Author's Note: Normally I save these for the end but this story is just a bunch of one-shots with some being connected to other fics I've written. If it is, I'll leave a note at the top. This is a companion piece for Crest Defined.

Missed Call

Many voices could be heard bouncing around the room. Grieving and condolences stood out, but complaints about reporters kept popping up just a frequently. Many adults also kept murmuring about a boy; one of the only two children present. He was the only child to make it back alive after months of searching. Through some miracle, the eight year old even made it back home on foot.

The only other child there was a girl of the same age. The brunette second grader sat by herself while her parents engaged with the other adults. Her sore eyes focused on the portrait of the children who didn't make it back. Her older brother's picture stared right back at her.

Her mind swarmed with ideas on how it could have happened; why it happened. It didn't help that she couldn't shake the images of those monsters out of her head as well. She wondered if they were the ones who took her brother away. While those monsters filled her with a sense of fear, they also gave her a feeling of wonder. It was that same sense of wonder that also had her eyes darting to the blond boy who the adults were whispering about.

The girl got up and made her way outside. She had seen the boy sneak away and go the same way. As she walked, she wondered if she could get him to tell her anything. She overheard her parents once say that the boy couldn't speak much after being found. She opened the door to the outside world and squinted at the intense light.

Against the bright light stood the blue eyed, boy. Anyone who had seen him previously would have described him as withdrawn. The experience in the mountains looked to have repressed his personality. However, the only thing the girl could see was a crying child. He looked as if he had been holding back his tears. His whole body shook in anger and anguish as he rubbed at his eyes. He rubbed as if he wanted to deny the fact that he was even crying at all. The grit of his teeth and the clench of his small fists showed his frustration.

The girl could only watch from the shadows. The boy who only politely bowed to everyone he was introduced to had an expression she had never seen before. She couldn't speak; she could hardly breathe. The only thing that stole the girl's focus was the approach of a man.

"Ah, you're the kid who made it back from the mountains all by himself, aren't you? I knew the funeral service was being held here." The man walked up to the boy. "I know you haven't talked to anyone about it but how about giving me a scoop," he bent down and placed a hand on the boy's shoulders. His grip was a little forceful, just to make sure the boy couldn't easily break away. "I hear it's easier to talk things out with people who you aren't close to and are unrelated. I won't judge you kid, I just want the facts." A slimy smile crossed his face.

The girl couldn't believe what she was seeing. While she didn't have a full grasp of how inconsiderate the man was being, she knew he was in the wrong. She gathered her courage and ran out the boy and grabbed his hand, "Um… Your mommy is looking for you. We should go back inside."

"Oh, you must be a sibling of one of the kids that died," the man hadn't released his grip, "don't you want to know what happened as well?"

Before the two eight year olds had any chance to react, a gruff voice rung out, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't bother my son and that girl there, especially on a day like today." A large man stood at the door taking a drag of his cigarette. "I do work for the local station, so I know how you feel about getting a story, but some lines shouldn't be crossed." He threw the butt to the ground and stomped it out, "the same can be said for people."

"Is that a threat?" the journalist asked. He got his answer, but not from the other man. He felt his palm suddenly heat up to an unbearable degree. He snatched his hand away from the boy and noticed that it had almost started to burn. Looking down, he was met with a glare he had only seen on some of the roughest of adults.

The girl lightly gasped the boy's demeanor. All of the sadness he once had, evaporated and the only thing left was that frustration she had seen. She was surprised to see that his eyes had changed from such a clear color of blue to a deep orange.

The boy had done more than just glare behind his shoulder. He looked over and found that his father had made his way over too him and the girl. The journalist backed away and left with a frustrated sigh and an agitated palm.

"How about I walk you two back in?" he offered one hand to each of them and escorted them back inside. "I know you're upset, but you can't go running off all by yourself, especially with everything that's happened." The father watched his son stare at the ground in front of them. "I'm sorry about all the trouble, little Miss.," he apologized to the girl. "I'd also like to thank you for looking after my son."

The girl didn't know what to say and could only nod. As they made it back into the main building she found her own family and left the two. Before she could leave earshot she heard a very quiet, "thank you." She turned around to see the boy looking at her. His clear blue eyes and quiet attitude had returned. He quickly followed up with a bit louder but even sadder sounding, "I'm sorry."

"Oh, at least you can still thank and apologize to a girl," the boy's father patted down his son's hair. "You'll have to do the same for your mother."

The girl wanted to say something as well. She wanted to talk, to know more about what the boy knew; about who he was. She sadly didn't get that chance. She could hear her mother call her name and the father and son duo had also made their move to leave. She could only watch their backs as her name kept being called out.


A girl awoke to a hot summer's morning. Her eyes cracked open to the light that had flooded her room. She had spent the last night working on summer homework, in preparation for her yearly trip to the local mountain. She turned on her front and tried to gather herself to be fully awake. The dream she had awoken from and her mother's voice didn't seem to motivate her to move though.

"Hikari, it's time to wake up," The girl's mother called out again. "You need to get up now if you want to eat breakfast before you go, Tailmon has already finished hers."

With that said, a large white cat entered the room. "It's time for breakfast, Hikari; we've got a big day ahead of us." Tailmon had been living with the girl for a year, and was already a part of the family.

The girl murmured into her pillow before she found the willpower to lift her body. The fall of the covers revealed a light tank-top with only her underwear on. She wanted to find a pair of pants or shorts to put on but couldn't find the energy.

As she walked out of her room, she spotted the plate that had be left for her. Heat could still be seen coming off her food, so she was grateful that she wasn't too late. She sat down and managed to lazily bring a piece of toast to her mouth.

The girl's mother noticed her daughter's appearance and could only be thankful that they lived on a higher floor of the apartments. "Are you alright, sweetie?" She carefully asked, noticing her daughter's off mood. "You didn't stay up to late working on your homework, did you?" She watched Hikari just shake her head, no. "Are you worried about your trip to the mountain with Takeru?" Hikari didn't even bother to answer and just chomped at more toast.

The past year had been full of new things for the housewife. She had learned about what had happened to her son, years ago on those same mountains. Learned about how he had gone to a digital world full of monsters. If it hadn't been for Tailmon and Tsukaimon being in the real world, she would have called the boy her daughter had brought home, crazy.

She really had to thank her daughter for being as open with her as she could. She could have tried to hide Tailmon or the fact that she was going with an unknown boy to strange world on an almost daily basis. Hikari had been the one to push for the honesty while Takeru seemed a bit more reserved; but hearing his story, it would be hard for him not to be.

"Hey, mom," Hikari snapped her mother out of her recollection. "Do… do you ever feel like you've missed something important in your life? Like, you've missed some sort of big festival that you were supposed to be a part of."

"Like when I miss a sale at the market?" The woman saw an annoyed look on her daughter's face. "Now, now, I'll have you know that being a housewife wasn't my dream growing up. I actually wanted a job with a lot of travel. Like a stewardess or maybe an overseas journalist; one of those people who write about their experiences at different onsens for a magazine."

The girl had no idea that her mother was so adventurous. "Do you feel bad that you can't really do that now?"

"Who says I can't do that now? Even if I can't right this minute, I may be able to do it later. I'm not going to say that some dreams or events are as open and everlasting as traveling around, but it's up to each of us to define which ones are for ourselves."

Hikari chewed over her mother's words along with the rest of her breakfast. After she finished, she quickly freshened up and retreated back to her room to get dressed. Not only was she meeting Takeru at the mountains, they were also going to go to the digital world for a special festival. Takeru and Tailmon seemed excited about it, and even the stoic Tsukaimon looked more chipper.

"Hey, Hikari," Tailmon started, "are you sure you're feeling alright? I'm sure you still want to go on the trip but you don't have to participate in the festival when you get there."

"I'm participating too?" she questioned rhetorically as she pulled up her shorts. "Hey Tailmon, about what I asked mom earlier. Do you have something you feel like you missed out on?" She rummaged for a sleeveless shirt.

The cat digimon was taken aback by this question. The only thing on her mind was trying to figure out what Hikari was regretting. "Well, for me it would be not getting to meet you. I've always felt like I was missing something, but working for Vamdemon shoved those feelings aside. It was only after he was defeated by Takeru and NeoDevimon, did those feelings come back. Wizarmon joined me on my search around the digital world, but it was only after Takeru suggested coming to your world was I able to find you."

Hikari mulled over her partner's story, even if it only seemed to make her feel worse.

"It seems like what your mother said goes for me too; what about you?"

"If you say it like that, then the same goes for me as well," Hikari pulled out her desk chair and took a seat. She pulled Tailmon to her lap, "I just feel like I could have met you so much earlier, is all. If I hadn't missed camp because of my cold; or if I had remembered that I had met Takeru when we were younger."

"I can understand wanting to have contributed, but thinking about what happened to the other children, and what Takeru had to go through to get the strength to save the digital world without them… I'm kind of glad you weren't there for it all."

"But if that's the case, then what is the point of all this training Takeru is putting me through now? We work hard almost every day, but what is it for? You and I have gotten so strong but who's this power for?"

"Well," Tailmon got off and landed on the floor, "that's part of today's festival." She made her way to the door, "Make sure you don't forget your lunch and camera."

Hikari had no idea of what the day was to bring, but she hoped she could at least get out of this odd funk.


The path to the monument and shrine was a simple one. This mountain was used by elementary schools as a camp site so it had to be easily hiked. Hikari and Tailmon made their way up the short hill off the main path and found a long haired blond down on his knees pulling out weeds around a memorial stand. They noticed a winged monster also biting at the overgrown plants. The piglet sized hamster monster noticed the two before his partner and made him aware that they weren't alone.

The blond looked over, "Yo, right on time," he waved. "I left the washing for you two," he pointed to a full bucket along with a cloth.

The two girls walked over and also got to work. "Takeru, how long have you been here?" Hikari asked.

"Awhile," he simply stated. "You got here on time so it's not like I've been waiting for you. I felt kind of restless this morning so I got here early." Takeru got up and gave the ground a once over to make sure he didn't miss anything. "You ready for today's events?"

"I still don't know what they are," Hikari wiped the dirt away. "You and Tailmon have been teasing me about it since the start of summer, and Tsukaimon's not gonna tell. For as serious a teacher you can be, you like to joke around too much."

The blue eyed boy couldn't help but laugh, "let's just say, the festival will put all those lessons and training to the test."

Hikari and Tailmon finished wiping down the monument and the four of them all paid their respects in silence. With everything cleaned, it was about time to go. Takeru motioned for Hikari to make their portal to the digital world. As she was about to raise her digivice, the call of her name froze her in place.

"Hikari!" the girl's mother ran up to meet the two, however she wasn't alone. The boy's father fallowed briskly behind as well. The two partner digimon ran off to their respective partner's parent.

"Mom, what are you doing here?!" Hikari gawked.

"Well, I thought it'd be nice to come up here and pay my respects to all of the children," she held Tailmon close. "After everything you told me, I guess I wanted some more closure. I didn't think I'd meet Mr. Ishida at the base of the mountain though."

"And why would you be here, pops?" Takeru asked.

"I also thought it would be nice to come and visit," he patted Tsukaimon, "the memorial… and the digital world."

"Wait, we can go to that other world too?" the housewife looked at the man.

"Can we?" he eyed his son.

"Can they?" Hikari also asked.

The long haired blond looked off the side of the mountain. Could they? If a few digimon could cross right over to their world without any problems, then there shouldn't be a problem the other way around.

"We could give it a try," he scratched the back of his head, "but are you sure you want to come Mrs. Yagami? My pops is naturally curious, but it is a world full of monsters."

The housewife thought for quite a while of what it meant to go to another world. About what going to that world mean to her. "I would also like to go to the digital world," she managed to smile. "I'm sure Tailmon and Hikari can keep me safe."

"Besides, you're going for some sort of festival, right?" Mr. Ishida smirked. "Tsukaimon looked really excited last night so I'm expecting some fun and games."

Takeru couldn't help but sigh in defeat, "then I guess you two would want to pay your respects before you go."

Hikari soaked in the rare look on Takeru's face. Seeing the grin on his dad's face helped her understand where he got his casualness from. It was pretty fun to see him backed against a wall. She had only seen Tailmon be able to push his buttons by being the only one able to talk back to him.

She watched the parents pay their respects to the lost children. Even if Takeru had called it a festival she still didn't know what to expect for the digital world. Did Takeru want to give her a day of fun? She looked into the sky and wondered what types of festivals digimon would throw.


The digital world was as beautiful as ever. The trees stood tall and the flowers grew plentiful. File Island had an amazing little ecosystem that spanned multiple seasons. The two adult's couldn't avert their eyes. How similar to their world it was, yet also extremely different.

It didn't take the group long to reach their destination. The grass of the forest tapered off into a green checkered patterned ground. The trees turned into giant shapes. Soft cubes and triangles or all sizes littered the area. Just over a small hill, a large group of digimon of all sizes and levels could be seen.

"Ah, Takeru, Hikari!" a small child like digimon called out. She led the charge that was followed by a bunch of Fresh levels. The small digimon latched on to Hikari at the top of the hill while Takeru was tackled over by the over excited babies.

"It's nice to see you again, Minervamon," Hikari hugged the Ultimate digimon back.

The armored Ultimate looked up and noticed two people she hadn't seen before. Even if they were hidden behind a snake helmet, the sparkle in her eyes could be felt. "No way, Takeru, you told me that humans can't digivolve. Hikari's evolved form is so pretty, and the other one…" she stared, "even though they're a different color, he still has the same sharp eyes as you." Takeru couldn't help but glare up at the digimon. "Now even the lines on your faces match."

Mr. Ishida couldn't help but rub beneath his eyes to check for wrinkles that might have appeared because of his work. Mrs. Yagami on the other hand couldn't hide her smile even if she tried.

"What a cutie," the woman cooed, "but I'm not a digimon. I'm Hikari's mother." She watched the small digimon look her up and down.

"Mother?" the small god-man digimon asked aloud. She received a nod of conformation. "Ah, I remember Takeru telling me about this. Humans come from human mamas." Before she could ask any more questions, a pair of hands scooped her up from behind.

Takeru placed the small battle maiden on his shoulders and looked to the others. "I'm gonna take this one down there and try to get things ready for the festival. You guys can play with the babies for a while until we sort everything out." He motioned for Tailmon and Tsukaimon to follow him to the base of the hill.

The others watched as Takeru reached the bottom of the hill. He was quickly swarmed by even more digimon.

"So, who are some of those digimon?" Mr. Ishida asked.

"Well," Hikari started, "the small red and purple one with peacock feathers is Electmon. The lion-man with the orange mane and turbines on his arms is, GrapLeomon. The scarecrow magician is, Wizarmon. Finally, the android is, well, Andromon."

The group watched Takeru converse with the many different digimon. They all seemed to be debating something. Takeru quickly got things back under control and broke off from the digimon and returned up the hill.

"So…" he started slow, "every August, me and Tsukaimon come to digital world to catch up with everyone and have some fun. We tend to meet the others by a lake that's not too far from here. When we get there it should be about time for lunch."

"Huh, you made it seem like this trip was such a big deal last night?" the boy's father brought up.

"Did I?" Takeru picked up a baby digimon and started to lead the way. The others were quick to fallow behind him as he made his way to the lake.

The trip took no time at all but everyone still found time to chat. Mr. Ishida really hit it off with GrapLeomon. It might have been their gruff demeanors meshing with each other. Mrs. Yagami kept Minervamon company as the small digimon was full of questions. Takeru and Hikari were surprised she still had more to ask.

"Ah, Minervamon, I have a question this time," Mrs. Yagami spoke up. "Do you know that happened on that mountain?" She pointed to the large mountain that was at the center of File Island.

"That's Infinity Mountain," Takeru looked ahead.

"And what happened to it? There's a large chunk carved out of it. It's as if someone took and ice-cream scoop to it."

"That happened because of a fight I had there once."

An odd silence overtook the group. The digimon there tried their best to keep their stares to themselves and not look to the leading blond. The humans couldn't take their eyes off the mountain.

Hikari's were always drawn to the scares on the mountain's face. Mrs. Yagami was reminded that no matter how cute some of these creatures appeared, they were monsters that could easily kill. Mr. Ishida was amazed at the power displayed. With Tsukaimon as his only reference, he had only expected digimon to be as dangerous as any animal on Earth. Even something a fearsome as GrapLeomon didn't look strong enough to leave a mountain with that kind of dent.

"What tremendous strength," the older man marveled.

A sharp smirk crossed the boy's face, "not strong enough."

"So, dependable," Mrs. Yagami clasped her hands together playfully. She looked ahead and spotted phone towers sticking out of the water. "Is that the lake? Oh, there are even more digimon ahead"

Even more digital monsters waited by and some even inside the lake. Takeru ran ahead once again to relay some information. There was a large commotion but it quickly died down.

The lake was the perfect spot for a picnic. The only problem was the amount of food. Takeru and Hikari didn't bring enough to share with their parents. Somehow in the rush, the two adults didn't think to bring anything for themselves. Takeru told them not to mind and the two teens gave up their lunches. The blond suggested that the two of them forage for their own food.

Hikari was thankful for the survival training Tailmon and Takeru put her through. It had only been a year but she had managed to learn quite a bit about the digital world, digimon, and living in the wild. She had already caught and started cooking fish so all she needed now was to get some fruits as a side dish. She was looking up at the trees for anything she could eat when something rustled not far off. She turned and found Takeru making his way off to Infinity Mountain alone. She looked back out to the lake and found Tsukaimon and Tailmon sharing food and talking with their parents and the other digimon. She decided to fallow behind the boy as sneakily as she could.

Takeru didn't even bother with the normal path up the mountain and easily scaled its side with help from his crest as a makeshift platform. Hikari was once again grateful of the things she had been taught and could easily keep up with the boy. She had moved a bit of a ways down before she made her own accent so she wouldn't be spotted. She crept around the corner and watched the boy stare at the large crater that dug into the mountainside.

"I know you're there, Hikari," the boy's long hair flowed in the breeze. "If you wanted to sneak up on me you should have ran up the mountain instead of using your crest." Not once did he motion to look at her.

The short haired brunette moved from behind her rocks and stood behind him. Takeru had told her of what had happened on Infinity Mountain during his first adventure. About how that was where her brother and everyone else had lost their lives.

"So…" she didn't know where to start, "I'm assuming you come here every year just like me with the memorial.

"…Yep," he was still unmoving.

"When you made that comment about not being strong enough; you were talking about yourself, right?"

"Right…"

"You know, you've never went into detail about what really happened that day." She had wanted to know more but the boy had always looked too distant to bring it up in detail. It never once showed directly on his face, but his eyes had always given him away.

"…" he kept quiet as the wind howled once more, "we were fighting Devimon when he suddenly grabbed me and Patamon. Patamon started to digivolve but even that amount of danger wasn't enough to complete it. The others kept attacking to try and free us but their digimon had already hit their limits."

The wind came to an abrupt stop, "Devimon decided that he had, had enough of it. He stopped focusing on the digimon and started killing the others. I couldn't see anything but Patamon's light but I could easily hear what was going on. With every scream came a beam of light that hit Patamon. After the seventh one, he was able to digivolve and that alone was enough to decimate Devimon. I was blinded by that harsh light and the next thing I knew I woke in Primary Village. The only thing Leomon was able to bring back from the mountain was my brother's harmonica."

Hikari didn't know what to say. Whenever she had asked Takeru to tell her about his adventures, it was obvious that he abridged things. Even when she asked Tailmon to clarify some parts, her partner refused to give anything away about the boy. She understood why he did it. She knew that just knowing why things happened should be enough for her but…

She watched the blond with determination, "I know it can be hard but can't you tell me these things so I don't make any mistakes. I know that I already missed my chance but I at least want to feel like I can protect this world." The girl finally managed to put her unease into words for the first time that day.

"I don't tell you these things so you don't make the same mistakes I did," he finally turned around. "This power we have runs off our emotions, our state of mind; and it manifests in the form of a crest. I don't want you thinking about anything unnecessary while you're fighting. I want you to figure out digivolving without my help but with Tailmon's. Once you hit Ultimate, and only then, will I think about sharing my own tricks. Tricks I relied on in battles I can't go into further details about until you reach a higher level."

Hikari couldn't help but think that the boy in front of her was stupid. He hadn't understood a bit of what she was really trying to say. For someone who easily saw through others, he only looked for the things he wanted to see.

"Also, get that stupid idea of being useless out of your head," Takeru asserted. "Even if you had shown up in the beginning, you wouldn't have been able to do anything, seeing how Tailmon was working for Vamdemon."

Maybe he wasn't as oblivious as she had thought.

"If you're feeling guilty about not being here from the start, keep training to make up for that lost time. If you're still upset after that, then take it out of me for not coming to find you sooner." He walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on," he turned her around, "sunset is in a few hours and we still haven't eaten yet. You'll need the energy for the rest of the festival."

Hikari fallowed him back to the lake while glaring at him the entire time. Her earlier problems may have been solved, but the way the boy helped only frustrated her. It was childish, but she couldn't help but be bitter about how right he was. Not once had she ever thought of blaming him. She just wanted to find a place of her own in protecting the digital world.

The trip back was short and uneventful as the two also managed to pick some fruit along the way. They both came back to a scene of their parents in deep conversation with the digimon. When Hikari was about to ask what they were talking about, she heard GrapLeomon give a retelling of what she had heard on the mountain. She looked over to the boy who just shrugged at her. She knew then that he had planned on telling her everything today, even if she hadn't fallowed him, yet she knew he had probably planed for that as well. Her irritation only grew at the thought of being played with again. Why couldn't he just be straightforward with his feelings and talk to her normally?

Takeru casually glanced at the glaring girl. He wondered when he should tell her that the only reason he decided to find her was to keep a promise he had made to another Hikari from another alternate world. Judging by the scowl on her face, it wouldn't be anytime soon.

The rest of the day was spent talking, playing, and eating. More digimon such as, Pultomon, and Orgmon showed up looking for a brawl. Takeru had a handful calming the two down. It didn't help when Minervamon wanted to get involved, and to keep things short, let's just say that no one had dessert that day.

The adults looked to be having fun with the multiple digimon. Mrs. Yagami found a MetalGreymon that had arrived, very interesting. Mr. Ishida on the other hand seemed to have an affinity towards beast-man type digimon, as he shared a drink with a WereGarurumon. While it looked like those two were fully engrossed in their own conversations, they kept an eye out for their own children. They both watched the two get into what seemed to be an argument. Hikari, at least made it look that way. Mrs. Yagami had never seen her daughter be so aggressive before. Mr. Ishida noticed that his son seemed more open than normal as well.

The sun was finally beginning to set, when Takeru got up and walked towards the lake. He turned back around to face everyone and started giving a speech. "I'd like to thank all of you for coming here today. It's been fun catching up with everyone, but I'm sure that's not why you all actually came here."

All of the digimon quieted down while the humans perked up.

"You all came here for one thing…" the blond smirked, "and that's to see if someone can steal the title of, Demon Lord, away from me." He watched as the digimon erupted into cheers. "Well, it's actually the title of the strongest so call it whatever you want. Unlike the past years, we have another human joining us in the battle so I lets run though the rules extra clearly this year."

Hikari couldn't believe that this is what he brought her here for. Takeru was the only person she knew who would hold a fighting festival. While she wanted to fight for and protect the digital world, she wasn't a battle junkie like he was. She knew she couldn't get out of if either, not with how excited Tailmon looked.

"The rules are the same as ever. It's all of you against me and Devimon." The small purple hamster digivolved into a black devil and stood beside his partner. "We start with the Adult levels, and move up from there. Everyone's first attack must be focused on me or my partner digimon. The last mon standing at each level bracket gets to move up to the next one. If you somehow manage to digivolve during battle you must bow out until that next round begins. Remember that this is also a battle royal against your peers, so if you want to take the chance to take out other participants to make it to the top, I'm not gonna stop you. Last one standing is the winner, got that?"

Mr. Ishida was surprised at sudden exclamation from his son and the now roaring crowd of monsters. He hadn't ever seen a digimon fight before and he didn't know if he wanted to see it be against his own son. He had seen the burns and scars his child carried, but he also knew that the fact that he carried those and kept going meant that the boy would be okay.

Mrs. Yagami on the other hand was more withheld about the whole idea. She looked over at Minervamon and Tailmon and wondered how those two little digimon could fight something like MetalGreymon. How could her daughter fight with them? She knew the girl was, "training," but she thought it only amounted to things like catching fish, like she had seen before. She watched her daughter get up and confront the boy.

"So you're saying I get to keep going, as long as I can digivolve Tailmon?" Hikari questioned.

"That's right," Takeru hummed. "By the way, while you two are working as a pair, if one of you gets knocked out, the other may continue."

"You say battle royal, but like you said at the start, every digimon is gonna be gunning for you."

"That's the point. As the strongest, you have to be able to take on the feelings of everyone that comes at you, be it friend or foe. Now… are you and Tailmon going to fight right off the bat, or what?" He watched the girl pull the cat digimon away from the rest of the digimon lining up and digivolved her. Takeru looked up at the blond, white and pink angel. "Good, then let's get this show on the road."


Angewomon and Daemon stared each other down from above the ground. Their partners mirrored their looks while gasping for breath. Somehow the female angel and new girl were the last ones standing against the Demon Lord duo. That was thanks to the rules and the fact that Minervamon and Pultomon took each other out. Bother teens stored the fact that a digimon's grudge over food was not to be taken lightly.

Hikari watched as Takeru raised his hands to direct another attack. With one point of his fingers, flames rushed past her. She lifted her arms to shield her eyes from the harsh light and in preparation for the rest of the attack.

As predicted, she caught Takeru moving through the flames and managed to divert one palm thrust. She blocked the other, aiming for her abdomen, but was caught off guard when she felt her feet leave the ground. Her guard had been seen though and countered by a throw. Her back hit the ground harshly as the flames died down around her.

She quickly managed to scramble to her feet as she watched her partner falter in the air. With her attention diverted, she only noticed the rushing boy a second too late. A makeshift shield using her crest barely managed to protect her face. However, this time the boy didn't just strike but dug his fingers into the crest, trying to brake though it as if it was a thin sheet of ice.

The crowd in the background roared for the girl's victory. Her mother's yells were the loudest and fiercest. However, what the boy in front of her was trying to convey was at a higher priority. Even when haggard from one fight after another, a feeling of superiority radiated off of his body. It wasn't a feeling of her being weak, but one of him being unstoppable.

She had never seen him get this serious. His eyes glared through her shield and it felt as if they alone could catch her ablaze. While she never thought of herself as much of a fighter, it was hard not to fell a bit of excitement from such a stare.

As her crest crumbled before her eyes, the only thing that came to mind was the conversation they had shared on Infinity Mountain. He had told her to challenge and change herself; that he would accept her feelings of unease; to express something with Angewomon. This festival was the perfect place for that and he knew it. This was a place he would be able to give her his all, so that meant she would have to do the same.

She grabbed for her digivice and pushed against him. The impending light blew him away and enveloped her and her partner. Her crest appeared at her feet as the light exploded outward. In Angewomon's place stood and even larger angel with ten golden wings. The angel's teal-green armor and golden javelin radiated in the setting sun light.

Silence rested onto the battlefield as everyone stared at the new Ultimate. She knew that if she was ever going to attack, now would be the time. The only oddity was that she hadn't missed it, even by a chance. As she watched her partner hurl the javelin at Daemon, she caught the look on his face; focused, yet unmoving. She had never seen him this off guard before.

That look of wonder was soon replaced with one of shared pain as Daemon was stuck with the attack. The large demon digimon was forced to the other side of the lake, splitting the water as he sped by. As the sound of the loud crash reached the audience's ears, a roar erupted from them. All cheered for the girl's triumph.

However, she couldn't savor her own victory, not yet. Not while he was still standing. This had been something she hand only seen in fiction, but the boy in front of her kept her on guard, even as unmoving as he was. Her diligence was rewarded with the appearance of his own crest. He wasn't done yet and neither was she.

She had seen his crest many times before, but this time it was clearly different. It wasn't its usual orange tint, and something else was forming around it. Triangles rested at the top half of the circle and a large shape rested beneath. She couldn't figure out what the symbol meant. Was it the sun rising over a mountain or a shooting star? No matter what it was, it was the last thing she saw before being blinded by a green light.


Everything hurt. She hadn't thought that light could explode the way it did. The only thing keeping her together was the fact that her head was resting on something soft. She slowly opened her eyes and rested them on her mother.

"Goodnight, Hikari," the mother greeted.

The girl looked around and noticed that the sun had set. Stars littered the sky and the moon was full and bright. She sat up and rubbed her still throbbing forehead. "I lost…" she sighed. She looked down and noticed that Plotmon was resting on her own lap.

"You really surprised me. I didn't know what to expect when this whole thing happened. You almost scared me to death when you collapsed."

Hikari averted her gaze, "sorry," was all she could say. She had mentioned learning to protect herself before, but had never gone into detail about it. She couldn't forget the shock on her mother's face when she said she'd be fighting too. "I guess I kind of put you off to the digital world, huh?"

"Well, I don't think I could take a vacation here…" her mother laughed, "but I think this is still an amazing place." She pulled her daughter's head back to her lap and gently messaged it.

"You don't hate it here?"

"I know you must think that I would hate this world to taking your brother from us, but…" She stopped short with a pensive look. She took a breath, "look, when you first came to us about this strange world with stranger monsters, it was a lot to take in. I found out where my son had died but I still didn't feel any different. I didn't feel any more anger or any less sadness. You on the other hand looked completely different to me. Your eyes sparkled with determination to go off to this unknown world and do… whatever it is you do here. That's why when Mr. Ishida brought up coming to this world, I jumped at the chance. I Thought that maybe coming here would change me as well."

"I never knew you could be so deep, mom," Hikari chuckled. "So, did something change?"

Mrs. Yagami released a soft laugh, "other than the way I look at my daughter, nothing's too different. I did however gain a better perspective on this world. It's very different from our own but it's mostly the same. It's full of creatures great and small, all with their own personalities and beliefs. As a whole, I shouldn't treat this world any differently than our own."

"Then what's changed about me?" Hikari stirred in her mother's lap a bit.

"Before coming here, you were a bit reserved," she brushed her hand through her daughter's hair. "It's not much but there's a bit more pep in your step and voice. Let's just say you're a bit more like your brother was."

A smile graced Hikari's lips.

The moon's reflected rays beamed down on the lake. The sight was beautiful if not odd, telephone poles withstanding. The lake's calm waters reflected a party that was dying down.

Mr. Ishida's cup tilted back just the slightest bit before giving his son a glance. "That sure was one heck of a sight," he congratulated. "I can't believe you two fought off that many monsters."

"I can't believe I'm still alive after that last attack," Takeru said from the ground. Tsukaimon was resting on his stomach as he stared up at the stars.

The father's laugh bellowed loudly though the night. It was only when he realized that he was the only one laughing that he spoke again, "hey, you laugh too or I'm really going to get worried." He heard his son release a chuckle of his own before he kept speaking, "But I was really rooting for the little Miss. She looked like she was really giving it her all."

"Yeah, well you can't win all of the time," he scratched behind his partner's ears. "Besides she's way stronger than I was after just a year. It's kind of annoying."

Mr. Ishida took another sip, "don't sound so petty. You didn't have a teacher, and I'd say she has the advantage of having a pretty good one if she came this far in just a year."

Takeru rocked side to side in the dirt, "I guess you're right," he grumbled.

"You're really letting it all out today. You normally joke around instead of actually talking to me, but with that girl around, you open right up. You know what they say about a good woman."

Sarcasm could almost be seen exiting Takeru's mouth in the form a grunt. "How drunk are you right now?"

"This stuff couldn't even put down Tsukaimon. How about you try some?" he wondered out loud. He watched Takeru sit up and look him in the eye. He filled the small saucer cup and stretched it out to his dubious son. He matched his son's cocked eyebrow as a form of challenge.

Takeru took the cup and stared down the clear liquid. He had no idea what his father was even drinking and it wasn't like smelling it would help. He did the only thing he could think of and took it all in one go. That's what movies had taught him.

Mr. Ishida tried to hold in his laughter at his son's many faces; shock, determination, a cracking resolve, and finally the decisive action. He completely lost his composure when the after taste hit the boy.

His chuckle covered his son's moans, "it seems you're still just a kid after all."

"That's it, I'm taking you home," Takeru got to his feet and staggered to the front of the lake. His body shuddered, not at the cool air but the bruises he had gained that day. The ensuing numbness and breezy air managed to calm him down though.

"Listen up!" he turned to the digimon. "As your continuing Demon Lord, I'd like to thank all of you for coming out and participating." He looked the crowed over with a smile, "I know that if anything would attack the digital world within the coming year, I can count on all of you to do your best to protect it." He was almost pushed back by the amount of cheers.

"I have something I want to say too!" Hikari shot up to the front of the lake, her face flushed. "I know I've only been with you all for only a short while, but this past year has meant a lot to me." She kept shifting her weight from side to side, "I want to thank you all for being there to help me adjust and to promise that I'll also be doing my best to protect your world." Cheers once again erupted from the vicinity.

Takeru didn't let the girl's louder applause get to him… much. He looked Hikari over and wondered how much stronger she could get. His gaze was about to return to his father until he noticed that something was off.

"Are you alright?" The blond cocked and eyebrow.

"Yes!" the brunette asserted. "I saw you take a drink and thought I'd have one too; just one."

He noticed that what looked like her shifting her weight was more likely wobbling. "Yep, definitely time go home." As he went to pull her along, he felt his center of gravity flip over. His back hit the watery shore of the lake with a loud splash.

"Not yet," the girl's face closely smiled over him. "You're way more tired than I am and if I beat you now, you might start to take me more seriously, and stop teasing me."

Not only was she holding a grudge from losing, she was still upset about earlier. Takeru stored the fact that Hikari was literally a brutally honest drunk in the back of his mind. As for now, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down into the water as well.

"Don't go getting cocky just because I'm a little winded," he reversed their positions, "and another thing…" He stopped as the girl turned her face away. He was just about to turn her head when he suddenly fell back into the shallow water.

Hikari dashed away as fast as she could. "Plotmon, mom, where going home, now!" she yelled. She raised her digivice and a portal appeared behind her mother and partner. She picked up her digimon and dragged her mom by hand to the opening in space.

"Wow, Hikari, I don't think I've ever seen your face so red," Plotmon gawked.

"It seems she's sobered up," Mrs. Yagami chuckled. Before she was dragged through the portal, she called out one last time, "Takeru, please continue looking after my daughter, no matter how embarrassed she gets."

Takeru picked himself up once more and watched the portal blink close. His glare looked as if it would force the portal back open. The feeling of Tsukaimon landing on his head brought him back to the lake. That wasn't the only surprise as his father suddenly wrapped his arm around him.

"It seems you still don't know how to deal with women," Mr. Ishida chuckled. He noticed his son doing his best to not pay him an attention. As he watched the boy opened a portal that would send them home, he let a few more words slip, "I could give you a few pointers if you want." His only reply was a shove and an irritated growl.


AN: So I guess this is my first time writing for Odaiba Day. I've had this story done for maybe half a year now while writing a bunch of other stuff. That being said, I'm glad I'm getting out though.

This is a continuation of Takeru's story from Crest Defined. In this universe, all of the other children died in the fight with Devimon and Takeru had to fend for himself. That being said, this story focuses on Hikari and her place in this world. She didn't have to fight off some giant evil so I thought about how someone would deal with the feelings of missing their call to duty.

Because Hikari had already interacted with the digital world for about a year, I let her mother carry the plot of coming to terms with what happen to the children. It let me write about the relationship she had with her daughter and writing for the parents was pretty interesting. The ever calm and collected Hiroak served as her foil.

I find Takeru's and Hikari's dynamic really interesting if you try to contrast them; especially if you contrast they ideals of responsibility and independence. Their lines are drawn so differently from each other and when you add in their experiences they would come to completely different interpretations. This still isn't where I get to explore that idea fully but I got to touch on that a bit this time.

As always, I'm grateful if you read this story in full or just gave it a passing glance. Please leave a comment if it moved you enough. I hope you enjoy the other one-shots that are to come.