"God," Ronin curses, stomping his feet hard on the rock, solid dirt as he and his Digimon made their way through the swamp. "Not another one! What is it with people going to places they're sure to get lost in?"

Strabimon follows him with less force on his feet. The wooden plank bridge shuddered and gave a loud groan as Ronin marched through it. "I'm not sure, Ronin," Strabimon says. "You've phrased your question in a way that somehow confuses me. Something about it doesn't make sense so I'm not sure how to answer."

Ronin slapped his palm at his forehead, sighing heavily. "Because it's rhetorical. I wasn't really asking you."

"What is it that you wanted me to say then?" he asks curiously. Ronin groans. "Ronin?"

"Let's just get this over with," he says with all his might and every bit of little patience he had left, checking for any players wandering about. He thought a job where he didn't have to move a muscle would be stress-free but Ronin found out dealing with people is just as (if not more) exhausting.

"Where do you believe the player called Atron is?" Strabimon asks, surveying the distant empty patches of arid land and mud. Scattered about the brown water are woody protrusions sticking out like spikes on the surface. Herbaceous plants floated around like lily pads and giant metallic pipes can be sighted on the water here and there.

"The place is pretty huge but it's not like it's a forest. It's a vast clearing; we can spot a person a mile away." Ronin leads the way toward the inn where most players would gather in. He approaches an incoming group who looked like they had did some training in the swamp. Ronin asks them about the lost player called Atron and refers to the shout she made in the chat log.

"Not sure," one of the players answers. "Does sound familiar though."

Not interested to entertain the topic further, the party moves on without a second glance but Ronin can hear them talking to themselves.

"I think that's the newbie from earlier," the redhead says.

"Oh, really? I didn't really catch her name."

And the discussions dies in favor of talking about the scandalous commercial that aired last night.

Ronin pockets his hands and turns, walking back to the swamp. If they want to find her, they'll have to keep on walking.

"Do you know where the player is now?" Strabimon asks, running to catch up with his tamer. He thought Ronin would have asked them more questions. It seems they knew her.

"No," Ronin says, noticeably more placid. All the ire about the lost player has evaporated. And with what sounds like renewed conviction, he says, "But we'll find her."

He stops, closes his eyes and thinks of the player's name. Atron. When the Whisper link is established, he opens his eyes again and speaks with volume only he and Atron can hear though his mouth moves no differently when he talks normally.


He gives her a few seconds before he does so. Hopefully, she doesn't accidentally ignore him instead or it can make things really difficult.

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The anxiety, the fear, the unsureness. "It's just a game," he thinks, striding forward to the direction the arrow. "It's not even competitive unless you wanted to battle." He sees really no reason why the new players he's helped all throughout the game were full of doubt of themselves. If they made a mistake, it's not like it will affect them in real life. What's there to be embarrassed about?

"There aren't really that many games like this," he says in his head, jumping over a small river of mud. It isn't the first time he hears of it but he gives that sort of mental response anyway.

When the newbie went on and asked about following the arrowhead, Ronin urgently snaps at her.


He's added much more force than he desired so he reels a breath back, trying to gather his patience again. Apologize, he reminds himself first.


The arrowhead spirals to the right but as soon as Ronin turns, a wild Digimon has materialized before him. Strabimon doesn't need to be told of what to do and jumps in mid-air to get the first strike on the Gekomon.


He checks Strabimon's situation. Gekomon is bounding away in inaccessible places and attacking Strabimon from a distance with its ranged attack. Ronin's sure he'll manage. He's fought a Gekomon before but this might take a while. Despite its looks, the Gekomon is actually a Champion Digimon.

He can't just stand here and wait for it to be over while he has a lost patient on the other line. He tries to entertain her, to keep her from potentially doing something stupid as Ronin has found out numerous times before many players tend to do that, even when warned.

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From her description, Atron is most likely talking about Gekomon, the same Digimon Strabimon is fighting right now. He keeps an eye out for the Gekomon, not wanting to be delayed by the same move that got the player lost.


He doesn't really know for sure. Ronin's never been in a party.


He's sure he said the exact thing to another player before. It doesn't make things easier for the DO Guide; only more tiring. If it weren't for the discipline kendo has instilled in him when he was a kid, he wouldn't be able to stand this routine at all. He doesn't do well doing the same thing all over and over again but necessity pushes Ronin to persevere.

And for several months now, that's what he's been doing.


Abruptly, Ronin breaks the conversation when he sees the animation sequence for the Confuse Gas start. He grabs the nearest, most convenient stick and throws it boomerang-style at the Gekomon. The plain, uninteresting stick doesn't go back but it whacks the Gekomon on the head in time to distract it and give Strabimon the chance to deliver the killing blow.

"Licht Nagel!" Strabimon slices the Gekomon with a slash of light-glowing nails, causing it to disintegrate into thin air. Strabimon's feral eyes shift back to normal and casts Ronin a thankful look. Ronin pulls a corner of his lips up in a smirk, showing his partner a thumbs up.


He turns back to the direction of the arrow and sprints, Strabimon leaping beside him. Not too soon then does he spots a figure in the distance, status bars and a satellite hovering about its head. The letters of a name become distinct and he knows for certain that must be her. They are information appearing only those in the party can see.

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"Hey," he greets, this time through the normal chat. There's no big welcoming or cheers or whatsoever. Ronin tries to smile but he abandons the idea when the muscles in his cheeks feels as fake as rubber. Fortunately, Strabimon is more sociable and jumps to Ronin's aid quickly.

"Are you all right, Atron?" Strabimon asks with a motherly gaze. "I'm Strabimon, Ronin's Digimon partner. I do not know the whole story but it must have been frightening for you to be here out alone in the wild."

"You shouldn't just follow anyone blindly," Ronin says, not at all bothered by the clear height and age difference. He's used to it. "It's good to team up with others but that doesn't mean you should trust them. They may not be bad people but they might be a dumb one."

Strabimon blinks, processing the information. He tilts his head to Ronin with an ever curious, innocent look. "Going by your logic, is it an implication that Atron, having been deceived by her former party, is 'dumber'?"

"I didn't say that!" Ronin retorts, glaring at Strabimon.

"Yes, that's why I said it's an implication."

"Not now, Strabimon. Drop it." Prior to this conversation, Ronin would have wholeheartedly agreed. He turns back to Atron. "Come on, let's get going." He pops out a menu into thin air and pushes a button. "Accept the invitation. If we're heading back to Asuka, it's going to be a long way."

He throws the formalities and talks aside. If she wanted to talk, they'll have a lot of time for that on the way.

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notes: my sleep-deprived reply.

made by amb tanz

notes: Short posts are a-okay! I didn't mean to take so long to post with this short post. Had finals and stuffs.

made by amb tanz