"Go, go! Come on!" Barbra called over her shoulder. The two were racing down the street, twisting and dodging around people and obstacles.

"S-Slow down!" Drew panted. "Fat kid running!"

Barbra yelled. "Do you want to get fisted in the face?"

Drew heaved and continued her pace. The girls continued running until they reached a fancy looking corner store.

"All Nippon. Finally." Barbra sighed. Drew dropped to her knees in front of the store's automatic doors.

"God, that's cold…" Drew shivered as cool air from inside the store hit her face. "Wh-where's Rui and Nate?"

"I hope they weren't caught." Barbra helped the dark-haired girl up. "Should we go back?"

Drew began to respond, but was cut off by a sound of a young girl's voice. "Hey! Drew! Barbra!" Rui called from across the street, Nate by his side.

"Okay. It seems like we weren't followed." Drew announced. "We should be safe granted that they don't know where we were headed."

All Nippon was a unique marketplace that specialized in imported Japanese goods. From candy to newly localized manga and anime, All Nippon was, for lack of a better term, an otaku paradise. The store was quite large on the inside, with room for a multitude of merchandise, and even places of people to simply hang out. Drew could see several tables in the back where people played trading card games. Strangely enough, however, the store seemed eerily quiet.

"Where is everyone?" Barbra wondered aloud. "This place is usually packed after school."

Drew fell a dark presence wash over her as walked through the main aisle way. Something seemed to be repelling people from the store. The staff that were around were sparse and quiet. One of the greeters waved at them slowly. "Welcome to All Nippon…" He said with a yawn. "It's a little piece of Japan for us to see…"

Drew heaved a heavy sigh. "Rui, you come with me." She ordered. "Babs, can you keep an eye on the door?"

"No prob. Leave it to me." Barbra gave her a thumbs-up. "Go do your thing."

"I'll be looking around in case Kazaki got here before us." Nate volunteered. "So get to it, you two!"

Drew and Rui nodded as they bounded into the aisles. Quickly, Drew led the way to through the store.

"Wait a minute, Drew!" Rui called. The teen turned quickly.

"Look at this!" Rui pulled on a pair of fake cat ears. "How do I look, nya?"

Drew blushed. "Jeez, Ru-ru, you look cute as sin-Damn it, Rui! Don't distract me!" She flicked the cat ears off of the boy's head and pulled him along.

"Here. The V-Pets." Drew and Rui arrived at an aisle filled with Digimon merchandise. Plushes and action figures lined most of the shelves. Just at the end of the aisle was kiosk for different types of V-Pets. "Not only that, but the X-Antibody Series is right front and center."

"Perfect!" Rui looked through the multicolored key chains. "Which one do you think Nate would like?"

"Um, well…" Drew tapped her chin with her index finger. "He's quite the sucker for Plant Digimon. I remember before he got his SaberLeomon, he had quite the powerful Lotusmon."

"Then the Jungle Troopers Series!" Rui picked out a pink and green colored V-Pet from the kiosk, along with a purple colored one. "Okay, I'm ready."

Drew nodded. "Hey, that's one of the new Xros Wars V-Pets." She pulled out one of the keychains, this one being red with a golden 'V' above the screen. "I've been meaning to get one of these."

"I'll buy it for you!" Rui beamed. "As thanks for your help today."

"But, that's oka-"

Rui puffed out his cheeks. "Nonsense! I want to repay you for your help, and I'm gonna do it!"

Drew gave in. "Okay, okay. Just quit with the cheeks."

The two headed to the cashier and paid for their stuff. Drew sighed. "Okay, now all we gotta do is get everyone home safely." She chuckled to herself. "Sneaking around and being hunted like this is kinda fun, huh? In a weird sort of way."

"She's not that bad." Rui stated. "Kazaki, I mean. She's rough and takes revenge a lot, but she's got a strong sense of justice."

"Really?"

"I saw it. It was during the set up stage for last year's cultural festival. A big heavy backdrop almost flattened the first year students, but Kazaki ran in and held it up before it could."

Drew was finding it hard to believe Kazaki even had a heroic bone in her body. "Well, that was then. Now, she wants to pummel us. Defend her all you want, but that's the truth. Now come on, we've gotta go."

Rui solemnly followed Drew to the exit. Strangely enough, Barbra wasn't there.

Drew heard Salamon beginning to growl inside her purse. "Something's wrong…" She whispered. "Kudamon was here, but his scent is laced with the smell of distress!"

"Lookie, lookie!" Someone called from behind Drew and Rui. They slowly turned around. Standing there was Kazaki Morimoto, looking quite pleased with herself. "Lucky to see you two here. You here for the mochi ice cream too?"

…

"Barbra! Barbra!" Kudamon called. "Wake up! Barbra!"

The blonde teen woke with a start. Her body ached, and her mouth tasted of blood. Kudamon was standing before her, worry in his eyes. She realized that they were in the back lot of All Nippon, and she was leaning against a large dumpster. "The hell happened?"

"We were attacked from behind." Kudamon began. "It must have been that Kazaki girl."

"You've gotta be kidding…" Barbra tried to get up, but her vision suddenly became blurry.

Kudamon waved his arms. "Stay down. You were struck in the back of the head. You need to rest."

"But Drew's gonna get clobbered in there…" Barbra gritted her teeth. "That fat dumpling's gonna get turned into a potsticker!"

"I know! But you're no use to her now. I'll go and look around and try to do whatever I can. You stay here and rest." Kudamon quickly bounded onto the dumpster and into a nearby window.

"To hell with that! I'm coming- ow!" Barbra groaned as she leaned her head on the dumpster. "Just give me a minute…"

…

Rui screamed as Drew was shoved into the nearby wall. Kazaki grinned evilly as she ripped the girl's bowtie from her neck. "You fat cow." She hissed. "You even dress like a heifer."

Salamon growled loudly from Drew's purse. She knew she couldn't attack the girl, as Drew had told her never to be seen by other humans, but she also couldn't let this person hurt her tamer.

Kazaki flexed her fingers. "Okay. Enough playing around. Time to turn that white face of yours black and blue!"

"Puppy Howling!" Salamon pressed her snout through the opening of the purse and shot a wave of sound at Kazaki. The girl stepped backwards, her ears ringing.

"What… the…" She mumbled.

"Hyah!" Nate yelled as he ran up slammed into Kazaki, toppling her into a magazine rack. He grabbed Drew and Rui's hands and ran deeper into the store.

"That feel good? That dynamic entry of yours?" Drew said dryly to Nate. "Hope it was worth watching me almost get my face caved in!"

"My bad! Really, I didn't plan it!" The boy stammered.

"I thought it was cool…" Rui muttered.

Nate led the group into an aisle filled with oversized stuffed toys. Drew pulled her hand away and stopped running. "Okay, we've got to think of a plan to get outta here!" The dark teen said quietly.

"There must be a back exit." Nate crossed his arms. "If we could just get a distraction…"

"I'll do it." Rui stated.

Drew and Nate stared at the boy. "What?" They both exclaimed.

"You two… I don't want to see you guys hurt." Rui said, his eyes beginning to water. "You've been protecting me up until now, and though I'm grateful, I want to save you guys now. I'm…" He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and cried, "I'm a man, aren't I?"

"Ru-ru…"Nate said shakily. "Are you sure about this?"

Rui replied with a thumbs-up. "If I get caught, I'll take my beating in stride, 'cause it's to protect my friends. It's what a real man would do!"

"Let him do it." Drew smiled. "He's his own man. He can handle his pickled plums."

"Okay. Just be careful." Nate placed his palm on Rui's head. "Don't make me worry."

The blonde looked away in annoyance. "Come on. I'm not doing this just for you, ya know…" He blushed.

Nate nodded and bounded over to Drew. They began towards the back of the store, while Rui ran in the other direction. He began yelling out, "Kazaki Morimoto is a big ganguro crybaby! She isn't cool and sucks at sports! Anyone who follows her is just as shallow and whiny as she is!"

Nate glanced behind him, spotting Rui near the front of the store. "Be okay…"

Rui also saw his fleeing friends. "Don't worry. I'll save you guys and make it back fine!" He said, showing them an upturned thumb.

The long shelf to Rui's left rumbled. He gasped as he realized Kazaki was lifting the heavy shelf with relative ease. "You wanna say that again?" She collapsed the shelf on Rui, burying him in wood and foreign knick-knacks.

"Rui!" Nate turned on his heel and ran back to his friend.

Drew stopped and yelled, "Nate, you idiot!"

The boy grabbed a nearby piece of wood and attempted to strike Kazaki. She smiled as she dodged under his swipe and socked him in the gut. Nate was knocked out cold.

Kazaki looked over at Drew with sick amusement in her eyes. "Coming for you next, cow!"

Drew ran the other way and hid behind a large toy display. She knew she couldn't leave the boys, but her body refused to move towards them. Drew grasped the collar of her shirt and started hyperventilating. What do I do? She thought. I just… I just don't…

Salamon leaped out of Drew's purse. "That's it! I'm tired of sitting around and doing nothing! If there's an enemy, we fight and beat it!"

"No, Salamon!" Drew shouted. "You can't just fight humans! And you know we can't let people know about Digimon!"

The Rookie Digimon snarled loudly. "I'm not sitting idly by! We have to… to…" Salamon's eyes widened.

"Inkling" Kazaki appeared behind Drew. "Found you…" She sang as she cracked her knuckles.

Drew's heart leapt into her throat. She grabbed Salamon and held her close. She forced out the words, "You… You don't scare me…!"

"Then why are you shaking?" Kazaki began to walk forwards. "Why'd you let all your friends get hurt while you ran off?"

Drew's legs felt like jelly. She began to back away, shuddering, with Salamon still clutched to her breast. "I…"

"I was just gonna rough you up, ya know." Kazaki sighed. "Sure, I don't like back talk, but you stood your ground against me, and I respect that kind of stuff." She was now a yardsticks length from Drew. "If you'd just let me beat ya up a little, I wouldn't be all tuckered out from chasing you. You'll have to pay for that." She continued until she was face to face with the dark-haired girl, a murderous glint shining in her eyes.

"You'll have to pay for that. I hate wasting my time and energy on something so frivolous."

Fear pulsed through Drew's body as Kazaki began to clench her fists. She thought of her friends, all beaten by Kazaki. Her heart felt like bursting. If she couldn't protect her friends, how was she supposed to save the entire Digital World? She placed Salamon on the ground and began building her courage.

"Y-y-y-you d-d-don't scare m-m-me…!" She stammered. "D-do it t-then! I w-w-won't run n-n-now… H-h-hit me w-with your b-b-best s-shot…!" Her voice was betraying her, hacking apart her words as they left her mouth.

Kazaki snorted with amusement. She grabbed Drew by the collar and slammed her into a nearby game kiosk. "You asked for it then! You better grit those teeth!"

Drew immediately realized something in the moments before Kazaki's fist kissed her face. I just agreed to get punched in the face by a ganguro psychopath with the strength of a gorilla. She thought. I am literally the single stupidest mother-effer on this planet.

Kazaki plowed her fist into Drew's cheek, sending her flying sideways a few feet away into a pile of oversized stuffed animals. She lied there for a moment, completely motionless.

"Oh, did I kill her?" Kazaki said as she shook her hand. "Oh, no, wait. She's twitching. Dodged a bullet there."

Drew got up shakily, a range of emotions spiraling in her. Relief for the soft landing mingled with the intense pain and sharp metallic taste of blood that assaulted her face and mouth.

"Huh." Kazaki muttered. "You know, that just didn't feel right…"

"Wha…"

The tan girl flexed her fingers. "Man, you just totally killed my stiffie, you know? You're not suppose to stand up for yourself like that! You're supposed to run away, and then I pelt you with volleyballs from behind and then beat the crap outta you!" She stretched and sighed. "Forget it, I'm not in the mood now."

"S-seriously?" Drew wiped a bit of blood from her mouth. "You did all this, and now you're gonna just leave 'cause you got blue-balled?"

"Huh?" Kazaki raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you want me to introduce your face to the pavement?"

"What? No, that's crazy! I mean, you do what you want!" Drew sputtered, which was hard since her cheek was beginning to swell.

"Honestly, I don't even know why I was so bent on offing you." Kazaki grunted. "It's like… I don't know… I felt compelled to smash somebody during Computer Science."

Drew nodded. She had felt that sensation as well when she lashed out earlier. "Yeah, me too."

The screen on the kiosk Kazaki was standing near was flashing. Salamon began to bristle.

"Man… Forget it. I'm getting tired, so I'm going home." Kazaki began to turn when suddenly the kiosk began to rumble. A black shadow began to flicker on the screen. "What the-" Kazaki began, but was cut off when the black shadow flew out of the screen and plastered itself onto her face.

"Kazaki!" Drew shouted. The shadow began covering her entire body in darkness. After a moment, the shadow seemed to have melting into Kazaki's skin. The tan girl began laughing creepily.

"This human… is…" Kazaki murmured, her voice slightly distorted. "Not bad…"

"What are you?" Drew demanded.

"Digimon!" Salamon yapped.

The mysterious being bowed. "Shademon. At your service." It cackled.

"Drew. Can I fight her now?" Salamon asked. Drew, after a moment of thought, nodded quickly. The Rookie smiled and stepped forward.

"Salamon Digivolve to… BlackGatomon!" Salamon reformed into her dark Champion level.

"A human and a Dark Digimon…" Shademon looked fearful. "So you are the one I've heard of…"

"Didn't know we were already so famous!" BlackGatomon said. "So you must know how strong we are!"

"Yes… The power of the demon and his subordinates is well known in the Digital World." Shademon wore a look of disdain. "I also know you two have been pursuing me and… and him…"

"Demon…" Drew repeated. He must be mistaking us for that Carly girl and her Digimon, she realized.

"Either way, you won't capture me!" Shademon raised a hand. "Mad Promenade!" Black shadows erupted from its hand, seeking to ensnare BlackGatomon. The Champion responded by slashing at the tendrils and jumping forward.

"Get ready, Shademon!" BlackGatomon roared as she raised her claws to strike. "Lightning Paw!" She aimed herself at the foe's vital areas.

"Stop!" Drew shouted. The Champion halted its attack mere centimeters from Shademon's neck.

"Don't forget, Salamon. That's Kazaki's body it's controlling. We can't kill her."

"But, who cares? She was trying to totally kill us!"

Drew furrowed her brow. "We're not going to kill her." She said firmly.

"Aw, isn't that noble." Shademon stepped back. "You should have done it when you had the chance, tamer."

Drew noticed beads of sweat running down its, or really Kazaki's, face. Shademon wasn't blowing smoke, she realized. It obviously wasn't prepared for BlackGatomon's attack. Did it really have no plan to protect itself?

"Mad Waltz!" Shademon suddenly ducked low and preformed an uppercut into BlackGatomon's chin. The Champion flew backwards and into Drew's arms. "This human has some impressive strength…" Shademon chortled.

BlackGatomon jumped down from Drew's grasp. "Sucker punching slime!" She hissed. "You'll pay for that!"

"You guys!" A flash of light zipped past Shademon. Kudamon had arrived. "BlackGatomon, what's going on?"

"Crazy Digimon controlling crazy teenager. Gotta fight, but not kill."

"Where's Barbra?" Drew asked.

"I'm right here." A strained voice came from behind the plump girl. Barbra had appeared suddenly, looking very beat up. "Miss me?"

"Bar-" Kudamon began, but the blonde placed her finger on his lips.

Drew's heart nearly stopped. "Cripes, Babs! What happened to you?"

"What do you think?" Barbra straightened herself. "But, whatever. You said a Digimon's controlling her?"

"Yeah, so don't hurt her too much…"

"Heh. No problem." Kudamon began to glow. "We'll take care of this. Blinding Ray!" The Rookie released a burst of light from its body, blinding Shademon.

"Cat Laser!" Beams of energy shot from BlackGatomon's eyes blasting the foe back, but it seemed to do little damage.

Shademon chuckled. "If you're not willing to kill me, you have no chance at stopping me!"

"If we had a bit more power, holding back wouldn't be an issue." Drew crossed her arms. "Man, we have no idea if this is even going to work. What are we going to do?"

"Digivolve." Barbra muttered. She pulled out her Digivice and held it towards Kudamon.

"What are you-" Kudamon began.

"If I try hard enough, maybe it'll work. Barbra held the device close to her. "If I could just give him the power to evolve, then maybe…"

A faint sparkle of energy appeared around her hand. Kudamon took notice. "Keep trying it. You're on to something."

Barbra began concentrating harder. More golden sparks began forming.

"Something's happening, but what?" Kudamon said. "If we could know what it was, maybe we could…"

"Oh snap!" Drew realized. "Remember? Digimon season five!"

"I never watched all of season five." Barbra replied. "That dub was terabad."

"I know, but what was the thing that they used to make the Digimon evolve?" Drew asked excitedly.

"Um, D.N.A.?" Barbra wracked her brain for the answer. "But I think in the original, it was called DigiSoul."

As if by command, golden light erupted from Barbra's hand. It began to engulf her Digivice, making its small screen flash violently. The words 'DIGIVOLUTION' began to appear in the display.

"Aw yeah, son!" Barbra pointed at Shademon. "You 'bout to get knocked the hell out!" She held up her Digivice. "Digisoul, charge!"

"Kudamon Digivolve to…" Kudamon grew to twice its normal size. It now resembled a large foxlike creature with a massive indigo blade for a tail. A white mask concealed his eyes and snout. On its tail, a lone eye blinked open. "Reppamon!"

Barbra looked surprised. "Okay, honestly don't know this one."

"Reppamon's the name." The new Champion announced. "Let me show you what I can do."

Shademon was standing by, looking at the group curiously. "It didn't even try to stop us or anything." Drew said to Barbra. "Is this guy really all that villainous?"

"Not really sure… Although I'm not sure about a lot of things right now." The blonde was noticeably more wobbly on her feet. "Reppamon, go get 'em!"

"Kurukuru Rekkūzan!" Reppamon leaped at Shademon, curling itself into a forward summersault. Shademon turned to run, but the Vaccine Type was far too fast. It landed on the foe's back and stretched its tail to point over its neck.

"Leave this body. Now." Reppamon growled.

Shademon lifted its head from the floor. "Fat chance! Dark Promenade!" Black tendrils slashed at Reppamon, who jumped back to dodge. "You'll die here, you bastards!" Shademon launched more tendrils from the ground.

Reppamon sighed. "Shinkū Kamaitachi!" Its tail shook violently, and a brisk wind wafted throught the area. Instantly, the tendrils dissipated, and Shademon doubled over in pain.

Black mist began pouring out of Kazaki's mouth. At least ten beady eyes appeared within the shade, all of which were looking around frantically. Kazaki's body slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"So this is your true form." Reppamon stepped forward and growled at the shade.

"Ju-just because I'm exposed doesn't mean I'm finished!" Shademon stammered. Its real voice was small and meek. "I'll… I'll… I'll get you back for this!" The dark Digimon zipped behind Reppamon and disappeared into the shadows.

"Wait a minute, you coward!" Barbra called. "Man, not cool…" She leaned on a nearby shelf and slumped down, her breath ragged.

"You okay?" Drew asked. "You look terrible."

"DigiSoul is more or less her own energy." Reppamon said as it nuzzled his tamer. "I must have taken a lot out of her to grant me this power."

"Anything for you, bud." Barbra petted the Digimon's grey fur. "So, that's one to one."

"One to what?" Drew asked.

"You saved the day once, and now I did." Barbra explained. "One to one!"

"You're keeping score?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

"You're ridiculous."

"What?"

Drew snickered. "That must mean you think you can rack up more wins than me. Like that could happen."

"It could!"

"H-hey…" BlackGatomon tugged at Drew's dress. "I still smell a Digimon."

Drew and Barbra looked around. "Another one?" They said.

A small pair of long ears popped out from behind an overturned shelf. "Is it all over?" It said.

"Okay, let's nip this in the bud right now." Barbra pointed at the tiny monster. "Reppamon, make it Swiss."

"No! I'm not a meanie like Brother!" The Digimon squeaked.

Drew lit up. "Brother? Just who are you?"

"I am Luminamon! I hold the Digital World's purity!" The Digimon introduced itself. "Mean old Shademon holds the depravity of the Digital World, though."

"What are you two doing here then?" Barbra groaned. "Go be pure and depraved back in your own world."

"But the demon is searching for us." Luminamon frowned. "It wants our powers to open the Door."

"Door?" Reppamon spoke up. "What door?"

Luminamon looked around, a worried look on its face. "This won't do." It said. "If this mess stays here, we could be found out." It raised its long ears and aimed them upwards. "Holy Rewrite!"

Ropes of light burst from Luminamon's ears. The ropes began to attach themselves to the wreckage of the previous battle and restored them. Broken merchandise reformed and took shape on seemingly brand new shelves.

"Whoa… That's so cool…" Barbra gaped. "Can we keep this one?"

Luminamon began to float into the air. "You tamers… You're our only hope. Beware of the devil that lies in the light. Find the eight children of sin and prevent the demon from opening the Door." A spark of light blinded the group, and in the flash, Luminamon disappeared.

"Freaky…" Drew and Barbra said in unison. Their Digimon nodded as they shrunk back to their Rookie forms.

Drew pulled open her purse and pushed Salamon inside. "Come on, little one. We've gotta see if Kazaki's alright."

"Leave her." Barbra said as she tilted her head for Kudamon to pile back into her hood. "Punched me in the back of the head…"

Disregarding the blonde, Drew walked over to Kazaki's unconscious body. "Hey, wake up, gorilla girl." She said while smacking her cheek.

The tanned teen moaned. "What the heck even happened?"

"Um, you tripped over something… and hit your head on a… desk?"

Drew mentally beat herself on the head. Seriously, you are crap at quick thinking! She cursed herself.

"A desk? Really? I guess that's life, huh?" Kazaki shrugged.

Drew looked taken aback. She fell for it!

"Yeah, Drew almost had a heart attack when it happened." Barbra smirked. "She was running around like crazy. Even gave you mouth-to-mouth!"

"Barbra!" Drew glared at the blonde, her cheeks red from embarrassment. "Look, I didn't really-"

Drew stopped when she noticed that Kazaki's face was turning scarlet. "Mouth-to-mouth? Didn't think you cared that much…"

She fell for it again! Drew gaped. How dense is this girl?

Barbra covered her mouth with her hand to stop her uncontrollable laughter. "Oh, god! I'm gonna bust a gut!"

"Welp, I guess I should thank you, Drew." Kazaki fiddled with her collar. "Th-thanks… You get one."

"One?" Drew asked quizically.

"I'll do one special thing for you. Anything that's in my ability. That's my style, ya see." Kazaki brushed a few blonde locks from her face. "Anything at all, even-um… weird stuff, if you're into that…"

"No! No! No! Weird stuff isn't necessary!" Drew sputtered.

"Huh? What's that mean? You don't wanna do that kinda stuff with me?" Kazaki shot Drew a dark glance. "I may be a bit rough, but I'm still a woman."

"No! I-uh-have something else in mind…" Drew scratched her head in thought. She noticed Barbra mouthing the words, 'Eternal slave' to her.

"Um… G-give Digimon another chance." Drew said finally. "It's kinda unfair that you just called them kids stuff before. If you tried the game, I think you'd like it a bit."

"Digimon?" Kazaki repeated. "Hmm… Yeah, I guess I could do that."

Barbra gave Drew a disappointed scowl. The plump teen shrugged awkwardly.

"Hey. What happened over here?" Nate walked in from behind. Rui was beside him, blood dripping from his head.

"Ru-ru! Are you okay?" Drew grabbed the boy's head and pressed him to her chest. "Oh man, I'm so sorry, Ru-ru! It's all my fault."

"It-It's okay, Drew!" Rui's voice was being muffled by Drew's cleavage. "I'm fine, see?" He parted his hair a bit. Although there was blood, there was no signs of any kind of wound.

"It disappeared." Drew murmured. It must have been from Luminamon's Holy Rewrite!

"Man, you got like, super healing powers or something!" Kazaki said suddenly, making Rui jump. The girl grinned. "Heh, don't worry, we're cool for now. Sorry for dropping a shelf on you."

"Yeah… Sorry 'bout calling you a crybaby."

Barbra shakily stood up. Her bruises seemed to have cleared up due to Luminamon's power as well. "Yay, everyone's all happy now. Can we go?"

As the group walked towards the exit, Drew noticed that the staff of All Nippon had began to brighten. Shademon's influence seemed to have finally dissipated. They seemed much more alive than before. The greeter at the front waved excitedly. "Arigato! Please come again!" He said with a grin.

"Everyone's so lively now that Shademon's disappeared." Barbra whispered. "People are even coming in again." Drew nodded as a group of kids rushed past them, each with a deck of cards in their hands.

"But what about us?" Salamon chimed in. "We weren't affected like everyone else, or at least, not as much."

Kudamon poked his head out of Barbra's hood. "A better question to ask is this; why weren't those three affected?"

Drew looked over to the three teens that were walking in front of them. Kudamon was on to something. Nate and Rui seemed completely unaffected by Shademon's power, while Kazaki only became angry, just like Drew did. Drew shrugged. Perhaps they just didn't notice the changes.

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you guys later." Kazaki's voice broke into Drew's thoughts. "I'm gonna grab some mochi ice cream and head home."

"Okay then, bye!" Drew waved to the tanned girl as she and the rest of her friends left All Nippon.

"So, Rui." Nate piped up. "What did you get?"

The boy blushed slightly. "Uh! Oh, um… Well, I remembered that you lost your V-Pet the other day, so…" He reached into his bag for the present. "Uh, um…" He stammered.

"Rui?" Nate tilted his head.

"It's gone!" Rui cried. "The V-Pet I got for you is completely missing!"

"Must have been during that crazy scuffle." Barbra scoffed. "Man, that sucks."

"You got a V-Pet for me?" Nate seemed stunned. "Well, I-"

"Here!" Rui held out her X-Antibody V-Pet. "You… You can have this one…"

"Hey. But that's…" Drew began.

Rui shook his head. "No, I want to give Nate this. It's okay." He placed the pack into the redhead's hand.

"Thank you, Rui." Nate couldn't be redder. "I'll treasure this." Rui replied with a smile.

"Oh my god, kiss already!" Barbra groaned, earning a swift knee to the stomach from Drew.

Rui's eyes began to water. "And I got all of that help from Drew to get it." He pulled out the Xros Wars V-Pet he had bought for her. "Well, this is still here."

"Keep it." Drew smiled. She remembered the conversation they had had during lunch. "I'll get my own some other time."

Rui seemed a bit unsure for a moment, but soon caught onto Drew's reasoning. "Thanks so much, Drew! You're so awesome!"

Drew chuckled a bit. "No problem. Now let's get home."

As they continued walking, Drew and Barbra slowed to the back of the group. "So, what do you think is with this DigiSoul stuff?" Barbra asked.

"Not sure. Maybe you can punch Digimon in the face?"

"That's kinda cool, but I'm more interested in why you don't have it."

Drew nodded. It was a bit strange that this DigiSoul power was only available to Barbra. "Maybe you're just special."

"Or maybe you are." Barbra pointed out.

"Yeah, right." The dark girl laughed. "I don't think so."

"I guess you're right." Barbra retorted. "Nothing's special about you except for your fat ass."

"Better to have a fat one than none at all!" Drew bumped Barbra with her hip. The blonde retaliated by bumping her back.

"No fair!" She pouted. "You've got way more mass than me!"

"Big is best, toothpick!" Drew teased.

Salamon yapped from inside Drew's purse. "I think you both are huge!"

The girls laughed together as they continued on their way. Nate and Rui looked back at them. "Man, they need to get a room." Nate said.

Rui giggled. "Definitely!"

…

Kazaki walked out All Nippon with a large plastic bag of mochi. Her face was pink with delight as she munched on the doughy balls of rice cake and mint tea ice cream.

"Man, that's too good!" She said to herself. "I feel so much better now!" She thought back to earlier, when she had woken up after tripping, or at least that's what Drew had told her. She didn't remember tripping on any desks, but she didn't really bother to look into it. She was awake and eating ice cream now, and that was fine with her.

Something crunched under Kazaki's foot as she started down the street. She looked down and found a little package.

"This is one of those Digi-Pet things, isn't it?" She picked the package up and inspected it. It was a green, box-shaped keychain with a small screen and buttons. "Just what is this little thing supposed to do? What a silly thin-"

G-give Digimon another chance, Drew's words chimed in Kazaki's head. It's kinda unfair that you just called them kids stuff before. If you tried the game, I think you'd like it a bit.

Kazaki nodded herself and pocketed the V-Pet into her bag. "Drew found this fun. I guess there must be something to these little things." She chuckled to herself as she popped another mochi into her mouth. "What's the harm?"