Well well well, I honestly never thought I'd publish a story on this site again after so long, and a Digimon fic at that.

Though my interest in Digimon pales in comparison to Pokemon, I was still a fan, at least for the first three seasons. Even then, I never watched Digimon Tamers in its entirety, and since this story takes place in the Tamers universe, most of my knowledge is plucked from the wiki, but I digress.

Anyway, this series of one-shots (hopefully) is meant to serve as a side-story to CaptainPrice's Digimon Tamers: Virus Wars. I got his permission beforehand so I'm not doing this due to some frustration or anything like that. As mentioned in the title, the focus would be on my OC and one of the Seeker Tamers, Seishiro Tokugawa, and his Digimon partner. If anything, these one-shots would most likely be nonsequential in order and ambiguous in terms of their placement in the Virus Wars timeline to not make it seem like I'm intruding into CaptainPrice's story. If I do touch upon the events in Virus Wars, it would be the ones that have already happened.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or the characters appearing in these one-shots save for my own.

P.S. I have incoming art of Seishiro and Gaomon so I look forward to sharing it with you guys when the time comes.

Several months had passed since he had "Bio-Emerged" into the world of humans, yet Gaomon was no closer to comprehending the reason for his existence. As far as he could remember, he'd possessed a hunger to understand as much as he possibly could about both the Human World and the Digital World. He didn't know if the same could be said for the rest of his kind, but Gaomon rationalized that the 'hunger' was ingrained into his Digi-Core to make up for the lack of memories of his time in the latter world. He inherently knew that Digimon had six evolutionary stages and he was at the Rookie stage, but why was it that he held absolutely no recollection of being a Dodomon or a Wanyamon? Was it actually possible that he'd hatched straight away into a Gaomon, thereby rendering the theory of evolution proposed by some human called Charles Darwin obsolete?

"No progress, I assume?" a voice pulled him out of his musings.

Gaomon peered at the doorway, spotting his Tamer. The human was still decked out in his pajamas and his hair was still very much a departure from the mostly proper state Gaomon was familiar with, but all traces of grogginess were absent from the human's features. The gloved canine blinked before he zeroed in on the steamy bowl of…'something' his Tamer was carrying. Gaomon was curious as to what kind of meal had the ability to wake his Tamer's body up in a mere five minutes.

Flipping the book he'd abandoned—in favour of having an intense moment of rumination—shut, Gaomon murmured a morose "No" and walked over to the bookcase to place the book back where he found it. Almost immediately, the bipedal dog found himself cradling the bowl of 'something' his Tamer had earlier; upon discovering what that 'something' was, Gaomon could only eye him with a fair bit of incredulity.

"Ramen?" For as long he'd known Seishiro, the human had always taken his mealtimes very seriously so having ramen of all things for breakfast was way out of left field. "Did you and that older human you call your foster parent get into an argument or something, Tamer? I know he likes to experiment—" Gaomon shuddered as he recalled the latter feeding him raw squid coated with peanut butter and honey. "—but to make you have ramen is just—"

Seishiro held up a hand, cutting his Digimon partner off. "Just shut up and eat, all right?" He considered himself a patient enough guy, but even he had to admit that Gaomon really had a penchant for stretching his patience really, really thin at times. He pulled out his laptop from its carrier bag before he laid it down onto his study desk. Flipping it open and turning it on, he added, "You'll understand much faster than having me explain it to you."

Gaomon seemed to take his Tamer's word for it, given that he straightaway started to slurp up the noodles in lieu of getting into a terse discussion with Seishiro.

Noticing that his Digimon partner was preoccupied, Seishiro grasped the mouse and moved the cursor over to the Skype shortcut, double-clicking it in the process. The window popped up on the screen of his laptop a moment later and the Japanese browsed through his contacts until he spotted the one that he was looking for. He then clicked on the video call icon which initiated a ringing sound; soon enough, he heard a "Click!" and his contact's face came into view.

"Ohayou, Seishiro-onii-sama!" came the greeting half-way across the world.

There weren't many things in the world that could make Seishiro shed the cool, aloof image he had cultivated over the years; that being said, his bubbly, bespectacled younger brother was about the only person afforded that luxury. "Konbanwa, Seito-chan," Seishiro greeted back with a subtle smile. "How's my favourite otouto doing?"

Behind him, Gaomon silently observed his Tamer having an animated conversation with his sibling, as animated as Seishiro could get anyway. The former had already figured out the ingredients which made the ramen a surprisingly healthy meal, but he stored the information into his sizeable 'database' for the moment. It struck the Data-attribute Digimon as odd that Seishiro could act so relaxed with the younger Tokugawa but guarded towards other humans. What was it that made his Tamer's brother different? Was it only because he was of similar blood to Seishiro? Was it even plausible for a simple reason to be associated with the complex individual that was his Tamer?

"Suge, you can already digivolve Gao-nii to Champion?!" Seito gushed aloud. "That's amazing, onii-sama!"

The Digimon blinked, knitting his brows in a furrow. "Gao-nii?" It was beyond his comprehension as to why the younger Tokugawa would refer to him as a brother when they weren't even the same species.

Seishiro snorted in amusement. "So you say," he replied. "Most of my colleagues' Digimon have attained their Ultimate states. Gaomon and I are actually lagging behind."

Gaomon rolled his eyes at his Tamer's words; in all honesty, he couldn't care less about Digivolution when he had more important things to think about.

"So?" Seito's tone of voice was as carefree as it could possibly get. "I know that you don't really care about that, onii-sama. You're just saying that to make me think you're nothing special, but you're doing a pretty bad job, haha." The bespectacled boy then cheekily reminded his elder brother, "You keep telling me that power is not the same as strength. Well, I don't think you and Gao-nii need more power, onii-sama. Anata-tachi mou totemo tsuyoi desu!"

"Whatever you say, Seito-chan." Inwardly, the Tokugawa heir could only smirk at his kid brother's words: Seito knew him all too well. He glanced down at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, noting that it might be getting a little late in Japan. "You should go to bed now, otouto," he told Seito. "Growing boys like you need their sleep after all. Oh, and send my regards to Setsuka-obaa-sama."

Seito pouted, but he knew better than to argue with his health-freak of a big brother. "Hai, will do," he said, bowing his head respectfully. "Oyasuminasai, Seishiro-onii-sama."

The Seeker Tamer reciprocated his younger brother's gesticulation. "Oyasumi."

*CLICK!*

With the conclusion of his weekly video chat with his brother, Seishiro promptly wished his Muslim contacts a Happy Eid Mubarak prior to signing out and shutting down his laptop.

"I don't understand."

That simple sentence elicited a sigh of resignation from Seishiro: it was time to cater to Gaomon's curious mind. Raising a knee up to his chest and resting the heel on the edge of the chair, he swivelled around to face his Digimon partner with little delay. "I guess it's related to Seito in some way?"

Gaomon nodded and proceeded to vocalize the questioning thoughts swirling in his head to his Tamer.

Said Tamer maintained eye contact with Gaomon, his face betraying no emotion. The questions were subjective in nature and very much dependent on perspective, but Seishiro was doubtful that the Data-attribute Digimon would accept anything less than a concrete answer. He rubbed his thumb against his index and middle fingers, humming as the foreign-exchange student mulled over his response.

"It's natural for us humans to feel protective towards something, especially if that 'something' is of great emotional value," he ventured, raising a finger. "Citizens valuing the culture of their nation, a kid regarding a plush toy as a precious friend and a ventriloquist viewing their puppet as an extension of themselves. Though these examples obviously differ in terms of significance, they're intrinsically synonymous. In my case, Seito serves as the equivalent of the aforementioned 'somethings'."

The bipedal Digimon glanced down at his gloved paws, pursing his lips slightly. "How exactly do you define 'natural', Tamer?" he thought aloud, a sliver of annoyance creeping across his expression. "Can it not be explained? Is it beyond the understanding of an artificial being like myself?"

"Humans aren't all-knowing, Gaomon," Seishiro replied matter-of-factly. "It's fact that some answers to life's questions will continue to elude us until the end of time itself. Also, your questions were very subjective. Ask anyone, and it's a guarantee that you'll get answers that are different from mine. Humans have differing opinions, and you can't simply decide that one of these opinions is fact. You're better off making own conclusions."

"And just what do you think I've been doing all this time?" A growl rumbled in his throat as Gaomon glared up at his Tamer, teeth bared in frustration. "I read and read and read, yet I'm no closer to finding the reason for my existence! You humans created me, so do forgive me for thinking that you had the answers to my questions!"

The outburst caught Seishiro by surprise, if the partial widening of his eyes were anything to go by. For as long as he'd known Gaomon, the boxer-inspired Digimon always cut a stoic and detached figure, speaking without inflection and looking content with living out a monotonous existence. Lately though, the canine was getting more and more expressive, and Seishiro could not help but snort amusedly at the irony of it all.

Gaomon predictably took issue with his Tamer's reaction, but he held himself back from offering a fitting riposte in favour of awaiting Seishiro's explanation as to what he found to be so amusing about his predicament.

Seishiro did not disappoint. "First off," he began, "humans did not create Digimon per se. Programming every single species of Digimon is beyond our intellectual capabilities, even more so with the level of technology back when the idea of artificial intelligence was first mooted. What they did create was a barren desert and lifeforms too primitive to even warrant a designation. The advent of Digital Monsters which allowed the Digital World to thrive can be traced to a single algorithm. And second—"

"An algorithm that's a human creation."

"—despite what you think, you're actually much closer to finding the answer that you crave so much." Taking Gaomon's silence as a prompt to continue, the Japanese teen added, "And the key…lies in your emotions."

"Emotions…?" The Digimon certainly did not expect that. The word felt almost foreign as he vocalized it with a fair bit of scorn. He didn't comprehend emotions since he felt that they lacked a good enough rational reasoning behind them, so his Tamer's advice left him even more irked. "What do you mean by that? Are you mocking me, Tamer?"

"Opening your eyes, rather," Seishiro replied smoothly, standing up as he ambled over to the bookcase and pulled out a book, holding it up. "Books can only tell you about the world and other people." He then slipped the book back into place before he knelt down in front of Gaomon, prodding the bipedal dog's chest with his finger. "But they can't tell you about yourself."

Gaomon merely frowned, swiping the offending finger away. "Where are you going with this?"

"Think about it." A smug, nostalgic smile flickered on Seishiro's expression. "When you first arrived, you were no different than a zombie. You'd stare up blankly at me for hours on end and just nod at every single one of my questions. Your movements were robotic and Jo's experimental dishes barely fazed you at all. Fast forward to the present Gaomon—" His lips parted to form a rare grin. "—and the difference is like night and day: you displayed outright disgust when Jo offered you some pepper-grated wasabi rolls, expressed frustration at your supposed lack of progress and exhibited anger when I offered, in your opinion, a shallow advice. Disgust, frustration and anger—all inclined towards the negative end of the spectrum, but they're emotions nevertheless. Don't tell me you never noticed…unless you've been deliberately ignoring them, Gaomon."

Ever the insightful person, his Tamer. Shifting his jaw from side to side, Gaomon told Seishiro plainly, "I don't see how I could profit from acknowledging them. Letting emotions guide me instead of rational thought doesn't sound like a very good prospect, considering the state of the human world, what with news about war, financial scandals, territorial disputes and apartheid fuelled by greed, pride and a misplaced sense of paranoia." The bipedal dog folded his arms across his chest. "What's the use of emotions if they only lead to instability, and ultimately, ruin?"

"Hmph, those incidents are the only things worth airing since they capture the audience's attention," Seishiro riposted. "The more positive ones, emotions, that is, have dropped out of focus, yet they're just as capable in terms of having a lasting, personal impact." He stood up, shrugging his shoulders. "Besides, what've you got to lose? It sounds better than doing nothing and living out a hollow existence, if you ask my opinion."

The Data-attribute Digimon tilted his head back before he brought it down with a sigh, uncrossing his arms in the process. As much as he would hate to admit it, it was the only option left for him. "Where do I start…?"

"Simple" came the instant response as Seishiro strolled past Gaomon. "Try finding the emotion that resonates deeply within you. This may not immediately hand you your purpose on a silver platter, but it'll at least point you in the right direction. Things will be become clearer to you in time." Just as he was about to step through the doorway, his partner's words made him pause.

"What if…what if what I find…is something that is considered…wrong? What then, Tamer?"

Seishiro shut his eyes, receding into his thoughts as he fished out the most prominent advice that his grandmother ever gave him and vocalized it, word for word. "There's no such thing as right or wrong. All there is in this world are different standpoints, different perspectives that separate us from one another." Softly, he added, "I'll still be your partner, whatever happens."

His ears flicked up, the Digimon glancing over his shoulder to barely catch a glimpse of his Tamer as he was left to his own devices. For the briefest of moments, a smile fluttered across his muzzle. "Thank you, Seishiro."

That wraps up the first one-shot. I just hope I didn't meddle too much...

Anyway, tell me what you guys think. I'd really appreciate it if you guys can spare the time to share your thoughts with me. Thanks in advance.

See you next time and stay awesome. - Kiwami no Sengoku