((*failed at making a good title for this*))

Tamer Name: Laiko Min
Digimon Species: Den - Labramon
Battle Type: Opponent
Field Area: Tropical setting, complete with humidity, a small pond, palm trees, and a volcano in the background.

5037 - 50 = 4987

---

Two lone figures walked from the training facility's desk to one of the giant doors containing the entrance into a holographic chamber. Both weren't saying a word, deeply emersed in their own thoughts. It wasn't until they reached the large double doors did the silence break. "Lai, do you think we should be doing this? Against another tamer?" Den asked with mild curiousity. The canine had wanted to train since there last battle had been a while ago, but he was hoping for more of a battle against a holographic Digimon, not a trained one. Although Den was normally cocky and over-confident when it came to battling against others, it seemed that the last few battles dampered his usually high spirits.

"Well you said so yourself that we need to be prepaired for anything that comes our way," his tamer responded as she gently pushed the grant door open. What met her eyes was beautiful scenery of a tropical land. Sand miggled with the grass underneath their feet and paws, creating a soft crunching noise wherever they walked, as water in a pond in the middle of the grass rippled slightly. The chamber was trying to perfect it's hologram by even adding in the humidity normally expected for places like this and a light breeze. "Fighting against a tamer and their partner is the same as fighting against an artificially created Digimon. Besides, we may find an ally in them that we can rely on."


((LAME. Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else to do. T.T))

((It's okay, I fully appreciate the difficulty of making the first post in this kind of thread.))

"I get to fight today, right Ojou-sama?" An enthusiastic female voice asked of its companion.

"No way," a rough, male voice shot interupted, "this is my turn. Tell her Nee-chan!"

"Actually..." Ryuha answered, leading the two digimon into the holographic room, "I think 'Tami should fight this one. You tend to get way more than your share of the action Snotfish."

Adras grumbled upon hearing this verdict, quite upset that he wouldn't get to show off for his tamer that day. Hitami simply scooped the Ganimon up, "don't be sad Onii-chan. I'll make you proud!"

Her captive grumbled further at his manhandled state, but decided it was better for his health to just sit back and let the Agumon do the work. So, it was in such a state, with Hitami proudly marching alongside her tamer, and Adras awkwardly held in the Agumon's grip like an old teddybear, that Ryuha nad her ragtag band arrived before their opponents.

"Hi," Ryuha greeted Laiko and Den, cheerful due to her amusement at her partner's actions. "I'm Ryuha Nara, the crab is Adras, and the little dinosaur is Hitami."

((Now that, my friend, is what we call a bad post.))

((Nah, your post was good. ^^))

At the sound of another voice, laiko whipped her head around to look at the only other human body in the room. Accopanying the older girl was a small orange dinosaur holding an annoyed crustacean in her claws. "Nice to meet you. I'm Laiko and the mutt by my feet is Den." She politely bowed to the older girl to show her respect.

Just as the crab had done when he was manhandled by his other partner, the canine grumbled mildly before being shocked at the exact words that his tamer used. Never before had she called him 'mutt'. But it soon passed as he raised a paw to greet them. "Yo."

"So I guess we'll be training against one another then, ne?"

When her opponent bowed respectfully, Ryuha quickly returned the gesture, silently scolding herself for not remembering to do so earlier. This passed quickly though, as her brain quickly settles into strategy mode. A quick look over the dog digimon that Hitami would be fighting, a general guess at his possible talents. She could have simply used her d-ban to get all the factual data, but she wasn't going to be the first to turn to the device. If Laiko were to scan Hitami though, Ryuha would gladly return the favor.

"So I guess we'll be training against one another then, ne?"

"It seems that way," Ryuha pleasantly replied to the younger girl. "I just hope Hitami can provide a proper challenge for you and Den."

Hitami relinquished Adras, who gladly took up his favored post atop Ryuha's head, and stepped forward. Taking up a battle stance, she prepared to fight the grumpy canine.

((I was going to do this earlier in the day, but got busy with things))

"Peh," Den mocked as his tamer quietly backed up so that she would not be caught in this battle. "I hope you're right too Ryuha. I'd hate to fight against someone who isn't putting their heart into it. Though, I'm looking forward to dino drumsticks tonight." As if the last comment wasn't enough, the canine sadistically licked his lips at Hitami.

"Den! How can you say something like that?!"

He turned his head around to face his tamer, silently disappointed that she didn't know he was kidding. "As a joke Laiko. Sheesh, grow a sense of humor will ya?" The girl merely crossed her arms and sighed while mumbling something about having a sense of humor already. That was when her D-Ban caught her eye. She had noticed that Ryuha hadn't used her's first, but the younger girl didn't know if it was because she had met another Labramon or because of other reasons. It still would be wise to look up Hitami's species. So pressing a few buttons, the human opened up the analyzer and began to read the information about the Agumon species.

No attribute advantage here since she's Vaccine too. And a fire element; who knows what she can do. Laiko's golden eyes lifted from the screen just as the soft wind decided to blow against her back. But adavantage or not, there's probably still a whole lot more to her.

"You ready?' Den hollared to his opponent, decided, with his ego, that he should be the first to start this battle. "Retrieve Bark!"

Lai's scan of Hitami was not missed by Ryuha, but the older tamer didn't return the favor quite yet. A much more pressing matter came up when Den unleashed his sonic attack. Hitami reacted to the offensive in the most logical way, ducking down and covering her head. As soon as the fast moving attack passed on, the reptile took off, her head still lowered, her hands pounding on the jungle floor in an improvised quadrupedal gait.

That was the opening for Ryuha to get the information on their opponent. Labramon, child level, vaccine type, Retrieve Bark and Cure Liquor attacks. A quick turn of the gears in her head and she had her plan. "Keep him close 'tami," she shouted, "he doesn't seem to have any melee moves. I don't like the sound of that Cure Liquor, don't give him a chance to use it."

Hitami's usual confirmation of her orders was skipped as she got ready to attack. Drawing closer to where she was pretty sure Den was standing, she popped upright with her fists blazing in a rapid chain of punches. "Mach Jab Combo!"

((Blech))

She waited. Laiko brow furrowed at that thought. She should have been concentrating on Den's prgress in the battle, but the young girl couldn't help but notice that move by Ryuha. The brow furrowed even more when Laiko figured that she was just returning the favour. Well, that's fine by me. And as she listened to the older girl's instructions, her own brain was thinking about strategies. Not that I should worry. Den's more combat savvy than I am. And he's dealt with melee attacks at a close range in the past. A small smile formed on her lips as her thoughts turned back to Ryuha. There was a question that Laiko wanted to ask her. Nothing too important, though the Asian girl did want to create a little bit of conversation between the two of them. Maybe later. She seems a little wrapped up in the battle right now.

Den, as Laiko predicted in her thoughts, braced himself for a close range assault. That Agumon was coming in fast with her mock four legged running, but her head's position was lowered, so she couldn't possibly see his exact location. However, when Hitami's head popped upright, she wasn't too far off her mark and a number of those punches hit their mark. But Den's usual smirk appeared, meaning that this was what he wanted. He may have gotten hit by all those melee attacks, but close range wasn't a completely bad thing for him. "Retrieve Bark!" The invisible sonic attack flew from his mouth as he hoped it would reach it's target. Hitami may have more advantages with those melee attacks, but a close range did mean a closer more accurate target for long ranged attacks.

Hitami's success at her melee attack came at the predictable cost of being left open to Den's sonic counter-attack. The effect was quite dizzying, and left her ears ringing. It was a very different sort of pain than she would feel after a more typical physical strike, but just as bad in its own way. The Agumon was an experienced brawler though, and that went hand in hand with being good at shaking off a hit and proceeding with a battle.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ryuha caught Laiko taking a glance at her. A small smirk worked its way across her mouth, then she addressed the other human girl. "I don't bite you know. If you have something you'd like to say, I can tear myself away from watching those two long enough to talk to you."

Adras snickered a little at his tamer's poor attempt at conversation. At least it looked like there would be something besides the battle to entertain him that day. It was a good thing too, since he didn't get anywhere near as much enjoyment out of watching someone else fight as his tamer did.

Recovering properly from the Retrieve Bark at last, Hitami Jumped up into the air as best she could. On her downward ark, she aimed her right foot toward Den's snout. "Dynamite Kick!"

((I'm officially cursed to make nothing but terrible posts in this thread. Oh well, it's still fun ^^))

((Peh. As I said before, your posts are fine so don't worry about it. 'Sides, all that does matter is the fun right? ^^))

Laiko's mouth to protest when Ryuha smiled and spoke to her, but it closed just as quickly as a light blush formed on her cheeks from her shyness. She hadn't been shy with any of the other tamers she faced, but maybe that was because they were all the opposite gender to her. Perhaps this girl, who had always preferred skirts and dresses to pants, found herself enjoying any males' company moreso than another female. "I'm sorry," her own small smile found its way to the surface and the younger girl even started to softly giggle, "It's just, I haven't seen any other female tamers since I got here. Although, all I've really been to so far is this training facility, so, I guess it was silly to think that I was the only one here." Her cheeks got even redder and her giggles became laced with embarassment.

Despite that, she looked over to the other girl to proceed with the question she had thought of in the first place. "How long have you been a tamer for? One of the first tamers that I met also had two partners. Not that I really want one now, but, I mean, maybe in the future. Oh, never mind. It was a silly question to ask."

Silly. Somehow, being around another person who was more than just a year older than Laiko caused the new tamer to act like an idiot.

Least she was making conversation.

That is, if Ryuha doesn't think I'm some bumbling moron first.

"So," Den snarled at the saurian in front of himself, half aware that she probably couldn't hear him thanks to the ringing he left in her ears. The Labramon was his usual cocky self, disregarding the fact that this foe just might be somewhat stronger than him. But when Hitami recovered properly from his assault, she leaped as high into the air as she could. The canine stood his ground and opened his mouth to release another sonic attack, but found that the Agumon was falling too fast for him to react. As such, Hitami's heel slammed right into Den snout, causing him tumble barkwards while clutching his nose in between his paws. "My nosfe!"

After a few seconds of cradling his face, the canine quickly tried opening and closing his mouth. It still worked probably, but the attack felt a nasty bruise just on his snout just above his noce. "I'll get you for that! Retrieve Bark!"

((*had fun with this post* ^^))

Adras restrained a robust laugh, a deep throaty chuckle was all he allowed forth. It was just too good, a tamer even worse at conversing that his own. He had to be careful not too annoy Ryuha too much in his enjoyment, or he would likely find himself thrown off to some distant corner of the training field.

"Umm, well," Ryuha calculated her answer to the question, figuring it most polite to ignore the nervous babbling from before it was asked. "Well I'd say a little more than a week. Does that sound right Snotfish?"

"Well, let's see," the Ganimon replied, his amusement broken by the request to do some thinking for himself. "We were here about three days when we got stuck in that stupid movie with that pervert, that hyperactive ball of brazilian fluff and all those other weirdos." A sharp rap on Adras's head at this point reminded him to use his manners when talking about the other tamers. "We spent one day there before we fell into a hole in the grassland and woke up outside the theatre. The next day after we got out, we met that fruit merchant, and because of him that lizard forced her way into our partnership." Another rap on Adras's head, reminding him to speak nicely of Hitami. "Then we fought a lot of battles in the training fields, until we eventually got sick after a few days of that and went to the beach. We fought off Simon the Red and his servants, then went out to sea and discovered Frost Island. That was yesterday, so, yeah, a little over a week."

Ryuha nodded proudly at Adras's detailed recounting of their time together.

Hitami's kick proved succesful, but was quickly repaid with another sonic blast. This fight was going fast and brutal, and she had to try something different. Inhaling deeply, the small dinosaur filled her lungs with fire, which she then breathed out in a short ranged, but very powerful flamethrower like attack. "Baby Burner!"

At the sound of the crustacean's chuckle, Laiko's face continued to rise in temperature and all she felt like doing was cupping her face in her hands to save her from any future embarrassment. Why, oh why did she want to start a conversation with the opposing tamer? There are probably people who fight fine without so much as a friendly conversation with their opponent. So why can't I seem to do that?

But over time and during 'Snotfish's' explanation, the girl's face cooled down as did her thoughts about regretting to start talking to Ryuha and Adras. A week. That continued to ring in Laiko's mind over and over again. The girl had only been in the Digital World for a few hours and was already feeling homesick. If Ryuha's been here for a more than an entire week, then, maybe - "There is no way to get back." The very last part of her thoughts seemed to have slipped through outloud. Though, the girl was a little too wrapped up in her own thoughts to think that what she said probably could greatly confuse Ryuha.

Den saw the flamethrower shoot out of Hitami's mouth and saw his own invisible attack head straight for it. It was an unpredictable move; who knows what the outcome of the two attacks colliding would be. But the canine, fearing the worst out of what might happened, hugged the body flat against the ground. The two assaults did indeed collide with one another, but it seemed that his own Retrieve Bark only added speed to the Agumon's Baby Burner while it slowly disappeared into the air. Of course, this was only his guess and from his point of view on the ground. For all he knew, the dinosaur may have very well been hit by his attack. But he was not particularly worried about his foe's well being, since he is fighting her after all, and the canine was not out of the woods yet. The new speed that the flamethrower got from his own attack helped it out quite a bit and some of Den's fur on his back was scorched by the flames.

Kicked in the face. Burnt fur on his back. Oh yeah; Den was really enjoying this battle.

Luvkily though, his tamer may have been paying attention to his movements from the sidelines while she was emersed in her own thoughts. Maybe she wanted a bit of a break from the awkward silence or from even her own mind, but whatever was the reason, Den was slightly happy to see the girl's slashing movements. A familiar sense of power tingled over his fur and when he looked down at his paw he saw only the grass underneath it.

Alright. Now it's time to have some fun!

---

Name: Soul on Fire
Number: U28
Type: Single Target
Duration: 3 Turns
Effect: Turns the affected Digimon invisible.

((Blech. My turn to make a cruddy post now. XD))

Ryuha heard Laiko's quiet comment to herself. The very thought of it almost had her laughing, but she restrained herself. "I honestly wouldn't know if there's a way back, seeing as I've never tried to find one. If the way I got out of that movie is any indication, you may just pop back out of this world without any warning. I have one question I'd like to ask you though. With all you've seen in this world, do you really want to leave just like that, without finding your limits, or your partner's limits? I think the real reason that we're here is to grow, together with these little pieces of ourselves given a shape of their own, and find our purposes."

Adras grinned widely, it was rare that his tamer waxed philosophical, but it was always good. Besides, he took being thought of as some little piece of his tamer as the highest compliment. Whether or not they always got along, she was his idol, and his hero. Naturally though, he would never admit that.

With Hitami buffeted yet again by waves of sound, and Den turned invisible, Ryuha dipped into her own card collection. Two cards found their way through her d-ban, their combined effect sure to infuse Hitami with an exaggerated version of the fighting style practiced by her tamer's family in centuries long past.

Three copies of the Agumon winked into existence, even as her inherent movement speed and reaction time increased. The four matching dinosaurs stood with their backs together, their snouts creating the appearance of a plus sign if viewed from above. This pose didn't last long though, the four quickly spread out, trying to surround the area of the battlefield the real Agumon was pretty sure her opponent occupied.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Data Duplication
Number: C04
Type: Single Target
Duration: Remainder of the battle
Effect: Up to three holographic clones of the affected Digimon appear. These copies are for confusion purposes only, and have no physical form (meaning they cannot use attacks or take any damage).

Name: Lightning Agility
Number: C21
Type: Single Target
Duration: Remainder of the battle
Effect: Increases the affected Digimon's speed and reaction time by 10%.

((My apologies for the delay. Things keep distracting me. >.>))

Ryuha's philosophical speech about this world practically burned itself into Laiko's mind. The older girl touched on many points that Laiko had not considered since her main worries were rather selfish. "Well," she gluped, "I haven't seen that much of this world, or know a lot about it. Adventuring and self-discovery are things I've only heard about and where I come from, it's a very rare thing now to be able to do that. I'm not entirely sure if I really want to do that or how successful I'll be at it; I've heard plenty of times that you should take any opportunities that life gives you, but sometimes, you might not really want to take it."

But it's not like I don't appreciate this opportunity. I've gotten to meet a lot of different people, and Den.... well, I'm not too sure about him yet. But he could have abandoned me by now if he wanted to... But as the younger girl spoke and thought of her own feelings and opinions, one part of Ryuha's speech stuck with her the most:

"I think the real reason that we're here is to grow, together with these little pieces of ourselves given a shape of their own, and find our purposes."

He could be.... a part of me?

Thankfully enough, the girl wasn't too wrapped up in their conversation to ignore the battle in front of her. In a well played combination, three more versions of Hitami appeared on the field and they posed together. Den, hidden from all eyes in his spot in the grass, had to compliment on the Agumon's strategy: to fan out and search for their invisible opponent. The Labramon's eyes followed each little version of the dinosaurs and he kept his body low to the ground and very still. As long as he didn't attract attention to himself, and there was no wind, he'd be safe. And from his tamer's motions it seems Laiko was going to take care of the offensive part this time.

---

Name: Rapid Arrow
Number: C28
Type: Single Target
Duration: N/A
Effect: An arrow that never misses shoots the target opponent Digimon for 20 guaranteed points of damage.

Ryuha listened to Laiko's response, and simply shrugged. She could try to explain more of what she was steadily coming to understand about the digital world, but that wouldn't be as good as letting the younger girl go out and discover it for herself. It was a large, complicated, and often completely illogical world, but to the right kind of person, it was home.

The battle was a far more pressing concern. An arrow appeared in mid-air, and seemingly completely immune to the deceptive powers of Data Duplication, oriented itself on the real Hitami, before streaking forth toward her. Ryuha briefly pondered using her Reverse card to send the arrow after Den instead, but decided it would be better to save that effect for a more desperate situation.

The arrow, unasailed by outside forces, buried itself in Hitami's hide, causing the Agumon to close her eyes, and growl in pain. She gathered her focus quickly though, and pulled the arrow out. "What now Ojou-sama?" She questioned, desiring some idea of what to do about the still invisible Labramon.

"Hmmm," Ryuha pondered, flipping through her cards for some idea of how to make the Labramon reveal himself, without doing something cheap and making the battle too easy. "Let's try using their own trick against them." She scanned a card through her d-ban, bringing forth the same arrow that had hit Hitami mere seconds ago. This time however, it loyally shot toward Den, ignoring his invisible status just as easily as it had ignored Hitami's holographic copies. The Agumon tracked its ark carefully, before running off in the same direction, along with her copies. As they arrived where the arrow directed, the eight fists, two real, six completely harmless, started rapidly pounding forth. "Mach Jab Combo!"

--------------------------------------------------
Name: Recycle
Number: C29
Type: Single Target
Duration: Dependant on the card reused
Effect: The effect of one card (of the user’s choice) used by either Tamer in the previous 3 posts is reactivated (the card lasts as long as its own description states).

Taking Ryuha's lead, Laiko's golden eyes focused more clearly on the battle between their partners. However, she felt this silence to be a bit awkward on her part and her thoughts kept turning to the tiopic of their conversation. "Thanks," mumbled the younger of the two, before she offered a smile, "for answering my question, I mean. It's not very important, but I was curious to know."

"Laiko," the Labramon grolwed from the battlefield, causing the girl to scan the area before her until she remembered the torpedo-like arrow. "Smooth move. Next time I'll rely on myself to make any offensive moves, okay?"

"I can't read minds Den. How could I know Ryuha's strategy?"

He only snorted and braced his body for the stinging sensation of the arrow. And just like it did with Hitami, the card's effect did not fail. Den grunted as it pierced his left back leg, no doubt revealing his location to the Agumon. The canine barely recovered from the injury before Hitami and her clones ran into him. Just at the last second, the words 'Card Slash!' reached his ears, and his fur bristled with static electricity. Never before had he experienced this, but whatever the card Laiko slashed, it had to do some good.

It better.

---

Name: Lightning Pulse
Number: U16
Type: Single Target
Duration: 3 Turns
Effect: An electric pulse flows through the affected Digimon’s body, causing ten points of damage to any Digimon it touches and five points to any that touch it – including via attacks.

---

And just like the dinosaur's similar assault earlier, Hitami's blows were on there mark. Though, which each passing punch, Den felt the static zap his opponent's claws with the static. This made the attack a little less painful and even brought out his trademark cocky smirk. When there was an opening, Den quickly positioned his mouth in what he thought was the real McCoy. "Retrieve Bark!"

With every punch, painful electricity backed up through Hitami's arm, but the damage was done, to Den as well as Hitami. Recoil aside, Mach Jab Combo had hit its mark. It was followed up with a Retrieve Bark, more of the ringing sonic damage that Hitami had become familiar with in the course of the battle. The Agumon panted deeply. The damage that had piled up so astonishingly quick was truly atrocious, but she comforted herself with the thought that Den must have taken nearly, if not just the same amount. She could finish it if she could land one big attack.

Ryuha calmed her emotions at Hitami's distress, knowing that the Agumon could handle it, and that she'd be better in no more than a couple hours. The tamer and partner shared a knowledge that they could still win it, and a desire to do so. Ryuha drew one last card and scanned it through her d-ban, infusing Hitami with holy magic.

The exhausted dinosaur smiled as she felt the light energy filling her up. Breathing in deeply, she filled her lungs with fire that blended with the magic. With this attack fully built up, she exhaled brilliant white flames quickly. Each of her copies once more mimicked her action, hopefully tricking Den enough to prevent his escape. "Holy Baby Burner!"

-------------------------------------------------------
Name: Spiritual Wand
Number: U31
Type: Single Target
Duration: N/A
Effect: The affected Digimon can attack using holy, light-attribute magic, increasing the damage done by its next attack by 30.

((I'm afraid I now have the same writing ailment as you had eariler. *sighs*))

Den growled as the four dinosaurs cornered him, preventing any sort of escape or trickery to be used. Worse than that, the card that Laiko swiped to make him invisible was wearing off and the canine watched in disappointment as his invisibility melted right off his fur. Damn it. But despite all of his complaints and grumpy behaviour, the Labramon couldn't help but smile at this battle. Hitami and Ryuha weren't pulling any punches, and it was exhilarating to find such a dedicated and brutal opponent.

He smiled.

Laiko, on the other hand, wasn't finding this nearly as much fun as her partner. The tamer was worried about their own strategies in comparison with Ryuha's. This opponent was far more experienced than anyone they have faced, and the card combinations they were pulling out were well played. The older girl had counters for many of Laiko's card. But the young tamer that this one last card could save Den. "Card Slash! Divine Box!"

---

Name: Divine Box
Number: C07
Type: Single Target
Duration: 3 Turns
Effect: A cube of light materialises around whatever the user wishes (be it a Digimon, person, object or building), and completely protects it from any attack from an Adult-level Digimon or below. If used on a Digimon, it will regain ten points of health every turn for three posts.

---

Den yelped as he, again, threw his body to the ground. He hadn't known this card and was unsure of it's effects, but he soon found out that it only had a defensive effect that was slashed to save him. The canine smiled at this box of gold light that saved him from the Agumon's holy flames. it protected him and was even making him feel just a bit beter. Sure enough, some of his wounds began to heal themselves with aid from the card. "Not bad Laiko. You chose a good one this time."

His unnecessary remark only made the girl sigh and shake her head.

"Well it looks like this will protect me for a bit," he faced the dinosaurs in front of himself. It didn't matter to him which one was real; his attacks didn't necessarily need a target, so he could still attack Hitami without really aiming. Though, he wasn't really sure what this shield would do if he tried to attack, but there was no trouble in experimenting with it. "Retrieve Bark!"

((Four cards each so far, after this turn I'll be at seven, and it will be worth it.))

Hitami's Holy Baby Burner was foiled by the box of golden light that appeared around Den. The extra power behind the blast meant nothing against the nefarious effect of the defensive card. There was one bright side to all this, Den's attack was just as unable to pierce the box, and amounted to wasted energy.

Looking on, Ryuha shook her head. "That's a nice move miss Laiko, but against another tamer, it can be your downfall." She turned to her digimon and spoke a bit more loudly, "you ready to finish this one 'Tami?"

"Of course Ojou-sama!" Hitami responded brightly, not knowing what move Ryuha would use, but looking forward to finding out.

Three cards were picked out, and carefully examined, no worries for the time this took with Den still 'protected' in his box. With the first card that very box fizzled out from around Den and appeared around Hitami, who issued a big grin, begining to guess what the strategy was. Her suspicions were confirmed when the second card was slashed and a big old fashioned bomb with a burning fuse materialized in each of her hands. "Throw them straight up on three 'Tami," Ryuha instructed, getting her last card ready. "One... Two... Three!" The final card went through the d-ban, and even as the Agumon vigorously threw the bombs at the roof of the cube around her, she disappeared in a flash of green light.

Hitami was suddenly standing outside of the box, where Den was mere seconds ago. The dog? He was back inside the cube, trapped inside with a pair of exploding bombs that is.

------------------------------------------
Name: Reverse
Number: U24
Type: Single Target
Duration: N/A
Effect: Any cards used by your opponent in his/her previous post will affect a randomly-selected target on the opposite side instead – e.g. a card supposed to double his/her Digimon’s speed would double the speed of your Digimon instead, and a card that sent arrows flying at your Digimon would send the arrows toward his/her Digimon.

Name: Bomb
Number: C50
Type: Weapon
Duration: Remainder of the battle
Effect: The user's Digimon gains two bombs to attack with. They explode on contact, damaging everything in a blast radius of about fifty feet, and causing ten points of damage each to any opponent Digimon within that radius.

Name: Magical Dimension
Number: R31
Type: Multi-Target
Duration: N/A
Effect: The affected Digimon instantly switches places with another object of the user’s choice. This card can only be used once per battle and can not be re-used at all, even with re-use cards (Recycle, Graceful Charity, etc).

((Yay! You're the first person to be on the recieving end of my "Don't use Divine Box while fighting Ryuha" combo! Enjoy! Feel free to use it if you ever get those three cards and the opportunity.))

((*moans* I clearly fail. I thought I had time to do this in the morning, but I had my class times and days screwed up so I really didn't. What a way to start school after the break. >.>))

"Den, no!" Laiko shrieked as the canine just realized what kind of peril he was in thanks to Ryuha's ruthlessnes, yet ingenius card combination. He barely had time to blink and duck before the bombs grazed the top of the cube. A light ding was all that was heard before the small items exploded from the inside out. The blast was completely contained within the protective cube of light so that no one but it's lone occupant would get caught in the blast.

The younger tamer rushed forward to the field before she came to her senses. Her partner was in the middle of a fight, and even though Hitami was not in a feral state and Ryuha's ruthless was only aimed at the Labramon, Laiko could still very well get caught in the crossfire in the future if she stayed there. Not to mention that she would be unable to break the protective barrier that was between them. But all reasons and sense beside, she felt that the other human would by no means attack her, for if that was Ryuha's intention she would have Adras take the young Asian out, and her partner probably needed her.

Oh God. Her mind was racing with thoughts as to what Den's current state was as her legs pressed her forward towards the box. She didn't have time, when Ryuha slashed that combination to create any sort of a valid defense against it. And even though their opposition was only creating the best possible counter to declare victory in this fight, Laiko felt like this was her responsibility that Den got trapped like this. I could have tried to save him. I could've slashed a card, but I was just too slow.

But she knew enough by now and she had plenty of time to be able to help him. The girl's legs almost collasped under her when she finally got to the smoke filled cube of light. It was so dense and thick that her eyes couldn't make out any sort of features of her partner. "Card slash!" her voice wavered as she announced it, "Angewomon's Gift!" She sniffled with relief when its effects took place and a golden light in the outline of a figure could be seen amongst the smoke. It hadn't disappeared yet and Den had not yet made any sort of notion that he was still alive. But the thought of those wounds healing put a pinch of relief in her mind.

---

Name: Angewomon's Gift
Number: U01
Type: Single Target
Duration: Remainder of the battle
Effect: Increases the affected Digimon’s endurance by 50%, and restores 50% of their health.

---

"Well, Ryuha-san," she got up off her kness and turned to her while she, for the first time she came to the Digital World, slipped into her native tongue, "That was quite the counter. Well played." Laiko forced herself to smile just a little bit, even when she didn't feel like smiling at this moment. For now it seems that this battle would be put on hold since there was nothing to determine what Den's fate was and Hitami couldn't possibly penetrate the box holding him hostage.

((*sighs* And I think with that post I might very well have my RP mojo back! ^^))

((Okay then, all that's left is to get this finished battle cleaned up I guess. After carefully reading Driving Snow, I'm certain that it can be used on card effects from turns other than the most recent one, as long as the effect is still tangible on the field. It's kind of questionable if Divine Box would still be counted as your card after Reverse, but since we're just avoiding a couple turns of waiting for said box to wear off, I'm sure it's fine. Besides, I've got too many threads going right now, and I really want to get one or two closed.))

Hitami stood proudly outside the box, breathing heavily, but knowing the combo had been succesful. There was no way to know how badly hurt Den was with the box filled with smoke. The odds were high that he would have to quit after that hit though. All they would have to do is get rid of the box so they could know for sure. Even if he, for whatever reason, could keep going, it would be best strategically to get him out of the box so he could be attacked.

"Thank you," Ryuha said at the compliment to her card strategy, a small smile creeping across her face. Waiting for the box to vanish wasn't any more tolerable to the young woman than it was for her saurian companion though, so she pulled out one card from her deck and scanned it through her d-ban. A sudden gust of wind and snow rushed over the box, before vanishing along with it. The cloud of smoke rapidly cleared, leaving Den's status to be revealed.

-----------------------------------------
Name: Driving Snow
Number: U44
Type: State
Duration: N/A
Effect: Negates the effect of one of the opponent Tamer’s cards, but does not work if that card is associated with the element of ice (Snow Tornado, Icicle Lasso etc).

((Short, but accomplishes the simple task it's meant to.))

((I completely don't mind about using that card on Divine Box since both of us know that the battle is over. And after this thread, I don't think I'm going to do any more training until I get my second partner. Den's got far too much DEP as it is. XD))

The bitter snowy winds bit at Laiko's exposed flesh as it whipped up from behind her and and caused the golden box surrounding her partner to disappear into the air. The smoke that it contained spread out into the open air, but that soon was taken by the high winds. All that reamined in that area was a small bundle of golden fur.

"Den!" The girl rushed back over to her fallen partner. He was still in his child form, which was a bit of relief for the young girl, but his fur was tattered and burned in many places. Laiko expected his injuries to be much better than that, seeing as he did look unconscious on the ground, but those bombs probably did too much damage for the poor Digimon at such a close range. If she hadn't slashed that healing card moments before, who knew what kind of shape the Labramon would have been in.

Although he looked sound alseep, the voice of his tamer made him stir. "Lai?" he asked the air quietly with his eyes still closed.

Her eyes almost welled up with tears once again as the girl thrust her body to embrace the canine Digimon. "YOU'RE OKAY!"

"Oww, OWW! WATCH IT LAI!"

"I'm sorry," she loosened her grip on his head and body for only a few moments before tightening it once again, "I was just really worried that those bombs, well....." She would have finished that sentence if she could, but Laiko did want to think about the other possibilities that could have happened to Den.

"GET OFF MY PAW DARNIT!"

Once Laiko was finished hugging the digi-life out of her partner, she stood up and faced Ryuha while Den struggled to get to his own feet. It would be easier to travel if Laiko uploaded him onto her D-Ban, but the canine rejected the offer. He had already had enough help from that last card Laiko slashed and did not feel like troubling her with himself when he could be completely independent. Of course, this normally simple action proved to be a little more difficult than normal thanks to his injuries, but the Labramon lifted himself from the ground all the same.

"I guess, I should thank you for this battle." Laiko bowed politely to the victor and when her body was erect once again, she offered a hand to shake. "You're an excellent tactician, and showed me that I really do need to cover my bases more in terms of strategy. I only wish that I could have given you a better battle."

Den, who was now standing beside his tamer, only scoffed at what she said. But he still turned to the Agumon and bowed his head by only an inch. "Yeah, you're pretty good. I'd like to battle you in the future, but I think I'll be the victor then, Dino-breath."

His immature name calling only received a tired sigh from Laiko. No matter what shape he's in, Den always has something to complain about, or make fun of.

((I suppose since the actual battling is done, we can get this graded.))

((0.1+ DEP for Hitami/100 monies and a Common card of her choosing for Ryuha; 150 monies and two D-ban cards - one Uncommon and one Rare - of her choosing for Laiko. Excellent quality posts and character development throughout the thread from both sides. Good job, girls! :^,^:))

((Sigh, now unless Hitami magically gets .3 from Double Battle, I'll have to do an extra match before my next adventure.))

Adras chuckled under his breath at the comedic scene between Laiko and Den. They were a funny pair, and rather tolerable all things considered. He hoped silently for a chance to battle them some day, although if Hitami could beat them, surely the arrogant crab would demolish them. Smiling at this thought, he just held on tightly as Ryuha stepped forth to meet up with Hitami and their opponents.

"I guess, I should thank you for this battle. You're an excellent tactician, and showed me that I really do need to cover my bases more in terms of strategy. I only wish that I could have given you a better battle."

"Heh," Ryuha chuckled, returning both kind gestures offered by Laiko. "You did a good job, and you were a fairly fun match. I'm sure you'll get better with a bit of experience."

"Yeah, you're pretty good. I'd like to battle you in the future, but I think I'll be the victor then, Dino-breath."

Hitami's eyes began to sparkle as she looked at the grumpy dog. "Awww, he's so cute!" The Agumon, her serious demeanour gone along with the battle, rushed forward to grab onto Den and hug him, whether he liked it or not. "Can we keep him Ojou-sama?!"

Ryuha smiled down at her second partner's real personality showing through in an all too typical fashion. "No 'Tami, I'm afraid he has to stay with Miss Laiko."

((Oh gosh this was an awkward post.))

Laiko nodded as Ryuha mimicked the gestures, and smiled at both the older tamer and the Agumon that was her partner. But it wasn't until Hitami rushed forward to give Den a hug did the girl actually start to to giggle. The saurian, it seems, enjoyed the Labramon's antics and behaviour far more than his tamer did.

"Get offa me!" the canine Digimon struggled his paws through her grip and pushed on her limbs to get her off. He didn't look to happy about being touched like that, from another Digimon no less, but when a little pink tinge showed through his fur, well, it would be enough to make people think otherwise. "I'm staying with her." He jerked a claw at Laiko's direction just after Ryuha answered Hitami's question of 'keeping him.'

"I guess we'll part ways for now. Good bye Ryuha!" The duo began to make their way to the exit before Laiko remembered the Digimon. "Bye Hitami! Adras!"

Den also raised a paw behind him and copied Ryuha's own nickname for her first partner. "See ya later Snotfish and Dino-breath!"

((Oops, forgot about this. Thanks SK. I've already taken Angel's Staff and The Aegis.))

((I'll be taking Frost Breath, thank you very much.))

"See ya later Snotfish and Dino-breath!"

Adras practically jumped up out of his half-asleep state at this reference to him. "What?!" He bellowed loudly, "no one but Nee-chan gets to call me that! You're toast mutt! I'm going to pound you for that!" The crab jumped down from his tamer's head and started scuttling as quickly as he could after Laiko and Den, a pointless action considering how much faser than him they were.

Adras didn't get very far though, before Hitami scooped him up in another of her clumsy hugs. "Ohhhh, you don't have to be jealous Onii-chan. I still think you're cuter."

The Ganimon's ever so light blush was easily missed as he struggled wildly to escape Hitami's grasp. "I don't care about that! Let me go so I can beat him up!"

Ryuha shook her head in a typical moment of mild amusement. "Come on you two, we've got a lot of stuff left to do today."

With that, the blue-haired tamer led her partners forth, listening in as Hitami repeatedly cooed "never" at Adras's continued pleading to be let go.

((The ending didn't come out quite right, but at least I've got one thread done.))