A/N: Phew, I'm just full of empty promises aren't I. Here I was telling myself that I would update the next chapter for this story as soon as possible, and it took, what? Five months for me to finally upload this?

Well, I'm not going to keep you much longer. I'll give my apology at the end of this chapter, which I'm not particularly that proud of since I know it could've been longer and better.

Anyway, enjoy! :)

-"People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character"

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Chapter 1

Then…

"This is a stupid idea."

"I asked for your help, not your opinion old man."

"You want my help? Take my advice then. This is a suicidal idea."

The alley remained devoid of any light and life aside from the two figures who stood facing each other who couldn't be seen in the complete darkness that encompassed them.

Two men who could be presumed to be having a drug deal or planning a murder by any passerby who managed to see them by the way they stood suspiciously in the darkness of the alley and whispered amongst themselves. And, though they weren't talking about either of those things, that didn't mean that their conversation was not grim enough already without the mention of murder.

"If you have any other ideas I'm open to any suggestions," the voice belonged to the shorter of both man. A voice that sounded agitated and weary, but still filled with complete resolution. One that wouldn't be broken anytime soon.

The other man, the taller of the two, remained quiet and the shorter man took this as a hint.

"Didn't think so."

The taller man sighed, "Are you sure this is the only way?"

"Positive."

The taller man sighed in defeat, "Then I guess I can't stop you."

The shorter man shifted on his feet. "So, will you do it?"

"I don't want to," the taller man shifted as well and scratched the back of his neck, "but I'll do it. For you and your family. I owe you that much."

The shorter man seemed to brighten at that statement as his voice took a lighter tone, "Thank you."

"Your brother won't take this well though."

"Mitsu-chan?" the man spoke the name with fondness, "Oh, he doesn't know I'm doing this... and he never will," he said grimly.

"Minato-"

"It's for the best, Jiraiya-sensei," 'Minato' stopped him, "Doing so will only put him in grave danger. Hell, I'm already putting you and Baa-chan in danger."

"Wouldn't this be putting your son in danger as well then?" Jiraiya asked angrily.

A car passed by the street on Minato's side of the alley, lighting his features for just a few seconds, in which Jiraiya managed to catch a glimpse of familiar spiky blond hair and blue eyes as cold as their color.

"Not if they don't know that I have a son. Or that I have any association with you for that matter," his voice didn't sound all that convincing, and Jiraiya managed to catch a hint of fear in it.

"So that includes not letting the boy know who his parents are?"

Minato stayed silent.

"Do you realize what this will do to him in the future?" his anger was growing more and more, not believing the decision this man has decided to take.

"It's for the best," was his only, cold, answer.

"Yes, that's what you've been saying these past few months," Jiraiya muttered. "And look where that got us."

"Here." Minato ignored the jab and instead held out a small black USB towards Jiraiya, who stared at it for seconds before hesitantly taking it.

"Everything you need to know about it is in there, as well as some other vital information. Do not let ANYBODY see it." he warned, "Hide it so well not even you will be able to find it. And use it ONLY when the time is right." With those words, Minato turned away from Jiraiya and his almost silent steps echoed throughout the alley as he walked away.

"So, this is it?" Jiraiya's voice was shaky and nearly broke at the end of his question, making him mentally curse at himself for his display of weakness.

Minato stopped. And for a long time the only sound in the alley was that of rats scurrying around the trashcans and car horns in the distance of the few people driving around the city.

Jiraiya stared at his figure for a long time. There were so many things he wanted to yell at Minato for. Like how he was being so reckless and how he was cursing his own son to a life without either of his parents and ruining his family's life. All because of a project. That stupid project that he had warned Minato about, that he should never have been a part of. Now, because of a bunch of fools' recklessness, he was going to lose the man and woman he had considered as his children.

Slowly, Minato's head turned to give him one final look. Another car passed by, lighting up Minato's features once again to reveal a small smile gracing his lips and a look in his eyes that Jiraiya couldn't quite place.

"Good-bye, Sensei."

And that was the last Jiraiya ever saw of the man. At that moment, Jiraiya made a decision. He would destroy what destroyed his world. What destroyed his Godson's world not even hours after he had been brought into this world by his own Godmother. He made a promise that he will never let his Godson know of the world that took away his family.

And dammit, he was gonna keep it. Jiraiya was a man of his word after all. And he made sure he never went back on it.

Eight Years Later...

"Takato-nii?"

Takato Matsuki froze. His stomach twisting painfully.

It had been an accident.

One cause by his own carelessness when he refused to pay attention to his gut that had been telling him to turn around and stop.

Maybe if he had listened to it, this whole situation could've been avoided. And it wouldn't turn into this whole mess that had Takato's brain haywiring and trying to come up with some good enough excuse that could explain this situation and make the kid remain silent about what he saw.

But, he knew it was useless. No matter what he did or said, the damage had been done and he was going to have to learn to deal with it.

"Takato-nii."

He flinched when the small voice spoke his name once again, with utter disbelief and awe clearly in his tone.

"Is that a... Digimon?"

Takato could've sworn he saw the kid's eyes sparkle as he stared at the red Digimon hiding behind its tamer, who in turn was staring curiously at the young child Takato was supposed to be taking care of this afternoon.

"Uh... uh... maybe...?"

And that was the day Takato screwed up so royally it caused a chain of events to unravel that would forever haunt him in the future. Something that could have been avoided if he had bothered to check that Naruto Uzumaki had stayed in his house like he had told him to during his babysitting shift while he ran to quickly check on Guilmon after Henry's frantic call.

And that was also the day Naruto Uzumaki was introduced to the real world of Digimon

Now...

It was a nice night. There were no clouds in the sight and only a slight wind made its presence known, ruffling the trees' leaves and cooling all those who were still outside going about their business.

And the park, usually so full of life with parents and their hyperactive children, was quiet and still with only a few streetlights to light up the darkness, creating looming shadows from the trees that filled it.

And sitting on one of the park's many benches, were a couple. A sight that was very common at this time.

The creature's eyes were set on them as he hid beneath the bushes right behind the bench the couple were occupying. He listened with disgust and gagged silently, sickened by their lovey-dovey words and lame attempts to flirt with each other. Despite not being human, he was well aware of what these two humans were talking about and just couldn't wait to ruin their fun as well as the rest of their night.

"And a fire would be nice," the woman spoke suggestively. The creature's ears perked up and a mischievous smile grazed his features.

"Uh huh," the man nodded shyly.

"And a comfy couch." The creature leaned in closer to the couple, tense with anticipation as his opportunity approached even closer.

"Uh huh."

"With me?"

The man scratched his blushed cheek shyly, "Uh huh."

And the creature pounced.

"A fire? Allow me!"

The creature revels in the shock decorating the couple's faces as he lights a fire on his finger between them and blazes it up, slightly singing their hair. He cracks up laughing when the couple, who had been making him sick with their presence ever since they entered the park, ran away in fright from the creature.

Impmon came out of his hiding spot and wrapped his arms around his middle as he continued to laugh hysterically, causing violent spasms to shake his whole body in delight.

"Aaaaahhh, that was a good one." He wiped a tear from his eye and sighed in satisfaction, a small smirk on his childish features.

That had been one of the best laughs he's had in the whole week. Which had been rather chaotic.

One week. It had been one whole week of hiding during the day and avoiding the annoying squeaky voice that kept calling his name around the city these last seven days.

For one week he has been coming out of hiding at night and having fun with torturing whatever poor soul(s) entered his domain, because he could no longer make his presence known during the day as often as he'd like.

Not since that monster began to hunt him down with false promises of 'partnerships' and 'Digivolutions' and 'friendship'.

Impmon shuddered when that last word entered his mind, wiping the grin completely off of his face.

For one week he had been running away from the blonde brat who went by the name of 'Naruto Uzumaki' and who was hell bent on his promise of making Impmon his Digimon partner.

Impmon scoffed. That of course will never happen. As if he was ever going to let himself become a human's pet. He was well enough on his own and he intended to keep it that way. No way did he need a partner to become stronger, especially a stupid blonde kid barely old enough to wipe his own ass.

And he had let that kid know through various ways during this ridiculous game of cat and mouse.

There was the attack of the bees and paintballs and the many, many fireballs Impmon had thrown the kid's way. And he swore the kid's closet was just filled with the same orange jacket because every time Impmon burned one, another one would show up by the next day.

Still. Despite all of Impmon's counterstrikes (some of which had actually injured the blond, albeit slightly) the kid would not give up. In fact, Impmon was adamant to admit that the kid had only become more determined after each attack.

And then the kid started striking back.

The kid was smart. He had created a couple of traps of his own that had surprised Impmon and nearly either incapacitated or captured him.

There was the hidden hole in the park and the classic leg-rope trap and so many more that had, admittedly, impressed the Digimon. Still, it was not enough to convince him to join the brat and never will be.

So he hid and ran and attacked but he never once confronted the blond again to share more than a few taunts and angry 'Heys!'. There was no way that was happening again. No way was he going to let that kid try to infatuate him with the ideas of having a partner and growing stronger with someone by his side. That just sickened him.

And yet, there were those days where Impmon would stare at the blond kid from afar, watching as he searched high and low and called out his name until either his throat got hoarse or nighttime arrived.

He had seen him a couple of times hanging out with that Takato kid and his Digimon pet, Guilmon, at the park. Playing together as Takato stood from a few feet away watching them and laughing and sometimes even joined by Terriermon and his partner.

And as Impmon watched him play hid-and-seek with what he saw as pathetic excuses for Digimon and their 'partners', he found himself feeling a painful tug at his heart and a desire that he had buried long ago and ignored since the incident with the siblings.

He would simply stare at the kid interacting and playing with the Digimon for hours until they grew tired and went home. And every time he did so, the longing grew more intense and almost unbearable to the point that he grew angry and hateful towards himself for feeling these emotions he so refused to acknowledge.

At one point, he had imagined himself as Naruto's partner. What they would be like, the fun they'd had, the Digimon they'd beat, the-

He shook his head furiously to clear his head of those thoughts. "What the hell is wrong with you Impmon?" he muttered to himself angrily.

Nope, nope, nopenopenopenope. Nope. He was not going there. He was not going to drift into those dangerous thoughts.

Impmon was fine on his own. He was already strong without anyone's help and no way was he going to become somebody's pet.

He had to distract himself.

And when he saw the path that led to the hiding place Guilmon had been caged in like a dog, he smirked. He just found the perfect distraction.

At the hideout, a determined Guilmon could be seen grunting and panting as he continued to dig into the hole he had already dug up and buried many times before in since Takato found him this place for himself.

Finally, after just a few seconds of hard work, Guilmon found the treasure he had furiously been looking for since his body began to signal him for it.

"Found you!" he exclaimed victoriously as he grabbed the basket of bread Takato had brought him earlier in the day.

He smiled and eagerly dug into the bread all at once, causing one of them to fall to the ground and roll towards the fence.

"Oh no!" he cried out as he ran towards the rolling loaf of bread.

He smiled when it stopped right next to the fence, and reached out with his claws to grab it.

Only for a red-gloved hand to grasp it before he could get it himself.

Guilmon blinked in surprise and looked up to see Impmon casually eating the piece of bread.

"It's a little dry," he comments and motions a hand towards Guilmon who simply stares at it curiously.

"Well? Come on give me some more you big red lump," he orders, motioning with his hands for Guilmon to hand him more of the bread.

Guilmon blinks, "Okay." He puts another loaf of bread in Impmon's hand and the smaller Digimon eats it.

"You must really like that bread," Guilmon comments.

Impmon glares at him, "What makes you say that?" He holds out his hand, "More."

Guilmon hands him another.

"More."

And another.

"More."

"Okay."

Guilmon watches with a careful expression as Impmon continues to eat his bread. "Um, do you think you could leave a little for me?" he pleads, "Takato won't be back until tomorrow, so…"

Impmon scoffs "Do you even hear how stupid you sound?"

He grabs another piece of bread from Guilmon's basket and jumps up on the gate to sit on it, his usual smile on his face as he continues to bite onto Guilmon's meal.

"You Digi-pets are all the same," he sneers, "Takato this. Takato that. Sheesh It's like you can barely function without your human."

He occasionally eats between the rude comments, pleased at the confused expression on the red Digimon's face.

"You're living in a cage my lumpy friend. Are you really happy being locked up like an animal in the petting zoo?" he tilts his head to look back at Guilmon who was blinking curiously at the purple Digimon. "Guess you are. You are pretty simple."

Guilmon tilts his head and nods with a smile, "Uh huh. Course I am. Takato's my friend."

'Come on Impmon! Let's be friends!'

Impmon chokes on the bread and drops the remainder of it to the ground, cursing his traitorous mind that had produced that same annoying voice he's been desperately trying to avoid the past week, even using the same words said voice had yelled out soon after the chase began.

"What did you say?" he growls, "Takato's your… friend?" he spouted the word with such disgust one might think he's talking about the filthiest of things. "How wrong you are you big idiot. Friends don't lock friends in cages."

Impmon brusquely jumps away from the cage and lands on the steps, turning just to glare at the confused Digimon who simply stares back at him with those innocent eyes that make Impmon angry at how ignorant this Digimon could be.

"Now look what you've done. You made me sick to my stomach. I think I'll have to go somewhere and puke my guts out," and with that, Impmon turns back around and stomps away with his arms behind his head.

He glares at the ground beneath him as he gets further away from Guilmon's hideout. He scoffs once again as the word 'friend' once again enters his mind in that annoying voice he hates with all his being.

"Friend. Yeah, right," he comments angrily, "What an idiot."

Well, so much for that distraction.

Meanwhile, Guilmon watches Impmon's retreating form as he eats the last piece of bread Impmon left him, contemplating.

Iruka-sensei was a good teacher. No, scratch that. He was a great teacher. Or so many of his colleagues and students from previous and present years have told him.

And indeed he did his best to create the best environment possible for his students as well as provide the greatest teaching methods to help each one.

As a 3rd grade teacher, he was responsible for making learning fun for students who are still so full of energy and get distracted easily. And he happily accepted this responsibility and ran with it the best he could, making each year and each new class be ready for their next year and future.

And of course, he's had many students in his career who have created an impact on him before moving on to, what was surely, a greater future. Such as Henry Wong whom Iruka saw as one of the brightest students this school has ever had the pleasure of having.

But out of all those students, none of them have left a lasting impression such as the one Naruto Uzumaki has.

Now, you might be thinking, what is it that has made this kid leave such an impact on Iruka that percedes all others? Is it his smarts? His enthusiasm for learning? The red apple he brought to class for Iruka on his first day?

The answer is, none of the above. Though the red apple did leave Iruka in a shocked stupor after it exploded in the middle of class, covering the room in purple specks that took weeks on end to finally clean out and for the horrible smell it had produced to disappear.

So no, it's not the fact that Naruto is actually a brilliant kid. It's because he always manages to always bring all the attention to himself through stunts like this.

Iruka had heard the warnings, he just hadn't paid as much attention to them as he should've. Warnings of a blond kid who loved to mess around with his teachers and give them hell.

At first he had ignored the teachers who had had more experience with the kid than him, with the thought that there was no way a kid no older than seven years old could cause such mayhem.

And then, the new year came and Naruto Uzumaki found himself in Iruka's third grade class. Bringing a red apple that he set on Iruka's desk with a bright smile before sitting in his seat as straight as possible with his books set out in front of him.

And for the first few minutes of class, Iruka let himself feel some relief that none of the rumors were true but rather the illusions of a couple of paranoid teachers. Thinking that maybe, this kid wouldn't be so bad. He should've seen the signs when he noticed the way the other kids seemed utterly terrified and hesitant to enter the class when they saw Naruto inside, and the way they sat as far away from him as possible.

It wasn't until the apple exploded just a few minutes after class started, unleashing a torrent of purple paint that struck each and every student and himself and releasing a horrible smell that nearly made Iruka puke his guts out, that Iruka realized he might've just signed his own death sentence when he refused the other teacher's advice to transfer Naruto to another class.

And as he stared at the blond who was laughing hysterically from his seat, his classmates groaning in a fashion that made it seem like this was a regular occurrence, Iruka decided that Naruto was his executioner and tormentor.

A couple of months after that, things have not exactly changed.

Iruka's eyebrow twitched in irritation as he stared at the glass container that held pictures of various teachers and administrators who were currently employed and teaching in the school.

Apparently, somebody (and he knew who that was) had decided that it would be a funny idea to paint into each one of the faces with doodles and quotes such as 'stupid' written on each frame.

Including his.

His picture had been painted to resemble a sad clown, with white, red, and blue paint adorning his features and a small tear falling down his right cheek. And on top of his head, the word 'fool' was written in crudely dark letters. A handwriting Iruka was already familiar with since he's seen it every day in his class for the past semester.

The man next to him sighed as he stared at his own picture, the biggest one out of all with the title 'Principle Hiruzen Sarutobi' written right underneath in bold dark letters. Except, instead of holding the familiar wrinkled man with white hair and serious expression, it held a man wearing the most ridiculous Mexican outfit Iruka had ever seen, with a mustache and sombrero all included.

"What am I going to do with that kid?" the old man muttered, weariness attached to his tone.

Iruka sighed as well, pinching the bridge of his scarred nose, "There's nothing else to do. We've already done everything from giving him detention to calling his guardians to a meeting."

"I swear that Jiraiya is too soft on the boy," commented Sarutobi as he took a drag from his pipe. According to the rules and policies of his school, nobody could smoke in the building. Nobody except him, but only in his and his secretary's office, which is where they were both staring at the vandalized pictures.

"There's always suspension." Iruka smiled at the comment made by the silver haired man that had entered the room, who stared at the pictures with an amused expression.

His name was Mizuki. A teacher who had been Iruka's friend since he started working here four years ago. Mizuki was the one who first approached him on his very first day and the two hit it off real quick. They ate lunch together and traded teaching techniques. But, while Iruka was a third grade teacher, Mizuki was a fourth grade teacher who already dreaded the thought of having Naruto Uzumaki in his class next year.

"Already tried that Mizuki, remember?"

And indeed they had. But, apparently, suspension just meant more time for pranks for the blond and before the three day suspension ended, each teacher had ended up with chairs missing screws, a coffee machine that served… something gross, and missing equipment that had ended up in the trashcans.

"Well, there's nothing to be done except give that kid a good yell, some detention starting tomorrow, and another call to his house," Sarutobi said, "Though this time I hope it's Tsunade who answers," he muttered the last part.

"Then there's the park incidents that people have been complaining about," said Mizuki.

"You think that could be Naruto?" asked a curious Sarutobi.

Iruka pondered. "I don't know. Seems a bit too extreme even for him considering how they've been saying that, whoever it is, is using fire."

"He's used fire before," commented Mizuki who shuddered at the thought of what had happened last time Naruto had gotten hold of a firecracker.

"Yes, but not to harm people," Sarutobi commented.

Iruka sighed, "I swear that kid is going to be the death of me."

Mizuki laughed heartily and slapped Iruka's back, making him stumble slightly.

"Well, I told you to exchange him with one of Anko-san's students, but you didn't listen to me, Iruka."

Iruka smiled, "Oi, oi, the kid might be a handful, but no way am I putting him in Anko's torture chamber that she calls a class."

The three teachers shared a laugh.

"I''ll get a janitor to clean this up during class time," grunted Sarutobi as he turned to walk into his office, "you guys should get going to your places. We have a long day ahead of us."

The teachers nodded in agreement.

'Yes we do,' thought Iruka as he walked to his own class.

Young Naruto Uzumaki smiled sheepishly as his teacher glared at him from where he was standing, towering over the small blonde.

"H-hello, Iruka-sensei," he greeted shakily.

Iruka continued to glare at him, making Naruto swallow. The other classmates were either snickering or groaning at Naruto's usual habits which had already become a routine for them.

"You're late," Iruka finally said. "Again," he added.

Naruto shrugged. "Well, I got lost in the Road of Life."

The students chuckled slightly. Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in agitation. "That's it, I'm gonna have to find you a different math tutor. Kakashi-sensei is becoming a bad influence."

In a fifth grade classroom, a silver-haired man wearing a white mask and black eyepatch, sneezed, causing his students to reply with a loud 'bless you.'

"Sit down in your seat," Iruka pointed to the chair at the far corner, next to a young girl with dark purple eyes and hair in ponytails who was waving at Naruto cheerily.

"Hi, Naruto!" she called out cheerfully.

"Hey, Suzie!" Naruto lifted his hand in greeting.

"And don't leave when the bell rings!" Iruka calls out as Naruto goes up to sit in his seat. "You and I are going to have a long chat."

The other students 'ooohhhh'ed.

"Well, there's no surprise there," commented a blond haired girl who went by the name of Ino Yamanake. Her pink haired friend, Sakura Haruno whom Naruto has had a crush on since she transferred to the school in first grade, nodded in agreement, scowling at the blond who waved at her with a goofy smile as he passed by.

"Seriously Naruto? What did you do this time?" asked a brown haired kid, wearing a grey jacket with a black fur covered hoodie.

Naruto shrugged, "What can I say, Kiba? I'm pretty popular."

"Yeah, right," commented a raven haired boy with black eyes staring straight ahead, leaning his head against his hands. "Dobe."

Naruto froze and glared at the boy, who met his gaze with just as much intensity. "What did you say, Teme?!"

"Sasuke! Naruto! Don't start again!" yelled Iruka, "Especially so early in the morning." He muttered

Both boys scoffed and sat in their seats.

"So what did you do this time?" whispered Suzie as Naruto sat down in his seat.

Naruto smirked in delight, "Pass by the secretary's office during recess and see for yourself."

Both kids giggled only to be silenced by their teacher's loud voice.

"Alright class, for today we're going to…."

Naruto sighed as class started, initiating another boring day that he couldn't wait to end. He rested his head over his arms, wishing that it would be over as soon as it started so he could continue his search for the purple Digimon he had already declared as his partner.

When Naruto discovered Guilmon after following Takato to the park where the red Digimon had been hiding, he had become obsessed with finding a Digimon partner of his own. So he had searched high and low around town, looking for any stray Digimon that he could call his own partner. And then, he met Henry and Terriermon and that desire grew.

Finally, after three days of searching, Naruto had found Impmon resting on top of a tree. He remembered seeing the Digimon in one of the cards Takato used to play with him before Jiraiya prohibited him from bringing to their house, and Naruto had found him perfect. Impmon didn't have a partner of his own and he looked strong.

But, when Impmon first rejected his request to join him, Naruto had felt disappointed. Yet, he didn't let that bring him down. He promised to himself that he would do whatever it took to make Impmon his partner, and Naruto was not one to break such promises. So for one week, he had spent most of his time searching and chasing Impmon, placing traps and being at the receiving end of Impmon's own throughout their chase.

It had been one week and Naruto was far from giving up. He was going to make Impmon his Digimon partner whether he liked it or not.

"Naruto!"

Naruto was rudely snapped back to attention when a board eraser hit him square in the face, making him fall back from his seat from the force behind it, courtesy of his very angry teacher.

"Pay attention!"

Meanwhile, Ms. Asaji was attending to her own fifth grade classroom.

"Alright class, there have been various complaints of a child playing in Shinjuku Park after dark," said Ms. Asaji.

The rest of the students gasped and Takato found himself nearly falling off of his seat.

"I don't think I need to remind you, but just in case, no wandering around after dark, ok?"

The rest of the students nodded and murmured among themselves about the possibilities on who this miscreant could be. All except Takato, who was pretty sure he already knew who it was.

'Naruto, what have you done this time?' he thought bitterly.

The bell rang and hundreds of excited kids crowded against the door to meet their parents and finally go back home to watch TV or play video games.

Takato stood outside Iruka's class room with his arms crossed and an irritated expression adorning his face, waiting for his charge to finally finish talking to Iruka, the man who had also been his own third grade teacher two years ago. The man looked quite agitated, noticed Takato as he stood outside the door, watching as Naruto smiled sheepishly. This had become a common sight that Takato had grown accustomed to since school started and Naruto made Iruka's own life a living hell, causing him to have late detentions in which Takato found himself waiting one hour outside of Iruka's class waiting for Naruto to finish his punishment for yet, another one of his pranks.

Even though he couldn't hear what they were talking about, Takato knew it had to do with Naruto's latest pranks some of the students had been raving about during lunch. Something that had to do with the teachers' pictures and paint.

But, that wasn't what Takato was angry about. Oh, no, he was seriously pissed off a different of Naruto's pranks.

Takato's frown deepened when an agitated Iruka finally released Naruto, who made his way to the older boy.

"Hey, Takato-nii!"

Naruto greeted the brunette with his usual fox grin. But, Takato simply continued to frown in Naruto's direction, unfazed by younger boy's familiar cheerful expression, and withholding the angry posture he had perfected since he started babysitting the troublemaker that is Naruto Uzumaki.

When Takato first started babysitting the kid almost a year ago, he obviously hadn't respected Takato's authority. Especially since he was more of a meek boy back then when he tried to put Naruto to sleep or get him to do his homework.

The hyperactive child had been a huge handful to the point Takato was convinced he might grow grey hairs pretty soon.

It wasn't until Takato finally grew tired of Naruto's antics that he finally put his foot down and made his authority over the young boy known. And he did so through what he called his "power pose" which would garner Naruto's full attention and respect and sometimes even fear. After all, Takato found a way to punish Naruto that wasn't to the extreme but still made Naruto calm down. All it involved was taking his favorite food away, ramen, and giving him something different that he knew Naruto would hate during dinner.

Naruto, recognizing the now awfully familiar pose, stopped smiling and fidgeted on his feet. "Um, what's up?" He asked.

Takato took a deep breathe. "What have I told you about sneaking out at night to mess with people?"

"Eeehhhh?!" Naruto looked shocked and took a step back from his caretaker.

"Don't act dumb. I heard that you were out messing around with couples in the park after dark. Now, didn't we make it clear that you shouldn't sneak out during the night? It's dangerous out there, Naruto!" Sneaking out at night had become a custom of Naruto's when he had been younger. He would sneak out at night and get pranks ready for the morning, risking a couple of hours of sleep that Naruto had found to be worth it.

Takato and his guardians had warned him of the dangers such reckless acts could produce. But, Naruto hadn't listened until he finally saw for himself exactly how dangerous it could be.

"I-it wasn't me, Takato-nii!" he stuttered.

"Uh huh," Takato replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes, "then who was it then?"

"I don't know!" Naruto threw his arms up in the air, "But it wasn't me! I don't sneak out at night anymore!"

And indeed he hadn't. Not since that old burglar nearly killed him outside a 24-hour grocery store he was stealing from. The man had been looking for a hostage to keep the police off of his back, and found the seven-year old to be the perfect shield.

Thankfully, the man was caught and Naruto came back home uninjured, with the vow that he would no longer sneak out at night and instead, wake up just before sunrise so he could prepare his pranks for the day.

Due to lack of time, his pranks weren't as elaborate as before, but still effective, nonetheless.

"Naruto, I swear if this is really you-"

"Did you hear? Turns out the kid messing with people at the park is some sort of pyromaniac!"

Takato stopped. His eyes widened as they turned to look at the boys casually passing by without sparing the two of them a glance.

"Yeah! I heard a lady nearly had her face burned off when the kid put the fire too close!" the other kid mentioned.

"Dude that's sick!"

Both boys disappeared as they turned the corner, their eager voices fading away the further they got.

Takato stood shock still as any suspicion he had on Naruto faded away. Because, yes, Naruto could be a huge prankster and loved messing with people, but not even he would use anything harmful to his victims, such as fire… well, except for that one time. But even then, nobody had been injured when that firework went off.

"Takato-nii?"

Takato snapped back to reality and looked down at the blue eyes that now held slight concern and even fear, something that wasn't normally seen in the usually happy-go-lucky blond.

Takato sighed. "Come on, Naruto."

'Guilmon, what have you gotten us into this time?'

"You think it was Guilmon?"

Takato was standing outside of the school building under a tree with Naruto by his side, who was unusually quiet and serious. But, since Takato was far too concerned with his own problems, he didn't question what would be considered, unusual behavior from the blond.

They both had caught up with Henry and Terriermon outside where Takato began to explain everything to him.

"I don't know Takato. The reports say that it was most likely a child, and Guilmon doesn't look like a child."

Takato smirked slightly, "I know. Can you imagine him with a backpack?"

Takato's mind imagined Guilmon wearing a little green backpack, ready for school and ready to learn.

Henry smirked as well as the image entered his own mind, "Filled with food?"

They both cracked up laughing. Still, Naruto, who would usually be joining them in their joking, stood off to the side, seemingly pondering over something as he stared off into the distance with a thoughtful look.

"Wise up guys," Terriermon suddenly popped out, hanging from the tree's branches by his ears, surprising the other two boys. "They just think it's a kid cause it's too small to be an adult."

"Hey, did we ask you?" Henry asked irritated.

Terriermon stayed quiet.

"I didn't think so," he turned his attention once again to Takato, "Anyway, I heard the principle telling the teachers to start patrolling the park at night to check it out."

Takato gasped, "But that means they'll catch him!"

He imagined the many scenarios that could possibly occur if a teacher caught Guilmon out at night. There were so many things that could happen that Takato feared to even think about, and he shuddered as the words such as autopsy crossed his mind before a small, yet firm voice interrupted his thoughts.

"It's not Guilmon."

Both boys froze and turned to Naruto, who still wore that pensive look on his face that quite honestly scared both boys slightly. Because if there's one thing that they knew from knowing young Naruto, it was that that look didn't fit him well without the mischievous glint added to it.

Henry cleared his throat, "We're not saying it is, Naruto, but-"

"Gotta go!" Naruto suddenly spoke before grabbing his backpack which had been leaning against the tree and running off towards the school's exit, "See you tomorrow!"

"Wait! I promised Tsunade-san I'd walk… you… home," Takato slumped when Naruto disappeared in the distance. Running straight to who-knows-where but Takato knew it wasn't home.

"Well, he sounded pretty convinced it wasn't Guilmon," Henry commented as he looked at the direction the young blond took off in.

"Yeah, but if it wasn't Guilmon then who was it?" Takato sighed and slumped back against the tree, staring at the ground with concern-filled eyes.

"I agree with Naruto, though," Terriermon chipped in, "No offense but Guilmon isn't so bright."

"Again, did we ask you?"

Terriermon stayed quiet once again.

"Exactly."

"Well, guess I'll have to see for myself," Takato pushed against the tree and stood straight, a determined look now on his face.

Henry blinked at the brunette who's gears seemed to be turning in his head, coming up with something Henry knew was not going to be good.

"You're going to stay up the whole night spying on Guilmon, aren't you?" Henry asked, already knowing the answer to said question.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Takato asked.

Henry gave it some thought. "Well, no," he said, "but, what are you going to do about your parents? Obviously they're not going to let you stay at the park all night waiting for the culprit to show."

Takato smirked, "Don't worry. Ever since I started taking care of Naruto, I managed to pick up a few tricks of his."

Takato and Terriermon looked at each other and turned back to Takato, who seemed to be too distracted to notice their concern looks.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Terriermon commented.

His partner nodded in agreement, "You said it."

He wasn't always such a cold man.

There had been a time when Mitsuo Yamaki could've been described as a young man who always wore a vibrant smile on his face and lit up the world with his bright blue eyes that held that special spark. He always had this skip to his step that would put even strangers in a good mood.

Nobody knows exactly when all of that began to fade away, but they did go quite a few years back to find out.

Even at a young age, Mitsuo Yamaki had been considered a computer genius. Able to create and access programs that would be difficult even for an adult when he was only fifteen years of age. He held just as much promise as his older half-brother, a genius in his own right, if not more so.

And when his older half-brother managed to get him an internship at Hypnos (something which was only granted to a few people) at the age of 18 he had decided, as he stared at all the advance technology and valuable research, that working at Hypnos was where he saw himself in the future.

So, after he graduated top of his class, he continued to study at college and finally, got a job at Hypnos under his brother's department, rising up to the rank of Chief Operator in the span of two years.

And those two years he had happily and diligently worked the best he could, reveling in his brother's proud glances every time he did something right.

And it was the night right after his brother was declared leader of Hypnos that everything went downhill.

His brother disappeared.

Eight years ago, right after achieving the title Mitsuo hoped to achieve one day, he vanished along with his wife. Leaving nothing but a newborn behind in Jiraiya's hands, the man who had looked out after them since before they could remember.

There was no explanation, no sign of struggle in his home or office. It's like they both never existed.

And that seriously pissed Mitsuo off.

His half-brother, the only family he had since he was nine years old when their mother died and his father as well, had disappeared without a trace.

At first, The cops had suspected kidnapping. But, over time, that seemed less likely and the case was closed when they decided that it was not worth looking for a couple that most likely left on their own accord.

But, Mitsuo knew better. Ever since he started working for Hypnos where he discovered the world of Digital Monsters, he had acquired knowledge that only a select few in Japan had access to.

He knew his brother's disappearance had nothing to do with the mundane world. Knew that there was more to it than that.

So for eight years, he lost himself in his work and everybody noticed as his demeanor began to change. His smile turned into a firm line, his once bright blue eyes were covered by shades he wore 24/7, and his once relaxed posture turned stiff along with the expensive suits he began to wear. He even ended up developing a smoking habit he was sure would leave him with crappy lungs. And All the while, he ignored Jiraiya's pleas of stopping his work and research and focusing instead on living the life his brother would have wanted for him.

But, in his desperation and desire to have his brother back, Mitsuo had pushed the man—who had been more like a father than anything for the past 23 years—away until said man gave up on convincing Mitsuo to focus on the only family he had left. The one Minato left behind.

Because, Mitsuo couldn't bring himself to look at the legacy his older brother left behind. Couldn't stare at that awfully blond and spiky hair and blue eyes that reminded him so much of the man who left him alone, lost and confused and hurting, searching desperately for the only person who had been a constant in his life.

Couldn't bring himself to face the boy he had let down by not finding his father and mother and bringing them back home where they belonged. He just dreaded the idea of facing the boy he had left to grow alone with a pervert and a drunk.

So, Mitsuo avoided said boy for the past eight years. Leaving only small birthday and Christmas gifts every year, without any note to mention who they're from.

Because his brother's son didn't have to know of the huge failure his uncle was. And Mitsuo would make sure of that.

"Sir, sensors indicate another digital anomaly."

Mitsuo continued to fidget with the lighter, opening and closing it, while he stared at the screen that surrounded the entire room with shaded eyes, focusing on the small red dot that continued to move around quickly.

"Let me guess," he spoke with a rough voice "Another Wild One? Put a tracer on it, Riley."

"It won't lock. It's getting away from me."

Mitsuo cursed and closed the lid of his lighter once again.

'It's time for a more global approach.'

So, yes, Mitsuo Yamaki focused on his work and his search for his older brother. Because whatever took his brother away had nothing to do with the mundane, but with the digital world that foolish inventors had created.

And he wouldn't give up until he found his brother, the man he had looked up to his whole life, and his wife.

Even if it meant destroying the very things Minato worked so hard on to achieve.

Chapter End

A/N: Well, it's not as long as I'd hope for it to be but hey, at least I updated.

I am soooooooooooooooo very SORRY for not updating in months. Bunch of things were going on and I barely had the time to write. But, if you're still reading this story then I'd like to thank you for bearing with me.

I will most likely post the next chapter in two weeks tops because I have to continue working on my chapter for my other story 'Arc of Fairies' that I have also put on hold for a long time.

Before I go though, I'd like to thank my wonderful friend and beta mellra for helping me throughout these months with this story. I couldn't have done it without them giving me the push I needed to keep writing.

Also, mellra helped me discover the solution to the little problem I had about Impmon already having two tamers in the series. Apparently, the siblings didn't have their digivice until later towards the end of the show. So, there's the solution to the problem.

And, don't worry about Impmon's digivolution line. I already have one planned. :)

Anyway, I hope to see you guys again real soon and remember:

PLEASE REVIEW! They motivate me to keep writing.