Chapter Text
Impmon was bouncing through the tunnel systems. One of the few places he could go to avoid rain or storms without humans bothering him. It was extremely raining hard out; he could hear the sounds of the rain pelting down onto the ground from inside the tunnel. So, staying out of the rain was in his best interest. However, it was extremely boring.
Hopping up and down the length of the tunnel, throwing fireballs at the ground to pass the time. “Badaboom!” He yelled, as he tossed down another fireball, illuminating the tunnel again. This time, something caught his eyes. A deep purple poof, similar in color to his own fur but much brighter.
Impmon skidded to a halt, tilting his head in confusion. Summoning another fireball, he used it to illuminate the tunnel and he got a better look. It looked to be a human, one around goggle head’s size, maybe a bit bigger. He had never seen a human with purple hair. But that wasn’t important. What was important was that a human was in his tunnel!
“Hey! What d’ya think yer doin’ in my tunnel!?” Impmon snapped, clenching his fist into a ball. The human flinched, hearing his voice and sat up. Their eyes widened in surprise, pressing themself against the wall even further. Shaking slightly, but not answering his question, “Ya heard me! What do ya think you’re doin’ in my tunnel?”
They yelped when he threw a fireball at them, hitting the wall right next to them. Scowling at them, waiting for a response. They brought their hands up covering their face, “I- i’m staying out of the rain! P-please don’t kick me out. I’ll leave as soon as the rain’s over. I- I swear!” The human sunk into the coat they wore.
Impmon frowned, narrowing his eyes. Thinking about it for a brief moment, “I suppose… But on one condition, ya got that, human?” He grinned, crossing his arms and puffing out his chest. The human lowered their arms, looking down at him. This human… They were definitely weird looking. Their eyes were a pale red color and there was a red stripe under one of their eyes… Super weird.
“What is it?” The human responded quickly; they were rather compliant. Yeah, sure it was raining hard out there but he didn’t think they’d be that eager to accept his demands to stay out of the rain. He snickered slightly and tilted his head watching as the human stood up. They were definitely much taller than goggle head and the other weirdo humans.
“Make yourself useful! Whatcha got? Money, food? Anything?” Impmon grinned, cocking his head to the side. He took joy in stealing and taking from humans and this one would be no exception.
“... N-no… I don’t have anything,” The human admitted, looking down at the ground in shame. He cringed, wincing at the admission.
“Well then, what are ya good for then?” His scowl returned in a split second, getting frustrated at this human. His tail lashing back and forth, sneering at them.
“Uh… A-after the storm I can g-get you some food?” They offered a sheepishly smile on their face.
Impmon grunted, his arms remaining crossed, “Hmph. Fine! I guess that’ll do, but don’t forget ya owe me for this!” He rolled his eyes, glaring at the human a bit longer. He wasn’t happy about a stranger let alone a human in his tunnel completely uninvited. However, the prospect of getting free food from the kid. It would suffice.
The kid nodded and sat back down again, leaning against the wall of the tunnel. Letting out a breath of relief. Running a hand through their hair. Impmon watched the human for a moment, still a bit suspicious of them. He wasn’t entirely convinced letting the kid stay was a good idea, but a deal was a deal and he planned to honor that deal. For the time being at least.
He was silent for a few seconds longer, trying to think of what to say. Outside of tormenting others and picking fights he was really bad at talking to people, “Uh… You got a name? Or am I gonna have to give you one?”
“My name? Uh… My name is Shrimp…” They opened their eyes, looking at him. Sitting up slightly.
Shrimp? What kind of name was that? He couldn’t resist commenting on the weird name, “Huh, funny name,” He snickered, but froze realizing he had yet to introduce himself. The kid should know who he is! He is an amazing Digimon after all, “Mine’s Impmon.”
He looked down at the ground, a little embarrassed. He hadn’t had a casual conversation like this with anyone for a long time. And it was difficult making small talk with anyone. Let alone a human.
“Nice to meet you, Impmon.” Shrimp smiled at him. Impmon sighed, he hated to admit it but he kind of liked the kind tone of Shrimp’s voice. He felt himself smile a little but quickly shook his head keeping a neutral expression. Simply rolling his eyes instead, didn’t want to look silly in front of a human.
“Yeah, yeah. Nice to meet ya too, I guess. Now ya better not do anything weird while you're here, or I’m bootin’ ya!” Impmon snapped, glaring at the kid again. Shrimp nodded, giving him a small thumbs up before leaning back against the wall of the tunnel, closing their eyes again. There was an awkward silence, for Impmon at least.
“What are ya doin’ out here anyway? Don’tcha got a little nice home to run off to.” Impmon scowled, putting his hands on his hips and tilting his head to the side.
The kid shook their head, frowning slightly, “I didn’t have anywhere else to go. This was the only place I knew I could get out of the rain at.”
Impmon raised an eyebrow in surprise, leaning a bit closer to the teenager, “So your sayin’ you’re homeless?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. Waiting for the human’s response, they didn’t verbally respond but instead nodded their head. Staring at him blankly, Impmon smirked at an idea coming to mind, “Hows about you work for me! Ya seems like a half decent human. And you ain’t gonna stay in my tunnel for free.”
Offering out his hand he watched Shrimp hesitate for a moment, staring at his hand before taking in. The kid had a firm grip, “S-sure.”
Impmon chuckled at the slight hesitation, grinning even wider as the kid agreed to his idea. Sure, humans weren’t all that useful or anything, but he could figure out a use for this one, “Perfect! Now, you gotta call me ‘boss’ from here on. Ya gots that?’ His mischievous grin only widened.
“Got it,” Shrimp responded in a confused tone, but they seemed to get the memo. Nodding in satisfaction he took a step back, cocking his head to the side.
“Good. Now before I allow you to stay here, I want to know one thing. Do ya know how to fight?” His eyes widened in anticipation for the answer from the human. His grin became a bit more devilish.
“I’d say I’m a half decent fighter, why?” Shrimp asked, getting more confused than before. He was sure he had the most stupid grin on his face right now, but that didn't matter. What did matter was that he had a human that could fight, working for him.
“Perfect! Then I got just the thing for you, kid.” Shrimp’s expression was confused but nodded slightly. Agreeing to this. This was actually a decent decision, letting this human stay here, “I’m gonna have you do stuff for me. You’ll be my right hand, and I’ll train you!”
Shrimp frowned, tilting their head to the side, “Uh… I… I thought we would just go our separate ways after the storm was over. And I got you food, y’know… Like I promised?”
Now it was Impmon’s turn to frown. Just remembering the deal, he had made with the teen earlier. He said he’d let them stay until the rain was over and if they got him food. He cracked, bursting into laughter. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t find this humorous. He attempted to stop himself, but this was just too funny. Having to put his hands on his knees in order to keep himself from keeling over. Eventually, he recovered from his fit of laughter and looked at Shrimp.
Shaking his head with a smug, almost mean smile on his face, “Oh… Oh you're a hilarious kid. You really are,” He huffed slightly, before getting a bit more serious, “I don’t need the food.”
That was a lie. He did need the food badly. It was pretty difficult to steal from human stores when they all knew what he looked like now but having this kid working with him. It may just be worth it. So, he chose to ignore the hunger gnawing at his guts for the time being.
“Are you sure?... “ Shrimp only continued to frown; the kids tone more. Worried? This time. It was pretty difficult to tell. A small part of himself was hoping that the kid's tone was worried. But he shook off that thought trail. Impmon let out an exasperated sign, waving his hand in a dismissive manner. Glaring at the teenager and leaning forward.
“Listen kid, I can go wherever I want and get whatever I want for myself. No problem. What I want is for you to follow me? Ok?” He raised an eyebrow, watching the teenager’s eyes widen. Shrimp opened their mouth to say something, but quickly closed it instead responding with a simple nod of their head. Their pale red eyes meeting his emerald, green ones.
“Great! We got ourselves a deal,” Holding out his hand again. Shrimp shook it immediately this time, and his smile widened, “Alright kid, that’s step one. Now onto the next part of my plan. Here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna stick by me wherever I go. And you’ll do whatever I say no questions asked, understood?”
“Understood…” Shrimp responded in a blander tone. Looking toward the entrance of the tunnel. Impmon raised an eyebrow looking toward the entrance himself then back at Shrimp. Staring up at the kid and crossing his arms.
“What’s the deal? Did I miss something?” His eyes narrowed slightly, watching them for several moments. Did he say something wrong? What was up with them? He continued to watch them, they put a hand over their stomach as it growled in hunger, and he winced. They shook their head and looked back at Impmon.
“It’s nothing,” They smiled nervously. Impmon sighed, staring at them before eventually shaking his head.
Impmon made a small huff, sticking out his tongue an irritated sound leaving his throat, “Well… Alright then,” Looking up at the kid he thought for a moment. If this human was going to work for him, he’d need to know what they were capable of, and there was only one way to figure that out, “Ahem. Since yer gonna be my right hand, I’m gonna have to know what you're capable of. To know if you’re strong enough for my standards. So… How about a test?”