Chapter 11: The First Lesson Is Getting Hit - Narutomon (Digimon X Naruto)

The First Lesson Is Getting Hit

Luminel hovered before the group with his spear turning lazily between his hands, looking rather too pleased for someone who had just informed a collection of children that tomorrow's training would expose every terrible habit they had somehow managed to collect. Morning had arrived cool and bright beneath the strange forest canopy, with silver sunlight slipping through leaves and turning the lingering dew into thousands of little sparks. After breakfast—which Daichi had insisted was nowhere near large enough for people expected to save worlds—Luminel had marched everyone out of the dojo and deeper into his domain without offering the slightest clue where they were going. The forest changed gradually around them. Smooth trails became worn stone steps. The steps disappeared beneath enormous roots. Glowing vines curved overhead in natural arches, and somewhere in the distance water rushed over rocks, though nobody ever actually saw the stream. Eventually the trees opened around them, revealing a vast clearing enclosed on three sides by cliffs.

Everyone stopped.

The place looked as though a military training ground, an obstacle course and the imagination of somebody with a worrying enthusiasm for traps had collided and decided to remain together.

Rotating platforms occupied one section. Tall walls rose from another, their surfaces smooth except for scattered grips and narrow ledges. Suspended bridges stretched over pits full of soft sand. Mechanical dummies stood in rows with glowing circles in their chests, while farther away several squat turrets tracked imaginary targets with slow, menacing movements. There were climbing ropes, weighted stones, balance beams, target ranges and sections where the ground itself appeared capable of moving.

Airi stared.

"This looks dangerous."

Luminel turned.

"It is."

"Oh."

He flew into the middle of the clearing and spread his arms.

"This is your foundation."

Sparky's ears lifted immediately.

Luminel pointed with his spear.

"Speed and reflex work there. Strength testing along the stone path. Coordination and teamwork on the tandem course. Accuracy drills beyond the targets. Defensive training under those."

Everyone looked toward the turrets.

One rotated toward them.

Daichi took a step sideways.

The turret followed him.

"I don't like that one."

"It doesn't like you either."

Daichi looked toward Luminel.

"Was that a joke?"

"No."

The turret continued tracking him.

Daichi moved behind Renji.

Luminel ignored this.

"Every section is designed to make you better at something specific. Your partners need stronger bodies, sharper instincts and better control of their abilities. You need to learn how to recognize what is happening during a battle instead of standing around waiting for someone to shout an attack."

Airi slowly lowered the hand she had been about to raise.

Luminel looked directly at her.

"Yes. That includes you."

"I didn't say anything."

"You were going to."

Flora's vines curled eagerly beside her, apparently much more enthusiastic about the situation than Airi was. Tesla's wings buzzed as he looked over the equipment. Sakura hopped forward, head turning from one challenge to another, while Ryu sniffed suspiciously at one of the wooden training dummies as though trying to determine whether it was edible.

Luminel's gaze shifted.

"Haruto."

Haruto looked up.

"You and Ryu come with me."

Ryu stopped inspecting the dummy.

"Me too?"

"Especially you."

Haruto glanced at the others.

"Why just us?"

Luminel's expression lost some of its amusement.

"Because your problem isn't something they can solve for you."

Haruto's eyes dropped briefly toward his Resonance Linker.

"Courage."

"Yes."

Ryu moved closer to him.

Luminel turned toward the forest.

"Come."

Haruto remained still for another moment, then followed.

Ryu hurried after him on his short orange legs.

The others watched them disappear between the trees.

Luminel led Haruto and Ryu farther than Haruto expected. The cheerful sounds of the training field faded behind them until even the occasional mechanical clang disappeared completely. Trees grew closer together here, their branches shutting out much of the morning light, and mist drifted between the trunks in thin pale ribbons. Eventually the ground rose sharply toward a rocky hill.

There was an opening in its side.

Small.

Dark.

And extremely uninviting.

Haruto stopped.

Ryu stopped beside him.

Luminel hovered near the entrance.

Haruto stared into the darkness.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"What am I doing?"

"Entering."

Haruto looked at him.

"After that?"

"Finding your way back to the training ground."

Haruto waited.

Luminel waited too.

"That's the whole explanation?"

"Yes."

"No map?"

"No."

"No directions?"

"No."

"No clues?"

Luminel smiled.

"No."

Haruto sighed.

"And if we get lost?"

"Then you will be lost."

"Very helpful."

"Being lost is excellent motivation to stop being lost."

Ryu peered into the cave.

"I can see absolutely nothing."

"Then you'll learn to work around that."

Haruto's expression became more serious.

"This is supposed to teach Courage?"

Luminel's voice softened slightly.

"The cave isn't going to teach you anything."

Haruto frowned.

"You are."

For once, Luminel did not elaborate.

Ryu reached up and took Haruto's hand between both of his tiny claws.

Haruto looked down.

Ryu smiled.

"Come on."

Haruto stared at him.

"We'll figure it out."

Something tightened briefly in Haruto's chest.

Then he nodded.

"Together."

They entered.

The darkness swallowed them almost immediately.

Within six steps, the entrance behind them disappeared.

Back at the training ground, the rest of the group remained clustered near the starting platform, though without Haruto and Luminel present nobody seemed particularly sure whether they were supposed to begin exercising or continue being disturbed by everything they had learned the previous evening.

Renji solved the problem by kicking a small stone across the clearing.

"So."

Everyone looked at him.

"We've apparently been pulled into a world that keeps destroying and rebuilding itself under the supervision of a giant Archive nobody understands."

Airi folded her arms.

"When you say it like that, it sounds bad."

Renji stared at her.

"It is bad."

Shun adjusted his glasses.

"We know considerably more than we did yesterday."

Daichi looked toward him.

"And that helps how?"

"Information improves decision-making."

"Knowing a mountain is falling on me doesn't make the mountain lighter."

"It might tell you which direction to run."

Daichi opened his mouth.

Paused.

Then nodded reluctantly.

"Fine. That was actually a good answer."

Misaki remained quiet.

Her attention had stayed on the trail Haruto and Ryu had disappeared down.

"This is bigger than Eidon."

The conversation settled.

She looked toward the others.

"Eidon wants territory and control. Cipheron wants information. But the Cult of the Last Silence..."

Her voice trailed off.

Nobody needed the rest.

Yuto sat beside his partner with his knees pulled up.

"But Luminel said we can stop them."

Daichi looked at him.

"He said we might be able to stop them."

Yuto frowned.

"That's still better than can't."

Daichi's expression softened slightly.

"Fair."

Airi sat down beside Flora.

"We've already survived a lot."

Renji folded his arms.

"Mostly by running very fast."

"Running counts."

"Unfortunately, yes."

Shun had already begun tapping notes into his laptop.

"If our Linkers can measure changes in physical performance, we can establish baselines before training and compare—"

Misaki placed one hand gently on the laptop screen and lowered it.

Shun looked up.

"Why?"

"Because you haven't trained yet."

"I am preparing to train."

"You're preparing to prepare."

"There is a difference."

"Not enough of one."

Airi laughed.

Caelan had been leaning against a broad boulder nearby with Sparky sitting on top of it, both watching the argument.

Sparky looked down at him.

"Aren't you going to say something inspiring?"

Caelan raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"They're worried."

"So am I."

Sparky stared.

Caelan looked toward the others.

"Knowing something dangerous exists doesn't make it less dangerous."

Daichi pointed at him.

"Exactly!"

Caelan continued.

"But sitting here isn't going to make us stronger either."

Daichi lowered his hand.

Caelan shrugged.

"Luminel has training grounds. We're here. Might as well use them."

Sparky looked disappointed.

"That wasn't very inspiring."

"I'm not giving a speech."

Renji smiled faintly.

"Probably for the best."

Sparky jumped down from the rock.

"Fine. Then train me."

Caelan looked at him.

"You remembered."

"You promised."

"I know."

Sparky's tail sparked eagerly.

Caelan sighed.

"You're going to regret being this excited."

"No, I'm not."

"You said that last time too."

Around them, the atmosphere had already begun to lift. Perhaps it was difficult to maintain existential dread while Sparky bounced around demanding to be trained and Airi argued with a moving platform because it had apparently tilted at her personally.

Misaki looked around.

"We should start."

Renji nodded.

Airi raised a fist.

"If we're going to be dragged into world-saving nonsense, I refuse to be bad at it."

Daichi pushed his glasses upward.

"I still want it officially noted that I'm sixteen and therefore old enough to recognize this as an extremely poor career choice."

Yuto looked up.

"You're still doing it."

Daichi sighed.

"Unfortunately."

Shun reopened his laptop.

"I'll record everyone's progress."

Misaki immediately looked at him.

"After you do your own training."

Shun closed it again.

Tesla buzzed sympathetically beside him.

Then they scattered.

The reflex arena attracted Misaki first.

Or, more accurately, it attracted Sakura.

The small avian Aetherkin stood at the centre of a circular stone enclosure with her wings slightly spread, while Misaki remained behind a low protective barrier on the outside. Smooth walls surrounded the arena, each marked with faintly glowing symbols. Narrow slots had been cut at irregular intervals around the circumference.

Sakura looked around.

"This doesn't seem too bad."

A mechanical voice answered.

"LEVEL ONE. PROJECTILE VELOCITY: ONE HUNDRED MILES PER HOUR."

Sakura froze.

Misaki stared at the wall.

"That's not slow."

The voice continued.

"OBJECTIVE: EVADE PROJECTILES FOR SIXTY SECONDS."

Sakura looked toward Misaki.

"You picked this."

"You wanted reflex training."

"I've reconsidered."

The slots opened.

Misaki leaned forward.

"Sakura!"

A click sounded.

Then the arena attacked.

Small padded projectiles shot from the walls.

Sakura jumped sideways.

One passed close enough to ruffle the feathers along her cheek.

She flapped hard, rising just as two more crossed beneath her, then rolled awkwardly through the air to avoid another coming from above.

"Whoa!"

A projectile clipped the end of one wing.

Sakura spun.

Recovered.

Then darted away from the next volley.

Misaki gripped the railing.

"Stay light!"

Sakura's wings beat faster.

For the first few seconds, she moved purely by reaction.

See.

Move.

See.

Move.

Duck.

Climb.

Turn.

The problem was that the projectiles were already travelling too quickly for that method to remain comfortable.

Sakura nearly collided with two that crossed in front of her.

She twisted between them.

Another flew past her tail.

The timer continued.

00:38

Sakura began breathing harder.

Misaki watched.

There was something wrong with the way Sakura was dodging.

Not slow.

Late.

"Sakura!"

The little bird looked toward her for half a second.

"Don't watch the shots!"

Sakura nearly got hit because she was now watching Misaki.

"Then what am I supposed to watch?!"

"The launchers!"

Sakura looked around.

The slots.

Tiny movements.

Small clicks before each shot.

Changes in the air.

Her expression shifted.

A projectile fired.

Sakura moved before it reached her.

Another.

She dipped.

Two more.

She twisted between them.

Misaki saw it immediately.

"That's it!"

Sakura stopped fleeing from individual shots.

She began reading the arena.

The click of a launcher.

The faint pressure of air.

The angle of the opening.

The tiny fraction of a second between mechanism and projectile.

Her movements became smoother.

Not faster.

Smarter.

At one point she closed her eyes for barely a heartbeat, feeling the air around her wings rather than relying entirely on sight.

Misaki nearly shouted.

Then Sakura slipped beneath two crossing shots without opening them.

Misaki slowly closed her mouth.