A/N: I apologize for the long wait. I actually had this chapter finished back in March a couple of days after I had posted the first chapter, but I didn't like what I had written and ended up writing the whole chapter again. I should have had this posted sooner, but I've been busy with exams and papers as well as meetings with my advisor to change my major that it's been kind of hard for me to find the time to write. I'm kind of sad that I won't be able to post another chapter on the anniversary when I first posted Lost Data, but I have to focus on finals during that week. I won't be posting another chapter until sometime in the middle of May. Again, I apologize for the long wait, but college comes first for me. I'm shifting into maximum overdrive and trying to pass these last few tests before I can finally rest. Oh and before I forget, I know it looks like I'm now just copying from the anime, but this fic is going to diverge from it. I just didn't feel like changing how Yuujin got his Appli Drive.

Oragonking: I remember, so no worries.

trashyistrash: Yep, poor Haru. More feels will be on the way for these next few chapters. And aww, no problem! As always, thank you for reading!

Chapter 2

Haru tried to listen the moment Eri began explaining what happened to her, but he quickly realized his heart wasn't into it.

His lack of focus didn't go unnoticed by Eri and Astra, who had arrived a few moments after Haru. They both stared at him with concern throughout Eri's explanation, noticing how downcasted his gaze was. His eyes, which were always bright blue, was now a tad bit darker with dark spots underneath them. It was obvious that Haru was not in the best condition to go find an Appmon. Even though Haru had insisted he was fine, his appearance said otherwise.

"Hey Haru, are you sure you want to do this?" Astra decided to ask after Eri had finally stopped explaining what was happening to her Appter account. "You were with Yuujin earlier right? Eri and I can handle this."

Haru blinked, looking away from Gatchmon and Onmon, who were both talking to Musimon and Dokamon, and looked up at Astra and Eri with a slightly dazed gaze.

"I'm sorry, Astra-kun, what did you say?"

Eri sighed and marched forward to Haru, allowing her eyes to narrow at Haru as if he was a child in need of scolding. She crossed her arms as her gaze remained transfixed on Haru, frowning when he simply blinked at her in confusion.

"Eri-san?" He asked slowly, wondering why she had suddenly walked forward to him.

"Haru, how much sleep did you get last night?"

Haru flinched at her question but did not reply. Deciding that his silence was all she needed to know, Eri took a step back and looked over to Gatchmon and Onmon, shooting a glare at them. Both of them gulped nervously at her sharp gaze, knowing that whatever was going to come next was probably not going to be good for the both of them.

"Gatchmon, Onmon, have you two not been taking care of Haru?" She questioned with clear disapproval in her voice that was enough to send shivers in both Gatchmon and Onmon backs.

"Eri-san," Haru interrupted before Eri could say more. "They have, so please don't get mad at them. I've…"

He paused and looked away, not knowing if he should say what been keeping him awake at night in fear. It wasn't that he didn't trust his friends to confide in them what he was experiencing, but he didn't want them to worry about them. They had already enough things to worry about with Leviathan He didn't want to add himself to their list of worries. Not when they all still had a job to do.

"It's just been hard to get used to finally being home…." Haru said instead, looking back at Eri. He felt himself flinch when he noticed how locked her gaze was on him with an intensity that tightened his chest. She knew he was lying.

"Haru," Eri said, her voice stern, but soft. "There has to be more than that. I should have asked this as soon as we came back from the Deep Web, but Haru, what exactly happened to you before we found you? We need to know."

"Yeah, you've been quiet about it. Not that we don't want to press you for it or anything, but it's odd that you've never said anything about it. All you've told us was how you met Onmon and the other Appmon and nothing else." Astra added.

"I…" Haru bit the bottom of lips, not knowing what he could say. Eri and Astra knew he was hiding things. If he lied to them, they would know and continue to ask questions. Not only that, Onmon and Gatchmon were there. The two knew he was in deep pain. He had unintentionally listened in to their conversation earlier about him and had heard the concern in their voices about his behavior. Haru suspected that the two already knew what was causing him to lose his sleep and lack of focus. The two were always constantly hovering around him, watching out for him. The only reason that the two were probably giving him space was because they haven't seen the scars that were on his arms. It wouldn't surprise Haru that the two would never leave him alone again once they found out about his scars.

Haru remembered vividly when he returned home only to see red blaring lines jeering at him from his arms. He had tried to scrub the scars off with soap, but they stayed, getting redder with each wash until finally, blood had appeared. Haru didn't want to stop trying to erase the scars, but he knew he had to stop. He cleaned the mess he had made on his arms and bandaged them so that he didn't have to see what was underneath them. Docmon had hurt him, but he had made sure there would be a visible reminder of the pain Haru had experienced at his facility. Haru just wished that the scars could disappear along with his memories of his time there.

Despite all his efforts, Haru knew that there was no hiding from both Gatchmon and Onmon of the scars Docmon had left on both of his arms. It was just a matter of time until the two figured it out. But even so, he was afraid of what the two would think of him after. They had worried too much about him ever since they had come home. He didn't want them to worry even more. He wanted things to be the same as they were before he had been taken to the Deep Web. At least then, he wouldn't feel guilty about everyone becoming concerned over his well being.

Taking notice of his discomfort to answer, Eri sighed and moved away from Haru. She turned and walked over to Onmon and Gatchmon, her eyes trained on them with such intensity that it made the two Appmon unable to look away from her cold gaze.

"You two will take Haru home and make sure he gets some rest." She ordered the two.

"But Eri-san, what about-" Haru started to say, but Eri quickly cut him off.

"We can worry about this Appmon problem later. I hate that an Appmon is spreading lies about me on my Appter account, but you're much more important right now. Besides, it's too dangerous for you to come with us to an AR field when you can barely focus. You need to first take care of yourself, Haru."

Haru wanted to argue but found he was unable to. Thinking logically, Eri was right that he shouldn't go with them to an AR field. He was not thinking clearly. His attention seemed to have only decreased after departing from Yuujin. If he went with Eri and Astra to fight an Appmon, there was a high possibility that he would only be in the way.

However, thinking emotionally, Haru didn't want his friends to go without him. They were a team. Now that they together again, Haru wanted more than anything to continue their mission of stopping Leviathan. It was true that the three of them had accomplished too much already, but there was still much more to do. And that could only be done if the three of them stuck together.

They each had their duty as an Appli Driver. Even if he needed rest, there was no way he could ignore that an Appmon was causing trouble. As their friend, he couldn't leave them alone to deal with the problem on their own. It felt wrong to do so.

As if she was reading his mind, Haru watched as Eri's mouth tightened into a frown. Knowing that she was going to scold him, he mentally began to prepare himself for it, when an unfamiliar voice spoke right in his ear.

"Now this is a joke. This doesn't even deserve to be tweeted about."

Haru widened his eyes as he jumped away from the voice, turning and seeing a light blue colored bird Appmon grinning mischievously at him. The Appmon raised its hand and gave a thumbs up, taking delight at the small jump scare it had given to Haru.

"Hey! Get away from Haru!" Haru heard Gatchmon call out, watching as both he and Onmon moved to attack the blue colored Appmon. The Appmon laughed at their effort to attack it and fazed through them, flying towards the read vending machine near them. It stopped in front of it and turned back at them, its grin growing wider as its eyes remained focused at Haru.

"The name's Tsubumon. Glad we can finally meet. Although I think I already know a lot about you three." He laughed as he pointed at Eri in emphasis. "After all, it's already been plenty of fun tweeting things about you."

"You…" Eri clenched her teeth in fury as she glared at Tsubumon, raising her fist at him. "You've tweeted nothing but lies about me! You deserve an explosive punch right in the face!"

"I like it!" Tsubumon said as he clutched his chest in laughter. "It was so easy flaming your account, but you were only just the beginning. I have a lot more tweeting to do, so catch me if you can!"

At those words, Tsubumon disappeared leaving behind small digitized particles. Eri felt her hands formed into fists as people near them began to shout out in surprise from the lies Tsubumon was tweeting about. She turned towards Haru, wanting to tell him to stay back, but the way his eyes were narrowed in determination made her freeze. He was going to come with them no matter what she said. He wouldn't let them chase Tsubumon without him.

Sighing, Eri turned towards Gatchmon and Onmon and briefly told them to stick close to Haru. She couldn't stop Haru, but as his friends, they could at least make sure he was safe. But as they ran towards the chaos Tsubumon was creating, she began to wonder if she had made the right decision to allow Haru to come along with them. She had the strangest feeling that they were running right into something that would be too much for the three of them to handle together.

Yuujin stared blankly at the counter he was now sitting in front of, thinking back to his meeting with Haru. He couldn't shake the way Haru looked at him as his bright blue eyes became darkened with concern. He could still see the way he shook as his face paled when they walked through the crowd. He longed to wrap his arms around him and chase all the fear that had somehow crawled into his best friend's heart. He hated knowing that something had hurt Huru and that he couldn't do anything.

Of course, Yuujin trusted Haru, but Haru was the kind of person that would worry about others before thinking about his own wellbeing. And during these last few months, that trait had been increasing. Haru was becoming more of a protagonist every day, but the negative traits of being a protagonist were just as well growing. Yuujin wondered how long he could handle watching his best friend shoulder all the burden that had to do with why he befriended Eri and Astra, two people that he never imagined Haru befriending. It was difficult when all he wanted to do was take all that burden and shoulder it himself for Haru.

Yuujin had no idea how he was able to let Haru run off after he received a call presumably from either Astra and Eri. He saw the way Haru looked at him, noticing how the blue hues in his perfect clear sky eyes became cloudy, losing that brightness that always seemed to pull him in. Haru didn't want to leave him. And Yuujin didn't want him to leave either. After so many days with no contact with each other, Yuujin had feared for the worst for Haru. So when he finally received a text and a phone call later from Haru, he was beyond relieved. But after that relief came worry, hoping that nothing serious had happened to Haru.

He was too gullible to think that nothing had happened to Haru in the short amount of time he lost contact with him. Haru always tried to talk to him, even over small things and Yuujin always did the same. A day never went by without Yuujin knowing that Haru was okay. Whether it was sending each other messages or calls, seeing each other at school, walking home together, or hanging at Ai's family's bookstore, they had always made time for each other. But now, it all had changed. And Yuujin didn't know why. But whatever reason, it was not too hard to see that Haru was in the middle of it. And if his disappearance had to do anything about it, it was all the more reason why Yuujin needed to know what was going on. For Haru's sake, he needed to know how this was affecting him.

Yuujin sighed at this thought and looked over to the plates of sushi people by him were eating. He didn't even know why he was here. As he was on his way home, traffic lights kept changing on him guiding him to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. Confused, he moved to turn away from the restaurant and go back to the path he originally attended to take when he received a coupon on his phone stating that he could get plates of sushi for free. Yuujin wanted to still turn around and go back home, but he decided to go in. Not to fill his appetite, but to help him think. He needed to find an answer to his concern for Haru.

When a plate finally came for him on the conveyor belt after many minutes of silence between him and his thoughts, Yuujin was surprised to see an odd looking device on it instead of sushi. Next to it on a card was a name for the device, the Appli Drive Duo. Bewildered, Yuujin took the device off the plate and held it close to him as he stared at it, taking in its weird design and the way it felt in his hand. It did not feel too heavy considering how big the device was. Somehow, it felt right holding in his hand, as if it was meant for him.

"Ofu…"

Yuujin blinked and looked away from the Appli Drive Duo, seeing a new plate in front of him with a small creature turned away from him on a glowing orange square with a blue wristband right next to the creature. By the small creature was another card that had the name, Offmon, written on it, while by the blue wristband was a card that showed what the wristband was called: the Seven Code Band. He stared at the creature confused, not knowing what to call it when the blue band beside it began to glow with a female voice calling out to him from it.

"Oozora Yuujin…"

Yuujin widened his eyes as he reached forward to the blue band, taking it into his hand and staring at in wonder. He hadn't expected a female voice to call out his name, let alone it sounding so gentle and kind. Somehow, the voice helped clear the tightness that had built up in his chest since separating from Haru, as if it knew that he was overwhelmed with worry. He was in awe of it.

"Ofu… Are you my Buddy?"

"Buddy?" Yuujin questioned, looking away from the band at the small creature. It was no longer turned away from him and now looked at him shyly, the sleeves of its coat covering its mouth. Yuujin did not see when it had turned to him, but the way it looked at him was stirring unfamiliar emotions from its chest. Somehow, he and this creature that was in front of him were meant to meet each other. He wondered if the voice that called out to him had something to do with this.

"Ofu… A Buddy is a human that is paired with an Appmon like me. We're supposed to fight against the bad Appmon together."

As he listened to the small Appmon's explanation, something began to click in Yuujin's head. This had to be it. This had to be the reason why Haru had suddenly grown as a protagonist, no longer admiring them from the side. This had to be why Haru was suddenly in pain and keeping things away from him. And this had to be why he had disappeared for so long and came back so different, trying to hide his sadness away with smiles that were too forced to be real.

It was all because Haru didn't want him to get involved.

"Ofu…"

Yuujin blinked and glanced around, suddenly realizing that people were now staring at him. He stared at them in confusion, wondering why they were giving him weird looks and turned towards Offmon, who was now floating up to him. Could it be that they couldn't see nor hear Offmon? Was he the only one who could?

"Offmon, let's go somewhere else," Yuujin suggested, watching as the Offmon nodded shyly, catching as Offmon shrunk back from all the gazes that were trained on Yuujin. Even though no one could see it, the Appmon was still incredibly shy.

He smiled at the small Appmon and fastened the Seven Code Band onto his wrist. After it was securely fastened on his wrist, he picked the Appli Drive Duo from where he had placed it and hopped off his seat, heading towards the exit. He had a vague idea of where he wanted to go to talk privately to Offmon, but anywhere was better than in a place in which he had many eyes on him for seemingly talking to someone that they couldn't see.

Yuujin continued to walk with Offmon in silence until the two finally arrived at a secluded bench that was surrounded by many trees. Yuujin sat down at the bench and turned to Offmon, who moved closer to him, introducing himself. The two continued to talk to each until silently, Yuujin looked up towards the clear blue sky through the branches that swayed back and forth from the wild wind. He began to realize that he had no idea what to do now. He wasn't in shock, but it was still a lot to take in. Offmon had explained to him what their meeting meant and his role, but that still didn't help with what he could do for Haru. Now that he knew what Haru was hiding from him, he wanted to help him more than ever. But he had no idea how he could do that.

"Yuujin, look!" Offmon piped up from his side, pointing towards the device in his hands.

Yuujin followed what Offmon pointed at, finding that a holographic black box with words on it had now appeared from the device in his hand, asking him a question with a yes and no buttons glowing below it on the device. He read the words silently to himself until he widened his eyes once it sunk in what he was being asked.

Is there someone who you would give your life up to protect?

Yuujin felt his chest constrict as he continued to repeat the question in his head. It was difficult to process what it was asking him. Giving up your life for a person just to protect them was a heavy concept something no child should ever have to think about. It was a concept that people in the line of duty like firefighters and policemen knew they would have to face. It was hard to think Yuujin could do this when there were so many things he would be forced to leave behind.

After all, once you die, there's no going back.

Yuujin felt his heart drop at that thought. Was this something that Haru had to think about? Could it be possible that he was fighting to not only protect his friends and family, but so many others as well? Was he putting his own life at risk to ensure that everyone around him had a tomorrow to look forward to? He had no idea how serious whatever Haru was dealing with, but it was enough to have already given him invisible scars. What more would it do to him if Yuujin continued to be blind to it? He didn't want to see Haru hurt any longer.

No, he wouldn't let that happen anymore.

Yuujin felt his hand tighten around the Appli Drive Duo as he finally decided his answer. Sacrificing his life to protect someone was something he didn't think he could do, but if it meant making sure Haru was safe from harm, he would do it in a heartbeat. Haru was his best friend, but in his heart, he was more than that. And when someone was compelled enough, they would sacrifice everything for the one they cherish, even their life.

Deciding this, Yuujin pressed the bright blue button that had the word yes on it. Once he pressed it, a burst of wind erupted from the device as the small lock on the device became unlocked. He watched as color began to suck away the dark color on the Appli Drive Duo as a small symbol appeared on it, glowing intensively. In the middle of the device, a surge of color appeared in waves, drawing Yuujin in. He saw particles of data appear on each of side of the small red parts on the cover of the device, spelling out 'Pairing Offmon'. He stared at the newly colored and glowing Appli Drive Duo in wonder. It was now brimming with life in comparison to when he had first received it.

Yuujin smiled at this and looked up, catching Offmon's shy smile that he quickly hid behind his sleeves. He still didn't know what exactly the Appli Drive Duo was in his hands, but he knew that it would help him keep Haru safe. Now all he needed to do was find his best friend.

This time, he would protect Haru from whatever he was dealing with.