#its ush-sheen

[excusemeaminute]

Bleem said "ohsheen" and my eye twitched

#ramblings #i had so much hope #its ok #its just another language #anyway #its ush-sheen #and if it can also be oh-sheen i have never heard it

[moonstruckbucky]

Come Over (1/7)

Summary: You’re new to New York City. Fresh out of post-grad and wanting a change of pace, and this change comes in more ways than one.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader. Neighbor AU.

Warnings for Series: Fluff, angst, pining, the ush! Also, swearing, because nobody ever washed my mouth out with soap.

Notes: So I’ve daydreamed about a neighbor AU for an embarrassing amount of time, and I need something to get my creative juices flowing again. So, ta-da.

Series Masterlist //  Main Masterlist

The elevator is rickety as it ascends, the gears and cranks squeaking ominously. Your lip stings from the endless assault of your teeth upon it, borne out of nerves that you’ll actually plummet to your death before even stepping foot into your new apartment. The box in your hands is only the first of many, but fortunately, your brother, Clint, had kindly offered to help move you in with the help of his friend, Sam. They’re in the moving truck currently, sorting through the heavier items to bring up first.

The hallway in your building is nicer than you’d been expecting. Your rent was the cheapest on the market and you’d been expecting a ramshackle building that needed numerous repairs. Instead, it’s clean, the carpet spotless, and there’s an underlying scent of fresh paint beneath the smell of carpet cleaner. You suppose, barring the rickety elevator, that maybe this won’t be such a bad place to live after all.

The key doesn’t stick in the lock, and you don’t have to jiggle the knob to get the door to open. It glides across the hardwood in your new apartment like a knife through warm butter, gentle, smooth, and soundless. The apartment itself is spotless, and the wood floors, though pock-marked in some places, gleams beautifully in the natural light that spills through the windows. The walls are a soft, neutral grey that make the place brighter.

You set down the box by the front door, which you leave open for the guys. Surely enough, you can hear Clint’s grumbled cursing as he and Sam bang and slam their way up the stairwell carrying who knows what. Moments later, they appear carrying your box spring between them. Both men are incredibly fit, but a sheen of sweat lines their foreheads as they pivot and enter your apartment.

“Damn, Y/N,” says Sam with a whistle as he glances around, “nice digs!”

You grin proudly as the two of them disappear into your bedroom. There’s a dull thud as the box spring is set down on the wood floor.

“Definitely going to need to switch movie nights from my place to yours,” Clint notes as he sets his hands on his hips. “You pay like half the rent we do and you’ve got more room!”

“You paying for a new couch to fit all of you?” you scoff jokingly. Clint grimaces in reply, and you hum. “Thought so.”

The three of you head back downstairs together to reload, Sam and Clint grabbing the couch next and you taking up another large box. It’s on the third trip that the door just down the hall from yours opens and a massive brickhouse of a man steps out, hair tied back out of his face and wearing a t-shirt, running shorts, and a pair of sneakers. Tattoos twist and turn up the length of both arms. He startles when he turns and sees you, ripping the earbuds out of his ears.

“Sorry,” you offer with a sheepish smile, “didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Uh, n-no, no big deal.” His eyes drop to the box in your hands when you adjust your grip. “Moving in?”

“Mhm,” you grunt as you shuffle forward towards your open door. The man seems to snap to attention, steps forward, and reaches for the box. You sigh when its weight is gone, and your neighbor drops it beside the other box. He then turns to you, and you’re stricken for a moment at how pretty his eyes are.

“James Barnes, but everyone calls me Bucky,” he says, extending a hand out to you. Jolting, you quickly shake his hand; it’s warm and encompasses the entirety of yours. Face warming, you clear your throat and drop his hand.

“Uh, Y/N. Thanks for the help with that.” You gesture towards the box.

“No problem.” God he has a nice smile. “Do you need any more help?”

Before you can answer, your brother and Sam come through the doorway, bickering back and forth until they notice the body standing next to you. Comically, they both freeze, mouths open and eyes bouncing between you and Bucky.

“Oh, Clint, this is my new neighbor, Bucky. Bucky, my brother, Clint, and our friend, Sam.” The three men take turns shaking hands, and when Clint waves Bucky out the door to the moving van, Sam wags his eyebrows, points at Bucky’s broad back, and gives you a thumbs up that makes you slap your palm to your face.

With Bucky’s help, you’re done unloading the van much sooner and, despite Bucky’s obvious running attire, he accepts the beer you offer him, Clint, and Sam for their help. He seems to get along perfectly with your brother and Sam, though the latter keeps making weird gestures between you and Bucky. Each time you roll your eyes and busy yourself with your beer.

“So, Y/N, what do you do for work?” Bucky asks, leaning back on the couch he and Clint rearranged. Clint grins proudly.

“My dear little sister here is about to start as Tony Stark’s assistant,” he answers for you, much to your embarrassment.

“Clint,” you hiss, cheeks flushing pink. Bucky’s eyes go wide and he leans forward in his seat.

“No way?! He’s like, a god among men! I mean, his tech is unparalleled.”

Both Sam and Clint groan when you eagerly reply, “You’re a fan? I started following him when he made that suit when I was, like ten!”

“Here we go,” Clint mutters, spluttering when you slap his chest in retaliation. “You two should get along fabulously, then. Sam, shall we?”

“Oh god, yes, if these two are going to talk about quantum physics and hari kari and all that other mumbo jumbo.”

You roll your eyes as the two of them stand, but you walk them to the door anyways. Hugging them both, you lightly slap the back of Sam’s head when he mouths ‘get his number’ with a subtle point to Bucky.

“It was nice to meet you, Bucky. I’m sure we’ll see each other again,” Clint says with a little salute. You stand in the doorway and watch them go, turning when you hear rustling behind you.

“I should probably go, too,” Bucky says and wipes his hands on his shorts. Just as he finishes speaking, his phone pings, but he doesn’t immediately check it, opting to say goodbye to your first. “Thank you for the beer, and welcome to the building. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

His grin makes your stomach flip as it lights up his entire face, makes the corners of his vivid blue eyes crinkle. You swallow and nod shyly.

“Thank you for the help. I really appreciated it. I’ll see you around?”

“Definitely.” His grin widens if possible and it’s hell on your nerves. He gives you one last nod before he walks through the open door and saunters over to his apartment, disappears inside.

Once your own door is closed, you lean back against it and thud your head once, twice, against the wood. Fuck.

Chapter Two

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky barnes neighbor au #bucky barnes au #neighbor!bucky

[the-digimon-tamer]

Chapter 41 - Compromised is out now on FanFiction.Net and ArchiveOfOurOwn! Check them out with the links or find it after the break!

Title: The Tamer v2.0 - In HIs Name

Fandom: Digimon

Rating: T

Synopsis: In the next adventure of the Digimon Tamer, the lives of Juri, Rika, and Henry change forever when digimon begin crossing over into the human world. But it’s all just a story, right? Just a book series by an author no one has seen in a long time. Why are they here and can they save their world before something worse follows the digimon?

Ken Ichijouji, Wormmon, Davis Motomiya, Veemon, Tamer, and Guilmon landed in the Digital World - outside the familiar ruins of the Hallowed Bastion. The terrifying castle that they had come to so long ago as kids still stood as a decrepit reminder of what was and the terrible things of the past. Ken in particular was uncomfortable at the sight of it but Tamer hurried them inside. And all the better for it too because they could hear the chaos the Digital World descended to around them.  

The Digital World was burning to the ground all around them - its skies darkened by more digimon than could be counted fighting for their lives. And they needed to hurry if they were going to put an end to this before any lives ended.

As Tamer led them inside, Ken couldn’t help but reminded of his own past here and the things he had done because of it. The thoughts still haunted him as the memories came back with every echoing step in the empty halls. He shook his head to pull himself out of it and asked a question to break the silence, “Where exactly are we going?”

“To find a computer. We get one of those and we can connect it to your digivices. Then you guys just have to do your thing,” he answered quickly, leading them further into its darkest depths. He and Davis exchanged anxious looks, both men thinking the same thing. It had been a long time since either of them had any kind of adventure in the Digital World. And despite all the terrible things going on, it was good to be back in the Digital World again. Even better, it was good to see their partners again after not having seen them in so long.

“You’ve cut your hair, Ken,” Wormmon said from behind him. Ken snorted, “The hair was getting in my eye during work. It was kind of a problem.”

“Oh? You’re still a detective, right?” Wormmon asked quietly. Ken nodded, “That’s right. But I’ve gone private now. Still working around the clock for anyone who’ll hire me. The last case I was working was finding Takeru and you guys actually. We were all worried sick. Yamato was the worst of all of us - guy was paranoid something happened.”

“That’sh nothing. You should’ve sheen the way TK wash acting! He wouldn’t let ush leave the houshe unlessh he wash there with ush,” Veemon pointed out. Davis laughed at his partner’s words, “You guys are safe and we’re back together. That’s all that matters. By the way, you’ve gotta meet my son. You’ll love him.”

“Shon? Did you and Kari finally tie the knot?” Veemon asked. Davis waved him off, “No, it didn’t work out. You were there, remember?”

Veemon shrugged it off and shook his head, “I alwaysh figured you two would get back together. You two were alwaysh sho happy together. It’sh a shame.”

Davis crossed his arms and growled, “Hey! Don’t you talk about my wife that way. She’s the greatest person I’ve ever met! Especially when she does this thing with her mou- I mean, um...never mind!”

Ken rolled his eyes, unsurprised that Davis almost made the conversation so inappropriate. He could tell from the quizzical look Veemon was giving him that the digimon didn’t quite understand what he was about to say. At least, that’s what Ken thought until Veemon said, “Do you mean mouth? You mean eating your food? You always were a really good cook! I bet she eats a lot of your food every day!”

That was almost worst - Ken couldn’t quite tell if Veemon was teasing his partner or not. And he could tell even Davis was stumped by his response, “Eh…something like that.”

“Are you talking about food?” Guilmon stopped in his tracks, sniffing the air around him, “I don’t smell anything. Is there food? I’m really hungry.”

Davis gave the digimon a big thumbs up and smiled for the red dinosaur, “Well, I’ll whip us up a big celebratory dinner after all this is over. You guys can all come over to my ramen shop and we’ll eat a big meal to celebrate! All of us!”

“Can you even afford to feed all of us? More specifically, can your business survive feeding all of them?” Ken asked, gesturing towards the three digimon present. Davis simply laughed it off, “Don't get too high and mighty there, mister detective. It’s not like you’ve ever really looked at my business.”

“I have,” he admitted, “I keep tabs on everyone I know. Mind if I ask what you did with twenty million yen?”

“One word!” Davis’ smile widened, reminding Ken of the fact that this guy was more than capable of pulling the wool over his eyes and surprising him if he wanted to, “Franchising!”

Yep. There it was. The surprise he didn’t see coming. He smiled as he realized this meant still able to surprise him - even with all his investigative skills and intelligence, his best friend of years was still able to do something surprising. Franchising. He laughed at the idea that he might become the richest member of the digidestined.

“We’re here!” Tamer announced to their surprise, stopping in front of an innocuous door. Nothing in particular about this door stood out. It was so ordinary, he didn’t even realize it was there until Tamer stopped in front of it. Tamer pushed it open without a second thought and called for them to come inside, “Come on. We’ve got work to do.”

“Okay, what is this place? I don’t think we’ve ever seen this room,” Davis stated as he went in next. Veemon hopped along just behind them, Ken pausing to glance at his partner. His partner was just as anxious as he was, he knew just from the look on his face. And the little digimon could sense he was just as uncomfortable, “It’s okay, Ken. I’m right here. We’ll be going in together.”

“I know Wormmon. I just need a moment,” he replied. Wormmon touched his partner and replied, “It’ll be alright Ken. Take your time.”

“Thanks Wormmon,” he nodded grimly, taking a moment to steady his nerves and calm down before heading inside. Within was a plain room - probably no bigger than a student’s bed room with a desk in one corner and a bed in the other. On the desk was a small data chip covered in a fine layer of dust that Tamer blew off and picked up, “Perfect. Let’s see if this still fires up.”

He pressed a button on it and tucked it just behind his ear - where a small screen appeared in his field of view just in front of him. Davis whistled, “Whoa, cool. What is it?”

“It’s a computer. A student’s computer so it’s mostly for reading and watching movies. But it’ll do for now,” Tamer answered matter of factly, “Come on. Let’s get to the armory and get you guys some scanners and communicators!”

“Scanners?” Davis repeated stupidly, “I thought we were using our digivices?”

Takato snapped his fingers, “You are. But I’ll need those scanners to act as access points so that this computer receives the data. That’s the only way this plan will-”

Ken heard a beep from his D-Terminal and retrieved it from his coat pocket, “Sorry.”

“I hope you’re not too busy to help save the world,” Tamer crossed his arms with an annoyed tone. Guilmon whined, “I’m too hungry to save the world.”

“We haven’t even done anything yet!” Veemon pointed out to him. Tamer tapped his foot impatiently, “He’s always like that. It’s a miracle when he’s not hungry.”

Ken read the message and realized urgency was a factor. He shouted to get their attention, “Guys! It’s from Izzy and Mimi’s daughter. She says the thing is on to the plan.”

“What?” Tamer hurried to look at the screen himself in disbelief, “But that’s not possible. It shouldn’t have any idea what we’re doing. How...no, never mind. We need to hurry. Time moves faster on this side of the world. We still have time to counter it. We have time to think this through. First, carry on with the plan on this side. Let’s get going.”

His pace hurried and they struggled to keep up with him - trying their best to sprint after him as Tamer hurried along at what must’ve been a break neck pace. His years as a detective gave him a bit of an edge when it came to keeping up, however it was Davis’ willingness to keep going that had him surprised even when he was out of breath. Ken smirked back at the chef, “Out of shape?”

Davis smiled back at him and grunted, “You wish. You think I’d be able to run a restaurant without the stamina to keep up? Besides, your breathing is getting heavier.”

“I’m not sweating,” Ken fired back. Wormmon and Veemon laughed, the little worm digimon remarking, “It’s so good to see you two getting along so well after all this time. Although I would’ve thought your competitive streak would’ve died by now.”

“As long as I’m alive, I’ll always be showing the world that I’m just as good as Ken Ichijouji!” Davis said with a thumbs up. Ken sighed, “I haven’t been a child genius in years and you know it. Hell, I’m not even great at soccer any more.”

Davis slapped him on the back, “You better believe I’m not going to let my rival fall behind me even an inch.”

“If you two are done, I need your help opening this door! I don’t have the codes to get it open,” Tamer announced as he slid to a stop in front of another door. Another door in another section of the castle Ken didn’t recognize. Davis looked down at his partner, “Go for it, Veemon!”

“V-HEADBU- OW!” Veemon’s cry of attack turned into a cry of pain as he slammed into the metallic door and tumbled back onto the ground, “Bad idea, my mishtake. What givesh? Why didn’t it work?”

“The Guardians wouldn’t make a door that could be knocked over by a rookie level digimon. I think they’d be insulted by that,” Tamer put a hand to his hips and turned back to the door, “We’ll need to pry it open. It should still slide at least. Here!”

He grabbed onto the crack of the door and started pulling from one side. Ken raised an eyebrow at Tamer’s antics, “Can’t you just hack it? I mean, the Ancients-”

“Guardians,” Tamer corrected.

“The Assholes created a door that couldn’t be blasted open but anyone who wanted to could just pry it open?” Ken asked with crossed arms. Tamer looked back at him, “Do you want to save the world or do you want to just stand there nitpicking?”

Each of them took an end of the door and pulled it open as hard as they could to get it to slide apart. With a little give, they finally for the door open and Tamer rushed in. The rest of them stared in awe at the racks and shelves containing nothing but what appeared to be rifles, spears, and all manner of advanced gadgets that made their jaws fall open. Davis commented, “Man, those Ancients sure did love making doom weapons, huh? Digivices, Digieggs...next you’ll tell me these are Digispears and digiguns!”

“Disintegration Blaster, actually,” Tamer replied as he made his way past the shelves of weapons.

“I don’t get it. Why aren’t we using this?” Ken asked in a surprised matter of fact tone as he looked out upon these various weapons. Tamer started moving things around in search of what he needed and finally retrieved what looked like radios from the shelf, “Here we are!”

“Tamer!” Ken scolded, annoyed that he was being ignored. Tamer sighed, “No, we’re not using any of these. If the weapons worked, that thing wouldn’t be there. It would’ve been dead forever ago when the Guardians found it the first time. The Guardians threw an army at it and it ate them. If anything, showing up with these weapons might help it figure out what it’s up against. Now here!”

He tossed the radios to them, both adults fumbling the devices in their hands before managing to get a good grip on it. Tamer scolded again, “Careful! Don’t break it!”

“You’re the one who threw it!” Ken pointed out. Tamer shrugged, “Semantics. Now let’s find some communicators!”

...

Yamaki stared in disbelief as the birds started lining the windows of the building. All the scientists and engineers moved away in a panic, while security teams  drew their weapons at the birds staring at them. To his astonishment, the digimon still in the room leapt forward to fight - the brown bunny thing, the flying pink seal, and the rest all leapt forward. Before anyone could do anything, Yamaki raised his hand, “Stop! Hold your fire!”

“Sir, they’re gathering at the windows!” Riley said from behind him.

“Right now, those windows are the only things keeping them out and they’re not attacking,” he pointed out, “They’re planning something. What are they up to?”

“Do you really think glass is going to keep them out!?” one of the monster makers stated. Yamaki raised an eyebrow at her, “You think a government agency would use regular glass on a window this high up? A government agency whose operatives are likely to get shot at?”

To prove his point, one of the birds slammed into the window with all its might. It bounced off the window and took a moment to correct itself in the air - as if trying to understand what happened. He smirked as the shatter resistant glass was holding. And it widened as the bird things started slamming into it. Again and again, each trying to break through the barrier keeping them out. His smile disappeared when he watched one finally hit the glass hard enough to make it crack - leaving a shatter pattern across its frame. Then another appeared.

And another.

“It’s not bullet proof, sir. It’s bullet resistant. I don’t think it’s designed to take this many hits in a row,” one of the agents pointed out. Yamaki clicked his tongue angrily, “I noticed! Lock down the building!”

“Way ahead of you,” Riley said from across the room, pulling on one of the alarms. Not a fire alarm, a security alarm. As soon as she hit it, metal panels lowered from above the windows to seal the creatures out. But that only angered them and made them strike the windows harder in protest. Yamaki finally felt his nerve give out and drew his own gun, praying that he wouldn’t have to fire until the panels finally closed on the window. 

Five seconds never felt longer as the glass continued to give under the constant attacks of the alien creatures. Just as the metallic panels closed, they watched a large golden insect appear from the side and slam into them at full force. The room was dark now, but they could still hear the muffled sounds of fighting just beyond the metal panels. 

Then a loud bang echoed against the metal panel and the room filled with screams. It stopped shortly after and all that was left was silence. Whatever was going on out there, it seemed the creatures were still trying to get in. Then they heard banging from outside. Dolphin asked, “How long will those things hold?”

“No idea. That makes it all the more important to get the Juggernaut back online as quickly as possible,” Yamaki holstered his gun and turned back to the rest of the staff, “Let’s get back to work. Security personnel, inspect the perimeter and keep those things out. If an area is breached, we’re sealing it off. IT and Engineering staff, get back to work on the machines. The sooner we get Juggernaut back up, the better shape we’ll be in.”

“Why were they attacking us?” Zhenyu’s wife asked nervously. Before he could answer, there was a banging at the door beside them and the weapons were drawn again. Another loud banging came from the door and one of the civilian parents shouted, “Oh god, they’re inside.”

“Calm down. The whole’s building locked down now. There’s no way in or out. Whoever is on the other side of that door was already in the building,” Yamaki barked, walking over to the door with a hand on his weapon. He really hoped he was right about this. He turned the handle and threw the door open to find Izumi and his wife there.

“IZUMI! What the hell are you two doing in the stairs? Security never said you were here,” Yamaki practically shouted, surprised to see them just coming inside. Izumi wheeled his chair in while his wife took a seat on one of the chairs. Without missing a beat, the wheel chair bound scientist stated, “We were trying to warn you about those things when the whole building went dark. Looks like you initiated the lock down.”

Yamaki nodded, making his way to their handicapped member, “How did you even get in the building? The whole place is locked down!” 

Izumi pointed upstairs, “We came in the roof. It’s hard to take stairs in a wheel chair. Are you okay Mimi?”

“I’m fine!” his wife said, waving him off despite struggling to catch her breath, “Don’t worry about me! Get to the important part!”

Izumi nodded and went on, “That thing knows. The D-Reaper knows about the plan. At least, it knows you guys have a plan to stop it and it’s trying to get in to stop you!”

“Oh that’s just great. How did it find out?” Curly asked.

Izumi’s wife answered, “It overheard us when we were talking with our daughter. She’s out there right now fighting those things with our digimon.”

“She is? Well screw that! I’m not sitting around in here while she’s fighting out there! Come on Guardromon!” Kazu declared to his partner. He and the giant robot made their way to the door, just as he was grabbed by his father, “Oh no you don’t! You’re running out there just to go get yourself killed!”

“But dad-” Kazu began to protest, however Yamaki cut him off before he could say anymore, “Don’t even bother, kid. The whole building is locked down. No one, and I mean no one, is getting in or out of this building.”

“They got in!” Kazu protested.

“We were already in when the lockdown activated,” Izumi responded.

“Then lift the lock down!” he complained, but Yamaki rolled his eyes, “Not when there’s an army of those things trying to get into this building! Face it kid, you’re stuck here with us. Now sit down before you hurt yourself.”

…

Impmon had to admit that he was enjoying himself for the first time in a long time. Both Ai and Mako appeared to be on their best behavior. But he had been down this road before and it ended in disappointment. And he was not going to be another rope in their tug of war game. There was no way in hell he’d allow himself to be put in that position again. And yet, he had to admit that he was happy in a way he hadn’t been in a long time.

It helped that they seemed to genuinely be trying to be on their best behavior now. Which was a nice difference from where things had been before. But it was soured by the images flying through his mind - the faces of the dying, the screams of those meeting their doom, the terror of knowing there was no hope of survival. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t convince himself these images were anything more than delusions.

They were so clear, so vibrant. They were memories, and he was glad it was in the past. And they put a lot of Ai and Mako’s behaviors into context. It made his departure of their home seem petty and childish; as petty and childish as their fighting. But they were kids. That seemed to be the takeaway - they didn’t know any better and they were learning.

“So where have you been all this time Impmon?” Ai asked, “You weren’t cold, were you? Or scared? We were so worried.”

“I was...fine,” he answered sheepishly, quietly eating into the snacks. Mako looked out the window, “Mommy and daddy have been putting a lot of our stuff in the car. They say we need to leave the city. Everyone seems super scared about something.”

“Yeah,” Impmon answered, glancing out the window. So Ai and Mako were at least aware that something was going on. They were just too naive to understand what. It troubled him to know that even that one guy’s little sister had a better grasp on the situation than either of them did. He took another bite of the cookie when he felt a strong unease - the kind of instinctual anxiety that became a sixth sense for danger. And no sooner than it went off, he felt the ground shake and everyone fall over.

“AAH!”

“EARTHQUAKE!”

Ai and Mako screamed and they heard the door slam open. It was their parents calling out to them, “Ai! Mako! Are you okay!”

“MOMMY!”

“DADDY!”

Both parents came around the corner and saw Impmon lying on the floor. The parents panicked at the sight of him, “Impmon!? What are you doing here?”

“Fuggedaboutit! What’s goin’ on out theres?” he asked, scrambling up to his feet. The parents cried out, “It’s those things! They’re out there! And there’s more of them!”

“What?” Impmon had an idea of what they were talking about and was afraid of the answer. He should just run! Get as far away from this place as he could! But if he did that, then what would happen to Ai and Mako? Their parents couldn’t protect them. Not from that. He clicked his tongue angrily at the realization of what he had to do. And he really wished he wasn’t going out to do it. 

He hurried past the parents, out the door and onto the familiar street where he watched a large, unfamiliar metal work digimon being swarmed by countless bird creatures. It was the wolf’s thrashing on the cramped street causing all the shaking as it tried to hurt the bird creature. And without warning, the wings on its back kicked up like jet engines and it took off for the sky. Some of the bird creatures chased after it. But others hung back and scattered across the neighborhood. One in particular took a long look at Impmon before charging forward. Impmon leapt back and raised up a gloved hand, “Oh no you don’t! BADABOOM!”

He chucked the fireball right at its face but the creature simply leapt out of harm’s way before the blast could strike it. He threw another at it but the bird thing just moved too fast for him to get a head on it. He tried aiming ahead of it but it was too agile and quick for him. It was infuriating. But he couldn’t cut and run now. He couldn't leave them to this thing. 

“Impmon!” he heard Mako cry out behind him. Impmon cursed his luck and the timing of this horrible situation. Why did this have to happen to him? He cursed his luck and threw himself in front of the small boy, “What’re ya doin, kid? Get back inside!”

“But you’re out here!” he argued back. Impmon groaned, “I can tak-”

He felt his heart stop when he saw one of the bird creatures position itself behind Mako. The kid probably didn’t even realize how much danger he was in. Impmon couldn’t just let it happen though - without thinking he dashed towards Mako and conjured a fireball in his hand, “GET DOWN! BADABOOM!”

But the boy wouldn’t put his head down. He continued to stare at Impmon in confusion. He really was just oblivious to his surroundings, wasn’t he? The bird thing was just inches behind him and he didn’t even seem to register it was there. Impmon called out, “Mako! For crying out loud! Get down!”

“MAKO!” Ai cried out in terror from the door. Of course the problems were just piling up. Ai had come out now, and she was shaking from the door frame at the sight of the door. Mako finally thought to move and turn around, coming face to face with the creature just behind him. There was only one thing to do now. He would have to throw the fireball in his hand straight at the bird. But to avoid Mako, he’d have to be between them. 

Which meant a punch.

The things he did for these kids and they didn’t even seem to appreciate it. Was this his punishment? His atonement for all he had done? He didn’t like it. Even now, the images were flashing through his mind. The memories of that weird not human kid and his stupid idiot of a digimon partner. He couldn’t let that happen for real. He wouldn’t. Acting purely on reflex and instinct, Impmon leapt between Mako and the bird thing. They were so close that Impmon could practically see his own reflection in the massive eyes on its wings, “BADABOOM!”

He punched the ball of fire as hard as he could into the bird creature and the heat of the flames practically burned his hand. But the bird didn’t react to it all, instead rising up into the air and taking him with it as if it were mocking him. He hated this. Was all his effort for nothing? Was there where his life was going to end? Getting killed trying to protect the annoying kids he’d abandoned because of a good hearted whim?

Not a bad way to go out after all he’d been through, huh? It was better than what he deserved. He knew that much.

“IMPMON!” Mako cried out in a panic.

“NO!” Ai shouted.

Raising their voices. That really was all they were good for, huh? Dang kids, He wished he had appreciated them more and spent more time with them. He really was a disappointment in that regard - forcing not one, not two, but three separate kids watch their digimon partner die. They really did care, huh?

They really did care.

That thought hung in Impmon’s head longer than it should’ve. And it hurt. It filled him with pain that felt like it was going to explode from his chest, “IMPMON! WARP DIGIVOLVE TO! BEELZEMON!”

The bird sagged and dropped him. Or more accurately, it lowered him to the ground because it couldn’t hold his weight while also trying to fly. However, his hand was now wrapped firmly around its neck and it flailed to get free. He wasn’t about to give it the option though. Not when he saw the danger it posed to both Mako and Ai.

He threw it to the ground so hard that it flailed, then stepped on it with his foot to keep it there. Then he took a moment to take in what happened. He couldn’t quite believe it. He’d digivolved. His partners had helped him digivolve. It was ironic - he’d scorned the others for relying on the humans to digivolve. But here he was digivolving because of the humans. And he could see the amazement on those kids eyes - Ai and Mako were wide eyed with disbelief, “Are you two okay?”

Both children nodded sheepishly, Mako’s mouth hanging open, “IMpmon? Did you get all grown up?”

Of course, these kids had no idea was digivolution was. He smirked, “Something like that.”

“Ai! Mako!” both parents called as they finally rushed outside to get their kids. And both adults stopped at the entrance in terror once they laid eyes on Beelzemon. Their father shouted, “Ai! Mako! Get away from that thing?”

“Mommy! Daddy! It’s Impmon!” Ai tried explaining to them. That wasn’t quite right. He was Beelzemon now. Why bother explaining? They were too young to understand and their parents were to freaked out to listen anyway. He waved at the two parents awkwardly, realizing how terrifying it must’ve been for them to see him standing there with the bird monster under foot. He pressed down hard as he could on it until he stopped moving and growled, “Don’t you dare come near Ai and Mako again!”

He continued to press his foot down upon it, the bird continuing to flail and writhe as if it were in true pain. Finally, he pressed his foot down hard upon it and crushed it. The creature stopped moving, then burst into a cloud of data. They may have been really hard to put down, but it still died like any other digimon. Beelzemon normally enjoyed the thrill of the fight and wanted to savor his victory. But this was different. He didn’t feel like savoring anything. He just felt relief - relief it was over. Relief that Ai and Mako were safe. At least, until he saw more of those bird things gathering around him. Each of them keeping their eyes on him.

“Ai. Mako. Get inside,” Beelzemon said calmly, “Don’t come out until I say so. Understand?”

“You’re not leaving again, are you?” Ai asked sheepishly. They were scared. They should be. But their fear stemmed from the terror of losing him again - of finding he was gone. He nodded, “I have to. There are more of these things out there.”

“Where are you going?” Mako asked him sheepishly. Beelzemon cocked his shotgun to get the empty shell out and answered, “To keep you guys safe.”

It was a funny feeling to fight for someone else. But it felt so right. So this is what it was like to fight for someone else. It would’ve been sweet if Mako didn’t remark, “I asked where you were going. Not why.”

“Okay, you got me there,” Beelzemon answered with a half smile. Then Mako did the stupidest thing. He ran out holding their digivice and a toy space gun in his hand, “If you’re going to go out, then take this!”

“A toy?” Beelzemon raised an eyebrow in surprise. It made sense that Mako wanted to help, but even he had to understand that his toys weren’t going to do much good. This wasn’t a play game of pretend. It was real. Mako offered it up with both hands anyway, “It’s not a toy! It’s a super special weapon that can destroy anything! As long as you use it for good, it’ll never fail and you’ll kick all the bad guy butt!”

Use it for good? Beelzemon didn’t really feel like anything but a bad guy. After what he did, there was no doubt about it. Still, he took the toy from Mako to indulge the boy. Besides, the sooner he took the toy, the faster the boy would hurry inside, “Thanks, kid. Now get inside.”

“Okay! Come back safe, Impmon!” Mako said, running back to his little sister and parents. As soon as the door was close and locked, Beelzemon turned to face the birds and raised up his shotgun, “Okay you damn rats with wings! Come and get me!”

…

The images continued to flash by and Juri continued to identify them - because the alternative was to revisit those awful memories. And she didn’t want to do that. She didn’t want to dwell on the past. So she just continued listing off everything she saw as the images came by, “A car. A dog. A cat. A soldier. A gun? I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.”

“Juri, those are four items you have failed to identify,” her mechanical voice echoed, “Please elaborate to why.”

“I don’t know what they are,” she explained to the voice who seemed unconvinced, “And?”

“I’m ten. How would I know what any of that is?” she added, hoping that it would get across to this thing that she had no idea what everything was. The voice echoed, “Very well. We shall proceed. Please identify the following.”

“A car. A SUV. That’s just a sakura tree. A bowl of ramen. A-” she paused as the next image came across her mind. Beelzemon. He was alive. He was here. In the Human World. In some neighborhood. And he was shooting. Was he hurting people? Were they in danger? Why was he doing this? He had killed Leomon before just to prove how strong he was. Was he going after humans now? Or was he after her? No. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be true. Why here? Why now!? Why couldn’t he just go away!?

“Juri. Your mental state has become disturbed. Identify the last image. Assess. Assess.”

Assess? No, there was no time for that. He had to be stopped. He had to be destroyed before he hurt her. Before he hurt anyone else. He’d fought the others and they could barely stop him. This thing was too dangerous.

“Threat level assessed. Taking necessary counter measures. Protect the organic.”

Organic? Did it mean her? Was this thing going to protect her? She just didn’t understand any more. What did it want? What was it after? As the panic spread through her mind, she recalled images of death she’d seen - cartoon images of ghosts, skeletons wearing robes wielding scythes, spirits wearing funeral garb armed with sickles and katanas. Death. Beelzemon had to die! He needed to die! He needed to go away!

#The Digimon Tamer v2 - In His name #Digimon Tamers #Fanfiction #takato matsuda #The Tamer

[krishna-gopika7]

'MUKUND'...THE IMMORTAL GOD My last visit to mukund was with a befogged mind,where i was trying to suppress a deafening roar of cry and pretending to be unperturbed..it was like a tough theme to be well handled... My acquaintance with mukund dates back to a std 6 classroom of a convent school,where a girl tall for her age....at the end of a bitter fight with a new comer for the academic year...acquired all her strength and decided to sit near a bespectacled,chubby girl with a piece of paper on which was written,'will you be my best friend'?..with trembling hands and heart skipping a beat,she placed the chit on the desk and walked away without awaiting a reply... The very next day,that cute girl with a not so sober face,smiled at me...in no time there bloomed a friendship between i and usha... no looking back from then...a bonding over four decades,still going on with ardency... Her house named 'MUKUND' ,for me is not merely a structure built with bricks and cement,but a heavenly abode where her amma (my amma too ),her brothers (shyam and manoj),her sister (veena),always welcomed me cordially... Ush,can you recollect those jocular and grim moments? Reclined on the cot of your bedroom, nay our bedroom,you always badgered me,to mend my meek ways... At times you were a rebel,in constant feud with the outdated ideologies,breaking every rule in the book..other times you were too mature in the attire of a philosopher... A taciturn and sententious you.. Articulate and submissive me... Weird blend of opposite selfdom All hell broke loose when discussions on melodious music and art films were on You..an ardent fan of cacophony I...a worshipper of euphony Ours is the blend of opposite poles coalescing... A queer combo of libra and leo....emotional i mercurial you .... That cosy bedroom was the safest place on earth,for me to bare my soul to my bosom friend....opening the windows and gazing at infinity, our dreams,hopes and anxieties of life merged with engine hissing,brakes squeaking and train jerking to a complete stop,on the railway track running outside our bedroom..didn't those snaky paths teach us the most philosophical ways of life? Can you hear shyamu and manoj bang on the door and you in disgruntlement open it,only to eat them alive for causing distraction to our never ending 'POWWOW'?..they stomp out only to awaken amma from her siesta.. My attempt to speak hindi would always end up in a diaster..you being a better 'repository' of hindi words, i would trip and fall,end up frowning while conversing and 'chip in' brand new words,which in hindi vocabulary never existed.. Right from our adolescent days,we have been concerned with our 'plus size' issues and battling the same, from then till date,with constant dieting...a never ending phenomenon with 'trial and error' methods.... Long sessions of combined study,intermixed with topics on films,film stars,fashion,infatuation,music and what not..in between we would seriously flip the pages of 'filmfare'to update new fashion trends and most of the time, lost ourselves while gaping at the handsome and gorgeous actors and also capering with 'mills and boon' ,adoring 'TDH' hunks.... Akin to life itself,not shorn of its sheen,there stands our 'beau ideal',in the corner of our bedroom,our comrade,a beautiful mirror,which elucidates misgivings about our looks,for it reflected us in our most thinner versions...a magical mirror,i should say.. Identity of mukund would be incomplete sans amma...a true blessing, amma is the bed rock of our lives..when indecisiveness dominated our foggy minds,we vented out our heart to her and she with a mind of her own solved the puzzle in no time...not a conservative person,she possess a horse sense... Of course veen,shyamu and mano,always a 'cog in the machine',our gamesomeness had a smooth sail... Our nude make up look,where the only embellishment was a black thread,adorning our necks...we the beauty conscious,'out of the box' perfectionists,discarded the make up kit mercilessly,to safeguard the natural texture of the skin.. whispered sweet nothings and sought assurance from our ever 'confidante' mirror,before we stepped out of the house... If 'mukund' could write,jazzy and dejected tales,offloaded in our stilly moments,those would take the shape of alphabetical words,with dabs of laughter and emotional quotient... We drank the sweetness of life,in those china clay mugs We weaved dreams about future,reclining on the sofa We laughed our heart out,in the living space We have had our delicacies,in the dining space We bewailed ,in the privacy of our room Every nook and corner of mukund,zesty with life,has been our staunch companion Everyday was a carnival,when in mukund, pulsated with fun and frolic... Some day when the bricks and mortar of mukund get pulverized,she may holler in pain,but she would never let out a screech,instead she would smile in a strange,sweet,sorrow filled emotion,in happy symphony and mellifluous voice,beckon us,to handover her unperished soul....with inexorable charm of being a part of mukund,we preserve the facade of happiness to create a parable loaded with multilayered tale of identity,passing the baton to generation after generation,till this planet ceases to exist...