-Impmon-
I'm three blocks from the hot dog stand when I smell it.
Sulfur and stagnant water, like a river that hasn't moved in a thousand years. It cuts through the city smog like a knife, and my ears flatten against my head before my brain even catches up.
No. No way. Not here.
I spin around, tail lashing, and there he is. Standing in the mouth of an alley like he owns the whole damn block. Shaujinmon. Same tattered robes. Same nine beads around his neck, each one twitching like something behind them is trying to claw its way out. Same staff with that crescent blade dripping dark water that hisses when it hits the pavement.
He looks exactly like I remember. Which is a problem, because I've been working very hard to forget.
"Impmon." His voice is soft. Polite. The kind of polite that makes your skin crawl. "What a delightful surprise."
I haven't seen him since the Digital World. Since he tried to recruit me into one of his schemes. Since I told him exactly where he could shove his "dark bargains." Since he promised he'd remember that.
Apparently, he did.
"Shaujinmon." I force my voice steady, even though every instinct is screaming at me to bolt. "You're a long way from the Deep Savers. Did you get lost on the way to a swamp?"
His lips curl. Not quite a smile. More like a crack in porcelain. "Still the same sharp tongue. I'd hoped maturity might have dulled it."
"Yeah, well, I'm a disappointment that way."
He steps forward. The dark water from his staff spreads across the concrete in a thin film, and the pigeons on the fire escape above us scatter. Even they know something's wrong.
"I've been watching you," he says. "Playing with the humans. Their little pranks. Their little fires." He tilts his head. "It's beneath you, Impmon. You were always capable of so much more."
"Wow. Thanks for the pep talk. Really feeling the love. Can I go now?"
"You may not."
There it is. The politeness drops like a mask, and underneath is something cold and absolute. His eyes lock onto mine, and I feel the weight of his presence press down on me like deep water.
"I didn't come all this way to chat," Shaujinmon says. "I came because I have a proposition."
"Let me guess. Join your crew, get power beyond my wildest dreams, betray everyone I know? I've heard the pitch. The answer's still no."
"This isn't the Digital World." He gestures at the city around us with his staff. The dark water ripples. "Here, the rules are different. The humans—they're overflowing with negative emotion. Fear. Despair. Anger. Hatred." His voice drops to something almost reverent. "It's exquisite. A feast that never ends."
I stare at him. "You're eating their feelings?"
"Harvesting. Refining. Converting emotional data into pure power." He taps one of the beads on his necklace. It pulses. "Every surge of terror, every moment of anguish—it chips away at the seals. Brings me closer to what I truly am."
That's not great. That's the opposite of great.
"So you're what, terrorizing people for a power-up? Real original, Shaujinmon. Very creative."
"Terror is merely the instrument. The data is the prize." He leans closer. The smell of rot intensifies. "And I want you to help me collect it."
"Hard pass."
"It wasn't a request."
The air around us shifts. The shadows in the alley deepen, and I feel something wrap around my limbs—not physical, but heavy. Like chains made of pressure. My feet are rooted to the spot.
"What the—"
"You've always been stubborn, Impmon. It's one of your more irritating qualities." Shaujinmon circles me slowly. "But you're also pragmatic. You understand survival. So let me be clear."
He stops in front of me. The beads on his neck are all twitching now, eyes and stitched mouths pressing against the surface from the inside.
"Join me willingly, and you'll have a place in what's coming. Refuse, and I'll take what I need from you anyway. Your data. Your energy. Your connection to this world." He smiles. It doesn't reach his eyes. "The Chosen Child cares about you, doesn't he? That bond is a conduit. And conduits can be exploited."
"Go after the Chosen Kid?" I laugh, even with the pressure crushing my ribs. "That's not a plan, that's a suicide note. He's taken down things that would make you piss your robes. You think your fancy beads and your creepy water tricks are gonna do anything? He's fought Mega-level Digimon, Shaujinmon. Actual Megas. You're Ultimate level at best, and half the time you're too busy monologuing to throw a punch."
Shaujinmon's expression doesn't change. He just keeps smiling that cracked-porcelain smile.
"You make a valid point," he says softly. "The Chosen Child is... formidable. I wouldn't be foolish to challenge him directly."
The pressure around my limbs eases slightly. I can move my fingers again.
"But then," Shaujinmon continues, and his voice drops to something that makes my tail go rigid, "I hear you've been getting rather close to someone. A girl, isn't it? Jessica?"
My blood goes cold.
"Ah." Shaujinmon's eyes gleam. "There it is. That flicker. That warmth you try so hard to hide." He leans in close enough that I can see the things moving behind his necklace beads. "Tell me, Impmon. How much do you think the Chosen Child would suffer if something happened to her?"
I lunge at him. The pressure snaps tight and slams me back against the wall.
"Touch her," I snarl, "and I'll—"
"You'll what?" Shaujinmon tilts his head. "Prank me? Set my robes on fire?" He chuckles. "No, little imp. You'll do exactly as I say. Because now you understand what's at stake."
"Fine," I say. The word tastes like ash. "I'll help you."
"Excellent." The pressure vanishes completely. Shaujinmon straightens, looking pleased. "I knew you'd see reason."
"Yeah, well. Don't get used to it."
He turns and walks deeper into the alley. The dark water follows him like a pet.
"Come along, Impmon. We have work to do."
I stand there for a moment, fists clenched, tail rigid. Every part of me wants to bolt. To find Ethan. To warn him.
But Shaujinmon's words echo in my head. Allies in places you'd never think to look.
If he has people inside things I don't know about, running might make it worse. For me. For Ethan. For all of them.
I have to play along. For now. Figure out what he's really after. Find his weakness.
And then I'm going to make him regret ever following me to this world.
I follow Shaujinmon into the shadows, already planning how to burn this whole scheme to the ground.
This is fine, I tell myself. Totally fine.
I'm lying, of course.
***
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