Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Wild Tamer ❯ Dad Knows Best... (or was it beast?) ( Chapter 5 )
[ A - All Readers ]
By: Otaku-Sama 
Alright, Ranma-Sama´s here!!
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Martial Arts / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.16.2003 | Updated On: 03.20.2003 | Pages: 5 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 437 | Status: Completed
Alright, Ranma-Sama´s here!!
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Martial Arts / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.16.2003 | Updated On: 03.20.2003 | Pages: 5 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 437 | Status: Completed
...and that, class, is how you disassemble, clean, and reassemble an Automatic Kalashnikov Rifle, Model 1974, Standard- what you say? Some people staring at me? Oh, those are my readers. Class dismissed.
Well, hello, again, mis amigos! What? Who are those? Oh, just my students from the NRA-Local 1313-. Never mind them.
Uh? You want another episode already? Jeez, never knew being halfway-famous would be so demanding... Oh well, if the Pretty Señoritas ask me to write, then write I will!! ^_~
Disclaimer: It is our belief that both "Digimon Tamers" and "Ranma 1/2" belong to someone else who aren´t us. Bummer.
The Wild Tamer
by Otaku-Sama (ICQ 12832029; AIM OtakuuSama)
Chapter 6: Dad Knows Best. (or was it Beast?)
The Terrible Two were walking towards Guilmon´s hut; Guil was skipping along, Takato was limping. Hey, you would too if you were shot on the leg by a sugar-high gunslinger Digimon...
"Takato-mon? You sure okay?"
"Don´t worry, Guil; it looks worse that it really is... hey, Guil..."
"...mmh? Yes, ´Kato-mon?"
Takato had been thinking. Guilmon was a Digimon -a fairly strong one, as he had devised him to be-... but that fact didn´t make up for something very important:
Guilmon was a newborn. And as for every newborn, he had not the skills needed to survive. Sure, he naturally could throw fireballs, and he was sure he could use the "Rock Breaker" attack he had put on his friend´s statistics... but there is much more to combat than that! He knew -both by watching strong but not overly skilled fighters like Auntie Akane, and by his dad´s teachings- that strength alone can only get you so far: you must know how to use that strength... and Guilmon didn´t know...
"...you were great at the fight, Guil: you´re very strong-"
"Thank-ee-ya!!"
"-but, you remember how we fought? Even when both Renamon and you are stronger than me, I fought more and better-"
" Yeah, Takato-mon´s Stroooong!!!"
"-no, Guil: I´m skilled. I KNOW how to fight, and thanks to that I managed to keep up with Renamon... the thing is... Guil, do you want to learn to fight like me?"
Guilmon blinked. "´Kato-mon means all that jumpin´ and kickin´and all?!?!?! Yay!! Guilmon wanna learn!! Wanna learn!! Wanna learn!!"
´Wow, that was easier than I thought...´ "Really, Guil? You really wanna learn? Because it´s gonna be hard... you won´t get it too easy..."
"If ´Kato-mon did learn, then Guilmon can learn, too!!"
"...okay..."
And so, they arrived to Guilmon´s Hut. Once their good byes were said, Takato limped down the stairs, turned left to go back home, and-
-run into somebody, falling on his butt.
"Ow! S-sorry, didn´t see you..."
"Bet you were thinking of Digimon again, eh, squirt?"
"D-dad?!?"
Indeed! Standing tall and proud, Ranma smirked mischievously to his son.
"Well, that´s what your mom says... hey, you okay?"
"Uh? Oh! You mean my leg? Don´t worry, just some blood, nothing to worry about!! Heh, heh!!"
Ranma crouched besides Takato, and gently appraised the bandage -Ruki´s yellow scarf.
"M-hm... nice patching up... for a beginner... let me check you Ki-flows...."
His hands hovered a little above the boy´s legs, and started to glow faintly on a whitish hue. After a few seconds of that, he tapped a few spots on his calf and knee.
"...there. You´ll be alright tomorrow evening. Mh, wonder how you get injured like this... did it have anything to do with... oh, I don´t know... a pet?"
Takato froze. His dad suspected something!! And he couldn´t really lie to him!!
Gazing at Ranma´s azure eyes, he saw...
His dad´s worries... his need to know... his love for his son...
´...I... i can´t lie to him.....´ ...with a mental sigh, he readied himself. THIS was a battle he wasn´t prepared for.
"...you´re right, dad... you´re... right... I have a new friend... and he isn´t human... heh, it was almost magical how he came to me... you could say he is something... mystical..."
Ranma has stiffened. Badly:
"God, no.... please, Takato.... don´t tell me it´s the Bakeneko!!!!!!"
Takato sweat dropped at that one. Even after years of therapy for his dad´s ailurophobia, he still disliked felines in general... and the extremely annoying Ghost Cat from his Neriman days was Top One on his ´Get that thing the HECK away from me!!" list.
"Noooo nonono! He´s not a cat -or a ghost, really!! ....guess I´ll just have to show you.... Hey, Guilmon! Come here, buddy!"
"´Kato-mon? you not at home yet?" said Guilmon from upstairs, while rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Heh, sorry for waking you up, Guil, but... Dad: this is Guilmon, my Digimon partner. Guilmon, this is my dad, Saotome Ranma."
Ranma glanced at the mini-dino, stared for a second... then shrugged, extended a hand and shook Guilmon´s paw.
"Hey there, nice to meetcha!"
"You... Ranma...."
"...yeah, that´s me!"
"...moooon?"
The Saotome´s kissed the ground: Takato laughing, and Ranma face faulting.
Guilmon was just puzzled.
"...Ranma-mon´s face not hurts?"
°°°°°°°°°°°&de g;°°°°°°°°°°°°°°&de g;°°°°°°°°°°°°°°&de g;°°°°°°°°°°°°°°&de g;°°°°°°°°°°°°°°&de g;°°°°°°°°°°°°°°&de g;°
Both Father, Son (and nobody else, don´t get weird ideas) came to the same conclusion:
Mie was a great woman, Mie has accepted every oddity from Ranma´s past, Mie had a strong soul and firm grip of reality...
Mie also had the JSDF and the Police´s Special Assault Team on speed-dial.
So, to avoid having a few platoons of guys on combat fatigues, toting assault rifles, at the door of their home, they´d better keep Guilmon as a ´we have no knowledge of such a thing´ secret. After all, the SAT had already surrounded their house twice, and it was getting embarrassing...
It was also decided that they would move their training to the Park, so they could start with Guilmon´s own training. -Ranma saw this as a personal challenge: ´If anyone can teach martial arts to a dinosaur, that´s Saotome Ranma!!´-
Takato´s perforated and bloodied pants were blamed to a freak training accident involving a compressed-air stapler, three members of the Japanese Red Army, and a flaming wombat. It was a stupid enough story, so it had to be true... so they both earned an ear-pulling, a scolding, and a resigned sigh.
And so ended the day, with our heroes going to bed at their suburban house, surrounded by their normal neighbors, who always had something to laugh about...
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The next day, at school, Takato had told Jenrya of his encounter with his dad, and how he had to tell him about Guilmon. Jenrya stated his concern about his friend´s course of action...
"...WHAAAATT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MIND!!!!!!!!!!"
"Jeez, Jen!" said Takato, while trying to get rid of the ringing in his ear. "Don´t worry about it! Dad is very understanding of this stuff: he had his share of weirdness when he was young..."
"W-what possibly could be weird enough!!!!!!!"
"...believe me, Jen... you don´t want to know..."
"But-"
"...you REALLY don´t want to know..."
With a sigh, Jenrya relented: "...okay, nothing I can do, anyway... guess you told him about Terriermon, too..."
"Of course not! That´s up to you,and you alone!"
"...sorry, didn´t mean to..."
"So, you two are coming with me to the Park, so you can introduce yourself to him."
"...sometimes I hate you..."
"C´mon, Jen, you don´t mean that!" said a grinning Takato. "And anyway, since my dad´s gonna train both me and Guilmon, then you and me can spar when dad´s busy! Whaddyasay?"
Jenrya thought about it. He had seen a glimpse of Takato´s and Renamon´s fight, and he was curious about this obscure art.
Remember what did the curiosity to the cat?
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The Three Amigos -Takato, Jenrya and Terriermon- arrived to the park, and went to a small, secluded clearing near Guilmon´s hut. There, they met Ranma, who was teaching Guilmon how to do a punching combo.
"...and repeat that move... alright, Guilmon! You got that in no time! Now, keep practicing that combo for a while... Hey, squirt! I see you brought two more friends!"
"Yeah, these are Lee Jenrya and Terriermon."
"It is a honor to meet you, Saotome-San" said Jenrya, while bowing formally.
"Aw, no need for that formality stuff, Jen! Just call me Ranma!"
"Hey, that´s cool, Ran-Man!" "Terriermon!!" "Momentai!"
Ranma chuckled. "Hey, Jen, you do Martial Arts, don´t you? Tai-Chi-Chuan, Element Water? ...mmm, about a brown belt on the Japanese ranking system, I guess..."
Jenrya stared. Darn, he was good!
"...y-yes, Ranma-san..."
"Cool! How about you spar with Takato, huh? Our style is mostly Wind and Fire, so it would be nice if you two compare the differences. Meanwhile, I´ll keep with Guilmon´s training. He´s very promising!"
"Of course, Ranma-san, I´d be honored to."
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Guilmon´s training went smoothly and nicely. As for Jenrya´s fate....
"Ouch!"
"I´m sorry, Jen!!"
"No problem, I´m okay... let´s try that again... Yeow!"
"Oh, I´m sorry, Jen!!"
"N-nah, nothing´s broken... again.... Whaaa!!!" Thump!
"Man, I´m sorry, Jen!!"
"D-d-don´t wo-ouch-rry... Takato.... uff... again... aahhhh!!!"
"Oh jeez, I´m sorry, Jen!! He-hey, Jenrya? You OK? Jen?"
...wasn´t as smooth or nice... oh, well...
"...Um, squirt?"
"...yeah, dad?"
"...remember when I told you that I learned the hard way that, deliberately going easy on an opponent, and underestimating his abilities, was a real big insult to his or her skills and honor as a martial artist?"
"...yeah?"
"...I think Jenrya here wouldn´t mind being insulted a bit..."
"...uh-huh..."
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"Jeezzuz, Jen, I don´t know what to say... you aren´t mad at me, aren´t you?"
"N-nah, Takato, don´t worry... it´s to be expected that a better opponent would beat me..."
Jenrya wasn´t really mad at Takato. There was nothing wrong with the Gogglehead kicking butt...
...that he kicked butt while being so damn NICE about it, now THAT was irritating... but he couldn´t put that against his new best friend, could, he?
The five of them -two Digimon, two boys, and one God´s Gift to Women- where walking out of the Park, when suddenly, a weird fog covered them.
"What the- what´s this fog!?!?" Takato was confused: it reminded him of the fog from his dream!
"It´s a Digital Battle Field..." said a distressed Jenrya. Both Guilmon and Terriermon were scanning the fog...
"Something´s coming" muttered Ranma, his eyes closed, his body stiff... "...something powerful, animalistic...murderous... there!!"
With a powerful shout, entered the Gorillamon. It started to beat it´s chest, then took aim with his arm gun, and fired.
Everybody dodged -some more gracefully than other-, and surrounded the crazed digital beast.
"We must stop him! He might go berserk on the streets!" said Ranma. Being the most experienced combatant, he knew of the consequences of such a threat. A course of action had to be taken...
"Takato, Guil! Distract him!"
"Got it! Let´s go, Guil!"
Both brothers-in-arms closed in, dodging Gorillamon´s clumsy strikes, and bombarded him with fists and kicks. That only annoyed the monster, but that was really the idea...
"Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!!!!!!"
Gorillamon roared as hundreds of sonic-fast punches rained on his side, and he was forced to break off his new assailant. He tried to smash the annoying pest, but Ranma quickly got out of harm´s way.
The gun-toting ape began firing indiscriminately, endangering the boys. Even some stray shots got out of the field, damaging nearby buildings.
"C´mon, Jen!!" shouted Takato "don´t just gape there!! We gotta stop him!!"
Jenrya was frozen. It was the very same Gorillamon that had tried to kill Terriermon back on the Digital World!! He couln´t let his friend fight that psycho! He could get hurt!! He could get kil-"
"Jenrya!!! Snap Out of it!!! If we don´t stop him, he WILL KILL US AND OUR FRIENDS!!!!"
Jenrya knew Takato was right, but knowing it and doing something about it were two different things.
´If we fight, Terriermon could get hurt, or killed.... but if we don´t... he WILL die...´
There was no real choice...
"Terriermon! Card Slash! Hyper-Speed, Activate!"
"Yay! Now we´re cooking!" said the dog-rabbit, as he darted to and fro, striking the ape with lightning-fast pot-shots.
´Well, let´s see if this thing works...´ "Guilmon, get ready! Card Slash!! Power Activate!!"
Guilmon reared his head, gathered fire in his mouth, and-
"Pyro-Sphere!!!!!!"
-shot it towards, the Digital King-Kong, weakening immensely... and making him even madder...
"...Takato..."
"...I know, dad... he won´t stop... he won´t listen..."
"...i have to do this... I´m sorry..."
"...me too, dad... me too.... Guil! Ter, Jen! Back off, NOW!!!"
The four young ones went back, behind Ranma´s glowing form. Jenrya and Terriermon wondered what was going on, until Ranma spoke:
"...listen here boys: when I count three, those who can shoot energy blasts will shoot them to the big monkey. Got that? OK... one... two.... THREE!!!"
"Terrier Tornado!!"
"Pyro-Sphere!!"
"MOUKO TAKABISHA!!!!!!!!"
Yes, it was overkill, and Gorillamon´s body just couldn´t take the strain. His data dispersed into the night.
"Yes, we did it Terriermon! We did it! We- hey, why the gloomy faces?"
...yes, for a victorious battle, the Saotome´s were unusually silent...
"...Jenrya... one of the founding pillars of our art, is to use it to protect, never to destroy... both Takato and me, have done something that had to be done to protect the lives of innocents... but to do so, we had to destroy another living creature... and for all the power our art gives us... we still can´t bring back the dead..."
Jenrya stared at Ranma´s serious face, at Takato´s troubled one, at Guilmon´s slow realization... and understood.
They weren´t mere Martial Artist-or Digimon Tamers- anymore...
They were warriors now...
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Hello, nuurse! Well, sorry for the gloomy ending of today's episode, but it was something that bothered me: how in the show, both Taks and Jen had little problem with deleting Digimon, even when they were aware of the being´s self-awareness... also, it wouldn´t mix well with Ranma´s "don´t kill" policy -remember, he only has killed once, and only to save the life of someone he cared deeply for...
and as for the last "warriors" remark, it´s my personal belief that real warriors are those who volunteer themselves to the horrors of war, and having to kill other human beings, so the majority of us can keep our innocence mostly intact... I dislike war as much as any sensible human being, therefore I admire those who go into a hell they hate as much -or more- than I do, so I don´t have to... to all the real warriors, from wherever country you are, may the peace be with you.
Okay, enough depression for today! Let´s review the reviews!!
To Black and Regless: you are weird... but so am I!!
To Liiya Wolf: hey, Tak´s a Saotome! he´ll be break dancing faster than you think! Now, I have to balance the action between ´Kato and Guil, so the red Wonder won´t be doing too much... just what´s needed, when Takato can´t be the hero. Oh! how was ´Kato´s and Jen´s sparring session, uh? :P
To SerpentTreize: Thank you! About the ´more fighting´ bit, let me get some steam, alright? I know the fighting scenes have been short and plain, but I ain´t no good with them... of course, any help would be appreciated...
To AngelSakura: Gee, I´d prefer to think I´m rewriting the story with a twist. :P
To Sora Potter: I know this nice little store in Texas that sales bullet-proof vest via mail order. Oh! And tell Foxy i said hi.
To AAron: Thank you, teacher!
To Ran: Zuquiaomon, God-King of the Phoenix? Heh, cute. and don´t kill ´Kazu as of yet. it´s funnier to torture him. bwahahahahahah!
To Canis Black: Ruki, a cross between Akane and Nabiki? Wow, you´re right! who woulda thought?
To Jedi Takeru: Thanks man! Your stories are very good, too!
To John Surber: Yeah, I didn´t think it would work out, either!! :P
Well, hello, again, mis amigos! What? Who are those? Oh, just my students from the NRA-Local 1313-. Never mind them.
Uh? You want another episode already? Jeez, never knew being halfway-famous would be so demanding... Oh well, if the Pretty Señoritas ask me to write, then write I will!! ^_~
Disclaimer: It is our belief that both "Digimon Tamers" and "Ranma 1/2" belong to someone else who aren´t us. Bummer.
The Wild Tamer
by Otaku-Sama (ICQ 12832029; AIM OtakuuSama)
Chapter 6: Dad Knows Best. (or was it Beast?)
The Terrible Two were walking towards Guilmon´s hut; Guil was skipping along, Takato was limping. Hey, you would too if you were shot on the leg by a sugar-high gunslinger Digimon...
"Takato-mon? You sure okay?"
"Don´t worry, Guil; it looks worse that it really is... hey, Guil..."
"...mmh? Yes, ´Kato-mon?"
Takato had been thinking. Guilmon was a Digimon -a fairly strong one, as he had devised him to be-... but that fact didn´t make up for something very important:
Guilmon was a newborn. And as for every newborn, he had not the skills needed to survive. Sure, he naturally could throw fireballs, and he was sure he could use the "Rock Breaker" attack he had put on his friend´s statistics... but there is much more to combat than that! He knew -both by watching strong but not overly skilled fighters like Auntie Akane, and by his dad´s teachings- that strength alone can only get you so far: you must know how to use that strength... and Guilmon didn´t know...
"...you were great at the fight, Guil: you´re very strong-"
"Thank-ee-ya!!"
"-but, you remember how we fought? Even when both Renamon and you are stronger than me, I fought more and better-"
" Yeah, Takato-mon´s Stroooong!!!"
"-no, Guil: I´m skilled. I KNOW how to fight, and thanks to that I managed to keep up with Renamon... the thing is... Guil, do you want to learn to fight like me?"
Guilmon blinked. "´Kato-mon means all that jumpin´ and kickin´and all?!?!?! Yay!! Guilmon wanna learn!! Wanna learn!! Wanna learn!!"
´Wow, that was easier than I thought...´ "Really, Guil? You really wanna learn? Because it´s gonna be hard... you won´t get it too easy..."
"If ´Kato-mon did learn, then Guilmon can learn, too!!"
"...okay..."
And so, they arrived to Guilmon´s Hut. Once their good byes were said, Takato limped down the stairs, turned left to go back home, and-
-run into somebody, falling on his butt.
"Ow! S-sorry, didn´t see you..."
"Bet you were thinking of Digimon again, eh, squirt?"
"D-dad?!?"
Indeed! Standing tall and proud, Ranma smirked mischievously to his son.
"Well, that´s what your mom says... hey, you okay?"
"Uh? Oh! You mean my leg? Don´t worry, just some blood, nothing to worry about!! Heh, heh!!"
Ranma crouched besides Takato, and gently appraised the bandage -Ruki´s yellow scarf.
"M-hm... nice patching up... for a beginner... let me check you Ki-flows...."
His hands hovered a little above the boy´s legs, and started to glow faintly on a whitish hue. After a few seconds of that, he tapped a few spots on his calf and knee.
"...there. You´ll be alright tomorrow evening. Mh, wonder how you get injured like this... did it have anything to do with... oh, I don´t know... a pet?"
Takato froze. His dad suspected something!! And he couldn´t really lie to him!!
Gazing at Ranma´s azure eyes, he saw...
His dad´s worries... his need to know... his love for his son...
´...I... i can´t lie to him.....´ ...with a mental sigh, he readied himself. THIS was a battle he wasn´t prepared for.
"...you´re right, dad... you´re... right... I have a new friend... and he isn´t human... heh, it was almost magical how he came to me... you could say he is something... mystical..."
Ranma has stiffened. Badly:
"God, no.... please, Takato.... don´t tell me it´s the Bakeneko!!!!!!"
Takato sweat dropped at that one. Even after years of therapy for his dad´s ailurophobia, he still disliked felines in general... and the extremely annoying Ghost Cat from his Neriman days was Top One on his ´Get that thing the HECK away from me!!" list.
"Noooo nonono! He´s not a cat -or a ghost, really!! ....guess I´ll just have to show you.... Hey, Guilmon! Come here, buddy!"
"´Kato-mon? you not at home yet?" said Guilmon from upstairs, while rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Heh, sorry for waking you up, Guil, but... Dad: this is Guilmon, my Digimon partner. Guilmon, this is my dad, Saotome Ranma."
Ranma glanced at the mini-dino, stared for a second... then shrugged, extended a hand and shook Guilmon´s paw.
"Hey there, nice to meetcha!"
"You... Ranma...."
"...yeah, that´s me!"
"...moooon?"
The Saotome´s kissed the ground: Takato laughing, and Ranma face faulting.
Guilmon was just puzzled.
"...Ranma-mon´s face not hurts?"
°°°°°°°°°°°&de g;°°°°°°°°°°°°°°&de g;°°°°°°°°°°°°°°&de g;°°°°°°°°°°°°°°&de g;°°°°°°°°°°°°°°&de g;°°°°°°°°°°°°°°&de g;°
Both Father, Son (and nobody else, don´t get weird ideas) came to the same conclusion:
Mie was a great woman, Mie has accepted every oddity from Ranma´s past, Mie had a strong soul and firm grip of reality...
Mie also had the JSDF and the Police´s Special Assault Team on speed-dial.
So, to avoid having a few platoons of guys on combat fatigues, toting assault rifles, at the door of their home, they´d better keep Guilmon as a ´we have no knowledge of such a thing´ secret. After all, the SAT had already surrounded their house twice, and it was getting embarrassing...
It was also decided that they would move their training to the Park, so they could start with Guilmon´s own training. -Ranma saw this as a personal challenge: ´If anyone can teach martial arts to a dinosaur, that´s Saotome Ranma!!´-
Takato´s perforated and bloodied pants were blamed to a freak training accident involving a compressed-air stapler, three members of the Japanese Red Army, and a flaming wombat. It was a stupid enough story, so it had to be true... so they both earned an ear-pulling, a scolding, and a resigned sigh.
And so ended the day, with our heroes going to bed at their suburban house, surrounded by their normal neighbors, who always had something to laugh about...
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The next day, at school, Takato had told Jenrya of his encounter with his dad, and how he had to tell him about Guilmon. Jenrya stated his concern about his friend´s course of action...
"...WHAAAATT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MIND!!!!!!!!!!"
"Jeez, Jen!" said Takato, while trying to get rid of the ringing in his ear. "Don´t worry about it! Dad is very understanding of this stuff: he had his share of weirdness when he was young..."
"W-what possibly could be weird enough!!!!!!!"
"...believe me, Jen... you don´t want to know..."
"But-"
"...you REALLY don´t want to know..."
With a sigh, Jenrya relented: "...okay, nothing I can do, anyway... guess you told him about Terriermon, too..."
"Of course not! That´s up to you,and you alone!"
"...sorry, didn´t mean to..."
"So, you two are coming with me to the Park, so you can introduce yourself to him."
"...sometimes I hate you..."
"C´mon, Jen, you don´t mean that!" said a grinning Takato. "And anyway, since my dad´s gonna train both me and Guilmon, then you and me can spar when dad´s busy! Whaddyasay?"
Jenrya thought about it. He had seen a glimpse of Takato´s and Renamon´s fight, and he was curious about this obscure art.
Remember what did the curiosity to the cat?
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The Three Amigos -Takato, Jenrya and Terriermon- arrived to the park, and went to a small, secluded clearing near Guilmon´s hut. There, they met Ranma, who was teaching Guilmon how to do a punching combo.
"...and repeat that move... alright, Guilmon! You got that in no time! Now, keep practicing that combo for a while... Hey, squirt! I see you brought two more friends!"
"Yeah, these are Lee Jenrya and Terriermon."
"It is a honor to meet you, Saotome-San" said Jenrya, while bowing formally.
"Aw, no need for that formality stuff, Jen! Just call me Ranma!"
"Hey, that´s cool, Ran-Man!" "Terriermon!!" "Momentai!"
Ranma chuckled. "Hey, Jen, you do Martial Arts, don´t you? Tai-Chi-Chuan, Element Water? ...mmm, about a brown belt on the Japanese ranking system, I guess..."
Jenrya stared. Darn, he was good!
"...y-yes, Ranma-san..."
"Cool! How about you spar with Takato, huh? Our style is mostly Wind and Fire, so it would be nice if you two compare the differences. Meanwhile, I´ll keep with Guilmon´s training. He´s very promising!"
"Of course, Ranma-san, I´d be honored to."
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Guilmon´s training went smoothly and nicely. As for Jenrya´s fate....
"Ouch!"
"I´m sorry, Jen!!"
"No problem, I´m okay... let´s try that again... Yeow!"
"Oh, I´m sorry, Jen!!"
"N-nah, nothing´s broken... again.... Whaaa!!!" Thump!
"Man, I´m sorry, Jen!!"
"D-d-don´t wo-ouch-rry... Takato.... uff... again... aahhhh!!!"
"Oh jeez, I´m sorry, Jen!! He-hey, Jenrya? You OK? Jen?"
...wasn´t as smooth or nice... oh, well...
"...Um, squirt?"
"...yeah, dad?"
"...remember when I told you that I learned the hard way that, deliberately going easy on an opponent, and underestimating his abilities, was a real big insult to his or her skills and honor as a martial artist?"
"...yeah?"
"...I think Jenrya here wouldn´t mind being insulted a bit..."
"...uh-huh..."
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"Jeezzuz, Jen, I don´t know what to say... you aren´t mad at me, aren´t you?"
"N-nah, Takato, don´t worry... it´s to be expected that a better opponent would beat me..."
Jenrya wasn´t really mad at Takato. There was nothing wrong with the Gogglehead kicking butt...
...that he kicked butt while being so damn NICE about it, now THAT was irritating... but he couldn´t put that against his new best friend, could, he?
The five of them -two Digimon, two boys, and one God´s Gift to Women- where walking out of the Park, when suddenly, a weird fog covered them.
"What the- what´s this fog!?!?" Takato was confused: it reminded him of the fog from his dream!
"It´s a Digital Battle Field..." said a distressed Jenrya. Both Guilmon and Terriermon were scanning the fog...
"Something´s coming" muttered Ranma, his eyes closed, his body stiff... "...something powerful, animalistic...murderous... there!!"
With a powerful shout, entered the Gorillamon. It started to beat it´s chest, then took aim with his arm gun, and fired.
Everybody dodged -some more gracefully than other-, and surrounded the crazed digital beast.
"We must stop him! He might go berserk on the streets!" said Ranma. Being the most experienced combatant, he knew of the consequences of such a threat. A course of action had to be taken...
"Takato, Guil! Distract him!"
"Got it! Let´s go, Guil!"
Both brothers-in-arms closed in, dodging Gorillamon´s clumsy strikes, and bombarded him with fists and kicks. That only annoyed the monster, but that was really the idea...
"Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!!!!!!"
Gorillamon roared as hundreds of sonic-fast punches rained on his side, and he was forced to break off his new assailant. He tried to smash the annoying pest, but Ranma quickly got out of harm´s way.
The gun-toting ape began firing indiscriminately, endangering the boys. Even some stray shots got out of the field, damaging nearby buildings.
"C´mon, Jen!!" shouted Takato "don´t just gape there!! We gotta stop him!!"
Jenrya was frozen. It was the very same Gorillamon that had tried to kill Terriermon back on the Digital World!! He couln´t let his friend fight that psycho! He could get hurt!! He could get kil-"
"Jenrya!!! Snap Out of it!!! If we don´t stop him, he WILL KILL US AND OUR FRIENDS!!!!"
Jenrya knew Takato was right, but knowing it and doing something about it were two different things.
´If we fight, Terriermon could get hurt, or killed.... but if we don´t... he WILL die...´
There was no real choice...
"Terriermon! Card Slash! Hyper-Speed, Activate!"
"Yay! Now we´re cooking!" said the dog-rabbit, as he darted to and fro, striking the ape with lightning-fast pot-shots.
´Well, let´s see if this thing works...´ "Guilmon, get ready! Card Slash!! Power Activate!!"
Guilmon reared his head, gathered fire in his mouth, and-
"Pyro-Sphere!!!!!!"
-shot it towards, the Digital King-Kong, weakening immensely... and making him even madder...
"...Takato..."
"...I know, dad... he won´t stop... he won´t listen..."
"...i have to do this... I´m sorry..."
"...me too, dad... me too.... Guil! Ter, Jen! Back off, NOW!!!"
The four young ones went back, behind Ranma´s glowing form. Jenrya and Terriermon wondered what was going on, until Ranma spoke:
"...listen here boys: when I count three, those who can shoot energy blasts will shoot them to the big monkey. Got that? OK... one... two.... THREE!!!"
"Terrier Tornado!!"
"Pyro-Sphere!!"
"MOUKO TAKABISHA!!!!!!!!"
Yes, it was overkill, and Gorillamon´s body just couldn´t take the strain. His data dispersed into the night.
"Yes, we did it Terriermon! We did it! We- hey, why the gloomy faces?"
...yes, for a victorious battle, the Saotome´s were unusually silent...
"...Jenrya... one of the founding pillars of our art, is to use it to protect, never to destroy... both Takato and me, have done something that had to be done to protect the lives of innocents... but to do so, we had to destroy another living creature... and for all the power our art gives us... we still can´t bring back the dead..."
Jenrya stared at Ranma´s serious face, at Takato´s troubled one, at Guilmon´s slow realization... and understood.
They weren´t mere Martial Artist-or Digimon Tamers- anymore...
They were warriors now...
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Hello, nuurse! Well, sorry for the gloomy ending of today's episode, but it was something that bothered me: how in the show, both Taks and Jen had little problem with deleting Digimon, even when they were aware of the being´s self-awareness... also, it wouldn´t mix well with Ranma´s "don´t kill" policy -remember, he only has killed once, and only to save the life of someone he cared deeply for...
and as for the last "warriors" remark, it´s my personal belief that real warriors are those who volunteer themselves to the horrors of war, and having to kill other human beings, so the majority of us can keep our innocence mostly intact... I dislike war as much as any sensible human being, therefore I admire those who go into a hell they hate as much -or more- than I do, so I don´t have to... to all the real warriors, from wherever country you are, may the peace be with you.
Okay, enough depression for today! Let´s review the reviews!!
To Black and Regless: you are weird... but so am I!!
To Liiya Wolf: hey, Tak´s a Saotome! he´ll be break dancing faster than you think! Now, I have to balance the action between ´Kato and Guil, so the red Wonder won´t be doing too much... just what´s needed, when Takato can´t be the hero. Oh! how was ´Kato´s and Jen´s sparring session, uh? :P
To SerpentTreize: Thank you! About the ´more fighting´ bit, let me get some steam, alright? I know the fighting scenes have been short and plain, but I ain´t no good with them... of course, any help would be appreciated...
To AngelSakura: Gee, I´d prefer to think I´m rewriting the story with a twist. :P
To Sora Potter: I know this nice little store in Texas that sales bullet-proof vest via mail order. Oh! And tell Foxy i said hi.
To AAron: Thank you, teacher!
To Ran: Zuquiaomon, God-King of the Phoenix? Heh, cute. and don´t kill ´Kazu as of yet. it´s funnier to torture him. bwahahahahahah!
To Canis Black: Ruki, a cross between Akane and Nabiki? Wow, you´re right! who woulda thought?
To Jedi Takeru: Thanks man! Your stories are very good, too!
To John Surber: Yeah, I didn´t think it would work out, either!! :P