Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

TK

TK breathes out a sigh, reading over the last block of text he’d written with mild concern. He’d re-read it at least five times now, and the text on his computer screen was starting to blur together. He turns away and rubs his eyes– probably best to just save and close this for now.

He’d been working on his memorandum for about two years now, but it was still hard to write certain parts of it. Not because he couldn’t remember the details-- even after almost six years everything was still so vivid-- but because it required him to revisit memories he wasn’t entirely comfortable with. He’d only been a little kid, and the battle against Devimon… was still hard to think about. His brother had tried coaxing him to talk about it on several occasions, but TK would always find ways to laugh it off and change the subject.

As for everything else, TK had written hundreds of pages so far. Point form notes starting from 1995 up until about a year ago, when he last saw Patamon. Sometimes he would remember new details, or the others would mention something and he would go back in and add in more notes. He still wasn’t really sure what he was going to do with all of it, of course. But he always felt that he had to write it out regardless, whether it was so all of them could remember, or just himself. The act of recording it all down felt important, somehow.

He opens a browser window and brings up the Digidestined Network forum. As he scrolls through the message boards and chat logs, TK marvels at how many more Chosen kids there are now. The Network had grown almost tenfold since he and his friends had first met their own Digimon partners. Once Izzy had figured out how to track it more accurately, the older boy had theorized that the number was likely doubling with every new year. 

TK scans through the most recent posts from others, but nothing really catches his eye. Logging off seems like the best call right now, so he gets up and starts gathering his books, yawning as he slides them all into his school bag.

When they were younger, Gennai told them that their partnerships were formed because the Digital World needed their help to fight against the dark forces threatening them. But if the number really did double every year, how many more of them would there be? Would it ever stop? 

If everyone in the world had access to Digimon, and the Digital World, wouldn’t it get dangerous?

The D-3 Digivices were still the only models that could open a gate to the Digital World, but not all new Chosen children received them. Izzy wasn’t sure why certain partners got them and others didn’t, but new Digidestined were still occasionally appearing with the older models that Tai and the others had. Izzy spent hours pouring over both versions– comparing, analyzing, tinkering… but whatever he’d discovered hadn’t accumulated into much of anything yet. 

Recently the connection to the Digital World had been closed off, so even if they tried to open a gate it wouldn’t actually be able to connect. This wasn’t unusual, but some of them had been growing concerned over how long the disconnect was lasting. They hadn’t seen any of their partners since last summer, making it one of the longest periods they’d gone without seeing them.

The Digimon couldn’t stay permanently in the Real World, as much as they’d like them to. There was only so long a being could stay in a world they weren’t naturally from– so the Digimon had to spend periods of time in the Digital World to balance themselves out. 

The Real World was still only vaguely aware of their existence, despite several incidents involving Digimon over the years. Everyone in the Digidestined Network kept what they could of them a secret, but humans naturally liked to block out things they don’t understand, or can’t explain. Most of the time the population would come up with some sort of explanation, or cover-up, because trying to describe the real thing would just make them seem crazy. It didn’t help that a lot of the footage capturing the Digimon had mysteriously gone missing or been erased over time, which Izzy speculated could be the Digital World’s doing. 

However, there were some things even the Real World couldn’t ignore. The residents of Odaiba all remembered being held captive by a strange monster at Tokyo Big Sight in 1999, and in 2002 there had been thousands of reports all over the globe of monster sightings in the sky– not to mention the appearance of thousands of Kuramon all across Tokyo in 2003. TK’s mother was a reporter, and alongside Sora’s dad, a well-known anthropologist, they were dubbed ‘Digimon Critics’ after being wholly responsible for covering up the kid’s involvement in interviews to the press. The kids were able to remain anonymous and avoid any publicity thanks to their parents stepping up to protect them. 

Thankfully things had been peaceful since 2003, and their parents didn’t have to do quite as much damage control. TK checks the Digidestined Network message boards every morning, just to see if anything has happened overseas, or if any new Chosen have appeared– but it’s been fairly quiet.

A chiming sound rouses him from his thoughts, and he looks over to his phone where it sits on his bed. Scooping it up and flipping it open, TK smiles as he’s greeted with an obnoxious message. 

FROM: Meatball.
‘Quick come downstairs!! I’ve got something to show you!! Stop sleeping!’ 

TK laughs under his breath, typing out a quick response to Davis before he gathers the rest of his things for school. Before he leaves, he remembers something and pauses to quickly text out a message to Cody as well. The younger boy was supposed to be leaving on a school trip this morning, so TK sends a quick ‘have fun this weekend!’ before pocketing the device and heading out of the apartment. 

Davis is waiting on the street corner outside TK’s building, hands in his pockets. His uniform is untucked, his hair is messy, and he has a big eager grin on his face. But wait—TK’s eyebrows raise in surprise.

“Not wearing the goggles today? I thought they were your thing,” he asks, giving Davis a once-over. 

Davis shrugs, “I gave them back to Tai yesterday.”

“Really? Why?”

“Kari told me that they once belonged to their Grandpa, he was a pilot. I just felt bad, y’know? Feels like I’m taking a family heirloom, and I mean– they were really Tai’s look to start off, weren’t they?” Davis explains, and then holds up a finger. “But– I seriously leveled up, and decided on a new look!” 

TK snorts, “is that what you wanted to show me?”

“Just wait!” Davis rummages through his school bag, pulling out a small object and with a flourish, placing it over his eyes. “Tah-dah!”

TK pulls back, squinting suspiciously, “...sunglasses?”

Davis scoffs, “they’re coloured sunglasses! I bought a bunch of them at Diver City. Aren’t they cool? I like these orange ones the best, but I also bought blue, green, yellow, and red ones.”

TK can’t help but laugh, despite Davis’s excitement. “Super stylish. Kari will like them, don’t you think?”

Davis ‘whoops’ in excitement and TK takes a quick peek around the intersection. “Did she not walk with you today?” 

“Hm? Oh, nah. Tai forgot his lunch so she left way earlier to drop it off for him.” 

Looking down the opposite street towards Davis and Kari’s apartment complex, TK notices a big moving van parked to the side with men hauling furniture towards one of the buildings “You have new neighbours?” He hums, looking back to Davis. The other boy swings his head around to check and shrugs. 

“I guess? But I haven’t seen them yet. Just the van,” Davis glances down to his watch, not particularly interested, and clicks his tongue. “We should get going, I need Yolei’s opinion on these shades before she heads to homeroom,” He flashes a grin and slaps TK on the back, using the momentum to push them in the opposite direction. TK almost stumbles but manages to right himself and keep pace with Davis.

They find Yolei near the front gate of their school, talking with one of the other girls in the computer club. Though, when Davis calls out loudly for her the other girl turns bright red and promptly excuses herself. Yolei quickly calls “see you later!” to her before turning an annoyed expression towards the two boys. “What do you want?”

Davis proceeds to flash her his new sunglasses, and her reaction is about as enthusiastic as TK’s was, but Davis soaks it all up anyway, looking quite pleased with himself.

“Oh yeah, I meant to ask you both,” TK starts, as they head towards their homerooms. “About Matt’s gig coming up this weekend, are you guys able to come?”

Yolei’s expression turns apologetic, “I double-checked but the computer club has an event that day… sorry, TK. But-- you can probably expect my big sister to be there, she’s a huge fan.” 

Davis crosses his arms, “I would man, but it’s my Mom’s birthday and we’re all going out with her to celebrate. Besides, don’t people bring dates to those kinds of things?” Davis’s expression sours, and Yolei hums.

“So, Kari said no, then?”

Davis turns red, “Shut up! Who says I asked her?” 

“How many times is that now?” TK looks to Yolei, and she shrugs.

“At least seven or eight times.”

“It has nothing to do with that! She had plans already, okay?” Davis turns to TK, finger pointing at him in accusation. “Not everyone is an apparent stud like you. How many ‘friends’ are you bringing with you this time, huh? How do you even get them to agree to go out with you?” 

“Hmm? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” TK smiles innocently, before becoming distracted by the chiming of his phone.

“Look at him! Look at him ignoring me! It’s probably a text from one of his girlfriends!”

“What, are you jealous?”

A scuffle between the two seems to break out but TK turns himself away from them as he reads his newest text from Izzy. Someone had just posted in the Digidestined Network, and this time it was from a Japanese kid. Izzy briefly says that they noticed some weird electrical flares happening in and around the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station, and advises them to be cautious. TK briefly wonders if it could be Digimon related, or just a regular power surge. It was hard to say, but soon Davis is shouldering him onwards, towards their homeroom class, and he waves a quick goodbye to Yolei.

TAI

“A soccer game?”

It’s later that afternoon, and school has just let out for the day. Izzy looks up from his laptop towards Tai, who’s leaning against a tree in the main courtyard of their high school complex. Students were all casually making their way home after the last bell, leaving in groups with friends or heading to club activities. Tai had reached out to Izzy to meet briefly before heading home, so the younger boy now sat in the grass beside him, laptop propped open on his lap. 

Izzy’s eyebrows furrow apologetically, and Tai already knows what his answer will be.

“Sorry… I appreciate it, but that’s my parents’ wedding anniversary.”

“So, you can’t come?”

Izzy shakes his head, but then says hopefully, “have you asked Matt?”

It was Tai’s turn to shake his head, “He has a gig that day, and I can’t really ask Joe since he’s studying for mock exams already. I’m gonna ask Kari and TK but– who knows…” Tai trails off and frowns sulkily. It wasn’t like the soccer game was especially important or anything. But the idea of no one at all coming to watch made him feel like a bit of a loser.

Izzy thinks, “what about Davis? Ken? They like soccer, I’m sure they’d enjoy watching you play.” But his encouraging smile fades when Tai scowls.

“I already asked them all. Davis is celebrating his mom’s birthday; Ken is out of town with his parents and Yolei has a club event.” He blows out a sigh, “and I asked Cody but he hasn’t responded all day.”

“I don’t know whether to feel insulted or not that I was the last person you asked–” Izzy says dryly, but quickly adds, “I believe Cody left on a field trip today, so he’ll be away all weekend.” 

Tai’s sulking intensifies, and Izzy truly does look apologetic, reaching to close his laptop. “It’s hard to get everyone together these days.”

“That’s okay… I just figured you might be free, so I asked.” 

Izzy grins, “don’t worry, I know.” The red head reaches into his pocket then for his phone, opening his contacts. “How about I text Mimi for you, just in case?”

Tai barks out a dry laugh, leaning over to peek at Izzy’s phone screen as he types out a message to the younger girl. “She’s in America, no way she can come.” 

“But it’s Mimi. She’s gotten here before with unexpected ease. If anyone can do it, she can.”

Tai straightens as he considers it. Izzy wasn’t wrong. Mimi’s parents were seriously loaded, and she’d bought plane tickets at the drop of a hat before. She flew out when Diaboromon showed up in the middle of Tokyo Bay—Tai doesn’t even know how she managed it so quickly. Wasn’t that like– a 14 hour flight? But surely this was different. That was a Digimon emergency— this was just a soccer game. 

“I wonder how she’s doing over there…”

Izzy makes a sound of surprise as his phone immediately chimes out an alert, and he opens the response to read it out loud for Tai. “’Hello! Thanks for the invite. I’d love to come to your game, so cover my airfare, okay? – Mimi’.”

They’re both silent for a moment, Izzy staring at the message before Tai suddenly lurches forward to look at the screen more closely. “What– She’s coming?” It had to be a joke. She was joking, right?

“Round trip weekend airfares from New York to Tokyo aren’t cheap. The full fare is 1.08 million yen. Plus, all major airlines slap on extra fees, like fuel surcharges, which they add on top of the base price. I can find a comparative fare chart of all the airlines… but,” Izzy pauses to look at Tai. “It’s Mimi, so we’d better check business-class fares.”

Tai runs a hand through his hair in exhaustion, “forget it.”

“Hey– what about Shuu? I could ask him for you.”

“Shuu? Joe’s brother? Isn’t he studying in Kyoto?” 

Izzy nods, “He was, yeah. Joe said he switched majors from medicine to anthropology, and Sora’s dad was one of his professors. But he’s finished school now and apparently moved back to Tokyo. I think the last time I spoke to Joe he mentioned that Shuu got a new government job here, but he couldn’t explain exactly what it was. So, I wanted to meet up with Shuu and ask him myself. I’m interested to hear about his studies with Mr. Takenouchi., too. I know they were working on some small research projects related to the Digimon.”
 
“Has Shuu seen his Digimon at all recently?” Tai asks curiously, since he couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen Shuu’s partner. To be honest they all hadn’t seen their partners in a while, and it was getting annoying how long the connection between the two worlds was staying closed off. What was even going on? 

“No, I don’t think he’s seen Labramon since last year… same as the rest of us.”

Tai frowns and kicks at the ground, scuffing the grass under his shoe. Izzy begins to pack his laptop away and Tai pauses for a beat before speaking again, “earlier today… our career counsellor asked me about my future.” 

They did it every year. At the beginning of the year they would have all the students fill out career sheets and hand them in, and then they would do it again at the end of the year to compare. Everyone else had handed theirs in already but Tai had kept putting it off, claiming forgetfulness. His career counsellor was starting to actively chase him through the halls in order to get him to hand in his paper. But in reality, Tai just didn't know what to write down.

All he wanted to do these days was play soccer and see Agumon again. He was already 17, but he hadn’t spent any time seriously thinking about his future before.

Izzy looks at him curiously, noting the subject change.

“I couldn’t give him an answer. I don’t really think about it, but… I mean, do you know what you wanna do? Have you thought about it?” Tai glances up and Izzy looks thoughtful, considering the question seriously.

“Well, I technically already have a job.”

“What–”

“I got a job working part-time for an American firm. Mostly programming and security development– but they’re covering all the costs for the equipment I use, though the benefits are a bit lacking. I mostly agreed because they offered me my own private office.” Izzy smiles, and Tai groans.

“Nevermind, I asked the wrong person.”

Izzy gets up off the ground and wipes stray grass from his uniform pants. “Don’t worry, you’ve got time,” he says, “and about the Digimon– we’ll see them again soon. The D-3’s can still open gates, even if it’s hit or miss right now.” Izzy gave him a small pat before glancing at his watch and excusing himself. “Gotta get to work!”

Tai watches him go, huffing out a short sigh before turning the opposite way to head to the subway.

“I wonder what Agumon’s up to…”

 SHUU

Shuu smooths out the wrinkles from his suit after having sat at his desk for most of the day. His boss had just returned from back-to-back meetings all morning, and he knew she had even more during the second half of the day, so he wanted to touch base with her before continuing his work.

He had taken up a job as an Information Officer for a new experimental department called the Information Management Office, a branch of the National Data Processing Bureau. The department was barely a year old, and his boss was constantly in and out of meetings with various government officials as they were handed off more and more work to do. 

Shuu had been personally selected to work there by his boss– but she also happened to be his aunt. 

Shuu knocks gently on her office door, and when he hears her acknowledgement from within, he steps inside. “Hello, Ma’am. Do you have some time?” He asks, and she looks up and smiles at him, motioning for him to close the door.

“Yes, thank you for coming in, Shuu. I meant to speak with you today but it’s been…. hectic, as usual,” she playfully blows a strand of dark hair from her face, before tucking it behind her ear neatly. “How has your first day been?”

Ryoko Hirabayashi was Shuu’s maternal aunt, and he’d spent the last four years working alongside her while he studied anthropology with Haruhiko Takenouchi. He had initially been studying medicine, which was what his parents had pushed him towards. The Kido family came from a long line of successful doctors. His grandfather, his father, his older brother Shin, and now his younger brother Joe was also studying to get into Medical University.

It had never felt right to Suu, though, and he can clearly remember the day he’d been on the phone with Joe, confessing that he was going to change his major in school. Joe had been supportive of his decision, but breaking the news to his parents had been… rough. They dismissed his desire to study anthropology, deeming it a lesser education compared to medicine. They’d also stopped helping him pay tuition, so he’d been entirely on his own financially going forward. But he didn’t regret it in the least, and he was doing something he was passionate about now. He only wished the same for Joe, who still seemed to be struggling under their parents’ hopes and dreams for him.

His aunt, Ryoko, had previously worked in Information Technology and had ended up working on several projects concerning Digimon alongside him and Mr. Takenoushi in Kyoto, where she had lived with her family.  She provided the technical insight while Mr. Takenouchi and Shuu focused on the societal impact, they had even published a few papers together as well– which clearly caught the attention of the Japanese government. This is what prompted them to offer a Management role to her for their new department.

She had accepted and moved to Tokyo, and after discussing the nature of her work with him, she offered Shuu a position in her office once he’d graduated. 

Shuu had been hesitant at first, wondering what he could offer, but Ryoko had explained it was a chance for Shuu to really make a difference in the information that was published to the world regarding Digimon. Even before becoming a Digidestined himself, Shuu had loved the Digimon and the Digital World when he’d learned about it all. He wanted to protect them and work towards a future where both worlds could coexist peacefully. 

Due to the nature of Digimon, and the conflicts they brought about, it was easy for the public view to skew towards fear, and apprehension. But Shuu wanted to change that. He would protect the Digidestined and their partners.

“It’s been steady, but I’ve been going over some of the reports you e-mailed out earlier this morning, and I’m a little concerned…” he trails off, holding up a small stack of documents he’d brought into the room with him. 

“Oreintation’s over so soon? That’s good, you’re already starting off strong,” Ryoko grins, and slides out some of her own folders, flipping them open and spreading out several reports.

“There have been recent reports of strange sightings in the city, all concerning electrical disturbances accompanied by 'hallucinations'," Ryoko reads, and looks up to Shuu, who nods in confirmation.

“The Bureau thinks it could be related to Digimon, based on the nature of the aforementioned ‘hallucinations’. Each report involves strange electrical disturbances– static, or power failures– followed by unexplainable visions of windows into another world, like portals, before the image disappears.” Shuu explains, glancing through his notes briefly before looking up again. “These sorts of things certainly are common occurrences when it comes to Digimon activity, but I’m concerned that we’ve had over 50 reports submitted in less than 48 hours.”

Ryoko nods, her expression becoming tense, “it’s certainly abnormal, we haven’t had this much potential activity in months. Not since the initial founding of the Office, anyway. If you have enough time before the end of the day, I would like you to compile a report of similarities noted between each occurrence. We will be investigating these further but we need to be quick about it.”

Shuu nods, “Of course. Do we know yet what’s causing this sudden burst in activity?”

“That’s what we’re working on. I’ve been encrypting some of the data from the sites of the electrical disturbances. But we need to get a handle on this because we’re the primary source of information that the media will look to. If we’re not quick enough they’ll start finding other sources, which could mean reporting unreliable or dangerous information to the public.” Ryoko glances towards her computer screen as she continues, clicking through documents that Shuu can’t see from his angle. 

“Should we… tell the Digidestined about it?” Shuu wonders, curious how their role might play into situations like this. “Maybe they could help?”

Of course they were all still children, so they couldn’t be ‘hired on’ to help, officially. But they also had so much more practical experience when it came to Digimon, and he wondered if the government was interested in utilizing that expertise in any capacity.

Ryoko pauses, considering his question, before firmly shaking her head. “No. Reducing their involvement is the best option as we build our own understanding and protocols. At the end of the day, they are still children.” She sighs, “We’ve seen how destructive Digimon can be, and while the Digidestined and their partners have previously proven themselves to be capable, we can’t continue to put children in the line of fire.”

“I understand,” Shuu says.

“We can utilize them as backup if a dangerous Digimon manages to get into the city, but that will inevitably come with risks, not to mention destruction that the city will have to pay for. The Information Management Office is still in its inaugural year, and in time we will have the resources and fire-power to handle these situations ourselves… but I’ll admit this level of activity is more sudden than I was anticipating, we’ll have to work twice as fast to understand what’s going on.”

Shuu nods in agreement, “yes, Ma’am.”

“More importantly, we need to protect the children and their partners. That includes how the public will perceive them when disturbances like this occur. We need to provide safe, and reliable information, because the kids won’t stay anonymous forever.” Ryoko looks at Shuu, and smiles. “Can I count on you to do that?”

“Yes ma’am!” Shuu nods confidently, matching her smile. 

Ryoko passes him some extra material for his review, and he holds all the papers neatly to his chest. This was exactly what he had accepted this job for, and as serious as it was, he couldn’t help but be excited. “Is there anything else you need from me before I get to work?”

“No, thank you. You are dismissed. I will be in meetings again for the rest of the day, but you can e-mail me your report when you are finished. I will contact you with any new information if it becomes relevant to your work.” Ryoko gently gestures towards the door of her office and Shuu bows respectfully, thanking her before turning to head back to his own desk in the next room. 

CODY

Earlier that morning…

It’s an early start for Cody that morning, leaving his apartment at 7am rather than the usual 8am. His mother had gotten up early to make him breakfast and ensure he had everything he needed packed and ready to go. He was more than prepared, of course, and had already pre-packed everything a day prior. He’d even double-checked it all before bed, and again the next morning. 

He was only going to be away for three nights, but Cody reliably prepared for anything. 

The two classes from their year were going on a weekend school trip, returning Sunday in the early evening. He’d packed his Digivice just in case, even if he was unsure that he would need it, as well as his phone.

Laden with his big, overnight bag, he can see the large coach buses in the distance parked in front of the Elementary School. He can also see a small crowd of other students with their own luggage, lining up in rows in front of their homeroom teachers to sign in. Said teachers were looking up and down between the kids and their clipboards, making sure everyone was accounted for.

Cody’s just passing though the large park located next to the school complex when he hears his phone chime, and he pauses to take it out. He sees a text from TK appear on the screen and smiles to himself, just about to open the message so he can respond. But another sound distracts him then.

He looks up, eyebrows furrowed, and waits to see if it was just his imagination. It almost sounded like... 

There it is again! 

It’s the hum of electricity, but it almost sounds too close to him, like a static buzzing in and out of his ear. Cody looks around, but there’s nothing particularly unusual around him.

Then the sight of something in his periphery catches his eye, and his gaze tracks towards the small alley between the park wall and the side of the school building. Adjusting his bag on his shoulder, he slowly walks over to check it out, but after peeking around the wall it seems like whatever it was that had caught his eye is gone now. 

Shrugging it off, Cody moves to continue walking towards the school entrance.

“…ody…” 

“Huh–?” he straightens. 

“… Co--…dy..”

Cody looks back sharply, and this time he sees a clear… something, further in the alley. It almost looks like the bricks of the school building are glitching, their image going fuzzy while that static sound returns in his ear, louder than before. He moves closer, and it sounds like a garbled voice is trying to get through. 

“Who is it?” He calls out, and the distortion suddenly stops, the static sound increasing until suddenly a portal stretches open wide right in front of him. The edges of it are erratic and unstable, and Cody stares through what appears to be a gate to the Digital World in shock. He takes a step back instinctually but before he has enough time to truly react a human hand reaches out of the gate, grabbing the front of his shirt violently.

“W-wait..!” He calls, but it happens too fast, his bag and phone clattering to the ground as the hand yanks him through with abnormal speed. The gate closes up tight behind him without another word. 

The static stops, and it’s quiet.

There’s no trace of Cody, or the strange gate that had opened up just seconds before, and his belongings are left abandoned on the ground, his phone still open to display TK’s message.

Chapter Text

SHUU

“After reviewing all of the recent reports from witnesses claiming to have seen strange digital anomalies, there are actually several key similarities, despite the occurrences happening in different locations around the city and at various times of the day.” 

Shuu reads through his notes from his report to Ryoko, once again standing in her office the next morning while she listens to him. After re-reading all the civilian reports that had been submitted over the last three days, though sporadic, there did seem to be a few recurring details in each incident. He had already finished the formal document the day before and sent it over to her, but Ryoko had wanted him to visit her that morning to review his findings in-person as well.

She sat behind her desk, facing him, her elbow propped to gently rest her chin on the back of her hand. She nods along, and hums in acknowledgment as Shuu presents his summary. 

“Each incident is preceded by some sort of electrical malfunction. Power outages, short circuiting, or connectivity issues. Then, the witnesses claim to hear a loud static sound in their ears,” he begins. “During each incident, a strange ‘hallucination’ appeared. It’s mainly described as some sort of visual ‘glitching’, but in real life instead of on a computer screen. Some reports just see these ‘glitches’, but some say they grow into what look like portals, or windows to another world. One report actually witnessed a monster on the other side before the window closed and the anomaly disappeared.” 

Thankfully there had not been any reports of anything coming or going through these windows… yet. Shuu flips to a new page and continues. “Based on these descriptions, I’m fairly confident that we’re dealing with spontaneous gates to the Digital World opening up all around the city. However, it’s strange…”

He finally looks up to meet Ryoko’s gaze, eyebrows furrowed. “We know that D-3 Digivices are the only ones that can open up gates, but the connection between the two worlds has been closed for almost a year, so the gates haven’t actually been opening when summoned. Outside of that, instances where gates have appeared without the use of a Digivice have only been during exceptional circumstances. Usually during a battle, and usually only appearing for Digidestined specifically.”

Ryoko sighs and pushes to lean back in her office chair, arms crossing over her chest. “These gates are appearing in front of regular civilians, and seemingly for no purpose. Almost like something, or someone, is trying to figure out how to get through from the other side.” 

“Yes, Ma’am, that’s along the lines of what I was thinking.”

“Have any Digimon been able to come through one of these gates?”

“Not yet—but since one was already seen… it’s only a matter of time before a Digimon actually comes through. The gates don’t seem to stay open for long enough, only visible for a few seconds at a time. However, the reports are still coming in, and there’s no way to tell where they will appear, or when. We can only hope that if a Digimon comes through that it’s non-violent and just needs to be sent back.”

“Non-violet is preferred– but if you were suddenly transported to an unfamiliar world, there’s no telling how you’d react if you were scared enough,” Ryoko muses, and Shuu laughs lightly.

“I have been transported to an unfamiliar world before.”

Ryoko pauses, and then smiles, “Right, I forgot who I was speaking to. Anyway– we need to investigate the data in the electromagnetic waves whenever these gates appear, then we’ll have something that we can actually try and track. Figuring out where and when these gates may open is our first priority before we can move on to what’s opening them in the first place. But we have to wait until it happens again in order to analyze it,” Ryoko’s eyebrows furrow and she taps a nail against her arm.

“Let’s organize teams of two who can take some tracking equipment with them and patrol the streets. We can borrow as many vehicles as we need to spread them out far enough, then they may be able to catch something while it’s happening and record the data.”

“How many teams do you think we’ll need?”

“Ideally, a hundred, minimum. We’ll have to borrow personnel– would you be comfortable doing some fieldwork?” She looks up to him questioningly, and Shuu shrugs.

“I’ve already spent a lot of time taxi-ing people around, what’s a little more?”

“Good, I’ll reach out to the other teams as well to see if they can spare anyone. The labs have the equipment you will need, I’ll give them a list of what to give you.”

Shuu nods, then wonders, “none of the Digidestined have encountered any of these gates yet, have they?”

Ryoko pauses, looking out the window. The question was innocent, but her hesitation suddenly makes Shuu a little nervous. Then she responds.

“There is no activity as of yet around any of the children. All the information we have is in your reports.”

Shuu just nods, “... right.” 

After a beat Ryoko perks up, her gentle smile returning as she regards him. “Thank you for all your hard work, Shuu. You’ve really gone above and beyond, and it’s only your second day.”

Shuu unwinds a bit, giving her an appreciative smile before she continues. “We will continue to monitor all new reports coming in. We can’t miss any opportunity to analyze these distortions, so let's get our trackers out there right away. At worst— I’ll make sure they are also ready to gather the children if anything dangerous comes through.”

Shuu straightens and bows his head, “yes, Ma’am. I will inform our security teams to be on standby.”

TAI

A few days later, Tai sits at the edge of a large soccer field, stretching forward to touch his fingertips to his toes. The soccer field is filled with players from both teams, warming up and doing drills before the game officially starts. Spectators are still filtering into the stands on either side, and Tai distractedly looks through them to see if he recognizes anyone. 

A small frown tugs at his expression when he doesn’t see anyone.

He’d asked everyone, even sending Sora a text message that morning before he’d left home. Sure, it was last minute, but only because he’d overheard Matt asking her to come to his gig on the same day. He felt too awkward after that to ask her to come to his soccer game instead. He’d just sent her the time and place– no pressure or anything. But his game was quite far away from Matt’s gig– and even if she did decide to go to both, she’d either have to leave Tai’s game early, or arrive to Matt’s gig late.

Pausing his stretches to reach out for his phone, Tai sees his message to Sora still sitting in his inbox. She hadn’t responded to him, and he figures she’s probably getting ready to go to Matt’s gig. 

He tries not to take it personally. Even Mimi, who said she’d come, wasn’t there. Though Tai knew that had been a joke. 

Snapping his phone shut a little more harshly than necessary, Tai’s sulking is interrupted when one of his teammates stands over him, casting him in shadow. “Hey, I told you to bring your sister, no matter what,” he complains.

Tai just narrows his eyes up at him, annoyed. “What am I supposed to do? She has plans.”

His teammate seems about to argue when suddenly there’s a ripple through the crowd— a chorus of gasps and exclamations. Their conversation halts and Tai looks around curiously, noticing that everyone is gazing upwards, fingers pointing to the sky. 

“Look! What’s that?”

Tai turns to see what’s going on, his hand shading his eyes from the bright sun, when he feels himself go cold in shock. A dark shadow flies over the field above them, a loud, erratic buzzing emanating from its massive wings. 

Several people around him clasp their hands to their ears, and Tai is on his feet in a panic as a Kuwagamon roars angrily above them. The sound makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. 

Too close–  that Kuwagamon is too close!

Sweeping itself into a wide arc, the Kuwagamon roars again before dipping into a dive towards the field. People scream and start to scatter, but the Digimon pulls up at the last minute to fly past, a gust of wind throwing several people off their feet in its wake.

Heart beating wildly in his chest, Tai runs to his soccer bag at the edge of the field. He grabs all of his stuff and makes a break for it, despite his teammates calling out after him. He doesn’t have time to explain, and he’s on his bike before anyone can stop him, determined to follow after the Digimon.  

“Why is Kuwagamon here!?” He growls, speeding out and onto the sidewalk. It takes almost all of his effort to pedal fast enough to keep up with the flying creature. But he can still see it, and it’s starting to cause traffic lights and electric signals to flicker and glitch from its presence. Pedestrians and vehicles all try to move away in fear and confusion, and Tai has to weave around all of them while maintaining his pace.

How did Kuwagamon even get here? The connection was closed– unless, had it suddenly opened for some reason? Tai curses to himself, he doesn’t have a D-3 to use so he can check. 

The Kuwagamon begins to fly faster, but it swerves too close to a building in the process and slams into its concrete side instead. The impact rains down large chunks of debris and dust. Those nearby scream and take cover, and Tai hits the brakes on his bike to avoid getting crushed. The damage is alarming, and he’s distracted for a moment while the Kuwagamon buzzes over to perch on the roof of a nearby building, recovering from its impact.

Tai fumbles into his pocket for his phone, calling Izzy’s number and praying for an answer on the other end. The voice message plays and Tai groans in frustration, waiting for the beep. “Izzy! Emergency! A Kuwagamon has shown up near Daibacho Ground. You need to get here now!”

He snaps the phone shut and pushes off on his bike again when he sees the Kuwagamon lift off to continue. There’s a trail of destruction behind it while it flies through the city, slamming into buildings and landing on vehicles— knocking them from the roads and easily crushing them under its weight. Tai can’t tear his eyes away from the mess. When he can he yells at people to run and take cover, navigating his way through the debris.

Glass shatters from above after the air pressure from Kuwagamon’s wings bust out windows in a highrise office building, and Tai manages to shelter under a highway bridge. He gasps out a breath, sweat coating his forehead now. He can still hear people screaming.

Was it always like this? Every time a Digimon came to the Real World had he been too preoccupied with the fight to really see it? People were running for their lives, terrified of being crushed or killed. Structures were in pieces all over the roads and sidewalks, and electricity sparks from broken power lines and light fixtures.

What could he do? He reaches into his bag’s pocket and pulls out his Digivice. He carried it around with him everywhere, without fail. But the screen is unresponsive even now, and his fingers clench around it in frustration. Without a partner... what could he even do?

“How come? Why now?” Tai looks back up when the Kuwagamon circles back around again, and he races to follow it—but this time the Kuwagamon sees him. It screams out in irritation and swerves to fly directly towards him instead, rushing at him with teeth bared and claws outstretched. Tai almost freezes on the spot in shock until his survival instinct kicks in and he dives off his bike and onto the ground. The Digimon soars past him and snatches up his bike in its claws, crushing it like it's nothing. 

The bike drops to the ground in a useless heap, reduced to scrap metal. Tai pushes himself up so he can be ready for the Digimon’s next move. But the last thing he sees is a strange gate appearing up ahead in the sky, opening wide enough for Kuwagamon to fly through, and then closing after. He slumps on the ground, trying to comprehend what just happened.

“Tai!” A familiar voice calls out and Tai looks around, wide-eyed as Davis runs into view. “Tai, are you okay?!”

“Davis?” Tai’s breath hitches as he shifts to get up, and the other boy rushes to help him to his feet. His bones creak in protest, but aside from some scrapes and what will definitely be bruises later on, he is mostly unharmed. Brushing dirt off his soccer uniform, Tai looks to his younger friend. “How did you get here?”

Davis looks just as shocked as he is. “I was at a restaurant a couple blocks away— I saw it fly by through the window and just booked it outta there,” He pauses, grimacing. “Honestly it was kind of a good excuse to get out of that dinner, really— but where do you think it went just now?”

Davis turns to scan the skies, and Tai cracks his back with a groan, looking forlornly as his crushed bike. “I don’t know, looks like it went through a gate of some kind.”

“Tai, look!” Davis suddenly cries and points to the street several blocks down— another gate has opened and the Kuwagamon appears again, crawling across the side of a building. As if it senses them, the Digimon turns and pushes off the building to fly towards them, ready to attack. Davis grabs Tai’s sleeve and drags them into a run. “We gotta get out of here!”

Both boys run as fast as they can down the street, instinctively heading towards Tokyo Bay in the opposite direction where there will be less buildings and more open space. ‘The less damage we cause, the better,’ Tai thinks.

The Kuwagamon pursues them relentlessly, and when it swoops down again to grab at them, they lurch out of the way and into a fenced off alley between two buildings. They only have a second to breathe before the Kuwagamon slams against the buildings, clawing at the edges to try and reach them further in. Davis is watching the large bug-like Digimon with worry, and Tai quickly turns to him.

“Do you have your D-3 with you? Can you open a gate to our Digimon?” He asks, a spark of hope in his chest. But Davis shakes his head.

“I need an internet connection for that. Only a computer would–” Kuwagamon screams again and debris starts to crack off the buildings and rain down around them. They step back to avoid getting hit and cover their faces with their arms, coughing as dust fills the space around them. 

Kuwagamon pushes through the concrete, dragging its arm through until it can finally attempt a swipe at them. Tai has too much debris in his eyes, and he only sees a blurry light burst forth from above them before the attack is suddenly blocked. The Kuwagamon pulls back as if hit by something, and when the dust clears enough Davis and Tai can both see what it is.

Two small figures poise to attack in front of them—one blue and one yellow—and Tai feels a flood of relief.  

“Agumon!” He calls, and Agumon turns to flash him a quick, toothy grin. 

“Tai!”

Tai can’t help but let out a slightly manic laugh just as Davis cheers over the sight of Veemon, who rushes to throw himself at the younger boy. They both fall over in a heap of laughter. Kuwagamon has pulled back briefly, angrily swiping at what looks like a burn mark on its face. That was probably thanks to Agumon. 

“Long time no see,” Tai says, and he wants to hug his friend as well, but the Kuwagamon is recovering quickly and both Agumon and Veemon jump into action. “No time to talk, we have to stop that Kuwagamon before it does any more damage to the city.”

Both Digimon partners chorus in agreement and launch forward just as Tai and Davis’s Digivices glow from within their grasp. Their partner’s bodies shine brightly and soon they evolve into their Champion forms, both Greymon and ExVeemon throwing powerful punches and knocking the Kuwagamon backwards. It allows the boys time to clear out of the alley they’d been cornered into.

The Kuwagamon screams in fury and pushes off into the air at the same time Greymon and ExVeemon launch more attacks at it.

“Greymon! Towards the bay, that way!” Tai calls, gesturing wildly and running down the street.

Davis follows suit and yells, “you too, ExVeemon!”

The Digimon seem to understand and start aiming their attacks as if to herd the Kuwagamon forward. The bug Digimon sends out its own attacks in return, which hit the two hard, knocking them into a building. But the boys keep running as they follow the fight, finally breaking through the city buildings and into the clearing at the edge of Tokyo Bay. Greymon is on his feet again and wrestling Kuwagamon towards the beach, but it trips over some parked cars and crashes into the trees lining the edge of the road. Any pedestrians in the area had long since cleared out by now, but cars still proved to be obstacles and they were either crushed or pushed out of the way as the fight progressed.

“Tai, this one is much stronger than normal,” Greymon growls, letting ExVeemon jump forward ahead of him.

“How come?” Tai watches the Kuwagamon get back up again, despite having been hit multiple times now.

ExVeemon shouts out another attack, but when the Kuwagamon moves to block it, another gate materializes behind it. The force of ExVeemon’s attack pushes it backwards, and it starts to fall towards the gate. Greymon and ExVeemon don’t hesitate, grabbing the Kuwagamon and using their massive weight combined to shove it through, all three Digimon disappearing before the gate closes again.

“It happened again!” Davis pants, stopping in his tracks and bending over to brace his hands on his knees. “Where did they go?”

Tai spins around, looking in every direction to see if another gate would open again in a different spot. “Greymon! Where are you!?” 

But it’s oddly quiet, and there’s no sign of the Digimon coming back again. “Are they… gone?” Tai wonders. 

Davis looks at him, “those were gates, weren’t they? Where did they come from?”

“I don’t know… they appeared so randomly,” Tai is still looking around, but Davis moves to dig out his phone, checking for messages. They decide to run up and down the street for a little while longer, just to see if another gate would open somewhere else, but they have no luck. Their Digimon had just disappeared. 

They’re both completely exhausted now, and Tai just wants to collapse onto the ground when their phones start ringing at the same time. Glancing to each other, Tai reaches to answer his, just as Davis does the same. 

“Tai!”

Kari’s voice sounds worried on the other end, and Tai wonders if she was nearby the fight. “Kari, is everything okay?”

“Don’t worry about me, we’ve got a big problem! According to the news, Digimon were seen at Haneda Airport.”

“Digimon? Is it Greymon? He was just here with ExVeemon—” Tai starts, but he remembers his broken bike and deflates a little. How was he supposed to get to Haneda?

“ExVeemon? Is Davis with you too--?”

Tai cuts her off, “Listen Kari, I need you to…” But his eyes flicker to the damage on the streets around him, and his voice falters. His stomach twists as he remembers everyone running for their lives. All the damage to the buildings, the streets, and people’s homes– and to bring that to an airport? What if there were planes full of people who got hurt and had nowhere to run to? Foreigners who wouldn’t be able to get home?

“Need to what?”

Kari’s voice brings him back to the present and he closes his eyes, “No, forget it. Thanks, that helps.” 

He hears her begin to protest but he hangs up and looks to Davis, who’s also hanging up his phone.

“That was Ken, he said on the news—”

“Digimon at Haneda, right?”

“Yeah… but how do we…” His voice fades when they hear the sound of an engine break through the silence. Soon a sleek, black, military van pulls up beside them, and they watch as the driver’s side door opens up and someone steps out. 

“Tai, Davis!” Shuu calls, and both boys are a little dumbstruck to see Joe’s older brother there so suddenly. Tai quickly notices Shuu’s Labramon appear at his side though, and he realises that Agumon and Veemon must not have been the only Digimon partners to return. Shuu opens the van’s door and gestures quickly, “come on, get in!”

Tai already knows Shuu is there to bring them to Haneda without having to ask—but how had he known where to find them, or where to take them for that matter? Davis peppers the older boy with questions the entire drive over, asking “when did your Labramon appear?” and “is everyone else’s Digimon here too?”

Tai was too anxious to ask questions, but he notices strange computer equipment set up on Shuu’s dashboard, playing live feedback of the Digimon fight at the airport from what look like helicopter cameras. He can see the vague outlines of the red Kuwagamon still fighting against Greymon and ExVeemon on the runway. The flights have all been suspended, and the planes are being directed away from the chaos. There’s a walkie-talkie too that garbles out someone’s voice. “Control, this is Benten Bridge. The site is blocked. Call for the special unit. Over.”

Tai stares at the back of Shuu’s head as he drives. Davis is completely oblivious to Tai’s concern as he hangs himself between the two front seats. Just what was Shuu’s new government job? 

The van drives right up to the security gates at the airport, and Shuu briefly speaks with the officers posted there before they let them through without any trouble. Tai sees all sorts of government and military vans parked at the edges of the runway—officers and soldiers all barricaded behind them and watching the fight from afar. Shuu parks the van and lets both boys out, stepping out with his Digimon as well. 

“Go on ahead, your Digimon are there,” Shuu nods towards the runway with a grin.

Tai’s gaze lingers on the older Digidestined for a moment. “Thanks,” he returns the nod and then he and Davis are running across the tarmac. 

“Greymon!”

“ExVeemon!”

They call out to their partners to see if they’re okay. All three Digimon are caught up in a two-on-one  wrestling match, but neither side seems to have the upper hand. The Kuwagamon has its fair share of damage, but it shouldn’t be taking this long to defeat it—both Greymon and ExVeemon were strong. Would they have to evolve again?

Greymon is knocked down and this time it takes him longer to get up, his body struggling. ExVeemon manages to block Kuwagamon from landing another blow to Greymon, but it’s hard to watch. 

“Why is it so strong?” Davis growls, hands clenching into fists at his side. “We need more power!”

“Tai!”

Tai and Davis both spin around, greeted by the sight of almost all their friends, running towards them from behind the barricade of vans. They must have also been escorted here, and Davis cheers loudly.

“Hey! You all made it just in time!”

Matt and Gabumon, Sora and Biyomon, Izzy and Tentomon, TK and Patamon, Kari and Gatomon, Ken and Wormmon, and Yolei and Hawkmon were all there together. Joe, Mimi and Cody were all missing, but yet Palmon and Gomamon were also there, by themselves amongst the other Digimon. 

“I don’t really get it…” Matt pants as he comes to a stop before them, Gabumon at his feet. 

“Neither do we,” Gabumon shrugs. 

“We were all just suddenly approached by men in black suits, and escorted here,” Sora says, vaguely put off as she glances backwards towards the vans and soldiers watching them. “The Digimon appeared when we got here.”

“A weird gate opened up and before we knew it, we were here!” Patamon chimes, perching himself on TK’s shoulder. 

“Are you okay, Tai?” Kari looks concerned, and Tai breaths out in relief.

“I’m fine, but we have to deal with that Kuwagamon.”

“I hardly think they needed all of us for just one Kuwagamon,” Ken murmurs, eyebrow raised as he surveys the fight ahead. Of course, seconds after he says it, more gates open up and two more Kuwagamon appear, gnashing their teeth as they prepare to attack. 

Ken pauses, “nevermind.” 

“But wait! Where’s Mimi?” Palmon pipes up in distress, just as everyone else’s partners begin to glow and evolve into their Champion forms. Crouching down beside her, Kari takes out her phone to try calling Mimi for her, but she soon gives Palmon a small shake of her head. 

“I’m sorry Palmon, but there’s no signal here.”

“Mimi! Where are you!” Palmon cries out, “I can’t digivolve by myself!”

Gomamon looks around, also concerned, “what about Joe?”

The Digimon who can evolve split into groups to take on each Kuwagamon, three Digimon on one to get the upper hand. Sora, Izzy and Yolei cheer as their Digimon manage to defeat the first Kuwagamon after some time fighting back and forth, and it crashes to the ground with a mangled cry. 

Tai is distracted with his own fight  when he hears Izzy call out to him “Tai! Up there, its data is returning to the Digital World!”

Tai turns and looks up in confusion. As the first Kuwagamon is defeated, its form starts to disintegrate, and its data slowly floats upwards where a large gate has opened up above them.

Perfect! They just have to get the Kuwagamon into the gate before it closes. “Greymon, you can do it! We just have to push a bit harder!”

Angemon, Gatomon, and Stingmon take care of the second Kuwagamon, and its data also rises back up into the gate. There was one left now.

“Let’s go, Garurumon!” Matt clenches his fist as his Digimon tackles the last enemy to the ground. Greymon and ExVeemon launch their final attacks and the kids all hold their breath as the dust clears and the last Kuwagamon starts to dissolve, following the rest upwards.

They watch the data drift up and disappear through the gate. Once every last fragment is gone, the gate shrinks down to nothing, then vanishes. There’s a beat when everyone remains silent, waiting, and then they all exhale sighs of relief. The battle was over. 

Their Digimon all shrink back down to their Rookie forms and run happily into their partner’s arms. Izzy walks up behind Tai and Matt, who are standing next to each other.

“Just what was that? A gate?” Matt asks.

“It seems so,” Izzy murmurs, still looking up. 

“I’m glad we managed to beat them all, at least,” TK says, hugging Patamon to his chest. The small Digimon happily nuzzles his face against TK’s shirt. Izzy just frowns and looks around with concern.

“Yes, but look,” He gestures to the aftermath, and Tai’s chest clenches. Several unused planes are damaged or destroyed. The buildings also have huge craters in them where Digimon were thrown against the outside walls. There’s all sorts of large cracks and gouges in the tarmac, chunks of it ripped up and littering the runway. “There’s so much damage. Flights will be halted for a long time while this all gets repaired…”

Matt jerks his chin towards the vans, “Just who are all those guys anyway? They knew where to find us and escorted us all here; it was way too organized… like they knew this would happen.”

“I asked, but they wouldn’t say anything to me,” Ken says, and Davis perks up from where he’d been cheering and congratulating Veemon, turning to face them all.

“Oh, but it was Shuu Kido who drove me and Tai here.”

Matt and Izzy turn to Tai in surprise. “Shuu escorted you?” Izzy asks. 

Tai nods, “Yeah...” But he seems despondent, and Matt regards him curiously. 

“I wonder if this is related to his new government job,” Izzy wonders, oblivious to Tai’s mood, “maybe we can ask him for more information.”

“Speaking of Joe, where is he?” Sora wonders, looking around at all of them. Gomamon pipes up as well.

“I wanna know too.”

Yolei holds up her phone, flipping it open to check the screen for messages before snapping it shut again. “Armadillomon isn’t here either, which means Cody was probably too far away for the suits to pick up.”

“It’s a bit weird though, isn’t it? That Gomamon and Palmon are here, even when Joe and Mimi aren’t?” Kari says, looking down at the two solo Digimon. Izzy has already sat himself right down on the ground, his laptop out and his fingers flying across the keyboard.

“We’re definitely lacking information here,” he says, windows appearing and disappearing rapidly over his screen. Everyone looks tense as they try to process what could be happening, when Sora suddenly makes a noise of distress. 

“Oh! Mimi! I forgot!” Her hands come up to cup her cheeks. “What time is it!? I was supposed to go with Mom to pick her up from Narita Airport!”

Everyone stares at her. “Pick up…?” Kari blinks.

Just then a bright and cheerful voice calls out to them, and they all turn to look.

“Palmon, it’s you! Hello everybody!” 

Mimi jumps up and waves her whole arm as she laughs. She’s standing outside another van, having just been dropped off. There’s an older woman behind her who steps out of the driver’s seat, dark hair pinned neatly back. Tai watches as Shuu appears again with Labramon and approaches the woman, speaking with her first. Mimi breaks into a run to catch up with them all, and Palmon cries out happily.

“It’s Mimi!” 

They both run to each other, and Mimi falls into Palmon’s arms for a big hug. “It’s been so long! It’s so lovely to see you!”

Tai feels himself start to unwind at the sight of their smiling faces. Mimi’s presence it’s like a breath of fresh air and he can feel the whole group bask in her unwavering energy. The damage from the fight fades from his mind and he looks down to Agumon, resting a hand on his partner’s head. It had been a long time. Their friends had all safely returned to them again. 

“Mimi? What are you doing here?” Yolei asks, watching the girl with disbelieving eyes. Mimi pulls away from Palmon and just laughs, pointing towards Tai.

“What do you mean? I’m here to see Tai’s soccer game of course!”

Tai blinks, “...what?”

Chapter Text

TAI

“So, Tai, I said I came all this way for your soccer game, where is the coverage for my airfare, hm?” Mimi shoots a sly grin towards the brunette boy, and he just slumps further down in his seat, hands rubbing over his face.

“Don’t do this to me right now,” he says dryly, and Mimi laughs.

After the initial shock of seeing Mimi, the older woman who had escorted her to the airport had stepped up and offered to drive them all back home, along with Shuu and Labramon. She procured a large enough transport van that they could all climb in with their Digimon, and once everyone was settled they’d started buzzing with conversation.

Mimi pulled out a bag of American candies and happily gave them out to all the Digimon, who eagerly gobbled them up. 

“There’s plenty enough for everyone, so take as much as you’d like!” She ensures brightly, and once all their partners and eaten their fill, they slowly began to doze off on their laps, or curled up wherever there was room. The van was a large military styled vehicle, and they sat across from each other on long benches in the back, while Shuu and the woman rode up front.

“But, Mimi, why are you really here? It’s not actually for Tai’s game, is it?” Kari wonders, and it’s Sora who pipes up. 

“Mimi told me to keep it a surprise, but she’s actually here as part of an International Education Program!”

“That’s right, I was eligible at my school in New York, so I applied and interviewed last year, and was approved! So I’ll be taking some of my high school credits here for the next year. I’m going back next March, but for the meantime, please take care of me!” She sing-songs the words, and Sora nods excitedly. Everyone seems surprised at the news.

“My mom and I offered to pick her up from the airport since her dorm isn’t too far away from our place,” Sora beams. 

“I’m so excited! I can’t believe you’re actually going to be staying in Japan for so long,” Yolei leans over close to Mimi. “We have to go out shopping together!"

“Of course! And I want to go to the onsen together too!” Mimi practically sparkles with excitement.

Izzy has to clear his throat as he turns himself to Shuu, prompting the older Digidestined for his attention as the girls continue to chat away. 

“By the way, Shuu, I’m also curious, what exactly are you doing here, if I may ask?” he says, and a few of the others face forward to listen in. “Just what is your new job?”

Shuu turns around to look at them with a smile. Labramon was dozing softly on his lap while Shuu brushed his fingers through his partner’s fur. “I knew you’d ask sooner or later,” he says, and adjusts his glasses with his free hand. “As I’m sure Joe has mentioned, I got a job within the National Data Processing Bureau. After working alongside Mr. Takenouchi and Ms. Hirabayashi here on a few theoretical papers concerning Digimon, the Tokyo Government decided to open the Information Management Office.”

Sora makes a sound of recognition, and she taps her chin, “actually, I remember Dad talking about those papers a while ago. So, this office, that’s the new job that Joe was referring to?”

Shuu nods, “Yes. The department deals with the Management of Information regarding the Digital World specifically, and is headed by Ms. Ryoko Hirabayashi here,” He gestures towards the woman beside him, and she gives them all a polite smile through the review mirror as they turn their gazes towards her. “… who also happens to be my aunt.”

“Your aunt?” Tai’s eyebrows raise, and he looks at the woman again. So she was also Joe’s aunt, then?

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all formally. I already spoke with Mimi on the way to the airport, of course. But I’ve heard a great deal about you from my nephews over the years,” she says, before letting her gaze fall back onto the road ahead.

“She’s been working in Information Technology for years, and Mr. Takenouchi and I worked closely on several projects with her during my time in University. But now that she’s heading this new office in Tokyo, I decided to take on an official role with her as an Information Officer.” Shuu looks at Izzy apologetically then, “I know Joe told you a bit about it, but I couldn’t really give him all the details at the time, so I apologize if this comes as a surprise.”

“So, your job is to manage information regarding the Digital World?” Izzy hums, lost in thought. “Does that include developmental research of digital properties? Is the information you manage intended to become public knowledge, or is it all theoretical analysis?”

Shuu laughs, “Let’s just say, we’re managing everything to the best of our ability, for yours and the Digital Worlds’ protection.”

“What about Labramon, has she been here the whole time?” Davis asks, peeking at the sleeping Digimon. Shuu looks down at her with a smile.

“No, she only just appeared today, the same as your own Digimon.” 

“If Shuu’s partner showed up, I wonder if that means other Digidestined’s partners have also appeared in the Real World,” TK says, and he looks to Davis and Yolei. “You should ask your siblings if their Digimon have returned, too.”

They clearly hadn’t thought of that, because Davis and Yolei look at each other in surprise before taking out their phones and sending out messages to their siblings. 

“If Jun’s partner shows up, I’m sending it back to the Digital World myself– it’s too creepy,” Davis shudders. Jun’s partner was a Kodokugumon that she lovingly called ‘Kodo-kun’. It resembled a giant, hairy spider.

Ken leans forward a little, minding a sleeping Wormmon who was curled up in his arms. “I’ve also been meaning to ask. You managed to track me down with my family just outside the city... What about Joe and Cody? Why aren’t they here?”

Shuu sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose underneath his glasses. “Cody is currently too far away to have made it in time, even if we did send out agents to get him, and Joe…” Shu frowns. “I was told Joe refused to go with them.”

“He refused?” Matt asks.

“Multiple times, even when… even when the Digimon were mentioned.”

Tai peeks a glance towards Gomamon, who had been sitting at the end of the bench by himself. The Digimon visibly deflates, before shaking his head and plastering on a goofy grin.

“That Joe! What a silly guy, he must not have known I would be there,” he laughs loudly and Shuu gives him a  gentle smile.

“Don’t worry Gomamon, I’ll make sure to take you to him tonight.” Gomamon’s laughter fades, but despite his efforts to hide it, he still looks visibly upset.

It’s then that Ryoko raises her chin to address them again. “We’re almost to Tamachi. Ken, we can drop you off first. We’ll head for Odaiba after that.” Tai can see her eyebrows furrow gently in the mirror, “for now, I think it’s best we set some things straight.”

The children all become silent, sobering up at her tone of voice. “I’m sure you’ll see all sorts of news reports and bulletins tomorrow morning regarding the fight tonight. I suggest you keep quiet about your involvement and what you’ve seen, and we’ll take care of what we can on our end to protect each of you in return. Take care of your Digimon now that they are here, and steer them clear from the public eye. We don’t want any assumptions to be made that we can avoid.” 

Tai’s arms tighten protectively around Augmon, who’s blissfully asleep in his arms and mumbling something about wanting takoyaki. He glances at the others and they’re all looking down at their own partners as well, concern etched on their faces.

“Most importantly, we have already begun investigating the distortions you saw today that resulted in all those digital gates opening across the city. Rest assured, we will get to the bottom of this. You have nothing to worry about.” She gives them something like a reassuring smile– but Tai doesn’t necessarily feel reassured by her words.

It feels like she’s telling them not to butt in. To stay out of it.

The next day Tai slouches in his seat on the subway car, eyes unfocused while he gazes up at the swinging handle bars hanging down from the ceiling. Izzy and Matt are on either side of him, one preoccupied on his computer and the other with his headphones in, eyes closed. The train jostles them gently as it travels along, and Tai’s eyes flicker to a small advertisement screen playing a clip from that morning’s news report. He sees the tiny figures of their Digimon fighting against the three Kuwagamon at the airport, then it switches to shots of the destroyed buildings and planes that had been left behind in the aftermath.

They had returned home with their Digimon after being dropped off the night before. Both Agumon and his sister Kari’s Digimon, Gatomon, had stayed home while they got up and got ready for school as if nothing had happened. But the fight had been all over the news that morning, just like Ms. Hirabayashi had said. Kari and Tai watched it while they ate breakfast. Meanwhile, Gatomon and Agumon were happily helping their mother hang up laundry on the balcony outside, as innocent as can be. 

‘Yesterday's unidentified creatures have caused major damage in Odaiba, and at Haneda Airport. Although, miraculously, there have been no reports of anyone being seriously injured, all Haneda Airport flights have been suspended, and transportation is now seriously affected as a result. Action needs to be taken as quickly as possible in order to restore both locations. These same creatures have appeared a few times in the past, each time causing serious damage. Yesterday’s outburst of several monsters all at once created even more damage than usual, and served as a reminder of their menace and destructive power. Here are some public reactions…’

The reporter goes on to show clips of pedestrians who had been affected, exclaiming how scared they were, and how worried they were that the monsters would come back. Tai feels irritated just thinking about it. They were treating their friends as if they were the problem, but did they even notice the fact that they were fighting against the Kuwagamon? Did they not see the Kuwagamon destroying the city aimlessly before their partners had even gotten there?

Tai reads the subtitles scrolling on the bottom of the small screen, and frowns. ‘The government has called an emergency cabinet meeting, while the police and Self-Defence Forces are working together on a response.’

He supposes Shuu and that Ryoko Hirabayashi woman are likely participating in those meetings today. Despite feeling mistrustful of her, he has to admit she did keep her word about protecting them. None of the kids had shown up in any of the released footage, or news reports. It’s like they weren’t even there. 

“Tanaka’s Dad was at Haneda.” 

Tai overhears the voice of a young girl standing with her friend close by, both were dressed in middle school uniforms he didn’t recognize. They’re also looking up at the news report playing on the screen, and they lean in close together as they continue speaking.

“Seriously?” Her friend gasps.

“He got injured and was hospitalized.”

Tai looks away, and the news report switches to an advert for a new console rhythm game instead. He sighs and drops his chin, hugging his school bag to his chest like a child. 

“Interesting,” Izzy murmurs beside him, completely absorbed in his laptop. 

“What’s interesting?” Tai asks forlornly. Izzy tabs through a few different windows before tilting his head. 

“It seems like the phenomena from last night hasn’t happened anywhere else outside of Tokyo. I saw last week that a Digidestined reported some weird technical glitches around Tokyo Station, but that’s nothing like what happened yesterday. Though we can’t rule out that they could be related,” Izzy lifts his head, lost in thought. “Is it because there’s so many Digidestined in the city? Are we attracting them somehow?”

Now that Izzy mentions it… The Kuwagamon from yesterday had been aimlessly flying around and bumping into buildings before it noticed Tai following it. After that it almost exclusively went after Tai, trying to attack him specifically. Even when Davis showed up it still focused solely on them, rather than trying to attack anyone else.

That couldn’t be a coincidence, right? Maybe it could sense that they were Digidestined even before their own Digimon showed up.

Soon they’re arriving at their stop and the three boys get off the train and head out towards the street, walking the rest of the way to school. They attended Tsukishima Sogo High School, which was located about 40 minutes away from Odaiba by subway train. They had to take two trains to get there, and then walk the last ten minutes. It was a longer commute than their previous schools, which had only been about a 15 minute walk in total– but the high school was also much larger, and the student population consisted of kids who had gone to several different middle schools.

The school was located on the edge of the water, looking out over a portion of Tokyo Bay, and had large sports fields situated around it. There was also a Tsukishima Sogo Middle School and Elementary School located nearby, but these weren’t the schools that any of Tai or his friends had gone to. They attended Odaiba Middle School and Elementary School, which were located in a much smaller complex beside Rainbow Park. 

Tai remembers feeling awed at how much larger the high school was by comparison. But he’s gotten used to it now, and the bustling crowds of students don’t seem as overwhelming.

He’s still lost in thought as he slides into his desk before homeroom, trying to go over the fight again in his head from beginning to end. If the Kuwagamon had been looking for Chosen Children specifically, it would make sense why Ryoko had been so adamant about protecting them. How much did Shuu know about what was happening? Could he be keeping information from them?

“Hey,” Tai mumbles, leaning over a bit to catch Matt’s attention. The blonde boy sat beside him in class, and he looks over questioningly while taking out one of his earphones.

“Do you think it’s weird that there’s a whole section of the government now that’s dedicated to information about the Digital World?” He asks, and Matt snorts, taking out his other earbud and winding them up around his mp3 player.

“Don’t be dumb. Why wouldn’t there be some weird department dedicated to it? With so many incidents over the years, do you think they’d just sit back and do nothing? Who do you think has to pay for and organize all the reconstruction after?”

Tai sits back, grimacing. The damage was always bad after a Digimon came crashing into the Real World. Especially in a large city like Tokyo. On the way to the subway station that morning he’d seen all the construction vehicles and tape blocking off the destroyed areas. It was a relief to hear on the news that no one had been seriously injured, but that doesn’t mean no one had been hurt at all…

The damage seemed so much worse than previous fights, or maybe it was just that Tai hadn’t paid as much attention to it when he was younger. Now it bothers him more than he thought it would. What if one of these days someone died because of what they were doing? It makes Tai’s gut clench with apprehension, and fear. Would that make it his fault? Could he live with that?

“They’re treating them like they’re doing it on purpose, but they were just protecting us,”  Matt continues, oblivious to Tai’s stillness.

“We know that… “ Tai says. “But do you think everyone else does? All they see is huge monsters throwing each other around.” Matt shoots him a glare, and Tai avoids it by pretending to look out the window next to him. 

“But that’s not true,” Matt says firmly, and Tai just lets the conversation drop with a sigh. He knows their Digimon aren’t bad– they couldn’t do a bad thing even if they tried. But he wonders if all of them should be considering these fights more realistically. Just bulldozing their way into a win wasn’t safe anymore.

Their teacher moves to stand at the podium then, hushing all conversation and bringing everyone to attention. Tai and Matt both turn to look at the front of the class, and before they run through the morning announcements, their teacher gestures to the classroom door. There’s a female student standing there awkwardly, and the teacher motions for her to step forward, introducing her as a transfer student from Kyoto. 

She’s plane looking, with long blonde hair tied into two thin braids at the nape of her neck. Tai doesn’t think much of her until she gives a small bow and speaks. “Hello, my name is Koharu Hirabayashi. Nice to meet everyone.”

Her family name snags his attention, and he glances over to Matt, who seems to have noticed as well. The teacher motions for her to take the empty seat in front of Tai, and he watches her make her way towards them. She shoots him a friendly smile before sitting down, and suddenly he’s not sure.

She doesn’t look anything like the woman they met yesterday. Could the name just be a coincidence?

Later that day, Tai ends up finding Izzy in one of the empty computer rooms, and joins him while he eats his lunch. He sits backwards in an empty chair and watches as Izzy works on his laptop, using the school computer as a second monitor. 

“So, it turns out Mimi is starting school today,” Izzy says, and Tai hums out a vague noise of interest around a mouthful of melon bread. “She’s in my class.”

“Is she? Well at least your classes won’t be boring, then,” Tai chuckles.

Izzy sighs deeply, “her introduction was so flamboyant… I don’t know how I’m going to handle it. She sat herself right down next to me without even asking the teacher if she could sit there.”

“Oh, lucky you,” Tai flashes a grin and Izzy’s cheeks flush a little, though he still tries to look annoyed. 

“Not lucky. Already I’ve had three male classmates ask me about how I know her. It’s tiring, why can’t they just ask her themselves?” 

Tai snorts, knowing the red head was full of shit. “Tell them you’re actually engaged. Arranged by your parents when you were kids. Play it up.”

“I’m not doing that!” Izzy turns even redder.

“It’d be funny.”

“I’m not embarrassing myself just for your entertainment, Tai,” Izzy grumbles, and Tai laughs again. The younger boy continues to work with a huff, and Tai finishes his food in the meantime. With nothing else to do he idly spins around in his chair, arms folded over the backrest. 

He’s considering getting up and going for a walk to find Sora and Matt when he hears a soft tune drifting into the room from the hallway. He perks up and slides out of his seat, poking his head out into the hallway to see where it was coming from. It sounds like it’s coming from the music room a few doors down, but Tai recalls that the room should be closed outside of classes. 

“What is it?” Izzy’s voice calls out, and Tai turns around.

“I think someone is playing something in the music room, do you usually hear anything from in here?” He asks, and Izzy actually looks a little surprised.

“No, the music room is usually closed when I come here.”

“Come take a look with me, then,” Tai waves his hand for Izzy to follow, and Izzy blinks. He darts out of the computer room and walks as quietly as he can down the hall. At first Izzy doesn’t follow, but by the time Tai has reached the edge of the music room door, Izzy is tip-toeing behind him with his laptop packed back into his bag. 

“Feels like the world is turning…a little bit too fast.”

“It sounds like singing,” Izzy says, and shrugs, “maybe it’s just choir practice?”

“It sounds pretty,” Tai decides, and notices the door is slightly ajar. That must be why they can hear it so easily from the computer room, since usually the music room was more soundproof. He finally peeks inside, Izzy stretching over to look as well from beside him.

“I’d rather paint the world bright, than see in black and white.”

Inside is the new transfer student from Tai’s class, Koharu, with an acoustic guitar resting on her lap. She’s sat on a stool, strumming along as she sings a song that Tai doesn’t recognize. Probably because they’re singing in English– did their choir sing songs in English? Next to her is another girl playing the keyboard, and she looks like a carbon copy of Koharu.

“Oh, they’re twins.” Izzy whispers. Tai is mildly surprised.

“I recognize her, the one with the guitar. She’s new, she’s in my class.” The only way he could tell— if he was being honest— was because Koharu had her hair in braids, whereas the other girl had her hair loose. They looked almost completely identical otherwise. Thankfully they continued to sing together, oblivious to the boys watching them. The song was slow and simple, and the way they played together with the keyboard and guitar made it all sound very whimsical. “I didn’t know she had a twin sister.”

“There’s a place, beyond the furthest cloud. There’s a message in the wind.”

“What are you two doing?”

Tai and Izzy nearly jump out of their skin in fright—covering their mouths with their hands to keep from making any alarmed noises. Tai whirls around to see Sora and Matt staring at them in amusement. 

“Sora—jeez, don’t sneak up on us like that,” he whispers harshly. Sora raises an eyebrow at the two of them when Izzy holds up a finger to his lips to shush them.

“What are you looking at?” She wonders, and she stretches around to peek inside at the two girls. “Oh my, I didn’t know you two had become so voyeuristic.”

“Shut up.”

Sora smiles and makes a sound of recognition. “I know one of them, she’s a new transfer in my class, her name is Ayumi. I guess she has a twin sister, though she didn’t mention that in her introduction.”

Izzy delicately slides the music room door the rest of the way closed, before sighing out in relief. They can still hear the muffled sound of the girls singing inside, which meant they hadn’t disturbed them. Tai slides his hands in his pockets and turns to Sora. “Ayumi? And her family name is also Hirabayashi?”

Sora nods, “it is! So, you recognized it too?” 

“Yeah, the other one is in our class. We noticed when she introduced herself this morning. You think it’s the same Hirabayashi?” Matt says, and they all move to continue down the hall towards the staircases heading to the first floor. Izzy hums in thought.

“It could be. But Hirabayashi isn’t an uncommon last name.”

“Do you know what I found out?” Sora says, twisting herself to look back as she skips down the stairs ahead of them. “Apparently their Dad actually works at our school, and that's why they transferred. He’s one of the new English teachers, and he’s a foreigner. But they don’t have the same last name as him.”

“Really? So, their last name must be their Mom’s,” Matt says, and Sora nods.

“That’s what I thought, too.”

The group wanders outside towards the courtyard, and they pause under one of the trees, Sora sitting herself down on a bench. “That woman was certainly something though, wasn’t she?” She says, leaning back on her palms. “I guess she’s Shuu’s boss?”

“Yeah, she seemed pretty adamant about handling everything herself,” Tai murmurs, arms coming up to clasp behind the back of his head as he leans against the tree. The courtyard wasn’t too empty, with small groups of students hanging around here and there on the grass. They kept their voices discreet, not wanting their conversation to catch anyone’s attention.   

“Yet they gathered us and let us fight like we were just some kind of tools to them,” Matt grumbles.

“They certainly weren’t as forthcoming with their information as I was hoping,” Izzy props his elbow up in one hand, the other rubbing his chin in thought. “Clearly they know a lot more than they’re letting on.”

“…anyway, just what were those weird creatures on TV?” 

A student’s voice drifts over to them from nearby, and they all fall silent for a moment to look over. Two boys lounge on the grass, looking at their phones.

“I dunno. Two monsters showed up and had a wild fight.”

“Ugh. It’s for real irritating. I hope they just hurry up and disappear.”

Tai feels the heat of anger curl in his chest, and his instinct is to step up and curse the two boys out. But he checks himself, even though Matt apparently has no problem confronting them. The blonde moves to stomp over and Tai reaches out and fists his hand in his shirt, stopping him. “Don’t—”

Matt whirls on him, knocking his fist out of the way. “Why not?”

The students pause their conversation to look at the two boys in annoyance, having overheard Matt’s outburst. Tai turns to them and shoots off a blunt apology, then shoves Matt forcibly away. The students scoff and collect themselves, walking out of the courtyard while muttering to each other. “What’s his problem?”

“There’s no point in us getting upset at them,” Tai says, and Matt snorts in disbelief. 

“What’s that? Are you serious?” Matt aggressively grabs Tai’s shirt this time, and the motion sends Sora to her feet. 

“Hey, stop it.” She scolds firmly. “Cool off before you do something stupid.”

Both boys continue to glare at each other for a few extra seconds before they wither under her narrowed gaze. Matt’s grip tightens in Tai’s shirt, then he lets him go with a shove, forcing Tai to stumble back a step. He looks away from Matt petulantly, and Izzy takes the opportunity to step forward, clearing his throat.

“I think we would benefit from meeting together, outside of school, to discuss everything properly,” he says. “All of us. We should bring our Digimon, too.”

“See? That sounds like a more reasonable solution. Clobbering other kids never gets you anywhere,” Sora looks at Tai and Matt dryly, and Matt scrunches his nose.

“Speak for yourself. Clobbering kids could be therapeutic for me.” 

“Matt, stop it.”

“Fine. Where should we meet?”

“If we’re bringing our Digimon then it shouldn’t be anywhere public, right? We were told not to draw any attention to them,” Sora looks at Izzy expectantly, and Izzy pulls out his phone to start typing something out. 

“Don’t worry, I have an idea,” he says. All their phones then chime at the same time, and Tai pulls his out to look at the text Izzy had just sent. Sora and Matt are also reading their own messages.

“I’ve just sent out an address and time to everyone. I think that will be the best place to go where we can all comfortably meet,” Izzy smiles, pocketing his phone. 

“Where is this?” Tai asks, and Izzy beams proudly. 

“It’s my office.”