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Please don’t be what I think it is. Please don’t be them again.
Tomoro ran towards the sound of fighting in the distance. This bounty the Glowing Dawn were after was worth enough to buy food for a week, but because of its danger level, they all agreed not to engage the enemy alone. If fighting had already started without a word from his teammates, it could only mean one of two things.
- Someone in his family had no choice but to fight, and they were in danger.
- Tactics was trying to steal another bounty.
When Tomoro arrived at the source of all the noise, he was unpleasantly surprised to see the last person he wanted to deal with right now.
“Ugh, you again?!” The words escaped from Tomoro before he could think twice.
His sudden outburst caused the source of Tomoro’s exasperation, the nightmare that was Raito Souda, to look in his direction. Their eyes locked, and that brief distraction gave the bounty—a Triceramon—an opening to attack. Tomoro watched, frozen in horror, as torrent of fire rushed straight toward Raito. Rhamphomon dove to block the attack, but in their panic, they took a direct hit and were knocked back into their rookie form. Monodramon crashed into their partner, and when the dust settled, Tomoro could see the duo were both unconscious.
Was that…my fault?
The thought made Tomoro’s stomach turn. More importantly, that attack was too intentionally aimed to have been from a digimon on a rampage. Triceramon’s owner must’ve commanded the attack, and if they were willing to go for the kill to escape, then Raito was in trouble. The dinosaur digimon began charging up another attack, and Tomoro found his legs were moving on their own.
This was crazy. What the hell was Tomoro thinking? Every time they'd met, he had wanted to kill Raito. Why would he charge into the line of fire for someone like that? What difference would it make to him if that jerk died? His life would be easier with Raito gone, no doubt.
Yet, if Tomoro allowed someone to die for his own selfish reasons, wouldn't that make him just like Raito?
“Gekkomon!” Tomoro called.
“I got it, ya know!”
With more difficulty than he cared to admit, Tomoro hoisted his unconscious rival over his shoulder and ran for dear life. Gekkomon followed close behind, Monodramon in hand—er, tongue. He could hear the Triceramon’s owner yelling curses at him, daring him to come back and fight, but Tomoro didn’t so much as spare a glance backwards. He ran as far and as fast as his body could handle, eventually stopping in a random alleyway.
The shouts had faded into the distance, so Tomoro was certain they’d gotten away. He carefully lowered Raito to the ground before sitting beside him. He couldn’t feel his legs anymore.
“What now, ya know?” Gekkomon asked once they caught their breath.
“I don’t know yet. I need to think.”
What was Tomoro supposed to do now? Was it safe to leave Raito here alone, unconscious? Probably not. But where was he supposed to take him? There’s no way Tomoro was bringing him home, that was for sure. Garando was a safe neutral ground, but Tomoro seriously doubted he was strong enough to carry Raito all the way there. Maybe he could call Yoshimura for a lift?
Actually, speaking of calling, Tomoro should really start by calling his team and letting them know where the bounty was. That was assuming it was still in the same place. He tried to raise his hand to his communicator, only to jolt when his wrist was caught and yanked away.
“Stop.” Even lightheaded and disoriented, Raito managed to be bossy. Tomoro was wary of the demand—why shouldn’t he call his team? However, at that moment, his biggest concern was Raito’s wellbeing.
Damn. The others must be rubbing off on me if I’m actually worried about this creep.
“You’re awake. How are you feeling?” Tomoro asked. What were the steps you take to check if someone has a concussion? He couldn’t remember.
“Like I died and went to hell, if you’re here,” Raito groaned. He let go of Tomoro’s wrist in favor of pushing himself into a sitting position.
Tomoro’s eye began to twitch.
“If you’re well enough to insult me, you’re well enough to get home on your own,” Tomoro declared, rising to his feet. “Gekkomon, let’s go.”
“Hold on!” Raito shouted and grabbed onto Tomoro’s pant leg. “That Triceramon is mine. Don’t you dare go after it.”
“Are you kidding me?” Tomoro narrowed his eyes. “We’re clearly in Glowing Dawn territory. Like hell that bounty is yours.”
“I was fighting it first,” Raito retorted.
“Yeah, and how’d that go for you?”
“I was handling it before you showed up!”
Deep down, Tomoro knew Raito was right about that, but that was beside the point!
“So what? You and your partner are injured. You can’t possibly be considering taking that thing on alone now,” Tomoro pointed out.
“Just because you’re too weak to fight on your own, doesn’t mean I am,” Raito snapped. His words may have been more believable if he didn’t struggle to stand up and sway in place once he did. “Monodramon!”
Tomoro moved to stand in Raito’s way, and Gekkomon mimicked the action to stop Monodramon.
“Why are you being so stubborn? If you fight now, you’re going to get hurt!” Tomoro yelled. “I doubt your fancy team is that desperate for money.”
“If I let the bounty go, it’ll be worse, now get out of the way!”
With unexpected force from someone who could barely stand, Raito shoved Tomoro to the side and pushed past him. Tomoro grunted as his shoulder hit the alley wall, and he shook his head to clear the stars from his vision. What an insufferable prick. Here Tomoro was actually trying to be nice to him, and he—
Wait. What did he just say?
“What do you mean by that?” Tomoro inquired. He scrambled to follow after Raito, who was already making a beeline back towards Triceramon.
“None of your business,” Raito dismissed.
“If my family fails to catch this bounty, we may not be able to eat next week,” Tomoro shared, not to garner pity, but to make clear how serious his situation was. “If you fail, will whatever happens be worse?”
“Why do you care?” Raito dodged the question. He wouldn’t answer, nor would he look Tomoro in the eyes, and that was all the answer Tomoro needed.
“I don’t like when bad things happen to people because of me,” Tomoro answered earnestly. “Not even assholes like you. It’s my fault you didn’t beat Triceramon earlier, so…” I can’t believe I’m doing this. “I’m gonna help you fight it.”
“I don’t need your pity, Tenma Tomoro.” Raito turned to glare at him. “And I don’t need your help.”
“It’s not pity,” Tomoro argued. “I want to fix my mistake, that’s all. I’m doing it for myself, not you.”
“You’re so annoying,” Raito grumbled. “Fine. If you insist on helping, then do it right. I’m the leader. You do everything I say and nothing I don’t, from now until the mission is complete. Understood?”
Arrogant little…
“Understood, your majesty,” Tomoro agreed with a roll of his eyes.
“Shut. Up. That’s an order.”
I should’ve killed this guy when I had the chance. Tomoro clenched his fists and bit his tongue. No matter how pissed he was, he had already agreed to Raito’s terms, and he’d meant what he’d said about fixing his mistakes. After Hitomi, Asuka, and Gekkomon, Tomoro swore he wouldn’t let anyone get hurt because of him again—and despite the evidence to the contrary, Raito was a person, too.
Much to Tomoro’s chagrin, working with Raito turned out to be easy. His time with Reina had gotten him used to following someone else’s lead, and though he’d sooner bite off his tongue than say it aloud, Raito was a better strategist than him. With Armalizamon drawing the bounty’s fire, Rhamphomon swiftly dealt a finishing blow before Triceramon or their owner knew what hit them.
Although Tomoro had already resolved to give up the owner and sapotama, his heart clenched when Raito grabbed the baby digimon.
“Are you going to delete them?” Tomoro asked with a shaking voice.
“Delete it, sell it. I don’t know or care what happens after I hand it over.” Raito shrugged.
That’s what Tomoro was afraid of.
“Could you let me have them?” he requested.
“And have the reward money halved? Why the hell would I do that?”
It enraged Tomoro how little someone could care about a digimon’s life. Especially with their partner right there. Still, now wasn’t the time to pick a fight. For once, he’d take a page out of Kyo’s book.
“Please don’t hurt them. Just let me take them.”
Raito sighed in exasperation. “You knew what you were agreeing to when you followed me here. I don’t owe you anything.”
“I know, but—”
“Please don’t delete my Botamon!” the owner cut in, tears streaming down his face. “It’s not their fault I agreed to take this shady job! They were against it from the start, but I forced them. Please don’t make my partner suffer for my mistakes.”
Both boys froze in shock. Tomoro was used to criminals throwing their partners under the bus in situations like these, swearing up and down that they were innocent and the horrible monster made them do it. This was a first for him. It must’ve been a first for Raito, as well, if his wide-eyed look was anything to go by.
“Damn it all,” Raito cursed under his breath. He shoved the Botamon into Tomoro’s arms, his expression a mix of irritation and anxiety. “Take ‘em before I change my mind. If anyone asks, I fought you as hard as I could on this.”
Tomoro stared, dazed, at the baby digimon in his arms. Before he could process what just occurred, Raito took off with the bounty.
“Raito…” Tomoro watched him disappear into the sky and hugged Botamon to his chest.
What kind of person are you, exactly?
The sound of his communicator going off pulled Tomoro from his thoughts.
“Where are you? Why haven’t you been answering?!” Reina’s voice nearly blew out his eardrum. “None of us have found the target anywhere. Tell me you didn’t go fight it on your own. You promised not to!”
“I found the target, but, well…I have good news and bad news,” Tomoro replied sheepishly.
“I’m begging you, don’t tell me the bad news is that one of those Tactics jerks stole our bounty again,” Reina groaned.
“Okay. I won’t tell you, then.”
“Aaargh! How many more times is this going to happen!?”