The journey from the grill to the shopping center was relatively uneventful, except for the brief waiting they were forced into at the station. The next trailmon wasn't due until five minutes later, and nervously, Diedrika had stood where she was, unmoving until the trailmon came. And then the girl was filled with intense apprehension - while she was happy enough to go back to the city, she had suddenly came to the realization that whatever it was that she was taking, it talked. It was sentient. It was a digimon. Internally she was feeling like she was about to heave; wasn't she sitting inside something?

That meant that the couch she was sitting on was some sort of - ew. I don't even want to think about it ... - thankfully, the journey was over quickly and she quite literally jumped out of the trailmon. No way in hell I'm taking that thing again, but it seems like it's the only way between the digital world and this city ... Faced with the realization that there was no other way to transfer between areas but this damn thing, Diedrika's face turned a tad pale and she had to hold back uneasiness that she felt.

Thank god for shopping. Shopping therapy.

"Kazuki? I'm going to go to the restroom for a bit ... do you mind waiting?"

She smiled at him, teal-colored hair hanging in two ponytails that extended down to her waist. Of course he'd say yes - wouldn't he?

The Trailmon was interesting. Nothing Kaz ever rode it seemed to be living, or talk, or breath, or do anything this digimon did. If they had a train digimon, do they have all kinds of digimon as transportation!? Kaz dismissed it, since he seen the buildings, the crowds, and the imaginary urge of Diedrika wanting to shop. Impmon didn't seem as excited as Kaz, but the boy knew why. He probably had driven on a Trailmon before.

"Huh?" The thoughts the boy traveled in abruptly broke to a girl's voice. It seemed to be Diedrika talking to him. He tried his best to focus, to make it seem like he really was paying attention. Finally, he figured it out. "Yeah, we can go for some pizza later."

"Wrong, Kaz." Impmon whispered, shaking his head. He glanced up, giving a mean glare to Kazuki.

"Oh! Um! Uh! Bathroom!?"

"Mhm." Impmon coached.

"Yeah, we'll wait here. May walk a few paces around, but I won't go far." The smile crossed Kaz's face, and the blush engulfed his cheeks. He tried to giggle a little, but hoped Diedrika wouldn't kill him or hurt him in any way. Some girls can get mean, and violent when you don't give them attention. Diedrika seemed different, a way that Kaz was liking. His "need-to-be" bad attitude would slowly fade from existence, as it had started long ago.

While Diedrika went to the bathroom, it gave the two boys the perfect opportunity to look around. Kaz went to his right, scoping out a few shops. Namely clothes, accessories for things, and an antique store. He turned to find Impmon, and found him a store down, looking at a television set that seemed to be broadcasting the news. The boy couldn't help but to look around, examining the entire place.

It was unique; it was modern; it was updated; it was his new home. Much like what he may have dreamed of wanting when he was at his house, he soon started to feel sad. The thought of getting home didn't occur, because it was such a grimy place. However, it was his home, with people, family, friends, and his normal routine of activities. It was strange being here, and Impmon was only just the beginning to things. He couldn't be sure more humans like Diedrika would befriend him, or what happened if a Digimon attacked him. Impmon, by size, would not be enough for some of the digimon he was seeing just in the crowd of the Shopping Center alone. There had to be ton of digimon, and different species... just like on Earth--his home. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to go back. Hopefully Diedrika would be done soon, and he could try to take his mind off of things with this shopping trip.

"You okay?" Impmon asked, raising an eyebrow after looking at Kaz's depressed expression. It wasn't every day that he was paired with a human, but he'd seen them by the plenty here in the City on his visits. They all eventually looked sad, but they all tried to stay happy. "You must be feeling home sick. I know I would be." It was like he understood Kaz, and he was telling the truth. Impmon had to have gone away from his primary home before, as everyone does.

"A little. I wonder how Diedrika feels."

"Boy, you talk about her a lot...' Impmon thought, giggling in the slightest bit out loud.

Soon, the girl came back from the restroom, rubbing her nose slightly - she had sneezed previously. Was someone talking about her? She glanced Kazuki's way curiously - perhaps it was he was had been talking about her. She sighed; hopefully it wasn't him talking about how annoying she was ... she got that a lot back home. She had been under the impression that her arrival in the digital world was a whole new chance to redeem herself - but it seemed that this wasn't her lucky break.

"Hey guys," she called out to them, a faint smile curved upon her face. "What about pizza, Kaz?" She glanced at the boy, her smile widening.

Kaz turned, slightly startled at Diedrika popping up. A slight smile crept across his cheeks, seeing her. She had asked about pizza, and it seemed to take a few seconds longer then most people would take to actually answer. This was only proving Impmon's suspicions right. Finally, Kaz shook his hand, snapping his thoughts back to reality and back to the small conversation. Pizza. Yeah, Pizza. "Oh, I was thinking that after all the walking around we'll be doing, maybe you'd want pizza. Those patties were big and delicious but this place is so big." Kaz chuckled slightly. He glanced to Impmon, and then back at Diedrika. In his glance, he found that the small devil had been staring at him and had done so with a cocked eyebrow.

"Either way, this place IS huge... Where do we go first?" Impmon asked, turning away from the two humans. He scanned down the strip and didn't see anything greatly interesting. It could be because of the large crowds in front of every window and door blocking his sight. Being young at heart, Impmon was thinking of relaxing or playing with other digimon. He wasn't exactly the type, but he wanted to take time.

"Mm, you've got a point," Diedrika admitted as she wrapped her hand around Kazuki's arm and leaned on him. "Let's just walk around a little bit ..." Despite her exuberant exterior, she was feeling slightly lethargic from all the traveling - they had walked around for quite a bit in the grassy plains before settling on a spot, and she had walked some before meeting the Pavan boy.

She glanced at Kazuki, smiling. "Let's hit the arcades and kill some zombies!"

The fell of her weight pressing on his arm, and her soft hands wrapping around his arm made his cheeks glow red. It was as if her aura was enlightening him inside. Spending time with her was something he'd always enjoy, and he knew how to trust limited people, and Impmon and Diedrika would be his first two in a long time, and in this new world. Though, he found this sort of pleasing, romantic as a guy, but he felt the "killing zombies" would slightly ruin it. Though, with debating it in his mind, he was fine with it. His feeling had gotten the best of him, as they were only friends that just met. Kazuki looked over, smiling. "Zombies it is."

Getting up to the arcade, Kaz seen tons of different lights and screens and games. The games were in a somewhat dark room, with little laser lights all over. It was a very modern feel, a new feel. It wasn't hard to spot one of the ugliest fictional things, even in a pretty crowded arcade. Somehow, the machine was free and Kaz brought Diedrika right up to it. Impmon wasn't far behind, he had been standing to the side of the machine, watching some kind of hockey match that was played on a table instead of ice. But it seemed to be just the two, and Kaz kept the biggest smile on his face the entire time. Taking one gun and handing it off, he took the other. When it came to arcade games, he was a newbie. "Are you good at these things? Because this is my, probably, second time at an arcade..."

Diedrika had grinned at Kazuki; it felt good to had someone to lean on. Somehow during the journey to the mall's arcade, her footsteps and steadily gotten lighter - it was as if everything had been lifted off her shoulders and this was just her own, personal time to have fun. "Mmhm," she agreed with the boy's statement about zombies, and took her first step into the digital city's arcade ... in the mall.

The arcade, needless to say, wasn't skimping out on noise. Diedrika was more than pleased at that. An arcade wasn't an arcade without loud sounds, beeping, bright lights and laser beams being fired from corner to corner in every single color that she could think of (which was red, pink and purple). "Hm?" she said aloud, turning to the gun and taking it.

It felt heavy within her hands. "I think so ..." murmured the female, toying around with it and even going so far as to point it at the imp digimon with a smirk. "80% confidence, Kazuki!" the Rothschild girl reported duly, squeezing its trigger a couple of times before jerking her head towards the coin slots. "Put the coins in and we'll blast those heads off those zombies~!"

Impmon turned his eyes, glancing up at the gun. With it pointed at him, he jumped, startled. Kaz toldhim it was a fake gun for use in the game, and Impmon only gave a new annoyed look at the girl. It made the boy laugh, though, seeing his digimon jump like that. He turned to Diedrika who mentioned coins. He had a few on him and carefully placed them in the slot. It was like the real world--a better one for him--but with Digimon around. The zombies started to come forward, and Kaz shot a few, but mainly was distracted at looking at how Diedrika played, and glancing occasionally at her body, seeing how it was in terms of how she shot. He'd try to mimic it, slightly, to better his gameplay. Part of him just wanted to look over as well.

"Don't give me that look," Diedrika pouted. It felt terrible to have an annoyed looked directed at her, much less from someone whom she considered to be a friend. Her slightly dejected appearance soon changed to a happier one as the dreary music from the arcade machine started to blare - the zombies were starting to advance towards them, and they were supposed to shoot them.

Needless to say, the exuberant girl was more than happy to get to blast heads off their necks. "Taaaaake that~!" she cried, angling herself to fire accurately at two zombies, then leaning to the right to catch one that was about to attack Kazuki. "Ahhh, you need to get better at this ... I promise by the third try, you'll be way better!" Diedrika turned to the boy as the game proceeded into a short cutscene; she took his hand and perfected his grip on the gun.

"Hold it like this ... so you can hit the reload button quicker ..."

A huge reddening happened on Kazuki's face. His cheeks filled with a warm sensation. It was probably suppose to happen to Diedrika, ya know, the blushing and all if she felt anything between them. Though, Kaz kept referring to his past when he dealt with these things. He tightened his hand up as her soft skin made contact. Getting a hold of himself and the gun, he was ready for the next round. "Th-thanks." Kaz said, bearing able to speak. Thoughts clear like a sunny sky, he knew damn well that he had a crush on Diedrika--and already, after meeting her and hanging out with her for only a day.

In the second round, there were more zombies. More then what came out in the first round, and the stage was nearly identical. Shooting a few, Kaz became more comfortable, feeling like his new grip found its mark and of course bettered his score. Diedrika's score kept going up, no doubt. The boy thought of looking over, and finally he did. "You're too good" Kaz said, smiling. Then it was time for the boss of Stage 2, a minor boss, of course. Kaz gave a few shots, but looked trouble as it stayed up and came forward. "Crap." he mumbled.

Oblivious to the discomfort of her friend, Diedrika responded with a bright 'no problem!' and turned back to the game. She was currently leading in scores, and had saved the boy from several close shaves by shooting zombies in the nick of time. "I'm not ... just practice made me perfect," she smirked; considering she was being praised, she decided to soak up all of it and enjoy it while it lasted.

She took one glance at the boss, then at Kazuki ... and paled. She wasn't going to manage this alone, not when it sounded like he was giving up ... "Don't give up!" she cried, squeezing the trigger on her gun and watching as the boss crumpled to the ground, only to stand up again.

"Oh god ... just how much life does it haaaaave~?!"

The guns were going; fingers pulling triggers many times in only seconds. The boss was being shot left and right, until finally it went down. The stage was over, but not the game. Stage 3 was new, and opened to even stronger zombies. As Kaz kept hold of the situation, he soon glanced at Diedrika. "Should we try another game, shortly?" He asked, keeping the finger going on the trigger. Impmon looked bored, and impatient to do something. The small devil kept watching other games, ignoring zombies. "I think Impmon wouldn't mind playing Air Hockey!" He smiled at his partner.

"That, or exercise." Impmon mumbled. He was used to going off on his own, and staying with Kazuki seemed to be dull. He glanced up, and seen Kaz once again distracted in the game, and so he walked off. The other side of the arcade was more for kids, having those games people toss heavy spheres up a lane and try to let them go into small holes. There were some other human activities, like basketball and fishing, and even a boxing game. The counter had a few odds and ends as gifts, none of which interested Impmon to look forward too.

By the time Stage 3 was done, Kaz immediately went to Stage 4. It wasn't until half way through that he looked over, trying to give Impmon attention. The empty space never spoke, never even looked as it was just that--empty. Kaz's finger loosened, allowing Diedrika to work overtime. "Impmon!" Kaz called out, scanning with worried eyes all across and throughout the arcade. "Impmon!" He said again, this time putting the gun down.

"Sorry, Diedrika, try to hold the game. Impmon is missing!" Kaz wanted to run, run and look for Impmon but he couldn't leave the girl. His body stuttered, with a dilemma of leaving his friend in a big arcade, alone, or leaving a girl he felt he had a crush on, alone. What a predicament.

"Maybe ..." Diedrika responded, eyes narrowing as she took down a couple more zombies effortlessly. She was going to take this game down ... by hook or by crook. Even if it meant destroying the machine - she wasn't above that. Kazuki's running away to search for his partner irked her, but she managed to keep her temper under control even as she spoke to him with a level voice. "I'll do it. Go look for your impmon," she said, picking up the other gun and firing it at an incoming zombie.

So once again she was left alone. A part of her yearned for her brother; he would never leave her side as long as she wanted him to be with her. A part of her wanted to see him appear from behind the other arcade machines and walk towards her; yet, strangely, another part of her mind wanted to see Loki the ryuudamon instead. Dietrich could rot in hell, she figured, if he no longer wanted to be her brother ... with mixed feelings, she downed the first of the zombie waves and stood as a cutscene played.

On to the search Kaz went, looking for Impmon in a panic! The boy went around all kinds of machines, people, and even outside. Finally, he found the digimon. Sitting outside looking at the sky, Impmon was doing nothing. It was actually just the boy over reacting in a way. In a quick motion, the boy sat next to his digimon.

"What's going on?" Kaz asked, looking up and seeing a cloud that resembled an agumon's head... sort of.

"Nothing. Just bored, I guess." A sad expression seemed to be on the digimon's face, meaning something else was up. A quick glance to his human Tamer, seeing his eyes put towards the sky, he cleared his face so Kazuki wouldn't be able to see a frown.

"Is that so? I'll put you in the D-ban so you can take a rest..." The D-ban was at the boy's chest, as he readied it.

"That seems like a plan. Alright."

"Goodnight then." Kaz giggled, holding the D-ban towards the devil and watching him fade. The "data" from him seemed to be absorbed into the D-ban and he put it to his side again. He had nearly forgotten Diedrika, but it hadn't been long. The boy got up and rushed back in.

A few seconds later, he was just feet away from Diedrika. He popped up behind her and yelled out "Boo!" hoping to scare her in a way. Almost immediately after, the boy started to giggle.

"It is getting late. I don't want your brother worrying."

"Oh, shut up," Diedrika gasped, melting into giggles after realizing who it was that had scared her. Her teal eyes met Kazuki's smiling ones and she crossed her arms, a frown upon her face. Indeed, it was getting late ... and the nightlife of the digital city was just starting. "Well, I'm sure Dietrich won't mind ... even though we're siblings, we're not that all close."

She stared at Kazuki. Was he ... pushing her away? Like all the other people. They couldn't keep up with her energy and antics and they were all so tired out after everything. And none of them believed her about her brother; he wasn't that mean, callous as his words were at times. "Um ... okay. Would you walk me home?" Slowly, she looked up from the ground; a part of her was afraid to see the Pavan boy's face and to her what he'd tell her.

"I think Sigyn's already got the apartment settled," she continued, waving the white-and-firebrick device upon her wrist.

Kaz kept his smiling eyes going, but they slightly turned when she mentioned really going home. He didn't want to seem as if he was trying to get rid of her, but felt worried. She'd hopefully understand and not assume he was trying to shove her away. As he heard her ask about walking her home, he put out his hand. Like a gentlemen. Hopefully she'd take it and start walking. Whether or not their hands would remain together, it was, well, in the least, nerve wrecking for him. His new found crush holding hands as they walked. It'd no doubt send thoughts to Diedrika as if this was a date. The boy wouldn't mind, but would she?

"I don't know if the Digital World has phones, and I don't have an apartment yet," Kaz started, before really considering getting an apartment as soon as possible, "But how will I reach you if I want to see you again? I really enjoyed hanging out with you; you're so much fun!" It wasn't only his eyes smiling now but one that was from ear to ear on his face.

He put out his hand.

Like a gentleman.

Diedrika paused, finding herself at a loss for what was realistically the first time. It was true. She wasn't faking it; this, of course, brought up the question of how she was going to respond to such an action. For a moment she stared at his outstretched hand oddly, unsure, not in the least confident, worried. The mixture of emotion swarmed her heart, gripping it, until finally the answer came to her and she took his warm hand.

"... um, that's a good question," the girl responded, nodding, "Yeah. It's a good question ... call me cheesy or whatever, but - if we're gunna meet each other again, then we will." She giggled, leaning on Kazuki before walking a few steps ahead of him. "Does your imp mind in the least? He could get jealous!"

Faux horror played to perfection spread like melted butter across her face, but then - she smiled. "Kiddin'."

Kaz started to giggle at the girl. She didn't sound like she knew in the least how'd they meet or arrange it but that they would. He wondered if she was big on fate or destiny, and maybe that was what she was referring too. Whatever it was had put a smile on the boy's face because it'd be really good to see her again. In the back of his mind had been the urge to frown, because he didn't know when they'd actually meet. When the remark about the Impmon came, Kaz felt as if Impmon grunted. A low noise came from his D-ban, where the Impmon had been. Had it found a way to listen or had it been just his clumsiness hitting it off something--like his belt--to make the noise.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind meeting your partner sometime." Kaz said, glancing at the home behind Diedrika and of course at his D-Ban where the imp was. "But you're right, we'll definitely meet up again."

The boy felt an urge to run away, but he somehow found the courage to say what he'd say next, something he never thought he'd say to a girl so soon or one like Diedrika. In his world, his type of girl had been darker, more mysterious feeling then Diedrika. She still was a mystery, but maybe that is what he liked.

"Maybe next time could be... you know... a date?" The boy's cheeks grew boiling hot, and probably as red as an apple. It wasn't because he was embarrassed or anything, but shy and unsure about himself most of the time.

"That's good to hear," Diedrika responded with a half smile as she looked at Kazuki, "A ... a-a date?" She was stuttering. She was just another girl who was young and pretty, and she was being scheduled for a date ... even if she didn't realize it, she blushed slightly. Anyone asked out on a date would be just like her ... or so she thought.

The girl unknowingly fidgeted where she was. "Umm ... uh. M-Maybe. Kazuki, you're blushing," she pointed out, finding it more comfortable to point out what someone else was experiencing rather than face what she herself was feeling.

The boy giggled, trying to pass by his shy and uncomfortable spot he sort of put himself in. He could barely leave, though he needed to know he needed to for now. When she told him he was blushing, he giggled harder. It would explain the heat he felt swelling in his cheeks, but it didn't excuse her faintly visible blush as well. What a moment, Kazuki thought as he kept a smile. He moved in and opened his arms for a hug. Whether she took it, that was up to her.

A small sigh came from under his breath. Wanting to smack himself in the head, Kaz was going through some racing thoughts of whether or not to just spit out that he had a crush on Diedrika; but maybe it wasn't the right time and that is why he held back--even if he mentioned a date.

"See you later, then?" He asked. Once she answered, he'd probably leave with a huge smile on his face; she gave him feelings in his gut that he never felt.


(What a teenage love story this turned into <3 )

((hee. <3))

She smiled slightly. Was he ... going to hug her? If so, that was terribly sweet of him - and Diedrika realized that Kazuki oughtn't spoil her that way. It was not ... oh well. Her smile widened and she hugged him lightly, resting her head on his shoulder as well. It felt different, almost good, perhaps even a sin to be hugging someone else that wasn't her brother for the first time in ... when? Her life? That seemed to be the case. The teenager gave her new friend a light squeeze in response to his question.

"When would later be?" she asked, quirking her head to an angle as she looked at him through teal irises. "Not too late, I hope," said the Rothschild girl as a smirk played across her face. "My brother would murder me alive." She rolled her eyes slightly upon thinking of Dietrich and his tendency to side her no matter what. While it was a good thing, it wasn't necessarily an asset to have in any situation.

She remembered what he did to the kid who gave her chocolate for Valentine's. Messed him up pretty damn bad, if she could describe it plainly. But ... Kazuki? She'd stand between her and him.

Her question and concerns seemed nice. In such an odd way, of course. Things seemed to really be going for Kaz, and as he questioned whether or not he'd really leave, he found himself torn on the inside. Not to late, she said. It was around early night, where the Sun had set a couple hours ago, or so it may have seemed. It could be earlier then that, even. Despite everything, he'd make an attempt to come back in the next few days, after sorting things out with Impmon.

"Well, maybe I can come by in the next couple of days. Impmon and me want to find an apartment, so it might take us a little time to get settled in such a new place." He hoped she would understand, because quite frankly he couldn't. He wanted to see her tomorrow, but he didn't need a certain Impmon on his case. With that though, he smiled. "Don't worry, I won't ditch you. Give us some time to settle, that's all."

The D-ban beeped and Kaz looked down at it. As it displayed the time, a distortion showed on his face. It was getting late, or at least what he thought was late. He didn't know much yet, as the Digital World was so new it is as if he is a little baby all over again, learning things for the first time was a pain.

"Catch you later." Kaz turned, having already hugged her. He slowly walked off. Soon, he was probably out of sight and had Impmon materializing into the World from the D-ban to accompany him to find a Hotel or something.

[Kazuki Exits]

Cute. Also, there are zombies involved. That's just awesome.

Let's say that before these two left the arcade, they found 1000 bits on the floor, and decided to split it evenly between the two of them. Also Impmon gets .05 DEP for watching these two crazy kids.