Food Run
“Fox Leaf Arrowheads!”
“Dino Slash!”
Sharpened leaves met steel blades as Renamon’s attack hit a Dinohumon. The Dinohumon whacked the arrowheads away with one of its blades as if they were tennis balls, then lunged toward Renamon, who quickly dodged it.
“What is it with this street corner?” Tian spat out, dodging an attack from one Dinohumon and shooting a beam of light from her D-Coder toward another, hitting it in the face. “If it isn’t gang members or drug dealers, it’s the Midnight Army Digimon out to get us!”
“It can’t be helped,” Ryou answered, slamming his Arnis stick against a Dinohumon’s arm. “We need food, and the Manila Mart around the corner is the only place that’s open during a crisis like this!”
“The store owners must be insane to set up shop in a place like this,” Tian said scathingly, shooting another light beam from her D-Coder and fragmenting a Dinohumon.
“That’s… debatable,” Ryou replied, knocking another Dinohumon off its feet with his Arnis stick.
“In any case, it’s a good thing we sent Kei and Rion ahead of us before the fog rolled in,” Tian added, dodging a giant steel blade. “They should already be at the store, safe and sound.”
More Dinohumon appeared as the fight dragged on, and eventually the three of them were outnumbered.
“There’s too many!” Renamon said in a strained voice.
“We need firepower!” Tian shot back. She held out her D-Coder and pointed it in Renamon’s direction. “Ready, Renamon?”
“Ready!” Renamon began to glow brightly.
Tian’s D-Coder beeped and glowed a bright yellow, and the two Crests around her neck shined with a brilliant light.
“Renamon, warp evolve to… Sakuyamon!”
The light faded to reveal Sakuyamon’s humanlike priestess form, clad in yellow armor. She lifted her staff and pointed it at the horde of Dinohumon.
“Izuna!”
A cloud of fox spirits erupted from her staff, fragmenting every Dinohumon it touched and causing them to delete and fade away in a shower of data particles. Sakuyamon twirled her staff and pointed it at the remaining group.
“Anyone else?” she said sternly.
The rest of the Dinohumon backed away, then promptly turned around and ran. As their footsteps faded away, a bright light enveloped Sakuyamon and she reverted back to Renamon.
“Good riddance!” Tian shouted.
Ryou looked around. “It looks like the fog is lifting,” he said.
Tian nodded. “Let’s get out of here before something else decides to attack us!”
They turned the corner and ran toward the Manila Mart, situated at the end of the street. Kei and Rion stood waiting outside, along with Terriermon and Guilmon.
“What took you so long?” Kei asked. She stared at the three of them curiously.
“We got ambushed,” Tian said wearily.
“By the gang members and drug dealers, or by Digimon?” Rion asked.
Tian sighed.
“Let’s go inside,” Ryou said.
As they opened the door, the elderly woman at the register looked up and smiled. “Ah, Ryou and Rion! Back again?”
“Hi, Lola!” Kei exclaimed.
“Kei!” The elderly woman said with a smile. “Long time no see! You’ve grown!” She gave a welcoming nod to Tian, then spied Terriermon, Guilmon and Renamon. “Oho! It’s you again!” She turned toward the back of the store. “Dear! The aswang are back again!”
An elderly man walked slowly toward the register, an excited look on his face. “Welcome!” he said.
Ryou chatted with the woman in Tagalog as he made his order, while the man looked at Tian curiously.
“Haven’t seen you around before,” he said, “Are you a friend of the family?”
Tian nodded. “Uh… yes.”
“Ah.” The man nodded. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
Tian whipped her head toward the man in shock. “W-what?” she stammered. “No!”
“Ah… that’s a shame,” the man said. Then he beckoned her closer and whispered in her ear. “You see that guy over there?” he asked, pointing at Ryou. “He’s single!”
Tian turned a bright shade of red. “I… um… what?”
“Don’t mind Lolo,” Rion said cheerfully, carrying an armful of chips and chocolate snacks, “He’s just pulling your leg!” He winked at Tian, then walked away.
“Wait for me!” Guilmon said, his arms full of bags of pandesal.
Ryou finished paying for the order, then turned toward the others. “Time to go,” he said, handing each of them a white plastic bag.
“Bye, Lola and Lolo!” Kei sang out as they walked out the door. The elderly couple waved back.
Wisps of fog lingered in the streets as they approached the dreaded street corner again. “Eyes and ears open, guys,” Tian said softly, “There might be someone waiting to jump us again.”
They turned the corner, and luckily, they made it through unscathed and unaccosted. As they neared the Infinity Lab building, where everyone else waited, they breathed sighs of relief.
“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!” Kei said, swinging her bag of food.
“I’m not sure I could keep doing this,” Tian said tiredly, “Having to fight to the death for every meal. It’s so exhausting!”
“At least we get delicious food when we win,” Rion said, smiling. “And a nice long rest afterward!”
“True…” Tian said softly. She looked over at Ryou, who smiled shyly at her. She remembered the old man’s words.
He’s single!
Tian filed that piece of information away for later, then smiled back.
Notes:
“Lola” and “Lolo” are affectionate terms for Grandma and Grandpa in Tagalog, while “aswang” are mythical shape-shifting creatures in Filipino folklore.