Disclaimer: No property of Digimon Adventure 02 belongs to me. All characters and related titles are copyrighted to TOEI ANIMATION Co., Ltd.

Author's note: I should probably clear up on the timeline and ages. Since Digimon Adventure 02 took place in 2002, this story takes place two years after, in presumably 2004. This would indicate that Hikari, Takeru, and Daisuke are all first years in Odaiba Junior High School (7th grade). Ken is also a first year even though he lives in Tamachi. Miyako is a second year (8th grade). Koushirou is a third year (9th grade).

If you're wondering where Iori is, he is in his final year in elementary school (sixth year/6th grade), thus he is not with the group at school. If you're thinking where Taichi, Yamato, and Sora are, they have already graduated and are first years (10th grade) in Odaiba High School. Jou's a second year (11th grade) in high school as well, and I'm guessing he probably attends a different, much more prestigious school than the latter. If you're asking about Mimi (who would be a third year like Koushirou), I was originally going to include her but found it unreasonable to have her relocate in Japan when she and her family are still leading happy lives in New York.

Monochrome Ocean
Chapter 1: Slightly Schizophrenic

"Hikari!"

The girl immediately blinked open her brown eyes and saw Tailmon's image hovering above her in the mild darkness. Her eyes trailed around the room, tracing the corners of the ceiling and the details of her dimly lit room. She was back in her room. Maybe she had always been in that room, but seconds before Hikari had heard the sound of waves breaking against eroded land. She had felt herself shiver, not from the chilly embrace of the malevolent weather, but from the feeling of being doomed.

"Hikari, are you okay?" asked Tailmon again, looking at her partner in worry.

Groaning, Hikari gingerly touched her cheek, damp with cold sweat. Turning over and attempting to sit up, Hikari answered, "Yeah, I guess so."

"Hikari!" gasped a different voice, and Hikari found Taichi peering over the bunkbed that the siblings shared. He had heard Tailmon call his sister's name, and immediately assembled to his feet. Agumon groggily followed his suit slowly, but even so his eyes did seem a bit concerned. "Hikari, what happened?" questioned Taichi hastily. "Are you sick? Did you get a fever?"

Hikari rubbed her temples and gave a weak smile. "I'm fine, Onii-chan. I'm not sick. Maybe it was just a bad dream."

Taichi would not let his dearest sister off the hook and made her let him feel her forehead. After constantly placing his palm on her forehead in several positions for several minutes, Taichi was convinced that Hikari wasn't sick. With a relieved sigh, he gave Hikari a friendly pat on her hand. "Don't work yourself too hard, Hikari. I'm sure you'll do well on that test this week."

Test? What test? Hikari was perplexed for a moment, and then remembered about that exam that would take place this week. She had been concerned about it and had spent the last couple of days going over the content with Takeru and Daisuke. Easing herself into a smile, she closed her eyes and laid down, pulling the covers over her shoulders. "Mmm, I guess."

For some reason, Tailmon frowned at this, but said nothing.

"If there's anything wrong, talk to me, 'kay?"

"Okay."

Taichi crawled into the bottom bunk, followed by Agumon. "'Night, Hikari."

"'Night, Onii-chan."

Hikari twisted into a comfortable sleeping position, and let her body relax. Something didn't feel right, though, and Hikari felt as if something was eating at her. She knew her concern was not about the test, but rather what she had been visualizing instead of the blackboard at school. Her visions had been why she wasn't able to focus at school, and why she spent her time with her friends studying. The sound of the dark creatures beseeching for her help still sent chills down her spine. Compared to her nightmares, the test seemed like nothing.

Hikari had always been the somewhat clairvoyant girl of the group: she knew a creature was a Digimon when she saw one, and she was able to tell whether he had a heart of gold or a heart of soot. She could sense Digimon and its feelings better than anyone in the group, yet with this creatures she couldn't detect their feelings. They were hard to read, and she didn't know what to do anymore.

Hikari didn't know why she was being called again — it was over, she had reminded herself. Since the time she had rejected the creatures' offer to fight the Lord, she had hoped that the monsters wouldn't come back again. The demons still returned, only this time more forceful and threatening. She didn't know how much she could hold back anymore.

Hikari was surprised at how well she hid this from her friends and family. She had suspected that Takeru or Tailmon might've sensed how distant and timid she had been lately. She thought maybe Taichi had caught on with how she had been untalkative recently.

No one noticed. Maybe they had, but didn't suspect it was the situation with the ocean. Although sometimes Tailmon, Takeru, Miyako, and even Taichi asked Hikari if she was okay, Hikari would acquiesce. She didn't want them to worry. Even if she was suffering, she didn't want them to become involved with her own problems. Maybe the monsters had a higher advantage. Maybe they would even go after her friends as well, which was the last thing she wanted. She was their opponent. They called her, not her friends.

"Hikari." Tailmon's voice probed into Hikari's train of thought.

The girl looked to her right, where Tailmon was sitting. The feline had been scrutinizing Hikari closely this whole time, and there was a predatory look in her eyes. "What is it, Tailmon?" Hikari whispered.

"Is it... is it that again?"

Hikari didn't understand what Tailmon was going at. "Is it... what?"

Tailmon sighed and crawled away. "Nothing. Never mind. Just go to sleep."

During class the day after, it happened again. To Hikari, she felt that for some reason the ceiling was dripping water even though the sun streamed friendly beams of warmth into the classroom. If she had told her classmates that the ceiling was leaking, she would only receive weird glances or laughing jeers.

The ceiling not only dripped, but Hikari could hear the sound of a wave breaking upon the shores. She looked around, but only saw nothing but an endless body of gray ocean surrounding her. Her hands were wet, be it from perspiration or the vapor of the ocean, she didn't know.

Not again. Not again! she lamented over and over to herself, dreading this repeating moment.

Hikari wanted to scream, but knew no one would hear her. Balling her hands up to fists, closing her eyes, and focusing on being in the Real World barely prevented Hikari from shifting dimensions.

What had really saved her was her teacher's command.

"Yagami, please give us the answer to problem 13."

Considering Hikari sat furthermost in the back of the room, Hikari knew no one saw what had happened to her. She snapped into attention at the sound of her teacher's voice, and looked down at her desk. Her textbook was open and the worksheets blank. The math seemed like a different language for her. Perspiration started to build, and her heartbeat started racing as she nervously stared at the problem. She could feel the eyes of her peers boring into her, and knew that she was on her own.

Hikari's eyes widened as she realized how to figure this problem out — Miyako had helped her with a similar problem the day before. Quickly scribbling the equations on her worksheet, she hastily stood up and speedily crowed, "X equals 5 and Y equals 4!"

The teacher nodded in approval. "Correct, but make sure you have the answer prepared next time."

"Y-Yes, teacher." Hikari shakily took her seat and heaved a deep sigh.

Class had saved her for now, but she knew it wouldn't last as long as the monsters kept calling her.

Lunchtime.

Hikari knew the monsters would not dare to summon her when people paid attention to her, which was why she stayed close to her friends while eating her bentou. As soon as class was over, she hurried to the computer room, where her friends usually hung out. Today, only Koushirou was not there due to helping a student prepare for high school entrance exams (which would not take place until almost a year later, but it was never a crime to prepare early).

Although technically the Digimon weren't permitted at school, they came anyway and often stowed away in the children's backpacks to hide. Since elementary school, the group had gotten into the habit of transporting the Digimon to school in their backpacks and satchels. It seemed extremely weird to not bring them, Takeru had once noted earlier in the school year.

As usual, Hikari tried preparing for the test again, and Takeru sat next to her, peering over shoulder at her study guide. Daisuke, however, was not pleased with studying again, not to mention Takeru's physical proximity with Hikari still bugged him for some reason.

"Studying, studying!" breathed Daisuke, annoyed. "Is this all we're going to do? There's more to life than just math!"

"Which is why you won't pass the test," retorted Miyako, taking a bite from her lunch. "That means you'll flunk school, and will never be able to graduate. You'll become a hobo and go on dumpster dives for food, leaving your dignity and sanity out into the trash."

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Miyako," grumbled Daisuke, crinkling his soda can.

"Daisuke, how rude!" Miyako stood up, frowning at the younger boy. "This is your senpai you're talking to, not to mention the person that helped you study for your last test... which you failed, of course." She shrugged and shook her head for emphasis. "Oh, what to do for poor Daisuke-kun?"

Daisuke threw up his arms in disgust. "That's because you never helped! Whenever I had both you and Ken over, you'd be all, Ken-kun! Ken-kun! Want to do something together over the weekend? Let's make out! ... something like that."

Miyako blushed and, as a reflex, aggressively brandished a fist at the boy's presence. "I never said that!"

"Sure you did! Even ask my sister, and she'll tell you!"

"That's such a hyperbole! You are a total liar!"

"There they go again," commented Chibimon, slurping his orange juice.

"Daisuke-san has a point though," replied Poromon between bites of his osenbei. "Miyako-san is rather fond of Ichijouji-san. He's basically all she ever converses about nowadays."

"I heard that, Poromon!" screeched Miyako, wheeling around to face her Digimon partner. Poromon gulped at her angry expression and nearly choked on his food. Chibimon nervously backed away. "Whose side are you on, anyways?" she roared, running over and squishing the poor bird Digimon.

Tailmon sighed in a way that made her appear peeved and irritated. "This is why you don't mock a girl in love. They say a girl in love is the strongest warrior."

Patamon looked at Tailmon, his mouth looped into an astonished O. "I never heard anything like that," he murmured in amazement.

On the other side of the room, Hikari and Takeru were still going over their notes. Hikari found that studying helped her think about something other than the ocean, rendering her unable to focus on her own worries. While Takeru was busy going over systems of linear equations, from the corner of her eye, Hikari thought she saw water drip. She averted her gaze to her left, but only saw that it had come from the dewy flowers the Gardening Club had watered earlier. Why did the Gardening Club choose to put a flower pot in this room? It was getting distracting.

She couldn't focus anymore. No, Miyako and Daisuke's squabbling had little to do with it; she had learned to tolerate it over the years. All she could think about was the ocean. Thoughts about what had happened in the morning flooded back into her mind.

No. I don't want this. Please, just leave me alone...

"Hikari-chan?"

Hikari blinked, and saw that Takeru had stopped writing. Her childhood friend gazed at her in an expression mixed with confusion and worry. She looked down at her half-eaten lunchbox and the example problems that Takeru was adding onto her notes. She realized what she was supposed to be doing and laughed nervously, trying to make up for her hesitation.

"Ah, Takeru-kun," Hikari quickly filled in. "Could you explain that to me again? I didn't hear you."

"Hikari-chan, you don't seem well today," Takeru remarked, causing the rest of the group to turn and look at the girl. Miyako and Daisuke had even stopped bickering. The Digimon had stopped eating and were eying her; not even Chibimon was chomping on chocolate treats. Hikari could see Tailmon's frown become much more evident... it was the same exact expression she had towards her that morning.

An uncomfortable silence settled between them.

"Oh," was all Hikari could say. She was speechless, and the atmosphere became much more tense. Finally, after what seemed like a long time, Hikari slumped her shoulders. She slowly lowered her head and murmured, "I'm just tired. I didn't get enough sleep last night, that's all."

Daisuke walked over to where Hikari was sitting and gave her a friendly pat on the back. "You're just overworking yourself, Hikari-chan," he reassured her. "Don't worry about the test. It's going to be fine."

But it's not about the test, Hikari wanted to say. Instead she looked at Daisuke's sincere expression and nodded. "You're right."

Tailmon opened her mouth as if to say something, but decided against it and closed it again.

"That's true," Miyako agreed. "Now, Daisuke on the other hand..."

"Do you need to start this again?" Daisuke glared at the older bespectacled girl.

"Well, I'm just being honest!" scoffed Miyako.

"And I'm being honest when I say you're annoying!"

Miyako gave a dramatic gasp. "You did not just say that, Daisuke! Take that back!"

Daisuke stuck his tongue out at her. "Make me!"

"I'll be ever so glad to!" The older girl was already pushing up her sleeve.

Hikari blinked. Watching Miyako and Daisuke argue as well as Takeru helping her study gave her heart a leap when she knew how much she cared about them, and how much they cared about her. She knew it didn't seem right for her not telling them about the rise of the ocean, but felt that it was for the best... not for her, but for them as well.

They didn't need to be weighed down by her problems.

School was over, and it was time to go home.

After standing for a few minutes by the shoe rack, Hikari stopped waiting for Daisuke to walk home with her. She had forgotten that he had to go to the Soccer Club straight after school was out. Takeru lived in the opposite direction of where she lived, but Hikari would've been delighted by his company anyway. Unfortunately, he claimed that he had to run a couple of errands before heading home. Koushirou was out of the question — it was true he lived in an apartment complex close to hers, but he was always busy, and every afternoon, he had to go to cram school. Miyako and Tailmon were nowhere to be found. All of this meant she was alone for time being.

The building was quiet. All the students either had gone to their respective clubs or left the school building. There was no one around.

Hikari hated being alone. It filled her with a disgusting feeling that she couldn't describe and detail.

Moreover, it gave them the chance to drag her into their own world again.

The trials began again.

It all began the same way: if not by the persistant feeling that something was dripping or becoming wet, either the shadows would seem to move or a fog would build up. It's happening again, was all Hikari could think, biting her lip furiously. It's happening again.

Suddenly, she sensed something behind her. It was as if a dimensional wave had just passed her, and she felt as if there was someone watching her. The cold, looming emotion crawled up into her stomach and made her feel sick. Hikari felt her pulse quicken and dared not to see what was behind her. The shadows warped and appeared to form figures.

Help us, the shadows seemed to moan. Help us, Chosen One. We need your assistance... your guidance... your Light.

W-Who are you? Hikari wanted to know, clutching her satchel tighter. What are you?

Come with us, and we'll show you. Come.

I don't want to. I don't want to!

A hand clamped down onto Hikari's shoulder, elliciting a squeak from the frightened girl. Hikari was about to turn around and give the monster a sucker punch, but what she saw shocked her even more.

This was...

"Hikari-chan!" Miyako suddenly popped up from behind her with a grin as bright as the sun.

Hikari nearly jumped, but was thrilled to see Miyako. "Mi-Miyako-san!!"

"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a monster."

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just... surprised." Obviously an understatement, but indeed Hikari was. She could still feel her heart throbbing against her chest as its pace began to slowly drop.

Miyako laughed apologetically. "Sorry about that. Oh, by the way, where's Tailmon?"

"I don't know. She should've been here by now." Hikari shrugged. "She keeps thinking she'll get caught by the school staff. Why are you here?"

"Because there's no meeting for the Computer Club, silly! Didn't you remember? And I had clean-up duty this week, so... here I am!" Miyako whipped out her purple cell phone, which dangled a phone charm Hikari had gotten her for her last birthday. "I'm thinking of making cookies when we study over at Daisuke's this weekend. You still like sugar cookies, right? Don't worry, I'll definitely include them. What kind of cookies do you think Ken-kun would like, though? Chocolate, white chocolate, oatmeal?"

"He'll like anything you make," Hikari said reassuringly, but Miyako was not won over.

"I'll ask him just to make sure," Miyako said as she turned on her phone. It was just like her to be stubborn.

Mentioning Ken reminded Hikari of how Ken was intensely connected to the ocean as well. Just as she was threatened by its presence, he was too. He suffered countless nightmares by bearing its burdens and even held the key, much to his dismay, to open the gates of darkness. If anyone was affected by the ocean besides just Hikari, it would be Ichijouji Ken. If Hikari whad been experiencing troubles from the ocean, maybe Ken did too.

Much as she didn't like to trouble other people about her problems, Hikari felt as though this was the only choice to advance a step further in ceasing the call of the monsters again. Maybe Ken would know what to do. While Hikari could sense the darkness, it was more than likely that Ken knew what it was — he had been affected by dark power in the past, so he knew (or at least he could differentiate them clearly better than Hikari could, as Hikari's definitions were often vague as she could only feel by emotion). Besides, he was a trustworthy person and would keep anything a secret if asked to.

"Hey, Miyako-san, could you ask Ichijouji-kun if—" Hikari caught herself at the end of her request, realizing the consequences of her actions. If she asked Miyako to ask Ken about the ocean, then Miyako would know. She would probably alert the rest of the group about the ocean too, but then again, they could keep it a secret between girls.

Still, Hikari didn't want to take any chances. What were the consequences they would have to face? There was no reason to have Miyako suffer because she suffered. Now to think of it, it would be stupid to ask Ken especially if he never showed any symptoms of encountering the ocean; he seemed perfectly fine when Hikari last saw him, which was about a day ago. "Never mind," Hikari sighed tiredly, and turned to leave. Before Miyako could question her, Hikari ran off without even bidding her friend a farewell.

"Hey, hold on, Hikari-chan!" called Miyako at her friend's sudden movement, impulsively taking a few steps forward. Her steps faltered once she saw Hikari's mad sprint out of the school building. Puzzled, Miyako tapped her cell phone on her chin and mumbled to herself, "I wonder what's going on..."