Taichi woke up in a rather clammy mood, with the only thought running through his head something along the lines of anger that school had to be in the morning.
"Taichi! You're going to be late at this rate!" yelled his mother from the kitchen, only reinforcing the feeling.
Still distressed at the state of his life, Taichi put on his school uniform and wobbled over to the table.
Hikari was at the table slowly eating her meal, starkly in contrast to Taichi ravenously working through his breakfast in the hopes of getting it all down within a few minutes.
"Anything special going on at your school, Hikari?" said Taichi through a mouthful of food.
Hikari said nothing and only shook her head.
"Ah, well. Hopefully something cool will happen. Don't worry so much, okay?"
Hikari nodded, before frowning a bit.
"...different."
"Hm?" said Taichi, looking at Hikari.
"...it's different."
"What's different?"
But Hikari only shook her head. "...nothing."
There was a long and strained silence as Taichi looked concernedly at Hikari.
It's different.
Eventually, Taichi could do nothing but finish the rest of his breakfast.
"Well, Mom, Hikari, I'm off!" said Taichi, gathering his bag and standing up.
"See you later!" said his mother.
"See you later," said Hikari, having regained a bit of her cheer.
He met Sora outside the school, who greeted him duly.
"Did you study for the test today?" said Sora.
"E-eh? There was a test? Why didn't I hear about this?!"
Sora laughed. "You did, you just weren't paying attention."
"Ugh. Honestly, academics just goes straight over my head. Nothing like soccer at all." Taichi sighed. "I wish you still played soccer, Sora."
"Mm. I wish I did, too. Or any kind of sport, really."
"Is there absolutely no way of convincing your mom?"
"Not at all. Well, not like I can argue much against her in general, anyway."
But, Sora, I know you're not –
"But that's really, really too bad. I mean maybe I could - "
Their conversation was interrupted by the bell ringing, and the two of them could only run to class as fast as they could.
Taichi looked morosely at the teacher, rather bored at the lecture. He felt like he'd utterly failed that test.
Once class was over, he bundled his stuff up and started heading for the field to join the soccer club in practice. In stark contrast to the debacle of a test he'd been through earlier, kicking the ball came rather naturally for him.
"Senpai!"
Taichi looked behind him to see a younger boy from the elementary school - Motomiya Daisuke, his junior when he'd been in the Odaiba Elementary soccer club.
–'s missing.
"Oh, Daisuke! How are things for you?"
"Going pretty well! I've been practicing all my moves lately. I can't fall behind when I join the middle school club, you know!"
"Ha. You can't get better at soccer if you keep ditching your own club to come watch ours, you know."
"Eh? Oh, no, our club's off today. Captain got sick." Daisuke picked up a nearby ball. "But I have to keep up with everyone, even if the meeting's cancelled!"
"Not bad. Maybe you'll become a regular!"
"Get rid of that 'maybe'. I'm not letting 'maybe' hold me back."
Taichi laughed and handed Daisuke the ball. "Okay, then. Show me what you can do."
After club and various other errands, it was on Taichi's way home that he ran headfirst into someone carrying a ton of books.
"A-ah, sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry...I wasn't looking where I was going..."
The boy in front of him gathered up his books, looking extremely flustered. Taichi looked him over - he looked a little older than him, maybe one or two years, and was wearing an Odaiba Middle School uniform.
...that's wrong –
"Oi, you should watch where you're going!"
"Sorry, sorry! I was thinking about a lot of things, and I got distracted..."
"Ahaha, that's fine. It's definitely a lot of books, though..."
"Oh, it's just cram school and stuff, you know. I'm trying to get into a good high school. Kind of had an overload of stress for middle school and exploded at the worst possible moment, so I'm already a bit behind..."
Taichi picked up the last of his books and handed it to him. "Well, I think you shouldn't worry about it too much. But good luck!"
"Haha, thanks. You're definitely right - stress is definitely the last thing I should be dealing with."
The boy nodded at him and took his leave with the books.
Sighing deeply, Taichi made the last few steps towards the ground floor opening of his apartment.
"...Yagami Taichi-san?"
More than a little startled, Taichi looked to find the person who had called his name, only to see him right outside the door of the apartment complex entrance.
He definitely wasn't older than Taichi was - but was wearing a uniform for a school Taichi didn't recognize and looked rather mature for his age.
"I...don't know you. Do I know you?"
"...ah. So you don't know me after all..."
The boy looked down a little nervously before looking back up and regaining his composure.
"There is not much I can say in this situation, for various reasons that I can't explain at this time..."
"Hey, I don't really understand what you're saying with all this and that..."
"I'm sorry. I wish I could be more clear, but I'm not allowed to interfere directly. Or...at least I can, but this is the full extent that I can do."
He placed something in Taichi's hands.
"Please take this, and decide for yourself what it means to you."
And he ran off.
"Wait–!"
But the boy was gone before Taichi could stop him. Confused, he had no other choice but to look at the object he'd been given.
It looked like a small blue device.
"I'm home."
"Welcome back, Taichi!" said his mother, getting dinner prepared. "Did anything interesting happen today at school?"
"Just a test."
"Hm. Did you study for it?"
"'Course."
Taichi sat down on the couch next to Hikari, who was watching TV.
"How was school?"
"Good."
"Daisuke bothering you again?"
"He doesn't bother me," said Hikari quietly.
"Well, that's good. Daisuke's a good kid, but if he ever gets on your nerves a bit, just let me know, okay?"
"Okay."
Taichi turned back towards the TV.
"Say, Hikari..."
"Onii-chan?"
"This morning, you said something was 'different'..."
Hikari nodded.
"Is something bothering you? You can tell me."
She shook her head.
"It's different..."
The strange device Taichi had been given ended up doing nothing at all. Taichi had half a mind to just throw it away, and yet there was something bothering him.
A boy whom he had never met, knowing his name, saying there were things he couldn't tell him, giving him a strange object...it had all the workings of some kind of supernatural scenario.
A little irritated by this whole scenario, Taichi turned in for the night.
– can't – but–
– no! – but only if –
– stop –
– if anything – tell – Yamato –
Taichi woke up the next morning with that name in his head. Random names were not normally things that entered his brain in the morning, and the only thing he could do was be confused.
Yamato–?
After thinking about it long and hard, Taichi vaguely remembered that Yamato was the name of a boy with the surname Ishida in his year. He had maybe met him once or twice, never more than a few moments – in fact, he didn't even remember what he looked like or what he was like.
If in fact this was "Yamato"...why on earth was his name in his head?
Taichi pulled his things together to prepare for school and in the corner of his eye saw the strange blue object, still doing nothing. Incredibly confused as to what was going on, he grabbed the device, shoved it in his bag, and headed out.
He ran into the boy again on his way to school.
"Hey, you!" said Taichi, approaching him. "Listen, I don't know what you're doing, but I want an explanation about all this. What's all this you told me about? And what's that thing you gave me yesterday?"
"So you still don't know who I am…" The boy sighed. "But I suppose that's only to be expected. Unfortunately, it's what I told you yesterday. I want to badly, but there are things I can't tell you. The only thing I can do is have faith that you'll be able to figure it out."
"I'm sick of this whole mystery thing. All of this is just getting me frustrated."
"I'm sorry. Please understand. But I'm sure for you, it'll make sense soon."
And he ran off again. Taichi intended on chasing him, only to remember that he was going to be late for school. Cursing under his breath, and increasingly aggravated by the second, Taichi continued on his way.
The thought of all of this going on could only linger in Taichi's head, even through class lectures and other things. As soon as lunch break started, he ran out of the classroom, asking around for anyone named Ishida Yamato.
He passed by a group of first-year girls on the way, and – despite having no real reason to – couldn't help but hear their conversation.
"Maybe we should stop by an amusement park next week. What do you think, Mimi-chan?'
"Ooh, I really love amusement parks! But next week's going to be really hot, that won't be good…"
"It still won't be that bad even if it's hot, right?"
"Hmm. I don't really want to go somewhere if it's going to be super hot..."
– isn't like that at –
– shouldn't even be at this –
"Eh? You're Yagami from the other class, right?"
Taichi looked him over. Yes, this was definitely Ishida Yamato, he'd seen him before. Yet he didn't really know him that well.
"Your name's Ishida Yamato, right?"
"Yeah. Got any business?"
His words were brief, to the point, and a bit cold. Taichi got the distinct impression that Yamato wanted nothing to do with him.
"Ah…it's just…nothing that was really..."
"If you don't have anything important to say, then don't waste my time."
– no!
No, no, no, no, no!
All of a sudden, words started forcing themselves out of Taichi's mouth. He had no idea why he was asking these questions, how they were even relevant to the situation, but –
"By any chance...would you happen to have any siblings?"
Yamato's glare at Taichi suddenly turned into pure venom, and Taichi felt this sense of unease. Why had he asked that question? Especially with a response like that…
"...I don't know why you care so much about this issue. My parents are divorced. I have a brother, Takeru. He lives with my mother in Sangenjaya."
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
"I-I see. Um, I'm sorry for bothering you, and I'm sorry if that question hit a wrong note..."
Taichi made a run for it before Yamato could glare any more daggers in it. His head was starting to hurt, and he didn't even know why. He ran outside of the school, ignoring the strange looks he was getting from the other students around him, and sat down at a nearby bench. Why –
Takeru doesn't live in Sangenjaya. He should live in Odaiba now. He moved here, with his mother.
Jou and Mimi shouldn't be at this school. Mimi shouldn't even be in this country.
It was like a large brick had suddenly hit Taichi in the head – and he certainly felt it, both on a mental and physical level. The worst part of it was that it was all fragmented in his head, and he didn't even understand all of it. Names of people he wasn't supposed to know, vague senses of familiarity, of something that "should" be –
"...aaaaaargh!"
He was missing something. There was something missing. He just couldn't remember what.
Taichi couldn't even get himself to return to class. He knew that he was going to get hell from his parents about it, but there was no way he could get himself back in proper position to go back to school and club. All he did was end up walking around the area.
He didn't realize where he was going, not even paying attention, only trying to make sense of those strange fragments of memories in his head of things that he'd never even remembered.
His feet finally stopped, and Taichi looked up at the building before him.
Taichi knew this building well – there was no reason for him not to, considering it was one of the most iconic things in Odaiba both to locals and tourists. The Fuji TV station – after all, it had special importance to Taichi, because that was where –
...
– that was where –
Taichi clutched his head and dropped to his knees. All of a sudden, he began to scream, as it was the only thing he could reasonably do in this situation.
"No way. No way. No way...! I..."
Screams of frustration, shock, and pain quickly turned into tears as Taichi angrily pounded the ground.
"...Agumon...Agumon...!"
Different.
Hikari said that it was "different".
She used that word "different". But the word "different" can mean something other than simply "differing from the usual".
It can also mean different in the sense of "wrong".
"So...you finally remembered."
Still panicked and in tears, Taichi slowly got up and looked behind him. The mysterious boy from earlier. Mysterious? Mysterious?
No.
Taichi pointed a shaking hand at him. "You. I know you. I know your name."
The boy smiled and nodded. "I'm glad, Taichi-san."
Of course. Everything in Taichi's head was still fragmented. He didn't really understand everything other than the important things he'd forgotten. Even though he remembered the boy's name, he didn't even remember how he knew him or what relation they'd had. But he knew his name.
Ichijouji Ken.
A world where Digimon and humans could live together. A real world where Digimon could be accepted, where everyone would understand their bonds with them. That was the goal the Chosen Children were fighting for, and the future they had in mind.
It was foolish to believe that the world would accept the existence of Digimon so easily. While of course many people were able to adjust themselves to and embrace the concept, there were still many who fought against it. There was a variety of arguments, covering various things – the impact on the economy, the danger posed to society, the questionable "sentience" of such monsters…
…but the arguments all boiled down to the same thing: Digimon were not beings that should be integrated with the real world.
Of course, the Chosen Children fought against it, as they well should. But their opposition was also very powerful, and then Chosen found themselves facing larger and larger threats with every passing day.
"It's ironic," said Ken, "that they ended up resorting to the power of a Digimon to create this; I suppose hypocrisy is found everywhere."
"But why me?" said Taichi. "I'm just a kid – "
"Firstly, Taichi-san, it's not good for you to think of yourself as 'just a kid'. Secondly, at this point you've become a large symbol of the bonds between a human and a Digimon. You made contact with the Digimon at Hikarigaoka, and you led the Chosen Children in 1999. So they thought it would be wonderfully symbolic to choose you to be the one to be trapped in this illusionary world."
"But you remember everything."
"As I told you, this is not an issue of 'remembering'. Other than you and me, none of your friends here are the friends you know. They are images, made from representations of them from the data the Digital World has on them, of the Chosen Children in the situation where they had never met the Digimon."
"And you didn't tell me this earlier."
"Because otherwise this situation could be easily turned against us. It's true that I managed to come in, and it's true that I'm capable of rescuing you now. Yet there's a reason they placed you in a world that was the same as ours but without Digimon – it would prove a point that you're fully capable of surviving without them. If I were to come in and tell you everything directly, your captors would be able to easily make the argument elsewhere that I was simply persuading you into believing the real world is better. In contrast...I had faith that you'd be able to figure it out yourself, and that you'd be able to tell which situation is better on your own. Then nobody would be able to argue the fact you had decided for yourself you would prefer having the Digimon around."
"Of course things are better the way it should be! Look at everyone, look at how different their lives are from how they are when they'd met the Digimon! Look at me! I can't believe I forgot Agumon, I can't...I can't believe I still can't remember everything yet, it's all so important to me..."
"We are Chosen after all. This is part of the job we have as Chosen. It was part of our jobs, after all, to protect the peace for both Digimon and humans. It still is part of our jobs, in any case..."
"It is, and yet I'm not even allowed to do my own damn job anymore!"
"And you and I both agree that we'd much rather be doing that job than being trapped in this kind of state. You know how important the presence of the Digimon has been to my life. And to mine as well - there are many things that would have been different..." Ken sighed and looked at the harbor. "I couldn't bring Wormmon with me. Despite this entire area being digital, attempting to bring any Digimon in here will cause their data to be wiped away immediately. Agumon was rather upset when he found out he couldn't join me to help you, too." He laughed gently.
"So everyone else is still out there?"
"Out there and very worried about you. Of course, the reason we were able to find you at all is because of a very helpful tip you left Agumon to give to Yamato-san."
"Yamato..." Taichi slammed his fist on the side of the bench. "I saw Yamato. The 'Yamato' in this world, I mean. That wasn't Yamato. I know that wasn't Yamato, I know what the real Yamato is like. The real Yamato wouldn't have treated me like that..."
Ken nodded.
"Then...now that you've decided to return, we need to return, right?"
"Yes, but how?"
"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. But there is a person you could talk to who would know for sure, don't you think?"
The answer came to Taichi almost immediately.
"Excuse me! Is anyone in?"
Taichi poked his head into the computer room at Odaiba Middle School. Entering the school itself was a large risk, since Taichi was very aware he'd run the risk of meeting his classmates or teacher and that they knew he skipped class – but he had to see Koushirou, as soon as possible.
He looked around, but there was no sign of Koushirou anyhere.
"Um, is there an Izumi Koushirou here?"
"Izumi? Don't know anyone with that name."
"You're kidding me...if he's not here…"
Taichi apologized for bothering them and excused himself. He turned to Ken, who had been waiting outside the room.
"Let's try his apartment complex."
"...Taichi-san..."
Koushirou was giving Taichi a very distant look, and the reason why immediately reached Taichi without much trouble. Since he and Koushirou had never really gotten much time to bond in this world, Koushirou only knew Taichi as a fellow member of the soccer club they had both been in during elementary school. To Koushirou, they probably hadn't seen them in years.
"Um, hi, Koushirou. This is a friend of mine, Ichijouji Ken. Do you mind if we ask you a favor? It involves the computer…"
"...o-of course. Please come in."
Koushirou led them into the house, not giving either Taichi or Ken eye contact.
"Oh! Koushirou, do you have friends over?" Koushirou's mother watched them come in from the kitchen. "Ah, Taichi-kun! It's been a while."
"Hi, Izumi-san! I just came to ask Koushirou a favor..."
"That's fine, that's fine. Make yourselves at home."
Taichi, Ken, and Koushirou entered Koushirou's room.
"Hey, Koushirou," said Taichi, "why aren't you in the computer club?"
"...you mean at school?"
"Yeah."
"I'm not really good with cooperative activities like clubs," said Koushirou. "The subject catches my interest, but I'm not sure I'd work well with others."
"...I see..." said Taichi. He went through his bag and pulled out the Digivice. "Is there anything you can do about this?"
"Um...I...I've never seen anything like this before…"
Koushirou reached for the Digivice before pulling his hand back.
Taichi offered it forward. "Go on."
Koushirou picked up the Digivice and looked around it. "It…doesn't seem to be a cell phone or a pager...to be honest, I'm not entirely sure I have the capabilities to be able to – "
"...Koushirou!"
It was clear Taichi had completely lost it at this statement. Koushirou looked extremely startled, completely unable to say anything.
"Koushirou. Don't give me that. I know you're interested. I know this kind of thing interests you, but you're not confident in yourself. And I know you're capable of doing things like this! I've seen you do so much more wonderful, wonderful things, things I can't even think of doing, I've seen you do things I bet you don't even think you can do! So stop saying things like you're not good at this, you're not capable of doing that! Don't you know right now I even know a person or two who really looks up to you? You're an incredibly talented person and I want you to believe that!"
Ken bit his lip nervously, and Taichi knew – this isn't Koushirou, this is an illusion made to seem like a Koushirou who was never able to understand this by himself or by meeting Tentomon – but at this point, Taichi felt like there was nothing else he could say.
Still a little flustered, Koushirou nodded. "O-okay. I'll take a look..."
He booted up his laptop and inspected the device. "I don't see any compatible ports anywhere that might plug into a computer, so unfortunately I can't analyze it that way. My laptop doesn't seem to have anything that might accept this as an interface point. I can look up some things on the Internet to see if there's anything similar to it..."
He turned to his computer, only to find that it wasn't behaving normally.
"...hold on..." He started rhythmically typing into his laptop the way Taichi knew was more like him. "That's strange. That's really, really strange..."
After a certain point, Koushirou's only response was to slowly back away from the laptop.
"...what's that? What's going on?"
The Digivice began to beep.
"It's analyzing data," said Koushirou. "But that's weird, it's analyzing data in everything, even things that shouldn't ha–"
And at that point everything went white.
The room was gone. Everything was gone, except for a small rectangular box that had been Koushirou's laptop screen only a few seconds prior. Through the box there was something Taichi could see –
"Ken-chan!"
"Taichi!"
"We found it," said Ken.
"Agumon…"
Tears started to well up in Taichi's eyes – he could feel it, a strong desire to apologize to Agumon for having forgotten him, for having forgotten everything important to him – for having forgotten a part of himself.
"Taichi! I'm so happy!"
Ken pulled out his own Digivice and walked towards the window. "We should get going, then. There are people out there worried for you."
"You're probably worrying your own family, too."
"It's all right; I let them know beforehand before I came here."
"I know, but I mean, an elementary school student, coming here with no guaranteed way out to rescue me."
Ken, with his arm and Digivice raised towards the portal, looked back towards Taichi and smiled.
"I don't think you need to worry about that part. The Tokyo Police Department doesn't hire children, much less send them on missions."
And he disappeared through the portal.
"Wait, what? I – "
Taichi hesitated before raising his Digivice.
"Wait!"
But before he could protest any further, Taichi found himself pulled by his Digivice back into the real world.