>>180631
That makes Josh shut up for a few seconds before shaking his head. "No... we'd know if they tried. We would."
But he doesn't sound convinced.

You're interrupted by the Elecmon from before, who hands you both... what appear to be steaming pasties. Josh takes his with hesitation, prompting you to do the same - you take it, cautiously; it's hot in your hand, but not dangerously so.
"Enjoy." The Elecmon bows and scurries off again.

Josh sighs. "Eat it if you want, but it's not going to taste good. For some reason, Tamers don't need to eat - and our sense of taste slowly vanishes, too."

You shrug and work on the pastie, chewing daintily - contrary to his suggestion, it tastes fantastic, almost vibrant; it's some kind of beef stew with vegetables chucked in to temper the flavour.

All conversation halts over dinner; Josh seems to be eating to be polite, and you do your best to copy him so as not to stand out.

He's silent once he finishes, and next thing you know a bunch of residents of the village have hauled out a set of drums and are beginning to play - Songs Around The Campfire thing, you assume (again, wondering where that came from).
Josh grins. "Fun fact. Digital World instruments can make some... interesting noises. Things that shouldn't be made with a physical instrument."

http://www.mediafire.com/file/oljmmmij1km/TamerQuest%20-%20A%20Party.mp3

He's completely silent while you listen to the first song - partly watching the small dance that has sprung up around the bonfire, but partly thinking to himself.

When the last beat dies down and the Digimon stop to catch their breath, he looks at you with his arms in his lap. "Um, sorry for being a dick."

What say?

>>180637
"Ahh, don't worry about it. Let's just get along from now on, 'k?"

>>180639
"Speaking of which... what are you going to do from now on?" Josh asks. "I'll understand if you don't want to stay here; we're a pretty boring place to be. I'm only here because... let's just say I owe Justimon."

What say?

Josh whooped our ass in the fight, I'd say we ask how to get stronger.

>>180658
"Train. Travel. Practise. You'll find you're faster, stronger, just BETTER than you were back home." Josh clenches his fists. "If you really want to get better..."
He stands up, turns, points at the skyline - you refocus and *see it* - a giant mountain, so tall that the peak fades out of your view.
"There's a guy who lives up there. He'll teach you if you ask rightly..."

What now?

>>180686
The right way? I take it it's not quite as easy as just heading up there and asking for training then, it it?

>>180722
At this, Josh gives a mysterious little smile. "It might be," he says, "it might be."

>>180735
Is there anything between here and there I should be worried about for when I eventually head that way?

>>180736
"Oh, just everything." Josh doesn't sound concerned. "It's actually... well, you'll be fine as long as you pick your fights. But you don't need to eat or drink here, for example... as long as you're breathing you'll live. You might get uncomfortable, but that's it. Deserts, for example, are no longer a problem."

That's comforting, you think.

>>180737
"Might be better if I stay around here with you for now then... No reason for me to run off and get myself killed on some crazy quest just yet.

So, what do you normally do around here?"

>>180737
"Have you ever been up there yourself?" Cross legs, head tilt, obviously resist urge to cuddle adorable itty bitty digimon. "You're really strong, so I imagine you learned to fight with that guy, right?"

>>180760
That gets a snort out of him. "Of course not. He's not a fighter. He's still stronger than you'll ever be, though."

>>180742
Josh shrugs. "Not much. Relax, patrol. There's only usually action every few weeks if that. Pretty boring, really."

>>180761
Well, in that case, I guess we should just look around Terminus.

>>180857
Lets talk to some of the Digimon.

>>180909
You excuse yourself to Josh and stand, looking around the camp.
There's two groups that seriously catch your eye:

A squad of Gazimon (little humanoid creatures that look like evil bunnies) sitting in a circle around a board, playing a game based on tiles - looks like gambling, to you.

The Elecmon from before is moving around a set of tables that have the appearance of an open-air kitchen, directing a small team of Gotsumon (little rock-men... Gotsumen, maybe?) around as they finish clearing up the scraps from dinner.

There's also a noise from slightly beyond the clearing... a rhythmic 'woosh' followed by a number of voices letting out a sharp, but muted, yell.

What do you do?

>>180961
Lets see what the commotion is.

>>180961
Go see what it is, and be ready to fight.

>>180991
>Be ready to fight
>Blatantly obvious that its a group of people training
Herp derp.

Still, we should check it out.

>>180961
Nobody but me wants to gamble?

Terminal!!D5ZTMvLGZl 2010/05/21(Fri)21:09 No. 181078 ID: 395ca4
File 127450134480.jpg - (28.56KB , 267x395 , Yashamon.jpg )

>>180968
>>180991
>>180999

You wander off, following the noise, and find... what appears to be an open-air dojo, of all things, with a classful of Rookie-level Digimon practising what appears to be kendo.
Heading the class is a tall Digimon wielding no less than two shinai - Yasyamon, the name jumps into your head, though you have the oddest feeling that you might be pronouncing it wrong - and he looks at you expectantly from behind his creepy oni-mask as you approach the boarded floor of the small clearing.

What do you do?

>>181078
"May I observe your lesson?"

>>181081
He gestures to a plush cushion up towards one end of the dojo; you leave your shoes by the 'door' as appropriate, padding barefoot across the sprung boards to the cushion and lapsing onto it with your feet folded beneath you.
The Yasyamon looks at you approvingly and you sense that you've done something correct in the way you've moved.

There isn't much left of the class, and they're mostly doing a routine centered around vertical strikes - the same one, over and over again.
A quote jumps into your head -
>"I fear not the man who has practised ten thousand kicks once, but the man who has practised one kick ten thousand times."
- seems relevant enough.

When the class is near it's end, you're surprised to see the Yasyamon gesture for the students to move to sit at the sides of the dojo; he looks to you and gestures to the floor - and you suddenly realize that he is inviting you to spar with him.

What do you do?

Accept his invitation with an appropriate bow.

Terminal!!D5ZTMvLGZl 2010/05/22(Sat)15:39 No. 181374 ID: 395ca4
File 127456795910.jpg - (11.43KB , 243x283 , Kotemon.jpg )

>>181292
You stand and bow, placing your right fist against your left palm; the Yasyamon cocks his head quizzically to the side but accepts you. He gestures to a pair of Kotemon among the students and they bring a long, leather case to you, laying it on the floor at your feet and opening it -

Inside are three shinai, like the ones Yasyamon holds... well, not quite.
The first is an ornate thing, with the handle inlaid with what appears to be ivory and something like gold streaks are laid into the 'blade' itself, giving it a fiery impression.
The second is almost the exact opposite; it looks old, chipped and worn and covered in battlescars; it's handle is wrapped in aged leather which is starting to fall apart.
The third is a completely ordinary shinai, identical to the ones used by all the students.

Which do you take?

>>181374
The one for students of course.

>>181374
Lift the ornate one, admire it for a bit...

...then put it back and take the ordinary one.

>>181376
Indeed. We're no better or worse than them. Possibly less experienced with a sword, but still.

>>181379
this

>>posts

The ornate shinai is annoyingly heavy in your hands and quite uncomfortable to hold.
You return it to the box and retrieve the student's shinai instead.
To your surprise, it's much lighter and comfortable to hold, and you find yourself moulding your hands to the grip as though you've done this before.

The Kotemon pair with the box retreat and a third slips out of the crowd, untying the Yasyamon's left-hand shield and shinai and offering the former article to you.

You accept it's offer and it helps you bind the shield around your right forearm, giving you more defense on that side - you can always parry to the left, but it would be a little harder to go right; you and the Yasyamon are almost mirror images at the moment - though he's much taller than you, obviously.

There's a brief moment of pause, silent except for the whispering wind that blows a small leaf across the space between you.
The one of the students sounds a small gong and it's on.

The Yasyamon steps forward and strikes vertically, the same strike that you've seen being practised all night.

What do you do?

>>181390
Jump back and throw your shinai at him!

>>181416
WHAT!? NO!
obvioulsy we should side step the vertical and horizontal slash him. I don't know much about sword fighting I suggest we keep on the defensive for most of the time and counter only when we have a sure hit.

>>181416
>>181433
You see the slash coming at you almost slowly; Yasyamon tenses to pull it if you don't block.

You're having trouble making up your mind, though.
What do?

>>181433
This

>>181470
I agree

>>181470
>>181491

You step out to your left; the blade stops at the point in the air where you'd been a second ago - if you hadn't moved it would have landed exactly where the neck meets the shoulder.

Following your dodge, you strike out horizontally, planting your feet and twisting to add force to the blow.
The Yasyamon blocks with their armguard and steps sideways to help neutralize the force of the blow.

You both turn and step back to neutral positions, though you get there a little faster, enough that you have the edge.

What do you do?

>>181565
Press an attack. Anything will do now that we have the initiative.

>>181587
Your foot comes forward and down even as the Yasyamon's back foot returns to the neutral position and you return the downwards strike with devestating power -

The Yasyamon suddenly switches their grip on the shinai, holding it one-handed in reverse grip and lashes upwards, smashing the blade of your own with the squared-off pommel and then bringing the wooden sword whipping around to the side; despite the force, it touches your neck so lightly that you barely feel it.

The Yasyamon, without looking, holds their hand out and catches your shinai by the blade and holds it back out to you.

The match is over.
What do you do?

>>181708
Congratulate him, ask him what exactly they were doing here.

>>181708
"Wow, that was quick. Could you show me that move again, if its not too much trouble?"

Terminal!!D5ZTMvLGZl 2010/05/24(Mon)16:08 No. 182412 ID: 395ca4
File 127474251221.jpg - (5.02KB , 173x158 , TakatoDArk2.jpg )

>>182061
He holds up his hand, asking you to wait, then moves his hand to the mask, gripping it as though to take it off -

Oh wow.
As the Yasyamon pulls to the side, the mask transforms into a small device, one you feel that's like your own - and their form changes... splitting into two, actually.
The first is another Kotemon, though this one wears white armor.

The second is a woman - probably a couple of years older than you, she wears black hakama with a sleeveless white kimono top, leaving her toned, tanned arms bare. She lowers her device and hands it to the Kotemon; they briefly bow to each other and the Kotemon scurries off, leaving her alone with you.

She turns back to you, running a hand through her hair - short and dark, like her eyes - and smiling. "Not bad at all. We were training, obviously... think like a civilian militia..." there's a brief pause and she looks slightly downcast. "... for all the good it'll do..."

>>182077
That makes her brighten right up. "Oh, sure! It's called Teacher's Revenge; it's not really that hard, but you gotta get the timing right..."

... it must be well towards sunrise by the time you're both done, but you're confident that you've got the move downpat now. She bows to you, and you return it, and that concludes the lesson to your understanding.
"We should get some sleep; it's pretty damn late, huh?" she grins ruefully. "Sorry to keep you up."

What do you do?

"Dunno, got anywhere to stay?"

Uh, get her name at some point.

"Sleep? . . Oh! Right, sleep. . . Where do we sleep?" Adorable head tilt.

>>182426
"Huh? Oh! It's Tsurugi." she tilts her head to the side gently. "And yours?"
You tell her and she blinks. "Pretty name. I'm kinda jealous." Tsurugi grins and you get the impression that she's joking.

>>182422
"Oh, most of the time people just sleep by the fire; it's warmer than you think." Tsurugi nods. "Though you can come crash with me if you'd prefer a roof over your head."
You briefly finger the hold of your shinai as you ponder.

What do you do?

>>182434
"I'll crash with you, I guess."

>>182434
Think for a moment, then remember one of the most fun words ever! "Sleepover!"

>>182434
We get to keep the shinai? Sweet.

>>182442
You get the feeling that it might be better to leave it in the dojo for now.
Besides, walking around with a shinai right now would be clunky.

>>182438
>>182436
Tsurugi gives you an askance look. "Uh, sure, if you want to call it that..." she looks... slightly nervous, and you suddenly get the impression that Tsurugi never had a lot of friends.

What do?

>>182450
Is something the matter?

>>182459
Tsurugi blinks and shakes her head. "Not at all. Not used to people." she looks left and right kinda shiftily, then makes to leave. "A-anyway, are you coming or not?"

Do you follow Tsurugi, or find somewhere else to camp for the night?

>>182469
Why not? It'll be safer, and she's obviously fairly used to this place if she's training a militia. She would be a good ally to have.

I don't see why not. let's follow here.
today was if nothing else a pretty eventful time.
we should get some rest.

>>182469
"Sure, why not?"

Also, in the morning we need to socialize with the various digimon around here and get the lay of the land. For example, what varieties of Digi-destined are there around here?

>>182469
Sure. One, it's safer, two, it's more comfortable, and three, we can do some bonding with her ^_^. She needs a friend. We need friends. We'll be her friend! It's all good!

>>182482
>>182483
>>182485

Tsurugi lives in one of the houses-carved-from-trees, apparently; she leads you inside and shuts the door behind her. It's very modest, with only a single bed, one chest of drawers, a low table, and a couch; she crosses to the chest and retrieves a thick blanket from it.

"Sleep on the bed." Tsurugi says firmly, beginning to untie her hakama from her hips.

What say/do?

>>182510
"If you insist. It's your house, I don't want to impose. I'm absolutely fine with the couch."

And I suppose start undressing too, while we're at it.

>beginning to untie her hakama from her hips.

i like where this is going.

>>182517
Of course you would, but I don't think we're NEARLY at that level of relationship.

>>182510
Sleep

>>182514
She's actually wearing black shorts underneath it; Tsurugi curls up on the couch under the blanket before you can voice any alternative suggestions.

You sigh and slip off the overcoat... shirt... whatever the top qualifies as, exposing the white undershirt beneath it; then you crawl beneath the covers and curl up, falling asleep almost instantly.

---
>01000001 01100011 01110001 01110101 01101001 01110010 01100101 01100100 00100000 01010100 01100101 01100001 01100011 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100111 01110011 00100000 01010010 01100101 01110110 01100101 01101110 01100111 01100101 00100000 00101000 01000010 01100101 01100111 01101001 01101110 01101110 01100101 01110010 00101001
---

You're awakened shortly after sunrise by a rhythmic sound floating in through the open window - a short yell, Tsurugi's voice you thinkg, followed by a 'whish' and a 'clack'.

What do you do?

>>182547
Go outside to check on what's happening. Be prepared to make use of Digivice in case something bad is going on.

sounds more like she is cutting wood.
ask if you could try some.

>>182559
This, but be sneaky. If it's nothing go back to sleep, and if somethings up you've got surprise on your side.

>>182559
>>182617

You slip outside slowly, making your way across the dew-wet grass with nary a sound; it takes you a little way out into the forest behind the house.
Sneaking up behind a tree, you discover the source of the sound:

Tsurugi is working over a training dummy with the chipped and splintered shinai that was lying spare yesterday. She's dressed lightly, just in a light t-shirt and cargo shorts - both clothes and her hair are plastered to her, and her bare arms and legs gleam with sweat; she must have been out here for hours.
Tsurugi keeps working away at the training dummy, working in quick spins and cuts that don't seem to be a part of the kendo she was teaching - she doesn't seem to have noticed you yet.

What do you do?

>>182706
Watch silently. I don't think surprising her in the middle of weapons practice is likely to end well.

>>182706
"Nyoro~n" Head tilt, finger to lips, stare until she notices us.

>>182707
>>182709

You wait almost twenty minutes before she finally lets out a sharp roar and drives the bamboo blade hard onto the dummy's head, scoring a solid *dent* there.

For a moment, there's almost silence, the clearing filled with nothing but the sound of her heavy breathing, and then Tsurugi turns, looking at the tree you've ducked behind. "Come out," she pants, "I saw you."

What do?

Pop out, sheepish/adorable grin. "I heard you, and woke up. You're really strong."

>>182730
Yeah. This.

>>182730
>>182735

"I know."
She doesn't say it arrogantly, but more like nonchalantly, as though she's used to hearing it. "Sorry to wake you up, though."

What say?

"it's okay. hey maybe you can train me a little? just a few tips like stances and stuff."

>>182746
"Kendo isn't that easy, though... I mean, I make it look easy, but it's not as easy as teaching you stances and things like that..." Tsurugi looks surprisingly apologetic, like it's her fault.

What say?

>>183051
Do we really want to be restricted to a sword based style?

Ask her for general tips in self-defense.

>>183056
Tsurugi grins. "I'll give you the two best pieces of advice you can have. The first: 'The best way to win a fight is by a hundred metres'. The second: 'Don't think'. Y'follow?" she asks, resting her shinai over her shoulder.

>>183067
I kinda got the second one, but the first went WAY over my head. Sorry.

>>183069
I think she's talking about shooting them.

>>183070
Makes sense.

Also, another question for the OP, can we choose what Digimon we become, or is it preset? Just wondering.

basically 'be certain of victory before the first blow'

>>183075
She means that it's better to avoid a fight. Why would a kendoka be talking about shooting someone?

>>183076
Not sure yet. I have a line in mind, but I'm willing to change up.

So, what do you do?

"Don't think, feel!" Adorable is good at remembering random stuff. It's probably time to choose a random direction and wander off, after giving swordgirl a nod of thanks. Probably find weird plants to eat and stuff.

>>183094
Thank her for the place to stay. Eventually make our way back to the village, where we might find some food.

GIVE HER A HUG! QUICK!

>>183234
I second this.

Also OP, how does Guilmon sound? Would that fit?

>>183226
>>183235
Tsurugi looks flustered at the sudden hug, but she doesn't throw you, so you must be doing something right. "*That's* what you were feeling?" she asks, and you get the feeling that she's teasing you gently.

>>183234
You wander back to the village; it's so early that only the absolute early-risers are up and moving, and you're interested to note that you aren't hungry in the least despite the workout and passage of time. Come to think of it, Josh mentioned that Tamers don't need to eat; it seems like he was right.

You do see the Elecmon that was leading the kitchen last night scurrying around - but you also notice Justimon, starting to head off into the woods, roughly in the direction you arrived from yesterday.
Come to think of it, you also left your shinai back at the dojo.

What do you do?

>>183364
Possibly. Probably.

>>183396
Well, the shinai wasnt anything special. We can always get another one later. Lets talk to Justimon and Elecmon and see whats up.

>>183401
True, it's not special, but you can't help but think of it as 'yours'.
Which one first?

While it might be better to get the Shinai, we DO have our 'digivice' so it's not like we're helpless. Plus, if we take the time to go back, we might lose Justimon. Follow him!

>>180627
>>183396

Didn't Josh mentioned some kind of incredibly powerful guy up a mountain? Perhaps a visit is in order so we can train.

>>183466
I think we should save that for AFTER we have aquainted ourselves with the area and stuff more. Talk to some inhabitants, see whats up, current events, ect.

>>183425
He doesn't go far out, only about to where you 'landed' yesterday; he's snooping about the ground as though looking for something, and doesn't seem to have noticed you.

What do you do?

>>183646
Start looking for anything out of the ordinary. If nothing found, engage in a conversation.

>>183752
Maybe we should be sneaky about it. If he knows he is being observed he will act differently because of it. That being said, if he's just doing nothing a conversation would be fine.

Totally leap and hug him from behind, and be all adorable and stuff, with a cute "Hello~!"

It'd be more effective if we had a bigger bust, but this'll be fun just the same. :3

>>183752
There doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary; you get the impression that he's looking for clues as to your sudden arrival.

>>183783
"Guh -!"
Justimon stiffens like he's about to attack and then he realises that it's you and relaxes, heaving an irritated sigh. "Don't *do* that!"
You let him go and step away, suitably chastened.

What do?

Sooorry~ Find out anything?

>>185351
"Nope."
Justimon is short with you, almost business-like. At least he gave you a straight answer.

Now what?

>>185360
Thank him, and ask if there is anything we can do to help.

>>185360
Just wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help.

This quest continuing any time soon?