| Old Friends, Old Foes: Part One Disclaimer: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02 and related elements are registered trademarks of Toei, Bandai and their respective owners and are used without permission. Rei, Kain, Aiko, Chiaki, Jenna, Jessie, Cassidy and related characters are creations of Sakura_Chanz and are used with permission. "Idiots..." Muttered a violet-eyed teenage girl as she watched an argument break out between Daisuke and Kain on their next course of action. She looked at the small creature seated in her lap. "Why do I bother staying with them?" Aquasmon, her Digimon partner, wisely decided not to answer. About half an hour later... After a wasted fifteen minutes of hearing the two boys bicker, Hikari took charge and shooed everyone back to the Digiport so they could get home before anyone got into trouble. So now Rei Takashi was on her way to what passed for her home. It wasn't much, just a dinky little apartment, but it was home none the less. Aquasmon remained hidden in a backpack slung over her shoulder. "Idiots, all of them," she said quietly to herself, thinking of her erstwhile 'teammates'. "Well, some of them are alright..." Iori was pleasant to be around and was highly intelligent for his age. Ken was an excellent person to talk to, if he didn't spend so much time with the boy-crazy Miyako. Hikari was nice, and could be firm when she had to, but Rei sometimes felt a tinge of envy when she saw her with her brother Taichi and their parents. One nice happy family, she thought bitterly. Just like the one she wished she had. Takeru...well, she felt a sort of feeling towards him...something she couldn't quite place. It wasn't love, at least not romantic love...it felt more like they were kin. Daisuke was definitely an idiot, but could be counted on when the going got tough. Kain...was irritating. Well meaning, but his little infatuation with her was grinding her nerves. She wasn't some delicate flower who needed protection all the time, least of all form someone who couldn't spend the night outside without complaining. After all, she'd been on her own since she was young, she could handle herself just fine. Aiko was more tolerable, mainly because she watched out for everyone. Though, Rei couldn't help but wonder if she realized Chiaki had feelings for her. Personally, she thought the curious and hyper Chiaki would be more of a match with Jenna, since they both seemed to be incredibly na�ve at times. Sometimes it almost sickened her how easily an evil Digimon would trick the younger girl and almost get them killed. Cassidy's anti-male attitude was decidedly odd, though understandable considering what she'd gone through growing up. Jessie was someone she could relate to in that Kain got on both of their nerves at times. "I wonder if the first group of Chosen Children were so mismatched," she thought out loud. Aquasmon decided to speak up. "Patamon told me the old Chosen argued a lot at first." "They did, huh?" Rei asked. "Yup!" Aquasmon replied. "Patamon said sometimes Taichi and Yamato would hit each other!" "Thankfully, we're more mature than...huh?" "What's wrong, Rei?" "I'm not sure..." The girl whirled around, her eyes blazing. "Who's there?" "Rei?" Aquasmon asked worriedly. Rei smiled reassuringly at the Digimon. "Sorry, Aquasmon," she said sheepishly. "I thought I felt someone watching us..." She shook her head. "I guess I must be more tired than I thought." "Hmph, she's better than I expected," chuckled a figure standing on a nearby rooftop. She almost caught us then." Crouched beside him was another figure, who remained silent. "So, she's the one, eh?" "Hn." "Not very conversational, are you?" "Hn." "Well, then, shall we go?" "Hn." "Oh, you're fun to work with." "Help!" A plaintive voice called out. Rei turned her head to the direction of the sound. "Someone! Help! Please!" It sounded like a girl, a young one at that. Rei quickly ran towards the source of the cries. As she turned the corner, she bumped into someone. As she'd suspected, it was a girl, probably not more than ten. "Help, please!" she sobbed. "They're after me!" "Who?" demanded Rei. She looked up and saw a trio of rough looking boys approaching. "Never mind." The girl hid behind her as she confronted the boys. "Hold it!" One of the boys, 'Probably their leader,' Rei reasoned, stepped forward. He stopped a few feet away and spoke. "Stay out of this. Just turn around, and walk away, girl." Rei glared at him. "Not until I'm sure this kid is alright." The thug looked annoyed. "Last chance. Leave, or..." He nodded to his two henchmen. They stepped forward, cracking their knuckles ominously. Rei raised her hands in a fighting stance. Living on the streets had taught her how to handle punks like these. If worse came to worse, Aquasmon could leap out of her backpack and help. "Well now," rasped a voice from behind her. "What have we here?" Two more boys walked up to her. One was dressed in a military style shirt and trousers with white gloves, and the other was dressed in black, with flowing silver hair. The one dressed in black spoke. "Three against one?" He shook his head. "Not very fair now is it? Let us...even the odds!" The two boys suddenly charged the other three. Minutes later... Rei, the child and the two boys walked out of the alleyway, the older kids dusting themselves off. "I could've handled them on my own," Rei began. "But thanks anyway." The boy with the gloves nodded. "You're welcome. To be safe, I think we'd better walk the two of you home." "I don't think that's necessary," protested Rei. "I can watch out for myself!" "True," stated the other boy. "But could you watch out for this child too?" Rei fell silent, seeing the sense in his words. "Fine. My name's Rei." "Pleased to meet you, Rei. I'm Kokuei. Shitsui Kokuei." The black-clad boy shook her hand. "That reminds me," Kokuei added, turning to the little girl. "What's your name, child?" "Mina," sobbed the girl. "Don't worry, Mina," said the gloved boy kindly. "We'll escort you home." "Nii-san!" Mina called out as they approached an apartment nearby Hikari's home. A boy slightly older than they were opened the door. His face broke into a relieved smile when he saw Mina. "Mina! Where were you?" he demanded. "I was worried!" He noticed Rei and the others. "Who're you?" " Your sister was attacked by some rather rough-looking individuals," replied Kokuei. "We helped her out and decided it'd be better to walk her home." "Thank you," said the older boy, bowing towards them. "My name is Mirai. Please, won't you come in?" "Sorry, I've got to get going," Rei replied. "I just came along to make sure Mina's alright." "Oh, too bad," said Mirai. "Thank you again." "No problem," Rei assured him as she walked off and waved goodbye to Mina. "We'd best be going too," Kokuei informed Mirai. "By the way," interrupted the gloved boy. "Do you know why they were after your sister?" "W-what do you mean?" Mirai asked nervously. "They were too well organized," continued the gloved boy. "They were specifically after her." He walked up and glared into the older boy's eyes. "Why?" "I can't tell you." "Look," reasoned Kokuei. "We've probably been targeted too since we helped your sister. You could at least tell us what we're up against." Mirai hesitated. "Mina," he said, turning to his sister. "Can you get dinner started, please?" The young girl nodded and with a 'thank you' addressed to the two boys ran inside, as her brother smiled after her. "Alright," he sighed. "I'll tell you." He began explaining; not realizing a pair of ears was listening intently from the nearby stairwell. "I was once part of a gang in this area. They called themselves 'Shinsengumi'. "The what?" asked Kokuei. "The Shinsengumi," the gloved boy told him, "were a group of powerful and skilled swordsmen from feudal Japan. They acted as an elite police unit...like a special forces team." "Exactly," agreed Mirai. "However, this gang acted like mercenaries. If you have the money, they'd do your dirty work for you." He looked wistful. "Once, we were friends. We didn't go around beating people up or anything, we formed our group to protect ourselves and our neighbourhood." His face contorted into a look of anger. " Then another group appeared. They took over leadership and basically turned us into thugs no better than the ones we tried to fight against!" "And you did nothing to stop this?" asked the gloved boy. "Most of our older stronger members moved on to better things," Mirai replied. "The remaining original members weren't strong enough to stop them. So we left." "Then why are they after your sister?" "To get to me." Mirai slammed his fist into the wall. "I always criticised the new leader,and when I couldn't take it anymore, I left." He looked down at his hands. "I guess he still has a grudge." "And they hang about this area?" Kokuei raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused as to why his companion was asking so many questions. "Just so we know where not to go," continued the gloved boy. "Not usually, though their main meeting spot isn't far from here." "I see," concluded the gloved boy. "We'll be sure to watch out then." He turned to Kokuei. "Let's go." "Thank you again for helping my sister," Mirai said as he bid them goodbye. As the two boys left the building, they didn't seem to notice a certain multi-colour haired girl watching them from afar, nor did they seem to notice as she began tailing them. "Rei," asked Aquasmon. "Why are we following them?" "There's something strange about them," explained Rei, never taking her eyes of them. "Something that makes me nervous, and I want to find out what." "She's following us." Kokuei spoke casually, as if it wasn't a problem. His companion nodded. "I know," he replied in a similar tone. "We'd better lose her." His eyes widened. "Damn!" he cursed. "What's wrong?" "That boy up ahead!" "Hmm?" Kokuei looked in the direction indicated. He noticed a teenage boy with a huge mop of brown hair. "One of the Chosen!" "Not just one of the Chosen," the gloved boy warned. "He recognizes me! We have to get out of sight,NOW!" Glancing to his right, he noticed a large group of people waiting to cross the road. "Quick, let's blend in!" "We'll lose both in one go!" Kokuei laughed. "I underestimated you!" The crowd began moving, and the gloved boy showed no reaction other than a brief glance of annoyance when the familiar voice of Yagami Taichi called out in surprise... "Ryou!?" Reviews, comments, suggestions and criticisms (constructive or otherwise) are welcome and can be sent to [email protected] |