Hello!

Well, here we go again. Popular Dissent - another story idea that I had in which I couldn't help myself from writing. Besides Paradoxical Universes, this little bit was one of the things that got me inspired to write again. Honestly, I promised myself I wouldn't start another story without finishing Apocalyptic Quest and Paradoxical Universes, but I couldn't help it. ;) For now, Apocalyptic Quest is still on hiatus and for those (many or few) interested in Paradoxical Universes - I'm still working on that one!

So, here is two tidbits of information you need to know:

It's AU - especially since Digimon Tri will be released in the spring.

And...

Ages:

Joe - 26
Tai, Sora, Matt - 25
Izzy, Mimi - 24
Yolei - 23
Davis, Kari, T.K., Ken - 22
Cody - 21

And there we go! I hope you enjoy the first chapter of this installment. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. It would be wonderful if I did. :)

Chapter 1 – Diverging Lifestyles

"And that's pretty much why we can't just go and launch this album. It won't work."

"Of course it will. It's designed that way."

"Just because you are the producer, buddy, doesn't mean it will miraculously sound good."

"I know it does. I've done so many tests on it that it might as well have earned the right to go to college."

"Fantastic. Let's all now waste thousands of dollars and throw everything up into the air!"

"Enough!" Matt's colleagues all turned to him in surprise. As he took a moment to gather his thoughts, the blonde quickly realized that he stood up in the midst of all this madness.

"You have something to add, Mr. Ishida? If you do, please do so now," the owner of the record label scowled at him, gesturing with a condescending tone.

Matt forced a smile to show on his lips. "Look, even though Akira's ego is getting too big for his own good, he's right. We came up with the best album there is and we have to go for it. Yutaka, Takashi, don't you agree?"

His band mates of the Wolves reluctantly nodded their heads in agreement.

"Great. See Mr. Kiyan, we are already prepared to release this album. I think it goes along with everything else, don't you think?"

"I suppose," the record label owner replied, scratching his chin. Matt could see that this was already working in his favor. For once.

"Let's not waste any time then. Let's release it and see what the fans think."

"Now, now, Mr. Ishida...let's not get ahead of ourselves, hmm? If this album doesn't go through the roof, we're going to drop you from the record label."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Mr. Kiyan," Matt agreed with him—only for the sake of agreeing with the man. If this album doesn't sell, he's doomed. He yearned for the days when the Teenage Wolves were the band to watch out for. Now that they're just 'Wolves', their fans believed that all they're trying to do is stay in the past, or so the critics say.

"Show yourselves out. Hopefully for you, this works out in your favor," Kiyan stated, waving them off. The lead singer of the Wolves glanced at his other band mates. He cringed at the thought of them getting dropped off. It wasn't only his career that was on the line. He dragged down everybody else with him too.

He had to face it though. The whole music industry wasn't going well for him at all. It dawned on him that he had to get an actual job.

"Well, here's to hoping," Matt heard Takashi say as the band walked out of the building.

"If it doesn't work out, fellas…I had fun," Yutaka added in. Matt scoffed, shaking his head. Do they not believe that this can work?

"Godspeed," Akira said, wishing them all good luck. For once, the former Digidestined agreed with him. They were going to need all the luck they could get.

Life hadn't been that great for him ever since he graduated high school. Sure, his band was able to tour the world. And yes, he was able to date one of the most beautiful and wonderful women that he had met. However, after a couple of years of musician stardom, things started to go downhill.

He almost dropped out of college. Not because he couldn't get through it, but because he didn't really see the point if the record label offered him fame and fortune. Thank goodness T.K. was there to help him out and push him through. The former Digidestined of Sincerity had broken up with him. Well, he believed that it was a mutual breakup, but he knew that she thought otherwise.

He supposed it was karma. Nothing accounted for the fact that he screwed over the one he truly loved. He screwed her over, and he knew that there was probably nothing to make up for it.

Whatever. There was no time to think about it now. He had to get this album to sell. Otherwise, there would be nothing for him that was worth living for.

Everyone bustled about the dressing room, putting makeup on the models and fitting them appropriately for the fashion show. Gorgeous male swimsuit models lined up outside on the platform while the beautiful women were preparing for their part in the extravaganza.

Mimi's lips were pursed as she flipped through a magazine. Now that her part was over, she could just relax. When she heard her name called out through the dressing room, she slouched further into her chair. At least, she thought she could relax.

"There you are. You need to get dressed."

Her perfectly shaped eyebrows creased in confusion. "Why? I'm done for the day, aren't I?"

"One of the other models called in sick, so we need you to take her place."

"Why not have someone else do it?"

"You were hired for this job. And as such, it is your job to follow your superior's orders."

She narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to protest. But a whirlwind of makeup artists and hair stylists got a hold of her before she could. They sat her down in a chair and started working on her appearance.

It wasn't like she loathed her job as a professional model. It's just that she didn't particularly like it anymore. She was never home as she was always traveling around the world for these fashion shows. She didn't get to spend enough time with her family and friends as it is. Not to mention, her love for the culinary arts was set aside as she had to make way for her modeling career.

How she wished she could go back and change her decision to become a chef instead of a model.

But there was nothing to be ungrateful about. She appreciated everything—especially since she got to ride first class, had an amazing wardrobe, and got to see all the sights of the world while doing the thing she loved the most. Keyword: loved.

Don't get her wrong, modeling was fantastic and it was the one thing she wanted to do in her life since she was a little girl. She loved being the center of attention and pride swelled in her heart when she was the one to bring to the table the newest fall fashion line. It was like she was the one inventing a whole new wardrobe for people to love. But now it didn't feel like that anymore. It felt like work. Which wasn't what she wanted in the first place.

Not to mention that her boyfriend resided in the opposite hemisphere of the globe. That was a little overdramatic, she conceded. Oh well. That didn't really matter anyway. She didn't get to share her success with a man, or even a best friend, that she'd like to share everything with. Both of those chances to do so with two certain people went down the drain years ago.

Mimi felt like her life really fit one of those they warn you about in the movies: success means nothing if there's no one special to share it with. She scoffed. Yeah, that about summed it all up. But what was she supposed to do? Grovel and plead for their forgiveness? Yeah, right. Like that'll do anything. She tried. And they didn't forgive her. So all that was left for her to do was move on. With her life, with her job, with everything.

Before she knew it, everyone who attended to her was finished with perfecting her look for the evening.

Her phone rang. Looking down, she saw a picture of her boyfriend and his name flashing on the screen. Her fingers hovered over answer, but she chose ignore instead.

"Miss Tachikawa, you'll be up in 10."

"Alright, don't have to tell me twice," she replied to her assistant, unlocking her phone in the process of standing up. Names of close friends and the Digidestined appeared on the screen as she scrolled through her contacts. Two groups that were once in the same category separated as time went by.

Taking a deep breath, she locked her phone and left it in her purse. She eyed the male models winking at her as they came. It wasn't like she couldn't have them. She knew that she could with their glorious abs and toned muscles and charming smiles and luscious hair. But she wasn't going to hurt him. Not this way. Not in the way she hurt the others.

Her heels clicked and clicked until she stood by the rest of the models gearing up to join the fashion show. Her manager eyed her with concern.

"Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Let's just go ahead and do this, shall we?"

As she stepped onto the runway, she felt fame and fortune welcoming her.

Friendship and love, however, did not.

Izzy tried blinking the sheer boredom out of his eyes.

It wasn't working.

He then tried running his hands through his hair—which was a mistake by the way since he had styled it to perfection before he left the house earlier.

He brought his hands up to his face in hopes of rubbing the sleepiness out of them.

Nothing.

"Izzy! Are you even listening to a word I said?"

"Of course I am, Evelyn. Of course. You were just telling me about your boss and how he had no right to assign you to a project that you had no idea was going on in the first place."

His date for the evening smiled at him in response. She put a hand to her chest for a heartfelt affect. "Aw. You are listening."

Internally, he rolled his eyes. Not really, but if it helps give the illusion that he is, then why not?

He lifted his wrist to check the time on his watch. 7:30. Huh. Had it really only been thirty minutes since they got here and sat down and ordered and started eating and everything? Emma—no Evelyn—had started to talk once more. Why did he have to pick someone with a name that was nearly identical to Emma? Well, not exactly. Evelyn did sound closer to Evie, which reminded him of a Pokemon's name.

As soon as she put the last bite of her dish into her mouth, he waved his hand in the air, signaling the waiter to come over.

"Check, please." He muttered. The waiter nodded and took off to get the one thing that would finish the date. Yeah, it was a short one. But it wasn't exactly prodigious either.

He couldn't have recalled a time where he paid a bill faster than he did right now. Once he left a tip for the waiter, he stood up and grabbed his coat. Evelyn stood up as well whilst gathering her belongings. As they were walking out of the restaurant, he felt a tug on his tie.

"So…where are we off to next, Mr. Izumi? Back to your place, perhaps?"

Heh. No, not if his life depended on it. "Um, actually, you know what, Evelyn? I actually have a seven o'clock meeting in the morning tomorrow. So, I can't actually you know be out later than um, eight."

She gave him a confused look. He laughed it off with a nervous guffaw. "We can still go for some ice cream down the street. It isn't that late yet."

"But you know what? It is." He replied, gently tugging her out of the restaurant. Once they were outside, he patted her shoulder a little bit.

"And you're going to bed right after you return home?"

"Uh…yes. That's exactly what I usually do. You know, I need at least ten hours of sleep before I get to work tomorrow."

Izzy wanted to hit himself in the head. If that wasn't the most ridiculous thing anybody's ever said, he didn't know what was. What kind of person that didn't fall in between the ages of one and twelve went to bed at eight o'clock at night?

"Ah okay, mister." She said, poking his chest playfully. "You're probably just saving it for the next time we go out, huh?"

Sure, if she wants to think it as such. He set his lips into a thin line and quirked the tips upward into somewhat of a smile. He made himself chuckle a little again. That's what she thought. When in reality, this is what was going to happen: he will take her home, walk her to her door, tell her he had a good time, and when she asked for a call or for a next date, he'd just smile politely and say that his work didn't really give him a chance to get together because of the business of it all. And she'd understand. He wasn't a complete jerk about it. His mom raised him to be a gentleman and to be polite. He was definitely going to follow up on that so as to not disappoint her.

Besides, there was no way he was going to pursue this any further. And it wasn't like he was lying. He actually did have an early meeting tomorrow. And he was pretty busy with work most of the time.

They would usually understand because their career is just as important as his. Work was a vital part of life. There was always that part to consider.

When he got home, he was a little mindful of the darkness that surrounded his apartment. He opened the lights and looked around the empty living room. The emptiness didn't bother him as much as it used to. Izzy put his keys in its proper place and took off his coat. He proceeded to take his blazer off and loosen his tie. He didn't know what to do now except work. And he definitely wasn't going to go sleep for ten hours.

He could call Evelyn for a late cup of coffee. He could call another girl and see if she'd like to go out on a date.

Instead, he decided to go into his office and start up his laptop.

"Well, would you look at that?"

Sora smiled with pride as she showed her boss her latest designs.

"Thanks, I worked all night trying to get the little details right."

"It's a piece of crap."

Her face fell as her boss threw her paperwork into the trash. "I thought it was—"

"Obviously, you thought wrong. Here hold this," her boss instructed, shoving a dress into her hands. Whilst gesturing to said dress, she continued, "That is what art looks like, Takenouchi. And if you can't do that, then you might as well just leave."

Sora nodded silently, all while trying to hold her outburst in. "Will that be all, ma'am?"

Her boss waved her away, and Sora took that as her cue to back out and exit the office. When she approached her desk, she spotted a familiar face. Her disdain turned into excitement as she ran into his arms.

"What are you doing here?"

He smiled and held up a paper bag. "I brought you lunch."

"Oh, Tadashi, you shouldn't have."

"Well…when we spoke earlier, you sounded really stressed out, so I thought I'd come here to surprise you with your favorite meal."

Sora grinned as she hugged him. "You have just made my day. You're the best." She leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips. "Thank you," she whispered.

"That's what fiancés do, right? Help their fiancée when they're down." She looked up at him and saw his charming, endearing grin. She couldn't help but feel elated. "Were you able to get in contact with that friend of yours…Rei was it?"

She shook her head in response. "Not yet. But I'll call her later today and see if she has time to meet with us. What time do you get off work?"

"Around five."

"Great! We can discuss the wedding plans with her then," Sora said, wrapping her arms around his torso yet again.

"Alright, I'll see you tonight?"

"Yep. Don't be late," she warned him, leaning in for another kiss. Their kiss this time lasted several more seconds before they broke apart. She looked into his beautiful brown eyes, almost drowning in them before she cleared her throat, and he took that as a signal to step away.

"I'll be going. Wouldn't want you to get into trouble."

"Argh, yes. Okay, bye. Love you."

She heard his response as he made his way out of the door. "Love you too!"

Shaking her head, she sat back down at her desk and started to eat her lunch. She wondered how she got so lucky to have a guy like him. Even though her career wasn't going exactly as planned, at least her love life made up for it.

While she ate her lunch, she thought about her wedding. It wasn't going to be big. She planned it to be composed of a small gathering with friends and family. She had already discussed the nuances of the wedding with Tadashi—centerpieces, cake, food, venue, time and date—but they hadn't gone over the guest list yet.

Certainly her parents and his parents would be invited. Heck, their whole family would be there. His closest friends and hers. That would be about it.

Rei would have to be there. In addition to being her best friend, she was their wedding planner. Her closest tennis team friends would also be invited. Coworkers? Not so much. There weren't any other people Sora would consider herself pretty close with except for…the Digidestined.

There was Tai…who would definitely be there. He was flying in from who knows where later tonight. She supposed that she could send Izzy an invitation, even though they haven't talked in years. Joe, who if he didn't have something else planned for that day, could probably make it. Kari should be invited too because she is Tai's sister and they are friends. T.K.—sure, why not? Davis, Yolei, Cody, and Ken could come too if they wish. Mimi…well, she wasn't planning on speaking a word to her anytime soon, so she could count her out. And Matt…well, she's inviting T.K., so did that mean she needed to invite his older brother as well?

Would Matt get ahold of her wedding knowledge from T.K.? Would Mimi? It has been years since the incident. Maybe she should be the bigger person and invite them.

Sora shrugged, unsure of what to do. She'll talk about it with Tai later. Right now, she needed to call Rei.

Joe raised his hand to knock on the door, but decided against it. Ugh. How could he have been so stupid? He's been standing here for ten minutes doing the same thing over and over again. They had a good time the other night, right? It wasn't just him imagining things? Then why couldn't he do this one thing? All he had to do was knock.

The door opened before he could raise his hand to knock on it again.

"Joe?"

"Hey, Momoe, I…," he started. He was still looking down at his shoes.

"No, no. No, no, no."

"What, but I—" he turned his head upwards to look Momoe in the eye. He grimaced when he saw whom he was actually talking to.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Yolei, I can explain—"

"Oh, you better explain alright. What—are you…are you doing my sister?"

What did that even mean? He wasn't doing—oh. He was definitely not doing her sister. That was a misinterpretation on her part.

"No! I'm not, I just…um…."

Yolei scowled at him and he cringed under her glare. "You just what? Decided not to give her a call the next morning?"

"Nothing happened, Yolei! Nothing beyond like a peck on the cheek, okay?"

"If he says nothing happened, then nothing happened," he heard a voice behind Yolei, seeing Ken step up beside her. Ken put his hands on her shoulders and it seemed to calm Yolei down a bit. Joe was grateful for the miracle that is Ken.

"I don't believe him."

"What? But I just said—"

"Nope. He can't come in."

"Yolei, I just wanted to let your sister know that I had a good time the other night and would like to do it again. I even brought flowers."

She eyed the flowers suspiciously, like it was made out of poison or something.

"You should give him a chance," Ken suggested. "I think Joe and Momoe would be a good match."

She turned on him and he put his hands up in surrender. Joe felt sorry for the guy. "Do you? Do you really?"

"Can I just—" Joe interrupted, handing over the flowers to Yolei.

"No!" The couple replied and Joe shrunk away. Was a girl really worth all this trouble? Especially if he had a feeling that he'd be having this exchange with her sister every single time he came over?

"Fine. Give me the flowers. I'll tell her you stopped by."

"But wait—" he protested as she took the flowers from his grasp and slammed the door in his face. "…don't change the message." He nodded to himself as he walked to the elevator. She's definitely going to tell Momoe something different than what he set out to tell her himself.

"Thank you, Mr. Hida. These discoveries will certainly help in tomorrow's trial."

Cody bowed his head in response. "I'm glad it'll be of assistance."

"You know what?" his mentor asked him.

"Yes?"

"You've been working too hard. Take the night off. Go out with some friends. Take someone out on a date."

"Oh, sir, I haven't been working that hard. I think I'll just go home and study some more."

"Nonsense! Actually, you know what? Maybe you could meet my daughter. I think she'll be thrilled to go out with someone like you."

Cody opened his mouth to protest, but thought against it. This was his boss after all, and he didn't want to offend him by indirectly saying that he didn't want to go out with his daughter. Maybe he could say that he doesn't have to do it. Play it off like the boss was doing a favor for him instead of the other way around.

"Sir, you really don't need to."

"She's been single for years as well! This could be a good match."

"Um…."

"I'll pick you up at seven tonight, okay?"

"Uh…."

"Okay, see you Cody," his boss went out the door and Cody was left to stew over the fact that he had to go and charm his boss's daughter. If it doesn't go well, his boss will hate him. He couldn't act like a repulsive guy. His boss would know he was out of character, so there goes the fact of making the daughter hate him. He couldn't be polite because then, what if it goes well? And then they had to get married? And then his boss would become his father-in-law?

It's going to be okay. Isn't it? His boss re-entered the room.

"Actually, Cody, she's meeting me for lunch. Let's go."

"Um, now sir?" He didn't have time to mentally prepare for this.

"Yep!"

"Uh, okay." Cody picked up his jacket, put it on, and started to head out the door after him. He saw the opposite route of where his boss's car was parked. Maybe he could escape.

"She's wonderful, Cody. You're going to love her."

He chuckled with his boss as the car started to drive toward the restaurant. This wasn't weird, wasn't it? It wasn't everyday that his boss set him up on a date.

"Here we go. You ready, tiger?"

He scrunched up his eyebrows in a 'I'm-a-little-weirded-out-sort-of-way'. But instead of showing that, he cleared his throat and nodded, smiling a little to show that he wasn't nervous about this at all.

"Reservation for Kawada," his boss said once they entered the restaurant.

"Right this way, sir." Cody couldn't make out the face of the woman already seated at the table.

"Sunshine!"

"Dad! How are things?"

"Great! Oh, this is Cody Hida. Cody, this is my daughter and pride, Noriko Kawada."

His eyes widened as he recognized the name of his boss's daughter. This couldn't be any more awkward.

The buzzer rang throughout the gym as the ball went through the hoop. T.K. congratulated his other teammates on their win. A brunette came up to him and hugged him tightly.

"Congratulations, honey!"

"Thanks, Kimiko. Are you ready to go and celebrate?"

He felt her lips on his. Afterwards, she beamed up at him. "Yeah, let's go."

"Okay, let me just change first. I'll meet you outside."

He went to go to the locker room, his teammates patting his back as he went inside. Professional basketball was something he'd never thought he'd be doing, and yet, here he was. Checking his phone, he read a text from Davis.

Hey man! Just checking in to see how the pro life is. Call me back when you can.

It was ironic how he thought of Davis as his best friend. Considering all they went through to get Kari's attention when they were younger. Speaking of Kari…he shook his head. She was something that he should definitely not be thinking about. Yeah, they went through a lot together. But what pulled them away shouldn't have. He partially blamed himself for that. Stop that, he told himself. He couldn't be thinking about that now. He put his phone away after texting Davis a reply.

But as he changed, his mind wandered to Kari. How was she? Did she have a boyfriend? Was she married? Did she move out of Japan? It wasn't a surprise that the Digidestined drifted apart after not having an enemy to defeat every now and then. But his fallout with Kari was unprecedented.

"T.K.!" He heard Kimiko call from the other side of the door. "Are you ready?"

"Yep!" T.K. zipped up his bag and headed out of the locker room. Putting an arm around his girlfriend, he smiled at her. "So, where to for dinner?"

"I've wanted to try out that new restaurant near Malibu. You?"

He nodded vigorously in reply. She laughed. He loved it when he could make her laugh.

"How's your book coming along?"

"Oh…" he trailed off. He wanted to become a writer, not just a basketball player, but he was plagued with a drought of no inspiration. He didn't know what to write about. Not even an inkling came to mind. Steamy romance novel? No, thanks. Comedic relief? Not his thing. A cookbook or a motivational piece? Yeah…that wouldn't get him anywhere. "It's good. I wrote my name on the front cover."

He turned to see her laugh with amusement. "And you want to become a writer…why?"

T.K. shrugged, not really knowing why anymore. He perked up, remembering the reason he started out with. "Because I'd like to tell stories that have never been heard of before. I'd like to present people with a new perspective. It's something that seems worthwhile doing."

He felt her grab a hold of his chin; he looked down into her eyes. "Playing basketball won't help."

"Yeah, but at least it pays the rent right?" He joked, laughing at his inability to write something off.

"You do what you want to do, T.K. Just as long as it makes you happy."

He looked at her, albeit puzzled and somewhat comforted by what she said. For the first time, her words seemed to line up with something Kari would say.

"Hold it! Hold it right there please!"

Panting heavily, Tai caught his breath as the elevator doors closed. He groaned as he ran his hands through his disheveled hair. He swerved his head from side to side, trying to find a clock. 8:15. Damn it, there was no way he'd make it in time now. He was so fired. Next month's rent would be gone and extinguished from his life. And the food that has kept him alive for so long.

He violently threw the papers he was holding down on the floor. Tai's chocolate brown eyes glared at everyone who threw a judgmental look towards his way. What, had they not seen this happen before?

Now what was he going to do? The red-eye to Japan wasn't leaving until later that night, and it wasn't like there were any clubs he could go to. There was no point in entering a meeting that started thirty minutes ago. What was he going to explain to the Swiss embassy? That he slipped on a banana peel into a puddle of mud and had to go and change his shirt? Yeah, like that'll go over well.

He slid down to the floor—his back against the cool marble tile of the walls and his butt kind of finding unwanted solace from the cold floor. A ringing noise stopped him from closing his eyes. Tai patted the pockets of the cheap and worn-out suit he got on a great bargain deal. Nope, it wasn't in his blazer. His pants didn't hold his cell phone either. Spotting it lying on the floor beside the mess of papers, he dove to pick it up. Hopefully, it wasn't his boss congratulating him on a job screwed up.

"Tai," he sat up straighter, clearing his throat to answer his sister in greeting.

"Kari. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"What's with the formality? I was just checking to see what time your plane was landing tonight."

"Um…," the former soccer player's fingers went up to his head, knocking it a little in hopes of remembering the time of his flight. "Probably around nine o'clock? In the morning. My plane doesn't leave until eight tonight."

"Okay," he heard her breathe a sigh of relief.

"What, did you forget or something?"

"No, no, I just was hoping that I didn't totally space out on your arrival time. Just wanted to check with you." Tai narrowed his eyes at her reply. There was definitely something off in her voice.

"Kari," he whispered. "Are you okay?"

Sniffles can be heard from her end of the phone. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Nothing to worry about."

"What is it, Kari?" He gritted his teeth together. What could have happened to make her like this?

"Um, it's nothing, I'm fine. Just a break up that's all."

Tai stood up with fury in his normally jovial chocolate eyes. "I told you he was a good-for-nothing lowlife. And you didn't believe me. What was his name? Trevor? Travis?"

"Thanks," she replied sarcastically. He immediately felt guilty for making her feel worse about the whole thing. "And it's Trent."

"Trent. Huh. What a stupid ass name."

That at least earned a chuckle out of her and for now, he would take it. "Don't worry, Kari. I'll be home soon."

"For what, a day?" That did it. Guilt was pouring in through his system now. It wasn't like he meant to leave every so often. That was his job. As one of the ambassadors sent across the world for various ambassador-like duties, he couldn't stay at home for too long.

"It'll be for more than that, Kari. I promise."

"Fine. I'll meet you at baggage claim. Travel safe."

"Thanks. You too," Tai said and hung up the phone. He heaved a sigh. Now what was he going to do for the next couple of hours?

Kari stared at her phone after the call ended. She had to prepare for Tai's return. Maybe he'd like some ramen? Or some chicken? She didn't know. Recess was almost over and it was time for the kids to come back in.

"Alright, everyone! Let's go study more about the alphabet, shall we?"

Her kindergarten students groaned as they filed into the classroom. One boy, whose name was Bobby, raised his hand. She acknowledged his question with a nod of her head. He spoke.

"Miss Kari, can we talk about something else other than the alphabet?"

The other kids agreed with him, getting more excited at the possibility about discussing something else than learning their ABCs.

"Yes please, Miss Kari. And then we'll go right back to the alphabet. Pretty please?" A girl, Maddy, asked politely.

"I guess we can," Kari said, pretending to be distraught about not getting to learn the alphabet. "But only for a little while. What do you guys like to talk about?"

"Where do babies come from?" a kid asked from the back.

"Um…what?" Kari blinked. This she certainly wasn't expecting. And it was way above her pay grade to answer that question.

"You don't know where babies come from?" Bobby asked incredulously. Was it normal for a kid to be paired with the word incredulous?

"And you do?" the kid stuck his tongue out at Bobby.

"I do," Maddy replied. "My momma and daddy say that they come from love."

"Ewwww!" was the response, more or less, Kari heard from the class. Why wasn't she stopping this conversation?

"Love stinks!"

"No it's not!"

"Love is for those with cooties!"

"You're stupid for saying that!"

"Okay, class. We can talk about love. What do you think love means?" Kari asked her students. This topic at least is more appropriate.

"To get married to somebody who hates you," Kari looked over at the child who said that. Um, well she wasn't expecting that.

"Love is what they show in those princess movies."

Maddy raised her hand. Kari called her name, prompting her to share. "I think love is when you're missing some of your teeth, but you're not afraid to smile because you know your friends will still love you even if some of you is missing."

Kari was taken aback by what Maddy said. Did she really say that? It wasn't poetry or anything, but it was pretty insightful for a five year old. Hmm…it made sense. It could apply to anything really—forgiveness and apologies included. At this rate, Maddy (the six-year old kindergartener) will find love before she (Kari Kamiya, kindergarten teacher) started to actually understand what it meant.

"Get Japan's greatest noodles here!" Davis called out to potential customers walking by his awesome noodle cart if he did say so himself. He got a lot of looks—some weirded out, some disgusted, but all in all, he had to pat himself on the back. He was able to sell a fair amount today. Well, if a fair amount equals around five-and-a-half. The half was due to the fact his customer spilled his newly bought noodles as he was walking away from the cart. But still, it wasn't half-bad a number.

To top it off, he was pretty ecstatic. Here he was, living his dream he's had since he was thirteen. Not bad at all, Motomiya. Not bad at all.

"Psst."

Davis looked up and down, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Back here, you idiot."

He turned around, expecting someone eager to buy noodles, but was faced with an old—like really, really old—woman who seemed to not want anything to do with his noodles at all. Wait. That came out wrong.

"The Digital World is in trouble once again."

He almost tripped on his own two feet. Well, if he was walking he would've. "Excuse me?"

"The Digidestined is needed."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out, thank you very much," he replied sarcastically. How the heck did this woman know about the Digital World? Did they start giving out their secrets about Digimon to everyone who seemed to have some sort of an imagination?

"You…don't want any noodles?"

The ancient lady glared at him and hit him on the head. Ow. "No! I do not want any noodles!"

"Oh…." There seemed to be that kind of silence where it was too awkward, but no one knew what to do next kind of silence.

"It's time for you to return."

"But why? Now? Look lady, I don't know what kind of drugs you're hopped on, but I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Soon. The Shadow King is coming."

Huh. The Shadow King. What in the world did that mean? "And plus, I can't go right now. See, I have to sell at least 40 packs of noodles today, or else I'm out of business."

"We're not going to get anywhere with this." She touched his arm. He tugged it back. What was she trying to do?

Touching his arm again, she just spoke two words. "Brace yourself."

He woke up in an…office? A part of him said that everything was fine while the other part started to hyperventilate. Davis held his head in a tender manner. It felt as if he was hit with a ton of bricks and then thrown off a bridge or something. His eyes widened as he looked around the room.

Tai. Izzy. Sora. Matt. Mimi. Joe. Kari. T.K. Yolei. Ken. Cody.

Well, this was a sight to see that's for sure. He couldn't remember a time where they were all in the same room together.

"Ken? Ken! Are you okay?" he heard Yolei and turned to watch her shake her boyfriend.

"What the—" Matt's voice resonated throughout the room.

The lady. Where was she? She better have not disappeared, otherwise he'd sound like a complete moron when he would tell his encounter with her to them.

"Where are we?" Sora wondered aloud. Question of the century.

"My office," Izzy replied. The computer genius got up and walked to his desk. Davis was astounded by the fact that he seemed unfazed. He sat down and put his head in his hands. Or not.

"Why…what do you want with us?" Matt inquired. Davis nodded his head. He'd like to know that too.

"I don't want anything to do with you," Izzy replied, with more of a distasteful sound that Davis had ever heard come out from his mouth. "I don't even know why or how we got here."

"Um…I might have an idea." Davis offered his knowledge. The other eleven Digidestined looked at him as if he just got there. "This lady…."

"Is saying that you need to save the Digital World once again." The ancient lady he came across a couple of minutes—hours—ago walked out of the shadows behind Izzy's chair.

"Aahhhh! Who the…" Izzy fell out of his chair and landed on the floor. Davis laughed. The guy looked as if he was about to pee his pants.

"Who the hell are you?" Tai asked. Thanks, Tai. That's exactly what he hasn't been wondering all this time.

Miss Ancient (yes, that's what Davis now called her) blatantly ignored Tai.

"You are all needed to defeat The Shadow King."

"Can you please explain one—who are you and two—who is the Shadow King?" Izzy raised his voice, exasperated that this woman wasn't telling them anything.

"I will explain all. But first, I need to know that you will put aside your differences and your trifles in order to come together as a team and work like true friends."

After she said that, everyone looked at each other, all unwilling to admit the fact that what she's asking may not happen. Even Davis wasn't oblivious to everything that went on between certain members of their team. She spoke in riddles and as if everything would be hunky-dory and all rainbows and sunshine and unicorn poop. She was talking as if they could just solve all of their problems with the flick of a wrist.

The ancient fairytale lady was way out of her element. He would become a billionaire with his noodle cart shop before that ever happened.

The title of this story is honestly my favorite one. Any guesses as to why? There are many things left unanswered and gaps that need to be filled in, so stick around to discover more!

Another disclaimer: Maddy's definition of love didn't come from me. I found it online. An actual six-year old did write it though.

Also, who's excited for Digimon Tri? I know I am!

Thank you for reading! Feel free to send me any thoughts or questions you have in a review or a PM! :)