
"Ah... " she cooed, floating a little too close to him again.
"Well, you can 'oh' and 'ah.' But," he sighed, walking away from her, "that really doesn't help me. Listen, if you helped me out back there," he said, still edging away, "I appreciate it. But, I really gotta find my friends. Bye!"
With a jaunty wave, he turned away. However, the instant he did that, elegant, white arms curled around his waist from behind.
"Gah!" he cried. "Get off!"
She giggled, and actually let go, but only so she could float in front of him again, beaming. He scowled at her the best scowl he had, but she just smiled back. Trying to give her the hint that he wanted to get past her, he sidestepped to the left. She followed his movement. Growling now, he sidestepped to the right. She followed yet again, this time giggling as if she thought it just a game.
"Why won't you leave me alone?" Davis grunted.
He sidestepped to the left, quickly, and she floated easily with him. Then he sidestepped... to the left again. She, as he had hoped, had gone the other way. He took it as his chance to run. He took off into the woods as fast as he could go, working his legs as hard as he could until they ached. And still, he ran a bit more until he was surrounded by trees, and the girl digimon was nowhere to be seen. With a tired moan, he finally stopped and leaned against a tree.
"Aahh," came the now all too familiar voice, and snow white arms snaked around his neck.
"God!" Davis swore, practically jumping from shock. As the girl happily nuzzled against him, he shoved her away in annoyance. "H-how did you find me?"
"Hmmmm... " was her breathy answer, as she reluctantly let him go.
He stared at her face, filled with adoration, and felt his stomach drop. If the last twenty minutes were any indication, she just wasn't going to leave him alone. Well, maybe when he met up with the others one of the digimon would know what to do with her. He tilted his head at her, and she cocked hers in reply, all the while smiling that loving smile. Davis groaned and shook his head in defeat. With a resigned sigh, he began walking into the woods, knowing full well that she --whatever she was-- was following him like a puppy would her master.
They walked in silence for a while. Well, he walked, and she floated. Every so often, she'd grab him by the arm and snuggle, emitting cheerful little sounds. Davis would just push her off and mutter at her to stop, knowing that she didn't understand him and she wasn't going to stop. Why was she so interested in him, anyway? He just couldn't figure out what her angle was. Surely, there was a catch attached to all this unwarranted affection.
As they made their way, she giggled, and cooed, and sighed, all in a tone of devotion towards him. Not like she thought he was a god or something, that Davis was sure of. But more along the lines of love. Which, he decided, was more disturbing. He didn't know her. At all. She didn't know him. At least, he didn't think she did. What if she was some sort of... digi-stalker? The thought made Davis' mind twirl a bit in worry. Then again, he thought, as she actually pulled away from him long enough to gently pick a few wildflowers before going back to his side, she didn't seem very dangerous at all.
She remained floating next to him, contented by his presence and by idly sniffing the purple-yellow flowers she held. Giggling, she placed a few in her hair, holding onto to the last one, and turned to him expectantly for approval. Not knowing what else to do, and not sure whether or not it was a good idea to offend her, Davis smiled, nervously. She, he had to reluctantly admit, looked kind of cute like that. She giggled back at him delighted, then took the remaining flower and put it behind his ear. It startled Davis, and he made a move to swipe it away, then thought better of it. After all, he still didn't know what she'd do if she got upset. And, to be honest, he really didn't want to know.
When she saw he was going to leave it alone, she beamed with joy, and twirled in the air. When she stopped, she looked at him with bright eyes, as if she had decided something immensely important. He looked back at her in apprehension, and flinched when she floated very close to his side. With her lips almost too close to his ear, the girl began to sing next to him, and even though she was annoying and worrying him to no ends, Davis found himself reluctantly enjoying the sound. It was a nonsensical little tune, no words, obviously. But, it was beautiful and soft, and somehow very reassuring. He could feel himself grow calmer as it went along.
"I knew you could make a few noises," he said to his companion. "But I didn't know you could do that."
Apparently, the tone of his voice was appreciative enough that the girl nearly glowed with happiness, and she tightly encircled her arms around his neck, so they were cheek to cheek. She made that odd trill again, and gently rubbed her cheek against his in a show of fondness. Exasperated by it all, he shoved her away.
"Will you quit it?" Davis frowned. "Sheesh, one little compliment doesn't give you the right to grope me! Listen, I don't think you can understand, but try. I'm trying to find my friends," he said the words slowly to her, as if talking to a small child. "My friends. Got it? And I'm tired, and annoyed, and-" his stomach rudely interrupted, growling loudly. Davis blushed a bit. "I guess I'm hungry, too."
She stared at his belly with wide eyes, then looked up at his mildly embarrassed face and giggled. Once again breaking the laws of personal space, she grabbed him by the hand, and began pulling him into a darker section of the forest.
"Hey, leggo!" Davis cried, trying to pull away.
But the female digimon would have none of it, and determinedly yanked him along. He learned, very quickly, that while she was smaller than him, she was also stronger. He tumbled along behind her, mumbling his displeasure all the while. It was all he could do not to fall flat on his face. As they went along, the forest became thicker, and Davis could've sworn they'd started going uphill.
But soon, the dark woods gave way to a bright clearing. Some of the same purple-yellow flowers that now adorned their heads bloomed in patches, and there was a small pond, barely even large enough to be considered one. A few feet away from that, Davis noticed, with some apprehension, that there was a cliff. He had been right, they had been going up. And he really didn't want to know just how high up they were.
With her hand still clamped onto his, she dragged him over to the pond, and actually stopped floating to kneel at the edge of the water, pulling him down with her. Smiling, she pointed enthusiastically to the pond.
'What is wrong with this crazy digimon?' Davis wondered, but he humored her by looking in. He couldn't see anything for a moment, but then something bright and quick caught his eye. Fish. The tiny pond actually had fish in it! Which was great, except for one tiny problem...
"I can't catch them," he sighed, doubting she'd understand. Indeed, she was looking at him in confusion. Davis sighed again, and shrugged with defeat. "See, look." He plunged his hand in the water, and predictably sent the fish scattering out of reach. He pulled his now wet arm out, and shook his empty hand at her. "Get it? They're too quick, and I don't have a rod to catch them the other way."
The girl looked poutingly at his hand for a moment, then flippantly shrugged. With a grin and a surprising wink, she plunged her arm into the water and pulled it out so fast, Davis barely saw the movement. In her now dripping fist was a flopping fish, and her grin only widened when he stared at her catch with large, shocked eyes.
"That's... that's a good trick," he admitted, duly impressed. Then, a new thought struck him, and he looked up at her with apprehension. "Uh, I don't know how you eat them, but I normally cook mine. Ya know? Cook. With... uh, fire," he pointed at the stylized flames on his jacket, knowing how lame his explanation was, and having no idea of how to improve upon it.
She gave him an odd look, then handed him the fish. It wobbled in his hands for a moment, but Davis managed to get a better grip, though not without her giggling at his silliness. She stood up and, not shockingly, floated away into the woods. Davis thought she had finally left him. Hesitantly, he stood up, fish still in hand, wondering if he could find his way back to where he'd been before she'd taken him to the clearing. But before he could even attempt it, she appeared again, this time with her arms filled with sticks.
She let them drop to the ground, picking up a couple and rubbing them with the same quickness she had used to catch the fish. As sparks began to fly from the wood, Davis wondered if her speed was the reason she had managed to find him before. Probably, he decided. With a bright smile, she held out a stick to him, and he took it, spearing the fish with it. The girl giggled approvingly, still floating around like it was the natural thing to do. Which, Davis thought, it probably was for her.
Realizing that he might as well do it, he sat down and cooked his fish, watching the female digimon out of the corner of his eye. She was picking those flowers again, removing the petals and scattering them on the pond's surface with a glee that he normally only related to human girls. She must've noticed his watching her, for she was at his side in an instant, her head resting on his shoulder with tenderness. With a grunt, Davis inched away from her and sulkingly took a bite out of his fish.
It wasn't that great tasting, considering he didn't exactly have any seasonings on him, but at least it was food. His stomach couldn't have cared less about how tasty it was. Taking a few more bites, he spotted the girl staring at him in adoration. After rolling his eyes at her behavior, Davis winced when he realized that she had nothing to eat. Well, he conceded, she did catch it, after all. She deserved it.
He held out the fish to her. "Hungry? C'mon, take it," he encouraged. When she just stared at him wide eyed, he frowned, annoyed. "Well, go on! It's not going to bite you. Aren't you the hungry at all?"
The girl looked at him uncertainly for a few more moments, then, very cautiously, leaned forward. Taking barely a nibble of the fish, she pulled away and waved her hand as if to say, "No more."
Davis raised a brow. "That's it?" he asked, incredulously.
She just smiled, and gestured for him to finish.
It clicked then, and he understood. "You don't want to eat my food, do you?" he accused, without venom. "You want me to eat it all."
Clearly not comprehending his words, she simply smiled lovingly at him. He sighed and shook his head, resignedly.
"You are a strange, strange little digimon," he muttered.
He finished the fish in silence, trying not to notice her unwavering attention towards him. It was, however, beginning to bother him immensely. Davis could not, for the life of him, figure out why this stranger was so utterly attached to him. What could've possibly happened between him crashing into the ground at high speed, and miraculously waking up without a scratch that would make this digimon show such amorous attentions?
The very instant he stood up, her arms were around his neck, as she nuzzled her cheek against his. She made a soft, cooing sound, and held him closer, nearly cutting off his air passage. Then, as if to ice the cake, she kissed him. Right on the cheek. As if it was the right, normal thing to do. That was it. He had had it.
"Leggo!" Davis croaked, pushing her away. "What is wrong with you?!"
She blinked at him, still grinning. Her oblivousness just made him angrier.
"Can't you understand anything?" he demanded. "What. Is. Wrong. With. You? I don't know you from a hole in the wall. Why are you clinging to me, huh? Do you want something, is that it?" Davis asked, almost growling. "I don't have anything! Anything at all. Do you hear me?"
The smile on her face slowly began to fade, and her eyes widened with a tinge of fear when it finally sunk in that the object of her affection was unhappy. He was more than unhappy; he was furious.
"I don't get you," Davis declared, now full swing into his rant. "I've never seen you before today, and you're holding onto me like we've been dating for years. I have no idea what your deal is, and I don't care. Listen, I really appreciate all that you've done. Really, I do." He backed away slowly, feeling a bit of regret when she pouted at him and made a sad, almost mournful noise. "I gotta go, okay? Alone. Alone, understand? I just... I gotta go- Ooooohh!" he screamed, as his backwards shuffling accidentally brought him to the end of the cliff. His foot slipped on the edge, and he tumbled backwards.
For the second time in the same day, Davis watched in horror as he plummeted to the earth at such speed he doubted there'd be anything left of him. For a split moment of clarity in-between his panic, he wondered if this was the work of karma. Suddenly, his descent ended. But not because he landed in an utterly painful way, but because there were two slender white arms wrapped around his chest, and a determined little digigirl floating him back up to safety with her.
She placed him gently back onto the cliff, making sure he was nowhere near the edge. With her cherub face filled with concern, she twirled around, her hands going almost everywhere to check for injury. Davis stood in shock the whole time, his brain trying to catch up to the frightening event that almost took place. He nearly died... again. And while he was not sure whether she had a hand in it or not, Davis was pretty positive his first brush with death had ended happily because of her. And he knew for sure that she had just saved him this time.
She finally stopped checking, satisfied that he was unharmed. With a sigh, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed her cheek against his, making odd little noises of relief. Davis pushed her away, but not as hard as he had been doing before. He watched her as she smiled a strained smile at him. Her heart had been pounding awfully fast, he had felt it when she hugged him. She must've been terrified when she saw him go over. Maybe as terrified as he had been.
Davis ran a hand through his ruffled hair, and let go of the breath he didn't even know he had been holding. "Ah... thanks," he said, doubting she'd understand. To get his point across, he smiled. "I mean it. Thanks. I'm okay," he added, turning for her inspection. "See? Not a prob."
The girl's strained smile relaxed into something far more natural, and she nodded.
He grinned, and nodded back, suddenly much more at ease. "Let's start over, okay? Clean slate." He held his hand out. "My name's Davis."
She gave his hand and him a funny look. She wrinkled her nose, and raised a brow so it nearly hit her hairline. Obviously, this was not a custom she was used to. He wasn't surprised though, and he chuckled.
"Hmmm, let's try this another way. My name's Davis," he repeated, placing his hand on his chest. "Davis."
She narrowed her eyes a moment, her lips silently moving. With a soft, hesitant voice she whispered, "Dae-vis?"
"That's it!" he encouraged, happy that they were actually getting somewhere. Again, he placed his hand on his chest. "Davis." Then, he reached out and touched her shoulder. "And you?"
"Hmmm?" she frowned, clearly not following.
"C'mon, this is easy!" he said, trying to get her to catch on. "Davis." He pointed to himself.
" ...Dae-vis," she repeated, obediently.
"Yes. Davis." Then, he pointed at her, expectantly.
Her frown remained for a minute further. Then, her eyes lit up with understanding. With an almost embarrassed smile, she shook her head, her blue eyes focusing on the ground.
"You don't have a name?" he asked. Her eyes remained away from his. It was his turn to frown. "Well, we can't have that. I mean, be kinda silly if I called you 'girl,' for the whole time. Um... what to call you. Hmmm... Keisei? Ah, no, that might be taken the wrong way," he murmured, his brain going into overdrive. "Sennyo? Nah, too obvious," he rejected. He looked up and noticed she was staring at him with pretty, curious eyes. She really was, he reluctantly admitted, rather adorable when she wasn't attaching herself to him like a skin graph. A mischievous grin tilted onto his face. "Bishojo. Your name is Bishojo," Davis announced.
"Eh?" she blinked.
"Davis," he pointed to himself. Then, to her. "Bishojo."
Her lips twisted, not sure of how to work such a strange word out. "Bi... Bish... Bish-oh... Um," she pouted. The "j" would not come out.
"Ah, well," Davis shrugged, offhandedly. "Bishie, for short." He pointed. "Bishie."
"Bish-ee," she parroted, smiling that she could say it.
"Perfect! Well, let's go, Bishie." He walked past her, waving her along. "I gotta find my friends."
Not surprisingly, she was at his side instantly, cooing and trilling along the way. And, much to Davis' chagrin, she still felt the need to show affection by hanging off him every few minutes or so. But, at least he wasn't finding it as annoying as before.
They had been searching for what seemed to be hours without much success. In fact, the only thing Davis had managed to do was make his throat raw. He rubbed his neck and grimaced.
"If I keep on yelling," he complained, "I'm gonna start sounding like Veemon."
She might not have known what he was saying, but his tone let Bishie know he was complaining. She just giggled, per usual, and floated along. He gave her a halfhearted sour look, and began to call everyone's names again.
He didn't notice Bishie stiffening beside him. He didn't notice her making a small sound of fear, either. Davis did notice, however, her grabbing him by the arm, and yanking him behind a tree with such force he thought she pulled his arm out of its socket.
"Hey!" he cried. "What's the big id-"
"Sssss!" she placed a finger to his lips, her eyes wide.
All other words he was going to say died on his lips when he saw her terror. Whatever had frightened her, it was definitely not good, and it was probably headed there way. Davis moaned, silently. As if his day couldn't get any worse... He kept his eyes locked with hers, though. Or, to be more precise, she kept his eyes locked. It was almost hypnotizing, really. Fear that made her blue orbs sparkle, wide brilliant. Eyes to get lost in.
The world started to shake then, and eyes be damned, Davis couldn't help but try to see what was happening. Bishie huddled against him in protest, but he cocked his head, anyway. He just had to see. The ground shook, and a loud rustling and crunching sound filled the air. Something large, brown and... wooden? It stomped past them too quickly for Davis to get a good look from his vantage point.
"Rosetta Stone!"
That caught Davis' attention. If Nefertimon was there, that meant...
"Kari!" he jumped, practically knocking Bishie on her bum. If Kari was there, so was everyone else. He'd found them! Or rather, he'd stumbled upon them. Well, close enough.
Waving his arms wildly, Davis stepped out of his hiding place. "Kari! Kari, down here!"
The brunette atop Nefertimon looked down, her brown eyes widening. "Davis? Oh, wow! Hey, guys!" she called. "It's Davis! He's over here!"
There suddenly was a large commotion to his right, and Davis turned in time to see the entire gang walk over, with looks ranging from relief to shock. Yolei was already demanding where he'd been, and if he was okay, while Cody was trying to explain to her in a reasonable voice that it was obvious that Davis was okay.
"Davish!" Veemon practically tackled him. "I'm sho glad you're all right."
"Heh. So am I," Davis quipped softly, patting his friend on the head.
"When we saw you go flying," T.K. shook his head, "we thought that was it for you."
"Yes," Ken frowned, curious. The newly christened Digidestined of Kindness tilted his head. "So, just how are you still alive?"
"Ken!" Yolei scolded. "We should just be grateful he's okay. He'll tell us what happened when he's ready." She paused a moment, tapping her foot on the ground. Then, with a click of her tongue, she said to Davis, "Well, you ready yet?"
"Eh heh," Davis muttered, placing a hand behind his head. Oh, how to explain this one... ? He turned around to see where Bishie was, but she was nowhere to be found. "Bishie? Hey, Bishie, where are you? Now, that's funny," he murmured. "Where'd she run off to?"
"'Bishie?'" Kari inquired as she joined the group.
"'She?'" Yolei added, a brow raised.
"Oh, well, yeah," Davis laughed, nervously. "Ya see, I- ah!" Snow white arms wrapped gently around his waist, and a rounded chin rested on his shoulder. Oh, there she was. "Well guys, ah," he grinned, sheepishly, "meet Bishie."
"A digimon?" Cody blinked.
"A Migotomon," Hawkmon clarified, eyes wide in surprise.
"A what?" T.K. asked, staring at Bishie, who was now busying herself by adjusting the flower that was still in Davis' hair.
"A Migotomon," Hawkmon repeated. "They're vaccine types. They have a Wind Gust attack, but they are normally healing digimon."
"Healing," Davis mused, everything beginning to make sense. "Well, that explains why I'm not dead!"
Bishie giggled at his excitement, and nuzzled her cheek against his, much to his embarrassment. That made both Hawkmon and Gatomon start. They looked at each other for a moment, then Hawkmon motioned for her to begin.
"Uh, Davis?" the cat digimon looked back and forth between him and Bishie. "Has she been, ah, rubbing her cheek with yours often?"
"Well, um, yeah," Davis admitted, blushing furiously. He gently shoved Bishie off of him.
"Uh... " Gatomon's mouth hung open, but her voice froze.
Hawkmon took over. "She hasn't... sung to you, has she?"
"Um, once, I guess," Davis replied, growing even redder when Bishie placed her arms possessively around his neck. "I mean, she's no Ai Maeda, but yeah, she sang something. A short little thing. Why?"
Hawkmon turned to Gatomon, who looked like she was about ready to faint. Davis stared at them, and felt a pit in his stomach begin to form. This was not a good sign. No, not at all.
"Why?" he repeated, his voice beginning to rise. "What's so important about it?"
"Well, you see, Davis," Hawkmon began, nervously, "this is really a rather odd development. It seems that this Migotomon --Bishie, as you refer to her-- has, um, well she-"
"She's made you her mate," Gatomon interrupted, abruptly.
Davis paled. Then, he blinked. A few times. His eyes widened into saucers, and his irises dilated to pinpoints. Then, predictably, he yelled. "She's what?!?"
Even Cody flinched at the volume of the shout. Bishie let go of Davis, staring at him in surprise and curiosity. The boy's wide brown eyes were going from her to the cat digimon at such a rapid pace it was dizzying. His irritation was, to put it mildly, quite evident.
"Calm down, Davis," Ken said calmly, albeit while he was backing away for safety.
"Calm down?" Davis cried, snapping. "How am I supposed to calm down after learning that, huh?!"
Trying to keep some sort of levelheadiness in the situation, Kari turned to her digimon. "What do you mean, 'made him her mate?'"
"Well, Migotomon are usually shy digimon," Gatomon explained, staying close to Kari, and as far away from the fuming Davis as possible. "They tend to stay with their own kind, their own clans and hide in the forests. But, when they decide that they want a partner, or a mate, they have to leave their clan and usually go on long searches.
"They have specific practices they use when choosing a mate," she continued, resisting the urge to cling to Kari's leg when she noticed Davis' eyes twitching. "They're very visual. If they see someone they find particularly pleasing to the eye, then they choose them. That whole cheek nuzzling thing is how they state their love for their choice, and a way of declaring their choice as theirs and theirs alone. Kinda like marking their territory. Singing is their way of... " she gulped, and this time she did hold onto Kari's leg. "Their way of making their choice permanent. Like... marriage."
"Now, Davis... " Yolei warned, trying to stop him from exploding. Though, it was hard to do so when she was hiding behind Ken.
Davis stood very still. Almost too still. Everyone watched for what seemed like overly long, tense minutes. Even Bishie could sense there was something wrong. Then, Davis took a deep breath through clenched teeth, his body began to shake, and he balled his fists tightly. Everyone braced themselves.
And then he relaxed.
And everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
... Until he exploded like an A-bomb.
"SHE DID WHAT?!?! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?!?!" Davis practically tore his hair out as he ranted, and kicked his foot hard into the side of a tree. The resulting stubbed toe did nothing to brighten his mood.
He turned on Bishie, who by now was looking very much scared, along with everyone else. He pointed a shaking, accusing finger at her, and she squeaked, too frightened to move. "What were you thinking?" he demanded. "Why me? Why?!"
" ... Dae-vis?" she whimpered, her blue eyes now filling with tears.
"Oh, look what you've done!" Kari frowned, disapprovingly. "You've made her cry. You happy now?"
"Eh?" Davis stared at her, having the distinct impression that he was now in Hell. Where else could this be possible?
"I hope you're satisfied," Yolei huffed, walking over to pat Bishie's shoulder, supportively. The digigirl looked at the Digidestined warily for a moment, then gave a halfhearted smile.
"This is it," Davis muttered to himself. "This is where I just die of embarrassment. C'mon. Any time now."
Veemon stared up at his Digidestined with concern. He turned to Hawkmon, who was busy in deep thought. When the hawk digimon finally looked up, he shrugged at Veemon, as if to say, "Well, it's worth a shot."
"I might have a solution," Hawkmon said, then flinched when Davis turned on him with wild eyes.
"What solution?" the frantic boy demanded.
"It, ah, must be remembered that Migotomon are highly visual. It's the primary reason they choose the mates that they do. They look for something unique, something that'll catch their eyes."
"My jacket!" Davis declared, catching on. "Yeah. She seemed awfully interested in it when I woke up."
"Yes, that's what I thought," Hawkmon nodded. "It's possible that if you no longer wear your jacket, than she won't find you suitable to her tastes anymore."
"I'm willing to try anything." Davis walked over to Bishie, who was still being comforted by Yolei. She looked up at him with large eyes, and sniffled a bit. He shrugged his jacket off, and held it out to her rather awkwardly. "Um. Here."
Bishie stared at it uncertainly for a moment, then took the offering with shaking hands. Slowly, a smile spread onto her face, and she hugged the jacket to her, giggling with unsuppressed delight. She looked at Davis, now in his dull, beige shirt and tan khaki shorts. Brown hair, brown shirt, brown outfit. Even his skin was tanned. Everything about him now was brown, and... plain. With a small "hmph" she went back to hugging the bomber jacket. Though mildly relieved, Davis couldn't help but feel a sting to his pride.
"I was right," Hawkmon declared, rather proud of himself. "It was the jacket that made him fascinating to her."
Bishie stared down at her gift, her grin bright enough to light the darkest room. Then, she looked at Davis. She suddenly laughed, and promptly dropped the jacket to the ground, in order to wrap her arms around Davis' neck so she could nuzzle his cheek with her own.
"Or... " T.K. snorted, "she just thought the jacket was a gift from him to apologize for yelling at her."
"Um, yes," Hawkmon stuttered, nervously. "Th-that's possible, too."
Davis groaned.
"Excuse me," Patamon finally spoke up, looking around anxiously. "I know this may not be the best of times, but... "
"What is it, Patamon?" T.K. asked.
"I think he's coming back again!" the big-eared digimon proclaimed.
That got everyone's attention. The next thing Davis knew, everyone was armor digivolved. Even Veemon, well, Flamedramon, but only after he pushed a shocked Davis into doing it.
"What's going on?" the goggles wearing boy asked.
"It's the digimon that attacked you earlier," Flamedramon explained. "A champion called Woodmon."
While Bishie didn't know many words, she seemed to certainly know that one. Upon hearing Woodmon's name, she squealed and tried to drag Davis behind a tree. Strong as she was, she would've done it too, if Flamedramon hadn't pulled Davis back. Pouting, she stayed by Davis' side, obviously not pleased.
"A champion?" Davis raised a brow. "Well, shouldn't you be able to handle him easily?"
"You ever try finding a specific tree in the woods?" Ken asked. "It's not easy. He's been disappearing on us all day. This is the third time he's attacked since he sent you flying."
Davis was about to say something to that, when a strange, loud sound caught his ear. It was like hundreds of branches were breaking at a time. The same sound he had heard not too long ago, right before he had spotted Kari. Ah, so that's who she had been chasing. Well, that explained it.
"Branch Drain!"
The screech of the huge Digimon could be heard from miles away. It jumped out of seemingly nowhere, shooting out its branch to attach itself to Pegasusmon. Davis watched in mute horror as the armor digimon struggled to free itself, and not throw off the clinging T.K. at the same time. Holsemon was there in an instant, Yolei pulling T.K. to safety, and Davis breathed a sigh of relief.
Flamedramon and Stingmon were already on the attack to get Pegasusmon free. A few well placed shots were all it took. Soon, all of them were performing well placed attacks on the Woodmon, driving it back without much effort.
"Keep it up!" T.K. shouted. "Don't let him out of your sight!"
There was a round of nods and intensely determined looks. Davis couldn't understand it. Why were they all so worried? Obviously, they outnumbered and out powered Woodmon. They were beating him easily, this was barely even a fight. He had only gotten one good shot it the whole time, and even that hadn't lasted very long. So, what was the big deal, already?
With a large howl, Woodmon swung its arms, flinging everyone away. Then, before anyone could stop him, he jumped into the woods. He blended in perfectly, and disappeared as if he never existed.
"No!" Ken growled in frustration. "Not again."
"Eyes open, everyone!" demanded Cody, whose green eyes were darting back and forth.
Davis didn't understand what was happening, but between Bishie's clinging to him and everyone else's anxious looks, he had a pretty good idea that this was bad. Everyone was quiet and stilled, the wind softly blowing tree leaves the only noise.
"Woody Smash!"
The thick arm of Woodmon struck from out of the woods, hitting Kari and Nefertimon and sending them to the ground with a painful thud. In a flash of light, Nefertimon devolved back to Gatomon. And just as quickly as the arm had attacked, it retreated, once again vanishing.
"Kari!" T.K. was down on the ground in an instant, jumping off Pegasusmon to check on his friend. "Kari, are you okay?"
"Ugh... " she placed a shaking hand to her head. "Yeah, I guess. Just a bit dizzy. Gatomon?" she turned to her partner.
"Shaken, not stirred," the cat digimon moaned, slowly getting up. "Though, I think I may have lost one of my nine lives."
Davis was now tense himself. So, that's why the Woodmon was so being so difficult to defeat. Every time it looked as if he were about to lose, the large champion would take off into the woods and blend, every so often attacking before disappearing again. Needle in a haystack, so to speak.
"Woody Smash!"
With a scream of surprise, Yolei and Holsemon just managed to dodge the attack. As it was, while the arm shot back into the woods, Yolei looked down at everyone with wide eyes and a pale face.
"I can't take this anymore!" she declared. "These surprise attacks are going to give me a heart attack at a young age!"
Bishie began tugging insistently at Davis' arm, but the boy ignored her, instead choosing to focus on his surroundings. There had to be some telltale sign of an oncoming attack. After all, Woodmon was so large, it had to make some sort of noise. Right? There had to be something, anything at all that would warn them. Bishie's tugging became worse.
"Not now," Davis muttered, trying to pull his arm away.
Everyone was on alert now, eyes all darting around the edges of the clearing, waiting for something to happen. No one dared to make a sound for fear of missing something. Even breathing seemed too loud, and a few unknowingly held their breaths. Bishie tugged once more. Still, after a few minutes of nothing, they began to wonder.
"You think he ran off again?" Yolei whispered.
"Possibly," was Ken's soft reply. "Maybe we should head out and try to catch up to him. If we don't stop him he'll just rampage through the woods, causing more damage than he already has."
"Woody Smash!"
Kari's eyes widened. "Davis!"
It all seemed to happen in fast forward. He heard Kari's scream. Then, he saw Woodmon's arm flying toward him out of the corner of his eye. Davis didn't even have a chance to flinch. A moment before getting struck, he bitterly wondered if he'd go flying like he did the first time Woodmon had hit him. But instead of being sent sailing, Davis felt himself being strongly shoved out of harm's way. His pupils dilated to pinpoints as he watched Bishie take the blow that was meant for him. Instead of throwing her like a ragdoll, however, it crushed her into the ground with a sickening sound that made Davis' heart plummet. Then, the arm retreated once more, leaving the small female digimon a broken heap.
"No, no, no!" Davis shouted, running over to the fallen digimon, practically stumbling to the ground next to her.
Bishie lay deathly still on the ground, blood dripping from her ears and mouth. She looked so terribly tiny in the shallow hole she was in, so fragile that Davis almost didn't recognize the bright, perky digital girl. Everyone watched them, still trying to keep their eyes peeled for the next assault. With caution, Davis placed his fingers on her neck, idly wondering if digimon even had pulses. Her light blue eyes fluttered open at his touch, and she gazed unfocused on him.
"You're alive," Davis stated, shocked at the fact, and relieved as well.
She watched him for a moment, then closed her eyes tightly, as if she were concentrating. Without warning, Bishie moaned. But not a normal, low moan of pain. It was high of pitch, long and surprisingly loud. The entire group flinched at the sound. And when the moan finally died down, she sighed and let her eyes open once more. The bright blue orbs scanned Davis, and with trembling, week arms she reached up to check for injuries.
Gently, he stilled her arms by grasping her wrists. "What are you checking me for?" he asked, choking slightly with distress. "You're the one who's hurt. Why did you... ?" Davis stopped himself. He knew why she had done it. The same reason she had saved him those two times before. Because she, for whatever reason, had decided that he was perfect for her, and she wanted his acceptance. And, in a strange way, because maybe she was truly fond of him, not just based on his looks, but by something a bit deeper. After all, she had still wanted him when he had taken off his jacket, right?
And he had treated her awfully, hadn't he? It wasn't her fault that she didn't know he wasn't a digimon. Surely, he could've gone through this in a more rational manner. She'd been taking care of him all day. She'd been trying to warn him before with her tugging, as well. If he had been paying attention before, if he had respected all the subtle hints she'd been giving him, maybe he would've moved out of the way in time, and she wouldn't have taken the hit for him. "My fault," Davis spat, bitterly. "I caused this."
He jumped up, suddenly, and ran to the edge of the clearing, flailing his arms wildly. "Hey!" he barked. "Hey, you stupid digimon! I'm right here."
"Davis, what are you doing?" T.K. demanded. "Get back here!"
Davis ignored him. "C'mon, you walking log cabin! Come and get me. I dare you!"
"Davis, get away from there," Cody ordered.
Again, he ignored the warnings. "I said I'm over here! What's the matter? Afraid? Ha! I bet you couldn't even give me a splinter!"
That did it. With a vicious roar, the Woodmon jumped out of the woods, nearly pouncing onto Davis, who had to backpedal as fast as he could not to get crushed.
"Come on, that's it!" Davis heckled, going farther into the middle of the clearing. "Try to catch me, you lousy piece of firewood!"
He ran to the center of the open space, the Woodmon right behind him. Everyone had already scattered, but not from fear. They knew now what he was doing and they were settling in their respective places. With a grin, Davis spun around, pointing at the Woodmon.
"Look around, genius!" he declared, smirking. Blinking, the Woodmon did so, and jumped at the sight before him. The Digidestined and their digimon had all taken up spots along the edge of the clearing, blocking any retreat. The stood their, determined faces on all of them, waiting for the moment to strike. "You boxed yourself in," Davis stated. "Should've watched where you were going." The Woodmon turned to the boy, lifting its arm up for a fatal blow. Davis, however, had other plans. "Now, Flamedramon!"
The dragon digimon was already striking when Davis had shouted his order. "Flare Rocket!"
What happened after that was almost anticlimactic. Each digimon attacked at once, leaving the Woodmon no room to maneuver. It was destroyed in seconds, bits of data scattered in the wind. Congratulations, however, were not given. Instead, everyone was focused on Davis, who had knelt down beside the fallen Bishie, and had picked up the small digimon in his arms.
"What should we do?" he asked softly, to no one in particular. He looked mildly ill. "We can't leave her like this."
"I don't know," T.K. frowned. "She's... she's hurt really bad, and-"
"I know she's hurt bad!" Davis shouted. He glared up at the blonde boy for a moment, then shook his head. "It's my... We have to do something, ya know?" he muttered, distraught.
"If we knew where Gennai was," Kari whispered to T.K., "we could bring her to him. He'd probably know."
"Yeah, he would," T.K. agreed in hushed tones. "But we have no idea where Gennai is anymore."
A sad frown creased on Kari's face, and she bent her head, while Gatomon patted her hand, comfortingly.
A rustle in the trees caught everyone's attention, and the group tensed for what might be another attack. However, what came out of the woods was far more surprising. Migotomon, by the dozens, floated into the clearing, hesitant, worried expressions on each of them. To Davis, each and every one of them looking startlingly like Bishie. Of course, he reminded himself, they would look alike. They were the same species, after all. But still, it made him uneasy.
"How did they... ?" Yolei murmured, her voice trailing in confusion.
"The call Mig- uh, Bishie made," Hawkmon said, softly. "That cry. She must've been calling for them."
The two groups remained still for what seemed like an eternity, each watching and analyzing the other. No one willing to make the first move for fear of the unknown. Bishie chose then to groan in Davis' arms, which caused the Migotomon to all tense up, and focus on their fallen clan member. One Migotomon floated out in front of the others. Her stance, while still childlike, was more confident and cool in comparison to the others behind her. Obviously, she was the leader of this group. She placed her blue eyes on Davis, whether waiting for him to move, or thinking of a way to attack him, it was unclear.
"Bring her to them," Gatomon demanded of Davis, quietly. "You've got her scent on you. They won't accept anyone else but you."
Davis looked up at the cat digimon, then over to the small horde of Migotomon, till finally settling his eyes on Bishie, whose eyes were beginning to flutter closed. They were her clan. They could help. They had to. Right? They just had to. He didn't think he could live with himself if she died because of his stubbornness.
Slowly, Davis got up and walked over to the leader of the Migotomon, Bishie lying limply in his arms. Almost awkwardly, he held her out. "You gotta help her," he said, voice cracking slightly. "She's hurt. Real bad. She needs help. You gotta save her. Do you understand me?" Davis asked, his tone raising when the head Migotomon simply stared back at him expressionless. "Can't you see she's hurt? You gotta help her! Please! She can't... she can't die," he muttered. "It would be all my fault, and it wouldn't be fair to her. You... gotta help her."
The head Migotomon continued to gaze impassively, and Davis felt what little hope he had get crushed. He tilted his head down, sighing. A white hand suddenly grasped his chin, pulling it up so his eyes met those of the Migotomon in front of him. He realized, somewhat offhand, that her eyes were a darker blue than Bishie's. Not by much, unnoticeable unless you paid attention. She stared at him with narrowed eyes, then leaned over and inhaled, making Davis feel even more uncomfortable than before. She pulled away from him, a curious, almost amused expression on her face. She gazed down at Bishie, smiling slightly. Then, as if Bishie weighed no more than a feather, scooped the hurt digimon out of Davis' arms.
"Oh... " the head Migotomon cooed, in a knowing tone.
Davis didn't know what that meant, but whatever it was, it made all the Migotomon buzz. They all thrust forward, trying to get a good look at him, expressions ranging from curious, to unimpressed, to delighted ran through them all. Davis felt a bit like a picture on display. Finally, the lead Migotomon gestured for them to back away, and they did so with reluctance. He watched as the Migotomon disappeared back into the forest, leaving only the lead Migotomon holding Bishie.
Davis looked down at the hurt digimon, whose eyes flickered open for a moment, settling on him. She smiled, weakly, then closed her eyes and sighed, falling into unconsciousness. With a heartstring pulling, he looked back up at the leader.
"You'll take care of her," Davis asked, "right?"
The head Migotomon simply smiled at him, and took off into the forest too fast for him to see. He blinked in surprise, his mouth agape.
"What... ?"
"Don't worry," Gatomon said from behind him. "They'll help her. They're her clan, after all."
"I... guess," Davis relented, nodding. Bishie would be okay. Of course, she would. "Well, it's not like she was my problem anyway," he shrugged, trying to brush it off. "No big deal."
"Of course, not," Kari smiled, knowingly.
"It's all over, anyway," Ken stated, obviously relieved. "We can finally go home for the day."
"Yeah," Davis agreed, feeling better than before. It was over. "Eh, it turned out for the best. Once she's healed she probably won't even remember me."
"Don't be too sure about that," Hawkmon argued, though hiding safely behind Yolei while doing so.
That made Davis halt. "Why not?"
"Well, uh... " Hawkmon cleared his throat, now clinging to Yolei's legs, making the girl almost lose her balance. "Migotomon do mate for life, you know."
"For... life?" Davis twitched.
"So, he's stuck with her if she finds him again?" T.K. asked.
"Yup," Gatomon nodded. When Davis glared at her, she yelped and hugged Kari for protection.
"So, she's your girlfriend, Davish?" Veemon asked.
Everyone froze. Davis stared down at his digimon with a look of death, making the small thing gulp, nervously. The brunette boy's body shook for a moment, his finger pointing accusingly at Veemon, as his teeth ground noisily together. He opened his mouth, and... sighed.
Everyone let out their collective breath of relief.
Until Davis went ballistic.
"She is NOT my girlfriend! Do you hear me, Veemon? NOT my GIRLFRIEND! Get back here. Hey, get back here so I can hit you! Get back here, you coward!"
More author's notes: Well, that was kinda pointless, wasn't it? I just felt like writing a Davis character story. To get in his head, and to take a break from "Meek," which is a bit depressing to be working on constantly.
Now, you want to know the contest, right? Well, it's this simple. The first person who can correctly tell me what the title of this story means gets one of two things: Either a short romance story of the coupling of your choice, or a picture of whomever and whatever you choose. You can only ask for one, though. Also, I really really suck at writing yaoi and/or yuri, so don't request it. I'm sorry, but I'm just... awful at it, and it wouldn't be right to make you suffer through one of my lousy attempts.
If you want to take a look at my other writings, simply look through my stories here on FF.Net. Also, for a sample of my drawings, you can take a look at my idea of what Wormmon, Gatomon, and Patamon look like in my series, "Meek."
Well, go! Guess away! And, leave your e-mail address so if you get it right I can contact you. Good luck. ;)
