Subject: [o] compass 826 views

[grimm]

one wrong turn. miles of walking.

"grimm, i'm pretty sure we're headed in the right direction."

unfortunately for shoutmon, grimm had more of a sense of direction than he let on. he wasn't the navigator for his school camping team for no reason at all.

"there are two types of people in this world."

shoutmon glanced at grimm, and the man snarled.

"people who admit they're wrong, and people who don't!"

yelling at the small digimon, he dived at it, grabbing for its shoulders. both tamer and digimon fell to the ground, grimm above shoutmon simply because of his advantage in size. he shook the digimon harsly a few times, before getting up and dusting the sand off his jacket.

"fuck," he cursed under his breath, turning around him, before walking towards a tower in the distance. "this is stupid."

shoutmon tailed him, dusting itself off as well. "tch."

[lupo]

quiet times like these ruki enjoyed. not having to do her duties, actually being able to have a break, it was nice. her and renamon ended up in the desert in west sector, normally avoiding this place like the plague, ruki figured it was best to swallow the annoyance and learn more about it, in case she ever needed to use the information.

from the distance she heard the sound of a yell, a very human sounding yell. not knowing why someone was shouting, ruki knew she needed to check it out in case it was something she needed to deal with. following the sounds, it didn't take long before she saw a player and a digimon, crossing her arms over her chest as she heard the last of the male's words, a scowl crossing her features. everything seemed in order, and she had abandoned her break for nothing.

or so it seemed.

the female tamer said nothing but renamon stepped closer to the pair. "what seems to be the problem?" renamon asked, thick, furry tail lashing to and fro, and slowly, in the air.

ruki finally began to speak after her partner. "shouting in this area will only serve to bring wild digimon. i hope you're able to fight."

if anything dared to come closer, it wouldn't fight one tamer and digimon, but two tamers and digimon. ruki never backed down from a battle after all.

[grimm]

"aah?" grimm grunted, turning around to come face-to-face with a digimon that he immediately identified as a renamon. "nanya --" he said, but stopped himself just before he continued on in normal conversational japanese. this wasn't steven. this girl and digimon wouldn't understand him.

normal conversational japanese, he repeated in his mind. "aah, i shouldn't have trusted my digimon, na," he said, keeping his tone as level as he could, "but bring on the fights. i could use seeing a couple'a dead digimon before i log out."

"a fight."

"yea, ya'scared? so much for za greatest treasure?" said grimm, dryly. "whatcha say?" the grin on his face was as easy as the way he shifted attention from shoutmon to lupo, his composure relaxed and at ease. "you're staff or not iunno, but fightin' wild digimon dun'no harm to anyone." his words had slipped back into his usual accent, but grimm wasn't too bothered by it.

neither was shoutmon, for it pumped its fist into the air excitedly. "yeah! let's go da yo!"

[lupo]

the pair knew what was going on as soon as the other player spoke. ruki had the grace not to sneer or laugh at the two. this desert was a known place for getting lost, another reason why she avoided it. "so you got lost." ruki arched a deep blue eye. "it happens to ninety nine percent of the players that wander in here." she added as if that would help him feel any better. though she didn't really care if he felt better or not.

this guy seemed to want to fight, and that was good enough for the girl, who gave a half, sardonic grin. the only grin she knew how to smile. "well then, let's see if we cannot get a few digimon's attention."

renamon nodded along, even though she was more thinking that this male, and ruki, seemed alike in the regard for battle. one ruki was bad enough, another? renamon was not going to go there.

"i'm staff. a game moderator to be exact. but a player as well. i plan on becoming the digimon queen." ruki expected the best from her in this game, and renamon too. no-one was going to beat her. "i'm not too sure what type of digimon like to patrol here. but i guess we'll soon find out."

as before when she was in the scavenger hunt, ruki called out, renamon stood waiting, wondering if any wild digimon would take the bait.

[wild digimon]

Shamamon (x3) » Child Level » Virus Attribute
Shama Hammer » Mad Twist » Dancing Bone
"get them!!"

[grimm]

"na'surprised," said grimm with much ease. he was above reacting badly to such comments -- he wouldn't let something as trivial as this get the better of him. "even za digimon aren'good at followin' their nose." he eyed shoutmon, who gave a small huff and turned away.

he waited, patience ebbing into his expression as he cracked his neck. the desert was expansive and wide, and to think that no digimon existed would be foolish. it however, was indeed disconcerting to think that he hadn't seen any wild digimon while he traversed the area.

shoutmon sniffed the air. "the digimon queen? i hear that someone's already the digimon king. but i don't know da yo," said it, frowning slightly. "we're not after that anyway."

laughter sounded from lupo's right. grimm had already moved to the side, kicking at some digital sand that broke into data as it tumbled down the dunes. "aah, but --"

"bastard. you walk fast for a human!" shamamon A grunted, heaving its club over its shoulder. "but i guess we got this miss to thank, eh?" it waited for its companions to flank it before speaking again.

"mad twist!" shamamon B and C chorused, purple rings of energy rippling forth from their clubs. shamamon A remained static, but slammed its club against its calloused palm a few times, a grin cutting across its face menacingly.

grimm stopped speaking as soon as he heard a trio of voices chorus from somewhere to his left, and his head snapped to attention at once. "ova'there!" he yelled, and shoutmon sprang into action.

"ou!" the digimon cried, gesturing to renamon. "let's go!"

[lupo]

ruki gave a curt nod in response. "this is why i dislike the place." renamon didn't get lost easily, but even she had trouble navigating the sand dunes, when every breathe could mean sand being inhaled down one's wind pipe. not fun choking on digital sand.

both digimon and tamer waited patiently as well, knowing the game well and knowing that getting upset was not going to make a digimon appear any faster. usually it did the opposite. or it would bring a powerful digimon and smite the player into oblivion. and while she felt she was the best, she'd never admit that she wasn't ready for a powerful digimon, especially going one-on-one.

"a rumor. if one did exist, he won't be for long." a digimon king was her rival at best. and if one existed she'd take him out and take her place as the digimon queen. that title didn't mean she'd lord all over the other digimon or be cruel, no, it would just mean she was well and truly the best. skill and training would get her there, nothing else. "why do you play if not for that?" ruki didn't understand that some people simply played for fun, not for some title.

hearing the laughter ruki snapped to attention as the shamamon appeared. not just one either but three of the green colored digimon. a groan escaped. first four of those weird kunemon, now three shamamon. she would not be surprised if the next digimon she faced would be two digimon.

"compensating for something?" ruki sneered, gesturing with her head towards the club. were these guys too weak that they needed a weapon? "this won't last long." renamon promised, crouching low and springing towards one of the digimon, making sure to avoid the purple rings if she saw them again.

"does your partner have any techs?" ruki asked grimm as she stepped towards him so they could talk more freely rather than having to shout. renamon meanwhile, had one digimon in her sights and as she watched, she counted to three. crossing her arms and leaping into the air, her stomach area began to glow pure white. "diamond storm!" renamon unleashed the attack onto shamamon a, making sure to keep shoutmon in view in case the other two flanked or trapped him. this was not a solo battle and renamon would not sit back if shoutmon needed help.

both shamamon b and shamamon c advanced towards shoutmon, shamamon b grinned widely. "shama hammer!" it called out, and a few seconds later, shamamon c echoed its companion.

notes: feel free to have shamamon a do an attack towards renamon since i had the other two do an attack towards shoutmon :3 next it could be a attacking shoutmon, and b and c attacking renamon too (: don't want shoutmon having all the fun (;

[grimm]

why did he play this game? ... grimm felt that he was ready to answer the question, but the words wouldn't come right. he hadn't managed to put the past down; it clouded his heart and his thinking at times. he gritted his teeth, but his expression was hidden behind the collars of his red coat that he threw up just as the wind started howling, kicking up dust and sand that irritated his eyes.

"na'yet." grimm's answer was a sufficient one. it indicated that he wasn't silly enough to ignore techniques, but merely had experienced a setback in getting a technique or two. the sand dunes were obviously an obstacle, but he felt that lupo was above pointing that out in an instance. he knew his situation without anyone else making it known.

he glanced over at lupo, the wind casting itself harsher around the battlefield. "grimm," he said, but instead of extending a hand, his hands were occupied in holding his collars up against his face to protect his vision from the elements.


shoutmon dropped to the ground, its arm breaking the fall against the sand as it rolled a few feet away from the wave attack. "cheh!" it barked, claws digging into the ground to provide itself some grounding against the flowing sands. it took a deep breath, and lunged for the nearest shamamon.

its forearm met heavy wood as one of the shamamon slammed its hammer downwards, but it slipped away from under the wood narrowly. brute force wasn't one of shoutmon's niches, despite it clearly being the shamamon's.

shamamon C's club met air, then earth, and a spray of sand followed in its wake. the digimon sputtered and shook its head violently. "man, it got into my eyes!" it grunted, but swung its club around to compensate for its lack of vision.

shoutmon spun around shortly after its run, and started towards shamamon A, who had fell briefly from renamon's diamond storm. "uchaaa!" yelled the digimon, capitalizing on the staggering state of the shamamon by socking it squarely on the jaw. shamamon A's upper body swung dangerously forward, but as shoutmon raised its arms to defend, the wild digimon crashed unto its back, groaning from pain and the weak, queasy feeling in its knees.

meanwhile, shamamon B had realized shoutmon's disappearance, and raised its club again. "dancing bone!" it called, launching its weapon like a boomerang towards renamon, while shamamon C raced behind it, its own club gleaming with voodoo power, before being dragged against the ground and raised to strike renamon with a shama hammer.

notes. shamamon A is dizzy for the time being, while shamamon B and C are still in action and kicking.

[lupo]

ruki didn't need grimm to tell her why he played the game. it mattered little either way, and if he felt uncomfortable in talking, pressing the matter was not what she would do. to others, she played the game to be the best, even though there was more reasons than that. reasons no-body, not even renamon knew.

his reply about techs was meant with a curt nod, again, not about to fault him for such a thing. fighting four kunemon without techs was a thing done and dusted, and learning from that equated to buying a tech. ruki just hoped grimm would buy one afterward. techs were a life saver against more than one digital foe.

"lupo." ruki replied swiftly, eyes half closing as the sand continued to swirl and dance around them. sand was irritating at the best of times, in this she could hardly see. raising a swift hand to her pineapple shaped hair do, ruki pulled down a pair of sunglasses to protect her eyes from the small, gritty sand that continued to be a nuisance.

renamon couldn't help but smirk as her diamond storm hit true. it was the first time she'd used that tech and the power that flowed from her into those pure white diamonds felt, amazing. like she was getting stronger. everything was happening too fast in the swirling sands, and renamon soon found herself facing the other two shamamon, while the first shamamon she'd attacked had been attacked by shoutmon also, causing the digimon to be down for a time being.

at least she was teamed with a digimon that could actually fight.

approval was in thise glacier ices of hers, turning to face shamamon b, and then shamamon c who was behind her. as the world slowed down, the fox knew one of two things. she could either get hit with both attacks, or dodge one and get hit by the other. out of the two, renamon did not want to be hit with the shama hammer. crouching, she leaped towards the first attack, the dancing bone, meeting it head on and feeling all air woosh from her stomach.

meeting the club head on wasn't a smart move, but it gave her distance from the other shamamon with the shama hammer. landing on the sand, renamon rolled, closing her eyes to keep the sand from entering her eyes at this level, before picking up a handful of sand and throwing it at one of the two shamamon, whatever one got in the way of the thrown sandball.

hopefully it would give her enough time to get up and send off another round of diamond storm. and perhaps give shoutmon time to launch another attack as well.

[grimm]

grimm hummed and nodded. his gaze returned to the battlefield, his eyes moving slightly to check the parameters off the side of his vision occasionally.

shamamon B cackled in delight, revelling in the fact that its attack had met success. the club soon returned to its grasp as it caught its weapon, and it swung the hammer over its shoulder. behind it, shoutmon made a mad dash for the shaman digimon, springing forwards to land on its arms before lashing out with its feet.

shoutmon tried to aim for shamamon B's neck, but the tides were soon turned as the hammer came crashing down upon its abdomen. "g-guh!" it cried, feeling the weight of the bone heavy on its body. it squirmed, but to no avail.

shamamon A was still down for the count.

meanwhile, shamamon C had lifted its own club from the sands, swinging it around -- it suddenly let out a cry of irritation and agony as the fistful of sand sprayed into its eyes. howling with pain, the shamamon dropped its weapon to raise its hands to rub its eyes, but as soon as it did so, renamon had already sent a wave of glittering projectiles towards it.

as the diamonds struck the sands, so did shamamon C's body.

the winds of the desert scattered the sands, as well as the data and digital blood from the disintegrating shamamon. what was left of shamamon C was its face screaming in torture before its visage, too, disappeared in the desert gust.

[lupo]

renamon couldn't see anything with her eyes still closed, so she relied solely on her other senses. her hearing caught the cackle of one of the shamamon, before hearing a cry echoing from her team mate. what she least expected to hear was the screams of another shamamon. obviously sand and diamonds had hit the digital monster, and opening her eyes, she saw the remains of shamamon c disappearing into thing air. only swirling sand remained where the shamamon had been.

eyes trailed across the battle field, darting towards shamamon b, it's club seemingly pressed against shoutmon. crossing the distance gave her enough speed, yet traversing this plain like this was dangerous. a leap and curling into a ball was next as renamon plowed into shamamon b, hoping that it would knock him away and lift the club up enough for shoutmon to get free. grappling the shamamon gave shoutmon time to aim another bite, having diamond stormed the two others, it wasn't fair if she got the third as well.

speaking of shamamon a, renamon wondered if he'd be getting up anytime soon, but she was too busy trying to hold onto shamamon b, keeping him from using his club as a weapon.

ruki was smirking at the display, knowing they'd win this battle. they had too. one was fully defeated, the other still down and out for the count, and the third had two digimon ready to pound into it.

[grimm]

"khh ... you're strong da yo," shoutmon grunted as it heaved against the weight of the club against its stomach. the shamamon responded by rubbing its club heavily into shoutmon's body.

"ukhh!"

"not so strong, eh -- hhhhyaaaa!" shamamon B's voice trailed off as it was bowled over by renamon. it let go of its club, falling to the ground with renamon atop it. without its weapon, it was powerless. yet it didn't stop it from trying -- swiftly, it regained possession of its club, but renamon was trying to stop it from moving.

"ah mou!" shoutmon yelled, springing up from the ground. it slipped an arm downwards, into the sand; the digital sands started to reform into a mic, complete with stand. sand trickled from the mic as the digimon then angled it at shamamon B. "you're --"

the shamamon squirmed, trying to club renamon.

"-- going down! rowdy ... rokkaa da ze!"

shoutmon sprang into the air, grasping its mic tightly before slamming it harshly atop the shamamon's skull. digital blood started to trickle from the point of impact, until shoutmon forced its weapon downwards.

it was then that the blood from shamamon B started to spill and spatter, and when shamamon A rose from its downed state to launch at renamon and shoutmon a dancing bone attack.

[lupo]

renamon and shamamon fought, the shaman digimon trying to reclaim its weapon to, again, start attacking whilst renamon was doing everything in her power not to let that happen. still, the weapon ended back in its hand and renamon had to keep him pinned with great difficulty.

from the corners of her ice blue eyes she saw the mic form, and kept her grip upon the shamamon even tighter to make sure it couldn't evade from shoutmon's own attack. nimble clawed fingers grappled with the other, finding purchase where she could from arm, to neck, their movements in the sand caused the grains to flick up and settle upon fur, even across her nose giving her the strangest urge to sneeze.

the almighty thump of mic hitting skull was present as shoutmon attacked, and renamon could stand up freely as the digital creature began to disappear into nothing. all that data seemingly gone, poof in the wind. "you okay?" renamon asked, sparing shoutmon half a glance. ruki may never admit that another digimon did well, but renamon could see the shoutmon had potential.

"renamon, shoutmon, look out!" ruki called to both digimon as it was apparent when shamamon a, the final remaining digimon, stood up, angling to attack both digimon with it's weapon.

"it's over now. diamond storm!" renamon used the attack with pleasure as the shards emitted from her bodice, slamming into the last shamamon, yet not before the club began to make its way towards them. having literally just attacked, renamon was vulnerable in those few split half seconds as she recovered from the diamond storm attack, the swirling sand made landing more prerilous, coupled with a weapon hurtling towards her. well, it didn't bode well.

renamon felt the impact on her side as she angled her frame just enough so that the air didn't fully wash from her lungs. falling on her knees and closing her eyes to keep from being blinded, she didn't know if shoutmon had also been hit with the weapon.

meanwhile shamamon a stared at the pair, all smiles and grins wiped off his goblin-esque features, his body began dissolving into data.

notes: hope it was okay that i did that(the shamamon being defeated xD). if not i can change it :3

[grimm]

shoutmon's breath caught in its throat as it was asked a question. "yea," it responded, giving a brief nod before heaving its mic over its shoulder without much effort. it wasn't fighting that tired it; rather, it was the realization that it had just clubbed a shamamon to digital doom.

it wasn't so different from the digimon after all. (this was just evening the odds, it told itself. just fair play. a weapon for a weapon.)

however, shoutmon managed to snap out of its daze when renamon was struck by the weapon. its own mic raised before its chest, the digimon pushed itself forward in order to meet the club head on. renamon had managed to dampen the blow before it reached shoutmon.

grunting, the red-colored digimon deflected the club, and as its owner started to disintegrate, so did the weapon.

"renamon! you okay?" cried shoutmon, hopping over the breaking club. its own weapon, too, dissolved into sand for there no longer was a need for it.

grimm turned to lupo, a smirk on his face. "good job."

[lupo]

the fox nodded: shoutmon was pretty tough, she gave her team mate credit for such things. rubbing a paw over her side, feeling for any broken bones of data, the club only left bruises before disappearing. it looked as if they had won, but the fox still narrowed her eyes across the sandy plains, wondering if another would pop out.

didn't hurt to be careful like this.

"i'm okay." renamon nodded towards shoutmon as her features returned to normal. nothing else seemed to jump out so the battle had been won. "you did well." renamon complimented the other digimon, while ruki was getting words of her own spoken to her.

"of course." ruki expected nothing else of her and renamon. feeling the icy blue eyes on her, ruki chewed the inside of her cheek. "you too. those shamamon didn't stand a chance."

there, she was being nice and now the world was going to end. no, it wasn't, but it was rare for her to be this nice without a smarmy comment.

"you ready to get out of this place or did you want to look around?"