I think I need to explain this story a bit first. I had this strange idea one day and I asked myself, "Wouldn't it be cool if Tai was around in the 03 series ofdigimon?" Don't ask me why I had this thought I just did. So I sat down and thought up a few story twists and tie-ins so it could make sense and I think I have something that could be a viable story. It'll be a bit weird but I think it'll work out. Just give it a chance. Anyway its just a weird experiment I had that I wrote down so I wouldn't forget. Oh, also older Tai with Lv.99 Agumon. I think that covers it mostly.

I Want to be a Hero, Just One Last Time

Written by: Juggalomalice

It was late and he was tired, so when the blue device lit up signaling the presence of a nearby digital portal the only thing the young man with the blue hoodie that hid his messy brown hair did was let out a heavy sigh. He really wasn't in the mood right now having just spent the last three hours at the college library doing research and writing a report that was still not done. Which meant he would have to wake up early the next day, skip his morning class and finish it since it was due that following afternoon. The idea of beating up some wild digimon didn't really appeal to him at that moment.

His little companion next to him looked up at his partner with concern. Anyone who spent more than five seconds looking at him would easily realize the orange reptilian snot and tail that stuck partially out of the black hood-sweater he wore, but since this was Tokyo no one gave you more than two seconds at best. "Aren't we going to investigate that?" the orange creature finally asked after a moment.

The young man looked down at his companion. "Honestly I'm not really in the mood," He admitted with a small chuckle.

"That's not good. What if a wild digimon comes through? Someone could get hurt. Are you really saying you don't care?" The small creature scowled.

"Hey calm down. I never said I didn't care. I just said I wasn't in the mood," He clarified as he changed course from home towards the portal. When he first starting to do this almost several years ago he had to admit it was kind of fun. It made him feel like he was still himself. He felt it over the years. As time passed, as his friends slowly drifted away to pursue their own lives, as his courageous and headstrong spirit of youth was slowly beaten into submission by the demand of young adulthood he felt himself lose contact with the person he once was. That wasn't really the case now. The portals kept opening, the digimon kept coming, and he was nowhere near finding an answer as to why. Let's not mention that all the digimon that came through were pathetically weak that they weren't even a challenge for him and his partner.

The young man grinned, "It's not like anyone else can do it right?" He asked more to himself than anyone else as if he was trying to give a reason to care about this particular portal.

The orange dinosaur next to him answered back with a yawn. "But it is pretty late. Let's get this over with quickly," He suggested to the young man. There was a nod of approval as they two dashed off.

They soon reached their destination, one of the many back alleys of the city. It's only real landmark being a nearby railroad bridge that ran overhead nearby. As they approached the location the sound of combat slowly became louder. They stopped at the top of a nearby stairwell and looked down at the fight below them.

"It looks like someone beat us to the punch," The young man jested as he observed. Before them was a large samurai looking digimon with red armor and a very large sword who was fighting a yellow fox-like digimon while a nearby girl with red hair yelled orders.

"Should we help?" The orange digimon asked.

"Naw, it just a Musyamon. Let's see what the kid can do. We'll jump in only if we have to save her bacon."

The two digimon continued to fight it out. The yellow fox dodging gracefully and swiftly as Musyamon swung his sword at her as if attempting to swat a fly. "That Renamon is fast, but unless she can hit him this fight is just going to end badly for her." The hooded man said. At that moment the Renamon jumped into the air and spread her arms wide, "DIAMOND STORM" she shouted as the rain of razor sharp icicles fell upon her opponent.

The young man simply shook his head with disapproval as if he knew what was going to happen. The icicles hit their mark but simply bounced off the heavy armored shoulder pads of the digital samurai. "Powerful attack, but it leaves her open while she lands. This is really going to hurt." Indeed at that moment Musyamon charged forward and lifted his sword, "SHOGUN SWORD" he screamed as he slashed down at his opponent.

"Oh, she dodged," The orange digimon said clearly impressed.

"Yeah, but she's still wounded, see." He pointed out as the Renamon landed a few feet away before stumbling to her knees while holding her ribs. "And it seems her partner is panicking now too."

"Is her bacon in trouble now?" The yellow dinosaur asked.

"Yeah, I think so. Let's clean this mess up."

"Alright!" The yellow digimon shouted as he jumped from the railing into the fray, ripping his sweater off and kicking Musyamon away from his current opponent.

"Wow, Agumon. You almost seem excited. Don't tell me you actually think this guy will be a challenge," The young man said with a laugh as he followed his partner. He looked at the young girl and her digimon. The girl had her red hair tied back, blue pants, and a white shirt with a blue broken heart. "We'll take care of this. You two just get some rest."

"I'm sure this guy can be some fun if I get creative," Agumon said as he dodged Musyamon's attacks. The two continued their death ballad for several more minutes. Agumon was seemingly not trying and Musyamon was getting steadily more frustrated. The young man pulled his wrist out of his pockets as he checked his watch.

"Agumon, will you stop playing around? It's late."

"Oh sorry," Agumon apologized before he jumped up and gave Musyamon a solid kick to the face sending the samurai reeling backward. He followed up the attack with a brutal head-butt which knocked Musyamon on his back.

"Give him an Around-the-World and then let's call it a night."

"Right," Agumon replied back as he grabbed the champion digimon by the foot and began to pull. It seemed impossible that the small orange dinosaur could even lift the larger digimon, but sure enough, after a short while, Musyamon slowly began to lift off the ground as Agumon spun him around in a circle like a rag doll. Agumon sent Musyamon crashing into a nearby wall as the force of the throw not only cracking the wall but his armor too. Before Musyamon could even open his eyes he heard someone shout, "PEPPER BREATH". The fireball hit its target at full-power setting the champion ablaze. The next instant nothing but a dust of digital data was left. Agumon, clearly proud of his work, walked away and put his jacket back on.

"What's wrong with you Agumon? Were you trying to impress the girls or something? You usually wipe the floor with such weaklings like that in the first minute," The young man teased as he rubbed the digimon's head. If that was the case he couldn't really blame his partner. It had been ages since someone seen them fight and the last one had run off screaming without even giving them a thank you. "I bet she'll totally be blown away by our strength," He thought as he turned to see the two they just rescued.

"Hey, no one told you to butt in you nosey idiot!" The girl shouted.

"What!" That was not the kind of answer he was expecting. "In case you didn't notice we just saved your life."

"I had everything under control. Renamon and I were just caught off guard that's all. We so didn't need your help," The girl rebutted.

"Sure, I guess getting your butt kicked was part of your brilliant strategy right. You're lucky you're still alive."

"Even so no one asked for you to play hero!"

"I'm not playing anything. If anything you're the one who thinks this is some stupid game. Come on Agumon," He ordered as he turned around and began to walk away. He stopped at the stairwell and looked once more at the girl who was glaring at him. "You have no idea how close you came to dying today. You're way too weak to be fighting digimon at that level."

If the girl wasn't mad before she definitely was now. "I'm not weak! "You'll see. One day I'll be the strongest tamer out there. Stronger than all those digimon and stronger than you for sure. Just you wait. You'll be sorry for calling me weak."

"Heh, sure thing kid. Keep saying that and maybe it'll come true one day. In fact when you think you're strong enough to look me up and we'll find out," He said as he walked off.

"Girls were nicer when you were a kid, Tai." Agumon said as they walked off.

"They were cuter too," He replied with a laugh. The bright yellow star on the back of his jacket was the last thing the girl saw as they both disappeared into the shadows.

Several Months Later

"DIAMOND STORM"

The icicles shoot out like bullets ripping through the downed digimon's armor before turning him to digital dust. Rika and her partner, Renamon, both released a breath they didn't know they were holding in. It was a tough fight. Rika had to use several power-up cards and a deceptive fighting strategy, but they won.

"Wow, that was an awesome fight Rika." Takato shouted as he ran up to congratulate his friend for their victory. "I was a bit worried when you insisted on fighting him by yourself, but it seems like I didn't need to worry. Still, Musyamon is a pretty tough character."

"I know, I fought one before," Rika said as she recalled that night so long ago. "He said to look him up when I was stronger. I wonder if it's time now?"

End chapter 1