Unbreakable

Season: Adventure 02

Characters: Iori Hida, Upamon

Upamon sometimes wondered if humans always acted the way Iori did or if Iori was just special. It was rare for Iori to show weakness in front of anybody, despite the fact he was only nine years old. Daisuke often accused the boy of being "too uptight" or "too grown-up." Was there really something wrong with that? He had asked Iori about it once and his partner had said that he was just mature for his age. There was nothing wrong with that, so he had accepted that answer rather easily, but then he couldn't help but wonder if it was really normal for humans to keep things to themselves like Iori did.

He knew there were a lot of things about his partner that a lot of people thought were odd. He didn't share his thoughts with too many people – usually the only person who was guaranteed to get an answer from him was his grandfather – but this caused Upamon to worry about him sometimes. Usually Iori was honest with him when it came to his problems, but today was a bit different. All throughout the day, he was more withdrawn that usual. He barely spoke and when he did, it was never saying much. It was obvious that he was thoughtful about something or another, but any and all attempts by the other Chosen to find the root of the problem were met with a noncommittal "I'm fine" or "It's nothing". Upamon knew something was definitely up.

Iori's quiet attitude continued at home, but it seemed even more contagious there. Even his mom and grandfather seemed a bit more solemn than usual. Upamon swore there was something he wasn't quite getting. Did something bad happen? When Iori finally went to his room and allowed his partner to come out of his bag, the baby Digimon was all too happy to leap at his chance for freedom. He bounced up onto Iori's bed, though he gazed up at his partner thoughtfully.

"Ne, Iori…what's wrong? You've been really quiet all day and your mom and grandpa were too…" Upamon inquired of his partner. Iori seemed a bit surprised by the question, but the boy's expression betrayed his solemn demeanor. Upamon frowned in concern, not liking his partner's lack of an immediate answer, but before he could speak up again, Iori beat him to it.

"Today is just…a very sad day for my family…" Iori said softly. If there were any other noises in the room, Upamon was sure he wouldn't have heard his partner's voice. But now he was even more concerned that he was before. So something bad did happen after all! But what could it have been? He didn't notice anything out of the ordinary…Did they get a phone call and he missed the memo? Did they have to move? Or worse….did they run out of food?!

"I'm going to be going out with my mother and grandfather for a bit…" his partner stated, catching Upamon a bit off guard.

"Ohh…okay! Where are you going? Can I come, dagyaa?" Upamon asked his partner. Iori bit his lower lip for a moment, hesitating for a moment. He couldn't lie to himself and say that he didn't want his partner there…but at the same time, he wasn't ready for his family to learn about the Digimon yet, either.

"…I…don't know." he finally stated, a light frown on his face. "I suppose you could act like a stuffed animal so my family doesn't suspect anything…" Upamon cheered at that, though Iori was quick to quiet his partner down. There was no need to cause a ruckus. "But please try not to cause a scene. Today's a solemn day…" It always was when this date came around…He didn't really expect his partner to understand this sort of concept, though, so he didn't want to worry him with the details. Digimon weren't bound by the same aging process humans were…or rather; their death wasn't as finite as human death was.

"Solemn? What happened?" Upamon asked curiously, looking up to Iori with a wide-eyed expression. Iori could easily see the concern in his partner's eyes and sighed lightly. He wondered if he had been worried all day…Upamon was definitely thoughtful, but now Iori felt bad for having caused his partner's anxiety. He sighed lightly. There really was no point in keeping it to himself anymore, was there?

"Today's the anniversary of my father's death…" Iori said softly. Upamon blinked at that, then tilted his head curiously.

"Oh…are you gonna throw a party or something, dagyaa?" he asked. The last time he had heard the term "anniversary," Miyako mentioned it. She had said her parents were having an anniversary party or something, so he thought this was the same occasion. Despite himself, Iori chuckled a bit at his partner's statement.

"Sort of…" he admitted. "We're…going to visit my father's grave." he clarified. Upamon blinked at that, frowning. Grave? Was that where Iori's father this whole time? Digimon didn't really have graves…whatever they were. He guessed they'd see soon enough!

About an hour later, the Hida family had arrived at their destination. Iori held Upamon in his arms and the Digimon was dutifully upholding his promise to pretend to be a stuffed toy for his partner's sake. The weather outside was actually rather sunny, albeit somewhat chilly. With the end of summer approaching and autumn beginning to set in, it was to be expected. Upamon was still worried about his partner but at least now he knew the reason why Iori was so quiet today; he was in mourning. At least, that's how Iori described it when he had asked. But why would they be upset? Weren't humans reborn like Digimon? Maybe they were just going to get his dad's Digi-Egg!

What he saw wasn't quite what he expected.

There were a bunch of stones spread out all over the field, each of them with names and dates engraved into them. After a bit of walking, the Hida family stopped in front of one stone that held their family name on it as well. Upamon blinked in surprise when he read the inscription on the tombstone.

Here Lies Hida Hiroki

Devoted Husband, Loving Son, Proud Father and Hero to All

Born November 8, 1969 – Died September 17, 1998

So wait…where was the egg? Upamon was thoroughly confused by this turn of events. He looked up to Iori to see if he could ask what was going on, but his question died in his throat when he saw his partner's expression. Iori's eyes were sad, but his face was stone cold. Such a stoic expression on a young boy was definitely not something you'd normally see, but then again, Iori wasn't like most boys. Upamon couldn't help but feel worry well up inside him again.

If there was a word he had to use to describe his partner, he'd have to pick "unbreakable." Iori never let his pain show. Never. If he was hurting, he rarely let others know about it. The only time he could ever recall Iori shedding tears in front of someone else was when they obtained the Digimental of Honesty…If today was really such a solemn day, then shouldn't Iori be crying now, too? He wasn't sure…

They didn't stay at the grave for too long a time. They had placed flowers there and talked for a bit, as if his father was there to hear it himself, before they decided it was best for them to go home for the day. The sun had begun to set and they had yet to eat dinner, too. So, after biding the grave of their loved one goodbye, they filed into the car and headed off for home. The rest of the evening had been quiet after they returned to their home; it seemed no one was really in the mood for too much conversation, though they did make some small talk. Iori retired early for bed, partly because he was tired, but mostly because he wanted the day to end.

As Iori lay in his bed, Upamon rested in the basket his partner had set up just for him. It was the best thing he could make for a bed, but the Digimon still appreciated it. He had been concerned about Iori ever since they had come back from the cemetery, yet it seemed the boy simply wanted to sleep and forget about it. If he didn't want to talk about it, then he wasn't about to make him. He figured he should try to get some sleep himself and was just about to doze off…when he heard a faint sound from Iori's bed. Upamon perked up and looked towards his partner's bed, frowning a bit. The boy's back was turned to him, so he couldn't see his face, but his body was slightly shaking for some reason. Immediately worried, Upamon jumped up onto the bed to join his partner.

"Iori, what's wrong…?" he asked quietly. He blinked in surprise when he noticed that tears had filled his partner's eyes and the realization that the boy had been crying to himself came to him. Upamon was quick to jump over his partner so he could be in front of him, then cuddled up against him to offer comfort. Iori's arms instinctively wrapped around the tiny Digimon and the boy closed his eyes in a futile attempt to hide his tears.

"I-I'm sorry…" he muttered quietly. "Did I wake you..?" he asked. Upamon immediately shook his head, looking up at his partner.

"No…but what's wrong? I'm not gonna stop asking until you tell me what's really up with you, dagyaa." the Digimon replied stubbornly. Iori seemed to hesitate for a moment before he sighed heavily, clutching Upamon tightly.

"…I…I still can't remember…" he said. Upamon blinked in confusion, but before he could press for further details, his partner continued. "My dad died when I was really little…I was only three or four at the time…Everyone else can remember my dad so clearly, but…but I…" More tears welled within the boy's green eyes."I can't remember him at all. I don't remember his face…or his voice. I don't remember him holding me or saying I love you or…or anything at all….Every year I spend all day trying to see if I can finally remember something, but…I n-never do…" Iori choked back a sob, the cracks beginning to show in his emotional strength. "W-What kind of son can't even remember their father's face?" he questioned before he finally broke, clutching his partner tightly as he cried. Upamon simply let the boy cry his tears, nuzzling against him in an attempt to cheer him up. So this was what was bothering him all day…He felt bad because he couldn't remember his dad? Maybe Iori wasn't so unbreakable after all…

"Iori…I don't think your dad would be mad at you because you don't remember his face or his voice." he stated. Iori took a moment to wipe his tears from his eyes before he looked down at his partner with a quizzical gaze. "You can't say you don't remember him, because you think about him so much, dagyaa. You still love him a whole lot, right? And so does your mom and your grandpa so…I don't think he's forgotten at all. And he's probably really happy you remember him too, dagyaa." Upamon looked up at his partner with a wide smile on his face and Iori couldn't help but return it. He nuzzled his face against his partner's.

"T-Thank you, Upamon…I…I think I needed to hear that…" he admitted, relief in his voice. "I'm sorry that I made you worry all day…I'll make it up to you, I promise." Upamon merely waved him off with a smile.

"Nah, don't worry about it, dagyaa." the baby Digimon remarked. "Just try to get some sleep, okay?" The young boy merely nodded in gratitude, giving a small smile to his partner before he rested his head on his pillow. He felt Upamon use his ears to dry Iori's dampened cheeks and his smile grew ever so lightly.

"Good night, Upamon…" he muttered tired. Even though the days of mortality were finite at best, Iori realized that the bonds that people forged with each other – through family, love and friendship – remained even after people have long departed from the earth. And that was truly unbreakable.

Welcome to the first in a (hopefully) long series of various one-shots depicting the various Digimon characters throughout the series. Some of these may tie in to an upcoming fanfiction series involving a rewrite of some of the Digimon seasons, but I won't spoil too much about that yet. I can't give you a timeline about when I will update things (since creativity for me tends to come and go as it pleases) but I'll do my best regardless.