Digimon Adventure: Continuing Evolution

11. Eyes of a Devil

A/N: This chapter is really just the first half of the content that was originally intended to be here, but it turned out so long in the writing that I felt I had to split it in two.

Noriaki's Cafe, Odaiba, Japan; August 27, 2010 – 1:32 pm

DemiVeemon hopped into the booth and bounced to the end to make room for Davis, who slid in beside him.

"All right, V, you ready to chow down on some amazing food?" asked Davis, licking his lips and rubbing his hands gleefully.

The little blue digimon was practically vibrating with excitement. "Are you kidding? I was born ready! That ramen won't know what hit it!" he squeaked, throwing a couple of tiny punches forward for emphasis.

"Easy there, Champ," Davis laughed, "I only have enough money for so much food, so don't get too crazy or I'll end up broke!"

That seemed to deflate DemiVeemon a little. "Okay, Davish..."

The spiky-haired boy thought for a second. "Try to keep it down to...how about three bowls apiece. That sound good?"

DemiVeemon nodded. "Deal!"

"Man, I'm starved. I can't wait to see what kinds of ramen they have here." Davis picked up a menu lying on the table and started to thumb through it.

"Probably the same as the other eighteen ramen places we've been to in the last few weeks," DemiVeemon giggled.

"They're not the same at all!" Davis argued passionately. "They might look like it to the casual observer, but each place has their own spin on it that make each one unique. And I want to try them all! I want to learn from as many restaurants as I can so I can come up with the ultimate ramen experience!"

"You should thank Kari for recommending this place to us," DemiVeemon said, ignoring Davis's rant and changing subjects entirely.

"Yeah," Davis agreed. "Hey, I wonder if we'll meet that 'old friend' she was talking about."

"Ooh, I hope so! I love meeting new old friends! Who do you think she was talking about?"

"I have no idea," Davis mused, looking around the place. "Kari wouldn't say. Who do we know that might show up here...?"

Just then the waitress appeared, flashing them both a bright smile as she began her greeting. "Good afternoon! My name is—Davis!" Noriko practically screamed as she recognized her patron, dropping her notepad and pen in surprise.

"You've gotta be kidding," replied Davis incredulously. "That's my name!"

Noriko resisted the urge to slap her forehead. "No, no. I mean, my name is Noriko." She hurriedly squat down and retrieved her fallen items. "Noriko Kawada. Do you remember me, Davis?"

Davis squinted his eyes at her, but as the name rang in his head, they widened in recognition, and his mouth fell open. "Wait. Y-you're Noriko??"

The girl nodded. "Mm-hmm!"

Davis couldn't contain his amazement. "But—But you're so hot n—I mean, uhhh, you look...different."

Noriko smiled shyly and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Not the same scrawny beanpole that you remember, huh?"

Davis shook his head vigorously. "Not at all!"

"Well, what do you think?" She held her arms out and twirled in a slow graceful circle for his benefit before striking a pose. "Is it an improvement?" She winked playfully.