Hey guys, finally back with an update. This sure took longer than I thought it would...but I'm glad I finished it. Enjoy.

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

Gaomon never really questioned Seishiro whenever the human chose to include him in his daily excursions, even if that involved following him in plain sight with nothing but a custom hoodie and a visor to mask his identity. The disguise was abysmally poor to the point of irrelevancy, but strangely quite effective given that Gaomon's presence elicited nothing but a few cursory glances. It was common knowledge that Hypnos used Digimon anyway, so the more astute observers would most likely pass him and Seishiro off as Hypnos agents before going back to minding their own business. He was more or less relieved by the lack of attention as it allowed him to be up close and personal with humans to better understand emotions in relative peace.

"The next stop is Ikebukuro Station. Please board the train before it departs. Thank you."

He paid no mind to the announcement, opting instead to sweep his eyes across the other occupants of the half-full passenger car until they landed on one that piqued his interest, a girl to be more precise. She looked pretty normal, wearing only a simple dress with her long hair tied neatly in a ponytail; ironically, her normalcy was what made her stood out, given that the rest of the passengers were either decked in expensive designer clothes or had their hair styled in a manner that made the digital lifeform honestly question their sanity.

"Are these humans trying to compensate for something…or are they really this vain?" Gaomon eyed them with disgust before he peered back at the girl who caught his eye. It was not so much her plainness that garnered his attention; rather, it was the fact that she had a pet dog with her. He watched the two interact with each other, the human scratching the canine below its jaw while failing to muffle her giggles as the dog licked her cheek repeatedly. The Digimon still had a limited understanding on the concept of emotions as a whole, but he was at least able to discern that the feelings between the two were genuine: human-watching did confer some benefits.

"Feed a dog for three days, and he will remember your kindness for three years," he mentally recited the proverb, the corners of his mouth drooping slightly. "Preposterous. Food can't be the prerequisite to becoming worthy of receiving such loyalty. Would the dog's opinion of you not waver in the slightest should you decide to become abusive from the fourth day?" Gaomon folded his arms and huffed, his thoughts centering on one of his colleagues. "Why does BlackGabumon remain loyal to his Tamer when difference of opinion is not even tolerated? Does he feel that Martin gets to treat him however he chooses simply because that human created him?" He clicked his tongue, his annoyance slowly becoming more prominently expressed on his visage. "Is that all he'll be then? Nothing more than a subservient tool?"

Seishiro gave his partner a brief glance, shaking his head with a subtle smile before he went back to reading his book as Gaomon zoned out of reality once again. These occurrences did elicit a bit worry from the Tokugawa heir at first, but he had come to accept them as evidence of Gaomon's dedication to understanding emotions and, by extension, the human race. He slipped on his aloof mask, keeping a straight face throughout the rest of the journey even when some of the younger passengers started to poke and prod an unresponsive Gaomon.

Time was the last thing on his mind, and the moment he flipped his book shut, the sounds of the train assaulted his ears: the grinding of the train as it rounded a corner, the jingling of the handles as it rocked and the shuddering of the railcar as it came to a halt.

"Attention all passengers. We have arrived at Ikebukuro Station. Please make sure your belongings are accounted for and we wish you a pleasant day."

Collective groans of disappointment filled his ears as the kids were ushered out by their parents, some of which had the decency to apologize to him and Gaomon. After assuring them that they weren't offended in the slightest, Seishiro laid down a hand atop Gaomon's head, lightly jostling him back to the real world. He then quickly stepped off the train, his partner a couple of steps behind.

It didn't really surprise Gaomon that they ended up in a cemetery: the incense sticks Seishiro had on his person pretty much gave it away. He briefly considered the possibility that they would be going to a temple, but their little detour to a flower shop made their destination all the more obvious. Though he wouldn't admit it outright, the Digimon had always been fascinated with the concept of death for as long as he could remember, especially when he discovered that death for humans wasn't as simple as he thought it was.

"Tamer," the bipedal dog spoke up, "why do humans have funeral rituals?" He glanced over at the gravestones dotting Zoshigaya Cemetery. "Why trouble yourselves when you could just bury the dead and be done with it? I understand that it's a matter of respect, but it's not as if they'd be aware of the circumstances of their burial and respond with gratitude."

Seishiro sighed, acceding that it was too much of him to ask for a day where he wouldn't have to entertain his partner's questions. "They're more for the sake of the living than the dead," he answered in a somewhat subdued manner, wordlessly handing the bouquet of pink roses he'd purchased over to Gaomon. The Shinjuku native then filled a bucket with water using one of the numerous water pumps throughout the grounds. Picking up the bucket and grabbing a dipper as well, Seishiro walked out of the shed and added, "If you ask me, we need them more than ever in this era of technology and consumerism."

"Why do you say that?" the digital lifeform prodded, following his Tamer.

"You could say that we've gotten greedier as time went on," Seishiro explained. "It's getting more and more difficult to achieve success to the point that we'd become obsessed with it the moment it falls within our grasp. This obsession consumes us, warps our mindset. Nothing would matter other than acquiring more of this 'drug' and improving our social standing. By the time we come to our senses, it would already be too late to fix anything." His Digimon kept silent, and he viewed Gaomon's quietude as a prompt to continue. "In a nutshell, it's the hope that funeral rituals would not only make us acknowledge the frailty of life and inevitability of death, but also allow for the development of a new self-identity."

Gaomon glanced up briefly at Seishiro. "Do you mean to say that I would've partnered with a different you had I entered this world earlier?" The former actually had considered scenarios where the latter's personality was reminiscent of the other Seeker Tamers: their partnership didn't last in any of them.

The human shrugged. "Who knows?" he replied rhetorically. "After all, I can't really predict how long it'd take me to get over my grief and how much it'd change me." His strides gradually shortened until he came to a halt. "We're here."

Incomprehension typified Gaomon's visage as he regarded the old, withered tree in front of them. "I expected a high-quality gravestone considering my Tamer belongs to a clan of prestige, not a dead tree…"

"You've read how we Japanese honour the dead, right?" Seishiro spoke up, squatting down and beginning to remove the debris around the tree. "Come and help me."

"Yes, Tamer." Concluding the matter to be inconsequential, the Data-attribute Digimon stepped forward to assist his human partner.

A comfortable silence descended upon them as the duo carried out the ritual in accordance with Japanese customs. While Gaomon tossed the old, shriveled flowers into the nearby trashcan and rinsed the vases clean, Seishiro scooped up some water from the bucket with the ladle and poured it around the tree. The latter then stood back to allow the former to put the vases back in place, after which he refilled them with fresh water. Humming in approval as Gaomon arranged the pink roses in the vases, Seishiro duly lit up some candles and put them in the lanterns, smiling faintly when they fitted perfectly into the holders inside.

"Here," Gaomon uttered, holding out a couple of incense sticks to Seishiro who nodded his thanks.

Lighting them up using the flame in one of the lanterns, the greyish-eyed teen waved them about until their flames were put out before he placed the burning incense into the incense holders. He subsequently took a step back, folded his hands in front of his heart and murmured a prayer with his partner watching on silently. The Shinjuku native retained the position for several minutes, and brought his hands down to his sides when he was satisfied.

"You're expecting an answer, am I right?" Seishiro turned his head slightly to regard Gaomon. "I'd be surprised if you weren't just a little bit curious about it."

Gaomon shook his head, the ends of his bandana swishing from side to side "I am…but I don't wish to pry into this," he replied, thinking that it would be strangely wrong for him to pursue the matter. "It…isn't necessary for me to know about it, Tamer."

If Seishiro was surprised by Gaomon's consideration for his feelings, he did not show it. He suppressed the urge to grin as he contemplated, "It's very likely that he's not aware of it. Well, it's best that he realizes it on his own." The bluish-haired Japanese then directed his eyes back toward the 'gravestone' and slipped his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "I don't mind," he told the gloved canine. "It just might prove beneficial to you."

Annoyance crept across the bipedal dog's face as he folded his arms and huffed, "When you put it like that, I can't really refuse, can I?"

Seishiro simply chuckled. "Let me tell you a story about a man," he began his tale. "His family had a factory in the city. His father was a skilled worker. One day, the factory was sold for a large sum of money." The Seeker Tamer bowed his head. "His father…wasn't able to cope with the impact caused by the things he lost. He drowned himself in alcohol, got duped for his money by people who got close to him, pretending to be nice to him, and grew violent against his own family. His father became weak and died selfishly, with his mother following suit. The man realized then and there just how fragile life is, how weak humans really are, and that it'd only take just a single mistake to unravel an honest life."

"So then…" Gaomon furrowed his brows and stared at the tree anew, understanding reflected in his red eyes. "This tree is…"

"Yes," Seishiro confirmed tonelessly. "A grave befitting two people who shamed the Tokugawa lineage. My grandmother, the current clan leader, was adamant that they've relinquished the right for their ashes to be kept in the Tokugawa family grave the moment they gave up on life, and ordered their remains to be scattered around this tree here without a second thought." The teen gnashed his teeth a bit. "I was young…and powerless to make her reconsider."

Gaomon whipped his head toward Seishiro, comprehension making way for confusion and anger. "Why…why would you want to do that, Tamer?" he voiced out somewhat vehemently, jabbing a gloved paw in the tree's direction. "They…hurt you! They…abandoned you and your brother! Why did you ask me to help you honour them when you should be hating them?! Why?!" The Digimon was visibly growling at this point, and he grew even more confounded when his partner let out with an empty chuckle.

"You must think I'm pretty weak now, right?" He quickly raised a hand to halt any form of protest from his Digimon. "I'm not offended if you think so, Gaomon. There's some truth to it, really. In comparison to my colleagues…and perhaps to the rival Hypnos Tamers as well, I'm still trying to sort out what I want to achieve…now that I have power at my disposal. I've been exposed to many different viewpoints in my life, and it's the hope that I'll find what I'm looking for in our fight against Hypnos." Seishiro met Gaomon's eyes calmly. "We're similar in that regard."

The Digimon glared angrily at the ground, honestly at a lost. He wanted to tell Seishiro that he wasn't weak in the very slightest, yet the logical side of him could not help but agree with the human's assessment of himself.

"In a way," the human sounded off, garnering Gaomon's attention, "I agree with you. I should hate them for what they did to me and Seito. I should be angry, it's only natural, right? But then…" Seishiro paused and tilted his head back to stare at the sky. "But then I realized…that my parents were only human. They weren't perfect…but this doesn't erase the fact that they've given me some of the happiest years of my life. It's easy enough to hate, but it's hard to forgive. I'm…glad that I found it within myself to let go." He shut his eyes and sighed nostalgically. "They're my parents, and I'll never stop loving them. I guess this is what devotion feels like."

"Devotion?" Gaomon echoed in his head. "Pure, unconditional love?" He thought back to BlackGabumon, and the dog belonging to the human female on the train. "Is that…the reason they're so loyal?" A hand came to rest atop his head, pulling the Beast-type Digimon out of his thoughts.

"You might probably never understand," Seishiro said, "but thanks for doing this with me."

Gaomon parted his lips to reply, only to snap them shut when he noticed the area started to turn foggy, a fact that failed to escape his Tamer's attention as well.

"I hate Digital Fields" came the growl from Seishiro as he pulled out his Digivice from his pocket. "They have the absolute worst timing." He turned away from his parents' grave, just in time to see five Gazimon bio-emerging into the real world, looking around and yelling like crazy animals.

Seishiro huffed. He felt really insulted, a sentiment shared by Gaomon who stepped in front of him. "Three minutes?"

"No." Gaomon promptly loosened his gloves and tossed them aside, hunching his body forward and pressing a paw down on the ground. "I'm really annoyed right now. I'll finish this in one minute."

A dark look crossed Seishiro's features. "Don't hold back."

Gaomon grinned in a very unsettling manner before he charged toward the now panicking Gazimon.

Watching his partner massacre the 'Wild Ones', Seishiro was very glad that he didn't invite Seito along.

I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope you guys can tell me what you think of it when you have time.

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