#(YAMATO ' I can't believe you *didn't tell us* ')

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x54 - A New World / The Fate of Two Worlds

Previously on Digimon Adventure: The true horror disrupting the Digital World was revealed. An eldritch thing of madness, beyond comprehension. Well, initial comprehension. The kids were having a hard time, so Apocalymon put them in the time-out corner until they could get their heads on straight.

Now they're back and ready to do this. This time's for real.

This episode's off to a bit of a different start. Instead of the typical recap followed by title card, we open straight into a fast-forward of the evolution sequences from the end of the previous. Along with Show Me Your Brave Heart kicking us off right from the get-go.

From there, Taichi and the others reconstitute themselves and we pick right up.

Apocalymon: What!? Taichi: WE WON'T LET YOU HAVE YOUR WAY!!! Apocalymon: That's impossible! You can't evolve without your Crests! Yamato: Don't underestimate the Chosen Children! Taichi: You got that right! Come on! Let's go, team! Team: YEAH!!!

Taichi raises his fist, and the other seven raise their fists in unison. The time for the final battle has come.

An interesting note is that Apocalymon sincerely believed the kids needed their Crests to evolve their Digimon. They did not understand the lore behind how the Crests work. Which sort of implies that the Original Five did not screw up as hard as our team did. XD

In the dub:

Izzy: We're back! Apocalymon: What!? Tai: You're dealing with the new and improved DigiDestined! Apocalymon: That's impossible! How did you Digivolve without your Crests!? Matt: Nothing's impossible. At least not when you've got your friends helping you! Tai: You said it, Matt! Now! Time to fight! Team: YEAH!!!

Minor differences with Matt's line but nothing noteworthy.

From here, it's go time. The Children are done discussing Apocalymon's background lore. They're ready to kill this thing. The Chosen Children ride their Partner Digimon into battle.

Which results in some... unintended hilarity.

Most of them fly through the void, but for some reason MetalGarurumon decides to run despite being flight-capable. It's not clear what his heavy tromping footsteps are running on, nor how he is casting a shadow on it, but there he is.

WarGreymon, AtlurKabuterimon, Lilimon, and the angel pair all fly.

Zudomon offers no indication of how he is moving. He remains entirely stationary and rockets forward through the void, squatting his way through space.

Meanwhile, for their part, Apocalymon remains motionless and lets the children come at them. The only movement comes from their cape flapping in the wind. ...kinda drafty in the void, I guess.

The dub adds no dialogue here and lets the silence do all the talking. The only difference is that, as usual, they didn't notice the sound effects so MetalGarurumon's footsteps and Apocalymon's flapping cape make no noise. No real loss there. Those things are confusing anyway.

Once the children get close enough, Apocalymon attacks.

Apocalymon: DIE!!!

Apocalymon thrusts one of their DNA chain claws forward to attack, but before they can do anything, Zudomon blows it off with Hammer Spark.

Jou: We'll handle the tentacles! Mimi: Let's join in, Lilimon! Lilimon: Sure!

Mimi hasn't quite realized the logistics of how their handholding flight is going to work in combat, but Lilimon has. Without warning, she grabs Mimi's wrist with both hands and flings her past the tentacle, to free up her arms for Flower Cannon.

Mimi: Huh, what are--UAAAAAGH!!!

She catches Mimi after she's destroyed the tentacle, but her Partner Child is not impressed.

Mimi: (whining) AWWW YOU'RE AWFUL!!! Lilimon: (smugly) Well, I am your Digimon, Mimi. Mimi: (grumbling) And just what is that supposed to mean?

And so this adventure concludes the way it began: In ways that are extremely upsetting for Mimi-chan. XD

Obviously, Apocalymon does not tell the children to die in the dub. In fact, he mutters to himself rather than addressing them.

Apocalymon: They're doomed.

This is the dub's segue to the first commercial break. Upon return, he calls an attack.

Apocalymon: So you wanna fight!? DEATH CLAW!!!

He can't tell them to die but he can still use the name Death Claw. Weird.

This creates some ambiguity for the previous episode's renaming of Touch of Evil to its original name Death Claw. Zudomon destroys his claw before it can do anything so... Are they indicating he was going to conjure Devimon to use Death Claw like he did last episode?

Or did the dub team forget about Touch of Evil, and think that "Death Claw" is a unique Apocalymon signature move, signifying attacking with his DNA chain claws?

Or is it like Clown Trick and Trump Sword where they call the one name for a bunch of different attacks, many of which have nothing to do with the original move?

IDK.

(Zudomon destroys the claw with Vulcan's Hammer) Joe: Alright! Your hammer nailed it! Mimi: We can help out too, right, Lillymon? Lillymon: Hang on! Mimi: Hang on for wha--AHHHHHHHHH!!! (Lillymon throws Mimi and destroys a claw with Flower Cannon, then catches Mimi) Mimi: Next time, Lillymon, can you use someone else as a boomerang!? Lillymon: Sorry, but I wanted to make sure you came back to me.

The dub plays this as surprisingly heartwarming rather than funny. One whole D'awww! Very different, but valid.

While Mimi and Lilimon are having it out, Zudomon destroys another chain-claw.

Jou: The rest of you, use this opening to attack the main body! Taichi: Got it--AH!!!

Apocalymon's had enough of this shit. While Jou and Mimi's backs are turned to the enemy so they can address the group, Apocalymon capitalizes by sending a claw straight for them.

Sora: JOU-SENPAI, MIMI-CHAN, LOOK OUT!!!

Jou and Mimi whip around, but it's too late.

Jou & Mimi: AHHHHH!!!

HolyAngemon opens Heaven's Gate all of a sudden. Then Angewomon destroys the claw with Holy Arrow. It is not clear what, if anything, Heaven's Gate contributed to this.

Takeru: Hikari-chan and I will protect you! Hikari: Could you please destroy the other tentacles? Mimi: Thank you! Jou: You saved us!

(Hikari wrenches one of Apocalymon's goddamn limbs off and then turns around and is the most polite and adorable thing ever to be born. The duality of Yagami Hikari. XD)

In the dub:

Joe: Tai! Now's your chance to go for his body! Tai: Alright! Huh!? (Apocalymon attacks Joe and Mimi from behind) Sora: Joe! Mimi! Look out behind you! Joe & Mimi: HUH!?!? (MangaAngemon unhelpfully creates Gate of Destiny) (Angewomon destroys the claw) T.K.: Don't worry about it, guys! We're here to protect you! Kari: We'll go for the other claws too! Mimi: Thanks, Kari! Joe: We owe you one!

A bit different. Joe only tells Tai to attack the main body while Jou instructs the rest of the team to do it. Similarly, Mimi (arguably correctly) only thanks Kari.

Kari's line is totally different. The plan is that Jou and Mimi will attack the claws while Takeru and Hikari watch their backs. T.K. gets this right, but then Kari suggests that T.K. and Kari will be attacking claws side-by-side with Joe and Mimi instead.

As agreed, Taichi and Yamato charge Apocalymon.

Taichi: Alright, Yamato! Full speed ahead! Yamato: Yeah! Taichi: CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!!!

WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon go straight down the center. In the process, we sort of get a glimpse of what MetalGarurumon's running on? A "floor" made out of waves of darkness seems to be emanating from Apocalymon. This raises further questions.

Apocalymon sends a claw their way to fend them off. However, an offscreen Flower Cannon obliterates it. Mimi and Jou are doing their jobs.

(Poor Mimi probably got tossed again.)

Sora and Koushiro join the charge on Garudamon and AtlurKabuterimon.

Sora: Koushiro-kun and I will assist Taichi and Yamato! Koushiro: Please, the two of you just focus on attacking the enemy! Yamato: Got it! Apocalymon: YOU LITTLE-- PLUG BOMB!!!

Furiously changing tactics, Apocalymon fires off Nanomon's signature Plug Bomb, machine-gunning the tiny explosives in every direction at once.

(I think that answers the question of whether Apocalymon has the moves of every Digimon or just the Big Bad Evil Guy Digimon.)

Garudamon: AtlurKabuterimon! Take Sora, please! AtlurKabuterimon: Right!

Garudamon has the same problem Lilimon has. Her Shadow Wing starts by engulfing her entire body in phoenix fire. Can't exactly do that with a rider. XD There was a critical flaw in this "Let's ride our Digimon into the fight" plan.

Garudamon deposits Sora on AtlurKabuterimon, then fires. Her phoenix-shaped projectile flies ahead of them, obliterating the Plug Bombs in their path. Once the path is clear, Sora returns to Garudamon's shoulder.

Sora: Thank you, Garudamon!

In the dub, Tai and Matt seem to be having fun with this.

Tai: Matt, this is better than any video game! Matt: I'll say! Apocalymon: DEATH CLAW!!! Lillymon: (offscreen) FLOWER CANNON!!! (Lillymon destroys the claw)

...okay, yes, I think we can confidently say that the dub does think Death Claw is an Apocalymon signature move.

Sora: Hey, why should you guys have all the fun? Save some for me and Izzy! Izzy: We'll distract Apocalymon while Matt and Tai concentrate on attacking. Matt: Watch our backs! Apocalymon: Let's end this. VIRUS GRENADES!!!

Cannot say with certainty whether they caught that "Virus Grenades" is supposed to be Nanomon's move or not. They never gave Plug Bomb a name way back when. So. Maybe they remember and are finally naming it or maybe they think this is an Apocalymon move too.

Garudamon: MegaKabuterimon, protect Sora! MegaKabuterimon: Got it. Garudamon: WING BLADE!!! (Garudamon destroys the bombs) Sora: Thanks, guys!

Most of this is pretty close to the original. The one point of contention is that Izzy volunteers to "distract" Apocalymon. That is. Not what they're doing. You don't distract the enemy by charging in right alongside the main attack force.

But we're used to Izzy being wrong about stuff. Matt gets it right when he tells them to "Watch our backs". Sora and Izzy are providing cover for Tai and Matt, just like T.K. and Kari are doing for Joe and Mimi.

As Taichi and Yamato close in, Apocalymon fires off one last shot.

Morphing one of their claws into Mugendramon and letting off Mugen Cannon.

AtlurKabuterimon: Now it's my turn! HORN BUSTER!!!

AtlurKabuterimon's there to provide covering fire and destroys it with Horn Buster.

Taichi: LET'S FINISH IT!!! Yamato: TAKE THIS!!!

Once the boys get into attack range, they unload. Cocytus Breath and Gaia Forge plunge together into Apocalymon, oblitering them. The main body of Apocalymon disintegrates into pixel dust, and it seems to be over. Most of their outer shell goes with them, leaving behind only the featureless dodecahedron that Apocalymon originally emerged as.

Apocalymon: HUAAAAAAAAAGH!!! Yamato: We did it! Jou: We disposed of the tentacles, too! Taichi: How do you like that!? Give up! Apocalymon: Hehe, you think you've won? Yamato: There's no point in acting tough! Apocalymon: Isn't there? We will perish. But we won't just perish. You smug little shits and this world will all be caught up in it too! Taichi: What!? Apocalymon: Just watch. Our ultimate special attack!

Oh, this is it! Remember, the rundown warned us of this. Apocalymon does have a signature move all their own: Darkness Zone, which reduces all things to nothingne--

Apocalymon: GRAND DEATH BIG BOMB!!!

...or that. I guess it could be that.

Apocalymon's dodecahedron collapses into a single point. This is followed by a sudden flash of light. Then an explosion, expanding outwards in every direction. An effect that looks remarkably and alarmingly like a supernova going off.

In the dub:

MegaKabuterimon: Now it's my turn! HORN BUSTER!!! (MegaKabuterimon destroys the final defense) Tai: ATTACK!!! Matt: NOW!!! (The boys destroy Apocalymon's main body) Matt: We did it! Joe: We destroyed all of his claws! Tai: Still think you're so tough!? Apocalymon: Ehehehe... Is that your best shot? Matt: You know you're beaten! Face it like a 'mon! Apocalymon: You think so, huh? Well, I may be beaten but I won't go down that easily. I'll take you and both worlds with me! Tai: What!? Apocalymon: You still haven't seen my ultimate attack: TOTAL ANNIHILATION!!!

An interesting note is that in the original, Apocalymon doesn't threaten the human world. He only says this will destroy 貴様 kisama, which is a rude way of saying "you" with the implicit meaning that the person you're speaking to thinks they're better than you, and この世界 kono sekai, which is "this world".

This is the second time Apocalymon has angrily dropped a 貴様 kisama into conversation. It's almost as if they're insecure about something. I wonder what.

So, Apocalymon only threatens to collapse the Digital World. However, it has long been established that the collapse of the Digital World would have catastrophic knock-on effects for the human world. There is, right at this moment, a tear in the fabric of reality in the sky of the human world above all places at once, where people are seeing this happen.

So even if Apocalymon doesn't directly threaten to destroy the human world, their actions will do that if allowed.

The dub cuts out the implied threat and instead makes Apocalymon fully aware of both worlds, and actively trying to destroy them both. This meshes with the previous episode, when they added dialogue of him threatening to "start [reducing all things to nothingness] with Earth".

Original Apocalymon wants to destroy the Digital World, which will consequently destroy the human world, while dub Apocalymon wants to destroy them both. No idea what his beef is with the humans. We've never successfully Digivolved either.

Well, not in Adventure continuity, anyway. I see you over there, Biomerge Digivolutions.

Anyway, where were we at? Oh, yeah. Being killed by a supernova.

As the supernova approaches, we flash from child to child, hearing their thoughts while their Crest symbols float over them.

Yamato: They self-destructed! Jou: Is this the end for us!? Mimi: IT CAN'T BE!!! Takeru: It's not the end! Koushiro: This can't be the end. Yamato: I won't let this be the end. Taichi: Like hell this is the end! Jou: NEVER!!! Sora: Because.... Hikari: We all have.... Team: TOMORROW WAITING FOR US!!!

As the children refuse to relent, their Digivices activate. Each taking a different point around the supernova, they form the eight points of a cube, made from the children's holy light. The cube suppresses and contains the supernova, until it detonates harmlessly in the void. The final trace of Apocalymon's wrath is gone.

In the dub:

Matt: He's gonna destroy everything! Joe: I should have made out my will! Mimi: I'm too good-looking to go! T.K.: I want my mommy! Izzy: There must be a solution! Matt: We won't give up! Tai: We're stronger than he is! Joe: We're a team! Sora: It's destiny! Kari: After all! Team: WE'RE THE DIGIDESTINED!!!

A bit different. Mostly lateral changes, but I don't like that they stopped T.K. from being the first one to retain hope and made it Izzy instead. Refusing to lay down and die in the face of the unwinnable is literally his Crest virtue but the dub's only ever seen "littlest kid" in him.

As the blast dissipates, the children unpack. They aren't quite sure what just happened there.

WarGreymon: What.... MetalGarurumon: ...was that? Takeru: What happened to the explosion? Koushiro: It must have been contained through the power of our Digivices. Taichi: So, does that mean we won? Yamato: Seems like. Jou: Then the destruction of the world.... Sora: It means we stopped it! Hikari: Yeah! Ogremon: HEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!!!

Ogremon runs on into the void, waving his club. He's followed by Andromon, who is carrying Elecmon.

Ogremon: You did it? HolyAngemon: Yeah, we did! Ogremon: You punks are really something else! Mimi: (pleased) Is that so? Andromon: Thank you very much. Koushiro: (embarrassed) Uh, there's no need to thank us!

Meanwhile, in the human world, those weird otherworldly Digimon that had been silently rampaging freeze up and disintegrate. The void vanishes from the sky, and the people of Earth look up at a bright beautiful sky.

Shin (Jou's Brother): You all did so well (ganbatte).

Now, at the very end of the final battle, the title card for "A New World" appears.

In the dub:

WarGreymon: What was that!? MetalGarurumon: I'm not sure! T.K.: What happened to the explosion!? Izzy: It was completely contained by the power of our Digivices! Tai: Then it's over! We actually won! Matt: Looks that way! Joe: Excuse me while I throw up. Sora: I guess we saved the world. Kari: Mhm! Ogremon: HEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!!! Elecmon: You did it! Ogremon: You're amazing! Remind me to call you the next time I have trouble with my landlord. Mimi: It was nothing! Andromon: Thanks for everything! Izzy: Well, I did have some help, you know. (Meanwhile the human world returns to normal) Jim: Great, bro! I'm proud of you.

Ogremon suggests unleashing unrelenting violence upon landlords and I approve this message.

Once the title card is past us, there are more visitors to Apocalymon's void.

Gennai and Centarumon show up.

Gennai: It looks like your world has been saved too. Kids: Yes! Takeru: What will happen to the Digimon World? Centarumon: Look carefully under your feet.

The children look below them and see the darkness peel away, revealing File Island in the distance.

Takeru: An island? Garudamon: It's File Island! Centarumon: The prophecy in the ancient ruins concluded with these words: "The first to return to life will be the island. From the island will come new skies, seas, and land. Mimi: So, what does that mean? Centarumon: It means the Digital World is being created anew.

A linguistic note: When Centarumon says the Digital World is created, he uses the word 天地創造 tenchisouzou. This is a composite of 創造 souzou which means to create something and 天地 tenchi or heaven. Heavenly creation.

He's saying that the Digital World is being "created" anew in a Biblical sense.

Then the kids notice black and white pixels fluttering around File Island.

Taichi: What's that down there? Gennai: The Digimon may also be reborn right alongside this world. Kids: REALLY!?!? Taichi: Let's go, guys! Kids: YEAH!!!

So, it seems the Digital World was destroyed utterly once Apocalymon's void emerged. That's probably why we all suddenly fell into the void. When the void erupted and spread down across the wireframe of Spiral Mountain, I guess it didn't stop there.

But with Apocalymon's destruction, the void is giving way for a new Digital World to take its place. And, of course, the Village of Beginnings lives again.

In the dub:

Gennai: Sorry I'm late. Forgot to set my alarm. Is it over? Kids: Yeah! T.K.: So what's gonna happen to the Digital World now? Centarumon: See for yourselves. Look down. Kids: Huh!? (The kids see File Island emerge) Tai: It's File Island! Centarumon: The ancient prophecy said that after the great darkness is over, the first thing to be reborn will be the island. And from that island will come the land and the seas. Mimi: Yeah, but what does that mean? Centarumon: It means that the Digi-World will start over from the beginning. Izzy: What's happening down there? Gennai: The Digi-World is being reborn as are all the Digimon from the past. We're gonna need a lot of diapers! Kids: Huh!? Tai: Alright! Let's go! Kids: Right!

Pretty much the same. "The Digi-World will start over from the beginning" is a pretty solid pragmatic translation of "The Digimon World is undergoing heavenly creation again."

The children and their cohort return to Primary Village, where Elecmon's ecstatic to see it alive and vibrant again.

Elecmon: The village is back to normal!

A shower of Digitama from all the Digimon who died since Spiral Mountain was erected rain down across the village.

Takeru: IT'S FULL OF DIGITAMA!!! Patamon: YAY!!!

Takeru and Patamon race into the village, eager to start rubbing some eggs.

Elecmon: HEY, WAIT FOR ME!!!

The three set to work, rubbing the shit out of those eggs. Hikari, a bit lost about what's happening here, approaches them.

All Three: (singsong) Rub-rub! Rub-rub! Hikari: What are you guys doing? Patamon: We're hatching the Digitama. (A Digitama rolls to Hikari's foot. She picks it up.) Hikari: Are you going to hatch all of them? Elecmon: That's right! A lot of Digimon will be born from these Digitama. The future of the Digimon World begins right here!

Hikari looks up to the sky and sees the Digitama continuing to rain into the village. She smiles brightly, now understanding.

Takeru: You should join us, Hikari-chan. Hikari: Okay! (rubs and sings) Rub-Rub! Group: Rub-rub!

In the dub, Sora kicks us off with a reminder of what this place is.

Sora: It's the Primary Village! Elecmon: And everything's back to normal. Joe: Looks like it's starting to rain. T.K.: (excited) Whoa! A Digi-Egg storm! (T.K. and Patamon race into the village) Elecmon: Wait, those eggs are my responsibility! (The boys start rubbing eggs) T.K.: Are you gonna count them all? Elecmon: Are you crazy? You never count your Digi-Eggs before they hatch. Kari: What are you doing? Patamon: Helping these Digi-Eggs hatch. (A Digi-Egg rolls to Kari's feet. She picks it up.) Kari: Are you going to hatch them all? Elecmon: What do you suggest? We make an omelet? Of course we're going to hatch them all! The future of the Digi-World depends on it! Kari: Yay! Patamon: You can help! Just rub them gently.... (Kari starts rubbing Digi-Eggs) Kari: This is fun! Elecmon: We should be done in about sixty years.

Some decent laugh lines added but otherwise pretty similar. The omelet crack and "sixty years" got me. XD

Though the tonal difference between "The future of the Digimon World begins here" and "The future of the Digi-World depends on this!" is a bit eyerolling. Americans gotta have everything fierce.

The rest of the group watches, unhelpfully opting not to join in the hatching spree.

Ogremon: Now Leomon will be born again. Mimi: Really!? Does that mean Piccolomon, Whamon, and the others will be too? Gennai: Uhhh, eventually.

Gennai, your tone of voice is really bringing the mood down. Do not shit in our pancakes right now. We earned these pancakes.

Andromon: What do you think, everyone? Should we take a photo to commemorate the occasion? Taichi: A photo!? Let's do it! Sora: Good idea! Yamato: I'm in! Koushiro: I'll grab Takeru-kun and the others. (Koushiro exits) Gennai: A photo, huh? (excited) Yehhhhh!

Gennai fusses with what passes for his hair, and we cut to everyone lined up for the picture. Hikari even brings over the little yellow Digitama she's been rubbing. The gang's all here, except Andromon because he's taking the photo.

Taichi: Alright, go ahead! Andromon: Hai, chizu! Digitama: (wiggle wiggle) Hikari: Huh? Takeru: What's wrong?

It's falling a bit out of style since smartphones have replaced cameras and the entire culture of picture-taking is different. But the phrase "Hai, chizu!" has a long history with Japanese photography.

It translates to "Okay, cheese!" So it's similar to the western custom of saying cheese, but it has a different purpose. In the west, it's the people having their photos taken are supposed to say cheese because the mouth movement to enunciate the word stretches their mouths into a wide smile. But in Japan, it's the picture-taker who says cheese.

The phrase "Hai, chizu" is spoken at a rhythmic cadence, with the understanding that the photo will be snapped on the syllable "zu". So Japan uses this sing-songy phrase as a metronomic countdown. It's so everyone's on the same page, holding still, and looking their best when the picture-taker hits zu.

Youth culture has changed a lot in the twenty years since this show came out and I don't think this is in style anymore. But it was when the show was made.

So Andromon counts down and snaps the picture. However, right as we hit zu, the Digitama in Hikari's hands suddenly hatches. The resulting photo captures the shocked and startled reactions from the group around her.

(It's a Botamon like how Hikari's first Digitama was a Botamon! Ending where we began!)

Absolutely nobody cares about the picture anymore; All eyes are on the newborn Botamon in Hikari's hands.

Tailmon: What happened!? Elecmon: It hatched! Patamon: So cute!

In the dub:

Ogremon: This means Leomon will be reborn. Mimi: That's right! And Piximon, Whamon, and Wizardmon too! Gennai: Yes, someday. Andromon: We should take a picture to commemorate this special occasion! Tai: A picture! Good idea. Sora: Sure, let's do it. Matt: Yeah, I'm in. Izzy: Great, I'll go get T.K. and Kari then. Gennai: Gotta shine my head! (Gennai fusses with his hair and everyone gathers) Tai: Alright, we're ready! Andromon: Say "cheese"! Digi-Egg: (wiggle wiggle) Kari: Huh? T.K.: What's wrong? (Digi-Egg hatches right as picture is taken) Gatomon: What is it? Elecmon: Look, it hatched! Patamon: It's so cute!

This is almost exactly word-for-word. In fact, it skews so close to original script that they don't even westernize the photo-taking. Not one of the kids says "cheese" after Andromon tells them to.

There is one subtle difference that stands out to me, though. Mimi. Uh. Mimi shouldn't hold her breath for Wizardmon.

...

(˙ ◠ ˙)

...

Welp, time to hit the ol' Digi-Trail. Ogremon, pulling a sandogasa and cloak straight out of his asshole, says his farewells.

Ogremon: Well then.... Kids: Huh? Mimi: (confused) What are you wearing? Ogremon: I'm not hanging around here anymore. I'm going traveling! Palmon: Why!? Stay with us! Ogremon: Not happening! A proud Virus-type like my glorious self doesn't hang out with Data and Vaccines like you punks! Ha! Later!

After once again very pretentiously referring to himself as ore-sama using a super-respectful honorific meant for venerating respected superiors and elders, Ogremon overdramatically vanishes into the distance.

To answer Mimi's question, the traveling cloak and straw hat are stereotypical Japanese wanderer attire, popularized by people who lived their lives on the road during medieval Japanese history. A common look for ronin or masterless samurai types, but also worn by merchants and other kinds of travelers.

Piyomon: He left. Gomamon: He just can't be honest with himself about his feelings. Tentomon: I just can't get my head around those Virus-type jerks. Gennai: Now, don't say that. When Agumon became SkullGreymon through Dark Evolution, I said that it was the wrong evolution. However, what I meant was that it was wrong for your purposes. There is no right or wrong way to evolve. Agumon: (unconvinced) Hmm. Maybe next time, I'll evolve into a Virus-type then. Other Partner Digimon: NO ANYTHING BUT THAT!!!

This is a joke about the fact that MetalGreymon, prior to the anime retconning the species and changing their color scheme from blue to red, was a Virus Digimon. MetalGreymon (Blue) still exists as a separate species but doesn't come up in games and stuff nearly as much.

In the dub:

Ogremon: I'm outta here! Kids: Huh!? Mimi: What do you mean, you're leaving? Ogremon: It's time to hit the road. Take a hike. Make like a tree and leaf. Palmon: But Ogremon, why not stay here with us? Ogremon: Look, I'm a Virus-type Digimon. You guys are Data and Vaccine types. If I hang around here too long, I'll get sick to my stomach! Catch you later! (Ogremon teleports away) Biyomon: He vanished!

Presumably for purposes of animation budget, as Ogremon leaves, his animation cel just sort fades, becoming increasingly transparent until he disappears completely. Easy shorthand for him disappearing into the distance.

For some reason, the dub decides to take this super literally. They add a warping sound effect to him fading away, which Biyomon then reacts to. Canonizing for their continuity that Ogremon's been sitting on the ability to teleport this entire time.

(What a dick! Really would have come in handy when we needed to transport Mimi's army up to the Dark Masters' base.)

Gomamon: He just can't face the fact that he likes us. Tentomon: Hmph, I've never heard of a Virus giving someone a cold shoulder! Gennai: Don't say that! Do you remember the day that Agumon first Digivolved into SkullGreymon? At the time, I said it was the wrong thing to do but the truth is, when it comes to Digivolving, there's no right or wrong. A Digimon's destiny cannot be changed. That day was a real eye-opener for me! Of course, I haven't been able to open them since. Agumon: Well! If that's the case then next time I'll just Digivolve myself into the next Dark Master! Other Partner Digimon: OH NO!!! / DON'T!!! / WHATEVER YOU DO, NO!!!

In the original, Gennai clarifies his original statement about SkullGreymon to mean that this evolutionary path wouldn't work for the Chosen Children's purposes, not that it was inherently wrong for a Greymon to evolve that way. What he said was true; He just realizes now that perhaps he didn't communicate his meaning clearly.

In the dub, Gennai corrects himself and renounces his original statement. He's changed his mind since then and decided that SkullGreymon's Dark Evolution was fine, actually. Then he ends on a joke about his character design.

From here, the children leave the Village of Beginnings. They return to Seadramon's lake, with that out-of-place trolley still sitting on its own little island a short distance out.

Sora: Isn't this nostalgic? This is where we spent our first night in this world. Koushiro: That's right. Gabumon evolved into Garurumon and fought Seadramon here. Jou: Well! It all ended on a happy note, anyways. We can return to our world with our heads held high! Maybe they'll treat us like heroes! They'll make us do tons of interviews. What do you guys think? Gomamon: ...Jou....

It's only at that moment that Jou takes a vibe check and realizes this is not a triumphant moment for the rest of the group. The other children seem dour, as do their Partners. Takeru may even be crying.

Jou: Oh no, I may have misspoken. Hey, even after we go home, we can always come back! Gomamon: (more forceful) Jou.... Jou: (mutters) Right, that won't work out even if we do come back. The flow of time is different between this world and our world, so we don't even know if we'll live to see each other again. (to the others) I'm sorry.

Well, there he is. Jou's all caught up to where everyone else is. After these many months in the Digital World growing into a proud nakama, the time has come to finally part ways. Time to send the children back to their own world while the Digimon remain in this one.

In the dub:

Sora: This sure brings back memories! This is the exact spot where we spent our first night here in the Digi-World. Izzy: That's right! This is where Gabumon first Digivolved into Garurumon and fought Seadramon! Joe: Yeah! And this is the place where I fainted for the first time! Well, the first time in the Digi-World, anyway. Boy, it sure is great strolling down memory lane, isn't it? Hey, do you think when we all get back, we'll be some kind of heroes? Haha, And-and win a whole bunch of awards like an Emmy or something. Gomamon: (despondent) Joe.... Joe: Sorry! Old dopey me. Open mouth, insert foot. I mean, we can always come back, right, guys? ...right? Gomamon: ...Joe.... Joe: Oh. Heh. I forgot. Faux pas. Time passes differently here than in our world. You guys will probably be long gone! Whoops... there goes the other foot.

They play this for comedy, but still in a really sad way. Like, it almost feels like Joe's rambling incoherently to stave off a panic attack, which works pretty well for the vibe of the scene.

Suddenly, Yamato has an idea.

Yamato: Hey! Sora: What? Yamato: We still have a lot of time left in summer vacation, right? I'm thinking of staying in this world until the holiday's over. Jou: Ah! That's a great idea! Takeru: If Onii-chan is staying then I am too! Hikari: So am I! Is that okay, Onii-chan? Taichi: Yeah! Koushiro: Maybe I should too. Mimi: Me too! Sora: And me too! We have plenty of time! Koushiro: That's right. If we consider one day in this world to be the equivalent of one minute in our world and we have four weeks of vacation.... Jou: Let me do the mental math.

The sound of a cash register ringing up items plays while Jou's calculating in his head. His eyelids flicker in tune to it.

Jou: Let's see... 40,320 days... (ka-ching) That's 110 years! Mimi: Really!? Yamato: Great! Let's go on a brand new adventure! Taichi: SWEET!!! LET'S GO!!! TO A NEW ADVENTURE!!! Kids: LET'S GO!!!

(These children are gone a few days and then their parents finally get them back and they're ninety.)

In the dub:

Matt: Hey! You know, we've still got a lot of summer left. I was thinking maybe we could stay here until our vacation's over. Joe: Yeah! That's a great idea! T.K.: If Matt's staying, I'm staying too! Kari: Me too! Is that okay, Tai? Tai: Sure! Mimi: I'm staying too! Sora: Me too! Izzy: We might as well. We've got plenty of time. Since an entire day in the Digital World is equal to just one minute in the real world and we've still got four weeks left of summer vacation.... Joe: Then we can stay here in the Digital World for up to... let's see... carry the four, divide by three... a really, really long time. Izzy: To be precise, it's 40,320 days. That's about 110 years! Tai: ALRIGHT, WE'RE STAYING!!! Kids: YAY!!!

I guess the dub didn't like Jou scooping Koushiro on the Smart Boy moment. They also didn't catch the cash register visual gag, as is usual with sound effects.

It made perfect sense to me. Koushiro has a lot of practical knowledge because he's a very curious boy. However, Jou is two grades higher than him and attends classes at a private cram school to prepare him for entry into a highly-accredited middle school.

So I do buy that Jou, rather than Koushiro, is the one who can suddenly pop off mathematic calculations off the top of his head. Koushiro is smart in an "I read the entire Wikipedia front to back because I wanted to know why frogs are that color" sort of way, but Jou-senpai is the most formally educated.

Unfortunately, as much as the kids may want to stay, it's not going to be that simple. Agumon notices a shadow passing over the sun.

Agumon: Huh?

The kids all look up to see the shadow. While they're doing that, Gennai and Centarumon slip into their midst with sick ninja skills. Very impressive, especially considering Centarumon has hooves.

Koushiro: That's a solar eclipse, isn't it? Gennai: Children, I have something I must tell you. Mimi: Something to tell us? Is it good news or bad news? Gennai: It's probably... bad news.... Kids: (collective groan)

And he'll be right here to deliver the new new dire news about their predicament RIGHT AFTER THESE MESSAGES.

(Apocalymon's big sister EvenMoreApocalymon just showed up and is trying to eat the sun! She's Hyper-Evolved to a stage beyond even Ultimate Evolution! In these next fourteen episodes we will--)

In the dub:

Agumon: Hey, look! (Everyone looks at the eclipse) Izzy: It's an eclipse! Gennai: Yes, it is. And there's something very important you should know about it, children. Mimi: I know! You're not supposed to look directly into it! Gennai: True! But that's not all. This eclipse could cost you your lives....

Gennai plays this even scarier than the original does.

I love his reaction to Mimi trying to guess about his impending topic. She isn't right but she's not wrong, and he validates her for that.

The dub also takes their second commercial break here. Then we return from commercial to unpack this new development.

Koushiro: Isn't this just an eclipse? Centarumon: That part that's in shadow is the gate that connects us to your world. The eclipse will end in two hours. Yamato: So what? We'll just wait for the next time a gate opens. Mimi: That's right! We still have 110 years of summer vacation left. Gennai: Actually, the arrival of Apocalymon has caused the flow of time between your world and the Digital World to align. Taichi: WHAT!?!? Yamato: B-But what would happen if we stayed anyway!? Jou: (wincing) Yamato.... Gennai: This world may recognize your data as a foreign contamination and delete it. Yamato: Then... Gennai: I'm sorry.

THAT'S BEEN A THING THAT COULD HAPPEN THIS WHOLE TIME AND YOU NEVER THOUGHT TO MENTION IT!?!? JIJI!!! I don't think we're gonna be able to Warp Evolve our way out of this one, guys.

Not super clear from Gennai's phrasing if the reason time aligned is because Apocalymon was causing the time distortion and died, or if the alignment of time is one last distortion from the road.

Gennai says it was caused by Apocalymon arriving, not Apocalymon's defeat. Sure enough, people back in the human world did seem to be watching the Apocalymon battle take place in real-time instead of ultra fast-forward.

The subs here say it brought the flow of time "back into alignment". But the line he delivers is that Apocalymon's appearance made "時間の流れが同じになったのじゃ Jikan no nagare ga onaji ni natta no ja" between the two worlds. Which translates to "the flow of time became the same." No indication that this is how it was originally.

So I think the Digital World moving much more quickly through time than the human world was how it was originally, and this was one last distortion caused by the final battle with the reality-breaking Apocalymon.

In the dub:

Izzy: You mean it's not an ordinary eclipse? Centarumon: That shadow is the gate that connects your world to the Digital World. I'm afraid the eclipse will only last for two more hours. Matt: That's not a problem. We'll just wait until it opens up again. Mimi: Yeah! After all, we still have over a hundred years of summer vacation left! Gennai: Actually, when Apocalymon appeared, the flow of time here and in your world became synchronized. Mimi: So then we still have four weeks left, right? Matt: That's plenty of time to have fun! Gennai: Well. Actually, you only have the two hours because once the portal is closed, it's closed forever. Matt: But.... Gennai: Sorry. It's time to say goodbye.

The dub merely says the flow of time "became synchronized", which lines up with the original Japanese line.

Gennai having to reassert the two hour time limit when Mimi still refuses to accept the urgency is a good bit. XD

Though, notably, the dub only threatens that they'll be trapped in this world forever. Gennai leaves out the scary part where the Digital World will fucking delete them for being invalid data.

Homeostasis may have brought them here but they aren't welcome. The Digital World considers Homeostasis's whole "We should do an isekai" thing to be that "That's just, like, your opinion, man" meme. These kids were kidnapped, smuggled here in the back of a truck, and then made to work but now the job's done so they can get the fuck out.

It's honestly pretty rude. For a reality created by human data they have some problematic societal structures. Humans would never treat people this way!

...

...

>.< Fuck me, they learned it from watching us, didn't they?

Now on a time limit, it really is time to say goodbye.

Piyomon: When you get back to your world, say hi to your mom for me. Sora: Mhm... I want to thank you for that, Piyomon. There's always been a misunderstanding between me and my mom. But you stepped in and fixed it. I think my mom and I will get along fine from now on. Piyomon: Really. Sora: Hehe, really. Piyomon: If that's true, then I'm really glad! I thought you always spoiled me because I was constantly bothering you.

With tears in her eyes, Sora hugs Piyomon.

Sora: That's not true. It was never true, Piyomon. Piyomon: (crying) Sora! Sora: (crying) Piyomon!

I mean, it was kinda true for like one episode, but Sora was still really freaked out about every single part of being plunged into an unfamiliar wilderness to fend for herself.

In the dub:

Biyomon: I'm sure gonna miss you, Sora. Say hi to your mom for me when you get back. Sora: Sure. ...I want to thank you, Biyomon. Before I met you, I didn't get along with my mom very well. We argued. She would never let me do anything! But thanks to you, I understand her a lot better! You showed me how much my mom really loves me. Biyomon: You mean it? Sora: Hehe, of course! Biyomon: That makes me so happy to hear you say that! Sometimes I thought I was just bothering you and getting in your way all the time. (Sora hugs Biyomon and cries) Sora: Don't be silly! You weren't a bother! You're my best friend! Oh, Biyomon, I'm gonna miss you so much! (sobs)

Some minor changes but the dub hits the key points: Sora never considered Biyomon to be a nuisance and Sora's grateful to Biyomon for helping her appreciate her mother more.

Jou's turn next.

We find Jou sitting with Gomamon on the edge of Seadramon's lake, throwing rocks into the water.

Jou: You and I might not have been a good pairing, but I had a lot of fun. Gomamon: (somber) I did too. (suddenly cheerful) A-Anyways, when you get back to your world, work hard (ganbare) on your studies! Jou: Yeah....

Jou holds out his hand to Gomamon.

Gomamon: What? Jou: Let's shake hands. Gomamon: Huh? Okay.

Gomamon places his flipper in Jou's hand.

Jou: Huh? Gomamon: What? Jou: That was a hand after all!

With tears forming in their eyes, the boys laugh and gently shake hands; In the process, paying off their long-running gag about Gomamon's "hands".

In the dub:

Joe: I know it's gonna be hard to find a friend as great as I am, Gomamon, but you'll have to try. Gomamon: Not a problem. I took an ad out in the personals. I've got five interviews lined up for next week. Joe: (unconvinced) Hmm. Gomamon: What!? Joe: At least let's shake hands. Gomamon: Okay. For luck. (Gomamon puts his flipper in Joe's hand) Joe: Wow! Gomamon: What? Joe: For someone without a hand, you've got a pretty strong grip.

The hand joke is different but it's fairly close to original. However, the brief heart-to-heart talk at the start is replaced by more gags.

Next up, it's Koushiro's turn. Koushiro is with Gennai and his Mekanorimon suit at the trolley, working on something. We see Gennai welding something on the undercarriage, while Koushiro and Tentomon are in the driver's compartment.

Koushiro: Tentomon. Tentomon: (already half-crying) Koushiro-han.... Koushiro: Really... You're....

Socially awkward as ever, Koushiro trips over his own words. Finally, he falls back on old habits and gives Tentomon a polite bow.

Koushiro: Thank you very much for taking care of me.

It's a memorized gesture he's falling back on because he can't find the words to say. お世話になりました osewa ni narimashita is one of those stock Japanese phrases for being polite. Its purpose is to show gratitude for someone letting you stay at their house overnight or putting you up while you're in town or somesuch.

He's doing what he always does with people and reciting memorized politeness because he doesn't know how to express himself.

Tentomon's so startled by Koushiro's reaction that he stumbles back and falls over himself. Panicking, Koushiro jumps to his feet and rushes over to Tentomon. He's so concerned for Tentomon, he doesn't even notice he accidentally smacked his laptop off the dashboard.

All this commotion causes the windshield wipers to turn on, which silently squeegee the windshield in the foreground through the rest of the scene.

Koushiro picks up Tentomon off the floor, holding him in his hands.

Tentomon: Even right up to the very end, you still speak so formally to me. Koushiro: I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But what would be the right thing to say at a time like this? Tentomon: Hmm... That's a hard question. I don't think you need to force yourself to find the right words. Maybe it's okay to stick with formalities. Some day, your words will flow more naturally. Koushiro: You think so? I'd like that too.

Abandoning words, Koushiro pulls Tentomon in for a hug, and the boys cry quietly together.

The dub has the unfortunate task of needing to make this scene work with an Izzy they have not been writing as endlessly formal, polite, and socially awkward. Their plan is to drown the scene out in ob

Izzy: Tentomon. Tentomon: Yes, Izzy? Izzy: There's something I need to tell you before we part ways. Okay? (Izzy bows politely) Izzy: I love you. (Tentomon freaks out and falls over; Izzy rushes to pick him up)

When Izzy picks up Tentomon, the dub gives the windshield wipers a loud, obnoxious squeegeeing sound that's a little louder than the dialogue and very annoying.

Izzy: TENTOMON!!! Are you okay? Tentomon: Yes, I'm fine. But I was a little taken aback by your sudden display of emotion. Izzy: You're right. Sorry about that. I don't usually get emotional but this was a unique occasion. Tentomon: I understand. You don't have to say it. I know how much our friendship has meant to us and, in the name of our friendship, I need to ask you one last favor. Izzy: Yeah, what is it? Tentomon: WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN OFF THOSE WINDSHIELD WIPERS!?!? Izzy: Sure thing, pal. Anything for you. Give me a hug. (Izzy pulls Tentomon in for a hug) Tentomon: ACK! ACK! YOU'RE CHOKING ME!!!

The wipers continue loudly squeegeeing while Izzy hugs Tentomon.

So, for the dub's version, Izzy's just... suddenly overcome with a huge surge of affection and emotion he's rarely shown before. To be fair, this is a super emotional situation to be in.

Next up, Takeru. Takeru and Patamon are standing side-by-side bawling their eyes out in a field of flowers.

Patamon: (bawling) Takeru, don't cry! Takeru: (bawling) But... But... We're never gonna see each other again! Patamon: (bawling) You're wrong! The flow of time between your world and my world is the same now, so I'm sure we'll meet again someday!

Takeru's tears dry up and he looks down at Patamon with renewed hope.

Takeru: Really? Patamon: We met again after Devimon, didn't we? Takeru: Yeah... Because, at the time, I believed we would meet again. Patamon: Then believe that now! Takeru: Okay. Then let's meet again! Promise? Patamon: Promise!

Takeru shakes Patamon's little paw as the two boys put their faith in what the future holds for them. A faith that will be rewarded through the power of franchise expansion, woo!

In the dub:

Patamon: (bawling) T.K., please stop crying because you're making me cry! T.K.: (bawling) I was just crying 'cause you were crying! Patamon: (bawling) Well if you're crying because I'm crying and I'm crying because you're crying then neither one of us needs to be crying, do we? (T.K. stops crying) T.K.: Oh. Oh, yeah. Patamon: Besides, I'm sure we're gonna see each other again one day. T.K.: Yeah! Just like we saw each other again after that thing with Devimon. Patamon: That's right! We did! T.K.: Let's make a pact. We'll see each other again! Promise? Patamon: Promise!

T.K. is a lot easier to pacify than Takeru is. He's even the one who brings up Patamon's death and reincarnation in the Devimon fight, rather than Patamon having to remind him of it.

Next on the list is Yamato. (Wait, really? I figured Yamato and Taichi would go last. Huh.) Yamato sits in the grass with Gabumon at the top of a hill.

For a moment, neither of them say anything. They sit there in silence, eyes watering. Gabumon is the first to speak.

Gabumon: Hey... Yamato.... Yamato: Hm? Gabumon: Could I hear it again? Your harmonica? Yamato: (smiling, faintly) Yeah....

Yamato takes out his harmonica and plays.

The dub lets the quiet moment sit.

Gabumon: ...that says it all. Matt: Hm? Gabumon: I wouldn't mind hearing you play your harmonica one last time. Matt: Glad to.

This is perfect. The "one last time" in particular adds a heartbreaking touch.

We move from there to Taichi. Taichi can hear Yamato's harmonica playing, and the tears well in his eyes.

Taichi: Ugh. Yamato, you jerk.... Agumon: What's wrong? Taichi: (frantically wipes his eyes) Nothing! Agumon: (unconvinced) Mm.

Moving along, Agumon calls Taichi's attention to the area behind him. They're on the little island with the trolley.

Agumon: Taichi, this is it, right? This is where I torched the firewood with my Baby Flame. Taichi: Yeah, that's right. Then the flames from our bonfire burned Seadramon's tail and made him mad. Agumon: (realizing) Whuh? ...that was my fault!? Taichi: Huh? Nah. I'm the one who stuck his tail in the bonfire. Hahahaha! Agumon: TAICHI!!!

It doesn't take Agumon long for Taichi's jubilation to become infectious, and soon he's laughing too.

AT LONG LAST, EXONERATION FOR SEADRAMON. Y'all have been painting that poor sea serpent with the "evil Digimon" brush for SO LONG.

(I did not realize they were actually going to talk about this. But I've been banging this gong for so long that I'm pleased to see it come full circle.)

In the dub:

Tai: Stupid Matt and his harmonica. Agumon: What's the matter? Tai: Nothing. Agumon: (unconvinced) Yeah. Sure. (Agumon draws attention to the area) Agumon: Hey, come over here and look at this! This is the spot where I first made my Pepper Breath, remember? Tai: Remember? How could I ever forget. That's where you burned Seadramon's tail and he attacked us. And your aim hasn't gotten much better since then either! Agumon: Hey! You don't really believe that, do you? Tai: Mmmm... Well, look at the bright side. Your aim hasn't gotten any worse! Hahahahahaha! Agumon: (disappointed) Come on, Tai....

Agumon does not join Tai in laughing at his expense. This is absolutely terrible. Tai's final words to Agumon are to mock him for being a poor shot, so that already sucks.

But also, they reminisce like in the original but they do it so badly. According to the dub, Agumon used Pepper Breath for the very first time in episode 3, when he fired off a shot that hit Seadramon's tail by accident. What was he supposed to be shooting at? No idea.

This is wildly incorrect for multiple reasons. Dub team. Dub team, you dubbed that episode already. Be better.

In the woods, Hikari takes off her whistle. The whistle she's had since she was a baby, that was such a huge part of her character in the OVA.

Tailmon: For me? Hikari: Yeah.

Hikari puts the lanyard around Tailmon's neck.

Tailmon: Thank you. Hikari: It looks good on you. Tailmon: Does it? Well... Take care of yourself, Hikari. Hikari: Yeah. Until next time. Tailmon: Next time? Hikari: Yeah! Next time! Tailmon: (blink blink)

Tailmon blinks, surprised by Hikari's words, but she does not elaborate.

Very little is directly said here, and yet this brief exchange carries so much weight. Hikari encourages Tailmon to believe they'll meet again the same way Patamon encouraged Takeru. So there's a symmetry there.

But moreover, Tailmon spent years of her life alone and abandoned. So Hikari gives her something really important to her. A physical memento she can keep close to her chest and always remember Hikari by.

In the dub:

Gatomon: For me? Kari: Uh-huh! Here, let me put it on you. It doubles as a flea collar! (Kari puts the lanyard around Gatomon's neck) Gatomon: Thanks, Kari. Kari: It looks good on you! Gatomon: Gee, thanks! Oh, wow... I guess this is... goodbye.... Kari: Yeah. 'Til next time. Gatomon: Next time? Kari: Yup! That's right! Gatomon: Huh...?

It doubles as a flea collar? I have questions for Yuuko and Susumu.

This one's perfect. No notes.

Well, that's everyone. It's time to head out-- Wait, what do you mean there's one left? Who hasn't said goodbye yet?

Mimi: (distraught) PALMON!!! PALMON!!!

Mimi wanders through the woods, frantically calling out for her Partner. Some of the Gekomon notice her.

Gekomon: Huh? Mimi, what are you doing geko? Mimi: Palmon isn't here. Have you seen her? Gekomon: We haven't seen her geko. Mimi: Oh. Where could Palmon have gone? There's so little time left. (Mimi resumes her search) Mimi: PALMON!!! PALMON!!!

As Mimi disappears into the woods, Palmon pops out from the underbrush with tears in her eyes.

Palmon: Mimi....

She isn't lost. She just... can't face this moment with Mimi.

In the dub:

Mimi: PALMON!!! WHERE YOU ARE!? I WANT TO SAY GOODBYE!!! Gekomon: Huh!? Princess Mimi, what are you doing? Mimi: Palmon's disappeared. Have you seen her? Gekomon: Not recently. Sorry. Mimi: I don't understand how she could leave at a time like this. There's only a few minutes left. (Mimi resumes her search) Mimi: PALMON!!! WHERE ARE YOU!?!? I'M LEAVING SOON!!! (Palmon watches Mimi go) Palmon: Mimi....

The dub is still calling her Princess Mimi.

Soon, the time has come. The children return to the trolley, where Gennai and Koushiro are waiting for them.

Gennai: Have you all said your goodbyes? We've finished preparing for your departure. Once you get on this trolley, it will take you back to your world.

Well, the kids aren't entirely ready to go. The kids look at Mimi, who's leaning on Sora and crying her eyes out.

Taichi: You see.... Sora: Can we have a little more time? Just a little bit? Gennai: You can't just stick around. The Gate won't wait for you. Sora: But- Gennai: What's wrong? Agumon: Palmon's gone. Mimi: (bawling) STUPID, STUPID, STUPID PALMON!!!

T_T Mimi.... Palmon no baka indeed.

In the dub:

Gennai: Have you all finished saying your goodbyes? You can take this cable car home on one condition: You have to promise to bring it back to San Francisco where I borrowed it from. Tai: Well... um.... Sora: Can't we just have a little more time? Please, Gennai, do something. Gennai: I'm sorry, Sora. The gate won't wait any longer. What's the problem? Agumon: Palmon seems to have disappeared. Mimi: (bawling) Why would she run away!? Why!?

"You have to promise to bring it back to San Francisco where I borrowed it from." XD Goddammit, that was good. Raises so many logistical questions that can never and will never be answered.

I accept your premise that Gennai is probably wanted in the U.S. for grand theft auto, and that the only explanation anyone will ever receive from him is "You don't know my life."

While Mimi cries her eyes out, we cut to Palmon sitting by herself in the woods. The two Gekomon Mimi spoke with earlier find her there.

Palmon: (crying) Mimi.... Gekomon 1: Oh, here you are geko. Gekomon 2: Mimi was searching for you geko. Palmon: I know... But I don't want to see her.... Gekomon 1: Why geko? Palmon: Because it hurts too much to say goodbye. So it's better if I don't see her.... Gekomon 1: Are you okay with that geko? Gekomon 2: Are you sure you're okay with that geko? Gekomon 1: Will you regret it geko? Palmon: ...Mimi....

The Gekomon recognize how important this is, and pressure Palmon not to make a mistake that will haunt both her and Mimi for the rest of their lives next three years or so.

In the dub:

Palmon: (crying wordlessly) Gekomon 1: Palmon! So that's where you're hiding. Gekomon 2: Mimi's been looking for you! Palmon: Yes, I know. But I don't want to see her. Gekomon 1: I don't understand. Palmon: It's simple. If I don't see her, then she can never say goodbye to me. Gekomon 1: Is that what you really want? Gekomon 2: I'm afraid you'll regret it one day. Palmon: It's too painful to say goodbye....

Pretty solid. Covers everything.

When we return to the trolley, the kids are gathered outside of it while Gennai watches the sun. Which sort of implies that they did manage to convince him to give them a couple extra minutes.

Gennai: It's time. Mimi: (cries louder) Gennai: Everyone, board the trolley. Taichi: Okay....

The children sadly board the train, leaving their Partner Digimon behind on the island outside. They open the windows so they can see their Partners one last time.

Taichi: Well, guys... Take care of yourselves. Agumon: You too.

In the dub, it's Sora who kicks this off.

Sora: I'm sorry, Mimi. We can't wait for Palmon any longer. Gennai: It's time. Get on the cable car, everyone. Tai: Come on. Let's go. (Everyone boards the trolley) Tai: Well, guys, this is it. What can I say? Agumon: (gently) Try "goodbye".

Sora's line makes the implication that they got their extra time a bit more explicit.

But now, it's time to go.

A sign on the front of the trolley changes to reflect their destination. Starting with 竜の目の湖 Ryuu no Me no Mizuumi or Dragon's Eye Lake, it changes to 光が丘 Hikarigaoka and then over to お台場 Odaiba. A neat reference to the fact that Hikarigaoka is where the first rift between realities was torn.

Tailmon blows the whistle Hikari gave her, and the nearby power poles surge electricity into the trolley through invisible cables. The trolley comes to life, floating into the air and moving away along a nonexistent track.

Digimon: BYE-BYE!!! Children: GOODBYE!!!

The children hang out the windows, waving their final farewell to the Partners they have to leave behind.

The dub cuts the footage of the changing trolley sign. I guess that's fine; American kids aren't going to be able to spot the Hikarigaoka reference anyway.

Digimon: Bye everyone! / Take care! / Goodbye! Joe: Bye everyone! Tai: Don't let anyone push you around! Sora: Make sure you dress warm! Izzy: Take it easy! Matt: Bye!

I think T.K. and Kari say something as well but it's hard to make out in the cacophony of voices.

Inside the trolley, however, Mimi is still crying.

Suddenly, Mimi looks up at the faint sound of Palmon's footsteps. That. She can somehow hear over the trolley moving and everyone shouting.

Sora: Mimi-chan! Mimi: (nods, excitement noises)

Palmon runs along the shore, waving her arms frantically.

Palmon: MIMI!!! MIMI!!! Mimi: (leans out window) PALMON!!! Palmon: MIMI!!! I'M SORRY!!! Mimi: IT'S OKAY!!! IT'S OKAY, PALMON!!! GOODBYE!!! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!!! Palmon: GOODBYE MIMI--AUGH!!!

Palmon trips suddenly. The shock of which somehow causes Mimi's iconic pink cowboy hat to go flying off her head and sets off one last reprise of the series opening theme Butterfly.

In the dub, they add Palmon calling out to Mimi to better explain how she heard her approach from here.

Palmon: (faintly) MIMI!!! Mimi: (gasp) Sora: Mimi, look! Mimi: (nods, silently smiling) (Palmon runs along the shore) Palmon: MIMI!!! MIMI!!! Mimi: PALMON!!! Palmon: MIMI!!! I'M SORRY!!! Mimi: IT'S OKAY!!! DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!!! GOODBYE PALMON!!! AND THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!!! I LOVE YOU!!! Palmon: GOODBYE MIMI--WHOA!!!

For the dub, it's... sigh... "Hey Digimon" that kicks up here. They do their own version of the dramatic musical reprise but their song sucks.

The other Digimon join Palmon in racing across the shore, waving goodbye to the trolley as it disappears.

Digimon: GOODBYE!!!

An interesting creative choice is that as the trolley goes, we, the audience, remain in the Digital World. The trolley fades into the distance, rising at the very end and slipping through the gateway back to the human world just before it closes.

Then it's gone. The children are finally home, and that's the last we see of it.

The final shot is of the enigmatic train crossing that Takeru came upon when he was separated from the others, before reaching the Village of Beginnings. The one that came on but had no train that crossed. Once the trolley leaves, the crossing stops ringing and opens its gate.

Narrator: The eight children's summer vacation adventure is over. However, that does not mean the gate will remain closed. That's because this is neither the beginning nor the end of the Chosen Children's adventures. The Gate to the Digimon World will surely open again as long as we never forget the Digimon.

Mimi's cowboy hat tumbles on the wind, rolling across the sky.

Narrator: So long as you wish for it, then in your heart... no... maybe....

He was about to say that we'll carry our friends in our hearts. But then it's as if the narrator suddenly realizes that his words mean something else. As the screen goes to black, we hear the faint sound of a Digivice activating. Then the final credits roll.

All of which is a very flowery and poetic way, but also incredibly dry way of saying SEE YOU ALL IN SEASON TWO MOTHERFUCKERS!!!

In the dub, Tai takes over for the closing narration.

Digimon: GOODBYE!!! (The Children depart and we stay behind) Tai: Our adventure in the Digital World might be over for now, but that gate won't stay closed forever! I have a feeling that this won't be the last time we see our pals the Digimon! You wait and see. One day that portal will open up again and we'll return to the Digital World! (Mimi's hat tumbles by) Tai: I wonder if Agumon will remember me? I know I'll never forget him. Or the rest of the Digimon! None of us will!

As usual, there is no Digivice activation sound effect following Tai's statement. Which makes sense because his final line doesn't dramatically queue it up.

Tai puts a lot more heart into this and his parting words click right up through "We'll return to the Digital World". But after that it just sounds like he's vamping, and can't end as strongly as the beeping Digivice.

Assessment: Holy shit, we made it. The very last episode of the very first series of Digimon Adventure, and yes the departure did make me cry again. Apocalymon ate shit and died, the distortion of the Digital World was finally eradicated, and the now battle-hardened but still fun-loving children are finally going home to their terrified parents.

One thing I learned going through this is how much I did not remember or remembered incorrectly about the original series. There were a lot of surprises to be had here, even right up to the end.

Like. I could have sworn Apocalymon was, like, the resentment of species in the real world that had gone extinct. But that is never suggested in either version. In fact, Apocalymon seems blissfully unaware that the human world even exists. Their beef is solely with the Digimon.

Man, what a trip. Now I have to figure out how I'm going to tackle Our War Game before we can move on to 02.

Probably going to take it the way I did the Dragon Ball movies when I was covering that series for another site and cut it into however many chunks I need to fit episode-lengths into. Should only be two or three.

Looking forward to seeing the 02 kids again. See all-a-y'all next series.

[kaibutsushidousha]

If you're not yet bored of getting questions on Samurai Remnant, what are you thoughts on Yasuhiro and Hieda-no-Are? They are characters that totally passed by the fandom, so I would be grateful if you have any insights on them, and whether they could benefit from more screentime in FGO or somewhere else.

Two Are questions in the same day is a curious coincidence. Yasuhiro is covered here and Are is semi-covered here like one of the anons mentioned, but let's talk about him for real now.

Are in Samurai Remnant is very much just a personal obstacle for Takeru, so he doesn't get much in terms of characterization beyond being a prideful jerk with a low opinion of everyone he meets. The bare minimum we get of backstory is his goal of becoming an eternal recorder, and the fact that this desire comes from a drive to substantiate his dubious existence. Very bare-bones stuff.

His Reality Marble is interesting, I'll give him that. It reframes his concept of records from something about what happened in the past to something about the proper shape of Human Order. Are knows for a fact magecraft exists, even if he didn't in life, he has to as a Servant, but fantasy does not belong in the Age of Man. Puppet Playground is the power to enforce the agenda of Human Order for as long as he can force himself to keep the charade going. His weakness is Yamato Takeru, someone he can't deny without thinking he sounds really stupid. I love this gimmick and the spam of "As far I know, [most blatantly false statement you've ever heard]" that comes with it.

I do feel like Are has a lot of potential for comedy. His obstinate, short-fused nitpicker personality can derive a lot of funny frustration as he's force to contrast his vision of a correct history from Age of Man's perspective vs the reality of the Age of Gods. I need him to pass out on the spot because Greek Gods are spaceships. And even without that, he gets to be really funny in the DLC by predicting and foreshadowing future scenes in order to drop the smuggest "told you so".

But really, what he really needs is an expansion to his backstory. Why does he care so much about his records? Why is he so proud of his work? Why is he not historically recorded? Why is he so opinionated about magecraft not belonging in the Age of Man? Those are all questions that would benefit his character a lot if answered.

Now for my previous claim that I'd have done differently. When Fate/ doesn't tell us something about a Servant's backstory, we're supposed to look for it in the myths and history. But if we look at Are's history, the answers we get to the questions above don't gel well with his characterization. The last question is something super specific to Type-Moon's universe, so I won't include in the scope of this thought experiment, but otherwise, here's what we know about historical Hieda no Are.

The preface of the Kojiki tells the story of two men who worked together to compile the historical records: Hieda no Are and Oo no Yasumaro. Yasumaro is a well-documented noble, but this preface is the only primary source we have on Are. The preface narrates that Emperor Tenmu was very impressed with his personal manservant, the 28-year-old Hieda no Are, due to Are's perfect memory and talent for verbally describing what he saw. To put his amazing servant's talent to good use, he made Are memorize the imperial genealogy and the stories of past generations of multiple major clans, each of which that its own version that contradicted others and it was up to Are to sort out the facts and find a believable interpretation. Next, the emperor ordered the notorious writer Oo no Yasumaro to put all of Are's oral tellings to paper. And that's all we really know.

FSR puts weight to idea that Are's historicity is dubious, so we gotta address why some historians believe Hieda no Are wasn't a real person. One reason is obviously the lack of mentions of him outside the book credited to his authorship, but there's another major argument against him having existed. In 670 and 690, Japan conducted its first two census registers, which assigned a surname and a surname-associated social rank to every family in the Kinai region, except for a negligible percentage of the slaves. Hieda, however, is not a listed surname and Are's signature in the Kojiki doesn't mention his social rank. This suggests either Hieda no Are is a fake name or Hieda no Are was a lowest-rank slave, which feels unnatural when contrasted to his intellectual prowess and his job as a servant who works in close quarters with the emperor.

And believe or not, the Kojiki's two signatures are also an extremely valuable element of characterization for these historical figures. I'd go as far to say this one detail single-handedly gave me a completely different idea of how FSR should have interpreted and portrayed Are's character.

One of the Kojiki's two signatures reads "Senior 5th rank official, 5 times awarded, Courtier Oo Ason no Yasumaro", and the other reads "Hieda no Are". There are multiple theories for what happened here. It could be that the two authors personally signed however they wanted. It could be that the actual writer Yasumaro put down both names but never bothered to ask Are's rank and merits. It could be that Are really was just a slave with nothing to add to his name, but Yasumaro decided to bloat his signature anyway despite the eyebrow-raising contrast it created. Many possibilities exist, and all of them make Yasumaro look like a self-absorbed asshole. I'd even go as far to say the exact type of self-absorbed asshole FSR portrays Are as.

To me, the right call was to make the Kojiki's authors into two people in one Servant. The knowledgeable, creative, insightful, but completely submissive Are, and a Yasumaro with canon Are's entire personality. There are 3 angles where I think his character would benefit a lot from this arrangement.

Puppet Playground genuinely makes more sense as a shared Noble Phantasm to me, Are creating the space and Yasumaro dispensing the debuffs. The Reality Marble continues to be a symbol of Are's perfect memory and mission to sort out historical contradictions, but spam of blatantly false statements is resignified as Yasumaro making historical fact out of everything Are says to him regardless of what he previously believed. It'd become, in a sense, the power of trust between coworkers.

If canon Are was actually Yasumaro, his wish to historically validate Are would be a lot more sympathetic, as his goal would become to give what he considers well-earned dignity to a partner who would essentially serve as the only person respected by the character who spends all of his dialogue disrespecting others. And there's an additional element of likability to how everyone Yasumaro dismisses throughout the game are really important people while the one person he respects is just a remarkably talented slave.

As an extension of the idea of Are being the only person Yasumaro respects, the twist of Yasumaro's wish would cause a similar character reframing to what Iori and Chiemon get throughout the game. Yasumaro's gratuitously demeaning personality and Are's servile submissiveness combined can cause people to assume Yasumaro mistreats Are, but context of their ultimate twist invites the player to notice that Yasumaro actually never was disrespectful to Are even once.

[awinterrosesstuff]

There's a question many tried to answer, but what are jonin sensei supposed to teach their team ?

- The most obvious thing is teamwork. Genin when they are put in a team are supposed to learn to work together under the command of their jonin. Teamwork is the most important thing during the Bell test (that's why Kakashi used it to test his different teams for ex) and in the chunin exam, we are shown that teamwork is also tested.

- Chakra control. That's the basics. Since team 7 is the main team, I'm going to use them as an example. During the waves arc, Kakashi teaches them how to use chakra to climb trees. I tend to believe the water walking Ebisu shows to Naruto before the last part of the chunin exam is part of the "chakra control training" for a genin.

- A shinobi life... By that I mean, obeying to orders, what's a shinobi, the differents missions etc. They basically experience the life of a shinobi before going on dangerous missions.

Other examples (but they don't seem to be the usual) :

Sakura is shown in the exam to know how to dispel a genjutsu. Apparently, Kakashi taught her that technique.

It's likely that Minato did teach the rasengan to Kakashi. Kakashi doesn't explicitly tells us that, but it makes sense. Kakashi created the chidori because he couldn't add he nature to the rasengan. Plus it's from him, we learn that the rasengan is in fact an unfinished technique.

Kakashi taught Sasuke the chidori. Gai taught his whole taijutsu style to Lee. And that seems to be an exception (more like Tsunade took Sakura as her student). And Kakashi came with the idea of the training for Naruto in the second part and supervised his training (& Yamato took the role when Kakashi went with Inoshikacho to avenge Asuma). For Naruto, it happened after they became team Kakashi, he isn't really their jonin sensei at this point.

Now, I can't find an example of a genin using a technique from their jonin sensei (except for Sasuke & Lee). You can argue that Konoha favours Clan's children, and I'd agree with you.

Now team 7... Sasuke and Naruto are orphans, so they don't have their parents/clans around to teach them. Then we have Sakura. We know pretty much nothing about her clan. And she doesn't have a technique of her own in the first part. Sasuke probably learnt the Uchiha katon on his own. But it's true that he got the chidori from Kakashi.

Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto all "went" to someone else to get stronger, to learn more things. And when you consider that Konoha maybe favours clans' children, then it makes sense. When your family can't teach you techniques, then you need someone to teach you a speciality or more things that what you learn in your team. It seems a genin jounin teach the basics/general skills & knowledges of the life of ninja while masters like Tsunade and Jiraiya (I can't acknowledge Orochimaru as one since he didn't really have the master/student relationship with Sasuke) basically teach what you'll specialize in.

Sakura, thanks to her delicate chakra control and her determination, became a great medical nin under Tsunade's wing. She also specialized in evasion for her taijutsu, and obviously developped her cherry blossom impact thanks to Tsunade's guidance. There's also her mastery of the byakugo and the creation rebirth and summoning Katsuyu.

Naruto has a few things going for him like his shadow clone jutsu. And he shows a great effeciency in henge. But he learnt from Jiraiya summoning (and Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique probably since he used in the war arc), rasengan (and a bigger rasengan), trained in using Kurama's chakra and apparently in taijutsu (it seems like his style was more refined in the time skip). And thanks to Jiraiya teachings he was able to expand on the rasengan, learn sage mode & frog kata and perfect it. Etc. He also seems to have a bit of knowledge in fuinjutsu (probably for the seal that holds Kuybi ?).

And then there's Tenten and I can't really explain how she got in weaponry and who taught. I do think there's a headcanon that her parents have a shop that sells weapons. And in fact, I do think it's a nice idea. I suppose if you don't have a master or a clan to teach you techniques, you have to learn on your own. Is a Tenten an exemple of that ?

So here my thoughts, sorry that's long post.

[icycoldninja]

Can you write the DMC men with a reader who’s usually be seen as selfish and spoiled and narcissistic

As in if you dare put your dirty dishes in the sink while she’s washing and then expected her to wash it for them, she would say nothing, only massive side eyes but moments later, their dishes can still be found laying inside the sink and her dishes are already cleaned and stacked on the shelf

Or spoiling herself (99% the time) as in shopping, bowling, etc… and hardly ever spend on other people

Because of this trait, a lot of people usually see her as a narcissistic and selfish person, always prioritizing herself and her needs above others

But the truth is she was tired of trying to appease other people and accommodate to other’s need, like a literal people pleaser (she felt guilty when they’re upset when she have the right to decline) so therefore, she’s just:

“fuck all of ya’ll, my needs will always come first”

But because of enabling her over-prioritization of needs, she became quite a narcissistic:

“i mean it’s bad…but…they did me dirty first…and it’s my right to turn down other’s need for help”

So the boys just kind of give her a reality check and help her know how to establish boundaries healthily while not letting her not caring about those around her in need

Absolutely, here you go.

Sparda boys + V x Narcissistic!Reader headcannons

¤ Dante ¤

-Dante is a lazy man, as we can tell by the state of his living quarters. He doesn't mind that you refuse to do the dishes and all that--he's perfectly fine with splitting the chores.

-But the fact that you're such a jerk to everyone around you, blowing insane amounts of cash on yourself and pretending to be broke when others need your help seriously pisses him off.

-He hates people with these traits, and would sooner die than let his girlfriend stay like this.

-He understands that you're this way because you used to be a serious people pleaser who finally grew a backbone and stood up for yourself, but this is the wrong way to go about it.

-He will firmly, but not insensitively explain to you that you're a narcissist and that your behavior is awful and detrimental. You're heading down a short road to debt and poverty--he knows, because he's been there.

-He will work with you to correct your behavior, don't worry, and does occasionally buy you gifts every now and then.

■ Vergil ■

-Vergil puts his foot down the moment you start acting up, akin to the way an experienced, no-nonsense mother would handle her disobedient child.

-If you refuse to do the dishes or start spending extravagant amounts of money on only yourself and no one else, only to give him serious sass when he talked to you about it, you're getting it.

-He chastised you, quite angrily so, and told you that what you're doing is foolish, self-destructive, and will only result in your downfall. You'd better listen to him or he'll whip out the Yamato--but instead of stabbng himself to summon V, he'll smack you with the hilt.

-He knows you only act this way due to a past full of trying to please people who didn't care about you, and that your narcissism is a result of you "breaking free" from that, but refuses to tolerate such inconsiderate behavior.

-You are special, yes, but not the center of the universe, and Vergil will drill this fact into your head until you understand. You will be disciplined under his hand.

-Thanks to this extremely MOTIVATED man, your behavior is corrected in under a month. No one can believe how quickly and drastically you changed, but they love it, and you love it too, because now you see that with Vergil around, you'll never be used or manipulated again.

□ Nero □

-Nero can't stand narcissistic behavior, no matter who the narcissist might be.

-He really does love you and wants only the best for you, but your attitude is despicable. He's not gonna enable you because he knows if he does, you'll only get worse.

-He tried talking to you kindly about your behavior, but narcissists will be narcissists and refuse to listen to anyone, citing that those who are trying to help them are in the wrong, and that they are right.

-Nero eventually gave up and switched to a firmer approach--that is, holding you hostage in your own house until you listen to reason.

-He doesn't want to have to do it this way, but it's the only method he can think of that will actually work. He's gonna have to terrify you into submission and make you see the light. You will be corrected.

-Nero unleashes his inner Vergil, the terrifying power that he'd inherited from his dad, and uses this power to force you into doing chores and other things that you normally wouldn't do. While this sounds abusive, he rewards you whenever you do your chores without complaining, usually with a kiss, a present, or something of that sort.

-Your behavior improves drastically as a result, but even so, Nero still feels guilty for what he had to do and still spoils you with gifts and affection to make up for it.

● V ●

-V didn't like how you refused to do anything except for yourself.

-He wasn't all that concerned about the dishes since he was perfectly capable of washing them himself, but the fact that you were out late at night going bowling and shopping and doing God knows what made him quite upset.

-He wanted to talk with you about it, but he knew people like you wouldn't listen, so he decided upon an unethical way to get you to listen to him.

-He understood your situation and wished he didn't have to do it this way, but V was not a strong giant like the other boys. He didn't have the heart nor the strength to hold you hostage or discipline you even if he tried.

-He used his tears, which were not all forced, to convince you that your behavior was making him feel bad, and since V crying has the same effect on you as a baby crying for his mother, you actually gave in and promised to change.

-V feels very guilty for manipulating you like that, but...was it really manipulation if he truly was sad about the thoughtless way you acted?

[inneedofsupervision]

Poker & Punishments

Summary: After "The Incident" at the New Year's Tournament, Jyugo has fallen into a state his cellmates jokingly call "a brooding and moping teen." His friends do their best to get their favorite Jailbreaker's mood lifted, even if their methods are a little unorthodox. But what else can you expect? They don't call inmates of Building Thirteen a crazy bunch for nothing.

Lee! Jyugo / Ler! Rock, Ler! Nico, Ler! Uno

(Read on Ao3)

"Do you think the girls will like you better when you pull the emo-card? Because they will like me more anyway, but maybe try out a kind smile. Girls like smiles. And money. They love it when you have money."

"Go away, Uno."

"Ahh, come on. You know, it ruins my mood seeing our favorite jail-breaker moping around in a lonely corner. We know you can't do anything besides jailbreaking, but that's still not a good reason to be gloomy."

Jyugo rolled his eyes before putting his head back on his knees.

He was sitting in a corner of their cell, the one furthest away from the little table where Uno had set up and which his friends were currently using to play cards. He could feel the worried glances that Rock and Nico were throwing in his direction. But the young man only hugged his knees tighter against his chest before leaning his head against the wall. He did his best, pretending as if he couldn't feel their eyes boring into him. The teen deliberately faced away from the Brit, who had just crawled over and was now sitting on his knees beside him.

"Jyugo, you're going to make us all depressed seeing you like this. Hajime even sent Seitarou and Yamato here to ask if everything was okay. Do you know how hard it was telling them off from coming in here? You owe me, by the way."

Jyugo pulled his knees closer, leaning away from the Brit. Uno rolled his eyes at the pitiful attempt to create distance.

"At least try to have some fun and join us. We all want to see that dorky smile of yours," said Uno as he knelt before him and put a hand on his shoulder, giving it an encouraging squeeze. He didn't like to see his friend depressed. The kid needed to stop sitting alone in the corner like an outcast.

Jyugo shook the hand off and looked away. He was ashamed that he made his friends worry so much about him, but he couldn't stop thinking about what had happened at the new year's tournament. He was scared to hurt anyone, especially his friends, so it was probably better for everyone's sake when he would stay alone.

His older friend didn't share his sentiment.

"Okay, that's it, you're going to have fun now, if you want or not, I don't care," said Uno, grabbing him by the wrist.

"Uno, let me go," protested the teen. He halfheartedly tried to shake the stubborn adult off, but Uno has more power than his appearance lets you believe. He hauled the moping kid on his feet and dragged him over to their waiting friends. Before Jyugo can free himself, he gets pushed onto a cushion between an excited-looking Nico and Rock. The latter was grinning at him and putting a powerful arm over his shoulder. Jyugo looked up at the orange-red-haired man who smiled brightly at him.

"So, now that everyone's here," began Uno with a teasing grin in Jyugos direction, who only huffed at the side comment, "let's continue. We'll play poker, and the person who wins decides what the loser has to do as a punishment."

"What?"

Rock, Nico, and Jyugo stared with similar shocked expressions at a smug Uno, who was calmly mixing the cards with a smirk. The man pursed his lips with a glint, eyeing the three like a cat would mice backed in a corner.

"What? You're all afraid of losing? Or are these rules too much for you?" teased the cheeky Brit with a cackle but inwardly gave himself a pat on the shoulder for getting at least some kind of reaction out of Jyugo as he glanced over to the teen, who was now warily looking at him.

"As if," laughed Rock, accepting the challenge.

"Bring it on!"

Nico beams as he gets handed his cards, bouncing in his seat.

Uno grinned, handing the cards to his friends with almost too much enthusiasm. He glances at the Japanese, Jyugo the only one who doesn't share the excitement. The teen accepts the cards warily, not liking the mischievous gleam in his friend's eyes. The blue-eyed man had something planned again, and Jyugo knew from experience something ominous was about to happen.

They started playing, and as predicted, Jyugo saw that his chances of victory were sliming rapidly with every new move. Playing games wasn't his strong forte, and the others knew that. With a sigh, the teen glanced at the cards, frowning at the useless combination. It didn't help seeing that Rock and Nico were nothing better. While Rock could at least hold a decent poker face, his hand seems only marginally better than Jyugo's. Nico, on the other hand, played well if it weren't for the fact that one could read from his face whenever he pulled a good or bad card. Uno seemed to be in top form today, playing like a champ. After twenty minutes, Uno wins. The rest of them frowned at the Full House in Uno's hand, which the man triumphantly placed on the table. Rock groaned at his loss while Nico just smiled like always. Jyugo, however, was sitting there tensed up, anxiously waiting for Uno to declare their punishment.

"Now, after I won fair and square. It's time for the punishment." Uno declared it with a bright grin. He was enjoying all this way too much for Jyugo's taste.

"Hmmm, let me think."

Uno tapped with his finger thoughtfully against his chin, head cocked to the side while pretending to think thoroughly. He took his sweet time to come up with something, making the other three grow nervous before he suddenly snapped his finger.

"Oh, I have something! The perfect punishment to get the mood going."

Jyugo, Rock, and Nico gulped when Uno smiled sickeningly sweet at them, making them shudder. Jyugo just hoped it wasn't too absurd. Getting sent to the guard room to steal Hajimes cat still makes him shudder at the memory. When Hajime found out who had catnapped Kuu, all hell broke loose, and Jyugo winced when he thought back at how much his butt had hurt from that kick.

He got thrown out of his thoughts as Uno started to speak again.

"You're ready to hear what's awaiting you?" he asked with a sadistic smirk as he waggled his eyebrows, clearly enjoying seeing his fellow cellmates tensed up and waiting in fear. Was it luck they ended up sharing a cell with Uno? Sometimes, Jyugo wasn't sure if having the blond with them was a blessing or a curse.

"Your punishment is," began the Brit, deliberately drawing the last word, always playing into his sense for dramatics, "Rock and Nico have to tickle Jyugo for ten minutes!"

Jyugo could only stare at Uno, his mouth opening and closing without a single sound making it past his lips. Did he hear right? Has he begun to hallucinate after the last hit to the head he earned?

"What?" Jyugo asked weakly.

"Rock and Nico have to tickle you for ten minutes," repeated Uno with a bright grin as he watched with amusement how Jyugo's mismatched eyes widened in shock. He hadn't misheard. Uno was serious about this.

"B-but how's that fair? Only I get punished!" he sputtered out as the teen began to process what was dooming him, but Uno just laughed at him, no sign of pity even close.

"I won the game, and we all agreed to the rules. No one said anything against punishing only one person instead of all three," he explained smugly as the younger teen only stared at him, still not believing what he had just heard. Before Jyugo could open his mouth to protest, his friends took the chance, catching him by surprise. He falls with an unmanly yelp, caught off guard as he gets pounced at and blundered gracelessly to the ground. With a frown, he was about to tell his friends they could forget about this stupid game when a pair of golden and one of the carmine-red eyes sparkled with amusement as they looked down on him.

"Sorry, Jyugo," said Nico with an apologetic smile, "but we have to follow the rules," finished Rock Nico's sentence with a grin.

"Ten minutes, huh? That's a lot, but nothing you can't handle, right Jyugo?"

Jyugo's lips twitched unwillingly at the words. The fact that Rock was wriggling his fingers threateningly while speaking to him didn't make it better, the anticipation skyrocketing.

"Any wishes where we should start?" asked Nico, the teen acting innocent only to suddenly appear behind Jyugo, who had been so absorbed by slowly backing away from Rock that he jumped when he bumped against Nico's knees.

"No, no, no, wahait! Wait! Where's the timer? You have to use a timer!"

Jyugo's eyes locked on Rock's hands, which came closer and closer, and he tugged on his arms only to be shocked at the strength of Nico's hold. The first panicked giggles filled the room as he tried to sit up and back away from his friend's hands but couldn't turn anywhere, with Nico hindering him successfully.

"Okay, okay. I know we have a watch lying around here somewhere. I will search for it," said Uno with a fake sigh before turning around with a grin.

"Why don't you start already while I search for it? It won't take too long to find it. Is that okay for you, Jyugo?" he asked and winked at Jyugo, who was already trying to rob away from his other two friends.

"No! Thahat's not fair. N-nico, Rock, goho away!"

Jyugo rolled on his stomach and somehow twisted out of Nico's hold. The teen quickly jumped on his feet and ran to the other end of the cell. Behind him, he could hear Rock and Nico standing up and following him slowly.

"Well, then let's start, shall we?" Rock grinned as he and Nico walked closer in Jyugos direction, who was standing in a corner now with nowhere to escape.

"Can't we talk this out, guys?"

Jyugo held his hand up, his back pressed against the wall. His voice shook with a mixture of something that didn't feel like fear. His stomach did tell him he was nervous as hell until Jyugo recognized the feeling as anticipation. Until he came to that conclusion, his cellmates had put the rest of the distance between them and were standing with matching smirks in front of him. The dark-haired teen could only swallow, fighting the corners of his lips from twitching upwards. Why did the cell have to be so fricking tiny anyway? No wonder he breaks out all the time.

"Nico, Rock. Don't."

Jyugo tried backing up some more, but the wall behind him was as unrelenting as before. He was helpless and could only try arguing with his friends, but they didn't listen as Nico was coming from his right side, Rock from the other, and trapping him in their middle.

"Hehe, you're so funny, Jyugo." giggled Nico and reached out, poking the teen in the side. Jyugo jumped as he backed away with a laugh, only to stumble right against Rock. The muscled man grinned and quickly used the chance to catch the teen by locking his arms under Jyugos and successfully holding the teen in place. Due to their high difference, Jyugos body was stretched out, vulnerable to Nico's wiggling fingers that slowly crept closer.

"Noho. Nico, plehehase dohon't!" Jyugo giggled in panic, trying to pull his arms down, but to no use.

"He's laughing before you even start tickling him." laughed Rock, who felt Jyugos back pressing closer against his chest as the boy tried to avoid Nico's hands that reached out for his stomach, fingers wiggling teasingly, making the flushed teen even more fidgety.

"Unohoh!" yelled Jyugo and squirmed more in Rock hold, giggles already pouring out of him before Nico's fingers could touch him.

"Just a minute," called Uno back. He had a gigantic grin decorating his features while searching deliberately slow and snickering when he sometimes glanced over to his friends, the latter teasing Jyugo but still not touching him. Lifting his futon, he quickly found the device buried under a heap of colorful magazines.

"Look, I have already found it. Now let's see. How about we start in twenty seconds? I hope you're ready for your punishment, Jyugo."

Uno winked at the squirmy teen again, who was still trying to pull his arms down. Rock wasn't the strongest out of their cell without a reason, so he hung there helplessly in the air, waiting with growing nervousness for the attack to start.

"Ten seconds," sang Uno while watching with amusement the seconds passing by.

Jyugo gulped. He wasn't ready for this.

"Nine."

Seriously, this wasn't fair at all.

"Eight."

Why does that always have to be happening to him?

"Seven."

Nico is ticklish, too! Why doesn't anyone pounce on him?

"Six."

Oh, right, Nico can't stand too much tickling.

"Five."

But that wasn't a good excuse for why they had to do this to him!

"Four."

Just because he sucks at like every game they play?

"Three."

God, he hated these guys.

"Two."

Especially Uno. He's the worst of them all.

"One~."

Jyugo didn't even try to block the laughter. The second Nico's skilled fingers collided with his tummy, skittering them over his clothes.

"Noaahaha, Nicohohoo!" yelled the poor teen when the green-haired boy started tickling all over his tummy and sides. His touches were gentle but very effective, causing Jyugo's knees to buck under him as his strength slowly began leaving him. When the red-eyed teen scratched at his ribs, Jyugos legs gave up totally. He hung loosely in the air, only being held up by Rock's strong arms.

Nico giggled at the cute sounds his friend made whenever he tickled a pretty sensitive spot, like when he poked his lowest rib. Jyugo snorted before sweet giggles started filling the cell. Nico began to hum cheerfully and seesaw his head from side to side as he took turns poking Jyugos right side, then the left side. He worked his way up in that pattern, the right side, and again the left side from the raven-head hips up to his underarms. Jyugo twitched with every poke, and his giggling grew in quantity with the higher Nico's finger wandering on his ribs.

"Two minutes are over," informed Uno Nico and Rock while standing beside the taller American. The blond wiggled his eyebrows as he caught Jyugo's gaze. He reached out to give the teen's hipbone a teasing squeeze. Jyugo, who didn't see Uno's hand coming, bucked forward with his body, a surprised squeal escaping him, earning a round of chuckles at the hilarious but cute sound.

"Nico, would you mind taking turns with me?" asked Uno while watching Nico softly scratching at the fabric of Jyugos clothes that covered his abdomen, making the tickled boy produce a new wave of high-pitched giggles. He wanted to kick the whole thing up a notch.

Nico nodded and poked Jyugo in the belly button a last time, laughing at the squeal before taking the timer from Uno and switching places with him.

"How are you doing, Jyugo?" asked Uno with a smirk as he looked into his friend's lightly pink flushed face.

"Hahaha, I hahate yohuhu," was all the blond got as an answer from the still giggling teen, and Uno raised an eyebrow playfully.

"Bold answer from someone in your position," stated the Brit with a smirk before letting his hands shoot forward. Jyugo screamed in surprised laughter before squirming like a worm on a hook in Rock's hold as Uno attacked his exposed underarms. His arms twitched in reflex, and he desperately wanted to pull them down and protect his sensitive armpits from Uno's merciless tickle attack.

"UNO, DOHOHON'T!"

"Don't what?" asked Uno with a grin while watching Jyugo throwing his head back against Rock's chest, his eyes squeezed shut and legs kicking uselessly, not even near hitting him.

"TIHIHCKLE MEHEHE!"

"Tickle you? But that's already the punishment, Jyugo," teased Uno, and Rock and Nico chuckled at their friend's mistake.

Jyugo, who slowly realized what a dumb mistake he had made, could only shake his head from side to side and tug more on his arms when Uno started clawing at his ribs. He jumped when Uno scratched between them. It tickled so much more because of Uno's long fingernails. The latter noticed that, of course, and lightened his touch, spidering his blunt nails all over the teen's uniform that covered his sides and making him shriek in panicked laughter.

"You should eat more, you know. You're skinny."

"Shuhuhut uhup! ACK-NOHOHO, NOAHAHAT THEHEREE!"

"Oh, is this bad, Jyugo?" asked Uno, who grinned when the boy trashed even more than before as he started skittering his fingers over Jyugo's ribs.

"Does this tickle that much? Poor you."

Jyugo cursed his friend inwardly but couldn't do anything but laugh his head off. He kicked out for the Brit only to make the tickling stop for a second, but that was another big mistake.

"Whoa!" yelled Uno, who had just managed to avoid the kick and caught the leg. He glared at the panting teen, who was trying to catch his breath.

"Oh, now you're getting it," shouted Uno with mock anger. He scribbled his fingers up and down Jyugo's foot, holding the wildly kicking limp in a headlock. Jyugo screeched before breaking down into a hysterical giggle fit. He couldn't stand his feet getting tickled. It was just too much for him to handle.

"N-NICOHOHO, TIHIMEE!" was all the crazy laughing teen could bring out while trying to tug with all the power left in his body at his leg to get his foot away from Uno's evil tickling fingers.

"Three minutes left," answered Nico cheerfully.

Jyugos eyes widened at that.

Three whole minutes.

How was he going to survive that?

"Rock, would you lay him down for me?" asked Uno. He kept painfully slow, stroking with the help of his nails up and down Jyugos arch, making goosebumps appear all over the boy's body and causing him to giggle furiously.

Rock nodded and let himself sink till he sat cross-legged on the ground of their cell with Jyugo half in his lap.

"I said that Nico and Rock should have to tickle you, so it's only fair when it's Rock's turn now, but you know, for that kick just, now I think it's only fair when we all tickle you," said Uno, and playfully squeezed Jyugos big toe, making the teen pull his leg free with a squeak.

Before Jyugo could protest, he got pinned down to the ground, completely immobile. Rock held his hands down with one of his while Nico took place on his hips, facing Rock with a bright grin. Uno stayed where he was and took Jyugo's feet into a firm arm lock. They all started simultaneously, and Jyugo thought he would die laughing.

Rock was tickling his neck with his free hand while Nico paid more attention to his tummy and sides, and Uno switched from tickling under his knees and his toes. Jyugo was in tickle hell, and when the tickling finally stopped, he was lying with his eyes closed, panting on the floor of their cell, an arm thrown over his face, trying to hide his bright red face and the tear streaks on his cheeks.

"Remind me never to play anything with you guys again," he said with a hoarse voice, which earned him amused chuckles from his friends.

[beanghostprincess]

headcanon time: i wrote a post about how it’s possible that saboala have been dating for a long time but oda hasn’t told us yet. what if koala was crying over sabo sleeping for three days just because she didn’t want to lose her wonderful boyfriend??? (i know friends can do this but i love them so much as a ship and i want them to be canon so bad adiós)

Look, Oda isn't making it canon because that's how he works. He once said that he believed he wasn't good at writing love stories and, to be honest? Average writer behavior. Imposter syndrome. This man has such a powerful way of telling stories and especially about love (platonic or not. But I'm talking about romance here). And he never says it's romantic but damn he knows how to write. So I wholeheartedly believe Saboala should be canon because look at them. I know I don't have many arguments for this but LOOK AT THEM. THAT'S NOT FRIENDSHIP BEHAVIOR THERE'S SOMETHING THERE. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN IT. IT'S THE ENERGY THE VIBES. They're giving Usokaya. 100%. Like they're obviously canon but they're not canon and then OPLA literally said "fuck it, Oda we need romance in here we are NETFLIX if there's no romance we die" and Oda said "Usopp and Kaya" without hesitation (Real conversation I literally heard it I was there I was the script). So,, Just believe whatever you want. He's doing the same with Hibari and Koby and at this point I just consider interpreting OP relationships however you want. I think Yamato and Ace was romantic too and we will never know because this man writes romance in the most obvious of ways but never makes anything canon. The closest we've ever been to a canon romance is Sanji and Pudding and that didn't even work out at the end (well, not really? Because, and this is a manga spoiler btw don't keep reading yadda yadda -> She shows up again. She's gonna be important to the plot. I can't believe this is happening in the anime like, in what? Three weeks? Am I right? I think I am. I miss her so bad. Like-- She's so ending up with Sanji. I am not even trying to make an argument or something I just think it should be obvious seeing how the story has progressed. If they don't end up together I'm gonna fail as a writer because it's just so obvious).

Basically, Saboala is pretty much canon in the OP standard for romance.

[xxcomical-loverxx]

One Piece HCs

I wanna dive into what I think it would be like to date the Strawhat men.

I had a good time making this. I might make more in the future for other OP characters. Feel free to agree and/or disagree. :)

Included: Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Franky, Brook, Jinbe, and Yamato

Luffy 🍖

Luffy will be a simple-minded and easy-going boyfriend.

Are you hungry? He is too. Let's get food together!

Do you need a hug? Come here!

Bored? Never with him around.

In a crisis, he's already on it before you can shout for help.

Even in the most dire of moments, he will flash you a smile and reassure you that everything will be okay.

He doesn't miss the chance to let people know you're his partner. Which can be embarrassing sometimes, but aw well. He's adorable.

With Luffy, you'll experience love that comes from a genuine, pure heart. So if you got issues, welcome to your path of healing.

Get ready to have the worst heart attacks of your life. Luffy's consistent recklessness may seem something to get used to, but he somehow manages to surprise you in ways you never believed were possible.

You can try and argue that he should be more mindful of his actions but he always laughs and say he's alright.

Zoro ⚔️🗡️

He's a solid boyfriend. Although sometimes you might find yourself... Frustrated.

He can be pretty slow in the romance department. He didn't ask you out, you did, and he probably didn't realize you had feelings for him until you confessed.

Now he's your boyfriend, this should end right? Yes, but also no.

He doesn't initiate anything, and if you're the type of person who likes for your partner to make the first move... Bestie lemme tell you something ... 😗

If you don't mind, then you'll be okay. Because even though he doesn't usually initiate affection, he won't reject you.

Whether it be a kiss, a hug, holding hands, cuddling, etc. He'll welcome it.

On the RARE occasion he initiates, it's probably because he's incredibly relaxed or drunk.

If it really bothers you, then you'll have to smack that big head of his and be upfront about it. (Okay, maybe you don't have to smack him.)

Telling him indirectly won't fix the problem because, again, HE'S DENSE.

Sanji 🚬

Sanji is not a terrible boyfriend as some fans like to believe.

If you gave him a chance, I'd say he can be an amazing and doting boyfriend. However...

If you're an easily jealous or insecure person, you might struggle a lot in this relationship.

Don't misunderstand. If you're his partner, he will be extremely loyal to you. Sanji is not a cheater, nor will he disrespect the love you have given and shown to him.

If a woman were to throw himself at him, he will politely reject her.

Just as you are dedicated to him, he will be too, and more.

There will be hiccups and misunderstandings in your relationship, but thankfully, Sanji can't stand the idea of causing you heartache.

He will work harder on himself to not act in a way that discomforts you. In turn you'll learn to trust and believe in his love.

The more you both continue to preserve, the stronger your relationship will become.

So cheer up, bestie 😄

Usopp 🤥

He may seem flaky or wobbly, but he pulls through well enough.

He's funny and loves to make you laugh.

He's attentive, making him an excellent reader of your current mood.

But don't expect him to be a protective boyfriend. With a strong, HEAVY push, you can get him to save you, but don't think he'll be too happy about it.

Still, he can't look bad in front of his partner, and his love for you is stronger than the fear of getting hurt or dying.

He'll succeed every time, but you'll never hear the end of it. In fact, every time he recounts it, there's always a new embellishment he adds to the story.

Was it only one bandit? Pfffft- now there's 20.

Franky 🤖

This man is incredibly protective and he'll look cool doing it too.

He's not treating you like a normal partner, but HIS FUTURE SPOUSE.

You may even inspire or break him from a creative block. He will return the favor with plenty of kisses and praise.

He's a traditional man, likely from being from an older generation.

He definitely named some of his inventions after you and your adorable quirks.

He's very creative in the way he leaves you gifts. Sometimes you'll find them in the most unexpected places. He always strategically places them where he knows you'll stumble upon.

Don't worry there's about 20 more you haven't discovered.

He's a hefty man, so if you sat on his shoulder all day, he wouldn't even notice.

If you're, by nature, a clumsy person. You'll give this man multiple heart attacks and a few headaches. If there are warning signs in his workshop... They're all for you.

Brook ☠️

Oh boy.

If we overlook his pervertedness and the fact that he's 90, I believe he can be an excellent partner.

He's a compassionate person who once lived a fulfilling life with his first crew, until he had to suffer long years of loneliness.

So although he may have all the time of the world, he'll know that moments with you are precious and he doesn't want to waste a single second.

Being a musician, I can imagine him composing the sweetest love songs in your name.

He'll also write you poems, but will probably ruin it with the final line being a creative way of asking to see your panties.

If you're ever in danger, his movements will be filled with urgency and he'll lose all his usual goofiness. He can't imagine himself losing someone dear to him ever again.

Get ready for a lot of bone jokes. 😃

Jinbe 🌊

In my humble opinion, Jinbe deserves more appreciation.

Not only is he wise and kind, he's emotionally intelligent.

I cannot imagine him ever yelling or shouting at you. Instead, if you're upset, he'll let you release your pent up anger and then give you a giant hug.

Falling into the water, you're the first he saves. Regardless if you know how to swim because he won't be able to calm his worried heart otherwise.

Your safety is far more important than his own. Pray for the fool who brought harm upon you as they will personally meet the old Jinbe.

Sometimes he'll talk about his past and regrets and when he realizes he's said too much, he'll apologize and say he didn't mean to ruin the mood.

If you ever wish to talk to him about your own sorrows, he'll always listen and give you some wisdom and physical comfort.

Your pain is his pain. He will carry all your burdens because he's more than strong enough to take them all..

On a lighter note, he is sooooo cuddly. You can't change my mind. He gives the best cuddles.

Yamato 👹

It's almost a given he would be an amazing boyfriend, but let's talk about it.

Yamato can be overly affectionate, most likely from the absence of it from his entire childhood.

Still, he's probably very new to this than you, but he'll actively work hard be the best partner he can.

He'll always be strong and uphold to his rebellion against Kaidou, but sometimes you'll witness his strong smile falter. A side he'll only show to you because he trusts you deeply.

Yamato has an incredibly big heart, despite being raised by such a brutal father. In showing you love, he is still continuing to actively rebel against Kaidou's cruel teachings.

Get ready to live your days off the floor. Yamato loves to carry you around. Even if you protest, he'll laugh it off and even tease you for being shy.

He'll usually be the bigger spoon, but he secretly wishes to be the smaller spoon. His giant horns prevent him from doing so because he thinks he'll poke your eye out or something.

Don't worry, you'll never have to ever meet Kaidou. Yamato would never allow him to be yards near you. If you do happen to come across him, Yamato will quickly shield you from him.

And that's all for the Strawhats! Thank you for making it to end! I probably should have cut this into two parts, but aw well. 😂

[yanderu-deredere]

you: excitedly telling me about your wonderful city and its wonderful transportation. me, immediately: okay but like how would the yanderes react to someone trying to look up their darling's skirt? and she like feels too shy or anxious to say anything?

a/n: sadfsdfsdf IT REALLY BE LIKE THAT SOMETIMES but also It Would Not Be a Fun Time To Be Honest™! thank you for the request and i did a pervert that tried to look up darling's skirt with a phone camera while she was standing in a train!

warning: female reader as requested, approx. 400 words each, public sexual harassment, offensive language towards others (not reader), mentions of violence

ayaka yamato ★ profile

uses her image as an Innocent Little GIrl™ to her advantage and makes herself seem as victimized as possible

if he's going to harass her darling, he better be ready for the consequences and ayaka is going to make them as bad as possible

The train was packed enough which, of course, made Ayaka's temper flare, but if the guy behind her bumped against her one more time--

She felt your arm around her waist tighten and she glanced at you, noting your obviously extremely anxious expression. She knew you didn't like crowds but there was no going around it, no matter how much she hated it too

When you pressed up even harder against her, Ayaka decided that it wasn't the train but something else entirely. Her eyes scanned the people around the two of you until it landed on some bald-headed loser sitting behind you.

The fact that the fat pig didn't free the seat for you already put him on her shit list but, oh, that wasn't even the worst thing he'd done! When Ayaka looked further down, she spotted where his hand was!

She let out the highest pitched scream she could, pulling you to the side a little so the two of you were equal distance from the absolute creep.

Everyone's eyes were immediately on the bald bitch.

"Sir! I can't believe you'd feel me up like that!" She clung to you, crocodile tears pooling in the corners of her eyes, her body wracking with fake tremors as she forced herself to tremble like a scared fawn.

Immediately, the crowd erupted with murmurs. People jeered and pointed, looking at him with disgust and noting that there were accusations from last week about a man that looked like him.

When the coward started to stutter out denials, the pussy businessman next to him immediately interrupted "No way, I think I saw him put his hand up a skirt!"

Why didn't you say something when you saw it then? Ayaka couldn't help but think. Still, she continued her façade, letting you 'comfort' her as the crowd all but lynched the guy that harassed you.

As a last resort, the guy tried to stand up and leave. However, everybody banded together and pushed the guy back into his seat.

Everybody started reassuring Ayaka, telling her that they’d turn him into the station police once the train stopped and that they’d make sure she’d get justice.

Outwardly, she expressed her gratitude as she slowly and gracefully wiped away her tears. Inwardly, she couldn’t help but be disgusted by these people.

She knew there were several people in the crowd that all saw him using his phone to peep on you but didn’t want to say anything. The only reason they were saying anything now was because she made a scene. At least now he was caught and you didn’t have to suffer.

She knew the last thing you would’ve wanted was to make a scene yourself. So, if she had to do it for you, well, so be it.

After all, nobody could touch you. Nobody but her.

ryouta watanabe ★ profile

would lose his shit

normally, he's very calm and collected, almost emotionless actually. you'd think he was a robot. but if he saw something like that? you'd see him turn into a monster real quick

Commuting with Ryouta was always an uneventful endeavor. In fact, most of the time, it was peaceful! He definitely enjoyed it; the rocking motion of the car, the gentle swoosh of the train, the way you'd lean against him all tired and soft.

Today, it wasn't like that. For some reason or another, the fates came together to conspire against the two of you. Not only was the train somehow packed but the two of you took a bit longer to board so the two of you were standing.

Ryouta wouldn't have minded if it was just him but he felt bad for you. He wanted so desperately to find somewhere for you to sit in.

There wasn't any.

So, the two of you were stuck standing and all he coul do was hold you close. He held onto one of the hand rails and you held onto his arm, face pressed close to his chest in an attempt at some sort of privacy.

He hated thinking about the way other bodies pressed against the other sides of you but it was a short ride and it would be over soon and then you would be free from them once again--

Ryouta felt you shift against him. You were inching away from something, pressing closer to him. His arm around your waist tightened and, instinctively, he looked behind you.

Behind you, to the man, sitting there with his phone underneath you, his camera open so he could peek up your skirt.

He felt his blood turn to lava in his veins. For a second, he was so angry that he didn't know what to do. He glanced at you, wondering if you knew.

Immediately, he got his answer because you had the most anxious uncomfortable expression on your face. His heart broke.

His body moved on instinct. His arm shot out, his palm so big that it encompassed the guy's entire face. He slammed the guy's head back and it hit the wall of the car with a sickening crack.

Ryouta didn't know if there was blood and he didn't care.

"You're disgusting, peeping under girls' skirts. You're scum. You're lucky we're in public or I would've fucking gutted you, you fucking pig." He spits out, truly spits out, saliva and all spraying across the man's face

Then, he lets go of the guy's face but only for a second. He readjusted his grip, grabbing him by the chin to truly look him in the eye.

"If I ever see you on this train ever again, I'll fucking take my pistol and I'll shower whatever you have in replacement for a brain in that empty skull of yours all over the walls of this car."

Then, as if he didn't just absolutely explode all over a stranger, Ryouta straightened himself, dusted off whatever particles he thought the stranger got on him.

He turned to you, that same expressionless face you've gotten so used to, and wrapped his arm around your shoulders.

After that entire thing, the crowds practically parted like the Red Sea for the two of you. Ryouta just wanted to get you as far away from that bastard as possible.

yeong-bae kigal ★ profile

the calmest out of the three outwardly but could definitely contend with ryouta inwardly loool

they're very level-headed about it tho so dont worry, it'll be dealt with in the way best way possible because they take care of you

Yeong-bae hated the fact that they were having you take the train but it couldn't be helped. If they had you take recognizable cars, the two of you would always be swarmed and the two of you wouldn't be able to get anywhere.

Still, to think that today, out all days, the train would be this full? It was a nightmare.

They tried not to think about everyone getting so close to you. They tried tor rationalize it in their head as the fact that they couldn't help it, that the crowd couldn't control it just as much as you couldn't. It helped but only a little bit.

Hopefully, their stop was soon and it would be over.

As always, Yeong-bae was hyperaware of your every move so, when you inched closer to them, your hand holding onto tgeir arm gripping them like a lifeline, they were immediately scanning around you, trying to see what was wrong.

It didn't take them long to see the ugly old man peeping up your skirt with his phone.

With swift moves, they pulled up their phone, taking a clear incriminating photo of the old man. It was obvious in the photo what he was doing. Then, as subtly as they could, Yeong-bae, dialed the station security and put it to his ear.

As the dial tone rang in their ear, they lowered their hand from the hand rail, wrapping their arm around your waist and pulling your body flush against theirs.

They turned you so the two of you swapped places and they bent down a little so their lips brushed against your ear "Are you okay?"

When you looked at them with those big doe eyes, your lips quivering and tears pooling, they decided that there was nothing you could say that could convince them that you were okay.

Thankfully, you had shook your head just as the station security answered.

In hushed tones, Yeong-bae described the man as best as he could, telling them that they'd come with their girlfriend to the station straight away with a photo of the man.

When Yeong-bae glanced at the pervert, he looked none the wiser and, even more disgustingly, the man was looking pretty happily at his phone. It made Yeong-bae’s blood boil to think that maybe, possibly, the thing he was looking at were photos of your underwear.

Only they could look at that.

Yeong-bae decided that turning the man in wasn’t enough. If the man ‘coincidentally’ dropped his wallet with his license and work ID, well, that was on him, wasn’t it? It was the least he could do for interrupting Yeong-bae’s date after all.

[charkyzombicorn]

In your god au luffy and usopp are basically Kaidos parents and I find that really funny. Imagine usopp and luffy trying to be good parents to this adult monster (Kaido in beast mode)

Usopp: I can't Believe you didn't tell us - we could have helped!

Kaido: It doesn't matter, my daughter is--

Usopp: Son. Luffy and I can see his soul

Kaido: Whatever - my son is born now, leave me alone, now I have to stop trying to kill myself until he's strong

Usopp: *sigh*

Luffy: *sitting holding Yamato and ugly crying* OUR GRANDSONNNNN

Usopp: *goes to sit by him* he's Perfect :)

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Any Title Would Sound Like a Prince Song

Nami...thank you for incidentally making my favorite little gag moment in the arc so on point for today. I'll admit I have incorporated the fearsome Future Kick into my repertoire and use it on my boyfriend. A flower made of jewels would really solve my entire conundrum here. Bonney & Kiku. It didn't take me long to point out how well Jewelry Bonney could pick up the thread Kiku weaves through Wano. I literally did when she popped out of the water bubble.

Now that she's been properly utilized, it's time to evaluate. Yesterday's chapter review touched on this. Unlike the mirror opposite dynamic with Yamato, Bonney just tracks more and more with Kiku's odd role in this story. But there's still a couple of nagging questions. Let's take a day to take stock:

So first of all it's worth a refresher. We were already looking at the fact Kiku has a lot of untapped potential and the right background for a Quartermaster before Wano ended. Which it did, but not without playing heavily into the core aspects of how that would work and leaving Kiku conspicuously open-ended. Egghead didn't take long to set up a couple of things that could still leave that door open, and through that lens her story could be seen as being "kept warm" by elements consistently floating around. A theory at least somewhat bolstered by the Academy spinoff blatantly setting up the same shell game with Kiku & Yamato. A type of twist that works well with the classy, unassuming lady.

Enter Bonney. I had reservations but always thought she fit the bill for someone who could sensibly take that torch. Problem was, she was on the backburner for much of Egghead. An arc now about as long as Punk Hazard. Now that she's back in the limelight she actually is getting the right kind of build for that same role. Not to mention Ginny fitting it to a T. Like I said yesterday, it works for Kiku as the imposing but sweet big sister. A wifey vibe almost. Bonney is more the sharp-tongued, bossy little sister. These both just...work on this fundamental character design level. It's that idea you need to fit a role on the crew but also in an anime ensemble. Both have some "special" markers and both are fairly popular faces with solid stories already. Stories that have good prior hooks to justify a late addition.

Tale of Two Hannya, point with Kiku & Yamato is that Wano is almost a kind of jidaigeki double feature. When a core theme seems to be what we want to do vs. what we feel like we have to do...you gotta wonder about our author doing the same thing. The two split Luffy's story, mirror opposites, why would you ever focus on flashy but flawed here for half the arc over humble with hidden depths always at the edge of the limelight? Now...we're moving on to a sci-fi B movie with something different for Bonney. She's the same thing. Could fill the same role. Can't fault her for being a hothead here because it's not unlike Kanjuro and we've seen Bonney be the level head.

If you ask me, what will be the most telling is what happens when we get back. Are we jumping into the same scene? Bonney could collect herself and show a superhuman amount of composure made all the more compelling by knowing how young she is. Last arc the Supernova buddies took down Big Mom. Bonney could believably show out, girl threw a nasty kick at Luffy and tanked one from the Frontier Dome. If Egghead pulls it again and does something weird with our return to the main story? Then you gotta go back to asking who threads the needle on these vignettes we've jumped through.

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x14 - Set Sail! To a New Continent! / Departure for a New Continent

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Takeru's Partner Digimon finally evolved! And then he exploded, giving Takeru a story that he'll be telling his therapist well into his forties. Fortunately for him, when your Tamagotchi shits itself to death, you can always start over from scratch. But it's just not the same.

Now, with Devimon defeated and File Island restored, a strange hologram of a man has revealed himself to the seven children.

At long last, someone who understands what's going on is here to explain the plot to the gathered children.

Old Man: So you are the Chosen Children. Very impressive, given that you've defeated Devimon. Taichi: Who are you!? Yamato: An ally of Devimon!? Old Man: Don't worry; I'm on your side. Sora: It's amazing to finally see another human besides us in this world. Old Man: Well, although I am human, at the same time, I am not. Mimi: Are you obake? Old Man: --hrmph!?

As previously discussed in episode 12, bakemono is an umbrella term for a variety of shapeshifting yokai who take on other forms, often to deceive humans. Obake is another word for bakemono; Mimi's accusing the old man of being the same sort of creature as those "worshippers" that Jou and Sora encountered.

Mimi's question takes Gennai completely offguard, causing him to verbally flinch and turn to look at her. He picks back up like that didn't happen a moment later, but it seems she rattled him.

Over in the dub:

Old Man: So, you children are the DigiDestined. You must be strong to have defeated Devimon. Tai: Who are you? Matt: Are you a friend of Devimon's? Old Man: Fear not, for I am a friend to all! And yet, I am a friend to none. Sora: I can't believe it! There are actually other humans besides us in this world. Old Man: I am human! And yet, I am not human. Mimi: This is confusing. Old Man: HRM!!!

"Okay, am I the only one who finds these sayings just a little bit formulaic? 'If you want to push something down, you have to pull it up. If you want to go left, you have to go right.'" ~Mystery Men

This bit might have been screwed out of the gate. We don't have a similar concept to obake in American reference pools common enough for children to pick up on. Even the subtitlers had to go with "ghost", which doesn't quite convey the right idea.

Unfortunately, that leaves him grunting aggressively at Mimi for what seems like no reason. Since the obake line is untranslatable, this may have been a good spot to insert a Valley Girl Mimi quip instead. Give him something to react negatively to.

Old Man: ...My name is Gennai. Because of Devimon's interference, I couldn't contact you sooner. I'm glad to finally meet all of you. Koushiro: Contacting us from where, exactly? Gennai: I'm on Server Continent, which is pretty far away from File Island. Sora: How long have you been there, Gennai-san? Gennai: I've always been in this world. Mimi: Were you the one who brought us here? Gennai: ...no, I'm not. Mimi: Then who did? Gennai: Well... (long pause) ...I don't know. Takeru: Do you at least know what we have to do to return to our world? Gennai: I don't know that either. Takeru: What the hell, Grandpa!? We can't depend on you at all!

Mimi is acing this interrogation. She has destroyed Gennai's mystique. Poking all sorts of buttons he doesn't want poked. He's trying so hard to present himself as the kindly old mentor figure and she's just like "Ohhh you're an Imposter who did this to us, gotcha."

Old Man: Now, my name is Gennai. I couldn't send you this transmission during your battle with Devimon but now the lines are clearer and only ten cents a minute! Izzy: Well, who are you? And just where are you? Gennai: I am speaking to you far away from File Island, across the ocean on the continent of Server. Sora: Talk about a long-distance call! How long have you been here? Gennai: Since before the beginning, until after the end. Mimi: Are you the one who got us stuck here in the Digital World? Gennai: ...it was not I. Mimi: Then who was it? Gennai: It was... (long pause) I dunno. T.K.: But Mr. Gennai, sir, do you know what we need to do so that we can all get back home again? Gennai: No, I don't. Tai: Boy, you're a regular fountain of information, aren't you!?

With the exception of the phone service jokes inserted to break up the conversation, this dialogue is almost completely identical.

Though it's worth noting that Gennai's name is said differently. In Japanese, it's pronounced "Gen-nye" with a hard 'g'. In English, it's "Jen-nye" with a soft 'g'.

Gennai: But I'm depending on you. You must come to Server Continent and defeat the enemy here. As the Chosen Children, you should be able to do this. Koushiro: But we don't know how to get there. Gennai: You're right. I'll send you a map through your laptop. Jou: But there's no way we can defeat an enemy that's more powerful than Devimon! Gennai: Not so. You can, if your Digimon evolve to an even higher stage. Agumon: We can evolve further!? Gennai: You will need these in order to do so. By inserting a Crest into this Tag, you Digimon can achieve higher evolution. Gabumon: Where can we find these Tags and Crests? Gennai: Well... The Crests are scattered across Server Continent. As for the Tags, Devimon gathered them up and hid them somewhe-- (Suddenly, Gennai's hologram fritzes out) Gennai: Oh no... ...Devi--... ...interference....

The device shuts down from there, leaving the kids to make do with the information they got. The dub covers this part practically verbatim.

Koushiro checks his laptop and, sure enough, Gennai sent the map. File Island is a pinprick compared to Server Continent.

(Japan's actually pretty huge but in terms of relative position to the continent, it makes me think of Japan's position in the sea relative to Asia. I wonder if that's deliberate?)

Meanwhile, the kids break for dinner.

Koushiro: It looks like he was at least able to send the map. Sora: What should we do now? Taichi: Let's get off this mountain first. We can decide on something after we eat!

I love how the dub presents this exchange.

Tentomon: Gennai's transmission ended rather abruptly. Izzy: Well, at least he was able to send the map through before he got cut off. Sora: I hope he's alright. What's our next move going to be? Tai: Huh. I've got a foolproof plan: First we'll eat something, and after that I'm open to suggestions!

XD Foolproof indeed. Never change, Tai.

Given that they've had a long day, the kids decide to break here. They head back down the mountain and forage up dinner so they can decide what to do on full stomachs.

During this time, Yamato finds Takeru sitting by the water with his Digitama.

Yamato: Takeru? Takeru: It's nothing. I was just hoping my Digitama would hatch soon and grow. Yamato: Your Digimon will join everyone here soon enough. Takeru: Yeah! You're right!

It's a small moment, but a sweet opportunity for Yamato to be Takeru's big brother.

Over in the dub, Matt may be confused about how this works.

Matt: T.K.? T.K.: Ohh, I was just wishing my Digi-Egg would hurry up and hatch already so it can grow up! Matt: Don't sweat it, lil' bro! When your Digimon hatches, it'll be the coolest one yet! T.K.: Egg-xactly!

They just wanted to make that pun. But also, uh, no, Matt. It'll be the same one he had before.

Once dinner's out of the way, it's time for the kids to decide on next steps. We all heard what Gennai said. But. What do we do with his request?

Taichi: Now that we're all nice and fed, let's figure out what we should do next. Sora: Gennai-san told us to go to Server Continent, but.... Koushiro: If this map is right, then it's a far distance from here. Mimi: I can't swim more than 25 meters. It's impossible for me. Jou: Do we have to go? Devimon is gone from this island. The Black Gears are gone too. This last week we've been here has made us more or less familiar with the landmarks. There's plenty of water and food, too. Sora: What are you trying to say? Jou: Can we even trust what this Gennai said? Is there really even a Server Continent? Taichi: Hey, what's all this about!? We can't get back to our own world if we just sit here! Sora: It took everything we had to defeat Devimon. But there's going to be even stronger enemies waiting for us. Koushiro: Besides, how would we even cross the ocean to reach the continent? Mimi: There might be weird Digimon over there too! Jou: Uh-huh. Yamato: Maybe we should look around here a little longer. Taichi: What the hell, guys!? Takeru: Let's go! Yamato: Takeru? Takeru: I don't know what enemies are waiting for us, but let's try! I'm sure that's what Angemon would have said. That's why I.... Agumon: We'll come too! We can evolve further if you have the Tags and Crests, right?

I'm glad this comes up because it's worth debating. These kids, now aware of what they've been drafted into, are being asked to risk drowning in the ocean for the sake of going to a foreign land and fighting a war. And without even the barest smidge of hope that this will actually connect to sending them home, which is still only Koushiro's speculation.

And if there is no reason to believe we'll ever return home, then "What if we just stay here and build our lives on this tropical island?" is a question worth discussing. If they're lost forever, there are worse places to be lost than File Island.

But once the Digimon begin to cast their votes, the tide of the conversation changes completely. One by one, each of the Digimon implores their kid, and each of the kids relents and agrees to go to Server. Even Jou puts up little fuss.

Once again, the dialogue here is near completely identical in the dub. With two notable differences, both of which center on Mimi. Her first line about only swimming 25 meters is changed out to:

Mimi: I can't even swim across the bathtub! It's impossible for me.

While her second line about weird Digimon is replaced with:

Mimi: We don't even know what the fashions are like on Server!

To be fair, worrying about weird Digimon is a redundant complaint to raise when we've already been told there's going to be far more powerful enemies over there waiting for us. Though, given that Mimi's been harassed twice in the last week, it's possible she means "weird" in more of a gross way.

But if that's the case, I wouldn't expect the 90's localization team to actually translate this as, "We might run into more Digi-Perverts!"

So begins the greatest logistical undertaking the kids have had to do since arriving on this island. They're going to need to build a raft capable of taking all thirteen-plus-egg across the ocean.

Koushiro: It looks like it'll take a long time just to cut down the trees. Sora: There's no point in rushing. Let's not be hasty.

It's at that moment that Sora notices the sound of heavy footfalls coming their way. Turning around, she spots Leomon on approach. Given their history with Mr. Kill the Children, it's natural that she has a kneejerk panic response.

Sora: WAUGH!!! Koushiro: Leomon!? Leomon: I've heard you're leaving for Server Continent. Sora: How did you know that? Leomon: Some of us monsters love to gossip. I was wondering if you needed any help with anything. Sora: (excited) You'll really help us? Leomon: There's more than enough helping hands.

As he says, more Digimon begin to arrive. Kentarumon, Mojamon, and Elecmon are next to show up, followed by Monzaemon and Yukidarumon. Then Meramon and countless villager Pyocomon.

Before long, the residents of File Island have assembled an impressive raft to send the children off.

Before long, they have a seaworthy vessel for crossing the ocean.

Taichi: It's done! Koushiro: Looks like it has good balance, too! Jou: Can we really cross the ocean with this? Taichi: We've already decided to go! We'll have to use this. Leomon: With your abilities, I'm sure you can cross the ocean safely. Taichi: Thank you, Leomon! We couldn't have done this without you!

Meanwhile, in the dub, Joe has a different concern.

Tai: Alright! Izzy: It's hydrodynamically designed! Joe: I think I'm getting seasick already.... Tai: Get a grip, Joe; It'll have to do! Leomon: Believe me, that raft is strong enough to get you across the ocean. Tai: Thanks, Leomon! We never could have done it without your help!

Notably, Leomon's line is different between versions. In the original, he puts faith in the children to be able to make this journey, while Dub Leomon puts his faith in the raft he just made. Rude.

As soon as the raft is finished, there's even more good news!

Poyomon hatches from his Digitama to greet the world! This little newborn goop ball can't even speak words beyond reciting his name like a Pokemon. "Poyo! Poyomon!" Surprisingly, the narrator chimes in to give us a rundown. Poyomon is a Baby-stage Digimon with no type.

(To my understanding, Baby I-stage Digimon never have a type. They have to get to Baby II before they develop one.)

Narrator: Poyomon! A slimy Digimon shaped like a jellyfish. It is said to be the most primitive of lifeforms. Its vitality and adaptability are greater than you might expect from its unassuming appearance.

Tentomon takes care of this in the dub.

Tentomon: Poyomon is a jellyfish-type Digimon of few words. But, if his friends are in trouble, he's ready for action!

Trying really hard to sell Baby Jelly as a badass there, Tentomon. Gritty 90's Americana at work?

At last, the kids shout their farewells to the denizens of File Islands and set sail for Server.

Narrator: The seven children learned how to survive using their own strength, by fighting Digimon, and by forming friendships with Digimon. And so the children left File Island behind.

Tai takes care of this bit of narration over in the dub.

Tai: So we sailed away from File Island where we had some really cool adventures! When we had to survive on our own, we grew up very fast. Except Joe; He just threw up very fast, ha! But he came around too! We don't know what's waiting for us on the other side of the ocean but we'll face it as a team!

XD Poor Joe. Rude to call him out like that, Tai.

Meanwhile, my ass is over here like,

Drake: And so the kids... completed the tutorial level. Now that they're in the open world sandbox, the real game can begin. Holy crap.

Once the kids are out on open ocean, it doesn't take long to start talking about the survival logistics of their journey.

Taichi: (looking through telescope) I can't see anything. Jou: I wonder how long it will take? Taichi: We just set sail! Jou: But even if we ration our food and water supplies to bare minimum, they'll only last us half a month. Taichi: Then we can fish or something! Sora: All we need to hope for right now is good weather.

Jou's right to be concerned here. Catching fish won't solve their problems if they run out of water.

(While we're all traveling by raft, this would probably be a great time to bring back the compass from Mimi's dad's survival kit. But I think the show's forgotten she had that.)

The dub tweaks Joe's line to add onto his concerns.

Joe: The salt air is killing my sinuses and we've only got enough food for two weeks.

They also remove his mention of water supplies. Without that concern, Tai's plan to supplement their supplies with freshly-caught fish seems more effective.

Despite the dub giving Joe so much shit for seasickness, it's actually the young'uns Koushiro and Mimi getting queasy at the back of the raft. Though Takeru seems to be handling himself okay.

Apart from nearly losing Poyomon to the waves, that is.

Suddenly, a colossal wave nearly capsizes their raft. They make it through, but struggle for a moment to discern where it could have come from.

Yamato: Where did that come from!? Koushiro: There's no wind here that could be causing these waves! Jou: Maybe a ship is passing nearby? Taichi: There's no ship here!

I want to say that was a silly guess by Jou, but given how many random human things are scattered about File Island, human ships freely wandering the ocean is entirely plausible. There are no rules here.

The cause of the wave, however, is something much more frightening.

Their raft is caught in the wake of a colossal Whamon. A frankly confusing Digimon, Whamon is a Vaccine-type Aquatic Digimon whose stage is... complicated. Due to what I can only assume are creative inconsistencies, Whamon are either Adult-stage or Perfect-stage depending on the media.

Adventure's rundown pegs them as Adult-stage in its data boxes.

Narrator: Whamon. An enormous Digimon who lives in the Digital World's deep seas. The giant tidal waves he causes and his Jet Arrow blasting through his blowhole are fiercer than you might expect.

Notably, I believe this is the very first mention of the world they're in as Digital Sekai or "The Digital World" rather than Digimon Kai or "Digimon World".

Fortunately for the dub, Tentomon quickly asserts in the original that we're still close enough to File Island for him to recognize this Digimon.

Gabumon: W-Why is he doing this!? Tentomon: Whamon is a powerful monster, but he always keeps to the bottom of the ocean!

The Partner Digimon knowing nothing beyond the borders of File Island is a factor that has not kicked in yet.

Tentomon: Whamon is a giant Digimon who lives in the deep oceans of the Digital World. Its Jet Arrows are unbelievable! Gabumon: It was massive! Tentomon: A Whamon can sometimes be fierce but I've never seen one act this aggressive!

Whew! The diegetic rundowns are still in the clear! No time to worry about that now, though! We're under attack!

In case there was any doubt over whether Whamon is purposely harassing us or not, he quickly clarifies his intentions by devouring the raft whole.

Koushiro: This must be Whamon's shokudou (either 'esophagus' or 'restaurant' depending on the kanji)! And by that, I don't mean the 'restaurant' version of shokudou! Jou: We're aware! Mimi: He ate us after all! Sora: How far until the exit!? Koushiro: The exit is his butt! Mimi: I don't want to leave that way! Palmon: Like poop. Mimi: Don't say that!

So here we have more fun with Japanese linguistics and also talking about poop. Obviously some changes were going to happen here, but not as many as you might expect.

Sora: I hope we don't give him a sore throat! Izzy: Technically, it's not the throat! It's the esophagus that leads to the stomach! Joe: He thinks we're fast food! Mimi: So he really did eat us! Sora: Sooner or later, this has to lead to an exit! Izzy: It does, but you don't wanna go there! Mimi: This is damaging my hair all the way to the roots! Palmon: Use my roots. Mimi: You're a plant!

They still tie in the esophagus, even if they have to recontextualize it to get away from Koushiro frantically babbling about linguistics. They also keep the butt joke by implying it instead of outright stating it.

Also, the roots/"You're a plant!" bit got a big laugh out of me. I don't say this a lot but this is one time I think the dub greatly improved this scene.

The kids quickly find themselves under attack by the least effective antibodies in history, which throw themselves haplessly into the water and miss the raft by a wide margin despite the kids doing nothing but screaming and cowering.

Then, at the end of their journey, they spill out into Whamon's stomach. Fitting his strange cyborg whale design, his stomach is a machine. Red lights around the edge suddenly light up with a loud activation tone, releasing gastric juice into the stomach for digestion.

After Koushiro briefly explains gastric acid for the kids at home, we get this exchange.

Taichi: Don't fall in! Jou: We've got to get out of here quickly before things get worse!

Which the dub edits to:

Tai: Don't let it get on you! Joe: We'd better get out of here before we give him a major ulcer!

Similar to Sora's line about the sore throat, the dub kids seem more worried that being in here might hurt Whamon than for their own safety.

Speaking of ulcers, it's at that moment that Sora notices something directly above them.

Whoops! Looks like Devimon missed one when he was recalling all the Black Gears to Infinity Mountain.

Taichi: A Black Gear! Agumon: So that's why Whamon was running wild! Gomamon: Let's help him! Jou: How? Palmon: Climb up there using my vines!

Over in the dub, poor Joe gets called out again.

Tai: It's a Black Gear! Agumon: That's why Whamon was acting so aggressive! Gomamon: Joe, do something to help! Joe: Why me? Palmon: Someone can climb on these!

Man, it really is Pick On Joe Day over at American Digimon.

Dangerous as this is, Palmon ensnares the Black Gear with her Poison Ivy. Then Taichi makes the ascent, climbing hand-over-hand to reach it. Once he's close enough, the light from his Digivice shines and harmlessly disintegrates the Gear. Palmon pulls Taichi back towards the raft before he can land somewhere else.

As soon as the Gear's destroyed, Whamon's stomach glows with a strange light. The raft ascends and, before long, the kids are all ejected from Whamon's blowhole.

The good news is, they emerged from his stomach unscathed. The bad news....

So much for that raft. The kids are unharmed, but their means of transportation is totaled and their supplies are now floating in the sea.

However, Whamon isn't done with them yet.

Mimi: DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!!! Whamon: I'm sorry for my outrageous behavior. Piyomon: It's not your fault, Whamon! Sora: It was because of the Black Gear! Taichi: That must have been the last one! Jou: Are you sure about that? Whamon: My head is clear now, thanks to you. Taichi: Whamon, do you know how far Server Continent is from here? Whamon: Yes. It would take me about five days to get there. Yamato: That means it's pretty far. Takeru: This is bad. Our raft is broken. Whamon: Are you trying to reach Server Continent? Agumon: That's right. Whamon: Allow me to take you as thanks for disposing of the Black Gear. Sora: Really? Mimi: LUCKY!!!

Mimi throws up her arms in celebration. In the process letting go of the log she's floating on and nearly drowning herself. Palmon has to pull her out of the water and reattach her to the log.

XD She got excited.

The dub dialogue is the same, save for some gags added to Whamon's dialogue.

Tai: By the way, do you know how far it is to Server? Whamon: Yes. It would take me five days. Uh, make that three and a half without traffic. T.K.: Great, our raft's broken! Whamon: Are you going to Server? Agumon: Yeah, we were trying to! Whamon: I'll take you there myself. It's not every day your lunch saves your life!

The promise of Whamon-sized traffic sure makes me glad we're not on a raft anymore!

Swimming and bouncing from the water, Whamon makes his way to Server with the kids safely nestled on his back.

Sora: Feels great! Koushiro: This is a much more pleasant experience than the raft. Mimi: I won't get seasick from this! Taichi: Now all that's left is to find the Crests and Tags that Devimon sealed away! Whamon: Did you say Devimon? Taichi: Do you know something? Whamon: I'm not quite sure what you mean by Tags and Crests but I do remember Devimon hiding something under the waves. Taichi: Where!? Whamon: It's on the way to Server Continent. Please take shelter inside my body while I go there.

Dub Whamon adds a particular stipulation.

Whamon: It's on the way to Server. You can all ride inside me and I'll take you there. But no tickling!

That's fair. The last thing we need him to do is sneeze or cough us out at the bottom of the ocean.

Whamon takes the kids down to a secret cave at the bottom of the ocean, where an air pocket exists. He lets them out there and they enter the cave to explore.

Whamon: Since I can't go any farther, I will wait for you here.

Seems fair, being a whale and all. The dub has other ideas for why he can't come with.

Whamon: I'm so out-of-shape, I have to rest here for a while. I gotta drop a couple of thousand pounds!

He can't come into the cave because he's too fat, I guess. Also. Y'know. Marine life.

Before long, they find their destination.

Deji Mart, your one-stop shop for all consumer goods! The "Deji" is how Japan romanizes the word "Digi".

Unfortunately, DigiMart was not left unguarded.

Drimogemon, an Adult-stage Data-type Beast Digimon. His name is a conjunction of "drill" and "mogera", meaning "mole". Drillmolemon.

Narrator: Drimogemon. Living deep underground, he uses his drill to move at high speed. His sharp Drill Spin and Crusher Bone attacks devastate his enemies.

Over in the dub:

Tentomon: Drimogemon lives deep inside the earth drilling tunnels. He uses his iron Drill Spin and Crusher Bone to wipe out his enemies!

Practically verbatim.

He's not just any passing drill mole, either.

Sora: He has a Black Gear! Jou: I knew there were still more of them! Drimogemon: No one may enter here, by order of Devimon-sama! Leave at once!

See, Taichi? Assuming makes an ass out of u and ming.

Gomamon evolves to Ikkakumon so he can hold off Drimgemon. Everyone else makes their way into DigiMart to find those Tags. While Almost immediately after the kids are inside, Ikkakumon hurls Drimogemon through the storefront. The impact shakes the store.

Jou: Ikkakumon, go easy on the attacks!

At this point, Ikkakumon is as much a threat to us as Drimogemon is.

Dub Joe, on the other hand, has a thirst for blood.

Joe: Ikkakumon! You've got him down! Get him!

Joe's going to see Drimogemon go down if it's the last thing he does. Which it may be.

Apparently not listening to Jou, Ikkakumon fires off a Harpoon Vulcan instead of listening. The missile slams into Drimogemon and explodes, rattling the store inside.

It's at this point that Tentomon evolves to join the fight.

(They don't say Ikkakumon is fired from engaging Drimogemon for being too reckless, but there's an implication there.)

Drimogemon tries throwing his signature Crusher Bone at Kabuterimon, but you know how those flying Digimon are with projectile attacks.

With three dimensions of evasion, Kabuterimon maneuvers around Drimogemon and takes out his Black Gear with a precisely-aimed Mega Blaster.

(Was that so hard, Ikkakumon?)

Amid all the friendly fire-inflicted carnage at the DigiMart, Takeru loses track of Poyomon. When he finds him again, Poyomon's found the loot!

Mission complete! Drimogemon apologizes for the fight and disappears underground.

Drimogemon: I-I'm very sorry! Gabumon: Wait! Where are the Tags? Drimogemon: Th-They should be in the store. Good luck finding them!

Dub Drimogemon offers more specific directions.

Drimogemon: The Tags should be in the convenience store next to the jerky.

Oh, sweet. We have five days of whale-riding to do so we should stock up on jerky while we have the chance.

Inside the store, the kids open the box to find the Tags they'll need. Setting sail for Server, we close on a reminder of the next stage of this journey.

Yamato: He mentioned the Crests are spread throughout Server Continent, right? Gabumon: Right. If we combine the Tag and Crest.... Agumon: We can evolve further! Taichi: Yeah! We'll definitely find those Crests!

A new adventure begins here.

Assessment: What stands out to me about the Tags and Crests is how Toyetic they are. Digimon as a franchise started its life as an offshoot of Tamagotchi. That's what the Digivices are; They're a way to incorporate the little handheld Tamagotchi device into the anime.

This is a toy-driven series, like Transformers or My Little Pony. It's just a different kind of toy.

Considering that, I am curious if the whole "Use this merchandise sold separately NEW MACGUFFIN to reach Perfect-stage!" thing, like... Is this a thing? A real-world thing being incorporated into the anime, like the Digivice? I dunno. It's certainly peculiar.

In any case, this episode goes strong at the start with the farewell from File Island, but slows down once they're on the ocean.

I'm not a big fan of the DigiMart mission. Having to go on a fetch quest to unlock the ability to go on the next set of fetch quests feels like it's just killing time. Also, it's bloody convenient that the very next person we happened to meet after learning about Devimon's secret stash happens to know where Devimon's secret stash is!

Can you imagine if the stash was somewhere on File Island and we left without even checking? Boy would our faces be red!

This is a bridging episode between the Devimon and Etemon arcs, and the main interesting thing that happens concerns how the cast moves across the ocean. So, for me, it feels like the Tags were just thrown in so we have an excuse to wander off-course and beat up a Bad Guy for the third act climax.

For the dub, it's weird that they put so much emphasis on Joe getting seasick when it's Mimi and Koushiro who spend the episode wrestling with that. It's probably meant as a callback to the Bakemon episode, when he was throwing up over the side of his bed. But he never gets seasick once in this one.

Still, while their characterization choices stumble in a few places, they're able to lay down most of the important plot points with few deviations. We've seen better dubs than this episode, but we've seen worse too.

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: Vapors 101

"H-Yah! Ha! Ha! Hya!" Gai's fists were a blur as he danced around his opponent. His lips were pulled tightly across his gums, exposing both his teeth and full-hearted joy. Lee was nearly as loud, and nearly as fast. He was actually scoring more hits than his sensei, in no small part because Kisame was clearly able to see that one was more dangerous than the other and prioritized avoiding Gai's limbs when he was stuck between the two.

It was a little intimidating. Karin cringed a little, inadvertently curling close to Itachi's side. He scared her on a visceral level she couldn't explain, but at least at the moment he didn't look like he was mad with bloodlust. And he was supposed to be helping her, right? She didn't like being away from comrades. Had Kakashi separated her from her team because he was mad at her? No, he wasn't that petty. This was the best solution, she had to believe it.

'This is why I don't do field work,' she fretted, heartbeat racing. 'It's too messy.'

The rain that had been fogging her chakra sense was gone, which was a mixed relief. After so many weeks of essentially being crippled, it was disorienting to suddenly be in the midst of a new place with so many signatures moving. She could tell that the Kiri troops were intending to engage Kakuzu—and that was going to be soon, she would message them in a few minutes to let them know he was almost on top of them so he couldn't slip by. Naruto and Yamato and Sasuke were barreling towards possible hostiles. Everyone else was either fighting or slinking around inside the base—which had led to the disconcerting realization that Kakashi and Neji had found some sort of facility within the building with chakra suppressors. They'd disappeared from her view a few minutes back. So there could possibly be more people waiting in ambush.

'And I've been left with Sasuke's creepy brother.' And boy, was he ever creepy. Karin didn't have any right to complain about red eyes being unnerving on principle, but his were so distant and impassive. It was like he wasn't looking at people. He was looking at facts and figures and weighing outcomes. She shivered uncontrollably and wrapped icy cold fingers around her arms in a pitiful attempt to warm up. Once she had stopped moving, the chill had set in. Ame was awful and dreary even without the artificial and constant rain. Her long sleeves weren't much help, soaked as they were.

'There's nothing for it. I have to trust him. I have to trust Sasuke's assessment. Being suspicious of Itachi won't do me any good. I can't hope to fight him, and I need his help to make sure I can do my job. Keeping everyone aligned is too important for me to cower.'

"I-Itachi-san?" Her voice almost sounded normal. "Do you think they can beat Hoshigaki?" She immediately worried at her lower lip once the words had come out. Itachi would know, of course, he should know the Akatsuki's weaknesses better than anyone. He didn't seem like a man who would lie to reassure her. She almost didn't want to hear his assessment—if he said Lee and Gai were about to die, what would she do? Should she try to help?

"They will defeat him."

The timbre of his voice was pleasing, and the cultured enunciations he used made him sound intelligent. It was only the detached way he spoke that made it seem like something was very wrong in the older Uchiha's head.

Still, she felt a flicker of relief. "Good." Karin swallowed, allowing herself to look back at the closest fight. It was… Well, she could barely see what was happening. It was far faster than she could fight. Far faster than anything she'd seen from Sasuke or Naruto, even. She didn't want to have to interfere. It seemed more likely that she would get in the way.

"The other team will not be able to stand against Konan."

Startled, she wheeled around. "Say what? They have her surrounded five to one," Karin protested nervously. "If Gai-sensei and Lee-kun can defeat Kisame, then why…"

Itachi seemed almost pitying. "Konan is a formidable opponent." He looked away into the distance, as if he could possibly still see that fight. There was no way he could, of course. They had passed out of her field of vision six minutes prior and they were still moving, though unsteadily.

'Is Konan intentionally herding them?' She suddenly wondered, sickly with nerves. Her abilities were so stupid and useless when she didn't know the terrain!

"Kakashi-sensei… Is he going to find anything in the base?"

Itachi seemed strangely tolerant of her questions and presence—patient, even. She might as well push her luck. What was he going to do, snap and kill her? Karin suppressed hysterical laughter. She was trusting her life with a mass murderer because Sasuke said he was alright. God, if he was wrong, she was going to come back as a ghost and choke him to death with one of his pretty collared shirts.

Belatedly, she realized that she was growling. Karin stopped that.

Her companion and apparent bodyguard might have even looked a little amused at her sudden emotional shift from nervousness to vowing vengeance. "Very little. He may be interested in the holding facilities. I suspect that Suna will be interested in re-acquiring some of the individuals within."

Karin blinked, remembering Aiko's description of her time in captivity. It had sounded rather more casual than a stay in an actual holding facility. "Cells? Are those new?" she asked sardonically. Instantly, she flushed.

'Idiot! Don't try to joke with him. You don't know how he'll take it.'

The worst part was that he was so damn still that he was all but impossible to read. "No." At least he didn't seem angry, but he looked directly at her. "But they are seldom occupied. Pein-sama prefers not to keep prisoners, but he made a concession for practicality's sake. Kisame has been feeding Samehada there."

"..and Samehada is what, a dog?" she asked, feeling lost.

If that sound had come from anyone else, she might have labeled it an aborted laugh. Instead, Karin convinced herself it was a tiny cough. "His sword," Itachi stressed gravely.

'Oh, right. Kakashi said that earlier.' Feeling stressed and like her focus was slipping, Karin ran her tongue along the inside of her teeth. 'Time to alert Kumo, I think.'

By now, the motions to call the twin to the serpent she had planted in Kumo's main camp were executed without so much as a thought. Gently, she caught the animal that appeared and let her twine around Karin's arms in a pitiful attempt at warmth.

"I apologize," she murmured, turning politely away from Itachi to talk to her summons. Rakki squeezed around her wrist with enough force to hurt, clearly not much appeased. "Tell Scale-sister that the digger will be with the humans from Kumo within two minutes."

"Yes," Rakki agreed unhappily, and let go. Karin let her fall, ending the connection keeping her in the human world before the serpent could hit the ground.

'They are going to be angry with me,' Karin mused guiltily for the hundredth time. It was far too cold here for her summons, and the time commitment was as long as the task was dull. She was going to have to get them so many lizards to make up for this… Mice weren't going to cut it this time.

A pained cry rent the air. Karin jumped half a foot, hand flickering with a chakra scalpel before she had decided whether her impulse was to heal or cut.

"Oh my god," she whispered, eyes wide and fixed on the smallest figure visible. Whatever had happened had clearly taken him out of commission. He wasn't even standing. "Lee!" She'd never seen him hurt like that before—he got scrapes and broken bones like anyone else, but he'd never- he was just too strong and too stubborn to be unable to fight.

It became unpleasantly clear that Gai-sensei was no longer enjoying his fight. She couldn't hear what he said, but the red chakra that coated his body couldn't possibly be a good sign.

Frantic, she surveyed the situation- Kakuzu had been engaged. The team fighting Konan was going strong. Captain Yamato's team was fine and had taken out one of their opponents. Kakashi and Neji were still hidden from her senses in some dark hole in Akatsuki's base.

She should hold her post and pay attention to the grand scheme of the theatre in case something went wrong. Instead, she tore across the mud, slipping at one point but not caring. Karin crossed the distance separating her from her downed colleague in a matter of seconds, completely forgetting that she had an intimidating shadow. Itachi didn't say anything one way or the other.

"What happened, Lee?" Karin breathed, dropping to her knees in the sod and marsh. He grinned up at her tiredly, but the cracks in his cheer showed it for the lie it was.

"I was defeated, Karin-san! But fear not. Next time, he shall not get the better of me."

Involuntarily, she cast a dubious glance over her shoulder at the carnage happening far too quickly for her to see. Suddenly, the 'Beast' nickname didn't seem like a boast at all. "I don't think Gai-sensei is going to leave anything for you to fight," she mumbled, pulling her jacket off and balling it under his head. "Hold still, Lee-kun."

Had he been any other shinobi, she probably would have pulled his shirt up before examining him. As it was, she didn't think he would thank her if she ripped his jumpsuit and left him in his tighty whities. So she gently placed just her fingertips over his gut and tried to ignore the way he winced and clenched his jaw. Karin closed her eyes, cataloguing what her senses were telling her as she moved her hands.

'Four broken ribs. One pierced the left lung and it's filling with fluid. Severe bruising, but that's almost negligible at this point…'

She summed the situation up with a blunt and professional, "Shit."

Lee gave a choked laugh. "Karin-san! Here I thought that Sasuke-san was jesting when he claimed that he was going to recommend you further study bedside manners."

"That sassy bastard? Like he's one to talk," she replied, managing to give the Chuunin a smile and totally miss the way Itachi nearly choked. Lee was incredible to be able to make jokes at a time like this. In his position, she might just be crying. How could someone be so good-natured all the time? He had to be in horrendous pain.

Speaking of which… Karin reached into the pouch at her left hip and dug out a yellow capsule. "Bite this, please," she ordered crisply, tucking it inside Lee's lips and ignoring his surprise. That would do for the pain, but pain was just a symptom. If she didn't do something about the blood in his lung, he would drown. That couldn't be first, though. She had to move the broken rib into place and at least get it patched up before she could do anything about the liquid.

The blood wouldn't be a problem for her. She'd mastered Tsunade's poison extraction technique as well as Shizune could teach her. Moving liquid was well within her capabilities.

'I wish I'd been better as an actual field medic,' Karin thought a little morosely. She was a poison specialist, not a trauma surgeon. Sasuke would be much, much better at the bone work.

But he wasn't here now, and she was.

She had no idea how long it took her to coax the rib piercing his lung back into place, but she was trembling and sweat was dripping down her forehead.

'It's quiet,' Karin noted vaguely. 'Does that mean Gai's fight is over?'

Maybe. She didn't bother to look or see what was happening elsewhere. A medic had to focus on the patient alone. Or they would end up with a dead patient.

Lee had lapsed into what she thought was unconsciousness for a second—until he blinked his eyes open to look up at her dazedly.

His breathing sounded terrible—waterlogged and raspy. A little panicked, Karin bent low over his chest to assess how much he'd bled while she'd been working. 'More than I'd like,' she grimly judged.

Still, this was the easy part.

"Keep your mouth open, and stay calm," Karin ordered, trying to sound confident and no-nonsense instead of like she was in the middle of her first surgery in the field.

It had to be incredibly unpleasant to feel a rush of hot blood being pulled up his lung and up and out of his throat, but Lee bore it stoically. Karin balanced the glob between trembling hands- and then tossed it to the side, bringing her fingers back down to the bottom of his lung to repeat the procedure again and again until there was no liquid left where it shouldn't be. Pale-faced and exhausted, she re-checked Lee's vitals—and slumped over in relief. He was doing well. Now she just needed to try to heal the other two ribs, see if she could perfect the patch over the one she had already done, and make sure he couldn't re-injure himself by-

"Karin-sensei," mumbled-

Karin blinked and looked up, downright shocked to hear the term of respect coming from Uchiha Itachi. Sensei was the traditional marker of respect for a doctor but she wasn't really deserving of that.

"Yes?" she asked faintly, and tried not to blush at the strange softness in his gaze or the way he slightly bowed his head to her.

'Maybe he just really respects medics,' Karin realized vaguely. That was unusual. Pleasant, but not the ordinary case among shinobi.

"May I suggest that you examine Maito-san?" He gestured towards a slumped figure she hadn't noticed. The movement was so subtle that she could tell it was a conscious effort for him to utilize body language at all. She instantly pegged him as even more socially awkward and repressed than Sai. Shame.

'Wait. Gai is hurt?'

But she already knew Lee was hurt-

Lee grabbed her hand. "Please examine Gai-sensei first, Karin-san!" He was all but begging.

Karin nodded slowly, detangling her hand. "Of course," she allowed, and pushed her glasses up slightly before she jogged across the slight distance. She tried very hard not to notice the blood splatters and obviously shattered bones in the over-large body that lay not far away.

"Kisame is dead," Itachi assured her, seeming to catch on to her hidden fear. She felt ashamed, but didn't allow herself to wallow in it.

Gai… was not in good shape. "What did you do," she breathed incredulously. He was slightly too unconscious to offer a reply. Every muscle she examined was torn, ligaments pushed far beyond their limits, bones cracked in odd patterns she'd never seen before… and his chakra core was depleted.

'Mito-sensei would be irritated with me,' Karin realized, even as she wiped her right forearm with a sanitary wipe from her med-kit and carefully placed it inside Gai-sensei's mouth. Sensei hadn't liked the use of her unusual abilities as anything except a literal last resort. Healing other people by gifting away her life energy took a harsh toll on Karin's body. It was unhygienic, unconventional, and her best option at the moment. Itachi moved, possibly startled or revolted, but didn't interfere when she placed her splayed fingers on the bottom of the unconscious man's jaw and used the force to 'encourage' his teeth to break the surface of her epidermis.

"I can share my vitality this way," she explained, feeling oddly ashamed of the crude methodology. Karin didn't have long to wallow in her inadequacies—Gai unconsciously sapped a horrifying portion of the chakra she hadn't spent running or fighting or healing. She gritted her teeth and pulled away, breathing heavily. It took two tries to find the proper proportions of neutral physical and spiritual energy to call up diagnostic chakra to check his condition, which she instantly recognized as proof that she was nearing her limits. That was all but instinctive at this point in her career.

And her glowing palm technique cut out before she could get a real reading. Frustrated, Karin shook her fingers out and tried again. A warm hand curled around her wrist before she could force the jutsu.

"Do not push yourself beyond what you are capable," Itachi said quietly. Almost self-consciously, he released her hand quickly and nodded at her patient. "A visual check is enough to confirm that Gai-san's state is much improved. Trust that your teammates will return, or that you may finish treating your patients once you have recuperated."

She stared for a second, light-headed and a little grumpy at being interrupted. "Are you always so… logical?" Karin scrunched up her nose in a moue of distaste. "That seems so dull."

Still, she took the advice and leaned back in a recovery position, getting as much oxygen as possible and re-gaining her bearings. "Speaking of which," Karin mumbled, barely aware that she was talking aloud. She squeezed her eyes shut. That wasn't strictly necessary, but when she was having a hard time focusing, it was helpful to separate her senses so that she could concentrate on whatever was most crucial.

Kakashi and Neji were back and making their way towards her position. So was Yamato's thankfully intact team. The other fight had moved quite a distance away—and Konan had disappeared off her vision. That meant that something had gone wrong. She was supposed to have been captured. Had she been killed or had she escaped, Karin wondered idly. It was impossible to know without further information. At least the five shinobi who'd been fighting Konan seemed fine.

Kakuzu was gone as well… As were two of the signatures she'd become familiar with from Kumo. Dead, or had they chased him out of her range?

"Karin, Itachi. Report. Any problems?" She blinked gummily, a little surprised that Kakashi had appeared so suddenly.

"Lee-kun and Gai-sensei are going to need another healing session before either one of them is moved," she offered. "Yamato's team won and is on their way back here. Ah… The fighting ended with Konan and her signature is gone, but I don't know what happened. No fatalities on our side, but I don't know about medical condition yet."

Self-consciously, she rubbed at her face and gave consideration to falling over unconscious instead of finishing her report.

Karin tabled the thought for later, because unconsciousness sounded blissful. May as well bite the kunai and fess up to dereliction of duty, because her commanding officer was going to figure it out even if Itachi didn't tattle on her. "I became preoccupied with healing, and I'm not certain if Kakuzu escaped or was killed. But two Kumo nin are either dead or out of my range as well."

Kakashi didn't seem pleased by her assessment. "Contact them, if you can," he ordered briskly before seeming to note that Neji was all but staring at his teammates. "Feel free to visit them," Kakashi advised a little more softly. "Hurry. You're going to go check on Tenten's team after that." Then he turned to Itachi last. "Any problems?"

"I suspect that Konan and Kakuzu have both escaped," he calmly put forth. "It should also be brought to your attention that Karin-sensei is not in fit condition to perform another jutsu at the moment."

A sharp eye pinned the redhead just as she made the first seal to summon a serpent. She blinked guiltily, not sure why she felt that way. "I see," the Jounin sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Forgive me, Karin-chan, I should have noticed. Forget what I said." Kakashi ran through his own sequence of handseals—and a moment later smoke was clearing to reveal two hounds.

Well. One of them was a proper hound. The other was a stubby little pug with big sad eyes.

"Pakkun, I need you to deliver a message to the closest units," Kakashi ordered briskly. "Tell them to contact the adjacent squad and move into Ame. We're taking temporary control of the village."

"We?" the pug asked curiously, tilting his head.

"The alliance," Kakashi clarified lazily. "Not Konoha in particular, of course. It seems that Akatsuki is definitely associated with Ame. They shouldn't pose much threat on their own, but it would be foolish to leave known enemies unsupervised when we have taken control of their base. Bisuke, stay with Pakkun, just in case something goes wrong."

The actual hound gave a pleasant yap and beat his tail against the ground one time. Karin forced down a smile. She didn't think Kakashi-sensei would appreciate being told that his ninken were adorable and cuddly looking.

The serious expression on his face leant to that impression. She was glad she hadn't moved to pet the dogs.

Some people were just so touchy. Karin gave a huge yawn that cracked her jaw. Appalled, she slapped a palm over her open mouth and tried to force her eyes to stay open.

'I should find out what Gai-sensei did that took so much of his life energy,' she decided, even as it became clear that she wasn't going to find out anytime soon. Neji bounded off in the direction Itachi indicated, clearly on course to ensure that his last remaining teammate was not also in need of medical attention.

She would have plenty of time to find out, if they were going to be stuck in Ame for the foreseeable future. Blegh. No one was going to be pleased about putting Ame under new management.

When Neji returned, it was with Tenten, Genma, and the disgruntled Suna team. Karin knew their target had gotten away before anyone so much as spoke from their downtrodden attitudes. It didn't help matters when Naruto blandly reported that they'd won their fights before turning to Temari and asking how she'd finished Konan.

'His faith is inspiring,' Karin thought dryly. 'His situational assessment is less so.'

Still, by that point she was feeling well enough to grab Sasuke and get a secondary opinion on the men in green. Karin barely noted that the large team was talking about the fight with Konan-something about her leading them to another building and making a break for the border, leading them through a delaying ambush of Ame nin. She was more preoccupied with the situation that she could alter. Injuries for the other team were less severe than even the improved condition of Karin's two patients, so she hardly felt guilty about privileging the care of people she knew. This time, she was aware enough to recognize that Itachi was watching with undisguised interest as she and Sasuke ran diagnostics and compared notes.

Gai was recuperating shockingly well, given an infusion from her regenerative chakra. The spiderweb cracks in his bones were the only problem that would be a lasting issue—but assuming he was treated gently, only minor treatments and nutritional supplements would have him on the path to recovery.

Lee was another story. A second pass of his lungs revealed a small clot she had missed on her initial diagnosis—something that seemed to have been a preexisting condition. She frowned, mildly amazed that such a thing had slipped notice, but excised it nonetheless. His broken ribs were going to be a problem, however.

"I don't think we can let them heal naturally," Karin posited unwillingly, curling her toes inside her sandals. Normally, that was optimal. A medic nin generally encouraged the body to heal better and more expediently than usual. Forcing the healing process was disruptive and often had long-term repercussions for the patient's immunity and ability to heal naturally.

But the situation they were in was too dangerous to play it safe. Lee would hardly be able to stand without risking incurring further damage, much less keep pain at manageable levels without eating drugs like they were breath mints.

Sasuke sighed, fluffing up the back of his hair. "How is your chakra level?" he asked, not sounding like he expected much.

When she admitted that she was nearly drained, he just nodded.

"I'm hardly surprised. You've been maintaining all those summons for days now. Your available pool was much smaller than usual." Sasuke flicked his black eyes into red effortlessly, in the space between thoughts. "Can you hold the topmost rib in place while I work?"

Kakashi watched the interchange impassively, realizing in the sickly light that they had fought almost through the night. He turned his gaze on each of the shinobi in his care one by one, cataloguing their states. Most needed rest and care. Naruto and Sasuke had the best summons for getting a report back to Konoha—and this situation did need to be reported—but they should rest. Silently, he ran his hands through the seals to summon two more members of his pack. Urushi and Guruko looked up at him inquisitively. He knelt to speak with them in an undertone.

"Can I get you to take a message to Konoha?"

The ninken didn't bother to respond verbally. Guruko grinned good-naturedly. Kakashi reached out to scratch behind an ear for both hounds, silently expressing his thanks. When he drew his hands back, it was to pull a bit of paper and a pen out of his hip pouch. "Just a minute, then."

Poor Tsunade didn't speak dog, after all.

Obito jerked into awareness and simply raised one hand. Zetsu obediently halted. The unconscious man on his back swayed sickly with the motion, but didn't stir.

That was normal. He wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, if at all before the end.

"Tobi-san?" White Zetsu asked inquisitively. The dark side of his face pulled into a sneer, but said nothing.

"Do you sense anyone familiar?" Obito asked quietly, slipping out of Tobi's skin and thoughts like they were a manky old sweater. The boy obediently slunk into silence.

Zetsu quirked his head slightly. It was Black Zetsu who answered. "The greedy old man," he muttered distastefully. "Kakuzu-san is alright," White Zetsu disagreed mildly.

Obito concentrated on the important information and ignored the byplay. "Give me the jinchuuriki," he ordered, and hurriedly hustled the man onto his back. Kakuzu thought he was Zetsu's hanger-on, and would expect him to be doing the heavy lifting and grunt work. "Find out what has happened in our absence."

It wasn't long before the familiar chakra signature veered on course to meet them, clearly recognizing their party. They met several miles out of Ame's northern border.

Kakuzu was in his pajamas, clearly dirtied, and limping slightly. It didn't bode well.

"Oh no, Kakuzu-senpai!" Tobi gasped, jerking control away from Obito and flailing in concern, nearly letting his burden slip to the ground. He flitted about the older man, apparently unaware of his growing rage, and examined him from various angles. Even Tobi wasn't stupid enough to try to hug Kakuzu to make him feel better or even touch him. No other Akatsuki had fits of mindless rage like the miser did, and there was no way to get in a fight with him without losing his cover as an idiot.

"Tobi, calm yourself," Black Zetsu spat condescendingly. His calmer half tried to soothe things over by turning the conversation over to the interloper. "What has happened, Kakuzu-san? We have returned with our target."

Kakuzu snorted, ill-tempered. The fact that he hadn't lashed out betrayed that he was weaker than he was letting on, however. "For all the good it will do," he sneered. "Leader-sama left the bimbo in charge and wandered off somewhere. The Konoha and Suna morons moved into Ame. Hidan is dead. The last I saw, Kisame and Konan were fighting against poor odds." His voice dropped into simmering rage and bitterness. "Itachi has betrayed us."

'Well, that's not surprising at all,' Obito snorted. Idiots, the lot of them, never thinking to look beyond what they had been told was truth. Itachi had made a tactically sound, at least for the short-term. The only unexpected turn there had been that Pein had dared leave Ame… Was that why he had been sent out of the country? Pein had probably hoped to return before Obito knew he was gone.

'But where did he go?" Madara whispered, curling like grey smoke to strangle other thoughts. 'What does he wish to hide from us? Is he afraid of what we would do unchecked in Ame, or wary of what we would do to stop whatever course of action he has set upon?'

"Itachi-senpai would never betray Akatsuki," Tobi said loyally.

Technically, he was correct. Akatsuki had never truly had Itachi's allegiance. It was logically impossible for him to betray the organization.

That didn't mean that the wayward boy wouldn't have to be punished for his choice, of course.

Madara's conversation was more interesting than the outside topic. What would Pein want to hide from Obito?

'Or what would Pein want to do in general,' Obito thought instead, turning the nuances away from a topic he could hardly predict without more information. Pein saw the alliance as the greatest impediment to Akatsuki's goals, quite rightly so, and what would he do about that?

The answer came easily. What else could be expected from someone who thought to impose his will upon the world by creating a monster so terrible that no one would dare disobey him? Pein was crude. He would attempt to solve the matter ham-handedly.

"That's not good," Zetsu muttered, ignoring Tobi altogether. Kakuzu did as well. "Itachi is stronger than Kisame. He's probably lost to us."

"But not Konan?" Kakuzu asked, actually sounding mildly interested. None of them had worked with Pein's partner.

"I cannot estimate," Black Zetsu balefully lied in a way that implied he wished Konan would perish. Obito rolled his eyes, content in the knowledge that no one was paying any attention to him anyways. Pitiful and petty. Zetsu should know better. He was Madara's creature through and through in a way Obito had never been. For the moment, he was a valuable ally in the Eye of the Moon plan, since Obito didn't see a way to accomplish his goals without using Pein's Rinnegan to resurrect the older man.

But Obito hardly felt limited to Madara's vision. He was going to be the one to cast the ultimate Tsukyomi, not that fossil.

'Bide your time,' the deepest voice urged, amused for a reason Obito couldn't put his finger on. 'Now is not the time to show our hand.'

"Is Ame lost to us, then?" Zetsu asked curiously.

"Probably. It's overrun with Konoha and Kumo nin. We will need to contact Pein," Kakuzu grunted, giving a dismissive glance at the form slumped over Obito's back. "It is hardly wise to haul that sack of lard around longer than necessary."

"Without Kisame and Hidan, will it even be possible to extract the bijuu?" White Zetsu asked doubtfully. Black Zetsu made a rude sound, but offered no helpful opinion.

The oldest man present pressed his lips down into a resentful frown. "We will need to augment our numbers," he admitted bitterly. "Even if Konan has survived and meets with us, we will be extracting this bijuu with less than half our original numbers."

Strictly speaking, it wasn't true that they needed more people to extract bijuu. Obito suspected that he could accomplish such a thing with only Pein or Konan for a partner, but each participant cut down the necessary time for the procedure exponentially. They were most vulnerable while performing an extraction. It would be foolish not to shorten that weakness as much as possible.

Itachi was gone. Kisame was probably lost. Hidan had joined Sasori and Deidara in death—unless, of course, he came crawling back a week later as he usually did.

Obito let Tobi proffer an innocent idea. "Why don't we make more friends?" He clapped his gloved hands, as if the concept was novel. "Wasn't there a bad thing in Mist? I bet we can find some more shinobi who can't stay in the village anymore!"

A laugh nearly bubbled up in his throat at that guilelessly innocent description of missing nin, but Obito managed to choke it down in time. Tobi really cracked him up sometimes. More lately than in past, actually.

Any surviving Mist traitors would be highly suspect, of course, but it was a start.

"Good idea," White Zetsu agreed easily. "You can take care of it," Black Zetsu grunted, amused by his own cleverness. "We will hide the jinchuuriki and contact you when we have found Pein-sama."

He pretended to be ecstatic at the suggestion and hurried off the Water Country post-haste. With his abilities, that was far faster than Kakuzu could possibly have predicted. Obito didn't mind the informal mission. He had recruited most of the Akatsuki in some capacity or another. He had a knack for it.

That knack bore fruit only two days later on one of the outlier islands where any fleeing failures would have had to pass, when he went to pull an oversized sword out of the tides and found that it was connected to what initially appeared to be a stubborn current. Obito gave one curious tug, already suspecting the truth.

The boy came sputtering and baring teeth as he solidified out of the water, rather badly attempting to intimidate the Akatsuki.

'One of the water clan,' Madara thought, idly amused. 'And not a particularly impressive specimen, either. I might throw it back and look for a better fish.'

Obito ignored that advice and the obviously battered condition of his find in favor of something more interesting.

"This is one of the swords belonging to the Mist's seven swordsmen," he mused quietly, running a gloved finger over the distinctive handle and eying the half-moon cutout on the enormous blade.

"Yes, and it's mine!" The white-haired teen barked, attempting to pull the blade out of Obito's grip. He didn't relent.

"Did you steal this, boy?"

His catch bristled. "Fuck no, dumbshit. I'm the only real swordsman left."

"You might be," Obito agreed idly. If Kisame really was dead. More relevant to current issue was that Kiri didn't give these swords out to weaklings. The boy was young, clearly possessed more bravado than brains, and was not up to Akatsuki's usual standards. However… he had to have talent; and a quick check of his vitals reinforced the suspicion that the boy would be an A-class fighter given time to recuperate. His chakra was acceptable. "Let's make a deal. Join me, and I will make sure you can retrieve the remaining swords. If you do not wish to travel with me, I will kill you now."

The boy agreed, after a … demonstration of Obito's ability to harm him.

One addition wouldn't be enough, but that was satisfactory progress. Even better, this one feared only him and not Pein. The older man's use was quickly expiring, as evidenced by his failure to use his resources to accomplish a relatively simple goal. Pein had forgone expediency for subtlety and failed in both regards. If he didn't need those damned Rinnegan and an idiot attached to them for the Eye of the Moon plan, that incompetent, idealistic buffoon would have been discarded long ago.

He picked up two more missing nin in a similar fashion before he headed back in search of Akatsuki—one more displaced Kiri nin, and one piece of scum he had found attempting to cash in on a bounty in Tea country. It was time that he started edging out behind the Ame ninja's shadow in some respects. Kisame had been his only loyal follower. If he was truly dead, Obito needed a replacement.

Of course, he also needed to store his hangers on with Zetsu and find out what idiocy Pein had managed to get elbows-deep in.

Konoha felt like a city of the dead. Comparatively speaking, they had an impressive shinobi population for a hidden village. It didn't seem that way when about half of that population was out in the field somewhere. A significant portion of the remainder was either under fourteen or assigned to protecting the cloistered civilians, and therefore unavailable for the moment.

With so many either stationed with their most vulnerable or deployed elsewhere, Konoha's Jounin and Chuunin were stretched thin maintaining tightened perimeters around the village. Even when they weren't officially on guard duty, most of them seemed to walk the streets warily. And why not? It wasn't like there was much else to do.

It had been days since Tsunade had put the village on full lockdown. Doubtless, the civilians were getting restless, but they would be fine for quite a while. The village was prepared for many eventualities, including siege. No one would be happy, but no one would starve in the protected shelters for at least a few months, either.

'It's downright creepy.' Aiko shuddered, walking past yet another store that hadn't had time to lock their doors or put away the wares on display when the alarm had gone off. That poor deli owner was going to have a terrible mess to clean up when they returned. The smell was less than scintillating.

There were a surprising amount of genin aged fifteen and older. Aiko tried not to be biased or judgmental- not everyone became a Chuunin and that was fine—but it just seemed so strange that Naruto's team could have been recommended for promotion after only a few months of duty but that so many other genin apparently hadn't tried the exams yet at that age.

Whatever the reason, she was still grateful for the oddly large numbers. Genin were serving as temporary infrastructure—running messages, and performing the day to day work that kept everyone else fed and in decent health.

The ink on her arm burnt. Aiko didn't bother to look at her ANBU tattoo, though she had the first few times that she'd been summoned to a shift that way. That had made her look like a complete rookie, sadly. It heated when she was required to report in an emergency, but it didn't change in any way. So staring at it as if the tattoo would somehow have the answers was just begging for onlookers to laugh at her expense.

When she'd gotten the tattoo, the artist had told her that the chakra-infused ink could be used to contact her in case of emergencies. But she'd never been on a squad that did anything particularly risky or time-sensitive. Running patrols and taking guard shifts was formulaic and well scheduled, so there was no need to actually contact her as an operative outside of normal channels.

Burning on her arm had become the new normal for the past few days, however.

It didn't seem to indicate an actual emergency now as much as it meant that it was the fastest way to contact an operative. The genin corps had been largely conscripted to replace the existing infrastructure and secretarial positions, but that was still laughably inefficient in comparison to the well-polished system that was normally in place. Being able to run quickly and throw kunai didn't really put genin ahead of the civilian staff when it came to actually getting lines of communication running smoothly and the village operating.

At least temporarily, the burning now meant that she was to report to the Jounin lounge instead of the out of the way ANBU facility. As was the new norm, the room was already occupied.

"Hello." Aoba nodded when she walked in.

Aiko managed a tired smile and a half-hearted wave. She sat sideways on the couch that curled around the outside of the room and stretched out her legs, glancing down at the pale expanse of her bare knees and the tan shorts that covered the top half of her thighs. She hadn't been doing much laundry lately, so she was all out of cheery colored clothing. Her top was red, which she bleakly rationalized might be useful for hiding stains if anything ever did happen. "Yo, Aoba-san. How are you?"

The man gave a rather disapproving look at her boots on the couch cushion. A little sheepishly, Aiko moved them to the floor and straightened with exaggerated care. Only then did he give her a faint smile. "I am doing well, Aiko-san. Are-"

"Uzumaki, you're joining the group on the main gate," a Chuunin read off a clipboard disinterestedly. She flipped her dark ponytail over her shoulder and traced a finger down the paper, and glanced up to check the other occupants. "Yuuhi, Aoba, you're required in the Hokage's office. Kenta…"

Aiko silently got up and gave Aoba a little wave over her shoulder, not wanting to say anything over the woman who was still reading off new orders.

She paced the top of the wall in a circuit that overlapped with the ones being walked by a Chuunin she didn't know and a girl she recognized as one of Lee and Neji's classmates. Aiko couldn't help occasionally glancing down at the guard desk. For once, it wasn't manned. There was no point when the doors were closed and there were exponentially more guards around in more defensible positions.

It was hard to know if she should be more regretful that her tendency to glance down at the unoccupied desk meant that she saw nothing coming or guiltily thankful that she'd just turned around at the end of her circuit. Being hundreds of feet north of the large doors that marked the main gate saved her life. One second, she was glancing away from the treeline to see the empty streets below, and the next a beam of white hot light had blown through the gate and a section of the wall on either side.

Aiko nearly lost her balance, jerking to the side with the percussive force as cracks shot through the stone wall. Enormous chunks of gray stone crumbled and tumbled into the village proper, flattening the guard house and breaking a flowering tree in half like a toothpick.

Shock did what the force hadn't. Aiko stumbled backwards and landed on her ass, hands by her hips and knees partially bent. And she just stared.

There was no one there. In a literal sense. The girl who had been behind her was just gone. Vaporized. There wasn't even blood spatter.

"Oh my god," Aiko whispered, momentarily stunned. Her eyes stung painfully from the dust and debris. It took a moment for her mind to catch on to the change in the situation. She scrambled back to her feet and bounded through the clearing smoke to get a better look, and tried her best to ignore that her heart was pounding all the way up in her throat.

When she felt foreign chakra flicker across her senses, it was hard to believe that she had ever failed to feel it coming. A single man stood there, just for an instant, implacable and impassive on the ground just outside the tree-line with one arm extended- and detached. And then the world seemed to explode with movement.

Aiko shrieked and dropped low, rolling away from the thousands of pounds of gray scales that rocketed over the wall and into the city. She caught a glimpse of an orange stripe on its side, but it was a literal blur.

'What the fuck is that thing?' The view was poor from below, but it was enormous. She might have called it a lizard, if lizards could grow to the size of buildings.

It wasn't alone. Down in the south, the wall was being breached in multiple positions by other oversized animals. A bird of some sort flew over and fucking snatched up a man in its mouth like he was a potato chip, swallowing him down as it beat its wings and soared upwards, out of reach. Most horribly, a crab with a glistening pale underbelly scuttled along the wall with claws held high and picked off anyone unwary or slow enough.

The bulky man standing outside the gate took slow, horrible steps in, unchallenged. Aiko put a shaky hand to her thigh pouch, reaching for her orange-handled kunai, and tried not to wonder how she had been missed when those animals had cut through the rest of her co-workers like they were made of tissue paper. She felt very small and insignificant.

And that feeling was exponentially worse an instant later, when five more men in Akatsuki cloaks stepped out of the tree-line to flank the nin who had taken down the gate. Had one of them summoned those animals, or had that been the bald man as well? Aiko stared for a moment, completely lost and out of her depth.

She thought she'd known a fair bit about Akatsuki. But there were six people she didn't recognize walking into Konoha like they owned the place.

'Oh no wait, I recognize that one,' Aiko realized dazedly. On the side opposite her, flanking the tallest man, walked the man she knew as Pein. The cold-fingered freak who'd dangled her by her neck in Akatsuki's headquarters.

Bizarrely, despite their physical dissimilarities, all the men below shared a few odd traits beyond the Akatsuki wardrobe. They were all heavily pierced, though in different patterns, and despite being worn in various styles (excluding the one bald man), their visible hair was all… It was all..

Pein's gaze lifted- and for a second, she thought that he saw her. Aiko's heart jumped into her throat, and she straightened. If he was going to kill her, she wasn't going to die cowering behind rubble. Despite her suspicions that she was about to die, he didn't make a move towards her. Both of his hands lifted slightly, and his mouth moved. The five figures at his side swayed bizarrely and flopped to the ground like puppets. Which was weird. She couldn't hear what Pein said through the distance, smoke, and sound of screams and shinobi fighting those oversized freaks of nature.

She didn't have to. The world shifted far beyond what any human should be able to accomplish, and Aiko knew he'd done it. She didn't know how, but it was him. The next thing she knew was that the ground was shaking, and that she had been thrown several hundred feet, away from Konoha, away from the epicenter of whatever the fuck had just been done to her hometown.

The grand wall that had already been breached was still largely intact, miraculously. The outskirts of Konoha were covered in debris. Everything inside of that was gone. Worse than gone, it was an enormous crater where hundreds of buildings used to be. Motion-sick and disturbed on a level she couldn't articulate, Aiko shakingly leaned over and vomited, holding onto the grass with her fingers as if she thought the world was about to change directions again leaving her falling into the sky.

The force of that…something… had thrown her outside of Konoha's boundaries, behind the six men who were outside the ruined gate.

From behind, the oddity of their shared coloring was even more obvious, now that she couldn't see that they looked nothing alike as the five that had fallen over crawled to their feet. Self consciously, Aiko brought a hand up to her head, as if considering pulling a lock of hair into view to color check. Within a few shades, her hair color matched that on the set of men striding up. Did it mean something that all those men had the same coloring? If they'd all been brunet, she wouldn't have had a second thought about it.

An instant later, she dismissed it as coincidence summoned up by her irrational frame of mind. It was just hair. That little bit of logical thinking didn't mean she knew what to do.

She wanted to sink down into the ground and die. Hope that they didn't notice her. It didn't seem… there was no way that she could fight those people. Clinically, she knew that she was panicking and needed to calm down. That didn't mean she could.

'I guess… I'm a coward after all,' Aiko thought a little hysterically, shaking severely and not even trying to calm her breathing. 'I don't see how anyone can fight that kind of reckless destruction. If we hadn't evacuated, that man would have…' Her thoughts trailed off, as she realized with a dim sort of horror that many genin and Chuunin would have been held back to hold the inner city as a last line of defense if the Jounin failed.

'Oh god. They're all dead. Hundreds of people are just dead.'

From one moment to another, almost an entire generation of Konoha's rising shinobi was just gone.

Slowly, inexorably, the six men in front of her fanned out and walked through the enormous break in the gate, not sparing a look for the devastation or the animals that were still wreaking havoc in Konoha's outskirts.

What could she do? What should she do? Desperately, Aiko struggled to relate anything in her training to this situation. She was outclassed. Running at the six Akatsuki would earn her a hilariously quick and pointless death. It was still an option. But Konoha was famous for teamwork. That meant she should find reinforcements, right? And report to Tsunade to share what little information she had?

The sensor squad got Tsunade a message several minutes before the wall exploded inwards. Tsunade leapt to her feet and was already en route to meet the invaders personally, with Shizune at her right and Jiraiya at her left. She'd been half-expecting this for days, so on edge that her heart leapt into her throat every time that someone moved towards her office too quickly.

A full ANBU squad intercepted her on the way, led by the last person she expected. Tsunade felt the blood drain out of her face. Her mind raced and her eyes darted between the slightly bent figure of her childhood hero and the masked men who stood proudly at his side.

"Sensei?" she asked, heart twisting.

Hiruzen seemed to guess her thoughts. "There is no time, Tsunade-chan," he told her softly, wrinkled fingers struggling to properly fasten the buckles on the equipment pouch on his thin hips.

Her throat felt thick. 'What do I do? He can't fight. He's too old, he's not in good condition. Sensei will die if he participates. Does he even know what's going on?'

Jiraiya put a warm, oversized hand on her shoulder, and for once she didn't begrudge the invasion of her personal space. The man who had made her into the kunoichi she was today looked back with a largely steady gaze that told her he understood enough. He knew that Konoha was in danger. Sarutobi Hiruzen had sworn to protect Konoha and its people when he took office as Hokage.

She couldn't tell him to cower while the people he thought of as his children fought and died. Tsunade swallowed and nodded, blinking to force down tears.

"Be careful, sensei," she said uselessly, knowing that he wouldn't. Her teacher gave her a reassuring smile that really shouldn't have made her feel any better. Tsunade was a medic. She knew perfectly well that no matter how lucid he was at the moment, a man who was nearly eighty years old shouldn't be engaging in S-class fights.

Jiraiya didn't say anything touchy-feely as he was no doubt aching to, but he gave his teacher a slow nod. "Don't worry about a thing, Tsunade-hime. I don't see how we could lose with two Hokage and so many good shinobi here to protect the village." He pulled one of his cocky grins, and Tsunade had to marvel at his ability to feign happiness.

Instead of complimenting him, she elbowed his ribs gently in what he would recognize as wordless thanks. "Let's go. Sandaime-sama, you're taking control of ANBU, then?"

"I gathered the off-duty ANBU I could find," he said mildly. "I believe that we will be seeing support from the more experienced clan shinobi soon."

And that was that, because an oversized ray of light burst through the village and took a section of wall tumbling with it. Tsunade's heart dropped in her chest, and she ran through the smoke and rubble that hung in the air and obscured her vision. A massive influx of chakra welled out of nowhere and made her quite sure that the sensor team had been mistaken in saying that there was one intruder. It seemed like hours in the dim madness—her retinue ran into a horrifically oversized beast with gray scales and far too many legs. She didn't have to see it knocking over buildings by lashing its tail in order to know that it needed to die.

Tsunade didn't waste time, leaping at the thing herself. Another shinobi would have had to find a way to figure out the beast's weakest point, or work with peers to scrounge together enough destructive force to put a dent in its hide. She leapt up the side of one of the brick structures that still stood, and crossed the distance in the air to land on the thing's back. And then she shattered its spine with a stomp of her foot. The beast collapsed like a puppet without strings.

"At least it didn't get very far in," Shizune offered, sounding angry when Tsunade jumped back down to join the group making their way towards the breach in security.

There was no time for a response. There was only the sense of intense pressure hanging in the air, enormous sound not completely unlike an explosion, and then the realization that she was looking up at the dimmed sky. Dazed, Tsunade took a moment to climb to her feet. When she did, she almost wished she hadn't.

"It's gone," Hiruzen whispered, being helped to his feet by an ANBU in a crow mask. "It's.."

Tsunade swallowed tears—anger and loss—and steeled herself. What was gone was Konoha. The Academy, the tower, her childhood home… it was all gone. A goddamn hole in the ground replaced it.

Someone had to pay for this.

Sarutobi-sensei padded lightly just behind Tsunade when she halted to stare, trying to get her bearings in the confusion. "Orders, Hokage-sama?" her teacher asked, tone forced into calm.

"Pick a target," Tsunade mumbled, feeling a bit disoriented. This hadn't been a situation she had planned for. No one could plan for this. "Shizune, stay with Sandaime-sama and his team in case they need medical assistance." No one said anything about that. It did seem redundant to have the village's two best medics in one place. "Jiraiya and I will head for the-" She jerked and flung a hand out, nearly knocking the girl who'd just appeared back ten feet. Aiko side-stepped just in time, frightfully pale and turquoise eyes wide in her face, pupils dilated in obvious fear.

All three of the kage-level shinobi who had moved relaxed.

"Aiko-chan?" Jiraiya reached out and put a hand on the girl's head. Tsunade pressed her lips together. That wasn't particularly professional, but there would be no point in scolding him.

But the girl would probably react better to structure at the moment, judging by her nearly fearful body language. When a shinobi was on the verge of panicking, it was better to snap them back into a duty mindset than try to comfort them. Especially since there was work to be done.

"Uzumaki, report." Tsunade ignored the disappointed look her old teammate gave her for her unsympathetic tone. It worked—Aiko straightened under Jiraiya's oversized paw and blinked up at her lucidly.

"Six intruders breached the East gate," Aiko began, intense in her sudden focus and looking much more pulled together. Tsunade quietly approved of the compartmentalization. "All of the intruders but one are red-headed males. The individual who breached the wall was a large man with no hair. He used some sort of explosive pulse from a detached arm. I didn't see if the individual who summoned the animals was that man or one of the others. I only recognized one of them as Akatsuki, but they all wear the cloak. The man I recognize was the one the other Akatsuki referred to as their leader, Pein." She paused for a moment, before adding, "I think he was the one who did… this." Aiko's eyes flickered to the destruction and then away just as rapidly.

Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged looks. They didn't have to be sensors at this point to know that the intruders were separating. The oversized animals were all but rioting in the remaining streets, engaging any shinobi that sought them out, but the human intruders were staying to the very outskirts of town, attempting to encircle them.

It wasn't hard to suppose that they didn't want to allow that to happen.

"I will seek out the bald man who took down our gates," Sarutobi-sensei suggested, before bowing his head slightly. "If that is acceptable with you, Hokage-sama."

'That's so bizarre.'

Ignoring the discomfort that hearing her teacher defer to her inspired, Tsunade inclined her head in a nod. "More than acceptable. The rest of us will head to the bulk of the intruders." Three of the intruders were hanging strangely close together. They needed to be separated. Jiraiya and Tsunade as a team were nearly undefeatable—with backup from a few other high level shinobi, they should be able to overwhelm the other force.

Hiruzen and his backup splintered westward without another word. It took forty seconds for Tsunade's group to come into view of the devastation at ground zero for the attack.

Yamanaka Inoichi's ponytail whipped behind him as he swiveled to see the new arrivals. He managed a look of relief before his opponent came too close. Then he grunted in mild surprise, barely evading the whirling blows from one of the orange-haired Akatsuki.

It was positively eerie, Tsunade thought as she leapt into the fray, and would have been even if the intruders didn't maintain a strict silence. The attackers all had the same pale skin and orange hair, but they couldn't be related. Their facial features were too varied.

Their taijutsu style seemed to be all the same, however, which was downright unlikely. It was best described as powerful and fast. Tsunade bared her teeth aggressively into the face of the long-haired man who had leapt to engage her, holding the hand that would have broken her bones into dozens of pieces had she been anyone else trying to catch the blow.

Jiraiya moved in a blur, throwing off the Akatsuki who had come directly behind Tsunade in an attempt to pin her between the two. She cast up a quick thanks that her teammate had her back, grappling with her opponent and tossing him directly into the air with barely a thought.

She shouldn't have looked away from her opponent, no matter what she heard. But the sound that came ripping out of Akimichi Choza's mouth was downright inhuman.

The tableau was grim. Shikaku Naru's face was frozen in a rictus of shock even as a streak of black across the ground froze one of the red-headed Akatsuki into the same wide stance the dark-haired man was holding. Yamanaka Inoichi hit the ground face up with a soft thud, mouth open in surprise and blood trailing out his eyes and ears.

'He tried to possess one of them,' she realized numbly, barely focusing on her own fight enough to leap up to bat the man she'd flung like a cat toy horizontally across the battlefield.

There was no mistaking that, though she had no idea how it had been done. The blonde man was dead. Akimichi Choza was gaining red color and mass rapidly, clearly ready to crush the Akatsuki like a bug.

And then a flicker of orange crossed the field, and the Akatsuki was gone.

So was Aiko.

The moment she realized that one of the three men who she had found her way back to was Pein, Aiko felt physically ill. He had to die. He was the leader. She was sure he'd been the one to flatten the village. Maybe the others would give up without him to give them orders. But he was already fighting the three clan heads. Jiraiya and Tsunade were tag-teaming the Akatsuki with the longest hair. That left the other for her. She had to do her job.

Aiko sped through hand-seals in less than a heartbeat, moving towards the man who was closing on Tsunade. Running straight towards her real target in a predictable trajectory would be stupid. As soon as she'd gotten the last seal out, she forced a glob of chakra down her right wrist in the instant that she re-oriented to the last Akatsuki. Her hand lit up with the faint light refracting off the mock icicles that coated her fingers in a constantly moving mass. She brought it directly into the center of the Akatsuki's back- and then hiraishin'd away before the attack had bored more than two inches into his flesh.

The retreat had been a good move. Her opponent had whirled around with a fist that would have snapped her arm like a twig had she still been there.

With her actual, un-augmented speed, she couldn't hope to compete with this man, Aiko judged grimly. With Hiraishin… well, she'd have to kill him before he could figure out any attack patterns and predict her, because he was fast enough to still pose a significant threat. And were all the intruders like this?

'What is with Akatsuki being unnecessarily scary?' she thought, just mildly hysterical. Her opponent lunged toward her, hardly seeming inconvenienced by the gouge she'd taken out of his flesh. That was insane. She'd torn into his spine and the muscles that protected it.

'I wonder if telling him that he can't fight through that kind of injury would convince him to stand down?' Aiko forced down the laugh that bubbled up and tried to regulate her shaking breath, and fluttered out of her opponent's reach, several hundred feet away. He immediately re-oriented to her and wheeled around—and her attention was torn away to the source of a horrible shriek.

It didn't sound like something that should come out of Choza's mouth. He was… That just didn't make sense.

She cut across the field behind her opponent, getting a better view. Aiko only stayed in that position for the space of a thought, just long enough to see Yamanaka-san sprawling in the dirt.

'I was right,' Aiko realized numbly, not feeling the horror she knew she should. 'Pein is the most dangerous.'

That made him top priority. She had to get rid of him. That didn't mean she could really fight him. He would swat her down like a fly. She couldn't hope to compete with him. It was insane that she had ever thought she could compete with people like this. She'd just watched a better ninja than herself try and fail. (And oh god, Ino, who was going to tell Ino).

But she didn't have to win a fight with him. She just had to get him out of the way. He was probably the one coordinating the attack.

Aiko didn't think. She lunged forward with Hiraishin, twisted her fingers into the back of the frozen man's cloak, and pulled him as far away from Konoha as she could manage. With the large concentration of Hiraishin seals on her allies in a circle that must be the surroundings of Ame's borders, that probably meant she was standing somewhere north of Ame.

She didn't have time to feel triumphant before something collided with her back, knocking the back of her skull painfully. Her teeth ground together even as something was cracking in her ribs and shoulders. Her vision was white. There was no air. There was nothing but pain against her back and heat against her front where she'd been inadvertently pushed into Pein's back.

How did he do that? He couldn't possibly have predicted she would move them here.

The ringing in her ears made it hard to tell if anything else was happening or how long the pause in movement lasted—it felt like a hundred years, but if it had been more than a second Pein would have turned around and killed her.

'Oh god. He's going to kill me,' was quickly followed by, 'fuck no.' She lurched away with a rather pathetic Hiraishin—and hit her knees even before she'd been able to note she'd gotten away, falling over to curl on her side. Aiko nearly rolled onto her back, but the creaking feeling in her chest and biting pain wouldn't allow that. Something wet trickled around the shell of her ear.

'My keen intuition tells me that now is an excellent time to stop for a moment. Not just because I can't breathe. Air, who needs air?'

She tried her best to breathe shallowly so as not to disturb her ribs while still trying to breathe deeply to get oxygen to combat the emptiness in her lungs and white at the edges of her vision.

It took time for that struggle to fade away, though there was no way to measure that time. Aiko struggled to her feet, and turned her face in the direction that must be Konoha.

'If it wasn't almost dry here, I would say I was in Ame,' she thought, licking her lips. Strange. She was south of the tags that told her where Naruto and Kakashi and their teams were, who should have been stationed on the south edge of Ame's borders. That should mean she was in Grass country, shouldn't it?

'I'm so terrible with directions,' Aiko thought. 'I even know that doesn't make sense and I can't see how I'm wrong. I really need to get as many seals up as possible.'

She choked back a laugh, and instantly regretted the brief amusement.

"Right," she wheezed to herself at a tone that was barely audible, taking as big of a breath as possible to stabilize. "Gotta go home and help." Experimentally, she gave a couple of stretches, making sure she still had her full range of motion.

But god, what could she hope to do? Better her than Naruto, better that a hundred buildings fell than that Pein got his claws into her little brother; but the fearful part of her mind was asking how was her going back to die against Akatsuki in Konoha going to help?

It had to be in her head, but the ink on her chest felt almost warm. Aiko splayed her fingers over the tattoo, struck dumb by the thought. It was a possibility. Not a good one, no. But were there any good options?

The Akatsuki weren't going to stop until they had what they wanted. Destroying Konoha would be a major blow for them and probably tear the alliance apart. Naruto would instantly become the most vulnerable jinchuuriki. Unacceptable.

'On the bright side, maybe they'll give up without their leader,' Aiko thought optimistically in the instant before she flicked back to Konoha. Pein wasn't going to be able to run to Konoha in time to finish that battle. He wasn't terribly close to the Konoha teams around Ame, either. The distance would have to be measured in hours—he wouldn't be surprising any team with Karin on it, and they'd been prepared to fight Akatsuki anyway. This was just restoring equilibrium.

The only seals that had survived in Konoha were the ones in the forests outside the village and the one on Hoseki's collar. Her options were therefore decidedly limited. She erred on the side of landing outside of the gates instead of too close to the shelter where her ninken was waiting. Kami only knew that she didn't need to make them a target by indicating there was anything interesting there.

When she blinked in air that stank of soot instead of hanging heavy with damp, she was glad for the precaution. There was fire in Konoha. Better to have to run than materialize in the middle of an attack.

Pein stood on the strangely dry sod in the country of his birth and frowned. Almost absentmindedly, he allowed the boulder he'd summoned to his person with his repulsion abilities to drop to the ground. It thudded a half inch into the dry ground with nary a squelch.

"That was most unpleasant," he mused quietly, regaining his bearings. "I should not have allowed the girl to touch me."

Had she been as quick to think and attack as she was to move, he may have been injured. There were more pressing issues than her ultimately pointless actions, however. The Animal path could summon him back to Konoha at any moment if he desired. Right now it was more critical to find out what had happened in Ame. Specifically…

'Why has Kisame allowed the rain to stop?' Pein bled his chakra into the air, and allowed water to percolate. He took a deep breath and let it rise, rise, rise, to spread and coat his country. Then he allowed it to rain down, infused with his inquisitive chakra.

What he found shook him. Akatsuki was gone from the country. Pein barely maintained his hold on the rain, the lurch in his control a feat in and of itself, when it was remembered that he had been ensuring the land of Ame rained for years.

Konan, gone. Kisame, gone. Kakuzu, and Hidan, gone. But… Itachi had not left. Pein made an aborted step in his direction with the half-thought of seeking information before stilling uncertainly. Itachi was surrounded by other powerful chakra signatures. They were not familiar signatures, but he could guess as to whom they belonged. The cowards from Konoha, Suna, Kiri, and Kumo who had been blocking his doorstep for weeks had dared enter his home while he was away. And they had succeeded. Pein took a wavering step forward, mind twisted by grief and shock and self-recrimination. What kind of god failed to notice such a thing? What kind of god allowed his people to suffer? He had sworn to protect the people of Ame country, but they were clearly now under the control of foreign military personnel.

'Itachi… have you been captured, or have you betrayed me?'

Oddly, that sent a lump of something like sorrow into his chest. With spectacularly poor timing, the realization that one of his paths had been destroyed rocketed across his consciousness. The Asura path had been facing the old Hokage, and was now lost.

Shock warred with doubt. Where-is-Konan-Have-I-left-her-to-die-alone-I-need-to-find-Konan. No, she had to be alive. Konan was sentimental. If she had known their base was lost, she would have retrieved what she could and fled. He had to believe she was alive. He knew her like he knew his hands: she would have gone to one of their secret bunkers to wait for him to return.

For the first time in many years, Nagato didn't know what to do. For the moment at least, the Animal and Human paths were holding their own against the Sannin. The Preta path was roaming nearly unchallenged in Konoha, keeping the Naraka path safe in case its healing abilities were needed.

He thought they wouldn't be much good now. The images that the Asura path had transmitted in its final moments had indicated that the canny old man was doing some kinjutsu that called upon the shinigami himself. That aspect was gone.

"All my plans," Nagato noted dazedly, looking up to the sky and catching water on his face. The Human path was taking a beating from the Sannin. If they grew wise, they might defeat it. Did he even care anymore? What had he done, by abandoning Ame? He hated Konoha for what they had done to Yahiko and his dreams, but was their destruction worth this failure?

He had to see. He had to see what had become of the village he had protected in Yahiko's place. The villagers… there were far fewer than there should have been. Pein knew every man, woman, and child like they were a member of his own familiar, had intimately caressed their budding chakra signatures with rain for years. Fourteen civilians were missing- dead or out of the country. He had to see.

Karin gave a startled curse and dropped her water bottle, face involuntarily turning to the northeast. A moment later, she redirected her gaze to the south. Most of the people nearby weren't paying her much attention. But most of them weren't Kakashi.

Kakashi had frozen, almost painfully alert, waiting for her news. But he wasn't patient. "Karin, what's wrong?" he bit out, casting a wary glance in the direction she was still staring.

The girl was faintly green. "We have two visitors," Karin said in a very small voice. "I-I think Aiko brought the Akatsuki leader back to Ame. She was by the scary signature the moment that it appeared, but now she's down there, and he's still up there." She jerked her hand in two directions, the ones that she had been looking in. "The- neither of them is moving."

"They're… just standing there?" Kakashi repeated dubiously. That didn't make any sense. A single drop of rain hit his head, digging through his hair to slip down his scalp. He'd barely noticed the anomaly by the time that the sudden drop had turned into a downpour. Ice slipped down his spine, even though the air wasn't particularly cold by his standards.

"Yes, I-" Karin blinked, and shook her head. "The Akatsuki is coming here," she reported quietly.

"And Aiko?" Kakashi asked tiredly, expecting to hear that she was gone or to see her appear in their midst to tell them that she was sorry, but that she hadn't known they'd moved into Ame and she hadn't meant to dump an A-class criminal on them.

The redhead shook her head, looking unnerved. "She's perfectly still." Karin frowned. "In the middle of nowhere," she added dubiously. "Which makes no sense, of course. There's no reason for her to stand around in Ame. And her signature… well, it isn't optimal, but she's hardly dying." Karin shrugged helplessly. "At a guess, I would say she's taking a breather?"

Kakashi pressed his lips together tightly to keep in the colorful situational assessment that wanted to be spoken.

Either Aiko had been out and about and ran into the Akatsuki and decided to take him back to Ame, like a conscientious shopper returning a lost wallet, or Akatsuki had gone to Konoha. He knew which option he preferred and which option seemed more likely.

'Now would be an excellent time for some communication,' he thought irritably.

"Karin, get Sasuke."

She left without a word, running after the three who were currently serving as a patrol team for their new and not entirely friendly territory. He paced like a trapped lion, rousing Yamato and Genma (they had been running night shifts) and sending them out to get everyone ready for a possible altercation.

Why wasn't Aiko coming to tell them what had happened? Konoha should have had word from his ninken, or would very soon. It was possible that Konoha didn't know the borders had changed yet, of course, but unlikely.

It just didn't make sense. Having an intruder in the village would have made it difficult or impossible to conduct regular business and efficiently managed orders and communication, but almost all of the Akatsuki were accounted for, and the actual shinobi of Ame had surrendered after only skirmishing. If the most powerful Akatsuki had been returned to Ame, then there would be nothing more time-sensitive for Aiko than finding his team and telling them that the Akatsuki leader had been returned to Ame. Of course, she could have assumed that they would know via Karin…

"Sasuke, summon Katsuya and find out what's going on from Tsunade," he ordered snappishly as soon as the boy returned with Karin, Naruto and Yamato. Sasuke made a face, but obligingly moved to run through the handseals to summon his familiar. "Karin, update. Has anything changed?"

The redhead tilted her head slightly and let her eyes get a bit distant. "Um, the scar- the Akatsuki," she corrected, clearly embarrassed. "Anyway, he's still on course to intercept us. We won't be seeing him for a while, but he isn't slowing down. Aiko only spent a couple of minutes here. She's gone."

'Well, at least that means she isn't laying somewhere in the middle of the country bleeding out,' he thought facetiously.

"Kakashi, Katsuya isn't responding." Sasuke looked downright bewildered. "She's never not answered."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I guess the old lady is working with her?" he half-asked, moving to summon one of his contracted toads without being asked. The animal that showed up was disconcertingly large. Kakashi barely stepped back in time. "Yo, Gamakichi," Naruto greeted casually, clearly unfazed by the horrifying size of his summons. "Could you find the pervert and find out what's going on in Konoha?"

The toad released a put-upon sigh, but nodded. "Okay, boss," he rumbled long-sufferingly. "One message coming up." In an offensively-scented puff of smoke, he disappeared.

Kakashi put his hands in his pockets to hide the tenseness and strain in his muscles while they waited. And waited. And waited.

Looking irritated, Naruto called his summons back after ten minutes of awkward silence. "What the hell?" he snapped, putting his hands on his hips.

The toad looked sheepish. "I… yah." He fidgeted. "Jiraiya told me not to talk to you." He brightened up a bit, turning around to look at the others standing around. "I can talk to the Hatake brat, though," Gamakichi added cheerily. "That's what he said! So, which one of you is the brat? You all kinda look alike."

Genma choked a little, but said nothing. Kakashi aimed a scalding glare at him anyway. "Everyone, clear out," he decided. "That means you, Naruto." The blond gave him a mutinous look, but let Sasuke tug him out of sight. He turned back to the toad once they were alone. "What's going on?"

The toad glanced guiltily in the direction his summoner had left, and then flexed his webbed toes. "Five or six Akatsuki are in Konoha," he confided solemnly. "I'm not sure on the details, it was a little confusing and busy. Dad's there. Anyway." Gamakichi shook himself. "It's bad. Really bad. They evacuated days ago, so the civilian casualties are minimalized, but the buildings are all gone."

It took a moment to be sure he had heard correctly.

"Pardon?" Kakashi asked weakly, raising one hand to his neck. "The buildings are-"

"All gone, yes," the toad confirmed irritably, digging its fingers into the ground. "It's a crater."

"Unfathomable," Kakashi muttered quietly, trying to wrap his head around the idea.

Damage to the village he could understand. The Kyuubi had done terrible harm to the village's infrastructure. But the village was a crater? Konoha had stood for generations. In terms of space, it was one of the largest hidden villages. And how had they misplaced so many Akatsuki?

Gamakichi snorted. "I don't think that word means what you think it means. You wouldn't be so pale if you couldn't fathom it."

He gave the toad a dirty look. At times like this, the amphibian inability to register the seriousness of a situation grated on his nerves. Still, the information was useful.

"I assume Jiraiya didn't want Naruto running back to Konoha and basically handing himself over to Akatsuki with a nice pink bow?" Kakashi drawled, trying to figure out what should be done. He couldn't send any support to Konoha when they were on the verge of having to engage in their own fight. But it was more important to do what they could to keep the villagers and surviving comrades safe than it was to hold a newly gained territory.

"Sounds about right," Gamakichi admitted sheepishly.

[despair-to-future-arcs]

Ok, time to drag Utsuro's ass to the Theater so everyone can meet his recently discovered long-lost relative!

*moments later, Utsuro along with Yamato, Mitch and Kizuna walk out with him...*

I...I can't believe it...so all this time, grandfather was searching for me and I had a sister...I though...

Yeah me neither, I mean you really went through all that? No wonder you ran off, damn.

And you got a grandpa that was searching for you this whole time? Dude, did you even know any of this...

Well no, I thought it was my parents searching for me, not him... I didn't want to go back so I blocked any of my family members and I had no idea I had a sister either.

Well yeah but still, what about that sister of yours? did you even know about her!

Yeah like seriously, how the hell did you not know you had a sister at all?! Were you that stupid!

Hm, I'm not sure. Maybe the reason I didn't think about it is how those donors treated me like some cage animal, barely let me interact with anyone else at all worry they'll lose their luck, only gave me the bare necessities and just kept me around like some good luck charm and hit me if I ever had the chance to leave at all?

...

...

Yeah you 2, if anything it be pretty understandable why he did all that stuff, I mean it still doesn't justified putting us all into a killing game but I can see why Junko manipulated him like that.

If anyone is at fault, it's Junko's who decided to manipulate him!

Exactly, at the time I had no faith in humanity and gave up on all of them until Junko made me feel something at the very least and I had try to kill myself numerous times.

So while what I did was wrong, you can get why I fell for Junko's manipulation... she gave me a reason to live...

Ye-Yeah... I can tell you've been through a lot, huh?

Yeah... while I still hate you for that killing game, I surely think what your parents did was horrible and you should of gotten taken away.

No one should have to go through that and I'm sorry for what happen, but even then you killing all of Class 79 is unforgivable.

That's fine...I've come to accept that none will ever forgive me.

But how did Nagi find out, I don't think anyone should of known who my family was...

[captianimarum]

"Yeah- got him square in the face; had my arm in a cast, too." So as far as he was concerned, that was bonus points because his centre of gravity was thrown off and he couldn't reach out for balance. "Can't blame me, either - - some fuckin' dude comes through the window n' destroys the head of your people, in front of everyone. Kinda fuckin' mental." That had been before he'd come to realise just how fucked everything was, fully; back when he at least respected the hierarchy of the island, to a degree.

"Hey- I wanted nothin' to do with that sword; it came to me. Dante tell you about that shit? I found the labs under the castle, got myself pretty fucked up in there; Yamato was in two pieces in a cylinder, they'd been tryin' t' put it back together with no luck, n' it fused back together n' came t' me... and then I almost lost my fuckin' mind for ten minutes." Frankly, the memories for a while after that were still fuzzy, but he chose to not try and force himself to remember - perhaps it was better to forget and he ought be appreciative of the void in his recollections there.

"It basically lived in my arm for a bit - - N' I dunno why Dante let me keep it. Guess he knew who I was way before he actually told me, huh." He takes pause as he finishes his tea, momentarily leans back into his seat and stares up at the sky; "Either that or he didn't wanna fight me for it. Must'a been worried he'd lose---" Smirk.

Nero takes a moment to soak in everything said, to breathe and filter his anger from decades of pain and current emotions. Sometimes, he had found, it was best to truly let everything soak into the marrow of his bones before reacting, and he'd definitely gotten better over the years.

"It'd be fuckin' stupid if I didn't want you around. I don't get all the Sparda bravado; I'm gonna be there f' my family no matter what rises up outta the ground or falls from th' heavens. I don' think blood has anythin' t' do with that choice." He was who he was, times and trials had aided in shaping him - - and with a clear vision of what was important, Nero would be certain to use anything in his arsenal to protect it. Whether that was in the name of Sparda or just in the name of what he believed in, it didn't matter.

"Jus' sick of the sufferin' and th' voids left behind. I don' want 'em to be empty or absent any more."

⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ With baited breath, he awaits his son's response, and outright laughs when he finally speaks ; not at all of what he says, but of the unfortunate fate of his brother's arrival to Fortuna and Nero's life. He recalls the regaling of some such stories while relaxing between tearing down the Qliphoth's roots and fighting off the demons that tried to stop the two from his twin, and all at once, the awkwardness of his earnest words dissipates—at least for him.

⚔ ────▪ ❛ 𝚂𝙾 𝙷𝙴 𝙷𝙰𝚂 𝚂𝙰𝙸𝙳 , ❜

                          More laughter, that of a gentle sort. He feels much better now, and relaxes a little, his dimples showing in full view of Nero. ❛ He's told me a little of his time in Fortuna. Says that you got him quite good in the face with your boots . . . but he claims to Hell and back—in a literal sense—that he had merely been testing you. Testing you ! The first and I have said the word ' bullshit ' out loud, this being the second. ❜                           An edge of jealousy threatens to bloom, but Vergil shoves it down as far as it will go ; how he wishes he could have been there to see it. Regardless, Dante's exceptional vocabulary and insistence on reenactment served as good theater to his hungry mind, and he looks back on those stories fondly. To hear it from his son, though, is so much better, somehow.                          ❛ Dante tells me that he found you honorable, afterward . . . So much that he entrusted my legacy with you. A foolish decision, in hindsight, but you've done much to use the Yamato for good ; quite honorable indeed. ❜ He gestures into the air and hooks one ankle over his knee, bouncing it to dissipate the anxiousness he still feels. ❛ You've turned out far better than anyone could have expected, perhaps Dante most of all. And now that I am here, I can be there for you . . . if you will have me, of course. If there is one rule unspoken between Sparda's kin it is the unnerving insistence on only being there if needed, and sometimes not at all. ❜                           Shrugging, Vergil sips at the last of his tea and sets his cup down completely, curling both fingers of both hands along his pant leg. ❛ It would be beneficial to do away with that sentiment. And where better to start than here. It will take time, of course—you have every right to deny me and toss me aside for all that I have done to you, but I would hope you would try and ignore such feelings. If you are anything like me, than you know our infernal nature pushes them forward . . . how desperately that nature wishes to be cruel, and how hard we have to work against it in the name of Sparda. ❜

[former-proffessor-and-policeman]

Footsteps...Familiar footsteps, he could hear them coming closer and closer and on cue he turned on his screen as soon as the boy entered the lab, the blue haired boy went up to him and the other one with a bright smile and a excited look in his eyes, he could see he was holding something so he knew good news must've occurred.

"I got in! I got in can you believe it!" The boy turned the paper to face him and he leaned- or attempted to so he could look at the paper closer but of course being stuck on a screen made it hard to..But he got the gist of what it had said. "Hopes peak academy! I can't believe it, i'm going to be part of class 79! And mikako too!!" That person....He shined so brightly as he began pacing in front of the two monitors, "Ultimate inventor, just like dad, were all so excited, I can't wait! I wonder what the others will be like! Oh should I do something special to introduce myself? Bring in goodies maybe? Oh oh or maybe-" He rambled on spewing out idea's on how he could leave a good impression so excited...He simply smiled happy for him and waited patiently for him to finish until-

"If you do that you'll come off as a showoff."

The boy stopped smiling...Stopped moving and stopped shining, he turned to the second monitor where the other one was. "You just copied your dad, you can't even get a talent of your own, and you think that's something to be proud of? You'll be kicked out after the first talent showcase." The boy looked down upsettingly, he wasn't capable of getting mad but he'd always get tired of the other ones cruelty toward their creator...Which is why he just had to do what he does best, "Oh don't listen to him! You worked really hard on your inventions, every single one, you've earned this. I think bringing something for your classmates is a great idea! Hm...Maybe you could make some blueberry muffins with kurokawa-chan before your first day?" The boy seemed to cheer up decently enough and smiled at the suggestion, "Yeah that sounds good!" He could tell though..He was still thinking about the words...And it was quickly confirmed for him, "But I should still prove to be a good classmate than just bringing treats right? I could try and help everyone with school stuff and after school things, and after that I can work on my projects!" That sounded like he was going to overwork himself, but he was used to his creator doing that by now..."That sounds like a plan...And what about us? You won't have as much time to check in on us with all that work." He didn't want to make it about them really, he just wanted to try and keep his creator from working too hard. "Of course i'll still make some time for you guys! your my greatest project yet after all!" He smiled...He knew the other saw them so much more than just projects, or he thought so anyways, "Just you wait, i'll turn you two into the most revolutionary assistants to humanity ever!" The boy's eyes sparkled and he smiled with bright confidence..."Yamato-sama...."

"Creator-sama..."

"...."

"̴̖͇̠̣̻̫̦̬̰͙̜̪̫̊̈́̈͒̓̐̈̌͝͝I̷̧̨̲̩̳̲̲̦̮̩̗̜̣̮̫̹͇͛̅͋̌͝'̵̲̙̻̫͔̩̔̇̕m̸̧̨̨̧̫̭̟̤̫̭͎̪̹̥̍͐́͐̅̕͜͜͜ ̵̡̡̢̨̖̭͕̜̟̺̤̪̣̲̼̫̖͉̩̤̯̭̳̣̺̙̄̽̈̊̒̏̿̃͝s̶̨͈͙͎͖̭̼͎̩̱̠͒̃̐̄͑̆͆̉̃̀̅̔̐͛̔̓͛̀̅͋͑̓͋̒͘̕̕͠ͅo̶̧͆̔̂͗͛̍͑̃̑͘ř̶̢̨̧̨̡̢̛͍̠͔̮̦̠̬̤̺̙͔̞̱͊͛̍̎̏͗̓̓̈́̆̔͌̊͑͐̏͌̀̓͆̐͂͘͜͝ŗ̶̛̳̮̫̮̪͗̔͗͗̈y̴̢̨̢̛̞̪͓͔̗̮̺̫̲̬͍̩̤̖̫̖̓͗̓̀́͛̐͗́̕̚͠ͅ"̴̢̘̩̬̂́́͗̓̀͑̉̿̅̏̄́͌̽̑̉̂̅̃̐̑̀͘͝͝͠

[mokutone]

sasuke

YESSSS! sasuke yelling time.

explanation for the drawing in my answers ajdjanxkajjd

favorite thing about them —despite everything. when he is most himself, he doesn't want to hurt people if he doesn't have to. he can't bear to kill him, he tells team taka that they aren't to kill anyone, he's had an immense amount of trauma done to him, and he knows the weight of it, and if he can avoid doing that to somebody else, it seems he wants to.

least favorite thing about them —uhh my least favorite thing about him is also my least favorite thing about gaara. and a couple other characters in naruto. it's really hard for me to watch kids be in desperate pain and practically begging for help in a situation where nobody seems able or willing to help them. for a lot of sasukes parts in the anime i'm just like averting my eyes lmfao

favorite line —I think I'll pick the most impactful line. Idk if I'd call it my favorite.

you know the bit where kakashi ties sasuke to the tree? absolutely fucking humiliating him and then on top of that, telling him that his quest for revenge, LITERALLY sasuke's fucking ninja way (for all its many many problems!!!!), is useless and meaningless? and how sasuke gets that nasty look on his face and he says: "What if I were to kill the one you love most? How far would you stray from what you just said? I could make you feel true pain." and that line just fucking kills me. i am inconsolable. obviously Kakashi takes it as a threat from a child and brushes it off as one—but it's not! he's quite literally begging for understanding. he's like, if i could just hurt you as much as i've been hurt, maybe you would understand me! maybe this is the only way anyone could ever understand me! maybe then you wouldn't tell me how useless and stupid this one thing, the thing which i have built my life around, is!!! but kakashi doesn't give him that. lol. kakashi's like "well there's no way i'd ever be in that situation bc i there's nobody left who matters to me ,^)" like. great job dude. you had the witty comeback against the child. also told him that you do not care about him or his friends at all. you won the trauma game. congratulations. your prize is unfortunately dealing with your guilt complex around this for the next 6 years when you have to go to war against him. jesus fucking christ. Sasuke was trying. he was fucking trying! despite everything, he was trying, with the one adult he trusted enough to even ATTEMPT explaining himself to. ugh. whatever. i'm normal and i have normal feelings about things. i'm normal. i'm so fucking normal. jesus christ.

brOTP —this is unhinged for me, bc i normally answer these based on characters canon relationships, but i am so fucking desperate for yamato to interact with sasuke. i want it so bad. i have so many ideas. i think that yamato would be very useful to sasuke in his recovery. i hate kishimoto and i hate knowing that this will never happen.

OTP —i don't really care about this kind of thing! naruto, i guess, because naruto is the person sasuke seems to care the most about thruout the course of the narrative, and also because my best friend wuvs them

nOTP —i don't really care about this kind of thing. sakura, maybe. it doesn't really matter to me.

random headcanon —his life skills are atrocious and everyone in his close circle of companions is worried about him when he returns to konoha. Yamato starts giving him cooking lessons (Yamato is also an amateur at this. theyre both learning),

which are unfortunately the trigger for minor and unnoticeable but very regular panic attacks for Sasuke. He's like, having a very hard time believing that anyone could really forgive him, and his ONLY interaction with yamato before this was literally jamming a sword through his shoulder joint and running straight electricity through it. Why would Yamato, who didn't even know him before he ran off, forgive him for that? What does Yamato get out of this situation? When does Yamato reprimand him for the pain he caused? When does the other boot drop? When does he find out what this is all about?

This goes on, increasing Sasuke's tension slowly and steadily until Yamato accidentally triggers a major panic attack (he drops a pot, and Sasuke is so wound up at this point that the sudden metal clang itself is enough to put Sasuke right over the fucking edge) and suddenly it all comes into focus for Yamato, who realizes "oh, this kid isn't just unnaturally stiff all the time, he's actually scared shitless of me, and was only putting up with these cooking lessons because he clearly feared the repercussions of saying he didn't want to, to somebody so embedded in his social circle. fuck."

Trying to make this better, he then takes to inviting Naruto over so that Sasuke has a little bit of a social buffer between him and Yamato. Eventually all of team kakashi + team seven is trying to fit into Yamato's tiny jōnin apartment weekly for free food and entertainment (the entertainment is teasing each other).

unpopular opinion —i like him? and i don't think he's over dramatic. i think he's a fairly realistically written character (up until the end i guess stuff gets weird there) because he's mostly a reactive one, and Kishimoto excels at writing little traumatized guys having intense reactions to things. It's what he likes to do and hes pretty good at it.

song i associate with them —Baby, I'm an Anarchist by Against Me! solely for this line.

No, I won't take your hand And marry the State.

like. skdghskdghsdjhgsdhjgsdjhg

favorite picture of them

i literally use this all the time. i think things should be easier. i would like for sasuke to be able to pick up that glass of water.